31 May 2016 Current Affairs
Central Government Doctors’ Retirement Age
Extended To 65-years
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31 May approved the proposal of
extending the retirement age of all doctors of the Central Health Service to 65
years. The proposal made by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will be
effective from May 31, 2016. This will enable the Government to retain
experienced doctors for a longer period, and to provide better services in its
public health facilities, particularly to the poorest, who are entirely
dependent on public facilities.
Admiral Sunil Lanba Takes Over as Chief of
Naval Staff
Admiral Sunil Lanba on 31 May took over as Chief of Naval Staff.
58-year-old Lanba, a specialist in Navigation and Direction, will have the full
three-year tenure as the Navy Chief. Lanba succeeded Admiral RK Dhowan. An
alumnus of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Lanba is the 21st Indian
to be the Navy Chief. The first two were British.
Ashok Lavasa Becomes new Finance Secretary
Ashok Lavasa was on 31 May 2016 was appointed as the Finance
Secretary. Lavasa, at present serving as the Expenditure Secretary, is a 1980
batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre. The post was lying vacant since April 2016
after the retirement of Ratan Watal. After retirement, Watal was appointed as
principle advisor, social sector, in the NITI Aayog.
World No Tobacco Day 2016 Observed Across The
World
The World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) 2016 was observed globally on 31
May 2016. To mark this occasion, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the
Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control called countries
to get ready for plain packaging of tobacco products. Every year, on 31 May,
the WHO and its partners in close collaboration with the governmental and non
governmental agencies organize events, workshops, seminars to raise awareness
about the ill effects of tobacco processing, trade and usage among the masses
and the policy makers.In December 2012, Australia became the first country to
fully implement plain packaging. In 2015, Ireland, the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland and France all passed laws to implement plain
packaging from May 2016. On 15 May 1987, the WHO passed a resolution, calling
for 7 April 1988, to be the first WNTD. The date was chosen because it was the
40th anniversary of the WHO.However, on 17 May 1989, the WHO passed another
resolution calling for 31 May to be annually known as WNTD. Thus, this event
has been observed each year since 1989.