ASSAM

Guwahati: Book fair gets 4.5 cr business in first 7 days

The 33rd edition of the book fair has opened in the city with resounding success, drawing in visitors from all over the region since it was opened on December 30 last year.

For nearly two consecutive years, book lovers have been missing this gathering as the fair could not be held because of violent protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in 2019 and last year the novel coronavirus dashed hopes of all publishers, printers and readers. The fair will conclude on January 10.

NORTH-EASTERN STATES

Tripura SEZ will create jobs for 2.5 lakh youths: CM

Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb said the upcoming special economic zone (SEZ) in South Tripura district would create employment opportunities for 2.5 lakh youths.

The chief minister said agriculture growth of Tripura in the last two and half years under the BJP-IPFT rule has gone up to 13.5% from about 7.4% during the previous tenure of the Left Front government.

Rice is the main food in Tripura, but the state has been procuring it from other states. A huge amount of money is spent for this purpose, but it can be retained if production of such items goes up to the optimum level again.

INTERNATIONAL

Indias Rice Exports To Vietnam

Due to attractive prices, Vietnam has recently started to buy grain, especially rice, from India. Although Vietnam is the world’s third-largest rice exporter, Vietnam has started to import rice from India.

Vietnam has started to import rice from India because the country’s local price has jumped to the highest level in 9 years due to limited domestic supply. This is mainly because Vietnam has begun to stock a large amount of rice for the future.

In addition, the price of Indian rice is very attractive. The huge price difference forced the Vietnamese government to import rice from India.

Indian traders will export 70,000 tons of rice to Vietnam at a price of approximately US$310 per ton. India will export broken rice to Vietnam in January and February 2021.

The global pandemic has prompted Vietnam and other countries to stock up rice. This is because the reduction in food supply makes people increasingly worried about food insecurity.
Vietnam plans to reserve US$270,000 of rice to ensure access to food in the event of a disruption in the global covid-19 supply chain. Therefore, it is facing shortages and is dependent on imports.

NATIONAL

IFSCA Becomes a Member of IOSCO

The International Financial Services Center Authority (IFSCA) has become an Associate Member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

IOSCO is an international organization which brings together global securities regulatory agencies, covering more than 95% of the global securities market. It is also a global standard-setter for the securities sector. IOSCO works closely with the G20 and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to develop standards to strengthen the securities market.

The FSB has recognized IOSCO Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation as one of the key standards for a sound financial system.

Tide-Rainfall Flood Quotient: A New Measurement Devised

In order to understand whether coastal cities are more prone to flooding due to tidal events or extreme rainfall, a research team from IIT Bombay has devised a new measure called the “Tide–Rainfall Flood Quotient”.

Using past rainfall data, tide data and the topography of the area, this framework can be used to determine the main factors at play.

The team selected three coastal areas that are geographically diverse and vulnerable to flooding-Mithi catchment area in Mumbai, Jagatsinghpur district in Odisha and Greater Chennai Corporation in Tamil Nadu to test their new metric

The new method helps to classify these areas as ‘storm-tide dominated’ or ‘pluvial (rainfall) dominated’.

Sagarmala Seaplane Services Launched by Union Ministry

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is launching the Sagarmala Seaplane Service (SSPS). The Ministry is beginning the operation of Seaplane Services on specific routes under the framework of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) through potential airline operators.

The Ministry is beginning the operation of Seaplane Services on specific routes under the framework of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) through potential airline operators.

The execution and implementation of the project will be carried out through Sagarmala Development Company Ltd. (SDCL), which is under the administration of the Ministry.

The Seaplane will use the nearby waters for take-off and landing, thus connecting these places in a very economical way, because the seaplane operation does not require conventional airport infrastructure such as runways and terminals.

GST Compensation Shortfall In States

The 10th Instalment of Rs 6,000 crore was issued to the States as a back-to-back loan to meet the GST compensation shortfall.

The Ministry of Finance has issued the tenth instalment of 60 billion rupees a week to the states to make up for the shortage of goods and services tax compensation.

The money has been released to 23 states and 3 UTs with legislative assemblies.

The remaining 5 states (Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim) have no income gap due to the implementation of GST.

Now, more than 50% of the estimated GST compensation shortfall has been issued to the States & UTs with legislative assemblies.

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