EVENING NEWS DIGEST: 05 May 2018

EVENING NEWS DIGEST: 05 May 2018 NWIC SETUP AS A SINGLE WINDOW SOURCE OF UPDATED DATA ON WATER RESOURCES   

The government has created National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC), which will be a repository of nation-wide water resources data. NWIC is expected to provide a 'single window' source of updated data on water resources and allied themes besides providing value added products. To empower, inform and enrich every citizen with upto date and reliable water data and information through web based India Water Resources Information System (India-WRIS) on a GIS platform in public domain and to develop value added products and services for all aspects of integrated water resources management serving the nation through research, capacity building, linkages, outreach and better governance in water resources sector.

NORTH KOREA CHANGES ITS TIME ZONE TO MATCH SOUTH 

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North Korea has changed time zone to match the South after last week's inter-Korean summit. At 23:30 local time (15:00 GMT) on 4 May 2018 the country's clocks moved forward 30 minutes to midnight. The reset is "the first practical step" to speed up Korean unification. Until now, it was on Pyongyang Time, which is half an hour behind South Korea and Japan. It introduced the extra 30 minutes in 2015 as a stand against wicked Japanese imperialists. Who else has changed their clock: In 2007, Venezuela's former leader Hugo Chávez turned the clocks back by half an hour. In 2011, Samoa and Tokelau skipped an entire day - and jumped westwards across the international dateline - to align with trade partners.

NO NOBEL PRIZE ON LITERATURE THIS YEAR: SWEDISH ACADEMY    

The organisation that decides the Nobel Prize for Literature has said it will not announce an award this year, after it was engulfed in a scandal over sexual assault allegations. Two prizes for literature will be announced next year, one for 2018 and one for 2019. The academy says it will now announce the 2018 winner along with the 2019 winner next year. The scandal is the biggest to hit the prize since it was first awarded in 1901. Apart from six years during the world wars, there has been only one year when the prize was not awarded. No worthy winner was found in 1935.

12TH INFORMAL MEETING OF SAARC FINANCE MINISTERS HELD IN MANILA

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EVENING NEWS DIGEST: 05 May 2018 

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The twelfth informal meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers was held in Manila, the capital of Philippines on 4 May 2018 on the sidelines of the 51st Annual Meeting of Asian Development Bank (ADB). Finance Minister of Nepal Yuba Raj Khatiwada chaired the meeting. The Finance Ministers/Heads of Delegation briefed the meeting about the current status of economic progress achieved by their countries. They also appreciated ADB for its contribution in economic growth of SAARC countries. SAARC: SAARC stands for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Its member states include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

COUNCIL SETS UP TWO GROUP OF MINISTERS TO LOOK INTO DIGITAL PAYMENT 

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The government has set up two separate groups of ministers (GoMs) to give recommendations on imposition of a cess on sugar and incentivising digital payments in the GST regime. The GoM to consider the issues relating to incentivising digital payments will be headed by Bihar Finance Minister Sushil Modi. The Council had decided to set up a group of five ministers within two days to make a recommendation on ways to meet such contingencies where the cost of a commodity is higher than its selling price. The committee will examine how these contingencies are to be addressed by the GST regime. Its constitution will be announced in the next two days. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has approved ownership change of GST Network structure and now it will be converted into a government holding. The Central and the state governments will hold a 50 percent stake each in the entity.

NITI AAYOG & IBM TO DEVELOP A CROP YIELD PREDICTION MODEL USING AI 

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NITI Aayog and IBM have signed a Statement of Intent to develop a crop yield prediction model using Artificial Intelligence to provide real-time advisory to farmers in Aspirational Districts. Aim: The partnership aims to work together towards use of technology to provide insights to farmers to improve crop productivity, soil yield, control agricultural inputs with the overarching goal of improving farmers’ incomes. The first phase of the project will focus on developing the model for 10 Aspirational Districts across the States of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

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The scope of this project is to introduce and make available climate-aware cognitive farming techniques and identifying systems of crop monitoring, early warning on pest and disease outbreak.

IAAF SHAKES UP 2019 DOHA WORLDS SCHEDULE    

The IAAF will scrap morning sessions at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, as well as introducing a mixed 4x400 metres relay and a midnight marathon. Race walking events will also start at 11.30pm local time as part of a big shake-up of the traditional scheduling for the championships, which will run from September 28-October 6. The decathlon and heptathlon will be run concurrently - a first for the world championships - with their respective event-ending 1500m and 800m finals both starting after midnight. Although only 10,000 foreign visitors were expected to attend the event, organizers were seeking innovative ways to attract local spectators.

SPORTS INITIATIVE 'STAR KHEL MAHAKUMBH' LAUNCHED AT DHARAMSHALA 

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A sports initiative 'Star Khel Mahakumbh' was launched at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh in the presence of 1,500 athletes. The athletes will compete in volleyball, basketball, cricket, football, kabaddi and athletics. The initiative has been designed in a manner as to attract participation of at least one lakh youth from across 5000 villages and 800 panchayats. To ensure that the participation is not limited and the remotest of the village resident gets a fair chance to excel, the initiative has been designed in a manner that it seeks participation from youth across 5000 villages and 800 panchayats.

Sikkim's Pakyong airport obtains license for commercial operation   

The Sikkim, nestled is set to join the aviation network of the country, with the Pakyong airport obtaining license to start commercial operation. The Pakyong (Gangtok) Airport at Sikkim got license for scheduled operations. It's an engineering marvel at a height of more than 4,500 ft. in a tough terrain. Pakyong airport, about 30 km from the state capital of Gangtok, will be the 100th operational airport when it begins operation. Sikkim was the only state remaining without a functional airport.

DAKOTA-DC3 VP 905 INDUCTED INTO INDIAN AIR FORCE

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A restored Dakota joined the Indian Air Force in an induction ceremony at Hindan air force station, more than four decades after the aircraft fleet was phased out following an illustrious service record. The Dakota DC-3 VP 905 was formally inducted into the IAF at a grand ceremony at Hindan. The Dakota was accepted by the Chief of Air Staff from the Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar on February 13 this year. The aircraft was bought by the MP from "scrap" and got restored in the UK. The aircraft commenced its journey from the UK on April 17 to India with a joint crew of IAF and Reflight Airworks.

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