GK & Current Affairs Quiz: May 24, 2018

Notes:
India has been ranked 145th among 195 countries with score of 41.2 in terms of Healthcare Access and Quality (HAQ) index of 2016, as per Lancet’s latest study “Global Burden Of Disease”. According to the study, India performed poorly in tackling cases of tuberculosis, rheumatic heart diseases, Ischaemic heart diseases, stroke, testicular cancer, colon cancer and chronic kidney disease among others. However, the report mentioned that India has seen improvements in healthcare access and quality since 1990. The five countries with the highest levels of healthcare access and quality in 2016 were Iceland (97.1 points), Norway (96.6), the Netherlands (96.1), Luxembourg (96.0), and Finland and Australia (each with 95.9). The study used an index to measure the quality and accessibility of healthcare, based on 32 causes of death which should be preventable with effective medical care. Each of the 195 countries and territories assessed were given a score between 0-100.

Notes:
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation-Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) meeting has started in Islamabad, Pakistan on May 23, 2018. It is first time that Pakistan is hosting the meeting. The legal experts from 8 member states, including India, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan, as well as representatives of the SCO and RATS Executive Committee are participating in the meeting. The purpose of the 3-day meeting is to discuss terrorist threats facing the region and ways and means to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation between SCO member states. Other goals of the meeting included strengthening trust amongst the member states and promoting cooperation in politics, trade, economy, research, technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, and environmental protection.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, has approved an ordinance to set up the India’s first national sports university in Imphal, Manipur. The ordinance is on the lines of the bill introduced in Lok Sabha in August, 2017, which is already pending in Parliament. The proposed university will be spread over 325 acres and cost Rs 524 crore. It will promote sports education in the areas of sports sciences, sports technology, sports management, and sports coaching. It will function as a national training centre for select sports disciplines. It may also establish campuses and study centres in other parts of the country. The University will be empowered to grant degrees, diplomas and certificates.

Notes:
The two-month long military exercise of India Army “Gandiv Vijay” was concluded in Mahajan field firing ranges near Suratgarh in Rajasthan on May 23, 2018. The Chetak corps of South Western Command of Indian Army carried out the exercise with an aim to train commanders and soldiers in their offensive tasks. Thousands of troops from the Corps took part in the exercise along with a huge array of weapons and equipment. The exercise was based on the central role of carrying out offensive operations through a joint air-land battle in a network-centric environment employing modern intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance concepts and equipment. It was an integrated exercise involving multi-mode mobilisation from dispersed locations to the time and place of decision in a terrain orchestrated on the lines of operational responsibility of the formation. During the exercise, synergy between mechanised forces, infantry, artillery, engineers, elements of Special Forces (SF) and Air Force was practised and fine tuned.

Notes:
The joint military exercise “SURYA KIRAN-XIII” between India and Nepal will be conducted at Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand from 30 May to 12 June 2018. The exercise will comprise of nearly 300 soldiers from both Indian and Nepal Army who would be sharing their experiences gained during conduct of various counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations in the past. The aim of this exercise is to conduct battalion level joint training with emphasis on counter terrorism operations in mountainous terrain. During the exercise, aspects of disaster management and joint effort towards relief work have also been included. The joint military exercise will enhance the level of defence cooperation which will further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two nations.

Notes:
On May 23, NITI Aayog and ABB India have signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to work together in preparing key sectors of the economy for digitalisation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics and industrial automation. Jointly, NITI Aayog and ABB will work with government ministries, solicit feedback for areas critical to them and discuss solutions using industrial automation, and digitalization technologies. The initiative also covers the fast growing segment of electric mobility. The first workshop for senior government officials, under this collaboration, would be organised in June 2018 at ABB Ability Innovation Centre in Bengaluru. Given the importance of the food processing sector, the workshop will focus on digital and automation technologies in this sector. NITI Aayog, in collaboration with ABB, will come out with a report on policy recommendations based on the feedback received in the workshops, by December 2018.

Notes:
India has been ranked 44th in terms of competitiveness for year 2018, in the annual rankings compiled by International Institute for Management Development (IMD). The US became the most competitive economy globally driven by its strength in economic performance and infrastructure, followed by Hong Kong and Singapore in the second and third place. Netherlands and Switzerland were the other two nations in the top five slots. This year India ranked the 12th most competitive economy out of the 14 Asian countries on the list. Regarding India, the report said some of the challenges which India has to face for the year 2018 would be skilling of manpower and employment generation, streamlining the implementation of goods and services tax and balancing high growth with sustainable development goals. The report further noted that digital literacy and adequate bandwidth at rural areas and mobilisation of resources for infrastructure development needs are few more key areas where the government needs to concentrate.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) supported scheme to provide mobile services at 4,072 tower locations in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected areas. The 96 districts in 10 States will be covered for Phase-ll project and the network will be used by the security personnel deployed in the naxal affected areas. Project will also provide the mobile services to help the residents in unconnected inhabited villages which would improve the economic activities in the region. It will give impetus to the e-Governance activities in the backward and LWE affected area with the availability of digital mobile connectivity. The total project cost would be Rs.7, 330 Crore. The Cabinet also gave its approval for the Implementation of a Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan for the North Eastern Region in Meghalaya.

Notes:
C K Prasad, the retired judge of the Supreme Court of India (SCI), has been appointed the chairman of the Press Council of India (PCI) for a second term. Prasad headed the media watchdog for three years from November 2014. He had succeeded Justice Markanday Katju. The Press Council of India is a statutory body with a mandate to act as a watchdog to oversee the conduct of the print media. It was reconstituted for three years in October, 2014 and the term ended in October 2017. According to the Press Council Act, the council shall consist of a chairman and 28 other members.

Notes:
The World Turtle Day (WTD) is observed every year on May 23 across the world to protect turtles and their disappearing habitats around the world. The day is celebrated to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive.