The Daily Brief – 16th January 2019

The traffic police authorities of Pune are planning to introduce a robot named ‘Roadeo’ which would move around city roads, functioning as a quasi-traffic policeman and cautioning commuters about traffic rules and offences. Roadeo consists of 16-inch LED display to showcase traffic rules and other important messages. It is a first of its kind initiative in the entire country.

The Hindu Literary Prize 2018 was awarded during The Hindu Lit for Life 2019. Activist Manoranjan Byapari, author of Interrogating my Chandal Life: An Autobiography of a Dalit, bagged The Hindu Prize 2018 for non-fiction. A Brush with Indian Art of Mamta Nainy received The Hindu Young World-Goodbooks Award for Best Book Non-Fiction. Vinayak Varma’s Angry Akku ad Rajiv Eipe’s Ammachi’s Amazing Machines received The Hindu Young World-Goodbooks Award for Best Picture Book: Story ad illustration respectively.

The Union Minister of Housing and Urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri launched the Global Housing Technology Challenge (GHTC). The challenge is undertaken under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban (PMAY-U). GHTC aims to fast-track the construction of affordable housing and meet the target of constructing 1.2 crore houses by 2022.

The 2^nd edition of India-Myanmar bilateral army exercise, IMBEX 2018-19, has begun at Chandimandir Military Station which houses the headquarters of the Western Command. The objective of this exercise is to train the Myanmar delegation for participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations under the UN flag. India is one of the largest contributors to the UN peacekeeping force and has a rich experience of serving in UN peacekeeping operations.

PM Modi inaugurated the various developmental works in Kerala which include Kollam Bypass that lies on the National Highway-66. It comprises three major bridges over the Ashtamudi lake, having a total length of 1540 metres and an underpass. It is the first National Highway project in the country taken up on a 50:50 Centre-State partnership. PM Modi also unveiled a plaque launching the completion of several developmental projects under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme.

The Quality Council of India undertook a survey on the status of sanitation across cities and towns on the bank of River Ganga for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. 72 per cent of towns have nullahs (drains) discharging into the river and 77 per cent of these drains do not have functional screens that filter out filth. The Quality Council of India (QCI) is an accreditation body, estsbalished under the Societies Registration Act in 1997.

The Union Government on January 14, 2019 launched the ‘Womaniya on Government e Marketplace (GeM)’, an initiative to enable women entrepreneurs and Women Self-Help Groups (WSHGs) to sell handicrafts, handloom, accessories, and other products directly to Government departments and institutions. The Womaniya on GeM initiative aims to develop women entrepreneurship on the margins of society to achieve gender-inclusive economic growth.

The Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu on January 15, 2019 inaugurated the Global Aviation Summit 2019 in Mumbai, Maharashtra with the theme of the Global Aviation Summit 2019 is ‘Flying for all-especially the next 6 Billion’. The Summit will address the problems faced in the aviation sector. The domestic aviation in India has been growing at 20 percent every year since 2015 and this growth has been highest in the world.

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) along with Doordarshan (DD), Prasar Bharati on January 15, 2019 launched two science communication initiatives -DD Science and India Science. The two science communication platforms are national-level initiatives to elevate science into a celebration and bring it close to everyday life.

The Ministry of Finance on January 15, 2019 constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) for boosting the Real Estate Sector under the GST regime. The Secretary of the GoM will be Manish Sinha, Joint Secretary (TRU-II), Central Board of Indirect taxes and Customs (CBIC). The Indian real estate sector has witnessed high growth in recent times with the rise in demand for office as well as residential spaces.