10th May, 2023 Current Affairs

Sakshi Education

NATIONAL
Union Health Ministry launches a learning management information system named SAKSHAM

Union Health Ministry has launched a learning management information system SAKSHAM, Stimulating Advanced Knowledge for Sustainable Health Management.
SAKSHAM is a platform for providing online training and medical education to all health professionals in the country. SAKSHAM was launched by the Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.
According to the Health Ministry, this digital learning platform will ensure inclusive capacity building of health professionals. Presently, the platform is hosting more than two hundred public health and 100 clinical courses through online mode.
Health professionals can register for these courses through lmis.nihfw.ac.in and get certification after undergoing requisite training and qualifying the required assessment criteria. The platform has been developed by the National Institute of Health & Family Welfare, New Delhi.

Third cheetah death in Kuno National Park as female cheetah killed in a fight

Another cheetah has died in Kuno National Park of Sheopur district in Madhya Pradesh. A female cheetah, Daksha, brought from South Africa was killed in a fight with other cheetahs inside the park.
According to official sources, Daksha died in a violent interaction with the male cheetah. This is the third cheetah to die in Kuno since the cats were brought from South Africa and Namibia. Twenty cheetahs have been brought to the national park since last year, of which two died in March and April respectively.

India’s First Pod Taxi

The Yamuna Authority recently gave its nod to India’s first pod taxi project. The Personalised Rapid Transit project, an advanced mode of transportation, will be automated and environment-friendly.
Pod taxis are automated, environment-friendly vehicles that run on separate tracks to avoid road traffic. These vehicles are powered by electricity, which makes them a more eco-friendly mode of transportation. Pod taxis are designed to transport a fixed number of passengers and are considered one of the most advanced modes of transportation available.
The pod taxi project will be located between Noida International Airport and the Film City. The route will span 12-14 kilometers and feature 12 stops, including Sector 29, Handicraft Park, MSME Park in Sector 29, Apparel Park, Sector 32, Sector 33, Toy Park, and Sector 21

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INTERNATIONAL
PM Modi & Israel Foreign Minister Eli Cohen discuss bilateral ties in New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Foreign Minister of Israel Eli Cohen in New Delhi yesterday. In a tweet, Mr. Modi said they discussed ways to further deepen bilateral cooperation in priority areas of agriculture, water, innovation and people-to-people ties.
They discussed strengthening the strategic relations between the countries, expanding the Abraham Accords, and promoting a free trade agreement that will boost Israel's economy. India is a world power, the fifth largest economy and the most populous country in the world.

ASEAN calls for end to violence, inclusive national dialogue in Myanmar

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders have called for an immediate end to all forms of violence and the use of force in Myanmar.
The ASEAN leaders in a statement issued during the summit meeting in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, urged to create a conducive environment for the safe and timely delivery of humanitarian assistance and inclusive national dialogues.
The ASEAN expressed its support to the 8 May statement of the President of Indonesia Joko Widodo as the Chair of ASEAN in response to the recent attack on a convoy of the AHA Center and the ASEAN Monitoring Team in Myanmar. Condemning the attack, it stressed that perpetrators must be held accountable.
The ASEAN leaders extended support for continued engagements with all stakeholders in Myanmar. It sought to encourage progress in the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus.
The Five Point consensus reached between ASEAN and Myanmar military government Chief Min Aung Hlaing in April 2021 called for an end to all violence. The consensus further said that the parties concerned will engage in constructive dialogue to seek a peaceful solution and a special envoy of ASEAN will facilitate the mediation of the dialogue and visit Myanmar to meet all the parties concerned.

The ASEAN will provide humanitarian assistance to Myanmar was also included in the five point consensus. However, Myanmar has not implemented the five-point consensus.

Sri Lanka Gains Support in Debt Restructuring Efforts

In a virtual meeting of creditor nations, co-chaired by Japan, France, and India, Sri Lanka received positive responses from 26 countries and 19 creditors, regarding the coordination of loan restructuring efforts. The discussions centered around conforming to the debt rollover ceilings set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ensure debt sustainability for Sri Lanka in the future. The Paris Club, known for its expertise in restructuring debt for defaulted nations, has been actively involved in the process, with India formally joining the group of Western lenders.
Sri Lanka, which has faced monetary instability and forex shortages, accumulated a significant amount of international sovereign bonds and Chinese budget support loans over the past decade. As per reports, Sri Lankan government's external debt stood at over 36 billion dollars by the end of 2022, with an additional 1.647 billion dollars in sovereign guaranteed debt in state enterprises. With recent borrowings during periods of monetary instability, Sri Lanka's total external debt reached 41.47 billion dollars.
The involvement of multiple stakeholders in Sri Lanka's loan restructuring process is expected to contribute to a comprehensive and coordinated relief plan within the limits prescribed by the IMF's debt analysis.

Violent Protests grow across Pakistan against former PM Imran Khan's arrest

In Pakistan, violent protests are growing against the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. At least two persons were killed and five others were injured in clashes between PTI protesters and the military in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province.
Similar violence also resulted in roughly 15 injuries in Karachi, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, and Lahore and Islamabad. Imran Khan's supporters attacked and burned the official residence of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad as well as that of a top regional commander in Lahore. Protesters also smashed the main gate of the Pakistan Army’s headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
Meanwhile, according to the police, Imran Khan will not be brought to court today and his scheduled hearing will take place at the location where he was under custody. Mr Khan has to appear in a special court at Islamabad’s police headquarters to answer corruption allegations.
Many countries have issued travel advisories for their citizens and diplomatic staff, citing political unrest in Pakistan. The US Embassy has announced a travel alert for its citizens in Pakistan. Meanwhile, the Canadian government asked its citizens and diplomatic staff to exercise a high degree of caution in Pakistan due to the unpredictable security situation.

ECONOMY
Star Labelling Program of BEE results in energy efficiency improvement of split ACs by 43% for 1-Star & 61% for 5-Star level

Ministry of Power today said the Star Labelling Program of Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has resulted in energy efficiency improvement of split Air Conditioners by 43 percent for 1-Star and 61 percent for the 5-Star level. As per data from BEE, overall energy efficiency improvement for window ACs is 17 percent for 1-Star and 13 percent for 5-Star level. India’s energy efficiency policies have not only led to improvement in overall energy efficiency of Air-Conditioners but also accelerated the deployment of highly Energy Efficient inverter technology.
The interventions by the Central Government have also led to an increase in the market share of the more efficient Inverter ACs. During the eight years from 2015-16 to 2022-23, the market share of the more efficient, variable speed Inverter ACs increased from one percent to 99 percent.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Indian Space Policy 2023-Key Highlights

The Government of India's vision for space is to use it as a tool to enhance socio-economic development and security, protect the environment and lives and promote peaceful exploration of outer space. The Government aims to achieve this by promoting a flourishing commercial presence in space by using it to drive technology development and international relations. It also seeks to create an ecosystem for effective implementation of space applications.
To achieve this vision, the government is pursuing a holistic approach by promoting private sector participation in the entire value chain of the space economy. The aim is to encourage advanced Research & Development in the space sector and provide public goods and services using space technology for national priorities.
The Government will create a stable and predictable regulatory framework to provide a level playing field to Non-Government Entities through IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion & Authorisation Centre).
They will also promote space-related education and innovation, including support to space-sector start-ups. With it, scientific temperament in the society can also be nurtured and awareness of space activities will also increase.
The policy discusses the establishment of IN-SPACe, an autonomous Government organization that will promote, guide, and authorize space activities in the country.
IN-SPACe will act as a single-window agency for authorizing space activities, promote industry clusters, and work with academia to widen the space ecosystem.
The report also discusses the role of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the National Space Agency, in focusing on Research and Development of new space technologies and applications, as well as expanding human understanding of outer space. ISRO will carry out applied research, share technologies and products and enable open data access from remote sensing satellites.

SPORTS
Asian Weightlifting Championships 2023: Indian weightlifters finish with three silver medals in South Korea

In Weightlifting, Indian weightlifters finished the Asian Weightlifting Championships 2023 in Jinju, South Korea, with three silver medals. Yesterday, Ajith Narayana and AchintaSheuli were the only two Indian weightlifters competing in the men’s 73kg category.
However, the duo failed to add to India’s medals tally. Ajith Narayana, who was competing in his first international weightlifting event, topped Group B with a combined lift of 307kg.
Commonwealth Games 2022 gold medallist AchintaSheuli, meanwhile, finished second in Group B with a total lift of 305kg.
A total of six Indian weightlifters competed at the continental championships, which is second in the series of qualifying events for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Asian Weightlifting Championships 2023 will run till May 13 but India doesn’t have any representation in any of the remaining categories.

Published date : 10 May 2023 06:37PM