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Contents
......................... ..... . . ......... ................................................................
News Headlines ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 3
July 16, 2018 .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
July 17, 2018 .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 18
July 18, 2018 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22
July 19, 2018 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 26
July 20, 2018 .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 30
July 21, 2018 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 34
July 23, 2018 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 38
July 24, 2018 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 41
July 25, 2018 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 45
July 26, 2018 .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 50
July 27, 2018 .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 54
July 28, 2018 .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 59
July 30, 2018 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 61
July 31, 2018 ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 65
Multiple Choice Questions .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 69
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
News Headlines
Current Affairs – News Headlines: July 16
India
UP: PM inaugurates the Bansagar Canal Project in Mirzapur
171 km long Bansagar canal project is a joint venture of a JV of UP, MP and Bihar
UP: PM lays foundation stone of Mirzapur Medical College, inaugurates 100 Pradhan Mantri Jan
Aushadhi Kendras and a bridge over Ganga
President addresses the Shiromani Kabir Prakat Diwas (Kabir Jayanti) in Fatehabad, Haryana
ISRO conducts ground test of its high thrust version of the Vikas Engine to improve payload
capability of its launch vehicles
Census 2011 data: 24,821 people have registered Sanskrit as their mother tongue
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad unveils the Goa IT Policy 2018 in Panaji
Carnatic vocalist Aruna Sairam selected for 2018 ‘Sangita Kalanidhi’ award of the Music Academy,
Chennai
Economy & Corporate
Fertiliser major IFFCO partners with Singapore-based iMandi to start an e-commerce platform for
farmers
India becomes the Vice Chair of the Asia Pacific Region of World Customs Organisation (WCO) for 2
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
VI-XII students
Economy & Corporate
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation accelerates to over 4-year high of 5.77 per cent in June
IMF cuts India’s growth projections for 2018-19 to 7.3% and for 2019-20 to 7.5% in its latest World
Economic Outlook (WEO) Update
Empanelled hospitals to have Ayushman Mitra to assist patients seeking treatment under Centre’s
National Heath Protection Mission (NHPM)
Indian Railways signs agreement with Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation to create a mass rapid
transit system in Nagpur
India becomes regional head of the Asia Pacific region of the World Customs Organisation
BEL enters into an agreement with Swedish firm Saab for marketing air-surveillance radar
LIC board approves acquisition of up to 51% stake in IDBI Bank
First all-women branch of Jammu & Kashmir Bank inaugurated in Srinagar
Yamaha Cygnus Ray ZR ‘Street Rally’ scooter launched at Rs 57,898
World
US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin start their 1st bilateral
meeting in Helsinki, Finland
UK tops the 2018 ‘Soft Power 30’ Index –Singh
Vineet an| vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com
annual global| ranking of nations’ soft power
Former CEC Neel Kantha Uprety appointed as Nepal’s new ambassador to India
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj calls on King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa in
Manama
A Cygnus cargo spacecraft leaves International Space Station (ISS) after raising the station’s altitude
by about 86 meters
Eritrea reopens its embassy in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, more than 20 years after the two
countries broke off relations
BBC World Service launches its first Gujarati language television news bulletin
Haiti: PM Jack Guy Lafontant resigns
Sports
France beat Croatia 4-2 in final in Moscow to win FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup: England’s Harry Kane wins Golden Boot award as top scorer with 6 goals
FIFA World Cup: Croatia captain Luka Modric wins Golden Ball for best player
USA wins inaugural edition of the Athletics World Cup in London
India top medals tally at Golden Glove of Vojvodina youth boxing tournament in Subotica, Serbia
with 7 gold medals
Former India off-spinner Ramesh Powar appointed the interim coach of national women’s cricket
team
India’s Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan & USA’s Austin Krajicek win Men’s Doubles title at Challenger
tennis in Winnetka, USA
Current Affairs – News Headlines: July 18
India
SC asks Parliament to consider enacting a new law to effectively deal with incidents of mob lynching
MoU signed between IIT Delhi and All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) to give ‘scientific validation’
to Ayurveda
Mumbai: Western Railway renames Elphinstone Road Station as Prabhadevi
Govt renews appointment of Prof D. Sahasrabudhe as AICTE chairman
Actress Rita Bhaduri dies in Mumbai at 62
Economy & Corporate
BSE secures trademark for its iconic building Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers at Dalal Street in Mumbai
Steel ministry agrees to introduce a pension scheme for its CPSEs like SAIL and RINL
Akshay Kumar (76th) and Salman Khan (82nd) in Forbes list of World’s Top 100 Highest-paid
Entertainers
Proposed amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules make it mandatory for all commercial
vehicles to have automatic toll-deduction stickers and vehicle-tracking devices to obtain national
permits
IMF cuts India’s growth projections to 7.3% in 2018 and 7.5% in 2019 in its latest World Economic
Outlook (WEO) Update
OECD Development Centre pegs Indian economy’s growth at 7.4% in 2018-19
World
EU and Japan sign deal to create a free trade zone covering nearly a third of the world’s GDP
Peru declares a 60-day state of emergency on its border with Colombia
UN enters into a partnership with Google to monitor the impacts of human activity on global
ecosystems
Britain to set up its first vertical launch spaceport at Sutherland in the north of Scotland
Yvonne Blake, ‘Superman’ costume designer, dies at 78
World Emoji Day celebrated on July 17
Internet-based instant messaging service Yahoo! Messenger shuts down permanently
Sports
Hima Das, who won gold in women’s 400 m at IAAF World Under-20 Championships in Finland, to
be appointed first sports ambassadorVineetof Assam
Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
EU slaps Google with 4.34-billion-euro fine for abusing dominance of its Android operating system
Turkey: State of emergency, which was imposed after the failed 2016 coup, ends on July 18
UN observes July 18 as Nelson Mandela International Day
Sports
India’s Neeraj Chopra wins gold in men’s javelin throw at Sotteville Athletics meet in France
Sachin Tendulkar and Middlesex Cricket to launch Tendulkar Middlesex Global Academy (TMGA)
England (260/2 in 44.3) beat India (256/8 in 50) by 8 wickets in 3rd ODI at Leeds; clinch 3-match
series 2-1
Current Affairs – News Headlines: July 20
India
EAM Sushma Swaraj hosting 10th edition of Delhi Dialogue on July 19-20; theme: “Strengthening
India-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation”
WCD Ministry opposed to NITI Aayog’s proposal of Direct Cash Transfer (DCT) for the nutrition
mission ‘Poshan Abhiyaan’ for pregnant and lactating mothers
SC upholds nomination of 3 BJP members as MLAs to Puducherry Assembly by the Centre
National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) announces
appointment of Arman Ali as its executive director
Hardly anything done to clean Ganga,Vineet
situation extraordinarily
Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com | bad: NGT
Rs 1,484 crore spent on PM Modi’s foreign travel since 2014: Govt
Hindi poet and Bollywood lyricist Gopal Das Neeraj dies in Delhi at 93; awarded Padma Shri in 1991
and Padma Bhushan in 2007
Maharashtra: Noted activist Rajmata Satvashila Devi Bhosle dies in Sawantwadi at 83
Economy & Corporate
Lok Sabha passes Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill: Authorities get power to confiscate assets of
loan defaulters who flee the country
Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill passed in Rajya Sabha; giving bribes to public servants
made penal offence
Election Commissioner Sunil Arora opens new manufacturing facility For EVMs at Bharat
Electronics Ltd, Bangalore
Registration certificates given to 1st batch of 16 Registered Valuers at Insolvency & Bankruptcy
Board of India (IBBI) Office in Delhi
RBI to issue new 100 rupee notes in lavender colour having motif of ‘Rani Ki Vav’ – a stepwell in
Gujarat’s Patan district
ISRO signs contracts with 3 vendors to outsource assembly of 27 satellites in the next 3 years
Infosys Foundation signs MoU with Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation for construction of a station
in Electronics City
Board of ONGC approves exiting its helicopter service provider Pawan Hans by selling its entire 49%
stake
Govt hikes sugarcane price by Rs. 20 per quintal to Rs. 275 rupees
World
Mexico’s electoral authorities impose fine of $10 mn on President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez
Obrador’s party for fraudulently using money from a trust fund for earthquake victims in its
campaign
Israel’s parliament adopts a law defining the country as the nation state of the Jewish people
Sports
Michael Stich of Germany and Helena Sukova of Czech Republic inducted into International Tennis
Hall of Fame
East Bengal beat Mohun Bagan on penalties to win U-19 IFA Shield football tournament in Barasat,
West Bengal
Indian men’s hockey team beats New Zealand 4-2 in 1st test of 3-match series in Bengaluru
Current Affairs – News Headlines: July 21
India
The debate on the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government underway in Lok
Sabha
Foreign and defence ministers of India and the US will hold 1st edition of “2+2” strategic dialogue in
Delhi on September 6
SC Collegium reiterates its decision to elevate Uttarakhand Chief Justice K M Joseph as apex court
judge
Ramchandra Singhdeo, veteran Congress leader and first Finance Minister of Chhattisgarh, dies in
Raipur at 88
NABARD launches Centre for Climate Change in Lucknow
WhatsApp launching a test to limit message forwarding to 5 chats for its users in India
Maharashtra govt. announces special package of Rs 21,222 crore for the backward regions of
Vidarbha, Marathwada and North Maharashtra
Economy & Corporate
Rupee declines to a life-time low of 69.12 against the US dollar
India’s foreign exchange reserves declined $ 734.5 million to $ 405.075 billion for the week ended
July 13
Allowing dealings in crypto currencies like
Vineet Singh |Bitcoins will encourage
vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com | illegal transactions: RBI tells SC
Third party insurance for two, four-wheelers should be made mandatory: SC
Maharashtra dairy farmers withdraw stir as govt hikes milk rate to Rs 25/litre
World
Health and Family Welfare Minister J. P. Nadda addresses ‘8th BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting at
Durban, South Africa
Austin Fernando named Sri Lanka’s next High Commissioner to India
Japanese screenwriter-director Shinobu Hashimoto dies in Tokyo at 100
2 killed as Typhoon Son Tinh makes landfall in Vietnam
Sports
International Chess Day celebrated on July 20 to mark the foundation of International Chess
Federation (FIDE) in 1924
Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh appointed Chef de Mission
(CDM) of Indian contingent for 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia
Current Affairs – News Headlines: July 22
India
BJP led NDA govt wins No Confidence motion in Lok Sabha; 325 voted against the motion, 126 in
favour
Home Minister Rajnath Singh launches Student Police Cadet (SPC) programme in Gurugram for
nationwide implementation
Former BJP Rajya Sabha member Chandan Mitra and 4 Congress MLAs join Trinamool Congress in
West Bengal
Most advanced System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) inaugurated at Chandni
Chowk in Delhi
Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar announces setting up of an Industrial Model Township (IMT) in
Mahendragarh district
Gst
Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council revises GST rates on several products
No GST on sanitary pads, rakhis, fortified milk
GST on lithium-ion batteries, vacuum cleaners, mixers, water coolers, washing machines, perfumes,
etc. cut from 28% to 18%
GST on handbags, jewellery box, handmade lamps, wax, brass products, etc. cut from 18% to 12%
GST on ethanol, solid bio-fuel pellets and e-books cut from 18% to 5%
GST on Chenille fabrics, mats made via handlooms, fertilizer-grade phosphoric acid, etc. cut from
12% to 5%
5% GST on footwear priced up to Rs. 1000, 18% GST on footwear priced above Rs.1000
Economy & Corporate
5 central oil PSUs – IOCL, ONGC, GAIL, OIL, and NRL sign agreement for executing the North-East
Natural Gas Pipeline Grid
World
Sri Lanka: Emergency ambulance project funded by India inaugurated
Nepal and China to hold 10-day joint military drill ‘Sagarmatha Friendship-2 from September 10 in
China
United States announces $200 million in security assistance to Ukraine
Sports
Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya breaks women’s 3000m steeplechase world record at IAAF Diamond
League meet in Monaco
Indian Men’s Hockey team beat New Zealand 3-1 in Bengaluru, take unassailable 2-0 lead in 3-Test
series
Women’s Hockey World Cup: India draw with England 1-1 in their opening Pool B match in London
Women’s hockey player Namita Toppo completes 150 international caps for India
Current Affairs – News Headlines: July 23
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
India
UP: Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha inaugurates Regional Rail Training Institute (RRTI)
at Ghazipur
Bihar govt. introduces reservation in promotions to SC and ST personnel in its services
SC asks AIIMS to formulate a national action plan to curb drug abuse in the country before
September 7
IIT-Kanpur develops online tool TreadWill to help people cope with issues related to mental health
NCERT introducing QR code in textbooks to enable students understand chapters better by
watching a film or reading additional content on laptops and digital boards
Economy & Corporate
cuts minimum annual deposit requirement for accounts under Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana to Rs 250
from Rs 1,000 earlier
CBDT directs Income Tax Department to add at least 12.5 million fresh tax filers from across the
country in 2018-19
Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra among 12 Indians in Variety magazine’s list of 500 top global
entertainers
Kalyan Jewellers withdraws ad featuring Amitabh Bachchan and his daughter after objection by
bank unions
World
Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold dies in Los Angeles at 57
French actress Isabelle Huppert to get Lifetime Achievement Award in Rome Film Festival in
October
SPORTS
SAI selects 734 athletes for scholarship under Khelo India Talent Identification Development scheme
2020 Tokyo Olympics mascot named “Miraitowa” – combination of Japanese words for future and
eternity
2020 Tokyo Paralympics mascot named “Someity” — combination of the word for a variety of
Japan’s cherry trees and the English expression “so mighty”
Asia Junior Badminton Championships in Jakarta: India’s Lakshya Sen wins Men’s Singles title
Singapore Open Badminton: Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen (Men’s) and Japan’s Sayaka Takahashi
(Women’s) win Singles titles
Lagos International badminton in Nigeria: India’s Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy win Men’s
Doubles title
Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman becomes quickest batsman to reach 1000 runs in ODIs
Muhammad Anas breaks his own Men’s 400 m national record with a time of 45.24 seconds
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton wins Formula 1 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim
Captain Sunil Chhetri named 2017 Player of the Year by All India Football Federation (AIFF)
Indian men’s hockey team beat Zealand 4-0 in 3rd and final Test to complete a series whitewash in
Bengaluru
Current Affairs – News Headlines: July 24
India
PM Modi meets President of Rwanda Paul Kagame in capital Kigali
Centre constitutes high-level committee headed by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba to suggest
ways and legal framework to effectively deal with incidents of mob violence and lynching
Lok Sabha passes bill to amend the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act; recognises
institutions which are funded by the Centre or states, but do not have recognition under the 1993
law
SC lifts ban on rallies, dharnas or sit-ins at the Jantar Mantar and Boat Club areas in Delhi
A lawmaker, whose conviction in a criminal case has not been stayed by an appellate court, stands
disqualified from the membership of the House: SC
Rakesh Sinha, who was recently nominated to Rajya Sabha, joins BJP
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
Sachin Tendulkar becomes face of Western Railway’s campaign on checking trespassing, women’s
safety and cleanliness
Economy & Corporate
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill introduced in Lok Sabha;
provides for change in the criterion of classification of MSMEs from ‘investment in plant and
machinery or equipment’ to ‘annual turnover’
The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill passed in Lok Sabha; allows a court trying an offence
related to cheque bouncing, to direct the drawer to pay interim compensation to the complainant.
Sale of BS-VI non-compliant vehicles should stop from April 1, 2020: Centre to SC
Lupin Foundation inks MoU with NITI Aayog to adopt (Rajasthan), Vidisha (MP) and Nandurbar
(Maharashtra) under government’s ‘Aspirational Districts Programme’
World
2-day meeting of Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central bank Governors held in Argentine
capital, Buenos Aires on July 21-22
22nd International AIDS Conference being organised in Amsterdam from July 23 to 27
Snapchat to shut down peer-to-peer payment service Snapcash
Atos buys Syntel for $3.4 bn to expand North America footprint
Sports
WSF-World Junior Squash Championship (under-19) in Chennai: Egypt’s Mostafa Asal (Men’s) and
Rowan Redy Araby (Women’s) win Singles titles
India bags 8 medals including two golds at Junior Asian Wrestling Championship in New Delhi
USA’s Steve Johnson beats India’s Indian Ramkumar Ramanathan in final to win Men’s Singles title
at Hall of Fame Open tennis in Newport
New Zealand beat England in final to win Rugby World Cup Sevens title in San Francisco
Italy’s Francesco Molinari wins British Open at Carnoustie Golf Club in Scotland
Mesut Ozil, member of Germany’s team in 2018 FIFA World Cup, announces his retirement from
international football
Sri Lanka (338, 275/5 d) beat South Africa (124, 290) by 199 runs in 2nd test at Colombo; win 2-test
series 2-0
Current Affairs – News Headlines: July 25
India
J&K: 19th Kargil Vijay Diwas being celebrated at Drass War Memorial from July 24 to 26
Parliament passes Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2018 that seeks to punish both bribe-
8-day old strike by truckers across the country to protest against the introduction of the e-way bill,
exorbitant toll collections at plazas, and inclusion of diesel under the GST called off
allows sugar mills to manufacture ethanol directly from sugarcane juice or intermediate product
called B-molasses
Value limit for exports through courier service/post increased to Rs 5 lakh/consignment from
Rs.25,000/consignment
World
Pakistan elections: Provisional results of 260 out of 270 National Assembly seats declared; Pakistan
Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) wins 116 seats followed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 62
and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) with 43 seats
Mahesh Kumar Malani of PPP becomes 1st Hindu candidate to win a general seat in National
Assembly
Century’s longest lunar eclipse of 1 hour 43 minutes to appear from 11.15 pm on July 27
North Korea returns the remains of the US troops killed during the Korean War 65 years ago
117-year-old Japanese woman Chiyo Miyako, world’s oldest person, dies
BHP Billiton to sell US shale oil and gas assets to BP for $10.5 billion
July 28 is World Hepatitis Day
SPORTS
Russian Open Badminton in Vladivostok: India’s Sourabh Verma and Mithun Manjunath enter men’s
singles semifinals
Current Affairs – News Headlines: July 29, 2018
India
PM addresses “Transforming Urban Landscape”, an event organised in Lucknow to mark 3rd
anniversary of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation of Urban
Transformation (AMRUT) and the Smart Cities Mission
Mediation cell created on NCPCR website to register complaints of NRI women who have fled with
their children to escape domestic violence: WCD Ministry
A National Viral Hepatitis control programme aimed at eliminating hepatitis by 2030 launched by
Health and Family Welfare Ministry in collaboration with the WHO
IIT-Madras incubated startup AirOK launches smart air purifier Vistar, claiming it to be the first
indigenously developed one
Punjab-based Patiala Foundation, an NGO working in the field of culture, tourism and road safety,
granted “special consultative status” by UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
Three-Day Vice Chancellors’ Conference on Research & Innovation in Higher Education ends in New
Delhi
Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan lays foundation stone for permanent campus for National
Skill Training Institute (NSTI) for Women in Mohali
Assam to implement Pranam Scheme to ensure that govt staff take care of their parents & physically
challenged siblings
Business & Economy
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hands over to the Army indigenously built engines powering
tanks T-90 Bhishma and T-72 Ajeya; engines manufactured at the Engine Factory, Avadi — a unit of
Ordnance Factory Board
World
The first ‘Nepal-India Think Tank’ summit to begin in Kathmandu on July 31
World Hepatitis Day observed on July 28, theme: “Test. Treat. Hepatitis”
Assamese film “Xhoihobote Dhemalite” (“Rainbow Fields”) wins 3 awards at Love International Film
Festival in Los Angeles – Best Movie, Best Actress: Dipannita Sharma and Best Music: Anurag Saikia
Sports
Veteran rally driver Jagat Nanjappa wins the week-long Isuzu RFCIndia 2018, an off-road
competition, which concluded in DonaVineet
Paula (Goa)
Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra’s former coach Gary Calvert dies in Beijing at 63
Football: Former India international Pradip Chowdhury selected for Mohun Bagan ‘Ratna’ honour
Current Affairs – News Headlines: July 30
India
PM Modi attends concluding session of ‘Transforming Urban Landscape’ convention in Lucknow
PM Modi lays foundation of India’s first Mobile Open Exchange Zone (MOX) at World Trade Centre,
Noida
52 Bangladeshi nationals deported to Bangladesh from Mancachar in Assam
Bengali writer Ramapada Chowdhury, whose story ‘Abhimanyu’ was made into a Hindi movie ‘Ek
doctor ki maut’, dies in Kolkata at 95
Economy & Corporate
India Post Payments Bank to start operations with 650 branches in August
Ashok Leyland wins contract to supply vehicles for Army’s Russian-built Smerch Multi-Barrel
Rocket launchers (MBRL)
World
International Tiger Day celebrated on July 29
4-magnitude earthquake hits Indonesian island of Lombok, 14 dead
SPORTS
India’s Sourabh Verma wins Men’s Singles title at Russia Open Badminton tournament in
Vladivostok
India’s Neeraj Chopra wins gold in men’s javelin throw with a throw of 85.69m in Savo Games in
Finland
South African Justin Harding wins Royal Cup golf tournament in Pattaya (Thailand), India’s Shiv
Kapur finishes runners-up
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton wins Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest
Yasar Dogu International Wrestling in Istanbul: Bajrang Punia (men’s 70 kg) and Pinki (women’s 55
kg) win gold for India
WSF-World Junior Squash Team Championship in Chennai: Egypt defeat England 2-0 in the final to
win Men’s title
Italy’s Matteo Berrettini wins Men’s Singles title at Swiss Open tennis in Gstaad
Kathleen Baker creates new world record of 58.00 sec in women’s 100m backstroke at US swimming
championships
Current Affairs – News Headlines: July 31
India
Assam: Final draft of National Register of Citizens (NRC) published; has 2.89 crore names out of 3.29
crore applicants
Applicants whose names do not appear in the final draft failed to provide proof of Assamese identity
Lok Sabha passes e Homeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill 2018, seeks to replace existing
functionaries of the Central Council of Homoeopathy (CCH) with a board of governors
Lok Sabha passes Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2018 seeking to provide death penalty to those
convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar inaugurates Patliputra University in Patna, launched its logo, anthem and
website
“Shadow of the Dragon and Recent Developments”, authored by journalist Amalendu Kundu,
released
Former director of Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India, John Sankaramangalam, dies
at 84
Economy & Corporate
approves defence Strategic Partnership model that incentivises private firms in military
manufacturing in the country
Centre to set up a high-level empowered committee
Vineet Singh headed
| vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com | by Cabinet Secretary to address issues
of stressed thermal power projects
Parliament passes the State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017
India requests Antigua and Barbuda govt to detain PNB fraud accused Mehul Choksi
World
PM Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) wins more than 110 out of 125 seats in National
Assembly in general elections
Indian American Seema Nanda becomes CEO of Democratic party
World Day Against Trafficking in Persons observed on July 30 with ‘responding to the trafficking of
children and young people’ as its focus
Sports
John Isner of US wins Men’s Singles title at Atlanta Open tennis
Dustin Johnson of US wins Canadian Open golf title in Toronto
Opening match of England-India test series at Edgbaston on August 1 will be England’s 1000th test
match
Karman Kaur Thandi becomes only the 6th Indian tennis player to enter top-200 rankings in
women’s singles
Britain’s Geraint Thomas of Team Sky wins 3351 km long Tour de France cycling race.
July 16, 2018
Tennis: Winners of 2018 Wimbledon Championships
The 2018 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament held from2 July to 15 July 2018. It was the
132nd edition of the championships and 51st edition in the Open Era. The tournament was held at the All
England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom.
Winners are
Men’s Singles title: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (World Number 21) won the 2018 Wimbledon title in men’s
singles category by defeating Kevin Anderson (South Africa) in straight sets 6-2, 6-2, 7-6. It was his fourth
Wimbledon title (earlier won in 2011, 2014 and 2015). Overall, it was his 13th career Grand Slam crown.
Women’s Singles title: Angelique Kerber (Germany) won the 2018 Wimbledon title in women’s singles
category by defeating Serena Williams (United States) in straight sets 6–3, 6–3.
Men’s Doubles: It was won by Mike Bryan and Jack Sock pair from United States. They defeated Raven
Klaasen (South Africa) and Michael Venus (New Zealand) pair by 6-3, 6-7(7-9), 6-3, 5-7, 7-5.
Women’s Doubles: It was won by Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková pair from Czech Republic.
They defeated Květa Peschke, 6 (Czech Republic) and Nicole Melichar (United States) by 6-4, 4-6, 6-0
score.
Mixed Doubles: It was won by Alexander Peya (Austria) and Nicole Melichar (United States) pair. They had
defeated Jamie Murray (United Kingdom) and Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) by 7-6(7-1), 6-3.
IFFCO iMandi: IFFCO rolls out e-commerce platform for farmers
Fertiliser major IFFCO has launched e-commerce platform IFFCO iMandi (an mobile application and web
portal) to address all needs of the farming community associated with it. For this initiative, IFFCO has
partnered with Singapore-based technology firm iMandi. Through this e-commerce platform, IFFCO is
targeting to reach GMV (gross merchandise value) of $5 billion in the next two years by catering needs of
5.5 crore farmers already associated with it.
IFFCO iMandi
The e-commerce platform is one stop shop for agri inputs and produce, FMCG, electronics, loans,
insurance etc. It has features like buy-sell, communication (chat and calling), entertainment and
information/advisory content to keep farmers engaged. Using it, farmers buy all agri inputs of IFFCO,
including fertilisers, agro chemicals and seeds at discounted price and get free delivery at their doorstep.
It will cater needs of 5.5 crore farmers already associated with IFFCO. In this platform, IFFCO’s subsidiary
IFFCO eBazar Ltd has taken 26% stake in and remaining 74% is with I-tech Holdings and some other
investors.
Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO)
IFFCO is large scale fertiliser cooperative federation in India which
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com | is registered as Multistate Cooperative
Society. It is one of India’s biggest cooperative society which is wholly owned by Indian Cooperatives. It
was founded in 1967 with just 57 cooperatives and at present it has amalgamation of over 36,000 Indian
Cooperatives with diversified business interests ranging from General Insurance to Rural Telecom apart
from its core business of manufacturing and selling fertilisers. It is headquartered in New Delhi. It had
posted turnover of Rs 20,787 crore in 2017-18 fiscal. It produced nearly 8 million tonnes and sold 10.3
million tonnes of fertilisers in 2017-18.
PM Narendra Modi inaugurates the Bansagar Canal Project in Mirzapur
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 171 km long Bansagar canal project in Mirzapur district of
Uttar Pradesh. He also laid foundation stone of Mirzapur Medical College, inaugurated 100 Pradhan
Mantri Jan Aushadhi Kendras and bridge over Ganga River at Balughat, Chunar, which will facilitate
connectivity between Mirzapur and Varanasi.
Bansagar canal project
Bansagar Dam project is a joint venture (JV) between Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar
Governments. It is multipurpose river valley project built on Son River situated in Ganges Basin in
Madhya Pradesh. The total network of canal from the dam is 171 kms long. The canal network will bring
waters from Shahdol district in Madhya Pradesh for Adwa Barrage, Meza Dam and Jirgo reservoir. It will
provide big boost to irrigation in the region, benefiting1 lakh 70 thousand farmers farmers of Mirzapur
and Allahabad districts of Uttar Pradesh.
President nominates four members to Rajya Sabha
President Ram Nath Kovind has nominated former MP Ram Shakal, RSS ideologue Rakesh Sinha, classical
dancer Sonal Mansingh and stone artist Raghunath Mohapatra as members of Rajya Sabha. They were
nominated as per Article 80(1)(a) of the Constitution, based on the recommendation of Council of Minister
headed by Prime Minister Naredra Modi. Prior to these four nominations, there were eight nominated
members in Rajya Sabha.
Key Facts
Ram Shakal: He is farmers leader and public representative from Uttar Pradesh. He has devoted his life for
welfare and well-being of Dalit community. He is widely respected for championing cause of farmers,
labourers and migrants. He was three-time member of Lok Sabha, representing Robertsganj constituency
of Uttar Pradesh.
Rakesh Sinha: He is RSS ideologue Sinha and is the founder and honorary director of Delhi-based think-
tank India Policy Foundation. He was professor at Motilal Nehru College of Delhi University. He was also
member of Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).
Raghunath Mohapatra: He is internationally renowned authority on stone carving. He has been
practicing since 1959 and has trained over 2,000 students. He has contributed to preservation of
traditional sculpture and ancient monuments and has worked on beautification of the Sri Jagannath
Temple, Puri. His famous works include 6-feet-high statue of sun god carved in grey sandstone in Central
Hall of Parliament and Wooden Buddha, Buddha Temple, Paris, France.
Sonal Mansingh: She is among India’s foremost exponents of Indian classical dance. She is also well-
known choreographer, teacher, orator and social activist. She has been performing Bharatnatyam and
Odissi for overs six decades. She founded the Centre for Indian Classical Dances in Delhi in 1977.
Nomination of eminent members to Rajya Sabha
As per Article 80 (Part V) of the Constitution, President can nominate 12 members in the Council of States
(Rajya Sabha). These persons should have special knowledge or practical experience in the field of Art,
Science, Literature and Social Service. The rationale behind principle of the nomination is to facilitate the
representation of eminent professionals and experts who cannot face direct elections.
Carnatic vocalist Aruna Sairam selected for 2018 Sangita Kalanidhi award
Renowned Carnatic vocalist Aruna Sairam has been selected for 2018 Sangita Kalanidhi award of Music
Academy for her contribution to Carnatic music. Under this recognition, she will preside over 92nd annual
conference to be held between December 15, 2018 and January 1, 2019. The award will be conferred to her
on January 1, 2019 the day of Sadas of the conference.
Other awards Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
Sangita Kala Acharya award: It will be awarded to Mridhangist Thanjavur R. Ramadoss and vocalist K.
Oman Kutty.
T.K. Awards: It will be given to veena player Kalyani Ganesan and nagaswaram player S.R.G. Rajanna.
Musicologist award: It will be given to Dr. Premeela Gurumurthy, the Vice Chancellor, Tamil Nadu
University.
Nritiya Kalanidhi award: It will be awarded to veteran danseuse Shanta Dhananjayan.
Sangita Kalanidhi award/title
It is prestigious award/title bestowed annually upon expert of Carnatic Music by Madras Music Academy.
The award’s name has been derived from Sanskrit which means treasure of Music and art in English
(sangeetha = music, kala = art, nidhi = treasure). This honour is considered one of the highest awards in
Carnatic music.
France wins 2018 FIFA World Cup Football title
France has won 2018 FIFA World Cup Football by defeating Croatia by 4-2 goals in the final match held at
the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia . It was France’s second World Cup crown after it had own it in
1998 (by defeating Brazil) on home soil. With this, victory France joins Uruguay and Argentina in winning
World Cup for a second time. It was Croatia’s first World Cup final appearance and smallest country ever
to reach final in the modern era.
Goal Scores: For France, four goals were scored by Mario Mandžukić (Croatia’s self-goal at 18 min),
Antoine Griezmann (38 min), Paul Pogba (59 min) and Kylian Mbappe (65 min). For Croatia, two goals were
scored by Ivan Perišić (28 min), Mario Mandzukic (69 min).
2018 FIFA World Cup Awards
Top 4 team rankings: France (1st, Winner), Croatia (2nd, Croatia), Belgium (3rd) and England (4th).
Golden Ball award: Luka Modric (Croatia).
Golden Boot award: Harry Kane (England captain) for scoring six goals across six games.
Golden Glove award: Thibaut Courtois (Belgium).
FIFA Young Player award: 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe (France).
FIFA Fair Play Award: Spain for superb disciplinary record.
Next World Cup: Qatar will be hosting next FIFA World Cup in 2022. It will be the first Arab country to
host World Cup and it will also for first time it will be held in Middle East region.
FIFA World Cup
It is an international association football competition contested by senior men’s national teams of
members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport’s global governing
body. It is held every four years since the inaugural tournament held in 1930. The total 21 World Cup
tournaments played so far have been won by eight national teams. Brazil has won for recode five times
and it is only team that has played in every World Cup. Germany and Italy have each won four titles,
Argentina, France and Uruguay have won two titles each. England and Spain has won one title each.
UN for first time finalizes Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration
United Nations for first time has finalized Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration to
better manage international migration, address its challenges, strengthen migrant rights and contribute
to sustainable development. This is for first time UN Member countries came together to negotiate
agreement covering all dimensions of international migration.
Key Facts
The compact is the first intergovernmental agreement to cover wide-ranging dimensions of international
migration in holistic and comprehensive manner, agreed upon by all the UN member states minus the
United States. It is not legally binding. It sets out 23 objectives to deal issues ranging from factors that
compel people to move, legal channels for migration, combating trafficking and smuggling, harnessing the
economic benefits of migration and return of the migrants.
Background
Currently, over 250 million migrants worldwide account for 3% of the world’s entire population, but
contribute 10% of the global gross domestic production (GDP). Migrants remittance is huge contributor to
their home countries’ development. The Vineetprocess of developing
Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com | compact was started in early 2017 as
implementation of decision by UN member states as adopted New York Declaration for Refugees and
Migrants in September 2016. UN member states’ another decision pledged in the declaration is to develop a
Global Compact on Refugees.
India becomes Vice Chair of the Asia Pacific Region of World Customs Organisation
India became Vice-Chair or regional head of Asia Pacific Region of the World Customs Organisation
(WCO) for two years from July 2018 to June 2020. By becoming Vice Chair, India will be able to take up
leadership role at the WCO.
Key Facts
To mark assumption of Vice Chair, an event will be organised in New Delhi by Central Board of Indirect
Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The event was
attended by Customs delegations of 33 countries of Asia-Pacific Region, Customs officers from different
Ports in India, Partner Government Agencies and representatives from the trade among others.
World Customs Organisation (WCO)
WCO is an independent intergovernmental body whose mission is to enhance effectiveness and efficiency
of Customs administrations. It was established in 1952 as Customs Co-operation Council (CCC). It is the
only international organization with competence in Customs matters and is considered as voice of
international Customs community.
WCO represents 182 Customs administrations across the globe that collectively process approximately
98% of world trade. It is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. It plays leading role in discussion,
development, promotion and implementation of modern customs systems and procedures.
Objectives: It aims to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of member customs administrations and assist
them to contribute successfully to national development goals, particularly revenue collection, national
security, trade facilitation, community protection, and collection of trade statistics.
Organistaional Structure: WCO’s governing body – the Council relies on competence and skills of WCO
Secretariat and a range of technical and advisory committees to accomplish its mission. The Secretariat
comprises over 100 international officials, technical experts and support staff of some nationalities. WCO
has divided its membership into six regions whereby each region is represented by elected vice-
chairperson to WCO Council.
Functions: It offers range of Conventions and other international instruments, as well as technical
assistance and training services to its members. It also actively supports its members in their endeavours
to modernize and build capacity within their national Customs administrations.
It also plays vital role in stimulating growth of legitimate international trade and combats fraudulent
activities. It also promotes emergence of honest, transparent and predictable Customs environment, thus
identification number (UIN). The move is aimed at keeping tab on authorised private gun holders, many of
whom are often found involved in crimes and celebratory firing leading to loss of lives. It will also
eliminate possibilities of issuing arms licence to persons whose antecedents are not bona
Key Facts
The decision was taken by exercising powers under Section 44 of Arms Act, 1959 (54 of 1959) by amending
the Arms Rules, 2016. These rules will be called the Arms (Second Amendment) Rules, 2018. Under Section
3 of Arms Act, it is essential to obtain arms possession licence issued by competent licensing authority, by
any person for acquisition, possession or carrying any firearms or ammunition.
Under the new rules, every licensing and renewing authority will enter data in National Database of Arms
Licences system from April 1, 2019, which will generate UIN. Any arms licence without UIN will be considered
invalid. Besides, any existing licensee holding multiple licences will make application for grant of single
licence in respect of all firearms held by him under his UIN to the concerned licensing authority.
In case of licence for restricted category of arms or ammunition, licensing authority concerned will issue
new licence under the existing UIN of the licencee. Separate licence books will be generated in case of each
licence, separately for restricted and permissible categories of arms and ammunition with an overall
ceiling of three firearms under single UIN.
BEL inks MoU with Swedish firm Saab for marketing air-surveillance radar
State-owned defence electronics company Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has signed memorandum of
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
understanding (MoU) with Saab for jointly marketing L-Band 3D air surveillance radar (RAWL-03) which
is co-developed by the companies. Saab is Swedish aerospace and defence firm that serves global market
with world-leading products, services and solutions in military defence and civil security.
RAWL-03
RAWL-03 is long range air surveillance radar for early detection and tracking of air and surface targets. It
can be fitted in both ship-borne and land-based configurations. Its system is based on state-of-the-art GaN
TR module technology and incorporates the latest signal processing techniques.
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
BEL is state-owned leading defence electronics company. It is one of nine PSUs under the Union Ministry
of Defence of India. It has been accorded Navratna status. It is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
BEL is engaged in design, manufacture and supply of state-of-the-art radars like weapon locating radar
and battle field surveillance radar, communication systems, naval systems, electronic warfare systems,
missile systems, tank electronics and gun/weapon systems, coastal surveillance system etc, for the armed
forces.
President gives assent to Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2015
President Ram Nath Kovind has Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2015
passed by State Assembly in August 2015. This law aims to reign in rising incidents of witch hunting cases
across the state. It was prepared in lines with spirit of universal declaration of human rights, crimes in
witch hunting cases cause gross violation of basic human rights.
Key features
The law aims to eliminate superstition from society by making such offences under it as non-bailable, non-
compoundable and cognizable. It prohibit any person from calling, identifying or defaming any other
person as witch by words, signs, conducts or indications. State Government has already notified the Act.
It prescribes stringent punishment, if anybody found guilty. It imposes up to 7 years of jail and fine up to 5
lakh rupees. This provision will come as per Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code
(IPC) if someone is killed after being branded a witch.
It also proposes sentence of 3 years imprisonment if anybody blames a person for natural disasters in a
particular locality such as floods, droughts, illness or any death. Cases and offences registered under this
law will undergo trail in Special courts which will be set up in consultation with the high court.
Indian Army to resume trials of M777 Howitzer artillery gun
Indian Army is going to resume trials of US-made M777 ultralight howitzer in the Pokhran firing range,
Rajasthan. During the trails local ammunition will be used and tentatively 100 to 150 rounds will be fired.
The trials will begin after they were suspended in September 2017 following a barrel burst caused by
contract for artillery guns in almost 30 years after Bofors artillery guns induction in late-1980s, which had
got embroiled in political controversy due to illegal kickbacks. Bofors guns however had been mainstay for
Indian Army for decades and had played important role in Kargil conflict.
IMF cuts India’s growth forecast for 2018 to 7.3%
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) update has projected
growth rate of 7.3% in 2018 and 7.5% in 2019 for India as against 6.7% in 2017. This makes India, fastest
growing country among major economies in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
Key Facts
India will grow by 7.3% in 2018-19 against earlier estimate of 7.4%, slightly less — 0.1 percentage point in
2018. In 2019-20, it will grow by 7.5% against earlier estimate of 7.8%. This reflects negative effects of
higher oil prices on domestic demand and faster than-anticipated monetary policy tightening due to
higher expected inflation.
Despite India’s slight downgrade in the projections, it continues to outperform China. Growth in China is
projected to moderate from 6.9% in 2017 to 6.6% in 2018 and 6.4% in 2019. This is mainly because of
regulatory tightening of financial sector takes hold and external demand softens.
The global growth is projected to reach 3.9% in 2018 and 2019, in line with forecast of April 2018 WEO.
Growth prospects in emerging market and developing economies is becoming more uneven, amid rising
oil prices, higher yields in United States Treasury bonds, escalating trade tensions and market pressures
on currencies of some economies with weaker fundamentals.
from steel to automobiles and energy to transportation sector. It will also give major thrust to research in
nanotechnology, among other fields
The remotely operable LEAP microscope has been developed in a collaborative exercise involving eight top
research institutions in country, spearheaded by IIT-M. Other partner institutions are IITs of Bombay,
Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Ropar, International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and
New Materials (ARCI) and Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS).
BrahMos Missile tested in extreme weather conditions
DRDO has successfully test-fired supersonic cruise missile under extreme weather conditions, as part of
the service life extension programme for Indian Army. The missile was fired from a mobile autonomous
launcher from the Integrated Test Range at Balasore, Odisha.
Key Facts
During the test missile followed designated trajectory and its key components functioned perfectly. It
again proved its all-weather capability, flying in sea state 7, with waves as high as nine metres. Sea state is
the degree of turbulence at sea, generally measured on a scale of 0 to 9 according to average wave height.
The test was conducted on the heels of earlier two trials conducted on May 21 and 22, 2018 in which the
major sub-systems manufactured indigenously under the ‘Make in India’ campaign were successfully
tested to increase missile’s life from 10 to 15 years.
BrahMos Missile Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
BrahMos is supersonic cruise missile developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint-venture between Russia’s
Mashinostroyenia and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It has been
named after two rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva (river in western Russia). The missile has established
itself as major force multiplier in modern-day complex battlefields with its impeccable land-attack, anti-
ship capabilities with multi-role and multi-platform abilities.
Stages: It is two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant. It is
self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift.
Payload: It is capable of carrying warhead of 300 kilogram (both conventional as well as nuclear).
Accuracy: It operates on ‘fire and forget principal’. It is claimed that missile has strike accuracy rate of
99.99%. It has enhanced destructive power due to large kinetic energy (because of supersonic speed) on
impact. It has unique feature of quicker engagement time and non-interception by any known weapon
system in the world.
Speed: It has top supersonic speed of Mach 2.8 to 3 (roughly three times speed of sound). It is hailed as
world’s fastest anti-ship cruise missile in operation.
Range: It was initially capped at 290 km as per obligations of Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
Since India’s entry into this elite club, its range was extended to 450 km and plan is to increase it to
600km.
Launch Variants: It is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against sea and land
targets. It follows a variety of trajectories like high, high-low, low, surface-skim etc. It can cruise at
altitude up to 15km and terminal altitude of as low as 10 meters.
Induction: It has been already inducted in Indian Army and Navy. The air-launched version of missile was
test-fired in November, 2017 for first time from modified Su-30MKI aircraft, making it world’s fastest
supersonic cruise missile to be fired from a combat jet against a target.
July 18, 2018
Western Railway renames Elphinstone Road Station as Prabhadevi
Western Railway renamed Elphinstone Road suburban railway station in Mumbai, Maharashtra to
Prabhadevi Station. The station code of Prabhadevi station will be PBHD. The station was initially named
after Lord Elphinstone, who was Governor of Bombay Presidency from 1853 to 1860. It has now been
renamed in honour of local deity Prabhadevi.
Background
Prabhadevi is name of the area in the vicinity of the station. It also derives its name from the temple of the
deity which is 300 years old. In December 2017, Maharashtra legislature had approved Bill to rename
Elphinstone Road station, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Chhatrapati Shivaji International
© 2018 GKToday | All Rights Reserved | https://www.gktoday.in 22
Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
Airport. The central government had given its nod for renaming in May 2017.
Government reappoints Anil D Sahasrabudhe as AICTE Chairman
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved renewal of appointment of Prof Anil D
Sahasrabudhe as the chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) till he attains the
age of 65 years. He was joined AICTE as Chairman in July 2015.
Anil D Sahasrabudhe
Prof Sahasrabudhe has in his illustrious career of over 30 years and has held several important academic,
research and administrative positions. He had graduated from BVB College of Engineering and
Technology, Hubli affiliated to Karnataka University in Mechanical Engineering in 1980 with first rank
and Gold medal. Subsequently, he obtained Master’s and Doctoral (with UGC Fellowship) degrees from
Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru in 1982 and 1989 respectively. Prior to his appointment as
AICTE chairman he was professor of Mechanical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),
Guwahati,
AICTE
AICTE is a statutory body established in November 1945. It comes under the aegis of Department of
Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development. It is a national-level council for technical
education responsible for planning and coordination of technical education and management of education
system in the country. It accredits graduateVineet
and Singhpost graduate programs
| vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com | at Indian institutions.
All India Institute of Ayurveda inks MoU with IIT Delhi to give scientific validation to Ayurveda
All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) and IIT (Indian Institute of Technology)-Delhi have signed
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance research in the field of Ayurveda. The MoU was signed
on sidelines of two-day conference on ‘Raising towards Excellence’ held at New Delhi.
Key Facts
As of part of MoU, AIIA will invite technological experts from IIT Delhi for research in ancient Indian
medicine. IIT Delhi does not have medical facility and has lined up 10 projects in Ayurveda research. It was
the idea of Ministry of AYUSH to utilize technological expertise of IIT Delhi for further research in ancient
Indian medicine. It is also planning to invite professionals and representatives from IIMs (Indian Institutes
of Management) to develop leadership skills that are necessary for gaining global recognition.
All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA)
Delhi based AIIA is apex institute for Ayurveda in the country under Ministry of AYUSH. It aims at
bringing a synergy between traditional wisdom of Ayurveda and modern tools and technology. It offers
postgraduate and doctoral courses in various disciplines of Ayurveda and focuses on fundamental
research of Ayurveda, drug development, quality control, standardization, safety evaluation and scientific
validation of Ayurvedic medicine. It also has 200 bed referral hospital for facilitating clinical research.
Economic Partnership Agreement: EU, Japan sign massive free trade deal
European Union (EU) and Japan have signed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). It was signed at EU-
Japan summit in Tokyo by EU Presidents Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk and Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe. It is biggest ever trade deal negotiated by the EU and creates free trade zone
covering nearly third of the world’s GDP.
Key Parts of EPA
Agricultural exports: It scraps Japanese duties on many cheeses such as Gouda and Cheddar as well as on
wine exports. It allows EU to increase its beef exports to Japan and duty-free trade in pork, processed
meat and almost duty-free trade for fresh meat. It ensures protection in Japan of more than 200 high-
quality European agricultural products, so called Geographical Indications (GIs), and protection of
selection of Japanese GIs in EU.
Services markets: EPA opens up services markets, in particular financial services, e-commerce,
telecommunications and transport.
Procurement markets: It guarantees EU companies access to large procurement markets of 48 large
Japanese cities and removes obstacles to procurement in economically important railway sector at
national level.
Automotive sector: It addresses specific sensitivities of EU in this sector and elimination of customs
companies.
Key Facts
A’Mhoine Peninsula in Sutherland was chosen as most suitable place from which to launch rockets
vertically. The first rocket launches from this spaceport are planned for early 2020s. The site was selected
in part due to its beneficial geography. Rockets can take direct path from tip of Scottish peninsula to above
Arctic Circle. This is suitable for launching small satellites particularly, which are often placed in polar
orbits, circling Earth and passing over Arctic and Antarctic. It is located on coast in sparsely populated
area, thus in case of failures rocket will harmlessly fall into the ocean or empty land.
Comment
The spaceport will help UK to grab slice of growing market for small satellite launches. UK already has
many component and satellite makers and adding ability to launch satellites locally would increase its
international appeal. The spaceport will help to attract $5 billion spaceflight market into UK’s economy
over the next decade.
© 2018 GKToday | All Rights Reserved | https://www.gktoday.in 24
Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
In recent years, new breed of small satellites (nano satellites) have created boom in space launch industry.
These satellites are often size of shoebox or smaller and far more technologically capable than older, larger
models. They are cheaper to launch and can be put to range of uses from communications to weather
monitoring to scientific experiments. It’s estimated that global market for such launches (including
supporting infrastructure) is currently worth $339 billion, and will grow eightfold by 2045 to $2.7 trillion.
BSE’s iconic Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers secures trademark
Stock exchange major Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has secured image trademark for its iconic building,
Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers located on Dalal Street in Mumbai, Maharashtra under Trade Marks Act, 1999.
With this, Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers joins elite club of distinguished structures around the world that
have secured trademark rights.
Significance: Henceforth no one can use images of the Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers for commercial
purposes without consent from BSE or paying it licensing fee. Violators are liable to be prosecuted under
Trade Marks Act, 1999.
Key Facts
BSE’s Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers serves as barometer of Indian economy. It is 28-floor building and was
bulit almost 10 years, completed in 1980. At the time of its completion, it was the tallest building in India.
Initially it was known as BSE Towers and was later renamed after late chairman of BSE, Sir Phiroze
Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy. BSE was founded in Vineet
1875. It began as small group of brokers who functioned under
Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
Google will periodically produce geospatial maps and data on water-related ecosystems by employing
massive parallel Cloud computing technology. It will generate satellite imagery and statistics to assess
extent of change occurring to waterbodies and make it freely accessible to ensure nations have
opportunity to track changes, prevent and reverse ecosystem loss.
Other areas of collaboration under this partnership include advocacy and capacity building activities as
well as the development of partnerships with organisations like European Space Agency (ESA), European
Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Significance
This partnership builds on a common shared vision between these organisations. In long term, it will
strive to establish platform for open-source data and analysis of UN Sustainable Development Goals. It
will enable UNEP to get access to most sophisticated online tools to track progress, identify priority areas
for action, and needs for making world sustainable. It will enable all countries with equal access to latest
technology and information in support of global climate action and sustainable development.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
UNEP is the voice for the environment within the United Nations system. It was founded as result of
United Nations Conference on Human Environment in June 1972. It is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.
UNEP also has six regional offices and various country offices.
UNEP acts as catalyst, advocate, educator and facilitator to promote wise use and sustainable
development of global environment. It works with wide range of partners, including UN entities,
international organizations, national governments, non-governmental organizations, private sector and
civil society.
Government issues draft amendments to Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989
Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has issued draft amendments to Central Motor
Vehicles Rules, 1989, making Vehicle Tracking System device and FASTags mandatory for all commercial
vehicles obtaining national permit.
Proposed amendments
FASTags: It makes mandatory for vehiclesVineet toSingh
affix sticker confirming
| vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com | fitting of the Fastag in front wind
screen of vehicles.
National Permit (N/P): It stipulates additional conditions for obtaining national permit. It also includes
display of words ‘National Permit or N/P’ in front and rear of vehicles in bold letters. N/P will have to be
inscribed on rear and left side incase of trailers.
Tanker carrying dangerous or hazardous goods: Its body has to be painted in white colour and display
prescribed class label on both sides and rear of tanker. It should be also affixed with reflective tapes at
front and rear.
Fitness certification: It will be not required at time of registration of new transport vehicles sold as fully
built vehicles. Such vehicles will be deemed to be having certificate of fitness for a period of two years
from the date of registration. Fitness certificate of transport vehicles will be renewed for period of two
years for vehicles up to eight years old and for one year for vehicles older than eight years.
Digital Certificates: Henceforth, pollution under control certificates and driving license can be carried in
physical or digital form.
Goods carrying vehicles: They will be required to carry goods in closed body of the vehicle or container. In
case it is necessary to carry goods in open bodies, then goods will be covered by using tarpaulin or any
other suitable material. Goods of indivisible nature, not capable of being carried in a closed body or being
covered, may be carried without cover.
Load Carrying Capacity: The gross vehicle weight (GVW) for two-axle truck (two wheels in front axle and
four wheels in the rear) has been raised from 16.2 tonnes to 18.5 tonnes, for three-axle trucks it has been
increased from 25 tonnes to 28.5 tonnes; and for five-axle trucks from 37 tonnes to 43.5 tonnes. This will
help reduce transportation (logistic) cost and consequently, commodity prices. Overloading is very
rampant which will be stopped to an extent along with corruption.
July 19, 2018
Regional Aviation Partnership: Cabinet approves signing of MoU amongst BRICS Nations
The Union Cabinet has approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) amongst BRICS
Nations (viz. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) on Regional Aviation Partnership Cooperation.
The objective of MoU is to benefit BRICS countries from establishing of institutional framework to
cooperate in field of civil aviation.
Key Facts
The MoU signifies important landmark in civil aviation relations between India and other BRICS member
states. It has potential to spur greater trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchanges amongst BRICS
Nations. The areas of cooperation under MoU are public policies and best practices in regional services;
airport infrastructure management and air navigation services; regional airports; technical cooperation
© 2018 GKToday | All Rights Reserved | https://www.gktoday.in 26
Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
Key Facts
This round of capital infusion will be done through issuance of recapitalisation bonds and not directly
from Budget. This additional capital will help these banks to meet minimum regulatory capital adequacy
ratio (CAR) and enable them to make interest payments on certain bonds on time.
Within capital infusion plan of these five PSBs, PNB is expected to get highest amount of Rs 2,816 crore.
Corporation Bank is will get Rs 2,555 crore followed by Indian Overseas Bank (Rs 2157 crore), Andhra Bank
(Rs 2,019 crore) and Allahabad Bank (Rs 1,790 crore).
This capital infusion by Government will be only for purpose of meeting minimum regulatory requirement
and will be not growth capital which will be provided in second half of current fiscal year. The growth
capital will only be given to those banks which meet performance targets and modalities set by Finance
Ministry as per agreement signed with each bank.
Background
The latest round capital infusion in these 5 PSBs will be part of remaining Rs 65,000 crore out of Rs 2.11
lakh crore capital infusion announced by Union Government for two financial years. In October 2017,
Union Government had announced Rs 2.11 lakh crore capital infusion programme, under which PSBs were
to get Rs 1.35 lakh crore through recapitalisation bonds, and balance Rs 58,000 crore through raising of
capital from market and remaining through budgetary support. The government has already infused Rs
80,000 crore out of Rs 1.35 lakh crore through
Vineet Singhrecapitalisation
| vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com | bonds in PSBs and balance will be done
during this financial year (2018-19).
Cabinet approves Special Remission Scheme for prisoners
Union Cabinet has approved to grant Special Remission to Prisoners as part of commemoration of 150th
birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi to be observed in 2019. This decision is considered as befitting
commemoration and homage to father of nation and humanitarian values Mahatma Gandhi stood for.
Following five categories of prisoners will be considered for special remission
Women and Transgender convicts: 55 years of age and above and who have completed 50% of their
actual sentence period.
Male convicts: 60 years of age and above and who have completed 50% of their actual sentence
period.
Physically challenged/disabled convicts: They will convicts with 70% disability and more and who
have completed 50% of their actual sentence period.
Terminally ill convicts.
Convicted prisoners who have completed two-third (66%) of their actual sentence period.
In pursuance of this decision, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will issue advice to all States and UTs
asking them to process cases of eligible prisoners based on above five categories. State Governments will
place recommendations of Committee before Governor for consideration and approval under Article 161 of
the Constitution. After the approval, prisoners will be released three phases.
In Phase-l, prisoners will be released on 2nd October, 2018 (i.e. on birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi),
in Phase-ll prisoners will be released on 10th April 2019 (anniversary of Champaran Satyagrah) and in
Phase-Ill on 2nd October 2019 (birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi).
Special remission under this consideration will not be given to prisoners who have been convicted for
offence for which sentence is of death or death sentence commuted to life imprisonment; cases of convicts
involved in serious and heinous crimes like rape, human trafficking, dowry death and convicted under
UAPA, POTA, TADA, FICN, POCSO Act, FEMA, Money Laundering, NDPS, Prevention of Corruption Act,
etc.
Parliament passes State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017
Parliament has passed State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017 to merge six subsidiary banks with
State Bank of India after it was approved by Rajya Sabha. The bill already has been passed in Lok Sabha in
2017 Monsoon session of Parliament.
Key Features of Bill
The bill repeals two Acts namely State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, and State Bank of
Hyderabad Act, 1956. These two acts had established State Bank of Bikaner, State Bank of Patiala, State
© 2018 GKToday | All Rights Reserved | https://www.gktoday.in 28
Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Hyderabad and State Bank of Travancore. These banks were subsidiaries of
SBI. By repealing these two acts, five subsidiary banks will be merged with SBI. The bill also seeks to
amend State Bank of India (SBI) Act, 1955 to remove references to subsidiary banks and powers of SBI to
act as an agent of the RBI for subsidiary banks.
Background
The Union Cabinet in February 2017 had approved merger of five associate banks along with Bharatiya
Mahila Bank with SBI. The purposes of merger were rationalisation of public bank resources, reduction of
costs, better profitability, lower cost of funds leading to better rate of interest for public at large and
improve productivity and customer service of the public service banks. After the acquisition by SBI, the
subsidiaries banks ceased to exist and, therefore, it was necessary to repeal two Acts. The merger had
made SBI one of 50 biggest banks of world.
CCEA approves Special Package for Irrigation Projects in drought prone areas of Vidarbha, Marathwada
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved implementation of Centrally Sponsored-
Scheme for completion of 83 minor irrigation projects and 8 major or medium irrigation projects in
Maharashtra’s drought prone areas of Vidharbha, Marathawada regions.
Key Facts
The special package aims to create additional potential of 3.77 lakh hectares in these drought prone areas.
It will ensure assured source of water to farmers in command| area of these projects. This will increase
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com
yield of their crops and thereby increase the income of the farmers.
The projects included under special package will be funded under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee
Yojana- Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (PMKSY-AIBP) and are planned to be completed by
December 2019. Progress of projects will be monitored by State as well as Central Water Commission
(CWC).
The overall balance cost of projects is estimated to be Rs. 13,651.61 crore. Central Assistance for
implementation of these projects will be Rs. 3,831.41 crore and rest will be provided by State Government
which may be arranged through NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development).
Benefits
On completion of these projects, utilization of irrigation potential of about 3.77 lakh ha will transform
agriculture scenario of these drought prone region resulting in generation of substantially more
employment opportunities through increase in cropping intensity, change in cropping pattern, agro
processing and other ancillary activities. It will result employment generation of approximately 341 lakh
man-days for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled workers.
Background
Maharashtra has experienced hydrological and agricultural drought during three years period from 2012
to 2016. The situation was worst in Vidharbha and Marathawada region with high incidence rate of
suicides by farmers. Besides, these regions, drought prone areas (DPA) in rest of the state also had
experienced distress in recent years. These irrigation projects are ongoing projects, but they were
languishing due to fund constraints.
India, US resolve to enhance cooperation in aviation security, counter-terror
India and United States (US) at the Homeland Security Dialogue have resolved to enhance bilateral
cooperation in areas, including counter-terrorism, immigration and aviation security. For this dialogue,
Indian delegation was led by Additional Secretary in Home Ministry Rajni Sekhri Sibal, while US side was
led by James McCament, Deputy Under Secretary, Department of Homeland Security.
Key Facts
The recent talks between both countries in dialogue focused on issues relating to security cooperation,
customs and immigration, aviation security, capacity building. Both countries are in process of firming up
list of terror fugitives and have agreed on names of individuals for global entry programme (GEP) under
Homeland Security Presidential Directive-6 (HSPD-6) Agreement. The HSPD-6 agreement allows sharing
of terror-related information, while GEP exempts prominent citizens from immigration checks. US has
already finalised such agreements with 30 countries.
Background
India-United States cooperation in matters related to counter-terror initiatives and intelligence sharing is
© 2018 GKToday | All Rights Reserved | https://www.gktoday.in 29
Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
part of the dialogue. Both sides have agreed to work out modalities to address these issues. There have
been several rounds of discussions between interlocutors of two countries in past two year and both sides
have narrowed down their differences on several key issues on sharing of data on militants.
July 20, 2018
Arman Ali takes charge of national disabled people’s organisation NCPEDP
Arman Ali was appointed as Executive Director of National Centre for Promotion of Employment for
Disabled People (NCPEDP). He will succeed Javed Abidi and take over his new role in October 2018. Arman
has played pivotal role in bringing disability sector together in North East by forming network of
organisations from seven states. He has been head of Shishu Sarothi – Centre for Rehabilitation &
Training for Multiple Disability since 2009. He has worked for the rehabilitation of many physically
challenged people as well as leading campaigns and engaging judiciary to uphold rights of persons with
disabilities.
National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP)
NCPEDP is India’s only cross-disability advocacy organisation working towardsempowerment of persons
with disabilities. It is headquartered in New Delhi. It has to its credit several achievements, including
lobbying for creation of new Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) under
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, and call for new Disability Act to replace PwD Act, 1995.
RBI to issue newVineet
100 Singh rupee notes in| lavender colour
| vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will shortly issue new Rs. 100 denomination banknotes in lavender colour in
Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series. This comes on back of new designs introduced for Rs 200, Rs 500 and Rs
10 notes, in the last couple of years. The old Rs 100 notes in the earlier series will also continue to be legal
tender along with new notes.
Key Features of new Rs. 100 note
The front side of new Rs. 100 note depicts Mahatma Gandhi’s face and back side featuresmotif of “RANI KI
VAV”, highlighting the country’s cultural heritage. Rani ki Vav, a UNESCO world heritage stepwel site in
Patan, Gujarat built in memory the 11th century king Bhima.
The dimension of new note is 66 mm × 142 mm, which will be the same as the other new notes of Rs 200,
Rs 500 and Rs 10 released earlier. Like every other currency note, it also has a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi
at the centre. It has security thread with inscriptions, ‘भारत’ and RBI. If the note is tilted, the colour
changes from green to blue.
Right side of Mahatma Gandhi portrait includes guarantee clause, Governor’s signature with promise
clause and RBI emblem. Ashoka Pillar emblem is on right side of note. The top left side and bottom right
side have number panel with numerals in ascending font.
Mahatma Gandhi portrait and electrotype (100) watermarks and it also has Swachh Bharat logo with
slogan. It also has certain features incorporated for the visually impaired. These include intaglio or raised
printing of Mahatma Gandhi portrait, Ashoka Pillar emblem, raised triangular identification mark with
micro-text 100, four angular bleed lines on the right and left sides.
The lower boundary of Greenlandian and Northgripppian stages are defined at specific levels in Greenland
ice cores. The ice cores are now identified as international geostandards, and have been placed in
protected archives accessible for further study.
Geological Timescale
Geologists divide 4.6-billion-year existence of Earth into distinct periods. Each period corresponds to
significant events such as break-up of continents, shifts in climate, and emergence of particular types of
animals and plant life. These units of geologic time scale are based on sedimentary strata that have
accumulated over time and contain within them sediment types, fossils and chemical isotopes that record
passage of time as well as physical and biological events that produced them. Those intervals of
sedimentary strata on which ages are based are referred to as stages.
10th edition of Delhi Dialogue held in New Delhi
The 10th edition of Delhi Dialogue (DD X) was held in New Delhi and was hosted by Union External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj. The theme for this edition was “Strengthening India-ASEAN Maritime
Cooperation”. This was the first major event organised after ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit, which
was held in New Delhi in January 2018.
Key Facts
DD X was organised by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in partnership with the Research and
Information System for Developing Countries Vineet Singh (RIS). It saw participation
| vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com | of political leadership, policy
makers, senior officials, diplomats, business leaders, think-tanks and academicians from India and ASEAN
member states. Chief ministers from North-Eastern states were also invited to participate in the event.
DD X comprised of six plenary and four parallel sessions, with each session followed by open discussions.
Delhi Dialogue
Delhi Dialogue is premier annual event to discuss politico-security, economic and socio-cultural
engagement between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It has been held
annually since 2009 and political leaders, policy makers, senior officials, diplomats, think tanks and
academicians from both sides participate in the discussions pertaining to ASEAN-India relations. It is
aimed at finding a common ground and expanding the scope of cooperation between India and ASEAN
nations. The theme of ninth edition of dialogue was “ASEAN-India Relations: Charting the Course for the
Next 25 Years”. It had marked the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-India Partnership.
July 21, 2018
Power Grid signs MoU with UP Power Corp for energy efficiency
Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation (UPPCL) for energy efficiency and agricultural demand side
management programme. POWERGRID and UPPCL are going to held further discussions to decide terms
and conditions for replacement of agriculture pump sets in East and South DISCOMs of Uttar Pradesh.
POWERGRID is contemplating investment of about Rs 2,200 to 2,500 crore in these projects, subject to
necessary clearances.
Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID)
POWERGRID is Navaratna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE). It is central transmission utility (CTU)
of India. It is India’s largest electric power transmission utility, transmitting about 50% of total power
generated in India on its transmission network. It is listed company since 2007. It is headquartered in
Gurugram, Haryana. Government owns 56.91% of POWERGRID and balance 43.09% is owned by public. It
operates 90% of inter-state and inter-regional networks.
India to remain fastest growing major economy till 2019-20: ADB
According to Asian Development Bank (ADB), India will continue to be fastest growing major economy,
ahead of China, with growth rate of 7.3% in 2018-19 and 7.6% in 2019-20. The growth projections were
supplement to ADB’s Asian Development Outlook (ADO).
Key Highlights
Growth in Asia and Pacific’s developing economies for 2018 and 2019 will remain solid as it continues
apace across the region, despite rising tensions between the US and its trading partners. Concerns for the
region include trade measures and rising trade tensions in the region. But the prudent macroeconomic
and fiscal policy-making will help economies across region prepare to respond to external shocks,
© 2018 GKToday | All Rights Reserved | https://www.gktoday.in 34
Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
highlight government’s shortcomings. Then Prime Minister or ministers reply to the charges made. If the
government loses trust vote, it is expected to resign.
NABARD launches South East Asia’s first ever Centre for Climate Change in Lucknow
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has launched Centre for Climate Change
in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. It is first of its kind centre in South East Asia. It aims at accelerating concerted
climate action by various stakeholders in government, private, financial and non -government sectors.
Centre for Climate Change
The centre will help NABARD in enhancing its capacity building efforts manifold. It will extend
professional support to stakeholders for designing climate related projects and take up collaborative
studies and action research projects in the area. It will also support capacity building and project
preparation effort in developing countries in the region as also in Africa.
It will address capacity building needs of stakeholders, undertake policy advocacy, promote national and
international collaborations by bringing in knowledge, technology and finance for addressing the
challenges and opportunities emerging from climate change.
Background
India has experienced impact of climate change on agriculture and rural livelihoods. Government has
taken several measures such as promoting micro irrigation, soil health cards, integrated farming models
and traditional farming to de-risk farmersVineetfrom impact of climate
Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com | change. NABARD has been engaging
itself in capacity building of various stakeholders involved in Climate Change actions. It is National
Implementation Entity (NIE) for three important climate funds, viz. Green Climate Fund (GCF), Adaptation
fund of UNFCCC and National Adaptation fund for Climate Change (NAFCC).
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
NABARD is an apex agricultural development financial institution in India. It has been entrusted with
matters concerning policy, planning and operations in the field of credit for agriculture and other
economic activities in rural areas in India.
NABARD facilitates credit flow for promotion and development of agriculture, small-scale industries,
cottage and village industries, handicrafts and other rural crafts. It supports all other allied economic
activities in rural areas, promote integrated and sustainable rural development and secure prosperity of
rural areas.
It is active in developing financial inclusion policy. It is member of Alliance for Financial Inclusion. It is
headquartered at Mumbai, Maharashtra with regional offices all over India. It was established in 1982 on
recommendations of Shivaraman Committee to implement National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development Act, 1981.
Government launches Student Police Cadet Programme
Ministry of Home Affairs sponsored Student Police Cadet (SPC) Programme was launched nationally in
Gurugram, Haryana. It was launched by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the presence of Union
Human Resources Minister Prakash Javadekar. The programme aims to build bridge between Police and
larger community through school students by inculcating values and ethics in them through classes in
school and outside.
Student Police Cadet (SPC) Programme
The programme focuses on students of class 8th and 9th. It will be implemented first in government
schools, in both urban and rural areas and later expanded to private schools. It takes special care to ensure
that it does not increase workload of the students. It does not have any prescribed text book and also any
exam. Only one class is proposed in a month under its schedule.
Programme will broadly cover two topics
Crime prevention and control: Topics covered under it include road safety, fight against social evils,
community policing, safety of women and children, fight against corruption and disaster
management.
Values and ethics: Topics covered under it include values and ethics, empathy and sympathy,
tolerance, patience, attitude, respect for elders, team spirit and discipline.
Handbook: Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) with support of National Council of
Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has prepared handbook for imparting instructions. It will
also enable learning through group discussions and audio-visual mediums.
Implementation: It will be steered by state level committee headed by Principal Secretary, Home
Department with Principal Secretary, Education and Director General of Police (DGP) as members.
Besides, similar committee will be formed at district level, headed by District Magistrate with District
Inspector of Schools and Superintendent of Police (SP) as members.
Funding: Central Government has released amount worth Rs.67 crores to states for implementation of
programme. Besides, amount of Rs 50,000 has been earmarked for each school for educational aids,
training and contingency.
July 23, 2018
TreadWill: IIT Kanpur develops online tool to help people deal with mental health issues
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has developed TreadWill, an online tool to help people cope
with issues related to mental health. The tool was developed by team with collaborative support from
Computer Science and Engineering and Humanities and Social Sciences, HSS (Psychology) departments.
TreadWill
It is website designed to help people deal with stress, low mood, lethargy and other depressive symptoms
through different online exercises, questionnaires and games. It will help in overcoming depressive
symptoms and becoming more resilient againstVineet Singhstressful events| in the future.
| vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com
It is based proven methodology of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) that helps people with depressive
symptoms. It uses simple language to help users to identify involuntary negative thoughts and behavior. It
teaches techniques to users to work on modifying their thoughts and actions.
It uses simple forms (thought record worksheet, core belief worksheet) and games to practice techniques
of CBT in engaging manner. It offers free and easy accessible alternative for those who are wary of
attending in-person sessions at clinics. It further provides users by sending personalised SMS alerts to
help them stick to programme till end.
Odisha police launch drive to bust Pangolin smuggling racket
Odisha Special Task Force (STF) has launched drive to bust an international syndicate that peddles
‘endangered’ pangolin, one of the world’s most illegally traded mammals. It has requested Union Home
Ministry to approach the Myanmar government to block the transit route for smuggled pangolin under
Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). MLAT is an agreement between nations to exchange information
or provide legal assistance for enforcing laws.
Pangolin
Pangolin is only scaly mammal on the planet. According to Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (CITES), it is also the most illegally traded vertebrate within its class (Mammalia). Of
the eight species of pangolin worldwide, two are found in India. They are Chinese pangolin (manis
pentadactyla), mostly found in northeast India and Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata).
Pangolins has large, overlapping scales on its body which act as armour. It can also curl itself into ball as
self-defence against predators. The colour of its scales varies depending on colour of earth in its
surroundings. Pangolins is an insectivore, feeding on ants and termites, digging them out of mounds and
logs using its long claws. It is nocturnal and rests in deep burrows during the day.
Pangolins is smuggled for its scales as it believed that they possess magic or charms and have medicinal
properties. The scales serves as base component for indigenous (traditional) psychotropic substances.
China is main illicit hub (market) for smuggled scales of Pangolins, where they have huge demand for
medicinal and magical purposes.
Protection Status: Chinese pangolin has been listed as “critically endangered” by UN affiliated
International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List. Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata)
has been listed as “endangered” in IUCN Red List. It is also a Schedule I category protected animal, under
the Wildlife Protection Act (1972).
SAFAR: Most advanced System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting inuagrated in Delhi
Ministry of Earth Sciences has unveiled state-of-the-art Air Quality and Weather Forecast System–
SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting) at Chandni Chowk in Delhi. It is first of its kind
© 2018 GKToday | All Rights Reserved | https://www.gktoday.in 38
Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
and most advanced system in India. Such advanced are also proposed to be implemented in other three
cities of India- Pune, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting)
SAFAR was developed indigenously by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune and
operationalized by India Meteorological Department (IMD). It is integral part of India’s first Air Quality
Early Warning System operational in Delhi. It will monitor all weather parameters like temperature,
rainfall, humidity, wind speed and wind direction.
It also will measure sun’s UV-Index (UVI), PM1, Mercury and Black carbon in real time in addition to regular
air quality and weather parameters like PM2.5, PM10, Sulfur Dioxide, Ozone, Nitrogen Oxides, Carbon
Monoxide. It can also provide measurement of online automatic ultrafine particles PM1 and Mercury, both of
which have direct relevance to human health. It will also monitor existence harmful pollutants of Benzene,
Toluene and Xylene.
SAFAR has giant true colour LED display which gives out real-time air quality index on 24×7 basis with
colour coding alongwith 72-hour advance forecast. Based on Air Quality Index on particular day, health
advisory and related precaution will be notified to prepare citizens well in advance.
Benefits
SAFAR will accelerate public awareness and preparedness of air pollution and weather extremes. It will
also lead to better understanding of linkages among
Vineet Singh emissions,
| vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com | weather, pollution and climate. It will
strengthen existing air quality network of SAFAR, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Delhi
Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). Besides health, SAFAR system will benefit cost savings to several
other sectors like agriculture, aviation, infrastructure, disaster management skill, tourism and many
others, which directly or indirectly get affected by air quality and weather.
Public Affairs Index 2018: Kerala tops list of best governed States for third time
According to Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2018, Kerala tops the list as best-governed state in the country
followed by Tamil Nadu. The index was released by the think tank Public Affairs Centre (PAC). Kerala has
topped PAI as the best-governed state for the third consecutive year since 2016 among large states
Key Facts
Large States: Kerala has topped the list, followed by Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat.
Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar ranked the lowest, indicating higher social and economic
inequalities in the states.
Smaller states (with population less than two crore): Himachal Pradesh topped the list followed by Goa,
Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura. Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya were ranked at bottom of the index
among small states.
2018 PAI also included separate index on children of India, giving measure of how child-friendly each of
the states are. In this category of providing better living conditions for all children, Kerala, Himachal
Pradesh and Mizoram topped the index
Public Affairs Index (PAI)
The index is released since in 2016 by Bengaluru base Public Affairs Centre (PAC), a not for profit think
tank which aims to improve governance in India. It is based on 10 themes, 30 focus subjects and 100
indicators, relying solely upon government data. It covers wide range of themes such as support to human
development, social protection, essential infrastructure, women and children, crime, law and order,
delivery of justice, transparency and accountability, environment, fiscal management and economic
freedom.
Regional Rail Training Institute inaugurated at Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh
Indian Railways inaugurated Regional Rail Training Institute (RRTI) at Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh in a bid to
strengthen expertise and capabilities of the employees of North-Eastern Railways. Besides, newly
constructed 400 metre washing pit at Ghazipur City station was also inaugurated at a cost of Rs 19.62
crore.
Regional Rail Training Institute (RRTI)
RRTI was constructed with the cost of Rs 21 crore within stipulated time. It will provide modern training
facilities to the railway employees and would enhance their efficiency. It is equipped with modern training
facilities, an advanced model hostel, computer room, cafeteria and other necessary facilities. It will
immensely add to development of area.
PM Narendra Modi launches India-assisted emergency ambulance service in Sri Lanka
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched India-assisted emergency ambulance service through video
conferencing from New Delhi. The inaugural function of emergency ambulance service was held in Jaffna,
Northern Province, of Sri Lankan. The project is another milestone in wide-ranging development
partnership between India and Sri Lanka.
Key Facts
Jaffna is third province in Sri Lanka, were India-assisted emergency ambulance service has been launched.
The service was earlier introduced in two provinces of Sri Lanka with grant assistance from India. It is
planned to be expanded to remaining seven provinces of Sri Lanka. For this project, India in total has
given grant of $22.8 million- $7.6 million for the first phase and $15.2 million for the country-wide
expansion. This is largest ever Indian grant project in Sri Lanka after India funded housing project.
Background
India had launched emergency ambulance service in Sri Lanka’s western and southern provinces in July,
2016 with grant of US $7.6 million to uplift and improve medical facilities in the island country. In this
regard, agreement was signed between Indian entity GVK EMRI Lanka Pvt Ltd and Sri Lankan Ministry of
Health Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine.Vineet
With this project, pverall,
Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com | India’s development portfolio in Sri
Lanka is nearly US $2.6 billion, out of which US $436 million is in the form of grants.
Myanmar joins International Solar Alliance
Myanmar has joined India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), making it 68th signatory to
Framework Agreement of ISA. The ISA Framework Agreement was handed over by Myanmar Minister for
International Cooperation, Kyaw Tin to India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on sidelines of
Delhi Dialogue.
International Solar Alliance (ISA)
ISA was jointly launched by India and France in November 2015 at Paris on side lines of COP21 UN Climate
Change Conference. Its Framework Agreement came into force in December 2017. It celebrated its
founding day on 11th March, 2018. It is headquartered at campus of Natioanl Institute of Solar Energy
(NISE), Gurugram, Harayana, making it first international intergovernmental treaty based organization to
be headquartered in India.
ISA is action-oriented organization that aims brings together countries with rich solar potential to
aggregate global demand, thereby reducing prices through bulk purchase, facilitating deployment of
existing solar technologies at scale and promoting collaborative solar R&D and capacity building.
Objectives of ISA
Undertake joint efforts required to reduce the cost of finance and the cost of technology;
Mobilize more than US $1000 billion of investments needed by 2030 for massive deployment of solar
energy;
Pave way for future technologies adapted to needs of solar rich 121 countries lying fully or partially
between Tropic of Cancer and Capricon.
ISA’s 4 ongoing programmes
Scaling Solar Mini Grids;
Affordable Finance at Scale.
Scaling Solar Applications for Agricultural Use.
Scaling Solar Rooftop catering to the needs of solar energy in specific areas.
NCERT to introduce QR code in textbooks
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has initiated process of introducing
QR code (Quick Response code) in their textbooks. It is aimed at helping students understand chapters
better by watching film or reading additional content on laptops and digital boards.
Key Facts
For this enhanced learning feature, NCERT has started process of identifying relevant supplementary
material including videos, power point presentations animations, maps and e-content. These will be
mapped with content of each textbook from class 1 to 12 and will be linked with QR code, which will be
printed in the textbooks. The QR code laden textbooks are likely to be introduced from the 2019 academic.
QR code (Quick Response code)
QR Code is a two-dimensional (matrix) machine-readable bar code consisting of an array of black and
white squares, used for storing web-links or other information. This code can be read by camera of
smartphone. It is used for storing URLs or other information that link directly to text, emails websites
phone numbers. It is capable of 360 degrees (omni-directional), high speed reading. It can store up to 7089
digits as compared to conventional bar codes which can store max 20 digits. It encodes same amount of
data in one-tenth the space of a traditional bar code. It carries information both horizontally and
vertically. It has error correction capability and data stored in it can be restored even if it is partially
damaged or dirty.
Government selects 734 athletes for Khelo-India scholarships
Sports Authority of India (SAI) under Union Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs has cleared 734 athletes
for the scholarship under the Khelo India Talent Development Scheme. They were selected High Powered
Committee of SAI. Through this programme, the athletes will get training at government-accredited
residential academies. They will be provided with annual stipend of Rs. 1,20,000 on quarterly basis to meet
their out of pocket expenses, treatment of injuries and other expenses.
Sports academies Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
The High Powered Committee for the first time also has accredited various private, state and SAI
academies to create strong ecosystem for nurturing talent. It includes 21 non-SAI academies as well. The
rationale behind it is to develop more such academies so that young athletes can get access to best
training without having to travel long distances.
Khelo India Talent Development Scheme
The scheme was introduced by Ministry of Sports and Youth affairs to revive sports culture in India at
grass-root level. Its objective is to build strong framework for all sports played in our country and
establish India as great sporting nation. It aims to help scout young talent from schools in various
disciplines and groom them as future sports champions. Under it, talented players are identified in
priority sports disciplines at various levels by High-Powered Committed and each selected player is
provided annual financial assistance of Rs. 5 lakh for 8 years.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: Government cuts minimum annual deposit requirement to Rs 250
The Union Government has reduced minimum yearly deposit required under popular girl child savings
scheme, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana to Rs 250 from Rs 1,000 earlier. This has been lowered to enable more
people to enjoy benefits of this scheme. In this regard, Government has amended Sukanya Samriddhi
Account Rules, 2016.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
It was launched as a small savings scheme under Beti Bacho Beti Padho (BBBP) in January 2015. It aims to
motivate parents to open an account in name of girl child for her welfare and meet expense requirements
of higher education and marriage. Under this scheme, parent or legal guardian of a girl child can open an
account in her name until she attains the age of ten years. The account can be opened via post office or
commercial banks.
Deposits can be made in this account up to 14 years from date of opening of account. After this period, the
account will only earn interest according to applicable rates. The minimum deposit that can be made
every year into account is now Rs 250 and maximum amount on yearly basis is Rs 1.50 lakh.
The girl child can withdraw 50% of the money in the account after reaching age of 18 for higher education
(18 years limit for preventing child-marriages). The amount deposited in it will get interest rate of 9.1%
and there will be no income tax for this. The account will remain operative until the girl child reaches 21
age.
July 24, 2018
First-ever tribal atlas of Odisha released
Odisha Government has unveiled first-ever ‘Tribal Atlas of Odisha’, a compilation of demographic and
cultural information of the tribal population in the state. It is claimed to be first-of-its-kind tribal
compilation in the country. The book was published by SC and ST Research and Training Institute in
collaboration with Academy of Tribal Language and Culture (ATLC).
Tribal Atlas of Odisha
The compendium gives comprehensive and valuable information on tribal regions in state and key
demographic indicators like literacy, sex ratio and education. It also showcases tribal art, culture, dialects
and much more in about 60 map formats and other visuals. The book displays salient features about tribal
population of Odisha with series of specialized maps, charts and diagrams. It also has corresponding
graphs and diagrams portraying distributional aspects of tribal population, tribal habitats, ecological
setting, their socio-cultural attributes such as linguistic, dialectical affinity, sex composition, literacy and
economic aspects of communities living across the state.
Bacgkround
As per Census 2011, Odisha has second highest tribal population in the country after Madhya Pradesh. The
state’s tribal population is primarily found in Mayurbhanj, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Rayagada,
Kandhamal, Koraput, Keonjhar and Gajapati districts.
First meeting of India-Bangladesh Joint Committee on Border Haats held in Agartala
The first meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Committee on Border Haats was held in Agartala, Tripura.
The Joint Committee also visited Border Haat at Kamlasagar in Sipahijala District, Tripura and Tarapur in
Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh. Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
Outcomes of meeting
Both sides noted positive impact of Border Haats on livelihoods of people living in areas adjoining Haats.
They also held extensive discussions on issues related to review of operations of four functional Border
Haats viz. Kalaichar (Meghalaya), Balat (Meghalaya), Kamlasagar (Tripura) and Srinagar (Tripura).
They also made suggestions for improvement, timeline for setting up six additional Border Haats that
have been agreed to earlier by both sides and roadmap for further expansion of Border Haats. They also
agreed that next meeting will be held in Bangladesh on mutually agreed dates.
Background
Border Haats (or rural market) aims at promoting the well-being of the people dwelling in remote areas
across the borders of two countries. It seeks to establish traditional system of marketing local produce
thorough local markets in local currency or according to barter basis. Though trade carried in this
informal market is not significant in terms of percentage of bilateral trade, but these local measures help
to improve economic well-being of marginalised sections of society. Border haats along India-Banlgadesh
border are established under Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed for Border Trade and Border
Haats between both countries in October 2010. India and Bangladesh had signed MoU on Border Haats in
April 2017 for establishment of Joint Committee to review border haats operations, suggest modifications
in operational modalities and propose new locations of Border Haats.
Explained: Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is flagship programme of Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) that
aims to enrich Rural India. The second edition (Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0) was launched in April, 2018.
Currently 748 institutions are participating under the scheme. In phase II, 605 institutions were selected.
Out of these 313 are technical Institutions and 292 are Non-Technical Institutions. 143 institutions had
taken part in phase-1.
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan
The scheme aims to link higher education institutions with set of atleast five villages, so that they can
contribute to economic and social betterment of these village communities using their knowledge base.
Under this scheme, higher education institutions will participate in development activities, particularly in
rural areas.
Objective of the scheme are
To engage faculty and students of higher educational institutions in understanding rural realities.
Identify and select existing innovative technologies, enable customization of technologies or devise
implementation methods for innovative solutions as required by people.
To allow higher educational institutions to contribute to devising systems for smooth
moral leadership across three districts in these states as part of Phase I of the cooperation.
Phase I of this cooperation will focus on districts of Dholpur (Rajasthan), Nandurbar (Maharashtra) and
Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh). It will help to develop comprehensive district-level action plan with integrates
various initiatives and interventions.
Lupin Foundation will work towards three main pillars of ensuring integrated developmental policy in
model states. They are social development (initiatives for health, education and women empowerment),
economic empowerment (focus on interventions in spheres of agriculture, animal husbandry and skill
enhancement) and infrastructure development (establish durable infra in form of internal roads, school
buildings and water resources).
Aspirational District Programme
The programme was launched in January 2018 aims to quickly and effectively transform some of most
underdeveloped districts of the country. It envisages rapid development of selected districts on basis of
composite index based on five parameters health and nutrition, education, financial inclusion, skill
development, agriculture and water resources and basic infrastructure.
It focuses closely on improving people’s ability to participate fully in burgeoning economy. It seeks to
bring these indicators in selected districts at par with the better performing districts in the country.
Broad contours of the programme are Convergence of Central and State Schemes; Collaboration of
Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ Officers and District Collectors and Competition among districts driven by
Mass Movement or Jan Andolan.
Lok Sabha passes Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2017
Lok Sabha has passed Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to reduce the number of cheque
dishonour cases pending in courts. The bill amends Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 to primarily address
issues of dishonor of cheques and deal with unnecessary delay in disposal of such cases.
Negotiable Instrument
It refers to any legal documents like cheques, promissory notes, bill of exchange etc which promises to pay
bearer or holder of instrument or person whose name is written on instrument specific amount of money
either on demand or after specified time i.e. on some future date. The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881
defines promissory notes, bills of exchange and cheques. It also specifies penalties for bouncing of cheques
and other violations with respect to such negotiable instruments.
Key Features of Bill
Interim compensation: The Bill inserts new Section 143 A in parent Act to allow court trying offence
related to cheque bouncing to direct drawer (person who writes cheque) to pay interim compensation to
complainant. This compensation may be paid under certain circumstances, including where drawer pleads
not guilty of accusation. It will not exceed 20% of cheque amount and will be paid by drawer within 60
days of trial court’s order to pay such compensation.
Deposit in case of appeal: The Bill inserts another new Section 148-A in the parent act specifying that if
drawer convicted in cheque bouncing case files appeal, appellate court may direct him to deposit
minimum of 20% of fine or compensation awarded by trial court during conviction. This amount will be in
addition to any interim compensation paid by drawer during earlier trial proceedings.
Returning interim compensation: In case drawer is acquitted during trial or by appellate court, then
court will direct complainant to return interim compensation (or deposit in case of an appeal case), along
with interest. This amount will be repaid within 60 days of court’s order.
Lok Sabha passes National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017
Lok Sabha has passed National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to provide post-
facto approval to those approved institutions which are funded by Centre or states, but do not have
recognition. The Bill amends National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act, 1993.
Key Features of Bill
Retrospective recognition of certain teacher education institutions: The Bill seeks to grant
retrospective recognition to institutions that have been notified by central government, funded by Central
Government or State/UT government and but do not have recognition under the parent Act. Besides,
these institutions must have offered teacher education courses on or after establishment of NCTE until
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authorised to formulate resolution plan for operation turnaround of assets which will be presented to
lenders for their approval. It will be applicable to all corporate borrowers who have availed loans and
financial assistance for amount of Rs. 50 crore or more under consortium lending or multiple banking
arrangements. Each resolution plan will be submitted by lead lender to Overseeing Committee.
The decision making under ICA framework will be by way of approval of majority lenders i.e. lenders with
66% share in aggregate exposure. Once resolution plan is approved by majority lenders, it will be binding
on all lenders that are party to ICA. The plan formulated under ICA will be in compliance with RBI norms
and all other applicable laws and guidelines. Banks opposing resolution plan will have option to sell their
stressed loans to company at discount or buy out loans to that entity from all other lenders at premium.
Significance of ICA framework
The ICA framework aims for faster facilitation of the stressed assets resolution. It gives a bigger say to
lead lender in consortium and allows resolution plan to be approved if 66% of the banks in the group agree
to it. It authorises lead bank to implement resolution plan in 180 days and leader would then prepare
resolution plan. If any lender dissents, the lead lender will have the right but not the obligation to arrange
for buy-out of the facilities of the dissenting lenders at a value that is equal to 85 per cent of the lower of
liquidation value or resolution value. The dissenting lenders can exercise such right of buy-out in respect
of the entire facilities held by other relevant lenders.
Background Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
According to RBI, India’s banks had 12.5% of their total loans categorised as non-performing or
restructured at the end of March 2018. But RBI in February 2018 had withdrawn half dozen loan
restructuring schemes and tightened rules to steer more companies to bankruptcy courts. It had issued
revised framework for resolution of stressed assets.
Besides, after recommendations of Government formed Sunil Mehta Committee, Inter-creditor
Agreement was prepared under aegis of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) to serve as platform for banks and
FIs to come together and take joint and concerted actions towards resolution of stressed accounts.
Government forms GoM and Committee to frame law against lynching
Union Government has created Group of Ministers (GoM) and high-level committee to deliberate and
make recommendations for a separate penal provision on incidents of mob violence. The GoM will be
headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, whereas committee will be headed by Uion Home
Secretary Rajiv Gauba.
Gauba committee
It will include secretaries of departments of Justice, Legal Affairs, Legislative Department and Social
Justice and Empowerment as its members. It will suggest measures and legal framework to effectively
deal with incidents of mob violence and lynching. It will submit its recommendations to the GoM in four
weeks.
Group of Ministers (GoM)
GoM includes Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, External Affairs
Minister Sushma Swaraj and Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot. It will
examine recommendations given by Gauba committee and submit its report to Prime Minister Narendra
Modi.
Background
The move came after recent Supreme Court direction to central government on the issue of mob violence
and lynching. The apex court had denounced sweeping incidents of lynching as an affront to the rule of
law and called for law to deal with such horrendous acts of mobocracy. It had passed a series of
“preventive, remedial and punitive” measures to deal with lynchings and mob vigilantism. It had made
Centre and state governments accountable for mob violence and lynching and had asked them to take
steps to curb and stop dissemination of irresponsible and explosive fake messages and videos on social
media platforms which incite such incidents.
July 25, 2018
Pitch Black – 18: Indian Air Force for first time participates in multinational exercise in Australia
Indian Air Force (IAF) for first time will participate in multinational air exercise Pitch Black – 18 (PB-18) in
Australia hosted Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It will be three week multi-national large force
employment exercise (27 July to 17 August 2018) conducted from RAAF Base Darwin and RAAF Base
Tindal.
Pitch Black – 18
PB-18 Exercise will host up to 4000 personnel and up to 140 aircraft from 12 participant countries
including Australia, Canada, India, Germany, Indonesia, France (New Caledonia), Netherlands, New
Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and United States.
The multilateral exercise will feature range of realistic, simulated threats found in modern and dynamic
battle-space environment. It will provide opportunity to test and improve our force integration, utilising
one of largest training airspace areas in the world — Bradshaw Field Training Area and Delamere Air
Weapons Range. It will include day and night flying.
IAF contingent comprised of 145 air-warriors including Garud commando team, four Sukhoi-30 MKI
fighter planes and C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft. IAF men and planes will undertake simulated air
combat exercises in controlled environment and mutual exchange of best practices towards enhancing its
operational capability.
After completion of exercise, on its return leg from Darwin to Subang (Indonesia), IAF fighters will be
refuelled in air for the first time by RAAF KC-30A. Moreover during transit to Australia, IAF contingent
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
will also have constructive engagement with Indonesian and Malaysian Air Forces. This will be IAF’s
overall third participation in multilateral air combat exercises over last three years after Red Flag exercise
held in United States in April-May 2016 and Blue Flag air combat drill in Israel in November 2017.
Exercise Pitch Black
It is a biennial warfare exercise hosted by Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is normally held in
Northern Australia, primarily at RAAF Bases Darwin and Tindal. The aim of the exercise is to practice
Offensive Counter Air (OCA) and Defensive Counter Air (DCA) combat, in simulated war environment. It
traditionally consists of red team and blue team based at separate locations, with one attacking other. The
first Pitch Black exercises took place in 1981 between different RAAF units. Later in 1990, it began as
training exercise between Australia and Singapore and then was expanded as multilateral exercises by
inviting international air forces with which Australia has defence ties.
Rs. 904.80 Lakhs received as part of CSR under National Culture Fund
Ministry of Culture has announced that it has received Rs. 904.80 Lakhs for conservation and
maintenance work of historical monuments as contributions part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
under National Culture Fund (NCF). It also has revenue collected through various sources like ticketing,
Parking, photography, filming, and from holding cultural events from selected centrally protected
monument which has been deposited in Consolidated Fund of India.
National Culture Fund (NCF)
NCF was established as Trust under Charitable Endowment Act, 1890 as funding mechanism distinct from
existing sources and patterns of funding for arts and culture in India. It aims at inviting individuals as well
as private institutions in the task of promoting, protecting and preserving India’s cultural heritage.
It is managed and administered by council headed by Union Culture Minister and decides the policies. Its
Executive Committee is headed by Secretary, Ministry of Culture which actualizes those policies. All
projects undertaken by NCF are completed within specified period in accordance with MoU signed by it
with concerned donor organization.
Union Government had granted one-time corpus fund to NCF, apart from this, there is no fund allocated
by to. It receives contributions and voluntary donations as endowments from many other sources.
Donations and contributions to NCF are eligible for 100% tax deduction under Income Tax Act, 1961
subject to limits and conditions prescribed.
Scientists develop world’s fastest man-made spinning object
Scientists have developed world’s fastest rotor, which will help in studying quantum mechanics. The rotor
can spin at more than 60 billion revolutions per minute, making it world’s fastest man-made object. It is
more than 100,000 times faster than a high-speed dental drill.
Key Facts
To produce fastest rotor, scientists had synthesized nanoscale dumbbell made from silica and had
levitated it in high vacuum using laser. The laser (working in straight line or in circle) when is linear,
vibrates dumbbell and when it is circular spins dumbbell spins. Spinning dumbbell functions as rotor, and
vibrating dumbbell functions like instrument for measuring tiny forces and torques, known as a torsion
balance. The nanodumbbell levitated by optical tweezer in vacuum can vibrate or spin, depending on
polarization of tincoming laser.,
Potential Applications
The fastest rotor has many applications, including material science as it can help to survivability of
different materials in extreme conditions. It can also help in learning about vacuum friction and gravity,
as understanding these mechanisms is one of essential goal for modern physics. In more advanced
version, it can be used to study things like quantum mechanics (fundamental theory in physics which
describes nature at the smallest scales of energy levels of atoms and subatomic particles) and properties of
vacuum.
Parliament passes Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2018
The Parliament has passed Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill 2018 to enhance transparency and
accountability of the government and make anti-graft provisions under the law stringent. The Bill amends
various provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act
Vineet Singh (PCA), 1988 |
| vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com
reserve. It also aims to protect the Mahanadi River and keep it alive. Under this mission, more than 5 crore
saplings will be planted over an area of 41,000 hectares along the banks of Mahanadi river and its
tributaries Ib and Tel rivers. It will be implemented jointly by States Departments of Forest, Horticulture
and Watershed Development. Mainly fruit-bearing trees like mango, jackfruit and jamun will be planted
within one km radius of the river bank.
Mahanadi
Mahanadi is major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around 141,600 square kilometres and
has total course of 858 kilometres. It flows through Chhattisgarh and Odisha. It originates from highlands
of Chhattisgarh through collection of array of streams and reaches Bay of Bengal. It left bank tributaries
are Shivnath, Mand, Ib, Hasdeo and right bank are Ong, parry river, Jonk, Telen. Mahanadi valley is known
for its fertile soil and flourishing agriculture. Hirakud Dam across the river is longest major earthen dam
in India.
India, Rwanda sign eight agreements in various fields
India and Rwanda have signed eight agreements in the fields of defence, trade, agriculture, leather and
allied products and dairy. The agreements were signed following delegation-level talks between Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda. PM
Modi became first Indian Prime Minister to visit Rwanda.
Highlights of Bilateral meetings Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
PM Modi and Kagame held wide-ranging talks and discussed a host of measures to boost bilateral
strategic ties. India assured Rwanda that India will continue to its development efforts. India also
extended two lines of credit (LoCs) worth $200 million to Rwanda for development of industrial parks and
Kigali Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and for development of three agricultural projects in Rwanda. PM
Modi also announced opening of the first Indian diplomatic mission in Rawanda, which will help to
establish communication between governments of two countries and also enable facilities for consular,
passport and visa. Both countries also agreed to set up task force to enable digital learning mediums for
children.
Signed Agreements are
Amendment on MoU on Cooperation in field of Agriculture and Animal Resources: It focuses on
cooperation in agriculture and livestock with strong emphasis on research, technological
development, capacity building and human resource development as well as investment
mobilization.
Agreement on Cooperation Defence on Capacity Building, Defence, Industry, Science and
Technology: Capacity Building, Defence, Industry, Science and Technology.
MoU on Cultural Exchange Program for year 2018-22: Music and Dance, Theatre, Exhibitions,
Seminars and Conference, Archeology, Archives, Library, Museums, Literature, Research and
Documentation etc.
MoU on Agricultural Research and Education between RAB and ICAR: Training and Research in
Dairy, Processing of Dairy Products, Quality and Safety of Mil, Biotechnological Intervention in
Livestock.
Trade Cooperation Framework: Facilitate, diversify and promote trade and economic cooperation
between the two countries.
MoU on Collaboration in the Areas of Leather and Allied Sectors between NIRDA and CSIR-CLRI
LoC Agreement for US $ 100 million for development of Industrial Parks and expansion of Kigali
Special Economic Zones
LoC Agreement for US $ 100 million for Agriculture irrigation scheme in Rwanda
Girinka programme
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted 200 cows to villagers from Rweru villages as part of Rwandan
Government’s Girinka Programme. The programme was initiated by President Paul Kagame in response
to alarmingly high rate of childhood malnutrition and as way to accelerate poverty reduction and
integrate livestock and crop farming. Under this programme, poorest residing in region get cows from
Government and gift first female calf to neighbour to promote brotherhood. The programme is based on
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Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
premise that providing dairy cow to poor, transforms livelihoods, reconciles communities improving
agricultural productivity through use of manure as fertilizers. The program has contributed to increase in
agricultural production in Rwanda – especially milk production and products and has reduced
malnutrition and increased incomes.
2018 Earth Overshoot Day to fall on August 1
2018 Earth Overshoot Day will fall on August 1, the earliest date since ecological overshoot began in early
1970s. It is date when humanity annual demand on nature exceeds what Earth can regenerate over the
entire year. It is calculated by Global Footprint Network and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Key Facts
This year the overshoot day falls two days earlier than the last year’s. Every day after August 1 will now be
considered as strain on Earth’s natural resources. In 2018, nature’s budget for entire year has already been
used up in just span of 8 months only. It means humanity is currently using nature 1.7 times faster than
Earth’s ecosystems can regenerate. It shows that mankind and human actions are putting unprecedented
pressure on environment and its resources. This has been prime cause of overshoot day constantly
moving up calendar from late September in 1997 to its earliest yet in 2018. This day depicts that 1.7 earths
will be required by humanity to satisfy its exploitative needs keeping in mind current rate of consumption
and waste production. The costs of ecological overspend include biodiversity loss, soil erosion,
deforestation, fresh water scarcity collapsing fisheries, and buildup of carbon dioxide in atmosphere,
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
leading to vicious circle of climate change and more unprecedented climate including severe droughts,
hurricanes and wildfires.
global business survey. The report was based on results of quarterly global business survey of 2,500
businesses in 32 economies.
Key Highlights of report
The global optimism index for Q2 of 2018 was topped by Indonesia followed by Netherlands, Austria,
Philippines and China. Globally business optimism has dropped from record high net 61% in Q1 2018 to net
54% in Q2 in 2018 and businesses are optimistic about increase in revenue.
India was recently declared as 6th largest economy by World Bank, surpassing France. However, higher
twin deficits resulting in falling rupee and rising crude oil prices and inflation continue to be reasons for
sluggish business optimism in India. Confidence of Indian businesses has been low since Q3 2017.
In India also businesses are optimistic about an increase in revenue but availability of skilled workforce
remains a key constraint for growth and employment expectations are low. Red tape and information,
communications technology (ICT) infrastructure are main concern for growth in India.
Invest India and Business France sign MoU to promote investment
Invest India and Business France have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote
investment facilitation and cooperation between startups of India and France. The MoU will facilitate
direct foreign investment by providing practical investment information to enterprises. It will also
support companies pursuing those opportunities which contribute positively to economic growth of two
countries. Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
Key Facts
Under this MoU, Invest India and Business France will collaborate to promote business and startup
ecosystem cooperation through joint activities. They will also exchange experiences to strengthen
institutional knowledge and identify opportunities between businesses in French and Indian private
sector, creating dedicated support structure to facilitate inbound companies and startups. The
partnership will strengthen existing business relations between India and France and provide seamless
facilitation channel for new businesses and innovations from both countries to grow in each other’s
markets.
Invest India
It is official Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of Central Government. It is mandated to
facilitate investments in the country. It is first stop for potential global investors in country. It is non-
profit venture under Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and
Industries,
Business France
It is executive agency of French government under supervision of Minister for Economic Affairs and
Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development. It promotes international
business development for French companies and professionals through worldwide network of 80 trade
commissions, which have worked with over 7,500 SMEs. It mobilizes expertise of 1,400 persons in France
and in 70 other countries.
Fish losing smelling sense due to carbon dioxide level rise: Study
According to recent study, fish are losing their sense of smell as rising carbon emissions is turning water
they live more acidic. CO2 is absorbed by seawater forming carbonic acid. Due of ocean acidification, fish
will lose some of their smelling sense, making it more difficult to survive.
Background
Fish use their sense of smell for essential things such finding food and safe parts of ocean to re-produce,
recognising each other and most importantly sniffing out danger so they can avoid predators. Since1800’s
ocean CO2 levels have risen by 43%. It is predicted to be more than double current level by the end of the
century.
Key Facts
For this study, researchers compared behaviour of juvenile sea bass at CO2 levels typical of today’s ocean
conditions and those predicted for the end of the century. It was found that sea bass in acidic waters
swam less and less likely responded when they encountered the smell of a predator. It also showed that
these fish were more likely to freeze as they were feeling anxious. Though, only sea bass was used in the
research, processes involved in sense of smell that are common to many fish species. Thus, these findings
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Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
The index is annual analysis of how political, economic, and regulatory changes will likely affect FDI
inflows into countries in coming years. It is constructed using primary data from proprietary survey
administered to senior executives of world’s leading corporations. Companies participating in survey have
annual revenues of $500 million or more.
POSHAN Abhiyaan: 2nd meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges held in New Delhi
Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) had organized 2nd meeting of National Council
on India’s Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan in New Dehli. It was chaired by NITI Aayog Vice
Chairman Rajiv Kumar.
Key Highlights of Meeting
National Council approved inclusion of 32 new districts under POSHAN Abhiyaan in the current year. This
will help to saturate all districts of Union Territories (UTs) that were left out under Phase-I and Phase-II. It
will also provide full coverage to those states, where up to 5 districts had been left. Thus facilitating in
saturation of 8 new States/UTs and taking total number of States/UTs covered under POSHAN Abhiyaan
to 23. It also gave in-principle approval to guidelines for construction of anganwadi centres in urban areas
and slums under aanganwadi services. During the meeting, WCD Ministry presented three modules from
online course for nutrition developed with assistance of National Institute of Nutrition. These courses will
be hosted independently by WCD Ministry and National Institute of Nutrition portals. It was also
announced to celebrate month of September as National Nutrition Month every year.
POSHAN Abhiyaan
POSHAN Abhiyaan (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) was launched in
Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan in March 2018. It aims to ensure holistic development and adequate nutrition for
pregnant women, mothers and children.
Targets: It aims to reduce level of under-nutrition and other related problems by ensuring convergence of
various nutrition related schemes. It also targets stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia (among young
children, women and adolescent girls) and low birth rate.
Components: Its large component involves gradual scaling-up of interventions supported by ongoing
World Bank assisted Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Systems Strengthening and Nutrition
Improvement Project (ISSNIP) to all districts in the country by 2022. The Abhiyaan will monitor and
review implementation of all such schemes and utilize existing structural arrangements of line ministries
wherever available.
Parliament passes Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018
Parliament has passed Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 that aims to curb practice of evading
criminal prosecution by economic offenders fleeing from country to evade clutches Indian law by
remaining outside jurisdiction of Indian courts. The bill will replace an ordinance promulgated by
President in April 2018.
Key Features of Bill
Fugitive economic offender (FEO): It has been as person against whom arrest warrant has been issued
against him for any specified offences where value involved is over Rs. 100 crore and he has left ountry
and refuses to return to face prosecution.
Special Court: The Bill empowers Special Court (designated under Prevention of Money-Laundering Act,
2002) to declare person as FEO based on application made. The Special Court will require person to appear
at specified place at least six weeks from issue notice. Proceedings will be terminated if the person
appears.
Confiscation of properties: The Bill allows director or deputy director (appointed under Prevention of
Money-Laundering Act, 2002) to attach any property mentioned in application with permission of special
court. Upon declaration as FEO, properties of person will be confiscated and vested in central government,
free of rights and claims in property. Further it bars FEO or any company associated with him from filing
or defending civil claims.
Bar on filing or defending civil claims: The Bill bars any court or tribunal may bar FEO or associated
company from filing or defending civil claims before it.
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Search warrant: The Bill does not require authorities to obtain search warrant or ensure presence of
witnesses before search.
Powers of director: The director or deputy director will have powers vested of civil court. These powers
include entering a place on the belief that individual is FEO and directing searching of building or seizing
documents.Under this law, appeals against orders of special court will lie before High Court.
Government amends definition of hydrocarbon to include shale
Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has amended Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules 1959 to
include shale in definition of petroleum. This change will allow private companies to explore and produce
the resource in the blocks they already operate.
Key Facts
The updated definition of petroleum means naturally occurring hydrocarbons, whether in form of natural
gas or in liquid, viscous or solid form, or mixture thereof, occurring in association with petroleum or coal
or shale but does not include coal, lignite, and helium. Prior to this, definition excluded shale and therefore
barred companies from exploiting it from fields that are producing conventional oil and gas or coal-bed
methane.
Significance
The amendment of definition of petroleum will open up exploration of all hydrocarbons in existing fields
which is line with new Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP). It will help in enhancing
domestic exploration and production of hydrocarbons and increasing India’s energy security and reducing
dependency on imports.
Shale
It is fine-grained sedimentary rock that forms from compaction of silt and clay-size mineral particles,
commonly called as mud. The composition of shale places it in category of sedimentary rocks known as
mudstones. Shale is distinguished from other mudstones due to laminated (rock is made up of many thin
layers) and fissile (rock readily splits into thin pieces along the laminations) nature. Some shales have
special properties that make them important resources. Black shales contain organic material that
sometimes breaks down to form natural gas or oil.
Shale gas
Shale gas is natural gas formed from being trapped within shale formations. It is unconventional source of
methane, like coal-bed gas (in coal seams) and tight gas (trapped in rock formations). It is colourless,
odourless gas, lighter than air. It is cheaper than natural gas, releases 50% less CO2, hence better source
for generating electricity. It also provides feedstock for petrochemicals industry, which is turned into
fertilizer, plastics and other useful stuff. In India, potential shale gas sites are Cambay, Gondwana,
Krishna-Godawari and Cauvery Basins.
Key Facts
Bharat Vatwani: He is a psychiatrist who works for mentally-ill people living on the streets in Mumbai.
The award recognizes his courage and compassion in embracing India’s mentally-afflicted destitute and
his dedication to work of restoring and affirming human dignity of even most ostracized.
Sonam Wangchuk: He is educational reformer from Ladakh. In 1988, he had founded Students’ Education
and Cultural Movement of Ladakh to coach poor Ladakhi students. The award recognizes his uniquely
systematic, collaborative and community-driven reform of learning systems in remote Ladakh region
which has helped to improve life opportunities of youths. He is widely regarded as inspiration for Aamir
Khan’s character, Phunsuk Wangdu in the film ‘3 Idiots’.
Ramon Magsaysay Award
It is Asia’s highest honour and is often regarded as the region’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. It was
established in 1957 by trustees of the New York City based Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Philippine
government in the memory of Philippines’ third President Ramon Magsaysay who had died in air disaster
in March 1957. It is awarded annually to individuals or organizations from Asia region for their altruistic
and philanthropic service. It carries Medallion bearing the likeness of the late President Ramon
Magsaysay, cash prize and a certificate.
Google unveils two new AI chips
Internet search engine giant Google at its Cloud Next 2018 conference held in San Francisco unveiled two
new Artificial Intelligence (AI) chips aimed at helping customers develop and deploy intelligent connected
devices at scale. They are Edge TPU and Cloud IoT Edge.
Key Facts
Edge TPU: The new hardware chip is purpose-built application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed
to run AI at the edge. It so small that four such chips can fit on US penny. It will bring brain to devices at
extremely low cost and high power efficiency without compromising performance. It delivers high
performance in small physical and power footprint, enabling deployment of high-accuracy AI at the edge.
Cloud IoT Edge: It is a software stack that extends Google Cloud’s powerful AI capability to gateways and
connected devices. One of companies using theis new technologies is LG CNS, a subsidiary of LG.
Artificial intelligence
AI is branch of computer science concerned with making computers behave like humans. In contrast to
normal hardware and software, AI enables a machine to perceive (i.e. to think) and respond to its changing
environment.
Atal Innovation Mission: NITI Aayog and MyGov launches Innovate India Platform
NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission and MyGov has jointly launched ‘#InnovateIndia Platform’
(https://innovate.mygov.in/innovateindia/). It is citizen centric platform that aims to serve as common
point for all innovation happening across the nation.
Innovate India Platform
It creates much-needed innovations platform for registering both grassroots and deep-tech innovators at
national level. It will help those who are searching for critical innovation for benefit of the economy as well
as national social needs. It is open to all Indian citizens. Using it, users can view, comment, share, and rate
innovations crowdsourced on #InnovateIndia platform. They can view leaderboard which is calculated
based on votes on each innovation. It allows citizens to share their organizations or someone else’s
innovation on platform by login to MyGov website. These innovations also can be shared on various social
media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)
AIM is NITI Aayog’s flagship initiative toVineetpromote culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the
Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
country. It is mandated to create umbrella structure to oversee innovation ecosystem of country and
revolutionizing innovation eco-system – touching upon entire innovation life cycle through various
programs.
Objectives
Develop new programmes and policies for fostering innovation in different sectors of economy.
Provide platform and collaboration opportunities for different stakeholders, create awareness.
Create umbrella structure to oversee innovation ecosystem of the country.
The sub-schemes of AIM include establishing Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) and Atal Incubation Centers
(AICs), for providing scaling up support to Established Incubation Centres. It also includes finding ultra-
low cost solution to India’s most intractable problems through Atal Grand Challenges and Atal Vikas
Challenges.
MyGov Portal
It is citizen engagement platform launched by Central Government in 2014 to promote active
participation of citizens in country’s governance and development. Its objective is to create common
platform for Indian citizens to crowdsource governance ideas from citizens. It allows users (citizens) to
discuss and contribute on various government projects and plans. It is hosted and managed by the
National Informatics Centre (NIC).
Government extends Prime Minister’s Research Fellows Scheme all potential researchers
Union Government has announced that Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) Scheme will be open to
all potential researchers from 2019 and not limited to candidates from IISc, IITs, NITs, IIEST and IISERs.
The decision was made after Government failed to find adequate number of candidates for PMRF this
year. Only 135 fellowships were finally offered against 1,000 positions.
Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) Scheme
The scheme was announced in the Budget Speech 2018-19. It will be implemented for period of seven years
beginning 2018-19 at total cost of Rs. 1650 crore. Under it, best students who have completed or are in
final year of B. Tech/Integrated M.Tech/M.Sc courses in Science and Technology streams will be offered
direct admission in PhD programme in IITs/IISc. Maximum of 3000 Fellows would be selected in three
year period, beginning 2018-19.
Monthly fellowship: Selected students through selection process laid down in PMRF Guidelines will be
offered monthly fellowship of Rs.70,000 for first two years, Rs.75,000 for 3rd year and Rs.80,000 in 4th
and 5th years.
Research grant: Each selected fellow students will be also provided research grant of Rs.2.00 lakh for
period of 5 years to cover their foreign travel expenses for presenting research papers in international
officer will be responsible for follow up action as per provisions of Bill and as per instructions of State
Anti-Trafficking Committee and provide relief and rehabilitation services. It also mandates state
government to appoint Police Nodal Officer at state and district levels. The state government will also
designate Anti-Trafficking Police Officers for each district to deal with all matters related to trafficking in
the district.
Anti-Trafficking Units: The Bill provides setting up of Anti-Trafficking Units (ATUs) at district level. They
will deal with prevention, rescue and protection of victims and witnesses and for investigation and
prosecution of trafficking offences. In districts where ATU is not functional, this responsibility will be
taken up by local police station.
Anti-Trafficking Relief and Rehabilitation Committee: The Bill provides for establishment of these
committees (ATCs) at all three levels viz. national, state, and district levels. These committees will be
responsible for providing compensation, repatriation and re-integration of victims in society, among
others.
Search and rescue: The Bill empowers Anti-Trafficking Police Officer or ATU to rescue persons, if they are
in imminent danger. They will be produced before Child Welfare Committee or Magistrate for medical
examination. The district ATC will provide relief and rehabilitation services to rescued persons.
Protection and rehabilitation: The Bill mandates central and state government to set up Protection
Homes to provide shelter, food, counselling, and medical services to victims. It also mandates central or
state government will maintain Rehabilitation Homes in each district to provide long-term rehabilitation
to victims. In all cases, rehabilitation of victims will not be dependent on criminal proceedings being
initiated against accused or outcome of proceedings. Union Government will also create Rehabilitation
Fund which will be used to set up these Protection and Rehabilitation Homes.
Time-bound trial: The Bill provides for setting up designated courts in each district to complete trial
within year.
Penalties: The Bill specifies penalties for various offences including for promoting trafficking, trafficking
of persons, disclosing identity of victim and aggravated trafficking such as trafficking for bonded labour
and begging. For trafficking it prescribes rigorous imprisonment of 10 years up to life imprisonment,
along with minimum fine of Rs. 1 lakh. For publishing of any material it prescribes imprisonment between
5 to 10 years, and fine between Rs 50,000 to Rs.1 lakh.
West Bengal Assembly passes resolution to rename state as Bangla
West Bengal state assembly dominated by Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress Government has
unanimously passed resolution to change state’s name to ‘Bangla’ in all three languages – Bengali, Hindi
and English. The name change will only become official when resolution gets approval from Union Home
Ministry and Parliament passes Bill.
Key Facts
The main reason cited by State Government for changing name of West Bengal to Bangla is that whenever
there is meeting of all states, West Bengal figures at bottom of the list, as it is prepared according to
alphabetical order. With change in its Bangla, it will appear (or leapfrog) to fourth place after Andhra
Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in list of states in alphabetical order.
Background
The move of comes West Bengal state assembly to change name of state comes almost two years after it
first passed a resolution to change the name of the State in August 2016. The state government had earlier
submitted a proposal to the Centre to change the name of West Bengal to to Bengal in English, Bangla in
Bengali and Bangal in Hindi. The proposal was turned down by Union Home Ministry.
Procedure of changing name of state
Process for changing the name of a state can be initiated by state itself. However, by virtue of article 3 of
Constitution, Parliament has power to change name of state even if such proposal does not come from the
concerned state. If initiated by state assembly, it will first pass a resolution for such change and this
passed resolution will be sent to Central government (Union Home Ministry). Then Union Home Ministry
prepares note for Union Cabinet for amendment to Schedule 1| of Constitution. Thereafter, Constitution
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com
Amendment Bill is introduced in Parliament under Article 3 of Constitution, which has to be approved
with simple majority, before President gives his assent to it. Thereafter name of state will be changed. The
example of such change is change in name of Orissa to Odisha. The Government of Orissa initiated this
change in 2008 when it forwarded resolution passed by State Legislative Assembly to Union Government
to change name of state from Orissa to Odisha. This bill was passed by Parliament as Orissa (Alteration of
Name) Act, 2010 to rename state.
2nd Young Superintendent of Police Conference held in New Delhi
The 2nd Young Superintendent of Police Conference was held in New Delhi on July 26, 2018. The 2-day
conference was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The conference was organized by
Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D).
Young Superintendent of Police Conference
The theme of two day conference was “Predictive Policing and Contemporary Challenges for Indian Police
Forces” It was attended by over 100 Superintendents of Police (SPs) & senior officers from the States &
CAPFs. The purpose of the 2-day conference is to create awareness among young SPs and Commandants
regarding latest technologies in areas of artificial intelligence (AI), predictive policing, crime analytics, dig
data analytics, geospatial technology, cybercrime, surveillance tracking & UAVs, CCTV equipment, for
effective delivery of police services to citizens.
Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D)
BPR&D was established in 1970 in furtherance of objective of Union Government for the modernisation of
police forces. It is nodal national police organisation to study, research and develop on subjects and issues
related to policing. It functions under the aegis of Union Home Ministry. It is headquartered in New Delhi.
Since its formation, it has evolved as multifaceted, consultancy organisation. At present it has 4 divisions
– Research, Development, Training and Correctional Administration.
Bombali: New strain of Ebola virus discovered in Sierra Leone
Researchers working in joint US-West African study funded by USAid have discovered new strain of Ebola
virus in bats in northern Bombali region of Sierra Leone. It has been named as Bombali virus strain, after
district where it was found. The Bombali virus is overall sixth known virus strain Ebola virus. Others are
Zaire, Sudan, Tai Forest, Bundibugyo and Reston. Ebola virus is a highly fatal haemorrhagic fever that is
spread through contact with bodily fluids from infected persons and animals which include non-human
primates, bats and forest antelope. Zaire strain of Ebola virus is the most deadly strain known
Bombali strain
The new Bombali strain of Ebola virus is distinct from its other virus strains. It is not yet known whether
it could develop into the deadly disease. It is also not known that if Bombali virus has been transmitted to
people or if it causes disease in people. However, results show it has the potential to infect human cells.
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Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
Further research will help in understanding more about specific risks it poses.
Background
The finding of new strain of virus comes two years after end of worst-ever Ebola outbreak that killed more
than 11,000 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The three West African neighbouring countries
were hard hit by Ebola outbreak which began in Guinea in December 2013 before spreading to Liberia and
Sierra Leone. The epidemic was declared over by World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2016 after claiming
over 11,300 lives out of nearly 30,000 registered cases. The 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa was
caused by Zaire virus, which was discovered in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly Zaire in
1976.
July 28, 2018
Blood Moon 2018: Century’s longest lunar eclipse of 1 hour 43 minutes seen
Blood Moon 2018 or century’s (2001 AD to 2100 AD) longest total lunar eclipse of 1 hour 43 minutes
occurred on July 27-28, 2018. The rare celestial event was visible from all parts of India. It was majorly
seen in Eastern Hemisphere including Central Asia, Eastern Africa and South East Asia. The partial eclipse
of Moon began on July 27, 2018. Moon was gradually covered by Earth’s shadow and totality phase was
seen on July 28 and total eclipse lasted up to 2h 43m. The Moon came out of Earth’s shadow and partial
eclipse ended on July 28, 2018.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
In this particular eclipse, Moon passed through central part of Earth’s umbral shadow. During this time,
Moon was located at apogee (i.e. at farthest from Earth) in its orbit and moved at slower speed in its orbit.
During this transition phase, it took longer time for Moon and greater distance of Earth’s umbral shadow
to travel, making it longest duration of total eclipse of this century. Such long duration of total lunar
eclipses earlier had occurred on July 16, 2000 for totality duration of 1 hour 46 minutes and on June 15,
2011 for totality duration of 1 hour 40 minutes.
July 28: World Hepatitis Day
The World Hepatitis Day is being observed every year on July 28 around the globe to spread awareness
about viral hepatitis. Observance of the day seeks to encourage diagnosis, prevention and treatment of
Hepatitis. It also seeks to provide single global platform to raise awareness about hepatitis and influence
real change in disease prevention, testing and treatment. The theme for World Hepatitis Day 2018 is “Test.
Treat. Hepatitis“.
The theme focuses on
Support scale-up of hepatitis prevention, testing, treatment and care services, with specific focus on
promoting WHO treatment and testing recommendations.
Showcase best practices and promote universal health coverage of hepatitis services.
Improve partnerships and funding in fight against viral hepatitis.
World Hepatitis Day
The day is being observed since 2010. It is one of the 8 official global public health campaigns marked by
the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO had passed a resolution for observance of this day on viral
hepatitis in May 2010 had passed, providing official endorsement to it. The date 28 July was chosen to
mark the birth anniversary of Professor Baruch Blumberg who had discovered hepatitis B virus. He was
awarded with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1976) for this discovery.
Hepatitis
Hepatitis name has derived from Greek word ‘Hepar’ meaning liver and ‘itis’ meaning inflammation. Thus,
it is medical condition in which inflammation occurs in liver cells and its complications vary with type of
infection. It is mostly caused by group of viruses called hepatitis viruses. There are 5 types of hepatitis viz.
A, B, C, D and E. Each type is caused by a different hepatitis virus.
Viral hepatitis can either be hepatitis A/ E that spreads mainly through contaminated food and water or
hepatitis B/C that spreads by body fluids, blood transfusions or even from mother to baby. Hepatitis B and
C usually cause chronic hepatitis and can progress to liver cirrhosis (permanent liver damage). Hepatitis A
and E usually cause acute self-limiting illness, which resolves over few weeks. It has no specific treatment,
but to rely on good nutritious diet and rest. Hepatitis E can sometimes be dangerous, especially in
petrol. It has mandated blending of up to 10% ethanol in petrol but inadequate availability has restricted
this to under 4%. Higher price for ethanol will incentivise higher ethanol production.
Indian Railways launches Mission Satyanishtha on ethics in public governance for its employees
Indian Railways had organised a programme on Ethics in Public Governance and launched Mission
Satyanishtha at a day-long event held at National Rail Museum, New Delhi. It was first of its kind event
organised by any government organization in the country.
Mission Satyanishtha
The issue of ethics, integrity and probity in public life has been matter of concern all over government
sector across the country. In this context, it is also extremely important that all railway servants adhere to
impeccable conduct and integrity at all times.
Mission Satyanishtha aims at sensitizing all railway employees about need to adhere to good ethics and to
maintain high standards of integrity at work. Under it, talks and lectures on subject were organised all
over Indian Railways for this purpose.
Objectives of Mission Satyanishtha
To train every employee to understand need and value of ethics in personal and public life.
To deal with ethical dilemmas in life and public governance.
To help understand policies of Indian Railways on ethics and integrity and employee’s role in
upholding same.
To develop inner governance through tapping inner resources.
India to develop model to give flash floods warning to Asian nations: WMO
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has designated India as nodal centre for developing
customized model to issue advance warning of floods to Asian countries, including Vietnam, Sri Lanka,
Myanmar and Thailand. The model will be called as Flash Flood Guidance System. Indian Meteorological
Department (IMD) under Ministry of Earth Sciences will work to customize this weather model.
Flash Flood Guidance System
The model will provide forecasts by computing likelihood of rainfall and soil moisture levels to warn of
possible floods. It will carry out forecasts by using combination of satellite mapping and ground-based
observation. It will be customized weather model, originally developed by US and donated to WMO to
warn about flash floods at least six hours in advance. It already has carried out test version of this model.
Pakistan was among list of beneficiary countries of this forecast model, but it has refused to participate in
it.
Background
Like India, several southeast Asian countries depend on monsoon and are prone to its vagaries. WMO
estimates that flash floods account for 85% of flooding incidents across the world, leading to around 5,000
deaths every year. While science to warn of floods can be developed, India was yet to work out how exactly
it will warn countries of potential inundation. India currently has its own warning system for tsunamis
that also doubles up warning system for several Asian countries. At present in India, Central Water
Commission (CWC), which monitors dams, warns of rising water levels in water reservoirs, which are
usually taken to be signs of imminent floods. Recently CWC has recently tied up with internet giant
Google to develop software application to visualise rising water levels during heavy rains.
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
WMO is an intergovernmental organization whose mandate covers weather, climate and water resources.
It is UN specialized agency for meteorology, operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences It is
dedicated to international cooperation and coordination on state and behaviour of Earth’s atmosphere, its
interaction with land and oceans, the weather and climate and distribution of water resources. It has 191
Member States and Territories. It originated from International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which
was founded in 1873. It has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Government launches National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme
Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with the World Health Organisation
(WHO) has launched National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme to control viral hepatitis C on the
occasion of World Hepatitis Day (July 28). The programme aims to combat viral hepatitis and reduce
mortality and morbidity associated with it. Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme
The programme aims at both prevention and treatment of hepatitis which is among leading causes of liver
cancer, cirrhosis of liver and acute liver failure. It aims to treat minimum of 3 lakh hepatitis C cases over a
period of three years for eliminating deadly condition by 2030.
The programme is part of National Health Mission. Under it, expensive antiviral for hepatitis B and C
infections will be made available free of cost at all government hospitals. It will set up and upgrade
facilities for diagnosis and treatment primarily of hepatitis B and C. These designated treatment centres
will provide free anti-viral to hepatitis C patients. They will also provide hepatitis B vaccine to babies born
to mothers carrying the virus within 24 hours of birth.
Key strategies under the Program
Preventive and promotive interventions with focus on awareness generation.
Safe injection practices and socio-cultural practices, sanitation and hygiene, safe drinking water
supply, infection control and immunization
Increasing access to testing and management of viral hepatitis.
Promoting diagnosis and providing treatment support for patients of hepatitis B and C through
standardized testing and management protocols with focus on treatment of hepatitis B and C.
Co-ordination and collaboration with different Ministries and departments.
Building capacities at national, state, district levels and sub-district level up to Primary Health
Centres (PHC) and health and wellness centres to scale program till lowest level of the healthcare
facility in a phased manner.
July 30, 2018
Meghalaya Milk Mission launched in Shillong
Meghalaya Milk Mission was launched in Shillong. It is Rs. 215 crores project sanctioned by Union
Ministry of Agriculture and Family Welfare through National Cooperative Development Corporation
(NCDC). The amount will be utilised for various training under dairy farm, chilling centre and purchase of
milch animal.
Meghalaya Milk Mission
Milk Mission has been conceptualised to plug demand-supply gap in per capita milk availability. The per
capita milk availability in Meghalaya is much lower than Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR’s)
recommendation of milk consumption per person.
It will help in achieving Centre’s goal of doubling farmer’s income by 2022 through promotion of milk
business in the state. It will generate alternate livelihoods for rural people of Meghalaya through diary
sector. 2000 farmers will be directly benefitted by it over next four years. It will also check absence of
organised marketing channels in dairy sector in Meghalaya. It will enable state to substitute import of
milk with state’s own production.
The project consists of 2000 dairy farm units, in one unit there is provision for purchase of 5 cows, shed
constructions, storage room construction, animal insurance, 13 milk tankers of 3000 litre capacity, 79 bulk
milk coolers of 500 litre capacity etc. There is also provision of Rs 1 crore for training of farmers in project.
International Tiger Day: 29 July
The International Tiger Day (also known as Global Tiger Day) is celebrated every year on 29 July to raise
awareness about tiger conservation, promote the protection of natural habitat of tigers and support tiger
conservation issues. The annual day is celebrated with the slogan “Their survival is in our hands”.
International Tiger Day
It is an annual celebration to raise awareness regarding tiger conservation. It was instituted in 2010 at
Saint Petersberg Tiger Summit in Russia in view of alarming fall in the number of wild tigers. The summit
had issued St. Petersburg Declaration on Tiger Conservation where Governments of tiger populated
countries had vowed to double tiger population by the year 2020.
Background
It is has been founded that in the last century, 97% of all wild tigers had disappeared due to many factors
including habitat loss, hunting and poaching, climate change. According to WWF, only 3,890 tigers are left
in the world, of them, India with more thanVineet
2500
Singh |tigers has the |highest number.
vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com
Organisation (DRDO).
The indigenous 10×10 vehicle will be powered by Ashok Leyland’s 360HP Neptune engine. It can carry
maximum load of 27 tonnes at maximum speed of 60 kmph. Some of these vehicles will be fitted with
rocket handling cranes. Ther delivery will start in this financial year and will be completed in next
financial year.
Background
India initially procured two regiments of the 12-tube, 300 mm Smerch systems from Russia under Rs.
2,600 crore signed in end 2015, and later procured additional systems under a second deal in 2007. Each
regiment has two batteries of six launchers each. The Smerch has a maximum range of 90 km. The
indigenising vehicles is key step in improving t maintenance and efficiency of Indian Army’s logistics
chain. In recent years, Indian vehicle manufacturers have managed to develop variety of heavy and
specialist vehicles required by Armed Forces, thereby reducing import dependency. Ashok Leyland also
has won tender from DRDO to develop even heavier 12×12 vehicle to mount country’s long range strategic
missiles. These vehicles can carry a maximum load of 34 tonnes.
V-46-6 and V92S2: Made in India tank engines handed over to Indian Army
Two types of indigenously built high-power multi-fuel engines V-46-6 and V92S2 were handed over to
Indian Army for first time under Make in India. These engines were manufactured by Engine Factory
Avadi (EFA), a unit of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
Key Facts
These engines are based on Russian design. V92S2 is high power diesel engine with 1000 HP capacity and
it is fitted in T-90 Battle Tank (Bhisma Tank). V46-6 is also high power diesel engines with 780 HP and it is
fitted in T-72 Main Battle Tank (Ajeya Tank). They are manufactured with 100% Made in India parts.
Significance
The indigenisation of two of three types of tanks used by Indian Army has made it battle-ready. It has
resulted in savings for exchequer for each engine cost to tune of Rs. 33 lakh for T-90 engine and Rs. 9.75
lakh for T-72 engine. It also exhibits self-reliance of OFB in manufacturing these engines in India without
any import support.
Arsenic contamination in paddy is rising in Bengal: Study
According to recent study, arsenic contamination in paddy is rising from ground water in West Bengal. It
reveals that rise in arsenic contamination of paddy plants due to concentration of arsenic accumulation
depends on variety of paddy and its stage in crop cycle. Its concentration varies with rice variety and
stage in crop cycle.
Study highlights
The study was carried out on two commonly consumed rice varieties — Minikit and Jaya — and it was
found that latter to be more resistant to arsenic. It shows processes and dependencies of arsenic trans-
location in rice from contaminated irrigation water.
It has found that arsenic contamination in paddy was higher than in previous studies. It shows that
arsenic uptake in paddy plant reduces from root to grain and that its concentration is related to variety of
rice cultivated. It was observed that highest concentration of arsenic was observed in initial or vegetative
state in first 28 days. It reduced during reproductive stage (29-56 days) and again increased in ripening
stage.
The uptake of arsenic is faster in young roots in vegetative state than in older tissues with higher
concentrations of iron in root soil in reproductive phase. It also raised concerns over disposal of
contaminated rice straw which is used as animal fodder or burnt or sometimes left in field itself to serve
as fertiliser.
Arsenic Poisoning
Arsenic is a natural component in Earth’s crust. It is widely distributed throughout environment in air,
water and land. It is highly toxic in its inorganic form. Intake of soluble inorganic arsenic over long period
can lead to chronic arsenic poisoning (arsenicosis), diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. In India,
Arsenic pollution big problem in West Bengal and neighbouring states. In West Bengal, there are 83 blocks
in eight districts where groundwater is arsenic contaminated. Malda, Murshidabad and Nadia districts
The power generation companies had challenged Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) February 2018 circular that
laid down stricter timelines for initiating insolvency proceedings. It also mandated that banks classify
even one-day delay in debt servicing as default. Private power producers feared that t RBI’s new
regulations will push projects with capacity of about 60,000-70,000 megawatts (MW) towards bankruptcy
and had sought more time. RBI is not in favour of giving more time these power plants.
NASAMS-II: India plans to procure advanced air defence system from US
India is in talks with United States to procure National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System-II
(NASAMS-II), an advanced air defence system at $1 billion to defend National Capital Region (NCR) from
aerial attacks. The proposal is in Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) stage now which was approved by Defence
Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
NASAMS-II
NASAMS-II is an upgraded version of the NASAMS developed by Raytheon in partnership with
KONGSBERG Defence and Aerospace of Norway. It has been operational since 2007. It features new 3D
mobile surveillance radars and 12 missile launchers for quicker reaction.
NASAMS-II is highly adaptable mid-range solution for any operational air defence requirement. It
provides tailorable, state-of-the-art defence system that can maximise the ability to quickly identify,
engage and destroy current and evolving enemy aircraft, UAV or emerging cruise missile threats.
NASAMS-II is armed with 3D Sentinel radars, short and medium-range missiles, launchers, fire-
distribution centers and command-and-control units to quickly detect, track and shoot down multiple
airborne threats. It is part of the air defence network guarding US capital city Washington DC. It is also
deployed in several NATO countries.
their own missile defence systems to protect their national capital regions.
Background
India is deploying multi-tiered air defence network to fully secure its airspace from incoming fighter
aircraft, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). It is also in advanced stage of talks with Russia for
procurement of very long range S-400 air defence systems. Apart from these imports, Defence Research
and Development Organisation (DRDO) is in the final stages of developing its two-tier Ballistic Missile
Defence (BMD) system which is designed to track and destroy nuclear missiles both inside (endo) and
outside (exo) earth’s atmosphere. Phase-I of indigenous BMD is expected to be deployed soon.
Government unveils blueprint of Deep Ocean Mission
Union Ministry of Earth Sciences has unveiled blueprint of Deep Ocean Mission (DOM). The mission
proposes to explore deep-ocean by emulating success of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in
designing and launching satellites. For this mission, Centre has drawn up a five-year, Rs. 8,000 crore plan
to explore deep recesses of the ocean.
Features of Mission
The focus of DOM is on deep-sea mining, ocean climate change advisory services, underwater vehicles and
underwater robotics related technologies. Two key projects planned under it include desalination plant
powered by tidal energy and submersible vehicle that can explore depths of at least 6,000 metres.
Background
India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) spreads over 2.2 million sq. km and in the deep sea, lies unexplored
and unutilised. Besides, India has been allotted site of 1,50,000 sq. km in Central Indian Ocean Basin
(CIOB) by United Nations International Sea Bed Authority (UN-ISBA) for exploitation of polymetallic
nodules (PMN). These are rocks scattered on seabed containing iron, nickel, manganese and cobalt. It is
envisaged that 10% of recovery of that large reserve can meet energy requirement of India for next 100
years. It has been estimated that 380 million metric tonnes of polymetallic nodules are available at the
bottom of the seas in CIOB.
July 31, 2018
DAC approves acquisition of 8 Fast Patrol Vessels for Coast Guard
Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman approval proposal for
acquisition of 8 Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) for Indian Coast Guard at an approximate cost of Rs 800 crore.
It also approved platform specific guidelines for procurement of Naval Utility helicopters. Similar
guidelines for the other categories will be issued soon. DAC is Defence Ministry’s highest decision-making
body on capital procurement of Indian Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force).
India Post Payments Bank to start operations with 650 branches in August 2018
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is expected to go live with 650 branches in addition to 3,250 access
points co-located at post offices in August, 2018 following final clearance from Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
to start. RBI has given approval to IPPB after testing its entire system.
Key Facts
IPPB was incorporated on August 17, 2016 under Companies Act, 2013 as a public limited company with
100% Government of India equity under Department of Posts (Ministry of Communication & Technology).
It was the third entity to receive payments bank permit after Airtel and Paytm.
Around 11,000 gramin dak sevaks (in rural area) and postmen (in urban area) will provide doorstep
banking services. IPPB also has been given permission to link around 170 million postal savings bank (PSB)
account with its account. It will also carry out RTGS, NEFT, IMPS transaction that will enable IPPB
customers to transfer and receive money from any bank account.
Payments bank
Payments bank is new model of banking allows mobile firms, supermarket chains and others to cater to
banking requirements of individuals and small businesses to further enhance financial inclusion. It will be
set up as differentiated bank and will confine its activities to acceptance of demand deposits, remittance
services, internet banking and other specified services but cannot undertake lending services. Payments
bank can accept deposits maximum up to Rs 100,000 per account from individuals and small businesses.
They can issue ATM/debit cards but not credit cards and can also issue other prepaid payment
instruments. They also can distribute non-risk sharing simple financial products like mutual funds and
insurance products.
Lok Sabha passes Homeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2018
Lok Sabha has passed Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2018 by voice vote to replace
Ordinance promulgated by President in May 2018. It amends Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973
which sets up Central Council of Homoeopathy and regulates homoeopathic education and practice
Key Features of Bill
Supersession of Central Council: The Bill amends 1973 Act to provide for supersession of Central Council
with effect from May 18, 2018. The Council will be reconstituted within 1 year from date of its
supersession. In the interim period, Board of Governors constituted by central government will exercise
powers of Central Council.
Board of Governors: It will consist of up to seven members including persons of eminence in field of
homoeopathy education, eminent administrators, appointed by Union Government. The Central
Government will select one of these members as Chairperson of Board. With regard to policy decisions,
directions of the central government will be final.
Permission for existing homoeopathy colleges: The Bill states that if any homoeopathy medical college
has been established or if any established homoeopathy medical college has opened new courses or
increased its admission capacity before ordinance was promulgated, then it will have to seek permission
from Union Government within 1 year. If homoeopathy medical college fails to seek such permission, then
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
medical qualification granted by it to student will not be recognised under this law.
Scutoid: Scientists discover new shape after studying human cells
Scientists have identified new shape called scutoid while studying epithelial cells. Epithelial tissue is one of
four kinds of tissue that forms human bodym which acts as safety shield of body that make up cell walls lining
our blood vessels and organs. Scutoid shape has five sides on one end and six on the other and a triangular
surface on one of its longer edges. and It is completely new to geometry and resembles beetle’s scutellum
(shield-like structure) from top-down view.
Key Facts
Scientists had used computer modeling and imaging to identify this shape. It had produced strange,
prism-like shape, one with six sides on one end, five on other, and strange triangular protrusion coming
out of one of sides. Scientists had used microcopy and computer imaging to supplement findings of
computer modeling by taking up-close look at epithelial tissues of fruit flies and zebrafish. As predicted,
they discovered scutoid shape.
Significance
As tissues and organs develop, epithelial cells squish together, twisting and turning into highly efficient
and complex 3-D structures of scutoid shape that help block microbes from entering our skin or organs. It
also makes the packing stable and “energetically efficient.”
The discovery of scutoid shape will help to explain how cells arrange themselves in tightly packed three-
dimensional (3D) structures that serve as protective barriers in body. It will contribute to the field of
tissue engineering specifically development of artificial organs. It will be useful in other fields beyond
biology, such as mathematics and engineering.
STA-1: India becomes first South Asian country to get access to US cutting-edge technology
United States has designated India as Strategic Trade Authorization-1 (STA-1) country that will allow
country to buy highly advanced and cutting-edge sensitive technologies from America. This coveted
status brings India in par with US’s closest allies and partners such as NATO.
STA-1 designation authorizes export, re-export and transfer (in-country) of specified items on Commerce Control
List to destinations posing a low risk of unauthorised or impermissible uses. Currently there are 36 countries on
STA-1 list. India is only South Asian country to be on the list. Other Asian countries designated as STA-1 are Japan
and South Korea.
Key Facts
Under STA-1, India and US have reached understanding under which India will receive license-free access
to wide range of dual-use technologies in conjunction with steps that India has committed to take to
advance its export control objectives. STA-1 treatment will expand scope of technology exports subject to
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) that can be made to India without individual licenses. It will
further enhance bilateral defence trade relationship and result in
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com | a greater volume of US exports to India.
Significance
This new designation reflects India’s membership in three of four multilateral export control regimes, as
well development of its national export control system. It will allow US companies to more efficiently
export much wider range of products to Indian high technology and military customers. It will benefit US
manufacturers while continuing to protect its national security.
It will provide India greater supply chain efficiency, both for defence and for other high-tech products that
will increase activity with US systems, interoperability of systems and will reduce time and resources
needed to get licensing approved. It will improve India’s partnership with United States to improve its
own export control regimes and has met most of the export control rules which the US thinks is useful. It
will be also competitive advantage for US, in terms of supplying those kinds of products to India.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Under which of the following international organizations, the “Global Compact for Safe, Orderly
and Regular Migration” has been finalized recently?
[A] United Nations
[B] International Refugee Organization
[C] Refugees International
[D] None of the above
Correct Answer: A [United Nations]
Notes:
For the first time ever, United Nations Member States have agreed an all-encompassing “Global
Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration” to better manage international migration, address its
challenges, strengthen migrant rights and contribute to sustainable development.
2. World’s largest visa centre has been opened in which of the following cities recently?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Dhaka
[C] Islamabad
[D] Bangkok
Correct Answer: B [Dhaka]
Notes:
India’s home minister Rajnath Singh has recently inaugurated the world’s largest state-of-the-art visa
centre in Dhaka with modern facilities, promising shorter waiting times for applicants. This Integrated
centre at Jamuna Future Park (JFP), Dhaka is the largest Indian visa centre in the world with 18,500
[A] 15 July
[B] 16 July
[C] 17 July
[D] 18 July
Correct Answer: A [15 July ]
Notes:
World Youth Skills Day is celebrated on 15th July every year. This day is celebrated to expand awareness
on the importance of investing in youth skills development. The United Nations General Assembly
decided in resolution A/RES/69/145 to depute 15 July as World Youth Skills Day.
8. A PIL (public interest litigation) by BJP leader and advocate Ashwini Upadhyay has sought
doing away with the law allowing candidates contesting more than one seat in elections in Lok
Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas. As per existing laws, on how many maximum seats an MP / MLA
candidate is allowed to contest?
[A] Two
[B] Three
[C] Four
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
[D] Five
Correct Answer: A [Two]
Notes:
Under the existing legal regime, a candidate is allowed to contest from up to a maximum of two
constituencies in Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly polls. The PIL filed seeks to limit this to one seat
because it leads to wastage of public money in getting the election conducted once again for the
constituency which is left vacant by the winning candidate.
9. Which of the following missiles of India is a “supersonic cruise missile”?
[A] Agni-V
[B] BrahMos
[C] Prithvi-III
[D] Aakash
Correct Answer: B [BrahMos]
Notes:
On 16 July, India’s supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was test fired from the Integrated Test Range
(ITR) at Chandipur, Odisha under extreme conditions. Brahmos is India’s only supersonic cruise missile
and it can cruise at speeds of up to Mach 3.0, or three times the speed of sound.
10. 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
Correct Answer: B [IIT Madras]
Notes:
On July 16, 2018 IIT-Madras unveils “world’s first” remotely operable LEAP (Local Electrode Atom Probe
(LEAP) microscope.
11. Which of the following state governments has launched ‘Paudhagiri’Campaign?
[A] Haryana
[B] Punjab
[C] Rajasthan
[D] Delhi
Correct Answer: A [Haryana]
Notes:
Paudhagiri campaign has been launched by Haryana CM M L Khattar for increasing the green cover in
the state. Under this campaign, 22 lakh students from class 6 to 12 of all government and private schools
in Haryana will plant a sapling each during three months of monsoon — July, August and September.
12. What term has been used for medical professionals assisting patients seeking treatment under
the Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM)?
[A] Ayushman Saathi
[B] Ayushman Sahayak
[C] Ayushman Sahkari
[D] Ayushman Mitra
Correct Answer: D [Ayushman Mitra ]
Notes:
Ayushman Mitra Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) will be a medical
professional assisting patients seeking treatment. Their main work will be to assist patients coming to
the hospital, and coordinate between patients and
Vineet Singh hospitals. The
| vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com | AB-NHPS aims at providing a coverage
of Rs 5 lakh per family annually and benefiting more than 10 crore poor families.
13. On July 16, 2018, India has become the Asia Pacific vice-chair at World Customs Organisation.
In which city, the headquarters of World Customs Organisation are located?
[A] Paris
[B] London
[C] Geneva
[D] Brussels
Correct Answer: D [Brussels]
Notes:
The World Customs Organization is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels,
Belgium. It was founded in 1952 and its main work is in areas covering the international conventions and
standards related to customs, trade, IPR protection etc.
14. Which country has topped the 2018 ‘Soft Power 30’ index?
[A] France
[B] United States
[C] Australia
[D] United Kingdom
Correct Answer: D [United Kingdom]
Notes:
UK has topped an annual global ranking of nations’ soft power. The 2018 ‘Soft Power 30’ index is
published by UK-based strategic communications consultancy firm Portland and the University of
Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy. This index has listed 30 countries in which France gets
second place, Germany third and United States fourth. India does not feature in this list.
15. What is the objective of National Youth Empowerment Scheme which is under discussion
currently in Union government?
[A] To provide skill training to youth
[B] To provide institutional credit to youth for self employment
[C] To provide military training to youth
[D] To provide scholarship to academically strong youth
Correct Answer: C [To provide military training to youth]
Notes:
The planned National Youth Empowerment Scheme will provide military training to 10 lakh young men
and women every year to instil nationalism, discipline and self-esteem.
16. Recently, the Government of India has increased the monetary threshold for filing appeals in
tax disputes in courts and tribunals to bring down the tax litigation in the country. What is the
new monetary threshold for filing appeals in tribunals?
[A] Rs. 10 Lakh
[B] Rs. 20 Lakh
[C] Rs. 35 Lakh
[D] Rs. 50 Lakh
Correct Answer: B [Rs. 20 Lakh]
Notes:
On July 12, the government sharply increased the monetary threshold for filing appeals in tax disputes
in various courts and decided to withdraw many pending appeals to cut down litigation and improve
ease of doing business. The new monetary threshold for filing appeals in tribunals handling income tax
as well as customs, excise and service tax disputes has been doubled from Rs.10 lakh to Rs.20 lakh. In the
case of high courts, the monetary threshold is now Rs.50 lakh instead of Rs.20 lakh earlier. In the
Supreme Court, the threshold has been increased from Rs25 lakh to Rs 1 crore. This will bring down tax
litigation by 37%. Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
The Union Government has constituted a committee under the Chairmanship of Anil Swarup ( former
Secretary of School Education) to suggest measures to strengthen National Cadet Corps (NCC) and
National Service Scheme (NSS). The Committee will deal with on issues like expansion, strengthening
training infrastructure, rationalizing resources, reducing manpower deficiency affecting NCC and NSS.
The Committee will also submit recommend for building synergies between these two institutions viz.
NCC and NSS and further strengthen them for empowering the youth. At present, there are 13.5 lakh
cadets in NCC in the age group of 12 to 26 years with pan India presence in about 703 out of 716 districts.
20. The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) has recently organized the Conference of Heads of
AYUSH National Institutes. Where is the headquarters of AIIA?
[A] Jabalpur
[B] Raipur
[C] New Delhi
[D] Patna
Correct Answer: C [New Delhi]
Notes:
The Conference of Heads of AYUSH National Institutes was organized by All India Institute of Ayurveda
(AIIA) under the Ministry of AYUSH at India International Centre, New Delhi on 17th and 18th July 2018.
The aim of the conference was to upgradeVineetquality of education, research, hospital care facilities in the
Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
national AYUSH institutions throughout the country and develop them as light house institutions. The
AIIA is a public Ayurveda medicine & research institution and is located in New Delhi.
21. India’s first greenfield skill training centre is proposed to come up in which state?
[A] Odisha
[B] Assam
[C] Tamil Nadu
[D] Manipur
Correct Answer: A [Odisha]
Notes:
India’s first greenfield skill training centre will come up at Baranga near Bhubaneswar in Odisha. For
this, the Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan laid the
foundation stone of NSTI Bhubaneswar on July 16. The aim of the state-of-the-art institute will be to
impart training to the trainers & create a skill-based ecosystem to meet expectations of the industry.
The National Skill Training Institute (NSTI) would provide a variety of hybrid skill training programmes,
both long and short term, along with advanced diploma programme. The institute would impart
training in Systems Applications Products (SAP), Internet of Things (IoT), healthcare and agriculture,
mobile repairing, solar technician and technician mechatronics, advanced Diploma in IT Networking and
Cloud Computing, Training of Trainers (ToT) in Pedagogy for Sector Skill Councils, ToT for conventional
courses including fitter, electrician, plumbing and welding. The Institute will be set up at a cost of Rs.
160 crore, on a 5 Acre land.
22. Under which Article of the Constitution, the President has recently nominated Classical
dancer Sonal Mansingh to the Rajya Sabha?
[A] Article 84
[B] Article 83
[C] Article 80
[D] Article 81
Correct Answer: C [Article 80]
Notes:
On July 14, Classical dancer Sonal Mansingh, columnist Rakesh Sinha, Sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra
and farmer leader Ram Shakal have been nominated by the President Ram Nath Kovind to the Rajya
Sabha. The new nominations have been made to fill the vacancies caused due to the retirement of
nominated members Sachin Tendulkar, Rekha, Anu Aga and K Parasaran. Under Article 80 of the
Constitution, the President can nominate 12 members to the Rajya Sabha “from amongst persons who
have special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and
social service.” The nominated members have six-year term. The other sitting nominated members
© 2018 GKToday | All Rights Reserved | https://www.gktoday.in 74
Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
include boxer Mary Kom, columnist Swapan Dasgupta, advocate K.T.S. Tulsi, economist Narendra
Jadhav and BJP members Subramanian Swamy, Roopa Ganguly, Suresh Gopi and Sambhaji Chhatrapati.
23. The scientists from which IIT institute has created mini-organs that mimic hair growth?
[A] IIT Delhi
[B] IIT Kolkata
[C] IIT Bombay
[D] IIT Indore
Correct Answer: A [IIT Delhi ]
Notes:
The scientists from IIT Delhi have developed a silk-based hydrogel that emulates the process of hair
growth, an advance that may help screen novel drugs for treating hair loss without using animal tests.
The hydrogel is developed by combining a mixture of silk proteins, isolated from silkworm cocoons, and
gelatin. Tyrosinase enzyme was used to develop a stable hydrogel system. The system provided an ideal
environment to develop a complete 3D model of hair follicle regeneration. Hair loss is a common ailment,
and can be stressful for the people experiencing it. A number of factors including genes, illness, trauma
and surgeries can lead to temporary or permanent hair loss. However, as per researchers, alopecia –
condition that occurs due to abnormal growth cycle or reduction in the size of hair follicles – is the
major reason contributing to permanent hair loss. The study is published in the Journal of Cellular
Physiology, which shows how the 3-dimensional mini organs can mimic the different stages of hair
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
growth in humans.
24. Who has been selected for the 2018 Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy?
[A] S R G Rajanna
[B] Aruna Sairam
[C] K Oman Kutty
[D] Premeela Gurumurthy
Correct Answer: B [Aruna Sairam]
Notes:
Aruna Sairam, the renowned Carnatic vocalist, has been selected for the 2018 Sangita Kalanidhi award of
the Music Academy. She will preside over the 92nd annual conference to be held between December 15,
2018 and January 1, 2019. The award will be conferred to her on January 1, the day of Sadas. Beside her,
Mridhangist Thanjavur R. Ramadoss and vocalist K. Oman Kutty will receive the Sangita Kala Acharya
award. T.T.K. Awards will be given to veena player Kalyani Ganesan and nagaswaram player S.R.G.
Rajanna. Dr. Premeela Gurumurthy, the Vice Chancellor of Tamil Nadu University for Fine Arts, will get
the musicologist award and dancer Shanta Dhananjayan will get the Nritiya Kalanidhi award, which will
be conferred on her January 3
25. As per the ‘Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/ GM Crops in 2017’ report, what is India’s
rank among countries with world’s largest area under Genetically Modified Crops?
[A] Third
[B] Fifth
[C] Sixth
[D] tenth
Correct Answer: B [Fifth]
Notes:
According to the Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/ GM Crops in 2017 by International Service
for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), India has the world’s fifth largest cultivated
area under genetically modified (GM) crops. However, this entire area is under single crop – cotton.
Currently, the country with highest area under transgenic crops, at 75 mh, is the United States. US
grows GM soyabean, maize (corn), cotton, alfalfa, canola, sugar-beet, potato, apples, squash and papaya.
26. Who received the Golden Ball award for best player at the 2018 FIFA World Cup?
[A] Luka Modric
[B] Kylian Mbappe
[C] Facebook
[D] Infosys
Correct Answer: B [Google]
Notes:
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has partnered with Google to monitor the impacts of human
activity on global ecosystems by using sophisticated online tools. The purpose of the partnership is to
develop a platform to enable governments, NGO’s and the public to track specific environment-related
development targets with a user-friendly Google front-end. The partnership was launched during the
High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the UN headquarters in New York. Initially,
the focus will be on fresh-water ecosystems including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and
lakes. These areas account for 0.01% of the world’s water but provide habitat for almost 10 per cent of
the world’s known species and evidence suggests a rapid loss of freshwater biodiversity. Google will
periodically produce geo-spatial maps and data on water-related ecosystems by employing massive
parallel Cloud computing technology.
28. The Madhya Pradesh government has recently inaugurated the 250MW NTPC Solar Power
Plant in which district?
[A] Panna
[B] Mandsaur
[C] Indore
[D] Jabalpur
Correct Answer: B [Mandsaur]
Notes:
The Madhya Pradesh government has inaugurated the state-run power giant National Thermal Power
Corporation Limited (NTPC)’s 250 MW Solar Power Plant at Suwasra in district Mandsaur. This project
has been set up mainly on non-agricultural land and generation of electricity has been achieved without
affecting the natural eco-system with zero carbon emission at an investment of about Rs 1,500 crore.
This is one of the biggest solar plant developed using domestically manufactured Solar cells and modules
under the Make in India initiative. The Project has been commissioned in June 2017 and generated
electricity is being supplied for consumption in Madhya Pradesh, the sole beneficiary.
29. The Government of India (GoI) has given ‘In-Principle’ approval for construction and operation
of LIGO-India Laboratory in which district of Maharashtra?
[A] Hingoli
[B] Nagpur
[C] Aurangabad
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Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
[D] Kolhapur
Correct Answer: A [Hingoli ]
Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has given ‘In-Principle’ approval for construction and operation of LIGO-
India (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory in India) Laboratory in Hingoli District of
Maharashtra. The LIGO-India Observatory is scheduled to be operational in 2024 in collaboration with
the LIGO Laboratory in United States. This is the 3rd observatory identical to two other LIGO
observatories in USA: Hanford ( Washington) and Livingston ( Louisiana). Regarding to this, a MoU was
signed between DAE-DST of India and National Science Foundation of USA in March 2016. This
information was provided by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-
Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr Jitendra Singh in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 18th of July
2018.
30. The NMCG has organised “Ganga Vriksharopan Abhiyan” in which of the following main stem
Ganga basin states?
[A] Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh
[B] West Bengal
[C] Bihar and Jharkhand
[D] All of the above Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
36. What is the India’s GDP growth forecast for FY 20, as per Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s
latest report “Asian Development Outlook (ADO)”?
[A] 7.6%
[B] 7.5%
[C] 7.3%
[D] 7.4%
Correct Answer: A [7.6%]
Notes:
According to Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s latest report “Asian Development Outlook (ADO)”, India’s
GDP growth has been projected to rise 7.3% in current fiscal year FY19 (2018-19). The report, which was
published in April 2018, stated that Indian economy’s growth will further accelerate to 7.6% in FY20
(2019-20) because the measures taken to strengthen the banking system and tax reform will boost
investment. The report also pointed that South Asia, led by India will continue to be the fastest growing
sub-region despite rising tensions between the US and its trading partners. The ADO has also retained
the combined growth forecast for the major industrial economies — the US, the Euro zone and Japan —
as growth in the US and the Euro area remains robust.
37. Rajmata Satvashila Devi Bhosle, who passed away recently, was related to which of the
following organizations? Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
website, 80,000 pensioners of the state will now get all the information related to pension and payment
online. The pensioners will get the benefit of senior pension with the State government’s 7th pay scale
before January 1, 2016. This pension system was launched by the Online Pension Management System
(OPMS) for the pensioners of the state.
41. Which non-banking finance company has won the 2018 NABARD award for its service to Self-
Help Group (SHG) linkage?
[A] Muthoot Finance Ltd
[B] Shriram Transport Finance Company Ltd
[C] Repco Micro Finance Ltd
[D] Bajaj Finance Ltd
Correct Answer: C [Repco Micro Finance Ltd]
Notes:
Repco Micro Finance Ltd (RMFL), a non-banking finance company promoted by Repco Bank, has won the
2018 NABARD award for its service to Self-Help Group (SHG) linkage in Tamil Nadu for the fiscal year
2017-18. Since its inception, the NBFC has disbursed loans amounting to Rs 2,500 crore to over 10 lakh
beneficiaries through 50,000 SHGs.
42. Viresh Kundu has won bronze in which Greco-Roman wrestling category at the 2018 Asian
Junior Championships in New Delhi?
[A] 97kg category
[B] 86kg category
[C] 69kg category
[D] 78kg category
Correct Answer: A [97kg category]
Notes:
Viresh Kundu has won bronze in the 97kg Greco-Roman wrestling category at the 2018 Asian Junior
Championships in New Delhi on July 18, 2018. Viresh, who hails from Uttar Pradesh and trains in
Zirakpur, defeated South Korea’s Jeongyul Kwon by 14-5 in the 97 kg Bronze medal play-off to win his
first international medal.
43. What is the theme of the 10th edition of the Delhi Dialogue 2018?
[A] ASEAN-India Relations: Peaceful Village
[B] ASEAN-India Relations: Way for next 25 Years
[C] Strengthening India-ASEAN Maritime Co-operation
© 2018 GKToday | All Rights Reserved | https://www.gktoday.in 80
Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
47. What is the theme of 2018 World Youth Skills Day (WYSD)?
[A] Skills for All
[B] Improving the image of TVET
[C] Skills Development to Improve Youth Employment
[D] World Skills for peace and prosperity
Correct Answer: B [Improving the image of TVET]
Notes:
The World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) is observed every year on July 15 to call for increased prospects for
youth to gain access to quality training and skills development. The purpose of the day is to spread
awareness on the importance of youth developing skill development. The 2018 theme is “Improving the
image of TVET (Technical & Vocational Education and Training)”.
48. Which IIT institute has developed an online tool “TreadWill” to help people deal with mental
health issues?
[A] IIT Delhi
[B] IIT Bombay
[C] IIT Kanpur
[D] IIT Indore Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
silver medalist, won the title in 2012 while Thakkar won gold all the way back in 1965.
51. Which country has announced plans to explore concepts to save UNESCO World Heritage-
listed Great Barrier Reef?
[A] Indonesia
[B] Malaysia
[C] Maldives
[D] Australia
Correct Answer: D [Australia ]
Notes:
Recently, Australia announced plans to explore concepts such as firing salt into clouds and covering
swathes of water with a thin layer of film in a bid to save the embattled Great Barrier Reef. The UNESCO
World Heritage-listed reef, about the size of Japan or Italy, is reeling from two straight years of
bleaching as sea temperatures rise because of climate change. The site contains the world’s largest
collection of coral reefs, with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc. Experts
have warned that the 2,300-kilometre long area could have suffered irreparable damage. To resolve the
issue, the Australian Government offered US$1.5 million to attract innovative ideas to protect the site.
Out of 69 submissions, 6 schemes has been shortlisted that will be tested to see if they are feasible. The
short-listed projects include mass producing coral larvae with the aid of 3D-printed surfaces to support
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new growth, and large-scale harvesting and relocation of larvae.
52. Afghan player Samira Asghari has been nominated for the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) membership. She is associated with which sports?
[A] Football
[B] Sprint
[C] Basketball
[D] Boxing
Correct Answer: C [Basketball ]
Notes:
A young Afghan basketball player, Samira Asghari has been nominated for the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) membership. She is among 9 candidates for membership of the body in a move to boost
women’s rights. Regarding to this, IOC President Thomas Bach stated that the nomination of Samira
Asghari will send a message not only to men and women in Afghanistan but also in all those countries
where women are facing serious obstacles to pursue sport. For membership, 5 of the 9 candidates due to
be voted in October are “Individual Members” proposed by a special committee, 3 of those are women.
The other four represent either National Olympic Committees (NOCs) or international sports
federations (IFs) which are entitled to representation. All four are men.
53. Mansi Ahlawat bagged Silver in which wrestling category at the 2018 Junior Asian Wrestling
Championships in New Delhi?
[A] 57 kg category
[B] 53 kg category
[C] 51 kg category
[D] 54 kg category
Correct Answer: A [57 kg category]
Notes:
In the Junior Asian Wrestling Championships 2018, Indian wrestler Mansi Ahlawat had to settle for a
Silver after she lost to Japan’s Akie Hanai in the 57 kg category final in New Delhi on July 20. In the 53
kilogram category, the Bronze medal was won by Swati Shinde after she defeated Thailand’s Duangnapa
Boonyasu in the play-off. Earlier, India had clinched a Silver medal through Divya Kakran in the 68 kg
category, while the two Bronze medals came through Reena in 55 kgs and Karuna in 76 kgs.
54. Which country to host the 4th BIMSTEC Summit 2018?
[A] Bangladesh
[B] Nepal
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Notes:
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has launched the South East Asia’s
first-ever Centre for Climate Change (CCC) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The purpose of the centre is to
accelerate concerted climate action by various stakeholders in government, private, financial and non -
government actors. The Lucknow Centre would help NABARD in increasing its capacity building efforts
manifold. Besides, the new institution would also extend professional support to stakeholders for
designing climate related projects and take up collaborative studies and action research projects in area
of climate change. It would also support capacity building and project preparation effort in developing
countries in the region as also in Africa.
61. Which state police has launched drive to bust an international smuggling racket of pangolin?
[A] Assam
[B] Odisha
[C] Meghalaya
[D] Tripura
Correct Answer: B [Odisha]
Notes:
The Odisha police has launched a drive to bust an international syndicate that peddles “endangered”
pangolin, one of the world’s most illegallyVineet
traded mammals. Through Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty
Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
(MLAT), the Odisha police will crack the international pangolin smuggling racket. MLAT is an agreement
between nations to exchange information or provide legal assistance for enforcing laws. Pangolins are
the only known mammals with large keratin scales and they use those scales to protect themselves from
predators in the wild. They are toothless, nocturnal, live in burrows and feed mainly on ants and
termites. Of the 8 species found worldwide, two are found in India: Indian Pangolin (Manis
crassicaudata) and Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla). Both the species are listed in Schedule I of the
Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Hence, hunting, trade or any other form of utilisation of the species or
their body parts and derivatives is banned. Beside this, In the International Union for Conservation of
Nature’s (IUCN) Red List, Chinese pangolin are listed as “critically endangered” and Indian Pangolin as
“endangered”.
62. Which most advanced System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting has been launched the
Union Government in Delhi?
[A] SATARA
[B] SAHAR
[C] SAFAR
[D] SAPAR
Correct Answer: C [SAFAR ]
Notes:
Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Union Environment Minister, has launched a state-of-the-art Air Quality and
Weather Forecast System– SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting) at Chandni Chowk
in Delhi on July 21, 2018. The system, first of its kind in India, was developed indigenously in record time
by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Pune and operationalized by India Meteorological
Department (IMD). The new system will be able to track UV-Index, PM1, Mercury and Black carbon in
real time. SAFAR will monitor all weather parameters like temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed
and wind direction. In addition to regular air quality parameters like PM2.5, PM10, Sulfur Dioxide,
Ozone, Nitrogen Oxides, Carbon Monoxide, the new system will also monitor the existence of Benzene,
Toluene and Xylene. It will be an integral part of India’s first Air Quality Early Warning System
operational in Delhi and will strengthen the existing air quality network of SAFAR, Central Pollution
Control Board and Delhi Pollution Control Committee.
63. Which state has topped the list of best-governed states, as per Public Affairs Index (PAI) for
2018?
[A] Kerala
[B] Bihar
[C] Karnataka
[D] Gujarat
more than 42,500 people were relocated. More than 28,000 ships, including 22,900 fishing boats, have
returned to port in Zhejiang.
67. The Government of India (GoI) has reduced the minimum annual deposit requirement for
accounts under Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana from Rs. 1,000 to ____?
[A] Rs 550
[B] Rs. 350
[C] Rs. 250
[D] Rs. 750
Correct Answer: C [Rs. 250]
Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has reduced the minimum annual deposit requirement for accounts
under Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 250. The move will enable more people to take
advantage of the girl child savings scheme. The government has amended the Sukanya Samriddhi
Account Rules, 2016 for the purpose. The interest rate on Sukanya Samriddhi account is revised every
quarter, just like other small savings schemes and PPF. For the July-September quarter, the rate has
been fixed at 8.1%. Under the scheme, a parent or legal guardian can open an account in the name of the
girl child until she attains the age of 10 years. As per the government notification on the scheme, the
account can be opened in any post office branch and designated public sector banks. The deposits made
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to the account, and also the proceeds and maturity amount, would be fully exempted from tax under
section 80C of the Income Tax Act. Deposits can be made up to 14 years from the date of opening of the
account. After this period, the account will only earn interest as per applicable rates.
68. Fakhar Zaman, who has become the fastest player to score 1000 ODI runs, is belong to which
country?
[A] Bangladesh
[B] Australia
[C] Pakistan
[D] South Africa
Correct Answer: C [Pakistan]
Notes:
Fakhar Zaman from Pakistan has become the fastest player to score 1000 runs in One-Day International
(ODI) cricket during the 5th match against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo on July 22, 2018. He took 18 innings
to achieve the feat and broke West Indies great Vivian Richards’ record. Richards was the first crickter to
complete 1000 runs in ODIs, in Jan 1980, in his 21st innings. Apart from this, Zaman also became the
first Pakistan batsman to score a double ton in ODI cricket history and also stitched a world record
partnership of 304 runs for the opening wicket with Imam-ul-Haq. For India, Captain Virat Kohli holds
the record for being the fastest Indian to cross the 1000-run mark after he took 24 innings to reach the
milestone.
69. NITI Aayog has signed Statement of Intent (SoI) with which pharmaceutical company to
collaborate in Aspirational Districts Programme?
[A] Cipla
[B] Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories
[C] Aurobindo Pharma
[D] Lupin Foundation
Correct Answer: D [Lupin Foundation]
Notes:
The NITI Aayog has signed Statement of Intent (SoI) with Lupin Foundation to collaborate in
Aspirational Districts Programme. The purpose of the programme is to improve indicators in education,
health and nutrition, financial inclusion and skill development, agriculture and water resources, and
basic infrastructure in Aspirational Districts of India. As per the terms of the SoI, Lupin Foundation,
with the NITI Aayog, will work in 3 states – Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan – to facilitate
the creation of an ideal template to develop economic strength, technological viability and moral
leadership across three districts in these states as part of Phase I of the cooperation. The phase I of this
cooperation with NITI Aayog will focus on the districts of Dholpur in Rajasthan, Nandurbar in
Maharashtra and Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, and help develop a comprehensive district-level action
plan with integrates various initiatives and interventions.
70. Which ministerial committee has been set up by the Odisha government for development of
Odia film industry?
[A] S B Behera committee
[B] Prafulla Samal committee
[C] Ananta Das committee
[D] Kirti Patnaik committee
Correct Answer: A [S B Behera committee]
Notes:
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has set up a ministerial committee to prepare a draft policy for
the development of Odia film industry. The committee will also examine different problems being faced
by the Odia cinema industry and recommend measures for renovation of the Kalinga Studio, located on
the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. The committee, headed by Finance Minister S B Behera, will have to
submit its report to the government within one month suggesting steps to be taken for the purpose.
71. Which state government has launched e-Pragati Core initiative to provide integrated services
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to citizens?
[A] Andhra Pradesh
[B] Rajasthan
[C] Karnataka
[D] Kerala
Correct Answer: A [Andhra Pradesh]
Notes:
The Andhra Pradesh government has launched ‘e-Pragati core initiative’ at Undavalli to provide
integrated services to citizens. The aim of the digital initiative is to connect citizen to 34 departments,
336 autonomous organisations and 745-plus government services. In simple words, e-Pragati will act as
a platform to connect all departments and stand alone to resolve the issues. As of now, the initiative
offers around 20 services and 100 more will be added by the year-end. The e-Pragati authority will
achieve the goals of the project by supporting the seven development missions launched in the areas of
e-Governance, Social Empowerment, Skill Development, Urban Development, Infrastructure, Industrial
Development and the Services sector. Through this project, the State government intends to realise the
vision of ‘Sunrise AP 2022’.
72. 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
Correct Answer: D [Tahira Safdar]
Notes:
Justice Tahira Safdar has been named as the new Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court. With this,
she will become the first-ever female high court chief justice in Pakistan. Justice Safdar will take charge
of her new role following the retirement of incumbent Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Mohammad
Noor Muskanzai, who attains superannuation on 31 August. Safdar belongs to Quetta and is the
daughter of renowned lawyer Syed Imtiaz Hussain Baqri Hanafi. She made history in 1982 when she
became the first woman civil judge in Balochistan. Currently, Justice Tahira is a member of the 3-judge
special court conducting the trial of former president Pervez Musharraf for committing treason by
proclaiming a state of emergency on 3 November, 2007.
73. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon issue new 100 Rupee notes with motif of which
UNESCO World Heritage site?
[A] Sanchi Stupa
[C] Odisha
[D] Tamil Nadu
Correct Answer: C [Odisha]
Notes:
On July 23, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik released the first-ever tribal atlas of Odisha — a set of maps
and statistics – to highlight the tribal demography of the state. The atlas has been brought out utilising
the data of Census 2011 and other relevant statistics, which is said to be the first of its kind in the
country. The atlas has been prepared by the SC & ST Research and Training Institute in collaboration
with Academy of Tribal Language and Culture. It has been edited by Prof A B Ota, director of SC & ST
Research Institute, and reviewed by development commissioner R Balakrishnan. The atlas displays the
salient features of tribal population of Odisha with a series of maps, charts and diagrams. It contains 60
plates pf maps along with corresponding graphs and diagrams which portray the distributional aspects
of the Odisha’s tribal population, ecological setting of the tribal habitats, their socio-cultural attributes
such as linguistic/dialectical affinity, sex composition and literary levels.
75. The Union government has constituted which high-level committee to suggest laws against
mob lynching and violence?
[A] A.K. Dhasmana committee
[B] Rajiv Gauba committee
[C] Bhaskar Khulbe committee
[D] Inderjit Singh committee
Correct Answer: B [Rajiv Gauba committee]
Notes:
On July 23, the Union government has constituted a high-level committee to suggest laws against mob
lynching and violence. The high-level committee, headed by the Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, will
submit its suggestions to the Home ministry within 4 weeks. Beside this, the government has also
constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, to consider the
recommendation of the high level committee. The GoM will then examine the report and submit its
suggestions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The move came after the Supreme Court asked the
government to enact a law to deal with such incidents, terming them as “horrendous acts of mobocracy”.
76. The first meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Committee on Border Haats was held in which
city?
[A] Agartala
[B] Dispur
[C] Guwahati
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Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
[D] Shillong
Correct Answer: A [Agartala]
Notes:
The first meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Committee on Border Haats was held in Agartala,
Tripura on July 22-23, 2018. In the meeting both sides noted the positive impact of Border Haats on the
livelihoods of the people living in areas adjoining the Haats. Extensive discussions were held on issues
related to review of operations of the four functional Border Haats and suggestions for improvement,
timeline for setting up the six additional Border Haats that had earlier been agreed to by both sides and
the roadmap for further expansion of Border Haats. It was agreed that the next meeting would be held in
Bangladesh on mutually agreed dates. The Joint Committee also visited the Border Haat at Kamlasagar
(Sipahijala District, Tripura) – Tarapur (Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh) on 22 July 2018, appreciated its
vibrant functioning and noted the need for improvement of infrastructure.
77. The Lok Sabha has passed the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2017 on cheque
bounce cases. The bill shall amend which act to resolve the issue?
[A] Negotiable Instruments Act 1881
[B] Negotiable Instruments Act 1882
[C] Negotiable Instruments Act 1880
[D] Negotiable Instruments Act 1884 Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
Correct Answer: A [Negotiable Instruments Act 1881]
Notes:
On July 23, the Lok Sabha passed the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2017 that allows a court
hearing a cheque bounce case to direct the drawer — the person who wrote the cheque — to pay
interim compensation to the person who filed the complaint. The interim compensation, to be paid
within 60 days of the court’s order, can be up to 20% of the value of the cheque. The court may direct the
payee to repay the interim compensation, with interest, if the drawer is acquitted. Now , the bill will go
to the Rajya Sabha for its nod. If bill gets Parliament’s nod, it will preserve the sanctity of cheque
transactions by stopping the practice of people trying to deliberately delay cases through filing of
appeals and obtaining stay a on proceedings. The bill, which amends the Negotiable Instruments Act
1881, is aimed to reduce the number of cheque dishonour cases pending in courts.
78. The 2nd Young Superintendent of Police Conference 2018 will be organized by Bureau of Police
Research & Development (BPR&D). Where is the headquarters of BPR&D located?
[A] Lucknow
[B] New Delhi
[C] Patna
[D] Bhopal
Correct Answer: B [New Delhi]
Notes:
The 2nd Young Superintendent of Police Conference will be organized by Bureau of Police Research &
Development (BPR&D) with theme “Predictive Policing and Contemporary Challenges for Indian Police
Forces” in New Delhi on July 26, 2018. The 2-day conference will be inaugurated by Union Home
Minister Rajnath Singh. It will be attended by over 100 Superintendents of Police & senior officers from
the States & CAPFs. The purpose of the 2-day conference is to create awareness among young
Superintendents of Police and Commandants regarding latest technologies in areas of Artificial
Intelligence; Predictive Policing/ Crime Analytics/ Big data Analytics; Geospatial Technology; Cyber
Crime; Surveillance Tracking & UAVs; CCTV Equipment, for effective delivery of Police Services to
citizens. The headquarters of BPR&D is located in New Delhi.
79. Who is the author of the book “The Dhoni Touch: Unravelling the Enigma That Is Mahendra
Singh Dhoni”?
[A] Nuwan Kulasekara
[B] Vijaya Kumar
[C] Jagdish Singh Rajput
[D] Bharat Sundaresan
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Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
1999, India successfully took command of the high outposts which had been lost to Pakistani intruders.
The celebrations of the 19th KVD 2018 has started at Drass War Memorial in Jammu and Kashmir on
July 24 and will continue till July 26. It remembers the supreme sacrifice of 500 war heroes who laid
down their lives and those who are still alive.
84. Who has been declared as the best male athlete in the 15th National Youth Athletics
Championships 2018?
[A] Jaydeep Rathod
[B] Navtejdeep Singh
[C] Dhanvir Singh
[D] V.A. Shashikanth
Correct Answer: C [Dhanvir Singh]
Notes:
Punjab shot-putter Dhanvir Singh set the new record at the 15th National Youth Athletics
Championships in Vadodara on July 23, 2018. He clinched gold medal by throwing 19.69m in his 5th
attempt to crack the record of 19.34m set by Navtejdeep Singh in 2011. In the event, Dhanvir was
declared as the best male athlete while Kerala’s sprint hurdler Aparna Roy won the honours in the girls
section. In women’s 400 metre hurdles, Kerala’s Priya won the gold and set the new record by crossing
the finish line in a season-best time of 1:02.52 seconds. In doing so, she erased the previous meet record
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of 1:02.58 seconds set by P O Sanya in Bambolim in 2015. In women’s 200 metre race, Kerala’s Ancy Sojan
won the gold in 24.91 seconds. Haryana won the overall title with 165 points while Kerala (150) finished
in the 2nd place.
85. In which state, acid attack victims have been included under disability and will be eligible to
get all benefits as per Disabilities Act 2016?
[A] Rajasthan
[B] Odisha
[C] Madhya Pradesh
[D] Assam
Correct Answer: C [Madhya Pradesh]
Notes:
In Madhya Pradesh, acid attack victims have been included under disability and they will be eligible to
get all benefits of various schemes of the government as per Disabilities Act 2016. According to the
Commissioner of Social Justice and Disabled Welfare, now 21 types of disabilities including acid attack
have been included in place of 7 types of disabilities mentioned earlier in the Disabilities Act 2016. Not
only this, Disabled students will also be provided with laptops and tricycles under the Chief Minister’s
Disabled Education Incentive Scheme. Under this scheme vision impaired, hearing impaired, students
with bone deformities and mentally retarded students with minimum 50% marks in Class 9th and those
who have been admitted in Class 10th will be benefitted. The state government will also give 50%
discount to the disabled persons for travelling on buses. State Government has issued notification for
this and action will be taken against the bus operator who does not follow the order.
86. Which state government has recently decided to set up a separate directorate for the
Divyangs?
[A] Kerala
[B] Punjab
[C] Haryana
[D] Assam
Correct Answer: D [Assam]
Notes:
The Assam government has recently decided to set up a separate directorate for the Divyangs. The
Social Welfare minister, Pramila Rani Brahma said that appointment to Divyangs will be given at around
4500 posts by December 2018. Beside this, the Social Welfare department will also give Rs 1000 per
month to all Divyangs as stipend. The minister said that the new Anganwadi centres to be constructed
for the benefit of the women and children.
Notes:
The Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched a contest “#Childline1098” to spread
awareness on human trafficking and to mark the 2018 World Day against Trafficking in Persons. In it,
people are invited to share images of the Childline 1098 logo that they spot at unique locations and send
it with a tagline. The #Childline1098 contest carries a cash price of Rs 2,000. The details of the contest
are available on the Facebook and Twitter accounts of the ministry. The Childline 1098 is India’s first 24-
hour, free, nationwide emergency phone service for children in need of aid and assistance. At present, it
is operational at 450 locations including 76 key railway stations. As Railways often act as carriers of
trafficked children, the Ministry signed an MoU with the Ministry of Railways to rescue and rehabilitate
runaway, abandoned, kidnapped and trafficked children via Railways.
89. Which union ministry has organized the 2nd meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition
Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan in New Delhi?
[A] Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
[B] Ministry of Panchayati Raj
[C] Ministry of Food Processing Industries
[D] Ministry of Women and Child Development
Correct Answer: D [Ministry of Women and Child Development]
Notes:
The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) has organized 2nd meeting of National
Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan on 24th July 2018 in New Delhi under
the Chairmanship of Rajiv Kumar, the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog. In it, it was declared that Month of
September to be celebrated as National Nutrition Month (NNM) every year. During the meeting, the
National Council approved to include 32 new districts in the current year 2018-19 under POSHAN
Abhiyaan by which it will saturate all the districts of the UTs which are left to be included under Phase-I
and Phase-II. The POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission) was launched nationwide from
Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan on 8th March 2018. It aims to ensure holistic development and adequate nutrition
for pregnant women, mothers and children.
90. Which country is hosting the 10th edition of BRICS Summit 2018?
[A] South Africa
[B] Brazil
[C] Russia
[D] China
Correct Answer: A [South Africa ]
Notes:
South Africa is hosting the 10th edition of BRICS Summit 2018 in Johannesburg on July 25 with theme
“BRICS in Africa – collaboration for inclusive growth and shared prosperity in the 4th industrial
revolution”. In it, the heads of the five BRICS nations viz. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are
participating. They are expected to deliberate on global hot-spot issues, international peace and security,
global governance and trade issues among others. The five BRICS countries account for 26% of the
world’s landmass and are home to 43% of the world’s population. The bloc is composed of emerging
markets and the developing world.
91. Pawan Shah, who is in news recently, is associated with which sports?
[A] Badminton
[B] Cricket
[C] Hockey
[D] Basketball
Correct Answer: B [Cricket]
Notes:
In Cricket, Pawan Shah has created history by registering the 2nd highest individual score in Under-19
internationals against hosts Sri Lanka in the first innings on the 2nd day of the final ‘Youth Test’ in
Hambantota on July 25, 2018. The Indian innings was declared when the 18-year-old Pawan Shah from
Pune was dismissed at 282. His score came off 332 balls with 33 boundaries and a six in just under 7
hours. With this score, Shah became the 2nd Indian to score a double-century after Tanmay Srivastava,
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who had scored 220 against Pakistan in Peshawar in September 2006. Though, he failed to beat
Australian Clinton Peake’s 304 not out against India in Melbourne in 1995, which is still the highest
score at this Under-19 level.
92. Which city is hosting the 18th UNICEF International Children’s Film Festival 2018?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Chennai
[C] Kolkata
[D] Pune
Correct Answer: C [Kolkata ]
Notes:
The 18th UNICEF International Children’s Film Festival 2018 has been inaugurated by West Bengal
Governor K N Tripathi in Kolkata on July 25 in which 36 films from 17 countries would be screened. The
2018 theme is ‘Value of Girls’, which will be promoted through films, workshops and discussions. The
festival has been organised by Cine Central, one of the oldest cine clubs of the country in collaboration
with the UNICEF, Nandan and Talash Society. The inaugural film is Moana from the USA. After
screening of the opening film, the 2nd phase of the festival would be held from August 9 to 12 at Nandan,
and then the festival will be taken across the state and the films will be screened in different district
towns till September 30. Other films to be screened in the festival include Doctor Funes Formula
(Mexico), White Bridge (Iran), The Monkey King – Uproar in Heaven (China), The Magicians
(Netherlands), The Shamer’s Daughter (Denmark), Giraffada (France), We are the Best (Sweden).
93. Which state government has launched a plantation drive ‘Green Mahanadi Mission’?
[A] West Bengal
[B] Odisha
[C] Jharkhand
[D] Chhattisgarh
Correct Answer: B [Odisha]
Notes:
The Odisha government has launched a plantation drive ‘Green Mahanadi Mission’ to stop soil erosion
and recharge groundwater reserve of Mahanadi river. Under the mission, more than 5 crore saplings will
be planted over an area of 41,000 hectares. The plantation will be done on either side of major rivers of
Odisha as well along roadside length of about 5,000 km over a period of five years at an expenditure of
around Rs 5,000 crore. To provide additional livelihood opportunities to the locals, the volunteers will
plant fruit-bearing trees like mango, jackfruit and jamun within one kilometre radius of the river bank.
Apart from Mahanadi, plantation will also be done on the banks of river Tel and Ib. The plantation drive
will be implemented jointly by the departments of Forest, Horticulture and Watershed Development.
94. India’s first state-run all-woman hotel “Hostess” will come up in which state?
[A] Kerala
[B] Karnataka
[C] Himachal Pradesh
[D] Mizoram
Correct Answer: A [Kerala]
Notes:
India’s first public sector hotel “Hostess” run entirely by women for women will come up in
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The flagship project of the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation
(KTDC) has been launched by the state Tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran. ‘Hostess’ will offer
state-of-the-art facilities, including automated security features, technology-oriented check-ins and
check-outs, laundry service, complimentary breakfast, microwave oven and fitness centre. The facility
will have 22 AC rooms and two AC dormitories to host 28 people at a time. Rooms will be charged Rs
1,500 and the dormitory facility Rs 500 for four hours.
95. Which state government has recently constituted inter-district council to identify the
developmental priorities of the State? Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
[A] Uttar Pradesh
[B] Haryana
[C] Andhra Pradesh
[D] Assam
Correct Answer: B [Haryana ]
Notes:
The Haryana government has recently constituted an inter-district council, under the chairmanship of
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, to identify the developmental priorities of the State. The inter-
district council will prepare district specific action plans, assessment of development needs, and
delegate powers to panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies. Further the body will regularly
review the progress of various flagship programmes of the Centre and the state governments. The
finance minister, development and panchayat minister, urban local bodies minister, presidents of zilla
parishads, mayors of municipal corporations and presidents of municipal councils or committees at
district headquarters would be permanent members of the council.
96. Which former chairman of Coal India Ltd (CIL) has authored the book “When Coal Turned
Gold: The Making of a Maharatna Company”?
[A] Gopal Singh
[B] PB Bhattacharyya
[C] Suresh Kumar
[D] Sutirtha Bhattacharya
Correct Answer: B [PB Bhattacharyya]
Notes:
The book “When Coal Turned Gold: The Making of a Maharatna Company” has been authored by Partha
Sarathi Bhattacharyya, the former chairman of Coal India Ltd (CIL). The author tells the story of how he
dealt with the Dhanbad coal mafia, how he changed the way the industry was perceived, how he dealt
with the trade unions and the government and, most importantly, how he was able to script one of the
greatest success stories the country had ever seen. In all, it’s the story of Coal India Ltd’s (CIL)
transformation from a hugely loss-making enterprise since its formation in the 70s into a profitable
Maharatna PSU. It must be noted that CIL contributes to around 82% of India’s coal production and is
headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal.
97. The National Traders Conclave 2018 has been organized in which city?
[A] Mumbai
[B] Chennai
[C] New Delhi
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Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
[D] Hyderabad
Correct Answer: C [New Delhi]
Notes:
The National Traders Conclave 2018 has been organized by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) in
New Delhi from July 23 to 25 to address various grievances of the trading community and focus on
effective solutions. A speaker of CAIT informed that among the rising problems in trades in recent
times, FDI in both multi and single-brand retail and merger of Walmart and Flipkart are posing huge
challenges on Indian Market. Regarding to this issue, CAIT demanded that the Centre stop the Walmart-
Flipkart deal saying it would encourage predatory pricing and benefit only investors and promoters. The
conclave, which is being attended by 1,500 trade leaders, had decided to launch a nationwide movement
against the deal. The traders’ union also demanded that the government form a policy for e-commerce
and constitute a regulatory authority for such businesses. The headquarters of CAIT is located in New
Delhi.
98. Mohammed Ayazuddin Patel has bagged the Senior Fellowship Award for 2016-17 instituted
by the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training Centre (CCRT). The CCRT is an autonomous
organisation under which union ministry?
[A] Ministry of Human Resource Development
[B] Ministry of Minority Affairs Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
Notes:
Swapan Sarkar (67), the Veteran sports journalist, has passed away in New Delhi on July 26, 2018. He was
a versatile sports writer and covered football, tennis, cricket, badminton, table tennis and athletics for
his publications. He worked for a number of dailies and was also the Delhi sports correspondent of
Ananda Bazaar Patrika (ABP) from mid 1990’s. Earlier, he had worked for Kolkata’s english daily Amrita
Bazar Patrika (ABP) and Northern India Patrika. He has briefly worked for Gujarat Samachar. Sarkar was
a regular in the Delhi sports circuit having covered events like 1982 Asian Games, 2010 Commonwealth
Games along with tournaments like Nehru Cup, Federation Cup, Durand Cup and DCM. He has also
covered events like Davis Cup, National Athletics meet.
101. The museum for all former Prime Ministers of India will be constructed in which city?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Gandhinagar
[C] Lucknow
[D] Kolkata
Correct Answer: A [New Delhi]
Notes:
The museum for all former Prime Ministers of India will be constructed in the Teen Murti Bhavan
complex that houses the Nehru Memorial Vineet
Museum and Library (NMML) in New Delhi. The decision was
Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
taken at the 43rd annual general meeting of the NMML chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh
on July 26, 2018. The Teen Murti Bhavan complex is spread over 25 acres and the present museum for
Jawaharlal Nehru occupied half an acre. The new museum would be constructed at a cost of Rs 270 crore
and will be separate from the existing structure of the Nehru Memorial. The NMML, as per the
Memorandum of Association, is mandated with five tasks and maintenance of a museum of Nehru
“personalia, memorabilia’’, and other objects pertaining to his life and the freedom movement is just one
of them. The other tasks include acquiring, maintaining and preserving papers of nationalist leaders of
modern India and other eminent Indians; establishing and maintaining a library on the history of
modern India; and facilitating research in modern Indian history.
102. Which state government has launched smartphone scheme “Sanchar Kranti Yojna” to the
people of the state?
[A] Madhya Pradesh
[B] Chhattisgarh
[C] Odisha
[D] Jharkhand
Correct Answer: B [Chhattisgarh]
Notes:
The ambitious scheme of Chhattisgarh government “Sanchar Kranti Yojna” has been launched by
President Ram Nath Kovind at Jagdalpur in the Naxal-affected Bastar region of the state on July 27,
2018. Under the scheme, 50 lakh smartphones will be distributed free of cost to rural households, urban
poor and college students across the state. The scheme, at an outlay of Rs 1,467.90 crore, is aimed at
increasing mobile penetration in a state, which is the lowest in the country at 29% against the national
average of 68%.
103. Which city hosted the Global Disability Summit 2018?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Paris
[C] London
[D] Geneva
Correct Answer: C [London]
Notes:
The Global Disability Summit 2018 was held at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, England on
24th July 2018. It was co-hosted by the UK government with the International Disability Alliance (IDA)
and the Government of Kenya to galvanize global efforts to address disability inclusion around the
world. The motto of the Conference was to firm up the commitments of the country leaders towards the
cause of persons with disabilities. From India, Thaawarchand Gehlot, the Union Minister for Social
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Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
Justice & Empowerment, attended the summit. Besides India, global leaders from more than 40
countries attended the summit and have committed themselves to work in the direction of economic
empowerment of persons with disabilities. The purpose of the summit was to raise global attention and
focus on a neglected area.
104. Which renowned historian authored the book “Gandhi: The Years That Changed The World
(1914-1948)”?
[A] Romila Thapar
[B] M G S Narayanan
[C] Sanjay Subrahmanyam
[D] Ramachandra Guha
Correct Answer: D [Ramachandra Guha]
Notes:
The book ‘Gandhi: The Years That Changed The World (1914-1948)’ has been authored by Ramachandra
Guha, the renowned historian and author. It will be published by Penguin Random House India and will
come in public domain in September 2018. As per sources, the book will not only narrate the story of
Gandhi’s life, from his departure from South Africa to his dramatic assassination in 1948, but also the
history of our freedom movement and its many strands. The book will also include new readings of
Gandhi ji’s arguments with B.R. Ambedkar, Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Subhas Chandra Bose, among
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
others.
105. Which citizen centric platform has been jointly launched by Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)
and MyGov?
[A] Swachh India Platform
[B] Educate India Platform
[C] Innovate India Platform
[D] Indian culture Platform
Correct Answer: C [Innovate India Platform]
Notes:
The citizen centric online portal “Innovate India Platform” has been jointly launched by NITI Aayog’s
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and MyGov on July 26, 2018. The portal will serve as the common point
for all the innovation happening across the nation. Through the portal, users can view, comment, share,
and rate the innovations crowdsourced on the #InnovateIndia platform. They can view the leaderboard
which is calculated based on the votes on each innovation. Citizens can also share their or other
organisations’ innovation on the platform by logging into the MyGov website. These innovations can
also be shared on various social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter.
106. The Mahila Shakti Kendra scheme will be implemented between centre and states (except for
northeast and special category states) in which ratio to empower rural women?
[A] 60:40
[B] 70:30
[C] 50:50
[D] 80:20
Correct Answer: A [60:40]
Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has approved a new scheme ” Mahila Shakti Kendra” to empower rural
women through community participation. The cost for implementing the scheme from 2017-18 up to
2019-20 would be shared in the 60:40 ratio between the Centre and states, except for North East and
Special Category States where the ratio is 90:10. The scheme is envisaged to work at various levels and
at the national level (domain based knowledge support) and state level (State Resource Centre for
Women) technical support to the respective governments on issues related to women is provided. This
information was given by Minister of State for Women and Child Development, DR. Virendra Kumar in
reply to an Unstarred Question in the Rajya Sabha on July 26, 2018.
107. Who of the following Indians have won the 2018 Ramon Magsaysay Award?
Notes:
The World Hepatitis Day (WHD) is observed every year on July 28 raise global awareness of hepatitis —
a group of infectious diseases known as Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E — and encourage prevention,
diagnosis and treatment. The 2018 theme is “Test. Treat. Hepatitis”. Hepatitis is a viral infection that
causes inflammation in the liver. According to WHO’s official report ‘Eliminate Hepatitis’, “Viral
hepatitis affected 325 million people worldwide in 2015, with 257 million people living with hepatitis B
and 71 million people living with hepatitis C – the two main killers of the five types of hepatitis.
111. Indian mountaneer Shivangi Pathak has recently scaled which highest peak of Africa?
[A] Mt Speke
[B] Mt Stanley
[C] Mt Gurage
[D] Mt Kilimanjaro
Correct Answer: D [Mt Kilimanjaro]
Notes:
Shivangi Pathak (17) from Haryana, who became the India’s youngest women to scale Mt Everest from
Nepal side, has recently scaled the highest peak of Africa “Mt Kilimanjaro”, which is located in Tanzania.
The mountain is about 4,900 metres from its base to 5,895 metres above sea level. Her next target is to
scale Europe’s highest peak. Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
112. Who has been conferred with the Odisha’s highest literary award ‘Atibadi Jagannath Das
Samman’ for 2018?
[A] P K Kunhalikutty
[B] Ramakanta Rath
[C] P P Thankachan
[D] Ramesh Chennithala
Correct Answer: B [Ramakanta Rath]
Notes:
Noted litterateur Ramakanta Rath has been conferred with the Odisha’s highest literary award ‘Atibadi
Jagannath Das Samman’ for 2018 for his life time contribution to Odia literature. He received the award
at a special function organised by Odisha Sahitya Akademi on July 26, 2018. The award carries a citation
and cash prize of Rs one lakh. Rath, a Padma Bhusan awaredee, was earlier conferred with the Sahitya
Akademi Award in 1977, Saraswathi Samman in 1992, Bishuva Samman in 1990 and some others.
113. Cherkallam Abdullah, who passed away recently, was the noted politician from which state?
[A] Uttar Pradesh
[B] Karnataka
[C] Kerala
[D] Telangana
Correct Answer: C [Kerala]
Notes:
Cherkallam Abdullah (76), the senior Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader and former Kerala
Minister, has passed away on July 27, 2018. He was a prominent leader of the Opposition Congress-led
UDF in north Kerala. A 4-time MLA from Manjeswaram in Kasaragod district since 1987, Abdullah was
the local self development minister in the A K Antony cabinet from 2001-2004.
114. Who has become the world’s oldest verified living person?
[A] Kane Tanaka
[B] Chiyo Miyako
[C] Nabi Tajima
[D] Jeanne Calment
Correct Answer: A [Kane Tanaka]
Notes:
Kane Tanaka (115), a Japanese super centenarian, has become the world’s oldest verified living person
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Current Affairs [PDF] -July 16 -31, 2018
following the death of Chiyo Miyako on July 22, 2018. Born on 2nd January 1903, Tanaka is in good
health, occasionally playing board games and taking short walks in the facility’s hallways. She credits
family, sleep and hope as her secrets for longevity.
115. Which Indian shuttler has lifted the 2018 men’s singles Russian Open Badminton trophy?
[A] H S Prannoy
[B] Kidambi Srikanth
[C] Sourabh Verma
[D] Rohan Kapoor
Correct Answer: C [Sourabh Verma]
Notes:
Ace Indian shuttler Sourabh Verma has lifted the 2018 Russian Open Badminton trophy at Vladivostok
on July 29. In the title clash, Sourabh defeated Japan’s Koki Watanabe by 18-21, 21-12, 21-17, and win his
first title of the season. In Mixed Doubles, the pair of Rohan Kapoor and Kuhoo Garg lost in the Final
against the Russian-Korean team of Vladimir Ivanov and Min Kyung Kim, 19-21, 17-21.
116. Which state government will implement Pranam Scheme to ensure that govt staff take care of
their parents & physically challenged siblings?
[A] Karnataka Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
[B] Assam
[C] Tripura
[D] Odisha
Correct Answer: B [Assam ]
Notes:
In a unique and first-ever in the country, the Assam government has decided to implement a Pranam
Scheme to ensure that government staff take care of their parents & physically challenged siblings. The
scheme will part away with 10 to 15% of state government employees’ monthly salary if they are found
guilty of not taking adequate care of their dependent elderly parents and physically challenged siblings.
117. The Central government has launched the National Viral Hepatitis Control programme in
collaboration with which organisation to combat the disease by 2030?
[A] UNICEF
[B] UNHRC
[C] WHO
[D] UNISDR
Correct Answer: C [WHO]
Notes:
On 2018 World Hepatitis Day (WHD), the National Viral Hepatitis Control programme has been
launched by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with the World Health
Organisation (WHO) in New Delhi to combat the disease by 2030 in the country. Under the initiative,
free drugs and diagnostics for Hepatitis B and C will be provided at all government hospitals. This
initiative will provide laboratory testing and management of viral Hepatitis with a de-centralized
approach. The aim of the programme is prevention and treatment of Hepatitis which is inflammation of
the liver due to a viral infection. It is among the leading causes of liver cancer, cirrhosis of the liver and
acute failure of the organ. According to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-2030), diseases like
AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, neglected tropical diseases, hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other
communicable diseases should be eliminated by 2030. Viral hepatitis was included as a focus area in the
health related goal Goal 3.3 with world leaders pledging to fight and eliminate it by 2030.
118. Which union ministry has launched Mission Satyanishtha on ethics in public governance for
its employees?
[A] Ministry of Railways
[B] Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
[C] Ministry of Defence
the previous year’s performance of all Services & Departments of Ministry of Defence and jointly chart
the course for the next year. The conference will be attended by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman,
Minister of State for Defence Subhash Ramrao Bhamre, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the Chiefs
of Army, Navy and Air Force among others.
122. The completed draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) has been officially published by
which state government?
[A] Assam
[B] Arunachal Pradesh
[C] West Bengal
[D] Manipur
Correct Answer: A [Assam]
Notes:
On July 30, the second and final draft of Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) has been officially
published bearing the names of 2 crore 89 lakh 83 thousand 677 citizens of the state. The NRC will
feature the names, addresses and photographs of all Indian citizens, who have been residing in the
North-eastern state before 25th March 1971. Out of 3,29,91,385 applicants 2,89,83,677 have been found
eligible for inclusion in complete draft of NRC. That means, the names of 40,07,708 people did not appear
in the NRC draft. The Registrar General of India, Mr Sailesh stated that persons whose names are not
Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
included in the list will be informed individually about the reasons for non-inclusion. Apart from this,
the persons who do not find their names in the draft have the legal right to apply again by filing claims
on the NRC website or by visiting a NRC Seva Kendra from the 30th of August to 28th of September.
123. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has constituted a monitoring committee to oversee the
Yamuna rejuvenation project. Who is the The current chairperson of the NGT?
[A] Anupriya Patel
[B] Adarsh Kumar Goel
[C] Faggan Singh Kulaste
[D] Neeta Verma
Correct Answer: B [Adarsh Kumar Goel]
Notes:
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has constituted a 2-member monitoring committee to oversee the
Yamuna rejuvenation project. The committee, comprising former Delhi Chief Secretary Shailaja Chandra
and retired NGT expert member Bikram Singh Sajwan, has been directed to submit the first action plan
by September 2018 and report by December 2018. The green panel also directed the Haryana and Uttar
Pradesh governments to assist the committee on the project. The Tribunal directed the authorities to
take strict action against encroachments on the Yamuna floodplains. It also directed the Delhi
Development Authority and the Delhi Jal Board to hold a meeting on July 30 for identifying land for
setting up of a sewage treatment plant on a drain which falls under phase-II of the Yamuna cleaning
programme. The current chairperson of the NGT is Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, retired Supreme Court
Judge.
124. The 2018 International Tiger Day (ITD) is observed on which date?
[A] July 29
[B] July 28
[C] July 30
[D] July 31
Correct Answer: A [July 29]
Notes:
The International Tiger Day (ITD) is celebrated every year on July 29 to spread the message to protect
these endangered species and assist in maintaining ecological integrity. It was created in 2010 at the
Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia with the goal to bring worldwide attention to the dwindling
numbers of tigers and their plight. According to World Wildlife Fund and Global Tiger Forum (GTF), the
total number of wild tigers has risen to above 3,000 in 2016. The number is expected to increase in the
new tiger counting, which started in January 2018. India is home to 70% of tigers in the world.
125. Which country’s team has won the boy’s title at the WSF-World junior squash team
championship 2018?
[A] Czech Republic
[B] USA
[C] Egypt
[D] India
Correct Answer: C [Egypt]
Notes:
The Egypt squash team has won the boy’s title at the 6th WSF-World junior squash team championship
2018 by defeating England by 2-0 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on July 29. Egypt’s Marwan Tarek, who lost
the individual championship final, defeated Nick Wall of England in straight games. Czech Republic and
USA finished third and secured the bronze medal. Host India finished 11th overall.
126. Bajrang Punia has clinched gold in which wrestling category at the 2018 Yasar Dogu
International tournament?
[A] 68kg
[B] 57kg
[C] 85kg Vineet Singh | vineet.vineetsingh@gmail.com |
[D] 71kg
Correct Answer: D [71kg]
Notes:
Wrestler Bajrang Punia has clinched gold in the 71kg freestyle at the 2018 Yasar Dogu International in
Istanbul, Turkey. It was his second consecutive gold medal, after he recently won gold at the 2018 Tbilisi
Grand Prix in Georgia. Meanwhile, Sandeep Tomar finished with silver after losing 2-8 in the 61kg final
against Iran’s Mohammad bagher Yakhkeshi. In the women’s competition, Pinki was the lone gold
medallist in the 55kg category with her 6-3 win over Ukraine’s Olga Shnaider. Beside this, Sangeeta
Phogat (59kg) and Geeta (65kg) won bronze medals in their respective categories. Overall, Indian
wrestlers returned with 10 medals, including 7 by women in the event.
127. Which acclaimed Bengali author has passed away, whose story ‘Abhimanyu’ was made into a
Hindi movie ‘Ek doctor ki maut’?
[A] Vijayendra Ghatge
[B] Ramapada Chowdhury
[C] Sushant Sanyal
[D] Subhash Mukhopadhyay
Correct Answer: B [Ramapada Chowdhury]
Notes:
Acclaimed Bengali writer Ramapada Chowdhury (95), whose story ‘Abhimanyu’ was made into a Hindi
movie ‘Ek doctor ki maut’, has passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal on July 29, 2018. ‘Abhimanyu’ was
based on the life and work of Dr Subhas Mukhopadhyay who created India’s first and the world’s second
test-tube baby in 1978. Director Tapan Sinha turned the story into a award winning Hindi film ‘Ek doctor
ki maut’ in 1990. Mrinal Sen’s Hindi film ‘Ek din achanak’ (1989) was also based on Chowdhury’s story
‘Beej’. Chowdhury had penned famous literary works such as ‘Pratham Prahar’ (1954), ‘Banpalashir
padabali’ (1960), ‘Ekhoni’ (1969), ‘Kharij’, ‘Bari badle jay’ (1988), ‘Abhimanyu’ (1982). His last book ‘Harano
Khata’ was published in 2015. He was conferred the Sahitya Academy award for ‘Bari badle jay’ in 1988
and was also the recipient of Rabindra Puraskar, Ananda Puraskar and Rabindranath Tagore Memorial
International Prize.
128. Which state has become the first Indian state to implement the National policy on bio fuels?
[A] Kerala
[B] Jharkhand
[C] Rajasthan
[D] Punjab