ANDHRA PRADESH

· Andhra Pradesh hamlets shine in rural survey

ð Kuligod in Karnataka’s Belagavi district is the country’s best developed village, but more than a third of the gram panchayats ranked in the top 10 are in Andhra Pradesh, according to the findings of an ongoing Rural Development Ministry survey.

ð With multiple panchayats assigned the same score – and thus tied at the same ranking – there are 97 panchayats in the top 10 ranks. Of these, 37 panchayats are in Andhra Pradesh while 24 are in Tamil Nadu.

ð Villages from other States are represented only in single digits. Of the States going to the polls next month, Telengana and Madhya Pradesh have five and four panchayats in the top 10 ranks respectively.

ð The Rural Development Ministry has done a gap analysis of more than 3.5 lakh villages, in more than 1.6 lakh panchayats under the Mission Antyodaya convergence scheme.

ð The survey indicates moderate progress in the rural housing scheme: less than 10% of the villages have more than 80% of their houses with kachha walls and roofs, indicating temporary structures. More than 73% of the villages are connected with an all-weather road.

INTERNATIONAL

· India bagged 3 more gold medals in the Para Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia

India won three more goldon the third day of competitions at the Para Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia. India maintains its eighth spot.
Ekta Bhyanin women’s F32/51 club throw event and Narayan Thakur in men’s T35 100m dash clinched gold. Manish Narwal, Indian para-shooter, bagged gold in the men’s SH1 10m air pistol event. So far, India has won 6 gold, 9 silver and 13 bronze medals in the Para Asian Games 2018.

Microsoft and Niti Aayog partner to deploy AI solution

The country’s premier think tank Niti Aayog and Microsoft India have signed a partnership to deploy artificial intelligence based solutions across various sectors such as agriculture and healthcare.

Microsoft India will support Niti Aayog by combining the cloud, AI, research and its vertical expertise for new initiatives and solutions across several core areas including agriculture and healthcare and the environment.

Microsoft will also accelerate the use of AI for the development and adoption of local language computing.

· Malaysia to scrap death penalty

Malaysia’s Cabinethas decided to abolish the death penalty which was welcomed by rights advocates. There are more than 1,200 people on death row set to win a reprieve following a groundswell of opposition to capital punishment. The move comes after the opposition of the public.
Executions are currently mandatory for murder, kidnapping and drug trafficking, among other crimes, and is carried out by hanging. Once the death penalty is scrapped, Malaysia will have the moral authority to fight for the lives of Malaysians facing death sentences abroad.

NATIONAL

· Website for Aero India 2019 launched by Minister of Defence

The portal facilitated payment of registration fee online for business visitors.
Furthermore, it has been integrated with multi-currency Payment Gateway where Indian companies would be able to pay in Indian Rupees using Credit Card/Debit Card/Net Banking/UPI/NEFT/RTGS and foreign companies would be able to pay in US dollars using credit card/debit card.

· Shimla’s name may be changed to Shyamala

The Himachal Pradesh government is considering renaming state capital Shimla to Shyamala, following a demand made by right-wing Hindu groups as part of efforts to remove “symbols of British rule”.

The demand for changing Shimla’s name gained momentum after the Uttar Pradesh government renamed Allahabad as Prayagraj.

The summer capital of India under the British from 1864 to Independence, and landmarks associated with the British.

· Railways to have pressurised water filling mechanism

Railways is investing ₹500 crore for pressurised water filling system across a network of about 8,500 stations to improve punctuality. This will be the first time that Indian Railway is overhauling the way it fills water in trains.

The pressurised water system will quickly fill the water and the train can continue its journey after a brief halt.

Almost 30% of trains ran late in financial year 2017-18, the railways’ worst performance in three years.

Apart from that, the Indian Railways is undergoing a phase of upgrades and renewal of tracks. Data shows that the number of train accidents fell to two-digit figures for the first time in 35 years in the previous fiscal.

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