Current Affairs 15th April 2019

Current Affairs 15th April 2019 - Important Ponints

• India, Netherlands agree to fortify relations
• US lawmakers introduce new legislation to fortify US-India partnership
• India to be Guest of Honour at ADIBF 2019
• Health Ministry Requested to Outline Law to Ban Production, Sale of e-cigarettes
• CMFRI, ISRO ink Agreement to protect Smaller Wetlands
• PM Narendra Modi Honoured with Order of St Andrew the Apostle
• CDSCO Directs to Display Data on 7 Common Antibiotics
• UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize 2019

Current Affairs 15th April 2019 - Details

India, Netherlands agree to fortify relations

India & the Netherlands deliberated ways to fortify bilateral, political & economic relations, including boosting co-operation at the UN & other international forum.
This was deliberated during the foreign office consultations organised in New Delhi, in which the India was represented by A Gitesh Sarma, Secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs & the Dutch delegation by Johanna (Yoka) Brandt, Secretary General, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Key Highlights

India & the Netherlands share a multi-faceted relationship. The both countries used the dialogue exchange as an opportunity to review the whole extent of bilateral relations, including political, economic, commercial, scientific & cultural co-operation.

They interchanged views on areasal & multilateral matters, including co-operation at the UN & other international forum.

India welcomed the participation of the Netherlands because the partner nation for the 25th edition of the CII-DST Tech Summit planned to be organised in New Delhi in October 2019.

The both nations also underlined the significance of sustaining exchanges at all levels, including the high level.

US lawmakers introduce new legislation to fortify US-India partnership

Several United States lawmakers have reintroduced an important legislation in the House of Representatives that pursues to fortify the United States-India strategic relationship. If enacted, the new bill would make sure that the United States State Department treats India as a NATO ally for the purposes of the Arms Export Control Act.

Significance

The law would pass a powerful signal that defence sales to India should be prioritised as per to the United States-India Strategic Partnership Forum, which had worked on this significant legislation.

Key Highlights

• The bill H R 2123 was announced this week by Congressman Joe Wilson, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
• The lawmaker braced his proposal with the wordings that India is the world's largest democracy, a pillar of stability in the areas & has displayed strong commitments to export control policies.
• This adjustment to United States law will further permit the United States-India partnership to embellishment in line with the United States’ security commitment to the Indo-Pacific areas. 
• The original co-sponsors of the legislation include Congressman Ami Bera, the longest-working Indian-American in Congress & the House India Caucus Co-Chairs, Congressmen George Holding, Brad Sherman & Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard & Congressman Ted Yoho.

India to be Guest of Honour at ADIBF 2019

India will be the Guest of Honour nation at the 2019 Abu Dhabi International Book Fair to be planned during April 24th-30th, 2019.
The fair goals to highlight the United Arab Emirate’s rich heritage, & showcase its authenticity, cultural & literary output. This will be the 29th edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.

Saif Saeed Ghobash, Undersecretary of Department of Culture & Tourism of Abu Dhabi, informed that ‘India’s selection as the Guest of Honour at the book fair highlights the deep relations between India & the Arab world & the long-standing United Arab Emirates-India relationship.’

Significance

The Indian Pavilion will host writers, authors & literary scholars who will work as ambassadors for the literature & art of their nation.

The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair will commemorate India, with its authentic culture, arts, heritage & knowledge-based civilizations.

India’s participation will deliver a chance for investors to explore & capitalise on prospects offered by Indian groups & publishers existing in the Gulf areas.

Health Ministry Requested to Outline Law to Ban Production, Sale of e-cigarettes

The Ministry of Commerce & Industries has requested the Health Ministry to outline law prohibiting production & sale of e-cigarettes in the nation as in the nonappearance of the domestic legislation, it would not be possible to put a blanket restriction on its imports.

The Ministry of Commerce & Industries has explained that without prohibiting domestic sale & production of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems via law, it will be an infringement of global trade rules to put an import ban.

What are Electronic Cigarettes ?

Electronic cigarette/e-cigarettes are devices that do not burn/utilise tobacco leaves but instead vaporise a solution, which a user then inhales. The main components of solution are nicotine and propylene glycol.

Earlier, the Health Ministry had questioned the commerce ministry to release a notification prohibiting the import of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems, including e-cigarettes/flavoured hookah. To put the restriction into effect the Commerce Ministry has requested the Health Ministry to outline guidelines regarding the domestic sale & production so that the Ministry of Commerce & Industries can go ahead with imposing of the blanket restriction on the imports.

According to the WHO report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2017, governments of 30 nations which includes Mauritius, Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Bahrain, Iran, Saudi Arabia & the UAE, have already restricted the e-cigarettes.

CMFRI, ISRO ink Agreement to protect Smaller Wetlands

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute- CMFRI & the ISRO have inked an Agreement to map, validate & safeguard smaller wetlands in the coastal areas & restore them via coastal livelihood programs.

Smaller wetlands (smaller than 2.25 hectares) cover an area of above 5 lakh hectares across the nation, with Kerala alone having as many as 2592 such wetlands.

About the Agreement

• According to the Agreement, a mobile application & a centralised web portal with a comprehensive database of wetlands in the nation which were below 2.25 hectares will be established.
• The 2 institutes will classify & demarcate the wetlands & restore the dishonoured ones via suitable income options including coastal aquaculture.
• A mobile app will be utilised for real-time monitoring of the wetlands & giving advisories to the shareholders & the coastal public.
• The partnership is part of the national outline work for fisheries & wetlands freshly developed under the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture.
• According to the agreement, National Wetland Atlas which has been already established by the Space Applications Centre of Indian Space Research Organisation will be modernized with real-time data of physical, chemical & biological parameters of the wetlands to be issued by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute.
• The partnership will benefit in evolving a comprehensive wetland data system which could simplify the village-level wetland advisories to the local people by scientific communities.

PM Narendra Modi Honoured with Order of St Andrew the Apostle

Russia has bestowed Prime Minister Narendra Modi with ‘Order of St Andrew the Apostle’ for his efforts towards encouraging the bilateral special & privileged strategic partnership.

The statement by the Russian Government has informed that PM of India Narendra Modi was ornamented with the Order of St Andrew the Apostle which is the highest state decoration of Russia for exceptional services in promoting special & advantaged Strategic Partnership between the Russian Federation & the Republic of India & friendly relations between the Russian & Indian peoples.

Order of St Andrew the Apostle

Order of St Andrew the Apostle is bestowed to prominent statesmen & public figures & representatives of science, culture, the arts & various industries for their outstanding services in encouraging the prosperity, greatness & glory of Russia. It is both the highest & the oldest state decoration of Russia recognized in the 17th century by Peter the Great around 1699.

Russia also confers Order of St Andrew the Apostle to foreign heads of state for outstanding services to Russia.

The list of the overseas awardees comprises President of China Xi Jinping, the former President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, the former President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Geydar Aliev.

CDSCO Directs to Display Data on 7 Common Antibiotics

Following the alerts from the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has asked manufacturers of Seven common antibiotics to mke sure that data related to symptoms/side effects is made available to the general public.

CDSCO Order

Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has asked medicine manufacturers, to indicate in leaflets/inserted into medicine packets/promotional literature, data about the contrary reactions of these medicines.

Manufacturers of antibiotics Cefotaxime, Ofloxacin & Cefixime; Tranexamic Acid, antipsychotic medicine Quetiapine, anti-rheumatoid medicine Sulfasalazine & the anti-epileptic medicine Sodium Valproate are guided to advise patients of the ‘new’ side effects.

Pharmacovigilance Programme of India

Pharmacovigilance Program of India was released in 2010 with a comprehensive aim to safeguard the health of 1.27 billion people of India. Adverse drug Reactions are reported from all over the nation to the National Coordination centre of Pharmacovigilance Program of India, which also work in partnership with the global Adverse Drug Reaction monitoring centre, Sweden to contribute in the global Adverse Drug Reactions database.

The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh swarms the management centre for Pharmacovigilance Program of India. The mission of Pharmacovigilance Program of India is to safeguard the health of the Indian population by making sure that the advantage of the usage of medicine overshadows the risks related with its use.

UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize 2019

The 2019 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize has been bestowed to Reuters reporters Wa Lone & Kyaw Soe Oo. The jury has recognised their exceptional courage in reporting on unproven human rights violations in the Myanmar’s state of Rakhine.

Both Wa Lone & Kyaw Soe Oo had worked hard to follow a career in journalism that was not possible in the junta era. Their documentary on the taboo topic regarding crimes committed against Rohingyas pushed them into the prison. The Press Freedom Prize 2019 pays a tribute to their courage, resistance & commitment to freedom of expression.

UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize

The UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize suggests outstanding contributions to the defence/promotion of press freedom especially in the face of danger. The prize includes a reward of $25000, is sponsored by the Guillermo Cano Isaza Foundation- Colombia, the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation- Finland, & The Namibia Media Trust.

The Prize is termed after Guillermo Cano Isaza, the Colombian journalist who was murdered in front of the offices of his newspaper El Espectador in Bogotá, Colombia, on 17th December 1986.