CLATGyan July 2017 Compendium 8th July to 15th July

8th July

122 members of the United Nations have voted in favour of a historic global treaty banning
nuclear weapons. Netherlands was the only country to vote against it while Singapore
abstained from voting. The 9 nuclear powers of the world- Russia, USA, India, Britain, China,
France, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel didnt take part in the negotiations and didnt cast
their vote.
The 12th G20 summit being held in Hamburg, Germany saw the leaders agreeing to take
concrete steps to stop funding of terror activities and a joint crackdown on the global network
of terrorism. The Group of 20 was started in 1999 as a meeting of Finance Ministers and
Central Bank Governors post the South-east Asian financial crisis.
India plans to invite 10 leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as chief
Guests for the 2018 Republic Day celebrations, the first Republic Day event to have multiple
chief Guests. ASEAN consists of 10 countries namely- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
India and Bangladesh have agreed to construct a bridge over Mizorams Khawthlangtuipui
River to initiate and encourage trade and communication between the two nations.
Harinder Pal Sandhu from India has won the South Australian Open squash title after
defeating Rhys Dowling from Australia.
National Security Guard has organized the first International Aviation security seminar for all
stakeholders involved.
The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management under the Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion has launched the Scheme for IPR Awareness- Creative India; Innovative India,
taking forward the National Intellectual Property Rights Policy 2016. The scheme is for
raising IPR awareness amongst the young entrepreneurs.

9th July

In educationally backward districts, the Union Government has proposed to open residential
schools for scheduled caste girls. The schools are set to have classes from VI to XII and 70%
of the seats are set to be reserved for SC girls and the rest for BPL families in other categories.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site committee on 9th July, added Valongo Wharf
Archaeological Site in the list of UNESCO World Heritage List. The committee stated the

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Valongo, located in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, was the most important landmark symbolising
and tracing arrival of African slaves in the American continent.
A global treaty was passed recently in the United Nations seeking a ban of nuclear weapons.
122 countries voted in favour of the treaty, while Netherlands voted against the same and
Brazil abstained. The treaty saw a lot of opposition from nuclear powers like United States,
Britain and France who boycotted the negotiations.
The G-20 summit finished in Hamburg, Germany with the adoption of the Hamburg
Plan to address problems like climate change, sustainable livelihoods and global health.
India, Japan and United States have kicked off the 2017 MALABAR trilateral naval
exercise near Chennai in Bay of Bengal.
India is set to join the Global Foreign exchange Committee, a forum of central bankers and
experts collaborating for the promotion of a transparent foreign exchange market. The GFXC
was established in London in May 2017. It has been set up under the guidance of the Bank
for International Settlements.

10th July
India will be importing crude oil from the United States for the first time. India is the
worlds third-largest oil importer.
The 600-year old walled city of Ahmedabad (located on the banks of Sabarmati river) was
declared a World Heritage City by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO after its meet
in Karlow, Poland. It is the first Indian city to get this honour. This city was founded by Sultan
Ahmed Shah I of Gujarat Sultanate in 1411.
The Union government has merged the Ministries of Urban Development and
Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation to form the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
The Union government now has 51 ministries.
President of India, Pranab Mukherjee launched 4 digital initiatives to push e-education
on Guru Purnima. These are- swayam, Swayam Prabha, National Academic Depository and
National Digital Library.
The Union Ministry for Finance has launched Aaykar Setu, a new tax payer service module
which will have various facilities like tax tools, live chat, links to different processes in the
Income Tax Department in a single module.

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11th July

Under the Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme(DBT), the Union Government declared that it
has saved a sum of about 57,000 crore in 2016-17. It is a scheme about checking graft in
welfare scheme and transferring central subsidies directly to bank accounts of beneficiaries.
Karnataka Government has constituted a nine-member committee to study the possibility
of designing a separate state flag and providing it a statutory standing. The committee was
constituted following representation of social activists from the state urged the government to
design a separate flag for Kannada naadu and accord statutory standing for it. There is no
constitutional prohibition to the same, and the state of Jammu and Kashmir has a state flag of
its own due to special status under Article 370.
Ashiana Annexe, comprising of 12 low cost dwelling units in Dehradun,
Uttarakhand was recently inaugurated by the President, Pranab Mukherjee. It has been
constructed to accommodate officers and staff of Rashtrapati Bhavan during Presidential
visits to the Retreat at Ashiana. These 12 dwelling units at the Ashiana Annexe were
constructed using the Habitech-NivaraTantra Onsite Sanitation Integrated Community
Housing Technology Innovations developed at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) which
is sustainable and environment friendly.
Tamil Nadu has reported its first case of Zika virus in a 27-year-old man from a village in
Krishnagiri district. RT-PCR test conducted on patients blood, urine and throat samples were
found to be positive for Zika. This is the second case in India, the first case being from
Ahmedabad.
Scientists from New Zealand for the first time have claimed that vaccine can protect against
the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhoea. They have found that Men B jab vaccine
originally developed to stop an outbreak of meningitis B can protect from gonorrhoea.
The World Population Day is celebrated every year on the 11th of July to draw it attention
to the population crisis. It talks about various population issues like family planning, gender
inequality, poverty and maternal health. It was established by the United Nations
Development Project in 1989.
Scientists from the Northwestern University in the United States have created miniature
versions of Saturn, complete with rings, by electrifying tiny droplets of fluids. The future
advance research may pave the way for generating microscopic and uniform particles and
capsules which are used in products such as drugs, inks, cosmetics and paints. It will also
explore new materials that can be used to produce ring of particles effect.

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Okinoshima Island, Japans men-only island was declared as a UNESCO world heritage
site. The island will be the 17th set of Japanese cultural assets to be granted this status and
overall 21st in the list. It still follow strict taboos from ancient times, including the
controversial ban on women from entering the island.

12th July

According to the OECD-FAO agricultural outlook 2017-2026, India will become the worlds
largest milk producer by 2026 and will have the biggest increase in wheat production globally.
The Union Cabinet has approved the Joint Interpretative Notes (JIN) on the Agreement
between India and Bangladesh for the Promotion and Protection of Investments. JIN will play
a role in strengthening the investment treaty regime.
The Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of International Rise Research Institute
named as the IRRI South Asia Regional Centre that will be set up in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
The National Green Tribunal has imposed a national blanket ban on the use of kite strings
(manja), made of nylon or any synthetic materials as it poses a threat to animals and humans.
This judgment came as a result of a plea filed by the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA).
5 states- Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Telangana, Arunachal Pradesh and a Union
Territory, Puducherry, have signed a memorandum of understanding to join the Central
Governments Government e-Marketplace This platform will facilitate the procurement of
goods and services by various ministries and agencies of the Government.
Rajasthan has become the first state in India to fix the minimum educational qualifications for
contesting election to village cooperative societies and various other cooperative bodies. The
required qualifications will range from Class V to Class VIII.
Indian cricket team captain, Mithali Raj, has become the first player in the history of womens
ODI cricket to score more than 6000 career runs. This happened during the ICC womens
world cup 2017 at Bristol.
Ravi Shastri has been appointed as the new chief coach of the Indian Cricket Team till ICC
world Cup 2019. He will be succeeding Anil Kumble after he resigned.
NASAs unmanned spacecraft Juno has become the first space probe to complete flyby of
Jupiters Great Red Spot which is a storm measuring around 16,000km in diameter. It is the
largest known storm in the solar system.

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13th July

Chinas democracy icon and nobel laureate, Liu Xiaobo, passed away recently in custody
following a battle cancer. Liu was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for his long and non-
violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China. He is also known for his role in 1989
Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing.
Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management (DGARM),was set up the Union
Government under the Central Board of Excise and Customs. It is a new wing to provide
intelligence inputs taking action against tax evaders. It was also provide big data analytics for
taxmen for better policy formulation.
Indias first Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) at Patent Information
Centre, Punjab by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion(DIPP). Amongst
the objectives of the Center is to stimulate a dynamic, vibrant and balanced Intellectual
Property Rights (IPRs) system in India to foster creativity and innovation.
The National Green Tribunal declared No-Development Zone along an area of 100
metres from the edge of river Ganga in the stretch between Haridwar in Uttarakhand and
Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. It passed a slew of directions, measures, fines, and strict deadlines to
rejuvenate River Ganga. This zone must be turned into green belts according to the NGT.
EBLM J0555-57Ab, the smallest star in the universe, was recently discovered by scientists
from the University of Cambridge. The star was identified by SuperWASP, a planet-finding
experiment run by several universities. It was detected when it passed in front of its larger
parent star, forming an eclipsing stellar binary system.
A state-of-the-art, indigenously developed S-band doppler weather radar (DWR) of India
Meteorological Department (IMD) was commissioned at Palluruthy in West Kochi, Kerala.
It was manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited on the basis of technology offered by
ISRO. It is capable of predicting weather events such as storms and cyclones, other severe
weather conditions occurring in 500-km radius from Kochi with increased accuracy.
The Indian Railways has launched RailCloud, a virtual server with an inbuilt security
system that will enable faster connectivity at a reduced cost. Rail Cloud works on popular
Cloud Computing system. Cloud computing is an emerging technology for faster and on
demand commensurate deployment of server resources which results in reduced cost.
The Army was empowered by the Union Government to directly procure critical
weapons systems and military platforms to maintain combat readiness for short duration

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intense wars. The purpose of this new scheme is to maintain an optimum level to fight short
intense wars following critical voids in capabilities of Army.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval for
upgradation and widening of 65 kms of Imphal-Moreh Section of NH-39 in Manipur. The
Imphal-Moreh Section is a vital link in providing road connectivity up to Thailand and
Malaysia. It will boost trade, commerce and tourism in the region.

14th July

The 22nd World Petroleum Congress International Conference was held in Istanbul, Turkey.
Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Mister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas represented India
at the Conference. The theme of the congress was Bridges to our energy future.
India has contributed $1 million more to the India-UN development partnership Fund after its
initial contribution of $1 million. The fund was launched to support sustainable development
projects across the developing world.
India has been ranked 116 out of 157 countries on the 2017 Sustainable Development Goal
Index and Dashboard report released by Sustainable Development Solutions Network and
Bertelsmann Stiftung. The ranking is on the basis of countries performance in the 17 SDGs.
Sweden(1st), Denmark(2nd) and Finland(3rd) topped the list.
President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to the Maharashtra Prohibition of People
from Social Boycott (Prevent, Prohibition and Redressal) Bill, 2016. It is the first state to
punish social boycott through a law.
Indian Railways has launched the countrys first solar powered diesel multiple unit (DEMU)
broad gauge train. The train will run from Sarai Rohilla in Delhi to Farukh Nagar in Haryana.
Aarthi Subramanian has been appointed as TATA Groups chief digital officer.
For the first time, India will be host of the International Theatre Olympics (8thedition). The 51
day carnival will commence on February 17, 2018.
Indian astronomers have identified extremely large supercluster of galaxies which has been
named Saraswati.

15th July

A defence expenditure bill was recently passed by the United States House of
Representatives worth $621.5 billion in order to defence cooperation with India. The house
passed an amendment to National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA), Indiarelated
amendment in the bill was adopted by a voice vote in the House by 344-81. Now, NDAA

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needs to be passed by the US Senate before it can be sent to US President Donald Trump to
sign into law. The NDAA 2017 had earlier designated India as a major defence partner of the
United States.
Twenty one year old Sundar Singh Gurjar won gold medalin the mens javelin throw event
at World Para Athletics Championships held in London, United Kingdom. In the F46
category, Sundar recorded his personal best effort of 60.36m ahead of Dinesh Priyantha
Herath (Sri Lanka) and Guo Chunliang (China).
In a Customer Satisfaction Index Survey(CSI) Survey, Raipurs Swami Vivekananda
Airport ranked first amongst 49 other airports. It was followed by Udaipur and Amritsar
respectively in the survey.
India and European Union (EU) have established Investment Facilitation Mechanism
(IFM) for EU Investments in India. The mechanism will allow for a close coordination
between EU and India with an aim to promote and facilitate EU investment in India. It comes
with an objective to solve main problems faced by European investors in India.
India has topped in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Developments (OECD) Government at a Glance 2017 report. It states that Narendra Modi
led NDA coalition has secured 73% trust of people, highest in the world. OECDs
Government at a Glance report presents an index of countries that trust their governments the
most.
World Youth Skills Day is observed every year on the 15th of July to raise awareness about
youth skills and awareness. The theme for 2017 is Skills for All. On the occasion, United
Nations along with WorldSkills.org have organised campaigns #SkillsForAll and #WYSD.