Current Affairs 16th October 2018

Current Affairs 16th October 2018 - Important Points

• First India-US tri-services exercise to be held in  - 2019
• Who has launched Chief Minister’s Urban Leaders Fellowship Programme ? - Delhi Government 
• Union Government releases Analytical Report of National Health Profile 2018 on - 13th October 2018
• Government launched air quality warning system in Delhi to combat air pollution on - 15th October 2018
• International Day of Rural Women observed globally on - 15th October 2018
• 6th RCEP Inter-sessional Ministerial Meeting held in - Singapore
• Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dies of cancer at 65 on - 15th October 2018
• Youth Road Safety Learners Licence Programme  launched by - Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
• ICFRE signs two MoUs to spread awareness on forests and environment on - 15th October 2018

Current Affairs 16th October 2018 - Details

First India-US tri-services exercise to be held in  - 2019

The 1st India-United States tri-services exercise is likely to happen in 2019 in India. It will consist all services of both nations and talks are on to comprise special forces. United States will be 2nd nation after Russia with whom India conducts tri-services exercise.
Important Facts

• The Indo-US combined tri-services drill was officially proclaimed after 1st 2+2 dialogue between
  principals of External Affairs and Defence Ministries of 2 nations which was organised in New Delhi in September 2018.
• The drill will emphasis on UN-based scenario and all-encompassing mission of humanitarian support, disaster respite measure.
• It will be also in-line with India’s motivation of being natural humanitarian disaster relief hub in the Indo-Pacific province.
  Did you know?
  The 3 forces of India and United States already participate in multiple bilateral exercises distinctly.
  Moreover, forces of both nations are also taking part in yearly drill known as “Yudh Abyaas”, whose
  newest edition took place in September 2018, and Air Forces participated in bilateral drill known as Cope India. Naval forces of both nations also took part in exercise known as ‘Malabar’ which also involves Japan. But this will be 1st time, 3 services of India and United States will take part in drill together. Indian Army has Para SF, Navy has Marcos while Air Force has Garud as their particular special forces.

Who has launched Chief Minister’s Urban Leaders Fellowship Programme ? - Delhi Government 

Delhi government has released CM’s Urban Leaders Fellowship Program that looks forward to fascinate
young leaders across the nation to work with it on addressing few of the most pressing urban trials. It was broadcasted by Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia.
CM’s Urban Leaders Fellowship Programme

• The fellowship focuses to deliver unique prospect to young leaders across India to work within the Delhi government to address few of the most persistent urban trials in India.
• It also looks forward to fascinate youth who are obsessive about public service and are enthusiastic to work for 2 years.
• Fellows nominated under this program will be allocated to work with ministers/senior delegates across different departments Delhi government including health, education, water, transport, art and culture.
• The fellows will be paid salary of Rupees 1.25 lakh/month and Rupees 75,000/month to Associate Fellows.

Union Government releases Analytical Report of National Health Profile 2018 on - 13th October 2018

Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, on October 13th, 2018 published an Analytical Report of the National Health Profile 2018. This is the twelfth edition of the health profile.
The report was arranged by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence, under the sponsorship of the Directorate General of Health Services. Central Bureau of Health Intelligence has been releasing National Health Profile every year since 2005. 
The National Health Profile 2018 covers demographic, socio-economic, health status and health finance pointers, along with comprehensive data on health infrastructure and human resources in health.

More about National Health Resource Repository

• The National Health Resource Repository is the nation’s 1st ever National Healthcare Facility registry of dependable, standardised and modernized geo-spatial information of all public and private healthcare establishments.
• It delivers understanding the health indicators of the nations and an option to monitor the situation.
• It specifies that noteworthy progress has been done in the nation for numerous health outcomes.
• The aim of the National Health Resource Repository project is to fortify evidence-based decision making and progress a platform for residents and provider-centric services by forming a robust and secured IT-enabled repository. 
• National Health Resource Repository will be the eventual platform for comprehensive data of both, Private as well as Public healthcare creations including Railways, ESIC, Defence and Petroleum healthcare formations.
• Under the Collection of Statistics Act 2008, more than 20 lakh hospitals, doctors, clinics, diagnostic
  laboratories, pharmacies and nursing homes would be itemized under the National Health Resource Repository on more than 1400 variables.
• About 4000 trained experts are working to approach every healthcare establishment for data collection.
  Objective
• The objective of the project is to advance a comprehensive platform for more than 25 lakh healthcare formations. 
• The platform will be very beneficial for all significant shareholders including government, private health establishments and the public.
• National Health Resource Repository will jointly work with Ayushman Bharat -National Health Protection Mission and Central TB Division on a combined plan for the greater profit of succeeding Hospital empanelment and private sector appointment.

Government launched air quality warning system in Delhi to combat air pollution on - 15th October 2018

The Union Environment Minister Harshvardhan on October 15th, 2018 revealed an air quality early
warning system for the Delhi region. The system has been planned with the help of American and Finnish models to forecast life-threatening Air Pollution levels.
Talking on the eve, the Environment Minister informed that with the advance information on bad air
quality, people can be educated to be organized in advance. Talking about stubble burning, the Minister
informed that there has been a decline in recognition of fire episodes according to satellite mapping in
Haryana & Punjab. He informed that directions have been delivered to monitor stubble burning in these
areas on priority.
Objective
The system has been initiated by the Union Government in Delhi, keeping in view the city’s worsening air quality. A connected website has also been released along with it. The system will assist fight against air pollution in the Delhi NCR by getting data 2-5 days well in advance. It will also issue signals for essential actions.
Key Highlights

• The system called “Air Quality Early Warning System” will have an in-built website-based broadcasting tool to notify public and enforcement agencies about episodic high pollution actions in advance.
• Such data may be cooperative for the General Public in planning their outdoor activities.
• The system will also make it easier for government’s pollution regulators to alert shareholders and the general public about Air quality 48 hours in advance.
• The initiative will issue them satisfactory time to take defensive measures.
• The system has been mutually developed by the scientists of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology Pune, National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, Noida and India Meteorological Department.
• Besides this, the Central Pollution Control Board has constituted a 41 members team, which will
  uninterruptedly monitor the air pollution levels and report to the board.

International Day of Rural Women observed globally on - 15th October 2018

The International Day of Rural Women was celebrated internationally on October 15th, 2018 with the theme, ‘Sustainable infrastructure, services and social protection for gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls’.
The theme spaces enablement of rural females at the heart of fulfilling the foresight of the Sustainable
Development Goals. The day goals to recognise the serious role and contribution of rural females, including indigenous females, in attracting agricultural and rural progress, cultivating food security and eliminating rural poverty.
Importance

• The day goals to lime-light the irreplaceable contribution of rural females towards development and the vital role they play in making sure the sustainability of rural households and communities, enhancing rural livelihoods and overall happiness.
• Thus, females make noteworthy contributions to agricultural production, food security and nutrition, land and natural resource management, and constructing climate resilience.
• However, the females and girls in rural areas suffer unreasonably from multi-dimensional poverty.
• While extreme poverty has decreased globally, the world’s One billion people who are living in improper conditions of poverty are heavily concentrated in rural areas.
• The Union Government of India announced October 15th as ‘Mahila Kisan Diwas’ or ‘The Day of Women Agriculturists’. The day is being observed in connotation with the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• It goals to recognise the contribution of women in agriculture as 80% independent females in India were linked with the farm sector, while females lead 18% of all agricultural households.
• The India’s theme for the day was declared as- “Sashakt Mahila, Sashakt Bharat”.
  Did you know?
  The 1st International Day of Rural Women was celebrated on October 15th, 2008. The day was recognized by the United Nations General Assembly via resolution on December 18th, 2007. The day seeks to recognize the serious role and contribution of rural females, including Indian originated females, in improving agricultural and rural development, food security and eradicating rural poverty.

6th RCEP Inter-sessional Ministerial Meeting held in - Singapore

The Sixth Interregional Ministerial Meeting of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership was
organised in Singapore. The meeting was revised following sixth Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership ministerial meeting organised in August 2018. In this meeting, all associate nations settled to finalize trading pact by the end of current year. From India, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution C.R.Chaudhary joined the meeting.

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

• Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is a projected free trade agreement or comprehensive regional economic integration pact between the 10-ASEAN nations including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and its 6 Free Trade Agreement associates including Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Japan and Korea.
• The discussions for this mega trade pact were officially publicized at 2012 ASEAN Summit in Cambodia.
• It goals to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical co-operation, competition and intellectual property rights under its domain.
• Till 2017, 16 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership member states accounted for population of 3.4 billion people with total Gross Domestic Production of $49.5 trillion, roughly 38 percent of the world’s Gross Domestic Production which is joined Gross Domestic Productions of China and India which makes up above half that amount and 29 percent of World Trade.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dies of cancer at 65 on - 15th October 2018

The billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Gardner Allen, a stockholder, entrepreneur and philanthropist, died on October 15th, 2018. He was 65 years old.  He passed away in Seattle from difficulties related to Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a cancer of the lymphatic system.
Apart from his crucial role in Microsoft, Allen predisposed many aspects of modern life from technology
and science to sports and music and financed in conservation, space travel, arts and culture and
professional sports.
They started the Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and their 1st product was a computer language for the Altair hobby-kit PC.
Microsoft’s big break came in 1980, when IBM Corporation finalised to start into PCs and asked Microsoft to deliver the operating system. The 1st versions of 2 classic Microsoft products, Microsoft Word and the Windows operating system, were unconfined in 1983.
Allen worked as Microsoft’s Executive VP Research & New Product Development until 1983, when he resigned following being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. However, Allen remained on Microsoft’s Board of Directors for various years until 2000 while founding his own philanthropic foundation, along with his investment firm ‘Vulcan’, which accomplished his business and philanthropic interests.
Charity and Adventures

• In 2014, he promised USD 100 million to assist fight the Ebola virus. In 2017, he contributed USD 30 million to house Seattle's homeless.
• Worth about USD 20.3 billion at the time of his death, Allen contributed above USD Two billion to charity.
• In March 2018, a team of explorers headed by him revealed wreckage from the USS Juneau, a World War-II cruiser sunk by a Japanese torpedo in 1942.
• He maintained one of the world’s biggest yachts, of 122 meters “Octopus”, which was the location for many lavish parties and the base for scuba voyages.

Youth Road Safety Learners Licence Programme  launched by - Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has released Youth Road Safety Learners Licence
program in New Delhi today. It is Public–private partnership initiative in teamwork with Diageo India and Institute of Road Traffic Education.
More about Youth Road Safety Learners Licence Program

• It is 1st-of-its-kind training program in the nation attempts to bring formal and structured training
  programme for young, 1st-time drivers as they smear for learner’s license.
• Its long-term aim is at educating road safety awareness amongst young adults by teaching behavioural change and creating awareness about responsible driving habits.
• This program will aid Government to attain its target of decreasing road accidents by 50 percent by
  2020.
• It will assist to main-stream road safety in official education system.
• The program has immersive and interactive module headed by senior faculty members of IRTE covering varied aspects of responsible driving consisting defensive driving, ill effects of driving under influence of alcohol, fast-moving and wearing of helmets spread over 2-days.

Did you know?
India accounts for 12.5 percent of global road accidents, with 1 road accident occurring every four
minutes. Frighteningly, 72 percent victims involved in such road mishaps are between age groups of 15-
44 years with speeding, reckless and drunk driving being the topmost reason accounting for 1.5 percent
of road traffic accidents and 4.6 percent of mortalities.

ICFRE signs two MoUs to spread awareness on forests and environment on - 15th October 2018

The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education- ICFRE, Dehradun on October 15th, 2018 inked 2 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti and Kendriya Vidyalaya
Sangathan. 
The MoUs were inked to release ‘Prakriti’ program, which focuses to encourage awareness about forests and environment and excite interest among the students of Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan in preserving a balanced environment and for acquiring skills that imitate care and protection towards forests, environment and society. The main aim behind the MoUs is to deliver a platform for the school children to learn practical skills towards maintainable usage of the resources.
Crucial Highlights

• The 2 MoUs have been inked for a period of ten years. They focus to make the Indian youth much sensitive towards national and global concerns of environment and thus, benefit them become responsible citizens.
• The MoUs also focus to mobilise a cadre of youth for raising a peoples’ movement, which is dedicated to the conservation of forest and environment.
• The association will permit transfer of knowledge to students and teachers of Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan on environment, forest, environmental services and present-day areas of forestry research through lectures and interactive sessions by Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education scientists.