23 Feb 2018: UPSC Exam PIB Summary & Analysis

North Zone Regional Farmers Fair-2018

• Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh addressed a gathering at North Zone Regional Farmers Fair-2018 in Varanasi.
• The Fair was jointly organized by ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi; Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India; Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA), India; Department of Agriculture, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh and Association for Promotion of Innovations in Vegetables (APIV).
• The 3-day North Zone Regional Farmers Fair-2018 saw participation of farmers from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and New Delhi.
• The Fair will provide detailed information on ways to double farmer’s income through food nutrition and livelihood security. Scientific and technical guidance are also being provided to farmers in order to help them solve the problems related to agriculture sector.

5th international data science summit

• Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the National Standards Body of India, in association with Data Science Foundation organized the 5th international data science summit in New Delhi.
• The conference was attended by around 130 delegates from Corporate Officers and executives involved in strategy, Government Policy Planners, Academic institutions, Electrical utilities, Researchers and Developers along with Standards Development Organizations.
• Eminent speakers from across the globe discussed various topics and aspects of big data, including Big Data Standardization, Challenges with Big Data.
• In the recent past, the topic ‘Big data’ have gained significant popularity globally because of its capability to revolutionize the businesses and services.
• In fact, big data has an impact on every aspect of our daily life. The emerging technology areas like Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial intelligence, machine learning are fuelled by Big data and analytics only.
• In India also Big data has become the major focus of scientists and technologists because of our government’s new initiatives like ‘Digital India’.

RAS BANARAS SANSKRITI MAHOTSAV

• ‘Ras Banaras – Swachhagrah – Bapu ko Kaaryaanjali’, a diversified cultural festival organized by the Ministry of Culture at Maan Mandir and Assi Ghat of Varanasi concluded successfully.
• The event appealingly connected country’s youth to various facets of the country’s rich and vibrant culture alongside giving a message of cleanliness to the people of Varansi.
• School-children affiliated to MoC steered The Swachhta drive through exhibitions, songs, puppetry, nukkad nataks and folk dances. 

Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India Sign $ 84 Million Loan

• The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $84 million loan for improvement and expansion of water supply in Bhagalpur and Gaya towns in Bihar.
• The tranche 2 loan is part of the $200 million multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) for the Bihar Urban Development Investment Program that was approved by ADB in 2012 to provide sustainable urban infrastructure and services in four towns in Bihar – Bhagalpur, Gaya, Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur.
• The loan will have a 25-year term, including a grace period of 5 years, an annual interest rate determined in accordance with ADB’s lending facility based on the London interbank offered rate (LIBOR), and a commitment charge of 0.15% per year.

Indo-German MOU on technical cooperation under Sustainable Urban Development programme & Smart Cities in India

• The objective of the programme is to develop and apply concepts for sustainable urban development about the provision of urban basic services and housing in selected cities and Smart Cities in India.
• The Agreement was signed between Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit(GIZ) GmbH, India on behalf of the Government of Federal Republic of Germany.
• The ‘Sustainable Urban Development Programme – Smart Cities in India’ project is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and jointly implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
• The project support to Government of India will seek to achieve the set target of promoting sustainable urban development under the national urban missions/programmes such as Smart Cities Mission, linking with the Sustainable Development Goal No. 11 ‘Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’.
• The German contribution to the project is up to 8 million EUR.  The project will continue for a duration of three years (starting from 2018 till December 2020).

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