CURRENT AFFAIRS REVISION (MARCH : 08-03-2017)

 WHO REPORT ON POLLUTED ENVIRONMENT:  

·         World Health Organisation (WHO) report titled “Inheriting a sustainable world: Atlas on children’s health and the environment”, polluted environment kills around 1.7 million children a year.

·         The report gives a comprehensive overview of the environment’s impact especially air pollution on children’s health, shows the scale of the challenge.

HIGHLIGHTS OF REPORT:

·         Every year, environmental risks such as outdoor and indoor air pollution, unsafe water, second-hand smoke, lack of sanitation and inadequate hygiene results in quarter of all global deaths of children under five.

·         Large portion of the most common causes of death among children are diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia due to pollution. Harmful exposures also increase the risk of premature birth.

·         When infants and pre-schoolers are exposed to air pollution they have an increased lifelong risk of chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma.

·         Exposure to air pollution may also increase their lifelong risk of stroke, heart disease and cancer.

·         Children’s developing organs and immune systems, and smaller bodies and airways, make them vulnerable pollution.

HDFC LIFE BRINGS COUNTRY'S FIRST LIFE INSURANCE CHATBOT WITH HAPTIK:

·         HDFC Life, one of India's leading private life insurance companies, announced the launch of India's first life insurance chatbot in collaboration with Haptik, India's largest chatbot platform.

·         The chatbot will act as a financial guide to help users choose the most suitable life insurance plans and solutions.

·         This chatbot will assist the customers with insurance advice - ranging from Health to Tax Planning & Retirement, based on a simple 60-second quiz which enables it to compute their Insurance Quotient.

·         The chatbot not only works as a personal financial advisor but also brings to the forefront the universal need for life insurance.

·         The chatbot will be live for only two weeks from the date of its launch on the Haptik app, which is available on both iOS and Android.

WHAT IS CHATBOT?

·         A chatbot (also known as a talkbot, chatterbot, Bot, chatterbox, Artificial Conversational Entity) is a computer program which conducts a conversation via auditory or textual methods.

·         This programs are often designed to convincingly simulate how a human would behave as a conversational partner.

·         The term "ChatterBot" was originally coined by Michael Mauldin (creator of the first Verbot, Julia) in 1994 to describe these conversational programs.

·         There are two main types of chatbots, one functions based on a set of rules, and the other more advanced version uses artificial intelligence.

HYDERABAD AIRPORT RANKS 1ST IN WORLD IN AIRPORT SERVICE QUALITY:

·         GMR’s Hyderabad International Airport has secured first position in the world in the prestigious Airports Council International (ACI)-Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey in the 5-15 million passengers per annum (MPPA) category for the year 2016.

FIRST SMART TRIBAL VILLAGE HABBI INAUGURATED IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR:

·         Jammu and Kashmir’s 1st smart tribal village Habbi has inaugurated by J & K  Minister for food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Ch ZulfkarAli.

·         Habbi village is located in Kotranka in Rajouri District of Jammu and Kashmir.

·         The smart village has been introduced with smart classes in the schools, better roads, electricity and water facility.

JAL KRANTI ABHIYAN

·         It was launched on 5th June, 2015 across the country

·         Jal Kranti Abhiyan is being celebrated during the year 2015-16 to consolidate water conservation and management in the country through a holistic and integrated approach involving all stakeholders, making it a mass movement.

·         One of the main objectives of the Abhiyan is strengthening grass root involvement of all stakeholders including panchayati raj institutions and local bodies for participatory irrigation management.

INDO-NEPAL JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE ‘SURYA KIRAN-XI’ BEGINS IN UTTARAKHAND:

·         The 2-week long India-Nepal joint military exercise ‘Surya Kiran-Xi‘begins in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand.

·         Its aim is to train both the troops in the area of various counter insurgency operations over a prolonged period.

·         It will also focus on other important aspects such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations and environmental conservation.

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Source : The Hindu,  PIB