GOA

• Goa government proposes to tweak solar policy

• To incentivise production of solar power in the state, the government has proposed a 50% subsidy for small prosumers (consumers and producers of solar power) as an amendment to the Goa State Solar Energy Policy, 2017.
• Instead of granting an interest-free loan that would be recovered in instalments from small prosumers, the government proposes to provide a 50% subsidy on capital costs to prosumers in the residential, institutional and social sector categories that have solar plants with a capacity of up to 100kW. If the amendment is allowed, the Centre will bear 30% of the subsidy’s cost and the state, 20%. Also, such a subsidy will be released to the prosumer only six months after the solar power project is connected to the grid.

• A single-window clearance portal for grid-connected rooftop solar installations has already been readied for consumers in Goa, but is yet to be launched. Developed by the EU-India Technical Cooperation Energy Project, in coordination with the Asian Development Bank’s technical assistance programme, it will assist consumers in adopting green energy without having to worry about red tapism. 

  INTERNATIONAL

   

  ·        UNESCO accepted Korean wrestling as one of the worlds most treasured cultural practices

   

  • UNESCO accepteda joint bid for Korean wrestling to be recognized as one of the world’s most treasured cultural practices. This bids a new step in their reconciliation efforts of North and South Korea.
  • The two Koreas had originally filed separate applications for their traditional form of wrestling to be recognized on the UN agency’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
  • The announcement is the latest in a string of symbolic gestures between Seoul and its nuclear-armed neighbor in recent months. In North Korea, it is known as Ssirumand in South Korea, it is known as Sssireum. The wrestling has been practiced at village festivals for centuries.

   

   

  • International Day of Persons with Disabilities

   

  • The annual observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities Day was proclaimed in 1992, by a United Nations General Assembly resolution.

   

  • International Day of Persons with Disabilities aims to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

   

  • The theme for this year is Empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality.

   

  • The United Nations will launch the first-ever flagship report on disability and development “UN Flagship Report on Disability and Development 2018 – Realizing the SDGs by, for and with persons with disabilities”.

  ·        Microsoft passes Apple to become most valuable company

   

  • Microsoft has surpassed Apple as the most valuable US companywith a market value of about $812 billion. Apple’s market cap was about $1 billion less.

    In August 2018, Apple became the first US company with a $1 trillion 

  • Under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has made a years-long bet on cloud computing. This has positioned Microsoft as one of the two dominant players – along with Amazon (AMZN) – in a fast growing market, and propelled the company to its first $100 billion sales year.

   

   

  NATIONAL

  ·        WhatsApp awaits RBI approval to expand its payment services

   

  • WhatsAppsought Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval that it can expand its payments services to all its 200 million users in India.
  • The messaging app is waiting for a regulatory clearance to launch full-fledged payments operations in India. It has been almost two years since it first began discussions with the government on its payments services plans.
  • The initiation comes at a time when competitors such as Google have forged ahead with their payments offerings. WhatsApphas drawn fire from the government over the spread of fake messages on its platform.

   

   

   

  • India’s first locomotive-less train ‘Train 18’ crosses 180 kmph speed limit

   

  • India’s first locomotive-less less train, known as Train 18, breached the 180 kmph speed limit during a test run.

   

  • Train 18 is capable of touching 200 kmph provided the rest of Indian Railways’ system such as tracks and signals permit. When this indigenously designed train is made operational, it will become country’s fastest train.

   

  • With 16 coaches, the train will have the same passenger carrying capacity as that of the Shatabdi Express.

   

  ·        Defence Ministry approves military procurement worth Rs 3000 crore

   

   

  • The approved deal includes procurement of indigenous BrahMos missilesfor two Indian Navy ships that are to be built in Russia.
  • The Defence Acquisition Council also approved the procurement of Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARVs)for the Indian Army’s main battle tank, Arjun.
  • Jointly developed by India and Russia, the BrahMos missile flies at almost three timesthe speed of sound.

   

  ·        Pawan Singh is the first Indian to be elected in ISSF judges committee

   

  • Pawan Singh is also the Joint Secretary General of National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).

   

  • He was a former coach of the Indian shooting team.

   

  • The Judges Committee consists of a Chairman and 7 members.

   

  • It is responsible for the uniform application of shooting rules.

   

  ·        RBI launches survey on India’s startup sector

   

   

  • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched a Survey on India’s startup sector (SISS) with an endeavor to create a profile of the startup sector in India and provide dimensions relating to turnover, profitability and workforce.
  • In a recent NASSCOM-Zinnov report titled “Indian Start-up Ecosystem 2018: Approaching Escape Velocity,”, India has emerged as the third largest startup hub in the world.
  • According to the report, Bangalore, Delhi-NCR and Mumbai are the top cities which have seen a tremendous growth in startups, with Bangalore becoming one of the fastest growing technology startup hubs.