The Daily Brief – 6th January 2019

Andhra Pradesh was conferred with CBIP’s “Best Implementation of Water Resources Project” for better planning, implementation, monitoring and speedy execution of Polavaram multipurpose project on the Godavari River. Under the Polavaram Multipurpose project, a dam is constructed across the Godavari River in West Godavari District and East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh. Central Board of Irrigation and Power (CBIP) was established in the year 1927.

The Asia competitiveness institute (ACI) has released the Ease of Doing Business Rankings for Indian states. Andhra Pradesh has topped the Ease of Doing Business rankings. Maharashtra and Delhi came in second and third place respectively. Overall the ranking of Andhra Pradesh has increased from 5th rank in 2016 to the top spot in 2018.

The United Nations observed the first official World Braille Day on 4th January to create awareness about the importance of Braille for approximately 1.3 billion people living with some form of distance or near vision impairment. It is celebrated on the January 4th to mark birth anniversary of Louis Braille, who is credited for inventing the Braille script. Louis Braille was born in France on 4 January 1809.

The fourth edition of the Swachh Survekshan Survey has been launched in New Delhi. It will be a completely digital and paperless survey conducted across 4,237 towns and cities between January 4 and 28. Swachh Survekshan is a ranking exercise taken up by the Government of India to assess rural and urban areas for their levels of cleanliness and active implementation of Swachhata mission initiatives in a timely and innovative manner. The survey was conducted in 2016.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid foundation of six road projects worth 6,000 crore rupees in border areas of Jodhpur on 5 January, 2019. He claimed that none of the roads will have any pothole for next 150-200 years. He appealed to the MoS (Agriculture ministry) Gajendra Singh Shkhawat to turn Rajasthan into an automobile hub by promoting production of Jetropha. He also appealed to the farmers to come forward to produce bio fuel using bio technology.

Prime Minister of Norway Ms. Erna Solberg will arrive in New Delhi on 6 January, 2019 on a three-day state visit to India. She will be accompanied by senior officials from her government and a large business delegation. During the visit, Ms Solberg will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She will also call on President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.

Union Minister of Law & Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad has inaugurated two-day Science Communicators’ Meet at 106th Indian Science Congress in Lovely Professional University on 5 January, 2019. Science Communicators’ Meet is held every year at the Indian Science Congress for understanding and promoting effective communication of science to diverse audiences.

US have sent national security adviser John Bolton to Israel on a mission to allay’s concerns about President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria. Mr Bolton planned to meet with Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and other officials before travelling to Turkey.