June

1,
2018
GROWTH RATE
India’s GDP registered a growth rate of 6.7% in FY18, down from 7.1% in FY17, and is the
lowest since FY14.

ADVENTURE TOURISM
In May 2018, Tourism minister launched the guidelines on Safety and Quality Norms for
Adventure Tourism in India.
About:

 India has immense potential for adventure tourism ranging from the Himalayas to the coastal
regions.
 These guidelines cover land, air and water based activities which include mountaineering, trekking,
bungee jumping, paragliding, kayaking, scuba diving, snorkeling, river rafting and many other sports.

KIMBHO
In May 2018, Patanjali launched a new messaging app Kimbho on a Trial Basis. It will be
launched officially later.
About:

 Launched with the tagline Ab Bharat Bolega, the app was positioned as a desi answer to WhatsApp.
 Kimbho, in common Sanskrit parley, is a phrase that is used to ask about someone’s well-being.
Kimbho can be said to be the Sanskrit equivalent of ‘Hello, how are you’ or ‘What’s up’.

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COCONUT CULTIVATION
In May 2018, Government of India announced that India has become the leading country in
coconut production and productivity.
About:

 India has made unprecedented progress in coconut cultivation from mid-2014 to 2018.
 Productivity: Productivity increased to 11516 fruits per hectare in 2017-18 as compared to 10122 in
2013-14.
 Area under cultivation: During 2014-2018, 13,117 hectares was brought under new plantation as
compared to 9,561 hectares during 2010-2014.
 Export of coconut:
o Owing to an increase in production of coconut, India has been exporting coconut oil to
Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka since April 2017. Till March 2017, India was importing
coconut oil.
o Also, for the first time India has been exporting dry coconut in large quantities to the U.S
and European countries.
 Skill development: Under the skill development program for coconut sector ‘Friends of Coconut
Tree’, 33,228 unemployed youths have been trained as compared to 27,770 in 2004-14.

PRADHAN MANTRI GRAM SADAK YOJANA (PMGSY)

In May 2018, the Government of India and the World Bank signed a $500 million loan
agreement to provide additional financing for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
(PMGSY) Rural Roads Project.
About:

 it was launched in 2000 for providing all-weather road connectivity to every rural habitation with
a minimum population of 500 in the plains and 250-plus in hill states, tribal districts and desert areas.
 It is implemented by Ministry of Rural Development. The World Bank has supported PMGSY since its
inception.
 In order to implement this, an Online Management, Monitoring and Accounting System or OMMAS
GIS system was developed to identify targets and monitor progress. It is developed by e-governance
department of C-DAC Pune and is one of the biggest databases in India.

PRESS COUNCIL OF INDIA (PCI)

In May 2018, the Government of India reconstituted the Press Council of India for a three-
year term.
About:

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 Origin: The Press Council of India was first set up in the year 1966 by the Parliament on the
recommendations of the First Press Commission.
 Status: It is a statutory body functioning under the Press Council Act, 1978.
 Objective: Preserving the freedom of the press and of maintaining and improving the standards of
press in India.
 Function: It is a quasi-judicial authority. It adjudicates the complaints against and by the press for
violation of ethics and for violation of the freedom of the press respectively.
 Funding:
o The Council is funded by the revenue collected by it as fee levied on the registered
newspapers in the country on the basis of their circulation. No fee is levied on newspapers
with circulation less than 5000 copies.
o The deficit is made good by way of grant by the Central Government.
 Structure:
o Chairman: The Press Council is headed by a Chairman, who has by convention, been a
retired judge of the Supreme Court of India.
o Members: The Council consists of 28 other members of whom
 20 represent the press and are nominated by the press organisations/news
agencies,
 5 members are nominated from the two Houses of Parliament and
 3 represent cultural, literary and legal fields as nominees of the Sahitya Academy,
University Grants Commission and the Bar Council of India.
o Tenure: The members serve on the Council for a term of three years. A retiring member
shall be eligible for re-nomination for not more than one term.

BURQA BAN
In May 2018, Denmark became the latest European country to ban the Islamic full-face veil
in public spaces. It has introduced a fine for burqas or niqabs as well as balaclavas and
face-covering false beards.
It has not imposed any ban on headscarves, turbans or the traditional Jewish skull cap.
Global scenario:

 Nationwide ban:
o France (since 2011), Belgium (2011), Bulgaria (2016), Latvia (2016) and Austria (2017) in
Europe; besides Tajikistan, Gabon, Morocco, Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
 Partial ban:
o Germany approved a partial burqa ban last year, extending to women in civil service,
judiciary and military and drivers.

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o Other European countries with partial bans are Italy (in Lombardy region), Spain (Barcelona,
some towns in Catalonia), Norway (some schools), Switzerland (Ticino), Kosovo (schools),
Bosnia and Herzegovina (judicial institutions).
o Beyond Europe, countries with partial bans include China (Xinjiang), Russia (Stavropol),
Australia (New South Wales, where a person must remove a face covering when asked to do
so by an official), Syria, Canada (Quebec), Congo and Egypt (Cairo University).

MYCOPLASMA BOVIS CATTLE DISEASE

In May 2018, New Zealand, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, announced that it will spend
more than $600 million to eradicate the mycoplasma bovis cattle disease.
About:

 Mycoplasma bovis can lead to conditions such as udder infection, pneumonia and arthritis in
affected cattle, but does not pose a food safety risk or any risk to humans.
 The disease, which is common in many countries, was first detected in New Zealand at a farm in the
South Island in July 2017.

MEGACHIRELLA
In May 2018, Scientists announced that they had tracked down the oldest known lizard, a
tiny creature that lived about 240 million years ago when Earth had a single continent and
dinosaurs were brand new.
About:

 Scans of the fossilised skeleton of Megachirella revealed the

chameleon-sized reptile was an ancestor of today’s lizards
and snakes, which belong to a group called squamates.
 This finding means that “lizards inhabited the planet since at
least 240 million years ago.
 Megachirella, discovered some 20 years ago buried in
compacted sand and clay layers in the Dolomites mountain
range in northeast Italy, was initially misclassified as a close
lizard relative.

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