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Less than 6 in 10 TB Cases Reported in India : WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 13 October 2016 released the Global Tuberculosis Report 2016 highlighting that countries need to move much faster to prevent, detect and treat Tuberculosis (TB) in order to meet global targets.
тЧП    While efforts to respond to TB saved more than 3 million lives in 2015, however TB burden is actually higher than previously estimated, reflecting survey data from India.
тЧП    In 2015, there were an estimated 10.4 million new TB cases worldwide. 
тЧП    Six countries accounted for 60 percent of the total burden, with India bearing the brunt, followed by Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa.
тЧП    An estimated 1.8 million people died from TB in 2015, of whom 0.4 million were co-infected with HIV.
тЧП    Although global TB deaths fell by 22 percent between 2000 and 2015, the disease was one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide in 2015.

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TRAI proposes uniform Inter-Connection Norms

In a move to check arm-twisting practices and bring in more transparency in broadcasting business, regulator Trai today proposed uniform inter-connection guidelines for transmission of TV channels across all available platforms like cable, DTH and IPTV. 
тЧП    At present, two separate regulatory frameworks are applicable for inter-connection of HITS, IPTV and DTH, and cable TV services.
тЧП    HITS is a satellite multiplex service that provides cable channels. 
тЧП    In the broadcast sector, there are a number of intermediaries between a broadcaster and the end consumer. 
тЧП    The broadcast takes the route of distribution network and reaches viewers either through DTH, cable operator or an IPTV.
тЧП    According to Trai, transparency and non-discrimination at various levels of broadcast distribution chain will lead to healthy competition in the sector.


 

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Health Ministry to prepare Comprehensive Response Framework for Zika

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Shri J P Nadda recently held a high level meeting comprising senior officials from the Health Ministry, institutional heads of National Centre for Disease Control, National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Central Government Hospitals, namely Dr RML hospital, Safdarjung hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College and AIIMS, to review the preparedness efforts for Zika virus disease and Seasonal Influenza.
тЧП    In the context of Zika virus disease, the Health Minister reviewed the surveillance at point of entries and in the community, laboratory strengthening, preparation and dissemination of guidelines, risk communication, travel advisory etc., to tackle possible spread of Zika virus disease in the country.
тЧП    The Health Minister emphasized the need to focus on source reduction of the mosquito by all means including involvement of community and non-governmental organizations. Heath Minister also directed his officials to prepare a comprehensive strategic response framework for zika virus disease on priority basis.
тЧП    For Seasonal Influenza (“Swine Flu”) the Health Minister stressed the need to continue day today monitoring of the cases. He also directed the officials to review the existing stock of laboratory reagents, drugs and personal protective equipment and take necessary steps to augment them, if needed.
тЧП    Further, the Health Minister directed to review the guidelines prepared and issued earlier by the ministry (in 2014) for management of cases of Influenza. 
тЧП    Shri Nadda directed that a group of technical experts should examine ways and means to increase the availability of diagnostic tests and the drug Oseltamivir at peripheral levels including chemists in private sector. 

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DMRC plans free wifi at all stations by mid-2017

By the middle of 2017, commuters will be able to enjoy access to free Wi-Fi in all trains and stations of the Delhi Metro.
тЧП    In a major step towards this goal, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Friday launched free Wi-Fi facilities at all six metro stations on its Airport Express Line. 
тЧП    DMRC’s managing director Dr. Mangu Singh launched the facility at the Shivaji Stadium Metro station.
тЧП    The facility is called “Oui DMRC Free Wi-Fi”.
тЧП    The DMRC currently provides Wi-Fi facility at four major stations: Rajiv Chowk, Kashmere Gate, Central Secretariat and Hauz Khas, in association with Rail Tel Corporation.
тЧП    After the Airport Express Line, the DMRC now aims to extend Wi-Fi facility to the Blue Line and then the rest of the network. 

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Indians Top Facebook's Bug Bounty Programme

Facebook today said it has paid Rs. 4.84 crore to researchers in India as part of its bug bounty programme, the most paid till date by the world’s largest social networking platform.
тЧП    India, which has over 142 million Facebook users, also holds top rank among 127 countries in terms of researchers contributing to its bug bounty programme, it said in a blog.
тЧП    A bug is an error or defect in software or hardware that causes a programme to malfunction. It often occurs due to conflicts in software when applications try to run in tandem.
тЧП    While bugs can cause software to crash or produce unexpected results, certain defects can be used to gain unauthorised access to systems.
тЧП    Since its launch in 2011, Facebook’s bug bounty programme has received over 2,400 valid submissions and has awarded more than USD 4.3 million to 800-plus researchers globally.
тЧП    Under the programme, researchers get rewarded for reporting security bugs, identifying vulnerabilities in Facebook’s services or infrastructure that can create security or privacy risks.
 

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Draft National Water Framework Bill, 2016 taken up by Central Government

With an aim to resolve the inter-state disputes over river water sharing, the Union Government in October 2016 came out with a draft National Water Framework Bill, 2016. 
тЧП    The bill seeks to set up a mechanism to develop and manage river basin in an integrated manner.
тЧП    This mechanism will help the states to get equitable share of the river’s water without violating rights of others.
тЧП    It calls for establishment of a River Basin Authority for each inter-state basin to ensure optimum and sustainable development of rivers and valleys.
тЧП    It proposes establishment of institutional arrangements at all levels to solve disputes through negotiations, conciliation or mediation before they become acute.
тЧП    It also devises an integrated approach to conserve water and manage groundwater in a sustainable manner.
тЧП    It says that every person has a right to sufficient quantity of safe water for life within easy reach of the household.

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India to ban Release of Potent GHG


Environment Minister Anil Dave has said India will no longer permit the release of HFC-23, a family of potent greenhouse gases, released when local companies produce the refrigerant HCFC-22.
тЧП    Mr. Dave is at Kigali, Rwanda, in the midst of thrashing out a deal with the developed countries to amend the Montreal Protocol, a 1987 agreement whereby countries have agreed to limit the emission of gases that destroy the ozone layer.
тЧП    The latest amendment is to discuss the phasing out of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs, of which HFC-23 is one), only beginning to be used in India and still used in the developed countries and once a replacement for the ozone-destroying gases. 
тЧП    Over the years, HFCs were found to be exacerbating global warming.
тЧП    The Kigali talks will also discuss the years by which the developing and the developed countries will cap HFC emissions and switch to a new suite of gases that cause less global warming and become the mainstay of home and car air-conditioners and industrial cooling solutions.


 

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21 new districts created in Telangana

Telangana on 11 October 2016, the auspicious occasion of Vijaya Dasami, had redrawn its map by creating 21 new districts. With these, the total number of districts of the youngest state of India went up to 31.
тЧП    Telangana, which came into existence on 2 June 2014 as the 29th State of India, started out with 10 districts. 
тЧП    On an average, each district will have population of two to four lakh families, except Hyderabad where the number is much large.
тЧП    Reorganisation of districts has been taken up for better administration. Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao inaugurated Siddipet district, carved out of Medak, his home turf. Other 20 districts were inaugurated by his cabinet colleagues.
тЧП    The new districts are Siddipet, Mancheriyal, Vikarabad, Jagtial, Jangaon, Jayashankar, Warangal (Rural), Mahabubabad, Kamareddy, Medak, Rajanna, Asifabad, Suryapet, Kothagudem, Nirmal, Wanaparthy, Nagarkurnool, Yadadri, Peddapally, Jogulamba and Medchal/Malkajgiri.
тЧП    Besides, the state government also created 25 new revenue divisions, 125 new mandals, four new police commissionerates, 23 new police subdivisions, 28 new circles and 91 police stations.

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Himansh, India's High-Altitude Station at Himalayas

Himalayan region has the largest concentration of glaciers outside the polar caps, as this region is aptly called the “Water Tower of Asia” is the source of the 10 major river systems that provide irrigation, power and drinking water for over 700 million people live in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh– nearly 10% of the world’s population. 
тЧП    Understanding the behaviour of these glaciers and their contribution to the sustainable supply of water for mankind and agriculture is one of the grand challenges of Indian scientific community.
тЧП    As part of the Indian government’s initiatives to better study and quantify the Himalayan glacier responses towards the climate change, National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences has established a high altitude research station in Himalaya called HIMANSH situated above 13,500 ft (> 4000 m) at a remote region in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh.

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India ranks 97 in Global Hunger Index

Hunger levels in developing countries may have fallen 29% since 2000, but India was still rated as a country with ‘serious’ hunger levels in the 2016, shows Global Hunger Index that was released on Tuesday.
тЧП    Despite improvements in hunger and nutrition over the years, India still has a long way to go before it is able to achieve the United Nations goal to end hunger by 2030
тЧП    If hunger declines at the same rate as the report finds it has since 1992, more than 45 countries—including India, Pakistan, Haiti, Yemen, and Afghanistan—will still have “moderate” to “alarming” hunger scores in the year 2030.
тЧП    India was rated as “alarming” in 2013 and has experienced an improvement in its GHI score over recent years.
тЧП    Since 2000, the country has reduced its GHI score by a quarter and has a score in 2016 of 28.5 (rank 97 of 118 countries). 
тЧП    Recent data show that almost 40% of Indian children under five years of age are stunted compared to over 60% in the early 1990s.


 

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