Current Affairs- July 2018

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 POLITY AND CONSTITUTION

NATIONAL REGISTER OF CITIZENS (NRC)

• Assam has published the final draft of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC).
• It is a list of all bona fide Indian citizens of Assam, the only state with such a document.
• It will include persons whose names appear in any of the electoral rolls upto the midnight
of 24th March, 1971 or National Register of Citizens, 1951 and their descendants.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
10TH BRICS SUMMIT
• Recently, the 10th BRICS Summit took place from 25th to 27th July, at Johannesburg in
South Africa. The Theme of the summit was ‘BRICS in Africa: Collaboration for
Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution.’
SAARC DEVELOPMENT FUND (SDF)
• SDF's Partnership Conclave 2018 was held in New Delhi.
• The event aims towards Strategic growth in the South Asian region through project
collaboration and Regional integration and proposes to:
➢ Solicit Cross-Border project Co-Financing under social, economic and infrastructure
windows for SDF in SAARC member States.
➢ Build partnership with various organisations like the World Bank, Asian Development
Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for fund mobilisation
and investment in SAARC member states
• The larger aim is to convert the SDF into a regional bank by strengthening its credit
portfolio so that it could get lender’s status. It will help raise funds from the capital market
through various instruments like bonds etc.
INDIA-BANGLADESH
• The first meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Committee on Border Haats was held
on 22-23 July 2018 in Agartala.
• In the meeting, both the sides noted the positive impact of border haats on the
livelihoods of the people living in areas adjoining the haats.
 • The border haats aim at promoting the wellbeing of the people dwelling in remote areas
across the borders, by establishing traditional system of marketing the local produce
through local markets.

ECONOMY
PROJECT SASHAKT
• Recently the government announced a comprehensive plan Project Sashakt for the
resolution of stressed assets in banking sector.
• It aims to strengthen the credit capacity, credit culture and credit portfolio of public
sector banks.
EASE OF DOING BUSINESS RANKINGS FOR STATES
• Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and
Industry has released the final rankings of States in Ease of Doing Business.
• In 3rd edition of the annual ranking of all states and UTs under the Business Reform
Action Plan (BRAP) conducted by DIPP and the World Bank, Andhra Pradesh stood to
be the best in India to do business.
• Telangana and Haryana in second and third spots, while Meghalaya stood last at 36th
position. Jharkhand and Gujarat stood fourth and fifth respectively.
• The aim of BRAP is to improve delivery of various Central Government regulatory
functions and services in an efficient, effective and transparent manner.
RYTHU BANDHU SCHEME
• Recently Telangana government launched a scheme named Rythu Bandhu (Friend of
farmers) scheme to support farmers.
• It is first of a kind investment support scheme for farmers which involves cheque
payments to farmers based on their landholdings. The government gives every beneficiary
farmer Rs. 4,000 per acre as “investment support” before every crop season.
• The objective is to help the farmer meet a major part of his expenses on seed, fertiliser,
pesticide, and field preparation.
CRISIL DRIP INDEX
 • Recently, CRISIL release its rainfall parameter index also known as DRIP (Deficient
Rainfall Impact Parameter) Index.
• DRIP Index move away from simply measuring the rainfall volumetric data and captures
the interaction between the most critical aspect of vulnerability (irrigation) and weather
shocks.
• The higher the CRISIL DRIP score, the more adverse the impact of deficient rains.

SECURITY
RIM OF PACIFIC MULTINATIONAL NAVAL EXERCISE (RIMPAC)
• The Indian Navy participated in the Rim of Pacific Multinational Naval Exercise
(RIMPAC) in Hawaii.
• The 26th edition of RIMPAC, hosted by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
(INDOPACOM), RIMPAC is the world’s largest set of international maritime war
games.
• The theme of RIMPAC 2018 is "Capable, Adaptive, Partners."

ENVIRONMENT
MEGHALAYAN AGE
• Scientists have identified a new phase in Earth's geological history called the Meghalayan
age.
• The Meghalayan Age, which is the subdivision of the Holocene Epoch, began about 4,200
years ago.
GANGETIC DOLPHIN
• The population of the Gangetic river dolphin at the Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin
Sanctuary has declined to 154 from 207 in 2015.
• The Ganges River dolphin inhabits the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-
Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.
• It is National Aquatic animal of India.
NILGIRI TAHR
 • As per a study published in Ecological Engineering journal, niligiri tahrs could lose
approximately 60% of their habitats from the 2030s on.
• The Nilgiri tahr inhabits the open montane grassland habitats at elevations from 1200
to 2600 m (generally above 2000 m) of the South Western Ghats.
HARRIER BIRDS
• Concerns have been raised that harrier birds, a migratory raptor species are declining from
Indian Subcontinent.
• Harrier Birds are the only diurnal ‘Raptor group or Birds of Prey’ nesting and roosting
on the ground.
RED SANDERS NOT ENDANGERED ANYMORE
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), now reclassified red
sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) as ‘near threatened’ from the earlier ‘endangered’.
• It is an endemic tree of South India.
• They are found in Tropical Dry Deciduous forest of the Palakonda and Seshachalam hill
ranges of Andhra Pradesh and also found in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
KHANGCHENDZONGA BIOSPHERE RESERVE
• Recently, Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve was included in the UNESCO’s World
Network of Biosphere Reserve (WNBR) under the Man and Biosphere Programme
(MAB).
• It is one of the highest ecosystems in the world and located at trijunction of India
(Sikkim), bordering Nepal to the west and Tibet (China) to the north-west.
GANGA VRIKSHAROPAN ABHIYAN
• National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has started “Ganga Vriksharopan
Abhiyan” in five main stem Ganga basin states – Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Jharkhand and West Bengal.
• It aims to bring greater awareness among people and other stakeholders regarding the
importance of afforestation for the task of Ganga Rejuvenation.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

NATIONAL VIRAL HEPATITIS CONTROL PROGRAM

• Ministry of Health and Family welfare has recently launched the ‘National Viral
Hepatitis Control Program’.
• It aims to reduce morbidity and mortality due to viral hepatitis.
COLOURED X-RAY ON HUMAN
• New Zealand scientists have performed the first-ever 3-D, colour X-ray on a human.
• The device is based on the traditional black-and-white X-ray and incorporates particle-
tracking technology developed for CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.
‘P NULL’ PHENOTYPE
• A team of doctors from Mangaluru's Kasturba Medical College (KMC) has identified
a rare blood group called “pp” or “P null” phenotype for the first time in India.
• The ‘P null’ blood group has anti-PP1Pk antibody that has the potential to cause acute
intravascular haemolytic reaction to incompatible blood transfusion. This antibody is also
known to cause recurrent abortions in women.
FORMALIN
• Formalin is being used in the fishing industry to increase the shelf-life of fish.
• Formalin (formaldehyde) is an anti-decomposition agent.
• It is a colorless flammable chemical used in pressed wood products, fabrics, insulation
materials.

CULTURE
STATUE OF RAMANUJACHARYA
• A 216-foot tall statue of Vaishnavite saint Sri Ramanujacharya is set to be unveiled in
Hyderabad soon.
• It will become the world’s second tallest statue and will be called as Statue of Equality,
after the statue of the Great Buddha of Thailand (302 feet).
• Ramanujacharya, or Ilaiya Perumal is a South Indian Brahman theologian and
philosopher, the single most influential thinker of devotional Hinduism.
 • He was a bhakti saint and also spread the message of equality. His philosophy became
known as vishishtadwaita or qualified non-dualism. His philosophical foundations for
devotionalism were influential to the Bhakti movement.
THANJAVUR PAINTINGS
• Raman Spectroscopy been is now being used to ascertain if gold or gemstones on
Thanjavur paintings are fake or not.
• Thanjavur painting is a form of miniature painting that flourished during the late 18th
and 19th centuries. However, its origin can be traced back to early 9th century.
BEHDIENGKHLAM FESTIVAL
• Behdiengkhlam festival was recently celebrated at Jowai, Jaintia Hills District in
Meghalaya.
• Behdiengkhlam is a traditional festival clebrated after sowing is done seeking a good
harvest and to drive away plague and diseases. ("beh dien" means to drive away with sticks
and “khlam" means plague or pestilence.)

MISCELLANEOUS
MISSION SATYANISHTHA
• Mission Satyanishtha was launched recently by Ministry of Railways.
• The mission aims at sensitizing all railway employees about the need to adhere to good
ethics and to maintain high standards of integrity at work.
NEELKURINJI FLOWERS
• The neelakurinji will bloom in the Anamalai hills near Munnar, a phenomenon that
occurs once in 12 years.
• Neelakurinji plant is a tropical plant species which is generally found in Asia and
Australia.