RAJASTHAN

Rajasthan sends report on ambitious canal project to Central Water Commission
The state water resources department has submitted a detailed project report (DPR) to the Central Water Commission on the ambitious Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) which is being mooted as a panacea to the drinking water problem in 13 districts of the region.
The DPR estimates the project cost at Rs 37,000 crore with a curtailment of Rs 3,000 crore against the cost of the project calculated earlier. “The earlier cost of the project was Rs 40,000 crore but the DPR has cut the cost by Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 37,000 crore, said the official.

The project proposes to link the Kalisindh, Gambhiri and Parvati rivers and is conceived as a permanent solution to the drinking water crisis in 13 districts, which will run concurrent to the ongoing Jal Swavalamban Abhiyan (JSA) in the state.

The chief minister had urged the Union government to declare this as a national project under which 60% of finances will be met by the Centre and 40 % by the state government, said an official familiar with the development.

INTERNATIONAL

· China Successfully Launches Remote Sensing Satellites

China successfully launched remote sensing satellites designed to conduct electromagnetic probes and other experiments.
The satellites launched on board of Long March-2C rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan province.

· WHO for first time releases guidelines on child sex abuse

The World Health Organisation (WHO) for first time formulated clinical guidelines on responding to children and adolescents who have been sexually abused.
The guidelines are grounded in human rights standards and ethical principles.
They will assist frontline health care providers general practitioners, gynaecologists, nurses and others who may directly receive victim of sexual abuse or may identify sexual abuse during the course.

NATIONAL

The Punjab government will give an assistance of Rs. 75,000 for marriages of couples belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) as well as the inter-caste marriages in the state.

Under the new scheme the non-governmental organisations (NGOs), Trusts and other social welfare institutions arranging more than 10 marriages of SC and inter-caste couples will be given financial assistance to the tune of Rs 75,000 per couple.

A sum of Rs. 60,000 would be given for purchasing household items such as utensils, furniture and gold and Rs 15,000 per couple to the organiser or concerned organisation as consolation prize

Odisha government has decided to launch a new scheme worth Rs 635 crore to provide irrigation facility to about 55,000 hectare of agricultural land across the state.

The scheme, “Nabakrushna Choudhury Seccha Unnayan Yojana”, has been named after former chief minister and freedom fighter Nabakrushna Choudhury.

The scheme would be implemented with an outlay of Rs 635 crore over a period of three years.

Under the scheme, 46,296 hectare command area of 14 major and medium irrigations and 284 minor irrigation projects will be revived.

After a long flight of thousands of miles, not often punctuated by breaks, lakhs of migratory birds have made their way to the Chilika Lake, Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon.
The Major birdcongregations have been spotted in the wetlands of the Nalabana Bird Sanctuary inside Chilika and Mangalajodi, a major village on the banks of the lake.

The Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC)based at Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) had conducted “Multi-State Mega Mock Exercise of Tsunami for East Coast of India”.
The Participants in the drill included State Disaster Management Authorities of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The mock drill was conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

The Defence of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Exercise (DANX-2017) was conducted under the aegis of Andaman & Nicobar Command from 20 to 24 November 2017.
The main objective of the five-day exercise was to practice and validate procedures and drills of all Command forces aimed at defending strategic Andaman and Nicobar Island.
The purpose of the exercise was for adopting planning and precise execution of Command plans by forces in a synergistic manner.