Daily GK Updates [28th May 2015]

PM Modi, Shiekh Hasina to inaugurate Kamalasagar border 'haat'

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh premier Sheikh Hasina will jointly inaugurate a border 'haat' (market) at Kamalasagar in Tripura's Sipahijala district, which borders Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh.

ii. The 'haat' would be jointly inaugurated through video conferencing from Dhaka during Modi's two-day visit to Bangladesh beginning from June 6.

iii. The construction of a market shed and other infrastructure facilities at a cost of Rs. 2.5 crores is almost complete.

iv. Sepahijala Additional District Magistrate Dilip Kumar Chakma and his Brahmanbaria counterpart Nazma Begum informed that Indian traders from India and Bangladesh can transact selected commodities respectively at the ‘haat’. They met five times since Kamalasagar border point was selected.

Mega Food Park Inaugurated at Nalbari, Assam

i. Ministry of Food Processing Industries had sanctioned a Mega Food Park to M/s North East Mega Food Park Pvt. Ltd. at Nalbari, Assam. 

ii. The Central Processing Centre of the Park at Tihu in Nalbari District of Assam has been completed and was inaugurated by Honble Chief Minister, Assam, Shri Tarun Gogoi and Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal.

iii. Minister of State for Home Mr. Kiren Rijiju was also present to grace the occasion. 

iv. To give a major boost to the food processing sector by adding value and reducing food wastage and loss at each stage of the supply chain with particular focus on perishables, Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing a Mega Food Park Scheme in the country since 2008. 

v. Financial assistance upto Rs. 50.00 Crore is provided for setting up Mega Food Parks for creation of modern infrastructure facilities for food processing along the value chain from farm to consumer.

TaxiForSure Ties up With Paytm , Launches Faster App

i. Taxi aggregator TaxiForSure announced a tie-up with mobile commerce platform Paytm to enable Paytm users to pay for the cab service through their prepaid wallet. According to the company, the new app will enable booking of cabs in a single touch. 

ii. With the new partnership, the balance amount in company's existing wallet will be converted to TFS credit.

iii. Commenting on the move, Arvind Singhal, CEO of TaxiForSure, said that currently 80 per cent of our booking comes from mobile applications and 35 per cent of the total payment is done through our wallet. With the partnership with Paytm, over 70 million Paytm use can pay TaxiForSure fare through mobile.

Tripura government decides to withdraw AFSPA from state

i. Tripura government has decided to withdraw the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958 from the remaining areas of the state. 

ii. Decision in this regard was taken during the state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Manik Sarkar in Agartala after Police in its latest half-yearly review had found no need to extend the act any further. 

iii. Now state government will move to the Union Home Ministry for formal withdrawal of the central Act from state which was in effect for the last 18 years to curb insurgency. 

iv. Union Government had enforced AFSPA in Tripura after the relentless violence and bloodshed in tribal areas of state in February 1997 . Since then, it was reviewed and extended in every six months as per the provisions of the Act. 

v. The last six-month extension was given in November 2014 and its term ends by the end of May 2015.

Now, a satellite tracking system to tackle forest fires in Himachal

i. A satellite tracking system has been set up to check forest fires during summers in Himachal Pradesh.

ii. Under the satellite tracking system, continuous vigil was being kept on the forests to ensure that the fire fighting staff reached the spot immediately on receiving information.

iii. The Forest Minister said that awareness campaign was being launched throughout the state for protection of forest wealth from fire for which 693 participatory committees had been constituted.

Abhinav Bindra qualifies for Rio Games 2016 through Olympic quota

i. Beijing Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra qualified for the Rio Olympics 2016 through one of the Olympic quotas.

ii. Bindra shot 627.5 to qualify in the 10m air rifle event at the 1972 Olympic Shooting Range in Hochbrucke.

iii. Bindra is the fourth Indian shooter to qualify for Rio Games after he clinched one of the three quotas available to qualify for the games.

iv. Notably, Bindra has had a slow start to the season, recording below-par finishes in the first two World Cups after he failed to qualify for the final in Changwon as well as Fort Benning.