The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval to the project for capacity expansion of Numaligarh Refinery from 3 MMTPA (Million Metric Tonne Per Annum) to 9 MMTPA. It involves setting up of crude oil pipeline from Paradip to Numaligarh and product pipeline from Numaligarh to Siliguri at a cost of Rs.22,594 crore.

The expansion of the refinery will meet the deficit of petroleum products in the North East. It will also sustain the operations of all North East refineries by augmenting their crude availability.

It will generate direct and indirect employment in Assam and is a part of the Government’s Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for the North East.

INTERNATIONAL

· Iran plans to launch two domestically made satellites

Iran plansto launch two domestically made satellites into orbit to gather information on its environment. The announcement was made by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani.
One Satellite namedPayam would orbit the earth at about 600 kilometres (370 miles) above its surface. The second satellite Doosti would be tasked with the same purpose as Payam, with a focus on agriculture, and would orbit at an altitude of 250 kilometres. Both the satellites had been successfully tested and are ready for launch in the coming days.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran’s plans for sending satellites into orbit would violate a 2015 UN Security Council resolution which endorsed an international accord on ending Tehran’s nuclear programme.

· First-ever Philip Kotler Presidential award entitled to Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, received the first-ever Philip Kotler Presidential award,in New Delhi.
During his regime, India is identified as the Centre for Innovation and Value Added Manufacturing (Make in India),and a global hub for professional services such as Information Technology, Accounting, and Finance.
His initiatives such as Make in India, Startup India, Digital India, and Swachh Bharat, “which positioned India as an iconic country.“
His visionary leadership resulted in the Digital Revolution (Digital India), Unique Identification Number, Aadhaar, for social benefits and financial inclusion.

NATIONAL

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) along with Doordarshan (DD), Prasar Bharati launched two science communication initiatives, DD Science and India Science.

While DD Science is an one-hour slot on Doordarshan National channel, which will be telecast Monday to Saturday from 5 pm to 6pm, India Science is a internet-based channel, which is available on any internet-enabled device, and will offer live, scheduled play and video-on-demand services.

The two science communication platforms are National level initiatives to elevate science into a celebration and bring it close to everyday life.

The Tamil Nadu defence industrial corridoris set to be launched as part of the Centre’s efforts to build an indigenous defence production ecosystem. One of the reasons for Tamil Nadu being chosen for the corridor is that it is already a major manufacturing State and has a major auto components hub.
The corridor will be formally launched byDefence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at Tiruchirappalli on January 20. Two defence corridors, one in Tamil Nadu and the other in Uttar Pradesh, were announced in the last budget.
The Uttar Pradesh corridor was launched at Aligarh in August 2018 and saw investment announcements to the tune of Rs.3,732 crore were made.

India plans to introduce itsfirst Air Cargo Policy. The policy will be unveiled at the two-day Global Aviation Summit which will be held in The policy aims for fuel growth of the aviation sector, boost economy.
Despite registering double-digit growth for nearly four years in a row, India has remained without a specific policy for air cargo.
Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu announced that over30 countries will be participating in the first-of-its-kind aviation summit.

Chief Minister V Narayanasamyannounced that production, sale, and use of single-use plastic products will be banned in the Union Territory of Puducherry from March 1, 2019.
He also announced the following decisions of the cabinet to introduce ‘voluntary retirement scheme’ for the workers and staff of the century-old Anglo-French Textiles (AFT) mill and two other textile mills, named Bharathi and Swadeshi (run by Puducherry Textile corporation) in a phased manner in the next six months.
One percent quota of reservation would also be provided to the members of the ‘Irular, Villi and Vettaikaran’ communities under the Scheduled Tribes Category in education and employment opportunities.