114CompendiumAugust2018 PDF

Compendium-August, 2018
National
International
Economics & Financial Awareness
Defence & Security - National/International
Appointments-National/International
Sports
Honours / Awards
Obituaries
Important Days
Foreign Visits / Foreign Visitors
National
Gaganyaan Mission: ISRO unveils plans for India’s manned space flight mission
 Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) unveiled details of its first indigenous human
space mission dubbed as Gaganyaan to be launched in 2022.
 The mission was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during
his 72nd Independence Day speech. Under it, three Indian astronauts
(Gaganyatris) will be taken to space on board Gaganyaan spacecraft by
2022.
 This will be the first human space mission to be indigenously developed
by ISRO. If successful, India will become fourth nation in the world to
send astronaut into space after US, Russia and China. Former Indian Air Force (IAF) Rakesh
Sharma was first Indian to travel to space. He was part of the Soviet Union’s Soyuz T-11
expedition, launched on April 2, 1984, of the Intercosmos programme.
 Objectives of Gaganyaan Mission: Enhance of science and technology levels in the
country, serve as national project involving several institutes, academia and industry,
improve of industrial growth, inspire youth, develop technology for social benefits and
improve international collaboration.
 Key Features of Mission
 The entire cost of Gaganyaan mission will be less than Rs 10,000 crore. It will be totally
indigenous, very cost-effective mission by Indian standards which is not viable from
international standards.
 Prior to actual launch of this manned mission by 2022, ISRO will launch two unmanned
Gaganyaan missions (first in 30 months’ time and then 36 months).
 Launch Phase: GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle will be used to launch Gaganyaan as it has
necessary payload capability for this mission. The spacecraft will comprise of crew module
and service module that constitute orbital. It weighs approximately 7 tonnes and will be
placed in low earth orbit (LEO) of 300-400 km. Crew module’s size will be 3.7 meters and of
service module will be 7 meters.
 Orbital Phase: The mission will send three-member crew to space for period of five to
seven days. The launch vehicle will take off from spaceport of Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh
and it will reach desired orbit in 16 minutes.
 The crew will be selected by Indian Air Force (IAF) and ISRO jointly after which they will
undergo training for two-three years. It will conduct microgravity experiment during the
mission.
 Re-entry phase: The velocity of whole module will be reduced and will be turned in
opposite direction so that it can start to come down. When it will reach distance of 120 km
from Earth’s surface, service module will be removed and separated out.
 The module carrying crew alone will come back to earth, this will take about 36 minutes to
reach Earth. ISRO is planning to land crew module in Arabian Sea, closer to Gujarat coast or
in Bay of Bengal or even on land from where the crew will be recovered
 Execution time: The mission may be executed six months before India completes its 75th
Independence Day in 2022. It is expected to be completed before 2022.
 Support technology developed by ISRO for Gaganyaan Mission
 So far, ISRO has developed some critical technologies required manned space mission like
re-entry mission capability, crew escape system, crew module configuration, thermal
protection system, deceleration and floatation system and sub-systems of life support
system.
 Some of these technologies have been demonstrated successfully through Space Capsule
Recovery Experiment (SRE-2007), Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment (CARE-
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2014) and Pad Abort Test (2018). These technologies will enable ISRO in accomplishing
programme objectives in short span of 4 years.
BIS banned the use of three chemicals in printing of packaging materials used for food
products
 The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) banned the use of which three chemicals in printing
of packaging materials used for food products.
 The three products are toluene, titanium acetylacetonate and phthalates.
 The BIS in an internal meeting , decided to restrict use of three chemicals - toluene,
titanium acetylacetonate and phthalates in printing of packaging materials used for food
products.
 Toluene, which is a chemical that is used in paint thinners, is known to migrate between
layers of packaging and potentially cause damage to liver and kidneys in humans.
 Though widely used in India to print on packaging materials, toluene is banned in food
industry across the developed nations.
NITI Aayog Launches Global Hackathon to Crowdsource Mobility Solutions

 The NITI Aayog has launched a global mobility hackathon "Move Hack" to crowdsource
future mobility solutions for India.
 It envisaged to be one of the largest hackathons in the
world.
 It is focused on 10 themes and opens to individuals from
all nationalities.
 The hackathon will have an online leg, followed by a
Singapore leg, and the finals in New Delhi.
 Move Hack is the first platform in the world which has enmeshed public transport, private
transport, road safety, multimodal connectivity and new age transport technologies such as
zero-emission vehicles and intra-city aerial transport in a hackathon platform spearheaded
by a government.
 India has some of the most diverse problem contexts in the world.
 If you can solve for India, you can solve for the world and we will help you get there.
 The top 30 solutions emerging out of the online leg will be mentored in Singapore and the
top 20 teams from Singapore leg will participate in the final round to be held in New Delhi
on September 5 and 6.
 Awards for the hackathon include recognizing top 10 winners with total prize of more than
Rs. 2 crore.
 The winners will be announced during the Move Summit 2018, which is also organised by
the NITI Aayog on September 7 and 8.
 Rapidly evolving technologies and business models for delivering mobility services have
dramatic potential to transform the global transportation sector.
 Mobility that ranges from pedestrian and personal transport to public transit and freight
movement is extremely critical and impacts rural and urban daily lives.
Mughalsarai Junction railway station to be named Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction
 Uttar Pradesh’s iconic Mughalsarai Junction was on 5 August 2018 formally renamed after
RSS ideologue Deen Dayal Uphadyay as Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction.
 The BJP president Amit Shah, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Uttar Pradesh Chief
Minister Yogi Adityanath took part in a grand renaming event at the station.
 Upadhyay was found dead in mysterious circumstances near the Mughalsarai station in
February 1968. Mughalsarai is also the birthplace of former prime minister Lal Bahadur
Shastri.
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 Mughalsarai Junction is a century-old railway station on the busy Delhi-Howrah route and
is famous for having the largest railway marshaling yard in Asia.
 It is also the fourth busiest railway junction in India.
 On paper, Mughalsarai station got a new name after Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik gave
his assent to the proposal in June 2018.
 From 5 August 2018 the new name made its entry into the railway system and on IRCTC
site the name was found after entering the initials DDU.
Child Mortality Rate: India is far behind to meet 2030 targets

 The number of neonatal deaths remains around 2.4 times higher than the target.
 Almost half of the districts in India are not on track to reduce the mortality rates of
newborns and meet the target set under the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.
 India still has the world’s highest number of deaths among children under five and
newborns, around 1.1 million per year.
 The study by Austria-based non-profit International Institute
for Applied Systems Analysis, is the first to evaluate neonatal
and under-five mortality at a district level in India, as well as a
state level.
 Under the World Health Organization’s Sustainable
Development Goal 3 (SDG3), all countries should aim to
reduce neonatal mortality to 12 deaths per 1,000 live births
per year, and under-five mortality to a maximum of 25.
 Researchers used data from the National Family Health
Survey, a survey of the full birth history of women aged 15-49,
carried out most recently in 2015-16, and used the data from
the previous round conducted in 2005-06 to model future
trends.
 Poverty and neonatal deaths:
 They found that the various measures employed in India have cut the number of deaths of
under-fives by around half in in the past 23 years, from 109 deaths per 1,000 live births in
1990 to around 50 in 2013, but this is still double the target.
 The number of neonatal deaths remains around 2.4 times higher than the target, at around
29 deaths per 1,000 live births.
 The picture, however, is very complex. For example, the under-five mortality rate for boys
in the South West district of Delhi is 6.3 per 1,000 live births.
 However, in Rayagada in Odisha, the mortality rate is 141.7.
 The researchers found that just nine per cent of districts in India overall have so far
reached the SDG3 targets for neonatal mortality, with 14 % reaching the targets for under-
five mortality.
 The vast majority of the worst performing states on mortality rates are in the poorer states
of north-central and eastern India, although there are some high-risk districts in richer,
more developed states such as Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
 Almost all districts in the most populous states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh,
and Chhattisgarh will fail to achieve the SDG3 goal on neonatal mortality.
 In Uttar Pradesh, the research showed that not a single district would meet the target for
under-five mortality.
Union Government introduces Atal ranking for institutions to promote innovation

 Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has introduced Atal Ranking of
Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) to systematically rank education
institutions and universities primarily on innovation related indicators.
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 ARIIA aims to promote culture of innovation and research in higher education.
 Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA)
 ARIIA is named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It measures some
parameters which are India-specific considering current scenario and
status of higher education in India. ARIIA parameters are primarily
organised in five broad heads which are further elaborated into suitable
sub-heads.
 Each of five main parameters has certain weightage assigned to it and
sub-heads also have appropriate weight distribution. The institutions
will be rank-ordered based on scores. The overall score can take a
maximum value of 100.
 Five main focus parameters of ARIIA are budget expenses and revenue generated through
Innovation and entrepreneurship development (weightage: 20),
 Facilitate access to advance centres and facilities and entrepreneurial support system
(10), idea to entrepreneurship (54),
 Development of innovation ecosystems supported through teaching & learning
(10) and best innovative solutions developed in-house for improving governance of
institution (6).
World’s first thermal battery plant to be unveiled in Andhra Pradesh

 The world’s first-ever facility to create thermal batteries will be inaugurated tomorrow in
Andhra Pradesh, as reported by ANI.
 The state’s Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu will be present at the unveiling of the
plant, that will see thermal batteries being manufactured by Bharat Energy Storage
Technology Private Limited (BEST).
 These batteries are based on alternative sources of energy production, and their presence
is expected to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels.
 Through thermal batteries, BEST will look to store energy that can power
telecommunications, commercial enterprises, electric vehicles as well as charging systems.
 Not only will it help create renewable energy, but these batteries are also expected to help
provide energy to remote areas.
 As per the plans known, BEST aims to commercially open up the plant by May 2019, where
it could provide an initial capacity of 1000MW.
 In its first phase, it will produce batteries for telecom, mini/microgrids, and electric buses,
that are expected to run for up to 800kms on a single charge.
 By 2025, BEST aims to expand the capacity of its thermal battery plant to 10GW.
 This technology, patented in India by Dr Patrick Glynn in 2016, scores over Li-ion batteries
due to lesser heat sensitivity, as well as a smaller carbon footprint.
 In addition, these also outperform solar panels, which are expensive to maintain, and highly
weather-dependent during operation.
 While conforming to the Indian government’s 2030 e-vehicles goal, BEST also plans to
make batteries that are completely free of hard metal or inflammable substances, so that
re-usable materials could make up 95 % of all thermal batteries.
Arunachal Pradesh Assembly passes bill for creation of 3 new districts

 Arunachal Pradesh Legislative assembly has passed Arunachal Pradesh Re-Organisation of
Districts (Amendment) Bill, 2018 for the creation of three new districts, Pakke-Kesang,
Lepa Rada and Shi Yomi in the state.
 The bill was passed by voice vote. These new districts were created keeping in view
growing demands of people, bring administration to their door-steps and for all-round
equal development in all parts of the state.
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 With addition of these three new districts, state will have total 25 districts from earlier 22
districts
 Pakke-Kessang district: It will be carved out of East Kameng district with five
administrative units namely Pakke-Kessangn, Seijosa, Pijiriang, Passa Valley and Dissingn
Passo with district headquarters at Lemmi.
 Lepa Rada district: It will be created by bifurcating Lower Siang district with headquarters
at Basar. It will have four administrative units Tirbin, Basar, Daring and Sago.
 Shi-Yomi district: It will be created by bifurcating West Siang district with its
headquarters at Tato. It will have four administrative units namely Mechuka, Tato, Pidi and
Manigong.
Rajya Sabha passes amendments to SC/ST Act

 The Rajya Sabha unanimously cleared the amendments to the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, overturning a March 2018 Supreme Court
judgment pertaining to safeguard against the arrests under the Act.
 The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha earlier this week.
 Lok Sabha has already cleared changes to the Act, overturning the Supreme Court’s
judgment.
 The amendments provide that no preliminary enquiry will be required for registration of
an FIR against any person under the Act; and the investigating officer will not require
approval for arrests, if necessary.
 The provision of anticipatory bail as allowed by the Supreme Court has also been done
away with.
 14 States had already constituted 195 special courts for deciding cases under the Act. Some
States have declared district and session courts as special courts.
 The amendments include a timeline of two months for completing the investigations and
filing a chargesheet after registering the FIR.
 The cases are to be disposed of within two months of filing the chargesheet.
 The law should have been brought under the 9th schedule of the Constitution (for
protection against judicial review), or else the amendments would be challenged in the
court again.
Freedom Baby: India’s first Humboldt penguin dies

 India’s first captive-born Humboldt Penguin named Freedom Baby died barely a week after
it was born at Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo (Byculla zoo). It died due to new
born anomalies like liver dysfunction and yolk sac retention.
 Freedom Baby
 The penguin chick was born on 15th August 2018 to penguin pair of Mr
Molt (male) and Flipper (Female). It was named Freedom Baby as it
was born on Independence Day.
 It was born 40 days incubation period after Flipper, oldest female in
zoo’s penguin colony hatched single egg it had laid. It was the first
Humboldt Penguin to born in captivity in India.
 Background
 Byculla zoo had imported eight Humboldt Penguins – later named as Dory, Donald, Daisy,
Popeye, Olive, Bubble, Flipper and Mr Molt – from a South Korea zoo in July 2016.
 These penguins are kept in special enclosure which is spread across 1,700 sqft where
average temperature of 16-18 degrees celsius is maintained.
 The water quality is regularly tracked and penguins are fed various fish, including Indian
Mackerels. One female penguin Dory was not able to survive and had died in October 2016
following bacterial infection. These penguins have been top attraction of the Mumbai zoo.
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 Humboldt penguin: It is named after the cold water current (Humboldt current) it swims
in. It is native to South America and breeds in coastal Chile and Peru. It is categorized as
vulnerable under IUCN list.
India’s first all-woman SWAT team gets cracking, to secure Independence Day function
 Delhi Police has inducted an all-woman Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team
comprising 36 commandos.
 It is the first-ever by any police force in India, for anti-terrorist operations.
 The elite women commandos, hailing from north-eastern states, will be deployed at
strategic locations for securing the upcoming Independence Day celebrations.
 Presiding over the induction ceremony, Union home minister Rajnath Singh expressed
happiness that the Delhi Police launched raised an all-woman SWAT team.
 They will be deployed during the upcoming Independence Day celebrations.
 The 36 women SWAT commandos have undergone a rigorous 15-month training
programme that includes basic, commando and advanced honing of skills under the
tutelage of National Security Guard trainers.
 The government has increased fund allocation for the Delhi Police from Rs 6,378.18 crore
in 2017-18 to Rs 7,426.98 crore in 2018-19 - an increase of 15 % to ensure this.
 The government has also sanctioned procurement of the Facial Recognition System for the
Crime Unit and 2,700 hand-held devices with SIM card for equipping constables with e-
beatbooks.
 A proposal for the recruitment of 12,000 additional personnel in the Delhi Police is under
consideration, and approval has already been granted for 3,139.
 The government also created 4,227 posts in 2016, and crime investigation has been
separated from law-and-order functions with an aim to improve the conviction rate.
Ease of Living Index: Mumbai ranked third, Navi Mumbai one step ahead
 According to the ministry of housing and urban affairs,
Mumbai has been ranked third, after Pune and Navi
Mumbai, among 111 cities on the ease of living index.
 The city scored 57.78 points as against Pune, which
scored 58.11 points at the second position, while Navi
Mumbai came first in India with 58.02 points.
 Ease of Living Index gives thumbs up to Mumbai in public
open spaces, mixed land use, compactness, but residents
find the rankings surprising.
 Mumbai has ranked first among mega cities in the Ease of Living Index 2018.
 The index, an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, ranks cities on a 100-
point scale across 78 indicators under four heads: institutional, social, economic and
physical.
 Physical is given the most weightage (45%), followed by social (25%), institutional (25%),
while economic has the least weightage (5%).
 The ministry, for the first time, conducted a survey to gauge ‘livability’ of each city.
 Mumbai has done better in terms of public open spaces and mixed land use and
compactness, securing the top slot on both fronts.
 But, it has come third in assured water supply.
 Under the category of physical (infrastructure), the city has secured the first position.
 The city’s governance has been a cause for concern, and he is not surprised it ranks 23rd on
that front.
 But that it has come 63rd on the economy and employment front is hard to believe.
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 it is odd that Mumbai has come 23rd in healthcare while Pune, Vijaywada, Jabalpur and
Tirupati have performed better.
 Jan Swasthya Abhiyan is one of the major problems is the primary health care services are
not strong due to which the main tertiary care hospitals are overloaded.
UGC directs universities and higher education institutions to ban sale of junk food on
their campuses
 University Grants Commission (UGC) issued circular directing all
varsities and higher education institutions to ban sale of junk food on
their campuses.
 This ban will help will set new standards for healthy food, making
students live better, learn better and reduce obesity levels. It will also
help to prevent lifestyle diseases which have direct link with excessive
weight.
 The circular was issued after a directive from the HRD ministry, asking the UGC to ban the
sale of junk food on premises of higher education institutions.
 Similar move was made earlier by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) which had
directed all affiliated schools to take junk food off their canteen menu.
 Moreover, schools were also asked to inspect lunch boxes of students, create awareness
about nutritious food and regularly monitor students’ health.
 The directive was released following report by Ministry of Women and Child Development
(MCB) on consumption of foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) and promotion of healthy
snacks in schools
September 2018 will be observed National Nutrition Month

 Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has announced to observe September
2018 as the National Nutrition Month to mark the country’s fight against malnutrition.
 The month-long intensive campaign will be undertaken with an aim of reaching every
household with message of nutrition — ‘har ghar poshan tyohar’ (every house a celebration
of nutrition).
 National Nutrition Month
 It will promote antenatal care, breastfeeding, fight anemia, convey messages about
importance of nutrition for girls and right age of marriage, deliver messages about
importance of growth monitoring and also promote hygiene and sanitation.
 It will be jointly organised by NITI Ayog, Ministries of Women and Child Development
(WCD), Health and Family Welfare, Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, Drinking Water and
Sanitation, Housing and Urban Affairs, Human Resources Development (HRD), Information
and Broadcasting, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Tribal Affairs, Minority
Affairs and AYUSH.
1st ‘Hindu court’ set up on lines of Sharia system

 Members of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha has set up the country’s first ‘Hindu court’,
on the lines of Sharia courts.
 Set up with an aim to make decisions exclusively on Hindu affairs, and have an equivalent
court-like system in place just like Darul Qaza (Sharia courts).
 It resolves issues/disputes according to Islamic laws -the first Hindu court also got its first
judge in a ceremony that was held at party’s office in Meerut.
 Members of the outfit plan to declare the bylaws of their court on October 2 and appoint a
total of five judges in different parts of the country on November 15.
 Pooja Shakun Pandey, national secretary of Mahasabha has been appointed as the first
judge of the Hindu court.
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 The court will deal with matters related to Hindus only and the issues will range from
harassment of Hindu women, Hindu marriages, disputes of property or money.
Campaign against sexual abuse of children launched by Amnesty International India

 Amnesty International India launched a new
campaign named ‘Our Safety, Our Rights’, among
children against sexual abuse.
 The campaign will culminate on October 11 –
International Day of the Girl Child.
 Objective:
 To help them understand and identify sexual
abuse.
 The campaign in collaboration with Bharat Gyan
Vigyan Samiti, People’s Action for Rural Awakening (PARA) and Institute of Social
Education.
 50,000 students, parents, teachers and children from 400 schools, across four Indian states
will be participating in this campaign.
 This include schools in Amnesty International India’s Human Rights Education network in
Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
 This would empower children to speak up and report sexual abuse without fear.
 Amnesty International India's Headquarters is located at Bengaluru.
 It was founded 1966 in Bihar.
 Motto: Global Defenders of Human Rights.
 POCSO Act:
 POCSO or The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) 2012 was
established to protect the children against offences like sexual abuse, sexual harassment
and pornography.
 It received the President’s assent on June 19, 2012
Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal: 13.42 TMC water to allocated to Karnataka, 24 TMC
to Goa
 Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal delivered its final verdict to ending 50-year-old dispute
over sharing of Mahadayi or Mandovi River between Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
 The tribunal was constituted in November 2010 under Interstate River Water Disputes Act,
1956 to resolve water sharing dispute between riparian states.
 Mahadayi River
 Mahadayi River (also spelt Mahadeyi or Mhadei, and called Mandovi in Goa) rises in
Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Western Ghats, in Khanapur taluk of
Belagavi district in Karnataka. It flows in westerly direction, entering
Goa in Sattari taluk of North Goa district.
 It is joined by number of streams along it course, growing in volume to
become Mandovi (one of Goa’s two major rivers), before emptying itself
into Arabian Sea at Panaji.
 About two-thirds (76 km) of Mahadayi’s 111-km stretch lies in Goa and
remaining 35 km is in Karnataka and Maharashtra. Mahadayi river basin drains area of
2032 square km of which 375 sq km lies in Karnataka, 77 sq km in Maharashtra and
remaining in Goa.
 Mahadayi River is lifeline of Goa because it is one of few sweet-water sources at state’s
disposal (most of Goa’s 11 rivers contain salt water). It also important for Goa’s water
security, ecology, and is important source of its staple diet of fish.
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IIT Kharagpur to resolve problems of sewage disposal and access to clean potable water
 IIT Kharagpur on its 68th foundation day has taken
up the challenge to resolve two burning issues of
urban India – sewage disposal and access to clean
potable water.
 The institute is setting up the Aditya Choubey
Centre for Re-Water Research.
 It was-funded by alumni Anant Choubey and
Aneesh Reddy to remediate, replenish and
rejuvenate water resources.
 The Institute is setting up an on-campus plant which will convert 1.35 million litre of
sewage water from the hostels to 1.2 million litre of potable water daily.
 The pilot plant at IIT Kharagpur is expected to be ready by March 2019.
 The water processing and output will be monitored in real-time and conform to IS 10500-
2012 standard for drinking water.
 M M Ghangrekar, faculty at the department of Civil Engineering who will be heading this
project.
 Further, the researchers would be developing an operationally viable technology so that
the plant can be profitably commercialized.
 Similar models of water sustainability have been adopted in foreign countries.
 India would have to make a move towards reclaiming, recycling, reusing, re-watering, re-
mediating, replenishing, rejuvenating.
NOTA option cannot be permitted in Rajya Sbha polls: SC

 The Supreme Court has scrapped the use of ‘None Of The Above’ (NOTA) option in the
coming Rajya Sabha elections.
 The decision was taken by SC,a Bench, led by Chief Justice of
India (CJI) Dipak Misra.
 The NOTA option is meant only for universal adult suffrage and
direct elections and not polls held by the system of
proportional representation by means of the single
transferable vote as done in the Rajya Sabha.
 The Bench had reserved for judgment on a petition filed in
2017 by Gujarat Congress leader Shailesh Manubhai Parmar to do away with the ‘NOTA’
option in Rajya Sabha elections.
 The petition was filed in connection with the Rajya Sabha election in which Congress leader
Ahmed Patel was contesting.
 The CJI even then indicated that the court may indeed rule against the two circulars issued
by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on January 24, 2014 and November 12, 2015,
giving the Rajya Sabha members the option to press the NOTA button in the Upper House
polls.
Government announces 50% reservation for women in RPF jawans recruitment

 Union Government has announced 50% reservation for women in
upcoming recruitment of 9500-10000 jawans for the Railway
Protection Force (RPF). This decision aims to create more employment
opportunities for women.
 It was announced by Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal in Patna,
Bihar. He also announced 13,00,00 jobs are also coming up in Indian
Railways in which there will be computer-based test and no interviews.
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 Railway Protection Force (RPF)
 RPF is security force entrusted with protecting railway passengers, passenger area and
railway property of the Indian Railways.
 It was introduced for the first time in the central act of 1957. It is headquartered in New
Delhi. It functions under the authority of Union Ministry of Railways.
 It has powers to arrest, investigate and prosecute criminals under its jurisdiction.
Parliament passes Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018
 Parliament has passed Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2018 to bring
relief to home buyers and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSMEs).
 The Bill replaces ordinance promulgated in this regard and amends
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
 Key Features of Bill
 The Bill recognises home buyers as financial creditors in the real estate
project and giving them due representation in the Committee of
Creditors (CoC), thus providing significant relief to home buyers.
 It will allow home buyers to invoke Section 7 of IBC, 2016 against errant developers.
 This will allow financial creditors to file application seeking insolvency resolution process.
As financial creditors, home buyers will be able to participate in decision-making process
when developers are declared bankrupt under IBC, 2016.
 The bill also proposes to reduce minimum voting threshold for Committee of Creditors
(CoC) to 66%, from 75% for key decisions.
 Besides, the Bill also benefits Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector from
IBC. It allows promoter of MSME to bid for their own enterprise undergoing the insolvency
resolution process as long as they are not wilful defaulters.
Chhattisgarh’s Naya Raipur will be the new name as Atal Nagar

 Atal Nagar will be the new name of Chhattisgarh’s Naya Raipur, as was announced by
state’s Chief Minister Raman Singh on 21 August 2018.
 In the memory of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Chhattisgarh
Government has decided to rename Naya Raipur as Atal Nagar.
 Naya Raipur is the name of the newly developed administrative capital of Chhattisgarh,
about 17 km south-east of the current capital Raipur.
 It is India’s sixth planned city after Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Bhubaneswar (Odisha),
Gandhinagar (Gujarat), Chandigarh (Punjab & Haryana), and Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra).
 Vajpayee, the 10th Prime Minister of India, was cremated on 17 August 2018 with full state
honour at Smriti Sthal in New Delhi.
Voluntary retirement is not a right: Supreme Court

 India's apex court, Supreme court addressed that Voluntary retirement is not a right.
 A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and S Abdul Nazeer upheld Uttar Pradesh government's
decision to reject the request for voluntary retirement of four senior doctors of the rank of
joint directors and senior consultants.
 The decision was justified due to severe shortage of doctors in the state.
 The concept of public interest could be invoked by the government when voluntary
retirement was sought by an employee.
 The government's decision caters to the needs of human life and carries the objective of
public interest.
 The doctors are claiming the right to retire under Part III of the Constitution, such right
cannot be supreme than right to life.
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 It has to be interpreted along with the rights of the state government in Part IV of the
Constitution as it is obligatory upon it to make an endeavour to look after the provisions for
health and nutrition.
 In case all the doctors are permitted to retire, in that situation, there would be chaos and no
doctor would be left in government hospitals, which would be against the concept of the
welfare state and injurious to public interest.
 The court set aside the Allahabad High Court verdict directing the state to grant voluntary
retirement to the doctors.
 The prayer for voluntary retirement was rejected by the state on the ground of lack of
specialised doctors in government hospitals.
 The concept of public interest can also be invoked by the government when voluntary
retirement sought by an employee would be against public interest.
 There is already paucity of doctors as observed by the HC, the system cannot be left without
competent senior persons and particularly.
 The HC has itself observed that doctors are not attracted to join service and there is an
existing scarcity of doctors.
Lok Sabha passes Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2018

 The Lok Sabha has passed Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2018 to help
India become hub for domestic and global arbitration for settling commercial disputes.
 It seeks to amend e Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 which contains provisions to
deal with domestic and international arbitration and defines law for conducting
conciliation proceedings.
 Salient features of Bill
 Arbitration Council of India (ACI): The Bill establishes ACI as an
independent body for promotion of arbitration, mediation, conciliation
and other alternative dispute redressal mechanisms.
 It will frame policies for grading arbitral institutions and accrediting
arbitrators, make policies for establishment, operation and
maintenance of uniform professional standards for all alternate dispute redressal matters
and maintain depository of arbitral judgments (awards) made in India and abroad.
 Composition of ACI: It will consist of Chairperson who is either Judge of Supreme Court or
Judge of High Court or Chief Justice of High Court or eminent person with expert knowledge
in conduct of arbitration. Its other members will include eminent arbitration practitioner,
academician with experience in arbitration and government appointees.
 Appointment of arbitrators: The Bill allows Supreme Court and High Courts to designate
arbitral institutions, which parties can approach for appointment of arbitrators. For
international commercial arbitration, appointments will be made by institution designated
by Supreme Court.
 The institution designated by concerned High Court will make appointments for domestic
arbitration appointments. In case there are no arbitral institutions available, then
concerned High Court Chief Justice can maintain panel of arbitrators to perform functions
of arbitral institutions. The application for appointment of arbitrator is required to be
disposed of within 30 days.
 Relaxation of time limits: The Bill proposed to remove time restriction for international
commercial arbitrations. Earlier under the parent Act, arbitral tribunals were required to
make their award within period of 12 months for all arbitration proceedings.
 Completion of written submissions: The Bill requires written claim and defence to claim
in arbitration proceeding should be completed within six months of appointment of
arbitrators. Currently, there is no time limit to file written submissions before an arbitral
tribunal.
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 Confidentiality of proceedings: The Bill provides that all details of arbitration
proceedings will be kept confidential except for the details of the arbitral award in certain
circumstances. Disclosure of the arbitral award will only be made where it is necessary for
implementing or enforcing the award.
22 new AIIMS coming up across the country: J P Nadda

 Union Health Minister J P Nadda announced 22 new AIIMS are coming up across the
country.
 To ensure better standards of medical education, the Centre
has undertaken suitable amendments in the Graduate
Medical Education Regulations and the Post Graduate
Medical Education Regulations for making common
counselling for admission in medical colleges mandatory.
 Since 2014-15, post-graduate seats have been increased by
over 8,500 and under-graduate seats by over 16,000.
 As many as 70 existing medical colleges are being upgraded
by setting up super speciality blocks.
 The Centre has recently launched the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya
Abhiyan' programme to provide assured universal healthcare to over 50 crore people from
the vulnerable sections.
Union Goverment and 6 states sign MoU for Lakhwar Yamuna Basin project
 Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with six states for the construction of the Lakhwar multi-purpose
project in the upper Yamuna Basin to deal with the water crisis.
 The MoU was signed by the Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh (Yogi Adityanath), Rajasthan
(Vasundhara Raje Scindia), Uttarakhand (Trivendra Singh
Rawat), Himachal Pradesh (Jai Ram Thakur), Haryana
(Manohar Lal Khattar) and Delhi (Arvind Kejriwal).
 Under the agreement, the 204-metres high project will be
constructed near Uttarakhand's Lohari village with a live
storage capacity of 330.66 million cubic metres (MCM).
 The MoU has been signed to create storage facilities in the
upper Yamuna basin to deal with the water crisis between
January and June.
 The agreement worth Rs.4,000 crore b/w 6 states; UP, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, HP &
Haryana is valuable.
 Centre has been successful in bringing together 6 states for the project that was pending
since last 42 years.
 Around 42,000-hectare land will receive irrigation.
 Surplus electricity will be generated in Uttarakhand, which will be utilised by UP, Rajasthan
and Haryana.
 The agreement is an effort to conserve and utilise the monsoon flows of the Yamuna.
 90 % of the project will be funded by the Centre while the remaining amount will be paid
by the six states.
 The cost of the total project is estimated to be around Rs 3,966.51 crore.
 The water storage will provide irrigation for 33,780-hectare land and facilitate the
availability of 78.83 MCM water for domestic, drinking and industrial use in six basin states.
 The project will also generate 300 mw of power and will be executed by Uttarakhand Jal
Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVL).
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Parliament passes bill to provide constitutional status to National Commission for

Backward Classes
 Parliament has passed Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Third Amendment) Bill,
2017 that seeks to provide constitutional status to the National
Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC). Now, the bill will be sent to
President for his assent (as per 368 of Constitution).
 Parliament also passed separate bill to repeal National Commission for
Backward Classes Act, 1993 as it will become irrelevant once
Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill comes into force.
 Key Features of Bill
 The Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill provides for granting of constitutional status to
NCBC on par with National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) and National
Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCSTs).
 It empowers President to specify socially and educationally backward classes in various
states and union territories in consultation with Governor of concerned state.
 The bill provides duties of NCBC to investigate and monitor safeguards provided to socially
and educationally backward classes backward classes under Constitution and other laws
being implemented and probe specific complaints regarding violation of rights.
 It also provides NCBC with powers of civil court while probing any complaint against
notified socially and educationally backward classes.
Facial Verification will be an essential security feature to get a new SIM card
 Facial Verification will be an essential security feature to get a new SIM card on or after 15
September 2018.
 It has recently announced by the UIDAI.
 The face-recognition will be an additional security feature for
obtaining a new SIM card in India.
 This feature will be mandatory along with the already available
fingerprint and iris (eyes) verification.
 The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has proposed
a two-factor authentication for use of face recognition by telecom
companies.
 Where an individual provides Aadhaar number, the authentication will be done using
fingerprint or iris and face.
 For individuals providing Virtual ID, the authentication can be on basis of fingerprint or iris.
 In case an individual is unable to authenticate fingerprint or iris, face authentication can be
used as an additional mode.
 The move is aimed at curbing the possibility of fingerprint spoofing or cloning, and seeks to
tighten the audit process and security around issuance and activation of mobile SIMs.
Mahabaleshwar became the wettest place in India during 2018: IMD

 Maharashtra's Mahabaleshwar has become the wettest place in India this year, leaving
behind Meghalaya's Cherrapunjee.
 The data released by the Indian Meteorological
Department (IMD) on 29 August 2018.
 Between 1 June and 28 August 2018, Cherrapunji
received 4,730.2 mm rainfall as compared to 6,960
mm in the same period last year.
 Mahabaleshwar has received 5,619 mm rainfall
between the same period, which is 100 mm more
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than the entire season last year.
 In over two decades, such an instance happened in the monsoon of 1994, 2006, 2013 and
now in 2018. Mawsynram and Cherrapunji, both in Meghalaya, are generally considered the
wettest places on earth because of the amount of rain they receive.
Parliament passes Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018

 Parliament has passed Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018 prescribing death penalty to
those convicted of raping girls below age of 12 years and making law against such sexual
offences more stringent.
 The Bill replaces the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance promulgated on April 2018.
 The Bill amends Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code, Protection of Children
from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Indian Evidence Act.
 It provides for stringent punishment of jail term of minimum 20 years or life imprisonment
or death for rape of girl less than 12 years.
 It provides punishment with imprisonment for rest of life or death sentence in case of gang
rape of girl below 12 years.
 It increases minimum punishment from 10 years to 20 years for crime of rape of girl under
16 years, which can be extended to imprisonment for rest of life.
 It also increases minimum punishments for rape of women from rigorous imprisonment of
7 years to 10 years, which can be extended to life imprison.
 It provides for speedy investigation and trial of cases involving above offences, which must
be completed in two months.
 It proposes 6 months’ time limit for disposal of appeals in rape cases.
 It provides dedicated manpower for investigation of rape cases in time bound manner.
 It provides no provision for anticipatory bail for person accused of rape or gang rape of girl
under 16 years.
 It has also been provided that court court has to give notice of 15 days to Public Prosecutor
and representative of victim before deciding bail applications in case of rape of a girl under
16 years of age.
Government approves 122 new research projects under IMPRINT scheme

 Union Ministry of Hume Resource Development (MHRD) has approved 122 new research
project proposals worth Rs 112 crore for funding under its IMPRINT-II (Impacting
Research Innovation and Technology) scheme.
 These projects were approved at IMPRINT-II Apex Committee meeting chaired by HRD
Minister Prakash Javddekar in New Delhi.
 The 122 approved new research projects aims to advance research in
energy, healthcare, security and defence domains in the high education
institutions.
 Of the selected 122 new projects, 81 are sponsored by industry. The
selected proposals include 35 (ICT), 18 (Advanced Materials), 17
(Healthcare Technology), 12 (Energy Security), 11 (Security & Defence),
9 (Sustainable Habitat), 7 Water Resource & River Systems, 5
(Environment & Climate), 4 (Manufacturing) and 4 (Nano Technology).
India's first biofuel flight, operated by SpiceJet, undertakes maiden voyage

 India's first ever biofuel flight, operated by SpiceJet, completed its maiden trip.
 It is a 78-seater aircraft Bombardier Q400 aircraft, partially using biojet fuel.
 It took off from Dehradun and landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi.
 The fuel has been developed by CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun.
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 It contains 75 % aviation turbine fuel and 25 percent biofuel used in this aircraft and has
been made out of Jatropha crop.
 Around 20 people, including officials from
aviation regulator DGCA and SpiceJet, were in the
test flight.
 The duration of the flight was around 25 minutes,
according to an airline executive.
 Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Suresh Prabhu,
Dharmendra Pradhan, Dr Harsh Vardhan and
Jayant Sinha were at the Delhi airport when the flight landed.
 It has the potential to reduce our dependence on traditional aviation fuel by up to 50 per
cent on every flight and bring down fares.
Rajasthan first State to implement biofuel policy

 Rajasthan became first state in the country to implement National Policy on Biofuels
unveiled by Union Government in May 2018. Its implementation was
approved by high-power Biofuel Authority. It was also decided that dtate
Government will release Biofuel Rules, 2018.
 Key Facts
 Under this policy, State Government will lay emphasis on increasing
production of oilseeds and establish Centre for Excellence in Udaipur to
promote research in fields of alternative fuels and energy resources.
 Biodiesel plant of capacity of eight tonnes per day already has been installed in State with
financial assistance of Indian Railways. State government will give emphasis to promote
marketing of biofuels and generate awareness about them.
 State Rural Livelihood Development Council will also encourage women’s self help groups
(SHGs) to explore the scope for additional income through supply of biodiesel.
ISRO postpones launch of Chandrayaan-2 mission

 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has postponed
Chandrayaan-2, India’s second mission to moon to January 2019.
 This will be second time mission has been postponed. The ambitious
mission was earlier planned to be launched in April 2018 and was later
fixed for October 2019.
 With this delay, India may lose fourth position in the world for soft-
landing on the moon to Israel as it too planning to launch moon mission
in December 2018
 The 'Digital North East Vision 2022' Document, emphasizing on leveraging digital
technologies to transform the lives of people of the northeast and enhance the ease of living
released in Guwahati. The Vision Document has released by Union Minister for Electronics
and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad in the presence of Chief Ministers and IT
Ministers of North East States.
 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch a TV channel to promote
scientific temper among people and conduct training camps for school students. ISRO will
organise capacity building programmes for students from class 8 to 10 to inculcate
scientific temper among them.
 First project under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme the ‘North East Circuit: Imphal &
Khongjom’ in Manipur launched. 15 projects of Tourism Ministry for Rs.1301.47 Crores
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covering all North Eastern states. The above project is the first project under the Swadesh
Darshan Scheme being inaugurated in the country.
 Former President Pranab Mukherjee has launched the National Electoral Transformation or
NETA mobile application, a platform where voters can review and rate their elected
representatives and hold them accountable as well.
 Centre’s ambitious Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) achieved the milestone target 5
crore beneficiaries. It has announced by the Union Minister for Oil and Natural Gas
Dharmendra Pradhan on 3 August 2018.
 National Wildlife Genetic Resource Bank (NWGRB) was inaugurated at Centre for Cellular
and Molecular Biology’s (CCMB) Laboratory of Conservation of Endangered Species
(LaCONES) facility in Hyderabad, Telangana. It is India’s first genetic resource bank where
the genetic material will be stored for posterity.
 The Government of India has released 470 million Nepali rupees grant for Terai roads
project in Nepal. Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri handed over a cheque of
grant.
 Government announces Drone Regulations 1.0 for safe commercial usage of Drones. As per
the Drone Regulations 1.0, the airspace has been partitioned into three zones- the Red Zone
in which flying is not permitted, Yellow Zone that is a controlled airspace; and the Green
Zone for automatic permission.
 Delhi-Mumbai Expressway work to begin from December 2018: Transport Minister Nitin
Gadkari. The expressway is expected to begin from Gurugram on the Delhi outskirts and
run parallel to the existing highway up to Jaipur, from where it will turn eastwards to
Rajasthan's Alwar and Ratlam in western Madhya Pradesh and then move westwards to
Baroda.
 JNU to rename its Management School after Late PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The decision
came following the move undertaken by Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh to rename the
upcoming capital Naya Raipur as Atal Nagar. Moreover, Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh
government also decided to name the proposed Bundelkhand Expressway as ‘Atal Path’.
 Ministry of Health notifies new Health Warnings on Tobacco Products Packs. The words
‘Quit Today Call 1800-11-2356’ will be inscribed in white on a black background along with
the pictorial warning from September 2018. The quit line number 1800-11-2356 is an
online on-call assistance facility launched for those people seeking support to quit the use
of tobacco products.
 India observes 76th anniversary of Quit India movement. The 76th anniversary of Quit
India movement was observed across India on August 8, 2018. On this day in 1942, father
of the nation Mahatma Gandhi gave the famous clarion call of ‘Do or Die’ to all Indians to
drive the British away from the country.
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International
4th BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal

 The fourth Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
(BIMSTEC) summit was held in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. The theme
of the summit was ‘Towards a Peaceful Prosperous, and Sustainable
Bay of Bengal Region’.
 India was represented by Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi. This was his
fourth visit to Nepal after becoming Prime Minister in 2014
 Key Facts
 Enhancing collaboration in areas of regional connectivity, coastal
shipping, space, energy, transport and tourism were focus of the
summit. Besides, countering terrorism, enhancing regional connectivity and boosting trade
were dominant agenda of 4th BIMSTEC summit.
 Other leaders who attended this summit are Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena,
Myanmar President U Win Myint, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Thailand’s
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Bhutan’s Chief Justice and Chief Advisor to interim
government Dasho Tshering Wangchuk.
 Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
(BIMSTEC)
 BIMSTEC is regional grouping of seven countries in South Asia and South East Asia lying in
littoral and adjacent areas of Bay of Bengal constituting contiguous regional unity. It was
established on 6 June 1997 through Bangkok Declaration.
 It is headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The first BIMSTEC summit was held in Thailand
in 1997, second in India in 2008 and the third in 2014 in Myanmar.
 Member countries: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka from South Asia and
Myanmar, Thailand from South East Asia. They are collectively home to around 1.5 billion
people which constitute around 22% of global population and has a combined gross
domestic product of $2.8 trillion.
 BIMESTC’s prime objectives: Promote technological and economic cooperation among
south Asian and south East Asian countries along the coast of the Bay of Bengal.
 BIMSTEC is sector-driven cooperative organization, starting with six sector including trade,
technology, energy, transport, tourism and fisheries.
 In 2008, it was expanded to embrace eight more sectors including agriculture, public
health, poverty alleviation, counter-terrorism, environment, culture, people to people
contact and climate change.
 India and BIMSTEC
 India has been pushing for making BIMSTEC vibrant forum for regional collaboration as
cooperation under South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) framework is
not moving forward.
 India has been maintaining that it was difficult to proceed with SAARC initiative under
current circumstances citing continuing support to cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.
Pakistan was also blocking connectivity initiatives such as SAARC Motor Vehicles
Agreement (MVA).
 BIMSTEC excludes Pakistan. India is now pushing for similar pact motor vehicle agreement
in BIMSTEC with an aim to enhance regional trade.
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6th RCEP Trade Ministers’ Meeting held in Singapore

 The sixth Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Trade Ministers’ Meeting
was held in Singapore. Indian delegation was led by Union Minister of Commerce &
Industry and Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu.
 This RCEP Trade Ministers’ Meeting will see participation of representatives from 10
ASEAN countries and six ASEAN FTA partners namely, India, China,
Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
 They will give guidance to the Trade Negotiating Committee of RCEP to
enable negotiations move forward.
 India has been constructively engaged in RCEP negotiations with aim to
work towards a high quality, balanced and inclusive outcomes that take
into consideration sensitivities and interests of member countries.
 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
 RCEP is a proposed proposed free trade agreement (FTA) or comprehensive regional
economic integration agreement between the 10-ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and its six
FTA partners (Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Japan and Korea).
 The negotiations for this mega trade deal were formally launched at 2012 ASEAN Summit
in Cambodia. It aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical
cooperation, competition and intellectual property rights under its ambit.
 Till 2017, 16 RCEP member states accounted for population of 3.4 billion people with total
GDP (in terms of PPP) of $49.5 trillion, approximately 38% of the world’s GDP (combined
GDPs of China and India makes up more than half that amount) and 29% of world trade.
 ASEAN is amongst the fastest growing markets in the world and presents substantial trade
and investments opportunities for India.
 It has emerged as second largest trade partner of India in 2017-18 with bilateral trade
valued at US $ 81.33 billion, comprising 10.58% of India’s total trade with the world.
 RCEP is viewed as alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a proposed trade
agreement that includes several Asian and American nations but excludes China and India.
“Scutoid”: The newest shape discovered by the scientists in human cells

 “Scutoid” is the name given to the brand new shape discovered by the scientists that is
being heralded as the newest addition to geometry.
 “Scutoid” is the name given to the newest shape discovered by the scientists in human
cells.
 This discovery was made while studying nature’s way of moulding tissue to form the skin,
cavity linings and the building blocks of organs.
 The shape has five sides on one end and six on the other and a triangular surface on one of
its longer edges.
 Scientists have referred to it as a twisted prism kind of shape that allows the tissue to
mould around organs.
 The research that is the result of a US-EU collaboration first discovered the existence of the
new shape through computations modelling, which was later confirmed through
experiments investigating its presence in different kinds of tissues and animals.
Venezuela will continue to sell oil to India despite US ban

 Despite US sanction against Venezuela's export of crude oil, India is to import crude oil
from the Latin American country.
 Venezuela’s crude shipments to India, its third largest export market after the U.S. and
China, fell 21% in the first six months of the year.
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 Venezuela’s plans are on to boost production at home and that oil trade with India will
continue unabated despite U.S. sanctions.
 Venezuela has been affected by U.S. sanctions.
 These are economic sanctions, aggression, against the people of Venezuela.
 As a result, production has come down. But will continue oil trade with India.
 Venezuela shipped 2,80,000 barrels per day (bpd) of heavy crude to India in the first half of
the year, down from 3,55,500 bpd shipped in the corresponding period of last year.
 The Latin American country’s oil production averaged 1.58 million bpd in the first five
months of 2018, its lowest annual level since 1985.
 Oil is the world’s most wanted resource. And Venezuela has the world’s largest certified oil
reserves. It also has huge coltan reserves.
 India had assured Venezuela that it would not support unilateral sanctions.
 The aggression against countries like Venezuela and Iran by the U.S. is hurting India as well.
“Parker Solar Probe”: NASA launched highly ambitious robotic spacecraft mission to the
Sun
 NASA has launched the highly ambitious robotic spacecraft mission to probe the outer
corona of the Sun. The name of this mission that will
be the closest-ever mission for Sun is "Parker Solar
Probe".
 This is the first time the first time a NASA spacecraft
was named after a living person, honoring physicist
Eugene Parker, professor emeritus at the University
of Chicago.
 It will be the first spacecraft to fly into the low solar
corona.
 It will assess the structure and dynamics of the Sun's coronal plasma and magnetic field, the
energy flow that heats the solar corona and impels the solar wind, and the mechanisms that
accelerate energetic particles.
 This mission has a timeline till December 2025.
 On the way the mission will attempt flybys of Venus. Its first science observations will start
in December 2018.
World’s Most Liveable City: Vienna tops in list by Economist survey

 The Austrian capital, Vienna, has beaten Australia's Melbourne to be named the world's
most liveable city. It's the first time a European city has
topped the rankings of the Economist Intelligence Unit
(EIU) annual survey.
 The two metropolises have been neck and neck in the
annual survey of 140 urban centres for years, with
Melbourne clinching the title for the past seven editions.
 This year, a downgraded threat of militant attacks in
western Europe as well as the city's low crime rate
helped nudge Vienna into first place.
 Vienna regularly tops a larger ranking of cities by quality of life compiled by consulting firm
Mercer. It is the first time it has topped the EIU survey, which began in its current form in
2004.
 Damascus retained last place, followed by the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, and Lagos in
Nigeria.
 The survey does not include several of the world's most dangerous capitals, such as
Baghdad and Kabul.
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 Vienna and Melbourne scored maximum points in the healthcare, education and
infrastructure categories. But while Melbourne extended its lead in the culture and
environment component, that was outweighed by Vienna's improved stability ranking.
 Osaka, Calgary and Sydney completed the top five in the survey.
 London for instance ranks 48th.
Germany to provide Euro 120 million soft loan for Clean Ganga Mission
 Germany has announced to provide soft loan of euro 120 million (Rs. 990 crore
approximately) to India to strengthen sewage water treatment
infrastructure in Uttarakhand in an effort to clean River Ganga under
Clean Ganga Mission.
 German development agency GIZ also has prepared ‘Ganga Box’ aimed
to target schools-going children and inform them about the river.
 The proceeds from this soft loan will be used for project focusing on
extension and replacement of sewerage system (around 360
kilometres) including complete house connection, construction of sewage treatment plants
(STPs) of around 15 million litres per day (mld).
 The purpose of project is to reduce inflow of untreated waste water in River Ganga and,
thus, to improve the water quality of the river. This project also includes construction of 13
sewage pumping stations.
Navlekha: Google unveils new platform for Indic language publishers

 Search engine giant Google has unveiled Project Navlekha to make online content relevant
for more Indian users especially in local languages. It was unveiled along with host of
upgrades of Google’s other products at fourth ‘Google for India’
event held in New Delhi.
 India is important market for Google as it is second largest
population of internet users in the world. At present, amount of
online content in Indian languages is only 1% of what is available in
English.
 Project Navlekha
 Navlekha is word derived from Sanskrit meaning “a new way to write.” This project aims to
bring 135,000 local language publishers online by making web hosting smooth and simple.
 It will allow local publishers who do not have websites to make their offline content fit for
online publishing in less than a minute. It also comprises tool that uses Artificial
Intelligence (AI) to allow publishers to simply scan documents or PDFs and create instant
web pages on the platform.
 No expert digital knowledge is required in the process. Under Navlekha project, Google will
help these publishers to receive training and support and a branded page domain for the
first three years.
Malaysia announced cancelling major Chinese-backed infrastructure projects

 The South-East Asian country Malaysia on 21 August 2018
announced cancelling major Chinese-backed infrastructure
projects thus giving a huge blow to China’s ambitious “One
Road One Belt” (OBOR) initiative.
 It was announced by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad.
 The Chinese-funded $20 billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project and a natural gas
pipeline project in Sabah will be canceled.
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 Mahathir made the comments while addressing the media in Beijing during his five-day trip
to China.
 The projects, would be canceled until such time as Malaysia can afford it.
 The ECRL project was the centerpiece of China’s infrastructure push in Malaysia but work
has been suspended pending discussions over pricing and graft accusations.
World’s first satellite capable of wind-sensing launched by the European Space Agency
(ESA)
 The world’s first satellite capable of wind-sensing “Aeolus” launched by the European Space
Agency (ESA) during August 2018.
 This satellite was launched through the Vega rocket from ESA’s French Guyana-based
launch station on 24 August 2018.
 Aboard this satellite is a laser that will measure wind speeds across the globe.
 Aeolus could vastly increase the data scientists have on wind speeds, improving weather
forecasting and providing new resources to climate researchers.
 The ESA began the Aeolus project way back in 2002, but the laser instrument was more
challenging to design than anyone expected.
 It was supposed to launch in 2007 originally.
11th World Hindi Conference begins in Mauritius

 11th World Hindi Conference ( ) was held in Mauritius in its
capital city Port Lois from August 18-20, 2018.
 It was inaugurated by Prime Minister of Mauritius Praveen Kumar Jagannath and was
attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and some other
ministers.
 The theme of the Conference is “Vaishvik Hindi Aur Bharatiy Sanskriti“.
It was be organised by Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India
in association with Government of Mauritius.
 The venue of Conference was Swami Vivekanand International
Convention Centre, Pailles Mauritius.
 The conference provided common platform to several Hindi scholars, writers and laureates
from different parts of the world to contribute language. It was attended by delegates from
India and various countries of the world.
 They deliberated on eight subtopics on Hindi World and Indian Culture. It was for first time
of the conference, representatives from all 29 states and Union Territories of Delhi,
Chandigarh and Puducherry attended the conference.
Gaofen 11: China launches high-resolution Earth observation satellite

 China successfully launched Gaofen-11, an optical remote sensing satellite, as part of the
country’s high-resolution Earth observation project.
 It was launched on board of Long March 4B rocket from Taiyuan
Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province. It was overall
282nd flight mission by Long March carrier rocket.
 Gaofen-11 is sub-meter resolution optical satellite. It was developed by
China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). It is the sixth in Gaofen
series launched this year, following triplet of Gaofen-1 satellites and
larger Gaofen-5 and Gaofen-6, all placed in Sun-synchronous orbits.
 It will become part of China High-resolution Earth Observation System (CHEOS) initiated in
2010 to provide all-weather, all-day coverage by 2020 with optical and synthetic aperture
radar satellites, and could also include airborne and near-space systems such as
stratospheric balloons.
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 Gaofen-11 satellite will be used for land survey, urban planning, road network design,
agriculture, and disaster relief. Its data will also be used for Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
China had unveiled BRI in 2013 with aim to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Gulf region,
Africa and Europe with network of land and sea routes.
TESS: NASA’s planet hunting Spacecraft is now operational

 NASA’s new planet hunting Spacecraft Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has
become operational and has started collecting data after its successful
launch in April 2018.
 Now, the TESS spacecraft will firstly scan patch of sky in southern
hemisphere covering 2,300 degrees from south ecliptic pole to near
ecliptic plane. Basically, it’s looking for potential exoplanets in a strip of
the sky running from the far south to near the equator. Eventually,
 Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)
 TESS mission is led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Kavli Institute for
Astrophysics and Space Research. It is designed to find potential planets orbiting stars close
to Earth.
 It will identify such planets by spotting decreased brightness of stars after planet passes in
front of it. It is successor to Kepler, the space observatory which is responsible for detecting
most of the currently known exoplanets.
 The First South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Agri Cooperative
Business Forum held in Kathmandu, Nepal. The theme was ‘Organizing and Strengthening
Family Farmers’ Cooperatives to attain the Sustainable- Development-Goals-1 and 2 in
South Asia’.
 The G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting was held in Salta, Argentina. It took place as
part of Sherpa Track for 2018 G20 Leaders’ Summit, which is to be hosted by Argentina by
end of 2018. The theme was 'Building consensus for fair and sustainable development'.
 In Sri Lanka, the fourth Asian electoral stakeholders forum (AESF-IV) begins in Colombo to
discuss the state of elections and democracy in the region. It is being held for the first time
in South Asia with support from the Election Commission of Sri Lanka and the Asian
network for free elections (ANFREL). The theme was, ‘Advancing Election Transparency
and Integrity: Promoting and Defending Democracy Together’.
 The World Bank launched ‘bond-i', the world’s first bond to be created, allocated,
transferred and managed by using distributed ledger technology. This two-year bond
successfully raised 110 million Australian dollars (USD 80.48 million).
 France’s Parliament signed into law a controversial asylum and immigration bill. The bill is
designed to accelerate asylum procedures by cutting the maximum processing time from
the current 120 days to 90 days after entering France.
 United States Congress passed the National Defense Authorisation Act-2019 (NDAA-19)
which capped its security-related aid to Pakistan to $150 million, significantly below the
historic level of more than $ 1 billion to $750 million per year.
 External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated 'Panini Language Laboratory' at
Mahatma Gandhi Institute (MGI) at Port Louis in Mauritius. She called on Prime Minister of
Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jagnauth and discussed further deepening of the special ties
between the two nations.
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 In Sri Lanka, the ten-day festival of the historic Esala Maha Perehera began in Kandy with a
grand procession. The procession set off from the biggest Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka, Sri
Dalada Maligawa at an auspicious time.
 Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong chaired the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers
meeting in Singapore.
 UK government announced new plans to change the law for organ and tissue donation to
address the urgent need for organs within the Indian-origin communities in the country.
 Saudi Arabia announced that it is freezing all new trade and investment with Canada over
its interference in its internal affairs.
 Israel opened a Visa Application Centre in Kolkata for tourists from West Bengal and the
northeastern states to encourage more Indian travelers to visit that country.
 Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Radha Mohan Singh urged to Jose
Graziano da Silva, the Director General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organisation (UNFAO) to declare the upcoming year as the ‘International Year of Millets’.
 The 24th World Congress of Philosophy (WCP) was held in Beijing, China. It was organized
by the International Federation of Philosophical Societies, and Peking University. Its theme
was “Learning To Be Human”.
 US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo announced the formation of the Iran Action Group (IAG)
to coordinate and run the country's policy towards Iran. Pompeo has named Brian Hook,
the State Department's director of policy planning, as the group’s head.
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Economics & Financial Awareness
Bandhan Bank became the seventh most valued Indian bank by overtaking Yes Bank
 Kolkata-based Bandhan Bank Ltd on 1 August 2018 became the seventh most valued listed
bank in India, by overtaking Yes Bank.
 Data from BSE showed that Bandhan Bank has a
market capitalization of Rs. 84,325.35 crore, after its
shares moved 1% higher on BSE to record high of Rs.
706.95. Yes Bank’s market cap stood at Rs. 84,262.14
crore.
 HDFC Bank Ltd remained the country’s most
valuable bank with a market capitalization of Rs 5.70
trillion, followed by State Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd with market
capitalization of Rs 2.63 trillion and Rs 2.5 trillion, respectively.
 Bandhan Bank’s better-than-expected earnings as well as improved asset quality have
helped its stock. It has a gross bad loan ratio of 1.26%, the lowest among Indian lenders.
 A return on asset close to 3.5% and a net interest margin of above 10%, among the highest
for Indian lenders, too, have helped.
 So despite trading at relatively high valuations of close to 5.9 times its expected book value
for this fiscal, the stock has found favour with investors.
 Mumbai-based Yes Bank continued to deliver a healthy performance on all major
operational parameters for the June quarter.
 On 26 July, it reported a profit which grew by 30.5% to Rs 1,260 crore while net interest
income rose 22.7% to Rs 2,220 crore.
 Gross non-performing assets as a percentage of total loans stood at 1.31% in the quarter
from 0.97% a year ago.
Apple Inc. became the first U.S. company to surpass $1 trillion in market value
 Apple Inc. company became the first U.S. company (and also probably of the world) to
surpass $1 trillion in market value.
 American technology giant Apple Inc. became the first-ever U.S. company to surpass $1
trillion in market capitalization on 2 August 2018.
 On this day, the shares of the world’s most valuable public company rose $5.89, or 2.9%, to
$207.39, making it worth slightly more than $1 trillion.
 Apple’s rise has been propelled by the sustained success of the iPhone developed under late
co-founder Steve Jobs, a product visionary who helped revive the company from a death
spiral in the late 1990s.
 Apple isn’t the world’s first company to claim the $1 trillion title. In 2007, PetroChina Co.’s
market cap surpassed that level by some measures, though the Chinese oil and gas
producer’s complicated corporate structure kept most of its shares locked up in
government hands.
 Outside of the public markets, there is Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco), the state-
owned oil company.
 It weighed an initial public offering that could value the business at as much as $2 trillion.
Reliance Industries become first Indian company to cross Rs. 8 trillion market cap
 Mukesh Ambani-led oil-to-telecom behemoth Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) became first
Indian company to cross Rs 8 lakh crore ($114 billion) market capitalisation.
 This record m-cap of RIL also bumped up Mukesh Ambani’s (India’s richest man) wealth to
over $48 billion (according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index). M-cap is value of company
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that is traded on stock market, calculated by multiplying total number of shares by present
share price.
 RIL achieved Rs 8 lakh crore m-cap feat, after its shares rose by 1.86%
to close at a record high of Rs 1,269.70 on Bombay Stock Exchange
(BSE) in intra-day trade, elevating its market cap to Rs 8.05 lakh crore.
So far this year, RIL shares surged over 38 per cent.
 RIL added the latest Rs 1 trillion in market cap in just 23 trading
sessions. It had first crossed Rs 7-trillion market cap in July 2018 (for
second time after it had achieved $100 billion m-cap and for first time in 2007).
 It took 181 trading days to move from Rs 6 trillion to Rs 7 trillion m-cap. Currently, RIL’s
market value accounts for 5% of India’s total market cap.
 The market valuation of RIL is considerably higher than IT giant Tata Consultancy Services
(TCS’) Rs 7,77,870 crore m-cap. TCS was first Indian IT company to reach Rs. 7 lakh crore
($100 billion club) market capitalisation (m-cap) milestone in May 2018 and second
company after to achieve milestone after RIL.
Delhi Gujarat as the most investor-friendly state in India

 Delhi state replaced Gujarat as the most investor-friendly state in the latest
NCAER State Investment Potential Index (N-SIPI) that was released on 3
August 2018.
 Delhi moved one spot up to replace Gujarat as the most investor-friendly
state in the latest State Investment Potential Index (N-SIPI).
 This index has been constructed on the basis of six pillars that are classified
under the following four broad categories - factor-driven (land and labour),
efficiency-driven (infrastructure), growth-driven (economic climate, and
political stability and governance), and perceptions driven (responses to the
surveys).
 It is worth mentioning that Andhra Pradesh topped the list in the business reforms action
plan ranking released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
Pie: The latest version of Android operating system officially released by Alphabet Inc
 The latest version of Android operating system that was officially released by Google’s
parent company Alphabet Inc. is named as Pie.
 Google officially released the new version of its
highly popular Android mobile operating
system on 6 August 2018.
 This new version has been named Android Pie
(or simply Android 9).
 Google typically names its new flavors of
Android alphabetically and after something
sugary.
 For example, the previous Android version was called Oreo. Before that were Nougat,
preceded by Marshmallow and Lollipop.
 Android Pie mostly focuses on behind-the-scenes improvements designed to make Android
phones work faster while saving precious battery life.
 Google’s Android is the most dominant mobile operating system on the Earth.
 It powers almost 9 out of every 10 smartphones shipped globally. So updates in the
software could eventually signal changes for how most of the world uses its phones.
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Hackers siphon Rs 94 crore from Pune’s Cosmos Cooperative Bank via ATMs in 28
countries
 Recently hackers have stolen (illegally withdrawn) Rs .94 crore from Pune’s Cosmos
Cooperative Bank via ATMs in 28 countries.
 It is possibly first of its kind coordinated digital attack on Indian bank. In this cyber heist
considered to be originated in Canada, Rs. 78 crore were illegally withdrawn in more than
12,000 ATM transactions in 28 countries. Rs 2.5 crore were made in different places within
India with another 2,800 transactions.
 Moreover, Rs 13.5 crore was transferred to Hong Kong-based entity using the Society for
Worldwide Interbank Telecommunications (SWIFT) facility.
 Modus Operandi of Hackers
 The illegal withdrawals were enabled by malware attack which authenticated debit card
transactions bypassing the bank’s computerised core banking systecore
banking system (CBS), which allows banks to settle cash dispensation
requests raised at ATMs.
 CBS of the bank houses all the data of its customers. Once request is
raised by swiping of card at ATM, it is transferred to CBS of bank using
switching system. After checking available credit in individual account,
CBS either allows or turns down request, which is again transmitted to
payment systems via switching system.
 The malware had created proxy switching system, which had bypassed need for validation
by CBS of bank. The operation of switching systems involves variety of agencies, including
banks, which participate in complex yet lightning fast process of dispensing money from
teller machine.
 This might have been preceded by another cyber-attack, resulting in data theft of hundreds
of bank’s debit cards. The information on these debit cards were then have been cloned on
to fake cards used in physical withdrawal of cash from ATMs across the world. The illegally
withdrawn money has gone out from bank’s corpus and not from individual accounts of the
bank’s customers.
Rahul Bajaj dethroned the Aditya Birla Group to emerge third most valued group in
India based on market capitalization
 The industrial group, Rahul Bajaj Group dethroned the Aditya Birla Group from the fourth
position to emerge third most valued group in India (based on market capitalization).
 Rahul Bajaj GroupThanks to an amazing stock market ride by Bajaj Finance and Bajaj
Finserv, the Pune-based Rahul Bajaj group grabbed third spot, pushing the Aditya Birla
group down to fourth position.
 On 14 August 2018, the market cap of the Bajaj group’s listed companies reached Rs 3.9
trillion compared to the Rs 3.02 trillion of the Aditya Birla group.
 The group is, of course, far still behind the top two family group listed companies: the Tatas
(market cap of Rs 11.4 trillion) and the Mukesh Ambani group (market cap Rs 7.8 trillion).
 The last few years have been unbelievably impressive for Bajaj Group.
 It was only the eighth largest family business group in the country in terms of market cap,
far behind the Tatas, Mukesh Ambani, Mahindra, Vedanta, Sunil Mittal, Aditya Birla, and Sun
Pharma.
HAL becomes first PSU to transact on TReDS: RXIL

 According to the Receivables Exchange of India (RXIL), Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) has
become the first public sector enterprise to make a transaction on the "TReDS platform".
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 According to the NSE-SIDBI joint venture, TReDS is an online electronic institutional
mechanism for facilitating the financing of trade receivables of micro, small and medium
enterprises (MSME) through multiple financiers.
 Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) executed its first digitized invoice discounting
transaction on RXIL TReDS platform, when it accepted the digital invoice uploaded by
Narendra Udyog.
 This makes HAL the first PSU to transact on TReDS across platforms.
 The transaction was financed by Bank of Baroda and since stands settled,.
 Last year, the central government mandated all major PSUs to join TReDS platform to
facilitate payments to MSME vendors.
 RXIL is a TReDS platform operating since January 2017 and is promoted by the National
Stock Exchange, Small Industries Development Bank of India, State Bank of India, ICICI
Bank and Yes Bank.
2GUD : The new portal launched by Indian e-commerce behemoth Flipkart

 The new e-commerce portal launched by Flipkart on 22 August 2018 to sell only unused
and returned products or used refurbished products.
 The name of the new portal is 2GUD.
 This portal will only sell unused and returned products or used
products which are restored to full functionality by
professionals.
 All products are certified to be fully functional.
 At present it is selling mobile phones, laptops, smartwatches, tablets, etc.
 In the future 2GUD will launch speakers, power banks, smart assistants, hair dyer, hair
straightener, TV sets and other 400 product categories.
 2GUD has been rolled out on mobile website initially and will be available on desktop soon.
Flipkart is also coming out with a mobile app.
India poised to overtake US to become 2nd largest middle-class market

 India could overtake the US to become the second-largest middle-class market in the world.
 The Indian middle-class market is growing fast and by 2022.
 Unprecedented Expansion of the Global Middle Class’,
adding that India probably overtook Japan as a middle-
class market in 2016.
 Almost 90%-of the next billion entrants into the global
middle class will be in Asia.
 As many as 380 million Indians, 350 million Chinese, and
210 million other Asians.
 The rapid expansion in the middle-class is a result of high
contribution to the world population.
 With developing countries like India, Indonesia, Nigeria etc becoming middle-class, there
are chances of successful reduction in fertility rate, which eventually will help in reducing
the population growth in coming years.
 India is now richer than Germany in the late 1880s when it introduced social insurance for
all workers.
 Indonesia is richer than the US was in 1935, when the Social Security Act was passed.
 And China is richer than Britain was in 1948, when the National Health Service was
introduced.
 As emerging markets like India is becoming middle-class faster, carbon footprints are also
expected to increase.
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Maruti Suzuki launched a first-of-its-kind motorcycle-based roadside service
 India’s biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki rolled out a motorcycle-based roadside service
initiative for car owners, a first by any carmaker.
 Designed to reach the car owner in a shorter time, the initiative complements the existing
roadside assistance that runs on 415 vans.
 The Suzuki owned company flagged off a fleet of 350 Suzuki bikes that will service
customers in 251 cities.
 The number of cities will be expanded to 500 by 2020.
 Maruti Suzuki claimed that the service is equipped to cater to 90% of the problems faced by
a customer on roads.
 The company is of the view that in many cases the heavy traffic in cities does not allow vans
to reach customers on time and causes stress and anxiety.
‘Amaravati Bond 2018’: A local authority of Andhra Pradesh launched the bonds of BSE
 A local authority of Andhra Pradesh state had launched the bonds titled ‘Amaravati Bond
2018’, which were listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on 27 August 2018.
 The main aim is to raise funds to build Andhra Pradesh’s
capital Amaravati.
 The state government has tapped the capital markets with
the listing of bonds issued by AP Capital Region Development
Authority (APCRDA) for Rs. 2,000 crore on 27 August 2018
on the BSE.
 These bonds are being touted as the largest bonds issue in
the country from a local authority.
 Earlier bonds worth Rs. 2,000 crore were floated by the
APCRDA.
 The bonds were lapped up in a one-hour offer window on the BSE’s electronic platform on
14 August 2018.
Cabinet clears Rs.1,600-crore mission to map coasts

 India is set to get more disaster warning systems along its coasts.
 It already has a tsunami warning system in place, the new systems will keep an eye out for
“tsunamis and storm surges.
 The system is part of a programme called O-SMART (Ocean Services,
Technology, Observations, Resources Modelling and Science) that is
being piloted by the Union earth sciences ministry.
 It was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on
Wednesday, at an outlay of Rs.1,623 crore.
 O-SMART will provide economic benefits to a number of user
communities in the coastal and ocean sectors, namely, fisheries,
offshore industry, coastal States, defence, shipping, ports, etc.
 Other key missions under O-SMART include,
i) Strengthening of Ocean Observations and Modelling
ii) Strengthening of Ocean Services for fishermen
iii) Setting up marine observatories for monitoring marine pollution
iv) Setting up Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Plant (OTEC) in Kavaratti, acquiring two
coastal research vessels, continuation of ocean survey and exploration of minerals and living
resources, technology development for Deep Ocean Mining and manned submersibles and the
setting up six desalination plants in Lakshadweep.
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Google has tied up with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Federal Bank
 Alphabet Inc.’s Google is partnering with four
Indian banks - HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak
Mahindra Bank and Federal Bank, to grant instant
loans online.
 This tie-up has been done as the fight for a $1
trillion digital finance market intensifies.
 From Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp to Jack Ma’s Ant
Financial, internet giants are joining a race to
provide financial services in the world’s fastest-
growing mobile arena.
 Online lending is becoming the next frontier as mobile users look for small loans with
minimal paperwork, served to them even without credit ratings as fintech companies use
data and algorithms to determine risk.
 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to pay a dividend of Rs 50,000 crore to the
Union government for the year ending 30 June, 2018. The Central Board of Directors of the
Reserve Bank of India, at its meeting held on 8 August, 2018, approved the transfer of
surplus amounting to Rs 500 billion for the year ended 30 June, 2018 to the Government of
India.
 Axis Bank has become the first bank in the country to introduce Iris Scan Authentication
feature for Aadhaar-based transactions through its micro ATM tablets. This service, which
requires a customer to scan their iris on a tablet, will boost the bank's financial inclusion
efforts by making Aadhaar authentication process hassle-free and offering easier access to
digital banking for consumers especially in the rural parts of the country.
 The government has announced a mega investment and connectivity programme for the
north-eastern states. It will inflow of nearly Rs 10,000 crore through over 400 programmes
expected to be rolled out in the next four years. The investments relate to enhancing the
telecom infrastructure in the state.
 Idea Cellular Ltd has announced that it has completed its merger with Vodafone India Ltd
(VIL) and Vodafone Mobile Services Ltd (VMSL) after getting approval from the National
Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
 Reliance Power announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Reliance Power Netherlands
BV has won an international arbitration award of $56 million (Rs 390 crore) against
Prestige Capital Holdings (a Seychelles-based company) and Kokos Jiang.
 PayU India announced entering into a strategic partnership with Reliance Money, leading
NBFC brands in India, to offer instant app-based personal loans, via LazyPay. It is an
attempt to reach out to the underserved consumers in India.
 Google launched a new video-based Q&A app called 'Cameos' on the App Store, which
allows people to answer questions about themselves, then share those answers directly on
Google.
 Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) launched BSNL WINGS a VOIP based service. In WINGS,
there is no SIM or cable wiring as is a VOIP service through an app. The WINGS service
offers unlimited free audio/video calling for one year.
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Defence & Security - National/International
SCO Peace Mission 2018: SCO counter-terror military exercise held in Chebarkul, Russia
 The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Peace Mission 2018 was held in Chebarkul,
Russia. Military contingents of the all eight SCO member nations (China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, India and Pakistan) participated in this exercise.
 The exercise was aimed at enhancing cooperation between member states to deal with
growing threat of terrorism and extremism.
 It was for first time since independence, India and Pakistan
simultaneously took part military exercise, though armies of two rival
neighbouring countries had earlier worked together in United Nations
(UN) peacekeeping missions.
 SCO Peace Mission 2018
 The exercise provided opportunity to armed forces of SCO nations to
train in counter terrorism operations in urban scenario in multinational
and joint environment The scope of exercise included professional interaction, mutual
understanding of drills and procedures, establishment of joint command and control
structures and elimination of terrorist threat in urban counter terrorist scenario.
 It also helped to strengthen mutual confidence, interoperability and enable sharing of best
practices among armed forces of the SCO nations.
 Around 3,000 soldiers from eight SCO member countries took part in the exercise. Russian
Army was had major participation with 1700 personnel followed by China with 700, India
with 200 personnel (167 Indian Army personnel including four women officers and 33
personnel from Indian Air Force). Pakistan contingent comprised of 110 members
 Note: The SCO Peace Mission Exercise takes place every two years. The previous editions of
this exercise were mainly limited to Central Asian nations. But due to the entry of India and
Pakistan (in June 2017), SCO’s counter-terrorism mission now has been expanded to South
Asia.
Supersonic Interceptor Missile Successfully Test Fired In Odisha

 India has successfully test fired an indigenously-developed supersonic interceptor missile
from a test range off the Odisha coast to validate some improved features.
 The state-of-the-art missile was test fired from a canister at 11.24 am engaging a simulated
target at low altitude.
 The interceptor, an advanced air defence missile which is
yet to get a formal name, was positioned at launchpad-4 of
the Integrated Test Range on Dr Abdul Kalam Island and
roared on its trajectory to hit the target mid-air on sea
surface.
 It is capable of destroying incoming hostile ballistic missiles.
 The interceptor is a 7.5-metre-long single-stage solid rocket propelled guided missile
equipped with a navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator.
 The interceptor missile had its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception,
independent tracking and homing capabilities and sophisticated radars.
Maitree 2018: Indo -Thailand Joint Military Exercise to be held

 Exercise Maitree is a joint military exercise between Indian Army and Royal Thai Army
which will be conducted from 06 to 19 August 2018 in Thailand.
 It is a platoon level exercise which comprises of infantry component.
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 The opening ceremony started with familiarization of organisation and display of weapons
& equipment of both armies.
 The exercise will emphasize to hone the tactical and
technical skills in joint counter insurgency and counter
terrorist operations in rural and urban scenario under UN
mandate.
 Due emphasis will be laid on increasing interoperability
between forces from both countries which is crucial for
success of any joint operation.
 Both sides will jointly train, plan and execute a series of well developed tactical drills for
neutralization of likely threats that may be encountered in urban warfare scenario.
 Experts from both sides will also hold detailed discussions to share their experience on
varied topics for mutual benefit.
 Exercise Maitree will contribute immensely in developing mutual understanding and
bonhomie between the two armies in order to counter terrorism.
Xingkong-2: China successfully tests first hypersonic aircraft

 China successfully tested its first cutting-edge hypersonic “waverider”
flight vehicle (aircraft) Xingkong-2 (Starry Sky-2).
 Waverider is flight vehicle that flies in atmosphere and uses
shockwaves generated by its own hypersonic flight with air to glide at
high speed. Currently, United States and Russia have been carrying out
similar experiments.
 The Xingkong-2 hypersonic waverider flight vehicle was released in air
from rocket after about 10 minutes. After its launch, it flew independently, made large-
angle turning maneuvers and landed in targeted area as planned.
 During test, it had reached 30 kms in altitude at Mach 5.5-6 speed. The test successfully
proved various parameters of flight vehicle, thus marking successful launch of Xingkong-2
and first flight of Chinese waverider.
 Xingkong-2 (Starry Sky-2)
 The hypersonic waverider flight vehicle was designed by state-run China Academy of
Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA) in collaboration with China Aerospace Science and
Technology Corporation.
 It can carry can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads. It has capability to
penetrate any current generation anti-missile defence systems due to its high speed and
unpredictable trajectory.
 As compared to it, current generation of anti-missile defence systems is mainly designed to
intercept cruise and ballistic missiles which are either slower or easier to predict, making
them possible to intercept. In addition to its military use, hypersonic waverider flight
vehicle may also see civil use in the future.
Iran Unveils Next Generation Fateh Mobin missile, Rising Tensions with US
 Iran has unveiled a next generation short-range
ballistic missile.
 It vowed to further boost its capabilities, at a time
of rising tensions with the United States.
 The new Fateh Mobin missile had "successfully
passed its tests" and could strike targets on land
and sea.
 The new missile's range was not given, but
previous versions had a range of around 200 to
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300 kilometres.
 The "Fateh-110 missile" was test-fired by Iran during naval exercises in the Strait of
Hormoz last week.
 A US general described the exercises as designed to send a message, following threats from
Iran that it could shut down the vital, oil-shipping waterway in retaliation for renewed
sanctions.
 Earlier, this year President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and
world powers in May.
 Iran's missile programme is a major bone of contention, particularly with the United States
and its allies, but is seen as vital by Iran to its defensive posture in a troubled region.
Vostok-2018: Russia to conduct largest military exercise in September 2018

 Russia is going to conduct Vostok-2018 (East-2018) military exercise
in central and eastern Russian military districts from September 11 to
15, 2018.
 It will be biggest war games ever conducted by Russia since Zapad-81
(West-81) exercise conducted by erstwhile Soviet Union in 1981 which
had seen involvement about 100,000 to 150,000 troops.
 Vostok-2018
 Vostok-2018 will involve participation of units from Russian Army, Air
Force and Navy.
 More than 300,000 troops, 36,000 tanks, armoured personnel carriers, armoured infantry
vehicles, over 1,000 military aircraft, two naval fleets and all its airborne units will
participate in this military exercise.
 China and Mongolia will also participate in Vostok 2018.
India building new fighter jet Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA)
 India’s First flight of Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) expected in 2032.
 The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is India’s next indigenous fighter.
 Development work on the jet is under way.
 The AMCA will feature geometric stealth and will initially fly with two GE-414 engines.
 There are two major ways of making a
military platform stealthier.
 One is geometric stealth and other is
material stealth.
 In geometric stealth, the shape of the
aircraft is designed at such angles so as to
deflect away maximum radar waves thereby
minimising its radar cross section.
 In material stealth, radar-absorbing materials are used in making the aircraft which will
absorb the radio waves thus reducing the radar footprint.
 The Indian Air Force has given land to the Defence Research and Development Organisation
to set up facilities for the project.
 The plan is to build on the capabilities and expertise developed during the development of
the light combat aircraft (LCA) and produce a medium fifth generation fighter aircraft.
 The aircraft will be powered by the same GE-414 engine on the LCA Mk-2 variant which is
in the design phase.
 A GE-414 produces 98kN thrust compared to 84kN thrust of the GE-404 engine which is on
the LCA Mk1.
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 At Aero India 2016, DRDO officials had stated that the basic design configuration has been
frozen after wind tunnel testing and there are three critical technologies that need to be
developed -- stealth, thrust vectoring and super cruise.
 This is India’s only fifth generation aircraft programme following the decision not to go
ahead with the fifth generation project with Russia.
DAC approves procurement of 111 utility helicopters for Indian Navy

 Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has
approved procurement of 111 utility helicopters for Indian Navy at cost of over Rs 21,000
crore.
 DAC is Union Defence Ministry’s highest decision making body on
capital procurement of Indian Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air
Force).
 The procurement of 111 utility helicopters will be first project under
Defence Ministry’s prestigious Strategic Partnership (SP) Model that
aims at providing significant fillip to Government’s ‘Make in India’
programme.
 Several aviation majors including Airbus (Eurpore), Kamov (Russia) and Bell (US) have
offered their bids for this project in addition to state owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
(HAL).
 Indian Navy will shortlist helicopter it wants after extensive evaluation process which will
be followed by contract where most of these helicopters will need to be built in the country
in conjunction with local partners.
 The contract when finalised will result in vibrant and wide-spread Defence industrial eco-
system in Indian Aviation Sector with private industry and MSMEs as major stakeholders.
Iran unveils 'first domestically manufactured' fighter jet

 Iran unveiled the country's "first domestically manufactured" fighter jet.
 The test flights of the jet named as the Kowsar, took place on the eve of the National Day of
the Defense Industry.
 The Kowsar can be used for short aerial support missions and is equipped with systems
that promote precision targeting.
 Iran is currently under economic and diplomatic pressure from a raft of sanctions re-
imposed by the United States earlier this month.
 Iran has unveiled several new fighter jets in the last few
years.
 In 2013, the country unveiled the Qahar-313, a new
fighter jet that Iran compared to the US F-22 and F-35.
 But many aviation experts voiced skepticism regarding
the design and quality of the build of that plane.
 Iran has sent weapons and soldiers to Syria during the
country's seven-year civil war in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
 But the country's air force comprises roughly a few dozen strike aircraft, largely Russian or
American planes acquired before the 1979 revolution.
Pitch Black 2018 Exercise concludes in Australia

 Pitch Black – 18 (PB-18), biennia multinational air exercise hosted by Royal Australian Air
Force (RAAF) concluded recently Darwin, Australia. It was the largest Pitch Black ever
conducted by Australia, which saw participation of 16 nations and more than 140 aircraft,
the current edition.
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 India’s Participation: In this edition of exercise, Indian Air Force (IAF) for the first time
participated with air assets and in earlier exercises it had participated as observer.
 IAF contingent consisted of 145 air-warriors including IAF Commandos team, Garuds, four
Su-30 MKI, one C-130 and one C-17 for logistic support for induction and de-induction.
 Pitch Black – 18
 The objectives of this exercise were to foster closer relationship
between participating friendly forces and promote interoperability
through exchange of knowledge and experience. Its aim was to expose
participating nations to operational environment in international
scenarios.
 It comprised of two phases. During first phase, forces flew basic
missions with aim to get to same working platform. Subsequently in second phase, missions
involved larger packages and undertook simulated air combat exercises in near realistic
environment and exchanged best practices towards for enhancing operational capability.
 During the exercise, IAF for the first time conducted various day and night operations. It
also provided it unique opportunity for exchange of knowledge and experience with
participating nations in dynamic warfare environment.
ATGM HELINA successfully test fired at Pokhran range

 Indigenously developed Helicopter launched Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) ‘HELINA’
was successfully flight tested from Indian Army Helicopter at Pokhran range. The weapon
system was tested for its full range.
 About Test: ATGM HELINA weapon system was released smoothly
from Army Helicopter. After its launch it tracked target all through its
course and hit it with high precision.
 HELINA
 HELINA is helicopter launched version known of NAG ATGM, designed
and developed indigenously for Indian Army under integrated guided
missile development programme (IGMDP).
 It is manufactured by India’s sole missile producer, state-owned Bharat Dynamics Limited.
HELINA is one of the most advanced Anti-Tank Weapons in the world. It works on “fire and
forget” principle and operates in Lock on Before Launch mode.
 It has operational range of 7-10km (after air-launched). It is equipped with highly advanced
Imaging Infrared Radar (IIR) seeker along with integrated avionics. This technology is
possessed by very few nations. It also possesses advanced passive homing guidance system.
It has been designed mainly to destroy modern main battle tanks and other heavily
armoured targets.
 INS Sahyadri entered the Port of Darwin, Australia to participate in Exercise KAKADU 2018.
Exercise KAKADU, which started in 1993, is the premier multilateral regional maritime
engagement exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and supported by the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is held biennially in Darwin and the Northern
Australian Exercise Areas (NAXA).
 For the first time, India's only aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya will be fitted with a marine
hydraulic system to boost the air operations of the ship. Technodinamika, a subsidiary of
Russia's Rostec State Corporation, will install the system in the Indian Navy ship by May
2019.
 The NDRF has the biggest ever relief and rescue operation in flood-affected Kerala. A total
of 58 teams have been deputed to work in the state out of which 55 are working on the
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ground. This is the highest ever deployment of NDRF in a single state since its raising in
2006. After the review, PM Modi announced a financial assistance of Rs 500 crore to the
State. This is in addition to Rs. 100 Cr. announced by the Home Minister.
 The first-ever joint air exercise involving the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Royal
Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) commenced at Subang Air Base in Malaysia.
 DRDO conducted the successful test of the Ballistic Missile Interceptor Advanced Area
Defence (AAD) from Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha. The endo-atmospheric missile, capable of
intercepting incoming targets at an altitude of 15 to 25 kms was launched against multiple
simulated targets of 1500 km class ballistic missile.
 Pacific Endeavor-2018, a communication exercise under the Multinational Communications
Interoperability Program (MCIP) started in Kathmandu, Nepal. The basic objective is to
develop common communications operating procedures to enable military forces in the
Asia Pacific region to collectively work in the wake of disaster.
 Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath
launched a defence industrial corridor in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. The move is part of the
government’s efforts to develop specialised zones dedicated to defence production in the
state.
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Appointments-National/International
Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet appointed new UN Human Rights Chief
 Michelle Bachelet of Chile, newly-appointed as the next UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights.
 She was appointed byUN Secretary-General
António Guterres.
 The United Nations General Assembly in New
York approved the nomination of former two-
time President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, as the
next UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,
effective from 1 September.
 As a physician, she knows the trials of people thirsting for health and yearning to enjoy
other vital economic and social rights. And she knows the responsibilities of both national
and global leadership.
 Her predecessor in this position, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, who took on the role in September
2014 and who Mr. Guterres described as having served with “leadership, passion, courage
and skill” for the past four years.
 Michelle Bachelet will be the seventh High Commissioner since the office was created in
1993.
 Bachelet most recently had served as President (first women) of Chile (from 2014 to 2018
and 2006 to 2010).
 She was first Executive Director of UN-Women between 2010 and 2013. She has also
served as Minister of Defence and Minister of Health in Chile.
 The High Commissioner, is the principle official who speaks out for human rights across the
whole UN system, strengthening human rights mechanisms; enhancing equality; fighting
discrimination in all its forms; strengthening accountability and the rule of law; widening
the democratic space and protecting the most vulnerable from all forms of human rights
abuse.
Imran Khan sworn in as Pakistan’s PM

 Mr. Khan, once touted as Pakistan’s most eligible bachelor for his rugged Pathani good
looks, married thrice.
 His previous two marriages ended in divorce.
 Cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan struggled
for 22 years to fulfil his dream of becoming
Pakistan’s Prime Minister to transform the
corruption affected country into an Islamic welfare
state.
 Mr. Khan took oath as Pakistan’s 22nd Prime
Minister after leading his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) to the victory in the
elections and subsequently proving his majority in the National Assembly.
 The 65-year-old flamboyant former captain, described as one of Pakistan’s greatest
cricketers who transformed his shaky team into champions in the 1992 Cricket World Cup,
emerged as an inspiring leader in politics too.
 The Oxford-educated Pasthun launched Tehreek-e-Insaf, which means the movement for
justice, in 1996.
 He struggled to break the dominance of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) - the two main political parties that dominated Pakistan’s
political scene when the powerful military was not ruling the country.
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 Mr. Khan became a Member of Parliament in the 2002 elections.
 He was again elected to the National Assembly in the 2013 elections, when his party
emerged as the second largest in the country by popular vote.
 Mr. Khan was born in Mianwali in 1952 to Ikramullah Khan Niazi and Shaukat Khanum.
 His father descended from the Pashtun (Pathan) Niazi tribe of the Shermankhel clan, his
family is settled in Lahore, however, he still considers his background Pathan as per his
autobiography.
 Mr. Khan played Test cricket for Pakistan between 1971 and 1992, and was captain of the
national team when they won the World Cup in 1992.
Harivansh Narayan Singh elected as the new Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
 Harivansh Narayan Singh was elected as the new Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha in a
close election.
 Harivansh, belonging to the Janata Dal (United), was elected on 9 August 2018.
 He was the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate for the post.
 While he secured 125 votes in his favour, 105 members voted against him.
 He was inspired by Jaiprakash Narayan and dropped his surname.
 He is preceded by P.J.Kurien, who completed his term as Deputy Chairman on 1 July 2018.
 The post has been lying vacant since then.
 Congress MP B.K. Hariprasad stood against Harivansh in this election.
 At the last minute, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) withdrew their candidate Vandana
Chavan after it learned of BJD’s support to the NDA.
 Vice-President M.Venkiah Naidu is the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.
Indra Nooyi will step down as CEO, PepsiCo, replced by Ramon Laguarta
 Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi will step down as the CEO of PepsiCo after 12 years in the
position.
 She has been taking over the reins of the global giant in 2006.
 Ms. Nooyi steered the company though the 2008 financial crisis
and herself remained in the spotlight as one of the most
powerful women on the planet.
 The 62 year old Ms. Nooyi born in Chennai where she studied at
the Madras Christian College.
 Ms. Nooyi tried to reposition the company’s image at a time
consumers are increasingly wary of junk food. Under her, PepsiCo began focussing on
products that include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and gave an emphasis on less
sugar and fat. She has said this transformation would be a long-drawn one.
 The 54-year-old Ramon Laguarta will succeed Ms. Nooyi as CEO.
 Ms. Nooyi will step down as CEO on October 3, but will remain Chairman until early 2019 to
ensure a smooth and seamless transition.
TRAI chairman R.S. Sharma gets extension

 The Union government extended the term of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
chairman R.S. Sharma till September 2020.
 His term was to end this week. As per the government
notification, he will remain in post till September 30,
2020, when he turns 65.
 Recently, Mr Sharma hogged the headlines when he
threw a controversial challenge to hack his Aadhaar by
publicly disclosing his Aadhaar number on Twitter.
 Mr Sharma, who once headed the country’s ambitious
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Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which executes the Aadhaar programme,
insisted that no harm was caused to him by those who are sceptical of Aadhaar programme
and its collection of biometric data of citizens.
 However, in an oblique dig at one of the top regulators in the country, the UIDAI asked the
citizens to not disclose their Aadhaar number as it was contravention of the law.
 The notification extending his term was issued by the Department of Personnel and
Training (DoPT) after the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi cleared his extension.
 Interestingly, former Commerce Secretary Rita Teotia, a Gujarat cadre IAS who
superannuated in July this year, was said to be a front runner for the post.
 She had worked as additional secretary, Telecom.
Rekha Sharma appointed as New National Commission for Women Chairperson

 Rekha Sharma was appointed as chairperson of the National Commission for Women
(NCW).
 Prior to this appointment, she was member of the Commission and was holding the
additional charge of chairperson after Lalitha Kumaramangalam had demitted office in
September 2017.
 NCW is a statutory body established under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990.
It was established in January 1992.
 It is apex national level organization of India the mandate of protecting and promoting the
interests of women.
 It also reviews constitutional and legal safeguards for women.
 As a member of the Commission, she visited and inspected a number of psychiatric
institutions, custodial homes throughout the country and interacted with women admitted
in these institutions.
 The National Commission for Women will stay true to its mission of upholding women's
constitutional and legal rights and facilitating redressal of their grievances.
 Ms Sharma was recently embroiled in a controversy after she recommended abolishing the
practice of "confessions" in churches as it can lead to blackmailing of women, after such a
case came to light in Kerala.
Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy appointed DRDO Chief

 The Government has appointed eminent scientist Dr. G.
Satheesh Reddy as the Chairman of the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO).
 The top post of the DRDO had been vacant since May after
the then Chief Dr. S. Christopher stepped down.
 The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved
the appointment of Dr. G Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Advisor
to Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister) to the post of Secretary,
Department of Defence Research & development and
Chairman, DRDO for a period of two years with effect from the date of assumption of charge
or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
 A missile scientist, Dr. Reddy was holding charge as the Scientific Advisor to the Defence
Minister and also as Director General of the strategic missiles division.
 As head of the Research Centre Imarat (RCI), he is credited with the indigenous
development of seeker technology, a critical component in missiles.
 The Defence Research and Development Organisation is an agency of the Republic of India,
charged with the military's research and development, headquartered in New Delhi, India.
39 |
Scott Morrison elected as the new Prime Minister of Australia

 Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison will become Australia's new Prime Minister after
winning a Liberal party leadership vote.
 He emerged victorious from a three-way race with former home affairs minister Peter
Dutton and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
 Morrison became country’s 30th Prime Minister.
 Incumbent Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who called the leadership meeting after
losing the majority support of the party, opted not to contest the vote.
 The Liberal party is the senior partner in the ruling conservative coalition.
 The Liberal-National government has consistently trailed opposition Labor in opinion polls
in recent months.
President Ram Nath Kovind appointed Governors for 7 States

 President Ram Nath Kovind appointed governors for seven states — Bihar, Haryana,
Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Meghalaya, and Tripura.
 Governor Satya Pal Malik transferred from Bihar to Jammu and Kashmir to replace NN
Vohra.
 Senior BJP leader Lalji Tandon has been appointed the Governor of Bihar, replacing Malik.
 Kaptan Singh Solanki, the Governor of Haryana, has been transferred to Tripura, while
Satyadev Narayan Arya will be the new Haryana governor.
 Tripura governor Tathagata Roy has been transferred to Meghalaya, and Ganga Prasad, the
Governor of Meghalaya, has been transferred to Sikkim.
 Baby Rani Maurya will be the new Governor of Uttarakhand.
 Justice K.M. Joseph is scheduled to take oath as Supreme Court judge, third in line to
Justices Indira Banerjee and Vineet Saran. A few Supreme Court judges met Chief Justice of
India Dipak Misra about the issue of the government superceding the Collegium to alter the
seniority of Justice K.M. Joseph, who is scheduled to take oath as Supreme Court judge, third
in line to Justices Indira Banerjee and Vineet Saran.
 Smt. Justice Manjula Chellur took Oath as Chairperson, Appellate Tribunal for Electricity,
Ministry of Power. Prior to this, Smt. Justice Manjula Chellur was Chief Justice of Bombay
High Court.
 Seema Nanda, the Indian origin woman leader who took over as the CEO of Democratic
Party of the United States and thus became the first Indian - American ever to be the Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of any major US party
 Bhaskar Ramamurthy to be headed the JEE (Advanced) reform committee. The government
has recently proposed to set up a committee which will suggest changes to the Joint
Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced. This decision was taken after inadequate number of
students qualifying the engineering entrance exam.
 Balesh Sharma takes over as Vodafone Idea's first CEO. He was the Chief Operating Officer
of Vodafone India and a member of its executive committee.
 Veteran Indian development economist Satya S Tripathi has been appointed as the
Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) by UN Chief Antonio Guterres. He will replace Elliott
Harris.
 The Centre appointed renowned scientist, Dr G Satheesh Reddy, as Chairman of the Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Secretary in Department of Defence
Research & Development (DDR&D).
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 Industry chamber ASSOCHAM appointed former bureaucrat Uday Kumar Varma as its new
Secretary General. He succeeds DS Rawat who held the position for nearly 14 years.
 Union Minister Arun Jaitley is back as the Finance Minister after a three-month interval to
recuperate from a kidney transplant surgery.
 Film actor Shri Akshay Kumar appointed as the Road Safety Brand Ambassador.
 IAS officer K S Srinivas has taken over as Chairman of Marine Products Export Development
Authority (MPEDA).
 Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been re-elected for a five-year term after
winning a landslide in a runoff ballot.
 Colorado Party’s Mario Abdo Benitez was sworn in as the new President of Paraguay for a
five-year term.
 Infosys Chief Financial Officer MD Ranganath, a veteran of nearly two decades at India’s
second-largest software services company, has abruptly stepped down from his position.
 Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa narrowly won the country’s landmark
election in Zimbabwe. He is a former ally of Robert Mugabe.
 Justice Rajendra Menon was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court by Lt
Governor Anil Baijal at a ceremony held at the Raj Niwas in New Delhi.
 Ivan Duque was sworn in as the newly elected President of Colombia. He pledged to unite
the country and improve economic growth.
 Kumar Mangalam Birla and Y.C. Deveshwar were appointed as non-official independent
directors in Air India on 1 August 2018.
 The nominating committee of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) has selected Ajay Data as a new council member of Country Code Supporting
Organisation (ccNSO). He is the Founder & CEO of Data XGen Plus and a global leader in
email linguistic services.
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Sports
18th Asian Games inaugurated in Jakarta

 The 18th edition of Asian Games was inaugurated in Jakarta, Indonesia.
 This will be second time that Indonesia will be hosting Asian Games.
 For first, it was held in Jakarta in 1962. Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra was India’s flag-
bearer at the glittering opening ceremony.
 This edition of pan-continental mega sporting event will be
held from August 18 to September 2, 2018 in two cities –
Jakarta (capital of Indonesia) and Palembang (capital of
Indonesia’s province of South Sumatra) to accommodate all
branches of sports.
 This will be the first time that the Asian Game.
 Indian contingent comprised of around 570 Indian athletes
who will compete for top honours across 36 sports.
 Mascots:
 Trio of Bhin Bhin (bird of paradise), Kaka (one horned rhino) and Atung (deer) are mascots
of 2018 Asian Games.
 These three represent east, west and centre of country and they have dress traditional to
each locality.
India in Asian Games 2018
 India’s final tally at the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia read 69
medals – 15 gold, 24 silver and 30 bronze to surpass the medal count from 2010 Games in
Guangzhou, China and match the gold medal tally from the first-ever Asian Games in 1951.
 The games saw India create new national records. The Games got underway with Neeraj
Chopra as the flag bearer at the opening ceremony. Rani Rampal was the flag bearer at the
closing ceremony.
1st In 18th Asian Games 2018:
 1st medal in Sepak Takraw, Rahi Sarnobat became 1st Indian woman to win Asian Games
gold in shooting.
 Vinesh Phogat became 1st Indian woman to win gold in wrestling
 It was the 1st time that Indian Kabaddi Team could not win Gold.
 Swapna Barman became 1st Indian to win an Asiad gold in the women's heptathlon event.
 Neeraj Chopra became 1st Indian javelin thrower to win an Asiad gold.
 Dutee Chand Won India’s first medal in 20 years in a women's 100 event.
 Bajrang Punia (Wrestling) won 1st Gold Medal for India in Asian Games 2018.
List of GOLD MEDALS Won by India:
S.No. Event Category Winners
1. Athletics Men's Shot put Tajinderpal Singh Toor
2. Athletics Men's Javelin Throw Neeraj Chopra
3. Athletics Men's 800m Manjit Singh
4. Athletics Men's Triple Jump Arpinder Singh
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5. Athletics Women's Heptathlon Swapna Barman
6. Athletics Men's 1500m Jinson Johnson
M. R. Poovamma, Saritaben Gaikwad,

7. Athletics Women's 4x400m Relay
Hima Das, V.K. Vismaya
8. Boxing Men's Light Fly (49kg) Amit Panghal
9. Bridge Men's Pair Pranab Bardhan, Shibhnath Sarkar
Sawarn Singh, Dattu Baban Bhokanal,

10. Rowing Men's Quadruple Sculls
Om Prakash, Sukhmeet Singh
11. Shooting Men's 10-metre air pistol Saurabh Chaudhary
12. Shooting Women's 25-metre pistol Rahi Sarnobat
13. Tennis Men's Doubles Rohan Bopanna, Divij Sharan
14. Wrestling Men's freestyle 65 kg Bajrang Punia
15. Wrestling Women's freestyle 50 kg Vinesh Phogat
Top 3 Countries in the MEDAL TALLY along with India are as follows
RANK COUNTRY GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL
1 China 132 92 65 289
2 Japan 75 56 74 205
3 Republic of Korea 49 58 70 177
8 India 15 24 30 69
World Badminton Championships 2018

 The 2018 BWF World Championships is a badminton tournament which was held at
Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Sports Park
Arena in Nanjing, China.
 Ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu won the silver
medal in a major tournament final as she went
down tamely to Carolina Marin in the World
Championships’ women’s singles title.
 In men’s singles, Kento Momota of Japan won
the title over Shi Yuqi. With this victory, Kento
Momota became the first Japanese man to win the Championships.
 The second silver meant Sindhu is the only Indian to have four world championships
podium finishes. She had won two bronze medals at the 2013 Guangzhou and 2014
Copenhagen editions.
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 Marin became the first woman shuttler to win the world championships thrice. She had
won the title in 2014 and the 2015 Jakarta edition.
The complete list of the winners of World Badminton Championship 2018:
S.No. Event Winner Runner-up
1. Men's Singles Kento Momota (Japan) Shi Yuqi (China)
2. Women's Carolina Marin (Spain) P. V. Sindhu (India)

Singles
3. Men's Li Junhui (China) and Liu Yuchen Takeshi Kamura (Japan) and
Doubles (China) Keigo Sonoda (Japan)
4. Women's Mayu Matsumoto (Japan) and Yuki Fukushima (Japan) and

Doubles Wakana Nagahara (Japan) Sayaka Hirota (Japan)
5. Mixed Zheng Siwei (China) and Huang Wang Yilü (China) and Huang
Doubles Yaqiong (China) Dongping (China)
Women’s Hockey World Cup 2018

 The 14th edition of Women’s Hockey World Cup was organized in Lee Valley Hockey &
Tennis Centre, London from 21 July -5 August.
 Defending Champion Netherlands grabbed the
World Cup record 8th time defeating Ireland by 6-
0.This was first ever World Cup final played by
Ireland.
 Spain maintained third position by defeating
Australia with 3-1 marking their first world cup
medal.
Awardees of the World cup–
 Top Scorer  Van Male Kitty (8) Netherlands
 Best Player  Lidewij Welten, Netherlands
 Best Goalkeeper  Ayeisha McFerran, Ireland
 Young Player  Lucina Von der Hyde, Argentina
PV Sindhu seventh in Forbes list of highest paid women sportspersons

 India’s ace Shuttler and Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu (23) was ranked seventh
on Forbes list of highest-earning women sportspersons in the world (earnings between
June 2017 and June 2018).
 The list was topped by tennis legend Serena Williams with total earning
of $18.062 million including $62,000 as prize money. Eight of the 10
top highest-earning women sportspersons were tennis players,
remaining two were badminton player and professional racing driver.
 Top 10 highest-earning women sportspersons
1. Serena Williams (Tennis): Total earnings: $18.1 million (Prize
44 |
money: $62,000, Endorsements: $18 million).
2. Caroline Wozniacki (Tennis): Total earnings: $13 million (Prize money: $7 million,
Endorsements: $6 million).
3. Sloane Stephens (Tennis): Total earnings: $11.2 million (Prize money: $5.7 million,
Endorsements: $5.5 million).
4. Garbine Muguruza (Tennis): Total earnings: $11 million (Prize money: $5.5 million,
5. Maria Sharapova (Tennis): Total earnings: $10.5 million (Prize money: $1 million,
6. Venus Williams (Tennis): Total earnings: $10.2 million (Prize money: $4.2 million,
7. V. Sindhu (Badminton): Total earnings: $8.5 million (Prize money: $500,000,
8. Simona Halep (Tennis): Total earnings: $7.7 million (Prize money: $6.2 million,
9. Danica Patrick (professional racing driver): Total earnings: $7.5 million
(Salary/prize money: $3 million, Endorsements: $4.5 million).
10. Angelique Kerber (Tennis): Total earnings: $7 million (Prize money: $3 million,
Mohammad Nabi became the first-ever cricketer in history to feature in each of his
team's first 100 ODIs
 Mohammad Nabi of Afghanistan became the first-ever cricketer in history to feature in each
of his team's first 100 ODIs.
 Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi achieved the feat in the second ODI against
Ireland on 29 August 2018.
 Nabi had made his debut in Afghanistan's first-ever ODI on 19 April 2009 and has since
featured in country’s every ODI.
 No other player has featured even in each of his country's first 50 ODI matches.
 This year (2018), Afghanistan become the 11th Test playing team status and played lone
test against India at Bangalore.
Esow Alben: Teen cyclist creates history by winning India’s first ever medal at world
level
 Indian Teen cyclist Esow Alben (17) created history by winning the country’s maiden
medal in track cycling at the world level.
 He achieved this feat by winning silver medal in Men’s Keirin event of UCI Junior Track
Cycling World Championships held in Aigle, Switzerland. In the final
sprint of this event, Esow finished just 0.017 seconds behind gold
medallist Jakub Stastny (Czech Republic).
 Esow hails from Andaman and Nicobar. He is currently ranked world
No. 1 in junior sprint category of cycling after sensational run in Asian
Championships and victories in 2018 Cottbuser Sprint Cup 2, GP Brno
Track Cycling competitions.
 Tokyo 2020 will be first Olympics to use facial recognition technology to increase security
around all venues. For this, games organisers have partnered with Japanese
telecommunications and information technology giant NEC to develop the first system of
this kind to be implemented at an Olympics games.
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 The 2019 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships will be held in the North
Korean capital Pyongyang, a signal that the secretive country may be coming in from the
sporting cold.
 The U-20 Japan Women's National Team won against the U-20 Spain Women's National
Team at the final of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup France 2018, taking down the FIFA
U-20 Women's World Cup title for the first time in Japanese football history. Takarada Saori
was named as the Player of the match.
 Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal in the Savo Games in Lapinlahti,
Finland. Neeraj Chopra made a throw of 85.69 metres and won the gold medal.
 Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes won the Hungarian Grand Prix for the 6th time, at the
Hungaroring circuit, in Hungary.
 World Junior Squash Championships 2018 held in Chennai, India. A total of 171 players
including 116 men and 55 women from 28 countries took part in the World Junior Squash
Championship. Egypt defeated England & emerged as the 2018 World Junior Squash
Champions. India finished in 11th position.
 Indian Golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar grabbed his maiden European Tour title at the Fiji
International in Natadola Bay. It was Bhullar’s first win on the European Tour, ninth Asian
Tour title and 10th crown overall.
 Indian women chess team at the Asian Nations Cup 2018 clinched the gold in the Blitz event
held in Iran. While India (1st) finished with 21.5 points, Vietnam (2nd) settled for silver
with 18.5 and China (3rd) bagged bronze with 17.5.
 Veteran German striker Mario Gomez announced his retirement from international football.
The 33-year-old, who made his debut for Germany in 2007, scored 31 goals in 78
international appearances.
 India’s under-20 team won over Argentina under-20 in the final group stage match of the
COTIF Cup held in Valencia’s Els Arcs Stadium. India was playing in the tournament for the
first time.
 17-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal clinched his fourth Canadian Masters 1000 title
at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. He defeated Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas.
 Indian golfer Viraj Madappa became the youngest Indian to win on the Asian Tour, as he
won his first title on the Asian Tour at Take Solutions Masters in Bengaluru.
 International Master Nihal Sarin became the 53rd Grandmaster of India despite losing his
final round game to Richard Rapport of Hungary in the ninth and final round of Abu Dhabi
Masters.
 India’s Under-15 side emerged winners of the Women’s SAFF U-15 Championship after
defeating defending champions Bangladesh by a solitary goal in the final. The final match
played at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan.
 Indian women’s team fast bowler Jhulan Goswami announced her retirement from T20
Cricket Internationals.
 Australian cricketer Mitchell Johnson announced the retirement from all forms of cricket
almost three years after he stepped down from the international game.
46 |
Honours / Awards
Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards: Presidents confers to five MPs

 President Ram Nath Kovind has conferred Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards on five
Members of Parliament.
Recipients are :
 Dr Najma Heptulla: She is former Rajya Sabha MP.
She was selected for this award for the year 2013.
 Hukumdev Narayan Yadav: He is Lok Sabha MP. He
was selected for this award for the year for 2014.
 Ghulam Nabi Azad: He is Rajya Sabha and was
selected for this award for the year for 2015. He is leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha
representing Congress party.
 Dinesh Trivedi: He is Lok Sabha MP and was selected for 2016.
 Bhartruhari Mahatab: He is Lok Sabha MP and was selected for 2017.He is Biju Janata Dal
(BJD) leader.
 The award was established in 1992 by Shivraj Patil who was then Speaker of Lok Sabha.
 Indian Parliamentary Group selects outstanding sitting Member of Parliament after
considering his/her overall contribution in Parliament.
 The award is aimed to motivate elected representatives to work better.
Third Party Survey Report on Station Cleanliness: Jodhpur, Marwar ranked cleanliest
rail stations
 Union Railway Ministry released Third Party Survey Report on Station Cleanliness which
ranked 407 railway stations including 75 A1 category stations, 332 A category stations on
basis of cleanliness performance.
 Jodhpur ,Rajasthan was ranked first in survey A1 category stations, Marwar (Rajasthan)
first in A category stations and North Western Railway first among all Zonal Railways.
 This was third such audit cum cleanliness survey conducted by Indian Railways to increase
level of cleanliness under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan by identify unclean spots, improve
cleanliness standards and propel healthy competition among railway stations.
 It was conducted by Quality Council of India (QCI) with help of their partners. .
 Top 10 A1 category Stations (out of 75):
 Jodhpur (1st), Jaipur (2nd), Tirupati (3rd), Vijayawada (4th), Anand Vihar Terminal (5th),
Secunderabad Junction (6th), Bandra (7th), Hyderabad (8th), Bhubaneshwar (9th) and
Vishakhapatnam (10th).
 Top 10 A category stations (out of 332):
 Marwar (1st), Phulera (2nd), Warangal (3rd), Udaipur (4th), Jaialmer (5th), Nizamabad
(6th), Barmer (7th), Machiryal (8th), Mysore (9th) and Bhilwara (10th)..
 Top 10 Zonal Railways Rankings:
 North Western Railway (1st), South Central Railway (2nd), East Coast Railway (3rd), South
East Central Railway (4th),Western Railway (5th), Southern Western Railway (6th),
Southern Railway (7th), Central Railway (8th), West Central Railway (9th) and Northeast
Frontiers Railway (10th).
General Suhag awarded US ‘Legion of Merit’

 The United States government has awarded the Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) to
General
 Dalbir Singh Suhag (Retired), of the Indian-Army" for exceptionally meritorious service as
chief of the Army staff, Indian Army.
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 The award was presented to General Suhag on August 17, 2018, at Pentagon, Washington
DC, in the presence of his family members and the Indian Military
Attache to the United States of America.
 The Legion of Merit to General Dalbir Singh was announced by the US
Government in March 2016 when he was in chair as the Chief of Army
Staff, with the intention of conferring the award to him during his
official visit to the United States in April 2016.
 However, procedural delays in obtaining necessary government
sanction for the award presentation resulted in this not being presented
during the official visit. General Dalbir Singh subsequently retired on
December 31, 2016.
 The citation of the award stated that in the period August 2014 to April 2016 as Chief of
Army Staff, Indian Army, Gen Dalbir Singh rendered exceptionally meritorious service.
 The Legion of Merit is awarded in four degrees; Degree of Chief Commander; Degree of
Commander; Degree of Officer; and Degree of Legionnaire.
 It is noteworthy that the award of Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) to Gen Dalbir
Singh (Retired) is only the second time that an Indian military officer is being awarded this
specific degree, the first being General Rajendra singhji Jadeja in 1946.
Rajiv Sadbhavna Award confreres to Gopalkrishna Gandhi

 Former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi was honoured with 2018- Rajiv Gandhi
Sadbhavna Award for promoting communal harmony and
peace.
 The award will be presented to Gopalkrishna Gandhi at a
special ceremony on August 20 at Jawahar Bhawan.
 The award, which carries a citation and cash amount of
Rs 10 lakh, is given on the occasion of the birthday of
former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
 It was instituted to commemorate the lasting
contribution made by him to promote peace, communal harmony and fight against violence.
 Former recipients of the award include Mother Teresa, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Mohammed
Yunus, Lata Mangeshkar, Sunil Dutt, Dilip Kumar, Kapila Vatsyayan, Teesta Setalvad, Swami
Agnivesh, K R Narayanan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Muzaffar Ali and Shubha Mudgal
 Rajiv Gandhi was born on August 20, 1944, to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and
Feroz Gandhi.
Indian-Origin Mathematician Akshay Venkatesh Wins Prestigious Fields Medal

 Akshay Venkatesh, a renowned Indian-Australian mathematician, is one of four winners of
mathematics’ prestigious Fields medal, known as the Nobel Prize for math.
 New Delhi-born Venkatesh, 36, who is currently teaching at Stanford University, has won
the Fields Medal for his profound contributions to an exceptionally broad range of subjects
in mathematics.
 Each winner receives a 15,000 Canadian-dollar cash prize.
 The other three winners are: Caucher Birkar, a Cambridge University professor of Iranian
Kurdish origin; Germany’s Peter Scholze, who teaches at the University of Bonn and Alessio
Figalli, an Italian mathematician at ETH Zurich.
Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve Becomes 11th Biosphere Reserve

 The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve has become the 11th Biosphere Reserve from
India that has been included in the UNESCO designated World Network of Biosphere
Reserves (WNBR).
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 The decision to include Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve in WNBR was taken at the
30th Session of International Coordinating Council (ICC) of Man and Biosphere (MAB)
Programme of UNESCO held at Palembang, Indonesia, from July 23-27, 2018.
 India has 18 Biosphere Reserves and with the inclusion of Khangchendzonga, the number
of internationally designated WNBR has become 11, with 7 Biosphere Reserves being
domestic Biosphere Reserves.
 Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve in Sikkim is one of the highest ecosystems in the
world, reaching elevations of 1, 220 metres above sea-level.
 It includes a range of ecolines , varying from sub-tropic to Arctic, as well as natural forests
in different biomes, that support an immensely rich diversity of forest types and habitats.
 The core area of the Biosphere Reserve is a major transboundary Wildlife Protected Area.
 The southern and central landscape, which makes up 86% of the core area, is situated in
the Greater Himalayas.
 The northern part of the area accounts for 14% is characterized by trans-Himalayan
features.
 Buffer zones are being developed to promote eco-tourism activities.
 Plantation and soil conservation work is also being carried out.
 The core zone - Khangchendzonga National Park was designated a World Heritage Site in
2016 under the ‘mixed’ category.
 Many of the mountains, peaks, lakes, caves, rocks, Stupas (shrines) and hot springs function
as pilgrimage sites.
 Over 118 species of the large number of medicinal plants found in Dzongu Valley in north
Sikkim are of ethno-medical utility.
 The transition zone is targeted for eco-development activities, afforestation, plantation of
medicinal herbs and soil conservation measures.
 Rifleman Aurangzeb and Major Aditya Kumar of Indian Army will be conferred the Shaurya
Chakra along with 18 others Armed Forces Personnel and members of Paramilitary Forces.
Besides, Sepoy Vrahma Pal Singh will be awarded with Kirti Chakra posthumously.
 Three US scientists James Allison, Carl June and Steven Rosenberg were declared winners
2018 Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research. They were
awarded in recognition of their research in immunology and translation of their ideas into
effective therapies that have led to innovative treatments for cancer, HIV and other
diseases.
 Delhi government’s additional director of health, SK Arora was awarded prestigious World
Health Organization (WHO) World No Tobacco Day 2017 Award for his extraordinary
contribution towards tobacco control.
 PepsiCo's India-born CEO Indra Nooyi will be honoured with the Game Changer of the Year
award by a global cultural organisation Asia Society in recognition of her business
achievements, humanitarian record and advocacy for women and girls around the world.
 Former England captain David Beckham will receive the UEFA President's Award for his
contribution to football and promoting the sport in "every corner of the planet".
 The Maharashtra government has appointed Bollywood actor Raveena Tandon as the
brand ambassador of the city-based Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). SGNP is a vast
treasure of flora and fauna in Mumbai city and it also provides water to a major part of the
city.
 Indian film 'Newton' bagged the best film award at the 3rd edition of the 2018 BRICS Film
Festival.
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Obituaries
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee passes away

 Veteran political leader, prolific writer and former Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari
Vajpayee passed away in New Delhi. He was 93.
 He was Prime Minister thrice in 1996 (13 days), 1998-1999 and
1999-2004 (making him first non-Congress leader to have completed
full term as Prime Minister).
About Atal Bihari Vajpayee
 He was born on 25th December 1924 in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
He was amongst founder members of erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh
(and was its president in 1968 upon death of Deendayal Upadhyaya)
which later became known as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
 He parliamentarian for over 47 years elected to Lok Sabha for 10 times (elected for first
time in 1957 from Balrampur constituency in Uttar Pradesh) and 2 times to Rajya Sabha.
 During first non-Congress Government of Prime Minister Morarji Desai in Centre he had
served as Minister of External Affairs.
 He served as PM of India between 1996 and 2004 in three non-consecutive terms viz. May
1996 (for 13 days), 1998–1999 (for 11 months) and 1999–2004. During his second term as
PM, he had ordered
thermonuclear
tests in May 1998
which were seen as
strategic
masterstroke to
blunt Pakistan’s
nuclear ambitions.
 Some of his pet
projects launched
during his tenure as PM were National Highway Development Project (Golden
Quadrilateral) and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. In 2009, he
had retired from active politics due to health concerns.
 He was awarded the India’s highest civilian honour ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 2015. His birthday is
celebrated as Good Governance Day (GGD) by the Central Government since 2014 to foster
awareness among the people of accountability in government.
 His poetry collection is released in his book Meri Ekyaavan Kavitayein (My 51 Poems).
M. Karunanidhi, a legendary leader of Tamil Nadu, passed away

 M. Karunanidhi, the stalwart of the Dravid politics of the South and a legendary leader of
Tamil Nadu, passed away on 7 August 2018.
 M. Karunanidhi was a 5-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He
became the third Chief Minister of the state in 1969 when he
took his first term as Chief Minister after demise of the then CM
and his political guru Annadurai.
 He became state’s CM later in 1971, 1989, 1996 and 2006. He
was President of the Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) since
last 50 years.
 Around 5 years back he had declared his son M.K.Stalin as his
political heir. Karunanidhi breathed his last at Kaveri Hospital in
Chennai on 7 August 2018.
50 |
 He was a prolific writer and scriptwriter for Tamil films before his entry into politics. He
continued writing film scripts even taking plunge into politics.
 He was a pillar of the Dravid movement started by Periyar. He was one among the so-called
Dravid Trinity, the other two being Periyar and Annadurai.
 Despite belonging to a regional party, Karunanidhi’s political identity was acknowledged
across the country.
 He was perhaps the only leader who was able to part of every type of coalition government
at the Centre – be it Congress-led UPA, the BJP-led NDA or the various opposition fronts.
 However, an unprecedented political drama took place after his death at the AIADM
government rejected DMK’s demand of burial of the late leader on the banks of Marina
Beach in Chennai.
 DMK approached the Madras High Court, which on 8 August 2018 gave its ruling in favour
of DMK. Later on that day Karunanidhi was cremated with full state honours at the Marina
Beach.
V.S. Naipaul, Who Explored Colonialism through Unsparing Books, Dies at 85

 Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul (85), the Trinidad-born Indian origin author, has passed
away in London, England on August 12, 2018.
 He was known for his critical commentary on colonialism, idealism, religion and politics.
Born in 1932 in Trinidad into an Indian Hindu family, he wrote more than 30 books of
fiction and non-fiction including ‘A Bend in the River’, ‘A House for Mr Biswas’, The Writer
and the World, Magic Seeds, etc.
 He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001 for having united perceptive narrative and
incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories.
Veteran parliamentarian Somnath Chatterjee dies at 89

 Somnath Chatterjee, one of the longest innings of any MP in the Lok Sabha, passed away
following a heart attack. He was aged 89.
 The stalwart of Indian politics has delivered more than 500 speeches in Parliament.
 He was born in Tezpur, Assam in 1929 to NC Chatterjee, who was
once president of the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha, and
Binapani Debi.
 He was educated in Kolkata and the United Kingdom.
 A Barrister-at-Law from Middle Temple in UK, Chatterjee was a
member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for four decades
from 1968 to 2008, till he was expelled.
 In 1971, he became a member of the Lok Sabha for the first time
supported by the CPM.
 He was subsequently re-elected nine times, except in 1984 when he lost to Mamata
Banerjee - a win that catapulted her into politics.
 He was honoured with the ‘Outstanding Parliamentarian Award’ in 1996.
 Unanimously Elected speaker of the Lok Sabha in 2004 during the UPA-I government, he
was also the first communist in the country to become Speaker.
 His book 'Keeping The Faith: Memoirs Of A Parliamentarian' in 2010.
Legendary Indian cricketer and former captain Ajit Wadekar passed away
 Legendary Indian cricketer and former captain Ajit Wadekar passed away on 15 August
2018 at the age of 77.
 Wadekar made his debut in 1966 against the West Indies and went on to represent India in
37 Tests and two one-day internationals.
51 |
 He was one of the few cricketers to represent the country as a Test player, captain, coach
and also went on to become the chairman of selectors.
 Wadekar was honoured with the Padma Shri in
1972.
 As an aggressive left-hand batsman, Wadekar
went on to score 2,113 runs at an average of
31.07 in Tests. He making his first-class debut in
the 1958-59 season.
 His only Test century. a match-winning 143, came
against New Zealand in Wellington in 1968.
 Wadekar’s last Test was against England in 1974.
 For his invaluable contribution to Indian cricket, Wadekar was also awarded the CK
Nayudu Lifetime achievement.
Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of United Nation, dies at 80

 Former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan died at the age of 80.
 The Nobel Peace Prize winner served as the U.N. special envoy to Syria, and was the first
black African to be appointed as Secretary-General.
 He served two terms in the post from 1996-2006.
 In 2016, Mr. Annan was named by the Myanmar
government to head a panel to find “lasting
solutions” to the conflict in Rakhine state, where
human rights groups have documented widespread
abuses against the minority Rohingya Muslims.
 Under his leadership, the UN introduced the
Millennium Development Goals in 2000, in which countries of the world committed to
ending poverty within 15 years.
 Under his leadership two intergovernmental bodies, the Peace-building Commission and
the Human Rights Council, were established.
 Mr. Annan played a central role in the creation of the Global Fund to fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria. He launched the Global Compact initiative, the world’s largest
effort to promote corporate social responsibility, in 1999.
 Kofi Annan was a national of African country Ghana and was the Secretary-General of the
United Nations Organisation (UNO) from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006.
 He was the 7th Secretary-General of the body and was the first black African to be
appointed to this prestigious post.
 Kofi Annan was a son of Ghana and felt a special responsibility towards Africa.
 He was particularly committed to African development and deeply engaged in many
initiatives, including his chairmanship of the Africa Progress Panel and his early leadership
of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).
 In 2001, Kofi Annan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace along with the United Nations.
Spiritual guru Dada JP Vaswani dies in Pune

 Spiritual leader Dada Vaswani passes away at the age of 99 in
Pune.
 He was also the head of the Sadhu Vaswani mission.
 Dada JP Vaswani was born on August 2, 1918, at Hyderabad-
Sind in a pious Sindhi family.
 He was a universally acclaimed humanitarian, philosopher,
educator, writer, powerful orator, messiah of non-violence, and
non-sectarian spiritual leader.
52 |
 He had actively worked in the field of promotion of vegetarianism and animal rights.
 Dada Vaswani's birthday – August 2 - is celebrated as a Global Forgiveness Day.
 PM Narendra Modi had praised Dada Vaswani on his 99th birthday last year.
 Dada Vaswani was the spiritual head of the Sadhu Vaswani Mission founded by his guru,
Sadhu TL Vaswani.
 The Mission is a non-profit organisation headquartered in Pune.
 Vaswani had authored more than 150 self-help books.
 Dada Vasvani regarded as a great inspirational writer, was also a recipient of the U Thant
Peace Award in April 1998 for his dedicated service to the cause of world peace.
 Uri Avnery, a trailblazing Israeli journalist and peace activist and one of the first to openly
advocate for a Palestinian state passed away at the age of 94 in Tel Aviv after suffering a
stroke.
 US Senator John McCain, a celebrated Vietnam war hero, passed away after losing a battle
to brain cancer. He was 81.
 Chhattisgarh Governor Balramji Das Tandon passed away at the age of 90.
 US singer Aretha Franklin has died at the age of 76. The “Queen of Soul” was born in
Memphis, Tennessee, and made her debut in 1961.
 Eminent Indian writer and journalist Kuldip Nayar passed away in New Delhi following a
brief illness. He was 95.
 Rajan Nanda, a noted industrialist associated with which group Escorts Group passed away
on 6 August 2018. The 76-year old Rajan Nanda was Chairman & Managaing Director
(CMD) of the Escorts Group.
53 |
Important Days
 August 1-7 : World Breastfeeding Week

 Theme of 2018 : BREASTFEEDING: Foundation of Life
 August 6 : Hiroshima Day also called Anti Nuclear Day

 Theme of 2018 : No Theme
 August 9 : Nagasaki Day

 August 9 : Kranti Diwas (Quit India Movement)

 August 9 : International Day of the World's Indigenous People

 Theme of 2018 : Indigenous peoples’ migration and movement
 August 12 : International Youth Day

 Theme of 2018 : Safe Spaces for Youth
 August 14 : Pakistan's Independence Day

 August 15 : Indian Independence Day

 August 19 : World Humanitarian Day

 Theme of 2018 : WHD Campaign: #NotATarget
 August 20 : Sadbhavna Divas (Birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi)

 August 29 : National Sports Day (Dhyanchand's Birth Day)

 August 29 : International Day against Nuclear Tests

 August 30 : Small Industry Day

54 |
Foreign Visits / Foreign Visitors
 Visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Nepal in between August 30-31, 2018.
 Visit of External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj to Vietnam and Cambodia in between
August 27-30, 2018.
 Visit of External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj to Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz
Republic and Republic of Uzbekistan in between August 2- 5, 2018.
Source of Information
 http://pib.nic.in
 http://india.gov.in
 http://www.ibef.org
 http://thehindu.com
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Compendium-August, 2018

NITI Aayog Launches Global Hackathon to Crowdsource Mobility Solutions

Child Mortality Rate: India is far behind to meet 2030 targets

Union Government introduces Atal ranking for institutions to promote innovation

World’s first thermal battery plant to be unveiled in Andhra Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh Assembly passes bill for creation of 3 new districts

Rajya Sabha passes amendments to SC/ST Act

Freedom Baby: India’s first Humboldt penguin dies

September 2018 will be observed National Nutrition Month

1st ‘Hindu court’ set up on lines of Sharia system

Campaign against sexual abuse of children launched by Amnesty International India

NOTA option cannot be permitted in Rajya Sbha polls: SC

Government announces 50% reservation for women in RPF jawans recruitment

Chhattisgarh’s Naya Raipur will be the new name as Atal Nagar

Voluntary retirement is not a right: Supreme Court

Lok Sabha passes Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2018

22 new AIIMS coming up across the country: J P Nadda

Parliament passes bill to provide constitutional status to National Commission for

Mahabaleshwar became the wettest place in India during 2018: IMD

Parliament passes Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018

Government approves 122 new research projects under IMPRINT scheme

India's first biofuel flight, operated by SpiceJet, undertakes maiden voyage

Rajasthan first State to implement biofuel policy

ISRO postpones launch of Chandrayaan-2 mission

4th BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal

6th RCEP Trade Ministers’ Meeting held in Singapore

“Scutoid”: The newest shape discovered by the scientists in human cells

Venezuela will continue to sell oil to India despite US ban

World’s Most Liveable City: Vienna tops in list by Economist survey

Navlekha: Google unveils new platform for Indic language publishers

Malaysia announced cancelling major Chinese-backed infrastructure projects

11th World Hindi Conference begins in Mauritius

Gaofen 11: China launches high-resolution Earth observation satellite

TESS: NASA’s planet hunting Spacecraft is now operational

Delhi Gujarat as the most investor-friendly state in India

HAL becomes first PSU to transact on TReDS: RXIL

2GUD : The new portal launched by Indian e-commerce behemoth Flipkart

India poised to overtake US to become 2nd largest middle-class market

Cabinet clears Rs.1,600-crore mission to map coasts

Supersonic Interceptor Missile Successfully Test Fired In Odisha

Maitree 2018: Indo -Thailand Joint Military Exercise to be held

Xingkong-2: China successfully tests first hypersonic aircraft

Vostok-2018: Russia to conduct largest military exercise in September 2018

DAC approves procurement of 111 utility helicopters for Indian Navy

Iran unveils 'first domestically manufactured' fighter jet

Pitch Black 2018 Exercise concludes in Australia

ATGM HELINA successfully test fired at Pokhran range

Imran Khan sworn in as Pakistan’s PM

TRAI chairman R.S. Sharma gets extension

Rekha Sharma appointed as New National Commission for Women Chairperson

Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy appointed DRDO Chief

Scott Morrison elected as the new Prime Minister of Australia

President Ram Nath Kovind appointed Governors for 7 States

18th Asian Games inaugurated in Jakarta

1. Athletics Men's Shot put Tajinderpal Singh Toor

2. Athletics Men's Javelin Throw Neeraj Chopra

3. Athletics Men's 800m Manjit Singh

4. Athletics Men's Triple Jump Arpinder Singh

5. Athletics Women's Heptathlon Swapna Barman

6. Athletics Men's 1500m Jinson Johnson

M. R. Poovamma, Saritaben Gaikwad,

8. Boxing Men's Light Fly (49kg) Amit Panghal

9. Bridge Men's Pair Pranab Bardhan, Shibhnath Sarkar