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• Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh said that the Coconut Development Board’s (CDB) major schemes are focusing on coconut
• Production
• Productivity
• Processing for coconut products
• Value addition
• Marketing
• Export promotion
• The Minister said this today on the occasion of the inauguration of the Farmers’ Training Centre cum Regional Office Building of Coconut Development Board in Patna.
• The Minister said that India is leading in the global coconut production and productivity.
• Facts
• Annual coconut production is 2395 crore from 20.82 lakh hectare
• The productivity is 11505 coconuts/hectare.
• Coconut contributes to about Rs.27900 crore to the country’s GDP.
• In the year 2016-17, coconut products worth of Rs.2084 crore were exported.
• More than one crore population depends on coconut cultivation for their livelihood.
• Shri Singh said that the country has witnessed an increase in coconut export.
• In the year 2016, we started exporting coconut oil to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, the countries from where we were importing earlier.
• For the first time, desiccated coconut is being exported to the US and Europe in large quantities from India.
• In Afghanistan, at least 95 people were killed and 158 others injured in a powerful suicide terror blast in the capital, Kabul today.
• Officials said, attackers drove an ambulance laden with explosives past a police checkpoint into a street that was only open to government workers.
• The driver passed through one checkpoint by claiming to be escorting a patient to the hospital. He set off the explosives at the second checkpoint.
• It happened near the old Interior Ministry building and offices of the European Union and High Peace Council.
• Government offices, businesses, a school and a hospital are close to the site of attack.
• The vibrations of the attack could be felt several kilometres away.
• Witnesses say the area-home to foreign embassies and the city’s police headquarters-was crowded with people when the bomb exploded today.
• Plumes of smoke were seen from around the city.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross said the use of an ambulance was harrowing.
• Meanwhile, India has strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Kabul calling it barbaric and dastardly.
• In a statement, the External Affairs Ministry said, there can be no justification for such reprehensible attacks and the perpetrators and their supporters should be brought to
justice.
• It said, New Delhi stands in solidarity with the government and the people of Afghanistan at this difficult times of mindless violence and terror imposed on them.
• In a tweet, Mr Kovind said, India stands shoulder-toshoulder with the people and government of Afghanistan in the fight against the forces of terror and evil.
• Remote Gram Panchayat Hamira in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan will soon have access to telemedicine and eeducation facilities, riding on BharatNet infrastructure, according to Ms Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary, Department of Telecom.
• Hamira is one among the one lakh Gram Panchayats (GP) covered under BharatNet Phase 1, which was completed by 31 Dec 2017.
• Government’s focus on utilizing the BharatNet infrastructure created in different GPs to provide highspeed broadband internet and internet-based services.
• Ms Sundararajan told that schools, railway station, public distribution system, various services under e-mitra etc can be made stronger using the 100 mbps broadband connectivity provided through BharatNet.
• Ms Sundararajan also added that this connectivity will be helpful for the entire panchayat, especially for women and children, when services like telemedicine and e-education
facilities are provided.
• Shri Arun Jaitley said that dynamic nature of the Indian economy and availability of technology tools has impacted the functioning of all the Departments including the nature of Tax Administration.
• The Finance Minister said that there are two major challenges before the Customs administration today which include that of trade facilitation and sharp detection & enforcement to avoid any tax evasion.
• Shri Jaitley said that there is also a challenge to keep a balance between these two dichotomic functions where the experience of tax authorities come to their rescue.
• Shri Jaitley was addressing the august gathering of senior officers and staff of the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC) along with other dignitaries on the occasion of the
‘Investiture Ceremony 2018’ and ‘International Customs Day 2018’ in Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi today.
• The Finance Minister, Shri Jaitley expressed confidence that CBEC would take necessary steps to ensure that India’s ranking in trade across borders would improve substantially.
• ICETRAK, and ICETAB, developed by the CBEC to provide an easy way for trade to track their consignments and for providing other important information and updates.
• The legendary Indian tradition of ‘teacher-and-student’, referred to as the “Guru-Shishya Parampara” will be celebrated in grand style at the Opening Ceremony of the inaugural Khelo India School Games (KISG) at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on January 31.
• Depictions of numerous coach-athlete combinations in sports ranging from archery to wrestling and from across the country will be part of the spectacle.
• This will ensure that the coaches, who teach basics to their students, and help them become elite athletes are given their due recognition.
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