02.10.18 Uttar Pradesh (UPPCS) Current Affairs

by

UTTAR PRADESH

• UP sets paddy procurement target at 50 lakh tons

 Ahead of the crucial 2019 Lok Sabha poll and in view of the ongoing farmers’ stir in west UP, the state government set an ambitious target of procuring 50 lakh tons of paddy from farmers. The move is likely to pump in as much as Rs 8,500 crore into the rural economy.

 During the last season, state government agencies procured 43 lakh tone from farmers against a target of 50 lakh tons.

 The UP Cabinet had earlier hiked the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy from Rs 180 to Rs 200 per quintal. The price was revised from Rs 1,550 to Rs 1,750 per quintal for common variety and Rs 1,590 to Rs 1,770 per quintal for Grade-A paddy.

 Besides, the government announced a bonus payment of Rs 20 per quintal over the MSP, up from Rs 15 per quintal given last year. This way, farmers will pocket an extra Rs 185 to Rs 205 per quintal as compared to the previous year.

 If the government is able to meet the procurement target of 50 lakh tons, the total payout to farmers is likely to be more than Rs 8,500 crore.

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

  • James Allison and Tasuku Honjo win Nobel Prize in Medicine

 

  • American James Allison and Japan’s Tasuku Honjo have won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine for a pioneering approach to cancer treatment.

 

  • The Nobel committee said the pair’s research — which harnesses the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells — amounted to a “landmark in our fight against cancer.”

 

  • The approach, known as immune checkpoint theory, had “revolutionized cancer treatment and has fundamentally changed the way we view how cancer can be managed,”

 

 

 

  • ADB and India sign $150 Million Loan to Improve Regional Connectivity

 

  • The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $150 Million Loan to finance continued improvements to road connectivity and efficiency of the International Trade Corridor in West Bengal and North-Eastern Region of India.

 

  • Approved in 20’14, the Program aims to expand about 500 kilometers of roads in India’s North Bengal and North-Eastern Region that will enable efficient and safe transport within India and regionally with other SASEC member countries.

 

·        India, Uzbekistan join hands for developing ICT Sector

 

  • Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad and his counterpart Shuhrat Sadikov was held for strengthening the ICT sector.
  • Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad assured his counterpart that India will provide all possible technical support from the Indian side in the digital growth of Uzbekistan.
  • The two MoU are
  • Agreement between National Informatics Centre (NIC),India and e-Government System development centre of the Ministry for Development of Information Technologies and Communications of Uzbekistan for strengthening e-Governance cooperation.

 

 

 

NATIONAL

 

·        Assam, 1st State To Launch Wage Compensation Scheme For Pregnant Women In Tea Gardens

 

  • The scheme will be launched by Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal in Guwahati.
  • The announcement was made by the state’s Health and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
  • Under the scheme, an amount of Rs 12,000 will be given to the pregnant women so that they can take care of themselves and the unborn baby.

 

·        Government Cuts Gross Borrowing Estimate For Current Fiscal By Rs 70,000 Crore

 

  • The Union Government announced a reduction in gross borrowing estimate for the current fiscal by 70,000 crore rupeesand maintained that the government will contain fiscal deficit target at 3.3%.
  • Mr Garg gave the details about the borrowing programmes for the second half of the fiscal and announced that the government would be borrowing around 2 lakh 50,000 crore rupees as compared to 2 lakh 88,000 crores during April-September of 2018-19.

 

 

·        Govt announces states’ financial inclusion index, easy online MSME loans

 

  • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley launched a common online platform for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) credit which will enable businesses to get loans up to Rs 10 millionapproved through a completely automated process within just 59 minutes.
  • Arun Jaitley launched the Financial Inclusion Index (FII) in New Delhi. The index will be released by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) under the Ministry of Finance by the end of this year and it would rate states on their performance on last-mile banking services availability.
  • The index will include the following three measurement dimensions:

    (i) Access to financial services

    (ii) Usage of financial services

    (iii) Quality.