Meghalaya to host 39th National Games 2022

Meghalaya has signed the Host City Contract with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for hosting the 39th National Games in 2022 on January 3, 2018. The tripartite contract was signed between the IOA, the Meghalaya State Olympic Association, and the state government. With this, Meghalaya will host the National Games 2022 coinciding with the 50th year of the creation of the state. For these games, the central government will provide 30% of the total budget for the National Games while the remaining 70% funds would have to be raised by the state government on its own. 

Meghalaya will be the 3rd northeastern state after Manipur and Assam hosted the National Games in 1999 and 2007, respectively. It had co-hosted the 2016 South Asian Games with its neighboring Assam. Approx, 14,450 athletes and officials are expected to visit the state during the 2022 National Games.

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Assam publishes first draft of NRC with 1.9 crore names

Assam publishes first draft of National Register of Citizens (NRC) with 1.9 crore names on 1st January 2018. "This is a part draft. It contains 1.9 crore persons, who have been verified till now. The rest of the names are under various stages of verification. As soon as the verification is done, we will come out with another draft," he said. NRC State Coordinator Prateek Hajela said those people whose names have been excluded in the first list need not worry. Assam, which faced influx from Bangladesh since the early 20th century, is the only state having an NRC, first prepared in 1951. The Supreme Court, which is monitoring the entire process, had ordered that the first draft of the NRC be published by December 31 after completing the scrutiny of over two crore claims along with that of around 38 lakh people whose documents were suspect.

About National Register of Citizens (NRC):

• National Register of Citizens (NRC) contains names of Indian citizens. The NRC was prepared in 1951, after the Census of 1951.
• It was prepared by recording particulars of all the persons enumerated during that Census and was further kept in the offices of Deputy Commissioners and Sub Divisional Officers according to instructions issued by the Government of India in 1951. Later these registers were transferred to the Police in the early 1960s.
• The NRC Updation is currently going on (2014-2016) across the state and shall include the names of those persons (or their descendants) who appear in the NRC 1951, or in any of the Electoral Rolls up to the midnight of 24 March 1971 or in any one of the other admissible documents issued up to the midnight of 24 March 1971, which would prove their presence in Assam on or before 24 March 1971. 
• The NRC (1951) and the Electoral Rolls up to the midnight of 24 March 1971 together are collectively called Legacy Data.
• For inclusion in the updated NRC, there are two requirements - existence of a person’s name in Legacy Data or any one of the admissible documents issued up to midnight of 24 March 1971 and proving linkage with that person.

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Nitin Gadkari flags off cargo movement on Pandu-Dhubri route in Brahmaputra river

Nitin Gadkari flags off cargo movement on Pandu-Dhubri route in Brahmaputra river on 29th December 2017. This largely untapped sector has great potential, and has plenty of cost advantages. Stating that modern and well-equipped river ports will be established along the banks of the river, the minister said transportation of cargo through the National Waterway 2 - from Pandu in Guwahati to Dhubri along the Assam-Bengal border will reduce logistics cost and save 300 km road travel.

Waterways are regarded as natural transport routes. India has around 14500 kms of waterways which were for long, untapped. It was only under Prime Minister Modi's insistent patronage  that waterways became a significnt part of the govt's transport agenda. As of now, there are 6 interstate waterways in India

• 1st from Allahabad to Haldia
• 2nd from Sadiya to Dhubri
• 3rd from Kollam to Kottapuram
• 4th from Kakinada to Marakkanam
• 5th from Talchar to Dhamra
• 6th from Lakhipur to Bhhanga

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PM inaugurated Tuirial hydro power project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16th December inaugurated the 60 megawatt Tuirial hydro electric power project from Aizawl (Mizoram).  With the commissioning of the project, Mizoram became the third power-surplus state in the north-east. 

The Tuirial project, which was announced and cleared in 1998 by the then Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, was the first major central project to be successfully commissioned in Mizoram, the prime minister said.  The 60 seat Meghalaya assembly is due for Assembly polls in 2018.

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North East Calling on 9th-10th September 2017 in Delhi

Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Government of India is organising an event “North East Calling” under its Destination North East series of this year. The two-day (9th-10th September) event will be held at India Gate lawns in Delhi from 11.00 AM to 10.00 PM. The entry for the general public is free. The purpose of the event is to promote the art, culture, heritage, cuisine, handicrafts, business and tourism of North East India. The event will showcase all activities and products of North-East and it coincides with the 16th Anniversary of Ministry of DoNER.

In the run-up of to the event, a variety of contests with North East as the theme are open to the public with attractive prizes. These contests include Photography and Caption Contest, video contest, Choreography Contest for Colleges on the theme “Connect NE”, Quiz Competition for schools and colleges, Best North-Eastern attire in the crowd, Home Chef Contest. For details of contests, please click the following link: http://mdoner.gov.in/content/destination-north-east

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TR Zeliang appointed as New Nagaland chief minister

TR Zeliang was appointed the new chief minister of Nagaland by Governor PB Acharya after Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu and his supporters failed to turn up in the Assembly for the floor test on 19th July 2017. Following this, the House was adjourned sine die. Nagaland governor has asked Zeliang to prove his majority on the floor of the House on or before 22 July.

Governor P B Acharya had yesterday directed Speaker Imtiwapang to summon an emergent special session of the assembly at 9.30 am for the chief minister, who is facing a rebellion from MLAs of his party Nagaland Peoples Front (NPF), to seek confidence vote.

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PM inaugurates India's longest bridge 'Dhola-Sadiya bridge' in Assam

Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today inaugurated India's longest bridge - the 9.15 km long Dhola-Sadiya bridge, over the River Brahmaputra, in Assam.  This was his first engagement on the third anniversary of his swearing-in as Prime Minister.  The bridge will enhance connectivity and greatly reduce travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.  After unveiling a plaque to mark the inauguration, the Prime Minister travelled, and walked on the bridge for a few minutes.   Later, addressing a public meeting at Dhola, the Prime Minister said that the inauguration of the bridge marks the end of a long wait for the people of this area.

• Dhola-Sadiya bridge is India's Largest Bridge (9.15 Km) over Brahmaputra River. 
• It will enhances connectivity between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, and opens the door for economic development, on a big scale.  
• Construction of Bridge began in 2011 during the tenure of the Manmohan Singh led UPA government, under the aegis of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in public private partnership (PPP) with Navayuga Engineering Company Limited.
• The bridge was scheduled to become operational from December 2015, but finish of construction works was delayed. 
• The project cost around 10.00 billion rupees and will take around 4.5 years to complete. 
• It is 3.55 kilometres (2.21 mi) longer than the Bandra Worli Sea Link in Mumbai, making it the longest bridge in India.
• The bridge inaugurated on 26th May 2017 by Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi. 
• The Bridge has been named after Bhupen Hazarika, famous musician, poet and lyricist from Assam

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Namami Brahmaputra festival 2017

Pranab Mukherjee will visit Guwahati on 31st March 2017 where he will inaugurate the ‘Namami Brahmaputra’ festival. The festival, tagged as 'India's largest river festival' is being organised across 21 districts of the state and will showcase trade, tourism and cultural possibilities of along Brahmaputra river. Nobel Laureate and Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, yoga guru Baba Ramdev, union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Mahesh Sharma along with tourists from across the globe are expected to attend the meeting. "This is a perfect oppurtunity for us to show our cultural strength and economic importance to the world," Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said.

Since time immemorial River Brahmaputra has been a symbol of inspiration and respect for the people of Assam and 'Namami Brahmaputra', to be held along the banks of Sadiya in upper Assam to Dhubri in lower Assam is a tribute to this mighty river. The festival would specifically highlight the potential of the river as an ecnomic lifeline. "Bangladesh and Bhutan along with other countries, have shown keen interest to develop Brahmaputra as a major waterway in the region to increase trade both in the north east as well as other south Asian countries," he added. The theme song 'Namami Brahmaputra' composed by Angaraag Mahanta 'Papon' was released in both Hindi and Assamese recently.

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Shurhozelie Liezitsu sworn in as the new Nagaland Chief Minister

Nagaland People’s Front (NPF) president Shurhozelie Liezitsu sworn in as the new Nagaland Chief Minister, on 22nd February 2017. Shurhozelie Liezeitsu was invited by Governor P B Acharya to form the next government after the ruling Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) unanimously elected him leader of its legislature party, earlier this week. 

T R Zeliang had stepped down as Chief Minister on 19th February in the wake of violent protests that broke out when his government wanted to hold municipal elections with 33 per cent reservation for women.

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North East Investors Summit 2017 in Shillong

North East Investors Summit 2017:

• 2-day North East Investors’ Summit in Shillong from 29th January 2017.
• The first ever “Investors Summit” exclusively for North Eastern Region (NER), organized jointly by the Ministry of Textiles and the Ministry of DoNER during 29-30 January, 2017, would be inaugurated by the Union Textiles Minister, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani in Shillong, at the State Convention Centre, on 29th January, 2017.
• The Ministry of Textiles has taken the initiative to organize the first ever “Investors Summit” exclusively for NER, in association with Ministry of DONER and the Industry Associations FICCI and CII on 29-30 January 2017 at Shillong. 
• Focussed on manufacturing in textiles and allied sectors, the theme of the Summit is “Exploring Opportunities in North East Region”. 
• The summit aims to showcase the NER as a global destination for investment, and to explore the possibility of bringing in convergence of efforts of various central Ministries and North Eastern States to attract investment in NER.
• Summit will be attended by all North Eastern States, Export Promotion Councils, industries from North Eastern Region and leading investors across the country. The entire textile value chain from fibre to garment, including raw materials shall be represented in the Summit. The meet would witness participation of over 400 delegates from across the country.

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Havildar Hangpan Dada honoured with Ashok Chakra posthumously

Havildar Hangpan Dada, who died in Kupwara on May 27 after killing three terrorists, has been awarded Ashok Chakra, while Lt. Col. Niranjan Ek of the National Security Guard, who died during Pathankot operations, was awarded Shaurya Chakra on the eve of Independence Day by President Pranab Mukherjee. In all, 82 Gallantry Awards have been awarded this year to armed forces personnel and members of paramilitary forces. They include one Ashok Chakra, 14 Shaurya Chakras, 63 Sena Medals (Gallantry), two Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry) and two Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry). Of the 14 Shaurya Chakra medals, 11 went to the Army, one to the Air Force and two to police personnel under the Home Ministry.

Army Havildar Hangpan Dada – a resident of Arunachal Pradesh -- was posthumously honoured with the Ashok Chakra while National Security Guard lieutenant colonel Niranjan EK was posthumously awarded the Shaura Chakra, the country’s third-highest peace-time army award. Niranjan EK was head of the NSG’s bomb disposal unit that was rushed to the Pathankot airbase after a militant strike on January 2 but died when a hand grenade strapped to a terrorist’s body explored.

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Assam becomes first state to ratify GST Bill

Assam on 12th August 2016 became the first state in the country to ratify the constitution amendment bill on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as the assembly unanimously passed the bill. The state cabinet approved the bill on Friday morning, before it was placed in the House during the ongoing assembly session. “A historic resolution was passed in the assembly on Friday. Assam became the first state to ratify the constitutional amendment bill relating to the GST,” Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal tweeted soon after it was ratified. “I am sure Assam will benefit from the GST through higher economic growth and better revenue collection,” said Mr.Sonowal.

GST constitution amendment Bill needs to be ratified by at least 16 of the 31 state assemblies, including the assemblies of Union Territories Delhi and Puducherry. It would receive a presidential assent when that is done and the empowered committee of finance ministers would turn into the GST Council to draft the subsequent Central GST, Integrated GST and State GST Bills. Apart from the above three states, Bihar has promised a special session while West Bengal and Delhi could ratify the Bill at their respective assembly sessions at the end of the month. 

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Pema Khandu takes oath as Arunachal Pradesh CM

Pema Khandu sworn in as Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister , Khandu had staked claimed yesterday after being elected leader of Congress Legislature Party. Congress MLA and new Arunachal Pradesh Congress Legislature Party leader Pema Khandu took oath as the new Chief Minister of the state today at Raj Bhavan. Chowna Mein was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister.

Khandu, replaced Nabam Tuki who resigned after stepping down as leader of the Congress Legislature Party or CLP. Khandu was chosen as the new leader of Congress Legislature Party after 44 party MLAs unanimously elected him in the place of Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, who was restored to the post only two days ago after the apex court verdict. A total of 12 Ministers will be part of the new Arunachal cabinet.

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Supreme Court restores Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh

The Supreme Court on Wednesday restored the government in Arunachal Pradesh and quashed all the orders given out by the state’s governor since December 15, 2015.  A five-judge Constitution Bench, in an unanimous and unprecedented verdict, quashed all the decisions of the Governor that had led to imposition of the President’s Rule in the state, calling his actions as “illegal” and violative of the Constitutional provisions. The apex court was hearing a petition on dealing with discretionary powers of the Governor to summon or advance Assembly sessions in the state. Governor JP Rajkhowa had earlier advanced the Winter Session of the Assembly without consulting the then chief minister, Nabam Tuki. Rebel Congress lawmakers sought to impeach the Speaker at a makeshift venue.

This is the first order by the Supreme Court reinstating a government in a state even after it had been replaced by a new government. Nabam Tuki, reaction to the decision, said: “the court has saved the country and constitution. We have got justice.”

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BRICS Youth Summit, 2016 at Guwahati from 1st to 3rd July 2016

Prime Minister shri Narendra Modi, in his remark at Fortaleza BRICS Summit, had stressed the role of youth and sports in furthering intra-BRICS cooperation. In this regard he had also announced Under-17 Football Cup during India’s BRICS Chairmanship 2016. Shri Modi has laid special emphasis on giving wider publicity and dissemination of the BRICS events and their organization across the cities and provinces of India. Role of youth in fostering intra-BRICS bonds has been recognized during the past Summits. Youthful democratic profile of most BRICS countries combined with their economic-vibrancy can be an asset in consolidating exchanges between BRICS countries. Investment in youth will make them stakeholders in future activities of the group. This is also aligned with Prime Minister ’s desire that our events be participative and people-centric. 

It is in this context that BRICS Youth Summit, 2016 is being organised at Guwahati (Assam) from 1st to 3rd July, 2016. The Theme for the Summit is “Youth as bridge for Intra-BRICS Exchanges”. The subjects to be covered by thematic debates are (i) Skill Development and Entreneurship, (ii) Social Inclusion, (iii) Youth Volunteerism and (iv) Youth Participation in Governance. The programme for the Summit also includes thematic debates, cultural events, site-visits and interactive sessions with local youth. The Youth Summit would also be an occasion to introduce India’s North-East to BRICS youth.  The Youth delegates will also have an occasion to call upon the External Affairs Minister in New Delhi and to meet Assam Leadership and Senior Officials at Guwahati, Assam during the course of the Summit.  All the BRICS nations have confirmed their participation in the Summit. The Indian Youth Delegation will be led by minister of state (independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports.Dr. Jitendra Singh. 

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Twinning Network Programme

Union minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, while expressing happiness over his maiden visit to Nagaland, launched the Twinning Network Programme on Chemical Ecology of North Eastern Region (NER) at the Nagaland Science & Technology Council (NASTEC), Kohima. This programme is the first of its kind in the country and is expected to bring about huge impact for the North-East researchers. It is a Twinning Network Programme that would link institutes from the North-East with Bangalore-based scientists. The programme is envisaged for human capacity building for the North-East region, especially in Chemical ecology. It is expected to produce at least 15 PhDs from the North-East region at the end of the 5 year programme.

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Former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma Dies At 68

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Agitok Sangma died of a heart attack on 4th March 2016. He was 68. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan announced the news of his death in the House, which was adjourned for the day. PA Sangma (born 1 September 1947 and died 4th March 2016) was politician who was Speaker of Lok Sabha from 1996 to 1998 and Chief Minister of Meghalaya from 1988 to 1990. He was a co-founder of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and remained a member of the Lok Sabha for eight terms, i.e. 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th Lok Sabha.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has condoled the passing away of former Lok Sabha Speaker Shri PA Sangma.  "Shri PA Sangma was a self-made leader whose contribution towards the development of the Northeast is monumental. Saddened by his demise.  Shri PA Sangma's tenure as Lok Sabha Speaker is unforgettable. His down to earth personality and affable nature endeared him to many.  Sangma ji was deeply influenced by Netaji Bose. Here's a programme both of us attended in 2012 on Azad Hind Fauj ", the Prime Minister said. 

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Bidyalaxmi Tourangbam wins first Gold for India in South Asian Games 2016

India opened its account with Gold that too by women. Indian woman cyclist claimed the first Gold medal in the 30m Individual Time Trial cycling event. Bidyalaxmi Tourangbam claimed the first Gold for the country by winning the cycling race. The 2nd place also went to the Indian eve, Chaoba Devi winning Silver. Pakistans’s Sabiha Bibi got Bronze in the event. The cycling event was held at the Lakshmi Bai National Institute of Physical Education (LNIPE), Guwahati.

In the Men’s cycling 40 Km event, Arvind Panwar won the Gold. Manjeet Singh won silver while Sri Lankan , Janaka Hemantha Kumara Gonagalage won the Bronze medal. In Men’s Swimming 200 mt Freestyle event, Md. Mahfizur Rahman of Bangladesh won the Gold. Srilankan Matthew Abeysinghe won the Silver while Saurav Sangvekar won the Bronze medal

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12th South Asian Games 2016 Logo, Mascot

Organising Committee of the 12th South Asian Games, 2016 (OC-SAG) today unveiled the logo and mascot of the Games in a ceremony held at the ITA Cultural Center Machkhowa, Guwahati, Assam. Beautiful North Eastern cities of Guwahati and Shillong would jointly host the Games from February 6-16, 2016. At the launch ceremony the OC-SAG also kicked-off its Volunteers Programme which is open to the general public. After the unveiling ceremony, the mascot of the Games travelled around the city with the bikers from the Assam Bikers Group. Artists from Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra, Guwahati performed at the event. 

12th South Asian Games 2016:

• 12th South Asian Games 2016 will have around 4500 sport persons and officials from 8 countries to participate in 23 events from 6th February to 16 February 2016 in 12th South Asian Games.
• Kolhapur’s Anant Khasbardar and Abhijeet Krishna of NIFT Patna won the mascot and logo designing contests respectively.
• Mascot of 12th South Asian Games 2016: The name of the Mascot for the Games is TIKHOR, who is the Brand Ambassador of the 12th South Asian Games, 2016. TIKHOR is someone who is sharp, naughty, sporty and modern. He is all-rounder, active, energetic and popular among kids.  
• Logo: The logo has eight petals representing the countries participating in the 12th South Asian Games. The petals are seen to be moving in a clockwise direction showing the positive spirit of the games.

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Government declares NSCN (K) as terrorist organization under UAPA

Government has declared the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), NSCN (K), all its formations and front organizations as a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. A Gazette Notification issued on November 6, 2015 mentions that the NSCN (K), a militant outfit, came into existence in 1988 and is active along the Indo-Myanmar border. NSCN (K) has resorted to terrorism by killing innocent civilians and security forces and engaged in other violent activities including the June 4, 2015 attack on the Army convoy in Chandel district of Manipur.
About National Socialist Council of Nagaland- Khaplang

• NSCN (K) came into existence in 1988 under the leadership of S.S. Khaplang.
• It is as an offshoot of NSCN which was established with an objective of forming a sovereign state of Nagalim by unifying all the areas inhabited by the Naga people in Northeast India and Myanmar.
• Presently NSCN-K is active along the Indo-Myanmar border and has strength of around 1,000 cadres with several camps across the border in Myanmar.

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