01-02.01.22

Nagaland Declared AFSPA Extension

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Under the AFSPA Act, the central government declared all of Nagaland a “disturbed area” for another six months on 30 December.

Highlights:

Beginning December 30, 2021, this declaration will be in effect.

The state’s situation has also been described as “disturbed and dangerous” by the government.

This decision came just days after the central government formed a high-level committee to investigate the possibility of removing the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act from Nagaland.

For decades, AFSPA has operated in Nagaland. The central government believes that the entire state of Nagaland is in such a chaotic and dangerous state that the use of armed forces to assist the civil power is necessary.

The central government used Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 to declare the entire state of Nagaland a “disturbed area.”

Assam sports journalists’ body names Lovlina Borgohain sportsperson of the year

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Olympic bronze medallistLovlina Borgohainwas named for the ‘Best Sportsperson of the Year Award 2021’ byAssam Sports Journalists Association(ASJA).

Young swimmer Shivangi Sarma and weightlifter Sidhanta Gogoi were named for Nripendra Narayna Singha ‘Best Junior Sportspersons of the Year Award’, in a release by the journalists’ body.

The ASJA said it is resuming its annual sports Awards after a gap of few years due to various constraints, and the 2021 edition will be held here on January 11

Ganjam declared child marriage-free dist

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Ganjam Collector Vijaya Amruta Kulange has declared the district as completely child marriage-free.

After duly verified by the respective Block Development Officers, Tehsildars, Executive Officers, NACs and Child Marriage Officers of the district which have been recommended by the respective GPs, Wards, and village-level Task Force committees, the administration has declared the district as child marriage free.

The order said that the district comprises of 3,309 child marriage free villages; 280 child marriage free wards under ULBs and 503 child marriage free gram panchayats.

It may be mentioned that Kulange took personal interest and initiatives for successful implementation of Nirbhaya Kadhee scheme of the State Government in Ganjam district to prevent child marriage and took several initiatives in this direction under the direct supervision of Sarpanches, Anganwadi workers and ASHAs at grass root level forsuccessful implementation of the scheme.

TN: New Policy for Women 2021

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On December 29, 2021, the state of Nadu released its “New Policy for Women 2021.” This policy will be in effect for at least the next five years.

Highlights:

All modes of transportation will be made more women-friendly under the new policy.

In buses, the first half of the seats will be reserved for female passengers. Only women will use the front exit or entrance.

In all cases of abuse, the draught policy calls for the establishment of a “victim support” system.

It also prioritizes rehabilitation and identity protection in the first instance, without delay, to prevent women from feeling abandoned.

To encourage women’s participation, the Tamil Nadu government will provide free or subsidized coaching classes for exams such as JEE, UPSC, CAT, and Tnpsc, as well as higher management and technical courses.

On Education loans to female students pursuing higher education, at least a 3% interest subsidy will be provided.

Kerala sees decade’s worst live births dip

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Live births inKeralarecorded the highest drop in a decade in 2021, showed civil registration figures given by the local self-government department. The number of live births dipped by 71,000 between 2020 and 2021, and for the first time in the past decade, the state’s live births went below four lakh.

Ernakulam was the lone exception among the districts. While live births decreased by 1,000 to 16,000 in other districts, in Ernakulam it increased from 26,190 in 2020 to 27,751 in 2021. The steepest drop was evident inMalappuram,KannurandKozhikode, which recorded a decline of 18%, 22% and 26%, respectively. Districts like Trivandrum,KollamandThrissurrecorded a decline of 5,000 to 6,000. Over the past 10 years in Kerala, live birth rate has shown marginal variations between years. Officials involved in registration of vital events said delayed registration could not be taken into account while calculating live births in the state.

Traders told not to sell Karnataka jaggery with Kolhapuri tag

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TheKolhapurAgriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture produce market committee (APMC) has asked the traders and commission agents of theAPMCto not procure jaggery made inKarnataka.

Jaggery is produced in Kolhapur in a completely natural process. In fact, Kolhapuri jaggery got a geographical indication (GI) tag in 2014 for its natural process, unique taste due to high sugar cane juice content and most importantly, because it is free of chemicals. However, jaggery made in Karnataka and other regions in Maharashtra are made sweet by addition of sugar, as the sugar cane grown in those areas have lower sugar content. The addition of excess sugar imparts excess sweetness to such jaggery, making it attractive for the customers in cities and other states. As a result, Kolhapuri jaggery fetches between Rs 300 and 400 less per 100 kg block.

T committed to AP Reorganisation Act

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Chief ministerK Chandrasekhar Raohas directed chief secretarySomeshKumarto inform Union Home affairs officials that the was committed toAP Reorganisation Act2014.
He spoke to the CS at Pragati bhavan on union home affairs meeting with officials of bothTelanganaand AP officials on January 12 on bifurcation issues.KCRsaid state government never compromised on state interests and many issues were pending due to the AP governments Attitude. He said state government would take a decision on participating the meeting depending on covid cases.

Product diversity takes AP to 5th spot in export value

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Andhra Pradeshexported goods worth 85,000 crore in the first seven months of this fiscal (April to October), compared to 67,000 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The states exports stood at 1.04 lakh crore in 2019-20 and 1.24 lakh crore in 2020-21. Going by the current scenario, the state may exceed the previous numbers in 2021-22.

Andhra Pradesh contributed to about 5.8% of the total exports of the country in 2020-21. The state occupies fifth place in the country in terms of the value of exported goods. Gujarat, Maharashtra, NaduandKarnatakatake the first four places.

East Godavari topped all the districts with about 31,000 crore worth exports in 2020-21, closely followed by Visakhapatnam (29,000 crore). West Godavari, Guntur and Chittoor also emerged as the key drivers by contributing to about 8,500 crore exports each.Kurnoolaccounted for only some 46 crore exports, the lowest among all the districts.

From organic and inorganic chemicals and marine products in Visakhapatnam district, rice and marine products in East Godavari to cars in Anantapur, granite inPrakasam, tobacco in Guntur, and medicines in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh is exporting about 2,100 products to nearly 190 countries.

The diverse product portfolio has helped the state pip several major states. For instance, omeprazole and lansoprazole drugs worth 111 crore were exported from Srikakulam in 2020-21. Anantapur exported cars/car engines worth more than 3,000 crore, while Kadapa was exporting barite.

Andhra Pradesh was also a major exporter of fish and shrimp in India with a share of 42% in total value of seafood exports of the country during 2020-21. The Suvarnarekha mango variety was exported to South Korea and Germany for the first time last year.

However, according to the Niti Aayogs latest report on export preparedness, Andhra Pradesh leaves room for major improvements. Andhra Pradesh might have an enabling business Infrastructure, but the state does not have a proper export ecosystem in place.

Need to develop climate resilient crop tech

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There is aneedtodevelopClimate-resilient technologies for the benefit of the farmers, said Carambolim sarpanch Uttam Murgaonkar while highlighting the problems faced by Karmali farmers, especially in coastal , locally called khazan lands.

The institutes scientists appealed the farmers to be innovative and build Entrepreneurship in Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture in general and Organic Farming in particular.

Water Taxi Service in Mumbai

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Mumbai’s much-anticipated Water Taxi Services are expected to begin in January 2022.

Highlights:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to launch the water taxi service in the first week of January 2022. There are three operators available right now.

After their catamaran is certified fit, the fourth operator will join. Following Nitin Gadkari’s appointment as Shipping Minister, work on the Water Taxi Services project was accelerated.

The Mumbai (MbPT), Maharashtra Maritime Board, and City & Industrial Development Corporation have collaborated on the Water Taxi Service project (CIDCO).

This service will most likely connect the Domestic Cruise Terminal at Ferry Wharf with the terminals in Belapur and Nerul.

Several operators have been given the following routes:

International Cruise Terminal to Elephanta Domestic Cruise Terminal (DCT) to Karanjade, Rewas, and Dharamtar.