[CA/TN] TNRTP (Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project)

In an effort to strengthen rural enterprises, the State government has come up with a Rs. 300-crore Covid-19 assistance package, which is likely to benefit as many as 1.4 lakh people, under the Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project (TNRTP). The package, backed by the World Bank, and launched by Chief Minister, Mr. Edapadi K Palaniswami, will not only bridge the supply-chain gap in rural enterprises during the lockdown but also help the farmer-producer group, besides supporting women self-help groups.

Chief executive officer of TNRTP, told that reverse migration is happening in the State as people are returning to villages after leaving jobs in cities and other States. The fund will provide hope to those returnees who want to start their own enterprise in the State. While the State does not have any proper figures on how many people are returning to villages, it is learnt that many villages spread across 120 blocks in Tamil Nadu are witnessing the return of at least 10 to 15 people each. Interestingly, the project aims at rural transformation through strategies that focus beyond poverty alleviation by building sustainability and prosperity of rural communities.

Interestingly, the World Bank-assisted project aims at rural transformation through strategies that focus beyond poverty alleviation by building sustainability and prosperity of rural communities through enterprise promotion, access to finance and employment opportunities. The TNRTP was first implemented during the then Chief Minister, Ms. J. Jayalalithaa with a total fund layout of Rs. 918.20 Crore.

[CA/News] May 20, 2020 Headlines

MAY 20, 2020
government approved shekatkar committee recommendations Government has accepted and implemented 3 important recommendations of the Committee of Experts (CoE) under the Chairmanship of Lieutenant General D B Shekatkar (Retd) relating to border Infrastructure so as to speed up road construction, which leads to socio-economic development in the border areas. The Shekatkar Committee was set up by former defence minister Manohar Parrikar in 2016 to improve combat capability & rebalance defence expenditure of the Armed forces for better teeth-to-tail ratio. The Committee submitted its report in December 2016. indian territories comes under nepal political map Amidst the border dispute with India, Nepal’s cabinet has accepted a new political map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura under its territory. India and Nepal are at a dispute after the Indian side released its new political map on Nov 02, 2019  which covers above three areas in Indian territory. Both India and Nepal consider Kalapani as their integral part. India calls it part of Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand while Nepal is part of Dharchula district. [Click for More Details...] ban on use of saliva in cricket balls   The International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket Committee, chaired by former Indian cricketer & commentator, Anil Kumble has recommended a ban on the use of saliva to make the ball shine due to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. However, the committee considered ball-shining as safe from the use of sweat. The committee also recommended that two non-neutral umpires (both from the host nation) should be appointed for a short period of time. CYCLONE AMPHAN West Bengal mounted one of its biggest evacuation exercises by moving more than three lakh people to safer places as the extremely severe cyclonic storm 'Amphan' roared towards the coastal areas of the state. Cyclone Amphan is the second super cyclone over the Bay of Bengal in two decades. harsh vardhan Union Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, is set to take charge as the chairman of the WHO Executive Board on May 22. Vardhan would succeed Dr Hiroki Nakatani of Japan, currently the Chairman of the 34-member WHO Executive Board.	star rating of garbage free cities   Ministry Of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA) announced the results of the Star Rating of Garbage Free Cities, for the assessment year 2019-2020, where 6 Cities (Ambikapur, Rajkot, Surat, Mysuru, Indore and Navi Mumbai) were rated 5 Star, 65 Cities rated 3 Star and 70 Cities rated 1 Star out of 141 cities & also launched the revised protocol for the Star Rating of Garbage Free Cities. No cities from Kerala and Tamil Nadu figured in the above ratings. india provides 2 milion usd to unrwa India provided 2 million USD (Rs 15 crore) to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to support the Palestinian refugees for its programmes and services like education and healthcare in the COVID-19 situation. R – BOT South Central Railway (SCR) zone developed a robotic device, “RAIL-BOT” (R-BOT) to assist in hospital management functions towards patient care in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. The robot provide medicines, medical accessories & to serve food to the patients, without any need for physical contact. This will enable doctors, nurses and other support medical staff to stay away from the risk of contracting infections. samagra shiksha programme   In Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the Union territory (UT) administration has initiated a slew of measures under “Samagra Shiksha programme” to facilitate students with complete access to education through technological interventions and other viable means in wake of COVID-19 lockdown. travel bubble The Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have started what is being referred to as a ‘travel bubble’ to help put their economies back on track post – COVID lockdowns. Creating a travel bubble involves reconnecting countries or states that have shown a good level of success in containing the novel coronavirus pandemic domestically. cerberus The CBI has issued an alert to Tamil Nadu relating to a banking Trojan known as Cerberus. Trojans are a type of malicious code or software that looks legitimate but can take control of computer. This malicious software takes advantage of COVID-19 pandemic to impersonate and send SMS using the lure of COVID-related content to download the embedded malicious link
Prepared by K. M. Senthil Kumar

[CA] India - Nepal border turmoil

Amidst the border dispute with India, Nepal’s cabinet has accepted a new political map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura under its territory. India and Nepal are at a dispute after the Indian side released its new political map on Nov 02, 2019 which covers above three areas in Indian territory.

Both India and Nepal consider Kalapani as their integral part. India calls it part of Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand while Nepal is part of Dharchula district.

The Sugauli Treaty of 1816 was signed between Nepal and the British East India Company in 1816 after the Anglo-Nepal War. It depicts the Kali (Mahakali) river as the western border of India and Nepal. On the basis of this, Nepal claims to be under the jurisdiction of Lipulekh and other three regions. However, the situation regarding the border between the two countries is unclear. Both countries have their own maps showing the disputed area under their jurisdiction. It is to be noted that India and Nepal share 1,800 kilometers (1,118-mile) of open border.

[CA/News] Daily News May 18, 2020

MAY 18, 2020
president to cut his 30% of his salary President, Mr. Ram Nath Kovind recently announced that he is to donate 30% of his salary to aid the Government of India in the fight against COVID-19. The Rashtrapti Bhavan will also follow set of restrictions under the instruction of the President to save money and aid the fight. This is being done to set an example to economize expenditure and save money to fight against COVID-19. Apart from the salary cut, domestic tours and programmes of the president will also be cut. This will help in social distancing restrictions and also will help to minimize expenditure. Also, the president will minimize his at home ceremonies by decreasing his guest lists, reducing food menu and also by using lesser flowers and decorative items. [Click for More details...] fifth & final tranche of atma nirbhar bharat abhiyan   Union Finance Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitaraman announced the fifth and final tranche of Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. The scheme is to implement several measures to fight COVID-19 at an allocated budget of Rs 20 lakh crore economic packages. This included MNREGA, health and education, decriminalization of Companies Act, businesses and COVID-19, Public Sector Enterprises, Ease of Doing Business, State Governments and related resources. locckdown extended   Union Home Ministry issued the guidelines for extending the lockdown from May 18, 2020 to May 31, 2020. This is the fourth time the Union Government is extending the lockdown. Schools, colleges, hotels, cinema halls, malls, swimming pools, gyms, social, political, religious functions, and places of worship however, will be closed till May 31. Public transport including domestic flights and metro rail will not be allowed during the following two-week period. Centre also gave the powers to the administrations of states and Union territories to delineate for themselves the areas that will come under red, orange and green zones. cyclone amphan Indian Meteorological Department said that, Cyclone Amphan, a "very severe storm", will turn into "extremely severe". The weather phenomenon will cause heavy rainfall and high-velocity wind in several coastal districts of Odisha, West Bengals, and Andaman and Nicobar. Cyclone AMPHAN is likely to make landfall off West Bengal coast on May 20. The cyclone name AMPHAN was coined by Thailand.	rajiv gandhi kisan nyay yojana   Chhattisgarh State Government is to launch the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana. The scheme is to be launched on May 21, 2020. The scheme is being launched to commemorate the death anniversary of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The scheme will infuse Rs 5,100 crores into the rural economy of the state. This is to be done through Direct Benefit Transfer. The provisions for the scheme was made during the State Budget 2020-21. Under the scheme, the farmers are to be paid Rs 10,000 per acre for the crops such as sugarcane, corn and paddy. horse serving cavalry   The Indian Army is to convert the 61st cavalry, the only horse serving cavalry in the world into a regular armoured regiment with tanks. The main aim of the plan is to convert the 61st cavalry into a combat force. This is largely a ceremonial unit that is based in Jaipur. nmis National Disaster Management Authority launched the National Migrant Information System (NMIS). It is a central online repository for the migrant workers. The online portal will help in inter-state communication to facilitate smooth movement of migrant workers. The portal also has added advantages such as contact tracing that will help in COVID-19 response work. May 18: World AIDS Vaccine Day May 18: International Museum Day; theme: "Museums for Equality: Diversity & Inclusion" tamil nadu: govt extended lockdown Tamil Nadu government has extended the existing lockdown until May 31 this year with additional relaxations. The lockdown in the 12 districts including Chennai, Chennagalpattu and Kancheepuram, where the COVID-19 cases are high, will continue without any further relaxation. The government said due to the effective measures of the state government to contain the COVID-19,  the discharge ratio is higher when compared to other states in the country, and the death rate is very low. The relaxation will be applicable to 25 districts of the state except for Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur, Viluppuram, Cuddalore, Ranipet, Thirupattur, Kallakuruchi, Thiruvannamalai, Ariyalur and Perambalur districts.
Prepared by K. M. Senthil Kumar

[GK] Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Members	Observers	Dialogue Partners
(01) India (02) Kazakhstan (03) China (04) Kyrgyzstan (05) Pakistan (06) Russia (07) Tajikistan (08) Uzbekistan	(01) Afghanistan (02) Belarus (03) Iran (04) Mongolia	(01) Azerbaijan (02) Armenia (03) Cambodia (04) Nepal (05) Turkey (06) Sri Lanka

About the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO):

•        It is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.

•        It’s creation was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

•        It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism.

•        The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Charter was signed during the St.Petersburg SCO Heads of State meeting in June 2002, and entered into force on 19 September 2003.

•        The SCO’s official languages are Russian and Chinese.

[CA] Indian President to cut his 30% salary

President, Mr. Ram Nath Kovind recently announced that he is to donate 30% of his salary to aid the Government of India in the fight against COVID-19. The Rashtrapti Bhavan will also follow set of restrictions under the instruction of the President to save money and aid the fight. This is being done to set an example to economize expenditure and save money to fight against COVID-19. Apart from the salary cut, domestic tours and programmes of the president will also be cut. This will help in social distancing restrictions and also will help to minimize expenditure. Also, the president will minimize his at home ceremonies by decreasing his guest lists, reducing food menu and also by using lesser flowers and decorative items. 

The Union Budget 2018 increased the salaries of president and vice president of the country. Currently, the salary of president of India is 5 lakhs per month (Earlier, it was Rs. 1.5 lakh per month). Also, the salary of the Vice - President was also increased from Rs. 1.10 lakh to Rs. 4 lakhs.

Article 59: The article says that the emoluments and allowances of the President of India shall not be reduced during his term of office. But in this case, the President is offering it as donation at his will and the salary is not being cut. The article also empowers the President to use his official residence without rent.