The Daily Brief – 26th November 2019

The National Statistical Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation conducted a Survey of Persons with Disabilities during July to December 2018 as a part of the 76^th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS). As per it, around 2.2% of Indian population – 2.3% in rural and 2.0% in urban areas -has some disability. Among men, prevalence of disability was 2.4% while it was 1.9% among women. 8% persons with disabilities received aid or help from the government as per the report.

Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) P.C. Mody inaugurated the Web Portal for Exchange of Information on Income Tax on 22^nd November, 2019. The portal consolidates all the relevant Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) related information at one place for convenient access by financial institutions, departmental officers as well as public at large. To implement the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) standard, necessary domestic legal framework was put in place in 2015.

Madhya Pradesh Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Jitu Patwari while inaugurating the Regional Olympic Games in Gwalior announced that the sportspersons in the state will get a reservation of 5% in the state government jobs. The objective of this program is to identify talented sportspersons and provide them with better facilities for training.

The Global Bio-India 2019, one of the largest biotechnology stakeholders conglomerate was held for the first time in India in New Delhi from 21^stNovember to 23^rd November, 2019. The event was organized by the Department of Bio Technology under the Ministry of Science and Technology along with the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). A report that provides an assessment of the Indian biotechnology landscape from a global perspective was also released at the event.

Jammu and Kashmir have achieved the highest PMGSY road length in the country, this year so far, with the completion of around 11,400 kilometres covering 1,838 habitations. The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is a centrally-sponsored scheme for providing connectivity to rural areas under the Union Ministry of Rural Development.

The 50^th Governors Conference was held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on 23^rd November and 24^th November, 2019. It laid emphasis on tribal welfare and issues related to water, agriculture, higher education and ease of living.

As per “The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health report” of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Bangladesh topped the list of 146 countries in terms of the lowest level of insufficient physical activity among adolescents. India is ranked 8th with an overall prevalence of insufficient physical activity in adolescents at 73.9 percent. As per the report, Uganda is in the first position for being the most energetic, with only 5.5 per cent of its population being not sufficiently active.

The Union Ministry of Tourism, in association with the North Eastern States, organized the 8^th edition of the ‘International Tourism Mart’ in Imphal, Manipur from 23^rd November to 25^th November, 2019. The theme for the event was ‘Sustainable Tourism an engine for Economic Growth and Employment’. The International Tourism Mart is an annual event organized in the north-eastern region of India with the objective of highlighting tourism potential of region in domestic as well as international markets. The first edition of the event was held in Guwahati in 2013.