GOA

Despite the fact that Goa has witnessed nearly one per cent rise in tobacco consumption from 8.8 per cent in 2009-10 to 9.7 per cent in 2016-17, Goa is still the state with the lowest percentage as regards the prevalence of current tobacco use (smoking and/or smokeless) when compared with the other states.

Goa is followed by Puducherry, which has 11.2 per cent and Kerala, which has 12.7 per cent prevalence of current tobacco use.

The Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2016-17 conducted in all the states and two Union territories has revealed that Goa has the second lowest prevalence of tobacco smoking with 4.2 per cent. Maharashtra with 3.8 per cent has the lowest prevalence in this category.

In the category of smokeless tobacco use, Goa has been positioned at the seventh place with 6.5 per cent prevalence. In this category, Himachal Pradesh has the lowest prevalence with 3.1 per cent.

The study has observed that khaini and bidi are the most commonly used tobacco products. A total of 11 per cent of adults consume khaini and 8 per cent smoke bidi.

Interestingly, the prevalence of tobacco use among minors in the age group of 15-17 has decreased from 10 per cent in GATS-1 in 2009-10 to 4 per cent in GATS-2 in 2016-17.

INTERNATIONAL

· Eleventh World Hindi Conference Underway In Mauritius

After the inauguration session, a condolence meeting will be held in the memory of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
In the afternoon sessions, delegates from 20 countries including India will deliberate on eight sub-topics related to “Hindi World and Indian Culture”.

Gk Bit – World Hindi Conference

World Hindi Conference/ Vishva Hindi Sammelan is a world conference on Hindi language. The conference consists of several Hindi scholars, writers and laureates from different parts of the world to contribute the language.

The first World Hindi Conference was held in 1975 in Nagpur, India. Since then every year 10th January is being observed as World Hindi Day. Till today, ten such Conferences have been held in different parts of the world.

Agriculture minister proposes UNFAO to declare an upcoming year as “International Year of Millets”

The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Radha Mohan Singh has written to Mr. Jose Graziano da Silva, Director General, United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) and proposed the declaration of an upcoming year as “International Year of Millets”.

The Union Agriculture Minister stated that India is celebrating 2018 as the National Year of Millets and is promoting cultivation by amending cropping pattern of areas which are especially susceptible to climate change.

· UAE to host Asia Cup 2018

The Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) and theEmirates Cricket Board (ECB) declared that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be hosting the Asia Cup 2018. The tournament will be held from September 15 to 28 in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will be participating in the tournament. The opening game of the tournament will be played by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Taiwanis building up and developing missiles and interceptors in order to counter the military expansion of China.
Since 2016, under the Presidentship of Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan has deployed one set of missiles, perfected another and sped production of a third. This development in its defence is to reduce Beijing’s military advantage over the self-ruled island.

NATIONAL

In the wake of Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision for creating digital museums at stations using QR code,Ministry of Railway has made “digital screens” operational at 22 stations on this Independence Day as an innovative low cost solution to spread awareness among public about the opulent heritage of Indian Railways.

Being initiated on a pilot basis, the project aims at showcasing the legacy of Indian Railways through one to two minute-long movie clips.

The short films will showcase heritage buildings, locomotives and much more to make people aware of the rich heritage of Indian Railways.

Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan will today take oath as the 22nd prime minister of Pakistan.The oath-taking ceremony will begin at around 9.15 am (local time).

Khan won a simple majority in Pakistan’s National Assembly with 176 votes, beating his rival Shahbaz Sharif who got 96 votes.

A member of the National Assembly needs 172 votes to become prime minister-elect.

The 2018 Asian Games, officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta Palembang 2018, is a pan-Asian multi-sport event scheduled to be held from 18 August to 2 September 2018 in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang.

For the first time, the Asian Games are being co-hosted in two cities; the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and Palembang, the capital of the South Sumatra province.

Also for the first time, eSports and canoe polo will be contested as demonstration sports.