HIMACHAL PRADESH

Deadlock over Kishau project on

The deadlock over 660-MW Kishau multi-purpose power project proposed to be built on the Tons river continues as the state government has sought redraft of the agreement before signing an MoU with five other partner states of the project.

The Centre should fund 90 per cent cost of the power component of the project and the remaining 10 per cent should be equally divided between Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand which will share power generated from the project.

The state and the Uttarakhand Government reasoned that when the Centre was ready to fund 90 per cent cost of the irrigation component of the Kishau dam, then it should also fund 90 per cent cost of the power component as well, considering that both the states are special category Himalayan states and the project is of national importance.

The cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 7,200 crore. The Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand Governments have created a special purpose vehicle to execute the project and set up its corporate office at Dakpathar in Uttarakhand in 2017.

INTERNATIONAL

· India Ranks 80th On Global Talent Competitiveness Ranking: Survey

India moved up one position to rank 80thon the global talent competitive index, but remains a laggard among the BRICS nations.
Switzerland continues to top the list, released on the first day of the World Economic Forum (WEF)Annual Meeting at Davos by INSEAD business school in partnership with Tata Communications and Adecco Group.
The top 3 countries in the list are:
Switzerland,
2. Singapore,
3. The United States.

· India ranks at 54th position among most innovative countries: Bloomberg 2019 Innovative Index

India ranked at the 54th Positionwith a score of 47.93 out of 100 among the world’s most innovative countries according to the Bloomberg 2019 Innovative Index.
South Korea retained its top spot with a score of 87.38, Germany ranked second with a score of 87.30 whereas Finland has been ranked at the third spot with a score of 85.70.
The Annual Bloomberg Innovation Indexranks countries by analyzing their performances using seven metrics including Research and Development spending, Manufacturing Categories and Concentration of high-tech public computers.

· Worlds longest 3D printed concrete bridge opened in china

World’s longest 3D printed concrete bridge was opened in China.
It is located on the Wenzaobang River in Shanghai.
The Bridge is designed by Professor Xy Weiguo from Tsinghua University in China.
The bridge is of 26.3 metre-long and 3.6-metre-wide and is made out of 44 hollowed-out 3D printed concrete blocks.

NATIONAL

· ISRO launched Microsat R

Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO)first mission of 2019, Microsat-R, is launched into space on 24th January 2019. The 130-kg Microsat-R is a military imaging satellite.
Microsat-R and its payload come assembled from a handful of laboratories of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)and is meant for military use. The satellite was assembled outside and ISRO only interfaced it with its own systems and the launch vehicle, just as it treats any customer satellite.

India has become the first country to use the fourth stage of a space rocket as an orbital platform for micro-gravity experiments.

PSLV-C44is launched from the older First Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. For its part, ISRO is experimenting on two aspects of the vehicle. One is to reuse a waste stage.

9thNational Voters’ Day

The country is celebrating the 9th National Voters’ Day (NVD) on 25th January 2019.

‘No Voter to be Left Behind’ has been selected as the theme for the National Voters’ Day.

The National Voters’ Day (NVD) is celebrated all over the country on January 25 every year since 2011 to mark the Foundation day of Election Commission of India, which was established on 25th January 1950.

· Fifteenth Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas Convention held in Varanasi Uttar Pradesh

The celebration of 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was commenced in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Prime Minister of Mauritius, Mr. Pravind Jugnauth was the chief Guest of Convention.
The theme of this year’s Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD) convention was “Role of Indian Diaspora in building New India”.
PM inaugurates Centers of Excellence at Deen Dayal Hastkala Sankul in Varanasi and released two books which are “Kashi: The Universe of Crafts and Textiles” and “Indian Textiles: History, splendor, Grandeur”.
President of India presented the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards to 30 Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and organizations run by NRIs or PIOs.

· Telangana to set up Save Tiger Protection Force

The Telangana government decided to form a ‘State Tiger Protection Force’ to save the Big cat population in the State.
The State and Central government will share the cost of the force with 112 members headed by the assistant conservator of the forest on 40:60 basis.
They are organized to protect the tiger population in the areas of Amarabad and Kawal tiger reserves.

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