Today's Current Affairs-8th September 2022

NATIONAL

Healthcare sector in India to become $50 billion industry by 2025: Jitendra Singh

• India’s healthcare industry is expected to grow to hit $50 billion in size by 2025, said Union minister Jitendra Singh. Addressing the 14th CII Global MedTech Summit, “Seizing the Global Opportunity”, the minister said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, healthcare has become more focused on innovation and technology over the past two years. About 80% of the healthcare system aims to increase investment in digital healthcare tools in the coming five years.
• The minister added that the prime objective of the government is to reduce import dependence from 80% to below 30% in next 10 years and ensure self-reliance quotient of 80% in med-tech through Make in India with SMART milestones. Towards this, the Indian government has undertaken structural and sustained reforms to strengthen the healthcare sector and has also announced conducive policies for encouraging FDI.
• “It is expected that India becomes one of the top markets in medical devices upwards of 14% – 15%. This global position is attainable by achieving the targets set in the National Infrastructure Pipeline 2020, to build 73 new medical colleges to increase domestic consumption and improve healthcare infrastructure.”
• The minister added that India aims to achieve 10-12% of the global market share of medical devices industry to arrive at a $100 billion to $300 billion industry, adding that the country will have about 50 clusters for faster clinical testing of medical devices to boost product development and innovation.

MoE launches Shikshak Parv, an initiative to felicitate teachers

• Ministry of Education launches Shikshak Parv: Shikshak Parv was launched by Union Ministers Annapurna Devi and Rajkumar Ranjan Singh to honour teachers and advance the new National Education Policy (NEP). An inaugural colloquium hosted by the Ministry of Education, CBSE, AICTE, and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship marked the beginning of Shikshak Parv.
• According to Minister of State (MoS) for Education Annapurna Devi, under NEP 2020, teachers will have to work on the future action plan as per the notion of an integrated and interdisciplinary approach.
• Teachers, whether in schools or higher education, have a shared mission, according to MoS Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, and the goal of these honours is to acknowledge exemplary practises, academic leadership, and institution building.

Union Cabinet approves PM-SHRI scheme for school upgradation

• Union Cabinet approved the PM Schools for Rising India scheme(SHRI), a new centrally sponsored scheme that aims the development of more than 14500 schools across the country by strengthening select existing schools being managed by all forms of governments across the country.
• The PM SHRI schools will aim at delivering quality teaching for the cognitive development of students and creating and nurturing holistic and well-rounded individuals equipped with key 21st-century skills. They will also showcase all components of the National Education Policy 2020 by education in an equitable, inclusive and joyful school environment that takes care of the diverse background, multilingual needs, and different academic abilities of children.
• The focus in PM SHRI schools will be on the learning outcomes of every child in every grade and the assessment of students will be based on conceptual understanding and application of knowledge in real-life situations. The assessment of students will be done through a School Quality Assessment Framework (SQAF) which is being developed.
• Under the scheme, PM SHRI schools will be developed as Green schools which would entail incorporating environment-friendly aspects like solar panels and LED lights, nutrition gardens with natural farming, waste management, plastic-free, water conservation and harvesting, the study of traditions/practices related to protection of environment, climate change related hackathon and awareness generation to adopt a sustainable lifestyle.

Army undertakes 'reorientation' of troops in Arunachal Pradesh

• After significantly upgrading firepower and infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, the Army is on a major drive for capability and infrastructure development in the rest of Arunachal Pradesh. This includes road, bridges, tunnels, habitat and storage facilities, aviation facilities and upgrade of communications and surveillance, especially in the Upper Dibang Valley region, according to multiple Army officials.
• A capability development matrix was being employed and road development, construction of habitat and aviation facilities were under way, Major General M.S. Bains, General Officer Commanding of the Army’s 2 Mountain Division, headquartered at Dinjan, told a group of journalists.
• The capability and infrastructure development in the region was being undertaken under five verticals — habitat, aviation, road infrastructure, operational logistics and security infrastructure. Of this, the strategic roads and border roads were being constructed by Central government agencies and Border Roads Organisation, while the Army was building the last mile tracks to connect these roads to the forwards posts on the Line of Actual Control.
• The Area of Responsibility of 2 Division covers the districts of upper Dibang, lower Dibang, Namsai, Lohit and Anjaw in Arunachal Pradesh. While Tawang and Kameng area is under the Army’s 4 Corps headquartered at Tezpur, RALP is under the 3 Corps based at Dimapur.

About Arunachal Pradesh:

Capital: Itanagar (Executive Branch)

Chief Minister: Pema Khandu

Governor: B. D. Mishra

Official animal: Gayal

 OBITURY

Asian Games, Commonwealth medal-winning boxer Birju Sah passes away

• Indian boxer, Birju Sah has passed away recently, the first Indian boxer to win medals at both the Asian and Commonwealth Games. He was 48. He won bronze medals at both the Commonwealth & Asian Games in 1994. Sah’s first significant international success came at 19 in the 1993 Asian Junior Championships in Bangkok, Thailand. He took bronze in the light flyweight (45-48kg) division. The success on the continental stage was noticed by the Indian boxing federation which selected Birju Sah for the senior national camp.
• Birju Sah, though once ranked seventh in the world rankings, struggled to make ends meet after his retirement. He worked as a security guard in the Tatanagar area in Jamshedpur but stayed connected with his sport by coaching underprivileged kids from nearby areas for free.

 APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

Shri Sanjay Kumar Verma appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Canada

• Senior diplomat Sanjay Kumar Verma has been appointed as India’s next high commissioner to Canada. He succeeds Acting High Commissioner Anshuman Gaur. Verma is a 1988 batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service and is currently the ambassador of India to Japan. He is expected to take up the Canada assignment shortly. Among other postings, Verma has served in Indian missions in Hong Kong, China, Vietnam and Turkey. He has also served as Consul General of India in Milan, Italy.

About Canada:

Prime minister: Justin Trudeau 

Capital: Ottawa

Currency: Canadian dollar

Official languages: French, English

 IMPORTANT DAYS

International Literacy Day 2022: 8^th September

• International Literacy Day (ILD) is celebrated on 8 September every year all across the globe to make people aware of the meaning and importance of literacy for individuals and societies. The day spread awareness about the importance of literacy for individuals, communities, and societies and the need for intensified efforts towards more literate societies.
• This year’s International Literacy Day will be celebrated worldwide under the theme, “Transforming Literacy Learning Spaces” and will be an opportunity to rethink the fundamental importance of literacy learning spaces to build resilience and ensure quality, equitable, and inclusive education for all.
• On this International Literacy Day which is celebrated on 8 September, let’s spread awareness about the importance of literacy for individuals, communities, and societies. Students celebrate this day to raise awareness and concern for literacy problems that exist all across.

About UNESCO:

Founded: 16 November 1945

Headquarters: Paris, France

Members: 193 countries

Head: Audrey Azoulay

 AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Bengal Bags Intl Tourism Award for Best Destination for Culture; Mamata to Attend Event in Berlin

• West Bengal has been accredited the International Travel Award 2023 for Best Destination for Culture by the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA), an affiliate member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The award will be presented at the World Tourism and Aviation Leaders’ Summit in Berlin, Germany, on March 9, 2023. For the second year in a row, World Travel Awards selected the Republic of Cuba as the Caribbean’s Leading Cultural Destination in 2022.
• The Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) is a professional travel writers organisation established in 1998. It collaborates with the public and private sectors to encourage sustainable development and enhance the quality of travel and tourism. PATWA upholds the fundamental principles of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations (UN), and the UNWTO.

 About UNWTO:

Headquarters: Madrid, Spain

Founded: 1946

Head: Secretary-General; Zurab Pololikashvili

About West Bengal:

Capital: Kolkata

Chief Minister: Mamata Banerjee

Governor: Shri La. Ganesan

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

Digital currency to bring down time, cost for cross-border transactions: RBI’s Sankar

• Central bank digital currency (CBDC), to be launched this year, could become a tool for reducing time and cost for cross-border transactions, Reserve Bank Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar said. The RBI has proposed to launch on a pilot basis this year, as announced in the Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. In the Union Budget for 2022-23, the finance minister had said the RBI would roll out a digital equivalent to the rupee in the current financial year.
• “We have to understand that internationalisation of CBDC is crucial to addressing the payments issue that bodies like G-20 and Bank for International Settlements (BIS) are dealing with now,” he said at India Ideas Summit. Observing that India has an excellent, cheap and fast domestic payments system, he said the cost of cross-border payment, however, is still high. There is a lot of scope for improvement in terms of both cost and speed, he noted.
• CBDC is probably the most efficient answer to this, he said, adding, for example, if India CBDC and the US CBDC systems can talk to each other, we don’t have to wait for settling transactions. “That massively takes out the settlement risk from cross border transaction that reduces time, that reduces cost. So, CBDC internationalisation is something that I’m looking forward.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):

Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata

Founder: British Raj

Jurisdiction: India

Governor: Shaktikanta Das

Google Cloud, HDFC ERGO team up to digitise insurance buying in India

• HDFC ERGO General Insurance has roped in Google Cloud to build an online platform for selling insurance. HDFC ERGO plans to completely migrate to the cloud by 2024. This online platform for selling insurance, offering tailored digital experiences to customers, responding to regulatory changes faster, and identifying insurance risks using data analytics and machine learning (ML).
• Google Cloud will also assist the insurance provider with IT systems integration and building new applications. Google will also provide them AI/ML technologies to build predictive insights and mitigate insurance fraud. Google Cloud enables us to efficiently unlock the full potential of HDFC ERGO’s wide insurance solutions. This partnership underscores our commitment to delivering a seamless user experience by digitising the customer journey end-to-end.”

About HDFC ERGO General Insurance:

CEO: Ritesh Kumar

Headquarters: Mumbai

Founded: 2002