ODISHA

90% mineral fund not utilised in mineral-rich regions of state

About 90 per cent of the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) fund has not been spent in the minerals-rich regions in the State.

DMF fund to the tune of a whopping Rs 4,075 crore has been collected in the last three years since 2015-16. However, only Rs 389 crore has been spent and the remaining Rs 3,686 could not be utilised. Thus, 90 per cent of the fund remains unspent.

While the fund was totally unutilised in 16 districts, reports said that only six districts witnessed spending of funds between Rs 1 crore and Rs 6 crore.

This was stated during a seminar on occasion of annual function of the magazine ‘Bhumi’ held here on Sunday. Attending the programme, eminent environmentalist Professor Radha Mohan raised doubt on the Government’s purpose of constitution of the DMF. The body is formed as part of strategy so that no one would oppose any mining operation in the area, he remarked.

Notably, the DMF is a trust set up as a nonprofit body in all the districts affected by mining operation to work for the interest and benefit of residents. The trust is funded by the mine owners.

INTERNATIONAL

· US withdraws from United Nations Human Rights Council

The United Stateswithdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council, accusing it of a “chronic bias against Israel,” a move that activists warned would make advancing human rights globally even more difficult.
The United Nations Human Rights Council consists of 47 member states,with a specific number of seats given to each region of the world.
Members are elected by the U.N. General Assembly for three-yearterms and cannot serve more than two terms in a row.

· India, Russia to hold military exercise Indra 2018 during the second half this year

ð The tri-service joint Russia-India military exercise Indra-2018 will take place in an Indian military base in the second half of this year.

ð Russia has been a long-standing defence partner of India.

· Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos became the Richest Person in the World

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezoshas become the richest man in the world with a net wealth of USD 141.9 billion, as per the Forbes World’s Billionaires list.
Bill Gates, the principal founder of Microsoft Corporation, is the second-richest man in the world with USD 92.9 billion.
Warren Buffet ranked third place with a total of wealth of USD 82.2 billion.

· World is celebrating 4th International Yoga Day

4th International Yoga Day is celebrated across the world.
On December 11, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 21as International Day Yoga.
800 differently-abled persons from across the country attempted Guinness World Record in Ahmedabad for ‘Largest Silent Yoga Class’ on International Yoga Day 2018.
The theme for Yoga Day 2018 is “Yoga for Peace.”

NATIONAL

· India may not sign international pact on child abduction

The government is unlikely to sign in near future an international treaty that makes inter-country abduction of children by parents a punishable offence.

Signing the Hague convention on civil aspects of international child abduction would be against the interest of women who flee bad marriages.

There has been a steady rise in parental abductions as more and more Indians go abroad to work or study. Children bear the brunt of parents’ marital disputes and are often forced to return to India by one of the quarrelling parents. In most cases, it is the mother who returns with the child.

The ministry is setting up a panel headed by the chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). Its members will include a representative of the embassy of the country from where the parent has fled with the child.

Shillong gets selected as the 100th Smart City

Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya has been selected as 100^thSmart City after evaluating the proposal submitted by it.

Till now, 99 smart cities had been selected in four rounds of competition and with today’s announcement, selection of 100 cities has been completed under the Smart Cities Mission.

Previously, 20 cities were selected in January 2016, 13 cities in May 2016, 27 cities in September 2016, 30 cities in June 2017 and 9 cities in January 2018.

With the selection of Shillong, the total proposed investment in the finally selected 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission would be Rs.2,05,018 crores.

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