TAMILNADU

Drones to help check illegal mining in Tamil Nadu

The Tamil Nadu government has decided to use drones to determine the exact quantum of minerals quarried from licenced sites to prevent illegal mining.

The government decided to use drone technology in the department of geology and mining to determine the exact quantum of minerals quarried from the leasehold sites through satellites and to monitor and prevent the illegal mining activities by availing of drone technology services from the department of aerospace engineering, Madras Institute of Technology (MIT), Anna University.

Moreover, UAV fixes and demarcates the boundaries of leased areas, identifies violations in terms of area, depth and volume and helps assess the actual quantum of stone or mineral quarried besides paving the way to monitor illegal mining for regulation.

The government accepted the request of the director (geology & mining) to release 50 lakh as recurring initial expenses for launching the project and to authorise him to sign a memorandum of understanding with Anna University for drone services from MIT to launch the project.

INTERNATIONAL

Putin and Xi launched first ever Russia-China gas pipeline

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the Siberia pipeline project. The pipeline will transport natural gas from Siberia to northeast China. The move aims to boost the economic and political ties between Russia and China.

The pipeline project shows Russia’s attempts in helping China from the financial sanctions imposed by the US over China’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea.

It is a 3,000-km-long Power of Siberia pipeline.

It will transport gas from the Chayandinskoye and Kovytka fields in eastern Siberia

Russia is planning to launch two other major energy projects. One project, the Nord Stream 2 undersea Baltic gas pipeline to Germany and the other, TurkStream pipeline to Turkey and southern Europe.

Exercise ‘Hand-in-Hand-2019’

The 8th India-China joint training exercise ‘HAND-IN-HAND 2019’ with the theme counter-terrorism under United Nations mandate is scheduled to be conducted at Umroi, Meghalaya from 07 to 20 December 2019.

The Chinese contingent from the Tibet Military command comprising of 130 personal and the Indian Contingent of similar strength will participate in the 14-day long training exercise.

The aim of the exercise is to practice joint planning and conduct of counter-terrorist operations in semi-urban terrain.

NATIONAL

Govt launches 4th round of Regional Connectivity Scheme-UDAN

Government has launched the 4th round of Regional Connectivity Scheme – UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) to further enhance the connectivity to remote and regional areas of the country.

The focus in this round will be North East Region, Hilly States, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Islands.

The scheme was launched in October 2016, which seeks to provide connectivity to un-served and under-served regions through the revival of existing airstrips and airports.

In the last three years the government has successfully completed three rounds of bidding under the Scheme and awarded about 700 routes.

Lok Sabha passed the 2019 Recycling of Ships Bill

Lok Sabha passed the Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019 . The Bill was introduced by the Minister of State for Shipping, Mansukh Mandaviya in the lower house. It seeks the restriction of the use of hazardous material on ships and regulates the recycling of ships by establishing a National Authority.

The Bill seeks to regulate the recycling of ships as per international standards.

The Bill will help the ship recycling industry and generate more jobs in the country

The Bill prohibits the use of hazardous materials of recycled ships. Use hazardous materials in a ship will be punishable with imprisonment of up to three months or a fine of up to Rs.5 lakh or both.

The National Authority will be the nodal agency to administer, supervise and monitor the recycling operations.

Cabinet passed the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Bill

The Union Cabinet headed by PM Modi cleared the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955. The Bill will now be introduced in the 2019 winter session of the Parliament.

The Bill will grant citizenship to non-Muslims from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who came to India before 31 December 2014.

The Bill will provide citizenship to six communities namely Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, and Parsis.

It will help the minority communities who face religious persecution.

Cabinet approves 2019 Personal Data Protection Bill

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019. It was announced by the Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. It will now be introduced in the 2019 winter session of the Parliament.

The Bill will lay down a framework including the processing of personal and private data by public and private entities.

It will provide broad guidelines on the collection, storage, and processing of personal data.

The Bill will provide protection to regulate the use of individual data by the government and private companies.

Government launched the Operation Clean Art

Government launched the Operation Clean Art across India. The operation aimed to crackdown illegal trade in the mongoose hair. This is the first time such an operation is happening in India. It was initiated by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB).

The mongoose is a small carnivoran found in southern Eurasia and mainland Africa. It is listed in Schedule II (Part II) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. As per the act, smuggling Mongoose or possession of its body part is a non-bailable offence. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has placed Mongoose on the Least Concern category in the Red List.

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