CURRENT AFFAIRS

Month of OCTOBER-2019

Plot-1441, Opp. IOCL Petrol Pump, CRP Square, Bhubaneswar Ph : 8093083555, 8984111101 Web : www.vanikias.com | E-mail : [email protected] www.facebook.com/vanikias CURRENT AFFAIRS – OCTOBER–2019

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS Preparation

01.10.2019  Among the small States, Manipur (68.8 per cent) emerged as the top 1. NITI Aayog releases School performer while Arunachal Pradesh Education Quality Index (SEQI) (24.6 per cent) came last in the  School Education Quality Index was category. developed by NITI Aayog through a  Rajasthan bagged the second position collaborative process, including key among the large States with 72 per stakeholders such as the Ministry of cent, followed by Karnataka with 70 Human Resource and Development, per cent and Andhra Pradesh-69 per the World Bank and sector experts. cent respectively.  It aims to evaluate the performance of  Among Union Territories, Chandigarh States and Union Territories (UTs) in (82.9 per cent) stood at the top the school education sector. position while Lakshadweep ranked  The objective of the index is to bring lowest (31.9 per cent). an outcomes focus to the education Note: policy by providing States and UTs  West Bengal did not participate in the with a platform to identify their NITI Aayog exercise. strengths and weaknesses and Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance undertake requisite course Source- PIB corrections and policy interventions." 2. A process on to commute Rajoana  The index consists of 30 critical sentence: MHA indicators that assess the delivery of  The process to commute the death quality education. sentence of Balwant Singh Rajoana,  These indicators are categorized as convicted for killing former Punjab below: chief minister Beant Singh, was  Category 1: Outcomes “underway,”. o Domain 1: Learning outcomes Related Information o Domain 2: Access outcomes Pardoning Power of the President o Domain 3: Infrastructure and Article 72 of the Constitution empowers the facilities for outcomes President to grant pardons to persons who o Domain 4: Equity outcomes have been tried and convicted of any offence  Category 2: Governance processes in all cases where the: aiding outcomes 1. Punishment or sentence is for an  The governance process aiding offence against a Union Law; outcomes category included 2. Punishment or sentence is by a court- indicators such as student and martial (military court); and teacher attendance system, 3. Sentence is a sentence of death. transparency in teacher recruitment  The pardoning power of the President to name a few. is independent of the Judiciary; it is  The data for the index was collected executive power. for three categories: large states,  The pardoning power of the President small states and Union Territories. includes the following: Findings of the index 1. Pardon: It removes both the  Kerala bagged the top spot with 76.6 sentence and the conviction and per cent and while Uttar Pradesh with completely absolves the convict from 36.4 per cent scored the lowest for all sentences, punishments and 2016-17. disqualifications.

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2. Commutation: It denotes the  The missile, with a strike range of substitution of one form of 290km, can be fired from land as well punishment for a lighter form. For as sea-based platforms. example, a death sentence may be Related Information commuted to rigorous imprisonment, BrahMos Missile which in turn may be commuted to  It has been jointly developed by India simple imprisonment. and Russia and is operationalised in 3. Remission: It implies reducing the the Indian Armed Forces with all the period of a sentence without changing three services. its character. For example, a sentence  The recent test-fire was conducted on of rigorous imprisonment for two the land-attack version of 290-km years may be remitted to rigorous range BrahMos supersonic cruise imprisonment for one year. missile which featured Indian 4. Respite: It denotes awarding a lesser propulsion system, airframe, power sentence in place of one originally supply and major indigenous awarded due to some special fact, components. such as the physical disability of a  The missile can be red from land as convict or the pregnancy of a woman well as sea-based platforms. offender.  The missile has been tested with 5. Reprieve: It implies a stay of the increased indigenous equipment and execution of a sentence (especially is a version used by Indian Army. that of death) for a temporary period. Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence Its purpose is to enable the convict to Source- AIR have time to seek pardon or 4. Salar de Uyuni: world’s greatest commutation from the President. lithium deposits Note:  Bolivia, among the poorest countries  Under Article 161 of the in South America, sits on one of the Constitution, the governor of a state world’s largest lithium reserves, also possesses the pardoning power beneath the vast Salar de Uyuni salt but the pardoning power of the flat. governor differs from that of the  Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt President in following two respects: flat, lies one of the world’s greatest o The President can pardon lithium deposits – around 17 per cent sentences inflicted by court- of the global total. martial (military courts) while  Bolivia’s lithium deposits contain four the governor cannot. times as much magnesium as o The President can pardon a neighbouring Chile. death sentence while the Related Information governor cannot. Lithium Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance  It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Source- The Hindu Under standard conditions, it is the 3. Land-attack version of BrahMos lightest metal and the lightest solid supersonic missile successfully test- element. fired  Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly  DRDO successfully test-fired a land- reactive and flammable and must be attack version of BrahMos supersonic stored in mineral oil. missile from Chandipur coast in Topic- GS Paper 1 –Geography Odisha’s Balasore district. Source- Down to Earth

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5. 20 countries including India sign  The Union Water Ministry has agreement to stop the spread of fake excavated an old, dried-up river in news online Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) that  Recently twenty countries, including linked the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. France, Britain and India, havesigned  The “ancient buried river” as it was an agreement at the United Nations to described at a conference organised stop the spread of fake news on-line. by the Ministry, is around 4 km wide,  The signatories, which also included 45 km long and consisted of a 15- South Africa and Canada, committed metre-thick layer buried under the to promoting independently reported, soil. diverse and reliable information on  The newly discovered river was a the internet under an accord initiated buried paleochannel that joins the by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Yamuna River at Durgapur village,  The agreement underlined the about 26 km south of the current responsibility of internet providers to Ganga-Yamuna confluence at promote trustworthy content and Prayagraj. pluralism to escape the current  The genesis of the paleochannels information chaos. discovery followed a 2016 report of a Related Information seven-member committee, headed by Professor K.S. Valdiya of the Reporters Without Borders Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced  It is an international non-profit, non- Scientific Research, commissioned by governmental organization based in the Water Resources Ministry. Paris that conducts political advocacy  This report concluded that evidence on issues relating to freedom of from paleochannels suggested that information and freedom of the press. the mythological Saraswati River did  Its headquarter in Paris, France. indeed exist. Publications Topic- GS Paper 1 –Geography  Reporters Without Borders issues Source- The Hindu press releases, fact-finding reports, 7. Kerala CM launches a capacity and periodical publications. development programme for women  Its key Publications are: entrepreneurs World Press Freedom Index,  Kerala Chief Minister has launched the Predators of Press Freedom and Press Kerala edition of WING-Women Rise Freedom Barometer. Together at the second edition of World Press Freedom Index 2019 Huddle Kerala 2019.   India has dropped two places on a It is an initiative by Startup India, global press freedom index to be Department for Promotion of Industry ranked 140th out of 180 countries in and Internal Trade (DPIIT) for the annual Reporters Without Borders capacity development of women analysis. entrepreneurs in the country.  The programme aims to identify and  The World Press Freedom Index support aspiring and established 2019', topped by Norway, female entrepreneurs by providing Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance them access to incubation, investors Source- Economics Times and various business support 6. Scientists excavate ‘ancient river’ services. in Uttar Pradesh

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 Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) along  This is the average rainfall recorded with LetsVenture has been awarded during the months from June to the responsibility by Invest India to September, calculated during the 50- run this programme in all the year period. southern states.  It is kept as a benchmark while Related Information forecasting the quantitative rainfall Invest India for the monsoon season every year.  It is India’s official agency dedicated  When IMD forecasts the category of to investment promotion and rainfall, be it for country, region or facilitation which work under the month, the forecast is based on these Ministry of Commerce and Industry. standardised figures calculated for a  It was set up as a joint venture period of 50 years. company between the Department of Five Rainfall Distribution categories Industrial Policy & Promotion,Ministry  Normal or Near Normal: When per of Commerce & Industry, Federation cent departure of actual rainfall is +/- of Indian Chambers of Commerce and 10% of LPA, that is, between 96- Industry, and State Governments of 104% of LPA. India.  Below normal: When the departure of  It provides sector-specific and state- actual rainfall is less than 10% of LPA, specific information to a foreign that is 90-96% of LPA investor, assists in expediting  Above normal: When actual rainfall is regulatory approvals, and offers 104-110% of LPA hand-holding services.  Deficient: When the departure of Topic- GS Paper 2 –Women actual rainfall is less than 90% of LPA Empowerment  Excess: When departure of actual Source- PIB rainfall is more than 110% of LPA 8. IMD: Wettest monsoon in India in 25 Topic- GS Paper 1 –Geography years Source- Indian Express  According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the rainfall during 03.10.2019 the southwest monsoon season has 1. Stations’ Cleanliness Survey Report’ been termed as “above normal” and  Minister of Railways released the it’s the wettest monsoon in 25 years. ‘Stations’ Cleanliness Survey Report’  The rainfall across India during June which include the cleanliness to September this year was recorded assessment of Non-suburban and at 968 mm, taking the total rainfall to Suburban Stations 2019. 110 per cent of the Long Period Highlights of the Report Average (LPA), which was last seen in  The top three cleanest railways 1994, according to the agency. stations are from the western state of Related Information Rajasthan in which Jaipur was on the Long Period Average of Monsoon first position, Jodhpur on second  The LPA for the season is calculated followed by Durgapura in the third on the basis of the mean rainfall position. during the four-month monsoon  North Western Railway followed by season over the 50-year period from South East Central Railway and East 1951-2010. Central Railway are the top three  It works out to an average of 89 cm railway zones. for the country as a whole. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Source- Rajya Sabha TV

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2. Delhi CM to endorse clean air  Climate Forecast System of USA has declaration at C40 summit been identified as the basic modelling  Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be system for the above purpose, as it is among 20 leaders from megacities one of the best among the currently around the world to launch the ‘Clean available coupled models. Air Cities Declaration’ during the C40  The objective to build a state-of-the- Summit in Copenhagen. art coupled ocean-atmospheric model  Clean Air Cities Declaration’ is a set of for – short and long-term commitments 1. improved prediction of monsoon towards cleaning the air. rainfall on the extended range to Related Information seasonal time scale (16 days to one C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group season) and  The C40 Cities Climate Leadership 2. improved prediction of temperature, Group (C40) is a group of 94 cities rainfall and extreme weather events around the world that represents one- on short to medium range time scale twelfth of the world's population and (up to 15 days). one-quarter of the global economy. Coupled Forecast Model  It is focused on tackling climate  The American model called “Climate change and driving urban action that Forecast System” (CFS) is developed reduces greenhouse gas emissions by National Centres for Environmental and climate risks while increasing the Prediction (NCEP), USA. health, wellbeing and economic  Climate Forecast System (CFS) of opportunities of urban citizens NCEP, USA has been identified as the  It was founded in October 2005 basic modelling system which helps to London combines data from ocean, Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment atmosphere and land for providing Source- The Hindu long-range forecasting (seasonal 3. National Monsoon Mission prediction of Indian Monsoon).  Recently the Coupled Forecast Model  It is one of the best among the deployed by the India Meteorological currently available coupled models. Department under the National Topic- GS Paper 1 –Geography Monsoon Mission has failed to forecast Source- TOI the excess rainfall received during 4. Rural India has declared itself open Aug-Sept 2019. defecation free  This year, India ended up with 10%  Prime Minister Narendra Modi has more monsoon rain (or 110% of the recently announced that rural India long period average LPA of 887 mm) and its villages have declared than usual. themselves open defecation free on Related Information the occasion of 150th birth National Monsoon Mission (NMM) anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.  Ministry of Earth Sciences had  It was done under the Swacch Bharat launched NMM in 2012 with a vision to Mission- Gramin. develop a state-of-the-art dynamical  He also announced a second prediction system for monsoon rainfall campaign aimed at eliminating single- on different time scales. use plastic by 2022.  The responsibility of execution and Related Information coordination of this mission is vested Swacch Bharat Mission to the Indian Institute of Tropical  It was launched on October 2, 2014, Meteorology, Pune. which consists of two sub-missions –

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o the Swachh Bharat Mission 6. Mo Sarkar initiative launched (Gramin) (SBM-G): which will  Odisha Chief Minister launched a new be implemented in rural areas governance initiative ‘Mo Sarkar’ on o the Swachh Bharat Mission the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. (Urban): which will be  The objective of the ‘Mo Sarkar’ implemented in urban areas. programme is to provide service with Swacch Bharat Mission- Gramin dignity to people who are coming to  It seeks to eliminate open defecation government offices for different in rural areas by 2019 through purposes. improving access to sanitation.  This is the first such type of  It also seeks to generate awareness to programme in the country. motivate communities to adopt  The phone numbers of people who are sustainable sanitation practices and coming to government offices will be encourage the use of appropriate collected randomly with the purpose technologies for sanitation. to improve the governance system by  It was launched on October 2, 2014, collecting feedback on behaviour and with an aim to achieve universal professionalism of government sanitation coverage, improve officers. cleanliness, and eliminate open  The employees will be ranked as good defecation in the country by October or bad on the basis of the feedback 2, 2019. and those with good rank will get out-  Under SBM-G, a village is ODF when: of-turn promotion and action will be 1. There are no visible faeces in the taken against employees with bad village rank. 2. Every household, as well as Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance public/community institution, uses Source- HT safe technology options for faecal 7. CBDT launches documentation disposal. identification number Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance  The Documentation Identification Source- PIB Number (DIN) system of Central 5. Bathukamma Festival Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has  Recently a nine-day-long floral come into existence with the festival ‘Bathukamma’ begins in generation of about 17,500 Telangana. communications with DIN on the very Related Information first day. About Festival Related Information  It is the state festival of Telangana Documentation Identification Number which marks the beginning of Sharath  The DIN system will apply to all kind Ruthu. of communications from the Income  The festival is celebrated to pray to Tax (IT) Department, whether it is the Goddess for health and related to the investigation, achievements of each family. assessment, rectification, appeals and  During the festival, flowers arranged penalty among other things. and decorated in a big plat in conical  From now onwards every shape in seven layers and this communication with CBDT – be it a arrangement is called as notice, letter, order and summon or Bathukamma. any other correspondence – will have Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture to have a DIN except only if it is in the Source- PIB specified exceptional circumstances.

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 Any communication issued manually  The Administrative Members are under exceptional circumstances retired Members of the Armed Forces would have to be uploaded and who have held the rank of Major regularised on the system portal General/ equivalent or above for a within 15 days of its issuance. period of three years or more. Benefits Note:  This system would ensure greater  The Paramilitary forces including the accountability and transparency in tax Assam Rifles and Coast Guard are administration. outside the tribunal’s purview.  This development would also help Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance taxpayers detect fake notices and Source- PIB letters as the notice would be verifiable on the e-ling portal of the 04.10.2019 department. Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics 1. Rajasthan to create Source- Economics Times pneumoconiosis fund with DMF 8. Armed Forces Tribunal money  The Centre said it was willing to  Rajasthan has announced the creation appoint former Delhi High Court Chief of a Pneumoconiosis Fund, which will Justice Rajendra Menon as Chairman be majorly financed by money from of the Armed Forces Tribunal. the District Mineral Foundation (DMF). Related Information  This Fund will be used to finance a About Tribunal comprehensive policy on the disease.  It is the military tribunal in India,  Pneumoconiosis, a lung disease, established under Armed Forces mostly affects workers who work in Tribunal Act, 2007 to provide effective the mining and construction sectors redressal mechanism for personnel of and deal with soil, silica, coal dust and three armed forces. asbestos. The disease includes  It was established as a statutory body asbestosis, silicosis and coal workers' in 2009 under the Armed Forces pneumoconiosis. Tribunal Act, 2007.  Rajasthan is one of the leading mining  The Principal Bench of AFT is in New states of India, with a distinction of Delhi which has 11 regional benches having more than 33,000 mine leases, as on ( October 2019). the highest in the country. Most of  The objective of this is to adjudicate these are sandstone mines and complaints on the appointments and quarries. conditions of service in respect of Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment persons subject to the Source- Down To Earth o Army Act,1950 2. PRAKASH portal o The Navy Act,1957  PRAKASH (Power Rail Koyla o The Air Force Act, 1950. Availability through Supply Harmony)  It can further provide for appeals portal has been jointly launched by arising out of the orders of courts- the Union Minister of State for Power martial held under the above- and the Ministery of Coal, Mines. mentioned Acts.  The Portal aims at bringing better Composition coordination for coal supplies among  The Composition of Armed Forces all stakeholders viz - Ministry of Tribunal consists of Judicial Members Power, Ministry of Coal, Coal India, who are retired High Court Judges. Railways and power utilities.

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 It will help in ensuring adequate grievance redressal at the palm of availability and optimum utilization of every consumer across the nation. coal at thermal power plants.  The application aims to provide a one-  The Portal is designed to help in stop solution for consumer grievance mapping and monitoring the entire redressal at the palm of every coal supply chain for power plants, consumer across the nation via mobile viz– phones. o Coal Stock at supply end (mines),  The registered consumer will be o coal quantities/ rakes planned, informed about their complaint via o coal quantity in transit and SMS/E-mail with a unique number o coal availability at power which can be tracked by the generating station. consumer.  PRAKASH Portal is developed by NTPC  There will be a time-bound resolution and sources data from different of all grievances and those that are stakeholders such as Central simple in nature will be resolved Electricity Authority (CEA), Centre for within 20 days. Railway Information System (CRIS)  The grievances in Complex nature will and coal companies. be solved within 60 days. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance  If after 60 days the grievance is not Source- PIB resolved, the consumer will be 3. Indo Maldives joint Exercise advised to proceed to consumer fora. "Ekuverin – 19" Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance  The tenth edition of the Joint Military Exercise Ekuverin between the Indian Source- PIB Army and the Maldives National 5. Nomadic Elephant 2019 Defence Force will be organised at  It is the 14th edition of India and Aundh Military Station in Pune, Mongolian joint military training Maharashtra. Exercise conducted at Bakloh in Related Information Himachal Pradesh.  The Indian Army and the Maldives  Nomadic Elephant-XIV is aimed at National Defence Forces have been training troops in counter-insurgency conducting Exercise Ekuverin & counter-terrorism operations under meaning ‘Friends’ in the Dhivehi United Nations mandate. language since 2009. Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence  It held alternatively in India and Source- AIR Maldives focuses on enhancing 6. Village Secretariat system in Andhra interoperability between the two Pradesh forces for carrying out counter-  Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh has insurgency and counter-terrorism recently inaugurated the Village operations in a semi-urban Secretariat system at Karapa village environment under the United Nations near Kakinada on the 150th birth mandate. anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence  Under the new system, one Village Source- PIB Secretariat has been set up for every 4. Consumer App population of 2,000, with each one  Union Minister of Consumer Affairs comprising close to a dozen village launched the ‘Consumer App’ which is officials from various departments like a one-stop solution for consumer police, revenue, etc.

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 The idea behind it is to ensure that its of the species as a whole in the services reach people on the ground, concerned geography. and also to strengthen the existing Related Information Panchayat Raj system. Elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus  These institutions would act as a  It is a type of herpes virus that can bridge between the government and cause a highly fatal haemorrhagic the people by rendering over 500 disease in young Asian elephants. types of services at their doorstep.  When EEHV is triggered, the elephant Related Information dies of massive internal bleeding and Amma Vodi Scheme symptoms which are hardly visible.  This scheme has been launched by  The disease is usually fatal, with a Andhra Pradesh government in June short course of 28-35 hours. 2019, which has been designed to  There is no true cure for check the school-dropout rate and herpesviruses in animals or in humans also to boost admissions in the State- because herpes viruses go latent. run schools. Note:  In the Amma Vodi Scheme, it is  Herpesviridae is a large family of DNA provisioned that the mothers will be viruses that cause infections and given Rs. 15000 annually as financial certain diseases in animals, including assistance if she sends her wards to humans. school or college.  The members of this family are also  The amount will be given to the known as herpesviruses. eligible mothers by the government. Topic- GS Paper 3 –Science and  Earlier, the Amma Vodi Scheme was Technology meant for supporting up the students Source- The Hindu till high school education and now this 8. Humans pollute more than volcanoes: will be extended for intermediate study education also.  According to the decade-long study  It covers all the students who are done by Deep Carbon Observatory, studying in government, social Human activity churns out up to 100 welfare residential and private times more planet-warming carbon colleges which aim is to reduce the each year as all the volcanoes on state’s illiteracy rate Earth. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Related Information Source- TOI  The Deep Carbon Observatory is a 7. Elephant endotheliotropic 500-strong international team of herpesvirus scientists, released a series of papers  Recently four calves between the ages outlining how carbon is stored, of six and ten have died in Nandan emitted and reabsorbed by natural Kanan Zoo in Bhubaneswar, followed and manmade processes. by the fifth elephant that died in  They found that manmade carbon Chandaka forest this week due to dioxide emissions drastically outstrip EEHV. the contribution of volcanoes — which  Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus belch out gas and are often fingered is lethal for young elephants between as a major climate change contributor the ages of one and 12. — to current warming rates.  If a young elephant dies before  Manmade emissions in 2018 alone reproducing, it affects the population topped 37 gigatonnes.

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 By comparison, the CO2 released State or District specific projects annually by volcanoes hovers around implemented by MeitY. 0.3 and 0.4 gigatonnes roughly 100  It will provide real-time, dynamic times less than manmade emissions. analytical project monitoring for Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment critical and high priority 9. Parichay' (identity): A Legal aid clinic Programme/Schemes of MeitY.  Recently five law schools of the  It will also promote transparency and country have jointly launched a legal enhance ease of working. aid clinic called 'Parichay' (identity) to Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance help people excluded from the Source- PIB National Register of Citizens (NRC) appeal before the foreigners' tribunals 07.10.2019 (FTs).  These law schools are Assam's 1. Madhya Pradesh set to get its National Law University and Judicial seventh tiger reserve Academy, West Bengal National  Madhya Pradesh is set to get its 7th University of Juridical Science, tiger reserve which has been Hyderabad's National Academy of proposed to be carved out of the Legal Studies and Research, Delhi's Ratapani wildlife sanctuary; will be National Law University and the known as the Ratapani Tiger Reserve. National Law University of Odisha.  The Ratapani wildlife sanctuary is  The headquarters of Parichay is in spread over the area of Raisen and Guwahati, Assam. Sehore districts of Madhya Pradesh.  Parichay will assist lawyers in drafting  Other six Tiger Reserves in Madhya appeals, conduct research on Pradesh are pertinent questions of law, assist in o Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, training lawyers and paralegals and Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve, generate documentation on the Panna Tiger Reserve, Bori- functioning of FTs. Satpura Tiger Reserve, Kanha  "Parichay will also collaborate with Tiger Reserve, Pench Tiger civil society to provide legal aid to Reserve communities.  Madhya Pradesh is also known as the Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Tiger State of India. Source-Indian Express Related Information 10. Automated Real-Time Performance About Tiger Reserves Smart-board  Tiger Reserves are protected area  The Ministry of Electronics and that aims at conserving the habitat to Information Technology (Meity) has ensure a viable population of the inaugurated an Automated Real-Time tigers along with their prey base in Performance Smart-board which has their habitat. been developed by MeitY.  These are established under the  It helps in effective monitoring and Project Tiger in 1973. measurement of the outcome and  Jim Corbett in Uttarakhand is the first impact of different welfare Tiger Reserve to be established under programmes/ schemes at various Project Tiger. levels for the citizen’s benefit.  National Tiger Conservation  This Performance Smart-board is Authority, established in 2005, single window access for Centre, oversees the management of Project Tiger and Tiger Reserves in India.

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National Tiger Conservation Authority  After the five founding members, (NTCA) OPEC added 11 additional member  It is a statutory body under the Union countries as of 2019. Ministry of Environment, Forest and  They are, in order of joining, Qatar Climate change. (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya  It was provided statutory status by (1962), the United Arab Emirates the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria Act, 2006 which had amended Wild (1971), Ecuador (1973), Gabon Life (Protection) Act, 1972. (1975), Angola (2007), Equatorial  It addresses the administrative as Guinea (2017), and Congo (2018). well as ecological concerns for  However, Qatar terminated its conserving tigers, by providing a membership on Jan. 1, 2019, and statutory basis for the protection of Indonesia suspended its membership tiger reserves. on Nov. 30, 2016, so as of 2019 the Note: organization consists of 14 states.  According to the All India Tiger Topic- GS Paper 2 –International Estimation Report– 2018, Madhya Organisation Pradesh has the highest number of Source- Indian Express tigers followed by Karnataka and 3. Cabinet approves new strategic Uttarakhand. disinvestment process Topic- GS Paper 3 – Environment  The Cabinet has approved a new Source- PIB process of strategic disinvestment 2. Ecuador to quit OPEC in 2020 in with a view to expediting privatisation search of bigger export revenue of select PSUs.  Ecuador, one of the smallest members  The news changes are : of the Organization of the Petroleum o Under the new policy, the Exporting Countries, said that they Department of Investment and leave the OPEC to fiscal problems. Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Related Information under the Ministry of Finance has About Organization of the Petroleum been made the nodal department Exporting Countries (OPEC)) for the strategic disinvestment  It is a permanent, intergovernmental sale. Organization. o Presently, PSUs for strategic sale  It was created at the Baghdad are identified by NITI Aayog, but Conference in 1960 by Iran, Iraq, according to new policy DIPAM and Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. NITI Aayog will now jointly identify  It has its headquarters in Vienna, PSUs for strategic disinvestment. Austria. o  It aims to manage the supply of oil in The DIPAM secretary would now an effort to set the price of oil on the co-chair the inter-ministerial group on disinvestment along with the world market and to avoid secretary of administrative fluctuations that might affect the ministries concerned. economies of both producing and purchasing countries. Related Information  According to its statutes, OPEC About disinvestment membership is open to any country  It is defined as the action of an that is a substantial exporter of oil and organisation or government selling or shares the ideals of the organization. liquidating an asset or subsidiary.

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 In the case of Public Sector  The framework has been co-designed Undertakings (PSU), disinvestment by the World Economic Forum (WEF) means Government selling/ diluting and Apollo Hospitals Group Healthnet its stake (share) in PSUs in which it Global Limited. has a majority holding.  The project is a part of the WEF’s  Disinvestment is carried out as a “Medicine from the Sky” initiative budgetary exercise under which the that aims to develop source materials government announces yearly targets for policymakers and health systems for disinvestment for selected PSUs. to analyse the challenges that come  Government has set the with drone delivery and to compare disinvestment target of 1.05 lakh this model with other competing crore for the current financial year delivery models. 2019-20. Related Information Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics About Drone Source- ET  A drone is an aircraft that operates 4. Peddapalli best Swachh district in the without a pilot on board and is country referred to as an Unmanned Aerial  Peddapalli district has emerged as the Vehicle (UAV). “Overall Best District” in the country  It has three subsets: Remotely Piloted during the annual survey conducted in Aircraft (RPA), Autonomous Aircraft, the country as part of Swachh and Model Aircraft. Survekshan 2019 by the Union  An RPA can be further classified into Ministry of Jal Shakthi. five types on the basis of weight:  Peddapalli district is a district located nano, micro, small, medium and in the northern region of the Indian large. state of Telangana.  RPAs are aircraft that arepiloted from Related Information remote pilot stations.  Out of the survey conducted in 690  The Directorate General of Civil districts and 17,400 villages in the Aviation (DGCA) under the Ministry of country, Peddapalli district emerged Civil Aviation acts as the regulatory overall best district body in the field of civil aviation,  The district had earlier won two responsible for regulating air national awards in Swachh Sundar transport and ensuring compliance to Shauchalay (neat and clean toilets) civil aviation requirements, air safety, and Open Defecation Free (ODF) and airworthiness standards. district with the construction of 1.35 Note: lakh individual sanitary latrines and its  In Rwanda, drone-related pilot utilisation. projects have been implemented on a Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance national scale to deliver medical Source- PIB supplies without delay and at 5. Telangana’s idea of supplying scheduled intervals. medicines to remote areas by drones Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance  The Telangana government has Source- HT adopted a framework to use drones 6. Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for last-mile delivery of essential for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) medical supplies such as blood and mission medical samples in an effort to  Recently, Vishnu Nandan, a 32-year- increase the access to healthcare to old polar researcher from Kerala, will communities across the state. be the only Indian among 300

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scientists from across the world  It was held in English, Spanish and aboard the multidisciplinary drifting Chinese. observatory for the Study of Arctic Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture Climate expedition. Source- PIB Related Information 8. E-Waste CliniC About the MOSAiC mission  The Bhopal Municipal Corporation and  The objective of the mission to study the Central Pollution Control Board the impact of climate change on the have joined hands to set up the Arctic and how it could affect the rest country’s first e-waste clinic in of the world. Bhopal.  It is the largest ever Arctic expedition  Central Pollution Control Board will in history, which is first of its kind to offer technical support. conduct a study of this scale at the  The clinic is being conceived in North Pole for an entire year. compliance with the Solid Waste  The mission has received funding Management Rules, 2016. from U.S. institutions such as the  This would enable segregation, National Science Foundation, the processing and disposal of waste from Department of Energy, the National both household and commercial units. Oceanic and Atmospheric Related Information Administration, and NASA. About E-waste Topic- GS Paper 3 –Science and  Electronic waste/ e-waste describes Technology discarded electrical or electronic Source- The Hindu devices. 7. World Congress of Poets  Used electronics which are destined  Recently Vice President of India for refurbishment, reuse, resale, addressed the valedictory ceremony salvage recycling through material of 39th World Congress of Poets at recovery, or disposal are also Bhubaneswar. considered e-waste. Related Information  Informal processing of e-waste in About 39th World Congress of Poets developing countries can lead to  The World Congress of Poets was adverse human health effects and founded in 1969 by Amado M.Yuzon, environmental pollution. Krishna Srinivas, Lou Lutour and Tin- Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Wen Chung. Source- PIB  It was held for the first time in Manila in 1969.  This year the theme was “Compassion through Poetry.”

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09.10.2019

1. Rafale Fighter jets

Source- TOI Source- TOI  Defence Minister formally received the Related Information first Rafale fighter jet known as RB- Dassault Rafale fighter jets 001 built for the Indian Air Force  It is a French twin-engine, canard (IAF) in France; however, the first delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft batch of the jets will arrive in India designed and built by Dassault only in May 2020. Aviation.  India had ordered 36 Rafale fighter  It is intended to perform in-depth jets from France in a deal worth strike, anti-ship strike and nuclear 59,000 crore rupees in September deterrence missions. 2016 which are expected to arrive in  The Rafale has been used in combat India by September 2022. over Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq and Syria. Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence Source- The Hindu

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2. Ganga Amantran Abhiyan  It is the first-ever national digital  Jal Shakti Ministery has launched the platform on oral health information 'Ganga Aamantran Abhiyan', a and knowledge dissemination. month-long exploratory open-water  e-DantSeva contains information rafting and kayaking expedition, about the National Oral Health covering nearly 2,500 kilometres from Program, detailed list of all the dental Devprayag in Uttarakhand to Ganga facility and colleges, Information, Sagar in West Bengal. Education and Communication (IEC) About material.  This is the first-ever effort by the  It has a unique feature called the National Mission for Clean Ganga to ‘Symptom Checker’, which provides raft across the entire stretch of the information on symptoms of river. dental/oral health problems, ways to  It is a nine-member team of prevent these, the treatment modes, swimmers and rafters from the three and also directs the user to find their services of the Indian Armed Forces nearest available dental facility will be led by acclaimed international (public and private sectors both). open-water swimmer Wing  The website also provides GPRS Commander Paramvir Singh. route/images/satellite images of the  It is also the longest ever social facility for easier access to the general campaign undertaken through an population. adventure sporting activity to spread  The developed IEC material aims to the message of river rejuvenation and eliminate the prevailing myths and water conservation on a massive misconception regarding maternal scale. and child health and also encourages  It will cover the five Ganga basin a visit to the dentist during pregnancy states, namely Uttarakhand, Uttar and early childhood years. Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West National Oral Health Programme Bengal with stops at Rishikesh,  It was introduced in 2014. Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad,  The Center for Dental Education and Varanasi, Patna, Sonepur and Research (CDER), AIIMS, New Delhi Kolkata. functions as the National Center of  The expedition will draw attention to Excellence for Implementation of the ecological challenges being faced NOHP. by the Ganga.  The Centre has been instrumental in  The expedition will be supported by all providing consultation and support for the stakeholders of Namami Gange the research and other activities for including the MPs of the constituency the National Oral Health Program. along Ganga, members of Ganga Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Praharis, Ganga Vichar Manch among Source- PIB others. 4. Cotton Technical Assistance Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Programme Source- PIB  Union ministery of Textiles announced 3. eDantseva that India will cover five more African  Union Minister of Health and Family countries in the second phase of its Welfare launched the eDantseva cotton technical assistance website and mobile application. programme (TAP) for the region. Related Information

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About cotton technical assistance  Union minister Harsh Vardhan programme launched the ‘Trans Fat-Free’ logo.  India implemented a technical assistance  The logo has been launched to programme (TAP) for cotton in six African accelerate FSSAI’s ‘Eat Right India’, a countries, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, movement to phase out trans-fat in Chad, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda, from the country. 2012 to 2018.  Food outlets that use trans-fat free  In the five-year-long second phase, fats/oil and do not have industrial the programme will be scaled up in trans-fat more than 0.2g / 100g of size and coverage and will be food, can display the logo. introduced in five additional countries,  FSSAI aims to reduce the industrially namely Mali, Ghana, Togo, Zambia produced trans-fats on food supply to and Tanzania. less than two per cent by 2022.  The Cotton TAP programme will now  Trans-fats are the worst form of fats cover 11 African countries including that create high health risks. the C4 (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad  Industrial trans-fats are used in vegetable and Mali). fats/oils, vanaspati, margarine and baked  Technical Assistance Programme foods for longer shelf life. (TAP) covers the following broad  India targets to eliminate trans-fat by areas – 2022, a year ahead of the global 1. Increasing cotton production (area target by the World Health expansion and productivity Organization. enhancement) Topic-GS Paper 3 –Science & Technology 2. Improving Extension & Support Source- Down To Earth Service Efficiency 6. Asia Environmental Enforcement 3. Enhancing R&D/ Quality Control Award 4. Marketing/Distribution Infrastructure  Senior Indian Forest Service officer 5. Strengthening/development of cotton Ramesh Pandey has been selected for residue-based value addition industry the prestigious Asia Environmental 6. Creating/Strengthening Downstream Enforcement Award by the United Industry in Textiles and Clothing Nations Environment Programme. World Cotton Day  He will receive the award on  For the first time, the World Cotton Day is November 13 at the United Nations being celebrated from 7th October to 11th Conference Centre in Bangkok. October 2019, in Geneva. Related Information  It is organized by the WTO in Asia Environmental Enforcement Award collaboration with UN, FAO, UNCTD  The award recognises outstanding (United Nations Conference on Trade achievements by public organisations and Development), International and individuals in Asia to combat Trade Center and International Cotton transboundary environmental crime. Advisory Committee.  The 2019 Awards are presented by  It aims to celebrate the advantages of the UN Environment programme in cotton, ranging from its qualities as a natural fibre to the benefits people obtain partnership with the UNDP, the United from its production, transformation, trade Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and consumption. INTERPOL, USAID, Freeland Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Foundation, and the Government of Source- Economics Times Sweden. 5. India to be trans-fat free by 2022: Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment FSSAI Source- HT

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7. Nobel Prize 2019 in Physics climate forecast services to countries  A Canadian-American cosmologist in the Hindu-Kush-Himalayan (HKH) James Peebles and two Swiss Region scientists Michel Mayor & Didier Related Information Queloz won this year's Nobel Prize in HKH region Physics.  The HKH region spans Afghanistan,  They got this award for exploring the Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, evolution of the universe and Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, discovering a new kind of planet, with Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and implications for that nagging Uzbekistan. question: Does life exist only on  It is considered the Third Pole [after earth. the North and South Poles] and has  Canadian-born James Peebles, 84, an significant implications for climate. emeritus professor at Princeton  The Third Pole, which contains vast University, won for his theoretical cryospheric zones, is also the world’s discoveries in cosmology. largest store of snow and ice outside  Swiss star-gazers Michel Mayor, 77, the polar region. and Didier Queloz, 53, both of the Cryosphere University of Geneva, were honoured  According to the 5th Assessment for finding an exoplanet — a planet Report of the Intergovernmental outside our solar system — that orbits Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the a sun-like star. cryosphere, comprising snow, river Topic- GS Paper 3 –S & T and lake ice, sea ice, glaciers, ice Source- The Hindu shelves and ice sheets, and frozen 8. Nobel Prize 2019 in Medicine ground.  The 2019 Nobel Prize for Physiology or  It plays a major role in the Earth’s Medicine has been awarded to climate system through its impact on scientists William G Kaelin, Jr, Peter J the surface energy budget, the water Ratcliffe and Gregg L Semenza. cycle, primary productivity, surface  They received the award jointly for gas exchange and sea level. their discoveries of "how cells sense  The cryosphere is a natural integrator and adapt to oxygen availability. of climate variability and provides one  It will help to establish the basis for of the most visible signatures of our understanding of how oxygen climate change. levels affect cellular metabolism and National Action Plan on Climate Change physiological function.  The Government has launched the  This research "paved the way for National Action Plan on Climate promising new strategies to fight Change (NAPCC) in June 2008 to anaemia, cancer and many other achieve its goals and to deal with the diseases." issues related to climate change.  It is the 110th prize in the category  NAPCC comprises eight missions in that has been awarded since 1901. specific areas of solar energy, Topic- GS Paper 3 –S & T enhanced energy efficiency, Source- The Hindu sustainable habitat, water, sustaining 9. Hindu-Kush-Himalayan (HKH) Region Himalayan ecosystems, Green India,  The India Meteorological Department sustainable agriculture and strategic (IMD) will collaborate with knowledge for climate change. meteorological agencies in China and Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment Pakistan, among others, to provide Source- Indian Express

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10. National Nutrition Survey followed by Hong Kong at third place  The Comprehensive National Nutrition and Netherlands and Switzerland at Survey released which is the first-ever 4th and 5th pl-aces respectively. national nutrition survey conducted  China was ranked at 28th position and by the government. was the highest-ranked among BRICS Findings of the survey nations.  Malnutrition among children in urban  Vietnam showed higher India is characterised by relatively improvements in the region and was poor levels of breastfeeding, higher ranked at 67. prevalence of iron and Vitamin D India’s ranking deficiency as well as obesity.  India has slipped down 10 places to  The rural parts of the country see a rank 68th in 2019 from 58th in 2018 higher percentage of children on the global competitiveness index suffering from stunting, underweight which is among the worst-performing and wasting and lower consumption of BRICS nations along with Brazil milk products. (ranked even lower than India at 71st  The survey shows that 83% of this year). children between 12 and 15 months  The index has flagged limited ICT continued to be breastfed, a higher (information, communications and proportion of children in this age technology) adoption, poor health group residing in rural areas are conditions and low healthy life breastfed (85%) compared to children expectancy as the reasons. in urban areas (76%).  In the overall ranking, India is  Breastfeeding is inversely followed by some of its neighbours proportional to household wealth and including Sri Lanka at 84th place, other factors influencing this trend Bangladesh at 105th, Nepal at 108th may include working mothers who and Pakistan at 110th place. have to travel long distances to reach Related Information their workplace. Global Competitiveness Index  Children and adolescents residing in  The Global Competitiveness Index is urban areas also have a higher released by the World Economic (40.6%) prevalence of iron deficiency Forum. compared to their rural counterparts  It was launched in 1979. (29%),  It ranks the competitiveness Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance landscape of 141 economies through Source- The Hindu 103 indicators organised into 12 pillars. 10.10.2019 The report has twelve pillars of competitiveness. These are: 1. India slips down 10 places to rank a. Institutions 68th in 2019 global competitiveness b. Appropriate infrastructure index c. Stable macroeconomic framework  World Economic Forum (WEF) has d. Good health and primary education released The Global Competitiveness e. Higher education and training Index 2019. f. Efficient goods markets Highlights of the Index g. Efficient labour markets  Singapore has become the world's h. Developed financial markets most competitive economy in 2019, i. Ability to harness existing technology pushing the US to the second place

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j. Market size—both domestic and from the coast beyond 10 to 12 international kilometres. k. Production of new and different goods  The GEMINI device receives and using the most sophisticated transfers the data received from production processes GAGAN satellite/s to a mobile through l. Innovation capability Bluetooth communication. World Economic Forum  A mobile application developed by  It was established in 1971 as a not- INCOIS decodes and displays the for-profit foundation and is information in nine regional headquartered in Geneva, languages. Switzerland. Background  The objective of WEF is to improve the  The GAGAN satellite system had state of the world by engaging developed after the Ockhi cyclone in business, political, academic and 2017 when fishermen went out, for other leaders of society to shape deep-sea fishing before the onset of global, regional and industry agendas. the cyclone and could not be informed  Some of the most significant reports about the developing cyclone. published by the WEF are  It has been developed by the Indian o Global Gender Gap Report National Centre for Ocean Information o Global Competitiveness Report Services (INCOIS), an autonomous o Global Travel and Tourism Report body under the Ministry of Earth o Global Risks Report among Sciences (MoES) and Airports others. Authority of India (AAI). o Draft social security code a good  It utilizes the GAGAN (GPS Aided Geo step but lacks specifics, clarity Augmented Navigation) satellite Topic- GS Paper 3 –Important Index system to transmit the PFZ, OSF and Source- The Hindu disaster warnings to fishermen with 2. Gagan Enabled Mariner’s Instrument GAGAN system consisting of three for Navigation and Information geosynchronous satellites (GSAT-8, (GEMINI): disaster warning device GSAT-10 and GSAT-15).  Union Minister for Earth Sciences,  GAGAN foot-print covers the entire Science & Technology has recently Indian Ocean round the clock. launched Gagan Enabled Mariner’s Topic- GS Paper 3 –Disaster Instrument for Navigation and Management Information (GEMINI). Source- PIB About (GEMINI) 3. WHO India Country Cooperation  It has been developed by Indian Strategy 2019–2023 National Centre for Ocean Information  Union Minister for Health & Family Services (INCOIS), and Airports Welfare has launched ‘The WHO India Authority of India (AAI). Country Cooperation Strategy 2019–  It is a GAGAN system-enabled device 2023: A Time of Transition’. that will disseminate seamless and Country Cooperation Strategy effective emergency information and  The Country Cooperation Strategy communication on disaster warnings, provides a strategic roadmap for WHO Potential Fishing Zones and the Ocean to work with the Government of India States Forecasts to fishermen. towards achieving its health sector  The device will also help to provide goals. information related to disaster warnings when fishermen move away

19 CURRENT AFFAIRS – OCTOBER–2019

 The four areas identified for strategic Topic- GS Paper 2 –International cooperation of WHO with the country Organisation encompass are: Source- PIB a. to accelerate progress on Universal 4. DHRUV - Pradhan Mantri Innovative Health Coverage; Learning Programme b. to promote health and wellness by  Union Human Resource Development addressing determinants of health; Minister has launched the Pradhan c. to protect the population better Mantri Innovative Learning against health emergencies; Programme- ‘DHRUV’ from Indian d. to enhance India’s global leadership in Space Research Organisation (ISRO) health. Headquarters at Bengaluru.  The India CCS is one of the first that About Program fully aligns itself with the newly  The objective of the Pradhan Mantri adopted WHO 13th General Innovative Learning Programme helps Programme of Work and its 'triple to allow talented students to realize billion' targets, the Sustainable their full potential and contribute to Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO society. South-East Asia Region’s eight  The Programme is being started to Flagship Priorities. identify and encourage talented  It captures the work of the United children to enrich their skills and Nations Sustainable Development knowledge. Framework for 2018–2022.  The programme will be called DHRUV Related Information (after the Pole Star) and every  Recently the member countries of the student to be called ‘DHRUV TARA’. It World Health Organisation (WHO) will cover two areas i.e. Science and Regional Committee for South-East Performing Arts. Asia have resolved to eliminate highly  There will be 60 students in all, 30 infectious diseases Measles and from each area across the country Rubella (both are Viral Diseases)  The students will be broadly from by 2023. classes 9 to 12, from all schools WHO’s Regional Committee for South- including government and private. East Asia  This is only the first phase of the  It is a World Health Organization’s programme which will be expanded governing body in the South-East Asia gradually to other fields like creative Region, with representatives from all writing etc. 11 Member States of the Region. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance  It meets every year to review Source- PIB progress in health development in the 5. Saturn: the most moons in our Solar Region. System  It formulates resolutions on health  The International Astronomical issues for the Member States, as well Union’s Minor Planet Center confirmed as considers the regional implications 20 new moons orbiting Saturn, of World Health Assembly resolutions. making it the planet with the most  The Member Countries are: moons in our Solar System, at 82. Bangladesh, Bhutan,Democratic  The 20 had been discovered by Scott People’s Republic of S Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution Korea,India,Indonesia,Maldives,Myan for Science. mar,Nepal,Sri Lanka,Thailand,Timor-  Until their confirmation, the planet with Leste, the most moons was Jupiter, at 79.

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 Each of the newly discovered objects Topic- GS Paper 3- Indian Economy in orbit around Saturn is about 5km Source- Business Standard (three miles) in diameter; 17 of them 7. 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry orbit the planet "backwards" which is  The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry known as a retrograde direction. awarded to John B Goodenough of the  The other three moons orbit in a University of Texas; M Stanley prograde direction - the same Whittingham of the State University of direction as Saturn rotates. New York at Binghamton; and Akira  NASA website shows that our Solar Yoshino of Asahi Kasei Corporation System’s planets together have 205 and Meijo University in Japan. confirmed moons now.  They got this prestigious award for  Saturn and Jupiter, with 161 between the development of the lithium-ion them, account for nearly 80% of battery, which "laid the foundation of these. a wireless, fossil-fuel-free society."  Another 20% are orbiting Uranus (27) About the Lithium Battery and Neptune (14) and the remaining  The lithium-ion battery is a three moons; one is Earth’s own while lightweight, rechargeable and the other two are with Mars. powerful battery that is now used in Note: everything from mobile phones to  Mercury and Venus do not have a laptops and electric vehicles. moon.  It can also store significant amounts Topic- GS Paper 1 –Geography of energy from solar and wind power, Source- Down to Earth making possible a fossil fuel-free 6. Govt sets up a high-level panel to society. check money laundering activities  The foundation of the lithium-ion  The government set up a high-level battery was laid during the oil crisis of inter-ministerial committee chaired by the 1970s. revenue secretary for better Topic- Important for PCS Exams coordination among various Source- The Hindu departments and law enforcement 8. India International Cooperatives agencies to prevent money laundering Trade Fair activities.  The first-ever ‘India International  The 19-member Inter-Ministerial Cooperatives Trade Fair’ (IICTF) is Coordination Committee (IMCC) has going to be held at Pragati Maidan, five secretaries, including from New Delhi from 11th till 13th October, ministries of finance and external 2019. affairs, and chiefs of various  The Trade Fair is aimed at promoting regulatory authorities, as well as cooperative to cooperative trade probe agencies, according to a within India and abroad leading to notification. enhanced rural and farm prosperity  Besides ensuring operational co- and also for doubling the farmer’s operation between the government, income. law enforcement agencies, the  The Fair is being conducted with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India and support of one international the regulators or supervisors, the organization (NEDAC), three committee would also work on the Ministries, four State Governments development and implementing and several apex levels Indian policies on anti-money laundering and cooperative organizations. countering the financing of terrorism. Related Information

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Yuva Sahakar Cooperative Enterprise Note: Support and Innovation Scheme 2019  According to the government, India’s  The scheme will be launched during maternal mortality rate has declined the fair by Union Minister for from 254 per 1,00,000 live births in Agriculture with an annual outlay of 2004-06 to 130 in 2014-16. Between 100 crores. 2001 and 2016, the infant mortality  The Scheme is liberal to cooperatives rate came down from 66 per 1,000 in the North Eastern Region, live births to 34. cooperatives registered and operating Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance in Aspirational Districts as identified Source- PIB by NITI Aayog, cooperatives with 100 2. Advanced Air Quality Early Warning % women/SC/ST/ PwD members. System  It is in line with the Government’s  The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences focus on programmes like Start-up (MoES) has launched an advanced Air India and Stand-up India aimed at Quality Early Warning System. young entrepreneurs with new and Related Information innovative ideas. Advanced Air Quality Early Warning Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance System Source- PIB  It has been developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, 11.10.2019 Pune, under MoES.  It uses data of stubble burning 1. SUMAN scheme: Assures free incidents from the past 15 years to medicines for pregnant women predict the date and place of the next  The central government launched the burning, and help authorities to act in Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan advance. scheme, under which pregnant  Using the data, the Centre for women, mothers up to 6 months after Development of Advanced Computing delivery, and all sick newborns will be (C-DAC), under the aegis of the able to avail free healthcare benefits. Central Pollution Control Board.  The scheme will largely help in  It will create probability maps to alert bringing down maternal and infant government agencies about areas mortality rates in the country. where the chances of stubble burning  The scheme provides the zero are going to be high. expense access to identification and  It can predict the air pollution level for management of complications during the next 72 hours. and after the pregnancy.  It can also forecast the level of  Under the scheme, the pregnant pollutants like particulate matter (PM) women will have a zero expense 2.5, PM10, and dust, coming from delivery and C-section facility in case sources other than stubble burning. of complications at public health Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment facilities. Source- Down to Earth  It will ensure respectful care with 3. Government plans 1,400 km long privacy and dignity, with early great ‘green wall’ of India initiation and support for  The Centre is mulling an ambitious breastfeeding, zero dose vaccination plan to create a 1,400 km long and 5 and free and zero expense services for km wide green belt from Gujarat to sick newborns and neonates. the Delhi-Haryana border.

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 It is based on the lines of the “Great and the belt of humid savannas to the Green Wall” running through the south. width of Africa, from Dakar (Senegal) Topic- GS Paper 1 –Geography to Djibouti, to combat climate change Source- Times of India and desertification. 4. World Vision Report  It will help in restoring degraded land  World Health Organization recently through afforestation along with the released its first World Vision Report. Aravali hill range that spans across Highlights of the report Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and  The report warned that population Delhi, and also act as a barrier for ageing would lead to a dramatic dust coming from the deserts in increase in the number of people with western India and Pakistan. vision impairment and blindness.  The idea of creating a huge green belt  The report has said that the was part of the agenda of the recently prevalence of vision impairment in held conference (COP14) of the United low- and middle-income regions was Nations Convention to Combat estimated by the report to be four Desertification (UNCCD) in India. times higher than in high-income  The desertification and land regions. degradation atlas of India brought out  It also said that the rural populations by the ISRO in 2016, revealed that face greater barriers to accessing eye Gujarat, Rajasthan and Delhi were care due to them having to travel among states/UT where more than greater distances and poor road 50% of the total area was degraded quality, among other factors. land and those under the threat of  It also highlighted that there was a desertification. gender disparity in accessibility to eye Related Information care services, with women standing a Great Green Wall of Africa lesser chance of availing them.  It aims to restore Africa’s degraded Causes of the rise in vision impairment landscapes and transform millions of  The various reasons for the increase lives in one of the world’s poorest in numbers of people living with vision regions, the Sahel which is still only impairment are 15% complete. o Ageing populations  It is about 8,000 km natural wonder o Changing lifestyles of the world stretching across the o Limited access to eye care entire width of the continent when (particularly in low- and middle- once fully completed, the Wall will be income countries.) the largest living structure on the India Praised planet.  The report has praised India for its  African countries during the UNCCCD National Programme for Control of COP14 sought global support in terms Blindness. of finance to make the Wall a reality National Programme for Control of in the continent’s Sahel region by Blindness and Visual Impairment 2030. (NPCB&VI)  The Sahel is a semiarid region of  It was launched in the year 1976 as a western and north-central Africa 100% centrally sponsored scheme extending from Senegal eastward to (now 60:40 in all states and 90:10 in Sudan. the NE States) with the goal of  It forms a transitional zone between reducing the prevalence of blindness the arid Sahara (desert) to the north to 0.3% by 2020.

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 The prevalence rate of blindness and the Ministry of Health at the centre targets and in the states. o Prevalence of Blindness - 1.1%.  The mandate of the Division of (Survey 2001-02). Healthcare Technology at NHSRC is to o Prevalence of Blindness - 1. %. draw up technical specifications for (Survey 2006-07). technologies procured under National o Prevalence of Blindness target - Health Mission. 0.3% (by the year 2020). Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Note: Source- PIB a. Presbyopia which is a condition in 6. 9th RCEP Intersessional Ministerial which it is difficult to see nearby  Union Minister of Commerce & objects has affected 1.8 billion people Industry and Railways will attend the which occur with advancing age. 9th RCEP Intersessional Ministerial b. The common refractive error called meeting to be held in Bangkok in myopia, which is a condition in which Thailand. it is difficult to see objects at a Related Information distance. Regional Comprehensive Economic c. Trachoma is caused due to bacterial Partnership (RCEP) infection in the eye which is  It is a proposed free trade agreement eliminated n many countries including between 10 member states of the India. Association of Southeast Asian Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Nations. (Important Report)  The Association of Southeast Asian Source- Down to Earth Nations (ASEAN) has Free Trade 5. National Health Systems Resource Agreements (FTAs) with six partners Centre (NHSRC) namely People’s Republic of China  The Ministry of Health and Family (ACFTA), Republic of Korea (AKFTA), Welfare in collaboration with the Japan (AJCEP), India (AIFTA) and World Health Organization formally Australia and New Zealand announced the re-designation of (AANZFTA). National Health Systems Resource  RCEP negotiations were formally Centre, as the WHO Collaborating launched in November 2012 at 21st Centre for Priority Medical Devices ASEAN Summit held in Phnom Penh, and Health Technology Policy. Cambodia. Related Information  The objective of launching RCEP National Health Systems Resource negotiation is to achieve a modern, Centre comprehensive, high quality and  It has been set up under the National mutually beneficial economic Health Mission (NHM) of Government partnership agreement among the of India to serve as an apex body for ASEAN member states and ASEAN’s technical assistance in 2006. FTA partners.  It has a 23 member Governing Body,  Cambodia, Brunei, Indonesia, chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Health, Government of India. Singapore, Thailand and Myanmar are  It helps to assist in policy and strategy the 10 ASEAN Members countries. development in the provision and Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance mobilization of technical assistance to Source- PIB the states and in capacity building for

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7. ‘AngiKaar’ campaign  The C40 group was started in 2005 by  Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar the then Mayor of London, Ken Deb inaugurated the ‘AngiKaar’ Livingstone, and got its name in 2006 campaign to bring the beneficiaries of since it had 40 members that year. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban  It has 96 members at present, (PMAY-U) under one fold of other representing over 70 crore people, central government implemented the and one-quarter of the global scheme. economy. Topic-GS Paper 2 –Government Schemes  These cities have the potential to Source- PIB deliver 40 per cent of the emissions 8. 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature reductions to meet the Paris targets.  Austria’s Peter Handke won the 2019  The host city of this year’s conference Nobel Prize for Literature, and Polish (scheduled to last from October 9 to author Olga Tokarczuk awarded the October 12) Copenhagen, plans to 2018 Nobel prize of literature which become carbon neutral by 2025. was postponed in 2018.  At the 2019 Summit, the Mayor of Los  Austria’s Peter Handke won the 2019 Angeles will take over as chair of the prize for “for an influential work that group. with linguistic ingenuity has explored  The cities from India that are part of the periphery and the specificity of the C40 are Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, human experience. Jaipur, and Kolkata.  Polish author Olga Tokarczuk won the Topic- GS-2- International Organisation 2018 prize for “a narrative Source- Indian Express imagination that with encyclopaedic passion represents the crossing of 14.10.2019 boundaries as a form of life.” Note: Olga Tokarczuk, the 15th woman to 1. RBI introduces a new reporting win the Nobel Literature Prize, also won the system "CISBI" for co-operative banks International Booker Prize in 2018.  The Reserve Bank of India has Topic- Important for PCS Exam introduced a new reporting system – Source- The Hindu the Central Information System for 9. C40 World Mayors’ Summit Banking Infrastructure (CISBI) – for  The C40 World Mayors’ Summit is a all co-operative banks. three-day conference where city  Under this system, these banks are leaders from around the world share required to submit information ideas on green urban development, pertaining to opening/closing/ and on ways to get national conversion of branches, offices, non- governments to act on climate issues. administratively independent offices  The C40 connects more than 96 of the (extension counters, satellite offices), world’s largest cities to deliver urgent and customer service points (ATMs) in and essential climate action needed to a single proforma online on the CISBI secure a sustainable future for urban portal. citizens worldwide.  All co-operative banks should submit  The group is committed to delivering immediately and in any case, not later on climate targets set under the 2016 than one week the information Paris Agreement and sets the bar for relating to opening, closure, merger, cities to develop and implement local shifting and conversion of bank level plans that comply with those branches/offices/NAIOs/CSPs online targets.

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through the CISBI portal, the central  The Central Government is planning bank said in a circular. to create a National Coordination  To ensure correctness of data on the Centre (NCC) which will function as a CISBI, in the last week of every databank on Maoists' core strongholds month, banks have to generate a ‘nil and cadres. report’ in the CISBI for position as on Related Information last day of the previous month, About the Centre indicating the total number of  The National Coordination Center functioning branches, offices, NAIOs, (NCC) will act as a synergy point for CSPs, and submit it through the CISBI anti – Maoist operations and after authenticating its correctness. intelligence gathering.  The CISBI replaces the legacy master  The NCC will also utilise the office file system. The new reporting experience and knowledge of retired system is applicable to urban co- police officers who have served in operative banks, State co-operative anti-Maoist operations in areas of banks and district central co- Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and operative banks. Chhattisgarh. Topic- GS Paper 3 –Indian Economy  The coordination centre will also Source- Business Line identify the sources of finance to the 2. Pangio bhujia: A new subterranean Maoists and work to neutralize the fish species network.  Researchers from Kerala have About Naxals discovered a new species of eel-loach  The term ‘Naxal’ derives its name named ‘Pangio bhujia’ in Kozhikode from a village called Naxalbari in the district of state. State of West Bengal where the Related Information movement had its origin under the Pangio Bhujia leadership of Charu Majumdar and  The species has been named ‘Pangio Kanu Sanyal. bhujia’ due to its resemblance to the  The Naxals are considered far-left North Indian snack, bhujia. radical communists who support  It is a unique species of miniature Maoist political ideology. well-dwelling subterranean fish.  Naxalism originated as a rebellion  It is the first species of eel-loach in the against lack of development and world that has been discovered to be poverty at the local level in the rural living in subterranean environments. parts of eastern India.  They are generally found in fast-  Their origin can be traced to the split flowing streams in the south and that took place in the Communist south-east Asia. Party of India (Marxist) in 1967 which  It resides in purest waters of deep led to the formation of the Communist subterranean aquifers. Party of India (Marxist and Leninist).  It has several unique characters  Initially, the movement had its centre including the absence of dorsal fin in West Bengal thereafter, it spread which has never been encountered in into Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha genus Pangio to which this new and Andhra Pradesh. species belongs. Topic- GS Paper 3 –Internal Security Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment Source- PIB Source- Down to Earth 4. Indo-Japan Joint Military Exercise 3. National Coordination Centre DHARMA GUARDIAN – 2019

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 Exercise DHARMA GUARDIAN-219 will the early southwest monsoon of 2014. be conducted at Vairengte, Mizoram Typhoon Hagibis (2019) between India and Japan from 19 Oct Topic- GS Paper 1 –Geography 2019 to 02 Nov 2019. Source- BBC Related Information 6. Mobile App, “mHariyali” Launchedfor About the Exercise ‘Environment Protection in Government  It is an annual joint military exercise Colonies’ Website between Indian and Japan since 2018.  Housing & Urban Affairs Minister of  The exercise aims to share experience State Shri Hardeep S Puri launched' gained during various Counter- mHariyali' mobile application, which Terrorism Operations in respective encourages public participation in Countries. planting trees and other Green drives  The exercise with Japan is crucial and for the benefit of the public. significant in terms of security  People can now upload challenges faced by both the nations information/photos of any plantation in the backdrop of global terrorism. done by them, which is linked to the Other exercises between India and app and will be displayed on the Japan website epgc.gov.in.  Exercise Malabar– It is a trilateral  The App provides for automatic naval exercise involving the United geotagging of plants. States, Japan and India as permanent  This app will also enable nodal officers partners. to periodically monitor the plantation.  JIMEX- It is a bilateral maritime Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment exercise between India and Japan. GS-2- Governance  Sahayog-Kaijin – It is a joint bilateral Source- Orissadiary exercise between the Indian Coast 7. Global Fund to fight against AIDS, Guard and the Japan Coast Guard. tuberculosis and malaria (GFTAM) Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence  French President has said that the Source- HT Global Fund to fight against AIDS, 5. Typhoon Hagibis hits Japan tuberculosis and malaria has raised at  Typhoon Hagibis caused flooding and least USD 13.92 billion for the next landslides as it reached Japan at 225 three years. km/h wind speeds. Related Information  More than 100 people were injured GFTAM across the country after Typhoon  It is an international financial Hagibis landed on Japan's main island organization which was formed in of Honshu. 2002. Typhoon Hagibis  It is headquartered in Geneva,  The name Hagibis has been used to Switzerland. name four tropical cyclones in the  It aims to attract, leverage and invest western North Pacific Ocean. The additional resources to end epidemics name was contributed by the of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and Philippines and means "rapidity" or malaria. "swiftness."  It is a partnership between Typhoon Hagibis (2002)- a super governments, civil society, the private typhoon that never affected land sector and people affected by the Typhoon Hagibis (2007 – one of the diseases. last storms during the 2007 season.  The organisation mobilizes and Tropical Storm Hagibis – formed from invests more than US$4 billion a year

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to support programmes run by local consumers must store and process experts in more than 100 countries. them within the borders of the Topic- GS Paper 2 –Economics country. Source- Economics Times  The main intent behind data 8. India rejects RCEP e-commerce localisation is to protect the personal chapter and financial information of the  India has rejected the e-commerce country’s citizens and residents from chapter of the Regional foreign surveillance and give local Comprehensive Economic Partnership governments and regulators the agreement. jurisdiction to call for the data when  The e-commerce chapter contains required. clauses that, if India had agreed to  The data localisation is also essential them, would have prevented it from to national security. implementing data localisation rules  Storing of data locally is expected to on companies doing business in India. help law-enforcement agencies to  If India did not agree to the e- access information that is needed for commerce chapter clauses, the detection of a crime or to gather negotiations were now entering a evidence. frantic phase because there were still Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics several uncertainties related to the Source- Indian Express cross-border transfer of electronic 9. Kanyashree University information that remained.  West Bengal government has decided  India has proposed locating to set up Kanyashree University in computing facilities inside the country Nadia district and Kanyashree if it is meant to protect its essential colleges across the state so as to security interests and national empower girls. interests at the ongoing negotiations Related Information of the proposed Regional Kanyashree scheme Comprehensive Economic Partnership  It was started by the West Bengal (RCEP) trade agreement. government to empower girls in 2013. Background  The ‘Kanyashree Prakalpa’ seeks to  Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) in its improve the status and well being of April 2018 notification mandated “all girls, particularly those from socio- system providers shall ensure that the economically disadvantaged families entire data relating to payment through conditional cash transfers. systems operated by them are stored Objectives in a system only in India”.  To ensure that girls study in schools  It later clarified that a copy of and delay their marriages until they domestic data can be stored abroad in attain 18 years of age. the case of cross-border transactions  To empower girls from school to which the financial services university level so that they can agreement (FSA) will partly nullify become independent women. that position.  To improve the status and well-being Data localisation of girls, particularly those from socio-  It is the act of storing data on any economically disadvantaged families device physically present within the through conditional cash transfers. borders of a country  The scheme has two cash transfer  Localisation mandates that companies components collecting critical data about (a) An annual incentive of Rs 750 is

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given to girls in the age group 13 to Source- The Economic Times 18 years old and studying in Class 8 2. Pani Bachao Paisa Kamao Scheme for every year till they continue their  It is a cash incentive scheme to save education–provided they are power and water which recently got unmarried at the time. recognition by ‘The Royal Swedish (b) A one-time grant of Rs 25,000 is Academy of Sciences’. also given to girls once they attain the  ‘Pani Bachao Paisa Kamao’ was age of 18 years, provided they are launched last year as a pilot project by engaged in the academic or the Punjab State Power Corporation occupational pursuit and unmarried. Limited (PSPCL). Note:  This scheme was designed by Nobel  In 2017, the Kanyashree scheme won Prize winners of economics- Abhijit the United Nations for Public Service Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael award for its Kanyashree scheme. Kremer. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance  The Royal Swedish Academy of Source- PIB Sciences described their work as a “new experiment-based approach” 15.10.2019 that has “transformed development economics” in Punjab. 1. DPIIT launches website and Topic- Government Schemes; GS Paper mobile app for IPR 1- Geography; GS Paper 3-Conservation  Department for Promotion of Industry of Natural resources and Internal Trade (DPIIT) launched Source- The Indian Express the website and mobile application 3. India and Netherlands launched L2Pro India on Intellectual Property the second phase of the LOTUS- Rights (IPRs). HR:  Full form of L2 Pro is “Learn to Protect,  LOTUS-HR stands for Local Treatment Secure and Maximize Your of Urban Sewage Streams for Healthy Innovation”. Reuse plant.  The website and app have been  The project was initiated in July2017. developed by Cell for IPR Promotion  It aims to demonstrate a novel holistic and Management (CIPAM)-DPIIT in (waste) water management approach collaboration with Qualcomm and that will produce clean water which National Law University (NLU), Delhi. can be reused for various purposes.  It will enable youth, innovators,  The LOTUS-HR project is jointly entrepreneurs and small and medium supported by Department of industries (SMEs) in understanding Biotechnology (Ministry of Science IPRs. and Technology) Government of India Related information and Netherlands Organization for About IPR: Scientific Research /STW,  Intellectual property rights are the Government of Netherlands. rights given to persons over the Topic-GS Paper 2- International Relations creations of their minds. Source- PIB  They usually give the creator an 4. Project Beehive exclusive right over the use of his/her  The program codenamed ‘Project creation for a certain period of time. Beehive’ will be a centralised and  They are legally protected in India and automated system under the army’s abroad. Electronics and Mechanical Engineers Topic- GS Paper 3- Economy (EME) corps.

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 This automated program will provide  The fourth structure to have made it real-time information to Indian Army to the list of awardees is the Vikram about the life and present conditions Sarabhai Library at the Indian of its tanks, vehicles, guns and air Institute of Management-Ahmedabad. assets and their upcoming problems.  Three Mumbai’s heritage structures  This would help in better planning and are— Flora Fountain and Keneseth carrying out its operations ranging Eliyahoo Synagogue at Fort, and Our from countering terrorists in J&K to Lady of Glory Church at Byculla. moving deployments along the Related Information frontiers with Pakistan and China. About Flora Fountain Topic- GS Paper 3- Internal Security  The structure is inspired by the Source- The Economic Times Victorian style of architecture.  5. Training of 1st Batch of National It is owned and maintained by the Trainers for Census of India 2021 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Commenced (BMC).  It was restored between July 2017  The first batch of the trainings of and October 2018. National Trainers for Census of India  Its restoration work was headed by 2021 has stared at National Statistical conservation architect Vikas Dilawari System Training Academy (NSSTA), and the BMC heritage department. Greater Noida. About Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue  This training would take place from  It is owned and maintained by the 14th October 2019 to 25th October Jacob Sassoon (Jewish) Trust. 2019.  It was restored between February Related Information 2018 and February 2019 by About Census of India conservation architect Abha Lambah  Census of India is the primary source About Our Lady of Glory Church of data collection from every section  It is owned and maintained by the of society. Church.  Continuing this decennial activity, the  It was restored between 2013 and 16th Indian Census is to be taken in 2019 by conservation architect David 2021. Cardoz.  Training is a very important aspect of Topic- GS Paper 1- Art and Culture; GS conducting Census successfully by Paper 3- Conservation ensuring seamless execution of Source- The Hindustan Times Census 2021 in the field. 7. JNU to establish a new centre for  The National trainers are being research in natural products trained on both Census and Trainer  A National Centre for Screening of Development Skills (TDS) to further Natural Products for Parasitic impart training to the next level, that Diseases will soon start working at the is, Master Trainers. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Topic- GS Paper 3  The main objective of the centre is to Source- PIB screen natural products to identify 6. 3 Mumbai heritage structures win potential candidates for further UNESCO awards for conservation optimisation and preclinical and  The three structures from Mumbai are clinical development as new drugs among four from India to bag the against parasitic diseases.  UNESCO awards. The other objective is to conduct target-based screening.

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 The centre is being funded by the (ii) Child wasting, the share of Department of Science and children under the age of five who are Technology (DST) under its wasted (that is, who have low weight Technology Development and for their height, reflecting acute Transfer Division. undernutrition); Topic- GS Paper 3- Health (iii) Child stunting, children under the Source- Down to Earth age of five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic 16.10.2019 undernutrition; and (iv) Child mortality, the mortality rate 1. India slips to 102nd rank in Global of children under the age of five. Hunger Report, behind Topic- GS-2- Economic Development Bangladesh, Pak, Nepal Source- Indian Express  India slipped to 102 positions in the 2. Operation Peace Spring 2019 Global Hunger Index featuring  India has recently expressed deep 117 countries, behind Nepal, Pakistan concern over Turkey’s unilateral and Bangladesh. military operation called Operation  The report prepared jointly by Irish Peace Spring against the Syrian aid agency Concern Worldwide and Kurdish militia in Northeast Syria. German organisation Welt Hunger Related Information Hilfe. About Operation  The report said India suffers from a  It is Turkey led military operation level of hunger that is “serious”, at the against Kurdish-led forces in north- very end of the category with a 30.1 eastern Syria. GHI score.  This move came after US troops, who  Over one in every five children in relied on the Kurds to defeat the India is “wasted” (low weight for Islamic State (IS) group on the height), the highest for any country in ground in Syria withdrew from the the report. border area.  The share of wasting (or low weight About Kurds for height) among children in India  They are one of the indigenous rose from 16.5 per cent in the 2008- peoples of the Mesopotamian plains 2012 period to 20.8 per cent in 2014- and the highlands whose population is 2018. spread across four countries – Iran,  Just 9.6 per cent of all children Iraq, Turkey, and Syria. between 6 and 23 months of age are  Kurds make up between 7% and 10% fed a “minimum acceptable diet”. of Syria’s population.  Seventeen countries, including  For decades, they were suppressed Belarus, Ukraine, Turkey, Cuba and and denied basic rights by President Kuwait, shared the top rank with GHI Bashar al-Assad and, before him, his scores of less than five father Hafez.  The government, last year, assured it  Today, they form a distinctive is working to achieve the goal of ‘zero community, united through race, hunger’ by 2030. In 2018, India culture and language even though ranked 103rd among 119 countries on they have no standard dialect. the global hunger index. Topic- GS Paper 2 –International  The GHI score is calculated on four Relation indicators — Source- The Hindu (i) Undernourishment;

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3. India and Netherlands launched  The programme will cover girl the second phase of the LOTUS- students from grade 9 to 12 which HR were chosen based on their  India and Netherlands have launched percentile. the second phase of the Local Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Treatment of Urban Sewage Streams Source- PIB for Healthy Reuse (LOTUS-HR) as a 5. One Nation One Fastag part of joint collaboration.  Union Road Transport Minister will Related Information inaugurate a conference on 'One About LOTUS-HR Project Nation One Fastag' in New Delhi.  The project was initiated in July 2017  The conference will see the signing of and aims to demonstrate a novel MoUs with state departments and holistic (waste) water management other agencies for bringing in a unified approaches that will produce clean electronic tolling solution across the water which can be reused forvarious country. purposes.  This would mean enabling the use of  The project also aims to the same Fastag affixed on the simultaneously recover nutrients and windscreen of a vehicle at every toll energy from the urban wastewater plaza in the country under the thus converting drain into profitable jurisdiction of different states and mines. agencies and other entities.  It is jointly supported by Department  This will help provide seamless of Biotechnology, Government of services to consumers across the India and the Netherlands country. Organization for Scientific Research, Related Information Government of the Netherlands. About FASTag  The location of the project is  It is a reloadable tag that allows Barapullah drain systems, New Delhi automatic deduction of toll without and the partners in the project are having to stop for carrying out the IIT-Delhi and The Energy and cash transaction. Resources Institute.  The tag is linked to a prepaid account Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance from which the applicable toll amount Source- TH is deducted. 4. Vigyan Jyoti  It uses radio frequency identification)  The Central government has planned technology and is fixed on the a programme called Vigyan Jyoti to windscreen of the vehicle once active. help girl students inculcate interest in  Radio-Frequency Identification Science, Technology, Engineering and (RFID) is the use of radio waves Mathematics (STEM). to read and capture information  The programme is to be launched in stored on a tag attached to an the backdrop of the low percentage of object. women in Science, Technology,  The tag is valid for five years and Engineering and Mathematics(STEM). comes in seven different colours — About the Programme violet, orange, yellow, green, pink,  The programme aims to tap 100 girl blue, black and each colour is students in 550 districts from 2020- assigned to a particular category of 2025. vehicles.  It comes under the aegis of the Topic- GS Paper 3 –Science and Department of Science & Technology. Technology

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Source- Indian Express of Hindu bhakti movements as well as 6. Prime Minister’s Special the shuphi, a form of Sufi song. Scholarship Scheme  Bauls belong to an unorthodox  Nearly around 4,500 students from devotional tradition influenced by Jammu and Kashmir have reported at Hinduism, Buddhism, Bengali, colleges across the country to pursue Vaisnavism and Sufi Islam yet undergraduate studies under the distinctly different from them. Prime Minister’s Special Scholarship  In 2005, the Baul tradition of Scheme which is the highest in six Bangladesh was included in the list of years. Representative List of the Intangible Related Information Cultural Heritage of Humanity by About Scheme UNESCO.  The scheme is under the Ministry of Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture Human Resource Development which Source- DD News was launched in 2011. 8. Vajra Prahar Exercise  It aims to encourage the youth from  The 10th edition of the joint military Jammu & Kashmir to pursue higher exercise 'Vajra Prahar' between India education in educational institutions and the US will be held at Joint Base outside the state. Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Seattle.  It is a merit-based programme that About the Exercise offers admission to J&K students in  It is a Special Forces joint training colleges, institutes and universities exercise conducted alternately in across the country and pays for their India and the US. tuition, board, books and other  These exercises will enable the incidentals. sharing of best practices and  Under the scheme, 5,000 scholarships experience in areas such as joint are offered each year to pursue mission planning capabilities and undergraduate studies in areas such operational tactics. as engineering, medical, nursing, Note: pharmacy, hotel management,  'Yudh Abhyas’ is a joint military agriculture, architecture and training exercise between Indian and commerce. US had also taken place at the Joint  The largest numbers of J&K students Base Lewis-McChord. this year are studying in Maharashtra, Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence followed by Delhi, Punjab, Karnataka Source-AIR and Uttar Pradesh. 9. Man Booker Prize 2019 Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance  Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Source- PIB Evaristo have been jointly awarded 7. Baul Festival the Man Booker Prize 2019.  Recently a three day long Baul festival  Canadian author Margaret Atwood has concluded in Dhaka with was awarded for the book ‘The performances by Bauls from India and Testament’ in the fiction category. Bangladesh.  Bernardine Evaristo became the first Related Information black woman to win the prestigious About Baul award since its creation in 1969 for  They are the mystic minstrels living in her book ‘Girl, Woman, Other’. rural Bangladesh and West Bengal. Topic- Important for PCS Exams  Baul music represents a particular Source- Live mint type of folk song, carrying influences

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10. 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics Note:  The 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics  Amartya Sen received the Sveriges has been awarded to Abhijit Banerjee, Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer by in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1998 for his the Royal Swedish Academy of contributions to welfare economics. Sciences. Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture  They got this prestigious award for Source- The Hindu their experimental approach to 11. Bluetongue (BT) Virus alleviating global poverty.  The Department of Animal Husbandry About their Work released two diagnostic kits  The work of the three economists had developed by Indian Council of shown how the problem of poverty Agricultural Research (ICAR) under could be tackled by breaking it down the Indian Veterinary Research into smaller and more precise Institute. questions in areas such as education  They are the Bluetongue sandwich and healthcare, making problems ELISA (sELISA) and the Japanese easier to tackle. Encephalitis lgM ELISA kit for the  These research show a vital impact of control of Swine and Detection of the Work on Policy Making AntigenELISA.  Research surrounding remedial About Bluetongue virus tutoring provided arguments for large  It is an insect-transmitted viral scale support programmes that have disease of domestic and wild now reached by 5 million children in ruminants that includes the camelid India species.  Their studies showed that deworming  The disease is widespread among the provides clear health benefits to sheep, goats, cattle, buffaloes and school children but also parents are camels in the country. very price sensitive.  With the help of the Kit “Bluetongue:  This led to the WHO recommend that Sandwich ELISA for detection of medicine should be distributed free to Antigen”, the Bluetongue Virus can be over 800 million school children living controlled with the vaccination of in areas where over 20% of them susceptible animals, vector control have a specific type of parasitic worm and quarantine of infected animals infection. with the good management practices.  Their studies paved the way for heavy Topic- GS Paper 2 –Health subsidies for preventive healthcare Source- PIB that have been introduced in many countries.

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17.10.2019 Related Information About Council 1. Second phase of GOAL (Going  It is an apex advisory body for the Online as Leaders) development of the Maritime sector  Union Minister of Tribal Affair and aims to ensure integrated announced the second phase of GOAL development of Major and non-Major (Going Online as Leaders). Ports.  The first phase of the program was  It was constituted in May 1997 to launched in March 2019. assess in consultation with State Governments, the future Related Information development of existing and new About the Programme GOAL Minor Ports by the respective Maritime  It is a Facebook program aimed at States either directly or through inspiring, guiding and encouraging captive users and private tribal girls from across India to participation. become village-level digital young  Further, MSDC also monitors the leaders for their communities. development of minor ports, captive  The program helps to empower ports and private ports in the Maritime women by providing digital literacy, States. leadership, life skills and Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance entrepreneurship skills. Source- PIB  In order to become a beneficiary of 3. Food Safety Mitra scheme the program.  Union Minister for Health and Family (a) the girls should be above 18 years Welfare launched Food Safety Mitra of age and should have dropped out Scheme, Eat Right Jacket and Eat of school. Right Jhola on the eve of World Food (b) the girl should be of tribal origin. Day (16th October). (c) It also helps in closing the digital  Food Safety and Standards Authority gender gap by enabling more women of India (FSSAI) has introduced the to get online and access digital scheme of Food Safety Mitra through services. which it plans to engage motivated Topic- GS Paper 2 –Women individuals with the food safety Empowerment ecosystem at ground level. Source- PIB Food Safety Mitra 2. Maritime States Development  These are the individual professional Council certified by FSSAI who assists in  Recently at the 17th Meeting of compliances related to FSS Act, Rules Maritime States Development Council, & Regulations with three avatars- the Ministry of Shipping is working on Digital Mitra, Trainer Mitra and a plan to develop a National Grid for Hygiene Mitra depending upon their Ports based on the synergy between respective roles and responsibilities. the Major and Minor ports in the Eat Right Jhola country.  The Minister also launched Eat Right  There are 204 Minor ports in the Jhola which is a reusable, washable country, of which only 44 are and bio-degradable bag. currently functional.

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Eat Right Jacket Pakistan and the Democratic Republic  Eat Right Smart Jacket has been of Congo. introduced to giving an identity to the Related Information FSSAI of India staff to ensure United Nations Children’s Emergency transparent inspection. Fund  It's embedded with an RFID tag and  The United Nations Children’s Fund, QR code which is linked to software to originally known as the United Nations capture entry of inspection staff into International Children’s Emergency the premise for monitoring. Fund. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance  It was created by the United Nations Source- PIB General Assembly in 1946. 4. State of the World’s Children report  It’s headquartered in New York, USA. for 2019  It is a special program of the United  State of the World’s Children report Nations (UN) devoted to aiding for 2019 has been released by United national efforts to improve the health, Nations Children’s Emergency Fund. nutrition, education, and general  It is the first United Nations Children’s welfare of children. Emergency Fund report in 20 years on Topic- GS Paper 2 –Health (Important child nutrition. report) Highlights of the reports Source- PIB  The report found that one in three 5. KHON Ramlila children under the age of five years —  The Culture Department of Uttar around 200 million children worldwide Pradesh government is going to — are either undernourished or organise the country’s first training overweight. and performance programme of  India, every second child is affected world-famous KHON Ramlila which is by some form of malnutrition. a masked form of Ramlila art of  The report said 35% of Indian children Thailand in collaboration with the Thai suffer from stunting due to lack of government. nutrition, 17% suffer from wasting, Related Information 33% are underweight and 2% are KHON Ramlila overweight.  It is a masked form of Ramlila art of  According to government figures, Thailand which is included in the list stunting and wasting among children of UNESCO’s Intangible cultural in the country have reduced by 3.7 heritage. per cent and the number of  It has no dialogues and background underweight children has reduced by voices narrate the whole story of 2.3 per cent from 2016 to 2018. Ramayana.  The report warns that poor eating and UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural feeding practices start from the Heritage earliest days of a child’s life.  The UNESCO’s coveted list is made up  It stated that breastfeeding can save of those intangible heritage elements lives, but only 42% of children under that help demonstrate diversity of six months of age are exclusively cultural heritage and raise awareness breastfed. about its importance.  India also has the highest burden of  The list was established in 2008 when deaths among children under five per Convention for Safeguarding of the year in 2018 followed by Nigeria, Intangible Cultural Heritage came into effect.

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 It includes important intangible Source- Business Standard cultural heritages worldwide. 8. UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for  It has two parts Cultural Heritage Conservation 1. Representative List of Intangible  India has recently won four UNESCO Cultural Heritage of Humanity Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural 2. List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Heritage Conservation. Need of Urgent Safeguarding.  The UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture Cultural Heritage Conservation Source- AIR awards were announced at a 6. India, Japan begins joint Air Force ceremony held in Penang, Malaysia. exercise 'Shinyuu Maitri'  These are  The Indian Air Force will be carrying (a) Award of Distinction : Vikram out a joint military exercise 'Shinyuu Sarabhai Library, Indian Institute of Maitri' with Japanese Air Self Defence Management, Ahmedabad Force (JASDF) from October 17 to 23. (b) Award of Merit: Both (i) Keneseth  The exercise will be held at Air Force Eliyahoo Synagogue, Mumbai and (ii) Station, Arjan Singh in Panagarh town Our Lady of Glory Church, Mumbai. in West Bengal. (c) Honourable Mention: The Flora  C-130 J aircraft of the Special Fountain, Mumbai. Operations Squadron of IAF and C- Related Information 130 H of Tactical Airlift Squadron of UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards JASDF will participate in the exercise  It was established in 2000.  The focus of the exercise will be to  It recognizes the efforts of private undertake Joint Mobility and Tactical individuals and organizations that interoperability among the two forces. have successfully conserved Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence structures and buildings of heritage Source- Business Standard value in the region. 7. Andhra CM launches 'YSR Rytu  It aims to encourage other property Bharosa - PM KISAN' scheme owners to undertake conservation  Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS projects within their communities Jaganmohan Reddy launched 'YSR either independently or by seeking Rytu Bharosa - PM KISAN' scheme at PPP (public-private partnerships). Vikrama Simhapuri University Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture premises in Nellore's Kakuturu village. Source- PIB  Under the scheme, the state 9. Microbial fuel cells government will give input subsidy of  The Zoological Society of London has Rs 13,500 to farmers in the state. announced that at the London Zoo, a  Out of the amount, The Centre will be fern has started taking its own selfies contributing Rs 6000 under PM KISAN after installing microbial fuel cells in Yojana. Pete, a maidenhair fern.  If any farmer dies accidentally, Rs Relate Information seven lakh compensation will be paid. Microbial fuel cells  If a cow or buffalo dies, compensation  These are the devices that use in the range of Rs 15000 to Rs 30000 bacteria as the catalysts to oxidise will be paid. organic and inorganic matter and  If goat or sheep dies, Rs 6000 generate current. compensation will be paid. Applications Topic- GS Paper 2 –government  It can be used as an alternate method schemes for bioremediation.

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 It also acts as a biosensor-can About the Index measure the solute concentration of  NITI Aayog with Institute for wastewater. Competitiveness as the knowledge  The production of low-cost electricity partner has released the India from waste materials. Innovation Index 2019.  It can be used in waste-water  The index’s objective is to rank Indian treatment. states on innovations through the portal that will capture data on Topic- GS Paper 3 –Science and innovation from all states on Technology innovation and regularly update it in Source- The Hindu real-time. 10. UAE announces the establishment of  The aim of the index is to create a 1st graduate-level, research-based AI holistic tool which can be used by university in the world policymakers across the country to  UAE announced the establishment of identify the challenges to be the Mohamed bin Zayed University of addressed and strengths to build on Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), the when designing the economic growth first graduate-level, research-based policies for their regions. AI university in the world.  The states have been bifurcated into  MBZUAI will enable graduate three categories: major states, north- students, businesses and east and hill states, and union governments to advance the artificial territories/city-states/small states. intelligence field.  The India Innovation Index 2019 is  The University is named after Sheikh calculated as the average of the Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, scores of its two dimensions Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and 1. Enablers Deputy Supreme Commander of the 2. Performance UAE Armed Forces, who has long  The Enablers are the factors that advocated for the UAE’s development underpin innovative capacities, of human capital through knowledge grouped into five pillars: and scientific thinking to take the (i) Human Capital, nation into the future. (ii) Investment (iii) Knowledge Workers  MBZUAI will introduce a new model of (iv) Business Environment, academia and research to the field of (v) Safety and Legal Environment. AI, providing students and faculty The Performance dimension captures access to some of the world’s most benefits that a nation derives from the advanced AI systems to unleash its inputs, divided into two pillars: potential for economic and societal 1. Knowledge Output development. 2. Knowledge Diffusion Topic- Important for PCS Exams Highlights of the index Source- AIR  Karnataka is the leader in the overall rankings in the category of major 18.10.2019 states.  Karnataka’s number one position in 1. India Innovation Index 2019 the overall ranking is partly attributed  NITI Aayog with Institute for to its top rank in the Performance Competitiveness released the India dimension and also among the top Innovation Index (III) 2019. performers in Infrastructure,

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Knowledge Workers, Knowledge  Qatar has announced to extend the Output and Business Environment. elimination of Kafala System to all the  Among the category of major states, remaining workers. Maharashtra performs the best in the  Qatar has introduced a series of dimension of Enablers. labour reforms since its selection as  Sikkim and Delhi take the top spots the 2022 World Cup host. among the northeastern & hill states, Related Information and union territories/city-states/small About the Kafala system states respectively.  The Kafala (Arabic word for Related Information sponsorship) System emerged in the Global innovation index 2019 1950s to regulate the relationship  Recently India jumps five places to between employers and migrant 52nd in 2019 from 57th position last workers in many countries in West year. Asia.  The GII rankings are published  It remains the routine practice in the annually by Cornell University, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) INSEAD and the UN World Intellectual countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Property Organisation (WIPO) andGII Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Knowledge Partners. Arab Emirates (UAE), and also in the  Switzerland retained its number-one Arab states of Jordan and Lebanon. spot on the index.  The sponsorship system’s economic Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance objective was to provide temporary, Source- PIB rotating labour that could be rapidly 2. EX EASTERN BRIDGE-V: India – Oman brought into the country in an Joint air force Exercise economic boom and expelled during  Indian Air Force is participating in a less affluent periods. Bilateral Joint exercise with Royal Air  Under the Kafala system, a migrant Force Oman, named EX EASTERN worker’s immigration status is legally BRIDGE-V at Air Force Base Masirah. bound to an individual employer or Related Information sponsor (kafeel) for their contract About the Exercise period.  The last exercise, EX EASTERN  The migrant worker cannot enter the BRIDGE-IV was held in 2017 at country, transfer employment nor Jamnagar. leave the country for any reason  The exercise will enhance inter- without first obtaining explicit written operability during mutual operations permission from the kafeel. between the two Air Forces and will  This practise has been criticised by provide an opportunity to learn from human rights organizations for each other’s best practices. creating easy opportunities for the  Besides strengthening bilateral exploitation of workers as many relations, it will also provide a good employers take away passports and opportunity for the air-warriors to abuse their workers with little chance operate in an international of legal repercussions. environment. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence Source- Al Jazerra Source- PIB 4. 20th Livestock Census 3. Qatar moves to announce  Department of Animal Husbandry & abolishment of the kafala system Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying have

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released the 20th Livestock Census Livestock Census report.  The Livestock Census has been  The Census will prove beneficial not conducted in the country periodically just for policymakers but also for since 1919-20. agriculturists, traders, entrepreneurs,  The Livestock Census covers all dairying industry and masses in domesticated animals and its general. headcounts. Key results of the 20th Livestock  The 20th livestock census is indeed a Census: unique attempt as for the first time  The total Livestock population is such a major initiative has been 535.78 million in the country showing taking to digitise household-level data an increase of 4.6% over Livestock through online transmission from the Census-2012 field.  Total Bovine population (Cattle, Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Buffalo, Mithun and Yak) is 302.79 Source- PIB Million in 2019 which shows an 5. Van Dhan Internship Programme increase of about 1% over the  Union Minister of Tribal Affairs previous census. launched the “Van Dhan Internship  The total number of cattle in the Programme” organised by TRIFED country in 2019 is 192.49 million under Ministry of Tribal Affairs. showing an increase of 0.8 % over the  The objective of the internship previous Census. programme to help the tribal  The Female Cattle (Cows population) population in becoming self-reliant is 145.12 million, increased by 18.0% and entrepreneurs. over the previous census (2012).  18 interns (to be called Minister’s  The Exotic/Crossbred and interns) from some of the reputed Indigenous/Non-descript Cattle Institutes of Rural Management/ population in the country is 50.42 Management Institutions/ Institutes million and 142.11 million of Social Work/ Social Services of the respectively. country are participating in the  The Indigenous/Non-descript female programme. cattle population has increased by  The period of internship is 6 months 10% in 2019 as compared to the (extendable developing upon the previous census. need of the organisation and mutual  The population of the total sustainability. Exotic/Crossbred Cattle has increased Related Information by 26.9 % in 2019 as compared to the Van Dhan Yojana previous census.  It is a scheme of Ministry of Tribal  The total buffaloes in the country are Affairs which was launched in 2018. 109.85 million showing an increase of  The scheme is implemented through about 1.0% over the previous Census. the Ministry of Tribal Affairs as Nodal  The total milch animals (in-milk and Department at the Central Level. dry) in cows and buffaloes are 125.34  TRIFED acts as the Nodal Agency at million, an increase of 6.0 % over the the National Level. previous census.  It aims to help tribals in optimum  The total sheep in the country is 74.26 utilization of natural resources and million in 2019, increased by 14.1% provide sustainable Minor Forest over the previous Census. Produce (MFP)-based livelihood. Related Information

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 It also seeks to help increase tribal  When the amendment to the Act income through value addition of MFP comes into force, Kerala would centric products. become the first state in the country Tribal Cooperative Marketing to provide maternity benefits in the Development Federation of India. private educational sector.  It functions under the administrative  Employees covered under the law can control of Ministry of Tribal affairs. avail 26 weeks’ maternity leave with  It was established in 1987. salary.  The basic objective of the TRIFED is to  Moreover, an employer has toprovide provide good price to the products an amount of 1,000 rupees as a made or collected from the forest by medical allowance. the tribal people Topic- GS Paper 2 –Schemes and Policies Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Source- AIR Source- The Hindu 8. China signs deal to 'lease' Pacific 6. World Giving Index: India ranks 82, island in Solomons USA tops the list  Recently a Chinese company signed  India ranks 82 among the 128 an agreement to lease an entire island countries surveyed by the Charities in the Solomon Islands known as Aid Foundation (CAF), an international Tulgai Island for 75 years. organisation that promotes giving to Related Information transform lives and communities Tulagi island across the world.  It is a small island Solomon Islands,  The finding is an aggregate of trends just off the south coast of Ngella Sule for each country that emerged in (Florida islands). surveys conducted by CAF over the  It is the site of a former Japanese past decade (2009 to 2018) and naval base and was the scene of formulated as the World Giving Index fighting in World War II. (WGI).  The agreement with Chinese company  According to the WGI, the USA stood mentions developing a refinery on the at the top followed Myanmar, New island. Zealand and Australia. Topic- GS Paper 1 –Geography Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economic Source- Economic Times Development 9. Sirumugai Source- HinduBusiness Line  Prime Minister of India gifts handmade shawl by Sirumugai 7. Kerala extends maternity leave weavers to Chinese President Xi benefits to teachers, other staff of during the informal summit hald at private educational institutions Mamallapuram.  In a path-breaking development, Related Information Kerala is extending maternity leave About Sirumugai benefits to teachers and other staff of  It is a town in Coimbatore district in private educational institutions, Tamil Nadu. including those in the unaided sector.  It is well known for Silk Sarees  The Central Government has Bazaars. approved the Kerala Government’s Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture decision to bring these teachers and Source- AIR employees under the Maternity Benefit Act.

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21.10.2019 help identify persons who are unable to identify themselves. 1. Interpol to hold the general  This is highly useful in cases of human assembly in India in 2022 trafficking or in case of missing  India recently won the vote for persons due to calamities hosting the 91st Interpol General Blue Notice Assembly in India in the year 2022 as  A Blue Notice is issued to collect part of celebrations of the 75th additional information about a anniversary of Indian Independence. person’s identity, location or activities Related Information in relation to a crime. International Criminal Police  This does not guarantee extradition or Organisation (Interpol) arrest of the person.  It is a 194-member Black Notice intergovernmental organisation headquartered in Lyon, France.  A Black Notice is a request to seek  It was formed in 1923 as the information on unidentified bodies in International Criminal Police member nations. Commission and started calling itself Green Notice Interpol in 1956.  A Green Notice is issued to provide  India has been a member since 1956. warnings and intelligence about  Like any member nation, India persons who have committed criminal maintains a National Central Bureau offences and are likely to repeat these which serves as the national platform crimes in other countries. for cooperation between domestic law Orange Notice enforcement units and the  An Orange Notice is issued to provide international police community. warnings about warn of an event, a  The NCB is the designated contact person, an object or a process point for the Interpol. representing a serious and imminent  India has collaborated with the threat to public safety. Interpol in tackling a myriad of Purple Notice organised crimes such as poaching, wildlife trafficking, spurious drugs and  A Purple Notice is a request to seek or fake medicine rackets, among others. provide information on the modus  It aims to enable police around the operandi, objects, devices and world to work together to make the concealment methods used by world a safer place. criminals. Different Interpol notices  Last year the Interpol issued such Red Notice notices to highlight human trafficking  A Red Notice is a request to locate and and modern-day slavery prevalent in provisionally arrest individual pending the fisheries sector. extradition. General Assembly  It is issued by the General Secretariat  The General Assembly is Interpol’s at the request of a member country or supreme governing body and an international tribunal based on a comprises representatives from all its valid national arrest warrant. member countries. Yellow Notice  The General Assembly meetsannually  A Yellow Notice is issued to help locate for a session lasting approximately missing persons, often minors, or to four days, to vote on activities and policy.

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 Each country is represented by one or deployment of military assets in the more delegates at the Assembly, who region. are typically chiefs of law enforcement  It provides logistical and agencies. administrative support to naval ships  The General Assembly also elects the which are sent on deployment to East members of the Interpol Executive Asia and the Pacific Ocean. Committee, thegoverning body which Armed forces Special Operations “provides guidance and direction in Division between sessions of the Assembly”.  It is a tri-services division which is  Major trends in crime and security tasked to carry out Special threats facing the world are also operations. discussed.  The division will have commandos Topic- GS Paper 2 –International from all three services of the Indian Institution Armed Forces and it will function Source- PIB under the Integrated Defence Staff. 2. Andaman and Nicobar Islands Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence exercise 2019 (Danx-19) Source- PIB  Andaman and Nicobar Command 3. Govt to rename Chenani-Nashri (ANC) have conducted the second tunnel after Syama Prasad Mukherjee edition of Defence of Andaman &  The government has decided to Nicobar Islands 2019 (DANX-19). rename the Chenani-Nashri tunnel Related Information road, the longest in India, after Danx-19 Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama  It is a joint services exercise Prasad Mookerjee. conducted by the ANC (Andaman and Related Information Nicobar Command) which was Chenani-Nashri tunnel conducted for the first time in 2017.  Chenani-Nashri tunnel was  The main objective of the exercise is inaugurated in 2017 and also known to practice and validate procedures as the Patnitop tunnel. and drills of all Command forces  It is located between Udhampur and aimed at defending strategic Ramban in Jammu & Kashmir. Andaman & Nicobar Islands.  It is not only India’s longest highway  Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast tunnel but also Asia’s longest bi- Guard and Special Forces from newly directional highways tunnel. formed Armed Forces Special  The tunnel incorporates India’s first Operations Division (AFSOD) fully integrated mechanism to participated in this exercise. externally control everything from the Related Information movement of vehicles to the inflow Andaman and Nicobar Command and outflow of air and even the  It is the first and only Tri-service evacuation of passengers or vehicles theatre command of the Indian Armed in distress. Forces. Other tunnels in J&K  It is based at Port Blair in the Nandini Tunnel Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a  They are the series of four tunnels in Union Territory of India. Udhampur district in the Indian state  It was created in 2001 to safeguard of Jammu and Kashmir completed in India's strategic interests in 2015. Southeast Asia and the Strait of  It is located beneath the Nandni Malacca by increasing the rapid wildlife sanctuary.

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Jawahar Tunnel a. Old High Court Building in Nagpur  It is situated between Banihāl and Maharashtra Qazigund on NH 1A that has been b. Haveli of Agha Khan in Agra renumbered NH 44 which is 2.85 km c. Haveli of Hathi Khana in Agra long. d. Neemrana Baori in Rajasthan’s Alwar  The tunnel facilitates round-the-year district road connectivity between Srinagar e. Group of Temples at Ranipur Jharail in and Jammu. Odisha’s, Bolangir district Topic- GS Paper 1 –Geography f. Vishnu Temple in Kotali, Pithoragarh Source- TH district, Uttarkhand. 4. Rangdum monastery Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture  Archaeological Survey of India has Source- Indian Express decided to declare the Rangdum 5. Anthrax scare in reserve after the monastery in Ladakh (Kargil district), death of buffaloes a monument of national importance.  Recently veterinarians have Related Information confirmed anthrax as the cause of Rangdum Monastery death of two Asiatic water buffaloes in  It is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery central Assam’s Pobitora Wildlife belonging to the Gelugpa sect. Sanctuary.  It is situated on top of a small but Related Information steep sugarloaf hill at the head of the About Anthrax Suru Valley, in Ladakh.  It is a serious infectious disease Archaeological Survey of India caused by gram-positive, rod-shaped  It is an Indian government agency bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis attached to the Ministry of Culture. which can be found naturally in soil.  It is responsible for archaeological  It is not contagious, which means you research and the conservation and can’t catch it like the cold or flu. preservation of cultural monuments in  It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, the country. intestinal, and injection.  It was founded in 1861 by Alexander  It commonly affects domestic and wild Cunningham who also became its first animals around the world. Director-General.  Cattle, sheep, goats, antelope, and National importance deer can become infected when they  The Ancient Monuments and breathe in or ingest spores in Archaeological Sites and Remains contaminated soil, plants, or water. (AMASR) Act, 1958 defines the  People can get sick with anthrax if archaeological site and remains as they come in contact with infected any area which contains or is animals or contaminated animal reasonably believed to contain ruins products. or relics of historical or archaeological Note: importance which have been in  Assam’s Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, existence for not less than 100 years. which has the highest concentration  When an archaeological site and of one-horned rhinos in the world and remains are declared to be of national is often called ‘Mini Kaziranga’ due to importance it is called protected area similar landscape and vegetation. under the AMASR Act. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Recently six monuments declared as Source- Down to Earth Monuments as Monuments of national 6. What is Orionids meteor shower and importance in 2018 are: when will it appear?

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 The Orionids meteor showers will Beg Oldie in sub-sector north in make their yearly appearance this and eastern Ladakh. the next weekend, reaching their peak  According to BRO, micropile on October 22. technology was used during the  These meteor showers are known for foundation of the bridge to overcome their brightness and speed, travelling the technological challenges in this at about 66 km/s into the Earth’s remote area of Ladakh. atmosphere.  It is named in honour of Colonel  According to NASA, over 30 meteor Chewang Rinchan who was one of the showers occur annually and are highly decorated officers in the Indian observable from the Earth. Army from Ladakh and he was  They are named after the awarded the Maha Vir Chakara twice. constellation they appear to be Topic- GS Paper 1 –Indian Geography coming from. Source- Indian Express  Orionids meteor shower is believed to originate from the constellation Orion 22.10.2019 The Hunter.  This point of origination is referred to 1. Govt launches BHIM 2.0 as the radiant. Even so, this does not  The Information Technology Ministry mean that the meteor showers has unveiled a slew of new initiatives originate from a particular and programmes, including BHIM 2.0 constellation, but the name is given that packs-in new functionalities. only for the purposes of identification. BHIM application  Meteors are bits of rock and ice that  It is a UPI based payment interface are ejected from comets as they application that allows real-time fund manoeuvre around their orbits around transfer. It is developed by National the sun. The Orionids meteors emerge Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) from the comet 1P/Halley. and was launched in December 2016.  Meteor showers, on the other hand,  It is in line with government’s vision are witnessed when Earth passes of Digital India. through the trail of debris left by a  It has three-point authentication via comet or an asteroid. mobile number, device ID and UPI  When a meteor reaches the Earth, it PIN. is called a meteorite and a series of BHIM 2.0 Features meteorites when encountered at  The new version of BHIM supports once, is termed as a meteor shower. three additional languages- Konkani, Topic- GS Paper 2 –Science & Haryanvi and Bhojpuri, over and Technology above existing 13. Source- Indian Express  ‘Donation’ gateway Increased 7. Chewang Rinchen Setu in Ladakh transaction limits for high-value  Chewang Rinchen Setu which has transactions- increasing the existing been constructed at an altitude of cap of Rs. 20,000 and now up to Rs. 14,650 feet in the forward area of 1,00,000 from verified merchants. Ladakh region.  Linking multiple bank accounts  This bridge has been built by the  Offers from merchants Border Roads Organisation (BRO).  Option of applying in IPO  This Bridge is built on the strategically  Gifting money important road Durbuk Shyok Daulat Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics Source- Live mint

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2. Bhashan Char Island  The oldest known natural pearl in the  Recently approximately 6000-7000 world has been discovered by Abu Rohingya refugees have agreed to be Dhabi archaeologists working at a relocated to the newly built camp on Neolithic site on Marawah Island, just the Bhashan Char Island. off the coast of Abu Dhabi. Related Information  It is also known as ‘Abu Dhabi Pearl. About Island  It was found in layers that have been  It is an uninhabited island around 30 radiocarbon dated to 5,800-5,600 kilometres east of Hatiya Island in BCE, during the Neolithic period. South East Bangladesh. Marawah Island  It was formed about two decades ago  It is a low-lying island off the coast of on the mouth of river Meghna. Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab  Bhashan Char falls in an ecologically Emirates. fragile area prone to floods, erosion  The island is a key centre of and cyclone. archaeology. Archaeologists have  To avoid the effect of flood, erosion identified various sites dating from and cyclone the government has built the Neolithic to the Islamic Period a three-metre-high embankment (12-13 AD). along its perimeter to keep out tidal About Pearl surges during cyclones.  It is a hard, glistening object produced About Rohingya within the soft tissue (specifically the  They are an ethnic group, largely mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or comprising Muslims, who another animal, such as a conulariid. predominantly live in the Western  It is composed of calcium carbonate Myanmar province of Rakhine. (mainly aragonite or a mixture of  They speak a dialect of Bengali, as aragonite and calcite) in minute opposed to the commonly spoken crystalline form, which has been Burmese language. deposited in concentric layers.  According to the 1982 Burmese Note: citizenship law, a Rohingya (or any  Aragonite is a carbonate mineral, one ethnic minority) is eligible for of the three most common naturally citizenship only if he/she provides occurring crystal forms of calcium proof that his/her ancestors have carbonate, CaCO3 (the other forms lived in the country prior to 1823. being the minerals calcite and  Else, they are classified as “resident vaterite). foreigners” or as “associate citizens”  It is formed by biological and physical (even if one of the parents is a processes, including precipitation Myanmar citizen). from marine and freshwater  Recently lakhs of Rohingyas have fled environments. to neighbouring countries like Topic- GS Paper 3 –Science and Bangladesh and India after facing Technology religious and ethnical persecution in Source- Live mint Myanmar which has lead to a historic 4. Definition of land as forest migration crisis and a large  The Forest Advisory Committee of the humanitarian crisis. environment ministry has clarified Topic- GS Paper 2 – International issue that states do not need permission Source- PIB from the Centre to define what 3. World’s oldest known natural pearl constitutes unclassified land asforest. discovered on Abu Dhabi Island

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Background  It is a flexible mechanism to make  In Supreme Court judgement in 1996 sure that senior leaders from both re-defined the meaning of forests to countries are engaged consistently to include all areas with natural forests strengthen the opportunities in the irrespective of their ownership as well field of defence. as those that came under the  It provides India with greater supply- ‘dictionary’ meaning of forest. chain efficiency by allowing US  Under the Godavarman judgment, companies to export a greater range states were also directed to form of dual-use and high-technology expert committees to identify forests items to India under streamlined as defined and file reports. processes.  The latter clause allows the States to  The aims of DTTI include evolve their own criteria and define strengthening India’s defence tracts of land as forest, and these industrial base, exploring new areas would then be bound by forest of technological development and conservation laws. expanding U.S.-India business ties.  An all-encompassing definition of the Topic- GS Paper 2 –International forest wasn’t possible for India Organisation because the country has 16 different Source- PIB kinds of forest. 6. Crime in India Report 2017  A tract of grassland in one State might  Recently after a delay of two years, qualify in one region as forest, but not the annual Crime in India Report 2017 in another. was published by the National Crime Forest Advisory Committee Records Bureau (NCRB).  It is a statutory body under the Highlights of the report Environment Ministry.  Uttar Pradesh topped the list followed  It plays as the role of advisory body by Maharashtra and West Bengal in considers questions on the diversion the number of cases. of forest land for non-forest uses such  Majority of cases under crimes against as mining, industrial projects, women were registered under ‘Cruelty townships and advises the by Husband or his Relatives’. government on the issue of granting  The incidents registered under the forest clearances. Scheduled Caste Prevention of Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment Atrocities Act saw an increase. Source- The Hindu  Incidents of crime related to 5. US-India Defence Technology and Scheduled Tribes dipped from 844 in Trade Initiative 2016 to 720 in 2017.  The ninth India-US Defence  The NCRB for the first time Technologies and Trade Initiative collected data on the circulation (DTTI) group meeting is scheduled to of “false/fake news and happen in New Delhi. rumours.” Related Information  Under the category, maximum DTTI incidents were reported from Madhya  It is an initiative which is led by Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala. Undersecretary of Defence for Related Information Acquisition and Sustainment from the National Crime Records Bureau United States and Secretary for  It is a nodal agency under Union Defence Protection from India. Home Ministry for the authentic source of data on crime on various

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parameters including accidents, broadcast from the social network's suicides from across all the states of Mumbai office. the country and prisons for policy Topic- GS Paper 2 –Social Issues matters and research. Source- Business Standards  It was established in 1986 as the 9. Siachen, the world's highest central police organization with battlefield, now open for tourists headquartered in New Delhi.  The world’s highest battlefield,  It is implementing and monitoring Siachen Glacier, is now open for agency of Crime & Criminal Tracking tourists. Network System (CCTNS), a Mission  Tourism will be allowed from Siachen Mode Project under the National e- base camp to Kumar Post that lies Governance Plan of Government. above 15,000 feet. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance  Siachen base camp at Partapur is at (Important Report) an altitude of 12,000 feet and Source- PIB temperatures can dip as low as -60 7. PettaThullal degrees during the winter.  Recently in a study by the Kerala  The highest post in Siachen is Bana State Pollution Control Board has Post, which is 23,000 feet. pointed to the presence of hazardous  The 430-metre long bridge located at metals on the Blanket bespattering of an altitude of 14,650 feet between the which constitutes an indispensable strategic Karakoram and Chang part of the PettaThullal ritual. Chengmo ranges will connect Durbuk  These chemicals pollute the soil and and Daulat Beg Oldie in Eastern often get washed into the water Ladakh. bodies where the chances of these Topic- GS Paper 1 –Indian Geography potent chemicals entering the human Source- Economic Times body are very high. Related Information 23.10.2019 PettaThullal  It is a ritualistic sacred dance to 1. Digital Bharat Digital Sanskriti celebrate the victory of good over evil  Union Minister of State for Culture & in the legend of Lord Ayyappa who Tourism has launched the E-Portal of killed the demon princess Mahishi. CCRT ‘Digital Bharat Digital Sanskriti '  It denotes the beginning of the last leg in New Delhi. of the annual Sabarimala pilgrimage About Portal season.  The portal will enable dissemination of Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture cultural education through digital Source- AIR interactive medium into the 8. United Nations WFP launches 'Feed classrooms all over the country. Our Future' cinema ad campaign  It also provides a platform for  The United Nations World Food specifically dropout children so that Programme (WFP) has launched a they can join the mainstream so o cinema advertisement campaign that they can pursue their dreams and 'Feed Our Future' to raise awareness make a career out of it be it music, and take steps against hunger and painting, theatre, martial arts or any malnutrition in India. other art forms.  Through a partnership with Facebook, Related Information the event took place recently via a live Centre for Cultural Resources and Training

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 It is an autonomous organisation  Indian Railways has installed the most under the Ministry of Culture of advanced Electronic Interlocking Government of India. System on the Grand Chord route.  It established in May 1979, to support  The measure is expected to help cultural education. Indian Railways speed up trains and Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture achieve the objective of reducing the Source- PIB travel time between Delhi and Howrah 2. TechSagar to about 12 hours from the existing 17  The National Cyber Security to 19 hours. Coordinator's office in partnership About Grand Chord with the Data Security Council of India  It is part of the Howrah-Gaya-Delhi launched TechSagar. line and Howrah-Allahabad-Mumbai About TechSagar line.  It is an online portal of India’s  It acts as a link between Sitarampur technological capability. in West Bengal and Pt. Deen Dayal  It will lists every technology-based Upadhyay Junction, Uttar Pradesh, business and research entities which falls in North Central Railway starting from the IT Industry, Zone. startups, Academia to even Individual  The new Electronic system has Researchers. replaced outdated 65-year old  It will allow targeted search, granular mechanical signalling system at navigation and drill-down methods Tundla Junction in Uttar Pradesh on using more than 3,000 niche the route. capabilities.  This interlocking system at Tundla is  TechSagar will be frequently updated the second largest in the country after with new entities and information to Kharagpur Station in South Eastern maintain its relevancy and usefulness. Railway. Related Information Topic-GS Paper 3–Science & Technology Data Security Council of India Source- PIB  It is a not-for-profit, industry body on 4. International Workshop on data protection in India, set up by Environmental Flows Assessment NASSCOM.  International workshop on Environmental  It is committed to making the Flows Assessment and Implementation for cyberspace safe, secure and trusted India was inaugurated by Jal Shakti by establishing best practices, ministry at Delhi. standards and initiatives in Related Information cybersecurity and privacy.  According to the IUCN, Environmental  It also engages with governments and flow is the water provided within the their agencies, regulators, industry river, wetland or coastal zone to sectors, industry associations and maintain ecosystems and their think tanks for policy advocacy, benefits. thought leadership, capacity building  It is a tool for allocating water among and outreach activities. multiple, competing uses in a river Topic- GS Paper 3 –Science and basin or watershed. Technology  The Environmental Flows provide the Source- PIB means for integrated management of 3. Electronic Interlocking System on river flows to meet the needs of the Grand Chord route people, industry, agriculture, energy and ecosystems.

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 It provides a unique ecosystem to and Women Empowerment Policy of India’s National Aquatic animal Assam'. Gangetic Dolphins, turtles and  It specified that job candidates with gharials. max two children only would be Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment eligible for government employment Source- PIB and the existing government staff 5. Prison Statistics India-2017 were to strictly follow the two children  Recently the National Crime Records family norm. Bureau has publically released data on Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance crime and prison statistics of 2017. Source- PIB Highlights of the report 7. The QS Indian University Rankings  There are 1,361 prisons in the country  The QS Indian University Rankings consist of 666 Sub jails, 405 District were released the second edition of jails, 142 Central jails, 64 Open jails, the standalone rankings for India’s 41 Special jails, 22 Woman jails, 19 higher education institutions. Borstal School and 2 other jails.  The rankings include public, private,  In 2017, out of the 4 50,696 higher education or deemed prisoners, 4,31,823 were male universities. prisoners and 18,873 were female  The methodology used eight prisoners. indicators  The number of unnatural deaths in a. Academic reputation (weight of30%), prisons has increased by 15.7 per cent b. Employer reputation (20%) from 115 in 2015 to 133 in 2017 c. Faculty-student ratio (20%)  Gujarat has the highest number of d. Proportion of staff with a PhD (10%) under-trial prisoners who are e. Papers per faculty from Scopus Pakistani nationals and Jammu and database (10%) Kashmir is the second-highest as f. Citations per paper from Scopus compared to other states. database (5%)  The state’s statistics show there were g. Proportion of international students 80 under trial prisoners under the (2.5%) SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, h. proportion of international faculty the data shows zero convicts under (2.5%). this law in the period covered. Highlights of the ranking Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance  The Indian Institutes of Technology Source- Outlook (IITs) dominate the list, with seven 6. Assam: No goverment jobs for those IITs figuring in the top ten rankings. with more than two kids  IIT-Bombay leads followed by the  The Assam Cabinet decided that no Indian Institute of Science (IISc) government jobs will be given to which is same as last year. persons having more than two  IIT-Delhi stands third in the ranking children after January 1, 2021. whereas Delhi University, University  It also adopted a New Land Policy, of Hyderabad and the Indian Institute which will give three bighas of of Science are the only other non-IIT agricultural land to landless institutions in the top ten. indigenous people and half a bigha for Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance constructing a house. Source- PIB Related Information 8. National milk sample safety quality  In September 2017, the Assam survey Assembly had passed the 'Population

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 FSSAI has released a national milk  It is a Supreme Court mandated body sample safety quality survey. tasked with taking various measures Highlights of the survey to tackle air pollution in the National  Milk samples from Telangana, Capital Region. followed by Madhya Pradesh and  It was notified in 1998 by Kerala, showed the highest number of Environment Ministry under cases of adulteration. Environment Protection Act, 1986.  The study noted that processed milk,  Its mandate is to protect and improve including that of major brands, failed the quality of the environment and to meet the prescribed quality norm in prevent and control environmental 37.7% of the total samples tested. pollution in the National Capital  Most of the sample failed to comply Region. with the FSSAI norm as contaminants  It is also mandated to enforce the like aflatoxin-M1, antibiotics and Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) pesticides were found. in NCR as per the pollution levels.  Aflatoxin-M1 is more dominant in processed milk than raw milk which is Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment in large dose can be life-threatening, Source- Indian Express usually through damage to the liver.  Aflatoxin-M1 comes in the milk 24.10.2019 through feed and fodder that are currently not regulated in the country. 1. 19th Non-Aligned Movement  Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Kerala were the (NAM) summit top three States where Aflatoxin  The Vice-President of India will residue was found the most. represent India at the 19th Non- Related Information Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in  India is the world’s largest producer of Baku, Azerbaijan. milk.  In his statement at Baku, Mr.  The total estimated milk production in Jaishankar spoke a said that the NAM the country was 176.35 million tonnes summit must resolve to fight during 2017-18. terrorism “collectively” and “across all Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance fronts”, and advocated the finalisation Source- PIB of the Comprehensive Convention on 9. Environment Pollution (Prevention & International Terrorism (CCIT) that Control) Authority India had proposed in 1996.  The Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention &  This is the second NAM summit that Control) Authority has recently will not be attended by an Indian PM, slammed Uttar Pradesh and except for 1979 when caretaker PM Rajasthan governments for not Charan Singh skipped the summit in controlling air pollution. Havana.  It also includes the burning of Related Information municipal solid waste, industrial Non-Alignment Movement pollution, and dusty roads among  It was founded in 1961. others.  It was based on Bandung principles Related Information that were adopted at the Belgrade Environment Pollution (Prevention & Summit (an Afro-Asian Conference) in Control) Authority 1955.

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It was founded during the collapse of  The increase is based on the principle the colonial system andindependence that MSP should be at least 1.5 times struggles of Asia, Africa and Latin the all-India weighted average cost of American countries. production.  It worked towards the attainment of Related Information independence for many countries. Minimum Support Price (MSP) India and NAM  It is a form of market intervention by  India is one of the founding members the Government of India to insure of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), agricultural producers against any which was established in 1961 with 29 sharp fall in farm prices. members.  The minimum support prices are  It has since grown to 120 members to announced by the Government of become one of the largest groupings India at the beginning of the sowing of nation-states. season for certain crops on the basis Comprehensive Convention on of the recommendations of the International Terrorism Commission for Agricultural Costs and  It was proposed first by India in 1996, Prices. the ratification of the Comprehensive  MSP is price fixed by the Government Convention on International of India to protect the producer - Terrorism. farmers - against excessive fall in  It provides a legal framework which price during bumper production years. makes it binding on all signatories to  The minimum support prices are a deny funds and safe havens to guaranteed price for their produce terrorist groups. from the Government.  The original draft that was tabled in  The major objectives are to support 1996 and discussed until April 2013 the farmers from distress sales and to included the following major procure food grains for public objectives: distribution.  To have a universal definition of Highlights of the MSP Policy terrorism that all 193-members ofthe UNGA will adopt into their own  This policy, whereby the farmers are criminal law. assured of a minimum of 50% as the a. To ban all terror groups and shut margin of profit, is one of the down terror camps important and progressive steps b. To prosecute all terrorists under towards doubling farmers’ income by special laws 2022. c. To make cross-border terrorism an  The highest increase has been extraditable offence worldwide. recommended for lentils followed by safflower and gram. Topic- GS Paper 3 –International Organization  In the case of cereals, the Food Source- PIB Corporation of India and other designated State agencies would 2. Rabi crop MSP to be hiked for next continue to provide price support to season the farmers.  The Union Cabinet was decided to hike the minimum support price (MSP) for Topic- GS Paper 3 –Agriculture and its rabi crops for the marketing season related issues 2020-21. Source- The Hindu

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3. India gets protocol to assess Snow  A government scheme that offers Leopard population cash assistance to encourage Parsi  Union environment minister released couples to have children has resulted the Snow Leopard Population in 214 births over the last five years Assessment at the fourth steering through assisted reproductive committee meeting of the Global techniques. Snow Leopard and Ecosystem  Infertility and late marriages are Program. among the main reasons for the rapid  Snow Leopard Population Assessment decline in the Parsi population. has been prepared by the Wildlife Related Information Institute of India, Nature About scheme Conservation Foundation, GSLEP  It is a Central Sector Scheme technical committee, Global Tiger launched by the Ministry of Minority Initiative Council, World Wide Fund for Affairs in 2013.  Nature, World Bank, Global Tiger The main objective of the scheme is Forum, and Wildlife Conservation to reverse the declining trend of the Trust. Parsi population by adopting a scientific protocol and structured  National-level estimation processes interventions, stabilize their are done for tigers, rhinos and population and increase the elephants. population of Parsis in India.  With this protocol, the same can be  The Scheme comprises of three done for snow leopards components Related Information a. Advocacy Component Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem b. Health of the Community Component Program c. Medical Component.  It is a high-level intergovernmental Parsis alliance of 12 snow leopard range  They are a group of followers in India countries. who follow the Zoroastrianism.  These are Russia, China, Mongolia,  The religion was founded by Prophet Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Zoroaster (or Zarathustra).  Tajikistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Maharashtra has the highest Parsi Afghanistan, and Pakistan. population in the country followed by Gujarat.  In India, snow leopards are found in Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance the Himalayan and trans-Himalayan (Scheme) landscape at an elevation between Source- Indian Express 3,000 meters and 5,400 m. 5. Indian Army's exercise 'Sindhu  They found in India of the state of Sudarshan' in deserts of Rajasthan Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal  More than 40,000 troops will take part Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and in the Indian Army's exercise Arunachal Pradesh. codenamed 'Sindhu Sudarshan' in the Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment deserts of Rajasthan, from November Source- Down to Earth 29 to December 4. 4. Jiyo Parsi’ scheme  The Army will be carrying out this  The government is considering exercise using its integrated battle allocating more funds for the Jiyo groups which are the new formations Parsi scheme for the next financial being raised by the force for year. warfighting in future.

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Governor-General) in an attempt to  The exercise will witness the Army maintain Indian control over the assessing the operational efficiency of region, but was defeated in the third the Strike Corps to fight in the desert war and died imprisoned. terrain and the Indian Air Force (IAF)  to provide intimate support in terms of The first female rulers to rebel against destruction of targets and airlifting British rule, she has become a folk troops. hero in Karnataka and symbol of the Topic- GS Paper 3– Defence independence movement in India. Source- Economic Times Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture Source- PIB 6. White bellbird: The world’s loudest 9. Global Wealth Report 2019 bird   According to the study, published in The Credit Suisse Group, a the journal Current Biology, the male Switzerland-based multinational white bellbird’s mating call is about investment bank, has released the three times louder than screaming 10th edition of its annual Global Wealth phias — the previously loudest bird Report. singer.  The report typically tracks both the Related Information growth and distribution of wealth in White bellbird terms of  Its scientific name is Procnias albus. a. the numbers of millionaires and  It is found in forests in the Guianas, billionaires with small numbers in Venezuela and b. the proportion of wealth that they hold. the Brazilian state of Pará. c. the status of inequality around the world.  It is listed as Least Concern in IUCN Highlights of the report red list.  China has overtaken the United States Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment this year to become the country with Source- The Hindu most people in the top 10% of global 7. India, Pakistan ink agreement to wealth distribution. operationalise Kartarpur Corridor  The women’s wealth has also grown  India and Pakistan signed an agreement relative to that of men in most to operationalise Kartarpur Corridor. countries due to rising female labour  With the signing of this agreement, a force participation, more equal division formal framework has been laid down of wealth between spouses and other for operationalisation of the Kartarpur factors. Sahib Corridor,” Report on India:  While India has been urging Pakistan  India ranks fifth globally in terms of to reconsider its stand to impose a the number of ultra-high-net-worth $20 service fee on pilgrims, Islamabad individuals. is yet to take a decision on the issue.  The total wealth in India has increased Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment fourfold between 2000 and 2019, Source- The Hindu reaching $12.6 trillion in 2019. 8. Kittur Utsav Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics Source- The  Chief Minister of Karnataka inaugurated Hindu Kittur Utsav which is a three-day festivities will include sports, cultural programmes and lectures by resource persons on the kingdom of Rani Channamma. Related Information Kittur Chennamma  She was an Indian freedom fighter and Rani of the Kittur, a former princely state in Karnataka.  She led an armed force against the British East India Company in 1824 in defiance of the doctrine of lapse (the policy of Dalhousie, the then 54