{"id":53399,"date":"2019-10-24T21:00:53","date_gmt":"2019-10-24T15:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?p=53399"},"modified":"2019-10-24T17:15:02","modified_gmt":"2019-10-24T11:45:02","slug":"9-pm-current-affairs-brief-october-24th-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-october-24th-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 October 24th, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.livemint.com\/news\/india\/india-all-set-to-begin-count-of-vulnerable-snow-leopards-in-himalayan-states-11571818054232.html\">Snow\nLeopard<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>At the session of Global Snow Leopard and\nEcosystem Protection (GSLEP) programme,as many as 12 range countries have come\ntogether to begin a massive exercise to get the global count of Snow\nleopards.This will be the first ever survey by India to assess the population\nof Snow leopard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About Snow\nLeopard:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Features:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Snow leopards (Panthera\nuncial) belong to the family of cats called Felidae.<\/li><li>The snow leopard\u2019s fur is\nwhitish to gray with black spots on head and neck, but larger rosettes on the\nback, flanks and bushy tail.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Habitat:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Snow leopards are found in\n12 range countries namely Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan,\nKyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.China\ncontains as much as 60% of all snow leopard habitat areas.<\/li><li>In India,snow leopards are\nfound in the high altitude areas above the forested areas above 3000m.<\/li><li>The states of Jammu and\nKashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh constitute\nsnow leopard Habitat range in India.<\/li><li>Further,they are also the\nState animal of Uttarakhand and the National Heritage Animal of Pakistan.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conservation\nStatus:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Snow leopards are listed as\nVulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.<\/li><li>They are also listed on\nAppendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species\n(CITES).<\/li><li>Government of India has also\nidentified the snow leopard as a flagship species for the high altitude\nHimalayas.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nGlobal Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Programme:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Itis a joint\ninitiative of range country governments, international agencies, civil society,\nand the private sector.<\/li><li>Its goal is to secure the\nlong-term survival of the snow leopard in its natural ecosystem.<\/li><li>It also seeks to address\nhigh-mountain development issues using the conservation of the snow leopard as\na flagship.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/health-ministrys-guidelines-for-peritoneal-dialysis-services-welcomed\/article29779817.ece\">Peritoneal\ndialysis<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Union Health Ministry has released guidelines\nfor establishing peritoneal dialysis services under the Pradhan Mantri National\nDialysis Program(PMNDP).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is\nDialysis:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Dialysis is the process of removing\nexcess water, solutes, and toxins from the blood in people whose kidneys can no\nlonger perform these functions naturally.This is also referred to as renal\nreplacement therapy.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Types of\nDialysis:<\/strong>There are two main types of\ndialysis which are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hemodialysis(HD)<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It is commonly known as\nblood dialysis.In HD, the blood is filtered through a machine that acts like an\nartificial kidney and is returned back into the body.&nbsp;<\/li><li>HD needs to be performed in\na designated dialysis center. It is usually needed about 3 times per week with\neach episode talking about 3-4 hours.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Peritoneal\ndialysis(PD):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It is commonly known as\nwater dialysis.In PD, the blood is cleaned without being removed from the\nbody.The abdomen sac (lining) acts as a natural filter.&nbsp;<\/li><li>A solution (mainly made up\nof salts and sugars) is injected into the abdomen that encourages filtration\nsuch that the waste is transferred from the blood to the solution.<\/li><li>This process can be done at\nHome.Hence,it does away with the substantial costs of infrastructure,\nmaintenance and staffing, reduces the demand on the healthcare system and\noffers patient autonomy.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nPradhan Mantri National Dialysis Programme:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Pradhan Mantri National\nDialysis Programme was rolled out in 2016 as part of the National Health\nMission(NHM) for the provision of free dialysis services to the poor.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The first phase of the\nprogramme envisaged setting up centers for hemodialysis.<\/li><li>The Guidelines for Pradhan\nMantri National Dialysis Programme envisage the provision of dialysis services\nunder NHM in PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Recent\nGuidelines:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Ministry has requested\nall States to include proposals for establishing peritoneal dialysis under\ntheir respective programme implementation plans.<\/li><li>The guidelines also envisage\nproviding training to community health workers to provide support to persons\nfor peritoneal dialysis at home or in primary healthcare settings.<\/li><li>This move will instantly\nbenefit the 2 lakh Indians who develop end-stage kidney failure every year in\nIndia.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/narendra-modi-skips-nam-summit-again\/article29779894.ece\">Non\nAligned Movement(NAM)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Vice-President of India will represent India\nat the 18th Non Aligned Movement(NAM) summit in Baku,Azerbaijan marking the\nsecond time that Indian PM will skip the summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About NAM:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The concept of Non Aligned\nMovement(NAM) originated in 1955 at the Asia-Africa Bandung Conference held in\nIndonesia.<\/li><li>The NAM was formed after the\nSecond World War by countries that did not seek to formally align themselves\nwith either the United States or the Soviet Union but sought to remain\nindependent or neutral.<\/li><li>The first NAM Summit\nConference took place in Belgrade,Yugoslavia in 1961.<\/li><li>The NAM was created by the\nheads of Yugoslavia, India, Egypt, Ghana and Indonesia.<\/li><li>It consists of 120 members\nstates.There are 17 countries and 10 international organizations that are\nObservers at NAM.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>India and\nNAM:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>India has been one of the\nleaders of the movement since the beginning of NAM.<\/li><li>NAM had played an important\nrole during the Cold War years in furthering many of the causes that India\nadvocated like Decolonisation, End to apartheid, Global nuclear disarmament\namong others.<\/li><li>But it could not prevent\nIndia-Pakistan and Indo-China wars.During the war, NAM members adopted\ndiplomatic positions that were not favourable towards or supportive of India.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Relevance\nof NAM:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>According to the critics,\nNAM is no longer relevant because of the changed international environment from\nbi-polar to unipolar and now multi polar.<\/li><li>Emergence of new regional\ngroupings like the G20, BRICS which have clearly laid down scope and objective\nof engagement and outcome overshadows NAM.<\/li><li>Most of the NAM countries\nare facing domestic political, social and economic crisis.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/over-40000-troops-to-participate-in-armys-exercise-sindhu-sudarshan-in-deserts-of-rajasthan\/articleshow\/71707918.cms\">Sindhu\nSudarshan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Indian Army is going to conduct an exercise\ncodenamed \u2018Sindhu Sudarshan\u2019 in Rajasthan from 29 November to 4 December 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the\nexercise:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The aim of the exercise is\nto evaluate the capability of the Defence forces to strike deep into enemy\nterritory in an integrated air-land battle.<\/li><li>The exercise will be\nconducted by Southern command along with XXI Corps which is also known as the\nSudarshan Chakra Corps.<\/li><li>The exercise will witness\nhigh degree of synergy between the Army and the Air Force,<\/li><li>The army will assess the\noperational efficiency of the Strike Corps to fight in the desert terrain and\nthe Indian Air Force(IAF) to provide intimate support in terms of destruction\nof targets and air lifting of the troops.<\/li><li>Further,the exercise will\nalso see the participation of newly formed Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs)\nalong the Western Front.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\nInformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nIntegrated Battle groups:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>IBGs are brigade-sized,\nagile, self-sufficient combat formations which can swiftly launch strikes\nagainst adversary in case of hostilities.<\/li><li>Each IBG is tailor-made\nbased on Threat, Terrain and Task and resources will be allotted based on the\nthree Ts.<\/li><li>The IBGs are defensive and\noffensive.The offensive IBGs&nbsp; are trained to quickly mobilise and make\nthrust into enemy territory for strikes,<\/li><li>On the other hand, the\ndefensive IBGs are trained to hold ground at vulnerable points or where enemy\naction is expected.<\/li><li>Integrated Battle Groups\nboth on the Western and Northern borders have been created for quicker and\nformidable launch of attack on enemy.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nSouthern Command:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Southern Command is a\nformation of the Indian Army since 1895.It has around 40% of the country\u2019s\nlandmass as its area of responsibility.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The Sudarshan Chakra Corps,\na strike corps of the Southern Command, is headquartered in Bhopal.<\/li><li>The corps has various\nformations of Armoured, Infantry, Artillery, Air Defence and Engineering among\nother units.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"News:Ministry%20of%20Electronics%20&amp;%20Information%20(MeitY)%20has%20unveiled%20a%20series%20of%20new%20initiatives%20during%20the%20first%20MeitY%20Start-up%20Summit%20held%20in%20New%20Delhi.\">MeitY\nStart-up Summit<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Ministry of Electronics &amp; Information\n(MeitY) has unveiled a series of new initiatives during the first MeitY\nStart-up Summit held in New Delhi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the\ninitiatives:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The initiatives include the\nMeitY Startup Hub (MSH), the Indian Software Product Registry and select\nIncubation Centres under the TIDE 2.0.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>MeitY\nStartup Hub:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It will act as a platform to\nconnect with incubators, accelerators, mentors, and eventually, angel funds and\nventure capitalists.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Indian\nSoftware Product Registry<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Itwill be a\nsingle-window portal for cataloguing all companies and products developed in\nIndia with key analytics, category-wise listing and options to port the\ndatabase to the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) for enhanced market access.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Technology\nIncubation and Development of Entrepreneurs(TIDE) scheme:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>TIDE scheme was launched in\n2008 and is being implemented by the Department of Electronics and Information\nTechnology.<\/li><li>The scheme aims to assist\ninstitutions of higher learning to strengthen their Technology Incubation\nCenters and enable young entrepreneurs to initiate technology startup companies\nfor commercial exploitation of technologies developed by them.<\/li><li>The TIDE 2.0 will be aimed\nat strengthening close to 2,000 technology startups in areas of national\nconcern, by leveraging emerging technologies and empowering 51 incubation\ncentres across the country.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/telling-numbers-smallest-ozone-hole-in-decades-how-it-happened-why-it-matters-6084710\/\">Smallest\nozone hole in decades<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>During September and October months of\n2019,the ozone hole over the Antarctic has been the smallest observed since\n1982.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nOzone:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Ozone is made up of three\noxygen atoms which occurs naturally in small amounts.It is a part of the\nstratosphere which extends 10 to 40kms above earth\u2019s surface.<\/li><li>Ozone layer acts as a\nsunscreen by shielding the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation.<\/li><li>On the other hand,close to\nthe surface,ozone created as a byproduct of pollution can trigger health\nproblems such as asthma and bronchitis.<\/li><li>Ozone-depleting gases like\nchlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), HCFCs, halons, destroy this protective shield and\ncauses the hole in the ozone.<\/li><li>Each spring over\nAntarctica,atmospheric ozone is destroyed by chemical processes.This creates\nthe ozone hole which occurs because of special meteorological and chemical\nconditions that exist in that region.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why Ozone\nhole in Antarctica is shrinking?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The presence of abnormal\nweather patterns in the atmosphere over Antarctica is responsible for shrinkage\nof the ozone hole.<\/li><li>In warmer temperatures like\nin 2019,fewer polar stratospheric clouds were formed which limited the\nozone-depletion process.<\/li><li>However,the shrinking of the\nozone hole is not a sign of a recovery of atmospheric ozone but the result of\nthe temporary warming of Antarctica.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.financialexpress.com\/industry\/sme\/msme-skill-khadi-and-village-industries-commission-goa-government-ministry-of-msme-khadi-products-artisans-handicrafts\/1743127\/\">Khadi\nand Village Industries Commission(KVIC)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Khadi and Village Industries Commission(KVIC)\nhas partnered with the Goa Government to boost employment opportunities in the\nstate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About KVIC:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Khadi and Village\nIndustries Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body established under Khadi and\nVillage Industries Commission Act,1956.<\/li><li>It is an apex organisation\nunder the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.<\/li><li>The KVIC is charged with the\nplanning, promotion, organisation and implementation of programs for the\ndevelopment of Khadi and other village industries in the rural areas in\ncoordination with other agencies engaged in rural development wherever\nnecessary.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Objectives:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The social objective of\nproviding employment.<\/li><li>The economic objective of\nproducing saleable articles.<\/li><li>The wider objective of\ncreating self-reliance amongst the poor and building up of a strong rural\ncommunity spirit.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nKhadi:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Khadi refers to hand-spun\nand hand-woven cloth.The raw materials may be cotton, silk, or wool, which are\nspun into threads on a charkha.<\/li><li>Khadi was launched in 1920\nas a political weapon in the Swadeshi movement of Mahatma Gandhi.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nVillage industry:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Village industry is any\nindustry that is located within a rural area where the Fixed Capital Investment\nper Artisan (weaver) does not exceed 1 lakh rupees.<\/li><li>The Fixed Capital Investment\ncan be changed by the Government of India whenever it so requires.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-standard.com\/article\/pti-stories\/col-chewang-rinchen-setu-india-s-highest-altitude-all-weather-permanent-bridge-in-eastern-ladakh-119102101333_1.html\">Colonel\nChewang Rinchen Bridge<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Defence Minister has inaugurated a bridge\nnamed Colonel Chewang Rinchen bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the\nbridge:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The bridge has been named\nafter Col Chewang Rinchen.It stands at 14,650 feet across the Shyok river.<\/li><li>The bridge was constructed\nby the Border Road Organisation (BRO) within a period of just 15 months.<\/li><li>The bridge will be a boost\nto road connectivity.It will connect Durbuk and Daulat Beg Oldie in Eastern\nLadakh.It is 45 km east of Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About Col\nChewang Rinchen:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Colonel Chewang Rinchen is\nIndia\u2019s youngest ever recipient of the Maha Vir Chakra at the age of 17 in\n1952.<\/li><li>He was the first to respond\nto when Lt Col Prithi Singh sought volunteers to defend Ladakh against\nPakistani raiders in 1948.<\/li><li>He was again awarded Maha Vir\nChakra again in 1971 for his heroic act in freeing nine enemy points located in\nLadakh\u2019s Partapur sector.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About Shyok\nriver:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Shyok River which is called\nas the The River of Death is a tributary of the Indus River.<\/li><li>The river originates from\nthe Rimo Glacier, which is one of the tongues of Siachen Glacier.<\/li><li>The tributaries of Shyok\nriver are Chang Chen Mo River, Galwan River, Nubra River and Saltoro River.<\/li><li>The river holds several\nQuaternary period (2.58 million years ago) depositions that help Geologists to\nlearn more about the evolution of the earth.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/lifestyle\/health\/87-per-cent-of-india-covered-under-immunisation-programme-govt-6082952\/\">Intensified\nMission Indradhanush 2.0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Government of India will be launching the\nsecond phase of Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nIntensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Intensified Mission\nIndradhanush 2.0 will aim to cover the low immunisation pockets.<\/li><li>It will carry out massive\nimmunisation program in 271 districts across the nation and 652 blocks located\nin Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.<\/li><li>The Mission Indradhanush has\nincreased India\u2019s immunisation coverage significantly to 87% from 67% in 2014.<\/li><li>However,official data on\nIndia\u2019s immunisation coverage is still 62% given as the National Family Health\nSurvey-4 (2015-16).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>Mission Indradhanush:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Mission Indradhanush is a\nvaccination programme that was launched in the year 2014.<\/li><li>It aimed to increase full\nimmunization coverage to cover children up to 2 years and pregnant women.<\/li><li>It represents the seven\nvaccines that were then included in the Universal Immunisation Programme\nagainst seven diseases: tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, hepatitis B, diphtheria,\npertussis, tetanus and measles.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The number has since risen\nto 12 with the inclusion of vaccines against measles rubella, rotavirus,\nHaemophilus influenzae type-B and polio.<\/li><li>In a select few states and\ndistricts, vaccines are also provided against Japanese Encephalitis and\npneumococcus.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nIntensified Mission Indradhanush:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Intensified Mission\nIndradhanush was launched in October 2017.<\/li><li>It has aimed to reach each\nand every child under two years of age and all those pregnant women who have\nbeen left uncovered under the routine immunization programme.<\/li><li>The special drive has\nfocussed in selected districts and cities to ensure full immunization to more\nthan 90% by December 2018.<\/li><li>Further,Special attention\nwas also given to unserved\/low coverage pockets in sub-centre and urban slums\nwith migratory population.The focus was also on the urban settlements and\ncities identified under National Urban Health Mission (NUHM).<\/li><li>The Vaccine which were\nsupplied were also tracked using the Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network\nand cold chain tracking programme, and distributed using the alternate vaccine\ndelivery mechanism.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/business\/india-business\/bsnl-mtnl-to-be-merged-centre-lines-up-rs-70000-crore-revival-package\/articleshow\/71730263.cms\">Merger\nof BSNL and MTNL<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Union Cabinet has approved the revival plan of\nBharat Sanchar Nigam limited(BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam limited(MTNL)\nand in-principle merger of the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why this\nrevival plan:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>BSNL and MTNL are government\nowned telecommunications company.&nbsp;<\/li><li>MTNL provides telephony\nservices in Delhi and Mumbai, while BSNL is present in the rest of the circles\nin the country.<\/li><li>The revival package was\nneeded as the two PSUs comes are facing financial stress due to stiff\ncompetition and reduction in tariffs.<\/li><li>The competition in the\nmobile segment, high employee costs and absence of 4G services has also\nprogressively eroded the competitive strength of BSNL and MTNL.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the\nrevival plan:<\/strong>The revival plan includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Merger of BSNL and MTNL<\/li><li>administrative allotment of\nspectrum for 4G services,<\/li><li>debt restructuring by\nraising of bonds with sovereign guarantee extended by the Centre&nbsp;<\/li><li>reducing employee costs\nthrough a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS)&nbsp;<\/li><li>monetisation of assets.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/city\/allahabad\/up-65-years-old-mechanical-signaling-system-replaced-by-electronic-interlocking-at-tundla\/articleshow\/71691537.cms\">Electronic\nInterlocking System<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The most advanced Electronic Interlocking\nSystem has been installed on the Grand Chord route by the Indian Railways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nElectronic Interlocking system:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>This new Electronic system\nhas replaced the outdated Mechanical Signalling System at Tundla Junction in UP\non the route.<\/li><li>The objective of installing\nthe system is to help Indian Railways speed up trains and achieve the objective\nof reducing the travel time.<\/li><li>The new system will reduce\nthe time between Delhi and Howrah to about 12 hours from the existing 17 to 19\nhours.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About Grand\nChord route:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Grand Chord is part of\nHowrah-Gaya-Delhi line and Howrah Allahabad Mumbai line.&nbsp;<\/li><li>It acts as a link between\nSitarampur in West Bengal and Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction in Uttar\nPradesh(UP).&nbsp;<\/li><li>A lot of important trains\npass through this route which connects national capital with eastern region of\nthe country.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Snow Leopard News:At the session of Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) programme,as many as 12 range countries have come together to begin a massive exercise to get the global count of Snow leopards.This will be the first ever survey by India to assess the population of Snow leopard. Facts: About Snow Leopard: Features:&nbsp;&nbsp;&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-october-24th-2019\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 October 24th, 2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":48116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-pm-brief","category-public","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/9-PM-Brief.png?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704835130},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}