KERALA
- State shifts to new health insurance plan
- Ten years after the smooth implementation of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), Kerala will move to a new health insurance programme, Karunya Arogya Suraksha Paddhati (KASP), which will offer an enhanced health coverage of ₹5 lakh to the entire beneficiary family.
- Despite the uncertainties over the change-over, that too on a new IT platform, the 40.96 lakh beneficiary families currently enrolled under RSBY and the 600-odd empanelled public and private service providers (hospitals) are expected to make a seamless transfer to the new scheme, KASP, in phases.
- KASP is Kerala’s new integrated health protection scheme, a merger of various health financing schemes in the State, including Karunya as well as Centre’s Ayushman Bharat-Prime Minister’s Jan Arogya Yojana.
- Even though there were apprehensions that the launch of KASP might be delayed and that treatment may be denied to erstwhile beneficiaries of RSBY, Comprehensive Health Insurance Agency of Kerala (CHIAK), the State health authority implementing the scheme, has clarified that all beneficiaries reporting to empanelled hospitals will have access to treatment.INTERNATIONAL
- World’s longest salt cave found in Israel
- Israeli cave explorers discovered the cave named Malham, the world’s longest salt cavewith striking stalactites near the Dead Sea. Previously, Iran’s N3 cave held the record.
Malham Cave:
- The cave named Malham is stretched over 10 km.It runs through Mount Sodom, Israel’s largest mountain, and spills out to the southwest corner of the adjacent Dead Sea. Pale salt stalactites hang from the ceilings, and some of the walls sparkle with salt crystals. Drops of salty water are visible at the tips of some of the stalactites.
Iran’s N3 cave:
- But in 2006, researchers mapped over6 km of the N3 cave in southern Iran’s Qeshm island, granting it the widely recognised status of the world’s longest salt cave.
- Four sports including Breakdancing get provisional green light for Paris Olympics 2024
- Breakdancing was among four sports given a provisional green light for inclusion in theParis 2024 Games by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
- The three other sports namely – Surfing, Skateboarding and sport climbingalso got approval for provisional inclusion in Summer Olympics 2024 from IOC.
2024 Summer Olympics is Commonly known as Paris 2024 and its Motto is Made for sharing.
- Opening and Closing on 26 July, 2024 and 11 August, 2024respectively.
2020 Summer Olympics Host city is Tokyo and 2028 Summer Olympics Host city is Los Angeles.
- Earth Hour 2019: 30 March
- Cities around the world marked Earth Hour on 30 March by turning off lights at 8:30 p.m. local time.
- Like every year, Earth Hour 2019 falls on the last Saturday of March.
- It Organised each year by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
- The Earth Hour was started in 2007 as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia.
- Theme: #Connect2Earth
NATIONAL
- Five varieties of Indian coffee have been awarded the GI tag
- Five varieties of Indian coffee have been awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, a move that will enhance their visibility globally and allow growers to get the right value.
- The 5 Varieties are:
♦Coorg Arabica coffee from Kodagu district of Karnataka
♦ Wayanaad Robusta coffee from Wayanad district in east Kerala
♦ Chikmagalur Arabica coffee from Chikmagalur district, Karnataka,
♦ Araku Valley Arabica coffee from Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha region
♦ Bababudangiris Arabica coffee from the central portion of Chikmagalur district
- Ministry of Commerce launched blockchain based e marketplace for coffee
- The Ministry of Commerce and Industrieshas launched blockchain based e-marketplace for coffee. The Blockchain based e-marketplace helps farmers integrate directly with markets in a transparent manner, allowing them to realize fair prices for their produce. The blockchain technology will help in reducing the number of intermediaries between coffee growers and buyers and help farmers double their income.
- The blockchain-based marketplace app can be used for trading coffee brings transparency and maintains thetraceability of Indian coffee from bean to cup. It can be used by facilitating direct access to buyers, it will reduce growers’ dependency on intermediaries and help them get a fair price for their produce. The coffee board has collaborated with Eka Plus for the development of the app.
- India produces one of thebest coffees in the world and a considerable portion of it comes from small coffee growers and tribal farmers. Although Indian coffee is highly valued in the world market, the share of farmers in the final returns from coffee is very low. The Blockchain based e-marketplace app is expected to help farmers in gaining higher returns.
- IIT Kharagpur, Wipro Partner For Research In 5G and AI
- Wipro Limited (Bengaluru Based), a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company and Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur), signed an MoU to collaborate on high-impact, industry-focused applied research in the areas of 5G and AI.
- Research outcomes from this partnership will be leveraged by Wipro to develop solutions for its customers, across industry verticals.
- PFC has been named as the Indias second largest Govt-owned Financial Firm after SBI
- After acquiring a majority stake in REC Ltd (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited), center backed Power Finance Corporation (PFC)become India’s second largest Govt-owned Financial Firm after State Bank of India (SBI), based on market capitalization.
- PFC has bought the 52.63% controlling stake in REC through Rs 14,500 crore deal with Union government.
- The REC’ shares were acquired at Rs139.50 per equity share price.
- 70% of the deal was financed through cash inflows and the balance through debt.
- Vijaya Bank, Dena Bank to merge with Bank of Baroda
- Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will merge with Bank of Baroda (BoB) to create the third-largest lender of the country.
- The government-forced merger, announced in September last year, creates the third largest bank in the country after State Bank of India and HDFC Bank.
- All customers of Dena Bank, which is under prompt corrective action (PCA) framework of the RBI, will have renewed access to credit facilities immediately.
- To make the merger a smooth affair, the government last week decided to infuse 5,042 crore rupees in Bank of Baroda to enhance its capital base to meet the additional expense.
- Branches of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank will function as Bank of Baroda outlets from April following the amalgamation.
- This is the second merger of state-run banks in recent years in the banking sector after State Bank had merged five of its associate banks from April 2017.