...1. Pampadum Shola has significant population of evasive Nilgiri Marten • Pampadum Shola...

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Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS Preparation

01.02.2018

1. Pampadum Shola has significant

population of evasive Nilgiri Marten

• Pampadum Shola National Park

located on the southern portion of

Western Ghats is a safe haven of rare

and most elusive Nilgiri Marten.

• Endemic to the Western Ghats, Nilgiri

Marten looks like a civet or a

mongoose and it most prefers higher

altitudes.

• Nilgiri marten found a place in

schedule 2 of part 2 of the Indian

Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.

Look Further

Wildlife Protection Act 1972

• The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 is an

Act of the Parliament of India enacted

for the protection of plants and animal

species.

• It extends to the whole of India,

except the State of Jammu and

Kashmir which has its own wildlife act.

• It has six schedules which give

varying degrees of protection.

• Schedule I and part II of Schedule II

provide absolute protection - offences

under these are prescribed the

highest penalties.

• Species listed in Schedule III and

Schedule IV are also protected, but

the penalties are much lower.

• Schedule V includes the animals which

may be hunted.

• The specified endemic plants in

Schedule VI are prohibited from

cultivation and planting.

Nilgiri Marten

• The Nilgiri marten (Martes gwatkinsii)

is the only species of marten found in

southern India.

• It occurs in the hills of the Nilgiris and

parts of the Western Ghats.

• It is categorized as vulnerable by

IUCN.

Pampadum Shola National Park

• It is located in Idukki district of

Kerala.

Topic- GS-3-Biodiversity

Source- The Hindu

2. India slips to 42nd place on EIU

Democracy Index; US at 21

• India has slipped to 42nd place on the

Economist Intelligence Unit's annual

Global Democracy Index.

• India’s ranks slipped due to the rise of

conservative religious ideologies and

increase in vigilantism and violence

against minorities.

• India slipped 10 places from the 32nd

position last year to 42nd position.

• Top three positions occupied by the

Scandinavian countries- Norway,

Iceland and Sweden.

• Despite India's dip in the ranking, it

remained the top in South Asia region.

Look Further

Scandinavian countries

• The term Scandinavia in local usage

covers the three kingdoms of

Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

• After inclusion of the Faroe Islands,

Finland, Greenland and Iceland etc. in

Scandinavian countries, the broader

region is known as Nordic countries.

Topic-

Source- Economic Times

3. Cannot allow single-judge NGT

benches: Supreme Court

• The Supreme Court directed the

National Green Tribunal to not to

constitute single-member benches to

hear cases.

Issue

• The rules of the NGT Act mandate the

chairperson to constitute a bench of

“two or more members consisting of

at least one judicial member and one

expert member”.

• However, as not enough

appointments had been made, the

Ministry of Environment, Forests and

Climate Change last year issued a

notification amending the rules to

enable the constitution of single-

member benches “in exceptional

circumstances”.


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Look Further

National Green Tribunal

• NGT Act, 2010 is an Act of the

Parliament of India which enables the

creation of a special tribunal to handle

the expeditious disposal of the cases

pertaining to environmental issues.

• It draws inspiration from India's

constitutional provision of Article 21,

which assures the citizens of India the

right to a healthy environment.

• The Tribunal has Original Jurisdiction

on matters of "substantial question

relating to environment" & "damage

to the environment due to specific

activity".

Topic-GS-2- Statutory, regulatory and

various quasi-judicial bodies

Source- Indian Express

4. Prime Minister launched 'Khelo India

School Games'

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi

launched the first “Khelo India School

Games” in New Delhi.

• The mission aims to develop a

sporting culture in the country,

identify talents from grassroots and

groom them for international success.

• 'Kheloge kudoge toh banoge lajawab'

the motto of the Khelo India

programme.

• This government initiative focuses on

reviving the sports culture at the

grassroots and establishing the

country as a sporting nation.

• This national level event is for under-

17 players.

Topic- Important for PCS Exams

Source- DD News

5. EU announces funding package of

42.5 million euros to help build

Palestinian state

European Union

• The European Union (EU) is a political

and economic union of 28-member

states that are located primarily in

Europe.

• Its headquarter is located in Brussels,

Belgium.

• Treaty of Maastricht established the

European Union in 1992.

• Recently United Kingdom has initiated

a process for withdrawing from EU.

• Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty contains

the provision for leaving European

Union.

Look Further

Palestine

• Palestine is a de jure sovereign state

in the Middle East claiming the West

Bank (bordering Israel and Jordan)

and Gaza Strip (bordering Israel and

Egypt) with East Jerusalem as the

designated capital.

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

• The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the

ongoing struggle between Israelis and

Palestinians that began in the mid-

20th century.

• The origins to the conflict can be

traced back to Jewish immigration,

and sectarian conflict in Mandatory

Palestine between Jews and Arabs.

• It has been referred to as the world's

"most intractable conflict", with the

ongoing Israeli occupation of the West

Bank and the Gaza Strip reaching 50

years.

Topic- GS-2- Important International

institutions, agencies and fora- their

structure, mandate.

Source- Wiki + AIR

6. Pakistan extends Thar Link Express

for 3 years

• The solitary rail link between India

and Pakistan received an extension

from Islamabad.

• The Thar Link Express that connects

Khokhrapar in Pakistan and Munabao

in Rajasthan received an extension for

three more years.

• The agreement to run the Thar Link

Express was signed in 2006 and is one

of the cheapest means of transport

between the two rival countries.

Topic-GS-2- Bilateral, regional and global

groupings and agreements involving India

and/or affecting India’s interests

Source- The Hindu


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7. India commissions high-performance

computer system Mihir

• India commissioned its High-

Performance Computer (HPC) system

- named 'Mihir' (meaning Sun) - at the

National Centre for Medium-Range

Weather Forecasting at Noida, Uttar

Pradesh.

• The facility will improve India's

capacity in weather forecasting and

help it to come out with weather

forecast down to the block level

across the country.

• The new system will be India's largest

HPC facility in terms of peak capacity

and performance.

Topic- GS-3-Science and Technology

Source- Times of India

02.02.2018

1. India joins Ashgabat agreement

• INDIA has joined the Ashgabat

agreement, which envisages setting

up of an international transport and

transit corridor linking central Asia

with the Persian Gulf to significantly

ramp up trade and investment.

• The Ashgabat agreement is an

agreement between Oman, Iran,

Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,

Kazakhstan and Pakistan.

• The founding members of the

agreement are Iran, Oman,

Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan which

had signed the pact on April 25, 2011.

Topic- GS-2- Bilateral, regional and global



Source- Indian Express + Wiki

2. Important points of Budget 2018-19

Agriculture and Rural Economy

• The Minimum Support Price (MSP) for

all unannounced Kharif crops will

increase to at least 1.5 times that of

production cost.

• Setting up of Fishery and Aquaculture

fund and Animal Husbandry fund with

the total corpus of Rs 10000 crore.

• Along the lines of ‘‘Operation Flood’’ a

new Scheme ‘‘Operation Greens’’ to

address the challenge of price

volatility of perishable commodities.

• Propose to launch a Re-Structured

National Bamboo Mission with an

outlay of Rs.1290 crore to promote

the bamboo (Green Gold) sector in a

holistic manner.

Education, Health and Social Protection

• Every block with more than 50% ST

population and at least 20,000 tribal

people will have 'Ekalavya' school at

par with Navodaya Vidyalas by 2022.

• RISE (Revitalizing Infrastructure in

School Education) Scheme for

revitalizing school infrastructure, with

an allocation of 1 lakh crore rupees

over four years (by 2022).

• Technology will also be used to

upgrade the skills of teachers through

the recently launched digital portal

‘‘DIKSHA".

• In the health sector government

announced Ayushman Bharat

programme for a new India.

• Prime Minister’s Research Fellows

(PMRF)’’ Scheme, Each year 1,000

best B.Tech students from premier

institutions and provide facilities to do

PhD in IITs and IISc, with a handsome

fellowship.

Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises

(MSMEs) and Employment

• Rs 3 lakh crore is allocated as the

target for the Mudra Yojana for the

year 2018-19.

• The launch of National Apprenticeship

Scheme with stipend support and

sharing of the cost of basic training to

give training to 50 lakh youth by

2020.

Topic- GS-3-Indian Economy

Source-PIB

3. Ayushman Bharat for a new India -

2022

• The Government announced two

major initiatives in the health sector,

as part of Ayushman Bharat

programme.

• The initiatives are- (i) Health and

Wellness Centre (ii) National Health

Protection Scheme


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Health and Wellness Centre

• National Health Policy, 2017 has

envisioned Health and Wellness

Centres as the foundation of India’s

health system.

• Under this 1.5 lakh centres will bring

health care system closer to the

homes of people.

• These centres will provide

comprehensive health care, including

for non-communicable diseases and

maternal and child health services.

• These centres will also provide free

essential drugs and diagnostic

services.

• The Budget has allocated Rs.1200

crore for this flagship programme.

National Health Protection Scheme

• The National Health Protection

Scheme that will cover over 10 crore

poor and vulnerable families, or

around 50 crore people.

• The scheme, set to be the world’s

largest government-funded

healthcare programme.

• The coverage of up to ₹5 lakh a

family a year will be provided for

secondary- and tertiary-care

hospitalisation.

Topic- GS-2- Welfare schemes for vulnerable

sections of the population by the Centre and

States

Source-PIB

4. Gobar-Dhan Scheme to improve lives

of villagers

• In an effort to make the villages open

defecation free and improving the

lives of villagers, the Finance Minister

announced the launch of Galvanizing

Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan

(GOBAR-DHAN).

• The scheme will manage and convert

cattle dung and solid waste in farms

to compost, biogas and bio-CNG.

Topic- GS-2- Government policies and

interventions for development in various

sectors and issues arising out of their design

and implementation.

Source-PIB

5. Central board of excise and customs

(CBEC) to be renamed central board of

indirect taxes and customs (CBIC)

• Union Minister for Finance and

Corporate Affairs announced that the

name of Central Board of Excise and

Customs (CBEC) will be changed to

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and

Customs (CBIC).

Look Further

CBEC (Central Board of Excise and

Custom)

• The Central Board of Excise and

Custom is the nodal national agency

responsible for administering

Customs, GST, Central Excise, Service

Tax & Narcotics in India.

• The Customs & Central Excise

department was established in the

year 1855 by the then British

Governor General of India.

• Currently, the Customs and Excise

department comes under the

Department of Revenue, Ministry of

Finance.



Source-PIB

6. Dinesh Srivastava takes over as chief

executive of Nuclear Fuel Complex

Nuclear Fuel Complex

• The Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) was

established in 1971 as a major industrial

unit of India's Department of Atomic

Energy, for the supply of nuclear fuel

bundles and reactor core components.

• Nuclear Fuel Complex supplies zircaloy clad uranium oxide fuel assemblies and

zirconium alloy structural components

for all operating atomic power reactors

in India.

Look Further

• India is pursuing an indigenous three-

stage Nuclear Power Programme

involving closed fuel cycles of

(a) Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors

(PHWRs) and

(b) Liquid Metal Cooled Fast Breeder

Reactors (LMFBRs) for judicious

utilisation of the relatively limited

reserves of uranium and vast

resources of thorium.


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• PHWRs form the first stage of the

Power programme which uses zircaloy

as clad & Natural uranium dioxide as

fuel. It was supplied by NFC.

Topic-GS-3- Infrastructure: Energy, Ports,

Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

Source- The Hindu Business Line + Wiki

03.02.2018

1. Maharashtra govt approves new

wildlife sanctuary at Ghodazari

• The Maharashtra government has

approved Ghodazari in Chandrapur

district as a new wildlife sanctuary in

the state.

• The sanctuary, in the North East of

Tadoba, will include 159 sq km of

Brahmapuri forest.

Look Further

Protected areas of India-

• These are defined according to the

guidelines prescribed by IUCN

(International Union for Conservation

of Nature).

• There are mainly three type of

protected areas which are-

(a) National Park

(b) Wildlife Sanctuaries

(c) Conservation reserves

(d) Community reserves

(a) National Park –

• Classified as IUCN category II

• Any area notified by state govt to

be constituted as a National Park

• There are 103 national parks in India.

• First national park in India- Jim

Corbett National Park (previously

known as Hailey National Park)

• No human activity/ rights allowed

except for the ones permitted by the

Chief Wildlife Warden of the state.

• It covered 1.23 percent geographical

area of India

(b) Wildlife Sanctuaries-

• Classified as IUCN category II

• Any area notified by state govt to

be constituted as a wildlife sanctuary.

• Certain rights are available to the

people. Example- grazing etc.

• There are 543 wildlife sanctuaries in

India.


area of India

(c) Conservation reserves-

• These categories added in Wildlife

(Protection) Amendment Act of 2002.

• Buffer zones between established

national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and

reserved and protected forests of India.

• Uninhabited and completely owned by

the Government.


area of India

(d) Community reserves-

• These categories added in Wildlife

(Protection) Amendment Act of 2002.

• Buffer zones between established

national parks, wildlife sanctuaries

and reserved and protected forests of

India.

• Used for subsistence by communities

and community areas because part of

the lands is privately owned.


area of India

Topic- GS-3-Environment


2. Finance Minister announced a new

tunnel at Sela pass in Arunachal

• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

announced the government's plan to

build a tunnel through the Sela Pass

which will ensure faster movement of

troops in Tawang, a strategically-

located town in Arunachal Pradesh

bordering China.

• The proposal to build the Sela pass

comes amid concerns in the defence

establishment over China's growing

assertiveness along the nearly 4,000

km-long Sino-India border.

Look Further

The Sela Pass

• The Sela pass is located between the

Tawang and West Kameng districts of

Arunachal Pradesh.

• It connects the Tibetan Buddhist town

of Tawang to Dirang and Guwahati.

Topic- GS-1-Indian Geography



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3. IWAI signs agreement with World

Bank for Jal Marg Vikas Project

• Inland Waterways Authority of India

(IWAI) has signed an agreement with

the World Bank for Jal Marg Vikas

Project (JMVP) to enhance navigation

on National Waterway-1 from

Varanasi to Haldia (West Bengal).

Look Further

Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP)

• The Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) on

NW-1 is being implemented with the

financial and technical support of the

World Bank.

• The major works being taken up

under JMVP are

(a) Development of fairway

(b) Multi-Modal Terminals

(c) Strengthening of river navigation

system,

(d) Conservancy works

(e) Modern River Information System

(RIS)

(f) Digital Global Positioning System

(DGPS) etc.

• The JMVP, which is expected to be

completed by March, 2023.

National Waterways in India

NW1

Allahabad-Haldia stretch of the Ganga—Bhagirathi-Hooghly Rivers

UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal

1620 km

NW2 Sadiya-Dhubri Stretch of Brahmaputra River

Assam 891 km

NW3

Kollam-Kozhikode Stretch of West Coast Canal and Champakara and Udyogmandal Canals

Kerala 365 km

NW4

Kakinada-Pondicherry along Godavari and Krishna River system

Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana

1095 km

NW5 Talcher – Paradip etc.

Odisha, West Bengal

588 km

NW6 (Proposed)

Lakhipur to Bhanga on the River Barak

Assam 71 km



source- AIR

4. Govt defers E-way bill implementation

due to technical glitches

• The government deferred

implementation of the requirement to

carry e-permits for interstate

transportation of goods following

technical glitches.

• GST provision requiring transporters

to carry an electronic waybill or e-way

bill when moving goods between

states was to be implemented from

February 1, 2018 to check rampant

tax evasion.

Look Further

E-way bill

• E-way bill is an electronic way bill for

movement of goods which can be

generated on the GSTN.

• E-way bill will bring uniformity across

the states for seamless inter-state

movement of goods.

GSTN

• A special GST Network (GSTN) was

created for GST implementation.

• The GSTN will provide a shared IT

infrastructure and services to Central

and State Governments, taxpayers

and other stakeholders for the

implementation of GST.

• Goods and Services Tax Network

(GSTN) is a Section 8 (under new

companies Act, not for profit

companies are governed under

section 8), non-Government, private

limited company.


Source- AIR

5. Prime Minister Modi's book “Exam

Warriors” released

• The book ‘Exam Warriors’ has been

released by the External Affairs

Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi.

• The book has been written by the

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and

published by Penguin India.

Exam Warriors: To inspire youth to

face the difficult moments of

examinations and life with fresh and

new energy.


Source-AIR


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6. KUSUM (Kisan Urja Suraksha Utthaan

Maha Abhiyaan) scheme to encourage

farmers for solar farming

• KUSUM scheme would provide

additional income to farmers, by

giving the option to sell additional

power to the grid, through solar

power projects set up on their barren

lands, the Minister informed.




and implementation.

Source- PIB

05, 06, 07.02.2018

President to inaugurate

Mahamastakabhisheka Utsav of Lord

Gommateshwara

• The 88th Mahamastakabhisheka

Utsav of Lord Gommateshwara will be

held in Sharavanabelagola in Hassan

district of Karnataka.

• Mahamastakabhiseka of

Gommateshwara, who is also known

as Bahubali takes place once in 12

years.

• It is an important Jain piligramage

centre and lakhs of tourists visit

Shravanbelagola to see 57 feet tall

monolithic stone statue that is

anointed from head to feet during the

Utsav.

Topic- GS-1-Indian Culture

Source- AIR

New Constitution Bench to examine

Citizenship Act

• The Supreme Court decided to refer to

a fresh Constitution Bench plea to

examine the validity of various

aspects of a provision of the

Citizenship Act 1955.

• The Bench will also review the cut-off

date for awarding citizenship to

Bangladeshi immigrants in Assam.

• Section 6A of the Act relates to

provisions for citizenship of people

covered by the Assam Accord.

Look Further

National Register of Citizens (NRC) of

the Assam

• Recently, Assam government

published the first draft of an updated

National Register of Citizens (NRC) of

the State.

• While the document is meant to

establish the credentials of a bona fide

citizen, there are several questions

surrounding the NRC.

• The publication of the first draft of the

NRC by December 31, 2017 was

ordered by the Supreme Court.

Why was it necessary to bring out an

NRC in Assam?

• The NRC is being updated in Assam to

detect Bangladeshi nationals, who

may have illegally entered the State

after the midnight of March 24, 1971,

the cut-off date.

Citizenship Provisions related to

Constitutions

• Articles 5-8 deal with the citizenship

of individuals who became citizens of

India at the commencement of the

Constitution. Also, these articles take

into account migration issues.

• No person shall be a citizen of India or

be deemed to be a citizen of India, if

he has voluntarily acquired the

citizenship of any foreign state (Article

9).

• Every person who is or is deemed to

be a citizen of India shall continue to

be such citizen, subject to the

provisions of any law made by

Parliament (Article 10).

• Parliament shall have the power to

make any provision with respect to

the acquisition and termination of

citizenship and all other matters

relating to citizenship (Article 11).

• The Parliament enacted the

Citizenship Act, 1955, which has been

amended in 1986, 1992, 2003, and

2005 and most recently in 2015.

• The five modes of acquisition of

citizenship as per the citizenship act

are

(a) By Birth

(b) By Descent


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(c) By Registration

(d) By Naturalization

(e) By acquisition of any other

territory into the Indian Union.

• Loss of Citizenship is by –

Termination, Renunciation and

Deprivation.

Constitutional Rights to the Indian

Citizens

• The Constitution confers the following

rights and privileges on the citizens of

India (and denies the same to aliens):

(a) Article 15, 16, 19, 29 & 30.

(b) Right to vote in elections to the

Lok Sabha and state legislative

assembly.

(c) Right to contest for the

membership of the Parliament and the

state legislature.

(d) Eligibility to hold certain public

offices, that is, President of India,

Vice-President of India, judges of the

Supreme Court and the high courts,

governor of states, attorney general

of India and advocate general of

states.

Topic- GS-2- Indian Polity

Source- The Hindu + Wiki

Finance Minister launches “CriSidEx”

• CriSidEx is a sentiment index for

micro and small enterprises (MSEs)

developed jointly by CRISIL and

SIDBI.

• CriSidEx is a composite index based

on a diffusion index of 8 parameters,

and measures MSE business

sentiment on a scale of 0 (extremely

negative) to 200 (extremely positive).

Topic- GS-3- Economic Development

Source- Livemint

Forecasting of Earthquakes and

Cyclones

• The Indian National Centre for Ocean

Information Services (INCOIS) has

the mandate of detecting

tsunamigenic earthquakes occurring

in the Indian Ocean as well as in the

Global Oceans.

• The India Tsunami Early Warning

Centre (ITEWC) established at

INCOIS, has the latest scientific

techniques to provide early warnings

for an impending tsunami to all

countries in the Indian Ocean region.

• Intergovernmental Oceanographic

Commission (IOC) of UNESCO has

designated ITEWC as the Tsunami

Service Provider (TSP) for the entire

Indian Ocean Region.

• Since 2012, ITEWC is providing

tsunami advisories and related

services to about 25 countries".

Topic- GS-3- Achievements of Indians in

science & technology; indigenization of

technology and developing new technology

Source- Business Standards

LTCG (long-term capital gains) tax on

equity

• LTCG or long-term capital gains refer

to the gains made on any class of

asset held for a particular period of

time.

• In case of equity shares, it refers to

the gains made on stocks held for

more than one year.

Why is LTCG tax in the news?

• Finance Minister re-introduced LTCG

tax on equity shares.

• Investors have to pay 10% LTCG tax

on gains exceeding ₹one lakh on the

sale of shares or equity mutual funds

held for more than one year.

• Previously, short-term capital gains

(STCG) tax of 15% was levied.

Was the tax levied on stock market

trades earlier?

• Such a tax existed until October 2004

when it was replaced by the securities

transaction tax (STT) which was

levied on all trades made on the stock

exchanges.


Source- The Hindu

First defence industrial corridor to link

Chennai with Bengaluru

• The first of the two defence industrial

production corridors will link Chennai

and Bengaluru.

• The government will develop two

defence industrial production

corridors.


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• The first corridor will link Chennai and

Bengaluru and will pass through

Coimbatore and several other

industrial clusters.

• The second corridor is not announced

till now.

• There has been increased in 7.81

percent hike in the defence budget

against last year allocation.



Source- Business Standard

Launch of Startup India Ranking

Framework

• Three new tools for States and Union

Territories for ranking of startups in

the country was launched by Union

Minister of Commerce and Industry.

• The tools are-

(a) The State and Union Territory Startup

Ranking Framework

(b) The Compendium of Good Practices for

Promoting Startups in India

(c) The Startup India Kit.

These will act as catalysts to help the Startup

India initiative to drive India’s economic

growth.




and implementation.

Source- PIB

First-ever Pelican Festival at Atapaka

Bird Sanctuary

• Andhra government has decided to

hold the first-of-its kind, one-day

Pelican Festival at the Atapaka Bird

Sanctuary on Kolleru lake in Andhra

Pradesh.

• Atapaka village is located on the

borders of the Krishna and the West

Godavari districts.

• Over 5,000 pelican birds from various

countries reach Kolleru lake every

year during winter by travelling over

3500 km.

Topic- GS-3- Environment

Source- New Indian Express

“Green Good Deeds” campaign

• The campaign is launched by the

Union Minister for Environment to

sensitise the people and students

about climate change and global

warming.



sectors

Source- PIB

World's Most Powerful Rocket “the

Falcon Heavy” Lifts Off Towards Mars

• SpaceX monster rocket, the Falcon

Heavy, was launched from the

Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

Topic- GS-3- Science and Technology

Source- NDTV

Scheme for Pension and Medical Aid to

Artistes’ (SPMAA)

• The objectives of this Scheme are to

improve financial and socio-economic

status of the old aged artistes and

scholars who have contributed

significantly in their specialized fields

of arts, letters etc.

• In order to be eligible under this

Scheme, personal income of the

applicant artiste (including income of

the spouse) must not exceed Rs.

4,000 per month or annual income of

Rs. 48,000.

Topic- GS-2-Welfare schemes for vulnerable


States

Source- PIB

08.02.2018

Cabinet approves Ratification of the

Minamata Convention on Mercury

• The Union Cabinet chaired has

approved the proposal for ratification

of Minamata Convention on Mercury

and depositing the instrument of

ratification enabling India to become

a Party of the Convention.

• The approval entails Ratification of the


along with flexibility for continued use

of mercury-based products and

processes involving mercury

compound up to 2025.

Look Further


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• The Minamata Convention on Mercury

is an international treaty designed to

protect human health and the

environment from anthropogenic

emissions and releases of mercury

and mercury compounds.

• The Convention is named after the

Japanese city Minamata.

• This naming is of symbolic importance

as the city went through a devastating

incident of mercury poisoning.

• The Minamata Convention provides

controls over a myriad of products

containing mercury, the manufacture,

import and export of which will be

altogether prohibited by 2020 (except

where countries have requested an

exemption for an initial 5-year

period).


Source- PIB + Wiki

Cabinet approves enhancement of target

under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic

Affairs has approved to enhance of the

target of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala

Yojana (PMUY) from five crores to

eight crores with an additional

allocation of Rs. 4,800 crores.

• The decision comes in the wake of

huge response to Pradhan Mantri

Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) from the

women particularly in rural areas and

to cover such households not having

LPG connection.

• The revised target of Pradhan Mantri

Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) will be

achieved by 2020.

Look Further

PMUY (Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana)

• Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was

launched by Prime Minister on May

1st, 2016 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh.

• It is an ambitious social welfare

scheme which aims to provide free

LPG connections to BPL households in

the country.

• The scheme is aimed at replacing the

unclean cooking fuels mostly used in

the rural India with the clean and

more efficient LPG (Liquefied

Petroleum Gas).

Topic- GS-2-Welfare schemes for vulnerable


States and the performance of these

schemes

Source- PIB

Cabinet approves Implementation of

‘Prime Minister Research Fellows

(PMRF)’

• The Union Cabinet approved

implementation of 'Prime Minister's

Research Fellows (PMRF)' scheme at a

total cost of Rs.1650 crore for a period

of seven years beginning 2018-19.

• The scheme has been announced in

the Budget Speech 2018-19.

• Under this scheme, the best students

who have completed or are in the final

year of B. Tech or Integrated M. Tech

or M.Sc. in Science and Technology

streams from

IISc/IITs/NITs/IISERs/IIITs will be

offered direct admission in PhD

programme in the IITs/IISc.

• The scheme will go a long way in

tapping the talent pool of the country

for carrying out research indigenously

in cutting edge science and

technology domains.

Topic-GS-3-Science and Technology

Source- PIB

Cabinet approves rationalization of

Autonomous Bodies under Department

of Health & Family Welfare

• The Union Cabinet has approved the

proposal for closure of Autonomous

Bodies, namely, Rashtriya Arogya

Nidhi (RAN) and Jansankhya Sthirata

Kosh (JSK).

• The functions of these bodies are

proposed to be vested in Department

of Health & Family Welfare (DoHFW).

Look Further

Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN)

• It was set up as a registered society

to provide financial medical assistance

to poor patients receiving treatment

in designated central government

hospitals.


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12

Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (JSK)

• It was set up with a corpus grant of

Rs.100 crores in the year 2003 to

raise awareness for population

stabilization strategies.

Background

• Based on the recommendations of

Expenditure Management

Commission, NITI Aayog had

undertaken a review of the 19

Autonomous Bodies, under the

DoHFW, that have been formed under

Societies Registration Act, 1860

(SRA).

• The main concern of the Government

is that Autonomous bodies are

required to be reviewed and

rationalised with a view to improve

their outcomes, effectiveness and

efficiency, utilisation of financial and

human resources.

Topic- GS-2-Governance

Source- PIB

RBI to link base rate with MCLR

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said

it will link the base rate for loans with

the marginal cost of funds-based

lending rate (MCLR) from 1 April to

improve monetary policy

transmission.

• This is likely to narrow the gap

between the base rate and MCLR, and

benefit borrowers who are still using

the base rate.

• The central bank expressed concern

that a large portion of bank loans

remain linked to the base rate despite

the introduction of the MCLR in April

2016.

Look Further

Base Rate

• It is the lending rate of banks below

which banks were not allowed to lend.

• Before the execution of MCLR rate,

this was the method to decide the

interest rate for loans.

Issues with Base Rate

• When the RBI decreases the repo

rate, it requires the banks to undergo

the periodic changes in their lending

rates and deposit rates as well. But

banks used to respond very lately.

• And when RBI increase the repo rate,

bank react fast and increase the

lending rate of interest.

• Base rate is revised on a quarterly

basis.

MCLR (Marginal cost of funds-based

lending rate)

• The new methodology uses the

marginal cost reflected in the interest

rate provided by the banks for

obtaining funds while setting their

lending rate. T

• his includes interest rates from both

the deposits and while borrowing from

RBI.

• Hence, the interest rate is given by a

bank for deposits and the repo rate

are the decisive factors in the MCLR

calculation.

• The MCLR is revised monthly by

considering factors such as the repo

rate and other borrowing rates that

were not considered under the base

rate system.

Topic- GS-3- Indian Economy

Source- Livemint

Bermuda becomes first country in world

to repeal same-sex marriage

• Bermuda has become the first country

to legalise and then repeal same-sex

marriage.

• Bermuda’s governor approved a bill

reversing the right of gay couples to

marry, despite a supreme court ruling

last year authorising same-sex

marriage.

Look Further

Bermuda

• Bermuda is a British Overseas

Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean.

• The capital city is Hamilton.

• Bermuda is self-governing, with its

own constitution and its own

government, which enacts local laws,

while the United Kingdom retains

responsibility for defence and foreign

relations.


Source- The Guardian


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13

Rail Development Authority

• Government has approved formation

of a Rail Development Authority

(RDA) comprising Chairman and

three Members.

• The objective underlying RDA is to get

expert advice/make informed decision

on:

(a) Pricing of services commensurate

with costs.

(b) Suggest measures for

enhancement of Non-Fare Revenue.

(c) Protection of consumer interests,

by ensuring quality of service and cost

optimization.

(d) Encouraging market development

and participation of stakeholders in

the rail sector

(e) Creating positive environment for

investment.

Topic- GS-3- Infrastructure: Energy, Ports,


Source- PIB

09.02.2018

India ranks 44 out of 50 nations in global

IP index

• India has ranked 44 out of 50

nations in the global Intellectual

Property (IP) index.

• The index is released by the US

Chambers of Commerce.

• Last year, India ranked 43rd out of 45

countries in the index.

• The US tops the list followed by United

Kingdom and Sweden.

Look Further

Intellectual property

• Intellectual property (IP) refers to

creations of the intellect for which a

monopoly is assigned to designated

owners by law.

Intellectual property rights

• Intellectual property rights (IPRs) are

the rights granted to the creators of

IP, and include trademarks, copyright,

patents, industrial design rights, and

in some jurisdictions trade secrets.

DIPP (Department of Industrial Policy &

Promotion)

• The Department of Industrial Policy &

Promotion was established in 1995

and has been reconstituted in the year

2000 with the merger of the

Department of Industrial

Development.

• Role and Functions-

(a) Formulation and implementation of

industrial policy

(b) Formulation of Foreign Direct Investment

(FDI) Policy and promotion, approval and

facilitation of FDI

(c) Formulation of policies relating to

Intellectual Property Rights etc.

CIPAM (Cell for IPR Promotion and

Management)

• A professional body under the aegis of

Department of Industrial Policy and

Promotion (DIPP) which ensures

focused action on issues related to

IPRs.

• CIPAM assists in simplifying and

streamlining of IP processes, apart

from undertaking steps for furthering

IPR awareness, commercialization

and enforcement.

World Intellectual Property

Organization (WIPO)

• The World Intellectual Property

Organization (WIPO) is a specialized

agencies of the United Nations (UN).

• WIPO was created in 1967 "to

encourage creative activity, to

promote the protection of intellectual

property throughout the world".

• WIPO currently has 191-member

states.

• It is headquartered in Geneva,

Switzerland.

TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of

Intellectual Property Rights)

• It is an international legal agreement

between all the member nations of

the World Trade Organization (WTO).

• It sets down minimum standards for

the regulation by national

governments of many forms of

intellectual property (IP) as applied to

nationals of other WTO member

nations.


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14

• TRIPS was negotiated at the end of

the Uruguay Round of the General

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

(GATT) in 1994 and is administered by

the WTO.

Topic- GS-3- Issues relating to intellectual

property rights.


Defence Minister appoints panel to

expedite capital acquisition

• Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

has constituted a 13-member

advisory committee to monitor and

expedite capital acquisition projects

for the modernisation of the armed

forces.

• The committee will be headed by

Vinay Sheel Oberoi, former secretary

in the government.

• The committee would suggest

measures to improve the capital

acquisition process.

• The panel will review various categories

of projects including "Buy" (Indian) and

"Buy and Make" (Indian).

• The committee has to undertake an

independent review and check the

status of ongoing critical projects

worth more than Rs 500 crore.

Topic- GS-3- Defence

Source- India Today

Cabinet approves putting ILO

recommendation before Parliament

• The Union Cabinet gave its approval

for placing the new instrument "the

Employment and Decent Work for

Peace and Resilience", adopted by

International Labour Organization

(ILO).

• India, during the International Labour

Conference of ILO in Geneva in June

2017, supported the adoption of the

Instrument, also called

Recommendation No. 205.

• The recommendation provides

guidance to member States on the

measures to be taken to generate

employment and decent work for the

purposes of prevention, recovery,

peace and resilience with respect to

crisis situations arising from conflicts

and disasters.

Look Further

ILO (International Labour Organization)

• The International Labour Organization

(ILO) is a United Nations agency

dealing with labour problems,

particularly international labour

standards, social protection, and work

opportunities for all.

• The ILO was founded in 1919.

• The ILO has 187-member states: 186

of the 193 UN member states plus the

Cook Islands are members of the ILO.

• The ILO organises the International

Labour Conference in Geneva every

year in June. It is also known as

“Parliament of Labour”.

• The ILO Recommendations do not

have the binding force of conventions

and are not subject to ratification.

• If the ILO conventions are ratified

by enough governments, they

become in force. However, ILO

conventions are considered

international labour standards

regardless of ratification.

• When a convention comes into force,

it creates a legal obligation for

ratifying nations to apply its

provisions.

Cook Islands

• The Cook Islands is a self-governing

island country in the South Pacific

Ocean in free association with New

Zealand.




and implementation.

Source- Business Standards + Wiki

Centre for Science and Environment top

green policy think tank in India

• The Centre for Science and

Environment (CSE) has been ranked

the top environment policy think

tanks in India while it has secured the

16th position in global rankings.

• It was on the 18th position last year.

• The rank was given by The Think

Tanks and Civil Societies Program

(TTCSP) of the Lauder Institute at the

University of Pennsylvania.


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15

• TTCSP conducts a research on the role

policy institutes play in governments

and civil societies around the world.

Look Further

Centre for Science and Environment

(CSE)

• It is a not-for-profit public interest

research and advocacy organisation

based in New Delhi, India.

• It was established in 1980.

• CSE 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.



Competition Commission of India fines

Google Rs 136 crore for ‘unfair practices’

• The Competition Commission of India

imposed a fine of Rs 136 crore on

Google for unfair business practices in

the Indian market for online search.

• After a detailed probe on the

complaints filed in 2012, the regulator

through a majority order said the

penalty is being imposed on Google

for “infringing anti-trust conduct”.

Look Further

Competition commission of India

• The Competition Commission of India

is a statutory body of the Government

of India responsible for enforcing The

Competition Act, 2002 throughout

India.

• The main aim of the CCI is to prevent activities that have an appreciable

adverse effect on competition in India.

Topic- GS-2- Statutory, regulatory and



10.02.2018

Ozone layer continues to deplete

• The ozone layer which protects life on

Earth from high-energy radiation is

actually thinning out in the lower

stratosphere, new research has

found.

• In the 20th century, when excessive

quantities of ozone-depleting

chlorinated and brominated

hydrocarbons were released into the

atmosphere, the ozone layer in the

stratosphere thinned out globally.

• The Montreal Protocol introduced a

ban on these long - lasting substances

in 1989.

• New study showed that despite the

ban on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs),

the concentration of ozone in the

lower part of the stratosphere (15 to

24 km) (where the ozone layer is at

its densest) has continued to decline.

Look Further

Montreal Protocol

• The Montreal Protocol (a protocol to

the Vienna Convention for the

Protection of the Ozone Layer) is an

international treaty designed to

protect the ozone layer by phasing out

the production of numerous

substances that are responsible for

ozone depletion.

• It was signed in 1987.

• The principal aim of Montreal Protocol

is to protect the ozone layer by taking

measures to control total

consumption of these chemicals.

Kigali Amendment

• It amends the 1987 Montreal Protocol.

• Its aims to reduce Hydrofluorocarbons

(HFCs) by roughly 80-85 Percent by

the late 2045.

• It will be binding on member countries

from 2019.

Decreasing order of concentration of

greenhouse gases in earth atmosphere

Water vapor (H2O) > Carbon dioxide (CO2) >

Methane (CH4) > Nitrous oxide (N2O) >

Ozone (O3) > Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) >

Hydrofluorocarbons (incl. HCFCs and HFCs)

Decreasing order of the gases on the

basis of Global Warming Potential

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)> Hexafluoroethane

(C2F6) >Tetrafluoromethane (CF4) > HCFC-

22 (CHClF2) >CFC-12 (CCl2F) >Nitrous oxide

(N2O) > Methane (CH4) > Carbon dioxide

(CO2)

Topic-



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Maldives crisis

• On February 6, the day after President

Abdulla Yameen of the Maldives

declared an Emergency and arrested

two judges of the Supreme Court.

• Mohamed Nasheed, the exiled former

President, implored India to send an

envoy, backed by its military, to

release judges & political detainees

including President.

Background

• The Maldives Supreme Court ordered

the release of several imprisoned

opposition lawmakers, ruling that

their trials were politically motivated.

• President Abdulla Yameen refused to

comply with the decision and instead

imposed a state of emergency for a

period of 15 days.

Operation Cactus

• In 1988, India had sent Indian forces

in the Maldives to resolve the crisis.

• This operation was named as

“Operation Cactus”.

• It was successful operation by Indian

Forces.

Topic-GS-2-International Relations

Source- Indian Express + CNBC

NGT penalises Rajasthan for polluting

Jodhpur river

• The National Green Tribunal (NGT)

imposed an environment

compensation of ₹10 lakh on the

Rajasthan government for failing to

control the discharge of domestic

sewage into a river Jojari in Jodhpur.

Look Further

National Green Tribunal

• NGT Act, 2010 is an Act of the

Parliament of India which enables

creation of a special tribunal to handle

the expeditious disposal of the cases

pertaining to environmental issues.

• It draws inspiration from the India's

constitutional provision of Article 21,

which assures the citizens of India the

right to a healthy environment.

• The Tribunal has Original Jurisdiction

on matters of "substantial question

relating to environment" & "damage

to environment due to specific

activity".


Source- The Hindu

Rafale Jet controversy

• Rafale fighter aircraft built by

Dassault Aviation of France.

• The deal for the 36 aircraft was signed

by at that time defence minister

Parrikar and his French counterpart

Jean-Yves Le Drian on September 23,

2016.

Issues

• The Opposition parties have alleged

that the NDA government bought 36

Rafale fighter aircraft at a much

higher price than the one that was

being negotiated for 126 aircraft by

the previous UPA government.

• The Opposition has also alleged that

the deal for the 36 aircraft does not

include transfer of technology,

whereas, in the older proposal, 108 of

the 126 fighters were to be assembled

by the Bengaluru-based Hindustan

Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

• The current deal, however, has a 50%

offset component — Dassault has

agreed to manufacture items worth

50% of the deal in India.

• But the Opposition alleges that the

discharge of offsets has been done to

favour a particular private Indian

defence company.

And has it been the practice generally to

share the cost of defence deals with

Parliament?

• In several cases, costs have been

shared.

• In others, those details have been

kept secret for reasons of national

security.

• But the government is duty-bound to

share the full pricing details with the

Comptroller and Auditor General

(CAG) and the Public Accounts

Committee (PAC) of Parliament.

Topic- GS-2- Indian Polity

GS-3-Defence



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India successfully test-fires nuclear

capable Prithvi-II

• India successfully test-fired its

indigenously developed nuclear

capable Prithvi-II missile as part of a

user trial by the Army from a test

range in Odisha.

Prithvi Missile

• Prithvi is a tactical surface-to-surface

short-range ballistic missile (SRBM)

developed by DRDO of India under the

Integrated Guided Missile

Development Program (IGMDP).

• Prithvi was the first missile to be

developed under the IGMDP program.

• It can carry a nuclear warhead.

Variants of Prithvi Missile

• Prithvi I – Army version (150 km

range with a payload of 1,000 kg)

• Prithvi II – Air Force version (350 km

range with a payload of 500 kg)

• Prithvi III – Naval version (350 km


Look Further

Integrated Guided Missile Development

Programme (IGMDP)

• The project started in 1982–83 and

bestowed under the leadership of

Abdul Kalam who oversaw its ending

in 2008 after these strategic missiles

were successfully developed.

• Thus, four projects, to be pursued

concurrently, were born under the

IGMDP:

(a) Short range surface-to-surface

missile (code-named Prithvi)

(b) Short range low-level surface-to-

air missile (code-named Trishul)

(c) Medium range surface-to-air

missile (code-named Akash) and

(d) Third-generation anti-tank missile

(code-named Nag).

Topic- GS-3-Defence


12.02.2018

1. SC stays new Tribunal Rules

• The Supreme Court stayed the

applicability of new provisions of the

Central Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal

and other Authorities.

• These provisions include

(Qualification, experience and other

conditions of service of members)

Rules, 2017 which gave the

government primacy in making key

appointments to tribunals, including

the National Green Tribunal.

Look Further

Background

• The Supreme Court in July 2017

issued notice to the Centre on a

petition challenging the constitutional

validity of Finance Act, 2017, as it

“purports to” change the constitution

of tribunal and adversely affect

“functioning and independence” of the

body.

• The plea was filed by an NGO, said the

Act would destroy independent

functioning of 19 tribunals, including

the National Green Tribunal.

• The Finance Act, which came into

effect from 1st April, led to the

framing of the Tribunal, Appellate

Tribunal and other Authorities Rules,

2017.

• And they allegedly gave unbridled

powers to the Executive to decide

Constitution, qualifications of

members, their appointments and

removal, among others.

Tribunals

• Article 323-A and Article 323-B of the

constitution deals with the Tribunals.

• These articles were added through

42nd amendment Act, 1976 as Part

XIV-A in the constitution.

• Article 323-A authorizes parliament to

setup administrative tribunals for the

purpose of setting disputes &

complains involving civil services.

• Article 323-B deals with tribunals for

other matters.


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18

Topic- GS-2- Statutory, regulatory and



2. Gross NPAs decline marginally to

9.8%

• As per RBI data, combined Gross non-

performing assets (NPAs) of

Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs)

have declined marginally from 10

percent as on June 30, 2017 to 9.8

percent as on September 30, 2017.

Look Further

Stressed Asset

• It comprises of NPA (Non- performing

assets), Restructured loans and

Written off assets.

Non-performing assets

• When loan interest/instalment

remained due more than 90 days

Restructured loans

• When loan is restructured by giving

extra time, lower the interest rate etc.

Written off assets

• When inventory assets lose some or

all their value.

Basel Norms-

• The objective of these norms to

ensure that financial institutions have

enough capital on their account so

that they can absorb unexpected

losses.

Mission Indradhanush

• It is a central government scheme to

revamp functioning of Public Sector

Banks.

• It was launched in 2015.

• This scheme has 7 major points, these

are –

1. Appointments

2. Board of Bureau

3. Capitalisation

4. De-stressing Public-sector banks

5. Empowerment

6. Framework of accountability

7. Governance reforms



3. Smart City Mission: Govt releases Rs

9,940 crore to states

• The Centre has released nearly Rs

9,940 crore to states so far for the

Smart City Mission.

Look Further

Smart City Mission-

• Smart Cities Mission is an urban

renewal and retrofitting program by

the Government of India with the

mission to develop 100 cities across

the country making them citizen

friendly and sustainable.

• The Union Ministry of Urban

Development is responsible for

implementing the mission in

collaboration with the state

governments of the respective cities.

• The objective is to promote cities that

provide core infrastructure and give a

decent quality of life to its citizens, a

clean and sustainable environment

and application of ‘Smart’ Solutions.




and implementation.


4. Home Minister inaugurates "Hunar

Haat" platform for artisans from

minority communities

Hunar Haat

• It is an exhibition organized by the

Minority Affairs Ministry to encourage,

promote and provide national and

international market to

artisans/craftsmen belonging to the

Minority communities from across the

country.

• It is organized under USTTAD

(Upgrading the Skills & Training in

Traditional Arts/Crafts for

Development) scheme of Ministry of

Minority Affairs.

Look Further

Schemes for Minority

“Seekho aur Kamao (Learn & Earn)”

• This is a placement linked skill

development scheme for minorities

aiming to upgrade the skills of

minority youth in various

modern/traditional skills.


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19

• The scheme ensures placements of

minimum 75% trainees, out of which

at least 50% placement is in

organized sector.

Upgrading the Skills and Training in

Traditional Arts/ Crafts for Development

(USTTAD)

• Scheme has been launched on 14th

May, 2015 to preserve the rich

heritage of traditional arts/crafts of

minorities.

• The training programme support with

following activities to ensure that the

desired outcomes are achieved for

preservation of traditional art/craft,

establishment of market linkages and

generating interest among young

generation for taking up traditional

arts/crafts as a profession.

Nai Manzil

• Scheme has been launched on 8th

August, 2015 with an aim to benefit

the minority youth who do not have a

formal school education.

• The scheme provides them formal

education and skills, and enable them

to seek better employment in the

organized sector and thus to equip

them for better lives.

UDAAN

• It provides exposure to the youth of

J&K to the best of corporate India and

corporate India to the rich talent pool

available in the State.

• The scheme not only provides skill

enhancement and job opportunity

but also connects these bright youths

from the J&K with the vibrant

corporate sector of India.

Nai Roshni

• Nai Roshni- “The Scheme for

Leadership Development of Minority

Women” with an aim to empower and

instil confidence in minority women.

• The scheme provides knowledge, tool

and techniques for interacting with

Government system, banks and other

institutions at all levels. I

• It is implemented through Non-

Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

all over the country.

• The scheme permits a mix of women

from non-minority communities not

exceeding 25% of a project proposal.



States

Source- PIB + Indian Express

5. WCD Ministry considering setting up

National Women Entrepreneurship

Council

• The Ministry of Women and Child

Development is considering to

establish National Women

Entrepreneurship Council (NWEC).

• NWEC will promote entrepreneurship

as it would be the umbrella

organization for socio-economic

gender parity, financial inclusion and

economic empowerment of women in

India.



sectors

Source- PIB

6. Govt launches “ASH TRACK” app to

monitor fly ash from thermal plants

• In order to promote better

management of thermal power Union

power minister launched web-based

monitoring system and a mobile

application named “ASH TRACK”.

• ASH TRACK shows coal-based power

plants situated within the radius of

100 km and 300 km from the user’s

location.

• Therefore, any app user can select

power station from where he wants to

take fly ash.



7. Prime Minister Modi conferred ‘Grand

Collar of the State of Palestine’

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi

conferred the ‘Grand Collar of the

State of Palestine’ recognising his key

contribution to promote relations

between India and Palestine.

• Prime Minister Modi is the first Indian

Prime Minister to make an official visit

to Palestine.


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• The Grand Collar is Highest order

given to foreign dignitaries.


Source- The Hindu

8. Mumbai is 12th richest city globally

• India’s financial capital Mumbai, with

a total wealth of $950 billion, has

been named among the top 15

wealthiest cities globally.

• The list of 15 wealthiest cities was

topped by New York.

• The report is published by New World

Wealth.



13.02.2018

World's freshwater bodies choked with

phosphorus

• India ranks second in global

phosphorus pollution by human

activity.

• Phosphorus levels in our freshwater

bodies are escalating and this could

pose a serious threat to the

ecosystem, warns a new report in

Water Resources Research.

• Calculating the total global

anthropogenic (caused by human

activity) phosphorus pollution, China

contributed the most with 30%,

followed by India (8%), and the USA

(7%).

Point pollution

• The researchers analysed the

pollution from point sources first. i.e.,

the pollution from a single identifiable

source like sewage pipes.

• Breaking it down by country, the

largest contributor was China,

followed by USA and then India.

Non-point sources of pollution

• Non-point sources of pollution like

erosion, run-off and leaching

contributed to the other half of the

pollution.

• The domestic sector was the largest

contributor of phosphorus accounting

for 54%, followed by agriculture

(38%) and industry (8%).

• The report points out that the

phosphorus load from agricultural

fields increased by 27% over the

study period (2002 to 2010) due to

the extensive use of mineral fertilizers

and manure.

Grey-water footprints

• Grey-water footprint is the amount of

freshwater required to dilute the

pollutants.

• It can also indicate whether the water

body can handle the pollution or get

affected by it.

• Eutrophication (sudden increase in

nutrients in a water body leading to

outburst in algae, floating plants,

microbes etc) due to phosphorus

pollution causes algal blooms, which

can lead to the mortality of fish and

plants due to lack of oxygen and light.

• It also reduces the use of the water

for human purposes.

Polluted river basins

• The Huang He river basin of China

ranked first, followed by the Indus

river basin.

• The Ganges basin ranked fourth in the

list of polluted river basins.


Source- The Hindu

Three new eel species found in Bay of

Bengal

• Scientists have discovered three new

species of eel along the northern Bay

of Bengal coast.

• These are-

(a) Dark brow Gymnothorax

pseudotile was discovered at the

Digha coast of the Bay of Bengal.

(b) Gymnothorax visakhaensis

(uniformly brown) discovered from

the Visakhapatnam coast of the Bay of

Bengal

(c) Enchelycore propinqua (reddish

brown body mottled with irregular

creamy white spots) discovered from

the Visakhapatnam coast of the Bay of

Bengal

• Eels are found mostly at the bottom of

rivers and seas.

Topic- GS-3- Biodiversity

Source- The Hindu


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21

New power plants only within 500 km of

coal field

• The Ministry of Power has decided that

new plants, except extension units of

the existing ones, would now be set

up only within 500 km of a coal field.

• The central government has been

facing the coal scarcity issues for last

few months.

• To battle this issue, the central

government took this decision.




Kerala, Punjab, T.N. top NITI Aayog’s

health index report

• Kerala, Punjab and Tamil Nadu were

the top rankers in NITI Aayog’s latest

Health Index report.

• For the first time, attempted to

establish an annual systematic tool to

measure and understand the

heterogeneity and complexity of the

nation’s performance in the health

sector.

• This Index is expected to nudge states

towards further achieving a rapid

transformation of their health systems

and population health outcomes.

Topic- GS-2- Issues relating to development

and management of Social Sector/Services

relating to Health, Education, Human

Resources.

Source- The Hindu

Cabinet approves proposal for

Amendment to the Micro, Small and

Medium Enterprises Development Act,

2006

• The Union Cabinet has approved

change in the basis of classifying

Micro, Small and Medium enterprises

from ‘investment in plant &

machinery/equipment’ to ‘annual

turnover’.

• Section 7 of the Micro, Small and

Medium Enterprises Development

(MSMED) Act, 2006 will accordingly

be amended to define units producing

goods and rendering services in terms

of annual turnover as follows:

(a) A micro enterprise will be

defined as a unit where the annual

turnover does not exceed five crore

(b) A small enterprise will be


turnover is more than five crore

rupees but does not exceed Rs 75

crore

(c) A medium enterprise will be


turnover is more than seventy-five

crore rupees but does not exceed

Rs 250 crore.


Source- PIB

PM lays foundation stone for first Hindu

temple in Abu Dhabi

• Prime Minister officially launched the

foundation stone-laying ceremony for

the first Hindu temple in the capital of

the UAE, home to over three million

people of Indian origin.

• This is the first stone temple to be

built in Abu Dhabi.

• It will be completed by 2020.


Source- Hindustan Times

PM visited Motishwar Shiva temple in

Oman

• Prime Minister visited the Shiva

Temple in Muscat (Oman) also known

as Motishwar Mandir.

• The temple was constructed 109

years ago.

• The Temple is believed to have been

constructed by the Bhatia merchant

community from Kutch, which settled

in Muscat as early as 1507.



14.02.2018

Forest and tree cover up by 1% in 2

years in India- India State of Forest

Report 2017

• India’s tree and forest cover has

registered an increase of 1% or 8,021

sq. km in two years since 2015,

according to the India State of Forest

Report (ISFR) 2017.


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22

• ISFR is released every two years.

• India is ranked 10th in the world, with

8,02,088 sq. km or 24.4% of land

area under forest and tree cover.

• According to the report, the total

forest cover is 7,08,273 sq. km, which

is 21.54% of the total geographical

area of the country.

• The increase in the forest cover has

been observed as 6,778 sq. km and

that of tree cover as 1,243 sq. km.

• The very dense forest in India has also

increased by 1.36% as compared to

2015. Very dense forest (VDF) absorb

maximum carbon dioxide from the

atmosphere.

• Largest forest cover in the

country in terms of area-

Madhya Pradesh (77,414 sq. km)>

Arunachal Pradesh (66,964 sq. km)>

Chhattisgarh (55,547 sq. km)

• In terms of percentage of forest

cover with respect to the total

geographical area-

Lakshadweep with (90.33%)>

Mizoram (86.27%)> Andaman and

Nicobar Island (81.73%)

• The main reasons for the decrease are

shifting cultivation, other biotic

pressures, rotational felling, diversion

of forest lands for developmental

activities, submergence of forest

cover, agriculture expansion and

natural disasters.

• State in which maximum forest cover

has increased- Andhra Pradesh (2,141

sq. km)

• State in which maximum forest cover

has decreased- Mizoram (531 sq. km)

• The survey has for the first time

assessed water bodies inside forest

cover have increased by 2,647 sq. km

during last decade.

• State in which maximum water bodies

area increased is- Maharashtra

• The present assessment also reveals

that 15 States and Union Territories

(UTs) have above 33% of the

geographical area under forest cover.


GS-1- Indian Geography

Source- The Hindu

India gets access to strategic Oman port

Duqm for military use, Chabahar-

Gwadar in sight

• In a strategic move to expand its

footprint in the Indian Ocean region,

India has secured access to the key

Port of Duqm in Oman for military use

and logistical support.

• This is part of India’s maritime

strategy to counter Chinese influence

and activities in the region.

• The services of Duqm port and dry

dock will be available for maintenance

of Indian military vessels.

Look Further

Port Duqm

• The Port of Duqm is situated on the

southeastern seaboard of Oman,

overlooking the Arabian Sea and the

Indian Ocean.

• It is strategically located, in close

proximity to the Chabahar port in Iran.

Other Projects by India

• Assumption Island- in Seychelles

• Agalega Islands- in Mauritius

Topic-


Wakhan Corridor- A corner of

Afghanistan untouched by Taliban

• It was created in the 19th century as a Great Game buffer zone between tsarist

Russia and British India, the corridor

has since remained untouched by any

kind of government.

• It is also known as by its Persian name

Bam-e-Dunya, or “roof of the world”.

• The area is dominated by the Wakhi-

the nomadic Kyrgyz tribe.

• It can be accessed from surrounding

countries through the “Pamir Knot”,

where three of the highest mountain

ranges in the world converge.

Topic- GS-3- International Relations

Source- The Hindu

RBI relaxes priority sector lending rule

for banks

• Reserve Bank of India has made

banks' priority sector norms lenient by

saying that all loans to micro small

and medium enterprises (MSME) will

henceforth qualify as priority sector

lending.


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23

• Till date, loans up to Rs 10 crore per

MSME borrower was considered for

priority sector calculation.

• The central bank has however told

foreign banks with 20 or more

branches to adhere to the priority

sector sub-targets for farm loans and

loans to micro enterprises to make the

rule equal with other banking entities.

• This will be applicable from 2018-19.

Look Further

• Priority Sector includes the following

categories:

(i) Agriculture

(ii) Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

(iii) Export Credit

(iv) Education

(v) Housing

(vi) Social Infrastructure

(vii) Renewable Energy

(viii) Others



Why new Poland law reopens wounds of

World War-II

• On February 6, Poland adopted a law

to prosecute, and send to jail for three

years, anyone who holds the nation

responsible for Nazi war crimes.

• Several academics and countries such

as the United States and Israel

criticized the law, saying it was vague

and could be abused.

What’s the background of the law?

• World War II began with the

annexation of Poland by Nazi

Germany in 1939.

• Only a few thousand among the

country’s nearly three million Jews

survived.

• Many commentators, including some

Holocaust survivors, have alleged that

sections of the Polish population at the

time collaborated in the killings.

What does the new law say?

• The new law forbids discussion on

Polish involvement in Nazi war crimes.

• Whoever claims, publicly and contrary

to the facts, that the Polish Nation or

the Republic of Poland is responsible

or co-responsible for Nazi crimes,

shall be liable to a fine or

imprisonment for up to 3 years.

But why is Israel upset?

• Israel says the law will curb free

speech, criminalise basic historical

facts, and stop any discussion

regarding the role some Poles played

in Nazi crimes.

Topic- GS-3-International Affairs


Acetylene leak may have triggered blast

on ONGC ship in Cochin Shipyard

• The “tendency to bypass safety

procedures and the overconfidence of

workers” might have triggered fatal

accident at the Cochin Shipyard.

• A preliminary inspection points to a

leak in the huge quantity of acetylene

that was being stored (for welding

work).

• It is inflammable in the 3% to 100%

range (meaning it triggers an

explosion even when oxygen is

absent).”

Look Further

Acetylene

• Acetylene (ethyne) is the chemical

compound with the formula C2H2.

• This colourless gas is widely used as a

fuel and a chemical building block.

Application of Acetylene

• Welding

• Used for carburization (that is,

hardening) of steel

• Portable lighting

• Used to volatilize carbon in

radiocarbon dating etc.


Source- The Hindu

15.02.2018

Tamil Nadu among nine global market

leaders in renewables

• Nine major global power markets,

including India's Tamil Nadu, have

achieved an outsize share of wind and

solar generation while assuring the

security of supply.


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24

• It showed in a report by US-based

Institute for Energy Economics and

Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

• The report is titled as 'Power-Industry

Transition, Here and Now' and topped

by Denmark followed by South

Australia and Uruguay respectively.

• Indian state Tamilnadu is ranked at

9th

• Wind and solar accounted for 14.3 per

cent of Tamil Nadu's total electricity

generation in 2016-17.

Look Further

• Tamil Nadu was the host of the largest

single-site utility-scale solar project

operational in the world at the end of

2016. This facility has a total capacity

of 648 MW.

• Last year China commissioned an 800

MW solar project, taking the title of

the largest solar farm.

• At Bhadla (Jodhpur) in Rajasthan,

India has a 2.2 GW solar facility under

construction, with almost half of this

already commissioned.




India-Bangladesh 'Friendship Gate'

• Meghalaya Governor inaugurated the

"Friendship Gate" constructed with an

aim to have a Wagah-like beating

retreat ceremony for the Indian and

Bangladesh border guards.

• The Friendship Gate has been

constructed near Integrated Check

post, 90 km South of capital Shillong

on border with Bangladesh.

Look Further

Important International Borders of

India

• Wagah Border, Punjab (India-

Pakistan)

• Moreh, Manipur (India- Myanmar)-

India-Myanmar friendship gate

• Nathu La Pass, Sikkim (India- China)

• Attari, Punjab (India- Pakistan)

• Longewala, Rajasthan (India-

Pakistan)

• Dawki-Tamabil, Meghalaya (India-

Bangladesh)

• Jaigaon, West Bengal (India –

Bhutan)

Topic- GS-2- Bilateral agreements involving

India and/or affecting India’s interests

GS-3- Indian Geography

Source- NDTV + Wiki

Defence Acquisition Council approves

acquisitions worth over Rs 15,000 crore

• The Defence Acquisition Council

(DAC) chaired by Defence Minister

Nirmala Sitharaman approved capital

acquisition proposals of the defence

services, valued at Rs 15,935 crore.

• These included the procurement of

Light Machine Guns for the three

services, Advanced Torpedo Decoy

Systems for enhancing the anti-

submarine warfare capabilities etc.

Look Further

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)

• The DAC is Defence Ministry’s highest

decision-making body for capital

acquisition proposals forwarded by

the Indian armed forces.

• It was set up in 2001 as part of the

post-Kargil reforms in defence sector.

• It is headed by defence minister.

• It approves the long-term integrated

perspective plan for the forces,

accords acceptance of necessity

(AON) to begin acquisition proposals,

and grant’s its approval to all major

deals through all their important

phases.



West Bengal becomes first state to opt

out of ‘Modicare’

• West Bengal became the first state to

opt out of the National Health

Protection Scheme unveiled in the

Union Budget.

• In this scheme 40% of the fund has to

come from states.

Look Further

Ayushman Bharat for a new India -2022

• The Government announced two

major initiatives in health sector, as

part of Ayushman Bharat programme.


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25

• The initiatives are- (i) Health and

Wellness Centre (ii) National Health

Protection Scheme

Health and Wellness Centre

• National Health Policy, 2017 has

envisioned Health and Wellness

Centres as the foundation of India’s

health system.

• Under this 1.5 lakh centres will bring

health care system closer to the

homes of people.

• These centres will provide

comprehensive health care, including

for non-communicable diseases and

maternal and child health services.

• These centres will also provide free

essential drugs and diagnostic

services.

• The Budget has allocated Rs.1200

crore for this flagship programme.

National Health Protection Scheme

• The National Health Protection

Scheme that will cover over 10 crore

poor and vulnerable families, or

around 50 crore people.

• The scheme, set to be the world’s

largest government-funded

healthcare programme.

• The coverage of up to ₹5 lakh a

family a year will be provided for

secondary- and tertiary-care

hospitalisation.



States

Source- Times of India + PIB

Tanzania withdraws from UN refugee

programme

• Tanzanian has announced a pull out of

the UN's "comprehensive refugee

response framework".

• UN refugee programme provides

lasting solutions for refugees,

including integration into host

communities.

• Tanzania has decided to withdraw for

reasons of security and lack of funds.

• Tanzania has long been considered a

safe haven for refugees, particularly

from Burundi and the Democratic

Republic of Congo.

Look Further

UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency)

• It is a United Nations programme with

the mandate to protect refugees,

forcibly displaced communities and

stateless people, and assist in their

voluntary repatriation, local

integration or resettlement to a third

country.

• UNHCR stands for the Office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees and was created in 1950,

during the aftermath of World War II.

• Its headquarters are in Geneva,

Switzerland.

New York Declaration for refugees (UN

comprehensive refugee response

framework)

• In September 2016, the UN General

Assembly adopted a non-binding

political declaration, the New York

Declaration for Refugees and

Migrants, pledging to uphold the

rights of refugees, help them resettle

and ensure they have access to

education.

• Recently US also announced to

withdrawn from a United Nations pact

to improve the handling of migrant

and refugee situations, deeming it

“inconsistent” with its policies.



structure, mandate.


Government extends anti-narcotics

scheme for 3 more years

• The government has extended the

anti-narcotics scheme for 3 more

years to combat illicit trafficking in

drugs and psychotropic substance.

• The purpose of the scheme is to assist

states and Union Territories, which

are contributing in controlling the

inter-state and cross-border drug

trafficking.

• According to the latest assessments,

there are approximately 40 lakh drug

addicts in the country.

• The most common drugs of abuse are

ganja, hashish, opium and heroin.


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26

• The scheme was first launched on

October 24, 2004 for a period of five

years and later extended twice in

subsequent years.



States

Source- AIR

16.02.2018

Supreme Court reduces Tamil Nadu’s

share in Cauvery water

• The Supreme Court pronounced its

verdict on the decades-old Cauvery

water sharing dispute between the

south Indian states of Tamil Nadu,

Karnataka, Kerala and the Union

territory of Puducherry.

• The top court ruled that 177.25 TMC

of Cauvery water will be released for

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka will get an

additional 14.75 TMC.

• The court also said that 20 TMC of

ground water in Tamil Nadu had not

been accounted for and needed to be

seen.

Kaveri River water dispute

• The sharing of waters of the Kaveri

River has been the source of a serious

conflict between the two states of

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

• Tamil Nadu has been accusing

Karnataka of not releasing its due

share of water.

• Whereas, Karnataka has expressed its

inability to release the stipulated

quantum of water owing to the

drought situation in the state.

• Kerala and Puducherry are the

other two states party to the dispute.

• The dispute was adjudicated by the

Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal

(CWDT) in 2007.

• In 2007, the Cauvery Water Disputes

Tribunal (CWDT) had ordered 419

TMC for Tamil Nadu, 270 TMC for

Karnataka, 30 TMC for Kerala & seven

TMC for Puducherry.

• The actual release of water by

Karnataka to Tamil Nadu is to be 192

TMC annually. Further, Kerala will get

30 TMC and Puducherry 7 TMC.

• The tribunal’s order was challenged by

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Look Further

CWC (Central Water Commission)-

• Central Water Commission (CWC), an

apex organization in the country in

the field of Water Resources.

• CWC advise the Government of India

in respect of Water Resources

Development, regarding rights and

disputes between different States

which affect any scheme for the

conservation and utilization and any

matter that may be referred to the

Commission.

Inter-state Water Dispute Act, 1956

• Inter State Water Dispute Act, 1956,

provides legal framework to address

such issues, a tribunal can be formed

after a state government approaches

the Union government with such a

request and the Centre is convinced of

the need to form the tribunal.

• There is no time-limit for adjudication

by a tribunal.

Mahadayi River water dispute

• The river rises in the Western Ghats,

in Karnataka’s Belagavi district, and

flows in westerly direction, entering

Goa in the Sattari taluk of North Goa

• The dispute started in the 80s and

escalated through the early 90s, as

Karnataka designed a chain of dams

and canals to channel the Mahadayi’s

water to the basin of the Malaprabha,

tributary of the Krishna.

• In 2002, Goa sought the setting up of

a Tribunal to adjudicate the dispute.

• In 2006, it moved the Supreme Court

to press its demand.

• After attempts at negotiation failed,

the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal

was set up on November 16, 2010.

Ravi-Beas River Water Dispute

• Ravi- Beas Waters Tribunal was

constituted in 1986 for verification of

the quantum of usage of water

claimed by Punjab, Haryana and

Rajasthan regarding their shares in

remaining waters.


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27

Topic- GS-2-Statutory, regulatory and



Tri-service maritime exercise “Paschim

Lehar”

• Tri services maritime exercise

“Paschim Lehar” was held in western

coast of India between Naval forces,

Indian army and Indian Airforce.

• The objective of the exercise is to

build interoperability between all

forces.

Topic-GS-3-Defence


Govt sees huge potential for organic

farming in A&N islands

• Andaman and Nicobar Islands has

huge potential to scale up organic

farming.

• Currently, organic farming is being

taken up on a small scale in about 321

hectares of the Union Territory.

• The island has immense potential and

is favourably placed for organic

farming due to less use of chemical

fertilisers and abundant species.

Look Further

Adverse effect of Chemical fertiliser

• The environment and social and

economic issues are linked to

chemical fertiliser-based farming.

• Large part of chemicals is absorbed by

the soil, air, and plants.

• Spraying of chemicals pollutes

faraway plants and they seep into the

ground and pollute water sources.

• Use of chemicals has led to climate

change and created ecological

imbalance and it is affecting human

beings too.

Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojajna

• Launched in 2016.

• Improve organic farming and soil

health.

• Also known as Traditional Farming

Improvement Programme.

Note-

• Sikkim has become India's first fully

organic state by implementing organic

practices on around 75,000 hectares

of agricultural land.

Topic- GS-3-Agriculture


Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship

Programme

• The Ramalingaswami Re-entry

Fellowship was conceived in the year

2006-07.

• To encourage scientists (Indian

Nationals) working outside the

country and would like to return to the

home country to pursue their research

interests in Modern Biology,

Biotechnology, Life Sciences and

other related areas.

• The principal aim of the scheme is to

improve the country’s human

resource capacity in life sciences,

modern biology and biotechnology

research.

• The overall idea is to provide a fertile

environment to the fellows, who have

returned to India in terms of

resources and funding.

• The fellows also would be made aware

of the current scientific scenario of the

country and the pressing issues that

need to be immediately addressed so

that the enthusiastic scientists can

work together for the progress of the

country.


Source- PIB

Govt to change base year for GDP, IIP to

2017-18

• The government is considering to

change the base year to 2017-18 for

the calculation of gross domestic

product (GDP), Index of Industrial

Production (IIP) and 2018 for

Consumer Price Index.

Look Further

Price Indices in India

• Various weighted price indices are

calculated in India. These are-

Note- Currently, in India inflation rate

is measured with the help of

Consumer Price Index- combined.


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28

Wholesale Price Index

• It measures the change in the price of

commodities traded in the wholesale

market.

• It is also known as headline inflation.

• Current base year- 2011-12.

• Published by- Economic Advisor,

Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

Old Consumer Price Index-

(a) Consumer Price Index for Industrial

Workers (CPI- IW)

• Current base year- 2001

• Published by- Labour Bureau

(b) Consumer Price Index for Urban

Non- Manual Employees (CPI- UNME)

• Published by- CSO (Central Statistics

Office, Ministry of Statistics)

• It has been discontinued.

(c) Consumer Price Index for Agriculture

Labourers (CPI-AL)

• It is a subset of CPI-RL.

• Current base year- 1986-87


(d) Consumer Price Index for Rural

Labourers (CPI- RL)

• Current base year- 1986-87


New Consumer Price Index (Introduced

in February 2011)

(a) CPI (Rural)


• Published by- CSO (Central Statistics

Office, Ministry of Statistics)

(b) CPI (Urban)


• Published by- CSO

(c) CPI (Combined)


• Published by- CSO

• Currently, in India inflation rate is

measured with the help of Consumer

Price Index- combined.


Source- AIR

17.02.2018

India's second lunar mission

Chandrayan-2 to be launched in April

• The lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2 will

be launched in April.

• Chandrayaan-2 will be ISRO’s first

inter-planetary mission to land a rover

on any celestial body.

• It will cost nearly Rs 800 crore, will be

made to land near the yet-unexplored

south pole.

• The south-pole of the moon is a “very

tricky area” with rocks formed a

million years ago.

• This could possibly help us understand

the origin of universe.

Look Further

Chandrayaan-1

• Chandrayaan-1 was India's first lunar

probe.

• It was launched by the Indian Space

Research Organisation in October

2008, and operated until August

2009.

• India launched the spacecraft using a

PSLV-XL C11 from Satish Dhawan

Space Centre.

• It is under Chandrayaan-1 mission

that the ISRO spotted water on the

moon.


Source- Indian Express + AIR

Orangutan population under threat at

Borneo Island

• A research found that 50 percent drop

out in the orangutan population on the

island of Borneo from 1999 to 2015.

• The reasons behind the decreasing

population of Orangutan includes-

(a) Hunting by people

(b) Habitation destruction by oil palm,

paper, logging and mining industries

Look Further

Orangutan

• The orangutans are three extant

species of great apes native to

Indonesia and Malaysia.

• Three Extant species are-

(a) Bornean orangutan

(b) Sumatran orangutan


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29

(c) Tapanuli orangutan

• Orangutans currently inhabit lowland

forests on Borneo, an island shared by

Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, and

Indonesia's island of Sumatra.

Borneo Islands

• It is the third-largest island in the

world and the largest in Asia.

• It is located north of Java, west of

Sulawesi (Island in Indonesia), and

east of Sumatra.

• The island is politically divided among

three countries: Malaysia and Brunei

in the north, and Indonesia to the

south.

• Approximately 73% of the island is

Indonesian territory.

Topic- GS-3-Bio Diversity

GS-1-World Geography


New antibiotic “malacidins” discovered

in dirt

• US scientists have discovered a new

family of antibiotics in soil samples.

• The natural compounds could be used

to combat hard-to-treat infections.

• The compound is called malacidins,

annihilate several bacterial diseases

that have become resistant to most

existing antibiotics, including the

superbug MRSA.

• Drug-resistant diseases are one of the

biggest threats to global health.


Source- BBC

Indian engineer awarded sci-tech Oscar

Award

• Vikas Sathaye has been honoured

with the Scientific and Engineering

Academy Award at the Oscars

Scientific and Technical Awards 2018

at Beverly Hills in Los Angeles,

California.

• Sathaye and his team received the

award for his contribution towards

conceptualisation, designing,

engineering, and the implementation

of the 'Shotover K1 Camera System'.

Look Further

Shotover K1 Camera System

• The Shotover K1 Camera System is a

camera mount that is used in aerial

filming.

• The camera mount gets attached to

the base of a helicopter, which carries

the camera and lens.

• The primary function of the camera

mount is to eliminate any vibration

from reaching the camera, thus

ensuring a steady footage.

Scientific and Engineering Award

• The Scientific and Engineering Award

is given for scientific achievements

that produce a definite influence on

the advancement of the motion

picture industry.


Important for PCS Exams

Source- Tribune India

Shellfish Reefs

• Recently a study led by the Nature

Conservancy found that between 90

and 99 % of Australia’s shellfish reefs

have vanished since British

colonisation 230 years ago.

• The reefs, formed by millions of

oysters or mussels clustering

together.

• These are used to occur in bays,

estuaries and nearshore coastal

waters in both tropical and temperate

regions across every State in

Australia.

• Working just like coral reefs, they

support the growth of important fish

species whilst also helping to improve

water quality and increase

biodiversity.

• Scientists said their degradation

contributed to the-

(a) The release of stored carbon

(b) Worsening climate change

(c) Increasing coastal risks associated

with more frequent and intense

storms

(d) Sea level rise

(e) Ocean Acidification etc.

Look Further


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30

Coral reefs-

• The Corals are marine invertebrates in

the class Anthozoa of phylum

Cnidaria.

• They typically live in compact colonies

of many identical individual polyps.

• The Coral reefs are built by and made

up of thousands of tiny animals—coral

“polyps”—that are related to

anemones and jellyfish.

Coral bleaching-

• The Coral bleaching occurs when coral

polyps expel algae that live in their

tissues.

• Normally, coral polyps live in an

endosymbiotic relationship with the

algae and that relationship is crucial

for the coral and hence for the health

of the whole reef.

• Bleached corals continue to live. But

as the algae provide the coral with

90% of its energy, after expelling the

algae the coral begins to starve.

• Above-average sea water temperatures caused by global warming

have been identified as a leading cause

of coral bleaching worldwide.


Source- The Hindu

Danger of Norovirus on participants of

Olympic

• The Winter Olympic Games officially

began in South Korea, a nasty shadow

was hanging over the friendly

competition in the form of the highly

contagious norovirus.

• The virus has found a home at the

Olympics and is spreading rapidly.

What is norovirus?

• Norovirus is a group of related viruses

in the Caliciviridae family.

• It is a viral infection that is either

person-to-person or spread through

eating contaminated food.

• It's spread through the ingestion of

infectious virions, which grow in the

small intestine before being expelled

in faeces.

• The main symptoms of the virus are

vomiting and diarrhoea.


Source- CNN

19.02.2018

1. Sex ratio at birth dips in 17 large

states

• The sex ratio at birth (SRB) saw a

decline in 17 out of 21 large states of

the country, with Gujarat recording an

alarming dip of 53 points.

• It was stated in a the “Healthy States,

Progressive India” report released by

the NITI Aayog.

• The SRB in Gujarat fell to 854 females

from 907 females per 1,000 males

born registering a drop of 53 points

from 2014-15 (base year) to 2015-16

(reference year).

• Gujarat is followed by Haryana (drop

of 35 points), Rajasthan (32 points),

and Uttarakhand (27 points)

respectively.

• According to the report, improvement

in SRB was witnessed in Punjab,

which registered a rise of 19 points,

followed by Uttar Pradesh (10 points)

and Bihar (9 points).

• Sex ratio at birth is an important

indicator and reflects the extent to

which there is reduction in number of

girl children born by sex-selective

abortions.

• Measures should be taken by states-

(a) Effectively implement the Pre-

Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic

Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994

(b) Promote the value of the girl child




Resources.

Source- The Hindu

2. Rajasthan- Haryana Yamuna

water dispute resolved

• Rajasthan will get its full share of

1.119 billion cusec metres of water

from the Yamuna.

• The Upper Yamuna Review Committee

decided that 1,917 cusecs water will

be released from the Tajewala

Barrage or Tajewala headworks

(Haryana) to Jhunjhunu, Churu and

Sikar districts (Rajasthan) for drinking

and irrigation.


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• After this, the dispute between

Rajasthan and Haryana over the

sharing of Yamuna waters, as per an

agreement signed between the Chief

Ministers of five States in 1994, has

been resolved.

• All five states which are included in

the agreement are Haryana,

Rajasthan, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh

and Uttar Pradesh.

Related Information

• Rajasthan was allocated 9% share in

the Yamuna waters but the State was

not getting it even when excess water

was available in the river.

Topic- GS-2

Source- The Hindu

3. SCO summit to be held in China's

Qingdao city

• China announced that this year's

summit of the Shanghai Cooperation

Organisation (SCO) will be held in the

city of Qingdao in June.

• Qingdao, a port city is a famous

tourist spot. It forms part of

Shandong province which is the

birthplace of many ancient Chinese

thinkers, including Confucius.

Related Information

SCO (Shanghai Cooperation

Organisation)

• The Shanghai Cooperation

Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian

political, economic, and security

organisation.

• The Shanghai Five grouping was

created 26 April 1996 with the signing

of the Treaty on Deepening Military

Trust in Border Regions of China,

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia

and Tajikistan.

• In 2001, the annual summit was held

in Shanghai. There the five-member

nations admitted Uzbekistan in the

Shanghai Five mechanism (thus

transforming it into the Shanghai Six).

• India and Pakistan have joined SCO

as full members on 9 June 2017 in

Astana, Kazakhstan.

• Currently, in SCO, there are 8-

member states and 4 observer states

(Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran,

Mongolian).


institutions


4. 562 more Ekalavya schools for

tribals soon: Government

• The government will set up 562 more

Ekalavya Model Residential School

(EMRS) in tribal areasacross the

country.

• The EMRS are planned under a

government scheme for model

residential school for Indian tribals

(Scheduled Tribes) across India.

• Under this mission government

decided that by 2022, every block

with more than 50 per cent Scheduled

Tribes' population and at least 20,000

tribal persons, will have an EMRS.

• The Ekalavya Schools will be on par

with the Navodaya Vidyalayas and

have special facilities for preserving

local art and culture besides providing

training in sports and skill

development.



States


5. Centre finalised Rs 6,000-crore

“Atal Bhujal Yojana” to recharge

groundwater

• The government has finalised the

contours of a Rs 6,000-crore scheme

to tackle the country’s depleting

groundwater level.

• The scheme “Atal Bhujal Yojana

(ABY)” piloted by the Union water

resources ministry.

• It will be launched in Gujarat,

Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka,

Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya

Pradesh, covering 78 districts, 193

blocks and more than 8,300-gram

panchayats.

• The scheme was conceived to arrest

the rampant overuse of groundwater

in India.

• The duration of the ABY will be five

years.


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• The scheme was announced as

National Groundwater Management

Improvement Scheme (NGMIS) in

budget 2016-17.

• The scheme is renamed as Atal Bhujal

Yojana.

• The central government will

contribute 50 % fund of the scheme.

Related Information

World Bank Report on Ground Water

• About 245 billion cubic metre of

groundwater is abstracted each year

in the country.

• This figure represents about 25% of

the total global groundwater

abstraction.

Topic-GS-2- Welfare schemes for vulnerable


States


6. Sundarbans mangroves struggle

to find new ground

• The India State of Forest Report (SFR)

2017 revealed that the mangrove

cover in the country has increased by

181 sq. km.

• But the Indian Sundarbans that

comprise almost 43% of total

mangrove cover have shown only a

marginal rise of 8 sq. km, at 2,114 sq.

km from 2,106 sq. km in the SFR

report.

• Nationally, the SFR 2017 report

estimates the maximum increase of

mangrove cover from three States,

Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and

Gujarat.

Related Information

Mangroves-

• Mangroves are the trees & bushes

growing below the high-water level of

spring tides, which exhibits

remarkable capacity for salt water

tolerance.

• There are several places where

Mangrove in India is found which are-

(a) Godavari-Krishna

(b) Sundarbans (West Bengal)- is considered

as the largest mangrove forest in the

world

(c) Islands in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea,

Bay of Bengal

(d) Andaman and Nicobar Islands

(e) Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat

(f) Bhitarkanika Mangroves

(g) Godavari-Krishna mangroves.

(h) Pichavaram Mangrove Forest

(Tamilnadu)- second largest mangrove

forest in the world


Source- The Hindu

20.02.2018

1. India has the largest number of

babies dying in the world in year

2016- UNICEF Report

• In 2016, India has the largest number

of babies dying in the world, but

having notched up a 66 percent

reduction in under-five deaths

between 1990 to 2015.

• In 2016, there were 1,20,000 fewer

deaths than in 2015.

• The number of annual under-five

deaths in India has gone below one

million for the first time in 2016.

• With the current rate of decline, India

is back on track to meet the

Sustainable Development Goals

(SDG) target for the under-five

mortality of 25 per 1,000 live births by

2030.

• The current rate is 39.

• UNICEF report also pointed out that

under-five mortality rate for girls was

11 percent higher at 41 per 1,000 as

against 37 per 1,000 for boys. There

is also a gender bias in the admission

of babies.

Related Information

Infant mortality rate

• The number of deaths of children less

than 1 year old per 1,000 live births.

Maternal mortality rate

• The number of maternal deaths per

1,000 women of reproductive age in

the population (generally defined as

15–44 years of age).


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Child mortality rate

• The number of deaths of children less

than 5 years old per 1,000 live births.

Neonatal mortality

• It is defined as death within the first

four weeks of life.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• The Sustainable Development Goals

(SDGs) is a set of 17 “Global Goals”

with 169 targets covering various

sectors like health, education and

climate change among others.

• They replaced UN’s Millennium

Development Goals.

• It is Spearheaded by the United

Nations.




Resources.


2. India to host World Environment

Day 2018

• India is the global host of 2018 World

Environment Day which will take place

on June 5, 2018.

• The theme of World Environment Day

for this year will be “Beat Plastic

Pollution”.

• The Theme urges governments,

industry, communities, and

individuals to come together and

explore sustainable alternatives and

urgently reduce the production and

excessive use of single-use plastic

polluting our oceans.

Related Information

• World Environment Day is a UN

Environment-led global event, the

single largest celebration of our

environment each year, which takes

place on June 5.

United Nations Environment Programme

• The United Nations Environment

Programme is an agency of United

Nations and coordinates its

environmental activities, assisting

developing countries in implementing

environmentally sound policies and

practices.

• It was founded as a result of the

United Nations Conference on the

Human Environment (Stockholm

Conference) in June 1972.

• It is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.

• UN Environment has also been active

in funding and implementing

environment related development

projects.

• The World Meteorological Organization

and UN Environment established the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change (IPCC) in 1988.

• UN Environment is also one of several

Implementing Agencies for the Global

Environment Facility (GEF) and the

Multilateral Fund for the

Implementation of the Montreal

Protocol.

• It is also a member of the United

Nations Development Group.


Source- UN Environment

3. Forty-Two Indian languages stare

at extinction

• According to a report of the Census

Directorate, there are 22 scheduled

languages and 100 non-scheduled

languages in the country.

• However, there are 42 languages

which are spoken by fewer than

10,000 people.

• UNESCO has also mentioned in list

about the 42 languages or dialects in

India that are endangered.

• These are considered endangered and

may be heading towards extinction.

• The languages or dialects which are

considered endangered, include-

(a) Eleven from Andaman and Nicobar

Islands (Great Andamanese, Jarawa,

Lamongse, Luro, Muot, Onge, Pu,

Sanenyo, Sentilese, Shompen and

Takahanyilang)


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(b) Seven from Manipur (Aimol, Aka,

Koiren, Lamgang, Langrong, Purum

and Tarao)

(c) Four from Himachal Pradesh

(Baghati, Handuri, Pangvali and

Sirmaudi).

(d) Manda, Parji and Pengo (Odisha)

(e) Koraga and Kuruba (Karnataka)

(f) Gadaba and Naiki (Andhra

Pradesh)

(g) Kota and Toda (Tamil Nadu)

(h) Mra and Na (Arunachal Pradesh)

(i) Tai Nora and Tai Rong (Assam)

(j) Bangani (Uttarakhand),

(k)Birhor (Jharkhand)

(l) Nihali (Maharashtra)

(m) Ruga (Meghalaya)

(n) Toto (West Bengal)

Related Information

United Nations Educational, Scientific

and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

• It is a specialized agency of the United

Nations (UN) based in Paris.

• Its objective is to contribute to peace

and security by promoting

international collaboration through

educational, scientific, and cultural

reforms.

• It has 195-member states and ten

associate members.

Note: The United States announced its

intention to withdraw from UNESCO on 12

October 2017, accusing it of "anti-Israel

bias”. Later, Israel also announced it would

also be leaving UNESCO.

• UNESCO implements its activities

through the five programme areas:

education, natural sciences, social

and human sciences, culture, and

communication and information.

Topic- GS-1- Indian Culture

Source- The Hindu

4. Myanmar Tuidimjang dam on

border worries Manipur village

• The Tuidimjang dam is being

constructed by Myanmar across a

Twigem river close to the boundary

with India has stoked fears of

submergence and water scarcity

among the people of Khangtung

village of Manipur.

• International rules warrant border

countries to check activities in No

Man’s Land – a 150-metre strip on

either side of the boundary line.

• Khangtung village is inhabited by the

Thadou tribe.

Topic-GS-2- Issues relating to development



Resources.

Source- The Hindu

5. India could be the first country to

get Hyperloop between Mumbai-

Pune

• The project will begin with a six-

month in-depth feasibility study,

which will build upon the findings of

the pre-feasibility study signed in

November 2017 between the Pune

Metropolitan Regional Development

Authority and Virgin Hyperloop One.

• The Study will define the route

alignment including environmental

impact, the regulatory framework,

cost and funding model

recommendations, etc.

• The proposed hyperloop route will link

central Pune, Navi Mumbai

International Airport, and Mumbai.

Related Information

Hyperloop

• It's a revolutionary train service that

envisions loading passengers and

cargo into a pod that will accelerate

gradually via electric propulsion

through a low-pressure tube.

• The pod will then quickly lift above the

track using magnetic levitation and

glide at airline speeds for long

distances due to ultra-low

aerodynamic drag.


Source- Business Today

6. Eighth edition of Theatre

Olympics inaugurated

• The 8th edition of the Theatre

Olympics inaugurated in New Delhi.


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• The event has been organised by

National School of Drama under the

aegis of Ministry of Culture.

• The theme of the festival is - "Flag of

Friendship".

• 51-day long nationwide theatre

extravaganza will feature Indian and

international theatre groups, eminent

theatre personalities along with their

performances.

• 30 countries are participating from

across the globe.


Source- DD News

21.02.2018

1. Singapore to impose carbon tax

from 2019

• Singapore announced to impose a

carbon tax from year 2019 to cut its

greenhouse gas emissions and make

companies more competitive as global

agreements on climate change take

effect.

• The tax would be levied on all facilities

producing 25,000 tonnes or more of

greenhouse gas emissions a year.

• Singapore ranks 26th out of 142

countries in terms of emissions per

capita based on the latest

International Energy Agency data.

Related Information

• Major economies have been

scrambling to cut greenhouse gas

emissions amid warnings from

scientists about the potentially

devastating impacts of climate

change.

• The most notable step has been the

197-nation Paris Agreement, inked in

2015.

Aims of Paris Climate Accord 2016

1. Global temperature rises this century

well below 2 degrees Celsius above

the pre-industrial level.

2. Pursue efforts to limit the

temperature upsurge even further to

5 degrees Celsius.

3. Strengthen the ability of countries to

deal with the impacts of climate

change.

Percent CO2 emissions by country

• China > United States > European

Union> India

Global Emissions by Gas

• CO2 > CH4 > N2O > Fluorinated gases

Carbon Tax

• A carbon tax is a fee for making users

of fossil fuels pay for climate damage

their fuel use imposes by releasing

carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,

and for motivating switches to clean

energy.

Carbon Footprint

• Total emission of Greenhouse

emissions over a period of time by any

individual, group, organization etc.

Carbon Offsetting

• Reduction of emission of GHGs to

compensate for the emission of GHGs

made elsewhere or, offset emission of

GHGs.

Carbon Credit

• It is basically a carbon market.

• The countries are given permission to

emit certain tonnes of GHGs.

• They in turn distribute this quota

within their own units.

• Those unit who hasn't utilized the

emission quota can trade it with other

players, privately or in international

market.


Source- Livemint

2. Union Water Minister launched

Ganga Gram and New Swajal

Project in Uttarakhand

• Union Minister of Drinking Water and

Sanitation, Uma Bharti, launched the

Bagori Ganga Gram project, New

Swajal Project at Bagori and Gangotri

Iconic Place at Dunda village in

Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.

• ODF (Open defection free) village

Bagori is one of the 24 pilot Ganga

Villages picked up to be transformed

into Ganga Grams this year.


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• Union Minister also inaugurated new

Swajal Project at Bagori with a budget

of more than 32 lakh rupees.

• The Union Minister also launched

Gangotri as Swachh Iconic Places.

Related Information

Swajal Project

• It is a community owned drinking

water programme for sustained

drinking water supply.

Ganga Gram

• Under the “Namami Gange”

Programme, the government plans to

develop the villages located along the

main stem of river Ganga which have

historic, cultural, and religious and/or

tourist importance.

• Works related to Ganga Grams will

encompass comprehensive rural

sanitation, development of water

bodies and river ghats, construction/

modernization of crematoria etc.

Swachh Iconic Places (SIP)

• The Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) is

an initiative under the Swachh Bharat

Mission.

• It is a special clean-up initiative

focused on select iconic heritage,

spiritual and cultural places in the

country.

• The initiative is being coordinated by

the Ministry of Drinking Water and

Sanitation in association with the

Ministry of Urban Development,

Ministry of Culture, Ministry of

Tourism and the concerned State

governments.

Swachh Bharat Mission-

• The Swachh Bharat Mission was

launched on 2 October 2014 at the

birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

• The mission was divided into two

parts — urban and rural.

• The Swachh Bharat Mission Urban is

managed by the Ministry of Urban

Development, while the Swachh

Bharat Mission Gramin (Rural) is led

by the Ministry of Drinking Water and

Sanitation.

Topic- GS-2- Governance

Source- PIB

3. Maharashtra government to

launch cheap sanitary pad scheme

“Asmita Yojana”

• Maharashtra government announced

to roll out its “Asmita Yojana” on the

International Women’s Day (March 8).

• Under the scheme, girls in Zilla

Parishad schools will get a sanitary

napkin packet at Rs 5 while rural

women can avail it at a subsidised

rate of Rs 24 and Rs 29.

• The state government has appointed

“Umed’- the Maharashtra State Rural

Livelihood Mission, as a nodal agency

for effective implementation of the

scheme.

• Under the scheme, beneficiary girls

will be given “Asmita Cards”.

• Self Help Groups (SHGs) will be

entrusted with the task of the supply

and sale of sanitary pads and

counselling the girls and women.



States


4. Commercial coal mining opened

for private sector

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic

Affairs approved the methodology for

auction of coal mines/blocks for sale

of the commodity.

• The Private sector entities can take

part in auction.

• The government described the move

as the most ambitious reform of the

sector since its nationalisation in

1973.

• Coal accounts for around 70% of the

country’s power generation.

• This reform is expected to bring

efficiency into the coal sector by

moving from an era of monopoly to

competition.

• Public sector undertaking Coal India

was so far the lone commercial miner

in the country for over four decades.

The company accounts for 84% of

India’s coal output.


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Related Information

• That move followed the Supreme

Court order in September 2014

cancelling 204 coal mines/blocks

allocated to the various Government

and Private Companies since 1993

under the provisions of Coal Mines

(Nationalisation) Act, 1973.

• In a bid to bring transparency and

accountability, the Coal Mines

(Special Provisions) Bill 2015 was

passed by the Parliament which was

notified as an Act in March 2015.

• The Coal Mines (Special Provisions)

Act, 2015 Enabling provisions for

allocation of coal mines by way of

auction and allotment for the sale of

coal.




and implementation.

Source- The Hindu

5. Supreme Court refuses to extend

deadline to publish final National

Register of Citizens (NRC) in

Assam

• The Supreme Court refused to extend

the deadline for publication of the final

National Register of Citizens (NRC) in

Assam and directed the Centre to

complete the work by May 31.

• Earlier, the first draft NRC for Assam

was published in December end as per

the apex court’s direction to come out

with the first draft NRC by December

31, 2017.

Related Information

National Register of Citizens (NRC)

• The National Register of Citizens

(NRC) contains names of Indian

citizens of Assam.

• The NRC was prepared in 1951, after

the Census of 1951.

• The NRC Updation is currently going

on Assam and shall include the names

of-

(a) Those persons (or their

descendants) who appear in the NRC

1951

or

(b) In any of the Electoral Rolls up to

the midnight of 24 March 1971

or

(c) In any one of the other admissible

documents issued up to the midnight

of 24 March 1971, which would prove

their presence in Assam on or before

24 March 1971.

• The NRC (1951) and the Electoral

Rolls up to the midnight of 24 March

1971 together are collectively called

Legacy Data.

Why was it necessary to bring out an

NRC in Assam?

• The NRC is being updated in Assam to

detect Bangladeshi nationals, who

may have illegally entered the State

after the midnight of March 24, 1971,

the cut-off date.

What will happen to those persons who

don’t find their names in the first draft

register?

• The list published is the first draft of

the updated NRC.

• Another list is expected to come soon,

with more names and details.

• However, if a citizen’s name is

missing, he or she can file an

objection and request that the name

be included after submitting the

requisite documents to the NRC.

Topic- GS-2-Indian Polity


22.02.2018

1. India ranks 81st in global

corruption perception index

• India has been ranked 81st in the

global corruption perception index for

2017, released by Transparency

International.

• The index, which ranks 180 countries

and territories by their perceived

levels of public sector corruption.

• In the 2016 India was in the 79th

place among 176 countries.

• The index uses a scale of 0 to 100,

where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is

very clean.

• India’s score is 40 in latest ranking.


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• In the latest ranking New Zealand and

Denmark were placed the highest.

• On the other hand, Syria, South

Sudan and Somalia were ranked

lowest respectively.

Related Information

Transparency International

• Transparency International is an

international non-governmental

organization which is based in Berlin,

Germany, and was founded in 1993.

• Its non-profit purpose is to take action

to combat global corruption and

prevent criminal activities arising

from corruption.

• It publishes the Global Corruption

Barometer and the Corruption

Perceptions Index.


institutions


2.India, Indonesia joint military drill

“Garuda Shakti“ begins in Bandung

(Indonesia)

• The Indian and Indonesian armies

began the sixth edition of their annual

military exercises in the West Java

province of the archipelago country.

• The exercises will include experience

sharing in counter-terrorism

operations, close quarter combat, and

other areas of special operations, an

official statement said.

Related Information

Exercise Name India and Other

Countries

Yudh Abyas United States

Vajra Prahar United States

Nomadic Elephant Mongolia

Indra Russia

Hand in Hand China

Ajeya Warrior United Kingdom

Ekuverin Maldives

Surya Kiran Nepal

Shakti France

Sampriti Bangladesh

Garud Shakti Indonesia

Mitra Shakti Sri Lanka

Al Nagah Oman

Maitree Thailand

Prabal Dostyk Kazakhstan

Vinbax Vietnam



3. New features of National

Agriculture Market (e-NAM)

Platform

• The Union Minister of Agriculture

launched six new features of National

Agriculture Market (e-NAM) Platform

to make it more users friendly. The six

new features include:

o e-NAM Mobile App

o BHIM payment facility

o New and improved Website

with eLearning Module

o MIS Dashboard

o Grievance Redressal

Management System for

Mandi Secretaries

o Integration with Farmer

Database

Related Information

NAM (National Agricultural Market)

• National Agricultural Market is a

whole-India electronic trading portal

to facilitate farmers, traders, buyers,

exporters and processors with a

common platform for trading

commodities.

• The e-NAM model aims at

revolutionising agri markets by

ensuring better price discovery,

bringing in transparency and

competition to enable farmers to get

improved remuneration for their

produce moving towards One Nation,

One Market.

• Target- 585 online regulated

wholesale markets in states/union

territories(UTs) by march, 2018.

• Agricultural Produce Market

Committee (APMC) is a marketing

board established by state

governments which forces the

farmers to sell their produce only to

middlemen approved by the

government in authorized Mandis

(markets).

Topic- GS-3-Agriculture

Source- PIB

4. Indigenous light transport

aircraft Saras completes 2nd test-

flight


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• The indigenous light transport aircraft

(LTA) Saras completed the second of

the proposed 20 test flights.

• The first successful test flight of the

aircraft designed and developed by

the National Aerospace Laboratories

(NAL) was carried out on January 24.

• NAL proposes to get the Saras-Mk 2

certified initially for military and

subsequently for civil version.

• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)

has been identified as the production

agency for the military version of

Saras.

• The production of civil version will be

given to identified private industries.

Topic- GS-3- Achievements of Indians in

science & technology; indigenization of

technology and developing new technology


5. Asia-Pacific military exercise

“Cobra Gold 2018”

• Cobra Gold is an Asia-Pacific military

exercise held in Thailand every year.

• It is the largest Asia-Pacific military

exercise held each year and is among

the largest multinational military

exercise in which the United States

participates.

• Cobra Gold was first held in 1982.

• It served as military training exercise

to improve coordination between the

armed forces of the United States and

Thailand in both hostile military and

humanitarian efforts.

• This year, US sent its biggest force to

an Asian military exercise.

Topic- GS-3-International Relations

Source- Asia Times + Wiki

6. Delhi government to Launch

'Mission Buniyaad' To Fix

Learning Crisis in Delhi Schools

• The Delhi government announced the

launch of "Mission Buniyaad" for

improving learning skills of children

studying in state and municipal-run

schools.

• The announcement was made by

Delhi government, days after the

National Achievement Survey (NAS)

showed that the entire country,

including Delhi, was facing a learning

crisis in schools.

• The program will run from April to

June for Class 3 to 5 in Municipal

Corporation of Delhi (MCD) schools

and for Class 6 to 8 in government's

schools.

• Under the Program children will

undergo a reading level assessment

based on which they will be enrolled

in specialised "Mission Buniyaad"

classes.

• For children who are not able to read,

the government will request to their

parents to cancel their vacation plans

during summer holidays and send

their children to school for remedial

classes.

Related Information

• The NAS survey demonstrates that

close to half of all children in Delhi

schools are not able to read their

grade level textbooks.



States

Source- NDTV

7. Jaipur’s Gandhi Nagar became the

country’s first all-woman

managed railway station

• The Gandhi Nagar railway station in

Jaipur became the country’s first

major railway station to be fully-

managed by women.



8. Government constitutes

committee to study Brahmaputra

and flood control measures in

Assam

• The Union govt has constituted a

committee headed by the Vice

Chairman of the NITI Aayog to study

the Brahmaputra and flood control

measures in Assam and neighbouring

states.




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23.02.2018

1. Venezuela became the first

country to launch its own virtual

currency ‘Petro’

• Venezuela became the first country to

launch its own version of bitcoin which

is named as “Petro”.

• If all the initial coins offered for sale

are grabbed by investors, it could

potentially bring several billion dollars

into a government mired by cash

shortfalls and skyrocketing inflation.

Related Information

Cryptocurrency

• A cryptocurrency is a digital asset

designed to work as a medium of

exchange using cryptography to

secure the transactions and to control

the creation of additional units of the

currency.

• Cryptocurrencies are classified as a

subset of digital currencies and are

also classified as a subset of

alternative currencies and virtual

currencies.

• Bitcoin became the first decentralized

cryptocurrency in 2009.

Some Important Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin (BTC)

• Bitcoin became the first decentralized

cryptocurrency in 2009.

• It uses cryptography to ensure the

security of transactions —

authentication and prevention of

duplicate transactions — and to

control the creation of new units of

currency.

• These transactions are verified by

network nodes and recorded in a

public distributed ledger called a

blockchain.

• Bitcoin was invented by Satoshi

Nakamoto.

• It is the first largest cryptocurrency in

terms of market cap.

• First country to legalise bitcoin is

Japan.

Litecoin (LTC)

• Founded in 2011 by ex-Google

employee Charlie Lee.

• Litecoin is often referred to as the

silver to Bitcoin’s gold.

• This is one of the go-to currencies

used today for transactions, thanks to

its faster block time of around 2.5

minutes, compared to Bitcoin’s 10

minutes, enabling much faster

exchanges between users.

Ether (ETH)

• Ether is second-largest

cryptocurrency in terms of market

cap.

• It is the cryptocurrency used in the

Ethereum network, which is

essentially a decentralised computing

platform, upon which ‘smart

contracts’ can be built and executed.

Can we use cryptocurrency as currency?

• Reserve Bank of India has banned

transactions in India using

cryptocurrencies.

Initial Coin Offerings (ICO)

• An ICO, like an equity initial public

offer (IPO), is an issuance of digital

tokens that can be converted into

crypto currencies and are mostly used

to raise funds by start-up firms

dealing in blockchain technology and

virtual currencies like bitcoins and

ethereum.

• Unlike an IPO, which is governed by

SEBI regulations, there is no

regulatory body for ICOs in India.

Topic- GS-3-Economic Development

Source- The Hindu

2. India to host first summit of

International Solar Alliance

• Prime Minister announced that India

will host the first summit of the

International Solar Alliance (IAS) in

March 2018.

Related Information

International Solar Alliance (ISA)

• The ISA is an Indian initiative, jointly

launched by the Prime Minister of

India, Shri Narendra Modi and the

President of France on 30th November

2015 in Paris, on the side-lines of

COP-21, the UN Climate Conference.


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41

• The ISA, headquartered in India, has

its Secretariat located in the

Gwalpahari, Gurgaon, Haryana.

• India has offered to meet ISA

Secretariat expenses for initial five

years.

• ISA is an alliance of more than 121

countries, most of them being

sunshine countries, which come either

completely or partly between the

Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of

Capricorn.

• The alliance's primary objective is

work for efficient exploitation of solar

energy to reduce dependence on fossil

fuels.

Programmes by ISA

• Current Programme

(1) Scaling Solar Applications for Agriculture

Use

(2) Affordable Finance at Scale

(3) Scaling Solar Mini-grids

• Future Programme

(1) Scaling Solar Rooftops

(2) Scaling Solar E-mobility and Storage.

(3) Common Risk Mitigating Mechanism

(CRMM) for de-risking and reducing the

financial cost of solar projects in the ISA

member countries

(4) Digital Infopedia which will serve as a

platform to enable policy makers, Ministers

and corporate leaders from ISA countries to

interact, connect, communicate and

collaborate with one another.



structure, mandate.


3. Parivartan scheme launched in

Haryana

• The Haryana government launched

Parivartan, a scheme designed to

address 10 issues, including

cleanliness and pollution, in 46

developmental blocks of the state.

• The 10 issues include-

(a) Facilitation of financing

(b) Making agriculture profitable and

sustainable

(c) Improving health services

(d) Implementing Swachh Bharat

(e) Decongesting market areas

(f) Engaging the youth

(g) Checking air pollution

(h) Ensuring availability of identity-

related services

(i) Effective policing

(j) Ensuring road order and conduct



States

Source- Business Standard

4. Enforcement Directorate (ED)

• The Directorate of Enforcement is a

law enforcement agency and

economic intelligence agency

responsible for enforcing economic

laws and fighting economic crime in

India.

• It is part of the Department of

Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

• The origin of this Directorate goes

back to 1 May 1956, when an

‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed, in

Department of Economic Affairs, for

handling Exchange Control Laws

violations under Foreign Exchange

Regulation Act, 1947.

• In the year 1957, this Unit was

renamed as ‘Enforcement

Directorate’.

• The prime objective of the

Enforcement Directorate is the

enforcement of two key Acts of the

Government of India namely

(a) Foreign Exchange Management

Act 1999 (FEMA)- Replaced Foreign

Exchange Regulation Act, 1947)

(b) Prevention of Money Laundering

Act 2002 (PMLA)

• The Directorate of Enforcement, with

its Headquarters at New Delhi is

headed by the Director of

Enforcement.





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42

5. Electoral bonds sale to commence

from March 1

Electoral Bond

• These bonds will have a shelf-life of

15 days.

• It can be purchased only from

specified branches of State Bank of

India.

• Electoral bonds can be bought for any

value, in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs

10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh or Rs 1

crore.

• An Indian citizen or body incorporated

in India will be eligible to purchase the

bond.

• Electoral bonds can be used for

making donation only to the political

parties registered under section 29A

of the Representation of the People

Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which

secured not less than 1% of the votes

polled in the last general election to

the House of the People or a

Legislative Assembly.

• These bonds will not carry the

name of the payee.




and implementation.

GS-3- Indian Economy


6. Government to set up NITI forum

for Northeast

• The Union Government will set up the

NITI Forum for Northeast to identify

constraints and recommend suitable

interventions for speedy and

sustainable growth in the region.

• The forum will also review the

development status in the region.

• The forum will be co-chaired by the

Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog Dr. Rajiv

Kumar and Ministry of Development of

North East Region Dr. Jitendra Singh.

Related information

NITI (National Institution for

Transforming India) Aayog

• It is established in 2015 by the

government to replace Planning

commission (was based on top-down

model).

• It is based on the bottom-up model.

• It is the policy-making body for whole

India.

• The Ex-officio chairman of Aayog is

prime minister.

• Current Vice President of Aayog is

Rajiv Kumar.

• Permanent members of the governing

council-

(a) All state Chief Ministers

(b) Chief ministers of Delhi and

Puducherry

(c) Lieutenant Governor of Andaman

and Nicobar

(d) Vice chairman nominated by the

Prime Minister.

Topic- GS-2- Governance

Source- PIB + Wiki

24.02.2018

1. Biofuels: an opportunity for India

Bio fuel

• Bio-fuels are a source of energy

derived from the conversion of

carbon-fixing biomass through

thermal, chemical or biochemical

processes.

• Their popularity arises from the fact

that they are cheaper and less

environmentally polluting than fossil

fuels.

• 1st generation bio fuel- Directly

using the food crops like wheat and

sugar for making ethanol and oil

seeds for bio diesel by conventional

method of fermentation. These fuels

emitted more greenhouse gases.

• 2nd generation bio fuel- Non-food

crops and feedstock instead of food

crops. Example: Wood, grass, seed

crops, organic waste etc.

• 3rd generation bio fuel- Use

specially engineered Algae whose

biomass is used to convert into

biofuels. The greenhouse gas

emission here will be low in

comparison to others.


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43

• 4th generation bio fuel- are aimed

at not only producing sustainable

energy but also a way of capturing

and storing co2.



Source- Livemint

2. First night trial of nuke capable

ballistic missile Prithvi-II

successfully conducted

• Indian armed forces successfully

conducted first night trial of nuclear-

capable surface-to-surface short-

range ballistic missile Prithvi-II from a

defence test facility off Odisha coast.

Related Information

Prithvi Missile

• Prithvi is a tactical surface-to-surface

short-range ballistic missile (SRBM)

developed by DRDO of India under the

Integrated Guided Missile

Development Program (IGMDP).

• Prithvi was the first missile to be

developed under the IGMDP program.

• It can carry a nuclear warhead.

Variants of Prithvi Missile

• Prithvi I – Army version (150 km


• Prithvi II – Air Force version (350 km

range with a payload of 500 kg)

• Prithvi III – Naval version (350 km


Look Further

Integrated Guided Missile Development

Programme (IGMDP)

• The project started in 1982–83 and

bestowed under the leadership of

Abdul Kalam who oversaw its ending

in 2008 after these strategic missiles

were successfully developed.

• Thus, four projects, to be pursued

concurrently, were born under the

IGMDP:

(a) Short range surface-to-surface

missile (code-named Prithvi)

(b) Short range low-level surface-to-

air missile (code-named Trishul)

(c) Medium range surface-to-air

missile (code-named Akash) and

(d) Third-generation anti-tank

missile (code-named Nag).

Topic- GS-3-Defence


3. Compensation for endosulfan

pesticide victims in Kerala

• Kerala Chief Minister requested to

bear at least half the cost of

recompensing endosulfan pesticide

victims in Kerala.

• Many parts of the world have fallen

prey to this pesticide, that has

affected a lot of humans, animals and

the environment.

Related Information

• The Supreme Court of India had

passed an interim order on May 13,

2011, as a major number of victims

were reported to be affected in

Kasargode (Kerala), and banned the

production, distribution and use of

endosulfan.

Endosulfan

• Endosulfan is an off-patent

organochlorine insecticide and

acaricide that is being phased out

globally.

• Endosulfan became a highly

controversial agrichemical due to its

acute toxicity, potential for

bioaccumulation, and role as an

endocrine disruptor.

• Because of its threats to human

health and the environment, a global

ban on the manufacture and use of

endosulfan was negotiated under the

Stockholm Convention in April 2011.

• The ban has taken effect in mid-2012,

with certain uses exempted for five

additional years.

• It is still used extensively in India,

China, and few other countries.

Topic-GS-3-Science and Technology

Source- The Hindu

Indian scientists develop next

generation technology loop to generate

clean energy

• Indian scientists have developed a

super critical carbon di-oxide Brayton

test loop facility that would help

generate clean energy from future

power plants including solar thermal.


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44

• This next generation technology loop

was developed indigenously by Indian

Institute of Science, Bangalore.

• This is India’s first test-bed for next

generation, efficient, compact,

waterless super critical carbon dioxide

Brayton cycle test loop for power

generation.

• The technology is perhaps the first

test loop coupled with solar heat

source in the world.

• The new generation high efficiency

power plants with closed cycle CO2

as the working fluid have the potential

to replace steam based nuclear and

thermal power plants, thus reducing

the carbon foot print

• The efficiency of energy

conversion could also be

significantly increased by as much

as 50 percent or more- if CO2 is

operated in a closed loop Brayton

cycle.


Source- PIB

Four programmes identified for PM’s

Awards for Excellence in Public

Administration, 2018

• The Civil Services Day is celebrated on

the 21st of April, every year, where

civil servants rededicate themselves

to public service and awards for

excellence in Public Administration are

also conferred.

• Following four priority programmes

have been identified for the awards to

be presented on Civil Services Day

2018-

(a) Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana

(b) Promoting Digital Payments

(c) Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban &

Rural

(d) Deen Dayal Upadhayay Grameen

Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY)

Related Information

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Housing

for All)

“Housing for All” In Rural Areas-

• Under the scheme the Government

proposes to provide an

environmentally safe and secure

pucca house to every rural household

by 2022.

• It is named as the Pradhan Mantri

Awaas Yojana (Gramin)- PMAY-G.

• Loans of up to 2 lakh rupees taken in

2017 for new housing, or extension of

housing in rural areas will receive an

interest subvention of 3 per cent –

This will be implemented by National

Housing Bank

PMAY - URBAN-

• Interest subvention of 4% on loans

of up to 9 lakh rupees and 3% on

loans of up to 12 lakh rupees.

• Under the new scheme of housing for

all 2022, the central assistance per

house for EWS (Economically weaker

section) has been planned to increase

to 1.5 lakh rupees from 70,000

rupees.

Pradhan Mantri FASAL Bima Yojana

(PMFBY)-

• Launched in 2016 and replaced two

crop insurance schemes National

Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS)

and Modified NAIS.

• Provide insurance coverage and

financial support to the farmers in the

case of failure of any of the notified

crop as a result of natural calamities,

pests & diseases.

• Covers Kharif, Rabi crops, annual

commercial and horticultural crops.

• Premium Paid by farmers are-

Rabi crop- 1.5 Percent

Kharif crop- 2 Percent

Annual commercial and horticultural crops- 5

percent

• This scheme also provides post-

harvest losses apart from yield loss.

• In this scheme, there is no upper cap

on government subsidy.

Deen Dayal Upadhayay Grameen

Kaushalya Yojana (DDUGKY)

• The Ministry of Rural Development

announced the Deen Dayal

Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya

Yojana on the birth anniversary of

Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, on 25th

September 2014.


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45

• DDU-GKY is a part of the National

Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM),

tasked with the dual objectives of

adding diversity to the incomes of

rural poor families and cater to the

career aspirations of rural youth.

• DDU-GKY is uniquely focused on rural

youth between the ages of 15 and 35

years from poor families.

• As a part of the Skill India campaign,

it plays an instrumental role in

supporting the social and economic

programs of the government like the

Make In India, Digital India, Smart

Cities and Start-Up India, Stand-Up

India campaigns.



States and the performance of these

schemes

Source- PIB

26.02.2018

1. Pakistan may be added to

Financial Action Task Force’s

‘grey list’ from June 2018

• Pakistan may be placed back onto an

international terrorism-financing

watch list from June 2018.

• The Financial Action Task Force

(FATF) has placed Pakistan under

monitoring in its International

Cooperation Review Group (ICRG)

until June 2018 for compliance of anti-

money laundering (AML) and

Combating Finance of Terrorism (CFT)

regulations.

• Once placed in the “grey list”,

countries face risk of downgrade by

multilateral lenders like IMF, World

Bank, ADB etc. And further reduction

in their risk-rating by agencies.

Related information

Financial Action Task Force

• The Financial Action Task Force

(FATF) is an intergovernmental

organization founded in 1989 on the

initiative of the G7 to develop policies

to combat money laundering.

• In 2001 its mandate expanded to

include terrorism financing.

• It monitors progress in implementing

the FATF Recommendations through

"peer reviews" ("mutual evaluations")

of member countries.

• The Secretariat is located at the OECD

Headquarters in Paris.

• Currently there are 37 members are

part of it. India is also a member of

organization. Pakistan is not a part of

organization.

G7

• The Group of 7 (G7) is a group

consisting of Canada, France,

Germany, Italy, Japan, the United

Kingdom and the United States.

• The European Union is also

represented within the G7.

• These countries are the seven major

advanced economies as reported by

the International Monetary Fund.

Topic- GS-2-Important International

Institutions

Source- Indian Express + Hindustan Times

2. Indo- Seychelles Army exercise

“Lamitye” started

• The eighth joint military exercise

between the Indian Army and

Seychelles People’s Defence Forces

started and will continue till March 4

at Mahe Island, Seychelles.

• The exercise is named “Lamitye”

which in the local dialect ‘Creole’,

means friendship.

• India and Seychelles have been

conducting this joint exercise since

2001 with the aim of enhancing

military cooperation and

interoperability between the armies of

the two countries.

• The focus of the ongoing exercise is to

conduct counter-insurgency and

counter-terrorist operations in semi-

urban environment under the United

Nations (UN) Charter.

Topic- GS-3-Defence



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3. ‘Dhanush’ ballistic missile

successfully test-fired

• India successfully test-fired the

nuclear-capable ‘Dhanush’ ballistic

missile with a strike range of 350 kms

from a naval ship off Odisha coast.

• It is a surface-to-surface missile and

capable of carrying a payload of 500

kg and hitting both land and sea-

based targets.

• It is a naval variant of the

indigenously-developed ‘Prithvi’

missile.

• It is one of the five missiles developed

by the Defence Research and

Development Organisation (DRDO)

under the Integrated Guided Missile

Development Programme (IGMDP).

Topic- GS-3-Defence

Source- DD News

4. New plant species from West

Bengal named after former

President Abdul Kalam

• Scientists from the Botanical Survey

of India have identified a new plant

species from Buxa and Jaldapara

national park in West Bengal.

• The species is named as Drypetes

kalamii, is a small shrub.

• The newly described plant is unisexual

in nature, which means they have

separate male and female plants.

• This adds to the rich floral wealth of

India.

• By following the IUCN (International

Union for Conservation of Nature)

rules, the scientists have

provisionally assessed the plant to

be “Critically Endangered”.

Related Information

IUCN (International Union for

Conservation of Nature)-

• The International Union for

Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an

international organization working in

the field of nature conservation and

sustainable use of natural resources.

• The organization is best known to the

wider public for compiling and

publishing the IUCN Red List of

Threatened Species.

• IUCN has an observer and

consultative status at the United

Nations.

• Its headquarter is located in Gland,

Switzerland.

• Different Categories in Red List are-

(a) EXTINCT — the last individual in the

species has died.

(b) EXTINCT IN THE WILD — it now lives

only in captivity and not in its natural

habitat.

(c) CRITICALLY ENDANGERED — facing an

extremely high risk of extinction in the

wild.

(d) ENDANGERED — facing a very high risk

of extinction in the wild.

(e) VULNERABLE — facing a high risk of

extinction in the wild.

(f) NEAR THREATENED — likely to qualify for

a threatened category in the near future.

(g) LEAST CONCERN — it is widespread and

abundant in the wild.

(h) DATA DEFICIENT — inadequate

information.

(i) NOT EVALUATED — not yet been

evaluated against the criteria.

CITES

• CITES (the Convention on

International Trade in Endangered

Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also

known as the Washington

Convention) is a multilateral treaty

to protect endangered plants and

animals.

• It was drafted as a result of a

resolution adopted in 1963 at a

meeting of members of the

International Union for Conservation

of Nature (IUCN).

• The convention was opened for

signature in 1973 and CITES entered

into force on 1 July 1975.

• Each protected species or population

is included in one of three lists,

called Appendices.

• Currently, 183 countries are the

signatory to the CITES.

Topic- GS-3-Environment, Biodiversity

Source- The Hindu


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47

5. DRDO Successfully Test Flight

Rustom 2

• DRDO successfully tested it's

Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle

Rustom 2 at its Aeronautical Test

Range at Chalker in Chitradurga

district of Karnataka.

Related Information

Rustom

• The Rustom is a Medium Altitude Long

Endurance unmanned air vehicle

(UAV) being developed by Defence

Research and Development

Organisation for the all three services.

• Rustom is derived from the NAL's

LCRA (Light Canard Research Aircraft)

developed by a team under the

leadership of late Prof Rustom

Damania in the 1980s.

Rustom 2

• It has the capability to fly for 24 hours

at a stretch at over 200 kilometres per

hour speed

• It can conduct sustained surveillance

and also able to destroy enemy targets.

• It will also have the capability to carry

synthetic aperture radar, electronic

intelligence systems and weapons.


Source- PIB + AIR

6. 44th Khajuraho dance festival

was held in Madhya Pradesh

• The 44th edition of Khajuraho Dance

Festival 2018 was held at Khajuraho

temple, Madhya Pradesh.

• Khajuraho temple is a UNESCO world

heritage site in Chhatarpur district,

Madhya Pradesh.

• Khajuraho temple is a group of Hindu

and Jain Temples in Madhya Pradesh

build by Chandela Dynasty between

950 and 1050 AD.

Topic- GS-1-Indian Culture


27.02.2018

1. India-bound gas pipeline TAPI

construction started in Afghanistan

• Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan

and India ceremonially broke ground

on the Afghan section of an ambitious,

multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline

expected to help ease energy deficits

in South Asia.

• Recently, the Construction on the

Afghan side started on February 24,

2018.

Related Information

TAPI

• The Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–

Pakistan–India Pipeline (TAPI), also

known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline,

is a natural gas pipeline being

developed by the Asian Development

Bank.

• The pipeline will transport Caspian

Sea natural gas from Turkmenistan

through Afghanistan into Pakistan and

then to India.

• The Construction on the project

started in Turkmenistan on December

13th, 2015.

Topic- GS-2- Bilateral, regional and global



Source- Livemint

2. The lowdown on SWIFT and bank

fraud

• The ₹11,500-crore fraud in the Punjab

National Bank where fund transfer

through an inter-bank messaging

system was not reported to the core

banking solution has put the spotlight

on SWIFT (Society for Worldwide

Interbank Financial

Telecommunication).

• In February 2016, in the Bangladesh

Bank heist, $81 million was

fraudulently withdrawn from the

central bank of the country, at the

Federal Reserve Bank of New York

through the SWIFT network.

What happened in the PNB case?

• SWIFT established the customer

security programme (CSP) in early

2016 to support customers in the fight

against a growing cyberthreat.

• In the PNB case, one of its biggest

failures was the missing link between

SWIFT and the bank’s backend

software.


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48

• This allowed fraudulent use of a key

credit instrument — letters of

understanding or a loan request to

another bank through the SWIFT

network — to transfer funds.

What lies ahead?

• After the fraud, PNB adopted strict

SWIFT controls.

• It has created a separate unit to

reauthorize most messages sent over

SWIFT by branches.

• To strengthen internal controls, the

RBI has set April 30 as an “outer limit”

for all public-sector banks to integrate

SWIFT with core banking solutions.

Related Information

SWIFT (Society for Worldwide

Interbank Financial

Telecommunication)

• The SWIFT is a global member-owned

cooperative that is headquartered in

Brussels, Belgium.

• It was founded in 1973 by a group of

239 banks from 15 countries which

formed a co-operative utility to

develop a secure electronic

messaging service and common

standards to facilitate cross-border

payments.

• Its core role is to provide a secure

transmission channel so that Bank A

knows that its message to Bank B

goes to Bank B and no one else.

• Bank B, in turn, knows that Bank A,

and no one other than Bank A, sent,

read or altered the message in route.

• Banks, of course, need to have checks

in place before actually sending

messages.

Topic-GS-3- Indian Economy and issues

relating to planning, mobilization of

resources, growth, development and

employment.

Source- The Hindu

3. Assam government decided to

observe September 22 as Rhino

Day

• The Assam government will observe

September 22 as Rhino Day to

generate public awareness on

protection of the one-horned

rhinoceros.

• The state has approximately 2,500

rhino population in the state.

Related information

Indian rhinoceros

• The Indian rhinoceros also called the

greater one-horned rhinoceros, is a

rhinoceros native to the Indian

subcontinent.

• It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN

Red List.

• Assam’s Kaziranga National Park have

the highest population of the

rhinoceros in India.



4. FICCI launches ASEAN-India

Research Training Fellowship

(AIRTF) in partnership with

Department of Science and

Technology

• Federation of Indian Chambers of

Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has

entered into a partnership with the

Department of Science and

Technology (DST), GOI to implement

and execute the ASEAN India

Research Training Fellowship (AIRTF).

• The AIRTF scheme was introduced to

promote scientific cooperation

between India and ASEAN member

countries.

• The scheme aims at capacity building

of 50 young researchers annually

from ASEAN member countries in

science and technology domain and

provide complete financial support for

a period of six months.



5. Odisha files for geographical

recognition of its Rasagulla

variant

• The Odisha government filed for

geographical recognition for the

Odishara Rasagulla with the

Geographical Indications Registry

(GI) office.

• The Odisha government was under

pressure to file for recognition of its

variant of the sweet, after West

Bengal was awarded the GI tag for its

own variant in November 2017.


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Related Information

GI Tag-

• A geographical indication (GI) is a

name or sign used on certain products

which corresponds to a specific

geographical location or origin (e.g. a

town, region, or country).

• India, as a member of the World Trade

Organization (WTO), enacted the

Geographical Indications of Goods

(Registration and Protection) Act,

1999 has come into force with effect

from 15 September 2003.

• This Act is administered by Controller

General of Patents, Designs and Trade

Marks, who is also Registrar of

Geographical Indications.

• GIs have been defined under Article

22(1) of the WTO Agreement on

Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual

Property Rights(TRIPS) Agreement.

• Darjeeling tea became the first GI

tagged product in India.

GI Tag status given in 2017

• The products which have received the

GI tag this year include-

(1) Pochampally Ikat of Telangana

(2) Gobindobhog rice of West Bengal

(3) Durgi stone carvings of Andhra

Pradesh

(4) Etikoppaka toys of Andhra

Pradesh

(5) Chakshesang shawl of Nagaland

(6) Banaganapalle mangoes of

Andhra Pradesh

(7) Tulaipanji rice of West Bengal

(8) Banglar Rasogolla of West Bengal

Topic- GS-1- Indian Culture


6. India to host mega naval exercise

‘MILAN’ 2018 at the Andaman and

Nicobar Islands

• India will host the mega naval

exercise ‘MILAN’ 2018 at the

Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

• The mega naval exercise will begin

from March 6 in which at least 16

countries will participate in the

exercise.

• The aim of the exercise is to expand

regional cooperation and combat

unlawful activities in critical sea lanes.

• The countries which are participating

in the exercise include Australia,

Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius,

Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman,

Vietnam, Thailand, Tanzania, Sri

Lanka, Singapore, Bangladesh,

Indonesia, Kenya and Cambodia.


Source- PIB

28.02.2018

UIDAI introduces Bal Aadhar Card for

children for below five year

• Unique Identification Authority of

India (UIDAI) introduces blue color

Bal Aadhar Card for the kids under

five year.

• It will be linked with one of parent’s

Aadhar Card.

• No biometric details will be captured

like like Iris scan or fingerprint scans.

• Once the kid turns 5 years, it is

compulsory to convert of all Bal

Aadhaar cards into proper Aadhaar

card with biometric details.

Source- NavBharat times

India’s H-1B visa conundrum in eight

charts

• The USCIS argues that the H-1B visa

is being exploited by corporations to

hire high-skilled, low cost labour, and

that the new clauses will only protect

the rights of beneficiaries who are

being paid less than the requisite

wage for their labour in the U.S.

market.

• In a Policy memorandum, the US

Citizenship & immigration Services

(USCIS) outlined the amendments to

the immigration and Nationality Act,

section 101(a)(15)(H)- the law covers

H-1B visas-requiring donor firms to

clearly specify the duration, nature

and site of work.

• According to data collected by the

USCIS, of the 34,01,117 applications

for H-1B visas filed since 2007,

21,83,112 were for Indian

beneficiaries.


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50

• China ranks a distant second with

2,96,313 applications for the past

decade. Other countries which have a

relatively large number of H-1B visa

petitions are Philippines and South

Korea, with 85,918 and 77,359

applications between 2007 and 2017

respectively.

Related Information

H-1B Visa

• The H-1Bis a visa in the United States

under the Immigration and

Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H)

which allows U.S. employers to

employ foreign workers in specialty

occupations.

• Effective January 17, 2017, USCIS

modified the rules to allow a grace

period of up to 60 days but in practice

as long as a green cardapplication is

pending they are allowed to stay.

Source- The Hindu

CBSE grants one time relaxation in

passing marks for class 10 students

• In a major relief to students of class

10th who will write their board exams

next week, the Central Board of

Secondary Education (CBSE) has

decided to grant a one-time relaxation

in pass marks.

• The board has decided to implement

overall 33 per cent pass mark criteria

for this batch of students only. They

will not require to secure 33 per cent

separately in board exams and

internal assessments.

• Earlier, the board had put in place a

mandatory clause of securing 33 per

cent in the board exams and another

33 per cent in internal assessment.

• The class 10 exams will be mandatory

from this year after a gap of seven

years. The Human Resource

Development Ministry had made the

board examination for class 10

optional from 2010-11 batch.

Source- News onair

India, Nepal to hold joint exercise in

Pithoragarh

• India and Nepal would hold a joint

exercise in Uttarakhand that will

include training on jungle warfare,

anti-terrorism combat as well as

disaster response activities.

• Nepal’s newly-appointed defence

minister Ishwor Pokharel signed an

agreement to launch Surya Kiran

Nepal-India Military Joint Exercise.

• The 13th edition of the Nepal-India

joint military exercise will be held in

Pithoragarh in a couple of months.

This is a regular military exercise

being organised annually between the

two armies

• Last year, the 12th edition of Surya

Kiran military exercise was held in

Kathmandu. The military exercise will

include training on jungle warfare,

anti-terrorism combat as well as

disaster response activities.

Source- Live mint

India to grow 7.6% in calendar year 2018:

Moody's

• According to the Moody's Investors

Service, Indian economy is starting to

recover from the negative impact of

demonetisation and disruption caused

by GST roll out, but kept GDP growth

estimates unchanged at 7.6 per cent

for 2018.

• In its global growth forecasts for 2018

and 2019, Moody's said the Budget for

fiscal year beginning April 1 (2018-

19) includes some measures to

stabilise rural economy that was

disproportionately hit by scrapping of

high denomination 500 and 1000

rupee notes.

• "There are some signs that the Indian

economy is starting to recover from

the soft growth patch attributed to the

negative impact of the

demonetisation undertaken in 2016

and disruption related to last year's

rollout of the Goods and Service Tax

(GST).

• It kept the growth forecast for India in

the calendar year 2018 unchanged at

7.6 per cent and for 2019 at 7.5 per

cent. "Among the other major

emerging market countries, we have

left our growth expectations for India

and Indonesia unchanged."


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_worker

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_residence_(United_States)

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51

• In November last year, Moody's had

raised India's sovereign rating for the

first time in 13 years, saying growth

prospects have improved with

continued progress on economic and

institutional reforms. The US-based

agency had upped India's rating to

Baa2 from Baa3 and changed its

rating outlook to 'stable' from

'positive'.

Related Information

Moody's Investors Service

• Moody's Investors Service provides

international financial research on

bondsissued by commercial and

government entities.

• It’s headquarter is in New York city,

United States.


Maldives rejects India's Milan naval

exercise invite

• The island nation, Maldives, has

declined New Delhi's invitation to

participate in the biennial naval

exercise Over 16 countries have

confirmed their participation in the

naval exercise.

• According to Indian Navy Chief

Admiral Sunil Lanba, the Maldives has

not given any reason for its decision.

• India will host navies from at least 16

nations for an eight-day naval drill.

The aim of the exercise is to expand

regional cooperation and combat

unlawful activities in critical sea lanes.

• The biennial naval exercise, Milan, is

being organised at the Andaman and

Nicobar Islands.

Source-business-standard

Govt expects foodgrain production to

touch new record in 2017-18

Government has estimated that the

foodgrain production will touch a new record

of 277.49 million tonnes in 2017-18 crop year

as against 275.11 million tonnes last year.

• According to the second estimate for

2017-18, Pulses production is pegged

at a record 23.95 MT this year, up by

0.82 MT, from 23.13 MT last year.

• The wheat production is estimated to

decline by 1.40 MT to 97.11 MT from

the record of 98.51 MT achieved in

2016-17.

• The production of coarse cereals is

estimated at record 45.42 MT this

year as against 43.77 MT in 2016-17

crop year.

• However, oilseeds production is

pegged lower by 1.39 MT at 29.88 MT

in 2017-18 as against 31.28 MT

during 2016-17.

• The Agriculture Ministry said, as a

result of near normal rainfall during

monsoon 2017 and various policy

initiatives taken by the government,

the country has witnessed record

foodgrains production in the current

year.

Source- news onair

***


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