India’s second longest cable-stayed eight-lane Zuari Bridge opens in Goa
Union Minister of Roads Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated the country's second longest cable-stayed eight-lane Zuari Bridge in Goa.
Zuari Bridge:
Union Minister of Roads Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated the country’s second longest cable-stayed eight-lane Zuari Bridge in Goa. Right-hand side (4-lane corridor) across the Zuari River and approaches from Bambolim to Verna were thrown open for vehicular traffic. Gadkari also launched the PWD Goa App for integrated operations management. Through the insurance scheme of the Government of Goa, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has given Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the workers who died during the construction of the bridge.
About the Zuari Bridge:
The Zuari Bridge is a bridge between North Goa and South Goa, India. It carries the NH 66 over the tidal part of the Zuari River, between the villages of Agaçaim and Cortalim. It is a few metres downstream of the Konkan Railway Bridge. The 640-metre-long bridge and the 13.20 km roads on both sides have been built in 3 phases. The Zuari Bridge work began in June 2016.
ISRO, Andhra University to Set up Equipment Along Beaches to Predict Rip Currents
ISRO, NCES, and Andhra University have conducted research and set up equipment to identify Rip currents to warn marines and local police.
Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO), National Centre for Earth Sciences (NCES), and the Andhra University (AU) have researched and concluded that constant rip current zones at blue flag-certified Rushikonda beach and RK Beach have become a danger to the beach visitors.
Between 2012 to 2022, over 200 people drowned in the sea at various beaches in and around Visakhapatnam and 60 percent of deaths occurred in RK Beach.
ISRO, Andhra University to Set up Equipment Along Beaches to Predict Rip Currents – Key Points
ISRO, NCES, and Andhra University have conducted research and set up equipment to identify Rip currents to warn marines and local police.
Major forecast experiments for rip currents are being planned in the city.
The beaches that have turned into death traps are Bheemili Beach and Rushikonda Beach.
Rip currents are common at all beaches across the globe. People can enter the waters in rip current zones up to knee-deep levels.
More than 200 people drowned at various beaches in and around Vizag between 2012-2022.
Along with Bheemili Beach and Rushikonda Beach, Yarada beach has also been included in having rip current zones.
In the past six years, 60 people drowned in RK Beach alone.
What are Rip currents?
Rip currents are strong, narrow channels of fast-moving water which move from the shore toward the sea. The rip currents are so powerful that they pull people away from the shorelines towards the sea. Most people who are pulled away by the rip currents die when they cannot keep themselves afloat and swim to the shore. Rip currents are found on almost all the beaches of the world.
India and Pakistan Exchange Lists of Nuclear Assets and Prison Inmates
India and Pakistan exchanged lists of nuclear installations that cannot be attacked in the event of hostilities, maintaining a tradition dating back to 1992.
India and Pakistan exchanged lists of nuclear installations that cannot be attacked in the event of hostilities, maintaining a tradition dating back to 1992 despite bilateral ties being at an all-time low. The two sides further exchanged lists of prisoners held in each other’s jails, and the Indian side sought the early release and repatriation of civilian prisoners, missing defence personnel and fishermen, along with their boats, from Pakistan’s custody.
More About This Development:
This was the 32nd consecutive exchange of such lists between the two countries, the first one having taken place on January 1, 1992. Under the provisions of the 2008 Agreement on Consular Access, the two sides also exchange lists of prisoners in each other’s custody twice a year, on January 1 and July 1, through diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Islamabad.
What Has Been Done:
The external affairs ministry said India currently has 339 Pakistani civilian prisoners and 95 fishermen in its custody. Pakistan shared a list of 51 civilian prisoners and 654 fishermen in its custody. In this context, Pakistan was asked to expedite the release and repatriation of 631 Indian fishermen and 02 Indian civilian prisoners, who have completed their sentence and whose nationality has been confirmed and conveyed to Pakistan. In addition, Pakistan was asked to provide immediate consular access to 30 fishermen and 22 civilian prisoners in its custody who are believed to be Indians.
How This Has Been Done:
The lists of nuclear installations and facilities were simultaneously exchanged through diplomatic channels in New Delhi and Islamabad according to provisions of the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear Installations and Facilities. Both sides do not disclose details of such facilities.
US Vice-President Kamala Harris Names Indian-American Rajeev Badyal to the National Space Council Advisory Group
Vice President Kamala Harris has named Indian American Rajeev Badyal to a key national space advisory group.
Vice President Kamala Harris has named Indian American Rajeev Badyal to a key national space advisory group, which is tasked to maintain a robust and responsible US space enterprise and preserve space for current and future generations. Badyal, vice-president of Project Kuiper of Amazon, is among the 30 space experts named by Harris to the National Space Council’s Users Advisory Group (UAG). Previously he was the vice president of satellites at SpaceX. He has a Masters in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Oregon State University. Harris had named US Air Force Rtd General Lester Lyles as chair of the UAG.
More About This Development:
The UAG will provide the National Space Council advice and recommendations on matters related to space policy and strategy, including but not limited to, government policies, laws, regulations, treaties, international instruments, programmes, and practices across the civil, commercial, international, and national security space sectors.
The 30 members named to UAG represent a cross-section of companies and organisations that support the United States’ large and highly skilled space workforce; users of space services, including climate scientists and agriculture providers; individuals focused on developing the next generation of space professionals; and leading experts in space.
About Project Kuiper:
Project Kuiper is a long-term initiative to launch a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites that will provide low-latency, high-speed broadband connectivity to unserved and undeserved communities around the world.
About Kamala Harris:
She is the first woman to be elected as the Vice-President of the United States. She was elected as the Vice President in 2020 and Joe Biden was elected as the President of the United States of America. Her mother Shyamala Gopalan was a Tamilian who immigrated to the United States and married a Jamaican Donald Harris.
President Murmu Laid Foundation Stone for PRASHAD Project for Two Temples in Telangana
Smt. Droupadi Murmu has laid the foundation stone of the project 'Development of Pilgrimage Facilities at Bhadrachalam Group of Temples' at Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamivari Devasthanam.
Smt. Droupadi Murmu has laid the foundation stone of the project ‘Development of Pilgrimage Facilities at Bhadrachalam Group of Temples’ at Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamivari Devasthanam, Bhadrachalam in Telangana.
The President of India laid the foundation stone for another project called ‘Development of Pilgrimage and Heritage Infrastructure of UNESCO World Heritage Site at Rudreshwara Temple in Telangana. These projects have been approved under the PRASAD Scheme of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
President Murmu Laid Foundation Stone for PRASHAD Project for Two Temples in Telangana- Key Points
President Droupadi Murmu informed that the famous temples of Telangana are visited by lakhs of pilgrims, and they form the major components of domestic and foreign tourists.
Tourism increases the livelihood opportunities and income of the people.
The President appreciated the Ministry of Tourism for boosting spiritual and cultural tourism by developing pilgrimage sites under the ‘PRASHAD’ scheme.
The PRASHAD scheme was launched in 2014-15 and aims to provide Integrated infrastructure development to pilgrimage and heritage tourism destinations in India.
Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamivari Devasthanam is said to be more than 350 years old and is closely associated with Ramayana.
The project ‘Development of Pilgrimage Facilities at Bhadrachalam Group of Temples’ has been approved by the Ministry of Tourism at an estimated cost of Rs 41.38 crores.
Indigenous Payment Application BHIM Celebrates Sixth Anniversary
Indigenously developed payment application BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) celebrated its sixth anniversary. BHIM App was launched on 30th December 2016.
BHIM Celebrates its Sixth Anniversary
Indigenously developed payment application BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) celebrated its sixth anniversary. BHIM App was launched on 30th December 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BHIM stands for Bharat Interface for Money. It is a biometric payment systems app using the Aadhar platform and is based on a Unified Payment Interface (UPI) to facilitate e-payment directly through the bank.
It can be used on all mobile devices whether it’s a smartphone or feature phone or a phone without an internet connection. The payments through the BHIM App can be made with just a thumb impression after the bank account is linked with the Aadhar gateway.
About BHIM
BHIM or Bharat Interface for Money is an Indian mobile payment app developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The BHIM App was launched on 30th December 2016. It is intended to facilitate e-payment directly through banks and encourage cashless transactions. It was named after the great Dalit leader Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.
The application supports all Indian banks which use UPI, which is built over the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) infrastructure and allows the user to instantly transfer money between 170-member Banks of any two parties.
Tamil Nadu Information Commission Lowest Performing in RTI Responsiveness
The State Information Commission of Tamil Nadu has the lowest performance of responsiveness under the RTI Act concerned, with only up to 14% of the information sought.
The State Information Commission of Tamil Nadu has the lowest performance of responsiveness under the RTI Act concerned, with only up to 14% of the information sought. Maharashtra was second lowest with sharing only 23% of the information asked for.
The report was issued on the Performance of Information Commission (ICs) in India for 2021-22 by Satark Nagrik Sangathan.
Tamil Nadu Information Commission Lowest Performing in RTI Responsiveness – Key Points
Only 10 ICs provided the full information in response to the RTI applications filed as part of this assessment.
These included Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, and the northeastern states of Tripura, Nagaland, and Sikkim.
A total of 145 RTI applications were filed seeking identical information from all the 29 ICs as a part of the assessment by the organization.
The RTI applications were tracked to assess how each IC performed as a public authority in terms of maintenance and disclosing information.
Tamil Nadu was the worst performing IC as it denied most of the information sought.
They denied the information sought including several appeals and complaints dealt with the IC, details of the penalty imposed, and compensation awarded stating that the information could be provided only ‘after getting the approval of State Legislature Assembly’, though no such provision exists in the RTI Act.
The SIC of Chhattisgarh denied the information on several points stating that under the prevailing state rule, in one application information on only one topic could be sought.
The SIC of Bihar failed to provide any information under the RTI Act for the assessment published in 2020 and 2021, however, improved its performance and furnished 67% of the information sought.
The report also said that a large number of ICs across the country were returning cases without passing orders.
Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh returned around 40% of the appeals or complaints received by them.
Comentários