
- The Union Cabinet approved a 10% reservation for 'economically backward' upper castes in government jobs. Ahead of the General Elections this year, the government has announced reservation in jobs for those belonging to the upper castes and earning less than Rs 8 lakh per year. A bill to amend Article 15 and 16 of the constitution will be moved in Parliament to this effect.
- Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr. K Sivan stated that the Union Government has allocated 10,900 crore rupees for the development of 40 satellite launch vehicles in the next 4 years. Dr. Sivan also stated that Chandrayan Mission will be launched within three months. It will land in one part of the Moon which is still unexplored. He also said that the human spaceflight Gaganyaan is planned to be launched by 2022, the 75th anniversary of Independence.
- Karnataka MP Pratap Simha on Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and requested him to review the existing recruitment policy of Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) In an official communication Simha urged Jaitley to reinstate the provision of Local language' which was dropped in 2015 notification of the Central recruitment agency IBPS. Referring to the language barriers in the banking sector, the Mysuru-Kodagu MP observed that officers from other states who are not well-versed with Kannada are facing trouble in daily business. Simha wrote that notification of 2012-14 which demands the knowledge of local language should be reinstated to resolve the problems faced by local job aspirants.
- Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated six road projects, claiming that these roads won't have potholes for the next 150-200 years. While at the event, he also emphasized on the use of bio-fuel, electricity and ethanol as an alternatives to the conventional fossil fuel.
- Veteran journalist Dinu Randive was conferred with the lifetime achievement award for his lifelong contributions in journalism, who started his journalistic career in 1956. He also participated in the freedom struggle, the Sanyukta Maharashtra movement and the Goa liberation movement.
- Home Minister Rajnath Singh presented Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism awards in 18 categories across print, broadcast, and purely-digital for outstanding work done in 2017. The Express Group instituted the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2005 as part of the centenary year celebrations of its founder, Ramnath Goenka. The awards aim to celebrate excellence in journalism, recognize courage and commitment and showcase the outstanding contributions of journalists from across the country.
- The government had notified a High-Level committee for implementation of Clause 6 of Assam Accord. Retired IAS officer M.P. Bezbaruah is chairman of the 9-member Committee. The committee will examine the effectiveness of actions since 1985 to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord. The clause envisaged that appropriate constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, should be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the people of Assam.
- Secunderabad Railway Station, in Hyderabad, became the first railway station of South Central Railway (SCR) zone to hoist a huge tricolor flag on a 100-foot tall pole. This was done according to the Railway Board's order to hoist the national flag at 75 A1 category railway stations. The flag would be guarded by the Railway Protection Force (RPF). Furthermore according to the order, SCR has taken the initiative to hoist the National Flag at 4 other 'A1' category Railway Stations - Kacheguda, Hyderabad, Vijaywada and Tirupati.
- Centre has appointed Sudhir Bhargava as the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC). Four new members have also been appointed to CIC, taking its strength to seven. Four vacancies still remain. Mr. Bhargava, a former Secretary to the Social Justice Ministry, has been a Commissioner since June 2015. He will be the ninth chief of the CIC. The CIC is the highest appeal body under the Right to Information Act. It has been functioning with just three members since the former chief and several members completed their tenure last month.
- The Lok Sabha passed a Bill to amend the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018. The amendment will allow individuals to offer voluntarily biometric ID as a means of identity verification for obtaining services such as opening a bank account and getting a mobile phone connection. The Bill also gives a minor the option to opt out of the 12-digit identity scheme on attaining the age of 18. It provides for stiff penalties for violation of norms set for the use of Aadhaar and bans service providers from storing core biometric information and Aadhaar number of individuals who voluntarily offer it as a means of authentication.
- Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced interest-free loans of up to Rs. 3 lakh for women self-help groups (WSHGs) in the state. There are around six lakh WSHGs in Odisha. He stated the initiative will benefit about 70 lakh women. The chief minister also distributed financial assistance of Rs. 3,000 each to six lakh WSHGs as part of the state government's efforts to digitally empower women. During the convention, Mr. Patnaik launched a scheme to distribute Rs. 15,000 seed money per group to three lakh new self-help groups. The chief minister announced incentives of Rs. 500 per month for Anganwadi workers and Rs. 200 for helpers.
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