Daily Current Affiars 13 November 2019

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Tiger Triumph - India­-U.S. joint tri­services Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Exercise 

• India and the U.S., the maiden India-­U.S. joint tri­services Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Exercise named “Tiger Triumph” is scheduled on the Eastern seaboard from November 13 to 21. 
• Naval ships Jalashwa, Airavat, and Sandhayak, troops from 19 Madras and 7 Guards, MI-­17 helicopters and Rapid Action Medical Team (RAMT) would be participating in the exercise. The U.S. would be represented by US Navy Ship Germantown with troops from US Third Marine Division
• The exercise is aimed at developing interoperability for conducting HADR operations

2) The Western Ghats is a rich stock of butterflies

• The Western Ghats is still home to a rich stock of butterflies, a survey that ended in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS).
• There were sightings of 191 species of butterflies, 12 of which are endemic to the biodiversity ­rich region.
• The first­time sighting of Silver forget me not, Common three-ring, and Brown onyx was also recorded. The sighting of Silver forgets me not was reported only from Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary in the Idukki district of Kerala. 
• The survey was done jointly by the Forest and Wildlife Department in association with the Ferns Nature Conservation Society (FNCS).

Aim Of Research

The survey was aimed at assessing the butterfly diversity in the region, which is vulnerable to climatic changes. It was also to assess the availability of nectar plant and larval host plant, essential for the survival of butterflies

What does the report say 

• The diversity of butterflies was very low in the forest areas where the alien invasive plant like Senna spectabilis invades other endemic plants, whereas the diversity was very rich in areas where plants like Mikania micrantha and Lantana camera remained dominant.
• 60 species of Nymphalidae; 49 Lycanidae; 45 Hesperidae; 21 Pieridae; 14 Papplionedae and 2 species of Riodinidae

3) 10th pneumonia and diarrhea progress report card

• Released ahead of World Pneumonia Day, on November 12, the 2019 Pneumonia and Diarrhoea Progress Report Card, by the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, describes progress in fighting pneumonia and diarrhea in countries with the highest absolute number of deaths, and for the first time in countries with the highest rates of deaths from these illnesses.
• The report card has found that health systems are falling short of ensuring the world’s most vulnerable children access to prevention and treatment services in the 23 countries that together account for 75% of global pneumonia and diarrhea deaths in children under five
• India, which is home to a large population of under-five children, accounts for a major portion of these deaths

India Improves 

The rollout of rotavirus vaccines, beginning in 2016, and the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, beginning in 2017, helped India’s scores improve

The highest risk factors for child

The highest risk factors for child pneumonia death in India were: 

• 53% caused by child wasting, 
• 27% by outdoor air pollution and 
• 22% caused by indoor air pollution from solid fuels.

About the Report

This report analyses how effectively countries are delivering 10 key interventions, including breastfeeding, vaccination, access to care, use of antibiotics, ORS, and zinc supplementation.

India's stand on report

India’s exclusive breastfeeding rate, at 55%, is among the highest of the 23 countries. However, the proportion of children receiving important treatments, as with many other countries, remains below targets. Half of the children with diarrhea receive ORS (oral rehydration solution) and 20% receive zinc supplementation to help protect against, prevent and treat pneumonia and diarrhea,

4) Cancer Care facilities 'highly inadequate' in India

• India’s cancer care infrastructure is “highly inadequate” and forces a majority of patients to travel “thousands of kilometers” for treatment
• The “systematic failure” to address the needs of patients contributes to a 20% higher mortality among Indian cancer patients than in countries with a “high” Human Development Index, according to a report by a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science, Technology, and Environment. Led by former Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh.

According to Report

• The incidence, or the number of newly diagnosed cases of cancer annually, is about 16 lakh. The disease kills 8 lakh people annually. 
• Among these are 1,40,000 fresh cases of breast cancer, 1,00,000 cervical cancer cases, and 45,000 cases of oral cancer among women.
• Among men, the top three cancers with the highest incidence are those in the oral cavity (1,38,000 cases), cancer of the pharynx (90,000) and those of the gastrointestinal tract (2,00,000).
• The Committee would like to lay emphasis on the fact that mortality to incidence ratio of 0.68 in India is higher than that in the very high human development index (HDI) countries (0.38) and the high HDI countries (0.57)

The International Agency for Research on Cancer

The International Agency for Research on Cancer expects India’s cancer burden to increase from an estimated 13 lakh cases in 2018 to about 17 lakh in 2035, and cancer deaths are expected to rise from 8.8 lakh in 2018 to 13 lakh in 2035.

5) BRICS Trade & Industry Ministers meeting 

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry & Railways, Piyush Goyal, at the interventions made by him in the BRICS Trade Ministers meeting held in Brasilia, Brazil

The scenario of Indian Market 

• India continues to offer economic opportunities with reduced corporate taxes that are the most competitive in the world, liberalized rules for Foreign Direct Investment and revitalization of sectors like real estate and the micro and small enterprises.
• The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India support the livelihood of millions of people the Minister added. The 50 million MSMEs create over 100 million jobs and contribute 40 percent to India’s exports. 
• It is the backbone of the Indian economy but the increasing trends of protectionism in the form of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) are denying market access to these enterprises particularly from the developing countries.
• The global economy is facing grave challenges due to growing protectionism and trade tensions due to unilateral measures.
• Developed countries advocate open and free trade with emphasis on removal of tariffs in developing countries but they are raising more barriers in the form of NTBs that are leading to economic uncertainties and raising the cost of doing trade in developing and Least Developed Countries (LDCs)

Significance of BRICS on Trade

BRICS countries accounted for 25 percent of the world’s GDP, 50 percent of the world’s population and around 20 percent of global merchandise trade in 2018. BRICS countries, have natural resources, human capital, and financial outreach and have the potential to become global growth engines and leaders in innovation and enterprise.

6) Maharashtra placed under President’s Rule

• President Ram Nath Kovind approved a proclamation imposing President’s Rule in Maharashtra, following a recommendation from Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
• The Assembly will be kept under suspended animation.  Mr. Koshyari’s decision comes a day after he invited the third-largest party in the Assembly, the NCP, to explore the possibility of forming a government in the State. 
• Soon after the Governor’s report was sent, the Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, met and approved a recommendation to the President to issue a proclamation under Article 356 (1) of the Constitution

Article 356(1) in The Constitution Of India 1949

 If the President, on receipt of a report from the Governor of the State or otherwise, is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the State cannot be carried on following the provisions of this Constitution, the President may be Proclamation

• (a) assume to himself all or any of the functions of the Government of the State and all or any of the powers vested in or exercisable by the Governor or anybody or authority in the State other than the Legislature of the State;
• (b) declare that the powers of the Legislature of the State shall be exercisable by or under the authority of Parliament;
• (c) make such incidental and consequential provisions as appear to the president to be necessary or desirable for giving effect to the objects of the Proclamation, including provisions for suspending in whole or in part the operation of any provisions of this Constitution relating to anybody or authority in the State Provided that nothing in this clause shall authorize the President to assume to himself any of the powers vested in or exercisable by a High Court, or to suspend in whole or in part the operation of any provision of this Constitution relating to High Courts

7) SBI growth projection of GDP is 5% for current fiscal 

• GDP growth in the current financial year could be just 5% according to a research report by State Bank of India (SBI).
• This is a sharp cut from the earlier projection of 6.1% for fiscal 2019­20. The second-quarter GDP number, scheduled to be announced at the end of this month, could fall to 4.2%
• Commenting that IIP growth of ­-4.3% for September was ‘alarming’, acceleration rate for 33 leading indicators at 85% in October 2018 is down to just 17% in September 2019, with such decline gaining traction from March 2019
• The growth rate to pick up pace in FY21 to 6.2% 
• RBI reduced the repo rate by 135 bps between February and October to support growth. The central bank also reduced its growth forecast for FY20 to 6.1% in the October policy from 6.9% projected in the August policy

What is bps?

• Basis points, otherwise known as bps or "bips," are a unit of measure used in finance to describe the percentage change in the value or rate of a financial instrument.
• One basis point is equivalent to 0.01% (1/100th of a percent) or 0.0001 in decimal form.
• In the bond market, a basis point is used to refer to the yield that a bond pays to the investor