Daily Current Affairs and GK | 30 January 2020

1. Amendments to Medical Termination of Pregnancy approved by the cabinet

• The union cabinet approved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020, thus raising the upper limit of the termination of the pregnancy from 20 to 24 weeks.
• The bill amends Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1971.
• Under this bill, there is a requirement of the opinion of one medical practitioner for the termination of pregnancy under 20 weeks while between 20 to 24 weeks, 2 medical practitioners’ opinion is needed out of which one should be a government doctor.
• Legal abortion is allowed on therapeutic, eugenic, humanitarian, or social grounds.

2. Cabinet approved National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill, 2019

• The union cabinet approved the National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill, 2019, thus amending Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973.
• The bill seeks to amend the Homoeopathy education and ensuring transparency and accountability in this medical practice.
• Homeopathy:
  • It is an alternative medical system that works on the principle that the body can cure itself.
  • It was created in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann.

3. 30% of the Northeastern  Council’s allocated fund to be allotted for the new projects

• Cabinet approved the allocation of 30% of the North Eastern Council’s allocated funds to be given for the new projects to promote focused developments.
• Extension of Productivity-Linked Reward Scheme for the employees and workers of the Major Port Trust and Dock Labour Board for the period beyond 2017-18 was also approved by the cabinet to benefit 28 thousand workers.
• North East Council:
  • It is a statuary advisory body under North East Council Act 1971.
  • It consists of 8 North-Eastern states, i.e., Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and Sikkim.

4. Meeting of statutory full commission organized by National Human Rights Commission

• NHRC organized the meeting of statutory full commission in New Delhi.
• NHRC Chairperson Justice HL Dattu chaired the meeting.
• The aim of the meeting was the promotion and protection of human rights specified in Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights.
• The meeting is held for the first time with the participation of Chairpersons of National Commission for Backward Classes, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities as the new deemed Members of the NHRC.
• NHRC:
  • It is a statuary body under the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993 working for the protection of human rights.
  • It is chaired by the retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

5. Harsh Vardhan Shringla appointed as new Foreign Secretary

• Harsh Vardhan Shringla appointed as the new Foreign Secretary of India.
• He will replace Vijay Gokhale.
• Harsh Vardhan Shringla: He is a 1984- batch Indian Foreign Service officer.

6. Operation Vanilla launched in Madagascar by Indian Navy

• Indian navy has launched Operation Vanilla in Madagascar to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
• The area has been devastated by Cyclone Diane.
• Madagascar:
  • It is an island country off the African east coast.
  • Its capital is Antananarivo.

7. Odisha launched virtual police station

• Odisha has inaugurated its virtual police station, which will function from the State Crime Records Bureau in Bhubaneswar.
• Along with the virtual police system, Road Accident Case Documents Module and the Medico-Legal Opinion System has been launched.
• The virtual Police station will take up cases of motor vehicle theft.
• The road accident case document module will provide needed documents in road accident cases.
• Medico-Legal Opinion System will help the medical reports of the road accident victims to be uploaded.

8. African Cheetah to be provided with suitable habitat in India

• SC has permitted the center to provide suitable habitat to the African Cheetah in India.
• The African Cheetah will be translocated from Namibia.
• Asian Cheetah that was once prominently found in North and Central India is now extinct in India.
• IUCN status of Asian Cheetah is Critically Endangered.

9. 10 new wetland sites in India declared in the Ramsar list

• 10 new wetland sites have found a place under the Ramsar list from India.
• Now there are 37 wetland sites in India under the Ramsar list.
• Ramsar convention was signed on February 2, 1971, in Ramsar, Iran, to protect the wetland sites.
• The 10 new wetland sites are:
• Nandur Madhameshwar: Maharashtra
• Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve and Nangal in Punjab
• Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi, and Sarai Nawar in Uttar Pradesh.

10. Cabinet approved National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill, 2019

• Cabinet approved the National Commission for Indian System of Medicines Bill 2019.
• It aims to promote transparency in the education of the Indian System of Medicines.
• The bill proposes a National Commission for the Indian System of Medicines, which will assess the requirement of human resources and standards needed and frame the policies accordingly in the Indian System of Medicines.

Multiple Choice Questions(MCQs)

1. Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill 2020 increased the upper limit of the legal abortion to -

A. 21 weeks

B. 22 weeks

C. 23 weeks

D. 24 weeks

2. North East Council does not include which of the following states?

A. Sikkim

B. Arunachal Pradesh

C. Manipur

D. All of the above states

3. Who among the following is the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission?

A. H.L Dattu

B. Krishna Menon

C. T.S Thakur

D. Altamas Kabir

4. Who among the following has been appointed as the Foreign Secretary of India?

A. Narayan Sharma

B. Harsh Vardhan Shringla

C. Kabir Mehta

D. Nirupma Rao

5. Where has the Indian Navy launched operation Vanilla?

A. Reunion Island

B. Seychelles

C. Madagascar

D. Sri Lanka

6. Which of the following states has launched a virtual police station recently?

A. Kerala

B. Karnataka

C. Odisha

D. Uttrakhand

7. What is the IUCN status of Asian Cheetah?

A. Endangered

B. Critically Endangered

C. Extinct

D. Vulnerable

8. Where is the Nandur Madhameshwar wetland site located?

A. Uttrakhand

B. Himachal Pradesh

C. Uttar Pradesh

D. Maharashtra

Solution:

1. D

2. D

3. A

4. B

5. C

6. C

7. B

8. D