Post on 09-Jan-2020
. NEWS BULLETIN―30Week-1, Aug 2019
NATIONAL
The Government
of India has launched
the pilot of One
Nation One Ration
Card Scheme. ―The pilot was
operationalised from
August 1, 2019.
―The pilot was
launched in four
states of Telangana,
Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
―Some states such as Telangana already allow ration card
holders to buy subsidised ration from any fair price Shop in the
state. One Nation One Ration Card Scheme will allow the
ration card holder to buy subsidised ration from any fair price
shop in the country.
―For availing this service, the beneficiary will have to get his
ration card linked with the Aadhaar Card.
―Ration cards are used by government to provide subsidised
ration and food grains to the financially disadvantageous
sections of the society.
―Government is planning to extend this scheme pan India
from August 2020.
The Government of
India has released the All
India Tiger Estimation
Report 2018.
According to the report:
―Currently, India has
2,967 tigers.
―Between 2014 and
2017 the number of tigers has increased by more than 33
percent.Madhya Pradesh (526 tigers) has the highest number of
tigers in India. ―Madhya Pradesh is closely followed by
Karnataka with 524 tigers.
―Karnataka is followed by Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and
Tamil Nadu with 442, 312 and 264 tigers respectively.
―All the states of India, except Chhattisgarh and Mizoran,
saw growth in tiger population.
―Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh has the highest
number of tigers in India.Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in
Tamil Nadu saw the highest increase in the tiger population.
―This is the fourth estimates of tigers or tiger census
conducted in India since 2006.The tiger census was conducted
over a period of 15 months and it covered an area of 3,81,400
sq-km.
The Government of India has released the 4th cycle of the
Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger Reserves (MEETR) report.
―This report evaluated 50 tiger sanctuaries in India.According
to the report, the Pench sanctuary (MP) and Periyar sanctuary
(Kerala) are the best managed tiger reserves of
India.According to the report,Dampa Reserve (Mizoram) and
Rajaji reserve (Uttarakhand) are the two worst managed tiger
reserves in India.
Body of VG Siddhartha, the founder of the Café Coffee
Day chain, has been found on the banks of the river
Nethravathi.
―There were no visible injury marks on the body.
―According to the post mortem, the cause of death is
drowning.
―It is suspected that Siddhartha
committed suicide by jumping off
the bridge into the river.
―Two days before the finding of
the body, Siddhartha had written a
letter claiming frustration with the
financial turbulence.
―He asked his personal secretary
to disseminate the letter to the
staff members of Coffee Café Day
and then he disappeared.
Law The Government of India has taken a decision to increase
the number of judges in Supreme Court by 10 percent.
―This increase will bring the number of judges in the
Supreme Court from 31 to 34 (including the Chief Justice of
India).
―A bill for amending the Supreme Court (Number of
Judges) Act, 1956 for the same will be introduced in the
Parliament.
―The increase in the number of Supreme Court justices was
requested by the Chief Justice of India RanjanGogoi in a
letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
―According to the data given by the government in the Rajya
Sabha, there are more than 11,59,000 cases pending in
Supreme Court.
―The number of judges of the Supreme Court are fixed by the
provisions of the Article 124 (1) of the Constitution of India.
The number can be modified by an Act of the Parliament.
―The Parliament has enacted Supreme Court (Number of
Judges) Act, 1956 for fixing the number.
―The number of judges in the Supreme Court was last
changed in 2009.
Parliament has cleared the Companies (Amendment) Bill,
2019.
―The Bill amends the Companies Act 2013.
―The Bill have been passed for ensuring greater
accountability and better enforcement of corporate governance
norms.
―Under the new rules the companies will have to keep the
unspent money for CSR activities in a separate account for the
same.
―The companies will have to spend money of CSR proposal
within three years of clearance of the proposal.
―The money left unspent after a period of three years will be
moved to escrow account.
―Registrar of Companies have been impowered to remove
the name of the companies – which are not following Company
law – from the Register of Companies.
All copyrights to this material vests with IMS Learning Resources Pvt Ltd. No part of this material either in part or as a whole shall be copied,
reprinted, reproduced, sold, distributed or transmitted in any form in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature without the permission of IMS Learning Resources Pvt Ltd., and any
such violation would entail initiation of suitable legal proceedings.
VG Siddhartha, founder of Cafe Coffee Day (CCD)
―The power to convert public companies into private
companies will now rest with the Central Government. ―This
power was previously with the National Companies Law
Tribunal.
Parliament has cleared the Muslim Women (Protection of
Rights on Marriage) Bill 2019.
―The Bill also known as Triple Talaq Bill will replace the
Ordinance in force for the same.
―The Bill declares practice of triple talaq or ‘talaq-e-biddat’
void and illegal.
―The Bill has made the practice of instant triple talaq a
cognizable penal offence.
―The husbands using triple talaq can face punishment of up to
3 years along with fine.
―The Magistrate cannot grant bail to the accused without
hearing the Muslim woman on whom talaq is pronounced.
―The magistrate can also set a subsistence allowance for
married woman against whom talaq is pronounced and the
dependent children of the women.
The Supreme Court has observed that there were not valid
reasons for it to enter into the issue of disqualification of
MLAs for defection when the tenth schedule of the
Constitution gave this power to the Speakers of the Assembly.
―This observation was made while hearing an appeal filed by
DMK leader R Sakkarapani challenging the April 2018
Madras High Court verdict dismissing his plea seeking
disqualification of 11 AIADMK MLAs.
―The pleader claimed that the Court should decide the issue if
the Speaker was not deciding it.
STATES
Registrar of Geographic
Indication has granted
Geographical Indication
(GI) tag to Rasagola of
Odisha.
―Odisha Rasagola was
granted the GI tag under
Section 16(I)/ Section
17(3)(c) of the
Geographical Indication of
Goods (Registration and Protection) Act 1999.
―The registration of GI tag has been done in favour of Odisha
Government undertaking Odisha Small Industries
Corporation Ltd. (OSIC Ltd.) and the trader’s organisation
UtkalMistannaByabasayeeSamiti.This is the second GI tag
received by Odisha. The first GI tag was for
KandhamalHaldi.
―Odisha and West Bengal have been fighting over the origin
of rasagola for many years now.In 2017 Bengal was able to
claim GI tag for BanglarRasogolla.GI tag recognises that a
particular product is distinctive to a particular
locality/region/country.
―GI tag also confers certain legal rights to the entities in
whose favour GI tag is registered. The application submitted to
the registrar of GI claims that Odisha Rasagola:
―Is made of cottage cheese and sugar syrup.
―Can be easily swallowed without any pressure from teeth.
―Comes in different colours. Most of the colours are achieved
based on caramelisation of sugar and changes in the methods
of preparation. External artificial colours are rarely used.
―The first reference to rasagola has been found in the 15th
century, Odia (Dandi) Ramayana written by Balaram Das.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has launched
the ‘DidiKe Bolo’ (tell your sister) campaign.
―The campaign allows the people of the state to take their
issues to the Chief Minister.
― People can use at or website www.didikaybolo.com for
contacting the Chief Minister.
―A special IT team has been set up for monitoring the
platform. The complaints lodged by the people will be sent to
the Chief Minister.
―Chief Minister will personally respond to complainants
through social media or text and voice messages.
Death toll in Bihar floods has crossed 130.
―The death toll in Assam floodshas crossed 86.
―According to the Assam State Disaster Management
Authority, 864 villages of 13 districts are affected by floods.
―In Assam more than 30,000 individuals are living in more
than 400 relief camps.
―The flood situation in Assam is improving with receding of
water. But the water level in the rivers is still above the danger
level.
―The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has
forecasted increased rain activity in the states of Punjab,
Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and west Uttar Pradesh.
ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
The proposal for fixation of Nutrient Based Subsidy
Rates for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) Fertilizers for
2019-20 has been cleared by the Government.
―The decision on this was taken by the Cabinet Committee
on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
―This decision of the government will cost tax payers Rs
22875.50 crore.
―The Government of India is currently giving subsidy on urea
and different grades of P&K fertilizers.
―The P&K fertilizers subsidies are provided to manufacturers
and importers of these fertilisers under the Nutrient Based
Subsidy (NBS) Scheme.
―The subsidy amount under the NBS Scheme is announced
annually based on the nutrient content of the fertilisers.
―The NBS Scheme was started in 2010.
Urea is the only controlled fertilizer in India i.e. urea is the
only fertilizer whose sale price is decided directly by the
government of India.
Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has amended the
Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Board of India (Insolvency
Professionals) Regulations,
2016 for changing the
regulations related to the
insolvency professionals
(IPs).
―Insolvency Professionals
cannot take up assignments without the assignment
authorisation.
―Assignment authorisations will be issued by concerned
insolvency professional agency.
―Insolvency Professionals cannot take up employment while
they are in possession of authorisation to take up work under
the insolvency code.
―The authorisation is mandatory for individuals acting as an
interim resolution professional, (or resolution professional),
bankruptcy trustee, liquidator, authorised representative or in
any other role under Insolvency and bankruptcy Code (IBC),
2016.
―The revised norms also bar Insolvency Professionals and
their relatives from accepting employment with successful
Odisha Rasagula
resolution applicant after the completion of the resolution
process (for one year).
―The new regulations bar Insolvency Professionals from
using relatives or related parties for work in connection to any
of his or her assignments.
―The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India is a statutory
body deriving its powers from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Code (IBC).
―The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India was formed
by the Government of India on 1st October 2016.
―IBBI is responsible for regulating and dealing with the bad
loan cases, insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings.
―IBBI is the governing body for Insolvency Resolution
Professionals (IRP), Insolvency Professional Agencies (IPA)
and Information Utilities (IU).
DEFENCE & SECURITY
Indian Air Force (IAF) has launched a new mobile game
‘Indian Air Force: A cut above’.
―This is a 3D air combat mobile game.
―The game is aimed at increasing awareness about the IAF
and at encouraging youth to join IAF.
―The game is available on Android and iOS platforms.
―The game has been developed by Threye Interactive.
―This is the second video game launched by the Indian Air
Force. The first game – Guardians of the Skies – was
launched in 2014.
―The game was launched by Air Chief Marshal B. S.
Dhanoa at National Bal Bhawan, New Delhi.
India has entered into Rs 1,500 crore deal with Russia for
purchase of R-27 air-to-air missiles.
―India will use R-27 missiles on Su-30MKI fighter jets.
―R-27 are medium to long range air to air missiles developed
by Russia for MiG and Sukhoi fighter jets.
―Induction of these missiles will provide Sukhoi fighters the
ability to engage in long range battles.
―The purchase deal has been made under 10-I projects of the
government.
―Under the 10-I projects Indian Army, Indian Navy and the
Indian Air Force has to maintain critical weapon systems along
with enough spares for a minimum period known as War
Wastage Reserve.
―Indian Air Force has entered into purchase deals worth Rs
7.600 crore in the last two months alone.
―These purchase deals have been cleared under emergency
requirements provisions.
Indian Navy has commissioned Landing Craft Utility
(LCU) L56.
―L-56 belongs to Landing Craft Utility MK IV class.
―L-56 will be used for transportation and deployment of
Armoured Vehicles, Main Battle Tanks, Troops and
Equipment from ship to shore.
―L-56 has a displacement of 900 tonnes.
―L-56 is 62 metres in length.
―L-56 has two MTU diesel engines.
―L-56 is capable of attaining speeds in excess of 15 knots.
―L-56 has two 30 mm CRN-91 guns.
―The Indian Navy has decided to base L-56 in Port Blair
under the Naval Component Commander (NAVCC) in
Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC).
―With the construction of L-56, Garden Reach Shipbuilders
and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata has become the first
shipyard in India to build 100 warships.
Indian Air Force has
received the first batch of
Boeing AH-64E Apache
Guardian Attack
helicopters.
―The first batch of 4
helicopters was received at the
Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s)
Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad,
Uttar Pradesh.
―These 4 helicopters along
with 4 helicopters of batch 2 (to be received shortly) will be
formally inducted into the Indian Air Force in September 2019.
―Apache Guardian Attack helicopters are one of the most
advanced Multi-Role Combat Helicopters in the world today.
―Apache Guardian Attack helicopters are used by many
international defence forces including US Army.
―India is the 14th
Country in the world to purchase Apache
helicopters.
POLICY AND GOVT. INITIATIVES
The 30th
interaction through Pro-Active Governance and
Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) was recently concluded.
Issues discussed in this interaction included:-
--Progress in resolution of grievances under Pradhan
MantriAawasYojana-Urban (PMAY-U)
--Government’s objective of providing Housing for All by
2022.
--Progress of the Ayushmann Bharat scheme.
--Progress of the Saugamya Bharat Abhiyan
--Progress of 8 important infrastructure projects in Railway and
Road sectors.
―PRAGATI is an integrating, interactive multi-purpose and
multi-modal platform.
―PRAGTI is used by the government of India for addressing
common grievances and for monitoring and reviewing
important programmes and projects of Central and State
Governments.
The Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways is
considering the amendments in the Central Motor Vehicle
Rules for using Microdot Patches.
―Microdot patches are unique identification that is sprayed
on equipment and/or parts.
―The unique identification is made up of microscopic dots.
―Microdots are permanent in nature and invisible.
―Once sprayed, microdots cannot be removed without
damaging the part on which they have been sprayed.
―Reading of the dots require a microscope and their
identification requires ultra violet (UV) light source.
―The microdots will have to comply with AIS (Automotive
Industry Standard) 155 requirements if affixed.
―Use of microdots will help in checking vehicle thefts and
fake spare parts usage.
Inter-Ministerial Panel has cleared a proposal of electric
buses.
―The Panel has sanctioned 5645 electric buses for use in 65
cities, and for inter-city operations in 8 states of India.
Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian Attack Helicopters
―In past Niti Aayog suggested that the sale of non-electric
three-wheelers in India should stop from March 31, 2023.
―Niti Aayog has also suggested that sale of non-electric two
wheelers (capacity of 150 cc or less) should stop in India from
March 31, 2025.
―For boosting adoption of electric vehicles GST Council had
decided to reduce the GST rate on e-vehicles from 12% to 5%.
―Under the provisions of the Union Budget 2019-20, the tax
payers can claim tax deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh on interest
paid by them on loans taken for purchasing electric vehicles.
―The Government of India has also exempted many parts of
electric vehicles from customs duty.
―The Government of India has also allocated Rs 10,000 crore
under Phase II of FAME (Faster Adoption and
Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles) scheme.
―FAME Scheme has been enacted for encouraging faster
adoption of electric vehicles by providing incentives and
charging infrastructure.
.
SPORTS
MC Mary Kom has won a gold medal at the
23rd
President’s Cup by defeating April Franks of Australia 5-
0.
―President Cup 2019 is being hosted by Labuan Bajo,
Indonesia.
―Mary Kom won her 6th
World Championship Title in 2018.
―Mary Kom was the winner of India Open boxing tournament
2019.
―Mary Kom is trying to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo
Olympics. For this she will be participating in the World
Women Boxing Championships 2019 in Yekaterinburg, Russia
from September 7 to September 21.
The Khelo India Youth Games 2020 will be held in
Guwahati, Assam from 18th
January to 30th
January 2020.
―More than 10,000 athletes from across India are expected to
participate in these games.
―Khelo India Youth Games 2020 will be conducted in
partnership with Indian Olympic Association (IOA), School
Games Federation of India (SGFI) & Government of Assam.
―This will be the third edition of the games that were
inaugurated at New Delhi in 2018.
―Khelo India Youth Games 2019 were hosted by Pune,
Maharashtra.
―Khelo India Youth Games are a national level
multidisciplinary games held for school and college students.
―1000 top participants in the games are provided annual
scholarship of Rs 5,00,000 for helping them in preparing for
international sporting events.
―The annual scholarship continues for a period of eight years.
―The Khelo India Games were introduced by Union Ministry
of Sports for reviving the sports culture in India.
INTERNATIONAL
India and United Kingdom have launched the initiative
‘Innovating for Clean Air’ (IfCA) in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
―IfCA is a two year joint initiative that will use satellites and
sensor data for providing air quality measurement system.
―IfCA will help India is transiting to Electric Vehicles.
―IfCA will identify innovations that can help in improving the
air quality.
―IfCA will identify challenges related to infrastructure for
charging electric vehicles.
―IfCA will identify the challenges faced in integrating the
renewable energy and grid management.
―IfCA will facilitate collaboration between Indians and
Britishers for addressing these challenges.
―Innovate UK, IISc, CII, IIT-B, Shell Technology Centre etc.
are some of the organisations partnering in this project.
Sri Lankan Government has exempted Indian tourists from
Visa Fees for tourist visas.
―Till now Sri Lankan Government has exempted citizens of
48 countries from the requirements of paying tourist visa fees. ―Indians will not need to pay tourist visa fees (currently
between USD 20 to USD 40) for 1 month tourism visa.
―Indian tourists have an option of obtaining electronic online
travel authorisation or for applying for visa on arrival.
―The exemption will be valid for a period of six months.
―Tourism is Sri Lanka has suffered serious setbacks in the
aftermath of Easter Sunday attacks.
―Almost 25 percent of the total tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka
are Indians.
―5 percent of Sri Lanka’s GDP come from tourism.
―Tourism is the third largest source of foreign currency
earnings in Sri Lanka.
World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared outbreak
of Ebola in Congo an international emergency.
―The declaration was made after a case of Ebola was
discovered in Goma, Congo.
―All individuals
travelling from
Goma are being
checked for Ebola.
―Congo
Government with
help from
international
community has
tested more than seventy million travellers.
―Goma is a densely populated city in Congo near its border
with Rwanda.
―Ebola has been responsible for more than 1,700 deaths since
August 2018.
―The Government of Congo is asking for more financial
support from the international community to contain Ebola
outbreak.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
The Indian Government has cleared the plan for setting up of
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Technical
Liaison Unit (ITLU) at Moscow, Russia.
―This liaison unit will be responsible for developing
relationships with Russia and neighbouring countries for
encouraging
mutually synergetic outcomes.
―The liaison unit will be under the control of ISRO scientists
or engineer.
―The liaison office will try to gather the required
technological support for the ISRO’s Gaganyaan
programme.
―ISRO already has Technical Liaison units at Washington,
USA and Paris, France.
―The technical liaison office in Washington works with
different government and space agencies in USA.
―The technical liaison office in Paris works with different
government and space agencies in Europe.
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology,
Hyderabad gave developed a Dye-Sensitised Solar Cell
(DSSC).
―DSSC uses cheap magenta-dye known as New Fuschsin.
―DSSC is a cheap, non-toxic, water soluble. But it does not
degrade in presence of water.
―The solar cells in existence today use Silicon.
―Silicon processing is very expensive and it involves
processes that encourages global warming.
NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)
have discovered a new planetary system TOI 270 at a distance
of 73 light years from Earth.
―TOI 270 located in the Pictor constellation has a dwarf star
and three exoplanets named TOI 270b, TOI 270c and TOI
270d.
―This dwarf star has 40 percent less mass and size than Sun.
BASIC GK ASPECTS
Books and Authors
Caste Matters―by SurajYengde
Chandra Shekhar: The Last Icon of Ideological
Politics―by Hativansh and Ravi DuttBajpai
Words From My Window: A Journal ―by Bond Ruskin and
Dan Williams.
A Century is Not Enough―by SouravGanguly and Gautam
Bhattacharya
Kargil: Untold Stories from the War―by Rachna Bisht
Rawat
The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate
Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire Hardcover―by
William Dalrymple
Radical Simplicity Hardcover―by Ken Allen
Awards and Honours
Indian sand artist and Padma
Awardee, SudarsanPattnaik has won
People’s Choice Award at a
prestigious sand sculpting festival in
United States (US).
―2019 Revere Beach International
Sand Sculpting Festival was held at
Boston, United States.
―Sudarsanwas one of the 15 sand
artists who were shortlisted from
across the world to participate in this festival
―Sudarshan’s scripture was themed at combating plastic
pollution in oceans.
―Sudarshan was the only Asian representative at the festival.
―Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival is one of
the largest sand sculpting festivals in the world.
―The festival is hosted by a non-profit organisation Revere
Beach Partnership.
Meryl Streep has been selected for
the TIFF Tribute Actor award 2019.
―The award will be presented to her
during the Toronto International
Film Festival (TIFF) scheduled from
September, 2019.
―Meryl Streep will be the first recipient of TIFF Tribute Actor
Award.
―Meryl is regarded as one of the most talented and versatile
actors of her time.
―Meryl is the most nominated actor for Academy
Awards.Meryl has won Oscars thrice.In her 50 years career
Meryl has portrayed variety of characters.
―Toronto International Film Festival is one of the world’s
largest publicly attended film festivals.Almost 5 lakh people
attend TIFF every year.TIFF was started in 1976
Appointments
Director General of Civil
Aviation Security (DG CAS)
Rakesh Asthana has been given
additional charge of Director
General Narcotics Control
Bureau (DG NCB).
―Asthana will take over the
additional responsibility for a
period of six months or until the
appointment of a new DG NCB.
―The post of DG NCB has been
vacant since July 4, 2019.
―Asthana is 1984-batch IPS (Indian Police Service) officer of
Gujarat cadre
―Asthana was 2nd
in command in Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI). ―He was shifted out of the agency due
to controversies with then CBI head Alok Verma.
―NCB is the nodal intelligence and drug law enforcement
agency of India.
―NCB was established in 1986 and is under the control of
Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
ITBP Director General S
SDeswal has been given additional
responsibility as Director General
of National Security Guard (NSG).
―Deswal will take over from the
present DG NSG SudeepLakhtakia
who is set to retire on 31st of July.
―Deswal is a 1984-batch Indian
Police Officer of Telangana Cadre.
―NSG under the control of Union
Ministry of Home Affairs deals with
internal disturbances and terrorism.
―NSG is considered as a Special Force and it deals with all
forms of terrorism.
IPS officer VK Johri has
been appointed as the new
Director General of the
Border Security Force (DG
BSF).
―He will take over from
RajniKanti Mishra who is due
to retire on 31st August.
―VK Johri is currently serving
as the Special Secretary in
external intelligence agency
Research and Analysis Wing (RAW),
―VK Johri is a 1984 batch Indian Police Service Officer of
Madhya Pradesh cadre.
―BSF is one of the 7 Central Armed Police Forces of India.
―BSF is India’s largest security force with more than 2.5 lakh
personnel.
―BSF is responsible for securing Indian borders with both
Pakistan and Bangladesh.
SudarsanPattnaik
Meryl Streep
Rakesh Asthana
S SDeswal
VK Johri
BadriNarain Sharma has been
appointed as the chairman of
National Anti-profiteering
Authority (NAA) of India for
two years.
―Sharma is a 1985 batch IAS
officer from Rajasthan who is due
for retirement on August 2019.
―NAA was constituted in 2017
for ensuring that the benefits of
the reduced GST are passed on to
consumers.
People in News
India origin Priti Patel has been appointed as the Home
Secretary of Britain.
―Patel has become the first Indian origin individual to
become the Home Secretary of Britain.
Wing commander TarunChaudhri became 1st Indian
Armed Forces (IAF) pilot to do a Wing Suit Skydive Jump.
―Tarun jumped from a Mi-17 helicopter at an altitude of
8.500 feet.
―The jump was part of the Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrations
at Jodhpur Air Force Station, Rajasthan.
Places/Events in News
The conclave of Himalayan States was held on at
Mussoorie in Uttarakhand.
―The conclave met for discussing the priorities of Indian
Himalayan Region (IHR) in the 15th
Finance Commission.
―This is the first conclave of the states that are part of
Himalayan Region.
―Representatives of the 11 Himalayan states (Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura
and Uttarakhand) participated in the conclave.
―One of the issues in the conclave was water conservation.
―These 11 states are asking for Green Bonus from the Union
Government on account of their contribution to environmental
conservation.
―These 11 states are also demanding a dedicated Union
Ministry for dealing with the issues faced by them.
―The conclave ended with the adoption of the Mussoorie
Resolution 2019.
The 22nd National Conference on e-Governance will take
place in Shillong, Meghalaya.
―This is the first time that this National Conference will take
place in North-eastern part of India.
―North Eastern India has been selected to host the conference
to increase the momentum of e-governance in the region.
―National Conference on e-Governance 2019 will be
organised by Department of Administrative Reforms and
Public Grievances (DARPG).
―Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
and Meghalaya State Government will partner in this
conference.
― ‘Digital India: Success to Excellence’ has been selected as
the theme of the conference.
―More than 450 delegated from 36 states and union territories
of India will participate in the conference.
Important Abbreviations
CAPF: Central Armed Police Force
CBI: Central Bureau of Investigation
CCEA: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
DAPRG: Department of Administrative Reforms and Public
Grievances
FAME: Faster Absorption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and
Electric Vehicles Scheme
GDP: Gross Domestic Product
GI: Geographical Indications
GRSE: Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers
IAF: Indian Air Force
IBBI: Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India
IBC: Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
IfCA: Innovating for Clean Air
ILO: International Labour Organisation
IMD: India Meteorological Department
IOA: India Olympic Association
IPA: Insolvency Professional Agencies
IRP: Insolvency Resolution professionals
ISRO: Indian Space Research Organisation
IU: Information Utilities
LCU: Landing Craft Utility
MEETR: Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger
Reserves
NAA: National Anti-profiteering Authority
NBS: National based Subsidy
NCB: Narcotic Control Bureau
NSG: National Security Guard
OSIC: Odisha Small industries Corporation Ltd.
PMKSM: Pradhan MantriKisanSamman Nidhi
PRAGATI: Pro-Active Governance and Timely
Implementation
SGFI: School Game Federation of India
TESS: Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
TIFF: Toronto International Film Festival
WHO: World Health Organisation
Days/Anniversaries
World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is observed
every year of July 30.
―The day is observed for two primary reasons:
--increasing the awareness regarding the plight of human
trafficking victims
--promoting and protecting the rights of human trafficking
victims.
―The theme of World Day Against Trafficking 2019 was
‘Human Trafficking: Call Your Government to Action’.
―Human trafficking is defined by International labour
Organisation as trading of human beings for forced labour,
commercial sexual exploitation or sexual slavery.
―Estimated 21 million individuals across the world are
victims of human trafficking.
―Women and girls account for 71 percent of human
trafficking victims.
―Children account for 33 percent of the human trafficking
victims.
―The decision to observe World Day against Trafficking in
Persons was taken in the UN General Assembly in 2013 by
the resolution A/RES/68/192.
Global Tiger Day is observed on July 29 every year.
―This day is observed for creating awareness regarding tiger
conservation and regarding protection of their natural habitats.
―On 29th
July, 2010 Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit was
held in Russia.
―In this Summit the tiger populated countries signed an
agreement to double the tiger population of the world by
2022.
BadriNarain Sharma
―India launched Project Tiger in 1973 and as a consequence,
India has the highest tiger population in the world.
Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated annually on July 26.
―The first Kargil Vijay Diwas was celebrated in 1999.
―The Kargil Vijay Diwas is held for marking the success of
Indian armed forces against the Pakistani intruders occupying
Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir.
―Kargil Vijay Diwas 2019 was the 20th anniversary of the
day.
―Kargil Vijay Diwas 2019 was celebrated with the theme
Remember, Rejoice and Renew.
. NEWS BULLETIN―31 Week-2, Aug 2019
NATIONAL
The Government of India has made changes to the Article
370 which granted special status to the State of Jammu and
Kashmir.
―The Rajya Sabha has also passed the Jammu and Kashmir
Reorganisation Bill 2019 for converting the State of Jammu
and Kashmir into two different Union Territories.
―According to the Bill, the territory of Ladakh will be
separated from the State of Jammu and Kashmir and made into
a Union Territory without a legislature.
―Jammu and Kashmir will now be a Union Territory with
legislature.
―The purposed Union Territory of Jammu Kashmir will be the
largest (in terms of area) Union Territory in India.
―The purposed Union Territory of Ladakh will be the second
largest (in terms of area) Union Territory in India.
―These two new Union Territories will bring the number of
Union Territories in India to 9.
―The Bill also purposes reorganisation of the constituencies
of the State on the basis of 2011 census data.
―The bill also removes Jammu and Kashmir’s Legislative
Council.
―The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will have a Chief
Minister and a Lt Governor.
―Jammu and Kashmir will now have neither its own flag nor
its own Constitution.
―The term of the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir
has been reduced from 6 to 5 years.
―Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) that was applicable in the State
has been replaced with the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has started
large scale trials for IMMUVAC and VPM1002.
―IMMUVAC and VPM1002 are two new vaccines for
tuberculosis (TB).
―This is the first large scale trail of TB vaccines in India.
―More than 12,000 healthy households from six states (Delhi,
Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana etc.) have agreed to participate
in the trials.
―These new vaccines have been developed by Indian
pharmaceutical companies.
―IMMUVAC or MIP (mycobacterium indicus pranii) has been
developed by Cadila Pharmaceuticals.
―VPM1002 has been developed by Serum Institute of India.
―Currently Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine is used
for preventing TB.
BCG was developed more than 100 years ago.
―Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis
(MTB) bacteria.
―More than 20 lakh individuals across India contact TB
annually.
―India is responsible for 27% of the worldwide TB cases.
―India has the largest cases of the multidrug resistant TB in the
world at 1,47,000 per year.
―India has committed itself of eliminating TB from India by
2025.
Indian Government has decided to sign the United Nations
Convention on International Settlement Agreements (UNISA).
―UNISA or Singapore Convention on Mediation was
adopted by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in December
2018.
―UNGA provides framework for enforcement of international
settlement of mediation agreements.
―UNGA is similar to Convention on Recognition and
Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York, 1958) or New York Convention which provides a framework for
enforcement of international settlement of arbitral awards.
―UNGA helps in making the mediation settlements binding
and enforceable across the world.
―Under UNGA provisions, the Courts can refuse to enforce
mediation agreements if the agreements are incapable of
settlement or if they are against the public policy.
―UNGA will help to promote mediation as one of the methods
of sorting out trade disputes.
―Signing of UNGA will boost India’s international reputation
by showing that India is committed to international practices on
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
For the first time since Indian Independence a Nagar Kirtan
from Pakistan has come to India.
―A Nagar Kirtan from Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan
arrived in Amritsar on account of 550th birth anniversary
celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikh
religion.
―Approximately 500 Sikh devotees carrying the Holy Guru
Granth Sahib crossed from Pakistan to India through the land
transit route of Attari border.
All copyrights to this material vests with IMS Learning Resources Pvt Ltd. No part of this material either in part or as a whole shall be copied,
reprinted, reproduced, sold, distributed or transmitted in any form in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature without the permission of IMS Learning Resources Pvt Ltd., and any
such violation would entail initiation of suitable legal proceedings.
The 1st session of the 17th Lok Sabha ended one day before
the scheduled ending as 99 percent of the government business
was completed.
―This is being termed as the most productive session of the
Lok Sabha since 1952 in terms of the number of bills passed.
―In 1952, 24 bills were passed in 67 sittings of the Lok Sabha.
―In the current session 35 bills were passed in 37 sittings.
―The opposition parties are claiming that this is not an
achievement as the bills of national importance must be debated
and discussed thoroughly before passing. ―They are terming
the passing of bills without adequate debate as a serious danger
to democracy.
LAW
Lok Sabha has passed Transgender Persons (Protection of
Rights) Bill, 2019.
―The Transgender Bill has been brought in to stop
discrimination against transgender persons in different areas
including employment, education, enjoyment of public facilities
etc.
―The Bill defines a transgender as an individual whose gender
does not match the gender assigned at birth.
―The Bill gives the transgender persons right of residence and
right to be included in household.
―The Bill puts the onus on the government to provide health
care facilities to the transgender persons.
―The Bill provides for a separate Certificate of Identity which
transgender individuals can take from the District Magistrate.
―The Bill envisions creation of a National Council for
Transgender Persons (NCT) under the leadership of the Prime
Minister.
―As per 2011, census there were more than 4.80 lakh
transgenders in India.
The Lok Sabha has passed Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill,
2019 for banning commercial surrogacy in India.
―The bill bans sale and purchase of human embryos and
gametes.
―The bill does not stop ethical altruistic surrogacy for needy
couples.
―The bill calls for regulation of surrogacy in India.
―The bills prohibit exploitation of surrogate mothers and
children born through surrogacy.
―The bill defines surrogacy as the practice in which woman
gives birth to a child for the intending couple with the purposes
of handing it over to the intending couple after birth.
―The bill allows for altruistic surrogacy in which the monetary
compensation is limited to medical expenses and insurance
coverage.
―The bill limits the option of altruistic surrogacy to the
couples who have proven infertility.
―The bill limits the option of altruistic surrogacy to individuals
who do not have any other living biological, adopted or
surrogate children.
―The surrogate mothers in such cases must be a close relative
of the eligible couples.
―The surrogate mother should have been married, and must
have a child of her own.
―The surrogate mother must be between 25 and 35 years of age.
―The surrogate mother must not have borne any other surrogate
child in her life.
―The bill bans the surrogacy option for homosexual couples
and single parents.
―The option of altruistic surrogacy cannot be taken by
foreigners, NRIs and PIOs.
―The bill proposes the establishment of National Surrogacy
Board (NSB) along with state surrogacy boards in different
states
―The offences under the bill carry a maximum sentence of 10
years and fines up to Rs 10 lakh.
Lok Sabha has passed Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial
(Amendment) Bill, 2019.
―The Bill ends the practice of automatic nomination of
Congress President as trustee of Jallianwala Bagh Memorial
trust.
―The bill also clarifies that in cases where there in no Leader
of Opposition in Lok Sabha, the leader of the single largest
opposition party will become the Trustee of the Jallianwala
Bagh Memorial.
―The bill also authorises Central Government to terminate term
of a nominated trustee of the Memorial Trust without assigning
any reason for the said termination.
STATES
Maharashtra has adopted Automated Multi-modal
Biometric
Identification
System (AMBIS) for
helping in
police
investigations.
AMBIS will be
adopted by the
other states of India in due course.
―AMBIS is a digital fingerprint and iris scanning system which
is made up of a computer, camera and iris, fingerprint and palm
scanners. AMBIS can also be used for identifying faces from
CCTV camera feeds.
―AMBIS is an updated version of Automated Fingerprint
Identification System (AFIS), which different states have been
using for a long time for searching finger and palm prints.
―AMBIS provides the capability of multimodal matches
whereas AFIS was limited to one-to-one fingerprint matching.
―AMBIS adheres to standards set by the National Institute of
Standards and Technology.
Rajasthan Assembly has cleared the Protection from
Lynching Bill, 2019.
―Rajasthan is the second state (after Manipur) to pass an Anti-
Lynching Bill.
―Anti-lynching bill criminalises mob lynching as a special
offence.
―Between 2017 and 2019, there have been a number of cases
of mob lynching in Rajasthan.
―One of the famous incidents involved killing of Haryana’s
dairy farmer Pehlu Khan by a mob of cow protectors on Jaipur
Delhi highway.
―The passed Bill makes Mob Lynching a cognizable, non-
bailable and non-compoundable offences.
―Individuals involved in mob lynching can face life
imprisonment along with a fine which may extend to Rs 5 lakh.
―In addition to the mob, bill also holds conspirators
accountable for dissemination of offensive material,
enforcement of hostile environment etc.
―The Bill also provides for appointment of nodal officer of
rank of Inspector-General of Police (IGP) for preventing mob
lynching.
―The Bill also provides for establishment of relief camps for
victims of mob lynching.
―Mob lynching is defined as an act of violence, whether
spontaneous or planned, by a mob on the basis of religion, race,
Maharashtra - 1st state in India to adopt AMBIS
caste, sex, place of birth, sexual orientation, language, dietary
practices, ethnicity and political affiliation.
―The opposition parties have criticised the bill claiming that
there are sufficient provisions in the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
for dealing with the mob lynching and new law is not required.
―Supreme Court of India has also recommended that the
Central Government should enact mob lynching legislations.
Rajasthan Assembly has cleared Rajasthan Prohibition of
Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances in
the Name of Honour and Tradition Bill, 2019.
―Honour Killing refers to killing of consenting individuals
involved in Sagotra marriages (Marriages within gotra)/inter-
community/inter-caste/inter-religious marriages in the name of
family, caste or community honour.
―The Bill makes Honour Killing a cognizable, non-bailable
and non-compoundable offences. The offence of Honour Killing
has been made punishable with death penalty/life sentence and
a fine up to Rs.5 lakh.
―The Bill defines honour killing as killing a couple or either of
the spouses on the basis that their marriage had dishonoured or
brought disrepute to caste/community/family.
―The Bill also criminalises ostracization of such couples or
their families. The incidents of ostracization can include
pressure to leave village, sell land or property, imposing of fine
or punishment etc.
―The Bill also makes ‘gatherings for debating or condemning
any lawful marriage’ (on the ground that is dishonours
traditions) unlawful. It also includes social media gatherings in
the definition of the gathering.
―Individuals gathering unlawfully for debating or condemning
marriages on the ground of honour can be punished with
imprisonment which may extend up to 5 years and a fine which
may extend up to Rs 1 lakh. Restricting the freedom of such
couples and their supporters can be punished with imprisonment
that may extend to 5 years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. Criminal
intimidation of such couples or their supporters can be punished
with imprisonment up to 7 years.
ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Finance Ministry has offered a major relief to Indian firms
by declaring that no penalty will be imposed if the companies
fail to meet the revised Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
requirements.
―This was announced by the Finance Ministry in the backdrop
of the slowdown of the Indian economy due to global and
domestic reasons.
―Globally, trade tensions are increasing and US-China trade
war is creating global slowdown.
―The crude oil prices are reducing on weak demand whereas
gold prices are increasing.
―Central Banks across the world are easing their monetary
policy.
―Domestically both demand and investment are slowing down
and this is negatively affecting the growth of Indian economy.
The Reserve Bank of India has reduced risk weightage on
unsecured consumer credit from 125 percent to 100 percent. ―This decision will not
affect risk weight on credit
card receivables.
―RBI reduced the risk
weightage for increasing
the credit flow in the
economy.
―The guidelines for the risk weightage and its application will
be provided by RBI towards August end.
―Reduced risk weightage means that the banks can increase
their exposure to the retail sector as most of the unsecured credit
is in retail segment.
The Bombay High Court has criticised the Reserve Bank
of India for its compulsion to regularly change features of
currency notes and coins.
―The Bombay High Court has asked RBI to submit an affidavit
explaining the reasons behind the frequent changes of the
features in question. While issuing the directions, the High
Court observed that the RBI’s argument that the feature changes
were required for curbing fake currency has already failed. The
High Court observed that demonetisation has already shown that
the fake currency was not in circulation.
―The Bench of the Bombay High Court said, “You
[government] keep saying it is because of fake currency. I doubt
that reason. Demonetisation showed that it was a myth that Rs
10,000 crore were taken away by Pakistan.”
―The directions and observations were made by the Court
while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to make
bank notes and coins easily identifiable for the visually impaired
people.
―In 2016, with demonetisation the circulation of Rs 500 and Rs
1000 notes was stopped. Circulation of fake currency and
curbing of black money were the two reasons cited for this.
―The RBI later on announced that it had received 99 percent of
all the demonetised banknotes in circulation.
DEFENCE & SECURITY
Indian Parliament has passed Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Amendment (UAPA) Bill, 2019.
―UAPA Bill allows Central Government to designate
individuals as terrorists on the following grounds:
--the individual has committed an act of terror.
--the individual has helped in preparations of the act or terror or
he/she has promoted it.
--the individual are involved in the act of terror in any way.
―The power to designate organisations as terrorist
organisations already lies with the government.
―The Bill also empowers officers of National Investigation
Agency (NIA), of the rank of Inspector or above, to investigate
cases. Before the amendment, only officers of the rank of
Deputy Superintendent or Assistant Commissioner of Police
could conduct investigations.
―The Bill has made approval of the Director General of NIA
mandatory for seizure of property while investigation of terror
cases.
Defence Research
Development
Organisation (DRDO)
has successfully
conducted two back-to-
back flight tests of Quick
Reaction Surface-to-Air
Missiles (QRSAM). ―These tests of QRSAMs
were conducted from the
Integrated Test Range
(ITR), Chandipur, Odisha.
QSRAMs are all weather
and all terrain missiles developed by DRDO.
―QSRAMs have been developed for helping Indian Army with
the search and track on move capability. QSRAM has a range
between 25 and 30 kilometers. QSRAMs use sold fuel
propellant. QSRAMs are truck mounted.
―QRSAMs are equipped with electronic counter measures
against jamming by aircraft radars.
POLICY AND GOVT. INITIATIVES
The Bureau of Indian
Standards (BIS) has
announced setting up
Pashmina testing centre in
Leh region of Jammu and
Kashmir. ―BIS has also released
the BI Standards of
Pashmina.
―The proposed testing
centre will be set up in
partnership with lab of
Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC),
Leh.
―Pashmina is special fine Kashmiri wool used in making
shawl, scarf, wraps etc. Pashmina wool is obtained from four
distinct breeds of goats.
―Kashmiri Pashmina is covered by a Geographical
indication (GI) tag under Geographical Indications of Goods
(Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
The Indian Army and Energy Efficiency Services Ltd
(EESL) have entered into a partnership for deploying e-cars.
―These e-cars will be used by Army officials in New Delhi.
The Government of India has cleared Rs 4,900 crore Kosi-
Mechi Interlinking project for interlinking of Kosi and Mechi
rivers of Bihar.
―Kosi-Mechi interlinking project is the second major river
interlinking project approved by the government.
―Ken-Betwa rive interlinking project in Madhya Pradesh
was the first major river interlinking project cleared by the
government.
―This interlinking of rivers in Bihar will divert surplus water
from Koshi river to the Mechi river.
―Currently Mechi river’s basin does not have adequate water
for providing sufficient irrigation facilities.
―With this interlinking irrigation facilities in an area of 2.14
lakh hectares will improve.
―Koshi river regularly floods and creates problems in North
Bihar in general and Seemanchal region of Bihar in particular.
―Koshi-Mechi interlinking project will neither displace people
nor divert forest land.
―The command area of this project is contiguous to India Nepal
border.
Maharashtra Government has launched Mission Shakti for
training athletes. Mission Shakti was launched by film actor
Amir Khan. Mission Shakti is an initiative to train tribal athletes
for Olympics by 2024.
―Mission Shakti focuses on six sports: Archery, shooting,
volleyball, swimming, weightlifting and gymnastics.
Mission Shakti will be implemented in the Chandrapur and
Gadchiroli districts of Maharashtra in the first phase.
―Mission Shakti will be extended throughout the state in
phases.
Union Ministry of Mines has established Khanij Bidesh
India Ltd. (KABIL) as a joint venture among National
Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco), Hindustan Copper Ltd
(HCL) and Mineral Exploration Company Ltd (MECL). KABIL
will increase mineral security of India and help in achieving the
objective of import substitution. KABIL will be responsible for
ensuring consistent supply of both critical and strategic
minerals to domestic market. Indian Government has classified
twelve minerals – Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt, Tungsten etc. as
strategic minerals. India is dependent on imports for meeting its
requirement of strategic minerals.
SPORTS
Indian Wrestler Vinesh Phogat has
won a gold medal in the 53 kg category
in Poland Open Wrestling
Tournament at Warsaw, Poland. ―Phogat won the medal by defeating
Roksana of Poland by 302. This is the
third consecutive gold medal win for
Phogat. Phogat has won total of 5
medals, one silver, one bronze and three
gold medals since changing category
from 50 kg to 53 kg. Phogat will represent India at World
Championships in Nursultanin Kazakhstan. This championship
will also function as Olympic Qualifiers.
INTERNATIONAL
United States of America has taken
the decision to designate China as a
currency manipulator.
―This decision was taken after the
Chinese Central Bank allowed Chinese
Currency Yuan to fall against dollar.
―This decision will further increase
the ongoing tensions between China
and USA. ―Designation of China as a currency manipulator was one of
the polls promises of the US President Donald Trump.
―China was placed on the watch list by US Department of
Treasury but it was not designated as a currency manipulator till
now. USA is claiming that China manipulates its currency and
as such gain unfair competitive advantage and leads to losses for
USA. USA is also claiming the China regularly takes step to
undervalue its currency by making intervention in FOREX
market.
―China on the other hand is claiming that the depreciation of
Yuan took place as the natural effect of the unilateral trade
protectionist measures taken by the United States of America.
―USA has also decided to go to the International Monetary
Fund for removing the unfair competitive advantage gained by
China. This will in turn further increase the tensions between the
two countries.
Bangladesh’s
Bangladesh Atomic
Energy Commission
(BAEC) and Russia’s
Russian Nuclear Fuel
Supply Company (TVEL) have entered into
a uranium trade deal.
―Under the deal, TVEL has agreed to provide lifetime supply
of uranium to Bangladesh for use in its 2,400 MW Rooppur
Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) due to become operational by
2022.
―The price of the uranium will be based on the prices in the
global market.
―The supply of fuel for the first three reloads of the reactor will
be made free of cost.
―This is the second such deal between the countries. In 2017,
Russia and Bangladesh signed an agreement for nuclear waste
management of the RNPP.
In the 2017 deal, all the spent fuel at RNPP will be sent to
Russia.
―Two power generation units of RNPP with the capacity of
1200 MW each will become operational in 2022 and 2024
respectively.
Vinesh Phogat
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
The foundation stone for the Space Situational Awareness
Control Centre (SSACC) was laid in Bengaluru Karnataka by
the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
―SSAACC is being set up for protecting Indian satellites from
space debris.
―The need for SSAACC is being felt as both Indian assets in
space and the amount of space debris are steadily increasing.
―India has 50 functional satellites in the orbit of Earth.
―Space debris refers to all type of unneeded and potentially
dangerous objects in space. These include inactive satellites,
pieces of other orbiting objects, near earth asteroids etc.
―Currently ISRO does not have space debris tracking
capabilities. ISRO uses North America Aerospace Defense
Command (NORAD) data for tracking space debris and
monitoring inactive or dead satellites. ―NORAD provides two kind of data: First is data provided in
public domain which can be accessed by everyone. ―Second is
a more accurate and up to date data which is provided to
members of NORAD. ISRO is not one of these members.
―Among other things, SSAACC will crack data regarding
movements of inactive satellites with the help of indigenous
observation facilities.
Scientists at the Indian Institution of Guwahati (IIT-G)
have developed portable diagnostic device to detect bacteria.
―Currently bacteria are identified with the help of cell culture
or microbiological assays. The developed device is capable of
detecting bacteria instantaneously. The device can also help in
diagnosing illnesses like meningitis.
SUMMITS & ORGANIZATIONS
The 10th Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Ministerial
Meeting was held 01 August 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand.
―External Minister S. Jaishankar represented India at the
meeting. Mekong Ganga Cooperation adopted the MGC plan
2019-22 during this meeting. ―MGC plan 2019-22 calls for project based cooperation among
member countries in multiple areas. Mekong Ganga
Cooperation is a sub-regional cooperation organisation made up
of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and India.
―Mekong Ganga Cooperation was initiated in 2000 for
improving contacts among the people of these countries and for
cooperating in areas of culture, tourism, education, transport and
communication.
ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY
A recent study highlights the threat to leopards, tigers and
lions from Canine Distemper Virus (CDV).
―CDV is transmitted from dogs who are infected with this
virus.
―In 2018, CDV led to death of more than 20 lions at the Gir
Wildlife Sanctuary.
―CDV is a highly contagious disease that is common in dogs,
coyotes, foxes etc.
―In majority of cases, CDV is fatal.
―CDV has no known cure. The treatment of CDV includes
supportive care and preventive methods for stopping the virus
from affecting other life forms.
―CDV is responsible for reducing the population of African
lions in East African forests by almost 30 percent.
―The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has
taken number of steps for protecting Indian wildlife from this
virus.
BASIC GK ASPECTS
Books and Authors
City of Girls―by Elizabeth Gilbert
Blue is Like Blue: Stories―by Vinod Kumar Shukla
One Giant Leap: the Impossible Mission that Flew us to the
Moon―by Charles Fishman
Swerving to Solitude: Letters to Mama―by Keki N
Daruwalla
Rethinking Pluralism, Secularism and Tolerance: Anxieties
of Coexistence―by Neera Chandhoke
Bottle of Lies―by Katherine Eban
Blue Tide Rising―by Clare Stevens
Battling for India: A Citizen’s Reader―Edited by Githa
Hariharan & Salim Yusufji,
Awards and Honours
Ravish Kumar, an Indian
journalist working with NDTV news
is one of the individuals selected for
receiving the prestigious Ramon
Magsaysay Award 2019.
―Kumar has been selected for the
award for harnessing journalism for
giving voice to voiceless. ―Kumar will receive the award at a
ceremony to be held in Manila, Philippines on 9th September
2019.
―Kumar is one of the most influential TV journalists of our
time.
―Magsaysay awards are one of Asia’s premier prizes and
highest honours.
―These awards were established in 1957 in the memory of
Philippines President Ramon Magsaysay.
―Two Indians Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk won the
Magsaysay Awards in 2018.
Former India cricketer and Bengal captain Arun Lal has been
awarded with Karthik Bose Lifetime Achievemen t award by
the Cricket Association of Bengal.
―Between 1982 and 1989, Arun Lal represented India in 16
Test Matches and 13 One-Day internationals.
Appointments
Girraj Prasad Gupta has been appointed as the Controller
General of Accounts (CGA), Department of Expenditure,
Union Ministry of Finance. ―Gupta is a 1983 batch Indian Civil Account Services (ICAS)
Officer.
―Gupta played a major role in development and
implementation of the Public Financial Management System
(PFMS). CGA is a Principal Accounting Adviser to Government
of India.
People in News France’s Franky Zapata has become the first person in the
world to cross English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard.
―Zapata took 20 minutes for completing the 22 mile journey on
his hoverboard. Zapata started from Sangatte in northern France and reached St.
Margarets Bay, near Dover in southeast England.
―Previously in July Zapata had failed in his attempt to cross the
English Channel.
―In 2016, Zapata set a world record for farthest hoverboard
flight.
Ravish Kumar
Former Union External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj, passed away
in New Delhi on 6th August, 2019 at the
age of 67.
―Swaraj was born on 14 February 1953
at Ambala Cantonment, Haryana ―She started her political career under
Janata Party in 1977.
―Her father Hardev Sharma was a
prominent Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh member.
People in News
India origin Priti Patel has been appointed as the Home
Secretary of Britain.
―Patel has become the first Indian origin individual to
become the Home Secretary of Britain.
Wing commander Tarun Chaudhri became 1st Indian Armed
Forces (IAF) pilot to do a Wing Suit Skydive Jump.
―Tarun jumped from a Mi-17 helicopter at an altitude of 8.500
feet.
―The jump was part of the Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrations at
Jodhpur Air Force Station, Rajasthan.
Places/Events in News
Mohali, Punjab has become the first Indian city to launch 3-
D Smart Traffic Signal System called Intelights.
―The 3-D Smart Traffic System dynamically adjusts the
timings of red, yellow and green traffic lights according to the
traffic density at an intersection.
―The traffic density is evaluated using Artificial Intelligence
system and the timings of the traffic lights are set accordingly.
Must Know
ADR: Alternative Dispute Resolution
AFIS: Automated Fingerprint Identification System
AMBIS: Automated Multi-modal Biometric Identification
System
BCG: Bacille Calmette-Guerin
CDV: Canine Distemper Virus
CGA: Controller General of Accounts
CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility
DRDO: Defence Research Development Organisation
GI: Geographical Indication
IPC: Indian Penal Code
ITR: Integrated Test Range
LAHDC: Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council
MGC: Mekong Ganga Cooperation
NIA: National Intelligence Agency
NORAD: North America Aerospace Defense Command
NTCA: National Tiger Conservation Authority
PIL: Public Interest Litigation
QRSAM: Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile
RPC: Ranbir Penal Code
UNGA: United Nations General Assembly
UNISA: United States Convention on International Settlement
Agreements
UT: Union Territories
WBW: World Breastfeeding Week
Days/Anniversaries
World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is observed across the
world from 1st August to 7th August. World Breastfeeding Week
2019 saw participation of more than 120 countries of the world.
―World Breastfeeding Week 2019 was observed with the
theme: Empower Parents, Enable Breastfeeding.
―World Breastfeeding Week 2019 focused on protecting,
promoting and supporting breastfeeding. The first World
Breastfeeding Week was observed in 1992.
National Handloom Day is celebrated across India on 7th
August. The 5th National Handloom Day was celebrated in 2019.
―The National Handloom Day is observed for honouring
handloom weavers in India and to highlight the handloom
industry in India.
Sushma Swaraj
. NEWS BULLETIN―32 Week-3, Aug 2019
NATIONAL
The Government of India has taken the decision to restrict
the maximum annual increase in price of orthopaedic knee
implants to 10%.
―On 16th August,
2017, the National
Pharmaceutical
Pricing Authority (NPPA) had fixed
the maximum
possible price of the
orthopaedic knee implants for a period of one year. ―On 13th August 2018, the ceiling prices of the orthopaedic
knee implants were extended till August 15, 2019.
―For fixing this price NPPA invoked its extraordinary powers
under the Para 19 of Drugs Prices Control Order (DPCO)
2013
―The ceiling prices fixed by NPPA were in some cases up to
69% less than the prevailing market prices. This led to the
annual saving of more than Rs 1,500 crore to Indian consumers.
―There was a marked increase (i.e. 30 percent) in the sales of
knee implants between July 2018 and July 2019.
―The manufacturers and importers of the knee implants have
been asking for a 20 percent increase in the prices fixed by
NPPA.
―NPAA, on 8th August 2019, decided to further monitor price
increase of knee implants as per para 20 of Drugs Prices Control
Order (DPCO) 2013.
―Para 20 of the DPCO restricts the price increase to 10 percent
per annum. This price increase can be reviewed after a period of
one year.
―Orthopaedic knee implants are classified as non-scheduled
medical devices or drugs.
―DPCO allows maximum price increase of 10 percent for
products classified as non-scheduled medical devices or drugs.
But NPAA did not allow the 10 percent price increase for the
implants in 2018.
―NPAA is a regulatory agency working under the Union
Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers.
―NPAA was established on August 29, 1997 to control the
prices of pharmaceutical drugs in India.
The Government of India has
contributed a sum of USD 5 million to
the United Nations Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the
Near East (UNRWA). ―The contribution was made for
supporting various core activities
(education, health care, relief etc.) of
the UNRWA.
―UNRWA is a United Nations relief and human development
agency for helping approximately 5 million registered Palestine
refugees.
―UNRWA is the only agency of the United Nations that is
dedicated to refugees from a specific region or conflict.
―UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is the general
agency that deals with refugees irrespective of region on
conflicts.
―UN General Assembly established UNRWA in December
1949 in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict.
―UNRWA deals with the Palestine refugees of the 1948
Palestine war and of the 1967 six day war.
―There are more than five million Palestine refugees living in
the Middle East.
―UNRWA’s field of operation is limited to Lebanon, Syria,
Jordan, Gaza Strip and West Bank. Palestine refugees outside
these areas are handled by the UNHCR.
―The funding of UNRWA comes mainly from voluntary
contributions.
―India’s annual contribution to UNRWA in 2016 was USD
1.25 million. This has been increased to USD 5 million from
2018-19.
The latest data released by
the Union Ministry of
Environment, Forests and
Climate Change (MoEFCC)
shows that the northeast states of
India have the best tree and forest
cover in the country. ―According to the released data:
--24.49 percent of the total
geographical area of India is
under forest and tree cover.
--Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan
have the lowest forest and tree cover in India.
--These states have 6.79%, 6.87% and 7.26% of their total
geographical area respectively under the forest and tree cover.
--Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Manipur have
the highest forest and tree cover in India.
--These states have. 88.84%, 80.93%, 79.37% and 78.68% of
their total geographical area respectively under the forest and
tree cover.
--The Union territory of Lakshadweep has almost 97% of its
area under the forest and tree cover.
--Goa and Kerala have more than fifty percent of their
geographical area under forest and tree cover.
--Madhya Pradesh with the forest and tree cover of 85,487 sq
km has the highest forest and tree cover in India in terms of area.
―Forest Survey of India (FSI) conducts the assessment of
forest and tree cover in India.
―The last report of FSI was released in 2017.
Indian Army has started Mission Reach Out in Jammu region.
―Mission Reach Out ensures basic essential services and
necessities to people affected by the abrogation of Article 370
and the reorganisation of the Jammu and Kashmir State.
Indian Army under Mission Reach Out is providing:
―mobile medical care units.
―water in areas where water supply is affected.
―ration.
―transportation facility to patients.
―communication facility to people through army exchanges.
All copyrights to this material vests with IMS Learning Resources Pvt Ltd. No part of this material either in part or as a whole shall be copied,
reprinted, reproduced, sold, distributed or transmitted in any form in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature without the permission of IMS Learning Resources Pvt Ltd., and any
such violation would entail initiation of suitable legal proceedings.
National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
The data released by the Government of India shows a
reduction of 41% in stubble burning incidents in 2018
(compared to 2016) and a reduction of 15% (compared to 2017).
―More than 4,500 villages of Punjab and Haryana have been
declared zero stubble burning villages.
―According to the government, this was made possible due to
the Central Sector Scheme on Promotion of Agricultural
Mechanization for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue in
the State of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh & NCT of Delhi’
Under this scheme:
--An amount of Rs 1151.80 crore was set aside.
--Happy Seeder and Zero Tillage technology was adopted in
an area of 8 lakh hectares.
--Happy Seeder is a tractor mounted device that can cut and lift
the pervious crop and sow the new crop.
--The scheme bears fifty percent of the cost of the in-situ crop
residue management machines purchased by farmers.
--The scheme provides a support of up to 80% for establishing
Custom Hiring Centres for in-situ crop residue management
schemes.
--The scheme is being implemented through Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR) with the help of 60 Krishi
Vigyan Kendras ―The government of India has also allotted funds to the States
for crop residue management under different schemes of the
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Law
The special bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief
Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi will look into the petition
challenging the Presidential order on Article 370 in Jammu and
Kashmir during the second half of August.
―The Special Bench of the Supreme Court will also hear the
petition filed by the Kashmir Times editor seeking removal of
restrictions on the media in the region.
―While deciding to hear these petitions on the urgent basis, the
Supreme Court refused to pass any interim orders for relaxation
of the communication facilities in the state.
National Institute of Design (Amendment) Bill, 2019 has
been cleared by the Rajya Sabha.
―This bill has been brought for amending the National Institute
of Design Act, 2014 for designating the four National Institutes
of Design (NID) in Andhra Pradesh (Amaravati), Assam
(Jorhat), Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal) and Haryana (Kurukshetra)
as institutions of national importance.
―On attaining the designation, these institutions will receive
power to grant degrees and diplomas.
The Parliament has passed Public Premises (Eviction of
Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019.
―The Bill was bought for amending the Public Premises
(Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act of 1971
―The Bill amends the provisions in the act related to the
eviction of unauthorised occupants from public premises in
certain cases.
―The Bill states that the occupation of public residential
properties must be on the basis of license.
―The license must be for a fixed period or for a period for
which the person holds an office.
―The occupation of such properties should be under the rules
made by Central, State/UT government, or a statutory authority
(such as Parliament Secretariat, or Central Government
Company or premises belonging to state government).
―The Bill also specifies the manner in which the notice of
eviction should be given to the occupier of the property.
The Bill also allows the estate officer the power to evict illegal
persons from residential accommodation and power to possess
them.
―The person in unauthorised occupation can challenge the
eviction order in the court, but in such case he or she shall have
to pay damage charges for every month of such occupation or
accommodation held during period of litigation.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has announced
an increase in reservations for OBCs and Scheduled Castes in
state government jobs and education.
―The government has decided to increase the reservation of
quota for Scheduled Castes by one percent and for OBC from
14% to 27%. The quota for Scheduled Tribes remains
untouched.
―The decision once implemented will bring the total
reservation in the state to 72% i.e. the highest for any state in
India and much above the Supreme Court mandated 50% limit.
―These reservations along with the 10 per cent centre mandated
EWS reservation the total reservation in the state will reach 82
percent.
STATES
Manipur has achieved first rank in Breastfeeding and
Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in India.
―Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are the three worst states
in the ranking.
―The ranking uses three indicators for ranking Indian States.
These indicators are: --early initiation of breastfeeding
--exclusive breastfeeding for six months
--complimentary breastfeeding from 6 to 8 months.
―The Data on the Breastfeeding and Infant and Young Child
Feeding Practices in India was released by the Union Health
and Family Welfare Ministry.
―The World Health
Organisation (WHO)
recommends exclusive
breastfeeding for 1st 6
months and
breastfeeding with home-made food for minimum of 2 years.
―45% of the child deaths globally are believed to be due to the
lack of nutrition.
In 2016, an estimated 155 million children under 5 year of age
were stunted (too short for age).
―In 2016, an estimated 52 million children under 5 years of age
globally were wasted (too thin for height).
―In 2016, an estimated 41 million were children under 5 years
of age globally were overweight (or obese).
―Almost 40 percent of infants between 0-6 months of age are
exclusively breastfed globally.
The Asian
Development Bank (ADB) has approved US
$200 million loan for
Road Infrastructure
Improving project in
Maharashtra.
―The Road Infrastructure Improving Project has a total cost of
USD 296 million. ―ADB will provide USD 200 million and the
state government will arrange the remaining USD 96 million.
―The project, due to be completed by September 2024,
involves upgrading of Maharashtrian rural roads to meet the
requirements of all-weather standards.
―The project will help in improving the connectivity between
the rural residents and economic centres of Maharashtra.
―The project will be jointly implemented by the DP and the
Maharashtra Rural Road Development Association (MRRDA).
―ADB is a multilateral lending agency and regional
development bank established in December 1966.
The Government of India, State government of Tripura and
Tripura’s banned insurgency group National Liberation Front
of Twipra led by Sabir Kumar Debbarma (NLFT-SD) have
signed a peace agreement.
―Under the terms of the peace agreement, NLFT-SD has
agreed to leave the path of violence and join the mainstream.
―NLFT-SD has also agreed to surrender its 88 cadres along
with the weapons.
―These cadres will receive benefits under the Surrender-cum-
Rehabilitation of Militants in the North-East, 2018 of Union
Ministry of Home Affairs.
―Tripura Government will also provide help to the surrendered
cadres in getting jobs, housing and education.
―National Liberation Front of Twipra (NLFT) was banned in
1997 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)
for its violent activities.
―In a ten-year period (from 2005 to 2015), NLFT-SD was
involved in 317 insurgency incidents which led to death of 28
security personnel and 62 civilians.
―The Government and NLFT-SD started peace talks in 2016
and since then there has been peace.
A tea variety of Assam named ‘Golden Butterfly’ has
achieved a record price of Rs 75,000 per kg at the Guwahati
Tea Auction Centre (GTAC).
―The record price was achieved by the Golden Butterfly
variety grown by Dikom Tea Estate.
―This tea variety has broken the record for highest tea price at
the public auctions for the third time within a period of 15 days.
―Golden Butterfly is a rare tea variety made from tea buds
(normally tea is prepared from tea leaves) that is characterised
by extreme mellowness and sweet caramel flavour.
―The plucking of buds for this tea is done at evenings when
butterflies descend on them for resting.
ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
The Government of India has decided to stop power supply
to the power distribution companies (discoms) which fail to
furnish unconditional letters of credit.
―The decision was taken because the Ministry of Power
observed that certain discoms were trying to avoid the
requirement of furnishing adequate letter of credit to power
plants.
―Some discoms in Rajasthan and Telangana opened
conditional letters of credits. In these letters payment to the
power companies could only be made after authorisation from
the State.
―The Ministry of Power see this as an avoidance of its directive
because it takes away the purpose of enacting the payment
security mechanism.
―On May 31st, 2019 the total amount due from discoms to the
power producers was Rs 38,884 crore. This is a 28 percent
increase over the 2018 figure. Out of Rs 33,884 crore, an amount
of Rs 22,313 was overdue by more than 60 days.
―Uttar Pradesh is responsible for 22 percent of the total amount
due. Four South Indian states are responsible for 42 percent of
the total amount due to the power producers.
―According to the data on the ‘praapti’ portal: Adani Power
owned Rs 3,202 crore; GMR Energy owned Rs 1,734 crore;
Sembcorp Energy owned Rs 1,075 crore; Tata Power owned Rs
1,123 crore; NTPC’s owned Rs 4,661 crore;
―Discoms are struggling with cash delay payments to power
generators to manage their short term cash requirements.
―These delays also help discoms in avoiding loans. Providing
letter of credits might lead to additional annual interest burden
between Rs 2500 and 3000 crore.
―At the end of financial year 2019, discoms in India had a
combined loss of Rs 28,369 crore.
―The payment security mechanism of furnishing letters of
credit became operational from August 1, 2019.
India and Russia have announced that they will be
diversifying and deepening their economic ties in priority
sectors to meet a bilateral trade target of USD 30 billion by
2025.
―The announcement was made after the conclusion of the
business session between India and Russia from August 11-13
in Vladivostok, Russia.
―The delegation at the session was headed by Piyush Goyal and
included the chief ministers of Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh
and Goa and representatives of about 140 Indian companies.
―A number of MoUs between the regions of the Russian Far
East and five states of India were signed during the session.
According to the various media
reports, the Bimal Jalan Committee
has finalised its report.
―The original deadline for filing of
report was extended due to the
transfer of the former Economic
Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra
Garg to the Power Ministry.
―Different estimates say that the
Reserve Bank of India has surplus
reserves of more than Rs 9 lakh
crore.
―Access to these reserves will ensure that the government is
able to meet its fiscal deficit target of 3.3 percent of the gross
domestic product (GDP).
―In addition to the surplus capital, the government is also
expecting a regular dividend of Rs 90,000 crore from RBI this
financial year.
―The Government of India considers the buffer of 28% of gross
assets maintained by the RBI unnecessary as the global norm is
to maintain a buffer of 14%.
―Bimal Jalan Committee was constituted on December 26,
2018 for assessing the amount of capital reserves that should be
maintained by the Reserve Bank of India.
DEFENCE & SECURITY
Iran has developed three new precision-guided air to air
missiles (Yasin, Balaban and new series of Ghaem).
―Yasin is a smart guided missile with a range of 50 kilometres.
―Yasin can be fired from both manned and unmanned aircrafts.
―Balaban is a guided missile that uses GPS and sensors for
achieving its aims.
―The new series of Ghaem are the heat seeking missiles that
have the target hit accuracy of 50 centimetres.
―The announcement of the development of these missiles has
been made at the time when the tension between Iran and
America is at an all time high.
―Tension between Iran and the United States has been
increasing since United States unilaterally pulled out of the 2015
international nuclear agreement.
―Post the pull out, USA has re-imposed sanctions on Iran and
started forcing international community to stop buying Iranian
Oil.
―Since May 2019:
Subhash Chandra Garg
--Many ships in the region have been mysteriously attacked,
each side blaming the other for the attack.
--A USA military drone was shot down by Iran
--UK oil tanker was seized by Iran.
Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has cleared the
purchases of Software Defined Radio (SDR Tactical) and Next
Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Batteries (NGMMCB–
Long Range) for Indian Navy.
―SDR Tactical and NGMMCB-Long Range are indigenously
produced equipment that are expected to boost the Made-in-
India initiative of the government.
―SDR Tactical is a communication system developed by
Defence Research and Development Organisation and BEL and
Weapons Electronics System Engineering Establishment
(WESEE).
―SDR Tactical will allow Indian Navy to collaborate and share
information and situational awareness.
―SDR Tactical uses high-speed data and secure voice
communication with anti-jamming capability for
communication.
NGMMCB-Long Range is a missile defence system developed
by BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.
―NGMMCB-Long Range will be equipped with supersonic
BrahMos surface-to-surface cruise missiles and deployed
along the Indian Coast.
―These are the first procurement cleared by the DAC after the
appointment of Rajnath Singh as the Defence Minister of India.
POLICY AND GOVT. INITIATIVES
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has
decided to extend the use of Rotavirus vaccine to the entire
country from September 2019.
―The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has set a
target of providing Rotavirus vaccine to every child in India
across all the 37 states/UTs of India by September 2019.
―This target is a part of the 100 days agenda of the newly
elected central government.
―Rotavirus is the leading reason for cases of diarrhoea in
children below five years of age in India.
―Rotavirus is responsible for 37 deaths per 1000 children
deaths annually.
―Rotavirus causes an estimated hospitalisation of 8 lakh
individuals, outpatient visits of 32 lakh individuals and death of
78 thousand individuals annually.
―Normal cases of diarrhoea can be prevented by providing safe
water and safe food along with good hygiene practices.
―Rotavirus can be prevented by using rotavirus vaccination.
The Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has
started the registration process for the PM Kisan Maan Dhan
Yojana.
―Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana is a central government scheme
that provides old age pension to farmers aimed at small and
marginal farmers.
―Kisan Mann Dhan Yojana is a voluntary scheme.
―The person insured under the scheme must be between 18 to
40 years old.
―The person insured under the scheme cannot own more than
2 hectares of land.
―The beneficiaries under the scheme have to make a monthly
contribution between Rs 55 and Rs 200 depending on the age of
enrolment.
―The Government of India matches the amount contributed by
the beneficiary of the scheme.
―The beneficiaries under the scheme get monthly pension of
Rs 3000 on attaining the age of 60.
This scheme is being provided through the Life Corporation of
India (LIC) which acts as both the Pension Fund Manager and
as the Pension dispersing agency.
―In case of the death of the beneficiary before the age of 60:
--the spouse of the deceased beneficiary can continue to pay
contributions and receive the benefit under the scheme
Or
--the spouse, nominee or the survivors can get the total
contribution made by the farmer to the scheme along with the
interest.
―In case of the death of the beneficiary after the age of 50, the
surviving spouse will receive fifty percent of the fixed pension
as the family pension.
―The beneficiary can exit the scheme at any time after five
years lock down period. In this case the LIC will return the
contributions made by farmer along with the prevailing saving
bank interest.
The Defence Ministry has extended the benefits of the Child
Care Leave (CCL) to the single male service personnel.
―Currently the Defence Ministry was providing CCL only to
women officers in the defence forces.
―The Defence Ministry has also relaxed certain provisions
related to the CCL scheme.
―In Defence Forces, both male service personnel and woman
officers will be able to claim CCL leave in respect of children
with 40% disability and more.
―In Defence Forces, the minimum duration for availing CCL
has been reduced from 15 days to 5 days.
―In Defence Forces, there will be no age restriction on the child
in respect to whom CCL is claimed.
―Department of Personnel and Training has also changed
the CCL provisions related to civilian employees.
―In the civilian sector both woman and male employees will be
eligible for availing CCL.
―In the civilian sector, the age limit of child in respect to whom
the CCL is claimed has been removed.
―In the civilian sector the minimum duration of the CCL has
been reduced from 15 to 5.
SPORTS
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has
agreed to come under the regulation of National Anti-Doping
Agency (NADA).
―Before NADA, the Sweden-based International Dope
Testing Management (IDTM) was responsible for collecting
cricketers’ samples and submitting them to the National Dope
Testing Laboratory (NDTL).
―Now, NADA will have the authority of collecting samples
from all the cricketers:
playing in domestic tournaments.
participating in Indian Premier League (IPL).
―NADA is a national organisation responsible for promoting,
monitoring and coordinating doping control program in sports
in India.
―NADA was established in 2005 as a registered society under
Societies Registration Act of 1890.
―NADA applies anti-doping rules of the World Anti-Doping
Agency (WADA) code.
Chennai Lions defeated Dabang Delhi by 8-1 to win the
finals of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT).
―UTT is the first professional table tennis league in India.
―UTT was instituted in 2017. The inaugural championship of
UTT was held from 13th to 20th July 2017.
―The year 2019 was the 3rd season of Ultimate Table Tennis.
The 26-year-old Sourabh Verma has won the men’s singles
title in Open BWF Tour Super 100
tournament by defeating Loh Kean
Yew of Singapore. ―Indian women’s doubles pair of
Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki
Reddy lost their chance of winning the
women’s doubles title by losing to
Korean Baek Ha Na and Jung Kyung
Eun.
―BWF Tour Super 100 tournament
2019 was hosted by Hyderabad.
―The tournament, part of the Hyderabad Open
Championships 2019 has a total prize money of USD 75,000.
―BWF Tour Super 100 tournament was organised by the
Badminton Association of India and sanctioned by the BWF
(The Badminton World Federation).
INTERNATIONAL
According to the Ethnologue diary, Pacific island nation of
Papua New Guinea, a country in Oceania has highest number of
‘living’ indigenous languages in the world (840).
―India ranks fourth in the list with 453 languages.
―Ethnologue is a directory of languages which lists 7,111
living languages across the world
―3,741 languages listed in the Ethnologue are spoken by 1000
or less speakers.
―Indo-European family in the Ethnologue includes 445
languages (Spanish, English, German, Punjabi, Bengali etc.)
―Languages in Indo-European family are used by 46.31% of
the world population.
―In 2016, United Nation’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues (UNPFII) said that 40% of estimated 6,700 languages
spoken around world were in danger of disappearing.
United Nations has designated 2019 as the International
Year of Indigenous language.
―In 2019 the United Nation wants to:
(i) Boost understanding, reconciliation and international
cooperation for promoting indigenous languages.
(ii) Increase the integration of indigenous languages into
standard conversations.
(iii) Develop environment that boosts knowledge sharing and
dissemination of good practices related to development of
indigenous languages.
The newly discovered Kajin Sara lake in Nepal is likely to
attain the status of the world’s highest lake.
―The recently discovered Kajin Sara lake is located at an
altitude of 5,200 metres.
―The Sara Lake is estimated to be 1,500 metres long and 600
metres wide (official measurements of the lake are still
pending.)
―The lake located in the Singarkharka area of Chame rural
municipality in Manang district of Nepal will become the
world’s highest lake if the official measurements match the
estimated values.
―Currently the Tilicho Lake situated at an altitude of 4,919
metres in Nepal is the highest lake in the world.
―Tilicho lake in 4 km long, 1.2 km wide and 200 metres deep.
According to the Ethnologue diary, Pacific island nation of
Papua New Guinea, a country in Oceania has highest number of
‘living’ indigenous languages in the world (840).
―India ranks fourth in the list with 453 languages.
―Ethnologue is a directory of languages which lists 7,111
living languages across the world
―3,741 languages listed in the Ethnologue are spoken by 1000
or less speakers.
―Indo-European family in the Ethnologue includes 445
languages (Spanish, English, German, Punjabi, Bengali etc.)
―Languages in Indo-European family are used by 46.31% of
the world population.
―In 2016, United Nation’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues (UNPFII) said that 40% of estimated 6,700 languages
spoken around world were in danger of disappearing.
United Nations has designated 2019 as the International
Year of Indigenous language.
―In 2019 the United Nation wants to:
Boost understanding, reconciliation and international
cooperation for promoting indigenous languages.
Increase the integration of indigenous languages into
standard conversations.
Develop environment that boosts knowledge sharing and
dissemination of good practices related to development of
indigenous languages.
The newly discovered Kajin Sara lake in Nepal is likely to
attain the status of the world’s highest lake.
―The recently discovered Kajin Sara lake is located at an
altitude of 5,200 metres.
―The Sara Lake is estimated to be 1,500 metres long and 600
metres wide (official measurements of the lake are still
pending.)
―The lake located in the Singarkharka area of Chame rural
municipality in Manang district of Nepal will become the
world’s highest lake if the official measurements match the
estimated values.
―Currently the Tilicho Lake situated at an altitude of 4,919
metres in Nepal is the highest lake in the world.
―Tilicho lake in 4 km long, 1.2 km wide and 200 metres deep.
SUMMITS & ORGANIZATIONS
The 22nd National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG)
2019 was successfully held at Shillong, Meghalaya on 8th and
9th August, 2019.
―Shillong Declaration on e-governance was adopted in this
conference.
―Among other things the Shillong Declaration calls for:
Improving the experience of citizens by focusing on timely
implementation of India Enterprise Architecture (IndEA).
Integrating the various e-governance applications in India.
Improving the connectivity in the North Eastern States by
formulating and implementing the comprehensive telecom
development plan.
Moving towards less paper state secretariats in North
Eastern States.
―The National Conference was organised by the Department
of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DAPRG),
Ministry of Personnel and Ministry of Electronics &
Information Technology (MeitY).
―The National Conference had the theme “Digital India:
Success to Excellence”.
National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), an autonomous
institution of Ministry of New and Renewable (MNRE) has
Saurabh Verma
signed an agreement with United Nations Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO) for starting skill
development programme in solar thermal energy sector.
―Under the agreement, NISE and UNIDO will work with
national and international experts for brining specialised
training material.
―The agreement will support capacity building and skill
development of technical manpower in Concentrated Solar-
Thermal Energy Technologies (CST).
Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate
Change (MoEFCC) has released the draft Environmental and
Social Management Framework (ESMF) for the management
of coastal zone in India.
―The draft was prepared by the Integrated Coastal
Management. It sets the guidelines for approval and regulation
of the projects in costal zones. It is expected to help the Central
Government in enhancing the coastal resource efficiency and
resilience.
MISCELLANEOUS
The Bar Council of India (BCI), has imposed a 3 year
moratorium on opening of new law institutions in India.
―The moratorium will not apply if the new law institution is in
nature of national law universities.
―This decision was taken by the BCI to stop the mushrooming
of law colleges in India.
―During the moratorium period, BCI will concentrate on
improving the standards of existing law colleges.
―BCI has also taken the decision to close down law institutions
without required infrastructure and/or faculty.
―BCI has the authority of regulating LLB degrees. LLM and
Ph.D degrees are outside the purview of BCI.
BASIC GK
Books and Authors Sridevi: Girl Woman Superstar―by Satyarth Nayak
Permanent Record―by Edward Snowden
The Promise of India: How Prime Ministers Nehru to Modi
Shaped the Nation (1947–2019)―by Jaimini Bhagwati
Assam: The Accord, The Discord―by Sangeeta Barooah
Pisharoty
Kashmir: Rage and Reason―by Gowhar Geelani
Wish I Could Tell You―by Durjoy Datta
Nothing Ventured―by Jeffrey Archer
Quichotte―by Salman Rushdie
Awards and Honours
66th National Film Awards (2019 National Film Awards) have
been announced for the 31 categories.
―Award for Most Film Friendly State: Uttarakhand.
―Best Feature Film: ‘Hellaro’ (Gujarati)
―Best Non Feature Film: Son Rise by Vibha Bakshi and The
Secret Life of Frogs by Ajay and Vijay Bedi
―Best Actor: Ayushmann Khurrana (‘Andhadhun’) & Vicky
Kaushal (‘Uri’)
―Best Actress: Keerthy Suresh for ‘Mahanati’ (Telugu)
―Best Director: Aditya Dhar for- ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’
―Best Popular Film providing wholesome entertainment:
‘Badhaai Ho’
―Best film on social issues: ‘Padman’
―Best Special Effects: KGF
―Best Lyrics: Nathichirami (Kannada)
―Best Music Direction (Songs): Sanjay Leela Bhansali for
Padmaavat
Indian Actor Shah Rukh Khan was honoured with the
‘Excellence in Cinema’ honour at Indian Film Festival of
Melbourne (IFFM) 2019.
―Shah Rukh Khan was also invited as the chief guest at IFFM.
―IFFM 2019 was held from August 8 to August 15 in Australia.
People in News
Biologist Chandrima Shaha has become the first woman
President of Indian National Science Academy (INSA).
―Shaha will hold the position from 2020 to 2022.
―Shaha will take over from the Ajay K. Sood. ―Shaha is currently working as a professor at the National
Institute of Immunology (NII).
―Shaha is the former director of the NII.
―Shaha’s research mainly focused on
the understanding of cell death
pathways.
Aishwarya Pissay has become the
first Indian to claim a world title in
motorsports by winning FIM World
Cup (Fédération Internationale de
Motocyclisme) in women’s category. ―FIM World Cup 2019 was held at
Varpalota, Hungary. Pissay is a 23 year
old from Bengaluru.
Places/Events in News
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) organised exhibition
on ‘DAE Technologies: Empowering India through
Technology’ at New Moti Bagh recreation club, New Delhi on
11th and 12th August, 2019.
―The exhibition focused on the DAE spin off technologies for
Non-power applications.
―The technologies showcased in the exhibition have been
developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Raja
Ramanna Centre for Advance Technology (RRCAT), Indore
and other Units of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
Must Know
ADB: Asian Development Bank
BCCI: Board of Control for Cricket in India
BCI: Bar Council of India
DPCO: Drugs Price Control Order
GTAC: Guwahati Tea Auction Centre
ICAR: Indian Council of Agricultural Research
IDTM: International Dope Testing Management
IIFM: Indian Film Festival of Melbourne
MoEFCC: Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change
MRRDA: Maharashtra Rural Road Development Association
NADA: National Anti-Doping Agency
NDTL: National Dope Testing Laboratory
NISE: National Institute of Solar Energy
NLFT: National Liberation Front of Twipra
NPPA: National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
UAPA: Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
UNHCR: United Nations High Commission for Refugees
UNPFII: United Nation’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
UNRWA: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in Near East
WADA: World Anti-Doping Agency
Aishwarya Pissay
. NEWS BULLETIN―33 Week-4, Aug 2019
NATIONAL
The National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL) has been
finalised by the Indian Council of Medical Research.
―This is India’s first NEDL. ―India is the first country in the world to compile such a list.
―NEDL will help the government in finding out different types
of diagnostic tests and healthcare facilities that are lacking in
villages and remote areas.
―NEDL will help the government in
dealing with the gaps in the health care
services.
―NEDL will include tests which fall
under the Health and Wellness Centres
(HWCs) under Pradhan Mantri Jan
Arogya Yojana.
―NEDL is based on the first edition of Essential Diagnostic
List (EDL) released by WHO in May 2018.
Pakistan has suspended all train services to India.
―India has followed suit by suspending Samjhauta Express
and Jodhpur-Munabao Thar Link Express from India’s side.
―These suspensions have been carried out in the aftermath of
the Indian Government’s decisions related to Article 370 and
the changing of Jammu and Kashmir’s status from State to
Union Territory.
―Thar Link Express provides a link between Jodhpur in
Rajasthan, India and Zero Point Station across the border near
Munabao, Rajasthan, India.
―Thar Express links
the Zero Point
Station with Karachi.
―Thar Link Express
only carries
passengers i.e. it does
not allow for
transportation of
goods. ―Thar Link Express
was started in 2006
through a bilateral agreement between India and Pakistan.
―The Munabao-Khokhrapar rail link between India and
Pakistan was destroyed in 1965 during the Indo-Pak war.
―Samjhauta Express runs from Delhi to Attari (Amritsar) on
India side and from Wagah to Lahore on Pakistan’s side.
―Samjhauta Express was started in 1976 following the signing
of Shimla Agreement by India and Pakistan.
The Indian Railways has decided to run India’s 2nd UDAY
Express between Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada in Andhra
Pradesh.
―The first UDAY Express runs between Coimbatore (Tamil
Nadu) and Bengaluru (Karnataka).
―Indian Railways has also purposed a third UDAY Express
between Chennai Central (Tamil Nadu) and Bengaluru
(Karnataka).
―UDAY Express or Utkrisht Double Decker Air Conditioned
Yatri Express is a specially designed fully air-conditioned chair
car train.
―UDAY Express has modern facilities including striking
interiors, cushioned seating, WiFi facilities etc.
―UDAY Expresses are planned to run on routes which have
heavy passenger traffics.
―The second UDAY Express will consist of 9 double-decker
coaches and 2 power cars.
―The second UDAY Express will have a maximum carrying
capacity of 912 passengers
According to the recently released report of Greenpeace
India, India is the largest emitter of Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) in
the World.
According to the report:
--15% of the global anthropogenic SO2 hotspots were detected
over India.
--Major anthropogenic SO2 hotspots in India were found over
places like Singrauli, Neyveli, Jharsuguda, Talcher, Korba,
Chennai, Kutch, Ramagundam, Chandrapur, Koradi etc.
--Most of these places have thermal power plants/clusters.
--Most of the Indian anthropogenic SO2 emissions were due
to coal burning.
--Majority of coal-burning power plants in India do not use
pollution reducing flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD)
technology.
--Green Peace India has used the data provided by NASA’s
Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite for conducting
the study.
―The SO2 emission limits was imposed on coal based
powerplants in December 2015, but these powerplants have not
started complying with these limits.
―Originally, coal based powerplants were supposed to
complete the installation of the FGD technology by 2017. This
deadline was later extended to 2022.
―Globally, significant SO2 hotspots were found over Russia,
South Africa, Iran, Saudi Arabia, India, Mexico, United Arab
Emirates, Turkey and Serbia.
―Both China and USA have started switching over from coal
powered plants to clean energy plants for controlling SO2
emissions.
―India, Iran and Saudi Arabia are the three countries in which
the emissions of air pollutants from power plants and other
industries are increasing.
―The countries like Russia, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey etc.
are maintaining stable SO2 emissions levels i.e. the emissions in
these countries are neither increasing nor decreasing.
LAW
The Supreme Court has refused to pass any order on the plea
seeking relaxation in the shutdown of communication facilities
in parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
―This shutdown of communication services is part of the
lockdown in the Jammu and Kashmir which was imposed
after the Government’s decision to remove the special status of
All copyrights to this material vests with IMS Learning Resources Pvt Ltd. No part of this material either in part or as a whole shall be copied,
reprinted, reproduced, sold, distributed or transmitted in any form in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature without the permission of IMS Learning Resources Pvt Ltd., and any
such violation would entail initiation of suitable legal proceedings.
Samjhauta Express services suspended by the Pakistan government
Jammu and Kashmir and to bifurcate the State into two Union
Territories.
―The Supreme Court refused to pass any order saying that the
issue of Jammu and Kashmir was sensitive in nature and
reasonable time must be provided to the government for sorting
it out.
―The Supreme Court asked Centre to restore normalcy in the
Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible.
―While refusing to pass orders, the Supreme Court said that it
would look into the matter once again after a period of two
weeks.
―The government submitted that it was reviewing the
development in the state on day-to-day basis and the issue would
take few more days for settling subject to the ground situation.
The Centre Government has informed the Supreme Court that
it will decide on the issue of elevation of Justice Akil Kureshi
as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court within one
week.
―The Supreme Court, after hearing the submission, adjourned
the hearing.
―The submission by the Central Government was made while
the Court was hearing the petition by the Gujarat High Court
Advocates’ Association, challenging the withholding of the
appointment of Justice Kureshi as the Chief Justice of MP High
Court.
Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Chardham
highway project which will connect the four holy places
(Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri) in the state of
Uttrakhand.
―Supreme Court, while clearing the way, directed the Union
Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) to form high-
powered committee to look into environmental concerns related
to the project.
―The committee will have to submit its report within a period
of four months.
SC issued directions that in case of non-survival of any sapling,
further plantation should be done and compensatory
afforestation should be 10 times number of trees cut.
―This stance of the Supreme Court is the modification of the
earlier order passed by the National Green Tribunal in this
regard.
―The Chardham Project consists of a purposed 900 km of two
lane express National Highway with minimum width of 10
meters.
The Supreme Court of India has rejected former Tehelka
magazine editor Tarun Tejpal’s plea to quash the rape, assault
and sexual harassment charges against him.
―The Supreme Court observed that the charges were of serious
nature and that the trial had already been delayed.
―The Supreme Court also directed the Trail Court in Goa (the
court which is hearing the charges) to complete the proceedings
of the case within six months.
―Earlier the Bombay High Court had refused to interfere in the
matter.
―Tejpal has approached the Supreme Court claiming that he
was being framed. ―He also submitted the CCTV footage of
the hotel for supporting his claim and finding faults with the
charges framed against him.
―The Court refused to take the footage into account and said
that this was not the stage for considering evidence.
―Tejpal was arrested on November 30, 2013 based on a
complaint by a woman that Tejpal had sexually assaulted inside
a lift at a five-star hotel in Goa.
―The Goa Police claims that it has enough material at hand to
show that Tejpal should face the trial.
STATES
The Government of Andhra Pradesh has announced the
launch of one of its flagship schemes ‘Village Volunteers
System’.
―The aim of this scheme is to bridge the gap between the
government services and people by taking the services to their
doorsteps.
―The scheme will become operational from the 150th birth
anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on 2nd October, 2019.
Under the scheme, the State Government will establish village
secretariats across the state.
―The village secretariats established under the scheme will
fulfil the service requests of the citizens within 72 hours.
―Under the scheme, the government will use the help of more
than 2.8 lakh volunteers.
―The volunteers under the scheme will be paid allowance of Rs
5,000 per month for their contributions.
―Each volunteer will be responsible for 50 families.
―Volunteers will identify beneficiaries, understand their
problems; and provide them help regarding government
schemes that can help them.
―Toll-free telephone number 1902 will be used under the
scheme for handling public grievances related to the service.
―The government wants to use this scheme for reaching out to
each and every family of the state.
The Government of Tamil Nadu has decided to divide
Vellore district into three districts of Vellore, Ranipet and
Tirupattur.
―Vellore city will act as the headquarters of two of these three
districts.
―With the implementation of this decision the total number of
districts in the State will come to 37.
―The Government of Tamil Nadu has also taken a decision to
annually celebrate November 1 as the State’s creation day.
Government of Punjab
has launched a mega health
insurance scheme
‘Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat
Sehat Bima Yojana’ (MGSSBY). The scheme
clubs the Centre’s Pradhan
Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
(PMJAY) with the state government scheme.
―Implementation of PMJAY alone will have covered 14.86
lakh families in the state. The new scheme extends this cover to
additional 31 lakh families bringing the total to 46 lakh families.
―This scheme will make Punjab the first state to offer medical
insurance to such a substantial part of its population.
―MGSSBY provides a cashless health benefit of Rs 5 lakh per
year. This is similar to the benefit provided by PMJAY.
―MGSSBY will provide cover for 1,396 treatment packages in
more than 450 empanelled hospitals (including 200 government
hospitals)
―The Centre Government will bear the 60 percent of the annual
premium for the 14.86 lakh families.
―Punjab Government will bear the 40 percent of the annual
premium for the 14.86 lakh families and 100 percent of the
annual premium for the rest of the families covered.
―Punjab government will bear Rs.276 crore, or 83% of annual
premium of Rs.333 crore and Centre will bear the remaining
Rs.57 crore.
―This scheme was launched on the 75th birth anniversary of
India’s former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. ―PMJAY was announced in September 2018. Punjab was one
of the states which had not implemented this scheme till now.
Punjab CM Amarinder SIngh at launch of MGSSBY
ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
The Union Government has proposed a scheme for
providing the bank account holders an option to approve or
reject transfer of funds or deposits of cash into their bank
accounts.
―The Government is planning to implement this for dealing
with the issue of black money and illegal deposits.
―This proposal was first announced during the Budget Speech
in July 2019 and now the government has started talking with
the Reserve Bank of India regarding this.
―This decision was taken after the reports of large scale misuse
of Jan Dhan accounts for exchanging banned currency after the
denomination.
―These reports say that the Jan Dhan accounts were being
misused for depositing banned currency without the knowledge
of account holders in some cases.
―According to reports, following the demonetisation in
November 2016, currency amounting over Rs 42,000 crore was
deposited in 3.74 crore Jan Dhan accounts in less than two
months.
―One of the stated reasons for denomination of the currency
was to deal with the issue of black currency but that failed to
make any impact.
The Government of India has notified the indirect tax
dispute resolution scheme which was announced during the
Budget.
―The scheme will become operational from September 1, and
will continue till December 31, 2019.
―This government has two components:
--Dispute resolutions: The individuals against whom the
disputes are pending in the courts can use this for liquidating
these cases.
--Amnesty: Individuals can pay their outstanding tax and
absolve themselves from all the other consequences under the
law.
―The scheme provides for tax dues relief of 70 percent if the
Tax Demand is of Rs 50 lakh or less and relief of 50% if the Tax
Demand is of more than Rs 50 lakh
―Under the amnesty scheme, the individual will have to pay
duty on the amount disclosed. There will be no interest, fine or
penalty.
Indian foreign exchange reserves have touched an all-time
high value of USD 4,30.572 billion in the week ending on
August 8, 2019.
―This increase in the foreign exchange or forex reserves was
due increase in the foreign currency assets.
―The forex reserves of India are expressed in dollar terms and
include adjustments for price fluctuations of all non-USD
currency units.
―The value of Indian Gold reserves increased by USD 1.591
billion to touch the value of USD 26.754 billion.
―The value of Special drawing rights (SDR) maintained with
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by USD 6.7
million to touch USD 1.441 billion.
―Reserve position with IMF increased by USD $7 million to
touch USD 3.636 billion.
DEFENCE & SECURITY
The Union Ministry of Defence has cleared the proposal of
instituting Committee to review Defence Procurement
Procedure (DPP) 2016 and Defence Procurement Manual
(DPM) 2009.
―The Director General (Acquisitions) will act as the
Chairperson of these committees.
―DG (Acq) will be helped by a team of 11 other members.
―The members of the committee will at a minimum have a rank
or Joint Secretary or Major General or equivalent.
―These committees will look into the procedures and policies;
and revise them where ever necessary so that the process from
decision to acquire assets to completion of the life of the assets
can be as seamless as possible,
― One of the tasks given to these committees is to see the
manner in which the Make in India initiative of the Indian
Government can be strengthened.
―The committees will have to submit their recommendations
within six months.
―Both Defence Procurement Procedure 2016 and Defence
Procurement Manual 2009 have become due for revision.
The Union Home
Ministry has taken a
decision to bring
uniformity in the Central
Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) by fixing the
retirement age at 60 years
for all the personnel of
CAPFs. ―Previously, in CRPF
(Central Reserve Police
Force), BSF (Border
Security Force, ITBP
(Indo-Tibetan Border Security Force) and SSB (Sashastra
Seema Bal), personnel between the ranks of Constable and
Commandant superannuated at the age of 57.
―Previously, personnel with the rank of Deputy General and
above in CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB retired at the age of 60
years or more
―In January 2019 the High Court of Delhi passed an order
holding the different age of superannuation in CRPF, BSF, ITBP
and SSB as discriminatory and unconstitutional.
―The Central Armed Police Forces are working in various parts
of the country for protecting Indian internal security concerns.
―CAPFs deal with issues like border security, terrorism, riots,
maintenance of law and order, Naxal operations etc.
―CAPFs are under the control of Union Home Ministry.
―In March 2011, five services of CISF (Central Industrial
Security Force), CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSP were classified as
Central Armed Police Forces for avoiding confusions.
―The term used for these forces earlier to 2011 was
‘Paramilitary Force’ but now the term Paramilitary Forces is
used for referring to Assam Rifles and Special Frontier Force.
―The Term Paramilitary Forces has not been defined officially
or mentioned in any Acts in force as of now.
Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO) has transferred the
design of Mobile Metallic
Ramp (MMR) to Indian Army. ―MMR has been designed and
developed by the DRDO’s
premier research laboratory
Centre for Fire, Explosive
and Environment Safety (CFEES).
―MMR has been designed to
satisfy the projected Indian Army requirements for reducing
Strategic Mobility time of mobilising Armoured Fighting
Vehicles (AFVs).
―MMR has been designed to bear loads of up to 70 metric tons
(MT)
―MMR can be easily assembled or disassembled.
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
―DRDO was set up in 1958 for taking care of military’s
research and development.
Union Defence Ministry has taken a number of decisions
regarding the re-organisation of the Army headquarters.
Some of the key decisions taken by the Defence Ministry are:
--Setting up of a separate Vigilance Cell under the Chief of the
Army Staff (COAS).
--This Vigilance Cell will be headed by an ADG (Vigilance)
rank officer who will be helped by one Colonel level officers
each from the three defence services (Indian Air Force, Indian
Navy and Indian Army).
--Setting up of a separate Human Right Section to focus on
human right issues.
--The Human Right Section will be headed by an ADG rank
officer who will directly report to the Vice Chief of the Army
Staff.
--This section will focus on observance of human rights
conventions and values.
--This section will be the nodal office for dealing with all Human
Rights violation reports within the Indian Army.
--This section will also take police officer of SSP or SP rank on
deputation for ensuring best investigation expertise.
--206 officers (186 Lieutenant Colonels, 9 Colonels, 8
Brigadiers and 3 Major Generals) will be shifted out from the
Army Headquarters to the field units.
--This shifting is being done for addressing the long pending
demand of increasing the availability of officers in the field.
POLICY AND GOVT. INITIATIVES
Union Ministry of
Environment, Forest and
Climate Change (MoEFCC) has
released the draft of National
Resource Efficiency Policy,
2019.
―The key features of the draft
policy include: encouraging environmentally
sustainable and equitable
economic growth.
reducing the consumption of
primary resources to the level
which are sustainable.
increasing the efficiency of resource utilisation.
increasing employment opportunities and material security.
finding the ways of minimising waste.
―MoEFCC has invited comments and suggestions from
different stakeholders on this draft.
―India’s GDP estimates put its value at USD 2.6 trillion.
―The material consumption of India has increased from 1.18
billion tonnes (BT) in 1970 to 7 (BT) in 2015.
Indian Government has decided to introduce flexible e-
tourist visa regime.
―This regime will be applicable to citizens of more than 160
countries.
―The regime will be based on the tourist footfall. This means
that the e-tourist visa fee will be higher during peak seasons and
less during lean periods.
―Under the scheme, a visa with the validity between 30 days
and 5 years will be available with visa fee between USD 10 and
USD 80.
―Tourists from the member countries of the India-Pacific
Islands Cooperation region (Cook Islands, Micronesia, Kiribati,
Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Niue Island, Samoa, Fiji,
Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands and
Tonga) will not have to pay any visa fee.
―The tourists from Mauritius, Uruguay, Myanamar, Indonesia,
Jamaica, Seychelles, South Africa and Argentina have also been
exempted from the requirement of paying any visa fee.
―The move has been taken by the Government for encouraging
foreign tourists to visit India.
―This scheme has been approved by both the Union Home
Ministry and Union Ministry of External Affairs.
The Union Ministry of Human Resources Development
has launched the Integrated Teachers’ Training Programme,
NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Head’s and
Teachers’ Holistic Advancement).
―The Ministry wants to use the program to train approximately
42 lakh teachers across India.
―The program will cover:
all the teachers and heads at elementary level in
Government Schools.
faculty members of the State Council of Education,
Research and Training (SCERT)
faculty of District Institutions of Education and
Training (DIETs).
Block Resource Coordinators.
Cluster Resource Coordinators
teachers and faculty of other educational departments in
UTs and States.
―NISHTHA will be the world’s largest training programme of
its kind.
―NISHTHA is the first Indian programme in which the
standardised training modules have been developed at the
national level for all the states and UTs of the country.
SPORTS
On August 25, 2019 the Indian ace
shuttler, PV Sindhu, defeated Japan’s
Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21―7 to clinch the
women’s single title at the finals of World
Championship 2019 played at Basel,
Switzerland. ―In the men’s category, HS Prannoy of
India won the Bronze medal. He had
defeated the ex-World Champion Lin Dan
(China) in quarterfinals. He lost to Japan Kento Momato (Japan)
in the semi-finals. Kento Momato went on to win the gold medal
in men’s final defeating Lee zii Jia (Malaysia).
Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC)
has reappointed Ravi Shastri as the head
coach of Indian Men’s Cricket team for
a two years period.
―Ravi Shastri’s contract was scheduled
to end with the conclusion of World Cup
2019. His term was extended by 45 days
till then end of the West Indies tour. ―Ravi Shastri will continue in this
position till the end of T20 World Cup
2021 in India. Ravi Shastri is a former cricketer who has
appeared in 150 ODIs and 80 Test matches.
―Ravi Shastri in past has served as the Cricket Manager (2007
tour of Bangladesh), Team Director (2014-2016) and head
coach (2017-2019). Ravi Shastri enjoys public backing of the
Indian Cricket Team Captain Virat Kohli.
―Under Ravi Shastri, the Indian team has won 43 out of 60
ODIs (71.6 percent), 11 out of 21 Test Matches (52.38 percent)
and 25 out of 36 T20 International Matches (69.44 percent)
―CAC, under the leadership of Kapil Dev, is assisted by India
coach Anshuman Gaekwad and ex women’s captain Shantha
Rangaswamy.
Ravi Shastri
PV SIndhu
Indian men’s cyclist team has created history by winning the
Team Sprint gold medal at World Junior Track Cycling
Championships in Frankfurt, Germany.
―This is the 1st Gold Medal for India in any world cycling
event. Australia won the Silver Medal and Great Britain won the
Bronze.
―The Gold Medal winning team included Esow Alben,
Ronaldo Singh, James Singh and Rojit Singh.
―The Indian men’s junior team has a global ranking of No 2.
Malaysia enjoys the global ranking of No 1.
―Indian cyclist Esow Alben (from Andaman and Nicobar
Islands) is the top-ranked junior cyclist in world in sprint and
keirin events.
The Ministry of Sports has decided to form a single selection
committee for deciding on all the awards awarded by the
Ministry in 2019.
―The Committee under the leadership of retired Supreme Court
Judge Justice Mukundakam Sharma will both evaluate and
decide on all the awards decisions.
―Justice Sharma will be assisted by 11 other members
including Mary Kom, Bhaichung Bhutia, Anjum Chopra, Anju
Bobby George etc.
―The Committee has made the following recommendations:
Khel Ratna
Bajrang Punia (wrestling)
Deepa Malik (para-athletics)
Arjuna Award
Ravindra Jadeja (cricket)
Sonia Lather (boxing)
Poonam Yadav (cricket)
Simran Singh Shergill (polo)
Swapna Burman (athletics).
S Bhaskaran (body building)
Pooja Dhanda (wrestling)
Fouaad Mirza (equestrian)
Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (hockey)
Ajay Thakur (kabaddi)
Tajinder Pal Singh Toor (athletics)
Mohammed Anas Yahiya (athletics)
Sundar Singh Gurjar (para sports-athletics)
Gaurav Singh Gill (motor sports)
Bhamidipati Sai Praneeth (badminton)
Pramod Bhagat (para sports-badminton)
Anjum Moudgil (shooting)
Harmeet Rajul Desai (table tennis)
Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (football)
Dronacharya Award (regular category):
Vimal Kumar (badminton)
Sandeep Gupta (table tennis)
Mohinder Singh Dhillon (athletics)
Dronacharya Award (Lifetime Category):
Mezban Patel (hockey)
Rambir Singh Khokar (kabaddi)
Sanjay Bhardwaj (cricket)
Dhyan Chand Award:
Manuel Fredricks (hockey)
Arup Basak (table tennis)
Manoj Kumar (wrestling)
Nitten Kirrtane (tennis)
C Lalremsanga (archery).
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy
Punjab University, Chandigarh – Overall winner university
Guru Nanak Dev University (Amritsar)- 1st runner up
Punjabi University (Patiala) – 2nd runner up.
INTERNATIONAL
Iceland has lost its first glacier–Okjokull–to global warming.
―Iceland held the funeral for the glacier and this was attended
by Prime Minister of Iceland Katrin Jakobsdottir.
―Glacier Okjokull was officially declared dead in 2014 at the
age of 700 years.
―Okjokull was declared dead by the Icelandic Meteorological
Office (IMO) when it was no longer thick enough to move.
―Okjokull is 1st Icelandic glacier to lose its status as glacier.
―Scientists predict that Iceland will lose all of its major glaciers
in the next 200 years if the present global warming trends
continue.
―Iceland loses about 11 billion tonnes of ice per year.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India
and Maldives on Training and Capacity Building
Programme for Maldivian Civil Servants have become
operational.
―The MoU in question was signed between the National
Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), India and the Civil
Services Commission of Maldives in June 2019.
―The objective of the MoU is to train 1000 Civil Servants of
Maldives in India over the period of five years.
The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has
announced a successful testing of the medium-range ground-
launched cruise missile.
―The test was conducted from the US Navy-controlled San
Nicolas Island off the coast of Los Angeles in California.
―The missile successfully impacted the target situated at a
distance of more than 500 kilometres.
―The test missile was an altered version of the exiting nuclear
capable Tomahawk cruise missile.
―This development comes within a short period of USA’s
decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear
Forces (INF) Treaty.
―The INF treaty officially ended on August 2nd, 2019.
―INF treaty was signed in 1987. INF treaty banned
development and deployment of all land-based missiles,
conventional and nuclear, that could travel between 500 and
5,500 kilometres.
―INF treaty was signed for doing away with a class of nuclear
weapons employed by both USA and USSR that were
threatening Europe.
―The ground launched version of Tomahawk missile was
developed before the rectification of the INF treaty and was
removed from service after the rectification.
―USA unilaterally withdrew from the INF treaty accusing
Russia of violating the terms of the treaty in the recent years.
The ending of the treaty has increased the fear of a new nuclear
arms race.
―USA has stressed that it is not interested in developing nuclear
INF range weapons.
―USA is most likely to deploy new INF range weapons in Asia;
further escalating the tensions with China which was not part of
the original INF treaty.
Okjokull, the first Icelandic glacier disappears
Bajrang Punia (Wrestling) and Deepa Malik (Para-athletics)
SUMMITS & ORGANIZATIONS
The NASA’s Magnetospheric
Multiscale (MMS) Mission has
taken its first high-resolution
measurements of an interplanetary
shock.
―Interplanetary shock measured
by MMS is of particles and
electromagnetic waves of the Sun.
―Researching of interplanetary
shocks help us in gaining better understanding of universal
phenomena.
―NASA’s MMS mission is a robotic space mission launched in
March 2015 for better studying Earth’s magnetosphere.
―MMS mission involves four identical spacecrafts flying in
tetrahedral formation around the Earth.
―These spacecrafts have been specially designed for gathering
information about microphysics of energetic particle turbulence
and acceleration, processes that occur in many astrophysical
plasmas.
SUMMITS & ORGANIZATIONS
BASIC countries (Brazil, South Africa, India and China)
have recently concluded their 28th Ministerial meeting on
Climate Change in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This meeting was held
before the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCC) Conference of Parties (COP-25)
meet scheduled in December 2019. The key highlights of this
meeting included:
―The members in the meeting expressed strong concerns on the
global warming, the related climate change and their negative
effects.
―The members in the meeting reaffirmed their commitment
towards implementing UNFCCC.
―The members also reaffirmed their commitments towards
implementation of Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement
under UNFCCC.
―The members also emphasised that while making these
implementations, the needs and special circumstances of the
developing nations should be kept in mind and the principles of
Equity and Common should be applied based on the
Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities
(CBDR-RC).
―The BASIC members also said that the developed countries
should fulfil their climate finance commitments of mobilizing
$100 billion annually by 2020 for developing countries.
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar represented
India at the meeting. The next meeting of the BASIC members
will be hosted by China. BASIC was formed in 2009. Countries
in BASIC account for the 40 percent of the World’s population.
BASIC nations have agreed to act jointly at the Copenhagen
climate summit, including possible united walk-out if their
common minimum position was not met by the developed
nations.
ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY
Union Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA)
conducted a one-day National Workshop Cum Exhibition on
Sustainable Sanitation on 19th August, 2019.
―The Exhibition was conducted for bringing together different
stakeholders with the purpose of finding ways of reducing risks
related to manual entry into sewers or septic tanks.
―The Exhibition saw participation of more than 800
representatives from across India.
―Both managerial and technological issues were discussed for
finding methods of reducing risks.
―Best practices in Municipal Solid Waste Management were
discussed.
―Role and responsibilities of Emergency Response
Sanitation Unit (ERSU), a proposed unit to systematise human
entry into sewer or septic tanks were discussed.
―The workshop was a part of the year long celebration of the
150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
ART AND CULTURE NEWS
The Aadi Mahotsav or
National Tribal Festival was
organised at Polo Ground, Leh-
Ladakh from 17th August to 25th
August 2019. ―The nine days festival was
organised for boosting the tribal
economy in Ladakh.
―The theme of the festival was,
“A celebration of the spirit of Tribal Craft, Culture and
Commerce.”
―The festival saw participation of approximately 160 tribal
artisans representing 20 states of India.
―The major attractions at the event included:
--Tribal textiles from Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and West
Bengal
--Tribal jewellery from Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and
the North-eastern states
--Art and craft from Gond and Warli
--Art, metal craft from Chhattisgarh
--Black pottery from Manipur
―The Aadi Mahotsav is a joint initiative of the Union Ministry
of Tribal Affairs and Tribal Cooperative Marketing
Development Federation of India (TRIFED).
―TRIFED acts as a service provider and market developer and
collaborate with Amazon for selling tribal products in 190
countries across the world
―TRIFED will essentially play role of a Service provider &
Market Developer.
―70 percent of the population of Ladakh is tribal population.
―Ladakh is known for apricots and pashmina.
―Through a collaboration of TRIFED and online marketplace
Amazon, these products will be sold in 190 countries across the
world.
MISCELLANEOUS
The Geographical Indications Registry under Department
for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has
accorded Geographical Indication (GI) tag to the following
items: Tirur betel Leaf (Kerala); Tawlhlohpuan (Mizoram);
and, Mizo Puanchei (Mizoram)
―The GI tags are exclusive in nature and similar item
originating from different location are not allowed to use them.
BASIC GK ASPECTS
Books and Authors The Extraordinary Life and Death of Sunanda Pushkar―by
Sunanda Mehta
Bhaunri—A Novel―by Anukrti Upadhyay
Aadi Mahotsav or National Tribal Festival
NASA's MMS Mission
Shiksha: My Experiments as an Education Minister―by
Manish Sisodia
Bolna Hi Hai : Loktantra, Sanskriti Aur Rashtra Ke Bare
Mein―by Ravish Kumar
The Game of Votes―by Farhat Basir Khan
The Fifth Domain―by Richard A. Clarke and Robert K. Knake
Wish I Could Tell You―by Durjoy Datta
Till We Meet Again―by Shibaji Bose
The Dark Side―by Danielle Steel
Awards and Honours
Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman 2019 was awarded to
the following scholars:
Sanskrit: Dr. Ashok Thapliyal; Prof. SujtaTripathi;
Dr.Sanju Mishra; Dr. Abhijit Hanmant Joshi;
Dr.SharachchandraDwivedi
Pali: Anoma Shriram Sakhare
Prakrit: Ashish Kumar Jain
Arabic: Dr. Fauzan ahmad
Persian: ER.M. Shahbaz Alam
Classical Kannada: G Bharisha; S. Karthik; Dr. M.
Byrappa
Classical Telgu: Dr. Addanki Srinivas; Dr. V. Triveni; Dr.
DK Prabhakar
Classical Malayalam: Dr. Rajeev RR; Shri Santhosh
Thottingal
Classical Odia: Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusty
―In addition to this, Certificates of Honour were also given to
the scholars of Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Pali, Prakrit, Classical
Kannada, Classical Telugu, Classical Malayalam and Classical
Odiya.
―Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman are conferred annually
on the Independence Day. These awards are conferred to
scholars between the age of 30 and 45; and carry a cash price of
Rs one lakh. These awards were instituted by 2002 by the Union
Ministry of Human Resource Development.
People in News
On August 24, 2019 the former Union
Minister Arun Jaitley (66) passed away
after prolonged illness. He was acc orded
fill state honours in the presence of several
leaders from BJP as well as the opposition
political parties. Mr Jaitley was admitted to
All India Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS) in New Delhi on August 9, 2019
after reports of breathlessness and restlessness.
Appointments
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC),
Government of India has appointed Harshad Pandurang
Thakur as Director of National Institute of Health and
Family Welfare The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC),
Government of India has approved appointment of Rajiv
Gauba, as India’s new Cabinet Secretary.
―He will assume office on August 30, 2019 and he will
continue in office for a period of two years.
―Rajiv will be taking over from the present incumbent
Pradeep Kumar Sinha, a 1977 batch Uttar Pradesh-cadre IAS
officer. Rajiv is known for labour reforms in Jharkhand.
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC),
Government of India has cleared the appointment of Ajay
Kumar as Secretary, Union Ministry of Defence.
―Ajay Kumar is currently serving as a Secretary in the
Department of Defence Production, Union Ministry of Defence.
―Kumar will take over the charge from the current incumbent
Sanjay Mitra.
―Kumar is a 1985 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
officer from Kerala cadre.
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC),
Government of India has made the following appointments:
―Subash Chandra as the new Defence Production Secretary
of India, and Brij Kumar Agarwal as the new Secretary,
Lokpal.
Places/Events in News
Union Ministry of Tourism conducted a one-day National
Conference of Tourism Ministers on 20th August, 2019.
The Conference saw participation from: (i) State Tourism
Ministers of 19 States; and, (ii) Secretaries of Tourism and other
senior officials from States and Union Territories.
―Some of the States showcased their best practices in the
tourism sector to the people.
―The States were urged to help in doubling the number of
foreign and domestic tourists in the next five years.
―The Conference saw launch of the Hindi version of new
Incredible India portal.
―The Conference saw announcement of the launch of Arabic,
Chinese and Spanish versions of the new Incredible India Portal
in September, 2019.
Must Know
ACC: Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
ADG: Additional Director General
AFV: Armed Fighting Vehicle
CAC: Cricket Advisory Committee
CAPF: Central Armed Police Forces
CFEES: Centre for Fire Explosive and Environmental Safety
CISF: Central Industrial Security Force
CoAS: Chief of the Army Staff
CRPF: Central Reserve Police Force
DIET: District Institutions of Education and Training
DPIIT: Deptt. for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
DRDO: Defence Research and Development Organisation
EDL: Essential Diagnostic List
FGD: Flue-Gad Desulphurisation
ICMR: Indian Council of Medical Research
ITBP: Indo-Tibetan Border Security Force
LTTE: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
MGSSBY: Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana
NCGG: National Centre for Good Governance
NEDL: National Essential Diagnostics List
NIHFW: National Institute of Health and Family Welfare
ODI: One Day Internationals
OMI: Ozone Monitoring Instrument
PMJAY: Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
SCERT: State Council of Education, Research and Training
SSB: Sashastra Seema Bal
TISS: Tata Institution of Social Science
TRIFED: Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development
Federation of India
UDAY: Utkrisht Double Decker Air Conditioned Yatri
UNFCC: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNGC: United Nations General Assembly
Arun Jaitley