Silver Line project
Why in news?
- The Ministry of Railways has granted in-principle approval for the ‘Silver Line’ project.
News summary
- The ‘Silver Line’ project is a proposal of the Kerala government that aims to connect major districts and towns with semi high-speed trains that will run on their own tracks.
- it involves laying the third and fourth railway lines from Kasaragod in the north to Kochuveli (Thiruvananthapuram) in the south for the movement of semi high-speed trains.
- The project aims to cut the travel time between the two corners from 12 hours to less than four hours. The project is scheduled to be commissioned by 2024.
- The Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail), a joint venture between the Ministry of Railways and the Kerala government will execute the project.
Operation Twist
Why in news?
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to conduct simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities under Open Market Operations (OMO) for ₹10,000 crores each on December 23, 2019.
News summary
• It is the first time the RBI will conduct a special open market operation (OMO) of this kind, similar to the ‘Operation Twist’ carried out in the United States near the start of the decade.
- The RBI said it will buy 100 billion rupees’ ($1.4 billion) worth of the current benchmark 10-year bond while selling four bonds maturing in 2020 for an equivalent amount.
- RBI has decided to conduct the special OMO after reviewing the liquidity & market situation and assessing financial conditions. Bond yields have been rising since the RBI unexpectedly left its key repo rate unchanged earlier this month.
- Analysts believe this ‘Operation Twist’ is aimed at bringing longer term yields lower.
Centre of Excellence for Next Generation Transportation Systems
Why in news?
- The National Rail Transport Institute (NRTI) has signed an MoU with the University of Birmingham to set up its first Centre of Excellence for Next Generation Transportation Systems.
Key highlights:
- This Centre will be involved in promoting development of the Rail and Transportation sector in India which include training programmes for in-service professionals and undertaking joint research projects in areas such as signalling, communication, asset maintenance etc.
- Indian Railways is a founding partner of this centre.
Gay conversion
Why in news?
- The German Cabinet approved a draft Bill banning “conversion therapies” designed to force heterosexuality on homosexuals.
News summary
- The so-called Gay Conversion “therapy”, employs psychotherapeutic methods, including giving electric shocks, to force homosexual people to turn heterosexual.
- These practises have often caused “severe physical and psychological damage”.
- The idea of conversion therapies is linked to the one that sees homosexuality as a mental disorder. This is a view that mental health professionals reject. Since Homosexuality is not an illness, so the word ‘therapy’ is misleading.