Northeast states report spike in HIV rate in those injecting drugs
Close to 20% injecting drug users (IDUS) in Mizoram have HIV, compared to a nationwide prevalence of 6.26% among drug-users, shows data from National Aids Control Organisation’s (NACO) HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2017 released last month.
Six states in the region account for 43.5% of IDUS who tested positive for HIV in India.
The states in the region with higher than usual national prevalence among IDUS are Mizoram (19.81%), Manipur (7.66%), and Tripura (8.55%).
Needle-sharing among IDUS is one of the reasons driving the HIV epidemic in the region, with seven north-eastern states accounting for about 6% of all new HIV infections.
The health ministry began an epidemiological investigation in December last year to understand reasons why HIV prevention and treatment programmes are not working in the region.
The virus has spread in the general population through drug use and controlling its transmission now has become a huge challenge.
For India to meet the goal of ‘End of AIDS’ as a public threat by 2030, it is imperative to bring the numbers down.
INTERNATIONAL
· Melbourne To Host Final Of 2020 World T20
Melbourne Cricket Ground will host the final of both the men’s and women’s World Twenty20when the tournaments come to Australia in 2020.
It will mark the first time the tournaments are held as stand-alone events in the same year in the same country.
The women’s final will coincide with International Women’s Day (8th March).
· Google Introduces A New App Named as Bulletin
Google introduced a new app named “Bulletin”that allows anybody to submit stories for and about their communities.
This is a free, lightweight app for telling a story by capturing photos, video clips and text right from your phone, published straight to the web.
The app is made for contributing hyperlocal stories about your community.
The application has been launched as a limited pilot project and is available in Nashville, Tennessee, and Oakland, California.
NATIONAL
· New e-way bill system comes into force to bring uniformity across the states
ð New e-way bill system comes into force to bring uniformity across the states for smooth inter-state movement of goods
ð A new e-way bill system will come into effect.
Under the new system, every transporter will have to carry a system-generated bill to move goods from one place to another.
The e-way bill systemintroduced to bring uniformity across the states for seamless inter-state movement of goods.
Under the Goods and Services Tax, interstate transportation of goods beyond 10 kilometers with a value of 50,000 rupees and above, will mandatorily require the e-way bill.
Last month, the GST Council decided to implement the e-way bill mechanism throughout the country from 1st of February, 2018.
PM Narendra Modi writes a book titled ‘Exam Warriors’ for students
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written a book for students who battle stress and anxiety during examinations.
The book, slated to be released on February 3, talks about the ways in which students can tackle the stress.
The book has been titled ‘Exam Warriors’ and mentions various means such as practicing yoga.
· Union Government launches GeM 3.0
The Ministry of Commerce & Industrylaunched the third version of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM 3.0).
The earlier version GeM 2.0 was launched a GeM 2.0 was launched as pilot project in August 2016.
GeM 3.0 will offer standardized and enriched catalog management, powerful search engine.
GeM is an Online Market platform to facilitate procurement of goods and services by various Ministries and agencies of the Government.
Wi-Fi hotspots for rural areas proposed
The government has proposed to set up five lakh Wi-Fi hotspots which will provide broadband access to five crore rural citizens.
Allocation of Rs 10,000 crore has been provided in 2018-19 for creation and augmentation of telecom infrastructure.
· Govt proposes key amendments to PMLA
The Central government has proposed changes to various provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) through the Finance Bill, including a crucial amendment that empowers the Special Court to restore confiscated assets to the rightful claimants even during the trial.
The government has introduced a new Sub-Section (2) of Section 66, making it mandatory for the ED to share relevant details with other agencies.
A key proposed change is in the definition of “proceeds of crime”, which now also allows the ED to proceed against assets of equivalent value located even outside the country.
A further limit of ₹1 crore involved in the alleged offence would allow the court to apply bail provisions more leniently to less serious PMLA cases, said the government.
Another suggested change is the inclusion of Section 447 of the Companies Act in the list of scheduled offences under PMLA. It will allow the Registrar of Companies to report suitable cases to the ED for money laundering probe.
Arunachal Pradesh government launched two new contraceptives – an injectable one and a pill – under separate programmes to expand people’s choice contraceptives.
The injectable contraceptive was launched under the ‘Antara’ programme and the pill under ‘Chhaya’.
Gynecologists of various districts of the state were also trained on the new contraceptives during a programme.
India was first country in the world to launch family planning programme as early as in 1952 with the aim of controlling its population.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched two new contraceptives in September last year.
INTERNATIONAL
· SpaceX Launches Its Most Powerful Rocket Towards Mars
The US-based SpaceXsuccessfully launched the world’s most powerful operational rocket Falcon Heavy towards Mars.
The rocket, carrying a Tesla Roadster car, will revolve around the Sun in a way that will repeatedly bring it close to the Earth and Mars.
The Falcon Heavy’s thrust and capacity are the highest since NASA’s Saturn V, which carried astronauts to the Moon.
Falcon Heavy successfully lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
India-UAE to ink 12 pacts during PM Modi’s visit
As many as 12 agreements will be signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE later this week as India and the oil-rich Gulf nation look to intensify economic cooperation.
The agreements will include areas like finance and skills development.
Modi will start his visit to three West Asian countries – Palestine, the UAE and Oman – on February 9 with focus on cooperation in key areas of defence, security and counter- terrorism.
The Prime Minister will participate in the 6th World Government Summit in Dubai on February 10-11 in which India is a partner country.
This will be PM Modi’s second visit to the UAE. He first visited the country in August 2015.
· Google launches #SecurityCheckKiya campaign
Search engine giant Google launched ‘#SecurityCheckKiya’ campaign in India to create awareness around Internet safety. It was launched on the ocean.
The campaign aims to protect first-time web users from account hijacking, safeguard Android devices from malicious apps and secure all their personal time.
Under the campaign, Google recommended three simple steps for Internet safety. It includes reviewing security settings and Google account activity.
Moreover ‘Google Play Protect’ service scans and checks Android devices for any harmful apps. Find My Device app from Google helps a user to easily long away.
NATIONAL
60 Solar Cities to be developed across country
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy under its scheme “Development of Solar Cities” has approved/sanctioned 60 Cities including 13 Pilot and 5 Model Cities up to 12th Five-year Plan period.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State (IC) for Power & New and Renewable Energy, Shri R K Singh informed that the master plans of 49 Solar Cities have been prepared.
The Stake-holders Committees have been constituted in 21 Cities and Solar City Cells have been created in 37 Solar Cities.
Solar PV projects with aggregate capacity of 8069.16 kWP and Solar Water Heating System with aggregate capacity of 7894 meter square collector area have been sanctioned under the programme.
While Rs. 101.64 crore has been sanctioned, Rs. 25.92 crore has been released under scheme “Development of Solar Cities” so far.
· Assam Government and Ola Sign MoU For River Taxi Service
Cab-hailing startup Ola and the Government of Assam have signed a MoU to pilot an app-based river taxi service in Guwahati.
The river taxis will be machine-operated boats and users will be able to book the rides through Ola’s app.
It’ll bring commute time down to 2-5 minutes from 45 minutes by road. This MoU was signed during the Global Investors Summit: Advantage Assam.
· Commerce Minister Kicks Off Consultations On The New Industrial Policy
Commerce and Industries Minister Mr. Suresh Prabhu set off a series of nation-wide consultations with the industry on the proposed new Industrial Policy.
The first consultation was held at Guwahati in February 2018.
The event, organized by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in partnership with Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), was attended by more than 120 industrialists from the North East in addition to government officials from the North Eastern States.
· President Ram Nath Kovind Inaugurates Mahamastakabhisheka Utsav
The President of India Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the 88th Mahamastakabhisheka Utsav of Lord Gomateshwarain Hassan district of Karnataka.
Mahamastakabhisheka of Gommateshwara, who is also known as Bahubali takes place once in 12 years.
It is an important Jain pilgrimage center and lakhs of tourists visit Shravanbelagola to see 57 feet tall monolithic stone statue that is anointed from head to feet during the Utsav.
· Union Government launches Start-up-India ranking framework
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)under Commerce Ministry unveiled Start-up-India ranking framework to rank states/UTs based on measures regions that have taken to foster entrepreneurship.
It was launched by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry at a function held in New Delhi.
The framework aims to foster competitiveness and propel states/UTS to act proactively in startup matters.
This ranking will help states to bring progress made in their startup ecosystem and also make different states learn and replicate good practices.
Its objective is to encourage States/UTs to take proactive steps towards strengthening Startup ecosystems at the local level.
· Sushma Swaraj Visit To Saudi Arabia Attends Opening Ceremony Of Al-Janadriyah Fest
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the opening ceremony of the 32nd Al Jana-driyah festival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
India has been invited as the Guest of Honour country for the festival.
Swaraj in her first engagement addressed Indian community members at a reception in Riyadh and spoke about the relations between the two countries.
During her three day visit, she will meet with the Saudi leadership to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address elections rallies at Sonamura & Kailasahar in Tripura
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address rallies at Sonamurain Sipahijala districtand Kailasahar in Unakoti district.
Assam Chief Minister and BJP leader Sarbanand Sonowal addressed public meetings in Teliamura and Majlishpur yesterday.
Assam’s former Chief Minister and Congress leader Tarun Gogoi campaigned in Badarghat constituency.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar addressed rallies in Kumar ghat and Kailasahar of Unakoti district. The state will go to polls on the 18th of this month to elect a new assembly.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing rallies in Sonamura of Sipahijala and Kailasahar of Kailasahar districts. In view of PM’s rally, the security arrangement has been beefed up in the state.
Also, yesterday addressing a rally in Teliamura, Assam’s Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to develop each and every state of the country.
INTERNATIONAL
· Forbes Releases Its First-Ever Cryptocurrency Rich List
Business magazine Forbes released its first-ever Crypto Rich List, comprising 20 wealthiest peoplein the cryptocurrency space.
The list was topped by Ripple Co-founder Chris Larsen, who is estimated to have a crypto net worth of $7.5-8 billion.
He is followed by Ethereum Co-founder Joseph Lubin ($1-5 billion) and Founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance Changpeng Zhao ($1.1-2 billion).
· Bermuda Becomes first Country In World To Abolish Same-Sex Marriage
Bermuda becomes the first country to legalize and then repeal same-sex marriage.
Bermuda’s governor John Rankin approved a bill reversing the right of gay couples to marry, despite a supreme court ruling last year authorizing same-sex marriage.
NATIONAL
· Google and NCERT Join Hands To Teach Students Digital Safety
Google and National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)signed a pact to integrate a course on ‘Digital Citizenship and Safety’ in information and communication technology curriculum.
It was signed on the occasion of Safer Internet Day (06th February).
The curriculum developed by NCERT in collaboration with Google will be used to train students from class I – class XII across 1.4 million schools in India where they will learn how to become good and responsible digital citizens. The curriculum is spread into four themes – being smart, being safe, being a digital citizen and being future ready.
· HAL Develops First Hawk-I Flight
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited developed the first flight of Hawk-i with indigenous Real Time Operating System (RTOS).
Hawk-i is the first indigenous RTOS developed in India from scratch and certified by Center for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC).
The RTOSis the system software which provides a standard run-time environment for real-time applications execution in a safe and reliable manner.
· Fifth South Asia Region Public Procurement Conference Held In New Delhi
The Fifth edition of South Asia Region Public Procurement Conferencewas held in New Delhi.
It was hosted by Public Procurement Division (PPD) of Ministry of Finance and All India Management Association (AIMA).
It was held under auspices of South Asia Region Public Procurement Network (SARPPN),which is sponsored and facilitated by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Islamic Development Bank.
The theme this edition of the conference was “Public Procurement and Service Delivery”.
· Union Cabinet approves implementation of PMRF scheme gives nod to enhance beneficiaries under Ujjwala Yojana from 5 to 8 crores
Union Cabinet approved implementation of Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) schemeat a total cost of 1,650 crore rupees for a period of seven years beginning 2018-19. The scheme was announced in the Union Budget for 2018-19.
Under this scheme, the best students who have completed or are in the final year of B. Tech or Integrated M.Tech or M.Sc. in Science and Technology streams from IISc or IITs or NITs or IISERs or IIITs will be offered direct admission in the Ph.D. programme in the IITs or IISc.
Such students, who fulfill the eligibility criteria, and are shortlisted through a selection process, as laid down in the PMRF Guidelines, will be offered a fellowship of 70 thousand rupees per month for the first two years, 75 thousand rupees per month for the 3rd year and 80 thousand rupees per month in the 4th and 5th years.
· Defence Ministry constitutes a 13-member advisory committee to expedite capital acquisition for Armed Forces modernisation
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharamanconstituted a 13-member advisory committee to monitor and expedite capital acquisition projects for the modernization of the armed forces.
In a statement, the Ministry said, the committee will undertake an independent review and check the status of ongoing critical projects worth more than 500 crore rupees.
The panel will suggest measures to improve the capital acquisition process.
The committee, headed by Vinay Sheel Oberoi, will have to present an initial status report on identified projects to the Defence Minister by March 31.
Centre to link driving licence with Aadhaar
The Centre is in the process of linking driving licences with Aadhaar number to weed out fake licences and a software for this covering all states on a real time basis is under preparation, the Supreme Court was told.
A bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta was informed about it by a court-appointed committee on road safety headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice K S Radhakrishnan.
This assumes significance as a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra is currently hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme and the enabling 2016 law.
ISRO sets up 473 Village Resource Centres for rural development
To demonstrate the potential of satellite technology for development of rural areas, ISRO established Village Resource Centres (VRCs) on a pilot scale, in association with selected NGOs, Trusts and State Government Departments.
VRCs have provided various space technology enabled services such as tele-healthcare, tele-education, natural resources information, advisories related to agriculture, career guidance to rural students, skill development and vocational training etc.
About Rs 18 crores was spent for establishing 473 VRCs.
· Development of Solar Cities scheme: 60 Solar Cities to be developed
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)under its “Development of Solar Cities” scheme sanctioned the development of 60 Solar Cities including 13 Pilot and 5 Model Cities up to 12th Five-year Plan period (2012–2017).
So far, master plans of 49 Solar Cities have been prepared.
Under it, local Governments are motivated for adopting renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency measures.
Solar City developed under this scheme will have all types of renewable energy based projects like solar, wind, biomass, small hydro, waste to energy.
India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile as part of a user trial by the Army from Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, in Odisha. It is a surface-to-surface missile and has a strike range of 350 km.
Prithvi-II is capable of carrying 500-1,000 kilogram of warheads and is thrust by liquid propulsion twin engines.
Inducted into the Armed forces of the country in 2003, the nine-meter-tall, single-stage liquid-fuelled Prithvi-II is the first missile to have been developed by the DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
Jhulan Goswami first female cricketer to take 200 ODI wickets
India’s veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami has added another feather to her illustrious cap by becoming the first female cricketer to take 200 ODI wickets.
Goswami achieved the feat during the second ODI between India and South Africa.
The 35-year-old, playing her 166th ODI, dismissed opener Laura Wolvaardt for her 200th scalp.
She was adjudged ICC Women Cricketer of the Year in 2007.
Researchers have discovered a new species of moth from the Talle Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh.
The new species, scientifically named Elcysma Ziroensis, be commonly called Apatani Glory, named after a local tribe called Apatani.
This species has only been seen during autumn, notably in the month of September, indicating that it is a univoltine species, meaning it has one brood of young in a year.
INTERNATIONAL
Romania to have first female prime minister, Viorica Dancila
Viorica Dancila has been named as Romania’s first female PM following the sudden resignation of Mihai Tudose.
Ms Dancila, a member of the European Parliament, is regarded as an ally of the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader Liviu Dragnea.
Ms Dancila, 54, is Romania’s third prime minister in seven months.
· Google awarded 72 lakh for finding bugs in Pixel phone
Google awarded nearly 72 lakh to researcher Guang Gong for finding bugs in its Pixel devices.
The exploit chain consisted of two bugs which together could inject arbitrary code into system server by accessing a malicious URL in Chrome.
Around 67 lakh of the reward was given from Google’s Android Security Rewards program, the highest in the program’s history.
NATIONAL
· India Ratings Projects Economic Growth at 7.1 Next Fiscal
India Ratings and Research have projected the country’s economic growth to improve to 1 percentin 2018-19 from 6.5 percent in 2017-18, buoyed by robust consumer demand and low commodity prices.
In its outlook for 2018-19, according to the agency, there will be a gradual pickup in growth momentum owing to structural reforms like GST and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in place.
The projection is a tad lower than 7.4 percent growth estimated by Asian Development Bank and International Monetary Fund for next fiscal.
Government to set up $350 million fund to finance solar projects
Government will set up a $350 million fund to finance solar projects, as the country steps up efforts to achieve its ambitious target of adding 175 gigawatts (GW) in renewable energy by 2022.
India will need at least $125 billion to fund a plan to increase the share of renewable power supply in the country’s grid by 2022.
The country, which receives twice as much sunshine as European nations, wants to make solar central to its renewable expansion.
Installed renewable power capacity is currently about 60 GW
· HDFC Bank Becomes 1st Indian Bank to Cross Rs5 trillion Market Capitalisation
India’s most-valued lender HDFC Bank Limitedcrossed Rs5 trillion capitalization action for the first time, making it only the third Indian company to achieve this milestone.
In intraday trade, the stock touched a fresh record high of Rs1,53.75 on the BSE, up 3.31% from its previous close.
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) are the other two companies which crossed market capitalisation of Rs5 trillion.
· NPPA fixes retail price of 30 drug formulations
Drug price regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)fixed retail price for 30 drug formulations, including those used for the treatment of Diabetics, bacterial infections, and high blood pressure.
NPPA is an independent body under Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. It was set up in 1997.
Its mandate is to fix/review.
Essential medicines are those that satisfy the priority health care needs of the country’s population.
· Maharashtra becomes first state to unveil Public Cloud Policy
Maharashtra became the first state in the country to unveil Public Cloud Policy that virtually mandates state government departments to shift their data storage.
The State Government had formed a four-member committee to draft policy framework on cloud usage.
The policy will result in additional private sector investments worth the US $2 billion for cloud industry as the government is one of biggest creators.
· Virat Kohli named as Captain of ICCs Test and ODI Teams of the Year
Virat Kohli was named the captain of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test and One-Day International (ODI) teams of the year that included four other Indians as well.
Kohli scored 2,023 runs at 77.80, including eight centuries and three half-centuries in 18 matches during the qualification period.
He surprisingly pipped Australian skipper Steve Smith for the ICC’s Test team captaincy.
The Test team also comprises Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin.
