GOA

Goa CM Manohar Parrikar approves infrastructure projects worth Rs 600 crore

Chief minister Manohar Parrikar reviewed the ongoing works of the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) and approved projects totalling over Rs 600 crore.

A long-pending proposal for a multi-purpose bus stand at Margao got the nod along with five other bus stands at various locations in the state.

The cost of the Margao bus stand project is estimated at Rs 350 crore. Besides, the bus stand, which will be operated by the Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC), a shopping mall, hotels, and shops will be given out on lease, the tender for which will be floated at the earliest.

INTERNATIONAL

· Thailand becomes 1st country in Southeast Asia to legalize medical marijuana

The junta-appointed parliament voted 166-0 to amend the Narcotic Act of 1979to legalise the medicinal use of marijuana.
Marijuana was used in Thailand to relieve pain and fatigueuntil its use was criminalised in the country in the 1930s.
In Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, marijuana traffickers who are caught, face capital punishment.

· Russia successfully tested hypersonic missile

Russia successfully tested thehypersonic missile system. Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed final tests of a hypersonic missile, which he had earlier said would render existing missile systems obsolete.

Russia has a new type of strategic weapon, the intercontinental Avangard system would be ready for use from 2019.

The hypersonic missile could fly at 20 times the speedof sound and manoeuvre up and down, meaning that it could breach defence systems. The final test is after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to pull out of a key Cold War-era nuclear weapons pact, the three-decade-old Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). Mr.Putin has laid out plans to develop missiles banned under the deal if the U.S. abandons it.

NATIONAL

· Aadhaar not mandatory for admission in schools

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has made it clear that schools cannot make Aadhaar a pre-condition to admit the students. UIDAI has categorically made it clear that asking for Aadhaar card for admissions is not as per the provisions of law and doing so will be against the recent order of the Supreme Court.

UIDAI has asked schools to ensure that children are not left out from schools due to unavailability of Aadhaar. Instead, the UIDAI has asked the schools to admit children without Aadhaar and ensure that children are enrolled for Aadhaar once they are in schools by arranging special camps for them.

The UIDAI’s clarification has come at a right time as admissions to nursery and entry-level classes have begun in over 1,500 private schools in Delhi.

No rise in working women despite high literacy levels: ICRIER study

A rise in literacy levels among women has failed to translate into an increase in the number of working women due to a combination of socio-economic factors such as the importance of education for improving marital prospects as well as higher prestige attached to households which keep women out of labour force, according to a new research.

A study by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) has cited the Labour Bureau’s employment figures to show that there is a rise in the percentage of women out of labour force between 2011-2012 and 2015-2016 across all levels of education and age-cohorts.

The research attributes the trend to four major factors: the role education plays in marriage markets, social norms, poor condition for educated women and quality of education.

· A 16-yr-old can drive e-scooter now

Teenagers in the 16-18 age group can drive e-scooters as part of the India’s aim to become an all-electric nation by 2030.

Aimed at promoting electric mobility among first-time motorcyclists and the automotive fraternity, the initiative to allow 16-year-olds to drive e-scooters comes close on the introduction of green licence plate for electric motor vehicles.

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has amended the Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989 to modify the ‘Category L1’ (motorcycle) to pave way for those in the 16- 18 age group to drive e-scooters that has started hitting the market.

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