ODISHA

Mobile app to answer tuberculosis queries

TB Mitra, a unique mobile application for tuberculosis-affected communities was launched in Berhampur.

Ganjam is the second district in the state after Bargarh to launch the app on a pilot basis as part of a collaboration between the State TB Cell, department of health and family welfare, and Reach, a non-profit organisation.

Prior to the app’s launch, two orientation meetings on the app were held for Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) and community health workers from across the district.

The app, which is available on Android and iOS, provides basic information on the disease, allows users to report issues they face at TB facilities, and maps facilities available near their location. Users will also be able to track issues they have reported and raise follow-up queries. The app will be rolled out across the state based on findings from the pilot phase. TB Mitra is currently available in Odia, Hindi and English.

INTERNATIONAL

International Literacy Day 2018

International Literacy Day is celebrated annually on September 8 across the world.

The day was declared by UNESCO on October 26, 1966.

According to UNESCO’s statistics, India’s literacy rate is 72.1 per cent.

This year International Literacy Day theme is “Literacy and skill development.”

UN postal agency to issue special Diwali stamp next month

The UN postal agency will issue special stamps here next month to commemorate the festival of Diwali.

The United Nations Postal Administration will issue a New York special event sheet on October 19 to commemorate the Indian festival.

The background of the sheet features the United Nations Headquarters building illuminated with the message of “Happy Diwali” to celebrate the spirit of the festival.

· Dr Arif Alvi sworn in as 13th president of Pakistan

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisaradministered the oath on September 9. Dr Arif ur Rehman Alvi is succeeding Mamnoon Hussain, who took oath as 12th head of state on September 9, 2013 after his election as a candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
Alvi, one of the founders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and dentist by profession, contested against two opposition candidates Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Pakistan Peoples Party senior leader Aitzaz Ahsan.

NATIONAL

· Government spent Rs 132 crore on GST advertisements

The expenditure on advertisements through print mediastood at nearly ₹127 crore while more than ₹5 crore was spent on advertisements with outdoor media.
There was “nil” expenditure for the same on electronic media.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was implemented on July 1, 2017.
The government had also roped in Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchanas brand ambassador to promote GST and inform people about its benefits.

· Rs 3K cr approved for women safety projects in 8 cities

Union Home Ministry has approved allotment of Rs 3,000 crore for women safety projects in eight metro cities, including Delhi. The project includes setting up of women police patrol teams, technological installations like panic buttons, smart-LED street lights, transit dormitories for women and children, one-stop crisis centres, forensic and cyber crime cells in the selected metros under the Women Safe City Project. It will be implemented in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Lucknow from 2018-19 to 2020-21.

An integrated approach has been followed while designing the physical infrastructure to be added to enhance safety of women and children in public places and to instil a sense of security in them

· Businesses may have to geotag office premises

Businesses may soon have to geo-tag their registered office premises in the statutory filings with the Registrar of Companies, as the government tightens regulatory systems to prevent fraud. Geo-tagging will let the online return filing system raise red flags wherever it detects that far too many companies are registered in the same premises.

This will help government identify instances of one building being used by hundreds of shell companies as their registered office or of companies citing vacant plots as their registered office address.

US Open 2018: Novak Djokovic beats Juan Martin del Potro to win title

Novak Djokovic produced an impeccable performance to beat Juan Martin del Potro in the US Open final and win his 14th Grand Slam title.

Djokovic, who won Wimbledon in July, will climb to fourth in the world after back-to-back Grand Slam victories.

Only great rivals Roger Federer (20) and Rafael Nadal (17) have won more.

· Naomi Osaka defeated Serena Williams to win U.S Open

Naomi Osaka became the first Japanese woman to win a Grand Slam title after she registered an emphatic win over Serena Williams in the finals of the U.S Open.

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