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S.NO TOPIC PAGE NO.

1. INDIAN AFFAIRS 3

2. INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 38

3. APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS 60

4. SUMMITS & MOU’s 76

5. INDIA’s RANK ON VARIOUS INDICES 81

6. SCHEMES & PORTAL 86

7. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 99

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8. RAILWAY AFFAIRS 106

9. AWARDS & HONORS 107

10. BOOKS & AUTHORS 122

11. SPORTS 125

12. IMPORTANT DAYS 141

13. EXERCISES 151

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INDIAN AFFAIRS

 Year 2018 was declared as Telugu promotion year by Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu at the 29th edition of Annual Book Exhibition of Vijayawada which is inaugurated by Vice President M Venkaiah.  Union Home Ministry has declared entire state of Nagaland as “disturbed area” for six more months (till June 2018) under Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act –it necessary to grant special powersto armed forces in tackling such incidences.  The Puducherrygovernment launched a special police force to safeguard tourists with special blue colour head gears. They will also wear blue badges with police emblem.  Union Cabinet has approved the revised model concession agreement for public private partnership (PPP) projects in major ports.  Union Cabinet approves setting up of new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh)will be set up at cost of Rs.1351 crore under the PradhanMantriSwasthyaSurakshaYojana (PMSSY).  National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, 2017was passed in

R.A.C.E the RajyaSabha by voice vote.  Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by PM Narendra Modi gave its approval for implementation of the JalMarg Vikas Project (JMVP) at a cost of Rs 5369 croreforHaldia- Varanasi stretch of National Waterway-1.  Indian government commenced SwachhSurvekshan– 2018(world’s largest cleanliness survey). Under Swachh Survekshan 2018, all 4041 cities and towns in India will be rated and ranked on various parameters of sanitation and cleanliness.  Union Defence Ministry approved procurement of simulated training solutions for Indian Navy’s P-8I long range maritime patrol aircraft and electronic warfare systems for the Army. Total cost involved in these deals is Rs. 2420 crore.  Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by PMNarendraModi gave approval for mandatory packaging of foodgrains and sugar in the jute material for the Jute Year 2017-18.

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 The Centre has approved a logo as the state’s symbol which is designed and conceptualized by West Bengal CMMamata Banerjee. The logo highlighting the "Biswa Bangla" theme with Ashoka Pillars.  Kolkata's NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose International Airport has become the 5thairport in India having CAT III B landing system runway 01R. It enables flights to land even when visibility is 50 metres with decision height of 15 meters.  The Atal Pension Yojana’s (APY) subscriber base reached a mark of 80 lakhs. The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) is run by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India (PFRDA).  Border Security Force (BSF) has launched "Operation Alert" along 200 km long International Border(IB) in Jammu and Kashmir to prevent infiltration attempts by terrorists from the Pakistani side.  Union Minister of Human Resource Development, PrakashJavadekar releasedAll India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report 2016-2017. Tamil Nadu recorded 46.9% GER (With highest record).

R.A.C.E  Central Government has sanctioned the construction of 14460 individual and community bunkers at a cost of Rs 415.73 crore for people living along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border(IB) in Jammu & Kashmir.  Indian Navy has signed MoU with the Cochin Port Trust (CPT) for increasing the berthing capacityof naval ships in Kochi.Under the MoU, Cochin Port Trust has leased 228 metres of berths atMattancherry Wharf to Indian Navy for a period of five years.  Delhi CM, ArvindKejriwal launched a first common mobility card for rides on public buses and the metro in Delhi.  Cabinet has approved proposal to amend Section 4(1) and Section 5(1) of the National Trust for theWelfare of Person with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999.  President Ram NathKovind inaugurated 4th International Dharma-Dhamma Conference on "State and Social Order in Dharma-Dhamma Traditions" at Rajgir in Nalanda district of Bihar.

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 PMNarendraModi inaugurated 22nd National Youth Festival, a five-day event being held at Gautam Buddha University, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Theme -‘Sankalp Se Siddhi’.  President of India, Ram NathKovind, inaugurated the ‘Economic Democracy Conclave’ at Thane, Maharashtra.This conclave has been organised by RambhauMhalgiPrabodhini.  Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh inaugurated the International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) which was organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) in New Delhi.  The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) approved authentication based on facial recognition in combination with fingerprint or iris scan for Aadhaar users.  Central Government has sanctioned projects worth over Rs.10000 crore in the North East for better network connectivity.  Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Union Defence Minister, NirmalaSitharaman, clearedprocurement of 72400 assault rifles and 93895 carbines to meet their immediate requirement of Defence Forces deployed in border areas.

R.A.C.E  S S C Shenoi, Director of Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) hasstated that India will function the own new ocean data acquisition system (called automatedmoorings) in April 2018.  President Ram NathKovind launched the Pulse Polio programme for 2018 from RashtrapatiBhavan, New Delhi, by administering polio drops to children below five years.  Electronics &Information technology and Law & Justice minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched ‘StreeSwabhiman’, an initiative by CSC (Common Services Centres) in New Delhi to develop a model for providing adolescent girls and women access to affordable sanitary products.  Airports Authority of India (AAI) chairman GuruprasadMahapatra said that, AAI has allocated Rs 3400 crore for upgradation of airports in the North East region.  Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, ArunJaitleypresented Union Budget 2018- 19 in Parliament.  Union Finance Minister, ArunJaitley, in his Budget address on February 1, 2018, announced thatgovernment will build a tunnel through the Sela Pass in Arunachal Pradesh.

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 The Floating Treatment Wetland (FTW) on Neknampur Lake was inaugurated in Hyderabad on World Wetlands Day (February 2). It has been named the largest FTW in India by the India Book of Records.  Uttar Pradesh State Government inaugurated state's first ever butterfly park in Kanpur.  Maharashtra State Government has approved Ghodazari in Chandrapur district as a new wildlifesanctuary in the state at the 13th meeting of the Maharashtra State Board for Wildlife.  Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr Harsh Vardhan appealed to the teaching community to join the ‘Green Good Deeds’ campaign to sensitize students about climate change and global warming.  Kala Ghoda Arts Festival(20th edition) is an annual multicultural festival held in the Kala Ghoda area of SouthMumbai. This year’s theme is ‘Hara Ghoda’ (Green Horse).  Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the First International Kala Mela (Art Festival) at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi. This festival has been organised by Lalit Kala Akademi.  ChhatrapatiShivaji International airport, Mumbai created a new world record for single-

R.A.C.E runway operations by handling 980 arrivals and take-offs in 24 hours.  ‘Pelican Bird Festival-2018’ was held at the Atapaka Bird Sanctuary on Kolleru Lake, in Andhra Pradesh. It 2018 was jointly organised by the AP Tourism Authority (APTA) and Krishna district administration.  Arunachal Pradesh CMPemaKhandu laid foundation stone for Rhodendron Park in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh.It will be built in an area of 1.15 hectares.  Haryana CMManoharLalKhattar stated that the State Government will establish 'Haryana KisanKalyanPradhikaran', a farmers' welfare department.  5th South Asia Region Public Procurement Conference is being held in New Delhi from 5th – 7th  February, 2018. It was inaugurated by Union Finance Minister, ArunJaitley. Themeis “Public Procurement and ServiceDelivery”.  National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is launching a pilot project includes developing asatellite based electronic toll collection system to analyse the feasibility of “Pay as you use” tolling system in India.

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 NITI Aayog launched the ‘Healthy States, Progressive India’ Report. It was jointly released by NITI Aayog CEO - Amitabh Kant, Ministry of Health, Secretary - Preeti Sudan and World Bank India Country Director - Junaid Ahmad.  PlastIndia 2018 10th edition of international plastics exhibition for 6 days from 7th February 2018 to 12th February 2018, started in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It was inaugurated by Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani.  President Ram NathKovind inaugurated the 88th MahamastakabhishekaMahotsav of Lord Gomateshwara at Shravanabelagola in Hassan district, Karnataka. The MahamastakabhishekaMahotsav is held once in 12 years. It has been celebrated for nearly 1, 000 years.  Union Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ms.UmaBharti inaugurated Swachh Bharat Sanitation Park in Delhi. This park is to create awareness on various safe technological options related to Sanitation.  ‘Integrated Automatic Aviation Meteorological System (IAAMS)’ was inaugurated at INS Garuda, a naval air station located in Kochi, Kerala.

R.A.C.E  Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, J P Nadda launched National Deworming Day. It is held on 10 February and 10 August to treat intestinalworm infections in all children aged 1- 19 years.  Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched Gujarat University’s Centre for Spoken Sanskrit that will provide a spoken Sanskrit course. Co-ordinator of this course is AtulUnagar.  Central Government has released a sum of Rs.1269 crore to Andhra Pradesh forvarious projects. Out of Rs. 1269 crore, Rs. 417.44 crore has been given as grant for the Polavaramproject across the Godavari River.  Jharkhand CMRaghubar Das announced that "Dada-Dadi Park" for senior citizens will soon be set up in all cities of Jharkhand.  Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath in collaboration with UNICEF launched “Dastak Campaign against Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES)”.  Union Minister of State for Rural Development, Ram KripalYadav has stated that CentralGovernment is working towards connecting all villages through a road network as partof the 'PradhanMantri Gram SadakYojna'.

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 Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, NitinGadkari releasedIndia's first ever Highway Capacity Manual (HCM). This manual is known as 'Indo-HCM' and has been developed byCSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CRRI).  On the occasion of Chinese spring festival, Indian and Chinese armies held a Border Personnel Meeting (BPM) in Chushul sector of Ladakh region.  India's first Radio Festival was held in New Delhi, commemorating the World Radio Day which was celebrated on 13thFebruary.  Hampi monuments, regarded as Karnataka’s pride, will be one among 10 tourist destinations across India to be developed as ‘Iconic Tourism Site’ by Central Government.  President Ram NathKovind hosted the LPG Panchayat at RashtrapatiBhavan, New Delhi. LPG Panchayat was organised by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.  President of India, Ram NathKovind, inaugurated the international conference ‘Agricon 2018’ and ‘Agriexpo 2018’ at Chandrashekhar Azad University of Agriculture & Technology (CSAUT), Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.  Maharashtra State government will be setting up India’s first institute for artificial

R.A.C.E intelligence (AI)in Mumbai.  Madhya Pradesh's first butterfly park, at Gopalpur in Raisen district opened for public on February15, 2018. It houses 65 species of butterflies and nearly 137 plant varieties.  In maternal mortality rate (MMR), Assam is at the bottom of the list among all IndianStates. MMR figure in Assam is 300 against the national average of 167.  PMNarendraModi laid foundation stone of Navi Mumbai International Airport. Estimated cost for constructing this airport is Rs 16700 crore. It will have two parallel runways.  Fijisigned a declaration ofpartnership with India's The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) for assistance in tackling climatechange. It was signedon sidelines of the World Sustainable Development Conference (WSDS 2018) in New Delhi.  Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh inaugurated theNational Banana Festival 2018 at the Vellayani Devi Temple grounds at Kalliyoor, in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

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 22nd edition of World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT)and 26th edition of Nasscom India Leadership Forum (ILF) are held in Hyderabad. Theme - “Amplify Digital – Disrupt The Core”.  Delhi government will implement ‘Mission Buniyaad’ to improve learning levels ofstudents attending primary classes in the state government and municipal schools.  Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, R.K. Singh inaugurated the 2 days ‘International R&D Conclave’ in New Delhi. It is organised by Central Electricity Authority (CEA).  The Central Government has formed a committee lead byRajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman of NITIAayog, to study the Brahmaputra and flood control measures in Assam and nearby states.  Kerala government has made vaccination cards mandatory for children to obtain first standardadmission in schools as per its new health policy. Kerala State Cabinet approved the draft healthpolicy presented by Health Minister KK Shylaja.  Israeli Ambassador to India, Mr Daniel Carmon has stated that a first Centre for Agriculture

R.A.C.E in theNorth East region of India that is being established with Israeli collaboration, is going to beinaugurated in Mizoram.  'AadiMahotsava', a tribal festival organized by Assam, began at Gandhi Mandir Indoor stadium, in Guwahati, Assam. It was inaugurated by Assam CMSarbanandaSonowal.  The 44th Khajuraho dance festival started off in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel lit the traditional lamp.  The 7th edition of Youth Festival began at Central Park, New Delhi. The 7th edition of Youth Festival is themed: 'Let Love Live'.  The 15th edition of Vodafone Odeon Theatre Festival started off in Kolkata, West Bengal. This festival is conducted to provide a platform for theatre artists to display their talent.  RashtriyaSanskritiMahotsav celebrations began in Madhya Pradesh. It is being celebrated to highlight the idea of unity in diversity.  Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), introduced a ‘Baal Aadhaar’ card for children below the age of five years. ’Baal Aadhaar’ Card will be of Blue Colour.

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 Indian Navy’s Andaman & Nicobar Command will be hosting a multinational mega event ‘MILAN2018’ from 6th – 13th March, 2018 at Port Blair. Theme - 'Friendship Acrossthe Seas'.  PMNarednraModi flagged off the 'Run for New India' marathon in Surat, Gujarat.  The 21st National Conference on e-Governance is held in Hyderabad, Telangana. The theme for this year’s Conference is: ‘Technology for accelerating Development’.  Union Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Uma Bharti, launched the Swajal pilot project at Village Bhikampura, in Rajasthan.  Union Defence Ministry has started the process to set up India's first defence industrial ‘Quad’(quadrilateral corridor) linking Chennai with Hosur, Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruchirappalli.  Union Cabinet approved the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 to deal with those who escape overseas after committing financial malpractices in India.  The Maharashtra government has partnered with Wikipedia, to spread the Marathi language and enhance its online usage on Marathi language day (27th February 2018).

R.A.C.E  OdishaCMNaveen Patnaik has launched 'AmaGaon, AmaVikas'programme with an objective to reach out to the people in rural areas of Odisha and involve them in developmental activities.  UttarakhandCMTrivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated the week-long 29th edition of annual International Yoga Festival (IYF) at ParmarthNiketan ashram in Rishikesh.  Shigmotsav 2018 is conducted in various regions of Goa. Shigmotsav or Shigmo is the biggest Hindu festival in Goa.  India's first helicopter taxi service (heli taxi) was launched in Bengaluru on March 5, 2018. This service has been launched by Kerala-based Thumby Aviation Private Limited.  ‘Vision for Future’ event is conducted to celebrate the 70 years of successful Indo-Russia ties, in New Delhi.  Odisha MSME International Trade Fair 2018 is held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha to focus mainly on food processing sector.  The Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Laboratory (IBSD), Imphal, &Loktak Development Authority (LDA) has established a floating laboratory in Loktak Lake, Manipur.

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 P K Sinha, Cabinet Secretary, launched “I-Metros”, an association of all Indian Metro Rail companies, at the Conference on “Indian Metros: Collaborating for Excellence” conducted at Metro Bhawan, in New Delhi.  Karnataka government unveiled the State flag (nada dhwaja) for Karnataka. The flag is tricolor comprising yellow, white and red with State emblem at the centre. The state emblem is blue in colour named Gandaberunda. Gandaberunda is a mythical two-headed bird.  DuringInternational Women’s Day, PMNarendraModi, launched the National Nutrition Mission at an event held at Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan.  Rajasthan has become the second state in India after Madhya Pradesh to approve death sentence for those convicted of raping girls aged 12 years and below.  Diu has become the first and only Union Territory of India to achieve full solar energy efficiency.  Govt. of Telangana launched Women Entrepreneurship Hub (WE- Hub) India’s first state-led incubator exclusively for women entrepreneurs in Hyderabad.  Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airport Authority of India and FICCI jointly organized the four-

R.A.C.E day biennial event ‘WINGS INDIA 2018‘ in Hyderabad. Theme - ‘India-Global Aviation Hub’.  India’s tallesttricolour flag hoisted in Belagavi is 110m high from the base plate to the top while its size is 120X80 ft& weights 500kg.  Banlotwa has become the first 'alcohol-free' village in Ranchi district, Jharkhand .  Multilateral Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Air Force exercise, ‘Samvedna’began off the coast of Kerala.  The National Academy of Coastal Policing (NACP), India’s first coastal policing academy, has been set up in Okha, in DevbhoomiDwarka district of Gujarat.  C-17 Globemaster, the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) largest transport aircraft, made a historic landing at Tuting Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in Arunachal Pradesh.  Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has granted environmental clearance for setting up India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project at Bodi West hills in Theni district of Tamil Nadu.

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 Three-day annual KrishiUnnatiMela, focusing on ‘doubling farmers’ income’ began in New Delhi.  PMNarendraModi inaugurated the 105th session of theIndian Science Congress in Imphal, Manipur.  Maharashtra Environment Minister announced that state government has decided to ban the use of plastic.  National School of Drama (NSD) will be hosting the 8th edition of Theatre Olympics in Mumbai this is the first time India is hosting the festival.  Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation NitinGadkari inaugurated the 5th 'NadiMahotsava' at Bandrabhan in Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh.  President Ram NathKovind released Rs 1000 and Rs 10 commemorative coins on Nabakalebara festival which observed in the Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri, Odisha.  Governor of West Bengal, KeshariNathTripathi inaugurated the 7th Women Science Congress at the ongoing 105th session of Indian Science Congress in Imphal, Manipur.

R.A.C.E  Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, Dr. Rajiv Kumar inaugurated the First India-Japan Workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction in New Delhi.  Phase I of Varuna 18, an Indo-French Naval Exercise, began in Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) in Goa.  Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Ananthkumar has announced that Central Government has approved the setting up of a Plastic Park in Deoghar District of Jharkhand.  Punjab government decided to impose a permanent ban on hookah bars in Punjab.  The world’s longest sandstone cave named ‘KremPuri’ has been discovered in Meghalaya. It was measured by the Meghalaya Adventurers’ Association (MAA). It is 24, 583 metres long.  Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) launched Free Wi-Fi Facility at Udwada Village, in Valsad District, Gujarat. It is launched under SaansadAdarsh Gram Yojana.  Andhra Pradesh (AP) State Government launched, NAIPUNYA RATHAM or World on Wheels, a multi-utility vehicle aimed at taking technology to the remote corners of the state.  Air India flight (AI 139) became the first flight to land at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport (Israel) after passing through Saudi Arabia air space.

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 Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, ThaawarchandGehlot launched “First Indian Sign Language Dictionary of 3000 words” in New Delhi.  The 46th All India Police Science Congress held in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.  Chandigarh has become North India’s 1st city to install Digital Automatic Speed Gun Cameras to check vehicles driving above the permissible speed limit.  Odisha State Government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the British Council for cooperation, they will support Odisha State governments "Mo School" (My School) initiative.  Delhi government presented a 'green budget' aimed at controlling pollution and monitoring its impact on the environment.  The birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar(14th April) will be celebrated as 'Social Justice Day'.He was the first law minister of independent India. He is a founding father of the Republic of India.  A ‘National Conference on Down Syndrome’ was held in New Delhi. This conference was organized by Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. A book entitled “Twilights

R.A.C.E Children” was released  Assam State Government launched a special programme named ‘Mission Sambavh’ to build one lakh toilets across the state under the Swachh Bharat Mission.  ‘Print Biennale India 2018’, the first-ever International Exhibition of Graphic Prints was inaugurated in New Delhi.  Surat district in Gujarat has become the first district in India to have 100 percentsolar powered Primary Health Centers (PHC).All 52 PHCs in Surat are now powered by solar system.  The MadhavpurMela started at MadhavpurGhed village in Porbandar district Of Gujarat.  Tamil Nadu CM unveiled an insect museum at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, which is the first of its kind in India.The lobby of this insect museum depicts the theme, "BUGS ARE KINGS"  SARAS AajeevikaMela 2018 is held PragatiMaidan, New Delhi. It is organized by DAY- NRLM (DeendayalAntyodayaYojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission).

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 Indian cricket captain ViratKohli’s wax figure will soon be unveiled at Madame Tussauds, Delhi .  Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, Asia's largest Tulip garden, in Srinagar, Jammu &Kashmir, was opened for visitors.  Union Minister for Food Processing Industries HarsimratKaurBadal inaugurated Rajasthan’s first mega food park , M/s Greentech Mega Food Park Private Ltd, at Roopangarh Village in Ajmer, Rajasthan.  Assam CMSarbanandaSonowal launched '181-Sakhi', a toll-free helpline number for women. It will work from 9 am to 5.30 pm, but will soon be a 24x7 service.  Madhya PradeshCM increased the retirement age of Madhya Pradesh government employees from 60 to 62 years.  Minister for Human Resource Development, PrakashJavadekar launched thegrand finale of Smart India Hackathon 2018 (Software Edition) in New Delhi.  Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath inaugurated Hindon Elevated Road - India’s longest elevated road, in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh which is 10.3 km long & built on 227 single pillars.

R.A.C.E  Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the International Yachting Festival in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh with an aim to boost sea tourism.  “Huddle Kerala”, Asia's largest startup ecosystem congregation, will be held at Kovalam, Kerala  India is now the second-largest mobile phone producer in the world after China as per the data shared by Indian Cellular Association with the government.  The Union Cabinet approved the promulgation of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance 2018, to seize the domestic assets of those deemed by a relevant court to be fugitive economic offenders.  India has agreed for the most revered Buddhist relics from Sarnath to be taken to Sri Lanka for public exposition on the occasion ofVesak festival.  The petrol pumps in the capital started supplying ultra-clean Bharat Stage VI grade fuel (both petrol & diesel). This move makes New Delhi the first city in the country to switch from BS-IV grade fuels to BS-VI.

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 R K Singh, Minister of State (IC) for Power & New & Renewable Energy, laid the foundation stone of the 60 MW Naitwar Mori Hydro Electric Project (NMHEP) along with UttarakhandCMShriTrivendra Singh Rawat in Uttarkashi.  PMNarendraModi flagged off India's first all-electric high-speed locomotive in Bihar with the country's most powerful engine with 12, 000 horsepower & a maximum speed of 120 km/hr.  GujaratCM Vijay Rupani approved setting up a 5, 000 MW capacity solar park at the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR), which would be the largest such entity in the world after its completion.  The much-awaited bridge 'IbSetu' built over the Ibriver in Sambalpur district was thrown open to the public by CM Naveen Patnaik. The 2.5-km-long bridge, which is the State’s second longest bridge,  State-run Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited (GNFC) started its socio- economic Neem Project, inaugurated by Union Minister SmritiIrani in Amethi District of Uttar Pradesh  West Bengal has once again topped in the country with DigambarpurGram Panchayat

R.A.C.E (GP) bagging the Centre’s award for the best Gram Panchayat in the country.  Diu Smart City has become the first city in India, that runs on 100% renewable energy during daytime setting a new benchmark for other cities to become clean & green.  West Bengal government has given its approval to State Forest Department to apply for coveted Ramsar Site recognition under Ramsar Convention to Sunderban Reserve Forest.  Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed in principle to give an aid of 1, 700 crore rupees to Uttarakhand for infrastructure development & creation of sewerage treatment facilities in urban areas.  Home Ministry has decided to relax the six-decade-old Protected Area Permit regime from Nagaland, Mizoram & Manipur for five years.  PM of the Kingdom of NetherlandsMark Rutte arrived in India for a two-day official visit. Rutte is scheduled to meet a Business Delegation at Hotel Taj Diplomatic and then participate in the Clean Ganga Event.

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 Queen Maxima of the Kingdom of the Netherlands who is also the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development has arrived in New Delhi on a four-day visit to India.  India launched its second IT corridor in China to cash in on the burgeoning Chinese software market.  PMNarendraModi embarked on a threenation visit to Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. During his five-day visit, the PM will hold delegation level talks with the leadership of the three countries, on matters of mutual interest.  In New Delhi, PM of Netherlands Mark Rutte inaugurated the Indo-Dutch Ganga Forum  India will be the host country for celebrations of World Environment Day 2018. The theme for this year is 'Beat Plastic Pollution'. The World Environment Day will be celebrated on 5th of June.  PMNarendraModi and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina jointly inaugurate Bangladesh Bhawan at Shanti Niketan in West Bengal.  PMNarendraModi has dedicated to the nation its first smart and green highway, the

R.A.C.E Eastern Peripheral Expressway at Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh. The 135-kilometer six-lane access- controlled expressway is eco-friendly and has world-class safety features.  Bhubaneswar (capital city of Odisha) becomes the fourth National data centre of National Informatics Centre (NIC) after Delhi, Hyderabad and Pune.  PMNarendraModiduring his visit, laid down the foundation stone of 'Zojila Tunnel' on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway in Leh. The 14.2- kilometre long Zojila tunnel will be India’s longest road tunnel and Asia’s longest bidirectional tunnel.  India's ShivangiPathak has become youngest women of the country to scale Mt Everest from Nepal side.  PM of The Netherlands, Mark Rutte, will be on a two-day official visit to India with an aim to boost National and State Currentthe economic and political cooperation between the two countries.  United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has recognised Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) in Kerala as the world’s first fully solar energy-powered airport. CIAL is India’s first airport to be constructed in public-private-partnership (PPP) model in 1999.

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 15th PravasiBharatiya Divas will be held in the holy city of Varanasi in January 2019.The theme will be “Role of Indian Diaspora in building a New India”.  India surpassed France to become one of the world's five largest military spenders, the other countries in top five include the US, China, Saudi Arabia, & Russia.  India signed a loan deal worth $ 200 million with the World Bank for the National Nutrition Mission (POSHAN Abhiyaan).  India & Panama signed 2 agreements on the exemption of Visas for holders of Diplomatic & Official Passports & in the field of Agriculture. These agreements were signed during the second leg visit of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu to Panama.  India has released grant of Nepalese Rupees (NRs) 18.07 crore for river training & construction of embankments along Lalbakeya, Bagmati&Kamla rivers in Nepal. Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri handed over a cheque.  In a first, a Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) run by first all-woman team has started operations in Phagwara, Punjab. It was 192nd POPSK in the country  PM, NarendraModi, laid the foundation stone of various projects of the Government of India

R.A.C.E and Government of Jharkhand, at an event in Sindri. The total cost of these projects is Rs.27, 000crores.  The Gujarat government unveiled its 'Reuse of Treated Waste Water Policy' which aims to reduce the state's dependence on freshwater sources like the Narmada river.  Himachal Pradesh government will spend 25 crore rupees on renovating and developing the historic British Raj'Bantony Castle Estate’ as a major tourist attraction.  Goa celebrates its Statehood Day as people’s demand for full statehood was attained on 30th May 1987, when Goa became India’s 25th state..  Maharashtra became the first state to provide digitally-signed land record receipts (also known as 7/12 receipts), which would check irregularities & bring in transparency.  Madhya Pradesh government launched the country's first Integrated Control & Command Centre (ICCC) for all 7 smart cities of the state, in Bhopal. Bhopal, Indore, Ujjain, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Satna, &Sagar are the seven smart cities under SCM in Madhya Pradesh.

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 Arunachal Pradesh CM PemaKhandu inaugurated the state’s biggest solar power plant at Energy Awareness Park in the presence of Power Minister TamiyoTaga in Itanagar. It has a capacity of 1 MW.  Jayakwadi Dam built over Godavari River is located inMaharashtra.  Mouling National Park is situated in Arunachal Pradesh.  ArunimaSinha was the first Indian amputee to climb Mt Everest.  National Informatics Centre (NIC) was established in 1976. It Headquarters in New Delhi.  UNEP was founded as result of United Nations Conference on Human Environment in June 1972.It is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya.  Union Government announced to establish India’s first national police museum in Lutyens' Delhi.  President Kovind given his assent to an ordinance to set up the country’s first national sports university in Manipur.  Union Minister for Women & Child Development Maneka Gandhi laid the foundation stone of India's first advanced DNA forensic laboratory in Chandigarh.

R.A.C.E  Mumbai's Victorian & Art Deco Ensembles inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Odisha government decided to raise the health cover from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh under BijuSwasthyaKalyanYojana (BSKY) for women.  PM Modi dedicated the Mohanpura Dam Project and attended the MadhyaPradeshShehariVikasMahotsav.  Gujarat government announced wind-solar hybrid power policy - 2018, aiming to make optimum utilisation of the land & grid.  The world's first of its kind & state-of-the-art International Centre for ‘Humanitarian Forensics’ (ICHF) was launched at the Gujarat Forensic Sciences University in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.  Union Minister of Steel, ChaudharyBirender Singh dedicated the rebuilt Blast Furnace-1 ‘Parvati’ of SAIL, Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) to the Nation.  PM Modi visited Chhattisgarh where he dedicated the modernised & expanded Bhilai steel plant to the nation. He also took part in programmes in Naya Raipur - the upcoming capital city of the state.

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 Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya has been selected as 100th Smart City.  Neem& black buck have been declared as the state tree & animal respectively of Andhra Pradesh. The rose-ringed parakeet will be the state bird while jasmine will be the state flower.  President Kovind has declared Tripura's queen variety pineapple as state fruit& its export was a major step in connecting the state with world trade.  Minister of State for Defence, Dr, SubhashBhamre dedicated a highway tunnel at Theng near Chungthang in north Sikkim to the nation. The tunnel will benefit the tourism & rapidly propel the growth of the state.  Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu stated that the state was now Open Defecation Free (ODF) as it had achieved its goal of constructing 2.77 lakh individual toilets.  LokSabha passed the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2017 which has the provision of allowing a court trying an offence related to cheque bouncing, to direct the drawer to pay interim compensation to the complainant.  The Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development &Entrepreneurship DharmendraPradhan laid the foundation stone for permanent campus of National Skill

R.A.C.E Training Institute (NSTI) for Women at Mohali, Punjab, which is only one of its kind in India which is exclusively for women.  Govt. decided to sharply increase the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Kharif crops. The MSP for common variety paddy, the most important Kharif crop, will be raised by Rs 200.  PM NarendraModi inaugurated the new Headquarters building of the Archaeological Survey of India in New Delhi.  PM Modi inaugurated the Varanasi City Gas Distribution Project , Varanasi-Ballia MEMU train, laid the Foundation Stone for an International ConventionCentre in Varanasiand the Foundation Stone of the 340 km long Poorvanchal Expressway in Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh.  India become the Vice-Chair (Regional Head) of the Asia Pacific Region of World Customs Organisation (WCO) for a period of two years (from July 2018 to June 2020). The underlying Theme of the Inaugural Ceremony is “Customs – Fostering Trade Facilitation”.  PM Modi dedicated the Bansagar Canal Project to the Nation in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh.

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 India has been elected new President of Asian Tug of War Federation. India's GautamKaul won the prestigious post in the Federations' Executive Committee elections held in Kathmandu, Nepal.  Indian Government has announced the launch of a new MicroDot Technology that would help check on vehicle thefts.  The hotel named 'Hostess' was launched by Kerala Tourism minister KadakampallySurendran. 'Hostess', India's public sector hotel run entirely by women for women is claimed to be the first such in the country.  Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the Rs 300 croreRukura Medium Irrigation Dam project in Sundargarh district.  Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das announced that the first 'Khadi Mall' of the country that will be opened in Jharkhand.  Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in Assam has become the first oil public sector undertaking (PSU) to adopt an online legal compliance system by introducing 'Legatrix'.  Union minister of chemicals and Fertilisers Ananth Kumar announced that the country’s first

R.A.C.E e-waste recycling unit will come up in Bengaluru, Karnataka.  Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Dr Jitendra Singh attended the famous 4-day Meghalaya Annual Cultural Festival, "Behdienkhlam", held every year at the small peripheral town of Jowai, Meghalaya.  Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan inaugurated state-run power giant National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) 250 MW Solar Power Plant in Mandsaur.  The first of world’s cheapest drinking water project launched in Darbhanga district, Bihar. It would be managed by Self Help group of Darbhanga Nagar Nigam.  In a tribute to the late former PMAtalBihari Vajpayee, the Chhattisgarh Cabinet approved the proposal to rename Naya Raipur as 'Atal Nagar'. The Bilaspur University will be known as AtalBihari Vajpayee University while the NarrowGauge Line will be called Atal Path.  The Supreme Court ruled that the ‘None of The Above’ (NOTA) option will not be applicable for voting in the RajyaSabha elections.  Delhi Police inducted an all-woman Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, consisting of 36 commandos – the first ever by any police force in India – for antiterrorist operations.

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 The Union Government, Rajasthan and the World Bank signed a USD 250 million Development Policy Loan (DPL) to support Rajasthan in improving the performance of its Electricity Distribution Sector under the State’s ‘24x7 Power for All’ program.  Bhopal tops for lowest overall emissions and energy use from urban commute.  Bhopal tops for lowest overall emissions and energy use from urban commute, analysed by Centre for Science and Environment  In a big step forward to strengthen the startup ecosystem in Rajasthan, the CMVasundharaRaje launched India’s largest business incubator the Bhamashah Techno Hub in Jaipur.  Rajasthan become the first State in the country to implement the national policy on biofuels unveiled by the Centre this year.  The world's first-ever thermal battery plant was unveiled in Andhra Pradesh by the state’s CM N Chandrababu Naidu. It is manufactured by the Bharat Energy Storage Technology Private Limited (BEST).  India & Morocco signed anMoU for deepening cooperation between MSME sectors of the

R.A.C.E two countries in Rabat, Morocco.  PM Modi has been awarded with the UN’s highest environmental honour, , for his leadership of the International Solar Alliance & pledge to eliminate single use plastic by 2022. Cochin International Airport was given the award for its leadership in the use of sustainable energy.  PM Modi inaugurated a new airport at Jharsuguda, which will attract investors to the mineralrich area.  PM NarendraModi inaugurated the Pakyong Airport in Sikkim on September 24, nine years after the foundation stone was laid. The airport is the hilly state's first & only airport.  India & Serbia signed agreements on cooperation in plant protection & plant quarantine & on-air services, following the talks between Vice President Venkaiah Naidu& Serbian President AleksandarVucic.  India, Iran & Afghanistan held their first tripartite meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan during which implementation of the Chabahar port project& a host of other issues including ways to deepen counter-terror cooperation were discussed.

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 India & France have signed implementation agreement on 'Mobilise Your City' (MYC) in the presence of Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) Hardeep Singh Puri& Alexander Ziegler, Ambassador of France in India.  India & Nepal signed anMoU on Preliminary Engineering-cum-Traffic Survey on Broad Gauge Rail Line between Raxaul (Bihar) & Kathmandu.  India &US signed the Communications Compatibility & Security Agreement (COMCASA) that will facilitate India to obtain critical defence technologies from the US, & access critical communication network to ensure interoperability among the US & the Indian armed forces.  PM NarendraModi laid the foundation stone of India International Convention & Expo Centre (IICC) in Dwarka, New Delhi.  External Affairs Minister (EAM) SushmaSwaraj, along with Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the website for the 15th PravasiBharatiya Divas 2019, www.pbdindia.gov.in. PM of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth will be the Chief Guest.  For the first time in India, dog owners will have a dedicated dog park to visit which was set up in Hyderabad, the park is spread across an area of 1.3 acres.

R.A.C.E  Delhi government signed anMoU with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to work closely in the fields of environment, tourism, wastewater & solid waste management, infrastructure & public health.  The festival of Nuakhaiis being celebrated in Odisha.  Haryana government signed anMoU with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to set up an ethanol plant in Panipat with an outlay of over Rs 900 crore.  For the first time, bus services between Bihar & Nepal have started. It was flagged off from Patna by CM Nitish Kumar. Four buses will ply from Bodhgaya to Kathmandu. Similarly, four buses will ply from Patna to Janakpur.  The PMShriNarendraModi has inaugurated the Mahatma Gandhi museum in Rajkot, Gujarat. This Museum captures every nuance of Bapu's philosophy and puts it in the context of history.  PMNarendraModi inaugurated the 'Conference on Academic Leadership on Education for Resurgence' in Delhi. The aim of this conference is to further strengthen the education system in the country.

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 The National Khadi Festival 2018 is being organized by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) to promote Khadi products. The main objective of the festival is to promote the products of cottage industry and create awareness regarding the art of states.  The National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC), India’s and Asia’s first, would be set up in Patna (Bihar), on the banks of the Ganga river in the Patna University premises.  A four-day Indian International Science Festival (IISF)2018 was held in Lucknow(Uttar Pradesh). The theme of this year's festival is ‘science for transformation’.  The union minister Suresh Prabhuhas released the policy on biometric based digital processing of passengers at airports called DigiYatra. The DigiYatra central platform will be operational by end of Feb 2019.  The first Regional Conference on ‘women in Detention and access to justice’takes place in Shimla.  Recently, President Ram NathKovind visited to Central Asian Country Tajikistan. He visited the Tajik National University and addressed ‘countering Radicalization: Challenges in Modern Societies’.

R.A.C.E  The Textiles minister Smt. SmritiZubinIrani has inaugurated the exhibition “Revisiting Gandhi: The Art of Shelly Jyoti” in New Delhi. The exhibition organized as part of Gandhi Parv realizes what Gandhi inspired and put into action, selftransformation, with the ultimate goal of the total transformation of society.  The Indian Postal Serviceshonored the Udaipur-based non-profit organization by launching their postal stamps Narayan SevaSansthan. The stamp of Rs 5 includes the official logo of the Narayan SevaSansthan.  Bilateral Maritime Exercise between Japan and India to Commence at Visakhapatnam. The ships participating are INS Satpura, a multipurpose stealth frigate, INS Kadmatt, AntiSubmarine Warfare Corvette, Missile Corvette, and INS Shakti, the Fleet Tanker.  PMNarendraModiunveiled a 64-Feet tall statueofDeenbandhu Sir Chhotu Ram (messiah of farmers) at Sampla in Rohtak district, Haryana. PM Modi also laid the foundation stone of the Rail Coach Repair Factory at Badhi in Sonepat district.  The chairman of Infosys Sudha Murthy has inaugurated the ten- days MysuruDasara‘Nada Habba’ at the Chamundi Hills in Mysuru.

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 NASSCOM has signed anMoU with the United Nations (UN) agency to strengthen child rights through meaningful business interventions UNICEF.  Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has commissioned a second generation (2G) Ethanol BioRefinery at Baulsingha village in Odisha’sBargarh district (by December 2020)which will be the first biofuel plant in the country at which ethanol will be produced from rice straw.  The country’s first India-Israel Innovation Centre (IIIC), an entrepreneurial technology hub, was launched in Bengaluru.  The Ministry of Textiles will release 7.8 Core rupees for the construction of a textile tourism complex in Nongpoh, Meghalaya.  The fifth edition of the annual Dilliseminar on ‘Geopolitical Impact of Sea Power’ commenced at the Indian Naval Academy (INA).  The Union Minister of State for Textiles, Ajay Tamta has inaugurated the 46th edition of world’s largest IHGFDelhi Fair at Greater Noida organized by Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts.

R.A.C.E  NITI Aayog has signed an agreement with Microsoft India to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) based solutions across various sectors such as agriculture and healthcare.  MahilaKisanDiwas has been celebrated to increase the active participation of women in Agriculture.  The Defence Minister NirmalaSitharaman dedicated a DRDO website to former president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam in New Delhi, The Kalam Vision - Dare to Dream.  The Union Minister of Textiles SmritiZubinIrani has inaugurated the three days 6th edition of India International Silk Fair (IISF) in New Delhi.. India is the 2nd largest producer of silk in the world. India International Silk Fair organized by the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council (ISEPC).  Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has released a biography of late Anumolu Ramakrishna titled Building a Legacy. The biography is authored by Chartered Accountant V PattabhiRam.Ramakrishna

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 India has ranked as the 58th most competitive economy on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) global competitiveness index for 2018. The US (1st) is followed by Singapore(2nd) and Germany (3rd).  Ministry of Rural Development and a college have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for establishing ROSHNI – Centre of Women Collectives led Social Action with Lady Irwin college.  IRCTC has launched a new (artificial intelligence) AIbased assistant, 'Ask Disha' for its website.  A book on MaharanaPratap authored by historian Rima Hooja has been released titledMaharanaPratap: The Invincible Warrior.The book narrates the life of MaharanaPratap, the great Rajput warrior and talks about the famous battle of ‘Haldighati’.  India will host the 4th edition of Global Partners' Forum (GPF) in New Delhi.  The union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi unfurled India’s highest tricolor on the terrace of the majestic Haj House in Mumbai. The national flag measured 20x30 feet and stood 350 feet above the ground level.

R.A.C.E  Stephen Hawking’s final work‘Brief Answers to the Big Questions’ has been launched It tackles various issues including the existence of God, potential time travel and human intelligence during the next 100 years.  PMNarendraModi dedicated the National Police Memorial (NPM) to the nation on Police Commemoration Day of 21st Octoberin New Delhi. The memorial has been erected on 6.12 acres of land in Chanakyapuri, at the northern end of Shanti Path.  Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu embarked on a sevenday visit to three South African countries Botswana, Zimbabwe and Malawi.  President Ram NathKovind has inaugurated a three-day 'Vishwa Shanti Ahimsa Sammelan' in Maharashtra. andreleased a book, titled 'SarvocchaDigambar Jain Pratima', on the occasion.  NITI Aayog has organized the 4th edition of NITI Lecture Series in New Delhi. The theme this year is “AI for ALL: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Inclusive Growth”.

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 Sanjay LeelaBhansali's magnum opus‘Padmaavat’ has been officially selected for 2018 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival .The film is Bhansalire-imagining of the story of Queen Padmavati.  India’s longest river bridge will be built across the Brahmaputra, connecting Dhubri (Assam) to Phulbari (Meghalaya). The new bridge19.3 km (four-lane bridge) will complete the missing link of NH127B from Assam to Meghalaya.  Dr. Harsh Vardhan has inaugurated the International Conference on Status and Protection of Coral Reefs (STAPCOR – 2018) at Bangaram coral Island of Union Territory of Lakshadweep. The theme of the conference is “Reef for Life”.  The Indian Mobile Congress 2018 (second edition) has opened in New Delhi. The theme for this year is "New Digital Horizons Connect, Create, Innovate."  Manipur CM N Biren Singh has declared open the first edition of North East Olympic Games (NEOG) 2018 at Imphal. The NEOG games is being organized by the MOA under the aegis of the North East Olympic Association.  The Union Home Minister ShriRajnath Singh attended the57th Raising Day Parade of Indo-

R.A.C.E Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) at Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.  The Union minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi has inaugurated the Women of India National Organic Festival (5th edition)in New Delhi. The objective of the ten days long ‘Organic Festival’ is to boost organic culture and promote women, organic farmers and entrepreneurs.  PMNarendraModi has inaugurated three-day farmers' conclave 'KrishiKumbh 2018' in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The Kumbh will witness Israel & Japan (as official partners) while Haryana & Jharkhand (as partner states).  The union Road Transport & Highways Minister NitinGadkari has laid the foundation for India’s largest Dry Dock atCochin Shipyard, Kerala. The Dry Dock will give an impetus to Make in India initiative under Sagarmala and raise India’s share in global shipbuilding to two percent.  NarendraModi inaugurated the ‘Statue of Unity’(world's tallest Statue of 182m) on birth anniversary of SardarVallabhbhai Patel in Surat, Gujarat. The statue of unity located on the Sadhu Bet island (near Rajpipla) on the Narmada river, located between the Satpura and the Vindhya mountain ranges.

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 The President of India, Shri Ram NathKovind, inaugurated the International AryaMahasammelan – 2018 in Delhi.  The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) inaugurated 10th Nuclear Energy Conclave in New Delhi.  Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) with the support of the Asian Development Bank has launched the country’s first flood forecasting and early-warning system  The Jharkhandstate government is constructing India's biggest war memorial. Stories of the slain soldiers' bravery will be written in the war memorial which will have a replica of the Kargil War.  The Union Cabinet chaired by the PM Narendra Modihas approved implementation of Bhopal Metro Rail Project &Indore Metro Rail Project  Madhya Pradesh election commission established 500 pink booths in the state for the assembly election. These polling booths will run by only women officers and workers.  The Jharkhand has become the partner state at 2018 Goa International Film Festival.  Cyclone 'Titli' over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and moved

R.A.C.E towards the Odisha& Andhra Pradesh coast at a wind speed of 145 kmph.  The Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat flagged off the test run of the state’s first electric bus to encourage the operation of pollution-free vehicles.  The Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani inaugurated a three-day Silk Expo and workshop on Silk Samagra in Imphal, Manipur. The union govt. has announced a package of 6000 crore rupees for the development of apparel and make-up sector in the country.  The Maharashtra government has approved the Tarli Irrigation Project in Satara district. The project will bring 6, 507 hectares in the Tarli Valley and 8, 876 hectares in the Maan and Khatavtalukas of Satara district under irrigation.  The four day long mega science expo, India International Science Festival (IISF-2018) concluded in Lucknow. IISF-2018 with its focal theme “Science for Transformation” had more than23 special events in its 4th edition. The fifth edition of the science festival will be held in eastern India.  Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Boardapproved the enhancement of free accident insurance cover for pilgrims visiting the shine to five lakh rupees

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 The Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan has launched Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi. It will provide information three to four days prior to any large-scale air pollution events.  Shahi litchi has got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag after Jardalu mango, Katarni rice and Magahi paan from Bihar.  Maharashtra CM Fadnavis & Nitin Gadkari inaugurate new domestic cruise terminal in Mumbai. The Goa cruise service ' Angriya' will be operated between Mumbai and Goa on alternate days.  3rd Himachal Pradesh Science Congress to boost to rural innovation sector held at Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Mandi. The theme of Himachal Pradesh Science Congress is "Rural Upliftment through Science and Technology Interventions".  Uzbekistan Ambassador to India Farhod Arziev has inaugurated a four-day international dance festival UdbhavUtsav in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.  Arunachal Pradesh Information and public relation (IPR) Minister Bamang Felix has inaugurated the two days Children’s Film Bonanza begins in Naharlagun.

R.A.C.E  The Supreme Court (SC) has banned the petrol (15-yearold) &diesel vehicles (10-year- old) to curb pollution in Delhi-NCR.  India has jumped 23 places to 77th in ease of doing business ranking now.  First India-Japan military exercise‘Dharma Guardian’ has begun at a jungle warfare school in Mizoram’s Vairengte.  Malayalam film Olu will be the opening film at the 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) -2018 in Goa. Jury also selected the Marathi film Kharvas as the Opening non- feature film.  The Fourth Dialogue of the NITI Aayog Development Research Centre (DRC) of the State Council, Peoples' Republic of China was held in Mumbai.  The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) & UN Habitat organize a policy dialogue - Urban Café - ‘River for Habitat’.  PM Narendra Modi has launched the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Support and Outreach Programme in New Delhi.

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 India and Japan have signed a loan agreement worth of 1817 cr. for the construction of Turga Pumped Storage (I). Turga Pumped Storage Project on Turganala is a closed loop type (1, 000 MW) Pumped Storage Project located in Purulia district of West Bengal.  India Pavilion inaugurated at Videocittà 2018 in Rome Film Festival. Note: India Pavilion at Videocitta 2018 showcased Indian films’ heritage, ease of film shooting in India, promoted film shooting locations in India.  The Indian Coast Guard has launched a new offshore patrol vessel called ICGS Varaha from a corporate shipyard near Chennai.  The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IITM) have designed and booted up India’s first microprocessor -- Shakti. An open-source high-level synthesis language ‘Bluespec’ was used in making the chips.  According to AYUSH Minister ShripadYessoNaik, the Ayurveda Departments will open 19 All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS).  CEO and MD of Ashok Leyland VinodDasari announced to resign from the company citing personal reasons.

R.A.C.E  BinnyBansal has announced his resignation as CEO of Flipkart Group.  Ashok Kumar Gupta has been appointed as the Chairperson of Competition Commission of India (CCI).  The LokSabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has extended the tenure of LokSabha Secretary General Snehlata Shrivastava for one year.  SiddharthTiwari has been appointed as the Chief Representative of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) for Asia and the Pacific  US President Donald Trump announced the nomination of retired Army Gen.John Abizaid as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia  MansiGulati’s BookYoga And Mindfulness has been launched by the Vice President M. VenkaiahNaidu .  The union minister Shri R K Singh has inaugurated the second edition of INSPIRE in New Delhi. INSPIRE stands for - International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency.

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 The three-day event of Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities- 2018 concluded in New Delhi. This year 96 youth with disabilities from 18 countries participated in it.  The first passenger train to run on broad gauge between India and Nepal will run from December 2018. The train will run from Jayanagar in Bihar to Kurtha in Dhanusa district in Janakpur Zone of southeastern Nepal.  The 25th editorial of SIMBEX take place in Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. It was the first formalized when RSN ships began training with the Indian Navy in 1994.  IIT- Madras has developed portable solar-powered cold storage device with 500 kg capacity for storing vegetables and fruits, among other items.The first unit of device was deployed at farm in Madurantakamin Kancheepuram district in Tamil Nadu.  The joint military exercise between Indian and Russia‘INDRA 2018’ is being conducted at Babina Military Station. It is the tenth edition of Exercise INDRA series.  The union minister Dr.Satya Pal Singh has launched two new initiatives for higher educationLEAP & ARPIT.  According to the National Bureau of economic research (NBER), India’s most congested

R.A.C.E and second slowest city is Bengaluru.  The 10th-anniversary commemorative activities of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) was held at Kochi. The theme for the 10th-anniversary seminar of IONS is “SAGAR” (Security and Growth for All in the Region).  The 38th edition of India International Trade Fair (IITF) 2018 opens at PragatiMaidan in New Delhi, as it marks the beginning of the150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi. The partner country is the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the focus country is the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. The focus state is Jharkhand.  A unique initiative of online professional development of 15 lakh higher education faculty using the MOOCs platform is SWAYAM.  ISRO successfully launches GSLV Mark III D2 carrying GSAT 29 satellite. India's heaviest rocket referred to as "Baahubali".  India’s first specialized hospital for elephants was formally opened in Mathura

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 The 6th Indian Social Work Congress (ISWC) 2018 was held in New Delhi.The theme was “Human Development and Social Inclusion: Imperatives for Social Work Education and Practice”.  AYUSHMinistry is celebrating its first Naturopathy Day across the country.  The two-days 8th National Conference of Women in Police (NCWP) has begun in Ranchi.  14th edition of international children’s theatre festival held in New Delhi. The 14th edition of Jashne Bachpan(theatre festival for children) was held at the Sammukh, Abhimanch, Abhikalp.  Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has released a book ‘Radio Kashmir in Times of Peace & War’ written by Dr RajeshBhat. The book explains the role played by Radio Kashmir in serving the people of Kashmir and strengthening democratic institutions in Kashmir, since the inception of Radio Kashmir in 1947.  The Union Government of India and the World Bank have signed a USD 310 million Loan Agreement for JPSIP project which is a part of the Government of India’s ‘Power for All’ program launched in 2014.

R.A.C.E  PMNarendraModi laid the foundation stones of City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects in 129 districts. About 46.5 lakh households and 32 lakh CNG vehicles are availing the benefit of clean fuel through existing CGD networks.  The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval to expand the scope of mandatory packaging norms under the Jute Packaging Material (JPM) Act, 1987. The CCEA approved that 100% of the food grains and 20 percent of sugar shall be mandatorily packed in diversified jute bags.  According to The Geological Survey of India (GSI) report, 44 new coal blocks found in four eastern states.  Malaria cases declined in India by 24%. According to World Health Organization (WHO), India is the only country to have recorded a substantial decline in malaria.  India Meteorological Department (IMD) has developed a new technology ‘Impact Based Forecasting Approach’ to assess the rise of water level in rivers and reservoirs by rain.  United Nations has selected Uttar Pradesh's Noida and Greater Noida to participate in its Global Sustainable Cities 2025 initiative.

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 Vice President of India Sri Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of the Dera Baba Nanak - Kartarpur Sahib Corridor at Mann village of Gurdaspur district (Punjab). The corridor will provide smooth and easy passage to Sikh pilgrims to visit ‘GurdwaraDarbar Sahib’ in Pakistan (completed by 23rd November, 2019).  The union Government to set up National Sports Stadium for differently-abled in Meghalaya. The stadium is expected to be completed before National Games 2022.  The four day National festival for CCI children ‘HAUSLA-2018’ inaugurated in New Delhi. 'Hausla 2018' has seen the participation of more than 600 children from CCIs across 18 states. The theme for the event is 'child safety'.  The Union Minister Suresh Prabhu has launched the ‘logo’ and ‘brochure’ of ‘Logix India 2019’. India ranked 44 in the World Bank Logistics Performance Index 2018.  The National Projects Construction Corporation Limited (NPCC) company has been conferred with the status of Miniratna: (Category –I) by the Government of India.  The Minister of State for Home Affairs KirenRijiju has inaugurated the 14th Formation Day of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in New Delhi. The theme of this year’s

R.A.C.E Formation Day is ‘Early Warning for Disasters’. .  The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has launched the India’s first Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) at Mandi(Himachal Pradesh). All emergency numbers, including 100 (for police), 101 (for fire), 102 (for ambulance) and disaster response have been integrated into countrywide one number, 112.  The President Shri Ram NathKovind has inaugurated the 2nd International Ambedkar Conclave in New Delhi. The Conclave is being organized by the Forum of SC and ST Legislators and Parliamentarians and the Dr Ambedkar Chamber of Commerce.  President Shri Ram NathKovind received the first copy of the book from Finance minister ShriArunJaitley -- Making of New India: Transformation under Modi Government.  J&K Governor Mr Satya Pal Malik flagged off ‘SAUBHAGYA RATH’ comprising 20 vehicles each for one District of Kashmir and Jammu divisions from Raj Bhawan, Jammu. Note: The SAUBHAGYA RATH under ‘Pradhan Mantri Sahaj BijliHarGhar Yojana’ - SAUBHAGYA shall move in each district for one month, to rule out the possibility of any household remaining un- electrified.

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 The Union Cabinet chaired by PMShriNarendraModi has approved renaming of Jharsuguda Airport (in Odisha) as Veer SurendraSai Airport. Veer SurendraSai was an Indian freedom fighter and tribal leader who sacrificed his life fighting against the British East India Company.  The Maharashtra Cabinet has approved the conversion of decommissioned carrier INS Viraat into a floating museum. The project worth 852 crore rupees will be implemented through public-private-partnership (PPP).  Delhi CMArvindKejriwal has inaugurated the iconic Signature Bridge over river ‘Yamuna’. The Signature Bridge is (675 metres long) a cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge, spans Yamuna river at Wazirabad section, connecting Wazirabad to East Delhi. The pylon of the Signature bridge is tallest structure in Delhi and is double the height of QutbMinar.  The Odisha government has launched Mo Bus services for the residents of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri. The service will be launched as a part of state government-owned Capital Region Urban Transport’s (CRUT) ‘City Bus Modernisation’ programme.  Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath has announced that Faizabad district would henceforth

R.A.C.E be known as Ayodhya. The Uttar Pradesh CM also announced a medical college in the name of King Dashrath for the district. ‘Deepotsav’ event was attended by the First Lady of South Korea, Kim Jung-sook.  The West Bengal Govt. has decided to observe “RosogullaDay” on -- 14th November. The day commemorate the first anniversary of Bengal’s Rosogulla getting the Geographical Indication (GI) tag at the ‘Mishti hub’.  CM of Nagaland Neiphiu Rio has launched GPS Mapping of Government Schools and Personnel Location System (PLS) to computerization and digitization of records in Kohima.  The Union Cabinet has approved setting up of aCentral Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh. A fund of 420 crore rupees has been granted as the first phase expenditure towards the establishment of the University.  PM NarendraModi dedicated multimodal terminal to the nation on the river Ganga.  The Union Minister Vijay Goel has inaugurated the 26th Conference of Central and States Statistical Organizations at Dharamshala. The theme of this year's Conference is "Quality Assurance in Official Statistics".

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 Jharkhand state celebrated its 18th foundation day on 15th November 2018. The Jharkhand state was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000.  The fifteen days AadiMahotsav festival takes place in Delhi. The theme of the festival is 'celebration of the spirit of tribal culture, craft, cuisine and commerce'.  The Gujarat government has launched aRs 351-crore project for the conservation of the Gir lions. The project is launched in the backdrop of the Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) outbreak that claimed 23 Asiatic lion lives in their only dwelling Gir National park in Saurashtra.  Tripura Governor has inaugurated the 7th International Tourism Mart in Agartala.  Bihar CMNitish Kumar unveiled a 70-feet tall statue of Lord Buddha at Rajgir. It is the second tallest statue of Buddha in the country. The statue has been installed above a 16- metre radius pedestal in the middle of Lake GhoraKatora.  The Uttarakhand government has decided to rename the Dehradun Jolly Grant airport after former PM AtalBihari Vajpayee.  Asian Development Bankhave signed a 200 million USD loan agreement to finance widening and upgrading of about 230 Kilometers State Highways in Bihar.

R.A.C.E  Telangana Chief Electoral Officer Dr Rajat Kumar inaugurated five-day exhibition on Our Vote- Our Future.  Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a 75 million USD loan for a water supply project in four coastal towns of Karnataka.  The first edition of ‘Arunachal Literature Festival’ is being organized in Itanagar. The theme of the Arunachal Literature Festival is ‘building bridges through literature’.  The Border Security Force celebrated its 54th formation day on 1st December 2018. India's Border Security Force (first Line of Defence of Indian Territories) was formed on 1st December 1965, after the Indo-Pak and India-China wars. Senior IPS officerRajni Kant Misrais the present Director General of BSF.  Defence Ministry NirmalaSitharaman has launched the Armed Forces Week from 1st – 7th December. The objective is to encourage citizens to make financial contributions to the families of war heroes and to pay respects to the brave sons and daughters of our nation.  The President Shri Ram NathKovind has inaugurated the 13th edition of CII Agro Tech India-2018 in Chandigarh. The UK is a partner country at the CII Agrotech this year

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 The Chief Guest at the 2019 Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi Cyril Ramaphosa (South African President)  Air forces of the US and India to hold joint exercise at Kalaikunda and Panagarh Air Force Base in West Bengal(India) Ex-Cope India 2019.  The 80th Session of the Policy Commission of the World Customs Organization (WCO) held in Mumbai.The Session is being organized by the WCO and hosted by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), India.  India's first locomotive-less train has breached the 180 kilometres per hour speed limit during a test run at Kota-SawaiMadhopur section in Rajasthan Train 18.Train 18 is capable of touching 200 kilometres per hour provided the rest of Indian Railways' system, such as tracks and signals, permit.  The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched India's heaviest satellite GSAT-11 (weighing 5, 854 kg) by Ariane-5 VA246 rocket from French Guiana (South America).  The Union Minister ShriNitinGadkari has inaugurated ‘India Water Impact Summit 2018’

R.A.C.E in New Delhi.  A four-day International conference on bears being organized in Agra (Uttar Pradesh).The objective of the conference to share knowledge on principles of welfare of bears and other wild animals in zoos, sanctuaries and rescue centers.  The five days bilateral air exercise‘SHINYUU Maitri-18’ between Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) & Indian Air Force at A F Station Agra.The theme of the exercise is joint Mobility/Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) on Transport aircraft.  Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba has released a book ‘Blue Waters Ahoy’ in presence of President Ram NathKovind at RashtrapatiBhavan, Delhi.The book has been authored by Vice Admiral Anup Singh.

 The Indian Coast Guard has conducted the Regional Level Marine Oil Pollution Response Exercise at sea off Port Blair Clean Sea 2018.Coast Guard ships Viswasth, Vijith, Rajveer, Rajshri, Dornier and Chetak helicopters participated in the exercise.

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 Nagaland state celebrated its 55th formation day on 1st Dec.On 1st December 1963, Nagaland became the 16th state of India. The union Minister Rajnath Singh also inaugurated 19th Hornbill Festival in Nagaland.  Union Minister NitinGadkarihas inaugurated the second edition of KhasdarMahotsav at the Ishwar Deshmukh College of Physical Education in Nagpur.It is an attempt to provide our next generation with better infrastructure like roads, homes, education, skill development.  The City which has observed the 34th anniversary of gas leak tragedy(Methyl Isocyanate gas was leaked from the pesticide plant of Union Carbide)as on the intervening night of 2nd & 3rd December in 1984 in Bhopal.  Nagaland becomes first north-eastern state to launch single emergency number 112.It will have a special women safety feature ‘SHOUT’ to get immediate assistance from police and volunteers.  Bihar govt has fixed Rs. 100 as the charge for people to get their property registered after division of family’s immovable assets.  The Gujarat Govt which has approved 50-crore rupees to Science & Technology Innovation

R.A.C.E (STI) Fund to provide assistance up to Rs. 50-lakh to UGC and AICTE recognized central and state universities and colleges.  Maharashtra CMDevendraFadnavis has launched a unique initiative called to transform rural Maharashtra SMART.The objective of the World Bank assisted to revamp agricultural value chains, with special focus on marginal farmers across 1, 000 villages.  CMPinarayiVijayan has inaugurated the 23rd International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) 2018 at Thiruvananthapuram.  Delhi CMArvindKejriwal has launched the ‘MukhyamantriTirthYatraYojana’ for senior citizens. Under this free pilgrimage scheme, Delhi resident above 60 years will be eligible to take free pilgrimage.The applicant can also take along an attendant above the age of 20 years, if the applicant or his spouse is above 70 years

 18th All India Annual Conference of Heads of Science Centre’s & Museums begins at Itanagar. Arunachal Pradesh State Council Science and Technology is playing an important role

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to tie up and collaborate with other scientific institutions across the country to promote science and technology in the state.

 The first International Conference on ‘Sustainable Water Management’ was held in Mohali, Punjab.The conference was organized by Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).  The Indian Navy inducted the 'Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle' into service at the Western Naval Command in Mumbai.  Tamil Nadu Govt. has announced the hike of health insurance coverage (under Ayushman Bharat scheme) from two lakh rupees to 5 lakh rupees. The decision will benefit 1.58 crore families in the state.  PinarayiVijayan (CM of Kerala) and Suresh Prabhu (Minister of Civil Aviation) jointly inaugurated an international Airport in Kerala, i.e Kannur international Airport (KIAL).  The Home Ministry has launched a Twitter account named ‘@CyberDost’ to spread awareness about cyber crimes and normal precautions to be taken.  Shi Yomi has become the 23rd district of Arunachal Pradesh.It was inaugurated by Pema

R.A.C.E Khandu (Arunachal Pradesh CM) in presence of Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju.  The Union Government and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed USD 60 Million Dollar Loan Agreement for Assam.The objective of the program is to increase the reliability and effectiveness of flood and riverbank erosion risk management systems in flood-prone areas of Assam.

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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

 Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) introduced Value Added Tax (VAT) for the first time. Most of the goods and services are levied5% tax.Medical treatment, financial services and public transport also excluded from VAT.  United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has entered the "bird language" of Black Sea villagers (in northern Turkey) in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.  China has developed a new underwater surveillance network which will help its submarines to accurately track target vessels and will protect its interests in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea. The network has been developed by South China Sea Institute of Oceanology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).  According to a South China Morning Post (SCMP) report, China is planning to build its second foreign naval basein Pakistan. This will be China’s second foreign naval base after Djibouti.  Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi announced that, Saudi Arabia has approved India’s

R.A.C.E plan to ferry Haj pilgrims through sea route to Jeddah during the annual Haj agreement between India and Saudi Arabia was signed in Mecca.  United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Health Organisation (WHO) agreed to collaborate for accelerating action to curb environmental health risks. The agreement was signed between ErikSolheim, head of UNEP and TedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus, Director General of WHO.  Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Bhutan's Minister of Foreign Affairs LyonpoDamchoDorji jointly unveiled the 'Special logo' for the Golden Jubilee celebrations in New Delhi and Thimphu through video-conference.  India has extended financial assistance of USD 45.27 million to Sri Lanka for upgrading Kankesanthurai (KKS) Harbour) into a commercial port. Agreement was signed by Sri Lanka's Ministry of Finance and Export and Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) on January 10, 2018.  Saudi Arabia’s first motor show for women customers was held in Jeddah on January 11, 2018. In context of this news, it is important to note that in September 2017, Saudi King Salman had ordered an end to the ban on women drivers by June 2018. Head Office - Chennai: Mob: 9043303030 / 7601808080| Madurai | Trichy | Salem | Coimbatore | Chandigarh | Bangalore| Erode |Namakkal |Puducherry |Thanjavur| Trivandrum| Ernakulam |Tirunelveli | Vellore | Official Website: www.raceinstitute.in| Official Blog:www.bankersdaily.in 38 Chennai RACE Coaching Institute Pvt Ltd

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 American and Japanese military forces launched 13th annual Iron Fist joint exercises in California, US. Around 500 U.S. Marines and sailors and about 350 members of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force are participating in this exercise wherein they will be trained in fire support operations and amphibious assaults.  India has ranked 30th on Global Manufacturing Index released by World Economic Forum (WEF).It has been developed in collaboration with A T Kearney. Japan has topped in this report.  India contributed USD 50000 to the United Nations’ youth mission.PaulomiTripathi, a First Secretary in India`s UN Mission, handed over the contribution to the UN Youth Envoy, JayathmaWickramanayake.  India and Sri Lanka signed four agreements for collaboration in Information and communication technology (ICT) sector, connecting of National Knowledge network (NKN) for collaboration among universities and academics and setting up of e-office system.  Bangladesh, India and Nepal agreed upon operating procedures for trans-border movement of passenger vehicles under Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) motor vehicles

R.A.C.E agreement.  India attended a meeting of the internationalmilitarycooperation departments of the ShanghaiCooperationOrganisation (SCO) for the first time, in Beijing, China.IndiajoinedSCOin2017. The Indian delegation was led by Major General Ajay Seth.  As per World Economic Forums’s (WEF's) Global Risks Report 2018, published on January 17, 2018, extreme weather events and natural disasters have been identified as the likeliest global risks to occur in 2018.  International Solar Alliance (ISA) hosted a two-day event, ‘InternationalSolarAllianceForum’ during 17-18th January, 2018 at the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2018 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.  India formally became the 43rdmember of the AustraliaGroup (AG). Australia Group is a cooperative and voluntary group comprising countries that are working to prevent the spread of materials, equipment and technologies that could be used to develop or acquire chemical and biological weapons (CBW).

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 Maitre-2, a second passenger bus to Kolkata via Dhaka was flagged off from Agartala, Tripura. The bus was flagged off by Tripura MLA Ratan Das and Tripura Road Transport Corporation Chairman RajendraReang.  India has ranked at the 62ndplace among 74 emerging economies on the annual ‘Inclusive Development Index 2018’ released by World Economic Forum (WEF). In 2017, India ranked 60th among 79 developing economies on this index.  The 10thGlobalForumforFoodandAgriculture (GFFA) was held in Berlin, Germany. The theme was "Shaping the Future of Livestock – sustainably, responsibly, efficiently”.  World Banka pproved USD 300 million loan to Nepal for undertakingreconstructionwork post April 2015 earthquake. Nepal is currently facing USD 1.2 billion shortfall in reconstruction funds.  Sanctum Wealth Management report, India will overtakeChina to be the fastestgrowinglargeeconomy in 2018. In the current global scenario where developed economies are posting 2-3% growth, Indian economy is on the track to cross the 7.5%growthmark.

R.A.C.E  The annual meeting of World Economic Forum (WEF) is being held in Davos, Switzerland from 23rd – 26th January 2018. This year’s theme is “CreatingaSharedFuture in a Fractured World”.  India has ranked81st out of 119countries on 2018 GlobalTalentCompetitivenessIndex (GTCI). This marks an improvement as compared to 92nd rank in 2017. The index was released on January 23, 2018.  India has ranked177th among 180countries on EnvironmentalPerformanceIndex2018. This marks a drop from 141st position in 2016.  As per a survey by Go Banking Rates, a personal finance platform, India is the 2ndcheapestcountry to live or retire among 112 countries. The survey assessed countries on four key affordability metrics viz. local purchasing power index, rent index, Groceries index, and Consumer price index.  According to a reportbyNewWorldWealth, India is sixthwealthiestcountry with total wealth of USD 8230 billion. As per the report, United States is the wealthiest country in the world with total wealth of USD 64584 billion in 2017.

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 India has ranked42nd on the EconomistIntelligenceUnit's (EIU) GlobalDemocracyIndex2017. This marks a drop by 10 spots as compared to 32nd rank last year. Norway topped the index with an overall score of 9.87 while North Korea is ranked the lowest at167th.  World's longest zip line, measuring 2.83km in length opened in RasAlKhaimah, the smallest state of UAE.This 2.83km zip line allows thrill seekers to jump from the peak of Jebel Jais, UAE's highest mountain.  UttarPradesh State Government, in association with UnitedNationsChildren'sFund (UNICEF) launched ‘DASTAK’, a door to door campaign to eradicate deadly AcuteEncephalitis (AE) Syndrome and Japanese Encephalitis (JES) disease from the state.  India has ranked44 out of 50countries in the internationalIntellectualProperty (IP) index as per the annual report released by Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) of the US Chambers of Commerce. The Index is topped by the US with 37.98 points. 2nd position is occupied by United Kingdom and third spot by Sweden.  Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Saudi King Salman binAbdulaziz and

R.A.C.E inaugurated 'Janadriyah', the national heritage and cultural festival of Saudi Arabia at Riyadh.India was accorded the 'GuestofHonour' status at the Janadriyah Festival.  PM Modi travelled from New Delhi to Jordanian capital and Modi was conferred the ‘GrandCollar of the State of Palestine’ by Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas.  Gevora, world'snewtallesthotel opened on February 11, 2018 in Dubai, UAE. Height of 75-storey Gevora Hotel is 356 metres. It has been built by Majid Al Attar.  4thNepalBuildcon and WoodInternationalExpo2018 was held in Kathmandu from 8th – 11thFebruary, 2018. The expo was inaugurated by Deputy PM of Nepal Kamal Thapa.  6thedition of WorldGovernmentSummit (WGS) 2018 was held in Dubai, UAE. Indian PM NarendraModi delivered a keynote address at the 6th World Government Summit on the theme: 'Technology for development'.  United Nations (UN) General Assembly spokesman BrendenVarma statedthat Venezuela and Libya have been suspended from voting in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly because of millions of dollars in unpaid dues

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 Tropical cycloneGitadevastatedTonga, a small SouthPacificisland country, with Category 4 intensity. The speed of sustained winds was 145 mph.  Union Minister of Minority Affairs, MukhtarAbbasNaqvi has stated that an international educational institution for minorities will be built in Rajasthan's Alwar city. The institute in Alwar, will be one of the five such institutes, which the Central Government is planning to set up across India.  Singapore Government announced that it would impose a carbon tax from2019 to cut its greenhouse gas emissions  India has ranked12th among 52 lower middle-income countries in terms of neonatal mortality rate according to a report by UNICEF. 57% of neonatal deaths in India occur in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.  Indian and Indonesian armies began the 6thedition of ‘GarudaShakti’military drill in Bandung, the capital of West Java province of Indonesia. This joint exercise betweenIndian and Indonesian Special Forces will continue till March 4, 2018.  CobraGold2018 an internationalmilitaryexercise, is held in Thailand.This is the

R.A.C.E 37thedition of the Cobra Gold exercise.  Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) declared that rate ofinterest on employees’ provident fund for 2017-18 will be 8.55 per cent. This marks 0.10 percentreduction as compared to 8.65 per cent for 2016-17.  A three –day India International Textiles Expo (IITExpo) was organised in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 21st to 23rd February, 2018.  Saudi Arabia conducted the Groovz Jazz Festival, its first ever jazzfestival, at the Riyadh. Intercontinental Hotel, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The concert was organized by Time Entertainment.  20th Conference of the Commonwealth Education Ministers (20CCEM) was held in Nadi, Fiji from 19th – 23rd February 2018.  In terms of military prowess, India has ranked 4th out of 133 countries on the Global Fire power (GFP) list 2017. India at 4th rank, trails behind only US, Russia and China.  MarshallIslands has announced that, it will launch its own cryptocurrency and it will be circulated as legal tender along with the U.S. dollar.

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 Airports Authority ofIndia (AAI) is participating in World ATM Congress (WATMC) 2018 which is being held in Madrid, Spain.In context of this news, abbreviation ATM stands for Air traffic Management, World.  India ranks 52 out of 57 nations on the Mastercard Index for Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE).  On 7th to 9th March 2018, the fifthWorldOceanSummit(2018) was held in Riviera Maya, Mexico.  Bolivia unveiled its 200kmlongflag, which it claims to be the world’sbiggestflag. The flag extends between the cities La Paz and Oruro.  India has ranked133rd out of 156 countries in the WorldHappinessReport2018.World Happiness report is an annual report published by the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Finland ranks first.  India has ranked78th among 114 countries on the World Economic Forum's (WEF’s) Energy Transition Index.  Sierra Leone, a West African country has become the first country in the world to deploy

R.A.C.E block chain technology in election process.  Singapore is the mostexpensivecity in the world as per Worldwide Cost of Living 2018 among 133 cities conducted by London-headquartered Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).  New Delhi has secured 22ndrank in the world and 8thinAsia in the TripAdvisor’s top 25 travellers choice of destinations list for 2018. Parissecured 1st rank.  SingaporeChangiAirport has been rated as world'sbestairport for the sixth consecutive year by UK based consultancy firm Skytrax.  World’s biggest cruise ship, ‘SymphonyoftheSeas’ was delivered to US company Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd.  Earth Hour 2018 was observed all over the world. India pledged "Give Up To Give Back".  Indian Navy’s Talwar class frigate INS Tarkash carried out a greeting and training exercise with the U.S. Navy’s Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG).  The United Arab Emirates, with the help of Korea Electric Power Corp., has finished construction of its first commercial nuclear reactor, BarakahUnit1.

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 Defence Minister NirmalaSitharaman is in Russia to attend the 7thMoscowConference on International Security. This is her first visit to Russia in her capacity as the Defence Minister.  External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj begun her three-day visit to Azerbaijan to participate in the Mid Term Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) inBaku.  Road Transport & Highways Minister NitinGadkari is on a four-day official visit to SouthKorea. The visit is aimed at strengthening ties between the two nations & further cementing cooperation in areas, including sharing of technology, experience in port development & joint participation in port related construction.  President RamNathKovind has returned to New Delhi after three African nations tour of Equatorial Guinea, Swaziland&Zambia. Mr Kovind& his Zambian counterpart Edgar ChagwaLungu laid the foundation stone of Lusaka traffic Decongestion Project.President Kovind was conferred with 'OrderoftheLion', the highest award of Swaziland.  PM Modi was on the three-nation visit of Europe to Sweden, the UK&Germany. He has signed various important agreements & attended various conferences during the visit.  External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj left for China on a four-dayvisit. She will

R.A.C.E participate in a meeting of the foreign ministers of the ShanghaiCooperationOrganisation (SCO). She will hold talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.  Indian Space Research Organisation launched the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-1I (IRNSS-1I), the eighth such satellite to be a part of a constellation. It was launched from the first launch pad at the SatishDhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. IRNSS-1I is expected to replace IRNSS-1A.  A world-class interpretation centre & other tourist facility for visitors were inaugurated at the Konark Sun Temple, Odisha.  The trial run of the first container train between India&Bangladesh was flaggedofffromKolkata city.  Civil Aviation Minister SureshPrabhu inaugurated firstflight from DelhitoPathankot (Punjab), at a ceremony held at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. Which is 21st airport in the country, which got operational for passengers.  PM Modi inaugurated Dr Ambedkar National Memorial in NewDelhi. The memorial is dedicated to the life & contributions of Dr.Ambedkar, the principal architect of the Constitution.

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 Karan Johar has become the first-ever Bollywood filmmaker to get a place at the famous Madame Tussauds.  Madras High Court became the first court in south India & overall eighth in the country to introduce e-court fee payment facility. It was jointly launched by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami& Chief Justice Indira Banerjee.  The Union Government formed a new integrated institutional mechanism, Defence Planning Committee (DPC) to reform the process of higher defence planning. The permanent body would be chaired by National Security Advisor AjitDoval.  Bihar Chief Minister NitishKumar released threebooksbasedon Mahatma Gandhi'sChamparanmovement of 1917. Nitish Kumar released the books titled- 'Mister M K Gandhi Ki Champaran Diary' written by Arvind Mohan, 'ChamparanAndolan 1917' edited by AshutoshPartheshwar& 'Pir Muhammad Munis: KalamKaSatyagrahi' collected & edited by Srikant.  Union Road Transport Minister NitinGadkari has inaugurated the 29thRoadSafetyWeek at VigyanBhawan in New Delhi. He released a book named "Havea Safe Journey".

R.A.C.E  Former PMManmohan Singh released a book titled “My Journey from Marxism- Leninism to Nehruvian Socialism‟ by former Planning Commission & Finance Commission member C H HanumanthaRao.  Union Minister of Commerce and Industry launched the Intellectual Property (IP) mascot ‘IP Nani’.  Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh visits North Korea, the first high- level visit from India in 20 years. General VK Singh held talks with his North Korean counterpart and a host of other leaders.  SangeetaBahl, a 53-year-old former model, has become the oldest Indian woman to conquer Mount Everest.  Film actorAkshay Kumar launched the twin pit toilet technology campaign in NewDelhi. The twin pit toilet technology is an Indian invention that collects defecation for a period of five years and then it turns into a valuable organic compost.  Yoga guru Baba Ramdev'sPatanjali launched a new swadeshi messaging application called 'Kimbho' to compete with WhatsApp.

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 VPNaidu visited South America's Guatemala, Peru&Panama. Bilateral trade & investments are expected to be mainly discussed during the visit.  SushmaSwaraj will hold a bilateralmeeting with Alimov in Delhi. SushmaSwaraj left on a visit to Myanmar. The visit is part of ongoing high-level interaction between the governments of India & Myanmar.  PM Modi visited Nepal to take forward the issues of mutual interest & partnership across diverse sectors. This is Mr Modi’s third visit to Nepal as PM. Both the PMs will inaugurate Janakpur-Ayodhyabusservice& the inclusion of Janakpur in Ramayana circuit.  ISRO has developed an atomicclock to be used in navigation satellites. It is supposed to measure precise location data.  NASA signed a spaceactagreement with UberTechnologies to explore concepts & technologies related to Urban Air Mobility (UAM) for future air transportation such as flying cars in populated areas.  China launched a hyperspectralimagingsatellite'Gaofen-5' for comprehensive observation of the atmosphere, including air pollution which is one of the country's major

R.A.C.E problems. The Gaofen-5 satellite was launched off the back of a Long March 4C rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.  California-based aerospace company, SpaceX blasted off its most powerful Falcon 9 rocket, which is certified to carry humans to space later this year.  Scientists discovered the fastest-growing black hole known in the universe, describing it as a monster that devours (eats). The discovery of the new supermassive black hole was confirmed using the spectrograph on the Australian National University (ANU) 2.3-metre telescope to split colours into spectral lines.  President Kovind arrived in Cuba on the final leg of his three-nationtour to Greece, Suriname&Cuba. He was received in Santiago by Vice President of Cuba, Ms Beatriz Johnson.On the first leg, he will leave for Athens. He will leave for Suriname on the 2nd leg & then to Cuba of the final leg. Suriname is a founding member of the InternationalSolarAlliance.  Maharashtra CM DevendraFadnavis met World Bank CEO KristalinaGeorgieva in Washington DC to seek assistance for a Multimodal Transport Corridor & the Rural Livelihood

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Project which aims to provide sustainablelivelihood enhancements in 10, 000 villages in the state.  PM Modi has arrived in Qingdao, China, to attend the two-day long 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. This will be India's first participation in the summit as a full-time member of the organization.  Nepal's Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General RajendraChhetri is on a six-day visit to India. He is visiting India at the invitation of COAS General BipinRawat. General Chhetri will attend the Officer Cadet's 'Passing Out Parade' as Chief Reviewing officer at Indian Military Academy in Dehradun.  External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj begins her five-day visit to South Africa. Her visit will further strengthen the close & long-standing ties with South Africa. The Minister will participate in the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting& chair the IBSA Foreign Ministers Meeting during her visit.  Air Chief Marshal BirenderSinghDhanoa is on a fourdayvisit to Brazil. He is scheduled to visit various operational & training units as well as interact with senior officials of the Brazilian

R.A.C.E Air Force.  The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare restricted the manufacture of Oxytocinformulations for domestic use to public sector only from 1st July 2018. Oxytocin is a naturally-occurring hormone which causes uterine contractions during labour & helps new mothers lactate.  The Centre of Excellence in Maritime & Shipbuilding (CEMS), a well-funded start-up in skill development for maritime & shipbuilding sector, has announced setting up of 24 labs -6 in Mumbai & 18 in Vizag campus.  NITIAayog’sAtal Innovation Mission (AIM) has selected 3, 000 additional schools for the establishment of AtalTinkering Labs (ATLs), bringing the total number of ATL schools to 5, 441.  Government launched 5, 000 Wi-Fi Choupals in villages & delivery of rail tickets through Common Service Centres (CSCs).  The European Union Film Festival (EUFF) will premiere in New Delhi at the Siri Fort Auditorium.

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 Information & Broadcasting Minister Col Rajyavardhan Rathore inaugurated the European Union Film Festival at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi.  Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh has flagged off the 1st batch of three month-long Kailash Mansarovar Yatra-2018 in New Delhi. The Yatra will continue till the 8th of September 2018.  India received the first-ever cargo of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Russia as New Delhi diversifies import basket to meet its vast energy needs.  NTPC Ltd has adopted the iconic Charminar in Hyderabad under the Swachh Iconic Places Projects of India. This is part of a special drive under the Centre’s Swachh Bharat Mission.  Khadi& Village Industries Commission (KVIC) created a world record of distributing the maximum number of bee-boxes in one day.  Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) proposed a draft bill to repeal the University Grants Commission (UGC) & set up the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI). The Act entitled ‘Higher Education Commission of India Act, 2018 (Repeal of University Grants Commission Act)’ revamps UGC Act, 1951 & its parent legislation

R.A.C.E completely.  PM of Bhutan Dasho Tshering Tobgay arrived in New Delhi for a visit to India. During this, he will call on President Ram NathKovind and hold talks with PM Narendra Modi.  South Korean President MoonJae-in arrived in New Delhi for visit to India. He is being accompanied by First Lady Kim Jung-sook on his maiden visit to the nation. A financing arrangement of 10 billion dollars has been set by the Korean side for infrastructure development in India.  A new integrated state-of-the-art integrated Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) was jointly inaugurated by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and his Bangladeshi counterpart Asaduzzaman Khan at Dhaka's Jamuna Future Park.  External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj embarked on a two-day visit to Manama, to co- chair the second High Joint Commission meeting with her Bahrainicounterpart.  PM Modi left on a three-nation visit to Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa. PM Modi will reach South Africa to attend the 10th BRICS summit at Johannesburg.

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 ShivangiPathak, who became the youngest Indian woman to reach the peak of Mount Everest, has added another feather to her cap by scaling Africa's highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro in 3 days.  A city college student, PrabhatKoli (19), who crossed the English Channel when he was 16, has become the first Asian to swim the choppy water from Jersey (an Island in the UK) to France in cold weather.  Bhitarkanika National Park (Odisha) has become the largest habitat of the endangered estuarine crocodilesin the country with a record number of their nesting sites spotted in it.  Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) launched its, in-house developed, single-umbrella emarketing system named Khadi Institution Management and Information System (KIMIS) in New Delhi.  Law Commission recommended that gambling and betting on sports, including cricket, be allowed as regulated activities taxable under the direct and indirect tax regimes and used as a source for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).  Airports Authority of India (AAI) will set up a stateof-the-art Civil Aviation Research

R.A.C.E Organization (CARO) at Hyderabad‟s Begumpet Airport .  Union Environment Ministry issued a notification setting noise standards for all airports across the country. The rules state that busy airports a civil airport with more than 50, 000 aircraft movements per year (take-off or a landing) should not exceed noise levels beyond 75 dB(A)Leq (decibels) during the daytime (6am to 10pm) and 65 dBA during the night (10pm to 6am).  NITI Aayog unveiled the blueprint of 'National Health Stack' (NHS), a shared digital healthcare infrastructure. As per the consultation paper titled “National Health Stack Strategy an Approach‟, the National Health Stack will facilitate the collection of comprehensive healthcare data across the country.  Indian Railways has introduced Double Stack Dwarf Container ServicesUnder the guidance of PiyushGoyal. This train was booked from the RelianceRail Siding at Kanalus to Rewari in the state of Haryana.  Union Government has granted the Institutions of Eminence (IoEs) status to six institutions including 3 from PublicSector and 3 from Private Sector. Three Public Universities

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granted the Institutions of Eminence (IoEs) status: 1. IIT-Bombay, 2. IIT-Delhi, 3. IISc Bangalore.  Three Private Universities granted the Institutions of Eminence (IoEs) status: 1. Jio Institute by Reliance Foundation, 2. BITS Pilani, 3. Manipal Academy of Higher Education.  Satyarup Siddhanta become the second Indian mountaineer after MalliMastan Babu to climb Mt Ojos del Salado, the highest volcano in the world. Ojos del Salado is a stratovolcano (a volcano built up of alternate layers of lava and ash) in the Andes on the Argentina-Chile border.  Railways launched its first consolidated Bridge Management System, a web-enabled IT application to store data on its one lakh 50 thousand bridges.  Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation launches the Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018 in the Delhiof India decided to allow photography within the premises of all centrally protected monuments/sites. However, the 3 monuments/sites in which the photography would not be permitted are Ajanta Caves andLeh Palace having paintings, and Mausoleum of TajMahal, Agra.

R.A.C.E  External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj to visit Vietnam and Cambodia, with an aim to deepen India’s strategic cooperation with the two key nations in the ASEAN region. She will inaugurate the 3rd Indian Ocean Conference in Hanoi. In Vietnam, she will co-chair the 16th meeting of the Joint Commission along with her Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Binh Minh.  EAM SushmaSwaraj is now in Kyrgyzstan which is the second leg of 3-central Asian nations' visit. Before landing in Bishkek, the Minister completed a successfulvisit to Kazakhstan where she met the country's top leaders to discuss ways to consolidate its strategic partnership with India in areas like trade, energy, security and information technology.  India's first biofuel-powered flight landed in Delhi, covering the distance between Dehradun & Delhi. It is developed by CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun. The flight test was successfully completed by SpiceJet.  Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) made public 13 standardised state-of-the- art ship designs suitable for large barge haulage on river Ganga (National Waterway1). This marks attaining a critical milestone in the growth of the country’s Inland Water Transport (IWT) sector.

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 IT ministry launched a desktop software e-Aksharayan for Indian Languages Technology Industry ‘Bhashantara’, in New Delhi. The objective is to enable editing and printing of text in scanned documents. The software e-Aksharayan launched in 7 Indian languages.  Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu launched a logo & tagline for Geographical Indications (GI) to increase awareness about intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the country. The slogan is- 'Invaluable Treasures of Incredible India'.  The 123rd Constitutional Amendment Bill giving constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) has got Parliamentary assent. It will give the institution all powers to safeguard the rights of the socially and educationally backward classes and fulfils a long pending commitment of the central govt to the OBCs. NCBC will have a Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and 3 other members of which at least one will be a woman.  Minister of state for Culture (I/C), Dr Mahesh Sharma, released 3 books: ‘Jewellery’, ‘Ghats of Banaras’ and ‘Untold Story of Broadcasting’, at IGNCA (Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts), in New Delhi. ‘Jewellery’ was written by Dr Gulab Kothari. ‘Ghats of Banaras’ was written by Dr Sachidanand Joshi and ‘Untold Story of Broadcasting’ was

R.A.C.E written by Dr Gautam Chatterjee.  The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (in Sikkim) has become the 11th Biosphere Reserve from India that has been included in the UNESCO designated World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR).  Indian-American high school student AviGoel has won the world championship at the International Geography Bee’s junior varsity division which was held in Berlin, Germany. 14-year old Avi is a tenth grader at Silver Creek High School in Evergreen, San Jose, California.  Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) launched a Flood Forecasting & Early Warning System (FFEWS) for Kolkata City. It is also India‟s first comprehensive city-level FFEWS.  SC declared the Centre's flagship Aadhaar scheme as Constitutionally valid. The Supreme Court ruled that linking the Aadhaar card to PAN card is mandatory & is needed for filing income tax returns. The apex court, however, said Aadhaar is notmandatory for openingbankaccounts& linking with existing accounts.

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 Supreme Court agreed to live-streaming & video recording of court proceedings, saying “sunlight is the best disinfectant”. The Supreme Court allowed live streaming of cases of Constitutional importance that take place in the Court of the Chief Justice of India.  Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) & ISRO signed anMoU for setting up of an state-of-the-art Integrated Control Room for Emergency Response (ICR-ER) in Ministry of Home Affairs.  Union Cabinet has approved an ordinance making triple talaq a punishable offence. The Supreme Court had in a verdict in August last year declared it illegal & unconstitutional.  Union Minister for Minority Affairs MukhtarAbbasNaqvi launched the country's first "National Scholarship Portal Mobile App" (NSP Mobile App) in New Delhi.  Union minister K J Alphons, the Minister of State for Tourism, inaugurated the country's first tribal circuit project connecting 13 tourism sites in Chhattisgarh.  NITI Aayog, Intel & Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) are collaborating to set up a Model International Center for Transformative Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI).  Ministry of Health & Family Welfare announced the implementation of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) & Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

R.A.C.E (Prevention & Control) Act, 2017. As per the law, every HIV infected or affected person below the age of 18 has the right to live in a shared household & enjoy its facilities. Those violating the act could be jailed for up to two years or fined up to Rs1 lakh or both.  The first of its kind university in the country in the transport sector, the National Rail & Transportation Institute (NRTI), started operations. Currently, it is functioning out of the National Academy of Indian Railways, Vadodara.  The Supreme Court abolished Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the 1862 law which criminalised homosexuality. The Delhi High Court had decriminalised homosexuality in 2009, but the decisionwas overturned by the Supreme Court in 2013. As per Section 377, consensual sexual acts are also considered unnatural & are punishable.  India and Russia seal defense deal during the annual bilateral summit of USD 5 billion for defence system at Hyderabad house S-400 air defence system.  A joint Multi – National Maritime Exercise between the Indian, Brazilian and South African Navies, is being held at Simons Town, South Africa -- IBSAMAR (6th edition). The objective of the exercise is to undertake collective training for participating navies, building

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interoperability and mutual understanding as well as sharing of best practices.The last edition of IBSAMAR (IBSAMAR V) was conducted off Goa, from 19 – 26 Feb 16.  The 46th edition of Cervantino International Festival, to be held in Mexico. India will participate as a guest of honour. The festival, started in 1953 with a focus on theatre, had India participating regularly since 1979. However, it will be India's first time as a guest of honour country.  The Rabindranath Tagore Memorial Auditorium built with Indian grant assistance of 30 crore Sri Lankan rupees has been dedicated to the people in a special function in Sri Lanka. The state of art auditorium with 1500 seating capacity has been designed by the famous Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa to conform to the philosophy of “Tropical Modernism”.  Sushma Swaraj has launched the ‘India for Humanity’ initiative, a year-long series of artificial limb fitment camps. The limb fitment camps aim to provide physical, economic and social rehabilitation of the differently-abled around the world.  According to the 2018 Henley Passport Index, Japan’s passport has been declared the most powerful passport across the world in this year. The Japanese people can travel

R.A.C.E without a Visa (or on-arrival Visa) across 190 countries.  The Southeast Asian country decided to scrap capital punishment following strong domestic opposition to the practice -- Malaysia. Currently, Capital punishment in Malaysia is mandatory for murder, kidnapping, possession of firearms and drug trafficking, among other crimes.  The defense minister Sitharaman addressed the ‘IndiaFrance Defence Engagement in a Multipolar World’ in -- Paris. The defense minister SmtSitharaman addressed ‘India-France Defence Engagement in a Multipolar World’ at the Institute of Strategic Research (IRSEM) in Paris.  The Indian Ocean: Defining our Future” Conference was held at Temple Trees, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is aimed to explore strongest challenges in the Indian Ocean region.  India was elected to the United Nations' top human rights body for a period of three years from 1st January 2019. India got 188 votes in the Asia-Pacific category.  Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu attended the two-day Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit at Brussels (Belgium). Note: The theme of this year’s ASEM Summit is "Global Partners for Global Challenges”.

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 Canada has become the second country (first Uruguay) to legalize possession and use of recreational cannabis.  UK-built spacecraft BepiColombo mission will set off for Mercury to determine whether the plant, which is the closest to the Sun (contains water) -  According to Bhutan's election commission, who won 30 of the 47 national assembly seats (lower house of the parliament) -- DrukNyamrupTshogpa (DNT).  First-ever India and Japan joint military exercise 'DHARMA GUARDIAN-2018' to promote Military cooperation will be held in Mizoram.  The 7th meeting of education ministers of member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was held in -Astana, Kazakhstan.  China's President Xi Jinping has officially opened the world's longest sea-crossing bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China. The bridge connects Hong Kong to Macau and the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai. The bridge spans 55km including its access roads and has cost about USD 20bn. About 30km of its total length crosses the sea of the Pearl River delta.

R.A.C.E  China has successfully tested the world’s largest cargo drone Feihong-98(FH-98), carry a payload of 1.5 tonnes. This commercial drone ‘Feihong-98’ has been developed and modified by the China Academy of Aerospace Electronics Technology. The FH-98 has a maximum take-off weight of 5.25 tonnes (flight height of 4, 500 metres) a cruising speed of 180 kmph, and a maximum range of 1, 200 kms.  The NATO's (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) biggest military maneuvers (since the Cold War) begins in Norway. Around 65 vessels, 150 aircraft and 10, 000 vehicles will also participate in the drill, which takes place in central and eastern Norway, the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea.  India collaborate with the United Kingdom (UK) to research different aspects of the Ganga delta region and the Bay of Bengal. The Bay of Bengal is also critical to India in terms of resources and also has an impact on the Southwest Monsoon, the lifeline of the country.  Germany's chancellor (since 2000) Angela Merkel, she will step down as chancellor in 2021.  The world's largest airport terminal "under one roof" has been officially opened in Istanbul. It has capacity to serve 90 million passengers.

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 Japan has announced to join the group International Solar Alliance (ISA). Japan will be the 71st country to sign and 48th country to ratify the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Framework.  China has successfully launched a high orbit satellite to boost its home-grown BeiDou global satellite navigation system being built to rival United States Global Position System (GPS).  Netherlands will be the Partner Country of 25th DST – CII Technology Summit to be organized in 2019. India and the Netherlands are addressing unmet needs and opening new collaborative avenues together in areas such as water, health, agriculture, high tech systems and IT.  The World Corporate Games 2019 will be held for the first time in the Middle East in Doha. The 23rd edition is held under the patronage of PM and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani and will bring together the local, regional and international business sporting community. It will be the first time that the World Corporate Games, established nearly 30 years ago, incorporate eSports and mind sports.  The 18th Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers Meeting was held in

R.A.C.E Durban, South Africa. Gen. (Dr.) VK Singh (Retd.), Minister of State for External Affairs, attended the IORA Council of Ministers Meeting. This meeting took place during the on-going celebrations of the 150th year of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and the 100th birth anniversary of Nelson Mandela.  India has signed anMoUs with the country in Extradition Treaty, Atomic Energy and VISA Waiver -- Malawi. According to the T S Tirumurti (Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs), Secretariat India & Malawi have signed three MoUs on Extradition Treaty, cooperation in the field of Atomic Energy for peaceful purposes and VISA Waiver for Diplomatic and Official Passports.  Indian Food and Agro Buyer Seller Meet held in Jaddah. Saudi Arabia is India’s one of the most important trade partners and is a major FDI partner of India after the UAE in Gulf region. The major products exported by India to Saudi Arabia were rice, Chemicals, refined petroleum oil and motor vehicles and its parts.  The world’s first artificial intelligence (AI) news anchor debuts in China. The world’s first artificial intelligence (AI) news anchor made “his” debut at the on-going fifth World Internet Conference in east China’s Zhejiang province.

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 The 33rdedition of the ASEANSummit has begun in Singapore. PMModi is scheduled to attend the East Asia Summit and Associated meetings of ASEAN. He also addressed the audience during the Fintech Conference along with the IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde.  Commerce Minister leads delegation for RCEP meet in Singapore. The RCEP members include 10 ASEAN members (Brunei Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam) and their 6 free trade agreement partners (India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand).  The fourthedition of Intex South Asia was inaugurated in Colombo. The event has been organized by Worldex India Exhibition and Promotion Pvt. Ltd in partnership with Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL), Retailers Association of India, Clothing Manufacturers Association of India, Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) etc.  India has been re-elected as a Member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Council for another 4-year term (2019-2022).  PMNarendraModiattend the swearing-in ceremony of President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. India is looking forward to closely work with Maldives in further deepening its partnership.

R.A.C.E  Amnesty International stripped Aung San SuuKyi of its highest honor over the Myanmar leader's ‘indifference’ to the atrocities committed by the country's military against Rohingya Muslims.  PMModi participated in the ASEAN-India Breakfast Summit in Singapore. The ASEAN members are Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei, and Laos.  India will overtake the US to become the world’s second-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide from the power sector before 2030.  The World Tolerance Summit opens for the first time in UAE, Dubai. The two-day summit is being held in line with the UN’s International Day of Tolerance. The theme of the Summit was ‘Prospering from Pluralism: Embracing Diversity through Innovation and Collaboration’.  OxfordDictionary has declared the adjective as the Word of the Year 2018 -- toxic. The adjective toxic is defined as ‘poisonous’. The word toxic was selected from a shortlist that included contenders such as ‘gaslighting, ’ ‘incel’ and ‘techlash.

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 India and UnitedKingdom have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for collaboration in Cancerresearch. The MoU was signed between Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Cancer Research UK (CRUK) for India-UK Cancer Research Initiative for collaboration in cancer research for the next five years.  The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit ended with its leaders failing to agree on a formal joint statement in Papua New Guinea. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the AsiaPacific. APEC has 21 members.  India, US Joint Special Forces Exercise 2018 commenced at Mahajan Field Firing Range (MFFR), Bikaner in Rajasthan --VajraPrahar. The 12 days exercise was called between Special Forces of both countries to deal with operations for counter-terrorism and is being done at unit as well as sub-unit levels.  The Nepal’s minister has inaugurated an exhibition of construction equipment and technology at Bhaktapur (near Kathmandu) in Nepal -- ConMac2018.  MEA SushmaSwaraj co-chaired 9th meeting of IndiaLaoPDRJointCommission in

R.A.C.E Vientiane. The two sides have reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations covering areas of Defence, Agriculture, Trade and Investment, Science and IT, Energy and Mining among others.  12thWorldCongress on MountainMedicine started in Kathmandu, Nepal. The biennial event mainly focuses on science and research aspects of high-altitude medicine. The theme of congress is “Mountain Medicine in the Heart of the Himalayas”.  Nepal PM KPSharmaOli has launched a Security Scheme for formal sector workers of the country -- Social Security Scheme. The new social security scheme is contribution based and it will cover health and medical facilities, safe motherhood, accident and physical incapacity security, security to dependent family members and security at old age.  The PMModi has taken part in the 13thG-20summit in Buenos Aires (Argentina). The theme of the summit is ‘Building Consensus for a Fair and Sustainable Development’. During the G20 summit, India will highlight the need for reformed multilateralism which reflects the contemporary realities and can effectively strengthen collective action for global good.  The SustainableBlueEconomyConference was held in Nairobi, Kenya. The Sustainable Blue Economy Conference organized by Kenya and co-hosted by Japan and Canada.The theme

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of this conference was ‘The Blue Economy and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’.  NASA's robotic lander successfully landed on Red Planet Mars after the six-month journey—InSight. The spacecraft has been designed to dig deep into the rocky surface of the Mars to reveal its secrets.The lander sent signals indicating that its solar panels are open and collecting sunlight on the Martian surface.  Air forces of the United States and India will participate in a 12-day joint exercise at two air force stations in West Bengal --- Cope India 2019. The exercise will be held from 3rd to 14th December at Air Station Kalaikunda and Air Station Arjan Singh (Panagarh).  The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) reliable workhorse PSLV-C43 rocket successfully lifted off with earth observation satellite --HysIS (hyperspectral imaging satellite).The 30 commercial satellites (1 micro and 29 nano) from eight countries, combined weight is 261.5 kg.  The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) Plenary 2018 was held in Brussels, Belgium. EU handed over the Chairmanship of KPCS to India from1st January 2019.India is the

R.A.C.E founding member of KPCS and is actively involved in KP activities to ensure that almost 99% of the diamond trade in the world is conflict free.  Nepal's PMK.P. Sharma Oli has inaugurated the two-day Asia Pacific Summit-2018 in Kathmandu. The theme of Summit is "Addressing the Critical Challenges of Our Time: Interdependence, Mutual Prosperity, and Universal Values". Around 1500 participants from 45 countries, including India, attending the summit.  The 24th meeting of Conference of Parties (COP-24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has begun at Katowice, Poland.  OPEC Country has decided to leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) from January 2019 (after nearly six decades) and focus more on the production of natural gas Qatar.  NASA's InSight lander has provided the first-ever ‘sounds’ of Martian wind on the Mars. According to NASA, InSight sensors captured a haunting low rumble caused by vibrations from the wind, estimated to be blowing between 10 to 15 miles per hour on 1st December.

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 FAO Councilhas approved India’s proposal to observe an International Year of Millets in 2023. The 160th session of the FAO Council in Rome approved the proposal. FAO Council has also approved India’s membership to the Executive Board of the United Nations World Food Program for 2020 and 2021.  The Celebrations of week-long celebrations ‘Vivah Panchami’ begins in the historic Janakpur city, Nepal. According to Hindu mythology, Lord Rama married Goddess Sita (the daughter of King Janak of Janakpur) on Vivah Panchami.  Israel has become full member of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF). FATF is an international body (established in 1989) to set up to combat money laundering, terrorist financing etc.,  The 40th session of the GCC summit will be held in UAE. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a political and economic alliance of six countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia andthe United Arab Emirates) in the Arabian Peninsula  President Ram NathKovind has inaugurated the 5th Enterprise India show in Yangon, Myanmar. He has dedicated India assisted project ‘Advanced Centre for Agricultural

R.A.C.E Research & Education’ (ACARE) and dedicated the Rice Bio-Park to the people of Myanmar.  European Union (EU) has established India’s first Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (CoE) at Department of European Studies (DES) at MAHE in New Delhi. Jean Monnet was French political economist and diplomat.

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APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

 Fr. Cheif (RAW)RajinderKhanna was appointed the Deputy National Security Adviser (NSA).  The central government appointed Fr.Sec (RAW) AB Mathur as interlocutor on its behalf to hold talks with the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA).  T.S. Tirumurti was appointed the Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry.  Vijay KeshavGokhale was recently appointed as Foreign Secretary.  Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has approved appointment of Vijay Kumar as Managing Director and CEO of National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX).  Vice Admiral AjendraBahadur Singh, took charge as Chief of Staff, Western Naval Command and he replaces Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh.  Romanian PM Mihai Tudose resigned after his party (Social Democratic Party) withdrew its support.

R.A.C.E  Min. of Sports Tracey Crouch was appointed as UK’s first-ever minister in charge to tackle loneliness and combat social isolation 'minister for loneliness'.  S.Selvakumar was appointed as the Chairman and Manging Director (CMD) of Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL).He is Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance.  Kenneth Chenault, Former CEO of American Express, joined Facebook’s board, becoming the first African American Board Member of Facebook.  Gujarat’s first woman Fr.CM Anandiben Patel has been appointed Governor of MP.  Senior IPS officer SudeepLakhtakia has been appointed the new Director General (DG) of the 'black cats' commando force National Security Guard (NSG).  Om PrakashRawat was appointed as the next Chief Election Commissioner.  Srikumar Menon was appointed next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Angola.  S.Somanath took charge as the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at a function in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

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 Sudeep Lakhtakia was appointed the next new Director General (DG) of National Security Guard (NSG).  Rajesh Agarwal was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Niger.  The US Senate appointed Jerome H Powell as the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve.  Tsewang Namgyal was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Poland.He is at present the Ambassador of India to Cuba.  Dr V Narayanan has taken charge as Director of ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, at Valiamala, Kerala.  MD and CEO of Allahabad Bank Usha Ananthasubramanian became the first woman chairman of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) for 2017-18 by its Managing Committee.  Paul Romerresigned from his position as the World Bank's chief economist after he made a controversial statement on Chile's rankings in ‘Doing Business’ annual report by World Bank.

R.A.C.E  Lt. Gen Anil Chauhan assumed charge as the new Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) of the Indian Army.  DilipAsbe has been appointed as Managing Director (MD) and CEO of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).  NeelamKapoor was appointed as Director General (DG) of Sports Authority of India (SAI). She is currently the Principal Director General of the Directorate of Field Publicity (DFP).  B A Chopade has been appointed as the vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) .  Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain has been appointed as Chief Justice of Bangladesh.  NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant was given an extension till 30th June 2019.  Dubai International Airport has retained its position as world’s busiest international airport in terms of passenger traffic.  Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid was re-elected unopposed for another five-year term. Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda made this announcement.

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 Indian women’s cricket team opener SmritiMandhana, was appointed the new brand ambassador of 'Power', Bata's sport wear brand.  Justice Abhilasha Kumari took charge as the Chief Justice of Manipur High Court.  Antony Dominic, Acting Chief Justice , took charge as the Chief Justice of Kerala.  PepsiCo Fr.Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi has been appointed as the International Cricket Council (ICC) Board’s first independent female director.  Grand Master Vidit Gujrathi has been named the brand ambassador of All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB).  The Muthoot Group has appointed Amitabh Bachchan as its Brand Ambassador.  KP Sharma Oli was named the next Prime Minister of Nepal.  Cyril Ramaphosa was elected the new President of South Africa.  Sachin Tendulkar was named the brand ambassador of the upcoming T20 Mumbai League.  Shoaib Akhtar has been named the advisor to the chairman on cricket affairs and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) brand ambassador. He was the first bowler to cross the 100 mph

R.A.C.E mark.  Mountaineer SaminaBaig was appointed the National Goodwill Ambassador for Pakistan by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).She is the first Pakistani woman who had climbed Mount Everest.  Krishna KumariKohli became Pakistan's first Hindu woman to be elected to Senate.  First female chief Ryoko Azuma was appointed the commander of a unit that consists of Japan’s biggest warship.  Architect Balkrishna VithaldasDoshi has been named the 2018 winner of architecture's highest honour , the Pritzker Prize.  Prakriti has become the first woman to be directly inducted as combat officer into the ITBP (Indo- Tibetan Border Police).  Uber announced the appointment of Indian skipper ViratKohli as its first brand ambassador in India, thus embarking on a first-of-its-kind initiative across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region

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 Bidya Devi Bhandari was re-elected for a second term as President of Nepal.She became the first woman president of Nepal in 2015.  US President Donald Trump has nominated Gina Haspel for the position of CIA Director.  Larry Kudlow has been named the new chief economic advisor to US President Donald Trump.  Li Keqiang was re-elected as Chinese Prime Minister for a second five- year term.  Vivo announced the appointment of actor Aamir Khan as its brand ambassador for India.  Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif has been named the brand ambassador of ‘Educate Girls’, an international non-profit organisation.  Martin Vizcarra was sworn in as the new President of Peru.  J S Rajput has been nominated by the Ministry of Human Resource Development as India’s representative to the Executive Board of UNESCO.  K Vijay Raghavan was appointed as Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of

R.A.C.E India.  Justice Jawad Rahim was appointed as the acting chairperson of National Green Tribunal (NGT).  InduBhushan was appointed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ayushman Bharat.  Win Myint was elected as President of Myanmar by Myanmar's parliament.  Abiye Ahmed was elected as the new PM of Ethiopia.  Rosemary DiCarlo was named first female UN Political Chief.  DebjaniGhosh, Fr. MD of Intel South Asia, is the new President of Nasscom.  Khadakwasla has been appointed as Director General Border Roads (DGBR).  Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth was appointed as a Deputy Collector in the state government by the CM Chandrababu Naidu.  Senior bureaucrat Chandra Bhushan Kumar has been appointed as Deputy Election Commissioner as part of a major bureaucratic reshuffle effected by the government.

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 Subrata Bhattacharjee has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Serbia.  SBI Life Insurance has appointed Sanjeev Nautiyal as its new Managing Director & CEO.  Assam Health & Education Minister Himanta BiswaSarma was unanimously elected the Badminton Association of India (BAI) President during its annual general body meeting in Goa.  Ajay Kumar Singhania was elected the Secretary General of BAI. BalramBhargava has been appointed the new Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) & Secretary of the Department of Health Research. He will succeed SoumyaSwaminathan. Former  UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been elected chairman of 'Boao Forum for Asia' (BFA).  Rishad Premji, Board member of Wipro Ltd. has been appointed as the Chairman and Keshav Murugesh as the Vice Chairman of the National Association of Software & Services Companies (NASSCOM) for 2018-19.  Lt. Gen PP Malhotra assumed charge as Director General of National Cadet Corps

R.A.C.E (NCC), the largest uniformed youth organization in the world.  DilipChenoy was appointed as the Secretary-General of industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).  Jim Bridenstine will become the 13th administrator of the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) seven months after Trump named him to lead the agency.  Senior lawyer Indu Malhotra was sworn in as the Judge of the Supreme Court in the presence of Chief Justice of India DipakMisra.  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Christine SchranerBurgener of Switzerland as his new special envoy on Myanmar.  AdityaGhosh resigned as the President & whole-time director of IndiGo & will leave the company by 31 July 2018.  Haryana Govt. has appointed international shooter GauriSheoran the brand ambassador for its two health-related programmes. It was announced by CM ManoharLalKhattar at the launch of the measles-rubella (MR) vaccination campaign.

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 SikkimCM PawanChamling became the longest-serving Chief Minister in India, surpassing the record of JyotiBasu, who served as West Bengal CM from 1977 to 2000.  The board of directors of Kotak Mahindra Bank has re-designated UdayKotak as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer.  J&K Assembly speaker Kavinder Gupta has been appointed as the Deputy-CM of the state.  BJP leaders GaneshiLal and Kummanam Rajasekharan were appointed as Governors of Odisha and Mizoram respectively.  Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik had given additional charge of Odisha.  The Caribbean island of Barbados has elected Mia Mottley as its first female Prime Minister since gaining independence from the UK in 1966.  Former Pakistan Chief Justice NasirulMulk was appointed as the interim Prime Minister of the country until the general elections are held on July 25.  Indian American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s sister SusheelaJayapal became the first South Asian to be elected in Oregon in the western US State.

R.A.C.E  The President of India has appointed UttamPacharne, as regular Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi.  The U.S India Business Council named Ambika Sharma as its head for India.  US Senate confirmed Gina Haspel as the first female director of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).  BS Yeddyurappa resigned 55 hours after taking oath as the Karnataka CM, ahead of the floor test.  Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro was re-elected for a second six-year term in presidential elections, according to the National Electoral Council (CNE).  AAC approved the appointment of Mahanadi Coalfields chief Anil Kumar Jha as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Coal India.  New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has promoted Stacey Cunningham to President, making her the first sole woman head of the 226-year-old exchange.  State-run power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has appointed Pravin L. Agrawal as a part-time official director on its board.

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 The JD(S)-Congress coalition government head HD Kumaraswamy was sworn-in as the New CM of Karnataka. Governor VajubhaiVala administered the oath of office and secrecy to Kumaraswamy.  Congress Leader G.Parameshwara was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister. Airtel Payments Bank has appointed Anubrata Biswas as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.  NSDL executive SudhaBalakrishnan has been appointed the first-ever chief financial officer(CFO) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).  Paraguay gets first interim woman President Alicia Pucheta for the first time in its history after outgoing leader HoracioCartes stepped down ahead of schedule.  Justice R.K. Agrawal has been appointed as the President of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC).  Hockey India appointed Harendra Singh as coach of India's men's team, while SjoerdMarijne will take over as chief coach of women's side.  WhatsApp Co-founder & CEO Jan Koum announced his resignation from the parent

R.A.C.E company Facebook.  Mr Sitanshu RanjanKar took over as the 27th Principal Spokesperson of the Government of India & Director General of Press Information Bureau in New Delhi.  Fr Australian cricketer Justin Langer has been appointed as Australian cricket team's head coach for all three formats.  ICICI Bank's board appointed Radhakrishnan Nair as an additional (independent) director of the bank for five years.  Subhash Chandra Khuntia, has been appointed as Chairman of Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority of India (IRDAI).  Vladimir Putin was sworn-in as the President of Russia for the fourth time, renewing another six-year term in office. He won the presidential elections with over 76% of the votes.  Facebook has announced that the company's Vice President of Product Chris Daniels will be taking over Whatsapp after Co-founder Jan Koum announced his departure, recently.  Armenia’s parliament elected NikolPashinyan as a new PM in a 59-42 vote.

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 Google had appointed Nitin Bawankule as the country head for its cloud business in India as the search giant looks at taking a larger share of the booming demand for those services in the country.  Carlos Alvarado was sworn in as the new President of Costa Rica.  Mahathir Mohamad was sworn in as PM of Malaysia.He took the oath at the Istana Negara Palace in Kuala Lumpur.  Fr BCCI President ShashankManohar will serve a second two-year term as the independent chairman of the International Cricket Council after he was elected unopposed by the governing body's Board.  Odisha CM- Naveen Patnaik, Mizoram CM- LalThanhawla.  SBI MD B.Sriram has resigned from the country’s largest lender after his appointment as Chief executive of IDBI Bank.  Pakistan’s National Security Advisor Nasser Khan Janjua resigned from his post.  Senior bureaucrat S.Ramesh appointed as chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC).

R.A.C.E  Turkey's long-standing leader RecepTayyipErdogan won a new five-year term after securing outright victory in the first round of a presidential poll.  Govt. appointed ArjitBasu as Managing Director of the country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI).  Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) of India, Arvind Subramanian had resigned from the post & will return to the US because of "pressing family commitments".  Arvind Saxena has been appointed to serve as the acting Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).  Dr.InderJit Singh assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Coal at ShastriBhawan office, New Delhi.  An Indian-American woman, Dhivya Suryadevara named the Chief Finance Officer of the US’ largest automaker, General Motors.  Giorgi Kvirikashvili, PM of Georgia, has announced his resignation amid a disagreement with BidzinaIvanishvili, the leader of the ruling party.

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 Colombia's youngest ever PresidentIvan Duque to be its next president after a long & divisive campaign.  J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti submitted her resignation to the Governor after BJP announced to pull out of an alliance with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).  BJP's General Secretary Ram Madhav also called for Governor's rule in Jammu & Kashmir.  India’s second largest ICICI Bank board has appointed ICICI Prudential Life Insurance CEOSandeep Bakhshi as whole-time director & chief operating officer (COO).  N.S. Kannan has been appointed as CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance for five years.  An IAS office AmitKhare assumed charge as Secretary in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on superannuation of Narendra Kumar Sinha.  Giuseppe Conte sworn in as PM of Italy’s new populist government.  Fr.NIA Chief Sharad Kumar has appointed vigilance commissioner in the probity watchdog CVC.

R.A.C.E  President Ram NathKovind gave West Bengal Governor Keshari NathTripathi additional charge of Tripura Governor.  Spanish Socialist Pedro Sanchez has been sworn in as the country's new PM by King Felipe.  In Egypt, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was sworn in for a second four-year term in office as the country faces major economic & security challenges.  The Centre has appointed MK Jain, Managing Director, & CEO of IDBI Bank, as the RBI’s Deputy Governor.  Tata AIA Life announced that its board has appointed Rishi Srivastava as the new chief executive officer and managing director.  The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) announced the appointment of Surendra Rosha as Chief Executive Officer for HSBC India, subject to regulatory approvals.  Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been elected as Mexico's President with over 53% of the vote, according to the country's electoral commission.

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 Chennai-based United India Insurance Company announced the appointment of K B Vijay Srinivas as its Director and General Manager.  Senior bureaucrat Saraswati Prasad has taken over the additional charge as chairman and managing director of steel PSU Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).  P K Shrivastava took over the reins of the Ordnance Factory Board as its new Director General and Chairman.  Payments Council of India (PCI) has announced the appointment of Vishwas Patel, CEO of Infibeam Avenues, as its new chairman. It has also announced the appointment of Loney Antony, MD, Hitachi Payment Services, as its new co-chairman.  UttamDhillon, an Indian-American top White House lawyer, has been appointed as the new head of the crucial Drug Enforcement Agency that combats the smuggling and use of narcotics in the US.  UN Gen Antonio Guterres appointed a veteran Uruguayan Army official Major General José EladioAlcain as head of the United Nations mission tasked with monitoring the ceasefire line between India and Pakistan.

R.A.C.E  Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, who retired from the Supreme Court of India has been appointed as the new Chairperson of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).  Brexit Secretary David Davis has resigned from the UK government.  Dr.SandeepSancheti, Vice Chancellor of SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST) has assumed charge as the 97th President of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), New Delhi.  British PM Theresa May appointed Jeremy Hunt as Foreign Secretary.  VP, India and the President of Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), M. Venkaiah Naidu has appointed Dr. T.C.A. Raghavan as the Director General, ex-officio Member- Secretary of the Council, ICWA.  Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki was given the additional charge of Himachal Pradesh.  Bhushan Steel has approved the appointment of TV Narendran as Chairman and Non- Executive Additional Director of the company.

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 Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President BrijBhushan Saran Singh is set to be named the Chef de Mission of the Asian Games-bound Indian contingent. The four deputy Chefs de Mission are BS Kushwaha, RK Sacheti, DK Singh & Colonel RK Swain.  Balesh Sharma takes over as Vodafone Idea's first CEO.  Veteran Indian development economist Satya S Tripathi has been appointed as the Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) by UN Chief Antonio Guterres.  The Centre appointed renowned scientist, Dr G Satheesh Reddy, as Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Secretary in Department of Defence Research & Development (DDR&D).  Industry chamber Assocham appointed former bureaucrat Uday Kumar Varma as its new Secretary General.  Union Minister ArunJaitley is back as the Finance Minister after a three-month interval to recuperate from a kidney transplant surgery.  Film actor Shri Akshay Kumar appointed as the Road Safety Brand Ambassador.

R.A.C.E  IAS officer K S Srinivas has taken over as Chairman of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA).  Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has been re-elected for a five-year term after winning a landslide in a runoff ballot.  Colorado Party’s Mario Abdo Benitez was sworn in as the new President of Paraguay for a five-year term.  Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan took oath as Pakistan's new Prime Minister.  Infosys Chief Financial Officer MD Ranganath, a veteran of nearly two decades at India’s second-largest software services company, has abruptly stepped down from his position.  Subhash Sheoratan Mundra has been appointed as Independent Director on the Board of Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd (IBHFL) for a period of three years.  Supreme Court will have three serving women judges for the first time, after the Centre cleared the elevation of Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee. The other two

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judges are R Banumathi, appointed in August 2014, and InduMalhotra, appointed in April 2018.  PepsiCo CEO IndraNooyi will step down in October after serving for 12 years as the top boss at the global New Appointments 5 beverage giant, PepsiCo. She will be succeeded by company President Ramon Laguarta.  Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa narrowly won the country’s landmark election in Zimbabwe.  Farm and construction equipment maker Escorts appointed Nikhil Nanda as the chairman and managing director (MD) of the company.  The nominating committee of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has selected Ajay Data, Founder & CEO of Data XGen Plus and a global leader in email linguistic services, as a new council member of Country Code Supporting Organisation (ccNSO).  United India Insurance Company announced the appointment of S Gopakumar as its Director and General Manager with immediate effect.

R.A.C.E  Justice Rajendra Menon was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court by Lt Governor Anil Baijal at a ceremony held at the Raj Niwas in New Delhi.  NDA candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh was elected the RajyaSabha Deputy Chairman with 125 votes.  Ivan Duque was sworn in as the newly elected President of Colombia.  UN Gen Antonio Guterres has chosen former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to be the UN’s new human rights chief.  Smt. Justice ManjulaChellur took Oath as Chairperson, Appellate Tribunal for Electricity, Ministry of Power.  Vikram Misri has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to China.  Technology giant Google has appointed its privacy lawyer, Keith Enright, as Chief Privacy Officer.  Opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won the Maldives' presidential election, a surprise defeat for President Abdulla Yameen.

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 Renowned scientist Kamlesh NilkanthVyas has been appointed the secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy&chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission.  Tajinder Mukherjee has taken over as the Chairman & Managing Director of National Insurance Company Limited (NICL).  Actors Varun Dhawan & Anushka Sharma have been signed on to promote & endorse the Skill India Mission.  Moutaz Mousa Abdallah has become Sudan’s new PM.  President of India has appointed Justice RanjanGogoi as the 46th Chief Justice of India.  HDFC Life appointed VibhaPadalkar as its new managing director & CEO for a period of three year  Binoy Kumar has taken over as Secretary, Ministry of Steel.  WPP Plc, the world’s largest communication services group, announced the appointment of Mark Read as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Executive Director (ED).  India retained the top WHO position in South-East Asia Region with Dr PoonamKhetrapal Singh unanimously re-elected as Regional Director.

R.A.C.E  Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) roped in Indian boxer MC Mary Kom as its brand ambassador for two years.  State Bank of India (SBI) has appointed Anshula Kant as MD of the Bank.  Axis Bank appointed Amitabh Chaudhry as MD & CEO from 1st Jan, 2019. He is MD & CEO of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company at present.  Ajit Mohan has been appointed as the Managing Director (MD) and Vice President of the Facebook (India wing).  Jayant Mammen Mathew (Executive Editor of MalayalaManorama) has been elected as the President of the Prestigious Indian Newspaper Society for the year 2018-19.  Navin Gurnaney has been appointed as CEO of Tata Starbucks.  Iraq's parliament elected a veteran Kurdish politician BarhamSalih as the country's new president.  WNBA leader Lisa Borders became the first CEO of Time's Up.  Gita Gopinath was the first woman to be appointed as head of IMF's research department.

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 ICICI Bank board has elevated Chief Operating Officer (COO) SandeepBakhshi as the new MD and CEO for five years.  Senior diplomat Sanjay Verma has been appointed as India's Ambassador to Spain.  ArindamBagchi has been appointed as the next Indian Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia.  Pankaj Sharma has been appointed as the ambassador and India’s permanent representative to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament (UNCD) in Geneva, Switzerland.  Rakesh Sharma has been appointed as managing director (MD) and Chief executive officer (CEO) of IDBI bank for a period of six months.  Srinivasan Swamy has been appointed as the chairman of the International Advertising Association (IAA).  Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the United Nations resigned directly to US President Donald Trump.  Senior Advocate Tushar Mehta has been appointed as the new Solicitor General of India.

R.A.C.E  The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) chief resigns amid detention in China -MengHongwei.  SeniorVice-President of Interpol's Executive Committee, Kim Jong Yang of South Korea, will be instated as the acting President.  Dr. ShekharMande has been appointed as the Director General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Secretary of the Department of Scientific and Research (DSIR).  Min of State Mobashar Jawed Akbar has resigned from his post in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment made by several women against him.  Chief of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) for a period of three years was Priyank Kanoongo.  M Nageshwar Rao has been appointed as interim Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director with immediate effect.  Veteran banker Satish Kumar Gupta has been appointed as MD and CEO of Paytm Payments Bank.

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 The four-member GoM headed by the Rajnath Singh will examine the existing provisions for dealing with sexual harassment of women in offices.  Fr. SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya has been appointed as an Independent Director of IT company – Wipro.  Justice Naresh Harish chandra ‘Patil’ sworn-in as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.  Ethiopian members of parliament have elected Sahle-Work Zewde as the country's first female President.  Far-right party candidate JairBolsonaro has won the Presidency of Latin America’s largest nation Brazil.  The government has appointed Indian Revenue Service officer Sanjay Kumar Mishra as Enforcement Directorate chief.  Senior IPS officer S SDeswal has been appointed the chief of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).  Indian actor AnupamKher has resigned as the chairman of the Film and Television

R.A.C.E Institute of India (FTII) citing commitments to an international TV show in the U.S.  Senior diplomat Gaddam Dharmendra has been appointed India's Ambassador to Iran.  Justice Sanjay Kumar Seth sworn in as the 24th Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.  D V Sadananda Gowda takes additional charge of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers.  Ashok Chawla steps down as Yes Bank chairman.  Justice Amareshwar PratapSahi sworn in as Chief Justice of Patna High Court. The oath of office was administered by Bihar governor LaljiTandon.  UIDAI head Ajay BhushanPandey to be next Revenue Secretary.  Jalaj Srivastava has been appointed as chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).  Kim Jong Yang (South Korea) has been elected as the Interpol President for two-year term.  Senior IAS officer Vijay Kumar Dev has been appointed as the chief secretary of Delhi.

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 Nahid Afrin has been appointed as the first 'Youth Advocate' of the north eastern region by the UNICEF to fight for child rights.  Sunil Arora has been appointed the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India.  Ranbir Singh has been appointed as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi.  Shri A.M. Naik has been appointed as the Chairman of National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.  Emmy nominated British actress Millie Bobby Brown has been appointed as UNICEF’s newest Goodwill Ambassador.

UNICEF Youth Ambassadors: Name Profession Ambassador

Wang Yuan (Roy Wang), 18 Singer (China) UNICEF China year Hima Das (18- year) Athlete (India) UNICEF India

HinnaAsefiWardak (15 year) Television presenter R.A.C.E(Afghanistan) UNICEF Afghanistan SonamWangchen (16- year) Singer, songwriter and musician (Bhutan) UNICEF Bhutan El Sistema The National Children's Orchestra of Venezuela UNICEF Venezuela (Venezuela)  New Finance Secretary of India was Ajay Narayan Jha.  International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has appointed its new CEO Jon Ridgeon.  Former Indian diplomat Preeti Saran elected to UN's Socio-Economic Cultural panel.  New Chief Economic Adviser for three years Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian.  New Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the New India Assurance for a period of five years AtulSahai.  RashtriyaLokSamta Party (RLSP) chief has resigned from the Union council of ministers Upendra Kushwaha.  Myntra’s chief executive office (CEO) has resigned from his role with his position set to be abolished Ananth Narayanan. Head Office - Chennai: Mob: 9043303030 / 7601808080| Madurai | Trichy | Salem | Coimbatore | Chandigarh | Bangalore| Erode |Namakkal |Puducherry |Thanjavur| Trivandrum| Ernakulam |Tirunelveli | Vellore | Official Website: www.raceinstitute.in| Official Blog:www.bankersdaily.in 75 Chennai RACE Coaching Institute Pvt Ltd

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 Former economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das has been appointed as the 25th governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for period of three years.  Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Chief took oath as the Chief Minister of the youngest state in the country, Telangana K Chandrasekhar Rao.  New president of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Society and Chairman of Governing Council Brijendra Pal Singh.  New Vice-Chair of the UN Panel of Auditors Rajiv Mehrishi.

SUMMITS

 PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Global Investors Summit 2018 - & ‘Advantage Assam’ in Guwahati.  India-Russia Agriculture Business Summit was held in New Delhi. India- Russia Agriculture Business Summit was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.  PM NarendraModi, inaugurated the 2018 edition of the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS 2018) at VigyanBhawan in New Delhi. Theme –‘Partnerships for a Resilient

R.A.C.E Planet’.  PM Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address at the 4th Global Business Summit in New Delhi. Theme - ‘New Economy, New Rules’.  PM NarendraModiaddressed the 2nd India-Korea Business Summit in New Delhi. Theme -"India-Korea: Scaling up the Special Strategic Relationship through Trade and Investments".  India is to host the first International Solar Alliance (ISA) Summit on 11th March 2018, in Delhi. French President Emanuel Macron will participate in the event.  Asia's largest startup ecosystem congregation, Huddle Kerala, will be held at Kovalam.  The Global Logistics Summit was held in New Delhi. It was organised by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, along with FICCI & the World Bank Group.  The two-day Assam Spring Festival began at the Manas National Park  Tripura hosted the first meeting of the NITIForum for NorthEast- a unit of NITI Aayog in Agartala.

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 Bidya Devi Bhandari inaugurated an International Conference on Human Rights forSouth Asia in Kathmandu.  An international conference on ‘Water, Environment & Climate Change: Knowledge Sharing & Partnership’ started in Kathmandu, Nepal.  PM Narendra Modi inaugurated 16th International Energy Forum Ministerial Meeting in New Delhi. It is hosted by India & co-hosted by China & Korea.  India Mobile Congress will be held in Oct 2018 at Aerocity in New Delhi organized by Department of Telecommunications & Cellular Operators Association of India.  The 7th edition of Home Expo India 2018, organised by Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), was inaugurated at India Expo Centre & Mart in Greater Noida.  Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM 2018) has begun in London, UK. PM Narendra Modi will take part in the event .Theme -'Towards a Common Future'.  Ministry of External Affairs in cooperation with the Government of Germany & the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) hosted theIndia-Wiesbaden Conference 2018 in New-Delhi.

R.A.C.E  The 1st meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan was held today in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITIAayog.  Taipei World Trade Centre (TWTC) launched its office in Delhi, ahead of Taiwan’s first ever expo in Delhi in May 2018.  Suresh Prabhu, the commerce & industry minister, held the 1ste-commerce think tank meeting in New Delhi.  External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj co-chaired the 6th round of India-Mongolia Joint Consultative Committee meeting with her Mongolian counterpart DamdinTsogtbaatar in Ulaanbaatar.  India-Nepal Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) meeting started in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Indian side is led by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia.  Manipur's Shirui Lily Festival 2018 was concluded at Ukhrul district. The festival was sponsored by thedepartment of tourism, Manipur to spread awareness about conservation of the endangered Shirui Lily.

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 3rd Mission Innovation Ministerial Meeting was held at Malmo, Sweden. The Indian delegation was led by Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science, Technology and Earth Sciences.  For the first time, an international rail coach expo, displaying rail coaches and train-sets held in Chennai.  Minister of State for Culture, Dr Mahesh Sharma led the Indian delegation to the 15th Meeting of the Cultural Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States held in Sanya, China.  President Kovind inaugurated the Udyam Sangam-2018 in New Delhi. It is a step forward towards consolidating the convergence & synergy of all the government initiatives relating to MSME Sector. He also launched the Solar Charkha Mission and a portal “Sampark”  15th India-Australia Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) was held in Canberra, Australia. The meeting was jointly chaired by Suresh Prabhu & Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism & Investment Steven Ciobo.  PM Modi inaugurated 3rd annual meeting of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

R.A.C.E (AIIB) at Mumbai's National Centre for the Performing Arts. The theme was "Mobilising finance for infrastructure: innovation & collaboration".  The three-day annual Sindhu Darshan Festival celebrations on the bank of Indus River started in Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir.  The 3rd Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has begun in Mumbai. The theme was "Mobilising Finance for Infrastructure: Innovation & Collaboration".  An International Conference on Information & Communication Technology (ICT) will be held in Kathmandu. The Theme was “Sustainable Development Goals for Smart Society”.  11th World Hindi Conference held in Mauritiuswith an aim to increase thepopularity of Hindi globally. The main theme of theConference is ‘Hindi VishwaAurBharatiySanskriti’.  15th annual Asia & Oceania Region Inter- Governmental Ministerial meeting on anti- dopingwas held in Colombo  44th G7 summit was held on June 8–9, 2018, in Quebec, Canada.

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 The first meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Committee on Border Haats concluded in Agartala, Tripura 3rd BRICS Film Festival took place in Durban, South Africa, along with the International Durban Film Festival (DIFF). The last day of the festival (27th July) was celebrated as India Country Day.  NITI Aayog, in collaboration with various ministries and industry partners, is organising ‘MOVE: Global Mobility Summit’ in New Delhi in September 2018.  HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the 17th World Sanskrit Conference held at Vancouver, Canada. The purpose of this conference is to promote, preserve and practice the Sanskrit language all over the world by the people.  Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) organised a two-day International Round Table Conference on 'Data for New India' in New Delhi. The objective was to identify innovative ideas for improving the statistical system in India.  The first India Tourism Mart will be organized in New Delhi in September 2018 to create a global tourism mart for India on lines of major international travel marts.  Ministry of Mines organized the 4th National Conclave on Mines & Minerals at Indore,

R.A.C.E Madhya Pradesh.  Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu co-chaired 8th session of India-Oman Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) along with his counterpart Dr Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy.  The 28th meeting of the GST Council chaired by interim finance minister PiyushGoyal was held in New Delhi. The GST Council has exempted sanitary napkins from Goods and Services Tax. Earlier, there was a 12% levy of tax on sanitary napkins.  8th BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting was held at Durban, South Africa. Indian deligation was led by Mr J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare. He stated that India is committed to eliminating TB by 2025.  4th BIMSTEC Summit will be held in Kathmandu, Nepal. The announcement in this regard was made by Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.  Union Minister of Commerce& Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, is leading the Indian delegation for the 6th RCEP Trade Ministers’ Meeting which has begun in Singapore.

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 The third edition of World’s Biggest Open Innovation Model - Smart India Hackathon 2019 - was launched by the Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi.  President Ram NathKovind inaugurated the International Buddhist Conclave in New Delhi. The theme of the conclave is 'Buddha Path – The Living Heritage'.  The 11th World Hindi Conference held in Port Louis the capital of Mauritius.  NITI Aayog to host an Investors’ Conference at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra for the Holistic Development of Islands. It will be inaugurated by Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog.  In the 29th meeting, GST council approves cash incentives to promote Digital transactions. FM announced 20% Cash back upto Rs.100 for the Digital Transactions done via BHIM, Rupay or USSD mode.  NITI Aayog’s International Conference on “Sustainable Growth through Material Recycling: Policy Prescriptions” inaugurated by Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi.  NITI Aayog has identified 117 districts as ‘Aspirational Districts’. These districts have been selected on the basis of composite index which includes published data of deprivation

R.A.C.E enumerated under Socio-Economic Caste Census, Health &Nutrition, Education and Basic Infrastructure.  Minister of State for Culture (I/C), Environment Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Mahesh Sharma inaugurated an exhibition entitled ‘Prathibandhit Sahityamein Swatantrata Sangram’ (Freedom Movement through Proscribed Literature) in the premises of National Archives of India, in New Delhi.  3-day Kalahandi Dialogue, a global conclave on development launched by CM Naveen Patnaik. It aimed to involve youth in development activities.  In Madhya Pradesh, the first corn festival of the country is being held in Chhindwara.  J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare addressed at the ‘High Level Meeting on Tuberculosis at 73rd session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at New York’.  Vice president M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated Smart City Expo India-2018 in Jaipur.  Union Minister for Railways & Coal, PiyushGoyal inaugurated the ‘first ever’ India Tourism Mart (ITM 2018)  The Global Climate Action Summit 2018 was held at San Francisco, California, United States.

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 Commerce & Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu participated in G-20 trade & investment ministerial meeting at Mar del Plata in Argentina.  Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing & Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurated the first regional workshop on RERA (Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act) in Pune.  Ministry of AYUSH will organize the first National Summit on Invest in AYUSH at Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.  The sustainable mountain development summit VII held in Shimla. Integrated Mountain Initiative in New Delhi and Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology and Environment in Shimla have joined hands with Shoolini University of Solan to organise the summit.  INS Rana has participated in the inaugural edition of Indian Navy & Indonesian Navy Bilateral Exercise Samudra Shakti.  The two-days global cooling innovation summit will be held in New Delhi.

R.A.C.E INDIA’S RANK IN VARIOUS INDICES

Index Index released by India's Rank 1stRank Global Phosphorous Water Resources Research 2nd China Pollution Index World Migration Report UN 1st India E-commerce Development UN 96th Denmark Index 2018 Global Competitiveness The World Economic Forum 58th US Index 2018 E-commerce Development UN 96th Denmark Index 2018 Global Liveability Index The Economist Intelligence Delhi 112th Rank Austria's Capital 2018 Unit(EIU) and Mumbai Vienna 117th Rank Global Inovation index The World Intellectual Property 57th Switzerland Head Office - Chennai: Mob: 9043303030 / 7601808080| Madurai | Trichy | Salem | Coimbatore | Chandigarh | Bangalore| Erode |Namakkal |Puducherry |Thanjavur| Trivandrum| Ernakulam |Tirunelveli | Vellore | Official Website: www.raceinstitute.in| Official Blog:www.bankersdaily.in 81 Chennai RACE Coaching Institute Pvt Ltd

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2018 Organisations(WIPO) Human Capital Score World Bank 158th Finland World Inequalty Index Oxfam 147th Denmark Commonwealth innovation WIPO and GII 10th UK index Global Economic Freedom American think-tank 130th Hong Kong Index Environmental World Economic Forum 177th Switzerland Performance Index 2018 Index of Talent Adecco, Insead, Tata 81st Switzerland Competitiveness Communications List of Wealthiest New World Wealth 6th USA countries Global Democracy Index EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit) 42nd Norway Corruption Perception Transparency International 81st New Zealand Index

Inclusive Internet Index EIU (Economist IntelligenceR.A.C.E Unit) 47th Sweden International Intellectual US Chambers of Commerce 44th USA Property Index MIWE (MasterCard Index MasterCard 52nd New Zealand of Women Entrepreneurs) World Happiness report UN Sustainable Development 133rd Finland Solutions Network Ease of Doing Business World Bank 77th New Zealand Global manufacturing World Economic Forum 30th Japan Index Inclusive Development World Economic Forum 62nd Norway (Advanced) Index Lithuania (Emerging) Energy Transition Index World Economic Forum 78th Sweden Worst New-born Mortality UNICEF 12th Japan Rate

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Hurun Global Rich List Hurun Research Institute 3rd China 2018 – Highest Number of Billionaires Global Climate Risk Index German watch 6th Haiti Global Hunger Index IFPRI (International Food Policy 103rd Belarus (GHI) Research Institute) Countries facing web- Kaspersky Lab 33rd borne threats Global Gaming Installs Unity Technologies 3rd Vacation Deprivation Expedia 5th South Korea Report 2017 Most targeted for Web Akamai Technologies 7th Applications attack Climate change German watch 14th Sweden performance index Largest Overseas holder of US Treasury Department 12th China

US Government Securities R.A.C.E Index of cheapest GoBankingRates 2nd South Africa countries to live or retire 2017 Military strength Global Firepower 4th USA ranking Global Gender Gap Index World Economic Forum 108th Iceland 2017 World talent Ranking IMD 51st Switzerland Most Attractive Market for PwC 5th USA Investments – surveys of CEOs Best countries for Business Forbes 62nd UK Global Tuberculosis Report WHO 1st 2017 Nations Brand 2017 – Brand Finance 8th USA Most Valuable

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Government at a Glance OECD (Organization for Economic 3rd Switzerland Report 2017 Corporation and Development) Countries with highest CARE ratings 5th Greece NPAs Highest public binge Netflix 2nd Mexico watching Passport Index Arton Capital 75th Singapore Global Pharmaceuticals LinkedIn 2nd and Biotechnology Workforce Melbourne Mercer Global Australian Centre for Financial 28th Denmark Pension Index 2017 Studies (ACFS) Pollution and Health – The Lancet 1st Pollution related deaths CS Family 1000 – Number Credit Suisse Research Institute 3rd China of Family owned businesses R.A.C.E IMD Competitiveness International Institute for 44th US Rankings Management Development (IMD) Global Wealth Migration AfrAsia Bank Global Wealth 6th United States Review 2018 Migration India Solar Market Mercom Communications 3rd China Leaderboard 2018 Asia Pacific on Power Lowy Institute and Australian think 4th US Index tank FDI Confidence Index Global consultant AT Kearney 11th United States 2018 Worldwide military Stockholm International Peace 5th US spending Research Institute (SIPRI) Global Urban Air Pollution World Health Organisation (WHO) 14 Indian cities India database Family-Owned Businesses Credit Suisse Research Institutes 3 China

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(CSRI) Most valuable nation Brand Finances 8 United States brand Tuberculosis (TB) cases Global Health Observatory 1 India Gender Gap World Economic Forum 108 Iceland Migrants living abroad UN DESA 1 India Largest Importer of LPG 2 China The vulnerable country in Germanwatch 6 Haiti the world facing extreme weather events Business optimism index Grant Thornton's International 7 Indonesia Business Pollution-related deaths The Lancet Commission 1 India Inclusive Development World Economic Forums 62 Lithuania Index Global talent World Economic Forum 81 Switzerland competitiveness index R.A.C.E Global manufacturing World Economic Forum 30 Japan index. Global connectivity index Huaweis Global Connectivity 43 US, Singapore and Sweden World press freedom index Reporters Without Borders 136 Norway, Sweden and Finland Global Innovation Index Cornell University, INSEAD, and 60 Switzerland, the World Intellectual Property Netherland Organization Travel and Tourism World Economic Forum (WEF) 40 Spain, France and competitiveness index Germany Quality Nationality Index Henley & Partners – Kochenov 101 Germany Renewable energy 4 China attractiveness index Global milk production 1 India

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Index Healthcare index Lancet 154 Switzerland Consumer confidence University of Michigan 1 India index Global retail development A.T. Kearneys Global Retail 1 India index Development Network readiness index World Economic Forum's 91 Singapore Forest and Tree Cover Food and Agriculture Organizations 8th

SCHEMES & PORTALS  ‘SRIJAN’ (Station Rejuvenation through Joint Action), an idea competition, in a move to redevelop nearly 600 major railway stations in India, was announced at MyGov portal. It was launched by Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation Limited (IRSDC).  In a major step to give a big push towards the ease of doing business in Punjab, the state government has launched a "Business First PortalR.A.C.E ".  The Prime Minister Modi also launched the “Main Nahin Hum” Portal and App . The portal which works on the theme "Self for Society" .  Delhi Police Commissioner launches e-learning portal -- NIPUN. The e-learning portal aims at imparting online training and information through specialized courses designed by experts.  The Union Ministers Suresh Prabhu and JayantSinha jointly launched the upgraded version of web portal and mobile app -- AirSewa2.0.  The Andhra Pradesh Government has launched ‘Bhuseva’ and ‘Bhudaar’ web portal through which people can view land records online usingAadhaar card.  To increase transparency and build transport solutions, the transport department of the Delhi government has launched the Open Transit Data platform.  Kerala Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan launched the M-Kerala app, at #Future, Kerala’s first- ever global digital summit held in Kochi.It has mobile payment options. Theme “Towards a Digital Future”.

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 PM Modi launched three Indian digital payment systems - RuPay, BHIM app &UPI by SBI at the 'Business, Innovation & Community Event' in Singapore.  Goa Chief Minister ManoharParrikar and Tourism Minister ManoharAjgaonkar flagged off the Goa Tourism Development Corporation’s app-based taxi service called ‘GOAMILES’ in Panaji.  Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad released the document ‘Digital NorthEast Vision 2022’ in Guwahati, Assam.  The Indian Air Force (IAF) has launched an innovative mobile health App named for citizens of India MedWatch.  The Election Commission of India (ECI) has introduced a unique Internet- based mobile app C-vigil in the upcoming assembly polls to help citizen to give information regarding electoral malpractices.  Indian film actor who launched a safety app ‘Raudram’ to ensure the safety of women in the city is Kamal Haasan.  The Ministry of Railways has launched the ‘Unreserved Mobile Ticketing’ facility (UTS on

R.A.C.E Mobile) to enable seamless booking of unreserved tickets in all Zonal Railways. It is available through the ‘UTSONMOBILE’ app.  Assam Chief Minister SarbanandaSonowal launched ‘ChahBagicharDhanPuraskarMela 2017-18’ at a function held at SarbanandaSingha auditorium in Tinsukia, Assam. Under this scheme people belonging to tea community who opened bank accounts during demonetisation will be credited Rs 2500 in their accounts  Power and Renewable Energy Minister, R K Singh stated that, government will implement a Rs 140000-crore KisanUrjaSurakshaevamUtthaanMahaabhiyan (KUSUM) scheme as announced in Union Budget 2018 to promote use of solar energy for pumps and encourage use of barren land for setting up decentralised solar power plants  Central Government announced that it has approved the construction of over 1.86 lakh more houses for urban poor under the PradhanMantriAwasYojana (Urban) scheme. With this approval, total number of affordable houses sanctioned under this scheme has reached 39.25 lakhs.

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 Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister NarendraModi has given its approval to introduce  Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2018 and Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2018.  The Union territory of Lakshadweep joined UDAY (Scheme Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana) Scheme, by which it will receive an overall net benefit of around Rs. 8 crore through the UDAY Scheme.  Odisha government launched 'Khushi', a scheme that offers free sanitary pads to 17 lakh girl students from class 6 to 12 studying in all government and government –aided schools & will also provide sanitary pads at a subsidised price to rural women.  Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the 'MukhyamantriMahilaKosh' scheme that will offer pension to unmarried women above 50 years of age.  Union Ministry of Power partnered with the Union Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship to train speedy implementation of SAUBHAGYA scheme. It aims to achieve

R.A.C.E universal household electrification in all parts of India  Telangana government introduced RythuBandhu, a scheme to provide Rs. 4, 000 per acre each to landowning farmers for Rabi &Kharif seasons, & issued special passbooks for them.  POSHAN (PM’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment) Abhiyaan was launched by PM in March 2018 at Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan  Madhya Pradesh government has announced an outstanding power bill waiver scheme for laborers& poor families, Bijli Bill MafiYojana 2018 (Power Bill Waiver Scheme) which is expected to benefit about 77 lakh people of the state.  Actress KanganaRanaut and Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh launched a smartphone distribution scheme called 'Mobile Tihar' under Sanchar KrantiYojna.  In a bid to boost PM Modi's flagship 'Digital India' campaign, Rajasthan government will soon distribute mobile phones to women under the BhamashahYojana.  Assam state Govt. has launched Wage Compensation Scheme for Pregnant Women in tea gardens. The scheme will provide better health and nutrition supplements to the pregnant women. An amount of Rs. 12, 000 (in 4 instalments).

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 The Karnataka Department of Social Welfare has launched a scheme Unnati to foster entrepreneurs working on rural and social impact technologies from SC/ST background.  Union Minister for Food Processing Industries SmtHarsimratKaurBadal has inaugurated the Gujarat’s firstmega food park inaugurated in Surat.  Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh launched a start-up scheme YuvaSahakar to encourage youth to join cooperative business ventures in agriculture and allied sectors.  The Kerala Government has launched the ‘Cow SamridhiPlus Scheme’ to provide insurance coverage to dairy farmers in the state.  The state government of West Bengal introduced a new scheme called “Rupashree‟ in order to provide marriage assistance to girls coming from economically weaker families with a budgetary allocation of Rs 1500 crore.  The Union Minister for Railways & Coal Shri Piyush Goyal launched UTTAM App for Coal Quality Monitoring. UTTAM stands for – Unlocking Transparency by Third Party Assessment of Mined Coal.  Tamil Nadu government has come out with a mobile application named 'Uzhavan' (farmer)

R.A.C.E app that will allow ryots to have access to nine types of services.  Haryana government launched the 'Gobardhan Yojana' to provide for the sale of organic manure & cow urine with an aim to benefit farmers.  Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb launched the state component of Pradhanmantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PMKVY) in Agartala. Tripura is the first state in the North East to implement the state component of PMKVY through Directorate of Skill Development (DSD).  Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) scheme in Delhi & distributed new LPG connections & cylinders to beneficiaries. Target under this scheme has been increased from the existing 5 crore connections to 8 crore connections by 2020.  Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched 'Project Dhoop', an initiative aimed at shifting the school assembly time to noon to ensure maximum absorption of Vitamin D in students through natural sunlight.  Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched the web-based application e-FRRO (e-Foreigners Regional

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 Registration Office) scheme under which foreigners can avail, various visa & immigration- related services online.  Launching the ‘Gram Swaraj Abhiyan’ in Telangana, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated the number of LPG distribution points in the State will be increased to 1, 000 from the existing 707 for quicker & efficient delivery of gas cylinders.  Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha launched the DARPAN (Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office for a New India)-PLI App, which will help in collection of premium for Postal Life Insurance (PLI) & Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) policies at Branch Post Offices anywhere in India.  Indian Government has launched the ‘Study in India’ initiative to attract international students to study in India. The website of Study in India can be accessed at www.studyinindia.gov.in.  Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has launched a health scheme of the Assam government named Atal Amrit Abhiyan that offers free medical care of up to 2 lakh rupees for every individual from Below Poverty Schemes Launched Line (BPL) & Above Poverty Line (APL)

R.A.C.E families.  Gujarat police unveiled the Pocket Cop project, which will enable quicker verification of passport applicants, & search of accused persons, among others.  Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched integration of e-SANAD portal & NAD – National Academic Depository in a bid to make education system in India more transparent.  Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a restructured Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan scheme aimed at making rural local bodies more efficient. PM Narendra Modi will launch scheme in Mandla in Madhya Pradesh on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day.  Hardeep Puri, Minister of State for Housing & Urban Affairs (I/C) launched a Mobile App (m-Awas) for allotment of Government accommodations in General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) in Delhi under the control of the Directorate of Estates. The application has been developed by NIC.

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 Ministry of Human Resource Development, HRD launched the second edition of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan under which students from 750 higher educational institutions from across the country will adopt villages & visit them.  PM Narendra Modi launched the Van Dhan Scheme of Ministry of Tribal Affairs & TRIFED, during the celebrations of Ambedkar Jayanti at Bijapur, Chattisgarh.  PM Narendra Modi has launched a survey on the NaMo App, asking people to rate the Schemes Launched performance of the government at the Centre and MPs and MLAs in their constituencies.  Union Environment Minister Dr Harsh Vadhan launched the Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP) with an aim to train over 5.5 lakh workers in environment and forest sectors in the country.  CM of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched 'My MP Rojgar Portal' to provide jobs to youths as per their educational qualification, skills and interest and ensure availability of able candidates to employers as per the need of their business.  Railway's Online Travel Portal, www.irctc.co.in has launched beta version of its new User

R.A.C.E Interface. By creating Next Generation e-Ticketing (NGeT) system the new online ticket booking system of Railways.  RK Singh, Minister of State for Power, launched the web portal and an app namely 'PRAAPTI' that stands for ‘Payment ratification and analysis in power procurement for bringing transparency in invoicing of generators’.  Union Minister for Drinking Water & Sanitation, Uma Bharti, launched the GOBAR (Galvanizing Organic BioAgro Resources)- DHAN scheme in Karnal, Haryana.  HRD Ministry launched a major & unique initiative of online professional development of 1.5 million higher education faculty using the Massive Open Online Courses platform SWAYAM.  Manipur CM N.Biren Singh launched 'Go to Village' mission throughout the state from Konuma ground. The mission was launched in 60 villages of all the 60 Assembly constituencies.  Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad launched the website of Digital India Internship Scheme in New Delhi.

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 Government notified the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 , aim is to integrate information technology Schemes Launched Technology Partnerships for Steering POSHAN Abhiyaan called 'TECH-THON'.  Union Minister of Commerce & Industry & Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu launched a mobile application called 'ReUnite' which helps to track & trace missing & abandoned children in India.  External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj launched the new Passport Seva App. Now, people can apply for a passport from any part of the country through the App. Ithas launched Mobile Passport Application on the occasion of Passport Seva Divas (26 June) in New Delhi.  Gujarat government launched a solar power scheme for farmers- Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) enabling them to generate electricity for their captive consumption as well as sell the surplus power to the grid & earn an extra buck.  President Ramnath Kovind will launch Solar CharkhaMission which will entail a subsidy of 550 crore rupees in the initial two years for 50 clusters. The scheme is aimed at linking five crore women & self-help groups to the initiative.  The Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) developed a mobile-based

R.A.C.E application ‘utsonmobile'. It enables booking & cancellation of unreserved tickets, issue & renewal of season & platform tickets, & other features.  Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar launched the National Digital Library of India (NDLI). The library will become a single window platform for all educational needs.  Telangana police launched a mobile-based messenger application named 'Cop Connect' dedicated to provide real-time information to over 60, 000 police officers across the State.  Punjab Government launched a mobile application named ‘i-Hariyali’ aimed at increasing the state's green cover. The mobile application would enable the users to order free plant saplings.  Income Tax Department issued a new reward scheme titled “Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018” to seek people’s participation in the Income Tax Department’s efforts to unearth black money & to reduce tax evasion.

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 Union Ministry of Culture introduced a new scheme called ‘Seva Bhoj Yojna’ to reimburse the central share of CGST & IGST on items for food/prasad/langar/bhandara offered free of cost by charitable religious institutions.  Ministry of Railways launched two mobile applications to ease the traveling experience named 'Rail MADAD' & 'Menu on Rails'. Rail MADAD will enable travelers to lodge complaints & Menu on Rails will facilitate seamless ordering of food.  India Meteorological Department (IMD) will use flash flood guidance system for the first time in the country to forecast floods. Currently, the Central Water Commission issues flood warnings.  Election Commission launched its online RTI Portal. The portal- rti.eci.nic.in will facilitate applicants seeking information under the Right to Information Act.  President Kovind distributed LPG connections to 20 beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in Agartala, Tripura. He also inaugurated 73 km long National Highway connecting Udaipur town in Gomati district & Sabroom in South Tripura.  The government announced the launch of 'Krishi Kalyan Abhiyaan' under which farmers in

R.A.C.E select villages will be given assistance & advice on ways to improve farming techniques & raise their income.  Union government announced a package of more than Rs 8, 000 crore aimed to provide relief to sugarcane farmers& to clear their dues. The government has also decided to ensure a minimum sale price of Rs 29/kg for sugar.  Ministry of Women and Child Development organized the 2nd meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar, NITI Aayog. It was declared that the month of September will be celebrated as National Nutrition Month every year.  Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched a contest, #Childline1098, inviting people to share images of the Childline 1098 logo that they spot at unique locations and send it with a tagline, to mark World Day against Trafficking in Persons.  CM of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik launched the 'Green Mahanadi Mission'. The main objective is to stop soil erosion on river banks and recharge the groundwater reserve.

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 The occasion of Guru Purnima, the Ministry of Human Resource Development organized a National Conference of Vice Chancellors & Directors of Higher Education Institutions of India in New Delhi. The theme was "Research and innovation in Higher Education”.  Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Radha Mohan Singh launched the Meghalaya Milk Mission in Shillong. The mission will facilitate in achieving the Centre’s goal of doubling farmer’s income by 2022 through the promotion of milk business in the state.  Indian Railways launched “Mission Satyanishtha‟ and a programme on Ethics in Public Governance, in a first-of-its-kind event.  Maharashtra government announced a new scheme called 'Kanya Van Samruddhi Yojana', wherein farmers families where girl children are born will be given saplings for plantation.  Delhi government launched 'Happiness Curriculum' for school students up to class 8. Dalai Lama, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy CM and education department in-charge Manish Sisodia were present at the occasion.  Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani launched 'Poshan Abhiyan'--a statewide mission to eradicate

R.A.C.E malnutrition among children by providing them nutritious food through Anganwadi centres. He also launched 'PURNA' project to eliminate malnutrition among girls in the age group of 14 to 18.  'PURNA' stands for Prevention of Under Nutrition and Reduction of Nutritional Anaemia among Adolescent Girls.  Union Minister of Coal, Railways, Finance & Corporate Affairs, Piyush Goyal launched the Coal Mine Surveillance & Management System (CMSMS) and Mobile Application “Khan Prahari‟ developed by CMPDI, Ranchi in New Delhi.  MP State Government launched an outstanding power bill waiver scheme and subsidised power scheme called “Sambal‟ for labourers and poor families. Under Sambal Yojana, BPL families would be provided electricity at a cost of Rs 200 per month.  Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani given in-principle approval for the 39-crore “Seema Darshan‟ project for developing more infrastructure facilities from T Junction to Zero Point at Nadabet near Suigam in Banaskantha district.  Haryana topped other states in per capita revenue collection under GST and is also the fourth highest generator of e-way bills in the country. The Finance Minister of Haryana Capt.

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Abhimanyu claimed Haryana has widened the tax base by 82.22% and logged 19% hike in revenue collections.  Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar launched the 'Paudhagiri' campaign with an aim to increase the green cover of 'maulsari' sapling in the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex premises of Gurgaon.  Chhattisgarh CM RamanSingh announced a Chhattisgarh Online Pension Management System an launched an app called “Abhar aapki sewa ka”. Through this application, 80, 000 pensioners of the state will now get all the information related to pension and payment online. Student Police Cadet (SPC)  CM of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu launched “e-Pragati core platform‟ at Undavalli. ePragati, a forward-looking digital initiative, is aimed Schemes Launched at connecting the citizen to 34 departments, 336 autonomous organisations and 745-plus services.  The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched the Student Police Cadet (SPC) programme for nationwide implementation at a ceremony in Gurugram, Haryana.  Minister for Science and Technology Dr Harsh Vardhan has unveiled the first of a kind Air

R.A.C.E Quality and Weather Forecast System, SAFAR at Chandni Chowk in New Delhi.  To promote a culture of innovation and research in higher education, HRD ministry launched the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARRIA) named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.  CCEA chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval for implementation of an umbrella scheme ‘Ocean Services, Technology, Observations, Resources Modelling and Science (O-SMART)’.  Former President Pranab Mukherjee launched the National Electoral Transformation (NETA) mobile application to rate Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs).  'Neta - Leaders' Report Card' App, the brainchild of 27-year-old entrepreneur Pratham Mittal. The Centre unveiled a draft scheme for extending the affordable air travel programme UDAN to international circuits, with state governments identifying the routes for operation.

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 The draft International Air Connectivity (IAC)scheme envisages to increase the international ticketing to 20 crores by 2027. As per the draft scheme, state governments will identify the routes to be connected, and airline operators.  Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan handed over 5 crores LPG connection under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) to Smt Takrdiran of Delhi. The 5-crore feat achieved in the time period of over 2 years.  Uttar Pradesh got the maximum number of LPG connections. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) launched a dedicated portal to connect cargo owners and shippers with real- time data on the availability of vessels. It is named as the Forum of Cargo Owners and Logistics Operators (FOCAL).  NITI Aayog launched Move Hack, a global mobility hackathon to crowdsource solutions aimed at the future of mobility in India. Govt. approved 122 new research projects of 112 crore rupees under its Impacting Research Innovation and Technology ‘IMPRINT-2’ scheme.  Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari launched Bidder Information Management System

R.A.C.E (BIMS) and Bhoomi Rashi and PFMS linkage - two IT initiatives of the Road Transport & Highways Ministry.  Recognizing the importance of reaching out to the consumers and to safeguard their interests, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has now integrated its Mobile Apps namely DND 2.0 & MyCall with UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) Platform.  Ministry of HRD has embarked on a major and new initiative Project called 'Study Webs of Active Schemes Launched Learning for Young Aspiring Minds' (SWAYAM), which will provide one integrated platform and portal for online courses.  Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Aviation Suresh Prabhu launched 'Niryat Mitra' – mobile App in New Delhi. It developed by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).  The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the ‘One District One Product’ Summit in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

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 The special emphasis was laid on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Under the ‘One District One Product’ scheme, the state government has set a goal of providing employment to 25 lakh people in five years through the financial assistance of Rs. 25, 000 crores.  Ministry of AYUSH has set up an AYUSH Information Cell at the premises of the Indian Embassy in Romania to disseminate authentic information about AYUSH system of medicine & encourage Ayurveda practice in Romania.  Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal launched the “Rail Heritage Digitisation Project‟ of Indian Railways in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture Association.  Union Minister for Tourism (IC), Mr. K.J. Alphons launched the “Incredible India Mobile App‟ & the “Incredible India Tourist Facilitators Certification” programme. He also announced that India will be the host country for official World Tourism Day celebrations for the UNWTO, in 2019.  National Mission on Government e Marketplace (GeM), launched by the Minister of Commerce & Industry, Suresh Prabhu. This was followed by the launch of the Mission in 19

R.A.C.E States & Union Territories.  Union Minister for Science & Technology & Earth Sciences & Environment, Forest & Climate change, Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated air pollution control device WAYU(Wind Augmentation PurifYing Unit) for traffic junctions at ITO intersection & Mukarba Chowk in Delhi.  PM Narendra Modi has launched Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana from Ranchi, Jharkhand. Under this scheme, over 10 crore families will be provided health assurance worth five lakh rupees each, every year.  Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba launched an online “e-Sahaj‟ portal for grant of Security Clearance. It will facilitate an applicant to submit application online & also to view the status of his application from time to time.  Government incorporated provision of penalties for States & Insurance Companies for the delay in settlement of insurance claims under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

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 PM Modi, launched the “Swachhata Hi Seva‟ Movement, to boost nationwide public participation Schemes Launched in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, & catalyse the fulfilment of Bapu’s dream of a Clean India.  The Union Cabinet approved new Umbrella Scheme 'Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan, PM-AASHA. The Scheme is aimed at ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers for their produce.  The Union cabinet approved a proposal for the complete electrification of Indian Railways by 2021- 22, reducing dependence on imported fossil fuel & saving revenue for the national carrier.  Govt. of Andhra Pradesh launched a mobile platform, e-Rythu (e-farmer in Telugu) which will enable small-scale farmers to market their produce at reasonable prices.  The platform has been developed by Mastercard Labs for Financial Inclusion in Nairobi, Kenya, & has been customized for India use by the Labs team based at Pune.  Minister of Railways & Coal, Piyush Goyal launched a web portal 'www.railsahyog.in'. It will provide a platform for the Corporates & PSUs to contribute to the creation of amenities at/near

R.A.C.E Railway Stations through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.  Union Government announced that the treatment of childhood cancer will be covered under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

 India successfully test-fired Agni-V, a surface to surface nuclear-capable ballistic missile from AbdulKalam Island off the Odisha coast.  Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, Minister of Women and Child Development inaugurated NARI, launched to provide women easy access to information on government schemes and various initiatives for women  Vidarbha has won the Ranji Trophy title for the first time by defeating Delhi in the final match at Holkar Stadium in Indore.  US space agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced that it would launch two missions GOLD and ICON during 2018 to explore the little-understood area of 96 km above Earth’s surface.  Haryana has become the first State in India to launch High Risk Pregnancy (HRP) Portal which helps in early identification of high-risk pregnant cases.  India’s Shiv Kapur won the title of the Royal Cup golf tournament at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club in Pattaya, Thailand.

R.A.C.E  Meghalaya has signed the Host City Contract with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to host the 39th National Games in 2022.  National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will launch Parker Solar Probe to explore Sun's outer atmosphere.  NASA scientists have discovered "SPT0615-JD", the farthest known galaxy in the universe.  INSVikramaditya, which is Indian Navy’s largest ship and the only aircraft carrier, has been formally affiliated to Indian Army’s Bihar Regiment and No.6 Squadron of the Indian Air Force.  Chinese scientists have created two monkeys named ZhongZhong and HuaHua through cloning for the first time in the world.  Union Minister of State (I/C) Youth Affairs and Sports Col Rajyavardhan Rathore launched Vibrant Khelo India logo at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. Khelo India logo has been designed by Ogilvy India.

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 Delhi Lieutenant GovernorAnil Baijal launched the ‘311 app’ at the Raj Niwas, in Delhi. This app aims to increase involvement of citizens in resolving grievances and improving civic services in Delhi.  GAIL India Ltd announced that it has commissioned India’s second largest rooftop solar power plant in Uttar Pradesh. It was installed at GAIL’s petrochemical complex at Pata in UP.  Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman announced that a Defence Innovation Centre would be set up by CODISSIA in Coimbatore, to assist small industries in manufacturing components for the defence sector.  Gujarat has toppedLogistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) index. It was released by Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Suresh Prabhu at the 3rd meeting of Council for Trade Development and Promotion.  An official delegation from South Korea and the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) signed am MoU. The MoU focuses on cooperation in automobile, defence and textiles sectors.

R.A.C.E  Central Government has successfully divested 2.52 % of paid-up capital in National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) for an amount of Rs. 1200 cr. Post this divestment, Government of India’s shareholding in NMDC has dropped down to 72.42% from 74.94%.  Kazakhstan has surpassed Iraq as the biggest oil over-producer in the pact between Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies to control oil output.  As per data released by global aviation body, International Air Transport Association (IATA), India topped the worldwide growth chart of domestic air passenger traffic (16.4 %) for the month of November 2017.  GAIL India will now be setting up ‘coal to synthesis gas’ conversion plants in Odisha. Announcement by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan.  Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister, Arun Jaitley launched India’s First Agri- commodity Options in Guar Seed on National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) platform in New Delhi. Guar seed will prove to be a useful tool for farmers in hedging the price fluctuation risk.

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 R.S. Puram Police station in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu credited as the best police station in India in SMART Police Stations initiative of Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). R.S. Puram Police Station House Officer T. Jothi, received the award from Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on January 6, 2018 .  The French government will present the "Legion of Honour" award to actor Soumitra Chatterjee. The award will be presented by French culture minister Francoise Nyssen, at the 42nd International Kolkata Book Fair.  The Matunga suburban station of Mumbai on the Central Railway (CR) appeared in the Limca Book of Records for comprising all-woman staff.  The annual survey of Gallup International conducted in 50 countries, PM Narendra Modi at 3rd rank and German chancellor Angela Merkel as 1st.  Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has become the first Indian company to cross the Rs. 6- lakh cr. mark in market capitalisation as its share price touched a 52-week high of Rs. 974.5 on January 22, 2018.  Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has borrowed Rs 4, 000 crore from ICICI

R.A.C.E Bank for a period of one year to acquire government’s 51.11 % stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL).  Central Government awarded 325 more routes to airlines as well as helicopter operators under its regional connectivity scheme, UDAN (Ude DeshKa Aam Nagrik).  National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) signed a MoU with SME Corporation Malaysia for cooperation in development of small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India and Malaysia.  Airports Authority of India signed an agreement with Department of Civil Aviation of Lao PDR, for providing SkyRev360 which is a comprehensive e-data gathering, invoicing and collection system.  PM appointed Group of Infrastructure, headed by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari constituted a high-level committee to look into procedures for sharing of infrastructure for utilities like water pipes and telecom cables.  Indian Government and World Bank signed a $100 million loan agreement to promote rural economy in across 26 districts of Tamil Nadu (TN).

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 mCURA, a Health-tech startup, launched 'Smart OPD', India's first integrated mobility platform that reduces waiting time in counters and provides e-prescriptions.  An interceptor boat, built for the Indian Coast Guard, was launched in Mangaluru, Karnataka by Bharati Defence and Infrastructure Limited (BDIL)  China successfully launched ‘Zhangheng 1’, its first seismo-electromagnetic satellite to study seismic precursors.  Madhya Pradesh government introduced ‘Pollution Metre’, a mobile application to spread awareness against pollution in the western part of Madhya Pradesh.  SpaceX’s launched its ‘Falcon Heavy’ rocket towards Mars from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Falcon Heavy is said to be the world's most powerful rocket.  Indian Railways launched the “Voluntary Safety Reporting” website with two features such as employees can report issues anonymously and employees can mention their contact details for confidential feedback.  Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) launched the first tests of the world’s first autonomous pods.

R.A.C.E  Radio Umang, claimed to be India’s first online radio station, was launched recently. Theme of Radio Umang is love, peace and happiness.  While investigating thousands of soil samples, a team of US Scientists have discovered ‘malacidin’, a new class of antibiotics capable of killing drug-resistant bacteria.  Kerala government will soon employ robotsto clean sewer holes, instead of involving humans. This robot has been developed by Genrobotics, a startup.  SARAS, indigenous light transport aircraft of India, successfully finished its second test flight.  Siemens India has commissioned a first-of-its-kind Medium-Voltage (MV) training lab at INS Valsura, Gujarat for the Indian Navy.  Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that, out of the two defence industrial production corridors, the first defence industrial corridor will link Chennai and Bengaluru.  Assam State Government and cab aggregator Olaentered into a MoU to pilot an app-based river taxi service in Guwahati.

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 Nepalese tea has finally received its own brand logo or trademark in an international market after 154-year long cultivation. The trademark has an image of mountains with "Nepal Tea: Quality from the Himalayas" written below it. It will be formally unveiled during the 3rd International Tea Festival in Nepal in March 2018.  JawaharlalNehru Port (Maharashtra), Kamarajar Port (Tamil Nadu) and Visakhapatnam Port (Andhra Pradesh) have received ‘Good’ score in a new ‘Port Performance Index’.  Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is planning to introduce carbondioxide (CO2) injection in its Gandhar field to recover an extra 20 million barrels of crude oil.  Amazon has started its own food retailing business in India with a pilot in Pune and has thus become the first foreign e-commerce company to stock and sell food items directly to consumers.  Bharti Airtel and Information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider Huawei have successfully conducted India’s first 5G network.  Union Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha launched India's first locally developed 4G/LTE

R.A.C.E telecom system.  India successfully test-fired Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) Nag in desert conditions, at Pokhran's field firing range in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.  Telangana government launched “T App Folio”, a mobile governance application, for delivery of government to citizen (G2C) and business to citizen (B2C) services anytime and anywhere.  Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah inaugurated ‘Shakti Sthala’ a solar power park with 2, 000 megawatt capacity at Pavagada in Tumakuru district of Karnataka.  All-women Indian crew circumnavigating the globe on the Indian Navy Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini arrived at a port in Cape Town in South Africa. This expedition by the all- women Indian crew is named Navika Sagar Parikrama.  China has announced that, it is constructing the world's fastest wind tunnel.  Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has developed “Fluorimeter”, the instrument that measurestraces of uranium in water. It was developed by the Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology

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 On March 29, 2018, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched India’s latest communication satelliteGSAT-6A.  Scientists have identified a new organ in human beings which has been dubbed the ‘interstitium’. It is made up of both strong (collagen) and flexible (elastin) connective tissue proteins.  India is the world's biggest importer of edible oils. India relies on imports for 70% of its edible oil consumption.  Microsoft announced that it has inkedits first renewable energy deal in India for powering its new facility in Bengaluru.  Russia continues to be the largest arms supplier to India as per report produced by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).  India has imposed anti-dumping duty on import of Ofloxacin which is used for treatment of certain infections from China to protect domestic producers from below-cost shipments.  Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi inaugurated the first 'Startup hub' of Bihar in Patna.

R.A.C.E  Lockheed Martin has announced the setting up of F-16 jet production unit in India which will be an exclusive one and will be in line with the 'Make in India' initiative.  IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) announced its partnership with Ola Cabs, in order to provide a book taxi option in its app and website for six month pilot project.  Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) have entered into a Technology Transfer Agreement (TTA) for production of space grade Lithium-Ion cells. It is developed by ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).  India received its first shipment of Liquefied natural gas (LNG) from US under a 20-year deal.  Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy, R K Singh and Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat laid the foundation stone of the 60 MW Naitwar Mori Hydro Electric Project in the river Tons – a tributary of the Yamuna in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.  The four first-year engineering students from Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science near Chennai, Tamil Nadu have developed the world’s lightest satellite which will

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be launched from a NASA facility in the US by August 2018. They built the 4cm ‘cube’ satellite ‘Jaihind-1S’ with a 3D printed outer casing from polylactic acid (PLA) nylon material, making it lighter than a medium sized egg, at just 33.39 grams.  NASA's record-breaking astronaut, Peggy Whitson, retired after a 22-year-long career. She has spent 665 days over three International Space Station missions. The 58-year- old is the oldest woman to go into space.  US scientists unveiled the world's most powerful & smartest scientific supercomputer named 'Summit' that can complete over 200, 000 trillion calculations per second.  China successfully launched a new Earth observation satellite 'the Gaofen-6' which will be mainly used in agricultural resources research & disaster monitoring.  American and Spanish Scientists have discovered a new shape called 'scutoid' while studying nature’s way of moulding tissue to form the skin, cavity linings and the building blocks of organs.  ISRO successfully carried out a flight test for a newly designed Crew Escape System. It was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

R.A.C.E  Scientists have discovered the world's oldest colours. 1.1 billion-year-old bright pink pigments, extracted from rocks deep beneath the Sahara desert in Africa, have finally been traced.  IIT Madras launched world’s first remotely operatable microscope that would enable a precise atom-by-atom view of a material. The 'Local Electrode Atom Probe' (LEAP) was developed in a collaborative exercise involving eight top research institutions headed by IIT Madras.  ISRO will outsource the production of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLVs) and Small Satellite Launch Vehicles (SSLVs) to private Industries. The ISRO will launch Gaganyaan, India’s first manned mission to outer space in 2020.  A new European satellite named 'Aeolus' using advanced laser technology to track global winds and improve weather forecasts has been successfully put into orbit on a Vega rocket from French Guyana.  Ranchi-based software developer Ranjit Srivastava is developing the world's first Hindi- speaking humanoid robot, claimed to cost just Rs.50, 000 so far.

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 India will launch its second lunar mission “Chandrayaan2” on January 3, 2019, to land on the moon with a lander and rover. It weighs around 3, 890kg and costs 800 cr.  NASA blasted off a $1.5 billion spacecraft toward the Sun on a historic mission to protect the Earth by unveiling the mysteries of dangerous solar storms. NASA’s 'Parker Solar Probe' has become the first-ever mission to "touch" the Sun. The spacecraft, about the size of a small car, will travel directly into the Sun's atmosphere about 4 million miles from the surface.  The lander on the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which is scheduled to be launched in January 2019 will be named ‘Vikram’ after Vikram Sarabhai, the father of Indian space programme.

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 A MoU on Technology Mission for Indian Railways (TMIR) by the Ministries of railways, human resource development (HRD), and Science and technology was signed on 4th January 2018.  Indian Railways has finalised a plan to equip nearly 8500 railway stations across India (including

R.A.C.E  those in rural and remote areas) with Wi-Fi facilities at an estimated cost of Rs 700 crore.  Indian Railways' first high speed electric locomotive which can run at a maximum speed of 120  kmph will be launched in March 2018 during French President Emmanuel Macron’s Indian visit.  The first 12, 000 horsepower locomotive has been assembled at Madhepura plant in Bihar.  South Central Railway (SCR) chief public relations officer M Umashankar Kumar has announced that, it has become the first railway zone in India to achieve 100 % LED lighting in all 733 stations under its jurisdiction.  Jaipur’s Gandhi Nagar railway station became India’s first major railway station to be completely managed by women personnel and inaugurated by North Western Railway Zone GM TP Singh.  On the International Women’s Day, Banaswadi railway station was declared South Western Railway (SWR) zone’s first all-woman railway station Head Office - Chennai: Mob: 9043303030 / 7601808080| Madurai | Trichy | Salem | Coimbatore | Chandigarh | Bangalore| Erode |Namakkal |Puducherry |Thanjavur| Trivandrum| Ernakulam |Tirunelveli | Vellore | Official Website: www.raceinstitute.in| Official Blog:www.bankersdaily.in 106 Chennai RACE Coaching Institute Pvt Ltd

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 Prime Minister chaired twenty-sixth interaction through PRAGATI reviewed progress of handling and grievance redressal related to post offices and railways.  Guwahati now has India's first railway station run by solar power. Around 2352 solar modules with a capacity of generating 700 kwp has been set up over the roof.  The iconic Mughalsarai Railway Junction in Uttar Pradesh renamed as DeenDayalUpadhyaya.  Railway Minister PiyushGoyal laid the foundation stone of two key railway projects ‘Katghora-Mungeli-Kawardha-Dongargarh’ in Chhattisgarh.  The Keylong station in Himachal Pradesh will be the first on the railway network to be inside a tunnel at a height of 3, 000 metres, on the strategic Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line close to the Sino-India border.  UP government rechristened the name of Allahabad city to its old name of Prayagraj. All departments like railway and others are changing before the coming KumbhMela to be held early next year.

R.A.C.E AWARDS & HONOURS  Renowned Rocket scientist, Sivan K has been appointed as the chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).He is currently the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.  Actress Kajol has become an advocacy ambassador for Swachh Aadat Swachh Bharat initiative.  The Supreme Court collegiums recommended InduMalhotra as the first woman lawyer to be directly appointed as a judge of Supreme Court.  Yara International, a Norwegian chemical company announced the completion of its acquisition of Tata Chemicals Ltd’s 1.2m tonnes per annum production capacity urea plant, at Babrala in UP.  Boards of directors of IDFC Bank (a private sector bank) and Capital First (anon-banking financial firm) approved a merged entity will have assets under management of Rs 88000cr.  Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar has agreed to partner with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to promote cleanliness in Mumbai as part of the SwachhSurvekshan 2018. Head Office - Chennai: Mob: 9043303030 / 7601808080| Madurai | Trichy | Salem | Coimbatore | Chandigarh | Bangalore| Erode |Namakkal |Puducherry |Thanjavur| Trivandrum| Ernakulam |Tirunelveli | Vellore | Official Website: www.raceinstitute.in| Official Blog:www.bankersdaily.in 107 Chennai RACE Coaching Institute Pvt Ltd

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 UM of Housing and Urban Affairs commenced SwachhSurvekshan 2018 survey is being dubbed as the world’s largest cleanliness survey.  Theresa May appointed Karen Bradley as the new secretary of state for Northern Ireland, replaces James Brokenshire.  AR Rahman has been made the brand ambassador of Sikkim at the inauguration ceremony of Red Panda Winter Festival at Paljor Stadium in Gangtok, Sikkim.  Sita Ram Mardi has been appointed as the new Director General of Police (DGP) of Himachal Pradesh.  Rajesh Ranjan was appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to Botswana.  President Ram NathKovind, presented the SangeetNatakAkademi’s Fellowships (AkademiRatna) and SangeetNatakAkademi Awards (AkademiPuraskar) for the year 2016 at New Delhi  The 63rd JioFilmfare Awards 2018, was held at the NSCI Dome in Worli, Mumbai. It was hosted by Bollywood’s top actor Shah Rukh Khan.  Best Film - Hindi Medium,

R.A.C.E  Best Actress – VidyaBalan('Tumhari Sulu')  Best Actor - Irrfan Khan('Hindi Medium')  “Sachin: A Billion Dreams”, a biopic on Sachin Tendulkar, has won two awards at the 11th Tehran International FICTS Festival 2018, in Iran.  Rachel Morrison has become the first female cinematographer (movie: Mudbound) to be nominated for Oscar awards.  Government announced Padma Awards 2018. 3 Padma Vibhushan, 9 Padma Bhushan and 73 PadmaShri Awards have been announced.  A 10yr-old Indian-origin boy in the UK named MehulGarg has become the youngest applicant to achieve the highest score 162(2 pts higher than Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking) in the Mensa IQ test.  60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on Jan 28, 2018 at Madison Square Garden, US.  Jay-Z hold maximum nominations (in 8 categories), while Bruno Mars won maximum awards (in 6 categories, including top categories of album, record and song of the year).

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 The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) led by Asst.C.Akshay Deshmukh was named the best marching contingent in the paramilitary and auxiliary forces category at the Republic Day celebrations, in New Delhi.  Actor Mohanlal and athlete P. T. Usha were awarded honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by Kerala Governor and Calicut University Chancellor P. Sathasivam, in Kozhikode.  Indian Parliamentary Group (IPG) announced Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for last five years. Names for the award were shortlisted by a committee headed by LS Speaker SumitraMahajan.  Dr Vinod Paul is first Indian has been conferred the IhsanDoğramacı Family Health Foundation Prize by WHO.  Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee received the Legion of Honour, the highest French civilian award.  Magahi writer Shesh Anand Madhukar was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Bhasha Samman award.  ‘Times Power Woman 2017'- Pune for Global PR award to ShabnamAsthana.

R.A.C.E  Goa CM Manohar Parrikar inaugurated the 2nd edition of ‘Nobel Prize Series India 2018’ in Panaji, Goa. Theme : ‘Science Impacts Life’.  Film maker ShyamBenegal was awarded the V Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award of the Mumbai International Film Festival  Sohini Roy Chowdhury, 8yr old Indian-origin school girl has made it to the UK’s Mathletics Hall of Fame.  Reliance Industries Ltd. announced that it has been awarded the Golden Peacock Award 2017 for corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.  Vikas Sathaye, an Indian-born engineer, along with three other people won the scientific and engineering award, at the Oscars 2018 Scientific and Technical Awards in BeverlyHills, United States.  Tata Steel has been honoured as the World’s Most Ethical Company for the year 2018.  Filmmaker Ramesh Sippy will be awarded the first 'RajKapoor Award for Excellence in Cinema' at the 'Elevate 2K18' in Mumbai.

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 Sanjiv Bajaj was awarded the ‘EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2017’ award at a function in Mumbai.  Milk basket has been honoured with the 'Startup of the Year' 2017 award.  Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi became the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft solo- MiG-21 "Bison".  Swiss tennis star Roger Federer won the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year and Comeback of the Year awards at the 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards, in Monaco.  Sportsman of the Year award : Roger Federer (Switzerland; Tennis)  Sportswoman of the Year award : Serena Williams (USA; Tennis)  Indian Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award for  his contribution to the fields of arts and politics at the annual ‘Political and Public Life Awards’  Fantasy drama film, ‘The Shape of Water’ got the most awards (in 4 categories) including the Best Picture Award.  Oscars 2018 – Winners List

R.A.C.E  Best Picture : The Shape of Water  Best Director : Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water  Best Actor Gary : Oldman – Darkest Hour  Best Actress : Frances McDormand – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri  Best Supporting Actor : Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri  Best Production Design : The Shape of Water  Harry Athwal, an Indian-origin British man has been selected for 'Pride of Birmingham’ award in UK at the University of Birmingham on 8th March 2018.  As per a survey by Airports Council International (ACI), Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport has been rated as the world number one among airports handling more than 40 million passengers per annum.  Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport has been ranked as the World’s Best Airport for customer experience.  Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has become the first person with $100 billion wealth in Forbes magazine’s annual ranking of the world’s moguls 2018.

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 India won the "Best Exhibitor Award" at 2018 ITB Berlin.  Renowned actor AmolPalekar was honoured with the ‘Godavari Gaurav’ award along with Classical singer Pandit Satyasheel Deshpande at an event in Nashik, Maharashtra.  Dr.Ketzia David Prakasam become the first Indian woman to receive "Academy Award for Nobel Peace" from the USA.  Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) was awarded the International Kochon Prize 2017 for promoting research and development (R&D) in tuberculosis treatment.  Indian film "Halkaa" has won the ‘Grand Prix de Montreal’ award at the 21st Festival International du Film Pour Enfants de Montreal Film (FIFEM).  Actor Jackie Shroff’s short film “Shunyata” has won an award at Best of India Short Film Festival in Los Angeles, US.  Indian actress Simi Garewal received the "UK Golden Flame Award" at the opening ceremony of the Tongues of Fire UK Asian Film Festival in London.  Chattisgarh’s Krishi Vigyan Kendra has been named the best such centre in India for its initiatives like nutrition gardens and integrated farming techniques.

R.A.C.E  Fr.PM Manmohan Singh presented the G.K. Reddy Memorial National Award for 2017 to Karan Thapar for journalism, at an event held in New Delhi.  The Kempegowda International Airport was presented the Skytrax award for being voted as the best regional airport in India and Central Asia by air travelers.  Chhattisgarh has won the National ‘Water Digest Award’ for Water Conservation-Diversion and increasing the irrigation capacity in Chhattisgarh.  Lyricist and film director Sreekumaran Thampiwas selected for the J C Daniel award(Kerala's highest award).  Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma will be awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Award for her successful movies as a producer.  Veteran Hindi film actor Shri Vinod Khanna was awarded the DadasahebPhalke Award for his contribution to Indian Cinema.  Veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra will be conferred with the prestigious Raj Kapoor Lifetime Achievement and filmmaker RajkumarHirani with Raj Kapoor Special Contribution awards.

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 TCS Ltd is the most valuable company in India, followed by Reliance Industries Ltd & HDFC Bank Ltd.  AditiRao Hydari will receive DadasahebPhalke Excellence Award 2018 for the Best Leading Lady (Critics Award) for her memorable performance in Bhoomi.  The Chairman of the Jury, Shri Ramesh Sippy announced the “State of Madhya Pradesh” was conferred the award for the Most Film Friendly State for its efforts towards easing filming in the State.  Indu Jain, CM of Bennett, Coleman & Co, India‟s largest media house, has received the All India Management Association‟s (AIMA‟s) annual award for lifetime contribution to media.  Lalit Kala Akademi, organised the award ceremony of the '1st Print Biennale India 2018 (PBI)' in New Delhi.  Jailed Egyptian photographer Mahmoud Abu Zeid, popularly known as Shawkan won the 2018 Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize of UNESCO.  Dr GirishSahni, DG, CSIR & Secretary, DSIR is awarded the National Intellectual Property (IP) Award 2018 in the category “Top R&D Institution / Organization for Patents &

R.A.C.E Commercialization”.  Bollywood actors BhumiPednekar, SonamKapoor & Akshay Kumar bagged the best actress & best actor awards respectively at the DadasahebPhalke awards, given by DadasahebPhalke Film Foundation, Mumbai.  Manisha Koirala won the “Most Versatile Actress”award.  Veteran actor-director Rakesh Roshan was given the lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the industry as an actor, producer & a director.  Gujarati poet, playwright & academic SitanshuYashaschandra was selected for 2017 SaraswatiSamman for his collection of verses (poetry) titled “Vakhar” published in 2009.  Veteran Bollywood actor Sridevi was honoured with the TITAN Reginald F Lewis Film Icon Award, Cannes Film Festival.  NMDC (National Mineral Development Corporation) Limited has bagged the prestigious S&P Global PLATTS Global Metals Award 2018 in corporate social responsibility (CSR) category held at London.  Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has won the European Golden Shoe for the 5th time.

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 Prajnesh Gunneswaran won the prestigious T.K. Ramanathan award for the year 2017- 18 at the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA).  Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda took home the top prize -the Palme d'Or. Kore-eda in 71st CANNES.  Polish author Olga Tokarczuk has won the Man Booker International Prize for her novel ‘Flights’.  Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi presented the prestigious Nari Shakti Puraskar 2017 to the members of the INSV Tarini team in New Delhi.  The 6 member all-women team led by Lt.Commander Vartika Joshi have received the Puraskar from the Minister.  CSIR has been awarded the Clarivate Analytics India Innovation Award 2018 in the Government Research Organizations Category.  Indian botanist Kamaljit S. Bawa received the prestigious Linnean Medal in Botany from the Linnean Society of London .  Kerala cartoonist Thomas Antony has won an international award(caricature category) at

R.A.C.E the 13th World Press Cartoon awards, Lisbon, Portugal.  Yuvraj Singh has been awarded the 'most inspiring icon of the year for Social Welfare' award by the DadasahebPhalke International Film Festival (DPIFF) .  Singer AshaBhosle was honoured with 26th PC Chandra Puraskaar for her contribution in the field of Indian music.  Indian pugilist Neeraj Goyat conferred with the 'WBC Asia Boxer of the Year Award'.  Swedish Academy has decided to postpone the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, with the intention of awarding it in 2019.  NishaBhalla, a 46yr old holistic coach & consultant from Mumbai was felicitated at the recently concluded Annual Women Economic Forum (WEF) 2018 Awards.  Nobel laureate & noted economist Muhammad Yunus was honoured with the 11th KISS Humanitarian Award 2018 at a function held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.  Melody queen LataMangeshkar was honoured with the SwaraMauli title by spiritual guru VidyaNarsimhaBharati Swami.  Neymar was named as France's player of the year at an awards ceremony in Paris.

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 Senior journalist Mark Tully will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Red Ink Awards in Mumbai.  US-based Kathak dancer AninditaAnaam was honoured with the prestigious 'Shri Jayadev Rastriya Yuva Pratibha Puraskar 2018' for outstanding contribution to the field of art.  Def. Min. Nirmala Sitharaman gave away the DRDO Awards- 2016 & 2017 to various DRDO scientists for their outstanding contributions, National Technology Day (11 May).  Fr.DRDO DrVK Saraswat was given DRDO Lifetime Achievement Award – 2017.  Fr.sec.DRDO Dr Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre was awarded DRDO Lifetime Achievement Award – 2016.  Kalki Koechlin was conferred with the French distinction of Knight of the Order of Arts & Letters (Chevalier dansl’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres).  UN Rajnath Singh approved the institution of "Home Minister's Special Operation Medal" for the police personnel of States & Union Territories, CPO’s, CAPFs & Security Organisations involved in Special Operations.

R.A.C.E  The Ministry of Shipping’s flagship programme for portled-prosperity ‘Sagarmala’ received the ‘Gold Award’ in infrastructure sector in the recently concluded 52nd Skoch Summit 2018 in New Delhi.  PallaviDurua was crowned as the first Tribal Queen at the Adi Rani Kalinga Tribal Queen competition held at UtkalMandap.  At the Indian International Film Awards (IIFA), late star Sridevi won Best Actress (posthumously) for MOM while Irrfan Khan was given the Best Actor Award(Hindi Medium). Tumhari Sulu was awarded the Best Film trophy.  CM VasundharaRaje was conferred the ‘CM of the Year’ award for her remarkable work in e-governance at the 52nd Skoch Summit held in New Delhi.  Vishwas Mandalik from Nasik & the Yoga Institute in Mumbai have been selected as recipients of the PM’s award for outstanding contribution for promotion & development of yoga for the year 2018.

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 Under ‘India Smart Cities Award' 2018, Surat has been awarded for "great momentum" in the implementation of projects under the Smart Cities Mission, Housing & Urban Affairs (HUA) Ministry.  Bhopal & Ahmedabad were selected in the ‘Innovative Idea' category for their "transformative approach towards sustainable integrated development".  Noted social reformer & founder of Sulabh International, BindeshwarPathak honoured with Japan’s prestigious Nikkei Asia Prize.  Anukreethy Vas, a 19yr old TN college student, crowned Femina Miss India 2018.  Kendrick Lamar received the Pulitzer Prize in music for his album “Damn” .  Pres.Ram Nath Kovind presented the 'Santokbaa Humanitarian Award' to Child rights activist & Noble Laureate Kailash Satyarthi & space scientist A S Kiran Kumar, Chairman (ISRO), Gujarat.  Statistics & Programme Implementation Minister Vijay Goel conferred FICCI Smart Policing Awards 2018 to police officials of central armed police force & states police in New Delhi.  PM Modi handed over the Padma Shri award, to former Singaporean diplomat Tommy Koh.

R.A.C.E  Veteran actor AnupamKher will be given the prestigious Outstanding Achievement honour at International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony in Bangkok.  Canadian author Michael Ondaatje won the Man Booker Prize list with his latest novel “Warlight, ”.  “Ratna”, the highest honour of MohunBagan club was awarded to Fr. India international PradipChowdhury at its foundation day programme.  Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was awarded the INFRA Icon Award in the “Global Energy” category at the mid-day INFRA Icons Awards 2018, in Mumbai.  Min. JP Nadda presented the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA)'IPledgefor9' Achievers and MMR Reduction Awards.  Noted artist Anjolie Ela Menon had received the National Kalidas Samman in Delhi for visual arts from the MP government.  Michael Ondaatje‟s bestselling novel 'The English Patient' was announced as the winner of the Golden Man Booker Prize at the Southbank Centre in London.

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 A 8yr old Indian-origin schoolboy Ishwar Sharma, who is the under-11 UK national yoga champion has been named the 'British Indian of the Year' in the young achiever category .  Gopalkrishna Gandhi has been chosen for the 24th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award for his contribution in promoting communal harmony, peace and goodwill.  President Kovind presented the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for the years 2013- 2017, in New Delhi. The winners are: Dr NajmaHeptullah (for year 2013) | HukumDev Narayan (for year 2014) | GhulamNabi Azad (for year 2015) | Dinesh Trivedi (for year 2016) | BhartruhariMahtab (for year 2017).  Rifleman Aurangzeb and Major Aditya Kumar of Indian Army will be conferred the Shaurya Chakra.Sepoy Vrahma Pal Singh will be awarded with Kirti Chakra posthumously.  Delhi Govt. Add. Dir. of health, SK Arora was awarded prestigious World Health Organization (WHO) World No Tobacco Day 2017 Award for his extraordinary contribution towards tobacco control.  US Govt. has awarded the Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) to Gen.Dalbir Singh

R.A.C.E Suhag (Retired), of the Indian Army.  PepsiCo's Fr. CEO IndraNooyi will be honoured with the Game Changer of the Year award by a global cultural organisation Asia Society in recognition of her business achievements, humanitarian record and advocacy for women and girls around the world.  Fr England cap.David Beckham will receive the UEFA President's Award for his contribution to football and promoting the sport in "every corner of the planet".  Andhra Pradesh bagged the first prize in state category for comprehensive development of tourism.  Rima Das, ‟ National Award-winning feature Village Rockstars has been chosen to represent India in the Best Foreign Language category at the 91st Academy Awards next year, FFI announced.  Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma received the Smita Patil award for best actor, 34th Priyadarshni Academy Global Award, in Mumbai.

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 Chairman & MD, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., Dr Raghupati Singhania has been conferred with 'Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle', the highest honour accorded to non-nationals by the Government of Mexico.  Actress AishwaryaRai was honoured with the Meryl Streep Award for Excellence at the Women in Film & Television (WIFT) India Award.  Odia poet Satrughna Pandav will be honoured with the prestigious 'SaralaPuraskar' for his poetry collection 'Misra Dhrupad'.  Three scientists won the Nobel Physics Prize 2018 -- Arthur Ashkin, Gerard Mourou& Donna Strickland.  Scientists won the 2018 Nobel Chemistry Prize -- Arnold, Smith, Winter. for performing the first-ever "directed evolution" of enzymes.  Denis Mukwege & Nadia Murad won 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.  The 2018 Nobel Prize for economics has been awarded to William Nordhaus & Paul Romer.

R.A.C.E  The UN highest environmental honor award "Champions of the Earth" -- PM NarendraModi & Emmanuel macron.  As per the ranking undertaken by Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018, Haryana state was ranked as the best State. The best district is Satara District (Maharashtra). The award commissioned by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.  The UNHCR (UN refugee agency) honored with the 2018 Nansen Refugee Award at a ceremony in Geneva to Dr. Evan AtarAdaha.  The Sports Australia Hall of Fame has announced the cricketing great ‘Richie Benaud’ will become the 40th Legend of Australian Sport.  The world's largest telecom tower company (outside China) has won the Deming Prize for 2018 -- Indus Towers.  Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) won the ‘ISSA Good Practice Award’ for Administrative Solution for Coverage Extension at the “Regional Social Security Forum for Asia and the Pacific” in Malaysia.

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 The small Himalayan state has won 2018 UN Food and Agriculture Organisation's Future Policy for Gold Award for its achievement in becoming the world's first totally organic agriculture state -- Sikkim.  The veteran composer, lyricist and writer Mohammed Zahur Khayyam Hashmi has been named for this year’s Hridaynath Award for Lifetime Achievement.  British writer Anna Burns has won the prestigious Man Booker for her Novel -- Milkman.  H M Pernal won the prestigious ‘Vimala V PaiVishwa’ Konkani best book award for ‘BeegAniBeegath’ the year 2018.  Suheil F. Tandon has won the International Olympic Committee's Sport and Active Society Commission's Grant Award for his contribution to sports development.  Union Minister Piyush Goyal will receive the prestigious Carnot Prize from the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania in recognition of his work for rural electrification.  Hindustani classical music instrumentalist Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt will be honoured with the annual Ustad Chand Khan Lifetime Achievement Award. Pandit Bhatt best known

R.A.C.E for his Grammy award winning album "A Meeting by the River".  US-based Dalit writerSujathaGidla has won 2018 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize for her book “Ants Among Elephants: An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India’ .  Narendra Modi has been awarded prestigious Seoul Peace Prize 2018 for contribution to high economic growth in India.  Invest India, CEO Deepak Bagla has received the top UN Investment Promotion Award in recognition of its efforts to boost investments in the renewable energy sector in India.  Sanjay Agrawal (Secretary Agriculture and Co-operation) has inaugurated the two-days Global Agriculture Leadership Summit 2018 in New Delhi.Theme : 'Connecting Farmers to Market'.  M.S. Swaminathan has received the first World Agriculture Prize instituted by the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) in New Delhi.  Tagore award for Cultural Harmony for 2014, 2015 & 2016 announced:  ➢ 2014: Sh.RajkumarSinghajit Singh (doyen of Manipuri dance).  ➢ 2015: Chhayanaut (cultural organization of Bangladesh).

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 ➢ 2016: Shri.Ram VanjiSutar (one of India’s greatest sculptors).  The chairman of the Juries are PM NarendraModi and CJI Justice RanjanGogoi.  Tagore award for Cultural Harmony has been instituted by Government of India (GoI) in 2011 to commemorate 150th Birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861 – 1941).  India has won the prestigious 2018 Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management Award.  Michael D Higgins has been re-elected as Irish president after receiving 56% of the country's election vote.  Clara Sosa (Miss Paraguay) has won the Miss Grand International 2018 title (6th edition) of the beauty pageant in Yangon, Myanmar.  Nobel Prize Winner MalalaYousafzai will be honoured by Harvard University with Gleitsman Award 2018 for her work promoting girls' education.  Indian scientist Roopam Sharma has won the World Health Summit Startup award, 2018 for his invention.  Malayalam author Benyamin has won the inaugural JCB Prize for literature for his book

R.A.C.E 'Jasmine Days'  Pakistan's human rights activist and lawyer has been posthumously awarded the UN Prize along with three other winners -- Asma Jahangir, RebecaGyumi of Tanzania, Brazil's first indigenous lawyer JoeniaWapichana .  Satyajit Ray's epic masterpiece has been included by BBC's 100 best foreign language films (only film from India) -PatherPanchali. PatherPanchali released in 1955, was placed at number 15 in the list, which has been topped by Akira Kurosawa's 'Seven Samurai'.  Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has announced Swachh Bharat World Toilet Day Contest for districts of the States. The Contest does not apply to the five States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram.  Super 30 founder Anand Kumar has been honored with education award in Dubai. Mr.Anand will be honoured with 'Global Education Award' by 'Malabar Gold & Diamonds'.  Malayalam writer M Mukundan has been selected for the highest literacy prize ‘EzhuthachanPuraskaram 2018’.

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 Uzbek businessman GafurRakhimov has been elected as the president of the International Boxing Association (AIBA).  Former Chairman of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) AnupamKher has been honored as a ‘Distinguished Fellow’ award.  Renowned French scholar JawaharLalSarin. was presented with France’s highest civilian honour Chevalier de la Lgiond’Honneur.  Freelance journalist Swati Chaturvedi has won the Press Freedom Award for Courage for her book, I am a Troll: Inside The Secret World of The BharatiyaJanata Party's Digital Army.  The prestigious MuninBarkotoki Literary Award 2018 in Assam has been given to young writer-critic -- Dr.Debabhuson Borah, titled 'Nirbochon'.  An educationist Dr.Saroj Suman Gulati has been conferred with the coveted Global Education Leaders Award 2018.  Veteran Journalist N.Ram received Raja Ram Mohan Roy award.  Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) SunitaNarain has won 2018 Indira Gandhi

R.A.C.E Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development.  The 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has begun at the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Panaji (Goa).  Mexican government has honored Indian academician Shyama Prasad Ganguly with “Orden Mexicana delÁguila Azteca” (Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle).  Nandita Das has been honored with the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) award in Brisbane.  Amitabh Bachchan has been awarded the third SayajiRatna Award for contribution to social causes.  In 2013, The Baroda Management Association had instituted the award to mark the 150th birth anniversary of the ruler, known for undertaking major social reform measures during his rule in the early twentieth century.  Veteran writer Salim Khan has been honored with the IFFI special award for his lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.

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 Donbass has won the coveted Golden Peacock Award at the 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI).  ➢Lijo Jose Pellissery won the Best Director Award for his 2018 film ‘Ee.Ma.Yau’.  ➢ The Best Actor (Male) Award has gone to ChembanVinod for his portrayal in Ee.Ma.Yau  ➢ The Best Actor (Female) Award has gone to Anastasiia Pustovit for her portrayal of a ‘Larysa’, a teenage girl in the Ukrainian film ‘When the Trees Fall’.  ➢Alberto Monteras II receives ‘Best Debut Feature Film of a Director’ for Respeto.  Business Tycoon AzimPremji (chairman of Wipro) conferred with the highest French civilian distinction Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour).  The ‘Sahitya Akademi’ has announced its annual Sahitya Akademi Awards-2018 in 24 languages.  Anees Salim has been awarded for ‘The Blind Lady’s Descendants’ English literature category. Ramesan Nair won the award for his work ‘Gurupournami’a poem.  The first Mexican woman Vanessa PoncedeLeon to win Miss World (68th edition) crown at a grand event in China.

R.A.C.E  The first Asian/Indian Prathamesh Maulingkar to win Mister Supranational title at Krynica-Zdroj, Poland.  Manipur Government honoured MC Mary Kom , AIBA World Women Boxing Gold medalist with the title "Meethoileima" title.  Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has been named the Time magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’ alongside several other journalists. He was murdered in October 2018 at his country’s Istanbul consulate.  The Limca Book of Records by training over two lakh women and girls under their self- defence programme in 2017 Delhi Police. Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC), is a special body of Delhi Police, which aims to safeguard the rights of women and children in the Capital.

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BOOKS & AUTHORS

 Sanjib Kumar Borkakoti -“Majuli: Resources and Challenges”  Sanjay Manjrekar - ‘Imperfect’ was released by DilipVengsarkar,  “DilliMeriDilli: Before and After 1998′′, a pictorial book, by former Delhi chief minister Sheila  Dikshit has been released.  Dr.SadhanaPandey -‘StaniyaSvasasan Mei AddhiAabadhi’ was released by VP M. Venkaiah Naidu  PM NarendraModi written a book 'Exam Warriors' released by Ex.Aff.Minister SushmaSwaraj. This book has been published by Penguin India.  Dr Yashwant Amdekar, Rajesh Chokhani and Krishnan Sivaramakrishnan are wrote a book 'Even When There Is A Doctor' was launched by Sachin Tendulkar and his wife Anjali TendulkarRajnath Singh released “Mere SapnoKa Bharat”, a book on best interviews of Fr. PM AtalBihari Vajpayee in the Parliament premises  HP CM Jai Ram Thakur released 'MahilaSuraksha', a handbook by Shimla administration.

R.A.C.E

BOOK AUTHOR ABOUT Bollywood: "The Films", "The Amitabh Bacchhan About movies produced in mumbai Songs", "The Stars" Imperfect Sanjay Manjrekar About author’s cricket carreer

Unstoppable: My Life So Far Maria Sharapova The book explains the story of her phenomenal rise to success

ParamveerParwane Prabhakiran Jain The book illustrates the bravery of Paramveer Chakra Awardees from 1947 to 1965 Sourav Ganguly: Cricket, SaptarshiSarkar Biography of indian cricket

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Captaincy and Controversy The Red Sari tells the story of an The Red Sari Javiermoro extraordinary woman whose dreams were struck down by the hands of fate. The most nailbiting negotiations and How India Sees the World Shyam Saran top-level interactions of the famous leader In this book, the actor and The Diary of a Domestic Diva ShilpaShetty entrepreneur brings fifty of her most special recipes The struggle the author had to face I Do What I Do Raghuram Rajan during the economic crisis when he joined RBI in September 2013 The author helps us to understand

R.A.C.E Immortal India Amish Tripathi India like never before The Late Captain VikramBatra P.V.C, The Shershah of Kargil Deepak Surana who was one of the greatest Indian soldiers of the Kargil war. The book talks about how an HIV- I am HIV Positive. So What? Jayanta Lalita positive person Modi - Incredible emergence of The book is a biography based on the a star TarunVijay life and economic vision of NarendraModi Flood Of Fire Amitav Ghosh Last volume of the Ibis Trilogy Sleeping on Jupiter Anuradha Roy Novelabout religion, love, and violence in the modern world. Beyond Doubt: A Dossier on TeestaSetalvad Collection of archival documents in Gandhi's Assassination related to Gandhi's assassination

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Transcendence: My Spiritual Dr. APJ Abdul Journey of self realization through the Experiences with Kalam&ArunTiwari eyes of Swamiji PramukhSwamij An analysis of India’s challenges in a "Yug Purus, Bharat Ratna, Ramesh Pokhriyal rapidly transforming regional and AtalJi" international landscape under Atal Bihari VajpayiJi. Indira Gandhi - A life In Nature Jairam Ramesh Economic facets of the ties of India with Central Asian countries The Ministry Of Utmost Arundhati Roy An intimate journey across the Indian Happiness subcontinent—from the cramped neighborhoods of Old Delhi to the roads of new city.

R.A.C.E Making of a Legend BindeshwarPathak The book is written on the life of Prime Minister NarendraModi AmitBharadwaj This book explains the most critical Cyptocurrency for Beginners aspects about Cryptocurrencies. Playing With Fire Katie Price Highlights of the authors life. Across the bench - Insight into It is a concise-precise record of Indian Military Judicial System GyanBhushan landmark judgements and rulings of the Hon’ble Supreme Court

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SPORTS

 India’s Aanchal Thakur from Manali became the first Indian to win an international medal in skiing, by winning a bronze medal in the Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup.  Sarjubala Devi has won gold medal and the best boxer trophy in the National Women’s Boxing Championship, in Rohtak, Haryana.  KagisoRabada, South African fast bowler, has become the number-one ranked bowler in the MRF tyres ICC Test Player Rankings.  ViratKohli has won the Sir Garfield Sobers Cricketer of the year, ICC Cricketer of the Year 2017 and ICC ODI cricketer of the year 2017 awards for his accomplishments in 2017.  Indian leg spinner YuzvendraChahal won the ICC T20I performance of the year award.  Jammu and Kashmir will host its first maiden international martial arts games event in the in the summer capital Srinagar.  India defeated Pakistan and won the Blind Cricket World Cup 2018 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, in UAE.  2018 Women’s World T20, is hosted by Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana and St Lucia of West

R.A.C.E Indies.  ManavThakkar has become the first Indian to obtain the world No.2 position in the boys' under-18 category of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings.  Delhi won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata by defeating Rajasthan  SandeepLamichhane became the first Nepal cricketer to get IPL contract after he was bought by Delhi Daredevils at the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) Auction.  Sharath Kamal won the National men's singles title for the eighth time at the 11Even Sports Senior Table Tennis Nationals, in Ranchi, Jharkhand.  M C Mary Kom won gold medal at the SpiceJet India OpenInternationalBoxing tournament of the women’s 48kg category.  India won the U-19 Cricket World Cup against Australia at the Bay Oval, MountMaunganui, in New Zealand.  Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma won the Maybank Championship, at theSaujana Golf and Country Club, in Malaysia, was elevated from 193 to 72, inthe Official World Golf Ranking. Head Office - Chennai: Mob: 9043303030 / 7601808080| Madurai | Trichy | Salem | Coimbatore | Chandigarh | Bangalore| Erode |Namakkal |Puducherry |Thanjavur| Trivandrum| Ernakulam |Tirunelveli | Vellore | Official Website: www.raceinstitute.in| Official Blog:www.bankersdaily.in 125 Chennai RACE Coaching Institute Pvt Ltd

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 India's JhulanGoswami became the first female cricketer to pick200 wickets in One Day International.  The 23rd Olympic Winter Games started with a grand ceremony atPyeongchang in South Korea. The ceremony was named "Peace in Motion".  SharmilaNicollet has become the first Indian golfer to qualify for the China Ladies PGA Tour.  Rohan More, a Pune-based swimmer, has become the world’s youngest and first Asian swimmer to complete the Ocean Seven Challenge.  Steve Smith, Australia cricket captain, won his second Allan Border Medalin Melbourne, Australia.  World’s first robot ski competition “The Edge of Robot: Ski RobotChallenge” was held near PyeongChang at WelliHilli ski resort in South Korea.  The 8th edition of ‘Theatre Olympics’ will be held in Indiafor the first time, at the Red Fort, Delhi.  Cristiano Ronaldobecome the first player in history to score 100 Champions League

R.A.C.E goals for the same club.  Australian tennis player Jordan Thompson won Chennai Open ATP Challenger tennischampionship.  Roger Federer won his third Rotterdam Open title by defeating GrigorDimitrov, in Rotterdam, Netherlands.  Bhuvneshwar Kumar, a fast bowler, has become the first Indian bowler to take a five- wicket haul in all three formats in international cricket.  ICC (International Cricket Council) announced that, ViratKohli has become the first Indian to cross 900 points in the ICC ODI player rankings with 909 points.  India’s ParupalliKashyap won the men's singles title of the Austrian Open International Challenge, in Vienna, Austria.  ArunaBudda Reddy became the first Indian gymnast to win an individual medal at the Gymnastics World Cup  India’s VikasKrishan has won a gold medal the best boxer of the tournament honour at the 69thStrandja Memorial boxing tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.

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 GopiThonakal and Monika Athare won titles in the men’s and women’s category respectively, at the IDBI Federal Life Insurance New Delhi Marathon.  The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, launched the superhero mascots for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, at the Kakezuka school in Tokyo. The Olympic mascot has a futuristic blue and white chequered pattern. The Paralympic mascot has a pink and white design inspired by cherry blossoms.  India won the inaugural IBSF Snooker Team World Cup in Doha, Qatar.  Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma secured tied second position after the opening round of the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship at Mexico City.  NavjotKaur became the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold in the Senior Asian Championships under 65kg freestyle category in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.  Rashid Khan, 19 years old of Afghanistan has become the youngest captain in international cricket.  Indian shooter ShahzarRizvi won gold medal with a world record score and JituRai and MehuliGhoshwon bronze medals at the ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico.

R.A.C.E  ViswanathanAnandwon the rapid event at the 11th Tal Memorial chess in Moscow, Russia.  India’s Manu Bhaker has won gold medal in the women’s 10m air pistol and Ravi Kumar has won bronze medal in the men’s 10m air pistol in the ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico.  India B team won the Deodhar Trophy 2017-18 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh.  Australia won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2018 title, in Malaysia.  KL Rahul has been named the 'Cricketer of the Year' in the 6th edition of Wisden India Almanack that has been released recently  Chennaiyin FC won the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 title  Deepa Malik bagged gold medal in the F53/54 Javelin event at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai.  India won the Nidahas Trophy at the R Premadasa Stadium, in Colombo, Sri Lanka.  PankajAdvani retained his Asian Billiards Championships title, in Yangon, Myanmar.

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 AnishBhanwala won gold medal in the men’s 25m Rapid Fire PistolMuskanBhanwala won gold medal in the Women’s category at the ISSF Junior World Cup Rifle / Pistol / Shotgun in Sydney, Australia.  Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) appointed IrfanPathan as the coach- cum-mentor of its senior stateside for the 2018-19 season.  YuvrajWadhwani has won the 25th Asian junior individual squash championship title in Chennai.  India has clinched three medals at the Archery World Cup Final in Samsun, Turkey. DeepikaKumariwon a bronzemedal, AbhishekVerma had bagged a bronze medal in men’s compound event and silver in the mixed team event.  The 31st All India Railways Chess tournament will begin at Trichy inTamil Nadu.  The 36th National Games in March-April 2019 will be held in Goa.  Manipur won the 24th Senior Women's National Football Championships at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha.  The Sultan of Johor Cup Junior Men’s Hockey tournament 2018 (eight edition) begins in

R.A.C.E Malaysia.  The 3rd Youth Olympic Games has officially begun at Argentina. Indian shooter Manu Bhaker (16-years) is leading the Indian team in the opening ceremony as the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the games.  KeerthanaPandian has won the girls' title in the IBSF World Under-16 Snooker Championships, in St Petersburg, Russia.  Caroline Wozniacki has won the WTA singles title with victory over Latvia’s AnastasijaSevastova in the China Open final in Beijing.  India has won the Under-19 Asia Cup 2018 title (7th edition) in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  Tushar Mane bagged a silver in the men's 10-metre air rifle event in the Youth Olympic Games. India is being represented by 46 athletes in 13 sports in the prestigious event.  EktaBhyan won Gold medal at the Asian Para Games by topping the women's club throw event in Jakarta.  Jeremy Lalrinnunga, men's 62 kg category has become India's first-ever goldmedalist in the history of Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Weightlifting.

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 The fourth edition of the Youth Olympic Games will be held in Dakar, Senegal. The Dakar 2022 Youth Games will be the first-ever Olympic event in Africa.  SaurabhChaudhary has won the Gold Medal in the 10- metre air pistol event in the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.  Archer Harvinder Singh has won gold medal for India in the men's individual recurve category in the Asian ParaGames in Jakarta.  Serbian tennis starNovak Djokovic beat Croatia's BornaCoric (21-years) in the final to claim his fourth Shanghai Masters Tennis title .  Britain beat India to lift Sultan of Johor Cup 2018, held in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia.  Indian Triple JumperPraveen Chitravel has won the Bronze medal at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics.  Akash Malik has become India’s first silver-medallist in archery at the Youth Olympic Games.  2018 World Wrestling Championships held in Budapest, Hungary.  Belihuof Ethiopiawon the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon men's race.

R.A.C.E  Mumbaiwon the Vijay Hazare Trophy title 2018 at M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru, Karnataka.  Serbia won the 2018 Women’s Volleyball World Championship, in Yokohama, Japan.  Indian wrestler Bajarangpunia bagged silver at Wrestling World Championship 2018 of 65 kg category.  ViratKohli has become the fastest batsman to score 10, 000 runs in the history of ODI cricket in 205 innings.  PoojaDhanda has won bronze medal in the women's freestyle (57kg weight class) in Wrestling World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.  Indian table tennis playerAyhika Mukherjee has won a silver medal in the under-21 women’s singles category of the ITTF Challenge Belgium Open.  The joint winners of the Asian Champions Trophy Men's Hockey at Muscat in Oman are India and Pakistan.  Sourav Kothari has won the 2018 World Billiards Championship title at Leeds in UK.  Indian golferKhalin Joshi has won the Panasonic Open India title at the Delhi Golf Club.

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 Sri Lanka's bowling coach NuwanZoysa has been suspended with immediate effect by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and charged with match-fixing.  Olympic medallist MaryKom has been named as the brand ambassador of the upcoming 10th edition of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Women World Championship  Former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali has announced his retirement from ODI cricket in order to prolong his Test career.  Indian badminton player SubhankarDey has won the SaarLorLux Open at Saarbrucken in Germany.  Karen Khachanov has lifted the Paris Masters Men's Singles Tennis title with a stunning win over Novak Djokovic.  Former Mumbai medium pacer SaurabhNetravalkarhas become the captain of the US national cricket team.  The Uttar Pradesh Government has decided to rename Lucknow’sEkana International Stadium (newly-built) in after AtalBihari Vajpayee.  AngadVir Singh Bajwa won the gold medal in the men's skeet final at the 8th Asian

R.A.C.E Shotgun Championship in Kuwait .  KentoMomota has won the badminton's Fuzhou China Open 2018.  Indian wrestler BajrangPunia has become number-1 wrestler in the World in 65kg.  Indian mountaineerSatyarupSiddhanta has become the first Indian to climb Mt Giluwe  Australian fast bowler John Hastings has retired from all forms of cricket.  Hima Das has been chosen as UNICEF’s India’s Youth Ambassador.  The 10th edition of Women's World Boxing Championships begin in Delhi.  India's ace cueist PankajAdvani has won his third straight IBSF billiards crown in the 150- up format.  Australia's biggest stadium Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will host the final match of both the men's and women's World Twenty20 cricket in 2020.  The winner of ATP 2018 championship is Alexander Zverevof Germany.  India’s shuttlerLakshyaSen has won bronze medal at Li Ning BWF World Junior Badminton Championships 2018 at Markham, Canada.

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 Indian gymnasts PrinsAris&RejileshSuribabu have won two bronze medals in the men's and women's group events of the FIG Acrobatic World Cup in Baku.  Mary Kom has become the first female boxer to win 6 gold medals at World Championships.  India's batting starHarmanpreetKaur has been named as captain of the ICC Women's World Twenty20 XI  Bhavani Devi has won the gold medal in the Sabre event in the Senior Commonwealth Fencing Championship 2018 in Canberra, Australia.  Ace Indian shuttlerSameer Verma has clinched the Men's Singles title of Syed Modi International Badminton Championships against Guangzu Lu.  The 19th edition of Laureus World Sports Awards will be held in February 2019 in Monaco.Last year, tennis great Roger Federer and Serena Williams won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year.  Magnus Carlsen has won the World Chess Championship title -2018 in London, England.  The 14th edition of Men's Hockey World Cup (HWC) held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.

R.A.C.E  Indian shooterAbhinavBindra has been conferred the sport’s highest honour for his outstanding services as the chairman of the International Shooting Sport Federation’s Athletes Committee.  All India Football Federation (AIFF) launched a school-level project by March-April 2019 in association with the game's world governing body FIFA.  MaheshwariChauhan has retained women's skeet title at the 62nd National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC).  Former coach of the Indian shooting teamPawan Singh has become the first Indian to be elected one of seven members of the Judges Committee of the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) Judges Committee.  Minister of State for Home KirenRijiju has inaugurated the 19th All India Police (AIPDM) Shooting Competition-2018 at Manesar (Haryana).

 Delhi Daredevils was renamed as Delhi Capitals. Co-owners Parth Jindal (representing JSW Sport) and Kiran Kumar Grandhi(GMR) unveiled the new name of the team.

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 Croatia’s midfielderLuca Modrich has won prestigious honour of football, Ballon d’Or award 2018.  Italy won the Admiral’s Cup Sailing Regatta 2018 (ninth edition) at Indian Naval Academy (INA), Ezhimala.  Khelo India Youth Games-2019 will be held from 9th to 20th of January 2019 in Pune (Maharashtra).  Madhya Pradesh openerAjay Rohera etched his name in the record books by slamming the highest first-class score 267on debut.  Prime Minister NarendraModi handed over the tri colour flag to ArunimaSinha. ArunimaSinha is the first female Divyangto climb Mount Everest. Mr Modi lauded her impressive achievements and extended his best wishes for her latest venture.

ASIAN GAMES 2018  Venue - Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia (18th edition) (It is for the first time that the sporting extravaganza is being co-hosted by two cities.)

R.A.C.E  Mascot - BhinBhin, Kaka, and Atung  Motto - Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Energy of Asia)  Asian Games 2022 - Hangzhou, China.  Most Valuable Player (MVP) - Japanese swimmer IkeeRikako (MVP), the 18-year-old, who bagged six gold and two silver in the tournament, became the first female athlete to win the MVP title.  Opening Ceremony (Flag Bearer) – Neeraj Chopra (javelin throw)  Closing Ceremony (Flag Bearer) - Rani Rampal (Hockey)

Top three countries Country Gold Silver Bronze Total China (CHN) 132 92 65 289 Japan (JPN) 75 56 74 205 South Korea(KOR) 49 58 70 177

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India won 69 medals – 15 gold, 24 silver and 30 bronzeranked 8th in medal tally ATHLETICS Event Winners Medal Men's Shot put Tajinderpal Singh Toor Gold Men's Javelin Throw Neeraj Chopra Gold Men's 800m Manjit Singh Gold Jinson Johnson Silver Women's 400m Hima Das Silver Men's 400m Muhammad Anas Silver Women's 100m Dutee Chand Silver Women's 200m Dutee Chand Silver Men's Triple Jump Arpinder Singh Gold Women's Heptathlon Swapna Barman Gold Men's 1500m Jinson Johnson Gold Women's 1500m PU Chitra Bronze R.A.C.E Women's 4x400m Relay M. R. Poovamma, Gold SaritabenGaikwad, Hima Das, V.K. Vismaya Men's 4x400m Relay DharunAyyasamy, Kunhu Silver Mohammed, Rajiv Arokia, MuhammedAnas Mixed 4 x 400 metres Rajiv Arokia, Muhammed Silver relay Anas, Hima Das, M. R. Poovamma Women's Discuss Throw SeemaPunia Bronze Men's 400m Hurdles DharunAyyasamy Silver Women's 3000m Sudha Singh Silver Steeplechase Women's Long jump NeenaVarakil Silver

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BOXING Event Winners Medal Men's Light Fly (49kg) AmitPanghal Gold Men's Middle (75kg) VikasKrishanYadav Bronze

BADMINTON Event Winners Medal Women's Singles PV Sindhu Silver SainaNehwal Bronze

SHOOTING Event Winners Medal Men's 10-metre air pistol SaurabhChaudhary Gold (youngest indian medal winner) AbhishekVerma Bronze

R.A.C.E Women's 10-metre air pistol HeenaSidhu Bronze Women's 25-metre pistol RahiSarnobat Gold Men's 10-metre air rifle Deepak Kumar Silver 10-metre air rifle mixed team Ravi Kumar, ApurviChandela Bronze Men's trap LakshaySheoran Silver Men's 50-metre rifle Sanjeev Rajput Silver three positions Men's double trap ShardulVihan Silver

WRESTLING Event Winners Medal Men's freestyle 65 kg BajrangPunia Gold Women's freestyle 50 kg VineshPhogat Gold Women's freestyle 68 kg DivyaKakran Bronze

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TENNIS Event Winners Medal Men's Doubles RohanBopanna, DivijSharan Gold Women's Singles AnkitaRaina Bronze Men's Singles PrajneshGunneswaran Bronze

TABLE TENNIS Event Winners Medal Men's Team SathiyanGnanasekaran, AchantaSharath Kamal, Bronze Anthony Amalraj, Harmeet Desai, ManavThakkar

SQUASH Event Winners Medal Women's Team DipikaPallikalKarthik, Joshna Silver

R.A.C.E Chinappa, TanviKhanna, SunaynaKuruvilla Men's singles SauravGhosal Bronze Women's singles JoshnaChinappa&DipikaPallikalKarthik Bronze Men's Team SauravGhosal, Harinder Pal Sandhu, RamitTandon, Mahesh Bronze Mangaonkar

KABADDI& HOCKEY Indian Women’s Team won Silver and Men’s Team won Bronze OTHER GAMES BRIDGE : Men's Pair - PranabBardhan, ShibhnathSarka won Gold ROWING: Men's Quadruple Sculls - Sawarn Singh, DattuBabanBhokanal, OmPrakash, Sukhmeet Singh won Gold 21ST COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2018

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 Venue – Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.It is for the 5th time Australia hosted the Games.  Motto - "Share the Dream".  Mascot - Borobi  Next Commonwealth Games 2022 - Birmingham, England.Shooting game excluded from 2022 Commonwealth Games.  Opening Ceremony (Flag Bearer) – P.V. Sindhu  Closing Ceremony (Flag Bearer) - Mary Kom

Top three countries Country Gold Silver Bronze Total Australia 80 59 59 198 England 45 45 46 136 India 26 20 20 66

R.A.C.E List of Gold medal winners Weightlifting Winners Event SaikhomMirabaiChanu Women's 48 kg KhumukchamSanjitaChanu Women's 53 kg SathishSivalingam Men's 77 kg RagalaVenkat Rahul Men's 85 kg PunamYadav Women's 69 kg

Shooting Winners Event Manu Bhaker Women's 10 metre air pistol JituRai Men's 10 metre air pistol HeenaSidhu Women's 25 metre pistol

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Shreyasi Singh Women's double trap AnishBhanwala(India’s youngest)(15yrs) Men's 25 metre rapid fire pistol Sanjeev Rajput Men's 50m rifle 3 positions

Table Tennis Winners Event ManikaBatra, MoumaDas, Sutirtha Mukherjee Women's team MadhurikaPatkar, PoojaSahasrabudhe SharathAchanta, AnthonyAmalraj, HarmeetDesai, Men's team SanilShetty, SathiyanGnanasekaran ManikaBatra Women's singles (1stindian women)

Wrestling Winners Event Sushil Kumar Men's freestyle 74 kg

R.A.C.E BajrangPunia Men's freestyle 65 kg Rahul Aware Men's freestyle 57 kg VineshPhogat Women's freestyle 50 kg Sumit Malik Men's freestyle 125 kg

Boxing Winners Event GauravSolanki Men's flyweight 52 kg Mary Kom Women's light flyweight 48 kg (1stindian women) VikasKrishanYadav Men's middleweight 75 kg

Athletics In Men's javelin throw, Neeraj Choprabecame the 1stindian towon Gold Medal.

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Badminton In Women’s singles, SainaNehwal won Gold Medal and in mixed team, PranavChopra, PrannoyKumar, SainaNehwal, AshwiniPonnappa, SatwiksairajRankireddy, SikkiReddy, ChiragShetty, GaddeRuthvikaShivani, P V Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth won Gold Medal.

FORMULA 1 GRANDPIX GRANDPIX WINNER Abu Dhabi Brazil Japan Russia Lewis Hamilton Singapore Italy Hungary German

R.A.C.E French Spain Asberbaijan Australia Bahrain Sebastian Vettel Canada Great Britain Belgium Austria Max Verstappen Mexico China Daniel Ricciardo Monaco United States KimiRaikkonen

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AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2018: Men Singles: Roger Federer (Switzerland) Runner- upMarin cilic(Croatia) Women Singles: Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) Runner- upSimonaHalep (Rome) FRENCH OPEN 2018  Men Singles:Rafael Nadal(spain)Runner- upAustrian Dominic Thiem  Women Singles:SimonaHalep (Romanian woman)Runner- upSloane Stephens (America) WIMBLEDON OPEN 2018  Men's Singles:Novak Djokovic (Serbia)Runner- up - Kevin Anderson (South Africa)  Women's Singles :AngeliqueKerber (Germany) Runner-up - Serena Williams (USA) US OPEN 2018  Men's Singles : Novak Djokovic (Serbia) Runner-up - Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina)  Women's Singles: Naomi Osaka (Japan) Runner-up - Serena Williams (USA) ITALIAN OPEN 2018  Men’s Singles: RafelNadal.Runner-upAlexander Zverev(Germany)  Women's Singles: ElinaSvitolinaRunner-upSimonaHalep(Rome)

R.A.C.E MADRID OPEN 2018  Men’s Singles: Alexander ZverevRunner-up Dominic Thiem  Women's Singles:Petra Kvitova(Czech)Runner-up Kiki Bertens MIAMI OPEN2018  Men’s singles:John Isner (US)Runner-upAlexander Zverev  Women’s singles:Sloane StephensRunner-upJelenaOstapenko(Latvia) BARCELONA OPEN2018  Men’s singles:Rafael NadalRunner-upStefanosTsitsipas(Greek) BASEL OPEN2018  Roger Federer won his 99th career title after winning the for the ninth time in his career. FIFA 2018  Host : Russia  Mascot :Zabivaka (Wolf)  Winner : France  Runner : Croatia

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 3rd Place : Belgium Tournament statistics  Golden Boot - Harry Kane (England)  Golden Ball - Luka Modric (Croatia)  Golden Glove - ThibautCourtois (Belgium)  Best young Player - KylianMbappe (France)  Fair play award – Spain Rajiv Gandhi KhelRatna Awards 2018 Name of the Sportsperson Discipline Ms. S. MirabaiChanu Weightlifting ShriViratKohli Cricket

Dhyan Chand Award 2018 Name of the Sportsperson Discipline ShriSatyadev Prasad Archery

R.A.C.E Ms. Bobby Aloysius Athletics ShriChougaleDaduDattatray Wrestling Shri Bharat KumarChetri Hockey

Dronacharya Awards 2018 Name of the Coach Discipline Subedar Chenanda Achaiah Kuttappa Boxing Shri Vijay Sharma Weightlifting Shri A. SrinivasaRao Table Tennis Shri Sukhdev Singh Pannu Athletics Shri Clarence Lobo Hockey (Life Time) Shri Tarak Sinha Cricket (Life Time) Shri Jiwan Kumar Sharma Judo (Life Time) Shri V.R. Beedu Athletics (Life Time)

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IMPORTANT DAYS

Month Dates Events Theme

4th World Braille Day Education for the blind population of the world 9th NRI Day (Pravasi Bharatiya Ancient Route, New Journey: Diaspora in Divas) the Dynamic ASEAN INDIA Partnership 10th World Hindi Day - 12th National Youth Day Sankalp Se Siddhi 15th Indian Army day - 24th National Girl child day A girl is flower, not a thorn January 25th National Voters day Accessible Elections 26th India’s Republic day Sangat and Pangat International Customs day A secure business environment for

R.A.C.E economic development 27th International day of Holocaust Remembrance and Education: Commemoration in memory Our Shared Responsibility of the victims of the Holocaust World Leprosy Zero disabilities in boys and girls 30th Martyrs’ day -

2nd World Wetlands Day "Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future". February 4th World Cancer Day ‘We Can. I can.’ 6th International Day of Zero End FGM Tolerance to Female Genital

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Mutilation 7th Safer Internet Day Create, connect and share respect: A better internet starts with you 10th National De-worming Day 11th International Day of Women Equality and Parity in Science for Peace and Girls and Development 12th National Productivity Day Industry 4.0 Leapfrog Opportunity for India. 13th World Radio Day Radio and Sports 20th World Day of Social Justice The Quest for Social Justice 21st International Mother Linguistic diversity and multi Language Day lingualismcount for sustainable development 24th Central Excise Day 28th National Science Day "Science and Technology for a

R.A.C.E sustainable future."

1st Zero Discrimination day World Civil Defense day Civil defence and the national institutions for more efficient disaster management” 3rd World Wildlife day Big cats – predators under threat National Defense day 4th National security day 8th International Women’s day Press for Progress World kidney day Kidneys and Women’s Health – Include, Value, Empower 10th CISF Raising day - 12th Commonwealth day Towards a Common Future

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15th World Consumer Rights day Making Digital Marketplaces Fairer March 16th National Vaccination day 18th Ordnance Factories day 20th World Happiness day Share happiness World Sparrow day I love sparrows 21st World Forestry day Forests and Sustainable Cities International day for the Promoting tolerance, inclusion, unity and elimination of Racial respect for diversity in the context of Discrimination combating racial discrimination. World Down Syndrome day What I bring to my Community 22nd World Water day Nature for Water 23rd World Meteorological day Weather-ready, climate-smart 24th World TB day Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world 25th International day of Remember Slavery: Triumphs and remembrance of the victims Struggles for Freedom and Equality R.A.C.E of slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade 27th World Theatre day -

1st Prevention of Blindness - week 2nd World Autism Awareness Empowering women and girls with day autism 4th International day for Mine Advancing Protection, Peace and awareness and assistance in Development mine action 5th National maritime day Indian Shipping – An Ocean of opportunity

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7th World health day Universal Health Coverage: Everyone, Everywhere Handloom week - 8th World tradition day - April 10th World Homeopathy day Innovate: Evolve, Progress: Exploring Science since 40 years 11th National Safe Motherhood Respectful Maternity Care day 17th World Hemophilia day Sharing Knowledge makes us stronger 18th World Heritage day Heritage For Generation 21st Secretaries’ day 22nd International Earth day End Plastic Pollution 23rd World Book & Copyright day Reading:It’s my right! 24th National Panchayati day 29th International dance day R.A.C.E

1st International Labor day Uniting Workers for Social And Economic Maharashtra day Advancement

1st World Laughter day (Sunday) 1st World Asthma day Never too early, never too late. It's (Tuesday) always the right time to address airways disease 2nd Mother’s day (Sunday) 3rd Press Freedom day Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule of Law

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4th Coal Miner’s day International Fire fighters day 7th World Athletics day 8th World Red cross day Memorable smiles from around the world Mother’s day World Thalassaemia day May 11th National Technology day Science and Technology for a Sustainable Future 12th International Nurse day Nurses A Voice to Lead – Health is a Human right 15th International day of family Families and inclusive societies 17th World Telecommunication Day World Hypertension day Know Your Numbers with a goal of

R.A.C.E increasing high blood pressure (BP) awareness in all populations around the world. 18th World AIDS Vaccine day 22nd International day for Celebrating 25 Years of Action for biological diversity Biodiversity 24th Commonwealth day Towards a Common Future 31st Anti-tobacco day

1st World Milk day 4th International Day of Innocent children victims of aggression

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5th World Environment day The theme is "Beat Plastic Pollution". 8th World Ocean day Main focus - to prevent plastic pollution and encourage solutions for a healthy ocean 3rd Father’s day June (Sunday) 12th Anti-Child Labor day Main Focus on child labour and the action and efforts needed to eliminate it. 14th World Blood Donor day Theme - ‘Be there for someone else. Give blood. Share life’. 20th World Refugee day The theme is ‘Now More Than Ever, We Need to Stand with Refugees’. Celebrated to celebrate the courage, strength and perseverance of millions of refugees.

R.A.C.E 21st International Yoga day It was organised at Forest Research Institute in Dehradun, Uttarakhand and The theme is "Yoga for Peace". 26th International Day against Theme -"Listen First - Listening to Drug Abuse & Illicit children and youth is the first step to Trafficking help them grow healthy and safe."

1st Doctor’s day “Zero tolerance to violence against doctors and clinical establishment’. 6th World Zoonoses day Zoonosis are infectious diseases (virus, bacteria and parasites) that can be spread from animals to humans, and vice versa. Zoonosis can spread from

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direct contact with animals or indirectly, July vector-borne or food-borne. 11th World population day 'Family Planning is a Human Right'. 17th International Nelson Mandela day 28th World Nature Conservation “Earth provides enough to satisfy every day man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”

1st World Breastfeeding week 1st International Friendship day (Sunday) 6th Hiroshima day 8th World Senior Citizen’s day

R.A.C.E 9th Quit India day Nagasaki day International day of the Theme - ‘Indigenous peoples’ migration world’s Indigenous peoples and movement’. August 11th National Daughter’s day 13th Organ Donation day 15th Indian Independence day Rajasthan government announced that it would observe September as ‘month of nutrition’ 19th Photography day 29th National Sports day Birthday of legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand

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1st National Nutrition week Go Further with Food 2nd Coconut day Coconut for Good Health, Wealth and Wellness 5th Teacher’s day 8th International Literacy day Literacy and Skill Development 15th Engineer’s day 16th World Ozone day 21st Alzheimer’s day To create Awareness about Alzheimer September 22nd Rose day (Welfare of cancer patients) 4th World Rivers day (Sunday) 26th World Contraception day 27th World Tourism day Tourism and the digital transformation 29th World Heart day My Heart, Your Heart R.A.C.E

1st International day for the Celebrating Older Human Rights elderly Champions 2nd Gandhi Jayanthi International day of Non- violence 1st World Habitat day (Monday) 4th World Animal welfare day 8th Indian Air Force day 9th World post office day 10th World Mental Health day Young People And Mental Health In A Changing World

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October National post day 11th International Day of the girl With Her-Skilled Girl Force child 13th International day for Natural Disaster Reduction 14th World Standards day 15th World Students day World White cane day 16th World food day Our Actions Are Our Future. A 0 Hunger World By 2030 Is Possible 24th World Development Information day 28th National Ayurveda day 30th World Thrift day

R.A.C.E

5th World Tsunami day 7th National Cancer Awareness Don’t Be Too Late In Detecting day 9th Legal Services day 11th National Education day To Recall Contribution Of Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad 14th Children’s day November Diabetes day The Family And Diabetes 17th National Epilepsy day Every Patient Is Important 20th Africa Industrialisation day 21st World Television day 29th International day of Solidarity with Palestinian

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people

1st World AIDS day Know Your Status 2nd National Pollution control 3rd World day of handicapped Empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality 4th Indian navy day 7th Indian armed forces flag December day 8th Plastic free day 10th Human rights day Stand up for human rights 11th International Mountain day Mountains matter 14th World Energy Conservation day

R.A.C.E 16th Vijay Diwas 18th International Migrants day Migration with dignity 22nd National Mathematics day 23rd Kisan Divas

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EXERCISES

ARMY EXERCISES Exercise Name Partner Country Venue Vinbax I Vietnam Jabalpur, India Vajra Prahar USA Joint Base Lewis- McChord, United States Shakti IV France Mailly-le-Camp, France Lamitye VIII Seychelles Mahe, Seychelles Khanjar V Kyrgyzstan Mizoram, India Harimau Shakti Malaysia Hulu Langat, Malaysia

Vijay Prahar Internal Army Exercise Rajasthan, India Surya Kiran XIII Nepal Uttarkhand, India Maitree Thailand Chachoengsao, Thailand

R.A.C.E SCO Peace Mission SCO Chelyabinsk, Russia

Milex 2018 BIMSTEC Maharashtra, India

Nomadic Elephant XII Mongolia Ullanbaatar, Mongolia

Prabal Dostyk III Kazakhstan Otar Military area, Kazakhstan

Yudh Abhyas XIV USA Uttarkhand, India

Dharma Guardian I Japan Mizoram, India

Indra X Russia Uttar Pradesh, India

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AIR FORCE EXERCISES Exercise Name Partner Country Venue Gaganshakti Internal Exercise India Pitch Black Australia, USA, Netherlands, France, Darwin Air Force Germany, Canada, Indonesia, New Zealand, Base, Australia Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia Bi-lateral Indonesia Subang Air Base, Malaysia exercise Aviaindra Russia Lipetsk, Russia (Sep) Jodhpur, India (Dec) Cope India USA West Bengal, India

NAVAL EXERCISES Exercise Name Partner Country Venue AUSINDEX Australia Vizakapatnam, India

R.A.C.E KAKADU Australia Australia IBSAMAR Brazil, South Africa South Africa ADMM+ Exercise ASEAN countries Brunei (Multilateral) VARUNA France Vasco de Gama, Goa MALABAR Japan, USA Guam (pacific ocean ) RIMPAC 2018 Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Honolulu, Hawaii India, Japan, USA, UK etc.. Sahyog HOP TAC 2018 Vietnam Bay of Bengal