The Daily Brief – 18th January 2020

Union Minister for Law & Justice, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Blockchain Technology in Bengaluru, Karnataka set up by National Informatics Centre (NIC). It aims to provide Blockchain as a service and allowing all stakeholders to benefit from shared learning, experiences and resources. Founded in 1976, National Informatics Centre has always been the premier technology advisor.

Indian Army conducted its biggest airborne exercise, codenamed ”Winged Raider”, in the north-eastern theatre on 10^th January 2020. The multidimensional exercise was preceded by a series of intense preparation involving the movement of special forces and rallying up of transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force starting from 6^th The newly inducted aerial platforms and equipment were validated during the exercise, with clockwise precision and seamless integration between the Army and the Air Force.

Bangladesh Government has planned to relocate 100,000 Rohingya refugees in its Bhasan Char Island which is regularly submerged by monsoon rains. The Bhashan Char, which was formed about two decades ago on the mouth of the river Meghna, is an uninhabited island around 30 kilometre east of Hatiya island in the South East Bangladesh. Flood protection embankments, houses, hospitals, and mosques have been built on Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal. About 700,000 Rohingya muslims came after August 2017, when the military in Buddhist-majority Myanmar began a harsh crackdown against Rohingya in response to an attack by insurgents.

The 19^th edition of Sahyog-Kaijin a joint exercise between Indian Coast Guard and Japan Coast Guard was held off the Chennai coast on 16^th January, 2020 to increase cooperation and boost ties between the two countries. In addition to Japanese Coast Guard Patrol Ship Echigo, a total of four ICG ships, their aircraft and a vessel from National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) will participate in the exercise. It is in line with a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) signed between the Indian Coast Guard and Japan Coast Guard in 2006.

Government of India and Government of Assam signed a USD 88 million loan agreement with the World Bank on January 16, 2020 to implement the Assam Inland Water Transport Project. The project will help modernize Assam’s passenger ferry sector that runs on its rivers including the mighty Brahmaputra. Assam has more than 361 ferry routes and a majority of them cross the Brahmaputra or serve its islands.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 16^th January, 2020 in New Delhi presided over the signing of an agreement between the central government and the governments of Tripura and Mizoram and Bru-Reang representatives under which around 34,000 internally displaced people will be settled in Tripura. Centre will provide around Rs 600 crores to help these tribes in their all-round development. During 1997-98, around 30,000 Bru-Reang tribals were displaced from Mizoram to Tripura because of ethnic violence in Mizoram. Under the agreement, the displaced families are to be provided with land of 40 by 30 square feet by the Tripura Government. Centre will also provide aid of Rs 1.5 lakhs to build their houses.

Ladakh’s Department of Industries & Commerce in partnership with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India and Invest India organised the Ladakh Food Processing Summit titled “Building Partnerships for Inclusive Growth in Food Processing Sector” in Leh on 16^th January, 2020. The primary objective of this summit was to carry out a value chain mapping of food processing in Ladakh and to recommend strategies for integrating local population into food processing and agriculture activities, to maximize the potential of this sector.