It is India’s first engine-less semi-high speed train, rolled out recently by Chennai based Integral Coach Factory (ICF).
It has been designed to maximum operating speed of 160 kmph.
It will eventually replace the Shatabdi Express for inter-city travel and it will cut travel time by 15% compared to Shatabdi.
This fully air-conditioned train is nicknamed “The NextGen Shatabdi”.
It is driven by a self-propulsion module and it is the first long-distance train without separate locomotive (engine).
The Shatabdi trains were introduced in 1988 and are presently running on over 20 routes connecting metros with other important cities.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and military organisation which was founded by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
India and Pakistan has recently become members of SCO in its 2017 meeting held at Astana, Kazhakhstan.
Observer status is given to Iran, Mongolia, Belarus, Afghanistan.
The official working languages of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation are Chinese and Russian.
The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is a permanent organ of the SCO.
It serves to promote cooperation of member states against terrorism, separatism and extremism.
SCO Meeting on Urban Disaster
India is going to host Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s meeting on Urban Disaster Handling.
Pakistan has accepted India’s invitation for the meeting.
It involves the joint mock exercise on urban earthquake search and rescue by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
It will provide an opportunity to member-countries to validate their preparedness and resilience to various disasters and making humanitarian assistance in disaster response more effective.
Currency Swap Arrangement
India and Japan has agreed to enter in to currency swap arrangement of $75 billion.
Currency swap arrangement means one country exchanges its national currency for that of another or even a third currency.
Under this arrangement, India can acquire dollars from Japan in exchange for rupees.
So, India can acquire yen or dollars from Japan upto $75 billion in exchange for rupees under a fixed exchange rate.
This exchange has to be reversed after an agreed period. Conversely, Japan can also seek dollars from India in exchange for yen.
This facility will serve as a line of defence for our country’s foreign exchange reserve.
Advantages – Short –term liquidity mismatches can be met quickly.
It will help stabilize the rupee, which has witnessed the steepest fall in recent years.
It improves market sentiment, curbs speculative pressure on the rupee.
Foreign Investors will draw comfort from the arrangement.
WHO Report on Child Health
World Health Organisation has recently released report on “Air Pollution and Child Health”.
According to the report, every day around 93% of the world’s children under the age of 15 years (1.8 billion children) breathe air that is so polluted it puts their health and development at serious risk.
The report highlights the reason why children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution.
One is that the children breathe more rapidly than adults and so absorb more pollutants.
The other reason is that pollutants are often more concentrated nearer to ground level.
It added that their developing organs and nervous system are also more susceptible to long-term damage than those of adults.
The study found that in poorer countries, 98% of all children under five are exposed to PM2.5 above WHO guidelines.
The report is being launched on the eve of WHO’s first ever Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health in Geneva.
Growth Rate of States
According to the recent ranking on growth rate, Andhra Pradesh has achieved the first rank in the country with an average growth of 10.5% during the last 4 years.
It surpassed the average growth rate in the country which stood at 7.3% for 4 years.
It is followed by Telangana in the 2nd place and Karnataka in the 3rd place.
Andhra Pradesh is the only State to clock the double-digit growth rate.
Gujarat, which is considered the most developed State, registered a growth of 10.5% in 2014-15 but it slipped in the following years.
