WHO publishes its first Essential Diagnostics List

  • The World Health Organization (WHO) has published its first Essential Diagnostics List.
  • The list specifies a range of tests to diagnose the most common diseases in the world.
  • It also lists out the many global priority diseases.
  • This was done to address the problem of the difficulty in accessing diagnostic services, which leads to incorrect treatment.
  • An estimated 46% of adults with type 2 diabetes worldwide go undiagnosed, risking serious health complications and higher health costs.

Cabinet approves National Policy on Biofuels - 2018

  • To promote safer and healthier fuels in India, the Union Cabinet has approved National Policy on Biofuels 2018.
  • The policy distinguishes between basic biofuels and advanced biofuels.
  • The new policy also allows the use of sugarcane juice and sugar containing materials for ethanol production.
  • The policy is expected to have the following benefits: reduce import dependency, lead to a cleaner environment, health benefits, employment generation, additional income for farmers, and solid waste management.

Cabinet approves Corpus for Micro Irrigation Fund with NABARD

  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved an initial corpus of Rs.5,000 crore for setting up a dedicated “Micro Irrigation Fund” (MIF) with NABARD.
  • This will be done under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).
  • The corpous will help to bring about 10 lakh hectares of land under irrigation.

BSE becomes India’s first stock exchange to be recognized as a Designated Offshore Securities Market by the US SEC

  • The Bombay Stock Exchange became the country’s first stock exchange to receive recognition as a ‘Designated Offshore Securities Market’ (DOSM) from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
  • The BSE joins an elite list of foreign securities exchanges that have been recognized as DOSMs by the SEC.
  • The recognition by the SEC is proof of the standards at the BSE, which has adopted international regulatory framework.
  • The DOSM status allows the sale of securities to US investors through the trading venue of BSE without registration of such securities with the US SEC. So it eases the trades by US investors in India.

Cyclone Sagar: IMD issues advisory to 5 states, 1 union territory

  • The India Meteorological Department has issued an advisory to Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, and Maharashtra, as well as the Lakshadweep archipelago over the cyclonic storm dubbed Cyclone Sagar.
  • The cyclonic storm is centred over the Gulf of Aden, about 390 km east-northeast of Yemen’s Aden city.
  • Gale winds speed reaching 70-80 kilometers per hour gusting to 90 kmph are very likely.

Guwahati has India’s first solar powered railway station

  • Guwahati has become India’s first railway station to run on solar power.
  • The project of installing solar panels was commissioned in April 2017.
  • Around 2,352 solar modules with a capacity of generating 700kW of power has been set up over the roof of the Guwahati railway station.
  • Due to the solar power, approximately 6.3 lakh kg of carbon dioxide emission has been reduced between April 12, 2017 and May 10, 2018.
  • The Guwahati solar panels have an average power generation capacity of 2048 KWh per day, and have generated a total of 7,96,669 KWH of electricity to date.