JHARKHAND

With an aim to make Jharkhand self-sufficient in indigenous forest products sector, the State Government will soon establish honey processing plants in nine districts in order to boost honey production.

Attempting hard to revive the cottage industries which is directly associated with the endurance of various forest dwelling communities, Chief Minister Raghubar Das while distributing beekeeping boxes among the farmers here on Saturday assured them that the State government is committed to bring change and will take all possible initiatives to promote honey and other forest goods at a reasonable price.

Taking the concept of ‘Sweet Revolution’ ahead, 2.5 lakh beekeeping boxes will be distributed soon among 10 thousand farmers, residing in Jharkhand. The Government has also planned to rope in 600 trainers from Vikash Bharti and Ramkrishna Mission for imparting training to over 10 thousand farmers in beekeeping techniques.

Similarly, speaking about other forest produces like lac that have similar importance and can capture a huge market share, the CM said that besides, setting up processing plant for honey production, the government will also establish a lac processing unit.

Also, to popularise Khadi and other indigenous items, the State government will provide an acre land for establishing Khadi Mall at HEC. The CM said that Khadi Mall concept will benefit the people belonging to marginalised section through creating ample job opportunities. The State government may also collaborate with a few companies to promote forest items, assured the CM on the occasion.

INTERNATIONAL

East China’s Qingdao City will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in June this year.

Shandong is the birthplace of many ancient Chinese thinkers, including Confucius. In 2017, its GDP exceeded 7.2 trillion yuan.

The summit has China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan as full members.

India’s defence budget broke into the world’s top five, beating the UK for the first time, a new report by a London-based global think-tank has said.

India overtook the UK as the fifth-largest defence spender in the world in 2017 at $52.5 billion, up from $51.1 billion in 2016, according to the ‘Military Balance 2018’ report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

In contrast, the UK’s defence budget fell from $52.5 billion in 2016 to $50.7 billion last year.

World’s top five defence spenders are the US, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and India.

· India and Iran signed 9 MoUs To Boost Bilateral Ties

India and Iran signed nine agreements in order to further the bilateral cooperation between the two sides.
The pacts were signed after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Iran President Hassan Rouhani at New Delhi’s Hyderabad house.
The two countries inked pacts to enhance cooperation in the areas of taxation, maritime cooperation, health and medicine, trade, agriculture and postal cooperation.

· Saudi Arabia allows women to start business without male permission

Women in Saudi Arabiacan now open their own businesses without the consent of a husband or male relative.
The policy change, announced by the Saudi government also marks a major step away from the strict guardianship system that has ruled the country for decades.
The Country’s Ministry of Commerce and investment said on its website that women can now launch their own businesses and benefit from governmental e-services without having to prove consent from a guardian.

NATIONAL

The government will set up 562 more Ekalavya Model Residential School (EMRS) in tribal areas across the country that will be on par with the Navodaya Vidyalayas, Tribal Affairs minister Jual Oram said.

Detailing about the budgetary provisions for budget 2018-19, Oram said 271 EMRSs have already been sanctioned out of which 190 are currently operational.

The EMRS are planned under a government scheme for model residential school for Indian tribals (Scheduled Tribes) across India.

The Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh addressed at the National Banana Festival, 2018 held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

India is the largest producer of banana in the world with 29.7 million tonnes from an area of 0.88 million hectares with a productivity of 37 MT/ha.

Although India accounts for only 15.5per cent in area, its contribution in the world’s production is 25.58per cent.

PM to Inaugurate the Fourth Container Terminal of JNPT
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Fourth Container Terminal (FCT) of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai.

The new FCT will add a capacity of 24 lakh containers per year in Phase-I and after completion of Phase-II in 2022, the capacity of JNPT will be 100 lakh containers per year.

The Fourth Container Terminal has been developed on Design, Built, Fund, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis for a concession period of 30 years at an estimated cost of Rs. 7915 Crore.

The project is being implemented in two Phases. i.e. Phase –I and Phase –II. The indicative cost of the project for Phase – I is Rs 4719 Crore. The foundation stone for the project was laid by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in October 2015, and Phase I has been completed in record time.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Global Investors’ Summit at “Magnetic Maharashtra: Convergence 2018 at the MMRDA grounds at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex.

This summit is Maharashtra’s first Global Investors Summit and is said to be on the lines of Make In India initiative by PM Modi.

PM will next inaugurate the Wadhwani Institute for Artifical Intelligence at the University of Mumbai.

The Apex bankissued a notification in Mumbai, saying such denial of service causes inconvenience to the public at large as shopkeepers and traders refuse to accept coins for payment of goods and services.
The branches to accept coins of all denominations tendered at their counters either for exchange or for deposit in accounts
Also, RBI advised all banks to accept coins, particularly in one and two rupee denominations by weightment or sachets of 100 coins each.

Ola successfully launched ‘Auto Unnati’ program to assist its auto driver partners through the firm’s ‘Chalo Befikar’ insurance program, family welfare initiatives.
The aim is to create an inclusive environment in which driver partners can operate and thrive. ‘Auto Unnati’ is a milestone program in the same direction that will offer better financial and emotional stability for thousands of auto drivers in Bengaluru.
The program is aimed to enhance business assurance plan to ensure a healthy professional ecosystem for Auto driver partners and for those hoping to target high business profits with ease.