INTERNATIONAL
- World Veterinary Day 2019 is observed on 28th April
- The World Veterinary Day 2019is observed on 28th April. It is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of veterinarians to the health of animals and society. The theme for the day is the Value of Vaccination. The day is initiated by the World Veterinary Association.
- The World Veterinary Association (WVA)will co-host the 2019 World Veterinary Day Award with HealthforAnimals, the global animal medicines association. The value of the award has been increased to $2500. WVA and HealthforAnimals believe it is essential for the global veterinary profession to educate the public, particularly animal owners and producers, about the benefits of vaccination for animal, human, and public health.
- BCIM economic corridor excluded from the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) umbrella
- India’s decision toskip the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) may have led to the exclusion of the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridorfrom the list of projects covered by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) umbrella.
- In an annex tagged with the Joint Communique of the Leaders’ Roundtable of the BRF the Chinese Foreign Ministry website has not listed the BCIMas a project covered by the BRI. BRI is the giant connectivity initiative speared by China to revive the ancient Silk Road across Eurasia and Africa. The BRF was concluded in Beijing, China.
South Asia is covered by three major undertakings:
- The China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC)
- The Nepal-China Trans-Himalayan Multi-dimensional Connectivity Network, including Nepal-China cross-border railway
- The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)
NATIONAL
- Cyclone Fani is likely to intensify in coastal TN regions by 30th April
- According to TheIndia Met Department (IMD), Cyclone Fani in South East Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify from a severe cyclonic storm into a ‘very severe cyclonic storm’ as it approaches coastal Tamil Nadu by 30 April.
- Later, IMD issued a red alert for Kerala and Tamil Naduand asked fishermen to avoid going into the sea in South East Bay and adjoining the equatorial Indian Ocean and those already at sea to return immediately till further notice.
High alert:
- Indian Navy has been put on high alert along theBay of Bengal coast. Naval ships have been positioned in Visakhapatnam and Chennai to rush to affected areas in need of rescuing. The Navy has also prepared to undertake Humanitarian Aid Distress Relief (HADR), evacuation and logistic support including providing medical aid.
- A very severe cyclonic storm means Fani will get Categorythree storm status on five-step Safir- Simpson scale(or Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale).
Cyclone Fani:
- The Cyclone Faniwas formed at low pressure region in south east of Sumatra (Indonesian island), which further intensified into a depression. It is expected to hit Tamil Nadu at speeds of over 100 kmph by 30th April and is unlikely to cross Tamil Nadu coast and south Andhra coast. It will result in light to moderate rainfall in coastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala and rainfall at isolated places in South Coastal Andhra Pradesh. Currently moving in north westwards direction at a speed of 21 kilometres per hour, it is expected to slowly change direction after May 1 to north and north-eastward.
· MSMEs created upto 3.32 lakh jobs per annum in last 4 years: CII survey
- A recent survey of over one lakh micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) shows that 332,394 net jobs were created over the past four years, registering an increase of 13.9 per cent over the employment base four years ago.
- More significantly, the survey by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) indicates that 570,804 new jobs are likely to be created over the next one year, marking an increase of 21 per cent over the current employment base. ‘Net jobs created’ is defined as recruitment less exits.
- The CII survey shows that micro enterprises were the largest job creators in the past four years and will continue to be so in the next three years. This holds true for both exporters and non-exporters.
- The top job generating sectors were hospitality and tourism followed by textiles, apparel and metal products. Machinery parts along with transport and logistics were the next significant job creators.
ð Maharashtra, Gujarat and Telangana have been the largest job generators over the past four years. In case of exporters, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana emerge as the top three states.
ð MSMEs growth is pivotal to jobs creation. Government initiatives such as 2 per cent interest subvention scheme, the Trade Receivables e-Discounting System (TReDS) and enabling ease of doing business needs to be promoted to MSMEs who are not taking benefit of these initiatives.
ð The total workforce size according to the Labour Bureau is estimated at 45 crore (projected for 2017-18), the overall job additions work out to 1.35 crore to 1.49 crore per annum