The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has implemented key urban reforms, projects for urban rejuvenation, and provision of water, sewerage and sanitation under the Mission AMRUT.
Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT) has a reform agenda spread over 11 reforms comprising 54 milestones to be achieved by the States and Union Territories.
The objectives of AMRUT are as follows
Ensure that every household has access to a tap with assured supply of water and a sewerage connection.
Increase the amenity value of cities by developing greenery and well maintained open spaces.
Reduce pollution by switching to public transport or constructing facilities for non-motorized transport.
International Whaling Commission
Recently Japan announced to quit from the International Whaling Commission and resume commercial whaling.
The International Whaling Commission is an Inter-governmental Organization whose purpose is the conservation of whales and the management of whaling.
The legal framework of the IWC is the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.
The IWC allows non-zero whaling quotas for aboriginal subsistence and also member nations may issue 'Scientific Permits' to their citizens.
All member countries of the IWC are signatories to this Convention, the IWC has a current membership of 89 Governments from countries all over the world.
India joined as a member of International Whaling Commission in 1981.
Hongyun Project
China has launched its first communication satellite to provide broadband internet services worldwide.
The satellite is the first in the Hongyun project planned by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC).
The Hongyun project aims to build a space-based communications network to provide broadband internet connectivity to users around the world, especially those in the underserved regions.
Once completed Hongyun will cover the whole world and offer round-the-clock communication services to users in Polar Regions, who now have difficulties accessing telecommunication and internet services, even from on board an aircraft or a ship or in a remote area.
Public Credit Registry
RBI has proposed to set up a wide-based digital Public Credit Registry (PCR) to capture details of all borrowers and willful defaulters.
The PCR will be an extensive database of credit information for India that is accessible to all stakeholders.
The idea is to capture all relevant information in one large database on the borrower and, in particular, the borrower’s entire set of borrowing contracts and outcomes.
The proposed PCR will also include data from entities like market regulator SEBI, Ministry of corporate affairs, Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).
Polavaram Project
Polavaram project is a multi-purpose irrigation project, under the project a gravity dam is under construction across the Godavari River.
The project is located around West Godavari District and East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh state and its reservoir spreads in parts of Chhattisgarh and Orissa States also.
The aims for development of Irrigation, Hydropower and drinking water facilities to East Godavari, Vishakhapatnam, West Godavari and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh.
Madan Mohan Malaviya
Madan Mohan Malaviya was an Indian educationist, freedom fighter and the thrice president of Indian National Congress.
He was respectfully addressed as 'Mahamana', he was the founder of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) at Varanasi in 1916, which was created under the B.H.U. Act, 1915.
He also founded a highly influential English-newspaper, “The Leader” which was published from Allahabad.
Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was posthumously conferred with Bharat Ratna.
