Bihar Affairs
NITI Aayog report: Bihar second worst on health parameters
Bihar has emerged as the second-worst performer, just above Uttar Pradesh, in terms of overall Health performance among the larger states in the fourth Health Index released by the. Kerala has emerged top among the 19 larger states.
Bihars index score was 31, a tad better than UPs 30.57. The maximum index score that a state/UT can achieve is 100 and Kerala scored 82.20.
However, in terms of incremental performance, Bihar was placed in the category of larger states which had shown positive results. Still, this was not significant in case of Bihar.
The fourth round of the Health Index has taken into account 2019-20 as the reference year and 2018-19 as the Base Year.
While maximum incremental performance was shown by UP with 5.52 points more than the base year, Bihars performance has increased by 0.76 points in reference year from the base year.
As per the report, the states showing 0.01 to 2.0-point improvement have been placed in the category of least improved, those less than 0 as not improved, those from 2.1 to 4 as moderately improved and those more than 4 as most improved. As per this categorisation, Bihar and four other states fall in the category of least improved.
National and International Affairs
Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm Deal
Sri Lanka and India are set to sign a long-awaited agreement to jointly develop the ‘Trincomalee oil tank farm.’
Highlights:
The Trincomalee oil tank farm deal is a much-desired project that has been contentious for a long time.
This project has been in the works for 16 months between India and Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka’s Energy Minister, Udaya Gammanpila, has directed the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) to establish a subsidiary called Trinco Petroleum Terminal Ltd for this purpose.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has given his approval for the establishment of a special purpose vehicle.
During World War II, the British built the “Trincomalee Oil Tank Farms” to serve as a refueling station. It was constructed next to the Trincomalee port, which boasts a beautiful natural harbor.
The century-old oil tanks, on the other hand, will need to be refurbished to be fit for use again, which will cost millions of dollars.
Brahmos Missile Manufacturing Unit Inaugration
On December 26, 2021, DEFENCE Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Brahmos Aerospace Cruise Missile Manufacturing Unit in Lucknow.
Highlights:
The defense minister stated that Russia was India’s strategic partner at the event.
He also backed India’s nuclear and other military deterrents in the face of external threats.According to him, the launch of the BrahMos Missile Project was proof of India and Russia’s defense manufacturing cooperation.
In 2016, India became a member of the MTCR. India and Russia intend to work together to develop a new generation of Brahmos missiles with a range of more than 800 kilometers.
It’s capable of hitting protected targets with pinpoint precision.
The BrahMos Missile is a ramjet supersonic cruise missile with a medium range. It can be launched from a ship, a submarine, or a plane. It’s one of the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missiles.
South Africas Highest Judicial Bench Has Indian- Origin Judge
Narandran ‘Jody’ Kollapen, of Indian ancestry, has been appointed to the Constitutional Court of South Africa.
Highlights:After a lengthy process of public interviews, Kollapen & Rammaka Steven Mathopo, 64, was appointed to the Constitutional Court as the newest members.
Both will begin their terms on January 1, 2022.
After extensive public interviews, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the appointment of Rammaka Steven Mathopo and Kollapen to the Constitutional Court.
Kollapen began practicing law in 1982 and specialized in public interest cases.
Chinas Recent AI Project – AI Prosecutor
Using , Chinese researchers have developed a machine that can charge people with crimes. This is the first developed country in the world.
Highlights:
The AI prosecutor is capable of filing charges with a 97 percent accuracy rate. It will file a charge based on the case’s verbal description.
Shanghai Pudong People’s Procuratorate, China’s largest and busiest district prosecution office, designed and tested it.
It’s possible that it’ll run on a desktop computer. The prosecutor would file a charge against each suspect based on 1,000 traits extracted from human-generated case description text.
More than 17,000 cases were used to “train” the machine between 2015 and 2020.