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MONTHLY FACTLY

EXCLUSIVE CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR

PRELIMS AUGUST 2017

ForumIAS Academy, 1st Floor, IAPL House, #19, Pusa Road, Opposite Metro Pillar 95-96, Karol Bagh, New Delhi-110005

Current Issues

(August)

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. RIGHT TO PRIVACY

• Recently, in Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (retd.) vs Union of India case the Supreme Court has declared

right to privacy a fundamental right under Article 21

• Thereby, it overruled its previous judgments of M.P. Sharma (1954) and Kharak Singh (1961) both of

which had pronounced that the right to privacy is not protected under the constitution

ARTICLE 21

• It says that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure

established by law

• It protects the right of life and personal liberty not only from executive action but also from the

legislative action

• This right extends to citizens as well as non-citizens

ARTICLE 21: IMPLIED FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

• Right to- Speedy Trial

• Right to Travel Abroad

• Right to Dignity

• Right to Privacy

• Right to Clean Environment

• Right to Livelihood

• Right to marriage

• Right against torture

• Right against Bondage

• Right to legal aid

• Right to Food

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS - RIGHT TO PRIVACY

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

• India has ratified both the above conventions

2. TRIPLE TALAQ

• In Shayara Bano vs. Union of India case, the Supreme Court had declared practice of instant divorce

through triple talaq as unconstitutional, illegal and void and not protected by Article 25 (freedom of

religion) of the Constitution.

• It held that triple talaq is manifestly arbitrary and violation of the constitution and fundamental right under

Article 14 (equality before law)

TRIPLE TALAQ BILL, 2017

• Recently, the Lok Sabha passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriages) Bill 2017

• It declared pronouncing instant triple talaq in any form illegal

• The law made pronouncing talaq a cognizable and non-bailable offence and criminalises it with up to

three years in jail for the husband with a fine


• In such cases, the law allows Muslim women to seek subsistence allowance from her husband for her

and her children

• The Muslim women are also entitled to seek the custody of their minor children in such cases

3. ARTICLE 35(A)

• There are several petitions filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of Article

35(A)

• The petitioners have challenged it on the grounds of,

o The inclusion of the provision through Presidential Order under Article 370 instead of a

constitutional amendment under Article 368

o Violation of fundamental rights (Articles 14, 19 and 21) as it restricts citizens from other States

from getting employment or buying property within J&K

o Gender-bias and violation of Article 14 as it denies property rights to J&K permanent resident

woman who marries a non-resident while a man who marries outside state will continue to enjoy

his rights

ABOUT

• It was added through Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954 issued under

Article 370 of Constitution

• Article 370 (1) allows the President to make certain “exceptions and modifications” to the Constitution

for the benefit of ‘State subjects’ of Jammu and Kashmir

• Article 35(A) empowers J&K legislature to define permanent residents (PR) of state, confer on them

special rights and privileges in public sector jobs, acquisition of property in the State, scholarships and

other public aid and welfare

• The provision mandates that no act of the legislature coming under it can be challenged for violating

the Constitution or any other law of the land

4. HARIT DIWALI, SWASTH DIWALI” CAMPAIGN

• Launched by MoEFCC

• To reduce adverse environmental conditions especially pollution in the country after post Diwali

celebrations

• By creating awareness among various stakeholders and encourage people to participate in combating air

pollution

5. NABARD (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2017

• Passed by the Parliament in January, 2018

• The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, 2017 seeks to amend the

NABARD Act, 1981

FEATURES

• Increases capital of NABARD from Rs.5000 crore to Rs.30,000 crore

• Transfer of the RBI’s 0.4% share to Union government

• Adds Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) terms in place of small scale industry, tiny and

decentralised sector

• It allows NABARD to provide financial assistance to banks if they provide loans to the MSMEs

• It includes provisions dealing with definition of a government company and qualifications of

auditors in consistent with the new Companies Act, 2013


NABARD

• Established in July 12, 1982

• It is an apex Development Bank with a mandate for facilitating credit flow for promotion and

development of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage and village industries, handicrafts and

other rural crafts

• It provides funds to State governments for undertaking developmental and promotional activities in

rural areas

• It also supports the Self-help Group (SHG) and works for the restructuring of credit institutions,

and training and development of staff

• It was established on the recommendations of Shivaraman Committee

6. BANKING REGULATION (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2017

• The Union Government has notified the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2017

• It amended the Banking Regulation Act, 1949

• It added provisions for handling cases related to stressed assets or non-performing assets (NPAs) of

banks

SALIENT FEATURES

• The Act empowers the Central government to authorize the RBI to direct banking companies to

resolve specific stressed assets by initiating insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and

Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

• The RBI can specify authorities or committees to advise banks on resolution of stressed assets.

• The members on the committees will be appointed or approved by the RBI.

• The Act also make these provisions applicable to the SBI and its subsidiaries and also Regional Rural

Banks (RRBs)

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

7. MEKONG-GANGA COOPERATION (MGC)

• Recently 8th Mekong Ganga Cooperation Ministerial Meeting was held in Manila, Philippines

• India has called for expanding the areas of cooperation among the member countries of the MGC bloc

• The leaders have shared the concept notes on formation of task forces on maritime connectivity and

extension of (India-Myanmar-Thailand) trilateral highway into Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam

ABOUT MGC

• It was launched in 2000 at Vientiane, Laos

• It is named after Ganga and the Mekong rivers

• MGC initiative aims to facilitate closer contacts among the people inhabiting these two major river

basins

• Members: India, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam

• MGC emphasises on four areas of cooperation including tourism, education, culture and

transportation linkage for solid foundation of trade and investment cooperation in the region

8. INDIA – PHILIPPINES

• India has decided to provide a financial assistance of Rs. 3.2 crore to the Philippines to aid its fight

against the Islamic State (IS)-affiliated terror groups in the city of Marawi in Mindanao province


9. TAPI GAS PIPELINE

• India to host the next steering committee meeting of 1, 814 km long Turkmenistan Afghanistan-

Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline

• It was decided at sixth joint India-Turkmenistan Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) meeting on trade,

economic, scientific, and technological cooperation

ABOUT

• It is a proposed trans-country natural gas pipeline from Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan to India

through Afghanistan and Pakistan

• It is supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

• The pipeline begins from Turkmenistan’s Galkynysh field

• First proposed in 1995, construction has started in Turkmenistan on December 2015 and is expected

to be operational by 2019.

• It will supply both India and Pakistan about 38 mmscmd of natural gas whereas Afghanistan will get

14 mmscmd supply for period of 30 years

• Member countries established an inter-government joint security task force (JSTF) to serve as the

nucleus of the safety of the pipeline

10. RCEP

• Recently, the 19th round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Trade

Negotiating Committee (TNC) meetings held in Hyderabad

ABOUT

• It is a proposed regional trade block among ASEAN plus Six countries Viz., ASEAN, China, Japan,

South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India

• RCEP member states accounted for a population of 3.4 billion people with a total GDP (in terms of PPP)

of $49.5 trillion, approximately 39% of the world’s GDP

• RCEP negotiations were launched at 2012 ASEAN Summit in Cambodia

• After years of several rounds of negotiations, first RCEP summit held in Manila, Philippines in Nov,

2017

OBJECTIVES OF RCEP

• To reduce/eliminate tariffs on most goods

• Liberalise investment norms and trade in services

• Boost economic and technical co-operation

• Strengthen intellectual property, besides

• Including provisions on dispute settlement and competition and covering issues such as e-commerce,

public procurement

ASEAN

• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a political and economic organisation of ten

Southeast Asian countries

• It was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and

Thailand

• Later the membership has expanded to include Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam

• Objective: Economic, Political, Security, Educational and Socio-cultural integration amongst its

members and Asian states


• First summit: Bali, 1976

• 2017 summit: Pasay City, (Manila)

• 2018 summit: Singapore

• The ASEAN-India Free Trade Area agreement entered into force in 2015

• "ASEAN Plus Three" includes China, Japan, and South Korea

DELHI DIALOGUE

• It is an annual forum of ASEAN and India

ASEAN-INDIA CENTRE (AIC)

• It undertakes policy research, advocacy and networking activities with organizations and think-tanks

in India and ASEAN with the aim to promote the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership

ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM (ARF)

• Set up in 1993 as a regional security cooperation and dialogue platform

• India participating in it since 1996

ASEAN DEFENCE MINISTERS' MEETING (ADMM)

• It is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN.

• The ADMM plus comprises ASEAN nations plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand,

Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United States on a biannual basis.

EXPANDED ASEAN MARITIME FORUM (EAMF)

• It is an avenue for track 1.5 diplomacy (a diplomacy channel in which official and non-official actors

work together to resolve conflicts)

11. URANIUM BANK

• Recently, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has opened a uranium bank for Low Enriched

Uranium (LEU)

• In Oskemen city of Kazakhstan

• Its objectives include, providing last resort source of LEU for IAEA members in case of emergency, to

discourage new nations from enriching the nuclear fuel, peaceful use of atomic energy etc.

• It is owned and managed by IAEA

• It will be the first of its kind LEU bank not to be under control of any individual country

• The IAEA also manages 123 tons of uranium in Angarsk, Russia but it is under the control of Russian

government

• The project was funded by donors, including the United States, European Union, Kuwait, United Arab

Emirates, Norway and Nuclear Threat Initiative

INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA)

• It is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to

inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.

• It was established as an autonomous organization in 1957 through its own international treaty, the

IAEA Statute

• It is independent of the United Nations but reports to both the United Nations General Assembly

(UNGA) and Security Council (UNSC)

• The IAEA has no authority to act on its own, but relies on the willingness of nations to cooperate,

or on a UN mandate


• Headquarters: Vienna, Austria

• Director-general: Yukiya Amano

• Known nuclear-armed states: China, France, India, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, UK, US (Israel

is widely believed to have nuclear arms)

12. BIMSTEC

• The 15th edition of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation

(BIMSTEC) ministerial meeting was held in Kathmandu, Nepal

• India was represented by External Affairs Minister

• The meeting was to review the progress and achievements in the identified areas of cooperation and

discuss the ways to accelerate the partnership under the BIMSTEC process.

• The main agenda of this edition of the meeting was to finalise a free trade agreement among the

BIMSTEC member countries

• The MoU on the Establishment of the BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection was readied for final approval and

signature.

• The leaders agreed to expedite comments and observations on the BIMSTEC Framework Agreement

on Transit, Trans-shipment and Movement of Vehicular Traffic (BIMSTEC Motor Vehicle

Agreement) as well as the BIMSTEC Coastal Shipping Agreement with a view to negotiate and

conclude these at the earliest.

• It was decided during the meeting that the Government of Bangladesh will host an International

Conference on Blue Economy

ABOUT

• It is a sub-regional grouping comprising of seven countries of South Asia and South East Asia

• Members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand

• It was established as BIST-EC on 6 June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration

• Myanmar was admitted in Dec1997 and the organization was renamed as BIMST-EC

• Nepal and Bhutan were admitted in Feb 2004 and the was changed to BIMSTEC

• 1st Summit Meeting: Bangkok, 2004

• Headquarters: Dhaka, Bangladesh

• Its objectives are technological and economic cooperation among south Asian and south East Asian

countries along the coast of the Bay of Bengal

• BIMSTEC Chairmanship rotates among member countries.

BIMSTEC DMEX-2017

• The first BIMSTEC Disaster Management exercise held in New Delhi, India from October 10-13,

2017

• It was conducted by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)

• Mandate: to provide platform for sharing best practices on all aspects of Disaster Risk Reduction

(DRR), strengthening regional response and coordination for Disaster Management among BIMSTEC

member countries

BITFM

• The first meeting of BIMSTEC Task Force on Traditional Medicine (BITFM) was held in New

Delhi

• It was organized by Union Ministry of AYUSH

• India being a major stake holder in the field of Traditional Medicine plays an important role in

influencing the policies and strategies related to the Traditional Medicine in the BIMSTEC Forum


BODHI PARVA: BIMSTEC FESTIVAL OF BUDDHIST HERITAGE

• It was inaugurated in New Delhi on December 08, 2017

• India is hosting it as a part of celebrations of 20th anniversary of BIMSTEC

• ‘Bodhi Parva’ has entwined various threads of the Buddhist heritage into a beautiful melange

13. AGREEMENT ON TRANSFER OF PRISONERS

• India and Somalia have signed an agreement for transfer of sentenced prisoners in each other’s country.

• So far India has singed such agreements with 36 countries including Somalia.

INDIA-SOMALIA

• India-Somalia bilateral trade stood at $391.05 million in 2014-15, a more than 51% increase over the

figure of $257.27 million in 2013-14

• India also offers Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) training scholarships and Indian

Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarships to Somalia

• It is among the partner countries of India’s Pan African e-Network project

PAN AFRICAN E-NETWORK PROJECT

• It is a fibre-optic network set up by India to provide satellite connectivity, tele-medicine and tele-

education to countries of Africa

• TCIL, a Government of India undertaking, is implementing the project

• The project has been commissioned in 47 countries

14. INDIA - BHUTAN NEW TRADE TRANSIT AGREEMENT

• The new bilateral Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit between India and Bhutan came into

force from July 2017.

• It provides for a free trade regime between the both countries

• It also provides for duty-free transit of Bhutanese merchandise for trade with third countries

• It removes requirement of having an annual consultation between India and Bhutan

• Four new entry and exit point,

o Two land routes - Phulbar (India-Bangladesh border) and Dawki (West Jaintia Hills , Meghalaya)

o Sea route - Mumbai

o Air route - Chennai

BACKGROUND

• The bilateral trade relations between India and Bhutan are governed by the Agreement on Trade,

Commerce and Transit

• The agreement provides for a free trade regime between the territories of India and Bhutan.

• The last agreement was renewed on July 29, 2006 for ten years

15. GLOBAL LIVEABILITY REPORT

• Compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)

• According to its 2017 report, Melbourne is the most liveable city in the world

• No Indian city was ranked in the top ten or bottom ten

• Top 10: Melbourne (1st), Vienna (2nd), Vancouver (3rd), Toronto (4th), Calgary (5th), Adelaide (6th), Perth

(7th), Auckland (8th), Helsinki (9th) and Hamburg (10th)

• Damascus (140th) listed as the least liveable city


ABOUT

• The EIU Liveability index scores 140 major cities of the world on the scale ranging from 0 (least

liveable city) to 100 (most liveable city)

• Parameters: healthcare, education, stability, culture, environment and infrastructure

ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT (EIU)

• It is a British business within the Economist Group providing forecasting and advisory services

through research and analysis

• Created in 1946

EIU-MAJOR REPORTS

• Government Broadband Index

• China Going Global Investment Index

• Global Food Security Index

• Inclusive Growth Opportunities Index

• Worldwide Cost of Living

• Democracy Index

16. QUALITY OF LIVING INDEX

• Released by Mercer

• According to it, best city in India - Hyderabad ( Consecutively 3rd time)

• World best city - Vienna (Austria)

• Top 10: Vienna (1), Zurich (2) Munich (4), Dusseldorf (6), Frankfurt (7), Geneva (8), Copenhagen (9) and

Basel (10)

ABOUT

• Mercer is a global human resources consulting firm

• Headquarter: New York

• Its survey is conducted annually to enable MNCs and other employers compensate its employees

fairly, while sending them on international assignments

• Its city infrastructure ranking that assesses each city’s supply of drinking water, electricity, public

transportation and telephone and mail services as well as traffic congestion and the range of

international flights available from local airports

CITY INFRASTRUCTURE RANKINGS

• Singapore has topped the list

• Followed by Frankfurt and Munich both in 2nd place

• Baghdad (230) and Port au Prince (231) ranked at the bottom for city infrastructure

• Amongst Indian cities, Mumbai (141), Kolkata (149), and Pune (151)

• Bangalore was rated the lowest (177)

17. LIVEABILITY INDEX OF CITIES

• Launched by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs (MoHUA) in January, 2018

• It is a tool that aims to measure quality of life in 99 smart cities, capital cities and those with a population

of over one million (Total 116 cities)


• Funded by the World Bank through its Capacity Building for Urban Development (CBUD) program

• Ranking of these cities is expected to be ready by June 2018

• It will assess cities on comprehensive set of 79 parameters including 15 core parameters

• These 79 parameters are based on four broad pillars: physical (weightage 45%), institutional (25%),

social (25%) and economic (5%)

18. ICT FACTS AND FIGURES REPORT

• Released by International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

• According to 2017 report, India and China are home to 39% of the 830 million young people worldwide

who use the Internet

• The report highlighted that the proportion of young people aged 15-24 using the Internet (71%) is

significantly higher than the proportion of the total population using the Internet (48%)

INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION (ITU)

• It is the UN specialised agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs).

• Members: 193 countries and 800 private-sector entities and academic institutions

• Headquarter: Geneva, Switzerland

• It is responsible for allocating global radio spectrum and satellite orbits

• It also develops the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies to seamlessly

interconnect.

• It also strives to improve access to ICTs among the underserved communities worldwide

19. DIGITAL EVOLUTION INDEX

• Launched by the Fletcher School at Tufts University, in partnership with MasterCard

• The Index is a comprehensive research that tracks the progress of the digital economy across 60

countries

• It takes into account more than 100 different indicators across four key drivers: supply, consumer

demand, institutional environment, and innovation

• It reflects the state and rate of digital evolution on the one hand, while also identifying avenues for

investment, innovation and policy priorities

• India has been ranked 53rd among 60 countries

• Top 10: Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom,

Hong Kong and the United States

20. MERCOSUR

• The Mercosur economic bloc has suspended Venezuela from it for violating the bloc’s democratic

principles and failing to meet its basic standards

ABOUT

• Mercosur is a sub-regional bloc of South American countries

• Objective: to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people, and currency

• Established: 1991

• Headquarters: Montevideo (Uruguay)

• It is a full customs union and a trading bloc

• Full members: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (Venezuela has been suspended)

• Associate countries: Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Suriname

• Observer countries: New Zealand, Mexico


• India has signed a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with the MERCOSUR

21. APEC

• 7th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) high level meeting on health and economy was held

in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on 23rd August

ABOUT

• It is a forum for facilitating growth, cooperation, trade and investment in the Asia Pacific region

• APEC is comprising of 21 member countries.

• They are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, China, Chile, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia,

Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand,

Taiwan, Vietnam and United States

• Bogor goals: These are a set of targeted goals for realizing free and open trade in the Asia-Pacific

agreed by member economies in 1994 in Bogor, Indonesia

• India is an observer of APEC since 2011 and has applied for membership

• HQ : Singapore

• The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)summit 2017 was held in Da Nang, Vietnam

• Theme of 2017 summit: ‘Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future’

• Next summit : Papua New Guinea (2018)

ECONOMY

22. E-RAKAM PORTAL

• The Union Government has launched e-Rashtriya Kisan Agri Mandi (e-RaKAM) portal to provide a

platform for farmers to sell agricultural produce.

• It connect farmers from the smallest villages to the biggest markets of the world through internet

ABOUT E-RAKAM

• It is a digital initiative that aims to bring together the farmers, PSUs, civil supplies and buyers on a single

platform to ease the selling and buying process of agricultural products

• It has been developed by state-run-auctioneer MSTC Limited and CRWC (Central Railside Warehouse

Company) Limited.

• Under this initiative, e-RaKAM centres are being developed throughout the country in a phased manner to

facilitate farmers for online sale of their produce.

• The farmers will be paid through e-Payment directly into their bank accounts

23. PUBLIC CREDIT REGISTRY (PCR)

• The RBI has constituted high-level task force on public credit registry (PCR) for India

• It will be chaired by Y M Deosthalee and will have nine other members

ABOUT PCR

• The PCR is an extensive database of credit information for India that is accessible to all

stakeholders

• It helps good borrowers in securing credit at lowers costs and also improve access of credit to small

and medium enterprises

• It keeps records of individuals and firms on repayment history, unpaid debts, or credit outstanding

• The idea is to capture all relevant information in one large database on the borrower and in particular the

borrower’s entire set of borrowing contracts and outcomes


• Currently, there are four credit bureaus in India — Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL),

Experian, Equifax and CRIF Highmark

• These bureaus are regulated by the RBI under the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act,

2005

• They provide credit scores and allied reports and services.

• As of now, their analysis reports are used for issuing credit cards and for taking decisions mainly on retail

loans

24. GM FOOD CROPS

• The Parliamentary Standing Committee on science and technology and environment and forest

has recommended that no genetically modified (GM) crop should be introduced unless the biosafety and

socio-economic desirability is evaluated in a transparent process

• It also recommended that the Environment Ministry (MoEFCC) should examine the impact of GM crops on

the environment thoroughly

• It held that GM mustard being herbicide-tolerant GM organism (GMO), there are evidences on adverse

impacts of such GMOs elsewhere in world

MUSTARD

• Mustard is one of India’s most important winter crops sown between mid-October and late November

• It a self-pollinating crop difficult to hybridise naturally as it cross-pollinate

• It is largest edible oil yielding crop of India

GM MUSTARD

• DMH (Dhara Mustard Hybrid)-11 is genetically modified variety of mustard

• It is developed by Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants at Delhi University

• It is Herbicide Tolerant (HT) crop

• In February 2016, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GMEC) had allowed the commercial

production of it.

• However, the Supreme Court stayed the decision of the GMEC

GENETIC ENGINEERING APPRAISAL COMMITTEE (GMEC)

• It is an apex body under the MoEFCC

• Established under the Environment Protection Act, 1986

• It deals with approval of activities involving large scale use of hazardous microorganisms and

recombinants

25. COAL SECTOR PROBLEMS

• Recently, NITI Aayog has suggested reforms to spur up the coal sector which has been facing challenges

on various counts

PROBLEMS

• Medium grade coal - therefore imports necessary

• No off take by power companies

• Slow process of mining - Railway linkage problem

• Environmental clearances

• Irregularity in the allocation of captive coal mines


STEPS TAKEN

• Scheme to Harness and Allocate Koyla Transparently in India (SHAKTI)

• The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016

• Introduction of National Mineral Exploration Policy

26. MISSION ELECTRIFICATION

• In August, 2017, the Indian Railways has signed its first EPC (engineering, procurement, construction)

contract with L&T for electrification of railway lines

ABOUT MISSION ELECTRIFICATION

• The mission was launched in 2016

• For electrification of 24,400 route kilometre of Broad Gauge network in next five years

• Under the Mission, Ministry of Railways for the first time entrusted the electrification process to PSU’s

outside the ministry’s preview

• Power Grid Corporation India Limited (PGCIL), transmission sector PSU under Ministry of Power has

been granted license to do electrification works

27. BHARAT 22

• It is second Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) launched by the Union Finance Ministry

• It will help to speed up Government’s disinvestment programme budgeted to raise a record Rs.72,500

crore in the FY 2018

• It is a well-diversified ETF spanning six sectors —basic materials, energy, finance, industrials, FMCG

and utilities.

• ICICI Prudential AMC will be the ETF Manager and Asia Index Private Limited (Joint Venture of BSE and

S&P Global) will be the Index Provider

EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS (ETFS)

• These are essentially index funds that are listed and traded on exchanges like stocks

• They are basically basket of stocks with assigned weights that reflects the composition of an index.

• They are similar to mutual funds in a certain manner but are more liquid as they can be sold quickly on

stock exchanges like shares.

• The ETFs trading value is based on the net asset value of the underlying stocks that it represents

28. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL HIGHER EDUCATION PROJECT (NAHEP)

• The National Agricultural Higher Education Project has been formulated by the ICAR in partnership with

the World Bank with a focus to improve and sustain quality of higher education in agriculture

ABOUT NAHEP

• The project has been launched for a period of four years with 50:50 cost sharing basis with the World

Bank.

• All statutory agricultural universities, deemed to be Universities and Agricultural faculty of Central

Universities are eligible to participate in this project

• It will focus on raising the standards of teaching and learning through faculty and student development


programmes, infrastructure, state of the art laboratories, industry linkage, alumni network, career

development etc.

• It project has three major components

o Support to Agricultural Universities

o Investments in ICAR for Leadership in Agricultural Higher Education

o Project Management and Learning

29. LONG TERM IRRIGATION FUND (LTI)

• The Union Cabinet gave its approval for raising Extra Budgetary Resources of up to Rs.9,020 crore for

Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF) during the financial year 2017-18

• The funds will be raised by the NABARD through the issuance of Bonds at 6% per annum as per

requirement

• The LTIF will be for the implementation of Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) works of

99 ongoing prioritised irrigation projects along with their command area development (CAD) works under

the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)

ABOUT LTI

• Budget 2016-17 had announced creation of dedicated LTIF in NABARD with an initial corpus of Rs.20,000

crore for funding identified ongoing projects under PMKSY (AIBP and CAD)

• The corpus of LTIF was to be raised through budgetary resources and market borrowings to fast track

implementation of incomplete major & medium irrigation projects

30. AGRI UDAAN

• The Union Government is set to launch AGRI-UDAAN Food and Agribusiness Accelerator 2.0

programme

• It in an attempt to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture

• It will mentor start-ups and help them connect with potential investors

• The programme will help convert innovative ideas from India’s rural youth into viable businesses

start-ups and help them connect with potential investors

• It is managed by

o ICAR-NAARM’s (Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Academy of Agricultural

Research Management) technology incubator,

o a-IDEA

o IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation

• Under the programme,

o Start-ups will get incubation space to run their businesses

o Access to research laboratories and libraries

o Regulatory services like company registration and environmental compliances

• Following an intensive training lasting six months, the new start-ups will be connected to investors for

funding

31. NEW METRO RAIL POLICY 2016

• Recently, government has approved a new policy for expanding and regulating metro rail services in cities

across India


SALIENT FEATURES

• It made PPP component mandatory for availing central assistance for new metro projects

• Mandatory for States to provide last mile connectivity in project reports by providing necessary feeder

services, Non-Motorised Transport infrastructure

• It mandates Alternate Analysis, requiring evaluation of other modes of mass transit like BRTS

• Mandatory for setting up Urban Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) to prepare Comprehensive

Mobility Plans for cities

• Third party assessment of new metro proposals

• It also mandates Transit Oriented Development (TOD) to promote compact and dense urban

development along metro corridors

• The states are empowered to make rules and regulations and set up permanent Fare Fixation Authority

for timely revision of fares

SECURITY AND DEFENCE

32. NATIONAL CYBER COORDINATION CENTRE (NCCC)

• The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has announced that the first

phase of National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) has become operational

ABOUT NCCC

• NCCC is a multi-stakeholder cyber-security and e-surveillance agency

• It comes under Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)

• It derives its powers as per provisions of section 69B of the Information Technology Act, 2000

• It will be India’s first layer for cyber threat monitoring and all communication with government and

private service providers will be monitored by it.

• Its mandate is to scan internet traffic and communication metadata coming into the country to detect

real-time cyber threat

• NCCC also will coordinate between intelligence agencies

33. IMMSAREX

• The 2017 International Multilateral Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise (IMMSAREX) was held in

Bangladesh from November 26 to 28 2017

• The exercise had taken place under the aegis of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS)

• The ships and aircraft of the members and observers of the IONS including China, India and Pakistan

were participated in the exercise

INDIAN OCEAN NAVAL SYMPOSIUM (IONS)

• It is a regional forum of Indian Ocean littoral states launched by India Navy in February 2008

• It is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime co-operation among navies of littoral states of

Indian Ocean Region (IOR) by providing an open and inclusive forum for discussion of regionally relevant

maritime issues

• There are 35 members

• Navies of IONS represented by heads of their navies

• Under the IONS charter of business adopted in 2014, the forum has working groups on Humanitarian

Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), Information Security and Interoperability (IS&I) and maritime

security (anti-piracy)


ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT

34. WORLD DAY TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION AND DROUGHT

• It is observed every year on June 17

• To promote public awareness to combat desertification

• Designated by the UNGA in 1994.

• The day is observed globally to promote public awareness on the issue, and the implementation of the

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in those countries experiencing

serious desertification or drought, particularly in Africa

• 2017 Theme: Our Land. Our Home. Our Future

ABOUT UNCCD

• Adopted in 1994 and entered into force in 1996

• It is the only internationally legally binding framework set up to address the problem of desertification

• The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the

drylands

• UNGA declared 2010 to 2020 the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against

Desertification

35. ECOSYSTEMS SERVICE IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

• The Union Government has inked a Grant Agreement from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) of

the World Bank for Ecosystem Service Improvement Project (ESIP)

• The Project will be entirely financed by the World Bank out of its GEF Trust Fund

• The project’s duration is of five years

ABOUT ESIP

• Objective: Strengthen the institutional capacity of the Community Organisations and Departments of

Forestry to enhance forest ecosystem services and improve the livelihoods of forest dependent

communities in Central Indian Highlands

• Implemented by the MoEFCC in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh through Indian Council of

Forestry Research & Education (ICFRE) under the National Green India Mission (GIM)

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY (GEF)

• It was established on the eve of 1992 Rio Earth Summit

• The GEF Secretariat is based in Washington, D.C

• It is a multilateral financial mechanism that provides grants to developing countries for projects

that benefit the global environment and promote sustainable livelihoods in local communities.

• It is an international partnership of 183 countries, international institutions, civil society organizations and

the private sector

• The UNDP, the UNP, and the World Bank were the three initial partners implementing GEF projects.

• Since 1994, the World Bank has served as the Trustee of the GEF Trust Fund and provided

administrative services

• The GEF also serves as financial mechanism for the following conventions,

o Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

o United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

o UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

o Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)


o Minamata Convention on Mercury

36. ECOLOGICAL DEBT DAY

• Ecological Debt Day is also known as “Earth Overshoot Day“

• It refers to the calendar date in which the total resources consumed by humanity will exceed the capacity

for the Earth to generate those resources that year

• It is calculated by WWF and Global Footprint Network

• The first Ecological Debt Day was observed on December 19, 1987

• In 2017, the fell on August 2, the earliest date since ecological overshoot began

WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE (WWF)

• It is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) working in the field of the biodiversity

conservation, and the reduction of humanity’s footprint on the environment

• Established in 1961

• Headquarters: Gland, Switzerland

• Earth Hour is an annual international event organised by the WWF

GLOBAL FOOTPRINT NETWORK

• It is an international non-profit organization

• Founded in 2003

• To enable a sustainable future where all people have the opportunity to thrive within the means of one

planet

• Headquarters: California, US

37. BAN ON THE USE OF CHEMICALS IN FIRECRACKERS

• Recently, Supreme Court imposed a ban on the use of antimony, lithium, mercury, arsenic and lead in

the manufacture of firecrackers to prevent air pollution

38. NEW SPECIES FOUND

NASIKABATRACHUS BHUPATHI

• It is a new species of frog discovered

• It has a snout shaped nose, just like a pig in Western Ghats.

• It is soiled-dwelling species of purple frog

• It inhabits the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats

• It show comparisons with the Purple Frog (Nasikabatrachus Sahyadrensis) which was discovered in 2003

in Seychelles

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

39. PROJECT BRAINWAVE

• Launched by Microsoft

• It is a deep learning acceleration platform for real-time artificial intelligence (AI)

• It uses the massive field-programmable gate array (FPGA) infrastructure which has been deployed by

Microsoft over the past few years.

• It can processes requests as fast as it receives them with the help of ultra-low latency.


• The system architecture reduces latency, since the CPU does not need to process incoming requests,

and allows very high throughput, with the FPGA processing requests as fast as the network can stream

them.

• The system is important because real-time AI is becoming increasingly important as cloud infrastructures

process live data streams, whether they be search queries, videos, sensor streams, or interactions with

users

40. HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING SATELLITE

• ISRO is planning to launch a full-fledged niche Earth observation (EO) satellite, called the

Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite (HySIS)

• The satellite has critical chip called an “optical imaging detector array’” indigenously developed by

ISRO.

• Its launch will allow ISRO to enter the domain of operational hyperspectral imaging from earth orbit

• Hyperspectral imaging or hyspex imaging (imaging spectroscopy) combines the power of digital

imaging and spectroscopy.

• It collects and processes information from across the electromagnetic spectrum

• Hyspex’ imaging enables distinct identification of objects, materials or processes on Earth by reading the

spectrum for each pixel of a scene from space

41. IRNSS 1H

• The launch of India’s latest navigational satellite IRNSS 1H, in its indigenous GPS system NavIC, failed

• It was carried on by PSLV C39.

• IRNSS 1H was to augment the existing seven satellites of the NavIC constellation

42. KALYANI RAFAEL ADVANCED SYSTEMS (KRAS)

• It is India’s first private sector missile sub-systems manufacturing facility

• Inaugurated recently at Hyderabad

• It is 51:49 joint venture between India’s Kalyani Group and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems

Ltd.

43. OCEAN FORECASTING SYSTEM

• The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) inaugurated the Ocean Forecasting

System for Indian Ocean countries Comoros, Madagascar, and Mozambique

• It was unveiled at the third Ministerial Meeting of Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning

System for Asia and Africa (RIMES) held at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

ABOUT INCOIS

• It is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Earth Sciences

• It is a unit of the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO)

• It was established in 1999

• Headquarters: Hyderabad

• It provides ocean information and advisories through sustained and continuous observations and

improvement through systematic and focussed research


ABOUT RIMES

• It is an international intergovernmental institution for generation and application of early warning

information formed in the aftermath of 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami by the efforts of African and Asian

countries

• Member Countries : Bangladesh, Cambodia, Comoros, India, Lao PDR, Maldives, Mongolia, Papua New

Guinea, Philippines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste

44. MYFASTAG AND FASTAG PARTNER

• Recently launched by National Highways Authority of India

• To facilitate Electronic Toll Collection

45. MALPELO PLATE

• It is microplate, discovered off Ecuador’s coast in the eastern Pacific Ocean by Rice university

researchers

• It is overall 57th tectonic microplate to be discovered so far

• Microplates are tectonic plates with an area less than 1 million km2

• The plate is located west of the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador

• It is wedged in-between the Nazca, Cocos, and Caribbean minor plates

46. PERSEID METEOR SHOWER

• Perseid Meteor Shower fell on Earth in August peaking on August 12

• The phenomenon is result of the dust of Comet Swift Tuttle which passes through Earth every year

47. IMPLANTABLE PANCREAS

• It is an implantable bio-artificial pancreas model grown within 3D silk scaffold

• Created by researchers from IIT, Guwahati

48. VENUS SATELLITE

• Launched by Israel

• It is its first spatial environmental research vehicle designed for orbital monitoring of Earth's vegetation

• The Venus satellite (Vegetation and Environment Monitoring New Micro-Satellite) is an earth

observation micro-satellite designed jointly by Israel's agency and France's National Centre for Space

Studies (CNES)

49. WASP-121B

• It is an exoplanet found recently

• It is orbiting around its star WASP-121

• It is the first exoplanet found to contain water in an extrasolar planetary stratosphere

• It is commonly referred to as a hot Jupiter

• It has 1.2 times greater mass and 1.9 times greater radius than Jupiter

SOCIAL ISSUES


50. MADHYAMIK AND UCHCHTAR SHIKSHA KOSH (MUSK)

• The Union Cabinet has approved creation of a single corpus fund non-lapsable known as Madhyamik

and Uchchtar Shiksha Kosh (MUSK)

• Under it, all proceeds of secondary and higher education cess will be credited and utilised for the

government’s schemes in education sector

• It will be administered and maintained by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development

• It will be maintained as a Reserve Fund in the non-interest bearing section of the Public Accounts of

India

• It will be operationalised as per the present arrangements under Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh (PSK) wherein

the proceeds of cess are used for Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Schemes

• The expenditure on ongoing schemes of the HRD Ministry will be initially incurred from the gross

budgetary support (GBS) in any financial year and the expenditure will be financed from MUSK only after

the GBS is exhausted

51. PRICE CAP ON KNEE IMPLANTS

• Recently, the National Pharma Pricing Authority (NPPA) capped the prices of knee implants, in a move

to reduce product prices by as much as 69%

• In February 2017, the NPPA capped the prices of coronary stents to make them more affordable for

patients.

• It also requested the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to set up a committee to work out ways

to bring heart valves, orthopaedic implants and intra ocular (eye) lenses under the National List of

Essential Medicines (NLEM)

NATIONAL LIST OF ESSENTIAL MEDICINES (NLEM)

• NLEM 2015 contains 376 medicines

• Criteria for inclusion into this list includes public health emergency, cost effective medicine etc.

• Core Committee formed by the Ministry of Health, reviews and revises the medicines in the NLEM

• Once a drug or medical device is included in NLEM, its price can be capped by NPPA

NPPA

• The NPPA is an independent body under Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers

• It was formed on August 29, 1997

• Functions:

o Enforcement of Drugs Price Control Order, 2013

o Conducting studies on prices of drugs

o Monitor drug shortages,

o Maintain records of export and import of drugs,

o Study Indian pharmaceutical market and the market shares of different companies

o Advises the government with respect to drug pricing and policy

o Recovering amounts overcharged by manufacturers for controlled drugs from consumers

NODAL MINISTRIES

• CDSCO - It oversee regulatory control over the import of drugs, approval of new drugs and clinical trials

o Comes under Health Ministry

• NPPA- to fix the pricing of essential drugs

o Comes under Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers

• Exports of Drugs - Ministry of Finance


• R & D of drugs in companies - S & T ministry

52. INTENSIFIED MISSION INDRADHANUSH

• The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI)

to accelerate full immunization coverage to more than 90% by December 2018

• IMI programme aims at reducing maternal and child mortality by reaching out to each and every child

under two years of age and all pregnant women who have been left uncovered under routine

immunisation programme

MISSION INDRADHANUSH

• It was launched in December 2014

• It aimed to fully immunize more than 90% of children under age of 2 years, as well as all pregnant women,

against seven vaccine preventable diseases.

• These diseases are diphtheria, whooping cough, poliomyelitis, tetanus, tuberculosis, measles and

Hepatitis B

• In addition vaccines for Japanese Encephalitis and Haemophilus influenza type B are also being

provided

• Rubella, Injectable Polio Vaccine Bivalent and Rotavirus are also provided in selected states

53. SUNREF HOUSING PROJECT

• Recently National Housing Bank (NHB) along with French Development Agency (FDA) and the

European Union, have joined hands to launch SUNREF housing project in India.

• SUNREF (Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Energy Finance) Housing India will provide

financing of €112 million to NHB, through a credit line of €100 million and a grant of €12 million financed

by the European Union.

• The credit facility and grant agreements were signed with the NHB in July 2017

54. GOBINDOBHOG RICE

• Gobindobhog rice, a speciality from Burdwan district of West Bengal, has got the geographical indication

(GI) status.

• The region of Burdwan is known as the rice bowl of West Bengal

55. MENTOR INDIA CAMPAIGN

• NITI Aayog will launch the Mentor India Campaign to promote innovation and entrepreneurship

• t is a strategic nation building initiative to engage leaders who can guide and mentor students at more

than 900 Atal Tinkering Labs

56. GLOBAL RETIREMENT INDEX 2017

• Published by French asset management company Natixis Global,

• The report has placed India at the last 43rd place

• Top 3: Norway, Switzerland and Iceland

• Objective: To provide a global benchmark for retirees and future retirees so that they can evaluate and

compare the suitability of various nations, and plan their retirement according to their expectations and

needs


• Only the member countries of BRIC, IMF and OECD were considered for this index

• Parameters:

o means to live comfortably after retirement,

o availability of products and services to keep investments safe and enhance their value, availability

of health services and

o living conditions

57. SWASTH BACHCHE, SWASTH BHARAT' PROGRAMME

• Launched by MoHRD

• It is an initiative of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan to prepare a Physical Health and Fitness Profile

Card for more than 12 lakhs of Kendriya Vidyalaya students

58. NAVIKA SAGAR PARIKRAMA

• It is a project wherein a team of women officers of the Indian Navy would circumnavigate the globe on an

Indian-built sail boat INSV Tarini

• This is the first ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew

59. NUAKHAI JUHAR

• It is the 'Festival of Harvest', also known as Nuakhai in Odisha where people celebrate it full spirit

• People worship food grain on this auspicious day

• Farmers offer the first produce from their lands to goddess Samaleswari, to whom the festival is

dedicated

• The day falls during August–September months, the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival

60. YUVA

• It is skill development programme that has been launched by the Union Minister Of Home Affairs

• It is an initiative by Delhi Police under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

• It aims to connect with youth by upgrading their skill as per their competencies.

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