The Daily Brief – 19th December 2018

Fishermen_EPS_Twitter — Tamil Nadu fishermen get NavIC- powered satellite-enabled communication devices

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Merriam-Webster has declared ‘Justice’ as the 2018 Word Of The Year. Merriam-Webster was founded by George and Charles Merriam in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1828. Every year Merriam-Webster, the American dictionary-publishing company, publishes the ‘list of Words of the Year’ that contains the ten English language words of the year. The company has been publishing the list since 2003 at the end of every year. The words selected by Merriam Webster are usually a reflection of the events that take place during that year.
The central Government has decided to extend the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) to all poor households in the country. PMUY is the government’s flagship programme to provide free cooking gas (LPG) connections. Launched in May 2016, The PMUY scheme targets to reach out to 80 million families by 2020. With the expansion of the sheme, it will not be mandatory to be part of the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) list or the seven identified categories under the programme to be eligible for the scheme.
The Union government has appointed advocate Madhavi Goradia Divan as the Additional Solicitor General (ASG), the third-ranked law-officer in the government of India. She will hold office of ASG till 30 June, 2020 and will appear in the Supreme Court on behalf of the government of India. She is the third woman to hold the post of ASG while senior advocate Indira Jaising was the first woman and Pinky Anand was the second.
The International Migrants Day 2018 observed on 18th December 2018 across the world with the theme “Migration with Dignity”. The day was established by UN on 4th December 2000 by passing a Resolution 55/93. Also, Resolution 45/158 which is a resolution on the ‘International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families’ was adopted by the UNGA on 18th December 1990.
Indra Navy-18, a bilateral naval exercise, between India and Russia concluded on 16th December 2018. It was a 4-day maritime exercise that took place in the Bay of Bengal. INDRA NAVY or India – Russia Navy Exercise is being conducted since 2003. The first edition was conducted in May 2003 in India. The primary objective of Indra Navy exercise is to increase inter-operability amongst the navies of India and Russia and exchange best practices.
Tamil Nadu fishermen get NavIC- powered satellite-enabled communication devices
The Tamil Nadu government has distributed 200 NavIC- powered satellite-enabled communication devices developed by ISRO to 80 fishing boat groups in Tamil Nadu. These gadgets will help the Tamil Nadu fishermen to get cyclone and weather updates on a real-time basis. NavIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation) can be understood as the Indian version of the American GPS (Global Positioning System).
India was ranked 108 in the recently released Gender Gap Index 2018 by World Economic Forum. The Global Gender Gap Index, being published annually since 2006, is an index that measures gender equality across four key pillars which are economic opportunity, political empowerment, educational attainment, and health and survival. Iceland has been ranked as number 1 in the WEF’s Gender Gap Index for the 10th consecutive year. The world has closed 68 percent where as India has closed 66 percent of its Gender Gap.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has announced to waive off farm loans to the tune of Rs 6,100 crore of more than 16 lakh farmers. It has been decided to waive off all short-term loans availed by farmers from cooperative and Rural development banks. Chhattisgarh cabinet also decided to provide Rs 2,500 per quintal to farmers for their paddy being sold under Minimum support price scheme.
The UN member states on December 17, 2018 voted in favour of the Global Compact on Refugees, affirming international solidarity and cooperation for refugee protection and host community development. The global compact on refugees establishes the architecture for a stronger, more predictable and more equitable international response to large refugee situations. There are more than 25 million refugees worldwide and just 10 countries host around 60 percent of them.
Sonam Kapoor, a vegan, has been named People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India’s Person of the Year for 2018. Sonam Kapoor has been known to be an advocate for animal rights. In 2016, the actress was named PETA India’s Hottest Vegetarian Celebrity and she earned a Compassionate Business Award from the group a year later for her cruelty-free handbag line. PETA is the largest animal rights organisation in the world. PETA India, based in Mumbai, was launched in January 2000.