Current Affairs 2nd October 2018

Current Affairs 2nd October 2018 - Important Points

• Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth year celebrations begin in India on - 2nd October 2018
• Government constitutes Injeti Srinivas Competition Law Review Committee by - Union Finance Ministry 
• AICTE to establish country’s first AICTE Training and Learning (ATAL) Academy in - Jaipur
• James P. Allison, Tasuku Honjo jointly win 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on - 1st October 2018
• PM Modi inaugurates Conference on Academic Leadership on Education for Resurgence in - New Delhi
• Assam to launch wage compensation scheme for pregnant women in tea on - 1st October 2018
• Uttarakhand HC directs state to provide reservation to transgenders in educational institutions on - 28th September 2018
• World Habitat Day 2018 observed globally on - 1st October 2018
• US and Canada sign trade deal replacing NAFTA on - 30th September 2018

Current Affairs 2nd October 2018 - Points

Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth year celebrations begin in India on - 2nd October 2018

The Union Government on  2nd October 2018 launched the Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth year celebrations, marking the beginning of the final year of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM).  The Swachh Bharat Mission will culminate on  2nd October 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.

Swachhata hi Seva Campaign 2018

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on  15th September 2018 launched the mega countrywide campaign- Swachhata hi Seva Campaign 2018. The 2018 campaign followed the success of the 2017 campaign and culminated with the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention (MGISC) that was held from 29th September to 2nd October 2018.

Constitution of National Committee and Executive Committee to plan commemoration

• The Union Government constituted a National Committee headed by President Nath Kovind for commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. 
• This Committee includes Vice-President, Prime Minister, Chief Ministers of all states of the country, representatives from across the political spectrum, Gandhians, thinkers, and eminent persons from all walks of life. 
• The Committee was tasked to guide and approve policies, programmes and activities for the commemoration and will also supervise implementation of the decisions taken from time to time. 
• An Executive Committee headed by Prime Minister with 19 members was also constituted.
• The Executive Committee was mandated to consider policies and lay down guidelines for the commemoration and chalk out the plan, programmes and activities under the commemoration. 
• One meeting each of the National Committee and Executive Committee was held on 2nd May  2018 and 18th July 2018 respectively.

Government constitutes Injeti Srinivas Competition Law Review Committee by - Union Finance Ministry 

Union Finance Ministry has formed 9 members Competition Law Review Committee to make sure that
legislation is in harmony with altering business environment. It will be led by Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas and comprises Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India Chairperson M.S.Sahoo and Competition Commission of India Chairperson as associates.  The
committee was formed in undertaking of Government’s aim of guaranteeing that legislation is in sync
with requirements of strong economic fundamentals.
Committee’s Terms of references

• The committee will evaluate competition guidelines in view of altering business environment and advise the essential changes to fortify and re-calibrate present law to enhance best practices.
• It will also look into international best performs in competition field with thrust on anti-trust laws, merger rules and managing cross-border competition matters.
• It will also observe other regulatory rules, institutional processes and government policies which overlay with Competition Act.
• It will present its report within 3 months of the date of its 1st meeting.
  Did you know?
  The Competition Act was approved in 2002 and Competition Commission of India was formed in 2009. However, since beginning of the commission, the size of the economy has grown-up immensely making it one of the 5th largest economies in the world. Thus, it was noticed essential to that Competition Law is fortified and re-calibrated to encourage best practices which result in the inhabitants of this nation attaining their ambitions and value for money.

AICTE to establish country’s first AICTE Training and Learning (ATAL) Academy in - Jaipur

All India Council for Technical Education will begin nation’s 1st AICTE Training And Learning- ATAL
Academy in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Moreover, 3 additional AICTE Training And Learning academies will come
at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, Guwahati in Assam and Baroda in Gujarat by coming year.
More about ATAL Academy

• These academies will provide advanced teaching techniques and modules to make technical education more operative and accountable.
• Faculties will be skilled on the 8 modules courses in these academies in 5 months.
• The training will be compulsory for new teachers from 2019 and it will be essential for present teachers and assistant teachers while smearing for promotions.
• For constructing these academies, states had issued infrastructure and land without any cost.
  AICTE
  All India Council for Technical Education is statutory body recognized in November 1945. It comes under guidance of Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development. It is national-level council for technical education accountable for planning and synchronization of technical education and management of education system in the nation. It accredits graduate and PG programmes at Indian institutions. It is HQ in New Delhi.

James P. Allison, Tasuku Honjo jointly win 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on - 1st October 2018

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute on October 1st, 2018 bestowed the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine mutually to James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo “for their unearthing of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation”.  
More about Cancer Therapy

• Cancer destroys millions of people every year and is one of humanity’s greatest health trials.
• The laureates James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo effectively recognized an utterly new principle for cancer therapy by stimulating the capability of immune system to attack cancer cells.
• Laureates presented how different strategies for reducing down the footbrakes on the immune system can be utilised in the treatment of cancer.
• Their discoveries are milestone in fight against cancer.
• Until the discoveries done by Laureates, develops into clinical development was modest. “Immune checkpoint therapy” has revolutionary cancer treatment and has fundamentally transformed the way how cancer can be accomplished.
  Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is bestowed once a year for outstanding findings in the fields of life sciences and medicine.
• It is one of 5 Nobel Prizes recognized in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, who was the inventor of dynamite, in his will.
• The 1st Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was bestowed in 1901 to the German physiologist Emil von Behring for his outstanding work on serum therapy and the progress of a vaccine against diphtheria.
• The 1st female to get the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was Gerty Cori, who got it in 1947 for her role in explaining the metabolism of glucose.

PM Modi inaugurates Conference on Academic Leadership on Education for Resurgence in - New Delhi

PM Narendra Modi initiated the Conference on Academic Leadership on Education for Resurgence at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The conference witnessed the involvement from the VCs and Directors of above 350 universities. The programme was conjointly held by University Grant Commission, AICTE, ICSSR, IGNCA, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and SGT University.
Theme of the Conference

• The subject of the Conference was to give a thought on the challenges facing the Indian education system and to work out plans for a paradigm shift both in terms of attaining academic outcomes and also in the regulation of education.
• Besides this, the final session was led by Union Human Resources Minister Prakash Javadekar.
• During the session, each of the 8 groups were supposed to make a presentation on the course of action they had settled upon.
• This further was discussed in the Plenary Session and it is predictable that a comprehensive action plan would develop from this deliberation for upgrading the higher education sector in the nation.
• The conference is in prolongation of the efforts made by the Ministry for developing an action plan for renovation of the higher education sector.
• The 1st among this was organised in Delhi during vice-chancellor’s conference from July 26th to 28th, 2018.

Assam to launch wage compensation scheme for pregnant women in tea on - 1st October 2018

gardens Government of Assam has become the 1st Indian state to offer a ‘Wage Compensation Scheme for pregnant females’ working in the tea garden areas of the state. The plan will be initiated by CM Assam Sarbanand Sonowal on October 1st, 2018 in Guwahati.  The news was publicized by the state’s Health and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma previous week. The path-breaking choice was granted by the state after contemplating the matters faced by females during pregnancy.
The scheme is focused at delivering better health and nutrition to the pregnant females. It strains on delivering proper healthcare services to the pregnant females working in the tea gardens of the state.
Important Points

• Under the scheme, a sum of Rupees 12,000 will be issued to the pregnant females so that they can take care of themselves as well as the unborn baby without negotiating with the livelihood of their family. 
• The compensation of wages to pregnant females will be issued in four instalments including Rupees 2,000 in the 1st trimester, Rupees 4,000 in the 2nd trimester, Rupees 3,000 for institutional delivery and Rupees 3,000 for registration of the child's birth.
• The females would also be entitled with a maternity leave.
• They will not be engaged in work from the 3rd trimester of pregnancy to 3 months post-delivery.
• In addition, they will get help for ante-natal care and the 1st cycle of immunization of the child.
• The scheme is supposed to advantage more than 60,000 females in the state. It is believed to decrease maternal and neonatal mortality in the tea garden areas.

Uttarakhand HC directs state to provide reservation to transgenders in educational institutions on - 28th September 2018

The Uttarakhand High Court on September 28th, 2018 instructed the state government to issue reservation to transgenders in educational institutions and public appointments. The instruction is a part of a slew of guidelines given by the court for the welfare of transgenders in the state. The court stated that the transgenders lead a despondent life and are often treated unfairly.
Perceiving that they have the right to a life of dignity, the court gave the state government 6 months’ time to execute its decision. The order came on a petition filed by 2 members of the transgender community looking forward protection to their lives and liberty.
Crucial Observations

• No transgender should be detached from their family instantly on the ground of being a transgender. Every transgender person has a right to reside in a house with his/her parents.
• The State Government is obligatory to design social welfare schemes and programmes for transgenders.
• Transgenders have a right to privacy and they are needed to be safeguarded from exploitation and have a right to work.
• The state government is obligatory to take all essential steps to offer habitable accessible, culturally appropriate houses to transgenders including the right to education and separate facilities in public utility buildings including toilets. 

World Habitat Day 2018 observed globally on - 1st October 2018

The World Habitat Day was celebrated worldwide on October 1st, 2018, the 1st Monday of October 2018, to imitate the present state of the world’s towns and cities, and emphasise the basic right of everyone to receive proper shelter. The main programme was organised in Nairobi, Kenya.
Theme 2018 theme for the day is “Municipal Solid Waste Management”. The main objective behind the observance of this year’s World Habitat Day is to discourse the municipal solid waste management challenge with a slogan ‘Waste-Wise Cities’ which goals to-
-Increase awareness that Municipal solid waste is a global challenge that desires to be addressed
-Simplify policy dialogue and form partnerships
-Encourage innovative solutions to municipal solid waste management
-Mobilise resources to address the municipal solid waste contests
The Solid Waste Management has become a global question in past few years. The amount of solid waste generated by individuals is rising daily and often costs local authorities a large proportion of their budget.
Did you know?
In 1985, the UNs selected the 1st Monday of October of every year as “World Habitat Day”. The day was 1st observed in 1986. The day aims to remind the world of its power and accountability to shape the future of all cities and towns.
The UNs Human Settlements Programme in 1989 released the ‘UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour award’.  It is the most significant human settlements award in the world. Every year, World Habitat Day takes on a fresh theme to encourage sustainable development policies that make sure adequate shelter for all.

US and Canada sign trade deal replacing NAFTA on - 30th September 2018

Canada on September 30th, 2018 decided to ink a trade deal with the US and Mexico, refurbishing the North American Free Trade Agreement after almost a year of negotiations. The new deal has been known the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
The trilateral deal is supposed to be inked by the 3 North American nations before the end of November, after which it would be submitted to Congress. The pact was decided upon by Canada just hours before the United States forced September 30th midnight time limit.
The pact is believed to re-balance United States trade relations with Mexico and Canada. It modernises
what was covered by NAFTA by accumulating provisions on digital trade and intellectual property. It also lime-lights new guidelines on the origin of autos and the market access to Canada's dairy sector.
Highlights of the deal

• The new trade pact would make noteworthy changes to the rulebook that has governed North America, trade since 1994.
• It will for the 1st time formed rules for financial-services and digital businesses that have appeared since the bloc was formed.
• It would permit United States farmers greater admittance to Canada's dairy market and address concerns about potential United States auto tariffs. The deal will come up for review every 6 years.
• Under the agreement, Canada has approved to export a quota of 2.6 million vehicles to the United States in the wake of 25% global autos tariffs executed by the United States on national security grounds.
• The quota would permit for a noteworthy growth in tariff-free automotive exports from Canada above present production levels of about Two million units, protecting Canadian plants.
• The pact, however, was unsuccessful to resolve U.S. tariffs on Canada's steel and aluminium exports.