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International

UNGA:

It refers to United Nations General Assembly. It is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, the only one in which all member nations have equal representation, and the main deliberative, policy-making, and representative organ of the UN. It was founded in 1945 in New York, United States.

UNGA has given its approval for a new Russian resolution which will draft a new international treaty to combat cyber-crime which will draft a new international treaty to combat cyber-crime. The Russian-drafted resolution was approved by the 193-member world body by a vote of 79-60 with 33 abstentions. The drafted resolution will comprise of expert committee representing all world regions. It will also elaborate a comprehensive international convention on countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes.

The UNGA also approved a resolution strongly condemning human rights abuses against Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims and other minorities.

The UNGA resolutions are not legally binding but do reflect world opinion.

Guinea-Bissau:

Guinea-Bissau officially the Republic of Guinea- Bissau is a tropical country in West Africa. It is known for national parks and wildlife. The forested, sparsely populated Bijagós archipelago is a protected biosphere reserve. Its main island, Bubaque, forms part of the Orango Islands National Park, a habitat for saltwater hippos. Its capital city is Bissau. The currency used here is West African CFA franc.

The opposition leader of West African state of Guinea-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo has won presidential elections. He defeated his rival Domingos Simoes Pereira, head of the country's ruling party PAIGC. National Electoral Commission (CNE) President Jose Pedro Sambu today announced the result. WHO:

It refers to the World Health Organization. WHO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health. It was founded on 7 April 1948. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The WHO is a member of the United Nations

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Development Group.

Year of Nurse and Midwife: WHO has designated the year 2020 as the “Year of Nurse and Midwife” to honor the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale.

The main objective of WHO is to focus on improving health globally by raising the status and profile of nursing and enabling nurses to maximize their contribution to achieve Universal Health Coverage. The year is being dedicated to the midwifery as well as WHO is also a partner of The State of the World’s Midwifery Campaign.

WHO is leading the development of “World Nursing Report” which is first of its kind. The report is to be launched in 2020. The organization is to launch the reports prior to 73rd session of WHO which is to be held in Geneva in February 2020.

Florence Nightingale: She was an English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing. She was born in 12 May 1820 in Florence, Italy. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, in which she organized camps to take care for wounded soldiers. During the Crimean war, Nightingale gained the nickname "The Lady with the Lamp". Every year on the 12th of December the International Nurse Day is being celebrated in her honor by International Council of Nurses.

The world Braille Day:

It is observed annually on 4 January. The day is celebrated since 2019. It is observed to raise awareness of the importance of Braille as a means of communication in the full realization of the human rights for blind and partially sighted people. The day is celebrated to honor the birth anniversary of Louis Braille. He is the inventor of Braille – for people with visual disabilities. Louis Braille: He was born on 4th January 1809 in the town of Coupvray in northern France. He became blind after a childhood accident, and he quickly mastered his new way of living. He created the system we know today as Braille, based on a system of writing developed by Charles Barbier at a tender age of 15.

Braille: It is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired. It is traditionally written with embossed paper. Braille users can read computer screens and other electronic supports using refreshable Braille displays. Braille was invented by Louis Braille.

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National

RPF:

It refers to Railway Police Force. The RPF has been accorded Group A status by the ministry and renamed It as Indian Railway Protection Force Service (IRPS) by the Indian Railways. The notice of renaming was issued by the Joint Director of Railway Board Amitabh Joshi on 30 December 2019.

IRPF: The Indian Railway Protection Force Service (RPF) is a security force. It was established by the Railway Protection Force Act, 1957. It was enacted by the Indian Parliament for "the better protection and security of railway property". It was founded in 27 July 1872. It is headquartered in New Delhi and its governing body is the Ministry of Railways of India. The motto of the IRPF is “Attaining honor”. SDG:

It refers to Sustainable Development Goals. SDGs also known as the Global Goals were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

SDG India Index: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index is intended to provide a holistic view on the social, economic and environmental status of the country and its States and UTs. The index highlighst data gaps related across SDGs for India to develop its statistical systems at the national and State levels.

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NITI Ayog: NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Ayog, the think tank of India released the 2nd edition of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index and dashboard for the year 2019 in New Delhi. The index gives a brief analysis on the progress made by states and union territories(UTs) towards achieving the 2030 SDG targets. Kerala has topped the index with a score of 70.

Kisan Samman Nidhi:

It is an initiative by the government of India in which all small and marginal farmers will get up to ₹6,000 per year as minimum income support. It was established on 1 February 2019.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the release of the 3rd installment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM Kisan) worth 12,000 crore at a public meeting in Tumkur, Karnataka on January 2, 2019.

He presented the Krishi Karman Awards and Commendation Awards to states at a public meeting. He will also give away Agriculture Minister's Krishi Karman Awards for Progressive Farmers that have recorded good agriculture production in various categories during the previous crop seasons. Fishing equipments and Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) were also distributed by him to selected farmers.

The Prime Minister also handed over certificates to beneficiaries under PM Kisan from eight states and Union Territories (UTs).

PM-Kisan: It refers to The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi. It is a national scheme to improve the income of small and marginal farmers and to improve farm productivity and ensure better utilization of the resources in the country. It also helps the farmers from the debt-trap of the moneylenders. It was launched for the first time in Telangana as Rythu Bandhu Scheme. After the scheme was a huge success the central government launched the Pm-KISAN Yojana all over the country. Under this scheme amount of Rs 6000 was provided to the farmers annually by directly crediting it in their bank accounts in 4 installments.

Jharkhand:

It is a state in eastern India. It was created on 15 November 2000, from what was previously the southern half of Bihar. The capital of Jharkhand is Ranchi. The first Chief Minister of Jharkhand was Babula Marandi.

Hemant Soren: He is the leader of Jharkhand Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. He has taken oath as a Chief Minister of Jharkhand for the 2nd time on 29 December 2019. He has become 11th chief minister of Jharkhand. Governor of Jharkhand Droupadi Murmu has administered the oath of office and secrecy to Hemant Soren, in 5 www.civilserviceindia.com the presence of senior political leaders and chief ministers from across states. In the just-conducted Assembly elections, the JMM, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress alliance defeated the Bharitya Janata Dal(BJP) by 47 seats in the 81 member House. He had also earlier served as the 5th Chief Minister of Jharkhand in 13 July 2013 to 28 December 2014. Pragati Maidan Metro:

The Pragati Maidan Metro is located on the Blue Line of the Delhi Metro. It services the Pragati Maidan Exhibition center and is also the current nearest Metro station to the nearby ITO office area as well as the Supreme Court of India.

The Government of Delhi's naming committee has decided to rename Pragati Maidan Metro station as Supreme Court Metro Station. This was announced in New Delhi during a press conference by the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia. The naming committee has also decided to rename Mukarba Chowk and its flyover after Kargil war martyr Captain Vikram Batra and Mehrauli – Badarpur Road as Acharya Sri Mahapragya Marg.

Indian polity

CRPF:

It refers to Central Reserve Police Force. The CRPF is India's largest Central Armed Police Force. It functions under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. The CRPF's primary role lies in assisting the State/Union Territories in police operations to maintain law and order and counter insurgency. It came into existence as the Crown Representative's Police on 27 July 1939. After Indian Independence, it became the Central Reserve Police Force on enactment of the CRPF Act on 28 December 1949. It is headquartered in New Delhi. Central Reserve Police Force of India's largest Central Armed Police Force is considered to be the World's largest Paramilitary Force.

CRPF have played a prominent role in combating terror and militancy. CRPF personnel played prominent role in eliminating terror from Punjab and militancy from Tripura in the year 1980 and 1990. The supreme sacrifices made by about 2184 CRPF personnel for internal security duties including at the war theatres with China in October,1959 and with Pakistan at Sardar Post, Kutch in Gujarat in 1965. CRPF bagged 75 bravery medals which is the highest for any force.

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Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment for the welfare of paramilitary forces who have made supreme sacrifices for the nation, Union Home Minister Amit Shah laid the foundation stone of the Directorate General Building of CRPF in New Delhi on 30 December 2020. He also launched a new logo, Garud, for those engaged in providing security to the common man and VIPs.

The new building which will be built at a cost of Rs 280 crore will have all modern facilities and green amenities, besides effective control and command system with modern training modules for 3.5 lakh strong force to enhance their operational capability. Home Ministry has not only created 35000 new posts for CRPF but also various initiatives for the welfare of family members of CRPF is also being considered.

PPRTMS:

It refers to the Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System. It is an online tracking system which will allow political parties to track their applications for registration with the Election Commission of India (ECI) on a real-time basis.

The salient features of PPRTMS is that the applicant, who is applying for a political party registration from 1st January, 2020 will be able to track the progress of his/her application and will get status updates through SMS and e-mail. The registration of political parties is governed by the provisions of Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Under this Section, a party seeking registration has to submit an application to the Commission within a period of 30 days following the date of its formation as per guidelines prescribed by the Election Commission of India. The commission checks whether the party satisfies the criteria governed by section 29A of Representation of People Act, 1951.

The Election Commission of India launched an online tracking system- Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System (PPRTMS). The new guidelines came into effect from January 1, 2020.

Election Commission Of India: It is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India. The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country. It was founded in 20 January 1950. It is headquartered in New Delhi.

Indian policy News

Mega Infrastructure Plan:

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has unveiled infrastructure projects worth Rs 102 lakh crore rupees that will be implemented in the next five years as a part of the

7 www.civilserviceindia.com government giving a push to infrastructure development for India.

The massive infrastructure plan is for boosting Indian economic growth by the Government which involves railway project of INR 14 lakh crore, energy project of INR 25 lakh crore and INR of 20 lakh crore projects. The central government has also started a National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) for the first time in India. The Finance Minister released the Report of the Task Force on National Infrastructure Pipeline for 2019-2025. The NIP follows a commitment by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech, that more than Rs 100 trillion would be invested in India’s infrastructure over the next five years. TRAI:

It refers to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. TRAI is an independent regulatory body established by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act 1997 to oversee the telecommunications industry in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi.

TRAI has made amendments to the new regulatory framework for cable and broadcasting services with a view to protect consumer interests. Under this new regulatory framework the cable TV users will be able to access more channels at lower subscription price. It has capped the amount consumers will have to pay monthly for all free to air channels at Rs 160. The new rules are part of the changes the regulator has made to its 2017 tariff order for broadcasting and cable TV services and they will be effective from 1 March 2020.

NITI Ayog: It is the think tank of the Government of India. (GoI). NITI Aayog has pitched for enactment of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, 2017, observing that regulatory bodies that is- the Medical Council of India and the Nursing Council of India have failed to ensure adequate availability and quality of health professionals. So to address the shortage of qualified doctors and bridge gap in medical education, the Ayog has released its Draft "Model Concession Agreement for Setting Up Medical Colleges under Public Private Partnership (PPP)" guideline document to link new or existing private medical colleges with functional district hospital to augment medical seats. A concession agreement has been developed based on international best practices and similar PPP arrangements that are operative in Gujarat and Karnataka. The PPP model seeks to ensure high quality and timely provision of services. They will also help in speeding up Government projects and provide better public services.

CACS & e-BCAS projects:

It refers to two e-Governance projects. Union Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri has launched the Biometric enabled Centralized Access Control System (CACS) and ‘e-BCAS Project Training Module’ to enhance security and ease of doing business at airports. These two projects were launched these projects in the

8 www.civilserviceindia.com presence of senior officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).

CACS: It refers to Centralized Access Control System. This multi-layered security system encompasses the uniqueness of the Airport Entry Permit (AEP) users, biometric authentication in addition to PIN-based identity verification through contactless smart card technology. The main objective of CACS is to digitize the employee movement process at the airports. The project also aims to facilitate the ease of processing, enhanced security and prevent unauthorized entry into airport and alert authorities to an attempted intrusion or other irregularities for immediate response. e-BCAS: It is a Training Module which seeks to make all the activities in the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) transparent, user-friendly, efficient and provide an ease of doing business with the stakeholders. The ‘e-BCAS’ project's objective is not only to achieve a paperless office under the e- Governance initiative of Government of India but also assist more than 1.5 lac employees of various stakeholders to migrate from the manual process of training to digital platform.

GoI:

It refers to the Government of India. GoI signed MoU with Wal-Mart owned e-commerce firm Flipkart for selling the products made by women self-help groups under the scheme- Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) on e-commerce platform. With this MoU, women self-help groups, under DAY-NULM, will be able to sell their products online to customers across the country making them financially independent.DAY_NULM: It is the abbreviation of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission. DAY-NULM is a scheme where the women work towards reducing urban poverty through strong community institutions, skill training, access to affordable credit for self- employment, support for street vendors resulting in an appreciable improvement in their livelihoods on a sustainable basis, through building strong grassroots level institutions of the poor.

Science and Technology

Christina Hammock Koch: She is an American engineer from Livingston, Montana and a NASA astronaut who is onboard the International Space Station (ISS) since 14 March 2019.

Christina Koch creates a record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, surpassing the earlier record of 288 days in space. By the time she arrives back on Earth in February 2020, she will have spent more than 300 days in space. She has surpassed the earlier record of 288 days in space which was previously established by NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson in 2017. Koch also has set another

9 www.civilserviceindia.com milestone as part of first all-female spacewalking team in October 2019 which was her 4th spacewalk.

The world record for the single longest mission by any space explorer whether man or woman, is held by cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who spent 438 consecutive days on board Russia’s former space station Mir from January 1994 to March 1995.

IIT Guwahati:

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati researchers has developed materials that can produce energy from water, on a small scale in household environments to support the decentralization of energy sources.

IIT-G researchers used the nanoscale phenomenon called ‘Electrokinetic streaming potential’ to harvest energy from flowing water on a small length scale including water flowing through household water taps.

To extract power from stagnant water, devices by employing doped graphene flakes fabricated by them.The complementary charge transfer activities of doped graphene flakes based devices generate power just upon dipping in any kind of water source including lake, river or seawater.

A research team led by Dr. Kalyan Raidongia, Department of Chemistry, IIT Guwahati, along with his research team Jumi Deka, Suresh Kumar, Kundan Saha and Hemant Kumar Srivastava worked on this novel research. Their findings were recently published in ACS Applied Nanomaterials.

The generation of energy from water in various forms – river flow, ocean tides, stagnant water, and even raindrops, is now known as “blue energy”. While hydroelectric power from rivers is the traditional form of blue energy, there have been efforts to harness the power of water in other ways in recent years.

Thoothukdi:

It is a place in Tamil Nadu where India’s second spaceport for launching small satellites would be located. Thoothukudi is about 600 km southeast of Chennai. ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) chief K Sivan announced it on 1 January 2020. The space center will be established in 2300 acres of land. According to the ISRO chief the new location is ideal for launching smaller satellites of less than 500 kg in the sun-synchronous orbit. The ISRO Chairman also announced that the Government has approved the Chandrayaan–3 mission to the moon, comprising of a lander and a rover. Gaganyaan is to be launched by 2022.The country's first spaceport is at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, about 90 km northeast of Chennai.

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Swarna Jayanti Fellowships:

Swaran Jayanti Fellowships are awarded to young and brilliant scientists to pursue research with financial freedom and flexibility.

The Union Ministry of Science and Technology Dr Harsh Vardhan have awarded Swarna Jayanti Fellowships to 14 scientists. The award is conferred to them to pursue basic research in frontier areas of science and technology. The fellowship covers all the requirements for performing the research and includes a fellowship of 25 thousand rupees per month. A research grant of 5 lakh rupees for 5 years is also being provided in addition to their salary. DRDO:

It refers to Defence Research Development Organization. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday dedicated the five Young Scientists Laboratories of Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to the nation at a function held at Aeronautical Development Establishment. It is here that Former President Abdul Kalam had joined DRDO. The labs will give wings to thoughts and action to young scientists.

Environment & Climate News

Zambia:

It is a landlocked country in southern Africa, with a tropical climate, and consists mostly of high plateaus with some hills and mountains; dissected by river valleys. It is a Sub-Saharan African country sharing boundaries with Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe (MTENR, 2002). On its border with Zimbabwe is the famous Victoria Falls also called Mosi-oa-Tunya, or "Smoke That Thunders”. The capital of Zambia is Lusaka. The currency used here is Zambian kwacha. The president of Zambia is Edgar Lungu.

Zambia has been experiencing adverse impacts of climate change. It is facing severe draught conditions due to the dramatic shift in the weather conditions. Around 2 million people are in need of food aid, following two years of poor rains and failed harvests.

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Climate change: It occurs when changes in Earth's climate system result in new weather patterns that remain in place for an extended period of time. Climate change caused by human activities that emit greenhouse gases into the air is expected to affect the frequency of extreme weather events such as drought, extreme temperatures, flooding, high winds, and severe storms. Even the cutting down of trees and burning forests result in climate change. Australia:

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's 6th largest country by total area. Australia is also the world's driest continent. Its capital is Canberra. The currency used here is Australian dollar. The Prime Minister of Australia is Scott Morrison.The wildfires raging in the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria began in November 2019, and they continue to pose severe safety and environmental problems. Australian bushfire have caused a great damage to humans, property and wildlife. Dozens of bushfires are raging across large parts of Australia. It has become a real economic threat of the climate emergency. The environmental calamity has been stoked by a combination of extreme winds, record-shattering heat waves, and drought-parched forests and grasslands. The bushfires have grown so monstrous that they are now generating their own weather in the form of pyro- cumulonimbus clouds—dry thunderstorms and even cyclonic fire-tornadoes, or “firenados in arid regions of southern Australia. These fire generated thunderstorms has been describes as "fire- breathing dragon of clouds" by NASA. According to Ecologists nearly about nearly 500 million mammals, reptiles and birds—including 8,000 koalas—are estimated to have been killed, although the current death toll is impossible to calculate. Different species like koalas, wallabies, Kangaroos, bandicoots, echidnas, possums, wombats, potoroos, and many other species live in that region which is being destroyed by fire. Now the fire seems to have reached the wetlands which will cause destruction of dry eucalyptus forests and even rainforest.

Bushfires: Each year there is a fire season during the Australian summer, with hot, dry weather making it easy for blazes to start and spread. Natural causes are to blame most of the time, like lightning strikes in drought-affected forests.

Hargila:

The greater adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius) is a member of the stork family Ciconiidae. This rarest of storks, the Hargila is currently on the brink of extinction due to habitat loss stemming from indiscriminate felling of big trees, poaching, poisoning and dwindling wetlands. In India, eight species of residential storks are found, out of which Greater Adjutant is one of them. Once abundantly distributed in Southeast Asia, this stork is now restricted to a few isolated

12 www.civilserviceindia.com pockets in Assam and Bihar in India and PrekToal in Cambodia. It is an endangered species. This colonial birds breeds in traditional nesting colonies within thickly populated villages in Assam. It also breeds in tall trees species including Anthocephaluscadamba(Kadam), Artocarpusleukochuwa (Dewa), Pithecellobiummonadephum, BombaxCeiba (Simul), Tamarindusindica (Teteli), Trewianudifera (Bhelkol), Gmelinaarborea (Gomari). It is listed under schedule IV of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

The Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden and Aaranyak has jointly attained a landmark achievement by successfully hatching a pair of Greater Adjutant chicks in an artificial platform. The platform is within the zoo enclosure. It is the first ever experiment of its kind. Palau:

Palau officially the Republic of Palau is an archipelago of over 500 islands. It is a part of the Micronesia region in the western Pacific Ocean. The country contains approximately 340 islands, and together with parts of the Federated States of Micronesia, forms the western chain of the Caroline Islands. The capital Ngerulmud is located on the nearby island of Babeldaob, in Melekeok State. Palau shares maritime boundaries with the Philippines, Indonesia, and Micronesia. It is made of large volcanic islands and small coral reefs. Palau is famous for its marine life and renowned for the best diving destinations. The Rock Islands in the Palau is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The tiny Pacific island nation introduced strict environmental measures. Palau has become the first country in the world to ban sun cream to protect corals reefs. The country has banned ‘reef toxic' or coral toxic sunscreens as a common ingredients used in cosmetics including oxybenzone which is very harmful to the corals. The order of the ban was passed in 2018 but it comes into effect from January 1, 2020. The sunscreen creams have been banned because the cream absorbs UV radiations and make corals susceptible to bleaching.

This decision was taken on the basis of a report published in 2017 that informed sunscreen products have harmful chemicals for coral reefs. As per the report published by The Ocean Foundation, about 6 to 14,000 tons of sunscreen is washed into the coral reefs every year.

WII:

It is an acronym of Wildlife Institute of India. WII is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change(MoFCC), Government of India. It was established in May 1982. WII has a research facility which includes Forensics, Remote Sensing and GIS, Laboratory, Herbarium, and an Electronic Library.

WII is set to conduct the Asiatic Lion Census in May 2020. Around

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8,000-10,000 cameras will be used to carry out the 2020 lion census in Gujarat, the last abode of the Asiatic lion in the area spanning 7 districts in Gujarat.

For the first time, the expertise of Wildlife Institute of India will be perused in the census.

The Gujarat forest department conducts lion census every five years in Asiatic Lion Landscape, which includes Gir National Park and Sanctuary. The 2015 lion census had counted 523 lions in the state.

Asiatic Lion: The Asiatic lion is a Panthera leo leo population in India. Its range is restricted to the Gir National Park and environs in the Indian state of Gujarat.

It is listed as its former scientific name Panthera leo persica on the IUCN Red List as Endangered because of its small population size and area of occupancy. It is listed in Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Sports News

World Women’s Rapid Chess Championship 2019:

India's youngest woman Grandmaster Koneru Humpy has become the 2019 Women's World Rapid Champion. The championship was held in Moscow, Russia. She defeated China's Lei Tingjie in a Koneru defeated China's Lei Yingjie in the final playoff match. Humpy lost the first tie-break game and then won the second to reach the Armageddon game. China’s Lei Tingjie won the silver and Ekaterina Atalik of Turkey won the bronze. Norway's Magnus Carlsen claimed the men's title. Humpy has become the only second Indian to win gold after Vishwanathan Anand who won it in 2017.

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KIYG:

It is the abbreviation of Khelo India Youth Games which was formerly known as Khelo India School Games (KISG). It is held annually in January or February. It is the national level multidisciplinary grassroot games in India held for two categories, namely under-17 years school students and under-21 college students. The first edition of the event was held in New Delhi and the second edition was held in Pune, Maharashtra.

The third Khelo India Youth Game is to be held between February 10, 2020 and February 22, 2020 in Guwahati, Assam. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched the torch relay of the Third Khelo India Youth Games.

The opening ceremony of the 3rd KIYG will take place at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Guwahati on January 10 before the athletes take part in their respective events in full flow.

Chief Executive Officer of the event, Avinash Joshi has announced that lawn bowls and cycling will also be included in the Khelo India for the first time.

IHAI:

It refers to Ice Hockey Association of India. IHAI is the national ice hockey championship in India.

The 5th edition of the IHAI National Ice Hockey Championship began in Leh on 2nd January 2020. The tournament will continue up to 7th January 2020 in Karzoo Ice Hockey Rink, Leh, where the Army, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra and home team Ladakh are fighting for the championship in U-20 boys category. Similarly, in Girls category Ladakh, Maharashtra, Delhi and Chandigarh are playing for the championship.

Haryana beat home team Ladakh UT by 5 - 3 goals in Under-20 Boys category. In another tie, Delhi beat Chandigarh by 3 - Nil goals.

Similarly, in single U-20 Girls match played today, Maharashtra registered a victory over Delhi by a big margin of 7 - 1 goal.

CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Awards:

Former India captain and member of the 1983 World Cup winning team Krishnamachari Srikkanth will be the recipient of this year’s prestigious CK Nayudu Lifetime Award given by the BCCI. Anjum Chopra who is the former Indian woman captain is the co-recipient of the lifetime achievement award for the year 2019.

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The BCCI Annual Award function will be held in Mumbai on January 12 where Srikkanth and Anjum will be conferred with the Lifetime Achievement award for their contributions to Indian cricket.

Krishnamachari Srikkanth: Krishnamachari Srikkanth also known as Kris Srikkanth is a former captain of the Indian cricket team and former chairman of the selection committee. He represented Tamil Nadu in the Indian domestic circuit. He is a Right-hand batsman. He represented India between 1981 to 1992. He retired in 1992 after the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand and served as the chairman of the national selection committee.

Anjum Chopra: She played 127 ODIs in which she scored a hundred and 18 fifties. She played 18 T20 Internationals. She was a part of the Indian XI that played in the Women’s World Cup final against Australia in 2005.

Economic News eBkray:

It is an e-auction platform to enable online auction of attached assets by banks. Finance Minister Sitharaman launched ‘eBkray’ auction platform. The platform provides navigational links to all PSB e-auction sites, property search feature. It also presents single-window access to information on properties up for e- auction, comparison of similar properties, and also contains videos and photographs of the uploaded properties. The e- auction platform is now linked on Indian Banks Auctions Mortgaged Properties Information (IBAPI) portal. IBAPI portal is an initiative of Indian Banks Association under the policy of the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance was launched to provide a platform to give details of mortgaged properties to be auctioned online by Banks, starting with PSBs. Buyers can search in the IBAPI portal to get properties details and participate in auction process. India-China Imports:

India is set to finalize stricter quality standards for 371 items by March 2020. The move is primarily aimed at curbing imports of non-essential items such as toys, plastic goods, sports items and furniture, especially from China. The proposed rules to be framed by ministries in coordination with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) will ensure stricter inspection of imports. According to the commerce ministry estimates, non-essential items imports from China amounts to about ₹4 trillion a year.

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The proposed rules are aimed at curbing imports from China and narrowing the trade deficit with India’s northern neighbor, the rules will also apply to Indian producers so as to make the regulations World Trade Organization-compliant. Darjeeling Tea:

It consists of some of the worlds costliest stress-busting brews which are grown in the tea gardens of Darjeeling in West Bengal. Recently, Darjeeling tea and White tea had received a GI tag but has fallen back in global prices due to legal and illegal influx of Nepal Tea into the country which is cheaper than Darjeeling Tea. Darjeeling Tea was already suffering due to the impact of climate change, scarcity of skilled labor and high production cost. Now Nepal is stealing the business and glory of the original Darjeeling brew.

GI Tag: It refers to Geographical Indication Tag. It is a tag used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess the qualities or reputation that are due to that origin. The Tag is provided to fetch an identity for the product international market and increase its exports. India enacted Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 under Article 22 of World Trade Organization.

Mani Mobile App:

It is an acronym for Mobile Aided Note Identifier Mobile App. It helps the visually challenged people to identify denomination of currency notes.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das and other officials launched ‘MANI’ mobile app on January 1, 2020. The MANI app will work offline also once it is installed. The app is available both on Android and iOS operating systems. The users can scan the notes using the mobile camera and the audio output will give the result in Hindi as well as English.

However, as per the Central Bank the app does not authenticate a note as either genuine or counterfeit.

Person in News

Savitribai Phule:

She was an Indian social reformer, educationalist, Writer, Author, Activist and poet from Maharashtra. Her full name was Savitribai Jyotirao Phule. She was born on 3rd January 1831. She is regarded as the first female teacher of India. Along with her husband, Jyotirao Phule, she played an important role in 17 www.civilserviceindia.com improving women's rights in India. She tirelessly worked and dedicated her life to abolishing gender and caste-based discrimination. She established the first Indian girls' school in Pune at Bhide wada in 1848. She even set up “Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha” that works to prevent female infanticides, killing of pregnant rape victims and widows. Satyashodhak Samaj that supported inter-caste marriages was also founded by her and her husband. She published Kavya Phule in 1854 and Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar in 1892, and also a poem entitled "Go, Get Education" in which she encouraged those who are oppressed to free themselves by obtaining an education. She is regarded as the mother of Indian feminism. A memorial was created for her in 1983 by Pune City Corporation and the University of Pune was named a Savitribai Phule Pune University in 2015 in her honor.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid his tributes to Savitribai Phule on her birth anniversary, saying she dedicated her life to social unity, education and women empowerment.

Piyuus Jaiswal:

He is a social worker and is associated with various Non- governmental organizations (NGOs). He has been working on women empowerment and new talent for the last four years. He has provided a platform to many Women and new talent who have proved their talent in their respective fields and created a name for themselves. Recently he organized the Indian Achiever's Award ceremony in Surat which was graced by will known celebrities from the field of fashion and films .

Piyuus Jaiswal was awarded the Global Bihar Excellence Award 2019. This award was presented by Rajya Sabha MP and Padma Shri Awardee Dr CP Thakur and Bihar Women Commission president Dilmani Devi in Patna to promote women empowerment. He was conferred the award in recognition of his contribution towards social welfare, women empowerment and introducing new talent in the field of arts and culture. He was also awarded the humanitarian award with the Global Peace Excellence Humanitarian Award 2019 on the occasion of International Human Day and Page 3 Award. H K Joshi:

Her full name is Harjeet Kaur Joshi. She has been appointed as the Chairperson & Managing Director (CMD) by the Shipping Corporation of India. She will also hold the additional charge of the post of Director (Finance) of the company for a period of 3 months with effect from 19 December 2019. Prior to this, she was General Manager (F&A) in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Mumbai in the Offshore Engineering Services wherein large mega offshore construction projects are handled.

SCI: It refers to the Shipping Corporation of India. It is a Government of India Public Sector Enterprise. Its headquarters is in Mumbai.

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Malavath Poorna:

She is an 18 year old is an Indian mountaineer from telangana. She was born into a poor tribal family from Pakala village of Nizamabad district. She joined Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society for her education. She was trained at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling. She is currently pursuing an undergraduate course at the Minnesota State University as a fellow of the Global Undergraduate Exchange Programme, US.

She has become the first and youngest tribal woman in the world to set foot on the six tallest mountain peaks across six continents. At the age of 13 years she became the world’s youngest girl who scaled Mt. Everest. She has so far scaled Mt. Everest (Asia, 2014), Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa, 2016), Mt. Elbrus (Europe, 2017), Mt. Aconcagua (South America, 2019), Mt. Cartsnez (Oceania region, 2019) and Mt. Vinson Massif (Antarctica, 2019). She is now gearing up to scale Mt. Denali (North America’s highest mountain peak).She accomplished Mt. Vinson mission with the help of the Telangana government, Transcend Adventures and crowd-funding.

RNP Singh:

He is a former officer of the Intelligence Bureau, Government of India. He has also earned the coveted Presidents Police Medal, Indian Police Medal, the Sukriti and Kautilya awards for his distinguished services. A book titled Politics of Opportunism written by him was released by Swaminathan Gurumurthy who is a Noted Economist and Political Analyst at a function in New Delhi. The book throws light on the subject related to rise of regional parties and Centre-States relation.

Gen Bipin Rawat:

General Bipin Rawat, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, ADC was born 16 March 1958. He is a four star general and the current Chief of Defense Staff of India. He was from a Gorkha regiment was an alumnus of the St. Edward School, Shimla, the National Defense Academy, Khadakwasla, and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.

Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat has been named as India's first Chief of Defense Staff. He was named the Chief of Defense Staff just a day before he was to retire from service after completing a full three-year term as the Chief of Army Staff.

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CDS: It refers to Chief of Defense Staff. CDS will be a 4-star General, the principal military advisor to the defense minister, and will head the new Department of Military Affairs. The Chief of Defense Staff will ensure the unity in training, logistics and procurement of the three services. The CDS is the head of the Army, Navy and Air Force and is be a four-star military officer. The CDS is in a position to advise on the matters related to all the three segments of the military. The post of CDS was created due the recommendations made after the Kargil war.

The Defense Ministry had also amended the army, air force and navy rules by bringing in a new clause that allows the CDS to serve upto a maximum age of 65 years. The CDS will administer all tri- services organizations, but their command will be with the Chief of the service which has a predominant role in their functioning.

Places in News

Kerala:

It is a state on the southwestern Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following passage of the States Reorganization Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions. It is the 23rd largest state in india by area. Its capital is Thiruvananthapuram. The Chief Minister of Kerala is Pinarayi Vijayan and the Governor is Arif Mohammad Khan.

Kerala has become the 1st state in the country to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act amid widespread protests across the country. The resolution moved by the Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayee Vijayan was seconded by the Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala. Kerala has also put on hold all the activities in connection with the National Population Register (NPR) considering the anxiety among people that it relates to the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Several other chief ministers of non BJP ruled states including West Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi have also announced for not implementing CAA in their states.

Citizenship Amendment Act: The Parliament had passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019 on December 11, 2019. The act had triggered widespread protests across India and created fear of discrimination based on religion.

Andhra Pradesh:It is a state bordering India’s southeastern coast. Major cultural landmarks include Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, an ornate hilltop shrine to Hindu’s Vishnu, in the southern part of the state. The Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014 states that Hyderabad is common capital of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states for a period of time not exceeding 10 years. Telugu is the major and official language of Andhra Pradesh and also one of the classical languages of India.

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Sand delivery: The YS Jaganmohan Reddy government of Andhra Pradesh is planning to introduce door-delivery of sand from Jan 2, 2020. It will launch a pilot project in Krishna district on an experimental basis. If successful then it will be extended. Under the new initiative, the government will collect transportation charges from the customers and deliver sand at door steps. In order to make the initiative successful, the AP Mineral Development Corporation will stock 15 lakh tons of sand per month for the next 4 months. The step taken by the government seeks to address issues of sand scarcity and sand mafia.

Andhra Pradesh Disha Act 2019:

The Andhra Pradesh Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2019 has been drafted to speed up the trial process for severe crimes committed against women and children. Disha is the name given to the veterinarian who was raped and murdered in Hyderabad which sparked an outrage across country.

The Andhra Pradesh government appointed an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official Dr Kritika Shukla and Indian Police Service (IPS) official M Deepika, as Special Officers for implementing the Andhra Andra Pradesh Disha Act 2019. The new Act says trial must be completed within 14 working days, thus reducing the total judgment time to 21 working days.

The bill provides for awarding death sentence for rape if there is adequate conclusive evidence. This provision is given by amending Section 376 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860.

The AP Disha Act also prescribes life imprisonment for other sexual offences against children and includes Section 354 F and 354 G in IPC.

In cases of harassment of women through social or digital media, the Act states 2 years imprisonment for the first conviction and 4 years for second and subsequent convictions. A new Section 354 E will be added in IPC, 1860 for this purpose. An electronic form called ‘Women & Children Offenders Registry’ will be established, operated and maintained by the AP Government.

To ensure a speedy trial, the state will set up exclusive special courts in all the thirteen districts to deal with cases of offences against women and children including rape, acid attacks, stalking, voyeurism, social media harassment of women, sexual harassment and all cases under POCSO Act. Study in Gujarat Campaign:

It is a campaign launched by the state education department of Gujarat government in order to transform the state into an educational hub at both national and international level.

Under this campaign a high level delegation will hold road shows in western Asian countries during 15th to 22nd January 2020 also hold roadshows in 10 cities of India including Shrinagar. Around 22 private colleges and government universities and 4 colleges are participating in the campaign.

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Ahmedabad

It is here that the world’s 2nd tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in the world was unveiled by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. It was unveiled at the Sardardham campus near Vaishnodevi Circle in Ahmedabad. The statue is a 50 feet tall bronze statue. It weighs 70 thousand kilograms.

The statue of Sardar Patel has been designed by Padma Bhusan Ram V. Sutar. He is the same sculptor who had designed the Statue of Unity. UPSRTC:

It refers to Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation. Transport minister Ashok Kataria has launched a dedicated women helpline, 'Damini', which is a calling and a WhatsApp service for the safety of women.

The unique number "81142-77777" has been subscribed for the helpline. The helpline is an extension of the 'Nirbhaya Yojana' that aims to ensure safety of women.

Using these helpline women passengers can lodge their complaints by calling the helpline number and by using WhatsApp service. These numbers will be visible inside the buses and bus stations by the 15th of January 2020. Cyber Safe Women’ initiative:

It is joint initiative of the Maharashtra state government, Maharashtra Cyber and Maharashtra police initiative launched by the Maharashtra Government. The initiative was launched commemorating the birth anniversary of Indian Social Reformer Savitribai Phule.

The rising instances of cyber-crime need to be curbed and so the government is looking to take all measures to ensure that women and children do not fall prey to these criminal activities. Under this initiative camps will be held across all the districts of the state regarding cyber safety. The aim of the initiative is to help in educating women about how the web is used by anti-social elements and child predators to commit various types of crimes. The campaign cover cybercrime crimes such as internet phishing, fraud identity on marriage site, cyber bullying, bank fraud, child pornography, photo shuffling, online gaming and false information sites.

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Art and Culture Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti 2020:

The 353rd birth anniversary of the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh ji was celebrated on the 2nd of January. It is celebrated as Parkash Utsav Dasveh Patshah which means birth celebration of the 10th Divine Light, or Divine Knowledges. The festival is one of the most widely celebrated event by Sikhs. The festival was celebrated in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh and Bihar with great devotion and enthusiasm. The main function was organized at Takhat Sri Harmandir Sahib Gurdwara, Patna Sahib, the birth place of Guru Gobind Singh, where thousands of pilgrims across the globe are offering prayers. Governor Phagu Chouhan and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar participated prayers On this auspicious day.

Guru Govind Singh: He was born at Patna Sahib in 1666. He was the 10th Sikh guru. He succeeded his father, the 9th Guru Tegh Bahadur ji as leader of Sikhs at the age of just nine. His father was beheaded by the Mughals for not following Islam. Guru Gobind Singh founded Sikh Warrior community called Khalsa in 1699. He lived the life of a saint and inspired millions of Sikhs with his writings that depict the way he led his life. He had strict principles, which he and his followers followed and still follow religiously. The basic norms included not obliging to the prevalent caste system and superstitions. He introduced five Ks in Sikhism. It is called the “Panj Kakar”, They are uncut hair (Kesh), an iron bracelet (kara), a wooden comb (Kangha), cotton undergarment (Kachera) and iron dagger (Kirpan). He is best known for rising against the Mughal rulers and safeguarding the interests of people from the invaders. His two sons were also killed by the Mughals. Before his passing, he asked Sikhs to consider Guru Granth as the primary sacred text. Guru Gobind Singh’s teachings have inspired many. His lifelong battle against the plundering Mughals ensured the survival of Sikhism. Lai Haraoba:

It is a ritual ceremonial festival celebrated by the Manipuri Meitei community since ancient times. It is celebrated to please the Umang Lai, traditional deities of Sanamahism. Umang Lai are the sacred trees that are preserved for the local forest deities. Lai Haraoba is celebrated through oral literature, music, dance and rituals. Several Manipuri martial arts, folk music and dances are also performed during the festival. The festival is especially known for its folk song named ‘Lai Haraoba Ishei’ which is played mainly for the Lai Haraoba festival. Lai Haraoba means merry making of the Gods

Tripura: The 5-day long ritualistic festival Lai Haraoba begins in Agartala which is the capital of Tripura. It is jointly organized by the Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, Government of

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Tripura, Puthiba Lai Haraoba Committee and Puthiba Welfare & Cultural Society, Agartala. This year’s festival will also feature the participation of a cultural troupe from Manipur.

Dhanu Jatra:

Dhanu Jatra or Dhanu Yatra is an annual drama- based open air theatrical performance celebrated in Bargarh, Odisha. It is Spread across a 8km radius area around the Bargarh municipality, it is world's largest open air theater. It has its name recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records. It is the world's largest open theatre. The Jatra is based on the mythological story of Lord Krishna and his demon uncle King Kansa. The festival started in 1947-48 to celebrate Indian’s Independence and to symbolize the victory of good over evil.

Odisha: The famous 11 day long Dhanu Jatra began on the 31st December 2019 and will continue till January 10, 2020 at Bargah in western Odisha. The department of Culture of the Government of India accorded the National Festival status to Dhanu Jatra in November 2014.

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