By: D.K Chaudhary
1. India and UK Sign 10 Agreements in Several Sectors
i. India and the UK have signed 10 agreements in several sectors including cyber-relationship, rejuvenation of Ganga and skill development.
ii. The Important agreements signed between the 2 countries are as follows:
1. The two countries have agreed to an overarching cyber-relationship framework that among others enables the development of a common and shared understanding of the international cyber activity.
2. An MoU on the rejuvenation of River Ganga, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the UK-based Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC).
3. An MoU on Skill Development, Vocational education and Training and seek to promote greater collaboration in domains such as strengthening skill delivery in high demand sectors where UK has technical and skilling expertise.
4. A Statement of Intent between NITI Aayog and UK’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has also been signed.
5. Inked the deal on cooperation in the field of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Sectors seeking to strengthen collaboration in livestock health and husbandry, breeding, dairying and fisheries.
6. An MoU on Exchange of Information for the Purposes of Combating International Criminality and Tackling Serious Organised Crime has been signed.
- The United Kingdom Capital- London, Currency- British pound, Prime Minister- Theresa May.
2. Government Launches ‘Study in India’ to Attract Foreign Students
i. The Indian Government has launched the ‘Study in India’ initiative to attract international students to study in India. The website of Study in India can be accessed at www.studyinindia.gov.in. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister of State for Human Resources Development Satya Pal Singh jointly launched the initiative in New Delhi.
ii. The portal will enable students from 30 countries across South Asia, Africa and West Asia to select and apply for different courses from 150 select Indian institutions which are high on NAAC and NIRF ranking.
- NAAC stands for National Assessment and Accreditation Council.
- NIRF stands for National Institutional Ranking Framework.
3. Venkaiah Naidu Launches Assam Govt’s Cashless Health Scheme
i. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has launched a health scheme of the Assam government named Atal Amrit Abhiyan that offers free medical care of up to 2 lakh rupees for every individual from Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL) families.
ii. The state government has earmarked 400 crore rupees for the scheme in the financial year 2018-19. The cashless scheme Atal Amrit Abhiyan will cover 92 percent of the state’s population with annual income below 5 lakh rupees.
- CM of Assam: Sarbananda Sonowal.
- Governor of Assam: Jagdish Mukhi.
4. 1st Meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan Held
i. The first meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan was held today in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog.
ii. The Council which has been set up under POSHAN Abhiyaan is the apex body to formulate overall policies, guide and monitor all nutrition based schemes. Some of the important decisions taken in the meeting are :
1. 235 Additional Districts have been confirmed as part of Phase II of POSHAN Abhiyaan in the financial year 2018-19.
2. Provision of Smartphones instead of Tablets to Lady Supervisors.
3. Direct transfer of Funds to States/UTs for Cash Award to Frontline Functionaries, instead of Creation of Corpus Fund.
5. India, World’s 6th Largest Economy at $2.6 trillion: IMF
i. India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the worth of the economy, clocked in at $2.6 trillion for 2017, according to the database of the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) for April 2018.
ii. India is now the world’s sixth largest economy, displacing France. The Top 3 economies of the world are:
1. The United States,
2. China,
3. Japan.
2. China,
3. Japan.
Managing Director of IMF- Christine Lagarde, Headquarters in- Washington DC, USA.
