ASSAM

Assam govt to give Rs 30,000 to every bride for buying gold

From January next year, every bride from families whose annual income is not more than Rs 5 lakh, will receive Rs 30,000 from Assam government in her account, compulsorily for buying gold, but only if the marriage is registered under a specified act. Also, the bride and groom will have to be at least matriculate and attained the legal ages of 18 and 21 years respectively for getting the gold.

This comes under the Arundhati scheme, which was announced in the state budget for 2019-20 and Rs 800 cr has been earmarked annually. The gold will be only for the girl’s first marriage. However, bride and groom belonging to tea estates and Adivasi communities are exempted from the educational qualification criteria, as of now.

The introduction to the scheme states, “Many parts of our country are plagued with social evils surrounding the girl child, like child marriage, female foeticide, dowry etc. But the Assamese society, from time immemorial is fortunate to be free from such evils. Though there is no dowry system prevalent in Assam, the parent of every girl desires to give something to the girl during her marriage. But for many, these dreams remain unfulfilled due to their economic weakness. Gold is always considered auspicious and an asset. The parents believe that a gift of gold ornament would enhance their daughter’s social and economic status.”

only those marriage registered under Special Marriage Act, 1954, will be eligible for this scheme and not the other three prevalent acts like the Muslim marriage Act, Hindu Marriage act and Charities Marriage act.

A bride, who has solemnised her marriage on or after December 1, 2019 can also get the benefit provided she registers her marriage on or after January 1, 2020 before applying.

INTERNATIONAL

QS World University Rankings for Asia has been released

The National University of Singapore is ranked Asia’s best for the second consecutive year. It is followed by Nanyang Technological University, which has risen from 3rd to 2nd; and the University of Hong Kong.

96 Indian institutions rank among 550 for the continent.

India does not yet have a university among the top 30.

The best performing institution from India is IIT Bombay, which drops one place to 34th position. It is followed by IIT Delhi at 43rd place and IIT Madras at 50th.

Global Diplomacy Index 2019

The 2019 Global Diplomacy Index was released by Sydney-based Lowy Institute. The index gives the latest statistics and marking about how the world’s diplomatic networks are expanding and, in certain cases, shrinking.

The index ranked 61 countries across the world.

China now has more diplomatic posts across the world than United States in 2019. China has overtaken United States with 276 embassies and consulates worldwide, which is 3 more than US (both countries have an equal number of embassies but China has 3 more consulates).

India was ranked 12th among the 61 countries. As of 2019, India has 123 embassies and high commissions and 54 consulates globally.

NATIONAL

· Govt launches Credit-linked Subsidy Services Awas Portal

ð Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri launched Credit-linked Subsidy Services Awas Portal in New Delhi. It provides a transparent and robust real-time web-based monitoring system for credit-linked Subsidy Services, CLSS beneficiaries. To track his application status in real-time. The CLAP will be entirely instrumental in addressing the grievances of beneficiaries in a much comprehensive and organized manner.

ð The initiative would also benefit other stakeholders to work in synergy to release subsidy to beneficiaries on time.

ð The main objective is to provide a transparent real-time web-based monitoring system for the beneficiaries of the Credit-linked Subsidy Services (CLSS).

· Centre introduces bill to merge Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli in Lok Sabha

The bill seeks to merge the two union territories into one that is yet to be taken up for consideration and passage in the Lower House, was introduced by the minister of state for home affairs G. Kishen Reddy.The move comes three months after Jammu and Kashmir was divided into two UTs Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. The merger of the two UTs, located along the western coast near Gujarat, will be done for better administration and check duplications of various work. Dadra and Nagar Haveli just one district while Daman and Diu. The merged is likely to be named as Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman, and Diu, and its headquarters could be Daman and Diu.

· UIDAI launched the new version of mAadhaar application

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has launched the new version of themAadhaar application, both for Android and iOS devices. The application aims to make the mAadhaar application more secure.

To avail the new version, the users should delete the previous version and install the new version immediately.

Third-party applications are not supported by the UIDAI.

RIL becomes first Indian company to hit Rs 10 lakh crore market cap

It became the first India Company to reach the coveted milestone.
RIL was also the first company to reach Rs 8 lakh crore mark in August last year. It was also the first company to hit the $100 billion mark in market-cap in 2007, a feat it repeated last July.

Incidents of bribery in India reduced by 10% since last year: Survey

Incidents of bribery in the country have reduced by 10 per cent since last year, according to a survey carried out in 20 states.

The ‘India Corruption Survey 2019’, which received 1, 90,000 responses from people in 248 districts, also stated that 51 per cent Indians paid bribe in the last 12 months.

Transparency International India (TII) and LocalCircles conducted the survey.

India’s ranking in the Corruption Perception Index 2018, released by TII, has improved three places compared to last year and now, the country’s standing is 78 among 180 nations.