{Current Affairs} Daily News Notes: 3rd & 4th Nov, 2013

• ·         Recognising that health indicators are generally poor in the country’s tribal areas, the government has decided to develop a national framework and roadmap to improve the appropriateness, access, and quality of health services among the tribal population. The expert committee (chaired by Abhay Bhang) will prepare strategic guidelines for States to draw up Programme Implementation Plans, including model District Health Action Plans for tribal health based on tribal health issues and diseases burden, and review the available health data with a view to maintaining a regular database specific to tribal health. As per the 2001 Census, the tribal population was 8.43 crore or eight per cent of the total population, with over 90 per cent living in rural areas with poor social indicators. North-eastern States have the highest tribal population followed by Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. Infant mortality, maternal mortality and neo-natal death figures are unacceptably high among the STs because of lack of healthcare infrastructure, low literacy rates and sometimes traditional practices.

• ·         The Andhra Pradesh state Government has announced the cashless health scheme for its employees, pensioners and their family members. About 70 lakh people will be benefited under the new scheme. About 1885 procedures will be made available through network hospitals including government and private hospitals across the state. This will put additional annual burden of 400 crore rupees on the state exchequer. Gazetted employees will have to pay a monthly premium of 120 rupees while it will be 90 rupees for non gazetted employees.

• ·         West Bengal Government’s Tourism Department has decided to promote the tourism in Dooars, a beautiful landscape in the Himalayan foothills of Jalpaiguri district. The northwest part of the state along the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas is known as Dooars which is also well-known for its vast stretch of tea gardens. On the other hand, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has invited around 50 stakeholders of the tourism industry from 13 countries across the world to explore the tourism potential of Darjeeling, Dooars and Sikkim. This ambitious circuit is called Destination East.

• ·         In the interiors of the tribal-dominated Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, Deepawali is celebrated in a different way. Instead of traditional rituals, the tribals worship the Mother Nature. Apart from the traditional festival celebrated in the urban Chhattisgarh, the Bastar tribals worship the paddy crop, which is the symbol of prosperity, and Goddess Laxmi. The Bastar tribals also worship their livestock. Because they believe that, Mother Nature is the ultimate Goddess. In Bastar the festival of Diyari Tihaar is known as Baisaakhi. Interestingly, there is no fix date, as such, for Diyari Tihaar. This festival is celebrated on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, after the major weekly market or Haat of the region.

• ·         The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad released the 7th edition of Indian Pharmacopoeia 2014 – a book of Drug Standards. The standards given in this pharmacopoeia are authoritative, legally enforceable and intended to help in the inspection and licensing of manufacturing units and distribution of drugs and pharmaceuticals. The seventh edition of the Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP 2014) has been published by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) in fulfillment of the requirements of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules thereunder. The scope of the Pharmacopoeia has been extended to include products of biotechnology, indigenous herbs and herbal products, veterinary vaccines and additional antiretroviral drugs and formulations, inclusive of commonly used fixed-dose combinations. The IP 2014 incorporates 2548 monographs of drugs out of which 577 are new monographs consisting of APIs, excipients, dosage forms, antibiotic monographs, insulin products and herbal products etc.

• ·         Severely undernourished tuberculosis (TB) patients in rural India have twice a higher risk of death, a scientific research study has concluded. The study was conducted in a consecutive cohort of 1,695 adult patients with pulmonary TB in rural India during 2004 - 2009. At the time of diagnosis, the body mass index (BMI) of the subjects indicated that 80 per cent of women and 67 per cent of men had moderate to severe under-nutrition while 57 per cent of men and 48 per cent of women were stunted, indicating chronic under-nutrition. Severe under-nutrition during diagnosis was associated with a two-fold higher risk of death. Overall, a majority of patients showed evidence of chronic severe under-nutrition at diagnosis, which persisted even after successful treatment in a significant proportion of them. At the time of treatment, half the women and one third of men remained moderately to severely underweight. Sixty among 1179 patients (5 per cent) who were treated, died. The deaths which occurred during TB treatment were premature – defined as those occurring below the age of 65 years. The median ages at death (42 years in men and 32 years in women) were in contrast to the current life expectancy of 65.8 years for men and 68.1 years for women in India.

• ·         A third of the vast Amrit Mahal Kaval grasslands of Challakere (KA), where several defence and science establishments have been proposed, is ‘deemed forest’ and requires clearance before it is diverted, according to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). MoEF conceded that site inspections revealed that these grasslands, allotted to institutes such as the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Indian Space Research Organisation and the Indian Institute of Science, supports a variety of wildlife such as black buck, hares and sloth bear and that it could be a potential habitat of the endangered Great Indian Bustard. Most of these lands were given to various central establishments in 2009 and 2010.

• ·         3 years ago, the government of Punjab abolished affidavit raj prevalent in ministries and state PSUs so that it could shed the tag of what it calls a “mai‐baap sarkar”. Instead, it wished to move towards “participatory governance”. With the Punjab model being discussed now in the Central government’s department of administrative reforms and public grievances (DARPG), there are speculations that such a practice could finally be adopted by other state governments and even by the Centre. According to estimates, about 20 crore affidavits are being made every year in the country, and the process results into an economic loss of about Rs 8,000 crore, taking an average of Rs 400 per affidavit. Punjab government’s “affidavit-free regime” notified three years ago, called for affidavit’s replacement with self-attested declaration for all need-based services. What citizens need to do there is to fill up a self-attested form containing a self-declaration after affixing his or her photograph.

• ·         The joint retreat ceremony — a ceremonial lowering of flags by the border guarding forces of the respective countries, dressed in full regalia before sunset — of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) would start on Petropole-Benapole, a stretch separating the two countries along West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district and Jessore district of Bangladesh on November 6. The ceremony would subsequently be extended to two other places along the border. Further, the ceremony will not have “adrenalin rushing aggression” which is on display at the Attari-Wagah border in Punjab — a famous crowd-pulling retreat ceremony along the India-Pakistan border, BSF officials said.

• ·         Former Union Home Secretary Gopal Krishna Pillai appointed as the Chairman of the troubled Financial Technologies-promoted stock exchange, MCX-SX. SEBI has accorded its approval to Mr. Pillai’s election as Chairman. Earlier, Jignesh Shah had to force resign as the MCX board members wanted to insulate the MCX-SX from the ongoing settlement crisis at NSEL (National Spot Exchange Limited). The Forward Markets Commission (the commodities market regulator of India) has pressed multiple charges against NSEL directors, including Jignesh Shah, for allegedly perpetrating the Rs.5,600 crore settlement fraud and conspiring to cheat investors intentionally. Multi Commodity Exchange and Stock Exchange Limited (MCX-SX) is an Indian stock exchange. It commenced operations in the Currency Derivatives (CD) segment on October 7, 2008.

• ·         Shashi Kant Sharma, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India won the election to the UN Board of Auditors for a non-consecutive term of 6 years duration. India had last sat on the board in 1993 for 6 years. The United Nations Board of Auditors (the ‘Board’) was established in 1946 by the General Assembly. The Auditors-Generals of UN member states are elected to the Board.

• ·         Armies of India and China are all set to hold their 3rd joint military exercise in China. 150-member Indian contingent arrived in Chengdu city (China) to take part in anti-terrorism drills. The 10-day exercise has been code named “hand in hand” and will be inaugurated on November 6, 2013. Indian and Chinese armies are holding their 3rd joint military exercises after a gap of 5 years.

• ·         Thousands of Illegal migrant workers have rushed to exit Saudi Arabia as the three month long extended amnesty period announced by the Saudi King to legalize their status expires today. Around 4 million expatriates including more than a million Indian nationals have legalized their status by changing the iqamas or the work permits or the sponsors. Saudi labour ministry has said nationwide raids to find illegal migrants would start on Monday.

• ·         The Bangladesh Election Commission today said that it will start implementing the High Court ban on Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamic party in in the country. This means the party will not be able to contest the upcoming Parliamentary polls. The High Court had on 1st August, declared Jamaat-e-Islami's registration with the EC as illegal as many provisions of its Constitution ran counter to the country's Constitution and Representation of People Order. 

• ·         Brazil has proposed that the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) formally study the historical responsibility of countries for the accumulated greenhouse gas emissions on the basis of which the future emission reduction targets can be set. The proposal, which has found the backing of other BASIC countries – India, China and South Africa – will be formally discussed at the Warsaw talks beginning November 11. Developed countries, especially the United States, have till date refused to acknowledge the importance of accounting for the emissions accumulated in the atmosphere so far which are also referred to as ‘stocks.’ It prefers to negotiate only looking at current and future emission flows. The U.S. is the highest emitter of accumulated emissions so far and countries such as China, India and other emerging economies fall much behind the developed world. The principle of historical emissions is based on the scientific fact that carbon dioxide emissions – by far the largest greenhouse gas – once emitted, stay in the atmosphere for more than a 100 years and continue to heat up the planet. If the proposal gets approved at the Warsaw talks, it would ensure that the principle of historical emissions also gets more firmly embedded in the negotiations for the new climate pact to be signed by 2015 and becomes one of the parameters based on which countries are held responsible for doing less than required levels to combat climate change. This would put a greater onus of action on the developed world than emerging economies.

• ·         Germany and the United States plan to ink a no-spy agreement next year to prohibit the bilateral spying of citizens and governments as a consequence of the U.S. spying scandal. After alleged U.S. tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel's phone, Merkel sent officials to Washington to clarify the allegations and to work out a new basis of trust. 

• ·         Global outrage against recent revelations of mass surveillance by the U.S. government, which sparked discussions for a review of global surveillance guidelines, has led the Brazilian government to reach out to the Indian government for support for its proposal to host a one-off global summit, scheduled for early May 2014. The move follows President Dilma Rouseff’s angry speech on U.S. surveillance at the U.N. General Assembly in September. Apart from India, Brazil is also reportedly in touch with other countries such as South Korea, Australia and now more likely, Germany, after it recently came to light that the U.S. may have monitored Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone for over a decade. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) held multiple meetings along with the heads of Information Security Operations Center (ISOC) and Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) last week at the Internet Governance Forum in Bali, Indonesia to answer the questions of various stakeholders. Indian stakeholders favour removing the U.S. government’s control over ICANN, even though that may not be directly linked to the predominant issue of surveillance, which has sparked the present anger sweeping global capitals. Global businesses and the civil society seem comfortable discussing surveillance openly, but if governments — nearly all of whom engage in widespread surveillance — will support such discussion remains a mystery. Since the meeting in Brazil is proposed for May 2014, right in the middle of India’s general election, the likelihood of any senior political or bureaucratic heads leading India’s delegation also looks dim.

• ·         Russia and Japan have moved to dramatically upgrade bilateral ties, holding their first joint Defence and Foreign Ministers’ meeting (two-plus-two ministerial meeting) and agreeing to expand their defence and security cooperation. Russia has become only the third country after the United States and Australia to have established the two-plus-two mechanism of bilateral interaction at the ministerial level with Japan, while Japan is the first country in Asia to have this arrangement with Russia. Russia and Japan have agreed to conduct the first ever anti-terrorism and anti-piracy exercises between the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force and the Russian Navy. Till now the two navies have jointly trained only for search and rescue operations. The two countries have also agreed to step up their cooperation in multilateral security forums in the Asia-Pacific region. After a decade-long drift, political relations between Russia and Japan took an upward trajectory following the election of Shinzo Abe as Japan’s Prime Minister last December. He became the first Japanese leader in 10 years to pay an official visit to Russia in April this year for a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders agreed to revive stalled talks on a peace treaty. Russia and Japan have never signed a peace treaty after World War II because of long-running territorial dispute the four Kuril Islands, claimed by Japan. The warming of Russia-Japan ties is being watched warily in China, which is locked in a bitter territorial dispute with Japan.

• ·         One of the most unpopular immigration proposals of the Conservative-led coalition government in the United Kingdom, which envisaged subjecting visitors from six “high-risk” Commonwealth countries to pay a surety of £3000 for a visa to the U.K., has been withdrawn. The scheme, to have been introduced on a pilot basis this month, would have made it mandatory for persons on visitors’ visa from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Ghana to pay the deposit, which would be forfeited if they did not return home.

• ·         Legendary Pakistani folk singer Reshma passed away in Lahore today. She was suffering from Throat cancer. She is remembered in India for her famous song "Lambi Judai" of the 1983 film Hero. Born in Bikaner, Rajasthan, to a Banjara family in 1947, her tribe migrated to Karachi shortly after partition. Reshma holds the prestigious awards 'Sitara-i-Imtiaz' and 'Legends Of Pakistan' given by the President of Pakistan.

• ·         Indian captain M.S. Dhoni and star batsman Virat Kohli were on Saturday nominated for the International Cricket Council’s People’s Choice Award, the winner of which will be declared on December 13 during the governing body’s 10th annual awards. Both Kohli and Dhoni have been ICC award winners in the past. While Kohli won the ICC ODI Player of the Year 2012, Dhoni had bagged the same trophy in the year 2008 and 2009. The short list was nominated by an elite panel of cricket experts, which is headed by ICC Cricket Committee Chairman and former India captain Anil Kumble.

• ·         Tunisia has been suspended from the Davis Cup for a year. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) found the Tunisian Tennis Federation (TTF) to be in breach of its constitution when it ordered one of its player not to compete against Israel’s player at the 2013 Tashkent Challenger in October.

• ·         Indian men officially confirmed their presence at the 2014 hockey World Cup following Australia’s success in the Oceania Cup on Sunday. The 2014 World Cup will be held from May 31 to June 15 at The Hague, the Netherlands. Eleven out of 12 men’s teams have been confirmed while the final spot will go to the winner of the Africa Cup of Nations.