Current Affairs Assam July 01-07 , 2018
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of July 01-07, 2018 )
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July 1
The National Doctors’ Day celebrated on July 1
The National Doctors’ Day is celebrated on July 1 across India to honour the legendary physician and the second Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy.
The celebration is an attempt to emphasise on the value of doctors in our lives and to offer them our respects by commemorating one of their greatest representatives. India has shown remarkable improvements in the medical field.
FACTFILE – Bidhan Chandra Roy
- B C Roy was the second Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1948 until his death in 1962.
- He was a highly respected physician and a renowned freedom fighter.
- Bidhan Roy is often considered the great architect of West Bengal, who founded five eminent cities, Durgapur, Kalyani, Bidhannagar, Ashokenagar, and Habra.
- He is one of the few people in history who was able to complete his F.R.C.S. and M.R.C.P. degrees simultaneously (within only two years and three months).
- In India, the National Doctors’ Day is celebrated on the date of his birth (and death) 1 July every year.
- He was awarded Bharat Ratna on 4 February 1961, India’s highest civilian honour.
Eminent Persons’ Group (EPG) on Nepal-India
The meeting of the Eminent Persons’ Group (EPG) on Nepal-India relations, mandated to provide suggestion on ways to reshape bilateral ties and review treaties between the two countries concluded on 30th June. Four members each from Nepalese and Indian sides in the group.
During the two-day meeting, the group has prepared a joint report which would be submitted to the prime ministers of both the countries.
The report will be submitted to Nepal’ Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi by their representatives.
The Nepali side presented facts regarding the need to review the Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1950 so as to replace it by a new one.
EPG was formed four years ago by the governments of Nepal and India for reviewing the entire gamut of Nepal-India relations and update bilateral agreements and treaties.
FACTFILE – Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1950
- The 1950 India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship (official name Treaty of Peace and Friendship Between The Government of India and The Government of Nepal) was signed at Kathmandu on 31 July 1950 by the last Rana Prime Minister of Nepal Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana and Indian ambassador to Nepal, Chadreshwar Narayan Singh.
- It is a bilateral treaty between Nepal and India establishing a close strategic relationship between the two South Asian neighbours.
- The treaty provides for everlasting peace and friendship between the two countries and the two governments agree mutually to acknowledge and respect the complete sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of each other.
- The treaty allows free movement of people and goods between the two nations and a close relationship and collaboration on matters of defense and foreign policy.
- After an abortive attempt in 1952 of the Communist Party of Nepal to seize power with Chinese backing, India and Nepal stepped up military and intelligence cooperation under treaty provisions, and India sent a military mission to Nepal.
Odisha sign MoU with RIMES for effective disaster management
The State Govt of Odisha signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) for enhancing early warning system for effective management of all kinds of disaster in the state, including flood, drought, heat wave, lightning, and road accidents.
Three more MoUs were signed that would benefit the farmers and enhance their production.
This agreement enables for development and pilot implementation of decision support systems for automating risk assessment, advisory generation and dissemination. Initially, the agreement will remain in force for five years with a cost involvement of about Rs 8 crore.
FACTFILE – The Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES)
- RIMES-Thailand, is a UN registered international and inter-governmental institution, for building capacities in the generation and application of user-relevant early warning information.
- It is owned and managed by 48 collaborating countries in Asia Pacific and Africa Region.
- India is chairman of the RIMES Council.
- It has evolved from efforts of countries in Africa and Asia in aftermath of 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
- It was established in 2009 and was registered with UN in July 2009.
- It operates from its regional early warning centre located at campus of Asian Institute of Technology in Pathumthani, Thailand.
- RIMES provides regional early warning services and builds capacity of its Member States in the end-to-end early warning of tsunami and hydro-meteorological hazards.
July 2
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow growth rate dips in FY18
The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) growth in India has recorded a dip in FY18. The latest data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) shows that FDI inflows grew only by 3 per cent at $44.85 billion in the financial year 2017-18.
The FDI inflow rose by 8 per cent in 2013-14 but the financial year 2012-13 was one of the worst FDI inflow years as there was a negative growth of 38 per cent.
The FDI decreased to $40 billion in 2017 from $44 billion in the previous fiscal. However, the outflows from India, the main source of the FDI in South Asia, more than doubled to $11 billion.
The uncertainty and complexity of the FDI policy have resulted in a low growth of FDI in the consumer and retail sectors.
The Govt of India has taken substantial efforts in relaxing the regulations as well as prociding more clarity, global consumer and retail companies are still hesitant to invest in India.
The top categories of FDI inflows are services ($6.7 billion), computer software and hardware ($6.15 billion), telecommunications ($6.21 billion), trading ($4.34 billion), construction ($2.73 billion) automobile ($2 billion) and power ($1.62 billion).
Point2Remember – Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. The origin of the investment does not impact the definition, as an FDI investment may be made either “inorganically” by buying a company in the target country or “organically” by expanding the operations of an existing business in that country.
Bharat Hotels files for Rs1,200 crore IPO
Bharat Hotels, which runs five-star properties under The LaLiT brand, has filed draft prospectus with markets regulator to raise Rs1,200 crore through Initial Public Offer (IPO).
The IPO comprises sale of fresh equity shares to the tune of Rs1,200 crore, according to the draft papers filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
HDFC Bank Ltd, Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd and YES Securities (India) Ltd will manage the company’s public issue.
FACTFILE – Initial public offering (IPO) or stock market launch
- IPO is a type of public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also retail investors.
- IPO is underwritten by one or more investment banks, who also arrange for the shares to be listed on one or more stock exchanges. Through this process, colloquially known as floating, or going public, a privately held company is transformed into a public company.
- Initial public offerings can be used: to raise new equity capital for the company concerned; to monetize the investments of private shareholders such as company founders or private equity investors; and to enable easy trading of existing holdings or future capital raising by becoming publicly traded enterprises.
June manufacturing PMI at 53.1, fastest growth in 2018
India’s manufacturing sector activity in June 2018 grew at faster pace at 53.1, supported by rise in domestic and export orders. The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose from 51.2 in May to 53.1 in June 2015, registering the fastest improvement since December 2017.
This is the 11th consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI remained above the 50-point mark. In PMI above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction.
Input cost inflation and output charges rose at a stronger pace, indicating that the central bank might tighten the monetary policy.
FACTFILE – Purchasing Managers’ Indexes (PMI) are economic indicators derived from monthly surveys of private sector companies.
The data for the index are collected through a survey of 400 purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector on five different fields, namely, new orders from customers, speed of supplier deliveries, inventories, order backlogs and employment level.
NSE Ties Up With NASDAQ
The National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. (NSE) tied up with the Nasdaq Stock Market to bring in the American exchange’s settlement and clearing technology. The NSE will replace its wholly owned National Securities Clearing Corporation Ltd.’s indigenous technology with the post-trade technology of Nasdaq’s Financial Framework.
This will enable NSE to scale up, bring in blockchain technology and integrate settlement of multiple assets classes.
The deal also involves bringing the latest technology from Nasdaq and also collaborating with the NSE’s information technology arm to market Nasdaq products outside India.
FACTFILE – The National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE)
- NSE is the leading stock exchange of India, located in Mumbai.
- The NSE was established in 1992 as the first demutualized electronic exchange in the country.
- NSE was the first exchange in the country to provide a modern, fully automated screen-based electronic trading system which offered easy trading facility to the investors spread across the length and breadth of the country.
Point2Remember – Vikram Limaye is Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of NSE.
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