UPSC 2017 IAS Exam: PIB Summary and Analysis - May 26

India's longest bridge inaugurated in Assam

• It is the Dhola Sadiya Bridge
• Its length is 9.15 km
• Its built over the River Brahmaputra, in Assam
• The bridge will enhance connectivity and greatly reduce travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh
• The Union Government has decided to name the Dhola-Sadiya bridge after the great musician, lyricist and poet, Bhupen Hazarika

President presents Dr Ambedkar National Award for Social Understanding 
and Upliftment of Weaker Sections

• The President of India presented the “Dr. Ambedkar National Award for Social Understanding and up-liftment of Weaker Sections for the year 2011, 2012 and 2014
• The award winners are
  • 2011 – Professor S.K. Thorat
  • 2012 – Samta Sainik Dal
  • 2014 – jointly presented to Shri Babu Lal Nirmal of Rajasthan and to Amar Sewa Sangam of Tamil Nadu
• About the award
  • The award was instituted by the Government of India in the year 1992 and is given for outstanding contribution to the promotion of Social Understanding and for the upliftment of the Weaker sections in India
  • One Award each year is presented to individuals or organizations and is presented jointly or shared by more than one recipient or organization as may be considered by the Jury to be equally deserving of recognition in the year
  • The award consists of a citation and ₹ 10 lakh as cash prize

Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Cancun, Mexico 

• 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction opened in Cancun, Mexico

Start-Up definition changed

• Start-up India was launched by the Government of India on 16th January, 2016
• The aim is to build a strong eco-system for nurturing innovation and Start-ups in the country to drive economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities
• The following significant changes have been made to the definition of Start-ups
  • Age of Start-up
    • Entity shall be considered as a Start-up up to seven years from the date of its incorporation/ registration
    • Previously it was 5 years
    • In case of Start-ups in the Biotechnology sector, the period shall be up to ten years from the date of incorporation/ registration
  • No letter of recommendation from an incubator/industry association shall be required for either recognition or tax benefits
  • The scope of definition has been broadened to include scalability of business model with potential of employment generation or wealth creation