Important Facts for Prelims (5th December 2018)

• 05 Dec 2018

USMCA trade deal

• The United States, Canada and Mexico have reached an agreement to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
• The original 1994 NAFTA deal has also been renamed as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA.
• The goal of NAFTA was to encourage economic activity by eliminating barriers to trade and investment between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
• USMCA will give workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses a high-standard trade agreement that will result in freer markets, fairer trade and robust economic growth in the region.
• It will strengthen the middle class, and create good, well-paying jobs and new opportunities for the nearly half billion people of North America.

India Water Impact Summit-2018

• India Water Impact Summit is being jointly organized by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga) from 5-7 December 2018 in New Delhi.
• The India Water Impact Summit is an annual event where stakeholders get together to discuss, debate and develop model solutions for some of the biggest water-related problems in the country.
• The discussions this year will be on rejuvenation of the Ganga River Basin.
• There will be multi-country dialogue on the subject, with showcasing of technological innovations, research, policy frameworks and funding models from India and abroad.

National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG)

• National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG) was registered as a society in 2011 under the Societies Registration Act 1860.
• It acted as implementation arm of National Ganga River Basin Authority(NGRBA) which was constituted under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA),1986.
• NGRBA has since been dissolved in 2016, consequent to constitution of National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga (referred as National Ganga Council which comes under the chairmanship of Prime Minister of India.)

Indian Navy Day 2018

• Indian maritime forces celebrated Navy Day on 4 December.
• The day marks the exemplary role of the naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces in the 1971 India-Pakistan War.
• The Indian Navy of the 21st century is emerging as a formidable force likely to influence the Indian Ocean Region.

India’s First Private Satellite Launched

• US space agency SpaceX launched India’s first privately built satellite ExseedSAT 1 along with 63 other satellites from 17 countries.
• The mini communication satellite weighs just a kg and is made up of aluminium alloy.
• The satellite is owned by Mumbai-based startup Exseed Space and will serve the amateur radio communication.

Mangdechhu Project

• Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Project is a hydropower project in Bhutan.
• 720MW run-of-river power plant was built on the Mangdechhu River in Trongsa Dzongkhag District of central Bhutan.
• It was built by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) with support from Government of India.
• It is among the ten Hydroelectric Projects planned under the 10,000MW hydropower development by the year 2020 programme of the Royal Government of Bhutan.