Andhra Pradesh Affairs
Villagers in UP lock stray cattle in school over damaged crop
Residents of a village in Shahjahanpur locked a large herd of stray cattle inside a primary school after the animals damaged standing wheat crop. They subsequently staged a protest and tried to stop the police from releasing them, demanding shelter for the strays. Ten people were arrested in the incident. They were subsequently released after being given a warning.
The incident occurred in Lehrawar village, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Jalalabad police station, near Shahjahanpur city. The cattle were discovered by school teachers inside classrooms. They subsequently called the police.
National and International Affairs
INS Khukri decommissioned after 32 years of service
Indias first indigenously built missile corvettes, INS Khukri (P49), was decommissioned after 32 years of service at Visakhapatnam on December 24, 2021.
During the decommissioning ceremony, the national flag, the decommissioning pennant and naval ensign were lowered at sunset.
INS Khukri was built by the Mazagon Dock shipbuilders on August 23, 1989.
It had the distinction of being part of Western as well as Eastern Fleets.
In her service to Indian Navy, the ship was commanded by 28 commanding officers.
It traversed a distance of more than 6,44,897 nautical miles, equivalent to navigating across the world 30 times or three times the distance between the Moon and the Earth.
The ship was affiliated with the Gorkha Brigade of the Indian Army.
National breed conservation award for 2021
The National Breed Conservation Award for 2021 was presented, recently.
The award has been bagged by All-India Co-ordinated Research Project (AICRP) on poultry breeding, Mannuthy, which carried under the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Science University (KVASU).
It received the prestigious award from ICAR the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) for the cause of conservation and research activities on Tellicherry breed.
Tellicherry breed is the only registered native chicken breed in the state of Kerala.
The award carries a prize money of Rs 10,000 and a citation.
Award was presented at the Kisan Divas celebrations, which was organised by ICAR-NBAGR recently.
The National Breed Conservation Award was established by ICAR NBAGR. It was established for centres or projects which contribute towards conservation and improvement of registered Indian breeds of domestic poultry and livestock.
Recent Milestone in Gram Ujala programme
Under the Flagship Gram Ujala Programme, the state-owned CESL has achieved a milestone to distribute 50 lakh LED bulb. This milestone was achieved under the Project Crore of the Gram Ujala Programme.
CESL started this programme under the leadership of Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy R K Singh, in March 2021.
It achieved the milestone of distributing 10 lakh bulbs in a single day, on the occasion of National Energy Conservation Day 2021 in December.
Under the programme, CESL is providing high-quality 7-watt and 12-watt LED bulbs at the cost of Rs 10 per bulb, in exchange of working incandescent bulbs. It also provides a 3-year guarantee on it.
Every household is entitled to exchange a maximum of five bulbs.
The distribution of CESL has resulted in energy savings of 71,99,68,373.28 units per year and the cost savings of Rs 250 crore per year across rural areas of the states covered under the scheme.
Gram Ujalas scheme is being implemented in rural households across the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. The programme will be run till March 31, 2022.
India: Launch of 27 Border Infrastructure Projects
IndianDefence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated 24 bridges and three roads, which have been constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
These bridges and roads have been constructed across four States and two Union Territories in India
On the occasion, Defence Minister commended BRO for completing these projects, despite the challenges of high altitudes and sub-zero temperatures.
Minister also announced to set upof BRO Cafes at 75 places, under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsavcelebrations.
ICRAs forecast of Indian GDP Growth
Ratings agency ICRA revised its Indian GDP growth estimate, recently.
According to ICRAs estimate, there was an upward growth of 7.9 % in the second quarter of financial year 2021-22.
An increase in government spending in September resulted to an upgrade of GDP growth estimate in the second quarter.
As per earlier estimate, real GDP growth for the July-September period was 7.7%.
GDP of India had surged by over 20% in the first quarter, because of a low base as the first wave of covid-19 pandemic raged.
As per agency, there was a growth of 8.5%, 7.9% and 3% respectively across industry, services & agriculture and forestry & fishing for the same quarter.