28 July 2018 - Daily Current Affairs

28 July 2018 - Daily Current Affairs

1. World Hepatitis Day being observed today

• The World Hepatitis Day is being observed on 28th July worldwide to raise global awareness of Hepatitis and encourage prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
• The Theme for this year is " Test. Treat. Hepatitis".
• Today, The Union Government has launched the National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme in New Delhi.
• The programme proposes to offer free drugs and diagnostics for hepatitis B and C at all government hospitals.
• Hepatitis is a group of infectious diseases known as Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E.

Note:

• World Hepatitis Day is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the WHO.

2. The world witnessed the longest Lunar eclipse of the century

• Last night, Skywatchers in many parts of the world witnessed the longest Lunar eclipse (one hour 43 minutes) of the century.
• The eclipse was visible in Europe, West Asia, Africa, Australia, most of Asia and South America.

Note:

• A total lunar eclipse takes place when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon & covers the Moon with its shadow.
• When this happens, the Moon turns red or ruddy brown, which is why the phenomenon has earned the nickname, 'blood moon'.

Obituaries

3. World's oldest person Chiyo Miyako passed away in Japan

• The world's oldest person Japanese woman Chiyo Miyako (117-year-old) has passed away on 22nd July 2018 at her home state south of Tokyo.
• Her death was confirmed by the government of Kanagawa,
• Miyako (2nd May 1901) became the world's oldest person in April after Nabi Tajima from the Kikai island in southern Japan died at age 117.

National Affairs

4. 6th India-UK Science & Innovation Council Meeting held in New Delhi

• The 6th India-UK Science & Innovation Council (SIC) meeting held to discuss a range of issues on S&T cooperation in New Delhi.
• The union minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and Mr Sam Gyimah (Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, UK) led the Indian and UK delegations respectively.

5. Vodafone idea gets final Government approval

• The Department of Telecom (DoT) has given final approval to the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular (known as Vodafone Idea).
• Idea Cellular and Vodafone India jointly paid Rs. 7,268.78 crores 'under protest' to the DoT.
• The entities will approach Registrar of Companies (RoC) for stipulated filings for approval, completing the last leg of formalities.
• Now, Vodafone Idea will create India's largest mobile-phone company and help the firms compete with billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.

6. NGT forms monitoring committee for Clean Yamuna Project

•  The National Green Tribunal (NGT) formed a monitoring committee on the cleaning of the Yamuna River.
• The green panel has appointed B S Sajwan (retired expert member) and Shailaja Chandra (former Delhi chief secretary) as members of the committee.
• The Committee will submit a detailed report on the issue by 31^st December 2018.

7. Gujarat Government announces urban sanitation police

• The Gujarat government has announced an `Urban Sanitation and Cleanliness Policy' for better management of solid and liquid waste in cities.
• The policy aims at the complete abolition of manual scavenging.
• The policy also puts a thrust on the recycling of drainage water. It is in line with the National Urban Sanitation Policy.

8. Arunachal Pradesh Government to launch new health insurance scheme

• The Arunachal Pradesh Government has announced to replace the health insurance scheme conceived by the previous regime with a new one.
• The new Chief Minister's Arogya Arunachal Yojana (CMAAY) will enable citizens to avail cashless health services in empanelled hospitals.
• The vision is to accord quality and cashless healthcare services to the people of the state envisaging universal health care to all by 2020.

Note: Once launched, the scheme will offer healthcare services of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year.

9. Subhash Bhamre inaugurates Air Defence India – 2018 Seminar

• The Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre has inaugurated a two-day Air Defence India – 2018 Seminar & Exhibition, organised by Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS).
• The term ‘Air Defence’ implies defence operations but it is an important operational function which helps our Strike Corps to be offensive and the Air Force to act with impunity.

Sports

10. Indian women's compound archery team reaches world rank-1

• Indian women's compound archery team has become the world rank one side in the category.
• The team is six points ahead of the Chinese Taipei team.
• The women's compound archery team jumped to the top spot with 342.6 points, with the Chinese Taipei team standing second with a difference of six points.