KARNATAKA

Mysuru gets hi-tech air quality monitoring station

Unable to get a piece of land in the core of the city for establishing a state-of-the-art air quality monitoring station, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has now developed the hi-tech station on its premises in Hebbal.

Real-time monitoring of ambient air quality has begun and the pollution levels recorded on Monday were found to be within the national limits.

The facility, called Online Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station, was established at an estimated cost of ₹1.5 crore and is maintained by a private agency. It can monitor around 20 parameters, including rainfall. An electronic display has been installed next to the station where continuously monitored data is displayed one after the other for public knowledge.

Carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ammonia, ozone, particulate matter, ethane, benzene, xylene, and other parameters can be monitored in real time and the data is available online on www.kspcb.kar.nic.in.

Ambient temperature, humidity, wind speeds, radiation levels, and rainfall can also be monitored using the hi-tech equipment at the station, he added. “Data from 15 minutes to 24 hours can be retrieved. There are different machines for different parameters and all are sensor-based,

The KSPCB was earlier manually monitoring four major air pollutants using conventional methods. With the station coming up, pollutants can be monitored continuously, especially during festivals when the air pollution level rises because of the use of firecrackers.

Sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, suspended particulate matter, and respirable suspended particulate matter are the four major pollutants that were monitored manually. According to the revised National Ambient Air Quality Standards, ozone, arsenic, nickel, benzene and benzo(a)pyrene, carbon monoxide, ammonia, and lead have been included for continuous monitoring.

Colour codes are given depending on the extent of reading — green for good, light green for satisfactory, yellow for moderate and so on. The air quality standards have been revised to toughen measures to control air pollution in tune with the norms in many developed countries.

INTERNATIONAL

BRICS Summit 2018 begins in Johannesburg

The 10th edition of BRICS Summit began in Johannesburg, South Africa on July 25, 2018. Attended by all the BRICS leaders, the BRICS Summit 2018 will be held from July 25 to July 27.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-nation tour of Africa, which began from Rwanda, will culminate in South Africa.

Theme of BRICS Summit 2018 is ‘BRICS in Africa: Collaboration for inclusive growth and shared prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution’.

NATIONAL

September to be celebrated as National Nutrition Month every year

Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India has organized 2nd meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan on 24th July, 2018 in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog.

September, 2018 will be celebrated as National Nutrition Month and this will be celebrated every year.

The Government of India has set-up POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission) which was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 8thMarch, 2018 from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan.

Invest India and Business France Sign Mou to Promote Investment

Invest India and Business France have signed an MoU to promote investment facilitation and cooperation between startups of India and France.
The goal will be to facilitate direct foreign investment by providing practical investment information to enterprises and support the companies pursuing those opportunities which contribute positively to economic growth of the two countries.

Invest India and Business France will collaborate to promote business and startup ecosystem cooperation through joint activities and exchange experiences to strengthen institutional knowledge and identify opportunities between businesses in the French and Indian private sector, creating a dedicated support structure to facilitate inbound companies and startups.

· West Bengal passes resolution to change name of state to ‘Bangla’

The ruling Trinamool Congress government placed a proposal in the state assembly to change the name of West Bengal to “Bangla” in all languages. The proposal will now be sent to the Home Ministry for approval, and the name of the state will be changed only if the Ministry approves it.
On August 29, 2016, the state Assembly had passed a resolution to change the name of West Bengal to ‘Bengal’ in English, ‘Bangla’ in Bengali and ‘Bangal’ in Hindi. The Union ministry of home affairs rejected the proposal saying that a state cannot have three different names in three different languages.

· National Sports Day has been postponed to September 25, 2018

The Sports Ministryhas postponed the National Sports Dayto September 25, 2018. It has also announced that the outstanding performances of players at the Asian games could be considered for the National Sports Awards.
Every year, the Sports Day is traditionally celebrated on August 29. But this year, with the Asian Games going on, the ministry has decided to postpone the event this time. The Asian Games are scheduled from August 18-September 2. Hence the National Sports Day will be held on September 25.

· Museum dedicated to all former PMs to come up soon at Teen Murti

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s keenness to const- ruct a museum dedicated to the legacy of all former Prime Ministers, first expressed by him in 2016, was endorsed by a majority of the 21 members of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML)

The new museum which will include memorabilia of PMs from Lal Bahadur Shastri onwards will come up on a plot of land within the Teen Murti estate.

· Scheme to compensate victims of sexual assaults should include children: SC

The Supreme Court said that a government scheme for rape survivors should include child victims of sexual assault.

The National Legal Services Authority’s scheme proposes a uniform payment of ₹five lakh to the maximum of ₹10 lakh to gang-rape survivors in any part of the country. Similarly, in the case of rape and unnatural sexual assault, the victim will get a minimum of ₹4 lakh and the maximum of ₹7 lakh.

The scheme proposes a minimum of ₹7 lakh for an acid attack victim in case of disfigurement of face. The upper limit will be ₹8 lakh. In acid attack cases, if the injury is more than 50%, a minimum compensation of ₹5 lakh will be given and the maximum will be ₹8 lakh.

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