ETEN Enlightens-Daily current capsules (Prelims Prominence) 10 Feb 2018 MINISTRY OF COMMERCE Food world India 2018 The report titled Start-Ups: Transforming India s Food Processing Economy released a joint report by industry body Ficci and YES Bank
Theme - capitalising food processing in the digital era Exempting incubators from tax, import duty will encourage growth of startups in food sector : YES Bank-Ficci report Incubators offer hand-holding to start-ups in their developmental phase Enlighten about the suggestions There should be tax breaks for start-ups procuring items essential for businesses like hardware, software and communication equipment. Funds contributed to incubators should be treated at par with investments in Research and Development activities for businesses, and proportionally the entities that contribute funds to incubators should also be eligible for the 200% tax benefit currently applicable to R&D investments. Food processing and allied ecosystem According to the report, there are close to 200 start-ups in the food processing and allied ecosystem. The food processing sector, valued at $260 billion, and food services and retail, valued at $400 billion, provide immense opportunities for enterprising start-ups to address the challenges and fill in the gaps existing in the food value chain. HEALTH SECTOR NITI Aayog s latest Health Index report
Kerala, Punjab, T.N. top rankers District hospitals to be ranked next and poor performers to be named For the first time - Kerala, Punjab and Tamil Nadu were the top rankers in NITI Aayog s latest Health Index report which has, for the first time, attempted to establish an annual systematic tool to measure and understand the heterogeneity and complexity of the nation s performance in the health sector. The document, developed by NITI Aayog with technical assistance from the World Bank and in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Enlighten about the Report outcome - Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh showed the most improvement in indicators such as Neonatal Mortality Rate, Under-five Mortality Rate, full immunisation coverage, institutional deliveries, and People Living with HIV (PLHIV) on Anti- Retroviral Therapy (ART). Manipur registered maximum incremental progress in indicators such as PLHIV on ART, first trimester antenatal care registration, grading quality parameters of Community Health Centres, average occupancy of key state-level officers and good reporting on the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP). Lakshadweep showed the highest improvement in indicators such as institutional deliveries, TB treatment success rate, and transfer of National Health Mission funds from the state treasury to implementation agency. Kerala ranks on top in terms of overall performance but sees the least incremental change as it had already achieved low levels of Neonatal Mortality Rate, Under-five Mortality Rate and replacement level fertility, leaving limited space for any further improvement The next report will be released in June this year and district hospitals too would be ranked Challenges and Way ahead - Common challenges for most States and Union Territories include the need to focus on addressing vacancies in key staff, establishment of functional district cardiac care units,
quality accreditation of public health facilities and institutionalisation of human resources management information system. All larger States need to focus on improving the Sex Ratio at Birth This Index is expected to nudge States towards further achieving a rapid transformation of their health systems and population health outcomes. Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation Swachh Bharat Sanitation Park Implementing bodies - The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, in collaboration with the Environmental Sanitation Institute and Tata Trusts What s the objective - To create awareness on various safe technological options. The Park demonstrates various options pertaining to toilet technologies and solid and liquid waste management technologies, with a brief description of these technologies. The Park also displays information regarding various interventions undertaken under the Swachh Bharat Mission, capturing the success stories and impact created under the Mission across the country. The park presents the opportunity for the visitors to understand the various components and initiatives of SBM and familiarize themselves with different technologies. AYUSH International Conference on Unani Medicine 150 th Birth Anniversary of Hakim Ajmal Khan The birthday of great Unani researcher Hakim Ajmal Khan i.e. 11 th February is celebrated as Unani Day The two-day International conference on Unani Medicine on 10 th February, 2018 at New Delhi.
This year is special for Unani fraternity as it is the 150 th Birth Anniversary of Hakim Ajmal Khan. To mark this day, the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), under the Ministry of AYUSH is organizing a two-day International Conference on Unani Medicine as part of celebration of Unani Day. The theme of the conference is Integration of Unani System of Medicine in main stream healthcare. Enlighten about the conference - The conference will cover issues related to globalization, research, standardization, quality control, safety assessment, and industry perspective. The conference is expected to provide a platform to academia, researchers, regulators, industry and students to develop visions, linkages and initiate projects which would help in promoting Unani system of medicine as one of the preferred systems of medicine across the globe. An exhibition showcasing Unani/herbal pharma sector, service providers, educational institutions, research organisations, also in the offing. Hakim Ajmal Khan The birthday of great Unani researcher Hakim Ajmal Khan i.e. 11 th February is celebrated as Unani Day. Hakim Ajmal Khan was an eminent Indian Unani physician who was versatile genius, freedom fighter, educationist and founder of scientific research in Unani Medicine. INTERNATIONAL PM s visit to three West Asian countries PM Modi will visit three West Asian countries Palestine, the UAE and Oman The visit will focus on cooperation in key areas of defence, security and counterterrorism PM will also participate in the 6th World Government Summit in Dubai on February 10-11 in which India is a partner country Enlighten about the Agreements to be signed Twelve agreements will be signed during the visit The agreements will include areas like finance and skills development World Government Summit
The World Government Summit is an annual event held in Dubai, UAE The first World Government Summit was held in Dubai in 2013 and has been held annually since then It brings together leaders in government for a global dialogue about governmental process and policies with a focus on the issues of futurism, technology and innovation The World Government Summit was formed by a team of experts from different disciplines in an effort to bring government, business and civil society together at an international level Reports for the public about issues explored at the summits are issued by Oxford Analytica, Mackenzie and Harvard Business Review Sources pib,the hindu, livemint