HIMACHAL PRADESH

Sex ratio: Report shows substantial drop in Himachal

A NITI Aayog report released recently has shown that sex ratio at birth in Himachal Pradesh has recorded a substantial drop. In the base year (2012-14) The state had a sex ratio of 938 girls for every 1,000 boys but in the reference year (2013-15) it came down to 924. This has emphasised the need for states to effectively implement the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994, and take appropriate measures to promote the importance of girl child, the report said.
Himachal Pradesh has fixed the target of improving the girl child sex ratio up to six years of age from 909 as per 2011 census to 940 by 2022. In 2001, the child sex ratio of state was 889. In February, police and health authorities had raided a private hospital at Ghumarwin town of Bilaspur district, where an illegal sex determination test was being conducted. This incident was enough to expose how the girl child was being killed in the womb itself by parents.
While Himachal Pradesh has witnessed a drop in the child sex ratio, neigbouring Punjab has witnessed a slight increase as in the base year (2012-14) the sex ratio was 870 girls for every 1,000 boys, which has now increased to 889 girls in the reference year (2013-15).

The falling girl child sex ratio in Himachal Pradesh, especially in districts bordering Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand, has become a cause of concern for the state government. Last year, the state health authorities had come out with the idea of conducting a sting operation of pre-natal sex determination tests, especially at ultrasound centres located along the state shared border. In Himachal Pradesh, around 265 ultrasound clinics are registered, of which 86 are in government sector and 179 in private sector. The government even wanted to hire private detective agencies for the purpose.

The State of Female Infanticide in Himachal Pradesh”, was released by the Asian Centre for Human Rights that stated that the child sex ratio had declined from 982 females per 1,000 boys (up to six years of age) in 1971 to 909 in 2011 in Himachal Pradesh. A World Bank report released in January 2015 said from 1981 to 2011, the number of females to every 1,000 males had plummeted in the state. It said such a sharp decline implicated sex-selective abortions and gross neglect of female children.

The report said it was true that stated preferences for sons seemed to have declined from 1992 to 2005, when the first and third rounds of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) were conducted. It added this change in attitude seemed to have gone hand-in-hand with a slight improvement in the child sex ratio between the 2001 and the 2011 censuses, but the state government would need to keep a close watch to ensure this trend continued.

INTERNATIONAL

China’s Qingdao to host SCO summit in June

East China’s Qingdao City will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in June this year.

Shandong is the birthplace of many ancient Chinese thinkers, including Confucius. In 2017, its GDP exceeded 7.2 trillion yuan.

The summit has China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan as full members.

India’s defence budget breaks into world’s top 5: UK report

India’s defence budget broke into the world’s top five, beating the UK for the first time, a new report by a London-based global think-tank has said.

India overtook the UK as the fifth-largest defence spender in the world in 2017 at $52.5 billion, up from $51.1 billion in 2016, according to the ‘Military Balance 2018’ report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

In contrast, the UK’s defence budget fell from $52.5 billion in 2016 to $50.7 billion last year.

World’s top five defence spenders are the US, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and India.

· India and Iran signed 9 MoUs To Boost Bilateral Ties

India and Iran signed nine agreements in order to further the bilateral cooperation between the two sides.
The pacts were signed after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Iran President Hassan Rouhani at New Delhi’s Hyderabad house.
The two countries inked pacts to enhance cooperation in the areas of taxation, maritime cooperation, health and medicine, trade, agriculture and postal cooperation.

· Saudi Arabia allows women to start business without male permission

Women in Saudi Arabiacan now open their own businesses without the consent of a husband or male relative.
The policy change, announced by the Saudi government also marks a major step away from the strict guardianship system that has ruled the country for decades.
The Country’s Ministry of Commerce and investment said on its website that women can now launch their own businesses and benefit from governmental e-services without having to prove consent from a guardian.

NATIONAL

Modi govt to set up 562 more Ekalavya schools

The government will set up 562 more Ekalavya Model Residential School (EMRS) in tribal areas across the country that will be on par with the Navodaya Vidyalayas, Tribal Affairs minister Jual Oram said.

Detailing about the budgetary provisions for budget 2018-19, Oram said 271 EMRSs have already been sanctioned out of which 190 are currently operational.

The EMRS are planned under a government scheme for model residential school for Indian tribals (Scheduled Tribes) across India.

National Banana Festival, 2018 held in Thiruvananthapuram

The Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh addressed at the National Banana Festival, 2018 held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

India is the largest producer of banana in the world with 29.7 million tonnes from an area of 0.88 million hectares with a productivity of 37 MT/ha.

Although India accounts for only 15.5per cent in area, its contribution in the world’s production is 25.58per cent.

PM to Inaugurate the Fourth Container Terminal of JNPT
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Fourth Container Terminal (FCT) of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai.

With this, JNPT will nearly double its container handling capacity .

The new FCT will add a capacity of 24 lakh containers per year in Phase-I and after completion of Phase-II in 2022, the capacity of JNPT will be 100 lakh containers per year.

The Fourth Container Terminal has been developed on Design, Built, Fund, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis for a concession period of 30 years at an estimated cost of Rs. 7915 Crore.

The project is being implemented in two Phases. i.e. Phase –I and Phase –II. The indicative cost of the project for Phase – I is Rs 4719 Crore. The foundation stone for the project was laid by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in October 2015, and Phase I has been completed in record time.

Magnetic Maharashtra investors summit inaugurated

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Global Investors’ Summit at “Magnetic Maharashtra: Convergence 2018 at the MMRDA grounds at Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex.

This summit is Maharashtra’s first Global Investors Summit and is said to be on the lines of Make In India initiative by PM Modi.

PM will next inaugurate the Wadhwani Institute for Artifical Intelligence at the University of Mumbai.

· Reserve bank of India directs all banks to accept denomination coins from public

The Apex bankissued a notification in Mumbai, saying such denial of service causes inconvenience to the public at large as shopkeepers and traders refuse to accept coins for payment of goods and services.
The branches to accept coins of all denominations tendered at their counters either for exchange or for deposit in accounts
Also, RBI advised all banks to accept coins, particularly in one and two rupee denominations by weightment or sachets of 100 coins each.

· Ola ‘Auto Unnati’ launched to ensure healthy ecosystem for Auto driver

Ola successfully launched ‘Auto Unnati’ program to assist its auto driver partners through the firm’s ‘Chalo Befikar’ insurance program, family welfare initiatives.
The aim is to create an inclusive environment in which driver partners can operate and thrive. ‘Auto Unnati’ is a milestone program in the same direction that will offer better financial and emotional stability for thousands of auto drivers in Bengaluru.
The program is aimed to enhance business assurance plan to ensure a healthy professional ecosystem for Auto driver partners and for those hoping to target high business profits with ease.

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