ASSAM

Want to double farmers’ income in next fiscal: CM

Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, while attending the state credit seminar 2021 of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) in Guwahati on Monday, said his government aims to double the income of farmers in the 2021-2022 financial year.

Sonowal said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a bid to double farmers’ income introduced a number of initiatives, including distribution of soil health card, Kisan Samman Nidhi, Krishi Sinchai Yojana, KCC, etc.

Moreover, advocating for value addition of agricultural products, Sonowal appreciated the fact that the youth in large numbers took up farming as a means of self-employment. He also urged the banks to simplify loan-sanctioning procedures to increase credit flow in the market. Sonowal also appreciated the SHGs for their role in boosting rural economy in the state.

“Of the total projected credit potential, Rs 17,586.21 crore (55%) is towards agriculture and allied activities. Further, credit potential of Rs 10,872.45 crore (34%) has been projected towards the MSME sector, while credit potential for informal credit — SHGs/JLGs have been pegged at Rs 1,093.56 crore; housing and education sector was projected at Rs 2,403.32 crore.

NORTH-EASTERN STATES

NE’s Dzukou Valley, home to rare species, burning for long time now

For 10 days, aided by winds that keep changing direction and the dryness of winter afternoons, the forests of Dzukou Valley along the Nagaland-Manipur border have been burning. Four IAF choppers, a 300-strong contingent of police, NDRF, SDRF, forest officials and local volunteers are at work, but over 10 sq km of rich oak forests have been razed.

There are no human habitations within the forests, but they are home to rare and endangered birds — the large pheasant-like Blyth’s Tragopan (Nagaland’s state bird), the Rufous-necked Hornbill and the Dark-rumped Swift, among many others.

INTERNATIONAL

US designates UAE, Bahrain as ‘Major Strategic Partners’

The United States has recently designated the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the “major strategic partners” of the country.

This has been announced before the formal transition of the president’s office from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.

Designation as strategic partners will strengthen the existing partnership between the United States, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.

Both the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have been a part of various United States-led coalitions in the last 30 years.

It also represents the commitment to the security and economic cooperation of the countries.

Open Skies Treaty Withdrawal of Russia

Russia announced its withdrawal from the Surveillance “Open Skies Treaty”. The treaty allows signatories to conduct unarmed surveillance flights on each other’s territory. In 2020, the United States announced that it will withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty.

After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the “Open Skies Treaty” was signed in 1992. It was first proposed by former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower in 1955 to ease the tensions of the Cold War.

The treaty was signed between NATO (non-Atlantic Treaty Organization) members and former Warsaw Pact countries. In 2002, more than 35 countries signed the treaty. This also includes the United States and Russia. India has not signed the Open Skies Treaty.

The Open Skies Treaty aims to build trust among its signatories. According to the treaty, a member country can conduct espionage anywhere in the host country only after obtaining its consent. Similarly, a member state can take an aerial image of the host country after giving a notice 72 hours in advance.

NATIONAL

National Immunization Day was observed on 18 January

National Immunization Day was designated on 18 January 2021 all over India. In India, approximately 17.4 million children under 5 years of age who cannot hear are treated for polio to eradicate polio.

India has completely eradicated polio in 2012. In order to maintain the eradication work, the Indian government organized a “Polio” immunization campaign in accordance with the standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

National Immunization Day is one of the four strategies recommended by the World Health Organization to completely eradicate polio. According to the World Health Organization, NID must be performed twice a year, with an interval of 2 to 4 weeks.

The country is using two vaccines. The two vaccines include IPV (inactivated polio vaccine) and OPV (oral polio vaccine).

IPV is a wild-type poliovirus strain that can be used in combination with other vaccines. It includes diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, Haemophilus, hepatitis B and influenza.

IPV is more effective than OPV. It can improve the intestinal immunity of children who have been immunized with OPV.

India’s first Labour Movement museum to open in Kerala’s Alappuzha

The country’s first Labour Movement Museum, showcasing the history of world labour movement, would be launched in Kerala’s houseboat tourism hub, Alappuzha.

The museum will feature a huge repository of documents and exhibits that shaped the labour movements across the continents and impacted Alappuzha.

The museum would be launched as part of the LDF government’s second 100-day programme.

It will portray, through pictures, documents and other exhibits, the growth of the world labour movement and the history of Keralas labour movement.

The Museums will open as soon as the restoration of heritage structures is complete.

Soon, one-time annual fee for national permit of tourist vehicles

The road transport ministry is likely to roll out a new policy this week that will allow tourist passenger vehicles to pay a one-time annual fee for seamless travel across the country on the lines of the national permit fee paid by trucks. The fare would also reduce because of the unifor m permit fee.

The current tax regime, which is different from state to state, is a big roadblock for point-to-point tourist bus service. Sources said the proposed permit fee is likely to fall by more than 50% of what the operators currently pay to state governments such as in Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra, once the National Permit rules for such buses and other vehicles are notified.

In this policy, there will be a uniform authorisation fee which will be charged for all states based on the passenger capacity of the vehicle. The yearly permit fee for an AC bus carrying more than 23 passengers would be around Rs 3 lakh and Rs 75,000 for an AC mini bus with 10 to 23 passengers.

Biswajit Chatterjee awarded ‘Indian Personality of the Year’ at IFFI

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar, announced a new ‘Indian Personality of the Year’ award, which he announced was being conferred upon veteran actor, director and singer Biswajit Chatterjee.

Chatterjee will be presented the award in March, along with winners of the National Film Awards.

IFFI also chose Bangladesh as the country in focus for this year.

To mark the 100th birth anniversary of Bangladesh’s first president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, India and Bangladesh will be co-producing a film titled ‘Bangabandhu’.

The ‘Lifetime Achievement’ this year was given to Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro.

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