ASSAM

Excess teachers in Assam: Himanta

The second phase of Gunotsav, a school assessment programme, has revealed that schools in Assam have excess teachers.

Announcing the results of Gunotsav II, education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told that going by the Right to Education Act (RTE), they found 443 excess teachers in schools of the 12 districts in which the assessment was conducted.

According to the act, the students-teacher ratio at primary level should be 30:1 and at the upper primary level it should be 35:1.

Gunotsav II was conducted in 12 districts from October 10 to 13 covering children from Classes II to VIII.

The assessment covered government, provincialised, tea garden-managed and composite schools (elementary level) in Assamese, Bodo, Bengali, Hindi, English, Manipuri and Nepali mediums.

Altogether 11,20,960 children from 18,811 schools were covered in Gunotsav II.

INTERNATIONAL

· India Ranks 5th in List of Countries with Highest NPA Levels

ð India has the highest level of non-performing assets (NPA) among BRICS countries and is ranked fifth on a list of countries with the highest levels of NPAs, as per the report by CARE Ratings.

ð The only countries ranked higher than India on the list are Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Ireland.

ð All these countries, along with Spain, are commonly referred to as PIIGS, and have been victims of sovereign debt crises in recent years.

ð At 9.85 percent, India’s NPA ratio is over 400 basis points higher. Spain is the only PIIGS country ranked lower than India on the list, with an NPA ratio of 5.28 percent.

NATIONAL

Environment Ministry Launches Regional Project to Tackle Stubble Burning

In another significant step to combat climate change, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has approved a regional project on ‘Climate Resilience Building among Farmers through Crop Residue Management’ under the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC).

The first phase of the project has been approved at a cost of approximately Rs. 100 Crore for the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The project will leverage approximately three times the approved amount with contribution from the States as well as farmers.

Gk bit – Stubble Burning

Stubble burningis the deliberate setting fire of the straw stubble that remains after wheat and other grains have been harvested. The practice was widespread until the 1990s, wheStubble burning in Punjab and Haryana in northwest India has been cited as a major cause of pollution in Delhi.n governments increasingly restricted its use.

India successfully test-fires supersonic interceptor missile

India has successfully test-fired its indigenously developed Advanced Air Defence (AAD) supersonic interceptor missile, capable of destroying any incoming ballistic missile in low altitude, from a test range in Odisha.

This was the third supersonic interceptor test carried out this year in which an incoming ballistic missile target was successfully intercepted, within 30 km altitude of the earth’s atmosphere by an interceptor.

The earlier two tests were conducted on March 1 and February 11, 2017, as part of efforts to have a full-fledged multi-layer Ballistic Missile Defence system.

24-hour power for all by March 2019, says Modi government
By March 2019, all homes in the country will be provided uninterrupted 24-hour power supply throughout the year, Power Minister R K Singh said.

Singh said by December 2018, 1,694 villages, which are yet to be electrified, will have electricity connection and works in this regard has been going on.

All homes will get 24-hour power by March 2019, he said during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha.

5,45,090 Houses Sanctioned for Urban Poor Under PMAY(Urban)

Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has approved the construction of 5,45,090 more affordable houses for the benefit of urban poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) with an investment of Rs. 31,003 cr with central assistance of Rs. 8,107 cr.

The approval was given in the 29th meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee in its meeting.

With the above proposed houses, cumulative houses under PMAY(U) would become 36,00,819 after final approval from CSMC.

‘World sweet festival’ in Telangana next month
Telangana will be hosting an international sweets festival next month.

The World Sweet Festival, featuring over hundreds of sweet items, will be held from January 13 to 15.

Sweets from foreign countries will also be presented alongside the Indian delicacies.

India’s first bitcoin trading app launched

Crypto currency dealer Pluto Exchange has announced the launch of India’s first mobile application for transacting in virtual currencies.

Pluto Exchange founder and Chief Executive Bharat Verma said his company is all set to launch the country’s first app-based wallet that enables bitcoin transactions using a mobile number.

By using a four-digit personal identification number (PIN), users can now buy, sell, store and spend bitcoins via a mobile number, Verma added.

· Incredible India Nation earns 1,60,865 Crores from its Foreign Atithis this year

Tourism is a major engine of economic growth and an important source of foreign exchange earnings in many countries including India.
However, as the tourism is flourishing, the country’s economy is also getting a massive hike. Notably, Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during the period January-November 2017 were 90.01 lakh with a growth of 15.6% while Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) during the period January-November 2017 were Rs.1,60,865 Crore with a growth of 16.9% over same period of previous year.
India’s rank in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), 2017 has also shown 25 places jump from 2013.
The Rank of India in TTCI Report of 2017 was 40th as compared to 52nd in 2015 and 65th in 2013.