ASSAM
- Air pollution wreaking havoc in Northeast states: Study
- Air pollution, this year’s theme of World Environment Day, has brought to focus how it is slowly turning into a major health problem in the Northeast where deaths deaths due to acute respiratory infection (ARI) are on the rise.
- The National Health Profile (NHP), 2018, released by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI) last year, reported that Assam 225 deaths (highest in region) due to ARI in 2017, followed by Mizoram (36), Manipur (23) and Tripura 21 deaths. Nagaland recorded nine deaths, Sikkim (8), Meghalaya (7) and Arunchal Pradesh (3).
In 2016, Assam recorded 200 deaths due to ARI, Mizoram (68), Sikkim (43), Manipur (21), Tripura (7) and Arunchal Pradesh (4). However, Nagaland didn’t record any death due to ARI that year.
- The NHP, 2018, highlighted Meghalaya had the highest number of ARI cases (3,33,772) cases among eight states in the region in 2017. Tripura, with 1,78,570 ARI cases, is in the second position followed by Sikkim (93,270), Manipur (51,205), Arunachal Pradesh (36,250), Nagaland (31,158), Mizoram (29,595) and Assam (22,834).
- Biodiversity conservation organization Aaranyak said monitoring of air quality by the Assam Pollution Control Board at Bamunimaidan in Guwahati has revealed the presence of respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) well above the prescribed limit since 2008.
- Introduction of clean fuel and discouraging prevalence of dirty fuels as a policy strategy will go a long way in curbing vehicular air pollution. INTERNATIONAL
- Pramila Jayapal as first Indian-American woman to preside over US House
- Pramila Jayapalfirst Indian American woman to preside over US house.
She is the first elected to Congress in 2016 preside over the House and served the most diverse Congress in the nation’s history. - She presided over the House as a Temporary Speaker.
- The House Democrats rotate for the ceremonial position of presiding over the chamber.
- She became the first South Asian American woman to preside over the US House of Representatives.
- A record number of 17 Asian Americans serve in Congress with 14 in the House and three in the Senate house.
- India ranks 95 in theSustainable Development Goals Gender Index
- India ranked 95th out of 129 countriesin the Sustainable Development Goals Gender Index. India scored 2 on a scale of 0–100.The index found that no country has fully achieved gender equality and that the global average score of65.7 out of 100 which falls in the poor category.
- SDG Gender Index a new index that measuresglobal gender equality considering various parameters such as education, literacy, political representation, poverty, health, and equality at the workplace. The SDG gender index included 51 indicators across 14 of the 17 official Sustainable Development Goals. The list covered 129 countries across all regions of the world.
- India’s highest goal scores in the Index are on SDG 3 of health where it secured9, SDG 2of hunger and nutrition with 76.2 and SDG 7 of energy with 71.8.
- India’s lowest goal scores in the SDG index are onSDG 17 of partnerships, the country scored 3, SDG 9 of industry, infrastructure and innovation with 38.1 and SDG 13 of climate with 43.4.
- The countries that secured the top ranks are Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands and the countries that secured the last 10 ranks are Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Mali, Mauritania.
NATIONAL
- India-Marshall Islands tax data pact notified
- The union government notified an agreement with the Marshall Islands a country of volcanic islands and coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, for the exchange of banking and company information for tax purposes.
- It comes under tax evasion and tax avoidance.
- It is called as tax information exchange agreement (TIEA)
- They allow mutual cooperation between the two countries by providing an effective framework for exchange of information in tax matters.
- The agreement (India-Marshall Islands TIEA) between the Indian government and the government of the Marshall Islands was signed on March 18, 2016, at Majuro, the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
- The bilateral agreement is based on international standards of tax transparency and exchange of information and enables the sharing of information on request.
- Delhi Metro Station becomes India’s first project to receive power from waste-to-energy
- Delhi Metrobecame the first ever project in the country to receive power generated from a waste-to-energy plant.
- The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) receiving 2 MW power from a 12 MW capacity waste-to-energy plant set up in Ghazipur.
- It is being utilized at the Vinod Nagar Receiving Substation (RSS) for meeting the operational requirements of Pink Line of Delhi Metro.
- It will take approximately 17.5 million units per annum from this plant.
The energy mainly depends upon the actual generation of the plant.
It is set up by East Delhi Waste Processing Company Limited (EDWPCL)
- Gujarat topped the country with annual fish production of 7.8 lakh tonnes
- Gujarat topped the country withannual fish production of 7.8 lakh tonnes, followed by Tamil Nadu (7.02 lakh tonnes) and Kerala (6.43 lakh tonnes) according to the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).
- Kanniyakumari topped in the Tamil Nadu state annual fish production.
Ramanathapuram has emerged as the second topper in the Tamil Nadu state in annual fish production. It has recorded46 lakh tonnesduring 2018.
Nagapattinam stands third highest fish production district to have recorded 91,186 tonnes. Thoothukudi stands fourth by recording 70,965 tonnes followed by Cuddalore (62,525 tonnes) and Chennai (55,707 tonnes).
- Mumbai ranked first among 403 global cities in Traffic Index 2018 study
- An analysis of traffic congestion done in more than 400 citiesacross six continents has found that commuters in Mumbai spent the most time on the road last year.
Mumbai ranked first in the study, ‘Traffic Index-2018’, by location technology specialist TomTom, with a congestion level of 65 percent - New Delhi ranked fourth with a congestion level of 58 percent.
- Mumbai held on to the top rank for the second consecutive year beating against Bogota (63 percent), Lima (58 percent) and Moscow (56 percent).
- The overall study covered 403 cities in 56 countries and defined congestion as the extra time added to road travel when traffic doesn’t flow freely.