RAJASTHAN

Rajasthan stood second in the country for generating Unique Disability Identity Cards (UDID) which is also called Swavlambhan Cards for specially abled population in the country.

The desert state has issued 1.21 lakh UDID issued against a total of 3.74 cards all over the country. The UDID for specially abled persons comes under the ministry of social justice and empowerment. It includes 9,474 UDIDs generated in Jaipur.

Officials said that UDID will ensure direct transfers of scholarship, employment, and marriage allowance in the bank accounts of “Divyangs.” The desert state is also among the top states in terms of Aadhaar cards for specially abled which is a challenging task for the officials at they have to record iris and biometric of the persons, especially those suffering from permanent disability-cerebral palsy and genetic disorders.

Census report says that state has a population of 2.65 lakh specially-abled persons. The UDID card is single document of identification, verification of the disabled for availing all the benefits. This card is equivalent to the Aadhaar card. It is meant to store the data of especially abled persons in terms of their disability, health record, financial status and link through welfare schemes.

Leading in the country is Madhya Pradesh with 1,66,783 UDIDs. States like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir has zero generation of UDID cards.

Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, has enshrined the responsibility to the Central and state governments to provide services, create facilities and give support to people with disabilities in order to enable them to have equal opportunities. State has delivered in one aspect of the act but it has failed to create the right ecosystem for providing them education.

The census report stating that Rajasthan’s 44% Divyang population in the age group of 5-19 years are not attending educational institutes, the officials has stated that they are collaborating with private partners to provide education. Infact, state doesn’t have a single institute of higher education for specially disables.

INTERNATIONAL

Nepal has banned solo climbers from scaling its mountains, including Mount Everest, in an attempt to reduce accidents and make mountaineering safer.

The new safety regulations also prohibit double amputee and blind climbers from attempting to reach the summit of the world’s highest peak.

Nearly 300 people have died on Mount Everest since the first ascent to the peak was made in 1953.

Pakistan has decided to set up a new hydropower project of over 700 megawatts in PoK through foreign financing at an estimated cost of USD 1.51 billion by 2022.

The Azad Pattan Hydropower Project (APHP) is a run of river scheme located on Jhelum River in the Sudhanoti district of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and about 90 kilometres from Islamabad.

The project would be completed by 2022 for which the authorities have sought an import tariff at Rs 8.05 per kilowatts.

Ripple surged nearly 56 percent to an all-time high, surpassing ethereum as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

Officially called XRP, ripple climbed 55.9 percent to a record high of $2.23, according to Coin Market Cap.

The digital currency had a market cap of $86.3 billion, surpassing ethereum’s $73 billion.

· China Launches World’s Largest Human Genome Research Project

The world’s largest human genome research project of 100,000 people was launched by China to document their genetic makeup for a study that aims to help generate the precision medicines of the future.
It is the country’s first large project detecting the genetic links between health and sickness and will involve 100,000 people from different ethnic backgrounds and regions.
The project includes four stages – collecting, sequencing gene samples, gathering the data and sharing the findings.

NATIONAL

The Odisha police is all set to go digital from January 1, 2018 with computerisation of police station work under the Criminal Tracking and Networking System (CCTNS).

The project is being implemented under the national e-governance initiative at a cost of Rs 61 crore.

Odisha Director General of Police (DGP) R P Sharma, after reviewing the status of the CCTNS project, said out of 612 police stations across the state, 589 police stations have been equipped with the necessary hardware and software for successful implementation of the project.

The revenue loss to states on account of GST implementation was Rs 24,500 crore between July-October and the Centre has released compensation to make up for it, Parliament was informed.

As per the details of GST compensation released to states as on November 30, Karnataka got maximum compensation from the Centre at Rs 3,271 crore, followed by Gujarat (Rs 2,282 crore) and Punjab (Rs 2,098 crore).

The other states that required hefty compensation include Rajasthan (Rs 1,911 crore), Bihar (Rs 1,746 crore), Uttar Pradesh (Rs 1,520 crore), West Bengal (Rs 1,008 crore) and Odisha (Rs 1,020 crore).

Arunachal Pradesh has been emerged as the second state in the Northeast, after Sikkim, to be declared Open Defecation Free.

The three remaining districts – Upper Subansiri, Siang and Changlang — were declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) officially.

Arunachal has 21 districts and the state attained the feat much before the national deadline of October 2, 2019.

The Kolkata police has issued a notification banning public display of weapons in the city, to be effective from January 2, 2018, to January 1, 2019.

The notification issued by the Commissioner of Police, Rajeev Kumar prohibits “carrying of swords, spears, bludgeons, or other offensive weapons in any public place in the ‘Town of Calcutta’ or in the suburbs of the ‘Town of Calcutta’.”

The government has approved Rs 4,066 crore for providing internet connectivity to people in all gram panchayats under BharatNet project, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha informed the Parliament.

“Rs 4,066 crore has been approved for providing last-mile connectivity, through Wi-Fi or any other suitable broadband technology, at all the Gram Panchayats (approximately 2,50,000) in the country,” Sinha said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The government is rolling BharatNet project to provide high-speed broadband connectivity at gram panchayat (GP) levels.

The government plans to connect all GPs with high-speed broadband by March 2019.

· Lok Sabha Passes Insolvency And Bankruptcy Code Amendment Bill

The Lok Sabha passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which disqualifies wilful defaulters and existing promoters from bidding for stressed assets of companies undergoing insolvency proceedings.
The high levels of NPA at present are due to window dressing and due to evergreening of loans.
This situation has arisen because loans were restructured and not classified as NPAs.
The problems were shoved under the carpet and these came to light because of the asset quality review initiated by RBI in 2015.
Importantly, the bill replaces an ordinance that was brought in last month seeking to bar wilful defaulters, defaulters whose dues had been classified as non-performing assets (NPAs) for more than a year and all related entities of these firms from participating in the resolution process.