DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS MONDAY, July 22, 2019

1. SKILL CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE (COE) GS-2:- GOVT POLICIES

CONTEXT  Two Skill Centre of Excellence (CoE)s to be set up in Uttar Pradesh with joint collaboration between State and Central Government.  A joint decision was made to set-up two Skill Centre of Excellence (CoEs) – one in Greater Noida for Plumbing and one in Varanasi for the Services Sector. PMKVY  Launched in 2015, it is a flagship program of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) implements it with the help of training partners.  It aims to mobilize youth to take up skill training with the aim of increasing productivity and aligning the training and certification to the needs of the country.  Owing to the success of PMKVY 1.0 wherein more than 19 lakh students were trained as against the target of 24 lakh, the scheme was relaunched as PMKVY 2.0 (2016-2020) with an allocated budget of Rs. 12000 Crores that aims to train 10 million youth by the year 2020.

1. E-POSTAL BALLOT RECORDED 60.14% TURNOUT IN 2019 GS-2:- FUNCTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL BODIES

CONTEXT Among the many milestones recorded by Election Commission during the recently concluded Lok Sabha Election 2019, Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) is one of its kind by recording 60.14% TURNOUT IN 2019 RELATED  Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) is a Flagship IT NEWS Program of Election Commission of (ECI).  Through this system the service voters cast their vote on an electronically received postal ballot, from anywhere outside their constituency, thus reducing the chances of losing the voting opportunity.  Who are service voters: Persons working in Central Forces under Arms Act and Government officials deployed in Embassies outside the country are classified as Service Voters and are provisioned for online enrolment. Visit Us – www.jigyasaias.com Call – 9650294824, 01145508600 WhatsApp – 9650294824 Walk In – 57/11, 1ST Floor, Old Rajendra Nagar, New Delhi - 110060

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS MONDAY, July 22, 2019

Features  ETPBS is a fully secured system, having two security layers. Secrecy of voting is maintained through the use of OTP and PIN and no duplication of casted ETPB is possible due to the unique QR Code in the portal.  With the motto of “no voter to be left behind”, ETPBS has ensured all eligible service electors with their constitutional power to vote while performing their duty for the nation. Service Voter turnout in 2014 was only 4%.

2. THIRTY METER TELESCOPE GS-3:- SCIENCE AND TECH.

CONTEXT Last week, Hawaii saw protests against plans to start construction of a giant telescope atop Mauna Kea, the US state’s highest mountain at 14,000 feet. RELATED  “Thirty Metre” refers to the the 30-metre diameter of the mirror, with NEWS 492 segments of glass pieced together, which makes it three times as wide as the world’s largest existing visible-light telescope.  The telescope is being built by an international collaboration of government organisations and educational institutions, at a cost of $1.4 billion. Application One of its key uses will be the study of exoplanets, many of which have been detected in the last few years, and whether their atmospheres contain water vapour or methane — the signatures of possible life.

3. WHEN A JUVENILE IS TRIED AS AN ADULT, WHEN NOT GS-2:- FNCTIONING OF JUDIICIARY

CONTEXT Last week, the Bombay High Court directed that the Juvenile accused in a particular case be tried as a minor, saying the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015 is reformative and not retributive. RELATED  The Juvenile Justice Act of 2000 was amended in 2015 with a provision NEWS allowing for Children in Conflict with Law (CCL) to be tried as adults under certain circumstances.  The Act defines a child as someone who is under age 18.  The amended Act distinguishes children in the age group 16-18 as a Visit Us – www.jigyasaias.com Call – 9650294824, 01145508600 WhatsApp – 9650294824 Walk In – 57/11, 1ST Floor, Old Rajendra Nagar, New Delhi - 110060

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS MONDAY, July 22, 2019

category which can be tried as adults if they are alleged to have committed a heinous offence — one that attracts a minimum punishment of seven years.  The Act does not, however, make it mandatory for all children in this age group to be tried as adults.

4. KRISHNARAJA SAGAR (KRS) GS-1:- GEOGRAPHY

CONTEXT Farmers in held protests against the State Government for increasing the discharge of water to from upstream Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS). RELATED  (KRS), is a lake and the dam that creates it. NEWS  It is a type of Gravity Dam.  The dam is located below the confluence of river with its tributaries Hemavati and Lakshmana Tirtha, in the district of Mandya in Karnataka.

5. REPRESENTATION OF SCs AND STs IN SCIENTIFIC INSTITUTIONS GS-2:-INSTITUTIONS AND BODIES

CONTEXT A Right To Information query has found that scientists from Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) are grossly under-represented in scientific institutions funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).

RELATED Several of these institutions just about meet the government prescribed criteria NEWS for reservation — 15% for SC and 7.5% for ST. However, posts of scientist and technical grade staff (where reservation rules are not mandatory) see only single-digit representation from the reserved categories (excluding the Other Backward Classes category). For instance, in the National Institute of Immunology (NII), an organisation funded by the DBT, only two from the SC category were scientists. There was no scientist from the ST category.

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DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS MONDAY, July 22, 2019

6. MERCK’s VACCINE (VSV-EBOV) GS-3:- SCIENCE AND TECH

CONTEXT According to the WHO, preliminary data suggest that the Merck’s vaccine (VSV- EBOV) used during the current outbreaks in Congo was 97.5% efficacious in preventing Ebola infection. RELATED  The vaccine is based on a virus found in animals called vesicular NEWS stomatitis virus (VSV) that is combined with a portion of the protein covering of the Ebola virus.  When administered, it induces an immune response against the Ebola virus. It does not contain a live Ebola virus.  VSV-EBOV has been developed by NewLink Genetics and Merck Vaccines USA in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada.

7. “DEEKSHARAMBH”

CONTEXT The Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) released UGC Guide to Student Induction Programme . RELATED  Deeksharambh is a guide to Student Induction Programme. Prepared by NEWS University Grants Commission (UGC).  Its main objective is to help new students adjust and feel comfortable in the new environment, inculcate in them the ethos and culture of the institution help them build bonds with other students and faculty members, and expose them to a sense of larger purpose and self-exploration

Visit Us – www.jigyasaias.com Call – 9650294824, 01145508600 WhatsApp – 9650294824 Walk In – 57/11, 1ST Floor, Old Rajendra Nagar, New Delhi - 110060