18TH AUGUST
Contents
WORLD’S 2ND MOST POLLUTED CITY 2020: GHAZIABAD
MALAYSIAN PM RESIGNS AS FAILED TO GET MAJORITY
RBI INTRODUCED FINANCIAL INCLUSION INDEX
J&K L-G MANOJ SINHA LAUNCHED ‘PROOF APP’
AIIMS: 1ST INDIAN HOSPITAL TO HOUSE FIRE STATION
AZAM AWARDED WITH NATIONAL YOUTH AWARD
MESSI JOINED PSG AFTER LEAVING BARCELONA
WORLD’S 2ND MOST POLLUTED CITY 2020: GHAZIABAD
- Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad was adjudged the second most polluted city out of the 50 ‘most polluted cities’ in the world in 2020 by a report prepared by British company HouseFresh.
- Ghaziabad reported an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 2.5 particulate matter (PM) in 106.6µg/m3.
- Preceding Ghaziabad, the Chinese city of Hotan in Xinjiang province has been named the most polluted city with a PM2.5 of 110.2µg/m3.
- The report attributed the air pollution in Hotan to sandstorms resulting from its closeness to the Taklimakan Desert, which is the largest shifting sand desert in the world.
- Bangladesh, China, India and Pakistan contribute to 49 out of the 50 most polluted cities According to the report, Bangladesh was the most polluted country across the world in 2020, followed by Pakistan, India and Mongolia.
- Meanwhile, Judbury in Australia bagged the top position in the list of cities with the cleanest air with a PM2.5 level of 2.4µg/m3. Kailua Kona in America’s Hawaii and Muonio in Finland with PM2.5 concentrations of 2.6µg/m3 and 2.8µg/m3 respectively were the next top cities of 2020 with clean air.
(SOURCE: HINDUSTAN TIMES)
MALAYSIAN PM RESIGNS AS FAILED TO GET MAJORITY
- The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Muhyiddin Yassin and his cabinet resigned after losing a confidence vote in parliament.
- The 74-year-old Muhyiddin came to power in March 2020. He will however stay on as a caretaker prime minister until a successor is named.
- The resignations plunged Malaysia even deeper into political turmoil while it contends with one of the world’s worst surges of the virus.
- The nation of about 32 million people has averaged more than 20,000 cases per day in the last 14 days, and just 33 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated.
- The total death toll from the pandemic in the country is at least 12,510.
- Malaysia Capital: Kuala Lumpur.
- Malaysia Currency: Malaysian Ringgit.
(SOURCE: THE PRINT)
RBI INTRODUCED FINANCIAL INCLUSION INDEX
- The Reserve Bank of India has introduced the Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index), which is a measure of the extent of financial inclusion in India.
- FI-Index incorporates the inclusion details of banking, investments, insurance, postal and pension sectors in India.
- This was among the announcements made in the first bimonthly monetary policy in April this year.
- Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index): The value of FI-Index will range between 0 to 100. Where 0 denotes complete financial exclusion while 100 denotes full financial inclusion.
- Parameters of FI-Index: The FI-Index comprises of three parameters, namely- Access (35%), Usage (45%), and Quality (20%) with each of these consisting of various dimensions, which are computed based on a number of indicators.
- In total there are 97 indicators. The annual FI-Index for the period ending March 2021 is 53.9 while for the period ending March 2017 it is 43.4.
- RBI will release the FI-Index in the month of July every year. There is no base year for this Index.
(SOURCE: FINANCIAL EXPRESS)
J&K L-G MANOJ SINHA LAUNCHED ‘PROOF APP’
- In Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has unveiled a mobile application named PROOF, to bring more transparency and accountability in the governance system.
- PROOF stands for ‘Photographic Record of On-site Facility’.
- The main objective of this app is to monitor the work progress of all the projects allocated to different departments of the UT and ensure timely completion of these projects.
- Significance: The app will give a complete pictorial view of the work along with its geographical coordinates e. latitude and longitude and user comments on work progress.
- As per the new rules of the UT government, no bills shall be entertained in the treasury unless photographs of projects are uploaded.
- In order to get the bills passed, it will be mandatory to upload geo-tagged photographs to bring in more transparency and accountability in the system.
(SOURCE:.LIVE MINT)
AIIMS: 1ST INDIAN HOSPITAL TO HOUSE FIRE STATION
- The All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi has become the first hospital of India to house a fire station inside the hospital premises, to meet any emergency.
- For this, AIIMS has collaborated with Delhi Fire Service (DFS).
- The fire station, meant for quick response in case of fire emergency, will have its infrastructure developed by the AIIMS, while the fire tender, equipment, and manpower will be managed by the DFS.
- Having a total of 61 fire stations and 3,616 personnel, including 3,280 firefighters, the DFS attends to nearly 22,000 fire and rescue calls on an average in a year.
(SOURCE: JAGRAN JOSH)
AZAM AWARDED WITH NATIONAL YOUTH AWARD
- Mohammad Azam from Karimnagar district in Telangana has been awarded the National Youth Award recently by the Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur in Delhi for displaying exemplary leadership qualities.
- He has conducted several awareness programmes related to blood donation, organ donation and plantation programmes under the Haritha Haram project. The award carries an appreciation certificate and Rs 50,000 cash.
- Apart from these, he has also worked on water conservation, construction of soaking pits, works related to the Swachh Bharat mission and government welfare schemes, for the benefit of the people in various villages.
- He received the ‘Indira Gandhi NSS Award’ from then President of India Pranab Mukherjee.
- He was also awarded the Pratibha Puraskar award by the State government in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and the Rashtriya Gaurav Samman Award.
(SOURCE: TIMES OF INDIA)
MESSI JOINED PSG AFTER LEAVING BARCELONA
- Lionel Messi joined star-packed Paris St Germain after leaving Barcelona, the club where he had begun, after 21 years.
- Messi, a six-time winner of the Ballon d’Or for Europe’s best soccer player, signed a two-year contract with an option for a third year.
- Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain or PSG.
- Messi leaves Barcelona with 672 goals in 778 appearances, a record tally for one club. His trophy haul includes four Champions Leagues and 10 La Liga titles.
(SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS)