Current Affairs of 12 Aug 2020
Russia names world's first COVID vaccine 'Sputnik V'
• Russia has named its first COVID-19 vaccine ‘Sputnik V’ for foreign markets with reference to world’s first satellite.
• President Vladimir Putin announced the approval of the vaccine candidate less than two months of human testing amid skepticism from scientists.
• Russia has already received requests from over 20 countries for 1 billion doses of the new COVID vaccine. International scientists have however questioned whether Russia by moving to roll out the vaccine speedily is putting national prestige before solid science and safet
Tribal Affairs Ministry develops nine ‘Tribal Freedom Fighters’ Museums
• The Union Tribal Affairs Ministry is developing nine “Tribal Freedom Fighters’ Museums dedicated to the contributions of the tribal people in India to the freedom struggle.
• Out of the nine museums, two museums are almost nearing completion and the remaining seven are at different stages of progress.
• All museums are expected to come into existence by the end of 2022. Prime Minister NarendraModi had announced setting up of these tribal freedom fighters’ museums during his Independence Day Speech on August 15, 2016.
• All the museums will have strong usage of technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality and 3D/7D holographic projections. The museums will demonstrate the way tribals struggle to protect their custodial concerns for the biological and cultural diversity of the country.
India, Maldives sign agreement for development of five eco-tourism zones in Addu atoll
• India and Maldives signed a contract on August 10, 2020 for development of five eco-tourism zones in Addu atoll of the island nation.
• The eco-tourism zones are part of grant projects being implemented under the High-Impact Community Development project (HICDP) scheme that involves total grant assistance of USD 5.5 million to the Maldives.
• Currently, nine such high-impact projects being implemented in the Maldives. The key objectives of the projects include developing high-impact assets, building capacities within the local councils and supporting the local island economy.
• These projects are expected to bring about a transformation in the economic and employment landscape of Addu
Ladakh LG unveils Ladakh Police’s Flag, Formation Sign and Epaulettes
In a significant development in the history of Ladakh Police, Ladakh Lieutenant Governor RK Mathur has unveiled the Flag, Formation Sign and Epaulettes of the newly formed police force, today. Formation of separate Ladakh Police notification came on 23rd May this year. AIR Correspondent reports that at a ceremonial function by Ladakh police after unveiling the Ladakh Police Flag and Insignia, MrMathur said that Ladakh Police soon would take up the recruitment process and completing the promotions as well.
Mr. Mathur appealed the police to work with the public in professional and friendly manner, to improve the public opinion about the police. LG Mathur also suggested the Ladakh Police to observe the formation day on 31st of October every year symbolically coincide with the formation of UT Ladakh. In the inaugural speech, Ladakh Inspector General of Police, SS Khandare listed various measures in the pipeline for Ladakh Police. He assured the Police will adopt citizen centric approach.
Blood red and navy blue coloured in the golden border the Ladakh police flag with symbolizes interdependence with Service & Courage inscribed on it. With Snow Leopard in action, the Formation Sign symbolizes strength and endurance in the harsh and rugged terrains. The Police Logo with the National Emblem , LP along with SatyamevaJayate surrounded by auspicious Juniper leaves represents sacredness and Ladakhi tradition. At the unveiling ceremony, Leh CEC Gyal P Wangyal, Ladakh MP JamyangTseringNamgyal, UT Advisor UmangNarula, ITBP NW Frontier IG Rupam Seth, Army and Ladakh Scouts, senior civil and police officials of Union Territory are also present.
2-Jal Shakti Minister launches Swachh Bharat Mission Academy as part of campaign GandagiMukt Bharat
Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat today launched Swachh Bharat Mission, SBM Academy in New Delhi, as part of the ongoing week-long behaviour change campaign GandagiMukt Bharat.
He launched SBM Academy by dialling the designated IVR toll-free number. Speaking on the occasion, MrShekhawat said, the IVR based free mobile online learning course on ODF Plus will be crucial in achieving goals underlined in Phase - 2 of Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin).
3-KVIC’s first Silk Training-cum-Production Centre to be launched in Arunachal
- The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is going to launch the first-of-its kind training-cum-production centre of silk in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
- The Silk Training cum Production Center will be opened in the far-flung tribal village of Chullyu in Arunachal Pradesh and is set to give a big boost to weaving activities in the entire region.
- The Center will be launched in the first week of September.
- 25 local artisans of Chullyu village has been selected under the first batch for training.
- The KVIC has refurbished and converted a dilapidated school building into the training cum production centerwhich was provided to KVIC by the education department of the Arunachal Pradesh Government.
4-PM Modi launches submarine cable connectivity project between Chennai and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (CANI)
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched and dedicated to the nation, the first ever submarine (undersea) Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connectivity between Chennai and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (CANI project) on 10 August 2020 through video conferencing.
- This state of the art project will connect Andaman & Nicobar Islands to the mainland and provide high speed broadband connections in the Union Territory at par with services in the mainland.
- The foundation stone for this 2300 Kms submarine cable project was laid by the PM on 30 December 2018 at Port Blair.
- The OFC will deliver 2x 200 Gbps between Chennai and Port Blair along with 2×100 Gbps between Port Blair and other islands. The service has already begun from Chennai to Port Blair, Port Blair to Little Andaman and Port Blair to Swaraj Island.
- Currently, the A&N are connected to the Indian mainland through satellite link with limited bandwidth capacity and high amounts of delay.
- The present satellite link capacity is merely 3.2Gbps, while the OFC would be able to provide a bandwidth of 400Gbps (over 100 times the existing capacity) at its initial stage of commissioning.
5-Chhattisgarh CM BhupeshBaghel launches Indira Van Mitan scheme to make forest-dwellers self-reliant
- The Chhattisgarh Chief Minister BhupeshBaghel launched ”Indira Van MitanYojana” on 9 August 2020, on the occasion of the World Tribal Day, to bring prosperity to forest dwellers (especially tribal) by opening up self-employment opportunities.
- Under the ‘Indira Van Mitan scheme, a dedicated groups of youth will be constituted in around 10,000 villages in tribal-dominated areas to manage forest-based economic activities.
- Each group will consist of 10 to 15 members.
- Each of the youth groups will look after procurement, processing and marketing of forest produce in scheduled areas.
- The state government will set up forest produce processing units in every development block of the scheduled areas, at an estimated cost of Rs 10 lakh for each unit.
- An amount of Rs 8.50 crore will be spent for forest produce processing units in 85 development blocks.
- The plantation of fruit-bearing and medicinal plants will be encouraged in forest areas
