TAMILNADU
- 17% of Indian cities and towns face water shortage; TN tops list
- About 17% notified cities and towns in India face water shortage, according to a list prepared by the central government. Among the states, Tamil Nadu has maximum number of such urban areas followed by Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. All the four municipal areas in Delhi including the posh NDMC zone have been included in the list of 756 “water stressed” urban areas out of total 4,378 which are governed by municipal bodies.
- All urban areas surrounding the national capital such as Ghaziabad, Noida and Faridabad have been facing similar shortage.
- The housing and urban affairs ministry has come out with the names of cities and towns on the lines of Jal Shakti ministry, which has identified 255 districts and 1,597 blocks as water stressed. The urban affairs ministry has also prepared a plan to undertake intensive campaign and undertake activities for water conservation, recycle and reuse of grey water.
- Unlike in rural areas where central government teams have started visiting the designated districts, in this case, the Centre has asked states and urban local bodies (ULBs) to carry out focused activities in two phases; July 1 to September 15 and October 1 to November 30.
- It has circulated a template for effective monitoring of the activities and performance on implementation of rainwater harvesting, rejuvenation of water bodies, reuse of treated waste water and plantation.
- The “Rainwater Harvesting Cell” will monitor the extent of groundwater extraction and groundwater aquifer recharge.
INTERNATIONAL
- Budj Bim Cultural Landscape received UNESCO’s World heritage list
- TheBudj Bim Cultural Landscape in south-west Victoriahas received UNESCO’s World heritage list. It is the first in Australia to be in the list. UNESCO’s desicion recognises Budj Bim’s significance to all of humanity. Budj Bim is the 20th site in Australia to make it on to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
- The landscape is marked for its Aboriginal culturalimportance after a decades-long campaign run by traditional owners, some of whom were present for the decision.
It is considered as one of the oldest aquaculture sites in the world. More than a decade of fervent lobbying, the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape has finally been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The landscape was cared for over 6,600 years and is important to the Gunditjmara People.
There are also remains of about 300 stone huts. These are the only remaining permanent houses built by an indigenous community in It challenges the common perception that all Aboriginal people were nomadic.
- Italy’s Prosecco hills added to UNESCO World Heritage list
- Italy’s Prosecco hills northeast of Venice cultivated for centuries added to the World Heritage list by the UN cultural Organization.
- The grapes produce the famous prosecco sparkling wine are grown.
- The landscape is characterized by hogback hills, ciglioni and small plots of vines on narrow grassy terraces, forests, small villages and farmland.
- The region became Italy’s 55th World Heritage site.
- The prosecco sparkling white has the highest classification available to Italian wine.
- It is produced in a territory spread over nine provinces in Italy’s northeast.
- The sales of the wine rose six per cent in 2018 to 460 million bottles
Around 75 percent were exported.
NATIONAL
- Rajya sabha passed the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019
- Rajya sabhapassed the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on 8 July. It allows the voluntary linking of the 12-digit identification number as part of know your customer (KYC) guidelines to open bank accounts or get a mobile connection. The bill will become a Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) law after President’s approval.
- The amendments in the law will enable the authorityresponsible for issuing Aadhaar numbers to hold back the misuse of 12 digit identification numbers by aadhar. An Aadhaar holder can now opt for offline verification through QR code with consent.
- An individual can not be compelled to provide proof of possession of Aadhaar number or undergo authentication for the purpose of establishing their identity unless it is so provided by alaw made by Parliament.
- The cost of e-KYC verifications for banks, financial technology companies and telecom service providers had increased substantially after the Supreme Court ruled in September that Aadhaar could only be used in direct benefit transfer for welfare schemes.
- RBI board finalised Utkarsh 2022 to improve regulation and supervision
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) board has finalized Utkarsh 2022, a medium term strategy, to improve regulation and supervision, among other functions of the central bank.
- To accomplish theglobal central banks’ plan, every country is formulating a long-term plan and a medium-term plan. RBI’s Utkarsh 2022 will be in line with the global central banks’ plan to strengthen the regulatory and supervisory
New internal committee:
- To implement Utkarsh 2022, RBI has formed an internal committee. It is to be headed by the outgoing Deputy GovernorViral Acharya. The committee will identify issues that needed to be addressed over the next three years. Among the identified areas of issues, the committee will select and address the vital areas for the implementation in the next three years.
- DRDO successfully tests armour-piercing Nag missiles at Pokhran range
- Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) carried out three successful test firings of the Nag missiles in the Pokhran firing ranges.
- The NAG missile is a third generation anti-tank guided missile, which has top attack capabilities that can effectively engage and destroy all known enemy tanks during day and night.
- The Defence Acquisition Council in 2018 had approved the procurement of DRDO-designed-and-developed NAG Missile System (NAMIS) at a cost of Rs 524 crore.
- Uttarakhand named among best performing states in ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ scheme
- Uttarakhand is one of the country’s five best-performing states under the National Programme Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme .
- The main aim is to address declining child sex ratio and issues of women empowerment.
- As per the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, the recognition for its consistent performance in respect of sex ratio at birth.
- Haryana bagged three awards which include one state-level and two district-level awards for consistent performance in respect of the Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB).
- The two districts of Haryana won the awards are Bhiwani and Mahendragarh.
- The state felicitated in recognition of its consistent performance in respect of sex ratio at birth.
- BBBP scheme launched on 22 January 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
It is a campaign of the Government of India