ASSAM

Assam: Tea industry likely to suffer 10-15% crop loss due to weather

The tea industry in Assam is apprehensive of losing 10-15% of the crop during March and April due to drought-like situation and hailstorms.

In January and February this year, Assam harvested only 0.23 million kg compared to 0.27 million kg in 2020 and 0.44 million kg the year before. “While the crop figure for March is yet to be released by the Tea Board, the figure is expected to be lower by 10-15% in March and April 2021 as compared to 2019,” Bhattacharjee said, adding that tea bushes needed rainfall during summer so that production of tea leaves remained steady till the arrival of monsoon.

Assam received paltry rainfall in March and April, directly affecting its yield. Assam valley has received only 14.2 mm of rainfall during January and February as against 28.47 mm in 2020. Similarly, Cachar has received only 4.15 mm rainfall as against 8.3 mm last year during the same period.

About 10.5% of Assam’s total tea production — which was 618.35 million kg last year — is recorded during March and April. The state produces about 4.5% of its total crop in March and around 6% in April, which is about 32 million kg and 44 million kg, respectively.

NORTH-EASTERN STATES

Covid-19 spreading faster in Mizoram than rest of NE

The Covid-19 situation in Mizoram is deteriorating at a faster rate than the rest of the NE states even as Assam, which is the most populated state in the region, remains at the top with maximum number of active cases and fatalities.

Barring Manipur, which has nearly 5,000 active cases, the other states so far have adequate beds, ICUs and ventilators.

Despite having a high active caseload of over 40,000 average, Assam’s rate of growth of new cases in the last one week was 1.8%. Tripura had the smallest growth rate of 0.8% in the same period, followed by Arunachal Pradesh with 1%, Manipur with 1.4%, Nagaland with 1.7% and Meghalaya 1.8%.

INTERNATIONAL

ASEAN Initiative on the State of Myanmar

The Government of India currently welcomed the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Initiative on Myanmar.

The ASEAN launched a five-point announcement on the Myanmar crisis. Under the statement, the ASEAN countries have demanded “Immediate Cessation of Violence”. The 5 points of the initiative are as follows:

Issue: The military of Myanmar brushed aside the Government headed via Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

Criticisms: The five-point consensus used to be created between the ASEAN international locations and the modern army leader who seized power. There have been huge protests in the united states of America considering the navy coup. The consensus is being criticised that ASEAN is encouraging a navy coup. Also, the consensus did not mention a timeline. It also not noted the political prisoners in Myanmar.

Report on Trends in Global Military Expenditure

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) uneviled its report on developments in international army expenditure in 2020.

The five biggest spenders in 2020, which collectively accounted for 62 per cent of world military expenditure, had been the United States, China, India, Russia and the United Kingdom.

The world’s pinnacle military spenders saw their military spending go up compared to 2019, even all through a pandemic year.

The US spent a complete of $778 billion, China spent $252 billion and India’s navy expenditure used to be $72.9 billion.

In total, the global navy expenditure rose to $1981 billion last year, and amplify of 2.6 per cent in real phrases from 2019.

World Press Freedom Day is on 3rd May

May 3 is World Press Freedom Day to celebrate the basic principles of press freedom and defend the media from the attacks on its independence every year.

World Press Freedom Day is also known as World Press Day. This day also pays tribute to the reporters who lost their lives.

The UN General Assembly announced the news on May 3 to spread people’s awareness of the importance of press freedom in terms of its functions, information provision, and significance and awaken the government to fulfil its responsibility to uphold and respect the right to freedom of speech.

NATIONAL

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) joins Network for Greening the Financial System- NGFS

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently joined the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS). By joining the system, the Reserve Bank of India will learn from the financial sector and contribute to global climate risk management. Ultimately, Apex Bank will work with its global partners to support the transition to a sustainable economy.

The system is made up of 83 different central banks. There are 75 participants and 13 observers among them.

The system’s main goal is to increase and accelerate green finance.

It was revealed in 2017 at the One Planet Summit in Paris.

Launch of Operation Samudra Setu

The Indian Navy has initiated Operation Samudra Setu-II to support the ongoing national mission to meet the country’s oxygen needs.

In support of India’s battle against COVID-19, mission-deployed Indian Naval Warships will ship liquid Oxygen-filled cryogenic containers and related medical equipment.

Two ships, the INS Kolkata and the INS Talwar have arrived in Bahrain’s port of Manama to embark and transport 40MT of liquid oxygen to Mumbai.

The INS Jalashwa and INS Airavat are on their way to Bangkok and Singapore, respectively, for similar missions.

As part of the Vande Bharat Mission, the Indian Navy conducted Operation Samudra Setu last year, repatriating approximately 4,000 stranded and distressed Indian people from the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Iran.

New Framework for Implementation Of The SVAMITVA Scheme

To commemorate the nationwide roll-out of the SVAMITVA Scheme, Union Minister for Panchayati Raj released a new system for its implementation. It lays out a comprehensive road map and set of guidelines for the different States in terms of the Scheme’s goals, coverage, various components involved, year-by-year funding pattern, survey approach and methodology, stakeholders involved and their positions and responsibilities, monitoring and assessment, and deliverables.

It was nationally launched by the Prime Minister on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day on April 24, 2021, following the successful completion of the Scheme’s pilot phase in nine states.

The Goal is to provide property rights to residents of rural populated areas in India through the use of drone surveys and CORS Networks, which provide mapping precision of 5 centimetres.

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