Table of Contents
Ministry of Defence
- A High Level Meeting between Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Japan Coast
Guard (JCG) was held at Coast Guard Headquarters, New Delhi on
January 15, 2018 under the provisions of the Memorandum of
Cooperation (MoC) signed between the two agencies in 2006. - It focused on augmenting the operational level interaction and capacity
building in areas of search and rescue, pollution response and maritime
law enforcement. - During the meeting, both sides agreed to strengthen the mutual
cooperation in accordance with the provisions of the MoC. Sharing of
best management practices and continuation of personnel exchange
were agreed upon during the meeting.
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
- ‘Saksham 2018’, a vigorous and high intensity one-month long people-centric
mega campaign of Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA),
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has been launched on 16th January in
an inaugural function held in Delhi. - The PCRA Saksham National Essay and Painting competition-2017 has been a
big hit amongst the school children with about 40 Lakh students from across
schools of all education boards of the country participating in it. - The awards were presented to the oil companies for their exemplary work
towards the national cause of fuel conservation. - The publicity vans of PCRA, the messengers on wheels were flagged-off
covering various cities to spread conservation awareness especially amongst
the rural masses.
President’s Secretariat
- The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, graced and addressed the
45th convocation of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in
New Delhi - President said that AIIMS is a national centre of excellence.
- In medical research and healthcare, it is a model for the country.
- The name “AIIMS” has become a byword for quality, commitment and
rich experience. - The faculty and doctors, as well as of course the students, are the pride of our
medical fraternity and our nation. - The President advised the graduating doctors that as they go into the world – a
world that needs their services more than ever before – they should remember
that they need to give back to society. - He stated that it is true that they need to be legitimately rewarded for their
academic excellence, their medical skills and their expertise. - Yet, as doctors, their services must be available both to those who can afford their fees
and also to those who are less fortunate and cannot. - Pointing out the shortage of doctors in our country
- Shortage leads to work-load on our doctors.
- The President said that currently our medical colleges, whether run by the
government or private institutions, have only about 67,000 undergraduate
seats and 31,000 postgraduate seats.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
- The Government has recently entrusted the task of integrated
development of Logistics sector in the country to the Department of
Commerce. - To fulfil this a MoU with Confederation of Indian Industry has been signed
today in the presence of the Minister for Commerce & Industry Shri
Suresh Prabhu in New Delhi. - The Government has decided to reduce the Logistics cost in the country
from the present 14% of GDP to less than 10% by 2022. - efficiency and cost
- To establish Logistics Working group with representatives from DoC and
Industry to examine issues related to logistics and recommend solutions - To foster focused engagement with the industry
- To collaborate with the concerned agencies including state Govts and
other related agencies - To undertake mutually agreed focused studies on logistics
- To promote Govt’s policies on logistics
PMO
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the project commencement of the
Rajasthan Refinery at Pachpadra in Barmer district, a short while ago. - This is the first oil refinery in the state.
- The 43,000 crore rupee project is a joint venture between HPCL and the
Rajasthan government. - The refinery is expected to be operational in 4 years and the state will have
an additional income of 34,000 crore rupees from it. - The project is expected to generate thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
Supreme Court
*The Supreme Court today termed as absolutely illegal any attack by khap
panchayats or associations against an adult man and woman opting for
inter-caste marriage.
*A bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said if an adult man and
woman marry, outside their caste no khap, panchayat, individual or
society can question them.
*It asked the Centre to give its response on suggestions earlier given by
amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran on ways to prevent harassment and
killing of young couples in the name of family honour for marrying intercaste
or intra-clan.
India-Israel: Bromance
- India’s approach towards Israel has finally moved from tentative to robust.
- It is also pragmatism that sees India exercise its strategic autonomy in voting
against US President Donald Trump’s move to recognise Jerusalem as the
capital of Israel at the UN – as well as keeping up cordial ties with Tehran –
while not seeing this as an impediment to ties with Tel Aviv. - Israel today is not only a major defence supplier for India, but is also at the
forefront of facilitating technology adoption in a wide range of Indian sectors. - India has a poor record of water conservation that deepens agrarian distress
and interstate strife: the row between Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra over
the sharing of Mandovi river water exemplifies this point. - Jeff Bezos is the founder of US online retail firm Amazon.
- 15 years ago: e-commerce was going to change the way the world shops.
- Flipkart: Investment plans announced this week
- Access to internet through mobile phones among young Indians.
- And this is not restricted to metros
- Flipkart, which has over 20 million customers, gets around half of its
orders from mobile phones — up from just 5% a year ago.
- A combination of a relatively young population and exploding internet access
are bound to attract a mix of money, technology and companies into India —
perhaps even leapfrogging the retail stage. - Innovative strategies can be designed even for products that customers would
like to ‘touch and feel’ prior to purchase. - As sourcing, retailing and warehousing costs drop due to the Internet platform,
this could be a bonanza for Indian consumers who’ve been hit hard by
inflation. - Fears regarding e-commerce are misplaced.
- They have not hurt local businesses.
- Instead, they have helped many small firms, geographically restricted on account
of limited resources, find a national market for their products.