PREFACE ‘How the real time preparation should be just one month before the examination?’This is the time where most of the students become panicked and anxious. To make them calm, specific and reconstruct the syllabus in a confined manner for APSC PRELIMS scheduled on 24th November,2018, this time we decided to come up with a special edition under the name ‘MOZART’ for 2018 prelims exam where last 1 year current affairs (International, National and of Assam),General Knowledge along with Budget, The Economic Survey, Art & Culture, Literature, Miscellaneous, Science & Technology etc has been covered according to the last years question pattern of Prelims Examination. Its completely an Aspirants’ initiative with the vision of covering more and more facts in this edition released in a concise form which is written in a very lucid manner to understand it easily. It is hoped that this hand book will guide aspirants to achieve their goals and continue to be popular with students, teachers, aspirants and general public of Assam. TEAM MOZART CONTENTS 1. CURRENT AFFAIRS-------------------------------------------------------------2-70 International National Assam 2. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE-----------------------------------------------------72-98 First in Assam Books and Authors Festivals and Dances Miscellaneous 3. ASSAM OVERVIEW----------------------------------------------------------100-117 Polity Economic Survey Budget Scheme 2018 Mozart Special Edition CURRENT AFFAIRS International National Assam 1 2018 INTERNATIOMNAoLzISaSrUtE Special Edition 2017 TERI ranked 2nd among World’s Climate Think Tanks by International Centre for Climate Governance (ICCG) TERI- The Energy And Resources Institute It is a research institute that conducts research work in the fields of energy, environment and sustainable development Sponsored by- Ministry of New and Renewable Energy India- Israel ties Narendra Modi, 1st Indian PM to visit Israel Became strategic allies Signed 7 pacts like innovation, agriculture, space, etc Committed to cooperate for the early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) Set up USD 40 million fund (USD 20 million each) for Industrial Research and Development and also for Innovation India ranked 96th in FIFA World Ranking It’s best in 21 years Trilateral Malabar Naval Exercise Held in Chennai on 7th July,2017 Participated by Naval Ships, Aircrafts and Personnel from India, Japan and United States Addressed the variety of shared threats to maritime security in the Indo-Asia Pacific region India ranked 23rd out of 193 countries on Global Cyber Security Index 2017 ITU (International Telecommunication Union) is an specialized Information and Communication Technology Agency under the United Nations ITU is responsible for allocation global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, alongwith developing technical network standards India emerging as front-runner against climate change : World Bank India committed to solar power, innovative solutions and energy efficiency initiatives to supply its people with 24*7 electricity by 2030 India also walked away from plans to install nearly 14 GW of coal-fired power plants Indian Govt. is setting ambitious targets that include 160 GW of wind and solar by 2022 2 2018 India to join new Global Foreign Exchange CommMitotezea(GrFtXCS)pecial Edition GFXC is a newly constituted forum of Central Bankers and experts working towards promotion of a robust and transparent Forex market The committee was set up in London during a meeting in May 2017 The committee has been set up under guidance of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) which is an international financial organisation The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is an international body for global financial system, in a progress report on ‘reducing misconduct risks in the financial sector’ India will be the largest milk producer in 2026- OECD & FAO Report OCED- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development FAO- Food and Agriculture Organisation OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook, 2017-2026- Released by OCED and FAO of the UN Milk production will grow 49% by 2026 India ranks 116 out of 157 nations on Sustainable Development goals (SDGs) Index SDG Index and Dashboards Report has been compiled by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Bertelsmann Stiftung India emerges as top trusted govt. in the world : OCED Report OCED’s Govt. at a Glance Report- India emerged as the most trusted nation with 73% people voting for the current govt. Australia joins International Solar Alliance (ISA) led by India and France ISA- An initiative jointly launched by PM of India Narendra Modi and President of France Francois Hollande in Nov, 2015 in Paris on the side lines of COP21 Aim- To promote solar power on all fronts- generation and storage ISA headquarters and the International Solar Allianceinterim Secretariat of ISA is at the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) in Gurugram, Haryana, India BRICS nations sign memorandum to facilitate taxation cooperation BRICS was established in 2006 It is an association of five major emerging national economies- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa BRICS members are either developing or newly industrialised countries. They are also members of the G-20 group It became BRICS after South Africa joined it in 2010 All the five nations agreed to work together to ensure steady employment and better quality of life for their nation as well as for their people 3 2018 Aim of the memorendum- To establish a mMeochzaanirsmt fSopr teaxcaitaioln Ecodopietriaotinon and also includes improving consultation procedures efficiency, boost taxation capacities and plan paths for coordination of taxation policies and tax collection USISPF set up to deepen Indo-US ties USISPF- US-India Strategic Partnership Forum Set up to further improve business relations between the India and US Aim- To promote bilateral trade and work on creating “meaningful opportunities that have the power to change the lives of citizens” Board of directors includes- Chairman- John Chambers (Executive Chairman, Cisco) Vice Chairman- Punit Renjen (Global CEO, Deloitte LLP) President- Edward Monser (Emerson Electric) Board members includes- Indra Nooyi (Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo) Ajay Banga (President and CEO, MasterCard) India ratifies 2nd commitment period of Kyoto Protocol Kyoto Protocol is an international Greenhouse Gases emissions reduction treaty linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate (UNFCCC) It was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997 and entered into force in February 2005 The protocol is based on principle of equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities India became the 80th country to accept the amendment China Launches First Cyber Court in e-commerce Hub Specialised in handling internet-related cases in the e-commerce hub of Hangzhou, amid a spike in the number of online disputes Offer regular people an efficient, low-cost solution to these new kinds of disputes that take place on the internet Japan Launches New Satellite to Improve Country’s GPS Name of the Satellite- Michibiki An effort to build a homegrown geo-location system Aim- To improve the accuracy of car navigation systems and Smartphone maps to mere centimeters 1st Regional Centre of New Development Bank opens in South Africa 4 2018 NDB referred to as BRICS Bank is a multilaMteroalzdaervetloSppmenctibaalnkEedstiatbilioshned by BRICS nation The idea of setting up NDB was proposed by India at the 4th BRICS Summit in 2012 Its headquarters is in Sanghai, China Unicity launches World’s 1st ever Genomeceuticals Range of products in India Unicity International- Headquartered in Orem, Utah, United States Genomeceutical means Gene Controlling US has launched World’s 1st ever Genomeceutical range of products to India Genomeceutical is a ground-breaking, patent-pending, technology whereby certain secondary metabolites found in nature can help maintain the gene response whenever needed by the body and help maintain overall metabolic health GIFT City's IFSC Bags 10th Place in Global Financial Centres Index GIFT City - Gujarat International Finance Tec-City GIFT City ranks ahead of Luxembourg, Seoul, Abu Dhabi, Toronto and Beijing in the list of the GFCI report GIFT is operational with approximately 10 leading banks, 8 insurance companies and participating brokers and 2 International Exchanges (India INX and NSE IFSC) around 100 capital market players have established their base at GIFT IFSC India to sign $4.5 billion LoC deal with Bangladesh Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley signed the 3rd LoC agreement for infrastructure and social sector development Soumya Swaminathan is appointed as New Deputy Director General at WHO The position is also the highest post held by an Indian in the WHO She is currently the Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) WHO - World Health Organization It is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health It is a member of the United Nations Development Group It was established on 7 April 1948 Its headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland The WHO is responsible for the World Health Report, the worldwide World Health Survey and World Health Day Nobel Peace prize for anti-nuclear group ICAN ICAN- International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons 5 2018 An organisation seeking to eliminate atomMicowzeaprotnsStphreoucgihaalnEindteirtniaotionnal