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Kerala Current Affairs 2020
Table of Contents
Kerala Current Affairs - January 2020 ...............................................................................................................3
Kerala Current Affairs - February 2020 .............................................................................................................9
Kerala Current Affairs - March 2020 ................................................................................................................ 13
Kerala Current Affairs - April 2020 .................................................................................................................. 16
Kerala Current Affairs - May 2020.................................................................................................................... 20
Kerala Current Affairs - June 2020 ................................................................................................................... 26
Kerala Current Affairs - July 2020 .................................................................................................................... 28
Kerala Current Affairs - August 2020 ............................................................................................................... 31
Kerala Current Affairs - September 2020 ........................................................................................................ 36

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Kerala Current Affairs - January 2020

President Kovind lays foundation stone of Lakshadweep’s 1st super specialty hospital at Kavaratti
On January 7, 2020, The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, who was on a first-ever 2-day Visit to the Union
Territory of Lakshadweep, has laid the foundation stone for Lakshadweep’s 1st Super Specialty
Hospital at Kavaratti.
Key Points:
i.Dineshwar Sharma,the Administrator of Lakshadweep along with other officials received the President at Agatti
Airport with a traditional welcome and was accorded a Guard of Honour from a joint group of 160 different forces.
ii.President also praised Rehmath Beegum Sailaniyoda, the only woman who received Padma Shri (1999) from
Lakshadweep in the field of Medicine.
About Lakshadweep:
Capital– Kavaratti
Formation– 1 November 1956
Administrator– Shri Dineshwar Sharma
Lakshadweep are a group of coral islands located south west off the coast of Kerala.
Eight States finalized Agriculture Export Policy by the Government of India

On January 5, 2020, As per Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA),
eight states namely Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Punjab, and Karnataka
finalized an action plan for Agriculture Export Policy (AEP) to enhance exports.
Key Points:
i.Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) ensures the involvement
for states in AEP.
ii.A MoU was signed with the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) to include co-operatives for
active role in AEP. Over 800 farmers producer organizations were signed the agreement.
iii.The product clusters selected are Jalandhar, Punjab (Potato), Sangli, Maharashtra (Grapes), Salem, Tamil Nadu
(Poultry products), Theni, Tamil Nadu (Banana), Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh (Mango), Indore, Madhya Pradesh
(Onion), Jodhpur, Rajasthan (Isabgol) and Chikkaballapur, Karnataka (Rose Onion).
iv.Under the guidance of APEDA, states are operating a market intelligence cell.
v.APEDA launched the Farmer connect portal on its website to interact with exporters.
About Agriculture Export Policy:
i.Agriculture Export Policy was approved by the Union Cabinet in 2018.
ii.It aims to increase the potential of Indian agriculture to make India a global power in agriculture.
iii.This policy also helps the government in achieving the target of doubling the farmer’s income from 30 billion USD
to 60 billion USD by 2022.
4 Indian airports received international recognition for reducing emissions as per ACI
On January 10, 2020 the Airports Authority of India(AAI) has announced that 4 Indian airports have received
international recognition for reducing the carbon emission level as per the standards set by Airports Council
International (ACI) for the grading. The 4 airports are as follows:
Si.No Airport City and State
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International
1 Kolkata, West Bengal
Airport
2 Biju Patnaik International Airport Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Varanasi, Uttar
3 Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport
Pradesh
4 Trivandrum International Airport Trivandrum, Kerala.

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International recognition under ACI:
i.The above 4 airports have managed a transition from level 1 to level 2 and the grading system of ACI was adopted
by these 4 airports in 2018.
ii.ACA program: The reduction in emissions was achieved by constituting Carbon Management Plan(CMP) and
reducing carbon emissions at airports as per the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) Program.
iii.As per data on CO2(carbon dioxide emissions) in 2015,16,17 and 18, these 4 airports witnessed reduction in the
emission levels.
iv.Grading system: ACI’s grading system is based on 4 categories. They are mapping, reduction, optimization and
neutrality.
v.Carbon mapping: It occurs when airport sets policy to reduce emissions and develop Carbon Footprint for the
airport’s scope-1 and scope-2 emission.
vi.Carbon reduction: it occurs when the airport shows the reduction in carbon emissions as compared to the base
year it has set.
About Airports Authority of India(AAI):
Headquarters- New Delhi.
Founded- 1 April 1995.
Chairman- Arvindh Singh.
Director General(DG) of Civil Aviation- Arun Kumar.
Kerala became 1st State to pass resolution against citizenship Amendment Act
On December 31, 2019, the state govt. of Kerala became the 1st state in the country to pass
a resolution scrapping the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA). The resolution was moved by Kerala’s Chief
Minister Shri Pinarayee Vijayan and was seconded by the Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala.
Key Points:
i.It was also stated in the assembly that when the Citizenship Act was passed in 1955, it followed all international
conventions. But the present act passed by the central govt was claimed to have not followed the international
conventions.
ii.Several other chief ministers of West Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi have also announced for not
implementing CAA in their states. Click here to learn more about the act.
About Kerala:
Chief Minister- Pinarayi Vijayan.
Governor- Arif Mohammad Khan.
Capital- Thiruvananthapuram.
Rivers- Cheruthoni river, Bharathapuzha river, Pamba river, Chalakudy river, Parambikulam river.
‘K-RERA’ launched in Kerala to bring transparency in real estate sector

On January 1, 2020, the Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan launched K-RERA (Kerala Real Estate Regulatory
Authority) to bring confidence and transparency in real estate sectors among the customers.
Key Points:
i.K-RERA will reduce real estate mafia and helps in creating valid relationships among promoter and buyer.
ii.As per the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016, State governments needs to establish RERA for the
effective regulations in real estate sectors.
iii.The buildings with more than eight apartments and real estate projects with 500 sq meters land or more will have
to be registered with RERA.
About Kerala:
Chief Minister- Pinarayi Vijayan
Governor- Arif Mohammad Khan
Capital City- Thiruvananthapuram
State Animal- Indian elephant
State Bird- Great hornbill

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State Flower- Golden shower tree
State Tree- Coconut
Kerala announces sports awards, Muhammad Anas wins GV Raja award

On 16 January 2020, Kerala Sports Minister EP Jayarajan Nambiar announced the sports award instituted by
Kerala State Sports Council. Indian Sprinter Mohammad Anas won GV Raja(Lt.Col. P. R. Godavarma Raja) award
(Male) for athletics.GV Raja award is awarded yearly for excellence in Sports.
Key Points:
i.Anas has won silver for India in the 400-meter race at Jakarta Asian games.
ii.In female category Puthenpurayil Chandrika Thulasi, Pallakad won the GV Raja award which carries prize money
of Rs 3 lakh and a citation.
iii.PC thulasi won bronze for India in the Asian games and performed well in other international badminton
tournaments.
iv.T P Ouseph,athletics coach selected for Olympian Suresh Babu lifetime achievement award which carries a prize of
Rs 2 lakh and a citation.
v.Satheevan Balan won the award for the best sports trainer by the Kerala State Sports Council.
vi.The awards was instituted by the Kerala State Sports Council in 2018.
About Kerala:
Capital- Thiruvananthapuram
State Animal- Indian Elephant
State Bird- Great hornbill
State Tree- Coconut
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated India’s 1st Super Fab Lab

On January 25, 2020 the Chief Minister(CM) of Kerala Shri Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated India’s 1st Super Fab
Lab facility at the Integrated Startup Complex of the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM). The lab which will function in
collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States(US), will work in enhancing the
hardware industry. It is the only such facility outside the United States(US).
Key Points:
i.The concept for the Super Fab Lab was by Dr. Neil Gershenfeld, Director of MIT Centre for Bits and Atoms. He set up
the 1st Fab Lab in the U.S. 17 years ago.
ii.The inauguration of the lab was done through remote control from Palakkad,Kerala where the CM attended a
function at the Government Polytechnic College.
About Kerala:
Chief Minister- Shri Pinarayi Vijayan.
Nickname(s)- God’s Own Country, Spice Garden of India, Land of Coconuts.
Dams- Idukki Dam, Malampuzha dam, Parambikulam dam, Neyyar dam.
Global investor meet ASCEND 2020 held in Kochi, Kerala

A two day organised Global Investors Meet – ASCEND 2020 was held in Kochi, Kerala at Lulu Bolgatty
International Convention Centre, Grand Hyatt, from January 9-10. The meet was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of
Kerala Shri Pinarayi Vijayan and was organised by states Department of Industries. Totally Rs 1
lakh crore worth investment proposals were received.The key highlights of the meet are as follows:
Global investor meet ASCEND 2020:
i.Wage subsidy scheme: Wage subsidy scheme was unveiled during the meet . As per the scheme Wage subsidy will
be provided for the first 5 years for new ventures getting registered on April 1, 2020.

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The benefit will only be available to those units that provides ESI (Employee State Insurance) and PF (Provident
Fund) benefits to workers. This would benefit 37 lakh people.
ii.Proposed mega projects: Mega projects are those that has more than Rs 100 crore investment. A total of 18 mega
projects were announced by the state govt. Some of the planned mega projects in the state includes
Propylene Oxide plant: A Propylene Oxide (formula:C3H6O) manufacturing plant of 2,00,000 MPA (megapascal)
capacity in the vicinity of BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited)-Kochi Refinery.
PVC plant: A PVC (polymerizing vinyl chloride) manufacturing facility of capacity 150,000 TPA (Tonnes Per Annum).
Petrochemical park: Rs. 1,864-crore KINFRA (Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation)-initiated
Petrochemical Park of international standards at Ambalamugal in Ernakulam district.
KINFRA also plans to set up Rs 400 crore logistic hub in Palakkad (Kerala) and also to set up cryogenic warehouse in
Kochi’s Puthuvypeen.
Defence Park: Rs.131 crore Defence park will be set up at 60 acres Ottapalam of Palakkad district of Kerala with
central government assistance under the Modified Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation scheme(MIIUS).
Electronic hardware park: An electronic hardware park will be set up in Ernakulam district of the state.
Polymer plant: Rs 900-crore Super Absorbent Polymer Plant will be set up considering the demand for diapers and
female hygiene products besides the medical and agriculture industry.
Fibreboard plant: A medium density fiberboard plant in Perumbavoor and integrated solid waste management
systems at Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Malappuram will be built.
Malappuram 1st in EIU report: It is also to be noted that recently Malappuram city of Kerala was ranked 1st in the
list of cities based on fastest growing urban regions/ fastest growing cities in the world released by the Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU).
iii.Other projects worth: Rs. 32,008 crore proposals were received at the event from 138 projects. Overall, the event
received 164 investment proposals.
iv.Pact by KIFML & ADIA: Kerala infrastructure Fund Management Ltd.(KIFML) and Abu Dhabi investment
Authority (ADIA) have signed 1 projected but have designated Rs 8110 crore for six projects. ADIA has also
promised to invest Rs 66,900 crore for logistics park and other projects.
v.Investors & investment worth: Some of the major investors and their investment worth are Kitex group-Rs 3500
crore; MSME (Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) Consortium- Rs 2050 crore; Joy Alukkas-Rs 1500
crore; Ashique Chemicals and Cosmetics- Rs 1000 crore; Aerotropolis Kannur- Rs 1000 crore and Delwan group,
Qatar- Rs 1000 crore.
About Kerala:
Chief Minister- Pinarayi Vijayan.
Rivers- Cheruthoni river, Bharathapuzha river, Pamba river, Chalakudy river, Parambikulam river.
National Parks(NP)- Silent Valley NP, Pampadum Shola NP (smallest NP in Kerala), Eravikulam NP, Mathikettan
Shola NP.
3rd International symposium on marine ecosystems challenges and opportunities (MECOS) 2020 held in
Kochi, Kerala
The 3rd edition of the International Symposium on Marine Ecosystems Challenges and Opportunities (MECOS-
3) was held at Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) in Kochi, Kerala from 7 – 10 January 2020
with an aim to address the concerns of marine ecosystem and will make new strategies for sustainable utilisation of
marine wealth.
Key Points:
i.Organized by the Marine Biological Association of India (MBAI), the Symposium saw the participation of marine
scientists, oceanographers, fishery researchers and marine biotechnologists from across the world to discuss various
topics, including the impact of climate crisis in marine ecosystems and unusual warming of the Arabian sea.
ii.The symposium also focused on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-14)of the United Nations (UN),which says
Conserve and Sustainably use the oceans and its resources for sustainable development.
iii.The previous editions of MECOS brought together marine scientists, researchers and teachers across the world.
About Kerala:
Capital– Thiruvananthapuram

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Governor– Arif Mohammad Khan
Chief Minister– Pinarayi Vijayan
National parks– Anamudi Shola National Park ,Eravikulam National Park, Mathikettan Shola National Park,
Pambadum Shola National Park , Periyar National Park ,Silent Valley National Park.
About MBAI
It functions within the premises of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) at Cochin, Kerala, India.
Formed– 1958
Journal– JMBAI
President– Gopalakrishnan. A
International Conclave on ‘Globalising Indian Thought’ held in IIM-Kozhikode from January 16-18, 2020
The Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIM Kozhikode), Kerala has hosted an ‘International
Conclave on Globalising Indian Thought’ (GIT2020) from January 16-18, 2020. The three-day Academic conclave
was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, through video conference.
Key Points:
i.PM unveiled and dedicate a full-size statue of Swami Vivekananda, in front of the MDC Complex of IIM Kozhikode.
ii.The Conclave focused on India’s thought that are Satyam-Truth, Nithyam-Sustainability Purnam-Wholeness and
revealed India’s path towards development in the global market.
iii.On January 18, 2020 the valedictory function was attended by Dr. Kiran Bedi, Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor,
Puducherry, and Prof. Anil Kumar Gupta, renowned academician and activist.
iv.Nearly 100 world-class research papers will be presented at the conclave and the awards will be presented to the
best research papers during the closing ceremony.
EIU survey 2015-20: 3 of world’s 10 fastest-growing cities in Kerala; Malappuram tops list
On January 08,2020 latest ranking based on fastest growing urban regions/ fastest growing cities in the world
was released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). as per the report 3 of the cities in Kerala were ranked in the
top 10 places. Malappuram city of Kerala was ranked 1st in the list, while Kerala’s Kozhikode and Kollam cities were
ranked in the 4th and 10th place respectively.
EIU survey 2015-2020:
i.List preparation: The list was compiled on the basis of the data provided by the United Nations Population Division
(UNPD).
ii.Top rankers: Malappuram was followed by Can Tho region in Vietnam at 2nd spot and Suqian in China in the 3rd
spot.
iii.Cities in top 10 list: 1 city from Vietnam (Can Tho), 3 from China (Suqian, Suzhou and Putian), 1 city from
Nigeria(Abuja), 1 from UAE (United Arab Emirates) i.e., Sharjah and one from Oman(Muscat) were featured in the top
10 list.
iv.Other indian cities: Thrissur city of Kerala was ranked at the 13th spot with a growth rate of 30.2%. Surat
(Gujarat) was ranked at 27th spot and Tiruppur (Tamil Nadu) at the 30th spot.
v.Growth rate: Malappuram grew 44% from 2015 to 2020. In the past 5 years, Kozhikode had a growth rate of
34.5%, while Kollam had 31.1%.
vi.A similar study published by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) in November 2019 ranked Delhi in the 1st
spot of fastest growing cities list. The other Indian cities in the list were Bengaluru(Karnataka), Chennai (Tamil
Nadu), Hyderabad (Telangana) and Surat(Gujarat)
Rank:
Rank City Country
Malappuram
1 India
(Kerala)
4 Kozhikode (Kerala) India
10 Kollam (Kerala) India
2 Can Tho Vietnam

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3 Suqian China
About the Economist Intelligence Unit:
Fact- EIU, is a part of the popular Economist Magazine, provides forecasting and advisory services through research
and analysis.
Founded- 1946.
Headquarters- London, England.
Managing Director(MD)- Robin Bew.
Kerala Tourism’s disabled-friendly project won UNWTO’s Accessible Destination Awards 2019
On January 23, 2020, Kerala Tourism’s Barrier-Free Project has won global recognition with the United Nations
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as an “Emerging Global Destination” in the Accessible Destination Awards
2019 for South-Indian state category. The recognition is for the implementation of the project in the central Kerala
district of Thrissur (India’ s only destination to win the honour). Kerala is also the 1st Indian state to work as per the
UNWTO guidelines on making tourist destinations disabled-friendly.
Kerala Tourism Director P Bala Kiran IAS (Indian Administrative Service) received the award from UNWTO
Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili at 40th FITUR International Tourism Trade Fair in Madrid, Spain.
Key Points:
i.FITUR International Tourism Trade Fair: It is a meeting point of worldwide tourism professionals & also the 2nd
biggest global gathering of travel and tourism professionals.
ii.The Kerala tourism launched the barrier-free project in an effort of making 120 destinations across the state
disabled-friendly in March,2019.
iii.The disabled-friendly project provides facilities like Ramps, accessible toilets, lactation rooms, Braille pamphlets,
signage, touch-screen kiosks, audio and sign aids, wheelchairs & walking aids are the facilities.
About Kerala:
Chief Minister(CM)- Pinarayi Vijayan.
Journalist & Hindu group chairman N Ram honoured with Kerala’s national media award
On January 23, 2020 popular journalist and Chairman of the Hindu Group of Publications Shri N Ram was
honoured by Kerala Media Academy’s National media award as part of its 40th anniversary of formation. He was
awarded for his outstanding contribution to journalism. The award carried a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a citation and a
memento.
Key Points:
i.Award presentation: The award will be presented by the chief minister of Kerala Shri Pinarayi Vijayan by the end
of March 2020.
ii.Jury members: The selection was done by a jury which comprised of former Kerala state Education Minister M A
Baby, senior journalist Thomas Jacob, general education department secretary A Shajahan, and others.
Noted chess administrator Ummer Koya of Kerala dies at 69

On 14 January 2020, P.T. Ummer Koya, the former vice-president of world chess governing body FIDE
(International Chess Federation) from 1996 to 2006, has passed away at his residence at Panniyankara in
Kozhikode, Kerala after a protracted illness.He was 69.
i.Born on July 1, 1951 in Calicut, Kerala, Koya served as Joint Secretary and General Secretary of the All India Chess
Federation (AICF) from 1985-89 and 1989-2005 respectively for a total of 20 years. He was also the treasurer of the
Commonwealth Chess Association, England from 1994 to 2000.
ii.He has played a key role in establishing the Indian chess world by bringing major international tournaments
including the World Championship to India.

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Veteran south actress Jameela Malik passed away at 73
On January 28,2020 Veteran actress Jameela Malik, passed away at the age of 73 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala due
to age-related ailments.
Jameela Malik was the first Kerala woman who graduated from the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune,
Maharashtra. She was born in Kollam, Kerala.
Key Points:
i.She acted as a leading roles in Tamil ,Malayalam,Telugu movies & television (TV) serials.
ii.Her first movie was ‘Aadhyathe katha’ directed by KS Sethumadhavan.
iii.She was also noticed in films such as Ragging (1973) directed by NN Pisharody, Rajahamsam(1974), Lahari(1982),
Pandavapuram (1986).
Former Kerala Minister M. Kamalam passed away at 93

On January 30,2020 Former Kerala Minister & Senior Congress leader M.kamalam passed away at the age of 93 in
Kozhikode, Kerala due to age-related ailments. She was born on August 14,1926.
Key Points:
i.Kamalam was elected to the state assembly twice from Kalpetta, Kerala in 1980 &1982 and also served as
Cooperation Minister in the K Karunakaran cabinet from 1982-1987.
ii.She served as a KPCC (Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee) Vice-President, KPCC (Kerala Pradesh Congress
Committee) General Secretary & AICC (All India Congress Committee) member and also Chairperson of the Kerala
state Women’s Commission.
iii.She started her political career as the Councillor in Kozhikode Corporation.
Malayali novelist A Sethumadhavan’s first English novel, ‘The Cuckoo’s Nest’ published
Malayali novelist A Sethumadhavan’s ‘The Cuckoo’s Nest’ is his first novel in English and was published by Niyogi
Books. In this book, the author attempts to fight against the division in society through the character of the eternal
optimist, Madam Agatha, a former nun and also other Indian girl-child raised in an orthodox community. The story
progresses to show how these ‘birds’ take flight and become self-reliant.
About A Sethumadhavan:
i.A Sethumadhvan who was popularly known as Sethu was born on June 5, 1942 in Chendamangalam village in
Kerala.
ii.Velutha koodarangal, Thaliyola, Kiratham, Niyogam, Sethuvinte Kathakal and Kaimudrakal are some of his literary
works.
iii.He bagged many awards including the Vayalar award, Odakkuzhal award, and Kerala Sahitya Akademi award.
iv.He worked in Central government departments in North India, Indian Meteorological, in-state bank group and also
in Corporation Bank and South Indian Bank.
Kerala Current Affairs - February 2020

22nd edition of India International Seafood Show (IISS) 2020 commenced in Kochi, Kerala
A 3-day long 22nd edition of India International Seafood Show (IISS), 2020 based on the theme “Blue Revolution-
Beyond Production to Value Addition” has commenced at Hotel Grand Hyatt in Kochi, Kerala.
The show is being organized jointly by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) under Ministry
of Commerce and Industry & the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI).
Key Points:
i.It is a biennial show, this time being held in Kochi after 12 years, its 21st edition was held in Goa in January 2018.
ii.Partakers:More than 200 exhibitors, 350 stalls and over 5000 delegates, including foreign delegates, are expected
to attend the event at Kochi.
iii.Purpose:It provides a platform for partnership between Indian exporters and foreign importers of Indian marine
products.

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iv.Significance: The India International Seafood Show is one of the oldest and largest seafood shows in the world. It
attracts marine product traders from major markets in the United States, European Union, Japan, South-East Asia and
other countries.
v.Export of marine products by India: During the year 2018-19, India exported more than 14,37,000 tonnes of
marine products which according to the final figures is $6.70 billion.
vi.Goal: Under the multi-pronged strategy, exports of marine products have been set at a target of US $ 15 billion in
the next 5 years.
India targets seafood export at $10 billion by 2020
As India is the second largest aquaculture producer in the world, it had set the target of seafood export at $10
billion by this year (i.e 2020).
About Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI):
Formation– 1973
Headquarters– Kochi, Kerala
About Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA):
Headquarters– Kochi, Kerala
Founded– 1972
Chairman– K S Srinivas
Kerala budget 2020: 1000 Kudumbashree hotels to serve meals at Rs 25

On February 7, 2020, while presenting budget for 2020-21, Kerala’s Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has unveiled
an initiative of setting up 1,000 ‘Kudumbashree’ hotels to provide subsidised Kerala meals at Rs 25. In this regard, a
budget hotel in each of the 1034 local bodies will be set up.
Key Points:
i.Kudumabshree has also entered into an agreement for manufacturing products such as umbrella, coconut products
and curry powders on cluster basis and selling it through the outlets of the Civil Supplies Corporation.
ii.Apart from this ₹6,000 crore has been allocated towards infra projects; among others.
iii.As per Kerala government’s Economic Survey for 2018-2019, state’s Gross Domestic Product pegged at 7.5% as
against 7.3% in 2017-18.
About Kerala
State bird– Great hornbill
State animal– Indian elephant
State flower– Golden shower tree, State tree– Coconut
Dial 112: Kerala gets integrated number for police, medical and fire emergencies
On February 22, 2020, The Kerala Police have operationalised Dial 112, the pan-India number of the Emergency
Response Support System (ERSS), introduced by the Ministry of Home Affairs, for citizens in emergencies. The state
launched the integrated emergency number in all 19 police districts for police, medical and fire emergencies, and also
the women’s helpline.
Key Points:
i.The emergency number,brought by the ERSS, is a consolidation of police (100), fire (101), health (108) helpline
numbers.
ii.With the new system in place ,the State control unit of the ERSS operates at the headquarters of the Kerala Police
and its activities are monitored by an official of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police / Assistant Commandant.
iii.More than 100 personnel are deployed to the unit which gets calls from the public and initiates steps for
emergency support. The centre also oversee the action taken by district coordination centres, which will monitor
calls transferred from the response centre.
About Kerala:

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Fruit– Jackfruit
Tree– Coconut tree
Kerala to hosts Intl conference on Climate change & Ocean health “CLIMFISHCON-2020”
The “CLIMISHCON” is a Four-day International Conference on changes in Hydrological cycle, Ocean ecosystem,
Fisheries and Food security due to Global climate change with the theme ‘Climate Change-Effective Adaptation for
a Secure Future’. And the conference is going to be held at the Le Meridian Convention center in Kochi,
Kerala from February 11 to February 14, 2020.
Key points:
i.The conference is jointly organized by the Department of Fisheries, Kerala and the CUSAT (Cochin University of
Science and Technology) School of Industries Fisheries.
ii.More than 300 delegates from 12 countries including researchers, administrators, scientists, academicians,
policymakers, entrepreneurs, fishers, aqua farmers and students are going to participate in the conference and they
will discuss about the strategies to deal with changing hydrological cycles and preservation of Ocean and other
Aquatic Biodiversity from climate change.
About Kerala:
Capital- Thiruvananthapuram
Dams- Banasura Sagar, Kakkayam, Neyyar, Parambikulam, Idukki, Mullaperiyar, Malampuzha.
1 in 3 payments for maternity benefit scheme ‘PMMVY’ credited to wrong account: NITI Aayog
report
On February 23, 2020, According to “Transforming Nutrition in India: Poshan Abhiyan”, a 2nd progress report on
Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN) Abhiyaan (Nutrition Mission) until
September 2019, released by the NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog, worryingly 1 in 3 of
Aadhaar-based payments for Centre’s maternity benefit scheme/ Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana
(PMMVY) was credited to a wrong bank account. As per the report, 28% of 31.29 lakh of all Aadhaar-based
payments are going to different bank accounts than what had been provided by the beneficiaries.
Key Points:
i.As per the data gathered until March 31, 2019, the report notes that 66% of the direct benefit transfers for the
PMMVY were based on Aadhaar.
ii.According to a telephone survey of 5,525 beneficiaries, undertaken by the Ministry of Women and Child
Development (WCD), showed that just 60% of beneficiaries under the scheme were aware of the receipt of the
benefits and the bank accounts to which the money was remitted.
iii.Background: There have been records of long term delays with some beneficiaries having to wait for 2 years
period to get the benefit. They also facing problems in filling up the 32-page application form and providing nine
identity documents.
iv.Ranking of the states:
The report also ranked states & Union Territories to measure their readiness to execute the programme across 4
themes: governance and institutional mechanism; strategy and planning; service delivery and capacities; and
programme activities and intervention coverage. The States were classified into large and small categories for a
better comparison.Among the 19 large States, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh scored the top 3
ranks with the scheme implementation score of over 70%. While, Among the 8 small States, Mizoram and Sikkim
scored above 75%. Similarly, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh, and Daman and Diu scored above 75% & got top 3
spot among 7 Union Territories list.

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Top 3 states in the ranking

Rank Large States (19) Small States (8) Union Territories (7)
1 Andhra Pradesh Mizoram Dadra and Nagar Haveli
2 Chhattisgarh Sikkim Chandigarh
3 Madhya Pradesh Nagaland Daman and Diu
Bottom 3 states in the ranking
Karnataka- 17th Tripura-6th Andaman and Nicobar Islands-5th
Assam-18th Manipur-7th Delhi-6th
Kerala -19th Goa-8th Lakshadweep-7th
v.Way forward: The report stressed to simplify the documentation and operational rules to avoid delays in money
transfer & also proposed to rationalize the mandatory waiting period of 180 days before the second installment is
released as well as the compulsory birth certificate for the release of the 3rd installment.
About PMMVY:
It is a maternity benefit programme being implemented in all districts of the country with effect from 1st January,
2017.Under this, pregnant women and lactating mothers get ₹5,000 for their 1st child in 3 instalments (of Rs1,000,
Rs2,000 and Rs2,000) on fulfilling some conditions including early registration of pregnancy, Ante-natal check-up,
and Registration of the birth of the child and completion of first cycle of vaccination for the first living child of the
family.The amount is meant to compensate women for the loss of wages and is aimed at ensuring a healthy
nutritional development of the newborn baby.
Kerala CM launched ”Yodhavu” mobile app to combat drug menace

On February 14, 2020 Kerala Chief Minister (CM) Pinarayi Vijayan launched “Yodhav” (Warrior) mobile
app (application) at Kochi, Kerala, through which the public can inform police about drug abuse & its distribution.
Key Points:
i.The application was introduced by the Kochi city police and the informer’s identity could be kept secret.
ii.Other Inaugurations:The Kerala CM also inaugurated a modern cyberdom cyber crime police station, new
building of the Infopark police station, regional forensic science laboratory’s upper & lower subordinate quarters at
TCS (TataConsultancy Services) auditorium, Infopark, Kochi, Kerala.
iii.Pinarayi Vijayan also unveiled the model of a new complex for Kochi city police constructed at Marine Drive, Kochi,
Kerala.
About Kerala:
Chief Minister (CM)- Pinarayi Vijayan.
National Parks (NP)- Anamudi Shola NP, Eravikulam NP, Mathikettan Shola NP, Pambadum Shola NP, Periyar NP,
Silent Valley NP.
Famous Philosophical Author & RSS veteran P Parameswaran dies at 93

On February 09, 2020, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Veteran, Orator and Philosophical
Author P.Parameswaran (93) passed away at Palakkad, Kerala due to age related ailments.
Key points:
i.Parameswaran was born in Thamarasseril Illam, Muhamma village in Alappuzha district in the year 1927. He
established Bharatheeya Vichara Kendram in 1982. He served as editor in magazines Kesari, Manthan, Yuva Bharathi
and Vivekananda Kendra patriika. He also served as President of Vivekananda Kendra.
ii.Parameswaran has authored books on Indian Philosophy and society. He has written around 21 books, ‘Marx and
Vivekananda: A comparative study’ and ‘From Marx to Maharshi and Bhagavad Gita – Vision of a New World Order’

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were popular among them.
iii.Awards: He won Padma Shri in 2004 and Padma Vibhushan in 2018 for Literacy and Education.
Famous journalist M.S. Mani passed away at 79

On February 19, 2020 Former Chief-editor of Kerala Kaumudi (Malayalam daily) and kala kaumudi (magazine)
chief editor M.S. Mani passed away at the age of 79 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He was born on November 4,
1941 at Mayyanad in Kollam district, Kerala as the son of Kerala Kaumudi Founder editor K Sukumaran and Madhavi
Sukumaran.
Key Points:
i.About M.S. Mani: He started his career in 1961 as a staff reporter at “Kerala Kaumudi” and he shifted to Delhi as a
Parliament correspondent.
ii.In 1975 he launched Kala Kaumudi magazine and in 1990 he launched Kala Kaumudi daily from Mumbai, one of
the first Malayalam newspapers to be printed and published from outside Kerala.
iii.M.S. Mani also authored the book “Clouds of fire over Sivagiri”, which covers the internal conflicts and power
struggle in the Sivagiri Madhom.
iv.Awards: Mani received the State government’s Swadeshabhimani kesari award in 2018 for his contribution to
journalism and also a winner of Ambedkar award.
v.He was a committee member in the Indian Newspaper Society and a member of the India Newspaper Editor’s
Conference.
Kerala Current Affairs - March 2020

Fourth Global Ayurveda Festival to be held at Kochi from May 16 -20, 2020
The Fourth Global Ayurveda Festival (GAF), will be held at Kochi in Kerala from 16th to 20th May 2020. This
festival is organized by the Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action (CISSA). The theme of the event
is Ayurveda Medical Tourism: Actualizing India’s credibility.
On 5th March 2020 a curtain raiser event was held at New Delhi for this festival.
Global Ayurveda Festival:
GAF 2020 is conducted to project and promote the Ayurveda and also to showcase the potential of Ayurveda to the
world.
The GAF 2020 will bring the world of Ayurveda’s medical wellness care providers and its health seekers to one
platform.
This event will witness the largest gathering of experts, stakeholders and business explorers from the field of
Ayurveda and this will be the largest Ayurveda event to be held anywhere across the world.
About Kerala:
Andhra Pradesh ranked 1st in the country for overall implementation of POSHAN Abhiyaan
On March 9, 2020 Andhra Pradesh (AP) ranked 1st in the country for overall implementation of POSHAN( Prime
Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment) Abhiyaan as per September 2019 progress report of NITI
Aayog, “Transforming Nutrition in India: POSHAN Abhiyaan”.The 2nd anniversary of POSHAN Abhiyaan is recognized
by celebrating Poshan Pakhwada from 8th-22nd March 2020.
Overall Implementation Status of POSHAN Abhiyaan
It is classified under 3 categories & the following is named according to the position.
Top Position
Rank Large State Small State UT
1 Andhra Pradesh Mizoram Dadra & Nagar Haveli

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2 Chhattisgarh Sikkim Chandigarh

3 Madhya Pradesh Nagaland Daman & Diu
Bottom Position
Large State Small State UT
Karnataka(17) Tripura (6) Andaman & Nicobar (5)
Assam (18) Manipur (7) Delhi (6)
Kerala (19) Goa (8) Lakshadweep (7)
i.Large State (19)-AP, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Rajasthan ,Bihar ,Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Telangana, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka,
Assam, Kerala.
ii.Small State (8)- Mizoram, Sikkim, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur, Goa.
iii.Union Territory(7)- Dadra & Nagar Haveli,Chandigarh, Daman & Diu,Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar, Delhi,
Lakshadweep.
Highlights of AP
As part of the programme it also trained all Angan Wadi Workers on modules created based on lifecycle approach
where 1st 1000 days of life, with the support of incremental learning Approach (ILA)& has given
55,607smartphones to them, to improve delivery service & to report day to day actions, as well as to council the
target.
Poshan Pakhwada 2020
The focus area of Poshan Pakhwada 2020 is ‘Men for Nutrition – Increasing Male Engagement in POSHAN Abhiyaan
to Improve Nutritional Indicators‘.It aims to reduce malnutrition from the country in a phased manner through the
life cycle concept, by adopting a synergized & result-oriented approach.
Tamil Nadu tops in Poshan Abhiyaan’s participants list
Tamil Nadu tops the list of the states in terms of the number of participants in the programme.
POSHAN Abhiyaan
It was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of the International Women’s Day on 8 March,
2018 Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan. It is India’s flagship programme to direct the attention of the country towards the
problem of malnutrition & address it in a mission-mode. It is earlier called as National Nutrition Mission (NNM),
since 18th December, 2017.
NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog has played a critical role in shaping the POSHAN Abhiyaan &
it is required to submit implementation status reports of POSHAN Abhiyaan every 6 months to the Prime Minister’s
Office (PMO).
The goals of POSHAN Abhiyaan
To achieve improvement in the nutritional status of Children from 0-6 years, Adolescent Girls, Pregnant Women &
Lactating Mothers in a time bound manner with fixed targets & aims to bring down stunting of children in the age
group of 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by the year 2022.
Strategy/Pillars for implementation of the mission are:
Inter-sectoral convergence for better service delivery
Use of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) for real time growth monitoring & to track women & children
Intensified health & nutrition services for first 1000 days
Jan Andolan
About AP
Capital- Amaravati
Chief Minister– YS Jagan Mohan Reddy
Governor– Biswa Bhusan Harichandan
Kerala to launch digital literacy drive named “I am also digital” in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation
On March 7, 2020 Kerala will soon launch a digital literacy drive named “I am also digital” in the
Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Kerala, to create public-awareness about e-governance and use of various digital

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platforms through which wide ranges of services are being delivered.
The literacy drive is organized by Kerala State IT mission under the Department of Information Technology (IT) and
Kerala Literacy Mission.
Key Points:
i.The programme aims to educate people about cyber security and the issues in cybercrimes.
ii.The project will be carried by resource persons and instructors from the society to the ward levels across the state.
iii.The digital campaign consists of 50 master trainees having knowledge of handling online IT tools and 5 instructors
from each of the 100 wards will be selected.
iv.The master trainees would instruct the ward-level instructors, who, in turn, would carry out the mission in their
respective locality.
v.In order to acknowledge the services of the master trainees of the programme certificates will be awarded on
completion of their training, jointly by IT Mission and Kerala Literacy Mission.
About Kerala:
Chief Minister (CM)- Pinarayi Vijayan.
Former Law Minister and former governor of Karnataka & Kerala H. R. Bhardwaj passed away at 83
On March 8, 2020 Hansraj Bhardwaj, former Union Law Minister and former governor of Karnataka & Kerala, Senior
Congress leader passed away at the age of 83 in New Delhi, India. He was born in Garhi Sampla village in Rohtak
district, Haryana. He also holds the record of India’s second longest serving Law Minister.
Key Points:
i.About H.R. Bhardwaj: He served as Rajya Sabha member for 5 terms from April 1982 to May 2009.
ii.Law Minister: He served as the Minister of State for Law and Justice in the governments led by Indira Gandhi, Rajiv
Gandhi and P.V. Narasimha Rao and also served as the Cabinet Minister of Law and Justice holding the portfolio
between 2004 to 2009 in the Manmohan Singh Ministry.
iii.Bhardwaj also introduced the concept of rural courts (gram nyayalayas) during his period.
iv.He also served as the Governor of Karnataka during the period 2009- 2014 and also appointed as the governor of
kerala as the additional charge during the period 2012- 2013.
CPI(M) MLA Vijayan Pillai of Kerala passed away on 8th March 2020
On 8th March 2020, Communist Party of India (Marxist) MLA Vijayan Pillai (65) from chavara constituency passed
away in Kochi due to terminal illness he had for the past two months.
He was born at Chavara in Kollam (1951) the son of veteran Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leader Narayanan
Pillai, and he was the member of charvara panchayat from 1979 to 2000.
He began his political career as a leader of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), the first candidate to win the
election from chavara and served for 20 years as a leader of RSP, later in 2000 he joined congress.
He served as the Kollam district panchayat vice president, Kollam Cooperative district bank’s vice president
and Kollam District Human Resource Co-operative Society president from 2000 to 2005
In 2016 – elected to the Kerala assembly defeating Shibu Baby John (RSP leader).
Sahitya Akademi awardee, Malayalam poet Puthussery Ramachandran passed away

On 14th March 2020, Dr Puthussery Ramachandran a Veteran Malayalam poet, a scholar of Dravidian linguistics
and a teacher passed away due to age-related illness at the age of 91 years.
About Dr Puthussery Ramachandran:
i.Dr. Puthussery Ramachandran was born on 23rd September 1928 in Vallikunnam, Kerala. He completed his
Graduation B.A. in Malayalam language and literature at Sree Narayana College, Kollam. His PhD was in Linguistics in
1970 from the same university.
ii.His first poem Onnanthyakkuttamwas published at the age of 16.
iii.His poems have been translated and published in various languages like Hindi, English and Tamil.

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Awards received by Dr Puthussery Ramachandran:
i.SahityaAkademihonoured the translation award in 2005 and BhashaSamman in 2014.
ii.He received the prestigiousEzhuthachchanPuraskaaram, highest literary honour in 2015, Yesenin Award,
from Russian Cultural Centre and Sergei Yesenin Museum, Moscow in 2012.
iii.He is the Initiator for organizing first World Malayalam Conference at Thiruvananthapuram in 1977 and was also
an organizing secretary at All India on Dravidian Linguistics in 1971.
iv.Due to his continuous efforts, Malayalam has been recognized as a Classic language by the Central Government in
2013.
Kerala Current Affairs - April 2020

Coronavirus outbreak: Kerala based SCTIMST joins hands with Wipro 3D to make automated ventilators
On April 03, 2020, In view of increasing coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in India, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for
Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), an institute of National Importance of the Department of Science and
Technology (DST) based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, has partnered with ‘Wipro 3D’ to build a portable and
lightweight emergency ventilator system based on Artificial Manual Breathing Unit (AMBU) to assist the breathing
of the critical patients who have no access to ICU (Intensive care unit)ventilators.
Key Points:
i.This ventilator system is essentially a hand held device also called as AMBU bag or bag-valve-mask (BVM) to provide
positive pressure ventilation to a corona patients with breathing difficulties with a controlled rate of expiration,
inspiratory to expiratory ratio, Tidal volume etc.
ii.In addition to this, a PEEP (Positive End Expiratory Pressure) valve has been equipped as an extra tool to control
pressure on the lower airways at the end of the breathing cycle which prevents the alveoli from collapsing during
expiration.
iii.However, a disadvantage of the normal AMBU bag is that it requires a bystander to operate it and hence is non-
advisable for treating a Covid-19 patient.
About Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST):
Director– Asha Kishore
About Wipro 3D:
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka
ICMR nods: Kerala becomes the first state to commence clinical trial plasma therapy treatment
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has given approval to Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical
Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, to commence clinical trial convalescent plasma
therapy treatment. Therefore, Kerala becomes the first state in the country to start clinical trial plasma therapy
treatment.
Key Points:
i.SCTIMST, an institution of National Importance under the Union Department of Science and Technology, is
expecting to start the trials by the end of April 2020, once the required approvals from the Drugs Controller of India &
the Ethics committee are received.
ii.Convalescent plasma therapy: The technique uses blood plasma of patients who have completely recovered from
COVID- 19 as it will be rich in antibodies and some small studies have been done in China and the United States (US)
where they had tried the plasma therapy technique.
iii.The project has been approved by the state government and five medical colleges– at Thiruvananthapuram,
Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kannur and an expert from COVID- 19 clinic in Kozhikode, Dr Anoop who will do
the clinical follow up, will be participating in it.
iv.The expert committee which is guiding the State’s containment and mitigation strategies against COVID-19 had
recommended exploring the plasma therapy following the report in Journal of American Medical Association of a pilot
study done by doctors in China.

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v.The blood taken from the recovered patients after 2 weeks will be tested for HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus),
hepatitis and all procedures will be followed only after which plasma would be taken from their blood
vi.The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds for the project is estimated to cost Rs 25 lakhs.
About ICMR:
The ICMR is funded by the Government of India (GOI) through the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Family
& Health Welfare.
Headquarters– New Delhi.
Director-General– Prof. Balram Bhargava.
About Kerala:
Capital– Thiruvananthapuram.Chief Minister– Pinarayi Vijayan.
Governor– Arif Mohammad Khan.
COVID-19: Kerala institute develops Chitra GeneLAMP-N test kit gives results in 2 hours
On April 16, 2020, The Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST),
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has developed a low-cost
diagnostic test kit “Chitra GeneLAMP-N” that can confirm COVID-19 (Coronavirus) in just 2 hours.
Key Points:
i.Chitra GeneLAMP-N Kit: The kit detects the N Gene of SARS-CoV-2 using reverse transcriptase loop-mediated
amplification of viral nucleic acid.
ii.The gene detection time is 10 minutes, the sample to result time will be less than 2 hours (from RNA extraction in
swab to RT-LAMP(Reverse Transcriptase Loop-Mediated Amplification Of Viral Nucleic Acid) detection time) and at
least 30 samples can be tested in a single batch in a single machine in multiple shifts. The development of the kit was
fully funded by DST, Government of India.
iii.Development of kit: Anoop Thekkuveettil, a senior scientist of the Biomedical Technology wing of SCTIMST in
charge of the division of molecular medicine under the Department of Applied Biology led the team that developed
the kit.
iv.The same team had earlier developed a test kit and a highly sensitive device using the LAMP (loop-mediated
isothermal amplification) technique for the detection of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) of mycobacterium tuberculosis
(TB) from sputum samples of patients with suspected lung TB in 2018-2019.
v.NIV (National Institute of Virology)- Alappuzha validate the tests and The test kit awaits the approval of ICMR
(Indian Council of Medical Research) for COVID-19 testing in India and license from Central Drugs Standard Control
Organisation (CDSCO).
Indian Navy develops air evacuation pod for COVID-19 patients

Indian Navy’s Southern Command, Kochi has developed an air evacuation pod (AEP) to airlift COVID-19 infected
patients safely from remote areas such as islands and ships in a fully sealed patient transfer capsule.
Key Points:
i.The evacuation pod was designed under guidance of Principal Medical officer of the naval air station, INS (Indian
Naval Ship) Garuda, Kochi, in consultation with specialists from the naval hospital INHS (Indian Naval Hospital Ship)
Sanjivani and HeadQuarters of Southern Naval Command.
ii.About AEP: The pod is made up of aluminium, nitrile rubber and perspex. It weighs only 32 kg and has incurred a
manufacturing cost of Rs 50,000 which is only 0.1 percent of cost of an imported equivalent (Rs 59 lakh).
iii.The trials of patients inside AEP were undertaken on board Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and Dornier aircraft
of Indian Navy at Southern Naval Command. Twelve AEPs are planned for distribution across Southern, Western,
Eastern and Andaman and Nicobar Naval commands.
iv.The successful induction of the AEP will vastly increase the Indian Navy’s abilities in its relentless efforts towards
aiding COVID prevention across the nation.
About Indian Navy:
Commander-in-Chief– President Ram NathKovind.
Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS)– Admiral Karmabir Singh.

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Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute developed magnetic nanoparticle-based RNA extraction kit for PCR and LAMP
tests for COVID-19
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), an Institution of National Importance
under the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India has developed ribonucleic acid (RNA) extraction kit
namely “Chitra Magna” for segregating RNA from swabs samples for COVID-19 tests that will enhance the chances of
identifying positive cases of the contagion.The Institute has filed for a patent for this technology.
It is developed by Dr Anoop Thekkuveettil and his team, which has earlier,came up with Chitra GeneLAMP-N.
Chitra Magna provides a highly purified and concentrated level of RNA of the causative virus of COVID-19 pandemic
i.e.SARS-COV-2.
The technology of Chitra Magna has been transferred to the Agappe Diagnostics Ltd Ernakulam.
Key Points:
–Easy to use Technology: The “Chitra Magna” technology is simpler than imported isolation kits as it uses magnetic
nanoparticle to capture and concentrate the RNA from swab sample.It is to be noted that the critical step in detecting
this virus is confirming the presence of the RNA of the virus in the sample.
–Advantage of Chitra Magna: Currently, in the lab, the RNA of SARS-CoV-2 is extracted, converted into DNA and
amplified using the PCR technique or LAMP technique. In case, if some viral RNA disintegrates during storage and
transportation of the patient samples, all of it is captured by the magnetic bead-based extraction technology of Chitra
Magna.
–Need for Chitra Magna: The majority of RNA isolation kits are imported and non-availability of them becomes
restriction for RT-PCR (Reverse transcriptase- Polymerase chain reaction) testing.On the other hand, Chitra Magna
can be used not only for Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) testing but also for the RT-PCR test.
About Chitra GeneLAMP-N:
Earlier the institute has developed a low-cost diagnostic test kit “Chitra GeneLAMP-N” that can confirm COVID-19
(Coronavirus) in just 2 hours. The kit detects the N Gene of SARS-CoV-2 using reverse transcriptase loop-mediated
amplification of viral nucleic acid.
About SCTIMST:
Location– Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
President– Dr. Vijay Kumar Saraswat
Director– Dr. Asha Kishore
IIITM-K develops AI search engine, ‘vilokana’ for COVID-19 studies

On April 23, 2020, The Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management- Kerala (IIITM-K) has developed
an AI (Artificial Intelligence) semantic search engine “Vilokana” to enable researchers to get deeper insights into
scientific studies and to find an early solution to the COVID-19 crisis.
Key Points:
i.The AI search engine named www.vilokana.in, which in sanskrit means ‘finding out’.
ii.The search engine was developed by a team led by A.P. James, Professor at the Centre for Artificial General
Intelligence and Neuromorphic Systems (neuro AGI), IIITM-K, as part of the open science initiative of the research
centre. Srijit Panja and Akshay Maan are co-authoring a research article based on this work.
iii.About Vilokana search engine: The search engine guides researchers to the right information very fast.
iv.The user can supply keyword-based queries, the meaning of which the search engine will be able to understand,
and find the relevant text from the scientific papers.
v.Saji Gopinath, CEO (Chief Executive Officer), Kerala Startup Mission and Director IIITM-K, said that this is a good
initiative in the fight against COVID-19. The AI search tools provide contextual search information from the vast
domain of scientific literature, which is a difficult problem faced by scientists and people to get deeper insights into
scientific studies.
vi.Advanced functions: The user has also the option to upload any scientific text for analysis, which can be used for
sentiment analysis and knowledge discovery.
vii.The search has also several advanced functions such as being able to pick up undiscovered keywords, learning
based on popularity, summarise the text & help identify trends.

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About IIITM-K:
Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management- Kerala (IIITM-K), is an autonomous premier
educational institution located in the Technopark Campus in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala & was established by the
Government of Kerala in the year 2000.
Director– Saji Gopinath.
National Innovation Foundation (NIF) boosts new varieties of Anthurium, by VasiniBai, lady innovator from
Kerala
D VasiniBai, a women innovator from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, has developed 10 varieties of Anthurium by
cross-pollination. The salient features of the Anthurium varieties are large beautiful flowers, different colors of spathe
and spadix, long stalks, better shelf life and good market value.
Key Points:
i.About Anthurium: Anthurium is one of the best domestic flowering plants in the world. They are beautiful but also
purify the toxic substances from the air and remove harmful airborne chemicals like formaldehyde, ammonia,
toluene, xylene, and allergens.
ii.NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has placed Anthurium in the list of air purifier plants.
iii.The Anthurium flowers and plants are sold to local florists as well as in cities like Pune and Mumbai at an average
price of rupees 60-75 per flower.
iv.Awards: In March 2017, VasiniBai was awarded state award at the Ninth National Biennial competition from the
former President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, organized by National
Innovation Foundation (NIF)-India.
v.Vasini’s Bai interest in developing a new Anthurium variety was started from the year 1970 when her son brought 2
plants of Anthurium. In 1980, she manually cross-pollinated for the first time & after years of experiments in 1985,
she developed the first variety of Anthurium- Dora (a single plant with 8-10 leaves and multiple flowers with orange-
coloured spathe).
vi.She continued her work, and during 1985–2000, she developed another five varieties viz. Dora- I, Dora –II, Dora –
III, Dora –IV & Dora – V. The other five varieties are Akash, George, Giant Pink, JV Red, and JV Pink were developed
later through manual cross-pollination.
vii.The NIF-India facilitated validation trials of VasiniBai’s varieties along with 6 parent varieties under the varietal
testing programme at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore and the innovator’s varieties were reported to
be healthy.
viii.NIF has also facilitated mass multiplication and large scale production of the 4 varieties: Dora, George, JV Pink and
JV Red which have significant market value through tissue culture technique at Indian Institute of Horticultural
Research (IIHR), Bangalore for diffusion of the varieties in similar agroclimatic zones of the country.
About National Innovation Foundation (NIF):
NIF is an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (GOI). It was set
up in February 2000 at Ahmedabad, Gujarat to provide institutional support for scouting, spawning, sustaining &
scaling up the grassroots innovations across the country.
Chairperson– Dr. P. S. Goel.
Malayalam Music composer M.K. Arjunan passed away at 84

On April 6, 2020, Famous Malayalam Music Composer M.K. Arjunan (fondly called as Arjunan Master) passed away
at the age of 84 in Kochi, Kerala. He was born on March 1, 1936 in Fort Kochi, Kerala.
Key Points:
i.About Arjunan: He tuned about 700 songs, many of them among the biggest hits of all time. His songs were
celebrated as much as those of great composers like G. Devarajan (who was also his guru), M.S. Baburaj, V.
Dakshinamoorthy and K. Raghavan.
ii.Awards: Arjunan was awarded Kerala State award for the best composer in 2017 for Jayaraj’s Bhayanakam.
iii.Famous tunes: His famous tunes include Kasthoori manakkunnallo kaatte… (Picnic),
Yadukula rathidevane vide… (Rest House), Nin maniyarayile… (CID Nazir), Chandrarashmi than… (Anweshansm),

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Sukhamoru bindu…(Ithu Manushyano), Chembaka thaikal pootha… (Kathirunna Nimiaham), Mallikappoovin
madhura gandham… (Honeymoon) and Kuyilinte maninaadam…(Padmavyooham).
Kerala Current Affairs - May 2020

Senior IAS officer Vishwas Mehta appointed as new Chief Secretary of Kerala
On May 27, 2020, The State Cabinet of Kerala appointed Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Vishwas Mehta as Chief
Secretary (CS) of Kerala and will continue to hold the office till February 28, 2021. He will be the successor of Tom
Jose, who retires on May 31, 2020.
Key Points:
i.About Mehta: Mr. Mehta, an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer, who took over as Deputy Secretary in the
Revenue Department in 1991 and in 1992 he became Managing Director (MD) of the Kerala State Cooperative Rubber
Marketing Federation.
ii.He had also served as District Collector of Idukki, Wayanad and as MD of Milma (Kerala Co-operative Milk
Marketing Federation).
iii.Mehta had also officiated as Health Secretary, Educational Principal Secretary, Revenue Principal Secretary,
Revenue Additional Chief Secretary among others.
iv.New DGPs: The cabinet also elevated Additional Directors General of Police (ADGP) Sankar Reddy and R. Sreelekha
to the post of Director Generals of Police (DGP).
v.Ms. Sreelekha: The government has posted Ms Sreelekha, the first women IPS officer in the state, as Director
General, Fire and Rescue Services. She belongs to the 1987 IAS batch and is the first woman officer to be elevated as a
DGP. Sreelekha is due for retirement in December 2020.
vi.Mr. Sankar Reddy has been posted as Road Safety Commissioner. ADGP M.R. Ajithkumar will be appointed as
Transport Commissioner.
vii.Other appointments: The state cabinet has also issued its nod for major bureaucratic reshuffle. Senior
bureaucrat TK Jose, currently serves as PWD (Public works Department) secretary, will be the new Home secretary.
viii.Revenue Secretary V Venu has been appointed as Secretary, State Planning Board. A Jayathilak has been made
Revenue Secretary. Ishitha Roy has been made Agricultural Production Commissioner.
ix.District Collectors: Thiruvananthapuram collector K Gopalakrishnan has been appointed as Malappuram
Collector. Navjyoth Khosa will be the new District Collector of Thiruvananthapuram. Alappuzha District Collector M
Anjana has been made Kottayam District Collector.
About Kerala:
State tree– Coconut tree.
State fruit– Jackfruit.
State Bird– Great hornbill.
State animal– Indian elephant.
SRS Bulletin released: National infant mortality rate at 32, MP worst performer; Kerala achieved SDG target
On May 10, 2020, Registrar General of India has released its Sample Registration System (SRS) bulletin based on data
collected for 2018 (reference year) which has presented the estimates of Birth Rate, Death Rate, and Infant Mortality
Rate (IMR) for the year 2018 for India and its States/UTs.
The rates are calculated per one thousand of the population.
The current sample is based on the 2011 Census frame. The SRS sample is replaced every ten years based on the
latest census frame.
Let us go through the SRS Bulletin starting with IMR:
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): It is the number of deaths per 1,000 live births of children under one year of age.
National Average: India’s infant mortality rate (IMR) has improved very marginally from 33 per 1,000 live births in
2017 to 32 in 2018. In 2009-2018 it has declined from 50 to 32. The present figure of 32 is about one-fourth as
compared to 1971 (129).

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Urban & Rural Areas: The decline in rural areas in 2009-2018 is 55 to 36, and for urban areas it is from 34 to 23.
With regard to percentage, there is a decline of about 35% in rural areas and about 32% in urban areas.
Important points with respect to IMR are collaborated in the following table
Category State/UT
Maximum IMR Madhya Pradesh (MP)- 48
Minimum IMR Nagaland (4)
State with largest decline of IMR Mizoram (from 15 to 5)
Best performer among larger states Kerala (7)
Best performer among smaller states Nagaland (4)
Best Performer among UTs Andaman and Nicobar islands (9)
Madhya Pradesh with the rural IMR at 51while the urban

Maximum urban rural differential
IMR is at 32
Points to be noted:
–Kerala is one of the state with an IMR in single digits at 7. It is also the only state which has now achieved the United
Nations’ (UN’s) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target for IMR reduction, set at eight for the year 2020.
–Despite the decline in IMR over the last decades, one in every 31 infants die within first year of their life at the
National level (irrespective of rural urban); one in every 28 infants in rural areas and one in every 43 infants in urban
areas still die within one year of life.
–In the last 10 years, Child and infant mortality continues to be a massive problem in India despite improvements
over the years. An estimated 8,82,000 children under the age of 5 died in 2018 in India.
Death Rate: Mortality is one of the basic components of population change. Death rate is the ratio of deaths to the
population of a particular area or during a particular period of time
National average: The death rate of India has witnessed a significant decline over the last four decades from 14.9 in
1971 to 6.2 in 2018. At all India level it has declined from 7.3 to 6.2 in 2009-2018.
Urban & Rural Areas: The corresponding decline in rural areas is 7.8 to 6.7, and for urban areas it is from 5.8 to 5.1.
The rate of decline in these years has been higher in rural areas (around 14.5%) than in the urban areas (12.7%).
Category State/UT
Highest Death Rate Chhattisgarh (8.0)
Lowest Death Rate Delhi (3.3)

Birth Rate: Birth rate is a crude measure of fertility of a population and a crucial determinant of population growth.
It gives the number of live births per thousand population in a given region and year.
National average: There has been about an 11% decline in birth rate in the last decade, from 22.5 in 2009 to 20.0 in
2018. It has declined drastically over the last four decades from 36.9 in 1971 to 20.0 in 2018.
Urban & Rural Areas: The decline in 2009-2018 in rural areas is 24.1 to 21.6, and in urban areas, it is 18.3 to 16.7.
Urban rural differential: The rural-urban differential has also narrowed. In 2018, the birth rate for India varies from
16.7 in urban regions to 21.6 in rural regions. However, the birth rate has continued to be higher in rural areas
compared to urban areas in the last four decades.

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Category State/UT
Highest Birth Rate Bihar (26.2)
Lowest Birth Rate Andaman & Nicobar Islands (11.2)

Click Here for Official Link
About SRS:
Initiated on a pilot basis by the Registrar General of India in a few states in 1964-65, it became fully operational
during 1969-70. It is a demographic survey for providing reliable annual estimates of infant mortality rate, birth rate,
death rate and other fertility and mortality indicators at the national and sub-national levels.
About Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (ORGI)
Works under– Ministry of Home Affairs
Registrar General & Census Commissioner– Dr. Vivek Joshi
SCTIMST develops 2 types of swabs and viral transport medium for COVID-19 testing
Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, is an
autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (GOI) have
developed two types of nasal and oral swabs and viral transport medium for COVID-19 testing.
Key Points:
i.About Swabs: ChitraEmBed flocked nylon swabs (co-developed with Mallelil Industries Private limited),
and ChitraEnMesh, polymeric foam-tipped, lint-free swabs with flexible plastic handles. The swabs were developed
by technologists Dr Lynda V Thomas, Dr Shyni Velayudhan and Dr Maya Nandakumar from SCTIMST.
ii.The swabs have proven efficiency in the adequacy of specimen collection with minimum discomfort to patients and
rapid elution (extracting one material from another by washing with a solvent) of the specimen into the liquid viral
medium.
iii.They also have good recovery of viral RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) collected using these swabs and medium. The swabs
are safe, ensure minimal contact of the health worker with the sample during packing, and will be available as sterile,
ready-to-use devices.
iv.Viral transport medium (VTM): Chitra Viral Transport Medium, is specifically designed to retain the virus in its
active form during its transportation from the collection point to the laboratory. Currently, kits containing 50
(3ml/vial) viral transport medium with 50 swabs cost upwards of Rs 12000.
v.Technologies for both swabs and viral transport medium have been transferred to 2 industries for immediate
manufacture and sales: Mallelil Industries, Origin diagnostics and Levram Life sciences.
vi.Currently, Nasal and throat specimens collected with specially designed swabs are used for the detection of SARS-
COV2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) by viral gene amplification method which is necessary for
the confirmation of COVID 19.
vii.Proper and adequate specimen collection and its transport in a suitable liquid medium are critical for ensuring
good quality and quantity of viral RNA from the sample for testing, as these influence the accuracy of the test. Centre
for disease control and prevention (CDC), the USA, recommends the use of synthetic fibre swabs with plastic shafts,
preferably flocked swabs when available.
viii.The swabs and VTM developed by SCTIMST could reduce import dependency of the materials currently used and
can meet huge demand at much lower costs.
About SCTIMST:
Motto– JeevaJyothirAseemahi (May we Live and have Light).
President– Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat.
Director– Dr Asha Kishore.

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SCTIMST commercially launched RNA extraction Kit ‘Agappe Chitra Magna’ for detection of COVID-19
On May 21, 2020, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science and Technology (SCTIMST), Trivandrum with
Agappe Diagnostics Ltd, Cochin, a vitro diagnostics manufacturing company organised the commercial launch of The
Agappe Chitra Manga, a magnetic nanoparticle-based RNA extraction Kit for the detection of COVID-19 at the
Biomedical Technology Wing of SCTIMST.
Key Points:
i.The Agappe Chitra Manga is a magnetic nanoparticle-based RNA extraction kit for use during testing in the detection
of COVID-19 developed by the SCTIMST, Trivandrum, an institute of National Importance of the Department of
Science and Technology (DST) and transferred to Agappe Diagnostics Ltd in April 2020 now available in the market
as Agappe Chitra manga RNA Isolation Kit.
ii.The kit was validated at the National Institute of Virology for COVID-19 RNA isolation and The Central Drugs
Standard Control Organisation(CDSCO) has approved the commercialization of this kit.
iii.The announcement of commercial launch was made by Dr. VK Saraswat, NITI Aayog member and President of
SCTIMST in presence of Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary DST, Asha Kishore Director SCTIMST, HK Varma, Head of
Biomedical Technology and the scientists of institute in a programme attended through video conference followed by
the first sale by Mr. Thomas John, MD of Agappe Diagnostics to Amrita Institute of Medical Science officials, Kochi.
iv.The cost of the kit is Rs.150 which is expected to reduce the cost of testing and the nation’s dependence on
imported kits which cost around Rs 300.
v.This kit can be used for the RNA extraction of Reverse Transcription-Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification(RT-
LAMP), Reverse Transcription-Quantitative Polymerase Chain reaction(RT-qPCR), Reverse Transcription
Polymerase Chain reaction(RT-PCR) and isothermal and PCR based protocols for the detection of SARS-CoV-2
Working of RNA isolation kit:
The Kit uses the magnetic nanoparticle beads to bind with the viral RNA and to give a highly purified and
concentrated RNA, exposing it to a magnetic field. The sensitivity of detection depends on getting an adequate
quantity of viral RNA, this enhances the chances of identifying the positive cases.
About SCTIMST:
President – Dr. Vijay Kumar Saraswat(Member-NITI Aayog)
Director – Prof Asha Kishore
Inaugurated in – 1976
A rare palm from Andamans ‘Pinanga andamanensis’ replanted at Kerala’s JNTBGRI

On May 19, 2020, A rare palm of South Andaman Island ‘Pinanga andamanensis’ will be grown in Palode (Kerala)
with the help of Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI).
Key Points:
i.Pinanga andamanensis was recorded as a time-extinct species, is related to Areca Palm. Only 600 plants specimens
are found in a small area of ‘Mount Harriet National Park’ in South Andaman.
ii.Germplasm (means a living resource like tissue and seeds that are preserved for plant breeding) of the rare palm of
the Andaman Islands will be protected on the Indian mainland to ensure its continued existence even if it is destroyed
by the Andaman Islands at the time of natural disaster.
iii.Colourful history: Pinanga is ‘Critically Endangered Species’, one of the endangered species of the Andaman
Islands & was first described in the year 1934 by ‘Italian botanist’ Odorado Besquerie. In the year 1992, it was
considered extinct.
Note: The palm requires 5 to 6 hours of sunshine, 80% of humidity. It thrives well in areas where the temperature is
between 22 degree Celsius and 24 degree.
Why is the palm tree named Pinanga?
The name is derived from ‘Penang’, a state in Malaysia. Penang has its origin in ‘Pulau Pinang’, which means ‘Island of
the Areca Nut Palm’.
About Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI):
Location– Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Director– R. Prakashkumar

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Kochi Startup Devaditek Innovations develops decontamination device ‘Lumos’ to check COVID-19 spread
On May 29, 2020, In order to prevent infectious coronavirus (COVID-19) breakout within a healthcare
facility, Devaditek Innovations Private Limited, a start-up company focusing on technology transfer in the areas of
medical devices, based in Maker village Kochi (Kerala), has developed a multi-purpose decontamination
device called ‘Lumos’ that can sanitize items ranging from N95 masks to vegetables by using UVGI (ultraviolet
germicidal irradiation) technology.
Note:The device was developed by Devaditek Innovations Private Limited in collaboration with the Collegiate
Congress under the United Nations Master Plan initiative.
Key Points:
i.The first lot of the device, which was developed with the help of Collegiate Congress(the largest student advocacy
organization) under the United Nation’s Master Plan initiative, will be sent to 5 nations namely, Mali, Ecuador,
Zimbabwe, Ghana and Haiti where the virus affected at the largest level.
ii.About Lumos:
Unlike other certified UVC (Ultraviolet -C) medical-grade disinfection system that kill an array of pathogens including
SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, germs causing different types of influenza and MS2 bacteriophage, the device is devised
specifically to address the coronavirus.
It has been designed with high-power lamps, coupled with low power consumption , ozone functionality & zero
consumables to deliver 100 % disinfection rate in a short period of time. Its application is not limited to clinical
environments, It can be suitable even for offices and homes.
Note :The disinfection cycle doesn’t need pre- or post-processing. It’s Short and thorough and benign to electronics
and that gives Lumos an edge over existing sanitization protocols.
About Maker Village:
Location– Kochi, Kerala
CEO– Prasad Balakrishnan Nair.
About Devaditek Innovations Private Limited:
Director– Sumith C Mohan
Scientists at BSI discover 3 new plant species in Western Ghats

On May 23, 2020, A team of scientists led by K.A. Sujana at the Kolkata based Botanical Survey of India (BSI) have
discovered 3 new plant species namely- Eugenia sphaerocarpa, Goniothalamus sericeus and Memecylon
nervosum at the Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu (TN).
Key Points:
i.About Eugenia sphaenrocarpa:
Found primarily in the Kakkayam area of the Malabar wildlife sanctuary in Kerala at an altitude of 800 m, it belongs
to the Myrtaceae or Rose apple family.
The term ‘sphaerocarpa’ refers to the large, catchy lemon-yellow spherical fruit, which are best known for their taste.
The discovery of this species has published in the recent edition of Phytotaxa, an international journal of Plant
taxonomy from Auckland, New Zealand.
ii.About Goniothalamus sericeus:
Discovered in the Kanyakumari wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu (TN) at an altitude of 1400m, this species belongs to
the Annonaceae family of custard apple.
The term sericeus refers to the presence of dense silky hair on petals, which has a characteristics of greenish-yellow
to beige color while its golden yellow colour fruits are very showy and attractive.
The discovery of this species has published in the latest issue of the International Journal of Biodiversity from Taipei
in Taiwan.
iii.About Memecylon nervosum:
Found at an altitude between 700-900m at the Kanyakumari wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu (TN), this species
belongs to the Melastomataceae (Kayamboo or Kaasavu in local parlance) family.
It is better known for its purplish-blue flowers and mauve to purplish red fruits. The term Nervosum means the
presence of lateral and intramarginal veins on the lower area of the lamina.

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The discovery of this species has published in the Edinburgh Journal of Botany from Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh,
UK (United Kingdom).
About Botanical Survey of India (BSI):
Founder -Dr. George King ( Botanical Survey of India in 1890.)
Director-Dr A. A. Mao
Location– Kolkata, West Bengal
Parent organization– Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Rajya Sabha member M.P. Veerendra Kumar passes away at 83

On May 29, 2020, M.P. Veerendra Kumar, Rajya Sabha (RS) MP from Kerala and Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) Leader,
writer and journalist, passed away at the age of 83 due to cardiac arrest in Kozhikode, Kerala. He was born on July 22,
1936, at Kalpetta, Wayanad district, Kerala.
Political Career:
i.He had been an all-India treasurer of the Samyukta Socialist Party between 1968 and 1970. Later, he became part of
the Janata Party and the Janata Dal.
ii.In 1987, he became an MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) and the Minister of Forests in the E.K. Nayanar
Cabinet, but had to resign within 48 hours and his first order reportedly was against cutting forests.
iii.In 1996, Kumar was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kozhikde and became a ‘Union Minister of State for Finance’
and later ‘Union Minister of State for Labour’ in the United Front governments led by HD Deve Gowda and IK Gujral.
iv.He was elected to the Lok Sabha again in 2004. Veerendra Kumar has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since April
2016.
Education:
i.Veerendra Kumar had his early education at Kalpetta and Kozhikode before getting his Masters degree (MD) in
Philosophy from Vivekananda College, Madras, and an MBA (Master of Business Administration) from Cincinnati
University, Ohio, US (United States).
Other Key Points:
i.He also served as the Managing Director (MD) of the Malayalam daily newspaper Mathrubhumi and was also
associated with the Indian Newspaper Society as well as the Press Trust of India (PTI).
ii.Veerendra Kumar had always been opposed to the neoliberal economic policies & fought for environmental
protection. He had written many books on subjects such as politics, philosophy & economics.
iii.Awards: He was a recipient of the Sahitya Academy award.
About Kerala:
Capital– Thiruvananthapuram.
Chief Minister (CM)– Pinarayi Vijayan.
Governor– Arif Mohammad Khan.

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Kerala Current Affairs - June 2020

Kerala announces K-FON to provide free internet by December 2020, first state to declare internet as a
fundamental right
On 29th May 2020 Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced on a Rs.1500 crore Kerala Fiber Optic
Network(K-FON) project executed by the association of Bharat Electronics Limited(BEL), RailTel Corporation
(Public sector companies) and SRIT and LS Cables (Private sector companies) to provide free internet access for the
poor by December 2020 and become the first state to declare the internet as a fundamental right of the citizen.
Note:It would be implemented by Kerala State IT Infrastructure Limited and Kerala State Electricity Board(KSEB).
Benefits of K-FON:
i.The K-FON will provide high quality internet free of cost to the poor and at an affordable price to all other citizens of
the state.
ii.This will provide internet to institutions like schools, hospitals, government offices etc. and increase the usage of
the internet in the education and banking sector
iii.This will support the development of Kerala to lead in industrial, educational and tourism sectors.
Key Points:
i.Using the KSEB posts the optical fiber cables are being laid across the state.
ii.K-FON project is likely to be completed by December 2020 as acknowledged by M V Gowtama Chairman & MD of
BEL.
iii.This initiative will help the state in achieving the proposed Knowledge-based economy.
About Bharat Electronics Limited(BEL):
Chairman & MD – M V Gowtama
Established – 1954
Headquarters – Bangalore, Karnataka
About RailTel:
Chairman & MD – Puneet Chawla
Established – 2000
Headquarters – New Delhi
World Bank Approves $500 mn Under ‘STARS’ Project to Improve Education Quality in 6 Indian States
On June 28, 2020, The board of executives of the World Bank (WB) has approved loan of $ 500 million (about Rs
3,700 crore) under ‘Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program (STARS)’project to improve
the quality and governance of school education across six states (Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan) in India.
The new project will be executed through flagship central scheme, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.
The Loan has a final maturity of 14.5 years including a grace period of five years.
Right to education:
A total of 250 million students in the age group of 6 to 17 years studying in 15 lakh schools and more than one crore
teachers will be benefited from this program by improving learning assessment systems, strengthen classroom
instruction, and remediation, facilitate school-to-work transition, and strengthen governance and decentralized
management.
Key Points:
i.STARS program has been built on the solid foundation of the India-World Bank relationship since 1994 to
strengthen education in government schools and make education available to everyone.
ii.STARS will support India’s renewed focus on addressing the ‘learning outcome’ challenge and help students better
prepare for the jobs of the future – through a series of reform initiatives.They are,
Focusing more directly on the delivery of education services at the state, district and sub district levels
Addressing demands from stakeholders, especially parents, for greater accountability and inclusion
Equipping teachers to manage this transformation
Investing more in developing India’s human capital.

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iii.Prior to the STARS program, World Bank had assisted $3 billion in this direction.
iv.As per WB, India has made better improvement in access to education across the country from 2004-05 to 2018-
19, where the number of children going to school hiked from 21.9 crore to 24.8 crore.
However, the learning results of students continue at below level. STARS program will help improve assessment
systems at the national level through education as a whole and in partnership with states.
About World Bank:
Headquarters– Washington D.C., United States (US).
Motto– Working for a World Free of Poverty.
President– David Malpass.
Kerala Startup ties up with SCTIMST to launch IoT based BIN-19 & UV SPOT: COVID-19
On June 11, 2020 Kerala Startup VST Mobility Solutions, has launched Internet of Things(IoT) based (facility that
works without any human touch) automated mask disposal machine, “BIN-19” & “UltraViolet(UV) SPOT”, a UV
light-based multipurpose disinfector in association with Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and
Technology(SCTIMST). The BIN-19 is developed using Chitra UV based face mask disposal bin technology from
SCTIMST. This is the 1st time such facilities are available in Kerala.
BIN-19 was formally launched by Ernakulam District Collector S. Suhas by installing a unit at his office along with UV
SPOT.
The products are registered with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation(CDSCO) & were tested by
SCTIMST as per the guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR).
About BIN-19:
BIN-19 is used to collect & disinfect used Face-Mask. It also has a facility to sanitise hands when the user drops the
mask into it.
IoT features of BIN-19: IoT Auto Sanitizer Dispenser(alerts if it’s empty), Mobile Application to navigate or find Bin-
19, Web Portal for Status Alerts, Power ON/OFF alerts, Box open alerts.
About UVSPOT:
i.UVSPOT is a multipurpose disinfectant device which disinfects a board range of microorganisms with internal
reflective surfaces and UltraViolet C(UVC) Lamp
ii.The device is mainly used to dispose of contaminated or used facemask & reuse UVC-stable metallic products.
About VST Mobility Solutions:
Headquarters– Cochin(Ernakulam), Kerala
Chief Executive Officer(CEO), Founder & Managing director(MD)– Alvin George
About SCTIMST:
Headquarters- Thiruvananthapuram( Trivandrum), Kerala
President– Vijay Kumar(V. K.) Saraswat
Director– Asha Kishore
Scriptwriter & Filmmaker KR Schidanandan passed away

On 18th June 2020, KR Sachidanandan(Sachy), Malayalam script writer & director passed away due to cardiac arrest
and hypoxic brain damage in Jubilee Mission Hospital, Thrissur. He was a native of Kodungallur, Thrissur.
About KR Sachidanandan:
He practiced criminal and constitutional law for 8 years in Kerala High Court.
Career in Film industry:
i.He debuted as a writer in the malayalam film industry in collaboration with Sethunath.
ii.The duo of Sachy-Sethu were the scriptwriters of the films like Chocolate, Makeup Man, Robin Hood, Senior and
Doubles.
iii.As an independent writer he worked in the films Run Baby Run, Ramaleela, Sherlock Toms and Driving Licence.
iv.Under his production company Thakkali Films he co-produced the film Chettayees in 2012.
v.He debuted as a director in the film Anarkali starring Prithiviraj in 2015.
vi.His last movie Ayyapanum Koshiyum, an action thriller starring Prithiviraj and Biju Menon was the highest
grosser of this year till the implication of Lockdown.

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Kerala Current Affairs - July 2020

The Navy’s largest Solar plant was inaugurated at the INA, Ezhimala
On July 22, 2020, the Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawal, Flag Officer Commanding-in-chief, Southern Naval Command
(SNC), virtually employed the 3 MegaWatt (MW) largest Solar Power Plant at the Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala,
Kerala.
The project is a part of the Indian Government’s initiative of National Solar Mission, to achieve 100 GigaWatt (GW)
of solar Power by 2022.
Highlights about the solar plant
i.It is the largest established power plant by the Indian Navy with a lifespan of 25 years.
ii.The solar panels are 9,180 highly efficient monocrystalline panels employed with the latest technology.
iii.The projects has been executed by the Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd (KELTRON)
Significance:
i.The Kerala State Electric Board (KSEB) played a major part on this project despite COVID-19 pandemic.
ii.Surplus power generated will also feed the KSEB electricity grid.
iii.The solar power plant will reduce the carbon footprint in Ezhimala academy, Kannur and lead a path to a clean and
green environment.
-2 MegaWatt Solar Power Plant Inaugurated at Naval Station Karanja, Uran
Indian Navy Vice Admiral, Flag Officer Commanding – in – Chief of Western Naval Command, Ajith Kumar virtually
inaugurated the first 2 MegaWatt Solar capacity Solar Power Plant.
The Power Plant was set up at the Western Naval Station, Karanja in Maharashtra’s Uran.
Highlights:
i.It is built at a cost of Rs. 14 crores and it is one of the largest solar plants in that region.
ii.It will save upto 20 to 30% of the power requirement which saves Rs. 30 lakhs per month.
iii.The solar plant consists of indigenously developed solar panels, tracking tables and inverters.
iv.The solar plant is grid interconnected utilizing the state- of-the-art single axis sun-tracking technology with
computerized monitoring and control.
Recent Related news:
India installs 7.3 GW of solar power in CY 2019 & secures world’s 3rd largest solar market: Mercom
On April 29, 2020 According to Mercom India Research’s ‘India Solar Market Leaderboard 2020’ report, India has
installed 7.3 Giga Watt (GW) of solar power in Calendar Year(CY) 2019 which consolidates its position as the
3rdlargest solar market in the world after China and U.S. India has total solar installations of approximately 35.7 GW
by the end of December 2019.
Indian Naval Academy
Motto – Shaping future Naval Leadership
Commandant – Vice Admiral Mr. Dinesh K Tripathi, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), Nau Sena Medal (NM)
Deputy Commandant – Rear Admiral Mr. Tarun Saobiy, Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM)
Location – Ezhimala, Kannur, Kerala, India
About KELTRON
Type – A State owned electronic enterprise.
Headquarters – Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Chairman (current) – Shri N. Narayanamoorthy (1st March 2019)
Indian marine fish landings rose 2.1% to 3.56mt in 2019: CMFRI; Tamil Nadu tops
In accordance with the report “Annual Marine Fish Landings in India for 2019” by Central Marine Fisheries Research
Institute (CMFRI), India’s marine fish production has increased marginally by 2.1% to 3.56 million tonnes (mt) in
2019 as compared to 3.49 mt in 2018.
• As per the report, Tamil Nadu grabbed the top in annual fish production with 7.75 lakh tonnes followed by
Gujarat (7.49 lakh tonnes), which had been holding the first position earlier, and Kerala (5.44 lakh tonnes)
which retained the third position.

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• The estimated value of fish landings in the country last year was Rs 60,881 crore with 15.6% increase over
2018.
• It should be noted that the term “Landing” in the report means getting fish out of the water and brought to the
land.
• Notably, in the global front, India is ranked 3rd after China and Indonesia in marine fish production.
Key Points from report:
-The red toothed triggerfish, a commercially unimportant fish, became the most landed resource (2.74 lakh
tonnes). This fish has little demand in domestic markets and is mostly caught for the purpose of feed mills.
-The second highest landings was ribbon fish (2.19 lakh tonnes), followed by penaeid prawns (1.95 lakh tonnes)
and non-penaeid prawns (1.80 lakh tonnes).
-The Indian mackerel landings, which were in the first spot in 2018, declined by 43% in 2019.
–Scenario of other States in fish landing: States such as West Bengal (55 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (34 per cent),
Odisha (14.5 per cent), Karnataka (11 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (10.4 per cent) recorded an increase in landings,
while the marine fish catch decreased in Maharashtra (32 per cent), Goa (44 per cent) and Kerala (15.4 per cent),
compared to the previous year.
–Cyclone effects: As per report, 8 cyclonic storms in and around India, of which six turned out to be severe cyclones
(Fani in April, Vayu in June, Hika in September, Kyarr in October, Maha in October-November and Bulbul in October-
November) affected the fishing calendar days more adversely on the west coast of the country.
About Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI):
The Fishery Resources Assessment Division of the CMFRI estimated the annual marine fish landings through its
online data collection system.
Director– Dr. A. Gopalakrishnan
Headquarter– Kochi, Kerala
Mansukh Mandaviya reviews deployment activities of India’s 1st trans-shipment hub – Vallarpadam
Terminal of Cochin Port, Kerala
On 15th July 2020, Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya, Minister of State (I/C) for the Ministry of Shipping reviewed the
development activities of the Vallarpadam Terminal (Kochi International Container Trans-shipment Terminal
(ICTT))of Cochin Port which is proposed to develop as India’s first and Asia’s leading trans-shipment port to
ensure that Indian cargoes are trans-shipped through Indian Port.
Key points:
i.Mansukh Mandaviya directed the officials to outline a strategy to solve the challenges in achieving the vision of
Trans-Shipment hub of India.
ii.Resolving the issues faced in the development of the Trans-shipment terminal is considered as one of the top
priority of the Ministry.
Vallarpadam Terminal:
i.Vallarpadam Terminal is located in the Indian Coastline which satisfies the criterias required for the development of
trans-shipment hub.
Criteria:
• Proximity to international sea routes and hinterland markets.
• Infrastructure to manage large ships and capacity to scale up as per requirement.
• Located at an average nautical distance from all Indian feeder ports.
• Connectivity to various weekly feeder ports on the West & East coast of India (From Mundra to Kolkata).
Note:
The first phase of the Rs.6250 crore ICTT in the Special Economic Zone(SEZ) at Vallarpadam, Kerala was
commissioned by former Prime minister Manmohan Singh in February 2011.
About Ministry of Shipping:
Minister of State(MoS) (I/C)– Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya

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Kerala announced new Chief Minister’s Entrepreneurship Development Programme to address
working capital shortage
On July 28, 2020, Kerala government announced a new scheme namely “Chief Minister’s Entrepreneurship
Development Programme” to address the issues of shortage of working capital and availability of credit faced by
startups and small entrepreneurs amid COVID-19 pandemic. The programme will be implemented through
the Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC), which will also be launching three new schemes to protect existing
establishments from the threat of closure.
• The programme aims to identify 2,000 entrepreneurs per year and plans to launch 1,000 new small and
medium ventures every year for the next five years, creating 5,000 new ventures.
About Chief Minister’s Entrepreneurship Development Programme:
-Eligible firms would get loans upto Rs 10 crore as working capital on the basis of purchase orders already received.
-Companies coming up with innovative need- based products or services would be eligible for an assistance of Rs 1
crore and IT firms that have been approved by SEBI-accredited venture capital funds would get Rs 10 crore.
-KFC will provide loans up to 90% of the project cost subject to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh at 10% interest.
The government will give 3% interest as subsidy thereby; the net interest rate will be 7%.
Selected candidates will be given five days of entrepreneurship training and guidance.
Recent Related News:
On 29th May 2020 Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced on a Rs.1500 crore Kerala Fiber Optic
Network(K-FON) project executed by the association of Bharat Electronics Limited(BEL), RailTel Corporation
(Public sector companies) and SRIT and LS Cables (Private sector companies) to provide free internet access for the
poor by December 2020 and become the first state to declare the internet as a fundamental right of the citizen.
About Kerala:
India’s maternal mortality ratio declined to 113 in 2016-18: Registrar General’s Sample Registration
System (SRS)
In accordance with the “Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality in India 2016-18”, released by the Office of the
Registrar General’s Sample Registration System (SRS), the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in India has declined to
113 in 2016-18 from 122 in 2015-17 and 130 in 2014-2016 and almost 100 deaths lesser than in the period of 2007-
2009.
• States have been categorized into three groups namely, Empowered Action Group (EAG) States, Southern
States and Other States during the survey.
• The southern States registered a lower MMR — Andhra Pradesh (65), Telangana (63), Karnataka (92), Kerala
(43) and Tamil Nadu (60) as compared to states of Assam & EAG viz. Assam (215), Bihar (149), Madhya
Pradesh (173), Chhattisgarh (159), Odisha (150), Rajasthan (164), Uttar Pradesh (197), Uttarakhand (99) and
Jharkhand (71).
• In the category of other states Punjab has a maximum MMR of 129.
Points to be Noted:
-The target of United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of 3.1 is to reduce the global maternal
mortality ratio to less than 70 per 1,00,000 live births.
-The maximum proportion of maternal deaths during 2016-18 is 33% in the age group of 20-24.
Important Terms:
Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR): It is defined as the proportion of maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births,
reported under the SRS.
Maternal Mortality Rate: This is calculated as maternal deaths to women in the ages 15-49 per lakh of women in
that age group, reported under SRS.

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Maternal Death: As per World Health Organization (WHO), maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant
or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its
management.
Sample Registration System (SRS): It is India’s largest demographic sample surveys that among other indicators
provide direct estimates of maternal mortality through a nationally representative sample.
About Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (ORGI):
The Office of the Registrar General, India works under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Registrar General & Census Commissioner– Dr. Vivek Joshi
Click Here for Official Link
On May 10, 2020, ORGI released its SRS bulletin based which has presented the estimates of Birth Rate, Death Rate,
and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) for the year 2018 for India and its States/UTs.
• As per that, India’s infant mortality rate (IMR) has improved very marginally from 33 per 1,000 live births in
2017 to 32 in 2018.
• The death rate of India has witnessed a significant decline over the last four decades from 14.9 in 1971 to 6.2
in 2018.
• There has been about an 11% decline in birth rate in the last decade, from 22.5 in 2009 to 20.0 in 2018.
Kerala Current Affairs - August 2020

Kerala State Dragonfly Festival 2020 aka “Thumbimahotsavam 2020” Launched; Mascot is “Pantalu”
On August 15, 2020, the first ever Kerala State Dragonfly Festival 2020 aka “Thumbimahotsavam 2020” was launched
by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India State unit in collaboration with Society for Odonate Studies
(SOS) and Thumbipuranam through a virtual ceremony from Kerala. Dr. Subramanian K.A., scientist at Zoological
Survey of India (ZSI), Southern Regional Center, Chennai (Tamil Nadu) addressed the inaugural session. The festival
will culminate with the State dragonfly summit, most probably in January 2021.
• The official mascot of the festival is “Pantalu” which is the genus of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae
commonly known as rainpool gliders.
• Thumbimahotsavam 2020 is part of a 3rd edition of national dragonfly festival 2020 being organised by the
WWF India, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) & Indian Dragonfly Society (IDS) in association with the
National Biodiversity Board, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) – Centre for Environment
Conservation.
Key Points:
-As a part of fest, initially a training of trainers will be organised to get more people trained on dragonflies so that
they can act as resource persons for various upcoming events.
-This will be followed by a series of webinars commencing from September targeting the public, especially children
and youth.
-A ‘dragonfly backyard watch’ has been announced to enhance the participation of people and improve their
observation skills.
-A digital odonate knowledge hub will also be established under the SOS/Thumbipuranamfacebookpage.
-Various competitions will also be organised.
On July 28, 2020, Kerala government announced a new scheme namely “Chief Minister’s Entrepreneurship
startups and small entrepreneurs amid COVID-19 pandemic. The programme will be implemented through
the Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC).
About World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India:
President– Jamshyd Naoroji Godrej
Secretariat– New Delhi

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National Commission on Population: Projects India’s Population to be More Feminine by 2036
The National Commission on Population under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) submitted the
Report of the Technical group on population projections July 2020, titled “Population projections for India and
States 2011- 2036”. The report projected that the India’s sex ratio of the total population (females per 1000 males)
is expected to be more feminine in 2036 compared to the population as of 2011.
Population projections for India and States 2011- 2036:
Sex ratio:
i.The report estimates the sex ratio to increase from 943 in 2011 to 957 in 2036.
ii.Compared to 2011, the sex ratio in 18 states except Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat are expected to
increase by 2036.
iii.In 2036, the lowest sex ratio of 899 is expected to be in NCT of Delhi, followed by 900 in Gujarat and 908 in
Haryana.
Infant Mortality Rate:
i.India’s Infant Mortality Rate(IMR) is reported to be 46 in 2010 which is expected to reduce to 30 by the end of
2031-2035.
ii.The report projects the IMR to reduce in all the state of India in 2011 to 2035.
Madhya Pradesh has the highest IMR at 58 followed by Uttar Pradesh with 57 in 2011-2015 which is expected to
come down to 37 and 38 in MP and UP respectively in 2031-35.
iii.During 2031-35, the IMR is expected to be in between 30-40 in Rajasthan, Assam, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, MP and UP.
iv.Kerala is expected to have the lowest IMR at 9 in 2031-35 followed by Tamil Nadu from 22 in 2011-15 to 16 during
2031-35.
Fertility Rate:
i.Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is expected to decline from 2.34 during 2011-2015 to 1.73 during 2031- 35.
ii.The declining fertility rate will change the age demographics of India’s population and increase the medium age
from 24.9 in 2011 to 34.5 in 2036.
iii.Bihar and UP have the higher TFR with 3.5 and 3.7 respectively which is higher than the TFR of India (2.5).
Population of India:
i.The report projects India’s population to increase by 25.7% in 25 years at a rate of 1% annually i.e., from 121.1
crore to 151.8 crore during 2011-36.
ii.The population density will increase from 368 to 463 persons per square kilometer.
iii.As per the 2011 Census India’s population was 1.21 billion which is estimated to grow by 311 million by 2036.
Youth Population:
i.Youth population (15-24 years) is expected to increase from 23.3 crores in 2011 to 25.2 crores in 2021 and then
continue to decrease to 22.7 crores in 2036.
ii.The youth population proportion to the total population is expected to become 14.9%in 2036.
Decline in rate of population growth:
The population growth rate will decline by 8.4% during 2021-2031.
Note:
The report projects that India will overtake China and become the most populated county around 2031.
Urban Population:
i.The urban population of India was 31.8% in 2011 which is projected to increase to 38.2% by 2036 which
contributes 73% of the total population growth by 2036.
ii.Delhi with 98% urban population in 2011 is expected to become 100% urban by 2036.
iii.Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana and Gujarat are expected to have more than 50% urban population by
2036.
Life Expectancy:
i.For men the life expectancy is expected to increase from 66 to 69 and for women it is expected to increase from 71
to 74.
ii.Kerala could become the only Indian state to have life expectancy above 80 for women and 74 for men by 2036.
iii.The Northeastern states are estimated to have a life expectancy of 77 for women and 73 for men by 2036.
Click here for the complete report

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i.UN’s Global Multidimensional Poverty Index: India Record Largest Reduction in Number of People Living in Poverty
ii.Climate-friendly Cooling can cut 460 Giga Tonnes of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Cooling Emissions and Policy
Synthesis Report
About Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoHFW):
Union Minister– Harsh Vardhan
Minister of State– Ashwini Kumar Choubey
Kerala to set up India’s First International Women’s Trade Centre

On 25th August 2020, Biju Prabhakar, IAS, Secretary, Department of Social Justice, Women & Child Development
announced that Kerala will set up India’s First International Women Trade Centre(IWTC) in accord with the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations(UN) at Angamaly, Kochi, Kerala.
This announcement was made during the webinar on “Scaling up Opportunities for MSME women Entrepreneurs in
Kerala” organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry(FICCI) Kerala State Council.
IWTC:
Aim:
To accelerate women entrepreneurship and secure gender parity while providing them a safe place to start new
businesses, set up or expand, and get their products marketed globally.
Features:
i.The IWTC will serve as a facilitator to launch the own ventures of the women entrepreneurs.
ii.This will enable women entrepreneurs to participate in the international trade and gain economic benefits.
iii.This will increase the competitiveness among women entrepreneurship to utilize market opportunities.
Other initiatives:
i.Resource Enhancement Academy for Career Heights(REACH) aims to empower the women with required skills to
ensure success.
ii.Through comprehensive support measures, WE Mission Kerala of Kerala State Industrial Development
Corporation(KSIDC) aims to scale up existing ventures that are led by women.
iii.www.graameen.in, a venture of Eram Group was the Supporting Partner for the event.
i.the Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan launched K-RERA (Kerala Real Estate Regulatory Authority) to bring
confidence and transparency in real estate sectors among the customers.
ii.Kerala Chief Minister (CM) Pinarayi Vijayan launched “Yodhav” (Warrior) mobile app (application) at Kochi, Kerala,
through which the public can inform police about drug abuse & its distribution.
About Kerala:
National Parks– Eravikulam National Park, Silent Valley National Park, Pampadum Shola National Park, Mathikettan
Shola National Park, Anamudi Shola National Park
Biosphere reserve– Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve, Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Inaugurates State’s First Marine Ambulance ‘Pratheeksha’ in Kochi
On 26th August, 2020 Kerala Chief Minister (CM) Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the State’s First fully equipped Marine
Ambulance ‘Pratheeksha’. It was acquired by the Fisheries Department at Kochi for rescue operations at
sea. ‘Pratheeksha’ – built by Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) is the first of the three marine ambulances ordered by the
state at a total cost of Rs.18.24 Crores. The Other 2 ships are ‘Prathyasha’ and ‘Karunya’.
Key Points:
i.The Marine Ambulance is equipped to provide medical care for 10 persons at a time.
ii.The crew would consist of Paramedical staff who will be assisted by four sea rescue squads.
iii.The Ambulance will also have modern life-saving equipment, medicine stocks and portable mortuary.
iv.The Central institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), Kochi provided the technical advice for building the
marine ambulances.
v.Pratheeksha will be stationed at Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram, Prathyasa and Karunya will be stationed at
Vypeen in Ernakulam and Beypore in Kozhikode.

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Funding:
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) came forward to bear the cost of one ambulance, Cochin Shipyard
agreed to provide 3 crores from its CSR fund, 7.36 crore was sanctioned from Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund
and the fisheries department sanctioned 2 crores from the plan fund.
About Marine Ambulance:
It is 23 metres long with a draught of three metres. It is powered by two 700 HP Scania engines and is capable of
touching 14 knots.
i.Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced on a Rs.1500 crore Kerala Fiber Optic Network(K-FON) project
to provide free internet access for the poor by December 2020 and becomes the first state to declare the internet as a
fundamental right of the citizen.
ii.The State Cabinet of Kerala appointed Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Vishwas Mehta as Chief Secretary (CS) of
Kerala and will continue to hold the office till February 28, 2021. He will succeed Tom Jose.
About Kerala:
Governor – Arif Mohammad Khan
National Parks – Eravikulam National Park, Silent Valley National Park, Pampadum Shola National Park, Mathikettan
Shola National Park, Anamudi Shola National Park.
IIM Kozhikode signs MoU with Switzerland based HELP Logistics

On 17th August, 2020, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIM-K) signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Switzerland based HELP Logistics to engage in a collaborative partnership to provide
consulting services and logistics training for the humanitarian community in South Asia.
HELP Logistics – a registered non-profit organisation and a subsidiary company of the Kühne Foundation,
Schindellegi, Switzerland
Objective:
The aim of the MoU is to develop humanitarian logistics in India by providing consulting services and logistic
training to entities which act immediately during humanitarian crises such as United Nations bodies, Government
Institutions and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Key points of the MoU:
i.The MoU will be valid for a period of one year during which it will carry out activities that will take efforts to shape
supply chains to benefit humanity amidst the prevailing uncertaining in the world.
ii.The MoU includes financial support and aims to increase the regional knowledge and awareness on humanitarian
logistic matters among humanitarian agencies.
iii.The MoU will attempt to achieve the following objectives
• Consulting: IIMK & HELP Logistics would develop new products such as learning programs, games,
optimisation models in the domain of Humanitarian Supply Chain (HSC) to make humanitarian operations
more efficient and effective.
• Training: IIMK & HELP Logistics would offer high-quality learning and training programmes to the
practitioners in the HSC across all levels (operational, tactical and strategic).
• Collaboration and outreach: IIMK & HELP Logistics to carry out research in the field of HSC through surveys,
case studies/action research and present it in seminars, academic conferences and tradeshows. It will also
involve knowledge sharing through publication of white papers, journal articles, newspaper articles.
i.Asian Development Bank (ADB), a regional development bank has renewed a MOU for 3 years with the Paris
(France) based International Energy Agency (IEA).
ii.Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has inked MoU with Small Industries Development Bank of India
(SIDBI) to make SIDBI as the implementation Agency for Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM
SVANidhi).
About IIM-K:
Director of IIM-K – Professor Debashis Chatterjee
Chairman – Arunachalam Vellayan

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AAIB forms 5 Member Panel Headed by Captain S S Chahar to Investigate the Kozhikode Plane Crash
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau(AAIB) formed a 5-member panel headed Captain S S Chahar to
investigate the circumstances of the Air India Express Dubai-Calicut flight IX 1344Crash at the Kozhikode airport,
Kerala on 7th August 2020.
• The 5-member team will probe and determine the cause and contributory factors that led to the accident.
• The team will also make recommendations to avoid similar accidents in the future.
• Captain S S Chahar, the in charge of the investigation will submit his reports within next 5 months.
The 5-member panel:
i.Captain S.S. Chahar – Former Examiner of Boeing 737 NG.
ii.Ved Prakash – Operations Expert of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) .
iii.Mukul Bharadwaj – Senior Aircraft Maintenance Engineer for Boeing 737.
iv.Captain Y S Dahiya – Aviation Medicine Expert of Indian Air Force.
v.Jasbir Singh Larhga – AAIB’s Deputy Director.
About the crash:
i.The Air India Express flight departed from Dubai with over 190 people aboard, which skidded at a table top runway
during landing.
ii.The crash killed 18 people including both the pilots.
New twighopper species named Cladonotus bhaskari after Kerala researcher Dhaneesh Bhaskar
After a span of 116 years, a first new species of twighopper, genus Cladonotus Saussure, was discovered from the
Sinharaja rainforest of Sri Lanka by Croatian and German researchers. The interesting fact is that this cockcomb-
shaped twighopper has been named as Cladonotus bhaskari after Dhaneesh Bhaskar, a young conservation
biologist and grasshopper expert from Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI).
• A twighopper is a pygmy grasshopper which has resemblance to tiny twigs.
• Notably, this newly discovered species is also the first known female of the genus, and its photograph is the
first photo of the member of this genus in the natural habitat.
• The new species is clearly distinguished from other species of the genus by its long and spine-like
frontomedial projection and cockscomb-shaped promedial projection.
On May 25, 2020, Professor Mathews Plamoottil, head of the Department of Zoology at the BJM Government
College, Chavara (Kerala), has detected a new species of silver colored small freshwater fish “Puntius sanctus” of
the Cyprinidae family in Velankanni ,Tamil Nadu(TN).
Malayalam Actor Anil Murali passed away at the age of 51

On 30th July 2020, Anil Murali, Veteran Malayalam actor who acted in more than 200 movies in Tamil, Malayalam and
Telugu, passed away at the age of 51 at the hospital in Kochi, Kerala where he was admitted due to liver ailments on
22nd July 2020. He hails from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Anil Murali:
i.Anil Murali started his acting career as a part of the malayalam tele serials.
ii.He first starred in the film Kanyakumariyil Oru Kavitha in 1993.
iii.His most known works in malayalam include Ivar, Lion, Babakalyani, Nasrani, Puthiya Mukham, Pokkiri Raja, City
of God and his Tamil and Telugu films include Nimirndhu Nil, Thani Oruvan, Ragile Kasi and Janda Pai Kapiraju.
iv.He last appeared in the film Forensics starring Tovino Thomas in February 2020.
v.His last film Professor Dinkan starring Dileep and Namitha Pramod will be released posthumously.
Veteran Malayalam Poet and Drama Writer Chunakkara Ramankutty Passed Away at 84
On 12th August 2020, Veteran malayalam poet, lyricist and drama writer Chunakkar Ramankutty passed away at the
age of 84 due to old age related ailments in a hospital at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.He hails from Chunakkara,
Alappuzha, Kerala.
About Chunakkar Ramankutty:
i.He was well known for his song “Devadaru Poothu” for the movie ‘Engane Nee Marakkum’(1983).

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ii.He worked in more than 215 songs for around 76 movies.
iii.His famous works include – ‘Syamameghame nee’ (Adhipan), ‘Sindoorathilakavumayi’ (Kuyiline thedi), ’Nee Arinjo
Mele Manath’ (Kandu Kandarinju), ‘Hridayavaniyile gayikayo’ (Kottayam Kunjachan).
iv.Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi in 2015 honoured him with “Guru Shreshta Award”.
Kerala Current Affairs - September 2020

One of the First Medical Devices Park to be Set up in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
In 2019, the Central government approved the setting up four medical device parks in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,
Tamil Nadu and Kerala on the lines of the “Make in India” initiative and to provide world-class products at affordable
prices for treatment. In this regard, on September 24, 2020, Chief Minister (CM) of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan laid the
foundation stone for one of the first medical devices parks in the country, “MedSpark” at Life Science Park,
Thonnakkal, Thiruvananthapuram.
• MedSpark is a joint initiative of Technical Research Centre for Biomedical Devices (TRC) at Sree Chitra
Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST), an autonomous institute of the Department of
Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India, and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd
(KSIDC), the industrial and investment promotion agency of the Government of Kerala.
• Notably, SCTIMST has considerable expertise and experience in the biomedical devices sector.
• MedSpark is fully aligned with the Honorable Prime Minister’s Vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
What is MedSpark?
Focusing on the high-risk medical device sector involving medical implants and extracorporeal devices, MedSpark
will provide full range of services for the medical devices industry like R&D (Research & Development) support,
testing, evaluation, manufacturing support, technology innovation, and knowledge dissemination benefitting small
and medium-sized medical devices industries, which dominate this sector.
• These services can be utilized by the medical device industries located within the MedSpark as well from other
parts of India.
• MedSpark will not only cut import bills but will also help in easy access to standard testing facilities and
reduce cost of production.
It is expected that the project would provide direct employment to 1200 people apart from 4000 – 5000 jobs
generated through the supporting industries like original equipment manufacturer (OEM) suppliers, service
providers, and marketing/post marketing support activities.
i.On 15th July 2020, Mansukh Laxmanbhai Mandaviya, Minister of State (I/C) for the Ministry of Shipping reviewed
the development activities of the Vallarpadam Terminal (Kochi International Container Trans-shipment Terminal
(ICTT) of Cochin Port which is proposed to develop as India’s first and Asia’s leading trans-shipment port to ensure
that Indian cargoes are trans-shipped through Indian Port.
ii.On July 28, 2020, Kerala government announced a new scheme namely “Chief Minister’s Entrepreneurship
startups and small entrepreneurs amid COVID-19 pandemic.
About Kerala:
About Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST)
President– Dr. Vijay Kumar Saraswat
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Kerala CM Inaugurate Thykoodam-Petta, Final stretch of Kochi
Metro-Phase-I
The Thykoodam-Petta stretch of Kochi Metro was inaugurated by Minister Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh
Puri and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan through video conference.

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The final stretch of Kerala metro phase 1 has been completed with the commissioning of Thykoodam-Petta stretch. It
has been completed at a cost of Rs 6218 Crores.
Key Points:
i.With the inauguration of a 1.33 km stretch from Thykoodam to Petta, the total operational stretch will be 25.2 kms.
With this Kochi Metro would be able to increase ridership to over 1 lakh per day.
ii.Kochi Metro has dedicated walls for the fishermen community who saved thousands during the 2018 kerala floods.
iii.KMRL has engaged persons from LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender) community in its operations,
making it the first organization to appoint transgender persons in the country.
Theme:
i.The unique feature of Kochi Metro is its theme based metro stations. Based on the core theme of Wester Ghats,
Kochi Metro has selected various themes such as Kerala’s heritage, culture and art.
ii.The Petta Metro Station Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) has chosen Fishing as the theme with dedication to the
fishermen community of the state.
PPP Model:
i.KMRL has also developed a unique Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model, where capital investment and
maintenance cost is taken care by a bank and in return the bank will have a co-branded card for Kochi Metro System.
ii.This is the first time that such a model is being launched and it will change the funding models for Automatic Fare
Collection (AFC) systems in the metro industry globally.
Kochi Water Metro Project:
Kochi will become the first city in the country to integrate water transport as feeder service to the metro.
i.KMRL will implement Kochi Water Metro Project at a cost of Rs. 747 crore with financial assistance of German Bank,
KFW.
ii.The Kochi Water Metro Project will develop 15 identified routes, connecting 10 islands along a network of routes
that span 78 kms and is expected to benefit 1 Lakh islanders.
iii.With the introduction of the project that connects 15 routes, People of Kochi can reach the mainland in less time.
iv.It will have a fleet of 78 fast, electrically propelled hybrid ferries plying to 38 jetties.
v.The boats will be powered by an electric propulsion system equipped with lithium titanium oxide batteries.
i.The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau(AAIB) formed a 5-member panel headed by Captain S S Chahar to
investigate the circumstances of the Air India Express Dubai-Calicut flight IX 1344Crash at the Kozhikode
airport, Kerala on 7th August 2020.
ii.Renjith Kumar, Engineer from Kerala and Indian Entrepreneur based in Virginia is honoured with NASA’s highest
form of recognition for a non-governmental individual “NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal”.
About Kerala:
Capital – Thiruvananthapuram
Governor – Arif Mohammad Khan
Kerala tops literacy rate chart with 96.2%; Andhra Pradesh worst performer at 66.4%: NSO
In accordance with the report on “Household Social Consumption: Education in India as part of 75th round of
National Sample Survey(NSS) – from July 2017 to June 2018″ conducted by National Statistical Office (NSO),
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Kerala again emerged as the most literate state in the
country with 96.2% literacy followed by Delhi (88.7%), Uttarakhand ( 87.6%), Himachal Pradesh (86.6%) and Assam
(85.9%).
• On the other hand, Andhra Pradesh (AP) is the worst performer at 66.4% followed by Rajasthan at 69.7%,
Bihar (70.9%), Telangana (72.8%), Uttar Pradesh (73%) and Madhya Pradesh (73.7%).
• The survey provided state-wise detail of literacy rate among the persons aged seven years and above.
• The overall literacy rate in India is pegged at 77.7% where rural areas have 73.5% literacy rate and urban
areas has 87.7%.
• Literacy rate: Literacy rate is defined as the percentage of literate persons among persons of age 7 years and
above.

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Objective :- to create the participation of persons aged 3 to 35 years in the education system, creating indicators of
the expenditure incurred on the education of household members and various indicators of those who are not
currently attending education.
This survey enclosed with both qualitative and quantitative aspects related to educational fulfilment of the household
members.
• Qualitative aspects included literacy, educational level attained, type of institution, nature of
institution,current attendance/enrolment, free education, reason for never enrolled/ever enrolled but
currently not attending, etc.
• Quantitative aspects, information was collected on expenditure incurred on education of the household
members by the household itself, by other households or by any institutions/organizations other than
Government.
Key Points:
-At national level, the male literacy rate is higher at 84.7% compared to 70.3% among women.
-Also, the male literacy rate is higher than the female literacy rate among all states.
• In Kerala, the male literacy rate is 97.4% compared to 95.2% among females and in Delhi stood 93.7% higher
than 82.4% among females.
• In the worst performing states, there was a considerable gap in male and female literacy rate like in AP the
male literacy rate is 73.4%, and female literacy rate is 59.5%.
• In Rajasthan, the gap is even wider as male literacy rate stood at 80.8% compared to 57.6% of females and in
Bihar the male literacy rate was 79.7% compared to 60.5% of females.
-The report also revealed that nearly 4% of rural households and 23% of urban households possessed computers.
-Among persons aged 15-29 years, nearly 24% in rural areas and 56% in urban areas were able to operate a
computer.
Click Here for Official Report
About NSO 75th round (July 2017-June 2018) Survey:
NSO 75th round was conducted during 1st July 2017- 30th June 2018 under which 9 items were covered for broad
coverage of information. The survey covers whole of the Indian Union except the villages in Andaman and Nicobar
Islands which are difficult to access.
• This survey covered 1,13,757 households (64,519 in rural areas and 49,238 in urban areas) and enumerated
5,13,366 persons (3,05,904 in rural areas and 2,07,462 in urban areas). A total number of persons of age 3 to
35 years surveyed was 2,86,456 (1,73,397 in rural areas and 1,13,059 in urban areas).
• The Survey Design and Research Division (SDRD) of NSO undertook the development of the survey
methodology and the field work is carried out by Field Operations Divisions (FOD) and the data processing and
tabulation work was done by Data Quality and Assurance Division (DQAD).
In accordance with the annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for [July 2018 – June 2019] of NSO, India’s
unemployment rate fell between July 2018 and June 2019 to 5.8% from 6.1% during the same period of 2017-18
while the Indian economy grew 6.1% in 2018-19, slower than the 7% expansion recorded the year before.
About Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)
Minister of State (Independent Charge)– Rao Inderjit Singh
Secretary– Pravin Srivastava
Director General (NSS)– Vijay Kumar
Gujarat, Andaman & Nicobar Emerge as Best State/UT in providing Strong Ecosystem for Startups: DPIIT
ranking
On September 11, 2020 Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) released the 2nd Edition
of ‘States on Support to Startup Ecosystems 2019’ . The Rankings are based on providing a Strong Ecosystem for
promoting Startups.
i.Gujarat emerged as the best performer among Category X.Gujarat topped the rankings in the 2018 edition of
Ranking also.
(In Category x – All States and New Delhi, barring North Eastern (N. E) States & other Union Territories (U. T))

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ii.Andaman and Nicobar Islands emerged as best performer among Category Y
(Category y – All N.E states except Assam and all UTs except Delhi).
iii. The Rankings were released by Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal and a total of 22
states and 3 UTs participated in the exercise.
Rankings:
For the purposes of ranking, states/UTs are classified into five categories: Best Performers (100 Percentile), Top
Performers (More than 75 to Less than 100), Leaders (More than or equal to 30 to less than or equal to 75), Aspiring
Leaders (More than 10 and less than 30) and Emerging Startup Ecosystems (Less than or equal to 10).
Category – X
All States and New Delhi, barring North Eastern (N.E) States & other Union Territories.
State Category
Gujarat Best Performer
Karnataka Top Performer
Kerala Top Performer
Category – Y
All N.E states except Assam and all UTs except Delhi
State/Union Territory (U.T.) Category
Andaman & Nicobar Islands Best Performer
—– Top Performer
Chandigarh Leader
Other Performers:
Category X:
i.Bihar, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Chandigarh were placed in Leaders Category.
ii.Haryana, Jharkhand, Punjab, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Nagaland were placed in Aspiring Leaders Category.
iii.Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh,
Mizoram and Sikkim were placed in Emerging Startup Ecosystems.
Category Y:
i.Nagaland was placed in Aspiring Leader Category.
ii.Mizoram & Sikkim were placed in Emerging Startup Ecosystems.
Basis for Dividing into Categories:
The States and UTs have been divided into two groups to establish uniformity and standardisation in the ranking
process.
Ranking Framework:
i.The ranking framework 2019 has seven broad reform areas consisting of 30 action points ranging from institutional
support, easing compliances, relaxation in public procurement norms, incubation centres, seed funding, venture
funding, and awareness and outreach.
ii.The parameters also involved getting feedback from beneficiaries gathered through 60, 000 calls to connect with
beneficiaries to ascertain real situations at the implementation level.
Other Info:-
The National Report and Specific Reports for all participating States and Union Territories had also been launched
and it is available in Startup India Portal.
National Report – highlights the vision, trajectory, methodology and the future roadmap of the States Ranking
Exercise.
State Specific Report – containing a comprehensive analysis of respective ecosystem, which highlights strengths and
priority areas for future
A ‘Compendium of Good Practices’ adopted by various States in supporting start-ups has also been released. It
identifies 166 good practices.

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Initiatives for Startups:
i.Government launched Startup India Action Plan in January 2016 to promote startups in the country.
ii.The aim of Startup India Action Plan is to give incentives like tax holiday and remodel Inspection regimes and
capital gains tax exemption.
Note – The DPIIT has created an India Investment Grid (IIG), an interactive investment portal providing details of
sectors, states and projects to ease the domestic and foreign investors.
Recent Related News: online portal called the
i.On May 8, 2020 Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Giriraj Singh (chief guest) presented
the award to the winners of “Startup India-Animal Husbandry Grand Challenge”.
ii.On June 25, 2020, According to the report, ‘Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2020; the New Normal for the
Global Startup Economy and the Impact of COVID-19’ released by Startup Genome, Bangalore,Bengaluru Becomes
India’s Only City in Top 30 with 26th position.
About DPIIT:-
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is a central government department under the
Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Secretary – Guruprasad Mohapatra.
Vice-President releases ‘The State of Young Child in India’ report

On September 04, 2020, Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu released the inaugural issue of the report ‘The State
of Young Child in India’ virtually. The report provides an account of challenges related to early child development
(0-6 years) in India.
The report has been prepared by Mobile Creches, a policy advocacy organisation which works with underprivileged
children across India.
The report has also released the list of Best-performing states & worst-performing states based on the Young Child
Outcomes Index.
Best-Performing State:
State Index score (2015-16)
Kerala 0.858
Goa 0.817
Tripura 0.761
Tamil Nadu 0.731
Mizoram 0.719
Worst-Performing State:
State Index score (2015-16)
Bihar 0.452
Uttar Pradesh 0.46
Jharkhand 0.5
Madhya Pradesh 0.526
Chhattisgarh 0.555
Key Points:
i.According to the report, there 159 million children aged below 6 years in India out of them 21 per cent are
undernourished, 36 per cent are underweight and 38 per cent do not receive full immunization.
ii.According to analysis on expense towards child nutrition, healthcare, education and other protection services, India
has spent Rs 1,723 per child in 2018-2019, which is insufficient to reach the entire eligible population.
iii.The report introduced two indexes: Young Child Outcomes Index (YCOI) and Young Child Environment Index
(YCEI).

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Young Child Outcomes Index (YCOI):
i.The Young Child Outcomes Index (YCOI) measures health, nutrition and cognitive growth with help of indicators
such as infant mortality rate, stunting and net attendance at the primary school level.
ii.Based on the index, eight states have scored below the country’s average. They are Assam, Meghalaya, Rajasthan,
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
iii.The index was constructed for two time periods 2005-2006 & 2015-2016 to provide inter-state comparisons and
also provides an idea of change over time.
Young Child Environment Index (YCEI):
i.The report has also developed another index called Young Child Environment Index (YCEI) to understand policy and
environment enablers that influence a child’s well being.
ii.It uses five policy enablers that influence child well-being outcomes which includes child well-being outcomes,
including poverty alleviation, strengthening primary health care, improving education levels, safe water supply and
promotion of gender equity.
iii.According to YCEI Index, Kerala, Goa, Sikkim, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh secured top five positions.The
environment index was constructed for 2015–2016.
Schemes/programmes for Children Development:-
Government of India has introduced several comprehensive policies and flagship programmes.Some of notable
schemes are:-
i.Ministry of Women and Child Development allocated additional funds for all children nutrition under the Integrated
Child Development Scheme (ICDS).
ii.National nutrition mission ( Poshan Abhiyaan) for Early Childhood Development.
iii.The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) is an important initiative for early identification and
intervention for children from birth to 18 years to cover 4 ‘D’s — Defects at birth, Deficiencies, Diseases and
Development delays including disability
iv.Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) is equally important to ensure protection, education and empowerment of the
girl child.
India has been making conscious efforts to meet the international commitments like the UN Convention on Rights of
the Child (UNCRC) and the Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW),
and more importantly the sustainable development goals (SDG).
About Mobile Creches:-
The first ‘mobile creche’ was set up in 1969, at a construction site near Rajghat, in Delhi.
Chair Person – Ms. Amrita Jain
Motto – Nurturing childhood sowing change
Kerala Bags UNIATF Award 2020 for its Contribution Towards SDGs Related to Non-Communicable Diseases
On 24th September 2020, Kerala won the UN Interagency Task Force (UNIATF)Award 2020 for its contribution
towards the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) related to the non-communicable diseases. Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, Director General of World Health Organisation (WHO) announced the annual UNIATF Award for the
year 2020 on prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.
This is the first time for Kerala to be recognised by this annual UN Award and along with Kerala 6 other health
ministries across the globe have won the 2020 UNIATF Award.
About UNIATF Award 2020:
The 2020 award recognises the contributions and achievements of the year 2019 on the multisectoral actions in the
prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, Mental Health and other SDGs related to non-communicable
diseases.
Key Points:
i.UNIATF Award 2020 recognised Kerala’s lifestyle Disease control mechanism, in which the government established
basic health centres to hospitals at all levels to treat the lifestyle diseases and the treatment and free service provided
to the larger section of the population.
ii.The award also recognised the state of the art lung disease control program, cancer treatment program and
paralysis control programme of the state.

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Other winners:
• The NCD Division of the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria.
• Health Directorate, St. Helena
• Secretariat of Health, Mexico
• Ministry of Health, Armenia
• Ministry of Health, Russia
• Department of Health and Social Care, United Kingdom
i.The World Health Organization(WHO) has accorded the World No Tobacco Day Award 2020 to Socio-Economic and
Educational Development Society(SEEDS), an Indian non – governmental organization(NGO), one among the 3
SouthEast Asian Region awardees, for its efforts to ban pan masala, gutkha, e-cigarettes and hookah in Bihar and
Jharkhand.
ii.The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General
Stefano Del Col awarded the annual environment awards of UNIFIL to 7 mission entities. An Indian Battalion
(INDBATT) stationed with UNIFIL is declared first for environmental contributions.
About Kerala:
UNESCO Heritage sites– Silent Valley National Park, Karian Shola (part of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary),
Eravikulam National Park, Achankovil Forest Division, Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary
About World Health Organisation (WHO):
Director General– Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
Kerala Tourism bags PATA Grand Award 2020

On September 24, 2020 Kerala Tourism’s ‘Human by Nature Print Campaign’ campaign bagged the Prestigious
Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Grand Title Winner 2020 for Marketing.
i.The awards were announced during a presentation ceremony of Virtual PATA Travel Mart 2020 in Beijing, which
took place from September 23-27, 2020.
ii.The PATA Awards are supported and sponsored by Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO).
Key Points:
i.The PATA Grand Title Winners are presented to outstanding entries in Three Categories: Marketing, Sustainability,
and Human Capital Development.
ii.The Awards attracted a total of 121 entries from 62 travel and tourism organisations and individuals.
iii.It recognized a total of Three Grand Title Winners and 21 Gold Awards.
iv.The Winners were selected by a Jury of 16 personalities from various destinations.
‘Human by Nature’:
i.The ‘Human by Nature’ campaign helped Kerala achieve a record tourism growth rate of 17.2 percent in 2019.
ii.It was a marketing strategy to revive tourism in Kerala, which was hit by the 2018 floods and Nipah outbreak.
iii.The campaign showcased the culture and daily life of people and was conceptualised and scripted by Stark
Communications.
Karnataka Tourism Bags PATA Gold Award 2020:
Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka won the PATA Gold Award 2020 for its Marketing Campaign –
‘Script your Adventure 2019’. It was one of the 21 Gold Award winners from across the globe.
PATA Grand Title Winners 2020:
PATA Grand Title Category winner
‘Human by Nature Print Campaign’ by Kerala
PATA Grand Title Winner 2020 for Marketing Tourism, India
‘Anurak Community Lodge’ by YAANA Ventures,
PATA Grand Title Winner 2020 for Sustainability Thailand
PATA Grand Title Winner 2020 in Human Capital ‘Unleashing Greatness’ by MGM China, Macao, China

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Development
About Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA):
Chairman – Chris Bottrill
Headquarters – Bangkok,Thailand
Entri, Kerala Startup Signs up Indian Cricketer, Robin Uthappa as it Brand Ambassador
On September 24, 2020 Entri, a local language learning app for jobs, signed up Indian cricketer Robin
Uthappa(representing Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2020) as its brand ambassador in its 1st major campaign across
India. It has also partnered with Hotstar torun ad campaigns in 5 different languages throughout the ongoing
IPL(Indian Premier League) season.
• Entri expects that this move will accelerate its user adoption in the country, especially in the Hindi belt.
About Robin Uthappa
i.He made a successful debut, scoring 86 runs(highest score for an Indian debutant) as the opening batsman in the
ODI in 2006.
ii.He is nicknamed as ‘The Walking Assassin’ for his tactic of charging the bowler.
Gist about Entri
i.It provides different types of learning content in local languages for aspirants to get government and private jobs.
ii.Founded by Mohammed Hisamuddin and Rahul Ramesh in 2017 it started with Malayalam content and launched
Tamil, Kannada,Telugu and Hindi content.
iii.It is on track to reach 5 million users in 2020 and is targeting 10 million users in the next 18 months.
HeadQuarters– Kakkanad, Kerala
Founder & CEO– Mohammed Hisamuddin
Researchers of ZSI Discovers Two New Species of Cockroach Wasps in Western Ghats
Researchers of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kozhikode discovered 2 new species of Cockroach Wasps in
Western Ghats. These new species were named Dolichurus sahyadriensis after Sahyadri or Western Ghat mountain
ranges and Dolichurus chareshi after C.Charesh, the laboratory assistant, ZSI who contributed in the collection of
the species.
Dr. P. M. Sureshan, Dr. P. Girish Kumar and Junior Research Fellow, S. Anagha were the members of the team that
discovered the 2 species.
Note:
The findings will be published in the Zootaxa, an internationally peer reviewed journal of animal taxonomy.
About the species:
i.These 2 species were discovered in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu and Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala.
ii.They belong to the family Ampulicidae.
iii.They help to control the cockroach population by hunting them to feed their larvae.
iv.Dolichurus chareshi is also found in the Aravalli range of Rajasthan.
Key Point:
i.The genus Dolichurus are commonly found in the Nearctic, the Neotropical, the Palearctic, the Ethiopian, the
Oriental and the Australian regions.
ii.Globally around 51 species were discovered and only 5 were from India, they are, Dolichurus amamiensis,
Dolichurus albifacies, Dolichurus gilberti, Dolichurus taprobanae and Dolichurus venkataramani.
About Zoological Survey of India(ZSI):
Director– Dr.Kailash Chandra
Headquarters– New Alipore, Kolkata
Established in– 1st July 1916

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Researchers from Kerala and West Bengal have identified ‘Systomus Gracilus’, a New Species of Freshwater
Fish from Ganga
The researchers from Kerala and West Bengal have identified Systomus gracilus,a new cyprinid(family of
freshwater fish) fish from Ganges River at Naihati of West Bengal.
The discovery was published as an article in the ‘Journal of Experimental Zoology’.
The Science and Engineering Research Board(SERB), statutory body under the Department of Science and
Technology(DST) has funded this project.
Key Info
i.The specimens are deposited in Zoological Survey of India museums at Pune, Maharashtra and Port Blair, Andaman
and Nicobar Islands.
ii.The International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature has granted a zoo bank register number for the fish.
Species was discovered, Scientifically Named, and Described by
Mathews Plamoottil, Head of Zoology Department, Government College, Chavara, Kollam, Kerala and Debarghya
Maji, an young researcher at Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, Kolkata.
About Systomus Gracilus:
Genus & Name
i.The species, which is edible, belongs to the genus Systomus. The genus Systomus is in the Cyprinidae family.
ii.It is named as Systomus gracilus(means slim in Latin) as it has a thin and compressed body.
Features
i.The species has a length of 11 to 12 cm and can be cultured in inland water bodies.
ii.It’s body and fins are in light reddish white color and a black band is present around the opercle.
iii.It can be distinguished from other species of the genus by the following:
• The body of the fish is unusually high and strongly compressed
• Tiny barbels that never reach to the orbit
• Anal fin with 6 branched rays and last ray divided to root
• 29- 30 lateral line scales and 11-12 pre dorsal scales, no color spot on caudal base.
i.The Himalayan butterfly named “Golden Birdwing (Troides aeacus)” has surpassed the “Southern Birdwing (Troides
minos)” after 88 years to become the largest butterfly in India.
ii.A 3 member team has discovered a new species of a fan-throated lizard, Sitana dharwarensis, from the barren lands
of northern Karnataka’s Bagalkot district. The study on the discovery was published in Bonn zoological Bulletin.
Kesavananda Bharati Swamiji of Edneer Mutt passed away at 80

On 6th September 2020, Kesavananda Bharati Swamiji, a petitioner of the historic judgement of the Supreme court on
the Fundamental Rights case passed away at the age of 80 in the Edneer Mutt, Kerala due to cardiac and breathing
problems.
Key Points:
i.Kesavananda Bharati has headed the Edneer Mutt since 1961.
ii.Apart from promoting advaita philosophy, He was a classical singer who managed and ran the troupe – Yakshagana
Mela for more than 15 years and took part as a bhagavata(singer & Director) and performed Carnatic music.
iii.He supported to eliminate the inhibition with the Yakshagana artists and conducted Yakshagana shows and
Talamaddale programmes in the Mutt.

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Kerala Current Affairs 2020

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Kerala Current Affairs - January 2020

Eight States finalized Agriculture Export Policy by the Government of India

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‘K-RERA’ launched in Kerala to bring transparency in real estate sector

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Kerala announces sports awards, Muhammad Anas wins GV Raja award

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated India’s 1st Super Fab Lab

Global investor meet ASCEND 2020 held in Kochi, Kerala

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Noted chess administrator Ummer Koya of Kerala dies at 69

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Former Kerala Minister M. Kamalam passed away at 93

Kerala Current Affairs - February 2020

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Kerala budget 2020: 1000 Kudumbashree hotels to serve meals at Rs 25

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Top 3 states in the ranking

Kerala CM launched ”Yodhavu” mobile app to combat drug menace

Famous Philosophical Author & RSS veteran P Parameswaran dies at 93

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Famous journalist M.S. Mani passed away at 79

Kerala Current Affairs - March 2020

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2 Chhattisgarh Sikkim Chandigarh

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Sahitya Akademi awardee, Malayalam poet Puthussery Ramachandran passed away

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Kerala Current Affairs - April 2020

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Indian Navy develops air evacuation pod for COVID-19 patients

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IIITM-K develops AI search engine, ‘vilokana’ for COVID-19 studies

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Malayalam Music composer M.K. Arjunan passed away at 84

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Kerala Current Affairs - May 2020

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Maximum IMR Madhya Pradesh (MP)- 48

Minimum IMR Nagaland (4)

State with largest decline of IMR Mizoram (from 15 to 5)

Best performer among larger states Kerala (7)

Best performer among smaller states Nagaland (4)

Best Performer among UTs Andaman and Nicobar islands (9)

Madhya Pradesh with the rural IMR at 51while the urban

Highest Death Rate Chhattisgarh (8.0)

Lowest Death Rate Delhi (3.3)

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Highest Birth Rate Bihar (26.2)

Lowest Birth Rate Andaman & Nicobar Islands (11.2)