The International Film Festival of India (IFFI)
- The 53rd IFFI was conducted jointly by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Goa.
- The theme of the opening ceremony was “Evolution of Indian Cinema in the last 100 years”.
- The legendary Spanish fifilmmaker Carlos Saura was given the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award. Carlos Saura’s daughter, Anna, accepts the award on behalf of the filmmaker at the opening ceremony of the IFFI.
- The Telugu film veteran actor Chiranjeevi was conferred ‘Indian Film Personality of the Year 2022’ award.
Note
- IFFI was first held in 1952 and has since been held annually to provide a common platform for the best cinema at an International level to project excellence in the art of filmmaking.
India Launches Official Website of SCO for 2023 – “For a SECURE SCO”
- India has launched the official website of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) “For a Secure SCO,” as it will hold the next SCO summit as chairman in 2023.
- India will preside over the SCO Council of Heads of State in for the first time from September 2022, lasting for one year till September 2023.
- The official website of India’s Chairmanship of the SCO Council of Heads of State is https://indiainsco.in/home.
- At the 22nd Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State 2022 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, India took over the rotating presidency of the SCO from Uzbekistan.
- Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired the 22nd SCO summit in Samarkand.
Note
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed the concept of ‘SECURE’ at the 2018 SCO Summit in China.
- “S” represent security for citizens
- “E” for economic development
- “C” for connectivity in the region
- “U” for unity
- “R” for respect for sovereignty and integrity
- “E” for environmental protection.
Health ministry includes coronary stents in National List of Essential Medicines, 2022
- The Union Health Ministry has notified the inclusion of coronary stents in the National List of Essential Medicines, 2022.
- The inclusion is based on the recommendations by an expert committee constituted to review the inclusion of stents in the list based on requirement.
- A move that will help make these life-saving medical devices more affordable.
- The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) will fix the price of coronary stents.
- The Standing National Committee on Medicines (SNCM) had submitted its recommendation for inclusion of coronary stents in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2022 in two categories – Bare Metal Stents (BMS) and Drug Eluting Stents (DES) which include metallic DES and bioresorbable vascular scaffold (VBS)/biodegradable stents.
- Several anti-cancer drugs, antibiotics and vaccines were among 34 new additions to the National List of Essential Medicines released on September 13, 2022 taking the total number of drugs under it to 384.
Note
- The National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) is a list released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- The first National List of Essential Medicines of India in 1996 consisted of 279 medicines. This list was subsequently revised in 2003, 2011, 2015 and 2022.
- The medicines listed in the NLEM are sold below a price ceiling fixed by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).
- In India, it was framed on the lines of the Essential Medicines List (EML) released by the WHO.
