Current Affairs 4th February 2019

Updated : 04-Feb-2019

Current Affairs 4th February 2019 - Important Points

• Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan  declared by - Union Finance Minister
• Defence Budget 2019 to increase - Defence Ministry  apportionments
• Budgetary apportionments to the Ministry of Home Affairs in the  - Interim Budget 2019
• Iran Trade Promotion Plan - INSTEX
• Sleep Deprivation may lead to - Alzheimer’s Risk

Current Affairs 4th February 2019 - Details

Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan  declared by - Union Finance Minister

The Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal declared the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Mandhan plan in the Interim Budget-2019 for workers in the unorganised sector.
More about the Plan

• Under the plan, a guaranteed monthly pension of Rupees 3000/month will be given to workers in the unorganised sector post 60 years of age.
• To gain of the plan, workers will have to pay a minimal Rupees 100/month.
• The plan is believed to profit 10 crore workers.
• This new pension plan will operate alongside the current Atal Pension Yojana, which guarantees returns post-retirement.
• The budget also enlarged gratuity limit from Rupees 10 lakh to Rupees 30 lakh from the coming fiscal.
• The plan is advertised as to become the world’s biggest pension plan for the unorganised sector in five years.

Defence Budget 2019 to increase - Defence Ministry  apportionments

The Interim Budget 2019 has increased the apportionments to the Defence Ministry by 6.87 percent  to Rupees 3.18 lakh crore against last year’s apportionment of Rupees 2.98 lakh crore.
Apportionments to Defence Ministry

• Of the total apportionment of Rupees 3.18 lakh crore, Rupees 1,08,248 crore has been set aside for
  capital outlay for the year 2019-2020 to purchase new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware.
• Rupees 1,12,079 crore has been set aside for payment of pensions.
• The defence budget is approximately 1.44 per cent of the GDP.
• Of the total capital outlay of Rupees 1,08,248 crore, the Army was granted Rupees 29,447 crore,
  the Navy was given Rupees 23,156 crore and the Indian Air Force got an apportionment of Rupees
  39,302 crore.
• The revenue expenditure which includes expenses on payment of salaries and maintenance of
  establishments has been pegged at Rupees 2,10,682 crore as against Rupees 1,88,118 crore for 2018-19.
• The capital outlay for armed forces is 32.19 percent of the government’s total capital expenditure of Rupees 3,36,293 crore.

Budgetary apportionments to the Ministry of Home Affairs in the  - interim Budget 2019

The enhanced apportionment for the Ministry of Home Affairs in the interim Budget 2019 is a likeness of the government’s focus on internal security. The Budgetary apportionment for the Ministry of Home
Affairs stood at Rupees 103927 crore.
Enhanced apportionments for the Ministry of Home Affairs

• The apportionment of Rupees 103927 crore is Rupees 10477 crore above that for the previous year and the revised estimates for the Ministry of Home Affairs was attached at Rupees 99034 crore.
• The enhanced apportionment is towards following areas:

The apportionment for improving police infrastructure rose up to Rupees 5117 crore from Rupees 4750 crore continuing the importance on strengthening the police infrastructure to effectively address the diverse internal security challenges haunting India.

The budgetary apportionment under the sub-head of “Mission for Protection and Empowerment for
Women” upsurged to Rupees 1330 crore from last year’s revised budgetary estimate of Rupees 1156
crore in recognition of the necessity to effectively address the crimes against women and to build a
credible deterrence by fortifying the proscriptive procedures.
The apportionment for border infrastructure & management was a shade lower, at Rupees 2000 crore, from previous year’s revised estimate of Rupees 2001 crore.

Iran Trade Promotion Plan - INSTEX

INSTEX abbreviation of ‘Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges’ is a project of the 3 governments of
United Kingdom, France and Germany to bypass United States approvals on Iran.
More about INSTEX

• Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges is a special payment system which will assist to save the Iran nuclear deal by permitting Tehran to keep trading with European Union firms despite Washington re-imposing approvals.
• Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges is registered at Paris with an initial 3000 Euros in the capital & a supervisory board with members from France & Germany & led by the United Kingdom.
• Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges will support legitimate European trade with Iran,
  concentrating initially on the sectors most vital to the Iranian population including pharmaceutical,
  medical devices & agri-food products.
• Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges is primarily focused at small & medium-sized firms.
• In future, Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges will also be opened to 3rd nations wanting to have business with Iran.
• Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges to be operational needs Iran to form a parallel structure of its own.
  Protecting against US Approvals
  Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges would get payments from firms that want to have business with Iran, either by receiving waivers for oil imports/allowable business in products like food and medicine. As a result, there would be no direct transfer of funds between Iran & EU firms. This would theoretically insulate firms from United States penalties.

Sleep Deprivation may lead to - Alzheimer’s Risk

The study issued by the Researchers of the Washington University of the United States published in the
journal Science has discovered that sleep deprivation may rise the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
More about Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that regularly starts slowly & deteriorates
over time & it is the cause of 60–70 percent of cases of dementia. As the disease advances, symptoms
consist problems with language, disorientation, mood swings, loss of motivation, non-managing self-care, & behavioural issues resulting gradually loss of bodily functions, ultimately resulting into death.
Findings of the Study
Sleeplessness hastens the spread of toxic clumps of tau via the brain. Tau is a harbinger of brain damage
& a decisive step along the path to dementia.

Lack of sleep alone aids drive the disease & good sleep habits may benefit preserve brain health.
A sleepless night can outcome in growing of the tau levels to increase by about 50%.
Tau
Tau is a protein routinely released during waking hours by the normal functioning of thinking & doing,
and then its release is reduced during sleep, permitting tau to be cleared away. Sleep deprivation
interrupts the normal cycle. As a result, tau protein will release and it is more likely that the Tau protein
will initiate accumulating into harmful tangles.