Contents POLITY AND GOVERNANCE ............................................................................................................... 6 1. Renaming Allahabad .......................................................................................................................... 6 2. Lokpal ................................................................................................................................................ 6 3. Staff Selection Commission ............................................................................................................... 8 4. Umesh Sinha Report .......................................................................................................................... 9 5. Right to disconnect Bill.................................................................................................................... 10 6. Strengthening North-East Autonomous Councils ............................................................................ 11 INDIAN ECONOMY .............................................................................................................................. 13 1. RBI reserves ratio............................................................................................................................. 13 2. U K Sinha Committee ...................................................................................................................... 14 3. Nandan Nilekani committee............................................................................................................. 14 4. Tokenisation ..................................................................................................................................... 15 5. The Economist’s Democracy Index 2018 ........................................................................................ 16 6. Henley Passport Index ..................................................................................................................... 16 7. World Gold Council Report ............................................................................................................. 17 8. Vision 2040 in Aviation ................................................................................................................... 17 9. Debts and Liabilities ........................................................................................................................ 18 POLICIES AND SCHEMES .................................................................................................................. 20 1. Draft National Policy on Domestic Workers ................................................................................... 20 3. ‘Ama Ghare LED’ scheme ............................................................................................................... 20 4. Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana........................................................................................................ 20 5. Yuva Swabhiman Yojana................................................................................................................. 21 6. KALIA scheme ................................................................................................................................ 21 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ......................................................................................................... 22 1. U.S. & Israel withdraws from UNESO ............................................................................................ 22 2. India-South Africa............................................................................................................................ 22 3. India-Central Asia Dialogue ............................................................................................................ 24 4. Aadhaar, to visit Nepal and Bhutan ................................................................................................. 25 5. Persian Gulf Regional Dialogue Forum ........................................................................................... 26 ENVIRONMENT .................................................................................................................................... 27 1. Cinereous vulture ............................................................................................................................. 27 2. Hawaiian tree snail ........................................................................................................................... 27 3. Great Indian Bustard ........................................................................................................................ 27 1 4. Rosewood ......................................................................................................................................... 27 5. Vulture and Raptor survey ............................................................................................................... 28 6. Asian Waterbird Census (AWC)...................................................................................................... 29 7. Crocodile Census ............................................................................................................................. 29 8. Cyclone Pabuk ................................................................................................................................. 30 9. Deteriorating Shola Grasslands ........................................................................................................ 30 10. Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), 2019 ........................................................................ 31 11. National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) ....................................................................................... 32 12. Airpocalypse III Report ................................................................................................................. 34 13. South Asian Nitrogen Hub ............................................................................................................. 34 14. Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) ......................................................................................... 35 15. Methanol Blending ......................................................................................................................... 35 16. Renuka Dam ................................................................................................................................... 36 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY .......................................................................................................... 38 1. Digital Detox app ............................................................................................................................. 38 2. Ultima Thule .................................................................................................................................... 38 3. Chang’e-4 lunar probe/Yutu 2 ......................................................................................................... 39 4. Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) ................................................................................. 39 5. Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access (SALSA) ................................................................. 40 6. X-Calibur telescope.......................................................................................................................... 40 7. MICROSAT-R and KALAMSAT ................................................................................................... 41 8. Formalin in Fish ............................................................................................................................... 42 9. Zearalenone ...................................................................................................................................... 42 10. CMB-Bharat ................................................................................................................................... 42 11. Superbug blaNDM-1 ...................................................................................................................... 43 SOCIAL ISSUES .................................................................................................................................... 44 1. 70 point Performance Index ............................................................................................................. 44 2. Rare diseases .................................................................................................................................... 44 3. Devadasi system ............................................................................................................................... 45 4. National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (2018-2023) .................................................... 46 5. ASER Report.................................................................................................................................... 47 6. First Human Rights Channel ............................................................................................................ 49 DEFENCE AND SECURITY ................................................................................................................. 50 1. Defence manufacturing rules eased ................................................................................................. 50 2. Global Risks Report