Madhya Pradesh
- Uma Bharti’s tweet reveals row over Ken-Betwa river linkage project
- The clash between Madhya Pradesh government and the union ministry over finance, execution and sharing of water from Ken-Betwa river linkage project apparently resurfaced .
- Uma Bharti had in 2016 threatened to go on a hunger strike if concerns for tigers and vultures come in the way of linking two rivers that will benefit millions of people in central India. At that time the project to link the Ken and Betwa rivers was stuck due to concerns that it will impact the habitats of tigers and vultures.
- The Rs 17,000 crore project to interlink the Ken and Betwa rivers, both originating in Madhya Pradesh and flowing into Uttar Pradesh, has got all the clearances. Now this project is stuck over a dispute on sharing of water between the two states.
- Once allocation of water is finalised, 27 villages of MP will have to be shifted in the first phase of the river-linking project. The project has been in the pipeline since 1982 when the government set up National Water Development Agency (NWDA) to carry out water balance and feasibility studies for river linking. It, however, got its first major push under then PM Vajpayee’s tenure.
INTERNATIONAL
- World’s biggest and powerful X-ray laser gun unveiled.
- The world’s largest and powerful X-ray laser- EuropeanX-ray Free Electron Laser(XFEL) unveiled in Hamburg, Germany.
- The XEFL is series of 3.4-kilometer tunnels up to 38 meters underground near the city of Hamburg.
- It took 8 years to build 1.5-billion-euro ($1.7 billion) facility.
- It has the capacity to generate extremely intense laser flashes, at a rate of 27,000 per second generated by Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission(SASE).
- World’s highest sandcastle built in German city
- The world’s highest sandcastle is now standing 68 meterstall in the German cityof Duisburg.
- A German travel operator organized the construction of the mammoth sandcastle, bringing in 3,500 tons of sand over the past three and a half weeks to the site at a former steelworks in the inland city.
- The new sandcastle is decorated with sand models of tourist attractions such as Athens’ Acropolis, Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
NATIONAL
- Railways to rename trains after famous literary works
- The Railways Ministry is looking at a proposal to rename trains after famous literary works, referencing not just their authors, but the region they come from.
- So, passengers travelling to West Bengal could soon board a train named after a novel by Mahashweta Devi and a train ride to Bihar could reference a work by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar
- The Indian Railways also launched the Deen Dayalu coaches to commemorate Upadhyaya.
- The railways is a secular integrating factor in the country and the names of the trains can be used to showcase varied cultural identities.
- Union Minister launches scheme for senior citizens belonging to BPL category
- Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Thaawarchand Gehlot has launched a scheme that provides for physical aids and assisted-living devices for senior citizens belonging to the BPL category in Gujarat.
- This ambitious scheme, is expected to benefit 5, 20,000 senior citizens over a period of three years.
- The centrally-sponsored scheme, `Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana’, was unveiled on April 1 this year and since then it has already been launched in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
- Under the scheme, devices will be distributed to senior citizens free of cost.
- Rajiv Gauba is new Home Secretary
- Senior IAS offi
cer Rajiv Gauba took charge as the Union Home Secretary after incumbent Rajiv Mehrishi superannuated - A 1982 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, Mr. Gauba will have a fixed two-year tenure.
- Gauba served as Officer on Special Duty in the Home Ministry since June 27 after his name was announced as the new Home Secretary.