Cabinet approves MoU amongst BRICS Nations on RAPC

  • The Union Cabinet has approved the signing of an MoU amongst BRICS nations on the Regional Aviation Partnership Cooperation (RAPC).
  • BRICS nations include Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, as the acronym is made up of the first letters of their names.
  • The objective is to establish an institutional framework to cooperate in the field of civil aviation.
  • Among other aims of the agreement are airport infrastructure management, innovation, environment sustainability, qualification and training, and technical cooperation.

Cabinet approves proposal to make DMs approving authority for adoptions

  • The Union Cabinet has given its approval to make district magistrates, instead of courts, the final authority for approving adoptions.
  • The move has been made because courts are overburdened and take a long time to approve adoptions.
  • This decision aims to reduce the number of adoption cases pending in the courts and also to reduce the time for adoptions.

EU, Japan sign huge free trade deal

  • Japan and the EU have signed a sweeping free trade deal in Tokyo, and officials said that this sends a “clear message” against protectionism.
  • The deal is the largest ever negotiated by the EU and creates a massive free trade zone, eliminating tariffs for everything from Japanese cars to French cheese.
  • The agreement is expected to enter into force from 2019.

Cabinet approves MoU between India and Indonesia on cooperation on pharmaceutical products

  • The Union Cabinet has given approval for an MoU between India and Indonesia for cooperation in the field of pharmaceutical products, pharmaceutical substances, biological product and cosmetics regulatory functions.
  • The MoU will help understand each other’s regulatory requirements.
  • It will also establish cooperation and exchange of information relating to pharmaceutical products regulation.

Government reappoints Anil D Sahasrabudhe as AICTE Chairman

  • The union government has renewed the appointment of Prof. Anil D Sahasrabudhe as the chairman of the education regulator All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
  • He will hold the post until the age of 65 years.
  • Prof. Sahasrabudhe was initially appointed to the post of Chairman of the education regulator in July 2015.

Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra wins gold at Sotteville athletics meet

  • Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal at the Sotteville Athletics Meet in France.
  • He secured top spot on the podium with a throw of 85.17m.
  • Second spot on the podium went to Moldova’s Andrian Mardare, whose throw was some way behind Neeraj’s, at 81.48m..
  • Third at the event was Lithuania’s Edis Matusevicius, with a throw of 79.31m.

UNEP partners with Google to monitor impact of human activity on ecosystem

  • The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has entered into a partnership with Google to monitor the impact of human activity on global ecosystems.
  • The agreement will see Google provide sophisticated online tools for the purpose.
  • The partnership aims to develop a platform to enable governments, NGOs and the public to easily be able to track specific environment-related development targets.

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