Current Affairs 29th September 2017

Current Affairs 29th September 2017 - Important Points

•  Doctors Retirement age increased to 65 years by - Central Government
• International Day for Universal Access to Information 2017 observed globally on - 28th September 2017
• MoU between India and Afghanistan on cooperation on Police Training approved on - 27th September 2017
• India and Norway sign Letter of Intent to extend cooperation in health sector on - 28th September 2017
• India jumps to 14th rank as best country for expats: Survey from HSBC
• Non-venomous aquatic snake discovered in - Western Ghats
• MoU between India and Afghanistan on cooperation on Police Training approved on - 27th September 2017

Current Affairs 29th September 2017 - Details

 Doctors Retirement age increased to 65 years by - Central Government

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Union Cabinet has approved the suggestion to increase the doctors retirement age to 65 years. But, this decision won't be applicable to Central Health Service (CHS) doctors. The decision is expected to help in better patient care, better academic activities in Medical institutes and colleges as also it will be helping in effective and better implementation of National Health Programmes (NHP) for delivery of health care services.

1445 doctors under various Departments/Ministries of the Central Government would be benefitted with this scheme. However, government cleared the doubt that it will have any additional financial implications as large number of these posts are lying vacant and the presently working doctors would be continuing to work in their existing capacity against sanctioned posts.

International Day for Universal Access to Information 2017 observed globally on - 28th September 2017

The International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI) was observed globally on 28th September 2017. The celebrations and events for the Day were organised by UNESCO. The year 2017 marks the second year observation of 28th September as the International Day for Universal Access to Information. 

The celebrations of the day kick-started in Tunisia on 25th September with a panel event gathering around 250 participants to discuss the progress and new initiatives around Tunisia’s Access to Information law. Between 27th and 30th September 2017, UNESCO hosted a Conference under the theme
“Overcoming Divides and Achieving the SDGs in Africa” in Balaclava, Mauritius. This event will be consisting of plenary sessions, workshops and technical sessions.

On 28th September 2017, the IPDC (International Program for the Development of Communication) hosted the second whole-day event “IPDCtalks: Powering Sustainable Development with Access to Information” in UNESCO Headquearters, Paris, France.

MoU between India and Afghanistan on cooperation on Police Training approved on - 27th September 2017

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved Memorandum of Understanding between India and Afghanistan on 27th September 2017 on technical cooperation on police training and development.

The MoU will be helping in capacity building of Afghanistan National Police and improving the security apparatus in the region. The MoU was approved for a period of 5 years from the date of signing of the MoU. It can be extended for a further period of 5 years on the condition that
there are no more changes or revisions further.

 India and Norway sign Letter of Intent to extend cooperation in health sector on - 28th September 2017

India and Norway signed a Letter of Intent on 28th September 2017 to extend bilateral cooperation within health sector through the Norway India Partnership Initiative for a period of 3 years starting from 2018.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
signed the letter in New Delhi. Through this initiative, the cooperation between India and Norway will be continued to be aligned with the development goals of the Indian Government as outlined in its National Health Policy 2017 for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.

Important Objective

• The cooperation would mainly be focusing on global health issues of common interest.
• It would also be including areas related to reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, adolescent health and strengthening of the health system.
• It would also be building on experiences from NIPI phase I and II.
• Besides this, it would be focusing on innovative, catalytic and strategic support taking the Indian
• Government’s Intensification Plan for Accelerated Maternal and Child Survival as the starting point in India.

India jumps to 14th rank as best country for expats: Survey from HSBC

India jumped up the global rankings by 12 places to take the 14th position in terms of the best country for expats to work in and live stated in a HSBC survey. The ranking is a part of HSBCs latest expat explorer survey covering 27,587 expats from 159 countries and territories in March and April 2017.
While Singapore topped the HSBCs expat explorer survey.
The reasons which are attributed to the sudden rise of India in the list is due to strong ratings across a range of economic, experience and family measures. The report said that India attracts many expats to work and financial opportunities, but new arrivals here often find significant improved in their family life too.
The India has also emerged among the top 10 countries among expats for professional development at the same time. The survey report said that the number of resident expats who recommend India for career growth has increased by 12 percentage points since 2016 to almost two-thirds (63 percent), placing it 7th in our ranking for the career progression.

Non-venomous aquatic snake discovered in - Western Ghats

Aquatic Rhabdops, a new species of non-venomous aquatic snake was identified and described as new species from northern Western Ghats in Maharashtra, North Karnataka and Goa.
Since 1863, The snake has been misidentified. The new species was earlier considered as a variant of Olive Forest Snake, first described in 1863. However, a new study has confirmed that Aquatic Rhabdops has different colours and patterns and also vary in other features viz size, shape and structure, and also genetic make-up. The study was recently published in journal Zootaxa regarding the discovery.

Important highlights

• Aquatic Rhabdops snake belongs to genus Rhabdops which are endemic to India.
• The species has been named after its aquatic nature since the adults are mostly associated with freshwater forest streams and younger ones are seen in water-logged areas.
• The three-foot-long nocturnal snake hunts its prey underwater.
• Adults of the Aquatic Rhabdops have off-white bellies and black spots on their olive brown skin, while juveniles are olive green, with yellow undersides.
• This colour difference in life stages could possibly be due to the difference in their local habitats.

MoU between India and Afghanistan on cooperation on Police Training approved on - 27th September 2017

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved Memorandum of Understanding between India and Afghanistan on technical cooperation on police training and development on 27th September 2017.

The MoU will be helping in capacity building of Afghanistan National Police and improving the security apparatus in the region. This MoU has been approved for a period of 5 years from the date of signing the agreement and It can be extended for a another period of 5 years on the condition that there are no further changes or revisions on the same.