KERALA

Experts suggest new land-use policy, Act for hilly terrains in Kerala

Even as weather conditions improve after the extremely heavy rainfall events for the second consecutive year, the state government will now have to start looking to update its ‘Rebuild Kerala’ plan as more areas of vulnerability have come to the fore.
Experts suggest that Kerala will have to enforce a new land-use policy that will reduce the tragic proportions of environmental disasters.

The recent disasters, from Cyclone Ockhi to the intense rains, which triggered landslides causing high causalities, all indicate the need for more reliable weather forecasting systems, which can assist the authorities to take timely action to prevent weather events turning into disasters.

INTERNATIONAL

· India contributes $1 million to UN fund

India contributed$1 million to the UN Special Purpose Trust Fund for the Resident Coordinator System.
The Special Purpose Trust Fund (SPTF)is a specific fund housed within the UN Secretariat established to receive, consolidate, manage and account for all contributions and financial transactions of the new Resident Coordinator system in a transparent and effective way.
The fund was establishedto receive, consolidate, manage and account for all contributions and financial transactions of the new Resident Coordinator system in a transparent and effective way.

· PM signs 10 MoUs during his second visit to Bhutan

During his second visit to Bhutan PM Narendra Modi, he held talks with his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering to further expand the bilateral partnership across several sectors.

The leaders of the two countries signed 10 MoUsin fields like new energy, education, space research, aviation, IT, power and education. The talks also aimed to further improve economic and cultural ties between the two countries.

PM Modi also inaugurated the Mangdechhu hydroelectric power plant which was built on the Mangdechhu River in Trongsa Dzongkhag district of central Bhutan. The cost of the720MW plant was 4,500 crore. The project represents the relationship between India and Bhutan.

PM Modi also launched stamps to commemorate five decades ofIndia-Bhutan hydropower cooperation.

The leaders unveiled an e-plaque on the interconnection betweenIndia’s National Knowledge Network and Bhutan’s Druk Research and Education Network. It marked India as the major partner in the development of Bhutan as India actively cooperates in Bhutan’s five-year plans.

NATIONAL

· Ladakh seeks tribal area status

Leaders of Ladakh have appealed to the Centre to declare the region a tribal-area status under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The move comes as the people are concerned to protect their land, culture, and identity after the abrogation of article 370 and the announcement of Ladakh as a Union Territory.

The Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution provides provisions for the administration of tribal areas in fournorth-eastern states namely Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. The schedule includes Articles 244(2) and 275(1). It provides for the administration of tribal areas in the states after setting up the autonomous district and regional councils. The states are provided with special provisions in terms of governance, powers of the president and the governor, type of local bodies, alternate judicial mechanisms, financial powers, etc.

· Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan Dhan scheme launched

The NDA-led government in its second term is to launchPradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-Dhan scheme on 19 August. The pension scheme for small traders functions under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. The proposal for the scheme was approved by the cabinet on May 31, 2019. The scheme was notified by the Ministry on July 22.

The Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-Dhan scheme aims to target enrolling 25 lakh subscribers in 2019-2020and 2 crore by 2023-2024. The pension scheme was modelled for unorganized sector workers. In the Union Budget 2019-20, the Centre has reserved750 crore for the scheme.

Under the scheme, traders aged between 18 and 40 who have an annual turnover of less than Rs.1.5 croreare eligible. The subscribers should contribute a monthly amount that will be matched by the government. The amount will vary depending on the age at which they enter the scheme. Upon turning 60, the subscribers will get 3,000 as monthly pension.

The provisions of the scheme are applicable to Iaghu vyaparis, who are self-employed and working as shop owners, oil mill owners, workshop owners, commission agents, brokers of real estate, retail traders, rice mill owners, owners of small hotels, restaurants and other Iaghu vyaparis.

· India to host World Youth Chess Championship

For the first time ever,Indiais to host the World Youth Chess Championship 2019. The All India Chess Federation (AICF) won the bid to conduct the World Youth and Junior Chess championships 2019 in the country. The championship will be held from 1 October to 13 October 2019 in Mumbai, Maharashtra.The championship aims to produce many young stars and aspire to take part in such world events.
The World Chess Federationconducts 15 World-Level Tournaments in a year.
The Youth Tournament will be held in three age categories in both the open and girls group.
The participants include around 700 young Chess masters from over 100 Chess playing countries. Six World Champions will be crowned at this Tournament.

Navy to host multi-lateral exercise ‘MILAN’ in Visakhapatnam

The Indian Navy would be hosting ‘MILAN’, a multilateral naval exercise in Visakhapatnam in March 2020.

The MILAN series of biennial exercises, which commenced in 1995 and conducted at Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) until last year.

Last year’s edition was conducted for the first time on the mainland at the eastern naval command (ENC).

· India clinched gold at Under- 12 Asian Tennis Team Championship 2019 in Kazakhstan

India won gold at the Under 12 Asian Tennis Team championship. The event held in Kazakhstan. India defeated Chinese Taipei in the score 2-1 in the summit clash to win the title.
The final was a tie of three matches. Indian Team won both the singles matches.
The team comprised ofManas Dhamme, Arnav Paprakar and Tamil Nadu’s Pranav Rethin. Manas and Rethin won their singles matches.

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