WEST BENGAL
- West Bengal: All air monitor stations to turn automatic soon
- The state is all set to phase out manual or Ambient Air Quality Monitoring (AAQM) stations and install automatic or Continuous Ambient Air Quality (CAAQM) stations in place of them. At present, there are 79 AAQM and 14 CAAQM stations in Bengal.
- Though it is a capital-intensive programme — each CAAQM station costs Rs 90 lakh — the state is determined to carry out the replacements.
- The phasing out will begin with Kolkata, which has 17 AAQM stations. The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) recently set up four CAAQM stations in addition to the existing two.
INTERNATIONAL
- Facebook plans to launch its cryptocurrency, GlobalCoin, by the first quarter of 2020
- Facebook plans to launch its cryptocurrency by the first quarter ofThe company is expected to reveal more details about the currency before testing begins later in 2019. The currency, which is being referred to internally as “GlobalCoin,” will reportedly be available in around a dozen countries at launch, where it’s expected to offer people affordable and secure payments without the need for a bank account.
- A cryptocurrency is adigital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security. A cryptocurrency is difficult to counterfeit because of this security feature. It is not issued by any central authority, rendering it theoretically immune to government interference or manipulation.
NATIONAL
- India’s FDI equity inflows declined for the first time in 6 years
- India’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflows declined for the first time in six years in 2018-19.Data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and internal trade showed FDI equity inflows into India declined 1% to $44.4 billion in the year to 31 March. The decline signals a squeeze in long-term foreign investment into the country.
- The two sectors where FDI inflows dropped the most are telecommunications (fell 57% to $2.7 billion) and pharmaceuticals (dropped 74% to $266 million). Singapore dislodged Mauritius as a top source of FDI, accounting for $16.22 billion inflows.
- PM Modi approves a hike in rates of scholarship under National Defence Fund
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated his first decision after taking over to those who protect the country.
- Mr Modi has approved major changes in the Prime Minister’s scholarship scheme under the National Defence Fund.
- He has enhanced rates of scholarship from 2000 rupees per month to 2500 rupees per month for boys and from 2250 rupees per month to 3000 rupees per month for girls.
- The ambit of the Scholarship Scheme is also extended to the wards of State Police officials who are/were martyred during terror/Naxal attacks.
- PM-KISAN Scheme extension to include all eligible farmer families irrespective of the size of land holdings
- The Union Cabinet approved the extension of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana to all eligible farmer families, irrespective of the size of their landholding.
- The scheme for farmers was launched by Modi on February 24.
- Under the original scheme, households with agricultural landholdings smaller than two hectares were eligible to receive Rs 6,000 annually as direct benefit transfers from the Centre.
- The extension of the scheme will increase its coverage to 14.5 crore farmers, an addition of 2.5 crores, the government claimed.
- The Cabinet also cleared pension schemes for farmers and traders.
- The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Pension Yojana will provide a minimum fixed pension of Rs 3,000 per month to farmers above the age of 60.
- Cabinet approves Rs 3,000 pension scheme for small shopkeepers, retail traders
- The newly-inducted Union Cabinet approved a new scheme which assures minimum monthly pension of ₹3,000 per month to small shopkeepers, retail traders and the self-employed people after attaining the age of 60 years.
This is being done as part of the Modi government’s efforts to offer universal social security. - The scheme will benefit three crore retail traders and shopkeepers.
Five crore traders are expected to join the scheme in the next three years.
- Nirmala Sitharaman to present her first Union Budget on July 5
- New Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her first Union Budget for 2019-20 on July 5.
- The Economic Survey will be presented by new Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian on July 4.
- The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha is set to begin on June 17 and will continue till July 26.
- The house will elect a speaker on June 19.
- Ms Sitharaman, 59, is the senior most woman minister in PM Modi’s cabinet and the second woman to head the finance department after late former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
- Kasturirangan committee submits new draft education policy to HRD Ministry
- Former ISRO chief Dr Kasturirangan led Committee submitted the draft National Educational Policy (NEP) to HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in New Delhi.
- The policy draft recommends incorporation of Indian knowledge systems in the curriculum, constituting a National Education Commission and curbing arbitrary fees hikes by private schools.
- The expert panel also proposed massive transformation in Teacher Education by moving all teacher preparation and education programmes into large multidisciplinary universities or colleges.
- It added that the topics will include Indian contribution to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, psychology, yoga, architecture, medicine, as well as governance, polity, society, and conservation course on Indian knowledge systems.
- The existing NEP was framed in 1986 and revised in 1992.
- AYUSH Ministry launches ‘Yoga locator’ app
- Ahead of International Yoga Day on June 21, the AYUSH Ministry has launched a mobile application to enable people to locate yoga events, centres providing training and instructors.
- Yoga locator- a map-based location app, will also enable yoga instructors to register themselves and reach out to a large number of people.
- It will be a permanent app, which will give information about yoga activities happening in their vicinity throughout the year.
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