Dear Reader's,
INDIAN
AFFAIRS
Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari inaugurated
sea route to Baratang & laid foundation stone for shipping projects in
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
On October 5, 2017, Union Home Minister Rajnath
Singh and Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport &
Highways and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari inaugurated an
alternate sea route to Baratang
Island in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
i. They also laid the
foundation stone for extension of dry dock in Port Blair, extension of wharf in Hope Town and construction of an
additional jetty along with extension of Berthing Jetty in Neil Island.
ii. The new sea route to
Baratang, which passes through the Jarawa
Tribal Reserve will provide an alternative to the National Highways-4 route that linked Baratang
to Port Blair. It will thereby promote tourism without disturbing
the tribal areas.
First Edition of the ASEAN India Music
Festival begins in New Delhi
The first ever ASEAN-India Music
Festival has begun at Purana
Quila in New Delhi on October 6, 2017. It will continue till
October 8, 2017.About First Edition of the ASEAN-India Music
Festival:
i. First Edition of the
ASEAN-India Music Festival has been organised by Union
Ministry of External Affairs, in collaboration with Union Ministry of Culture and
arts/cultural group Seher.
ii. It has been organised
to celebrate 25th anniversary of
ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations, which is being commemorated with the theme “Shared Values, Common Destiny”.
iii. 10 music bands from
member states of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Myanmar,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam –
along with 5 prominent Indian bands will perform at this festival.
Quick
Facts about ASEAN
♦ Established in – 1967
♦ Secretariat – Jakarta, Indonesia
♦ Current Secretary General – Le Luong Minh
Prime Minister Modi temple with 100 feet
tall statue to be built in Meerut
On 5th October 2017, follower
and supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, J.P.Singh, announced that, a
temple worth Rs.30 crore is
to be built in honour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
Temple
with 100 feet tall statue for Prime Minister Modi:
i. The temple would be
built in the Sardhana area of
Meerut. A 100 feet statue of Prime Minister Modi would be installed in
the temple.
ii. The ‘Bhumi Pujan’ and
the stone laying ceremony for the temple would be conducted on 23rdOctober 2017. Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) chief Amit Shah is expected to attend the event.
iii. A retired engineer
from the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department, J.P.Singh, announced the
construction of this temple. He said that, it would take 2 years for completion.
Other
temples built in India for politicians and celebrities:
♦ Temple for Sonia Gandhi – Telengana
♦ Temple for Sachin Tendulkar – Bihar
♦ Temple for Amitabh Bachchan – Kolkata
Meghalaya, UP and Arunachal Sign MoU to
Boost Culture and Tourism
On 5th October 2017, a MoU was
signed by Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya under the ‘Ek Bharat,
Shrestha Bharat’ programme, to boost cultural ties.
MoU
between Meghalaya, UP and Arunachal Pradesh:
i. Uttar Pradesh
Additional Chief Secretary, Secondary and Higher Education, Sanjay Agarwal, Arunachal
Pradesh Tourism Secretary, Joram Beda, Meghalaya Education Secretary, W R Lyngdoh signed the MoU.
ii. This MoU under the ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ programme,
aims to enhance cultural relationship between these 3 states.
iii. The ‘Ek Bharat,
Shrestha Bharat’ programme, works to boost cultural relationship between
different states of India. As per this programme, each year a state and a union
territory would be paired with another for interaction between their people and
knowing each other’s culture and heritage.
Other
recent MoUs of Uttar Pradesh:
1. MoU between Uttar Pradesh and Union Government for 24/7 power supply by
October 2018
2. MoU between Uttar Pradesh and Union Government for opening AIIMS in
Gorakhpur