Today’s GS BYTE

India, Oman sign 8 agreements

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 12 February 2018 held wide-ranging talks with the Sultan of Oman as the two sides signed eight agreements, including pacts on cooperation in the field of defence, health and tourism.

Modi, who arrived from Dubai on the last leg of his three-nation tour, led delegation-level talks with Qaboos bin Said al Said and discussed measures to strengthen cooperation in trade and investment, energy, defence, security, food security and regional issues.

 

What

1. They also signed an agreement on mutual visa exemption for holders of diplomatic, special, service and official passports and an MoU on cooperation in the field of health, tourism and peaceful uses of outer space.
2. The two countries also signed an agreement on cooperation between Foreign Service Institute, Ministry of External Affairs, India and Oman’s Diplomatic Institute.
3. An MoU on academic and scholarly cooperation between National Defence College, Sultanate of Oman and the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. The two sides also signed annexutre to the MoU on military cooperation.
4. More than nine million Indians work and live in the Gulf region. In Oman, they constitute the largest expatriate community.
5. On the first leg of his trip, Modi had travelled to Ramallah, becoming the first Indian prime minister to make an official visit to Palestine. From there he visited the UAE, before arriving in Oman.

International Conference on Unani Medicine

 

‘Lifestyle diseases are one of the major health challenges of the country, an area where integration of traditional and conventional medicine systems can play an important role’,

said Minister of State (IC), Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, MoS PMO and D/o Atomic Energy and Space Dr Jitender Singh inaugurating a two-day International Conference on Unani Medicine organized by the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM) as a part of Unani Day celebration in New Delhi. Dr. Singh emphasized all-round development of indigenous systems of medicine with special focus on holistic management of diseases. He opined that all the physicians irrespective of system of medicine whether modern or traditional may be co-located for addressing the requirement of patients in holistic manner.

 

What

1. On this occasion, a MoU was signed between CCRUM and Hamdard University, Bangladesh to establish an “academic chair” in Unani System of medicine in Bangladesh.
2. Hamdard University was represented by Dr. Abdul Mannan, Vice Chancellor. The aim of this MoU is to provide academic leadership to the institution, primarily through demonstrating and fostering excellence in teaching, research, and policy development related to Unani system of medicine at the varieties of levels within the discipline.
3. The Chief Guest also released the Conference Souvenir and Pictorial Album on Hakim Ajmal Khan depicting various aspects of his multidimensional personalitypublished to pay tribute to him on his 150th birth anniversary.
4. In two day conference various national level eminent personalities and stakeholders from academia, industry, regulators, and researchers in the field of Unani Medicine are participating in deliberations.
5. Besides national delegates, representatives from countries like South Africa, UK, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, USA, Portugal, UAE, Slovenia, Israel, Hungary, Bahrain, Tajikistan, etc are  also attending the conference.

WEF report on online threats

Majority of kids in the age bracket of 8-12 are subjected to online threats like cyber-bullying and video game addiction, and the situation is ‘acute’ in emerging economies, says a survey.

The joint report by DQ Institute and the World Economic Forum, over 50 per cent of 8-12 year olds are susceptible to cyber-bullying, video game addiction, offline meetings, disinformation and online sexual grooming. Notably, the problem is more acute in emerging economies, where ‘internet adoption has been more rapid and less subject to appropriate safeguards by parents, industry or government’.

 

What

1. The purpose of the ‘2018 DQ Impact Report’ is to highlight the need for concerted action by government, industry and civil society to help parents counter the threats facing the youngest ‘digital citizens’ and “such a need is more acute in emerging economies”.
2. We must act quickly and take positive steps to help these children facing cyber-risks around the world, especially in information and communication technology (ICT)-emerging countries.
3. We need to work together to help our children outsmart cyber-risks and become successful and responsible digital citizens who maximise their potential and minimise cyber-risks,” said Yuhyun Park, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the DQ Institute, Singapore.
4. The study of 38,000 children noted that 47 per cent have been victimised through cyber-bullying in the past year.
5. Today’s youth make up an important part of our informed society, they will be tomorrow’s voters and our future leaders. Ensuring they are better equipped to face the challenges of hyper-connected life, earlier on, should be a societal priority.
6. Moreover, the children spend an average of 32 hours per week in front of digital screens for entertainment alone– longer than the time they spend in school.
7. There is a positive association between screen time and exposure to cyber-bullying, video game addiction, offline meetings and online sexual behaviours.