WHY IN NEWS?

In United Nation’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific’s (UNESCAP) latest Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation, India has scored 90.32%.

India’s performance in the survey

• Having evaluated 143 economies globally, this year’s Survey has highlighted India’s significant score improvement on all 5 key indicators.
• Transparency is 100% in 2021 (It was 93.33% in 2019)
• Formalities has been recorded at 95.83% in 2021 (It was 87.5% in 2019)
• Institutional Arrangement and Cooperation is 88.89% in 2021 (It was 66.67% in 2019)
• In 2021 Paperless Trade is 96.3% (It was 81.48% in 2019)
• Cross-Border Paperless Trade in 2021 is 66.67% (In 2019 it was 55.56%)
• Comparing to the South and South West Asia region (63.12%) and Asia Pacific region (65.85%) India has performed the best.
• This survey has found that the overall score of India is greater than many OECD countries which include UK, France, Norway, Canada and Finland etc.
• The survey shows that India’s overall score is better than the European Union’s average score.
• For the Transparency index India has achieved a 100% score
• In the Women in trade component India has achieved 66%.

WHY IN NEWS?

A study conducted by Danone India, a French packaged foods and beverages company, along with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), has gauged the standard of psychological and physical, social relationships, and environment among more than 2,700 adults in India. It came up with the report that 46.2% Indians report a poor quality of life.

Finding of the report

• This report has revealed that nearly one out of every two Indian adults have reported a poor quality of life. That is 46.2% Indians.
• The city of Kolkata has recorded the highest percentage of adults (65%) with a poor Quality of Life score.
• Kolkata was followed by Chennai (49.8%), Delhi (48.5%), Patna (46.2%), Hyderabad (44.4%), Lucknow (40%) and Indore (39.2%).
• The city of Mumbai had the highest percentage of adults (68%) who recorded having a good quality of life
• Women scored less than for men in the aspect of physical health due to a lower level of physical activity among women.
• The survey also showed how the scores vary based on one’s age, gender, work and socio-economic status.

WHY IN NEWS?

WHO on 23^rd July launched its first Regional Status Report on Drowning Prevention in the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions. This report said that nearly two-thirds of all global deaths due to drowning occur in the Asia Pacific region.

About:

• Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury and death worldwide and it accounts for 7% of all injury-related deaths.
• This report by WHO states that Middle and low income countries account for more than 90% of all the unintentional drowning deaths in the world. Also over 50% of the world’s total drowning occurs in the Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions.
• In 48 of the 85 countries which have data on drowning, it is among the top five causes of death for children who are under the 15 years of age.
• Drowning accounts for 75% of all deaths during flood disasters. Many countries in the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions are vulnerable to this form of disaster.

WHY IN NEWS?

In the state of Madhya Pradesh, the cities of Orchha and Gwalior have been selected by UNESCO under its ‘Historic Urban Landscape Project.’ This project was started in the year 2011.

About:

• UNESCO’s Historic Urban Landscape project for the cities of Orchha and Gwalior was launched through video conferencing by Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
• Six cities of South Asia, including Indian cities of Varanasi and Ajmer are already involved in this project. Gwalior and Orchha have been included as the 7th and 8th cities of South Asia.
• UNESCO will prepare the management and development of these cities.
• This project will help in boosting the tourism of the state of Madhya Pradesh. Along with this additional employment opportunities will be created.
• These cities will be jointly developed by UNESCO, the Government of India and the state of Madhya Pradesh by putting primary focus on their cultural and historical improvement.
• By implementing this project of UNESCO, full care of the history, culture, traditions, nature as well as heritage of the cities will be sustainably developed.

WHY IN NEWS?

22^nd July is organised as World Fragile X Awareness Day. On this day various landmarks and monuments are illuminated by various communities globally.

About World Fragile X Day

• World Fragile X Day celebrates the families who have been impacted by Fragile X and highlights the progress of cure finding research.
• On World Fragile X Day monuments and landmarks across the globe are illuminated.
• World Fragile X Day began with FRAXA Research Foundation joining hands with the various communities around the world to raise Fragile X awareness while making progress toward effective treatments and a cure.

WHY IN NEWS?

Amsterdam, has unveiled the world’s first 3D-printed steel pedestrian bridge. This project has been opened on the Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal in the city of Amsterdam. The opening ceremony of this bridge was attended by the Queen of the Netherlands, Máxima.

About the 3D-printed steel bridge

• The length of the bridge is nearly 40 feet.
• It is a 6-ton stainless steel structure.
• This bridge has been constructed by MX3D an Amsterdam based 3D metal printing company.
• The entire printing process, with the help of four robots, took just six months.
• The bridge has been designed by the Joris Laarman Lab and was first unveiled during the Dutch Design Week in the year 2018.
• After several load-testing rounds were carried out in 2019 there were plans to install the structure in early 2020. However, the ongoing site preparation work at the canal delayed the bridge’s installation.

WHY IN NEWS?

Amsterdam, has unveiled the world’s first 3D-printed steel pedestrian bridge. This project has been opened on the Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal in the city of Amsterdam. The opening ceremony of this bridge was attended by the Queen of the Netherlands, Máxima.

About the 3D-printed steel bridge

• The length of the bridge is nearly 40 feet.
• It is a 6-ton stainless steel structure.
• This bridge has been constructed by MX3D an Amsterdam based 3D metal printing company.
• The entire printing process, with the help of four robots, took just six months.
• The bridge has been designed by the Joris Laarman Lab and was first unveiled during the Dutch Design Week in the year 2018.
• After several load-testing rounds were carried out in 2019 there were plans to install the structure in early 2020. However, the ongoing site preparation work at the canal delayed the bridge’s installation.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Billionaire Jeff Bezos has made a short journey to space, in the first crewed flight of his rocket ship, New Shepard. He was accompanied by Mark Bezos, his brother, Wally Funk, an 82-year-old pioneer of the space race, and an 18-year-old student.
• They travelled in a capsule with the biggest windows flown in space, offering stunning views of the Earth. On this flight was the oldest person who has been to space, Wally Funk and the youngest, student Oliver Daemen.
• When the capsule touched back down after the 10-minute, 10-second flight, Jeff Bezos exclaimed: “Best day ever!”
• New Shepard, built by Bezos’ company Blue Origin, is designed to serve the burgeoning market for space tourism.

WHY IN NEWS?

• The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar has developed a first-of-its-kind Oxygen Rationing Device called AMLEX, to save the oxygen which otherwise gets wasted unnecessarily, and in turn, increase the life of medical oxygen cylinders three folds.
• The device will supply a required volume of oxygen to the patient during inhalation and will trip when the patient exhales carbon dioxide.
• “AMLEX”, on the other hand, was a system developed specifically for oxygen cylinders synchronising the flow of oxygen with inhalation and exhalation of the patient, thus conserving a large amount of oxygen in the reservoir for a long-lasting operation.
• As “AMLEX” supplies a required volume of oxygen to the patient during inhalation and trips when the patient exhales CO2, it saves the flow of oxygen at that time.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Perumkulam, in Kollam District, has been bestowed with the title Kerala’s first ‘Book Village’. This claim to fame results from years of concerted efforts aimed at encouraging the habit of reading.
• Perumkulam is a small village in Kulakkada near Kottarakkara in Kollam district. Bapuji Smaraka Grandhasala’, a library in the village is at the forefront in this effort of making it the first book village of the State.
• The library inculcates passion towards reading by setting up bookshelves, or ‘Book Nests’ placed at different corners of the village. Anybody can take books from the book nests, read them, and keep them back.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Director Payal Kapadia’s,“A Night of Knowing Nothing” won the Oeil d’or (Golden Eye) award for best documentary at the 74th Cannes Film Festival.
• The Mumbai-based filmmaker’s first feature bagged the prestigious prize in a formidable field made up of 28 documentaries presented across various sections of the festival. A Night of Knowing Nothing screened as part of the Directors’ Fortnight, a section that runs parallel to the festival.
• The award was instituted in 2015by LaScam (the French-Speaking Writers’ Society) and Bertuccelli in collaboration with the Cannes Film Festival and its general delegate Thierry Fremaux.