Home General Knowledge Briefs The Daily Brief – 26th October 2019

The Daily Brief – 26th October 2019

October 29, 2019

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The first Global Bio-India summit is going to be organised by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of the Ministry of Science and Technology from 21^st to 23^rd November, 2019 in New Delhi. It aims to attract investments, showcase the country’s indigenous strengths and aspirations. Biotech is identified as one of the key sectors in Make in India 2.0.
The “Guidelines for the Evaluation of Nano pharmaceuticals in India”, framed by the inter-ministerial expert committee constituted by the Department of Biotechnology in May 2019, were issued by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology on 24^th October, 2019. These guidelines are expected to aid research towards development of new nano-formulations that are more efficacious, less toxic and safer than conventional drugs.
India moved fourteen places up to 63^rd rank in the World Bank’s “Ease of Doing Business” ranking, which was released on 23^rd October, 2019. India is among the top 10 performers on the list for the third time consecutively. The first ranking was released in 2003. In a change of methodology, the World Bank has decided to have four cities from every country with a population above 100 million. So, from 2020, the World Bank will expand its ease of doing business survey to two more cities, Bangalore and Kolkata, in addition to Delhi and Mumbai.
International Snow Leopard Day is celebrated on 23rd October
The International Snow Leopard Day is observed every year on 23^rd October across the globe to protect and conserve snow leopards and preserve the beautiful wildlife of the Himalayas. On this occasion, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched the first national protocol to enumerate the population of this elusive and endangered species of snow leopard in India.
Gen (Dr) Rajesh Pant, National Cyber Security Coordinator of India, launched TechSagar, a consolidated and comprehensive repository of India’s cyber tech capabilities. It was launched by the National Cyber Security Coordinator’s office in partnership with the Data Security Council of India (DSCI). Established in 2008 by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), the DSCI is a premier industry body on data protection in India.
The Credit Suisse Group, a Switzerland-based multinational investment bank, released the 10^th edition of its annual Global Wealth Report, which offers a comprehensive portrait of world wealth, covering all regions and countries and all parts of the wealth spectrum from rich to poor. Global wealth grew during the past year by 2.6% to USD 360 trillion and wealth per adult reached USD 70,850 with Switzerland topping the biggest gains in wealth per adult this year. Only 47 million people, who account for just 0.9% of the world’s adult population, owned almost 44% of the world’s total wealth while 2.88 billion people, who account for almost 57% of the world’s adult population, owned only 1.8% of world’s wealth.
Union Minister of Panchayati Raj Narendra Singh Tomar conferred around 246 awards under the National Panchayat Awards 2019 to the best performing Panchayats in recognition of their good work at different levels such as delivery of services and sanitation in New Delhi on 23^rd October, 2019. He also launched a Spatial Planning Application called ‘Gram Manchitra’, which is a Geo Spatial-based decision support system for the panchayats.
Praveen Kumar defeated Russel Diaz of Philippines with 2-1 in the 48kg category event to become the first Indian to win a gold medal at the 15^th Wushu World Championships held in Shanghai, China. Poonam in women’s 75kg category and Sanathoi Devi in women’s 52kg category won silver medals. Vikrant Baliyan bagged bronze in men’s 60kg category. With this, India finished third overall in the championship with a gold, two silver and a bronze medal.