October 31st (NATIONAL matters )

• Unscientific formation of roads causes 15000 deaths in India per year: GovtMinister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari Gadkari has said that unscientifically planned roads and curves have caused around 15,000 deaths in India per annum. He said, this can be averted by improving Road Asset Management System (RAMS) technology.
  
  He was speaking at the inauguration of a workshop on Road Asset Management System being developed for the National Highways. The outcome of this project, which is funded by World Bank, will assist in the accurate and scientific based maintenance and development of National Highways.
  
  Mr. Gadkari said, RAMS will be tested using a data collected over 3000 kilo meters of National Highways through state of the art laser coupled with GPS connected to GAGAN and Mobile mapping system.
  
• Govt releases postal stamp on late Mahanth AwaidyanathUnion Communication and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad released a postal stamp on late Mahanth Awaidyanath, former MP and chair person of Shri Ram Janam Bhumi Yajnya Samiti today at Gorakhpur in U.P. Releasing 5 rupee stamp on the occasion of his death anniversary, he said that government will release stamps on freedom fighters, literary personalities and on other great people.
  
  Shri Prasad said that series postal stamps on Ramayana and Mahabharata will also be released soon. The Communication minister said that postal payments will be started very soon.
  
• Govt notifies 'Mid Day Meal Rules, 2015'The Central Government notified 'Mid Day Meal Rules, 2015' on 2nd October in the Gazette of India. The Ministry of HRD had finalized the MDM Rules after consultation with the States and other related Central Ministries.
  
  The Rules inter alia provide for temporary utilization of other funds available with the school for MDM in case school exhausts MDM funds for any reason. Food Security Allowance to be paid to beneficiaries in case of non-supply of meals; and monthly testing of meals on a random basis by accredited Labs to check its quality.
  
  Further, the Rules also provide that concerned State Governments shall fix responsibility on the person or agency if meals are not provided on 3 consecutive school days or 5 days in a month.
  
• Telangana Government Constitutes Project Authority for Palamuru Lift Irrigation SchemeThe Telangana state government has formed a project authority for the implementation of Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) on 2nd October. According to the decision of the state cabinet, orders were issued constituting the project authority. The state government has accorded administrative approval for the PRLIS and allocated `35,200 crore for the scheme. The authority will oversee the time bound execution of PRLIS.
  
  Composition of the authority: The Authority shall be headed by an IAS officer and the team comprises of an Engineering Unit (headed by a chief engineer), Land Unit (headed by a special collector / SDC), Finance Unit (headed by chief financial officer), Project Monitoring Unit and office administration cell. The authority will have full powers to enter into contracts and execute works on contract duly following the contractual norms.
  
• Tipu palace opened Brailee signageMysore ruler, Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace in Bengaluru has become the first Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) monument in Karnataka and the third in the country to have facilities such as the tactile pathway and Braille signage.
  
  The facilities, installed by Bhopal-based NGO Arushi, were inaugurated on 2nd October. With the new facility in place, visually impaired persons will now be able to access the site on their own and experience its grandeur.
  
  Two other monuments that have both Braille signage and tactile pathway in India are Sanchi Stupa in Bhopal and Lakshmana Temple at Sirur in Chhattisgarh. ASI now plans to provide these facilities in monuments at Belur, Halebidu, Chitradurga Fort and Shravanabelagola.
  
• Siddipet mile stone in Swatch Bharat
   Siddipet, a constituency which is being represented by Harish Rao, has added a feather in its cap by ensuring a toilet for every household and is all set to become the first constituency in the State to be declared ‘Open Defecation Free (ODF)’.
  
  The constituency is having 64,733 houses and every household is having a toilet now. Last month alone saw the construction of 5,531 toilets making sure that all were completed by.
  
• AP Offers local status to those willing to migrate before 2nd July, 2017Andhra Pradesh state government has decided to grant local status to students and employees residing in Telangana State if they shift to Andhra Pradesh on or before June 2, 2017.
  
  With state bifurcation, the AP government planned to shift government employees to Andhra Pradesh. But, union leaders expressed concern about their children becoming non-locals if they shift from Telangana State to Andhra Pradesh.
  
  After several deliberations, the AP cabinet has taken a decision on 1st October to accord local status to AP natives of Telangana.
  
• E-Panchayat in Telangana stateTelangana state Panchayat Raj Minister K. Tarakarama Rao launched e-Panchayat in Bibipet of Domakonda mandal in Nizamabad district on 2nd October.
  
  E -Panchayats were being launched to extend server services to the rural population using Information Technology. Services like e-Seva and Mee Seva were confined to mandals but from now on, these services would be available at village level through e-Panchayats. The villagers can now get services like Land Records, Income Certificate, Birth and Death Certificates and also the banking services.
  
  E-Panchayat facilities would be available in nearly 700 Gram Panchayats across Telangana State by this month end. At present this programme has been launched in 104 villages on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi.