Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 15 APRIL 2019

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 15 APRIL 2019

::NATIONAL::

Vice president inaugurates RCAP congress

• The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has called upon town planners to make sustainable solutions such as harvesting solar energy, enhancing green cover and water conservation an essential part of town planning.
• Shri Naidu, while addressing the 4th Resilient Cities Asia-Pacific (RCAP) Congress 2019 organized by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). Here today, asked municipal administrators to accord priority to tree plantation, solid waste management, protection and rejuvenation of water bodies.
• Observing that a massive migration from rural to urban areas has become a reality, the Vice President said that education, entertainment, enhanced medical facilities and employment were the main drivers of such migration. He asked for collaborative efforts of governments at state and centre to reduce the divide by providing urban amenities in rural areas.
• Saying that one must draw inspiration from our cultural roots, especially the civilizational values that revered and urged us to protect natural resources, the Vice President said that adopting green solutions, providing good governance and building urban resilience was the way forward.
• Pointing that more than 60% of the world’s population resides in Asia and the region was most affected by natural disasters, the Vice President said that governments in Asia must build climate resilient habitats.

Study claims shortage of doctors in India

• India has a shortage of an estimated 600,000 doctors and 2 million nurses, say scientists who found that the lack of staff who are properly trained in administering antibiotics is preventing patients from accessing live-saving drugs.
• Even when antibiotics are available, patients are often unable to afford them. High out-of-pocket medical costs to the patient are compounded by limited government spending for health services, according to the report by the U.S.-based Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP).
• In India, 65% of health expenditure is out-of-pocket, and such expenditures push some 57 million people into poverty each year.
• The majority of the world’s annual 5.7 million antibiotic-treatable deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, where the mortality burden from treatable bacterial infections far exceeds the estimated annual 700,000 deaths from antibiotic-resistant infections.
• “The findings of the report show that even after the discovery of a new antibiotic, regulatory hurdles and substandard health facilities delay or altogether prevent widespread market entry and drug availability,” Dr.Laxminarayan said in a statement.

::ECONOMY::

UPI transaction growing strongly than other payment instruments

• While digital payments overall have been growing strongly, people are changing the way they transact, choosing bank-to-bank methods such as the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) over other instruments such as e-wallets.
• An analysis by The Hindu of data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and some industry players from April 2018 to March 2019 shows that not only is the UPI platform outperforming e-wallets in terms of the value of transactions done, but it is also eating away at e-wallets’ market share in specific areas such as person-to-merchant (P2M) transactions.
• Payments made on the UPI platform saw a remarkable growth of over 400% in the April to March period, from a little more than Rs. 27,000 crore in April 2018 to Rs. 1.35 lakh crore in March 2019.
• The rapid growth of UPI is accompanied by a reasonably strong growth in the value of transactions done using e-wallets, but the latter’s growth has not taken off much following the fillip it received in the aftermath of demonetisation in November 2016.
• While some of the growth can be attributed to the low base, the astronomical increase in transactions has meant that UPI is now competing seriously with the incumbent forms of digital payments such as credit cards and debit cards.
• Debit cards are far more popular than credit cards as can be seen from the fact that the value of debit card transactions stood at Rs. 3.05 lakh crore in February 2019. Here too, UPI is fast catching up.

GeM witnesses high growth last fiscal

• Government e Marketplace (GeM), the national public procurement portal offering end to end solution for all procurement needs of Central and State govt. departments and PSUs has closed the FY 2018-19 on a high note.
• The year witnessed a four-fold increase in total value of transactions on the portal and doubling of number of sellers in the marketplace.
• There has also been an overall growth in other dimensions like number of categories, products and buyers.Despite such phenomenal growth in transactions, average rejection rate of supplies remained below one percent, which is proof of high quality of products/services offered on the portal.
• Since its inception on 9th August 2016,GeM has transformed public procurement in the country by leveraging technology and making procurement contactless, paperless, and cashless.
• GeM facilitates procurement at the right price, right quality and right quantity in a transparent and efficient manner. The platform reduces manual process inefficiencies and human interventions in procurement and enables increased coverage, access, and efficiency of faceless standardised public procurement.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Bhutan set to ratify BBIN initiative

• The Bhutan government will place the bill for ratification of Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) initiative for road and rail connectivity at its upper senate.
• Briefing media on the occasion of Bhutan’s Prime Minister Dr.LotayTshering's visit to Bangladesh, Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh ShahidulHaq told reporters that BBIN is a big initiative in the region for improving rail and road connectivity in the region and he expressed the hope that the bill will be passed by the Bhutanese Parliament soon.
• The Motor Vehicle Agreement of BBIN countries was signed in 2015 by the four member countries. Bangladesh, India and Nepal have implemented the agreement but Bhutan is yet to accord its ratification of the agreement.

India- Bolivia sign MoU on traditional medicine systems

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister NarendraModi has given ex-post facto approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bolivia in the Field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy. The MoU was signed in Bolivia in March, 2019.
• The MoU will provide a framework for cooperation, and will be mutually beneficial between the two countries for promotion of traditional systems of medicine and homoeopathy.
• It will lead to promotion and propagation of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy in Bolivia, and will boost the importance of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) systems of Medicine in Bolivia.
• The MoU will further facilitate exchange of experts for training for the practitioners and Scientists undertaking collaborative research, which will lead to new innovations in drug development and practice in Traditional Systems of Medicine.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Centre approves GSLV phase 4 continuationprogramme

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi, has approved ongoing GSLV continuation programme Phase-4 consisting of five GSLV flights during the period 2021-2024.
• The GSLV Programme - Phase 4 will enable the launch of 2 tonne class of satellites for Geo-imaging, Navigation, Data Relay Communication and Space Sciences.
• The total fund requirement is Rs. 2729.13 Crores and includes the cost of five GSLV vehicles, essential facility augmentation, Programme Management, and Launch Campaign along with the additional funds required for meeting the scope of the ongoing GSLV Continuation Programme.
• The GSLV Continuation Programme - Phase 4 will meet the launch requirement of satellites for providing critical Satellite Navigation Services, Data Relay Communication for supporting the Indian Human spaceflight programme and the next interplanetary mission to Mars. This will also ensure the continuity of production in Indian industry.

::SPORTS::

Tiger woods clinches his fifth masters title

• Golfer Tiger Woods clinched his fifth Masters and a 15th major title, ending 11-year wait for a major title after overcoming career-threatening back problems.
• There were raucous celebrations around the 18th green as 43-year-old Woods finished with a two-under-par 70 to win on 13 under, one clear of fellow Americans Dustin Johnson, XanderSchauffele and Brooks Koepka.

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