‘World Peace Conference’ Inaugurated
- Maharashtra Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao inaugurated the 19th ‘World Peace Conference’ on October 26, 2016.
- Main aim of the education institutes is to strengthen people to search truth and utilise education for development of the society.
- The conference is organised jointly by city-based Gokhale Education Society ( JES) and International Association of Educators for World Peace. The Governor lauded the role of GES . for its good work towards Adivasi welfare by providing higher education.
India and World Bank Signed Agreement for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor Project
- The government of India and the World Bank on October 21, 2016 signed a $ 650 million agreement towards the third loan for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (a freight-only rail line) that will help faster and more efficient movement of raw materials and finished goods between the North and eastern parts of India on October 21, 2016.
- The Eastern Corridor is 1840 km long and extends from Ludhiana to Kolkata. The World Bank is supporting the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) as a series of projects in which the three sections with a total route length of 1193 km will be delivered sequentially.
- The project will help increase the capacity of these freight-only lines by raising the axle-load limit from 22.9 to 25 tonne axle-load (upgradable to 32.5 tonne axle loads) and enable speeds of up to 100 km/h.
- The DFC lines are being built to carry bulk freight trains of 6000 to 12000 gross tonnes. The project is also developing the institutional capacity of the DFCCIL to build and maintain the DFCH infrastructure network.
India and Algeria Mull Fertilizer Joint Venture
- India’s initiated a joint venture arrangement with Algeria for a multi-billion dollar fertilizer plant located in the North African country on October 19, 2016.
- India, which has up to 96% phosphate dependency, with the volumes running to some six million tonnes a year, is seeking a 49% share in an Algerian block that has a capacity of six billion tonnes with 26% to 50% phosphate content.
- For India, such a project will have major favourable food security implications and could ease the fertilizer subsidy burden as well. India currently, imports raw phosphate resources from a number of African countries including Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt and Syria, as also from Russia, Canada and Israel among others.
- No specific agreements were signed at the end of Vice-President Hamid Ansari’s three-day visit to Algeria on October 19, 2016 but the process of giving a governmental push to the project had truly started.
See Also – Indian Railway Question Papers.
India, Myanmar Signed 3 MoUs for Cooperation in Insurance, Power and Banking
- India and Myanmar signed three MoUs for cooperation in insurance, power and banking sectors as part of efforts to improve ties between the two countries on October 18, 2016.
- One was MoU between Financial Regulatory Department of Myanmar and Insurance Institute of India for designing an academic and professional building programme for insurance industry of Myanmar.
- MoU on Cooperation in the field of Power Sector and MoU on Banking Supervision between RBI and Central Bank of Myanmar were signed.
SAARC Sufi Festival Held in Jaipur
- SAARC Sufi festival attended by the delegation comprising authors, writers, poets and Sufis held from October 14-16, 2016.
- Topics like Sufism and Its Inter Religious Links, Sufi-Bhakti Harmony, Promoting Sufi Tenets for World Peace, Teachings of Sufism and Application in Today’s Life, Role of Education in Developing Human Values for Harmony, Dance and Sufism, Women in Sufism, Music and Spirituality, Poetry in Sufism will be discussed by panelists in the festival.
- The event is being organised by SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL). In the wake of the recent tension between India and Pakistan, a Pakistani delegation which was scheduled to attend the SAARC Sufi festival has pulled out.
