west bengal

the following State government and Israel Embassy
joined hands to oraganise pilgrimage for Christians?
[A]Kerala
[B]Mizoram
[C]West Bengal
[D]Meghalaya
West Bengal
The West Bengal government and the Israel Embassy have joined hands to make
provisions for Christians from the State to go on a pilgrimage to places associated
with the life of Jesus Christ.The pilgrimage is usually undertaken during the time of
Lent (the 40 days of fasting that precede the Last Supper), but the authorities have
managed to organise it for this time of the year.The State government and the Israel
Embassy have made visa and travel arrangements for 200 pilgrims. A private airline
will fly 50 passengers a special direct flight from Kolkata to Amman in Jordan every
Wednesday.

Farakka Barrage is a barrage across the Ganges River, located in the Indian state of West Bengal, 

the following state will organize a World Youth
Festival on the occasion of 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda---West Bengal





India’s second financial hub to come up in Kolkata
The foundation stone of a financial hub at Rajarhat on the outskirts of Kolkata were laid by CM of West Bengal Mamta
Bannerjee.
It is the second such hub in India after Bandra Kurla in Mumbai.
Terming the project as Global Eye, Ms Banerjee held that this project will attract huge investment and will create huge
employment opportunities as it has a potential to generate 20,0000 jobs. She also held that it will become an iconic
project like WalMart and London Eye. The International Financial Hub at New Town, Kolkata will be a cluster not only
for banks but also other financial institutions and financial service players to allow for economics of scale for carrying
out diverse financial activities including banking, insurance and mutual funds and off shore banking. The financial hub
will be a part of the India’s ‘Look East’ policy and pivots on the concept that Kolkata is the eastern gateway of India
and links India to South-East Asia.





West Bengal govt to come up with biometric cards for
NREGA beneficiaries
West Bengal government to introduce bio-metric job cards to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)
beneficiaries to facilitate early payment for jobs done by them. The cards would enable the beneficiaries to get their
payments on a daily basis instead of the long waiting period stretching often up to a month. The Mamata Banerjee-led
state government aimed to provide up to 50 days’ job under the Employment Guarantee programme.




Corroding Howrah bridge to get a Fiber glass makeover
Howrah Bridge- The busiest cantilever bridge in the world connecting the twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah, set to
undergo a major makeover and maintenance. The Kolkata Port trust (KoPT) — which is in charge of the bridge, is likely
to spend more than Rs 20 lakh for this maintenance. KoPT is inviting bids for installing fibre glass casing on the 74
columns of the bridge hanger base to protect it from human spitting. A similar effort was made in 2004 also when
KoPT spend about Rs 65 lakh to repaint the bridge with two coats of aluminium paint, to combat corrosion happened
due to bird droppings.
 For the mean time, the authorities have started painting primer Zinc Chromate which is in Yellow color as a
temporary measure.
Why the Bridge needs a make-over?
 The bridge requires a makeover as it faces threat of corrosion.
 Major factors of the corrosion are: Urinating, Human Spitting and Bird Droppings. To a minor extent, salt
content in air also.
 As per a recent report, spitting had reduced the thickness of steel hoods covering the pillars from 6 mm to less
than 3 mm since 2007.
Highlights of Howrah Bridge:
 The Howrah Bridge is a cantilever bridge that spans the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India.
 Commissioned: 1943.
 Oiginally named: New Howrah Bridge
Current Affairs Published on www.gktoday.in from January 1, 2012 to
September 10, 2012
 On 14 June 1965 it was renames as “Rabindra Setu”, after Rabindranath Tagore
 Yet popularly known as the “Howrah Bridge”.
 Make: High-tensile alloy of steel Tiscrom.
 Tata Steel was the supplier of the steel.
 The busiest cantilever bridge in the world
 Currently the sixth longest cantilever bridge in the world.
What is a Cantilever Bridge?
A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using cantilevers, structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only
one end.










West Bengal to modify agricultural marketing act
The West Bengal government is preparing a draft to amend the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC)
Act in line with a ‘Model Act’ of the central government, but it will not go after the centre’s advice on adopting
contract farming. The state is not getting the grants to the tune of Rs 500 crore for not amending the act. The WB govt
is interested in PPP model for development of ‘mandis‘ and ‘cold chains’ in the state, but it would not allow private
players to set up ‘mandis’.