STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS (August 2016)
West Bengal won All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project Award 2015
- West Bengal has been selected for the All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project Award 2015 on July 31, 2016.
- This is the first time the State will be receiving this award. It was selected by the 51st committee “from the Indira Gandhi Krishi Bikash Kendra.
- Earlier, West Bengal won the Krishi Kantian Puraskar for three consecutive years. The State has been selected for the award for its achievement in four key areas that include I scientific research for seeds.
Himachal Pradesh Government Signed MoU with NTPC & NHPC
- An MoU was signed between the Himachal Pradesh government and NTPC and NHPC for setting-up of the hydro engineering college in Bilaspur on July 29, 2016. Setting of the first hydro engineering college will boost regional development and provide more job opportunities for local educated youths and make available specialised work force to NTPC and NHPC.
- Hydro power generation, particularly in Himalayan region, requires a combination of technical skills spanning different fields of engineering—civil, hydrology, mechanical and electrical engineering, among others.
West Bengal Tourism Department Launched App
- The tourism department of the State launched a mobile app based on the theme of ‘Experience Bengal’ on July 27, 2016.
- Alongside information on places of tourist interest, the app would be loaded with other facilities like maps and directions.
- The app also provide information on each and district of the State and the various places that can be visited and activities that can be taken-up. There would also be information on the various festivals of the State.
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Chandrababu Naidu Launched ‘Mission Harita Andhra Pradesh’
- Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu today launched ‘Mission Harita Andhra Pradesh’, with the theme ‘green cover for a happy living’, by planting saplings at Sunkollp village under Nuzividu mandal in Krishna district on July 27, 2016.
- Harita Andhra Pradesh was a pet project of late Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy but Chandrababu has now made it a ‘mission’ with a new slogan Vanam-Manam (forest and we).
- The objective of the mission is to increase the green cover in the State to 50% by the year 2029.
- Andhra Pradesh currently has 23% green cover (forest area) and another 3% non-forest, besides 13 lakh hectares of degraded forest.
India’s First Fully Paperless e-Court Set-up at Hyderabad
- India’s first Court was inaugurated at the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad. It will serve the citizens of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
- Supreme Court Judge Justice Madan B. Lokur inaugurated the e-Court and mentioned that Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were the first two States which will pave way for the Integrated Criminal justice System (ICJS).
- Purpose of e-Courts was to ensure speedy justice for the litigants. ICJS is a system which is going to integrate police stations with the courts, with jails, with the prosecution and with the forensic science laboratories.
Madhya Pradesh Government Launched ‘Happiness Ministry’
- The Madhya Pradesh government heralded the country’s first Ministry of Happiness on July 15, 2016. Madhya Pradesh government set-up an ‘Anand’ (Happiness) Department, which will be used as a platform initially.
- Bhutan is the only country in the world that measures its progress through the Gross Happiness Product, the UAE is the only country to have a proper Ministry of Happiness, created in February this year.
- The World Happiness Report is a measure of happiness published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
Kerala Launched Online Incubator for Student Startups
- Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched SV.CO, purportedly world’s first digital student incubator, as a digital makeover of the Startup Village in Kochi on July 14, 2016.
- The digital incubator will function on Public Private Partnership (PPP) with Central government, State government and a private company.
- It will provide them a completely digital incubation framework, ranging from application for admission to teaching, mentoring and graduation.
- It will thus provide opportunities to students in far-flung cities and towns who may not have access to physical infrastructure or the mentoring that they need in the early stages of entrepreneurship.
