Headlines At a Glance – 30th Jan 2020
Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 to be amended
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020, to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. It will be introduced in the ensuing session of Parliament. According to a release, the proposed amendment seeks to enhance the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women that will be defined in the amendments to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules and will include ‘vulnerable women including survivors of rape, victims of incest and other vulnerable women (like differently-abled women, minors) etc. Also, the upper gestation limit will not apply to cases of substantial foetal abnormalities diagnosed by the Medical Board.
SOURCE: The Hindu
Chandauli (UP) tops list of 112 aspirational districts ranked by NITI Aayog
Chandauli district in Uttar Pradesh has topped the list of aspirational districts ranked by the government think tank NITI Aayog in December. Bolangir (Odisha) and YSR (Andhra Pradesh) have been placed at the second and third positions, respectively. Sahibganj (Jharkhand) has been ranked at the fourth spot and Hailakandi (Assam) at the fifth place. The delta rankings took into account incremental progress made by over 112 aspirational districts across six developmental areas in December 2019. Health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion, skill development and basic infrastructure were the development areas that were taken into consideration for the ranking.
SOURCE: Outlook India
TERI organizing World Sustainable Development Summit in New Delhi
The World Sustainable Summit is an annual event organized by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). The event is to be held between January 29, 2020 and January 31, 2020. This year, the event is being held at New Delhi. The theme of the event is – ‘Towards 2030: Making the Decade Count’. The Summit bring together Nobel laureates, decision-makers and political leaders from multilateral institutions. After signing the Paris Agreement in 2015, the summit aims to provide long term solutions to issues related to future of humanity.
SOURCE: Times of India
Assam is the top state in terms of best practices followed in budget formulation: Transparency International
Assam has emerged as the top state in terms of best practices followed in budget formulation, followed by Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, says a survey by Transparency International. The survey was based on four parameters — public disclosure, budgetary process, post budget fiscal management and efforts to make budget more transparent and citizen friendly. The states which figured lower in the ranking were Goa, Maharashtra and Punjab. It is ironical that being a ‘Union of States’, state budgets in India has never received such importance as claimed by Union Budget as per the reports of the Transparency International.
SOURCE: Business Standard
World Social Report 2020, published by UN-DESA
The World Social Report 2020 examines the impact of four such megatrends on inequality: technological innovation, climate change, urbanization and international migration. Technological change can be an engine of economic growth, offering new possibilities in health care, education, communication and productivity. But it can also exacerbate wage inequality and displace workers. The accelerating winds of climate change are being unleashed around the world, but the poorest countries and groups are suffering most, especially those trying to eke out a living in rural areas. Urbanization offers unmatched opportunities, yet cities find abject poverty and opulent wealth in close proximity, making gaping and increasing levels of inequality all the more glaring. International migration allows millions of people to seek new opportunities and can help reduce global disparities, but only if it occurs under orderly and safe conditions.
SOURCE: www.un.org
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