National year of millets’

Centre to declare 2018 as ‘national year of millets’

Karnataka, which is the country’s leader in the millet sector.

The anaemia (iron deficiency), B-complex vitamin deficiency, pellagra (niacin deficiency) can be
effectively tackled with intake of less expensive but nutritionally rich food grains like millets.

⚜▪▪▪

star rating initiative:

The star-rating initiative, developed by the Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban will be rating cities on a 7-
star rating system based on multiple cleanliness indicators for solid waste management.
The distinctive feature of Star Rating System will be that many cities can have higher stars as compared
to only one city can be “Cleanest city” under Swachh Survekshan.

⚜▪▪▪

Management Information System (MIS)

The Ministry of Women and Child Development in collaboration with National Informatics Centre (NIC),
has developed a Management Information System (MIS) portal for submitting applications/estimates by
NGOs for carrying out Anganwadi Services (ICDS) Training through AWTCs/MLTCs.

⚜▪▪▪

(AMRIT) scheme

Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) scheme:

The flagship programme of the Union Health ministry – AMRIT (Affordable Medicines and Reliable
Implants for Treatment) aims to provide affordable life-saving cancer, cardiac drugs and medical
disposables. The AMRIT pharmacies offer an average discount of 63% on medicines.

⚜▪▪▪

Rapid reporting system (RRS):

The RRS will facilitate the monitoring of the scheme and taking corrective measures by ensuring faster
flow of information, accurate targeting of the beneficiaries and reduction of leakages. This Portal has
been developed in collaboration with National

⚜▪▪▪

(TARE) Scheme:

Teacher Associateship for Research Excellence (TARE) Scheme:

The scheme aims to tap the latent potential of faculty working in state universities, colleges and private
academic institutions who are well trained but have difficulty in pursuing their research due to varied
reasons including lack of facilities, funding and guidance. (IIT,IISC)

⚜▪▪▪

Distinguished Investigator Award (DIA):

This has been initiated to recognize and reward Principal Investigators (PIs) of SERB/DST projects who
have performed remarkably well.
The scheme aims not only to reward the best PIs of completed projects but also to motivate the ongoing
PIs to perform exceedingly well.

⚜▪▪▪

AWSAR (Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research):

This has been initiated to encourage, empower and endow popular science writing through newspapers,
magazines, blogs, social media, etc.

by young PhD Scholars and Post-Doctoral Fellows during the course of their higher studies and research
pursuits. As over 20,000 youth are awarded PhD in S&T every year in India, the scheme aims to tap this
tremendous potential to popularize & communicate science and also to inculcate scientific
temperament in the masses.

⚜▪▪▪

Environmental Performance Index

Context: The 2018 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) — the green rankings was recently released
on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meet in Davos. The biennial index is prepared by Yale and
Columbia Universities along with the World Economic Forum (WEF).

⚜▪▪▪

Global Talent Competitiveness Index

Global Talent Competitiveness Index has been released by INSEAD in partnership with The Adecco
Group and Tata communications.

india’s overall low ranking—177 among 180 countries

⚜▪▪▪

Himalayan Research Fellowship Scheme:

Aim: The scheme aims scheme’ to create a young pool of trained environmental managers, ecologists
and socio-economists.

This pool will help generate information on physical, biological, managerial and human aspects of
Himalayan environment and development.

The union environment ministry has decided to start a ‘Himalayan Research Fellowships scheme’.

The financial support will be provided under the National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS)

⚜▪▪▪

Inclusive Development Index

Inclusive Development Index has been released by the World Economic Forum. This Inclusive
Development Index has been developed as a new metric of national economic performance as an
alternative to GDP.

India is placed at the 62nd place among emerging economies much below China’s 26th position

⚜▪▪▪

Nuna
Context: A recent study suggests new information regarding Australia’s history, indicating that a small
area of the country was once part of Canada – forming a supercontinent named Nuna.

⚜▪▪▪

Parker Solar Probe:

‘Parker Solar Probe will travel through the sun’s atmosphere, closer to the surface than any spacecraft
before it, facing brutal heat and radiation conditions and ultimately providing humanity with the closest-
ever observations of a star.’

Aims of the mission: It will study the outer atmosphere of the sun, known as the corona.
Nasa has begun testing its new probe- Parker solar probe- that will ‘touch the sun’, when it launches
into space this summer.

⚜▪▪▪

India will be hosting the International Dam Safety Conference – 2018 at Thiruvananthapuram.

Central Water Commission is organizing the event

Dam safety conferences are organized as an annual event under the Dam Safety Rehabilitation and
Improvement Project (DRIP) project.

⚜▪▪▪

DHARMA:

A software programme – Dam Health and Rehabilitation Monitoring Application (DHARMA)- will also be
launched during the conference.

DHARMA is a web tool to digitize all dam related data effectively.

It will help to document authentic asset and health information pertaining to the large dams in the
country, enabling appropriate actions to ensure need based rehabilitation.

It is a new stride in asset management aspect by India.

⚜▪▪▪

Agriculture Ministers’ Conference:

Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Conference was recently held under the auspices of the 10th Global Forum
for Food and Agriculture in Germany.

The conference affirmed to the role of ICT technologies as an important tool to agriculture, for example
in improving water-use efficiency.

The theme of the meeting was “Agriculture and Water – Key to Feeding the World”.

⚜▪▪▪

IndAS

Ind AS or Indian Accounting Standards govern the accounting and recording of financial transactions as
well as the presentation of statements such as profit and loss account and balance sheet of a company.

For long, there has been a heated debate about Indian companies moving to the globally accepted
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for their accounts

The implementation of IndAS for public sector banks requires an amendment to the Banking Regulation
Act.

⚜▪▪▪

Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP):

The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), established in 1999, is a comprehensive and in-depth
assessment of a country’s financial sector. It is a joint program of the International Monetary Fund and
the World Bank.

⚜▪▪▪

Cyber Surakshit Bharat:

Conceptualized with the mission to spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety
measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government
departments, Cyber Surakshit Bharat will be operated on the three principles of Awareness, Education
and Enablement.

The primary objective is to keep our data safe and protected.

Cyber Surakshit Bharat is the first public-private partnership of its kind and will leverage the expertise of
the IT industry in cybersecurity

⚜▪▪▪

GFFA?

The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) is an international conference that focuses on central
questions concerning the future of the global agri-food industry.

It gives representatives from the worlds of politics, business, science and civil society an opportunity to
share ideas and enhance understanding on a selected topic of current agricultural policy

The conference is being held in Berlin.

This is 10th such conference.

It is held during International Green Week (IGW).

Theme of this year’s event is “Shaping the future of livestock – sustainably, responsibly, efficiently”.

⚜▪▪▪

Kilopower:

NASA has announced new tests are underway for the Kilopower project, a program designed to create
small nuclear power sources to fuel further space exploration.

The Kilopower project is a near-term technology effort to develop preliminary concepts and
technologies that could be used for an affordable fission nuclear power system to enable long-duration
stays on planetary surfaces.

⚜▪▪▪

Goal: The principal goal of the project is to sufficiently develop and test nuclear power system
technologies by 2018 so fission power

⚜▪▪▪
UN Environment Management Group (EMG):

The EMG is a UN system-wide coordination body on environment and human settlements. It was
established in 2001 pursuant to a UN General Assembly resolution, supporting a proposal of the UN
Secretary-General.

The EMG also will launch a waste management campaign dubbed ‘Say yes to less,’ to raise awareness of
waste reduction and management among UN staff.

The group is chaired by the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme and supported by a
secretariat provided by UNEP

⚜▪▪▪

What is Budapest convention?

The Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime or the Budapest
Convention, is the first international treaty seeking to address Internet and computer crime by
harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques, and increasing cooperation among
nations.

⚜▪▪▪

India test-fires nuclear-capable ICBM Agni-V

Agni- 5 is the intercontinental surface-to-surface nuclear capable ballistic missile.

Agni-5 has a range of over 5,000 km and can carry about a 1,000-kg warhead. It can target almost all of
Asia including Pakistan and China and Europe.

The 17-metre long Agni-5 Missile weighs about 50 tonnes and is a very agile and modern weapon
system.

India describes the Agni – 5 missile system as a ‘weapon of peace’.

Only the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – China, France, Russia, the
United States and Britain, along with Israel, have so far possessed such long-range missiles.

⚜▪▪▪

Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre:

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre will be set up under the newly created Cyber and
Information Security (CIS) division of the MHA.
CIS will have four wings, namely security clearance, cybercrime prevention, cyber security and
information security. The I4C will assist in centralising cyber security investigations, prioritise the
development of response tools and bring together private companies to contain the menace

⚜▪▪▪

Tourette syndrome?
Tourette’s syndrome is a neuropsychiatric disorder that causes people to make sudden repetitive
movements or sounds which aren’t controlled (known as tics).

⚜▪▪▪

Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN):

Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN) in Higher Education was launched in 2015.

GIAN aims at tapping the talent pool of scientists and entrepreneurs to engage with the institutes of
higher education in India to augment the country’s existing academic resources, accelerate the pace of
quality reforms, and further strengthen India’s scientific and technological capabilities.

⚜▪▪▪

Raisina Dialogue:

This is an annual geo-political event, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and Observer Research
Foundation (ORF).

It is designed to explore prospects and opportunities for Asian integration as well as Asia’s integration
with the larger world.

It is predicated on India’s vital role in the Indian Ocean Region and how India along with its partners can
build a stable regional and world order.

⚜▪▪▪

World Energy and Environment Conference

Context: The World Energy and Environment Council is organising the 5th Series World Energy and
Environment Conference and Exhibition 2018 at Bahrain

WEEC is a world platform that address serious issues about environment and the challenges to turn to
clean, renewable energy. The focus is into the development of energy policy, sustainable strategies,
sustainable resource developments and sustainable economic development.

⚜▪▪▪

Purandaradasa:

Purandara Dasa (1484–1564) was a Haridasa, great devotee of Lord Krishna (an incarnation of Lord
Vishnu) and a saint. He was a disciple of the celebrated Madhwa philosopher-saint Vyasatirtha, and a
contemporary of yet another great Haridasa, Kanakadasa
Purandaradasa was the pioneer who blended the rich musical streams, namely the Dravidian and Aryan
music, into a single stream known as Carnatic music.

⚜▪▪▪

Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE)

The board has decided to launch ‘Operation Digital Board’ in all schools in five years. This will be
undertaken jointly by Centre, State, CSR, and community.

⚜▪▪▪

IPrism’

What is it? It is one of its kind Intellectual Property (IP) Competition for college and university students.
The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion
(DIPP), in collaboration with ASSOCHAM and ERICSSON India, has launched this competition.

⚜▪▪▪

Havre

It is the world’s largest deep ocean volcanic eruption happened in New Zealand. It was recently
confirmed by the researchers.

Named as Havre, the deep ocean volcanic eruption was first discovered in 2002. A solidified volcanic
rock known as pumice raft — 400 square kilometres in size — found floating in the ocean near New
Zealand in 2012

⚜▪▪▪

National Knowledge Network

NKN is a multi-gigabit pan-India network which facilitates the development of India’s communications
infrastructure, stimulates research and creates next generation applications and services.
Aim: With its multi-gigabit capability, NKN aims to connect all universities, research institutions,
libraries, laboratories, healthcare and agricultural institutions across the country to address such
paradigm shift.

⚜▪▪▪

What is the Mahadayi row?

Karnataka seeks to divert water from tributaries of the river through the Kalasa-Bhanduri Nala project
towards the parched Malaprabha river basin (a tributary of River Krishna), which is being strongly
opposed by Goa.

This has led to a long-drawn farmers’ agitation in Karnataka, which has been revitalised as the State goes
to the polls later this year.
⚜▪▪▪

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)?

SAD occurs in climates where there is less sunlight at certain times of the year. Sometimes, it is mistaken
to be a “lighter” version of depression, which is untrue.

It is a different version of the same illness and people with SAD are just as ill as people with major
depression, according to psychiatrists.

According to a recent study, in India, more than 10 million people suffer from a self-diagnosable ailment
called Seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

⚜▪▪▪

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released its Global Manufacturing Index. This is WEF’s first
‘Readiness for the future of production report’.
India is at the 30th position, five places below China, but higher than the other BRICS members Brazil,
Russia and South Africa. India has been placed in the “Legacy” group.

⚜▪▪▪

Green business council:

A new council is to be established to advise government on setting the right conditions to stimulate
environmental entrepreneurism and innovation.
The group would also promote the business case for companies to address and report on natural capital
risks and green opportunities in their supply chains.

⚜▪▪▪

Zygaenid:

It is a newly discovered species of moth. This discovery represents the first record of Elcysma from
Arunachal Pradesh.

Researchers have suggested that the new species be commonly called Apatani Glory, named after a
local tribe called Apatani.

⚜▪▪▪

Gaming disorder”

The WHO is set to include “gaming disorder” for the first time in its International Classification of
Diseases (ICD), which is used by more than 100 countries.
Gaming disorder is characterised by a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behaviour (‘digital
gaming’ or ‘video-gaming’), which may be online (i.e., over the internet) or offline

▪▪▪▪

IUCN congresse

IUCN congresses have produced several key international environmental agreements including the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES), the World Heritage Convention, and the Ramsar Convention on wetlands.

The organization is best known to the wider public for compiling and publishing the IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species.

▪▪▪▪

‘Tele-Law’
In its effort to make legal aid easily accessible to the marginalized communities and citizens living in
rural areas, the Government of India has launched the ‘Tele-Law’.
The Ministry of Law and Justice partnered with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
(MeitY), which anchors the Digital India programme, to provide legal aid services through its Common
Service Centres (CSC) at the panchayat level, spread across the country.

▪▪▪▪

Shaala Siddhi

Shaala Siddhi is a comprehensive instrument for school evaluation which enables the schools to evaluate
their performance in more focused and strategic manner to facilitate them to make professional
judgement for continuous improvement.

The web-portal of the framework will help all schools to assess themselves and the results can be seen
by all enabling them to provide feedback.

▪▪▪▪

e-nivaran

CBDT has launched the ambitious 'e-nivaran' facility for online redressal of taxpayers' grievances related
to refunds, ITRs and PAN among others as part of its initiative to reduce instances of harassment of the
public when it comes to complaints related to the I-T Department.

▪▪▪▪

Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI)

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) is an indicator of the economic health of the manufacturing
sector.
The PMI is based on five major indicators: new orders, inventory levels, production, supplier deliveries
and the employment environment. The purpose of the PMI is to provide information about current
business conditions to company decision makers, analysts and purchasing managers.

▪▪▪▪

Pacific possible

Pacific possible is a new research program providing insights into transformative opportunities and
challenges for Pacific Island countries for the coming decades.

The programme is an initiative of World Bank.

Pacific Possible is focused on the genuinely transformative opportunities that exist for Pacific Island
countries over the next 25 years and identifies the biggest challenges that require urgent action.

These include opportunities such as labor mobility and tourism, as well as major threats to Pacific life,
such as climate change and non-communicable diseases

▪▪▪▪

What is urban heat island effect?

The urban heat island is a phenomenon when the heat gets trapped near the earth’s surface as a result
of a decline in green cover, rapid urbanisation, energy-intensive activities, and concrete structures.

▪▪▪▪

North Koel Reservoir Project:

The project is situated on North Koel river which is a tributary of Sone river finally joining the river
Ganga. The North Koel Reservoir is located in the most backward tribal areas in Palamau and Garhwa
districts of Jharkhand State.

North Koel river rises on Ranchi plateau and flows through Jharkhand. It joins the Sone a few miles
north-west of Haidarnagar.

▪▪▪▪

Station Explorer for X-ray Timing and Navigation Technology:

SEXTANT works like a GPS receiver getting signals from at least three GPS satellites, all of which are
equipped with atomic clocks. The receiver measures the time delay from each satellite and converts this
into spatial coordinates.
Pulsars are highly magnetised, rapidly rotating neutron stars – the result of a massive star’s core
collapsing and subsequently exploding. As they spin, they emit electromagnetic radiation.

▪▪▪▪

james webb space telescope:

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the largest space telescope ever built. It is an international
collaboration between of about 17 countries including NASA, European Space Agency (ESA) and the
Canadian Space Agency (CSA). When it is launched in 2019, it will be the world’s biggest and most
powerful telescope.

▪▪▪▪

Malimath Committee

The Committee on Reforms of the Criminal Justice System, or the Justice Malimath Committee, was
constituted by the Home Ministry in 2000.

• The Malimath panel had made 158 recommendations but these were never implemented.

• Government is planning to revisit Malimath report on criminal justice system.

▪▪▪▪

Umesh Sinha commitee

The Election Commission has set up a 14-member panel headed by Umesh Sinha to study how social
media and other digital platforms are used ahead of polls and make suggestions on how to adapt the
Model Code of Conduct to these changes.
• The panel has three months to suggest changes to Section 126 of the Representation of the People
Act, which currently prohibits all campaigning 48 hours before voting.

▪▪▪▪

NAFCC

The National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC) was established in August, 2015 to meet the
cost of adaptation to climate change for the State and Union Territories of India that are particularly
vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is responsible for implementation
of adaptation projects under the (NAFCC).

▪▪▪▪
Stressed assets = NPAs + Restructured loans + Written off assets

(1) Non-performing assets- When loan interest/instalment remained due more than 90 days

(2) Restructured loans- When loan is restructured by giving extra time, lower the interest rate etc.

(3) Written off assets- When inventory assets lose some or all their value.

▪▪▪▪

Brasilia Declaration

“Brasilia Declaration on Road Safety” through which they agreed ways to halve road traffic deaths by the
end of this decade –

a key milestone within the new Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 3.6. As a signatory to Brasilia
Declaration, India is committed to reducing the number of road accidents and fatalities by 50 per cent
by 2020.

▪▪▪

The NIIF is being operationalized by establishing three Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) under the
SEBI Regulations. The proposed corpus of NIIF is Rs. 40,000 Crores (around USD 6 Billion).

GOI’s contribution to the AIFs under the NIIF scheme shall be 49% of the total commitment. NIIF has
mandate to solicit equity participation from strategic anchor partners, like overseas sovereign/quasi-
sovereign/multilateral/bilateral investors

▪▪▪

New Agenda Coalition

The New Agenda Coalition (NAC), composed of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and South
Africa, is a geographically dispersed group of middle power countries seeking to build an international
consensus to make progress on nuclear disarmament, as legally called for in the nuclear NPT.

▪▪▪

World Economic Outlook

The World Economic Outlook (WEO) is a survey conducted and published by the

International Monetary Fund. It is published biannually and partly updated two times a year.WEO
forecasts include key macroeconomic indicators, such as GDP, inflation, current account and fiscal
balance of more than 180 countries around the globe. It also deals with major economic policy issues.

▪▪▪

DHARMA
Dam Health and Rehabilitation Monitoring Application ) app will serve as a web tool to digitize all dam
related data effectively.

It will help to document authentic asset and health information pertaining to the large dams in the
country, enabling appropriate actions to ensure need based rehabilitation.

▪▪▪

"Cloud AutoML

Google has launched "Cloud AutoML", a product that enables businesses with limited Machine Learning
(ML) expertise to build high quality, custom Artificial Intelligence (AI) models to improve their product or
service.

"Cloud AutoML" will let businesses and developers train custom vision models for their own use cases.

▪▪▪

Brahui

Brahui is a Dravidian language spoken primarily by the Brahui people in the central part of Balochistan
province in Pakistan, and in scattered parts of Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkmenistan, and by expatriate
Brahui communities in Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Iraq.

It is isolated from the nearest Dravidian-speaking neighbour population of South India by a distance of
more than 1,500 kilometres (930 mi). Kalat, Khuzdar, Mastung, and parts of Quetta district of
Balochistan Province are predominantly Brahui-speaking.

▪▪▪

Nilgiri pipit

The Nilgiri pipit (Anthus nilghiriensis) is a distinctive species of pipit that is endemic to the high altitude
hills of southern India. Richer brown in colour than other pipits in the region,

it is distinctive in having the streaking on the breast continuing along the flanks. It is nonmigratory and
has a tendency to fly into low trees when disturbed and is closely related to the tree pipits, Anthus
hodgsoni and Anthus trivialis.

IUCN Status – Vulnerable

▪▪▪

Jasmine Revolution
The Tunisian revolution in which President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced out of the presidency by
popular protests was called the "Jasmine Revolution".

▪▪▪

Mandal Commission

The Mandal Commission, or the Second Backward Classes Commission, was established in India on 1
January 1979 under Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to "identify the socially or
educationally backward classes" of India.

▪▪▪

Bank recapitalisation plan

The reform agenda is aimed at EASE – Enhanced Access and Service Excellence, focusing on six themes
of

customer responsiveness,

responsible banking,

credit off take,

▪▪▪

PSBs as Udyami Mitra,

deepening financial inclusion & digitalisation and

developing personnel for brand PSB.

▪▪▪

Cobweb phenomenon

The cobweb phenomenon: After the prices of a particular agricultural commodity shoots through the
roof during a season of scarcity, farmers resort to boosting the production of this commodity on the
premise of the pre-existing demand and prices, leading to a problem of plenty and the resultant price
crash. This can happen in the case of any crop.

▪▪▪

Dove’

Dove refers to an economic policy advisor who promotes monetary policies that involve low interest
rates, based on the belief that low interest rates increase employment.

As a result, doves believe the negative effects of low interest rates are relatively negligible.

▪▪▪

Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS)

Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) products/components: A COTS product is usually a computer
hardware or software product tailored for specific uses and made available to the general public. Such
products are designed to be readily available and user friendly. A typical example of a COTS product is
Microsoft Office or antivirus software.

Resource Efficiency Initiative (REI)

India and the European Union agreed to strengthen cooperation in the areas of environment, resource
efficiency and, circular economy under the EU’s Resource Efficiency Initiative (EU-REI) for India.

The project objectives include assessment of India’s current and future use of resources and to develop
a resource efficiency strategy for India in four sectors –

mobility, buildings and construction, renewable energy, and plastic and e-waste management

Open skies

Open skies is an international policy concept that calls for the liberalization of the rules and regulations
of the international aviation industry

especially commercial aviation—in order to create a free-market environment for the airline industry. Its
primary objectives are:

to liberalize the rules for international aviation markets and minimize government intervention as it
applies to passenger, all-cargo, and combination air transportation as well as scheduled and charter
services;

Inclusive Development Index

Inclusive Development Index (IDI) is released by World Economic Forum (WEF) in its ‘Inclusive Growth
and Development Report’.

It has three pillars Growth and Development, Inclusion and Intergenerational Equity, and Sustainability

India, with a score of only 3.38, ranks low (60) among 79 developing economies, despite its growth in
GDP per capita being among the top 10.

This is because- India’s debt-to-GDP ratio is high and India’s labour force participation rate is low,
informal economy is large.

Laffer curve plot

The Laffer curve plots the relation between government revenues and tax rates and is indicative of
economic activity corresponding to taxation.

The shape of the curve is like an inverted U. Thus, revenues are low at low tax rates and also at
extremely high rates ( where people substitute income with leisure, and tend to earn less).

Tuvalu is a small island nation in the South Pacific and home to about 10,000 people. It is likely to be
under water in less than 70 years. Due to the rising sea level caused by global warming, other low-lying
island nations such as Kiribati, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, Micronesia and Nauru are destined to
suffer the same fate.’

Galden Namgey Lhatse

Tawang monastery is also known in Tibet as Galden Namgey Lhatse. It is the largest monastery in India
and Second largest in world after Potala Palace.

It has been in news due to the scheduled visit of Dalai Lama and the Chinese objection to it.

Universal social security payments’

The labour ministry has finalised the draft social security code under which mandatory coverage for
pension, insurance — both death and disability — and maternity will have to be given to all.

Sampoorna Bima Gram (SBG) Yojana

Sampoorna Bima Gram (SBG) Yojana is an initiative for expansion of clientele base of Postal Life
Insurance.

Under Sampoorna Bima Gram (SBG) Yojana, at least one village (having a minimum of 100 households)
will be identified in each of the revenue districts of the country,

Wherein endeavour will be made to cover all households of that identified village with a minimum of
one RPLI (Rural Postal Life Insurance) policy each.

All villages under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana will be brought under its ambit.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)

• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), a statutory body, was established under the
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

• It is a unique regulator: regulates a profession as well as transactions.

• It has regulatory oversight over the Insolvency Professionals, Insolvency Professional Agencies and
Information Utilities.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board has recently issued norms for handling grievances under Insolvency
and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

solar wind

The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, called
the corona.

• The solar wind is supersonic and reaches speeds of 250 to 750 kilometers per second.

• Solar winds may get violent and can temporarily distort the earth’s magnetosphere – the region
around the earth which is influenced by its magnetic field. These temporary disturbances, called
geomagnetic storms

Border Protection Grid (BPG)

Border Protection Grid (BPG) is a multi-pronged and foolproof mechanism to secure our border.

• The grid will comprise of various elements namely physical barriers, non-physical barriers, surveillance
system, Intelligence agencies, State Police, BSF and other State and Central agencies.

• BPG will be supervised by a State level Standing Committee under the Chairmanship of respective
Chief Secretaries. BPG will ensure greater help for the States in the overall border security.

SAICON 2017

The First International Conference on Sports Medicine and Sports Sciences SAICON 2017 has recently
been inaugurated in New Delhi.

• It aims to promote scientific temperament in the country and inspire students, researchers and
educationists alike to take up sports science and research to the next level.

International conference on Ground water, 2017:

An International conference is being organized on the Ground water issues in the country with a theme
of “Ground water Vision 2030- Water Security, Challenges and Climate Change Adaptation” from
December 11 to 13, 2017

Kanchanmala Pande
Visually impaired swimmer Kanchanmala Pande has recently scripted history by becoming the first
Indian to win gold at the World Para Swimming Championship, taking place in Mexico.

power generation capacity

India’s installed power generation capacity of 331,118 megawatts (MW), 58% is fuelled by coal and 29%
is fuelled by oil.

• ‘Electricity issue’ is in news since the government has recently set up a high-level committee headed
by NITI Aayog chief executive Amitabh Kant to address the problem of stressed assets in India's power
sector.

Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI)

Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) aims to reach each and every child under two years of age and all
those pregnant women who have been left uncovered under the routine immunisation programme.
• The special drive will focus on improving immunization coverage in select districts and cities to ensure
full immunization to more than 90% by December 2018

Law Commission of India

The Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body constituted by the Government of lndia from time
to time.

• The Commission was originally constituted in 1955 and is re-constituted every three years.

• The tenure of the 20th Law Commission was upto 31st August, 2015. The tenure of the 21st Law
Commission is upto 31st August, 2018

Hindus are in a minority in Lakshadweep (2.5%), Mizoram (2.75), Nagaland (8.75), Meghalaya (11.53),
J&K (28.44), Arunachal Pradesh (29), Manipur (31.39) and Punjab (38.4)

Danger in the air

The report on air pollution titled- ‘Danger in the air: How air pollution can affect brain development in
young children’ has been released by UNICEF

OP Sahayam
‘OP Sahayam’ is an Indian Navy exercise for undertaking Search and Rescue (SAR) and providing
Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster relief (HADR) material support, over Southeast Arabian Sea and
L& M islands in the aftermath of Very Severe Cyclonic Storm 'OCKHI'

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana was launched in August 2007 as a part of the 11th Five Year Plan with an
objective to achieve 4% annual growth in agriculture through development of Agriculture and its allied
sectors.

• Soil Health Card Scheme

• Soil Health Card Scheme was launched in 2015 to provide crop-wise recommendations of nutrients
and fertilisers to help farmers to improve productivity through judicious use of inputs.

Moral Suasion
Moral Suasion is RBI’s efforts to convince commercial banks not to give loans for unproductive purpose
which does not add to economic growth.

Asian Harmonization Working Party (AHWP) is a non-profit organization.

• Its goals are to study and recommend ways to harmonize medical device regulations in the Asian and
other regions and to work in coordination with the Global Harmonization Task Force,

Project MERCCURI

Project MERCCURI is a citizen science project that analysed bacteria found on 15 locations on the ISS
and compared them with samples from homes on Earth.

Labour augmenting

Labour augmenting technological process takes place when labour skills are upgraded through
communication or instructions.
Capital augmenting

Capital augmenting technological progress applicable in more productive application of capital goods,
which can be substitution of steel for wooden plows where low machine is substituted by better
machine which helps in steel production.

nematic state

A nematic state is most well known in liquid crystals, wherein the molecules of the liquid are parallel but
not arranged in a periodic array.

Nematic-like states have been observed in transition metal systems near magnetic and superconducting
phase transitions.

In the new state, the material’s electrons are aligned in a way to reduce the symmetry of the original
crystal

DART

DART’ is a NASA mission mission that will deflect a near-Earth asteroid, and help test the systems that
will allow mankind to protect the planet from potential cosmic body impacts in the future.

The first-ever mission to demonstrate an asteroid deflection technique for planetary defense -- the
Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART)
The target for DART is an asteroid called Didymos that will have a distant approach to Earth in October
2022, and then again in 2024.

National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT)

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) is a quasi-judicial body established under the
Companies Act 2013
• The Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) enforces provisions of the Recovery of Debts Due to Banks and
Financial Institutions (RDDBFI) Act, 1993 and also Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets
and Enforcement of Security Interests (SARFAESI) Act, 2002. DRTs are statutory bodies.

• The Debt Recovery Tribunal is fully empowered to pass comprehensive orders like Civil Courts.

National Company Law Appellate Tribunal and DRT are in news since President has given his assent to
Ordinance to amend Bankruptcy Code.

classes of asteroids
three broad composition classes of asteroids are C-, S-, and M-types. The C-type (chondrite) asteroids
are most common, probably consist of clay and silicate rocks, and are dark in appearance. They are
among the most ancient objects in the solar system. The S-types ("stony") are made up of silicate
materia

ls and nickel-iron. The M-types are metallic (nickel-iron)

International conference on climate change

International conference on climate change was recently held in Nepal.

• The four-day conference is attended by more than 300 experts from different countries of Asia
including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar.

• The event was organised at the initiative of International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development (ICIMOD).

"Flag4"

UAE Armed Forces along with the UK, US and French armies are participating in joint exercises in Abu
Dhabi.

• The drill is code-named as "Flag4"

• The exercise is part of the effort to consolidate multilateral relations, and to increase co-ordination
between the UAE Armed Forces and participating nations.

Vigilant Ace

South Korea and the United States have launched large-scale joint aerial drills-‘Vigilant Ace’ in wake of
North Korea testing its most advanced missile as part of a weapons programme that has raised global
tensions.

Warsaw convention

Warsaw convention refers to an international agreement that defines the rules and regulations that
govern civil aviation. It also defines the potential liability that an international carrier faces with regards
to the air transport of people and luggage of various kinds.

IFOAM
The Organic World Congress of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM -
Organics International) is held every 3 years in a different country. The aim of the congress is to share
experiences, innovations and knowledge about the organic world, while giving the organizing country
global visibility.

The congress was held in India this year.

Greenhouse Gas Research

The International Energy Agency Greenhouse Gas Research and Development Programme funds
research into technologies that seek to mitigate global warming. It funds research into funds research
into carbon capture and storage (CCS), also known as CO2 capture and storage, or carbon sequestration.

India Disaster Response Summit

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs inaugurated the ‘India Disaster Response Summit’ in New
Delhi. It was organised jointly by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Facebook to
leverage social media platforms to 'prepare, respond and recover' for, during and after a disaster.

Aeolis Dorsa

•A region of Mars named Aeolis Dorsa contains some of the most spectacular and densely packed river
deposits seen on the planet.

•Mars had a surface environment that supported liquid water about 3.5 billion years ago, according to a
study of river deposits spread across the red planet.

Global Youth Index

• It is developed by the Commonwealth Secretariat using a comprehensive measure across five domains
- education, health, employment, and civic and political participation.

• It helps policy makers to make informed decisions regarding young people’s needs and opportunities
and help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Coffee Club

• UfC is a movement to counter the bids for permanent seats proposed by G-4.

• It demands that a consensus must be reached first on the form and size of the Security Council before
expanding it.• It is led by Italy and includes Pakistan, South Korea, Canada Argentina and some other
countries.

North East Rural Livelihood Project

• It is a central sector externally aided multi-state project which was launched in 2012 with World Bank
assistance.

• It is being implemented in four states – Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim with an aim of assisting
over 10,000 Self Help Groups which would further benefit over 3 lakh households.

• The project has four major components namely – Social empowerment, Economic empowerment,
Partnership development and management and Project Management

What is UNSC Reform agenda?

It entails discussions on following areas:

• Categories of membership

• The question of the veto held by the five permanent members • Regional representation

• Size of an enlarged Council and its working methods and

• The Security Council-General Assembly relationship.

India-UN Development Partnership Fund (UNDPF)

The India-UN Development Partnership Fund (UNDPF) is a dedicated facility within the United Nations
Fund for South-South Cooperation established in 2017.
It supports Southern-owned and led, demand-driven, and transformational sustainable development
projects across the developing world, with a focus on least developed countries and small island
developing states
Women Entrepreneurs in India

• According to 6th Economic census, out of 58.5 million entrepreneurs only 8.05 million are women
which is about 13.76% of total entrepreneurs.

• Women owned enterprises provide employment to 13.45 million people.

• Out of the total women entrepreneurs, 34.3% are from agriculture sector and 65.7% from non-
agricultural sector.

• Even though India is one of the largest hub of start-ups, only 10% of start-ups are started by women
entrepreneurs.

ISLAMIC ALLIANCE TO FIGHT TERRORISM

Recently first meeting of Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT) was held in Riyadh.

Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT)

• It is a Saudi led coalition of 40 countries and constitutes about 60% members of Organizational of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC). It was announced as a 34 member group initially in 2015.

• Iran, Syria and Iraq are not part of coalition and Doha though part of the group did not participate in it
in the wake of boycott led by Saudi Arabia.

Seed Replacement Ratio (SRR)

• It is a measure of how much of the total cropped area was sown with certified seeds in comparison to
farm saved seeds.

• It represents the access of farmers to quality seed and directly proportional to productivity of farming.

Consumer Welfare Fund

The Fund has been set up by the Department of Revenue and, is being operated by the Ministry of
Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Department of Consumer Affairs.

The overall objective of the Consumer Welfare Fund is to provide financial assistance to promote and
protect the welfare of the consumers and strengthen the consumer movement in the country.

VoIP
VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is a technology that allows you to make voice calls using a
broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line.

CDN platform

CDN is a system of servers, deployed at the edge of (or within) the terminating network of an access
provider, that content provider can use to distribute their content.

Transfer Pricing:

It refers to the pricing of international transactions of associated entities (those that have common
ownership).

For example: an automobile company based in Japan may charge a convenient price from its subsidiary
in India in order to maximise its tax payment in India.

DTAA: It is a tax treaty between two countries in order to avoid double taxation of same taxpayer.

What is Coastal Economic Zone?

• It is conceptualised as a spatial-economic region which could extend along 300-500 km of coastline

and around 200-300 km inland from the coastline.

Each CEZ will be an agglomeration of coastal districts within a State.

National Sagarmala Apex Committee (NSAC) chaired by the Minister in-charge of Shipping, is envisaged
for overall policy guidance and high level coordination, and to review various aspects of planning and
implementation of the plan and projects.

• Sagarmala Development Company (SDC) has been incorporated under administrative control of the
Ministry of Shipping to assist the State level/zone level Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs).

RKVY-RAFTAAR

• Objective: To make farming a remunerative economic activity through strengthening the farmer's
effort, mitigating risk and promoting agribusiness entrepreneurship.

• Funding: Funds would be provided to States as 60:40 grants between Centre and States (90:10 for
North-Eastern States and Himalayan States).

RKVY-RAFTAAR

sub-schemes

• Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI).

• Crop Diversification Program (CDP).

• Reclamation of Problem Soil (RPS)

. • Foot & Mouth Disease – Control Program (FMD-CP).

• Saffron Mission.

• Accelerated Fodder Development Programme (AFDP).

Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program (USOAP)

• The audit was conducted by International Civil Aviation Organisation to study various aspects of the
sector such as operations, airworthiness, air navigation, aerodromes, organisational structures etc.

• The audit was significant for India as it comes at a time when Indian Civil Aviation sector has emerged
as one of fastest growing industries in India and is expected to displace UK from third place in 2026.

Sagar Kavach Exercise

• The exercise aimed to assess the real time capabilities and efficacies of various National and State
agencies such as Indian Navy, Marine Police Force, and Indian Coast Guard etc. along the 630 km long
coast line.
• This will be the first joint exercise between West Bengal and Odisha in which various drills such as
simulated terror attack and defence will be carried on.
• The main objective of the drill is to reevaluate existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
mechanisms.

Indian Ocean Naval Symposium

• It is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral
states of Indian Ocean Region by providing an open and inclusive forum for discussion of regionally
relevant maritime issues.

• The inaugural IONS was held in 2008 under chairmanship of the Indian Navy.
pet coke

• Petroleum coke or pet coke, is a solid carbon rich (90% carbon and 3% to 6% sulfur) material derived
from oil refining.

• It is categorized as a “bottom of the barrel” fuel. • It is a dirtier alternative to coal and emits 11% more
greenhouse gases than coal.

• India is the world’s biggest consumer of petroleum coke

Furnace oil

• It is a dark viscous residual fuel obtained by blending mainly heavier components from crude
distillation unit, short residue and clarified oil from catalytic cracker unit.

• It is one of the cheapest fuels available and used to generate power in industries to run boilers,
turbines etc.

Gravitational Lenses It is a phenomenon in which the gravity of a massive object (like a galaxy or a
cluster of galaxies) bends and amplifies the light from an object that lies beyond it

MOST ANCIENT SPIRAL GALAXY FOUND

Scientists have recently discovered the most ancient spiral galaxy in the universe that existed 11 billion
years ago.

More about the news

• The discovery was made by Australian National University (ANU) and Swinburne University of
Technology using a technique that combines gravitational lensing with the Near-infrared Integral Field
Spectrograph (NIFS).

Parasites are the organisms which live in or on other organisms and survive by deriving nutrients from
the host. Types of Parasites:

• Holoparasite – are those which depend completely on the host for their nutritional needs.

• Hemiparasites – are those which are capable of both photosynthesis and parasitism

What is Child Sexual Abuse (CSA)?

According to 1999 WHO Consultation on Child Abuse Prevention, “Child sexual abuse is the involvement
of a child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend, is unable to give informed consent
to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared and cannot give consent, or that violates the
laws or social taboos of society.”

LADAKH RENEWABLE ENERGY INITIATIVE

The Biaras Small Hydro Power Project (SHP) has recently become the first project to be commissioned
under the Prime Minister's Ladakh Renewable Energy Initiative.

More about the news

• Prime Minister’s Ladakh Renewable Energy Initiative aims to reduce dependency on diesel, kerosene
and firewood in the region through setting up small/micro hydel projects, solar photovoltaic (SPV)
power plants, solar thermal systems such as water heating, solar cookers etc.

Blue Flag project:

The prime objective of the project is to enhance standards of cleanliness, upkeep and basic amenities at
beaches.

Under the project, each state or union territory has been asked to nominate a beach which will be
funded through the ongoing Integrated Coastal Management Programme.

‘Mission Seven Summits’:

What is it? After scaling of Mt Everest in 2005, IAF launched a unique and unprecedented series of
mountaineering expedition ‘Mission Seven Summits’ with an aim to fly the tricolour and the IAF flag on
the highest peaks in every continent. With this, the IAF has become the first organisation in India to
achieve this unique feat.\

Operation Flood
this is the biggest dairy development programme. It will surely help small dairy cooperatives in states
like Punjab, Haryana and Bihar where there is huge scope of expansion.

Yaogan 30 project:

Context: China has launched its Long March 2C rocket with a trio of Yaogan-30 satellites into space.
Developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the Yaogan-30 03 trio consists of three identical
satellites equipped with two deployable solar arrays.

LIDAR?

LIDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses light in the
form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth. These light pulses—combined
with other data recorded by the airborne system— generate precise, three-dimensional information
about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.

BND-4201

Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya

It is India’s first home-grown high purity gold reference standard. It was launched recently. It is the
reference material for gold of ‘9999’ fineness (gold that is 99.99% pure). It will be beneficial to the
consumers and public at large to ensure purity of gold.

National Company Law Tribunal:

What is it? National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is a quasi-judicial body that will govern the
companies in India. It was established under the Companies Act, 2013 and is a successor body of the
Company Law Board.

Powers: NCLT will have the same powers as assigned to the erstwhile Company Law Board (which are
mostly related to dealing with oppression and mismanagement), Board for Industrial and Financial
Reconstruction (BIFR)(revival of sick companies) and powers related to winding up of companies (which
was available only with the High Courts).
India’s first design university ‘World University of Design’ opens campus:

India’s first and only Design University – World University of Deisgn has opened it’s campus at Sonipat,
Haryana.

The university offers country’s largest creative course catalogue – 23 specialized UG and PG programs in
various Design arenas such as Design, Fashion, Communication, Visual Arts, Design and Retail
Management, and Architecture.

Reservoir computing system

Scientists have developed a new type of #neural network chip that can dramatically improve the
efficiency of teaching machines to think like humans. The network is called- Reservoir Computing
System.

Memristors are a special type of resistive device that can both perform logic and store data.
When a set of data is inputted into the reservoir, the reservoir identifies important time-related features
of the data, and hands it off in a simpler format to a second network.
This second network then only needs training like simpler neural networks, changing weights of the
features and outputs that the first network passed on until it achieves an acceptable level of error.

Champion State’ for exports:

The Centre has recognised Odisha as a ‘Champion State’ for recording the highest growth in exports
during 2016-17.
The exports from the state have increased from Rs 19,082 crore in 2015-16 to Rs 40,872 crore in 2016-
17 with merchandise exports from Odisha registering the highest growth rate of 114% among all the
states.

Ganga Gram project:

Ganga Gram vision is an integrated approach for holistic development of villages situated on the banks
of River Ganga with active participation of the villagers.

The objectives of Ganga Gram Project include solid and liquid waste management, renovation of ponds
and water resources, water conservation projects, organic farming, horticulture, and promotion of
medicinal plants.

Vahan
‘Vahan’ is the name of the national vehicle registry, which intends to collate all the information available
with road transport authorities for easy access by both citizens and regulators. Data available with over
90% of all road transport authorities including RTOs and district transport offices have been
computerised so far.

Odorrana arunachalensis:

It is a recently discovered frog species from Arunachal Pradesh’s Lower Subansiri district, one of the five
discovered in India in the recent times and the 59th in the world.

Anti-smog gun?

Anti-smog gun is a device that sprays atomised water into the atmosphere to reduce air pollution.
Connected to a water tank and mounted on a vehicle, the device could be taken across the city to spray
water to settle dust and other suspended particles.

National Highways Investment Promotion Cell (NHIPC)

The National Highways Authority of India has created a National Highways Investment Promotion Cell
(NHIPC) for attracting domestic and foreign investment for highways projects.

NHIPC:

The cell will focus on engaging with global institution investors, construction companies, developers and
fund managers for building investor participation in road infrastructure projects.

National Service Scheme (NSS):

What is it?
NSS is a Centrally Sector Scheme. The Scheme was launched in the year 1969 with the primary objective
of developing the personality and character of the student youth through voluntary community service.
The ideological orientation of the NSS is inspired by the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. Very appropriately,
the motto of NSS is “NOT ME, BUT YOU”.

DARPAN –
“Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office for A New India” Project has been launched to improve the
quality of service, add value to services and achieve “financial inclusion” of un-banked rural population.

STRIVE

Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement project:

STRIVE is an outcome focused scheme marking shift in government’s implementation strategy in

vocational education and training from inputs to results.

STRIVE will focus to improve on the quality and the market relevance of vocational training provided in
ITIs and strengthen the apprenticeship programme through industry-cluster approach.

Kimberley Process

The Kimberley Process is an international certification scheme that regulates trade in rough diamonds.

India was appointed as the Kimberly Process (KP) Vice Chair for 2018 & Chair for 2019

It aims to prevent the flow of conflict diamonds, while helping to protect legitimate trade in rough
diamonds. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) outlines the rules that govern the trade in
rough diamonds.

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) imposes extensive requirements on its members to
enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as ‘conflict-free’ and prevent conflict diamonds
from entering the legitimate trade

Conflict diamonds? “Conflict Diamonds” means rough diamonds used by rebel movements or their allies
to finance conflict aimed at undermining legitimate governments. It is also described in the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

“Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector (SCBTS)

The scheme will have National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) compliant training courses with
funding norms as per the Common Norms notified by Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship (MSDE).

The scheme will be implemented for the benefit of all sections of the society across the country
including rural, remote, LWE affected, North East, J&K by imparting skills in the identified job roles.
Preference will be given to various social groups, SC, ST, differently abled, minorities and other
vulnerable groups.
SAMEEP:

With an aim to bring foreign policy to the masses the External Affairs Ministry has come up with an
initiative – SAMEEP – ‘Students and MEA Engagement Programme’.

The main objective of SAMEEP is to take Indian foreign policy and its global engagements to students
across the country.

Under this programme, all the ministry officers – under-secretary and above – will be asked to go to
their hometowns, particularly their alma maters. They will be expected to interact with the students
about the way the MEA works, basic elements of its policies, how diplomacy is conducted, and generally
give students an idea of what a career in the MEA would look like

SCBTS

Scheme for Capacity Building in Textiles Sector (SCBTS)

The scheme will have National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) compliant training courses with
funding norms as per the Common Norms notified by Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship (MSDE).

The scheme will be implemented for the benefit of all sections of the society across the country
including rural, remote

FSOC technology?

FSFC is an optical communication technology that uses light to wirelessly transmit data to
telecommunication and internet applications. The technology remained outside the commercial
applications for long owing to distance, speed, and efficiency related problems.

How FSOC technology works?

FSOC links use beams of light to deliver high-speed, high-capacity connectivity over long distances, just
like fiber optic cable, but without the cable

Less than 20% of people in Andhra Pradesh currently have access to broadband connectivity. The state
government has committed to connecting 12 million households and thousands of government
organizations and businesses by 2019 – an initiative called AP Fiber Grid.

Naseem-Al-Bahr:

What is it? It is a bilateral exercise between Indian Navy and Oman Navy. The exercise is also called as
“Sea Breeze”. The 11th edition of this exercise was held in Muscat
Deep Learning?

Deep learning is a machine learning technique that teaches computers to do what comes naturally to
humans: learn by example.

In deep learning, a computer model learns to perform classification tasks directly from images, text, or
sound

Scientists have announced the discovery of two new exoplanets, Kepler-90i and Kepler-80g. With this
discovery, it is now clear that there is another star besides the Sun that has eight planets orbiting it.

Use of Deep learning neural networks:

The new exoplanets have been discovered using a deep learning neural network — an artificial
intelligence tool that mimics the workings of a human brain.

NLCPR:

The broad objective of the Non-lapsable Central Pool of Resources scheme is to ensure speedy
development of infrastructure in the North Eastern Region by increasing the flow of budgetary financing
for new infrastructure projects/schemes in the Region.

Commission of Railway Safety:

What is it?

The Commission of Railway Safety working under the administrative control of the Ministry of Civil
Aviation (Govt. of India), deals with the matters pertaining to safety of rail travel and train operation and
is charged with certain statutory functions laid down in the Railway Act’1989.

Functions performed by the organization are inspectorial, investigatory and advisory in nature.

operational oceanography?

The operational oceanography is an activity of conducting systematic oceanographic studies towards

providing information services to various sectors viz. fisherman, disaster management, shipping, ports,
coastal states, navy, coast guard, environment, offshore industries for conducting their day-to- day
operations.

Sakhi scheme:

Popularly known as Sakhi, the scheme is being implemented since 1st April 2015. The scheme aims to
facilitate access to an integrated range of services including medical aid, police assistance, legal aid/case
management, psychosocial counselling, and temporary support services to women affected by violence.
cochlear implant

Cochlear Implant is an electronic device having two parts (External and Internal). Internal part is
surgically implanted in the skull (Cochlear) by ENT surgeons. Post-operative rehabilitation is undertaken
by Audiologist and speech language pathologist and special educator of Hearing Impaired. Parent have
very important role in stimulating child to learn speech and language at home and maintain the external
part (Processor).

ECO-NIWAS

ECO-NIWAS (Energy Conservation – New Indian Way for Affordable & Sustainable homes) for increasing
awareness to build sustainable and energy efficient homes in the country.

Legatum Prosperity Index:

The Legatum Prosperity Index is the world’s leading global measure of economic and social wellbeing
that studies 104 indicators under these categories: Economic Quality, Business Environment,
Governance, Personal Freedom, Social Capital, Safety and Security, Education, Health and Natural
Environment. The Index offers a unique insight into how prosperity is forming and changing across the
world.

What is VoLTE?

VoLTE stands for voice over Long Term Evolution. VoLTE is an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem
(IMS) specification which enables a variety of services to operate seamlessly on the network rather than
having to switch to different applications for voice or video.

VoLTE provides a more efficient use of spectrum than traditional voice and increases handset battery
life.

White Helmets

The White Helmets, officially known as Syria Civil Defence, is a volunteer organisation that operates in
parts of rebel-controlled Syria and in Turkey.

International Economic Association (IEA)

The International Economic Association (IEA) is a Non-Governmental Organization founded in 1950 at
the instigation of the Social Sciences Department of UNESCO.

The Finance Ministry's former Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu has taken over as President of the
International Economic Association (IEA). The IEA is a leading organisation for professional economists
and it seeks to shape global economic policy and research.

Solar Cities” programme

Development of Solar Cities” programme is designed to support/encourage Urban Local Bodies to

prepare a Road Map to guide their cities in becoming ‘renewable energy cities’ or ‘solar cities’.

establishment of ‘Akshya Urja Shops’; design of Solar Buildings and promoting urban and industrial
waste/ biomass to energy projects.

The Solar City aims at minimum 10% reduction in projected demand of conventional energy at the end
of five years, through a combination of enhancing supply from renewable energy sources in the city and
energy efficiency measures.

⬤⬤⬤

DMH (Dhara Mustard Hybrid)-11

DMH (Dhara Mustard Hybrid)-11 is genetically modified hybridized variety of mustard developed by
Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants at Delhi University. It is Herbicide Tolerant (HT) crop and
gives upto 30% higher yields.

Technology and Innovation centres (TISC)-

provides innovators in developing countries with access to locally based, high quality technology
information helping innovators manage their Intellectual propert rights.

DIPP has instituted the first such centre at Punjab.

TISCs are created under an initiative led by WIPO.

Larson C

Larson C is one of the greatest Ice shelves in Antarctica. It is a floating platform of Ice that extends from
the grounding line down to the ocean surface. The grounding line separates the shelf from grounded ice
( bedrock).

Larson C has begun to show rifts, which indicate a possible breakup of the shelf in near future. Such Ice
melt will raise sea levels and lead to submergence of low lying coasts and Islands.
 ▪

Xiamen declaration

Xiamen declaration is concerned with 9th BRICS Summit recently held in Xiamen, China. The head of
states of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa at the BRICS Summit in China strongly condemned
and named in a declaration, for the first time, Pakistan-based terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-
Mohammad and the Haqqani network.

The Heart of Asia - Istanbul Process has been established to provide a platform to discuss regional
issues, particularly security among Afghanistan and its neighbors.

ISRO has developed Meghatropiques and SARAL satellites in cooperation with French space agency
CNES. Currently ISRO and NASA are working jointly on NISAR (NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar)
project.

Project Insight

‘Project Insight’ is an integrated platform that utilizes vast amount of information easily available on
social media to conduct raids online rather than traditional way of conducting random searches,
known as tax raids. It uses data mining, big data and analytics to scoop out tax evaders from social
media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Permanent Account Number (PAN), the unique identifier is used by the Income Tax department to
link and analyse various transactions relating to the tax payers.

G-33 coalition
“The G-33 coalition — which includes Indonesia, China and India — seeks a complete exemption from
commitments to reduce subsidies, such as minimum support prices, from this poverty-alleviation
programme.

G-33 coalition is also called “friends of special products” in agriculture. To repeat, it is a “coalition of
developing countries pressing for flexibility for developing countries to undertake limited market
opening in agriculture.”

Option ‘d’ refers to the G20 coalition (within the WTO; this G20 is not to be confused with the G-20
group of finance ministers and central bank governors

World Inequality Lab

The World Inequality Lab aims to promote research on global inequality dynamics. Its core mission is to
maintain and expand the World Wealth and Income Database. It also produces inequality reports and
working papers addressing substantive and methodological issues.

‘123 Agreement’

The bilateral “Agreement for Co-operation between the Government of India and the Government of
the United States of America concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy” has been done in view of the
requirement for the US side under Section 123 of its Atomic Energy Act 1954. Hence it is also popularly
known as the 123 Agreement.

Indian farmers are using higher doses of urea (nitrogen) compared to phosphate (DAP) and potash
(MOP), and not getting the best results in terms of yields.
Also Indian soils are deficient in micronutrients, especially zinc (about 48 per cent) — a fallout of which
is zinc deficiency in wheat and rice, which, in turn, contributes to stunting in children.
The imbalanced use of N, P and K, therefore, needs urgent correction. Extremely low prices of urea also
lead to its diversion to non-agricultural uses — as well as smuggling to neighbouring countries — that
needs to be checked.

Strategic debt restructuring (SDR)

The SDR an initiative can be taken by the group of banks or JLF that have given loans to the particular
defaulted entity. The Joint Lender Forum (JLF) is a committee comprised of the entire bankers who have
given loans to a potentially stressed or stressed borrower.
At present, banks can form a JLF if the account by a borrower is classified as Special Mention Account 2
(not paid any money back during the last 60 days).
The SDR gives banks more power in the management of the company who has taken loan and has
defaulted.
The basic purpose of SDR is to ensure more stake of promoters in reviving stressed accounts and
providing banks with enhanced capabilities to initiate change of ownership, where necessary, in
accounts which fail to achieve the agreed critical conditions and viability milestones. SDR cannot be used
for any other reason.

Jal Mahotsav

India’s biggest water carnival through ‘Jal Mahotsav’ is organised every year in Hanuwantiya Island in
Madhya Pradesh. The third such ‘Jal Mahotsav’ concluded this year on January 2.

About Jal Mahotsav:

What is it? The festival, held between October and January, is a celebration of Madhya Pradesh’s natural
beauty and its culture

A new law making it illegal to pay men more than women has taken effect in Iceland. The legislation
makes Iceland the first country in the world to legalise equal pay between men and women.

The WEF Global Gender Gap Report uses markers such as economic opportunity, political
empowerment, and health and survival to gauge the state of gender equality in a country.

Special Watch List

The Special Watch List is for countries that engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom
but may not rise to the level of the ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ (CPC).

The Special Watch List designation is being seen as a step below designating it as Country of Particular
Concern, which would have automatically kicked in economic and political sanctions.

GOLD and ICON will team up to explore the ionosphere, a boundary area between Earth and the space
where particles have been cooked into a sea of electrically-charged electrons and ions by the Sun’s
radiation.

These layers of near-Earth space are increasingly becoming a part of human domain as it is home to
radio signals used to guide airplanes, ships and Global Positioning System satellites.

Angalmahal Utsab

Context: Jangalmahal Utsab was recently inaugurated at the Jhargam district in West Bengal.

About the festival:

The festival is organised in the state to promote tribal art and culture. Different folk songs and dances
such as Tusu, Bhadu, Ahira and Jhumur are performed by the locals of the Jangalmahal area during the
festival.

National Knowledge Network (NKN)

NKK:

What is it?

NKN is a multi-gigabit pan-India network which facilitates the development of India’s communications
infrastructure, stimulates research and creates next generation applications and services.
Aim: With its multi-gigabit capability, NKN aims to connect all universities, research institutions,
libraries, laboratories, healthcare and agricultural institutions across the country to address such
paradigm shift.

Typbar TCV is reportedly the world’s first typhoid vaccine clinically proven for use on recipients who can
be as young as six months. A single dose offers 87% protective efficacy against typhoid.

What is GAVI

Created in 2000, Gavi is an international organisation – a global Vaccine Alliance, bringing together
public and private sectors with the shared goal of creating equal access to new and underused vaccines
for children living in the world’s poorest countries.

NARI:

What is it? It is an online portal developed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development which will
provide information to women on issues affecting their lives.

Aim: The portal aims to provide women citizens with easy access to information on government
schemes and initiatives for women.

e- Samvad portal has been launched by the Ministry of Women & Child Development.

About e- Samvad:

What is it? It is an online platform for NGOs and Civil Societies to interact with the Ministry of Women &
Child Development.

Parker solar probe:

What is it

NASA’s historic Parker Solar Probe mission will revolutionize our understanding of the sun, where
changing conditions can propagate out into the solar system, affecting Earth and other worlds.
Parker Solar Probe will travel through the sun’s atmosphere, closer to the surface than any spacecraft
before it, facing brutal heat and radiation conditions — and ultimately providing humanity with the
closest-ever observations of a star.

Bio- CNG
Bio-CNG is a purified form of biogas with over 95% pure methane gas. It is similar to natural gas in its
composition (97% methane) and energy potential. While natural gas is a fossil fuel, bio-CNG is a
renewable form of energy produced from agricultural and food waste. Bio-CNG is being looked at as an
environment-friendly alternative to diesel.

Benefits of Bio- CNG:

The cost of production of 1kg of bio-CNG could be Rs15-20, cheaper than CNG, petrol and diesel.
Besides, it will help in reducing the country’s import of diesel up to 50%. It is also pollution free.

SFIO

The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is a fraud investigating agency. It is under the jurisdiction of
the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. The SFIO is involved in major fraud probes and is
the co-ordinating agency with the Income Tax and CBI.

International Classification of Diseases:

ICD is the “basis for identification of health trends and statistics globally and the international standard
for reporting diseases and health conditions.

It is used by medical practitioners around the world to diagnose conditions and by researchers to
categorize conditions.” The WHO’s ICD lists both mental and physical disorders.

National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC):

The National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC) was established in August, 2015 to meet the
cost of adaptation to climate change for the State and Union Territories of India that are particularly
vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

Bali declares ‘garbage emergency’ amid sea of waste:

The Indonesian island of Bali recently declared a “garbage emergency” in response to the overwhelming
amount of plastic waste that has floated ashore and spoiled pristine beaches.
A 3.6-mile stretch of beach on the island’s western coast was declared an emergency zone after
authorities realised that the volume of plastic being washed up was endangering the tourist trade.

Background:

Indonesia is the world’s second largest contributor to marine debris, outdone only by China, the most
populous country in the world.
In addition to degrading the beaches, plastic waste blocks waterways, impacting transportation and
increasing flooding risk, while posing a risk to marine animals

e-Sansad and e-Vidhan:

e-Sansad and e-Vidhan are mission mode projects of Government of India under Digital India, to make
the functioning of Parliament and State Legislatures paperless.

MoPA is the Nodal Ministry for implementation of both the projects.

▪▪▪

National Trust:

The National Trust is a Statutory Body under Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities
(Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

The National Trust has been set up to discharge two basic duties – legal and welfare.▪▪▪

▪▪▪

LEADS Index:
What is it? The Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) index is a composite indicator to assess
international trade logistics across states and Union territories. It is based on a stakeholders’ survey
conducted by Deloitte for the ministry of commerce and industry

▪▪▪

Pratyush

India has unveiled Pratyush, an array of computers that can deliver a peak power of 6.8 petaflops.
One petaflop is a million billion floating point operations per second and is a reflection of the computing
capacity of a system.

Applications of Pratyush:
The Pratyush HPC will improve weather forecasts and extended range forecasts. It will also predict
cyclones and tsunami accurately, with more lead time.

▪▪▪

Freight traffic

Freight traffic is the major source of revenue for Indian Railways. Only one-third of the 13000 trains
running daily on IR are freight trains, but it accounts 65% of total revenue of IR. Railway Freight traffic is
vital for economic and industrial progress of the country.

▪▪▪

Why is Koregaon-Bhima important?

The Koregaon Ranstambh (victory pillar) is a memorial for British East India Company soldiers killed in a
battle on January 1, 1818, in which a small group of infantrymen —

about 500 of them Mahars (a Scheduled Caste community) — held off a numerically superior force from
the army of Peshwa Bajirao II. The Mahars fought alongside the British, some accounts say, because the
Peshwa had scorned their offer to join his army.

▪▪▪

SPARCS.

Scientists are planning to launch a small telescope into the Earth’s orbit that will monitor the flares and
sunspots of small stars to assess how habitable the environment is for planets orbiting them. The
spacecraft is known as the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat, or SPARCS.

▪▪▪

Dumdum fever

Kala-azar is endemic to the Indian subcontinent in 119 districts in four countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan,
India and Nepal). This disease is the second-largest parasitic killer in the world.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar, black fever, and Dumdum fever, is the most severe
form of leishmaniasis and, without proper diagnosis and treatment, is associated with high fatality.

▪▪▪

What is VID?

A Virtual ID (VID) will be a temporary 16-digit random number mapped with the Aadhaar number. There
can only be one active and valid VID for an Aadhaar number at any given time and it will not be possible
to derive the Aadhaar number from VID. The VID authentication will be similar to using Aadhaar
numbers. However, since a VID is temporary, agencies will not be able to use it for de-duplication

▪▪▪

International Dharma-Dhamma Conference:

4th International Dharma-Dhamma Conference on “State and Social Order in Dharma-Dhamma
Traditions” was recently inaugurated at Rajgir in Nalanda district.
The event is being organised as part of the commemorative events to celebrate the Silver Jubilee year of
ASEAN-India Dialogue Partnership.

The central theme of the conference is the ideal state and just social order based on dharmic principles.

▪▪▪

CPCSEA:

What is it? The Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on
Animals(CPCSEA) is a statutory Committee,
which is established under Section 15(1) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960. All
establishments engaged in research and education involving animals, are required to comply with the
various guidelines, norms and stipulations set out by CPCSEA.

▪▪▪

DRIP:

The Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR), Government of India, with assistance from the World Bank, is
implementing the DAM REHABILITATION AND IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (DRIP), which would be a six-
year project.

The Central Dam Safety Organisation of Central Water Commission, assisted by a Consulting firm, is
coordinating and supervising the Project implementation.

▪▪▪

IDSP:

What is it? The Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) is a disease surveillance scheme under
the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs in India, assisted by the World Bank.

Aim: The scheme aims to strengthen disease surveillance for infectious diseases to detect and respond
to outbreaks quickly. The Project was undertaken to meet the World Health Organization Guidelines for
South East Asian countries on disease surveillance to track the outbreak of diseases and its potential
trans boundary threats

✔▪▪▪

Manodhairya Yojana
The scheme, called 'Manodhairya Yojana', was launched on October 2, 2013 for providing medical and
legal aid to the victim of rapes and acid attacks etc.

• Manodhairya scheme is in news since Bombay HC has recently directed government to not to delay
compensation under scheme due to technicalities.

✔▪▪▪

(Bird Language)
The unusual and very efficient whistle language (Bird Language) is used as a means of communication by
villagers in remote northern Turkey.

• The language has entered the UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

✔▪▪▪

Rinderpest

Rinderpest is an infectious viral disease of cattle.

• Union Agriculture Minister has recently informed that dreaded Rinderpest disease has been
eradicated from India.

✔▪▪▪

Advanced Air Defence (AAD)

Advanced Air Defence (AAD) is India’s indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile, capable of
destroying any incoming ballistic missile in low altitude.

• It is a single-stage, solid-fuelled missile.

✔▪▪▪

Xicc++

• Xicc++ is a new particle that contains two charm quarks and one up quark.

• The particle has been discovered by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

✔▪▪▪

The World Bank’s policy research working paper ‘Making It Easier to Apply for a Bank Account:

A Study of the Indian Market’ (2017) has noted a 10% gender gap in opening accounts under the
country’s flagship financial inclusion programme — Jan Dhan Yojana — with 73 % men applying for
accounts against 63 % women.

• Madhya Pradesh recorded the largest gender gap of 21%.

✔▪▪▪

Shadow economy

Shadow economy activity is activity in respect of which businesses (including professions) and
individuals engage in inappropriate practices with the aim of not complying with their legal obligations.

Shadow economy activity includes not declaring, or under-declaring, a source of income so as to avoid
tax and other liabilities. Shadow economy activity reduces tax, duty

✔▪▪▪

Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER)

• Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) is a statistical measure for determining the number of students enrolled
in undergraduate, postgraduate and research level studies within the country and is expressed as a
percentage of the population.

• India’s GER in higher education has registered an increase from 24.5% in 2015-16 to 25.2% in 2016-17.

✔▪▪▪
Electoral bonds

Electoral bonds will have a shelf-life of 15 days and 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. • These bonds will
not carry the name of the payee.

✔▪▪▪

Parker Solar Probe

• Parker Solar Probe will travel through the sun’s atmosphere, closer to the surface than any spacecraft
before it, facing brutal heat and radiation conditions — and ultimately providing humanity with the
closest-ever observations of a star.
• The Parker Solar Probe will use Venus’ gravity during seven flybys over nearly seven years to gradually
bring its orbit closer to the sun.

• The probe will be launched by NASA.

✔▪▪▪

The Haryana government launched a price deficit compensation scheme, BhavantarBharpayee Yojana,
to ensure that vegetable farmers are protected against a fall in crop prices.

• Tomato, onion, potato and cauliflower have been included in the scheme.

✔▪▪▪

India plans to have 40 GW of rooftop photovoltaics (PV) by 2022. This is part of its target of having 175
GW of non-hydro renewables capacity by 2022- made up of 60 GW onshore wind, 60 GW utility-scale
solar, 10 GW bio-energy, 5 GW small hydro and 40 GW rooftop solar.

✔▪▪▪

Bhoochetana”
The mission project on rainfed agriculture called “Bhoochetana” was launched by the Government of
Karnataka during 2009-10 to benefit dryland farmers in 30 districts. International Crops Research
Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Department of Agriculture are the nodal agencies
for the mission project.
Schistura larketensis is a new species of blind fish that has been discovered inside a cave in East Jaintia
Hills district of Meghalaya

✔▪▪▪

Blue moon
A blue moon is an additional full moon that appears in a subdivision of a year.

• The phrase has nothing to do with the actual color of the moon, although a literal "blue moon" may

occur in certain atmospheric conditions: e.g., if volcanic eruptions or fires leave particles in
the atmosphere of just the right size to preferentially scatter red light

• It takes about 2 years, 8 months and 18 days for another blue moon to occur.

✔▪▪▪

Typbar-TCV.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has pre-qualified the first conjugate vaccine for typhoid, Bharat
Biotech’s Typbar-TCV.

• It is believed to be safe for infants.

✔▪▪▪

largest human genome

China has launched the world's largest human genome research project to document the genetic
makeup of one lakh people to help generate the precision medicines for the future.
• The project would detect the genetic links between health and sickness and involve one person from
different ethnic backgrounds and region.

✔▪▪▪

SFIO
• Serious Fraud Investigation Office was established in 2003 based on the recommendation of Naresh
Chandra Committee.

• It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

• The SFIO is involved in major fraud probes and is the co-ordinating agency with the Income Tax
Department and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

SFIO was in news recently as Amardeep Singh Bhatia has been appointed as its Director.

✔▪▪▪

Indian Council for Cultural Relations

• The Indian Council for Cultural Relations is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of External
Affairs.

• It was founded in 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

• The Objects of the Council as defined in the Memorandum of Association are:

• to participate in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes relating to India's
external cultural relations;

✔▪▪▪

Cassini–Huygens mission

The Cassini–Huygens mission, commonly called Cassini, was a collaboration between NASA, the
European Space Agency (ESA), and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) to send a probe to study the planet
Saturn and its system.

• The mission was launched in on Oct. 15, 1997 and ended in 2017, after 20 yrs.

✔▪▪▪

World Sweet Festival

The World Sweet Festival will be held in Hyderabad from January 13 to 15

• Varieties from around 25 Indian states and 15 foreign countries will be showcased at the World Sweet
Festival.

✔▪▪▪

• Defence Ministry has announced to set up a defence innovation centre at Coimbatore.

• The proposed centre will help the micro, small and medium enterprises and start-ups engaged in the
manufacture of components for the defence sector conduct tests and trials of the components.

✔▪▪▪

'Pratyush

Union Ministry of Earth Sciences has dedicated India's fastest and first multi-petaflops supercomputer
named as 'Pratyush'.
• It will be a national facility for improving weather and climate forecasts and services under the
umbrella of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Govt. of India.

• The supercomputer will help in forecasting of monsoon, extreme events, cyclones, tsunamis and
earthquakes.

✔▪▪▪

Meghalaya has recently signed the “Host City Contract” with the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) for
the 39th National Games 2022. Meghalaya will be hosting the National Games 2022 coinciding with the
50th year of the creation of the state.

✔▪▪▪

Territorial Army
• The Territorial Army is part of the regular Indian Army.

• The Indian Territorial Army (TA) is a second line of defence after the Regular Indian Army.

• The present role of the Territorial Army is to relieve the Regular Army from static duties and assist civil
administration in dealing with natural calamities and maintenance of essential services in situations
where life of the communities is affected.

✔▪▪▪

Reovirus

Reovirus is a group of ribonucleic acid (RNA) viruses constituting the family Reoviridae, a small group of
animal and plant viruses.

• According to a recent research, the naturally occurring ‘reovirus’ could be developed into an effective
immunotherapy for people with aggressive brain tumours.

✔▪▪▪

• The Zojila Pass Tunnel will reduce the travel time between Srinagar and Leh to 15 minutes from the
current 3.5 hours with providing all-weather connectivity to the region.

• Zojila Pass tunnel will be Asia’s longest 2-lane bi-directional pass.

✔▪▪▪

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

✔▪▪▪

Atal Pension Yojana (APY).

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India (PFRDA) run Atal Pension Yojana
(APY).

• The scheme is open to anyone aged between 18 and 40

• The Union Govt. co-contribute 50% of the subscriber’s contribution or Rs. 1000 per annum, whichever
is lower.

• Under the scheme, a subscriber will receive a minimum guaranteed pension of 1000 to 5000 rupees
per month, depending on his contribution, from the age of 60 years.

The scheme is in news since Atal the Pension Yojana subscriber base has recently reached to 80 lakh-
mark.

✔▪▪▪

Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY)

Government has launched the ‘Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY)’ to provide social
security during old age and to protect elderly persons aged 60 and above against a future fall in their
interest income due to uncertain market conditions.

• The scheme provides an assured return of 8% per annum for 10 years.

• The scheme is exempted from Goods and Services Tax (GST). The scheme is open for subscription till
3rd May 2018.

✔▪▪▪

N-SIPI

N-SIPI gives a measure of how the states of India are positioned to encourage and attract investment.

N-SIPI merges a perception based index (constructed using surveys) with fundamentals driving
investment decisions to capture state level differences.

N-SIPI report also investigates in greater detail three key sectors—automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and
retail—that are important drivers of growth and investment at the state level.

N-SIPI ranks states on their investment and growth potential in these sectors.

The NCAER’s State Investment Potential Index (N-SIPI) is constructed under �six pillars -- labour,
infrastructure, economic climate, governance and political stability, perceptions and land

✔▪▪▪

Water Week-2017

Water Week-2017 wherein it was stated that 80 per cent of water in India is used by agriculture and
only 15 per cent by industry. In the coming years, this ratio will change.

The government has prepared a strategic plan for ensuring drinking water supply in all rural areas by
2022, when India complete 75 years of Independence. By that year, the goal is to cover 90 per cent of
rural households with piped water supply.

The National Water Mission is one of the eight missions in the National Action Plan on Climate Change

✔▪▪▪

G33 advocates

G33 advocates for an amendment in the Agreement on Agriculture of the World Trade Organisation
(WTO) because current rules suggest a fixed subsidy of 10% for food procurement from farmers to feed
the poor.
The existing rule also uses an old methodology for subsidy calculation that does not account for inflation
and is based on a price index of 1986-88

✔▪▪▪

Balsam
Balsam are species of flowering plants.

• They are commonly known as jewel weeds because of the diverse colour of the flowers.

• Balsams are distributed throughout the Eastern Himalayas and the Western Ghats, Sri Lanka, South
East Asia, Africa and Madagasca

✔▪▪▪

Barak missile

Barak missile is jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and India's Defence Research &
Development Organisation (DRDO).

• It is surface-to-air missile (SAM), designed to defend against any type of airborne threat including
aircraft, helicopters and anti-ship missiles.

✔▪▪▪

Green Building Initiative in India.

• Energy Conservation Building Code: It aims to optimise energy savings with the comfort levels
for occupants, and prefers life-cycle cost effectiveness to achieve

energy neutrality in commercial buildings.

• GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment): It attempts to minimize a building’s
resource consumption, waste generation, and its overall ecological impact within certain
nationally acceptable benchmarks.

• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED-INDIA): It’s a green building rating
system of the Indian Green Building Council.

▪▪▪

Res extra commercium

Res extra commercium means things beyond commerce, i.e., which cannot be brought or sold,
such as public roads, rivers, titles of owners etc.

it is a doctrine originating in roman law. In some contexts, it can refer to areas beyond national
borders, such as space and the seabed.

▪▪▪
India became the first country globally to introduce fractional doses of IPV in childhood
immunisation programme in eight states and Union territories in early 2016.

▪▪▪

Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C):

It is an apex coordination centre to deal with cyber crimes such as financial frauds, circulation of
communal and pornographic contents.

The Centre will be set up under the newly created Cyber and Information Security (CIS) division
of the MHA.

▪▪▪

Zero Budget Natural Farming

Himachal Pradesh has launched Zero Budget Natural Farming project to promote organic
farming.

Zero Budget Natural Farming, as the name implies, is a method of farming where the cost of
growing and harvesting plants is zero. This means that farmers need not purchase fertilizers and
pesticides in order to ensure the healthy growth of crops.

▪▪

Stree Swabhiman:

‘Stree Swabhiman’ aims to create a sustainable model for providing adolescent girls and women
an access to affordable sanitary products by leveraging CSCs.

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has announced an initiative by common

services centres (CSCs) on women’s health and hygiene. The initiative is named ‘Stree
Swabhiman’.

▪▪▪

CSCs:

Common Services Centers (CSCs) are a strategic cornerstone of the Digital India programme.
They are the access points for delivery of various electronic services to villages in India, thereby
contributing to a digitally and financially inclusive society.
▪▪▪

SkyRev360:

SkyRev360 is a fully automated and comprehensive data gathering, invoicing and collection
service which eliminates inaccuracies, errors and delays for better revenue management.

SkyRev360 has been developed in collaboration with the International Air Transport Association
(IATA) under the Government of India’s Make in India initiative.

▪▪▪

Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) mission:

IMAGE was the first satellite mission dedicated to imaging the Earth’s magnetosphere, the
region of space controlled by the Earth’s magnetic field and containing extremely tenuous
plasmas of both solar and terrestrial origin.

▪▪▪

RemoveDebris mission:

RemoveDEBRIS is aimed at performing key Active Debris Removal (ADR) technology

demonstrations (e.g capture, deorbiting) representative of an operational scenario during a low-
cost mission using novel key technologies for ADR.

The project is co-ordinated by the Surrey Space Centre at the University of Surrey, UK, and
involves the collaboration of a number of mission partners.

▪▪▪

Maitreyi Yatra:

What is it? The Maitreyi Yatra is an exchange programme for schoolchildren

The objective of this programme is to integrate the youth of Jammu and Kashmir to the rest of
the country and to promote brotherhood and harmony.

▪▪▪

Global-Scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD):

NASA

GOLD is essentially an imaging spectrograph. Spectrographs are scientific instruments that have
been designed to break light down into its constituent wavelengths and to measure their
intensity

Mission: To shed light on how the uppermost layers of Earth’s atmosphere can be affected by
powerful space and Earth-based weather events.

Focus: GOLD will focus its attention on a relatively poorly-understood region of the upper
atmosphere, where the charged particles of the ionosphere mingle with the diffuse neutral
gasses that make up the thermosphere.

▪▪▪

India-designed vaccine passes

First India-designed vaccine passes WHO test:

For the first time, the Rotavac, a vaccine conceived and developed from scratch in India, has
been “pre-qualified” by the World Health Organisation.

To be “pre-qualified” means that the vaccine can be sold internationally to several countries in
Africa and South America.

The Rotavac vaccine is developed by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech Limited.

▪▪▪
‘Day Zero’, a probable scenario that is being referred to with respect to a South African town,
will have been caused due to

A severe drought

A severe drought has forced Cape Town’s municipality to limit water consumption to 50 litres
per person per day in an effort to delay what has become known as Day Zero

▪▪▪

GRIS

The Global Register of Invasive Species (GRIS) was developed as a concept and prototype by the
IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) in 2006 as part of a project undertaken for the
Defenders of Wildlife on the Regulation of Live Animal Imports into the United States.

This concept was revisited and expanded by the ISSG to address Aichi Biodiversity Target 9

▪▪▪

GIASIPartnership

The GIASI Partnership is intended to support Parties to the CBD who are committed to the
effective implementation of Article 8(h), Aichi Biodiversity Target 9 (invasive alien species), and
the various decisions under the CBD pertaining to the prevention, eradication, and control of
invasive alien species.

▪▪▪

ISSG

The Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) is a global network of scientific and policy experts
on invasive species, organized under the auspices of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of
the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
 It aims to reduce threats to natural ecosystems and the native species they contain by
increasing awareness of invasive alien species, and of ways to prevent, control or eradicate them.

▪▪▪

India has plummeted 36 positions from 141 in 2016 to 177 in 2018 in the Environment
Performance Index. While India is at the bottom of the list in the environmental health category,
it ranks 178 out of 180 as far as air quality is concerned.

▪▪▪

Marawi Siege’

Philippines’ military forces against Islamic State terrorists in the southern Philippines island of
Mindanao

President Duterte conveyed his deepest appreciation for the $500,000 assistance that was
provided by India to resettle victims of the Marawi siege,” said Preeti Saran

▪▪▪

Open skies

• to liberalize the rules for international aviation markets and minimize government intervention
as it applies to passenger, all-cargo, and combination air transportation as well as scheduled and
charter services; and

• to adjust the regime under which military and other state-based flights may be permitted.

▪▪▪

‘Roadkills
Wildlife Conservation Trust launched a mobile-based application, ‘Roadkills’, which will help
citizens to report such wildlife deaths by uploading geo-tagged photographs to a public forum.

• The data can also help determine what species are more at risk on specific road or rail
stretches and plan the ideal mitigation measures suited for the location.

▪▪▪

NIIF

The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has recently made its first investment,
partnering with DP World to create an investment platform for ports, terminals, transportation
and logistics businesses in India.

• The NIIF is being operationalized by establishing three Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs)
under the SEBI Regulations. The proposed corpus of NIIF is Rs. 40,000 Crores (around USD 6
Billion).

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(BWM

International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and
Sediments (BWM): It came into force in September 2017 and aims

to prevent spread of harmful aquatic organisms from one region to another by establishing
standards for management of ships’ ballast water and sediments.

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India’s Maritime Initiatives

• Ratified SOLAS Convention for safety of merchant ships.

• Took active initiative in High Risk Area in Indian Ocean along with IMO and Contact Group on
Piracy on the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS)
• It has also deposited with the ILO, instrument of ratification of the Seafarers’ Identity
Documents Convention (revised), 2003 and Maritime Labour Convention, 2006.

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Methanol

• It is known as wood alcohol, it is colourless, obtained both

naturally and artificially, biodegradable, flammable, poisonous, and renewable source of energy.

• It is a single carbon compound made from the destructive distillation of wood and also
produced from coal, natural gas, biomass (i.e. products which are capable of producing syngas),

• Use: in organic synthesis, as a fuel, solvent, and antifreeze.

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International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) -

It is an international program, set up in 2003 under sponsorship of the Scientific Committee on

Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) and from the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program
(IGBP) to optimize nitrogen’s beneficial role in sustainable food production.

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• Automotive Mission Plan 2026:

It aimed at bringing the Indian Automotive Industry among the top three of the world in
engineering, manufacture and exports of vehicles & components; growing in value to over 12%
of India GDP and generating an additional 65 million jobs.

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Gothenburg Protocol:

It aims to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone and is a part of is part of
the Convention on LongRange Transboundary Air Pollution.
✓ Objective: To control and reduce emissions of sulphur dioxide

(SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH4), volatile organic

compounds (VOCs), and Particulate Matter (PM) that are caused by human activities

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Wildlife Crime Control Bureau

• It is a statutory multi-disciplinary body established by the

Government of India under the Ministry of Environment and

Forests, to combat organized wildlife crime in the country.

• It was constituted in 2007 by amending the Wildlife Protection

Act, 1972.

• It also assists and advises the Customs authorities in inspection of the consignments of flora &
fauna as per the provisions of Wildlife Protection Act, CITES and EXIM Policy governing such an
item

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TRAFFIC

It is a non-governmental organisation and a leading wildlife trade monitoring network aimed

towards conservation ofbiodiversity and sustainable development.

It covers both Plants and Animals.

TRAFFIC’s 2020 goal is to reduce the pressure of illegal and unsustainablewildlife trade on
biodiversity and enhance

the benefits to wildlife conservation and human well-being that derive from trade at sustainable
levels.

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Milestones set by AICHI Target 2020

• By 2014, potential pathways for invasive alien species were to be identified using a risk
assessment framework, and lists of the most harmful invasive species are developed;
• By 2016, actions to be taken to address the most important introduction pathways and the
most serious invasions;

• By 2020, the measures which have been put in place to be assessed to determine their impact

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Emission Trading’ as a concept was introduced under the

Kyoto Protocol, Article 17 as central element in form of

Clean Development Mechanism.

Under the mechanism

the countries which have extra credits to spare can sell

them to the countries which have over-shot their targets.

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• In India, Perform Achieve Trade (PAT) was introduced in 2012 under National Mission on
Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE) in National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).

o It aims to improve energy efficiency in industries by trading energy efficiency certificates in

energyintensive sectors.

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SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy)

• It is an aircraft (Boeing 747SP jetliner) modified to carry a 100-inch diameter telescope. It is a

joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Centre, DLR.

• It is the world’s largest airborne astronomical observatory and is in fourth year of operation
now.

• Its 2.5 diameter telescope allows astronomers to access the visible, infrared and sub-millimeter
spectrum. It has the ability to produce a higher resolution image, three times higher in quality
than those captured by other observatories.

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ITCOocean
• ITCOocean is being set up under commitment of Govt. of India in helping the
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) in their capacity

building efforts in areas of Operational Oceanography.

ITCOocean as Category-2 Centre (C2C

Category 2 centres under the auspices of UNESCO are

established and funded by Member States to contribute to the

achievement of UNESCO’s objectives by way of global, regional, subregional or interregional

activities.

They are not legally a part of the Organization, but are associated with it through formal
agreements between UNESCO and the Member State hosting the centre.

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WePROTECT Global Alliance

WePROTECT Global Alliance to End Child Sexual Exploitation Online, leading technology
companies, international

organizations and 77 countries have made an urgent commitment to end child sexual abuse and
exploitation through acoordinated response.

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• Microsoft donated its PhotoDNA technology to the International Centre forMissing and
Exploited Children.

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International Classification of Disease (ICD)

• It is WHO’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) which is a global health information
standard for mortality and morbidity.

• It is used in clinical care and research to define diseases and study patterns, manage health
care, monitor outcomes and allocate resources.

• In 1893 first international List of causes of Death was issued. Thereafter, since the formation of
WHO in 1948 ICD is being published.

• ICD-10 was published in May 1990. The ICD 11 is due to be released in 2018
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Development Impact Bond (DIB)

• They are outcome based bond, under which donor pay back private investors investment with
interest, if the service

providers achieve pre-determined target

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National Strategic Plan (2017-24)-

It aims to strive, along with partners, towards fast track strategy of ending the AIDS epidemic by
2030 and is expected to pave a

roadmap for achieving the target of 90:90:90.

• Mission SAMPARK-

Aim is to trace those who are Left to Follow Up and are to be brought under Antiretroviral
Therapy (ART) services. “Community Based Testing” will be taken up for fast-tracking the
identification of all who are HIV positive.

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