BIHAR

• In Bihar, school bag weight curbs from 2019
• Most children in the city will have to continue lugging heavy loads to school for this academic year despite the Union human resource development ministry’s recent circular limiting weights of schoolbags.

• As per the circular, the state governments have to formulate guidelines to limit schoolbag weight according to the class the students are enrolled in. The Union ministry’s letter also says that Class I and Class II students need not to be given homework.

• As per the circular, the weight of schoolbags for students of classes I and II should not exceed 1.5 kg, while those of students of class III to V should weigh between 2kg and 3kg. Schoolbags of students of classes VI and VII should not weigh more than 4kg, while the weight of schoolbags of Class VIII and Class IX students should not be above 4.5kg. The schoolbag of a Class X student should not weigh above 5kg.

• Telangana has absolute class-wise ceilings for the weight of schoolbags while Maharashtra says the schoolbags should not weigh more than 10 per cent of the child’s weight. The Centre’s directive also asked the states and Union territories to ensure their school boards only allowed the teaching of mathematics and language in Classes I and II. It said environmental studies could be added in Classes III to V. 

  INTERNATIONAL

   

   

  ·        UN selects Noida, Greater Noida to participate in Global Sustainable Cities 2025 initiative

   

  • The twin-citiesin Gautam Buddh Nagar district, adjoining the national capital, have been selected in the “University City” category ahead of Mumbai and Bengaluru as the only invitee from India.
  • Overall 25 citiesacross the world have been selected in five categories by the UN Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) cities initiative.
  • In September 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that includes 17 SDGs, otherwise known as the Global Goals, a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

   

  ·        Ohio becomes the first US state to accept taxes in Bitcoin

   

  • Ohio will become the first US state to accept payment of taxes by businesses in Bitcoin, beginning this week.
  • Businesses can pay 23 different taxes with Bitcoin, from employee withholding tax to fuel and sales tax, through an online cryptocurrency portal.
  • The state will use BitPay, a cryptocurrency global payment system, to complete the process.

   

   

  NATIONAL

   

  ·        National Milk Day observed on 26 November

   

  • National Milk Daythat was started in 2014 on 26th November to mark the birth anniversary of the father of White Revolution, Dr Verghese Kurien was celebrated in the Meghalaya for the first time.
  • Kurien was the architect of Operation Floodwhich was launched in 1970 by India’s National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
  • India’s Operation flood was the world’s biggestdairy development program which gave a major thrust to the milk production of the nation.

   

   

  • Task Force for drafting a New Direct Tax Legislation

   

  • In order to review the Income-tax Act, 1961 and to draft a new direct tax law in consonance with the economic needs of the country, a Task Force was constituted by the Government of India in November, 2017.

   

  • In partial modification of the earlier order, the Government has appointed Shri Akhilesh Ranjan, Member (Legislation), CBDT as Convener of the Task Force. Other members of the Task Force remain unchanged.

   

  • The Task Force shall submit its report to the Government by February 28, 2019.

   

  • Sunil Arora to be next Chief Election Commissioner

   

  • Election Commissioner Sunil Arora has been appointed as the next Chief Election Commissioner. He will take charge as the next CEC on December 2.

   

  • A former bureaucrat, Sunil Arora was appointed as Election Commissioner in September last year. 62 year old Sunil Arora had been the Union Information and Broadcasting Secretary and Secretary in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

   

  • A 1980 batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, Sunil Arora has worked in ministries and departments such as Finance, Textiles and Planning Commission.

   

  ·        Indian Government to infuse INR 42,000 Crore In PSU Banks By March

   

  • The Indian governmentwill infuse INR 42,000 crorein the state-owned banks by March-end and the next tranche would be released as early as December 2018, according to a senior finance ministry official.
  • The government earlier pumped INR 11,336 crore in five PSBs PNB, Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Andhra Bank, and Corporation Bank to improve their financial health.

   

  ·        Gujarat topped in implementing Ayushman Bharat after 2 months of launch: NHA

   

   

  • According to the National Health Agency,after 2 months of the launch of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, Gujarat emerged as the top performer under the scheme.
  • Around 76,000 hospital admissions have been cleared in Gujarat since September 23, Tamil Nadu ranked second at 54,273 and Chhattisgarh third at 53,180 sanctioned hospitals.
  • Karnataka and Maharashtra rank 4th and 5th closing off the top 5 ranks under the scheme.
  • Although Uttar Pradesh and Bihar accounted for the highest number of beneficiaries, they still rank among the lowest performers so far.
  • UP verified 1.18 crore families as beneficiaries and in Bihar, the number is 1.09 crore families.

   

  ·        India to Lay Foundation Stone For Kartarpur Corridor Route

   

   

  • Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of the Dera Baba Nanak Kartarpur Sahib corridor for Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahibin Pakistan.
  • Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib is situated in district Narowal 4 KM away from Indo Pak border in Pakistan.
  • Presently Sikh pilgrims have to go through long visa processes and they have to wait for the particular dates of buses to reach Gurudwara via Wagah border only.