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  • Current Affairs 16th March 2017

    Updated : 17-Mar-2017

    Current Affairs 16th March 2017 - Important Points

    • National Health Policy 2017 approved by - Union Government
    • UN launched Women in - Politics Map 2017
    • Pakistan launched population census after - 19 years
    • Setting up of 50 new Kendriya Vidyalayas approved by - CCEA 
    • Who has sworn in as Chief Minister of Punjab ? - Captain Amarinder Singh
    • MoU signed between FTII and Canon - To promote short courses in Film & Television

    Current Affairs 16th March 2017 - Details

    National Health Policy 2017 approved by - Union Government

    Union Health Minister J P Nadda launched the National Health Policy 2017 on 15th March 2017 with an aim to provide healthcare in an assured manner to all, especially  to the undeserved and underprivileged groups.

    Highlights of the National Health Policy 2017

    • It expects to provide larger package of assured comprehensive primary health care through the ‘Health and Wellness Centers’.
    • It aims at ensuring availability of 2 beds per 1000 population in hospitals to enable access within golden hours.
    • The policy proposes free drugs, free diagnostics and free emergency and essential healthcare services in all public hospitals in order to provide access and financial protection.
    • It seeks to increase life expectancy of birth from 67.5 to 70 by 2025 and reduce infant mortality rate to 28 by 2019.
    • It seeks to achieve and maintain elimination status of Leprosy by 2018, Kala-Azar by 2017 and Lymphatic Filariasis in endemic pockets by this year end only. 
    • It informs and prioritizes the role of the government in shaping health systems in all of its dimensions - investment in health, organisation and financing of healthcare services and prevention of diseases. 
    • It gives special focus on dealing non-communicable diseases.
    • It suggests that the government must amend laws in order to align them with the current healthcare situation.

     UN launched Women in - Politics Map 2017

    The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women launched the Women in Politics Map 2017 on 15th March 2017.  The rankings statistics showed that the number of women Heads of State or Heads of Government fell from 19 to 17 since 2015. Progress in the number of women in parliament continues to be slow. The report was launched on the sidelines of the 61st Commission on the Women Status, known as the largest inter-governmental forum on women's rights and gender equality. For 2017, the theme is "women's economic empowerment in the changing world of work".

    Important Highlights

    • India ranked 148th in the number of women parliamentarians.
    • As per the report, women strength is 11.8% in the Lok Sabha and 11% in Rajya Sabha.

    Pakistan launched population census after - 19 years

    Pakistan launched its first countrywide census in almost two decades amidst tight security on 15th March 2017. Chief Statistician Asif Bajwa in Attock district, the largest province of Pakistan’s Punjab inaugerated this. The process involves the participation of around 119,000 officials including 84,000 enumerators.

    Important Highlights

    • The census will be conducted in phases. The first phase, which has already begun, will continue till 15th April and then next would be followed by a 10-day break.
    • Phase one will cover 63 districts of the country including 13 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 15 in Balochistan, 8 in Sindh 16 in Punjab, 5 each in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan and one in a tribal region. 
    • The second phase is planned to start from 25th April and will end on 25th May 2017 covering 21 districts each in both Punjab and Sindh, 18 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17 in Balochistan and Islamabad and five each in PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan. 
    • At present, Pakistan's population is estimated to be around 200 million, which makes it the sixth most populous country in the world.

    Do you know?

    Last census conducted by Pakistan was in 1998, in which it recorded a national population of nearly 180 million. 

     Setting up of 50 new Kendriya Vidyalayas approved by - CCEA 

    The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the proposal for setting up around 50 new Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) under Civil or Defence Sector in the country on 15th March 2017. The total project cost for the proposed 50 new Kendriya Vidyalayas is Rs 1160 crore on the basis of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) norms. 

    Important Points

    • New KVs will be opened from classes I to V for which 650 regular posts will be created in all the 50 Kendriya Vidyalayas. 
    • Once schools will grow up to class XII and becomes a full-fledged school with two sections in each class, 
    • then about 4000 regular posts of various categories will be created including 2900 teaching posts and about 1100 non-teaching posts. 
    • Once fully functional, these new KVs will provide quality education to approximately 50000 students. 
    • The main aim of KVs is to cater to the educational needs of children of transferable Central Government employees including Defense and Para-military personnel. 
    • There are more than 1100 functional Kendriya Vidyalayas including three international branches at Tehran,Moscow, and Kathmandu .

    Who has sworn in as Chief Minister of Punjab ? - Captain Amarinder Singh

    • Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh has sworn in as the 26th Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab on 16th March 2017. Alongside, Navjot Singh Sidhu swore in as a Cabinet Minister of Punjab.
    • Interesting Highlights
    • Congress is the winning party in the Assembly election 2017.
    • Amrinder Singh is a former army captian.
    • He also served as a deputy leader of the opposition in the 16th Lok Sabha till 2016.
    • This is the second time he is serving a chief minister.

     MoU signed between FTII and Canon - To promote short courses in Film & Television

    The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune and Canon India Private Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 15th March 2017 to promote film education through short-term courses across several towns and cities in the country.

    MoU Highlights

    • The courses are proposed to be held in non-metros such as Guwahati, Raipur, Bhopal, Leh and Andaman & Nicobar Islands,Jaipur, Vishakhapatnam, Raipur, Chandigarh.
    • Canon partnered FTII for its Skilling India in Film and Television (SKIFT), an initiative designed to spread the art of cinematography and film making across the country.  
    • Under FTII's unique initiative SKIFT (Skilling India in Film and Television), several skill-oriented short courses have been proposed to be held in collaboration with several State Governments, Universities and Educational institutions.
    • Initially SKIFT will conduct courses such as Digital Cinematography, Screenplay Writing, Documentary Film Making, Acting, Film Criticism & Journalism and Film Appreciation.
    • Canon as a technology partner will provide high-end cameras and accessories free of cost for the courses.