Current Affairs Oct 14th and Oct 15th 2016

1. The first elephant sanctuary in Latin America has opened in Brazil to provide a home for an estimated 50 circus animals from across the region.

• The Global Sanctuary for Elephants bought the land of 2,800 acres, for $1m (£820,000) to be paid over five years.
• The area is located in the western state of Mato Grosso.
• The first phase of the project will host up to six animals. The sanctuary will not be open for visitors.

2.  Eight BRICS Summit begins in Goa. 

BRICS brings together five major emerging economies, comprising 43% of the world population, having 30% of the world GDP and 17% share in the world trade.

The acronym BRIC was first used in 2001 by Goldman Sachs in their Global Economics Paper, "The World Needs Better Economic BRICs" on the basis of econometric analyses projecting that the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China would individually and collectively occupy far greater economic space and would be amongst the world’s largest economies in the next 50 years or so.

3. UIDAI Launches "Challenge Drive".

• UIDAI Unique Identification Authority of India Launches Challenge Drive to enroll leftover population for (12 digit resident identification number) Aadhar in 22 states.
• Drive will start from 15 Oct to 15th Nov 2016. 
• Drive for adult population only. 
• To achieve target of 100% Aadhar card.enrollment.
• Already Aadhaar numbers generated across the country - 106.69 crore.
• UIDAI CEO - Ajay Bhushan Pandey .

4. PM Modi has inaugurated Shaurya Smarak Memorial, a war memorial in Bhopal, MP dedicated to the soldiers of India. 

             

5. Govt to distribute subsidized pulses through postal network.

6. World Health Organisation-  “Global Tuberculosis Report 2016”. 

TB epidemic is larger than previously estimated, reflecting new surveillance and survey data from India. However, the number of TB deaths and the TB incidence rate continue to fall globally and in India.

In 2015, there were an estimated 10.4 million new (incident) TB cases worldwide, of which 5.9 million (56%) were among men, 3.5 million (34%) among women and 1.0 million (10%) among children. People living with HIV accounted for 1.2 million (11%) of all new TB cases.

Six countries accounted for 60% of the new cases: India, Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa. 

Worldwide, the rate of decline in TB incidence remained at only 1.5% from 2014 to 2015.

This needs to accelerate to a 4–5% annual decline by 2020 to reach the first milestones of the End TB Strategy.

India, China and the Russian Federation accounted for 45% of the combined total of 580 000 cases.

There were an estimated 1.4 million TB deaths in 2015, and an additional 0.4 million deaths resulting from TB disease among people living with HIV.3 Although the number of TB deaths fell by 22% between 2000 and 2015, TB remained one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide in 2015.

Background

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030 were adopted by the United Nations in 2015. One of the targets is to end the global TB epidemic.

The WHO End TB Strategy, approved by the World Health Assembly in 2014, calls for a 90% reduction in TB deaths and an 80% reduction in the TB incidence rate by 2030, compared with 2015.

This global TB report is the first to be produced in the era of the SDGs and the End TB Strategy. It provides an assessment of the TB epidemic and progress in TB diagnosis, treatment and prevention eforts, as well as an overview of TB-specific financing and research.

The elimination of HFCs by 2050 is estimated to prevent about 0.5 degree rise in global temperatures by 2100. (Source: Reuters)

7. HFC gas phase-out: India, US reach compromise to fight climate change. 

 HFCs (HYDROFLOUROCARBONS) are used predominantly in the air-conditioning and refrigerant industry and are several hundred or thousand times more powerful than carbon dioxide in inducing global warming.

The elimination of HFCs by 2050 is estimated to prevent about 0.5 degree rise in global temperatures by 2100. So, the Montreal Protocol amendment is seen as one of the most important roads to reach the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global temperatures from rising beyond 2 degree Celsius compared to pre-industrial times.

• India Welcomes Landmark HFC Agreement at Kigali. 
• India joins the nations of the world in lauding the Hydroflurocarbon (HFC) Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, agreed to at the 28th Meeting of Parties at Kigali, Rwanda. 
• The Kigali Agreement is a reaffirmation of the global intent to mitigate climate change and exemplifies international co-operation in this regard. 
• The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol is legally binding and will come into force from January 1, 2019. 
•  The Agreement upholds the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR & RC). 
• It recognizes the development imperatives of high-growth economies like India, and provides a realistic and viable roadmap for the implementation of a phase-out schedule for high global warming potential (GWP) HFCs. 
• India had been arguing that it be allowed to meet its 2032 target of 10 per cent reduction without having a ‘freeze year’. 
• Following pressure from the US and other countries, India proposed 2030 as the freeze year. The US insisted on 2027. Finally, India got 2028 as the freeze year. 
• Developed countries are likely to start making reductions from 2019 against a baseline period of 2011-13 while another set of developing countries, including China, Brazil and South Africa, has 2020-22 as the baseline.

Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion.It was agreed on 26 August 1987, and entered into force on 26 August 1989

8. DRDO Paid Tributes to Dr Kalam on his 85th Birth Anniversary 

Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) paid rich tributes to Former President of India and former DRDO Chief, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on his 85th Birth Anniversary at a gala function held in Kothari Auditorium at DRDO Bhawan. 

For the first time, students from various schools of Delhi were also invited at DRDO Bhawan on this occasion. The purpose was to motivate the children with the diverse and great qualities of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who had special affinity for children and youth of the country. Young scientist from various DRDO labs were also invited. 

9. India to collaborate with Germany for rail projects worth Rs 1 trillion.

• Representatives from Indian Port Rail Corporation Ltd and Deutsche Bahn AG will work out the details
• The Indian Port Rail Corporation Ltd was set up by the ministry of shipping for better cargo handling and to reduce the cost of logistics.

10.  Brazil won BRICS U-17 Football Tournament at Goa. 
The finals of the tournament was contested by Brazil and South Africa.



11.  Haryana Starts Farm Tourist Scheme .

In a bid to turn Haryana's hinterlands into tourist hot-spots, the state goverment started the 'Farm Tourism' scheme, under which registered farm owners can host tourists under holiday packages. 




Anurag Thakur attended the ICC board meeting in Cape Town as president of the BCCI.
12. BCCI president Anurag Thakur part of powerful ICC Finance committee

Earlier BCCI had raised objections earlier about not having a representative in the Financial and Commercial Affairs sub-committee.

13. Sales of Chinese goods decline 20% after social media campaign, claims traders body.

The social media campaign to boycott Chinese goods during Diwali has beaten down sentiment of retail traders as there has been a 20 percent decline in demand so far, traders body CAIT.
Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that Chinese lighting and decorative products are widely used during Diwali and such materials start flooding the Indian markets three months prior to the festive season.

14.  Senior IAS officer Ajay Kumar Bhalla appointed as the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

DGFT is entrusted with responsibilities for formulating and implementing the foreign trade policy with the main objective of promoting India's exports.