CHHATTISGARH
- Govt to launch mobile medical units in all districts
- The Chhattisgarh Government will soon launch operation of mobile medical units in rural areas of all the 27 districts of the State.
- The Government had been striving to improve healthcare infrastructure across the State, officials informed.
- Notably, the Government last year proposed to seek term loan of Rs 64 crores from banks or other financial institutions for setting up the ‘DKS Post Graduate Research Center’ in Raipur, official sources informed.
- The State Health Department has decided to establish a 450 bedded super speciality hospital having all PG medical courses in Raipur.
- The existing constructed building area for the proposed hospital is 20,00,000 square feet.The facility would comprise 250 bedded general ward, 100 bedded ICU, 100 bedded paying ward, 50 bedded dialysis unit, 20 bedded burn unit and 10 Modular Operation Theaters ( OTs).
- Earlier, the State government had also decided to establish civil hospitals in old and new Raipur.
- The proposed hospitals to be established in Naya Raipur besides Mathpuraina and Gudhiyari in old Raipur will be of 100 bed capacity each, officials stated.
- The government also has plans of setting up such hospitals in other parts of the State in due course.
- In all the government hospitals, Rs 100 per day will be spent on food for patients instead of Rs 60.
- A total of 2400 beds will be arranged in government hospitals of the State.
- Notably, Chhattisgarh is one of the newly formed states, formed in 2000. It had inherited a weak infrastructure base in both the physical and social sectors. It had genuine constraints like a weak health infrastructure and depleted human resources for healthcare, apart from many of its areas being affected by Left Wing Extremism. All this combined to weak health indicators.
- This state of art facility should also be equipped to cater to special needs of psychological and psychiatric care of personnel operating under stressed and challenging conditions.
- It is envisaged that such a development initiative in this conflict affected region will not only boost the morale of security forces deployed in such areas but shall also improve the condition of healthcare of the tribal population substantially, thus creating a positive environment for peace.
INTERNATIONAL
- China’s Qingdao to host SCO summit in June
- East China’s Qingdao City will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in June this year.
- Shandong is the birthplace of many ancient Chinese thinkers, including Confucius. In 2017, its GDP exceeded 7.2 trillion yuan.
- The summit has China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan as full members.
- India’s defence budget breaks into world’s top 5: UK report
- India’s defence budget broke into the world’s top five, beating the UK for the first time, a new report by a London-based global think-tank has said.
- India overtook the UK as the fifth-largest defence spender in the world in 2017 at $52.5 billion, up from $51.1 billion in 2016, according to the ‘Military Balance 2018’ report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
- In contrast, the UK’s defence budget fell from $52.5 billion in 2016 to $50.7 billion last year.
- World’s top five defence spenders are the US, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and India.
· India and Iran signed 9 MoUs To Boost Bilateral Ties
- India and Iran signed nine agreements in order to further the bilateral cooperation between the two sides.
- The pacts were signed after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Iran President Hassan Rouhani at New Delhi’s Hyderabad house.
- The two countries inked pacts to enhance cooperation in the areas of taxation, maritime cooperation, health and medicine, trade, agriculture and postal cooperation.
· Saudi Arabia allows women to start business without male permission
- Women in Saudi Arabiacan now open their own businesses without the consent of a husband or male relative.
- The policy change, announced by the Saudi government also marks a major step away from the strict guardianship system that has ruled the country for decades.
- The Country’s Ministry of Commerce and investment said on its website that women can now launch their own businesses and benefit from governmental e-services without having to prove consent from a guardian.
NATIONAL
- Modi govt to set up 562 more Ekalavya schools
- The government will set up 562 more Ekalavya Model Residential School (EMRS) in tribal areas across the country that will be on par with the Navodaya Vidyalayas, Tribal Affairs minister Jual Oram said.
- Detailing about the budgetary provisions for budget 2018-19, Oram said 271 EMRSs have already been sanctioned out of which 190 are currently operational.
- The EMRS are planned under a government scheme for model residential school for Indian tribals (Scheduled Tribes) across India.
- National Banana Festival, 2018 held in Thiruvananthapuram
- The Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh addressed at the National Banana Festival, 2018 held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
- India is the largest producer of banana in the world with 29.7 million tonnes from an area of 0.88 million hectares with a productivity of 37 MT/ha.
- Although India accounts for only 15.5per cent in area, its contribution in the world’s production is 25.58per cent.
- PM to Inaugurate the Fourth Container Terminal of JNPT
- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Fourth Container Terminal (FCT) of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai.
- With this, JNPT will nearly double its container handling capacity .
- The new FCT will add a capacity of 24 lakh containers per year in Phase-I and after completion of Phase-II in 2022, the capacity of JNPT will be 100 lakh containers per year.
- The Fourth Container Terminal has been developed on Design, Built, Fund, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis for a concession period of 30 years at an estimated cost of Rs. 7915 Crore.
- The project is being implemented in two Phases. i.e. Phase –I and Phase –II. The indicative cost of the project for Phase – I is Rs 4719 Crore. The foundation stone for the project was laid by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in October 2015, and Phase I has been completed in record time.
- Magnetic Maharashtra investors summit inaugurated
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Global Investors’ Summit at “Magnetic Maharashtra: Convergence 2018 at the MMRDA grounds at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex.
- This summit is Maharashtra’s first Global Investors Summit and is said to be on the lines of Make In India initiative by PM Modi.
- PM will next inaugurate the Wadhwani Institute for Artifical Intelligence at the University of Mumbai.
· Reserve bank of India directs all banks to accept denomination coins from public
- The Apex bankissued a notification in Mumbai, saying such denial of service causes inconvenience to the public at large as shopkeepers and traders refuse to accept coins for payment of goods and services.
- The branches to accept coins of all denominations tendered at their counters either for exchange or for deposit in accounts
- Also, RBI advised all banks to accept coins, particularly in one and two rupee denominations by weightment or sachets of 100 coins each.
· Ola ‘Auto Unnati’ launched to ensure healthy ecosystem for Auto driver
- Ola successfully launched ‘Auto Unnati’ program to assist its auto driver partners through the firm’s ‘Chalo Befikar’ insurance program, family welfare initiatives.
- The aim is to create an inclusive environment in which driver partners can operate and thrive. ‘Auto Unnati’ is a milestone program in the same direction that will offer better financial and emotional stability for thousands of auto drivers in Bengaluru.
- The program is aimed to enhance business assurance plan to ensure a healthy professional ecosystem for Auto driver partners and for those hoping to target high business profits with ease.