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All India Radio News Summary: 07 MARCH 2018

All India Radio News Summary: 07 MARCH 2018

  1. Prime Minister will inaugurate the pan-India expansion of flagship programme – Beti Bachao Beti Padhao

Prime Minister inaugurates the pan-India expansion of flagship programme – Beti Bachao Beti Padhao – from Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan on the International Women’s Day.

  • The programme will be expanded from the present 161 districts to 640 all over the country, giving a fillip to the government’s initiative to save and educate the girl child.
  • The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the National Nutrition Mission. The mission strives to reduce under-nutrition and low birth weight, bring down anaemia among young children, women and adolescent girls and reduce the prevalence of stunting among children.
  • The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Time Is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives“. 

 

International Women’s Day:

  • International Women’s Day is a global celebration of the social, cultural, economic and political achievements of women. 
  • Women’s Day was first observed on 28th February, 1909 in New York.
  • At 1910 International Woman’s Conference, 8th March was suggested to be observed as International Woman’s Day.
  • March 8 also became a national holiday in Soviet Russia in 1917 after women gained suffrage there.
  • Later, in 1975, International Women’s Day was celebrated for the first time by the United Nations.

 

  1. India is keen to collaborate with other nations on 5G technology

India is keen to collaborate with other nations on 5G technology to cement its position as a leader in refinement and adoption of this emerging and important technology.

  • 5G as one of the most important and emerging areas and the 5G push will act as a catalyst for India’s flagship Digital India mission.

 

  1. The Government will soon introduce bio-fuel policy 2018

Context:

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas said this while inaugurating a two-day bilateral conference on advanced biofuels jointly organised by European Union and India.

Highlights of conference:

  • Generation of 2G ethanol from non-sugar resource will be the key factor.
  • Government stressed on Govardhan Yojana , for generation of Bio-CNG, in this year’s budget.
  • The country will witness a new economy of waste to wealth worth one lakh crores in the coming years.

 

  1. The Centre is committed to give Andhra Pradesh a financial assistance equivalent to a special category state, Finance Minister
  • It is agreed with the assessment that Andhra Pradesh is financially suffering after Telangana was carved out of the state.
  • The promise of giving the state a special status category for AP did exist when the state was bifurcated in 2014.
  • But, after the implementation of the 14th Finance Commission recommendation, such a treatment is now constitutionally restricted to just the North Eastern and three hilly states.

 

  1. Advanced Research and development of useful technologies are the need of the hour – President

President said that Advanced Research and development of useful technologies are the need of the hour as knowledge and innovation can keep pace with changes in society.

  • Along with science and technology, enlightened and modern thinking is necessary to ensure that every section moves ahead amid equality and fraternity.
  • We live in an age of globalisation, of building a world that does not just accommodate but celebrates diversities, and that combines the best to modern technology with a traditions and cultures of our society to build the  India of our dreams.

 

  1. The bilateral trade between India and China reached an all-time high

The bilateral trade between India and China reached an all-time high of 84.4 billion US dollars last year.

  • The bilateral trade in 2017 rose by 18.63 per cent year-on-year to reach 84.44 billion dollars. It was 71.18 billion dollars in 2016.
  • A rare novelty of the bilateral trade was about 40 per cent increase in Indian exports to China totalling 16.3 billion dollars.
  • The trade touched historic high despite bilateral tensions over a number of issues including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, China blocking India’s efforts to bring about a UN ban on Jaish-e-Mohammad leader Masood Azhar, Beijing blocking India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group as well as the military standoff at Doklam.

 

  1. Renowned Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi has been awarded this year’s Pritzker Prize
  • Renowned Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi has been awarded this year’s Pritzker Prize for being able to interpret architecture and transform it into buildings that respect Eastern culture.
  • The Pritzker Prize is regarded as architecture’s equivalent to the Nobel Prize.