1. MENTHOL CIGARETTES
The US Food and Drug Administration on April 28 issued a proposal to ban menthol cigarettes and flavoured cigars, a move aimed at not just curbing smoking in the American population, but also “reducing tobacco-related health disparities”.
About:
- Menthol cigarettes see a disproportionately high usage in the African American community than by White Americans.
- The FDA’s move, thus, has been welcomed by many as likely to help reduce the burden of tobacco-related ailments specifically in the Black population.
Why does the FDA consider menthol cigarettes especially dangerous?
- The agency says menthol, with its minty taste and aroma, reduces the irritation and harshness of smoking. This increases appeal and makes menthol cigarettes easier to use, particularly for youth and young adults.
- Menthol also interacts with nicotine in the brain to enhance nicotine’s addictive effects, while making it more difficult for people to quit smoking.
- The agency said “modeling studies have estimated a 15 per cent reduction in smoking within 40 years” if menthol cigarettes were banned.
- Apart from menthol, all other flavours in cigarettes were banned in the US in 2009.
2. INDIGENOUS AIRCRAFT CARRIER VIKRANT
The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant being built by the Cochin Shipyard Ltd will be handed over to the Indian Navy by August this year. The final sea trial of the IAC will take place next month.
About:
- The yard is in the process of setting up a new drydock, with a 600-tonne gantry crane, capable of handling vessels up to Suezmax, aircraft carriers of 70,000 tonnes displacement, Jack-up rigs and LNG vessels.
- The International Ship Repair Facility being established by the Shipyard will have a 6,000-tonne shiplift, six work stations, besides a total outfitting berth of 1,500 metres.
- The Shipyard enjoys 40 per cent market share of the country's ship building industry and has so far built and exported 47 vessels to countries like Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, United States, Saudi Arabia and UAE.
3. COCHIN SHIPYARD LTD
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Cochin Shipyard Ltd.
About:
- He will also launch the work for developing the Ro-Ro (Roll-on, Roll-off) jetty near Mattacherry Wharf of the Cochin Port and unveil the new logo of the Cochin Port Authority.
- Sarbananda Sonowal will also inaugurate a workshop on "Green Shipping in India --Keeping Pace with the Global Maritime Green Transitions" in Kochi.
- Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) is the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in India. It is part of a line of maritime-related facilities in the port-city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala.
- Cochin Shipyard was incorporated in 1972 as a Government of India company.
4. PAWAN HANS LIMITED
The government has approved the highest bid of Star9 Mobility Private Limited for sale of entire 51 percent of government's shareholding of Pawan Hans Limited and transfer of management control.
About:
- The Alternative Mechanism, empowered by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, approved the strategic buyer for disinvestment of Pawan Hans Limited.
- Pawan Hans Limited is a joint venture of Government and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited.
- Government holds 51 percent of the shares in the company and ONGC holds the balance 49 percent shareholding. ONGC has earlier decided to offer its entire shareholding to the successful bidder identified in the government's strategic disinvestment transaction.
- Pawan Hans Limited has incurred losses in the last three financial years. The company has a fleet of 42 helicopters.
5. INDIGENOUSLY DEVELOPED ONLINE E-COMMERCE NETWORK
Government of India plans to roll out its indigenously developed online e-commerce network in 100 Indian cities to provide millions of Kirana stores and consumers an alternative to multinational platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.
About:
- Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal announced the test-launch of the open-source system. In a tweet, Mr Goyal said, after UPI, another game-changing idea to democratise commerce - ONDC.
- Additional Secretary in the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) Anil Agrawal said, the project is massive as it will provide a wide choice to all consumers and retailers and the formal launch will take place after successful testing of the system.
- He said, end-to-end testing is being done to create a playbook with an aim to launch it in 100 cities in six months. The initial test launch, which was started in Bengaluru, will also cover cities such as Delhi, Coimbatore, Bhopal and Shillong.
- The system will have multiple choices for both retailers and customers in terms of cataloguing, inventories, warehousing, suppliers, logistics and payments.
6. SEMICONINDIA CONFERENCE 2022
Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated SemiconIndia Conference 2022, the global semiconductor conclave designed to bring together key stakeholders to showcase existing capabilities, ideate innovations and discuss global best practices.
About:
- The flagship conclave with the theme Catalyzing India’s Semiconductor Ecosystem, is being held in Bengaluru from 29th April to 1st May 2022.
- Inaugurating the conference, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India said, We have earmarked USD 10 billion for India Semiconductor Mission and are creating an environment that encourages growth to create a vibrant semiconductor ecosystem and steer India into the future.”
- The conference aligns with the larger national narratives such as Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat and is pegged as the launchpad to India Semiconductor Mission (ISM).
- IESA launched an industry report on ‘Semiconductor manufacturing supply chain – India’s opportunity in the global market”.
During the conference, the below Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) were inked:
- MOU signed between SEMI and ELCINA to promote semiconductor ecosystem in India
- MOU between CDAC and Qualcomm for partnership in semiconductors which will target semiconductor design startups, in line with the objectives of the PLI scheme
- MOU between AICTE and SEMI and ISM for training and skilling tech workforce for the semiconductor sector
7. QUALCOMM
Qualcomm India Private Limited (Qualcomm India), part of the Qualcomm group of companies (NASDAQ: QCOM), plans to initiate and conduct the Qualcomm® Semiconductor Mentorship Program (‘QSMP’) 2022 for select startups from the semiconductor space in India.
Under this collaboration, C-DAC and Qualcomm India intend to work towards the following broad objectives:
- Nurture technical advancements and intellectual-property-driven innovation and product development required for semiconductor design in the Indian ecosystem.
- Help reduce risks in innovation; accelerate the pace of business development; and develop soft skills and knowledge base of Indian startups engaged in semiconductor design.
- Facilitate access for the selected startups with domain experts, VCs, accelerators, incubators, industry associations and large companies that could help them scale up their business.
- Create platforms and forums that provide opportunities to work with high-growth-potential small businesses and startups who have potentially disruptive technologies that could develop or reshape semiconductor supply chains in the future.
Qualcomm
- Qualcomm is the world’s leading wireless technology innovator and the driving force behind the development, launch, and expansion of 5G. When we connected the phone to the internet, the mobile revolution was born.
8. NATIONAL BEHAVIOUR CHANGE COMMUNICATION FRAMEWORK FOR GARBAGE FREE CITIES
Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has launched the ‘National Behaviour Change Communication Framework for Garbage Free Cities’ to strengthen the ongoing janandolan for ‘Garbage Free Cities’.
About:
- Now, under SBM-U 2.0, the newly launched ‘National Behaviour Change Communication Framework for Garbage Free Cities’ shall serve as a guiding document and blueprint for States and Cities to undertake large scale multimedia campaigns along with intensive and focused inter-personal communication campaigns.
- The framework focuses on intensifying messaging around the key focus areas of source segregation, collection, transportation, and processing of waste, plastic waste management, and remediation of legacy dumpsites to truly transform the urban landscape of India.
9. ATAL NEW INDIA CHALLENGE 2.0 (ANIC 2.0)
Atal Innovation Mission launched the phase 1 of the 2nd edition of the Atal New India Challenge (ANIC 2.0) on 28th April 2022.
About:
- Atal New India Challenge is a flagship program of Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog.
- The program aims to seek, select, support and nurture technology-based innovations that solve sectoral challenges of national importance and societal relevance.
- One of the primary goals of the ANIC program is to support innovations in areas critical to India’s development and growth – Education, Health, Water and Sanitation, Agriculture, Food Processing, Housing, Energy, Mobility, Space Application etc.
- Launching the Challenge, Dr S. Chandrasekar, Secretary, DST in his address said that Government will hand-hold the path breaking innovations and asked the start-ups to take up hard challenges.
- The Atal New India Challenge aims to address the Commercialization Valley of Death - supporting innovators scale over the risks associated with access to resources for testing, piloting and market creation.
10. MISSION SAGAR IX
With the overarching aim of providing critical medical aid to Sri Lanka during the ongoing crisis, INS Gharial as part of Mission SAGAR IX today reached Colombo.
About:
- Mission SAGAR IX: INS Gharial reaches Colombo, delivers critical medical aid to Sri Lanka
- It delivered over 760 kgs of 107 types of critical lifesaving medicines. The shipment was received by Sri Lankan Health Minister Channa Jayasumana.
- In line with the Government's vision of SAGAR - Security And Growth for All in the Region - the Indian Navy undertakes several deployments titled Mission SAGAR to assist friendly countries.
- Since May 2020, the Indian Navy has successfully concluded eight such missions, deploying ten ships to 18 Friendly Foreign Countries.
Source : All India radio