KERALA

• Electric autorickshaws are set to be launched in Kerala

 

• Electric autorickshawsare set to be launched in Kerala. A committee of six autorickshaw driver unions signed a pact with a Kinetic Green, a private firm, to roll out 200 Electric autorickshaws in Kochi. These vehicles are expected to be on the road in November. It will primarily operate as feeder services to Kochi metro and buses, providing last-mile connectivity to commuters.
• Manufactured by Kinetic Green, each auto can carry four passengers and can attain the speed of up to 35 kmph. It will be fitted with GPS. The autorickshaws will be powered by lithium-ion batteries as it provides more torque than conventional batteries.
• Kinetic Green will bear the cost of each auto, that is approximately 1.80 lakh, while the coordination committee of autorickshaw unions will bear their operational and maintenance expense. The per km expense on electricity will be around 30 paise.

 

 

 

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

• India ranks 147^thin Oxfam world inequality index

 

• India has been ranked among the bottom 10 countries in a new worldwide indexon the commitment of different nations to reduce inequalities in their populations.

 

• UK-based charity Oxfam International’s ‘Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index’ ranks India 147th among 157 countries.

 

• The index is topped by Denmark, based on its high and progressive taxation, high social spending and good protection of workers.

 

·        Researchers developed bio electronic medicine that helps nerve growth

 

• Researchers at the Washington University in the U.S. have developed the first bioelectronic medicine, an implantable, biodegradable wireless device. This device speeds nerve regeneration and improves the healing of a damaged nerve.
• The scientists developed a device that delivers regular pulses of electricity to damaged peripheral nerves in rats after a surgical repair process, accelerating the regrowth of nerves in their legs. About the size of a small coin, the wireless device operates for two weeks before getting absorbed into the body.

 

·        India ranks 147th in Oxfam World Inequality Index 2018

 

• Oxfam International’s report, the UK-based charity, released Commitment to Reducing Inequality(CRI) Index. In the Index, India ranked 147th among 157 countries and was labelled as “a very worrying situation” with respect to the rising inequality in the country.
• Out of 157 countries measured, Denmark topped first based on its high and progressive taxation, high social spending and good protection of workers.

 

 

NATIONAL

 

• Soon file zero firs from on board trains

 

• Soon, passengers on board trains can lodge complain through a mobile app and it will be registered as ‘Zero FIR’ and immediately investigated by the RPF.

 

• A pilot project under which complaints of harassment, theft, crime against women can be lodged through a mobile application is already ongoing in Madhya Pradesh which will be replicated across the country soon.

 

• ZERO-FIR means that a FIR can be filed in any police station (i.e.: irrespective of place of incident/ jurisdiction) and the same can be later transferred to the appropriate police station.

 

• Currently, if there is an incident that passenger wants to report, he has to fill up a complaint form provided by the ticket examiner which is submitted to the RPF or GRP at the next station. This form gets transferred into an FIR automatically.

 

• This leads to delay and passengers don’t get immediate relief. The app will not only have the presence of RPF, but also the Government Railway Police (GRP) as well as TTES and the train conductor. The app will also have a panic button for women in distress.

 

 

• First biofuel-blended Indian Air Force plane to take flight soon

 

• Russian made AN-32 of the Indian Air Force’s transport fleet will take to the skies from a base in the Western Sector using a mix of Aviation Turbine Fuel and Bio-fuel.

 

• This is the first ever IAF aircraft to use the fuel blend.

 

• To ensure that production of Bio-fuel doesn’t affect the land available of food-grains, Biofuel will be produced only from non-edible oils that grow well in arid lands. Gujarat, for instance, offered 10,000 acres arid land to produce non-edible oilseeds. Other states that are keen to produce non-edible oil seeds and put up plants to produce Bio- Fuel include Punjab, Haryana, Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Telangana.

 

 

 

·        Environment Ministry and World Bank released report on Strengthening Forest Fire Management in the Country

 

• Strengthening Forest Fire Management in India”,jointly prepared by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the World Bank.
• The report was released by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Hon. Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change.
• The report states that forest fires are the leading cause of forest degradation in India.
• About 95 percent of all forest plots inventoried show some signs of degradation.

 

 

·         CPCB to implement action plan to combat air pollution

 

• TheCentral Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is to implement an emergency action plan called the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). It aimed at combating air pollution that has begun to show a trend towards very poor category. Under the emergency action plan, stringent actions are implemented based on the air quality of the city.
• If the air quality in any area falls to an emergency category, measures like stopping entry of trucks into Delhi (except essential commodities), stopping construction activities and appointment of the task force to take a decision on any additional steps, including shutting of schools will be implemented.