ASSAM
- Assam wants central forces deployed on Nagaland border to prevent encroachment
- The state government is planning to move central paramilitary forces close to the Assam-Nagaland border to prevent encroachment of Assamese territory by people from the neighbouring state.
- This comes in the wake of National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah)’s renewed pledge to acquire the tracts of Assamese land that the rebel outfit says belongs to the Nagas.
- The official said the Assam government would initiate confidence-building measures among villagers living close to the state’s border with Nagaland. In 1979, more than 50 people from Assam were killed when armed people from Nagaland raided Chungajan, Uriamghat and Mikirbheta in Golaghat district.
- The Assam government stepped up vigil on the state’s border with Nagaland after the NSCN (I-M) recently called Naga village leaders from Rengma Hills and Karbi Anglong in Assam to its headquarters at Hebron to discuss the Nagas’ claim on parts of Assam.
- The two states share a 512km-long border that falls in Assam’s Jorhat, Sivasagar, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts. The entire stretch of the border is divided into six sectors – A, B, C, D, E and F. The border dispute between them began more than five decades ago when Nagaland was carved out of Assam’s Naga Hills.
INTERNATIONAL
- International Day for Tolerance: 16 November
- The International Day for Tolerance is an annual observance declared by UNESCO in 1995 to generate public awareness of the dangers of intolerance. It is observed on 16 November.
- In 1996, the UN General Assembly (by resolution 51/95) invited UN Member States to observe the International Day for Tolerance on 16 November.
- This year’s theme is ‘Together’.
- India to Host Global Conference on Cyber Space 2017
- India, for the first time ever, is going to host the Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS), one of the world’s largest conferences in the field of Cyber Space and related issues, on 23 & 24 November 2017, at Aerocity, New Delhi.
- The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the mega event, while Smt. Sushma Swaraj, Hon’ble Minister of External Affairs will deliver the keynote address in the Valedictory function.
- Themed on Cyber4All: A Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable Development, this is the fifth edition of GCCS wherein international leaders, policymakers, industry experts, think tanks and cyber experts will gather to deliberate on issues and challenges for optimally using cyber space.
- Canada Has Been Declared The World’s Best Travel Destination For 2017
- Major travel publication Travel+Leisure has named Canada ‘the destination of the year’ in their recent feature.
- The selection was based on data from polls conducted on travel agents, arrival statistics and cultural relevance.
NATIONAL
- Cabinet approves the establishment of the National Anti-profiteering Authority
- The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for the creation of the posts of Chairman and Technical Members of the National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) under GST, following up immediately on sharp reduction in the GST rates of a large number of items of mass consumption.
- This paves the way for the immediate establishment of this apex body, which is mandated to ensure that the benefits of the reduction in GST rates on goods or services are passed on to the ultimate consumers by way of a reduction in prices.
- The establishment of the NAA, to be headed by a senior officer of the level of Secretary to the Government of India with four Technical Members from the Centre and/or the States, is one more measure aimed at reassuring consumers that Government is fully committed to take all possible steps to ensure the benefits of implementation of GST in terms of lower prices of the goods and services reach them.
- Government launches ‘Saubhagya’ Web-Portal
- Shri R.K. Singh, Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, launched the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – ‘Saubhagya’ Web Portal.
- The portal can be accessed at http://saubhagya.gov.in.Addressing the media during the event, Shri Singh said that the Saubhagya Dashboard is a platform for monitoring household electrification progress, which would disseminate information on Household Electrification Status (State, District, village-wise), Household Progress on live basis, State-wise Target vs Achievement, Monthly Electrification Progress, etc.
- Nagaland becomes first North East state to launch PoS for electricity bill payments
- Nagaland became the first among the North Eastern states to launch Point of Sale (PoS) for electricity bill payment.
- The PoS facility was formally launched by State Chief Secretary, Pankaj Kumar, at Kohima Electrical Subdivision-1 in Kohima on 16th November 2017.
- The Chief Engineer of Power Department, Khose Sale informed that PoS services will be extended to other major cities and districts of Nagaland.
- RBI Governor Urjit Patel Appointed to Advisory Board of BIS
- RBI GovernorUrjit Patelwas appointed to the Financial Stability Institute Advisory Board of the Bank of International Settlement (BIS).
- The Bank of International Settlement is a global financial organization owned by major central banks from across the world.
- The Financial Stability Institute (FSI) of the BIS assists financial sector authorities worldwide in strengthening their financial systems.
- Moody’s Upgrades India’s Sovereign Rating for First Time in 14 Years
- The International rating agency Moody’s Investors Serviceupgraded India’s local and foreign currency issuer ratings to Baa2 from Baa3 and changed the outlook on the rating to stable from positive.
Moody’s has revised the sovereign rating of India a notch above investment grade after a long gap of 14 years. Moody’s has also upgraded India’s local currency senior unsecured rating to Baa2 from Baa3 and its short-term local currency rating to P-2 from P-3.