23-24.04.23 Daily [Assam] APSC Current Affairs

Plagued with tea mosquito bugs, the tea industrys plan to stop increasing pest attacks with the hazardous dimethoate has raised safety concerns among planters inAssam.

Central Insecticides Boards (CIB) recent approval to use the pesticide in tea gardens may lead to compromise safety standards of Assam tea, cautioned a section of leading tea planters of the state. Even those planters who are not opposing the move said maximum residue level (MRL) must be maintained. The Centres Banning of Insecticides Order, 2020 stated the pesticide is an organophosphorus compound and highly toxic and said its alternatives were available for use. Dimethoate was banned in 31 countries and the ban was in force in EU, Cameroon, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Suriname to name a few.

According to the minutes of the 446th meeting of the Registration Committee (RC) OF CIB, held on April 12 and published on Friday, ad-hoc approval for the use of dimethoate against tea mosquito bug in tea plantations has been accorded for a period of one year. The committee also directed the United Planters Association of Southern India (UPASI) and Kannan Devan Tea to submit the residue data as per the guidelines of CIB&RC expeditiously and the same will be examined by the concerned technical experts and SPPR,FSSAIand the final reports will be placed to RC for a final view.

Dimethoate is definitely a toxic compound but the crop needs a safe interval between spraying and plucking.

he finance ministry has asked to draw up a campaign for a one-time clean up strategy for clearing over 1 lakh bad loan recovery cases pending in debt recovery Tribunals (DRTs).

The ministry has asked banks to use an alternate dispute resolution platform like Lok Adalat to bring down the number of cases.

According to Banking sources, there are over 2 lakh cases pending with debt recovery tribunals of which over 1.5 lakh are original applications for over Rs 12 lakh crore exposure. Of these, the 12 public sector banks have over 1 lakh pending cases where the original exposure is around Rs 7.4 crore. The issue was discussed in the finance ministry in the presence of law ministry officials.

The proposal is to have a scheme for cases of low claim value where the dispute is straightforward and parties are likely to opt for settlement.

At the 16th Civil Services Day Celebration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi awarded the Excellence in Public Administration-2022 award to the PM Gati Shakti national master plan in the Innovation (Central) category. The plan was launched in October 2021 to reduce costs and streamline critical Infrastructure projects. The award recognizes the innovative approach of the plan towards improving the countrys infrastructure and its impact on public administration

Modi highlighted the importance of utilizing the single platform that consolidates all infrastructure-related data to better plan and execute projects, especially in the social sector.

He added that PM Gati Shakti would help identify citizens needs, tackle Education challenges, and enhance Communication between departments, districts, and blocks, leading to the development of future strategies.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has announced plans to develop an integrated Network of around 10,000 kilometers of optic fiber cables (OFC) across India by the fiscal year 2025. The project will be implemented by NHAIs special purpose vehicle, National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), which will create utility corridors along the national highways to develop the OFC infrastructure. The OFC network will provide Internet connectivity to remote regions in India and facilitate the countrys transition to modern Telecommunication technologies such as 5G and 6G. Pilot tracks for the development of digital highways have already been identified by NHAI, with the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and Hyderabad-Bangalore corridor included in the plan.

The OFC Infrastructure Development project is already underway, with a goal to complete it within a year. The OFC network will be leased out on a fixed-rate allocation system on an open-for-all basis through a web portal to eligible users. An official OFC allotment policy is being finalised in consultation with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The development of digital highways in India is expected to expedite the countrys digital transformation and have a catalytic effect on its Growth and development

An India-Ukraine Chamber of Commerce will be established in the upcoming months in an effort to strengthen commercial ties. The Chamber will work to increase opportunities for and cooperation in industries including Infrastructure and power with the help of the Ukrainian government

The Ukrainian Embassy in India reports that in 2021, bilateral trade between India and Ukraine totaled $3.45 billion.

Ukraine sold fertilisers and vegetable oils worth $2.49 billion to India, but it also received $961.2 billion worth of commodities from that country.

Pharmaceuticals and electrical equipment made up its two primary imports