The Daily Brief – 20th November 2019

Indian Boxer Laishram Sarita Devi is among the six boxers from 5 continents who were elected as members of the AIBA Athletes Commission, which was set up as a part of the reforms recommended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the AIBA. The AIBA’s athletes’ commission features one male and a female boxer from each of the five regional confederations – Asia, Oceania, Africa, Americas and Europe. She, an eight-time Asian Championship medalist, is a DSP with the Manipur Police.

The NITI Aayog released a report titled ‘Health Systems for a New India: Building Blocks -Potential Pathways to Reforms’ on 18^th November, 2019. It provides a comprehensive road map to improve India’s health system with a focus on delivery of the unfinished public health agenda, change the health financing way from out of the pocket to large insurers, integrate service delivery, empower citizens to become better buyers of health and harness the power of digital health.

World Toilet Day is observed every year across the world on 19^th November, 2019 to bring behavioral changes and implementation of policies that will end open defecation and increase access to sanitation among poor. The theme for this year is ‘Leaving No One Behind’. The United Nations, in July 2013, passed a resolution to observe the day on 19^th November and is being observed every year since then.

Za’ir-Al-Bahror (Roar of the Sea), the first bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian and the Qatar Naval Forces is being conducted from 17^th November to 21^st November, 2019 to promote inter-operability between the navies of the two countries. It is a five days exercise that includes a three-day harbour phase and two-day exercise on the sea phase.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh represented India at the 6^th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) held in Bangkok, Thailand on 18^th November, 2019. The ADMM-Plus is a key ministerial-level platform in regional security architecture for promoting strategic dialogue and practical cooperation between ASEAN and its eight partner countries viz. India, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Russia and USA. Rajnath Sigh released the ‘Handbook on Military Medicine for ASEAN’ along with the Defence Minister of Myanmar Lieutenant General Sein Win.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), on 15^th November 2019, signed a declaration of intent with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD) of the National Institutes of Health, USA and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to take forward an ongoing collaborative research and training programme between the two countries. The initial focus of this fellowship programme is intended to engage scientists in infectious disease and immunology research, with an emphasis on diseases that affect women and children. During the event, which also marked the celebration of the 108^th Foundation Day of the ICMR, Gates presented the ICMR Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Achievement in Healthcare to three members – Dr Cyrus S Poonawalla, Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Dr Prakash Baba Amte.

The Government of India, in order to curb fake news, has decided to form a FACT Check module that will work on four principles — find, assess, create and target — which will be handled by the Indian information service officers. The officers are expected to trace online news sources and publicly available social media posts round-the-clock for any potential fake news.

The Strike Corps, also known as the Sudarshan Chakra Corps, of the Indian Army conducted the ‘Sindhu Sudarshan’ exercise in Barmer, Rajasthan on 16^th November, 2019. The aim of the exercise was to evaluate the capability and battle readiness of the defence forces in an integrated air-land battle in a semi-developed terrain of the desert. Approximately 40,000 troops, 700 ‘A’ Vehicles and 300 Guns of the Sudarshan Chakra Corps of the Southern Command participated in the exercise.