HIMACHAL PRADESH
- HP leads in governance among smaller states
- Himachal has secured the first rank in governance among 12 smaller states for the second consecutive year, according to the Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2018 released by the Public Affairs Centre (PAC), Bengaluru, recently.
- This year’s PAI included a separate index on the children of India, giving a measure of how child-friendly each of the states are. Himachal has also secured the first place in the index of child rights, according to a spokesperson for the state government.
- On the PAI ranking, Himachal is followed by Goa, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura. In 2017, Himachal was the first on the PAI of 82 indicators, 10 themes and 26 focus subjects.
- Himachal was the first state to develop the District Good Governance Index. It would set new standards in the collection of data and comparative analysis to assist the government in objectively assessing the performance of the districts in the quality of governance at the sub-state level.
INTERNATIONAL
- BRICS Summit 2018 begins in Johannesburg
- The 10th edition of BRICS Summit began in Johannesburg, South Africa on July 25, 2018. Attended by all the BRICS leaders, the BRICS Summit 2018 will be held from July 25 to July 27.
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-nation tour of Africa, which began from Rwanda, will culminate in South Africa.
- Theme of BRICS Summit 2018 is ‘BRICS in Africa: Collaboration for inclusive growth and shared prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution’.
NATIONAL
- September to be celebrated as National Nutrition Month every year
- Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India has organized 2nd meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan on 24th July, 2018 in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog.
- September, 2018 will be celebrated as National Nutrition Month and this will be celebrated every year.
- The Government of India has set-up POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission) which was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 8thMarch, 2018 from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan.
- Invest India and Business France Sign Mou to Promote Investment
- Invest India and Business France have signed an MoU to promote investment facilitation and cooperation between startups of India and France.
- The goal will be to facilitate direct foreign investment by providing practical investment information to enterprises and support the companies pursuing those opportunities which contribute positively to economic growth of the two countries.
- Invest India and Business France will collaborate to promote business and startup ecosystem cooperation through joint activities and exchange experiences to strengthen institutional knowledge and identify opportunities between businesses in the French and Indian private sector, creating a dedicated support structure to facilitate inbound companies and startups.
· West Bengal passes resolution to change name of state to ‘Bangla’
- The ruling Trinamool Congress government placed a proposal in the state assembly to change the name of West Bengal to “Bangla” in all languages. The proposal will now be sent to the Home Ministry for approval, and the name of the state will be changed only if the Ministry approves it.
- On August 29, 2016, the state Assembly had passed a resolution to change the name of West Bengal to ‘Bengal’ in English, ‘Bangla’ in Bengali and ‘Bangal’ in Hindi. The Union ministry of home affairs rejected the proposal saying that a state cannot have three different names in three different languages.
· National Sports Day has been postponed to September 25, 2018
- The Sports Ministryhas postponed the National Sports Dayto September 25, 2018. It has also announced that the outstanding performances of players at the Asian games could be considered for the National Sports Awards.
- Every year, the Sports Day is traditionally celebrated on August 29. But this year, with the Asian Games going on, the ministry has decided to postpone the event this time. The Asian Games are scheduled from August 18-September 2. Hence the National Sports Day will be held on September 25.
· Museum dedicated to all former PMs to come up soon at Teen Murti
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s keenness to const- ruct a museum dedicated to the legacy of all former Prime Ministers, first expressed by him in 2016, was endorsed by a majority of the 21 members of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML)
- The new museum which will include memorabilia of PMs from Lal Bahadur Shastri onwards will come up on a plot of land within the Teen Murti estate.
· Scheme to compensate victims of sexual assaults should include children: SC
- The Supreme Court said that a government scheme for rape survivors should include child victims of sexual assault.
- The National Legal Services Authority’s scheme proposes a uniform payment of ₹five lakh to the maximum of ₹10 lakh to gang-rape survivors in any part of the country. Similarly, in the case of rape and unnatural sexual assault, the victim will get a minimum of ₹4 lakh and the maximum of ₹7 lakh.
- The scheme proposes a minimum of ₹7 lakh for an acid attack victim in case of disfigurement of face. The upper limit will be ₹8 lakh. In acid attack cases, if the injury is more than 50%, a minimum compensation of ₹5 lakh will be given and the maximum will be ₹8 lakh.