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Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS Preparation

01.08.2018

1. The Walled City of Jaipur, Rajasthan,

is proposed for UNESCO World Heritage

recognition

• As per Operation Guidelines 2017,

only one site can be nominated by the

state party each year.

• It impacts the local economy by giving

a boost to domestic and international

tourism, infrastructure and

augmentation of a sale of local

handicrafts, handlooms and heritage

memorabilia and to the prestige of the

country.

• There are a total of 37 World Heritage

sites in India at Present.

Related Information

Criteria for Selection of World Heritage

Sites

• These criteria are explained in the

World Heritage Convention, 1972.

• These criteria are regularly revised by

the World Heritage Committee to

reflect the evolution of the World

Heritage concept itself.

• Before revised Operational

Guidelines, World Heritage sites were

selected based on six cultural and

four natural criteria.

• With the adoption of the revised

Operational Guidelines, only one set

of ten criteria

Tentative lists of Heritage Sites-

• All countries are required to submit

their Tentative Lists of places which

they consider to be a cultural or

natural heritage of outstanding

universal value and therefore suitable

for inscription on the World Heritage

List.

• Tentative Lists is not considered

exhaustive and need to submit one

year prior to the submission of any

nomination.

• Countries are required to re-examine

and re-submit their Tentative List at

least every ten years.

• If any site is listed in World Heritage

Sites, then it must be removed from

the tentative list.

Topic-GS-1- Art and Culture

Source-PIB

2. Central Road and Infrastructure Fund

(CRIF)

• The Central Road and Infrastructure

Fund (CRIF) has been taken away

from the Ministry of Road Transport

and Highways and brought under the

domain of the Finance Ministry.

• It will now be under the Department

of Economic Affairs (DEA), Finance

Ministry.

• Budget 2018 amended the Central

Road Fund Act, 2000, and renamed

the Central Road Fund the Central

Road and Infrastructure Fund.

• The objective of the amendment was

to use proceeds of the road cess under

CRIF to finance other infrastructure

projects such as waterways, some

portion of the railway infrastructure

and even social infrastructure,

including education institutions and

medical colleges.

Related Information

• The CRF launched in 2000 is basically

a cess imposed along with excise duty

on petrol and diesel.

• The amendment prescribes that road

cess is first credited to the

Consolidated Fund of India and later,

after adjusting for the cost of tax

collection, should go to the CRIF.

• The share for each infrastructure

areas and projects from the CRIF shall

be finalised by a Committee headed

by the Finance Minister.

• The committee will prioritise the list of

infrastructure projects each year for

financing from the fund.

Topic-GS- 2-Development processes and the

development industry the role of NGOs,

SHGs, various groups and associations,

donors, charities, institutional and other

stakeholders.

Source- The Hindu

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3. The high range Idukki dam, one of the

highest arch reservoirs in Asia, is set to

be opened for the first time in 26 years.

• The dam's shutters were last opened

in 1981 and 1992. This is the first time

that it will attain its full level during

the South West Monsoon period.

• The arch reservoir comprises three

dams -Idukki, Cheruthoni and

Kulamavu, built for the Idukki

Hydroelectric Project.

• Idukki dam is used to store the water

while the latter two are meant to

route it to the powerhouse.

• An "Orange Alert" - a precautionary

messages to the public in light of the

possibility of water release from the

reservoir has been released by the

authorities.

Related Information

Idukki Dam

• Idukki dam in Kerala is constructed

across the Periyar river, the longest

river in Kerala.

• At 167.68 metres (550.1 ft), it is one

of the highest arch dams in Asia.

• It supports a 780 MW hydroelectric

power station in Moolamattom.

• The dam type is a concrete, double

curvature parabolic, thin arc dam.

• It was commissioned in the year 1973

with financial aid from Canada.

• It is built between two granite hills

such as Kuravanmala and

kuravathimala.

• It is owned and constructed by the

Kerala State Electricity Board.

• It supports a hydroelectric power

station in Moolamattom.

• The hydel project is receiving water

from two other dams at Cheruthoni

and Kulamavu.

Topic-GS-1-Physical Geography

Source- The Firstpost

4. Rajasthan first State to implement

biofuel policy

• Rajasthan has become the first State

in the country to implement the

national policy on biofuels unveiled by

the Centre in May this year.

• The desert State will lay emphasis on

increasing production of oilseeds and

establish a Centre for Excellence in

Udaipur to promote research in the

fields of alternative fuels and energy

resources.

• The policy on biofuels seeks to help

farmers dispose of their surplus stock

in an economic manner and reduce

the country’s oil import dependence.

• It has expanded the scope of raw

material for ethanol production by

allowing the use of sugarcane juice,

sugar-containing materials, starch-

containing materials and damaged

foodgrains like wheat, broken rice and

rotten potatoes for ethanol

production.

• The State Rural Livelihood

Development Council would also

encourage women’s self-help groups

to explore the scope for additional

income through the supply of

biodiesel.

Related Information

National Policy on Biofuels – 2018

• The Policy categorises biofuels as

"Basic Biofuels" viz. First Generation

(1G) bioethanol & biodiesel and

"Advanced Biofuels" - Second

Generation (2G) ethanol, Municipal

Solid Waste (MSW) to drop-in fuels,

Third Generation (3G) biofuels, bio-

CNG etc. to enable the extension of

appropriate financial and fiscal

incentives under each category.

• It expands the scope of raw material

for ethanol production by allowing the

use of Sugarcane Juice, Sugar-

containing materials like Sugar Beet,

Sweet Sorghum, Starch-containing

materials like Corn, Cassava,

Damaged food grains like wheat,

broken rice, Rotten Potatoes, unfit for

human consumption for ethanol

production.

• It seeks to help farmers dispose of

their surplus stock in an economic

manner and reduce country’s oil

import dependence.

Topic-GS-1- Agriculture

Source- The Hindu

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5. First ‘Nepal-India Think Tank Summit'

• The first 'Nepal-India Think Tank'

summit will begin to foster greater

collaboration and knowledge-sharing

among the think tanks of the two

countries.

• Former Prime Miniter and Co-

chairman of Communist Party of

Nepal (CPN) Prachanda will

inaugurate the summit jointly hosted

by Asian Institute of Diplomacy and

International Affairs (AIDA) and

Nehru Memorial Museum Library.

• The summit, proposed to become an

annual feature for the participating

organisations, will be hosted

alternatively each year in Nepal and

India.

• The objective of the summit is to

support the networks and promote

mutual understanding through

institutional collaboration on resource

sharing for joint events/publications

among think tanks of the two

countries.

• The summit aims to facilitate

cooperation and knowledge-sharing

among think tank and to reflect on the

work of think tanks and the challenges

they are facing.

• Policymakers, government

representatives, diplomats,

academicians, businesses and media

personnel will participate in the

summit.

Topic –GS-3- International relations

Source- DD News

6. NASA’s new planet-hunting probe,

TESS, begins operations.

• NASA's TESS (Transiting Exoplanet

Survey Satellite) probe will now take

over the mantle to find new planets in

the vicinity of our solar system.

• TESS is expected to transmit its first

series of science data back to Earth in

August, and thereafter periodically

every 13.5 days, once per orbit, as

the spacecraft makes it closest

approach to Earth.

Related Information

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite

• TESS is NASA’s latest satellite to

search for planets outside our solar

system, known as exoplanets.

• The mission will spend the next two

years monitoring the nearest and

brightest stars for periodic dips in

their light.

• These events, called transits, suggest

that a planet may be passing in front

of its star.

• TESS is expected to find thousands of

planets using this method, some of

which could potentially support life.

• Launch date: 18 April 2018

• Rocket: Falcon 9 Full Thrust

(B1045.1)

Topic-GS-3 –Science

Source- The Indian Express

7. Earthquake hits Indonesia's Lombak

island

Related Information

Lombak

• It is located to the east of Bali and is

a part of Indonesian group of Islands.

• It has triggered landslides from

Mt.Rinjani volcano.

• The volcano, which rises 3,726m

(12,224ft) above sea level and is the

second-highest one in Indonesia.

• Indonesia is prone to earthquakes due

to its location on the Pacific "Ring of

Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault

lines in the Pacific Basin.

• In December 2004, a massive

magnitude-9.1 earthquake off

Sumatra triggered a tsunami that

killed 230,000 people in a dozen

countries.

Ring of Fire

• The Ring of Fire is a major area in the

basin of the Pacific Ocean where many

earthquakes and volcanic eruptions

occur.

• The Ring of Fire isn’t quite a circular

ring. It is shaped more like a 40,000-

kilometer (25,000-mile)

horseshoe.

Topic-GS-1- World Geography

Source- The Indian Express

8. Lok Sabha passes Homeopathy

Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2018

• A bill seeking to replace the Central

Council of Homoeopathy (CCH) with a

board of governors and aimed at

bringing accountability and quality in

homoeopathy education system was

passed by the Lok Sabha.

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• The Bill, which seeks to replace an

Ordinance promulgated by the

President in May, was approved by a

voice vote after the House rejected

several unofficial amendments.

• As per the bill, the members of the

board of governor will replace the

existing functionaries of the CCH and

comprise seven eminent

homoeopathy practitioners and

administrators who will be appointed

by the government.

• The bill provides that the Central

Council will be reconstituted within

one year from the date of its

supersession and the Central

government will, in the interim period,

constitute a Board of Governors,

which will exercise powers of the

Central Council.

Topic- GS-2- Government Interventions

Source- Business Standards

02.08.2018

1. GI logo, tagline launched

• Commerce and Industry Minister

Suresh Prabhu launched a logo and

tagline for Geographical Indications

(GI) to increase awareness about

intellectual property rights (IPRs) in

the country.

Related Information

Geographical Indication

• A GI product is primarily an

agricultural, natural or a

manufactured product (handicraft and

industrial goods) originating from a

definite geographical territory.

• Darjeeling Tea, Tirupati Laddu,

Kangra Paintings, Nagpur Orange and

Kashmir Pashmina are among the

registered GIs in India.

• It ensures exclusivity.

• It covered as the element of

intellectual property rights (IPRs)

under the Paris Convention for

Protection of Industrial Property.

• GI is governed by WTO’s Agreement

on Trade-Related Aspects of

Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

• GI tag in India is governed by

Geographical Indications of Goods

Registration and Protection Act),

1999.

• This Act is administered by

Controller General of Patents,

Designs and Trade Marks.

Topic-GS-1- Culture

Source- The Hindu

2. Government launched the scheme

“Seva Bhoj Yojna”

• The Ministry of Culture, Government

of India has launched the new scheme

“Seva Bhoj Yojna”.

• The scheme envisages to reimburse

the Central Government share of

Central Goods and Services Tax

(CGST) and Integrated Goods and

Service Tax (IGST) so as to lessen the

financial burden of such as Religious/

Charitable Institutions who provide

Food/Prasad/Langar free of cost

without any discrimination to

Public/Devotees.

• Religious/ Charitable Institution shall

first register with Darpan Portal of

NITI Aayog and get Unique ID

generated by Darpan Portal.

Topic –GS- 2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source-PIB

3. Cabinet approves the policy

framework for the exploitation of

unconventional hydrocarbons

• The Union cabinet approved a policy

framework for exploration and

exploitation of unconventional

hydrocarbons, a change that would

allow private companies to exploit

unconventional hydrocarbons

including shale gas and Coal Bed

Methane (CBM) from their existing

blocks.

• Prior to the new policy, field operators

were not allowed to explore and

exploit CBM, shale gas and other

unconventional hydrocarbons from

the allotted licensed area.

• Similarly, contractors with CBM fields

were not allowed to exploit any other

hydrocarbons except CBM.

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• An additional 10 Percent profit

petroleum will be levied for new CBM

discoveries and National Oil

Companies (NOCs) will be allowed to

explore and exploit unconventional

hydrocarbons under the existing fiscal

and contractual terms of exploration

or lease license.

• India currently has around 100-200

Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) of shale gas

reserves in five sedimentary basins

and there is a strong possibility of

shale reserves in Cambay basin,

Krishna-Godavari Basin and Cauvery

basin among others.

Topic-GS- 3-Infrastructure

Source- The Hindu

4. Union Cabinet approves the

extension of CFS for

infrastructure projects abroad.

• The Union Cabinet has approved the

first extension of Concessional

Financing Scheme (CFS) to support

Indian Entities bidding for

strategically important infrastructure

projects abroad for another five years

from 2018 to 2023.

• The scheme envisages the

government to provide the counter-

guarantee and interest equalisation of

2 Percent to EXIM Bank to offer

concessional finance to any foreign

government or foreign government-

owned or controlled entity, if any

Indian entity, succeeds in getting a

contract for the execution of a project.

• Prior to the introduction of CFS, Indian

entities were not able to bid for large

projects abroad since the cost of

financing was very high for them and

bidders from other countries such as

China, Japan, Europe and US were

able to provide credit at superior

terms, i.e., lower interest rate and

longer tenures which works to the

advantage of bidders from those

countries.

• Under this Scheme, the Ministry of

External Affairs (MEA) selects the

specific projects keeping in view the

strategic interest of India and sends

the same to the Department of

Economic Affairs (DEA).

Topic-GS-3-Infrastructure

Source-PIB

5. Lok Sabha passed the bill for

speedy disposal of commercial

disputes.

• A bill to amend the law for the speedy

disposal of commercial disputes and

seeking to reduce the pecuniary

jurisdiction of commercial courts from

Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 lakh was passed by

the Lok Sabha.

• The bill allows state governments to

establish commercial courts at the

district level, even in territories where

high courts have ordinary original civil

jurisdiction.

• It will provide an opportunity to the

parties to resolve commercial

disputes outside the ambit of courts

through authorities constituted under

the Legal Services Authorities Act.

• The law will be given prospective

effect so that the authority of the

judicial forum at present adjudicating

the commercial disputes is not

affected.

Topic –GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source –Economic Times

6. Army’s Smerch systems to roll on

Indian wheels

• For the first time, an Indian vehicle

manufacturer "Ashok Leyland" will

deliver heavy duty, high mobility

vehicles for the Army’s Russian-built

Smerch Multi-Barrel Rocket launchers

(MBRL) as well to carry strategic

missiles developed by the Defence

Research and Development

Organisation (DRDO).

Related Information

Smerch MBRL - Multiple Barrel Rocket

Launchers

• Smerch is designed to defeat soft and

hard-skinned targets, artillery and

missile systems.

• It has an automatic rocket range of

90km.

• Developed by Russia in the early

1980s and entered service with the

Russian Army in 1988.

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• India placed an order in 2005 for 38

systems and deliveries began in May

2007.

Topic-GS-3- Defence

Source – The Hindu

7. China launches high-resolution

Earth observation satellite

• China successfully launched an optical

remote sensing satellite, as part of its

high-resolution Earth observation

project which will also provide data for

the Belt and Road Initiative.

Related Information

Gaofen-11

• Gaofen-11, a sub-meter resolution

optical satellite, will become part of

the China High-resolution Earth

Observation System (CHEOS),

initiated in 2010 to provide all-

weather, all-day coverage by 2020

with optical and synthetic aperture

radar satellites.

• Gaofen-11 was developed by the

China Academy of Space Technology

(CAST), a spacecraft and satellite

maker under CASC.

• The satellite can be used for land

survey, urban planning, road network

design, agriculture, and disaster

relief.

Topic-GS-3- Science and technology

Source- Economic Times

8. Mauritius’s SBM gets RBI

approval for the subsidiary

• Mauritius-based SBM Group has

received Reserve Bank of India’s

approval to operate in the country

through a wholly-owned subsidiary

route — the first foreign lender to

receive such a licence after local

incorporation was introduced in 2013.

• Singapore’s DBS Bank is another

lender which is awaiting final approval

from the RBI to convert its 12

branches into a wholly owned

subsidiary.

• The bank will soon operate as a

banking subsidiary of SBM Group in

India under the name of SBM Bank

(India) Ltd.

• SBM, which has been in India since

1994, currently operates through four

branches, in Mumbai, Chennai,

Hyderabad and Ramachandrapuram.

Topic –GS-3- Banking

Source – The Hindu

9. Scientists discover new shape

called scutoid after studying human cells

• Scientists have discovered a new

shape called scutoid while studying

nature’s way of moulding tissue to

form the skin, cavity linings and the

building blocks of organs.

• The shape has five sides on one end

and six on the other and a triangular

surface on one of its longer edges.

• Scientists have referred to it as a

twisted prism kind of shape that

allows the tissue to mould around

organs.

Topic- GS-3- Science and Technology

Source- Hindustan Times

03.08.2018

1. The government launched the ‘State

Energy Efficiency Preparedness Index’

• The Bureau of Energy Efficiency

(BEE) and Ministry of Power

(MOP) launched the 1st edition of

State Energy Efficiency

Preparedness Index (SEEPI)

wherein five states came in the

topmost category of ‘front-runner’

states: Andhra Pradesh, Kerala,

Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan.

• The composition of the index has been

developed considering each state’s

energy consumption, its energy

saving potential and its influence in

implementing energy efficiency in

buildings, industry, municipalities,

transport, agriculture and distribution

companies.

• It has classified states into four

categories - front-runner, achiever,

contender and aspirant, based upon

their efforts towards energy

efficiency.

• Front runners states are:

(a) Kerala

(b) Rajasthan

(c) Andhra Pradesh

• The second best category of ‘achiever’

states is Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil

Nadu and Haryana.

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Related Information

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)

• The Bureau of Energy Efficiency is an

agency of the Government of India,

under the Ministry of Power created in

March 2002 under the provisions of

the nation's 2001 Energy

Conservation Act.

• The mission of the Bureau of Energy

Efficiency is to assist in developing

policies and strategies with a thrust

on self-regulation and market

principles, with the primary objective

of reducing the energy intensity of the

Indian economy.

Topic-GS-3- Infrastructure: Energy

Source- The Indian Express

2. Ujjwala Yojana achieved its target of

providing 5 cr free LPG connections to

poor families

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet

project Ujjwala Yojana achieved its

target of providing 5 crores free LPG

connections to poor families.

• Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan

handed over the Ujjwala Connection

No. 5 crore to the selected

beneficiary.

• The government achieved this target

nearly eight months ahead of

schedule.

• Encouraged by the rapid progress, the

government in February raised the

target to eight crore poor households

by 2020 with an additional outlay of

4,800 crore rupees.

Related Information

Ujjwala Yojana

• Ujjwala scheme of the Ministry of

Petroleum & Natural Gas for

providing LPG connections to women

from Below Poverty Line (BPL)

households.

• It aims at bringing clean cooking fuel

to poor households, identified

according to the Socio-Economic

Caste Census (SECC). More than 44

per cent of Ujjwala beneficiaries is

currently are from SC/ST

communities.

• The scheme was launched by the

Prime Minister on May 1, 2016, in

Ballia district of Uttar

Pradesh with a target to provide free

LPG connections to five crore poor

households by March 31, 2019, with a

budgetary allocation of 8,000 crore

rupees.

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source- AIR

3. Famous Kadaknath chicken meat from

Jhabua of MP gets Geographical

Indication tag

• The famous Kadaknath chicken meat

from Jhabua district of Madhya

Pradesh has now got a Geographical

Indication (GI) tag.

• The tag denotes that the product

comes from a particular geographical

area, and often enhances its

commercial value.

• The Gramin Vikas Trust of Krishak

Bharati Cooperative (KRIBHCO) had

sought GI tag.

Related Information

Kadaknath Chicken

• The Kadaknath or Kali Masi is an

Indian breed of chicken local to

Jhabua and Dhar districts of eastern

Madhya Pradesh, where it is known as

"Kali masi".

• Due to its high protein and very low

fat and cholesterol levels, it is in high

demand.

• It is black coloured meat of Kadaknath

variety of chicken.

GI Tag awarded in 2018

• Araku coffee (Andhra Pradesh)

• Kadaknath Chicken (Madhya Pradesh)

• Adilabad Dokra (Telangana)

• Warangal Durries (Telangana)

Topic-GS-2- Statutory, regulatory and

various quasi-judicial bodies.

Source- Financial Express

4. Cabinet clears Bill to restore the

provisions of SC/ST Act.

• The Centre has decided to introduce a

Bill to restore the original provisions

of the Scheduled Castes and the

Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of

Atrocities) Act, 1989, which the

Supreme Court had struck down in a

March ruling.

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• The Amendment Bill seeks to insert

three new clauses after Section 18 of

the original Act.

1. The first stipulates that for the

purposes of the Act, “preliminary

enquiry shall not be required for

registration of a First Information

Report against any person.”

2. The second stipulates that the

arrest of a person accused of having

committed an offence under the Act

would not require any approval.

• The third says that the provisions

of Section 438 of the Code of

Criminal Procedure — which deals

with anticipatory bail — shall not

apply to a case under this Act,

“notwithstanding any judgment or

order of any Court.”

Related Information

The Scheduled Castes and Tribes

(Prevention of Atrocities), 1989

• The Scheduled Castes and Tribes

(Prevention of Atrocities) Act is

popularly known as POA, the SC/ST

Act, or the Prevention of Atrocities Act

was enacted on 9th September 1989.

• Under this Act, protection is provided

from social disabilities such as denial

of access to certain places and to use

customary passage, personal

atrocities like forceful drinking or

eating of inedible food sexual

exploitation, injury etc, atrocities

affecting properties, malicious

prosecution, political disabilities and

economic exploitation.

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source- The Hindu

5. India ranks 56th in early initiation of

breastfeeding

• A new report released by UNICEF and

the World Health Organisation (WHO)

has ranked Sri Lanka at the top of the

list of countries with early initiation of

breastfeeding.

• India ranks 56th among the 76

countries that were analysed.

• The report says that only two in five

newborns are breastfed within the

first hour of life across the world.

• Putting newborns to the breast within

the first hour after birth gives them

the best chance to survive, grow and

develop to their full potential says the

report, which emphasises on

exclusive breastfeeding.

• Countries like Kazakhstan, Rwanda,

Bhutan and Uruguay have fared much

better than India, making it into the

top 10. Azerbaijan, Pakistan and

Montenegro are at the bottom.

Topic-GS-2- Issues relating to development

and management of Social Sector/Services

relating to Health, Education, Human

Resources.

Source- The Hindu

6. NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant

launched an initiative to help find

solutions to challenges in public and

private transport and road safety.

• NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant

launched an initiative to help find

solutions to challenges in public and

private transport and road safety.

• The initiative, named as Move Hack,

aims to crowdsource solutions for the

future of mobility in India. The

hackathon will be open to individuals

from all countries.

Topic-GS-2- Statutory, regulatory and

various quasi-judicial bodies.

Source- AIR

7. Oxytocin

• The Union Health Ministry’s ban on the

retail sale and private manufacture of

oxytocin, expected to kick off on

September 1.

• The drug, a synthetic version of a

human hormone, is a life-saver for

women.

• Doctors use it to induce labour in

pregnant women and to stem the

postpartum bleeding.

• So critical is its role in maternal health

that the World Health Organization

recommends it as the drug of choice

in postpartum haemorrhage.

• It is being banned because oxytocin

stimulates lactation in cattle, dairy

farmers inject the drug

indiscriminately to increase milk

production. This has spawned several

unlicensed facilities that manufacture

the drug for veterinary use.

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Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source- The Hindu

8. Mukhyamantri Yuva Nestam.

• The Andhra Pradesh Government has

approved the "Mukhyamantri Yuva

Nestam" scheme that makes

unemployed youth in the state,

eligible of receiving Rs 1000 per

month from the government.

• 12 lakh youth in the age bracket of

22-35 years will be benefitted through

the scheme.

• The unemployed youth will have to

register themselves through a

website.

Topic-GS-2-Welfare schemes

Source- Business standards

04.08.2018

1. Constitution (123rd amendment) Bill

passed in Lok Sabha

• The Lok Sabha passed the

Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill

with over two-third majority.

• The Bill was passed superseding the

amendments by the Rajya Sabha

which seeks to grant constitutional

status to the National Commission for

Backward Classes (NCBC).

Features of the Bill

• The bill provides for the grant of

constitutional status to NCBC on par

with National Commission for SCs and

National Commission for STs.

• It states that the President may

specify the socially and educationally

backward classes in the various states

and union territories. He may do this

in consultation with the Governor of

the concerned states.

• The duties of the NCBC include

investigating and monitoring how

safeguards provided to the backward

classes under the Constitution and

other laws are being implemented and

probe specific complaints regarding

violation of rights.

• NCBC will have the powers of a civil

court while probing the complaint.

Related Information

• The Bill will insert Article 338B into the

Constitution after Articles 338 and

338A which deal with the National

Commission for Scheduled Castes

(SC) and National Commission for

Scheduled Tribes (ST) respectively.

Topic GS-2- Functions and responsibilities of

various Constitutional Bodies.

Source: Times of India

2. India successfully test-fires Advanced

Air Defence interceptor missile off

Odisha coast

• India on successfully test-fired the

endo-atmospheric Advanced Air

Defence (AAD) interceptor missile,

which is a part of the country's

ballistic missile defence (BMD) shield

against a multiple target scenario.

• It was the first time that the AAD was

tested against multiple targets, and it

constitutes a major milestone in

India’s quest to develop a home-

grown ballistic missile defence

system.

• The missile is 24.6 feet long and is

equipped with a state-of-the-art

navigation system. It is a single-

stage, solid fuel, rocket-propelled

guided missile that can track its target

independently.

• It is capable of intercepting incoming

targets at an altitude of 15 to 25 km

and against multiple simulated

targets of 1500 km class ballistic

missile.

Related Information

Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor

missile

• The AAD missile is part of India’s

planned two-layered ballistic missile

defence (BMD) system.

• Both PAD (Prithvi Air Defence (PAD))

and PDV (Prithvi Defence Vehicle) are

designed for the mid-course

interception in other words

intercepting the incoming ballistic

missile in space after the rocket burns

out.

• AAD constitutes the second-tier

defence against ballistic missile

threats.

Topic GS-3- Challenges to internal security

Source-India TV

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3.WHO thumbs up for Swachh Bharat’s

rural component

• It is estimated that the Swachh

Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G) will

result in preventing more than three

lakh deaths due to diarrhoea and

protein-energy malnutrition between

2014-October 2019, notes a World

Health Organisation (WHO) report.

• The report notes that under the SBM-

G, 19 States and Union Territories

were declared Open Defecation Free

(ODF) and 7.9 crore toilets were built,

while 421 districts were declared ODF.

Also, more than 4.9 lakh villages in

the country were declared ODF.

• The WHO study showed that before

the initiation of SBM-G, unsafe

sanitation caused 199 million cases of

diarrhoea annually and that by 2019,

the initiative aims to achieve 100%

sanitation coverage.

Related information

Swachh Bharat Mission

• The objectives of Swachh Bharat

include eliminating open defecation

through the construction of

household-owned and community-

owned toilets and establishing an

accountable mechanism of monitoring

toilet use.

• Run by the Government of India, the

mission aims to achieve an Open-

Defecation Free (ODF) India by 2

October 2019, the 150th anniversary

of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi.

• The mission contains two sub-

missions: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

("Gramin" or rural), which operates

under the Ministry of Drinking Water

and Sanitation; and Swachh Bharat

Abhiyan (Urban), which operates

under the Ministry of Housing and

Urban Affairs

Topic- GS-2- Welfare schemes for vulnerable

sections of the population

Source-The Hindu

4. Lok Sabha passes National Sports

University Bill

• The Lok Sabha on passed a Bill

establishing a National Sports

University in Manipur as part of a

vision to enhance country’s standing

in sports.

• The National Sports University Bill,

2018, which sought to replace an

Ordinance promulgated on May 31,

was passed by a voice vote.

Features

• The Bill seeks to set up a specialised

university in Manipur, which would be

the first of its kind, to promote sports

education in the areas of sports

sciences, sports technology, sports

management and sports coaching.

• The proposed university would also

function as the national training

centre for select sports disciplines by

adopting best international practices.

• A sportsperson will be the university

vice-chancellor, while its academic

council will also comprise sports

personalities.

• The legislation proposes to empower

the university to establish ‘Outlying

Campuses’ throughout the country

and also outside India.

Topic-GS 2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors

Source-The Hindu

5. Ayushman Bharat Yojana under

PMRSS Mission to be implemented in MP

• In Madhya Pradesh, the Ayushman

Bharat Yojana under the Pradhan

Mantri Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha

Mission will be implemented in the

state from August 15 this year.

• A MoU has been signed with the

National Health Agency for the

implementation of the scheme.

• The benefit of the scheme will be

given in cashless form through

government and private hospitals.

Related Information

Ayushman Bharat

• National Health Protection Mission will

be an entitlement based scheme with

entitlement decided on the basis of

deprivation criteria in the SEC (Socio

Economic Census) database.

• The beneficiaries can avail benefits in

both public and empanelled private

facilities.

• To control costs, the payments for

treatment will be done on the package

rate (to be defined by the Government

in advance) basis.

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• One of the core principles of

Ayushman Bharat - National Health

Protection Mission is to co-operative

federalism and flexibility to states.

• For giving policy directions and

fostering coordination between Centre

and States, it is proposed to set up

Ayushman Bharat National Health

Protection Mission Council (AB-

NHPMC) at apex level Chaired by

Union Health and Family Welfare

Minister.

• States would need to have the State

Health Agency (SHA) to implement

the scheme.

Topic GS2: Issues relating to development

and management of Social Sector

Source: AIR

6. Vidyalakshmi Portal for Education

Loan

• Vidya Lakshmi Portal was launched by

the Government on August 15, 2015,

to ensure that students can avail

loans easily through single window

system of banks for education loans.

• Banks follow Indian Banks’

Association (IBA) guidelines in this

regard which stipulates that education

loan applications have to be disposed

of, in the normal course, within a

period of 15 to 30 days.

• Students can view, apply and track

the education loan applications to

banks anytime, anywhere by

accessing the portal.

• The portal also provides linkages to

National Scholarship Portal.

Topic- GS-2- Issues relating to development

and management of Social Sector

Source-PIB

7. ‘Paryatan Parv’

• The Ministry of Tourism, Government

of India in collaboration with other

Central Ministries, State Governments

and Stakeholders is organizing

a “Paryatan Parv” across the

country from the 16th to 27th

September 2018.

• The Parv is being organized with the

objective of drawing focus on the

benefits of tourism, showcasing the

cultural diversity of the country and

reinforcing the principle of “Tourism

for All”.

• Paryatan Parv will have three main

components as like last year,

viz. Dekho Apna Desh, Tourism for

All andTourism & Governance.

Topic-GS-1-Indian Culture

Source-PIB

8. India elected president of Asia-Pacific

Institute for Broadcasting Development

• India has been elected as the

President of the Asia-Pacific Institute

for Broadcasting Development (AIBD)

for a period of two years.

• India got elected against Iran during

voting which took place at the 44th

annual gathering of AIBD.

Related Information

Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting

Development

• AIBD, established in 1977 under the

auspices of UNESCO, is a unique

regional inter-governmental

organisation and is mandated to

achieve a vibrant and cohesive

electronic media environment in the

Asia-Pacific region through policy and

resource development

• Full membership of the AIBD is

confined to sovereign states and they

are invited to designate the

broadcasting authority of the country

to be the beneficiary.

• The Institute enjoys a membership of

26 countries, 94 affiliates and 58

partners in Asia, Pacific, Europe and

North America

Topic- GS-2- Important International

institutions

Source-AIR

06.08.2018

1. NCAER's State Investment Potential

Index(N-SIPI)

• Delhi has emerged the most-

attractive State for investors,

improving its position on the think-

tank National Council for Applied and

Economic Research (NCAER)’s 2018

State Investment Potential Index.

• Gujarat, previously No 1, slipped two

places to the third position.

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• N-SIPI was constructed with six pillars

that were classified into four broad

categories:

(i) Factor-driven (land and labour)

(ii) Efficiency-driven (infrastructure)

(iii) Growth-driven (economic climate,

political stability and governance)

(iv) Perceptions-driven (responses to

the survey)

• Researchers at NCAER contacted

1,049 business enterprises of

different sizes in the manufacturing

and services sector for the survey.

• In the overall rankings, the most

attractive States to do business were:

(1) Delhi

(2) Tamil Nadu

(3) Gujarat

• While the least attractive were:

(1) Odisha

(2) Uttar Pradesh

(3) Assam

Related Information

National Council of Applied Economic

Research (NCAER)

• National Council of Applied Economic

Research (NCAER), Delhi based non-

profit think tank on economics has

launched this index in 2016.

• It ranks 20 states and 1 UT (Delhi)

based on six parameters.

Topic-GS- 3- Investment models

Source- The Hindu

2. Govt launches e-pashu Haat

portal, for farmers.

• The government has launched e-

Pashu Haat portal for connecting

breeders and farmers of indigenous

breeds.

• Through the portal, farmers can

obtain information on the location of

quality indigenous germplasm in the

form live animals, semen doses and

embryos.

• This portal will play crucial role in the

development and conservation of

indigenous breeds.

• It is launched under the National

Mission on Bovine Productivity for

connecting breeders and farmers of

indigenous breeds.

Related Information

National Mission on Bovine Productivity

• National Mission on Bovine

Productivity has been launched

in November 2016 with the aim of

enhancing milk production and

productivity and thereby making

dairying more remunerative to the

farmers.

Topic- GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source- The Hindu

3. Portuguese man-of-war

• The Drishti Marine, Goa Tourism’s

beach safety agency has issued an

advisory for tourists as well as

residents to refrain from venturing

into the sea on Baga beach, as

lifeguards have spotted a cluster

of Portuguese man-of-war, a

jelly-like marine organism, washed

ashore on the popular beach in north

Goa.

Related Information

• The Portuguese man-of-war is a jelly

is a marine organism is commonly

known as ‘bluebottle’ or ‘floating

terror’.

• While most jellyfish stings are

harmless to humans and cause only a

mild irritation, species like the

bluebottle are venomous and can

cause harm to contact.

• Vinegar is also known to diffuse the

poison present in the tentacles.

Topic-GS-1- Flora and Fauna

Source- The Hindu

4. Govt approves research projects

worth over Rs 100 crore under

‘IMPRINT-2’ scheme.

• The government has approved 122

new research projects of 112 crore

rupees under its Impacting Research

Innovation and Technology ‘IMPRINT-

2’ scheme.

• The initiative aims to advance

research in energy, security, and

healthcare domains in the high

education institutions.

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Related Information

IMPRINT

• IMPRINT is the first of its kind MHRD

supported Pan-IIT + IISc joint

initiative to address the major science

and engineering challenges that India

must address and champion to

enable, empower and embolden the

nation for inclusive growth and self-

reliance. This novel initiative with the

twofold mandate is aimed at:

(a) Developing new engineering

education policy

(b) Creating a roadmap to pursue

engineering challenges

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source-AIR

5. Telangana, Tech Mahindra ink

MoU for India’s first Blockchain

district.

• Tech Mahindra and the Telangana

government signed an agreement to

establish the Blockchain district, the

first-of-its-kind Centre of Excellence

for Blockchain.

Related Information

Blockchain

• A blockchain is a growing list of

records, called blocks, which are

linked using cryptography.

• It is a decentralizes information

without it being copied.

• The database is not stored on physical

servers but on the cloud, which makes

it easy to store unlimited data.

• Information held on blockchain is

accessible on the real-time basis.

Topic-GS-Science

Source- The Hindu

6. Hiroshima marks the 73rd

anniversary of the atomic

bombing in WWII.

• Hiroshima marked the anniversary of

the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bombing

with a somber ceremony to remember

the people killed and injured and a call

to eliminate nuclear weapons amid

hopes of denuclearizing North Korea.

Related Information

Hiroshima’s atomic bombing

• On August 6, 1945, during World War

II (1939-45), an American B-29

bomber dropped the world’s first

deployed atomic bomb over the

Japanese city of Hiroshima.

• The explosion wiped out 90 Percent of

the city and immediately killed 80,000

people.

• Three days later, a second B-29

dropped another A-bomb on

Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000

people.

• Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announced

his country’s unconditional surrender

in World War II.

Topic-GS-3-Security

Source- The Hindu

07.08.2018

1. SC adjourns hearing on pleas

challenging the Constitutional validity of

Article 35A.

• The Supreme Court (SC) adjourned a

scheduled hearing on PILs challenging

the validity of Article 35A of the

Constitution It will now be heard in

week commencing 27th of this month.

• Apex Court said that the three-judge

bench hearing case has to decide

whether the issue of Article 35A has

to be referred to the constitutional

bench.

Related Information

Article 35A

• Article 35A of the Indian Constitution

is an article that empowers the

Jammu and Kashmir state's

legislature to define “permanent

residents” of the state and provide

special rights and privileges to those

permanent residents.

• It prohibits non-permanent residents

of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) from the

permanent settlement in the state,

and from acquiring immovable

property, government jobs,

scholarships and aid there.

• It was added to the Constitution

through a Presidential Order, i.e., The

Constitution (Application to Jammu

and Kashmir) Order, 1954.

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Article 370

• Article 370 of the Indian constitution

is an article that grants special

autonomous status to the state of

Jammu and Kashmir.

• The article is drafted in Part XXI of the

Constitution: Temporary, Transitional

and Special Provisions.

• The State's Constituent Assembly was

empowered to recommend the

articles of the Indian constitution to

be applied to the state or to abrogate

the Article 370 altogether.

• After the state Constituent Assembly

has dissolved itself without

recommending abrogation, the Article

370 was deemed to have become a

permanent feature of the Indian

Constitution.

Topic-GS-2- Separation of powers between

various organs dispute redressal mechanisms

and institutions.

Source- The Hindu

2. Opening Ceremony of Indo - Thailand

Joint Exercise Maitree 2018 held in

Thailand.

Exercise Maitree

• Exercise Maitree is a joint military

exercise between the Indian Army and

Royal Thai Army which will be

conducted from 06 to 19 August 2018

in Thailand.

• It is a platoon level exercise which

comprises of infantry component. The

opening ceremony started with the

familiarization of organisation and

display of weapons & equipment of

both armies.

• The exercise will emphasize to hone

the tactical and technical skills in joint

counter-insurgency and counter-

terrorism operations in the rural and

urban scenario under UN mandate.

Topic-GS-3- Various Security forces and

agencies and their mandate.

Source-PIB

3. China successfully tests first

hypersonic aircraft that can carry

nuclear warheads.

• The test of the Xingkong-2, or Starry

Sky-2, was conducted in a target

range located in northwest China, the

state-run China Academy of

Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA).

• Launched by a multi-stage rocket,

China's hypersonic aircraft wave rider

was released in the air after about 10

minutes.

Related Information

Wave rider

• Wave rider is a flight vehicle that flies

in the atmosphere and uses

shockwaves generated by its own

hypersonic flight with the air to glide

at high speed.

• The hypersonic aircraft was designed

by the CAAA in collaboration with the

China Aerospace Science and

Technology Corporation.

• The current generation of anti-missile

defence systems is mainly designed to

intercept cruise and ballistic missiles,

which are either slower or easier to

predict, making them possible to

intercept.

Topic-GS-3- Challenges to internal security.

Source- Times of India

4. IACHR has recently given its advisory

opinion on the issue of the institution of

asylum and its recognition as a Human

Right

• IACHR gave a ruling that all nations

have an obligation to ensure safe

passage for asylum seekers to their

final territory of asylum.

• This came in the light of asylum of

Julian Assange, Editor-in-chief of Wiki

Leaks, in the Ecuadorian embassy in

U.K.

• Julian Assange got political asylum

and citizenship by Ecuador in 2012.

• But he is unable to come out of the

embassy in U.K because of the arrest

warrant issued by U.K court in the

charges of sexual assault and rape

allegations.

• In this scenario, the advisory opinion

by IACHR gives him the moral victory.

• This ruling means that U.K. has an

obligation to allow safe passage for

Julian Assange to Ecuador, where he

has been granted political asylum as

well as citizenship.

Related Information

Inter-American Court of Human Rights

(IACHR)

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• The Inter-American Court of Human

Rights is an autonomous judicial

institution based in the city of San

José, Costa Rica.

• It makes up the human rights

protection system of the Organization

of American States (OAS), which

serves to uphold and promote basic

rights and freedoms in the Americas.

• Founded in 1979.

Topic-GS-2- Important International

institutions, agencies and fora, their

structure, mandate.

Source- The Hindu

5. RISECREEK: IIT-Madras develop first

indigenous microprocessors

• Computer scientists and a student

team from the IIT- Madras have

developed the first of a family of six

industry-standard microprocessors.

• The initial batch of 300 chips, named

RISECREEK were produced under

Project Shakti.

• The IIT team says its microprocessors

can be adapted by others, as the

design is open source. They optimise

power use and compete with

international units such as the Cortex

A5 from Advanced RISC Machines

(ARM).

Related Information

Project Shakti

• Project Shakti was started in 2014 as

IIT-M initiative and part of it is funded

by Ministry of Electronics and

Information Technology.

Topic- GS-3- Science and Technology.

Source- The Hindu

6. Bhoomi Rashi- PFMS linkage

• The government has proposed to

integrate Bhoomi Rashi with Public

Financial Management System

(PFMS).

• With the integration of Bhoomi Rashi

with PFMS, payment of Compensation

by the Ministry to the beneficiaries will

be just-in-time, and without any

parking of funds.

Bhoomi Rashi

• Bhoomi Rashi, the portal developed

by MoRTH and NIC, comprises the

entire revenue data of the country,

right down to 6.4 lakh villages.

• The entire process flow, from

submission of draft notification by the

State Government to its approval by

the Hon. Minister of State for RT&H

and publication in e-Gazette, is online.

• The portal, created for expediting the

process of publication of notifications

for LA, is now being fully utilised for

issuing the notifications.

• Bhoomi Rashi portal has been

instrumental in reducing the time

taken for approval and publication of

notifications pertaining to land

acquisition.

The Public Financial Management

System (PFMS)

• The Public Financial Management

System (PFMS) is a web-based online

software application developed and

implemented by the Office of

Controller General of Accounts

(CGA) and is administered by the

Department of Expenditure.

• The primary objective of PFMS is to

facilitate sound public financial

management system for Government

of India (GoI) by establishing an

efficient fund flow system as well as a

payment cum accounting network.

• PFMS provides various stakeholders

with a real-time, reliable and

meaningful management information

system and an effective decision

support system, as part of the Digital

India initiative of GoI.

Topic-GS-2- E-governance- applications,

models, successes, limitations, and potential.

Source-PIB

7. Parliament passes Criminal Law

(Amendment) Bill, 2018

• The Parliament passed the Criminal

Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018 which

ensures stringent punishment for

those convicted of raping girls below

12 years of age.

• The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill,

2018 stipulates a minimum jail term

of 20 years which may go up to life in

prison or death sentence, for the rape

of a girl under 12 years.

• While perpetrators involved in the

gangrape of a girl below 12 years of

age will get life imprisonment or

death.

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• In case of rape of a girl below 16

years, the minimum punishment has

been increased from 10 to 20 years

and it is extendable to life

imprisonment.

• The punishment for the gang-rape of

a girl below 16 years of age will

invariably be imprisonment for the

rest of the life of the convict.

• It has also provided for a six-month

time limit for disposal of appeals in

rape cases.

• Fast-track special courts will be set up

to exclusively deal with rape cases.

• Only a woman judge will hear the

rape case and a woman police officer

will record the statement of rape

victims.

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source- AIR

8. Chandrayaan-2 launch postponed

• The launch of India's second lunar

mission 'Chandrayaan-2', slated for

next month, has been postponed to

October. This will be second time

mission has been postponed.

• The delay may make India lose the

fourth position in the world for soft-

landing on the moon to Israel as it too

planning to launch moon mission in

December 2018.

Related Information

Chandrayaan-2

• Chandrayaan-2 is a totally indigenous

mission comprising an orbiter, lander

and rover.

• The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft

weighing around 3,290 kg would orbit

around the moon and perform the

objectives of remote sensing the

moon.

• The payloads will collect scientific

information on lunar topography,

mineralogy, elemental abundance,

lunar exosphere and signatures of

hydroxyl and water-ice.

• ISRO had launched its maiden lunar

mission Chandrayaan-1 in 2008.

Topic-GS-3- Achievements of Indians in

science & technology; indigenization of

technology and developing new technology.

Source- Economic Times

9. Man-animal conflict to be listed as the

disaster under SDRF by UP govt

• In possibly the first-of-its-kind move,

the Uttar Pradesh government has

given its in-principle approval to bring

man-animal conflict under listed

disasters in State Disaster Response

Fund to ensure better coordination

and relief during such incidents.

• The Uttar Pradesh government has

given the nod to bring man-animal

conflict in the list of disasters.

• It is to ensure better coordination and

relief during such incidents.

• This move will give proper guidelines

to handle situations when wild

animals venture in human

inhabitation.

Note- The Wildlife Protection Act does not

have provision for compensation in case any

human being or cattle is killed by a wild

animal within a protected area.

Topic-GS-1- Flora and Fauna

Source- The Statesman

10. Ajay Data, first Indian in ICANN

• The nominating committee of Internet

Corporation for Assigned Names and

Numbers (ICANN) has selected Ajay

Data as a new council member of

Country Code Supporting

Organisation (ccNSO).

• The members of ccNSO, which is

ICANN’s policy development body for

ccTLD (country code top-level

domains) issues, are all country code

top-level domain operators from

around the world.

Related Information

Internet Corporation for Assigned

Names and Numbers (ICANN)

• The Internet Corporation for Assigned

Names and Numbers (ICANN) is

a nonprofit

organization responsible for

coordinating the maintenance and

procedures of several databases

related to the namespaces and

numerical spaces of the Internet,

ensuring the network's stable and

secure operation.

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• ICANN was incorporated on

September 30, 1998.

• It is headquartered in the Playa

Vista neighbourhood of Los Angeles,

US.

The Country Code Names Supporting

Organization (ccNSO)

• The Country Code Names Supporting

Organization (ccNSO) is a body within

ICANN created by and for country

code top-level domains (ccTLD)

managers.

• It provides a forum for topical issues

relating to ccTLDs from a global

perspective.

• Founded in 2003.

Topic-GS- 2- Important International

institutions, agencies and fora, their

structure, mandate.

Source- Indian Express.

08.08.2018

1. Russian scientists discovered new

mineral "Uakitite"

• The mineral came from the Uakit

meteorite, named for the Russian

location where it was found.

• The researchers predicted that

uakitite is between 9 and 10 on the

Mohs hardness scale, meaning it's

very hard — a diamond falls at 10.

• The scientists say that the meteorite

had been subjected to temperatures

of over 1,000 degrees centigrade

forming troilite-daubreelite

associations, one of whose early

minerals is uakitite.

Topic- GS-3- Science and Technology

Sources- Live Science

2. Thermal battery plant unveiled in

Andhra Pradesh.

• India became home to the world’s

first-ever thermal battery plant,

that was inaugurated in Andhra

Pradesh.

• The plant aims to create a new energy

storage form that is expected to have

commercial applications, while also

maintaining a low carbon footprint,

and being less dependent on external

factors like weather.

• Owned by Bharat Energy Storage

Technology Private Limited

(BEST).

• At the initial stage of commercial

operations, set for May 2019, BEST

plans to create a battery capacity

of 1000MW. This is expected to be

upgraded to a 10GW capacity by

2025.

Related Information

Thermal batteries

• Thermal batteries use thermal energy

to operate, i.e., the energy created by

temperature differences.

• Therefore, the energy transfer in

thermal batteries helps store heat

when heat travels from one part of the

battery setup to the other.

Topic-GS-3-Science and Technology.

Source- Indian Express

3. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of

India launches integration & availability

of TRAI Mobile Apps on UMANG

platform.

• TRAI has now integrated its Mobile

Apps namely DND 2.0 & MyCall with

UMANG Platform with the objective of

reaching out to consumers and

safeguarding their interests.

(a) TRAI MyCall App

• TRAI MyCall is an intuitive and user-

friendly application for Crowdsourced

Voice Call Quality Monitoring.

• The Application helps Mobile phone

users to rate their experience about

voice call quality in real time and help

TRAI gather consumer experience

data along with Network data.

• A pop-up requests the user to rate the

call after it ends.

• Callers simply select their rating in the

form of stars and indicate if the calls

were made in indoor, outdoor or while

travelling.

• Callers can also provide additional

details such as noise or audio delay or

mark a call-drop.

(b) DND 2.0 App

• DND (Do Not Disturb) Services App

enables smartphone users to register

their mobile number under DND and

report spam messages or calls to

avoid Unsolicited Commercial

Communication (UCC)/Telemarketing

Calls/SMS.

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Related Information

Umang

• UMANG or Unified Mobile

Application for New-age

Governance, is a Government of

India all-in-one single unified secure

multi-channel multi-platform multi-

lingual multi-service freeware mobile

app for accessing over 1,200 central

and state government services in

multiple Indian languages over

Android, iOS, Windows and services

such as AADHAR, DigiLocker, Bharat

Bill Payment System, PAN, passport

and much more.

• This a key component of the Digital

India government initiative to make

all traditional offline government

services available 24/7 online through

the single unified app.

• The app is initially available in 13

languages and will replace or

compliment 1500 apps launched by

the government so far.

• On 23 November 2017, this app

service was launched by the Prime

Minister Narendra Modi at the fifth

edition of the Global Conference on

Cyberspace in New Delhi.

Topic-GS- 2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source-PIB

4. Rajyavardhan Rathore flags off an all-

women expedition to Mt. Manirang.

• The Minister of State (I/C) for Youth

Affairs and Sports & Information and

Broadcasting Col. Rajyavardhan

Rathore flagged off an all-women

expedition to Mt. Manirang (6593Mt/

21631 ft) in Himachal Pradesh.

• The expedition commemorates

the silver jubilee of 1993 Women

Everest expedition.

• The 19-member expedition team to

Mt. Manirang is being led by Ms

Bimla Negi, a veteran mountaineer

who was a member of the 1993 team.

• The expedition is expected to make

the summit attempt around 24th

August, 2018.

Related Information

• The Indo-Nepalese women’s Everest

expedition in 1993 was the first all-

women expedition, launched by

Indian Mountaineering Foundation,

funded by the Ministry of Youth

Affairs and Sports.

• The 21-member team was led

by achendri Pal.

• The historic expedition set up several

world records at the time which

included the largest number of

persons (18) of a single expedition to

climb Mount Everest, the largest

number of women (six) from a single

country to climb Mount Everest.

• Santosh Yadav, the member of the

team, became the first woman in the

world to climb Mount Everest, while

Miss Dicky Dolma became the

youngest women (19) years in the

world to climb the highest peak in the

world.

Topic- GS- 1- Social Empowerment.

Source- PIB

5. Startup Academia Alliance

Programme.

• For promoting the spirit of

entrepreneurship and to fulfil the

central government’s mission in the

country, Startup India under Ministry

of Commerce and Industry has

launched the Startup Academia

Alliance programme, a unique

mentorship opportunity between

academic scholars and startups

working in similar domains.

• The Startup Academia Alliance aims to

reduce the gap between scientific

research and its industrial applications

in order to increase the efficacy of

these technologies and to widen their

impact.

• The first phase of Startup Academia

Alliance kickstarted through

partnering with Regional Centre for

Biotechnology, The Energy and

Resources Institute (TERI),

Council on Energy, Environment

and Water, and TERI School of

Advanced Studies.

www.gradeup.com

20

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source-PIB

6. Maharashtra set to kick off biggest

land survey exercise using drones.

• The State government will soon

launch a ₹346-crore land survey

project in which drones will play a

pivotal role.

• The State government, along with the

Survey of India, had initiated a

project, which will survey about 1.20

lakh hectares using drones. In three

years, 40,000 villages will be

extensively surveyed using drones.

• Even if current methods with

Electronic Total Stations (ETS) are

used, it will take 30 years to survey

such a big area.

• With drones, a team would be able to

cover two villages daily and over three

years all the villages would be

surveyed.

• ETS is a field instrument for surveying

of land, which establishes maps and

boundaries for landowners.

Topic-GS- 2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source- The Hindu

7. Andaman rule eased for tourism

• The Union home ministry has

excluded 29 inhabited islands in

Andaman and Nicobar from Restricted

Area Permit (RAP) with an aim to

boost tourism.

• Foreigners are not allowed to enter

most of the hundreds of Andaman

&Nicobar Islands and they are

required to obtain a RAP to visit the

islands.

Related Information

Restricted Area Permit (RAP)

• A foreign national is not normally

allowed to visit a Protected /

Restricted Area unless it is established

to the satisfaction of the Government

that there are extraordinary reasons

to justify such a visit.

• Every foreigner, except a citizen of

Bhutan, who desires to enter and stay

in a Protected or Restricted Area, is

required to obtain a special permit

from a competent authority delegated

with powers to issue such a special

permit to a foreigner, on the

application.

• The RAP is notified under Foreigners

(Restricted Areas) Order, 1963.

• Citizens of Afghanistan, China and

Pakistan and foreign nationals of

Pakistani origin are the exception and

are not allowed to enter such areas.

Topic-GS-3- Challenges to internal security.

Source- Times of India

09.08.2018

1. Indian telescope discovers most

distant radio galaxy ever

• Astronomers have used an Indian

telescope to discover the most distant

radio galaxy ever known, located at a

distance of 12 billion light-years.

• The galaxy from a time when the

universe was only seven per cent of

its current age was found using the

Giant Meter-wave Radio Telescope

(GMRT) in Pune.

• GMRT is an array of thirty fully

steerable parabolic radio telescopes of

45-metre diameter. It is operated by

the National Centre for Radio

Astrophysics.

Related Information

• Radio galaxies are very rare objects in

the universe.

• They are colossal galaxies with a

supermassive black hole in their

centre that actively accretes gas and

dust from its surroundings.

• This activity initiates the launch of

high-energy jet streams, which are

capable of accelerating charged

particles around the supermassive

black hole to almost the speed of

light.

Topic-GS-3-Science and Technology

Source-DD News

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21

2. Scrub typhus is key encephalitis cause

in eastern U.P.

• Scrub Typhus is an infectious disease

which is transmitted by the bite of an

infected mite larva present in the soil.

• It is not caused by a virus, but by a

parasite called Orientia

tsutsugamushi.

• Almost, 65% of the Acute Encephalitis

Syndrome (AES) patients got infected

by Scrub Typhus (Gorakhpur in U.P is

treated as a hub of AES).

• This disease is more common during

monsoon season when the mites lay

eggs.

Topic-GS- 2- Issues related to health

Source- The Hindu

3. New sensor developed to measure sea

surface temperatures

• Sea surface temperature (SST) is an

important parameter for

oceanographic and atmospheric

studies and to monitor biological

habitations in the marine

environment.

• Indian scientists have developed a

new sensor to measure ocean

temperatures.

• The negative temperature coefficient

(NTC) thermistor-based sensor,

developed by scientists at the

Chennai-based National Institute of

Ocean Technology (NIOT) and School

of Engineering at Vels University,

Chennai, can be deployed on drifting

buoys on the sea.

• India has deployed buoys named

Pradyu which communicate with

Indian satellite INSAT for real-time

data telemetry.

• Twenty such buoys equipped with the

new sensor have been deployed in the

Arabian Sea from the research vessel,

SagarManjusha.

• They were used to collect sea surface

temperature data for about one

month.

Topic-GS-3-Science and Technology

Source-DD News

4. ISRO developing eco-friendly

propellants for its rockets.

• The Indian Space Research

Organization (ISRO) is developing

green propellants for future rockets,

considering the harmful effects of

exhausts released by rockets on the

earth's atmosphere.

• The propellants that are being used

have a very reactive effect on the

ozone layer due to the release of

chlorinated exhaust products.

• This, along with other chemicals

released, wreaks havoc on the

sensitive ozone layer.

• The new propellant has the capacity

to eliminate chlorinated exhaust from

rocket motors. The solid propellant is

based on Glycidyl Azide Polymer as

fuel and Ammonium Di-Nitamide

as an oxidiser.

• ISRO has already been using

LOX/Liquid Hydrogen and

LOX/Kerosene-based propulsion

systems for launch vehicles, and

electric propulsion for spacecraft.

• The LOX/Liquid Hydrogen

combination is already being used in

the upper stages of the

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch

Vehicle (GSLV) and GSLV Mk-III.

Related Information

India-UN Small Satellites Programme'

(INDOUNSSP)

• India announced a capacity building

programme, INDOUNSSP (India UN

Small Satellites Programme) on small

satellites development in COPUOS

(Committee on the Peaceful Uses

of Outer Space)” at Vienna in

February 2017.

• INDOUNSSP will be held for the first

time this year.

• A combination of theoretical

coursework and hands-on training on

Assembly, Integration and Testing

(AIT) will be conducted.

• Training for selected students will be

conducted at U R Rao Satellite Centre

in Bengaluru for the next three years.

• 30 candidates from 15 developing

nations will be selected and each of

the 45 nations under INDOUNSSP will

nominate two students.

Topic-GS-3- Science and Technology

Source- Indian Express

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22

5. Illegal trade flourishes, smugglers

breeding star tortoises.

• Captive breeding has become

rampant owing to the heavy demand

for the vulnerable species from South

East Asian Countries in AP and

Karnataka.

Related Information

Star Tortoises

• The Indian star tortoise is a

threatened species of tortoise found in

dry areas and scrub forest in India and

Sri Lanka.

• Star Tortoises mostly eat grass and

medicinal plants due to which people

in South East Asian Countries believe

that it has medicinal properties and

use it in soups. They are also raised

as pets.

• They need 52 days to hatch.

• Female lays eggs by digging half-a-

foot to nine inches into the sand and

covering eggs.

• They mate only during the monsoon

as their male genitals retract in dry

weather.

Topic-GS- 3- Conservation, environmental

pollution and degradation, environmental

impact assessment.

Source- Times of India

6. Union Minister of Commerce &

Industry and Aviation Suresh Prabhu

launched Niryat Mitra – mobile App.

• The app developed by

the Federation of Indian Export

Organisations (FIEO) is available

both on Android and on IOS

platforms.

• It provides a wide range of

information required to undertake

international trade right from the

policy provisions for export and

import, applicable GST rate, available

export incentives, tariff, preferential

tariff, market access requirements –

SPS and TBT measures.

• The most interesting part is that all

the information is available at tariff

line.

• The app works internally to map the

ITC HS code of other countries with

that of India and provides all the

required data without the users

bothering about the HS code of any

country.

• Presently the app comes with the data

from 87 countries.

• Human Resource tool of the app

enables candidates with interest in the

international trade sector to register

and apply against the vacancies

arising in the sector.

• Companies can also search the

profiles of the candidates and engage

them.

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source-PIB

7. INTACH bats for heritage buildings.

• The Indian National Trust for Art and

Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has called

for transforming heritage buildings in

Rajasthan into “economic assets” for

the society.

• Economic benefits could be derived

from these properties as an

alternative to paying for their upkeep

on a regular basis.

• The Indian National Trust for Art and

Cultural Heritage is a non-profit

charitable organisation registered

under the Societies' Registration Act,

1860.

• Founded: 27 January 1984

• Headquarters: New Delhi

• In 2007, the United Nations awarded

INTACH a special consultative status

with United Nations Economic and

Social Council.

• INTACH has pioneered the

conservation and protection of India's

natural and cultural heritage and is

today the largest membership

organisation in the country dedicated

to conservation.

Topic-GS- 1- Indian culture

Source- The Hindu

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23

10.08.2018

1. Parliament passes Sports University

Bill

• The bill seeks to establish a National

Sports University in Manipur to

promote education in sports sciences,

technology, management and

coaching.

• The bill was a major step towards

developing a world-class 360-degree

sports ecosystem in India.

• The government will focus on each

and every need of budding

sportspersons and will enhance their

stipends and food and supplement

allowances.

• The varsity Chancellor will be from

the sports field and even its Academic

Council, as well as academic

activities, will have members from the

sports field.

• Its key objectives would be research,

development and dissemination of

knowledge in physical education and

sports sciences, strengthening

training programmes, generating

knowledge capabilities and training

talented athletes.

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source- AIR

2. 'Study Webs of Active Learning

for Young Aspiring Minds'

(SWAYAM)

• The Ministry of HRD has embarked on

a major and new initiative Project

called 'Study Webs of Active Learning

for Young Aspiring Minds' (SWAYAM),

which will provide one integrated

platform and portal for online courses.

• This covers all higher education

subjects and skill sector courses.

• The objective is to ensure that every

student in our country has access to

the best quality higher education at

the affordable cost.

Related Information

• The programmes Swayam and

Swayam Prabha -- for making

education more accessible -- and the

depository were conceived and

executed by the Ministry of Human

Resource Development.

• Swayam Prabha would tap into the

potential of Direct to Home Service

wherein a person can install a dish

antenna for about Rs 1,500 and have

access to 32 digital educational

channels run by the HRD Ministry.

Topic-GS-1- Social Empowerment.

Source-PIB

3. PM Modi to address World Bio-

Fuel Day conference

• World Biofuel Day is observed every

year on 10th August to create

awareness about the importance of

non-fossil fuels as an alternative to

conventional fossil fuels and to

highlight the various efforts made by

the Government in the biofuel sector.

Related Information

National Policy on Biofuels

• Under Ministry of New & Renewable

Energy

• The Policy categorises biofuels as

"Basic Biofuels" viz. First Generation

(1G) bioethanol & biodiesel and

"Advanced Biofuels" - Second

Generation (2G) ethanol, Municipal

Solid Waste (MSW) to drop-in fuels,

Third Generation (3G) biofuels, bio-

CNG etc. to enable the extension of

appropriate financial and fiscal

incentives under each category.

• The policy has the objective of

reaching 20 per cent ethanol-blending

and five per cent biodiesel-blending

by the year 2030.

Topic-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors

Source-PIB

4. Global Innovation Index, GII-

2018 launched in India

• India's rank on the Global Innovation

Index (GII) has improved from 60th

last year to 57th this year.

• Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden,

the United Kingdom, Singapore, the

United States of America, Finland and

Denmark lead the 2018 rankings.

www.gradeup.com

24

Related Information

Global Innovation Index

• The Global Innovation Index (GII) is

an annual ranking of countries by

their capacity for, and success in,

innovation.

• It is published by Cornell University,

INSEAD, and the World Intellectual

Property Organization, in partnership

with other organisations and

institutions.

• The index was started in 2007 by

INSEAD and World Business, a British

magazine.

• The GII is computed by taking a

simple average of the scores in two

sub-indices, the Innovation Input

Index and Innovation Output Index.

Topic-GS-2- Important International

institutions, agencies and fora- their

structure, mandate.

Source-PIB

5. Ease of Living Index

• The Ease of Living Index will be

launched along with an Ease of Living

Index dashboard by Shri Hardeep S

Puri, Minister of State (I/C), Housing

& Urban Affairs.

• Apart from presenting the overall

national ranking of 111 cities, the

dashboard will present ranking of the

cities across pillars, category,

geographical zone and population

classifications.

• Ease of Living framework comprises

four pillars namely Institutional,

Social, Economic and

Physical which are further broken

down into 15 categories and 78

indicators. The dashboard will also

have a comparison feature that will

allow users to analyze the

performance across cities on various

liveability parameters.

Related Information

• The Ease of Living Index is an

initiative of the Ministry of Housing

and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to help

cities assess their liveability vis-à-vis

global and national benchmarks and

encourage cities to move towards an

‘outcome-based’ approach to urban

planning and management.

Topic-GS-3- Sustainable Development

Source- Economic Times

6. Swachh Manch web portal

• Shri Hardeep S Puri, Minister of State

(I/C), Housing & Urban Affairs will

launch Swachh Manch web portal.

• Swachh Manch web portal, a web-

based platform which aims to bring

together every stakeholder

contributing to the Swachh Bharat

Mission under a common platform.

• It is going to be launched as part of

Swachh Survekshan 2019.

• The platform will allow stakeholders to

create/invite/participate in

volunteering opportunities around

neighbourhoods.

• Swachh Manch will enable uploads of

pictorial evidence of citizens and

organizations participating in the

initiatives, as well as record the

number of hours volunteered, as an

acknowledgement of citizens’/

organizations’ efforts and

contributions to the cause of

‘Swachhata’.

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source-PIB

7. ICAR sounds alarmed with the

discovery of deadly foreign maize

pest in Karnataka

• The Indian Council for Agricultural

Research (ICAR) has sounded the

alarm after the invasive agricultural

pest Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera

frugiperda) was discovered in

Karnataka this July.

• A major maize pest in North America,

the Fall Armyworm arrived in Africa in

2016. Since then, it has threatened

the continent’s maize crop.

• The Karnataka finding is the first

report of the pest in Asia. The

discovery is more worrisome because

the pest feeds on around 100 different

crops, such as vegetables, rice, and

sugarcane.

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25

Related Information

Important ICAR institutions

Indian Agricultural

Research Institute New Delhi

Indian Veterinary

Research Institute

Bareilly, Uttar

Pradesh

National Dairy Research

Institute Karnal, Haryana

Central Institute of

Fisheries Education

Mumbai,

Maharashtra

Central Institute for

Research on Buffaloes Hissar, Haryana

Central Institute of Cotton

Research

Nagpur,

Maharashtra

Central Sheep and Wool

Research Institute

Avikanagar,

Rajasthan

Indian Institute of

Horticultural Research

Bengaluru,

Karnataka

Indian Institute of Spices

Research Calicut, Kerala

Indian Institute of

Sugarcane Research

Lucknow, Uttar

Pradesh

Topic-GS-2- Conservation

Source- The Hindu

8. Delhi High Court decriminalizes

begging in the national capital.

• The act of begging in the national

Capital was made a criminal offence

after the Bombay Prevention of

Begging Act, 1959, was extended to

Delhi by a Central government

amendment in 1960.

• The law prescribes a penalty of three

years of detention in beggar homes in

case of first conviction for begging

and the person can be ordered to be

detained for 10 years in subsequent

conviction.

• In India, 20 States and two Union

Territories have either enacted their

own legislation or adopted the

legislation enacted by other States.

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source- The Hindu

9. Cabinet approved construction of

New 4 - Lane Bridge on Kosi river

at Phulaut, Bihar

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic

Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister

Shri Narendra Modi, approved the

project for construction of 6.930 km

long 4-lane bridge at Phulaut in Bihar.

• There is a 10 km long-missing link

between Phulaut and Bihpuro in NH-

106 and falling in the catchment area

of Kosi River.

Related Information

Kosi River

• The Kosi river has its source in Tibet

that includes the world's highest

upland it then drains a large part of

Nepal before emerging onto the

Gangetic plains.

• Its three major tributaries, the Sun

Kosi, Arun and Tamur meet at one

point just upstream of 10 km gorge

cut through the Himalayan foothills.

• The Koshi is 720 km long and drains

an area of about 74,500 km2 in Tibet,

Nepal and Bihar.

• The Koshi River is known as the

"Sorrow of Bihar" as the annual floods

affect about 21,000 km2 of fertile

agricultural lands thereby disturbing

the rural economy.

• It meets in Ganga near Kursela, Bihar,

India.

Topic-GS-3- Infrastructure: Energy, Ports,

Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

Source-PIB

11.08.2018

1. Exercise SCO Peace Mission 2018

• As part of the Shanghai Cooperation

Organization (SCO) initiatives, SCO

Peace Mission Exercise is conducted

biennially for SCO member states.

• The joint exercise for the year 2018

will be conducted by Central Military

Commission of Russia from 22 August

to 29 August 2018 at Chebarkul,

Chelyabinsk, Russia.

• This will be a historic occasion due to

the maiden participation of India post

becoming a full member of the SCO in

June 2017.

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26

• The exercise will involve tactical level

operations in an international

counter-insurgency or counter-

terrorism environment under SCO

Charter.

• Indian contingent of 200 personnel is

primarily composed of troops from

infantry and affiliated arms & services

along with Indian Air Force.

Related Information

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

(SCO)

• The Shanghai Cooperation

Organisation (SCO), or Shanghai

Pact, is a Eurasian political, economic,

and security alliance.

• Founded on 15th June 2001, in

Shanghai, China by the leaders of

China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,

Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

• India and Pakistan joined SCO as full

members on 9 June 2017 at a summit

in Astana, Kazakhstan.

• First Summit-2001- China, Shanghai.

• 2018 summit- China, Qingdao.

• 2019 summit- Kyrgyzstan.

Topic-GS-2- Important International

institutions, agencies and fora- their

structure, mandate.

Source-PIB

2. ‘Operation Madad and Sahyog’:

Navy, army turn saviours after

Kerala rains, floods

‘Operation Madad’

• Operation “Madad” has been launched

by the Southern Naval Command

(SNC).

• The operation began at Kochi since 09

Aug 2018.

• For assisting the state administration

and undertaking disaster relief

operations due to the unprecedented

flooding experienced in many parts of

Kerala, owing to incessant rainfall and

release of excess water from Idukki

and other dams.

‘Operation Sahyog’

• By the Indian army.

• For disaster relief and rescue

operations at Kannur, Kozhikode,

Wayanad and Idukki after incessant

rain and landslides hit various

northern districts of the state.

Topic-GS-3- Disaster and disaster

management.

Source-PIB

3. Digital North East Vision 2022

• Union Minister for Electronics &

Information Technology Ravi Shankar

Prasad will release the document

‘Digital North East Vision 2022’

Guwahati.

• The Document emphasizes leveraging

digital technologies to transform the

lives of people of the northeast and

enhance the ease of living.

• The Document identifies eight digital

thrust areas - Digital Infrastructure,

Digital services, Digital

empowerment, Promotion of

Electronics Manufacturing, Promotion

of IT and ITES including BPOs, Digital

Payments, Innovation & Startups and

Cybersecurity.

• State-wise roadmaps for

implementing digital initiatives in the

North East States have also been

developed.

• The Vision Document aims to

empower the people of the North

Eastern region.

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source- AIR

4. NASA poised to blast off the first

spacecraft to explore Sun

• The first-ever spacecraft to fly directly

toward the Sun is poised to blast off,

on a mission to plunge into our star’s

sizzling atmosphere and unlock the

mysteries of the centre of the solar

system.

• NASA’s car-sized, $1.5 billion Parker

Solar Probe is scheduled to launch

on a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape

Canaveral, Florida.

• The unmanned probe’s main goal is to

unveil the secrets of the corona, the

unusual atmosphere around the Sun.

• The Parker Solar Probe will help do a

better job of predicting when a

disturbance in the solar wind could hit

Earth.

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27

• Knowing more about the solar wind

and space storms will also help

protect future deep space explorers as

they journey toward the Moon or

Mars.

• The goal of the Parker Solar Probe is

to make 24 passes through the corona

during its seven-year mission.

Topic-GS-3-Science and Technology.

Source- The Hindu

5. Cabinet approves raising of four

additional battalions of National

Disaster Response Force.

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime

Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given

the approval for raising of four (4)

additional battalions of National

Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to

strengthen India's disaster response

set up at an estimated cost of Rs 637

crore.

• The objective of raising four additional

battalions is to reduce the response

time keeping in view the vast

geographic area of the country.

• These four battalions will initially be

raised as two battalions in Indo-

Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and one

battalion each in Border Security

Force (BSF) and Assam Rifles (ARs).

• Later these four battalions will be

converted into NDRF battalions.

Based on the vulnerability profile,

these four battalions will be placed in

Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal

Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi

National Capital Region.

Related Information

National Disaster Response Force

• NDRF is a specialized force, which has

been created in the year 2006 for the

purpose of specialist response during

the natural and man-made disaster or

threatening situation.

• At present, there are 12 battalions in

NDRF which are deployed strategically

across the country to provide an

immediate response.

Topic-GS-3- Security challenges and their

management in border areas.

Source- PIB

6. Indian telescope spots distant

radio galaxy.

• Indian telescope spot the most distant

radio galaxy ever known, located at a

distance of 12 billion light-years.

• The galaxy, from a time when the

universe was only 7% of its current

age was found using the Giant

Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in

Pune.

• The distance to this galaxy was

determined using the Gemini North

telescope in Hawaii and the Large

Binocular Telescope in Arizona.

• The galaxy is perceived as it looked

when the universe was only a billion

years old.

• This also means that the light from

this galaxy is almost 12 billion years

old.

• This activity initiates the launch of

high-energy jet streams, which are

capable of accelerating charged

particles around the supermassive

black hole to almost the speed of

light.

Related Information

• Radio galaxies are very rare objects

in the universe. They are colossal

galaxies with a supermassive black

hole in their centre that actively

accretes gas and dust from its

surroundings.

• Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope

(GMRT) is an array of thirty fully

steerable parabolic radio telescopes of

45-metre diameter. It is operated by

the National Centre for Radio

Astrophysics.

Topic-GS-3- Science and Technology.

Source- The Hindu

7. National Energy Storage Mission

In February 2018, an Expert Committee

under the chairpersonship of Secretary,

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, with

representatives from relevant Ministries,

industry associations, research institutions

and experts was constituted by the Ministry

of New & Renewable Energy to propose draft

for setting up National Energy Storage

Mission (NESM) for India.

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28

Highlights of the National Energy

Storage Mission:

• The draft National Energy Storage Mission

expects to kick-start grid-connected

energy storage in India, set up a

regulatory framework, and encourage

indigenous manufacture of batteries.

• The draft sets a “realistic target” of

15-20 gigawatt hours (GWh) of grid-

connected storage within the next five

years.

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source- The Hindu

8. One District One Product scheme.

• To give a major push to Uttar

Pradesh's micro, small and medium

enterprises (MSME) and cottage

industries, the UP Government

launched ‘One District One Product

scheme’(ODOP).

• The ODOP scheme seeks to promote

traditional industries synonymous

with their respective districts to spur

the local economy and create jobs.

• The ODOP Summit is stated to be

the first of its kind in the country

and is expected to give a big boost to

the MSME and handicraft in the state.

• The aim is to optimise production,

productivity and income, preservation

and development of local crafts,

promotion of art, improvement in

product quality and skill development.

• The state government will sign a

memorandum of understandings

(MoUs) with e-retailor giant Amazon

for marketing of products of artisans,

and Quality Control of India (QCI) that

will ensure the quality of products.

Topic-GS-1- Social Empowerment.

Source-Business Standards

9. CCEA approves the continuation

of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak

Yojana beyond 12th Five Year

Plan period

Related Information

• The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak

Yojana (PMGSY) is a nationwide plan

in India to provide good all-weather

road connectivity to unconnected

villages.

• This Centrally Sponsored Scheme was

introduced in 2000 by the then-prime

minister of India Atal Behari

Vajpayee.

• Under the authority of the Ministry of

Rural Development.

• The aim was to provide roads to all

villages

1. with a population of 1000 persons and

above by 2003

2. with a population of 500 persons and

above by 2007

• In hill states, tribal and desert area

villages with a population of 500

persons and above by 2003

1. in hill states, tribal and desert area

villages with a population of 250

persons and above by 2007

Topic-GS- 3- Infrastructure: Energy, Ports,

Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

Source-PIB

10. Bill to allow proxy voting by NRIs

passed by Lok Sabha

• A bill to extend the facility of 'proxy

voting' to overseas Indians, on the

lines of service voters, was passed by

the Lok Sabha.

• As of now, overseas Indians were free

to cast their votes in the

constituencies where they were

registered.

• The Bill seeks to give them the option

of proxy voting until now was only

available to service personnel.

• Another provision in the amendment

bill relates to the spouses of service

voters. As of now, an army man's wife

is entitled to be enrolled as a service

voter, but a woman army officer's

husband is not, according to the

provisions in the electoral law.

• The bill proposes to replace the term

'wife' with 'spouse', thus making the

provision gender neutral.

• Members of the armed forces, central

armed police forces, personnel of

state police forces posted outside

their state and employees of the

centre posted outside India are

eligible to be enrolled as service

voters.

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Topic-GS- 2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source- Economic Times

13.08.2018

1. First genetic bank for rare species

inaugurated in Hyderabad.

• Union Minister for Science and

Technology Harsh Vardhan

inaugurated a genetic resource

storage facility at the Laboratory for

Conservation of Endangered Species

(LaCONES).

• So far, genetic resources from 23

species of Indian wild animals have

been collected and preserved.

• This facility would increase the

collection of genetic resources from

wildlife through collaboration with

zoos in India.

• This facility would also facilitate the

exchange of genetic material between

Indian zoos for maintaining genetic

diversity and conservation

management.

Note- CCMB-LaCONES is the only

laboratory in India that has developed

methods for collection and

cryopreservation of semen and

oocytes from wildlife and successfully

reproducing endangered blackbuck,

spotted deer and Nicobar pigeons.

Related Information

The Laboratory for the Conservation of

Endangered Species (LaCONES)

• The Laboratory for the Conservation

of Endangered Species (LaCONES) is

a dedicated laboratory of the CSIR-

Centre for Cellular and Molecular

Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad.

• It is the only institute in the country

working towards conservation of

endangered wildlife using modern

biotechnologies to save endangered

wildlife species of India.

Wildlife Genetic Resource Banking

(GRB)

• Wildlife Genetic Resource Banking

(GRB) is the systematic collection and

preservation of tissues, sperm, eggs

and embryos, genetic material

(DNA/RNA).

Topic-GS-3- Conservation,

environmental pollution and

degradation, environmental impact

assessment.

Source- The Hindu

2. First ever planned reintroduction

of the Indian mouse deer.

• The Telangana Forest

Department, Central Zoo

Authority, Nehru Zoological Park

and CSIR-Centre for Cellular and

Molecular Biology (CCMB),

Hyderabad. have joined hands to

conduct the first-ever planned

reintroduction of the Indian spotted

chevrotain (Moschiola indica), also

known as Indian mouse deer.

• This follows more than seven years of

conservation breeding of the elusive

species at a dedicated facility in the

premises of Nehru Zoological Park,

which increased the captive mouse

deer population to around 230

individuals till March this year.

Related Information

Indian Mouse Deer

• The Indian spotted chevrotain

(Moschiola indica) is found in India

and possibly Nepal.

• It lives in rainforests and is nocturnal.

• Categorized Least Concern in the

IUCN Red List.

Topic-GS-1- Flora and fauna and the

effects of such changes.

Source- The Hindu

3. Axis Bank introduces iris

authentication for Aadhaar-based

transactions.

• Axis Bank has become the first bank

in the country to introduce Iris Scan

Authentication feature for Aadhaar-

based transactions through its micro

ATM tablets.

• This service requires a customer to

scan their iris on a tablet.

• Micro ATMs completely eliminate the

requirement of debit cards,

passwords, PINs, and user IDs, and

empower consumers to avail banking

services using only their Aadhaar

numbers and biometrics (iris

scan/fingerprint scan).

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• The bank has deployed highly secure

iris powered micro ATM tablets which

are STQC certified and UIDAI

compliant registered devices with

completely integrated iris sensors.

Note- Iris scan technology is

completely contactless and provides

up to 98.2 per cent authentication

success rate (as per the study

conducted by the International Centre

for Biometric Research) and offers an

edge over other prevalent biometric

modes.

Topic-GS-3- Banking

Source- Business Standards.

4. PARIVESH” – an environmental

single window hub for

Environment, Forest, Wildlife and

CRZ clearances launched.

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra

Modi, launched PARIVESH (Pro-Active

and Responsive facilitation by

Interactive, Virtuous and

Environmental Single-window Hub)

on the occasion of World Biofuel Day.

• PARIVESH is a Single-Window

Integrated Environmental

Management System, developed in

pursuance of the spirit of ‘Digital

India’ initiated by the Prime Minister

and capturing the essence of

Minimum Government and Maximum

Governance.

• It is a workflow based application,

based on the concept of web

architecture.

• The system has been designed,

developed and hosted by the

Ministry of Environment, Forest

and Climate Change, with

technical support from the

National Informatics Centre,

(NIC), New Delhi.

Highlights of PARIVESH include:

• Single registration and single sign-in

for all types of clearances (i.e.

Environment, Forest, Wildlife and

CRZ).

• Unique-ID for all types of clearances

required for a particular project.

• A single Window interface for the

proponent to submit applications for

getting all types of clearances (i.e.

Environment, Forests, Wildlife and

CRZ clearances).

• Facilities for citizens to view, track

and interact with scrutiny officers,

generate online clearance letters,

online mailers and alerts to state

functionaries in case of delays beyond

stipulated time for processing of

applications.

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their

design and implementation.

Source- PIB

5. Lok Sabha passes Arbitration &

Conciliation (Amendment) Bill,

2018.

The Lok Sabha has passed the Arbitration

and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2018. It

will amend the Arbitration and Conciliation

Act, 1996.

Highlights:

• The Bill seeks to establish an

independent body called the

Arbitration Council of India

(ACI) for the promotion of

arbitration, mediation, conciliation

and other alternative dispute

redressal mechanisms.

• The ACI will consist of either Judge of

Supreme Court or Judge of High

Court or Chief Justice of High

Court or eminent person with

expert knowledge in the conduct

of arbitration as the Chairperson.

• Its other members will include

eminent arbitration practitioner, the

academician with experience in

arbitration and government

appointees.

• A confidentiality clause has been

added in the Bill so that confidentiality

can be maintained with respect to

arbitration institution, arbitrators and

parties.

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their

design and implementation.

Source- AIR

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6. CSIR’s new patented Clot buster,

PEGylated Streptokinase set to

revolutionize the treatment of

Strokes.

• A new Clot buster, PEGylated

Streptokinase - a Novel Biological

Entity developed by CSIR-Institute of

Microbial Technology (CSIR-IMTECH),

Chandigarh is all set to revolutionize

the treatment of ischemic strokes.

• Epygen is the first company in India

with an exclusive license of this Novel

Biological Entity (NBE) thrombolytic

protein for ischemic stroke.

Related Information

Ischemic stroke

• Ischemic stroke is a condition caused

by a dysfunction in the supply of blood

to the brain due to emboli, thrombus

or atherosclerosis occurring in

cerebral arteries.

• Brain strokes are the second leading

cause of death in the world.

PEGylated Streptokinase

• PEGylated Streptokinase is a novel

recombinant protein.

• It has been developed to enhance

proteolytic stability and extended

plasma half-life.

• For reducing the probability of

haemorrhage by the current treatment for

acute stroke and for immunoreactivity.

Topic-GS- 3- Science

Source- PIB

7. Parliament passes Insolvency &

Bankruptcy Code (Second

Amendment) Bill,2018.

• Parliament passed a bill to amend the

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

(IBC) 2016, allowing home buyers to

be treated as financial creditors and

seeking to set up a special

dispensation for small sector

enterprises.

Highlights:

• The Bill seeks to clarify that allottees

under a real estate project should be

treated as financial creditors.

• As per the bill, home buyers will get

due representation in the Committee

of Creditors that takes a call on

resolution proposals, making them an

integral part of the decision making

process.

• The Bill allows the withdrawal of a

resolution application submitted to

the National Company Law Tribunal

under the Code.

• This decision can be taken with the

approval of 90 per cent of the

committee of creditors.

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their

design and implementation.

Source- AIR

8. Genetic ‘barcodes’ reveal three

frogs unreported in India.

• Scientists from Delhi University (DU)

and the Wildlife Institute of India

found that the ornate narrow-

mouthed frog, thought to be widely

distributed in Asia, is seen only in

peninsular India and Sri Lanka.

• The study reveals that the ornate

narrow-mouthed frog is present only

in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka,

Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

Related Information

DNA Barcoding

• DNA barcoding is a method which

uses a short genetic marker in an

organism's DNA to identify it as

belonging to a particular species.

• The main goal is to determine the

patterns of relationship.

• Barcodes are sometimes used in an

effort to identify unknown species or

assess whether species should be

combined or separated.

Topic-GS-3-Science and Technology

Source- The Hindu

14.08.2018

1. Quality Council of India Report on

Station Cleanliness

• The Third Party Survey has Been

Conducted by Quality Council of

India.

• This is the third such audit cum survey

which has been conducted by

Railways to increase the level of

cleanliness by identifying unclean

spots/gaps, to improve cleanliness

standards and to propel healthy

competition among railway stations.

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32

• The parameters adopted for

conducting the survey were:

(i) Evaluation of Process of cleanliness

in Parking, main entry area, main

platform, waiting room (33.33%)

(ii) Direct observation by QCI

assessors of cleanliness in these areas

(33.33%).

(iii) Passenger feedback (33.33%).

• The top scorers were:

1. A1 category stations (out of 75)

• Jodhpur/North-Western Railway

• Jaipur/North-Western Railway

• Tirupati/South-Central Railway

2. A category stations (out of a total

of 332)

• Marwar/North Western Railway

• Phulera/North -Western Railway

• Warangal/South-Central Railway

3. Zonal Railway rankings are:

• North Western Railway

• South Central Railway

• East Coast Railway

Related Information

• The first survey was conducted

by IRCTC in 2016 by conducting

interviews of passengers at the

stations on various parameters of

cleanliness and rating them on these

bases.

• The second survey in 2017 was

conducted by Quality Council of

India.

Quality Council of India

• Quality Council of India (QCI) is

an autonomous body that works to

assure quality standards across all

spheres of economic and social

activities.

• Department of Industrial Policy and

Promotion, along with other key

industry associations, i.e. Associated

Chambers of Commerce and Industry

of India, Confederation of Indian

Industry and Federation of Indian

Chambers of Commerce and Industry,

formed QCI in 1997.

• It was formed to provide accreditation

services in the fields of education,

healthcare, industries, institutions,

professionals, quality promotion and

quality assessment.

• The council is independent and works

under the directions of its governing

body having equal representation of

government, industry and industry

associations.

• It is neither funded nor controlled

by the government and is a non-

profit organization with its own

Memorandum of Association.

Topic-GS-2- Governance

Source-PIB

2. The water level in the

Mullaiperiyar dam rising

Related Information

The Mullaperiyar Dam

• The Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry

gravity dam in Kerala.

• The dam is located in Kerala on

the river Periyar but is operated and

maintained by Tamil Nadu state.

• It is located above mean sea level, on

the Cardamom Hills of the Western

Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of

Kerala, South India.

• The Periyar National Park is located

around the dam's reservoir.

Topic-GS-1- Indian physical geography

Source- The Hindu

3. Ease of living index

• By the Ministry of Housing and Urban

Affairs (MoHUA).

• The index captures the quality of life

based on the data collected from the

urban local bodies on four

parameters.

• The four parameters include:

(i) Institutional (governance)

(ii) Social (identity, education, health,

security) (iii) Economic (economy, employment) (iv) Physical factors (wastewater and

solid waste management, pollution,

housing/ inclusiveness, mixed land

use, power and water supply,

transport, public open spaces).

• The best performing states were:

(i) Pune

(ii) Navi Mumbai

(iii)Greater Mumbai

• Rampur in Uttar Pradesh has ranked

the worst on the scale with Kohima

and Patna on the bottom two and

three ranks while Varanasi stands at

33.

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• West Bengal refused to participate in

the Centre’s rankings. Thus, Kolkata

was excluded from the index.

Topic-GS-2- Governance

Source- Indian Express

4. China Uighurs: One million held in

political camps

• A UN human rights committee has

heard there are credible reports that

China is holding a million Uighurs in

"counter-extremism centres".

• Human rights groups including

Amnesty International and Human

Rights Watch have submitted reports

to the UN committee documenting

claims of mass imprisonment, in

camps where inmates are forced to

swear loyalty to China's President Xi

Jinping.

• The World Uyghur Congress said in its

report that detainees are held

indefinitely without charge, and

forced to shout Communist Party

slogans.

• It said they are poorly fed, and reports

of torture are widespread.

• Most inmates have never been

charged with a crime, it is claimed,

and do not receive legal

representation.

• China is said to carry out the

detentions under the guise of

combating religious extremism.

Note

• Xinjiang is officially designated as an

autonomous region within China, like

Tibet to its south.

• It shares borders with Mongolia,

Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,

Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and

India.

Related Information

Uighurs

• The Uighurs are a Muslim ethnic

minority mostly based in China's

Xinjiang province.

• They make up around 45% of the

population in China.

Topic-GS-2- India and its

neighbourhood- relations

Source- The Hindu

5. Delhi Police gets India's first all-

women SWAT team.

• Delhi will be the first police force in

the country to have an all-

woman Special Weapons and

Tactics (SWAT) team for anti-

terrorist operations.

• Trained by specialists from India and

abroad, 36 women constables from

northeastern states have been

inducted into the squad after rigorous,

15-month training. It is the brainchild

of police commissioner Amulya

Patnaik.

• The members of this all-women SWAT

team received better ratings at the

Police Training College in Jharoda

Kalan than their male counterparts.

• The maximum numbers of members

(13) are from Assam and five each

from Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and

Manipur.

• Armed with MP5 submachine guns

and Glock 21 pistols, all the

members of the force are also well-

versed in Israeli Krav Maga, an

unarmed combat style.

• These commandos will be stationed at

strategic locations in central and

south Delhi.

Topic-GS-1- Women Empowerment

GS-3- Defence

Source- Economic Times

6. 20 Ghats inaugurated in Kanpur

and Bithoor

• Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurated 20

newly constructed/ restored Ghats on

river Ganga in Kanpur and Bithoor.

• The Minister also announced projects

to tackle pollution from two of

Kanpur’s biggest pollution hotspots:

(i) Jajmau- a source of industrial

effluents.

(ii) Sisamau – a source of domestic

sewage.

Related Information

Namami Gange Programme

• Namami Gange Programme, an

integrated conservation mission.

• It was approved as the flagship

programme by the government in

June

• Its aim is to accomplish the twin

objectives of effective abatement of

pollution, conservation, and

rejuvenation of the Ganga.

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The National Mission for Clean

Ganga (NMCG)

• The National Mission for Clean

Ganga(NMCG) is the implementation

wing of National Ganga Council which

was set up in October 2016 under the

River Ganga (Rejuvenation,

Protection and Management)

Authorities order 2016.

• The aim is to clean the Ganga and its

tributaries in a comprehensive

manner.

Topic-GS-3-Conservation

Source-PIB

7. Santhali becomes India’s first

tribal language to get own

Wikipedia edition.

• Santhali has become the first Indian

tribal language to get a Wikipedia

edition in its own script.

• The Santhali Wikipedia got approval

from the language committee of the

Wikimedia Foundation on June 28.

• Among the 22 scheduled languages in

India, Dogri, Bodo and Manipuri have

no version of Wikipedia in their own

language.

• The Assamese version of Wikipedia,

which is live since 2002, is in the

Bengali script.

Related Information

• Santhali is written in Ol Chiki script

and spoken by 6.4 million people.

• Its speakers live mostly in Jharkhand,

West Bengal, Odisha and Assam.

• It is also spoken in Bangladesh and

Nepal.

Topic-GS-1- Art and Culture

Source- Hindustan Times

16.08.2018

1. Global Liveability Index 2018

• For the first time in this survey's

history, a European city has topped

rankings.

• Previously, Melbourne, Australia, had

been ranked by the EIU as the world's

most liveable city for seven years in a

row, from 2011 to 2017.

• The five most liveable cities in

2018

1. Vienna, Austria

2. Melbourne, Australia

3. Osaka, Japan

4. Calgary, Canada

5. Sydney, Australia

• The five least liveable cities 2018

1. Damascus, Syria

2. Dhaka, Bangladesh

3. Lagos, Nigeria

4. Karachi, Pakistan

5. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Related Information

• The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)

publishes an annual Global Liveability

Ranking since 2011.

• It ranks 140 cities for their urban

quality of life based on assessments of

stability, healthcare, culture and

environment, education and

infrastructure.

• The EIU also publishes a Worldwide

Cost of Living Survey that

compares the cost of living in a range

of global cities.

Topic-GS-2-International Institutions

Source- BBC

2. Mahadayi water dispute

• Ending a 50-year-old dispute, the

tribunal allowed Karnataka access to

13.4 tmc of water for its consumptive

use (5.4 tmc) and power generation

(8.02 tmc).

Related Information

Mahadayi River

• The Mahadayi/Mandovi River is

described as the lifeline of the Indian

state of Goa.

• It originates from Bhimgad in the

Western Ghats in the Belagavi

district of Karnataka.

• The Mandovi and the Zuari are the

two primary rivers in the state of Goa.

• It pours to the Arabian Sea.

• Panaji, the state capital and Old

Goa, the former capital of Goa, are

both situated on the left bank of the

Mandovi.

• The river Mapusa is a tributary of the

Mandovi.

Topic-GS-1-Indian Physical Geography

Source- The Hindu

3. Postal Highway

• The Indian Government released

additional NPR 470 million for the

Postal Highway being constructed in

Southern Plains of Nepal.

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35

• The Package 1 of the Project

comprising two road sections

Dhangadhi-Bhajaniya-Satti road

and Lamki-Tikapur-Khakraula

have already been completed with

Government of India’s grant

assistance worth Rs 1.02 billion.

• The two roads opened for service

on January 19, 2017.

• India provides financial assistance to

Nepal since 1950 for infrastructure

development as part of its multi-

sectoral India-Nepal Economic Co-

operation Programme.

Related Information

Postal Highway

• Postal Highway also called Hulaki Rajmarg runs across the Terai region of Nepal.

• From Bhadrapur in the east to

Dodhara in the west.

• It is the Oldest highway in Nepal

constructed by Juddha Shumsher

Jung Bahadur Rana & Padma

Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana to aid

transportation and facilitate postal

services throughout the nation.

Topic-GS-2-India and its neighbourhood

Source- AIR

4. Indian, Singapore navies to

commemorate the 25th anniversary of

maritime bilateral exercise "SIMBEX"

• The navies of India and Singapore will

conduct joint exercises next month to

commemorate the 25th anniversary

of the maritime bilateral relations

between the two countries • The bilateral naval exercise will be the

longest uninterrupted naval exercise that

India has with any country in the world. Related Information

SIMBEX

• Singapore India Maritime Bilateral

Exercise (SIMBEX) is an annual

bilateral naval exercise conducted

by the Indian Navy and the Republic

of Singapore Navy (RSN).

• The exercise has been held annually

since 1994.

• Over the years, SIMBEX has

progressed beyond its original

emphasis on anti-submarine warfare

to include elements of maritime

security, anti-air and anti-surface

warfare.

Topic-GS-2-India and its relation with

other countries

Source- AIR

5. NITI Aayog launched “Pitch to MOVE”

• NITI Aayog has launched “Pitch to

MOVE” - a mobility pitch competition

that aims to provide budding

entrepreneurs of India a unique

opportunity to pitch their business

ideas to a distinguished jury.

• Pitch to MOVE” is organised by NITI

Aayog in collaboration with Invest

India and Society of Indian

Automobile Manufacturers

(SIAM).

• The competition aims to identify and

reward the start-ups offering

innovative solutions for shared,

connected, and environment-friendly

mobility.

Topic-GS-2-Government policies

Source-PIB

6. Uttarakhand High Court Declares

Itself Legal Guardian of Cows in State.

• Invoking the parens patriae

doctrine, the Uttarakhand high court

has appointed itself as the legal

guardian of cows in the state, issuing

31 directives to the state, including

setting up cow shelters and

registering cases against those found

to have abandoned their cattle.

• This is the first time in India that a

court has had invoked the ‘parens

patriae’ doctrine for cow protection.

Related Information

• Parens patriae in Latin means

‘parent of the nation’. The doctrine

grants the court inherent power and

authority to act as guardian for those

who are unable to take care of

themselves.

• Uttarakhand high court appointing

itself as the legal guardian of cows

and cattle in the state has come after

the country last year got its very first

cow protection sanctuary, in

Madhya Pradesh’s Agar Malwa

district.

Topic-GS-2- Separation of powers

between various organs dispute

redressal mechanisms and institutions.

Source-The Hindu

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36

7. Gaganyaan

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi

announced that India will send an

astronaut to space in the year 2022.

• It will be the fourth nation to do so

after the United States, Russia and

China.

GSLV Mk-III

• One of the most important

requirements is the development of a

launch vehicle that can carry heavy

payloads into space.

• The spacecraft carrying human

beings, called crew module, is likely to

weigh in excess of 5 to 6 tonnes.

• ISRO’s main launch vehicle, the PSLV

(Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle), which

carried the Chandrayaan and

Mangalyaan missions too, can carry

payloads that are barely up to 2

tonnes, and that too only to orbits at

about 600 km altitude from the

Earth’s surface.

• That is why the development of GSLV

Mk-III, a launch vehicle with

capabilities to deliver much heavier

payloads much deeper into space,

was necessary.

What is Gaganyaan?

• ISRO successfully tested GSLV Mk-III,

now called LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle

Mark-3), in an experimental flight in

December 2014.

• The LVM-3 is the declared launch

vehicle for taking the manned crew

module into space.

• Over the next few years, many more

flights of GSLV are scheduled.

• These will help ISRO in perfecting the

cryogenic technology for sending up

heavier and heavier payloads.

Related Information

Crew Escape System

• The ‘pad abort’ test or Crew

Escape System is an emergency

escape measure that helps pull the

crew away from the launch vehicle

when a mission has to be aborted.

• The test was conducted at the Satish

Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

Missions conducted by ISRO earlier were

1. Chandrayaan-1

• India’s first lunar probe.

• It was launched on October 2008.

2. Mangalyaan

• Space probe orbiting Mars.

• It was launched on 5 November 2013.

• It is India's first interplanetary

mission

• ISRO became the fourth space agency

to reach Mars, after the Soviet space

program, NASA, and the European

Space Agency.

• It is the first Asian nation to reach

Mars orbit, and the first nation in the

world to do so in its first attempt.

Topic-GS-3- Science and Technology

Source- The Hindu

8. Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyaan

(Ayushman Bharat)

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi

announced that his government will

launch an ambitious healthcare

scheme on September 25 this year

which will benefit 50 crore citizens of

the country.

• It will be launched on the birth

anniversary of Pandit Deendayal

Upadhyay.

Related Information

Ayushman Bharat-National Health

Protection Mission (AB-NHPM)

• It is the world's largest government-

funded healthcare programme.

• The ambitious Ayushman Bharat-

National Health Protection Mission

(AB-NHPM) aims to provide a

coverage of Rs 5 lakh per family

annually, benefiting more than 10

crore poor families.

• The scheme aims to target the poor,

deprived rural families and identified

the occupational category of urban

workers’ families.

• It will be as per the latest Socio-

Economic Caste Census (SECC) data.

• The first 'health and wellness centre'

has been inaugurated in Bijapur

district in Chhattisgarh.

• Initially, it will be launched on a pilot

basis in some states.

Topic-GS-2-Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their

design and implementation.

Source-PIB

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37

9. Swadesh Darshan Scheme

• The first project under the central

government's Swadesh Darshan

Scheme, 'North East Circuit: Imphal

and Khongjom', will be inaugurated.

• Under this project, the ministry has

carried out works such as restoration

and improvement of the outer and

inner moat of the old Govindajee

Temple and rejuvenation of sacred

ponds, reconstruction of the old

rampart, among others.

Related Information

Swadesh Darshan

• Swadesh Darshan (tour of the

country) is a flagship scheme of the

Ministry of Tourism for the

development of thematic circuits in

the country in a planned and

prioritised manner.

• The scheme was launched in 2014-

15.

• The project covers two sites - Kangla

Fort and Khongjom.

• It is 100% centrally funded

scheme.

• It has provision for voluntary funding

under Corporate Social Responsibility

(CSR).

• Funding of projects varies from state

to state.

Kangla Fort

• Kangla Fort is one of the most

important historic and archaeological

sites of Manipur located in the heart

of Imphal.

• It was situated on both sides (western

and eastern) of the bank of the

Imphal River. But now it remains only

on the western side of the bank.

• It served as the seat of Manipur's

power till 1891.

Topic-GS-1-Culture

Source-PIB

10. Transparent heat-resistant gel:

Aerogel

• Scientists have developed a

transparent heat-resistant gel using

beer waste that may one day be used

to build greenhouse-like habitats for

human colonised on Mars.

• The scientists have developed it as a

thin, flexible film that is roughly 100

times lighter than glass.

• It is very resistant to heat.

• The material is mostly see-through.

• Sunlight can be harvested through

that thermally-insulating material and

store the energy.

• The group's gel is also cheaper to

produce because it comes from beer

waste.

Related Information

Aerogels

• Aerogels are at least 90 percent gas

by weight, but their defining feature is

air.

• Their thin films are made up of crisscrossing patterns of solid material

that trap air inside billions of tiny pores, similar to the bubbles in bubble wrap.

• It is that trapping capacity that makes

them such good insulators.

• The aerogel, which looks like a

flattened plastic contact lens, could

also be used on buildings on Earth to

help make huge savings on energy.

Topic-GS-3- Science and Technology

Source- The Hindu

11. 'Kanyashree' scheme

• West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata

Banerjee lifted the ceiling on annual

family income for the beneficiaries of

her government's flagship women

welfare scheme 'Kanyashree' that

aims to ensure girls stay in school and

delay their marriages till at least the

age of 18.

Related Information

• Kanyashree was launched in 2013 to

prevent the early marriage of girl

children of socio-economically

disadvantaged families whose annual

income is Rs 120,000 or less.

• Close to 50 lakh beneficiaries are

enrolled under the scheme so far in

Bengal.

Topic-GS-2-Government Schemes

Source- Business Standard

17.08.2018

1. Scientists to test land for LIGO

• The Environment Ministry has allowed

scientists to test the suitability of land

in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district to

host the India wing of the ambitious

Laser Interferometer Gravitational

Wave Observatory (LIGO) project.

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38

• The project involves constructing a

network of L-shaped arms, each four

kilometres long, which can detect

even the faintest ripples from cosmic

explosions millions of light years

away.

• The LIGO-India consortium, made up

of physicists from several institutes,

had submitted a proposal to

“prospect” 121 hectares of forest land

in Dudhala village, Hingoli.

Network of detectors

• The LIGO project operates three

gravitational-wave (GW) detectors.

• Two are at Hanford in the State of

Washington, north-western USA, and

one is at Livingston in Louisiana,

south-eastern USA.

• Currently, these observatories are

being upgraded to their advanced

configurations.

• The proposed LIGO-India project aims

to move one Advanced LIGO detector

from Hanford to India.

• The LIGO-India project is an

international collaboration between

the LIGO Laboratory and three lead

institutions in the LIGO-India

consortium: Institute of Plasma

Research, Gandhinagar; IUCAA,

Pune; and Raja Ramanna Centre for

Advanced Technology, Indore.

• The project, piloted by the

Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)

and Department of Science and

Technology (DST), reportedly costs

₹1,200 crore and is expected to be

ready by 2025.

2. Cosmos Bank ATM hack: NPCI says

cyber fraud due to the malware attack

on the bank's IT system.

• A day after Pune-based Cosmos Bank

said it was hit by a cyber attack in

which miscreants allegedly hacked the

server and transferred over Rs 94

crore to overseas accounts.

• The National Payments Corporation of

India (NPCI) said that its systems are

"fully secure" and the cyber fraud

happened due to a malware-based

attack on the Cosmos Bank's IT

system.

What are Virus, Worm, Malware and

Trojan?

1. Malware - A malware is a malicious

software which intends to harm and

poison your device. It can enter your

device through any source like

internet or external storage devices.

Malware can enter your device if

you’re using pirated movies/games,

or click on the malicious ads which

pop up frequently or you’re using

pirated software and many others.

Virus, Worm and Trojan are the types

of Malware.

2. Virus - A virus is a malware that

makes a particular file in your device

junk and corrupt. It can enter in any

form like audio, video, pictures or any

other form. Once attacked by the

virus, it becomes difficult to access

the same file. (File junk maker)

3. Worm – Worm is a malware which

multiplies itself rapidly and makes

your device to run slower and slower.

If a file is attacked by a worm, it will

make similar other files and multiply

itself. If your device is lagging, there

are high chances that your device is

having worms. (Device laggards)

4. Trojan – Trojan is a type of software

that appears very genuine but once

the software is installed, it starts

showing its original colours. It makes

your device run slower and chances

are there to corrupt your files. Many

speed boosters, memory cleaners and

other software which actually claim to

improve your device but actually end

up in engulfing your memory. It will

make the way easier for other virus

and worms to attack your device.

(Memory consumers)

National Payments Corporation of India

(NPCI)

• National Payments Corporation of

India (NPCI) is the umbrella

organisation for all retail payment

systems in India, which aims to allow

all Indian citizens to have unrestricted

access to e-payment services.

• Founded in 2008, NPCI is a not-for-

profit organisation registered under

section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.

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39

• The organisation is owned by a

consortium of major banks and has

been promoted by the country’s

central bank, the Reserve Bank of

India.

• Its recent work of developing Unified

Payments Interface aims to move

India to a cashless society with only

digital transactions.

Topic-GS- 3- Internal Security

Source- The Hindu

3. FSSAI unveiled the initiative

"RUCO" to collect, convert used cooking

oil into biofuel

• The Food Safety and Standards

Authority of India (FSSAI)

launched RUCO (Repurpose Used

Cooking Oil), an initiative that will

enable collection and conversion of

used cooking oil to bio-diesel.

• The initiative has been launched

nearly a month after the food safety

regulator notified standards for used

cooking oil.

• FSSAI may also look at introducing

regulations to ensure that companies

that use large quantities of cooking oil

hand it over to registered collecting

agencies to convert it into biofuel.

• According to FSSAI regulations, the

maximum permissible limits for Total

Polar Compounds (TPC) have been set

at 25 per cent, beyond which the

cooking oil is unsafe for consumption.

Related Information

Food Safety and Standards Authority of

India (FSSAI)

• Food Safety and Standards Authority

of India (FSSAI)is an autonomous

body established under the Ministry of

Health & Family Welfare, Government

of India.

• The FSSAI has been established under

the Food Safety and Standards Act,

2006which is a consolidating statute

related to food safety and regulation

in India.

• FSSAI is responsible for protecting

and promoting public health through

the regulation and supervision of food

safety.

• The FSSAI has its headquarters

at New Delhi.

• The authority also has 6 regional

offices located in Delhi, Guwahati,

Mumbai, Kolkata, Cochin, and

Chennai.

Topic-GS-3- Conservation related

issues.

Source- The Hindu

4. West Bengal sees highest coastal

erosion since 1990

• A national survey of India’s coastline

from 1990 to 2016 shows West

Bengal saw the biggest coastal

erosion followed by Puducherry,

Kerala & Tamil Nadu.

• A state-wise analysis shows that the

maximum proportion of eroded

coastline was in West Bengal where

up to 63 per cent of the 534 km long

coastline was eroded.

• Apart from Kerala, the west coast is

relatively stable compared to the east.

• Unfortunately, in both Odisha and

Andhra Pradesh where rates of

accretion are the highest, deltas are

the chief geomorphic features and

changes in coastlines could affect

these regions adversely.

• Coastlines are not static and undergo

long-term and gradual changes.

Related Information

• Erosion describes the negative

changes in the coastline.

• Accretion refers to an expansion of

coastal area through an increase in

width or length of the coastline.

Topic-GS-1-Indian Physical geography

Source- Downtoearth

5. Ministry of Railways launches

“Digital Screens” to spread awareness

about Indian Railways Heritage.

• For creating digital museums at

stations using QR code, Ministry of

Railway has made “digital screens”

operational at 22 stations on this

Independence Day as an innovative

low-cost solution to spread awareness

among the public about the opulent

heritage of Indian Railways.

Initiated on a pilot basis.

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• It aims at showcasing the legacy of

Indian Railways through one to two-

minute-long movie clips on digital LED

screens at the entrance gate of

railway stations and also at different

comfort areas.

• For now, the digital screens have

been set up at New Delhi, Hazrat

Nizamuddin, Howrah,

Sealdah, Jaipur, Agra Cantonment,

Coimbatore, Lucknow, Varanasi and

other railway stations.

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their

design and implementation.

Source-PIB

6. Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana • Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik

launched Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana, a

health for all scheme, on the occasion of the 72nd Independence Day.

• The scheme provides health

assurance coverage to 70 lakh

families, covering more than 70% of

the State’s population.

• The government has been focusing on

the welfare of all, particularly farmers,

women and youth, these sections are

being provided the loan at 1%

interest.

Topic-GS-2- Issues related to health.

Source- The Hindu

18.08.2018

1. Indian scientist-academician, N

Raghuram, has been elected Chair of the

International Nitrogen Initiative (INI)

• Indian scientist-academician, N

Raghuram, has been elected Chair of

the International Nitrogen Initiative

(INI), a global policy-making

initiative.

• A professor at the GGS Indraprastha

University, New Delhi, Raghuram is

the first Indian and Asian to be elected

to the Chair.

• Raghuram specialises in the biological

determinants of nitrogen use

efficiency in crops. He has been the

President of the Indian Nitrogen

Group and a Steering Committee

member of the UNEP Global

Partnership on Nutrient Management.

• The new chairs will formally take up

their roles on January 1, 2019.

Related Information

The International Nitrogen Initiative

• The International Nitrogen Initiative

(INI) is an international program, set

up in 2003 under the sponsorship of

the Scientific Committee on Problems

of the Environment (SCOPE) and from

the International Geosphere-

Biosphere Program (IGBP).

• The key aims of the INI are to:

(i) Optimize nitrogen’s beneficial role

in sustainable food production, and

(ii) Minimize nitrogen’s negative

effects on human health and the

environment resulting from food and

energy production.

• The program is currently a sustained

partner of Future Earth.

• It is coordinated by a Steering

Committee, led by a chair and six

regional centre directors

representing, Africa, Europe, Latin

America, North America, South Asia

and East Asia.

• The INI holds a conference once in

every three years.

• The next INI conference will be held

in Berlin, Germany, in 2020

Topic-GS-2-International Organizations

Source- The Hindu

2. Hajj 'nap pods' being introduced for

pilgrims to Saudi Arabia

• Saudi Arabia plans to introduce sleep

pods, reminiscent of Japan’s famed

capsule hotels, in the western city of

Mina in the coming days, as an

estimated two million Muslims gather

for the six-day hajj, one of the five

pillars of Islam.

Related Information

Nap Pod

• Each fibreglass pod – less than three

metres long and just over one metre

high – features a mattress, clean

sheets, air conditioning and a large,

well-lit mirror.

• The pods can be lined up horizontally

or stacked vertically to save on space.

Topic-GS-Infrastructure

Source- The Hindu

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3. India In Talks With Fiji For Broader

Security Support

• Indian naval ship Sahyadri, which was

on a visit to the island nation, entered

the Port of Suva.

• Sahyadri is the third and latest ship

among the Shivalik Class of

indigenously built stealth frigates and

forms a part of the Eastern Fleet of the

Indian Navy.

Related Information

INS Sahyadri

• INS Sahyadri was built at the

Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) located

in Mumbai.

• It was launched on 27 May 2005.

• It was commissioned on 21 July 2012

into the Eastern Naval Command

headquartered at Visakhapatnam.

• It is a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role

frigate built for the Indian Navy.

• This class features improved stealth

and land attack capabilities over the

preceding Talwar-class frigates.

RIMPAC (The Rim of the Pacific

Exercise)

• RIMPAC, the Rim of the Pacific

Exercise, is the world's largest

international maritime warfare

exercise.

• RIMPAC is held biennially during

June and July of even-numbered

years from Honolulu, Hawaii.

• It is hosted and administered by the

United States Navy's Pacific Fleet,

headquartered at Pearl Harbor, in

conjunction with the Marine Corps,

the Coast Guard, and Hawaii National

Guard forces under the control of the

Governor of Hawaii.

• The first RIMPAC, held in 1971.

• RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in a

series that began in 1971.

• The Indian Navy was an observer for

the 2006, 2010 and 2012 editions of

the exercise.

• In 2014, INS Sahyadri was deployed

for the 24th edition of the exercise

and in 2018 also, while INS Satpura

took part in 2016.

Topic-GS-3-Defence

Source- The Hindu

4. China to expand energy footprint in

Iran

• Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA

has reported that China National

Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the

world’s third-largest oil and gas firm,

has replaced Total, the French energy

giant, in the South Pars 11 project.

Related Information

South Pars/North Dome field

• The South Pars/North Dome field is a

natural gas condensate field located in

the Persian Gulf.

• It is by far the world's largest natural

gas field, with ownership of the field

shared between Iran and Qatar.

• On the list of natural gas fields, it has

almost as much recoverable reserves

than all the other fields combined.

• It has significant geostrategic

influence.

Topic-GS-2- International Relations

Source- The Hindu

5. NPCI launched UPI 2.0

• UPI 2.0, an upgraded version of

National Payments Corporation of

India (NPCI)’s Unified Payment

Interface, has been announced with

several new features.

New features:

• With the initial version of UPI,

customers could only connect their

saving and current accounts to the

payment interface.

• Customers now can link their

overdraft (OD) account to UPI in its

latest version. Customers will be able

to transact instantly and all benefits

associated with OD account will be

made available to the users.

• UPI 2.0 has a feature whereby

customers can check the invoice sent

by merchant prior to making

payment.

• Customers can pre-authorise a

transaction and pay at a later date.

• A quick response (QR) code feature

has been introduced for customers to

check the authenticity of merchants

while scanning the code. It notifies

the user with information to ascertain

whether the merchant has verified

UPI merchant or not.

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Related Information

United payment Interface

• UPI is a system that powers multiple

bank accounts into a single mobile

application (of any participating

bank), merging several banking

features, seamless fund routing &

merchant payments into one hood.

• It also caters to the “Peer to Peer”

collect request which can be

scheduled and paid as per

requirement and convenience.

• UPI version 1 was launched in April

2016.

NPCI

• NPCI is an umbrella organization

for all retail payments in India.

• It aims to allow all Indian citizens to

have unrestricted access to e-

payment services.

• Founded in 2008, NPCI is a not-for-

profit organisation registered under

section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.

• The organisation is owned by a

consortium of major banks and has

been promoted by the country’s

central bank, the Reserve Bank of

India.

Topic-GS-3- Banking

Source- The Hindu

6. Country’s first penguin born on

Independence Day at Byculla Zoo

• The baby penguin was born to Flipper

and Mr Molt, two of the seven

Humboldt penguins brought to Byculla

Zoo from South Korea in July 2016.

Related Information

Humboldt penguins

• The Humboldt penguin (also termed

Peruvian penguin, or patranca) is a

South American penguin that breeds

in coastal Chile and Peru.

• The penguin is named after the cold

water current it swims in.

• The species is listed

as Vulnerable by the IUCN.

• Humboldt penguins are medium-sized

penguins.

• They have a black head with a white

border that runs from behind the eye,

around the black ear-coverts and

chin, and joins at the throat.

• They have spines on their tongue

which they use to hold their prey.

Topic-GS-3- Conservation

Source- The Hindu

7. Odisha to showcase its biodiversity

• The Odisha government is setting up

a world-class interpretation centre at

Dangamal near Bhitarkanika National

Park to showcase its efforts in

protecting crocodiles and preserving

its rich mangrove diversity.

• The project, which has been approved

under the Integrated Coastal Zone

Management Project.

Related Information

Bhitarkanika National Park

• Bhitarkanika National Park is a

national park located in Kendrapara

district of Odisha in eastern India.

• It was designated as the national park

on 16 September 1998 and as a

Ramsar site on 19 August 2002.

• Gahirmatha Beach and Marine

Sanctuary lies to the east and

separates swamp region cover with

the canopy of mangroves from the

Bay of Bengal.

• The national park is home to

Saltwater crocodile, Indian python,

King cobra, black ibis, darters and

many other species of flora and fauna.

• It hosts a large number of mangrove

species and is the second largest

mangrove ecosystem in India.

• The national park and wildlife sanctuary is inundated by the rivers Brahmani, Baitarani, Dhamra, Pathsala.

Gharial

• Native to the northern part of the

Indian subcontinent.

• The gharial is one of the longest of all

living crocodilians.

• The male gharial has a distinctive boss

at the end of the snout, which

resembles an earthenware pot known

in Hindi as Hence the name.

• It is critically endangered under

IUCN Red List.

• It is under Schedule-I of the Indian

wildlife act, 1972.

Project Crocodile

• Project Crocodile began in 1975 under the auspices of the Government of India with the aid of the United Nations Development Fund and Food and Agriculture Organization.

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43

• The project included an intensive

captive breeding and rearing program

intended to restock habitats with low

numbers of gharials.

'BAULA' Project at Dangamal

• ‘Baula’ is the Oriya term for Saltwater

Crocodile.

• At Dangmal in Bhitarkanika

sanctuary, salt-water crocodile eggs

have been collected locally and young

crocodiles have been released in the

creeks and the estuaries.

• This operation has been reasonably

successful and the crocodile

population in the Bhitarkanika river

system has gradually been built up.

Topic-GS-3- Conservation

Source- The Hindu

8. FSSAI sets up the panel to review red-

labelling draft.

• The government has put on hold the

draft that proposes red-labelling of

packaged food products containing

high levels of fat, sugar and salt.

• The expert panel will be headed by B

Sesikeran, former director of the

National Institute of Nutrition (NIN).

• In April, food safety regulator FSSAI

had come out with the draft of Food

Safety and Standards (Labelling and

Display) Regulations 2018 that

proposed mandatory red-label

marking on such packaged food

products.

Related Information

Food Safety and Standards Authority of

India (FSSAI)

• Food Safety and Standards Authority

of India (FSSAI) is an autonomous

body established under the Ministry

of Health & Family Welfare,

Government of India.

• The FSSAI has been established under

the Food Safety and Standards

Act, 2006 which is a consolidating

statute related to food safety and

regulation in India.

• FSSAI is responsible for protecting

and promoting public health through

the regulation and supervision of food

safety.

• The FSSAI is headed by a non-

executive Chairperson, appointed by

the Central Government, either

holding or has held the position of not

below the rank of Secretary to the

Government of India.

• The FSSAI has its headquarters

at New Delhi.

• The authority also has 6 regional

offices located in Delhi, Guwahati,

Mumbai, Kolkata, Cochin, and

Chennai.

Topic-GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors

Source- The Hindu

20.08.2018

1. 11th World Hindi Conference to begin

in Mauritius

• 11th World Hindi Conference was held

in Port Louis, Mauritius.

• Theme: “Vaishvik Hindi Aur

Bharatiy Sanskriti“.

• In the Conference, Mauritius

Prime Minister announced

Mauritius's cyber tower to be

named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Related Information

World Hindi Conference

• World Hindi Conference was started in

1975 to make the Hindi language a

medium of service and knowledge and

enable it to move forward with the

time.

• The first World Hindi Conference was

held in 1975 in Nagpur, India.

NOTE

• Ministry of External Affairs has set up

the World Hindi Secretariat in

Mauritius. The objectives are the

promotion of Hindi as an international

language and further the cause for

recognition at the United Nations as

an Official Language.

• Panini language laboratory was

recently inaugurated at Mahatma

Gandhi institute in Mauritius to

promote reading and writing Hindi

amongst young and its further

development.

Topic-GS- 1- Indian culture

Source- The Hindu

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2. Scientists for first time decode

complex wheat genome.

• A team of international researchers,

including 18 from India decoded the

wheat genome.

• This project was financially supported

by the Department of

Biotechnology, Ministry of

Science and Technology.

• The information generated is

considered as a breakthrough which

will help to identify genes controlling

complex agronomic traits such as

yield, grain quality, resistance to

diseases and pests, as well as

tolerance to drought, heat, water

logging and salinity.

• The research shows that bread wheat

has the complex hexaploid genome

which is 40 times larger than that of

the rice genome and 5 times larger

than the human genome.

• This would help further to accelerate

the breeding of climate-resilient

wheat varieties to help address global

food security.

Related Information

Genome

• A genome is the complete set of

genetic information in an organism.

• It provides all of the information the

organism requires to function.

• In living organisms, the genome is

stored in long molecules of DNA called

chromosomes.

• Small sections of DNA, called genes,

code for the RNA and protein

molecules required by the organism.

• The full range of RNA molecules

expressed by a genome is known as

its transcriptome, and the full

assortment of proteins produced by

the genome is called its proteome.

Genomics

• Genomics is the study of the full

genetic complement of an organism

(the genome).

Topic-GS-3- Biotechnology

Source- Science Daily

3. Telangana govt launched Disaster

Response Force in Hyderabad

• The government of Telangana

launched for the first time Disaster

Response Force (DRF) vehicles in the

Hyderabad city.

• The main aim to start this DRF is that

a state should have its own Disaster

force.

• The personals have been trained in

tackling of flooding, tree falls,

structural collapses and any other site

of normal emergencies.

• The Disaster personal will be available

on the field for 24/7.

Related Information

National Disaster Response Force

• The National Disaster Response Force

(NDRF) is a specialised force

constituted "for the purpose of

specialist response to a threatening

disaster situation or disaster"

under the Disaster Management

Act, 2005.

• Headquarters in New Delhi.

• The apex body for disaster

management in India is the National

Disaster Management Authority

(NDMA).

• The Chairman of the NDMA is the

Prime Minister.

• The responsibility for disaster

management in India’s federal system

is that of the State Government.

• The ‘nodal Ministry’ in the central

government for the management of

natural disasters is the Ministry of

Home Affairs (MHA).

• National Disaster Response Force

(NDRF) is under the National Disaster

Management Authority.

• The head of the NDRF is designated as

Director General.

Topic-GS-3-Disaster and disaster

management

Source- Economic Times

4. India building new fighter jet

• The Advanced Medium Combat

Aircraft (AMCA), India’s next

indigenous fighter, is expected to

make its first flight by 2032.

• The AMCA will feature geometric

stealth and will initially fly with

two GE-414 engines.

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45

• The GE-414 produces 98kN thrust

compared to the 84 kN thrust of the

GE-404 engine which is on the LCA

Mk1.

• The Indian Air Force has given land to

the Defence Research and

Development Organisation to set up

facilities for the project.

• The plan is to build on the capabilities

and expertise developed during the

development of the light combat

aircraft (LCA) and produce a medium

fifth generation fighter aircraft.

• This is India’s only fifth-generation

aircraft programme following the

decision not to go ahead with the fifth

generation project with Russia.

Related Information

• There are two major ways of making

a military platform stealthier. One is

geometric stealth and other is

material stealth.

(a) In geometric stealth, the shape of

the aircraft is designed at such angles

so as to deflect away maximum radar

waves thereby minimising its radar

cross section.

(b) In material stealth, radar-

absorbing materials are used in

making the aircraft which will absorb

the radio waves thus reducing the

radar footprint.

Topic-GS-3- Defence

Source- The Hindu

5. India successfully tests indigenously

Anti-Tank Guided Missile ‘HELINA’ in

Pokhran

• India has successfully flight tested the

indigenously developed helicopter

launched Anti-Tank Guided Missile

‘HELINA’ from Pokhran in Rajasthan.

• The missile is guided by an Infrared

Imaging Seeker (IIR) operating in the

Lock on Before Launch mode. It is

one of the most advanced Anti-

Tank Weapons in the world.

• The weapon system was integrated

with the live warhead and has

destroyed the targets with high

precision.

Related Information

Nag Missile System

• It is a third generation "fire-and-

forget" anti-tank missile developed in

India.

• It is one of five missile systems

developed by the Defence Research

and Development Organisation

(DRDO) under the Integrated Guided

Missile Development Program

(IGMDP).

NAMICA Version of the missile

• It is a 'lock-on before launch' system,

where the target is identified and

designated before the missile is

launched.

• As the targeting system is based on

visual identification, the range is

limited.

HELINA (Helicopter-launched Nag)

Version

• The HELINA version, on the other

hand, will use a 'lock-on after launch'

system extending its range to 7 km.

• In this scenario, the missile is

launched in the general direction of

the target.

• As it approaches the target, images of

the area ahead are sent back to the

operator who will be able to identify

enemy tanks.

• It is manufactured by state-

owned Bharat Dynamics Limited.

Topic-GS-3- Achievements of Indians in

science & technology

6. The indigenously designed and

developed guided bombs Smart Anti

Airfield Weapon (SAAW) successfully

flight tested

• The indigenously designed and

developed guided bombs Smart Anti

Airfield Weapon (SAAW) was

successfully flight tested from IAF

aircraft at Chandan range in

Jaisalmer.

• It reached the targets at greater than

70 km range, with high accuracies.

Related Information

Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW)

• The DRDO Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon

(SAAW) is a long-range precision-

guided anti-airfield weapon.

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46

• The SAAW is being developed by the

Research Centre Imarat (RCI), and

other DRDO laboratories in

collaboration with the Indian Air Force

(IAF).

• It is designed to be capable of

engaging ground targets with high

precision up to a range of 100

kilometres.

• It is a lightweight high precision-

guided bomb designed to destroy

ground targets, such as runways,

bunkers, aircraft hangers and other

reinforced structures.

• Weighing 120 kg, it has deep

penetration capabilities.

• It is India's first fully indigenous

anti-airfield weapon, being

designed and developed wholly by

DRDO.

Topic-GS-3- GS-3 Defence

Source- AIR

7. Chinese rover set to explore the far

side of Moon

• China’s space agency has revealed

images of the exploration vehicle with

which it hopes to reach the far side of

the Moon by the end of this year, a

feat no country has ever

accomplished.

• The vehicle will travel aboard the

unmanned lunar probe Chang’e 4,

which is expected to land in the Aitken

basin on the far side of the Moon, not

visible from the Earth.

• The vehicle is similar to Yutu,

China’s first lunar rover launched

in 2013 along with Chang’e 3, which

continues to traverse the visible side

of the Moon.

• The rover was also the lightest of its

kind in the world, weighing only 140

kg (309 pounds), much less than its

predecessors.

Related Information

Yutu

• Yutu is an unmanned lunar rover that

formed part of the Chinese Chang'e 3

mission to the Moon.

• It was launched on 1st December

2013 and reached the Moon's surface

on 14 December 2013.

• In October 2015, Yutu set the record

for the longest operational period for

a rover on the Moon.

• On 31 July 2016, Yutu ceased to

operate after a total of 31 months,

well beyond its original expected

lifespan of three months.

Chang'e 3

• Chang'e 3 is an unmanned lunar

exploration mission operated by

the China National Space

Administration (CNSA), incorporating

a robotic lander and China's first lunar

rover.

• It was launched in December 2013 as

part of the second phase of the

Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.

• Chang'e 3 landed on 14 December

2013, becoming the first spacecraft

to soft-land on the Moon since

the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976.

• Chang'e 3 discovered a new type

of basaltic rock, rich in ilmenite, a

black mineral

Chang'e 4

• Chang'e 4 is a planned Chinese lunar

exploration mission, to be launched in

December 2018, that will incorporate

an orbiter, a robotic lander and rover.

• Chang'e 4 will be China's second lunar

lander and rover.

Topic-GS-3- Science and Technology

Source- The Hindu

8. India, Thailand conclude 'Maitree'

military exercise

• The Indian and Royal Thai armed

forces concluded a two-week long

platoon level military exercise

called 'Exercise Maitree 2018' in

Jammu & Kashmir.

• The exercise was an annual

event designed to strengthen the

partnership between armies of the

two countries.

Topic-GS-3- Security

Source- The Hindu

9. Delhi government official bags WHO

award

• Delhi government’s additional director

of health S.K. Arora has been awarded

the prestigious WHO World No

Tobacco Day 2018 Award for his

extraordinary contribution towards

tobacco control.

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47

• The National Health Policy 2017 has

set targets for the relative reduction

in tobacco prevalence by 15% by

2020 and 30% by 2025.

• Delhi has already achieved these

targets before 2017.

Related Information

World No Tobacco Day (WNTD)

• World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is

observed around the world every year

on 31 May.

• It is intended to encourage a 24-hour

period of abstinence from all forms of

tobacco consumption around the

globe.

• The member states of the World

Health Organization (WHO) created

World No Tobacco Day in 1987.

Topic-GS-2- Issues relating to

development and management of Social

Sector/Services relating to Health,

Education, Human Resources.

Source- The Hindu

21.08.2018

1. NABARD All India Rural Financial

Inclusion Survey 2016-17

• More than half the agricultural

households in the country have

outstanding debt, and their average

outstanding debt is almost as high as

the average annual income of all

agricultural households, according to

a recent survey by the National Bank

for Agriculture and Rural

Development (NABARD).

• Only 48% of these are defined as

agricultural households, which

have at least one member self-

employed in agriculture and which

received more than ₹5,000 as the

value of produce from agricultural

activities over the past year, whether

they possessed any land or not.

Highlights of the survey

Debts which are outstanding

• NABARD found that 52.5% of the

agricultural households had an

outstanding loan on the date of the

survey, and thus were considered

indebted. For non-agricultural

households in rural India, that figure

was 10 percentage points lower, at

only 42.8%.

• Agricultural households reporting any

outstanding debt also had a higher

debt liability compared with non-

agricultural ones.

• The average debt of an indebted

agricultural household stood at

₹1,04,602 in comparison to ₹76,731

for indebted non-agricultural

households.

• According to the survey, the average

annual income of an agricultural

household is ₹1.07 lakh. That is barely

₹2,500 more than the average

outstanding debt of indebted farm

households.

Kisan Credit Cards

• The survey found that only 10.5% of

agricultural households were found to

have a valid Kisan Credit Card at the

time of the survey.

• The scheme aims to give farmers

credit from the banks with a simplified

and flexible single-window procedure.

Households who had the card utilised

66% of the sanctioned credit limit.

Reasons for taking loans

• The biggest reason for

taking loans among agricultural

households was capital expenditure

for agricultural purposes, with a

quarter of all loans taken for this

purpose.

• While 19% of loans were taken for

meeting running expenses for

agricultural purposes, another 19%

were taken for sundry domestic

needs. Loans for housing and medical

expenses stood at 11% and 12%,

respectively.

Loan takers

• While all classes of farmers had debt,

the highest incidence of indebtedness

came from those owning more than

two hectares of land. In that category,

60% of households are in debt.

• Among small and marginal farmers

owning less than 0.4 hectares, slightly

less than 50% of the households were

in debt. Those with more land were

more likely to have multiple loans.

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Loan Lenders

• The survey found that farm

households took less than half their

loans from commercial banks. While

46% of the loans were taken from

commercial banks, and another 10%

from self-help groups, almost 40%

were taken from non-institutional

sources such as relatives, friends,

moneylenders and landlords.

• The persons resorting to local

moneylenders often include either the

illiterate or extremely poor ones which

are not eligible for loans from formal

institutions, or the households that do

not have social networks that can help

them in times of need.

State figures

• The southern States of Telangana

(79%), Andhra Pradesh (77%), and

Karnataka (74%) showed the highest

levels of indebtedness among

agricultural households, followed by

Arunachal Pradesh (69%), Manipur

(61%), Tamil Nadu (60%), Kerala

(56%), and Odisha (54%).

Topic-GS- 3- Inclusive growth and

issues arising from it

Source- The Hindu

2. World's first 4D printing for ceramics

developed

• Scientists have successfully

developed the world's first 4D printing

for ceramics, that can be used to

create complex, shape-changing

objects.

• Researchers from the City University

of Hong Kong made use of the elastic

energy stored in the stretched

precursors for shape morphing.

• When the stretched ceramic

precursors are released, they undergo

self-reshaping.

• After heat treatment, the precursors

turn into ceramics. Ceramic has a high

melting point, so it is difficult to use

conventional laser printing to make

ceramics.

• Exiting 3D is difficult to deform so the

researchers have developed a novel

ceramic ink, which is a mixture of

polymers and ceramic nanoparticles.

• The resultant elastomer-derived

ceramics are mechanically robust.

They can have a high compressive

strength-to-density ratio, and they

can come in large sizes with high

strength compared to other printed

ceramics.

Related Information

4D Printing

• 4D printing is conventional 3D

printing combined with the additional

element of time as the fourth

dimension, where the printed objects

can re-shape or self-assemble

themselves over time with external

stimuli, such as mechanical force,

temperature, or a magnetic field.

Topic-GS- 3- Science and Technology-

developments and their applications and

effects in everyday life.

Source- AIR

3. National Nutrition Month

• Every year September would be

celebrated as the National Nutrition

Month to mark the country's fight

against malnutrition.

• The decision to celebrate September

as the National Nutrition Month was

taken during the second meeting

of National Council on India's

Nutrition Challenges under the

Poshan Abhiyaan.

• Under the Poshan Abhiyan, it was also

decided that through the use of

technology, a targeted approach and

convergence would be used to reduce

the level of stunting, under-nutrition

and anaemia in children.

Related Information

National Nutrition Month

• The ministry would, in the month,

organise programmes to spread

awareness on the issues related

to malnutrition like stunting, under-

nutrition, anaemia and low birth

weight in children and focus on

adolescent girls, pregnant women and

lactating mothers.

• The aim is to reach the message of

‘har ghar poshan tyohar’ (every

house a celebration of nutrition).

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49

• It will be jointly organised by NITI

Ayog, Ministries of Women and Child

Development (WCD), Health and

Family Welfare, Panchayati Raj, Rural

Development and Drinking Water and

Sanitation, Housing and Urban Affairs,

Human Resources Development

(HRD), Information and Broadcasting,

Consumer Affairs, Food and Public

Distribution, Tribal Affairs, Minority

Affairs and AYUSH.

Poshan Abhiyan

• Under the Ministry of Women and

Child Development

• POSHAN stands for Prime Minister’s

Overarching Scheme for Holistic

Nutrition.

• It aims to ensure holistic development

and adequate nutrition for pregnant

women, mothers and children.

• POSHAN Abhiyaan was launched by

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in

Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan in March 2018.

• The scheme targets to reduce the

level of under-nutrition and other

related problems by ensuring

convergence of various nutrition-

related schemes.

• It also targets to reduce stunting,

under-nutrition, anaemia (among

young children, women and

adolescent girls) and low birth rate.

• It will monitor and review the

implementation of all such schemes

and utilize existing structural

arrangements of line ministries

wherever available.

• The main aspect of the scheme is

gradual scaling-up of interventions

supported by ongoing World Bank

assisted Integrated Child

Development Services (ICDS)

Systems Strengthening and

Nutrition Improvement Project

(ISSNIP) to all districts in the

country by 2022.

National Council on Nutrition

• National Nutrition Mission (NNM) was

instituted to address the problem of

malnutrition in the country.

• There is a provision for setting up of a

National Council on India’s Nutritional

Challenges under the Chairmanship of

Vice-Chairman NITI Aayog.

• The Council which has been set up

under POSHAN Abhiyaan is the apex

body to formulate overall policies,

guide and monitor all nutrition based

schemes.

• The Council will submit its report

to the Prime Minister every six

months.

• The mandate of the Council are :

1. To provide policy directions to

address India’s Nutrition Challenges

through coordinated inter-sectoral

action

2. To coordinate and review

convergence among ministries

• To review programmes for nutrition

on a quarterly basis

Topic-GS- 2- Issues relating to

development and management of Social

Sector/Services relating to

Health, Education, Human Resources.

Source-PTI

4. Venezuela launched crypto-pegged

forex rate

• Venezuela’s president announced a

single exchange rate and pegged it to

his socialist government’s Petro

cryptocurrency.

• The President has effectively

devaluated the Petro currency by 96

per cent.

• It has led to hyperinflation situation

and rendered the bolivar currency

near worthless.

• The International Monetary Fund has

predicted that inflation in Venezuela

would hit 1 million Percent this year.

Related Information

What is crypto-pegged forex rate?

• It is a cryptocurrency whose value is

pegged to that of another asset, such

as the US Dollar or gold.

• They have 100% or more of their

value backed by other currency.

• They can be converted at any time at

an exchange rate set by a trustworthy

price feed.

• Like any other cryptocurrency, they

are fungible, divisible, and free from

any restrictions.

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50

Cryptocurrency

• A cryptocurrency refers to currencies

whose exchange rate changes when

the exchange rate of another currency

changes.

• Cryptocurrency is a kind of digital

currency, virtual currency or

alternative currency.

• Cryptocurrencies use decentralized

control as opposed to centralized

electronic money and central banking • The decentralized control of each

cryptocurrency works through distributed

ledger technology, typically a blockchain, that serves as a public financial

transaction database. • Bitcoin is currently the

largest blockchain network, followed

by Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin

Cash, Litecoin, and EOS.

Countries to launch their own

cryptocurrency

1. Marshall Islands

• The Marshall Islands, a tiny Pacific

island nation became the first country

in the world to recognize a

cryptocurrency as its legal tender.

• The digital currency was

“Sovereign,” or SOV.

2. Venezuela

• Venezuela became the first country to

launch its own cryptocurrency.

• It launched the virtual Petro, backed

by crude oil reserves.

Topic-GS- 3- Internal Security

Source- Money Control

5. JNCASR: A new, robust form of gold

• Researchers from Jawaharlal Nehru

Centre for Advanced Scientific

Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru, have

developed a new type of gold in the

form of very small crystals —

microcystallites.

• The microcystallites were synthesised

by decomposing an organic complex

containing gold and other ions under

controlled conditions.

• Gold in itself is not a catalyst but the

new gold microcystallites have very

active surfaces.

• Compared with other catalysts like

palladium and ruthenium, gold is

cheaper and it can also be easily

recovered.

Related Information

Microcystallites

• The microcrystal gold has been found

to be nobler than gold, it does not

dissolve in mercury and Aqua regia (a

mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric

acid), and showed the least

interaction with copper.

• The newly formed microcystallites,

about 3 micrometres in length were

found to be of a different crystal

structure.

• Normal gold has a (face-centred)

cubic structure, while the new ones

exhibit deformed cubic structure —

tetragonal and orthorhombic cells.

• While normal gold disappeared in a

matter of minutes when immersed in

mercury and also in aqua regia, the

gold crystallites remained intact.

Topic-GS- 3- Science and Technology-

developments and their applications and

effects in everyday life.

Source- The Hindu

6. S. tech giants plan to fight India’s

data localisation plans.

Related Information

Data Localization

• Data localization is the act of storing

data on any device that is physically

present within the borders of a

specific country where the data was

generated.

• Data localization builds upon the

concept of data sovereignty that

regulates certain data types by the

laws applicable to the data subject or

processor.

Topic-GS-3- Cybersecurity related

issues.

Source- The Hindu

7. Chandrayaan-1 data confirm the

presence of ice on Moon

• Scientists have found frozen water

deposits in the darkest and coldest

parts of the Moon’s polar regions

using data from the Chandrayaan-

1 spacecraft, that was launched by

India 10 years ago.

• The ice deposits are patchily

distributed and could possibly be

ancient.

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• At the southern pole, most of the ice

is concentrated at lunar craters, while

the north pole’s ice is more widely, but

sparsely spread.

• Scientists used data from NASA’s

Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)

instrument to identify three specific

signatures that definitively prove

there is water ice at the surface of the

Moon.

• Most of the new-found water ice lies

in the shadows of craters near the

poles, where the warmest

temperatures never reach above

minus 156 degrees Celsius.

• Due to the very small tilt of the Moon’s

rotation axis, sunlight never reaches

these regions.

Related Information

NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)

• The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) is

one of two instruments that NASA

contributed to India's first mission to

the Moon, Chandrayaan-1, launched

October 22, 2008

• M3 is an imaging spectrometer that

has provided the first high-resolution

spatial and spectral map of the entire

lunar surface, revealing the minerals

of which it is made.

• This information will both provide

clues to the early development of the

solar system and guide future

astronauts to stores of precious

resources.

Chandrayaan-1

• Chandrayaan-1 was India's first lunar

probe.

• It was launched by the Indian Space

Research Organisation in October

2008, and operated until August

2009.

• The mission included a lunar orbiter

and an impactor.

• India launched the spacecraft using a

PSLV-XL rocket.

• The mission was a major boost to

India's space program, as India

researched and developed its own

technology in order to explore the

Moon.

• The vehicle was inserted into lunar

orbit on 8 November 2008.

Topic-GS-3- Achievements of Indians in

science & technology

Source- The Hindu

22.08.2018

1. ‘Calamity of a severe nature’

• The Union government has declared

the Kerala floods a “calamity of severe

nature”.

Related Information

How does the law define a disaster?

• As per the Disaster Management Act,

2005, “disaster” means a

catastrophe, mishap, calamity or

grave occurrence in any area, arising

from natural or man-made causes, or

by accident or negligence which

results in substantial loss of life or

human suffering or damage to, and

destruction of, property, or damage

to, or degradation of, environment,

and is of such a nature or magnitude

as to be beyond the coping capacity of

the community of the affected area.

• A natural disaster includes

earthquake, flood, landslide, cyclone,

tsunami, urban flood, heatwave; a

man-made disaster can be nuclear,

biological and chemical.

What are the classifications of disasters

and how does this affect funding?

• According to the National Disaster

Management Policy, the State

governments have to provide disaster

relief from their respective State

Disaster Response Funds (SDRFs),

and only for a “calamity of severe

nature”, will additional assistance be

provided from the National Disaster

Response Fund (NDRF).

• There is, however, no provision in the

law or rules for the government to

designate a disaster a “national

calamity”.

• Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju

informed Parliament recently that the

guidelines of the NDRF and SDRFs did

not contemplate declaring a disaster a

national calamity.

How, then, does the government classify

disasters/calamities?

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• The 10th Finance Commission (1995-

2000) examined a proposal that a

disaster be termed “a national

calamity of rarest severity” if it

affects one-third of the population

of a state.

• The panel did not define a “calamity of

rare severity” but stated that a

calamity of rare severity would

necessarily have to be adjudged on a

case-to-case basis taking into

account, inter-alia, the intensity and

magnitude of the calamity, level of

assistance needed, the capacity of the

state to tackle the problem, the

alternatives and flexibility available

within the plans to provide succour

and relief, etc.

• The flash floods in Uttarakhand and

Cyclone Hudhud were later classified

as calamities of “severe nature”.

How are the NDRF and the SDRFs

funded?

• The NDRF is funded through a

National Calamity Contingent Duty

levied on pan masala, chewing tobacco

and cigarettes, and with budgetary

provisions as and when needed.

• A provision exists to encourage any

person or institution to make a

contribution to the NDRF. However,

this source of funding has not been

tapped so far, according to the

government.

• The 14th Finance Commission

recommended changes to this

structure once the cess was

discontinued or subsumed within the

Goods and Services Tax. However,

the government, instead, decided to

continue with the National Calamity

Contingent Duty even in the GST

regime.

• The SDRF corpus is contributed by

the Union government and the

respective State governments in a

75:25 ratio for general category

States and 90:10 for Special Category

States.

• The allocation of the SDRF for each

State is done by the Finance

Commission, and the Centre

contributes its specified share each

financial year.

• The Central share of SDRF is released

in two equal instalments, in June and

then in December.

National Calamity Contingent Duty

(NCCD)

• In the case of goods specified in the

Seventh Schedule, being goods

manufactured or produced, there

shall be levied and collected for the

purposes of the Union, by the

surcharge, a duty of excise, to be

called the National Calamity

Contingent duty (hereinafter referred

to as the National Calamity duty).

Topic-GS-3- Disaster and disaster

management.

Source- The Hindu

2. NextGen Airports for Bharat (NABH

Nirman)

• The new policy is part of Arun Jaitley's

Union budget proposal this year to

expand the capacity of airports by five

times to have a billion air trips a year

under the government initiative of

NextGen Airports for Bharat (NABH

Nirman).

• He said that the three key aspects of

NABH Nirman are:

(1) Fair and equitable land acquisition

(2) Long-term master plan for the

airport and regional development

(3) Balanced economics for all

stakeholders.

• This scheme constitutes investments

to be made in airport upgrade by both

the private sector and the state-

owned Airports Authority of India

(AAI) in the due course of time.

• The initiative will help to connect

smaller towns and cities and increase

tourism and economic activity.

• The government had moved

amendments to the Airport Economic

Regulatory Authority (AERA). These

amendments paved the path for

having a new structure for airport

tariffs and change the definition of

major airports.

Related Information

The Airports Economic Regulatory

Authority of India (Amendment) Bill,

2018

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• The Airports Economic Regulatory

Authority of India (Amendment) Bill,

2018 was introduced in Lok Sabha on

July 18, 2018.

• It amends the Airports Economic

Regulatory Authority of India Act,

2008.

• The Act established the Airports

Economic Regulatory Authority of

India (AERA).

• The AERA regulates tariffs and other

charges for aeronautical services

provided at civilian airports with

annual traffic above 15 lakh

passengers.

• It also monitors the performance

standard of services across these

airports.

• Definition of major airports: The Act

defines a major airport as one with

annual passenger traffic over 15 lakh,

or any other airports as notified by the

central government. The Bill

increases the threshold of annual

passenger traffic for major airports to

over 35 lakh.

• The Bill provides that the AERA will

not determine the tariff, tariff

structures, or the development fees,

in certain cases.

• These cases will include those where

such tariff amounts were a part of the

bid document on the basis of which

the airport operations were awarded.

Topic-GS-3- Infrastructure: Energy, Ports,

Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

Source- The Hindu

3. World's largest 3D-printed reef

installed in the Maldives to help save

corals

• The world’s largest 3-D printed reef

has been submerged at Summer

Island Maldives.

• The theory for the new technology-

driven method to help coral reefs

survive a warming climate.

• Developed using computer modelling

and a 3D printer at a lab in Melbourne,

Australia, the artificial reef was

designed to resemble reef structures

typically found in the Maldives.

• Printing the 3D moulds took 24 hours.

They were then cast in ceramic, an

inert material similar to the calcium

carbonate found in coral reefs.

• The artificial reef, assembled with

hundreds of ceramic and concrete

modules, was submerged seven

meters below the surface at Summer

Island’s ‘Blue Lagoon’ — a sandy

part of the lagoon, where the resort

hopes to create a new coral reef

ecosystem.

Topic-GS-3- Conservation related

issues.

Source –Times of India

4. NASA Spacecraft Begins Final

Approach to Big Asteroid Bennu

• The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft began its

final approach toward the big near-

Earth asteroid Bennu.

• The milestone also marks the official

start of OSIRIS-REx's "asteroid

operations" mission phase.

• OSIRIS-REx will also spiral down to

snag a sizable sample of asteroid

material before leaving Bennu in

March 2021.

Related Information

OSIRIS-REx

• The OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral

Interpretation, Resource

Identification, Security, Regolith

Explorer) is a NASA asteroid study

and sample-return mission.

• Launched on 8 September 2016, its

mission is to study asteroid 101955

Bennu, a carbonaceous asteroid, and

return a sample to Earth on 24

September 2023 for detailed

analysis.

• The material returned is expected to

enable scientists to learn more about

the formation and evolution of the

Solar System, its initial stages of

planet formation, and the source of

organic compounds that led to the

formation of life on Earth.

• If successful, OSIRIS-REx will be the

first U.S. spacecraft to return

samples from an asteroid.

• It is the third planetary science

mission selected in the New Frontiers

program, after Juno and New

Horizons.

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Topic-GS-3- Awareness in space.

Source- Times of India

5. NASA's InSight completes halfway to

Mars.

• NASA's InSight spacecraft, en route to

land on Mars this November, has

passed the halfway mark, covering

277 million kilometres since its launch

107 days ago.

• In another 98 days, it will travel

another 208 million kilometres and a

touchdown in Mars' Elysium Planitia

region, where it will be the first

mission to study the Red Planet's deep

interior.

• InSight's seismometer, which will be

used to detect quakes on Mars,

received a clean bill of health on July

19.

• It will use the seismic waves

generated by marsquakes to develop

a map of the planet’s deep interiors.

Related Information

InSight

• InSight stands for Interior

Exploration using Seismic

Investigations, Geodesy and Heat

Transport.

• InSight is a robotic lander designed to

study the interior of the planet Mars.

• Launched on 5th , May 2018.

• Where it will deploy a seismometer

and burrow a heat probe. It will also

perform a radio science experiment to

study the internal structure of Mars.

• InSight's objective is to place a

stationary lander equipped with a

seismometer and heat transfer probe

on the surface of Mars to study the

planet's early geological evolution.

SEIS instrument

• The SEIS instrument (Seismic

Experiment for Interior Structure) is a

six-sensor seismometer combining

two types of sensors to measure

ground motions over a wide range of

frequencies. It will give scientists a

window into Mars' internal activity.

Topic-GS-3- Science and Technology

Source- The Hindu

6. Government designates NCRB to curb

online child pornography and sexual

violence

• It was decided in the high- level meeting that the National Crime Records Bureau

(NCRB) would be the designated nodal

agency for monitoring the complaints

received on a government portal that

records child pornography and sexual

violence videos.

• The NCRB would coordinate with service providers such as Facebook, YouTube

and WhatsApp and ask them to block

malicious videos and contents.

Related Information

NCRB(National Crime Records Bureau)

• The National Crime Records Bureau is

an Indian government agency

responsible for collecting and

analysing crime data.

• NCRB is headquartered in New Delhi

and is part of the Ministry of Home

Affairs (MHA).

• NCRB was set-up in 1986.

• It functions as a repository of

information on crime and criminals so

as to assist the investigators in linking

crime to the perpetrators.

• It was set up based on the

recommendation of the Taskforce and

National Police Commission.

Topic-GS- 2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their

design and implementation.

Source- The Hindu

23.08.2018

1. ICOMOS launches the initiative to

save cultural heritage damaged in flood-

hit Kerala

The ICOMOS, a global monument

conservation body, has launched an initiative

to assess the damage to the rich cultural and

built heritage in flood-devastated Kerala and

set up an emergency response platform.

Related Information

The International Council on Monuments

and Sites (ICOMOS)

• The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) is a

prestigious non-government

organisation dedicated to promoting the

application of theory, methodology and

scientific techniques for conservation of architectural and archaeological

heritage across the world.

• Now headquartered in Paris, France.

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• ICOMOS was founded in 1965 in

Warsaw.

• ICOMOS is a partner in the

International Committee of the Blue

Shield (ICBS), which works to protect

the world's cultural heritage

threatened by wars and natural

disasters.

Topic-GS-1- Culture

Source- The Hindu

2. One of the three newly designated

geological ages of the Holocene Epoch

was named after Meghalaya

Related Information

The International Commission on

Stratigraphy (ICS)

• The International Commission on

Stratigraphy (ICS), a body of

geological timekeepers.

• Formed in 1974.

• It is the largest and oldest

constituent scientific body in the

International Union of Geological

Sciences (IUGS).

• It had divided the Holocene Epoch,

which began 11,700 years ago

• At the 8,200-year and 4,200-year

points, thereby creating the

Greenlandian, the Northgrippian and

the Meghalayan Ages.

Holocene Epoch

• The Holocene Epoch is the current

period of geologic time.

• Another term that is sometimes used

is the Anthropocene Epoch because

its primary characteristic is the global

changes caused by human activity.

• It began approximately 11,650 cal

years before present, after the last

glacial period.

• The Holocene and the preceding

Pleistocene together form the

Quaternary period.

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Source- NCERT

Topic-GS- 3- Science and Technology

Source- The Hindu

3. President Kovind to inaugurate

International Buddhist Conclave in New

Delhi

Related information

International Buddhist Conclave

• The theme of the conclave is Buddha

Path - The Living Heritage.

• The Conclave is being organized by

the Ministry of Tourism in

collaboration with the State

Governments of Maharashtra, Bihar

and Uttar Pradesh from 23rd – 26th

August, 2018 at New Delhi and Ajanta

(Maharashtra), followed by site visits

to Rajgir, Nalanda and Bodhgaya

(Bihar) and Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh).

• The aim of the Conclave is to

showcase and project the Buddhist

Heritage in India and boost tourism to

the Buddhist sites in the country and

cultivate friendly ties with countries

and communities interested in

Buddhism.

NOTE-

• Union Ministry of Tourism has been

organizing International Buddhist

Conclave

• The earlier International Buddhist

Conclaves were organized in:

(a) New Delhi and Bodhgaya

(February 2004)

(b) Nalanda and Bodhgaya (February

2010)

(c) Varanasi and Bodhgaya

(September 2012)

(d) Bodhgaya and Varanasi

(September 2014)

(e) Sarnath/Varanasi and Bodhgaya

(October 2016)

Topic-GS-1-Culture

Source-PIB

4. HAL becomes first PSU to transact on

TReDS

• The Receivables Exchange of India

(RXIL) said Hindustan Aeronautics

(HAL) has become the first public

sector enterprise to make a

transaction on the "TReDS platform".

TReDS

• TReDS is an online electronic

institutional mechanism for facilitating

the financing of trade receivables of

micro, small and medium enterprises

(MSME) through multiple financiers.

RXIL

• RXIL is India’s first TReDS

platform.

• Operating since January 2017.

• Promoted by the National Stock

Exchange, Small Industries

Development Bank of India, State

Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Yes

Bank.

Topic-GS- 3- Indian Economy

Source- Economic Times.

5. TRIFED makes record procurement

and sale of tribal products in the month

of July 2018

Related Information

Tribal Cooperative Marketing

Development Federation of India

Limited (TRIFED)

• Tribal Cooperative Marketing

Development Federation of India

Limited (TRIFED) is a national-level

apex organization functioning.

• Since 1987.

• Under the administrative control

of Ministry of Tribal Affairs,

Government of India.

• Striving to promote the economic

development of the Tribal

communities of the country through

marketing development and

sustained upgradation of their skills

and products.

• The approach involves capacity

building, imparting need-based

training, exploring marketing

possibilities for products in national as

well as international markets, brand

building & creating opportunities for

marketing on the sustainable basis.

• TRIFED’s sole objective is to bring

about a multi-dimensional

transformation of the tribal society

and a shift in the perception of their

existing image.

Topic-GS-2- Statutory, regulatory and

various quasi-judicial bodies.

Source-PIB

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6. Kerala to get cyclone warning centre

• The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences

has announced it will set up a cyclone

warning centre in Kerala and boost

weather forecasting in the state with

another Doppler radar.

• The new centre will be set up in

Thiruvananthapuram.

• At present, India Meteorological

Centre (IMD) has six cyclone warning

centres, four along the east coast at

Chennai, Visakhapatnam,

Bhubaneswar and Kolkata, and

two along the west coast at

Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

• The ministry has also proposed

setting up another C-band Doppler

weather radar at Mangalore to

provide “nowcast” alerts for severe

weather, including thunderstorms

triggered by heavy rain for the next 2-

3 hours.

Related Information

Doppler radar

• A Doppler radar is a specialized radar

that uses the Doppler effect to

produce velocity data about objects at

a distance.

• It does this by bouncing a microwave

signal off the desired target and

analyzing how the object's motion has

altered the frequency of the returned

signal.

This variation gives direct and highly

accurate measurements of the radial

component of a target's velocity

relative to the radar.

Doppler radars are used in aviation,

sounding satellites, meteorology,

radar guns, radiology and healthcare,

nursing or clinic purpose, and bistatic

radar (surface-to-air missiles).

Topic-GS- 1- Important Geophysical

phenomena such as earthquakes,

Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone

etc., geographical features and their

location- changes in critical

geographical features (including

waterbodies and ice-caps) and in flora

and fauna and the effects of such

changes.

Source- The Hindu

7. ILO report flags wage inequality in

India

• Real average daily wages in India

almost doubled in the first two

decades after economic reforms, but

low pay and wage inequality remain a

serious challenge to inclusive growth,

the International Labour

Organization.

• The gender wage gap decreased

from 48% in 1993-94 to 34% in

2011-12 but still remains high by

international standards.

• Of all worker groups, the average

wages of casual rural female workers

was the lowest, at just ₹104 a day.

Related Information

International Labour Organization

• The International Labour Organization

(ILO) is a United Nations agency

dealing with labour problems.

• Formed in 29th October 1919; 98

years ago.

• Headquarters in Geneva,

Switzerland.

• It is particularly for international

labour standards, social protection,

and work opportunities for all.

• The ILO has 187 member states: 186

of the 193 UN member states plus

the Cook Islands are members of

the ILO.

• The ILO registers complaints against

entities that are violating international

rules; however, it does not impose

sanctions on governments.

• In 1969, the organisation

received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Topic-GS- 2- Important International

institutions, agencies and fora- their

structure, mandate.

Source- The Hindu

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8. Iran unveils first domestic fighter jet

• Iran has unveiled first domestically

manufactured fighter jet nicknamed

Kowsar.

• It is a fourth-generation fighter, with

"advanced avionics" and multi-

purpose radar.

Related Information

Kowsar

• Kowsar (or Kosar) is a medium-range,

land-based anti-ship missile made by

Iran.

• It can defeat electronic jamming

systems and "cannot be thrown off

course".

• The Kowsar designation apparently

(Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance

2006) is used to refer to two different

missiles: Iranian-produced versions of

the PRC C-701 and the TL-10A.

Topic-GS- 3-Science and Technology.

Source- The Hindu

24.08.2018

1. Hurricane Lane

• Hurricane Lane is a hurricane which is

currently heading towards the

Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific

Ocean.

• The hurricane being category 5 is

expected to reach at a wind speed

above 157 miles per hour and pass

within 350 miles

• It is known to cause catastrophic

damages in the island.

• Lane is only the second hurricane

to reach Category 5 strength.

• The other was John, in August of

1994.

Related Information

Topic-GS-1- Important Geophysical

phenomena

Source- New York times

2. Fourth BIMSTEC summit

Related Information

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-

Sectoral Technical and Economic

Cooperation (BIMSTEC)

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• BIMSTEC is an international

organization of seven nations

of South Asia and South East Asia.

• The BIMSTEC member states—

Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri

Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal

(areas of Bay of Bengal).

• The permanent secretariat is

in Dhaka.

• The current chair is under Nepal.

• Established on 6th June 1997.

• 1st BIMSTEC Summit was held

in Bangkok, Thailand in the year.

• 4th BIMSETC Summit is being held

in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Topic-GS- 2- Important International

institutions, agencies and fora- their

structure, mandate.

Source- AIR

3. Sustainable Development in Indian

Himalayan Region report

• By NITI Aayog

• The themes include Inventory and

Revival of Springs in the Himalayas

for Water Security, Sustainable

Tourism, Transformative Approach to

Shifting Cultivation, Strengthening

Skill and Entrepreneurship Landscape

in the Himalayas.

Key Highlights

• Nearly 30 per cent of springs crucial

to water security of people is drying.

• 50 percent have reported reduced

discharge.

• Himalayan Tourism which is growing

annually at 6.8 per cent has created a

huge challenge related to solid waste,

water, traffic, loss of bio-cultural

diversity.

• Setting up of a Himalayan Authority.

• Launching of Himalaya Calling: An

Awareness to Action Campaign as

people’s movement.

Topic-GS-2- Statutory, regulatory and

various quasi-judicial bodies.

Source- AIR

4. FSSAI notifies standards for honey &

its products to curb adulteration

• At present, there are no separate

quality standards for honey and its

products.

NOTE:

• Bees-wax is obtained from the

honeycombs of bees of Apidae family

after the honey has been removed by

draining or centrifuging.

• The combs are melted with hot water,

steam or solar heat and the melted

product is filtered and cast into cakes

of yellow bees-wax.

• White bees-wax is obtained by

bleaching the yellow bees-wax with

oxidising agents. Beeswax consists of

a mixture of esters of fatty acids and

fatty alcohols, hydrocarbons and free

fatty acids. Minor amounts of free

fatty alcohols are also present

• Royal jelly is the mixture of

secretions from hypopharyngeal and

mandibular glands of worker bees,

free from any additive. It is the food

of larval and adult queens.

Related Information

Food Safety and Standards Authority of

India (FSSAI)

• Food Safety and Standards Authority

of India (FSSAI) is an autonomous

body established under the Ministry

of Health & Family Welfare.

• The FSSAI has been established under

the Food Safety and Standards

Act, 2006.

• FSSAI is responsible for protecting

and promoting public health through

the regulation and supervision of food

safety.

• The FSSAI has its headquarters

at New Delhi.

• The authority also has 6 regional

offices located in Delhi, Guwahati,

Mumbai, Kolkata, Cochin, and

Chennai.

Topic-GS-2- Issues relating to Health

Source- Business Standards.

5. Quad countries discuss ocean security

Related information

Quadrilateral security dialogue or quad

• Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD)

is the strategic dialogue between four

countries.

• The grouping of four democracies –

India, Australia, the US and Japan.

• It was first mooted by Japanese

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in

2007.

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• With the aim to counter China’s

aggressive behaviour in the Indo-

Pacific region, India, Australia, US and

Japan, formed the “quadrilateral”

coalition on November 12, 2017.

Topic-GS- 2- Bilateral, regional and

global groupings and agreements

Source- The Hindu

6. 35% of cyber attacks on Indian sites

from China: official report

• “The cyber attacks from China made

up 35% of the total number of cyber

attacks on official Indian websites,

followed by US (17%), Russia (15%),

Pakistan (9%), Canada (7%) and

Germany (5%)”.

• The report, prepared by the Indian

Computer Emergency Response

Team (CERT-In), analysed cyber

attacks from April-June 2018.

Related information

CERT-In

• CERT-In is the nodal agency which

deals with cybersecurity threats like

hacking and phishing.

• Under the Ministry of Electronics and

Information Technology.

• Formed on 19th January 2004.

• It collects, analyses and disseminates

information on “cyber incidents”, and

also issues alerts on “cyber security

incidents”.

Topic-GS- 3- Cyber Security

Source- Indian Express

7. Pyramid-size asteroid zooming past

Earth

Related Information

Near-Earth objects (NEO)

• Near-Earth objects (NEO) are

asteroids, comets and large

meteoroids whose orbit intersects

Earth's orbit.

• They pose a collision danger.

• An asteroid is termed as a Near Earth

Asteroid (NEA) when its trajectory

brings it within 1.3 Astronomical Units

(AU) from the Sun and within 0.3 AU

of the Earth's orbit.

• The largest known Near-Earth

asteroid is Ganymed.

Topic-GS-3- Awareness in the fields

Space.

Source- The Hindu

8. NASA satellite captures intense

monsoon rains in Kerala

• The first band appeared much broader

and extends across the northern part

of the peninsula.

• The second band appeared more

concentrated with the southwest

coast of India and the Western Ghats.

• NASA said another contributing factor

to the heavy rains along the

southwest coast of India is the

Western Ghats.

Related Information

• IMERG (Integrated Multi-satellitE

Retrievals for GPM) is used to

estimate precipitation from a

combination of passive microwave

sensors, including GPM’s GMI

microwave sensor and geostationary

IR (infrared) data.

• GPM is the Global Precipitation

Measurement mission core

satellite.

• GPM is a joint mission between NASA

and the Japan Aerospace Agency,

JAXA.

Topic-GS- 1- Important Geophysical

phenomena

Source- Indian Express

9. Supreme Court scraps NOTA option

for Rajya Sabha polls

• As per the SC, NOTA option is meant

only for universal adult suffrage and

direct elections and not polls in the

Rajya Sabha.

Related Information

• India became the 14th country to

institute negative voting.

• The NOTA option was first used in

the 2013 assembly elections held in

four states -- Chhattisgarh, Mizoram,

Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and

the Union Territory, Delhi.

• First origin of NOTA option in Nevada,

United States.

Topic-GS- 2-Issues and challenges

pertaining to the federal structure.

Source- The Hindu

10. National Logistics Portal

Related Information

National Logistics Portal (NLP)

• National Logistics Portal (NLP) — a

digital platform.

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• To bring all stakeholders in the

logistics sector on board to cut down

transaction cost and time for

businesses.

• Developed by the Ministry of

Commerce and Industry.

• Single window online marketplace for

trade and connecting business.

• Mentioned in Budget 2017-18.

Topic-GS- 3- Indian Economy.

Source- The Hindu

11. Maharashtra govt succeeds in

efficiently implementing MUDRA scheme

Maharashtra stands at the fourth position in

terms of availing and utilizing the ‘Mudra’

loan scheme in the country.

Related Information

Micro Units Development and Refinance

Agency Bank (MUDRA)

• MUDRA Bank is a public sector

financial institution in India.

• It provides loans at low rates to

micro-finance institutions and non-

banking financial institutions which

then provide credit to MSMEs.

• It was launched on 8 April 2015.

• Headquarters in Mumbai.

• The bank will classify its clients into

three categories and the maximum

allowed loan sums will be based on

the category:

(a) Shishu (शििु): Allowed loans up

to ₹50,000.

(b) Kishore (कििोर): Allowed loans up

to ₹5 lakh.

(c) Tarun (तरुण): Allowed loans up

to ₹10 lakh.

Topic-GS- 3- Indian Economy

Source- AIR

25.08.2018

1. World Bank launches a world-first

blockchain bond.

• ‘Bond-i’, which stands for

Blockchain Operated New Debt

Instrument, was created, allocated

and transferred using blockchain

technology.

• It is launched by World Bank and the

Commonwealth Bank of Australia is

the sole manager of the deal.

• The World Bank has priced the world’s

first public bond created and managed

using the only blockchain in a $100

million

• This World Bank bonds hold an AAA

rating.

• It will be the first time that capital is

raised from public investors through a

legally valid bond issuance that uses

blockchain from start to finish.

• The bank’s blockchain push comes as

the Australian Securities Exchange

plans to switch to using distributed

ledger (blockchain) technology to

clear and settle equities trades from

2020 to help cut costs.

Related Information

• Kangaroo bonds are bonds issued in

Australian dollars by foreign

institutions.

• Russia’s MTS, a telecoms operator,

and Sberbank claimed a world-first

blockchain bond.

Blockchains

• Blockchains are a new data structure

that is secure, cryptography-based,

and distributed across a network.

• The technology supports

cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

• Transfer of any data or digital asset.

Topic-GS-3- Basics of cybersecurity

Source- Livemint

2. Aeolus satellite launched in

'world-first' space mission to map

Earth's winds.

• The satellite – named Aeolus after the

guardian of wind in Greek mythology.

• It will be placed at an altitude of

320km (200 miles) above the Earth.

• Aeolus is the fifth of the ESA’s planned

Earth Explorer missions.

• It was recently launched from French

Guiana using Vega rocket.

• It is part of the Copernicus project,

a joint initiative of the European

Union and the European Space

Agency (ESA).

• To track environmental damage and

aid disaster relief operations.

• Aeolus is equipped with a single

instrument: a Doppler wind lidar.

Related Information

Doppler wind Lidar

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• It is an advanced laser system

designed to accurately measure

global wind patterns from space.

• The Doppler lidar transmits short,

powerful pulses of laser light toward

Earth in the ultraviolet spectrum.

• Particles in the air – moisture, dust,

gases – scatter a small fraction of that

light energy back to the transceiver,

where it is collected and recorded.

Topic-GS-3-Science and Technology

Source- The Guardian

3. 5G Panel

• The A.J. Paulraj panel was formed last

year to recommend policy initiatives

and action plans for 5G rollout.

• The report suggested the government

should announce its 5G policy by the

end of December, besides setting up

a standing committee to advise on

building the infrastructure for

spectrum technology.

• The committee has revealed that the

advent of next-generation wireless

services may impact the economy by

over 1 trillion dollars.

• 5G technologies will start entering

service globally beginning in 2019 and

advance to the full range of services

by 2024.

• The panel expects the commercial

rollout in India of 5G by 2020.

Related Information

5G(Fifth-generation wireless)

• 5G is the latest iteration of cellular

technology, engineered to greatly

increase the speed and

responsiveness of wireless networks.

• It is next generation mobile networks

technology after 4G LTE networks.

• It could travel at rates as high as 20

Gbps by some estimates -- exceeding

wireline network speeds.

Topic-GS- 3-Infrastructure

Source- Livemint

4. Indian-American scientist finds

the simple way to predict IBD.

• An Indian-American scientist has

identified as many as 50 protein

biomarkers that can non-invasively

detect inflammatory bowel disease

(IBD).

Related Information

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

• It is a gut disorder that leads to

diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and

weight loss.

• IBD occurs when the body's immune

system fights its intestinal cells.

• Two of the most common types

are Crohn's disease and ulcerative

colitis, both of which cause

inflammation in the digestive tract.

Topic-GS-2- Issues relating to health.

Source- AIR

5. TRIFED

Related Information

Tribal Cooperative Marketing

Development Federation of India

Limited (TRIFED)

• TRIFED is a national-level apex

organization functioning.

• Since 1987.

• Under the administrative control of

Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government

of India.

• TRIFED’s sole objective is to bring

about a multi-dimensional

transformation of the tribal society

and a shift in the perception of their

existing image.

Topic-GS-2- Statutory Bodies

Source-PIB

6. CJI Launches Applications to

Facilitate Litigants and Lawyers

• Three applications of e-filing, e-pay,

and NSTEP (National Service and

Tracking of Electronic Processes)

created under the eCourts project

were launched during the occasion.

Related Information

NSTEP - National Service and Tracking

of Electronic Processes

• It is another innovative application

launched as part of the eCourts

Project.

• In the collaboration between Case

Information Software (CIS), Web

portal and Mobile Application.

• It is a transparent and secure system

for transmission of the process from

one location to another and shall

address delays in process serving

particularly for processes beyond

jurisdiction.

• It will lead to the secured auto-

generation of processes with unique

QR Code through CIS.

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e-Pay application

• It is a unified portal wherein facility to

pay online court fees is provided.

• The platform is user-friendly which

can be used with very little self-help.

• At present, the facility will be made

operational in two states –

Maharashtra and Haryana.

e-courts project

• The eCourts Mission Mode Project

(Phase I 2010-15; Phase II 2015-19)

is a national eGovernance project for

ICT enablement of the district and

subordinate courts of the country.

• The major objectives of the Project

are to make whole judicial system ICT

enabled by putting in place adequate

and modern hardware and

connectivity.

Topic-GS-2- Important aspects of

governance, transparency, and

accountability.

Source-PIB

7. ICESat-2 (Ice, Cloud, and land

Elevation Satellite 2).

Related Information

ICESat-2

• ICESat-2 is a part of NASA's Earth

Observing System.

• It is a planned satellite mission for

measuring ice sheet elevation and sea

ice freeboard.

• It will be launched on 15 September

2018 from Vandenberg Air Force

Base in California, into a near-circular,

near-polar orbit with an altitude of

approximately 496 km.

• Mission Duration for three years and

will carry enough propellant for seven

years.

• It will provide topography

measurements of cities, lakes and

reservoirs, oceans and land

surfaces around the globe.

• The ICESat-2 project is being

managed by NASA Goddard Space

Flight Center.

• The satellite will launch on a Delta II

rocket provided by United Launch

Alliance.

Topic-GS-3-Science and Technology

Source- Times of India

27.08.2018

1. Prime Minister to launch FAME India

II on Sept 7

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will

launch on September 7 the second

phase of the FAME India.

• In this phase, the government is

targeting a fully (100%) electric fleet

for public transport, including buses,

taxis and auto-rickshaws.

• The panel decided to offer the subsidy

to all categories of electric vehicles,

including two-wheelers, three-

wheelers and four-wheelers.

Related information

FAME India Scheme (Faster Adoption

and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric

Vehicles in India)

• FAME was launched in 2015.

• The objective of the scheme is to

support the hybrid / electric vehicles

market development and

Manufacturing eco-system.

• The Scheme is aimed at incentivising

all vehicle segments i.e. 2 Wheeler, 3

Wheeler Auto, Passenger 4 Wheeler

Vehicle, Light Commercial Vehicles

and Buses.

• It has 4 focus areas i.e.

(a) Technology development

(b) Demand Creation

(c) Pilot Projects and

(d) Charging Infrastructure.

• The phase I of the scheme expired on

March 31, 2018.

• The scheme is a part of the National

Electric Mobility Mission Plan by

Government of India.

Topic-GS-3- Infrastructure

Source- Economic Times

2. BNHS to open its first regional centre

• The Bombay Natural History Society

(BNHS), will start operating its

regional centre on the campus of

Wetland Research and Training Centre

near Chilika Lake.

Related Information

The Bombay Natural History Society

• Founded on 15 September 1883.

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64

• It is one of the largest non-

governmental organisations in India

engaged in conservation and

biodiversity research.

• It is one of India’s premier avian

research institutes.

• BNHS is the partner of BirdLife

International in India.

• Headquarters in Mumbai.

Birdlife International

• Formerly the International Council for

Bird Preservation.

• Founded in 1922.

• Headquarters in Cambridge, United

Kingdom.

• India is a partner of Birdlife

International.

• It is the world's largest partnership of

conservation organizations.

• BirdLife International is the official

Red List authority for birds, for the

International Union for Conservation

of Nature.

Chilika Lake

• Chilika Lake is a brackish water

lagoon.

• Spread over Odisha, at the mouth of

the Daya River, flowing into the Bay

of Bengal.

It is the largest coastal lagoon in India

and the second largest coastal lagoon

in the world after The New Caledonian

barrier reef in New Caledonia.

It is the largest wintering ground for

migratory birds on the Indian sub-

continent.

In 1981, Chilika Lake has designated

the first Indian wetland of

international importance under the

Ramsar Convention.

It was put under Montreux Record but

later removed.

Topic-GS-1-Flora and Fauna

Source- The Hindu

3. India’s first biofuel flight

• SpiceJet Q-400 will operate a

demonstration flight powered by

biofuel from Dehradun to Delhi.

• The biofuel has been developed

by Indian Institute of Petroleum,

Dehradun.

• India will be the first developing

nation to experiment biofuel test

flight.

• The first-ever flight using biofuel was

flown ten years ago by the Virgin

Atlantic airlines between London

and Amsterdam.

Related information

• Biofuels are combustible fuels created

from biomass

• In other words, fuels created from

recently living plant matter as

opposed to ancient plant matter in

hydrocarbons.

• Biofuels are produced from Vegetable

oils, Recycled grease, Algae and

Animal fat.

Topic-Infrastructure

Source- Business Standards

4. NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft

catches the first glimpse of its target

Bennu asteroid

• OSIRIS-REx obtained the image of the

asteroid from a distance of 2.1 million

kilometres using its PolyCam camera.

• OSIRIS-REx is NASA's first mission to

visit a near-Earth asteroid, survey the

surface, collect a sample and deliver it

safely back to Earth.

• The spacecraft has travelled

approximately 1.8 billion kilometres

and is scheduled to arrive at Bennu on

December 3 this year.

Related Information

The Origins, Spectral Interpretation,

Resource Identification, Security-

Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx)

• Launched on 8 September 2016, its

mission is to study asteroid 101955

Bennu.

• If successful, OSIRIS-REx will be the

first U.S. spacecraft to return samples

from an asteroid.

• It is the third planetary science

mission, after Juno and New

Horizons.

NOTE-

1. Juno- Mission to study Jupiter.

2. New Horizon – Mission to study Pluto.

Bennu

• Near Earth, carbonaceous asteroid.

• Discovered in 1999.

• It is the potentially hazardous

asteroid.

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• There is a very slight chance it could

strike into Earth in the late 22nd

century.

Topic- GS-3-Awareness about Space

Source- NASA

5. Aeolus

• The European Space Agency (ESA)

has launched wind-sensing satellite

“Aeolus” from French Guiana.

• It is the first satellite in the world to

perform global wind-component-

profile observation on a daily basis in

near real-time.

Related Information

Aeolus

• Name derived from Greek mythology.

• Built by Airbus.

• Rocket: Vega rocket launcher.

• Altitude of 320 km.

• Equipped with Doppler wind lidar

known as Aladin.

• It is part of the Copernicus project, a

joint initiative of European Union (EU)

and European Space Agency (ESA).

• It is the fifth of ESA’s planned Earth

Explorer missions.

Topic-GS-3- Awareness of Space

Source- Economic times

6. SCO Peace Mission Exercise

• The Shanghai Cooperation

Organization (SCO) Peace Mission

exercise started in Chebarkul, Russia.

• It involved military contingents of all

eight member nations.

• First time ever, India, Pak soldiers

set to participate together in a

military exercise.

Related information

SCO (Shanghai Cooperation

Organisation or Shanghai Pact)

• It is a Eurasian political, economic,

and security alliance.

• Created on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai,

China.

• By the leaders of China, Kazakhstan,

Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and

Uzbekistan.

• On 9 June 2017, at Astana summit,

India and Pakistan officially joined

SCO as full-fledged members.

• 1st SCO -2001-Shanghai, China

• 2018- Qingdao, China.

Topic-GS-2-Important international

institutions.

Source- Times of India

7. International Day for the

Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its

Abolition.

• International Day for the

Remembrance of the Slave Trade and

its Abolition, on August 23 of each

year.

• Designated by UNESCO to

memorialize the transatlantic slave

trade.

• The International Day for the

Remembrance of the Slave Trade and

its Abolition was first celebrated in

many countries, in particular in Haiti,

on August 23, 1998, and in Senegal

on August 23, 1999.

Related information

The Haitian revolution:

• During the night of August 22 to

August 23, 1791, on the island of

Saint Domingue (now known as

Haiti), an uprising began which set

forth events which were a major

factor in the abolition of the

transatlantic slave trade.

• The Haitian Revolution which lasted

13 years was a large and well-

organized uprising.

• It ended with the independent nation

of Haiti.

• Nearly 85 years later, Brazil became

the last nation in America to abolish

slavery in 1888.

United Nations Educational, Scientific

and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

• UNESCO is a specialized agency of

the United Nations (UN).

• Formed on 4th November 1946.

• Headquarters in Place de Fontenoy,

Paris, France

• It is the successor of the League of

Nations' International Committee on

Intellectual Cooperation.

• UNESCO has 195 member statesand

ten associate members

Topic-GS- 2- Important Institutions.

Source- The Hindu

8. Biodiversity Heritage Sites

• Biodiversity Heritage Sites (BHS) are

well-defined areas that are unique

with ecologically fragile ecosystems.

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66

• It covers terrestrial, coastal and

inland waters and, marine ecosystems

having rich biodiversity.

• Under the Biological Diversity Act,

2002 (BDA).

• The State Government in consultation

with the Central Government may

frame rules for the management and

conservation of BHS.

• The National Biodiversity Authority

(NBA) issues the guidelines for

selection and management of the

BHS.

• Ameenpur lake in Telangana is the

first water body in the country to be

declared as a BHS.

Topic-GS-3- Conservation

Source- The Hindu

9. INS Vikramaditya

• INS Vikramaditya, India's only aircraft

carrier, is going to be fitted with the

marine hydraulic system

• For the first time, it will give an edge

to the air-capable wing of the ship.

• The systems would be fitted by

Russia’s Rostec State Corporation

through its subsidiary,

Technodinamika.

• The upgradation would take place in

India only and would include

installation supervision,

commissioning and sea trials of the

ship.

Related Information

The GS-1MF and GS-3 marine hydraulic

systems

• The GS-1MF and GS-3 marine

hydraulic systems are used for

refuelling, cleaning and pressurization

of hydraulic systems of aircraft and

helicopters which form part of the air-

capable wing of INS Vikramaditya.

• GS-1MF hydraulic system is used for

helicopters while GS-3 are used for

aircraft.

INS Vikramaditya

• INS Vikramaditya is a modified Kiev-

class aircraft carrier which entered

into service with the Indian Navy in

2013.

• Originally built as Baku and

commissioned in 1987.

• The carrier was purchased by India on

20 January 2004 after years of

negotiations.

• On 14 June 2014, she was formally

inducted INS Vikramaditya into the

Indian Navy.

Topic-GS-3-Defence

Source- Hindustan Times

10. Lithium-ion batteries

• Scientists have developed novel

lithium-ion batteries with components

that harden on impact, preventing

them from catching fire and causing

injuries to users.

• The researchers solved this by putting

the silica in place before adding the

electrolyte.

Related information

• Lithium-ion batteries are a type of

rechargeable battery in which lithium

ions move from the negative

electrode to the positive electrode

during discharge and back when

charging.

• They are more reliable than older

technologies such as nickel-cadmium.

• It has high energy density i.e. it stores

more energy per unit of weight when

compared to another kind of

batteries.

Topic-GS-3-Science

Source- Indian Express

11. Compulsory genetic screening of

pregnant women to curb genetic

disorders

• The Centre has prepared a draft policy

to prevent inherited disorders such as

thalassemia and sickle cell

anaemia.

• The policy advocates for the provision

of medicines, including iron chelating

agents, leukocyte filters and infusion

pumps free of cost to the poor

patients.

• For sickle cell disease, the policy

recommended newborn screening to

be initiated in areas of high

prevalence.

NOTE

• Thalassemia and sickle cell diseases

are two common genetic disorders

that are chronic, life-restricting and

require long and specialized

treatment.

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Topic-GS-2- Impact of Health

Source- The Hindu

12. India’s first interstate connected

wind power project commissioned in

Bhuj

• 126 MW wind power capacity, part of

India’s first inter-state transmission

system (ISTS) auction, was

commissioned in Bhuj, Gujarat.

• State-run Solar Energy Corporation of

India Ltd (SECI) had conducted

India's first auction of wind power

projects in February 2017.

• It is in line with the Government’s plan

of having 175 GW renewable energy

by 2022.

Topic-GS-3- Infrastructure

Source- Money control

13. A mobile app launched to rate,

review your 'Neta'

• Former President Pranab Mukherjee

has launched ‘Neta App’ that allows

voters to rate and review their

political representatives.

• The objective of the app to foster

political accountability and

transparency among leaders.

• The App uses a combination of

Artificial Intelligence, one-time

password and Aadhaar numbers to

ensure that the voters who rate

leaders are genuine.

Topic- GS-2- E-Governance

Source- Indian Express

28.08.2018

1. Commute-related pollution

• The report was compiled by the

Centre for Science and Environment

(CSE).

• Six megacities (Delhi, Mumbai,

Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and

Hyderabad) and eight metropolitan

cities (Bhopal, Lucknow, Jaipur,

Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kochi

and Vijayawada) were evaluated.

• Kolkata as the top-performing

megacity.

• Bhopal leads the list on the lowest

overall emissions.

• Delhi and Hyderabad are the two

cities that fare at the bottom of the

table in terms of pollution and energy

use.

• According to the report, though

metropolitan cities scored better than

megacities, they were at risk due to a

much higher share of personal vehicle

trips.

Note-

• Chennai was the first city to adopt a

non-motorised transport (NMT) policy

in 2004 that aims to arrest the decline

of walking or cycling by creating a

network of footpaths, bicycle tracks

and greenways.

Topic-GS-3- Environment pollution and

degradation

Source- The Hindu

2. India’s first biofuel flight was

powered by jatropha seeds

• A blend of oil from jatropha seeds and

aviation turbine fuel propelled the

country’s first ever bio jet fuel-

powered flight between Dehradun and

Delhi.

• A blend of 25% of bio jet fuel and 75%

of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) was

carried in one of the two engines of

the plane.

• While the other engine carried only

ATF.

• International standards permit a

blended rate of up to 50% biofuel with

ATF.

• It has the potential to reduce fuel

costs by 15-20%.

• The indigenously developed fuel has

been nearly eight years in the making

by the Council for Scientific and

Industrial Research (CSIR) lab based

in Dehradun along with the Indian

Institute of Petroleum (IIP).

• The institute started its experiment on

biofuel soon after Virgin Atlantic

carried out the first test flight globally

in 2008.

Related Information

Jatropha

• Jatropha is a flowering plant.

• It is a drought-resistant plant.

• It can be grown in rugged terrain,

marginally poor soil and can survive

with minimum inputs.

• Jatropha also has medicinal properties

and is used for diseases like cancer,

piles, snakebite, paralysis, dropsy etc.

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• It has been tested successfully as fuel

for simple diesel engine.

• Its oil also acts as an insecticide.

Topic-GS-1- Flora and Fauna

Source- The Hindu

3. Relies on Wolbachia to control dengue

• The project was launched in Paderu in

Visakhapatnam.

• The Wolbachia controls the

multiplication of the virus in its host —

Aedes aegypti, which is primarily

responsible for the cause of dengue

fevers.

Related Information

Wolbachia

• Wolbachia is natural bacteria present

in up to 60% of insect species,

including some mosquitoes.

• However, Wolbachia is not usually

found in the Aedes aegypti mosquito,

the primary species responsible for

transmitting human viruses such as

Zika, dengue and chikungunya.

• It is one of the world’s most common

parasitic microbes and the most

common reproductive parasite in the

biosphere.

• Research has shown that when

introduced into the Aedes

aegyptimosquito, Wolbachia can help

to reduce the transmission of these

viruses to people.

• Mosquitoes with Wolbachia have a

reduced ability to transmit viruses to

people, decreasing the risk of Zika,

dengue and chikungunya outbreaks.

• India and several countries are

carrying out experiments to look into

the possibility of breeding Wolbachia

in Aedes aegypti.

Topic-GS-2- Issues relating to health

Source- The Hindu

4. Revised Share buyback regulations

• The Securities and Exchange Board of

India (SEBI) has recently revised the

buyback regulations that stipulate

15% reservation for retail

shareholders in a buyback offer.

Related Information

Buyback

• A buyback is a mechanism through

which a listed company buys back

shares from the market.

• A buyback can be done either through

open market purchases (from the

secondary market) or through the

tender offer route.

Why does a firm go in for a buyback?

Buybacks are done when a company has a

significant cash reserve and feels that the

shares are not fairly valued at the current

market price

What are the benefits?

• The earnings per share (EPS) rise by

default.

• Shareholders get an attractive exit

option, especially when the shares are

thinly traded.

How can a company execute a buyback?

• A company can use a maximum of

25% of the aggregate of its free

reserves and paid-up capital for a

buyback.

• A special resolution needs to be

passed at a general meeting.

• If the company plans to use less than

10% of its reserves then only a board

resolution is required.

Topic-GS-3-Indian Economy

Source- The Hindu

5. BIS to set standards for the services

sector too

Related information

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)

• The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)

is the National Standards Body of

India.

• Under the Ministry of Consumer

Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.

• It is established by the Bureau of

Indian Standards Act, 1986.

• Came into effect on 23rd December

1986.

• Its headquarters are in New Delhi.

• With regional offices in Kolkata,

Chennai, Mumbai, Chandigarh and

Delhi and 20 branch offices.

• It also works as WTO-TBT enquiry

point for India.

Topic-GS-2- Issues relating to the social

sector

Source- The Hindu

6. Government announces Regulations

for Drones.

• The regulations will be effective from

the 1st of December this year.

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• The regulations are intended to

enable visual line-of-sight daytime-

only and a maximum of 400 feet

altitude operations.

Key Regulations-

• Airspace has been partitioned into:

1. Red Zone- In which flying is not

permitted.

2. Yellow Zone- That is controlled

airspace.

3. Green Zone- For automatic

permission.

• The Digital Sky Platform is the first-

of-its-kind national unmanned traffic

management (UTM) platform that

implements “no permission, no

takeoff” (NPNT).

• One-time registration of drones is

required.

• For every flight (exempted for the

nano category), users will be required

to ask for permission to fly on a

mobile app and an automated process

permits or denies the request

instantly.

Related Information

Drones

• Drones are a technology platform

which has wide-ranging applications

from photography to agriculture, from

infrastructure asset maintenance to

insurance.

• Drones range in size from very small

and those that can carry multiple

kilograms of payload.

Topic-GS-3- Infrastructure

Source-PIB

7. Galileo

Related information

• Galileo is the global navigation

satellite system (GNSS) that is being

created by the European Union (EU)

through the European GNSS

Agency (GSA).

• It is Headquartered in Prague in

the Czech Republic.

• The €10 billion projects is named after

the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei.

• The aim of Galileo is to provide an

independent high-precision

positioning system so European

nations do not have to rely on any

other system.

• Galileo services will be free and open

to everyone.

• The first Galileo test satellite, the

GIOVE-A, was launched 28 December

2005.

• The complete 30-satellite Galileo

system (24 operational and 6 active

spares) is expected by 2020.

Topic-GS-3- Science and Technology

Source- BBC

8. 4th Asian electoral stakeholders

forum

• 4th Asian Electoral Stakeholders

Forum was held in Colombo, Sri

Lanka.

• This was for the first time AESF was

held in South Asia.

• The theme of AESF-IV was ‘Advancing

Election Transparency and Integrity:

Promoting and Defending Democracy

Together.

Related information

The Asian Electoral Stakeholder Forum

(AESF)

• The Asian Electoral Stakeholder

Forum (AESF) is a continuing

engagement between election

management bodies (EMBs) and civil

society organizations (CSOs) in Asia.

• It was first launched in 2012.

• There have already been three

successful gatherings:

1. AESF-1 in Bangkok, Thailand (2012).

2. AESF-2 in Dili, Timor-Leste (2015).

3. AESF-3 in Bali, Indonesia (2016).

Topic-GS- 2-Important international

institutions

Source- AIR

9. G20 Digital Economy Ministerial

Meeting

• The 2018 edition of Digital Economy

ministerial meeting is being held in

Salta, Argentina.

• It took place as part of Sherpa Track

for 2018 G20 Leaders’ Summit, which

is to be hosted by Argentina by end of

2018.

• The theme of the meeting was

‘Building consensus for fair and

sustainable development‘.

• Its three key issues for the agenda

were future of work, infrastructure for

development, and sustainable food

future.

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Related Information

G20

• The G20 (or Group of Twenty) is an

international forum for the

governments and central bank

governors.

• Founded in 1999.

• It aims to discuss policy pertaining to

the promotion of international

financial stability.

• It seeks to address issues that go

beyond the responsibilities of any one

organization.

• The G20 was born out of a meeting of

G7 finance ministers and central bank

governors in 1999.

• It is made up of 19 countries and the

European Union.

• Countries are Argentina, Australia,

Brazil, Canada, China, France,

Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy,

Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia,

South Africa, South Korea, Turkey,

the United Kingdom and the United

States.

• The work of the G20 is generally

divided into two tracks:

1. The Finance track comprises all

meetings with G20 finance ministers

and central bank governors and their

deputies.

2. The Sherpa track focuses on broader

issues such as political engagement,

anti-corruption, development, trade,

energy and climate change, gender

equality, among others.

Digital Economy Task Force:

• The Digital Economy Task Force

(DETF) was established under the

2017 German presidency, based on

the decision adopted in Hangzhou in

2016 under the Chinese Presidency.

• In Antalya in 2015, G20 leaders

recognized the importance of the

modern era of digital transformation,

the advent of new technologies.

Digital economy

• The “digital economy” is a term for all

of those economic processes,

transactions, interactions and

activities that are based on digital

technologies.

Topic-GS-2- Important international

institutions.

Source- The Hindu

10. 3rd Indian Ocean Conference

• The 3rd edition of Indian Ocean

Conference held at Hanoi, the capital

of Vietnam.

• The theme is ‘Building Regional

Architectures’.

Related Information

Indian Ocean Conference

• IOC is organised by Indian Foundation

along with the partners from

Singapore, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

• It is an initiative to bring the state

leaders, diplomats and bureaucrats

from across the region under one roof

to strengthen the understanding

among each other.

• Earlier, the conference was held:

1. Singapore – 2016.

2. Sri Lanka – 2017.

• Both Conferences were supported by

the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)

of India and had seen participation

from over 35 countries.

Topic-GS-2- Bilateral, regional and

global groupings and agreements

involving India and/or affecting India’s

interests.

Source- The Hindu

11. Madhya Pradesh seeks revival of

cheetah reintroduction project

• The Madhya Pradesh forest

department has written to the

National Tiger Conservation Authority

to revive the plan to reintroduce

cheetahs in the State’s Nauradehi

sanctuary.

• The ambitious project, conceived in

2009, had hit a roadblock for want of

funds.

• The country’s last spotted feline died

in Chhattisgarh in 1947.

• Later, the cheetah — which is the

fastest land animal — was declared

extinct in India in 1952.

Related information

Nauradehi sanctuary

• It is the largest wildlife sanctuary

of Madhya Pradesh state in India.

• It is a potential site for the Cheetah

Reintroduction in India.

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• The protected area sits astride two

major river basins of India, namely

the Narmada, flowing west to

the Arabian Sea and the Ganges,

flowing east to the Bay of Bengal.

• 3/4th of the wildlife sanctuary falls in

the basin of Ganges tributary,

the Yamuna River, of which the Ken

River is a tributary.

• 1/4th of the sanctuary falls in the

Narmada basin.

• The north-flowing Kopra River,

Bamner River, Vyarma River and

Bearma River, which are tributaries of

the Ken River, are the major rivers of

this protected area.

• The forest is spread over the southern

area of the Vindhya Range of hills in

which the Bandhavgarh National

Park and Panna National Park are also

located.

National Tiger Conservation Authority

(NTCA)

• The National Tiger Conservation

Authority is a statutory body.

• Under the Ministry of Environment,

Forests and Climate Change.

• Constituted under the Wildlife

(Protection) Act, 1972.

• Amended in 2006, for strengthening

tiger conservation, as per powers and

functions assigned to it under the Act.

Topic-GS- 3- Conservation

Source- The Hindu

29.08.2018

1. Trump Reaches Revised Trade Deal

With Mexico, Threatening to Leave Out

Canada

Related Information

North American Free Trade Agreement

• The North American Free Trade

Agreement (NAFTA) is an agreement

signed by Canada, Mexico, and the

United States, creating a trilateral

trade bloc in North America.

• The agreement came into force on

January 1, 1994.

• It superseded the Canada–United

States Free Trade Agreement

between the U.S. and Canada.

• NAFTA has two supplements:

1. The North American Agreement

on Environmental Cooperation

(NAAEC)

2. The North American Agreement

on Labor Cooperation (NAALC).

Topic-GS-2- Important international

institutions

Source- BBC

2. Myanmar genocide report

• The report prepared by the UN Human

Rights Council (UNHRC)-appointed

Independent International Fact-

Finding Mission on Myanmar.

• Myanmar rejects UN accusation of

'genocide' against Rohingya.

• It has also rejected the UN report for

top Burmese military figures to be

investigated for genocide against the

Rohingya Muslim minority.

Key Highlights

• The United Nations has charged

Myanmar of “genocidal intent”, the

strongest condemnation from the

international community so far.

• The UN report has charged Myanmar’s

top military brass of the “gravest

crimes”.

• It blamed the country’s de facto

leader Aung San Suu Kyi for failing to

use her “moral authority” to protect

civilians.

• The report also suggests setting up an

ad hoc tribunal to try suspects or refer

them to the International Criminal

Court in The Hague.

• Impose an arms embargo on

Myanmar and subject its officials to

targeted sanctions and travel bans.

Related information

United Nations Human Rights Council

(UNHRC)

• The United Nations Human Rights

Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations

body whose mission is to promote and

protect human rights around the

world.

• Established by the UN General

Assembly on March 15, 2006.

• The headquarters is in Geneva,

Switzerland.

Topic-GS-1- Social Empowerment

Source- Money Control

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3. ISRO to send first Indian into Space

by 2022 as announced by PM

• The programme will make India the

fourth nation in the world to launch a

Human Spaceflight Mission.

• So far, only the USA, Russia and China have launched human spaceflight missions.

• The total programme is expected to

be completed before 2022 with the

first unmanned flight within 30

months.

• The mission will aim to send a three-

member crew to space for a period of

five to seven days.

• The spacecraft will be placed in a low

earth orbit of 300-400km.

Related Information

Mission Gangayaan

• Gangayan is the third biggest space

mission after Chandrayan and

Mangalayaan.

• It will be sending one Indian to the

Moon by 2022.

• GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle will be

used to launch Gaganyaan.

Chandrayaan-2

• Chandrayaan-2 is scheduled to be

launched in January 2019.

• The Mission will have an orbiter

weighing 2379 kg.

• Lander named Vikram weighing 1471

kg and a rover weighing 27 kg.

Topic-GS- 3- Awareness of Space

Source-PIB

4. Heritage and North East Circuits of

Swadesh Dashan Scheme

• The Ministry of Tourism has

sanctioned two new projects under

Heritage and North East Circuits of

Swadesh Dashan Scheme in Punjab

and Tripura.

NOTE-

• Under Heritage Circuit in the state of

Punjab, the project covers sites of

Anandpur Sahib – Fatehgarh Sahib –

Chamkaur Sahib – Ferozpur –

Amritsar – Khatkar Kalan – Kalanour

– Patiala.

• Under North East Circuit in Tripura,

the sites of Surma Cherra- Unakoti-

Jampui Hills- Gunabati-

Bhunaneshwari- Matabari-

Neermahal- Boxanagar- Chotta khola-

Pilak- Avangchaarra.

Related Information

Swadesh Darshan Scheme

• Ministry of Tourism (MoT) launched

the Swadesh Darshan Scheme in

2014-15.

• It is 100% central sector scheme.

• The objective to develop integrated

theme-based tourist circuits in the

country.

• The project covers two sites both in

Manipur–

1. Kangla Fort

2. Khongjom

NOTE-

• In the first project under Swadesh

Darshan Scheme, North East Circuit-

Imphal and Khongjom were

inaugurated in Manipur.

Tourist Circuit

• Tourist Circuit is defined as a route

having at least three major tourist

destinations which are distinct and

apart.

• Circuits should have well-defined

entry and exit points.

Topic-GS- 3- Infrastructure

Source-PIB

5. Centre and the World Bank sign 300

million dollar loan agreements for India

Energy Efficiency Scale up Programme

• The Central government and the

World Bank have signed 300 million

dollar loan agreements for India

Energy Efficiency Scale up

Programme.

• They signed 220 million dollar Loan

Agreement and an 80 million

Guarantee Agreement for the

Efficiency Scale-Up Program.

• The loan will be provided to EESL by

International Bank for Reconstruction

and Development (IBRD).

• It will have a maturity period of 19

years and the 5-year grace period.

Related Information

Energy efficient programs

• The Program will be implemented by

the Energy Efficiency Services Limited

(EESL).

• It will help scale-up the deployment of

energy saving measures in residential

and public sectors, strengthen EESL’s

institutional capacity, and enhance its

access to commercial financing.

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• 219 million LED bulbs and tube lights,

5.8 million ceiling fans, and 7.2 million

street lights, will be supplied under

EESL.

Topic-GS-2-Government interventions in

various sectors.

Source- AIR

6. First SAARC Agri Cooperative

Business Forum begins in Kathmandu

• The First South Asian Association for

Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Agri

Cooperative Business Forum began in

Kathmandu.

• The theme of three-day Forum is the

'Organizing and Strengthening Family

Farmers’ Cooperatives to attain the

Sustainable-Development-Goals-1

and 2 in South Asia'.

• It is being co-organized by the Food

and Agriculture Organization of

the United Nations and Asian

Farmers’ Association with the

support from the International

Fund for Agricultural

Development.

Related Information

Food and Agriculture Organization

• The Food and Agriculture

Organization (FAO) is a specialized

agency of the United Nations that

leads international efforts to defeat

hunger.

• Formed on 16th October 1945.

• Headquarters in Rome, Italy.

• Serving both developed

and developing countries, FAO acts as

a neutral forum.

• The FAO has 197 member states,

including the European Union(a

"member organization"),

Niue and The Cook Islands (States

in free-association with New

Zealand), and the Faroe Islands and

Tokelau, which are associate

members.

SAARC

• The South Asian Association for

Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the

regional intergovernmental

organization and geopolitical union of

nations in South Asia.

• Its member states (8 countries)

include Afghanistan, Bangladesh,

Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives,

Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

• SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8th

December 1985.

• Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu,

Nepal.

• Amjad Hussain B Sial is the current

Secretary General of SAARC.

Topic-GS-2-Bilateral relations

Source- AIR

7. India, EU to develop new influenza

research programme named Horizon

2020

• The Indian government and the

European Union (EU), on Tuesday,

joined hands for Rs 240 crore

research programme to develop a

"Next

Generation Influenza Vaccine" to

protect citizens worldwide.

• The EU and the Indian government's

Department of Biotechnology

(DBT), have also committed €15

million each to fund this joint call for

the program named "Horizon 2020".

• The projects require a minimum of

three applicants from Europe (three

different EU member states) or

countries associated to the EU

programme Horizon 20202) and the

minimum of three applicants from

India.

• The projects are also 'Open to the

World' and thus applicants from other

countries can join the EU-India

consortia.

Related information

Influenza

• Influenza, commonly known as "the

flu", is an infectious disease caused by

an influenza virus.

• The virus is spread through the air.

Topic-GS-2- Issues relating to health

Source- Business Standards

8. Namami Gange: PM-led body fails to

meet even once

• The National Ganga Council (NGC),

has never met since it was constituted

in October 2016.

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Related information

National Ganga River Basin Authority

(NGRBA)

• The NGRBA was formed in 2009

• Headed by Prime Minister.

• National Ganga River Basin Authority

(NGRBA) is a financing, planning,

implementing, monitoring and

coordinating authority for the Ganges.

• In 2014, the NGRBA has been

transferred from the Ministry of

Environment and Forests to the

Ministry of Water Resources, River

Development & Ganga Rejuvenation,

formerly Ministry of Water Resources

(India).

• Union government in 2016 took

decision for formation of a new body

named "National Council for River

Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and

Management)".

Topic-GS-3- Conservation

Source- Down to Earth

9. Odisha approves the proposal for the

legislative council

• Earlier, the state government had set

up a committee in 2015 to study the

legislative councils in other states and

recommend for one in Odisha.

• The committee led by transport

minister Nrushingha Charan Sahu had

submitted its report to the chief

minister recommending the formation

of the legislative council in Odisha.

• The proposed legislative council will

have 49 members.

• The members of the proposed council

will get salary and allowance as given

to the members of the Legislative

Assembly.

Related Information

Vidhan Parishad or Legislative Council

• The Vidhan Parishad or Legislative

Council is the upper house in those

states of India that have a bicameral

legislature.

• As of 2017, seven (7) (out of twenty-

nine) states have a Legislative

Council.

• The 7 states are:-

(i) Andhra Pradesh

(ii) Bihar

(iii) Jammu and Kashmir

(iv) Karnataka

(v) Maharashtra

(vi) Telangana

(vii) Uttar Pradesh

• Telangana and Andhra were together

till 2013. So they had a single

legislative council.

• Further, Parliament has also cleared

formation of Legislative Council

Rajasthan and Assam.

Topic-GS-2- Separation of powers

between various organs

Source- The Hindu

30.08.2018

1. Cabinet approves Umbrella scheme

“Ocean Services, Technology,

Observations, Resources Modelling and

Science (O-SMART)” of Ministry of Earth

Sciences

• The Cabinet today approved a scheme

aimed at stepping up ocean research

and setting up early warning weather

systems.

Related Information

'Ocean Services, Technology,

Observations, Resources Modelling and

Science (O-SMART)' scheme

• O-SMART scheme encompasses 16

sub-projects related to ocean

development activities and science for

implementation during 2017-18 and

2019-20.

Key Highlights

• The important deliverables envisaged

in the next two years include

strengthening of ocean observations,

modelling, ocean services for

fishermen, setting up marine coastal

observatories for tracking marine

pollution in 2018, setting up Ocean

Thermal Energy Conversion

Plant (OTEC) in Kavaratti in

Lakshadweep.

• The services rendered will provide

economic benefits to a number of user

communities in the coastal and ocean

sectors, namely, fisheries, offshore

industry, coastal states, Defence,

Shipping, Ports etc.

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• The scheme also includes the

acquisition of two coastal research

vessels, the continuation of ocean

survey and exploration of minerals

and living resources, technology

development for deep ocean mining-

and setting up six desalination Plants

in Lakshadweep

• It will help in reducing the search time

for fishermen resulting in savings in

the fuel cost.

• This scheme also provides necessary

scientific and technological

background required for

implementation of various aspects of

Blue Economy.

• The State of Art Early Warning

Systems established under the O-

SMART Scheme will help in effectively

dealing with ocean disasters like

Tsunami, storm surges.

• The technologies being developed

under this Scheme will help in

harnessing the vast ocean resources

of both living and non-living resources

from the seas around India.

Topic-GS- 1- Disaster

Source-PIB

2. Trade Ministers of 16-member Regional

Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) bloc to meet today in Singapore Related information

Regional Comprehensive Economic

Partnership (RCEP)

• RCEP is a mega trade pact, which proposes free trade agreement between 10 ASEAN and 6 FTA partners.

• It aims to cover goods, services,

investments, economic and technical

cooperation, competition and

intellectual property rights.

• RCEP is the world's largest economic

bloc, covering nearly half of the global

economy.

• RCEP negotiations were formally

launched in November 2012 at the

ASEAN Summit in Cambodia.

• The bloc comprises 10 ASEAN

members, Brunei, Cambodia,

Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar,

Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines,

Laos and Vietnam and their six FTA

partners India, China, Japan, South

Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

NOTE-

The first RCEP summit was held on

14th November 2017 in Manila, Philippines.

Topic-GS- 2- Important international

institutions

Source- AIR

3. Assam govt extends Armed Forces

(Special Powers) Act for another 6

months

The AFSPA was clamped in Assam in 1990.

What does the AFSPA mean?

• In simple terms, AFSPA gives armed

forces the power to maintain public

order in “disturbed areas”.

• They have the authority to prohibit a

gathering of five or more persons in

an area, can use force or even open

fire after giving due warning if they

feel a person is in contravention of the

law.

• If reasonable suspicion exists, the

army can also arrest a person without

a warrant; enter or search a premise

without a warrant; and ban the

possession of firearms.

What is a “disturbed area” and who has

the power to declare it?

• An area can be disturbed due to

differences or disputes between

members of different religious, racial,

language or regional groups or castes

or communities.

• The Central Government or the

Governor of the State or administrator

of the Union Territory can declare the

whole or part of the State or Union

Territory as a disturbed area.

• The Ministry of Home Affairs would

usually enforce this Act where

necessary, but there have been

exceptions where the Centre decided

to forego its power and leave the

decision to the State governments.

What’s the origin of AFSPA?

• The Act came into force in the context

of increasing violence in the

Northeastern States decades ago,

which the State governments found

difficult to control.

• The Armed Forces (Special Powers)

Bill was passed and it became known

as the Armed Forces Special Powers

Act, 1958.

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Which States are, or had come under

this Act?

• It is effective in the whole of

Nagaland, Assam, Manipur (excluding

seven assembly constituencies of

Imphal) and parts of Arunachal

Pradesh.

• At present, May 2018, AFSPA is

confined to the following 4 states:

1. Jammu & Kashmir.

2. Assam.

3. Nagaland.

4. Manipur (except Imphal Municipal

Area)

• The Centre revoked it in:

i. Meghalaya.

ii. In a 20 km area along the Assam-

Meghalaya border.

iii. Arunachal Pradesh, in Tirap,

Longding and Changlang districts

bordering Assam.

iv. Tripura.

Topic-GS-3- Internal security

Source- AIR

4. ISRO to outsource production of Polar

Satellite Launch Vehicle and Small

Satellite Launch Vehicles to private

Industries.

• With ISRO’s hands full as it wants to

have 22 launches in a year and is also

working on Chandrayaan 2 apart from

carrying out the onerous task of

sending Indian astronaut to space by

2022.

Related information

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)

• Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)

is the third generation launch vehicle

of India.

• It is the first Indian launch vehicle to

be equipped with liquid stages.

• It is an expendable launch system

developed and operated by the Indian

Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

• It is a Medium-lift launch vehicle.

• PSLV can also launch small size

satellites into geostationary transfer

orbit (GTO).

• Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle was

developed to launch Low Earth Orbit

satellites into Polar and Sun

Synchronous Orbits.

• After its first successful launch in

October 1994, PSLV emerged as the

reliable and versatile workhorse

launch vehicle of India.

NOTE-

• The vehicle successfully launched two

spacecraft – Chandrayaan-1 in 2008

and Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in 2013 –

that later travelled to Moon and Mars

respectively.

Topic-GS-3- Science and Technology

Source- Air

5. Union HRD Minister launches the 3rd

edition of World’s Biggest Open

Innovation Model - ‘Smart India

Hackathon- 2019’.

• The third edition of World’s Biggest

Open Innovation Model - Smart India

Hackathon 2019 was launched in New

Delhi.

• Ministry of Human Resources and

Development, All India Council for

Technical Education (AICTE), Persistent

Systems and i4c have joined hands to

make a hat trick with their highly

popular and innovative Smart India

Hackathon initiative (SIH).

• For the 1st time, Private

industry/organisations and NGOs can

also send their problem statements to

students under SIH-2019.

Related Information

Smart Hackathon'

• Smart Hackathon is a national

competition for students to develop

digital solutions for real-life problems.

• Smart India Hackathon, a unique

initiative to identify new and

disruptive digital technology

innovations for solving the challenges

faced by our country.

• The Smart India Hackathon was

Launched on October 16, 2017, in

Pune.

Topic-GS-2- Government interventions

in various sectors.

Source-PIB

6. Health Ministry asks States to ban e-

cigarettes.

• The Health Ministry has instructed all

the States that e-cigarettes and other

Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems

(ENDS) should not be sold under their

jurisdiction.

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• Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala, Mizoram,

Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh

and Bihar have already prohibited the

use of e-cigarettes, heat-not-burn

devices, E-Shisha and e-nicotine-

flavoured hookahs, and have

prohibited the manufacture, import,

sale and distribution of ENDS.

• Thirty countries including Australia,

Singapore and Sri Lanka have already

brought in such bans.

Related information

ENDS

• ENDS are noncombustible tobacco

products.

• These products use a liquid “e-liquid”

that may contain nicotine, as well as

varying compositions of flavourings,

propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin,

and other ingredients.

• The liquid is heated into an aerosol

that the user inhales.

• ENDS may be manufactured to look

like conventional cigarettes, cigars, or

pipes.

• Some resemble pens or other

everyday items.

• Larger devices, such as tank systems

or mods, bear little or no resemblance

to cigarettes.

• Vapes, vaporizers, vape pens, hookah

pens, electronic cigarettes (e-

cigarettes or e-cigs), and e-pipes are

some of the many terms used to

describe electronic nicotine delivery

systems (ENDS).

Topic-GS-2-Issues relating to health

Source- The Hindu

7. New committee formed to advise PM

on science, tech-related policy issues.

• Named as PM-STIAC (Science,

Technology, Innovation Advisory

Committee), is a 21-member

committee.

• It will be chaired by K Vijay Raghavan,

Principal Scientific Advisor to the

Government.

• The committee will advise the Prime

Minister on all matters related to S&T,

innovation and monitor the

implementation of PM’s vision on the

same.

• It will facilitate:

1. Formulation and implementation of

policies and decisions

2. Provide action-oriented and future

preparedness

3. Advise and assist in directing S&T to

solve the socio-economic problems in

the country.

4. Focus on driving innovation in

education, research, industry etc.

NOTE

• PM-STIAC will effectively supersede

the Scientific Advisory Committee to

the Cabinet (SAC-C) and Science

Advisory Council to the Prime Minister

(SAC-PM), which will now stand

dissolved.

Topic-GS-2- Various Bodies

Source- The Hindu

8. NASA’s Spitzer telescope completes

15 years in space.

Related Information

Spitzer telescope

• The Spitzer Space Telescope (SST),

formerly the Space Infrared

Telescope Facility (SIRTF), is an

infrared space telescope.

• Launched into a solar orbit in 2003,

and still operating as of 2018.

• It is the fourth and final of the NASA

Great Observatories program.

• The planned mission period was to be

2.5 years with a pre-launch

expectation that the mission could

extend to five or slightly more years

until the onboard liquid helium supply

was exhausted

• Spitzer has illuminated some of the

oldest galaxies in the universe,

revealed a new ring around Saturn,

and peered through shrouds of dust to

study newborn stars and black holes.

• It assisted in the discovery of planets

beyond our solar system, including

the detection of seven Earth-size

planets orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1,

among other accomplishments.

• Spitzer has logged over 106,000

hours of observation time in the past

15 years.

Topic-GS-3- Awareness in Space

Source- The Hindu

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31.08.2018

1. PM to launch India Post Payments

Bank

• The Prime Minister will launch the

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) at

Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi on

September 1st, 2018.

• Under the Department of Posts with

100%, GOI equity and is governed by

the Reserve Bank of India.

Related information

Payments banks

• Conceptualized by the Reserve Bank

of India (RBI).

• These banks can accept a restricted

deposit (which is currently limited to

₹1 lakh per customer)

• These banks cannot issue loans and

credit cards.

• Both current account and savings

accounts can be operated by such

banks.

• Payments banks can issue services

like ATM cards, debit cards, net-

banking and mobile-banking.

NOTE-

Bharti Airtel set up India's first live payments

bank.

Topic-GS-3- Banking

Source-AIR

2. National Scheduled Caste and

Scheduled Tribe Hub (National SC-ST

Hub)

• The National SC/ST Hub is an

initiative of the Government of India

targeted towards developing a

supportive ecosystem towards SC/ST

entrepreneurs.

• Under the Ministry of Micro, Small and

Medium Enterprise(MSME).

• It was launched in 2016 in Ludhiana.

• The Hub operates out of the National

Small Industries Corporation (NSIC)

headquartered in Delhi, supported by

a special cell created for this purpose.

Topic-GS-1-Social Empowerment

Source-PIB

3. Project Navlekha

• Google has launched Project Navlekha

to expand the reach of Indian content.

• The project would allow Indian

vernacular news publishers to get

their content online.

• Currently, the project has publishers

from Delhi and its reach would soon

be expanded across India.

• It helps to make offline content easily

and fully editable and publish online

without expert digital knowledge.

• Navlekha aims to bring 135,000 local

language publishers online.

Topic-GS-3- Role of media and social

networking sites

Source- The Hindu

4. Vostok-2018

• Vostok 2018 is a large-scale

upcoming Russian military exercise.

• To be held from 11 to 15 September

2018.

• The exercise will have more than

300,000 troops, 36,000 tanks,

armoured personnel carriers,

armoured infantry vehicles, over

1,000 military aircraft, two naval

fleets participating.

• It will be held throughout

Siberia and the country's the Far

East.

• The exercise will involve units from

the Army, Air Force and Navy.

• The exercise will be the largest to be

held in Russia since "Zapad-81" held

by the Soviet Union in 1981.

• China and Mongolia are planning to

participate in Vostok 2018.

Topic-GS-3-Internal Security

Source- BBC

5. National Mission on GeM

• National Mission on Government e

Marketplace (GeM) will be launched

on 5th September 2018.

• To accelerate the adoption and use of

GeM by major central Ministries, State

Governments and their agencies.

• The aim of the National Mission is to

promote inclusiveness, transparency

and efficiency in public procurement

and achieve cashless, contactless and

paperless transaction.

• This will increase overall efficiency and lead to cost saving on government expenditure in procurement.

Related information

Government e-Marketplace

• Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is

the National Public Procurement

Portal.

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• The GeM platform provides online, the end to end solution for procurement of

commonly used goods and services for

all Central Government Departments

and State Governments. Public Sector

Units and affiliated bodies.

• The GeM was started on 26th of

August 2018.

Topic-GS-2- Government interventions

Source-PIB

6. Law Commission favours One Nation,

One poll proposal, recommends changes

in Constitution & electoral laws

Key highlights of the report:

• The 'draft' report submitted to the

Law Ministry recommended “holding

of simultaneous elections to House of

the People (Lok Sabha) and the State

Legislative Assemblies (except the

State of Jammu and Kashmir).”

• The Commission said holding

simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha

and state assemblies is a solution to

prevent the country from being in

constant election mode.

• It has recommended changes in the

Constitution and the electoral law to

hold the simultaneous polls.

• It will save public money, help reduce

the burden on administrative setup

and security forces.

• It also added that if simultaneous

polls are held, the administrative

machinery of the country will be

continuously be engaged in

developmental activities, rather than

in electioneering.

• The panel, however, cautioned that

holding simultaneous elections is not

possible within the existing

framework of the Constitution.

Related Information

Law Commission

• Law Commission of India is neither a

constitutional body nor a statutory

body.

• It is truly an ad hoc and advisory body whose work is to do research and make recommendations for law reforms.

• None of these recommendations is

binding upon the Government.

• Retired judge of Supreme Court heads

India’s Law Commission.

• The First Law Commission was

established in 1834 by the British

Government under the Chairmanship

of Lord Macaulay.

Topic-GS-2- Statutory bodies

Source- AIR

7. Global Mobility Summit: Move

• MOVE is a global mobility summit.

• The first of its kind in the country.

• Being organised by the Niti Aayog and

other stakeholder ministries,

including the ministry of road

transport and highways.

Topic-GS-3- Infrastructure

Source-AIR

8. Tiny crystals may lead to more

powerful digital devices

• Scientists have developed a tiny

electrical circuit that may lead to new

digital devices with increasing

amounts of computational power

packed into a smaller space.

• The electrical circuit created by

researchers at Curtin University in

Australia is made from crystals of

copper that are grown and electrically

wired at the nanoscale.

• The researchers used a single

nanoparticle to create an ensemble of

different diodes - a basic electronic

component of most modern electronic

devices, which functions by directing

the flow of electric currents.

Topic-GS-3-Science and Technology

Source- AIR

9. India, ADB sign $346 Million loan

agreement to improve State highways in

Karnataka

Related information

Asian Development Bank

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is

a regional development bank.

• Established on the 19th of December

1966.

• Headquartered in the Ortigas Center

located in the city of Mandaluyong,

Metro Manila, Philippines.

• It has 67 members.

• ADB is an official United Nations

Observer.

Topic-GS-2- Important International

Institutions

Source- AIR

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