BIHAR
- Forest department for creation of new ecotourism wing
- The state environment, forest and climate change department has recently sent a proposal to the government, seeking the creation of a separate ecotourism wing for promoting this sector and development of unexplored sites for tourists.
- At present, there are only 25 ecotourism sites in the state which are accessible to tourists. Nearly 50 other sites have no facilities for tourists.
- Ecotourism is believed to be an increasingly important sector to facilitate local economic development as well as conservation of forests and environmental resources.
- As far as the ecotourism wing is concerned, the department has mentioned in its proposal that the wing will be headed by a chief executive officer and two Indian Forest Service officers — conservator of forest and divisional forest officer.
INTERNATIONAL
· Saudi Arabia appoints first female ambassador to United States
- Saudi Arabia has appointed Princess Reema bint Bandar, a former business executive and philanthropist, as its first femaleambassador to the United States.
- She replaced Prince Khalid bin Salman, amid fallout over journalist Khashoggi’s murder.
- She has been a leading advocate of female empowerment in the kingdom.
· Zimbabwe Starts Trading New Currency RTGS dollar
- Zimbabwe started to trade its new currency, the RTGS dollar,two days after the central bank announced measures to try and resolve a chronic monetary crisis.
- The bank unveiled a foreign exchange trading system that effectively devalued its quasi-currency, the bond note, which was officially pegged at parity with the US dollar.
NATIONAL
· M.P. launched Mukhyamantri Yuva Swabhiman Yojana
- TheMadhya Pradesh government launched its flagship scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Yuva Swabhiman Yojana’. It was launched by the Chief Minister Kamal Nath.
- This scheme guarantees 100 days of employment every yearto urban youth from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). The youth under the scheme would be imparted skill development training. Each youth enrolled under the scheme will get total Rs.13,500 for the 100 days period.
· GST on under construction flats cut from 12 percent to 5 percent
- Under construction properties priced over ₹45 lakhwill attract 5% GST (Goods and Services Tax), instead of 12%.
- A residential propertypriced at ₹45 lakh or below will now be defined as “affordable” and taxed at 1%, from 8% earlier.
- The new rates will be effective from April 1, 2019.
· Tamil Nadu Becomes First State in mainland to get 2 Coast Guard Districts
- Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit inaugurated the second Coast Guard district headquarters at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.
- Tamil Nadu is the first state in India to get a second Coast Guard district headquarters.
- The first district headquarters is Chennai.
- The second headquarters have been set up to deal with frequent issues faced by fishermen and provide anti-poaching operations, search and rescue missions and coastal security measures.
- It will function under Commander Coast Guard Region (East).
- The area of operations will include about 680 km of the coastline along districts of Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari.
· Odisha approved Rs 466 Crore Sanitary Napkin Scheme for adolescent girls
- Odisha government, in the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, approved Khusi schemeaimed at improving menstrual hygiene among adolescent girl students in the state, with an outlay of Rs 466.08 crore over a period of 5 years.
- Free sanitary napkins will be provided to 17.25 lakh adolescent girl students of Class 6 to 9 study in government and non-government aided schools of the state. It will also cover Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawaharlal Navodaya Vidyalayas.
- Each girl student will be provided with 18 beltless sanitary napkins per month.
- Other objectives of the scheme include reducing in the expenditure of the parents towards health care of the girls, reduction in the dropout rate among girls, improved attendance in schools and increase in the academic parameter.
· Manpreet Singh won 2018 Asian Player Of The Year Award
- Indian skipper Manpreet Singh has been honoured with the 2018 Player of the Year award by the Asian Hockey Federation.
- Women’s team striker Lalremsiamibagged the ‘Rising Player of The Year’ prize.
- The Indian men’s Hockey team was awarded the ‘Best Performanceof The Year’ for being the only Asian side to have reached the top eight at the World Cup in Bhubaneswar.
· Punjab ranks first in highest alcohol consumption among kids
- According to a survey conducted by AIIMS New Delhi, Punjab ranks first in the list of highest alcohol consumption among children in India.
- As many as 2 lakhchildren in the age group of 10-17 years from the state consume alcohol.
- West Bengal ranked second in the list and Maharashtra third.