10 PM Current Affairs Quiz #21 September 25, 2019

Explanation: The trade margin is the difference between the price at which the manufacturers/importers sell to trade (price to trade) and the price to patients (maximum retail price). The issue of unreasonably high trade margins in medical devices has been adversely affecting both the industry as well as consumer interest. Various representations regarding rationalization of trade margins on medical devices from industry/trade associations/indigenous manufacturers/ importers have also been received. It is expected that the approach to trade margin rationalization on medical devices, by encouraging market development, manufacturing and ease of doing business in India, would provide the right environment for ensuring quality and affordable access to medical technologies in the country.

Explanation: The SASTRA Ramanujan prize for 2019 will be awarded to mathematician Adam Harper, Assistant Professor with the University of Warwick, England. The prize carries a citation and an award of $10,000 and is conferred annually on mathematicians from across the world who is less than 32 years of age, working in an area influenced by the genius Srinivasa Ramanujan. “The SASTRA-Ramanujan Award has gained global repute ever since it was instituted in 2005 and today is easily amongst the top five awards of this type for mathematics.

Explanation: The #FridaysforFuture movement also known as the ‘Youth Strike for Climate Movement’ was started in August 2018. The aim of the Global Climate Strike is to call on millions of people across the world to disrupt business as usual by taking part in protests emphasizing the danger of Climate Change. The movement was started by Swedish student ‘Greta Thunberg’ to protest outside Swedish parliament for more action against climate change. Gradually, students and adults from across the world started mobilizing and demonstrating in front of parliaments and local city halls in their respective countries. Thousands of events have been planned from September 20th to 27th, 2019.

Explanation: The Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between ASEAN and India was signed in October 2003 and served as legal basis to conclude further agreements, including Trade in Goods Agreement, Trade in Services Agreement, and Investment Agreement that form the ASEAN-Indian Free Trade Area (AIFTA) The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement was signed and entered into force on 1 January 2010. Under the Agreement, ASEAN Member States and India have agreed to open their respective markets by progressively reducing and eliminating duties on 76.4% coverage of good. The ASEAN-India Trade in Services Agreement was signed in November 2014. It contains provisions on transparency, domestic regulations, recognition, market access, national treatment and dispute settlement. The ASEAN-India Investment Agreement was also signed in November 2014. The Investment Agreement stipulates protection of investment to ensure fair and equitable treatment for investors, non-discriminatory treatment in expropriation or nationalization as well as fair compensation.

Explanation: The Bishkek Declaration on the Conservation of the Snow Leopard: We, as leaders in the governments of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Kingdom of Bhutan, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of India, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan, the custodians of the world’s snow leopards and the valuable high-mountain ecosystems they inhabit, having gathered at a Global Snow Leopard Conservation Forum in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, from 22-23 October 2013, with the shared goal of conserving snow leopards and their fragile habitats; Acknowledge that the snow leopard is an irreplaceable symbol of our nations’ natural and cultural heritage and an indicator of the health and sustainability of mountain ecosystems; Recognize that mountain ecosystems inhabited by snow leopards provide essential ecosystem services, including storing and releasing water from the origins of river systems benefitting one-third of the world’s human population; sustaining the pastoral and agricultural livelihoods of local communities which depend on biodiversity for food, fuel, fodder, and medicine; and offering inspiration, recreation, and economic opportunities.