The Daily Brief – 7th January 2019

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has stated that cyclone Pabuk will move northwestwards and cross the Andaman Islands late on 6th Jan as a cyclonic storm with wind speed up to 90 kmph. IMD has sounded a yellow alert for the cyclone Pabuk. The Pabuk cyclone would cause heavy rain over the Andaman Islands. Cyclone Pabuk originated over the Gulf of Thailand and neighbourhood.

The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Modi has approved the restructuring of existing National Health Agency as National Health Authority to effectively the implement Pradhan Mantri – Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY). The National Health Authority would be empowered with full autonomy, accountability and the mandate to implement PM-JAY through an efficient, effective and transparent decision-making process by aligning the accountability with responsibility.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the foundation stone for the Mandal Dam Project on the North Koel River. It will help around one lakh eleven thousand hectares of agricultural land in Jharkhand and Bihar to get irrigation facilities and will produce 24 MW of electricity. North Koel River originates on Ranchi plateau in Jharkhand and joins the Sone River, a few miles north-west of Haidarnagar in Jharkhand.

The Ministry of Textiles, Government of India had launched a Yarn Bank Scheme as one of the components of PowerTex India scheme with an aim to avoid fluctuation in yarn price. Under the scheme, an interest-free corpus fund up to Rs.2.00 crore would be provided to the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)/Consortium formed by power loom weavers. PowerTex India aims to boost common infrastructure and modernise the power loom sector in the country.

The Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) court in Mumbai has declared Vijay Mallya as a Fugitive Economic Offender. Vijay Mallya is the first businessman to be charged under the new fugitive economic offender’s act 2018. According to the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 a fugitive economic offender is a person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued for his or her involvement in economic offences involving at least Rs. 100 crore or more and has left India to avoid prosecution.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr K Sivan has said that the Union Government has allocated 10,900 crore rupees for the development of 40 satellite launch vehicles in the next four years. Dr Sivan said that Chandrayan Mission will be launched within three months. It will land in one part of the Moon which is still unexplored. He also said that the human space flight Gaganyaan is planned to be launched by 2022, the 75th anniversary of Independence.

Awami League President Sheikh Hasina will take oath as Prime Minister of Bangladesh on 7 Jan, 2019 for the third consecutive term. A 47-member Council of Ministers will also be sworn in. President Mohammad Abdul Hamid will administer the oath of office to the Ministers at Bangabhaban in the afternoon. This will be the fourth government under the seventy-one-year-old leader, and third in a row, since January 2009. Earlier she was the Prime Minister from 1996 to 2001.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Taro Kono will arrive in Delhi on 7 Jan, 2019 on a three day visit to India. During his visit, the Japanese Foreign Minister will hold a meeting with his counterpart Sushma Swaraj. He will also attend the India Japan Friendship Forum to be held next Tuesday. Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne will also be on a three day visit to India from Jan 7. During her visit, Ms Payne will hold meetings with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She will also participate in the Raisina Dialogue which is being held this Wednesday.