Important Current Affairs 7th September 2018 English

Important Current Affairs 7th September 2018

                                                               (International News)

87th Izmir International tradeshow in Turkey    
 
India is the Partner Country in the 87th Izmir International tradeshow which begins in Turkey from Friday, September 7, 2018.
In this tradeshow India will also be launching a mega business pavilion ‘Source India’ hosting 75 Indian companies with the aim of tie-ups in order to increase India’s exports to Turkey and other neighbouring countries.
This is part of a series of Source India pavilions that the Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) is hosting in important tradeshows across the world for boosting India’s exports.
Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI)
TPCI is the trade and investment promotion organization of the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce &Industry, Government of India, and works to open new areas for co-operation in trade and investment between India and rest of the world.
Izmir International Fair 
The İzmir International Fair is the oldest tradeshow in Turkey, considered the cradle of Turkey's fairs and expositions industry, and is also notable for hosting a series of simultaneous festival activities. The fair and the festival are held in the compound of İzmir's vast Inner City Park named Kültürpark in the first days of September, and organized by İZFAŞ, a depending company of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality. 

India and France agreement on “MOBILISE YOUR CITY” (MYC)
 
India and France have signed an implementation agreement on “MOBILISE YOUR CITY” (MYC). MYC aims at supporting three pilot cities viz. Nagpur, Kochi and Ahmedabad for reduction of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions related to urban transport.
The three pilot cities selected under the programme as well as MoHUA will benefit from the Technical Assistance activities. The main components of the proposed assistance are:
(1) To support planning and implementation of sustainable urban transport projects,
(2) Support to strengthening institutional capacity for regulating, steering and planning urban mobility, and
(3) Learning and exchange formats with other cities across India for exchanges on best practices.
 
Mobilise Your City (MYC)
Mobilise Your City (MYC) is part of an international initiative which is supported by the French and the German Governments and was launched at 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) meeting in December, 2015. Based on a proposal made by AFD in 2015, the European Union has agreed to provide funds of Euro 3.5 million through the AFD to contribute to specific investments and technical assistance components within the Mobilise Your City (MYC) programme in India.

Six Hundred Global Buyers to Participate Indusfood- II 2019
 
The Dhaka based India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce (IBCCI) will participate with a strong contingent of F&B buyers in Indusfood-II 2019 to source their food and beverage requirements from India.
TPCI is expecting around 600 global buyers from 50 countries and over 350 Indian exporters and producers to participate at this World Food Supermarketin Indusfood-II being held on 14th – 15thJanuary, 2019 in Greater Noida, NCR, Delhi.
Background 
Indusfood-I, held in early 2018, saw participation of leading importers from 43 countries and 320 Indian exporters and generated an estimated business of $650 million. The international buyers and Indian sellers from 12 categories of Food & Beverage industry experienced a unique opportunity of a B2B dialogue and insight into the large basket of brands, private labels and bulk purchase of raw items that India could offer to the world.

India will participate in PISA 2021
 
Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Human Resource and Development assured that India would take part in the PISA test in the year 2021. PISA stands for Programme for International Students Assessment. Earlier, the government of India shunned the test and now the government is making plans to participate in the test.
What is PISA Test?
PISA test was introduced by Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD). The main objective of the PISA test is to assess the academic performance of 15-year old students in the subjects like Mathematics and Science. The reading test is also a part of PISA. Usually, PISA test takes place for every three years.
Background:
The government of India in the year 2012 and 2015 officially boycotted the test and the reason was its miserable performance in the year 2009. 

                                                         (Defence)

India to participate in joint exercise SLINEX-2018
 
Indian navy ships and aircraft have arrived in Sri Lanka to take part in the joint exercise SLINEX-2018 to be held with Sri Lankan navy at Trincomalee from 7th September. 

The exercise which was previously held biannually has been converted to an annual event from this year to enhance cooperation in the maritime domain and to further strengthen mutual trust and interoperability between the two navies. 

The exercise to be conducted in two phases, namely the Harbour and Sea Phase, will involve conduct of joint training, exchange of expertise, helicopter and maritime patrol aircraft operations, search and rescue, and maneuvers at sea. 

It would also involve sports fixtures and cultural events which would provide an opportunity for personnel from both navies to learn from each other and to build individual bonds of friendship and camaraderie.
SLINEX
SLINEX (Sri Lanka India Naval Exercise) are a series of naval exercises between the Indian Navy and the Sri Lanka Navy.

                                                            Appointment

Poonam Khetrapal Singh nominated for 2nd term as WHO SEAR regional director
 
World Health Organisation (WHO) said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh has been nominated for a second five-year term as regional director of its South-East Asian Region.
Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh
Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, an Indian national, became the first woman to assume the office of WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia on 1 February 2014. 
She served for over two decades as a civil servant in India as member of the Indian Administrative Services. She was the Health Secretary of the State of Punjab, with a population of 27 million and a health budget of US$ 350 million.

                                                               (Sports)
 Saurabh Chaudhary clinches gold in ISSF World Championship
 
India's Saurabh Chaudhary continued clinched the 10 metres Air Pistol Junior gold at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Shooting World Championship in Changwon, South Korea. 

The 16-year-old produced an impressive show in the final to clinch the gold with a new junior world record. 

Arjun Singh Cheema claimed bronze in the same event with a score of 218 while Korea’s Hojin Lim clinched silver.

                                                  (Science & Technology)

Google launched New Search Engine for the Use of Scientific Community
 
Google launched a new search engine for the scientific community that will help them make sense of millions of datasets present online
The service, called Dataset Search, will help scientists, data journalists and geeks find the data required for their work and their stories — or simply to satisfy their intellectual curiosity. 
The new search engine will work like Google Scholar, the company’s popular search engine for academic studies and reports.