Changing the way of learning… st Daily Vocab Capsule 1 November 2018 1. Vice President embarks on three nation Africa visit The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu embarked on his first Africa visit from 31st October to November 6. In his weeklong visit, he will visit Botswana, Zimbabwe and Malawi where he is scheduled to interact with heads of state of the three nations, business fora and address Indian Community. The visit underlines the high priority, the government of India accords to Africa and is line with India’s efforts to have a sustained and regular engagement. The Vice President is accompanied by a high level Parliamentary delegation comprising of the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar, and four Members of Parliament. The Vice President will reach Botswana’s capital Gaboron on 31st October evening to attend the Official opening of the 13th Annual Global Expo where 25 Indian companies are participating for the first time showcasing India’s economic and Industrial proves. 2. Japan joins International Solar Alliance In a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), Japan announced joining the group submitting the instrument of ratification. Japan will be the 71st country to sign and 48th country to ratify the ISA Framework. The decision was announced at the end of bilateral Summit between Prime Minister Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe. 3. Anupam Kher resigns as FTII Chairperson The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has received letter from Shri Anupam Kher, Chairperson, Film & Television Institute of India, Pune in which Shri Kher has intimated his upcoming international shooting commitments. Due to those commitments, Shri Kher has informed that he will not be present in the country for nearly nine months between 2018-19. He feels that it will not be possible for him to discharge his responsibilities as Chairperson, FTII due to his commitments. 4. K J Alphons presides over the Program and Budget Committee meeting of UNWTO The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism, Shri. K. J. Alphons along with a delegation of senior officials is attending the 109th session of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Executive Council in Manama, Bahrain. The three day Session of UNWTO Executive Council began on 30th October 2018. The Executive Council will discuss several topics on the agenda that are related to the development of global Tourism sector. During the opening day of the Executive Council meeting, Shri. K. J. Alphons chaired the ‘Programme and Budget Committee’ meeting of UNWTO. In his opening remarks, the Minister highlighted the role of tourism in socio-economic development through job creation, enterprise and environment development and foreign exchange earnings. As the chair of the Committee, the Minister informed the session that for the first time, UNWTO had a surplus budget and most of the arrears due have been paid. India will be the chair of Programme and Budget Committee of UNWTO Executive Council till 2021. 5. India Improves Rank by 23 Positions in Ease of Doing Business The World Bank released its latest Doing Business Report (DBR, 2019) in New Delhi. India has recorded a jump of 23 positions against its rank of 100 in 2017 to be placed now at 77thrank among 190 countries assessed by the World Bank. India's leap of23 ranks in the Ease of Doing Business ranking is significant considering that last year India had improved its rank by 30 places, a rare feat for any large and diverse country of the size of India. As a result of continued efforts by the Government, India has improved its rank by 53 positions in last two years and 65 positions in last four years. The Doing Business assessment provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies on ten parameters affecting a business through its life cycle. The DBR ranks countries on the basis of Distance to Frontier (DTF), a score that shows the gap of an economy to the global best practice. This year, India’s DTF score improved to 67.23 from 60.76 in the previous year. For the third year in a row, New Zealand retained its position at the top of the Doing Business rankings. 6. Girish Radhakrishnan appointed United India Insurance CMD Girish Radhakrishnan has taken charge as the Chairman and Managing Director of Chennai-headquartered PSU non-life company, United India Insurance Company. Prior to this, he was heading the UK operations of New India Assurance for four-and-a-half years. 7. S. S. Deswal appointed as DG, ITBP The ACC has approved the appointment of Shri S. S. Deswal, IPS (HY: 84) as Director General, Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). He took charge from Shri R K Pachnanda, the outgoing DG of ITBP, who superannuated on October, 31. An MHA order said that Shri Deswal will hold the additional charge of the post of DG, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) till further orders. 8. Mary Kom named as brand ambassador of women’s world C’ship Five-time world champion Mary Kom has been named as the brand ambassador of the upcoming 10th edition of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Women World Championship. AIBA Women World Championship is slated to be held from November 15-24 in New Delhi. 9. Harsimrat Badal confers prizes to cleanest Mega Food Parks and Cold Chain Units Swachhta Pakhwada activities by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries have come to a close. On the penultimate day Union Minister Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal distributed prizes for cleanliness among Mega Food Parks and Cold Chain Units for maintaining, promoting and encouraging Swachhta Culture. The first prize was awarded to M/s. Patanjali Food and Herbal Park (P) Ltd. in Haridwar, the second prize by Satara Mega Food Park (P) Ltd., Satara District, Maharashtra and third by Pagro Frozen Foods Pvt.(P) Ltd. (Cold Chain Project) in Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab. 10. Pankaj Advani clinches Asian Snooker title Ace cueist Pankaj Advani won the Asian Snooker Tour by defeating Ju Reti of China. The 33-year-old registered a domination 6-1 victory over his Chinese opponent to finish on top. Pankaj had won his first international title in China way back in 2003. .