{"id":50148,"date":"2019-07-18T21:00:51","date_gmt":"2019-07-18T15:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?p=50148"},"modified":"2019-07-18T17:29:10","modified_gmt":"2019-07-18T11:59:10","slug":"9-pm-current-affairs-brief-july-18-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-july-18-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 July 18, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bill to revamp medical education\ncleared<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The\n Union Cabinet has approved the National Medical Commission Bill.<\/li>
  2. The\n National Medical Commission Bill 2019 proposes to repeal the Indian\n Medical Council Act, 1956.<\/li>
  3. If\n enacted, the current Medical Council of India would be replaced by a\n National Medical Commission.<\/li>
  4. The\n Commission will have four autonomous boards: a) Undergraduate Medical\n Education Board, b) Post-Graduate Medical Education Board, c) Medical\n Assessment and Rating Board, and d) Ethics and Medical Registration Board.<\/li>
  5. The\n commission also be responsible for regulating fees and all other charges\n for half the seats in private medical colleges and deemed universities.<\/li>
  6. The\n bill proposes a common final year MBBS exam called National Exit Test\n (NEXT) to start medical practice. It will also be used for entrance into\n postgraduate medical courses, and act as a screening test for foreign\n medical graduates.<\/li>
  7. The\n Bill proposes to unify all entrance procedures for medical courses. The\n National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), common counselling and NEXT\n will be applicable to Institutes of National Importance (INIs) such as the\n All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to ensure uniform\n standards.<\/li>
  8. The\n bill also proposes to set up a Medical Advisory Council as a separate\n entity. It will serve as the primary platform through which the states\n will put forward their views and concerns before the NMC.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Dam\nSafety Bill gets nod from CCEA<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Union\n Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has cleared the Dam Safety\n Bill, 2019<\/li>
    2. The\n bill aims to put in place a systematic procedure to ensure that dams in\n India are made and maintained safely.<\/li>
    3. The\n Bill provides for the constitution of a National Committee on Dam Safety.\n Functions of the Committee include: a) formulating policies and\n regulations regarding dam safety standards and prevention of dam failures,\n and b) analysing causes of major dam failures and suggesting changes in\n dam safety practices.<\/li>
    4. The\n Bill also provides for establishing a National Dam Safety Authority as a\n regulatory body to implement the policy. The bill also provides for\n establishing State Dam safety Organizations (SDSO).<\/li>
    5. Functions\n of the SDSOs include: a) keeping perpetual surveillance, inspecting, and\n monitoring the operation and maintenance of dams, b) keeping a database of\n all dams, and c) recommending safety measures to owners of dams.<\/li>
    6. The\n Bill lays the onus of the dam safety on the dam owner and requires the\n owners of specified dams to provide a dam safety unit in each dam.<\/li>
    7. The\n Bill provides penalties for commission and omission of certain acts.\n Offenders will be punishable with imprisonment of up to one year or a\n fine, or both.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Atal Bimit Vyakti\nKalyan Yojana<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. Employees\u2019\n State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), had launched Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan\n Yojana in 2018. The scheme is being implemented on pilot basis for a\n period of two years<\/li>
      2. The\n scheme is for Insured Persons covered under the Employees\u2019 State Insurance\n Act, 1948.<\/li>
      3. The\n scheme provides for a relief payable in cash directly to the Bank Account\n in case an insured person is rendered unemployed and is in search for new\n engagement.<\/li>
      4. The\n cash benefit given to the unemployed persons searching for new employment\n is 25% of his average earning of 90 days.<\/li>
      5. The\n Employees\u2019 State Insurance Act 1948 (the ESI Act) provides for medical,\n cash, maternity, disability and dependent benefits to the Insured Persons\n under the Act.<\/li>
      6. The\n ESI Act is administered by Employees\u2019 State Insurance Corporation (ESIC),\n Ministry of Labour and Employment.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Elon\nMusk unveils project on mind-machine interface<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. Neuralink\n startup has unveiled a project on human and machine intelligence interface<\/li>
        2. Neuralink\n has developed technology meant to be implanted into the brain. It is\n designed to allow people to operate computers and smartphones with their\n thoughts. It has developed a robot to insert those threads in the brain,\n under the direction of a neurosurgeon.<\/li>
        3. Neuralink\n has planned to seek US Food and Drug Administration\u2019s approval for a human\n clinical trial on a version of its device that is only intended for\n patients with serious unmet medical diseases. The first clinical trial\n will target patients with complete paralysis due to an upper spinal cord.<\/li>
        4. Neuralink\n is a neurotechnology company founded by Elon Musk in 2016. It aims to\n build a scalable implant to connect human brains with computers.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          Remnants of\nIron Age in Malampuzha<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          1. Explorers\n from Government Victoria College have discovered iron implements from the\n catchment area of the Malampuzha dam in the Palakkad district. The iron\n implements were unearthed from a cist burial found in the area. They\n belong to the Iron Age in Kerala.<\/li>
          2. In\n Kerala, the Iron Age burials dated back to 700 BC. These burials are the\n evidence for secondary burials which was practised during that period.<\/li>
          3. The\n iron implements were spotted during a survey of Iron Age sites and burials\n as part of a University Grants Commission (UGC)-aided project that began\n in 2014.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            Incredible\nIndia Campaign Wins Pata Gold Award 2019<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            1. The\n \u201cFind the Incredible You\u201d campaign (Incredible India) of the Tourism\n Ministry, has won the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award,\n 2019. The award was won under the \u201cMarketing \u2013 Primary Government\n Destination\u201d category.<\/li>
            2. As\n part of its promotional initiatives annually, the Ministry of Tourism\n releases global media campaigns under the \u2018Incredible India\u2019 brand line.<\/li>
            3. The\n \u2018Incredible India 2.0\u2019 was launched in September 2017. The campaign\n focusses on digital and social media and the promotion of niche tourism\n products of the country.<\/li>
            4. As\n part of the 2.0 campaign, five new television commercials were produced by\n the ministry, which were aired globally on television and social media.<\/li>
            5. These\n are \u2013 Yoga \u2013 \u201cThe Yogi of the Racetrack\u201d, Wellness \u2013 \u201cThe Reincarnation of\n Mr. and Mrs. Jones\u201d, Luxury \u2013 \u201cThe Maharani of Manhattan\u201d, Cuisine \u2013 \u201cThe\n Masala MasterChef\u201d and Wildlife \u2013 \u201cThe Sanctuary in Paris\u201d.<\/li>
            6. The\n campaign strategy was to shift the focus from the external experience of\n tourist destinations to the internal experience of travellers themselves.<\/li>
            7. The\n transformative experiences was brought out in form of films in the format\n of autobiographies of travellers, with the tagline \u201cFind the Incredible\n You\u201d.<\/li>
            8. PATA\n Gold Awards are given to tourism industry organizations and individuals\n making outstanding contribution towards the successful promotion of the\n travel industry throughout the Asia Pacific Region.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              Launching the\nBroadband Readiness Index for Indian States and Union Territories (2019-2022)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              1. The\n Department of Telecom(DoT) and the Indian Council for Research on\n International Economic Relations(ICRIER) has signed an MoU to develop\n a Broadband Readiness Index(BRI)<\/strong> for Indian States and\n UT.<\/li>
              2. This\n index was recommended by the National Digital Communication Policy\n (NDCP),2018.It had said that a BRI for States and UTs should be developed\n to attract investments and address Right of Way(RoW) challenges across\n India.<\/li>
              3. The\n first BRI estimate will be made in 2019 and subsequently every year until\n 2022.<\/li>
              4. The\n index will access the states digital readiness both on the demand and\n supply parameters that would also spur competitiveness among them and\n create new opportunities in the wireless infrastructure space.<\/li>
              5. The\n index would also create a collaborative institutional mechanism between\n the Centre,states and local bodies and other stakeholders.<\/li>
              6. The\n index will consists of two parts.The first part<\/strong> will\n focus on infrastructure development based on the measurement of nine\n parameters including availability of state policy on right of way and\n towers,adoption of national building code,percentage of mobile towers\n connected with fibre among others.<\/li>
              7. The second\n part <\/strong>will consist of demand side parameters such as percentage of\n households using computers with an internet connection, internet users as\n a percentage of the population, smart phones density among others.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                Reservation\nof Limboo and Tamang Communities<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                1. Government\n of India has informed Parliament that a proposal for reservation of seats\n for Limboo and Tamang communities in Sikkim Legislative Assembly is under\n consideration.<\/li>
                2. Article\n 371F(f) and Article 332 of the Constitution of India govern reservation of\n seats in the Legislative Assembly of Sikkim.<\/li>
                3. Article\n 332 <\/strong>mandates reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes(STs) in\n the State Legislative Assembly.<\/li>
                4. Article\n 371-F(f)<\/strong> states that Parliament may make provisions for\n protecting the rights and interests of different sections of the\n population of Sikkim by reserving seats in the Legislative Assembly for\n such sections of people.<\/li>
                5. Further,it\n empowers the Parliament to delimit Assembly constituencies from which\n candidates belonging to such sections alone may contest elections.<\/li>
                6. The Limboo<\/strong> are\n Kirati people indigenous and native to the Himalayan Limbuwan region of\n the Indian subcontinent in what is now modern-day Eastern Nepal, Northern\n Sikkim, India and Western Bhutan.<\/li>
                7. The Tamang<\/strong> are\n the largest Tibetic ethnic group of Nepalis and Indian\n Gorkhas.Traditionally Buddhist by religion,they Constitute 5.6% of the\n Nepalese population.Indian Tamangs are also a significant number in Sikkim\n and Darjeeling District of West Bengal.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                  Extinction\nof Great Indian Bustard, Lesser Florican: SC forms panel to frame emergency\nplan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  1. The\n Supreme Court has constituted a high powered committee to urgently frame\n and implement an emergency response plan for the protection of Great\n Indian Bustard and the Lesser Florican.<\/li>
                  2. The\n committee was formed on a plea which has contended that the population of\n the Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican has seen a sharp decline over\n the past few decades.<\/li>
                  3. The\n petitioner blamed various reasons for the threats faced by the two birds\n including mortality by collision with infrastructure,particularly power\n lines and wind turbines,depletion of grasslands and hunting.<\/li>
                  4. The Great\n Indian Bustard<\/strong> is a bustard found in India and the adjoining\n regions of Pakistan.It is found in Rajasthan,Gujarat,Maharashtra,\n Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in India.It is also the State bird of\n Rajasthan.<\/li>
                  5. The\n bird is a critically endangered species in the International Union for\n Conservation of Nature\u2019s (IUCN) Red List.It is also protected in Schedule\n I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection)Act,1972.<\/li>
                  6. The lesser\n florican<\/strong> (Sypheotides indicus) also known as the likh or kharmore\n is the smallest in bustard family.It is endemic to the Indian\n Subcontinent.<\/li>
                  7. These\n bustards are found mainly in northwestern and central India during the\n summer but are found more widely distributed across India in winter.The\n bird is an endangered species in the International Union for Conservation\n of Nature\u2019s (IUCN) Red List.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                    Power Minister\nreviews first ever Draft Plan for Power Distribution Sector prepared by CEA<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    1. Union\n Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy (IC) has\n reviewed the Draft Distribution Perspective Plan for power sector in\n India.<\/li>
                    2. The\n draft plan is the first ever plan at Distribution level which has been\n prepared by the Central Electricity Authority(CEA) under the guidance of\n the Ministry of Power.<\/li>
                    3. The\n efforts towards making a Distribution plan is aimed at sustaining the goal\n of 24X7 uninterrupted power for all with increasing demand of electricity\n by consumers.<\/li>
                    4. The\n plan lays emphasis on 100% metering of all consumers and providing an\n electricity connection on demand. <\/li>
                    5. The\n plan also envisages frontier technology initiatives with an objective of\n providing reliable quality power supply to consumers. <\/li>
                    6. Additionally,the\n plan also envisages conversion of all Electricity consumer meters into\n smart meters in prepaid mode within the next three years. <\/li>
                    7. Smart\n metering would empower consumers with tools to help them conserve energy\n and plan their electricity usage in an efficient and optimum manner.<\/li>
                    8. The\n plan anticipates an increase in Distribution substation capacity by 38%,\n Distribution transformation capacity by 32% and an increase in different\n types of feeder lengths by 27-38% till 2022.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                      Open\nto improving Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana: Agriculture Minister<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      1. Union\n Agriculture Minister has told the Lok Sabha that the government is working\n on making Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna(PMFBY) more effective.<\/li>
                      2. The\n Centre is planning to make changes such as (a)making crop insurance\n voluntary to all farmers (b)removal of high premium crops and (c)giving\n flexibility to states to provide customised add on products.<\/li>
                      3. The\n ministry has also proposed three-year compulsory allocation of work to\n insurance companies by states to prevent repeated tendering process that\n delays implementation of the scheme.<\/li>
                      4. The Pradhan\n Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana<\/strong> (Prime Minister\u2019s Crop Insurance Scheme)\n was launched in 2016.The scheme has replaced the two schemes National\n Agricultural Insurance Scheme(NAIS) as well as the Modified NAIS.<\/li>
                      5. PMFBY\n envisages a uniform premium of 2% to be paid by farmers for Kharif crops\n and 1.5% for Rabi crops.The premium for annual commercial and\n horticultural crops will be 5%.<\/li>
                      6. The\n PMFBY mandates compulsory coverage for all loanee farmers and non-loanee\n farmers too are encouraged.<\/li>
                      7. The\n scheme is open to all food and oilseeds crops and annual commercial\n horticultural crops for which past yield data is available and for which\n the requisite number of Crop Cutting Experiments are conducted as part of\n the General Crop Estimation Survey(GCES).<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                        Steps Taken to\nDeal with Cyber Crime and Cyber Security<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        1. Minister\n of State for Home Affairs has informed the Parliament about the steps\n taken by the Government to deal with Cyber Crime and Cyber Security.<\/li>
                        2. The\n Government has launched the online cybercrime reporting portal to enable\n complainants to report complaints pertaining to Child Pornography or\n sexually explicit content. <\/li>
                        3. The\n Central Government has also rolled out a scheme for establishment of\n Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre(I4C) to handle issues related to\n cybercrime in the country in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.<\/li>
                        4. The\n government has also established a National Critical Information\n Infrastructure Protection Centre(NCIIPC) for protection of critical\n information infrastructure in the country.<\/li>
                        5. Further,Cyber\n Swachhta Kendra (Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre) has also\n been launched for providing detection of malicious programmes and free\n tools to remove such programmes.<\/li>
                        6. Government\n has also formulated Crisis Management Plan for countering cyber attacks\n and cyber terrorism.<\/li>
                        7. The\n government has also been conducting cyber security mock drills and\n exercises regularly to enable assessment of cyber security posture and\n preparedness of organizations in Government and critical sector.<\/li>
                        8. The\n government has also asked all organizations providing digital services to\n report cyber security incidents to CERT-In expeditiously.<\/li>
                        9. The\n Indian Computer Emergency Response Team(CERT-In) is an office within the\n Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.It is the nodal agency\n to deal with cyber security threats like hacking and phishing.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                          Cabinet\nokays amendments to bankruptcy code<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          1. The\n Union Cabinet has approved the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment)\n Bill,2019.<\/li>
                          2. The\n bill places greater emphasis on time-bound resolution and laying down\n voting rules of the financial creditors.<\/li>
                          3. The\n amendment provides that the resolution process has to be completed within\n 330 days including litigations and other judicial process.Presently,the\n resolution plan for an insolvent company has to be cleared within 270\n days.<\/li>
                          4. The\n amendment also mandates that the bankruptcy resolution or liquidation\n decided under the bankruptcy framework is binding on central,state and\n local governments to whom the insolvent company owes dues.<\/li>
                          5. The\n amendments proposed to rework voting rights in the case of companies where\n there are a large number of creditors such as homebuyers and bondholders.<\/li>
                          6. According\n to the new formula,if more than half of these creditors who are present\n approve a plan,it will be considered that the entire class of creditors\n has approved it.<\/li>
                          7. The\n Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code(IBC) was enacted in 2016 to facilitate a\n time-bound resolution for ailing and sick firms.It could either be through\n closure or revival,while protecting the interests of creditors.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                            Bimal\nJalan panel finalises report on RBI capital, surplus transfer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                            1. RBI\n had constituted a panel on Economic capital framework(ECF) to address the\n issue of RBI reserves.The panel was headed by Bimal Jalan.<\/li>
                            2. The\n panel has decided to recommend the RBI to transfer the excess capital from\n RBI to the government over 3 to 5 years.It will also recommend that the\n framework should be reviewed periodically.<\/li>
                            3. The\n panel was formed after the government has said that the RBI should hand\n over its surplus reserves amid a shortfall in revenue collections.<\/li>
                            4. The\n RBI\u2019s annual surplus transfers are key to the government bridging the\n budget deficit as it aims to lower the fiscal deficit to 3.0% of the gross\n domestic product next fiscal from the 3.3% target this year.<\/li>
                            5. The\n panel was formed to decide (a)whether RBI is holding provisions, reserves\n and buffers in surplus of the required levels (b)It would propose a\n suitable profit distribution policy taking into account all the likely\n situations of the RBI and (c)will also suggest an adequate level of risk\n provisioning that the RBI needs to maintain.<\/li>
                            6. Economic\n capital framework refers to the risk capital required by the central bank\n while taking into account different risks.It reflects the capital that an\n institution requires or needs to hold as a counter against unforeseen\n risks or events or losses in the future.<\/li>
                            7. The\n central bank transfers its surplus to the government in accordance with\n Section 47 (Allocation of Surplus Profits) of the RBI Act.The act says\n that the amount will be arrived at after making provision for (a) bad and\n doubtful debts (b) depreciation in assets (c) contributions to staff and\n (d) superannuation fund.<\/li>
                            8. The\n government believes that RBI is sitting on much higher reserves than it\n actually needs to tide over financial emergencies that India may face.Some\n central banks around the world like the US and UK keep 13% to 14% of their\n assets as a reserve compared to RBI\u2019s 27%.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                              Pakistan\nmust review Kulbhushan Jadhav\u2019s death sentence rules International Court of\nJustice<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              1. The\n International Court of Justice(ICJ) has ruled in favour of India in the\n Kulbhushan Jadhav case.It has asked Pakistan to review his conviction and\n sentencing and also grant consular access to India.<\/li>
                              2. The\n ICJ has found that the treatment of kulbhushan Jadhav by Pakistan was in\n contravention of the Vienna Convention.<\/li>
                              3. However,the\n ICJ has rejected India\u2019s demands for Jadhav to be released.It said that\n Pakistan would have to decide how to review the trial and conviction of\n the Jadhav.<\/li>
                              4. Kulbhushan\n Jadhav,an Indian national was convicted of conducting \u2018subversive\n activities\u2019 for the Indian government in Pakistan and has been sentenced\n to death by a Pakistani military court.However, India have denied all\n these charges and said that he was abducted from Iran.<\/li>
                              5. India\n had approached the ICJ on the grounds that Pakistan had breached Vienna\n Convention on Consular Relations by refusing consular access to Kulbhushan\n Jadhav.Further,India had got a stay order preventing Pakistan from\n executing former naval officer.<\/li>
                              6. The Vienna\n Convention <\/strong>of 1961 is an international treaty that defines a\n framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries. Article\n 36 of this treaty states that foreign nationals who are arrested should\n have the right to inform about their arrest at its consulate.<\/li>
                              7. The ICJ<\/strong> was\n established in 1945 at Hague,Netherlands.It is composed of 15 judges\n elected to nine-year terms of office by the United Nations General\n Assembly and the Security Council.Its objective is to settle legal\n disputes submitted to it by (a)states (b) duly authorized international\n branches and (c) UN General Assembly.<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                Bill to revamp medical education cleared The Union Cabinet has approved the National Medical Commission Bill. The National Medical Commission Bill 2019 proposes to repeal the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. If enacted, the current Medical Council of India would be replaced by a National Medical Commission. The Commission will have four autonomous boards: a)… Continue reading 9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 July 18, 2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":48116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-pm-brief","category-public","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/9-PM-Brief.png?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704556978},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}