ASSAM
- Assam deletes names of 10 lakh ‘ghost children’ beneficiaries of Anganwadi centres
- The Assam government has saved Rs 150 crore by deleting names 10 lakh of ‘ghost children’ beneficiaries of supplementary nutrition from the state’s Anganwadi centres.
- An estimated Rs 2250 cr of public fund meant for providing supplementary nutrition to children by the social welfare department has been fraudulently siphoned off in last 15 years when the Congress was in power. The money was withdrawn in the name of almost 10 lakh “ghost children”, who did not exist but were accounted for delivery of nutrition. The total figure of children was shown to be 44 lakhs then but after the scrutiny on the ground the number now stands reduced to 35 lakh. Similarly, officials have identified 390 fake Anganwadi centers through which the money was siphoned off.
INTERNATIONAL
· China’s Alibaba Buys Pakistan E-Commerce Firm Daraz
- Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba purchased leading Pakistani online retailer‘Daraz’,continuing its overseas expansion by gaining a foothold in the growing South Asian consumer market.
- China is seeking closer economic ties with Asian neighbors including Pakistan through its Belt and Road initiative, a strategy to increase trade links that are led primarily by infrastructure projects.
- Daraz, founded in 2012, was purchased from Rocket Internet, a Berlin-based incubator of online startups.
· India Pavilion Inaugurated At Cannes Film Festival 2018
- The inaugural session of theIndian Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival 2018 was held at Cannes, France. It was hosted by noted actor Sharad Kelkar.
- A meeting between the Indian delegation and Ms. Isabelle Giordano, Director General, Unifrance, M. Loic Wong, Director of International Department, CNC, France was held to explore co-production opportunities between India and France.
· World’s second oldest rock discovered in Odisha
- Scientists have discovered world’s second oldest grain of magnetic zircon ( a mineral that contains traces of radioactive isotopes ) from champuna from Singhbhum rock sample in Odisha’s Kendujhar district.
- It is an estimated 4, 240 million years old, making it world’s second oldest rock ever to be discovered.
- It is oldest magnetic zircon on earth.
- Venkaiah Naidu 3-Nation Visit: India & Peru Signs Agreement
- India and Peru signed an agreement in the field of Renewable Energy at Lima.
- The pact was signed in the presence of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and the Prime Minister Cesar Villanueva Arevalo.
- This is the final leg of the 3-Nation visit to central America of Indian Vice- President.
- During the meeting, the leaders discussed various bilateral and international issues of mutual interest.
- Vice President’s visit comes at a time when India is celebrating the 55th anniversary of the establishment of Diplomatic Relations with Peru.
· Facebook sets up e-threat hotline for politicians
- Facebook said it has introduced a “cyber threats crisis” email hotline for politicians and political parties in India. The social media giant, recently embroiled in a major controversy over misuse of private data, is also working on an “election integrity” microsite for India.
- Compromised accounts and even the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), which works under union ministry of electronics and IT, can write to indiacyberthreats@fb.com in case of a security breach. Facebook also released a “cyber security guide” for political accounts.
NATIONAL
· India’s longest road-rail bridge to be inaugurated by PM Modi this year
- In a major boost to defence logistics along the border with China, India’s longest road and railway bridge connecting Dibrugarh in Assam to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh is likely to be inaugurated later this year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- While all the civil work would be completed by July this year, two more months would be needed to finish the electrical and signalling work on the 4.94 km bridge.
