The Daily Brief – 26th December 2018

India Ports Global Limited Company has opened its office and took over operations at the Shaheed Behesti port at Chabahar. It happened during the occasion of the first meeting of the follow-up committee for implementation of the trilateral Chabahar agreement between India, Afghanistan and Iran. India Ports Global Private Limited is a private registered company and classified as Union Government Company. It is involved in Sea and coastal water.

PM Modi inaugurated the Bogibeel Bridge, India’s longest road-cum-rail bridge in Assam’s Dibrugarh on the birth anniversary of the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee i.e. December 25 which is observed as “Good Governance Day”. This 4.9 km-long bridge is the nation’s only fully welded bridge and for the first time European codes and welding standards were adhered to and it has a life of about 120 years. It is Asia’s second-longest railroad bridge. The bridge is referred to as “Lifeline of Assam”.

Sadaiv Atal, the Samadhi of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was dedicated to the Nation on the birth Anniversary of the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. To emphasise on the unity in diversity, stones from various parts of the country have been used in the construction of Samadhi near Rajghat in New Delhi. He served for a full term from 1999 to 2004.

Minister of Power and New & Renewable energy R.K Singh has said that in the next three years electricity metering will go smart and prepaid. Smart and pre-paid metering will aid in making state utilities more efficient and bringing down their losses in the past. On a pilot basis, the prepaid meters are being deployed in Uttar Pradesh as part of the Saubhagya scheme which aims to electrify over four crore households till December this year.

The cyclone Gaja had hit the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Andra Pradesh with a speed of about 184 kmph. The cyclone had also deposited a huge amount of sludges in the coastal areas. It is estimated that the cost of clearing sludge comes to around one lakh per acre. Nearly 3,500 acres of salt pans are buried under the slush of one-foot height. The responsibility of the clearing of salt pans is vested with the Centre as salt is placed in the central list.

India which is the largest producer and consumer of milk has extended the ban on import of milk products from China for 4 months. The ban would continue till 23rd April 2019 as per the notification issued by the Ministry of Commerce. The ban was primarily imposed due to the concerns about the presence of melamine in some of the milk consignments from China. Melamine is a toxic non-edible chemical used for making plastics and fertilisers.

A 25-foot-high statue of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be installed in Lok Bhavan, the Uttar Pradesh government secretariat. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made the announcement at a ceremony held to celebrate Vajpayee’s 94th birth anniversary. Vajpayee passed away in Delhi on August 16 after a prolonged illness.