JUNE to JULY 2018 ESE Current Issues

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Current Issues (June and July 2018)

On Economic & Industrial Development Issues on Social Development International Issues Environment Science & Technology Miscellaneous

ACE is the leading institute for coaching in ESE, GATE & PSUs H O: Sree Sindhi Guru Sangat Sabha Association, # 4-1-1236/1/A, King Koti, Abids, Hyderabad-500001. Ph: 040-23234418 / 19 / 20 / 21, 040 - 24750437

7 All India 1st Ranks in ESE 43 All India 1st Ranks in GATE Foreword Current Issues for ESE

Dear Students,

This book is intended to help students, prepare current affairs on a monthly basis. The topics covered give a comprehensive understanding on issues related to Socio, Economic, Industrial Development, Energy and Environment and ICT based tools.

Apart from technical knowledge, current affairs help an aspirant to understand issues in a multi- dimensional approach and contributes to a holistic personality development. The coverage of news and events given are the most pertinent for ESE Revised pattern.

The key to master current affairs is a ‘piece-meal preparation’ over a period of time and this material is an endeavor to help students prepare in a systematic manner.

This issue covers Current Affairs from June and July 2018 and subsequent issues will be given on a bi-monthly basis.

With best wishes to all the Students

Y.V. Gopala Krishna Murthy, M Tech. MIE, Chairman & Managing Director, ACE Engineering Academy, ACE Engineering Publications. CONTENTS

1. Economy and Industrial Development 01 - 14 2. Kashmir Super 50...... 13 BANKING 3. ‘Happiness curriculum’ ...... 14 1. Bad Bank ...... 01 4. Right of Children to Free and Compulsory 14 Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 ...... 2. RBI re-defines ‘Relative’...... 01 5. Samagra Shiksha Scheme ...... 14 3. State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017... 01 HEALTH FINANCIAL MARKETS 6. Lymphatic Filariasis...... 15 4. Financial Literacy Week ...... 02 WOMEN AND CHILDREN 5. Credit Enchancement Fund ...... 02 7. Janaushadhi Suvidha...... 15 6. Currency Derivatives ...... 03 8. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana 16 7. Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP)...... 03 (PMMVY)...... TAXATION 9. ‘Women Wizards Rule Tech’ Programme ...... 16 8. Seva Bhoj Yojna ...... 03 10. SKOCH Award...... 17 AGRICULTRURE AND INDUSTRY WATER AND SANITATION 9. Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC)...... 04 11. Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY)...... 17 10. Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) scheme...... 04 12. Swachh Iconic Places ...... 18 11. Ease of Doing Business Ranking of States...... 05 13. Swajal Scheme ...... 21 INFRASTRUCURE 14. Composite Water Management Index (CWMI)..... 21 12. Rail Madad...... 05 15. Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018 ...... 22 13. Dam Safety Bill, 2018...... 05 16. Ganga Vriksharopan Abhiyan...... 22 14. Smart cities mission...... 06 SKILL DEVELOPMENT 15. ‘Cop Connect’...... 06 17. Van Dhan Vikas Kendras ...... 23 16. World’s tallest girder railway bridge...... 07

17. Freight Village in Varanasi...... 07 3. International Issues 22 - 24 ENERGY 1. OP Nistar...... 24 18. Methanol Economy...... 08 2. UN Security Council...... 24 19. Artificial leaf producing biofuel...... 09 3. G7 bloc...... 25 20. Off-shore wind power ...... 09 4. Sanchi Stupa of India and Pho Minh Pagoda of 25 Viet Nam...... 21. Pariwartan scheme...... 10 5. International Decade for Action...... 26 22. Solar Charkha Mission...... 10 6. Nuclear arsenals around the globe...... 27 23. First BS - VI engine certificate ...... 11 7. UN Hanuman Rights Council...... 27 INDICES 8. Singapore Summit...... 27 24. Global Peace Index 2018 ...... 11 9. Nelson Mandela International Day...... 28 25. Global Innovation Index...... 11 10. Delhi Dialogue...... 28 2. Issues on Social Development 13 - 23 EDUCATION 1. Universities Ranking ...... 13 4. Environment 29 - 31 7. Miscellaneous...... 36 - 43 1. ‘Blue Flag’ tag ...... 29 1. Tripura’s “State Fruit” ...... 36 2. Uranium contamination...... 29 2. 100 Years of Voting Rights...... 36 3. World Oceans Day ...... 29 3. Nikkei Asia Prize...... 36 4. National Data Centre...... 36 4. World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 30 5. Year of Disabled Soldiers...... 36 5. Toxic air affective ...... 30 6. Governor’s rule in J & K...... 37 6. National Disaster Risk Index ...... 30 7. India Smart Citices Awards...... 37 7. AMCDRR 2018...... 31 8. 4th International Yoga Day 2018 ...... 37 9. Humanitarian forensics ...... 38 5. Science and Technology...... 32 - 34 10. World Food Prize ...... 38 1. ‘EPIC’ Planet ...... 32 11. Ramanuja Statue...... 38 2. KATRIN experiment ...... 32 12. WORLD UNESCO HERITAGE SITE ...... 39 3. REMOVEDEBRIS...... 32 13. “Space force”...... 40 4. Ban on Oxytocin ...... 33 14. Electronic Cencus of India...... 40 5. FAST Tags...... 33 15. Behdienkhlam Festival ...... 40 16. Brus of Mizoram...... 41 6. Defence...... 35 - 35 17. Agartala Airport renamed...... 41 1. Pinaka rocket...... 35 18. Simultaneous elections ...... 41 2. Agni-V...... 35 19. Minority status to Jews ...... 42 20. World’s Oldest Color...... 42 21. World Population day...... 42 22. India now world’s 6th largest economy...... 42 23. Right of temple entry...... 43

Economy and

Industrial Development 1 BANKING 2. RBI re-defines ‘Relative’  Concerned over funds sent abroad under the 1. Bad Bank ‘maintenance of close relative’ category of  Finance minister Piyush Goyal recently the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), announced that a bankers’ panel would look the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has at the feasibility of setting up a new Asset narrowed the definition of relatives to check Reconstruction Company (ARC) or Asset the flow of funds. Management Company (AMC) to take over  RBI has aligned the definition of ‘relative’ bad loans of PSBs. with the definition given in Companies Act,  The panel is headed by Punjab National Bank 2013 instead of Companies Act, 1956. non-executive chairman Sunil Mehta.  Hence, funds under the ‘maintenance of close  The concept of having a ‘bad bank’ to take relative’ category can be sent only to over the troubled loans of public sector banks immediate relatives such as parents, spouses, (PSBs) is being considered by the government children and their spouses. to enable them to get back to business.  While the government has not charted out any 3. State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, guidelines on the structure of a bad bank, such 2017 an institution would be largely based on the  Parliament passes State Banks (Repeal and principles of an asset restructuring company Amendment) Bill, 2017 to merge six (ARC), which buys bad loans from the subsidiary banks with State Bank of India commercial banks at a discount and tries to after it was approved by Rajya Sabha. recover the money from the defaulter by

providing a systematic solution over a period Features of the Bill: of time. Since a bad bank specialises in loan  The bill repeals two Acts namely- State Bank recovery, it is expected to perform better than of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, and commercial banks, whose expertise lies in State Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956. These lending. two acts had established State Bank of Bikaner, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Hyderabad and State Bank of Travancore. These banks were subsidiaries of SBI. ACE Engineering Publications Hyderabad|Delhi|Bhopal|Pune|Bhubaneswar| Lucknow|Patna|Bengaluru|Chennai|Vijayawada|Vizag |Tirupati | Kukatpally| Kolkata

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 By repealing these two acts, five subsidiary 5. Credit enhancement fund banks will be merged with SBI. The bill also The government is likely to launch a Rs 500- seeks to amend State Bank of India (SBI) Act, crore credit enhancement fund next month to 1955 to remove references to subsidiary facilitate infrastructure investments by insurance banks and powers of SBI to act as an agent of and pension funds. the RBI for subsidiary banks. The Union Cabinet in February 2017 had Credit Surety Fund approved merger of five associate banks along with Bharatiya Mahila Bank with SBI. Credit enchancement scheme that aims to The purposes of merger were rationalisation improve the bankability and credit worthiness of public bank resources, reduction of costs, of micro, small and medium enterprises better profitability, and lower cost of funds (MSMEs), including cooperatives and NGOs, leading to better rate of interest for public at which are experiencing dificulty in obtaining large and improve productivity and customer loans from banks due to lack of acceptable service of the public service banks. The collaterals, credit knowledge and credit track merger had made SBI one of 50 biggest banks records. of world. It takes the place of acceptable collaterals required by banks to secure the loan.

FINANCIAL MARKETS  The fund was first announced in the financial 4. Financial Literacy Week budget for fiscal year 2016-17.  RBI is observing Financial Literacy Week in  It will help in upgrading credit ratings of the month of June. bonds issued by infrastructure companies and  Objective: To emphasize the importance of facilitate investment from investors like financial literacy. pension and insurance funds.  Theme: Consumer protection.  The initial corpus of the fund, to be sponsored  Importance: It will focus on creating by IIFCL (India Infrastructure Finance awareness among customers of banks about Company), will be Rs 500 crore, and it will financial products and services, good operate as a non-banking finance company. financial practices and going digital.  IIFCL will hold a 22.5% stake in the NBFC, while the Asian Infrastructure Investment

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6. Currency Derivatives  It is supposed to signal to farmers the need to  The Multi Commodity Exchange of India plant more or less cane for the coming year. (MCX), the country’s largest commodity in  CACP recommends the fair and remunerative terms of market share, is planning to enter the prices based on inter-crop price parity, currency derivatives segment. inflation considerations, fair return to farmers Currency derivatives are exchange-based and a host of other factors. It is the cabinet futures and options contracts that allow one to Committee on Economic affairs that finally hedge against currency movements. approves it.  Simply put, one can use a currency future contract to exchange one currency for another TAXATION at a future date at a price decided on the day 8. Seva Bhoj Yojna of the purchase of the contract.  SevaBhojYojna is a new scheme recently  In India, one can use such derivative contracts introduced by the Union Ministry of Culture to hedge against currencies like dollar, euro, to reimburse the central share of CGST and U.K. pound and yen. Corporates, especially IGST on items for food/ prasad/ langar/ those with a significant exposure to imports or bhandara offered free of cost by charitable exports, use these contracts to hedge against religious institutions. their exposure to a certain currency.  The scheme seeks to reimburse the central  While all such currency contracts are cash- government’s share of Central Goods and settled in rupees, the Securities and Exchange Services Tax (CGST) and Integrated Goods Board of India (SEBI), early this year, gave a and Service Tax (IGST) on purchase of raw go-ahead to start cross currency contracts as items such as ghee, edible oil, atta, maida, well on euro-dollar, pound-dollar and dollar- rava, flour, rice pulses, sugar and jaggery, yen. which go into preparation of food/ prasad/ langar/bhandara offered free of cost by 7. Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) religious institutions.  Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs Seva Bhoj Yojana chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra GST reimbursement for religio us & Charitable trusts Modi has approved the Fair and Government to reimburse Eligibility: Religious & Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane. GST & center IGST on Charitable Trusts  FRP is the minimum price that the sugar mills raw material for food & Benefits: GST & Center prasad IGST reimbursement have to pay to farmers.

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 Objective: to lessen the financial burden of village industries in the rural areas in such charitable religious institutions, which coordination with other agencies engaged in provide free of cost without any rural development wherever necessary.” discrimination to the general public and The Commission has three main objectives devotees. which guide its functioning. The Social Objective –Providing employment AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY in rural areas. 9. Khadi & Village Industies Commission The Economic Objective – Providing saleable (KVIC) articles.  KVIC has created a world record of The Wider Objective – Creating self-reliance distributing maximum number of bee-boxes amongst people and building up a strong rural in one day. community spirit.  The record was achieved by the KVIC in the

Zangalee Army area at Kupwara in Kashmir 10. Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) scheme beating its previous best of 1000 bee boxes  In an attempt to promote solar energy, the distributed in Kaziranga forest area among the Gujarat government has announced Mishing tribe on the occasion of World Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) scheme Honey Bee Day. under which farmers would be encouraged to  Two thousand three hundred thirty (2330) generate electricity and sell their surplus to bee-boxes were distributed among 233 power distribution companies. beneficiaries in the Zangalee Army area. Detailst:  The Khadi and Village Industries  Under the first phase of project, the state Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body government would provide financial established by an Act of Parliament (Khadi assistance to 12,400 farmers out of the state’s and Village Industries Commission Act of total 15 lakh farmers to generate an estimated 1956). In April 1957, it took over the work of 175 MW of power. former All India Khadi and Village Industries  The state government and the Centre would Board. jointly share 60% of the cost of installing a  It is an apex organization under the Ministry solar generating unit in the fields, while the of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, farmers would need to chip in only 5%. with regard to khadi and village industries The remaining 35% would be in the form of a within India, which seeks to “plan, promote, loan by the state government at the rate of 4 facilitate, organise and assist in the to 4.5%. establishment and development of khadi and ACE Engineering Publications Hyderabad|Delhi|Bhopal|Pune|Bhubaneswar| Lucknow|Patna|Bengaluru|Chennai|Vijayawada|Vizag |Tirupati | Kukatpally| Kolkata

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 The government would also enter in a 25-year INFRASTRUCTURE power purchase agreement with the farmers. 12. Rail Madad Till the farmers repay their loan, the  It is a recently launched App by Indian distribution companies would buy electricity Railways. from them at the rate of Rs 7 per unit and at  Objective: Aims to expedite & streamline Rs 3.5 per unit once the loans are settled. passenger grievance redressal. After that, the farmers would get ownership  It is a part of RPGRAMS (Railway Passenger of the solar system. Grievance Redressal and Management  At present, the farmers consume power System), which has been developed by purchased from power companies. The Northern Railway (Delhi Division). project will help them set up solar systems in  Rail MADAD (Mobile Application for their fields. After they consumer power Desired Assistance During travel) registers a according to their requirement, they can sell complaint with minimum inputs from the surplus back to the distribution passenger (option of photo also available), companies. issues unique ID instantly and relays the complaint online to relevant field officials for 11. Ease of Doing Business Ranking of States immediate action.  Department of Industrial Policy and  The action taken on complaint is also relayed Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce to passenger through SMS, thus fast tracking and Industry, has released the final rankings the entire process of redressal of complaints of States in Ease of Doing Business. through digitisation.  Rail MADAD also displays various helpline Performance of states: numbers (e.g., Security, Child helpline etc)  The top rankers are Andhra Pradesh, and provides direct calling facility for Telangana and Haryana. Jharkhand and immediate assistance in one easy step. Gujarat stood fourth and fifth respectively. rd 13. Dam Safety Bill, 2018  Delhi is placed at 23 among 34 states and  The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal Union territories. Its rank also worsened from for introduction of Dam Safety Bill, 2018 in 18th in 2016. the Parliament.  Karnataka has occupied the eighth spot,  The Bill provides for proper surveillance, against 13th in 2016. inspection, operation and maintenance of all

specified dams in the country to ensure their

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 The Bill provides for constitution of a  Prime Minister Narendra Modi also recently National Committee on Dam Safety which inaugurated India’s first integrated greenfield shall evolve dam safety policies and smart city project at Naya Raipur. recommend necessary regulations as may be  Naya Raipur is the first integrated city in required for the purpose. India and aims to develop four pillars of

Smart city across, institutional (including Key Points: Governance/Legal Framework), physical,  Constitution of National Committee on Dam social and economic infrastructure. Safety to evolve dam safety policies.  Under the ambitious Smart City Mission,  Establishement of National Dam Safety Integrated Command & Control Centres in 9 Authority to implement the policy and cities had already become operational in the guidelines. cities of are Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat,  Mandatory surveilance, operation and Pune, Nagpur, Rajkot, Visakhapatnam, maintenance of all specified dams to ensure Bhopal and Kakinada. safe functioning.  NayaRaipur is one of the 3 Smart Cities of  Constitution of state committee on dam safety Chhattisgarh selected under the Smart Cities by representive states. Mission. The other two cities are Raipur and  The Bill provides for establishment of Bilaspur. National Dam Safety Authority as a regulatory body which shall discharge 15. ‘Cop Connect’ functions to implement the policy, guidelines  It is a mobile application developed by and standards for dam safety in the country. Telangana police for their internal  The Bill provides for constitution of a State communication purpose. It has been Committee on Dam Safety by State developed on the lines of WhatsApp. Government.  Police have developed this app keeping in view the safety of their information besides 14. Smart cities mission having hassle free communication.  Naya Raipur is now the 10th Smart City to be  The app is a secure communication channel, operational in the country, along with 9 other with no limit on the number of members in cities including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, any individual group (unlike the regular Pune, Nagpur, Rajkot, Visakhapatnam, WhatsApp which has a restriction of 256 Bhopal and Kakinada. numbers) and has all the features of WhatsApp.

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 Other features of the Cop-Connect app are  World’s tallest girder railway bridge is being chatting, group chats, file sharing (image, built in the North East as part of the upcoming audio, video and documents) and location 111-kilometres long Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal sharing. A unique feature, iMeeting, can help railway line. in creating and scheduling department  Bridge No.164 is being built across the valley meetings in an easy way. of river Ijai near Noney and has been designed to take a maximum train speed of 16. World’s tallest girder railway bridge 120 kmph.

 The Jiribam–Tupul–Imphal railway line cuts  It is located in Seismic Zone-V, making it across the lower Himalayan range highly vunerable to earthquakes. necessitating series of tunnels through the 17. Freight Village in Varanasi hills and tall bridges across the deep valleys.  The Inland Waterways Authority of India The line will connect Manipur’s state capital proposes to develop a “freight village” in Imphal to Jiribam which is on the western- Varanasi. most boundary of the state. Jiribam is an area  The objective of the project is to support that adjoins the Cachar district of Assam. As economic development in the hinterland of of now Manipur’s capital Imphal has no the multimodal terminal at Varanasi and railway connectivity. reduce logistics cost in the Eastern Transport Corridor and its influence zone. ACE Engineering Publications Hyderabad|Delhi|Bhopal|Pune|Bhubaneswar| Lucknow|Patna|Bengaluru|Chennai|Vijayawada|Vizag |Tirupati | Kukatpally| Kolkata

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 It envisages establishment of multimodal  Methanol economy would not only curb logistics hub in Varanasi to promote the use pollution, but reduce India’s dependence on of waterway transport on river Ganga (NW-1) oil imports as well. between Haldia and Varanasi and of rail  India imports methanol from Saudi Arabia transport on Eastern Dedicated Freight and Iran at present. Corridor (EDFC) in the North bound direction  Methanol can be used as an energy producing which facilitates movement of freight from fuel, transportation fuel and cooking fuel, road to water and rail. cutting down India’s oil import bill by an "A freight village is a defined area within estimated 20% over the next few years. which all activities relating to transport, Unlike CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), logistics and the distribution of goods, both using methanol as a transportation fuel would for national and international transit, are require minimal alteration in the vehicles. carried out by various operators”  Methanol is a promising fuel as it is clean, cheaper than fossil fuels and a good substitute ENERGY for heavy fuels. Across the world, methanol is 18. Methanol Economy emerging as a clean, sustainable  The NITI Aayog is working on a roadmap for transportation fuel of the future. full-scale implementation of methanol  Methanol is most commonly produced on a economy in the country in near future. commercial scale from natural gas. It can also be produced from renewable sources such as biomass and recycled carbon dioxide.

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 As a high-octane vehicle fuel, methanol offers Potential applications: excellent acceleration and power. It also  Given that the world is searching for improves vehicle efficiency. environment friendly and renewable alternatives to fossil fuels, the technology has 19. Artificial leaf producing biofuel huge potential. It will also help in reducing  IISc scholars have developed an artificial leaf the carbon footprint. that’ll help reduce carbon footprint and create biofuel. 20. Off-shore wind power  The researchers used copper aluminium Government has declared national targets for off- sulphate and zinc sulphide. The two materials, shore wind power to give confidence to wind which are otherwise wide band gap industry semiconductors, became low band gap semiconductors when combined. Simply put, The targets: the lower the band gap, the better  Medium target of 5 GW by 2022. conductivity a substance will have.  Long term target of 30 GW by 2030.  The semiconductor they made by combining  Offshore wind power would add a new copper aluminium sulphate and zinc sulphide element to the already existing basket of fulfilled the requirements to convert sunlight renewable energy for the country. into energy, which is how they decided to try  The offshore wind farming is attractive and replicate photosynthesis. because of several reasons such as stronger  In the process, they also found that this winds for efficient generation of power; no quantum leaf had a much better rate of energy impact on real estate value of land as in case conversation compared to natural leaves – of onshore wind farming; its ability to fulfill 20% as compared to 0.4-0.5% in the demand of the heavily populated coastal photosynthesis. regions and no significant environment costs.  The team then harnessed this capacity to National Off-Shore Wind Policy: produce a sulphate format bio fuel which not The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy only allows for 100% combustion but whose had notified National Off-Shore Wind Policy carbon dioxide emissions can be recycled by in October 2015 to realize the offshore wind the quantum leaves. power potential in the country. With this, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been authorized as the Nodal Ministry for use of offshore areas

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within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)  These stressed power projects will be housed of the country and the National Institute of under an asset management and rehabilitation Wind Energy (NIWE) has been authorized as company (AMRC) that will be owned by the Nodal Agency for development of financial institutions. offshore wind energy.  While the promoter’s equity will be reduced  Government has paved way for development to facilitate a transfer of management control of the offshore wind farms up to the seaward to the financial institutions, the lenders will distance of 200 Nautical Miles (within its convert their debt into equity. Exclusive Economic Zone) from the base line.  The AMRC will manage the projects and may ask utilities such as NTPC Ltd to operate and 21. Pariwartan scheme maintain them. The AMRC will charge a fee  The Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and help complete projects that are stranded has finalised a plan to revitalise stressed for lack of funds. power sector assets in a joint venture with the Power Finance Corp (PFC) and lenders. The 22. Solar Charkha Mission plan is named Pariwartan and stands for  President Ram Nath Kovind recently power asset warehousing and revitalisation. launched the Solar Charkha Mission covering  The ‘Pariwartan’ scheme is inspired by the artisans in 50 identified clusters. Troubled Asset Relief Programme, or TARP,  The Solar Charkha Mission will generate which was introduced in the US during the employment in rural areas and contribute to 2008 financial crisis. the green economy. The mission will entail a  The government plans to warehouse stressed subsidy of Rs 550 crore in the initial two power projects totaling 25,000 MW under an years for 50 clusters and every cluster will asset management firm to protect the value of employ 400 to 2000 artisans. the assets.  The scheme also aims at linking five crore  This will prevent their distress sale under the women across the country to the initiative. insolvency and bankruptcy code until the The mission is expected to create one lakh demand for power picks up. jobs during the first two years.  State-run Rural Electrification Corp. Ltd (REC) has identified projects with a total debt of around Rs 1.8 trillion as part of the scheme, which is under government consideration.

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23. First BS-VI engine certificate INDICES  ICAT has completed the first BS-VI 24. Global Peace Index 2018 certification for a heavy-duty engine model Australia-based Institute for Economics and for M/s Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicle Peace (IEP) has released the 12th edition of the Limited. Global Peace Index (GPI), or measure of global The BS-or Bharat Stage-emission standards peacefulness. are norms instituted by the government to regulate the output of air pollutants from India’s ranking: th internal combustion engine equipment, India has moved up four places to the 137 rank including motor vehicles. India has been among 163 countries. The improvement is due to following the European (Euro) emission a reduction in the level of violent crime driven by norms, though with a time-lag of five years. increased law enforcement. India was ranked 141  The major difference in standards between the last year. existing BS-IV and the new BS-VI auto fuel India was also among the countries with the norms is the presence of sulphur. The newly biggest decreases in the number of deaths, along introduced fuel is estimated to reduce the with Sri Lanka, Chad, Colombia, and Uganda. amount of sulphur released by 80%, from 50 Global rankings: parts per million to 10 ppm. As per the 1) Iceland analysts, the emission of NOx (nitrogen 2) New Zealand oxides) from diesel cars is also expected to 3) Austria reduce by nearly 70% and 25% from cars 4) Portugal with petrol engines. 5) Denmark  The International Centre for Automotive Syria remains the least peaceful country in the Technology (ICAT) is a division of NATRiP world, a position it has held for the past five (National Automotive Testing and R & D years. Afghanistan, South Sudan, Iraq and Infrastructure Project) implementation society Somalia comprise the remaining least peaceful (NATIS), under the administrative control of countries. the Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public

Enterprises, Government of India. 25. Global Innovation Index  Global Innovation Index 2018 has placed India at the 57th position among 130

countries. GII is jointly released by Cornell

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Property Organisation (WIPO). GII ranks 126 breakthroughs in fields such as energy economies based on 80 indicators. production, storage, distribution, and  The GII 2018 marks the 11th edition of the consumption. GII, and the beginning of its second decade  Switzerland is at the top. Since 2011, providing data and insights gathered from Switzerland has been ranked at the top every tracking innovation across the globe. year.  This year’s edition is dedicated to the theme  This year, Netherlands follows at second of Energizing the World with Innovation. It place and Sweden at third. The US drops analyses the energy innovation landscape of down to sixth from fourth last year. the next decade and identifies possible

Issues on Social Development

EDUCATION 2. Kashmir Super 50  A group of 30 students, part of Kashmir Super 1. Universities Ranking 50 recently visited New Delhi and interacted  Global higher education analysts QS th with General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Army Quacquarelli Symonds have released the 15 Staff. edition of the QS World University Rankings.  Project Kashmir Super 50 is a joint initiative QS Ranks the world’s top 1,000 universities, by Indian Army, Center for Social across 85 countries. Responsibility and Leadership (CSRL) and  Being the only international ranking to have PETRONET LNG Limited (PLL). received International Ranking Expert Group  It was launched on 22 March 2013 to (IREG) approval, the QS ranking is viewed as transform the educational status of children one of the three most-widely read university from economically weaker sections in the rankings in the world, along with Academic Kashmir region. Ranking of World Universities and Times  As part of the 11-month program, selected Higher Education World University students are provided with complete free Rankings. residential coaching for IIT-JEE, JKCET and

Global rankings: other premier Engineering Institutes. 1) Massachusetts Institute of Technology Importance: 2) Stanford University Kashmir Super 50 has been one of the most 3) Harvard University successful projects undertaken by the Indian 4) California Institute of Technology Army in the valley and has directly impacted the (Caltech) lives of number of youths in J&K by providing From Asia, National University of Singapore them the right guidance and opportunity to make (11), Nanyang Technological University, a career for themselves. The project has equally Singapore (12) and Tsinghua University, China helped the families of these youths in their (17) have been ranked the best. growth and prosperity. It is a major initiative Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), towards bringing normalcy in the valley. Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and

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3. ‘Happiness curriculum’  In case, child fails class 5, class 8  The Delhi government has launched a examinations, he will be given additional “happiness curriculum” in state-run schools. instruction and opportunity for a  The curriculum will be taught to around eight re-examination (within two months from the lakh students from nursery up to Class 8 of all declaration of the result). If child fails again Delhi government schools from the new in re-examination, he may be held back in academic session. class 5, class 8, or in both classes.  The curriculum involves a “happiness period”  The Bill empowers Union and State of 45 minutes and five minutes of meditation governments to decide whether to not hold before each class. It will include meditation, back child in any class till completion of moral values and mental exercises. elementary education. Further, Union or State governments will decide manner and 4. Right of Children to Free and Compulsory conditions subject to which child may be held Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 back. Lok Sabha has passed The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Second 5. Samagra Shiksha Scheme Amendment) Bill, 2017 to abolish the ‘no  Ministry of Human Resource Development detention policy’ in schools. (MHRD) has announced ‘Padhe Bharat- Badhe Bharat’ an initiative to promote Highlights of the Bill: reading culture among students. The initiative  The Bill amends the Right of Children to Free has been launched under ‘Samagra Shiksha’. and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The

Act was having provision of no detention policy i.e. no child can be held back in any class until completion of elementary school (classes 1-8).  The Bill amends provision related to no detention policy to empower central or state government to allow schools to hold back child in class 5, class 8, or in both classes. It

mandates conducting, regular examination in  Under this initiative, government will give an class 5 and class 8 at end of every academic annual library grant to schools to allow year. students widen their ambit of learning.

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 The grant will be given to Primary to Senior neglected disease, which is currently endemic Secondary levels and will vary between in 73 countries of the world, including India. Rs. 5000 and Rs. 20000.  LF is a devastating parasitic infection spread  ‘Samagra Shiksha’ is an overarching by mosquitoes. The parasites are thread-like programme for school education extending worms (filariae) that develop in and then from Primary till class 12. The programme damage the human lymphatic system and was introduced in the Union Budget 2018-19 associated tissues. with the aim to treat school education  It is usually contracted in childhood, often holistically without segmentation of primary before the age of five. The lymphatic system and secondary education. is a network of vessels and specialized tissues  This programme subsumes the three erstwhile that are essential to the maintaining the Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Sarva overall fluid balance and health of organs and Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya limbs and importantly are a major component Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and of the body’s immune defence system. Teacher Education (TE).  It envisages the ‘school’ as a continuum from WOMEN AND CHILDREN pre-school, primary, upper primary, 7. Janaushadhi Suvidha secondary to senior secondary levels.  Under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya

HEALTH Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP), the government has launched the 6. Lymphatic Filariasis ‘JANAUSHADHI SUVIDHA’, the Oxo-  India has highest burden of Lymphatic biodegradable Sanitary Napkin. The Filariasis and there is a need of taking affordable sanitary napkins will now become leadership role to Eliminate lymphatic available at over 3600 Janaushadhi Kendras filariasis. functional in 33 States/UTs across India.  India is hosting the 10th meeting of Global  Jan Aushadhi Suvidha comes with a special Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis. additive, which makes Sanitary napkin  Theme: Celebrating progress towards biodegradable when it comes in contact with elimination: Voices from the field on oxygen after being discarded. overcoming programme challenges.  Objective: This would ensure ‘Swachhta,  LF or commonly known as Elephantiasis is Swasthya and Suvidha’ for the one of the oldest and most debilitating underprivileged Women of India and go a

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long way in the achievement of vision of maternity benefit program run by the Affordable and Quality Healthcare for All. government of India.  About 58% of women aged between 15 to 24  PMMVY is implemented by the Ministry of years use locally prepared napkins, sanitary Women & Child Development in napkins and tampons according to the collaboration with State Governments. National Family Health Survey 2015-16.  It is Centrally Sponsored Scheme under Further, about 78% women in urban areas use which the cost sharing ratio between the hygienic methods of protection during Centre and the States & UTs with Legislature menstrual period; only 48% women in rural is 60:40, for North-Eastern States & three areas have access to clean sanitary napkins. Himalayan States, it is 90:10 and 100% ‘Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Central assistance for Union Territories Pariyojana’ is a campaign launched by the without Legislature. Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government  It is a conditional cash transfer scheme for Of India, to provide quality medicines at pregnant and lactating women of 19 years of affordable prices to the masses through age or above for first two live births. special kendras known as Pradhan Mantri  It provides partial wage compensation to Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendra. women for wage-loss during childbirth and Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi child care and to provide conditions for safe Kendra (PMBJK) has been set up to provide delivery and good nutrition and feeding generic drugs, which are available at lesser practices. prices but are equivalent in quality and efficacy as expensive branded drugs. 9. ‘Women Wizards Rule Tech’ programme It is a programme for women techies unveiled by 8. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana NASSCOM. (PMMVY)  Under Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Objective: Yojana (PMMVY), the government has  It aims to increase the number of women in provided cash incentives to nearly 23.6 lakh senior levels in the Information Technology beneficiaries out of an estimated 51.6 lakh a (IT) industry. year.  The Women Wizards Rule Tech was  Pradhan Mantri Matritva Vandana Yojana announced in March at the NASSCOM (PMMVY), previously Indira Gandhi Diversity and Inclusion Summit in Chennai as Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY), is a a joint initiative by the NASSCOM Sector

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Skills Council and the Data Security Council WATER AND SANITATION of India. 11. Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY)  The programme is designed to support  Atal Bhujal Yojana is a Rs.6000 crore Central women who are moving up the career ladder, Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Water while also paving the way for potential Resources, River Development and Ganga leaders of the future. Rejuvenation.

 Objective: The scheme aims to improve NASSCOM: ground water management in priority areas in The National Association of Software and the country through community participation. Services Companies (NASSCOM) is a trade  The scheme is to be implemented over a association of Indian Information Technology period of five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23, (IT) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) with World Bank assistance. industry. Established in 1988, NASSCOM is a non-profit organisation.

10. SKOCH Award  Ministry of Women & Child Development has received the ‘Best Performing Social Sector Ministry’ SKOCH Award for its Achievements and Initiatives.

 The Skoch Awards celebrate human  The priority areas identified under the scheme excellence and agents of change in Indian fall in the states of Gujarat, Haryana, society. They are the highest independently Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, instituted civilian honours in India. Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. These States  The Skoch Awards have become the only represent about 25% of the total number of independent benchmark of best practices in over-exploited, critical and semi-critical India in the fields of governance, finance, blocks in terms of ground water in India. banking, technology, corporate citizenship,  They also cover two major types of economics and inclusive growth. groundwater systems found in India: alluvial  Skoch Consultancy Services is a think tank and hard rock aquifers and have varying dealing with socio-economic issues with a degrees of institutional readiness and focus on inclusive growth. experience in groundwater management.

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12. Swachh Iconic Places  Phase I iconic places: Ajmer Sharif Dargah,  The government has selected ten new iconic CST Mumbai, Golden Temple, Kamakhya sites under Phase III of the flagship project Temple, MaikarnikaGhat, Meenakshi Temple, Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) of the Swachh Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, Shree Jagannath Bharat Mission. Temple, The Taj Mahal and Tirupati Temple.

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 Phase II iconic places: Gangotri, Yamunotri, Mahakaleshwar Temple, Charminar, Convent and Church of St. Francis of Assissi, Kalady, Gommateswara, BaidyanathDham, Gaya Tirth and Somnath temple.

 Phase III includes RaghavendraSwamy Hazardwari Palace (Murshidabad, West Temple (Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh); Bengal); Brahma Sarovar Temple

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(Kurukshetra, Haryana); VidurKuti (Bijnor, Pradesh); ImaKeithal/market (Imphal, Uttar Pradesh); Mana village (Chamoli, Manipur); Sabarimala Temple (Kerala); and Uttarakhand); Pangong Lake (Leh-Ladakh, Kanvashram (Uttarakhand). J&K); Nagvasuki Temple (Allahabad, Uttar

 Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) is an initiative of higher standards of Swachhata, so that all Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation visitors benefit and also take away home the under Swachh Bharat Mission. Initiated as a message of cleanliness, Swachh Iconic Places project to implement Prime Minister’s vision is now in its second phase. to take iconic places and their surroundings to

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13. Swajal Scheme existing National Rural Drinking Water  The government recently launched Swajal Programme (NRDWP) budget. schemes in 115 aspirational districts of the  Swajal is a community owned drinking water country. It will involve an outlay of Rs 700 programme for sustained drinking water crores through flexible-funds under the supply.

Swajal: Community-owned Drinking Water

 Community-based rural drinking water in rural India through pilot projects in 6 States  First Swajal pilots are demand-driven and are implemented where the community is willing to come forward from concepts to commissioning and beyond, taking full ownership of the schemes.  Rural local government in partnership with rural communities to plan, design, construct, operate and maintain their water supply and sanitation schemes  State Government and its sector institutions shall act as supporter, facilitator and co-financier and as per need shall provide technical assistance, training

 Under the scheme, 90% of the project cost  CWMI aims to enable effective water will be taken care by the Government and the management in Indian states in the face of remaining 10% of the project cost will be this growing crisis. contributed by the community. The  The index would provide useful information Operations and management of the project for the states and concerned Central ministries will be taken care of by the local villagers. and departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better 14. Composite Water Management Index management of water resources. (CWMI)  NITI Aayog has ranked all states in the index  NITI Aayog has released its report on on the composite water management, Composite Water Management Index comprising 9 broad sectors with 28 different (CWMI). indicators covering various aspects of ground  The Composite Water Management Index water, restoration of water bodies, irrigation, report is a step in a direction that aims to farm practices, drinking water, policy and create awareness among people and governance. governments about the realities of water crisis in the country.

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based on taking into account set of comprehensive cleanliness parameters.  The criteria of SSG-2018 include survey of public places, citizens’ perspective of cleanliness, their recommendations and data from SBM-G. As part of it, 6,980 villages in 698 districts across India will be covered. It will cover total 34,000 public places namely schools, anganwadis, public health centres, haat/bazaars/religious places in these villages.

16. Ganga Vriksharopan Abhiyan  The National Mission for Clean Ganga  The report ranks Gujarat at the top in (NMCG) recently organised the ‘Ganga managing its water resources in the reference Vriksharopan Abhiyan’ in five main Ganga year (2016-17) followed by Madhya Pradesh, basin states – Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The State  The worst states include Jharkhand, Haryana, Forest Departments of these five states acted Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. as the Nodal Agencies for the smooth and effective execution of the campaign. 15. Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018  The campaign was initiated as part of the  Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Forest Interventions in Ganga (FIG) Sanitation (MDWS) have launched Swachh component of Namami Gange Programme. Survekshan Grameen 2018 (SSG).  It was aimed at bringing greater awareness  Swachh Survekshan Grameen is a rural among people and other stakeholders cleanliness survey to rank all states and regarding the importance of afforestation for districts on basis of qualitative and the task of Ganga Rejuvenation. quantitative evaluation.  As part of the campaign, schools, colleges and  The objective of SSG 2018 is to undertake departments were requested to “Adopt a ranking of states and districts on basis of their Plant” for turning this campaign into a performance attained on key quantitative and people’s movement. qualitative Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G) parameters. The rankings will be

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SKILL DEVELOPMENT  Locally the Kendras are proposed to be managed by a Managing Committee (an 17. Van Dhan Vikas Kendras SHG) consisting of representatives of Van  Government proposes to set up 3000 Van Dhan SHGs in the cluster. Dhan Kendras involving 30,000 SHGs across  Composition: As per the plan, TRIFED will the country. facilitate establishment of MFP-led multi-  The initiative aims to promote MFPs-centric purpose Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, a cluster livelihood development of tribal gatherers and of 10 SHGs comprising of 30 tribal MFP artisans. gatherers each, in the tribal areas.  It mainstreams the tribal community by  Minor Forest Produce (MFP) is a major promoting primary level value addition to source of livelihood for tribals living in forest MFP at grassroots level. areas. It provides them critical subsistence  Through this initiative, the share of tribals in during the lean seasons, particularly for the value chain of Non-Timber Forest primitive tribal groups such as hunter Produce is expected to rise from the present gatherers, and the landless. Tribals derive 20% to around 60%. 20-40% of their annual income from MFP on  The scheme will be implemented through which they spend major portion of their time. Ministry of Tribal Affairs as Nodal  This activity has strong linkage to women’s Department at the Central Level and TRIFED financial empowerment as most of the MFPs as Nodal Agency at the National Level. are collected and used/sold by women. MFP  At State level, the State Nodal Agency for sector has the potential to create about MFPs and the District collectors are 10 million workdays annually in the country. envisaged to play a pivot role in scheme

implementation at grassroot level.

International Issues 3

1. OP Nistar  The operation, code name 'NISTAR', was  It is an evacuation process of Stranded carried out on the morning of 03rd June 18 off Indians from Socotra, Yemen. the coast of Socotra. The evacuated Indians  A very severe Cyclonic Storm Mekenu were embarked onboard and immediately crossed the Yemeni Island of Socotra on 24 provided with medical care, food, water and May 2018, leaving 38 Indians stranded on the telephone facilities to call and reassure their island with limited food and water. families at home. All 38 have been reported to  Based on this information, the Indian Navy be safe. undertook two aerial sorties on 27th and 28th May 2018 to search for the missing Indians. 2. UN Security Council INS Sunayna, deployed on a mission based  The UN Security Council is composed of 15 deployment in the Gulf of Aden was pressed Members with five permanent members and into action to evacuate the 38 Indian nationals ten non-permanent members. P5 countries from Socotra. are: China, France, Russia, U K, and US.  Each year, five out of ten non-permanent UN Security Council members are elected by the UN General Assembly for two years term by the General Assembly (with end of term date). The non-permanent seats are distributed on a geographical basis as follows: Asia-2, Africa-3, Latin America and the Caribbean-2, Eastern Europe-1, Western Europe and other

countries-2.  Each candidate country needed to secure two thirds of the votes in order to clinch a seat.  End-of-term countries Dec31, 2018 are Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Ethiopia and Sweden

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 New members elected from Jan01, 2019 are  Countries to end term by Dec31, 2019 are Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Côte d’Ivoire/Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia and South Africa Kuwait, Peru and Poland

3. G7 bloc  44th annual G7 Summit is being held in Quebec, Canada.

 G7 Summit is an event conducted annually 4. Sanchi Stupa of India and Pho Minh where world leaders from seven powerful Pagoda of Viet Nam economies of the world-US, Canada, UK,  Cabinet approves MoU between India and France, Germany, Japan and Italy come Viet Nam on Joint issue of postage stamp. together to discuss burning issues happening Joint Issue depicts Sanchi Stupa of India and around the globe. They, by mutual Pho Minh Pagoda of Viet Nam. understanding, also form policies or figure out remedies for the concerned issue.

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Sanchi Stupa: 5. International Decade for Action  Commissioned in 3rd century BCE,  In order to accelerate efforts towards meeting Expansion/additions/restoration works/ made water-related challenges, the United Nations in different periods. Commissioned by General Assembly declared 2018-2028 as the Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Dynasty. International Decade for Action “Water for  Located 46 km north-east of Bhopal, the Sustainable Development”. capital city of Madhya Pradesh, India.  Republic of Tajikistan and United Nations are  Architectural Style: Buddhist Art and jointly organizing a high-level Conference on Architecture. this matter.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The Water Action Decade commenced on World Water Day, 22 March 2018, and will Pho Minh Pagoda: end on World Water Day, 22 March 2028.  The pagoda was originally built during the Ly Objectives: Dynasty and later expanded in 1262 during  Focus on the sustainable development and the Tran Dynasty. integrated management of water resources  It was a place for high-ranking mandarins and the aristocracy of the Tran Royal Court to  Focus on the cooperation and partnership at worship and lead their religious life. all levels in order to achieve internationally agreed water-related goals and targets ACE Engineering Publications Hyderabad|Delhi|Bhopal|Pune|Bhubaneswar| Lucknow|Patna|Bengaluru|Chennai|Vijayawada|Vizag |Tirupati | Kukatpally| Kolkata

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 The Decade also highlights the importance of 6. Nuclear arsenals around the globe promoting efficient water usage at all levels,  Stockholm International Peace Research taking into account the water, food, energy, Institute (SIPRI) has released its 2018 edition environment nexus; and stresses the of the yearly report on the current state of importance of the participation and full armaments, disarmament and international involvement of all relevant stakeholders, security. including women, children, young people, older persons, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and local communities.

 There are nine countries which have nuclear considers a disproportionate focus on warheads. They include Russia, the US, the allegations of human rights abuses committed UK, France, China, Israel, India, Pakistan and by its ally, Israel. North Korea. 8. Singapore Summit 7. UN Human Rights Council  US President Donald Trump and North Korea  The United States withdrew from the United leader Kim Jong Un created history by Nations Human Rights Council accusing it of coming together at the US-North Korea a “chronic bias against Israel”. Washington’s summit held in Singapore, which resulted in withdrawal is the latest US rejection of the signing of a “comprehensive document”. multilateral engagement after it pulled out of  It marks the establishment of new US-DPRK the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)  The US problem with the body is twofold: the relations. make-up of its membership and what it

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• US had committed to provide security  The first Mandela Day was held on Mandela’s guarantees to North Korea and end US- 91st birthday on July 18, 2009 to promote South Korea Joint war games. volunteering and community service, being • Reaffirming the Panmunjom declaration, marked worldwide with community service Chairman Kim committed to work events, art exhibits, fundraisers and a concert towards complete denuclearization of the at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Korean Peninsula. This can reduce the  The United Nations soon took interest and dangers of proliferation of nuclear supported the idea of a global day honoring weapons in future. Mandela, declaring in November 2009 the • This opens the doorway for the marking of July 18 as Nelson Mandela reunification of the Korean peninsula in International Day. the long run. • However, joint statement issued by the 10. Delhi Dialogue two leaders was brief, vague and generic  10th edition of the Delhi Dialogue (DD X) with probable differences in was held in New Delhi. This is the first major interpretations of denuclearization by both event to be organized after the ASEAN-India parties. Commemorative Summit which was held in • Also, sanctions on North Korea also New Delhi in January 2018. continue at present.  Theme: “Strengthening India-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation”. 9. Nelson Mandela International Day  It is a premier annual track event to discuss  Nelson Mandela International Day 2018 politico-security, economic and socio-cultural marks 100 years since the birth of Nelson engagement between India and ASEAN. Mandela (18 July 1918).  It has been held annually since 2009 and  Nelson Mandela International Day is a global political leaders, policy makers, senior event held annually to honor former South officials, diplomats, think tanks and African president and anti-apartheid activist academicians from both sides participate in Nelson Mandela. the discussions pertaining to ASEAN-India  The event started after the Nelson Mandela relations. Foundation and 46664, a concert series that  It is aimed at finding a common ground and benefits AIDS victims referencing Mandela’s expanding the scope of cooperation between prison number 46664, first proposed the idea India and ASEAN nations. of a worldwide day honoring the work and legacy of Nelson Mandela in April 2009. ACE Engineering Publications Hyderabad|Delhi|Bhopal|Pune|Bhubaneswar| Lucknow|Patna|Bengaluru|Chennai|Vijayawada|Vizag |Tirupati | Kukatpally| Kolkata

Environmental Issues

1. ‘Blue Flag’ tag monitored under the Bureau of Indian  The first beach in Asia to get the Blue Flag Standards’ Drinking Water Specifications. certification will be the Chandrabhaga beach  Factors responsible for Uranium on the Konark coast of Odisha. contamination:  Twelve more beaches in the country are being  Over-pumping of aquifers’ groundwater. developed by the Society for Integrated  While the primary source of uranium is Coastal Management (SICOM). geogenic (naturally occurring),  SICOM is an Environment Ministry’s body anthropogenic (human caused) factors working for the management of coastal areas, such as groundwater table decline and in accordance with the Blue Flag standards. nitrate pollution may further enhance  Blue flag project was launched in December uranium mobilisation. 2017 by the Environment Ministry.  Other factors include the amount of  The prime objective of the project is to uranium contained in an aquifer’s rocks. enhance standards of cleanliness and upkeep basic amenities at beaches. 3. World Oceans Day  Under the project, each state or union territory  World Ocean Day is observed every year on th has been asked to nominate a beach which June 8 . will be funded through the ongoing Integrated  Focus for 2018: Preventing plastic pollution Coastal Management Programme. and encouraging solutions for a healthy ocean. 2. Uranium contamination

 Scientists have found widespread Uranium

contamination in groundwater from aquifers

across 16 states in India, much above the

WHO provisional standard for the country.

 The WHO has set a provisional safe drinking

water standard of 30 micrograms of uranium

per litre, a level that is consistent with the

U.S. EPA standards. However, uranium is not

yet included in the list of contaminants

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 The concept of ‘World Oceans Day’ was first  Mycorrhizal fungi are hosted by the trees in proposed in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio their roots to receive nutrients from the soil. de Janeiro as a way to celebrate our world’s  These fungi provide essential nutrients like shared ocean and our personal connection to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium from soil the sea, as well as to raise awareness about in exchange for carbon from the tree. the crucial role the ocean plays in our lives  This plant-fungal symbiotic relationship is and the important ways people can help crucial for the health of the tree. protect it.  High levels of the nutrition elements like nitrogen and phosphorus in the mycorrhizae 4. World Day to Combat Desertification and changes them to act as pollutants rather than Drought nutrients.  The World Day to Combat Desertification  The signs of malnutrition can be seen in the and Drought is observed every year on June form of discoloured leaves and excessive 17th to promote public awareness of falling of leaves. Ecosystem changes can also international efforts to combat desertification. negatively affect tree health. The day is a unique moment to remind

everyone that land degradation neutrality is 6. National Disaster Risk Index achievable through problem-solving, strong  The Union ministry of home affairs with the community involvement and co-operation at support of United Nations Development all levels. Programme (UNDP) has prepared for the first  2018 Theme: “Land has true value – invest in time a national disaster risk index for India. it.”  The disaster risk index would map hazards

5. Toxic air affective and vulnerabilities including economic  Besides affecting human health, air pollution vulnerabilities across 640 districts and all is also causing malnutrition in trees by states including UTs. harming Mycorrhizal fungi.

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 The index factors in exposure of population, governments and stakeholders to review agriculture and livestock, environmental risk progress made against the commitments at the and the steps taken by the administration to AMCDRR 2016, i.e. the New Delhi mitigate the risks. Declaration, the Asia Regional Plan, and ten stakeholder voluntary action statements. 7. AMCDRR 2018  Theme of the AMCDRR 2018: ‘Preventing  The Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Disaster Risk: Protecting Sustainable Risk Reduction 2018 (AMCDRR 2018) will Development’. be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It is  Established in 2005, AMCDRR is a biennial convened by the UN Office for DRR conference jointly organized by different (UNISDR) and the Government of Mongolia. Asian countries and the UNISDR.  The conference will represent a key milestone  India hosted the second AMCDRR in New for reflection on three years into the Delhi in 2007. implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. Specifically, the conference will enable

Science and Technology 5

1. ‘EPIC’ planet  The discovery was made using a PRL-  A distant planet six times bigger than Earth designed spectrograph, PARAS, to measure and revolving around a Sun-like star about and confirm the mass of the new planet. 600 light years away has been spotted for the first time by the Scientists from ISRO. 2. KATRIN experiment  The planet has been named EPIC 211945201b  Researchers in Germany with the Karlsruhe (or K2-236b). The host star is named EPIC Tritium Neutrino experiment have started 211945201 or K2-236. collecting data to determine the mass of the  The planet is smaller in size than Saturn and universe’s lightest particle- neutrino. Those bigger than Neptune. Its mass is about 27 are sometimes called “ghost particles” times Earth’s and six times that of Earth at because they’re so difficult to detect. radius. The scientists estimate that over 60%  The KATRIN experiment is currently set up of its mass could be made up of heavy and commissioned on the Campus North of elements like ice, silicates and iron. the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology.  The experiment is collaboration between national and international partners with currently more than 150 scientists, engineers, technicians and students.  KATRIN measures the neutrino mass in a model-independent way via ultrahigh precision measurements of the kinematics of electrons from beta-decay.

3. REMOVEDEBRIS  The first spacecraft to demonstrate active  With this discovery India has joined a handful space debris-removal technologies such as a of countries which have discovered planets harpoon, a net and a drag sail in orbit has around stars. been released from the International Space Station to commence its mission.

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 RemoveDebris is an EU (European Union)  Oxytocin is also used to increase the size of research project to develop and fly a low cost vegetables such as pumpkins, watermelons, in-orbit demonstrator mission that aims to de- eggplants, gourds, and cucumbers. risk and verify technologies needed for future ADR (Active Debris Removal) missions. 5. FASTags  RemoveDebris is aimed at performing key  The Transport Ministry has proposed to ADR technology demonstrations dispense with fitness certificate for new (e.g., capture, deorbiting) representative of an vehicles and make it mandatory to have operational scenario during a low-cost vehicle tracking system and FASTags for mission using novel key technologies for electronic toll collection for all commercial ADR. The project is based on and aimed at vehicles in its draft amendment to the contributing to global/European ADR Commercial Motor Vehicles Act. roadmaps.  FASTag is a device that uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology 4. Ban on Oxytocin for making toll payments directly from the  The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare prepaid account linked to it. has restricted the manufacture of Oxytocin  It is affixed on the windscreen of vehicle and formulations for domestic use to public sector enables to drive through toll plazas without only. Coupled with this, it has also banned the waiting. import of Oxytocin and its formulations. The  The tag has a validity of 5 years and after order comes into effect from July 1. purchase, it only needs to be recharged or  Only Karnataka Antibiotics & topped up. The service is applicable to all Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (KAPL), a public sector kinds of vehicles but use of the service is company, will manufacture this drug for currently voluntary. domestic use. It will supply the drug to registered hospitals and clinics in public and 6. Meghalayan phase private sector directly.  Scientists have created a new phase in Earth’s  The drug is misused in the dairy industry geological history and named it Meghalayan, where livestock is injected with Oxytocin to after a stalagmite from a cave in the Indian make them release milk at a time convenient state of Meghalaya that helped define climatic to farmers. events 4,200 years ago, marking the beginning of the phase that continues till today.

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Here

Ma-Mega annum GSSP-Global Stratotype Section and Point

 The Meghalayan Age began with a mega  The Meghalayan is unique because it is the global drought that devastated ancient first interval in Earth’s geological history that agricultural civilisations from Egypt to China. coincided with a major cultural event, as It is part of a longer period known as the agricultural societies struggled to recover Holocene Epoch, which reflects everything from the shift in climate. that has happened over the past 11,700 years.  The droughts over a 200-year period resulted  Evidence of the climatic event has been found in human migrations in Egypt, Greece, Syria, in sediments on all seven continents, Palestine, Mesopotamia, the Indus valley and including those from Meghalaya. the Yangtze River valley.

Defence

6 1. Pinaka rocket  Pinaka is capable of working in different  The indigenous Pinaka rocket system of the modes–autonomous mode, stand-alone mode, Defence Research and Development remote mode and manual mode. Organisation (DRDO) is being evolved into a  The second variant of Pinaka, known as precision-guided missile, with enhanced range Mark-II, has a maximum range of 75 km. and accuracy to hit its targets.  DRDO is working with Israel’s IMI (Israel  The rocket has been developed by the Military Industries) to develop Pinaka Mark- Armament cluster of the DRDO, with a lead III which will use IMI’s Trajectory Correction from Pune-based Armament Research and System (TCS) that will enhance the accuracy Development Establishment (ARDE). of the attack.  It is used to neutralize the enemy’s positions that are strategically important for the enemy. 2. Agni-V The advanced versions of this system can also  India’s longest-range ballistic missile, Agni- be used to conduct surgical strikes even V, will be inducted into the nuclear arsenal without entering into the enemy area. very soon. It is a strategic asset which will act as a deterrent.  It is a surface-to-surface missile which can carry nuclear warhead weighing 1.5 tonnes to a distance of over 5,000 km and is the longest missile in India’s arsenal capable of reaching most parts of China.  The missile features many new indigenously- developed technologies, including the very high accuracy Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial

Navigation System (RINS), and the most

 The launcher can fire 12 rockets with 1.2 modern and accurate Micro Navigation tonnes of high explosives within 44 seconds System (MINS) which improves the accuracy and destroy a target area of 4-square km at a of the missile. time.

Miscellaneous 7

1. Tripura’s “State Fruit” organizations that have improved the lives of people throughout Asia.  The awards were created and presented by Nikkei Inc, one of the largest media corporations in Japan.  Launched in 1996, the program honors people in Asia who have made significant contributions in one of the three areas:

Regional growth; Science, Technology and  President Ram Nath Kovind has declared Innovation; and Culture. Tripura’s queen variety pineapple as “state  Former PM Manmohan Singh and Infosys fruit”. Chairman Narayan Murti are among the few

2. 100 Years of Voting Rights Indians who have won the prize in the past.

 June 10, 2018 marked 100 years since the first 4. National Data Centre women won the right to vote in Britain.  The Centre will set up the country’s biggest  The Representation of the People Act, 1918 data centre in Bhopal with a capacity to host granted property-owning British women over five lakh virtual servers. It will be set up by age 30 the right to vote. the National Informatics Centre (NIC), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information 3. Nikkei Asia Prize Technology (MeitY).  Noted social reformer and founder of Sulabh  This will be the fifth National Data Centre International, Bindeshwar Pathak was after the ones at Bhubaneswar, Delhi, recently honored with Japan’s prestigious Hyderabad and Pune. ‘Nikkei Asia Prize for Culture and

Community’. The award was given to him for 5. Year of Disabled Soldiers his significant work in tackling poor hygiene  To honour soldiers who have been disabled in and discrimination. line of duty, while serving the Nation and to  The Nikkei Asia Prize is an award which celebrate the undying spirit of ‘Soldiering’, recognizes the achievements of people and Indian Army is observing the year 2018 as the ‘Year of Disabled Soldiers in Line of Duty’. ACE Engineering Publications Hyderabad|Delhi|Bhopal|Pune|Bhubaneswar| Lucknow|Patna|Bengaluru|Chennai|Vijayawada|Vizag |Tirupati | Kukatpally| Kolkata

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 The primary focus is towards alleviating the  There are 3 categories of awards- Project sufferings of these soldiers, who have done Award, Innovative Idea Award and City their duty with utmost dedication to the Award.

Nation and have been disabled for the life. Winners:  The endeavour this year is to provide a  The city award is being given to Surat for onetime financial assistance to disabled showing great momentum in implementation soldiers who have been boarded out from of projects especially in the categories of service on medical grounds and are rendered urban environment, transport and mobility non-employable due to their medical or and sustainable integrated development. physical conditions.  The Innovative Idea award is being given to a project/idea particularly remarkable for its 6. Governor’s rule in J & K innovative, bottom-up and transformative  The state of Jammu and Kashmir is all set to approach towards achievement of sustainable see a governor’s rule following the sudden integrated development. Joint winners in this break in ties between BJP and PDP and category are Bhopal for their Integrated subsequent resignation of chief minister Command and Control Centre (ICCC) and Mehbooba Mufti. Ahmedabad for Safe and Secure Ahmedabad  The imposition of governor’s rule in J&K is (SASA) Project. slightly different than that in other states. th  In other states, the president’s rule is imposed 8. 4 International Yoga Day 2018 under the Article 356 of Constitution of India. The International Yoga Day is celebrated every In J & K, governor’s rule is mentioned under year on June 21. It was first introduced by the Article 370 section 92 – ‘Provisions in case of United Nations on June 21, 2015.

failure of constitutional machinery in the Objective: State.’  The main aim is to create awareness worldwide on the importance of staying fit 7. India Smart Cities Awards and healthy.  Nine awards have been announced under the  Theme for 2018 is ‘Yoga for peace’. India Smart Cities Awards.  India Smart Cities Award was launched on 25 June 2017 with an objective to reward cities, projects and innovative ideas, promoting sustainable development in cities.

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June 21 is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and has special 10. World Food Prize significance in many parts of the world. Prime  Dr. Lawrence Haddad and Dr. David Nabarro Minister Narendra Modi had proposed this will receive the 2018 World Food Prize for date at the United Nations General Assembly their individual and complementary global 2014 and hence this day is selected as leadership in elevating maternal and child International Yoga day. undernutrition.  The World Food Prize is considered one of 9. Humanitarian forensics the most prominent global awards for  International Centre for Humanitarian individuals whose breakthrough achievements Forensics (ICHF) was recently inaugurated at alleviate hunger and promote global food the Gujarat Forensic Sciences University security. (GFSU).  It carries $250,000 cash prize. The Prize is  This will be the world’s first international presented each October on or around UN centre for humanitarian forensics. World Food Day (October 16).  It is a joint venture of the International  Norman E. Borlaug, winner of the Nobel Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Regional Peace Prize in 1970 for his work in global Delegation for India, Bhutan, Nepal and the agriculture, envisioned a prize that would Maldives, and GFSU. honor those who have made significant and  It was inaugurated at the Gujarat Forensic measurable contributions to improving the Sciences University (GFSU). world’s food supply.  This centre will help in proper management of bodies in times of crisis. 11. Ramanuja statue  Gujarat Forensic Sciences University (GFSU)  A 216-foot-tall statue of Ramanuja will be is a state university in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. built at Hyderabad. When unveiled, it is set to It is the first university in the world solely become the world’s second tallest statue of a dedicated to forensic and investigative seated figure. science.

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 Currently, the Great Buddha of Thailand is 12. WORLD UNESCO HERITAGE SITE the tallest statue, at 302-feet. Once the  In a Remarkable Achievement, India gets its Ramanujacharya statue is unveiled, it will 37th WORLD UNESCO World HERITAGE become the second tallest, a distinction now SITE. The decision was taken at the 42nd held by the Guanyin figure on Mount Xiqiao session of the World Heritage Committee of in China’s Guangdong region, at 203 feet. UNESCO at Manama in Bahrain.  Ramanujacharya was a Hindu theologian,  37th site: Victorian Gothic and Art Deco philosopher, and one of the most important Ensemble of Mumbai. exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism.  His philosophical foundations for devotionalism were influential to the Bhakti movement.  He is famous as the chief proponent of Vishishtadvaita subschool of Vedānta.

 He wrote influential texts, such as bhāsya on  This makes Mumbai city the second city in the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, all India after Ahmedabad to be inscribed on the in Sanskrit. World Heritage List.

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 In the past 5 years alone, India has managed 14. Electronic Census of India to get inscribed seven of its properties/sites on  According to an amended rule notified by the the World Heritage List of UNESCO. Registrar-General of India (RGI), the data  India now has overall 37 World Heritage collected during the 2021 Census will be Inscriptions with 29 Cultural, 07 Natural and stored electronically, the first time since the 01 Mixed sites. decennial exercise was conducted in 1951 in  While India stands second largest in number Independent India. after China in terms of number of World  The decennial Census of India has been Heritage properties in ASPAC (Asia and conducted 15 times, as of 2011. While it has Pacific) region, it is overall sixth in the world. been conducted every 10 years, beginning in A World Heritage site is classified as a 1872, the first complete census was taken in natural or man-made area or a structure that is the year 1881. of international importance, and a space  Post 1949, it has been conducted by the which requires special protection. These sites Registrar General and Census Commissioner are officially recognised by the UN and the of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs, United Nations Educational Scientific and Government of India. Cultural Organisation, also known as  All the census since 1951 are conducted under UNESCO. UNESCO believes that the sites 1948 Census of India Act. classified as World Heritage are important for humanity, and they hold cultural and physical 15. Behdienkhlam Festival significance.  Behdienkhlam is a major festival of the people in the Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya. 13. “Space force”  It is celebrated to invoke the gods for a  U.S. President Donald Trump is planning to bumper harvest and drive away plague. create a “space force” or a sixth branch of the  It is the ritualistic expression of the relentless American armed forces. This has taken many struggle of mankind to overcome the by surprise within and outside the U.S. destructive forces of nature, including  The purpose is to deny the Russians and the diseases, since the dawn of civilization. Chinese advantages in space. The main  During the festival, decorated and colourful intention is to see that the U.S. establishes and raths are immersed in ‘Wah Ainar,’ a muddy maintains dominance in space. pool.

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 The non-Christian ‘Pnar’ people who believe contending that the tribe was not indigenous either in the traditional faith of ‘Niamtre’ or to Mizoram. Hinduism observe this festival. The Brus, also referred to as the Reangs, are spread across the northeastern states of 16. Brus of Mizoram Tripura, Assam, Manipur, and Mizoram.  An agreement has been signed by Government of India, Governments of 17. Agartala Airport renamed Mizoram and Tripura and Mizoram Bru  Cabinet approves renaming of Agartala Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF) Airport, Tripura as Maharaja Bir Bikram regarding Brus of Mizoram. Manikya Kishore Airport, Agartala.  The central government will provide financial  Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore, who assistance for rehabilitation of Bru ascended the throne of the erstwhile Tripura community members in Mizoram and address Princely State in 1923, was an enlightened their issues of security, education, livelihood, and benevolent ruler. Agartala Airport was etc. in consultation with the governments of constructed in 1942 on the land donated by Mizoram and Tripura. Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore.  A bout of ethnic violence forced thousands of people from the Bru tribe to leave their homes 18. Simultaneous elections in Mizoram. As many as 32,876 people  During recent consultations with the Law belonging to 5,407 families are living in the Commission of India, as many as nine parties refugee camps in the Jampui Hills of Tripura. expressed their reservations while four parties  The displaced Bru people from Mizoram have supported holding of simultaneous elections. been living in various camps in Tripura since  Simultaneous elections were held in the 1997. In 1997, the murder of a Mizo forest country during the first two decades after guard at the Dampa Tiger Reserve in Independence up to 1967. Dissolution of Mizoram’s Mamit district allegedly by Bru certain Assemblies in 1968 and 1969 militants led to a violent backlash against the followed by the dissolution of the Lok Sabha community, forcing several thousand people led to the “disruption of the conduct of to flee to neighbouring Tripura. simultaneous elections.  The Bru militancy was a reactionary  Simultaneous elections will help save public movement against Mizo nationalist groups money. who had demanded in the mid-1990s that the  It will be a big relief for political parties that Brus be left out of the state’s electoral rolls, are always in campaign mode.

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 It will allow political parties to focus more on photosynthetic organisms inhabiting an policy and governance. ancient ocean that has long since vanished.  The ancient pigment was extracted from 19. Minority status to Jews marine black shales of the Taoudeni Basin in  Gujarat Government has granted religious Mauritania, West Africa. minority status to Jews living in the state.  Now, Jews living in Gujarat will get religious 21. World Population day minority rights envisaged in Constitution of  July 11 was established as World Population India and various acts and rules of the state Day in 1989 by the United Nations and since government. then it has been celebrated on this date every  Gujarat is third state in India to grant religious year. The United Nations recognises World minority status to Jews after West Bengal and Population day as an important event to Maharashtra. spread information of population-related  Six religious communities, viz. Muslims, issues across the globe. Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians  Theme for 2018: World Population day will (Parsis) and Jains have been notified in run on the theme “Family Planning is a Gazette of India as minority communities by Human right” this year. Union Government all over India. Aim of World Population Day:

Main Jews groups in India:  Almost on the verge of completing three  Cochin Jews. decades now, the internationally celebrated  Chennai/Madras Jews. event aims to spread awareness on issues such  Bene Israel. as overpopulation, under-population and birth  Baghdadi Jews. control.  Delhi Jews.  The world population is currently pegged at  Bnei Menashe. around 7 billion and according to UN reports  Bene Ephraim (Telugu Jews). is growing at a fast pace, adding 83 million people every year. 20. World’s Oldest Color  Scientists have discovered the oldest color in 22. India now world’s 6th largest economy the geological record- the bright pink pigment  India has now become world’s sixth-largest aged 1.1 billion years old. The bright pink economy, pushing past France, according to pigments are the molecular fossils of the updated World Bank figures for 2017. chlorophyll that were produced by ancient ACE Engineering Publications Hyderabad|Delhi|Bhopal|Pune|Bhubaneswar| Lucknow|Patna|Bengaluru|Chennai|Vijayawada|Vizag |Tirupati | Kukatpally| Kolkata

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Large economies:  The US remains the world’s largest economy followed by China, Japan, Germany and Britain.

23. Right of temple entry physiological reason as women between the  The Supreme Court, in its first preliminary age group of 10-50 undergo menstruation. observations on a rule barring women from  All Hindus have the right to enter the temple entering the Sabarimala temple in Kerala due and denying them the right was a kind of to biological reasons, has said women have “untouchability” which was abolished by the constitutional right of equal access to Article 17 of the Constitution. public places of worship to pray. Any rule  It also goes against the spirit of Articles 14, that stood in their way would be against this 15 and 21. right, the apex court said.  Women are not allowed to enter Sabarimala temple. The discrimination is based on ACE Engineering Publications Hyderabad|Delhi|Bhopal|Pune|Bhubaneswar| Lucknow|Patna|Bengaluru|Chennai|Vijayawada|Vizag |Tirupati | Kukatpally| Kolkata