National Conference on BharatNet
- BharatNet aimed at providing broadband connectivity to rural areas.
- Under the phase I, optical Fibre connectivity was made available at 1 lakh Gram Panchayats.
- Department of Telecommunication organized National Conference on BharatNet where MoU was signed for the launching of phase II.
- DoT has initiated discussions on delivering Broadband enabled Citizen Services in 1 lakh gram panchayats.
- Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) is the special purpose vehicle created as a PSU for execution of National Optical Fibre Network.
- It is funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund.
- It will implemented by the respective state government
Grahak Sadak Koyla Vitaran App
- The app is launched by the Union Ministry of Railways and Coal.
- It will benefit customers of Coal India Limited (CIL) lifting coal through road mode.
- It will help in logistics planning and bolster transparency in the system of loading programme and dispatch.
Human Rights Commission
- The NHRC/SHRC is the statutory body responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights.
- "Human Rights" means the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual.
- It is guaranteed by the constitution or embodied in the International covenants and enforceable by courts in India.
- The Madras High Court has recently held that neither the NHRC nor the SHRC are empowered to inquire into complaints lodged against private establishments, including hospitals.
- It held that human rights commissions could probe into complaints made against public servants alone.
- It highlighted the Section 12 (a) of the Protection of Human Rights Act of 1993 which empowered the commissions to inquire into
- violations of human rights or abetment thereof, and
- Negligence in the prevention of such violation by a public servant.
- The commission could not take on file a complaint made after the expiry of one year since the date on which the act constituting a violation of human rights was allegedly committed.
Nilgiris
- The rare, pale-skinned ‘white’ tiger was recently spotted for the first time in the Nilgiris.
- Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve was constituted by UNESCO in September 1986 under Man and Biosphere Programme.
- It is an International Biosphere Reserve in the Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills ranges of South India.
- The Nilgiri Sub-Cluster is a part of the Western Ghats, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2012.
- It includes the Mudumalai, Mukurthi, Nagarhole, and Bandipur national parks, as well as the Wayanad and Sathyamangalam wildlife sanctuaries.
Airport Authority of India (AAI)
- AAI, under the Ministry of Civil Aviation is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure.
- It is India’s state-owned airport agency with “Miniratna” status.
- It is likely to issue bonds to finance airport projects.
- The revenue earned from the bonds will primarily be meant to build seven Greenfield airports and step up the capacity of terminals and runways at existing airports.
- It is implementing the GAGAN project in technological collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
- Under GAGAN, the satellite based system will be used for navigation.
- The navigation signals thus received from the GPS will be augmented to achieve the navigational requirement of aircraft.
Louisiana Purchase
- It is a historic land deal signed between the U.S. and France in 1803.
- It was signed during the tenure of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson and Emperor Napoleon in France.
- Under the agreement, France agreed to sell its large North American territory of Louisiana to the U.S. government.
- After this deal, the land territory under the sovereign control of the U.S. government doubled in size.
- It is considered to be a distress sale by Napoleon who urgently needed money to fund his war efforts in Europe.
Source: The Hindu, PIB
