1. Centre sets up committee to assess law to protect doctors
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has welcomed the Centre's move to set up a committee to discuss the Central Act for doctor's security. The IMA in a letter on Wednesday said: "IMA has won the first battle in our struggle against violence. Union Government has constituted an inter-ministerial committee to go into the Central legislation against the assault on Doctors and Hospitals. Congratulations to the entire medical fraternity." The Department of Health and Family Welfare said it will hold the first meeting of the committee formed to examine the pros and cons of bringing out a central legislation today.
2. Government approved Phase-I of Bharatmala Pariyojana along Indo-Nepal Border areas with financial outlay of Rs 5,35,000 crore
The Government of India has approved Phase-I of Bharatmala Pariyojana with financial outlay of Rs 5,35,000 crore to develop 24,800 km Highways along with 10,000 km residual NHDP stretches over a period of five years. In Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-I, development of Border & International Connectivity roads for a length of 2000 km has also been envisaged with outlay of Rs 25,000 crore. Along Indo-Nepal Border, the project i.e. balance work of Piprakothi-Motihari-Raxaul on NH-28A of about 69 km length and civil cost of approximately Rs 334 crore has been awarded in December, 2018 and commenced in February, 2019 with scheduled completion period of 12 months.
3. Government banned Pro-Khalistani group Sikhs for Justice for alleged anti-national activities
Pro-Khalistani group The Sikhs for Justice was on July 10 banned by the government for its alleged anti-national activities, officials said. US-based The Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) pushes for Sikh Referendum 2020 as part of its separatist agenda. A meeting of the Union Cabinet decided to declare SFJ as outlawed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, a home ministry official said. The group's primary objective is to establish an "independent and sovereign country" in Punjab.
4. India has adequate number of healthcare professionals: Indian Institute of Public Health Survey
The recent study on “Size, composition and distribution of human resource for health in India: new estimates using National Sample Survey and Registry data” carried out by the researchers from the Indian Institute of Public Health, Gurugram has revealed that India has an adequate number of health professionals based on the data collected from the registry institutions and the estimated data from the NSSO 2011-2012 to the projected population as of on January 1, 2016. The study addresses the issue of distribution of Human Resource for Health (HRH) in the country. In India approximately 71% of people living in a rural area whereas 36% of all health workers are deployed in rural areas.
5. India – ASEAN Troika Trade Ministers’ Meeting held in New Delhi
India – ASEAN Troika Trade Ministers’ meeting was held in New Delhi today for informal consultation on the ongoing Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). The meeting was attended by Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways, Piyush Goyal,Acting Minister of Commerce of Thailand, Ms. Chutima Bunyapraphasara, Minister of Trade of Indonesia, Enggartiasto Lukita, Secretary General, ASEAN, Lim Jock Hoi and TNC Chair of RCEP, Iman Pambagyo. Addressing the meeting Piyush Goyal said that India looks at RCEP as a logical extension of its Act East Policy and it holds enormous potential for economic growth and stability for the entire region. He said that inthe 26th round of RCEP negotiations at the Experts level,which has concluded recently in Melbourne, some progress has been achieved with member countries showing a degree of flexibility and accommodation. India too has shown significant flexibility during the negotiations and helped to achieve convergence in few important areas.
6. The 2nd edition of India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue 2019 held in New Delhi
The Second India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue (IRSED) was held today in New Delhi, under the chairmanship of Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and Mr. TimurMaksimov, Deputy Minister of the Economic Development of the Russian Federation. The Second meeting of the IRSED focussed on six core areas of cooperation, namely, Development of Transport Infrastructure and Technologies; Development of Agriculture and Agro-Processing sector; Small and Medium Business support; Digital Transformation and Frontier Technologies; Cooperation in Trade, Banking, Finance, and Industry; and Tourism & Connectivity.
7. Rare footage of 1948 film Vande Mataram is now part of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) collection
A rare footage of an iconic Marathi film Vande Mataram (1948) in which legendary writer and playwright P.L. Deshpande played the lead role along with his wife Sunita Deshpande is now part of NFAI collection. A VHS cassette containing about 35 minute footage of the film is part of the collection that was donated to NFAI by Shri Dinesh Thakur, nephew of Sunita Deshpande and film historian Shri Satish Jakatdar, along with U-Matic tapes containing rare footage of Harmonium playing by P.L. Deshpande. “We are extremely delighted to receive this footage of a film that was considered to be lost. It is such a happy coincidence to discover this footage at a time when the birth centenary of P.L. Deshpande and Sudhir Phadke is being celebrated this year along with the producer of the film P.R. Bhide”, said Shri Prakash Magdum, Director NFAI, while receiving the footage. The iconic Marathi film was directed by renowned director Ram Gabale.
8. GoI hands over 250 houses to Myanmar’s Rakhine State
India will hand over 200 houses on Tuesday to Myanmar built for Rakhine State under the Rakhine State Development Programme (RSDP) for $ 25M for a period of five years. The focus of RSDP has been on sustainable solutions based on creative socio-economic development. A Pilot Project under RSDP has been construction of the 250 pre-fabricated house at three villages in Northern Rakhine State. The project was undertaken by Indian companies -- M/s Hindustan Prefab Limited as Project M/s Hindustan Prefab Limited as Project Management Consultant and M/s Enertech Limited as contractor.
9. From 2020, France will impose green tax on plane tickets
The move, which will take effect from 2020, will see a tax of €1.5 imposed on economy-class tickets on internal flights and those within Europe, with the highest tariff applied to business-class travellers flying outside the bloc. The French government is to impose a tax of up to €18 on plane tickets for all flights from airports in France to fund less-polluting transportation projects, a Minister said on Tuesday. The move, which will take effect from 2020, will see a tax of €1.5 imposed on economy-class tickets on internal flights and those within Europe, with the highest tariff applied to business-class travellers flying outside the bloc, Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne said.
10. Total deposits in Jan Dhan accounts cross Rs.1 lakh crore
The deposits in the account of the beneficiaries, which has been steadily rising, was Rs 99,649.84 crore on June 6 and Rs 99,232.71 crore in the week before. Deposits in bank accounts opened under Jan Dhan scheme, launched about five years ago by the Modi-government, have crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark. As per the latest finance ministry data, the total balance in over 36.06 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts was at Rs 1,00,495.94 crore as on July 3.
11. RBI panel suggests to review timings of different financial markets
An internal committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which was set up to review timings of different financial markets, suggested that the foreign exchange market could function from 9 am to 9 pm At present, the currency market works from 9 am to 5 pm. “Calibrated extension of market hours, and to begin with, revised market timings of 9 am — 9 pm, may be considered to gauge demand and potential benefits,” the draft report of the committee said. The report noted that there are mixed views on the benefits of extension of market timing.
12. Samsung joins hands with Paisabazaar.com to offer financial products
Samsung announced its partnership with Paisabazaar.com, an online marketplace for financial products in India. The website will support Samsung Pay to provide users with a one-stop solution to their financial requirements. The Users can apply for credit cards and personal loans from the platform. The move will enable existing and potential users to get the benefit of opting for a host of financial services. The feature uses advanced predictive algorithms to provide the most suited lender to customers and significantly improve their chances of loan approval. Samsung Pay designed to be the smartest and most convenient method to make digital payments almost everywhere. Our partnership with Paisabazaar.com helped us create a holistic platform gives them the comfort of opting for various financial products.
