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2019

Contents SCHEMES 3 1. JAN SHIKSHAN SANSTHAN (JSS) 3 2. JAL SHAKTI 3 3. AYUSHMAN BHARAT 3 4. PRADHAN MANTRI FASAL BIMA YOJANA 4 5. PRADHAN MANTRI KISAN SAMMAN NIDHI (PM-KISAN) 4 6. KISAN CREDIT CARD (KCC) 5 7. MERCHANDISE EXPORTS FROM INDIA SCHEME

(MEIS) 5 8. TRANSPORT AND MARKETING ASSISTANCE

(TMA) 6 INITIATIVES 1 1. DRAFT NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY 2019 1 2. DIGICOP 1 3. WORLD FOOD SAFETY DAY 2 4. FLOOD HAZARD ATLAS 2 5. SEZ ACT 2 6. GO TRIBAL CAMPAIGN 3 7. KHELO INDIA PROGRAMME 3 8. CYBER COORDINATION CENTRE (CYCORD)

PORTAL 3 9. SYSTEMATIC VOTERS EDUCATION AND ELECTORAL

PARTICIPATION PROGRAM(SVEEP) 3 10. INFORMATION FUSION CENTRE – INDIAN OCEAN

REGION 4 11. NEFT AND RTGS 4 12. MISSION ON NATURAL LANGUAGE TRANSLATION

4 13. RASHTRIYA SANSKRITI MAHOTSAV 5 14. MAKE IN INDIA INITIATIVE IN DEFENSE SECTOR

5 15. INDIA NATIONAL PLATFORM ON PRIVATE ON

SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS 6 16. CORPORATE AVERAGE FUEL

EFFICIENCY/ECONOMY REGULATIONS 6 17. KALESHWARAM LIFT IRRIGATION PROJECT 6 18. INDIASTACK 7 ENVIRONMENT 8 1. BANGKOK DECLARATION 8 2. BHARAT STAGE 8

3. RANGANATHITTU BIRD SANCTUARY 8 4. POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE (PET) 9 5. PRACTICAL ROAD MAP FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES 9 6. UN MEETING ON LAND DEGRADATION 10 7. LARGE HYDRO POWER PROJECTS 10 8. HEAT WAVES 11 9. FOREST RIGHTS ACT 11 10. AGENDA 21 12 11. POLLUTION CAUSED BY FERTILISER INDUSTRY

13 12. SISHAM 14 13. CHILIKA LAKE 15 14. KHEONI SANCTUARY 16 ORGANISATIONS 17 1. COUNCIL OF EUROPE 17 2. FINANCIAL ACTION TASK FORCE (FATF) 17 3. REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC

PARTNERSHIP (RCEP) 17 4. UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL (UNSC)18 5. KIMBERLEY PROCESS (KP) 19 6. QUAD 19 7. SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANIZATION (SCO) 19 8. ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE (ED) 20 9. GST COUNCIL 20 10. FINANCIAL STABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT

COUNCIL (FSDC) 21 11. NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT

AUTHORITY (NDMA) 22 12. INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR INTEGRATED

MOUNTAIN DEVELOPMENT (ICIMOD) 22 13. FOOD CORPORATION OF INDIA (FCI) 22 14. NITI AAYOG RECONSTITUTED 23 15. POPULATION RESEARCH CENTRES 24 FLORA AND FAUNA 25 1. GOLDEN LANGUR 25 2. KARIMEEN 25 3. IMPRESSED TORTOISE 25 AGRICULTURE 26 1. SUGAR INDUSTRY 26 2. DIFFERENT CROPPING SEASONS 26

3. DOUBLING FARMERS INCOME 27 4. DECONTROLLING UREA PRICES 28 5. ONLINE WAREHOUSE-BASED TRADING 28 ECONOMY 30 1. REPO RATE 30 2. LEVERAGE RATIO 30 3. STRESSED ASSET RESOLUTION NORMS 30 4. PARAMETERS TO MEASURE THE HEALTH OF THE

BANKING SYSTEM 31 5. CREDIT RATING 32 6. CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (CPI) 32 7. INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION (IIP) 32 8. WHOLESALE PRICE INDEX (WPI) AND PRODUCER

PRICE INDEX (PPI) 33 9. FDI IN MULTI-BRAND RETAIL 33 10. ANTI-DUMPING 34 11. NON-BANKING FINANCIAL COMPANY (NBFC) 34 12. WILFUL DEFAULTER 35 13. ASSET RECONSTRUCTION COMPANY (ARC) 35 14. GUIDELINES FOR E-COMMERCE FIRMS 35 15. CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT AND FOREIGN

EXCHANGE RESERVE 36 16. FISCAL DEFICIT 37 17. ELEPHANT BONDS 37 18. FUTURES ON COMMODITY INDICES 37 19. NATIONAL INVESTMENT AND MANUFACTURING

ZONES 38 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 39 1. 5G 39 2. DARK WEB 39 3. NIPAH INFECTION 40 4. REMDESIVIR 40 5. GESTATIONAL DIABETES 40 6. LONG MARCH-11 41 7. INDIAN SPACE STATION 41 8. BLOOD TRANSFUSION 42 9. GENE-EDITED BABIES 43 10. BT COTTON 43 11. BT BRINJAL 44 12. WASTE-TO-ENERGY 44 13. FUEL CELLS 45 14. CARBON QUANTUM DOT 45 15. PARKINSON’S DISEASE 46 16. TRICHOPUS ZEYLANICUS 46 17. CHIKUNGUNYA 47

18. ACUTE ENCEPHALITIS SYNDROME (AES) 47 19. ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE 48 20. PROTON THERAPY 49 21. COLORED WHEAT 49 22. MISSION DRAGONFLY 50 23. RAAVANA-1 50 REPORTS AND INDICES 51 1. HEALTHY STATES, PROGRESSIVE INDIA 51 2. SDG GENDER INDEX 51 3. NUTRITION SECURITY ANALYSIS REPORT 51 4. TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 52 5. STATE OF GLOBAL AIR 2019 REPORT 52 POLITY 54 1. REMOVAL OF HIGH COURT JUDGE 54 2. ESSENTIAL SERVICES 54 3. ANTI-DEFECTION 54 4. LEADER OF OPPOSITION 55 5. STATE FLAG DAY 55 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 56 1. INDIA MALDIVES BILATERAL 56 2. DOKLAM ISSUE 56 3. THE JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OF ACTION

(JCPOA) 56 4. H1B VISA 57 5. THE GENERALISED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES

(GSP) 57 6. BREXIT 57 7. EXERCISE GARUDA 58 8. TAX INFORMATION EXCHANGE AGREEMENT 58 9. STRAIT OF HORMUZ 58 ART AND CULTURE 60 1. CHAUKHANDI STUPA 60 2. AMBUBACHI MELA 60 3. BANKIM CHANDRA’S STATUE 60 4. AMARAVATI SCHOOL OF ART 60 DEFENSE 62 1. VARUNASTRA 62

SCHEMES

1. Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) About the scheme: • Jan Shikshan Sansthan provide vocational

skills to non-literate, neo-literates as and school drop-outs by identifying skills that are useful in their region.

• The Scheme is under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Target Group: • Socio-economically backward and

educationally disadvantaged groups of rural/urban population.

• Main target include non-literate, neo-literates, person educated up to 8th standard, and school drop-outs in the age group of 15-35 years.

• Priority will be given to women, SC, ST, OBC and Minorities in rural areas and urban slums.

Why in news? • Fee for SC/ST candidates, who join

vocational training under Jan Shikshan Sansthans has been waived off.

2. Jal Shakti About the initiative: • It will look into the progress made in

harvesting, conserving and bore well recharge activities under the

o Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme of Ministry of Rural Development

o Integrated Watershed Management Program of the Ministry of Rural Development

o Water body Restoration activities of Jal Shakthi Ministry

o Afforestation program of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

• Progress of all the works will be

monitored real-time through a mobile application and a web-based dashboard at indiawater.gov.in.

• Kisan Vigyan Kendras will be roped in to promote better crop choices for the farmers and efficient use of water for irrigation.

Kisan Vigyan Kendras: • Krishi Vigyan kendras was established by

ICAR (a autonomous body for education and research under MOAFW)

• It connects farmers and ICAR for the purpose of training, technology transfer etc.,

Why in News? • The Centre has initiated the Jal Shakti

Abhiyan for rainwater harvesting and conservation efforts in water-stressed districts.

3. Ayushman Bharat Ayushman Bharat • It is an umbrella of two major health

initiatives, namely o Health and Wellness Centers o National Health Protection

Scheme. Health and Wellness Centers: • Under this 1.5 lakh health and wellness

will be created to deliver primary health care services.

• These centers will provide comprehensive health care, including for non-communicable diseases and maternal and child health services.

National Health Protection Mission: AB-PMJAY (Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana): • AB-PMJAY provides a insurance cover of

Rs. 5 lakh per family per year. • This cover will take care of almost all

secondary care and most of tertiary care procedures.

• To ensure that nobody is left out (especially women, children and elderly) there will be no cap on family size and age in the scheme.

• The benefit cover will also include pre and post-hospitalization expenses.

• A defined transport allowance per hospitalization will also be paid to the beneficiary.

• Benefits of the scheme are portable across the country and a beneficiary covered under the scheme will be allowed to take cashless benefits from any public/private empanelled hospitals across the country.

Eligibility criteria: • Entitlement will be decided on the basis

of deprivation criteria (poor in some indicators like education, income etc.,) in the Socio-economic cast census database.

Implementation: • National Health Authority has been set

up for this purpose. • It will be chaired by the Minister of Health

& Family Welfare scheme. • States/ UTs are advised to create

respective State Health Agency (SHA). Why in the news? • Indian government with the help of

expert doctors and consultants is revising about 1300 insurance packages to be included under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan arogya yojana (National health protection mission).

4. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

About the scheme: • The scheme is being administered by the

Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare.

• The crop insurance scheme for farmers suffering crop damage or loss arising out of unforeseen events.

• Crops covered : Oilseed crops ; all food crops ; Annual commercial/horticultural crops

• Premium : There will be a uniform premium of 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all Rabi crops. For annual commercial and horticultural crops, the premium to be paid by farmers will be 5%.

Eligibility criteria:

• The scheme is mandatory for the farmers who have borrowed institutional loans from banks. and it is optional for the farmers who have not availed institutional credit.

• Coverage : It aims at covering the losses suffered by farmers such as pre- sowing losses, post-harvest losses due to cyclonic rains and losses due to unseasonal rainfall in India. It also covers losses due to localized calamities such as inundation, hailstorm and landslide risks.

• Exclusions : The losses arising out of war and nuclear risks, malicious damage and other preventable risks are not covered under this scheme.

Implementation: • The scheme is implemented by

empanelled general insurance companies. Selection of Implementing Agency (IA) is made by the concerned State Government through bidding.

• The funds for the scheme come from the Krishi Kalyan Kosh.

Krishi Kalyan Kosh: (farmers’ welfare fund) will be used as an ‘emergency fund’ to support farmers when they incur losses due to low rates of produce, crop damage due to natural disasters, and to assist them when there is a delay in payment of minimum support price (MSP) by the Centre. Why in news ? • Under the scheme, crop yield information

is mandatory for insurance estimation. Currently, crop yield was estimated by Laborious crop-cutting experiments (CCE) which consumes more time and this was the main reason for delay in insurance settlements.

• Now, the government is planning to introduce new-age technology in Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana to assess crop yield estimates for reducing delays in crop insurance claim settlements.

5. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)

About the scheme:

• It aims to provide assured income of Rs. 6000 per annum to the landholding farmers at household level (not to each farming individual).

• The income will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of beneficiary farmers, in three equal instalments of Rs. 2,000 each.

Eligibility : • All landholder farmer’s families in the

country are eligible for the PM-Kisan Scheme subject to the prevalent exclusion criteria.

• Farmers who do not own any land are not eligible for this scheme.

• Excluded from the scheme o Institutional land holders, o Farmer families holding

constitutional posts, o Serving or retired officers and

employees of state/central government as well as PSUs and government autonomous bodies.

o Professionals like doctors, engineers and lawyers as well as retired pensioners with a monthly pension of over Rs 10,000 and those who paid income tax in the last assessment year.

• Identification of beneficiaries : The responsibility of identifying the eligible beneficiary farmers and uploading their data on PM-KISAN portal lies entirely with the state governments.

6. Kisan Credit Card (KCC) About the Scheme • The beneficiaries under the scheme will

be issued with a Smart card/ Debit card. • It enables farmers to purchase

agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. and draw cash to satisfy their agricultural and consumption needs.

Eligibility : • Small farmers, marginal farmers,

sharecroppers, oral lessee and tenant farmers.

• The Self Help Groups (SHGs) or Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) are also eligible for availing benefits under the said scheme.

• KCC has been extended to farmers who are involved in activities related to animal husbandry and fisheries.

• Under the KCC Scheme, a flexible limit of Rs.10,000 to Rs.50,000 has been provided to marginal farmers (as Flexi KCC) based on the land holding and crops grown.

Joint Liability Groups (JLGs): • To bring small, marginal, tenant farmers,

oral lessees, etc. into the fold of institutional credit, Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) have been promoted by banks.

• Joint Liability Groups consists of an informal group of 4 – 20 individuals who are engaged in similar business/ occupation, formed with the purpose of availing loans through the group mechanism against mutual guarantee.

• In order to provide institutional loans to small farmers NABARD came up with the concept of Joint Liability Groups (JLG).

Why in news ? • The Centre has directed the concerned

banks to issue Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to eligible farmers to bring them under the ambit of institutional credit.

7. Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS)

About the scheme: • Under the scheme the government

provides duty benefits (rewards/duty credit scripts) to exporters of notified commodity produced or manufactured in India.

• Depending on the product and the country the reward might vary (2%, 3% or 5%).

• This reward can be used for payment of various kinds of taxes including customs and duties.

• The government introduced Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS)

through the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-20.

• It is implemented by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

• It makes the exporters competitive in the international market including Europe, The United States of America and Africa.

• The incentives under MEIS are also available to units located in Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

Why in news ? • The government has removed MEIS

incentives (made zero from the current 10 per cent) for export of fresh and chilled onions due to rising prices in the domestic market.

8. Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA)

About the scheme: • Aim : To provide assistance for the

international component of freight and marketing of agricultural produce.

• The Scheme would be available for exports from March 2019 to March 2020.

• Under the scheme, the government will reimburse a certain portion of freight charges and provide assistance for marketing of agricultural produce to boost exports of certain commodities.

Coverage : • All exporters, duly registered with

relevant Export Promotion Council as per Foreign Trade Policy, of eligible agricultural products shall be covered under this scheme.

• It is likely to mitigate disadvantage of higher cost of transportation of export of specified agricultural products due to trans-shipment.

Why in news ? • The US and Australia have raised raised

concern over India’s Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) at the WTO.

• In addition to this, Australia asked India to provide information regarding the average level of export subsidies provided for products under TMA scheme for the

past five years and to justify how this scheme is consistent with the Nairobi WTO Ministerial commitment of 2015 ( a commitment for reducing such subsidies which has the potential to distort trades)

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INITIATIVES

1. Draft National Education Policy 2019

Highlights of the draft policy • The Draft Policy is built on the

foundational pillars on Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability, and Accountability.

• Subjects: Arts, music, crafts, sports, yoga, community service, etc will be part of the curricula.

• Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) as an integral part of school education(3-6 years).

• The committee recommends amendment in Right to Education Act 2009 to cover children of ages 3 to 18 (currently, 6-14).

• Schools will be re-organized into school complexes.

• Teacher education: A 4-year integrated stage-specific B.Ed. program will be made minimum degree qualification for teachers.

• Higher education Institutions will be restructured as three types -

o Type 1: Focused on world-class research and high quality teaching

o Type 2: Focused on high quality teaching across disciplines with significant contribution to research

o Type 3: High-quality teaching focused on undergraduate education

• Rashtriya Shiksha Ayog : A new body is proposed, which will coordinate efforts between the Centre and states.

• National Research Foundation, an apex body, is proposed for creating a strong research culture.

• Separate and independent institutions for four functions of Standard Setting, Funding, Accreditation, and Regulation.

o National Higher Education Regulatory Authority will be the only regulator for all

higher education including professional education.

o UGC is to be transformed into Higher Education Grants Commission and would overlook funding activities. (HEGC).

• The private and public institutions will be treated on par, and education will remain a 'not for profit' activity.

• The policy called for the proper implementation of the three-language formula (dating back to 1968) in schools across the country.

• Language - Promotion of Indian and classical languages and setting up three new National Institutes for Pali, Persian and Prakrit were proposed.

What’s in the news? • After the national education policy 1986,

the government at the recommendation of the Dr. Kasturirangan committee have brought the draft national education policy 2019.

2. DigiCop What is it? • It is an app launched by Chennai city

police. • The police department is compiling a

database of mobiles reported stolen in southern States, which will be uploaded in the app.

What is the current scenario? • Till now, only sub-inspectors and

inspectors could use the mobile application launched by the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) to detect stolen mobile phones using the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number.

How is the public benefitted? • With DigiCop, any user can find out the

status of mobile phones using its IMEI number.

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• It will also come in handy for prospective buyers and police to verify if a phone was stolen.

• The objective is to reduce the demand in the grey market.

• Mobile sellers can install the app to avoid buying stolen phones.

3. World Food Safety Day Why in news? • Minister of Health and Family Welfare,

inaugurated first-ever World Food Safety Day.

Initiatives launched: • State Food safety index: The Food Safety

and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has developed first State Food Safety Index (SFSI) to measure the performance of States on five parameters of food safety. This is an effort to motivate states to work towards ensuring safe food for citizens.

• Raman 1.0: It is a hand-held battery operated device which performs rapid detection (in less than 1 minute) of economically driven adulteration in edible oils, fats and ghee. The equipment tests more than 250 samples per battery charge, collects and stores data on the cloud using a smart device.

• Food Safety Magic Box: It is an innovative solution to take food safety to schools. This do-it-yourself food testing kit comprises a manual and equipment to check for food adulterants, which school children can use in their classroom laboratories.

• Eat Right Awards: FSSAI has instituted the ‘Eat Right Awards’ to recognize the contribution of food companies and individuals to empower citizens to choose safe and healthy food options, which would help improve their health and well-being.

4. Flood hazard atlas What is it? It is a map with demarcation of flood prone region. What’s in the news? • Odisha has come out with unique flood

hazard Atlas on the basis of historic flood

inundation captured through satellite imagery.

• The Atlas would serve as a useful resource of information for policy makers, planners and civil society groups.

• A large number of satellites images acquired over 18 years were used to create the flood hazard atlas.

5. SEZ Act Amendment: • An amendment was done to provisions of

the SEZs Act, 2005 to include the expression "trust or entity" in the definition of "person" to set up SEZ.

• The amendment will enable trusts to be considered for grant of permission to set up units in SEZs.

• The amendments will also provide flexibility to the central government to ‘include in this definition of a person’ or any entity that the central government may notify from time to time (no need of new amendment to include new definition of person). This will facilitate investments in SEZs.

What are SEZs?

• SEZ is a specifically delineated duty-free enclave and deemed to be foreign territory for the purposes of trade operations and duties and tariffs.

• SEZs’ economic laws are more liberal than a country's typical economic laws. India’s SEZ policy offers various fiscal and regulatory incentives to the developers within the zone like exemption from customs duties, central excise duties.

• The idea was to create a level playing field to the domestic enterprises and manufacturers to be competitive globally.

Objectives of SEZs • The major objectives of setting up a SEZ

are • To attract FDI

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• Earn foreign exchange and contribute to exchange rate stability

• Boost the export sector especially non traditional exports

• To create employment opportunities • Introduce new technology • Develop backward regions etc.

6. Go Tribal Campaign What is it? • It aims to generate awareness and

promote tribal arts and crafts. • It strives for the socio-economic welfare

of more than 700 Indian tribes, by promoting and making available tribal handcrafted textiles, jewelry, and other accessories via global online market spaces.

• It has been launched by Minister of State for Tribal Affairs and TRIFED in association with Amazon Global.

About TRIFED • The Tribal Cooperative Marketing

Development Federation of India (TRIFED) is a national-level apex organization functioning under the administrative control of Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

• TRIFED is engaged in marketing development of tribal products including tribal art and craft under the brand name “TRIBES INDIA”.

7. Khelo India Programme What is it? • Under this programme, 2,500 talented

players have been selected and are being trained.

• Talented players identified in priority sports disciplines at various levels by the High-Powered Committee will be provided annual financial assistance of INR 5 lakh per annum for 8 years.

• The Khelo India programme has been introduced to revive the sports culture in India at the grass-root level by building a strong framework for all sports played in our country and establish India as a great sporting nation.

• It is under the Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports.

Why in news? • President Ram Nath Kovind said that the

government has decided to widen the spectrum of the 'Khelo India Programme' to cover the entire country.

8. Cyber Coordination Centre (CyCord) portal

What is it? • The governmnent launched the CyCord

portal in 2018. • It is a platform for the Law Enforcement

Agencies and other stakeholders to collaborate and coordinate their efforts to resolve cybercrime, and for other cyber related issues.

Why in news? • The Minister of state for Home affairs

highlighted the Cyber Coordination Centre (CyCord) portal as one of the major initiatives of the government against cyber related issues.

9. Systematic voters education and electoral participation program(SVEEP)

What is it? • It is the flagship program of the Election

Commission of India for voter education, spreading voter awareness and promoting voter literacy in India.

• It works towards preparing India’s electors and equipping them with basic knowledge related to the electoral process.

Why in news? ▪ A two-day National Conference of SVEEP

Nodal Officers was organized by the Election Commission of India to review the strategy and implementation of outreach program during Lok Sabha Election 2019 and to chalk out the blueprint for the next 5 years.

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10. Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region

What is it? • IFC-IOR is an initiative of the Indian Navy,

located in Gurugram, Haryana.

• Through this Centre, information on “white shipping”, or commercial shipping, will be exchanged with countries in the region to improve maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean.

• It acts as a dedicated center for exchange of information and understanding the concerns and threats which are prevalent in the region.

Why in News?

• The Indian Navy hosted a maritime information sharing workshop under the aegis of the Information Fusion Centre — Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) at Gurugram.

11. NEFT and RTGS National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) • NEFT is a payment system facilitating

funds transfers from one bank account to another.

• One can access this service either by using Internet banking or by visiting the bank branch.

• Once we initiate the transfer, the money reaches the beneficiary account within hours.

• There is no limit on the minimum or maximum amount you can transfer, however, individual banks may put restrictions on a per transaction amount.

Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) • This is a facility used for transferring high

value amounts. • In RTGS, the minimum amount that can

be currently transferred is Rs 2 lakh. • We can only transfer funds using RTGS on

any working day between Monday and Saturday either via internet banking or bank branch.

Why in news?

• With an aim to encourage digital transfer of funds, the RBI has waived off all charges for transactions using National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) systems.

• This move will benefit the small traders who deal in small value transactions and operate on small margins.

12. Mission on natural language

translation What is it? • The mission tries to make science and

technology accessible to all by facilitating access to teaching and researching material bilingually in English and in one's native Indian language.

• To overcome the language barrier, the government planned to set up an ecosystem which involves the Central and State agencies and start-ups.

• To achieve this, the government plans to leverage a combination of machine translation and human translation.

Implementation: • The IT ministry along with Ministry of

Human Resource Development and Department of Science and Technology.

What’s in the news? • Ministry of Electronics and IT is planning

to initiate the Natural Language Translation mission which is one of the key missions identified by the Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).

PM-STIAC: • The PM-STIAC is an overarching body that

identifies challenges in certain areas of science and technology.

• It then creates a road map to deal with these challenges and presents the recommendations to the Prime Minister.

• Besides natural language translation, other missions identified by the body includes Quantum Frontier, Artificial intelligence, National Biodiversity

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mission, electric vehicles, BioScience for Human Health and deep ocean exploration.

13. Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav What is it? • Under the initiative the government

organizes various cultural activities every year throughout the country to promote culture.

• The objective is to protect, preserve & promote various forms of folk art and for creating awareness among people about the cultural heritage of our country.

Implementing Agency • There are seven Zonal Cultural Centers

(ZCCs) to promote cultural development programmes for which annual grant-in-aid is given to them by the Government of India.

Why in News? • This year Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav

was organized in Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh (January to March, 2019).

14. Make in India initiative in Defense Sector

What is Make in India? • Make in India is a national program

designed to transform India into a global manufacturing hub.

• It contains lot of proposals designed to urge companies (both local and foreign) to invest in India and make the country a manufacturing powerhouse. For example, below are some of the initiatives undertaken

o Investor Facilitation Cell o Reforms in FDI o Make in India web portal: It

intends to answer all investor queries. Apart from a set of comprehensive FAQs, the website also has a team of support, that answers all specific queries within 72 hours

• The focus of Make in India programme is

on creating jobs and skill enhancement in 25 sectors and to create 100 million additional jobs by 2022 in manufacturing sector.

• It also aims at increasing the share of manufacturing in the country's Gross Domestic Product from 16% to 25% by 2022.

Make in India in defense sector: • Defense Procurement Procedure (DPP)

has been revised in 2016 wherein specific provisions have been introduced for stimulating growth of the domestic defense industry.

o Buy Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured): It has been introduced to promote indigenous design and development of defense equipment. Any equipment manufactured under this category will be given a top priority for procurement for defense needs.

o Strategic Partnership (SP) Model: The strategic partnership model seeks to identify a few Indian private companies as Strategic Partners who would initially tie up with a few shortlisted foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to manufacture big-ticket military platforms. In the initial phase, the selection of SPs would be confined to four segments: Fighter Aircraft, Helicopters, Submarines, and Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV)/Main Battle Tanks (MBT).

• Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX): An innovation ecosystem for defence research and development has been launched.

• Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti: Aims to provide boost to the IPR culture in indigenous defence industry.

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• Defence industrial corridors: Government has decided to establish two (in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu) to serve as an engine of economic development and growth of defence industrial base in the country.

15. India National Platform on Private on Sustainability Standards

What is it? • It is a platform to facilitate dialogue

between core public and private stakeholders on how to maximize the sustainable development benefits.

• It is a platform to resolve issues in the domain of Private Sustainability Standards and help increase export capacity of India.

Why is it needed? • In the Indian context, there are claims of

PSS’s positive impact on value chain sustainability, market access benefits and on livelihoods of people.

• But on the other hand they are perceived to be non-tariff trade barriers due to the high cost of compliance.

Stakeholders: • INPPSS has been launched by the

Ministry of Commerce and the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards – an initiative of 5 UN agencies: (UNCTAD, ITC, UNIDO, FAO, & UN Environment).

• It is under the sectorial oversight of Quality Council of India (QCI).

About the Quality Council of India (QCI): • Quality Council of India (QCI) is an

autonomous body. • It was setup jointly by the Government of

India and the Indian Industry represented by the three premier industry associations i.e.

o Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM),

o Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and

o Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)

• It aims to establish and operate national accreditation structure and promote quality through National Quality Campaign.

• The Department for promotion of Industrial & Internal trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, is the nodal ministry for QCI.

• Chairman of QCI is appointed by the Prime Minister on recommendation of the industry to the government.

• QCI has also been identified as the nodal agency for PSS by the Government of India.

16. Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency/Economy regulations

What is it? • CAFE or Corporate Average Fuel

Efficiency/Economy regulations aim at lowering fuel consumption (or improving fuel efficiency) of vehicles by lowering CO2 emissions, thus serving the twin purposes of reducing dependence on oil for fuel and controlling pollution.

• In India, it was proposed by the Ministry of Power, in collaboration with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency.

• From 1 April 2017, India adopted CAFE norms, which require cars to be 30% or more fuel efficient from 2022 and 10% or more between 2017 and 2021.

Why in News? • The government is looking to target

cleaner air through stricter CAFE norms.

17. Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation

Project What’s in the news? • Telangana Chief Minister K

Chandrasekhar Rao inaugurated the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project across the Godavari river.

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• Touted as the world's largest multi-stage multi-purpose scheme, the project will provide irrigation facility to 45 lakh acres and support Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya schemes of the Telangana government which aim to provide drinking water to many villages and improve the capacities of tanks respectively.

What is Lift Irrigation? • Lift irrigation is a method of irrigation in

which water is not transported by natural flow, (as in gravity-fed canal) but is lifted with pumps or surge pools etc.

• The advantage of lift irrigation is the minimal land acquisition problem and low water losses.

18. IndiaStack What is it? • IndiaStack is a set of Application

Programming Interface that allows governments, businesses, startups and developers to utilise a unique digital infrastructure to solve India's hard problems towards presence-less, paperless and cashless service delivery.

• The four distinct technology layers provided are

o Presence less layer : Where a universal biometric digital identity allows people to participate in any service from anywhere in the country.

o Paperless layer: Where digital records move with an individual's digital identity, eliminating the need for massive amount of paper collection and storage.

o Cashless layer: Where a single interface to all the country's bank accounts and wallets to democratize payments.

o Consent layer: Which allows data to move freely and securely to democratize the market for data.

• The following APIs are considered to be a core part of the India Stack.

o Aadhaar Authentication o Aadhaar e-KYC o eSign o Digital Locker o Unified Payment Interface (UPI),

etc Why in news?

• UN in its ‘The Age of Digital Interdependence’ report lauded the role played by India Stack in helping government agencies achieve economic inclusion in India.

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ENVIRONMENT 1. Bangkok Declaration What is it? • ASEAN countries have signed the

“Bangkok Declaration” on fighting maritime waste.

• It is a first of its kind which promises to prevent and significantly reduce marine debris.

What is the need? • According to a 2015 report co-authored

by environmental campaigner Ocean Conservancy ASEAN members Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand, along with the worst offender China, throw the most plastic waste into oceans.

What is ASEAN? • Association of South East Asian Nations

(ASEAN) is a regional & intergovernmental organisation of 10 countries of southeast Asia.

• Its members are Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar, Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam. They work towards progress of the southeast Asia region.

Other Conventions related to ocean: • Marpol convention: It is the main

international convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes.

• The convention was adopted in 1973 at the International Maritime Organization.

• Solas convention: The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, is an international maritime safety treaty. SOLAS requires flag states to ensure that their ships comply with minimum safety standards in construction, equipment, and operation.

• India has ratified both the convention.

2. Bharat stage What are Bharat Stage norms? • The Bharat Stage are standards instituted

by the government to regulate the

emission of air pollutants from motor vehicles.

• As the stage goes up, the control on emissions become stricter.

• Thus Bharat Stage VI norms are two stages ahead of the present Bharat Stage IV norms in regulating emissions.

• These norms are based on similar norms in Europe called Euro 4 and Euro 6.

How is BS6 different from BS4? • A vital difference between BS6 and the

outgoing BS4 fuel is that the BS6 fuel contains 5 times fewer sulphur traces (10 parts per million) compared to BS4 (50 ppm).

• NOx (Nitrogen Oxide) level will be brought down by a staggering 70% for Diesel engine and 25% for Petrol Engines.

• The BS6 brings along a plethora of changes, most significant being the mandatory OBD (Onboard Diagnostics) for all vehicles.

• RDE (Real Driving Emission) will be introduced for the first time that will measure the vehicle’s emission in real-world conditions against simulated conditions.

• Introduction of DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) and SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) for Diesel engines.

• So a transition from BS 4 to BS 6 requires modification both in the fuel and in the vehicle engine.

What’s in the news? • The government is taking necessary steps

to implement Bharat Stage (BS)-6 emission norms from 2020.

• The vehicular pollution which is 28 to 30 per cent of air pollution will be reduced drastically after implementation of BS-6 norms from 2020.

3. Ranganathittu bird sanctuary About: • Ranganathittu Bird sanctuary is located in

Mandya district of Karnataka. The

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sanctuary comprises of six islets in the Cauvery river.

• The large cormorant, darter, spoonbill, open-billed stork, painted stork, egret, heron, and the lesser whistling teal are some of the famous birds of this area. Over 200 different migratory birds visit this place every year.

• It is also declared as “Important bird site” by Birdlife International (a non-profit organisation working for the avian conversation).

Why in News? • The devastating flood in river Cauvery in

2018 destroyed the bird sanctuary by uprooting trees and erosion of soil on the islets.

• The forest department has taken an initiative to restore the sanctuary by expanding the islets through soil stabilization using mud bags, boulders etc.

4. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)

What are PET plastics? • Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a

general-purpose thermoplastic (plastic which can be reused by heating and cooling).

• Polyester resins are known for their excellent combination of properties such as mechanical, thermal, chemical resistance as well as dimensional stability.

• According to the United Nations, around 300 million tonnes of plastic are produced every year. Of this, eight million tonnes of plastic waste ends up in the oceans. PET bottles are the main contributors to plastic waste globally and in India.

Why in News?

• The sportswear manufacturer ADIDAS is establishing unit in Maharashtra which can upcycle PET bottles to sportswear. The upcycling process consumes 86% less water and 75% less energy than conventional manufacturing.

• India has best PET material collection rate at nearly 80%, but a good portion of these bottles are down cycled.

Upcycling vs Down cycling • There are two common methods of

recycling something: Upcycling and Down cycling.

• Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is reuse of an item that results in something of greater value than the

original. Down cycling is reuse of an item that results in something of lesser value than the original.

5. Practical road map for electric vehicles

India’s agenda on vehicles

• The government is planning to ban sale of internal combustion engine (ICE) three-wheelers by 2023 as well as of less than 150 cc two-wheelers by 2025.

• India is jumping directly from Bharat Stage IV to Bharat Stage VI. The gestation period to move is very less for manufacturers.

• Scheme for Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) (under ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises) is already in place for the promotion of electric vehicles.

• The Centre launched the EV@30 campaign to set a collective aspirational goal for all Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI) members to have EVs contribute to 30 percent of all vehicle sales by 2030.

Why in News?

• CII and SIAM have asked government to step up realistic targets in automobile sector.

• They have asked for a well laid out roadmap for an ambitious EV rollout over a practical time frame along with an integrated plan for setting up the necessary infrastructure across the

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length and breadth of the country, in consultation with all stakeholders.

About SIAM • The Society of Indian Automobile

Manufacturers (SIAM) is a not for profit apex national body representing all major vehicle and vehicular engine manufacturers in India.

About CII • The Confederation of Indian Industry

(CII) is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organization, playing a proactive role in India's development process.

• CII works with the government in policy making and provides businesses perspective.

6. UN meeting on land degradation

What is Desertification? ● Desertification is not the natural

expansion of existing deserts but the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid areas.

● It is a gradual process of soil productivity loss and the thinning out of the vegetative cover because of human activities and climatic variations such as prolonged droughts and floods.

What is UNCCD? ● Established in 1994, the United Nations

Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.

● The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the dry lands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.

● The Convention’s 197 parties work together to improve the living conditions for people in drylands, to maintain and restore land and soil productivity, and to mitigate the effects of drought.

What is the Bonn Challenge?

● It is an initiative started in 2011 by Germany and IUCN to bring 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030.

● It uses Forest landscape restoration approach (FLR) aims to restore ecological integrity at the same time as improving human well-being through multifunctional landscapes.

Forest landscape restoration approach (FLR) ● FLR is defined as a process that aims to

regain ecological functionality and enhance human well-being in deforested or degraded landscapes.

● FLR is more than just planting trees – it is restoring a whole landscape to meet present and future needs and to offer multiple benefits and land uses over time.

Why in News? ● India is hosting the 14th CoP of UNCCD

in September 2019 in Delhi. ● India has launched a flagship program

to integrate with Bonn Challenge and work towards FLR.

7. Large hydro power projects What is it? ● Any hydropower projects which

generates more than 25MW is considered as large HEP

● Previously it was not considered as renewable energy. Only the hydro power projects under 25MW potential was in the renewable energy category.

Inclusion of Large Hydropower in renewable energy

● The renewable enegr sector accounted for 20.6 per cent of India’s total energy production, but the next day, the share jumped to over 33 per cent.

● This became possible because on March 7 the Union Cabinet brought all hydro projects of more than 25 MW capacity under the renewables category.

Reviving the sector

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● This would help revive the ailing hydropower sector as the Discoms and other big users will be forced to buy hydropower through Hydropower Purchase Obligations (HPOS)—a tool to make Discoms and power plants buy hydropower.

Hydropower Purchase Obligations (HPOS) ● HPOs have been conceptualised along

the lines of Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPOs), which were introduced in 2008 in the form of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).

● All Discoms and power plants are obligated to buy a certain amount of renewable power every year (the percentage varies annually) and if they do not buy it, they have to purchase equivalent RECs. HPOs have been announced as a separate entity within non-solar RPOs.

8. Heat Waves Why in news? ● Heat wave has intensified in several parts

of the country like Odisha, Maharashtra, Telangana, etc.

What is a Heat Wave? ● A Heat Wave is a period of abnormally

high temperatures, more than the normal maximum temperature that occurs during the summer season in the North-Western parts of India.

● Heat Waves typically occur between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July.

● The extreme temperatures and resultant atmospheric conditions adversely affect people living in these regions as they cause physiological stress, sometimes resulting in death.

● There is no universal definition for heat wave. It is generally defined as a prolonged period of excessive heat.

9. Forest rights Act Forest Rights Act (FRA):

● Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006, is a people-centric law for forests, which “recognises” the rights of forest- dwelling communities to use and manage forest resources.

● With more than 150 million forest dwellers, the scope of FRA is immense to protect their livelihoods, and engage them in sustainable forest management.

Rights under FRA: ● Title rights – Ownership to land that is

being farmed by tribals or forest dwellers subject to a maximum of 4 hectares; ownership is only for land that is actually being cultivated by the concerned family, meaning that no new lands are granted.

● Use rights – to minor forest produce (also including ownership), to grazing areas, to pastoralist routes, etc.

● Relief and development rights – to rehabilitation in case of illegal eviction or forced displacement; and basic amenities, subject to restrictions for forest protection.

● Forest management rights – to protect forests and wildlife.

Eligibility: ● Eligibility to get rights under the Act is

confined to those who “primarily reside in forests” and who depend on forests and forest land for a livelihood.

● Further, either the claimant must be a member of the Scheduled Tribes scheduled in that area or must have been residing in the forest for 75 years.

Process of recognition of rights: ● The Act provides that the gram sabha, or

village assembly, will initially pass a resolution recommending whose rights to which resources should be recognised.

● This resolution is then screened and approved at the level of the sub-division (or taluka) and subsequently at the district level.

● The screening committees consist of three government officials (Forest, Revenue and Tribal Welfare departments) and three elected members of the local body at that level. These committees also hear appeals.

Issue in FRA:

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● But getting legal right to dwell in the forest included an official process of settling the land claim.

● Considering that 13 years is a long time to complete the official trail, the apex court inferred that people whose settlement rights had not been accepted must be evicted.

● It also ordered states to give a report on the action taken against the claimants whose claims had been rejected.

Why in news? ● Ironically, the order for eviction comes

from a case on the validity of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), which for the first time, 13 years ago, granted tribal communities the right of settlement in forest areas. Till then, they were regarded as “encroachers”.

● In February, the Supreme Court ordered the eviction of lakhs of people belonging to the Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) categories across 16 States, whose claim as forest-dwellers has been rejected under the Forest Rights Act.

● The court directed that the eviction be carried out by July, 2019.

Other rights available to the forest dwellers: District mineral foundation(DMF): ● Similarly, in recognition of the rights of

local communities to benefit from mineral resource extraction, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR 1957) was amended in 2015 to institute District Mineral Foundation(DMF) as a mechanism of benefit sharing.

● DMFs must work for the interest and benefit of people in the areas affected by mining, through an inclusive and participatory process.

● With mandatory contributions from mining companies, currently there are more than 27,000 crores in DMFs across all mining districts.

● Problem: DMF funds in many top mining districts in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh,

Odisha and Madhya Pradesh are being used through top-down and heavy-handed decision making, sidelining mining-affected people and their most pressing needs.

PESA: ● In addition, the Panchayats (Extension to

the Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) 1996, emphasises people’s engagement for governing natural resources through local level institutions such as gram sabhas.

● Implementation of FRA and DMF is tied to PESA, requiring gram sabhas’ active engagement.

Way forward: ● The main reason for passing of such

eviction order is to save the forest resources from exploitation.

● But it should be noted that these forest dwellers were able to live in harmony with nature for a long period of time.

● Thus appropriate action now would be to strengthen the community rights and to include them in the governance process.

10. Agenda 21 What is it? ● In 1992, 178 countries adopted Agenda

21 that emerged from the Earth Summit or United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro.

● Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment.

● It is a global partnership to encourage countries to make a transition to sustaining life on Earth.

● It is not a binding resolution. About the resolution:. ● It pointed at the unsustainable patterns

of production and consumption, and recognised the need to develop effective ways to dispose mounting waste.

● It stressed on revisiting the root cause of changing consumption patterns and

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focussed on reducing waste, apart from environmentally-sound recycling.

Important for India: ● Developed countries started discussing

ways to move from a linear flow of materials (resource-product-waste) to a circular flow (resource-product-recycled resources).

● But the picture is different in India, still struggling to manage its waste. Poor implementation of rules is creating a waste burden which may soon become a huge liability.

State of India’s Environment 2019: ● 46% of India’s solid waste remains

untreated. ● 22 States have reported protests against

waste dumping in the past three years. Regulatory framework: ● The country has a near-perfect regulatory

framework on waste. ● Under the Environment Protection Act

(EPA), 1986, seven rules on waste have been notified.

● But on all the waste issues, lack of enforcement is the biggest problem.

11. Pollution caused by Fertiliser

Industry Pollution from fertilizer industry: ● The fertiliser sector is a significant

contributor to India’s GHG emissions. ● Natural gas is the major raw material for

ammonia manufacturing and hence for urea.

● The urea industry, with 30 per cent, is the biggest consumer of natural gas in India. Natural gas is commonly used as feedstock and fuel, a cleaner fuel compared to naphtha. But the sector still has three naphtha based plants.

Fertilizer industry by CPCB: ● It is classified under the “red category”

of polluting sectors by CPCB. ● Wastewater generated at urea plants

contains ammoniacal and Kjeldahl nitrogen, and cyanides in varying concentrations, which can lead to

groundwater and surface water pollution, if not treated properly

Categorization of industrial sectors based on pollution by CPCB:

Pollution Index Category

60 and above Red

41 to 59 Orange

21 to 40 Green

Upto 20 White

Why in news? ● Centre for Science and Environment’s

innovative Green Rating Project (GRP) assessed the fertiliser manufacturing sector in 2018- 19.

● All of India’s 23 operational urea plants were surveyed for the project. GRP rated them on six categories comprising 54 indicators covering their entire life cycle— from environmental impact of raw material sourcing to the final product.

● The sector as a whole received an average score of 43% in energy use and GHG emissions, but some of the plants are comparable to the global best.

Green rating project: ● The Green Rating Project (GRP) is an

effort to rate industrial units within a specific sector on the basis of their environment friendliness.

● The project aims at encouraging companies to adopt better environment management policies.

Green leaves award: ● Also, the Centre for Science and

Environment has been rating industrial sectors through its Green Leaves Award.

● “5 Leaves”are for best performers. ● The urea sector as a whole received “3

Leaves”—an average performance. ● Of the 23 plants rated, only one managed

to bag “4 Leaves” Award. ● About two-thirds of the plants received “3

Leaves”

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● Four plants received just “1 Leaf”. Centre for Science and Environment: ● Centre for Science and Environment

(CSE) is a not-for-profit public interest research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi.

● It works as a think tank on environment-development issues in India, poor planning, climate shifts devastating India's Sundarbans and advocates for policy changes and better implementation of the already existing policies.

Central pollution control board: ● The Central Pollution Control Board

(CPCB) of India is a statutory organisation under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

● It was established in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of pollution) Act, 1974.

● CPCB is also entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.

● It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

● It Coordinates the activities of the State Pollution Control Boards by providing technical assistance and guidance and also resolves disputes among them.

12. Sisham What is it? ● Shisham is a medium to large deciduous

tree, native to India. ● Shisham is best known internationally as

a premier timber species of the rosewood genus.

● After teak, it is the most important cultivated timber tree in India, planted on roadsides, and as a shade tree for tea plantations.

● It is also used to make various kinds of artifacts.

Dip is exports: ● Rosewood artisans in India have been

badly hit by trade regulations introduced

in 2017 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES.

● Data collected from 2017 to 2018 by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts shows that India’s international trade in shisham (Dalbergia sissoo), a type of rosewood, was `617 crore, against the potential of 1,000 crore.

Illegal trade: ● The reason for the dip is the decision to

include the entire Dalbergia genus under AppendixII of CITES, which has species where trade must be controlled to avoid overexploitation.

● The decision was taken at the last CITES conference of the parties (CoP 17) after several African and Latin American countries said illegal international trade in rosewood, fuelled primarily due to rising Chinese demand, was decimating rosewood populations throughout its range.

● The countries added that because all types of rosewood look alike, the entire genus should be included to curb illegal trade.

Why in news?: ● India has sent a proposal to CITES ahead

of the upcoming CoP 18 that trade of individual species should be regulated, and not the entire genus, based on their conservation status.

● India has two species of Dalbergia, of which D latifolia (Indian rosewood) is classified as vulnerable, while shisham is widely grown by farmers.

● India wants to deregulate the trade of shisham.

Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species (CITES): ● It is an international agreement aimed at

ensuring that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

● It is also referred to as Washington Convention(Washington resolution adopted during IUCN meet).

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● It is legally binding on the Parties, but it does not take the place of national laws of parties. States have to adopt their own domestic legislation to implement its goals.

● It is administered through the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Geneva, Switzerland.

Appendix I: ● Most endangered plants and animals. ● Examples include gorillas, giant pandas

etc.,. ● They are threatened with extinction and

CITES prohibits international trade in specimens of these species except when the purpose of the import is not commercial, for instance for scientific research.

Appendix II: ● Not necessarily now threatened with

extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled.

● Most CITES species are listed in this Appendix.

● It also includes "look-alike species", i.e. species whose specimens in trade look like those of species listed for conservation reasons.

● International trade in specimens of Appendix-II species may be authorized by the granting of an export permit or re-export certificate.

Appendix III ● List of species that are included at the

request of a party. ● Trade is allowed with the presentation of

documents.

13. Chilika lake About the lake: ● Chilika is the largest brackish water

lake in Asia. ● The salt content or salinity, comes from

seawater that enters the lagoon from a small inlet that runs parallel to the sea and opens up at a place known as the mouth.

● Freshwater comes from 52 small and large rivers that drain into the lake, largely from Daya and Bhargavi rivers.

● The lake’s salinity varies—from 0 in the northern sector, where there is complete freshwater, to 33 in the mouth, which is complete saltwater.

● This delicate salinity gradient between different parts of the lake supports a wide variety of ecosystems.

● Any disturbance to this salinity gradient either by incursion of more freshwater, polluted water or seawater can be detrimental to the health and survival of myriad species of plants and animals that Chilika supports.

Chilika in Montreux record: ● For its wealth of biodiversity, Chilika was

recognised as the first site in India under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance in 1981.

● But in 1993, it was included in the Montreux Record as a threatened ecosystem whose character was changing due to heavy influx of freshwater from the rivers upstream. Between 1975 and 2001, the water level in Chilika had risen by 1 metre to 1.5 metres, which was mostly due to freshwater ingress.

About Montreux record: ● The Montreux Record is a register of

wetland sites on the List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological developments, pollution or other human interference.

● It is a voluntary mechanism to highlight specific wetlands of international importance that are facing immediate challenges. It is maintained as part of the List of Ramsar wetlands of international importance.

● Currently Keoladeo National Park and Keibul lamjao national park are being kept under the record for taking appropriate steps for ecological restoration.

Restoration

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● To counter this, the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) opened up a new mouth to the sea in 2001, successfully restoring its character.

● The dredging of the new inlet and mouth increased fish production and gave a new lease of life to almost 0.2 million fisher folk who are dependent on Chilika for survival. For example, between the 1950s and the 1980s, there was no water hyacinth in Chilika, but after the new inlet was opened the plant flourished, creating a positive cascading effect for aquatic species that live around hyacinths.

● After a range of interventions, primarily the successful dredging of lake-mouth, it was removed from the Montreux Record in 2002.

Why in news? ● Due to waves of intense energy lashed by

the extreme severe cyclone, Fani, on May 3, four new mouths have opened up in the

Chilika lake, Odisha. Now there are totally six mouths. This might again change the ecological character of Chilika.

14. Kheoni sanctuary About the sanctuary: ● Kheoni Wildlife Sanctuary is located in

Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh. ● It is connected to Ratapani Tiger

Reserve through corridors. Its dry deciduous forest consists of teak, tendu and bamboo.

● It has fauna of Nilgai, Palm civet, Striped Hyena etc.

Why in News? ● For the first time 5 tigers were spotted in

the sanctuary. ● ‘Being breeding ground of herbivores

animals, it provides a suitable environment for tigers.

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ORGANISATIONS

1. Council of Europe About Council of Europe: • The Council of Europe is a leading human

rights organization whose aim is to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe.

• Founded in 1949, it includes 47 member states, 28 of which are members of the European Union.

Background: • Russia was stripped of its voting rights

after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

• Russia responded by boycotting the assembly. It had threatened to quit the body altogether if it is not allowed to take part in the upcoming election.

Why in News? • Despite strong opposition from Ukraine,

the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has voted in favor of restoring Russia's voting rights, five years after they were revoked.

2. Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

About Financial Action Task Force • It is an intergovernmental organization

that designs and promotes policies and standards to combat financial crime.

• Recommendations created by the FATF target

o Money laundering o Terrorist financing o Other threats to the global

financial system. • The FATF has developed a series

of recommendations that are recognised as the international standard for combating of money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

• The FATF was created in 1989 by the G7 countries and is headquartered in Paris.

• There are 39 members, including India and two regional organisations- European

Commission and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Grey list of FATF: • Member countries that have deficiencies

in their anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing (AML/CTF) regimes but they commit to an action plan to address these loopholes

• Now, 12 countries are on the grey list, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria and Yemen.

Black list of FATF: • Member countries that have deficiencies

in their anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing (AML/CTF) regimes and those that do not end up doing enough.

• As of now there are only two countries in the blacklist — Iran and North Korea.

Why in News? • Pakistan has been under the FATF’s

scanner since last June, when it was put on the grey list for terror financing and money laundering risks.

• The FATF President said that Pakistan could be put on the blacklist if it did not follow the 27-point check-list on bringing in stricter laws to curb the access of funds to terror groups inside the country.

• Pakistan has already missed two deadlines and decision in this regard would be taken in October 2019 where Pakistan will be assessed on the actions they have taken.

How will it affect Pakistan? • While grey list includes countries which

are considered as safe havens for supporting terror funding and money laundering, blacklisting will mean severe strictures on the country’s banks and credit rating, as well as access to loans and foreign investments.

3. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

What is RCEP?

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• Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is an economic grouping of the ASEAN’s 10 members, plus India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

• Once concluded, RCEP will create a zero-customs duty zone that contributes 34% of GDP and 40% of world trade. The region is also home to almost half of the world’s population.

• Negotiations have been going on since 2013, with one of the major issues being India’s reluctance to open up its markets.

Concerns of India • Imbalance in the negotiations between

goods and services is the main concern for India. Member countries are putting pressure on India to commit to zero tariffs on more than 90 percent of tradable goods with few exemptions.

• However, they remain reluctant to India’s proposal to allow free movement of Indian skilled professionals in the RCEP region. They are not ready to go beyond 60% of services to bring unde;r the pact.

• Indian industries are worried that with RCEP allowing a wide range of goods to import at zero tariffs, Chinese goods will flood India. It will cause serious damage to the “Make in India” programme.

• Already India’s trade deficit with China is unsustainable at $63 billion in 2017-18. India has trade deficits with other RCEP nations, too, such as South Korea ($11.9 billion) and Australia ($10.2 billion).

Opportunities for India • Despite these concerns, RCEP will offer

India an opportunity to engage with China.

• It will give India a chance to stall some of its unfair practices such as giving subsidies unethically and stalling Indian products, such as pharmaceutical, on the pretext of quality control.

• RCEP will give Indian exporters a window to be a part of global value chains.

Why in News? • Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir

Mohammed said that Malaysia would

prefer to conclude the RCEP pact with 13 countries that are willing to join immediately, and allow outliers India, Australia and New Zealand to join the pact at a future date.

• Other countries in the grouping have also been nudging India to show progress on RCEP negotiations in time for a proposed final declaration in November this year.

Note: In November 2019, India announced its decision to exit the RCEP agreement.

4. United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

About UNSC • The United Nations Security Council

(UNSC) was established in 1946 as one of the six principal organs of the UN. It is generally viewed as the apex of the UN system.

• It is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security.

• Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization of military action through Security Council resolutions.

• It is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.

Membership • UNSC consists of 15 Members and each

member has one vote. • The council has five permanent

members (P-5) United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom and France.

• These permanent members can veto any substantive Security Council resolutions, including those on the admission of new member states.

• The Security Council also has 10 non-permanent members, elected on a regional basis. Each year the 193-member UN General Assembly (UNGA) elects five non-permanent members for a two-year term.

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• The body's presidency rotates monthly among its members.

Why in News? • India's candidature for a non-permanent

seat at the UNSC for a two-year term has been unanimously endorsed by the 55-member Asia-Pacific grouping at the United Nations, including China and Pakistan.

• Elections for five non-permanent members of the UNSC for the 2021-22 terms will be held around June next year.

• India will need the vote of two-thirds of the 193 UN General Assembly members to win a non-permanent seat on the UNSC.

• India has already held a non-permanent seat on the UNSC for seven terms.

5. Kimberley Process (KP) About Kimberley Process • The Kimberley Process (KP) is a

multilateral trade regime established in 2003 with the goal of preventing the flow of conflict diamonds.

• The core of this regime is the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) under which States implement safeguards on shipments of rough diamonds and certify them as “conflict free".

What are conflict diamonds? • “Conflict” or "blood" diamonds are

illegally traded to fund conflict in war-torn areas, particularly in central and western Africa.

• Apart from the innocent people caught up in the conflicts that the trade fuels, thousands of men, women and children in countries such as Sierra Leone are used as slaves to extract diamonds.

Why in News? • India hosted the Kimberley Process

Inter-sessional Meeting-2019 in Mumbai. • India is also the KP chair for 2019.

6. QUAD About QUAD

• Indo-Pacific Quadrilateral is a closed group consisting of India, Australia, Japan & USA.

• Japan pioneered the initiative about a decade ago as a coalition of maritime democracies.

• Securing a rule-based global order, liberal trading system and freedom of navigation are believed to the guiding principles.

• It is being viewed as response to increased Chinese economic and military power.

Why in News? • Australia’s High Commissioner in India

asserted that there is a need for flexibility, agility and speed in solving regional problems and the Quad is one of many such small groupings in solving them.

• Australia expressed its willingness to India in joining the Malabar Naval Exercise (a trilateral naval exercise involving the United States, Japan and India).

• But India has not responded positively to Australia’s request to join the Malabar exercises.

• However, the two countries have expanded bilateral military cooperation over the last few years.

• The latest edition of the bilateral naval exercise AUSINDEX in April saw the largest deployment of Australian military assets to India in peacetime.

7. Shanghai cooperation organization (SCO)

About SCO

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• SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation established in 2001.

• It’s a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation aiming to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.

• Prior to the creation of SCO in 2001, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan were members of the Shanghai Five.

• Following the accession of Uzbekistan to the organisation in 2001, the Shanghai Five was renamed the SCO.

• India and Pakistan became members in 2017.

• The SCO Secretariat, based in Beijing, is the main permanent executive body of the SCO.

Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure • The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure

(RATS) is a permanent organ of the SCO which serves to promote cooperation of member states against the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism.

• It is headquartered in Tashkent. • The head of RATS is elected for a three-

year term. Why in News? • Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and

Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, where they will participate in the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). During the meet they decided to speed up the Boundary negotiation process.

8. Enforcement Directorate (ED) What is the Directorate of Enforcement

(ED)?

• Directorate of Enforcement is a non-statutory, specialized financial investigation agency under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

• It enforces, o Prevention of Money Laundering

Act, 2002 (PMLA)

o Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).

• Apart from investigating and prosecuting the cases of money laundering and FEMA act, it also gives the cooperation to foreign entities in the matter of money laundering and restoration of assets.

Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 • The Government enacted PML Act to

prevent money-laundering and to provide for confiscation of property derived from or involved in, money-laundering.

• The Directorate of Enforcement in the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance is responsible for investigating the offences of money laundering under the PMLA. The authority has the power to carry out measures like survey, search, and seizure and arrest the accused.

Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 • In India, all transactions that include

foreign exchange are regulated by the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999.

• It repealed the Foreign Exchange Regulations Act (FERA),1973.

• FEMA has been enacted to facilitate external trade and payments and to promote the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market.

• Enforcement agency: Directorate of Enforcement

What is Money laundering? • Money laundering is the process of

making large amounts of money generated by a criminal activity, such as drug trafficking or terrorist funding, appear to have come from a legitimate source.

• It is the process through which illicit money (black) is converted into accounted money (white)

Why in News? • The Enforcement Directorate has filed a

charge-sheet against Zakir Naik in a money laundering case.

9. GST Council

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About GST Council • It is a constitutional body created by

Article 279A (1)

• It is a joint forum of the Centre and the States with regards to GST.

Composition of GST

• Chairperson – Union Finance Minister • Members: Union Minister of State, in-

charge of Revenue or Finance • Other Members: The Minister in-

charge of finance or taxation/any other Minister nominated by each State.

Voting

• The state governments have a share of 2/3rd of the total votes and the centre has the remaining 1/3rd.

• Each state has one vote irrespective of their size.

• Decisions of GST council are made by voting with a 3/4th majority.

Why in News? • The GST Council at its latest meeting has

decided to use Aadhaar as the identity and address proof required for registration for GST.

• The GST registration limit threshold is increased from Rs 20 Lakh to 40 Lakh.

• The Composition scheme is extended for small service providers (turnover up to Rs 50 lakh). Till recently, it was applicable only to manufacturers whose taxable business turnover is up to Rs 1.5 crore.

• In addition, the tenure of the National Anti-Profiteering Authority has been extended by two years to near the end of 2020. The anti-profiteering authority deals with complaints by consumers against companies for not passing on GST rate cut benefits.

What is Composition scheme under GST? • The Composition scheme is an easy, low

procedure and compliance friendly tax scheme for small and medium enterprises.

• The composition scheme is applicable to manufacturers or traders whose taxable business turnover is up to ₹1.5 crore (₹75

lakh in case of North-Eastern States). A service provider can opt for the scheme if his taxable turnover is up to ₹50 lakh.

• The applicable tax rates under the composition scheme are 1 per cent of turnover in case of manufacturers and traders, 5 per cent in the case of restaurants (not serving alcohol) and 6 per cent for other service providers.

• Businesses with inter-State supplies, manufacturers of ice cream, pan masala and tobacco, and e-commerce players cannot opt for the composition scheme.

• Companies opting to file only four tax returns in a year (a normal taxpayer has to file 37 returns under GST), thereby reducing the tax compliance burden and cost of small firms.

• However, a Composition scheme firm is not allowed to avail input tax credit of GST.

10. Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC)

What is FSDC? • Financial Stability and Development

Council (FSDC) is an apex-level body constituted to strengthen and institutionalize the mechanism for maintaining financial stability.

• It is chaired by the Union Finance Minister of India.

• Its members include the heads of financial sector regulators (RBI, SEBI, PFRDA, IRDA), Finance Secretary and/or Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, and Chief Economic Adviser.

What it does? • The Council deals with issues relating to

financial stability, financial sector development, inter–regulatory coordination, financial literacy, financial inclusion and macro prudential supervision of the economy, including the functioning of large financial conglomerates.

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• No funds are separately allocated to the Council for undertaking its activities.

Why in news?

• The 20th Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was held under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister of Finance.

11. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)

About NDMA: • NDMA is the apex authority to look after

the disaster management in the country. • It is a statutory body under the Disaster

Management Act, 2005. • It is headed by the Prime Minister. • Other members: a Vice Chairman with the

status of Cabinet Minister, and eight members with the status of Ministers of State.

• It is mandated to lay down the policies, plans, and guidelines for Disaster Management to ensure a timely and effective response to disasters.

National Crisis Management Committee

• It looks after the effective implementation of the plans formed for mitigation and management of the disaster.

• It is headed by the Cabinet Secretary. National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) • NDRF is the specialized force for disaster

response created under Disaster Management Act, 2005.

• It works under the overall supervision and control of NDMA.

Why in the news?

• The national crisis management committee reviewed preparatory measures to deal with cyclone VAYU.

12. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)

About ICIMOD • The International Centre for Integrated

Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a regional intergovernmental learning and knowledge sharing center.

• Formed in 1983, it serves eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan.

• It is based in Nepal. Why in News? • The International Centre for Integrated

Mountain Development (ICIMOD) recently released the Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment report.

Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment report • More than 1.9 billion people across 8

countries are dependent on the rivers flowing from the Himalayan region.

• As temperatures soar the Himalayan region is more vulnerable due to its higher altitude.

• A global temperature increase of 1.5ºC could mean at least a 1.8ºC temperature rise in the Hindu Kush Himalayas.

• The melting of glaciers can make flooding severe, affect the monsoon, expose permafrost fields etc.

• This could bring water scarcity as well as a loss of biodiversity in the region.

• This should be monitored and nations should put better research on implications.

13. Food Corporation of India (FCI)

What is FCI? • FCI was set up under the Food

Corporation Act 1964 against the backdrop of major shortage of grains, especially wheat, in the country.

• FCI was mandated with three basic objectives:

o To provide effective price support to farmers

o To procure and supply grains to PDS for distributing subsidized

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staples to economically vulnerable sections of society

o To keep a strategic reserve to stabilize markets for basic food grains.

Why in news? • The government is planning to revamp

and restructure Food Corporation of India with few of the Shanta Kumar committee recommendations.

Shanta Kumar committee: • It was constituted in 2014 chaired by

Shanta Kumar, who had given several recommendations as how to make the entire food grain management system more efficient by reorienting the role of FCI in MSP operations, procurement, storage and distribution of grains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).

Major Recommendations • FCI should hand over all procurement

operations of wheat, paddy and rice to states that have gained sufficient experience in this regard and have created reasonable infrastructure for procurement.

• FCI should accept only the surplus (after deducting the needs of the states under NFSA) from these state governments (not millers) to be moved to deficit states.

• FCI should focus on eastern parts of the country like UP, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam where second green revolution is expected.

• FCI needs to be proactive, mobilizing state and other agencies to provide benefits of MSP and procurement to larger number of farmers, especially small and marginal ones

National Food Security Act, 2013 • It gives legal entitlement to 67% of the

population (75% in rural areas and 50% in urban areas) to receive highly subsidized food grains to achieve Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).

• It is operated under the joint responsibility of the Central and the State/Union Territory (UT) Governments.

• The Central Government is responsible for procurement, allocation and transportation of food grains up to the designated depots of the Food Corporation of India.

• States/UTs hold the operational responsibilities for allocation and distribution of food grains.

• Under the NFSA Act, food grain is allocated @ 5 kg per person per month for priority households category and @ 35 kg per family per month for Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families at a highly subsidized prices of Rs. 1/-, Rs. 2/- and Rs. 3/- per kg for nutri-cereals, wheat and rice respectively.

• Coverage under the Act is based on the population figures of Census, 2011.

14. NITI Aayog reconstituted NITI Aayog • The National Institution for Transforming

India (NITI Aayog) was formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet in 2015 to replace the Planning Commission instituted in 1950.

• NITI Aayog is the premier policy ‘Think Tank’ of the Government of India, providing both directional and policy inputs.

• While designing strategic and long term policies and programmes for the Government of India, NITI Aayog also provides relevant technical advice to the Centre and States.

Composition of NITI Aayog • Prime Minister of India as the

Chairperson • Vice-Chairperson: To be appointed by the

Prime Minister • Governing Council comprising the Chief

Ministers of all the States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories

• Regional Councils to address specific issues, convened by the Prime Minister. Chaired by Prime Minister or his

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nominee, regional councils include Chief Ministers of States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories in the region.

• Experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge as special invitees nominated by the Prime Minister

• Part-time members: Maximum of 2 from leading universities research organizations and other relevant institutions in an ex-officio capacity

• Ex Officio members: Maximum of 4 members of the Union Council of Ministers to be nominated by the Prime Minister.

• Chief Executive Officer : To be appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure, in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.

Why in News? • The Central government has approved the

reconstitution of NITI Aayog

15. Population Research Centres About PRCs

• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has established a network of 18 Population Research Centres (PRCs) spread over 17 major States/UTs, with the mandate to provide critical research based inputs related to the Health and Family Welfare programs and policies at the national and state levels.

• The PRCs are autonomous in nature and administratively under the control of their host University/Institutions.

• PRCs are provided 100 per cent central assistance in the form of grant-in-aid on a year-to year basis.

Why in News? • Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

organized a workshop for PRCs.

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FLORA AND FAUNA

1. Golden Langur About Golden Langurs • They are primate species, living in

western Assam and foothills of Bhutan. • According to IUCN classification it is in

the ‘endangered’ category. • They play a vital role in the dispersion of

seeds and pollination which helps to maintain the forest ecosystem.

• They are found in Manas National park and in nearby forests.

• Communities in Kakoijana reserve forest, near Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, have helped to conserve the species and maintain their population.

Manas National Park

• Manas is a national park, UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, a Project Tiger reserve, an elephant reserve and a biosphere reserve in Assam.

• Located in the Himalayan foothills, it is contiguous with the Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan.

Why in News?

• For the first time in India, Bongaigaon district authorities in Assam have used MGNREGA to conserve the golden langur.

• Labour and funds will be used to plant grow fruit plants to reduce the food shortage for langurs.

2. karimeen Karimeen/ Pearl Spot ● It is the brackish fish found in Kerala. ● It is vulnerable as per IUCN

classification. Why in News? ● The authorities have made reserves in

Vembanad and Ashtamudi Lakes to save karimeen.

● The population of karimeen is declining fast. This act will help in retrieval of other species too.

Ashtamudi Lake ● It is a backwater in Kollam district,

Kerala. ● Kallada River is a major river

discharging into the Ashtamudi Lake. ● Munroe Island is present in this lake. ● It is one of the Ramsar sites of India.

(Wetland of International importance) Vembanad Lake ● The longest lake in India. Located in

Kerala. ● It is one of the Ramsar sites of India.

(Wetland of International importance) ● The Nehru Trophy Boat Race is

conducted in a portion of the lake.

3. Impressed Tortoise Impressed tortoise (Manouria Impressa) ● They are small tortoises found in Burma,

Thailand, cambodia etc. ● Their IUCN status is vulnerable. ● Males are smaller than females. ● They are killed for meat and their golden

shells. Why in the news? ● For the first time impressed tortoise was

discovered in Arunachal Pradesh. ● The discovery has added a great value to

the Indian chelonian (group which represents reptiles like turtles, terrapins and tortoises) diversity.

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AGRICULTURE 1. Sugar industry Issues plaguing sugar industry • The consistent increase in Fair and

Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane results in over-production of cane and sugar, which in turn causes sugar prices to fall below cost levels. The mills incur losses, leading to defaults in payments of farmers.

• The estimated sugar production this sugar season (October 2018 to September 2019) is 32.9 million tonnes as against the domestic consumption of 26 million tonnes. The sugar season is expected to end with a high closing stock of nearly 14.5 million tonnes.

• To mitigate the situation of surplus stock, the Government has taken several steps including allocated mill wise Minimum Indicative Export Quota (MIEQ), fixed Remunerative Price of ethanol derived from molasses as well as from sugarcane juice, etc.

What is Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP)? • The FRP is the minimum price at which

sugarcane is to be purchased by sugar mills from farmers.

• It assures margins to farmers, irrespective of whether sugar mills generate a profit or not.

• It is announced each year by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which is chaired by Prime Minister, on the advice of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and after consultation with State Governments.

• This will be uniformly applicable all over the country.

• Note : There is a term called State Advised Prices (SAP) which are announced by key sugarcane producing states (such as Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, UP and TN). The SAP is generally higher than FRP.

Commission of Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP): • It is an attached office of the Ministry of

Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. • It is an advisory body whose

recommendations are not binding on Government.

What is Minimum Indicative Export Quotas? • Government use MIEQ to clear surplus

stocks of sugar and to improve cash flow to millers for making payment to sugarcane farmers.

• Under MIEQ, mills are required to export a fixed quantity of sugar within a specified period, failing which the mills shall be deemed to be violating the directives of the government.

Issues with exports: • The government had not only fixed mill-

wise export quota, but also linked some of the subsidy schemes to exports.

• Yet, almost 35% of the industry did not participate in exports for various reasons such as low prices in the global sugar market, stringent conditions to avail the subsidy, etc.

• There are mills that are unable to meet the export quota and some mills that want to export more than the quota.

• Therefore the industry has requested the government to make the export quota as an industry-wide quota, rather than mill-specific.

2. Different cropping seasons Kharif crops ( Monsoon crops) • Sown : April and May • Harvest : September to October • These are crops which are grown during

the monsoon or rainy season (June to October).

• Major crops : Paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, cotton, sugarcane, groundnut, pulses etc.

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• Major factor : Monsoon - It decides the output of Kharif crops.

• Variation in sowing : In southern states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, the seeds are usually sown towards the end of May and in northern states like Punjab, Haryana the seeds are sown in the month of June.

• Note : Paddy is the key kharif crop in nine states—Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Assam.

Rabi crops (Spring/ Winter crops) • Sown : September and October • Harvest: March to April • These are crops that are grown in the

winter season (October or November). • Major crops : Wheat, gram, oat, barley,

potato, and seeds like mustard, linseed, sunflower, coriander, cumin, etc.

• Major factor: Irrigation - They are cultivated in the dry season so timely irrigation is required to grow these crops.

Zaid crops • These are summer season crops grown on

the sub-continent on dry lands which do not have to wait for monsoons.

• They grow in between Rabi and Kharif crop season, mainly from March to June.

• Major crops : Seasonal fruits and vegetables (Cucumber, Water melon, pepper, tomato, etc)

• Requires warm & dry weather for growth and a longer day-length for flowering

Why in news ? • Due to delayed and deficient monsoon

kharif sowing was delayed.

3. Doubling farmers income Measure taken by India for Doubling Farmers Income • To raise output and reduce cost:

○ Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana: To ensure access to some means of protective irrigation to all agricultural farms in the country.

○ Soil health card: Crop-wise recommendations of nutrients and fertilisers required for the

individual farms to help farmers to improve productivity.

○ Prampragat Krishi Vikas Yojana: To increase soil fertility and thereby helps in production of healthy food through organic practices without the use of agro-chemicals.

• Crop Insurance and Income Loss: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

• Price Volatility: ‘Operation Greens’ to address price volatility of perishable commodities like Tomato, Onion and Potato (TOP).

• Food Processing : PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters)

• Unified national market : The National Agriculture Market (eNAM) is a pan-India electronic trading portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.

• Technology mission ○ Technology mission on cotton

which aims to increase the income of the cotton growers by reducing the cost of cultivation as well as by increasing the yield per hectare through proper transfer of technology to the growers.

○ Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) It is a scheme for the holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root & tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo.

○ Sugar Technology Mission : It aimed at reducing the cost of production of sugar and improving sugar quality through steps for improvements in productivity, energy conservation and improvements in capital output ratio.

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○ National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture : It aimed at promoting sustainable agriculture through a series of adaptation measures focusing on ten key dimensions encompassing Indian agriculture namely; ‘Improved crop seeds, livestock and fish cultures’, ‘Water Use Efficiency’, ‘Pest Management’, ‘Improved Farm Practices’, ‘Nutrient Management’, ‘Agricultural insurance’, ‘Credit support’, ‘Markets’, ‘Access to Information’ and ‘Livelihood diversification’.

• Information to farmers ○ The government is providing

information through focused publicity campaigns, kisan call centres, agri-clinics and agri-business centres of entrepreneurs, agri fairs, exhibitions and kisan SMS Portal.

○ Kisan Suvidha mobile application : The information about critical parameters like weather, market prices, plant protection, input dealers, farm machinery, soil health are known to farmers by this app.

• Farm support : Krsihi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) : They are agricultural extension centres created by ICAR (Indian Council for Agricultural Research) and its affiliated institutions at district level to provide various types of farm support to the agricultural sector.

• Role of technology : The deployment of technologies like artificial intelligence, big data analytics, block chain technology and internet of things (IoT) are important for the success of schemes.

What’s in the news? • To double farmers’ income, the

government is also considering giving status of farmers to landless beekeepers while recognizing honeybees as inputs to agriculture and diversifying the basket of beekeeping products.

4. Decontrolling urea prices Background: • In India, the government is giving more

subsidies to urea, which is a Nitrogen based fertilizer. The government has also fixed a ceiling on the prices of urea fertiliser.

• This makes urea cheap for farmers who use it more than other chemical fertilisers.

• The current consumption ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) in the country is 6.7:2.4:1 against their desirable ratio of 4:2:1.

• It creates an imbalance in fertiliser usage due to which the yield either goes down or is stagnant.

• Many environmentalists have been urging the government to promote phosphorus and potassium based fertilisers to attain balanced fertilization of soil.

Nutrient based Subsidy scheme: • To promote balanced fertilization of soil,

Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme has been implemented.

• It comes under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizer.

• Under the scheme, a fixed amount of subsidy decided on an annual basis, is provided on each grade of subsidized Phosphatic & Potassic (P&K) fertilizers depending on its nutrient content.

Why in news ? • The government has recently refused to

decontrol prices of urea in the market. • Decontrolling prices may lead to an

increase in the cost of urea and will affect a large number of farmers.

5. Online warehouse-based trading

APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee): • They are established by the state

governments under the Agricultural Produce Market Committee Act in order to eliminate the incidences exploitation of the farmers by the intermediaries.

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• Under APMC act, the whole geographical area in the State is divided and declared as a market area wherein the markets are managed by the Market Committees constituted by the State Governments.

• To overcome shortcomings such as monopoly, cartelization, entry barriers, etc in APMC, e-NAM is introduced.

National Agriculture Market (e-NAM): • It is a pan-India electronic trading

portal which networks the existing APMC mandis to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.

• Implementing Agency : Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC)

• It comes under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare

• It promotes better marketing opportunities for farmers to sell their produce through online competitive and transparent price discovery system and online payment facility.

E- NAM and APMC • E-NAM is an online portal which is having

a physical Mandi at the back end (i.e., simply like Amazon or Flipkart). These physical Mandis are Agricultural Produce

Market Committee (APMC) established by the state governments.

• Through auction, all food produce will be brought and sold here. E-NAM portal enables buyers from all over India to participate in local trading.

Why in news ? • The government is planning to start

trading of agricultural produces on electronic national agriculture market (eNAM) platform directly from godowns or warehouses.

• Warehouse trading is an alternative marketing channel for Agricultural produce.

• Here, the trading will initially start from state owned warehouses of Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA), which regulates and promotes orderly growth of the warehousing business. There are nearly 1,000 warehouses across the country.

• The move is aimed at boosting profitability of farmers by taking care of logistics issues.

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ECONOMY

1. Repo rate What is Repo rate? • Repo rate is the rate of interest which is

applied by RBI to commercial banks when the latter borrows from RBI.

• Repo rate is used to control inflation. • In the event of raising inflation, RBI

increase repo rate which will act as a disincentive for banks to borrow from the central bank.

• This ultimately reduces the money supply in the economy and thus helps in arresting inflation.

• Similarly, if it wants to make it cheaper for banks to borrow money, it reduces the repo rate.

Why in News? • The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)

MPC has cut the policy repo rate by 25 bps (100 bps=1%) to 5.75%.

• The stance of the policy has also been changed from neutral to “accommodative”.

• The change in stance to “accommodative" means there is a possibility of further monetary easing in the months ahead.

About MPC • The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is

a committee of the RBI, headed by its Governor, which is entrusted with the task of fixing the benchmark policy interest rate (repo rate) to contain inflation within the specified target level.

• The MPC has six members. • RBI Governor (Chairperson), RBI Deputy

Governor, one official nominated by the RBI Board and remaining 3 members would represent the Government.

• The MPC takes decisions based on majority vote.

• In case of a tie, the RBI governor will have a second or casting vote.

2. Leverage ratio What is a ‘leverage ratio’ for banks?

• The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) introduced a leverage ratio in the 2010 Basel III package of reforms(BCBS is an international committee formed to develop standards for banking regulation.

• The leverage ratio measures a bank's core capital to its total assets. The ratio uses tier 1 capital to judge how leveraged a bank is in relation to its consolidated assets. Tier 1 assets are ones that can be easily liquidated if a bank needs capital in the event of a financial crisis.

• The higher the tier 1 leverage ratio, the higher the likelihood of the bank withstanding negative shocks to its balance sheet. So, it is basically a ratio to measure a bank's financial health.

• Basel III established a 3 percent minimum requirement for the leverage ratio while it left open the possibility of making the threshold even higher for certain systemically important financial institutions.

What is a domestic systemically important bank?

• D-SIB means that the bank is too big to fail. Some banks become systemically important due to their size, cross-jurisdictional activities, complexity and lack of substitute and interconnection.

• Banks whose assets exceed 2% of GDP are considered part of this group.

• Both public and private sector banks can be designated as D-SIB.

Why in News? • The RBI has mandated a leverage ratio of

3.5% for all the banks except for the domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs), which will have a 4% ratio.

3. Stressed asset resolution

norms Background

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• On February 12, 2018, the RBI had issued a circular outlining a stricter framework for resolution of stressed assets.

• The framework made it mandatory that Banks have to recognise defaults immediately and attempt resolution without any review period.

• It was applicable only to Scheduled Commercial Banks (excluding RRBs) and All-India Financial Institutions.

• In April 2019, the Supreme Court struck down the RBI's controversial February 12 circular, terming it ultra vires.

Why in News? • The RBI has released revised set of

norms for resolution of stressed assets which are substantially less stringent from the previous one.

Key provisions • The new norms give the lenders 30 days

to start working on a resolution plan from the day of default, which is termed as “review period”, unlike previous norms that compelled lenders to start a resolution strategy even if there was a one day default.

• During this review period, lenders may decide on the resolution strategy, including the nature of the resolution plan (RP) and the approach for its implementation.

• Lenders may also choose to initiate legal proceedings for insolvency or recovery. Previously banks had to compulsorily refer borrower to NCLT if it failed to resolve the account within 180 days.

• The framework has been extended to systemically important non-deposit taking NBFCs and small finance banks.

• In cases where the RP is to be implemented, all lenders have to enter into an intercreditor agreement (ICA) for the resolution of stressed assets during the review period for borrowers with credit facilities from more than one lender.

• Under the ICA, any decision agreed to by the lenders representing 75% of the total outstanding credit facilities by

value and 60% by number will be binding upon all the lenders.

4. Parameters to measure the

health of the banking system Improving parameters • There was a significant improvement in

asset quality of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) in 2018-19.

• The gross non-performing assets (NPA) ratio declined to 9.3% as on March 2019. It was 10.8% in September 2018 and 11.5% in March 2018.

• The provision coverage ratio (PCR) of SCBs improved to 60.9% in March 2019 from 48.3% in March 2018.

• The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of the banks, which were at 14.2%, remains well above the regulatory requirement of 9%.

Capital Adequacy Ratio: • Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) is the

capital needed for a bank measured in terms of the assets or loans disbursed by the banks. It measures capital adequacy in terms of riskiness of the assets or loans given.

o CAR = (Tier I + Tier II + Tier III (Capital funds)) /Risk weighted assets)

• An appropriate level of capital adequacy ensures that the bank has sufficient capital to expand its business, while at the same time its net worth is enough to absorb any financial downturns.

• The RBI has prescribed the CAR at 9%. Provision coverage ratio: • The PCR gives an indication of the

provision made against bad loans from the profit generated.

Non-performing asset (NPA): • A non performing asset (NPA) is a loan or

advance for which the principal or interest payment remained overdue for a period of 90 days.

What’s in the news? • RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that

the financial health of the banking system

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has improved a lot, aided by recent policy measures.

5. Credit rating What is credit rating? • It is a quantified assessment of credit

worthiness of a borrower. • The assessment is usually carried out by

credit rating agencies. What are credit rating agencies? • They are independent companies who

evaluates the financial condition of issuers of debt instruments and then assigns a rating that reflects its assessment of the issuer's ability to make the debt payments.

• Potential investors, customers, employees and business partners rely upon the data and objective analysis of credit rating agencies in determining the overall strength and stability of a company.

• In India, credit rating agencies are regulated by the SEBI.

IL&FS crisis: • IL&FS (Infrastructure Leasing & Financial

Services Limited) was set up in 1987 to finance and promote infrastructure projects in the country.

• The crisis in IL&FS started with a series of loan defaults in 2018 by the company and some of its subsidiaries.

• The role of credit rating agencies came under the scanner in the wake of the IL&FS defaulting issue. IL&FS and its subsidiaries were rated AAA for their debt programmes until just a few months ago by several leading rating agencies.

• It has raised questions on the methodology and processes adopted by the rating agencies in evaluating the companies and their papers.

Issues with CRA structure in India: • CRAs in India follow the 'issuer pays

model', under which the payment for the ratings is provided by the corporate organisation whose credit service capability is assessed. It leads to a conflict of interest scenario and results in compromising the quality of analysis.

• Another major issue in the credit rating structure is the phenomenon of ‘rating shopping’, where the paying issuer can pressurise a CRA to award favorable ratings on the threat of denying future business.

Why in News? • The Securities and Exchange Board of

India (SEBI) has introduced enhanced disclosure guidelines for credit rating agencies (CRA).

• As per the new guidelines, CRAs will now have to disclose the probability of default for the instruments they rate and also clearly state the sensitive factors that could impact the credit worthiness of the entity.

• Further, the rating agencies will have to adopt a standardised terminology to disclose liquidity indicators while rating an instrument.

6. Consumer Price Index (CPI) About CPI • It is an index which measures the

weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services such as transportation, food and medical care.

• It is calculated by measuring price changes for each item in the predetermined basket of goods and services and averaging them.

• It is released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation.

• The base year used to calculate CPI in India is 2011-2012.

Why in news? • Retail inflation measured by the

consumer price index (CPI) spiked to a seven-month high of 3.05% in May.

7. Index of Industrial production (IIP)

About IIP • It is an index which details out the growth

of various sectors in an economy such as

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mineral mining, electricity and manufacturing.

• Index of Industrial Production is compiled and published every month by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

• The current base year is 2011-2012. • The Eight Core Industries (Electricity,

steel, refinery products, crude oil, coal, cement, natural gas and fertilizers) comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Why in news? • Growth in the Index of Industrial

Production (IIP) rebounded in April 2019 to grow to a six-month high of 3.4%.

8. Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and Producer price index (PPI)

About WPI • Wholesale Price Index measures and

tracks the changes in the price of goods in the stages before the retail level.

• It provides estimates of inflation at the wholesale transaction level for the economy as a whole.

• It is released by the Office of Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

• The base year is 2011-2012. • The index basket consist of commodities

under 3 main categories in decreasing order of weightage: Manufactured products, Primary Articles and Fuel and Power.

About PPI • Producer Price Index measures the

average change in the price of goods and services either as they leave the place of production, called output PPI or as they enter the production process, called input PPI.

• PPI estimates the change in average prices that a producer receives.

• WPI does not cover services and whereas PPI includes services.

What is a ‘base year’? • It is the year used as the beginning or the

reference year for constructing an index. • For example, suppose the base year is

2012, and the initial value of an index is 100. If the index is 150 in 2019, it means that the value of the index is 50% higher in 2019 than it was in 2012. It is also called the reference year.

Why in News? • The government has reconstituted the

working group tasked with revising the current wholesale price index (WPI).

• The working group will review the commodity basket of the current WPI series and suggest additions or deletions of commodities in the light of structural changes that occurred in the economy since 2011-12.

9. FDI in multi-brand retail Single-brand vs Multi-brand retailing: • Single brand retail trading means

selling different products under one brand name. For example, Starbucks sells beverages and food items under the brand of Starbucks. It also sells cups under the same brand name. Such stores can only sell Starbucks products under the 'single brand' route. Other examples are Nike, Adidas etc.

• Multi-brand retail trading is selling products of different brands under one roof. For example, Walmart, Reliance, Shopper Stop etc. These establishments sell products of different brands at one establishment.

FDI policy in India: • The foreign direct investment policy

allows 100% foreign investment in single-brand retail. However, where FDI is more than 51%, at least 30% of the value of goods should be sourced from India. This was in view to promote domestic sectors in India.

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• India permits FDI in the multi-brand retail sector with a cap of 51% ownership by overseas players.

• Various sections oppose 100% FDI in multi-brand retail as entry of international players could mean significant loss of business for neighborhood stores.

Why in News? • Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal

reiterated that the central government will not allow multi-brand retail by foreign companies.

• He also asserted that predatory pricing will not be allowed and necessary action will be taken against defaulters.

Predatory pricing: Predatory pricing is the illegal act of setting prices so low that competitors quit rather than compete, permitting the predator to raise prices in the long run.

10. Anti-dumping What is dumping?

• Dumping is the practice of selling a product in a foreign market at an unfairly low price (a price that is lower than the cost in the home market, or which is lower than the cost of production) in order to gain a competitive advantage over other suppliers.

Anti-dumping duty:

• An anti-dumping duty is a tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value.

• It was introduced with the objective of curbing the ill effects caused by dumping on domestic industries, as well as to promote and establish fair trade.

Anti-dumping duty and World Trade Organization: • WTO allows governments to act

against dumping where there is genuine injury to the competing domestic industry.

• In other cases, the WTO intervenes to prevent anti-dumping measures.

What’s in the News? • The plastic industry has urged the

government to impose anti-dumping duty on imports of cheap plastic finished goods.

• Industry leaders strongly opposed the proposal of the Indian Chemical Council to hike import duty on raw material as it will affect the cost competitiveness of plastic processors in India.

11. Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC)

What is a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC)? • An NBFC is a company registered under

the Companies Act, 1956 which provide banking services without meeting the legal definition of a bank.

• They engage in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of shares, bonds, etc. issued by Government or local authority.

• They also deal in other marketable securities of a like nature, leasing, hire-purchase, insurance business, chit business.

• The working and operations of NBFCs are regulated by the RBI.

What is the difference between banks & NBFCs? • NBFCs lend and make investments and

hence their activities are similar to that of banks, however there are a few differences:

o NBFC cannot accept demand deposits

o NBFCs cannot issue cheques drawn on itself

o Deposit insurance facility of Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation is not available to depositors of NBFCs, unlike in the case of banks.

NBFC crisis:

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• The loan defaults of the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), a leading NBFC, led to widespread panic over risks in the entire non-banking financial sector.

• The defaults jeopardized investors, banks and mutual funds associated with the sector which created a liquidity shortage across the NBFC system.

• It also affected the investment in infrastructure.

Why in News? • The real estate sector requested the

government to accord high importance to infrastructure growth and to provide a solution to the NBFC liquidity crisis.

12. Wilful Defaulter Who is a wilful defaulter? • A wilful defaulter is defined as a person

who has the resources to repay the loan, but does not do so intentionally, and deploys the money for purposes other than intended.

• It leads to increase in non performing asset (NPA).

NPA: • The loan is considered to be an NPA once

the borrower fails to make interest or principal payments for 90 days.

Twin balance sheet problem: • Twin balance sheet problem refers to the

stress on balance sheets of banks due to NPAs on the one hand, and heavily indebted corporates on the other hand.

• To address this challenge, Economic Survey 2016 recommended the four R's: Recognition, Recapitalization, Resolution, and Reform.

4Rs Strategy: • Banks must value their assets as far as

possible close to true value (recognition) • Once they do so, their financial health

must be strengthened by injection of capital (re-capitalisation);

• The underlying stressed assets in the corporate sector must be sold or rehabilitated (resolution)Future incentives for the Private Sector and

corporates must be set-right (reform) to avoid a repetition of the problem.

What’s in the news? • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told

Lok Sabha that the number of wilful defaulters in public sector banks has increased by more than 60% till March 2019 from 2014-15.

• The Finance Minister added that as a result of the government’s ‘4Rs’ strategy of Recognition, Resolution, Recapitalisation and Reforms, gross NPAs of PSBs and Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) declined to Rs. 8,06,412 crore and Rs. 9,49,279 crore respectively.

13. Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC)

What are ARCs? • An Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC)

is a specialized financial institution that buys the NPAs or bad assets from banks and financial institutions so that the latter can clean up their balance sheets.

• This helps banks to concentrate in normal banking activities.

• Banks rather than going after the defaulters by wasting their time and effort, can sell the bad assets to the ARCs at a mutually agreed value.

• They are regulated by RBI. Why in News? • The RBI has allowed ARCs to acquire

financial assets from other ARCs in a bid to accelerate timely resolution of NPAs.

14. Guidelines for e-commerce firms

Background • The Department for Promotion of

Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) issued stricter guidelines that govern FDI in e-commerce firms. As per the revised guidelines,

o Vendors that have any stake owned by an e-commerce

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company cannot sell their products on that e-commerce company’s portal.

o Any vendor who purchases 25% or more of its inventory from an e-commerce group company will be considered to be controlled by that e-commerce company, and thereby barred from selling on its portal.

o The e-commerce firm will not be allowed to influence the price of a product sold on its portal by giving incentives to particular vendors.

o All vendors on the e-commerce platform should be provided services in a fair and non-discriminatory manner. Services include fulfilment, logistics, warehousing, advertisement, payments, and financing among others.

Context for these changes: • E-commerce companies can operate

under two different models in India. o Marketplace based model

where the e-commerce firm simply acts as a platform that connects buyers and sellers. 100% FDI is allowed in e-commerce companies in this model.

o Inventory based model where the inventory of goods sold on the portal is owned or controlled by the e-commerce company and is sold to the consumers directly. FDI is not allowed under this model. Only in the trading of locally produced food products, up to 100% FDI is allowed in the inventory model, that, too, with prior government approval

• Large e-commerce companies such as Amazon and Flipkart, while not owning inventory themselves, have been providing a platform for their group companies such as CloudTail and WS Retail respectively.

• This kind of a relationship with vendors is the primary reason for price unfairness in the e-commerce marketplace. It may seem beneficial for end customers. Yet, it has managed to destroy the competitive ecosystem.

Why in News? • Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told

foreign e-commerce firms such as Amazon and Flipkart that they must ensure compliance with new foreign investment rules.

• He added that while the government was prepared to listen to concerns about its new FDI rules, it was committed to protect small traders.

15. Current account deficit and

Foreign Exchange Reserve What is current account deficit? • Current account is the systematic record

of trade (Export and Import) in goods and services.

• The current account also includes net income (such as interest and dividends) and transfers from abroad (such as foreign aid), which are usually a small fraction of the total.

• A current account deficit means the country is importing more goods and services than it is exporting.

What is meant by "Foreign Exchange Reserve"? • It indicates the reserves held by RBI in the

form of foreign currency assets, gold, SDR and reserve tranche. Components of foreign exchange reserve:

o Foreign Currency Assets- Currencies of foreign countries are held in foreign exchange reserves. Apart from currency it also includes foreign currency deposit held by RBI with foreign central banks and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

o Gold Stock of RBI- The RBI has gold stock as a backup to issue currency and to meet unexpected Balance of Payments (BOP)

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problems. (BOP problem occurs when a nation is unable to pay for essential imports or service its external debt repayments)

o SDR Holdings-Special Drawing Rights (also called “paper gold”) is a reserve created by the IMF to help countries that have BOP problems. The member countries have to contribute to this account in proportion to their IMF quota. The SDR basket consists of five major currencies of the world - the US dollar, Euro, British Pound, Chinese Renminbi and Yen (Japan).

o Reserve Tranche-The reserve tranche is a portion of the required quota of currency that each IMF member country must provide to the IMF. It can be accessed by the member country at any time for its own purposes without a service fee.

Why in News? • According to the RBI’s latest data, India’s

current account deficit (CAD) for the January-March period narrowed to 0.7% of the GDP, or $4.6 billion. It was at 1.8%, or $13 billion during the same period of the previous year.

• Also the country’s foreign exchange reserves hit a record high of $426.41 billion in June 2019. The previous high was attained on April 13, 2018 when it was $426.08 billion.

16. Fiscal deficit What is Fiscal deficit? • Fiscal deficit = Total Expenditure of the

government – Total Receipts except borrowings

Why in News? • India also reported a fiscal deficit of Rs

3.66 trillion during the first two months of the current financial year. It is 52% of the full-year target.

• The government aims to restrict the fiscal deficit to 3.4% of the GDP during the

current financial year, the same as in 2018-19.

17. Elephant Bonds Background: • High Level Advisory Group (HLAG)

headed by Dr. Surjit S. Bhalla has been constituted by the Department of Commerce.

• The HLAG has made several recommendations for boosting India’s share and importance in global merchandise and services trade.

• The Committee has recommended “Elephant Bonds” as a specialised security product providing funds towards Long Term Infrastructure.

Committee’s recommendation regarding Elephant Bonds: • Elephant Bonds are the 25-year

sovereign bonds (issued by national government).

• People declaring undisclosed income will be bound to invest 50 per cent in these bonds.

• The fund, made from these bonds, will be solely utilized for infrastructure projects.

• It is an amnesty like scheme which will help State treasury in raising tax revenues, adding beneficiaries in tax base who have not declared their assets previously.

Other recommendations of Surjit Bhalla committee: • HLAG has also made recommendations

for reforms in Financial Services Framework for making India a Preferred Destination for financial services.

• Among other things, the Report identifies tax reforms also to boost export and investment channels for exports.

18. Futures on Commodity Indices

What is a Derivative? • A derivative is a contract between two

parties which derives its value/price from an underlying asset. Generally stocks,

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bonds, currency, commodities and interest rates form the underlying asset.

• The most common types of derivatives are futures, options, forwards and swaps.

What are futures? • Futures are derivative financial contracts

that obligate the parties to transact an asset at a predetermined future date and price.

• Here, the buyer must purchase or the seller must sell the underlying asset at the set price, regardless of the current market price at the expiration date.

Why in the news? • Capital markets regulator SEBI, permitted

stock exchanges with commodity derivative segment to introduce futures on indices.

• Commodity Market is a market where different commodities such as gold, silver, soya bean, base metals, etc. are traded on its derivative contract.

• The recent decision is part of larger efforts to deepen the participation of institutions in the derivatives segment.

About SEBI • SEBI was constituted on 12th April 1988

as an interim administrative body under the Finance Ministry. Later in 1992 a notification awarding statutory powers to SEBI was issued (Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992).

• The regulatory body is entrusted with the responsibility to regulate the Indian capital markets.

• It monitors and regulates the securities market and protects the interests of the investors by enforcing certain rules and regulations.

19. National Investment and Manufacturing Zones

What’s in the news? • The Central Government has granted final

approval to three National Investment and Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ)–

o Odisha, o Andhra Pradesh and o Telangana.

• In addition to these three NIMZs which have been accorded final approval, 13 NIMZs have been accorded in-principle approval. Besides these, eight Investment Regions along the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project have also been declared as NIMZs.

About NIMZs • NIMZs are one of the important

instruments of National Manufacturing Policy, 2011.

• NIMZs are envisaged as large areas of developed land with the requisite eco-system for promoting world class manufacturing activity.

How are they different from SEZs? • The main objective of Special Economic

Zones (SEZs) is the promotion of exports, while NIMZs are based on the principle of industrial growth in partnership with States and focuses on manufacturing growth and employment generation.

• NIMZs are different from SEZs in terms of size, level of infrastructure planning, governance structures related to regulatory procedures, and exit policies.

• Ranging from 50 square kilometers to 900 square kilometers, each NIMZ will be much larger than a traditional SEZ, but will retain the latter’s characteristics with flexible rules and regulations.

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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. 5G What is 5G? • It is the next generation cellular

technology that will provide faster and more reliable communication with ultra-low latency. Latency is the amount of time data takes to travel between its source and destination.

• With 5G, the peak network data speeds are expected to be in the range of 2-20 Gigabit per second (Gbps).

Implications of 5G: • 5G is expected to form the backbone of

emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine to machine communications, thereby supporting a much larger range of applications and services, including driverless vehicles, tele-surgery and real time data analytics.

What does this mean for India? • It is widely accepted that 5G’s value for

India may be even higher than in advanced countries because of the lower levels of investments in physical infrastructure.

• One of the primary applications of 5G will be implementation of sensor-embedded network that will allow real time relay of information across fields such as manufacturing, consumer durables and agriculture.

• 5G can also help make transport infrastructure more efficient by making it smart. 5G will enable vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, making driverless cars, among other things, a reality.

• The Indian government had set a target of 2020 for the commercial launch of 5G services, largely in line with the rest of the world.

• 5G is expected to create a cumulative economic impact of $1 trillion in India by 2035.

2. Dark web What is dark web? • The dark web is part of the internet that

isn't visible to search engines and requires the use of an anonymizing browser (like Tor) to be accessed.

• The dark Web is comprised of websites that are visible to the public, but their IP address details are intentionally hidden.

• These websites can be visited by anyone on the Internet, but it is not easy to find the server details on which the corresponding site is running, and it is difficult to track the one hosting the site.

• Dark web sites look pretty much like any other site, but there are important differences. One is the naming structure. Instead of ending in .com or .co, dark web sites end in .onion.

Illicit activities • One can buy credit card numbers, all

manner of drugs, guns, counterfeit money, stolen subscription credentials, hacked Netflix accounts and software that helps you break into other people’s computers.

Is everything about the dark web illegal? • Not all parts of it are engaged in illegal

activities. • The Tor network began as an anonymous

communications channel, and it still serves a valuable purpose in helping people communicate in environments that are hostile to free speech.

• A lot of people use it in countries where internet access is criminalized.

• There are also links to full-text editions of hard-to-find books, collections of political news from mainstream websites, etc.

Why is dark web in the news? • Amitabh Bachchan’s twitter account was

hacked by a pro-Pakistan Turkish hacker group. It claimed responsibility for the hack and bragged about it on the Dark Web.

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3. Nipah infection About Nipah infection • It is a viral infection caused by the Nipah

virus. • Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are

the natural host of Nipah virus. • The disease was first identified in 1998

during an outbreak in Malaysia and it was named after a village in Malaysia, Sungai Nipah. Later, Nipah outbreaks have been reported in Singapore, Bangladesh and India.

Transmission • It is a zoonotic virus (transmitted from

animals to humans) which can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people.

• Consumption of fruits or fruit products (such as raw date palm juice)

contaminated with urine or saliva from infected fruit bats is the most likely source of infection.

Treatment • There are currently no drugs or vaccines

specific for Nipah virus infection. • The primary treatment for humans is

supportive care. Why in news? • The state of Kerala is facing a Nipah

outbreak once again. Previously it had faced the outbreak in May 2018.

Ribavirin treatment • The drug ribavirin has been shown to be

effective against the viruses in vitro, but human investigations to date have been inconclusive and the clinical usefulness of ribavirin remains uncertain.

4. Remdesivir What is it? ▪ Remdesivir is an antiviral drug that is

used as a treatment for Filovirus infections such as Ebola virus and Marburg virus.

Why in news? ▪ Remdesivir was accidentally found to be

effective against Nipah virus among primates.

▪ African green monkeys survived infection with the Nipah virus after they received Remdesivir.

▪ Since Nipah currently does not have any cure/treatment, it is a welcome discovery.

More about Remdesivir ▪ Ebola and Nipah belong to different viral

families, but remdesivir — made by Gilead Sciences and also known as GS-5734 — appears effective against both.

▪ In mice or cells cultivated in the laboratory, the drug has also shown some effectiveness against two other pandemic threats: Lassa fever and MERS coronavirus.

▪ It is also effective against respiratory syncytial virus, which infects children all over the world.

5. Gestational diabetes What is gestational diabetes? • Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar

that develops during pregnancy and usually disappears after giving birth.

• It can occur at any stage of pregnancy, but is more common in the second half.

• It occurs if the mother’s body which cannot produce enough insulin – a hormone that helps control blood sugar levels – to meet the extra needs in pregnancy.

• Gestational diabetes can cause problems for the mother and the baby during and after birth.

• But the risk of these problems happening can be reduced if it's detected and well managed.

How can gestational diabetes affect pregnancy? • Baby growing larger than usual – this

may lead to difficulties during the delivery and increases the likelihood of needing induced labour or caesarean section.

• Premature birth – giving birth before the 37th week of pregnancy.

• The baby developing low blood sugar or yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)

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after he or she is born, which may require treatment in hospital

• Still born babies. Why in news? • A recent paper published in the Journal of

the Association of Physicians of India has posited that it is imperative that every pregnant woman be screened for high blood glucose even if no symptoms are exhibited.

• It argued that primordial prevention or, in this case, at the earliest stage of development of the foetus, is essential to prevent children from becoming predisposed to diabetes or other non-communicable diseases (NCD).

Steps taken by the government • The Ministry of Health has developed

national guidelines for testing, diagnosis and management of hyperglycaemia (condition in which an excessive amount of glucose circulates in the blood) in pregnancy, and they recommend early testing during the first trimester.

• Uttar Pradesh has fully implemented the screening of gestational diabetes.

6. Long March-11 What is it? • Long March-11, developed by the China

Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, is the only rocket using solid propellants among China's new generation of carrier rockets.

• It is mainly used to carry small satellites and can take multiple satellites into orbit at the same time.

Why in news? • China has successfully launched the Long

March-11 rocket from a mobile platform at Yellow Sea.

• This is the first time that China has launched a mobile rocket from the sea.

Significance • Launching a carrier rocket from an ocean-

based platform has many advantages over a land launch.

• The closer to the equator a rocket launch can get, the greater the speed boost it will receive.

• It reduces the amount of energy required to get into space and means that less fuel is required.

• The launch site is flexible and falling rocket remains pose less danger. Using civilian ships to launch rockets at sea would lower launch costs and give it a commercial edge.

7. Indian space station What’s in the news? • ISRO has announced that India will have

its own space station. • The project will be constructed once the

'Gaganyaan' human space mission is completed successfully.

What is a space station? • A space station is a spacecraft capable of

supporting crew members, designed to remain in space for an extended period of time and for other spacecraft to dock.

• Currently, there is only one fully functional space station in the Earth's lower orbit, the International Space Station and astronauts conduct different experiments in it.

Details on ISRO’s announcement • India has set its eye on building its own

space station in low earth orbit to conduct microgravity experiments in space in 5 to 7 years.

• The prospects of setting up such a space station at an altitude of 400 kilometres from earth would hinge on successfully carrying the 'Gaganyaan' human space mission, in which two to three Indian astronauts would send to space for a period of up to seven days before India celebrates its 75 anniversary of its independence

Comparison with ISS • The proposed Indian space station would

be much smaller than the existing International Space Station (ISS).

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• While ISS weighs 420 tonnes, Indian station is expected to have a payload of 20 tonnes.

• The International Space Station is a partnership between European countries represented by European Space Agency, the United States (NASA), Japan (JAXA), Canada (CSA) and Russia (Roscosmos). It is the world's largest international cooperative programme in science and technology.

Why a space station for ourselves? • Since 2000, astronauts have periodically

visited the ISS to carry out close to 300 different microgravity science experiments in diverse fields such as astrobiology, astronomy, materials science, space medicine and space weather.

• Similarly, the idea is to have “our own” space station where Indian astronauts can fly regularly to conduct microgravity experiments.

Open for collaboration • The Indian station would be available for

other countries to do collaborative research.

• However, it should be noted that ISRO is not thinking of “space tourism"

8. Blood transfusion What is blood transfusion? • A blood transfusion is the transfer of

blood or blood products from one person (donor) into another person's bloodstream (recipient).

Why do people need blood transfusion? • It is usually done after an illness or an

injury. What happens during transfusion? • The blood is made up of several different

parts including red and white cells, plasma, and platelets.

• “Whole blood” refers to blood that has all of them.

• In some cases, you may need to have a transfusion that uses whole blood, but it’s more likely that you’ll need a specific component.

What are the different types of blood transfusions? • A red blood cell transfusion may be used

if you have anemia or an iron deficiency.

• Platelets are tiny cells in the blood that help you stop bleeding. A platelet transfusion is used if your body doesn’t have enough of them, possibly because of cancer or cancer treatments.

• A plasma transfusion helps replace the proteins in your blood that help it clot. It may be needed after severe bleeding or if you have liver disease.

What are the different blood types? • There are four blood types:

o A o B o AB o O

• Every person has one of the above four blood types.

• In addition, each person's blood is either: o Rh-positive, or o Rh-negative.

Universal donors and recipients • People with type O negative blood are

referred to as universal donors and type O negative blood is used for emergencies in which there is no time to test a person's blood type.

• Individuals who have type AB positive blood are referred to as universal recipients. This means that they can receive any type of blood.

Restrictions • People who have Rh-positive blood can

receive Rh-positive or Rh-negative blood.

• If a person has Rh-negative blood, they should only receive Rh-negative blood.

Why in news? • A young woman who had just become a

mother died at the Anantapur Government General Hospital (Andhra Pradesh) after being wrongly administered a wrong blood type.

• The Blood Bank staff administered B+ blood to a recipient, who was O+.

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9. Gene-edited babies The shocking announcement • Chinese researcher Jiankui He shocked

the global medical community in November 2018 when he announced the birth of two babies whose DNA he had edited—the first ever humans born with heritable changes to their genomes, made using a technique called Crispr-Cas9.

• He said he made the changes to lower the babies' risk of contracting HIV, but the news instantly sparked ethical and

medical controversy about his work, and about the use of gene editing in humans.

Why in news? • Now, a study finds that the edits may have

actually hurt the babies' lifespans. • According to an analysis by scientists

from the University of California, Berkeley, the genetic mutation that a Chinese scientist attempted to create in twin babies born last year is associated with a 21% increase in mortality in later life.

10. BT Cotton What is BT Cotton? • Bt cotton is an insect-resistant transgenic

crop designed to combat the bollworm. • Bt cotton was created by genetically

altering the cotton genome to express a microbial protein from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis through the process of genetic engineering.

What is genetic engineering? • To put it simply, genetic engineering is

the process of breaking the natural boundaries that exist between species to produce new life forms that will produce a variety of desired traits.

• Genetic modification involves the actual altering of the organism at the genetic level.

• Example: Genes from salmon can be spliced into tomatoes to make them more resistant to cold weather, thereby yielding a larger crop when the weather is less than favourable.

Bt Cotton - Mechanism of action • The transgene inserted into the plant's

genome produces toxin crystals that the plant would not normally produce which, when ingested by a certain population of organisms, dissolves the gut lining, leading to the organism's death.

Necessity for Bt Cotton in India • Even though India's total cotton

production ranks 3rd internationally behind China and the U.S., the acreage under cotton cultivation in India is about

25% of all agricultural land, the highest of any country.

• One main reason is that the production of cotton per hectare is very low, and India ranks 70th in the world in the kg/hectare production of cotton.

• The reduced productivity of Indian cotton is often attributed to intense and diverse pest pressure and the lack of irrigation infrastructure.

• The hope was that the introduction of Bt Cotton would largely take care of the main pest problems and reduce the use of pesticides.

Problems with Bt cotton in India: • The use of BT cotton in India has raised a

lot of controversy even before its official introduction in India.

• Bt cotton has great promise as it is resistant to one of the major pests that decreases crop yield. However, the seeds come at a much higher price.

• Seeds are purchased with loans from local money-lenders that charge very high interest rates, so farmers incur big debts to obtain the seed.

• Also, the seeds are resistant to the American bollworm but are not completely resistant to all pests, a fact that is not known by all farmers.

• If they do not have additional pest control strategies, even a Bt crop may be lost to pests.

• The situation is greatly worsened by counterfeit seed on the market that does

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not contain the Bt gene, so is susceptible to the bollworm and has no yield benefit.

Why in news? • Hundreds of farmers joined in, what they

called, a ‘civil disobedience’ movement to protest the Centre’s indecisiveness in approving the next generation of genetically modified (GM) cotton.

• The farmers argue that they should be getting the newest of technologies available in the market for agriculture.

11. BT Brinjal Legislations in India • GM crops are permitted for

environmental release and cultivation only after undergoing elaborate food and environmental safety assessment under Rules 1989 of Environment Protection Act-1986.

• Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) constituted under Rules 1989 of (EPA) – 1986 act as the biotech regulator in India assessing the safety aspects of GM crops.

What is Bt Brinjal? • Bt brinjal, is a genetically modified strain

of Brinjal. • Bt stands for Bacillus thuringiensis, a

common soil bacterium that contains a gene which produces a protein harmful to Fruit and Shoot Borer (FSB).

• They are modified to protect itself from the pest: Fruit and Shoot Borer (FSB)

Background • Brinjal farmers suffer significant yield

losses at 51-73% annually due to the Brinjal Fruit and Shoot Borer (FSB).

• Female moths deposit eggs mostly on brinjal leaves. When the eggs hatch and turn into larvae, they feed on leaf tissues and tunnel inside shoots and fruits.

• When Bt protein is ingested by FSB larva, it is made soluble by the presence of enzyme and alkaline condition (pH9.5) of the gut.

• It then binds into another protein (receptor) present in the midgut resulting to an active toxin.

• The Bt protein only affects FSB and does not affect humans, farm animals, and other non-target organisms.

Bt Brinjal in India • Bt- Brinjal is a hybrid genetically modified

variety developed by Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco).

• The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) cleared deck for Bt-Brinjal in 2006 after satisfaction from the field and recommended the Ministry of Environment to clear Bt-Brinjal for commercial cultivation in 2009.

• But the government of that time withheld it and said that it needs independent studies to prove that it doesn’t affect the nature and pollinators like bees.

• When rejected in India, the company offered the technology to Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and now presently almost 50,000 farmers are growing Bt-Brinjal with high yields.

Why in news? • The various scientific lacunae around the

promised benefits of Bt Brinjal, was criticised:

o There are still unresolved biosafety issues,

o Its impact on the environment is yet to be studied and analysed,

o In terms of nutrition, there seem to be some significant differences between Bt and ordinary brinjal

o Lack of long-term toxicity studies o Lack of scientific consensus on its

safety and efficacy. o Lack of clarity on how the farmers

can benefit from Bt Brinjal in a quantifiable manner

12. Waste-to-energy What’s in the news? • Researchers from the Department of

Biotechnology and Medical Engineering at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, Odisha, have discovered a marine bacterial strain (Citrobacter species) that can produce ethanol directly from fruit waste.

Why fruit waste? • Due to the high sugar content, fruit waste

was found to be the most favourable, whereas paper waste was the least favourable due to the presence of cellulosic substances.

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13. Fuel cells What are fuel cells? • A fuel cell produces electricity through a

chemical reaction, but without combustion.

• It converts hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process also creates electricity.

• It’s an electro-chemical energy conversion device that produces electricity, water, and heat.

How does it work? • The reactions that produce electricity

happen at the electrodes. • Every fuel cell has two electrodes, one

positive, called the anode, and one negative, called the cathode.

• These are separated by an electrolyte barrier. Fuel goes to the anode side, while oxygen (or just air) goes to the cathode side.

• When both of these chemicals hit the electrolyte barrier, they react, split off their electrons, and create an electric current.

• A chemical catalyst speeds up the reactions here.

How is it different from a conventional battery? • Fuel cells operates much like a battery,

except they don’t require electrical recharging.

• A battery stores all of its chemicals inside and converts the chemicals into electricity.

• Once those chemicals run out, the battery

dies. • A fuel cell, on the other hand, receives

the chemicals it uses from the outside; therefore, it won’t run out.

• Fuel cells can generate power almost indefinitely, as long as they have fuel to use

Why in news? • A group of Indian scientists have

developed a selenium-graphene–based fuel cell catalyst which is more efficient, costs less and also remains stable for longer than the conventional platinum based catalysts.

Elaboration • Modern energy technology, for example

fuel cells which are used commercially in hydrogen fuel–based cars, require good catalysts that are efficient as well as cost-effective.

• Normally, fuel cells use expensive platinum-like elements.

• These expensive metal-based technologies perform excellently for initial few cycles, but then get degraded in performance due to many reasons.

• As a result, there is a need to change this part of the fuel cell routinely.

• Graphene modified with selenium atoms in very low amounts can perform like platinum in a demonstrated reaction.

• While neither selenium nor graphene can do the trick by themselves, the combination works efficiently.

14. Carbon Quantum Dot What is a Carbon Quantum Dot? • Carbon quantum dots (CQDs), carbon

nano dots (CNDs), and carbon dots (CDs) are a class of carbon-based nanomaterials whose dimensions are all less than 10 nm.

• CQDs were first discovered by Xu et al. in 2004 accidentally during the purification of single-walled carbon nanotubes.

• This discovery triggered extensive studies to exploit the fluorescence properties of CQDs

Properties of CQDs

• Carbon quantum dots have been extensively investigated, especially due to their strong and tunable fluorescence emission properties, which enable their applications in biomedicine, optronics, catalysis, and sensing.

• CQDs possess the attractive properties of high stability, good conductivity, low toxicity, environmental friendliness, simple synthetic routes as well as comparable optical properties to quantum dots

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• Carbon quantum dots present several attractive biological, physical, and chemical properties

Importance in Biomedical applications • CDs are also excellent in vitro and in vivo

probes for bio-imaging without any functionalization.

• They are also useful in delivery of drugs and genes.

• They have a wide range of utilizations in different fields such as bio-imaging, cancer therapy, drug/gene delivery, sensing, bio-sensing, energy conversion and storage, and electro catalytic and photo catalytic applications.

Why in news? • A team of Indian scientists in Assam has

developed a chemical process that turns cheap, abundant, low-quality and high Sulfur ‘dirty’ coal into a biomedical Carbon Quantum Dot (CDQ) to help detect cancer cells.

15. Parkinson’s Disease What is Parkinson’s disease? • Parkinson's disease is an illness that

affects the part of your brain that controls how you move your body like speech changes, writing changes, walking and balance problems.

• It comes under the group of neurodegenerative diseases and is characterized by the loss of cells of the brain or spinal cord, which over time leads to dysfunction and disability.

• Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) are all examples.

• The ones who are 60 years or older are more likely to get it.

Causes • The cause of Parkinson's disease is

unknown, but several factors appear to play a role, including:

• Genes • Environmental triggers (exposure to

herbicides and pesticides increase the risk of Parkinson's disease)

• The presence of Lewy bodies (abnormal clumps of proteins that form in the brain cells)

Cure • There is no cure for Parkinson’s, it's all

about managing symptoms. Treatment • Drugs for Parkinson's can often help with

tremors, stiff muscles, and slow movements.

• Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy.

• Surgery in some cases. Why in news? • Scientists from the UK have found the

earliest signs of Parkinson's disease in the brain years before patients show any symptoms, a discovery that could eventually lead to better screening for at-risk people.

Elaboration • Serotonin function in the brain was an

excellent marker for quantifying how advanced Parkinson's disease has become.

• They found that changes in the serotonin system in the brains of Parkinson's sufferers started to malfunction well before other symptoms occurred.

• Therefore, this can be used as a method to detect Parkinson’s much earlier than the conventional symptoms appear

Significance • Brain imaging of the serotonin system

could become a valuable tool to detect individuals at risk of Parkinson's diseases, monitor their progression and help with the development of new treatments.

16. Trichopus zeylanicus What is it? • ‘Arogyapacha’ (Trichopus zeylanicus)

found endemic to Agastyar hills of Kerala is used by the local ‘kani’ tribe as a health food for getting instant stamina, evergreen health and vitality.

About the herb

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• The plant is known for its traditional use by the Kani tribal community to combat fatigue.

• Studies have also proved its varied spectrum of pharmacological properties such as anti-oxidant, aphrodisiac, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-tumour, anti-ulcer, anti-hyperlipidemic, hepatoprotective and anti-diabetic.

• The lack of a reference genome that hindered extensive research on Arogyapacha.

What is a reference genome? • A reference genome (also known as a

reference assembly) is a digital nucleic acid sequence database, assembled by scientists as a representative example of a species' set of genes.

Why in news? • Scientists from the University of Kerala

have decoded the genetic make-up of Arogyapacha (Trichopus zeylanicus)

Arogyapacha genome sequencing • The lack of a reference genome that

hindered extensive research on Arogyapacha prompted the researchers to sequence the whole genome.

Significance of the whole genome sequencing • The genome data will be a valuable

resource to expedite research on Arogyapacha, particularly its secondary metabolism, genetic breeding, and comparative studies.

17. Chikungunya What is it? • Chikungunya is a viral disease caused by

chikungunya virus (CHIKV) which is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes – including Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.

Symptoms • Symptoms appear between 4 and 7 days

after the patient has been bitten by the infected mosquito.

• High fever (40°C/ 104°F), Joint pain (lower back, ankle, knees, wrists or

phalanges), Joint swelling, Rash, Headache, Muscle pain, Nausea, Fatigue

• Chikungunya shares some clinical signs with dengue and can be misdiagnosed in areas where dengue is common.

Diagnosis • Chikungunya can be detected using

serological tests. Treatment • There is no particular drug to treat

Chikungunya. • Plenty of rest, drinking fluids, taking

medicines such as acetaminophen or paracetamol to reduce fever and pain.

Prevention • There is no vaccine to prevent

Chikungunya • Recovery from an infection will confer

life-long immunity. • Preventing mosquito bites is a way. Why in news? • The Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) has

successfully developed antibodies against the Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection.

Significance • With no prior antibodies reported against

CHIKV so far, this is an attempt at developing and characterizing the novel highly sensitive and specific antibodies against the virus.

18. Acute Encephalitis Syndrome

(AES) What is AES? • AES affects central nervous system,

mostly in children and young adults. It starts with a high fever, then hampers neurological functions causing mental disorientation, seizure, confusion, delirium, coma.

What causes AES? • Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES)

including Japanese Encephalitis (JE) is a group of clinically similar neurologic manifestation caused by several different viruses, bacteria, fungus, parasites, spirochetes, chemical/ toxins etc.

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• Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus is the most common cause of AES in India, with union health ministry estimate attributing 5-35 per cent cases due to JE.

• But the syndrome is also caused by scrub typhus, dengue, mumps, measles, even Nipah or Zika virus. In several cases though the cause of AES remains clinically unidentified.

Who is affected? • It predominantly affects population below

15 years. • There is seasonal and geographical

variation in the causative organism. • JEV has its endemic zones running along

the Gangetic plain including states of UP (east), Bihar, West Bengal and Assam, and parts of Tamil Nadu.

Prevention • Increase access to safe drinking water

and proper sanitation facilities • Improve nutritional status of children at

risk of JE/AES • Vector control (Reducing mosquito

density) • Vaccination - 2 doses of JE vaccine has

been approved to be included in UIP to be given one along with measles at the age of 9 months and the second with DPT booster at the age of 16-24 months.

National Programme for Prevention and Control of Japanese Encephalitis/Acute Encephalitis Syndrome • Several government initiatives have been

undertaken to educate and improve the hygiene of people living in the JE endemic zones.

• Government and non-government organizations have been instrumental in providing proper nutrition to the AES-affected population as most of the affected people belong to the lower economic strata of the society.

Why in news? • Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) has

taken over 130 lives in June 2019. As per the reports, the syndrome has claimed over 105 lives of children below 10.

• The encephalitis syndrome is affecting the nervous system of children and adults due to which the death toll is rising everyday in Bihar. The disease is also known as 'Chamki fever'.

• According to the National Centre for Disease Control officials, Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) outbreaks in Bihar have been reported since 1995. This year the main cause of death in most cases has been alleged to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar level).

Relation between hypoglycaemia, children and AES • Bihar government officials claim AES is a

syndrome not disease, and cause of death in these children was found to be prolonged hypoglycaemia that witnessed delayed treatment.

• Government data shows, at least 98 per cent of children with AES getting hospitalised also suffer from hypoglycaemia.

• In 2014 research paper titled ‘Epidemiology of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome in India: Changing Paradigm and Implication for Control’, coauthored by six researchers, a parallel was drawn between Muzaffarpur and Vietnam’s Bac Giang province where undernourished children were suffering from AES and hypoglycaemia that coincided with litchi orchards in the neighborhood.

19. Antibiotic resistance What is antibiotic resistance? • Antibiotic resistance is when bacteria

develop the ability to survive exposure to antibiotics designed to kill them or stop their growth.

Why are they dangerous? • These bacteria may infect humans and

animals, and the infections they cause are harder to treat than those caused by non-resistant bacteria.

• Antibiotic resistance leads to higher medical costs, prolonged hospital stays, and increased mortality.

Scope of the problem

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• Antibiotic resistance is rising to dangerously high levels in all parts of the world. New resistance mechanisms are emerging and spreading globally, threatening our ability to treat common infectious diseases.

• A growing list of infections – such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, blood poisoning, gonorrhoea, and foodborne diseases – are becoming harder, and sometimes impossible, to treat as antibiotics become less effective.

Main reasons • Antibiotic resistance is accelerated by the

misuse and overuse of antibiotics, as well as poor infection prevention and control.

• Also, wherever antibiotics can be bought for human or animal use without a prescription, the emergence and spread of resistance is almost certain.

• Similarly, in countries without standard treatment guidelines, antibiotics are often over-prescribed by health workers and veterinarians and over-used by the public.

Why in news? • The World Health Organization (WHO)

has launched a global campaign that urges countries to adopt its new online tool aimed at guiding policy-makers and health workers to use antibiotics safely and more effectively. Another objective of the campaign is to limit drugs that are at risk of resistance.

• The tool, known as ‘AWaRe’, classifies antibiotics into three groups:

o Access — antibiotics used to treat the most common and serious infections

o Watch — antibiotics available at all times in the healthcare system

o Reserve — antibiotics to be used sparingly or preserved and used only as a last resort

Other initiatives • WHO has developed the Global

Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS) to foster standardized

Antimicrobial resistance surveillance globally. Currently GLASS collects and reports data on Antimicrobial resistance rates aggregated at national level.

• Red Line Campaign: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has made it mandatory to display a 5mm-thick red vertical band (line) on packaging of prescription-only drugs (which compulsorily require Doctors’ Prescription). It aims at sensitising people and make them cautious while buying these Antibiotic medicines that are widely sold without prescriptions.

20. Proton Therapy What is Proton Therapy? • Proton therapy is a type of Radiation

therapy which is also called proton beam therapy.

• It uses protons rather than x-rays to treat cancer.

• At high energy, protons can destroy cancer cells.

• It can also be combined with x-ray radiation therapy, surgery, chemotherapy, and/or immunotherapy.

• Like x-ray radiation, proton therapy is a type of external-beam radiation therapy.

Research in India • In India, Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), a

grant-in-aid Institution under Department of Atomic Energy, has initiated collaboration with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) for research in proton therapy.

Why in News? • The Minister of State (Health and Family

Welfare) informed Rajya Sabha about the present status of Research on Proton Therapy in India.

21. Colored Wheat Background: • National Agri-Food Biotechnology

Institute (NABI) has introduced three coloured varieties of wheat- purple,

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black and blue which are ready for human consumption after the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) gave its nod last year.

• The wheat gets its colour from anthocyanin.

• Coloured wheat has a lower yield than normal wheat, and hence will have to be sold at a premium price.

Anthocyanin: • Anthocyanin is a good antioxidant that

makes us healthier. It helps in the prevention of lifestyle disorders such as obesity and cardiovascular diseases.

• It is a pigment that gives colour to fruits such as blueberries and jamun.

Benefits of coloured wheat • Consuming large quantities of blueberries

can lead to high sugar intake which poses danger. But, the antioxidant-rich wheat, can reduce the chances of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity.

What are antioxidants? • Antioxidants are substances that can

prevent or slow damage to cells caused by free radicals, unstable molecules that the body produces as a reaction to environmental and other pressures.

22. Mission Dragonfly NASA’s new mission • NASA announced its Mission Dragonfly, in

which the space body will send a drone-style quadcopter to Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.

• The quadcopter will take scientific measurements, study the world’s mysterious atmosphere and topography while searching for hints of life on the only world other than Earth in our solar system with standing liquid on its surface.

The spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2026.

Earlier missions • NASA’s last visit to Titan was back in

2005, when the Huygens probe, part of the Cassini mission. The Dragonfly mission will use the data collected from the Cassini mission at Saturn, which ended in 2017.

About Titan • Because of the nature of its atmosphere,

Titan is a very Earthlike place. Chemically, it is very much like our world’s primordial past. The surface pressure of Titan is one-and-a-half times the surface pressure of Earth, and the same sorts of interactions between air, land and sea take place.

• Rather than water, Titan’s seas are filled with liquid methane. Methane on Titan plays the role that water plays here. Its methane cycle is analogous to Earth’s water cycle. It has methane clouds, methane rain and methane lakes and seas on the surface.

23. Raavana-1 What’s in the news? • Sri Lanka launched its first satellite

‘Raavana-1’ from NASA’s Flight Facility on Virginia’s east shore. The launch marks Sri Lanka’s entry into the global space age.

• The satellite was designed and built at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan by two Sri Lankan research engineers.

• Its camera mission is to capture images of Sri Lanka and its neighbouring countries.

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REPORTS AND INDICES

1. Healthy States, Progressive India

What’s in the news? • NITI Aayog released the second edition

of “Healthy States, Progressive India” report.

• The report was developed by NITI Aayog with technical assistance from the World Bank.

• The objective of the report was to measure the annual performance of States and Union Territories (UTs), and rank States on the basis of incremental change, while also providing an overall status of State’s performance and helping to identify specific areas of improvement.

How are they ranked? • States and UTs have been ranked on a

composite Health Index in three categories -Larger States, Smaller States and UTs, to ensure comparison among similar entities.

• The Index is a weighted composite Index based on indicators in three domains:

o Health Outcomes; o Governance and Information; and o Key Inputs/Processes

Highlights of the Report: • Among Larger States: Kerala, Andhra

Pradesh & Maharashtra ranked on top in terms of overall performance. Haryana, Rajasthan and Jharkhand are the top three ranking States in terms of annual incremental performance.

• Among Smaller States: Mizoram ranked first followed by Manipur on overall performance, while Tripura followed by Manipur were the top ranked States in terms of annual incremental performance.

• Among UTs: Chandigarh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli were ranked on top in terms of overall performance as well as annual incremental performance.

2. SDG Gender Index What’s in the news? • India ranked 95th out of 129 countries in

the first-ever SDG Gender Index. About SDG Gender Index • It measures strides made in achieving

gender commitments against internationally set targets.

• The index has been developed by Equal Measures 2030, which is a partnership among global and regional organisations from the civil society and the development and private sectors.

• The SDG Gender Index includes 51 indicators across 14 of the 17 official Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The indicators include those that are gender specific, as well as those that are not but have an effect on girls and women.

Key findings • The index finds that no country has fully

achieved the promise of gender equality and that the global average score of 65.7 out of 100 is “poor”.

• India’s score of 56.2 means that it is among 43 countries that fall in the ‘very poor’ category.

3. Nutrition security analysis report

What’s in the news? • The UN World Food Programme and

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released a report which is a baseline analysis of the country’s progress in achieving the second Sustainable Development Goal to end hunger.

Key findings of the report: • The average per capita consumption of

energy among the 30% poor people of the population is just 1811 kilo calories, much lower than the norm of 2155 kilocalories per day.

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• Over the last decade, child stunting has reduced at a rate of just 1% per year, the slowest decline among emerging economies.

• At this rate it is predicted that by 2022 about 31.4% of children will be stunted.

UN world food programme: • The World Food Programme is the UN

agency focused on hunger alleviation and food security. Globally, it responds to emergencies, making sure food reaches where it is needed, especially in times of civil wars and natural disasters.

• In India, WFP provides technical assistance and capacity building services to the Government of India.

• Ministry of Agriculture is the nodal agency for WFP in India.

About malnutrition: • Malnutrition is a group of conditions in

children and adults generally related to poor quality or insufficient quantity of nutrient intake, absorption, or utilization.

• Two types of malnutrition are ACUTE nutrition and CHRONIC malnutrition

o Acute Malnutrition causes wasting /thinness which happens due to weight loss due to inadequate nutrition. Wasting results from an acute shortage of food, is reversible with re-feeding, and has a relatively high mortality rate.

o Chronic malnutrition causes stunting/shortness which happens due to inadequate nutrition over a long period of time leading to failure of linear growth. Stunting is chronic and its causative factors are poorly understood.

o Acute and Chronic malnutrition is the condition when both occur.

4. Trafficking in Persons Report About the report:

● It is released by the US State Department, annually to combat trafficking as well to rank countries on their preparedness and actions against trafficking.

● It should not be confused with Global report on trafficking in persons which is released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

● Some of the key points of this report are :

o The report classifies countries into 3 tiers. Tier 1 countries have up to the mark and doing well to stop trafficking. Tier 2 countries are working but their actions aren’t enough. India is termed as Tier 2 country. Tier 3 countries have the least of the regulations and are watchlist countries.

o The report has given suggestions to all countries to develop their actions. For India, the report asks to establish Anti-Trafficking Units, make amendments in IPC section 370 (which deals with trafficking of persons).

Measures related to trafficking • Palermo Protocol: It was adopted by

the UN on Transnational Organised Crimes in 2000. There are 3 protocols i.e., one to stop trafficking in persons, especially women and children, second is on smuggling of migrants by land, sea, and air and last against the Illicit Manufacturing and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition.

• It is being monitored by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

5. State of Global Air 2019 Report What is it? • The State of Global Air report brings into

one place the latest information on air

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quality and health for countries around the globe.

Who is releasing the report? • It is released by the Health Effects

Institute in cooperation with the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

Key findings of the report: • Air pollution ranks fifth among global

risk factors for mortality globally, exceeded only by behavioral and metabolic factors like poor diet, high blood pressure, tobacco exposure, and high blood sugar.

• India (1st) and China have the highest health burden from air pollution.

Report about India: • Air pollution is the third-highest cause of

death among all health risks, ranking just above smoking, in India.

• According to the report 1.2 million people are dying prematurely due to toxic air.

• Entire Indian population lives in areas with PM2.5 concentrations above the WHO Air Quality Guideline of 10 µg/m3.

Health Effects Institute:

• It is a nonprofit corporation. • It works as an independent organization

to provide high-quality, impartial and relevant research on the health effects of air pollution.

• It is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation(IHME): • The Institute for Health Metrics and

Evaluation (IHME) is an independent global health research center at the University of Washington.

• IHME was launched based on a core grant of $105 million primarily funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

• It also releases Global burden of diseases report.

• It provides measurement of the world's most important health problems and evaluates the strategies used to address them.

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POLITY

1. Removal of High Court judge Procedure for removal of Judges • The procedure for removal of judges is

elaborated in the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968.

• A motion has to be moved by either 100 Lok Sabha members or 50 Rajya Sabha members.

• If the motion is admitted, the Speaker of Lok Sabha or Chairman of Rajya Sabha constitutes an inquiry committee. The committee has three members: a Supreme Court judge, a High Court Chief Justice, and an eminent jurist.

• If the Committee finds the judge guilty of ‘misbehaviour or incapacity’, the motion along with the report of the committee is taken up for consideration in the House where motion was moved.

• The motion for removal is required to be adopted by each House of Parliament by a majority of the total membership of that House and a majority of at least two-thirds of the members of the House present and voting.

• Once the motion is adopted in both Houses, it is sent to the President, who will issue an order for the removal of the judge.

Why in News? • Months after an in-house panel found an

Allahabad High Court judge, Justice S.N. Shukla, guilty of misconduct.

• Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has written to Prime Minister to initiate a motion for his removal.

2. Essential Services What are essential services? ● According to the Essential Services

Maintenance Act (ESMA), 1968, essential services are those services which are important for the normalcy of state and citizen life.

● It was established to ensure the delivery of certain services, which if

obstructed would affect the normal life of the people. These include services like public transport (bus services), health services (doctors and hospitals).

● Essential Services are in Concurrent List of the Schedule 7.

● Although it is a very powerful law, its execution rests entirely on the discretion of the State government.

● Each state in the union of India, hence has a separate state Essential Services Maintenance Act with slight variations from the central law in its provisions. This freedom is accorded by the central law itself.

● There is a restriction on the staff of essential services on going to strike. They must get prior permission.

Why in news? ● The doctors’ strike all over the country

due to attack on a West Bengal doctor brought in the debate of essential services.

3. Anti-Defection What is anti-defection? ● It is disqualification when a member of

parliament or legislature chooses to join another party after being elected as some party.

● This was introduced by the 52nd Amendment in 1985.

Disqualification is done when: ● Member voluntarily gives up party

membership ● If he abstains from the direction given

by the party’s whip (an official of a political party appointed to maintain parliamentary discipline)

● If an independent candidate joins any political party.

● If a nominated member joins a party after 6 months of his/her nomination.

Exception: ● When a merger between two parties

with the consent of 2/3rd of members

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takes place and some member quits the merging party, he is not disqualified.

● If the speaker or any presiding officer after being elected, give up party for impartiality then he is not disqualified. He can rejoin the party after getting down from the post.

● The speaker/presiding officer will be the final authority to decide the disqualification on the ground of anti-defection. The decision can be challenged in court.

Why in News? ● 4 out of 6 TDP Rajya Sabha members

have merged with BJP. ● This doesn’t become a matter of

disqualification under Anti-defection as 2/3rd members have consented to merger the party.

4. Leader of opposition Opposition Leader: ● Opposition plays a vital role in

parliamentary democracy. ● It keeps the government on track with

constructive criticism using different parliamentary instruments (like question hour, no-confidence motion, etc).

● The leader of any party sitting in opposition, whose strength is not less than 1/10th of the total membership of the house gets to become opposition leader.

● This post in India was recognized in 1969 and was given statutory recognition in 1977.

● He/she is given rank equivalent to a cabinet minister.

● The Leader of the Opposition has a crucial role in deciding key appointments such as the CBI Director, the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC)

and the anti-corruption ombudsman, Lokpal.

Why in news? ● The contention once again came on the

opposition leader as Congress didn't get 1/10th in the recent Lok Sabha election.

● They got 53 seats. 1/10th is 55 seats.

5. State flag day Legislation regarding flag

● Parliament has framed legislation regulating the hoisting of the national flag.

● The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, prohibit insulting the national flag by burning it, mutilating it, defacing it, etc.

● These acts do not impose prohibitions on a state flag.

State Flags

● Two states in India have their own state flags i.e., Jammu and Kashmir and Karnataka.

● Under the Flag Code of India, 2002, conditions followed while hoisting state flag are.

o 1) it is not hoisted from the same masthead as of National flag and

o 2) it is not hoisted higher than the national flag,

Why in the news?

● A local party in Jammu & Kashmir was not allowed to celebrate state flag day on June 7.

● J&K lost its state flag post the scrapping of Article 370.

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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. India Maldives bilateral What’s in the news? ● Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his visit

to the Maldives, his first state visit abroad since being re-elected to office, signed six key agreements.

● The Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) covered areas such as hydrography, health, passenger and cargo services by sea, capacity building in customs and civil service training.

● A technical agreement on sharing “White Shipping Information” between the Indian Navy and the Maldives National Defence Force was also signed.

● Mr Modi was also conferred with the Maldives’ highest honour — the Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

White Shipping Information: ● White shipping information refers to

exchange of relevant advance information on the identity and movement of commercial non-military merchant vessels.

2. Doklam issue What is it? ● The Doklam is a plateau, near the

India-Bhutan-China tri-junction. ● In June 2017, a military standoff

occurred between China and India as China attempted to extend a road on the Doklam plateau southwards near the Doka La pass and Indian troops moved in to prevent the Chinese.

● India claimed to have acted on behalf of Bhutan. Bhutan formally objected to China's road construction in the disputed area.

● Under the 2007 India-Bhutan Friendship Treaty, the two sides have agreed to cooperate closely with each other on issues relating to their national interests.

● In August 2017, both India and China announced that they had withdrawn all their troops from the face-off site.

● The location holds strategic importance as it would bring China within striking distance of India’s vulnerable ‘Chicken Neck’, the Siliguri Corridor, the life-line to India’s Northeast.

Why in News? ● Reacting sharply to recent reports of an

unprecedented build-up of military infrastructure on the Chinese side of the Doklam plateau, Bhutan’s Prime Minister Lotay Tshering said that no side should do anything near the tri junction point unilaterally.

3. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)

What is the Iran nuclear deal? ● The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

(JCPOA), more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal was reached between Iran and six world powers known as the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) in July 2015.

What did Iran have to do to meet the requirements of the deal? ● According to this framework, Iran would

redesign, convert, and reduce its nuclear facilities in order to lift all nuclear-related economic sanctions.

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● The deal also allowed for the tracking of nuclear activities with robust transparency and inspections.

● International inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitor every element of Iran's declared nuclear programme.

U.S. withdrawal from JCPOA ● The US President Donald Trump

abandoned the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, claiming it did not address Iran's ballistic missile programme or its roles in Middle Eastern conflicts.

● The US is the only country to have withdrawn from the agreement. Iran, China, France, Russia, the UK and Germany are still parties.

● Mr. Trump re-imposed tough economic sanctions against Iran in August 2018, deeply cutting its sale of crude oil abroad. Europe has so far been unable to offer Iran a way around the U.S. sanctions.

Why in News? ● Iranian officials announced that the

country’s production of low-enriched uranium had increased fourfold and its stockpile would pass a 300kg limit by June 27.

● Under the terms of the deal, Iran can stockpile no more than 300 kilograms of low-enriched uranium.

4. H1B Visa What is H1B visa? ● The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that

allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

● The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India.

● An estimated 70% of H1B visas go to Indians.

Why in News? ● The U.S. State Department has clarified

that it has no plans to cap H-1B work visas for countries that adopt laws that restrict data being taken out of their borders (data localisation).

● The clarification holds significance as there were reports that the U.S. had told

India it was considering to cap the number of H-1B visas given annually to Indians at between 10% and 15% of the total number issued.

5. The Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)

What is the GSP? ● The Generalised System of Preferences

(GSP) is one of the oldest trade preference programmes in the world, under which developed countries offer preferential treatment (such as zero or low duties on imports) to products originating in developing countries.

● India, as a developing country, enjoyed special trade benefits from the GSP programme of U.S which allowed duty-free entry of Indian goods worth $5.6 billion into the U.S.

Termination of eligibility ● In June 2019, the U.S. decided to

terminate India’s eligibility for the GSP based on complaints from US’ dairy and medical device industries alleging that India has implemented a wide array of trade barriers that are affecting the US exports in those sectors.

Why in News? ● Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal

told that the government was negotiating with the U.S. the issue of withdrawing the GSP status to India.

6. Brexit What is Brexit? • Brexit ("British exit") refers to the

United Kingdom's decision in a June 23, 2016 referendum to leave the European Union (EU), which is a group of 28 countries that operates as a cohesive economic and political block.

• The process of leaving the EU formally began on March 29, 2017, when the former British Prime Minister Therasa May triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty.

• The UK had two years from that date to negotiate a new relationship with the EU.

Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty • It gives any EU member state the right to

quit unilaterally, and outlines the

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procedure for doing so. It gives the leaving country two years to negotiate an exit deal and once it is set in motion it cannot be stopped except by unanimous consent of all member states.

Withdrawal Agreement • The “Brexit deal” is a legally-binding text

agreed to by the EU and UK government on November, 14 2018. The deal sets the terms of the UK’s divorce from the EU and can only enter into force once ratified by the UK parliament.

• But, the deal Therasa May negotiated with the EU was rejected by Britain's House of Commons three times.

• May announced that she will step down as the Prime Minister after facing severe pressure to resign. Britain has to ratify a withdrawal agreement with the EU before leaving if it wants to avoid a "no-deal" exit.

When is the UK due to leave the EU? • The UK had been due to leave on 29

March 2019, two years after it started the exit process. But as the UK MPs rejected the withdrawal agreement, EU leaders have now backed a six-month extension until 31 October 2019.

• However, the UK will leave before this date if the withdrawal agreement is ratified by the UK and the EU before then.

Why do people oppose the deal? • There are a broad range of complaints,

many of which claim the deal fails to give back to the UK control of its own affairs from the EU.

• One of the biggest sticking points has been over what happens at the Irish border.

What is the ‘backstop’ plan? • Northern Ireland is part of the UK while

the Republic of Ireland, which is not, will remain part of the EU after Brexit.

• Under EU arrangements, it is currently easy for people and goods to cross the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and there are fears that it will not remain so after Britain leaves.

• Many also fear that barriers between the north and south could revive the

tensions that prevailed during the 30-year conflict that ended in 1998.

• To address this, the withdrawal agreement includes a “backstop” plan to ensure the border remains as smooth as possible until a trade deal between the UK and the EU is struck.

• On the other hand, opponents believe that the backstop plan would leave the UK subject to EU regulation even after Brexit.

Why in News? • The EU’s top leaders have made it clear

that the existing divorce deal with the UK could not be changed.

7. Exercise Garuda What’s in the news? • Exercise Garuda 2019, a bilateral Indo-

French warfare exercise, was conducted in France.

• The objectives for the exercise were to foster closer relationship between India and France so as to promote interoperability through exchange of knowledge and experience.

8. Tax Information Exchange Agreement

What’s in the news? • India has notified a tax information

exchange agreement (TIEA) with the Marshall Islands, which was signed in 2016.

• The agreement enables bilateral sharing of banking information and allowing officials of one country to undertake tax examinations in the other.

• TIEA will enhance mutual cooperation between India and the Marshall Islands by providing an effective framework for exchange of information on tax matters which will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance.

9. Strait of Hormuz What’s in the News? ● The mysterious attack on two oil tankers

in the Gulf of Oman, close to the Strait of Hormuz, raised tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

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● The U.S. has blamed Iran for the incident. Iran has denied any role. Why is Strait of Hormuz important?

• Strait of Hormuz is a choke-point between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. A third of crude oil exports transported via ships pass through the

Strait, which makes it the world’s most important oil artery.

● If the Strait is closed or if the flow of oil and gas is disrupted, it would have a serious impact on global energy stability and thereby on the world economy.

Operation Sankalp: • Amidst growing tensions in the Middle

East, Indian Navy launched Operation Sankalp to safeguard its vessels transiting through the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

• The Information Fusion Centre - Indian Ocean Region (Refer ‘Initiatives’ section) is also keeping a close watch on the movement of ships in the Gulf region.

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ART & CULTURE

1. Chaukhandi Stupa About the stupa: • Chaukhandi Stupa is a Buddhist site and

has served as a place of relics of Buddha. • It is called Chaukhandi because of four

armed plan. • This site finds mention in Hiuen Tsang,

traveler during Harsha’s period. • This site was renovated during Mughal

period by Raja Todarmal to commemorate Humayun visit.

Why in News? • Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has

declared Chaukhandi stupa located in Sarnath, UP as protected area of national importance.

• This notification will allow ASI to undertake restoration and preservation works at the site.

Site of National Importance • Archeological Survey of India declares

specific sites as ‘national importance’ if the Site has remains of ancient artifacts if it has a monument, or the site is important for the access to the monuments.

• Under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958, ancient monuments or archaeological sites which are of historical, archaeological or artistic interest and which have been in existence for not less than 100 years may be declared as of national importance.

• The protection and maintenance of monuments declared as of national importance is taken up by the ASI by way of structural repairs, chemical preservation and environmental development around the monument which is a regular and on-going process.

2. Ambubachi Mela What is it? • Ambubachi Mela is a 4 day fair which

marks the annual menstruation of the goddess at Kamakhya temple, centre for Tantra worship.

• Kamakhya near Guwahati, Assam is one of 51 shakti peethas or seat of Shakti followers, each representing a body part of Sati, Lord Shiva’s companion.

Why in the news? • Recently Assam celebrated Ambubachi

Mela at kamakhya.

3. Bankim Chandra’s statue Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay • He was an Indian writer, poet and

journalist. • He is widely regarded as a key figure in

literary renaissance of Bengal as well as the broader Indian subcontinent.

• Chattopadhyay’s earliest publications were in Ishwar Chandra Gupta’s weekly newspaper Sambad Prabhakar;

• His first fiction to appear in print was Rajmohan’s Wife. It was written in English and is regarded as the first Indian novel to be written in English.

• After he felt the pulse of nationalism, started writing in Bengali.

• He wrote 13 novels- Kapalkundala, Mrinalini, Devi chaudrani, Chandrasekhar etc.,

• His Anandamath was the story of a group of monks (Sanyasi Rebellion) who fought the British.

• This was the source for our national song Vande mataram.

• He published magazines like Vande Mataram, Bangadarshan, etc.

Why in news? • Members of parliament of Trinamool

Congress demanded a statue of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhayay in parliament premises.

4. Amaravati school of art What is it? • Ancient Indian architecture contains 3

major schools - Gandhara, Mathura and Amravati schools.

• Amravati school of art has evolved and flourished for nearly six centuries commencing from 200-100 BC.

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• It was patronized first by the Satavahanas and later by the Ikshvakus and also by other groups.

• It is completely indigenous art style and have mainly Buddhist artifacts.

• To make artifacts white marble was widely used.

• The sculptures of Amravati art are mainly narrative and are inspired by jataka tales.

• Human forms are shown in tribhanga style (3 bends).

• Amravati had a huge stupa whose remains are kept in Chennai museum now.

Various schools of art:

What is in the news? • A limestone pillar of 3rd century,

belonging to Amravati school was founded in Parkasm district of Andhra Pradesh.

• It is said to be a part of Buddhist monastery during Ikshvaku period.

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DEFENSE

1. Varunastra What is varunastra? • It is an indigenously-built heavyweight

anti-submarine torpedo. • Varunastra is a ship-launched,

electrically-propelled underwater weapon equipped with one of the most advanced automatic and remote-controlled guidance systems.

• The weapon system uses its own intelligence in tracing the target. It can hit stealth submarines underwater.

• The weapon has been jointly developed by the Naval Science and Technology Laboratory (NTSL), Visakhapatnam and the Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad.

What is in the news? • Varunastra has been successfully

inducted in the navy, making India one of the eight countries to have the capability to design and build such a system.