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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 26 October 2019

::NATIONAL::

Vice President hits out at Pakistan for misusing NAM forum

The Vice President, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu today hit out at Pakistan for misusing the NAM summit “to justify its longstanding policy of conducting cross-border terrorism” against its neighbours.
In his address at the 18th NAM Summit here, Shri Naidu regretted that Pakistan President had misused the august forum and said “Indeed, we speak for the larger region in terms of this deep concern over Pakistan’s behavior”.
Stressing that Pakistan clearly needed to do much more to earn the confidence of the international community, the Vice President said “It must decisively abjure terrorism—for its own good, for that of its neighbours and for the good of the world”.
Shri Naidu also called for achieving a just, equitable and representative global governance system by reforming the United Nations, including the Security Council to reflect the contemporary realities of the 21st century.
The Vice President has urged the Non Aligned Movement to re-focus to remain an influential grouping and find solutions to challenges relating to terrorism, global governance reform, sustainable development and South-South cooperation.
He called upon all NAM countries to come together to forge a common front against terror in all its forms as there was no justification for violent extremist ideologies and terrorist actions that maim and murder innocents.

Government to grant subsidies for north eastern food processing industries

Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries RameswarTeli said the Central Government will grant 75 per cent subsidies for food processing industries in the North-Eastern states.
The Minister was visiting Tripura Mega Food Park at Tulakona Industrial Area under West District yesterday.
Mr.Rameswar hoped that the Park would benefit large scale of farmers and also can generate employment to thousands of youths which will ultimately boost the personal economy as well as the economy of the state.
Addressing a media conference at the state BJP Party head office, Mr.Rameswar said the central government has decided to set up 42 new food parks all over the country, out of which two will be set up at Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh.
The Minister said the central government is eager to put emphasis on the food processing based industries in Northeast as the region has huge potential to work upon in the field.

::ECONOMY::

Government claims policy reforms have improved EODB rankings

Petroleum Minister DharmendraPradhan had invited US businesses to deploy technology, capital and new business models and participate in India’s biofuel revolution.
Participating in the Second Annual India Leadership Summit of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum in New Delhi yesterday, Mr Pradhan said, India is the hot-spot in energy investment destination in the world. He said policy reforms introduced by the Government have further simplified doing business in India.
The Minister invited all energy players to bring their technology and investment and become a part of India's growth story. He said the Country has moved to an open, transparent, process-driven policy atmosphere and all are welcome to invest.
Speaking about India’s efforts towards de-carbonization, Mr Pradhan said, India is expanding its footprints in carbon-free energy, including renewable and bio-energy.
On the issue of India’s role in the global energy landscape, he added that growth in global energy consumption will be driven by India and the country's vibrant market presents an immense opportunity.
He further said the world is moving towards a new energy model and India is committed to implementing Prime Minister NarendraModi’s vision which will ensure that India leads the global energy transition.

New World bank project to support climate resilient agriculture in Odisha

The Government of India, Government of Odisha and the World Bank today signed a US$165 million loan agreement to support smallholder farmers strengthen the resilience of their production systems as well as diversify and improve the marketing of their produce, for increased income.
The Odisha Integrated Irrigation Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture will be implemented in rural areas vulnerable to droughts and largely dependent on rainfed agriculture. It will benefit about 125,000 smallholder farmer households from 15 districts of Odisha managing 128,000 ha of agricultural land.
The project will strengthen the resilience of smallholder farmers against adverse climate by improving access to resilient seed varieties and production technologies, diversifying towards more climate-resilient crops, and improving access to better water management and irrigation services.
The project will support the rehabilitation of 532 water tanks - expected to irrigate 91,435 ha; promote productivity improvements at the farm level; support farmers to reduce the current emphasis on food grains (especially paddy and wheat) and increase the share of high-value and more nutritious products like fruits and vegetables; and provide marketing support to farmers who are able to generate a marketable surplus.
The project will also support aquaculture in rehabilitated tanks, help farmers access affordable and quality fingerlings, and disseminate improved aquaculture practices and post-harvest management.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Lebanese protesters reject president’s call for dialogue

In Lebanon, Protesters in the capital Beirut have rejected President Michel Aoun's call for dialogue. They are demanding the government's resignation before any such talks take place.
President Michel Aoun yesterday said, the government is ready for a dialogue with protesters to help save the country from collapse. The statement came after days of demonstrations against the ruling elite and suggested a government reshuffle was possible.
The country’s banking association said, banks would remain closed today for a seventh day due to safety concerns and would open as soon as the situation stabilised.
Protests expressing outrage with an establishment seen as corrupt have swept Lebanon since last week, paralysing the country.

Fastmoving wildfire prompts large scale evacuation in Los angeles

In USA, a fast-moving wildfire near Santa Clarita in Los Angeles has prompted authorities to order the evacuation of 50,000 people today.
Fire officials said, the fire broke out and quickly consumed 5,000 acres area about 40 miles north of Los Angeles.
The blaze burnt down several houses and structures and forced the closure of a major highway and a number of roads. There are no immediate reports of injury. Nearly 500 firefighters backed by air tankers and helicopters battled the flames.
The fire erupted as much of the state was under a red flag warning because of gusty winds, high temperatures and low humidity.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

CSIR conducts genome sequencing of Indians from different populations

The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) has conducted Whole Genome Sequencing of 1,008 Indians from different populations across the country.
Announcing details of the IndiGen Genome project, the Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan said that the whole genome data will be important for building the knowhow, baseline data and indigenous capacity in the emerging area of Precision Medicine.
The outcomes of the IndiGen will have applications in a number of areas including predictive and preventive medicine with faster and efficient diagnosis of rare genetic diseases, he added.
The IndiGen initiative was undertaken by CSIR in April 2019, which was implemented by the CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi and CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad.
This has enabled benchmarking the scalability of genome sequencing and computational analysis at population scale in a defined timeline. The ability to decode the genetic blueprint of humans through whole genome sequencing will be a major driver for biomedical science.
Dr Harsh Vardhan said that the benefits of this initiative include epidemiology of genetic diseases to enable cost effective genetic tests, carrier screening applications for expectant couples, enabling efficient diagnosis of heritable cancers and pharmacogenetic tests to prevent adverse drug reactions.

::SPORTS::

Karnataka wins Vijay Hazare trophy 2019-2020

Karnataka was crowned the 2019-20 Vijay Hazare Champions as they beat Tamil Nadu by nine wickets in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at Bengaluru.
AbhimanyuMithun and MayankAgarwal put on a masterclass performance as Karnataka won their fourth Vijay Hazare Trophy title with a dominant display against Tamil Nadu via VJD method.
As per VJD method, Karnataka should have been 86/1 in 23 overs. Karnataka were well ahead with 146/1, 23 overs. MayankAgarwal 69 and K L Rahul 52 not out and AbhimanyuMithun 5/34 starred for Karnataka in the final in Bengaluru. The final was called off due to persistent rains.