NATIONAL
Beti Bachao Beti Padho Scheme Extended To 61 More Districts
Union Government has extended the Beti Bachao Beti Padho Scheme in additional 61 districts across 11 States and Union Territories with low Child Sex Ratio. It was announced on 19 April by the Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi while addressing the function in New Delhi. The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2015 from Haryana in 100 districts of the country to address the issue of declining Child Sex Ratio.
Google Extends Free WiFi To 10 Railway Stations
The search engine giant Google has extended free internet service through WiFi to 10 railway stations across the country to provide internet to over 1.5 million people. The free internet service was extended as part of Google’s tie up with Railtel, the internet provider arm of Indian Railways.
World Tiger Population Increased For The First Time In 100 Years
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Global Tiger Forum (GTF), the global tiger population has increased by 22 per cent after a century of constant decline. The number of wild tigers across the globe has gone up globally by 22 per cent to 3,890, from the 2010 estimate of 3,200. The data was based on national estimates of countries reported by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). India (2226), Russia (433), Indonesia (371), Malaysia (250), Nepal (198), Thailand (189), Bangladesh (106) and Bhutan (103). Besides, tiger population is also found in countries like China, Myanmar and Laos PDR.
PM Narendra Modi Launched ‘Stand Up India’ Scheme
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 5 April launched the ‘Stand up India’ scheme as part of the goverment’s efforts to support entrepreneurship among women and SC & ST communities. Prime Minister also inaugurated a Kaushal Kendra (Skilling Center) under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojna in Noida. The Scheme is intended to facilitate at least two projects per bank branch, on an average one for each category of entrepreneur. It is expected to benefit at least 2.5 lakh borrowers within 36 months. It provides for refinance window through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) with an initial amount of 10000 crore rupees. It will create redit guarantee mechanism through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC).
112 To Become India’s new Emergency Number
The Telecom Commission approved the number 112 as the single emergency number for India. This is similar to 911 of United States and 999 of United Kingdom. With this, Indian citizens in distress can just dial the single-number 112 for all emergency services such as police, ambulance and the fire department. It will direct the call to concerned departments immediately for help.