MOCK CLAT - 02...CRACK CLAT TUTORIALS Study Material is for internal circulation. This booklet is...

www.crackclat.com CLATFOCUS (August -2018)

© This module is part of copyrighted material, any replica by any one may invite penal action. 1

Chief Editor

Dr. Kanchan Deep Chaudhary

________________________________________

Edited, Owned,

Printed & Published By

CCT

CRACK CLAT TUTORIALS

F-1/5, West Patel Nagar, Near LIC Office,

Circuit House Road, Jodhpur (Rajasthan)

Tel.0291-2512639, 2511077, 099290-74123

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.crackclat.com

AUGUST-2018

CONTENTS

Current Affairs Bullets………..2

Asian Games 2018…………….3

Latest in General Knowledge…5

Appointments

Awards & Honors

Books & Authors

Constitutional/Law

Defense

Economic Scenario

Ecology & Environment

Places

Report & Index

Software & Telecom

Persons in News………………13

Current Topics – India………..14

Current Topics – World……....18

Static GK Capsules……............22

Latest in Sports………………..23

Current Affairs MCQs………...24

Answer Key of MCQs………...32

________________________

CRACK CLAT TUTORIALS Study Material is for

internal circulation. This booklet is not for sale

separately, and is only for our registered students.

All rights reserved. No part of this issue can be

reprinted in whole or in part without the written

permission of the publishers.

The editors and publishers of this magazine do their

best to verify the information published, but do not take

responsibility for the absolute accuracy of the

information.

All disputes subject to Jodhpur jurisdiction only.



Current Affairs Bullets

The host city for the fourth Summit of Heads of

Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral

Technical and Economic Cooperation

(BIMSTEC) – Kathmandu

The first Indian female shooter to win a gold

medal at the Asian Games – Rahi Sarnobat

The first Indian company to cross Rs 8 tn in

terms of market capitalization – RIL

The head of the panel set up by the Department

of Telecom to prepare a roadmap for rollout of

5G telephony in India – AJ Paulraj

The airport which has emerged as the second

fastest growing airport in the world in the first

half of 2018 – Kempegowda International

Airport (Bengaluru)

The country which recently unveiled its first

domestic fighter jet named ‗KOWSAR‘ – Iran

The state which has decided to rename the new

capital city Naya Raipur as Atal Nagar-

Chhattisgarh

The first Indian woman wrestler to bag a gold

medal at Asian Games – Vinesh Phogat

The company which has been ranked on top

globally on Fortune‘s ‗Change The World‘-

Reliance Jio

Winner of the prestigious WHO World No

Tobacco Day 2017 Award – SK Arora

The Indian scientist-academician who has been

elected Chair of the International Nitrogen

Initiative (INI) – N Raghuram

The city where six states and the Union

Territory of Chandigarh have decided to set up

a centralized secretariat to fight drug menace –

Panchkula (Haryana)

The Bollywood actor who has been appointed

as the brand ambassador of the Mumbai-based

Sanjay Gandhi National Park – Raveena

Tandon

The venue of the sixth edition of International

Buddhist Conclave 2018 – New Delhi

The hypersonic aircraft which China tested

recently – Xingkong – 2

The head of the group of ministers set up to

advise PM Narendra Modi on whether to

continue with or withdraw from the 16-member

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

(RCEP) negotiations – Suresh Prabhu

The biosphere reserve situated in Sikkim which

has been included in the UNESCO‘s World

Network of Biosphere Reserve –

Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve

The optical remote-sensing satellite launched

by China recently as part of its high-resolution

Earth observation project-Gaofen-11

The state which has approved the

―Mukhyamantri Yuva Nestam‖ scheme to

provide unemployed youth in the state Rs 1000

per month-Andhra Pradesh

The person who has been appointed as the new

chairperson of the National Commission for

Women- Rekha Sharma

The actor roped in by the Road Transport

ministry as brand ambassador for its road safety

awareness campaign- Akshay Kumar

The 22nd

Prime Minister of Pakistan sworn in

recently- Imran Khan

The helicopter-launched anti-tank gauided

missile flight-tested recently- HELINA

The country where the External Affairs

Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated ―Panini

Language Laboratory‖ at Mahatma Gandhi

Institute (MGI) recently- Mauritius

The wrestler who won the first gold medal for

India at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia-

Bajrang Punia

The govt has proposed to the UN Food and

Agriculture Organiszation to declare 2019 as –

International Year of Millets

The youngest Indian golfer to win Asian Tour

title- Viraj Madappa

India‘s most patriotic brand as per a recent

survey by data analytics firm YouGov- SBI

The first state in the country to provide Right to

Skill‘s Development to the youth-

Chhattisgarh

The javelin thrower who led the Indian

contingent as flagbearer at the opening

ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games- Neeraj

Chopra

The first and only person since Jawaharlal

Nehru to occupy the office of the Prime

Minister of India through three successive Lok

Sabhas who passed away recently – Atal

Bihari Vajpayee

The host country of the 11th

World Hindi

Conference – Mauritius



The Income Tax collection in the country

during 2017-18 as per Central Board of Direct

Taxes – Rs 10.03 tn

Winner of the annual Albany Medical Center

Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research for

cancer therapy – Steven Rosenberg, Carl June

& James Allison

World‘s most liveable city as per the Economist

Intelligence Unit‘s Global Liveability Index,

2018 – Vienna

India‘s wealthiest woman as per the Kotak

Wealth Hurun-Hurun-Leading Wealthy Women

2018 list-Smitha V Crishna

The new repo rate after RBI‘s third bi-monthly

monetary policy review of 2018-19 – 6.5 per

cent -Reverse repo rate -6.25 Per cent

-Marginal standing facility and bank rate – 6.75

per cent -The (GDP) forecast for 2018-19 – 7.4 per cent

The telecom firm which has launched

‗WINGS‘, a VOIP- based service- BSNL

The initiative launched by the Food safety and

Standards Authority of India for collection and

conversion of used cooking oil to bio-diesel-

RUCO

The host city of the 24th

World congress of

Philosophy (WCP) held recently – Beijing

The firm which has announced to formally

launch its messaging app ‗Kimbho‘ – Patanjali

The Pune-based band in which a cyber fraud of

more than Rs 900 mn tool place recently –

Cosmos Bank

The first Indian tribal language to get

Wikipedia edition in its own script – Santhali

Winner of the 2018 Rogers Cup tennis

championships – Rafael Nadal

The woman who has topped ‗Women Who

Changed the World‘ list prepared by BBC-

Marie Curie

The railway station in ‗A‘ category which has

topped the cleanliness survery conducted by

Quality Council of India – Jodhpur

(Rajasthan)

The city which has been ranked first in the Ease

of Living Index launched by Housing and

Urban Affairs Ministry- Pune

The National Sports University Bill passed by

the Parliament recently seeks to establish a

first-of-its-kind National Sports University in –

Manipur

The unmanned probe launched by NASA to

unlock the mysteries of Sun – Parker

Winner of the men‘s singles of the 2018

Vietnam Open Badminton tournament – Shesar

Hiren Rhustavito

The first bank in the country to introduce Iris

Scan Authenticaton feature for Aadhaar-based

transactions through its micro ATM tablets –

Axis Bank

ASIAN GAMES 2018

Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a

continental multi-sport event. It will be

conducted every four years from all over Asia.

The Games were regulated by the Asian

Games Federation (AGF) from the 1951

Asian Games, officially known as the First

Asian Game in New Delhi, India, until the 1978

Games.

i.The Games are recognized by

the International Olympic Committee

(IOC) and are described as the second largest

multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.

ii.Forty-six nations have participated in the

Games, including Israel, which was excluded

from the Games after their last participation in

1974.

2022:- 19th Asian Games is scheduled to take

place in Hangzhou, China.

2014 :-Asian Games has conducted in

Incheon,South Korea.

iii.India ranked 8th

in 2014 Asian

Games. India bagged 57 medals including 11



Gold, 10 Silver and 36 Bronze in 2014 Asian

Games.

The 2018 Asian Games officially known as

the 18th Asian Games and also known

as Jakarta-Palembang 2018, was a pan-Asian

multi-sport event being held from 18 August to

2 September 2018 in the Indonesian cities of

Jakarta and Palembang.

For the first time, the Asian Games were co-

hosted in two cities; the Indonesian capital of

Jakarta (which is hosting the Games for the first

time since 1962), and Palembang, the capital of

the South Sumatera province. Events were held

in and around the two cities, including venues

in Bandung and some places in the provinces of

West Java and Banten. The opening and closing

ceremonies of the Games were held at Gelora

Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta. Also for

the first time, eSports and canoe polo were

contested as demonstration sports.

Cenderawasih, a rare species of a bird in

Indonesia had been selected as emblem for the

2018 Asian Games. But later this has been

dropped and three new mascots were unveiled.

Motto Mascots

“Energy

of

Asia”

Bhin Bhin - a greater bird of

paradise

Atung - a Bawean deer

Kaka - a Javan rhinoceros

i. The mascots Bhin Bhin, Atung, and Kaka

represent the Eastern, Central, and Western

regions of Indonesia and also strategy, speed

and strength respectively.

ii. There are 45 nations have participated in

18th Asian Games. There are 465 events in 40

sports. The opening and closing ceremonies of

the Games will be held at Gelora Bung Karno

Main Stadium in Jakarta.

iii. Lucia Francisca Susy Susanti is a retired

Indonesian badminton player who carried torch

light at the 18th Asian Games.

All 46 members of the Olympic Council of

Asia participated in the games.

Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee was

announced as the most valuable player (MVP)

of the Games.

Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was India‘s

flag-bearer for the opening ceremony of the

18th Asian Games.



Women’s hockey team captain Rani

Rampal was the India‘s flag-bearer for the

closing ceremony of the Asian Games 2018.

The Indian contingent won 69 medals in total

at 18th edition of Asian Games held in

Jakarta-Palembang in Indonesia. China with

289 medals, which includes 132 Gold, 92 Silver

and 65 Bronze, topped the ranking followed by

Japan with 205 medals, which include 75 Gold,

56 Silver and 74 Bronze medals.

Wrestler Bajrang Punia won India‟s first

gold medal while shooters Apurvi Chandela

and Ravi Kumar bagged a bronze medal on the

opening day of the 18th Asian Games.

India ranked eighth with overall 69 medals

having 15 Gold medals.

Gold Medal – 15

Silver Medal – 24

Bronze Medal – 30

GOLD MEDALS (15)

Latest In General Knowledge

Anniversaries & Days

August 6 -- Hiroshima Day

August 8 -- World Senior Citizen's Day

August 9 -- Quit India Day, Nagasaki Day

August 12 -- International youth Day

August 14 -- Pakistan's Independence Day

August 15 -- India's Independence Day

August 19 -- World Photography Day

August 20 -- Sadbhavana Diwas

August 29 -- Sports Day (Dhyanchand's

Birth Day)

August 30 -- Small Industry Day

Appointments

Imran Khan takes oath as 22nd

PM of

Pakistan: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief

Mr. Imran Khan was sworn in as the 22nd

Prime Minister of Pakistan at the President

House in Islamabad on August 18, 2018.

President Mr. Mamnoon Hussain administered

the oath to Mr. Khan.

Mr. Scott Morrison sworn in as new

Australian PM: Former treasurer Mr. Scott

Morrison one of the architects of Australia's

tough immigration policy, was sworn in as the

country's new Prime Minister on August 24,

2018 following the resignation of Mr. Malcolm

Turnbull from the post amid growing

discontent and a revolt from his own party. Mr.

Morrison secured 45 votes while Mr. Peter

Dutton got 40 in the elections held within the

party. He pledged to heal the ruling Liberal

Party after fierce infighting. Mr. Morrison was

elected after a three-way contest against Mr.

Dutton and Ms. Julie Bishop who was defeated

in the first round.

Mario Abdo Benitez sworn in as new

President of Paraguay: Mr. Mario Abdo

Benitez of the Colorado Party was sworn in as

the new President of Paraguay on August 15,

2018, for a five-year term. Mr. Benitez clinched



the top spot after defeating his closest rival, Mr.

Efrain Alegre from the liberal opposition

alliance, by four percentage points in the

nation's elections, which were held in April

2018. The 46-year-old conservative took the

oath of office at a ceremony in the capital

Asuncion.

Ibrahim Boubacar Keita re-elected Mali

President: Malian President Mr. Ibrahim

Boubacar Keita has been elected for a second

five-year term after winning a run-off ballot by

a landslide, according to official figures

released on August 16, 2018. Mr. Keita, 73,

picked up 67.17% of the votes against 32.83%

for opposition challenger and former finance

minister Mr. Soumaila Cisse, 68, who also ran

against Mr. Keita in 2013.

Ivan Duque elected President of Colombia: Mr. Ivan Duque, a populist conservative, was

sworn in as the Colombian President in a

ceremony held in the Plaza de Bolivar, Bogota

on August 7, 2018. The Conservative political

newcomer, who at 42 is the youngest

Colombian President ever, won the presidential

election held in June 2018 with about 54% of

the vote. He defeated former guerrilla member

and past Bogota mayor Mr. Gustavo Petro. A

newcomer to politics, Mr. Duque worked at the

Inter-American Development Bank in

Washington before being elected to Colombian

senate in 2014.

Michelle Bachelet to be the next UN Human

Rights Chief: The United Nations announced

on August 8, 2018 that UN Secretary-General

Mr. Antonio Guterres has chosen former

Chilean President Ms. Michelle Bachelet to be

the UN's new Human Rights Chief. Ms.

Bachelet would be succeeding Jordanian

Diplomat Mr. Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, who had

been one of the most outspoken critics of

abuses by the governments in many countries.

The 66-year-old Ms. Bachelet has served as the

President of Chile twice, from 2006 to 2010

and from 2014 to 2018.

Nandula Raghuram elected as Chair of

International Nitrogen Initiative: Indian

scientist and academician Mr. Nandula

Raghuram was on August 13, 2018 elected as

the Chair of the International Nitrogen

Initiative (INI), a global policy-making

initiative. With this appointment, Mr.

Raghuram becomes the first Indian and Asian

to be elected to the Chair of INI. He will

succeed Mark Sutton of the UK Centre for

Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh. The Vice-

Chair elect is Mr. David Kanter of the New

York University. Mr. Kanter is an expert in the

role of nitrous oxide 'and nitrogen policy

evaluation. The new chairs will .take up their

roles on January 1, 2019.

Arun Jaitley resumes charge as Union

Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs: Hon'ble President Mr. Ram Nath Kovind

reassigned the Finance and Corporate Affairs

portfolios to Union Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley

on August 23, 2018. With this, Mr. Jaitley

resumed the charge of Ministry of Finance and

Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The temporary

charge of both the Ministries was given to

Union Minister Mr. Piyush Goyal as Mr. Jaitley

had undergone a kidney transplant at AIIMS on

May 14, 2018 and was recovering from it.

Harivansh Narayan Singh elected as Deputy

Chairman of Rajya Sabha: Mr. Harivansh

Narayan Singh of JDU was elected as the new

Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha on August 9,

2018. The NDA candidate was pitted against

Mr. B.K. Hari Prasad, the joint candidate of the

Corgress-led Opposition in the voice vote. Mr.

Singh won the election with 125 votes in favour

and 105 against. The post of the Deputy

Chairman had been lying vacant since June

2018 following the retirement of Mr. P.J.

Kurien, a Congress MP from Kerala. The first-

time MP, Mr. Harivansh Narayan Singh is a

veteran journalist representing Bihar.

Rekha Sharma appointed Chairperson of

NCW: Ms. Sharma was appointed as

Chairperson of the Nati Commission for

Women on August 2018. Ms. Sharm, 54, was

earlier a member of the Commission and was

holding the additional charge of Chairperson

after Ms. Lalitha Kumaramangalam demitted

office in September 2017 Ms. Sharma has been

an erstwhile Member of District Consumer &

Redres4.1 Forum with the Government of

Haryana. She is an alumna of prestigious DAV

College, Dehradun Uttarakhand.



Ram Sewak Sharma re-appointed as TRAI

Chief: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

(TRAI) Chairman Mr. Ram Sewak Sharma was

reappointed to the position for two more years

on August 9, 2018. The appointment is up to

September 30, 2020, the date on which he will

attain the age of 65 years, or until further

orders, whichever is earlier. A retired IAS

officer of the 1978 batch of the Jharkhand

cadre, Mr. Sharma- was appointed as Chairman

of TRAI in August, 2015. He had earlier served

as the Secretary, Department of 'Electronics and

Information Technology in the Ministry' of

Communication and Information Technology

and as Director-General of the Unique

Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

New Governors Appointed In 7 States:

Hon'ble President Mr. Ram Nath Kovind

appointed Governors for seven states including

Bihar, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Jammu and

Kashmir, Sikkim, Meghalaya, and Tripura on

August 21, 2018. Bihar Governor Mr. Satya Pal

Malik was appointed as the Governor of Jammu

and Kashmir by the President. Mr. Malik

replaced Mr. N.N. Vohra, who has been serving

this post since 2008. Mr. Malik is the first

career politician to be appointed as the

Governor of J&K in 51 years after Karan Singh

whose term ended in 1967. Senior BJP leader

Mr. Lalji Tandon was appointed as Governor of

Bihar, replacing Mr. Satya Pal Malik. Mr.

Tandon has served as a Member of the Uttar

Pradesh Legislative Council for two terms

(1978-84). He has also been an MLA from

Lucknow West for three terms from 1996 to

2009. Tripura Governor Mr. Tathagata Roy is

appointed as Governor of Meghalaya, replacing

Mr. Ganga Prasad. Mr. Roy was BJP's West

Bengal unit President from 2002 to 2006.

Meghalaya Governor Mr. Ganga Prasad has

been transferred to Sikkim. During his tenure as

Meghalaya Governor, Mr. Prasad returned the

controversial Khasi Hills Autonomous District

(Khasi Social Custom of Lineage) (Second

Amendment) Bill, 2018. Haryana Governor Mr.

Kaptan Singh Solanki was transferred to

Tripura, succeeding Mr. Tathagata Roy. A

former Rajya Sabha member, Mr. Solanki was

appointed as the Governor of Haryana in 2014.

Mr. Satyadev Narayan Arya was appointed as

the Governor of Haryana. He succeeds Mr.

Kaptan Singh Solanki. Mr. Arya was a cabinet

minister in the 2010 BJP-JDU Government in

Bihar. Former Agra mayor and ex-member of

National Commission for Women (NCW) Ms.

Baby Rani Maurya was appointed as the

Governor of Uttarakhand. Ms. Maurya is a BJP

leader from Agra.

Books And Authors

Life Over Two Beers – By Sanjeev Sanyal

Half The Night is Gone – By Amitabha

Bagchi, Juggernaut

21 Lessons for the 21st Century – By Yuval

Noah Harari

Defense

DAC approves procurement of 111

helicopters for Indian Navy: The Defence

Ministry approved the procurement of 111

utility helicopters for the Navy at a cost of over

Rs. 21,000 crore, on August 25, 2018. The

Ministry cleared procurement proposals worth

nearly Rs. 46,000 crore which included the

acquisition of the helicopters. The decisions

were taken. at a meeting of the Defence

Acquisition Council (DAC), the Ministry's

highest decision-making body on procurement.

DAC also granted approval to a few other

procurement proposals amounting to

approximately Rs. 24,879 crore which included

approval for the acquisition of 150

indigenously designed and developed 155 mm

advanced towed artillery gun systems for the

Army, at an. approximate cost of Rs. 3,364

crore.

Anti-Tank Guided Missile „HELINA‟

successfully test-fired at Pokhran: Indigenously developed Helicopter launched

Anti-Tank Guided Missile `HELINA' was

successfully flight tested from Army Helicopter

in the ranges of Pokhrari in Rajasthan on

August 19, 2018. The test was conducted by the

DRDO and the Indian Army. The missile was

tested for the full range of its weapon system.

During the test, the HELINA‘ weapon system

released smoothly from the launch platform and

was successful in tracking the target all through

its course and hit the target with high precision.

All the parameters were monitored by the

telemetry stations, tracking systems and the

Helicopters.



Exercise Pitch Black 2018 concludes in

Australia: Exercise Pitch Black 2018, a

biennial multi-national large force employment

warfare exercise, was hosted by Royal

Australian Air Force (RAAF) from July 24,

2018 to Aug 18, 2018 in Darwin, Australia. It

was the largest Pitch Black Exercise ever

conducted by Australia, which saw

participation of 16 nations and more than 140

aircraft. The Indian Air Force (IAF) contingent

consisted of 145 personnel, including four

Sukhoi Su-30MKIs, an Ilyushin tanker, an

Ilyushin 11-78 tanker, a Lockheed Martin C-

130J-30 Super Hercules and a Boeing C-17

Globemaster transport aircraft. This was the

first time that an IAF contingent participated in

a multinational air exercise in Australia. IAF

had earlier participated in the exercise as

observer.

Advanced Air Defence Interceptor Missile

successfully test-fired: The indigenously built

Advanced Air Defence (AAD) Interceptor

Missile was successfully test-fired from Abdul

Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha on

August 2, 2018. The interceptor took off from

Abdul Kalam Island in Bhadrak district and

successfully hit the target at a height of 20 kms

in the sky. The test was conducted to validate

some improved features incorporated in the

system of the missile. The interceptor is a 7.5-

metre-long single-stage solid rocket propelled

guided missile equipped with a navigation

system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-

mechanical -activator. Developed as a part of

the efforts to have a multi-layer ballistic missile

defence system, it is capable of destroying

incoming hostile ballistic missiles.

Ecology & Environment

India's first flight powered by biofuel lands

at IGI Airport: The first Indian flight powered

by biofuel landed at the Indira Gandhi

International Airport in New Delhi on August

27, 2018. The Spicejet flight, featuring a latest

generation Q400 aircraft, was flagged off from

the Dehradun airport by Uttarakhand CM Mr.

Trivendra Singh Rawat. It was received at the

IGI Airport by Union Transport Minister Mr.

Nitin Gadkari, Petroleum and Natural Gas

Minister Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Civil

Aviation Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Environment

Minister Mr. Harsh Vardhan and Minister of

State for Civil Aviation Mr. Jayant Six. The

experiment is first-of-its-kind in India. With

this, India joins the exclusive club of nations

using biofuel in aviation. Its successful

implementation provides a significant boost to

encourage alternative fuels in transport and

aviation sector, as envisaged in the National

Biofuel's Policy.

Government unlocks green fund worth over

Rs. 66,000 crore to increase forest cover: The

Union Government has unlocked green funds

worth over Rs. 66,000 crore to increase the

country's forest cover. The fund is an

accumulated amount of money, which user

agencies have been depositing as compensation

for diverting forest land for non-forest

purposes, including industries and

infrastructure since the past 10 years. The

government notified the rules for utilisation of

the money by States and Union Territories and

for setting up of authorities to monitor its use

for afforestation and conservation on August

10, 2018. The rules specify that 80% of the

green fund will be utilised by the States for

green activities listed under 13 permissible

activities. The rules were framed two years

after a law to this effect was enacted.

NGT forms committee on Natural

Conservation Zones: The National Green

Tribunal has formed a committee to look into

whether sub regional plans for protection of

Natural Conservation Zones (NCZs) were

consistent with the regional plans prepared by

the National Capital Region Planning Board.

The decision was taken by the bench headed by

NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel.

The bench authorised the Ministry of

Environment and Forests to be the nodal

agency of the committee and asked the panel to

hold its meeting within one month. The

committee will comprise the secretaries of

Ministry of Environment and Forests and

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs,

Chairman of Central Pollution Control Board,

National Remote Sensing Centre, Indian Space

Research Organization and the secretaries of

Urban Development Departments of Uttar

Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi.



Economic Scene

99.3% of demonetised currency returned:

RBI: Over 99% of the demonetised currency

was returned, as per the Annual Report 2017-18

of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The report

was released in New Delhi on August 29, 2018.

The Central Government withdrew Rs. 500 and

Rs. 1000 currency notes from the circulation

with effect from November 9, 2016. The

demonetisation was hailed as a step that would

curb black money, corruption and check

counterfeit currency. According to the RBI, the

total value of the Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000

banknotes as on November 8, 2016 stood at Rs.

15,417.93 lakh crore, and the total value of the

notes returned from circulation was Rs.

15,310.73 lakh crore. Post demonetisation, the

RBI spent more than Rs. 12,000 crore on

printing new Rs. 500 and Rs. 2,000 and other

denomination notes.

India, World Bank sign loan agreement to

scale up India's energy efficiency

programme: The Central Government and

World Bank signed a $220 million loan

agreement and an $80 million guarantee

agreement for the India Energy Efficiency

Scale-Up programme on August 28, 2018. The

programme, which will be implemented by the

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL),

will help scale up the deployment of energy-

saving measures in residential and public

sectors, strengthen EESL's institutional

capacity and enhance its access to commercial

financing. The agreement was signed by Mr.

Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary in the

Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of

Finance and Mr. Hisham Abdo, Acting Country

Director of World Bank India.

IRDAI constitutes working group to review

norms for insurance surveyors: The

Insurance Regulatory and Development

Authority of India (IRDAI) constituted a

working group to update the norms for

insurance surveyors on August 13, 2018. The

working group, which will comprise seven

members, has been formed to address areas

pertaining to licensing, renewal and IIISLA

membership in the context of the existing

regulatory framework for surveyors and loss

assessors. The group will be headed by Mr.

Yegna Priya Bharat, Chief General Manager

(Nonlife), IRDA. It will have to make a holistic

analysis of the existing regulatory framework in

view of the requirements of the industry. The

group will be required to submit its final report

along with the recommendations within six

weeks.

Strong wage policies needed to promote

inclusive growth in India: ILO's India Wage

Report: The International Labour Organisation

(ILO) released a report titled 'India Wage

Report: Wage Policies for Decent Work and

Inclusive Growth' on August 20, 2018. The

report depicts that though India's economy in

the past two decades saw an annual average

GDP rate of 7%, low pay and inequality persist

in the country. According to the report, the

overall wage inequality in India declined since

2004-05; however, it continues to remain high.

The decline in overall wage inequality could be

attributed to the doubling of the wages of

casual workers between 1993-94 and 2011-12.

On the other hand, the increase in wage

inequality for regular workers stabilized 4i

2011-12 in comparison to 1993-94 and 2004-

05. Despite a decline from 48% in 1993-94 to

34% in 2011-12, the gender wage gap is still

steep. The wage gap exists for all kind of

workers—regular and casual, urban and rural.

Women employed as casual workers in the

rural economy earn the lowest in India, which

is 22% of what urban regular male workers

earn.

Honours & Awards

NATIONAL

Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavna Award 2018: Former West Bengal Governor Mr.

Gopalkrishna Gandhi received the Rajiv

Gandhi Sadbhavana Award for the year 2018

for promoting communal harmony and peace.

He received the award in New Delhi on August

20, 2018, on the birth anniversary of former

Prime Minister Mr. Rajiv Gandhi. The award

was instituted to 'commemorate the lasting

contribution to promote peace, communal

harmony and fight against violence.

Galantry Awards 2018: On the eve of 72nd

Independence Day On August 14, 2018,

Hon'ble President Mr. Ram Nath Kovind



approved 131 Gallantry Awards to members of

Armed Forces personnel and Paramilitary

Forces.

The Defence Ministry, in a statement, said that

one Kirti Chakra, three Bar to Sena Medals

(Gallantry), three Vayu Sena Medals

(Gallantry), 11 Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry),

20 Shaurya Chakras and 93 Sena Medals

(Gallantry) will be awarded. Sepoy Vrahma Pal

Singh from J&K has been shortlisted for Kirti

Chakra award', posthumously. In November

2017, Singh was killed in an anti-terror

encounter in Alger village of South Kashmir.

Along with Singh, Major Aditya Kumar's name

has been mentioned on the list of 20 armed

forces personnel for the Shaurya Chakra award.

He was dragged in a controversy after his unit

opened fire on stone-pelters in South Kashmir's

Shopian in January 20118: Rifleman

Aurangzeb will also be conferred the third

highest gallantry award: He was brutally killed

by terrorists in Pulwama district of J&K in June

2018.- Six women officers of the Indian Navy

will be awarded Nao Sena medals. They were

part of the expedition to circumnavigate the

globe.

INTERNATIONAL

US Legion of Merit Award: The Government

of United States awarded the coveted Legion of

Merit (Degree of Commander) Award to Gen.

Dalbir Singh Suhag (Retired) of Indian Army in

Pentagon, Washington D.C. on August 17,

2018. The award was given to Gen. Singh for

his exceptionally meritorious service as India's

Chief of Army Staff from August 2014 to

December 2016. With this, he has become the

second Indian to get this award, after the first

General of Indian Army Rajendra Singh Jadeja

received it in 1946.

2018 Albany Medical Center Prize: Three US

scientists Mr. James Allison, Mr. Carl June and

Mr. Steven Rosenberg were declared winners

of the 2018 Albany Medical Center Prize in

Medicine and Biomedical Research on August

15, 2018. They are chosen for the award in

recognition of their research in immunology

and translation of their ideas into effective

therapies that have led to innovative treatments

for cancer, HIV and other diseases. The three

scientists will share the $500,000 medical prize.

World No Tobacco Day 2017 Award: Delhi

government's Additional Director of Health,

Mr. S.K Arora was awarded prestigious World

Health Organization' (WHO) World No

Tobacco Day 2017 Award for his extraordinary

contribution towards tobacco control. He was

presented the award by Mr. Henk Bekedam, WHO

India country head in New Delhi on August 19,

2018. The award is presented every year by WHO

to individuals or organizations alike in each of the

six WHO regions for their accomplishments in the

area of tobacco control.

Inventions & Discoveries

200 million-year-old Pterosaur fossil found

in the US: Scientists unveiled a previously

unknown species of giant Pterosaur, the first

creatures with a backbone to fly under their

own power, on August 13, 2018. Neither dino

nor bird, Pterosaurs – more commonly known

as Pterodactyls – emerged during the late

Triassic period more than 200 million years ago

and lorded over primeval skies until a massive

space rock slammed into Earth, wiping out the

dinosaurs and most other forms of life some 65

million years ago. The newly discovered

member of the family, identified through

remains found in northeastern Utah, in the US,

has a wing-span of 1.5 metre (five feet) and 112

teeth, including fang-like spikes sticking out

near the snout.

IGIB team finds a new target to reverse iron

overload disease: Using Zebrafish, researchers

at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative

Biology (CSIR-IGIB) have successfully

discovered a pathway that regulates Hepcidin

hormone production. The Hepcidin hormone,

released by the liver, is a central regulator of

iron in the body. Dysregulation of the hormone

leads to anaemia and excess iron accumulation

in organs such as liver and heart leading to

multi-organ failure. The researchers selected 80

compounds that specifically target signaling

pathways in Zebrafish. Of the 80 compounds

tested, eight were found to induce the

production of Hepcidin hormone in the fish.

One of these compounds is a blocker of NFkB

signaling pathway. This is the first time that

researchers have been able to identify and tell

that the NFkB pathway regulates liver Hepcidin

production.



Places

Kerala: Severe flooding affected the south

Indian State of Kerala due to unusually high

rainfall during the monsoon season in August

2018. It was the worst flooding in Kerala in

nearly a century. Around 500 people died

within a fortnight, while at least a million

people were evacuated, mainly from

Chengannur, Pandanad, Aranmula, Aluva,

Chalakudy, Kuttanad and Pandalam districts.

All 14 districts of the State were placed on red

alert. According to the Kerala government, one-

sixth of the total population of the State was

directly affected by the floods and related

incidents. The Central Government declared it a

Level 3 Calamity, or ―calamity of a severe

nature‖. The National Crisis Management

Committee coordinated the rescue and relief

operations. Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi

announced a sum of Rs. 500 crore as interim

relief for Kerala on August 18, 2018.

Reports & Indexes

Vienna tops the Global Liveability Index;

Delhi at 112: Vienna has dislodged Melbourne

for the first time at the top of the Economist

Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Index

2018, strengthening the Austrian capital's claim

to being the world's most pleasant city to live

in. The two metropolises have been neck and

neck in the annual survey of 140 urban centres

for years, with Melbourne clinching the title for

the past seven editions. This year, a

downgraded threat of militant attacks in

western Europe as well as the city's low crime

rate helped nudge Vienna into first place.

London is at 48th place while New York is at

57. Both political and financial capitals of India

have fared poorly on the Global Liveability

Index 2018, with Delhi ranking 112 and

Mumbai five places behind at 117. Delhi and

Mumbai are only two Indian cities that are

included in the EIU's annual index. The index

assigns cities scores on five broad parameters—

stability, healthcare, culture/environment,

education and infrastructure using 30

indicators.

Space

India's first manned space mission targeted

for 2022: Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi

announced on August 15, 2018 from Red Fort

in Delhi that an Indian astronaut would go into

space by 2022. A project underway for at least

15 years, ISRO has continued to build its

capabilities and develop critical technologies

required to send a human being into space.

Following the announcement, ISRO Chairman

Mr. K. Sivan said that the mission would be

completed at a budget of Rs. 10,000 crore and

that "technology required have already been

developed". This includes the heavy-lift launch

vehicle, re-entry and recovery technology, the

crew module, Environmental Control and Life

Support System (ECLSS) and astronaut

training. Before the actual 2022 launch, ISRO

is expected to complete two unmanned

missions, according to Mr. Sivan, and the

spacecraft will be launched using the

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

(GSLV) Mark-III.

Indian telescope spots distant radio galaxy: Astronomers have used an Indian telescope to

discover the most distant radio galaxy ever

known, located at a distance of 12 billion light-

years. The galaxy, from a time when the

universe was only 7% of its current age was

found using the Giant Metrewave Radio

Telescope (GMRT) in Pune, Maharashtra.

GMRT is an array of thirty fully steerable

parabolic radio telescopes of 45-metre

diameter. It is operated by the National Centre

for Radio Astrophysics. The distance to this

galaxy was determined using the Gemini North

telescope in Hawaii and the Large Binocular

Telescope in Arizona. The galaxy is perceived

as it looked when the universe was only a

billion years old, according to the study

appearing in the journal Monthly Notices of the

Royal Astronomical Society. This also means

that the light from this galaxy is almost 12

billion years old.

Science And Technology

Researchers Develop World's First-ever 4D

Printing For Ceramics: Researchers from the

City University of Hong Kong (City have

successfully developed the world's first-ever 4D

printing for ceramics that can be used to create

complex, shape-changing objects. 4D printing



is conventional 3D printing combined with the

additional element of time as the fourth

dimension, where the printed objects can re-

shape or self-assemble themselves over time

with external stimuli, such as mechanical force,

temperature, or a magnetic field. The

researchers made use of the elastic energy

stored in the stretched precursors for shape

morphing. When the stretched ceramic

precursors are released, they undergo self-

reshaping. After heat treatment, the precursors

turn into ceramics. Ceramic has a high melting

point, so it is difficult to use conventional laser

printing to make ceramics. The resultant

elastomer-derived ceramics are mechanically

robust. They have a high compressive strength-

to-density ratio, and they can come in large

sizes with high strength compared to other

printed ceramics.

The research team was led by Professor Jian

Lu, Vice-President (Research and Technology)

and Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering

at CityU. It took the team more than two and a

half years to overcome the limitations of the

existing materials and to develop the whole 4D

ceramic printing system. With the development

of the elastic ceramic precursors, the research

team has achieved, one more breakthrough by

developing two methods of 413 printing of

ceramics.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe Takes Off For

Tryst With The Sun: The most ambitious

mission of the USA's National Aeronautics and

Space Administration, the Parker Solar Probe,

launched off from Cape Canaveral Air Force

Station in Florida for its date with the Sun on

August 12, 2018. The probe launched aboard

the Delta IV-Heavy rocket will, over the next

seven years, come within 6.16 million kms

(3.83 mn miles) of the Sun, the closest a

spacecraft has ever gotten to the star. Mr. Kelly

Korreck, an astrophysicist at the Smithsonian

Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge,

Massachusetts, said that the Parker Solar Probe

is a mission of extremes. It will be the closest

human made object to the Sun, going 96% of

the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Parker

will also be hot—parts of the .spacecraft will

reach around 3000 degrees Fahrenheit (1649

degrees Celsius). It will also be the fastest

human made 'object travelling at 430,000 miles

(6,92,000 kms) per hour, according to Mr.

Korreck, who is a part of the mission. At that

speed, one can fly from Delhi to Mumbai in

about 6 seconds. The mission, over five

decades in the making, will last 6 years and 11

months, and in this time, the Parker probe will

orbit the Sun 24 times. With each orbit, it will

be propelled closer and closer to the Sun,

ultimately circling the star at a distance that is

less than .10 radii of the Sun. Here, it will cross

paths with Venus, and be flying within the orbit

of Mercury, seven times closer to the, Sun than

any other probe. This means that the probe will

be in the Sun's atmosphere, a place where

conditions can get pretty hot and harsh.

However, a 4.5 inch carbon composite shield

will face the Sun, keeping the instruments cool

at around 30 degrees Celsius.

Chandrayaan-I Data Confirms Presence Of

Ice On Moon: NASA: Scientists have found

frozen water deposits in the darkest and coldest

parts of the Moon‘s polar regions using data

from the Chandrayaan-I spacecraft, that was

launched by India 10 years ago, National

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

said on August 21, 2018. According to the

study published in the journal, PNAS, the ice

deposits are patchily distributed and could

possibly be ancient. At the southern pole, most

of the ice is concentrated at lunar craters, while

the ice at the North Pole is more widely, but

sparsely spread. Scientists used data from

NASA‘s Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)

instrument to identify three specific signatures

that definitively prove that there is frozen water

at the surface of the Moon. M3, aboard the

Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, launched in 2008 by

the Indian Space Research Organisation

(ISRO), was uniquely equipped to confirm the

presence of solid ice on the Moon. It collected

data that not only picked up the reflective

properties we would expect from ice, but was

able to directly measure the distinctive way its

molecules absorb infrared light, so it can

differentiate between liquid water or vapour

and solid ice.

Software & Telecom

Google's AI to predict earthquake

aftershocks: Scientists at Harvard University

and Google have used an artificial intelligence

(AI) system to analyse a database of



earthquakes from around the world to predict

where aftershocks might occur.

Earthquakes typically occur in sequences: an

initial "mainshock" is often followed by a set of

aftershocks. The team started with a database of

information on more than 118 major

earthquakes from around the world. From there,

they applied a neural net to analyse the

relationships between static stress changes

caused by the mainshocks and aftershock

locations. The algorithm was able to identify

useful patterns. The end result was an improved

model to forecast aftershock locations and

while this system is still imprecise, it is a

motivating step forward.

Facebook rolls out Watch video service: Facebook said on August 30, 2018 that it is

rolling out globally its Watch' video service,

which has already been available in the US for

more than a year. Every month, more than 50

million people in the US watch videos for at

least a minute on 'Watch', Facebook's Head of

Video Mr. Fidji Simo said. With 'Watch' one

can have a two-way conversation about the

content with friends, other fans or even the

creatives themselves. Facebook launched

Watch amid a shift in video viewing habits

away from traditional television to online

platforms, including Netflix, Hulu and

YouTube. Facebook has been ramping up its

video offerings with original shows and has

also announced new formats, including

interactive game shows, quizzes and polls.

Persons in News

Arif Alvi: Dr. Arif Alvi, one of the founding

members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party,

was elected as President of Pakistan on

September 4, 2018. The 69-year-old former

dentist defeated Pakistan Peoples Party

candidate Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan and Pakistan

Muslim League-Nawaz nominee Maulana

Fazlur Rehman to become the 13th President.

Of the 430 votes cast through a secret ballot in

the National Assembly and the Senate, Dr. Alvi

received 212 votes. He is a close ally of

Pakistan PM Mr. Imran Khan.

Itsunori Onodera: Japanese Defence Minister

Mr. Itsunori Onodera was on a visit to New

Delhi from August 19 to 20, 2018. His visit was

aimed to strengthen military cooperation

between India and Japan. During his visit, Mr.

Onodera met Defence Minister Ms. Nirmala

Sitharaman and held delegation-level talks on

bilateral defence cooperation. Mr. Odonera also

met Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. Mr.

Modi welcomed the strengthening of defence

dialogue mechanisms as well as the ties

between the armed forces of the two countries.

Gen. Wei Fenghe: Defence Minister of China

Gen. Wei Fenghe was on a four-day visit to

New Delhi from August 21 to 24, 2018, the

first after the Doklam stand-off. After meeting

Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, Gen. Wei

had delegation level talks with Defence

Minister Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman. The two

Ministers decided to work towards firming up a

new bilateral pact on defence cooperation and

agreed to increase interactions between their

militaries at multiple levels to avoid Doklam-

like stand-offs. Both the countries also decided

on early operationalisation of the proposed

hotline between the two armies as a part of

confidence-building measures.

Ravi Shankar Prasad: UK-based organisation,

Apolitical, which brings together governments

and citizens, recently released its list of 100

most influential leaders in the field of digital

governance for 2018. Among those featured,

India's Minister for Electronics and IT, and

Law and Justice Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad was

in the list of Top 20 leaders. The organisation

said that the Indian Government, under Mr.

Prasad's guidance, was working on a new data

protection, digital inclusion and cyber security

framework.

Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy: Distinguished

aerospace scientist Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy was

appointed the Chairman of the Defence

Research and Development Organisation

(DRDO) and Secretary in the Department of

Defence Research and Development (DDR&D)

on August 25, 2018. Dr. Reddy succeeds Mr. S.

Christopher, who retired in June 2018. The

Appointment Committee of the Cabinet

approved Dr. Reddy's appointment for a period

of two years from the date of assumption of



charge or until further orders, whichever is

earlier. Dr. Reddy, renowned for his research

and development in missile systems and

sustained contributions towards advancement

of aerospace technologies and industries, was

employed as the Scientific Advisor to the

Defence Minister.

Vinesh Phogat: Vinesh Phogat created history

on August 20, 2018 by becoming the first

Indian woman wrestler to win a gold medal at

the Asian Games 2018, brushing aside her

rivals with remarkable ease in the 50kg

category, in Jakarta, Indonesia. Vinesh

outplayed Yuki Irie of Japan 6-2 in the final.

The gold also enabled Vinesh to achieve

another feat as she became the only woman

wrestler to win two medals in back-to-back

Asian Games.

Saurabh Chaudhary: Sixteen-year-old

Saurabh Chaudhary became the youngest

Indian shooter to win an Asian Games gold

medal as he trumped a field comprising

multiple world and Olympic champions in the

10m air pistol finals in Jakarta, Indonesia on

August 21, 2018. Chaudhary aggregated 240.7

to finish top of the podium and become the fifth

Indian shooter to win an Asiad gold.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Former Prime Minister

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who served as the PM in

1996 and then from 1998 to 2004, passed away

in New Delhi on August 16, 2018 at the age of

93. He had been suffering from a prolonged

illness for over a decade. The BJP stalwart was

admitted to the All India Institute of Medical

Sciences (AIIMS) in the capital in June 2018.

The acclaimed leader became the first non-

Congress PM to complete a full tern. He was

cremated at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal between

Shanti Van and Vijay Ghat in New Delhi.

CURRENT TOPICS: INDIA

For The First Time, Census 2021 To Collect

Data On OBCs Census 2021 will for the first time in

independent India collect data on Other

Backward Castes (OBCs), a move considered

politically significant ahead of the 2019 Lok

Sabha elections as announced by the Home

Ministry on August 31, 2018. The

announcement came after Union Home Mr.

Rajnath Singh reviewed the preparation for the

Census 2021. Mr. Singh discussed the road map

for undertaking the census in 2021. It was

emphasized that improvements in design and

technological interventions be made to ensure

that the data is finalized within three years of

the census being conducted. At present, it takes

seven to eight years to release the complete

data. Nearly 25 lakh enumerators are trained

and engaged for the gigantic exercise.

It must be noted that the then V.P. Singh

government had announced 27% reservation for

OBCs based on the Mandal Commission

recommendation, which was broadly prepared

on the basis of the country‘s last castes data

collected in the 1931 Census. The National

Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), a wing of

the Ministry of Statistics and Programme

Implementation, had announced a sample

survey report on the country‘s population in

2006 and suggested that the OBC population in

the country is around 41% of the total

population.

SCs, STs Can Claim Quota In Home State

Only: SC A person belonging to a Scheduled Caste (SC)

or Scheduled Tribe (ST) in a State will not be

deemed to be SC or ST in another state to

which he/she migrates for the purpose of

employment or education, the Supreme Court

clarified on August 31, 2018. But it added that

―pan-India reservation‖ would apply in the case

of Delhi. This means that in Delhi, for both

Central services and those under the Union

Territory, reservation will be open to all

SCs/STs from across the country. The ruling is



in line the past Government of India circulars,

according to which SCs/STs will not lose their

SC/ST status in their state of origin and will be

entitled to reservation benefits there, but not in

the State to which they have migrated if their

caste is not notified there.

A five-judge Constitution Bench of Justices

Ranjan Gogoi, N.V. Ramana, Mohan M.

Shantanagoudar, S. Abdul Nazeer and R.

Banumathi unanimously held that ―a person

who is recognized as a member of Scheduled

Castes/ Scheduled Tribes in his original State,

will be entitled to all the benefits of reservation

under the Constitution in that State only, and

not in other States/Union Territories and not

entitled to the benefits of reservation in the

migrated State/ Union Territory‖.

Gadkari Signs MoU With 6 States For

Lakhwar Project Union Minister for Water Resources, River

Development and Ganga Rejuvenation,

Shipping and Road Transport & Highways Mr.

Nitin Gadkari signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) on August 28, 2018,

with Chief Ministers – Yogi Adityanath (Uttar

Pradesh), Ms. Vasundhara Raje (Rajasthan),

Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat (Uttarakhand), Mr.

Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana), Mr. Arvind

Kejriwal (Delhi) and Mr. Jai Ram Thakur

(Himachal Pradesh) in New Delhi for the

construction of Rs. 3966.51 crore Lakhwar

Multi-Purpose project in the Upper Yamuna

Basin.

The Lakhwar project was initially approved in

1976 but work on the project was suspended in

1992. The project envisages construction of a

204m high concrete dam across river Yamuna

near Lohari village in Dehradun district of

Uttarakhand with a live storage capacity of

330.66 MCM. This storage will provide

irrigation for 33,780 hectares of land and

availability of 78.83 MCM water for domestic,

drinking and industrial use in the six basin

States. The project will also generate 300 MW

of power. The project is to be executed by

Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited

(UJVL).

While Lakhwar project will provide adequate

water to all six States, the interventions being

made under Namami Gange programme will

ensure pollution abatement in Yamuna serving

the twin purpose. Mr. Gadkari further said that

the problem is not water shortage but water

management and the government is taking steps

in this direction. He added that Lakhwar project

will not only ensure water availability but also

improve irrigation, generate electricity and

fulfil the drinking water needs of all six States.

ISRO Reveals Gaganyaan Mission To Put

Indians In Space Before 2022 The Indian Space Research Organisation,

ISRO, on August 28, 2018, unveiled India‘s

Gaganyaan programme for manned space flight

before 2022 as announced by Prime Minister

Mr. Narendra Modi on the Independence Day.

Giving details at a press conference in New

Delhi, ISRO Chairman Mr. K. Sivan said the

manned mission to space having 3 crew

members will be in space for 5-7 days. After

the take-off, the manned flight will reach the

orbit in 16 minutes.

The crew, while coming back to the Earth,

could land in the Arabian Sea off the Gujarat

coast or in the Bay of Bengal or even on land.

He also said that the mission may be executed

six months before India completes its 75th

Independence Day with the help of GSLV Mk-

III launch vehicle. The spacecraft will be

placed in a law earth orbit of 300-400 km and

the total programme cost is expected to be less

than Rs. 10,000 crore.

Minister of State for Department of Atomic

Energy and Space Mr. Jitendra Sinha said that

the mission is much cheaper in comparison to

other manned missions sent to space. The crew

will be selected by the Indian Air Force and

ISRO jointly after which they will undergo

training for two to three years.

India will be the fourth country after the USA,

Russia and China to send humans to space.

India‟s First Biofuel Powered Flight

Successfully Tested Paving the way for the usage of alternative

fuels in the aviation sector, country‘s first-ever

biojet fuel-powered flight was successfully

tested between Dehradun and Delhi on August

27, 2018. The 25-minute flight of the 75-seater

SpiceJet Bombardier Q400 aircraft that took off

from the Jolly Grant Airport of Dehradun was

flagged off by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Mr.

Trivendra Singh Rawat and when the flight

landed in Delhi‘s IGI Airport, Union Ministers

Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Mr. Nitin Gadkari,



Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Mr. Harsh Vardhan and Mr.

Jayant Sinha were present at the airport to

receive the flight. It had 20 persons on board.

Mr. Anil Sinha, Principal Scientist at IIP who

headed the 20-member team that developed the

biojet fuel that powered the Spice Jet aircraft,

said that the institute was experimenting with

biofuels for the past 10 years. The 450 litres of

biojet fuel used, was developed by using oil

extracted from the seeds of the Jatropha plant

which was supplied to IIP by the Chhattisgarh

Biofuel Development Authority (CBDA). The

CBDA had procured the supply from 500

families of Chhattisgarh-based farmers.

With the success, India joins an elite club of

nations including the USA and Australia who

use biofuel for commercial flights.

Govt. Announces Drone Regulations 1.0 For

Safe Commercial Usage Of Drones In a bid to regulate the drone usage in India, the

Ministry of Civil Aviation announced certain

norms on August 27, 2018 to ensure that these

do not pose a security problem. It has been

decided that no drones will be allowed around

airports, near international border, Vijay

Chowk in Delhi, State Secretariat Complex in

State capitals, strategic locations/vital and

military installations etc. All drones have to be

registered and need a permit to operate. The

regulations will be effective from December 1,

2018.

Announcing the Drone Regulations 1.0, Union

Minister for Civil Aviation Mr. Suresh Prabhu

said that these will enable safe, commercial

usage of drones as they are intended to enable

visual line-of-sight daytime-only and a

maximum of 400 ft altitude operations. Air

space has been partitioned into Red Zone

(flying not permitted), Yellow Zone (controlled

airspace), and Green Zone (automatic

permission).

Drones have wide-ranging use for photography

to agriculture, from infrastructure asset

maintenance to insurance. Drones range in size

from very small and those that can carry

multiple kilograms of payload. As per the

regulations, there are five categories of

Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS)

commonly known as drones. They are

categorized by weight, namely nano, micro,

small, medium and large.

All RPAS except nano and those owned by

NTRO, ARC and Central Intelligence Agencies

will be required to do a one-time registration of

their drones, pilots and owners. For every flight

(except for the nano category), users will be

required to seek permission to fly on a mobile

app and an automated process will permit or

deny the request instantly.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari

Vajpayee Passes Away Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,

one of the country‘s most charismatic leaders

who led the nation through several crises while

holding together a tenuous coalition with his

inclusive politics and superlative oratory, died

on August 16, 2018. He was 93. Vajpayee was

the 10th

Prime Minister of the country and the

oldest surviving one. He was the first non-

Congress leader to serve a full term in power

and who ordered nuclear tests to make India a

nuclear weapons power. Vajpayee was elected

to the Lok Sabha 10 times and twice to the

Upper House. He was the last MP from

Lucknow in 2009.

Renowned for his powerful oratory and poetry,

Vajpayee, one of the founder members of the

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), served as the

Prime Minister for 13 days in 1996, 13 months

(1998-99) at the head of the National

Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and

then for a full five-year term (1999-2004). He

announced his retirement from electoral politics

in 2005 and withdrew further from public life

in 2009 after suffering a stroke that weakened

his cognitive abilities.

Born in Gwalior on December 25, 1924,

Vajpayee joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak

Sangh in 1939, and in 1951, was promoted to

its political wing, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. He

steadily rose in its hierarchy and became its

national president in 1968.

Imprisoned along with other opposition leaders

during the Emergency (1975-77), Vajpayee

merged the Jana Sangh into the newly-formed

fashion a common front against the Congress in

the 1977 general elections. He subsequently

served as the Ministry of External Affairs in the

Morarji Desai government. After the collapse

of the Janata Party, Mr. Vajpayee, along with

long-time associate Mr. L.K. Advani and

others, set up the BJP in 1980. A

parliamentarian for over four decades, he was



conferred the country‘s highest civilian honour,

Bharat Ratna, on December 25, 2014. He

birthday, December 25, has been declared

Good Government Day after the Narendra

Modi government came to power in 2014.

DAC Approves Procurement Of Services

Amounting To Nearly Rs. 46,000 Crore The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC),

chaired by Hon‘ble Defence Minister Ms.

Nirmala Sitharaman accorded approval for

procurement of the Services amounting to

approximately Rs. 46,000 crore on August 25,

2018. The DAC, in a landmark decision,

approved the procurement of 111 Utility

Helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of

over Rs. 21,000 crore. This is the first project

under the MoD‘s prestigious Strategic

Partnership (SP) Model that aims at providing

significant fillip to the government‘s ‗Make in

India‘ programme. SP Model envisages

indigenous manufacturing of major defence

platforms by an Indian Strategic partner, who

will collaborate with foreign OEM, acquire

niche technologies and set up production

facilities in the country. The model has a long-

term vision of promoting India as a

manufacturing hub for defence equipment thus

enhancing self-sufficiency and establishing an

industrial and R&D ecosystem, capable of

meeting the future requirements of the Armed

Forces. The contract, when finalized, would

result in a vibrant and wide-spread Defence

industrial eco-system in the Indian Aviation

Sector with the Private Industry and MSMEs as

major stakeholders.

In further quest for modernization of the Armed

forces the DAC also granted approval to a few

other proposals amounting to approximately

Rs. 24,879.16 crore, which included approval

for procurement of 150 Indigenously Designed

and Developed 155 mm Advanced Towed

Artillery Gun Systems for the Indian Army at

an approximate cost of Rs. 3,364.78 crore.

These guns have been indigenously designed &

developed by DRDO and will be manufactured

by production agencies, as nominated by

DRDO. They are likely to be the mainstay of

Artillery in the near future. A nod to these

major schemes will provide a fillip to the

‗Make in India‘ push by the government, will

help create self-reliance in the country in

Defence manufacturing sector and has the

potential of making the Defence Industry as a

major engine of India‘s economic growth.

India, China In Talks To Set Up Direct

Hotline Between Defence Ministries India and China held talks to update a 12-year-

old defence agreement and establish a hotline

between the two Defence Ministries as a part of

the Confidence Building Measure, as revealed

by a top Chinese Defence Ministry official on

August 30, 2018. During the meeting of

Chinese Defence Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe

with Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and

his Indian counterpart Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman

in New Delhi, the two sides had in depth

discussions on how to further implement the

important consensus reached between PM Mr.

Modi and Chinese President Mr. Xi Jinping.

Mr. Modi and Mr. Xi, during their first-ever

informal summit in Wuhan in April, 2018

reached a consensus on managing various

aspects of India-China relations including the

two militaries, especially in the backdrop of the

Doklam stand-off. The hotline between the two

militaries was regarded as a major Confidence

Building Measure as it would enable both the

headquarters to intensify communication to

avert tensions between border patrols and to

avoid stand-offs like Doklam.

PM Modi Announces Ayushman Bharat

Scheme While addressing the nation from the ramparts

of the Red Fort, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra

Modi announced on August 15, 2018 that his

government will launch an ambitious healthcare

scheme, Ayushman Bharat-National Health

Protection Scheme (AB-NHPS) also dubbed as

Modicare on September 25, 2018 which will

benefit 50 crore citizens of the country.

The ambitious Ayushman Bharat scheme also

known as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya

Abhiyaan aims to provide a coverage of Rs. 5

lakh per family annually, benefiting more than

10 crore poor families. It aims to cover over 10

crore vulnerable families (approximately 50

crore beneficiaries) and provide health cover up

to Rs. 5 lakh per family per year. The

programme is being called the world‘s largest

health protection scheme.

The Health Ministry has included 1,354

packages in the scheme under which treatment

for coronary bypass, knee replacements and



stenting among others would be provided at 15-

20% cheaper rates than the Central Government

Health Scheme (CGHS). Hospitals run by the

Employees‘ State Insurance Corporation

(ESIC) may also be empanelled based on their

bed occupancy ratio. As for private hospitals,

they will be empanelled online based on

defined criteria, which is unavailable at the

moment.

Ayushman Bharat Scheme: is an entitlement-

based scheme which aims to target the poor,

deprived rural families and identified

occupational category of urban workers‘

families, 8.03 crore in rural and 2.33 crore in

urban areas, as per the latest Socio-Economic

Caste Census (SECC) data, and will cover

around 50 crore people. The beneficiaries can

avail themselves of benefits in both public and

empanelled private facilities. There is no cap on

family size and age in the scheme, ensuring that

nobody is left out. The beneficiary will need to

have an Aadhaar card to avail the benefits of

the scheme.

Pune Ranked The Most Liveable City In

India According to the Ease of Living Index report

released by Union Housing and Urban Affairs

Minister Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri on August 14,

2018, Pune emerged as the easiest city to live in

India, followed closely by Navi Mumbai and

Greater Mumbai in a ranking of 111 Indian

cities. Thane is the fourth Maharashtra city that

made it to the Top 10 in the list. Among the

111 cities in the country, Rampur of Uttar

Pradesh, Kohima of Nagaland and Patna of

Bihar have been ranked as the worst cities. The

national capital has been put on 65th

position on

the index of liveable cities. Except Mumbai and

14th

ranked Chennai, the performance of the

other Metro cities has been quite disappointing.

While Bengaluru has been placed at 58th

position, Kolkata did not take part in the

ranking.

Among 111 cities to measure the quality of life,

Muzzafarpur of Bihar and Ghaziabad of Uttar

Pradesh which ranked 63rd

and 46th

respectively

were better cities than the national capital. Uttar

Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and

Karnataka, which have a number of big cities,

found no representation in the top 10 rankings.

Monsoon Session Most Productive In 18

Years The monsoon session of Parliament, which

concluded on August 10, 2018, is tipped to be

one of the most productive sessions of the Lok

Sabha in the last 18 years, according to the data

released by PRS Legislative Research. In total

17 sitting, 20 out of 21 Bills were passed in

Parliament. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mr.

Ananth Kumar termed the session a festival of

social justice as a Bill to give constitutional

status to the OBC Commission and the

Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes

(Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill,

were passed. The Lok Sabha passed 21 Bills

and the Rajya Sabha passed 14 Bills during the

monsoon session. 20 bills were passed by both

the Houses of Parliament.

A key highlight of the session apart from the

no-confidence motion was the election of the

Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha where

JD(U)‘s first-time parliamentarian Mr.

Harivansh Narayan Singh was elected for the

post on August 9, 2018.

CURRENT TOPICS: WORLD

Swaraj Visits Vietnam And Cambodia External Affairs Minister Ms. Sushma Swaraj

embarked on a five-day visit to Vietnam and

Cambodia on August 25, 2018. In Vietnam,

Mrs. Swaraj co-chaired the 16th meeting of the

Joint Commission along with her Vietnamese

counterpart, Mr. Pham Binh Minh She also

called on the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr.

Nguyen Xuan Phuc. The External Affairs

Minister inaugurated the 3rd edition of the

Indian Ocean Conference on August 27, 2018.

Ms. Sushma Swaraj said that India is now

devoting, more resources and assigning greater

priority to building connectivity in its.

immediate neighbourhood. Addressing the 3rd

Indian Ocean Conference . in Hanoi, Ms.

Swaraj said that in an inter-dependent world

characterised by enhanced economic and trade

linkages, the importance of sustainable use of

the ocean resources cannot be overstated.

In the second leg of her two-nation tour, Ms.

Swaraj visited Cambodia. She was received by

the Indian Ambassador to Cambodia, Ms.



Manika Jain and other senior officials at the

Phnom Penh international airport. During the

two-day visit, Ms. Swaraj had extensive talks

with her Cambodian counterpart Mr. Prak

Sokhonn, covering the entire spectrum of the

bilateral and regional issues of mutual interests.

She also called on Prime Minister Mr. Hun Sen

and President of Senate Mr. Say Chhum. This

was the Minister's first official visit to

Cambodia. The visit of Ms. Swaraj to two

important ASEAN nations will provide an

opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with

the political leadership on a wide range of

global, regional and bilateral issues. It will also

help advance the strategic engagement of India

with these countries and ASEAN region amidst

the rising influence of China in the region.

Malaysia Cancels Chinese Projects Amid

„New Colonialism‟ Fear Malaysian Prime Minister Mr. Mahathir

Mohamad cancelled the multibillion-dollar

China-financed projects in Malaysia on the

final day of his five-day visit to Beijing on

August 21, 2018. Mr. Mahathir said that

Chinese President Mr. Xi Jinping had

―accepted‖ the reasoning behind putting the

projects on ice. ―It‘s about pouring in too much

money, which we cannot afford, cannot repay,

and also because we don‘t need these projects

for Malaysia at this moment,‖ Mr. Mahathir

said, adding a warning about bankruptcy and

the ballooning national debt of Malaysia, which

currently hovers around $250 million (€217

million). The projects include a $20 billion

railway, the 688 kilometre (430 mile)-long East

Coast Rail Link (ECRL), which would have

connected the east coast of Malaysia with

southern Thailand and the Malaysian capital

Kuala Lumpur and the construction of two gas

pipelines worth $2.3 billion.

New Zealand Bans Foreigners From Buying

Property

The New Zealand government banned the sale

of existing homes to foreign buyers on August

15, 2018 in a bid to tackle soaring house prices

and rising homelessness. The Overseas

Investment Amendment Bill, passed by the

Parliament, is designed to make housing more

affordable for New Zealanders, particularly

first time buyers. Associate Minister of Finance

Mr. David parker said that the ban would make

housing become more affordable for locals, and

supply would increase. ―We think the market

for New Zealand homes and farms should be

set by New Zealand buyers, not overseas

buyers,‖ said Mr. Parker in an interview with

the Guardian. ―That is to benefit New

Zealanders who have their shoulder to the

wheel of the New Zealand economy, pay tax

here, have families here. We don‘t think they

should be outbid by wealthier people from

overseas. We should not be tenants in our own

land,‖ added Mr. Parker.

El Salvador Ditches Taiwan To Establish

Ties With China

El Salvador ditched Taiwan to establish

diplomatic ties with China on august 21, 2018.

The official Xinhua news agency of China

reported that Chinese Foreign Minister Mr.

Wang Yi and the Foreign Minister of Salvador

Mr. Carlos Castaneda had signed a

communique establishing diplomatic relations.

Mr. Castaneda said that establishing formal ties

with Beijing was a strategic and an historic

decision for the Latin American country.

According to Mr. Wang, El Salvador was

establishing ties with China "without any

preconditions" and would be a partner in Belt

and Road infrastructure investment project of

Beijing." All bilateral cooperation projects will

be terminated. We will begin to recall all

diplomatic staff and technical teams," the

Foreign Minister of Taiwan Mr. Joseph Wu

told a news conference in Taipei. Mr. Wu

further added that Taiwan had been aware of

the intention of El Salvador to build diplomatic

ties with China since June, in order to receive

investment and aid from China. The move

leaves Taiwan with only 17 diplomatic allies

around the world, as Beijing, which claims

sovereignty over the self-ruled island, continues

in its attempts to isolate it on the international

stage.

UN Expresses Grave Concern At Chinese

Detention Of Uighur Muslims

A United Nations human rights pane expressed

grave concern on August 11, 2018 over the fact

that China is holding a million Uighur Muslims

in mass detention camps in Xinjiang province.

Ms. Gay McDougall, a member of the United

Nations Committee on the Elimination of

Racial Discrimination, raised the claims at the



opening session of a two-day review of China's

policies saying that Beijing had turned the

autonomous region into 'something resembling

a massive internment camp, shrouded in

secrecy, a sort of 'no-rights zone', in a bid to

tackle religious extremism. She expressed

concerns that the Uighurs were being treated

"as enemies of the state solely on the basis of

their ethno religious identity." She added that

over a hundred Uighur students, who returned

to Xinjiang province from abroad, had

disappeared, while others were either detained

or died in detention.

Many international human rights organisations

have accused China of cracking down on the

Uighurs by sending them to mass detention

camps, interfering in their religious activities

and sending the minority community to

undergo some form of forceful re-education or

indoctrination.

Colombia Recognises Palestine As A

Soverign State

Colombia recognised Palestine as a sovereign

state in the days before the new President Mr.

Ivan Duque took office, according to a letter

from the Foreign Ministry made public on

August 9, 2018. "I would like to inform you

that in the name of the government of

Colombia, President Mr. Juan Manuel Santos

has decided to recognise Palestine as a free,

independent and sovereign state," said the letter

dated August 3, 2018. The letter was addressed

to the Palestinian embassy by the Foreign

Ministry of Colombia and it bears the

signatures of the then Foreign Minister Ms.

Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar. The new

Foreign Minister Mr. Carlos Holmes said he

would review the "implications" of the previous

government's decision, in accordance with

international law and good diplomatic practice.

"Palestine" has been recognised as a sovereign

state by the UN General Assembly, the

International Criminal Court and at least 136

countries. Colombia abstained in December

2017 from a vote by the 193-member UN

General Assembly on a resolution calling for

the United States to drop its recognition of

Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. US President

Mr. Donald Trump had threatened to cut off

financial aid to countries that voted in favour.

The Palestinian Authority said it fears that if

the incoming government of Colombia, headed

by the new President Mr. Ivan Duque, decides

to take back the decision, other countries in

Latin America and Central Europe, who have

already recognised Palestine, may change their

policies in a snowball effect.

US To Invest $300 Million To Fund Security

Cooperation In Indo-Pacific Region

US Secretary of State Mr. Mike Pompeo

pledged on August 5, 2018 to provide nearly

$300 million in new security funding for the

Indo-Pacific region, as China forges ahead with

plans to bolster its engagement in the region.

Mr. Pompeo unveiled the figure to

mediapersons on the sidelines of a meeting of

Foreign Ministers from the 10-member

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

(ASEAN) and other officials from around the

world in Singapore. The new security

assistance will strengthen maritime security,

develop humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping

capabilities and counter ―transnational threats‖,

he said, Mr. Pompeo had earlier said that the

$113 million investment for technology, energy

and infrastructure initiatives was ―a

downpayment on a new era of US economic

commitment to the region‖.

The United States‘ developing vision for a ―free

and open Indo-Pacific‖ comes at the same time

as China ramps up its influence as a part of its

Belt and Road plan to bolster trade ties with

nations in Southeast Asia and beyond.

Sushma Swaraj‟s Three-nation Visit To

Central Asia "The visit to the three nations was US Senate

Passes aimed at enhancing engagement with

this region which is India's extended

neighbourhood. It will also provide an

opportunity to hold in-depth discussions with

the political leadership on a wide range of

global, regional and bilateral issues and will

advance India's growing engagement with the

Central Asian region.

China Successfully Tests First Hypersonic

Aircraft

China announced on August 6, 2018 that it had

successfully tested its first hypersonic aircraft

which could carry nuclear warheads and

penetrate any current generation anti-missile

defence systems, seen as a breakthrough in

developing cutting-edge weapons. The



Xingkong-2 or Starry Sky-2, was launched in a

target range located. in Northwest China on

August 3,- 2018. Launched by a multi-stage

rocket, the waverider of China was released in

the air after about 10 minutes. It flew

independently, made large-angle turning

manoeuvres, and landed in the targeted area as

planned. The flight vehicle reached 30 kms in

altitude at a top speed of Mach 6—six times the

speed of sound, or 4,563 miles (7,344

kilometres) per hour. The hypersonic aircraft

was designed by the state-run China Academy

of Aerospace, Aerodynamics (CAAA) in

collaboration with the China Aerospace Science

and Technology Corporation.

Big Relief For India As US Senate Passes

Defence Spending Bill

The US Congress passed the conference report

on National Defence Authorization Act-2019

(NDAA-19), which paves the way for waiver to

India from punitive Countering America's

Adversaries Through Sanctions Act or

CAATSA, under which sanctions kick off on

countries that purchase significant military

equipment from Russia. The Senate passed the

John McCain National Defence Authorisation

Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (NDAA) by an

overwhelming, bipartisan vote of 87 to 10. The

bill, named after Senate Armed Services

Committee Chairman Mr. John McCain, would

provide $716 billion support in funding for

national defence for fiscal year 2019. The bill

also provides a modified waiver to section 231

of CAATSA.

Unlike the -existing version of the act, the

proposed modified waiver requires presidential

Certifications designed to protect US alliances,

military operations and sensitive technology.

"The CAATSA waiver that the Congress has

made available to India in the 2019 National

Defence Authorisation Act should provide

ample flexibility for New Delhi to proceed with

the purchase of the Russian S-400' system,"

said Au Joshua White, a former senior official

of the National Security Council in the White

House.

CAATSA was enacted in 2017, and came into

effect in 2018 to punish Russia for the 2016

election meddling. Among other things,

CAATSA forbade third-party countries from

doing "significant transactions" with Russia in

military and intelligence sectors through the

threat of secondary sanctions. India was

directly in line of fire under this law for plans

going back from before CAATSA came into

force to buy five S-400 air defence systems

from a Russian company on the US list of

sanctioned entities.

Mnangagwa Wins Historic Zimbabwe

Presidential Elections

The President of Zimbabwe and leader of the

ruling Zanu-PF party Mr. Emmerson

Mnangagwa, won the country's historic and

hotly contested presidential election. The

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC)

announced on August 2, 2018 that Mr.

Mnangagwa received 50.8% of the 4.8 million

votes cast while main opposition challenger Mr.

Nelson Chamisa got 44.3%. Mr. Mnangagwa

tweeted that he was "humbled" by the result.

"This is a new beginning. Let us join hands, in

peace, unity & love, & together build a new

Zimbabwe for all!" he said. Mr. Mnangagwa,

75, was a close aide of Mr. Robert Mugabe, the

94-year-old autocrat who ruled for 37 years and

was ousted by the army nine months ago; and

was implicated in atrocities committed under

his rule. Mr. Chamisa, 40, is a former lawyer

and pastor and had cast doubt on the integrity

of the electoral process.

Cambodian Ruling Party Wins All The Seats

In National Assembly

The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of

Prime Minister Mr. Hun Sen won all 125

parliamentary seats up for grabs in a general

election held on August 16, 2018. Cambodia

woke to another chapter of rule by strongman

Mr. Hun Sen, a day after an election that was

heavily criticised by rights groups, the United

States and other Western countries.

Former CNRP President Mr. Sam Rainsy, who

lives in exile, said the election was a "hollow"

victory for Mr. Hun Sen, a former Khmer

Rouge commander who has ruled Cambodia for

nearly 33 years. "The result of this false

election conducted in a climate of fear is a

betrayal of the popular will," added Mr. Sam

Rainsy. The CNRP was dissolved by a court

order in 2017 and its lawmakers banned from

politics in a move seen by many as aimed at

eliminating any real opposition ahead of the

election.



The United States along with other nations

questioned the authenticity of the elections and

said that it "regrets" an election that was

"neither free nor fair" and that "failed to

represent the will of the Cambodian people.‖

Scott Morrison Sworn In As The New

Australian PM

Mr. Scott Morrison, a staunch conservative and

devout evangelical Christian, was sworn in as

the new PM of Australia by the Governor-

General, the Queen's representative, on August

24, 2018. Following a brutal party brawl, Mr.

Morrison emerged victorious as leader in, a 45-

40 party-room vote against Mr. Peter Dutton, a

hardliner who led a coup against Mr. Turnbull.

Mr. Morrison pledged to heal the ruling Liberal

Party after a week of infighting that outgoing

leader Mr. Malcolm Turnbull said left his

nation "dumbstruck and so appalled".

Mr. Turnbull, a former investment banker who

became leader after toppling Mr. Tony Abbott

in 2015, was ousted by a group of right-wing

MPs who mistrusted his progressive views,

even as he veered rightward on issues such as

climate change, the 'republic and same-sex

marriage.

Manual Recount Shows Few z Changes To

Iraq Election v Results Held In May 2018

A manual recount of parliamentary election

held in Iraq in the month of May yielded

similar results, with Shia leader Muqtada al-

Sadr's joint list retaining its lead with 54 seats.

The Independent High Elections Commission

(IHEC) of Iraq released the results of the

manual recount on August 10, 2018, which

corresponded to the initial results in 13 out of

18 provinces of Iraq. The Parliament had

ordered a recount of the results on June 6, 2018

amid allegations of fraud and after a storage

site containing about half of the' ballots in the

capital, Baghdad, caught fire.

The results of the recount confirmed Sadr's

bloc, Sairoon, keeping 'its initial tally of 54

seats out of 329. The Iran-affiliated al-Fatih

alliance, which is led by Hadi al-Amiri, won an

additional seat thus increasing the number from

47 to 48.

Prime Minister Mr. Haider al-Abadi's al-Nasr

bloc for its part remained in third place with 42

seats. Other changes were confined to a handful

of alterations to the standings of candidates

within party lists.

4th

BIMSTEC Summit, Kathmandu, Nepal

The 4th

BIMSTEC Summit was held in

Kathmandu, Nepal from August 30 to 31, 2018

with the signing and adoption of the

Kathmandu Declaration by all the seven

members. The 18-point Kathmandu Declaration

is expected to enhance the effectiveness of

BIMSTEC Secretariat by engaging it in various

technical and economic activities in the region.

PM Mr. narendra Modi, Sri Lankan President

Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, Myanmar President

Mr. U Win Myint, the Chief Adviser of Interim

Government of Bhutan Mr. Lyonpo Tshering

Wangchuk, Bangladesh Prime Minister Ms.

Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister of Thailand

Mr. Prayut Chan-o-cha attended the Summit.

Current chair of BIMSTEC, Nepal PM Mr.

K.P. Sharma Oli gave a closing speech after

handing over the Chairmanship of the next

BIMSTEC Summit to Sri Lankan President Mr.

Maithripala Sirisena.

Static GK Capsule

INDIAN POLITY CONSTITUTION

The Eleventh Schedule, carrying powers,

authory and responsibilities of Panchayats was

added to the Indian Constitution by – The 73rd

Amendment (1992)

Which article of the Indian Constitution

declares the Supreme Court to be a court of

record? Article 129

Which article of the Indian Constitution deals

with the original jurisdiction of the Supreme

Court? Article 131

The proclamation of ‗National Emergency‘ can

immediately turn the federal system of India

into a – Unitary System

The Lok Sabha Speaker addresses and submits

his resignation to – Deputy Speaker of Lok

Sabha

What is the maximum duration between two

sessions of Indian Parliament? – Six months



INDIAN HISTORY AND NATIONAL

MOVEMENT

Mahatma Gandhi started his historic Dandi

March on March 12, 1930 with – 78 followers

In 1942, who appealed the Britishers to leave

India in God‘s hand – Mahatma Gandhi

‗Indian War Independence, 1957‘ was written

by – V.D. Savarkar

The first split in Congress occurred in 1907 at

the – Surat Session

HISTORY AND CULTURE OF INDIA

Who is the author of the book Mitakshara on

ancient Hindu law? – Viynanesvara

Which Sultan of Delhi regarded and presented

himself as the Caliph?- Sultan Qutabuddin

Mubarak Khalji

The Vijayanagar ruler who tried to strengthen

his military position by recruiting in his army

10,00 Muslim mounted bowmen, was – King

Devaraya II

The term ‗Krori‘ became synonymous under

the Mughal rule with – A revenue collector

Who was the founder of ‗Dharma Sabha‘ in

1829 in Calcutta? – Radhakant Dev

ECONOMIC AFFAIRS OF INDIA

The Union government decided to merge

Bharatiya Mahila Bank with – State Bank of

India

The ‗UDAY Yojana‘ of the Central

government is associated with – Energy sector

The ‗Mudra Bank‘ is subsidiary of – SIDBI

Gross National Product (GNP) without

Depreciation Allowance is called – Net

National Product

GEOGRAPHY (INDIA AND WORLD)

A worldwide rise or fall in sea level is called –

Eustasy

Savana region of Brazil is locally called as –

Cerrado

Surma Valley is located in – Assam

Palghat is situated between – Nilgiri and

Annamalai

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Sulphuric acid is commonly known as – Oil of

Vitriol

What is the pH value of ‗Pure Water‘?- 7.0

Polio is caused by – Virus with single stranded

RNA

The metal present in vitamin B12 is – Cobalt

Sugar in blood and urine is tested with –

Benedicts solution

Latest in Sports

CRICKET

Ramesh Power appointed as Head Coach of

India Women‟s Cricket team: The Board for

Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) on August

10, 2018 appointed Ramesh Powar as the Head

Coach of Indian Women‘s Team. Powar, who

was asked to manage the team after the

resignation of former coach Tushar Arothe, was

handed the full handed over the full-time duties

till November 30, 2018.

The former right-arm spinner will lead the team

as the coach for India's upcoming tours to Sri

Lanka in September, a bilateral series in West

Indies in October, followed by ICC Women's

World T20 in West Indies in November.

FORMULA-ONE

Lewis Hamilton wins Hungarian Grand Prix

2018: Lew is Hamilton won a tense strategic

battle at the Hungarian Grand Prix to head into

Formula l's summer break with a 24-point

championship lead. Briton beats Sebastian

Vettel with Kimi Raikkonen third.

Ferrari appeared to blow their best chance to

challenge the Mercedes driver, delaying a pit

stop for Sebastian Vettel long enough to lose

their advantage over Hamilton's team-mate

Valtteri Bottas and emerge behind the Finn.

FOOTBALL

2018 SAFF U-15 Women's Championship:

India clinch maiden title: A solitary second

half strike by Sunita Munda helped the Indian

U-15 women's national team down Bangladesh

in the final of the SAFF (South Asian Football



Federation) U-15 Championship at the floodlit

Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan,

on August 18, 2018.

India coach Firmin D'Souza preferred to

continue with the same XI that beat Nepal 2-1

in the semi-final.

This was second edition of SAFF Under-15

Women's Championship. Bangladesh had won

the inaugural edition in 2017 by beating India,

1-0 in the final played at Dhaka.

MISCELLANEOUS

Games period to be made compulsory in

schools: Sports Minister: The Union Sports

Minister, Rajyavardhan Rathore announced on

August 6, 2018 that a games period will be

made mandatory in all schools from 2019

onwards. Along with this, the Minister said that

the Ministry of Education will ensure a 50 per

cent reduction in the syllabus.

The move is a huge boost to the growth of

sports in India. Explaining the decision,

Rathore said, "we have come to a stage where

sports is not a part of education, it is

education."

The introduction of a compulsory sports period

aims to highlight the need to teach the

importance of playing sports to the school

children.

The Sports Ministry is ensuring that Sports

Authority of India (SI) reduces its manpower

by 50 per cent by 2022 so that they can cater to

sports and it has a lean body and the money is

spent more on sports.

The Government will also establish 20

specialised sports schools in 2018 at an

investment of about Rs 7-10 crore for each

school.

La Liga announces landmark free-to-air deal

with Facebook in India: Spain's top flight

soccer division La Liga announced on August

14, 2018 a landmark deal with Facebook which

will allow viewers in the Indian sub-continent

to watch every game over the next three sea-

sons free of charge on the social net-work. A

statement from La Liga said all 380 league

matches for the new season, which begins on

Friday, would be available to viewers in India,

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal,

Maldives, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Current Affairs MCQs

1. The country which has become the Vice-

Chair or Regional Head of the Asia Pacific

Region of World Customs Organization (WCO)

is

(a) India (b) China

(c) Sri Lanka (d) Vietnam

2. The 4th

National Conclave on Mines and

Minerals to strengthen mineral auction regime

was hosted by which of the following Indian

cities?

(a) Jamshedpur (b) Dhanbad

(c) Indore (d) Vishakhapatnam

3. Women‘s singles title at the 2018

Wimbledon tennis tournament has been

clinched by

(a) Maria Sarapova (b) Anglique Kerber

(c) Caroline Wozniacki (d) Petra Kvitova

4. The United Nations Security Council

(UNSC) has adopted a resolution to impose an

arms embargo on which of the following

countries?

(a) Syria (b) South Sudan

(c) North Korea (d) Iran

5. Which state government has constituted

Heritage Cabinet to preserve the history and

culture of state?

(a) Sikkim (b) Madhya Pradesh

(c) Odisha (d) Telangana

6. The Injeti Srinivas Committee recently

constituted by the Central government is

associated with

(a) The determination of GST rates

(b) review of Companies Act 2013

(c) review of the administration of BCCI

(d) None of the above

7. To make primary school students fluent in

English which of the following state

governments has launched an initiative ‗I am

not afraid of English‘?

(a) Bihar (b) Uttar Pradesh

(c) Chhattisgarh (d) Haryana



8. Which of the following cities has opened the

world‘s largest visa centre?

(a) Beijing (b) Canberra

(c) Ottawa (d) Dhaka

9. The Union government has constituted Anil

Swarup Committee to suggest measures to

strengthen which of the following

organizations?

(a) National Cadet Corps (NCC)

(b) National Service Scheme (NSS)

(c) Both of the above


10. The first green-field skill training centre of

India is being set up in which of the following

states?

(a) Mizoram (b) Telangana

(c) Odisha (d) Uttarakhand

11. Sonal Mansingh who has been recently

nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the President

is associated with which of the following

fields?

(a) Painting (b) Telugu literature

(c) Sports (d) Classical Dance

12. Who among the following has been named

for the 2018 Sangita Kalanidhi award of the

Music Academy?

(a) V P Shankar Joshi (b) Veena Mudgal

(c) Arun Sairam (d) Jeevan Shekhar

13. The Golden Ball award winner Luka

Modric for best player at the 2018 FIFA world

Cup belongs to which of the following

countries?

(a) France (b) Croatia

(c) Spain (d) Italy

14. Who among the following has won 2018

World Cup Golden Boot Award as top scorer

with 6 goals?

(a) Harry Kane (b) Thibaut Courtois

(c) Kylian Mbappe (d) Didier Deschamps

15. Union Ministry of Road Transport and

Highways has appointed who among the

following Bollywood actor as brand

ambassador of its Road Safety campaign?

(a) Aamir Khan (b) Salman Khan

(c) Akshay Kumar (d) Ranbir Kapoor

16. India‘s first Tourism Mart will be held in

September 2018 at which of the following

places?

(a) Bhopal (b) Kanyakumari

(c) Panaji (d) New Delhi

17. In July 2018, at which of the following

places has Samsung opened the world‘s largest

mobile factory?

(a) Gurugram (Haryana)

(b) Noida (Uttar Pradesh)

(c) Surat (Gujarat)

(d) Muradabad (Uttar Pradesh)

18. qXR, has been recently developed as an

Artificial Intelligence which is helpful for

(a) Blood Pressure reduction

(b) Heart Transplantation

(c) Chest X-Ray

(d) HIV test

19. Which among the following organization

has launched the Sampoorna Bima Gram

Yojana (SBGY)?

(a) Ministry of Finance

(b) National Insurance Company Limited

(c) LIC

(d) India Post

20. Who among the following has been

appointed as the Chairman of the National

Green Tribunal?

(a) Manoj Sharma (b) Mrinal Sinha

(c) Mukul Mudgal (d) AK Goole

21. Which among the following has become

India‘s first city whose Municipal Corporation

Bond was listed in the National Stock

Exchange in July 2018?

(a) Mumbai (b) New Delhi

(c) Indore (d) Kolkata

22. Which among the following is associated to

the ‗Project Sashakt‘?

(a) Agricultural loan waiver

(b) Women Empowerment

(c) Adolescence Education

(d) Bank NPA crisis

23. Which among the following has

successfully tested the Crew Escape System

(CES) in July 2018?

(a) NASA (b) DRDO



(c) ISRO (d) Indian Air Force


appointed as the new Chairman of the Central

Administrative Tribunal (CAT)?

(a) HS Sodhi (b) Deepak Sharma

(c) BM Shah (d) L Narsimha Reddy

25. The foreign bank which has been allowed

by RBI in July 2018 to open its branch in India

is

(a) Bank of Canada (b) Bank of Singapore

(c) Bank of Australia (d) Bank of China

26. The theme of the World Youth Skills Day

(WYSD) 2018 is :

(a) World Skills for peace and prosperity

(b) Skills for All

(c) Improving the image of TVET

(d) Skills Development to Improve Youth

Employment

27. At which of the following cities NABARD

has launched the South East Asia‘s first-ever

Centre for Climate Change (CCC)?

(a) Kanpur (b) Patna

(c) Bhagalpur (d) Lucknow

28. ‗TotaPuri‘ which was in news recently is a

variety of which among the following?

(a) Parrot (b) Mango

(c) Banana (d) Peacock

29. At which of the following rates the

minimum support price has been fixed for

Kharif season 2018-19?

(a) Rs 850/quintal (b) Rs 1235/quintal

(c) RS 1695/quintal (d) RS 1750/quintal

30. The unique Happiness Curriculum has been

launched in schools of which of the following

States/Union Territories?

(a) Bihar (b) Delhi

(c) Uttar Pradesh (d) Goa

31. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been

elected as the President of which of the

following countries?

(a) Uganda (b) Nigeria

(c) Argentina (d) Mexico

32. The Tejas squadron-45 has formally

commenced its operation at which of the

following places?

(a) Sulur, Coimbatore (b) Adampur, Punjab

(c) Allahabad, UP (d) Sirsa, Haryana

33. Fakhar Zaman, who has become the fastest

player to score 1000 ODI runs, held from which

of the following countries?

(a) Bangladesh (b) Afghanistan

(c) New Zealand (d) Pakistan

34. Which of the following has become the first

Indian state to implement the National policy

on biofuels?

(a) Jharkhand (b) Arunachal Pradesh

(c) Rajasthan (d) Himachal Pradesh

35. Which of the following cities has been

ranked highest in the first Ease of Living Index

2018 released by the Minister of Urban

Development?

(a) Pune (b) Indore

(c) Ahmedabad (d) Kochi

36. Consider the following statements about

Former United Nations General Secretary Kofi

Annan who passed away recently:

1. He had served as UN Secretary-General for

two terms reigning from 1997 till 2006.

2. He was succeeded by South Korean diplomat

Ban Ki-moon in 2007.

3. He was co-recipient of 2001 Nobel Peace

Prize along with the United Nations.

Choose the correct option from the codes given

below:

(a) Only 1 (b) 2 and 3

(c) 1 and 3 (d) All of these

37. Which of the following books were written

by V S Naipaul, who passed away recently?

1. A Bend in the River

2. A House of Mr. Biswas

3. In a Free State

4. The Argumentative Indian

Choose the correct option from the codes given

below

(a) 1 and 2 (b) 2 and 3

(c) 1, 3 and 4 (d) 1, 2and 3

38. Union Civil Aviation Ministry has approved

the proposal for setting-up of water aerodrome

at which of the following place(s)?



(a) Sabarmati River (b) Chilka Lake

(c) Sardar Sarovar Dam (d) All of the above

39. Which operation was undertaken by the

South Naval Command for relief from floods in

different parts of Kerala?

(a) Operation Insaniyat (b) Operation Madad

(c) Operation Disaster (d) Operation Daring

40. The images of which two persons are

depicted recently on the commemorative

postage stamps on India-South Africa: Joint

Issue?

(a) Nelson Mandela and Deendayal Upadhyay

(b) Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi

(c) Oliver Reginald Tambo and Mahatma

Gandhi

(d) Deendayal Upadhyay and Oliver Reginald

Tambo

41. Which of the following is Incorrect about

Atal Bihari Vajpayee who passed away

recently?

(a) He was Prime Minister twice between 1998-

1999 and 1999-2004.

(b) He was born on December 25, 1924 in

Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.

(c) He was elected for first time as Member of

Parliament in 1957 from Balrampur

constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

(d) He was the first non-Congress leader to

have completed full term as Prime Minister

42. Union Ministry of Women and Child

Development has announced to observe

September 2018 as which of the following?

(a) National Nutrition Month

(b) National Child Welfare Month

(c) National Women Nutrition Month


43. The government has announced to set-up

two new space research technology centres at

which of the following places?

(a) Ranchi and Shimla

(b) Tripura and Jammu

(c) Guwahati and Kolkata

(d) Patna and Bhuwaneshwar

44. According to a recent study, which of the

following is mainly responsible for acute

Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Eastern Uttar

Pradesh?

(a) Achalasia

(b) Aarskog Syndrome

(c) Acanthosis Nigricans

(d) Scrub typhus

45. At which of the following places, President

Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated the ‗One

District One Product‘ summit in August, 2018?

(a) Shilong (b) Bhopal

(c) Kanpur (d) Lucknow

46. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, who

recently visited India, has been elected to the

post of

(a) 73rd

President of the United Nations General

Assembly

(b) President of International Labor

Organization

(c) Director General of UN Women


47. Maitree 2018 which has been concluded

recently is a joint military exercise between

which of the following two countries?

(a) India and Russia (b) India and USA

(c) India and Thailand (d) India and Israel

48. The Indian Council for Agricultural

Research (ICAR) has sounded the alarm after

the invasive agricultural pest, Fall Armyworm

(Spodoptera frugiperda), was discovered in

Karnataka this July. In 2016, which crop was

ruined in Africa by this pest?

(a) Mustard (b) Barley

(c) Wheat (d) Rice

49. According to the Union Health Ministry,

which three northeast states have emerged as a

new hotspots of HIV?

(a) Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura

(b) Assam, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh

(c) Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim

(d) Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and

Meghalaya

50. Article 35A of the Indian Constitution was

in news recently. What is the provision in this

article?

(a) The right to decide the presence of Indian

Army in Jammu and Kashmir by the State

Assembly

(b) State Assembly‘s right to define the

permanent residents of the state



(c) The right to declare the date of elections for

the state assembly by the state assembly

(d) Right of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly to

declare independence of the state

51. China in August, 2018 tested the first

hypersonic aircraft capable of carrying nuclear

warheads what is the name of this aircraft?

(a) Dongfeng-3 (b) Shenzhen-2

(c) Shenzhou-2 (d) Xingkong-2

52. Which India state has announced the

implementation of the PET bottles and milk

pouch buyback scheme, which is first of its

kind in the country?

(a) Sikkim (b) Himachal Pradesh

(c) Maharashtra (d) Goa

53. Which of the following is/are correct about

the Women‘s Hockey World Cup 2018?

(a) The Netherlands became the champion

(b) The Netherlands have been crowned the

world champions for a record eighth time.

(c) India finished the tournament at the 8th

spot.

(d) All of the above

54. On the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee

celebration of which State Assembly, in

August, the President Ram Nath Kovind

inaugurated the ‗festival of democracy‘?

(a) Bihar Assembly

(b) Maharashtra Assembly

(c) Kerala Assembly

(d) Uttar Pradesh Assembly

55. Which of the following is correct about the

‗Project Mausam‘?

(a) Project ‗Mausam‘ is the initiative of

Ministry of Culture

(b) Project ‗Mausam‘ is the initiative of

Ministry of Environment

(c) Project ‗Mausam‘ is the initiative of

Ministry of Defence

(d) None of these

56. Which state has got the highest ranking in

the Bureau of Energy Efficiency and NITI

Aayog‘s State Energy Efficiency Preparedness

Index‘ 2018 (SEEPI)?

(a) Andhra Pradesh (b) Kerala

(c) Telangana (d) Maharashtra

57. Which state‘s agency advised people not to

go to the Baga beach after ‗Portuguese Man of

War‘ (marine species like jelly) was seen in the

sea water?

(a) Kerala (b) Goa

(c) Odisha (d) Andhra Pradesh

58. Who among the following became the first

Japanese to win the men‘s singles title at World

Badminton Championships in 2018?

(a) Yugo Kobayashi (b) Kento Momota

(c) Takeshi Kamura (d) Keigo Sonoda

59. What is ‗Krishna Kutir‘ established by the

Ministry of Women and Child Development?

(a) Low cost ashram for tourists

(b) Free food huts in Delhi

(c) New orphanage in Kolkata

(d) Widow Ashram located in Vrindavan

60. UNESCO has included which Indian

biosphere reserve in the list of World Network

of Biosphere Reserve (WNBR) at the 30th

Session of the Man and Biosphere International

Coordinating Council?

(a) Jim Corbet National Park

(b) Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve

(c) Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve

(d) Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve

61. Who among the following has been elected

as the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha?

(a) Ananth Kumar (b) Ram Gopal Yadav

(c) B K Hariprasad (d) Harivansh Narayan

Singh

62. Which one of the following is incorrect

about TRAI?

(a) Dr. Ram Sewak Sharma has been

reappointed the Chairman of Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) till 30th

September 2020

(b) Recently, he triggered a debate around

safety of Aadhaar by tweeting his Aadhar

number and challenging Twitter users to cause

any harm from the knowledge of the number

(c) TRAI is a statutory body set up by the

government of India under section 3 of the

TRAI Act, 1997

(d) Its headquarters is located in Mumbai



63. With reference to TrackFin, which was

recently in the news, consider the following

statements:

1. It is the initiative of the World Health

Organization (WHO).

2. It is methodology to identify and track

financing to the water, sanitation and hygiene

(WASH) sector.

Which of the above statement/statements is/are

true?

(a) Only 1 (b) Only 2

(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1nor2

64. The Ministry of Road Transport and

Highways has proposed to lift the ban on night

traffic through Bandipur Tiger Reserve. In

which state is this Tiger Reserve located?

(a) Madhya Pradesh (b) Maharashtra

(c) Uttar Pradesh (d) Karnataka


appointed the new chairperson of the National

Commission for Women (NCW)?

(a) Rekha Sharma (b) Jayanti Patnaik

(c) Lalitha Kumaramangalam

(d) Alphons Kannanthanam

66. The Drugs Technical Advisory Board has

advised the Central Government to lift the ban

on the retail sale of Oxytocin. Why did the

central government banned the sale of this life-

saving drug at retail chemist shops?

(a) Misuse of Oxytocin in poultry for the rapid

growth of chicken

(b) Misuse of Oxytocin to keep fish fresh

(c) Misuse of Oxytocin in the dairy sector to

increase milk production


67. Who is the author of the book ‗The Wheel

of Justice‘?

(a) Salman Khursheed (b) Jhumpa Lahiri

(c) Kailash Satyarthi (d) Veerappa Moily

68. Lok Sabha passed the 123rd

Constitution

Amendment Bill in August, 2018, this bill is

related to which one of the following?

(a) Land Acquisition

(b) Constitutional status to National

Commission for Backward Classes

(c) Constitutional status to National

Commission for Schedule Castes


69. Which of the following statements is/are

correct associated with recent fire in the forest

of California?

(a) The fire in the forests of California, which

has been called ‗Carr Fire‘, is so large and hot

that it has developed its own local weather

system.

(b) The forest fire like this has the capability to

form ‗Pyrocumulus clouds‘.

(c) Such clouds look like mushrooms,


70. Akshay Venkatesh of Indian origin has

been awarded Fields Medal of Mathematics.

Consider the following statements related to the

Fields Medal:

1. The medals are awarded every four years.

2. Mathematicians only below 40 years of age,

are chosen for this medal.

3. The medal is named after the Canadian

mathematician.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

(a) only 1 (b) 2 and 3

(c) 1 and 3 (d) 1, 2 and 3

71. According to a recent research, the world‘s

largest King Penguin colony has been shrunk

by nearly 90% What is the name of the world‘s

largest King Penguin colony?

(a) lle de Brehat (b) lle aux Cochons

(c) Bora Bora (d) lle Saint Honorat


Indo-South Korean relations:

1. South Korean President Moon Jae-in has

launched a foreign initiative called New

Southern Policy.

2. An aim of this policy is to increase

engagement with India and the ASEAN

countries.



(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2

73. Which crop was reported to be affected by

the Pink bollworm?

(a) Banana (b) Wheat

(c) Mango (d) Cotton

74. Which state government has announced to

observe the Independence Day as ‗Shaheed

Samman Divas‘?



(a) Uttar Pradesh (b) Rajasthan

(c) Uttarakhand (d) Madhya Pradesh

75. Which of the following regarding

IMPRINT-2 scheme are not correct:

1. IMPRINT is the first of its kind

government supported initiative to address the

major science and

engineering challenges that India must address

and champion to enable, empower and

embolden the nation for inclusive growth and

self-reliance.

2. The initiative will be jointly funded and

steered by MHRD and

Department of telecommunication. Which of

the above statements is/are correct?



76. Name the programme launched by Ministry

of Railways to spread awareness about Indian

Railways Heritage?

(a) The Great History of India

(b) Digital Screens

(c) Digital Stories

(d) None of these

77. Which entity has been named as a

‗Knowledge Partner‘ to the Banks Board

Bureau (BBB)?

(a) Edelweiss Consultants

(b) Egon Zehnder International

(c) E &Y Consultants Pvt Ltd

(d) Mark Tucker Consultants Ltd

78. Which of the following multi-purpose

missile defense system, jointly developed by

India and Israel, that is to be procured by the

Israeli Navy?

(a) Shakthi -II (b) Minaaz-IV

(c) Barak-8 (d) None of these

79. Which the following is related to the

‗CORDEX‘ which was in the news recently?

(a) Climate change (b) Genetically modified

seed of cotton

(c) Corporate Index (d) None of the above

80. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires

Index, Mukesh Ambani became the richest

Person of Asia surpassing

(a) Wang Jialin (b) Li Shing

(c) Jack Ma (d) Li Shu Ki


Swadesh Darshan scheme:

1. The first project under Swadesh Darshan

Scheme ‗North East Circuit: Imphal and

Khongjom‖ was inaugurated in Manipur.

2. The project covers two sites i.e. Kangla Fort

and Khongjom in Manipur.




82. Which of the following has been named as

the World Book Capital for 2019 UNESCO?

(a) New Delhi (b) Sharjah

(c) Canberra (d) Kolkata


Sabarmati Ashram

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has

inaugurated the centenary celebrations of

Sabarmati Ashrma in Ahmedabad.

2. The Prime Minister has also released the coin

and postal stamp in the hour of Shrimad

Rajchandraji on his 150th

birth anniversary at

Abhay Ghat.




84. Which of the following is incorrect about

PETCOKE?

(a) Ministry of Commerce and Industry has

banned import of petcoke for use as fuel

(b) Government has allowed its import of only

for use as feedstock in some select industries

such as cement, lime kiln, calcium carbide and

gasification industries.

(c) India is the world‘s third largest consumer

of petcoke.

(d) It is dark solid carbon material.

85. Consider the following statements:

1. National Wildlife Genetic Resource Bank

was inaugurated at CCMB Laboratory of

Conservation of Endangered.

2. It is India‘s first genetic resource bank where

genetic material will be stored for posterity

which will further the cause of conservation of

endangered and protected animals.






86. Under the Indian government‘s ‗Digital

North East Vision 2022‘ the first electronic

manufacturing cluster in the northeastern region

was inaugurated at which of the following

places?

(a) Kohima (b) Naharlagun

(c) Guwahati (d) Agartala

87. RUCO (Repurpose Used Cooking Oil)

initiative has been launched by

(a) National Disaster Management Authority

(b) Food Safely and Standards Authority of

India

(c) Indian Oil (d) Bharat Petroleum

88. At the 2018 WHC, the Panini Language

Laboratory has been gifted by government of

India to which country?

(a) France (b) Israel

(c) Mauritius (d) Australia

89. The FSSAI has constituted which expert

committee to look into draft of Food Safety and

Standards (Labeling and Display) Regulations

2018?

(a) B Sesikeran committee

(b) Nikhil Tandon committee

(c) V P Santhanam Committee

(d) R P Joshi Committee


Somnath Chatterjee

1. He was Speaker of Lok Sabha (House of the

People) in first five-year term (2004-09) of

United Progressive Alliance Government.

2. He was elected to Lok Sabha (Parliament‘s

Lower House) for ten times since 1971 (except

once when he lost to Mamata Banerjee in the

Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency in 1984.)

Which of the above statements/s is/are correct?


(c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1nor 2

91. Which of the following statements is

incorrect about Insolvency and Bankruptcy

Code (Amendment) Bill, 2018?

(a) It will bring relief to home buyers and

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

(MSMEs).

(b) The Bill replaces ordinance promulgated in

this regard and amends Insolvency and

Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

(c) The Bill recognizes home buyers as

financial creditors in the real estate project.

(d) It will allow home buyers to invoke Section

14 of IBC 2016 against errant developers.

92. The Amnesty International India has

launched which campaign to create awareness

among children to identify sexual abuse?

(a) Safety is in Your Hands (b) Our Safety, Our

Rights

(c) Save Child, Save Future


93. Who has become first Indian women

wrestler to bag gold at the 18th

Asian Games

2018?

(a) Vinesh Phogat (b) Pooja Dhanda

(c) Virendra Malik (d) Naveen Hooda

94. Anti-Tank Guided Missile ‗Helina‘ is

helicopter-launched version of which missile?

(a) Prithvi (b) Aakash

(c) Nag (d) Agni

95. Which committee has been constituted by

the Central government to coordinate the

discharge of floodwaters from Kerala-Tamil

Nadu inter-State projects?

(a) M S Das committee

(b) Narendra Kumar committee

(c) Ajit Doval committee

(d) V P Mehta committee

96. Which of the following statements is/are

incorrect about 2018 International Yoga Day?

(a) The 5th

International Yoga day was

celebrated on June 26, 2018.

(b) The theme this year was ‗Yoga for Peace‖

(c) The day‘s cerebration in India were led by

Prime Minister Narendra modi from Dehradun,

Uttarakhand


97. Which of the following IITs of India has

unveiled world‘s first remotely operable Local

Electrode Atom Probe (LEAP) microscope?

(a) IIT Kharagpur (b) IIT Madras

(c) IIT Bombay (d) IIT Delhi



98. Which country has topped the 2018 ‗Soft

Power 30‘ index?

(a) France (b) The USA

(c) Australia (d) United Kingdom

99. Which country to host the biennial multi-

national large force employment warfare

exercise ‗Pitch Black 2018?

(a) India (b) Australia

(c) Canada (d) Japan

100. Who has been named the first-ever female

High Court Chief Justice of Pakistan?

(a) Asifa Quraishi (b) Riffat Hassan

(c) Maria Ulfah (d) Tahira Safdar

Answer Key CLATFOCUS August - 2018

Q. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Ans. A C B B C B D D C C

Q. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Ans. D C B A C D B C D D

Q. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.

Ans. C D C D D C D B D B

Q. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.

Ans. D A D C A D D D B D

Q. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.

Ans. A A B D D A C C A B

Q. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60.

Ans. D C D C A A B B D C

Q. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70.

Ans. D D C D A C D B D D

Q. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80.

Ans. B C D D B B B C A C

Q. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90.

Ans. C B C C C C B C A A

Q. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100.

Ans. D B A D B A B D B D

MOCK CLAT - 02...CRACK CLAT TUTORIALS Study Material is for internal circulation. This booklet is...

Documents

Transcript of MOCK CLAT - 02...CRACK CLAT TUTORIALS Study Material is for internal circulation. This booklet is...