1) Swachh Survekshan 2017: Indore is cleanest city
•The 'Swachh Survekshan 2017' survey results were recently announced by Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu. The total 434 cities of India were surveyed. Indore in Madhya Pradesh is India’s cleanest city while Gonda in Uttar Pradesh is the dirtiest, according to the ‘Swachh Survekshan-2017’.
•In the survey, Bhusawal in Maharashtra stands second-last in the ranking. Gujarat has the maximum of 12 cities among the top 50 clean cities, closely followed by Madhya Pradesh with 11 and Andhra Pradesh with eight. Uttar Pradesh accounted for half of the bottom 50 cities in the cleanliness ranking.
Top 10 clean cities of India in 2017 are:
1.Indore (MP)
2.Bhopal (MP)
3.Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh)
4.Surat (Gujarat)
5.Mysuru (Karnataka)
6.Tiruchirapally (Tamil Nadu)
7.New Delhi Municipal Council (New Delhi)
8.Navi Mumbai (Mumbai)
9.Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh)
10.Vadodara (Gujarat).
Top 5 Dirtiest cities of India (with Rank) in 2017 are:
1.Gonda (UP)- 434,
2.Bhusawal (Maharashtra)- 433,
3.Bagaha (Bihar)- 432,
4.Hardoi (Uttarakhand)- 431,
5.Katihar (Bihar)- 430.
2) India to get world's highest railway bridge across Chenab river in J&K
•Around two years from now, the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir will be spanned by the world’s highest railway bridge that is expected to be 35 metres taller than Paris’ Eiffel Tower. The massive arch-shaped structure, being constructed at a cost of around Rs. 1,100 crores, will rise 359 m above the river bed.
•Designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 260 km per hour, the 1.315-km- long “engineering marvel” will connect Bakkal (Katra) and Kauri (Srinagar). The bridge forms a crucial link in the 111-km stretch between Katra and Banihal, which is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project.
•The bridge will be made of 63-mm thick special blast-proof steel as the region is prone to frequent terror attacks. Its concrete pillars will be designed to withstand explosions. Slated to be completed by 2019, it is expected to become one of the India's major tourist attraction.
3) Cabinet approved Vijayawada Airport as International Airport
•Union Cabinet approved Vijayawada Airport as International Airport recently. This move will improve the connectivity of the state and provide a wider choice of service at competitive cost to air travelers.
•It will also boost domestic and international tourism and socio-economic development of Andhra Pradesh. The decision has been taken as per the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act 2014. There will be cargo handling facilities at the airport, which will encourage agricultural exports which will be a boon to farmers.
4) Braj Bihari Kumar appointed as the chairman of ICSSR
•Braj Bihari Kumar, the editor of quarterly journals Dialogue and Chintan Srijan, has been appointed as the chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).
•He has succeeded famous economist S K Thorat. Thorat was heading the council since April 2011. The HRD Ministry took the decision finalizing his name for the top post for a period of three years.
5) India expected to achieve 7.1% growth this year: UN report
•As per the UN report, India is expected to achieve 7.1 percent growth this year as re-monetisation restores consumption, and infrastructure spending increases.
•The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) launched its annual flagship report 'The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2017'. The report said India's growth would edge up to 7.5 percent for 2018. It, however, warned that the country faces heightened risks related to the concentration of bad loans in the public sector banks.
6) AIIB grants $160 mn for Andhra Pradesh power project
•China-sponsored Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has recently approved USD 160 million loan for a power project in Andhra Pradesh, the first credit from the bank for an Indian project. The AIIB, in which India is the second largest shareholder after China, has approved the project with the objective to strengthen the power transmission and distribution system in Andhra Pradesh.
•The ‘24x7 Power for All’ project is part of Government of India’s ‘Power for All programme’ that was launched in 2014 to provide an efficient, reliable and affordable electricity to all consumers across selected states within five years from the start of implementation.
