Focus Merit

Category: All Current Affairs

Ossouka Raponda appointed as the first woman Prime Minister of Gabon

July 18, 2020
  • Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda has been appointed as the first woman prime minister of Gabon on 16 July 2020.
  • The 56-year-old is the 12th PM of the country and succeeds Julien Nkoghe Bekale.
  • Prior to holding this position, Ossouka Raponda served as defense minister since February 2019

Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India has declined by 9 points in one year

July 18, 2020
  • As per the Special Bulletin on MMR released by the Registrar General of India, “Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India has declined by 9 points in one year.
  • The ratio has declined from 122 in 2015-17 to 113 in 2016-18 (7.4 % decline).
  • Northern states registered a higher MMR: Assam (215), Bihar (149), Madhya Pradesh (173), Chhattisgarh (159), Odisha (150), Rajasthan (164), Uttar Pradesh (197) and Uttarakhand (99).
  • The southern states registered a lower MMR: Andhra Pradesh (65), Telangana (63), Karnataka (92), Kerala (43), and Tamil Nadu (60).
  • The target 3.1 of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) aims to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 1,00,000 live births.
  • Maternal Mortality Ratio MMR is defined as the number of maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births

Global Manufacturing Risk Index 2020 released – India ranked 3rd

July 18, 2020
  • Global Manufacturing Risk Index 2020 released by a property consultant Cushman & Wakefield.
  • India ranks third in the list of most-suitable locations for global manufacturing among 48 countries in terms of cost competitiveness and operating conditions.
  • China and the US retain the top two positions.
  • Global Manufacturing Risk Index In its annual ranking of the most suitable locations for global manufacturing among 48 countries in Europe, Americas and the Asia-Pacific, the consultant said India is in top-3 countries this year and an upcoming manufacturing hub globally from an operating conditions and cost-competitiveness perspective.

CPJ’s 2020 International Press Freedom Awarded to Four Journalists

July 18, 2020
  • Four Journalists have been named as the recipients of the 2020 International Press Freedom Awards by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based non-profit organisation to promote press freedom and defend the rights of journalists.
  • All these four journalists have faced arrests or criminal prosecution for their reporting.
  • The 30th edition of the annual International Press Freedom Award will be presented to the winners on November 19, 2020 to honor journalists or their publications around the world who show courage in defending press freedom despite facing attacks, threats, or imprisonment.

2020 International Press Freedom Awards Winners

  • Shahidul Alam from Bangladesh,
  • Mohammad Mosaed from Iran,
  • Dapo Olorunyomi from Nigeria and
  • Svetlana Prokopyeva from Russia.
  • Apart from this, Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has been honoured with the Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award.

NABARD launches development projects worth Rs 44 lakh in A&N Islands

July 18, 2020
NABARD
  • The apex development finance institution, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has launched development projects worth Rs 44 lakhs in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with the aim to strengthen the concept of Atmanirbhar Bharat through rural entrepreneurship.

The development projects of NABARD consist of following initiatives:

  • Formation and development of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and providing Skill development training to these SHGs members to promote rural entrepreneurship at the micro-level.
  • Women attached to SHGs in Little Andaman will be trained for Mushroom Cultivation and Bamboo Handicrafts making.
  • A four-month-long training program for tour and travel agents in Swaraj Dweep
  • Yearly Micro-Entrepreneurship Development Programme will be carried out for 150 members of various SHGs in Mayabunder in Middle Andaman.
  • The apex institution is also providing a platform for sales of local products by financing Rural Haats in Gram Panchayats.
  • Total of Rs. 7.6 lakhs have been released to establish one such Haat in Namunaghar Panchayat of South Andaman.

Odisha Extends Madhu Babu Pension Benefits To Transgender Community

July 18, 2020
  • The Odisha government has decided to include transgender community under its social welfare scheme- Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY).
  • In order to avail the benefit, transgenders will have to visit the official website of MBPY and apply for the pension in the given form.
  • Pension ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 900 will be provided to them in accordance with their age group.
  • The CM has also ordered to provide additional Rs 1000 Covid financial assistance to Madhu Babu pensioners.
  • The Madhu Babu Pension Yojana (MBPY) is a pension scheme introduced in the Indian State of Odisha with the objective of providing financial assistance to the destitute elderly and destitute differently-abled persons in the state. The chief minister of Odisha launched the Madhu Babu pension scheme by merging the two pension schemes, i.e., name, Revised Old Age Pension Rules, 1989, and Disability Pension Rules, 1985.

Telangana launched ‘CybHer’ campaign with an aim to Tackle Cybercrime Against Women & Children

July 18, 2020
  • The Telangana Director-General of Police, Mahender Reddy has launched an online cyber awareness campaign “CybHER” with an aim to make cyberspace safe for Women and Children.
  • This month-long campaign has been organized by the Women Safety Wing of the Telangana State Police in collaboration with the Legal Aid Centre, and Symbiosis Law School at Hyderabad.
  • The CybHER campaign aims to bring to light the immediate risks and threats faced by the vulnerable, women and children on cyberspace, which itself is as an interactive and informative platform for a healthy discussion on cyber safety.

Footwear training center started by KVIC in Delhi

July 18, 2020
  • A first-of-its-kind footwear training center for the marginalized community was inaugurated here by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
  • It will provide a comprehensive two-month training program to leather artisans for making high-quality footwear.
  • The center has been established with the help of the Central Footwear Training Institute (CFTI), Agra, a unit of the MSME ministry.
  • The training center will also provide logistics support to the artisans in starting their own shoe-making business once their two-month training is completed.
  • The artisans will also be provided a tool kit worth Rs 5,000 for carrying out their activities in the future.
  • The Khadi and Village Industries Commission is also setting up a similar footwear training center in Varanasi.

DCGI Given approval to India’s first Homemade Pneumonia Vaccine

July 18, 2020
Pneumonia vaccine
  • The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has given approval to India’s first fully indigenously developed vaccine against pneumonia ‘Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine’.
  • The vaccine has been developed by the Pune-based firm Serum Institute of India.
  • After reviewing the phase I, II, and III clinical trial data for vaccines, submitted by Serum Institute, the drug regulator gave the market approval to the homemade vaccine.
  • Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine is the first indigenously developed vaccine in the field of pneumonia.

18th July is observed as Nelson Mandela Day every year

July 18, 2020
Nelson Mandela
  • Nelson Mandela International Day (also Mandela Day) is held every year on July 18 globally to honour the legacy of the late President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela.
  • The day 18 July marks the birth anniversary of the great South African leader, who was born in 1918.
  • United Nations officially declared July 18 as UN Mandela Day in November 2009.
  • The first UN Mandela Day was held on 18 July 2010.
  • He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership for his anti-apartheid activism in 1993.
  • He was awarded India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna in 1990 for his role in the anti-apartheid movement. Apart from Pakistan national Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, he is the only non-Indian to have received the award.