June 2018

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June 13, 2018

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) >> offering to transfer the in-house developed Li-ion cell technology to

competent Indian Industries on non-exclusive basis >> to establish Li-ion cell production facilities in the

country || fx: Zero Emission Policy of India, indigenous electric vehicle industry

Swachh Iconic Places - Phase 3 launched

>> RaghavendraSwamy Temple (Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh); Hazardwari Palace (Murshidabad, West Bengal); Brahma

Sarovar Temple (Kurukshetra, Haryana); VidurKuti (Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh); Mana village (Chamoli, Uttarakhand);

Pangong Lake (Leh-Ladakh, J&K); Nagvasuki Temple (Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh); ImaKeithal/market (Imphal,

Manipur); Sabarimala Temple (Kerala); and Kanvashram (Uttarakhand)

>> Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation with the support of State governments and local administration

>> PSUs/corporates to extend support to new sites as CSR partners

>> Collaborative project with M/o Housing and Urban Affairs, M/o Culture, and M/o Tourism

>> Main initiatives:

-Sewage Treatment Plant (STP)

-improved sanitation facilities

-water vending machines (Water ATMs)

-Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) set-up

-structure restoration

-roads maintenance

-lighting arrangements

-beautification of parks

-better transport facilities in approach and access areas besides at the main sites

Labour Bureau conducts two major surveys on employment scenario i.e Annual Employment-Unemployment Survey (EUS)

and Quarterly Employment Survey

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs >> a campaign to do the credit rating of cities >> 155 investment grade

cities

IIP - by CSO (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation) >> complied using data from:

(i) Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP); (ii) Indian Bureau of Mines; (iii) Central Electricity

Authority; (iv) Joint Plant Committee, Ministry of Steel; (v) Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas; (vi) Office

of Textile Commissioner; (vii) Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals; (viii) Directorate of Sugar & Vegetable

Oils; (ix) Department of Fertilizers; (x) Tea Board; (xi) Office of Jute Commissioner; (xii) Office of Coal

Controller; (xiii) Railway Board; and (xiv) Coffee Board

NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has selected 3,000 additional schools for the establishment of Atal

Tinkering Labs (ATLs) >> for nurturing innovation and entrepreneurial spirit among secondary school children

Minister of Rural Development >> National Awards on Best Performing Self Help Groups under Deendayal Antyodaya

Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission

‘Rail Madad’ – a mobile App to register complaints by passengers through mobile phone/web

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June 14, 2018

>> WATER

- Water Productivity Mapping of Major Indian Crops

- Proposal for three projects at Tutikorin, Paradip and Kandla are under consideration where sea water can be

desalinised and used for irrigation and other works

- encourage pipelines in place of long canals

- ‘Har Khet Ko Pani’ and ‘Per Drop More Drop’

>> joint issue of a postage stamp between Department of Posts and Viet Nam Post || Theme "Ancient Architecture"

>> Cabinet approves proposal for enactment of Dam Safety Bill, 2018 || The Bill provides for establishment of

National Dam Safety Authority as a regulatory body which shall discharge functions to implement the policy,

guidelines and standards for dam safety in the country

>> Cabinet approves Agreement between India and Peru || for a cooperative institutional relationship to

encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation on new and renewable issues

>> nomination of the Union Home Minister as ex-officio Chairman of North Eastern Council (NEC) - a statutory

body with Governors and Chief Ministers of all the eight North Eastern States

>> Cabinet approves MoU between the ICMR and INSERM, France || medical, life sciences and health research fields

ICMR - The Indian Council of Medical Research, the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and

promotion of biomedical research || ICMR is funded by the Government of India through the Department of Health

Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

>> Task Force to examine feasibility of Steel Plants in Andhra Pradesh and Telengana - Bayyaram and Kadapa

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June 15, 2018

>> 20 States sign MoU for implementing Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM)

- The scheme will integrate two on-going centrally sponsored schemes viz. Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY)

and Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS)

- target over 10 crore families belonging to poor and vulnerable population based on Socio Economic and Caste

Census 2011 (SECC) database

- cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year, there will be no cap on family size and age in the scheme

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June 17, 2018

President in Greece | Athens capital | Greece & Macedonia name dispute - Greece has a province by that name; Greek opposition to Macedonia joining NATO has roots in this issue | Greece borders Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey; Ionian sea, Aegean Sea, Mediterranean Sea | Other nearby seas: Adriatic sea (Croatia, Italy); Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy Tunisia); Balearic Sea (Spain Algeria); Alboran Sea (Spain Morocco)

Fourth Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog

Advice for states:

- cooperative federalism

- special attention to expanding exports

- ‘Agriculture and MNREGA’

- increase corporate investment in agriculture, such as in food processing, warehousing and logistics

- 'Éase of living'

- Govt Buildings Street Lightings with LED

- TB free India by 2025, 5 years prior to target of 2030

- Ayushman Bharat

- Aspirational Districts Programme (five developmental areas of Health and Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, Financial Inclusion and Skill Development, and Basic Infrastructure | reinforce mechanisms of cooperative and competitive federalism at the district level | Delta Ranking)

The Governing Council of NITI Aayog comprises the Prime Minister of India, Chief Ministers of all the States and Union Territories with Legislatures and Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and four Union Ministers as ex-officio members and three Union Ministers as Special Invitees. It is the premier body tasked with evolving a shared vision of national development priorities, sectors and strategies with the active involvement of States in shaping the development narrative.

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June 18, 2018

Socio-Economic Survey on “Drinking water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Housing Condition” and “Survey of Persons with Disabilities” will be launched by The National Sample Survey office (NSSO) [Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation]

Results of the survey to be used by:

- Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

- NITI Aayog, Housing and Urban Development Corporation

- Water Aid India

- UNICEF

- WHO

- Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

- ESCAP, etc.

NSSO - strong database on various Socio-Economic parameters

- estimation of poverty

- construction of price indices and assessing impact of various programmes on the pattern and level of household consumption expenditure

- employment-unemployment situation

- condition of agricultural households

- migration

- utilisation of health and education services

- domestic tourism etc.