. NEWS BULLETIN―30Week-1, Aug 2019

NATIONAL

The Government

of India has launched

the pilot of One

Nation One Ration

Card Scheme. ―The pilot was

operationalised from

August 1, 2019.

―The pilot was

launched in four

states of Telangana,

Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

―Some states such as Telangana already allow ration card

holders to buy subsidised ration from any fair price Shop in the

state. One Nation One Ration Card Scheme will allow the

ration card holder to buy subsidised ration from any fair price

shop in the country.

―For availing this service, the beneficiary will have to get his

ration card linked with the Aadhaar Card.

―Ration cards are used by government to provide subsidised

ration and food grains to the financially disadvantageous

sections of the society.

―Government is planning to extend this scheme pan India

from August 2020.

The Government of

India has released the All

India Tiger Estimation

Report 2018.

According to the report:

―Currently, India has

2,967 tigers.

―Between 2014 and

2017 the number of tigers has increased by more than 33

percent.Madhya Pradesh (526 tigers) has the highest number of

tigers in India. ―Madhya Pradesh is closely followed by

Karnataka with 524 tigers.

―Karnataka is followed by Uttarakhand, Maharashtra and

Tamil Nadu with 442, 312 and 264 tigers respectively.

―All the states of India, except Chhattisgarh and Mizoran,

saw growth in tiger population.

―Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh has the highest

number of tigers in India.Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in

Tamil Nadu saw the highest increase in the tiger population.

―This is the fourth estimates of tigers or tiger census

conducted in India since 2006.The tiger census was conducted

over a period of 15 months and it covered an area of 3,81,400

sq-km.

The Government of India has released the 4th cycle of the

Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger Reserves (MEETR) report.

―This report evaluated 50 tiger sanctuaries in India.According

to the report, the Pench sanctuary (MP) and Periyar sanctuary

(Kerala) are the best managed tiger reserves of

India.According to the report,Dampa Reserve (Mizoram) and

Rajaji reserve (Uttarakhand) are the two worst managed tiger

reserves in India.

Body of VG Siddhartha, the founder of the Café Coffee

Day chain, has been found on the banks of the river

Nethravathi.

―There were no visible injury marks on the body.

―According to the post mortem, the cause of death is

drowning.

―It is suspected that Siddhartha

committed suicide by jumping off

the bridge into the river.

―Two days before the finding of

the body, Siddhartha had written a

letter claiming frustration with the

financial turbulence.

―He asked his personal secretary

to disseminate the letter to the

staff members of Coffee Café Day

and then he disappeared.

Law The Government of India has taken a decision to increase

the number of judges in Supreme Court by 10 percent.

―This increase will bring the number of judges in the

Supreme Court from 31 to 34 (including the Chief Justice of

India).

―A bill for amending the Supreme Court (Number of

Judges) Act, 1956 for the same will be introduced in the

Parliament.

―The increase in the number of Supreme Court justices was

requested by the Chief Justice of India RanjanGogoi in a

letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

―According to the data given by the government in the Rajya

Sabha, there are more than 11,59,000 cases pending in

Supreme Court.

―The number of judges of the Supreme Court are fixed by the

provisions of the Article 124 (1) of the Constitution of India.

The number can be modified by an Act of the Parliament.

―The Parliament has enacted Supreme Court (Number of

Judges) Act, 1956 for fixing the number.

―The number of judges in the Supreme Court was last

changed in 2009.

Parliament has cleared the Companies (Amendment) Bill,

2019.

―The Bill amends the Companies Act 2013.

―The Bill have been passed for ensuring greater

accountability and better enforcement of corporate governance

norms.

―Under the new rules the companies will have to keep the

unspent money for CSR activities in a separate account for the

same.

―The companies will have to spend money of CSR proposal

within three years of clearance of the proposal.

―The money left unspent after a period of three years will be

moved to escrow account.

―Registrar of Companies have been impowered to remove

the name of the companies – which are not following Company

law – from the Register of Companies.

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VG Siddhartha, founder of Cafe Coffee Day (CCD)

―The power to convert public companies into private

companies will now rest with the Central Government. ―This

power was previously with the National Companies Law

Tribunal.

Parliament has cleared the Muslim Women (Protection of

Rights on Marriage) Bill 2019.

―The Bill also known as Triple Talaq Bill will replace the

Ordinance in force for the same.

―The Bill declares practice of triple talaq or ‘talaq-e-biddat’

void and illegal.

―The Bill has made the practice of instant triple talaq a

cognizable penal offence.

―The husbands using triple talaq can face punishment of up to

3 years along with fine.

―The Magistrate cannot grant bail to the accused without

hearing the Muslim woman on whom talaq is pronounced.

―The magistrate can also set a subsistence allowance for

married woman against whom talaq is pronounced and the

dependent children of the women.

The Supreme Court has observed that there were not valid

reasons for it to enter into the issue of disqualification of

MLAs for defection when the tenth schedule of the

Constitution gave this power to the Speakers of the Assembly.

―This observation was made while hearing an appeal filed by

DMK leader R Sakkarapani challenging the April 2018

Madras High Court verdict dismissing his plea seeking

disqualification of 11 AIADMK MLAs.

―The pleader claimed that the Court should decide the issue if

the Speaker was not deciding it.

STATES

Registrar of Geographic

Indication has granted

Geographical Indication

(GI) tag to Rasagola of

Odisha.

―Odisha Rasagola was

granted the GI tag under

Section 16(I)/ Section

17(3)(c) of the

Geographical Indication of

Goods (Registration and Protection) Act 1999.

―The registration of GI tag has been done in favour of Odisha

Government undertaking Odisha Small Industries

Corporation Ltd. (OSIC Ltd.) and the trader’s organisation

UtkalMistannaByabasayeeSamiti.This is the second GI tag

received by Odisha. The first GI tag was for

KandhamalHaldi.

―Odisha and West Bengal have been fighting over the origin

of rasagola for many years now.In 2017 Bengal was able to

claim GI tag for BanglarRasogolla.GI tag recognises that a

particular product is distinctive to a particular

locality/region/country.

―GI tag also confers certain legal rights to the entities in

whose favour GI tag is registered. The application submitted to

the registrar of GI claims that Odisha Rasagola:

―Is made of cottage cheese and sugar syrup.

―Can be easily swallowed without any pressure from teeth.

―Comes in different colours. Most of the colours are achieved

based on caramelisation of sugar and changes in the methods

of preparation. External artificial colours are rarely used.

―The first reference to rasagola has been found in the 15th

century, Odia (Dandi) Ramayana written by Balaram Das.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has launched

the ‘DidiKe Bolo’ (tell your sister) campaign.

―The campaign allows the people of the state to take their

issues to the Chief Minister.

― People can use at or website www.didikaybolo.com for

contacting the Chief Minister.

―A special IT team has been set up for monitoring the

platform. The complaints lodged by the people will be sent to

the Chief Minister.

―Chief Minister will personally respond to complainants

through social media or text and voice messages.

Death toll in Bihar floods has crossed 130.

―The death toll in Assam floodshas crossed 86.

―According to the Assam State Disaster Management

Authority, 864 villages of 13 districts are affected by floods.

―In Assam more than 30,000 individuals are living in more

than 400 relief camps.

―The flood situation in Assam is improving with receding of

water. But the water level in the rivers is still above the danger

level.

―The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has

forecasted increased rain activity in the states of Punjab,

Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and west Uttar Pradesh.

ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

The proposal for fixation of Nutrient Based Subsidy

Rates for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) Fertilizers for

2019-20 has been cleared by the Government.

―The decision on this was taken by the Cabinet Committee

on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

―This decision of the government will cost tax payers Rs

22875.50 crore.

―The Government of India is currently giving subsidy on urea

and different grades of P&K fertilizers.

―The P&K fertilizers subsidies are provided to manufacturers

and importers of these fertilisers under the Nutrient Based

Subsidy (NBS) Scheme.

―The subsidy amount under the NBS Scheme is announced

annually based on the nutrient content of the fertilisers.

―The NBS Scheme was started in 2010.

Urea is the only controlled fertilizer in India i.e. urea is the

only fertilizer whose sale price is decided directly by the

government of India.

Insolvency and

Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has amended the

Insolvency and Bankruptcy

Board of India (Insolvency

Professionals) Regulations,

2016 for changing the

regulations related to the

insolvency professionals

(IPs).

―Insolvency Professionals

cannot take up assignments without the assignment

authorisation.

―Assignment authorisations will be issued by concerned

insolvency professional agency.

―Insolvency Professionals cannot take up employment while

they are in possession of authorisation to take up work under

the insolvency code.

―The authorisation is mandatory for individuals acting as an

interim resolution professional, (or resolution professional),

bankruptcy trustee, liquidator, authorised representative or in

any other role under Insolvency and bankruptcy Code (IBC),

2016.

―The revised norms also bar Insolvency Professionals and

their relatives from accepting employment with successful

Odisha Rasagula

resolution applicant after the completion of the resolution

process (for one year).

―The new regulations bar Insolvency Professionals from

using relatives or related parties for work in connection to any

of his or her assignments.

―The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India is a statutory

body deriving its powers from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy

Code (IBC).

―The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India was formed

by the Government of India on 1st October 2016.

―IBBI is responsible for regulating and dealing with the bad

loan cases, insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings.

―IBBI is the governing body for Insolvency Resolution

Professionals (IRP), Insolvency Professional Agencies (IPA)

and Information Utilities (IU).

DEFENCE & SECURITY

Indian Air Force (IAF) has launched a new mobile game

‘Indian Air Force: A cut above’.

―This is a 3D air combat mobile game.

―The game is aimed at increasing awareness about the IAF

and at encouraging youth to join IAF.

―The game is available on Android and iOS platforms.

―The game has been developed by Threye Interactive.

―This is the second video game launched by the Indian Air

Force. The first game – Guardians of the Skies – was

launched in 2014.

―The game was launched by Air Chief Marshal B. S.

Dhanoa at National Bal Bhawan, New Delhi.

India has entered into Rs 1,500 crore deal with Russia for

purchase of R-27 air-to-air missiles.

―India will use R-27 missiles on Su-30MKI fighter jets.

―R-27 are medium to long range air to air missiles developed

by Russia for MiG and Sukhoi fighter jets.

―Induction of these missiles will provide Sukhoi fighters the

ability to engage in long range battles.

―The purchase deal has been made under 10-I projects of the

government.

―Under the 10-I projects Indian Army, Indian Navy and the

Indian Air Force has to maintain critical weapon systems along

with enough spares for a minimum period known as War

Wastage Reserve.

―Indian Air Force has entered into purchase deals worth Rs

7.600 crore in the last two months alone.

―These purchase deals have been cleared under emergency

requirements provisions.

Indian Navy has commissioned Landing Craft Utility

(LCU) L56.

―L-56 belongs to Landing Craft Utility MK IV class.

―L-56 will be used for transportation and deployment of

Armoured Vehicles, Main Battle Tanks, Troops and

Equipment from ship to shore.

―L-56 has a displacement of 900 tonnes.

―L-56 is 62 metres in length.

―L-56 has two MTU diesel engines.

―L-56 is capable of attaining speeds in excess of 15 knots.

―L-56 has two 30 mm CRN-91 guns.

―The Indian Navy has decided to base L-56 in Port Blair

under the Naval Component Commander (NAVCC) in

Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC).

―With the construction of L-56, Garden Reach Shipbuilders

and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata has become the first

shipyard in India to build 100 warships.

Indian Air Force has

received the first batch of

Boeing AH-64E Apache

Guardian Attack

helicopters.

―The first batch of 4

helicopters was received at the

Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s)

Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad,

Uttar Pradesh.

―These 4 helicopters along

with 4 helicopters of batch 2 (to be received shortly) will be

formally inducted into the Indian Air Force in September 2019.

―Apache Guardian Attack helicopters are one of the most

advanced Multi-Role Combat Helicopters in the world today.

―Apache Guardian Attack helicopters are used by many

international defence forces including US Army.

―India is the 14th

Country in the world to purchase Apache

helicopters.

POLICY AND GOVT. INITIATIVES

The 30th

interaction through Pro-Active Governance and

Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) was recently concluded.

Issues discussed in this interaction included:-

--Progress in resolution of grievances under Pradhan

MantriAawasYojana-Urban (PMAY-U)

--Government’s objective of providing Housing for All by

2022.

--Progress of the Ayushmann Bharat scheme.

--Progress of the Saugamya Bharat Abhiyan

--Progress of 8 important infrastructure projects in Railway and

Road sectors.

―PRAGATI is an integrating, interactive multi-purpose and

multi-modal platform.

―PRAGTI is used by the government of India for addressing

common grievances and for monitoring and reviewing

important programmes and projects of Central and State

Governments.

The Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways is

considering the amendments in the Central Motor Vehicle

Rules for using Microdot Patches.

―Microdot patches are unique identification that is sprayed

on equipment and/or parts.

―The unique identification is made up of microscopic dots.

―Microdots are permanent in nature and invisible.

―Once sprayed, microdots cannot be removed without

damaging the part on which they have been sprayed.

―Reading of the dots require a microscope and their

identification requires ultra violet (UV) light source.

―The microdots will have to comply with AIS (Automotive

Industry Standard) 155 requirements if affixed.

―Use of microdots will help in checking vehicle thefts and

fake spare parts usage.

Inter-Ministerial Panel has cleared a proposal of electric

buses.

―The Panel has sanctioned 5645 electric buses for use in 65

cities, and for inter-city operations in 8 states of India.

Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian Attack Helicopters

―In past Niti Aayog suggested that the sale of non-electric

three-wheelers in India should stop from March 31, 2023.

―Niti Aayog has also suggested that sale of non-electric two

wheelers (capacity of 150 cc or less) should stop in India from

March 31, 2025.

―For boosting adoption of electric vehicles GST Council had

decided to reduce the GST rate on e-vehicles from 12% to 5%.

―Under the provisions of the Union Budget 2019-20, the tax

payers can claim tax deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh on interest

paid by them on loans taken for purchasing electric vehicles.

―The Government of India has also exempted many parts of

electric vehicles from customs duty.

―The Government of India has also allocated Rs 10,000 crore

under Phase II of FAME (Faster Adoption and

Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles) scheme.

―FAME Scheme has been enacted for encouraging faster

adoption of electric vehicles by providing incentives and

charging infrastructure.

.

SPORTS

MC Mary Kom has won a gold medal at the

23rd

President’s Cup by defeating April Franks of Australia 5-

0.

―President Cup 2019 is being hosted by Labuan Bajo,

Indonesia.

―Mary Kom won her 6th

World Championship Title in 2018.

―Mary Kom was the winner of India Open boxing tournament

2019.

―Mary Kom is trying to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo

Olympics. For this she will be participating in the World

Women Boxing Championships 2019 in Yekaterinburg, Russia

from September 7 to September 21.

The Khelo India Youth Games 2020 will be held in

Guwahati, Assam from 18th

January to 30th

January 2020.

―More than 10,000 athletes from across India are expected to

participate in these games.

―Khelo India Youth Games 2020 will be conducted in

partnership with Indian Olympic Association (IOA), School

Games Federation of India (SGFI) & Government of Assam.

―This will be the third edition of the games that were

inaugurated at New Delhi in 2018.

―Khelo India Youth Games 2019 were hosted by Pune,

Maharashtra.

―Khelo India Youth Games are a national level

multidisciplinary games held for school and college students.

―1000 top participants in the games are provided annual

scholarship of Rs 5,00,000 for helping them in preparing for

international sporting events.

―The annual scholarship continues for a period of eight years.

―The Khelo India Games were introduced by Union Ministry

of Sports for reviving the sports culture in India.

INTERNATIONAL

India and United Kingdom have launched the initiative

‘Innovating for Clean Air’ (IfCA) in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

―IfCA is a two year joint initiative that will use satellites and

sensor data for providing air quality measurement system.

―IfCA will help India is transiting to Electric Vehicles.

―IfCA will identify innovations that can help in improving the

air quality.

―IfCA will identify challenges related to infrastructure for

charging electric vehicles.

―IfCA will identify the challenges faced in integrating the

renewable energy and grid management.

―IfCA will facilitate collaboration between Indians and

Britishers for addressing these challenges.

―Innovate UK, IISc, CII, IIT-B, Shell Technology Centre etc.

are some of the organisations partnering in this project.

Sri Lankan Government has exempted Indian tourists from

Visa Fees for tourist visas.

―Till now Sri Lankan Government has exempted citizens of

48 countries from the requirements of paying tourist visa fees. ―Indians will not need to pay tourist visa fees (currently

between USD 20 to USD 40) for 1 month tourism visa.

―Indian tourists have an option of obtaining electronic online

travel authorisation or for applying for visa on arrival.

―The exemption will be valid for a period of six months.

―Tourism is Sri Lanka has suffered serious setbacks in the

aftermath of Easter Sunday attacks.

―Almost 25 percent of the total tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka

are Indians.

―5 percent of Sri Lanka’s GDP come from tourism.

―Tourism is the third largest source of foreign currency

earnings in Sri Lanka.

World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared outbreak

of Ebola in Congo an international emergency.

―The declaration was made after a case of Ebola was

discovered in Goma, Congo.

―All individuals

travelling from

Goma are being

checked for Ebola.

―Congo

Government with

help from

international

community has

tested more than seventy million travellers.

―Goma is a densely populated city in Congo near its border

with Rwanda.

―Ebola has been responsible for more than 1,700 deaths since

August 2018.

―The Government of Congo is asking for more financial

support from the international community to contain Ebola

outbreak.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The Indian Government has cleared the plan for setting up of

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Technical

Liaison Unit (ITLU) at Moscow, Russia.

―This liaison unit will be responsible for developing

relationships with Russia and neighbouring countries for

encouraging

mutually synergetic outcomes.

―The liaison unit will be under the control of ISRO scientists

or engineer.

―The liaison office will try to gather the required

technological support for the ISRO’s Gaganyaan

programme.

―ISRO already has Technical Liaison units at Washington,

USA and Paris, France.

―The technical liaison office in Washington works with

different government and space agencies in USA.

―The technical liaison office in Paris works with different

government and space agencies in Europe.

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology,

Hyderabad gave developed a Dye-Sensitised Solar Cell

(DSSC).

―DSSC uses cheap magenta-dye known as New Fuschsin.

―DSSC is a cheap, non-toxic, water soluble. But it does not

degrade in presence of water.

―The solar cells in existence today use Silicon.

―Silicon processing is very expensive and it involves

processes that encourages global warming.

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)

have discovered a new planetary system TOI 270 at a distance

of 73 light years from Earth.

―TOI 270 located in the Pictor constellation has a dwarf star

and three exoplanets named TOI 270b, TOI 270c and TOI

270d.

―This dwarf star has 40 percent less mass and size than Sun.

BASIC GK ASPECTS

Books and Authors

Caste Matters―by SurajYengde

Chandra Shekhar: The Last Icon of Ideological

Politics―by Hativansh and Ravi DuttBajpai

Words From My Window: A Journal ―by Bond Ruskin and

Dan Williams.

A Century is Not Enough―by SouravGanguly and Gautam

Bhattacharya

Kargil: Untold Stories from the War―by Rachna Bisht

Rawat

The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate

Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire Hardcover―by

William Dalrymple

Radical Simplicity Hardcover―by Ken Allen

Awards and Honours

Indian sand artist and Padma

Awardee, SudarsanPattnaik has won

People’s Choice Award at a

prestigious sand sculpting festival in

United States (US).

―2019 Revere Beach International

Sand Sculpting Festival was held at

Boston, United States.

―Sudarsanwas one of the 15 sand

artists who were shortlisted from

across the world to participate in this festival

―Sudarshan’s scripture was themed at combating plastic

pollution in oceans.

―Sudarshan was the only Asian representative at the festival.

―Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival is one of

the largest sand sculpting festivals in the world.

―The festival is hosted by a non-profit organisation Revere

Beach Partnership.

Meryl Streep has been selected for

the TIFF Tribute Actor award 2019.

―The award will be presented to her

during the Toronto International

Film Festival (TIFF) scheduled from

September, 2019.

―Meryl Streep will be the first recipient of TIFF Tribute Actor

Award.

―Meryl is regarded as one of the most talented and versatile

actors of her time.

―Meryl is the most nominated actor for Academy

Awards.Meryl has won Oscars thrice.In her 50 years career

Meryl has portrayed variety of characters.

―Toronto International Film Festival is one of the world’s

largest publicly attended film festivals.Almost 5 lakh people

attend TIFF every year.TIFF was started in 1976

Appointments

Director General of Civil

Aviation Security (DG CAS)

Rakesh Asthana has been given

additional charge of Director

General Narcotics Control

Bureau (DG NCB).

―Asthana will take over the

additional responsibility for a

period of six months or until the

appointment of a new DG NCB.

―The post of DG NCB has been

vacant since July 4, 2019.

―Asthana is 1984-batch IPS (Indian Police Service) officer of

Gujarat cadre

―Asthana was 2nd

in command in Central Bureau of

Investigation (CBI). ―He was shifted out of the agency due

to controversies with then CBI head Alok Verma.

―NCB is the nodal intelligence and drug law enforcement

agency of India.

―NCB was established in 1986 and is under the control of

Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

ITBP Director General S

SDeswal has been given additional

responsibility as Director General

of National Security Guard (NSG).

―Deswal will take over from the

present DG NSG SudeepLakhtakia

who is set to retire on 31st of July.

―Deswal is a 1984-batch Indian

Police Officer of Telangana Cadre.

―NSG under the control of Union

Ministry of Home Affairs deals with

internal disturbances and terrorism.

―NSG is considered as a Special Force and it deals with all

forms of terrorism.

IPS officer VK Johri has

been appointed as the new

Director General of the

Border Security Force (DG

BSF).

―He will take over from

RajniKanti Mishra who is due

to retire on 31st August.

―VK Johri is currently serving

as the Special Secretary in

external intelligence agency

Research and Analysis Wing (RAW),

―VK Johri is a 1984 batch Indian Police Service Officer of

Madhya Pradesh cadre.

―BSF is one of the 7 Central Armed Police Forces of India.

―BSF is India’s largest security force with more than 2.5 lakh

personnel.

―BSF is responsible for securing Indian borders with both

Pakistan and Bangladesh.

SudarsanPattnaik

Meryl Streep

Rakesh Asthana

S SDeswal

VK Johri

BadriNarain Sharma has been

appointed as the chairman of

National Anti-profiteering

Authority (NAA) of India for

two years.

―Sharma is a 1985 batch IAS

officer from Rajasthan who is due

for retirement on August 2019.

―NAA was constituted in 2017

for ensuring that the benefits of

the reduced GST are passed on to

consumers.

People in News

India origin Priti Patel has been appointed as the Home

Secretary of Britain.

―Patel has become the first Indian origin individual to

become the Home Secretary of Britain.

Wing commander TarunChaudhri became 1st Indian

Armed Forces (IAF) pilot to do a Wing Suit Skydive Jump.

―Tarun jumped from a Mi-17 helicopter at an altitude of

8.500 feet.

―The jump was part of the Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrations

at Jodhpur Air Force Station, Rajasthan.

Places/Events in News

The conclave of Himalayan States was held on at

Mussoorie in Uttarakhand.

―The conclave met for discussing the priorities of Indian

Himalayan Region (IHR) in the 15th

Finance Commission.

―This is the first conclave of the states that are part of

Himalayan Region.

―Representatives of the 11 Himalayan states (Arunachal

Pradesh, Assam Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir,

Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura

and Uttarakhand) participated in the conclave.

―One of the issues in the conclave was water conservation.

―These 11 states are asking for Green Bonus from the Union

Government on account of their contribution to environmental

conservation.

―These 11 states are also demanding a dedicated Union

Ministry for dealing with the issues faced by them.

―The conclave ended with the adoption of the Mussoorie

Resolution 2019.

The 22nd National Conference on e-Governance will take

place in Shillong, Meghalaya.

―This is the first time that this National Conference will take

place in North-eastern part of India.

―North Eastern India has been selected to host the conference

to increase the momentum of e-governance in the region.

―National Conference on e-Governance 2019 will be

organised by Department of Administrative Reforms and

Public Grievances (DARPG).

―Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

and Meghalaya State Government will partner in this

conference.

― ‘Digital India: Success to Excellence’ has been selected as

the theme of the conference.

―More than 450 delegated from 36 states and union territories

of India will participate in the conference.

Important Abbreviations

CAPF: Central Armed Police Force

CBI: Central Bureau of Investigation

CCEA: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

DAPRG: Department of Administrative Reforms and Public

Grievances

FAME: Faster Absorption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and

Electric Vehicles Scheme

GDP: Gross Domestic Product

GI: Geographical Indications

GRSE: Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers

IAF: Indian Air Force

IBBI: Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India

IBC: Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code

IfCA: Innovating for Clean Air

ILO: International Labour Organisation

IMD: India Meteorological Department

IOA: India Olympic Association

IPA: Insolvency Professional Agencies

IRP: Insolvency Resolution professionals

ISRO: Indian Space Research Organisation

IU: Information Utilities

LCU: Landing Craft Utility

MEETR: Management Effectiveness Evaluation of Tiger

Reserves

NAA: National Anti-profiteering Authority

NBS: National based Subsidy

NCB: Narcotic Control Bureau

NSG: National Security Guard

OSIC: Odisha Small industries Corporation Ltd.

PMKSM: Pradhan MantriKisanSamman Nidhi

PRAGATI: Pro-Active Governance and Timely

Implementation

SGFI: School Game Federation of India

TESS: Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite

TIFF: Toronto International Film Festival

WHO: World Health Organisation

Days/Anniversaries

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is observed

every year of July 30.

―The day is observed for two primary reasons:

--increasing the awareness regarding the plight of human

trafficking victims

--promoting and protecting the rights of human trafficking

victims.

―The theme of World Day Against Trafficking 2019 was

‘Human Trafficking: Call Your Government to Action’.

―Human trafficking is defined by International labour

Organisation as trading of human beings for forced labour,

commercial sexual exploitation or sexual slavery.

―Estimated 21 million individuals across the world are

victims of human trafficking.

―Women and girls account for 71 percent of human

trafficking victims.

―Children account for 33 percent of the human trafficking

victims.

―The decision to observe World Day against Trafficking in

Persons was taken in the UN General Assembly in 2013 by

the resolution A/RES/68/192.

Global Tiger Day is observed on July 29 every year.

―This day is observed for creating awareness regarding tiger

conservation and regarding protection of their natural habitats.

―On 29th

July, 2010 Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit was

held in Russia.

―In this Summit the tiger populated countries signed an

agreement to double the tiger population of the world by

2022.

BadriNarain Sharma

―India launched Project Tiger in 1973 and as a consequence,

India has the highest tiger population in the world.

Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated annually on July 26.

―The first Kargil Vijay Diwas was celebrated in 1999.

―The Kargil Vijay Diwas is held for marking the success of

Indian armed forces against the Pakistani intruders occupying

Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir.

―Kargil Vijay Diwas 2019 was the 20th anniversary of the

day.

―Kargil Vijay Diwas 2019 was celebrated with the theme

Remember, Rejoice and Renew.

. NEWS BULLETIN―31 Week-2, Aug 2019

NATIONAL

The Government of India has made changes to the Article

370 which granted special status to the State of Jammu and

Kashmir.

―The Rajya Sabha has also passed the Jammu and Kashmir

Reorganisation Bill 2019 for converting the State of Jammu

and Kashmir into two different Union Territories.

―According to the Bill, the territory of Ladakh will be

separated from the State of Jammu and Kashmir and made into

a Union Territory without a legislature.

―Jammu and Kashmir will now be a Union Territory with

legislature.

―The purposed Union Territory of Jammu Kashmir will be the

largest (in terms of area) Union Territory in India.

―The purposed Union Territory of Ladakh will be the second

largest (in terms of area) Union Territory in India.

―These two new Union Territories will bring the number of

Union Territories in India to 9.

―The Bill also purposes reorganisation of the constituencies

of the State on the basis of 2011 census data.

―The bill also removes Jammu and Kashmir’s Legislative

Council.

―The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will have a Chief

Minister and a Lt Governor.

―Jammu and Kashmir will now have neither its own flag nor

its own Constitution.

―The term of the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir

has been reduced from 6 to 5 years.

―Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) that was applicable in the State

has been replaced with the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has started

large scale trials for IMMUVAC and VPM1002.

―IMMUVAC and VPM1002 are two new vaccines for

tuberculosis (TB).

―This is the first large scale trail of TB vaccines in India.

―More than 12,000 healthy households from six states (Delhi,

Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana etc.) have agreed to participate

in the trials.

―These new vaccines have been developed by Indian

pharmaceutical companies.

―IMMUVAC or MIP (mycobacterium indicus pranii) has been

developed by Cadila Pharmaceuticals.

―VPM1002 has been developed by Serum Institute of India.

―Currently Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine is used

for preventing TB.

BCG was developed more than 100 years ago.

―Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis

(MTB) bacteria.

―More than 20 lakh individuals across India contact TB

annually.

―India is responsible for 27% of the worldwide TB cases.

―India has the largest cases of the multidrug resistant TB in the

world at 1,47,000 per year.

―India has committed itself of eliminating TB from India by

2025.

Indian Government has decided to sign the United Nations

Convention on International Settlement Agreements (UNISA).

―UNISA or Singapore Convention on Mediation was

adopted by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in December

2018.

―UNGA provides framework for enforcement of international

settlement of mediation agreements.

―UNGA is similar to Convention on Recognition and

Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York, 1958) or New York Convention which provides a framework for

enforcement of international settlement of arbitral awards.

―UNGA helps in making the mediation settlements binding

and enforceable across the world.

―Under UNGA provisions, the Courts can refuse to enforce

mediation agreements if the agreements are incapable of

settlement or if they are against the public policy.

―UNGA will help to promote mediation as one of the methods

of sorting out trade disputes.

―Signing of UNGA will boost India’s international reputation

by showing that India is committed to international practices on

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

For the first time since Indian Independence a Nagar Kirtan

from Pakistan has come to India.

―A Nagar Kirtan from Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan

arrived in Amritsar on account of 550th birth anniversary

celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikh

religion.

―Approximately 500 Sikh devotees carrying the Holy Guru

Granth Sahib crossed from Pakistan to India through the land

transit route of Attari border.

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such violation would entail initiation of suitable legal proceedings.

The 1st session of the 17th Lok Sabha ended one day before

the scheduled ending as 99 percent of the government business

was completed.

―This is being termed as the most productive session of the

Lok Sabha since 1952 in terms of the number of bills passed.

―In 1952, 24 bills were passed in 67 sittings of the Lok Sabha.

―In the current session 35 bills were passed in 37 sittings.

―The opposition parties are claiming that this is not an

achievement as the bills of national importance must be debated

and discussed thoroughly before passing. ―They are terming

the passing of bills without adequate debate as a serious danger

to democracy.

LAW

Lok Sabha has passed Transgender Persons (Protection of

Rights) Bill, 2019.

―The Transgender Bill has been brought in to stop

discrimination against transgender persons in different areas

including employment, education, enjoyment of public facilities

etc.

―The Bill defines a transgender as an individual whose gender

does not match the gender assigned at birth.

―The Bill gives the transgender persons right of residence and

right to be included in household.

―The Bill puts the onus on the government to provide health

care facilities to the transgender persons.

―The Bill provides for a separate Certificate of Identity which

transgender individuals can take from the District Magistrate.

―The Bill envisions creation of a National Council for

Transgender Persons (NCT) under the leadership of the Prime

Minister.

―As per 2011, census there were more than 4.80 lakh

transgenders in India.

The Lok Sabha has passed Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill,

2019 for banning commercial surrogacy in India.

―The bill bans sale and purchase of human embryos and

gametes.

―The bill does not stop ethical altruistic surrogacy for needy

couples.

―The bill calls for regulation of surrogacy in India.

―The bills prohibit exploitation of surrogate mothers and

children born through surrogacy.

―The bill defines surrogacy as the practice in which woman

gives birth to a child for the intending couple with the purposes

of handing it over to the intending couple after birth.

―The bill allows for altruistic surrogacy in which the monetary

compensation is limited to medical expenses and insurance

coverage.

―The bill limits the option of altruistic surrogacy to the

couples who have proven infertility.

―The bill limits the option of altruistic surrogacy to individuals

who do not have any other living biological, adopted or

surrogate children.

―The surrogate mothers in such cases must be a close relative

of the eligible couples.

―The surrogate mother should have been married, and must

have a child of her own.

―The surrogate mother must be between 25 and 35 years of age.

―The surrogate mother must not have borne any other surrogate

child in her life.

―The bill bans the surrogacy option for homosexual couples

and single parents.

―The option of altruistic surrogacy cannot be taken by

foreigners, NRIs and PIOs.

―The bill proposes the establishment of National Surrogacy

Board (NSB) along with state surrogacy boards in different

states

―The offences under the bill carry a maximum sentence of 10

years and fines up to Rs 10 lakh.

Lok Sabha has passed Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial

(Amendment) Bill, 2019.

―The Bill ends the practice of automatic nomination of

Congress President as trustee of Jallianwala Bagh Memorial

trust.

―The bill also clarifies that in cases where there in no Leader

of Opposition in Lok Sabha, the leader of the single largest

opposition party will become the Trustee of the Jallianwala

Bagh Memorial.

―The bill also authorises Central Government to terminate term

of a nominated trustee of the Memorial Trust without assigning

any reason for the said termination.

STATES

Maharashtra has adopted Automated Multi-modal

Biometric

Identification

System (AMBIS) for

helping in

police

investigations.

AMBIS will be

adopted by the

other states of India in due course.

―AMBIS is a digital fingerprint and iris scanning system which

is made up of a computer, camera and iris, fingerprint and palm

scanners. AMBIS can also be used for identifying faces from

CCTV camera feeds.

―AMBIS is an updated version of Automated Fingerprint

Identification System (AFIS), which different states have been

using for a long time for searching finger and palm prints.

―AMBIS provides the capability of multimodal matches

whereas AFIS was limited to one-to-one fingerprint matching.

―AMBIS adheres to standards set by the National Institute of

Standards and Technology.

Rajasthan Assembly has cleared the Protection from

Lynching Bill, 2019.

―Rajasthan is the second state (after Manipur) to pass an Anti-

Lynching Bill.

―Anti-lynching bill criminalises mob lynching as a special

offence.

―Between 2017 and 2019, there have been a number of cases

of mob lynching in Rajasthan.

―One of the famous incidents involved killing of Haryana’s

dairy farmer Pehlu Khan by a mob of cow protectors on Jaipur

Delhi highway.

―The passed Bill makes Mob Lynching a cognizable, non-

bailable and non-compoundable offences.

―Individuals involved in mob lynching can face life

imprisonment along with a fine which may extend to Rs 5 lakh.

―In addition to the mob, bill also holds conspirators

accountable for dissemination of offensive material,

enforcement of hostile environment etc.

―The Bill also provides for appointment of nodal officer of

rank of Inspector-General of Police (IGP) for preventing mob

lynching.

―The Bill also provides for establishment of relief camps for

victims of mob lynching.

―Mob lynching is defined as an act of violence, whether

spontaneous or planned, by a mob on the basis of religion, race,

Maharashtra - 1st state in India to adopt AMBIS

caste, sex, place of birth, sexual orientation, language, dietary

practices, ethnicity and political affiliation.

―The opposition parties have criticised the bill claiming that

there are sufficient provisions in the Indian Penal Code (IPC)

for dealing with the mob lynching and new law is not required.

―Supreme Court of India has also recommended that the

Central Government should enact mob lynching legislations.

Rajasthan Assembly has cleared Rajasthan Prohibition of

Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances in

the Name of Honour and Tradition Bill, 2019.

―Honour Killing refers to killing of consenting individuals

involved in Sagotra marriages (Marriages within gotra)/inter-

community/inter-caste/inter-religious marriages in the name of

family, caste or community honour.

―The Bill makes Honour Killing a cognizable, non-bailable

and non-compoundable offences. The offence of Honour Killing

has been made punishable with death penalty/life sentence and

a fine up to Rs.5 lakh.

―The Bill defines honour killing as killing a couple or either of

the spouses on the basis that their marriage had dishonoured or

brought disrepute to caste/community/family.

―The Bill also criminalises ostracization of such couples or

their families. The incidents of ostracization can include

pressure to leave village, sell land or property, imposing of fine

or punishment etc.

―The Bill also makes ‘gatherings for debating or condemning

any lawful marriage’ (on the ground that is dishonours

traditions) unlawful. It also includes social media gatherings in

the definition of the gathering.

―Individuals gathering unlawfully for debating or condemning

marriages on the ground of honour can be punished with

imprisonment which may extend up to 5 years and a fine which

may extend up to Rs 1 lakh. Restricting the freedom of such

couples and their supporters can be punished with imprisonment

that may extend to 5 years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. Criminal

intimidation of such couples or their supporters can be punished

with imprisonment up to 7 years.

ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

Finance Ministry has offered a major relief to Indian firms

by declaring that no penalty will be imposed if the companies

fail to meet the revised Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

requirements.

―This was announced by the Finance Ministry in the backdrop

of the slowdown of the Indian economy due to global and

domestic reasons.

―Globally, trade tensions are increasing and US-China trade

war is creating global slowdown.

―The crude oil prices are reducing on weak demand whereas

gold prices are increasing.

―Central Banks across the world are easing their monetary

policy.

―Domestically both demand and investment are slowing down

and this is negatively affecting the growth of Indian economy.

The Reserve Bank of India has reduced risk weightage on

unsecured consumer credit from 125 percent to 100 percent. ―This decision will not

affect risk weight on credit

card receivables.

―RBI reduced the risk

weightage for increasing

the credit flow in the

economy.

―The guidelines for the risk weightage and its application will

be provided by RBI towards August end.

―Reduced risk weightage means that the banks can increase

their exposure to the retail sector as most of the unsecured credit

is in retail segment.

The Bombay High Court has criticised the Reserve Bank

of India for its compulsion to regularly change features of

currency notes and coins.

―The Bombay High Court has asked RBI to submit an affidavit

explaining the reasons behind the frequent changes of the

features in question. While issuing the directions, the High

Court observed that the RBI’s argument that the feature changes

were required for curbing fake currency has already failed. The

High Court observed that demonetisation has already shown that

the fake currency was not in circulation.

―The Bench of the Bombay High Court said, “You

[government] keep saying it is because of fake currency. I doubt

that reason. Demonetisation showed that it was a myth that Rs

10,000 crore were taken away by Pakistan.”

―The directions and observations were made by the Court

while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to make

bank notes and coins easily identifiable for the visually impaired

people.

―In 2016, with demonetisation the circulation of Rs 500 and Rs

1000 notes was stopped. Circulation of fake currency and

curbing of black money were the two reasons cited for this.

―The RBI later on announced that it had received 99 percent of

all the demonetised banknotes in circulation.

DEFENCE & SECURITY

Indian Parliament has passed Unlawful Activities

(Prevention) Amendment (UAPA) Bill, 2019.

―UAPA Bill allows Central Government to designate

individuals as terrorists on the following grounds:

--the individual has committed an act of terror.

--the individual has helped in preparations of the act or terror or

he/she has promoted it.

--the individual are involved in the act of terror in any way.

―The power to designate organisations as terrorist

organisations already lies with the government.

―The Bill also empowers officers of National Investigation

Agency (NIA), of the rank of Inspector or above, to investigate

cases. Before the amendment, only officers of the rank of

Deputy Superintendent or Assistant Commissioner of Police

could conduct investigations.

―The Bill has made approval of the Director General of NIA

mandatory for seizure of property while investigation of terror

cases.

Defence Research

Development

Organisation (DRDO)

has successfully

conducted two back-to-

back flight tests of Quick

Reaction Surface-to-Air

Missiles (QRSAM). ―These tests of QRSAMs

were conducted from the

Integrated Test Range

(ITR), Chandipur, Odisha.

QSRAMs are all weather

and all terrain missiles developed by DRDO.

―QSRAMs have been developed for helping Indian Army with

the search and track on move capability. QSRAM has a range

between 25 and 30 kilometers. QSRAMs use sold fuel

propellant. QSRAMs are truck mounted.

―QRSAMs are equipped with electronic counter measures

against jamming by aircraft radars.

POLICY AND GOVT. INITIATIVES

The Bureau of Indian

Standards (BIS) has

announced setting up

Pashmina testing centre in

Leh region of Jammu and

Kashmir. ―BIS has also released

the BI Standards of

Pashmina.

―The proposed testing

centre will be set up in

partnership with lab of

Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC),

Leh.

―Pashmina is special fine Kashmiri wool used in making

shawl, scarf, wraps etc. Pashmina wool is obtained from four

distinct breeds of goats.

―Kashmiri Pashmina is covered by a Geographical

indication (GI) tag under Geographical Indications of Goods

(Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

The Indian Army and Energy Efficiency Services Ltd

(EESL) have entered into a partnership for deploying e-cars.

―These e-cars will be used by Army officials in New Delhi.

The Government of India has cleared Rs 4,900 crore Kosi-

Mechi Interlinking project for interlinking of Kosi and Mechi

rivers of Bihar.

―Kosi-Mechi interlinking project is the second major river

interlinking project approved by the government.

―Ken-Betwa rive interlinking project in Madhya Pradesh

was the first major river interlinking project cleared by the

government.

―This interlinking of rivers in Bihar will divert surplus water

from Koshi river to the Mechi river.

―Currently Mechi river’s basin does not have adequate water

for providing sufficient irrigation facilities.

―With this interlinking irrigation facilities in an area of 2.14

lakh hectares will improve.

―Koshi river regularly floods and creates problems in North

Bihar in general and Seemanchal region of Bihar in particular.

―Koshi-Mechi interlinking project will neither displace people

nor divert forest land.

―The command area of this project is contiguous to India Nepal

border.

Maharashtra Government has launched Mission Shakti for

training athletes. Mission Shakti was launched by film actor

Amir Khan. Mission Shakti is an initiative to train tribal athletes

for Olympics by 2024.

―Mission Shakti focuses on six sports: Archery, shooting,

volleyball, swimming, weightlifting and gymnastics.

Mission Shakti will be implemented in the Chandrapur and

Gadchiroli districts of Maharashtra in the first phase.

―Mission Shakti will be extended throughout the state in

phases.

Union Ministry of Mines has established Khanij Bidesh

India Ltd. (KABIL) as a joint venture among National

Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco), Hindustan Copper Ltd

(HCL) and Mineral Exploration Company Ltd (MECL). KABIL

will increase mineral security of India and help in achieving the

objective of import substitution. KABIL will be responsible for

ensuring consistent supply of both critical and strategic

minerals to domestic market. Indian Government has classified

twelve minerals – Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt, Tungsten etc. as

strategic minerals. India is dependent on imports for meeting its

requirement of strategic minerals.

SPORTS

Indian Wrestler Vinesh Phogat has

won a gold medal in the 53 kg category

in Poland Open Wrestling

Tournament at Warsaw, Poland. ―Phogat won the medal by defeating

Roksana of Poland by 302. This is the

third consecutive gold medal win for

Phogat. Phogat has won total of 5

medals, one silver, one bronze and three

gold medals since changing category

from 50 kg to 53 kg. Phogat will represent India at World

Championships in Nursultanin Kazakhstan. This championship

will also function as Olympic Qualifiers.

INTERNATIONAL

United States of America has taken

the decision to designate China as a

currency manipulator.

―This decision was taken after the

Chinese Central Bank allowed Chinese

Currency Yuan to fall against dollar.

―This decision will further increase

the ongoing tensions between China

and USA. ―Designation of China as a currency manipulator was one of

the polls promises of the US President Donald Trump.

―China was placed on the watch list by US Department of

Treasury but it was not designated as a currency manipulator till

now. USA is claiming that China manipulates its currency and

as such gain unfair competitive advantage and leads to losses for

USA. USA is also claiming the China regularly takes step to

undervalue its currency by making intervention in FOREX

market.

―China on the other hand is claiming that the depreciation of

Yuan took place as the natural effect of the unilateral trade

protectionist measures taken by the United States of America.

―USA has also decided to go to the International Monetary

Fund for removing the unfair competitive advantage gained by

China. This will in turn further increase the tensions between the

two countries.

Bangladesh’s

Bangladesh Atomic

Energy Commission

(BAEC) and Russia’s

Russian Nuclear Fuel

Supply Company (TVEL) have entered into

a uranium trade deal.

―Under the deal, TVEL has agreed to provide lifetime supply

of uranium to Bangladesh for use in its 2,400 MW Rooppur

Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) due to become operational by

2022.

―The price of the uranium will be based on the prices in the

global market.

―The supply of fuel for the first three reloads of the reactor will

be made free of cost.

―This is the second such deal between the countries. In 2017,

Russia and Bangladesh signed an agreement for nuclear waste

management of the RNPP.

In the 2017 deal, all the spent fuel at RNPP will be sent to

Russia.

―Two power generation units of RNPP with the capacity of

1200 MW each will become operational in 2022 and 2024

respectively.

Vinesh Phogat

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The foundation stone for the Space Situational Awareness

Control Centre (SSACC) was laid in Bengaluru Karnataka by

the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

―SSAACC is being set up for protecting Indian satellites from

space debris.

―The need for SSAACC is being felt as both Indian assets in

space and the amount of space debris are steadily increasing.

―India has 50 functional satellites in the orbit of Earth.

―Space debris refers to all type of unneeded and potentially

dangerous objects in space. These include inactive satellites,

pieces of other orbiting objects, near earth asteroids etc.

―Currently ISRO does not have space debris tracking

capabilities. ISRO uses North America Aerospace Defense

Command (NORAD) data for tracking space debris and

monitoring inactive or dead satellites. ―NORAD provides two kind of data: First is data provided in

public domain which can be accessed by everyone. ―Second is

a more accurate and up to date data which is provided to

members of NORAD. ISRO is not one of these members.

―Among other things, SSAACC will crack data regarding

movements of inactive satellites with the help of indigenous

observation facilities.

Scientists at the Indian Institution of Guwahati (IIT-G)

have developed portable diagnostic device to detect bacteria.

―Currently bacteria are identified with the help of cell culture

or microbiological assays. The developed device is capable of

detecting bacteria instantaneously. The device can also help in

diagnosing illnesses like meningitis.

SUMMITS & ORGANIZATIONS

The 10th Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Ministerial

Meeting was held 01 August 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand.

―External Minister S. Jaishankar represented India at the

meeting. Mekong Ganga Cooperation adopted the MGC plan

2019-22 during this meeting. ―MGC plan 2019-22 calls for project based cooperation among

member countries in multiple areas. Mekong Ganga

Cooperation is a sub-regional cooperation organisation made up

of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and India.

―Mekong Ganga Cooperation was initiated in 2000 for

improving contacts among the people of these countries and for

cooperating in areas of culture, tourism, education, transport and

communication.

ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY

A recent study highlights the threat to leopards, tigers and

lions from Canine Distemper Virus (CDV).

―CDV is transmitted from dogs who are infected with this

virus.

―In 2018, CDV led to death of more than 20 lions at the Gir

Wildlife Sanctuary.

―CDV is a highly contagious disease that is common in dogs,

coyotes, foxes etc.

―In majority of cases, CDV is fatal.

―CDV has no known cure. The treatment of CDV includes

supportive care and preventive methods for stopping the virus

from affecting other life forms.

―CDV is responsible for reducing the population of African

lions in East African forests by almost 30 percent.

―The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has

taken number of steps for protecting Indian wildlife from this

virus.

BASIC GK ASPECTS

Books and Authors

City of Girls―by Elizabeth Gilbert

Blue is Like Blue: Stories―by Vinod Kumar Shukla

One Giant Leap: the Impossible Mission that Flew us to the

Moon―by Charles Fishman

Swerving to Solitude: Letters to Mama―by Keki N

Daruwalla

Rethinking Pluralism, Secularism and Tolerance: Anxieties

of Coexistence―by Neera Chandhoke

Bottle of Lies―by Katherine Eban

Blue Tide Rising―by Clare Stevens

Battling for India: A Citizen’s Reader―Edited by Githa

Hariharan & Salim Yusufji,

Awards and Honours

Ravish Kumar, an Indian

journalist working with NDTV news

is one of the individuals selected for

receiving the prestigious Ramon

Magsaysay Award 2019.

―Kumar has been selected for the

award for harnessing journalism for

giving voice to voiceless. ―Kumar will receive the award at a

ceremony to be held in Manila, Philippines on 9th September

2019.

―Kumar is one of the most influential TV journalists of our

time.

―Magsaysay awards are one of Asia’s premier prizes and

highest honours.

―These awards were established in 1957 in the memory of

Philippines President Ramon Magsaysay.

―Two Indians Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk won the

Magsaysay Awards in 2018.

Former India cricketer and Bengal captain Arun Lal has been

awarded with Karthik Bose Lifetime Achievemen t award by

the Cricket Association of Bengal.

―Between 1982 and 1989, Arun Lal represented India in 16

Test Matches and 13 One-Day internationals.

Appointments

Girraj Prasad Gupta has been appointed as the Controller

General of Accounts (CGA), Department of Expenditure,

Union Ministry of Finance. ―Gupta is a 1983 batch Indian Civil Account Services (ICAS)

Officer.

―Gupta played a major role in development and

implementation of the Public Financial Management System

(PFMS). CGA is a Principal Accounting Adviser to Government

of India.

People in News France’s Franky Zapata has become the first person in the

world to cross English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard.

―Zapata took 20 minutes for completing the 22 mile journey on

his hoverboard. Zapata started from Sangatte in northern France and reached St.

Margarets Bay, near Dover in southeast England.

―Previously in July Zapata had failed in his attempt to cross the

English Channel.

―In 2016, Zapata set a world record for farthest hoverboard

flight.

Ravish Kumar

Former Union External Affairs

Minister Sushma Swaraj, passed away

in New Delhi on 6th August, 2019 at the

age of 67.

―Swaraj was born on 14 February 1953

at Ambala Cantonment, Haryana ―She started her political career under

Janata Party in 1977.

―Her father Hardev Sharma was a

prominent Rashtriya Swayamsevak

Sangh member.

People in News

India origin Priti Patel has been appointed as the Home

Secretary of Britain.

―Patel has become the first Indian origin individual to

become the Home Secretary of Britain.

Wing commander Tarun Chaudhri became 1st Indian Armed

Forces (IAF) pilot to do a Wing Suit Skydive Jump.

―Tarun jumped from a Mi-17 helicopter at an altitude of 8.500

feet.

―The jump was part of the Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrations at

Jodhpur Air Force Station, Rajasthan.

Places/Events in News

Mohali, Punjab has become the first Indian city to launch 3-

D Smart Traffic Signal System called Intelights.

―The 3-D Smart Traffic System dynamically adjusts the

timings of red, yellow and green traffic lights according to the

traffic density at an intersection.

―The traffic density is evaluated using Artificial Intelligence

system and the timings of the traffic lights are set accordingly.

Must Know

ADR: Alternative Dispute Resolution

AFIS: Automated Fingerprint Identification System

AMBIS: Automated Multi-modal Biometric Identification

System

BCG: Bacille Calmette-Guerin

CDV: Canine Distemper Virus

CGA: Controller General of Accounts

CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility

DRDO: Defence Research Development Organisation

GI: Geographical Indication

IPC: Indian Penal Code

ITR: Integrated Test Range

LAHDC: Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council

MGC: Mekong Ganga Cooperation

NIA: National Intelligence Agency

NORAD: North America Aerospace Defense Command

NTCA: National Tiger Conservation Authority

PIL: Public Interest Litigation

QRSAM: Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile

RPC: Ranbir Penal Code

UNGA: United Nations General Assembly

UNISA: United States Convention on International Settlement

Agreements

UT: Union Territories

WBW: World Breastfeeding Week

Days/Anniversaries

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is observed across the

world from 1st August to 7th August. World Breastfeeding Week

2019 saw participation of more than 120 countries of the world.

―World Breastfeeding Week 2019 was observed with the

theme: Empower Parents, Enable Breastfeeding.

―World Breastfeeding Week 2019 focused on protecting,

promoting and supporting breastfeeding. The first World

Breastfeeding Week was observed in 1992.

National Handloom Day is celebrated across India on 7th

August. The 5th National Handloom Day was celebrated in 2019.

―The National Handloom Day is observed for honouring

handloom weavers in India and to highlight the handloom

industry in India.

Sushma Swaraj

. NEWS BULLETIN―32 Week-3, Aug 2019

NATIONAL

The Government of India has taken the decision to restrict

the maximum annual increase in price of orthopaedic knee

implants to 10%.

―On 16th August,

2017, the National

Pharmaceutical

Pricing Authority (NPPA) had fixed

the maximum

possible price of the

orthopaedic knee implants for a period of one year. ―On 13th August 2018, the ceiling prices of the orthopaedic

knee implants were extended till August 15, 2019.

―For fixing this price NPPA invoked its extraordinary powers

under the Para 19 of Drugs Prices Control Order (DPCO)

2013

―The ceiling prices fixed by NPPA were in some cases up to

69% less than the prevailing market prices. This led to the

annual saving of more than Rs 1,500 crore to Indian consumers.

―There was a marked increase (i.e. 30 percent) in the sales of

knee implants between July 2018 and July 2019.

―The manufacturers and importers of the knee implants have

been asking for a 20 percent increase in the prices fixed by

NPPA.

―NPAA, on 8th August 2019, decided to further monitor price

increase of knee implants as per para 20 of Drugs Prices Control

Order (DPCO) 2013.

―Para 20 of the DPCO restricts the price increase to 10 percent

per annum. This price increase can be reviewed after a period of

one year.

―Orthopaedic knee implants are classified as non-scheduled

medical devices or drugs.

―DPCO allows maximum price increase of 10 percent for

products classified as non-scheduled medical devices or drugs.

But NPAA did not allow the 10 percent price increase for the

implants in 2018.

―NPAA is a regulatory agency working under the Union

Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers.

―NPAA was established on August 29, 1997 to control the

prices of pharmaceutical drugs in India.

The Government of India has

contributed a sum of USD 5 million to

the United Nations Relief and Works

Agency for Palestine Refugees in the

Near East (UNRWA). ―The contribution was made for

supporting various core activities

(education, health care, relief etc.) of

the UNRWA.

―UNRWA is a United Nations relief and human development

agency for helping approximately 5 million registered Palestine

refugees.

―UNRWA is the only agency of the United Nations that is

dedicated to refugees from a specific region or conflict.

―UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is the general

agency that deals with refugees irrespective of region on

conflicts.

―UN General Assembly established UNRWA in December

1949 in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict.

―UNRWA deals with the Palestine refugees of the 1948

Palestine war and of the 1967 six day war.

―There are more than five million Palestine refugees living in

the Middle East.

―UNRWA’s field of operation is limited to Lebanon, Syria,

Jordan, Gaza Strip and West Bank. Palestine refugees outside

these areas are handled by the UNHCR.

―The funding of UNRWA comes mainly from voluntary

contributions.

―India’s annual contribution to UNRWA in 2016 was USD

1.25 million. This has been increased to USD 5 million from

2018-19.

The latest data released by

the Union Ministry of

Environment, Forests and

Climate Change (MoEFCC)

shows that the northeast states of

India have the best tree and forest

cover in the country. ―According to the released data:

--24.49 percent of the total

geographical area of India is

under forest and tree cover.

--Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan

have the lowest forest and tree cover in India.

--These states have 6.79%, 6.87% and 7.26% of their total

geographical area respectively under the forest and tree cover.

--Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Manipur have

the highest forest and tree cover in India.

--These states have. 88.84%, 80.93%, 79.37% and 78.68% of

their total geographical area respectively under the forest and

tree cover.

--The Union territory of Lakshadweep has almost 97% of its

area under the forest and tree cover.

--Goa and Kerala have more than fifty percent of their

geographical area under forest and tree cover.

--Madhya Pradesh with the forest and tree cover of 85,487 sq

km has the highest forest and tree cover in India in terms of area.

―Forest Survey of India (FSI) conducts the assessment of

forest and tree cover in India.

―The last report of FSI was released in 2017.

Indian Army has started Mission Reach Out in Jammu region.

―Mission Reach Out ensures basic essential services and

necessities to people affected by the abrogation of Article 370

and the reorganisation of the Jammu and Kashmir State.

Indian Army under Mission Reach Out is providing:

―mobile medical care units.

―water in areas where water supply is affected.

―ration.

―transportation facility to patients.

―communication facility to people through army exchanges.

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National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority

The data released by the Government of India shows a

reduction of 41% in stubble burning incidents in 2018

(compared to 2016) and a reduction of 15% (compared to 2017).

―More than 4,500 villages of Punjab and Haryana have been

declared zero stubble burning villages.

―According to the government, this was made possible due to

the Central Sector Scheme on Promotion of Agricultural

Mechanization for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue in

the State of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh & NCT of Delhi’

Under this scheme:

--An amount of Rs 1151.80 crore was set aside.

--Happy Seeder and Zero Tillage technology was adopted in

an area of 8 lakh hectares.

--Happy Seeder is a tractor mounted device that can cut and lift

the pervious crop and sow the new crop.

--The scheme bears fifty percent of the cost of the in-situ crop

residue management machines purchased by farmers.

--The scheme provides a support of up to 80% for establishing

Custom Hiring Centres for in-situ crop residue management

schemes.

--The scheme is being implemented through Indian Council of

Agricultural Research (ICAR) with the help of 60 Krishi

Vigyan Kendras ―The government of India has also allotted funds to the States

for crop residue management under different schemes of the

Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Law

The special bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief

Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi will look into the petition

challenging the Presidential order on Article 370 in Jammu and

Kashmir during the second half of August.

―The Special Bench of the Supreme Court will also hear the

petition filed by the Kashmir Times editor seeking removal of

restrictions on the media in the region.

―While deciding to hear these petitions on the urgent basis, the

Supreme Court refused to pass any interim orders for relaxation

of the communication facilities in the state.

National Institute of Design (Amendment) Bill, 2019 has

been cleared by the Rajya Sabha.

―This bill has been brought for amending the National Institute

of Design Act, 2014 for designating the four National Institutes

of Design (NID) in Andhra Pradesh (Amaravati), Assam

(Jorhat), Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal) and Haryana (Kurukshetra)

as institutions of national importance.

―On attaining the designation, these institutions will receive

power to grant degrees and diplomas.

The Parliament has passed Public Premises (Eviction of

Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019.

―The Bill was bought for amending the Public Premises

(Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act of 1971

―The Bill amends the provisions in the act related to the

eviction of unauthorised occupants from public premises in

certain cases.

―The Bill states that the occupation of public residential

properties must be on the basis of license.

―The license must be for a fixed period or for a period for

which the person holds an office.

―The occupation of such properties should be under the rules

made by Central, State/UT government, or a statutory authority

(such as Parliament Secretariat, or Central Government

Company or premises belonging to state government).

―The Bill also specifies the manner in which the notice of

eviction should be given to the occupier of the property.

The Bill also allows the estate officer the power to evict illegal

persons from residential accommodation and power to possess

them.

―The person in unauthorised occupation can challenge the

eviction order in the court, but in such case he or she shall have

to pay damage charges for every month of such occupation or

accommodation held during period of litigation.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has announced

an increase in reservations for OBCs and Scheduled Castes in

state government jobs and education.

―The government has decided to increase the reservation of

quota for Scheduled Castes by one percent and for OBC from

14% to 27%. The quota for Scheduled Tribes remains

untouched.

―The decision once implemented will bring the total

reservation in the state to 72% i.e. the highest for any state in

India and much above the Supreme Court mandated 50% limit.

―These reservations along with the 10 per cent centre mandated

EWS reservation the total reservation in the state will reach 82

percent.

STATES

Manipur has achieved first rank in Breastfeeding and

Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices in India.

―Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are the three worst states

in the ranking.

―The ranking uses three indicators for ranking Indian States.

These indicators are: --early initiation of breastfeeding

--exclusive breastfeeding for six months

--complimentary breastfeeding from 6 to 8 months.

―The Data on the Breastfeeding and Infant and Young Child

Feeding Practices in India was released by the Union Health

and Family Welfare Ministry.

―The World Health

Organisation (WHO)

recommends exclusive

breastfeeding for 1st 6

months and

breastfeeding with home-made food for minimum of 2 years.

―45% of the child deaths globally are believed to be due to the

lack of nutrition.

In 2016, an estimated 155 million children under 5 year of age

were stunted (too short for age).

―In 2016, an estimated 52 million children under 5 years of age

globally were wasted (too thin for height).

―In 2016, an estimated 41 million were children under 5 years

of age globally were overweight (or obese).

―Almost 40 percent of infants between 0-6 months of age are

exclusively breastfed globally.

The Asian

Development Bank (ADB) has approved US

$200 million loan for

Road Infrastructure

Improving project in

Maharashtra.

―The Road Infrastructure Improving Project has a total cost of

USD 296 million. ―ADB will provide USD 200 million and the

state government will arrange the remaining USD 96 million.

―The project, due to be completed by September 2024,

involves upgrading of Maharashtrian rural roads to meet the

requirements of all-weather standards.

―The project will help in improving the connectivity between

the rural residents and economic centres of Maharashtra.

―The project will be jointly implemented by the DP and the

Maharashtra Rural Road Development Association (MRRDA).

―ADB is a multilateral lending agency and regional

development bank established in December 1966.

The Government of India, State government of Tripura and

Tripura’s banned insurgency group National Liberation Front

of Twipra led by Sabir Kumar Debbarma (NLFT-SD) have

signed a peace agreement.

―Under the terms of the peace agreement, NLFT-SD has

agreed to leave the path of violence and join the mainstream.

―NLFT-SD has also agreed to surrender its 88 cadres along

with the weapons.

―These cadres will receive benefits under the Surrender-cum-

Rehabilitation of Militants in the North-East, 2018 of Union

Ministry of Home Affairs.

―Tripura Government will also provide help to the surrendered

cadres in getting jobs, housing and education.

―National Liberation Front of Twipra (NLFT) was banned in

1997 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)

for its violent activities.

―In a ten-year period (from 2005 to 2015), NLFT-SD was

involved in 317 insurgency incidents which led to death of 28

security personnel and 62 civilians.

―The Government and NLFT-SD started peace talks in 2016

and since then there has been peace.

A tea variety of Assam named ‘Golden Butterfly’ has

achieved a record price of Rs 75,000 per kg at the Guwahati

Tea Auction Centre (GTAC).

―The record price was achieved by the Golden Butterfly

variety grown by Dikom Tea Estate.

―This tea variety has broken the record for highest tea price at

the public auctions for the third time within a period of 15 days.

―Golden Butterfly is a rare tea variety made from tea buds

(normally tea is prepared from tea leaves) that is characterised

by extreme mellowness and sweet caramel flavour.

―The plucking of buds for this tea is done at evenings when

butterflies descend on them for resting.

ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

The Government of India has decided to stop power supply

to the power distribution companies (discoms) which fail to

furnish unconditional letters of credit.

―The decision was taken because the Ministry of Power

observed that certain discoms were trying to avoid the

requirement of furnishing adequate letter of credit to power

plants.

―Some discoms in Rajasthan and Telangana opened

conditional letters of credits. In these letters payment to the

power companies could only be made after authorisation from

the State.

―The Ministry of Power see this as an avoidance of its directive

because it takes away the purpose of enacting the payment

security mechanism.

―On May 31st, 2019 the total amount due from discoms to the

power producers was Rs 38,884 crore. This is a 28 percent

increase over the 2018 figure. Out of Rs 33,884 crore, an amount

of Rs 22,313 was overdue by more than 60 days.

―Uttar Pradesh is responsible for 22 percent of the total amount

due. Four South Indian states are responsible for 42 percent of

the total amount due to the power producers.

―According to the data on the ‘praapti’ portal: Adani Power

owned Rs 3,202 crore; GMR Energy owned Rs 1,734 crore;

Sembcorp Energy owned Rs 1,075 crore; Tata Power owned Rs

1,123 crore; NTPC’s owned Rs 4,661 crore;

―Discoms are struggling with cash delay payments to power

generators to manage their short term cash requirements.

―These delays also help discoms in avoiding loans. Providing

letter of credits might lead to additional annual interest burden

between Rs 2500 and 3000 crore.

―At the end of financial year 2019, discoms in India had a

combined loss of Rs 28,369 crore.

―The payment security mechanism of furnishing letters of

credit became operational from August 1, 2019.

India and Russia have announced that they will be

diversifying and deepening their economic ties in priority

sectors to meet a bilateral trade target of USD 30 billion by

2025.

―The announcement was made after the conclusion of the

business session between India and Russia from August 11-13

in Vladivostok, Russia.

―The delegation at the session was headed by Piyush Goyal and

included the chief ministers of Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh

and Goa and representatives of about 140 Indian companies.

―A number of MoUs between the regions of the Russian Far

East and five states of India were signed during the session.

According to the various media

reports, the Bimal Jalan Committee

has finalised its report.

―The original deadline for filing of

report was extended due to the

transfer of the former Economic

Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra

Garg to the Power Ministry.

―Different estimates say that the

Reserve Bank of India has surplus

reserves of more than Rs 9 lakh

crore.

―Access to these reserves will ensure that the government is

able to meet its fiscal deficit target of 3.3 percent of the gross

domestic product (GDP).

―In addition to the surplus capital, the government is also

expecting a regular dividend of Rs 90,000 crore from RBI this

financial year.

―The Government of India considers the buffer of 28% of gross

assets maintained by the RBI unnecessary as the global norm is

to maintain a buffer of 14%.

―Bimal Jalan Committee was constituted on December 26,

2018 for assessing the amount of capital reserves that should be

maintained by the Reserve Bank of India.

DEFENCE & SECURITY

Iran has developed three new precision-guided air to air

missiles (Yasin, Balaban and new series of Ghaem).

―Yasin is a smart guided missile with a range of 50 kilometres.

―Yasin can be fired from both manned and unmanned aircrafts.

―Balaban is a guided missile that uses GPS and sensors for

achieving its aims.

―The new series of Ghaem are the heat seeking missiles that

have the target hit accuracy of 50 centimetres.

―The announcement of the development of these missiles has

been made at the time when the tension between Iran and

America is at an all time high.

―Tension between Iran and the United States has been

increasing since United States unilaterally pulled out of the 2015

international nuclear agreement.

―Post the pull out, USA has re-imposed sanctions on Iran and

started forcing international community to stop buying Iranian

Oil.

―Since May 2019:

Subhash Chandra Garg

--Many ships in the region have been mysteriously attacked,

each side blaming the other for the attack.

--A USA military drone was shot down by Iran

--UK oil tanker was seized by Iran.

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has cleared the

purchases of Software Defined Radio (SDR Tactical) and Next

Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Batteries (NGMMCB–

Long Range) for Indian Navy.

―SDR Tactical and NGMMCB-Long Range are indigenously

produced equipment that are expected to boost the Made-in-

India initiative of the government.

―SDR Tactical is a communication system developed by

Defence Research and Development Organisation and BEL and

Weapons Electronics System Engineering Establishment

(WESEE).

―SDR Tactical will allow Indian Navy to collaborate and share

information and situational awareness.

―SDR Tactical uses high-speed data and secure voice

communication with anti-jamming capability for

communication.

NGMMCB-Long Range is a missile defence system developed

by BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.

―NGMMCB-Long Range will be equipped with supersonic

BrahMos surface-to-surface cruise missiles and deployed

along the Indian Coast.

―These are the first procurement cleared by the DAC after the

appointment of Rajnath Singh as the Defence Minister of India.

POLICY AND GOVT. INITIATIVES

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has

decided to extend the use of Rotavirus vaccine to the entire

country from September 2019.

―The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has set a

target of providing Rotavirus vaccine to every child in India

across all the 37 states/UTs of India by September 2019.

―This target is a part of the 100 days agenda of the newly

elected central government.

―Rotavirus is the leading reason for cases of diarrhoea in

children below five years of age in India.

―Rotavirus is responsible for 37 deaths per 1000 children

deaths annually.

―Rotavirus causes an estimated hospitalisation of 8 lakh

individuals, outpatient visits of 32 lakh individuals and death of

78 thousand individuals annually.

―Normal cases of diarrhoea can be prevented by providing safe

water and safe food along with good hygiene practices.

―Rotavirus can be prevented by using rotavirus vaccination.

The Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has

started the registration process for the PM Kisan Maan Dhan

Yojana.

―Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana is a central government scheme

that provides old age pension to farmers aimed at small and

marginal farmers.

―Kisan Mann Dhan Yojana is a voluntary scheme.

―The person insured under the scheme must be between 18 to

40 years old.

―The person insured under the scheme cannot own more than

2 hectares of land.

―The beneficiaries under the scheme have to make a monthly

contribution between Rs 55 and Rs 200 depending on the age of

enrolment.

―The Government of India matches the amount contributed by

the beneficiary of the scheme.

―The beneficiaries under the scheme get monthly pension of

Rs 3000 on attaining the age of 60.

This scheme is being provided through the Life Corporation of

India (LIC) which acts as both the Pension Fund Manager and

as the Pension dispersing agency.

―In case of the death of the beneficiary before the age of 60:

--the spouse of the deceased beneficiary can continue to pay

contributions and receive the benefit under the scheme

Or

--the spouse, nominee or the survivors can get the total

contribution made by the farmer to the scheme along with the

interest.

―In case of the death of the beneficiary after the age of 50, the

surviving spouse will receive fifty percent of the fixed pension

as the family pension.

―The beneficiary can exit the scheme at any time after five

years lock down period. In this case the LIC will return the

contributions made by farmer along with the prevailing saving

bank interest.

The Defence Ministry has extended the benefits of the Child

Care Leave (CCL) to the single male service personnel.

―Currently the Defence Ministry was providing CCL only to

women officers in the defence forces.

―The Defence Ministry has also relaxed certain provisions

related to the CCL scheme.

―In Defence Forces, both male service personnel and woman

officers will be able to claim CCL leave in respect of children

with 40% disability and more.

―In Defence Forces, the minimum duration for availing CCL

has been reduced from 15 days to 5 days.

―In Defence Forces, there will be no age restriction on the child

in respect to whom CCL is claimed.

―Department of Personnel and Training has also changed

the CCL provisions related to civilian employees.

―In the civilian sector both woman and male employees will be

eligible for availing CCL.

―In the civilian sector, the age limit of child in respect to whom

the CCL is claimed has been removed.

―In the civilian sector the minimum duration of the CCL has

been reduced from 15 to 5.

SPORTS

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has

agreed to come under the regulation of National Anti-Doping

Agency (NADA).

―Before NADA, the Sweden-based International Dope

Testing Management (IDTM) was responsible for collecting

cricketers’ samples and submitting them to the National Dope

Testing Laboratory (NDTL).

―Now, NADA will have the authority of collecting samples

from all the cricketers:

playing in domestic tournaments.

participating in Indian Premier League (IPL).

―NADA is a national organisation responsible for promoting,

monitoring and coordinating doping control program in sports

in India.

―NADA was established in 2005 as a registered society under

Societies Registration Act of 1890.

―NADA applies anti-doping rules of the World Anti-Doping

Agency (WADA) code.

Chennai Lions defeated Dabang Delhi by 8-1 to win the

finals of Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT).

―UTT is the first professional table tennis league in India.

―UTT was instituted in 2017. The inaugural championship of

UTT was held from 13th to 20th July 2017.

―The year 2019 was the 3rd season of Ultimate Table Tennis.

The 26-year-old Sourabh Verma has won the men’s singles

title in Open BWF Tour Super 100

tournament by defeating Loh Kean

Yew of Singapore. ―Indian women’s doubles pair of

Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki

Reddy lost their chance of winning the

women’s doubles title by losing to

Korean Baek Ha Na and Jung Kyung

Eun.

―BWF Tour Super 100 tournament

2019 was hosted by Hyderabad.

―The tournament, part of the Hyderabad Open

Championships 2019 has a total prize money of USD 75,000.

―BWF Tour Super 100 tournament was organised by the

Badminton Association of India and sanctioned by the BWF

(The Badminton World Federation).

INTERNATIONAL

According to the Ethnologue diary, Pacific island nation of

Papua New Guinea, a country in Oceania has highest number of

‘living’ indigenous languages in the world (840).

―India ranks fourth in the list with 453 languages.

―Ethnologue is a directory of languages which lists 7,111

living languages across the world

―3,741 languages listed in the Ethnologue are spoken by 1000

or less speakers.

―Indo-European family in the Ethnologue includes 445

languages (Spanish, English, German, Punjabi, Bengali etc.)

―Languages in Indo-European family are used by 46.31% of

the world population.

―In 2016, United Nation’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous

Issues (UNPFII) said that 40% of estimated 6,700 languages

spoken around world were in danger of disappearing.

United Nations has designated 2019 as the International

Year of Indigenous language.

―In 2019 the United Nation wants to:

(i) Boost understanding, reconciliation and international

cooperation for promoting indigenous languages.

(ii) Increase the integration of indigenous languages into

standard conversations.

(iii) Develop environment that boosts knowledge sharing and

dissemination of good practices related to development of

indigenous languages.

The newly discovered Kajin Sara lake in Nepal is likely to

attain the status of the world’s highest lake.

―The recently discovered Kajin Sara lake is located at an

altitude of 5,200 metres.

―The Sara Lake is estimated to be 1,500 metres long and 600

metres wide (official measurements of the lake are still

pending.)

―The lake located in the Singarkharka area of Chame rural

municipality in Manang district of Nepal will become the

world’s highest lake if the official measurements match the

estimated values.

―Currently the Tilicho Lake situated at an altitude of 4,919

metres in Nepal is the highest lake in the world.

―Tilicho lake in 4 km long, 1.2 km wide and 200 metres deep.

According to the Ethnologue diary, Pacific island nation of

Papua New Guinea, a country in Oceania has highest number of

‘living’ indigenous languages in the world (840).

―India ranks fourth in the list with 453 languages.

―Ethnologue is a directory of languages which lists 7,111

living languages across the world

―3,741 languages listed in the Ethnologue are spoken by 1000

or less speakers.

―Indo-European family in the Ethnologue includes 445

languages (Spanish, English, German, Punjabi, Bengali etc.)

―Languages in Indo-European family are used by 46.31% of

the world population.

―In 2016, United Nation’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous

Issues (UNPFII) said that 40% of estimated 6,700 languages

spoken around world were in danger of disappearing.

United Nations has designated 2019 as the International

Year of Indigenous language.

―In 2019 the United Nation wants to:

Boost understanding, reconciliation and international

cooperation for promoting indigenous languages.

Increase the integration of indigenous languages into

standard conversations.

Develop environment that boosts knowledge sharing and

dissemination of good practices related to development of

indigenous languages.

The newly discovered Kajin Sara lake in Nepal is likely to

attain the status of the world’s highest lake.

―The recently discovered Kajin Sara lake is located at an

altitude of 5,200 metres.

―The Sara Lake is estimated to be 1,500 metres long and 600

metres wide (official measurements of the lake are still

pending.)

―The lake located in the Singarkharka area of Chame rural

municipality in Manang district of Nepal will become the

world’s highest lake if the official measurements match the

estimated values.

―Currently the Tilicho Lake situated at an altitude of 4,919

metres in Nepal is the highest lake in the world.

―Tilicho lake in 4 km long, 1.2 km wide and 200 metres deep.

SUMMITS & ORGANIZATIONS

The 22nd National Conference on e-Governance (NCeG)

2019 was successfully held at Shillong, Meghalaya on 8th and

9th August, 2019.

―Shillong Declaration on e-governance was adopted in this

conference.

―Among other things the Shillong Declaration calls for:

Improving the experience of citizens by focusing on timely

implementation of India Enterprise Architecture (IndEA).

Integrating the various e-governance applications in India.

Improving the connectivity in the North Eastern States by

formulating and implementing the comprehensive telecom

development plan.

Moving towards less paper state secretariats in North

Eastern States.

―The National Conference was organised by the Department

of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DAPRG),

Ministry of Personnel and Ministry of Electronics &

Information Technology (MeitY).

―The National Conference had the theme “Digital India:

Success to Excellence”.

National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), an autonomous

institution of Ministry of New and Renewable (MNRE) has

Saurabh Verma

signed an agreement with United Nations Industrial

Development Organization (UNIDO) for starting skill

development programme in solar thermal energy sector.

―Under the agreement, NISE and UNIDO will work with

national and international experts for brining specialised

training material.

―The agreement will support capacity building and skill

development of technical manpower in Concentrated Solar-

Thermal Energy Technologies (CST).

Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate

Change (MoEFCC) has released the draft Environmental and

Social Management Framework (ESMF) for the management

of coastal zone in India.

―The draft was prepared by the Integrated Coastal

Management. It sets the guidelines for approval and regulation

of the projects in costal zones. It is expected to help the Central

Government in enhancing the coastal resource efficiency and

resilience.

MISCELLANEOUS

The Bar Council of India (BCI), has imposed a 3 year

moratorium on opening of new law institutions in India.

―The moratorium will not apply if the new law institution is in

nature of national law universities.

―This decision was taken by the BCI to stop the mushrooming

of law colleges in India.

―During the moratorium period, BCI will concentrate on

improving the standards of existing law colleges.

―BCI has also taken the decision to close down law institutions

without required infrastructure and/or faculty.

―BCI has the authority of regulating LLB degrees. LLM and

Ph.D degrees are outside the purview of BCI.

BASIC GK

Books and Authors Sridevi: Girl Woman Superstar―by Satyarth Nayak

Permanent Record―by Edward Snowden

The Promise of India: How Prime Ministers Nehru to Modi

Shaped the Nation (1947–2019)―by Jaimini Bhagwati

Assam: The Accord, The Discord―by Sangeeta Barooah

Pisharoty

Kashmir: Rage and Reason―by Gowhar Geelani

Wish I Could Tell You―by Durjoy Datta

Nothing Ventured―by Jeffrey Archer

Quichotte―by Salman Rushdie

Awards and Honours

66th National Film Awards (2019 National Film Awards) have

been announced for the 31 categories.

―Award for Most Film Friendly State: Uttarakhand.

―Best Feature Film: ‘Hellaro’ (Gujarati)

―Best Non Feature Film: Son Rise by Vibha Bakshi and The

Secret Life of Frogs by Ajay and Vijay Bedi

―Best Actor: Ayushmann Khurrana (‘Andhadhun’) & Vicky

Kaushal (‘Uri’)

―Best Actress: Keerthy Suresh for ‘Mahanati’ (Telugu)

―Best Director: Aditya Dhar for- ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’

―Best Popular Film providing wholesome entertainment:

‘Badhaai Ho’

―Best film on social issues: ‘Padman’

―Best Special Effects: KGF

―Best Lyrics: Nathichirami (Kannada)

―Best Music Direction (Songs): Sanjay Leela Bhansali for

Padmaavat

Indian Actor Shah Rukh Khan was honoured with the

‘Excellence in Cinema’ honour at Indian Film Festival of

Melbourne (IFFM) 2019.

―Shah Rukh Khan was also invited as the chief guest at IFFM.

―IFFM 2019 was held from August 8 to August 15 in Australia.

People in News

Biologist Chandrima Shaha has become the first woman

President of Indian National Science Academy (INSA).

―Shaha will hold the position from 2020 to 2022.

―Shaha will take over from the Ajay K. Sood. ―Shaha is currently working as a professor at the National

Institute of Immunology (NII).

―Shaha is the former director of the NII.

―Shaha’s research mainly focused on

the understanding of cell death

pathways.

Aishwarya Pissay has become the

first Indian to claim a world title in

motorsports by winning FIM World

Cup (Fédération Internationale de

Motocyclisme) in women’s category. ―FIM World Cup 2019 was held at

Varpalota, Hungary. Pissay is a 23 year

old from Bengaluru.

Places/Events in News

Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) organised exhibition

on ‘DAE Technologies: Empowering India through

Technology’ at New Moti Bagh recreation club, New Delhi on

11th and 12th August, 2019.

―The exhibition focused on the DAE spin off technologies for

Non-power applications.

―The technologies showcased in the exhibition have been

developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Raja

Ramanna Centre for Advance Technology (RRCAT), Indore

and other Units of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

Must Know

ADB: Asian Development Bank

BCCI: Board of Control for Cricket in India

BCI: Bar Council of India

DPCO: Drugs Price Control Order

GTAC: Guwahati Tea Auction Centre

ICAR: Indian Council of Agricultural Research

IDTM: International Dope Testing Management

IIFM: Indian Film Festival of Melbourne

MoEFCC: Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change

MRRDA: Maharashtra Rural Road Development Association

NADA: National Anti-Doping Agency

NDTL: National Dope Testing Laboratory

NISE: National Institute of Solar Energy

NLFT: National Liberation Front of Twipra

NPPA: National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority

UAPA: Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

UNHCR: United Nations High Commission for Refugees

UNPFII: United Nation’s Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

UNRWA: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for

Palestine Refugees in Near East

WADA: World Anti-Doping Agency

Aishwarya Pissay

. NEWS BULLETIN―33 Week-4, Aug 2019

NATIONAL

The National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL) has been

finalised by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

―This is India’s first NEDL. ―India is the first country in the world to compile such a list.

―NEDL will help the government in finding out different types

of diagnostic tests and healthcare facilities that are lacking in

villages and remote areas.

―NEDL will help the government in

dealing with the gaps in the health care

services.

―NEDL will include tests which fall

under the Health and Wellness Centres

(HWCs) under Pradhan Mantri Jan

Arogya Yojana.

―NEDL is based on the first edition of Essential Diagnostic

List (EDL) released by WHO in May 2018.

Pakistan has suspended all train services to India.

―India has followed suit by suspending Samjhauta Express

and Jodhpur-Munabao Thar Link Express from India’s side.

―These suspensions have been carried out in the aftermath of

the Indian Government’s decisions related to Article 370 and

the changing of Jammu and Kashmir’s status from State to

Union Territory.

―Thar Link Express provides a link between Jodhpur in

Rajasthan, India and Zero Point Station across the border near

Munabao, Rajasthan, India.

―Thar Express links

the Zero Point

Station with Karachi.

―Thar Link Express

only carries

passengers i.e. it does

not allow for

transportation of

goods. ―Thar Link Express

was started in 2006

through a bilateral agreement between India and Pakistan.

―The Munabao-Khokhrapar rail link between India and

Pakistan was destroyed in 1965 during the Indo-Pak war.

―Samjhauta Express runs from Delhi to Attari (Amritsar) on

India side and from Wagah to Lahore on Pakistan’s side.

―Samjhauta Express was started in 1976 following the signing

of Shimla Agreement by India and Pakistan.

The Indian Railways has decided to run India’s 2nd UDAY

Express between Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada in Andhra

Pradesh.

―The first UDAY Express runs between Coimbatore (Tamil

Nadu) and Bengaluru (Karnataka).

―Indian Railways has also purposed a third UDAY Express

between Chennai Central (Tamil Nadu) and Bengaluru

(Karnataka).

―UDAY Express or Utkrisht Double Decker Air Conditioned

Yatri Express is a specially designed fully air-conditioned chair

car train.

―UDAY Express has modern facilities including striking

interiors, cushioned seating, WiFi facilities etc.

―UDAY Expresses are planned to run on routes which have

heavy passenger traffics.

―The second UDAY Express will consist of 9 double-decker

coaches and 2 power cars.

―The second UDAY Express will have a maximum carrying

capacity of 912 passengers

According to the recently released report of Greenpeace

India, India is the largest emitter of Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) in

the World.

According to the report:

--15% of the global anthropogenic SO2 hotspots were detected

over India.

--Major anthropogenic SO2 hotspots in India were found over

places like Singrauli, Neyveli, Jharsuguda, Talcher, Korba,

Chennai, Kutch, Ramagundam, Chandrapur, Koradi etc.

--Most of these places have thermal power plants/clusters.

--Most of the Indian anthropogenic SO2 emissions were due

to coal burning.

--Majority of coal-burning power plants in India do not use

pollution reducing flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD)

technology.

--Green Peace India has used the data provided by NASA’s

Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite for conducting

the study.

―The SO2 emission limits was imposed on coal based

powerplants in December 2015, but these powerplants have not

started complying with these limits.

―Originally, coal based powerplants were supposed to

complete the installation of the FGD technology by 2017. This

deadline was later extended to 2022.

―Globally, significant SO2 hotspots were found over Russia,

South Africa, Iran, Saudi Arabia, India, Mexico, United Arab

Emirates, Turkey and Serbia.

―Both China and USA have started switching over from coal

powered plants to clean energy plants for controlling SO2

emissions.

―India, Iran and Saudi Arabia are the three countries in which

the emissions of air pollutants from power plants and other

industries are increasing.

―The countries like Russia, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey etc.

are maintaining stable SO2 emissions levels i.e. the emissions in

these countries are neither increasing nor decreasing.

LAW

The Supreme Court has refused to pass any order on the plea

seeking relaxation in the shutdown of communication facilities

in parts of Jammu and Kashmir.

―This shutdown of communication services is part of the

lockdown in the Jammu and Kashmir which was imposed

after the Government’s decision to remove the special status of

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Samjhauta Express services suspended by the Pakistan government

Jammu and Kashmir and to bifurcate the State into two Union

Territories.

―The Supreme Court refused to pass any order saying that the

issue of Jammu and Kashmir was sensitive in nature and

reasonable time must be provided to the government for sorting

it out.

―The Supreme Court asked Centre to restore normalcy in the

Jammu and Kashmir as soon as possible.

―While refusing to pass orders, the Supreme Court said that it

would look into the matter once again after a period of two

weeks.

―The government submitted that it was reviewing the

development in the state on day-to-day basis and the issue would

take few more days for settling subject to the ground situation.

The Centre Government has informed the Supreme Court that

it will decide on the issue of elevation of Justice Akil Kureshi

as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court within one

week.

―The Supreme Court, after hearing the submission, adjourned

the hearing.

―The submission by the Central Government was made while

the Court was hearing the petition by the Gujarat High Court

Advocates’ Association, challenging the withholding of the

appointment of Justice Kureshi as the Chief Justice of MP High

Court.

Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Chardham

highway project which will connect the four holy places

(Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri) in the state of

Uttrakhand.

―Supreme Court, while clearing the way, directed the Union

Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) to form high-

powered committee to look into environmental concerns related

to the project.

―The committee will have to submit its report within a period

of four months.

SC issued directions that in case of non-survival of any sapling,

further plantation should be done and compensatory

afforestation should be 10 times number of trees cut.

―This stance of the Supreme Court is the modification of the

earlier order passed by the National Green Tribunal in this

regard.

―The Chardham Project consists of a purposed 900 km of two

lane express National Highway with minimum width of 10

meters.

The Supreme Court of India has rejected former Tehelka

magazine editor Tarun Tejpal’s plea to quash the rape, assault

and sexual harassment charges against him.

―The Supreme Court observed that the charges were of serious

nature and that the trial had already been delayed.

―The Supreme Court also directed the Trail Court in Goa (the

court which is hearing the charges) to complete the proceedings

of the case within six months.

―Earlier the Bombay High Court had refused to interfere in the

matter.

―Tejpal has approached the Supreme Court claiming that he

was being framed. ―He also submitted the CCTV footage of

the hotel for supporting his claim and finding faults with the

charges framed against him.

―The Court refused to take the footage into account and said

that this was not the stage for considering evidence.

―Tejpal was arrested on November 30, 2013 based on a

complaint by a woman that Tejpal had sexually assaulted inside

a lift at a five-star hotel in Goa.

―The Goa Police claims that it has enough material at hand to

show that Tejpal should face the trial.

STATES

The Government of Andhra Pradesh has announced the

launch of one of its flagship schemes ‘Village Volunteers

System’.

―The aim of this scheme is to bridge the gap between the

government services and people by taking the services to their

doorsteps.

―The scheme will become operational from the 150th birth

anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on 2nd October, 2019.

Under the scheme, the State Government will establish village

secretariats across the state.

―The village secretariats established under the scheme will

fulfil the service requests of the citizens within 72 hours.

―Under the scheme, the government will use the help of more

than 2.8 lakh volunteers.

―The volunteers under the scheme will be paid allowance of Rs

5,000 per month for their contributions.

―Each volunteer will be responsible for 50 families.

―Volunteers will identify beneficiaries, understand their

problems; and provide them help regarding government

schemes that can help them.

―Toll-free telephone number 1902 will be used under the

scheme for handling public grievances related to the service.

―The government wants to use this scheme for reaching out to

each and every family of the state.

The Government of Tamil Nadu has decided to divide

Vellore district into three districts of Vellore, Ranipet and

Tirupattur.

―Vellore city will act as the headquarters of two of these three

districts.

―With the implementation of this decision the total number of

districts in the State will come to 37.

―The Government of Tamil Nadu has also taken a decision to

annually celebrate November 1 as the State’s creation day.

Government of Punjab

has launched a mega health

insurance scheme

‘Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat

Sehat Bima Yojana’ (MGSSBY). The scheme

clubs the Centre’s Pradhan

Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana

(PMJAY) with the state government scheme.

―Implementation of PMJAY alone will have covered 14.86

lakh families in the state. The new scheme extends this cover to

additional 31 lakh families bringing the total to 46 lakh families.

―This scheme will make Punjab the first state to offer medical

insurance to such a substantial part of its population.

―MGSSBY provides a cashless health benefit of Rs 5 lakh per

year. This is similar to the benefit provided by PMJAY.

―MGSSBY will provide cover for 1,396 treatment packages in

more than 450 empanelled hospitals (including 200 government

hospitals)

―The Centre Government will bear the 60 percent of the annual

premium for the 14.86 lakh families.

―Punjab Government will bear the 40 percent of the annual

premium for the 14.86 lakh families and 100 percent of the

annual premium for the rest of the families covered.

―Punjab government will bear Rs.276 crore, or 83% of annual

premium of Rs.333 crore and Centre will bear the remaining

Rs.57 crore.

―This scheme was launched on the 75th birth anniversary of

India’s former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. ―PMJAY was announced in September 2018. Punjab was one

of the states which had not implemented this scheme till now.

Punjab CM Amarinder SIngh at launch of MGSSBY

ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

The Union Government has proposed a scheme for

providing the bank account holders an option to approve or

reject transfer of funds or deposits of cash into their bank

accounts.

―The Government is planning to implement this for dealing

with the issue of black money and illegal deposits.

―This proposal was first announced during the Budget Speech

in July 2019 and now the government has started talking with

the Reserve Bank of India regarding this.

―This decision was taken after the reports of large scale misuse

of Jan Dhan accounts for exchanging banned currency after the

denomination.

―These reports say that the Jan Dhan accounts were being

misused for depositing banned currency without the knowledge

of account holders in some cases.

―According to reports, following the demonetisation in

November 2016, currency amounting over Rs 42,000 crore was

deposited in 3.74 crore Jan Dhan accounts in less than two

months.

―One of the stated reasons for denomination of the currency

was to deal with the issue of black currency but that failed to

make any impact.

The Government of India has notified the indirect tax

dispute resolution scheme which was announced during the

Budget.

―The scheme will become operational from September 1, and

will continue till December 31, 2019.

―This government has two components:

--Dispute resolutions: The individuals against whom the

disputes are pending in the courts can use this for liquidating

these cases.

--Amnesty: Individuals can pay their outstanding tax and

absolve themselves from all the other consequences under the

law.

―The scheme provides for tax dues relief of 70 percent if the

Tax Demand is of Rs 50 lakh or less and relief of 50% if the Tax

Demand is of more than Rs 50 lakh

―Under the amnesty scheme, the individual will have to pay

duty on the amount disclosed. There will be no interest, fine or

penalty.

Indian foreign exchange reserves have touched an all-time

high value of USD 4,30.572 billion in the week ending on

August 8, 2019.

―This increase in the foreign exchange or forex reserves was

due increase in the foreign currency assets.

―The forex reserves of India are expressed in dollar terms and

include adjustments for price fluctuations of all non-USD

currency units.

―The value of Indian Gold reserves increased by USD 1.591

billion to touch the value of USD 26.754 billion.

―The value of Special drawing rights (SDR) maintained with

the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increased by USD 6.7

million to touch USD 1.441 billion.

―Reserve position with IMF increased by USD $7 million to

touch USD 3.636 billion.

DEFENCE & SECURITY

The Union Ministry of Defence has cleared the proposal of

instituting Committee to review Defence Procurement

Procedure (DPP) 2016 and Defence Procurement Manual

(DPM) 2009.

―The Director General (Acquisitions) will act as the

Chairperson of these committees.

―DG (Acq) will be helped by a team of 11 other members.

―The members of the committee will at a minimum have a rank

or Joint Secretary or Major General or equivalent.

―These committees will look into the procedures and policies;

and revise them where ever necessary so that the process from

decision to acquire assets to completion of the life of the assets

can be as seamless as possible,

― One of the tasks given to these committees is to see the

manner in which the Make in India initiative of the Indian

Government can be strengthened.

―The committees will have to submit their recommendations

within six months.

―Both Defence Procurement Procedure 2016 and Defence

Procurement Manual 2009 have become due for revision.

The Union Home

Ministry has taken a

decision to bring

uniformity in the Central

Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) by fixing the

retirement age at 60 years

for all the personnel of

CAPFs. ―Previously, in CRPF

(Central Reserve Police

Force), BSF (Border

Security Force, ITBP

(Indo-Tibetan Border Security Force) and SSB (Sashastra

Seema Bal), personnel between the ranks of Constable and

Commandant superannuated at the age of 57.

―Previously, personnel with the rank of Deputy General and

above in CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB retired at the age of 60

years or more

―In January 2019 the High Court of Delhi passed an order

holding the different age of superannuation in CRPF, BSF, ITBP

and SSB as discriminatory and unconstitutional.

―The Central Armed Police Forces are working in various parts

of the country for protecting Indian internal security concerns.

―CAPFs deal with issues like border security, terrorism, riots,

maintenance of law and order, Naxal operations etc.

―CAPFs are under the control of Union Home Ministry.

―In March 2011, five services of CISF (Central Industrial

Security Force), CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSP were classified as

Central Armed Police Forces for avoiding confusions.

―The term used for these forces earlier to 2011 was

‘Paramilitary Force’ but now the term Paramilitary Forces is

used for referring to Assam Rifles and Special Frontier Force.

―The Term Paramilitary Forces has not been defined officially

or mentioned in any Acts in force as of now.

Defence Research and

Development Organisation (DRDO) has transferred the

design of Mobile Metallic

Ramp (MMR) to Indian Army. ―MMR has been designed and

developed by the DRDO’s

premier research laboratory

Centre for Fire, Explosive

and Environment Safety (CFEES).

―MMR has been designed to

satisfy the projected Indian Army requirements for reducing

Strategic Mobility time of mobilising Armoured Fighting

Vehicles (AFVs).

―MMR has been designed to bear loads of up to 70 metric tons

(MT)

―MMR can be easily assembled or disassembled.

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)

―DRDO was set up in 1958 for taking care of military’s

research and development.

Union Defence Ministry has taken a number of decisions

regarding the re-organisation of the Army headquarters.

Some of the key decisions taken by the Defence Ministry are:

--Setting up of a separate Vigilance Cell under the Chief of the

Army Staff (COAS).

--This Vigilance Cell will be headed by an ADG (Vigilance)

rank officer who will be helped by one Colonel level officers

each from the three defence services (Indian Air Force, Indian

Navy and Indian Army).

--Setting up of a separate Human Right Section to focus on

human right issues.

--The Human Right Section will be headed by an ADG rank

officer who will directly report to the Vice Chief of the Army

Staff.

--This section will focus on observance of human rights

conventions and values.

--This section will be the nodal office for dealing with all Human

Rights violation reports within the Indian Army.

--This section will also take police officer of SSP or SP rank on

deputation for ensuring best investigation expertise.

--206 officers (186 Lieutenant Colonels, 9 Colonels, 8

Brigadiers and 3 Major Generals) will be shifted out from the

Army Headquarters to the field units.

--This shifting is being done for addressing the long pending

demand of increasing the availability of officers in the field.

POLICY AND GOVT. INITIATIVES

Union Ministry of

Environment, Forest and

Climate Change (MoEFCC) has

released the draft of National

Resource Efficiency Policy,

2019.

―The key features of the draft

policy include: encouraging environmentally

sustainable and equitable

economic growth.

reducing the consumption of

primary resources to the level

which are sustainable.

increasing the efficiency of resource utilisation.

increasing employment opportunities and material security.

finding the ways of minimising waste.

―MoEFCC has invited comments and suggestions from

different stakeholders on this draft.

―India’s GDP estimates put its value at USD 2.6 trillion.

―The material consumption of India has increased from 1.18

billion tonnes (BT) in 1970 to 7 (BT) in 2015.

Indian Government has decided to introduce flexible e-

tourist visa regime.

―This regime will be applicable to citizens of more than 160

countries.

―The regime will be based on the tourist footfall. This means

that the e-tourist visa fee will be higher during peak seasons and

less during lean periods.

―Under the scheme, a visa with the validity between 30 days

and 5 years will be available with visa fee between USD 10 and

USD 80.

―Tourists from the member countries of the India-Pacific

Islands Cooperation region (Cook Islands, Micronesia, Kiribati,

Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Niue Island, Samoa, Fiji,

Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands and

Tonga) will not have to pay any visa fee.

―The tourists from Mauritius, Uruguay, Myanamar, Indonesia,

Jamaica, Seychelles, South Africa and Argentina have also been

exempted from the requirement of paying any visa fee.

―The move has been taken by the Government for encouraging

foreign tourists to visit India.

―This scheme has been approved by both the Union Home

Ministry and Union Ministry of External Affairs.

The Union Ministry of Human Resources Development

has launched the Integrated Teachers’ Training Programme,

NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Head’s and

Teachers’ Holistic Advancement).

―The Ministry wants to use the program to train approximately

42 lakh teachers across India.

―The program will cover:

all the teachers and heads at elementary level in

Government Schools.

faculty members of the State Council of Education,

Research and Training (SCERT)

faculty of District Institutions of Education and

Training (DIETs).

Block Resource Coordinators.

Cluster Resource Coordinators

teachers and faculty of other educational departments in

UTs and States.

―NISHTHA will be the world’s largest training programme of

its kind.

―NISHTHA is the first Indian programme in which the

standardised training modules have been developed at the

national level for all the states and UTs of the country.

SPORTS

On August 25, 2019 the Indian ace

shuttler, PV Sindhu, defeated Japan’s

Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21―7 to clinch the

women’s single title at the finals of World

Championship 2019 played at Basel,

Switzerland. ―In the men’s category, HS Prannoy of

India won the Bronze medal. He had

defeated the ex-World Champion Lin Dan

(China) in quarterfinals. He lost to Japan Kento Momato (Japan)

in the semi-finals. Kento Momato went on to win the gold medal

in men’s final defeating Lee zii Jia (Malaysia).

Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC)

has reappointed Ravi Shastri as the head

coach of Indian Men’s Cricket team for

a two years period.

―Ravi Shastri’s contract was scheduled

to end with the conclusion of World Cup

2019. His term was extended by 45 days

till then end of the West Indies tour. ―Ravi Shastri will continue in this

position till the end of T20 World Cup

2021 in India. Ravi Shastri is a former cricketer who has

appeared in 150 ODIs and 80 Test matches.

―Ravi Shastri in past has served as the Cricket Manager (2007

tour of Bangladesh), Team Director (2014-2016) and head

coach (2017-2019). Ravi Shastri enjoys public backing of the

Indian Cricket Team Captain Virat Kohli.

―Under Ravi Shastri, the Indian team has won 43 out of 60

ODIs (71.6 percent), 11 out of 21 Test Matches (52.38 percent)

and 25 out of 36 T20 International Matches (69.44 percent)

―CAC, under the leadership of Kapil Dev, is assisted by India

coach Anshuman Gaekwad and ex women’s captain Shantha

Rangaswamy.

Ravi Shastri

PV SIndhu

Indian men’s cyclist team has created history by winning the

Team Sprint gold medal at World Junior Track Cycling

Championships in Frankfurt, Germany.

―This is the 1st Gold Medal for India in any world cycling

event. Australia won the Silver Medal and Great Britain won the

Bronze.

―The Gold Medal winning team included Esow Alben,

Ronaldo Singh, James Singh and Rojit Singh.

―The Indian men’s junior team has a global ranking of No 2.

Malaysia enjoys the global ranking of No 1.

―Indian cyclist Esow Alben (from Andaman and Nicobar

Islands) is the top-ranked junior cyclist in world in sprint and

keirin events.

The Ministry of Sports has decided to form a single selection

committee for deciding on all the awards awarded by the

Ministry in 2019.

―The Committee under the leadership of retired Supreme Court

Judge Justice Mukundakam Sharma will both evaluate and

decide on all the awards decisions.

―Justice Sharma will be assisted by 11 other members

including Mary Kom, Bhaichung Bhutia, Anjum Chopra, Anju

Bobby George etc.

―The Committee has made the following recommendations:

Khel Ratna

Bajrang Punia (wrestling)

Deepa Malik (para-athletics)

Arjuna Award

Ravindra Jadeja (cricket)

Sonia Lather (boxing)

Poonam Yadav (cricket)

Simran Singh Shergill (polo)

Swapna Burman (athletics).

S Bhaskaran (body building)

Pooja Dhanda (wrestling)

Fouaad Mirza (equestrian)

Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (hockey)

Ajay Thakur (kabaddi)

Tajinder Pal Singh Toor (athletics)

Mohammed Anas Yahiya (athletics)

Sundar Singh Gurjar (para sports-athletics)

Gaurav Singh Gill (motor sports)

Bhamidipati Sai Praneeth (badminton)

Pramod Bhagat (para sports-badminton)

Anjum Moudgil (shooting)

Harmeet Rajul Desai (table tennis)

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (football)

Dronacharya Award (regular category):

Vimal Kumar (badminton)

Sandeep Gupta (table tennis)

Mohinder Singh Dhillon (athletics)

Dronacharya Award (Lifetime Category):

Mezban Patel (hockey)

Rambir Singh Khokar (kabaddi)

Sanjay Bhardwaj (cricket)

Dhyan Chand Award:

Manuel Fredricks (hockey)

Arup Basak (table tennis)

Manoj Kumar (wrestling)

Nitten Kirrtane (tennis)

C Lalremsanga (archery).

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy

Punjab University, Chandigarh – Overall winner university

Guru Nanak Dev University (Amritsar)- 1st runner up

Punjabi University (Patiala) – 2nd runner up.

INTERNATIONAL

Iceland has lost its first glacier–Okjokull–to global warming.

―Iceland held the funeral for the glacier and this was attended

by Prime Minister of Iceland Katrin Jakobsdottir.

―Glacier Okjokull was officially declared dead in 2014 at the

age of 700 years.

―Okjokull was declared dead by the Icelandic Meteorological

Office (IMO) when it was no longer thick enough to move.

―Okjokull is 1st Icelandic glacier to lose its status as glacier.

―Scientists predict that Iceland will lose all of its major glaciers

in the next 200 years if the present global warming trends

continue.

―Iceland loses about 11 billion tonnes of ice per year.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India

and Maldives on Training and Capacity Building

Programme for Maldivian Civil Servants have become

operational.

―The MoU in question was signed between the National

Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), India and the Civil

Services Commission of Maldives in June 2019.

―The objective of the MoU is to train 1000 Civil Servants of

Maldives in India over the period of five years.

The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has

announced a successful testing of the medium-range ground-

launched cruise missile.

―The test was conducted from the US Navy-controlled San

Nicolas Island off the coast of Los Angeles in California.

―The missile successfully impacted the target situated at a

distance of more than 500 kilometres.

―The test missile was an altered version of the exiting nuclear

capable Tomahawk cruise missile.

―This development comes within a short period of USA’s

decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear

Forces (INF) Treaty.

―The INF treaty officially ended on August 2nd, 2019.

―INF treaty was signed in 1987. INF treaty banned

development and deployment of all land-based missiles,

conventional and nuclear, that could travel between 500 and

5,500 kilometres.

―INF treaty was signed for doing away with a class of nuclear

weapons employed by both USA and USSR that were

threatening Europe.

―The ground launched version of Tomahawk missile was

developed before the rectification of the INF treaty and was

removed from service after the rectification.

―USA unilaterally withdrew from the INF treaty accusing

Russia of violating the terms of the treaty in the recent years.

The ending of the treaty has increased the fear of a new nuclear

arms race.

―USA has stressed that it is not interested in developing nuclear

INF range weapons.

―USA is most likely to deploy new INF range weapons in Asia;

further escalating the tensions with China which was not part of

the original INF treaty.

Okjokull, the first Icelandic glacier disappears

Bajrang Punia (Wrestling) and Deepa Malik (Para-athletics)

SUMMITS & ORGANIZATIONS

The NASA’s Magnetospheric

Multiscale (MMS) Mission has

taken its first high-resolution

measurements of an interplanetary

shock.

―Interplanetary shock measured

by MMS is of particles and

electromagnetic waves of the Sun.

―Researching of interplanetary

shocks help us in gaining better understanding of universal

phenomena.

―NASA’s MMS mission is a robotic space mission launched in

March 2015 for better studying Earth’s magnetosphere.

―MMS mission involves four identical spacecrafts flying in

tetrahedral formation around the Earth.

―These spacecrafts have been specially designed for gathering

information about microphysics of energetic particle turbulence

and acceleration, processes that occur in many astrophysical

plasmas.

SUMMITS & ORGANIZATIONS

BASIC countries (Brazil, South Africa, India and China)

have recently concluded their 28th Ministerial meeting on

Climate Change in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This meeting was held

before the United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change (UNFCC) Conference of Parties (COP-25)

meet scheduled in December 2019. The key highlights of this

meeting included:

―The members in the meeting expressed strong concerns on the

global warming, the related climate change and their negative

effects.

―The members in the meeting reaffirmed their commitment

towards implementing UNFCCC.

―The members also reaffirmed their commitments towards

implementation of Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement

under UNFCCC.

―The members also emphasised that while making these

implementations, the needs and special circumstances of the

developing nations should be kept in mind and the principles of

Equity and Common should be applied based on the

Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities

(CBDR-RC).

―The BASIC members also said that the developed countries

should fulfil their climate finance commitments of mobilizing

$100 billion annually by 2020 for developing countries.

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar represented

India at the meeting. The next meeting of the BASIC members

will be hosted by China. BASIC was formed in 2009. Countries

in BASIC account for the 40 percent of the World’s population.

BASIC nations have agreed to act jointly at the Copenhagen

climate summit, including possible united walk-out if their

common minimum position was not met by the developed

nations.

ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY

Union Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA)

conducted a one-day National Workshop Cum Exhibition on

Sustainable Sanitation on 19th August, 2019.

―The Exhibition was conducted for bringing together different

stakeholders with the purpose of finding ways of reducing risks

related to manual entry into sewers or septic tanks.

―The Exhibition saw participation of more than 800

representatives from across India.

―Both managerial and technological issues were discussed for

finding methods of reducing risks.

―Best practices in Municipal Solid Waste Management were

discussed.

―Role and responsibilities of Emergency Response

Sanitation Unit (ERSU), a proposed unit to systematise human

entry into sewer or septic tanks were discussed.

―The workshop was a part of the year long celebration of the

150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

ART AND CULTURE NEWS

The Aadi Mahotsav or

National Tribal Festival was

organised at Polo Ground, Leh-

Ladakh from 17th August to 25th

August 2019. ―The nine days festival was

organised for boosting the tribal

economy in Ladakh.

―The theme of the festival was,

“A celebration of the spirit of Tribal Craft, Culture and

Commerce.”

―The festival saw participation of approximately 160 tribal

artisans representing 20 states of India.

―The major attractions at the event included:

--Tribal textiles from Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and West

Bengal

--Tribal jewellery from Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and

the North-eastern states

--Art and craft from Gond and Warli

--Art, metal craft from Chhattisgarh

--Black pottery from Manipur

―The Aadi Mahotsav is a joint initiative of the Union Ministry

of Tribal Affairs and Tribal Cooperative Marketing

Development Federation of India (TRIFED).

―TRIFED acts as a service provider and market developer and

collaborate with Amazon for selling tribal products in 190

countries across the world

―TRIFED will essentially play role of a Service provider &

Market Developer.

―70 percent of the population of Ladakh is tribal population.

―Ladakh is known for apricots and pashmina.

―Through a collaboration of TRIFED and online marketplace

Amazon, these products will be sold in 190 countries across the

world.

MISCELLANEOUS

The Geographical Indications Registry under Department

for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has

accorded Geographical Indication (GI) tag to the following

items: Tirur betel Leaf (Kerala); Tawlhlohpuan (Mizoram);

and, Mizo Puanchei (Mizoram)

―The GI tags are exclusive in nature and similar item

originating from different location are not allowed to use them.

BASIC GK ASPECTS

Books and Authors The Extraordinary Life and Death of Sunanda Pushkar―by

Sunanda Mehta

Bhaunri—A Novel―by Anukrti Upadhyay

Aadi Mahotsav or National Tribal Festival

NASA's MMS Mission

Shiksha: My Experiments as an Education Minister―by

Manish Sisodia

Bolna Hi Hai : Loktantra, Sanskriti Aur Rashtra Ke Bare

Mein―by Ravish Kumar

The Game of Votes―by Farhat Basir Khan

The Fifth Domain―by Richard A. Clarke and Robert K. Knake

Wish I Could Tell You―by Durjoy Datta

Till We Meet Again―by Shibaji Bose

The Dark Side―by Danielle Steel

Awards and Honours

Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman 2019 was awarded to

the following scholars:

Sanskrit: Dr. Ashok Thapliyal; Prof. SujtaTripathi;

Dr.Sanju Mishra; Dr. Abhijit Hanmant Joshi;

Dr.SharachchandraDwivedi

Pali: Anoma Shriram Sakhare

Prakrit: Ashish Kumar Jain

Arabic: Dr. Fauzan ahmad

Persian: ER.M. Shahbaz Alam

Classical Kannada: G Bharisha; S. Karthik; Dr. M.

Byrappa

Classical Telgu: Dr. Addanki Srinivas; Dr. V. Triveni; Dr.

DK Prabhakar

Classical Malayalam: Dr. Rajeev RR; Shri Santhosh

Thottingal

Classical Odia: Dr. Subrat Kumar Prusty

―In addition to this, Certificates of Honour were also given to

the scholars of Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Pali, Prakrit, Classical

Kannada, Classical Telugu, Classical Malayalam and Classical

Odiya.

―Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman are conferred annually

on the Independence Day. These awards are conferred to

scholars between the age of 30 and 45; and carry a cash price of

Rs one lakh. These awards were instituted by 2002 by the Union

Ministry of Human Resource Development.

People in News

On August 24, 2019 the former Union

Minister Arun Jaitley (66) passed away

after prolonged illness. He was acc orded

fill state honours in the presence of several

leaders from BJP as well as the opposition

political parties. Mr Jaitley was admitted to

All India Institute of Medical Sciences

(AIIMS) in New Delhi on August 9, 2019

after reports of breathlessness and restlessness.

Appointments

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC),

Government of India has appointed Harshad Pandurang

Thakur as Director of National Institute of Health and

Family Welfare The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC),

Government of India has approved appointment of Rajiv

Gauba, as India’s new Cabinet Secretary.

―He will assume office on August 30, 2019 and he will

continue in office for a period of two years.

―Rajiv will be taking over from the present incumbent

Pradeep Kumar Sinha, a 1977 batch Uttar Pradesh-cadre IAS

officer. Rajiv is known for labour reforms in Jharkhand.

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC),

Government of India has cleared the appointment of Ajay

Kumar as Secretary, Union Ministry of Defence.

―Ajay Kumar is currently serving as a Secretary in the

Department of Defence Production, Union Ministry of Defence.

―Kumar will take over the charge from the current incumbent

Sanjay Mitra.

―Kumar is a 1985 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS)

officer from Kerala cadre.

The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC),

Government of India has made the following appointments:

―Subash Chandra as the new Defence Production Secretary

of India, and Brij Kumar Agarwal as the new Secretary,

Lokpal.

Places/Events in News

Union Ministry of Tourism conducted a one-day National

Conference of Tourism Ministers on 20th August, 2019.

The Conference saw participation from: (i) State Tourism

Ministers of 19 States; and, (ii) Secretaries of Tourism and other

senior officials from States and Union Territories.

―Some of the States showcased their best practices in the

tourism sector to the people.

―The States were urged to help in doubling the number of

foreign and domestic tourists in the next five years.

―The Conference saw launch of the Hindi version of new

Incredible India portal.

―The Conference saw announcement of the launch of Arabic,

Chinese and Spanish versions of the new Incredible India Portal

in September, 2019.

Must Know

ACC: Appointments Committee of the Cabinet

ADG: Additional Director General

AFV: Armed Fighting Vehicle

CAC: Cricket Advisory Committee

CAPF: Central Armed Police Forces

CFEES: Centre for Fire Explosive and Environmental Safety

CISF: Central Industrial Security Force

CoAS: Chief of the Army Staff

CRPF: Central Reserve Police Force

DIET: District Institutions of Education and Training

DPIIT: Deptt. for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade

DRDO: Defence Research and Development Organisation

EDL: Essential Diagnostic List

FGD: Flue-Gad Desulphurisation

ICMR: Indian Council of Medical Research

ITBP: Indo-Tibetan Border Security Force

LTTE: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

MGSSBY: Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana

NCGG: National Centre for Good Governance

NEDL: National Essential Diagnostics List

NIHFW: National Institute of Health and Family Welfare

ODI: One Day Internationals

OMI: Ozone Monitoring Instrument

PMJAY: Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana

SCERT: State Council of Education, Research and Training

SSB: Sashastra Seema Bal

TISS: Tata Institution of Social Science

TRIFED: Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development

Federation of India

UDAY: Utkrisht Double Decker Air Conditioned Yatri

UNFCC: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNGC: United Nations General Assembly

Arun Jaitley