Civil Service Bytes

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed an $80million loan agreement to continue improving infrastructure in two North Eastern State Capital cities  Agartala (Tripura) and Aizwal (Mizoram). The loan is the third part of a $200 million financing facility under the North Eastern Region Capital cities Development Investment Program. How will it help   Agartala  and Aizwal ? It will be used for investments in water supply, solid waste management and sanitation in Agartala and Aizwal. It will also support urban reforms, benefiting nearly a million people in the two cities. It will help to  improve and expand services, as well as strengthening the institutional, managerial, and financial capacity of service institutions. To increase access to sustainable and improved urban services. What happened in the first and second part of  North Eastern Region Capital cities Development Investment Program? Part 1 of the programme: Loan sanct

The Government announced the 20 winners of the Smart City Challenge competition for financing during this financial year. The winners were from 11 States and the Union Territory of Delhi and the selection was totally objective and transparent based on standardized processes. Here is the list: Rank  City  State 1 Bhubaneswar  Odisha 2 Pune Maharashtra 3 Jaipur Rajasthan 4. Surat Gujarat 5 Kochi Kerala 6 Ahmedabad Gujarat 7 Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh 8 Visakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh 9 |Solapur Maharashtra 10 Davanagere Karnataka 11 Indore MP 12 Municipal Council Delhi 13 Combattore Tamil Nadu 14 Kakinada Andhra Pradesh 15 Belagavi Karnataka 16 Udaipur Rajasthan 17 Guwahati Assam 18 Chennai Tamil Nadu 19 Ludhiana Punjab 20 Bhopal Madhya Pradesh Smart city competition : The India Smart Cities Challenge is designed to inspire greater creativity from municipal officials and their partners, more involvement and inspiration from citizens, and the development of

The year began with the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the government of Canada issuing a level-two warning for those traveling to Caribbean countries, after a resident of Puerto Rico tested positive for Zika virus on December 31. While warning travellers to protect themselves from the vector, mosquitoes, the advisory specifically advised pregnant women and those trying to conceive to avoid travelling to these regions till the transmission of the virus is contained. On Monday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the virus is expected to spread to all countries in the Americas, except for Canada and Chile.  Given this rapid spread of the virus, does India have reason to worry? Zika virus has never been isolated in India. The only time any trace of the virus was recorded in India was in 1952-53. A study titled ‘Neutralising antibodies against certain viruses in the sera of the residents of India’, published in a journal called The Journal of Immunology, recorded amo

Ever since Amartya Sen named his book on the nature of public discourse in India  The Argumentative Indian , it has become axiomatic to refer to Indians in this manner. There is room for many views in the Indian mansion, and each can be expressed openly and without fear; such is the belief. If that were the limited meaning of the term, then the debate with which the Jaipur Literature Festival concluded on Monday was a resounding success. The audience on the front lawns of the Diggi Palace exceeded a few thousand, and raucous though the debate was, it ended peacefully and with good cheer. But the noise it generated—at times far louder than at many cricket stadiums during Test matches these days—showed what has become of India. The motion being debated was whether freedom of speech should be absolute. Speaking for the motion were Kapil Mishra, a minister in the Delhi cabinet; Palanimuthu Sivakami, the Dalit novelist and politician from Tamil Nadu; Madhu Trehan, the pioneering journali

Indian will set up a satellite tracking and imaging centre in southern Vietnam by taking forward the strategic relationship between the two countries to the next level. What is the use of this satellite for Vietnam? It will give Vietnam an  access to pictures from Indian earth observation satellites that cover the region, including China and the South China Sea. Impact of this move: The move could heighten tensions between the two countries (India , vietnam)  and China. Both states have long-running territorial disputes with China. The facility will be equipped to receive images from India’s Earth observation satellites that Vietnam can use in return for granting India the tracking site. Earth observation satellites have agricultural, scientific and environmental applications, but can also provide military intelligence. on the other side: India extended a $100m credit line for Vietnam  to buy patrol boats and is training Vietnamese submariners in India. Vietnam

Padma Awards were instituted in the year 1954,these awards have been announced every year on Republic Day.(Except  1977 and 1980 and 1993 to 1997) The award seeks to recognize work of any distinction and is given for distinguished and exceptional achievements/service in all fields of activities/disciplines, such as Art, Literature and Education, Sports, Medicine, Social Work, Science and Engineering, Public Affairs, Civil Service, Trade and Industry etc. All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these awards. The award is given in three categories: 1. Padma Vibhushan  : Second degree honour for ‘exceptional and distinguished service’. The criteria includes “service in any field including service rendered by Government servants” but excluding those working with the Public sector undertakings with the exception of doctors and scientists. 2.Padma Bhushan : Third degree honour for ‘distinguished service of a high order’