KERALA

Cochin Port signs work order for state-of-the-art Cruise Terminal

A new Cruise Terminal having facilities to handle 5000 tourists will come up at Ernakulum Wharf of Cochin Port by February 2020.

Cochin Port Trust has issued work order to the contractor for commencing the construction of the new Cruise Terminal.

The estimated cost of construction of the terminal is Rs 25.72cr and of this Rs 21.41cr has been sanctioned as grant by Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.

INTERNATIONAL

Myanmar joins International Solar Alliance

Myanmar has joined the India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), becoming the 68th member of the grouping that is aiming at optimum utilisation of solar energy.

ISA was Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French President Francois Hollande at the Paris climate summit in 2015.

The ISA has set a target of 1 TW of solar energy by 2030

The ISA is the first international body that will have a secretariat in India. India, with a target to produce 100 GW of solar energy by 2022.

Distribution of 28 crore LED bulbs in three years has saved $2 billion and 4 GW of electricity. India will also provide 500 training slots for ISA member-countries and start a solar tech mission to lead R&D.

· NASA launches toolkit to promote commercial use of satellite data

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched the ‘Remote Sensing Toolkit’ to promote commercial use of satellite data.
This toolkit was launched with an aim to make it easier for users to find, analyse and utilise the relevant satellite data for their research, business projects or conservation efforts.
It provides a simple system that quickly identifies relevant sources based on user input.
It helps to find the satellite data easier and to spark innovation among the entrepreneurial community and lead to further commercialisation of NASA technology.

· Fourth BIMSTEC Summit to be held in Kathmandu

The announcement of the 4th Bay of Bengal Initiatives for Multi-Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to be held in Kathmandu made by Nepal’s
Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.
The main focus of the summit will be to increase connectivity between the BIMSTEC nations including roads, airways and transmission lines.
The BIMSTEC is a regional economic bloc comprising seven member states lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity.
BIMSTEC Secretariat: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Membership Countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.

NATIONAL

India to build 2,000 kms of international roads by 2022

The government is planning to build 1,911 kilometres of international connectivity roads over the five year period ending 2022 under its flagship Bharatmala scheme.

Moreover, it is also planning to 3,319 kms of border roads, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Mansukh Mandaviya told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

· Lok Sabha passed the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018

The Lok Sabha passed the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018. It will now replace the Ordinance by the same name promulgated by the President in April 2018.
The Bill empowers special courts to direct the Central government to confiscate all the assets belonging to a fugitive economic offender, including those assets that are proceeds of the crime and that do not belong to the offender. The legislation gains importance against the background of high-profile cases where individuals such as Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi escaped the country.

Ordinances are laws that are promulgated by the President of India on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet. They can only be issued when Parliament is not in session. They enable the Indian government to take immediate legislative action. Ordinances cease to operate either if Parliament does not approve of them within six weeks of reassembly.

· Govt to use MicroDots technology to check vehicle thefts

In this technique, thousands of small dots laser etched will be sprayed with a vehicle identification numberon all over the vehicle’s body including their engines.
This tech is termed as MicroDots and it is almost impossible to remove these dots. Hence, the car’s identity can be established at any stage.
The government’s highest automobile technical standard making body CMVR-TSC(Central Motor Vehicles Rules -Technical Standing Committee) will finalise the rules and its guidelines in the next one or two months.

· Rajya Sabha passed the ‘Prevention of Corruption Amendment Bill’

Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013 states that anyone who is caught bribing government officials can be sentenced to a jail term of up to seven years.
However, if the payment of the bribe is reported to the authorities within two weeks, you could avoid punishment under the new law.
This bill was first introduced by the former United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in But it has taken nearly five years for the bill to pass after examinations from the parliamentary standing committee, law commission and eventually a select committee.

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