[CA] July 17, 2020 Headlines

INDIA & BHUTAN

India and Bhutan opened a new trade route between Jaigon in West Bengal and Pasakha in Bhutan. The land route will help to move industrial raw materials and goods destined for Pasakha Industrial Estate. The route will help boost trade and commerce and will lead to decongestion of vehicular traffic. Bhutan is India’s closest partner. India had recently proposed to build road in Yeti territory of Bhutan which China claimed recently. The road will also help India access Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh quickly. The road will reduce distance between Guwahati and Tawang by 150 kilometres. China claims Tawang to gain absolute control over Tibet.

HEALTH EXPENDITURE TO INCREASE 2.5% OF GDP

In a meeting with the 15th Finance Commission the Union Health Minister Mr. Harsh Vardhan highlighted that the government aims to gradually increase the public health expenditure to 2.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2025. The National Health Policy 2017 anticipates to increase public health spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2025. The policy recommends that the state governments must spend nearly 8% of their total budget on the health sector by 2020.

DEFENCE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES & AEROSPACE

Union Defence Ministry inaugurated the conference on Defence Manufacturing Technologies and Aerospace. The conference is being held to promote Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and Make in India initiative. The conference is held under the theme "Empowering India with Atma Nirbhar Bharat Mission". The event was jointly organized by Tamil Nadu Technology Development Promotion Centre, Confederation of Indian Industry and Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers. The conference will help India achieve its defence target of 26 billion USD of domestic production by 2025. The Technology promotion centre of Tamil Nadu participated as one of the two defence industrial corridors of the country is located in the state. The other is located in Uttar Pradesh.

SURINAME: INDIAN – ORIGIN BECOMES PRESIDENT

Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi, an Indian-origin former police chief has been elected as the president of Suriname, a country in South America. Santokhi leads the Progressive Reform Party of the country.

 

 

AIR BUBBLE

Union Civil Aviation Ministry announced that India is to resume operation of international commercial flights with France and US. The Government of India has signed agreements with US, UK, France and countries in UAE. According to the agreement signed, India is to allow only overseas citizens, Indian nationals and card holders and a certain category of people with business and diplomatic visas. Air Bubble is the term coined during COVID-19 times. It refers to transport and people connectivity between specific regions in the world.

2022 FIFA WORLD CUP

Federation Internationale de Football Association announced that the 2022 World Cup is to be held in Qatar. The governing body also released schedule of matches. The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be the first world cup to be held in Arab World and also the first in a muslim-majority country. The World Cup would be the last to involve 32 teams as the teams are to be increased to 48 in 2026 tournament. The tournament is to be held in November-December. The final match of the tournament has been scheduled on December 18, 2020, which is also Qatar National Day. India has never participated at the FIFA World Cup.

MILK TEA ALLIANCE

It is a term used to describe an online democratic solidarity movement made up of netizens from Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. It arose in response to the increased presence of Chinese trolls and nationalist commentators on social media. The ‘Milk Tea Alliance’ is an informal term coined by social media users because in the region, tea is consumed in many nations with milk, with the exception of China.

2020 INTERNATIONAL PRESS FREEDOM AWARDS

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has announced that 4 Journalists, Shahidul Alam from Bangladesh, Mohammad Mosaed from Iran, Dapo Olorunyomi from Nigeria and Svetlana Prokopyeva from Russia will be honoured with the 2020 International Press Freedom Awards for their courageous act. In addition to them lawyer Amal Clooney will be honoured with the Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award 2020.