for September · 1.7.GI Atal for Dindigul lock and Kandangisaree • The products — the Dindigul...

PRE-Cure (Relevant Current Affairs for UPSC Civil

Services Examination)

Compilation for

September 2019

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1. Geography 1 .............................................................

1.1.RCEP 1 ....................................................................1.2.James Webb Space Telescope 2 ........................1.3.Mitra Crater 2 .........................................................1.4.Sisir Kumar Mitra 2 ................................................1.5.Open Acreage Licensing Policy 2 .......................1.6.Institutions 3 ..........................................................1.7.GI Atal for Dindigul lock and Kandangisaree 3 .1.8.TRIPs Agreement 3 ...............................................1.9.State of the World Population 2019 4 .................1.10.United Nations Population Fund 4 ....................1.11.Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) 5 .........1.12.Indian Ocean Conference 5 ..............................1.13.Chandrayaan-2 5 ................................................1.14.Mapping Lightning Across India 6 ....................1.15.Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019

6 1.16.Global Liveability Index 6 ..................................1.17.Samudrayaan Project 7 ......................................1.18.Country’s Longest Electrified Rail Tunnel 7 ......1.19.World’s Second Largest Coal Block 7 ...............1.20.Andrex Project 8 ..................................................1.21.Asteroid Impact Deflection Assessment 8 .......1.22.Kartarpur Sahib Pilgrim Corridor 9 ...................1.23.District Mineral Foundations 9 ..........................1.24.Pradhan Mantri Khanij Khestra Kalyan Yojana

(PMKKKY) 9 ..............................................................1.25.Pangong Tso Lake 10 ............................................1.26.Drought Toolbox 10 ..............................................1.27.World Energy Congress 10 ..................................1.28.World Energy Council 11 .....................................1.29.Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) 11 ....................1.30.Stubble Burning 11 ...............................................1.31.Paraquat 12 ............................................................1.32.Aditya-L1 Mission 12 ............................................1.33.Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) 13 ............1.34.International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 13 .1.35.International Migrant Stock 2019 14 ..................1.36.India’s Cooling Action Plan 14 .............................1.37.Coal Gasification 14 ..............................................

1.38.Akademik Lomonosov 15 ....................................1.39.Shola Grasslands 15 .............................................

2. History 16 ....................................................................

2.1.Tulsidas (1532 – 1623 C.E.) 16 ...............................2.2.Sur Das 16 ................................................................2.3.Maluk Das 17 ...........................................................2.4.Sundardas 17 ...........................................................2.5.Birbhan 17 ................................................................2.6.UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible

Cultural Heritage 18 .................................................2.7.Kumbh Mela (2017) 18 ...........................................2.8.Nawrouz/ Navroz/ Nowruz (2016) 19 ....................2.9.Yoga (2016) 20 ........................................................2.10.Yoga and Vedanta 21 ............................................

3. Polity 23 .......................................................................

3.1.One Stop Solution To Verify & Authenticate Voter Details 23 ..................................................................

3.2.Declaration Of Certain Individuals As Terrorists Under The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 23 ......................................................................

3.3.Rastriya Poshan Maah 24 ........................................3.4.Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act,

2019 24 ......................................................................3.5.The Interpol General Assembly 25 ........................3.6.Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019 25 ...........3.7.Krishna Water Dispute 28 .......................................3.8.Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana 29 ...................................3.9.Indian Skill Development Services 29 ...................3.10.Jal Jeevan Mission 29 ...........................................3.11.Screening children for Leprosy and Tuberculosis

29 3.12.National Animal Disease Control Programme

(NADCP) 30 ...............................................................3.13.Guidelines for drones in India 31 ........................3.14.Jammu and Kashmir’s Public Safety Act 32 ........3.15.Bamboonomics 32 ................................................3.16.LEAP and ARPIT 33 ...............................................3.17.Multipurpose National Identity Card (MPNIC)

33


Table of Contents



3.18.Satluj Yamuna Link Canal Issue 34 ......................3.19.Malnutrition and Diseases in under-5 children

34 3.20.All India Survey on Higher Education 35 ............3.21.National Educational Alliance for Technology

36 3.22.Uniform Civil Code 37 ..........................................3.23.Fundamental rights are enforceable in a court of

law 37 .........................................................................3.24.6th India Water Week-2019 37 ............................3.25.ERSS, E-Beat Book and E-Saathi App 38 ............3.26.Astra Missile 38 .....................................................

4. International Relations 40 .....................................

4.1.SAARC 40 .................................................................4.2.Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) 42 ....................4.3.Central Adverse List 43 ...........................................4.4.India-Mongolia 43 ...................................................4.5.International Migrant Stock 2019 44 .....................4.6.UNDESA 44 ..............................................................4.7.CPEC 44 ...................................................................

5. Economy 46 .................................................................

5.1.Blue Revolution 46 ..................................................5.2.$1 billion line of credit to Russian Far East 46 .....5.3.Kuril Islands 47 .........................................................5.4.NDB & AP 47 ............................................................5.5.Mega Food Park 48 .................................................5.6.India, US military Exercise 48 .................................5.7.MGNREGS 49 ..........................................................5.8.ICC Test rankings 49 ...............................................5.9.Rafael Nadal wins US Open 49 ..............................5.10.National Dairy Plan 49 ..........................................5.11.National Research Development Corporation

50 5.12.Oil Pipelines from India to Neighbours 50 .........5.13.Liberalising Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) 50 5.14.Swedish environmental activist 50 ......................5.15.Checkpost at India-Myanmar border 51 ............5.16.Five Technology Missions 51 ...............................5.17.Government Announces steps to boost housing

51 5.18.National Centre for Clean Coal R&D 51 .............

5.19.Gandhi Solar Park 51 ............................................5.20.Strategic Oil Reserves 52 .....................................5.21.PMC Bank 52 .........................................................5.22.E-Assessment Scheme 53 ....................................5.23.Axis Bank’s QIP 53 .................................................5.24.Higher Education Commission of India (HECI)

53 5.25.Sardar Patel National Unity Award 54 .................5.26.New method developed to measure soil erosion

54 5.27.CARICOM 54 .........................................................5.28.Bulgaria’s Kristalina Georgieva 55 .......................

6. Environment 56 .........................................................

6.1.Government To Develop A Master Plan For Tigers At High Altitude 56 ...................................................

6.2.Government To Pull Out All The Stops To Cut Use Of Plastics 56 ............................................................

6.3.Australia Downgrades Outlook For Great Barrier Reef To ‘Very Poor’ 57 ..............................................

6.4.Centre Releases 47,436 Crore To 27 States For Afforestation 58 ........................................................

6.5.Giraffes Close To Being Classified As 'Critically Endangered’ 58 ........................................................

6.6.Nilgiri Tahr 59 ...........................................................6.7.National Conference On Crop Residue

Management 59 .......................................................6.8.Augmenting Nature By Green Affordable New-

Habitat (ANGAN) 60 .................................................6.9.Climate Change And Banana 60 ...........................6.10.New Species Of Ginger In Nagaland 60 ............6.11.Vulture Culture 61 .................................................6.12.Uttarakhand Plans Bio-Fences To Check Man-

Animal Conflict 61 ....................................................6.13.World Ozone Day 62 ............................................6.14.UNCCD – COP 14 62 ............................................6.15.Peace Forest Initiative 63 ......................................6.16.World Bamboo Day 63 .........................................6.17.UN Climate Action Summit 64 .............................6.18.New IPCC Report Warns Of Dire Threat To

Oceans 64 .................................................................6.19.Even Unborn Babies Can Be Affected By

Pollution 65 ...............................................................




6.20.How Clean Is Ganga? Now, A Mobile Application To Monitor Holy River’s Water And Aquatic Life 66 ..........................................................

6.21.Pacesetter Fund Programme 66 ..........................

7. Science & Tech 67 ......................................................

7.1.E-Cigarettes 67 ........................................................7.2.Class A Poison 67 ....................................................7.3.Ranitidine 68 ............................................................7.4.Hypertension 69 ......................................................7.5.Salmonella 69 ..........................................................7.6.Bombay Blood Group 70.......................................




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1. Geography To watch the following topics on YouTube click on the links given below:

• Video 1

• Video 2

• Video 3

• Video 4

1.1.RCEP • The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA)

between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and its

six FTA partners (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand).

• RCEP negotiations were formally launched in November 2012 at the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia.

Countries

• Ten members of ASEAN

✓Indonesia

✓Malaysia

✓Philippines

✓Singapore

✓Thailand

✓Brunei

✓Vietnam

✓Laos

✓Myanmar

✓Cambodia

• Three additional East Asian members of ASEAN Plus Three

✓China

✓Japan

✓South Korea

• Three additional members of ASEAN Plus Six

✓India

✓Australia


1

https://youtu.be/gNx4BwZoe0o?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

https://youtu.be/_LN8BJZr7eo?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

https://youtu.be/l6qqXo0H-50?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

https://youtu.be/mEaCNR4OIi0?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY



✓New Zealand

1.2.James Webb Space Telescope

• The James Webb Space Telescope (also called JWST or Webb) will be a large infrared telescope with a

6.5-meter primary mirror. The telescope will be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana in 2021.

• It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the

Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System.

• Webb is an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

1.3.Mitra Crater • Recently, the Chandrayaan-2’s orbiter has scanned a crater on the moon named after 20th century’s

acclaimed radio physicist Sisir Kumar Mitra.

• Mitra is a lunar impact crater that is attached to the western outer rim of the larger crater Mach, on

the far side of the Moon.

• The Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature of the International Astronomical Union

(IAU)—the global authority for naming planetary features in the solar system— had named the impact

based crater after Professor Sisir Kumar Mitra in 1970.

1.4.Sisir Kumar Mitra

• Sisir Kumar Mitra was an Indian physicist who led the research in the ionosphere– the upper region of

the atmosphere–and radiophysics.

• He was the first to introduce the teaching of radio communication in India.

• His book, ‘Upper Atmosphere’ is considered as the Bible for research workers in the field of the

ionosphere.

1.5.Open Acreage Licensing Policy

Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP)

• The government has launched the Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP) replacing the old

policy of National Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP).

• Four main facets of HELP are

✓uniform license for exploration and production of all forms of hydrocarbon,

✓an open acreage policy,

✓easy to administer the revenue sharing model and

✓Marketing and pricing freedom for the crude oil and natural gas produced.


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Open Acreage Policy

• Under the Open Acreage Licensing Programme or OALP, companies are allowed to put in an expression of interest (EoI) for prospecting of oil and gas in any area that is presently not under any

production or exploration license.

• The blocks or areas that receive EoIs at the end of a cycle are put up for auction with the originator or

the firm that originally selected the area getting a 5-mark advantage.

• Blocks are awarded to the company which offers the highest share of oil and gas to the government as well as commits to doing maximum exploration work by seismic survey and drilling exploration wells.

1.6.Institutions • The 45th G7 summit was held on 24–26 August 2019, in Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.

• The Group of Seven (G7) is an international intergovernmental economic organization consisting of

the seven largest IMF-described advanced economies in the world: Canada, France, Germany, Italy,

Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States; between 1997 and 2014, the group included Russia and was known as the Group of Eight, and had for a year been known as the Group of Six

before the 1976 inclusion of Canada.

1.7.GI Atal for Dindigul lock and Kandangisaree • The products — the Dindigul lock and the Kandangi saree — were given the GI tag by the

Geographical Indications Registry.

• GIs have been defined under Article 22(1) of the WTO Agreement on TradeRelated Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights(TRIPS) Agreement as: "Indications which identify a good as originating in

the territory of a member, or a region or a locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographic origin.”

• A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a

specific geographical location or origin (e.g. a town, region, or country). India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and

Protection) Act, 1999 has come into force with effect from 15 September 2003.

1.8.TRIPs Agreement • GIs have been defined under Article 22(1) of the WTO Agreement on TradeRelated Aspects of

Intellectual Property Rights(TRIPS) Agreement as: "Indications which identify a good as originating in

the territory of a member, or a region or a locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographic origin."

• TRIPS requires WTO members to provide copyright rights, covering authors and other copyright holders, as well as holders of related rights, namely performers, sound recording producers and

broadcasting organisations; geographical indications; industrial designs; integrated circuit

layoutdesigns; patents; new plant varieties; trademarks; trade names and undisclosed or confidential information


3



1.9.State of the World Population 2019 • According to State of World Population-2019 report by the United Nations Population Fund

(UNFPA), India’s population grew at an average of 1.2% annually between 2010 and 2019 which is

more than double the annual growth rate of China.

• The release of report also marks 50 years of the UNFPA being established to support countries to

bring down fertility levels.

Highlights

• The world’s population rose to 7.715 billion in 2019, up from 7.633 billion in 2018, with the global average life expectancy of 72 years.

• The least developed countries recorded the highest population growth, with countries in Africa registering an average of 2.7% a year.

• Much of the overall increase in global population till 2050 is projected to occur in high fertility

countries, mostly in Africa, or in countries with large populations, such as Nigeria and India.

• India’s population grew at 1.2% a year between 2010 and 2019, marginally higher than the global

average of 1.1% a year in this period.

• In India, the total fertility rate per woman declined from 5.6 in 1969 to 3.7 in 1994 and 2.3 in 2019.

• 27% of India’s population was in the age bracket of 0-14 years and 10-24 years, while 67% of the

country’s population was in the 15-64 age brackets. 6% of the country’s population was of the age 65 and above.

• India registered an improvement in life expectancy at birth. The life expectancy at birth in 1969 was 47 years, growing to 60 years in 1994 and 69 years in 2019.

• The findings on women aged between 15-49 years were published for the first time as part of United

Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) State of World Population 2019 report. It includes data on women’s ability to make decisions over three key areas:

✓Sexual intercourse with their partner,

✓Contraception use and

✓Health care.

1.10.United Nations Population Fund • UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. It was established as a trust fund

in 1967 and began operations in 1969.

• UNFPA is entirely supported by voluntary contributions of donor governments, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, and foundations and individuals, NOT by the United Nations regular

budget.


4



1.11.Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) • Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

• Tagline: Swachh Indhan, Behtar Jeevan

• The PMUY is a scheme to provide LPG (liquid petroleum gas) to households below the poverty line.

• This is to have universal coverage of cooking gas in the country.

• The chief aim of this scheme to protect the health of the women and children in homes where unclean

cooking fuels are used.

• Under this scheme, 5 crore connections are to be provided to the people needing them.

• BPL families will be offered a support of Rs.1600 per connection. This is for the cylinder, booklet, pressure regulator, safety hose, etc. and will be borne by the government itself.

• Apart from these, the scheme also provides interest-free loans to buy stove and refill by oil marketing

companies.

• The connections would be given in the name of women of the households.

• An initial outlay of Rs.8000 crore was sanctioned for the implementation of the scheme.

• The authorities would identify BPL families based on the Socio Economic Caste Census data.

• It is also a business opportunity to the tune of a minimum of Rs.10000 crore.

1.12.Indian Ocean Conference • Fourth Indian Ocean Conference 2019 was recently held in male, capital of Maldives.

• The two-day conference was held from 3-4 September 2019.

• Theme for 4th Indian Ocean Conference 2019 was: ‘securing the Indian Ocean Region: Traditional and Non-Traditional Challenges’.

• Conference discussion themes were grouped under 3 broad categories of:

✓Marine Ecology

✓Navigational Security

✓Terrorism

1.13.Chandrayaan-2 • Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research

Organisation (ISRO), after Chandrayaan-1.

• It consists of a lunar orbiter, the Vikram lander, and the Pragyan lunar rover, all of which were developed in India.

• The main scientific objective is to map the location and abundance of lunar water via Pragyan.


5



Reason For South Pole

• The south polar region of the Moon has not received sunlight for billions of years and is among the coldest spots in the Solar System. This, ISRO says, makes lunar South Pole region ripe to contain

tonnes of water and “an undisturbed record” of the Solar System’s origins.

1.14.Mapping Lightning Across India • According to the recently published “Mid-Monsoon 2019 Lightning Report”, Odisha recorded the

maximum incidents of lightning and Uttar Pradesh recorded maximum deaths due to lightning during

April – July 2019.

• The report has been prepared by Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council (CROPC), a

non-profit organisation that works closely with India Meteorological Department (IMD).

• It has been prepared by using IMD’s lightning forecasts including Nowcast, Indian Institute of Tropical

Management-Pune’s lightning network data, NRSC and ISRO inputs.

• This is for the first time; a report has mapped lightning strikes across the country, and the lives they have claimed. The report is part of an effort to create a database that can help develop an early

warning system for lightning, spread awareness, and prevent deaths.

1.15.Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019 • India has moved up six places to rank 34th on the World Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index

2019, released by the World Economic Forum.

• India was ranked 40th in 2018.

• Spain, France, Germany, Japan and the United States are the world’s most travel-ready nations.

• Japan remains Asia's most competitive travel and tourism economy, ranking 4th globally.

• China is the largest travel and tourism economy in Asia-Pacific and 13th most competitive globally.

• Published biennially, Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report and Index benchmarks the Travel &

Tourism (T&T) competitiveness of 140 economies.

• The 140 economies are ranked in four sub-indexes:

✓Enabling environment,

✓Travel and tourism policy and enabling conditions,

✓Infrastructure, and

✓Natural and cultural resources.

1.16.Global Liveability Index

• The Economic Intelligence Unit considered 140 cities for rankings.

• The ranking is based on a particular country’s scores in five broad categories, namely:

✓Stability


6



✓Healthcare

✓Culture and Environment

✓Education

✓Infrastructure

• Each factor in a city is rated as acceptable, tolerable, comfortable, undesirable or intolerable.

• New Delhi with 118th rank has registered the biggest decline in Asia whereas Mumbai also fell two places since last year to rank 119th.

• The decline in Mumbai’s rank was mainly due to a downgrade in its culture score.

• New Delhi has fallen in the index because of downgrades to its culture and environment score as well

as fall in the stability score owing to rising crime rates.

• Among the BRICS countries, Suzhou from China was ranked highest at 75, while India’s capital New Delhi was ranked lowest at 118th.

• Among the ten least liveable cities globally, three are from Asia which are:

✓Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea (135th)

✓Pakistan’s Karachi (136th)

✓Bangladesh’s Dhaka (138th)

• The list is topped by Vienna (Austria) for the second consecutive year.

1.17.Samudrayaan Project • The ‘Samudrayaan’ is a part of the Ministry of Earth Sciences pilot project for deep ocean mining for

rare minerals.

• The project proposes to send a submersible vehicle with three persons to a depth of about 6000

metres to carry out deep underwater studies.

• Currently submarines deployed can only go about 200 metres deep into the sea. The project will go

deeper in phases with more trials and ocean mining is expected to commence in 2022.

• The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, has undertaken Mission Samudrayaan

and is expected to become a reality by 2021-22.

1.18.Country’s Longest Electrified Rail Tunnel • India’s longest electrified rail tunnel was recently inaugurated in Andhra Pradesh.

• The 6.7 km long tunnel was constructed at a cost of Rs 437 crore and connects Cherlopalli and

Rapuru.

1.19.World’s Second Largest Coal Block • Deaucha Panchami coal block of Birbhum Coalfield AreaWest Bengal.


7



1.20.Andrex Project • Scientists have discovered that, contrary to existing assumptions, biological processes far out at sea

are the most important factors determining how the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide.

• This enhances the understanding of the link between the Southern Ocean — next to Antarctica — and the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

• Scientists studied data collected as part of the ANDREX project (Antarctic Deep water Rates of

Export) which measured the physical, biological, and chemical properties of the waters in the gyre between 2008 and 2010.

• Carbon dioxide is absorbed in the surface oceans and stored in the deep seas, gradually, over a timescale of 100s to 1,000s years.

• The Southern Ocean plays a critical role in how the carbon dioxide is taken out of the atmosphere, and

knowing how it functions helps scientists understand this mechanism’s role during dramatic climate transitions in the past, such as the ice ages, and better predict the current and future climate change.

1.21. Asteroid Impact Deflection Assessment • It is an ambitious double-spacecraft mission to deflect an asteroid in space, to prove the technique as

a viable method of planetary defence.

• The mission, which includes NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), is known as the Asteroid

Impact Deflection Assessment (AIDA).

• The target is the smaller of two bodies in the “double Didymos asteroids” that are in orbit between

Earth and Mars.

• Didymos is a near-Earth asteroid system. Its main body measures about 780 m across; the smaller

body is a “moonlet” about 160 m in diameter.

• The project aims to deflect the orbit of the smaller body through an impact by one spacecraft.

• Then a second spacecraft will survey the crash site and gather the maximum possible data on the

effect of this collision.

Tools Of The Mission

• NASA is building the Double Asteroid Impact Test (DART) spacecraft for launch in summer 2021.

• It is planned to collide with the target at 6.6 km/s in September 2022.

• Flying along with DART will be an Italian-made miniature CubeSat, called LICIACube, to record the moment of impact.

• ESA’s contribution is a mission called Hera, which will perform a close-up survey of the post-impact asteroid, acquiring measurements such as the asteroid’s mass and detailed crater shape.

• Hera will also deploy a pair of CubeSats for close-up asteroid surveys and the very first radar probe of

an asteroid.

• All this would allow researchers to model the efficiency of the collision.


8



• This can help turn this experiment into a technique that could be repeated, as needed, in the event of a real threat.

1.22.Kartarpur Sahib Pilgrim Corridor • The Kartarpur is aunderconstruction border corridor between the neighbouring nations of India and

Pakistan, connecting the Sikh shrines of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib (located in Punjab, India) and

GurdwaraDarbar Sahib Kartarpur (in Punjab, Pakistan). Currently under planning, the corridor is

intended to allow religious devotees from India to visit the Gurdwara in Kartarpur, 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles) from the PakistanIndia border, without a visa .

• The Kartarpur Corridor was first proposed in early 1999 by the prime ministers of India and Pakistan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Nawaz Sharif, respectively, as part of the Delhi–Lahore Bus diplomacy.

1.23.District Mineral Foundations • District Mineral Foundation (DMF) is a trust set up as a non-profit body, in those districts affected by

the mining works, to work for the interest and benefit of persons and areas affected by mining related operations.

• Its manner of operation comes under the jurisdiction of the relevant State Government

• Setting up of District Mineral Foundations (DMFs) in all districts in the country affected by mining

related operations was mandated through the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation)

Amendment Act, (MMDRA) 2015.

• Chhattisgarh became the first state in July 2019, to amend DMF rules.

1.24. Pradhan Mantri Khanij Khestra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) • The scheme is meant to provide for the welfare of people and areas affected by mining related

operations the funds collected by District Mineral Foundations (DMFs) will be utilised for this

purpose.

• Aim: Mitigate the adverse impacts due to mining operation on the health and environment. It also seeks to ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods for the affected people in mining areas

• Objective: To implement various welfare and developmental projects in mining affected areas by complementing the existing ongoing schemes of State and Central Government

• To mitigate and minimize the adverse impacts during and after mining on the health, environment and

socio-economics of people in mining districts

• To ensure long-term sustainable livelihoods to people in areas affected by mining

• DMF spending: 60% of the DMF funds will be spent on high priority areas including health care, education, drinking water supply, sanitation and skill development of the affected people

• Rest of the funds will be spent on infrastructure developmental projects such as making roads,

railways, bridges, waterways projects, irrigation and alternative energy sources


9



1.25.Pangong Tso Lake • Pangong Tso is a long narrow, deep, landlocked (endoheric) lake situated at a height of more than

14,000 ft in the Ladakh, Himalayas.

• It is a salt water lake.

• Pangong Tso Lake is also known as “high grassland lake”.

About Project Tsang-Da

• It is a Project launched by the district administration of Leh which aims at sustainable waste

management in rural areas of Leh district and city.

• The project turned the waste into revenue—generating goods, such as curtains, toys and cushion

covers.

• Wine or beer bottles and other broken glasses were also reused in construction of roads and

buildings by local construction companies.

1.26.Drought Toolbox • The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is currently testing a drought

toolbox which uses a total of 15 to 30 different parameters to assess drought risk and vulnerability of

a geographical region.

• UN convention was given the task of developing such a tool by countries during the previous

Conference of Parties (CoP) meeting at the Ordos in China in 2017.

• The UNCCD has been working with other UN organisations including World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and experts to design the toolbox.

• Drought toolbox is an online web platform, a one-stop shop for all drought preparedness measures with a link to the various relevant tools in other organisations.

• The tools are categorised in line with three pillars of drought preparedness:

• Monitoring, early warning and forecasting tools used by decision makers.

• Vulnerability assessment tools for identifying hotspots.

• Risk mitigation tools with key “policy” and “technical” measures.

1.27. World Energy Congress • The 24th World Energy Congress was held in Abu Dhabi, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition

Centre, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 912 September 2019.

• Theme of this year’s 4-day World Energy Congress: ‘Energy for Prosperity’.

• Objective: To bring together international energy stakeholders including governments, academia and

media, private and state corporations.

• The World Energy Congress is a triennial event and has been running since 1924.


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• It is a global flagship event of World Energy Council.

• It offers a unique platform for global energy leaders to explore new energy futures, new strategies

and critical innovation areas…

1.28.World Energy Council • Formed in 1923, the Council is the UN-accredited global energy body, representing the entire energy

spectrum,

• Composed of more than 3,000 member organisations located in over 90 countries and drawn from governments, private and state corporations, academia, NGOs and energy-related stakeholders.

• Informs global, regional and national energy strategies by hosting high-level events, publishing authoritative studies, and working through its extensive member network to facilitate the world’s

energy policy dialogue.

1.29.Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) • Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of United Nations (UN) appointed India’s Lieutenant

General (Retired) Abhijit Guha as the head of UN mission in Hodeidah, Yemen.

Yemen Civil War

• The Yemeni Civil War is an ongoing conflict that began in 2015 between two factions: the Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi led Yemeni government and the Houthi armed movement, along with their supporters

and allies. Both claim to constitute the official government of Yemen.

Hodeidah Agreement

• In December 2018, the Houthis and the government forces had agreed to withdraw from Hudaydah port to allow in vital humanitarian aid.

• Hudaydah port is the principal lifeline for two-thirds of Yemen’s population.Its closure had a devastating impact on the Yemen.

• On 16 January 2019 UN Security Council unanimously adopted the resolution 2452 (2019) and

decided to establish United Nations Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), a special political mission that was authorised for an initial period of 6 months to lead and support functioning

of Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC), assisted by a secretariat staffed by UN personnel, to oversee governorate-wide ceasefire, mine action operation and redeployment of forces.

• On 16 July 2019 UNSC extended the mandate of mission overseeing Yemen Ceasefire Accord for 6

months (until 15 January 2020) by unanimously adopting resolution 2481 (2019).

1.30.Stubble Burning

• Stubble burning refers to the use of a controlled fire to clear the crop residue that remains in the

paddock after harvest and could more accurately be called ‘crop residue burning.

• It is mainly carried out in Haryana and Punjab.


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• Open burning of husk produces harmful smoke that causes pollution. Open burning of husk is of incomplete combustion in nature. Hence large amount of toxic pollutants are emitted in the

atmosphere. Pollutants contain harmful gases like Methane, Carbon Monoxide (CO), Volatile organic compound (VOC) and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

• The National Green Tribunal has fixed the environment penalties at Rs 2,500 per incident for

landowners with less than two acres, and Rs 15,000 for those owning over 5 acres, among others.

• Punjab recently set up a Paddy Straw Challenge Fund of $1 million for scientists around the world to

present technological solutions on crop residue management.

Supreme Court’s Observations?

• Incentives could be provided to those who are not burning the stubble and disincentives for those

who continue the practice.

• The existing Minimum Support Price (MSP) Scheme must be so interpreted as to enable the States concerned to wholly or partly deny the benefit of MSP to those who continue to burn the crop

residue.

• The Central government should convene a meeting with the States.

1.31.Paraquat • Paraquat is a toxic chemical that is widely used as an herbicide (plant killer), primarily for weed and

grass control.

• In the United States, paraquat is available primarily as a liquid in various strengths.

• The US Environmental Protection Agency classifies paraquat as “restricted use.”

• It has been banned in 32 countries including Switzerland, where herbicide producing company

Sygenta is based.

• There is no antidote to this herbicide, the consumers of which complain of kidney, liver and lung problems.

1.32.Aditya-L1 Mission • Aditya or Aditya-L1 is a spacecraft mission to study the Sun.

• It has been designed and will be built in collaboration between the Indian Space Research

Organisation (ISRO) and various Indian research institutes.

• It is planned to be launched in mid-2020.

• It will study the sun’s outer most layers:

✓Photosphere (soft and hard X-ray),

✓Chromosphere (UV) and

✓Corona (Visible and NIR)


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• It will collect data about coronal mass ejection, which will also yield information for space weather prediction.

• Aditya-L1 satellite will be placed in the halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the sun-earth system.

• The data from Aditya mission will be immensely helpful in discriminating between different models

for the origin of solar storms and also for constraining how the storms evolve and what path they take through the interplanetary space from the Sun to the Earth.

Lagrange’s Point

• A Lagrange point is a location in space where the combined gravitational forces of two large bodies, such as Earth and the sun or Earth and the moon, equal the centrifugal force felt by a much smaller

third body.

1.33.Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) • The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in

an eccentric polar mapping orbit.

• Data collected by LRO has been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic missions to the Moon.

• Its detailed mapping program is identifying safe landing sites, locating potential resources on the

Moon, characterizing the radiation environment, and demonstrating new technologies.

1.34.International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

• The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization that seeks to

promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.

• The IAEA was established as an autonomous organisation on 29 July 1957.

• Though established independently of the United Nations through its own international treaty, the IAEA Statute, the IAEA reports to both the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council.

• The IAEA has its headquarters in Vienna.

• The IAEA serves as an intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the

peaceful use of nuclear technology and nuclear power worldwide.

• The programs of the IAEA encourage the development of the peaceful applications of nuclear energy, science and technology, provide international safeguards against misuse of nuclear technology and

nuclear materials, and promote nuclear safety (including radiation protection) and nuclear security standards and their implementation.


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1.35.International Migrant Stock 2019 • The data is released by the UN DESA’s Population Division.

• Data shows that the number of international migrants in the world had reached an estimated 272

million 2019 — 51 million more than in 2010.

• The percentage of international migrants of the total global population has increased to 3.5% from

2.8% in 2000.

• India has emerged as the leading country of origin for immigrants across the world, with 17.5 million international migrants in 2019 coming from India, up from 15.9 million in 2015.

• UN DESA Population Division said that one-third of all international migrants originated from 10 countries.

• After India, Mexico ranked second as the country of origin for 12 million migrants, followed by China

(11 million), Russia (10 million) and Syria (8 million).

1.36.India’s Cooling Action Plan

• ICAP is a long term vision to address the cooling requirement across sectors.

• Reducing cooling demand by 20-25% and refrigeration demand by 2530% by the year 2037 are the goals of this plan.

• Cooling requirement is cross-sectoral and is an essential part of economic growth. It is required

across the different sectors of the economy such as residential and commercial buildings, cold chains and refrigeration, transport and industries.

• It seeks to recognize “cooling and related areas” as a thrust area of research under National S&T Programme.

• It also seeks to reduce cooling energy requirements by 25% to 40% by 2037-38.

• Training and certification of 1, 00,000 servicing sector technicians by 202223, in synergy with Skill India Mission.

• It also makes provision for cooling for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Low Income Group (LIG) housing.

• In line with Montreal Protocol, the plan emphases on cutting those elements that deplete ozone layer.

• Its goal is to provide sustainable cooling and thermal comfort for all while securing environmental and socio-economic benefits for the society.

1.37.Coal Gasification • Coal gasification is the process of producing syngas–a mixture consisting primarily of carbon

monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), carbon dioxide (CO2), natural gas (CH4) , and water vapour (H2O)–

from coal and water, air and/or oxygen.

• Historically, coal was gasified to produce coal gas, also known as "town gas”.


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1.38.Akademik Lomonosov • It is the world’s only floating nuclear power unit.

• The plant was launched by Russia on May 19, 2018 at the St Petersburg shipyard.

1.39.Shola Grasslands • The Sholas are a mosaic of montane evergreen forests and grasslands. They are found only in high

altitude (>1500 meters) regions within the tropics and are limited to the southern part of the western

ghats.


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2. History To watch the following topics on YouTube click here

2.1.Tulsidas (1532 – 1623 C.E.)

• Tulsidas was a great poet, a Vaishnava saint and a devotee of Rama.

• To Tulsidas, Rama was a personal and supreme God, who had feeling of compassion for the humanity which suffered.

• He is best known for his retelling of the Sanskrit Ramayana in the epic Ram Charit Manas in his local

Awadhi dialect of Hindi

• Apart from this, his works include Gitawali, Kavitawali, Vinaya Patrika etc.

• Tulsi Das was a humanist and universalist and laid stress upon knowledge, devotion, worship and mediation

• He has blended in his work the philosophical monism of the past with stress on Bhakti.

• He starts from the fundamental conception of philosophical theology, the ethical Brahman, passionless,’ formless, without attributes (nirguna) and yet possessing the fundamental quality of

goodness (sattva)

• Though Tulsi Das did not start any new sector advocate any new doctrine, yet by his own pure life and

the magic of his poetry he rendered great service to the Bhakti-marga.

2.2.Sur Das • Sur Das was another saint, and poet who preached religion of love and devotion to a personal God

and provided inspiration to millions of men and women in northern India.

• It is commonly held that he was born sometimes in the last quarter of the fifteenth century.

• His works include Sur Sagar, Sahitva Ratna and Sur Sarawali.

• In Sur Sagar, Sur Das deals with the life of Krishna’s childhood. It focuses on descriptions of Krishna as

a lovable child, written from the gopis' perspective. He displayed himself not merely as a master of child psychology but also as a devotee of the Almighty.

• In contempary writings, Sur Sarawali is said to contain one lakh verses, out of which many were lost due to obscurity and uncertainty of the times. It is It is analogical to the festival of (Holi)

• Sahitya Lahari consists of 118 verses and emphasises on Bhakti (devotion).

• Sur's compositions are also found in the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs.

• Sur's poetry was written in a dialect of Hindi called Braj Bhasha. His work raised the status of Braj

Bhasha from a crude language to that of a literary one.


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https://youtu.be/g0mDs4guwVM?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY



2.3.Maluk Das • Maluk Das was born at Kara in the district of Allahabad. He also founded a sect which mainly consists

of laymen.

• Like other saints and reformers of his time Maluk das also condemned the externals of religion like pilgrimage, idol worship, etc.

• He teaches that the true religion is an inward faith, that Maya is the enemy of man, and God’s name is

the only protection against it, that the world is transitory and the worldly relations of no avail, that man is born of dust and will return to dust, that those who are not devoted to spiritual life are the

dogs of the world, that salvation is obtained by knowing the self, killing pride and egotism, controlling passions, trusting the Guru, and loving God.

• Maluk Das also laid great emphasis on the unity of the Hindus and Muslims.

2.4.Sundardas • Sundardas was a disciple of Dadu. He was born in the family of a Bania in Rajasthan in 1596 C.E. He

spent most of his early childhood with Dadu at Naraina, and soon gained popularity as a great poet

and a saint.

• He returned to his home in 1603 after the death of Dadu and spent the rest of the life spreading the

religion of Bhakti taught by Dadu.

• Sant Sunderdas composed about 48 books. He is revered as the Sankaracharya of Hindi literature, and is popularly known as Sant Kavi Sunderdas.

• The reputation of Sundardas rests on his work Sundarvilasa.

• In this work he deals with the six philosophic systems of the Hindus and emphasises their inadequacy

in securing salvation of man.

• He insisted on the teachings of Dadu as an easy way for salvation.

2.5.Birbhan

• Birbhan was a contemporary of Dadu. He was born near Narnaul in Punjab in 1543 and founded the

famous sect of Sadhus or Satnamis.

• Birbhan was a monotheist and described God by the name of Satnam or Truth.

• Birbhan did not believe in caste and other distinctions and was opposed to idol worship.

• He insisted on meditation and virtuous life with a view to attain ultimate absorption with God.

• Birbhan insisted on his followers to abstain from intoxicants and animal food as well as unnecessary

accumulation of wealth.

• The sect founded by Birbhan is known as Satnamis and their religious granth is known as Pothi, which

is revered like the Granth of the Sikhs.


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2.6.UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage • A total of 13 Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) elements from India have been inscribed till date on

the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

• For inclusion of an element in the UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the state parties are required to submit nomination dossier on the relevant element for evaluation and

examination of the UNESCO Committee.

• The Ministry of Culture has appointed the Sangeet Natak Akademi, an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Culture, as nodal office for matters relating to the intangible cultural heritage

including for preparation of the nomination dossiers for the Representative List of UNESCO.

2.7.Kumbh Mela (2017) • The festival of the sacred Pitcher

• The (Prayagraj Maha) Kumbh Mela, Haridwar (Maha) Kumbh Mela, the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar

Simhastha (Kumbh), and Ujjain Simhastha (Kumbh)

• It has been inscribed on the UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of

Humanity.

What?

• The largest peaceful congregation of pilgrims on earth, during which participants bathe or take a dip

in a sacred river.

Why?

• Devotees believe that by bathing in the Ganges one is freed from sins liberating her/him from the cycle of birth and death.

• Bathing in these rivers is thought to cleanse a person of all their sins

Who?

• The congregation includes ascetics, saints, sadhus, aspirants-kalpavasis and visitors. Its primary

bearers, however, belong to akhadas and ashrams, religious organizations, or are individuals living on

alms.

Where?

• The festival is held at Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik every four years by rotation

• At the Ganges (Ganga) at Haridwar; the confluence of the Ganges and the Yamuna and the invisible Sarasvati at Allahabad; the Godavari at Nashik; and the Shipra at Ujjain.

• At Haridwar and Allahabad, a Maha ("Great") Kumbh Mela is held every 12 years, with

an Ardha ("Half") Kumbh Mela six years later.


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Significance?

• Kumbh Mela plays a central spiritual role in the country. The event encapsulates the science of astronomy, astrology, spirituality, ritualistic traditions, and social and cultural customs and practices,

making it extremely rich in knowledge.

• At Nashik and Ujjain, the Mela may be held while a planet is in Leo (Simha in Hindu astrology); in this

case, it is also known as Simhastha. At Haridwar and Allahabad, a Maha ("Great") Kumbh Mela is held

every 12 years, with an Ardha ("Half") Kumbh Mela six years later.

• As it is held in four different cities in India, it involves different social and cultural activities, making

this a culturally diverse festival.

• Knowledge and skills related to the tradition are transmitted through ancient religious manuscripts,

oral traditions, historical travelogues and texts produced by eminent historians.

• However, the teacher-student relationship of the sadhus in the ashrams and akhadas remains the most important method of imparting and safeguarding knowledge and skills relating to Kumbh Mela.

Mythology

• Kumbha Mela derives its name from both the original festival being held according to the astrological sign "Kumbha" (Aquarius), and from the associated Hindu legend in which the gods and demons

fought over a pot, or “kumbh,” of nectar that would give them immortality

• According to medieval Hinduism, Lord Vishnu spilled drops of Amrit (the drink of immortality) at four places, while transporting it in a kumbha (pot). These four places are identified as the present-day

sites of the Kumbh Mela.

• This legend, however, is not found in the earliest mentions of the original legend of samudra manthan as described in various ancient Hindu texts collectively known as the Puranas

• In one of the most popular versions added to the original legend later, the carrier of the kumbha is the divine physician Dhanavantari, who stops at four places where the Kumbh Mela is celebrated.

• In other later addition to the legend, the carrier is Garuda, Indra or Mohini, who spills the amrita at four places

Current news

• For the 2019 Allahabad Kumbh Mela, the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced

that the Ardh Kumbh Mela (organised every 6 years) will simply be known as "Kumbh Mela", and the Kumbh Mela (organizsed every 12 years) will be known as "Maha Kumbh Mela" ("Great Kumbh

Mela”)

2.8. Nawrouz/ Navroz/ Nowruz (2016) • Navruz is the day of the vernal equinox, and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern

Hemisphere.

• March 21 marks the start of the year in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

• It marks the first day of the first month (Farvardin) of the Iranian calendar.


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• It is referred to as Nauryz, Navruz, Nawrouz, Nevruz, Nooruz, Novruz, Nowrouz or Nowruz meaning ‘new day’ when a variety of rituals, ceremonies and other cultural events take place for a period of

about two weeks.

• An important tradition practised during this time is the gathering around ‘the Table’, decorated with

objects that symbolize purity, brightness, livelihood and wealth, to enjoy a special meal with loved

ones.

• New clothes are worn and visits made to relatives, particularly the elderly and neighbours.

• Gifts are exchanged, especially for children, featuring objects made by artisans.

• There are also street performances of music and dance, public rituals involving water and fire,

traditional sports and the making of handicrafts.

• These practices support cultural diversity and tolerance and contribute to building community solidarity and peace.

• They are transmitted from older to younger generations through observation and participation.

History

• Despite its Iranian and Zoroastrian origins, Nowruz has been celebrated by diverse communities. It

has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in Western Asia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Black Sea

Basin, and the Balkans

• It is a secular holiday for most celebrants that is enjoyed by people of several different faiths, but

remains a holy day for Zoroastrians, Bahais, and some Muslim communities

• During the Mamluk dynasty rule, Balban introduced the celebration of the festival to impress his

nobles.

• During the Mughal Empire, the festival was celebrated for 19 days with pomp and gaiety in the realm.

• However, it further goes back to the Parsi Zoroastrian community in Western India, who migrated to

the Indian subcontinent from Persia during the Muslim conquest of Persia of 636–651 CE.

Contemporary India

• Kazi Nazrul Islam, during the Bengal renaissance, portrayed the festival with vivid sketch and poems,

highlighting its various aspects.

2.9. Yoga (2016) •Yoga is one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophical traditions.

•There is a broad variety of yoga schools, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism

•The term "yoga" in the Western world often denotes a modern form of Hatha yoga, yoga as exercise, consisting largely of the postures called asanas.

• It is based on unifying the mind with the body and soul to allow for greater mental, spiritual and

physical wellbeing


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• Yoga is it is mentioned in the Rigveda, but most likely developed around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, in ancient India's ascetic and śramaṇa movements

• The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali date from the first half of the 1st millennium CE

• Traditionally, yoga was transmitted using the Guru-Shishya model (master-pupil) with yoga gurus as

the main custodians of associated knowledge and skills.

• The spiritual sense of the word yoga first arises in Epic Sanskrit, in the second half of the 1st millennium BCE, and is associated with the philosophical system presented in the Yoga Sutras of

Patanjali, with the chief aim of "uniting" the human spirit with the Divine.

• The ultimate goal of Yoga is moksha (liberation), although the exact form this takes depends on the

philosophical or theological system with which it is conjugated.

• Patanjali's writing defined an Ashtanga or "Eight-Limbed" Yoga in Yoga Sutras. They are:

✓Yama (The five "abstentions"): Ahimsa (Non-violence, non-harming other living beings), Satya

(truthfulness, non-falsehood), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (celibacy, fidelity to one's partner), and Aparigraha (non-avarice, non-possessiveness)

✓Niyama (The five "observances"): Śauca (purity, clearness of mind, speech and body), Santosha

(contentment, acceptance of others and of one's circumstances), Tapas (persistent meditation, perseverance, austerity), Svādhyāya (study of self, self-reflection, study of Vedas), and Ishvara-

Pranidhana (contemplation of God/Supreme Being/True Self)

✓Asana: Literally means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to the seated position used for

meditation.

✓Pranayama ("Breath exercises"): Prāna, breath, "āyāma", to "stretch, extend, restrain, stop".

✓Pratyahara ("Abstraction"): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects.

✓Dharana ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object.

✓Dhyana ("Meditation"): Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of meditation.

✓Samadhi ("Liberation"): merging consciousness with the object of meditation.

2.10.Yoga and Vedanta • Yoga and Vedanta are the two largest surviving schools of Hindu traditions.

• They share many thematic principles, concepts and belief in self/soul, but diverge in degree, style and

some of their methods.

• Yoga disputes the monism of Advaita Vedanta. Yoga school believes that in the state of moksha, each individual discovers the blissful, liberating sense of himself or herself as an independent identity;

Advaita Vedanta, in contrast, believes that in the state of moksha, each individual discovers the blissful, liberating sense of himself or herself as part of Oneness with everything, everyone and the

Universal Self.

• They both hold that the free conscience is aloof yet transcendent, liberated and self-aware.


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• Further, Advaita Vedanta school enjoins the use of Patanjali's yoga practices and the reading of Upanishads for those seeking the supreme good, ultimate freedom and jivanmukti.


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3. Polity To watch the following topics on YouTube click on the links given below:

• Video 1

• Video 2

• Video 3

• Video 4

3.1.One Stop Solution To Verify & Authenticate Voter Details • On the occasion of the nationwide mega million launch of Electors Verification Programme, a special

camp was held at Election Commission of India Headquarters in New Delhi on September 1, 2019 where there was unveiling of the initiative on National Voters’ Service Portal (https://www.nvsp.in/)

and Voter Helpline App.

• The main aim of the programme is to improve the health of Electoral rolls and to provide better

electoral services to citizens and increase the level of Communication between voters and the

Commission.

• The one time authentication of details and sharing contact detail would help electors to get update on

online application status, status of EPIC, Election Day announcement, voter slip on their registered email and mobile number. Regular notification on modifications on Serial No. and details of Polling

Station, Change in BLO/ ERO, all information related to Polling Station will also be shared with the

Electors.

3.2.Declaration Of Certain Individuals As Terrorists Under The

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 • Invoking the recent amendments in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the Central

Government has decided to declare the following individuals as terrorists and add their names to Schedule 4 of the Act:

✓Maulana Masood Azhar : chief, founder and key leader of Jaish-e-Mohammad

✓Hafiz Muhammad: chief, founder and key leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba/Jamat-ud-Dawa

✓Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi: chief operation commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba and one of its founder

members

✓Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar: runs an international underworld crime syndicate and is involved in

perpetrating acts of terror

• All of the above are involved in terrorist attacks in India, and have been designated as global terrorists under United Nations.

• Earlier when terrorist organizations were banned, the individuals associated with it simply changed names and continued to carry out terrorist activities.


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https://youtu.be/OnG1DkM924g?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

https://youtu.be/ymcXW1p4tak?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

https://youtu.be/QNwCeeY8bAQ?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

https://youtu.be/3roN0HdjlyQ?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

3.3.Rastriya Poshan Maah • Under POSHAN Abhiyaan, this September is being celebrated as the PoshanMaah across country to

address the malnutritional challenges. Rastriya PoshanMaah or National Nutrition Month is being

launched across the country.

• With Women & Child Development as the nodal Department, a month-long activities focussing on

antenatal care, anaemia, growth monitoring, girls’ education, diet, right age of marriage, hygiene and

sanitation, eat healthy as themes are being showcased in form of food melas, rallies, school level campaigns, anaemia test camps, recipe demonstration, radio & TV talk shows and seminars all across

country.

• The month-long intensive event plans to bring about convergence amongst various ministries/

departments to rally people’s opinion and participation to reduce and finally eliminate malnutrition

from the country. PoshanMaah aims at making people aware of the importance of nutrition and giving individual access to government services to support supplement nutrition for their children and

pregnant women/lactating mothers.

• This year PoshanMaah focuses on five critical components - ‘First 1000 days of the Child, Anaemia,

Diarrhoea, Hand Wash & Sanitation and PoshtikAahar (wholesome meal with diet diversity)’, called

‘Paanch Sutras’.

3.4.Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2019

• Arbitration Council of India: The Bill seeks to establish an independent body called the Arbitration

Council of India (ACI) for the promotion of arbitration, mediation, conciliation and other alternative dispute redressal mechanisms. Its functions include: (i) framing policies for grading arbitral

institutions and accrediting arbitrators, (ii) making policies for the establishment, operation and

maintenance of uniform professional standards for all alternate dispute redressal matters, and (iii) maintaining a depository of arbitral awards (judgments) made in India and abroad.

• Composition of the ACI: The ACI will consist of a Chairperson who is either: (i) a Judge of the Supreme Court; or (ii) a Judge of a High Court; or (iii) Chief Justice of a High Court; or (iv) an eminent person

with expert knowledge in conduct of arbitration. Other members will include an eminent arbitration

practitioner, an academician with experience in arbitration, and government appointees.

• Appointment of arbitrators: Under the 1996 Act, parties were free to appoint arbitrators. In case of

disagreement on an appointment, the parties could request the Supreme Court, or the concerned High Court, or any person or institution designated by such Court, to appoint an arbitrator.

• Under the Bill, the Supreme Court and High Courts may now designate arbitral institutions, which

parties can approach for the appointment of arbitrators. For international commercial arbitration, appointments will be made by the institution designated by the Supreme Court. For domestic

arbitration, appointments will be made by the institution designated by the concerned High Court. In case there are no arbitral institutions available, the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court may

maintain a panel of arbitrators to perform the functions of the arbitral institutions. An application for

appointment of an arbitrator is required to be disposed of within 30 days.


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• Relaxation of time limits: Under the Act, arbitral tribunals are required to make their award within a period of 12 months for all arbitration proceedings. The Bill seeks to remove this time restriction for

international commercial arbitrations. It adds that tribunals must endeavour to dispose of international arbitration matters within 12 months.

• Completion of written submissions: Currently, there is no time limit to file written submissions before

an arbitral tribunal. The Bill requires that the written claim and the defence to the claim in an arbitration proceeding, should be completed within six months of the appointment of the arbitrators.

• Confidentiality of proceedings: The Bill provides that all details of arbitration proceedings will be kept confidential except for the details of the arbitral award in certain circumstances. Disclosure of the

arbitral award will only be made where it is necessary for implementing or enforcing the award.

• Applicability of Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 2015: The Bill clarifies that the 2015 Act shall only apply to arbitral proceedings which started on or after October 23, 2015.

3.5.The Interpol General Assembly • India has proposed to Interpol that the General Assembly of the organization be held in New Delhi in

2022 as part of the nation’s 75th Independence Day celebrations.

• The International Criminal Police Organisation, or Interpol, is a 194-member intergovernmental

organisation headquartered in Lyon, France. It was formed in 1923 as the International Criminal Police Commission, and started calling itself Interpol in 1956. India joined the organisation in 1949,

and is one of its oldest members.

• It enables police forces from different countries to share and access data on crimes and criminals, and

offers a “range of technical and operational support”. Interpol’s declared global policing goals include

countering terrorism, promoting border integrity worldwide, protection of vulnerable communities, providing a secure cyberspace for people and businesses, curbing illicit markets, supporting

environment security, and promoting global integrity.

• The General Assembly is Interpol’s supreme governing body, and comprises representatives from all

its member countries. The General Assembly meets annually for a session lasting approximately four

days, to vote on activities and policy. Each country is represented by one or more delegates at the Assembly, who are typically chiefs of law enforcement agencies.

• The Interpol’s 88th General Assembly will assemble in Santiago, Chile, later this year. The 2018 (87th), 2017 (86th), 2016 (85th), and 2015 (84th) General Assemblies met in Dubai, UAE, Beijing,

China, Bali, Indonesia, and Kigali, Rwanda, respectively.

3.6.Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019 • The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 is based on the recommendations of the Group of

Transport Ministers of States. The penalties in Act will be increasing by 10 per cent every year on

April 1, as notified by the Central government.

• The Bill seeks to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 to provide for road safety and many of its

provisions came into effect since September 1, 2019. The Act provides for grant of licenses and

permits related to motor vehicles, standards for motor vehicles, and penalties for violation of these provisions.


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• The new Act has also extended the period for renewal of driving licences from one month to one year after the date of expiry.

• Only if the renewal delayed more than a year, will the driver have to undergo a test of competence.

• Compensation for road accident victims: The central government will develop a scheme for cashless

treatment of road accident victims during golden hour. The Bill defines golden hour as the time

period of up to one hour following a traumatic injury, during which the likelihood of preventing death through prompt medical care is the highest. The central government may also make a scheme for

providing interim relief to claimants seeking compensation under third party insurance. The Bill increases the minimum compensation for hit and run cases as follows:

✓in case of death, from Rs 25,000 to two lakh rupees, and

✓in case of grievous injury, from Rs 12,500 to Rs 50,000.

• Compulsory insurance: The Bill requires the central government to constitute a Motor Vehicle

Accident Fund, to provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India. It will be utilised for:

✓treatment of persons injured in road accidents as per the golden hour scheme,

✓compensation to representatives of a person who died in a hit and run accident,

✓compensation to a person grievously hurt in a hit and run accident, and

✓compensation to any other persons as prescribed by the central government.

• This Fund will be credited through:

✓payment of a nature notified by the central government,

✓a grant or loan made by the central government,

✓balance of the Solatium Fund (existing fund under the Act to provide compensation for hit and run accidents), or

✓any other source as prescribed the central government.

• Good samaritans: The Bill defines a good samaritan as a person who renders emergency medical or

non-medical assistance to a victim at the scene of an accident. The assistance must have been

✓in good faith,

✓voluntary, and

✓without the expectation of any reward. Such a person will not be liable for any civil or criminal action for any injury to or death of an accident victim, caused due to their negligence in providing

assistance to the victim.

• Recall of vehicles: The Bill allows the central government to order for recall of motor vehicles if a defect in the vehicle may cause damage to the environment, or the driver, or other road users. The

manufacturer of the recalled vehicle will be required to:

✓reimburse the buyers for the full cost of the vehicle, or

✓replace the defective vehicle with another vehicle with similar or better specifications.


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• National Transportation Policy: The central government may develop a National Transportation Policy, in consultation with state governments. The Policy will:

✓establish a planning framework for road transport,

✓develop a framework for grant of permits, and

✓specify priorities for the transport system, among other things.

• Road Safety Board: The Bill provides for a National Road Safety Board, to be created by the central government through a notification. The Board will advise the central and state governments on all

aspects of road safety and traffic management including:

✓ standards of motor vehicles,

✓ registration and licensing of vehicles,

✓standards for road safety, and

✓promotion of new vehicle technology.

• Offences and penalties: The Bill increases penalties for several offences under the Act. For example, the maximum penalty for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs has been increased from Rs

2,000 to Rs 10,000.

✓If a vehicle manufacturer fails to comply with motor vehicle standards, the penalty will be a fine of up to Rs 100 crore, or imprisonment of up to one year, or both.

✓If a contractor fails to comply with road design standards, the penalty will be a fine of up to one lakh rupees.

• The central government may increase fines mentioned under the Act every year by up to 10%.

• Provisions for imprisonment: Besides higher penalty, the new Act also includes imprisonment for severe crimes. Speed racing can attract imprisonment for three months (with or without a fine);

✓this will extend to a period of one year if caught for the second time.

✓For offences by juveniles, the guardian or owner of the vehicle shall be deemed to be guilty and

punished with a 25,000-fine and three years’ imprisonment.

•The juvenile would be tried under Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 and the registration of motor vehicle will be cancelled for a period of 12 months. The owner of a motor vehicle who alters it by way of

retrofitting of motor vehicle parts in a manner not permitted under the Act shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months (and/or with fine of 5,000 per such

alteration).

• Taxi aggregators: The Bill defines aggregators as digital intermediaries or market places which can be used by passengers to connect with a driver for transportation purposes (taxi services). These

aggregators will be issued licenses by state Further, they must comply with the Information Technology Act, 2000.


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• In 2017, as per data by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, there had

occured 4.64 lakh accidents that claimed lives of 1.47 lakh people. Two-wheelers

accounted for over a third of all road

accidents. Slowly, as all States begin implementing the provisions of the Act

with heftier fines and imprisonment for drunken driving, driving without licence

and insurance and juvenile offences, people

may start to follow rules and road accidents may actually reduce.

• In the last one week itself, there has been a rush among motorists to renew their

lapsed insurance policies, according to data

from the largest online insurance aggregator. A valid motor insurance is important so that the aggrieved parties in a road accident get compensation. However, note that given that it is only a

model Act, State governments are free to make their own laws and rules. Success depends on how far states enforce the provisions of the Act.

3.7.Krishna Water Dispute • A dispute over the sharing of Krishna waters has been ongoing for many decades, beginning with the

erstwhile Hyderabad and Mysore states, and later continuing between successors Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. In 1969, the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT) was set up

under the Inter-State River Water Dispute Act, 1956 as provided for under Article 262 of the Indian Constitution, and presented its report in 1973.

• The report, which was published in 1976, divided the 2060 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of

Krishna water at 75 per cent dependability into three parts: 560 TMC for Maharashtra, 700 TMC for Karnataka and 800 TMC for Andhra Pradesh. At the same time, it was stipulated that the KWDT

order may be reviewed or revised by a competent authority or tribunal any time after May 31, 2000.

• Afterward, as new grievances arose between the states, the second KWDT was instituted in 2004. It

delivered its report in 2010, which made allocations of the Krishna water at 65 per cent dependability

and for surplus flows as follows: 81 TMC for Maharashtra, 177 TMC for Karnataka, and 190 TMC for Andhra Pradesh.

• Soon after the 2010 report was presented, Andhra Pradesh challenged it through a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court in 2011. In an order in the same year, the apex court stopped the

Centre from publishing it in the official Gazette.

• In 2013, the KWDT issued a ‘further report’, which was again challenged by Andhra Pradesh in the Supreme Court in 2014. After the creation of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh in 2014, the Water

Resources Ministry has been extending the duration of the KWDT. Andhra Pradesh has since asked that Telangana be included as a separate party at the KWDT and that the allocation of Krishna waters

be reworked among four states, instead of three. Maharashtra and Karnataka are now resisting this

move.


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3.8.Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana • Prime Minister Narendra Modi shall launch the Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana on the 12th of September,

2019. The Scheme shall secure the lives of 5 Crore Small and Marginal Farmers by providing a

minimum pension of Rs 3000 per month, to those who attain 60 years of age.

• The scheme has an outlay of Rs 10,774 Crores for the next three years. All the small and marginal

farmers who are currently between the ages of 18 to 40 years can apply for the scheme. Farmer’s

monthly contribution can be made from the instalments of PM-KISAN or through CSCs.

3.9.Indian Skill Development Services

• The fresh batch of the newest central government services, the Indian Skill Development Services

commenced their training program at the Administrative Training Institute (ATI), Mysuru on Monday. This service has been specially created for the Training Directorate of the Ministry of Skill

Development and Entrepreneurship and is a Group ‘A’ service. These are the first batch which is

joiningthe ISDS cadre from the Indian Engineering Service Examination conducted by UPSC.

• The induction of young talent as ISDS officers is one of the special initiatives taken by the MSDE and

the government as a whole, to significantly strengthen the skill development eco-system in the country. This is the first batch of young minds from Indian Engineering Services to be includedin

MSDE. The aim for this is to attract young and talented administrators towards institutionalizing the

Skill Development environment in the country.

3.10. Jal Jeevan Mission

• The ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission aimed at providing potable water by providing piped water to all

households by 2024. The Jal Shakti Ministry, formed by integrating the Water Resources and Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministries, aims to work with state governments to ensure ‘Har Ghar

Jal’ to all rural households by 2024.

• Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the government will focus on rainwater harvesting and water conservation in 256 districts in the first phase and carry out other initiatives, including renovation of

traditional water bodies and tanks, reuse of water and recharge structures, watershed development and intensive afforestation.

• This assumes importance given that water crisis has presented itself as a clear and present danger to

India. Policy think-tank Niti Aayog said in CWMI report that nearly 600 million Indians already face “high to extreme water stress." It said 21 cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad,

will run out of groundwater by 2020, affecting 100 million people. Matters are only likely to worsen with the country’s water demand likely to double by 2030, indicating there will be a 6% loss in gross

domestic product by 2050.

3.11. Screening children for Leprosy and Tuberculosis • India has embarked on a large-scale plan to screen all children for leprosy and tuberculosis. An

estimated 25 crore children below the age of 18 will be screened for the two infectious diseases, and

if a person is suspected to have either of the two, s/he will be sent to a higher centre for confirmation. The existing Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) infrastructure will be used for the screening.


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• India eliminated leprosy in 2005 — WHO defines elimination as an incidence rate of less than one case per 10,000 populations. All states except Chhattisgarh and the Union Territory of Dadra and

Nagar Haveli have eliminated leprosy. However, 1.15 lakh to 1.2 lakh new leprosy cases are still detected every year, Health Ministry officials said. TB kills an estimated 4,80,000 Indians every year

— an average over 1,300 every day. India also has more than a million “missing” cases every year that

are not notified.

• Launched in 2013 under the National Health Mission, RBSK is focused on preventing disease and

disability in children. “Child Health Screening and Early Intervention Services” basically refer to early detection and management of a set of 30 health conditions prevalent in children less than 18 years of

age. These conditions are broadly defects at birth, diseases in children, deficiency conditions and

developmental delays including disabilities, together described as 4Ds. Until now, neither leprosy nor TB were parts of the programme.

• In 2017, India had set a target of elimination of leprosy by 2018, going by the Budget speech that year. The deadline has passed but leprosy remains a challenge in a country that launched the National

Leprosy Eradication Programme way back in 1955. For tuberculosis, the global Sustainable

Development Goal target is to end the disease is 2030. However, there is a new urgency in India’s TB control efforts since last year, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi suo motu advanced the deadline

for India to end TB to 2025.

3.12.National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) • Prime Minister NarendraModi in September 2019 launched the National Animal Disease Control

Programme (NADCP), aimed at eradicating foot and mouth disease (FMD) and brucellosis in

livestock. India has the world’s largest livestock population of 125-crore plus heads, but cattle productivity is low, and animal diseases are a major concern.

• NADCP aims to vaccinate over 500 million livestock heads, including cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats and pigs, against FMD, and some 36 million female bovine calves annually against brucellosis. The

programme has received 100% funding from the Centre, amounting to Rs 12,652 crore for five years

until 2024, the release said. The NADCP aims to control these two diseases by 2025, and to eradicate them by 2030.

• Foot and Mouth Disease is a highly infectious viral disease of cattle, swine, sheep, goats, and other cloven-hooved ruminants. FMD is generally not fatal in adult animals but leaves them severely

weakened, and results in a drastically reduced production of milk and can, therefore, be financially

ruinous for dairy farmers. Infected animals get a fever, sores in their mouth, on their teats, and between their hooves. FMD spreads through excretions and secretions; infected animals also exhale

the virus.

• Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease that, according to the Department of Animal Husbandry and

Dairying, is endemic in most parts of the country. Brucellosis causes early abortions in animals, and

prevents the addition of new calves to the animal population. The Brucellosis Control Programme component of the NADCP envisages 100% vaccination coverage of female cattle and buffalo calves

(4-8 months of age) once in their lifetimes.


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3.13. Guidelines for drones in India • The general guidelines issued by the civil aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation

(DGCA), also lay down specific no-go areas for drones. These guidelines, issued last year, classified

civilian remotely piloted aircraft systems into specific types, and made it legal for ordinary enthusiasts to operate drones in India, subject to various requirements and clearances. The guidelines

came into effect on December 1, 2018.

• DGCA has identified multiple categories of drones, which can be broadly classified as ‘Nano’ (weighing up to 250 g), ‘Micro’ (more than 250 g but less than 2 kg) and ‘Small and

above’ (weighing 2 kg or more). Every drone that is bigger than a ‘Nano’ must obtain a unique identification number (UIN) from the aviation regulator (similar to the registration number for a car).

This number must be displayed on the remotely piloted aircraft.

• A UIN will be issued once, against a fee of Rs 1,000, and will not be issued to a foreign citizen or entity. It was not immediately clear how big the two Americans’ drone was, and whether it was illegal on

account of not having a UIN. Users of bigger drones will be required to obtain a Unique Air Operator’s Permit (UAOP), similar to a driver’s licence. The permit will cost Rs 25,000 and will be valid for five

years. Renewals will cost Rs 10,000.

• The UIN and UAOP can be obtained from the online platform Digital Sky. The permits will be issued in less than a week, DGCA officials had said at the time the drone policy was notified. All drones other

than those in the ‘Nano’ category must meet mandatory equipment requirements such as GPS, anti-collision light, ID plate, radio-frequency identification (RFID) and SIM facilities with software that

ensures ‘no-permission, no-takeoff’, among other features.

• Before flying a ‘Small’ or bigger drone, an operator has to file a flight plan, and inform the local police, so that the machine can reach a height of 400 ft or more, and use both controlled and uncontrolled

airspace. ‘Micro’ drones will be required to submit a flight plan only if using controlled airspace; the operator must, however, inform the local police in all cases. Many drones used for amateur

photography fall in this category. These aircraft will need a UIN but no UAOP, and will be allowed to

climb only to a height of 200 ft.

• ‘Nano’ drones will be able to operate freely, without any registration or permit, but their operations

will be restricted to 50 ft above the ground, and to uncontrolled airspaces and enclosed premises. All categories of drones must be flown in the visual line of sight, and only during daytime. The regulator

listed 12 categories of “no-drone zones”. These include the area up to 5 km from the perimeters of the

high-traffic airports of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. For other airports, the no-drone zone extends up to 3 km.

• Drones cannot fly closer than 25 km of international borders, including the Line of Control and Line of Actual Control. The area within a 5-km radius of New Delhi’s Vijay Chowk is a no-drone zone; this,

however, is subject to any additional conditions/restrictions that local law enforcement agencies/

authorities may impose for security reasons. A drone can’t be flown within 2 km from the perimeter of strategic locations and vital installations notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs, unless cleared by

the Ministry; within a 3 km radius of secretariat complexes in state capitals; and from a mobile platform such as a moving vehicle, ship or aircraft.


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3.14.Jammu and Kashmir’s Public Safety Act • The Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 is a preventive detention law, under which a person is

taken into custody to prevent him or her from acting in any manner that is prejudicial to “the security

of the state or the maintenance of the public order”. It is very similar to the National Security Act that is used by other state governments for preventive detention.

• It comes into force by an administrative order passed either by Divisional Commissioner or the

District Magistrate, and not by an detention order by police based on specific allegations or for specific violation of laws. A person who is detained under the PSA need not be produced before a

magistrate within 24 hours of the detention. The detained person does not have the right to move a bail application before a criminal court, and cannot engage any lawyer to represent him or her before

the detaining authority. Detention can be up to two years.

• The only way this administrative preventive detention order can be challenged is through a habeas corpus petition filed by relatives of the detained person. The High Court and the Supreme Court have

the jurisdiction to hear such petitions and pass a final order seeking quashing of the PSA. However, if the order is quashed, there in no bar on the government passing another detention order under the

PSA and detaining the person again.

• The District Magistrate who has passed the detention order has protection under the Act, which states that the order is considered “done in good faith”. Therefore, there can no be prosecution or any

legal proceeding against the official who has passed the order. Also, after an amendment last year by the Governor, persons detained under the PSA in Jammu & Kashmir can now be detained in jails

outside the state.

3.15. Bamboonomics • Union Minister for Tribal Affairs ShriArjunMunda launched the Biggest Tribal movement to promote

tribal enterprise through Bamboonomics in the country which will be a beacon for the rest of the

world. He launched the movement for combating desertification and the climate change at “The Indian Perspective through Bamboonomics” session at ‘COP 14 UNCCD: TRIFED-GIZ’ organized at

Greater Noida Expo.

• Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi has set the goal of additional 5 mha. under the Bonn Challenge (The Bonn Challenge is a global effort to bring 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and

degraded land into restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030) and Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED would strive to support this national commitment.

• TRIFED introduced the “The 4P1000 Initiative: The Tribal Perspective through Bamboonomics” in the

side event and explained the genesis of the revolution during the global meet (COP 14 of UNCCD) in New Delhi on the 13th September’19. The 4P1000 Initiative: The international initiative “4per1000”,

launched by France on 1 December 2015 at the COP 21, consists of federating all voluntary stakeholders of the public and private sectors.


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• TRIFED will involve the tribal community of India for rehabilitating the degraded land without compromising the income of the poor in the garb of environmentally friendly development.

Bamboonomics has been designed in such a way that while doing the environmental services, the tribals will be earning. TRIFED is striving to integrate its PradhanMantri Van DhanYojna (PMVDY)

with this new global environmental intervention termed as TICD (TRIFED’s Initiative to Combat

Desertification).

3.16.LEAP and ARPIT

• Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched Leadership

for Academicians Programme (LEAP) - 2019 and Annual Refresher Programme in Teaching (ARPIT) – 2019 under PanditMadan Mohan Malviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching

(PMMMNMTT).

• To build higher managerial capabilities of existing higher education leaders and administrators and to draw fresh talent into the management of higher education systems, a National Initiative “Leadership

for Academicians Programme (LEAP)” was launched to design and deliver a structured scheme of leadership development for HEIs. LEAP is a three weeks leadership development training programme

(2 weeks domestic and one week foreign training) for second level academic functionaries in public

funded higher education institutions.

• Ministry of Human Resource Development launched Annual Refresher Programme in Teaching

(ARPIT) in November, 2018. ARPIT is a major and unique initiative of online professional development of 1.5 million higher education faculty using the MOOCs platform SWAYAM. For

implementing ARPIT, discipline-specific National Resource Centers (NRCs) are identified which are

tasked to prepare online training material with focus on latest developments in the discipline, new & emerging trends, pedagogical improvements and methodologies for transacting revised curriculum.

3.17.Multipurpose National Identity Card (MPNIC) • Speaking on the occasion of laying the foundation for a new office building for the Registrar General

of India and Census Commissioner in New Delhi, Home Minister Amit Shah spoke about the potential

of using the upcoming 2021 Census data for future planning, development initiatives and welfare

schemes.

• The Home Minister clarified that although there was no such scheme in the offing, it was possible to

get rid of excess processes and cards such as the Aadhaar card, the voter card, the identity card etc. He further argued that if this Census was done properly and in the right format, it was possible that

there could be just one single card in which all the other cards could reside. In other words, a single

card that has your bank card, voter id card, Aadhaar card, and passport.

• The Multipurpose National Identity Card (MPNIC) was first suggested by a 2001 report on Reforming

the National Security System by an empowered Group of Ministers during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in relation to the growing threat from illegal migration. The eGOM report itself was a

response to the K Subrahmanyam-led Kargil Review Committee, which was instituted in the wake of

the Kargil conflict of 1999.


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• However technology has taken a giant leap since the MPNIC was first proposed in 2001. A good example of that is the existence of the Aadhaar database, which now has almost all residents of India

on it.

• Lastly, according to media reports, the government is expected to launch the National Intelligence

Grid (NATGRID) by the start of 2020. The Natgrid would reportedly be used by 10 agencies such as

Intelligence Bureau (IB), Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and Enforcement Directorate (ED) among others, to scour data real-time from 21 databases such as

airline travel, credit card transactions etc with the aim to track and prevent terror and illegal immigration activities.

3.18.Satluj Yamuna Link Canal Issue • The issue dates back to 1966 at the time of reorganization of Punjab. When Haryana was formed, a

need arose to share river waters with the newly formed state. But Punjab was opposed to sharing waters of Ravi and Beas rivers with Haryana citing riparian principle. On April 8, 1982, the then Prime

Minister Indira Gandhi launched the construction of Satluj-Yamuna Link canal, by organising a groundbreaking ceremony in Kapoori village in Patiala district.

• A stretch of 214 km SYL was to be constructed out of which 122 km was to cross Punjab and the rest

92 km in Haryana. But Akalis launched an agitation in the form of Kapoori Morcha against the construction of the canal. Then in July 1985, then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the then Akali Dal

chief Sant Harchand Singh Longowal signed an accord agreeing for a new tribunal to assess the water.

• The Eradi Tribunal headed by Supreme Court Judge V Balakrishna Eradi was set up to reassess

availability and sharing of water. The Tribunal, in 1987, recommended an increase in the shares of

Punjab and Haryana to 5 MAF and 3.83 MAF, respectively.

• As per government‘s study, Punjab‘s many areas may go dry after 2029. The state has already over-

exploited its groundwater for irrigation purposes as it fills granaries of centre by growing wheat and paddy worth Rs 70,000 crore every year. As per the reports, water in about 79 per cent area of the

state is over-exploited. Out of 138 blocks, 109 blocks are ―over-exploited‖, two blocks are

―critical‖ five blocks are ―semi-critical‖ and only 22 blocks are in ―safe‖ category. In such a situation when farmers are committing suicides and alarm button has been pressed for saving water,

the government says, sharing it with any other state is impossible.

• Haryana has been staking claim on Ravi-Beas waters through SYL canal on the plea that providing

water for irrigation was a tough task for the state. In southern parts, where the underground water

had depleted up to 1700 feet, there was a problem of drinking water. The Supreme Court recently ordered asking Punjab, Haryana and Centre to sort out SYL issue amicably

3.19.Malnutrition and Diseases in under-5 children • A report published Wednesday in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health gives comprehensive

estimates of disease burden due to child and maternal malnutrition and the trends of its indicators in

every state of India from 1990 to 2017. Key findings include:

• The death rate attributable to malnutrition in under-5 children in India has dropped by two-thirds from 1990 to 2017. Malnutrition is, however, still the underlying risk factor for 68% of the deaths in

under five children in India. www.YouTube.com/SleepyClasses

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• The Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY) rate attributable to

malnutrition in children varies 7-fold among the states — a gap

between a high of 74,782 in Uttar

Pradesh and a low of 11,002 in Kerala. Other states with a high

burden are

• Bihar, Assam and Rajasthan.

Followed by Madhya Pradesh,

Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Nagaland and Tripura.

• The proportion of under-5 deaths attributable to malnutrition,

which is 68.2% across India,

ranges between a high of 72.7% in Bihar and a low of 50.8% in Kerala.

Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh are states with a high

such proportion, while Meghalaya,

Tamil Nadu, Mizoram and Goa have the lowest proportions of such deaths. Among the malnutrition indicators, low birth weight is the largest contributor to child deaths in India, followed by child growth

failure which includes stunting, underweight, and wasting.

3.20.All India Survey on Higher Education • The Union Ministry for Human Resource Development has released AISHE (2018-19). The MHRD

collects online information on Universities, Colleges and other Higher Educational Institutions under

the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), with its first publication in 2011.

• As per the report, UP and Karnataka have more female enrolment in higher education. Also, the ratio

of male students is higher than females on every level except certificate, Post Graduate and M.Phil. The higher rate of male enrolment than female enrolment is witnessed at all levels in many states.

Important highlights include:

• UP have 49.30% male and 50% females as per the survey. In Karnataka, female enrolment is 50.04%.

• Maharashtra has recorded the second-highest student enrolment with roughly 54.95% male and 45.05% females.

• Tamil Nadu has 50.87% males and 49.13% females whereas West Bengal has 50.37% males and 49.63% females.

• In Rajasthan, male enrollment number is higher as compared to the females.

• UG level student enrolment is 51% males and 49% females across India.

• For diploma, it is 66.8% of males and 33.2% of females.


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• PhD has 56.18% males and 43.82% females.

• For integrated levels, it is 57.50% for males and 42.50% for females.

• For PG Diploma students, enrolment is 54.09% for male students and 45.91% for female students.

• The top 6 States having highest student enrollment are UP, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan,

Karnataka and West Bengal. However, when it comes to the total number of institutes, the state-wise

ranking is different with UP (8077) at the top followed by Maharashtra (6662), Karnataka (5028), Rajasthan (3723), Andhra Pradesh (3540) and Tamil Nadu (3443).

• The above mentioned 6 states with the highest student enrolment have roughly 54.23% of the total student enrolment in India.

• Remaining 30 States (including UTs) have only 25.76% of the total student enrolment.

• The survey covers all institutes of higher education in India, and the institutes are categorised in 3 broad categories such as College, University and Stand-alone institutes (offering Paramedical,

Diploma, Hotel Management and Catering courses).

• There are a total of 993 Universities, 39931 Colleges and 10725 Stand Alone Institutions listed on

the AISHE web portal and out of that, 962 Universities, 38179 Colleges and 9190 Stand Alone

Institutions have responded during the survey. 298 Universities are affiliating.

• More male teachers in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in India than females, with the lowest

gender proportion in Bihar.

• 4, 16,299 are the total number of teachers out of which about 57.8 per cent are male teachers and

42.2 per cent are female teachers. In Bihar, 78.97 er cent are male teachers and 21.03 per cent are

females.

• Jharkhand has 69.8 per cent male teachers and 30.2 per cent female teachers.

• UP has 32.3 per cent, female teachers.

• At All India level, there are just 73 female teachers per 100 male teachers

3.21.National Educational Alliance for Technology • Ministry of Human Resource Development has announced a new PPP Scheme, National Educational

Alliance for Technology (NEAT) for using technology for better learning outcomes in Higher Education.

• The objective is to use Artificial Intelligence to make learning more personalised and customised as per the requirements of the learner. This requires development of technologies in Adaptive Learning

to address the diversity of learners.


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• MHRD would act as a facilitator to ensure that the solutions are freely available to a large number of economically backward students. MHRD would create and maintain a National NEAT platform that

would provide one-stop access to these technological solutions. EdTech companies would be responsible for developing solutions and manage registration of learners through the NEAT portal.

They would be free to charge fees as per their policy. As their contribution towards the National

cause, they would have to offer free coupons to the extent of 25% of the total registrations for their solution through NEAT portal.

• MHRD would distribute the free coupons for learning to the most socially/economically backward students.

• AICTE would be the implementing agency for NEAT programme. The scheme shall be administered

under the guidance of an Apex Committee constituted by MHRD. Independent Expert Committees would be constituted for evaluating and selecting the EdTech solutions.

3.22.Uniform Civil Code • A Uniform Civil Code is one that would provide for one law for the entire country, applicable to all

religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.

Article 44 of the Constitution lies down that the state shall Endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code

for the citizens throughout the territory of India.

• Article 44 is one of the directive principles. These, as defined in Article 37, are not justifiable (not

enforceable by any court) but the principles laid down therein are fundamental in governance.

3.23.Fundamental rights are enforceable in a court of law • The Supreme Court held in Minerva Mills (1980): ―Indian Constitution is founded on the bed-rock of

the balance between Parts III (Fundamental Rights) and IV (Directive Principles). To give absolute

primacy to one over the other is to disturb the harmony of the Constitution‖. Article 31C inserted by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, however, lays down that if a law is made to implement any directive

principle, it cannot be challenged on the ground of being violative of the fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 19.

• Article 25 lays down an individual‘s fundamental right to religion; Article 26(b) upholds the right of

each religious denomination or any section thereof to ―manage its own affairs in matters of religion‖; Article 29 defines the right to conserve distinctive culture. An individual‘s freedom of

religion under Article 25 is subject to ―public order, health, morality‖ and other provisions relating

to fundamental rights, but a group‘s freedom under Article 26 has not been subjected to other fundamental rights.

3.24.6th India Water Week-2019 • The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the 6th India Water Week-2019 on

September 24, 2019 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. The theme of the India Water Week-2019 is

‘Water Cooperation – Coping with 21st Century Challenges’ and it is being organised by the

Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, the Ministry of Jal Shakti.


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• Conceptualized and organized for the first time in 2012, the India Water Week is a regular forum where the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of

India discusses, talks, strategizes with eminent stakeholders through seminars, exhibitions and sessions to build public awareness, to get support to implement key strategies for conservation,

preservation and optimum use of available water.

3.25.ERSS, E-Beat Book and E-Saathi App • Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah launched three citizen centric services of the

Chandigarh Police on 20th September including the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS -

Dial 112), ‗E-Beat Book‘ System and the ‗E-Saathi App‘. ERSS is one of the key projects of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs under Nirbhaya Fund. It has been designed to play a pivotal role in

mitigation or preventing escalation of crime, especially against women and children. ERSS provides a

single emergency number (112), computer aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress. Citizens can send their emergency information through call, sms, and email and through the 112 India

mobile app.

• The ‗E-Beat Book‘is a web and mobile based application which will ease the collection, updating and

analysis of the information related to crime and criminals in a real time. Chandigarh has been divided

in 54 divisions. In each division, there is one ‗Atal Sehbhagita Kendra‘that is under the supervision of a Beat Officer, having an Android Phone to the use the app. The E-Beat Book would be linked with

Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS), which would help in a real time updation

of crime/criminal data. The citizen can directly approach the‗Atal Sehbhagita Kendra‘for redressal of their grievances and can render their suggestions too.

• The E-Saathi‘ App would help the general public, including senior citizens, to remain in touch with the police and also give suggestions to facilitate participative community policing(‗Your Police at Your

Doorstep‘ initiative). The beat officerwould be able to provide services like passport verification,

tenant verification, servant verification, character certification etc. at a click of a button through the app, without the people needing to visit the police station.With this initiative, on one hand, where the

beat officer would become more efficient in his/her working, this would make police-people communication a two-way process, on the other.

3.26.Astra Missile • Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested the Beyond

Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) ‘Astra’ from Su-30 MKI platform off the coast of Chandipur, Odisha. The trials were held from 16th to 19th September 2019. The trials were

conducted by Indian Air Force (IAF) against Jet Banshee target aircraft simulating all possible threat scenarios.

• Astra BVRAAM has range of more than 100 kms with modern guidance and navigation techniques.

The missile has midcourse guidance and RF seeker based terminal guidance to achieve target destruction with pin point accuracy. It is the first air-to-air missile developed by India. It features mid-

course inertial guidance with terminal active radar homing. Astra is designed to be capable of engaging targets at varying range and altitudes allowing for engagement of both short-range targets

at a distance of 20 km (12 mi) and long-range targets up to a distance of 80 km (50 mi).


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• The effort for building a state-of-the-art BVRAAM by DRDO, together with IAF has completed the user trial phase of the weapon system successfully. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has played a

role in modifying the aircraft for weapon integration. More than 50 public and private industries have contributed in building the Astra weapon system.


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4. International Relations To watch the following topics on YouTube click on the links given below:

• Video 1

• Video 2

• Video 3

4.1.SAARC • Est. with signing of SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8 December 1985.

• 8 member states : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

• Secretariat set up in Kathmandu on 17 January 1987

Objectives

• Promote welfare of peoples of South Asia and improve quality of life

• Accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development

• Promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among countries of South Asia

Decisions are taken on basis of unanimity

• Bilateral and contentious issues are excluded from deliberations of the Association.

• Meetings of Heads of State is the highest decision making authority under SAARC

• Summits usually held biennially hosted by Member State in alphabetical order

• Ist Summit in Dhaka in 1985 and the latest one was in Kathmandu in 2014

• 19th Summit was called off after India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan boycotted it

• Currently there are 9 Observers to SAARC including the EU, USA and Iran

• Comprises 3% of the world’s area, 21% of the world’s population and 3.8% of global economy as of

2015

Achievements/Role of SAARC

• Substantial increase in Cooperation

✓SAARC Development Fund (SDF) (2005)

✤It was decided to be established as a comprehensive funding mechanism with provision of 3 Windows (Social, Economic, Infrastructure)

✤Primary objective is of funding project-based collaboration

✓SAARC Arbitration Council (SARCO) (2007)

✤To resolve cost-effective settlement of disputes via arbitration within the region

✓South Asian University (SAU) (2007)


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https://youtu.be/ZvdziRr8-pA?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

https://youtu.be/cJ53bDE1Ngs?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

https://youtu.be/Mq5NVu16kNs?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

✤It is necessary for the Member State to recognise the Degrees and Certificates awarded by SAU at par with National Institutions

• SAARC Regional Standards Organisation (SARSO) (2011)

✤To harmonise standards and promote cooperation in fields of metrology, accreditation and

conformity assessment for enhancing capacity of respective national institutions in carrying out

their technical tasks

• Economic and Trade Discussions

✓South Asia Free Trade Area

✤The agreement was signed during 12th Summit in Islamabad in 2004 and it entered into force in

2006

✤Under it, SAARC members will bring their duties down to 20% by 2009

✤Although after it, the import and export increased but the intra-SAARC trade still amounts to

just a little over 1% of SAARC’s GDP

• South Asia Satellite (SAS)

✓Boost communication and improve disaster links among 7 SAARC countries

✓Built by ISRO and funded entirely by India, it is a geostationary communication satellite

✤Provide significant capability to participating countries in terms of DTH and link the countries

for disaster information

Caveats

• SAARC, in comparison to other regional groupings like EU, ASEAN or MERCOSUR, has been a

nonstarter

✓Intra-regional trade in goods is around 5% and 0.2% in services where as in ASEAN it is 26% and 15% in MERCOSUR

• Reasons for underperformance

✓Political tensions between India and Pakistan

✓Strongly entrenched bureaucracies and interest groups in these nations who view every issue from

a myopic and nationalistic view point

✓Political uncertainties in some countries

✓SAARC does not have any arrangement for resolving disputes or mediating conflicts. Disputes among the member countries often hamper consensus building

✓Lack of connectivity between the members

✤Trade and other relations are hampered between India and Afghanistan

✓Lack of people to people contacts

✓Poor state of critical infrastructure and lack of security and the prevalence of terrorist threats


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✓EU or ASEAN are groupings of economies that are more or less equal but SAARC is dominated by India which accounts for nearly 60% of SAARC’s population, area or GDP

✤Except for Afghanistan, India shares a border with any other SAARC member unlike others. This obvious asymmetry makes meaningful cooperation more problematic

✓Psychological Framework : Not many countries consider themselves as predominantly South Asian

✤Afghans consider them Central Asian, Pakistan prefers to be a part of Middle East, both Sri Lanka and Maldives think themselves to be South East Asian

Comparison of SAARC Countries

• Population

✓India > Pakistan > Bangladesh > Afghanistan > Nepal > Sri Lanka > Bhutan > Maldives

• GDP per capita

✓Maldives >Sri Lanka > Bhutan > India > Pakistan > Bangladesh > Nepal > Afghanistan

• Human Development Index

✓Sri Lanka > Maldives > India > Bhutan > Bangladesh > Nepal > Pakistan > Afghanistan

• Population BPL

✓Afghanistan > Nepal > Bangladesh > India > Maldives > Pakistan > Bhutan > Sri Lanka

4.2.Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)

Why in News

• India skipped a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which was organised by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at Xi’an in China

• EAEU is an international economic union that comprises countries located in northern Eurasia

• Founding members: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia in 2015

✓Kyrgyzstan joined later

• Created in part in response to the economic and political influence of the European Union and other Western countries

• Objectives

1. Increasing cooperation and economic competitiveness for the member states

2. Promotion of stable development in order to raise the standard of living in member states

• It ensures the free movement of goods, services, labor and capital between the states, and provides for common policies in macroeconomic sphere, transport, industry and agriculture, energy, foreign

trade and investment, customs, technical regulation, competition and antitrust regulation.

• Unlike the Eurozone, it has not established a single currency yet.


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4.3.Central Adverse List • The Ministry of Home Affairs with inputs from all the state governments, maintains a list of

individuals who supported the Khalistan movement in the 1980s an d90s and left India to take asylum

abroad.

✓Since law and order is a state subject, so state police also utilised for intelligence gathering in order

to update the list

• This list included names of pro-Khalistan “hardliners” who had opposed the Operation Blue Star

• This list is not restricted to Punjab, or the Khalistan movement; it has names of individuals who are

suspected to have links with terror outfits or violated visa norms in a previous visit to India, those who indulged in criminal activities or been accused of sexual crimes against children in their respective

countries

• It is constantly used by all Indian Missions and Consulates to stop the individuals named in it from entering India.

4.4.India-Mongolia • Landlocked country in East Asia, sandwiched between Russia and China

• Contains very little arable land, as much of its area is covered by grassy steppe, with mountains to the

north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south

• Its capital Ulaanbaatar shares the rank of the world’s coldest capital city with Moscow, Ottawa and Nur Sultan

India-Mongolia Relationship

• The cooperation is limited to diplomatic visits, provision of soft loans and financial aid ad the collaboration in IT sector.

• India was the first country outside the Soviet bloc to establish diplomatic relations with Mongolia

back in 1955.

• India financially helped the country in 2016 when it was blocked by China.

Military Exercises

• Nomadic Elephant

• Khaan Quest

Recent Visit

• The relationship has been upgraded at the level of ‘strategic partnership’

• V-P M. Venkaiah Naidu called for expanding bilateral ties between India and Mongolia in different sectors including renewable energy, especially solar energy and Information Technology.

• Mongolia joining the International Solar Alliance was appreciated.


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• PM Modi and President Battulga unveiled the statue of Lord Buddha installed in Gandan Monastery in Ulaanbaatar.

• Both countries also signed MoUs on space cooperation and disaster management.

4.5.International Migrant Stock 2019 • India has emerged as the leading country of origin for immigrants across the world, with 17.5 million

international migrants in 2019 coming from India according to data released by UN Department of

Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).

• The percentage of international migrants of the total global population has increased to 3.5% from

2.8% in 2000.

• While India remained as the top source of international migrants, the number of migrants living in

India saw a slight decline from 5.24 million in 2015 to an estimated 5.15 million in 2019 — both 0.4%

of the total population of the country.

• One-third of all international migrants originated from 10 countries including India, Mexico, China,

Russia and Syria.

4.6. UNDESA • It is a part of the UN Secretariat and is responsible for the follow-up to major United Nations Summits

and Conferences as well as services to the UN ECOSOC.

• It supports international cooperation to promote sustainable development for all, having a foundation the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 SDGs.

• It translates global commitments in the economic, social and environmental spheres into national policies and actions and continues to play a key role in monitoring progress towards internationally

agreed-upon development goals.

• It is also a member of UN Development Group (UNDG).

4.7.CPEC

• CPEC is clutch of projects valued at $51 billion which aims at rapidly expanding and upgrading

Pakistan’s infrastructure and strengthening the economic ties between China and Pakistan

• It includes building roads, laying railway lines and pipelines to carry oil and gas

• It eventually aims at linking the city of Gwadar in South Western Pakistan to China’s North Western

region Xinjiang through a network of highways and railways

• CPEC’s potential impact on Pakistan has been compared to that of the Marshall Plan undertaken by

US in post-War Europe

• The proposed project will be financed by heavily-subsidised loans, that will be disbursed to Pakistan

by Chinese banking giants such as Exim bank of China, China Development Bank, and the Industrial

and Commercial Bank of China


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✓About 90% of the total outlay for this project will be funded

by the consortium of Chinese banks and the balance 10% by

Pakistan

Geo-political Impact

• It establishes a symbiotic relationship between China and

Pakistan and analysts worry that this may have ramifications

for the geopolitical situation in

Kashmir (especially PoK).

• If the corridor opens up a major

new global trade route, not just Pakistan and China, but also

India may see positive spillover

effects from burgeoning trade with West Asia or Africa


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5. Economy To watch the following topics on YouTube click on the links given below:

• Video 1

• Video 2

• Video 3

5.1.Blue Revolution • 3 types of support:

1. Infrastructure development in harbours

2. Subsidies to joint venture projects to set up hatcheries/nurseries/quarantine facilities

3. Viability Gap Funding to establish processing plants, and cold chain facilities at harvest or landing sites

• Around Rs.25, 000 Crore will be disbursed through different schemes such as:

✓Pradhan Mantri Sampada Yojana

✓World Bank schemes

• Already running:

✓Fishery Infrastructure Development Fund

✓(It is an interest subvention scheme)

• Inland fisheries contribute 50 per cent of the total fish production.

• More can be obtained by covering reservoirs, wetlands, rivers and streams in different parts of the

country.

•Marine Products Exports Development Authority (MPEDA) is making efforts to promote cold water

fisheries in the entire Himalayan region to rear high-value fish varieties.

5.2.$1 billion line of credit to Russian Far East • Far East region of Russia accounts for

✓98 per cent of Diamond

✓50 per cent of gold mined in Russia

• Announced in 5th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF)

Ongoing Indian Investments

• ONGC’s investments in oil and gas projects

• Development of coal and gold deposits by Tata Power and Sun Group

• Diamond polishing factories set up recently by KGK group and M Suresh


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https://youtu.be/wEI99xDYyl8?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

https://youtu.be/4Cobylv5KVQ?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

https://youtu.be/BnRtLnLrlRk?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

5.3.Kuril Islands

5.4.NDB & AP

• New Development Bank (NDB) has decided to lend Rs 6,000 crores to Andhra Pradesh Government

for various projects.

• The amount will be used for social

infrastructure projects and will be

repaid in 32 years.

• The New Development Bank was set

up in 2015 by BRICS nations. The Shanghai-based eBank has lent over

Rs 75,000 crore to various projects

till date all over the world and Rs 25,000 crores in India.


47



5.5.Mega Food Park • First Mega Food Park in Telangana promoted by Smart Agro Food Park.

• Located at Lakkampally village in Nizamabad district.

• The Mega Food Park Scheme is being implemented in order to give a major impetus to the food processing sector by adding value and reducing food wastage at each stage of the supply chain with

particular focus on perishables.

5.6.India, US military Exercise • Yudh Abhyas 2019

• Washington


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5.7.MGNREGS • Under Ministry of Rural Development 54 per cent of these are located in just five States:

• Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,

• West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana.

• There are 260 works which are permissible under MGNREGA.

• 164 works are related to agriculture and allied activities.

• A large number of works is for improvement of productivity of land through:

✓Land development

✓Plantation

✓Vermicomposting

✓Food grain storage

✓Bunding

✓Dug-well etc.

• Under MGNREGS, every asset is mandatorily geo-tagged.

5.8.ICC Test rankings • Steve Smith Number 1

5.9.Rafael Nadal wins US Open • 19th Grand Slam

5.10.National Dairy Plan • National Dairy Plan Phase I (NDP I) is a Central Sector Scheme for a period of 2011-12 to 2018-19.

NDP I Objectives

• To help increase productivity of milch animals and thereby increase milk production to meet the rapidly growing demand for milk

• To help provide rural milk producers with greater access to the organised milk-processing sector

• The NDP was largely financed with loan from International Development Association of the World

Bank with implementing agencies appointed in States by NDDB.


49



Do Read Rashtriya Gokul Mission

5.11.National Research Development Corporation • Engaged in promoting indigenous technologies in the Indian industry and startups.

• It will soon expand its wings to the U.S.

• National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) was established in 1953 by the Government of India.

Primary objective

• To promote, develop and commercialise the technologies / know-how / inventions / patents /

processes emanating from various national R&D institutions / Universities

• It is presently working under the administrative control of the Dept. of Scientific & Industrial

Research, Ministry of Science & Technology.

5.12.Oil Pipelines from India to Neighbours

September 2018, India and Bangladesh

• Agreement for a cross-border pipeline to carry one million tonne diesel annually from Siliguri (West

Bengal) depot of the Numaligarh Refinery (NRL) to Parbatipur in Bangladesh.

September 2019, India and Nepal

• Completed construction of 69-km Motihari (Bihar)-Amlekhigunj (Nepal).

5.13.Liberalising Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

• Liberalising regulations in single brand retail, coal mining, and contract manufacturing and digital

media.

• Other decisions notified by the government include relaxation in the domestic sourcing norms for

single brand retail, allowing sourcing for exports and for global operations of the single-brand, to be

counted towards the 30 per cent mandatory requirement.

• Additionally, retail trading through e-commerce can also be undertaken prior to opening of brick and

mortar stores, subject to the condition that the company opens brick and mortar stores within two years from date of start of online retail.

• The decisions taken also include allowing 100 per cent FDI for sale of coal, coal mining activities

including associated processing infrastructure subject to the provisions of Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.

5.14.Swedish environmental activist • Greta Thunberg and the Fridays for Future youth movement received Amnesty International’s

‘Ambassadors of Conscience’ award


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5.15.Checkpost at India-Myanmar border • Integrated check-post at the Moreh (Manipur) border with Myanmar is ready for operations.

• Both the passenger and cargo terminals facility may be handed over to the Land Ports Authority of

India (LPAI).

• India’s Ministry of External Affairs sponsored the construction of a bridge across river Menal that

divides the two nations here.

• It is part of Trilateral Highway connecting India with Thailand via-Myanmar.

• The Assam Rifles guards Indo-Myanmar border and is guarding against the rise of informal trade.

5.16. Five Technology Missions • Department of Science and Technology (DST) is all set to launch five technology missions to prepare

the country to meet scientific and technological challenges of the future.

1. Mission on electric mobility

2. Mission Methanol

3. Mission on Quantum Technology

4. Mission on Cyber Physical Systems

5. Mission on production of Digital Maps

5.17.Government Announces steps to boost housing • A Rs.10,000 crore special window to provide last-mile funding for completion of ongoing housing

projects which are not NPAs or facing bankruptcy proceedings under NCLT.

• This window will help in completion of affordable and middle income housing projects.

• The interest rate on housing building advance will be lowered and linked to the 10-year G-sec yields.

• External commercial borrowing (ECB) guidelines will also be relaxed to help housing developers

obtain overseas funds.

5.18.National Centre for Clean Coal R&D • The new centre would address several critical R&D challenges towards the development of clean coal

technologies in tandem with developing supercritical power plant technologies, both at the materials

and system level.

• National Centre for Clean Coal Research and Development will be located at Indian Institute of

Science (IISc) in Bengaluru.

5.19.Gandhi Solar Park • At a contribution of about one million dollars, India has gifted solar panels that have been installed on

the roof of the UN Headquarters here, one panel each for every 193 UN Member State.


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5.20.Strategic Oil Reserves • India may dip into its

s t ra t e g i c o i l r e s e r ve s

stored in underground caverns at Mangaluru,

Paddur (near Udupi) and

Visakhapatnam, after the drone strikes on Saudi

Arabian Oil Co or Saudi Aramco’s facility.

• Indian Strategic Petroleum

Reserve Ltd (ISPRL) is owned by government.

• It manages emergency oil reserves in the country.

• It has already built 5.33

million tonnes (mt) of underground storage capacity at Visakhapatnam (1.33 million tonnes), Mangaluru (1.5 million tonnes) and Padur (2.5 million tonnes).

• It can help meet around 9.5 days of the country’s oil needs.

• Currently, the strategic reserves are not filled to its full capacity.

• Typically, India’s oil refiners hold a crude inventory of 15-20 days, including the crude on the high seas

en-route to be delivered to customers.

• About 16 per cent of India’s crude imports come from Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil producer.

• India is the world’s third largest oil importer.

5.21.PMC Bank • Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank Ltd.) founded in 1984.

• PMC Bank was the youngest bank to get the status of a scheduled bank in 2000.

Why in News

• It has been put under the directions of the RBI.

What is the Issue

• It turned out that the bank had suppressed the sticky assets and under-reported them.

• The bank was funding a clutch of companies, mainly in the troubled real estate sector, led by Housing Development & Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL).

Which Act gives power to RBI to issues such directions?

• Sub-section (1) of Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 read +Section 56.


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What are the directions?

Without the prior approval in writing from the Reserve Bank, the Urban Co-operative Bank will not be able to:

• Grant or renew any loans and advances

• Make any investment

• Incur any liability including borrowing of funds and acceptance of fresh deposits

• Disburse or agree to disburse any payment whether in discharge of its liabilities and obligations or otherwise

• Enter into any compromise or arrangement and sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any of its properties or assets except as notified in the RBI directions

5.22.E-Assessment Scheme • Usually, a few months after filing the returns, the department sends to all assesses an intimation

under Section 143(1) of the Income Tax Act, showing side by side the computation of income tax as done by the assessee as well as by the department. A discrepancy often means a demand for more

taxes, which you may have to pay up.

• Section 143(2), requiring the assessee to meet the assessing officer on a particular date and/or

produce any evidence in support of the return. This is commonly called ‘scrutiny assessment’. It is this

personal interface between the tax department and the taxpayer that is being made online — or ‘faceless’ — now.

• Every notice or order will be delivered to the assessee electronically: Either uploaded on the assessee’s e-filing account or mobile app (Aaykar Setu).

5.23.Axis Bank’s QIP • Its qualified institutional placement was over-subscribed.

• The transaction was anchored by several large marquee foreign portfolio investors, domestic mutual funds and insurance companies. https://youtu.be/uyBRJZj-fWM

5.24.Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) • It is set to replace the UGC.

• It will also take over the All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE).

• A bill in this regard will be placed before the Cabinet.

• The Higher Education Commission of India will be a single regulator.

• It will promote the quality of academic instruction, maintenance of academic standards and

encourage autonomy of good performing educational institutions for free pursuit of knowledge, innovation, skills and entrepreneurship.


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https://youtu.be/uyBRJZj-fWM

• UGC is the regulator for universities across the country, AICTE acts as a regulator for engineering, pharmacy, management and other technical education colleges.

• It is under The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD).

5.25.Sardar Patel National Unity Award • A new civilian award in the name of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel that would recognise notable and

inspiring contributions towards India’s unity and integrity.

• It would not be conferred posthumously except in very rare and highly deserving cases, would comprise a medal and a citation.

• No monetary grant or cash reward would be attached to the award and not more than three awards would be given in a year.

• The award would be announced on the occasion of National Unity Day — the birth anniversary of

Sardar Patel on October 31.

5.26. New method developed to measure soil erosion

Soil Erosion

• Involves disaggregation and displacement of soil.

• It leads to decrease in its organic content and eventually its fertility.

What is the method?

• It measures the rate of soil erosion and associated decrease in organic content in soil by assessing

levels of radioactive cesium in soil.

• This method can help in monitoring the effects of soil erosion and effectiveness of soil conservation strategies.

5.27.CARICOM • Indian PM held a meeting with the leaders of the Caribbean Community and Common Market

(CARICOM).

• This is the first-ever India-Caricom leaders’ summit.

Focus

• Fighting climate change.

• Increasing India’s participation with the grouping.

Announcement

• A $14-million grant for community development projects in the CARICOM.

• Another $150 million line of credit for solar, renewable energy and climate-change related projects.

• The Caribbean Community and Common Market grouping has 15 members-states and five associate

members.


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5.28.Bulgaria’s Kristalina Georgieva • New Managing Director of International Monetary Fund (IMF).

• It continues the tradition of a European holding the role.

• But she becomes the first leader from an emerging market.

• She succeeds Christine Lagarde, a former French finance minister who led the fund from 2011.

• Christine is the incoming European Central Bank president.


55



6. Environment To watch the following topics on YouTube click on the links given below:

• Video 1

• Video 2

• Video 3

• Video 4

6.1. Government To Develop A Master Plan For Tigers At High

Altitude • Union Environment Minister has released recently, a report on Status of Tiger Habitats in high

altitude ecosystems.

• The reveals that ecology at high altitude is compatible for the tiger growth and the inputs from this

study can be used to prepare a high altitude tiger master plan.

• This study, led by the GTF, with range country governments of Bhutan, India and Nepal, along with

conservation partners (WWF and country specific collaborators), has been supported by the

Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme (ITHPC) of the IUCN AND dFw.

• This provides the action strategy for a high altitude tiger master plan, with gainful portfolio for local

communities and ensuring centrality of tiger conservation in development, through an effective coordination mechanism, involving stakeholders and line departments operating within the

landscape.

• The habitat of tiger of varied, encompassing several biomes and ecological conditions.

• However, most of the high-altitude habitats, within the range have not been surveyed for an appraisal

of tiger presence, prey and habitat status.

• Hence, it becomes important to embark on a said appraisal, involving mapping of the habitat and

carrying out a situation analysis for a future roadmap.

• Tiger habitats in high altitude require protection through sustainable land use, as they are a high value ecosystem with several hydrological and ecological processes providing ecosystem services and

adaptation to mitigate the ill effects of climate change.

• Several high-altitude habitats in South Asia have the spatial presence of tiger, active in-situ efforts are

called for ensuring their conservation.

6.2. Government To Pull Out All The Stops To Cut Use Of Plastics • The Union government is working on a multiministerial plan to discourage the use of single use

plastics across the country, likely to kick off on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti.

• A presentation for the same has been prepared and circulated across the Ministries.


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https://youtu.be/6vNNUpuW-cU?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

https://youtu.be/emjsAs6Ea2M?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

https://youtu.be/4j8tSC8GpN8?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

https://youtu.be/Smy1_EG_aR0?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

• The nodal Ministry for the scheme would be the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, which has been asked not just to ensure and enforce the ban on single use plastics but also

finalise the pending policy for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), especially on milk packet.

• The Department of Industrial Promotion (Ministry of Commerce & Industry) will ensure that all

cement factories use plastic as fuel.

• National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will ensure that the plastic waste is collected and transported responsibly along National Highways.

• The collected plastic waste will be used for road construction.

• According to studies quoted by officials, roads constructed using water plastic are durable against

extreme weather conditions and are also cost-effective.

• The Ministry of Railways will organize massive shramdaans (voluntary work) on October 2 for the collection of plastic waste at railway stations and along the rail tracks.

• Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry has decided to put-forth a blanket ban on all types of single-use plastic that is used in the ministry & the PSUs including Food Corporation of India (FCI).

• Ministry of Textiles has pushed for greater production of jute bags to replace plastic bags.

• Ministry of Tourism is set to ensure & create awareness on single-use plastic at iconic tourist spots.

6.3.Australia Downgrades Outlook For Great Barrier Reef To

‘Very Poor’

• The long-term outlook for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef was downgraded to “very poor” for the first

time by the official agency charged with managing the world heritage site.

• In its latest five-yearly report on the health of the world’s largest coral reef, the Great Barrier Reef

Marine Park Authority singled out rising sea temperatures due to climate change as the biggest

threat to the giant organism.

• The significant and large-scale impacts from record-breaking sea surface temperatures have resulted

in coral reef habitat transitioning from poor to very poor condition.

• Strong and effective management actions are urgent at global, regional and local scales to rescue the

2,300-kilometre (1,400-mile) reef, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

• The report published by The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority-An Australian Agency will be a major input into UNESCO’s Committee.

• There are high chances that Great Barrier Reef to be considered for “List of World Heritage in Danger”.


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6.4.Centre Releases 47,436 Crore To 27 States For Afforestation

• The Union Environment Ministry has transferred ₹47,436 crore to 27 States for afforestation.

• These are long-pending dues part of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF), a 54,000 crore tranche that has been collected for nearly a decade as environmental compensation from industry,

which has razed forest land for its business plans.

• The amount to be paid by industry depends on the economic value of the goods and services that the razed forest would have provided.

• These include timber, bamboo, firewood, carbon sequestration, soil conservation, water recharge, and seed dispersal.

• Industrialists pay this money and this is eventually transferred to the States concerned to carry out

afforestation.

• Only a fraction of this corpus had actually been disbursed to States, due to the lack of a legal

framework and instances of States using it for non forestry purposes.

• Centre would use geographic tagging technology to keep a tab on whether States were using their

allotted funds appropriately.

• The Fund will be used as per provisions of the CAF Act and Rules.

• These include catchment area treatment, wildlife management, forest fire prevention, soil and

moisture conservation work in the forest, it cannot be used for payment of salary, travelling allowances, making buildings and buying office equipment for forest officers.

• Odisha, the top recipient of funds, got nearly ₹6,000 crore followed by Chhattisgarh and Madhya

Pradesh with 5,791 crore and 5,196 crore respectively.

• Kerala got the least with 81.59 crore.

6.5. Giraffes Close To Being Classified As 'Critically Endangered’ • In Africa, the populations of the world’s tallest mammals are quietly, yet sharply, in decline.

• Giraffe numbers across the continent fell 40% between 1985 and 2015, to just under 100,000

animals, according to the best figures available to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

• The rate of decline is much higher in central and eastern regions, with poaching, habitat destruction and conflict the main drivers blamed for thinning herds of these gentle creatures.


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6.6.Nilgiri Tahr • Nilgiri tahrs’ sightings in the Mukurthi National Park have risen from 568 in 2018 to 612 this year.

• Officials said this was the second consecutive year that an increase in the population of the animal

had been recorded in the park, meaning the population of the Nilgiri tahr, also known as the Nilgiri ibex, has risen by 132 since 2016.

• According to officials, the almost 8% increase in the population of the iconic animal in 2019 follows a

similarly significant increase in its population in 2018.

• State animal of Tamil Nadu.

• It has been listed as “Endangered” by IUCN.

• It has been listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

• Endemic to Nilgiris.

• It is found in open montane grassland habitat of rain forests ecoregion.

Mukurthi National Park

• It is a protected area located in the northwest corner of Tamil

Nadu in the Western Ghats.

• The park was created to protect its keystone species, the Nilgiri

Tahr.

• It is part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve along with Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Bandipur National Park, Nagarhole National

Park, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and Silent Valley.

6.7.National Conference On Crop Residue Management •National Conference on Crop Residue Management was held for the farmers from the states of

Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh & Delhi.

•The conference was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in collaboration with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in order to address concerns of farmers and State

Governments.

•The straw burning events in 2018 have reduced by 15% and 41% as compared to that in 2017 and

2016 respectively

•20 farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were honoured for their valuable contribution in management of crop residue by using identified agricultural machinery, as well motivating other

farmers of their village for in-situ management of crop residue to stop the straw burning.

•A multilingual Mobile App “CHC Farm Machinery” for the farmers to avail the custom hiring services

of CHCs located in the radius of 50 Kms.

•This app connects the farmers with Custom Hiring Service Centres in their area.

•This app can be downloaded on any android phone from Google Play Store. www.YouTube.com/SleepyClasses

www.SleepyClasses.com 59



6.8.Augmenting Nature By Green Affordable New-Habitat

(ANGAN) • The conference, Augmenting Nature by Green Affordable New-habitat (ANGAN) is being organised

by the BEE along with GIZ under the Indo German Technical Cooperation.

• The conference focuses primarily on achieving Energy Efficiency in the building sector.

• Experts and policymakers from around 16 countries are participating in it.

• The Experts will be discussing various alternative options and technologies in the field of design and

construction of energy efficient Commercial as well as Residential Buildings and will suggest the effective ways in implementing the same through policies and programmes.

• India has an investment potential of Rs 2 lakh crore in energy efficiency projects which would lead to saving of 388 billion units of electricity in the next 10 years, according to estimates of the Bureau of

Energy Efficiency (BEE).

6.9. Climate Change And Banana • Climate change may lead to a significant decline in banana production in India -- the world's largest

cultivator and consumer of the crop, according to a study.

• Bananas are recognised as the most important fruit crop -- providing food, nutrition and income for millions in both rural and urban areas across the globe.

• The study shows that 27 countries -- accounting for 86 percent of the world's dessert banana

production -- have on average seen increased crop yield since 1961 due to the changing climate, resulting in more favourable growing conditions.

• However, the study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, also suggests that these gains could be significantly reduced, or disappear completely by 2050 if climate change continues at its

expected rate.

6.10.New Species Of Ginger In Nagaland • Scientists from the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) have discovered two new species of Zingiber,

commonly referred to as ginger, from Nagaland.

• While Zingiber perenense has been discovered from the Peren district of Nagaland, Zingiber dimapurense was found in the Dimapur district of the State.

• The rhizome of Zingiber officinale (common ginger) is used as a spice in kitchens across Asia, and also

for its medicinal value.

• The genus Zingiber has 141 species distributed throughout Asia, Australia and the South Pacific, with

its centre of diversity in Southeast Asia.

• More than 20 species have been found in northeastern India.

• Over the past few years, more than half a dozen species have been discovered from different States of

northeast India only.


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• High diversity of ginger species in northeast India reveals that the climate is conducive for the growth and diversity of the genus.

6.11.Vulture Culture • In the late 1990s, when the population of the vultures in the country had begun to decline sharply,

one White-backed vulture was rescued from Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan, where vultures

were dying at an alarming rate.

• To study the cause of deaths of vultures, a Vulture Care Centre (VCC) was set up at Pinjore, Haryana.

• Starting with just a few vultures, the VCC, until then the sole facility for conservation of vultures in

the country, has come a long way in the past two decades.

• Later in 2004, the VCC was upgraded to being the first Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centres

(VCBC) in India.

• At present there are nine Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centres (VCBC) in India, of which three are directly administered by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).

• The main objective of the VCBCs was to look after the vultures and breed them in captivity and also release them into the wild.

• The major reason behind the vulture population getting nearly wiped out was the drug Diclofenac,

found in the carcass of cattle the vultures fed on.

• The drug, whose veterinary use was banned in 2008, was commonly administered to cattle to treat

inflammation.

• India’s conservation efforts are focussed on the three species of vultures which are Critically

Endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

✓White-backed Vulture

✓Slender-billed Vulture

✓Long-billed Vulture

6.12.Uttarakhand Plans Bio-Fences To Check Man-Animal

Conflict • To prevent wild animals from entering residential areas and to protect agricultural crops and livestock

in areas adjoining to forests, the Uttarakhand government has decided to carry out bio-fencing by

growing various species of plants in those areas.

• According to officials, lemongrass, agave, rambans, and certain species of chilly and some other plant

species have been identified to be grown at areas where wild animals enter residential areas and near forests.

• Once these plants are in place, the department will string beehives in the next phase to deter

elephants.


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• The state Forest Department had been using traditional methods like solar-powered wire fencings, walls and pits in the woods to prevent the entry of elephants, wild boars, tigers, leopards and others in

residential areas.

• Officials said bio-fencing will be economical and environment-friendly as compared to the other

methods.

• The farmers can also earn by growing lemongrass- which is a good source of oil.

• Bio-fencing will help in saving the money that the government spends on building walls, digging pits

and solar-powered wire fencing.

• Reduce the man-animal conflict, prevent wild animals from entering residential areas, and protect

agricultural crops and livestock in areas adjoining the forests.

6.13.World Ozone Day • Every year, 16th September is observed as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone

layer.

• In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 16th September the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, commemorating the date of the signing, in 1987, of the

Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

• "32 years and healing” is the theme of 25th World Ozone Day celebrations.

• The theme signifies over three decades of remarkable international cooperation to protect the ozone

layer and also the climate system under the Montreal Protocol.

• The abundance of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODSs) in the atmosphere is declining and a recent

study has indicated that the ozone hole is recovering.

6.14.UNCCD – COP 14 • Held in Greater Noida, this was the first time that India hosted an edition of the UNCCD COP.

• The theme of the Conference was ‘Restore land, Sustain future’.

• India being the global host for COP 14 has taken over the COP Presidency from China for the next two years till 2021.

Delhi Declaration

• Delhi Declaration is an ambitious statement of global action by each country on how to achieve Land

Degradation Neutrality.

• In an unprecedented global campaign to save productive land, country parties have agreed to make

the Sustainable Development Goal target of achieving land degradation neutrality by 2030 a national target for action.

• It also reiterated India’s commitment to achieving land degradation neutrality by2030.


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• Commitment for a range of issues, including gender and health, ecosystem restoration, taking action on climate change, private sector engagement, Peace Forest Initiative and recovery of five million

hectares of degraded land in India.

Drought Toolbox

• It is launched as a one-stop-shop for all actions on drought.

• It is a sort of knowledge bank which contains tools that strengthen the ability of countries to

anticipate and prepare for drought effectively and mitigate their impacts as well as tools that enable communities to anticipate and find the land management tools that help them to build resilience to

drought.

International coalition for action on Sand and Dust storms (SDS)

• The coalition will develop an SDS source base map with the goal of improving monitoring and

response to these storms.

Initiative of Sustainability, Stability and Security (3S)

• Launched by 14 African countries to address migration driven by land degradation.

Cooperation From Youth

• The global Youth Caucus on Desertification and Land convened its first official gathering in

conjunction with the UNCCD COP14 to bring together youth advocates from different parts of the world, to build their capacity, share knowledge, build networks and to engage them meaningfully in

the UNCCD processes.

6.15.Peace Forest Initiative • It is an initiative of South Korea to use ecological restoration as a peace-building process. It aims at

addressing the issue of land degradation in conflict-torn border areas and would go a long way in

alleviating tensions and building trust between communities living there and between enemy countries in particular.

• India is among the select few countries to have hosted the COP of all three Rio conventions on

climate change, biodiversity and land.

6.16.World Bamboo Day

• Every year, September 18 is observed as the World Bamboo Day by the World Bamboo Organisation,

in order to generate awareness about conserving and promoting the bamboo industry.

• Known as green gold, bamboo is ubiquitous as it dominates rural and urban landscapes.

• From artifacts to sustainable architecture, bamboo remains a favourite as it’s fast to grow, low on

maintenance and has versatile potential.

• According to reports, India is the world’s second-largest cultivator of bamboo after China, with 136

species and 23 genera spread over 13.96 million hectares, according to the State of Environment report 2018.


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• The National Bamboo Mission, under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, has been initiated to provide a boost to livelihood and environmental acreage.

• Additionally, in 2017, Parliament ‘declassified’ bamboo as ‘a tree’ on non-forest lands.

• Similarly, a scheme called SFURTI (Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries) is being

implemented by the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in order to boost

traditional industries and bamboo artisans.

6.17.UN Climate Action Summit

• It took place on 21-23 September at UN Headquarters in New York.

• The main focus was on raising ambition and accelerates action to implement the Paris Agreement.

• Having the key focus on raising ambition and accelerate action to implement the Paris Agreement, the

Climate Action Summit focuses on nine interdependent tracks, which are led by 19 countries in total

and are supported by international organizations.

• It is noteworthy to point that India along with Sweden, supported by World Economic Forum led the

‘Industry Transition’ track meeting.

Renewable Energy

• Not only India reiterated its commitment to the creation of 175 GW renewable energy capacities by

2022 under the Paris Climate Agreement but also vouched to increase its renewable energy target to

450 GW.

Water Conservation

• India will spend approximately $50 billion in the next few years on the Jal Jeevan Mission to conserve

water, harvest rainwater and develop water resources.

Leadership Group

• India and Sweden together with other countries have announced a new ‘Leadership Group for

Industry Transition’ that will drive transformation in hard-todecarbonize and energy-intensive

sectors.

• It will help guide the world’s heaviest greenhouse gas emitting industries toward the low-carbon

economy.

• This global initiative will be supported by the World Economic Forum, the Energy Transitions

Commission, Mission Innovation, Stockholm Environment Institute, and the European Climate

Foundation among many others in an ambitious, public-private effort, to ensure heavy industries and mobility companies can find a workable pathway to deliver on the Paris Agreement.

6.18. New IPCC Report Warns Of Dire Threat To Oceans • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made public ‘The Special Report on the

Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate’.

• ‘Increased temperatures, further acidification, marine heatwaves, more frequent extreme El Niño and

La Niña events,’ reads the summary of the report.


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• The report updates scientific literature available since 2015 — when the IPCC released its comprehensive 5th Assessment Report — and summarises the disastrous impacts of warming based

on current projections of global greenhouse gas emissions.

• It is virtually certain that the global ocean has warmed unabated since 1970 and has taken up more

than 90% of the excess heat in the climate system (high confidence).

• Since 1993, the rate of ocean warming has more than doubled.

• Marine heatwaves have very likely doubled in frequency since 1982 and are increasing in intensity,

the report notes.

• Global Mean Sea-Level has increased by 16 cm between 1902 and 2015, and that the rate of increase

had doubled of late.

• The published report is the last in a series of three reports on specific themes that IPCC has published namely

Global Warming of 1.5° C (SR1.5)

• A special report, which was commissioned to specifically explore the scientific feasibility of the 1.5°C goal, set in the Paris Agreement, on global warming.

Climate Change and Land (SRCCL)

• The report focuses on the contribution of land-related activities to global warming, that is, how the

different uses of land affect the emission of greenhouse gases.

6.19.Even Unborn Babies Can Be Affected By Pollution

• Black carbon particles typically emitted by vehicle exhaust and coal-fired power plants have been

detected on fetus-facing side of placentas.

• Reported by a study published in ‘Nature Communications’.

• This might affect the overall development of the unborn baby.

• Critically, traces of black carbon were found on the inward-facing side of the placenta, putting them in direct in contact with the developing fetus.

• There was no evidence; however, of pollution particles in the fetus itself, suggesting the placenta may act as a barrier to the toxins.

• The concentration of black carbon particles was highest in the placentas of women who are most

exposed to airborne pollutants in their daily life.

• Inhalation of these particles by the mother gets translocated from the mothers’ lungs to the placenta,

resulting in life-long changes to the development of the baby along with permanently damaging the lung tissues.

• It might lead to increased cases of miscarriages, premature births, and low birth weights which in turn

increase the chances for diabetes, asthma, stroke, heart disease and a lot of other conditions.


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6.20. How Clean Is Ganga? Now, A Mobile Application To Monitor

Holy River’s Water And Aquatic Life • The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun recently launched a mobile application named

‘Ganga Data Collector’ as a part of the ‘Biodiversity and Ganga Conservation’ project.

• The project was initiated by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti.

• The mobile app is designed to provide a complete data entry solution to the field researchers, helping

them to monitor the aquatic population in the Ganga river.

• This application will be used by the scientists of WII, Ganga Prahri volunteers and staff of the forest

department in the 11 states of the Ganga Basin for faster collection of accurate and authentic data related to the water quality and aquatic life in the Ganga.

• There are possibilities that similar mobile applications might come into use in future for the physio-

chemical test of other rivers across the country.

• As many as 11 states including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana,

Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Delhi are part of the Ganga basin.

• The first phase of the training will include volunteers and staff of five Ganga states, which includes

Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal having a Ganga stretches of over 2,200km.

• While the second phase of training will include the staff of the other six states of the Ganga basin.

6.21. Pacesetter Fund Programme • The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy recently awarded grants to the awardees of the second

round of PACEsetter fund programme.

• The PACEsetter fund was constituted by India and the USA in 2015 as a joint fund.

• The mission of the PACEsetter Fund is to accelerate the commercialization of innovative off-grid

clean energy access solutions by providing early-stage grant funding that would allow businesses to develop and test innovative products, business models and systems.

• The Fund's main purpose is to improve the viability of off-grid renewable energy businesses that sell

small scale (under 1 megawatt) clean energy systems to individuals and communities without access to grid connected power or with limited/intermittent access. (Less than 8 hours per day).


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7. Science & Tech To watch the following topics on YouTube click here

7.1.E-Cigarettes

• Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) or non-combustible tobacco products are known by

many names — vapes, e-hookahs, electronic cigarettes and e-pipes.

• E-cigarettes may be manufactured to look like traditional cigarettes and are marketed as tobacco-

free nicotine delivery devices.

Working

• Instead of burning tobacco leaves like in traditional cigarettes, an e-cigarette, which is a batteryoperated device, produces aerosol by heating a solution containing nicotine among other

things

• The device contains nicotine and flavours in the form of liquid which is primarily composed of solvents

such as glycerol and/or propylene glycol

• The aerosol containing a suspension of fine particles and gases simulates cigarette smoke. Following a puff, the aerosol is delivered to the user’s mouth and lungs and the rest is exhaled

Effects

• Unlike smoking, the adverse health effects of e-cigarettes are not yet known. But like traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes to deliver ultrafine particles and nicotine deep into the lungs, which is then

absorbed by the blood. A 2018 study found the use of e-cigarette daily was associated with a 79%

increase in heart attack risk after other variables were taken into account.

• According to a white paper on e-cigarettes by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR),

depending on the battery output voltage used, nicotine solvents can release in varying amounts potential carcinogens such as acetaldehyde, formaldehyde and acetone

• The liquid-vapourising solutions also contain “toxic chemicals and metals that can cause several

adverse health effects including cancers and diseases of the heart, lungs and brain

• Flavours such as diacetyl used in e-cigarettes are linked to serious lung disease. E-cigarettes also

contain volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, such as nickel, tin and lead

7.2. Class A Poison • Highly toxic chemicals, which even in very small quantities as gas or vapour in the air are dangerous to

life (such as cyanogen, hydrocyanic acid, nitrogen peroxide, and phosgene), are notified under Class A

• Electronic cigarettes are small battery-operated devices that vaporise liquid nicotine to provide the same experience as smoking tobacco

• It is a developmental disorder characterised by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour and interests


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https://youtu.be/LyAjj492ods?list=PLYSuG-KZy7JBERNMoGvC5XFlwM_LE0-FY

• As a milder autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it differs from other ASDs by relatively normal language and intelligence

• Physical clumsiness and unusual use of language are common

• Signs usually begin before two years of age and typically last for a person’s entire life

Cause

• Exact cause of Asperger’s is unknown. While it is largely inherited, the underlying genetics have not

been determined conclusively

• Environmental factors are also believed to play a role

Diagnosis

• It remains within the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as of 2019 but as a subtype of autism spectrum disorder

• In 2013, the diagnosis of Asperger’s was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of

Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and people with these symptoms are now included within the autism spectrum disorder along with autism.

Treatment

• There is no single treatment and the effectiveness of particular interventions is supported by only limited data

• Communication training and behavioural therapy can help people with the syndrome learn to

socialise more successfully

7.3.Ranitidine

•Doctors advised patients to avoid over-the-counter use of antacid ranitidine, following concerns over

its contamination by cancer causing substances

•Reports from other countries speak of a nitrosamine impurity called N-nitrosodimethylamine

(NDMA) at low levels

✓NDMA is classified as a probable human carcinogen

✓It is a known environmental contaminant and found in water and foods, including meats, dairy

products and vegetables

• Ranitidine is a prescription drug included in Schedule-H but it is also being sold over the counter

Uses

• It is used to decrease the volume of acid produced in the stomach

• Prevent and relieve heartburn associated with acid ingestion and sour stomach

• Treatment and prevention of ulcers of the stomach and intestines and treatment of gastroesophageal

reflux disease (GRED)


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7.4.Hypertension • Hypertension is essential high blood pressure

• The normal values of blood pressure measured in a clinic are 140/90 mm Hg and at home is 135/85

✓Values more than these are termed as hypertension

• Nearly 42% Indians are either misdiagnosed or have missed diagnosis of hypertension

White Coat Hypertension (WCH)

• A syndrome wherein a person experiences a spike in BP when measured at a doctor’s clinic

• It leads to unnecessary medication which can be damaging

Masked Hypertension (MH)

• A syndrome wherein a person records normal BP at a medical set-up but records high BP when

measured at home

• It leaves people at the risk of not getting treatment which is very dangerous

• These are mostly those who have unexplained kidney disease

7.5.Salmonella

In News

• Some batches of a spice mix sold by MDH were taken off the shelves in the United States for salmonella contamination

About Salmonella

• It is a bacteria that commonly causes food borne illness, sometimes called ‘food poisoning’

• It is characterised by acute onset of fever, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nausea and sometimes vomiting

Transmission

• Salmonellosis in humans is generally contracted through the consumption of contaminated food of

animal origin (mainly eggs, meat, poultry, and milk), although other foods, including green vegetables contaminated by manure, have been implicated in its transmission.

• Person-to-person transmission can also occur through the faecal-oral route.

Symptoms

•Symptoms of salmonellosis are relatively mild and patients will make a recovery without specific

treatment in most cases

Treatment

• Treatment in severe cases is electrolyte replacement and rehydration

• Antimicrobials are also administered if the infection spreads from the intestine to other body parts


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7.6. Bombay Blood Group

Blood Grouping

• The four most common blood groups are A, B, AB and O

• When we say someone has blood group A, it means that the person has antigen of type ‘A’

and antibody of type ‘B’ in his/her blood group.

• The rare, Bombay blood group was first discovered in Mumbai in 1952 by Dr YM

Bhende.

• Each red blood cell has antigen over its surface, which helps determine which group it belongs to

• Bombay blood group, also called hh, is deficient in expressing antigen H, meaning the RBC has no

antigen H

✓For instance, in the AB blood group, both antigens A and B are found. A will have A antigens; B will

have B antigens. In hh, there are no A or B antigens

• Globally, the hh blood type has an incidence of one in four million. It has a higher incidence in South

Asia; in India, one in 7,600 to 10,000 are born with this type

• Because of inbreeding and close community marriages, the blood type is common in South Asia

Testing

• To test for hh blood, an Antigen H blood test is required

• Often it is confused with the O group. The difference is that the O group has Antigen H, while the hh group does not

• If anyone lacks Antigen H, it does not mean he or she suffers from poor immunity or may be more

prone to diseases

✓Their counts for haemoglobin, platelets, white blood cells and red blood cells are similar to the

count of others based on their health index. Because of rarity, however, they do face problems during blood transfusion

Transfusion

• Rejection may occur if they receive blood from A, B, AB or O blood group.

• hh blood group can donate their blood to ABO blood types


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