1. FDA proposes ban on menthol cigarettes, flavoured cigars
Tags: Latest International News
The US Food and Drug Administration issued a long-awaited proposal to ban menthol cigarettes and flavoured cigars.
The proposal aims to ban menthol as a specific flavouring in cigarettes and all characteristic flavours in cigars.
The proposed rule will help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help in quitting adult smoking addiction.
The proposed rule will help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help in quitting adult smoking addiction.
Brazil was the first country in the world to ban menthol cigarettes in 2012.
In 2019, the Government of India banned electronic cigarettes and different states have their own rules for banning the consumption of hookah in public places.
Tobacco Consumption in India
As per the Global Youth Tobacco Survey, India has the second largest number (268 million) of tobacco users in the world.
Every year 1.3 million people in India die due to tobacco-related diseases.
One million deaths are caused by smoking.
In India, about 270 million people above 15 years of age and 8.5% of school children in the age group of 13-15 years use tobacco in some form or the other.
Tobacco consumption incurs an economic burden of Rs 1,77,340 crore annually in India.
About 27 percent of cancers in India are caused by tobacco use.
2. Govt extends Rs 820 crore financial support to India Post Payments Bank
Tags: Latest National News
In the meeting of the Union Cabinet, approval has been given to provide financial support of Rs.820 crore to India Post Payment Bank.
The project outlay for setting up of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has been increased from Rs 1,435 crore to Rs 2,255 crore by the Union Cabinet.
The Cabinet has also given in-principle approval for a provident fund of Rs 500 crore to meet regulatory requirements and technological up-gradation.
This additional financial support will help India Post Payments Bank meet its objective of advancing financial inclusion across India by leveraging the entire network of the Department of Posts.
About India Post Payment Bank
It is set up under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications with 100% equity owned by the Government of India.
Founded- 1 September 2018.
Headquarters- New Delhi
Secretary- Vineet Pandey
MD & CEO- J. Venkataramu.
In January 2022, IPPB had crossed 5 crore customers
3. PM Modi addresses inaugural session of Joint Conference of CMs, Chief Justices of High Courts
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on April 30.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government considers the potential of technology in the judicial system as an essential part of the Digital India mission.
He said, the e-court project is being implemented in the country in mission mode.
He said, the judiciary is the custodian of the constitution and the legislature represents the aspirations of the citizens.
He said, this balance will prepare the roadmap for an effective and time bound judicial system in the country.
He said that the central government has abolished 1,450 laws that have become irrelevant, but the states have abolished only 75 laws.
About joint conference
The Joint Conference brings together the executive and judicial branches of government to develop a framework for the delivery of justice in a simple and convenient manner.
It examines the actions required to address the challenges of the system.
This joint conference has been organised after a gap of six years, it was last held in 2016 under the e-courts mission mode project.
Since then the government has taken several measures to improve infrastructure and integrate digital technology into judicial processes.
Chief Justice of India NV Ramana presided over the 39th conference.
4. Govt to launch indigenously developed e-commerce network in 100 Indian cities
Tags: Latest Economics/Business National News
The government is planning to launch an indigenously developed online e-commerce network in 100 Indian cities to provide kirana stores and consumers an alternative to multinational platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday announced the trial-launch of the open-source system.
The beta launch will unveil the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and Registry's IT applications, which were launched in Bengaluru on Friday.
UPI is another game-changing idea to democratise commerce.
The project is being prepared in a big way as it will provide a wider choice to all consumers and retailers and will be formally launched after successful testing of the system.
End-to-end testing is being done to create a playbook with an aim to launch it in 100 cities in six months.
The initial test launch, which began in Bengaluru, will also cover cities such as Coimbatore, Bhopal, Delhi and Shillong.
The system will have multiple options for both retailers and customers in terms of cataloguing, inventory, warehousing, suppliers, logistics and payments.
5. Semicon India Conference-2022
Tags: Latest Summits National News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Semicon India Conference-2022 today. This three-day event will take place in Bengaluru.
The three-day conference is being organised to take forward the Prime Minister's vision to make India a leader in electronics manufacturing, semiconductor design, manufacturing and innovation.
The conference is being seen as a launch pad to launch the country's ambition of becoming a global semiconductor hub, nurturing the chip design and manufacturing ecosystem.
Industry associations, research organisations and education experts will participate in the conference.
Theme of the conference : Catalysing India’s Semiconductor Ecosystem
Vision : To position India on the Semiconductor map of the world and build a vibrant semiconductor innovation and manufacturing ecosystem.
6. AAI first time successfully conducts flight trials using 'GAGAN'
Tags: National Latest Science and Technology
Airports Authority of India (AAI) successfully test fired at Kishangarh airport in Rajasthan using GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation) based LPV approach procedures.
The successful test is a major achievement and a major milestone in the field of Air Navigation Services (ANS) in the history of Indian Civil Aviation.
India is the first country in the Asia Pacific Region to achieve such a landmark.
What is LPV (Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance)
LPV is a Satellite Based Procedure which has been used by the aircraft for landing purposes at Kishangarh Airport (Rajasthan).
It permits aircraft guided approaches that are operationally nearly equivalent to Cat-IILS, without the need for ground-based navigational infrastructure.
The service depends on the availability of GPS and GAGAN geostationary satellites (GSAT-8, GSAT-10 and GSAT-15) launched by ISRO.
Significance
The LPV approach will make it possible to land at airports that are not equipped with expensive instrument landing systems, including many smaller regional and local airports.
AAI in coordination with Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has implemented Gagan Message Service (GMS) through which alert messages will be sent to fishermen disaster affected people on occurrence of natural calamities like flood, earthquake etc.
Additional capabilities of GAGAN are also being explored for its use in non-aviation sectors like railways, surveying, agriculture, power sector, mining etc.
About GAGAN
It is an Indian Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) jointly developed by AAI and ISRO.
This is the first such system developed for India and neighbouring countries in the equatorial region.
GAGAN System was certified by DGCA in 2015 for Approach with Vertical Guidance (APV 1) and en-route (RNP 0.1) operations.
There are only four Space-Based augmentation systems available in the world -
India (GAGAN),
US (WAAS)
Europe (EGNOS) and
Japan (MSAS).
7. Govt approves Rs 60,939 crore subsidy for phosphate-based fertilisers
Tags: Latest Economics/Business National News
The Union Cabinet has approved nutrient based subsidy rates for Phosphatic and Potash, P&K fertilisers for Kharif season-2022.
The subsidy will cover the period to September 2022.
India provided a subsidy of 571.5 billion rupees for the previous 12 month period ending March 31.
A subsidy of Rs 2,501 will continue to be available at Rs 1,350 for every 50 kg bag of crop nutrient diammonium phosphate in local markets.
The decision to increase fertiliser subsidies was taken after rising crop nutrient prices in global markets, mainly due to supply chain disruptions after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, increased freight traffic and rising energy costs.
Background
Government is providing Urea and 25 grade P&K fertilisers at subsidised prices to the farmers through fertiliser manufacturers/importers.
The subsidy on P&K fertilisers is being governed by the NBS Scheme.
In line with its farmer friendly approach, the Government is committed to ensure the availability of P&K fertilisers to the farmers at affordable prices.
8. Digital India RISC-V Microprocessor (DIR-V) Program launched
Tags: Latest National News
The Electronics and Information Technology ministry has launched the Digital India RISC-V Microprocessor (DIR-V) programme.
It aims to enable manufacturing of microprocessors for the world in India and achieve industry-grade silicon and design by December 2023.
IIT Madras Director Professor V Kamakoti will be the Chief Architect of DIRV-programme while S Krishnakumar Rao of C-DAC will be the Program Manager.
DIR-V program will see partnerships between Startups, Academia and Multinationals, to make India not only a RISC-V Talent Hub for the World but also supplier of RISC-V System on Chips for Servers, Mobile devices, Automotive and Microcontrollers across the globe.
The Ministry unveiled India's Strategic Roadmap for Semiconductor Design and Innovation to catalyse the semiconductor ecosystem along with the blueprint of the roadmap for the design and implementation of the DIR-V programme.
9. Union Minister Giriraj Singh launches ‘Azadi Se Antyodaya Tak’ campaign
Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh today launched a 90-day inter-ministerial campaign 'Azadi se Antyodaya Tak' under the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'.
The campaign will be implemented by involving all rural stakeholders such as families of selected freedom fighters, Panchayati Raj Institutions, women's networks, youth groups and students highlighting the achievements of the schemes.
The campaign has been launched with a mission to saturate 75 districts of 28 states and union territories with the beneficiary schemes of nine central ministries.
Direct assistance to beneficiaries in saturation mode in 17 selected schemes during the campaign, will reach the person at the bottom of the pyramid in rural areas by each of the participating Ministries and Departments.
in this campaign the following ministries and department will be involved -
Ministry of Rural Development, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment,
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Department of Financial Services,
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship,
Department of Agriculture and farmers Welfare,
Department of Health and Family Welfare,
Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying and Ministry of Labour and Employment.
10. Cabinet approves 540 MW Kwar Hydroelectric project in J&K’s Kishtwar
Tags: Latest State News
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, has approved the construction of 540 MW Kwar Hydro Electric Project located on the Chenab River in Kishtwar district of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The project will be implemented by Chenab Valley Power Projects Pvt Ltd which is a joint venture company between NHPC and JKSPDC.
The project has been approved with an investment of more than Rs 4 thousand 526 crore.
This project will generate 1975.54 million units of electricity in an average year.
The construction activities of the project will result in direct and indirect employment to about 2,500 people.
It is part of the Indus Basin and will be one of at least four upcoming projects in the district, including the 1,000 MW Pakal Dul Hydroelectric Project and the 624 MW Run-of-the-River Kiru Hydroelectric Project.
Under the 1960 Old Indus Water Treaty (IWT) between India and Pakistan, the two countries share the waters of six rivers in the Indus basin that flow from India to Pakistan.
Out of these three eastern rivers – Sutlej, Beas and Ravi have full rights by India, while western rivers – Chenab, Jhelum and Indus have rights of Pakistan.
