RAJASTHAN

Rajasthan health department prepares advisory for Nipah virus

After several deaths reported due to Nipah virus in Kerala, the state’s health department has sounded an alert. The health department claimed that though no case of Nipah has been reported in the state, the health authorities are vigilant.

Rajasthan is the state where highest numbers of swine flu cases have been reported this year. According to Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) report (till May 13), out of 1721 cases of swine flu reported in the country, 1357 were tested positive in the state.

Gk bit – Nipah Virus

The National Centre for Disease Control has issued high alert across the country after an outbreak of the Nipah virus (NiV) infection in Kerala. The virus has claimed around 10 lives in the southern state over the past two weeks.

The infection causes severe diseases in both animals and humans. The natural hosts of the virus are fruit bats. The virus has also been isolated from environmental samples of bat urine and partially eaten fruit in Malaysia. Due to the migratory habit of the locally abundant fruit bats in South Asia, Nipah outbreaks occur more in this region.

INTERNATIONAL

26th BASIC Ministerial meeting of Environment Ministers in Durban

The 26th BASIC Ministerial Meeting of Environment Ministers was held in Durban, South Africa for co-operation to protect the climate for present and future generations.

The BASIC grouping is a bloc of four countries – Brazil, South Africa, India and China – formed by an agreement on November 28, 2009.

International Bio-diversity Day: 22 May

The International Bio-diversity Day is observed on 22nd May every year to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.

The theme for this year is, ‘Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity’.

2018 marks the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on Biological Diversity and to highlight progress made in the achievement of its objectives at the national and global levels.

NATIONAL

GDP growth in Q4 of FY18 seen at 7.4%: Icra

Rating agency Icra expects GDP growth in January-March 2017-18 at 7.4 per cent on account of good rabi crop harvest and improved corporate earnings, up from 7.2 per cent in the third quarter.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is scheduled to come out with GDP estimate for the fourth quarter (Q4) of fiscal 2017-18 and provisional annual estimates for the year 2017-18 on May 31.

As per Icra, the growth of the Indian gross value added (GVA) at basic prices in year-on-year (YoY) terms is likely to record a considerable recovery to 7.3 per cent in Q4 FY2018.

Regional Conference on “Clean and Renewable Energy” held in Bhopal

The Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh (MP), Shri Narayan Singh Kushwah inaugurated the one day Regional Conference on the theme of “New and Renewable Energy” in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

This was sixth such Regional Conference in the series in a lead-up to 3^rdAnnual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which is being hosted by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India in collaboration with AIIB, Government of Maharashtra, RIS and CII among others in Mumbai on 25^th and 26^th June, 2018.

The one day Seminar in Bhopal was also organized by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India in collaboration with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) and the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI).

· English Translation of Polish Novel Flights Wins Man Booker Prize

Polish author Olga Tokarczukwon the Man Booker International Prize for her novel ‘Flights’.
The novel, translated by Jennifer Croft, interweaves narratives of travel with explorations of the human body.
It bagged the 67,000 US dollar prize after topping a shortlist of six titles, with Tokarczuk becoming the first Polish writer to win the award.
The awards were announced at a ceremony in London. The head judge of the awards was Lisa Appignanesi.

· Finance Ministry Ties Up With 40 Companies Under Mudra Scheme

The Union Finance Ministry has tied up with 40 entities including Flipkart, Swiggy, Patanjali, and Amulfor extending loans to small entrepreneurs under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY).
In order to identify people who can be given funds under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), the ministry organized an event in Mumbai to extend loan under the scheme.
The CEOs of various Banks, senior officials in the rank of MD or CEO from Oil Companies, Railway Board would be part of the event.

· MCX Launches India’s 1st Copper Options

India’s Multi Commodity Exchange launched the country’s first copper options contracts.
Three contracts with a lot size of 1 tonne were launched.
The option contract will provide physical market participants an additional instrument to hedge their risk.

· Model law for contract farming

After two drafts that received wide criticism from both industry and farmers groups, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Sharma released the model law
The law is aimed at reducing farmers’ risks by creating an assured market for their produce at a pre-agreed price, while encouraging investment from agribusiness and food processing industries by enhancing productivity and cost efficiency. It provides for State-level boards to be set-up to promote and facilitate — rather than regulate — contract farming, and sets out a framework for registering and recording agreements. It also provides for a dispute settlement authority.
The model law stipulates that the sponsor will not be allowed to build any permanent structure on the farmers’ land.
In India, 86% of farmers fall into the small and marginal category. The average farm size is 1.15 hectares, so there is no efficiency of scale. While collectivisation would improve efficiency, consolidation of farm lands is not possible under the Indian system, he said. “Instead, the producer of farmers needs to be aggregated.

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