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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 11 October 2019

::NATIONAL::

Govt. to further give impetus to Ayushmanbharat scheme

Union Cabinet has doubled honorarium for ten lakh ASHA workers from the existing 1000 rupees to 2000 rupees per month. Briefing media persons after the Cabinet meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister PrakashJavadekar said the government has also decided to provide other benefits to ASHA workers in addition to the hike in their monthly honorarium.
Mr.Javadekar said the government will open 40,000 wellness centres across the country this year under Ayushman Bharat Scheme.
The government also announced five per cent Dearness Allowance (DA) for Central Government employees and pensioners. Mr Javadekar said, it will benefit 50 lakh Central Government employees and 65 lakh pensioners. He described it as a Diwali gift from the government, and added that this will be paid from July this year.
The Cabinet has also approved relaxation of the mandatory requirement of Aadhaar-seeded data as a pre-condition for release of funds to the beneficiaries under the PM-Kisan scheme. The relaxation will be till 30th November this year. The scheme provides income support of 6,000 rupees per year to landholding families, subject to certain exclusions.
The government has also sanctioned a relief package for displaced Kashmiri families who had come from areas of Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. An amount of 5.5 lakh rupees will be given per family.
These 5,300 displaced families initially opted to move outside the State of Jammu and Kashmir but later on, returned and settled there. Mr Javadekar said, a historical wrong has been corrected by the government.

Centre launches SUMAN initiative for quality health care free of cost

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan along with several State Health Ministers today launched SurakshitMatritvaAashwasan, SUMAN, initiative in New Delhi. The initiative was launched during the 13th Conference of Central Council of Health and Family Welfare.
The initiative aims at assuring dignified, respectful and quality health care at no cost and zero tolerance for denial of services for every woman and newborn visiting the public health facility in order to end all preventable maternal and newborn deaths. It also provides a positive birth experience to both mother and infant.
Addressing the Conference, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, government is committed to achieve the target of reducing the maternal mortality and child mortality.
Speaking to media on the sideline of the event, the Minister said, as per survey conducted in the recent past, the number of cases of blindness in the country has decreased from 0.68 per cent to 0.38 per cent.
Replying to a query on increasing cases related to mental health, the Minister said, mental health is among the high priorities of the government and policies have been framed to strengthen the mental health facility across the nation.

::ECONOMY::

Finance ministry assures support to PMC bank investors

Union Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman today assured aggrieved investors of crisis-hit Punjab Maharashtra Co-operative - PMC Bank that she will speak to the Reserve Bank Governor on how the banking operations can be normalised at the earliest. The minister met a group of distressed customers of PMC bank in Mumbai this afternoon.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Ms.Sitharaman said, RBI is doing whatever is necessary and as per law but she will still try to put forth the customers’ misery before the banking regulator.
The minister further informed that finance ministry is studying the issue in detail to find out what went amiss in case of PMC so as to avoid such cases in the future.
Ms.Sitharaman said, secretaries from the department of financial services and economic affairs will be meeting a deputy governor of RBI to suggest amendments in necessary laws that can help in prevention of such incidents and to empower the regulator. She said that any necessary changes to law as suggested by this group will be introduced in the winter session of Parliament.
The Reserve Bank had imposed severe restrictions on Punjab Maharashtra Co-operative Bank last month due to its weak financials, sending a frenzy among depositors who are currently allowed to withdraw just 25000 rupees. The bank was in bad health allegedly due to its exposure to the near bankrupt realty player HDIL.

Centre to attend RCEP ministerial meeting in Thailand

Commerce Minister PiyushGoyal will attend the 9th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, RCEP Intersessional Ministerial meeting beginning tomorrow at Bangkok in Thailand. This will be the last Ministerial before the 3rd Leaders Summit to be held on 4th of next month in Bangkok.
The 28th round of negotiations for RCEP at the expert level was concluded at Da Nang in Vietnam last month. In this round of negotiations meeting of the Trade Negotiating Committee was held in which senior officials participated in negotiations regarding market access on Trade in Goods, Trade in Services and Investment as well as on other areas like Rules of Origin, Intellectual Property and Electronic Commerce.
Out of 25 chapters, 21 chapters have been concluded. Crucial chapters of Investment, Electronic Commerce, Rules of Origin and Trade Remedies are yet to be settled.
Ministerial guidance will be sought on these issues during the Bangkok Ministerial round. The Ministers of participating countries will also discuss preparations for the 3rd Leaders Summit.
In preparation for the crucial Bangkok Ministerial round, Commerce Minister held several consultations with Indian industry for firming up India’s position and for taking into consideration industry concerns and sensitivities.
The focus and emphasis of the meetings chaired by the Commerce Minister was on putting in place appropriate safeguards including auto-trigger mechanism against sudden surge in imports from RCEP countries.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India calls for UN-FATF cooperation to combat terror financing

In a veiled attack on Pakistan, India has condemned any direct or indirect financial assistance to terrorists and terror groups by nations that enables them to pursue their activities, including in defending criminal cases against them.
Speaking at a General Assembly Sixth Committee meeting on measures to eliminate international terrorism yesterday, First Secretary and Legal adviser in India's Permanent Mission to the UN YedlaUmasankar called for increased cooperation between the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the UN to combat terror financing.
He said, the flow of resources meant to produce terror are required to be stopped by States for which collective inter-State efforts are required at regional and sub-regional levels.
Umasankar said, the FATF has a significant role in setting global standards for preventing and combating terrorist financing and the UN needs to increase cooperation with such bodies.
He said, India strongly condemns direct or indirect financial assistance given to terrorist groups or individual members thereof by States or its machineries, to pursue their activities, including in defending the criminal cases involving terrorist acts against them.

Singapore to ban ads for sugary drinks inorder to tackle diabetes

Singapore will become the first country in the world to ban advertisements for the most unhealthy sugary drinks. The health ministry called the ban its latest move to combat rising diabetes rates.
It said, products deemed "less healthy" must now display labels grading their nutritional and sugar content. Additionally, those considered to be most unhealthy will be banned from appearing in ads across all media platforms, including broadcast, print and online channels.
The ministry stated that the move aims to reduce the influence of such advertisements on consumer preferences. It called the ban the first such in the world. It added that the measures were only a start and it will continue to explore the possibility of a sugar tax or ban.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Nobel prize awarded to development of smartphone batteries

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino "for the development of lithium-ion batteries", the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday.
Lithium-ion batteries have revolutionised the world of technology. The batteries power everyday products such as smartphones, laptops and even electric vehicles.
"Through their work, this year's Chemistry Laureates have laid the foundation of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society," the Nobel Foundation said while announcing this year's winners.
The work of this year's Chemistry Nobel laureates led to the development of "a lightweight, hardwearing battery that could be charged hundreds of times before its performance deteriorated."
"The advantage of lithium-ion batteries is that they are not based upon chemical reactions that break down the electrodes, but upon lithium ions flowing back and forth between the anode and cathode," the Nobel Foundation said.
"Lithium-ion batteries have revolutionised our lives since they first entered the market in 1991. They have laid the foundation of a wireless, fossil fuel-free society, and are of the greatest benefit to humankind."

::SPORTS::

India beats Nepal in SAFF U-15 championship

India beat Nepal 4-1 in their first match of the SAFF U-15 Women's Championship 2019 at the Chalimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan last night.
India came all guns blazing right from the start of the football game as SumatiKumari scored early, by cutting through Nepal's defence.
India is slated to play Bhutan in their second match of the SAFF U-15 Women's Championship on Friday.