Cgpsc Current Affairs May 2019 (English)

Home , Anupam Roy, Femina Miss India 2016, Master Hirannaiah

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INDEX

Sr.No. Content Page Number

01 Awards and Recognition 03 02 Indian Affairs 09 03 World Affairs 21 04 Banking and Finance 28 05 Trade and Economy 31 06 Appointments and Resignations 36 07 Science and Technology 38 08 Environment 45 09 Death 49 10 Books and Authors 51 11 Important Days 53 12 Sports 61 13 Chhattisgarh Affairs 66 14 Awards and Honors 70 15 Appointments 72 16 Science and Technology 73 17 Environment 74 18 Sports 76 19 Death 76 20 Important Days 77

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS AWARDS AND RECOGNITION “Chhaya Sharma”IPS officer investigating • On May 10, 2019, Chhaya Sharma, IPS officer who led the investigation the Nirbhaya rape case awarded with into the infamous Nirbhaya Gangrape and murder case, has been con “McCain Institute Award” 2019 ferred with the 2019 McCain Institute Award for bravery and leadership.She has guided the teams while detecting and investigating sensitive criminal cases and protecting human rights. In 2017, Chhaya played an important role in drafting standard operating procedures and guidelines to combat the trafficking of individuals in India.This award is given to those people who show courage on behalf of human rights, human compassion, justice, freedom and human dignity. “Capt Aarohi Pandit”becomes the world’s • A 23-year-old pilot from Mumbai, Captain Aarohi Pandit, became the first woman to cross the Atlantic world’s first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean in Light Sports Aircraft Ocean in LSA (LSA).She started her journey from Vic, Scotland (United Kingdom) and, with a very bad weather conditions, with 3,000 km of flight after landing in Greenland and Iceland, landing her plane at Iqaluit Airport in Canada.Arohi has made another world record in the LSA as the 1st female pilot for a flying solo on the dangerous Greenland ice-cap. This is part of the ‘Women Empower (WE) Campaign’ and the name of the plane is ‘Mahi’. “Anil Kapoor”will be honored for • As a part of Europe Day celebrations in India Council of American promoting the rights of children by Council Chambers of Commerce (CEUCC) and the European Union (EU) Del of American Chambers of Commerce egation Indian actor Anil Kapoor will be honored for promoting child (CEUCC) rights and for his efforts to protect the rights of girls in association with Plan India and EU. Mr. Anil Kapoor will be the chief guest of the festival. Together with them, the European Union’s Ambassador to India, Tomasz Kozlowski, European Union member consuls and senior representatives of European and Indian corporate world.every year. on the eve of formation of the European Union, Europe day is celebrated on May 9 every year. “Sunny Pawar”won the Best Child Actor • Child artist, Sunny Pawar, aged 11, won the Best Child Actor Award for Award for his performance in “Chippa” at his performance in ‘Chippa’ at the 19th New York Film Festival Festival. the 19th New York Indian Film Festival He lives in a slum in Kunchi Kurve Nagar, Maharashtra. The film ‘Chippa’ has been directed by Safdar Rahman. “Ajay Nagar”An Indian was nominated in • 19-year-old Indian Youtuber, Ajay Nagar has been nominated by Time the Top 10 Next Generation Leaders in 2019 Magazine for the Top 10 ‘Next Generation Leaders 2019’. He is the most by Time magazine. followed Youtuber in India. Next Generation Leaders is a list of 10 young people around the world who make new path in politics, music and other fields.Ajay Nagar runs a YouTube channel named Carryminati, which has 6,827,342 subscribers. He uploaded the first video at the age of 10, and in 2016 with a Diss Track he reached new heights.According to Time Magazine, in the case of YouTube viewers in the world, India left out the US in 2018. It has approximately 265 million monthly users. “Kapil Sharma”World Book of Records • Kapil Sharma, (Comedian) has been nominated by World Book of Records nominated him as the most watched stand-up London as the most watched stand-up comedian in India and abroad.He comedian in India and abroad started his career as a stand-up comedian from various comedy shows and got fame from ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil’.

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“Shyam Saran” will be awarded Japan’s • On May 21, 2019, the Japanese government announced in its 2019 ‘Order of the Rising Sun’ Spring Imperial Decoration that before the age of 72, Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran will be honored with Japan’s ‘Order of the Ris- ing Sun, Gold and Silver Star Award’. It was Japan’s second highest national award, established in 1875 by Japanese Emperor Meiji.Shyam Saran has been awarded this for strengthening strategic relations between India and Japan and for his contribution in enhancing mutual understanding, and since 2017, ‘India-Japan Dialogue’ is being hosted in this regard. “Jokha al-Harthi” Man Booker • Oman, country’s female writer Jokha al-Harthi became the first Arab writer International prize 2019 to win the 2019 Man Booker International Prize 2019 for her novel ‘Ce- lestial Bodies’. In the novel is the story of three sisters in an Omani village.The novel was originally published in Arabic and then translated into English by Marilyn Booth. “Dr. Ankur Patwardhan”was awarded • Dr. Ankur Patwardhan, a Pune-based scientist, achieved the second with ‘German Chemistry Award’ place in the international competition, ‘Elsevier Foundation-ISC 3 Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge’ during the fourth Green and Sus- tainable Chemistry Conference organized in Dresden, Germany. and won German Chemistry Award’. The first award was won by Dr. Ramia Albaykenn with • 50,000 for ‘new Green Technique to remove toxic metal from wastewater’ in its project.Dr. Ankur Patwardhan received second prize with • 25,000 for his project ‘pollination and butterfly attraction for the ecosystem health’. It relates to the relationship between chemistry and ecosystem. This project was developed with the help of Dr. Tejaswini Pachpor and Dr. Dattatre Naik. “Hema Diwakar”Award for ‘Global Asian • Bangalore’s doctor Hema Diwakar received ‘Global Asian of the Year of the Year’ 2018-19’ award for her health services and contribution to the women’s health care ecosystem.She is leading a health care initiative for overall development of women with qualitative and inexpensive remedies. Flight Lieutenant “Bhawana Kanth” • Flight Lieutenant, Bhawana Kanth has become the first female fighter First Female Fighter Pilot in the Airforce pilot of the Indian Air Force, who got the ability to conduct combat to conduct Combat Operations operations. Bhavana Kanth was one of the first batches of Indian FighterPilots who joined in July 2016. She made her first solo flight on the MiG-21 Bison in March 2018. After successfully completing the day’s operational Syllabus on the MiG-21 Bison aircraft, she became the first female fighter pilot.The first batch of female fighter pilot includes the following:Bhawana Kanth, Avni Chaturvedi, and Mohana Singh "Priyanka Mohite" becomes the first • Priyanka Mohite, a 26-year-old Mountaineer from Satara, became the Indian woman to climb World's fifth first Indian woman to climb Mt Makalu (8,481 meters), the fifth highest highest mountain, Mount Makalu peak in the world. In 2013, she climbed Mount Everest at the age of 21 and She became the third youngest Indian to do so. “Jitendra Kumar” Awarded with United • The United Nations pilot Dag Hammarskjöld Medal will be Nations Dag Hammarskjold Medal given posthumously to Indian Police Officer Jitendra Kumar at United Nations Headquarters in New York on May 29 during the International Day of peace ambassadors of United Nations. They are among the 119 military, police and civilian personnel who lost their lives in the year 2018 and early 2019. They will be honored by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.Late Jitendra Kumar sacrificed his life while serving the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). His medal will be collected by Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, the permanent representative of In- dia for the United Nations. 4

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“Nalini Malini”becomes the first Indian to • Mumbai’s contemporary artist Nalini Malani became the first Indian to be awarded with Joan Miro Award in 2019 be awarded the 7th Joan Mirror Award by 2019. It was announced by the Barcelona-based Fundaccio Zone Miro. It is a biennial award from one of the world’s most prestigious contemporary art awards.It honors artists who show a sense of exploration, innovation, commitment and freedom, which is the characteristic of life and work of Spanish painter and sculptor Joan Miro.Nalini Malani was honored for his work, who gave a voice to ‘silence and eviction, especially women’ in the whole world. ‘UNSDG 10 Most Influential People in • On 26th May, 2019, Acharya Balkrishna, managing director of Patanjali Healthcare Award’ was awarded to Ayurveda and Baba Ramdev (Yoga Guru), was honored with ‘United Acharya Balkrishna of Patanjali Ayurveda. Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) 10 Most Influential People in Healthcare Award’ in Geneva, Switzerland. This award was given to him for the contributions made by Patanjali to correct the diseases of life with Yoga, Ayurveda and traditional Indian methods. It dedicated awards to those who contributed to the mainstream of yoga and Ayurveda globally. “Annie Zaidi”Nine Dots Prize 2019 • Indian dramatist and journalist Annie Zaidi won the Nine Dots Prize 2019 for her essay ‘Bread, Cement, Cactus’. She won a cash prize of 100,000 US dollars (69.83 lakhs).The Nine Dots Prize is a book award for creative thinking that addresses current issues of society. Annie Zaidi’s book Nine Dots prize-winning essay is based on ‘bread, cement, cactus’, which will be published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in May 2020. “Padma Bhushan Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty” • India’s most prestigious cardiac surgeon and humanist Dr. Devi Prasad was awarded the PC Chandra Award 2019 Shetty is honored with PC Chandra Group’s annual national award of 27th P.C. Chandra Puraskar was honored at the Biswa Bangla Conven- tion Center. Ramkrishna Mission Secretary General Belur Math, Swami Suvaranandji Maharaj presented the award on this occasion as the Chief Guest. He is also known as ‘The Man with Divine Hands’. In 2003, he won Padma Shri and won Padma Bhushan for medical treatment in 2013. G.D. Robert Govendar received • Journalist GD Robert ‘Govender, a journalist of Indian origin, was hon VK Krishna Menon Award ored with VK Krishna Menon Award 2019 in the UK for his contributions as a pioneer of diplomatic journalism. This award was given on the 123rd birth anniversary of Indian diplomat and politician VK Krishna Menon. Govendar is the first person who has been honored with VK Krishna Menon posthumously. He died in UK in 2016.Govinder had written several books in the field of journalism, but his outstanding work was ‘The Martyrdom of Patrice Lumumba’, which highlighted the role of Western intelligence agencies in the murder of the Congo’s freedom fighter. Govendar was the first journalist who called for the international boycott of South Africa’s sports team, which was white only as its member. “Lieutenant General JFR Jacob”the hero • A Jew, Lieutenant General (retired) Jack Faraz Raphael (JFR) Jacob was of 1971 liberation war, Israel was awarded honored with a Wall of Honor plaque in Ammuniation Hill. They fought World War II and fought the Indo-Pak war in 1965 and after the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, they also discussed the historic surrender of Pakistani soldiers in Dhaka.After retirement, he became the Governor of two states- Goa and Punjab. He died at the age of 92 in 2016.

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“A.S. Kiran Kumar “ISRO’s former head • The head of the former Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has was awarded the ‘Night of the Legion of been awarded the “Night of the Legion of Honor”, France’s highest Honor’ award civilian award. This award is for their invaluable contribution in the development of Indo-France Space Cooperation. This award was presented to the French President of the Republic of France by Alexandre Jeigler, the French ambassador in India. Padma Shri Award recipient worked as ISRO chief from 2015 to 2018. Orchha City (Madhya Pradesh) was added to the temporary list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites: • Architectural heritage of Orchha city of Madhya Pradesh has been added to the temporary list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. A unique style of Bundela dynasty has been depicted in the heritage of Orchha city. • The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) sent a proposal to UNESCO for incorporating the architectural heritage of Orchha city in its list of World Heritage Sites on April 15, 2019. • Before a historical site becomes a part of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites, it has to be included in the first temporary list. After joining, another proposal is sent to UNESCO, only then the site is included in UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Orchha City - • Located on the banks of river Betwa, Orchha is about 80 km from Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh and 15 km from Jhansi district of UP. The city of Orchha is located in the Nivari district of Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh. It was built in the 16th century by King Rudra Pratap Singh of Bundela Dynasty. Due to the proximity of the two dynasties, Mughal influence is on Bundela architecture. King Veer Singh Deva of the Bundela dynasty, was a close friend of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. • It is famous for its quadrangular temple, Orchha Fort complex and the RajMahal. This is the only place in India where Lord Rama is worshiped as a King in a dedicated temple in his name, whose name is Shri Ram Raja Temple. • It is famous for 2 upgraded towers, which are called Saavan and Bhaado and 4 palaces - Raj Mahal, Sheesh Mahal, Jahangir Mahal and Rai Pravin Mahal and apart from it, the concept of stone windows reflecting the culture of Bundelkhand, open bungalow, Also famous for animal statues. The Goldman Environmental Prize was awarded to 6 environmental workers for their exemplary work in protecting nature: • The Goldman Environmental Foundation honored the 6 recipient in 2019, the world’s prestigious award for the grassroots environmental activists, the Goldman Environment Award or the Environmental Prize. This is awarded to environmental workers from each of the 6 inhabited continents of the world every year. • The Goldman Environmental Prize is also known as the Green Nobel Prize, and it offers a cash prize of $ 200,000. This award was established by the late philanthropic and civil leaders Rosa and Richard Goldman in 1989 for grassroots environmen- talists in San Francisco, California. In the year 2019, it is the 30th anniversary of the award. So far, the prize has been awarded to 194 winners from 89 different countries.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS The 2019 award winners are as follows:2019

Recipient Name Country Environmental Work Bayarjargal Agvaantseren Mongolia Bayarjargal Agvaantseren helped to create a 1.8 million acre toast in the Toshombumba Nature Reserve (in the South Gobi Desert), which is an important place of residence for sensitive snow leopards. She persuaded the Mongolian government to take action against mining within the reserve. Alfred Brownell Liberia Environmental counsel Alfred Brownell prevented Palm Oil plantation developers from cleaning Liberia’s tropical forests. The campaign helped save 5,13,500 acres of primary forest. He was surrounded by violent threats during the campaign and now he is living in temporary deportation in the United States for his safety. Ana Colovic Lesoska Northern Macedonia Ana Colovic Lesoska has protected the habitat of almost extinct Balkan Leinex (a wild-gray fur) which is mostly found in northern latitudes of North America and Eurasia), inthe Mavarovo National of Northern Macedonia There are 7 years of campaign was organized to stop international funding for 2 major hydroelectric plants to be built inside the park. Alberto Curamil Chile Alberto Curamil (In prison in 2018 due to his environmental activism) led his Mapuche community to stop construction of 2 hydro projects on the Cotton River in Chile. Millions of gallons of water are diverted by the projects every day, and damage to ecosystems by drought. Jacqueline Evans Cook Islands Jacqueline Evans ran a 5-year campaign to protect the Cook Islands marine biodiversity, Due to its firmness in activism, the Cook Islands passed a new law on July 13, 2017 to create ‘Mara Mona’ (a multi-use marine protected area), from which all marine protected areas around 15 islands By building and conserving 763,000 square miles of the country’s maritime area. Linda Garcia USA Linda Garcia prevented North America’s largest oil terminal, Tesoro Savage Oil Export Terminal from being built in Vancouver, Washington, thus blocking 11 million gallons of crude oil flow from North Dakota to Washington.

FIFA announces two new award categories to promote women’s football globally: • On May 6, 2019, the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has introduced two new award categories from ‘Women’s Goalkeeper’ and ‘Women’s Team of the Year’ to promote women’s football worldwide. ie- in 2019, FIFA Best Ceremonies to be held in Italy, both men and women will be given awards in the same category. “Bandana”, Nepal’s 18-year-old girl made Guinness World Record for the longest dance • Nepalese teenager, Bandana danced for the longest time (126 hours) to make Guiness World Records on ‘Longest Dance Marathon’ by a human being. She constantly danced in Nepalese music. • Bandana broke the record created by Kalamandalam Hemlata, an Indian, who danced for 123 hours and 15 minutes in 2011. Indian part of Kailash Mansarovar included in UNESCO temporary list of World Heritage Sites: • On May 19, 2019, the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India informed that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has included the Indian part of Kailash Mansarovar, known as Kailash Mountain in the temporary list of World Heritage Sites. It has been classified under natural and cultural heritage. In April 2019, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Ministry of Environment and Forests sent a proposal to UNESCO to list Kailash Mansarovar in its World Heritage Sites. Kailash Mansarovar is the highest South-western part of the Tibet 7

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS Autonomous Region of China and the Kailash range in the adjacent district of Mansarovar Lake in the remote-western region of Nepal. • The expansion of Kailash Mansarovar is in the area of 6,836 sq km within India. Indian site is a part of a large area of 31,000 sq km. In Uttarakhand state, its part consists of four major watersheds. They are Panar-Saryu, Saryu-Ramganga, Gori-Kali and Dhauli-Kali.China and Nepal have also proposed UNESCO to incorporate the scenario in the World Heritage Site. Currently, the list of UNESCO heritage sites worldwide, there are 845 cultural heritage sites, 29 of which are from India. BJD’s tribal woman Chandrisha Murmu (25) became the youngest member of the country and made her debut in Parliament: • 25-year-old Chandrani Murmu, a tribal woman from Odisha, became the youngest member of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party. He defeated BJP MP Anant Naik twice by a margin of 66,203 votes and won from the Konjhar constituency of Odisha. She replaced Dushyant Chautala, who was elected to the Hissar Lok Sabha seat in 2014, at the age of 26.

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India’s first “Tree Ambulance”, launched by the Green Man of India in Chennai: • The Tree Ambulance was inaugurated on May 22, by Vice President of India, Venkaiah Naidu, in Chennai, Tamilnadu, on May 22, on the occasion of International Organic Diversity Day. This initiative was proposed by Green Man of India Dr. K. Abdul Ghani and it is sponsored by SASA Group. Ambulance can be availed through 9941006786 and volunteers can register at www.treeambulance.org. • The services provided by Tree Ambulance First Aid Treatment include plantation, seed bank, seed ball distribution, plant distribution, assistive plantation, shifting of trees, survey of trees and deforestation of dead trees. Redevelopment of trees will be free. • The ambulance has helpers and plant experts, which carry gardening equipment, water, manure and pesticide with them. The reason for this initiative: • Due to some kind of disaster every year, because of the cyclone Varada and Gaza, the trees were crushed in the city and neither one of them was rehabilitated, due to which Chennai has the least green compared to all the metropolitan cities of the country. There is a cover, as well as hundreds of dead trees in Chennai which are a threat to the public. So this initiative has been launched to increase the green cover. India’s Highest Graphite Reserves in Arunachal Pradesh - • In its report, Geological Survey of India (GSI) informed that approximately 35% of India’s highest graphite reserves, i.e. totals grayed stock of India, and is found in Arunachal Pradesh. This data was presented during the yearly interactive meeting with the GSI geology and mining and industry department, Arunachal Pradesh Government in Itanagar. Arunachal Pradesh can now be developed as a leading manufacturer of graphite in India, so that the country. The future needs can be met, because at present, India imports more quantity of graphite from other countries. What is Graphite? • Graphite, also known as a dry illumination to feel its lubricating, is the most stable allotrope of carbon in which the ideal entropy is zero. • A special fact of graphite is that it is the only non-metallic element that is a good conductor of electricity. • Under high pressure and temperature the graphite is converted into diamonds. • Graphite is used in pencils, lubricants, steel making, electrodes, brake lining, batteries, solar panels and various other products. Geological Survey of India (GSI) established two geological display boards in the North Eastern Region (NER): • Geological Survey of India (GSI) North Eastern Region (NER) established two geological display boards with geo-scientific information on two important geological sites. These places are Mawmluh Cave and Thariaghat Caves in Meghalaya. Its main objective was to create awareness among the students, tourists and the general public and to help preserve the sites and to make the generation aware about such geological development. Geological display board has been unveiled at Mawmmulh Cave and Thariaghat in Shobhar in Eastern Khasi Hill district. Mawmluh Cave — • Limestone mining for the cement industry is a major threat to the Meghalaya caves, causing a major loss to the crem Mawmluh cave. It is the 7th longest cave in Meghalaya. The meaning of ‘crem’ is the meaning cave in the local Khasi language. Stalagmite’s highly stable isotopic studies from the Mawmmulh cave have shown that a major climatic event occurred around 4200 years ago. The stalagmite in the Mawmmulh cave is called the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) has been tagged. It formally marked the beginning of the geological period of time in India. The period of the Mughal era began around 4200 years ago and passed through a period of famine and cold growing worldwide. Therriaghat Cave — • Tharriaghat Cave Cretaceous (K) - Paleogene (PG) is a symbol of the phenomenon of extinction. The Crescensius- Paleogene (K-PG) border in India in the Um-SohringKev (carries) the stream of river in Teraiaghat is a complete record of transition period. In the Thariaghat cave, there is a high level of iridium metal from the boundary. This marks the destructive event when a massive meteorite hit the earth.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS Shri Narendra Modi took oath as the Prime Minister of India for the second term: • Narendra Damodardas Modi, the leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), took oath as the Prime Minister for the second consecutive term on 30 May 2019. With Narendra Modi, a total of 57 ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind. The swearing-in ceremony was held in the foreground of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. • In the Lok Sabha elections of 2019, the highest voter turnout was 67.47%, which is 1.03% more than the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. BJP’s vote share was 37.41%, whereas Congress got 19.51% and Trinamool Congress’s 4.07%. Total 61.30 million votes Out of the, the winning candidates got 32.29 million votes, which was 52.67%. Guest list of Swearing Ceremony: • More than 8,000 guests have participated in PM Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony. Foreign guests - Many foreign guests joining the swearing-in ceremony were included in this number, which included Bengal’s Bay Initiative (BIMSTEC) countries and Mauritian and Kyrgyzstan leaders for multi-regional technical and economic cooperation. Some of them are the following: • Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid • Sri Lankan President Maitripala Sirisena • KP Sharma Oli, Nepal’s Prime Minister • President of Myanmar U Win Mint • Bhutan Prime Minister Lote Tshering • From Thailand, its special envoy represented the country at the Grasada Butorach Festival. • Prime Minister of Mauritius Praveen Kumar Jugnath • President of Kyrgyzstan Soronbaye Jenbekov Important Points: • Of the total 57 cabinet ministers, 24 cabinet ministers were sworn in as Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Smriti Irani and Piyush Goyal, 9 Minister of State with Independent Charge and 24 other Ministers of State. • This time, one-third of the total cabinet ministers were new members, including BJP president Amit Shah and former Foreign Secretary Subramaniam Jaishankar. Two former Chief Ministers - Ramesh Pokhriyal from Uttarakhand and Arjun Munda from Jharkhand were also included in the Cabinet for the first time. In the second term of the Modi government, there was a maximum representation of 10 faces in Uttar Pradesh Council of Ministers, followed by 7 in Maharashtra, 6 in Bihar and 4 in Madhya Pradesh. • Nirmala Sitharaman became India’s first full time women finance minister • The Central Government, together with water resources and drinking water ministries, formed the Ministry of Water Power. • Subramaniam Jaishankar became the first career diplomat to be appointed as the Foreign Minister of India. • In the second term of the Modi government, Smriti Irani (43 years) is the youngest in the Council of Ministers.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS Cabinet Ministers

Sr. No. Cabinet Minister Department Constituency 1. Narendra Modi Prime ministerMinistry of Personnel, Public Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh Grievances and Pensions,Department of Atomic Energy, Department of SpaceAll important policy issues and all the departments which have not been allocated to any minister. 2. Rajnath Singh Defense Minister Lucknow, U.P. 3. Amit Shah Home Minister Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat 4. Nitin Jairam Gadkari Minister of Road Transport and Highways and Nagpur, Maharashtra Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises 5. D.V. Sadanand Gowda Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers North Bangalore, Karnataka 6. Nirmala Sitharaman Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Rajya Sabha (Karnataka) 7. Ram Vilas Paswan Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Did not contest elections Distribution 8. Narendra Singh Tomar Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Muraina, Madhya Pradesh Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj 9. Ravi Shankar Prasad Minister of Law and Justice, Communication, Patna Sahib, Bihar Electronics and Information Technology 10. Harsimrat Kaur Badal Minister of food processing industries Bathinda, Punjab 11. Mr. Thawar Chand Gehlot Minister for social justice and empowerment Rajya Sabha (Madhya Pradesh) 12. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar foreign Minister Did not Contest Election 13. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Human resources development minister Haridwar, Uttarakhand 14. Arjun Munda Minister of Tribal Affairs Khunti, Jharkhand 15. Smriti Jubin Irani Minister of Women and Child Development Amethi, Uttar Pradesh and Clothing 16. Dr. Harshavardhan Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Chandni Chowk, New Delhi Science and Technology and Earth Sciences 17. Prakash Javadekar Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Rajya Sabha (Madhya Change and Information and Broadcasting Pradesh) 18. Piyush Goyal Railway and minister of commerce and industry Rajya Sabha (Maharashtra) 19. Dharmendra Pradhan Petroleum and natural gas and steel minister Rajya Sabha (Madhya Pradesh) 20. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Minority Affairs Minister Rajya Sabha (Madhya Pradesh) 21. Prahlad Joshi Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Coal and Mines Dharwad, Karnataka 22. Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey Minister for Skill Development and Chandauli, U.P. Entrepreneurship 23. Arvind Ganpat Sawant Minister of Heavy Industries and Public South, Maharashtra Enterprises Mumbai 24. Giriraj Singh Minister for Animal Husbandry, Dairy Begusarai, Bihar Production and Fisheries 25. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Water power minister Jodhpur, Rajasthan

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Sr. No. State Minister Department Constituency 1. Santosh Kumar Gangwar Ministry of Labor and Employment Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh (Independent Charge) 2. Rao Indrajit Singh Ministry of Statistics and Program Gurgaon, Haryana Implementation (Independent Charge) and Planning Ministry (Independent Charge) 3. Shripad Yaso Naik Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, North Goa, Goa Greek, Siddha and Homeopathy (Ayush) Ministry of Defense (Independent Charge) and Ministry of Defense 4. Dr. Jitendra Singh Ministry of State for Development of North Udhampur, Jammu and Eastern Region (Independent Charge), Prime Kashmir Minister’s Office, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space 5. Kiren Rijiju Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Arunachal West, Arunachal Minority Affairs Pradesh 6. Prahlad Singh Patel Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Tourism Damoh, Madhya Pradesh 7. Rajkumar Singh Ministry of Power, Ministry of New and Arrah, Bihar Renewable Energy and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 8. Hardeep Singh Puri Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Lost in the Lok Sabha Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of elections Commerce and Industry

9. Mansukh L. Mandovia Ministry of Shipping and Chemicals and Rajya Sabha, Gujarat Fertilizers State Minister

Sr. No. State Minister Department Constituency 1. Faggan Singh Kulaste Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel Mandla, Madhya Pradesh 2. Ashwini Kumar Choubey Minister of State in Ministry of Health and Buxar, Bihar Family Welfare 3. Arjunram Meghwal Minister of State in Ministry of Parliamentary Bikaner, Rajasthan Affairs and Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises 4. General (retired) V.K. Lion Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Ghaziabad, UP Transport and Highways 5. Krishna Pal Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Faridabad, Haryana Justice and Empowerment 6. Danve Raasahab Dadawar Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Jalna, Maharashtra Affairs, Food and Public Distribution 7. G. Kishan Reddy Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Secunderabad, Telangana 8. Purshottam Rupala Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture Rajya Sabha (Gujarat) and Farmer Welfare 12

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9. Ramdas Athawale Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Rajya Sabha (Maharashtra) Justice and Empowerment 10. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh Development 11. Babul supriyo Minister of State in the Ministry of Asansol, West Bengal Environment, Forest and Climate Change 12. Sanjeev Kumar Balian Minister of State in the Ministry of Animal Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Husbandry, Dairy Production and Fisheries Pradesh 13. Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Akola, Maharashtra Resource Development, Minister of State in the Ministry of Communication and Electronics and Information Technology 14. Anurag Singh Thakur Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh and Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs 15. Angdi Suresh Chanabasappa Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways Belgaum, Karnataka 16. Nityanand Rai Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Ujaipur, Bihar 17. Ratan Lal Kataria Minister of State in Ministry of Water, Ministry Ambala, Haryana of State in Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment 18. V. Muralitharan Minister of State in the Ministry of External Wadakara, Kerala Affairs, Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs 19. Renuka Singh Saruta Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs Surguja, Chhattisgarh 20. Som Prakash Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce Hoshiarpur, Punjab & Industry 21. Rameshwar Teli Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Dibrugarh, Assam Processing Industries 22. Pratap Chandra Sarangi Minister of State in Ministry of Micro, Small Balasore, Odisha and Medium Enterprises, Minister of State in Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries 23. Kailash Chaudhary Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture Barmer, Rajasthan and Farmer Welfare 24. Ms. Debashree Chaudhary Minister of State in the Ministry of Women Raiganj, West Bengal and Child Development

ISRO Launched a 2-Week Residential Program called ‘India Young Scientist Program’ (Yuvika-2019) for the first time: • ISRO’s two week long (May 13, 2019 to May 26, 2019) ‘India Young Scientist Program’ (Yuvika-2011) or ‘Young Scientist Kalyanakam’ approaches the Central Government’s ‘Jai Vigyaan, Jai Anusandhaan’. This two-week long program is being known as ‘catch them young’. • Selected students from 29 states and 7 union territories across India will be able to avail this new program. Dr. K. Sivan, President of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) inaugurated the Youth Scientific Program (Yuvika-2019) through video mode from ISRO headquarters in Bangalore. Students have been selected on the basis of their performance in Class XII (CBSE, ICSE and State course) and it includes display of their academic as well as additional curricular activities. Course material will be provided to selected students which are already on the tablets. The curriculum program includes subjects like Rocket Engine, Environmental Science, Astronomy, Space Applications, and Renewable Energy. Selected 13

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS students are participating in residential training program at 4 centers of ISRO, i.e. 1. Vikram Sarabhai Space Center, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 2. UR Rao Satellite Center, Bengaluru 3. Space Application Center (SAC), Ahmedabad, Gujarat 4. North Eastern Space Application Center (NESAC) Shillong, Meghalaya • As part of the program, selected students will also visit the Satish Dhawan Space Center Space Port to understand the operation of the spaceships. This space center is located in Sriharikota (located about 80 km northeast of Chennai) in Andhra Pradesh. As a part of the program, the student to get experience on how ISRO’s team establishes complex missions. Students will also be visiting ISRO laboratories. IIT Kanpur collaborated with CSC e-Governance Services India to expand “Unnat Bharat Abhiyan”: • Under the CSC (Common Services Center), Electronics and IT Ministry, a special purpose vehicle, E-Governance Services India Limited has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur for ‘Advanced India Campaign’. The ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’ is being led by Dr Rita Singh from IIT Kanpur. • ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’ is a program of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, which is working towards achieving solutions to increase sustainable development in rural India. For the development of IIT-Kanpur villages, under this policy, CSC Together, 15 top educational institutes of UP (Uttar Pradesh) have been brought together to work together. Through CSC, they will adopt village panchayats and provide citizen centric services to them. IIT Kanpur has adopted 5 villages for overall development. • The villages are situated on the outskirts of Kanpur and their names are as follows: Hridaypur, Baikunthpur, Ishwarijanj, Pratappur Hari and Saksupurwa. Educational institutions will provide training to rural level entrepreneurs (VLEs) running CSCs. These enterprises will provide solar energy, sanitation and Equipped with the use of modern techniques, along with the leading institutions along with the CSC, IIT-Kanpur, the collaboration in Digital India will strengthen the viewpoint of the Government. Central Government extended the ban on “LTTE” for another 5 years: • Under the sub-sections (1) and (3) of Section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967), the Central Government, with immediate effect for the next 5 years, will be on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The restriction has been said in the notification that the continuous violent activities of the LTTE are extremely harmful to the integrity of our country. The LTTE has been consistently adopting anti-national stance and is a threat to Indian Defence and Security. What is LTTE ? • The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (founded in May 1976 by Velupillai Prabhakaran) was a Tamil terrorist and political organization located in north-eastern Sri Lanka. The main objective of the LTTE was to create an independent state of the Tamil Eelam in north and east, In order to respond to the policies of the Srilankan government, for whom they were in Civil War. From 1983, the civil war that lasted for 26 years, More than 80,000 people were killed. Most of the people killed were Sri Lankan Tamil civilians. India banned Bangladeshi terrorist organization “Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen” - • Recently, the Home Ministry has declared a Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, also known as Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen India or Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Hindustan, in a notification, as a restricted terrorist organization. The Home Ministry has given the reason for banning the organization due to its committed acts of terrorism, the promotion of terrorism and the recruitment of youth for terrorist activities in India. The organization was banned under the first schedule of the Illegal Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. India found some problems with the current methodology of STRI computed by OECD: • India has found some problems with the current system, under which the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) places the countries on the basis of their Service Trade Ban Index (STRI). • A study by the Commerce Ministry stated that the OECD Index has many problems related to it which makes it impractical for use, including some very important design issues. The OECD Index in the Indian service sector globally Shows as fighly restrictive, mainly policy sectors such as foreign entry, foreign direct investment (FDI). Whereas, the fact of the matter is, since 1991, FDI is one area which has seen maximum liberalization in India. What measures have India taken to correct this outcome? 14

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS • India adopts a new method to measure restrictions in the trade services sector during the Ministerial Dialogue of the World Trade Organization (WTO) recently concluded in New Delhi from developing countries like China, Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey, South Africa and Malaysia were contacted to create consensus. A team of economists at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) has designed a new way of measuring restrictions in service business which will be stronger and will be fair for developing countries as well as developed countries. Constituted a committee to implement the National Clean Air Program: • The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has constituted a Committee to implement the National Clean Air Program (NCAP). • Its aim is to reduce PM (Particulate Matter) 2.5 and PM10 concentration from 20% to 30% by 2024 in 102 cities. • The committee will chaired by the Secretary of the Union Ministry of Environment, while it’s current President is SP Singh Parihar. The headquarters of the committee will be in New Delhi. Other members of the committee will be Joint Secretary of Ministry of Power (Thermal), Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Prof. Sachidanand Tripathi, IIT Kanpur,. The Central Pollution Control Board (CBBC) will identify 102 cities of 23 States and Union Territories. Selection criteria will be based on their ambitious air quality data between 2011 and 2015. NCAP has been created as the first year in 2019 with a five-year work plan. There will be a review every five years. Indian Postal Department issued postage on 750th anniversary of Sri Vedanta Desika: • In the celebration of 750th birth anniversary of Shri Vedanta Desika, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu unveiled a postage stamp on May 2, 2019 in New Delhi. A postal stamp has been issued by the Indian Postal Department. Release of commemorative postage stamps inspires the younger generation to practice humanism, peace and compassion, promoted by great saints and spiritual icons. • Born in 1268 AD, Sri Vedanta Desika, he was a Vaishnava philosopher and during Ramanuj’s time, he was the best supporter of Sri Vaishnavism. He was a recipient of Vedanta Desika (Supreme teacher of the closure of all knowledge). He also received titles like ‘Kavitaakarika-Kesari’, ‘Kavitaakarika-Singham’ (Lion between poets) and ‘Ramanuj-Daya-Patram’. The most essential attribute of his philosophy is the ‘aspect of inclusion’, which means that no one can join Shri Vaishnava Guna despite any caste or creed. The basis of their spiritual teachings was peace and humanity. Government plans to merge CSO and NSSO: • The Central Government has decided to merge two institutions into the Central Statistical Organization (CSO) and National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) to create the National Statistical Office (NSSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI). The objective is to streamline and strengthen the statistical system. This restructuring is consis- tent with the proposed national policy on official statistics, which was made last year. The proposed NSO will be chaired by the MONSPI Secretary. The decision has been taken during the 2005 United Progressive Alliance (UPA) tenure, which was based on the recommendation of the report of the National Statistical Commission headed by former Governor of State Bank of India, S. Rangarajan. • Both the CSO and NSSO organizations are currently under the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation. NSSO conducts many surveys, such as consumption expenditure, employment and unemployment, the CSO issues various data such as Growth Domestic Product (GDP) and Index of Industrial Production (IIP). • A Data Quality Assurance Division (DQAD) has also been established which replaces the data processing division. This new body will have the responsibility to improve the survey and administrative database. Home Council has introduced a rating system, ‘Home for Schools of the day’, to evaluate existing schools in India. • GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habit Assessment) Council has started the “Home for Schools of the Current Day” in India so that the country’s Vision can be complied with a greenery filled and sustainable future. “Home for Schools of the Current Day” is a rating tool that will be able to assess the current environmental performance of existing schools in India. Integrated Rating System to School Students car involved in knowing the environmental impact of schools on the environment introduces the concepts of ‘stability’ and ‘greenery’. Students will evaluate under the guidance of their teachers. The product launch program was held at India Habitat Center, New Delhi. GRIHA: • It was founded by TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) with the help of the new and renewable energy ministry and various environmental-sustainability experts across India. This is a registered society which is related to the environment and permanent resident of India and the scientific and Deals with administrative issues. 15

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS It is mandatory to place green number plate on all electric vehicles: • The Central Government has instructed all state transport departments to make the Green Number Plate compulsory, whether it is new or used on all types of electric vehicles (EV). The reason behind this step is to separate the green vehicles or electric vehicles for a special place in the parking lot, free entry to congested areas and discounted tolls. • Government’s major plans for the development of electric vehicles: • Allow teenagers aged 16-18 to ride e-scooters, because they are gearless, and easy to use. • Directing taxi aggregators that there should be an incremental part of electric vehicles from 2020, it can be 1 percent of the fleet each year. • Compared to the rate of depreciation on electric vehicles at 50% compared to 15% compared to traditionally operated vehicles. Indian Army, Navy and Air Force organized a ‘Bull Strike’ joint exercises in Andaman & Nicobar: • The three services, Indian Army, Navy and Air Force conducted a joint exercise bull strike in Teresa Island of Andaman and Nicobar. Its aim is to increase its coordination in dealing with major security challenges which are currently facing the country and to demonstrate the joint operational capability of the three armies, Indian Army, Navy and Air Force and to further increase the coordination of operations. A total of 170 soldiers from all three services participated and did a para- drop operation in a Combat Free Fall and Static Line mode. Memorandum of introduction of ‘Center of Excellence’ for ‘West To Wealth’ Technology: • The Memorandum of Understanding has been signed to establish ‘Center of Excellence’ for ‘West to Wealth’ technology in India in the celebration of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary on October 2, 2019, between Principal Scientific Adviser of Indian Government and Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi. • Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India Prof. K.Vijay Raghavan and IIT Delhi Director Prof. V. Ramagopal Rao, has signed MoU in New Delhi. Center will work towards the implementation of sustainable, scientific and technological solutions for waste management by deploying available technologies for garbage disposal. The project has been approved under the recently constituted Prime Minister Science Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC). India and Bangladesh agree to jointly film on the life of “Mujibur Rahman” • India and Bangladesh agreed to jointly construct a documentary on a film based on the life and actions of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the Bangladesh Liberation War 1971 at a meeting. Dr. Gauhar Rizvi, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, who led Bangladesh’s delegation met the Secretary of the Ministry of Information & Broadcast- ing, Amit Khare. The co-production of the film was announced by the Prime Ministers of both India and Bangladesh earlier. • The film will be directed by Shyam Benegal and will be screenwritten by Atul Tiwari and the director of the documentary will be from Bangladesh who will be assisted by a co-director of India. In addition, Prasar Bharati has also decided to show Bangladesh TV on DD Free Dish platform and allowed for exemption of Telecast Fees. The Bangladesh delegation also agreed to launch Doordarshan Channel on these DTH platform of Bangladesh. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) distributed 1 lakh bee boxes under the ‘Honey Mission’ initiative: • For the first time in India, under the ‘Honey Mission’ initiative, KVIC i.e. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (in less than 2 years) distributed more than 1 lakh bee boxes among farmers and unemployed youth all over India. Through the construction of boxes and honey extracters, KVIC has given and has helped create more than 10,000 new jobs and 25,000 additional labor days. Beekeeping will open many jobs for young entrepreneurs. • In August 2017, the initiative of ‘Honey Mission’ was launched in 2016 according to the need of ‘Sweet Revolution’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was started by Banas Honey Project in Deesa, Gujarat. KVIC had offered Beekeepers to give effective training to wax purification and management of bee colonies. Being an agency of Prime Minister Employ- ment Generation Program (PMEGP), KVIC will offer loans for the establishment of honey-processing, packaging and labeling units. • After the implementation of this mission, so far 246 metric tons of honey has been extracted from the bee box of honey worth over 4 crore rupees.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS “Char Dham Yatra” in Uttarakhand began with the opening of the Gangotri and Yamunotri temples with the start of Akshaya-Tritiya festival: • On the formal occasions of Akshaya Tritiya, Garhwal Himalaya, Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand began with opening of Gangotri and Yamunotri temples in Uttarkashi district at 11:30 and 1:15 in the morning. The doors were opened between the acclamation of Vedic hymns in the presence of administrative members, temple committee officials and thousands of devotees. The opening of these famous pilgrimage marks the beginning of the journey of ‘Char Dham’ or ‘the journey of 4 sacred sites’. It attracts millions of devotees from around the globe. Before the Dwaar Udghatan ceremony, the values of the Ganga and the Yamuna (the Gods of Gangotri and Yamunotri temples), rituals were brought from their winter homes, respectively, from Mukba and Kharsali. • Char Dham Yatra starts from Yamunotri in the west. After this, it increases for Gangotri. Gangotri and Yamunotri are located in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. The ‘journey’ finally ends in Kedarnath and Badrinath in the east. Kedarnath is located in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, while Badrinath is located in Chamoli district of the state. • Every year in Uttarakhand these four temples are closed due to heavy snowfall in October-November. The gateway is reopened in April-May. Chaar Dham travel becomes a cause behind the livelihood of local people and in this way Garhwal becomes a major part of Himalaya’s economy. According to the WHO report, there is a shortage of health service providers in India, especially Bihar, Jharkhand, UP, and Rajasthan: • WHO (World Health Organization) has published a research paper entitled ‘Predicting the future needs and requirements for public health professionals in India by 2026’ in ‘WHO South-East Asia Journal of Public Health’, which states that India has been facing a shortage of health professionals, especially in Bihar, Jharkhand, U.P. and Rajasthan which is the worst ratio than Delhi, Kerala, Punjab and Gujarat. • Health work force has been included in all those people who are responsible for enhancing and improving the health of the general public affected by any kind of health issue. According to the WHO database, despite the 5 million workers employed in the health sector in India, the low density of health providers is lower than those of countries like Sri Lanka, China, Thailand, United Kingdom and Brazil. For the first time India will host the 5th Army International Scout Masters Competition as part of the International Army Games: • In order to promote friendship among the participating countries, India, for the first time, a part of an international military sports competition called ‘Army Scout Masters Competition’ in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, 9 days from August (6th August to 14th August, 2019) will host the fifth edition of the International Scout Masters Competition as part of India Games. The competition will be organized in the conservation of the Indian Army and organized by Konark Corps at Jaisalmer Military Station. International Army Games organized by the Defense Ministry of the Western Army is being done by 2015. • In 2019, 32 types of international army games will be hosted by 10 countries Russia, India, China, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Iran, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.In India, League in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe, Armenia, Belarus, China and 8 countries like India will take part. The last international army game (fourth edition) was organized in 2018 in Novosibirsk, Russia. The participants from various countries provided a competitive platform to test their skills and develop friendship among each other. CBIC launches project “SPAROW” across India: • Central Indirect Taxes and the Customs Board (CBIC) informed that for better human resource management, it has more than 46,000 Group B and C officials (IRS-IRR of Indian Revenue Service in 2016-17 in Customs and Central excise duty) Will conduct the annual performance evaluation report (APARS) in the online Sparrow (Smart Performance Advertising Re- porting Online window). • This project is being implemented in over 400 formats of CBIC across India. DGHRM (Directorate General of Human Resource Management), H.R. (Human Resources) Branch of the CBIC, is the implementing agency for this project. This project will be implemented by Central GST (Goods and service tax) and modern technology for improving the full efficiency of the huge workforce working in customs structures of customs formats is developing digitization and paper less work as an important landmark. Mr. AK Pandey, Member of DGHR and CBIC(Administrator) Inaugurated the project from the board office of and in the presence of CBIC officers in North Block, New Delhi inaugurated the project.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS Lokpal website was inaugurated by President Pinaki Chandra Ghosh: • The website of Lokpal was inaugurated by President Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh. He was administered oath by Presi- dent Ram Nath Kovind. All the members of Lokpal participated in it. The Government has appointed 4 judicial and 4 non- judicial members. • The website (Uniform Resource Locator) URL http://lokpal.gov.in was developed by NIC (National Information Commis- sion) and provides basic information related to the functioning of the Lokpal.Police or Anti-Corruption Lokpal in India The first institution of its kind established under the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013. The Lokpal examines allegations of corruption against those officers who the people come to the limit of the Act. India gives 2 Mi-24 helicopters to Afghanistan: • Indian ambassador in Afghanistan, Vinay Kumar handed over the first pair of replacement helicopters of the Mi-24 assault to Afghanistan Defense Minister Asadullah Khalid at the Kabul Air Force Base, these helicopters were handed over with the main objective of strengthening the Afghan Air Force. Afghanistan will fight against the Taliban rebellion after 17 years of US immigration after leaving Afghanistan. • Choppers were bought from Belarus. In December 2015, India had first distributed MI-24 helicopter to Afghanistan. MI-24 is a big helicopter gunship and it can be used for attack and transport missions. MI-24 can fly 8 people. India has been one of the largest donors of Mi-24 helicopters in Afghanistan and since 2001 it has helped contributing 3 Billion Dollars to help their cause. ‘Vande Bhawan Express’ India’s fastest train completes 1 lakh kilometers without canceling any trip: • India’s fastest train ‘Vande Bharatiya Express’ completed a distance of one lakh kilometers without canceling a single trip. It was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 15th February, 2019 under ‘Make in India’ initiative from New Delhi to Varanasi. This 16-coach train started its business operation from February 17, 2019. • This indigenously built high-speed train was constructed by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. This high-speed train is expected to replace Shatabdi Express trains soon. High-speed onboard WiFi, GPS-based passenger trains Information Systems, Touch-Free Bio-Vacuum Toilets, LED Lighting, Mobile Charging Point and a Climate Control System Adjusts the temperature from the pump. Kerala became the first state in the foreign market to list the masala bonds: • Recently, Kerala has become the first state in Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) to list the masala bonds of 312 million (2,150 crore) in the London Securities Exchange (LSE) International Securities Market (ISM). Masala Bond has 5 year duration and 9.723% coupon (Interest Rate). It was the brainchild of Kerala’s State Finance Minister Thomas Isak. The purpose of this initiative was to get started in the spice bond market and reconstruct the infrastructure from the income of spice bond in Kerala. National Training Workshop of Master Trainers of 7th Economic Census in New Delhi - • As a run-up to the 7th edition of Economic Census (7 EC), its Master Trainers (Progressives and Supervisors) were trained during the ‘National Training Workshop of Master Trainers’, which was organized by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation ).It was organized in New Delhi. The aim of the training was to provide the key concepts, processes, digital platforms and application of the application to be used for calculation in the field. In the month of May and June, a similar practice was conducted through 6000 state and district level training workshops. The fieldwork for the 7th Economic Census will be started in June 2019. The implementation of the 7th Economic Census-2011 is being done by MoSPI in partnership with a special purpose vehicle, Common Service Center, CSC e-Governance Services India Limited, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, as a service agency. • Economic Census (EC): It provides different information on various operational and structural aspects of all establish- ments in the country. In 1976, the Indian government introduced a scheme called Economic Census and Survey. It was started in 1977; the second Economic census was done in 1980, followed by third in 1990, fourth in 1998, fifth in 2005 and sixth economic census in 2013. In the MCA 21 portal, the Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA) planned to introduce the Artificial Intelligence System: • Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA) has launched its plan to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) system in the MCA 21 portal. The central ministry will present version 3 in the MCA portal. To make the compliance process easier and to ensure that enforcement activities are done regularly on autopilot basis, it has been implemented. The Ministry’s goal is to rationalize all forms and follow the principle of single source of truth. This means that there is no need to fill the known 18 HEAD OFFICE : Near C.M. House, Civil Lines, Raipur (C.G.) Contact : 78 28 11 22 22 , 8224 922 922 BILASPUR : Near Old High Court, Bilaspur (C.G.) Contact : 9111 922 922, 07752-404122 Web : www.pathiasacademy.com Email : [email protected] 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS details as it is automatically updated. It will also interlink the database so that the routine enforcement on autopilot basis can be 24 × 7. • MCA 21: MCA 21 is one of 31 Mission Mode Projects (MMP) of the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) of the Govern- ment of India. This was started in the year 2006. It allows electronic filing of various documents under the Companies Act, 2013. The first phase of the e-governance initiative was implemented by Tata Consultancy Services and the second phase was implemented by Infosys for the period from January 2013 to July 2021. It provides information to its respective stakeholders including investors, regulators and corporates and provides important services. SEBI and IRDA to introduce Regulatory Sandbox Framework: • In relation to the establishment of Regulatory Sandbox (RS) for “Enabling Framework for Regulatory Sandbox” in its draft in April for FineTech Innovation on the lines of Initiatives initiated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Market Watchdog Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and Insurance Watchdog Insurance Regulatory and Development Author- ity of India (IRDAI) S introduced a test environment for companies that are not regulated by Haksebi and individuals, has released “Innovation Sandbox”. They can test their proposed products subject to eligibility criteria based on the data related to the market provided by stock exchanges, depositories and qualified registrars and share transfer agents (QRTA). On the other hand, for IRDA sandbox, one Before launching the market near the applicant, at least one year to test new digital and tech-based innovations Proved to be a net worth of Rs 10 million financial records. Regulatory Sandbox (RS) - • RS is a basic framework that helps Fintech startups test their products or solutions before getting the necessary regulatory approval for a massive launch. This will save time at startup and cost. ADB lent a loan of $ 750 million to India for railway track electrification project: • Asian Development Bank (ADB) has entered into an agreement with the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), a unit owned by the Indian Government (GOI), to fund the $ 750 million financing for the railway track electrification project. which will be provided for part of a comprehensive modernization program to reduce the dependence of Indian Railways on Fossil Fuels. This is the largest single-sovereign loan to date. IRFC will use the income generated from the loan to install electrical traction equipment at 3,378 kilometers of existing railway lines. Then, electrification assets will be leased to Indian Railways under a long-term lease agreement. • For modernization of Indian Railways, the Government of India has already developed a capital expenditure program of 5 years, 132 billion dollars. Union Cabinet approves dissolution of 16th Lok Sabha for formation of new government: • On May 24, 2019, the Union Cabinet passed a resolution to dissolve the 16th Lok Sabha after winning the Lok Sabha election of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The term was to expire on June 3, 2019. Official data from the Election Commission revealed that BJP achieved 303 seats out of 542 (352 with coalition) compared to the 2014 elections. The Indian National Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, has secured 52 seats. The process of formation of the 17th Lok Sabha will start after the Election Commission handed over the list of newly elected members to Ram Nath Kovind.In section 83 (2) of the Indian Constitution, According to the declaration of dissolution of the lower house has been announced. IAF and ISRO signed the agreement for the astronaut’s selection and training for Gaganayan: • On May 28, 2019, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) signed an agreement on the selection of crew and training for the Naganan program. It was signed between Air vice Marshal (AVM) RGK Kapur, Assistant Chief of Air Force (ACAS) Operations (Space), IAF and Project Director of Gaganyan Program, Mr. R. Houghton. Important Points: • The Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM) will lead the selection and training of astronauts on behalf of IAF. • On August 15, 2018, the announcement of the Gaganayan program was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In December 2021, a mission worth Rs. 10,000 crores has to be started and as part of this, ISRO established the Human Space Flight Center in its headquarters on January 30 in Bangalore. • Under this mission, the three-member crew will spend seven days in space and the human-rated GSLV Mk-III will be used to carry its orbital modules.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS India’s 10th National Science Film Festival will be organized in Agartala, Tripura in 2020: • India’s 10th National Science Film Festival (NSFFI) will be held in January-February 2020 in Agartala, Tripura. This is the second time when this event will be held in the north-eastern city. It will be hosted jointly by the Central Government, State Government and Promotion of Science in Tripura Central University. • At least 10 countries will participate in the upcoming event and will include films produced by UNICEF, UNESCO and filmmakers from different countries. In NSFFI, the maximum length of films will be 40 minutes and through science prolif- eration, Awareness will increase. • NSFFI was first organized in 2011 in Chennai. Since then, all areas of the nation have been covered, which include Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Bangalore, Lucknow, Mumbai, Guwahati and Mohali. • In addition to NSFFI, Tripura Government plans to host ‘Destination Tripura’, which is a special competitive film production initiative. It will focus on maintaining Tripura’s tourism and rich biodiversity such as flora and fauna, wildlife sanctu- aries, water bodies, rubber and bamboo gardens etc. India’s first Ice Cafe: • Officials of Border Roads Organization (BRO) have created India’s first ice café in the mountainous village of Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, at a height of 14,000 feet above sea level, on the famous Manali-leh highway. The statue of ice is similar to that of a Buddhist meditation site, which was made by natural process. The construction of the artificial glacier is done by running pipes under the frost lines, and then through these pipes the water is pushed into cold air. That is why it falls on the ground in the form of snow, and it is popular methods of preserving the winter waste water on the hills in winter. • The design of the ice café is inspired by the works of renowned Indian engineer and innovator and education reformer, Sonam Wangchuk. ‘Hawa Aane de’ song released by the Ministry of Environment to spread awareness about air pollution: • Prior to World Environment Day (WED) on June 5, the Union Environment Ministry has launched ‘Hawa Aane De’ song to spread awareness about air pollution. It was launched by Secretary CK Mishra, Secretary of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOFFCC), in the presence of actor Shekhar Suman and singer Shaan. Every year, a function is organized at Vigyan Bhavan, on the occasion of WED. This year, the event involves the launch of the film competition on the environment, the release of several books, and the conduct of three thematic sessions on air pollution, waste management and forests: the green lanes of the cities. • In order to control and reduce air pollution in the country, the Center has already started the National Clean Air Program (NCAP). • In reference to Song “Hawa Aane De”: • It was created by MoEFCC in collaboration with the Bhabla Foundation, Mumbai, which is in the form of WED 2019 theme song. It is written by Swanand Kirkire. It is sung by Shantanu Mukherjee, Kapil Sharma, Sunidhi Chauhan and Shankar Mahadevan. The film has been directed by Romanchak Arora.

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World Health Conference 2019: • The 72nd session of the World Health Organization (WHO) of the World Health Organization (WHA 72) was held from May 20 to May 28, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. The theme of this year is ‘Universal Health Coverage: Leaving No One Behind’. All the 194 World Health Organization (WHO) member states delegation participated in the World Health Assem- bly. The main focus of the session is on the specific health agenda created by the executive board. Important Points: • In the meeting, the first resolution adopted by the member countries, has been focused on countries to take measures to implement the announcement of the Astana adopted at the 2018 Global Conference on Primary Health Care. This proposal also calls for the WHO Secretariat to extend its support to the member states towards universal health coverage. • The second proposal was passed, which recognizes the contribution made by community health workers for achieving universal health coverage, responding to health emergencies and promoting health populations. • WHO member states agreed on a new global strategy on problems related to health, environment and climate change. • The World Health Assembly first identified ‘Burn out’ as a medical condition in its classification of International Diseases (ICD), which was used extensively as a benchmark for diagnosis and health insurers. • In the World Health Assembly, members of the country want to cut 50 percent of the deaths of snake bites and disability by 2030. In addition, a strategy for a kissing-bug-transmitted disease, known as the Chagas, is caused by the Trypanosoma Cruzi parasite, which kills 10,000 people annually. The WHA (World Health Assembly) member states officially voted to establish April 14 as World Chagas Day. • The WHO recognized video gaming as an addiction for the first time, it was listed with drugs such as gambling and cocaine. • WHO appointed four new Goodwill Ambassadors to promote global health- • Allen Johnson Sarlif - he was former President of Liberia. • Santhia Germano - She is the President of ‘Born This Way Foundation’. • Alison Baker - He is the goalkeeper of Brazil and Liverpool football team. • Natalia Lowe Baker - She is a medical doctor and health advocate from Brazil. World Health Assembly • The World Health Organization is the highest decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO). • The key work of the World Health Assembly is to determine the WHO’s policies, appoint the Director General of WHO, oversee the WHO’s financial policies, review and approve the WHO’s proposed program budget. The leader of the Jaish-e-Mohammed “Masood Azhar” was named as Global Terrorist: • The 1267 Al-Qaeda Ban Committee of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) nominated Masood Azhar, leader of Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) as ‘Global Terrorist’ on May 1, 2019. This could be possible because China has lifted its technical stop on the proposal to blacklist Masood Azhar. In the first four attempts, China had stopped the proposal to nominate Masood Azhar as a global terrorist. This is a major diplomatic victory for India and it is also a symbolic victory for the fight against terrorism. This time, the proposal was forwarded by P3 countries (USA, France and United Kingdom) to a permanent member of the National Security Council (UNSC), to designate Azhar as a global terrorist on February 27, 2019. This move was a response to a fatal terrorist attack in Pakistan’s militant group Jaish-e- Mohammed (JEM) in Pulwama, in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans were killed. • The P3 countries listed Masood Azhar as a global terrorist were involved in joining al-Qaeda, financing, planning, facilitat- ing, and participating in preparing for its acts in the name of JEM. It provided help from JEM for the supply or supply of weapons and related materials to the al-Qaeda, for recruiting for the terrorist organization, and for other acts or activities. As a result of this move, travel restrictions, seized assets and Masood Azhar’s weapons will be taken into custody. Restrictions will be enforced by all member states of the United Nations. What is the 1267 Al-Qaeda Ban Committee? • The Al-Qaeda Ban Committee was established on October 15, 1999 by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1267. Before this committee works with both al Qaeda and the Taliban, it was earlier known as Al-Qaeda and Talibani Ban Committee, but in 2011 UNSC created a separate Taliban Ban Committee to deal with the Taliban. There are 21

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS three UNSC committees that work to deal with terrorism and one of the three committees is the Al-Qaeda Ban Committee. The other two committees are the Counter Terrorism Committee and the Security Council Committee. Currently, this Al- Qaeda Ban Committee has names of 262 persons and 83 institutions. Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) leader Masood Azhar: • Masood Azhar is the founder of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) terrorist organization. He is also a former leader of the terrorist group Harkat al-Muhajdin. He was the mastermind of many terrorist attacks in India, including the Pathankot Air Base attack in 2016, the Pulwama attack in 2019. CTBTO ranked India as observer: • CTBTO (Comprehensive Nuclear Test-BanTreaty Organization) has given India the status of Observer and offered access to International Monitoring System (IMS) data. CTBT is a global treaty that runs IMS, which consistently checks for nuclear explosions, Monitors the Earth and shares the assessment conclusions with its member states. CTBTO is head- quartered in Vienna, Austria. Presently, IMS has 337 facilities, which is located in 89 countries. • After adoption by the United Nations General Assembly, CTBT was opened for signing in 1996.India wants that the CTBT’s full nuclear disarmament should be a section and it did not sign the treaty because CTBT has 5 nuclear weapon states namely China, America Russia, France and the UK. Pakistans have not signed the treaty but in the form of observer in CTBTO China has agreed to install 5 IMS stations on its land. What is the comprehensive nuclear-trial-ban treaty (CTBT)? • The CTBT of 1996 prohibits all nuclear explosions. • Before the CTBT is implemented, all the 44 countries listed in the supplementary part of the treaty are required to be confirmed. • These 44 countries had nuclear reactors or research reactors when CTBT was negotiated. • 2 out of 8 states of the supplementary share have not yet confirmed the treaty. Member of the People’s Republic of China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of India, Islamic Republic of Iran, State of Israel, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the United States of America. India ranked 43rd in the world competitive ranking competition: • In the world competitive ranking of the 2019 edition of IMD (Institute for Management Development), India has improved from one place to the 43rd rank of the most competitive economy in the world, and Singapore has surpassed US in the first place, Above, now America is third in the ranking. Improving India’s rank was the result of its strong economic growth, large labor force and the size of its vast market. Important Points: • Hong Kong SAR has secured the second place in the same year as last year. Switzerland has been ranked fourth in the rankings due to a rise above the previous year. UAE (United Arab Emirates) entered the top 5 rankings for the first time. UAE was at number 7 in the year 2018. Venezuela remained the last place in ranking due to high inflation, poor access to debt and weak economy. • Top 5 Countries: 1.Singapore 2.Hong Kong 3.America 4.Switzerland 5.UAE (United Arab Emirates) World Competitiveness Ranking? • World competitive rankings are published every year by IMD Business School.- Ranking was first published in 1989. It included 235 indicators and was given the status to 63 countries. India at number 117 in “Kids’s Right Index” - • Recently, the annual Kids Rights Index has provided solutions to the countries on how to improve child rights, how much they adhere to child rights and how much they are willing to improve. India is ranked 117th out of 181 countries and Iceland is at the top of the ranking followed by Portugal. The Kid’s Rights Index is an initiative launched by the Kids Rights Foundation in collaboration with Erasmus University, Rotterdam. The index has been prepared on the basis of data obtained from United Nations Committee for United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Child Rights. The index is prepared on the basis of five indicators: • Right to life 22

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS • Right to Education • Right to Health • Right to safety • To enable the environment for child rights India was re-elected as the Arctic Council’s Supervisor: • On May 7, 2019, Finland organized the 11th Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Lappi Arena, Rovaniemi, Finland. 8 Distinguished people of the Arctic states had approved to complete the work under the 2-year Finnish Chairman, to increase sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic region. Representatives of Arctic Council’s Permanent Affiliate Organizations, Heads of 6 Working Groups and Supervisors. As Arctic Council Ministers Meeting, Arctic states concluded the Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council by signing a joint agreement from Finland Chairmanhip was given to Iceland, . Like Rowanimi in the Joint Ministerial Statement It has been said, that the Arctic states ensured the commitment of the Council to maintain the Arctic region in a peaceful, stable, and creative cooperation area. • India was re-elected as a supervisor for the Arctic Council and India showed commitment to greater contribution to the Arctic Council. India had received Supervisor status in 2013 during the Ministerial level meeting in Sweden. Since 2008, India has its own Arctic Research Station, which is known as ‘Himadri’ in Svalbard, Norway. India, Japan sign a tripartite treaty with Sri Lanka to develop ‘East Container Terminal’ in Colombo Port: • On May 28, 2019, India and Japan signed a tripartite treaty with Sri Lanka to develop ‘East Container Terminal (ECT)’ in the Colombo port. Sri Lankan port minister Sagla Ratnayake, Indian High Commissioner Taranjeet Singh Sandhu in Sri Lanka and a Japanese representative signed a memorandum of understanding (MoC) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. • According to the agreement, the Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) will hold a majority stake of 51% in port development while Japan and India will have a joint share of 49%. The three Governments will execute the details in the meetings of the Joint Working Group and the conduction of work of the terminal has been decided to take cooperation for an early start. • Colombo Port attracted nearly $ 1.4 billion investment from China under the Belt and Road Initiative. More than 70% of transshipment business in India is handled at Colombo ports and the deal signed between India and Sri Lanka in 2017, Is part of the Economic Cooperation Memorandum. India was elected to the Executive Board of the first UN-Habitat Assembly: • On May 26, 2019, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs announced that India has been selected for the Executive Board of the first UN-Habitat Assembly in the full session of Assembly held in Nairobi, Kenya.UN-Habitat Assembly's theme ‘Innovation For Better Quality of Life in Cities and Communities’. • The program was inaugurated by the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta. This is the first session of the UN-Habitat Assembly, whose headquarters is in Nairobi, Kenya. It started on 27th May and will end on May 31, 2019. UN-Habitat Assembly? • United Nations-Habitat Assembly, also known as the program of United Nations Human Housing, which is the United Nations agency for human habitation and permanent urban housing established in 1978. This is a result of the first United Nations Convention on Human Habitat and Continuous Urban Development (Habitat I) which was held in Vancouver, Canada in 1976. India and France organize their bilateral naval exercise, Varun 19.1 Arab seas, from May 1 to May 10, 2019 from the Goa coast.: • This bilateral naval exercise started in 1983 and it was named ‘Varun’ in 2001. This India-France is a major part of strategic partnership and shows the symbol of strong relations between India and France. On the joint strategic vision of Indo- French cooperation in the Indian Ocean region, in March 2018, President Immanuel Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were signed during the visit of President Immanuel Macron to India. • This will be the 17th edition of the Indo-French naval exercise, the participants of which are the following:

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS - French Navy • (Aircraft carrier FNS Charles de Gaulle, 2 destroyer, FNS forebine, FNS provence, frigate FNS Latu-Treville, tanker FNS Marne, a nuclear submarine, - Indian Navy • (Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, destroyer INS Mumbai, Tag-Class Frigate, INS Tarkash, The Shishumar-class submarine, INS Shankul, Deepak-Class Fleet Tanker, INS Deepak • The exercise will be organized in 2 steps, which will be as follows: 1. Port Stage: This exercise will be organized in Goa and will include cross-visits, professional talks, sports programs and discussions.2. Ocean Phase: Various exercises on ocean will be conducted. • The second part of this naval exercise will be held in Varun 19.2, at the end of May in Djibouti. India joins the global initiative ‘Christchurch Call to Action’: • India embraced an important initiative with France, New Zealand, Canada and many other countries, which was named ‘Christchurch Call to Action’ in Paris to fight against online terrorism and insurgency and secure the Internet. • This initiative was named after 51 people (March 15, 2019) after the attack on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, whose video went viral. This initiative was led by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. The purpose of the initiative is to collectively keep the Internet safe from terrorist groups globally; Internet is not safe from misuse of terrorists and violent extremists. • The United States has informed that he is not able to join the initiative although he supports the objectives of the initiative. ‘Operation Swift Retort’ - its counter-action against India by Pakistan: • Pakistan Air Force announced that they had given their name as ‘Operation Swift Retort’ on 27th February against the Indian Air Force’s Balakot attack. In a response to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) assault by a suicide bomber, based in Balakot terrorist camp on February 26, in Pulwama in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. • In response to the Indian attack, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) retaliated and caught IAF wing commander Abhinandan Vardhman, who was released by Pakistan on March 1. The British Parliament became the first national government to pass an environment and climate emergency: • The UK Parliament became the first national government to pass an exemplary measure, i.e., a National Declaration of Environment and Climate Emergency. This step is a symbol of a serious emergency to deal with climate change. Before the announcement, the youth worker Greta Thünburg (for the Parliament), the performance of David Attenborough’s documentary film "Climate Change: The Facts, and an environment group Extinction Rebellion" Continuous 11 days of Protest will be organized. The Opposition Labor Party of Britain called for this serious action. 49 Million people are currently living under the national, city and local declarations of emergency climate worldwide. What is Climate Emergency? • Emergency decision in Parliament is for national deduction and investment in carbon emissions to save the planet. Compared to the 1990 levels, the UK (United Kingdom) is legally committed to 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. And recently, in the past 10 years, CO2 (carbon dioxide) was included as one of 18 developed economies to reduce emissions. Some cities and local councils have set their climate emergency plans to become ‘carbon zero’ by 2030. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new ‘Sovereign Internet’ law to allow Russian authorities to control the Internet: • On May 2, 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a ‘Sovereign Internet’ bill, which allows Russian authorities to separate the Internet of the country to expand the government control. This step is being publicly denied by all rights groups in Russia and this will lead to censorship on large part of the Internet. For new steps, in order to route Russian web traffic through the server in Russia, internet providers will need to install tools, which will allow Russian intelligence agencies to control public information. • Head of Roskomandjor (Russia’s main media regulator), Alexander Zharov informed that these steps will also target the widely used telegram app by Russians. The legislation was published on May 1, 2019, and November will be implemented. 24

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS Russian MPs support the new law to ensure the safety of the online network of Russia. In this step, the Internet Routing measure technique, involves taking Russian Internet traffic away from foreign servers. In March 2019, the Russian President signed a controversial law, which imposed a fine on people who show disrespect towards the court authorities and were granted right to put people in jail for short time. They have also blocked the media to publish ‘fake news’. These laws are part of the Kremlin Prevention on Media and Internet Freedom in which the public is being imprisoned in jail for sharing unscrupulous comic images. When disconnected from the World Wide Web, it was asked to create an alternate Domain Name System (DNS) to protect the Russian-language section of the Internet. What is the reason for making this law? • In the case of the possibility of the United States pushing Russia out of the global Internet, the government has defended law as a defensive step. Following the launch of a new US Cyber-security strategy by President Donald Trump of America (United States) in 2018, Russia took this step to ensure the security of its network, the American Cyber-Security Strategy to execute cyber attacks Russia was held responsible. 16th Ministerial Meeting of Asia Cooperation Dialogues concludes in Doha, Qatar with ‘Partners in Progress’ topic: • 16th Ministerial Meeting of Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) was held in Doha, Qatar. Deputy Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister, HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani led the 2019 talks. The Indian delegation was led by General (Dr.) VK Singh (Retired) Minister of State for External Affairs. • Earlier, the meeting of senior officials (SOM) was held on April 30 and it was attended by Joint Secretary (South) Mr. Manish. Dr. V.K. Singh expressed his grief over the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka (April 21, 2019) in his address and focused on adopting the United Nations Conference on International Terrorism (UNCCIT) for the global community efficiently. By putting more emphasis on the subject, the minister has all the ACD member states with the view of India’s “collective effort, inclusive growth” Highlighted the desire to work together. • In order to bring energy security to sustainable development and poverty eradication, emphasizing member states for joining the International Solar Coalition launched in November 2015 by promoting renewable energy sources like solar and wind power in Asia. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport - Hyderabad, ranked in the Top 10 in the World Survey: • In a survey conducted by Air Help, Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport has been ranked as the 8th best airport in the world. The airports were rated based on time performance, quality of service and food and shopping options. Air- help is an organization specializing in air travel rights and demands compensation for delay or cancellation of flights. • According to the ranking, Hamad International Airport - Qatar Airways is the top of the list for the second year in a row. This is followed by American Airlines, AeroMaxico, SAS Scandinavian Airlines and Qantas. The worst performing airlines were Ryanair, Korean Air, Kuwait Airways, United Kingdom (UK) EZZET and Thomas Cook Airlines. United Nations Ocean Conference, 2020 will be held in Portugal: • United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to scale the ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of ‘Target 14: Oceanworks, Partnership and Solution’ in the conference of Ocean Convention 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal from 2 to 6 June, 2020. It will be co-hosted by the Governments of Portugal and Kenya.The purpose of this conference is to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14) which is for conservation and continuous use of oceans, seas and sea resources for sustainable development. The resolution was adopted by the 80th full meeting of the 73rd session of UN General Assembly (UNGA) to support this conference. ISIS claimed to establish a new ‘province’ in India called ‘Hind’s solace’ in Arabic: • After the clashes between militants and security forces in Kashmir on May 10, 2019, for the first time ISIS, Islamic State Terrorist Group claimed to have established a new ‘province’ in India, which is ‘the convergence of Hind’ (India province). It has been announced through its latest news agency. ISIS (The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levent, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, officially known as Islamic State) did not mention the geographical area of the Indian province. It is believed to be a part of ISIS’s propaganda to increase its global affiliation after regional losses (Iraq and Syria) in the Middle East. In the past, a similar strategy was brought forward by ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. However, a senior Jammu and Kashmir Police official has dismissed the claim made by the Islamic State militant group.The brief statement of ISIS was done through the Messaging App Telegram.The statement said that using machine guns The terrorists of ISIS clashed with Indian security forces in the village of Almipora in Shopian district of Kashmir, and many of them were killed. 25 HEAD OFFICE : Near C.M. House, Civil Lines, Raipur (C.G.) Contact : 78 28 11 22 22 , 8224 922 922 BILASPUR : Near Old High Court, Bilaspur (C.G.) Contact : 9111 922 922, 07752-404122 Web : www.pathiasacademy.com Email : [email protected] 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS “Taiwan”, the first country in Asia to treat same gender marriage as legitimate: • For the first time in Asia, the Taiwanese parliament made the same gender marriage valid, because lawmakers have approved the same gender-couples to form a ‘Special Standing Union’, which they call ‘marriage registration’ for the government agencies (Section 4 In 2011. In Constitution of Taiwan, the Constitutional Court of Taiwan ruled that same-sex couples had the right to marry legally, but also notified to make necessary changes in law, Taiwan had 2 year. on the International Day against Homophobia, Transfobia and Biphobia, which was on May 17, 2019. In the last 10 years, Taiwan has been the most progressive societies in Asia for gay rights have been one of them. Taiwan staged the Asia’s largest annual gay pride parade. The only place in the Asia-Pacific region to address the common marriages laws is Australia and New Zealand.Vietnam had freed gay marriage ceremonies in 2015, But it did not legalize same-sex marriage. Global Drug Survey 2019: • According to the 8th edition of the Global Drug Survey (GDS), 2019, Indians are seeking more help than any other countries to reduce their intake of alcohol. The survey was conducted online between October and December 2018. About 100,000 respondents from 30 countries participated in the online survey. Most people participating from India are men (age 25 to 34 years old). GDS is an independent research organization based in London, UK. In the last 1 year, Indians are said to be drunk on average 41 times, which is lagging behind countries like UK, US, Canada, Australia and Denmark, whose average in the last 1 year 33 times. According to the survey, 51% of India’s total respondents wanted to reduce their intake of alcohol in the last one year and 41% respondents did not have to The help of the person who wants to help is also the highest percentage among other countries.Indian respondents disclosed that they enjoyed drinking at 71% of the time, which is very close to the global average 74 percent. Portugal led the country whose respondents enjoyed the drug addiction on 82 percent of the occasions while India was at 16th position. Gas pipeline “TAPI” (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) meeting took place in Turkmenistan: • The meeting of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline was held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Un- der the leadership of Nadeem Babar, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Petroleum, the Pakistani delegation participated in the meeting to finalize the project, which will be held in Pakistan in October 2019. 2022 in the Rapid Gas Pipeline Project in Pakistan After that, it is expected to be completed, after which Pakistan will get 1.320 billion cubic meter (BCM) of natural gas . TAPI Gas Pipeline Project: • Started in December 2015, the Tapi aka Trans-Afghan Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline, is being developed by the Galchinesh- Tapi pipeline Company Limited. It is supported by the United States and Asian Development Bank (ADB). It is a 1,680- kilometer pipeline with 56 inch diameter, which has a design capacity of 3.2 billion cubic feet natural gas per year. After completion, natural gas will be supplied to Afghanistan and Pakistan through the Galkinesh Gas Field in Turkmenistan, and then to India. US, Japan and South Korea agreed to sell air defense missiles - • The US State Department has approved the sale of air defense missiles worth more than 600 million US dollars to Japan and South Korea. This clearance was the result of the growing tension with North Korea, when the missile was tested by North Korea in the past. The US government, with 12 guidance systems for the total cost of US $ 313.9 million to South Korea by ships against air hazards 94 SM-2 block IISIB used for sale of missile (SAM) interceptor in the air.The government of America Has also approved the sale of 160 AIM-120C -7 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), and an AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM Guideline section to Japan in 317 million US dollars. WHO declares Algeria and Argentina as Malaria Free Countries - • World Health Organization has officially declared Algeria and Argentina as malaria-free countries after no new case has been filed for more than three years. Now, the number of malaria-free countries increased from 36 to 38. Argentina had last reported the indigenous case in 2010, while in Algeria in 2013. In the 1960s, Algeria had 80,000 cases in a year, which dropped to 28,000 in 2000. Algeria is the second African country to have achieved this goal after Mauritius in 1973. It is only in Algeria, where the invention of malaria parasites was done by French physician Dr. Charles Louis Alfons Lavrov in 1880. Malaria is a parasitic disease that spreads through the bite of female anophilous mosquitoes.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS The United Nations decreased the growth of the global economy by 2.7% in 2019: • The United Nations (UN) reduced the forecast of global economic growth for 2019 in its mid-year report on economic prospects, called ‘World Economic Position and Prospects (WESP) 2019 Mid-Year Updates’, at 2.7%, and in 2020 2.9% is the figure. In January’s predictions, the economic growth for both years was 3%. The reason behind the decline of forecasts is the complexity of high trade tensions, uncertainties on political policies and internal and external factors affecting developed and developing economies. • In developed economies, the United States will grow at 2.3%, while the overall economy of the EU will increase from 1.5%, Japan to 0.8% and Russia by 1.4%. For India, the United Nations reduced the growth rate for 2019 from the previous forecast of 7.6% in January edition to 0.6%, which is now 7%. But despite the reduction, India remains the world’s fastest growing major economy, which is far ahead of 6.3% of China’s growth. For 2020, India’s growth rate is estimated to be 7.1%. China continued to use the CFC-11, which is in violation of the Montreal Protocol, to injure the restricted Ozone: • China has been using CFC-11 or trichlorofluoromethane, which is a restricted chemical that can damage ozone. This journal was published in Nature. This is against the Montreal Protocol of 1987. According to a study released in May 2018, the emissions of CFC-11 were increasing since 2013. It has seen an increase of 25% since 2012. Between 2008 and 2012, Eastern China produced an average of approximately 6,400 metric tons CFC-11 per year and it was increased to 13,400 metric tons per year from 2014 to 2017.The world’s largest polyurethane foam market is in China. According to the UK- based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), the use of Chinese foam maker CFC-11 to save high cost of alternative such as hydrochloro-fluorocarbons such as HCFC-143B, in Shandong province, the factory still produces foam insulation Using gas. CFC -11 ? • CFC-11 is one of the classes of chlorofluorocarbons, which destroys atmospheric ozone. These are powerful greenhouse gases that contribute to atmospheric warming. Montreal Protocol? • The Montreal Protocol, a protocol for the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, is an international treaty that is designed to protect the ozone layer by eliminating the production of responsible substances that damage the ozone in a phased manner. It was agreed on 26 August 1987 and it came into effect on September 16, 1989. It has 46 signatories.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS BANKING & FINANCE

SBI’s new rules relating to savings accounts and short-term loans will be effective from 1st May: • State Bank of India (SBI), the largest bank of India, has started a new interest rate system on large savings deposit accounts with a balance of more than Rs 1 lakh and overdraft and cash credit such as short-term loans. In March 2019, SBI has announced that it will deposit its interest rate on large savings deposits and link it to the RBI’s repo rate on short-term debt effective from May 1, 2019. With this step, SBI became the first bank in the country to which the deposit account and short-term loans were linked to the external benchmark. • It is known that the headquarter of SBI is in Mumbai and the tagline of the bank: With you all the way, Pure Banking Nothing Else, The Nation’s banks on us. • At present, the repo rate is 6%. Therefore, according to the external benchmarking formula, there is a lower interest rate than the small savings account in the large savings account with a balance of more than Rs. 1 lakh. However, if the repo rate increases to 6.25%, then the higher savings account will have higher interest rates than the smaller savings account. RBI data marked 27% increase in debit card POS swipe: • According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, compared to the same period of March 2018, debit card swipe has become more than 27% at Point of Sales (POS) terminals in March 2019. However, the rate of withdrawal of ATM has increased by 15%. Debit card payments for transactions exceeded 250% between March 2019 and 2016. Using credit card usage for POS transaction is 2018 comparison to 22%, as compared to 127 million in March 2018; 162 million POS transactions took place in March 2019. While in October 2018, ATM withdrawals were stuck at 890 million in March 2019 compared to 869 million, while in March 2018. UPI transaction increased 62% to 781 million. • Result: People using their debit cards are not only taking out direct payment for merchandise, but also paying cash to each other. This gives rise to digitization. • Reason: In remittance in November 2016, the government withdrew more than 85% of the cash from the domestic economy, which was the biggest reason for going towards debit card payments in merchant transactions. Panel formed by SEBI suggested changes in FPI regulations: • The panel constituted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has suggested a number of significant changes in foreign portfolio investors (FPI) regulations, which include simplified registration requirements for certain categories, and prohibiting those institutions, which include beneficial ownership details failing to submit. It has asked for public comments from June 14, 2019. • The group working on SEBI (Foreign Portfolio Investors) Regulation, 2014, under the leadership of former RBI deputy governor R. Khan, presented the report after consultation with various stakeholders. Through its recommendations, it has set a review of liberalized investment cap, allowing them to off-market transactions, review of prohibited areas for foreign investment for FPI, and restriction on sovereign funds for investing in corporate debt securities. . • It has recommended liberalization of norms and simplified registration for those FPIs under Category III, which include individuals, family offices and hedge funds. It has decided to remove the definition of ‘opaque structure’ for the FPI. They are required to provide the BO (Beneficial Ownership) details and who can not deal with SEBI, who fail to provide the BO details, including share holders’ accounts. • After adjusting the investments made directly or indirectly under FDI, FPI will be allowed to invest up to the applicable regional limit on a total basis. Indian companies will be allowed to reduce the total limit to 24% or 49% or 74% with the approval of the board of directors and the general body through a proposal. It has suggested simplified registration for many investment managers (MIM) structures and has kept the pension funds in mind under Category I FPI. • In other recommendations, category I, which are mainly owned by eligible investors for FPI registration, can be deemed as category I, with different portfolios, separate registrations, FPIs and alternative investments for the sub funds of a fund. Alignment between funds (AIF) routes and strengthening offshore derivative instruments is included. RBI modifies norms on VRR investment by FPI: • The Reserve Bank of India has revised the norms on voluntary retention route (VRR) investment by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) by setting the limits for investment in Rs 54,606.55 crore. Now FPI can invest up to Rs 54,606.55 crores under the VRR, which allows the government to park funds in both the government securities as well as in the corporate debt. 28

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS • Under the VRR, the provision of investment by FPI was introduced on 1st March. The limitations of investment in the loan by FPI were presented for allotment on ‘tap’ during the period from March 11 to April 30. • In consultation with the Central Government and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the RBI has made some changes in the provisions of FPI investment under the VRR to increase its operational flexibility. Now the revised VRR scheme will open for allocation from May 27, 2019. Under the VRR the minimum retention period will be 3 years and during this period, the FPI will maintain a minimum 75% of the allocated funds in India. Investment limitations should be available on ‘Tap’ and it will be allocated on the basis of ‘First come, first serve’ basis. This tape will be kept open till fully alloted or till December 31, 2019, whichever is earlier. Transfer timing of RTGS from 4.30 pm to 6.00 pm: • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the timing window of Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) from 4.30 am to 6.00 pm for customer transactions. The move has been taken in March 2019 due to the increase in the number of transactions by 8% to Rs.1335 crore. The total amount of transactions in the year-on-year has increased by 12%, which was Rs.1255.51 crore. It will be applicable from June 1. • In the RTGS, charges for transactions upto 5 p.m. per transaction will be from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. After 6 pm, these charges will be 10 rupees. There is no charge for transaction between 8 am and 11 am, then it charges Rs 2 for 11 till noon 1. With section 18 (Act 51 of 2007) of Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007 Time has been changed under section 10 (2) read. RTGS ? • Supported by RBI, it is an online fund transfer system based on real time. It was launched in 1985 but in India it was introduced in 2004. • Minimum amount to be transferred - Rs 2 lakh, • Maximum amount to move - No limit RBI allowed banks to use base only for DBT accounts for KYC requirements: • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed banks to accept the Aadhaar number (offline verification) for the Know Your Customer (KYC) verification with the consent of the customers. RBI has added ‘proof of keeping Aadhaar number’ in the list of officially valid documents (OVD). Important Points: • This was notified by the RBI in the revised Master Direction in KYC. The Master’s Directive of RBI is a rulebook that needs to be followed by regulated entities. • The bank should obtain the Aadhaar number from the customers who receive any benefit or subsidy under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). • For non-DBT beneficiary customers, Regulated Institutions (RESs) should obtain a certified copy of any OVD with details of the customer’s identity and address along with details of 1 recent picture. In addition, the basis given by the customer should be edited or blackened base number according to sub rule 16 of rule 9 of Rule 9 of the amended amended redressal (PML) rules by RES. • All non-personal customers should submit the Permanent Account Number (PAN) / Form No. 60 (for companies and partnership firms - only the PAN) with other documents. Form 60 is presented by a person who does not have a permanent account number (PAN). If existing customers fail to deposit PAN or Form No 60 within the time limit then their accounts will be temporarily closed till their PAN or Form No. 60 is submitted. PayPal India launches One Touch with the help of Google Smart Lock for uninterrupted transactions: • PayPal India used Google Smart Lock and launched its exclusive experience in India. With the launch of OneTech feature, Indian consumers are allowed to register their Android device with PayPal and stay in PayPal for future PayPal purchases on the device, thus eliminating the issue of repeated log-in And enable a seamless payment experience. • Integration with Google Smart Lock will maintain a hassle free payment process as well as protection to prevent fraud. • India has become the first market where the facility of Google Smart Lock has been integrated. PayPal’s buyer protection facility will provide an additional layer of security for the eligible transaction process, i.e., if the items that have been purchased online and they Buyer’s protection facility enables them to claim refunds for eligible transactions if they do not match the product details sold. 29

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS • Since the Indian government is giving great importance to digital payments, PayPal has had the opportunity to partner with government and state-owned banks on various financial initiatives, i.e. digital financial literacy programs and ETourist visas (ETVs). Reserve Bank of India directed banks to increase the housing loan limit: • In order to include RRB (Regional Rural Bank) and SFB (Small Finance Bank) in the same level of other scheduled commercial banks, the Reserve Bank of India has informed them that they will be required to provide metropolitan centers for individuals under Priority Sector Lending (PSL) (Which will have a population of more than 10 lakh), increase the housing loan limit up to Rs 35 lakh and up to Rs 25 lakh in other centers. The total cost of the housing unit should not exceed Rs 45 lakh and other centers should not be more than Rs 30 million to be eligible for classification under the PSL. Earlier, loans up to Rs 28 lakh in metropolitan centers and Rs 20 lakh in other centers were eligible for classification under PSL, provided that the cost of the housing unit was Rs 35 lakh for metro centers and Rs 25 lakh for other centers. RBI informed that the existing family income limit of Rs 2 lakh per annum for the construction of houses for economically weaker sections (EWS) and low income group (LIG) is now being eligible for loan for housing projects Rs 3 lakh per annum for EWS and Rs 6 lakh for LIG every year. “NABARD” launches first fund for “ Navbentures” to support agriculture, food, rural start-ups: • Navbentures, the subsidiary of NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development), announced for the first time funding that was called ‘Navbenture Fund’, which will help in farming, food and rural start-ups (which will help improve rural livelihoods). It is the venture capital fund of Rs 700 crore for equity investment for the beginning. The fund has proposed fund of Rs 500 crore, in which the Greenshwar option of Rs 200 crore And it has got Anchor Commitment from NABARD. The above fund is registered with SEBI as Category II Alternative Investment Fund and will raise resources from domestic and global investors. • NABARD is now completely owned by the government and is focusing on start-ups through a variety of measures. Nabard’s President is Harsh Kumar Bhanwala. HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company launches "Mosquito-Disease Protection Policy" • HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company, India’s third largest non-life insurance provider in the private sector, launched a scheme called ‘Mosquito Disease Protection Policy’ which will cover a person against mosquito borne diseases. , Names of diseases, dengue fever, malaria, chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis, black-ozone, lymph filarias and Zika virus. According to the report published by National Health Profiles 2018, between 2009-2017, there has been an increase of 300% in cases of dengue in India. • These mosquito-borne illnesses cause financial burdens due to hospitalization or affect the no claim bonus of any traditional health insurance. HDFC will cover recruitment expenses in the policy hospital by ERGO Upon presenting proof of recruitment in the policyholder’s hospital; the policy can opt for the large amount to be paid in the form of profit. If the policyholder dies due to illness, then the policy will pay the sum insured to the beneficiary. • This policy also provides international coverage to the people and covers all the vector-borne diseases listed in the policy document. The policy cover will be available from 91 days to 65 years of age. With these benefits, policyholders will get access to various wellness services, i.e. relaxation and special programs such as health tips, dietary counseling and other programs given on the Health Mobile Application of HDFC (Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited). Ben- efits also provide access to health coaching services in disease management, activity and fitness, nutrition and weight management. ‘UDYAM’ - a skill development center for the youth: • LIC Housing Finance Limited (LIC HFL), in collaboration with Lok Bharati Education Society, has unveiled a skill center named ‘Udyam’ in Bangalore, as part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which has been unveiled at BFSI, Retail and IT / ITES It will provide skill development training to the youth in the areas of efficacy. Presently, it has been launched in Bangalore and Delhi and It will be extended to other cities.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS TRADE AND ECONOMY

MoU signature with e-mobility projects between BHEL and ARAI: • Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) together for effective cooperation on various projects related to e-mobility and for electric and trolley bus, EV (electric vehicle) charger, battery and charger test etc. have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for implementing the solution. MOU was signed between Rashmi Urdhrareshte, Director of ARAI and renuka Gera of BHEL. What is Electro Mobility (e-Mobility)? • The term “Electro Mobility” refers to vehicles that use full and hybrid electric vehicles as well as hydrogen fuel cell technology. These vehicles represent electronic vehicles in the future. Electromobility is associated with the concepts of microcontrollers and sensors that work towards providing better energy efficiency for vehicles. Thus e-mobility will help in moving away from conventional vehicle design, and will move towards a new design that uses fossil fuels and oils to optimize the environment. • Be aware that BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited) is an engineering and construction company established in 1964 by the Government of India, whose headquarters are in New Delhi. BHEL is India’s largest power generation equipment manufacturer. While ARAI (Automotive Research Association of India) ARAI was established in 1966 and located in Pune of India, it was included as an Industrial Research Organization formed by the Indian Automotive Industry, which is affiliated under the Ministry of Industry of the Government of India. .ARAI is responsible for the mileage data of each car sold in India and the first India to develop the HCNG fuel engine Central Institute of scientific and Industrial Research, Science and Technology Ministry (MOS & T), is recognized as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (SERO) and ARAI. SEBI prohibits NSE from securities market for 6 months due to ‘co-location’ case: • Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has prohibited NSE, the National Stock Exchange from using the securities market for a period of 6 months. SEBI has imposed a fine of Rs. 1,000 crores on the NSE on 1 April 2014 due to failure to operate effectively during the NSE’s Co-location facility, which is Rs. 624.89 crores and an additional 12% interest. The amount is to be deposited in the Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF). Co-location Case? • This is a system in business execution, where a broker’s server is kept in the exchange premises to reduce delays or computational terms. SEBI received complaints against NSE in 2015, which stated that the NSE had The computational systems used to distribute the information through the location of the facilities were biased and it would allow users to Allowed to extract data before , the information imbalance between the users. • NSE was convicted under the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) ‘Fraud and Inappropriate Trade Practices Prevention’ (PFTP) Regulation for fraud and unfair trade practices. Nasscom and GE Healthcare became strategic partners for Health-Tech Innovation: • The IT industry body, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), has strategic partnership with GE Healthcare. Its aim is to bring digital healthcare solutions to the market. Nasscom has announced this partnership through its Center of Excellence-Internet of Things (COE-IOT). This partnership will also help in developing the health-technology start-up ecosystem in the country, which can be quickly detected, productivity Solution and Co- Creation Solution for Real-World Health Care Challenges in the areas of digital applications between Remote and Con- nected Care. It is known that the Center of Excellence-Internet of Things (COE-INT) has been developed by NASSCOM. This is an innovation center for start-ups. This associate provides a forum for innovation. Nasscom’s Headquarters is in Noida, U.P. and is located in and its current chairman “Keshav R. Murugesh “. 8 ASWSWC for Indian Navy will be built by GRSE (Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers): • GRSE has signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense to create 8 Anti-Submarine Warfare Shelo Water Crafts (ASWSWC) for the Indian Navy at a cost of Rs 6311.30 crore. First ship will be delivered to the Indian Navy in 42 months and afterwards, two ships will be required to deliver per year and the completion time of the project will be 84 months. • These vessels will have a deep displacement of 750 tonnes and 25 nautical miles and will also be capable of full surface surveillance of coastal water. It will also be able to destroy sub-surface targets in coastal waters. The ships will be 31

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS equipped with a state-of-the-art integrated platform management system that includes propulsion machinery, power generation, auxiliary machinery, distribution machinery and damage control machinery etc. This vessel will be in line with the latest Marine Pollution (Marpol) standards of the International Marine Organization (IMO) and the safety of sea life (SOSLAS) is the international maritime organization’s headquarters in London is “London” and its current Secretary General “Kitech Lim “. According to the UN report, the Indian economy is estimated to grow by 7.1% in 2020 - • According to the UN report, India’s economy is expected to grow by 7.1% in the financial year 2020, as a result of strong domestic consumption and investment. This is a downward revision of 7.4%, which was anticipated in January 2019. According to the World Economic Position and Prospects (WESP) mid-year update of 2019, the Indian economy grew by 7.2% in 2018. Domestic consumption and investment are estimated at 7% in 2019 and 7.1% in 2020. Despite the declining growth rate, India is ahead of China, the world’s fastest growing economy. It was estimated that in FY2019, India will grow at 7.6% and 7.4% in 2020. The Indian economy will be strengthened because of exports, because half of exports are made for Asian markets. At the same time, geopolitics with Afghanistan and Iran Risks need to be dealt with. Estimates of development of other developing and developed economies have also been reduced. “Netherlands” Emerged as the third largest source of FDI in India : • The Netherlands, a country in north-western Europe, became the third largest source of FDI in India during 2017-18, in which USD 2.67 billion was invested in all regions of the United States. During the year 2017-18, the top two countries for FDI in India are Mauritius and Singapore, with the highest investment of US $ 13.41 billion and USD 9.23 billion, respectively. • After Singapore, the Netherlands was the second largest destination for foreign investment, with investment of $ 12.8 billion in Indian companies by 2017-18. The bilateral trade between India and the Netherlands was $ 8.77 billion in 2017-18. The Indian exports to the Netherlands increased by 14.7% and imports increased by 18.2%. Vodafone-Idea signs $ 1 million IT deal with IBM: • Vodafone Idea Limited, India’s largest telecommunications operator, notified the 5-year multi-million dollar IT outsourcing deal with IBM (International Business Machine Corporation). Contributing to the objectives of coordinating the merger of Vodafone Idea by reducing the related costs of IT This partnership will be able to enable interaction with 387 million subscribers of Vodafone Idea (up to December 31, 2018). A Vodafone Idea will offer hybrid cloud-based digital platform, will thus promote ease of business efficiency, scale and its business processes. Apart from this, IBM’s analytics, AI (Artificial Intelligence), IoT (Internet of Things) and security capabilities will promote the progress of Vodafone Idea. Vodafone Idea will also take advantage of dynamic automation and robotic process automation to increase its IT operations. Anti-dumping duty imposed for Indonesia at $ 1,633.17 per tonne: • Based on the recommendation of the nominated authority in the Ministry of Commerce in March 2019, the Department of Revenue has imposed an anti-dumping duty of $ 1,633.17 per tonne on import of Saccharin (Bitumen Sugar) from Indonesia under the Ministry of Finance. This fee will be valid for a period of 5 years, unless it is terminated earlier. In India, the import of Saccharin has increased from 421 tonnes in 2014-15 to 543 tonnes in 2017-18. The petition seeking an anti-dumping investigation on Saccharin import from Indonesia was filed by Swati Petro Products Pvt. • Saccharin is a non-nutritious sweetener which is 500 times sweeter than sugar and has very little calories. It is used in various industries, such as food and beverage, table top sweetener, electroplating britanners, pharmaceuticals etc. Rs 82,000 crore reduction in direct tax collection in 2018-19: • In the financial year 2019, the direct tax collection of Rs 11.18 crore was less than Rs 82,000 crore, and a major reason for this shortage is the low corporate tax collection. 12 lakh crore was the target set by the government. But the total sum of tax collection numbers indicates that it is 13.4% more than the previous financial year but less than the new target of 18%. Apart from this, the profits of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) have been low, which again had a negative impact on the tax collection. CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) has constituted a committee for the Central Action Plan for the year 2019-20. This committee will suggest areas of improvement for collection. Microsoft released its own “Blockchain-based service”: • Recently, Microsoft has released its fully managed Azure BlockChain service. It will help to simplify the formation, management and governance of businesses so that they can focus on workflow logic and application development. Businesses can develop their applications on this new cloud-based platform. 32

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS • The ‘Quorum’, an enterprise-specific version of Open Source Platform Etherium, will be the first account book available in the Azure blockchain service. This announcement has been made after a partnership between J.P. Morgan and Microsoft. Japan’s ISE Foods signed Memorandum of Understanding with India to improve poultry farms: • India has signed MOU with Japan’s largest egg producer, ISE Foods. Its aim is to improve the quality of eggs, disease diagnosis and waste management in poultry farms across India. ISE Foods will set up two poultry farms in India, the first of which will be in Surat city of Gujarat and the second in Siddipet of Telangana. • The process of production of egg used by ISE Foods is fully automated, the chickens are completely antibiotic and the production process of ISE is considered the cleanest in the world. • ISE Foods also regulates ‘ISE Integration System’, which supervises feed, poultry farming, egg collection, packing and distribution production to control the quality. Bharti Airtel and Hughes India merge broadband satellite business: • Bharti Airtel and Hughes Communication India have agreed to merge their broadband satellite or VSAT (Viral Small Aperture Terminal) to improve operational efficiency and target new customers in areas such as in-flight connectivity. Later, Hughes Communication will have 67% of the new unit and the remaining 33% will be with Bharti Airtel. If we talk about current market share, Hughes Communication has a market share of 36% and Airtel Business - Bharti Airtel’s venture and VSAT branch have 27% market share. India’s First UPI Account (Digital Laser) “BharatPe” started for merchants: • India’s first Finitech (Financial Technology), which started the enabling payment through the Interoperable UPA (Unified Payments Interface) QR (Quick Response) code, IndiaPay launched a new app ‘IndiaPay for Merchants’, Which allows traders to keep track of their cash / credit (lending) sales customer, customers from SM C (Short Message Service) allows the requesting receivable accounts through the payment link or via WhatsApp and records the accounts payable to the suppliers. Now the newly launched app dealers can create network and increase their business. Also helps in cooperating with other Indian businessmen near them. • The key features of an IndiaPay app for merchants are: UPI Account (laser), Managing Supplier Bills, Cashback, Settle- ments and Refer and Array. The mission of this initiative was to solve the concerns of small and medium traders and give them their digital form had to provide enough platforms to handle from. BSNL partnered with Google to expand WiFi footprint: • Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has partnered with Google on the occasion of World Telecommunication Day (May 17). Its aim is to expand the BSNL Wi-Fi footprint in the country. Currently, around 38,000 BSNL Wi-Fi hotspots are working in the country and anybody can use them after buying Wi-Fi vouchers of Rs 19 and above. • Recently, state telecom major BSNL has taken several steps to enhance the rural Wi-Fi footprint which is part of the government’s ‘Digital India’ initiative. Facebook launched its new secret Cryptocurrency firm ‘Libra Network LLC’ - • On May 2, 2019, Facebook Global Holdings registered a new cryptocurrency firm, ‘Libra Network LLC’ in Geneva, Switzer- land. It will provide financial and technology services by developing related hardware and software components. Facebook has been very secretive about its new cryptocurrency project. Facebook registered trademark ‘Libra’ with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Facebook has hired 2 cryptocurrency compliance specialists to assist with their work, who had previously worked in the Cryptoire Exchange Coinbase. Facebook is collecting $ 1 billion to build this new project. The Planning Commission commissioned Rs 7,500 crore for Artificial Intelligence: • Recently, Think Tank Policy Commission has proposed the scheme of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by creating a cloud computing platform in the name of research institutes. The Policy Commission has circulated a cabinet note to provide a sum of Rs 7,500 crore for a period of 3-year period and has set up a high-level task force to oversee the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The leadership of the Task Force will be the member of the Policy Commission with the representation of all the ministries and states with experts from various fields. Due to the development of Artificial Intelligence in the country, important areas like education, health, agriculture, urbanization and mobility will benefit. Under 33

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS the initiative, the Policy Commission has planned to open 5 research centers and 20 artificial intelligence customization centers. According to Some estimates, Artificial Intelligence in 2035 to add 957 billion dollars in India’s GDP by 2035 has the potential to increase 1.3% to India’s growth. Tech Mahindra signs defense contract with Indian Navy: • Tech Mahindra signed a defense deal worth Rs. 300 crore with the Indian Navy. Under the ‘Armed Forces Secure Access Card’ (AFSAC) project, Tech Mahindra will implement Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based access control system in all naval bases and vessels. • The new access control system, named ‘Armed Forces Secure Access Card’ (AFSAC) card, will replace existing paper- based identification papers for all Navy personnel, including dependents and ex-servicemen. Tech Mahindra will develop a secure application that will manage access control device, network device and AFSAC card using the capacity maturity model integration (CMMI) level 5. Reliance Industries became India’s biggest corporation, in terms of revenue leaving behind Indian Oil Corporation: • Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), headed by Mukesh Ambani, has become India’s largest firm in terms of revenue by overtaking Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). Reliance Industries made a turnover of Rs 6.23 lakh crore for the financial year ending March 31, while Indian Oil Corporation’s turnover was 6.17 lakh crore rupees.In the year 2019, with the net profit of more than double IOC, Reliance Industries is largest in the country, and It is a more profitable company. Its net profit was Rs 39,588 crore compared to the net profit of Rs 17,274 crore of IOC. It has achieved this position in terms of 3 parameters. They are revenue, profit and market capitalization. India stops purchasing oil from Iran: • India’s imports of oil from Iran have been stopped after the American exemption given to eight buyers in the beginning of May 2019. By the end of April, dependence on Iranian oil has increased from about 2.5 billion tons to 1 million tons in a month. On May 2, 2019, the US has ended the exemption of allowing the top buyers of Iranian oil to continue their import for six months, including India. This was being done to reduce the export of Iranian crude oil to zero. • With this, India has joined the group of Greece, Italy, Taiwan and Turkey to follow the American sanctions on Tehran’s nuclear program. India will make a choice of reduction from alternative supply sources available in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and Mexico. UN’s ILO report says gender diversity is good for business and economy: • The International Labor Organization (ILO) of the United Nation (UN) disclosed in its report, ‘Women in Business and Management: The Business Case for Change’, that companies that improve gender diversity especially on top positions, better performance And earn high profits. This report was based on the findings of a survey of approximately 13,000 companies in 70 countries. During the survey, about 57% Industries has been to accept that attract talent from an increasing number of top posts and easy to maintain and almost everyone has acknowledged that it improves creativity, innovation and openness and enhances the company’s reputation. • ILO’s report analyzed the data of 186 countries between 1991 and 2017, which showed that the increase in the employment of women is directly related to higher economic growth at the national level.The report also revealed that last Women’s employment has increased in the world in a decade, but they still get less than 26% of jobs compared to men. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) will set up the first container terminal in Myanmar outside India: • India’s largest private multi-port operator, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) will set its first container terminal out of India at an estimated cost of US $ 290 million (more than Rs 2,000 crore) in Myanmar. After implementation, APSEZ will become the first Indian company to set up container terminal outside India. • The project has been constructed in two phases. BOT (build, operate, transfer) / lease agreement has been signed for 50 years and it is expandable twice every ten years. Wirecard will work with India to issue PAN card: • The German Payments Company, Wirecard announced that it would work with India to facilitate the process of issuing tax identification cards, which is necessary for opening bank accounts, fund transfer and complete business transactions. 34

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS This transaction between Wirecard and State-owned UTI Infrastructure Technology and Financial Services wants to widen the distribution of Permanent Account Number (PAN) cards. • At present, Wirecard has a network of 15,000 retail agents in 350 cities of India, which helps to collect and scan documents that people need to apply for PAN card. Bio-fuel import banned by the central government: • Recently, the Central Government has decided to ban bio-fuel import for all purposes, including ethyl alcohol, bio-diesel and petroleum oil and import license from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for their import Will be. Up to now, imports were allowed only for non-fuel purposes subject to actual user status. • The new restrictions announced by the government will affect the import of ethyl alcohol and other spirits, petroleum oils and bituminous minerals and oils obtained from biodiesel. The fourth Indian airline “SpiceJet” to carry 100 aircraft fleet: • On May 26, 2019, after the joining of No-Frills Airline SpiceJet, Boeing 737 in Gururgram, became the fourth Indian airline with 100 aircraft fleet. The other 3 airlines are Air India, Indigo and now closed Jet Airways. The US government removed India and Switzerland from its Currency Surveillance List: • The US government has removed India and Switzerland from its currency surveillance list. The surveillance list includes potential ‘suspected’ foreign currency policies and practice currency manipulation. It has been prepared by the US Treasury Department and has urged Asian countries to take necessary steps to avoid ‘continuously weak currency’. Criteria: • According to the amendments made in the new list before 3%, the current account number equivalent to 2% of GDP is eligible for the list. Other thresholds include frequent intervention in currency markets and a trade surplus of at least $ 20 billion with US. Reason for Removal: • In 2018, there was a decline in the scale and frequency of foreign exchange purchases in Switzerland and India. In the October 2018 recent report, neither Switzerland nor India should meet the criteria for continuous, unilateral intervention. The Treasury Department removed India and Switzerland from the list, in its semi-annual report to the U.S. Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies. • India had completed one of the three criteria which was necessary to include in the surveillance list. Important Points: • Currently, 9 countries are included in the list. China, Japan, South Korea and Germany remain in the monitoring list of unfair foreign exchange maneuvers to gain export profit. Italy, Ireland, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam were recently added to the list. • In May 2018, India was placed for the first time in the currency surveillance list of countries with potentially questionable foreign exchange policies. According to the report of October 2018, India had made improvements in this regard. • The US Treasury Department pointed out that according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Matrix, India reserves sufficient reserves for the reserve adequacy.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS “Dr. Krishnamurti Subramanyan” as a • Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanyan member of the Advisory Council in 15th Under the chairmanship of N.K. Singh, has been included as a member Finance Commission of the Advisory Council 15th Finance Commission.After the involvement of Chief Economic Advisor Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian, now there are 12 members in the Advisory Council. Other members include: Dr. D.K. Shrivastav, Dr. Indira Rajaraman, Dr. Arvind Virmani, Dr. Surjit S. Bhalla, Dr. Sanjeev Gupta, Prof. Pinaki Chakravarty, Sajid Chinoy, Nilkanth Mishra, Prachi Mishra, Dr. M. Govinda Rao, and Dr. Omkar Goswami.N.K. in the 15th Finance Commission in November 2017 Singh was formed in the presidency. The role of the Commission is to give recommendations to the Central Government for the deviation of taxes and other fiscal matters for 5 years starting from 1st April, 2020. "K. S. Radhakrishnan" Former Supreme • Former Supreme Court judge KS Radhakrishnan has been appointed as Court Judges, appointed members of the a member of “Commonwealth Secretariat Tribunal Tribunal” (CASAT) "Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitration for a period of 4 years. Its headquarters is in London.He had previ Tribunal" ously served as Supreme Court Judge from November 2009 to May 2014. He has also worked as Chief Justice of the High Courts of Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir. “Jagjit Pavadia”Re-elected in the • Jagjit Pavadia, an Indian woman, has been re-elected for five years in International Narcotics Control Board the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) by the United Na (INCB) tions Economic and Social Council, having received 44 votes in the 54- member council.She will start her tenure next year on March 2. A member of the Indian Revenue Service, Ms. Pavadia is the former Narcotics Commissioner of India. She was elected to the INCB for her first five- year term in 2014. He has also worked as the first Vice President of the Board in 2016 and as Chairman of the Standing Committee on Estimates in 2015 and 2017. “Dia Mirza”Indian actress joins • United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed 17 17 new UN advocates for SDG new advocates to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). These include Indian actress Dia Mirza and head of Alibaba Group Jack Ma.Actress Dia Mirza is also the United Nations Environment Program Goodwill Ambassador for India. “G.S. Lakshmi” India’s first woman to • 51-year-old former Indian cricketer, GS Laxmi became the first woman become ICC match referee match referee to join the International Panel of Cricket (ICC) Interna- tional Panel of Match Referees. Earlier, Claire Polosac became the first woman umpire to stand for men’s one-day match.Earlier in 2008-2009, he took over the referee’s position for the first time in women’s domestic cricket match and also supervised the three women’s One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 3 T20 Internationals. “Air Marshal S. K. Ghotia” Air Force • On May 1, 2019, Air Marshal SK Ghotia VSM took charge as Air Officer Training Command took charge as Chief Commanding-in-Chief of Training Command. He will replace Air Mar- shal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauriya, who recently took over as Deputy Chief of the Air Force.He was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2007. In 1994, he was also praised by the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command. “M Jayashree Vyas” Appointed as the first • Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has appointed Chartered Accountant

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS independent woman director in the M Jayashree Vyas as the first independent woman director of the board. BSE board However, BSE has missed the April 1 deadline, which was given to appoint all the top 500 listed companies on the basis of their market capitalization to appoint an independent woman director. Earlier, M Jayashree Vyas has been working as managing director of Women Ser- vices Co-operative Bank, Ahmedabad since 1986. She also helped in launching the first financial literacy program in 2001 in the service bank.According to the Companies Act, 2013, there should be at least one female director in a certain category of companies. In accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2013, the Securities and Ex- change Board of India (SEBI) has made mandatory appointment of at least one female director in the board from October 2014. Dragan Mihailovic • On May 3, 2019, the Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) has appointed of Serbia was named as the new head coach Dragan Mihailov of Serbia as the new head coach of the Indian men’s for the Indian male volleyball team volleyball team. While Prymymskyz Gazyzky and Vladimir Radosevich have been nominated as team physio trainers and physiotherapists respectively.All new appointments have been nominated for five months and will work with the team for the Asian Championships in Iran in September 2019. Myntra appointed Virat Kohli, Anushka • On May 3, 2019, Flipkart-owned fashion e-commerce platform Myntra Sharma as the first brand ambassador has appointed Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma as their first official brand ambassador. (Headquarters Location: Bengaluru)Myntra has started an integrated campaign called ‘Go Myntra La La’ to promote the brand. Bengaluru’s advertising agency McCain WorldGroup has created a television campaign. “General Todd de Volatars”US Air Force • Todd D. Woletters, former pilot who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, officer was declared the top military was declared the Supreme Allied Commander Europe at a ceremony in officer of the 29-nation NATO military Nato (The North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Military Headquarters, alliance Mons, and Southern Belgium. It is one of the most challenging and extremely important military posts in the world.North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) also called the North Atlantic Alliance. This is an intergovernmental military alliance between the 29 North American and European countries. It enforces the Northern Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949. (NATO headquarters: Haren, Brussels, Belgium) “Emperor Akihito” became the first • Akihito was the first Japanese emperor to leave the throne after Kokaku Japanese emperor to step down in in 1817. On April 30, 2019, 125th emperor of Japan, Achihito left office at 200 years of history: the age of 85 after 30 years of rule due to problems related to health and age. His rule was known as Hasee. While his son, Emperor Nirutho, 59, will take his place on the throne on May 1, 2019, and will start the Rewa era. This is the first time in Japan’s modern history that the emperor are both in the country. ‘Method of Execution’ was organized in a state of the Imperial Palace of Tokyo. At the ceremony, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Crown Prince Nirutho and Crown Princess Masaco were present. According to the Honorable Supreme • On May 1, 2019, the President of the Indian Archery Association (AAI), Court, the head of the Indian Archery BVP The resignation of the Delhi High Court appointed by the admin Association “BVP Rao” left the post: istrator, SY Qureshi, after the cancellation of the revised constitution of the national body of the game, by the Supreme Court. AAI is expected to be held within four weeks of the new elections.Justice AM Khanvilkar and Ajay Rastogi ordered that new elections be made for the Indian

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Archery Association within four weeks. New Indian before the Mar- quee World Championships from June 10 The Archery Administrative Committee is expected to be formed. On December 2, 2018, Rao was elected the President of AAI through the elections held under Quraishi. He replaced Vijay Kumar Malhotra. “Tijjani Muhammad-Bande”Appointed as • Nigerian professor, Tijani Mohamed Bande has been appointed the president of United Nations General new president of UN General Assembly (UNGA). He is the second Assembly Nigerian to be appointed to the post after Mr. Joseph Nanveen Garba (1989-1990). Professor Tijani Bande Maria Fernanda will replace Espinosa Garse. Professor Tijani Bande was born in Zagga (current- KBB state) and he was a permanent representative of Nigeria in the United Nations. “Igor Stimac”Appointed as Indian football • On May 9, 2019, after the Technical Committee of the All India Football team’s coach Federation (AIFF) recommending Igor Stimac for the post, Igor Stimac, Croatia’s World Cooper and former manager, was appointed the coach of the Indian men’s team. He will replace Stephen Constantine. “Cyril Ramphosa”Re-elected as President • Siril Ramphosa’s party, the African National Congress (ANC) won the of South Africa South African elections with a majority and secured 57.51 percent of the votes and Cyril Ramphosa was elected as the South African president. In February 2018, Siril Ramfausa was elected President of South Africa after resigning from the post due to allegations of corruption by President Jacob Zuma.This was the first time that the African National Congress got less than 60 percent of the votes in the national elections. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The Human Atlas initiative was initiated by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT): • On May 10, 2019, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) introduced Human Atlas Initiative to understand the role of tissues and cells in the human body. It is a collaborative project between Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER) Pune, Persistent Systems and National Institute of Cell Science (NCCS). It was inaugurated by DBT Secretary Dr. Renu Swarup. The human team has invited colleges and universities to register and work on them as teams for this project.The objective of the program is to understand the human body in two phases - the general phase and the disease phase. • This project has been funded by the Department of Biotechnology, which has invested Rs 13 crore between the National Institute of Cell Science (NCCS) and Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER), Pune. Apart from this, Persistent Systems Limited has co-funded Rs. 7 crores. The project will include biochemistry, biotechnology, microbiol- ogy, botany, biology, bioinformatics, health sciences, system biologists, pharmacologists and data science The areas can be signed by students who are in the examinations of their last year and are ahead of them. To develop the genetic code of pulse crop “Chick Pea”, the ICRISAT-led team collaborated with BGI- Shenzen: • The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) team partnered with BGI-Shenzhen, China, which comprised 39 scientists from 21 research institutes around the world, and has informed that scientists for various extreme factors To identify resistant genes, by indexing 429 chickpea from 45 countries, success of the largest re- sequencing of whole genome of chickpea is successful The work has been completed. This study has been published online in Nature Geenetics with the title ‘re-indexing of 429 species of chickpea, giving insight into the genome diversity, efficacy and agrarian symptoms’. The purpose of this indexing for the agriculture community is to provide better and larger scale With the production will fulfill the successful development of new varieties of chickpea, with a yield that, disease, insect, drought, heat (up to 38 ° C) and environment. This will be tolerant of weather conditions. Thus, it will contribute to sustainability of agricultural development in developing countries.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS • The research study confirmed the fact that chickpea came to India through fertile crescent of the Mediterranean through Afghanistan. It has also been stated in the research that India, the world’s largest consumer of pulses (in 2016, has produced 64% of the world’s total gram) faces a growing gap in production, thus, new studies suggest that India can achieve its previous level of pulse production. • It is known that chickpea is a cold weather crop and it faces a decrease in yield in high temperature conditions. It performs well at temperatures ranging from 70 ° to 80 ° F day and temperature of 64 ° to 70 ° F night time. Worldwide, there is a loss of more than 70% of chickpea from dry and hot chickpea. Due to cold-weather crop, chickpeais sown in September- October in India and harvested in January-February. In South Asia more than 90% of chickpea (Cisar eritinum) is cultivated. • The chickpea is eaten as a dry pulley crop or as a green vegetable, and seeds contain approximately 20% protein, 5% fat and 55% carbohydrate. They are also used as food for livestock due to high protein content. It is also known as gram, Bengal gram, Garbanjo, Garbano bean and Egyptian pea. Researchers at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai have identified a new function of serotonin - • An anxiolytic “serotonin” can help treat neurological dysfunction, which is a monomine neurotransmitter. Serotonin can help in the treatment of neurological diseases. The results of the study were published in the ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’ Journal. • KHS (Kasturba Health Society) Ashok Vaidya of KHS with Vidita Vaidya of TFIR and Ullaskalthur- Sitaram found in a paper led by concern preventive serotonin neurons, cell respiration increases and fuel (ATP Adenosine triphosphate) is involved in the process. • Recent research establishes that serotonin signaling can be used to prevent mitochondrial abnormalities and neuronal damage. Serotonin ? • Its chemical name is “5-hydroxytryptamine” (5-HT). Serrotonin is found in all bi-biological animals including insects. Serrotonin is also present in plants. This chemical works as a contributor to the feelings of welfare and happiness. An increase in 5-HT can increase the person’s ability to cope with stress. BSNL launches ‘India Fiber’ for high-speed broadband internet service in Pulwama: • With the launch of ‘India Fiber’, state-owned telecom company, BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) became the first operator to launch optical fiber-based high-speed broadband service in Pulwama. With reliable and high-speed internet, India fiber services are provided through optical fiber by FTTH (Fiber-to-the-Home) service to the customer’s premises .. This service is launched by BSNL of the Jammu and Kashmir Circle. Chief General Manager Rana Ashok Kumar Singh conducted the presence of Srinagar District Telecommunication General Manager Zafar Iqbal and BSNL Channel Partner Mir Nazar. • BSNL provides FTTH service in minimum 160 telecom districts with a minimum speed of 2 megabit per second (Mbps) with a monthly fee of Rs 777 to Rs 16,999. ‘India Fiber’ service has been started on the basis of revenue sharing in a business partner model with local channel partner of Pulwama area. FTTH equipment channels have been installed and started by partner while customer billing services are being provided by BSNL. Doordarshan Launched Online Souvenir Store on Amazon India: • Public service broadcaster, Doordarshan has partnered with online retail giant Amazon India to launch Souvenir Store. A variety of things will be offered in the store, which includes T-shirts, coffee mugs and cipher taglines ‘I am in your DNA, I am your Doordarshan’. The aim of this initiative is to establish strong relations with the audience of Doordarshan Channel. Indian Coast Guard ship ‘Vigrah’ was discharged in Visakhapatnam: • Indian Coast Guard ship (ICGS) ‘Vigrah’ was discharged in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. It is a frontline offshore patrol operated for 29 years from 1990 to 2019. It was the seventh offshore patrol vessel built by Mumbai’s Mazgaon Dock Limited. Offshore patrol ship Vigraha has participated in major coastal missions, including search and rescue, poaching, humanitarian aid and disaster relief, repatriation and joint exercises etc.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS “INS-Ranjit” Indian Navy’s Frontline Missile Destroyer, was removed from service after 36 years of service - • After 36 years of service, Indian Navy’s frontline missile destroyer, INS Ranjit, has been discharged from the naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam. • INS Ranjit was appointed on 15 September 1983 as the Chairman with Captain Vishnu Bhagwat in the Navy. INS Ranjit was the third of the five Destroyer of the Kashin-class created by former USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republicans). INS Ranjit was deployed during the Operation Sword of the Indian Peace Keeping Force and during the Kargil conflict. • INS Ranjit’s motto was ‘Sada Rane Jayate’ or ‘Ever Victorious In Battle’. • The ship was built in the 61 Communeyard shipyard in Nikolave city of Ukraine, in the form of ‘Yard 2203’, where the vessel was given its Russian name, ‘Lovelli’, which means ‘nimble’. • In 2003, INS Ranjit was deployed in Mozambique to provide security cover in the African Union Summit. In 2004, the ship was deployed for the relief work after 2004 tsunami and cyclone. INS Ranjit was honored with the unit citation in the year 2003-04 and 2009-10 for this service. “INS Vela” - Fourth Scorpene-class submarine launched in India • INS Vela, the fourth scorpene class submarine of the Indian Navy, was launched in Mumbai’s Majhgaon Dockyard. A series of six submarines under Project 75 created by Majhgaon Dock Limited, Mumbai. This is the fourth submarine. The Scorpene class submarine has been named in the Kalaveri Class. • Project 75 is a $ 3.75 billion contract signed between French company DCNS (now Naval Group) and Majhgaon Dock Limited in 2005 for the construction of 6 Scorpene-class submarines and the transfer of technology. Before the wallet, Majhgaon Dock Ltd. has launched Kalavari, Khandiri, Karanj submarines. The upcoming submarines, INS Wagir and INS Wagshir are in the stages of manufacturing. Microprocessor named ‘Ajit’ developed by IIT Bombay: • A group of researchers and professors of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Manav Desai, Bombay has developed a microprocessor named Ajit, which is indigenously designed, developed and manufactured. The microprocessor chip was developed in the semi-conductor laboratory in Chandigarh. It was for the first time that education, industry and government worked together to develop new technology. • This project was funded by the IIT Bombay, Electronics and Information Technology Ministry (MEITY) and Mumbai Powai Labs. The team developed a toolset named Ahir-V2, which can convert an algorithm into hardware to design microprocessor circuits. • The cost of the microprocessor ‘Ajit’ will be around 100 rupees at the cost of about 10 lakh units at a time. This is a medium sized processor which can be used for various purposes, such as within the set-top box, for automation systems As a control panel, in the traffic light controller or in the robotics system. India receives its first “Apache Guardian” attack helicopter: • The IAF legally acquired its first Apache Guardian attack helicopter AH64E (I) Mesa, Arizona, USA (United States) in a Boeing production facility during a ceremony. This was received by IAF, the first attack helicopter in India’s defense arsenal, Air Marshal AS Butola. In September 2015, India has $ 1.4 billion for 22 attack helicopters (AH-64E Apache helicopters) with the US government and Boeing. The deal, from which July will be the first batch of helicopters sent to India. Apache is a hiding and versatile machine designed for all types of missions. It Contains: • Laser and infrared systems for day and night operations • Highly airborne helmphter missile • 70mm rocket • Automatic Cannon etc. • India had been operating MI 35 of Russian origin for a long time and will soon be out of service. Apache helicopters are going to replace Russian-made helicopters. The helicopter will meet the requirements of the IAF and will carry out extraordinary work in mountainous terrain by executing precise attacks on deadlock limits, working in hostile airspace with threats from the ground, receiving photographs from the battlefield and transmitting. Selected aircrafts which will lead the operation of the Apache fleet in the IAF and the Ground crew members have trained on training facilities at Fort Rooker, US Army Base, Alabama.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully tested flight of ‘ABHYAS’ in Odisha: • On May 13, 2019, the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully tested the flight of ‘Abhyas’. Abhyas is a high-speed expedible Ariel Target (Heat) drone and it is used for autonomous flight with autopilot help. The flight test was done from an interim test range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha. The test was recorded by different radar and electro-optic system. It is based on micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) for its navigation and guidance. The navigation system was used. The study project was approved with initial funding of Rs.15 crore. • The design of the main structure of the aircraft is based on the design of Lakshya, a high-speed drone developed by the DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE). ISRO announces seven mega missions for next 10 years: • Recently, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has announced seven mega missions for the next 10 years and has prepared a road map for the next 30 years. Seven mega missions include India’s second moon mission, Chandrayaan- 2, Exosetate and Aditya L1. • ISRO has classified its six mega mission (except Chandrayaan-2) into two broad categories- Expected Mission: Mission includes Exposit and Aditya L1. Undefined mission: Mission which is still in the planning phase. These missions are: Mangalya-2, Venus Mission, Lunar Polar Exploration and Exorchers. • Recently, ISRO has also announced that the Rs 800 crore Chandrayaan-2 will be ready by the end of the month and the Chandran-2 spacecraft will be launched in July 2019. • Exosetate: It is also known as X-ray Polarimeter Satellite. The objective of this mission is to study polarization. It will be launched in 2020 and the mission life will be 5 years by 2025. Payload for Exposate was developed by Raman Research Institute, Bangalore. The spacecraft that will carry the Polarimeter Instrument in X-ray (POLIX) payload, it studies the degree and angle of polarization of bright X-ray source in the energy range between 5 to 30 kVV (kg electron volts). • Aditya L-1: The mission was planned to be launched in mid-2020, which will study the solar corona. The spacecraft of this mission will be placed in the orbit of a halo around the Sun-Earth Lagrangeue Point (L1) Which is approximately 1.2 million km away from the Earth. New standards for measurement of kilograms, kelvin, mole and amperes apply - • On May 20, 2019, on the occasion of World Metrology Day, the world’s scientific and technical community has adopted a resolution to redefine the four of the seven base units. Resolution was adopted on 16 November 2018 on the basis of the decision taken in the General Conference on Wet and Measures (CGPM) on BIPM (International Bureau of Weights and Measures), which was passed by 60 countries. The refined four SI (International System of Units) base units are kilograms, amperes, calvin and moles. Second, meters and candela are already defined by physical constants and they are subject to improvement in their current definitions. Now SI units have been defined in terms of constants that describe the natural world. The update is as follows: Redefined new SI units Name Symbol Measurement Defined constants of SI are after 2019 Kilogram Kg Mass Plank’s Constant, h Ampere A Electric Current Elementary Charge, e Kelvin K Thermodynamic Temperature Boltzman Constant, k Mole Mol Amount of Substance Avagadro Constant, NA Already defined SI units

Name Symbol Measurement Defined constants of SI are after 2019 Metre M Length Speed of light in vacuum, c Second S Time Cesium frequency, “ Cs Candella Cd Luminous Intensity The bright efficacy of a defined visual radiation, Kcd

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS • India’s CSIR (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research) -NPL (India’s National Physical Laboratory) has redefined SI units and has made recommendations on the following: • A proposal to include changes in the textbooks of the National Educational Research and Training Council (NCERT), New Delhi. • The proposal to include changes in metrology courses in graduate engineering and academic courses in the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), National Institute of Technology (NIT), and other academic institutions. • CSIR-NPL also published a book entitled ‘Redefining SI Units and A Glimpse of NPL Metrological Activities’. ISRO has given green signal for shipment of India’s largest liquid hydrogen storage tank: • Recently, Sivan, President of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), flagged the shipments of India’s largest liquid hydrogen storage tank at VRV Asia Pacific’s manufacturing plant in Sri City, Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. Liquid hydrogen is used as a fuel for Satellite Launch vehicles. It was a collaborative effort between Satish Dhawan Space Center and VRV Asia Pacific under the Make in India initiative. The storage tank was manufactured with a liquid nitrogen (lin) shield. The capacity of the storage tank is 120 kilo liter. ‘NewSpace India Limited’ - New Commercial Branch of ISRO • Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has inaugurated its new commercial arm ‘Newspace India Limited’ (NSIL) in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The purpose of the new commercial branch is to increase industry participation in Indian space programs. In the presence of ISRO Chairman Dr. K. Sivan, NSIL was inaugurated by Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Advisor to ISRO. On March 6, 2019, NSIL was included in the field of space for the use of research and development activities with an authorized share capital of Rs 100 crores and an initial payment capital of Rs 10 crores. NSIL will be responsible for the creation and production of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) and Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) through the technology transfer mechanism. IAF AN-32 aircraft got formally certified to operate on indigenous bio-jet fuel • The Russian-made AN-32 transport aircraft of Indian Air Force (IAF) has received formal fleet certification for flying on indigenous bio-jet fuel with 10% mixed aviation fuel. In Airo-engine test facilities in Chandigarh, Air Cmde Sanjeev Ghuratia was given the approval certificate by the Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CIMILAC), P. Jaipal, in the Air Officer Commanding, in Chandigarh. Authentication has been provided after its deep evaluation with international standards. Also, the use of biofuels is a major inclination for the mission of Make in India. • From 2018, IAF was undergoing an assessment test with green aviation fuel or bio-jet fuel, which was first created in 2013 by CSIR-IIP Lab in Dehradun. But due to lack of trial facilities in the civil aviation sector, it was not tested at that time. Bio- fuels are produced from Tribal areas and farmers, from tree-borne oils (TBO), which significantly increase their income. Memorandum of Understanding between IIT Guwahati and ISRO was signed to set up space technology: • On May 24, 2019, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed for setting up IIT Guwahati-ISRO Space Technology Cell (STC) in IIT Guwahati’s premises. This is the first institute in the North-East to increase research and capacity building processes in the field of space and technology. Important Points: • As part of the event, the Governor of Assam, Jagdish Mukhi inaugurated a new academic campus and R & D building at the IIT Guwahati campus. • In STC, IIT Guwahati faculty members, ISRO scientists or experts, research students and technical staff will be involved. It will work collaborative research for short-term and long-term solutions to deal with challenging problems related to space research. • It works as a platform for involving and encouraging graduates, postgraduate (PG) students and research scholars and orienting them towards the field of space-research activities. ‘Momo 3’ - Japan’s first privately-developed rocket • A Japanese aerospace start-up Interstellar Technology Inc. successfully launched a privately-developed rocket ‘Momo 3’ in space. The unmanned rocket was launched from its test site in Takaki, the northern Japanese island of Hokido, and it reached an altitude of approximately 110 km before falling into the Pacific Ocean 10 minutes after the flight. The length of 42

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS the rocket is 10 meters, the diameter is 50 centimeters and the weight is approximately 1 ton. The ‘Momo 3’ rocket has the ability to keep the payload in orbit. The company, Interstellar Technology Inc., was founded in 2013 by Takafumi Hori, former chairman of Livermore Company. Its aim is to develop low-cost commercial rockets to move satellites into space. The American Air Force has tested a laser system to kill many air-striking missiles: • US Air Force Research Laboratory tested a laser system called ‘Self-Protected High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHIELD)’ in the US Army’s White Sands Missile Range, which successfully killed several air-launch missiles during the flight. The system is designed to protect aircraft from incoming surface air and air-to-air missiles. FDA Approves First Dengue Vaccine ‘Dangvoxia’: • The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the United States has approved the first vaccine named denguexia for the prevention of dengue disease, but with certain conditions that only those people with dengue vaccine will be used to treat this disease first. The vaccine is also known as CYD-TDV and it is manufactured by company Sanofi Pasteur. Mexico was the first country to pass it in 2015. The vaccine is a living, dengue virus. Under vaccination, 3 doses will be provided to the patient. There will be a difference of 6 months between each dose. ‘Election Guard’, an open source software launched by Microsoft for safe voting: • Microsoft’s Chief Executive Officer, Satya Nadella has announced the launch of “Electionguard”, an open software development kit (SDK), which will help the nations to make secure and verified voting. • Developed by Gallows, ‘Electionguard’ is a supplement of the paper ballot. It is valid because it allows voters and third party organizations to verify the election results. The election gord provides a unique code to a voter. During the voting process, voters have an alternative step that allows them to track their vote from the moment of voting, and it can be verified by the voter that for the final stage of the counting of votes whether the selection is correct or not. It does not work with the vote-by-mail system and is not designed to work with Internet voting schemes because it is easy Can be uses in terms of security, “Ilekshngard ‘Homomorfik encryption that enables mathematical processes. Antibiotic-resistant infection was treated for the first time with genetically modified virus: • A team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh used genetically modified viruses to treat a patient who had been fighting an antibiotic-resistant infection. This journal was published in Nature Medicine on May 8, 2019. 17-year-old Isabel Cornell-Holdaway of England had a cystic fibrosis disease, when she was 11 months old. After lung transplanta- tion, Isabelle suffered a fatal infection at the age of 15. The research was led by Graham Hatfault, a biological science professor who is a Phase Research Specialist in the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The world’s highest resolution image sensor launched by Samsung: • Recently, the Samsung Company based in South Korea has launched the world’s first highest resolution image sensor of 64 megapixels. This image sensor will be used in the upcoming Samsung smartphone and its purpose is to meet the increasing demand for better image quality smartphones. According to Samsung, due to the latest progress in the field of Artificial Intelligence and 5G Technology, the image size of the image sensor There is hope to grow and due to the increasing demand of self-driving cars, there is also a need and scope to develop various types of sensors. NASA named its 2024 Moon mission as ‘Artemis’: • On May 13, 2019, the US Space Agency announced that the National Aeronautics and Space Organization (NASA) is ready for its mission to Moon ‘Artemis’, which is to be achieved by 2024. Before this, the goal of achieving this was till 2028. The Greek mythological goddess of the Moon and Apollo have been given the name “Artemis” on the twin sister’s mission.The mission will first take a female astronaut to the surface of the Moon. Researchers developed microscope for surgery without cutting the skin: • A group of researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) have developed a microscope to perform surgery without cutting the skin. This is the title ‘accurate closure of single blood vessels’ through multiplication absorption- based photorermolysis ‘in Science Advance’. The device is a special type of multifeton accesation microscope which is an ultraaphraph. Rfra red laser allows imaging of living tissue up to about a millimeter using the beam, the beam can scan the skin and could beam surgery by intense heat generated. Nepal banned use of China’s digital wallet “AliPay” and “Wechat”: • On May 21, 2019, the Central Bank of Nepal, the National Bank of Nepal, banned the use of Chinese Digital Wallet Alipay and Wechat Pay. It has been done to prevent the loss of foreign currency earnings through their use.Wechat Pay and 43

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS Alipay App are affiliated to Tancent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holdings and Financial Services Group respectively. They were unable to secure the license for operation in the country. More Chinese tourists have been seen in Nepal and they use these apps for payment. CryptoCurrency “GlobalCoin” will be launched by Facebook in 2020: • Facebook’s plan is to launch its own crypto-global ‘GlobalCoin’ in 2020. Cryptocurrency will be available in about a dozen countries at the launch, where it is expected to offer people affordable and secure payment without the need for a bank account. • Some reports suggested that in an effort to reduce instability, the currency can be called ‘stablecoin’ with a value for the US currency, before the launch of new cryptosystems; it needs to overcome many technical and regulatory barriers. WHO recognized ‘burn-out’ as medical condition and ‘gaming disorder’ as a disease? • Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) for the first time in ‘World Health Assembly’ organized in Geneva, ‘Burn Out’ to be classified as its International Disease (ICD), which is widely used as a benchmark for diagnosis and health insurers. Important Points: • WHO has defined burn-out as a syndrome in its catalog of diseases and injuries, which arises from chronic workplace stress which has not been managed successfully. • The updated list of International Diseases Classification (ICD) was termed as ICD-11, which was prepared last year after the recommendations of health experts around the world. • ICD-11 which will be effective in January 2022, includes several other complications including classification of ‘compulsory sexual behavior’ as a mental disorder. • The WHO recognized video gaming as an addiction for the first time, it was listed with drugs such as gambling and cocaine.

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United Nations Report ‘Global Assessment’ states that 40% amphibian species and 1 million insects and organisms are at risk: • In the Global Assessment report of UN, it has been said that out of the estimated 8 million plants, insect and animal species, approximately 1 million are prone to extinction within a decade. Research studies confirm that this excessive damage is a direct result of human activity and it will have direct threats to human welfare throughout the world. The report was supported by 130 countries including the United States, Russia and China. In the Research Study Paris the biodiversity and ecosystem services, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Forum (IPBES) was started. Robert Watson, a British environmental scientist, is headed by IPBES. The research study has been compiled by 145 expert authors from 50 countries. The basic premise of study shows the strict requirement of economics to include a new ‘post-development’ form. , Which will help reduce the risks of pollution, housing destruction and carbon emissions. • Researchers have notified that industrial cultivation and fish species are the main causes of extinction. The rate of extinction of species has increased from ten to hundreds times in the past 10 million years. • It has also been reported in the report that in most major residuals, the average number of native species has decreased by at least 20% since 1900. It also indicates that 75% of the land surface of humans, 40% ocean Environment and 50% inland waterways have changed, thereby causing irreparable damage through urbanization, deforestation and agricultural in- cest. According to the UN report, Bengal Tigers will not be able to escape the effects of climate change: • A team of researchers from Bangladesh and Australia have claimed that Royal Bengal Tiger living in the swampy Man- grove ecosystem in Sunderban Forest Reserve is in danger due to unprecedented increase in climate change and sea levels. It was published in the journal Science of the Environment. • According to the researchers, there will be no tigers in the Sunderbans and Sunderbans (Ramsar Wetland) of Bangladesh and India by 2070. In 2010, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature had said that 11-inch water level in the region would also increase the tigers Population can erupt by 96%. Rare weather events, summer waves and changing weather patterns can have more impact on population than sea level. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the population of tigers has been continuously decreasing due to uncontrolled hunting, loss of habitat and illegal trade of animal parts. WHO reported 1.35 million deaths due to road accidents: • According to the World Health Organization (WHO) ‘Global Position Report on Road Safety’, which has been published during the ongoing ‘Safety Week’, it has been found that due to road accidents in the 5-29 age group, every year 1.35 million More than 100 people died and about 50 million people were injured during road accidents. Since 2008, in India, the highest number of deaths has been caused due to road accidents around the world. • India has signed the Brasilia declaration on road safety in 2015 and India has claimed to reduce the number of deaths due to road accidents by 2020 to half. According to the Indian government, due to road accidents, 1.5 lakh people lost their lives but WHO estimated that about 2.99 lakh people lost their life due to road accidents. India and China are at the top of the list of countries for illegal sand mining: • According to the recently released report by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) ‘Sands and Sustainability: Finding New Solutions for Environmental Governance of Global Sands Resources’, India and China are at the top of a list of countries where illegal sand Mining has become an important environmental issue. Focusing on changing patterns of consumption of sand, demand and role among the growing population in the report. Has. It has been revealed in the report that sand and gravel are the second largest natural resources that are extracted, but they are at least regulated. The first is water. • UNEP declares it as one of the country’s major stability challenges in the 21st century.The report emphasizes the fact that sand mining breaks down the natural ecosystem, thus causing ecological damage. Irrigation or Hydroelectricity. The production is continuously reducing the amount of sand that flows downwards. According to the report, in 2017, China has the highest utilization of cement in an estimated 2.4 billion tonnes In the first place in C, India was second with 270 million tonnes, and the United States (United States) was at third place with 86.3 million tonnes. Worldwide, the demand of sand and gravel is around 50 billion tons per day. Illegal mining of sand from the coastal and river edges has adverse effects on the marine life and by it the drought, flood, beach erosion, pollution and quality of water Reduces.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS • Other countries with illegal sea sand withdrawal are: Morocco, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. This report was released by P. K. Peduzi, Director of GRID-Geneva in the United Nations Environment, who notified that to reduce illegal sand mining The sand used in infrastructure projects, i.e., roads, buildings and bridges should be used to find out where it came from. • The 3 key strategies for creating a new base for enhanced governance of sand resources are as follows: • Restricting the consumption of unnecessary natural sand in the construction • Using alternative materials instead of natural sand in construction • Reducing sand mining effects with existing standards and best practices World’s first parents-genome developed for buffalo: • Anand-based National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) has developed the world’s first “NDDB_ABRO Murrah” genome assembly of buffalo’s full parents. This has been done after successful launch of a customized genotypeping chip for indigenous cattle and their cross ‘Induschip’, to ensure better accuracy, the first time using a trio of father-parentage, the halalotype of a buffalo A trio was used to separate. World buffalos population is estimated to be 224.4 million, out of which 219 million (97.58 percent) are in Asia. • Among the 13 buffaloes breed in India, Murrah is the most sought after native of central Haryana and is considered as the best ‘breed-correctional’ with its gene pool, which is now South Asia, South America, Mexico and West With Asian countries spreading around the world. The whole genome of “Asiatic Lion” was first indexed : • Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - Scientists of Zoology and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, for the first time, have been sequenced the whole genome of Asian Lion. As a result of D Novo sequencing and annotation, the genome of a male Asian lion has been drafted. The main authors of the study are Dr. Ajay Gaur, who has been published online in the pre-print website, Bioreserve. Information obtained from the invasion will help in understanding the development of the Asian lion. Comparative Study of the Bengal Tigers, African Cheetahs and Jaguars. These big cats would be possible with full genome. • The endangered Asiatic lion population is very low - only 523 animals exist in the Gir forests. The estimate of this genome is 2.3 GB (gigabase) long and contains 20,543 protein-coding gene. Indian Army did not claim to have seen foot marks of ‘Yeti’: • On April 30, 2019, the official Twitter account of the director general of the Indian Army, tweeted that an Indian Army mountaineering expedition team, on April 09, 2019, a legendary Himalayan animal or snowman ‘Yeti’ near Makualu base camp in the north-eastern Himalayas The mysterious footprints have seen 32X15 inches (81 centimeters x 38 centimeters). Yati is also known as Abominable Snowman or Asian Bigfoot, it is a mammoth creature according to South Asian folklore. It is believed that there is a weight of between 91 to 181 kilograms in the height of more than 6 feet. • According to a report in National Geographic, British explorer Eric Shipton first saw the footsteps of Yeti in 1951. It was found on the Mainling Glacier which is located on the Nepal-Tibet border near the Macluke Barun National Park. The biggest idol of the country is found in the phunigiri of Telangana: • Indian archaeologists recently discovered a life-size sculpture from a Buddhist site in Phanigiri in Suryapet, Telangana. According to the officials of the Heritage Department, this Jathak shows one of the Bodhisattva in the Chakra. It is the largest sculpture ever found from India. The sculpture is approximately 1.73 meters high and 35 cm wide. • It is believed to be made at the peak of Ikshvaku dynasty. • Initial excavation in Phanigiri was started in 1941 by Khaja Muhammed Ahmed, an officer of the Department of Archeology. The present excavation is being done by co-digging with assistant professor Shrikant Ganveer as director and Pagadam Nagaraju. • It is known that the Archaeological Survey of India was established by Alexander Cunningham in 1861, its headquarters is located in New Delhi, it works under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Acceptance from the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) will be required for allotment of organ to foreign nationals • The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) has issued directions according to which an organ can be allocated to a foreigner after its approval. This decision was made because of media reports that it was said that foreign 46

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS nationals are getting a lot of limelight in the waiting list, compared to Indian citizens. The Transplant Authority of Tamilnadu (Trinsthan) has also issued guidelines for people who have donated organs. Allotment will bring greater transparency. The guidelines include that private hospitals should get the consent of the organ donor’s family before allotting the organ to the foreigners. More than 300 nests of endangered species “brown huge squirrels” were seen in the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu: • Researchers of the Swadeshi Biodiversity Foundation (IBF) and a team of wildlife activists have seen 363 nests of one brown giant squirrels in the Pakkamalai Reserve Forest near the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu. Its scientific name is Ratufamakora. The research was led by K. Raman, a naturalist of IBF. This endangered species is listed in the Schedule of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. • It has also been classified as a threat to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List due to housing loss and illegal hunting and is listed under Schedule II of CITES. • It is commonly known for making nests in Western Ghats in southern India, from Chinar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala to Anaimalai Tiger Reserve and Palani Hills in Tamil Nadu. India’s smallest orchid discovered in Assam “Lesnaris Taiwanese’: • India’s smallest orchid ‘Lesenchiris taiwanya’, a parasitic plant, was discovered in Assam by a forest officer, Jatindra Sharma, who is a member secretary of the State Medicinal Plants Board. It is smaller in size as well as its blooming period. It is a myocoitrotrop, a parasitic plant that has left the process of photosynthesis. This discovery was published in a Japanese journal named Journal of Botany. For the first time, this small form of Japanese orchid has been found in India. It was first discovered in Japan, Taiwan and Laos. The new species of snake found in “Pitt Viper” Itanagar: • In the West Kameng district of Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, a new species of Pitt Viper ‘Trimesurus Arunachalensis’ was detected by a team of veterinarians led by Ashok Captain. The newly found species have red color and a unique heat sensing system. This discovery was published in the Russian Journal of Herpetology. Before this discovery, India has been home to four brown pitt Vipers - Malabar, Horseshoe, Hump-Nose and Himalayan. Announcing to launch a project to create DNA databases for Indian Rhinos: • The Union Environment Ministry has announced a project to create DNA databases for Indian rhinos. This has been done to curb illegal hunting and collect evidence for wildlife crimes including corpses. The deadline for completing this project is 2021. This database will be kept in the headquarter of Indian Wildlife Institute (WII), Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Support- ers of this project include the World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India) and the Indian government funded by the Indian Wildlife Sans. Locations include Hankgandon are three species, mainly from the Kaziranga National Park in which only an Indian rhino species or country of one-horned rhino, found in Assam. Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu calls on “Ongole” to save and promote breed: • On 20th May, 2019, Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu called for the protection and promotion of the Ongole breed and released a collection on the Ongole breed of cattle in the Golden India Trust in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Ongole Ongole There are 1200 pages in the collection of breed. It provides the history of animals from 1885 to 2016 with information from 13 books and 80 research findings.This compilation is a collaborative work of Mudapudi Narendranath, an agricultural scientist and former joint director of Animal Husbandry Department, Adusumuli Madhusudan Rao. In Nellore district, the National Kamdhenu Reproductive Center, Chintala Devi instructed to strengthen the work on the breed Are. • Ongole is a place in Andhra Pradesh. Ongol breed of cattle is also known as ‘Nellore cattle’ because Ongole was once a part of the Nellore region. It originates from Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh. They are used in bulfights in parts of Mexico and East Africa and also participate in conventional bullfightes in Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu. These are one of the most massive breeds. New species of “Kudkrumia Rangnekari” was identified in Goa: • A new species of wasp from the genus Kudkremia has been identified by scientists in Goa. Goa’s researcher Parag Rangnekar is named as Kudkrumia Ranganakari. • Wasp, Hymanoptera, suborder is a member of a group of insects in Epocrita. It is neither an ant nor bee. These are found in Goa and Kerala in India and outside Sri Lanka in India. Holotype was collected from the forests of the North Western 47

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS Ghats from the Katigao Wildlife Sanctuary. Pattern (sampling) was collected from the Ranipuram Hill, Southern Western Ghats of Kerala. • Parag Rangnekar is the founder president of the Goa Bird Protection Network. He has handled the documentation of DragonFlies in the state. Parag Rangnekar has written a book called ‘Butterflies of Goa’, which is the first field guide with photographs of the species found in this area. White-throated rail, the extinct bird appeared again after 136,000 years: • White-throated Rail (Dryolimanus Cuvieri) which was extinct for more than 136,000 years has again appeared on the Indian Ocean Islands. This new discovery was published in the Zoological Journal of Linean Society. This is the last species of flightless bird surviving in the Indian Ocean. This rare development of this extinct bird is called recurrence development. It is originally from Madagascar, an island country which is far from the southeastern coast of Africa. After that, they moved to the Allabara Atoll, Seychelles, where they lost the ability to fly due to the absence of the predators. Then a new subspecies was created which is known as the Eldabren Rail (Dryolimanas cuvieri eldebranus). Global evidence was 100,000 years ago and the proof of claim came from a fossil study at the University of Portsmouth and Museum of Natural History.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS DEATH “N.R.Madhav Menon”The father of modern • On 7th May, 2019, the famous educationist and father of modern legal education in India Indian legal education, Dr. Nilakant Ramkrishna Madhav Menon (N.R.Madhav Menon) passed away at the age of 84 at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. He was born in Thiruvananthapuram on May 4, 1935. Madhav Menon established the National University of Judicial Sciences (NUJS) at National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bangalore, National Judicial Academy (NJA) in Bhopal and Kolkata.The first National Law School in India, the National Law School of India, Bengaluru, was established in 1986. The school was headed by him for 12 years.Dr. Menon was honored with Padma Shri in 2003 for outstanding public services. “Hiralal Yadav “Bhojpuri vocalist honored • On May 12, Bhojpuri singer, Padma Shri honored Hiralal Yadav died with Padma Shri Award, after a long illness in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, in a private hospital. He was 93 years old. He was the famous Bhojpuri folk singer of the ‘Biraha’ style, who tells the story of the lover’s separation from love.He received the Padma Shri Award for the fourth highest civilian award of our country in January 2019. For his contributions to the field of music, he was awarded the Yash Bharti Award in 2015. “Master Hirannaiah”Kannada actor and • Due to the legend of the Kannada cinema, theater actor as well as political satirist political satirist, Master Hiranyai died due to lever diseases at the age of 85 in Bangalore. He was born in the form of Narasimha Murthy in Mysuru. Her father K. Hiranai founded K. HariNay Mitra Mandali Drama Company. He made his debut on the platform under Master Hiranyane.He has acted in films such as Harakyakuri, Chor Guru Chandal Disciple, Operation Anta and Hudgir Saad Hudgeru. Some of his famous plays are Lankhavatara, Makmal Hat, Bharat Chakra, Incarnation and Devadasi. “V Vishwanath Menon”CPM leader and • Vishvanath Menon, leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) former finance minister and former finance minister, died at Kochi, Kerala at the age of 92. He was popularly known as ‘Ambadi Vishwam’. He Left Democratic Front government under the leadership of Nayanar, he worked as Finance Minister in 1987. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1967 and was a member of Rajya Sabha from 1974 to 1980. He was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Thripunithura constituency in 1987.He has presented five state budgets and also made a record of giving the longest budget speech for two hours and 35 minutes, which was later broken by KM Mani in two hours, 36 minutes and 25 seconds. “Kripal Singh” Famous Sikh historian and • Cronickler (chronology recorder) and Sikh historian Kripal Singh died chronicleer before partition before his partition in Chandigarh after a disease in India. He was 95 years old. He retired as Professor and Head of Punjab Department of Historical Studies at Punjabi University, Patiala. “Thopil mohammad miran”Tamil Novelist • On May 10, the famous Tamil novelist and Sahitya Akademi award winner Thopil Mohammad Miran died at Pettai in Tirunelveli district. He was 74 years old. He has written several Tamil and Malayalam novels. His novel ‘Saivu Narkali’ (The Reclining Chair) won Sahitya Akademi Award in 1997. He was born on September 26, 1944 in the small coastal area of Thanagayapattinam in Kanniyakumari district.His other novels are ‘Oru Kadalora Grahamthin Kathai’, ‘Thurimugam’, ‘Kunan Thoppu’ and ‘Anju Wenmam Theru’. He also wrote short stories like ‘Ambukku Muthumai Ili’, ‘Thangarasu’, ‘Anantasanayam Colony’, ‘Oru Kutty Thewin Puripadam’, ‘Thopil Mohammed Meeran Kathaigal’ and ‘Oru Mammarum Konjam Parvigalum’. 49

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“M.B. Balakrishnan” South East Asian • Gold medalist of South Asian Games on May 14, 2019, 50 meter back Sports Swimming Champion stroke swimmer MB Balaakrishnan died in a road accident in Chennai, Tamilnadu. He was 29 years old. He died while riding his bike when a lorry hit him and he climbed over them. He was a resident of Tamil Nadu.He was the gold medalist in the National Games in Guwahati in 2007. He set a national record in the 50 meter backstroke in the Senior National Championships in New Delhi in 2010 and won 100 meters and 200 meters backstroke competitions in South Asian Games. “Vijaya Mule”Famous film historians, • Vijaya Mule, a documentary film producer, film historian, writer, educa researchers and directors tionist and researcher passed away in South Delhi at the age of 98. He was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra.She was popular for her animation film Ek Many and Ekta, who had given her National Film Award for Best Education Film.- Shantaram Award for Lifetime Achievement for Docu- mentaries in the Mumbai International Film FestivalVikram Sarabhai Life Time Achievement Award for Educational Communication in 1999From Rajhans and Yogi to Gandhi and beyond: National Award for Best Writing on Cinema for his work in India’s images in the twentieth century international films. “Damon J. Keith”(American judge and • On April 28, 2019, Judge of the 6th Circuit of the United States, Damon civil rights icon) Jerome Keith, a grandson of slaves, died at Detroit at the age of 96, the principal lawyer in this city was appointed in the United States District Court in 1967. He served in the sixth circuit for more than 40 years. He was born on July 4, 1922 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Keith served more than 50 years in federal courts, and before his death, he served in Cincinnati as 6th U.S. Court of Appeals, he heard the cases 4 times approximately in 1 years.

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Four popular science books, published by Vigyan Prasar, were released: • On February 29, 2019, four popular science books published by Science Promotions were released by Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) at the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) in New Delhi. • Books such as ‘The Voyage to Antarctica’, ‘Story of Consciousness’, ‘An Autobiography of Moon’ and ‘Sambhu Nath De - The Discovery of Cholera Toxin’ were released. • The book ‘Voyage to Antarctica’, written by Dr. Felix Bast, reflects their first experience during the campaign in Antarctica as part of the 36th Indian Scientific Campaign in Antarctica in 2016-17. • The book written by Dr. Govind Bhattacharya, ‘Story of Consciousness’ is the third novel after ‘Story of the Universe’ and ‘Story of Evolution’, which is based on the theology of biology, neuroscience, psychology, semiconductor, linguistics, philosophy and human consciousness. As with focus on topics, the story describes human development. • In the book “An Autobiography of Moon” written by Dr. Ramesh Babu, information about the origin of the Moon, its basic form, has been given about how the size changes every day, only half of it can be seen and much more . • ‘Sambhu Nath De - The Discovery of Cholera Toxin’, written by Dr. MS Murthy, demonstrates the efforts of Sambhu Nath to overcome the epidemic of Cholera. A coffee table book “Saundarya ka Karya”, which is based on the architectural and landscape of Rashtrapati Bhavan: • Ambassador Navdeep Suri presented the coffee table book on ‘Architectural beauty: Architectural and landscaping of Rashtrapati Bhavan’ to UAE’s tolerance minister Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan. It has been published by the Department of Publications, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. This book was commissioned by the Presidential Secretariat and the Indira Gandhi National Art Center (IGNCA), Ministry of Culture, Government of India. • The UAE minister had visited the India Pavilion of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2019. It is known that India is the ‘Guest of Honor’ in this book fair. • A coffee-table book is a large book with lots of pictures, designed to look at instead of reading, and it is usually kept in exhibition where people can easily see it. Launched a new memoir of Ruskin Bond’s ‘Coming round the mountain’: • On May 19, Ruskin Bond launched a new memoir called ‘Coming round the mountain’ on his 85th birthday. The beloved author of the childrens of India officially released the book at Cambridge Bookstore in Musauri, Uttarakhand. The book has been published by Penguin India. • ‘Coming round the mountain’ is the third book of Ruskin Bond’s award-winning memoir series for children, before ‘Looking for the Rainbow’ and ‘Tills the Clouds Roll By’. This book will tell the story of Bond as a boy of thirteen during the important year of India’s partition. • Other books written by Ruskin Bond include ‘The Room on the Roof’, ‘The Blue Umbrella’, ‘A Flight of Piegeons’, ‘Rusty, The Boy from the Hills’, ‘A Handful of Nuts’ and more. Are. • He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1992 for his English novel ‘Our Trees Still Grow In Dehara’. He was awarded Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan Award in 2014 and the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Chandigarh Literary Society during the 5th edition of the Chandigarh Literature Festival in 2017. The world’s most mysterious manuscript ‘Voynich manuscript’ was understood: • The world’s most mysterious 600-year-old manuscript, named ‘Voynich manuscript’, has been understood by educationist Dr. Gerrard Cheshire and it took him only 2 weeks. The Voynich manuscript contains information about astrological sex tips, parenting and psychology, abortion advice, and herbal remedies. • According to Dr. Gerrard Cheshire’s letter published in the Romance Studies General, the manuscript was written in a dead language proto-romance. The book written in the Voynich manuscript was compiled by the Dominican Nunas as a reference to Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon. .The manuscript was written in the middle of the 15th century and includes Catholic and Roman pagan religious beliefs. The book was discovered in 1912 by an astrologer named Wilfrid Voynich.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS Nabanita Dev Sen’s 1978 book was published in English on the Naxal movement in Bengal: • Nabanita Dev Sen’s book on Naxal movement in West Bengal, first published in Bengal in 1978, has been published in English. Translated from Bengali to English by Polmy Sengupta, Tias Basu and author. This book by Niyogi Books has been published by Thornbird. The book describes the conflict between integrity and profit, and the novel’s important character, Anupam Roy, is a newspaper columnist, commentator and an educationist. • Nabanita Dev Sen is an award-winning Indian poet, novelist and academician. He is the recipient of Padma Shri Award (2000), Sahitya Akademi Award (1999) and Kamal Kumari National Award (2004).

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS IMPORTANT DAYS “World Password Day” will be celebrated on • First Thursday of May is named as World Password Day. This day is the first Thursday of May every year celebrated online for promoting better password habits for shopping, dating, banking, social media, personal work and for digital communication. Historical context of World Password Day - For the first time, security researcher, Mark Burnett encouraged people to ‘Pass- word Day’, where they updated important passwords in their 2005 book Perfect Password. Driven by their idea, Intel Security Initiative to declare World Password Day on Thursday before May every year. The announcement was made in May 2013. Indian Army is celebrating ‘2019’ as • Indian Army is celebrating ‘2019’ as ‘Year of Next Kin’. As part of this ‘Year of Next Kin’: commemoration, the army has planned to address the issues related to their pension and welfare schemes to reach out to the next descendants of the dead, ex-servicemen and serving soldiers and to resolve their pension issues. The fifth United Nations Global Road • Celebrated once in two years, the 5th United Nations Global Road Safety Safety Week will be celebrated from Week is being observed from May 6 to May 12, 2019. It emphasizes that May 6 to 12 everyone can be leading the road safety. The theme of this year’s weekly program is ‘Leadership for Road Safety’.It has launched a campaign ‘Save Lives - #SpeakUp" to achieve global goals by ensuring the safety of human life. It runs on the philosophy of ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020’.The WHO issued a report titled Global Status Report 2018 on Road Safety in December 2018, which states that the number of annual road traffic deaths has reached 1.35 million. Road traffic injuries are the main reason for the killing of people aged 5-29 years. International Labour Day was celebrated • International Labour Day or Labor Day is celebrated annually on May on May 1 1st. It is also known as May Day. This day was promoted by the Inter- national Labor Movement, Socialists and Communists. The subject of ‘International Labour Day 2019’ is the ‘permanent pension for all: the role of social partners’.In India, the first Labour Day was celebrated on May 1, 1923 by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindus in Madras. Labor Day is also called International Labor Day or Kamgar Day in India. It is known that “the founder of Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan” Malayapuram Singarvelu Chettiyar “was established in 1923. “World Tuna Day” was • To highlight the importance of tuna fish and to promote more durable celebrated On 2 May, 2019 fishing practices, World Tuna Day was celebrated on May 2, worldwide, which will help achieve the sustainable development agenda of 2030. In December 2016, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) recognized its resolution 71/124 as official World Meteorological Day on 2 May. After the resolution was passed, this day was celebrated on May 2, 2017 for the first time.The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has released its latest report, titled ‘The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture: Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals’ in 2018, to promote sustainable development in the 2030 Agenda for Sustain- able Development and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). It has highlighted the role of tuna fish in achieving 2030 agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 14, which provides for the development of oceans, Talk about conservation and sustainable use of seas and sea resources.Tuna is also more important for food safety and nutrition. It is a high source of selenium, vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B12, vitamin B6 and protein, and it also provides vitamin D and 53

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phosphorus. The Headquarters of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is located in Rome, Italy and Its current director-general is “Jose Graziano da Silva”. “World Press Freedom Day” was celebrated • The World Press Freedom Day is celebrated every year on 3 May on May 3 to raise awareness among the international community that the freedom of the press and the freedom of expression are fundamental human rights. This day also commemorates those media professionals who risked or lost their lives while serving. This year, the 26th festival of World Press Freedom Day was marked, which was celebrated with a theme “Media for Democracy: Journalism and Election in Times of Misinformation”. After the recommendation of the 26th UNESCO Maha Sammelan in 1991 The day was introduced by the United Nations Gen- eral Assembly in December 1993, due to which the windhock declaration was adopted. National Space Day 2019 • National Space Day is celebrated every year on the first Friday of May. Celebrated on May 3 The first Friday of May this year coincides with the May 3, the science community on this day, to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education among young people and to motivate, to celebratemake them a career in space related jobs. In 1997, Space Day was created by Lockheed Martin Corporation as a one day program. The main objective is inspection of the unknown space, in the space in which our planets float and also to encourage children towards the scientific study is also a purpose. On May 4, “coal miners” day was • On May 4, 2019, coal mining day was celebrated for exposing the most celebrated: difficult profession and for people working in coal mines. Many communities spread awareness and raise of money for coal mining and other organizations in the workers. This day was established to show appreciation for the sacrifices, respect the achievements and remember the tragedies that these hardworking people experienced. The annual festival of coal miners began in 1975.Development in coal mining: In the 18th century, the industrial revolution began in Britain and later spread to continental Europe and North America. New coal cutting machines were introduced in the 1880s In 1912, steam shovels were used in surface coal mining. Coal mining started in India in 1774. John Sumner of East India Company and Suetonius Grant Haldi started commercial mine in Raniganj Coalfield with the west coast of Damodar river. In 1885, the steam locomotive started. Coal areas in India are some central and southern parts of Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal. International Fire-Fighters Day celebrated • On May 4, 2019, International Fire-fighters Day (IFFD) is celebrated to on 4th May recognize and honor those sacrifices which are done by firefighters to ensure that their community and environment are as safe as possible.The symbol of International Firefighters Day is the red and blue ribbon. The color reflects the red fire and shows the blue water. These colors indicate emergency services throughout the world. It started in 1994, when a firefighter named JJ Edmonds emailed his colleagues for an international holiday, which will honor the sacrifice and victory of the firefighters killed in a bushfire in Australia on June 4, 1999. Celebrated as World Laughter Day on • World laughter day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday of May May 5, 2019 and the first Sunday of May in this year coincides with May 5. This day was first celebrated in Mumbai on May 10, 1998, and Dr. Madan Kataria, the founder of the Laughter Yoga Movement, arranged it. Its purpose is 54

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to raise awareness about laughter and its treatment benefits.The Laugh- ter Yoga Movement started by Dr. Kataria was part of the concept of facial reactions, which states that expression of a person’s face can affect their emotions. The popularity of this movement has increased steadily and so far more than 6000 Laughter Clubs have been opened up around the world. The first World Laughter Day, named as the Happy Damic, was held on January 9, 2000 in Copenhagen, Denmark. On 5th May International • International Mid-Wives Day is celebrated on 5th May every year. This “Mid-Wives Day” was celebrated year’s theme of the festival was ‘Midwives: Defenders of Women Rights’ (Mid-Wives: Protecting Women’s Rights).The first International Day of Mid-Wives was celebrated on May 5, 1991, using the theme “Safe birth for everyone” by the year 2000. It is celebrated as one day to honor the midwives for their contribution to the health of the people in these nations. International “No Diet Day” was • On 6th May, 2019, International No Diet Day (INDD) was observed to celebrated on May 6 promote a healthy lifestyle and raise awareness of the dangers and dysfunction of diet. The purpose of this day is to increase awareness of various dietary disorders that exist as anorexia and bulimia. The symbol of INDD is a blue ribbon. World Athletics Day 2019 was • On May 7, 2019, World Athletics Day was celebrated for promoting celebrated on May 7 athletics as primary sport in schools and institutions, raising awareness of sports, and educating youth about the importance of sports. It is an annual festival of youth sports and athletics is one of the busiest events of the competition on the calendar.The first World Athletics Day was celebrated in 1996. The International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) is authorized to fix the date of this day. May 7 was celebrated as Asthma Day • World asthma day is celebrated on the first Tuesday of May to increase awareness of asthma and its care. This year coincides with May 7. It is supported by the Global Initiative for Asthma (Gina), the World Asthma Foundation and the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The topic of this year is ‘Stop for Asthma’. Stop means to evaluate the symptoms, test responses, inspection and evaluation, proceed to ad- just the treatment.The first World Asthma Day was organized in more than 35 countries in 1998. The first World Asthma meeting was held in Barcelona, Spain. On May 7, “Border Roads Organization” • 59th Establishment day of Border Roads Organization (BRO) was celebrated (BRO) celebrated its 59th Establishment Day on May 7, 2019 It is a nodal road construction agency under the Minis- try of Defense.It was formed on May 7, 1960, with the primary role of providing road connectivity to the border areas. It mainly carried out road construction and maintenance works along the northern and western borders to meet the military’s strategic needs. And is responsible for more than 53,000 kilometers of roads. On May 8, the World Red Cross Day or • The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Red Crescent Day was celebrated (IFRC) celebrated the World Red Cross Day on May 8. The theme of this year is ‘# Love’.It is celebrated on the birthday of Henry Dunant, founder of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, who was born on 8 May 1828.The Indian Red Cross Society was formed in 1920 and its headquarters is located in New Delhi. May 8 was celebrated as World Thalassemia • World Thalassemia Day 2019 was celebrated on May 8 around the Day 2019 world with a theme of ‘Universal Access to Quality Thalassemia Healthcare Services: Building Bridges With and For Patients’. The purpose of this day is to honor all patients and their guardians of thalas- 55

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semia, who, despite all the obstacles, never gave up and supported those researchers who are trying to make a better quality of life for people with thalassemia all over the world. Thalassemia?It is an autosomal recessive blood disorder, which is transferred from parents to children through genes. This causes the weakening and destruction of red blood cells, affecting the formation of hemoglobin in the body and causes of light or severe anemia. On May 8, remembrance and reunion day • Celebrated as a remembrance and reunion day for those who lost their and 9th May was celebrated as the 74th lives during World War II, which ended in 1945.On May 9, 2019, Victory in anniversary of victory in World War II World War II was celebrated as the 74th anniversary of victory over Nazism in Europe. These days were nominated by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2004. Tagore’s 158th birth anniversary was • On May 9, 2019, the 158th birth anniversary of Asia’s first Nobel laure celebrated on 9th May, 2019 ate and musician Rabindra Nath Tagore and the writer of India’s national anthem was celebrated. This day is also called ‘Ravindra Jayanti’ which symbolizes his birth anniversary. International migratory Bird day 2019 • International migratory bird day celebrated on 11th May for 2019 It is celebrated on 11th May celebrated twice a year, which falls on the second Saturday in May and October. In 2019, it will be celebrated on May 11 and October 10. The theme of this year is ‘Defense of the Birds: Resolve for Plastic Pollu- tion!’ It has been organized by the Conservation of Migratory Species of Cattle (CMS) and the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agree- ment (AEWA) as well as by the Secretariat of the Environment for Americans (ETA).It is celebrated for raising awareness on the need to protect migratory birds and their habitats. The first international migratory day was celebrated on the weekend of 8-9 April 2006. On May 11, “National Technology Day • National Technology Day is celebrated in India on 11th May every year 2019” was celebrated to mark the to mark the technological progress of India. It also emphasizes the technological progress of India importance of science in our daily life. This day reminds of the successful launch of Shakti-I nuclear missile in Pokhran test range of Rajasthan on May 11, 1998. In order to recall the technological achievements made by India, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced the 11th National Technology Day.Shakti-I with the launch of a nuclear missile, which was presided over by the then President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, India successfully tested two nuclear weapons as part of the operation Shakti. This day marks the launch of Hansa III, India’s first indigenous aircraft. On the day of atomic testing in Pokhran, Rajasthan, it was flown from Bangalore. On the same day, Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) conducted the final test of Trishul missile. This missile was later included in the service by Indian Air Force and Indian Army. International Nurse Day 2019 celebrated • On May 12, 2019, Florence Nightingale, known as ‘The Lady with the on May 12: Lamp’, who was famous as the manager and instructor of nurses during the Crimean War, was celebrated the birth anniversary of International Nurse Day Celebrated. The topic for International Nurses Day 2019 is ‘Nurse - A Voice to Lead - Health for All’.In 1860, Nightingale laid the foundation of professional nursing with the establishment of her nursing school at St Thomas Hospital in London. It was the world’s first secular nursing school and now King’s College is part of London. “Florence Nightingale Medal” is the highest international honor that a nurse can achieve.It was first celebrated in 1965 by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) after the suggestion of Nurses Day in 1953 by Dorothy 56

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Sutherland, an official of the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and was first announced by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. In January 1974, May 12 was chosen to celebrate this day. International Family Day celebrated on • The United Nations General Assembly was announced in 1993 with May 15, 2019: resolution A / RES / 47/237, International Family Day is celebrated every year on May 15 and it emphasizes the importance associated with families. For the year 2019, the theme is ‘Family and Climate Action: Focus on SDG 13’. The main event of International Family Day took place at the United Nations headquarters in New York, which included the inclusion of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) The division was organized for development or by Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD). Major SDGs (Sus- tainable Development Goals) are 13 goals:SDG 13 Goal 13.3: To increase education, awareness, human and institutional capacity for curbing climate change and adaptation.SDG 13 Goal 13.2: Including measures for climate change in national plans, strategies and plans.This special holiday is represented by a heart-symbol which grows upwards and becomes the roof of a house. This symbol is a symbol of heart and house, which are the basics of family life. It is usually made in red and either used alone or kept in a green circle. On May 16, 2019, the world’s second • Globally, May 16 is celebrated as International Day of Light. This is the International day of “light” was celebrated: second edition of the International Day of Light.UNESCO (United Na- tions Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) officially ob- serves the International Day of Light in order to be constantly appreci- ated for the role of light in science, culture and art, education, sustainable development, medicine, communication and energy. On May 16, International Day of Peace • International Day of Being Together in Peace is celebrated on May was celebrated: 16th. On this day, the United Nations General Assembly declared in the 72/130 proposal. This day is celebrated for promoting peace, tolerance, inclusion, solidarity and understanding throughout the world. The In- ternational Day of Living together in peace was celebrated for the first time on May 16, 2018. National Dengue Day was celebrated • Launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, National Den on 16th May: gue Day is celebrated on May 16 every year to increase awareness of viral disease dengue and its preventive measures.In India, the Direc- torate of National Vector Disease Control Program (NVBDCP) is the main center for monitoring and preventing dengue. In 2016, the Indian government launched a mobile app ‘India Fights Dengue’. On 17th May, it is celebrated as World • World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) was Telecom and Information Society Day: celebrated on May 17, 2019 with the theme ‘Reducing standardization gap’. It is celebrated every year from 1969 on 17th May because the day before the International Telegraph Convention was signed and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was created. This year, we celebrated 50th anniversary of World Telecommunications and In- formation Society Day.The objective of celebrating this day is to help raise awareness of those possibilities, which can be used by the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICTs) for society and economies, as well as ways to reduce digital gaps. World High Blood Pressure day • Since 2006, World High bloodpressure Day (HBP) is celebrated every (Hypertension) celebrated on 17th May year on May 17 to increase awareness of hypertension (Hbp). This is a condition where blood pressure in the arteries is steadily increased. This Day also works towards the prevention and control of this silent 57

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killer. The topic of WHD 2019 was ‘Know Your Numbers’.The day started on 14 May 2005 by the World Hypertension League (WHL). International Vaisakh (Baisakh) Day 2019 was • The United Nations General Assembly recognized by its resolution of observed on May 18, 2019 1999, the International Day of Vaisak, which is also known as Buddha Purnima, Buddha Day or Buddha Jayanti. This day is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Gautama Buddha (or Lord Buddha). This year, this day is celebrated on May 18, which was celebrated as Lord Buddha’s 2,563th birth anniversary. Buddha Purnima also acknowledges the contribution made by Buddhism to humanity.This is celebrated for the full month of Baisakh. Gautam Buddha was born on the day of Buddha Purnima. International Museum Day 2019 observed • International Museum Day is celebrated annually on 18th May. It is on May 18 celebrated to create awareness on the importance of museums for the development of society. The theme of the International Museum Day 2019 is, ‘The Museum as a Cultural Hub: The Future of Tradition’. 18th May was celebrated as “World AIDS • Since 1998, World AIDS Vaccine Day (WAVD) is celebrated every year Vaccine Day” (WAVD),: on 18th May to spread awareness about the urgent need of a vaccine to protect the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The day is also known as HIV Vaccine Awareness Day.World AIDS Vaccine Day is followed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIID), Washington DC, USA. May 20th was observed as World • World Metrology Day was celebrated on May 20, 2019 with a theme Metrology Day ‘International System of Units - Fundamentally Better’. This theme was chosen because on January 16, 2018, the General Conference on Weight and Measures agreed to revise the International System of Units (SI). World Metrology Day was celebrated every year on May 20, 1875 due to the signing of the meter convention. World Metrology Day project was jointly recognized by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) and the International Organization of Legal Metrol- ogy (OIML). World Bee Day celebrated on 20th May: • The World Bee Day is celebrated on May 20 every year. It is celebrated to increase awareness of the importance of pollinators, their threats and their contribution in sustainable development. The theme of this year is ‘Save the bees’.This day was declared by the United Nations General Assembly and it was celebrated for the first time in Slovenia on May 20, 2018. This day marks the birth anniversary of Anton Jones (1734), who, in 18th century, had developed modern bee farming techniques. On 21st May, was celebrated as National • The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all the universities Antiterrorism Day of the country to celebrate May 21 as a Anti-terrorism day. The aim of this is to eliminate the youth from terrorism and show how harmful it is to the nation’s national interest. This day is celebrated as Anti-Terror- ism Day because in 1991, on this day, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a woman operative of the separatist Tamil organization, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).UGC asked universities to organize various programs, which include the vows and other activities recommended by the Home Ministry (MHA). On May 21, it is celebrated as World Day for • The World Day for cultural diversity for dialogue and development is cultural diversity for dialogue and celebrated around the world on May 21 . Its aim is to reduce the gap development between cultures, which is necessary for peace, sustainability and development.The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural 58 HEAD OFFICE : Near C.M. House, Civil Lines, Raipur (C.G.) Contact : 78 28 11 22 22 , 8224 922 922 BILASPUR : Near Old High Court, Bilaspur (C.G.) Contact : 9111 922 922, 07752-404122 Web : www.pathiasacademy.com Email : [email protected] 1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567

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Organization (UNESCO) adopted the universal declaration on cultural diversity in 2001, and in 2002, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in its resolution 57/24 on May 21, World Day for cultural diversity for dialogue and development had declared . International Day of Biological Diversity • International Day of Biological Diversity (IDB) was observed on May was celebrated on May 22 22. This was declared by the United Nations to raise awareness on issues of biodiversity and to increase understanding. The theme of this year is ‘our biodiversity, our food, our health’. As part of the celebrations, the Convention on Biological Diversity has partnered with Slow Food International, which is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking.It was adopted by the UN General Assem- bly in December 2000 for the first time as a memorandum of adoption of the Convention’s text, on 22 May 1992, as the Nairobi Final Act of the Conference for the Adoption of the Aggregate Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity.Convention on Biological Diversity: It is a mul- tilateral treaty with the aim of developing national strategies for conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. Signed - June 5, 1992,Effective - December 29, 1993,Number of Members - 196,Number of signatories - 168,Location - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil International Day to End Obstetric Fistula • The United Nations celebrated on May 23 as the International Day of Celebrated on May 23 Ending Obstetric Fistula. In 2003, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), previously known as the United Nations Fund for Popula- tion Activities, and its affiliates started a global campaign to end the delivery of childbirth.In 2012, the United Nations announces to celebrate the International Day of ending the delivery of childbirth on May 23 every year beginning 2013. On 23rd May, 19th “World Turtle Day” • 19th World Turtle Day was celebrated on May 23, 2019 It is celebrated was celebrated: every year to educate people about things to protect turtles and turtle dwellings. The subject of this year is ‘Adopt, Do not Shop’. It was first celebrated in the year 2000. It was founded by American Tortoise Res- cue (ATR) to enhance respect and knowledge on turtles. These animals have lived for 200 million years.As part of the celebrations, the India Biodiversity Portal (India Biodiversity Portals) launched the first edition of ‘Turtle Spotting Week’ to document these creatures across In- dia. It was held from May 17 to May 23, 2019. There are at least 28 species of freshwater turtles in India. International Commonwealth Day was • International Commonwealth Day was celebrated by people in Com celebrated on 24th May: monwealth countries on May 24, 2019. The topic of this year is ‘A Connected Commonwealth’.Commonwealth Day was formerly known as Empire Day. In 1958, Harold McMillan, the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, announced the name of Empire Day as the Common- wealth Day in Parliament and since then it is celebrated.It is celebrated in many countries on the second Monday in March whereas in India it is celebrated on 24th May. This year is the 70th anniversary of the Commonwealth’s constitution. International Missing Children’s Day • International Missed Children’s Day is celebrated annually on 25th 2019 was celebrated on May 25 May. It is celebrated to raise awareness on the issue of child abduction and to educate the parents on the measures to protect their children.In 1983, former US President Ronald Reagan declared May 25 as the United States National Missing Child’s Day. On May 25, 1979, after the disap- pearance of 6-year-old Itan Petz from New York City, On this day he was abducted and then, killed. 59

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS World Thyroid Day was celebrated on • World Thyroid Day is celebrated on 25th May every year. It is regularly 25th May observed to examine the thyroid functioning, to raise awareness on the disease and to educate the public to initiate precautionary action.This day was first celebrated in 2008 by American Thyroid Association (ATA) and European Thyroid Association (ETA). Veer Savarkar jubilee celebrated on • The birth anniversary of Veer Savarkar (Vinayak Damodar Savarkar) 28th May: was celebrated on 28th May. He was born on May 28, 1883 in Bhagpur village near Nashik in Maharashtra. He was a freedom fighter who called the rebellion of 1857 the first war of independence. • In 1923, he established the word ‘Hindutva’. Veer Savarkar established his two-nation theory in Hinduism in which Hindus and Muslims were called two different nations. In 1937, the Hindu Mahasabha passed it as a proposal. He founded the Abhinav Bharat Society (in Pune) and Free India Society (in London). World Hunger Day celebrated on 28th May • 9th annual World Hunger Day was celebrated on May 28, 2019 with the theme of ‘# Sustainability ease’. World Hunger Day is an initiative by The Hunger Project, which first started in 2011. Its aim is to raise awareness of more than 821 million people living in enduring hunger around the world. It wants to celebrate the permanent solution to hunger and poverty and motivate everyone to become part of the solution. International Day of UN peacekeeping • International Day of UN peacekeeping troops were celebrated on May celebrated on May 29 29. This day was adopted by UN General Assembly in its resolution 57/ 129 The theme of this year is ‘Protecting the citizens, protecting peace’.This day was celebrated for the first time on May 29, 1948, in which 3700 uniformed and civilian workers were paid homage, who had lost their lives for peace. International Everest Day was celebrated • 66th International Everest Day was celebrated on May 29. On this day, on May 29 in 1953 Nepalese Tenzing Norgay and New Zealand’s Edmund Hillary climbed Mount Everest for the first time.On this day, the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation (HNAF) condoled the death of climb- ers during mountainous operations this month.Nepal decided to celebrate this day as International Everest Day from 2008 when the great mountaineer Edmund Hillary died. On May 29, World Digestive Health Day • World Digestive Health Day is celebrated on May 29 every year. This was celebrated year the theme of World Digestive Health Day 2019 was ‘Initial diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) cancer’. This day was celebrated by the World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO) with the support of the WGO Foundation (WGOF) and the purpose of the celebration was to provide awareness and resources and equipment for gastrointestinal diseases and disorders. World No-Tobacco Day was celebrated • World No-Tobacco Day (WNTD) was observed on May 31. It is cel on May 31 ebrated to increase awareness among people to stop smoking. The topic of this year is ‘Health of Tobacco and Lung’.World Health Orga- nization (WHO) member states announced this day for the first time in 1987.In 1987, the World Health Assembly passed a resolution WHA 40.38 to celebrate April 7, 1988 as a ‘World No-Smoking Day’. In 1988, the proposal, WH 42.19, was passed on 31 May every year to celebrate ‘World Tobacco Day’. Since 1988, the WHO has given prizes to organizations or individuals who have made exceptional contributions in reducing the consumption of tobacco.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS SPORTS “Apurvi Chandela”World number 1 ISSF • According to the latest rankings released by the International Shoot ranking in 10m air rifle ing Sports Federation (ISSF), World Cup gold medal winner Apurvi Chandela became the world’s number one player in the 10 meter air rifle category of women with 1,926 rating points. Apurvi Chandela, 26, is among the five Indian shooters who have earned Olympic quota for Tokyo 2020.Earlier this year, Chandela broke the world record after winning India’s first gold medal in the ISSF World Cup 2019 held in New Delhi. She shot 252.9 in the 10 meter women air rifle final to win a gold medal in the Dr. Karni Singh shooting range in New Delhi.After Chandela, Anjum Maudgil is the World No. 2 player in the ISSF ranking, with 1695 rating points in the 10 meter air rifle category after winning the mixed gold in the ISSF World Cup in Beijing. “Bajrang Punia”won gold medal in Ali • Bajrang Punia, 25, won gold medal in the Ali Eliiv tournament in Russia’s Eliiev Tournament 2019 Dagestan. He defeated Russian wrestler Victor Rasadin 13-8 in the 65- kg category. It was his second gold medal in last 10 days. Last week, Punia won gold medal in 65 kg category in Asian Championship in Xi’an, China. Bajrang Punia has won prize money of approximately 7,700 USD. He is currently the world number one ranked player in the 65 kg freestyle category. “Sourav” and “Joshna” won individual • Sourav Ghoshal and Joshna Chinappa won men’s and women’s titles titles in Asian Squash Championship 2019 respectively at the Asian Individual Squash Championship held from 1 to 5 May, 2019 at the National Squash Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malay- sia. This event was organized by the Asian Squash Federation. This is the first time that India has won both men’s and women’s titles. Prior to this, the Asian Individual Squash Championship was organized in Chennai in 2017.32-year-old Sourav Ghosal defeated Leo and Chun Ming of Hong Kong 11-9, 11-2, 11-8.32-year-old Joshna Chinappa beat Hong Kong’s Annie Au 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 Amul to sponsor Afghanistan in 2019 • Amul has announced to sponsor the Afghanistan team in the upcom Cricket World Cup ing World Cup 2019 which will be held in England and Wales from May 30, 2019. Amul’s logo will also appear in the World Cup’s international match on Afghanistan’s jersey and training kit.Earlier in just two ex- amples, Amul sponsored any cricket team in the World Cup tournament. These two countries are New Zealand and Holland. The world’s first female cricket magazine • Recently, the world’s first special female cricket magazine ‘CrickZone’ ‘CrickZone’ was launched was released as the cover story of the Indian Women’s Cricket team’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana. The publisher of the magazine is Yash Lahoti.The magazine ‘Crickzone’ was inaugurated on the occasion of women’s T20 Challenge event in Jaipur, Rajasthan, where players like Mithali Raj, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Daniel Wyatt and Sophie Devine participated. The aim of this magazine is to empower young aspiring women cricketers to take the game into a profession and make it a sustainable living. China will host after South Korea’s • Recently, the Korea Football Association (KFA) had withdrawn its bid withdrawal from the Asian Cup 2023 for hosting the Asian Cup 2023, which made China the only other bid- der to be the new host. KFA announced that they have withdrawn the bid to strategically focus on the joint bid with North Korea to host Women’s World Cup in 2023.The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will confirm the Chinese bid to hold Asian Cup 2023 in China on June

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4.Last time China hosted the Asian Cup in 2004, China lost to Japan 3- 1 in the finals held in Beijing. This year the Asian Cup was organized in UAE, in which Qatar won Japan (3-1) in the final. For the first time, the Asian Football • For the first time in history, the Asian Football Association (AFC) has Association (AFC) created the first women’s announced its first women’s referee team to monitor the men’s conti referee team to take responsibility for nental club cup match. The team includes 3 Japanese referees namely men’s AFC Cup. Yoshimi Yamashita and assistant Makoto Bozono and Naomi Teskorogi. They will take charge of the match between Myanmar’s Yangon United and Naga World of Cambodia at the Thuvuna Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar. They are among 12 AFC officials to lead the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be held in June 2019. Earlier, women officers were appointed as assistant referee only in AFC Cup matches. Sarah Ho and Alison Flin were the first female assistant referee in AFC Cup matches in 2014. Bangladesh’s “Shakib Al Hasan” in the • Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan, 32, is at the top of the list of ODI all- ICC rankings list of ODI all-rounders rounders in the ICC rankings.Two Indian cricketers, Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya were placed in the top 20 list. Kedar Jadhav was ranked 12th on the list while Hardik Pandya was at 20th place in the list. Badminton World Federation Launches • Recently, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) launched two new 2 New Badminton Formats badminton formats named Air Badminton and Triples. BWF launches an innovative shuttlecock called Air Badminton and Air Shuttle in Guangzhou with new dimensions of the court. Air badminton will be an outdoor game compared to the traditional badminton, which is an indoor game. In the new triples format, the match will be played between a team, in which both teams will have three players with at least one female player. Indian men’s team won bronze medal in • On May 25, 2019, Abhishek Verma, Rajat Chauhan and Aman Saini of Archery World Cup 2019: the Indian men’s compound team defeated Russia and won the bronze medal in Archery World Cup Stage 3 held in Antalya, Turkey. The three stars Anton Tuvalu, Alexander Dembew and Powell Krylov of Russia Performed against and recorded victory with 235-230. India scored 59, 58, 59, 59 in four rounds.In the women’s bronze medal playoff, Jyothi Surekha Venam, Muskan Kirar and Swati Dudhwai trio were ranked fourth on the losing track of Great Britain’s Laila Annisan, Ella Gibson and Lucy Mason 228-226. World Cup Stage 3 is an Olympic qualifying event. This is the last meeting before the world championship in the Netherlands. Asian Youth Women’s Handball • In the year 2019, the 8th edition of the Asian Youth Women’s Handball Championship 2019 Championship will be held in Jaipur from August 21 to 30. This is the first time that Jaipur will host this prestigious tournament. Prior to this, in 2015, Delhi hosted the event and remained seventh. This program will be organized by the Asian Handball Federation (AHF). In this event, a total of 10 teams will participate along with defending champions South Korea.So far seven events have been organized and all seven times South Korea has won. 7th edition was organized in 2017 in Jakarta, Indonesia, in which South Korea was the champion, while Japan and China were second and third respectively. Sekisui Open Squash 2019 • The Sekisui Open Squash 2019 was held in Crans, Switzerland. India’s Mahesh Mangonkar won the title for the second time by defeating Bernat Jaime of Spain in the final. This was Mahesh’s 8th PSA (Profes- sional Squash Association) title.Mahesh defeated Jaime 11-9, 3-11, 11- 62

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5, 11-5 To do this, Mahesh had taken 48 minutes. For the first time in 2016, he won this award. Virgil van Dijk winsPlayer's Player of • The 27-year-old Liverpool defender and captain of the Netherlands the Year Award: national team, Virgil van Dijk won the Players’ Player of the Year 2018- 19 title of Professional Footballers Association (PFA) after the Stirling Premier League campaign. Van Dijk joined Liverpool from Southampton in January 2018 for £ 75 million (Euro 75 million).This award marks the second season directly in which a Liverpool player has won the Play- ers’ Player of the Year award of the prestigious Professional Footballers Association (PFA). Last year, Mohamed Salah of Liverpool won this award Indian Premier League 2019: • The 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was played from March 23 to May 12, 2019. A total of 8 teams have participated in this event. The event lasted 48 days and total 60 matches were played throughout the tournament. The event was conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and it was hosted in India. The format of IPL cricket is Twenty-20. Mumbai Indians won the fourth IPL title by defeating Chennai Super Kings by 1 run at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Category Team Award Prize 1 Mumbai Indians 20 Crore Rupees 2 Chennai Super Kings 12.5 Crore Rupees 3 Delhi Capitals 8.75 Crore Rupees 4 Sunrisers Hyderabad 8.75 Crore Rupees

Prize: • Orange Cap: David Warner of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) won Orange Cap by making 692 runs in 12 matches. He got a check of Rs 10 lakh in the form of prize money. • Purple Cap: Imran Tahir of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has won the Purple Cap by taking 26 wickets in the tournament. He got a check of Rs 10 lakh in the form of prize money. • Most Valuable Player: Andre Russell of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the most valuable player award. He received a check of Rs 10 lakh in the form of prize money, which Shubham Gill received on his behalf. • Fairplay: Sunrise Hyderabad has won the Fairplay Award 2019. VVS Laxman received the trophy • Fastest Fifth Season: Hardik Pandya of Mumbai Indians made IPL the fastest half-century of 2019. He hit half-century in 17 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He got a check of Rs 10 lakh in the form of prize money. • Perfect catch of the season: Kieron Pollard of Mumbai Indians caught the perfect catch of the match. He caught the catch of Suresh Raina (CSK). He got a check of Rs 10 lakh in the form of prize money. • Super Striker of the Season: Andre Russell of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the Super Striker of the Season Award. He scored 510 runs with 52 sixes from the strike rate of 204.81. He got a car as a prize and a check of Rs 10 lakh. • Stylish Player of Season: K.L. Rahul of Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) won the Season’s stylish player award. He scored 593 runs in 14 matches. He got a check of Rs 10 lakh in the form of prize money. • Emerging Player of the Year: A 19-year-old Shubham Gill of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the Emerging Player Award. He got a check of Rs 10 lakh in the form of prize money. • GameChanger of the Season Award: Rahul Chahar of Mumbai Indians won the game changer of the season award He took 13 wickets in 13 matches with an economy of 6.55. He got a check of Rs 10 lakh in the form of prize money. • Player of the Match in Final: Jaspreet Bumrah of Mumbai Indians won Player of the Match in Final Finals against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He threw 4 over from the economy rate of 3.50 and took 2 wickets. He got a check of Rs. 5 lakhs as prize money. Important Facts: • Prayaas Burman became the youngest player to play IPL. He was 16 years and 157 days old from the Royal Challeng- ers Bangalore. He played his first match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. 63

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS • CSK’s Imran Tahir became the oldest player to play in the IPL. He also became the second spinner to win the purple cap. The first spinner to do so was Pragyan Ojha. • Mumbai Indians became the first team to win 4 titles in the 12 edition of Indian Premier League. Earlier, Mumbai Indians had won in 2013, 2015 and 2017. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has won 3 titles in the total of 10 played in the IPL. Italian Open (Tennis) 2019: Winner: Sr. No.. Event Winner Runners-up 1. Men’s singles Rafael Nadal (Spain) Novak Djokovic (Serbia) 2. Men’s doubles Juan Sebastian Cabal (Colombia) Raven Klassen (South Africa)Michael Venus (New Robert Farah (Colombia) Zealand) 3. Women’s singles Carolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) Johanna Kanta (UK) 4. Women’s doubles Victoria Azarenka (Belarus)Ashley Anna-Lena Gronfeld (Germany) Berty (Australia) Demi Shores (Netherlands)

India Open International Boxing Tournament 2019: • The second edition of the India Open International Boxing Tournament 2019 was held from 20 to 24 May, 2019 at Kambhar Nabiin Chandra Bordoloi Indoor Stadium in Guwahati, Assam. 200 players from 16 countries participated in the boxing event. The competition was organized in 18 categories, 10 for men and 8 for women. The prize money for the gold medalist was USD 2,500 and 1,000 US dollars for silver medalist. • In the tournament, India won a total of 57 medals including 12 gold, 18 silver and 27 bronze medals. This event was organized by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI). Indian Boxer Winners Table: Sr. No. Event Gold Silver 1. Male 49 KG Deepak Govind Sahani 2. Male 52 KG Amit Panghal Sachin 3. Male 60 KG Shiv Thapa Manish Kaushik 4. Male 69 KG Ashish Duryodhan Singh Negi 5. Male 81 KG Manish Pawar Brijesh Yadav 6. Male 91 KG Naman Tanwar Sumit Sangwan 7. Male + 91 KG Satish Kumar Navin Kumar 8. Women 51 kg Mary Kom Vanlal Duti 9. Women 54 kg Jamuna Boro Y. Siddharani Devi 10. Women 57 kg Niraj Manisha Maun 11. Women 60 kg Sarita Devi Simranjit Kaur 12. Women 75 kg Bhagyabati Kachari Pooja Best Boxers Award: Sr. No. Class Winner Country 1. Men Shiv Thapar India 2. Women Francesca Amato Italy

2019 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup -3: • The third edition of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup was held in Munich, Germany from 24 to 31 May 2019. India won 5 gold medals and six medals and remained at the top of the medal table. China won two gold, two silver and five bronze medals and remained second in the medal tally. The next tournament is to be held in ISSF World Cup 4 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS • Saurabh Chaudhary won a gold medal in 10 meter air pistol and broke his own world record of 245 by securing 246.3 points in the final. • Asian Games champion Rahi Sarnobat and Manu Bhak took the sixth and seventh Olympic quota in the shooting of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Sr. No. Name of Shooter Event Won Medals 1. Saurabh Chaudhary(World Record) 10 mt Air Pistol Gold 2. Apurvi Chandela 10 mt Air Rifle Gold 3. Rahi Sarnobat 25 mt Air Pistol Gold 4. Divyansh Singh Pawar and Anjum Mogdil 10 mt Air Rifle (Mixed Team) Gold 5. Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhakar 10 mt Air Pistol (Mixed Team) Gold 6. Apurvi Chandela and Deepak Kumar (Sport Shooter) 10 mt Air Rifle (Mixed Team) Silver

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS CHHATTISGARH AFFAIRS Chhattisgarh’s first anti-Naxal commando unit was deployed - • For the first time, Chhattisgarh Police has deployed anti-Naxal commando unit, named ‘Danteshwari Ladakay’ or ‘Fighter of Goddess Danteshwari’. These women commandos have been included in the District Reserve Guard (DRG), which is the anti-border Naxal army of Chhattisgarh. This specially designed group was part of the security forces’ small action teams, which were trained in the last one month Three Naxal commanders have been eliminated; it has now been included in the Naxal-affected Dantewada district of the state. • The unit consisted of 30 women commandos, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Dineshwari Nand. Out of these 30 female commandos, 10 self-devoted women were Naxalites and 10 are assistant constables, which are part of the anti-Naxal movement Salwa Judum. The squad was trained in the jungle warfare tactics such as motorcycle patrol, reading map, understanding naxal profile and understanding counter anti-tactics in the dense jungle. The Unit has got 3 months extensive training. “Nikhar” Program: Orientation Program of District Level Officers - (for improving the achievements of class VIII and IX) • For the first time in the state, ‘Nikhar’ program has been launched to improve the achievements of class VIII and IX children of government schools. Under the program, base line assessment will be done to improve the achievements of children and comprehensive efforts will be made for proper development of the children’s intellectual capacity. • In its first phase, State Educational Research and Training Council organized the orientation program of district level officers of the education department in Raipur. The Chief Secretary of the School Education Department congratulated the successful state level assessment and said that after the assessment, the most important task is to make honest efforts to improve the condition of the children. • It is noteworthy that the technical support for implementing the program is being supported by ‘The Transform Trust’. With them, no financial assistance has been contracted by the overall education. Under this program, this scheme is being implemented by preparing state-of-the-art teaching materials by studying the scheme, operated in other states. In the first phase, Master Trainers are being prepared during the summer holidays in ten districts of the state-Bijapur, Kanker, Mahasamund, Griyaband, Raipur, Durg, Balodabazar, Bilaspur, Janjgir-Champa and Korba. • Prior to opening the school, three-day training for classes 8th and 9th teachers of Hindi, English, Mathematics and Science will be organized in these districts. The program will be implemented in schools by giving one day training to the headmasters and principals of all schools in these districts. • Under the program, baseline assessment of class eighth and Ninth children of all upper primary and high schools of selected districts will be done, which will give information about how many children of these classes below standard-three and below how many children’s standard is less than five And how many children are in Class-VIII level. After this assessment, continuous efforts will be made to improve the level of children. • Under the program, 200 hours of classroom sessions will be organized in regular classes within 69 days, the first of which will be taught the 18-day foundation course. Under the Foundation Course, one hour of Hindi, English, Mathematics and Science classes will be organized everyday. i.e. a total of 72 hours in teaching, in which the children of the higher standards with the children of their level, the basic competencies of all the children will be improved. • After this 45-day cooperative learning phase will be organized, in which 45 minutes lectures of English, Mathematics and Science classes will be organized every day. In this phase, a total of 101 hours and 15 minutes will be studied. In this phase, focus on important learning outcomes in all disciplines so that children can easily understand the concepts further. • In the third and final phase of the program, a 6-day closing camp will be organized for English, Mathematics and Science subjects, in which a theme of 45 minutes per day, ie total 2.15 hours will be organized. A total of 13.30 hours of classes will be organized in six days. In this period, children will be given the exam preparation. • After the third phase of the program, children will be organized like Baseline for these children and the improvement in the level of children between the two tests will be assessed. Based on the experience of the Nikhar program in these ten districts, the program will also be implemented in other districts from the upcoming session by making necessary improvements. • In addition to the baseline and endline test question papers will bw provided to the students to evaluate their standard under the program, separate implementation indicators will be provided for teachers and students. To introduce teachers to different concepts, introduction of activities and practice manuals for children will be provided. 66

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS ‘Nava Best Narr’ campaign reached inaccessible village Paramapal: • On 15 May 2019, surrounded by inaccessible hills and about 60 km from the district headquarters. The development block situated at a distance will be rejuvenated through the name of the Nava best Narr in the village Paramapal of Kondagaon. Under the leadership of district collector Nilkanth Tikam, the officials listened to problems of the villagers by solving their problems by installing a four-wheelers in this remote rural area and resolving many of their problems. Villagers also got a good response to this innovative initiative of the district administration. Under this campaign, the villagers of various villages of the region such as Parampal, Madanar, Badco, Kejang, Rangagondi, introduced their awareness by being present in large number. Concept of “Nava Best Narr” - • In fact, during his one-year tenure in the “Nava Best Narr” campaign District Collector Nilkanth Tikam, it would be advisable to observe the intense visits of the inner villages of the region, the detailed discussions with the villagers, the result of the solution of the problem by discussing the basic problems of the area. Nava Best Narr is taken from Gondi Boli and English meaning Nava meaning mine, and Best means excellent and Naar means village. This literally means “my best village”. That is, a village where facilities such as health, nutrition, education and agriculture, employment are readily available. District Collector Neelkanth Tikam has instructed to target the rural areas of the district under this campaign. Under this campaign, cleanliness, nutrition and health monitoring committees are being set up in the rural villages, which will work at village, development block and district level. The responsibility of all these committees will be to ensure the smooth operation and inspection of Anganwadi and Health Centers, the cleaning of village, use of clean drinking water, toilets, and the benefits of agricultural schemes to the common people. Under the campaign, Peramapal got many blessings - • In the camp, the District Collector instructed the villagers of the area to solve many problems only on the spot. In this, by them, the procurement of paddy and procurement of manure seeds for the farmers of the surrounding village along with the operation of the Public Service Center in village Biyanar, for the farmers of the surrounding village, under the Prime Minister’s Rural Road Scheme, from Peramapal to Dhodh, 6 km. And 1.5 km from Madanar to Beyanar Road construction was sanctioned. Apart from this, it includes the Borewell mining for drinking water, appointment of teachers in schools, pension problems, and other cases like ration cards, in different villages of the region. Under the campaign in the program, the reception of newly married, pregnant women’s fetus and child-rearing ceremonies were also paid. On the occasion, 36 farmers were given urad for agriculture, 50 farmers got sesame seeds, and 32 beneficiaries were given advanced seeds of Mint pesticides of Mecca. • Addressing villagers on the occasion, the District Collector said that this is an area with favorable development potential. Nava Best Narr campaign is being run for its overall development. The real benefit of governance plans is not complete until the villagers of the interior area reach the villagers; it is incomplete to talk of development. It is true that many schemes of governance are such that the benefits can be extended to them by general efforts. But sometimes due to the awareness and administrative work system it is not possible to bridge the gap, the public-interest schemes of different departments should be jointly brought directly to the beneficiary’s house. Apart from this, changes in community mental- ity are also important. If we talk about malnutrition, it is seen that rural parents remain indifferent to sending their children to Anganwadi and this is the reason that the rate of malnutrition in the region is high. Malnutrition can be removed by sending children regularly in Anganwadi and consuming nutritious ingredients. Thus, in order to overcome various problems of the area, public participation is also necessary in addition to administrative efforts. Some anti-social elements had separated the entire area from the mainstream of development, but now it will change soon with the help of villagers. Awareness program started throughout the state for prohibition of child marriage prior to Akshay Tritiya (Akti) - • “Child Marriage Offence” - imprisonment for two years and fine up to Rs. 1 lakh penalty Regardless of the stereotypes in the developed society, there is a possibility of cases of child marriage on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya in the entire state and across the country. Child marriage is not only a social evil but also a crime. This leads to the abrogation of fundamental rights of children’s good health, nurturing and education and protection against violence, harassment and exploitation. According to the Child Marriage Prevention Act 2006, the age of the boy should not be 21 years and the girl’s age should not be less than 18 years. Even if the age of bride and bridegroom is less than the fixed limit, there can be legal action even on the parents, relatives, barati, and even the priest who got them married. • Under the Act, if a man above 18 years of age marries a woman under the age of 18 years, then he can be punished with rigorous imprisonment up to 2 years or fine which can be up to 1 lakh or both. The person who promotes, performs, or supports child marriage, or encourages child marriage, permits or joins the child marriage can be punished with a rigorous 67

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS imprisonment of up to 2 years or fine up to one lakh rupees. • If after marriage, if the bride or bride does not accept marriage, then the petition can be filed in the court to declare marriage void within two years of the marriage, guardian or child marriage prohibition officer or within two years of being mature Are. If a child is forcibly bound for child marriage, is deceived or catalyzed or married by selling and used for immoral purposes, then such marriage will be considered as null and void. When marriage is declared void, money, valuables, jewelery and other gifts, which have been exchanged between the two parties, will also be returned. • In the Act, the District Officer of the Women and Child Development Department has been declared the Child Marriage Prevention Officer. Information of child marriage can be given to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Police Station, Anganwadi worker, Sarpanch, Kotwar or Regional Officer of women and child development department. Ranveerpur (Kavardha) heading towards “Mission Zero Home Delivery”: Ten safe institutional deliveries made in April • Implementation of “Mission Zero Home Delivery Campaign” has begun to give a safe and secure life to both the child and mother in Kabirdham district. Awareness is being observed about institutional delivery in Ranvirpur Gram Panchayat and surrounding Gram Panchayats with a large population of Sahaspur Lohara Vikas block. In primary health center operated at Ranvirpur, in the month of April, a total of 10 institutional deliveries were delivered to both the child and mother. After institutional delivery, the incentive amount and maternity kit are being given to the mother for free also. Collector Shri Avniish Kumar Sharan took a careful look at the primary health center operated at Ranvirpur. During the inspection it was reported that ten institutional deliveries have been done in the month of April. All such patients were successfully treated here. During the discussion, it was discovered that new pregnant mothers are registered here. For this, the full support of Anganwadi workers and representatives is being provided. “Sughghar Bitia Program” (Jashpurnagar) was organized • Under the guidance of Shri Nileshkumar Mahadev Kshirsagar, Collector, Jashpurnagar is organizing a Sughgar Bitia program in which women and adolescent girls are being made aware about monthly management with personal hygiene. To make the first happiness healthy work meaningful, a unique initiative of the district will help women in the awareness and hygiene of health, women and child development, clean India Mission, rural and NRLM. With the support of this program, this program is being run in a big way in the district. • Under the Clean India Mission Rural, programs were organized to give information about personal hygiene among the teen girls and women in the higher secondary school of Gram Panchayat Ghamaria and to make them aware about this. During this time, information about the use of precautions and sanitary pad during the menstruation was given by District Advisor, Mr. Rajesh Jain through presentations. A small awareness film was also played on menstrual management. Lok Sabha Elections - 2019, Chhattisgarh Record's New Record: No Re-polling in any polling station in the state • There will be no reinstatement in any polling station in the state of Chhattisgarh under the Lok Sabha election - 2019. This glorious achievement is a record for the state of Chhattisgarh. There was no re-election in any voting center in 23 thousand 732 polling booths during the poll for three phases 11, 18 and 23 April 2019 in the state for the election. It has been reported that the Election Commission of India agrees to not make any reinstatement in any polling station in any Lok Sabha constituency of Chhattisgarh state. • The CEO said that it is a matter of honor for the state that there is no complaint about the voting process. For this, Mr. Subrata Sahu has thanked all the voters, political parties, all officers, employees, security persons and paramilitary personnel in the election process for this. He described this achievement as a glorious record for the state and said that he is proud. • It is notable that after the voting for the 90 Vidhan Sabha constituencies in two phases in the previous Vidhan Sabha elections -2018, on November 12 and 20, 2018, the situation of re-election was not created in any polling booth. • This is the first time after the formation of the Chhattisgarh state that the state of re-election in both the elections of 2018 and the Lok Sabha General Election 2019, both elections have not been reinstated. It is a historic second record not to be reinstated in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Lok Sabha Elections-2019, Chhattisgarh • After the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections, BJP has won the 9 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh. In addition to the state’s Bastar and Korba Lok Sabha seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party has won all the seats. BJP candidates have won all the seats of Mahasamund, Rajnandgaon, Durg, including the capital city of Raipur. 71.48% voters voted in the 68

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS state. Which party won in the Lok Sabha elections? Lok Sabha Seat Result BJP Congress Sarguja BJP Won Renuka Singh* Khelsaay Singh Raigarh BJP Won Gomati Sai* Laaljeet Singh Rathia Janjgir BJP Won Guharam Ajgale Ravi Bhardwaj Korba Congress Won Jyoti Nand Dubey* Jyotsana Chandradas Mahant Bilaspur BJP Won Arun Sao Atal Srivastav Rajnandgaon BJP Won Santosh pandey Bholaram Sahu Durg BJP Won Vijay Baghel Pratima Chandrakar Raipur BJP Won Sunil Kumar Soni Pramod Dubey Mahasamund BJP Won Chunni Lal Sahu Dhanendra Sahu Bastar Congress Won Baiduram Kashyap Deepak Baij Kanker BJP Won Mohan Mandavi Brijesh Thakur

• Be aware that Renuka Singh, elected MP from the state, has joined the Prime Minister Modi’s Cabinet. She has been appointed Minister of State in Ministry of Tribal Affairs. • 55-year-old Renuka Singh Saruta is passed 12th. They have assets of 2.76 crore. These are considered as tribal leaders with sharp images. National Vice President of Scheduled Tribes Front and member of the State Working Committee By 2000-03, the undivided Madhya Pradesh BJP was the first woman president of the Ramanujanagar division. With the elected members of the Janpad member, they have also been members of the Social Welfare Board. MLAs elected from Premnagar assembly in 2003 and 2008. BJP has been the state minister of the women’s front. Raman Singh was the Minister for Women Child Development and Social Welfare in the Government. After this he was given the rank of cabinet minister by making the vice president of the Sarguja and the Tribal Authority North Territory.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS AWARDS AND MEDALS

Mrs. Anuradha Dubey was awarded the “Pandit Tilakraj Sharma Smriti International Award” and the Srijan Hindi Seva Medal 2019 - • In the past, a two-day Hindi Convention was organized in New Jersey City, USA. In this event, famous Kathak dancer, Dr. Anuradha Dubey presented her presentation. Smt. Dubey was awarded the Pandit Tilakraj Sharma Smriti International Award and SrijanHindi Seva Medal 2019 in New Jersey. • This award was given by Pandit Tilakraj Sharma’s son Inderjit Sharma (New York) and Jaideep, Deputy Consulate General. The awards were presented by the International Hindi Association at the Royal Albert Palace Ford in New Jersey. The article on “Colgate” won the Asian College of Journalism Award for Investigative Journalism, 2018: • An article titled ‘Colgate 2.0’ written by Nilena MS won Asian College of Journalism Award for Investigative Journalism, 2018. This article was published in March 2018 in ‘The Caravan Magazine’. In the last jury, Gopalakrishna Gandhi, Nilita Vachanachi and Dr. AR Venkatachalpathy approved the name of Nilena as the winner with the unanimous approval. The prize includes a trophy, a citation and a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh. This award was presented by John Miklethwaite, editor of Bloomberg News, who was also the chief guest at the Annual Convocation of Journalism School. • Nilena’s article examined the allocation of closed coal blocks in Parba East and Kanta Basan areas of Chhattisgarh. It also explored deforestation, rehabilitation of people, loss of livelihood and depriving tribals of forest rights. ‘Colgate 2.0’ published in ‘The Caravan Magazine’ is an excellent example of investigative journalism in the field of financial reporting. Investigative Journalism Award? • This award is given by the Asian College of Journalism with the support of the Media Development Foundation. The criteria for achieving this award is composed of a solid work of investigative journalism, in which highlighting new evidence to highlight the truth, extensive research has been included, which is most unknown, and is essential for public interest. Raigarh’s “Pragati Satpathy” hold's the third place in the CBSE board board - All India list: CM congratulates • Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel has given hearty congratulations and wishes to make the third place in the All-India merit list by getting 497 marks in 500 by Kumari Pragati Satpathy of Raigarh in Chhattisgarh in the 10th Board Examinations organized by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). While expressing happiness, the Chief Minister said that many students of Chhattisgarh have achieved good success. Giving all the best to the successful students in the examination, they have wished for their bright future. • It is noteworthy that Nandani Shah of Dantewada, 496, Anisha Sengupta of Jamnipali Korba, Twinkle Sahu of Sonadih Raipur and Astha Mishra of Raipur, Srishti Chaudhary of Bhatgaon Sarguja got 495 marks in the CBSE 10th Board Examination. • Nisha Patel 10th and Yogendra Verma at the first place in the 12th Board Examination.

Under “CCTNS Scheme” Policemens were Awarded for their exceptional work • Director General of Police Shri D.M. Awasthi reviewed CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems) scheme at the Police Headquarters on May 14, 2019. In the meeting, he said that CCTNS is an ambitious and useful scheme, which aims at sharing data at different levels and maintaining transparency towards police functions. For its successful execution, it is necessary that senior officials of the districts are interested in this scheme and use it more and more for crime control. • For better implementation and utilization of CCTNS in the meeting, Mana police station of Raipur district, Surendra Nishad, has been able to connect the girl with the help of her children through the scheme from Durg, to match the unknown dead body and to solve other crimes and to make the District Mahasamund police station Basana Harishankar Sahu from Rajasthan, to help with the help of the CCTNS in the form of the rainbow scheme and was awarded the citation. • In the meeting, Assistant Inspector General of Police Prashant Agrawal resolved the criminal cases, missing persons and absconding accused persons, missing persons and unknown mangals, missing and unclaimed vehicles, etc. CCTNS database and works of ICJS portal Guided to use. More than 60 CCTNS in-charge and branch in-charge of all districts 70

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS including CCTNS incharge Satyaprakash Upadhyay, System Integrator, TCS Team were present on the occasion. “Shivani Jadhav” has won the title of Miss India Chhattisgarh • After winning the title of Miss India Chhattisgarh , she will now represent Chhattisgarh in the Grand Finale of Femina Miss India contest on 15th June in Mumbai. On the basis of overall performance in zonal round in Kolkata, winners of 13 states of East Zone including Chhattisgarh were announced. Apart from Shivani Jadhav from Chhattisgarh, Anisha Sharma and Farhat Firozha took part. Shivani left behind both the participants and made the title of Miss Chhattisgarh in her name. Now she will compete with other state's winners to win the Miss India crown in Grand Finale, which will be held in Mumbai on June 15. Shivani is a software engineer by profession. Mountaineer “Hemant Ganeshwar” represented the national level search and rescue operation Chhattisgarh - • Hemant Ganeshwar has become the only climber of Chhattisgarh who has represented the state in the national level search and rescue operations. Participated in the campaign between snowfall in mountainous areas of Dokriani Glacier (5600 meters) and Mount Jolie (6,000 meters) of Uttarakhand. During mountaineering for 28 days, many mountains were explored, engaged in relief and rescue operations. Which included Operation Witching Process, Alpine Baskets, Pallon, Avalanche Rescue, Kravas Rescue from helicopter.

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Judge Mr. P. R. Ramchandra Menon took oath as Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh, and Governor Shrimati Anandiben Patel administered oath: • Judge Mr. P. R. Ramchandra Menon (Paripillai Ramkrishnan Nair Ramchandra Menon) took oath as the Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court, Bilaspur in the court hall of the Raj Bhavan in Raipur on May 06, 2019. Governor Shrimati Anandiben Patel administered her oath of office and secrecy. He will be the 13th Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh. Regarding Justice P.R. Ramchandra Menon- • He will replace Justice AK Tripathi. He obtained Law degree from Government Law College, Ernakulam. In January 2009, he was appointed an additional judge of Kerala High Court. Minister Mr. Ahmad Mohammad Akbar was given the charge of Law and Legislative Affairs Minister Shri Ravindra Choubey till the upcoming order. • The Governor of Chhattisgarh, keeping in view the health of Parliamentary Affairs, Law and Legislative Affairs, Agriculture Development and Farmers Welfare and Biotechnology, Livestock Development, Fisheries, Water Resources and Depart- ment of Expenditure, Shri Ravindra Choubey, keeping them in view of the legal and legislative departments The duty related to the Department of Employees related to the state’s transport, housing and environment, forest, food, citizens Mr. Mohammad Akbar Minister of Supplies and Consumer Protection Department is assigned to the next order.

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY “SRI” method of paddy production: • To increase the production of crop by the Agriculture Department, it has been advised to increase the production of agriculture from “SRI” method of Rice Intensification. Officials of the Agriculture Department said that on the sowing of sprinkler system, onion sowing of 25 to 28 quintals per acre and 16 to 18 quintals per acre can be produced from 35 to 40 quintals per acre paddy. • The paddy plant can be grown in 10 by 10 intervals. With this method, keeping the water in the fields is not easy, as well as weed control becomes easier. • About 120000 hactare in Bemetra district Paddy cultivation is done in Kharif season. SRI method is the best option for paddy cultivation to increase productivity. • S.R.I. system is a method of production of less labor less water and less costly rice production. Generally, the amount of water used for paddy production can be done in half a kilometer. Thus irrigated area can be doubled. • In this method, a completely flat farm should be selected so that less water can be dispersed in the whole area and drainage can be easily done. In this method it is advisable to select varieties of hybrid varieties of high quality or high quality varieties of paddy. “Plenty of opportunities for biofuel production from agricultural produce like paddy and sugarcane in Chhattisgarh” - Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel • Addressing at a one day national workshop in Raipur on May 20, 2019, Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel said that there is immense potential for biofuel production in rice and other agricultural products in Chhattisgarh. The State Government wants to work for the establishment of agro-based industries in this direction. The Chief Minister was addressing the concluding session of the one-day national workshop organized on the topic of biofuel production from agricultural produce here. • Chief Minister, Shri Baghel told agricultural scientists, research institutes and industries that formulate a strategy to produce biofuel from paddy, to provide proper value of paddy yield to farmers, industries should also benefit, employment to locals, and environmental protection. And the purchase of biofuel can be arranged. This workshop was organized by State Chhattisgarh Biofuel Development Authority and the Department of Energy. • On this occasion, Mr. Rajat Mona, Director, IIT Bhilai and Mr. Abdul Kaiser Haq, Special Secretary, Chhattisgarh Govern- ment signed MOU in respect of preparing the plan of academic and research of advanced biofuels and preparation of biofuel in Chhattisgarh. • The Chief Minister said that the state government buys paddy with the cost of 25 quintals per acre from the farmers as per 15 quintals per acre. 8 million tonnes of paddy is procured at the support price whereas there is more production of paddy. Continuous production is increasing due to the development of irrigation and other necessary help for the farmers. On the other hand, other states are becoming self-reliant in the case of grains. The states which were sent from Chhattisgarh to Paddy were also now producing paddy. • In such a situation, if the paddy moves forward in making biofuel, then the agro based industries will be established. Good value for the paddy, the employment of local youth and the precious foreign exchange spent in the purchase of petroleum will also be saved. Farming will also be beneficial. He said that the work of making biofuel from paddy would be an innovative experiment in the country along with the state. A joint effort is required for how biofuel production is volatile. • Shri Baghel said that due to the climate favorability here, there is a compulsion for farmers to cultivate paddy. There is also a lot of production of sugarcane in the state. Therefore supply of raw materials will continue to be sustained. Similarly, there are adequate resources available for setting up of industries. He said that efforts were made before making biodiesel in the state, which is not a good experience, by learning from those efforts, we have to do the resultant work. Chhattisgarh, which produces biofuel from paddy, will be the first state in the country - • Shri Gaurav Dwivedi, Chief Secretary, Department of Energy said that in this workshop, about 30 institutions in the country related to banking, financial institutions, biofuel technology, marketing biomass, land, water, raw materials etc. participated. These institutions were divided into four groups and recommended for biofuel production in Chhattisgarh. On the basis of these recommendations, a detailed report of biofuel production will be prepared in Chhattisgarh State and a coordinated biofuel policy will be prepared in the state. He said that earlier the work of preparing biofuel from biostast was done. For the first time, initiatives are being taken to prepare strategies for making biofuels from agricultural products. • He said that the need for additional paddy and sugarcane products like paddy will be required every year for production 73

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS of biofuel. This will pave the way for the procurement of farmers’ crop. Increase in income of farmers as well as increase in the employment opportunities. Water Harvesting Useful and successful solution to tackle problems like ground water and adjacent water crisis • Measures such as water harvesting can be very useful and successful in dealing with serious problems like rapidly falling ground water level and impending water crisis across the world. Efforts are being made to increase public awareness in such efforts by increasing the public awareness of water harvesting by the Public Health Mechanics Department and the Urban Administration and Development Department of the State Government. • To set up water harvesting systems for urban water bodies underground water conservation, the water harvesting system under the orders issued for rainwater harvesting or rainwater harvesting system rules of Chhattisgarh land development corporation 1984 for rainwater conservation in more than 150 sq.m. According to the provisions of the Rainwater Harvest- ing System must be established. • Regarding land conservation, the online system has been implemented by the state government for building permission. In which all the records and deposited amount by the applicant is submitted online. Security deposit is payable in favour of the commission. Security deposit is deposited through the bank or post office. Under this, the security amount deposited for Rainwater Harvesting is also deposited in the account separately from the online body. After the inspection and confirmation by the body of the building being completed and the establishment of Rainwater Harvesting System, the security deposit amount of the security deposit is returned by the body. In the event of permission of the building owner, the construction and maintenance of Rainwater Harvesting System in the event of not being completed by the prescribed method is deposited in the amount collected. ENVIRONMENT

Death of forest buffalo ‘Jugadu’ • Forest Buffalo ‘Jugadu’ died in the Udayanti sanctuary on 04 May 2019 noon. Forest department officials in this regard said that the age of forest buffalo was 23 years. Forest buffalo is usually 20 years old. It was found in the injured state of the last days, which was being treated under the supervision of other senior doctors including Dr. Jayakishor Jadia. “Abhiyan Dana Pani”: Mahasamund Collector appeals to all officers to arrange for thirsty birds in offices • Mr. Sunil Kumar Jain, Mahasamund collector has organized a special innovative initiative for the conservation of local birds, in view of the horrific heat, he is the Chief Executive Officer of the District Panchayat Mahasamund, Chief Executive Officer of all the Sub-Divisional Officer (Revenue), District Officer, Tehsildar and Janpad Panchayat wrote an unofficial letter to the officials to make the necessary arrangements under the campaign for pest birds. He has said through the letter that there is a high temperature in the present. Due to which the birds are getting disturbed by hunger and thirst. Our duty as a responsible citizen is to protect their life. He has asked the officials to take initiatives to save the lives of the birds by placing water in the soil characters in all their respective offices and subordinate offices for these tittle birds. Chief Secretary directed the collectors to monitor Fani storm - • The Chief Secretary of the State, Mr. Sunil Kuzur, has instructed all the collectors to closely monitor the situation and keep a watch on the possibility of hurricanes that can be created in the state of Chhattisgarh due to the storm surge in the Bay of Bengal. Similarly, the Chief Secretary has instructed all the divisional commissioners to ensure necessary action. • In this regard, the Chief Secretary discussed the situation of the Phoenix storm and the impacts and possibilities it could have in the state of Chhattisgarh by taking a meeting of the senior officials of the state government on May 2, 2019. It is noteworthy that due to the pressure made in the Bay of Bengal by the Meteorological Department of India, due to the Fani storm, there is a possibility of stormconditions being created in the state. In his report, it has been reported that Fani has now been transformed from cyclonic storm to Super Cyclone. For this reason, the Chhattisgarh state also has a partial impact of Fani storm. • The Secretary and Relief Commissioner of Revenue and Disaster Management Department of Chhattisgarh Government has issued instructions to all the collectors of the state to take necessary action in this regard. It has been directed in this letter that due to the Fani hurricane, there is a need to be more careful in the area especially in the area of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. In the letter, the district collectors have been instructed to be careful and alert to all the concerned officers and employees as well as the public community to take precautions regarding the Fani storm and to 74

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS deal with the situation. • Collector has been told that if there is any damage due to the Fani storm, then according to the provisions contained in RBC 6-4, action should be taken to provide immediate financial grant assistance to the affected people, Through mail and fax etc., to be sent to the State Government immediately. The Chief Minister announced a grant of Rs.11 crore to Odisha by the Chief Minister’s Assistance Fund in view of the damage caused by Fani. • On May 05, 2019, Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel has announced a grant of Rs. 11 crores from the Chief Minister’s Assistance Fund to assist Odisha State in view of the damage caused by the cyclonic storm Phony in Orissa state. • It is notable that after the Phoenix hurricane, Chief Minister Shri Bhupesh Baghel had telephoned Mr. Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister of Odisha and offered all possible help to the state in difficult circumstances of Odisha’s disaster. He also told the Chief Minister of Odisha that the state of Chhattisgarh and the people of Odisha were standing there with the state and its people in the hour of crisis of Odisha state and are ready for all possible help.

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Chhattisgarh’s “Roshni Nishad” and “Sonali Rao” selected in the Indian team for “Asian Women’s Softball Championship- in Jakarta” • Softball player of Chhattisgarh Raipur, Roshni Nishad and Durg’s Sonali Rao have been selected inAsian Women’s Softball Championship which will be held in Jakarta. Chhattisgarh’s Roshni and Sonali have been selected in the Indian team. • For the Asian Championships held in Jakarta from May 1 to 7, 21 members of the Indian women team will be leaving late on April 30. Secretary of Chhattisgarh Softball Association Sanjana Dharmaraj will leave for Jakarta in the Indian team as an Assistant Manager. The squad includes 17 players, two coaches, two managers. Chhattisgarh’s “Rakesh Pal” won the gold medal in the International Athletics Competition held in Sri Lanka • The 20-year-old young runner of village Kura in Raipur district won gold medal in a 10-km race in the United International Championships 2019 held in Sri Lanka. “Abhay Kumar Ganorkar” got medals in volleyball in National Masters Games held at Dehradun in 2019- • Abhay Kumar Ganorkar is serving as Principal Rakshak of Raipur district of Chhattisgarh Police and is the coach of the women’s volleyball team of Chhattisgarh Police. • He received two silver and 1 bronze medals in the volleyball and 1 bronze medal in the shooting of National Masters Games Dehradun in 2019. It has been a volleyball national level referee for 9 years and has won the Best Referee Award in 2016. Currently, they are selected for the Torino Italy in the Indian team of International European Master Games Volleyball.

DEATH

Sulabha Hazra - • Famous classical music singer died at the age of 78. Mrs. Hazra has been famous in the area of Music, Her disciples are spread in India as well as abroad. She worked as a singer at Patna Radio Station in the 60’s.

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‘Anti-terrorism Day’ will be celebrated on 21st May in the Ministry • May 21 will be celebrated by the state as a Anti-terrorism day. On this day the Chief Secretary will administer the oath of anti-terrorism day to officials and employees of the ministry at 11 am in Pyramid Gate No. 02 of the Ministry (Mahanadi Bhavan) at Atal Nagar, Raipur. Regional ‘Non-Communicable Disease Prevention & Treatment Month’ from May 14, 2019 • The launch of ‘Non Communicable Disease Prevention and Treatment Month’ in Chhattisgarh is going on May 14. In all the districts of the state, special operations will be conducted by the Health Department for prevention, investigation, diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases from 15th May to 15th June. Several activities will also be conducted to make people aware of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer, paralysis, trauma, deafness, mental health, fluoride, tobacco intake and diseases. • It is to be noted that due to continuous change in lifestyle, the number of non-communicable diseases is continuously increasing. Statistical figures at the national level show that 60 percent of deaths are currently due to non-communicable diseases. Adopting a healthy lifestyle can be largely avoided by deadly diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer, paralysis and trauma. • This campaign will be run for one month in the entire state to inspire people to be aware of non communicable diseases and to adopt a healthy lifestyle. During this period, non-communicable diseases will be specially examined in all the hospitals of the state. Proper treatment will also be provided to those suffering from non communicable diseases. It has been instructed by the Health Department to keep adequate stock of medicines in all the hospitals and ensure the arrangement of equipment and other materials for investigation. • Under this campaign, the government hospitals will examine the symptoms of diabetes and blood pressure and mouth cancer for all persons 30 years and above. Breast and cervical cancer screening will also be done in women. The National Health Mission has issued detailed guidelines and guidelines for the activities being conducted during the ‘Non Commu- nicable Disease Prevention & Treatment Month’ to the Chief Medical and Health Officers of all the districts. To make people aware about these diseases, to check potential diseases at the right time and provide adequate treatment to the victims, the statewide ‘non communicable disease prevention and treatment month’ is being celebrated. Respect of the elderly by celebrating ‘Healthy Siyan Day’ • Non-Communicable Disease Prevention and Treatment Month is being observed by the Health Department from 15th May to 15th June. In the same coincidence, ‘Healthy Siyan Day’ was celebrated in the old age home in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare in Balodabazar districts of Raipur division. During this, a total of 42 veterans were examined for health check-up in which blood pressure, diabetes cancer, breast cancer and cyclic cancer were examined. Dr. Yogesh Sharma, Chief Medical and Health Officer, was honored with all the Siyan's by giving fruit, fruit and tollage. ‘Companion Day’ will be organized for widow and abandoned women on May 27 • The Health Department of the Non-communicable diseases prevention and treatment month has instructed the labor, widow and abandoned women, third gender and divination to be compulsorily checked, in the compliance of which the department will celebrate ‘partner day’ on 27th May. On this day, health checkup will be given prioritization of widows and abandoned women. Lecture program on “International Museum Day” on 18th May at Mahant Ghasidas Museum (Raipur) • A lecture program has been organized by the Directorate of Culture and Archeology of the State Government on 18th May 2019 at 11 am on the ‘International Museum Day’ at Mahant Ghasidas Memorial Museum, Raipur. The program was organized in collaboration with Archaeological Survey of India, Raipur. The Chief Guest of the program, former Joint Director General of the Indian Archaeological Survey of New Delhi. Dr. S.B. Ota, a special guest, received the honor of Padma Shri Honor Mr. A.K. In the presence of Dr. M. Geeta, Secretary of the Department of Culture and Culture. • On this occasion, Dr. S. B. Ota said that the museum should be used as a learning institution, but presently people visit the museum giving only as little as a visit site, while there is a lot of knowledge available in this place. The museum can be used as a cultural hub and local culture can be promoted by displaying archeology and history in the street drama form. Also, work as a volunteer can be taken as a friend of the museum in the form of Friend of Museum. • Chhatisgarh archaeologist Padmashree holder Shri A.K.Sharma On this occasion, hesaid that people have an interest in archeology, but gradually the interest is decreasing. Archaeological sites should be preserved, similar programs should be organized in districts similar to International Museum Day. He also talked about the importance of archaeologists as well. 77

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1234567890123456789012345678901212345678901234567890123456789012123456789012345678901234567CURRENT AFFAIRS • It should be known that from 1992 onwards, the International Museum Day is being organized on May 18 by the Interna- tional Council of Museums. Each year a new theme is worked out. this year was Celebrated as the ‘Museum Age Cultural Hub’s The Future of Tradition’. • On the occasion of the program, Dr. M. Geetha, Secretary, said that the Archeology Department is giving message of cultural unity, connecting the people with archaeological heritage. Mahant Ghasidas Museum of Raipur is counted among the 10 best museums in the country, which is a matter of honor. With the Sahipedia institution of the state’s cultural department, 32 series of Chhattisgarh’s archaeological heritage has been built and a series is being made on the heritage. The department is working on development of all types of culture in the state. Along with the common public’s support for the development of the museum is being taken. He said that in Chhattisgarh zone, there is a trend of cultural coordination in ancient architecture and sculptures. World No-Tobacco Day: "Yellow Line Campaign" will be started by the health Department: • This year, World No-Tobacco Day will be celebrated on ‘Health of Tobacco and Lung’ theme. Many programs will be organized to make people aware about the adverse effects of tobacco by the health department of Chhattisgarh government. ‘Yellow Line Campaign’ will also be organized around educational institutions for the production of tobacco-free education institutes and tobacco-free youth generation in the state. • The Health Department has directed the Chief Medical and Health Officers of all the districts to write a letter in this regard and add more and more people to these programs. It is worth mentioning that on World May 31, World Tobacco Prohibi- tion Day is celebrated every year to make common citizens aware of the dangers of tobacco and diseases caused by it. • Health Department officials told here today that to make people aware about the ill effects of cigarette and other tobacco products and to strictly implement the provisions of the COTA Act (Cigarette and Tobacco Products Act 2003) and discourage the use of tobacco products. Special operations will be conducted from May to 31 May. The ‘Non-Communi- cable Disease Prevention and Treatment Month’ is being observed from May 15 to June 15 in the state. In this, people are being examined under the ‘Health of Tobacco and Lung’ theme. • State level painting, essay writing and debate competition will be organized at Ambuja Mall of Raipur on May 31, on the occasion of World No-Tobacco Day. There will be arrangements for painting competition in three different age groups and essay competition for children of XI and XII for children from Class IX to XII from 1:00 in the afternoon. A debate competition has also been organized for medical students. Winners of all the events will be given attractive prizes. Yellow Line Campaign • The department has instructed the Chief Medical and Health Officers of all the districts to run ‘Yellow Line Campaign’ at district and development level. Under this, 100 yards of all academic and government institutions will be ensured that there is no sale and use of tobacco products. For this, tobacco shops will be removed in these restricted areas by mapping the tobacco vendors within 100 yards of schools and colleges. Students and teachers in the schools and colleges will also take oath of prohibition of tobacco. Also, yellow line will be drawn as a signal of tobacco-free area at a distance of 100 yards from the boundary wall of the premises. In this campaign, the School Tobacco Control Committee, teachers, students, media and general people will be made participants. Effects of Tobacco • The use of tobacco is becoming one of the main causes of death in the whole world. About 50 percent of people consuming tobacco suffer from incurable diseases and go into the mouth of death. According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2016-17, 39.1 percent of people in Chhattisgarh use tobacco products. These include 57.3 percent of men and 24.6 percent of women. Use of tobacco products is 29% in urban areas and 42% in rural areas. However, compared to the statistics of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2009-10, the use of tobacco in Chhattisgarh has decreased. About 277 million people in India use tobacco in some form or the other. • The National Tobacco Control Program is being implemented in all 27 districts to implement the provisions of the CATA Act (Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act 2003) and to raise awareness about the adverse effects of tobacco products in Chhattisgarh. Continuous efforts are being made to control its use by the tobacco control cell.