1. MSME Secretary inaugurates ‘MEGA JOB FAIR’ in New Delhi
Tags: National News
MSME Secretary BB Swain inaugurated a 'Mega Job Fair' and a new testing facility for MSMEs at the Technical Service Centre of National Small Industries Corporation, Okhla in New Delhi.
Objective of this fair was to provide employment opportunities to the students who are passing out from different courses being conducted in the Centre.
More than 30 major companies were present with various job offers for the students.
About MSME Sector
The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector has emerged as a highly vibrant and dynamic sector of the Indian economy in the last five decades.
MSMEs play a vital role in providing large employment opportunities at comparatively low capital cost as compared to large industries.
It helps in industrialization of rural and backward areas, thereby reducing regional imbalances, ensuring equitable distribution of national income and wealth.
This sector contributes a lot to the socio-economic development of the country.
The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises envision a vibrant MSME sector by promoting growth and development of the MSME Sector, including Khadi, Village and Coir Industries.
2. India's hypertension control initiative
Tags: National News
A project called the India Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI) found that out of 2.1 million Indians, about 23% have uncontrolled blood pressure.
About Hypertension Control Initiative (IHCI)
Hypertension is a serious, and growing, health issue in India.
Keeping this fact in mind, the Ministry of Health, Indian Council of Medical Research, State Governments and WHO-India launched a five-year initiative for monitoring and treatment of hypertension.
The programme was launched in November 2017.
In the first year, 26 districts of five states - Punjab, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra were covered under IHCI.
By December 2020, IHCI was expanded to 52 districts across ten States — Andhra Pradesh (1), Chhattisgarh (2), Karnataka (2), Kerala (4), Madhya Pradesh (6), Maharashtra (13), Punjab (5), Tamil Nadu (1), Telangana (13) and West Bengal (5).
What is Hypertension?
High blood pressure (hypertension) is a common condition in which the blood pressure on the artery walls is high, which can lead to a condition such as a heart attack.
Hypertension is defined as having systolic blood pressure level greater than or equal to 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure level greater than or equal to 90 mmHg.
Need of IHCI
India is committed to reduce premature mortality due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 25% by 2025.
One of the nine voluntary targets includes reducing the prevalence of high blood pressure by 25% by 2025.
3. US President Joe Biden to host ASEAN summit
Tags: Summits International News
US President Joe Biden will host leaders and top officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Washington DC.
Washington has focused on the Russo-Ukraine war as well as battling Chinese influence in the Indo Pacific.
The ASEAN "special summit" was postponed from late March just days before Biden's first visit to Asia as president.
ASEAN member state Myanmar, whose government was toppled on 1 February last year, will not participate in the summit.
The US wanted an 'apolitical' representative from Myanmar to attend the meeting.
ASEAN's 'five-point Consensus' to end the turmoil in Myanmar has not progressed since its release in April last year.
About ASEAN
Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN is an international organisation formed in Bangkok,Thailand in 1967.
It promotes economic development, peace, security, social progress and cultural development in the Southeast Asian region.
ASEAN Secretariat – Indonesia, Jakarta.
General Secretary of ASEAN - Lim Jock Hoi, Brunei
Official Languages - Burmese, Filipino, Indonesian, Khmer, Lao, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, Thai and Vietnamese
Working Language - English
ASEAN Summit is the supreme policy making body of ASEAN.
ASEAN is third largest market in the world
It is the sixth largest economy in the world, third in Asia.
ASEAN has Free-trade agreements (FTAs) with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.
ASEAN Member Countries
Indonesia
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Brunei
Vietnam
Laos
Myanmar
Cambodia
4. Gotabaya appoints Ranil as Sri Lanka Prime Minister
Tags: Person in news International News
Ranil Wickremesinghe, a veteran opposition MP, was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for the sixth time in an effort to end the current political crisis in the country.
Gotabaya's elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as prime minister on May 9.
Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) was wiped out in the 2020 general elections, with Rajapaksa winning a two-thirds majority.
Wickremesinghe is currently the only MP from his party.
Reason of crisis in Sri Lanka
Mahendra Rajapaksa announced huge tax cuts in his manifesto in the 2019 election, leading to a huge drop in revenue.
Sri Lanka is primarily a tourism-based economy. The Easter bombings in 2019 resulted in a sharp drop in tourist arrivals, which was further exacerbated by the COVID crisis.
Huge infrastructural debt.
Misguided policies of the authoritative regime
Due to Covid, there was a further decline in the export of tea, rubber and the tourism sector came to a standstill.
Remittances also dropped significantly
5. Country's first "Amrit Sarovar" to be inaugurated by Union Minister for Minority Affairs
Tags: National News
The country's first "Amrit Sarovar" will be inaugurated by Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Uttar Pradesh Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh on May 13, 2022 at Patwai, Rampur (UP).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for making at least 75 ponds in every district in the 75th year of India's independence, calling them 'Amrit Sarovar'.
The pond will not only help in protecting the environment and conserving water but will also be an attraction for the people.
Along with various amusements, boating will also be available in this pond.
6. GAIL to set up one of India’s largest PEM based Green Hydrogen project
Tags: National News
In line with the National Hydrogen Mission, GAIL (India) Limited will set up the largest Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyser in India.
The project will be set up at GAIL's Vijaypur Complex in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh and will be based on renewable energy.
The project is designed to produce approximately 4.3 metric tons of hydrogen per day (approximately 10 MW capacity) with an purity of about 99.999%.
It is scheduled to be commissioned by November 2023.
In January 2022 , GAIL had commenced India’s first-of-its-kind project of mixing Hydrogen into Natural Gas systems.
Hydrogen blended Natural Gas is being supplied by GAIL’s Joint Venture (JV) company with HPCL- Avantika Gas Limited (AGL).
7. Skill India International Centre to be set up at Varanasi
Tags: Latest National News
NSDC International (NSDCI) and the Indian unit of DP World, Hindustan Ports Private Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a Skill India International Centre at Varanasi to skill Indian youth for pursuing overseas employment opportunities in logistics, port operations.
The Skill India International Centre in Varanasi will provide skills as per international standards and will prepare candidates for global markets.
Skill India International Centres aims to provide high quality training to Indian youth.
The centres would host training facilities, providing skills as per the demand of international employers in countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Canada, Australia and other countries.
It will also have a wide network of partner organisations and foreign recruiters to facilitate the supply of skilled and certified workforce to other countries.
These partnering organisations will work with NSDCI for aggregating demand from overseas markets.
About NSDC International Limited (NSDCI)
This is a subsidiary of National Skill Development Corporation that is driving Skill India International Mission of making India the Skill Capital of the World.
Its vision is to transform India into a preferred partner country for sourcing skilled and certified workforce across the globe.
It provides global job opportunities for NRIs and global career mobility for NRIs.
About DP World
Hindustan Ports Pvt Ltd is part of DP World, a leading provider of smart end-to-end supply chain logistics to enable business flow across the globe.
Its comprehensive range of products and services covers every link of the integrated supply chain.
8. Supreme Court stays on sedition law
Tags: Latest National News
The Supreme Court suspended pending criminal trials and court proceedings under Section 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code and allowed the British-era law to be reconsidered.
The Supreme Court also restrained the Centre and the states from filing FRs, continuing investigations or taking punitive action under Section 124A.
About Sedition Law
Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code provides for the punishment of sedition.
The IPC was enacted in 1860, under the British Raj.
The then British government in India feared that religious preachers from the Indian subcontinent would wage war against the government.
The need for such a law was felt after the successful suppression of the Wahhabi movement by the British.
This section was used by the British to suppress activists in favour of national independence, including Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi, both of whom were found guilty and imprisoned.
Sedition as a cognizable offence
It was made a cognizable offence for the first time in history in India during the tenure of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1973.
A cognizable offence means arrest without a warrant.
Two High Courts of India found it unconstitutional after independence, as it violates freedom of speech and expression.
9. Govt issues preventive guidelines for schools to combat ill-effects of heat-wave
Tags: National News
The Ministry of Education issued guidelines regarding precautions to be observed by schools to combat the ill-effects of the heatwave.
The ministry said in the guidelines, the school timings may start early and end before noon.
Timings can be from 7.00 a.m. and the number of school hours per day can be reduced.
Sports or other outdoor activities that expose students to direct sunlight can be accommodated appropriately in the morning hours.
School meetings should be held in a covered area or in classrooms with less time.
The school bus or van should not be overcrowded.
Drinking water and a first aid kit should be available in buses and vans.
Students coming to school on foot or bicycle should be advised to keep their head covered.
The school bus or van can be parked in a shady place.
Students should carry their own water bottles, caps and umbrellas and use them when out in the open.
10. Indian Railways introduces separate seats for newly-born children in trains
Tags: National News
Indian Railways' Northern Railway(NR) zone has introduced separate seats for newly-born children in trains.
This berth is also being dubbed as 'baby berth'. This baby berth is for little children.
This facility has been started on a trial basis in Lucknow- New Delhi Mail.
This berth will prove beneficial for women passengers who go out with their children and can take advantage of this by putting the children travelling with them in an extra berth.
The railways will also provide a stopper beside the berth as a safety measure so that the young child does not fall down while sleeping.
The 'baby berth' can be folded as well and as a result of which this seat can be raised and lowered whenever it is required.
No extra charge will be levied for baby berth.
About Northern Railway(NR) zone
It was established in 1952.
Head quarters - New Delhi
Largest zone in terms of Kilometres
Northern Railway comprises 5 Divisions-Ambala, Delhi, Ferozepur, Lucknow and Moradabad.
It extends to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
