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Bihar Current Affairs 2020 by AffairsCloud PDF
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Table of Contents
Bihar Current Affairs - January 2020 ........................................................................................................................ 3
Bihar Current Affairs - February 2020...................................................................................................................... 4
Bihar Current Affairs - March 2020 ........................................................................................................................... 6
Bihar Current Affairs - April 2020 ............................................................................................................................. 6
Bihar Current Affairs - May 2020 ............................................................................................................................... 7
Bihar Current Affairs - June 2020 ............................................................................................................................ 10
Bihar Current Affairs - July 2020 ............................................................................................................................. 11
Bihar Current Affairs - August 2020 ........................................................................................................................ 13
Bihar Current Affairs - September 2020................................................................................................................. 19
Former MP of India’s 1st Lok Sabha, Bahadur Singh passed away at 94 in Bihar
On January 05, 2020, Former Member of Parliament (MP) of the country’s 1st Lok Sabha – constituted in 1952
and last maharaja of erstwhile Dumraon Raj (zamindari estate) Kamal Bahadur Singh passed away at the age of
94 in Buxar district of Bihar due to old age ailments.
Key Points:
i.Kamal Bahadur Singh was the only surviving MP of the first Lok Sabha of India. After the independence movement
Kamal Singh contributed mainly to the education and social development sectors in Shahabad city of Uttar Pradesh.
ii.He was elected as MP as an independent candidate from Shahabad in 1st general election after independence.
Kamal Singh also won the second Lok Sabha election held in 1957 as an independent candidate from Buxar
parliamentary constituency which then came into existence.
Bihar 1st NDA state to adopt resolution against NRC, and to implement NPR
On February 25, 2020, Bihar became the 1st National Democratic Alliance (NDA) state in India, which passed a
resolution against National Register of Citizens (NRC) and also passed a resolution to implement the National
Population Register (NPR), according to 2010 format, with an amendment. In this regard, a unanimous resolution
has been passed by the Bihar assembly.
Key points:
i.The Bihar State government has written a letter to the Central government of India to drop the “Additional clauses”
inserted in the NPR forms.
ii.According to the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi, who presented Bihar’s Budget in the assembly,
the first phase of Census 2021 and the process of the National Population Register [NPR] in Bihar would be done
between the period of May 15 to June 28, 2020.
About Bihar:
Capital- Patna
Chief Minister- Nitish Kumar
Governor- Phagu Chauhan
UNESCO Heritage sites- Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University), Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya.
Bihar to get north India’s first bird ringing station and MoU inked in Gujarat
On February 17, 2020 Bihar becomes North India’s first “bird ringing station” for observation, monitoring &
research on migratory birds and 4th state in the country after Tamil Nadu (Chennai), Rajasthan (Jaipur) and Orissa
(Bhubaneshwar). The bird ringing station will be at Bhagalpur, Bihar, located close to the Ganges & is known to be a
favorite destination of migratory birds.
Key Points:
i.About MoU: The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was exchanged between Deepak Kumar Singh, principal
secretary of Bihar government, department of environment, forest & climate changes with Bombay Natural History
Society (BNHS) in the presence of C K Mishra, secretary to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate
change (MoEFCC).
ii.The MoU was signed on the occasion of CMS-COP13 (Conservation of Migratory species- conference of parties) or
NTPC and CPCB signed MoU to set up air quality monitoring stations in 6 States & 3 UTs
On February 26, 2020 State run power-giant NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation Limited) signed an
MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) to provide financial support for
installation & commissioning of Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS). The data
collected from these stations will be used as inputs for Air Quality Index evaluation for the respective cities.
The MoU was signed by Prashant Gargava, CPCB, Member Secretary and Ravi V Babu, General Manager (Corporate
Environment Management), NTPC.
Key Points:
i.NTPC will provide financial support of Rs 80 crore for installation of 25 CAAQMS across 6 states and 3 Union
Territories (UTs).
ii.6 States: CAAQMS will be installed in Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Patna (Bihar), Varanasi,
Lucknow, Kanpur & Allahabad (all in Uttar Pradesh [UP]), Pimpri Chinchwad (Maharashtra) and Madurai (Tamil
Nadu).
iii.3 UTs: CAAQMS will also be installed in Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Port Blair), Dadra & Nagar Haveli (Silvassa)
and Daman & Diu (Daman).
iv.NTPC has also implemented technology to convert Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) into high Gross Calorific Value
(GCV) fuel that can be co-fired in conventional boilers at its Dadri Plant in Delhi NCR. NTPC has commissioned its first
FGD unit at Vindhyachal, and is in the process of implementing this eco-friendly technology across all its power
plants.
About CAAQMS:
CAAQMS will act as the ‘control station’ (i.e. it will monitor air quality at an ideal situation) and its readings will be
calculated as a benchmark of quality.It monitors the different pollutant analysers and its calibrations units. The
device is equipped with UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) along with a backup facility. The monitoring station
comprises calibration systems, analysers, meteorological instrumentation, sensors, sampling lines and display
systems. The cost of the control station is about Rs 90 lakh and the maintenance cost of the station is about Rs 10 lakh
per year.
About NTPC:
Headquarters- New Delhi, India.
Chairman & Managing Director (CMD)- Gurdeep Singh.
About CPCB:
Central Pollution Control Board functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFC).
The purpose of the CPCB is to regulate the cleanliness of the streams, wells and to improve the quality of the air in the
country.
Chairperson- Shri Ravi Shanker Prasad.
Sushil Kumar Modi presented Rs 2,11,761 cr Bihar’s budget for FY 20-21; Max. allocation towards education
On February 25, 2020, the government of Bihar led by Chief Minister (CM) Nitish Kumar presented Rs 2,11,761
crore state budget for 2020-21 with a special emphasis on education, health and infrastructure. It was presented by
the state’s finance minister and Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, which was his 11th Budget speech. The proposed
allocations were Rs 11,260.48 crore more than the FY 2019-20.
Importantly, Bihar’s Budget has increased eight times to Rs 2,11,761.49 crore in 2020-21 from Rs 23,885 crore in
2004- 05. Except for 2012-13, the state has been presenting a revenue surplus budget since 2008-09.
Key Points from FY 20-21 Budget of Bihar:
–Gross State Domestic Product: The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Bihar for 2020-21 (at current prices)
is projected to be Rs 6,85,797 crore. This is 11.1% higher than the revised estimate for 2019-20.
–Total receipts: Total receipts (excluding borrowings) are estimated to be Rs 1,84,352 crore
–Revenue surplus: It is targeted at Rs 19,173 crore or 2.8% of the GSDP.
–Fiscal deficit: It is targeted at Rs 20,374 crore (2.97% of GSDP).
–Capital expenditure: It is proposed to be Rs 47,010 crore
–Revenue expenditure: It is proposed to be Rs 1,64,751 crore.
–Highest increase/decrease in allocations: In 2020-21, the highest increase in allocations was observed in Water
Supply, Sanitation, Housing and Urban Development (8%) while highest decrease observed in Energy (48%).
–Highest allocation: The state government has made the highest allocation of Rs 35,191.05 crore to the education
department. Bihar has allocated 19.3% of its total budget for education in 2020-21. Besides, Rs 17,345 crore was
allocated for road building and Rs 10,937.68 crore was earmarked for healthcare.
–Rural development: Bihar has allocated 12.8% of its expenditure on rural development viz. Rs 15955.29 crore.
India Post & Bihar’s Horticulture dept. partnered to supply ”Shahi Litchi” & “Zardalu Mango” to the people at
doorstep
On May 24, 2020 The Department of Posts, Government of India and Department of Horticulture, Government
of Bihar has partnered to supply ”Shahi Litchi” of Muzaffarpur & “Zardalu Mango” of Bhagalpur at the doorstep of
people. Bihar Postal Circle has made an agreement with the Bihar’s Horticulture department for its logistics &
delivery. People can place orders on the website “horticulture.bihar.gov.in” online form May 25.
Purpose of doorstep delivery
i.The Litchi & Mangoes cultivators have been finding it difficult to carry/transport their fruits to the markets for sale
due to lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus.
ii.The initiative came into existence as its supply among the people has become a major challenge and so to meet the
public demand and provide direct market space for farmers to sell their fruits without any intermediaries.
Availability
i.Initially this facility will be available to people of Muzaffarpur & Patna for Shahi Litchi and Patna & Bhagalpur for
Zardalu Mango.
ii.Litchi will be booked minimum for 2 kgs and mangoes for 5 kgs. The postal department will ensure free delivery
within 24 hours
Advantages for cultivators & people
Online booking and delivery at doorstep facility will help cultivators/farmers to earn profits in this new market
directly. Customers will be benefited to get these branded fruits at their doorstep at low cost.
Key Points
i.The district collector had released a communication ordering that places identified as loading points for litchis or
having processing units will be allowed to carry out their operations beyond 6 pm, the deadline for most economic
activities across the state.
ii.“Shahi Litchi” is being offered to far-off places like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Jaipur, Chennai and Agra
About Shahi Litchi
The Shahi Litchi of Muzaffarpur’s north Bihar district has earned the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2018. It is
distinguished from other varieties by its unique fragrance and extra-juicy pulp & has smaller than usual seed
About Zardalu Mango
It got its GI tag along with Katrani rice and Magahi paan (betel vine) from Bihar in 2018. The mango is popular for its
thin peel and aroma, and has been on the state government’s annual gift list for some 40 very very important
persons(VVIPs) including the President of India and the Prime Minister. It usually weighs between 220 gram(gm) and
250 milligram(mg).
About Bihar:
Capital– Patna
Chief Minister– Nitish Kumar
Governor– Phagu Chauhan
National Park(NP)– ValmikiNP, West Champaran
SRS Bulletin released: National infant mortality rate at 32, MP worst performer; Kerala achieved SDG target
On May 10, 2020, Registrar General of India has released its Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin based on data
collected for 2018 (reference year) which has presented the estimates of Birth Rate, Death Rate, and Infant Mortality
Rate (IMR) for the year 2018 for India and its States/UTs.
The rates are calculated per one thousand of the population.
The current sample is based on the 2011 Census frame. The SRS sample is replaced every ten years based on the
latest census frame.
Let us go through the SRS Bulletin starting with IMR:
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): It is the number of deaths per 1,000 live births of children under one year of age.
Category State/UT
Category State/UT
Category State/UT
Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur tops Niti Aayog’s delta ranking of Aspirational districts for Feb-June 2020
In accordance with the delta rankings for aspirational districts by government think-tank Niti (National Institution
for Transforming India) Aayog, Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh has topped the list of aspirational districts in Overall
Delta Ranking for the February-June 2020 period.
• Bijapur has been followed by Ri-Bhoi (Meghalaya) and Bahraich (Uttar Pradesh) at 2nd and 3rd positions
respectively.
• The delta rankings for aspirational districts considers an incremental progress in five developmental areas viz.
Health and Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development
and Basic Infrastructure .
Top 5 Aspirational Districts in Overall Delta Ranking (Feb-June 2020)
Rank District
1 Bijapur (Chhattisgarh)
2 Ri-Bhoi (Meghalaya)
3 Bahraich (Uttar Pradesh)
4 Nawada (Bihar)
5 Moga (Punjab)
In the Health and Nutrition area, the list has been topped by Ri-Bhoi (Meghalaya) and followed by Bijapur
(Chhattisgarh) and Bahraich (Uttar Pradesh) at 2nd and 3rd positions respectively, stating an improvement towards
quality healthcare facilities for citizens.
In Education category, the list has been topped by Damoh (Madhya Pradesh) followed by Dhalai (Tripura) and
Asifabad or Adilabad (Telangana), stating an improvement towards quality Education for citizens.
In Basic Infrastructure category, the list has been topped by Khagaria (Bihar) followed by Araria (Bihar) & Purnia
(Bihar).
In Agriculture & Water Resource Category, the list has been topped by Nawada (Bihar) followed by Pakur
(Jharkhand) & Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh).
In Financial Inclusion & Skill Development Category, the list has been topped by Sonbhadra (Uttar Pradesh)
followed by Simdega (Jharkhand) & Sahibganj (Jharkhand).
What is an aspirational districts programme?
The aspirational districts programme, launched in January 2018, aims to transform districts that have shown
relatively lesser progress in key social areas and have emerged as pockets of under-development.
IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Launched “Chunauti”, Next Generation Start-up Contest; Foundation stone
laid for NIELIT at Muzaffarpur, Bihar
On August 28, 2020, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
launched next-generation startup Challenge contest “Chunauti” to encourage startups and software products with
special focus on Tier-II towns. This contest is a part of Rs 95 crore programme, spanning over 3 years, will hunt for
around 300 startups working in identified areas and to provide them seed funds of up to Rs 25 lakh and other
support from government through the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI).
• Startups can apply through https://innovate.stpinext.in/.
Key Points:
-The support to the selected startup will be in the form of incubation facilities, mentorship, security testing facilities,
access to venture capitalist funding, industry connect as well as advisories in legal, Human Resource (HR), and patent
matters. Startups will also be provided cloud credits from leading cloud service providers.
-Startups who are in the ideation stage can be selected under the pre-incubation programme will be mentored for up
to 6months and each intern would be paid Rs 10,000 per month for this period.
Identified areas under contest:
The identified areas include edu-tech, agri-tech and fin-tech solutions for masses; supply chain, logistics and
transportation management; infrastructure and transportation management; infrastructure and remote monitoring,
medical healthcare, diagnostic, preventive and psychological care; jobs and skilling, and linguistic tools and
technologies etc.
Foundation stone laid for Rs 9.17 cr NIELIT at Muzaffarpur in Bihar
The minister also laid the foundation stone of the digital training and skilling center of the National Institute of
Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) at Muzaffarpur in Bihar which will be developed by the Ministry
at a cost of Rs 9.17 crore.
• The government of Bihar has allocated one acre of land for this institution which will be equipped with the
state of the art training facility with a digital laboratory.
Tamil Nadu Women Topped the List of MUDRA Loan Scheme Beneficiaries
In accordance with the data provided by the Ministry of Finance to the Rajya Sabha, as of March 31, 2020, women in
Tamil Nadu topped the list of loan benefits under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) by availing Rs 58,227
crore loan. They are followed by women in West Bengal (Rs 55,232 crore), Karnataka (Rs 47,714 crore), Bihar (Rs
44,879 crore) and Maharashtra (Rs 42,000 crore).
• Together women from these five States have got 52% of the total MUDRA loan.
• As of March, 2020, more than 22.53 crore loans have been sanctioned since launch of the scheme. Out of this,
more than 15.75 crore loans extended to women, thereby 70% of the total loan borrowers are women.
About PMMY:
PMMY was launched on April 8, 2015, for providing loans up to Rs 10 lakh to the non-corporate, non-farm
small/micro-enterprises. The loans are classified as MUDRA loans under PMMY. These loans are given by Commercial
Banks, RRBs (Regional Rural Banks), Small Finance Banks (SFBs), MFIs (Micro Finance Institutions), and Non-
Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) in the following three categories:
• Shishu – Allowed loans up to Rs.50,000
• Kishore – Allowed loans up to Rs.5,00,000
• Tarun – Allowed loans up to Rs.10,00,000
Recent Related News:
On March 3, 2020, the Ministry of Finance released figures related to various schemes having special provisions for
empowerment of women. Under Stand Up India Scheme there are more than 81% Women account holders. There are
over 43% Women subscribers in Atal Pension Yojana (APY); 70% Women borrowers in PMMY; Over 40% women
member enrollments in Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) & Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
(PMSBY)
About Ministry of Finance:
Union Minister– Nirmala Sitharaman
Minister of State (MoS)– Anurag Singh Thakur
Bihar State Pollution Control Board Signs MoA with IIT, Delhi for air quality management
Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi to set up a Geographical Information System (GIS) based platform for air quality
management in Bihar.
About the Project:
i.Dr Sagnik Dey, Associate Professor, Centre for Atmospheric Science, IIT Delhi will be leading the project along
with S N Jayaswal, Board Analyst, Bihar State Pollution Control Board, Patna.
ii.The Agreement which comes at a cost of Rs. 10 Lakh will provide for exchange of technical expertise between IIT
Delhi & BSPCB.
Flipkart signs MoU with IIT Patna for Industry Focused Research
On 18th August 2020, Flipkart signed a memorandum of understanding(MoU) with Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT) Patna to support the industry focused applied research in the fields like Artificial Intelligence(AI),
Natural Language Processing(NLP) and Machine Learning(ML).
Aim:
To create industry focused applied research to support the reach of e-commerce to more consumers and sellers.
Objective:
• To bring industry exposure to the students and scholars of IIT patna.
• To provide opportunity to the faculties of IIT patna to work on research projects with Flipkart.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Released a Book Titled “Siyasat Mein Sadasyata” Authored by State Assembly Speaker
Vijay Kumar Choudhary
On August 2, 2020 Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar released a book titled, “Siyasat Mein Sadasyata” authored by
Bihar Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary. The book is a compilation of the author’s views, three dozen
articles on different important issues and his life journey. The book was published by Bihar Assembly Secretariat.
• The book is compiled and edited by senior journalist Arvind Sharma and its preface has been written by
another senior journalist Vinod Bandhu.
Essence of the Book
i.The book also reflects the different aspects of the author’s personality.
ii.It mentions various developmental works in different sectors and welfare measures taken by the Nitish Kumar
government in Bihar.
iii.It states about the special bonding between the author and CM.
iv.It has described various other important activities of assembly like, successful completion of 6th Commonwealth
Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region among others.
Note– As the book contains 3 dozen articles, the readers especially politicians and law students will benefit and be
able to enhance their knowledge about politics, society and Constitution
About Bihar:
Capital– Patna
Governor– Phagu Chauhan
Prime Minister Virtually Inaugurated 900 crore worth Petroleum Project in Bihar
On September 13, 2020 Prime Minister Narendra Modi Inaugurated 3 key projects of the petroleum sector worth
more than Rs 900 crore in Bihar through video conference and dedicated it to the Nation. The projects include
the Durgapur-Banka section(about 200 km) of the Paradip-Haldia-Durgapur Pipeline Augmentation Project and 2
LPG(Liquefied Petroleum Gas) Bottling Plants.
• Of the 2 LPG Bottling plants one plant of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited(IOCL) is launched in Banka and
another plant of the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited(HPCL) in Champaran(East), Harsidhi.
• The projects have been commissioned by IOCL and HPCL, Public Sector Undertakings(PSUs) under the aegis of
the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Key Info
These projects are a part of the Mission Purvodaya which anticipate to expand the Barauni Refinery with Rs 14,000
crore and the work has already commenced.
Note
The special package given for Bihar had 10 big projects related to petroleum and gas worth Rs 21 thousand crore.
Among them, the inaugurated project is the 7th one.
LPG penetration in Bihar
• LPG penetration in Bihar has increased to 76.9% now from 23.5% in 2014.
• This in turn has reduced the kerosene consumption in the state from 8 lakh kilo litre (kl) to 2 lakh kl in 2014.
About the 3 Projects
Durgapur-Banka section
i.The Durgapur-Banka pipeline section, built by state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC), is a part of the Paradip-Haldia-
Durgapur Pipeline Augmentation Project. For this, foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister on February 17,
2019
ii.The entire project will become one of the longest pipeline projects in the world.
LPG Bottling Plant at Banka
i.It has been built at an investment of around Rs 131.75 crore. It will serve the districts of Bhagalpur, Banka, Jamui,
Araria, Kishanganj & Katihar in Bihar, along with the districts of Godda, Deoghar, Dumka, Sahibganj, and Pakur in
Jharkhand.
ii.It has a LPG storage capacity of 1,800 tonnes and bottling capacity of 40,000 cylinders per day.
LPG Bottling Plant at Champaran
i.The 1,20,000 tonnes per annum LPG Bottling Plant and has been constructed at a cost of Rs 136.4 crore.
ii.It has been constructed on 29 acres of land and its foundation stone was laid by the Prime Minister on April 10,
2018.
iii.The 2 LPG Bottling plants have the capacity to fill more than 125 million cylinders annually.
PM Modi Inaugurates & Lays Foundation Stone for seven projects in Bihar
On September 15, 2020 Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated & Laid Foundation Stone for Seven Projects
related to Urban Infrastructure in the state of Bihar through video conference. The total cost of the projects is Rs 541
Crores.
Out of the 7 projects, 4 are related to water supply, two for Sewerage treatment and 1 for Riverfront
Development.
The projects will be implemented by Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation (BUIDCO), under Urban
Development and Housing Department of Bihar.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Union Minister for Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ravi
Shankar Prasad were present during the virtual ceremony.
Inauguration of Sewerage Treatment Plants:
i.Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the Sewerage Treatment Plants built under Namami Gange Yojana at Beur and
Karmalichak in Patna Municipal Corporation.
ii.The Sewerage Treatment Plant has been set up to end the flow of polluted water into River Ganga.
iii.Over 50 Projects worth Rs. 6000 Crores have been approved in Bihar to keep River Ganga Clean. The villages on
the bank of Ganga are set to be developed as Ganga Gram.
iv.The Namami Gange Project is expected to change the life pattern of people and it will also be helpful for Project
Dolphin and biodiversity in Ganga.
v.The Water from the Sewage treatment plants will be used for irrigation purposes in the state.
Note – The Namami Gange Project is an integrated conservation Mission set up in June, 2014 to reduce the pollution,
conserve and revive the National River Ganga. Around 20 important cities of Bihar are located on the banks of
Ganga river. So the cleanliness of the river will have a direct effect on crores of people living in these cities.
Inauguration of Water Supply Projects:
i.The Prime Minister also inaugurated the water supply projects built under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban
Transformation (AMRUT) Yojana in Siwan Municipal Council and Chapra Municipal Corporation.
ii.The water supply projects will help local residents get access to pure drinking water 24 hours a day.
Laying of Foundation Stone:
i.PM laid the foundation stone of Munger water supply scheme under the AMRUT Yojana, which will enable the
residents of Munger Municipal Corporation to get access to pure water through pipelines.
ii.He also laid Foundation stone of Jamalpur water supply scheme under AMRUT Yojana in Jamalpur Municipal
Council.
PM Modi inaugurates Kosi Rail Mega Bridge and 12 other Railway Projects in Bihar
On 18th September, 2020 Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the historic Kosi Rail Mahasetu (mega
bridge) in Bihar.
Other projects including a new railway bridge on the Kiul River, two new railway lines, 5 Electrification projects,
Bihar’s first Electric Locomotive Shed at Barauni and 3rd Line Project between Barh-Bakhtiyarpur in Bihar through
video conference.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Phagu Chauhan, Governor of Bihar, Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal were
present during the inauguration.
Kosi Rail mega bridge:
i.The mega bridge is 1.9 kms long and has been completed at a cost of Rs. 516 Crores connecting Mithila and Kosi
region.The opening of the bridge will fulfill the 86 year old dream of the people of Bihar.
ii.The bridge would reduce the rail distance between Nirmali and Saraigarh from the present 298 kilometers to 22
kilometers. It is also a strategically important project as it is situated near the India-Nepal border.
iii.The Kosi Mega Bridge was sanctioned by the Government of India during 2003-04, it was completed during the
COVID-19 Pandemic with the participation of the migrant labourers.
PM Modi lays Foundation Stone for 9 Highway Projects worth Rs 14, 528 crores in Bihar
On September 21, 2020 Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the Foundation Stone for Nine Highway Projects worth Rs
14, 528 Crores in Bihar through video conference. The project includes making six-lane highways, and three bridges
on rivers.He also laid foundation of ‘Har Gaon Optical Fibre Cable’ for Internet Services to connect all villages of
Bihar.
Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi, Minister of Law and Justice
Ravi Shankar Prasad participated in the virtual meeting.
Highway Projects:
i.The total road length of the road projects is 350 kms. The projects worth Rs 14, 528 Crores on completion will
improve Bihar’s connectivity with Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.
ii.Upon successful completion of the projects, all the rivers in Bihar would have bridges which will conform to the
21st century specifications. All major national highways would be widened and strengthened.
iii.Under the Prime Ministers Package announced in 2015, over 3000 Kms of National Highway were proposed. In
addition, under the Bharatmala Project, a six and a half kilometer national highway is being constructed.
Kerala tops literacy rate chart with 96.2%; Andhra Pradesh worst performer at 66.4%: NSO
In accordance with the report on “Household Social Consumption: Education in India as part of 75th round of
National Sample Survey(NSS) – from July 2017 to June 2018″ conducted by National Statistical Office (NSO),
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Kerala again emerged as the most literate state in the
country with 96.2% literacy followed by Delhi (88.7%), Uttarakhand ( 87.6%), Himachal Pradesh (86.6%) and Assam
(85.9%).
• On the other hand, Andhra Pradesh (AP) is the worst performer at 66.4% followed by Rajasthan at 69.7%,
Bihar (70.9%), Telangana (72.8%), Uttar Pradesh (73%) and Madhya Pradesh (73.7%).
• The survey provided state-wise detail of literacy rate among the persons aged seven years and above.
• The overall literacy rate in India is pegged at 77.7% where rural areas have 73.5% literacy rate and urban
areas has 87.7%.
• Literacy rate: Literacy rate is defined as the percentage of literate persons among persons of age 7 years and
above.
Gujarat, Andaman & Nicobar Emerge as Best State/UT in providing Strong Ecosystem for Startups: DPIIT
ranking
On September 11, 2020 Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) released the 2nd Edition
of ‘States on Support to Startup Ecosystems 2019’ . The Rankings are based on providing a Strong Ecosystem for
promoting Startups.
i.Gujarat emerged as the best performer among Category X.Gujarat topped the rankings in the 2018 edition of
Ranking also.
(In Category x – All States and New Delhi, barring North Eastern (N. E) States & other Union Territories (U. T))
NCRD Released Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India 2019 Report; Delhi recorded highest number of road
accidents deaths among cities
On 1st September 2020, The National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB), Ministry of Home Affairs released an annual
report titled “Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India(ADSI) 2019”. This is NCRB’s 53rd edition of the series which
was started in 1967.
This is the only most comprehensive data bank related to the accidental and suicidal death available with the
government of India.
About the Report:
i.The report is prepared with the data and information on deaths due to accidents and suicides which were collected
by the State Crime Records Bureaux (SCRBx) from the District Crime Records Bureaux (DCRBx) and sent to the
NCRB.
ii.The data of the cities with a population of 10 lakh or more are collected separately.
Features:
i.The report contains the age group wise and sex wise details of the victims.
ii.The report classified the accidental deaths as two groups based on causes,
• Causes attributable to nature (tornado, earthquake, epidemic, flood etc.)
• Causes not attributable to nature (air crash, drowning, explosion, poisoning, traffic accidents etc).
iii.The report contains the details of deaths due to road accidents by causes, place of occurrence, type of road,
month of occurrence and by time of occurrence.
iv.The report also contains the details on suicide by causes like bankruptcy, marriage, relationships, failures, property
disputes etc and details of professional educational and social profile of the victims.
v.This also contains details of farmer’s suicide by cause, educational and scial status etc.,
Note:
The reason of suicides among farmers has not been published by NCRB since 2015.
Accidental deaths:
i.According to the report the variation percentage of accidental deaths and suicide during 2019 over 2018 are around
2.3% and 3.4% respectively.
ii.Traffic accidents are the major contributor of the total accidental deaths in India which amounts to around 43% of
total accidental deaths followed by sudden deaths, drowning and poisoning which collectively contributed around
24%.
iii.Natural disasters contribute 2% of the accidental deaths.
Road Accidents:
i.According to the report, road crash deaths in the country have increased by 1.3 per cent to 1,54,732 from
1,52,780.Number of accidents in the city, however, sees a decline of 7.2% as compared to 2018.
Sekhar Basu, PadmaShri Awardee, Veteran Atomic Scientist and Former Chairman of AEC Passed Away of
COVID-19
On September 24, 2020 Sekhar Basu, Veteran Atomic Scientist and Former Chairman of Atomic Energy
Commission(AEC) passed away at the age of 68 at a private hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal of COVID-19. He served
as the Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and as director of Bhabha Atomic
Research Centre (BARC). He was the recipient of PadmaShri(2014). He was born on September 20, 1952 in
Muzaffarpur, Bihar.
Gist about Sekhar Basu
Key role
i.Sekhar Basu developed the highly complex reactor for INS Arihant, India’s 1st nuclear-powered submarine.
ii.He was the key person behind the design, construction and operation of nuclear recycle plants in Tarapur and
Kalpakkam.
iii.He also played a vital role in the development of the Indian Neutrino Observatory in Tamil Nadu.
Honours
i.He received awards namely, Indian Nuclear Society Award (2002), DAE Group Achievement Award(2006) & DAE
Special Achievement Award(2007) among others.
ii.He was a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) and Indian Society for Non-Destructive
Testing (ISNT).
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