1. _____________ Law Commission Recommendations (headed by former SC judge B.S. Chauhan) -
- Declare Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) a public body and bring BCCI and its all member cricket associations under Right to Information (RTI) law regime.
- Recommendations related to Elections -
- Holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies. simultaneous elections were held after Independence up to 1967. Dissolution of certain Assemblies in 1968 and 1969 followed by dissolution of Lok Sabha led to disruption of conduct of simultaneous elections.
- Issuance of Notification - Statutory limit of six months for issuance of notification of general elections.
- No-confidence motion - Parties which introduce no-confidence motion should simultaneously give a suggestion for an alternative government as no-confidence motion and premature dissolution of House is major roadblocks to simultaneous elections.
- Anti-defection law - The rigour of ‘Anti-defection Law’ must be removed as exception, to prevent stalemate (गतिरोध) in Lok Sabha/Assembly in case of Hung Parliament/Assembly.
- Mid-term elections - In case of mid-term elections, new Lok Sabha or Assembly will only serve remainder of term of previous Lok Sabha/Assembly and not a fresh term of five years.
- Prime minister/ CMs should be elected to lead Lok Sabha/Assembly, by full house like electing speaker of Lok Sabha. This will provide stability to government and in turn to Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly.
- Centre should get Constitutional amendments, if agreed upon, to be ratified by all the States so as to avoid any challenge to them.
2. 2nd India Mobile Congress (IMC-2018) will be held in _______________ in October 25-27, 2018 with theme NEW DIGITAL HORIZONS Connect, Create, innovate. It will be organised by Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).?
3. 51 day long ____________ Theatre Olympics Concluded in Mumbai. This edition of Theatre Olympics brought together around 25,000 artists under theme “Flag of Friendship”. It witnessed 450 shows from more than 30 countries performed across 17 cities.
4. Ib Setu has been launched by ___________________ Govt. It is built over Ib river in Sambalpur district as 2nd larges river Bridge in State with 2.5-km length. It establishes direct connectivity between Sambalpur and Brajarajnagar.
- Dhola–Sadiya Bridge, also referred as Bhupen Hazarika Setu is a beam bridge and is longest River bridge in India (On Lohit River). It connects northeast states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
- New Ganga Bridge Project under construction in Bihar, will become longest bridge in India upon its completion in December 2020, with length of 9.8 kilometres.
5. A 25 MW power plant worth Rs 502 crore will be set up in Bandhwari village of Gurugram (______________) to produce electricity from waste under Integrated Solid Waste Management Scheme.
6. A Multi Modal Logistics Park at Balli Station near Madgaon in _______________ has been inaugurated, as per MoU entered between Konkan Railway & Container Corporation of India Ltd (CONCOR). Spread over 81,300 square meters, It can handle both domestic and exim container traffic.
7. According to a report from wireless coverage mapping company OpenSignal, Patna (_______________) topped in 4G connectivity among 20 of India’s largest cities.
8. ___________ Govt. inaugurated State's Cyber Security Operations Center in Amaravati, to fight cyber security threats and offer real time intelligence sharing and threat analysis to all state government departments.
9. __________________ government Initiated its Bhu Seva project aimed at offering integrated services related with land. Each land parcel will be given an 11 Digit Bhudhar Number, to help in easy identification of details of land parcel. Ch Vijayamohan is Mission Director of Bhu Seva Mission.
10. _______________ - International Jazz Day, declared by UNESCO In 2011. Saint Petersburg (Russia) is Global Host City for International Jazz Day 2018.
11. Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) has been removed completely from _______________________. AFSPA empowers security forces to conduct operations and arrest anyone anywhere without prior notice.
12. As per a recent AAI survey, Mangalore (___________________) International Airport is adjudged as cleanest in India.
13. __________ government’s new cashless health scheme, 'Atal Amrit Abhiyan' has been launched. It offers free medical care of up to Rs 2 lakh to every individual in state. It will cover 92 % of state's population with annual income below Rs 5 lakh, with INR 400 crores allocated in FY 2018-19.
14. ______________ is named highest paying city in India, with average annual cost to company (CTC) standing at INR 11 lakh, according to Randstad Insights. Pune is 2nd at around 10 lakh, followed by Delhi NCR and Mumbai with average annual CTC of INR 10 lakh and 9 lakh respectively.
- Bangalore also emerged as most preferred city for office expansion, according to real estate consulting firm CBRE South Asia.
15. Cabinet Approvals (Apr 11, 2018) -
- General Approvals -
- Increasing pay and allowances of Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories, from INR 80000 per month to _________ Lac Per Month.
- MOUs -
- With United Kingdom and Northern Ireland on return of Illegal Migrants.
- CCEA Approvals -
- Delegated powers to Finance and Petroleum Ministers to award oil and gas exploration blocks to successful bidders under Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP). Under HELP, exploration blocks awarded twice in a year and currently awarding of blocks requires CCEA’s approval.
- Relaxed rules for Coal India Ltd (CIL) for extraction of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) lying below coal seams in its blocks in bid to quickly boost production. Till now, CIL had to apply to oil ministry for a licence to extract coal-bed methane (CBM) from its coal blocks.
16. Cabinet Approvals (Apr 25, 2018) -
- MOUs -
- With Sao Tome and Principe for Cooperation in Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy, Medicinal Plants.
- With World Health Organisation (WHO) for Cooperation in Public Health.
- With BRICS countries on cooperation in regulation of medical products for human use amongst medicine regulatory agencies.
- Renewal Long Term Agreements (LTAs) for supply of iron ore (lumps and fines) of grade +64% Fe content to Japanese Steel Mills (JSMs) and POSCO, South Korea for 5 five years (till 31.3.2023) through MMTC Limited.
- Declaration of Extension in Scheduled Areas in Rajasthan under 5th Schedule of Constitution of India.
- CCEA Approvals-
- Approved increase in Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Raw Jute for 2018-19 season, at INR _______________ per quintal (compared to 3500 in 2017-18 season).
- Approved Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National Bamboo Mission (NBM) under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) during remaining period of Fourteenth Finance Commission (2018-19 & 2019-20). Expenditure is estimated at INR 1290 crores.
17. Cabinet Approvals on Apr 04, 2018
- MOUs -
- With Afghanistan for cooperation in field of food safety and related areas.
- With Iran on establishment of an expert group on trade remedy measures.
- With Canada to foster cross-border partnerships focused on research excellence and industry-academic collaboration.
- With UAE for Techincal Co-operation in Railway Sector.
- CCEA (Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs) -
- Approved closure of ______________________ - a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under Ministry of Railways. It has been decided after continued poor physical and financial performance of company for over 10 years.
- Government will provide one-time grant of INR 417.10 crores for clearing liabilities of company. 508 employees will benefit from Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS). It and was declared sick in 1995.
- Approved Revised Cost Estimates (RCE) of scheme of Updation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) 1951 in Assam at a cost of Rs. 1220 crores upto 31-12-2018. Scheme of NRC, 1951 is specific to state of Assam covering about 3.29 crore applicants.
- Other Approvals -
- Approved rightsizing Competition Commission of India (CCI) from One Chairperson and Six Members (totalling seven) to One Chairperson and Three Members (totalling four), by not filling the existing vacancies of two Members and one more additional vacancy, expected in September 2018. It is being done inn line with Government's objective of Minimum Government - Maximum Governance.
18. Central Government started a Pilot Scheme for Procurement of Aggregate Power of _______________ MW on competitive basis for 3 years from generators with commissioned projects but without Power Purchase Agreement. It will revive power demand, which has affected generators who do not have Power Purchase Agreements. Maximum allotment to a single entity has been capped at 600 MW.
19. Central Govt's Saubhagya, Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana Yojana launched in North Eastern State of ________________, aimed at electrifying over 90000 households across state by March 31, 2019.
20. Chennai based Geographical Indication Registry has awarded Geographical Indication (GI) Tag to two more craft forms from ________________ - Adilabad dokra and Warangal Dhurries.
- Adilabad Dokra is an ancient bell metal craft and Warangal Dhurries is a popular traditional cotton rug.Adilabad DokraIt is form of ancient bell metal craft practiced by Woj community native to Adilabad district.
- Warangal Dhurries is a popular traditional cotton rug in which weavers create beautiful patterns and dye them using vegetable colours, which are washed in flowing water after printing process. Currently, there are more than 2000 weaving community members present in Kothawada, Warangal in spinning Dhurrie.
21. ______________ Government will start distributing free smartphones to over 50 lakh people across state under Sanchar Kranti Yojana (SKY), In a bid to reduce the digital divide. This will give phone connectivity to 13900 villages of state.
22. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research -National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) and Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under Ministry of Communications signed an MOU on technical knowledge sharing for establishing a nationwide Time Stamping & Time Synchronization network and traceability of Time signal to UTC NPL Time.
- Nationwide, Time Stamping & Time Synchronization network consisting of _______________ Time Synchronization Centers (TSC’s) will be set up by DoT with technical assistance from CSIR-NPL. This network will provide synchronizing pulse in Indian Standard Time(IST) to all Telecom & Internet Service providers in all _____________ LSA (Licensed Service Areas) in the country.
- Purpose of synchronizing the telecom network with IST time stamp is to enable security agencies to overcome difficulty in analyzing cyber events in this era of greatly increasing network speed with advancement of telecom technology. It will also improve telecom network efficiency by reducing packet loss due to reduced slips in better synchronized digital network.
23. _______________ government will set up Rogi Kalyan Samitis in each Assembly constituency and Jan Swasthaya Samitis in state-run dispensaries, poly clinics and mohalla clinics, to provide support to health institutions. Each such entity will receive INR 3 lakh as grand-in aid every year.
24. ______________ became first city in country to switch from BS-IV grade fuels to BS-VI, to combat rising levels of air pollution.
25. Department of Posts launched DARPAN (_______________) Project, aiming to connect all 1.29 lakh Rural Branch Post Offices, to enable them to do online Postal and Financial Transactions. Project cost is INR 1300 crores.
26. _________ Smart City become first city in India to run 100% on renewable energy during daytime setting a new benchmark for other cities to become clean and green. It had been importing 73% of its power from Gujarat until last year.
27. Environment Ministry notified Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2018, validating phasing out of MLP (______________). MLP is non-recyclable, non-energy recoverable and has no alternate use. Other recommendations -
- Central registration system for registration of producer, importer or brand owner is to be created by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
- Producers with presence in over 2 states need to apply for national registry CPCB, while small producers require a state-level registration with State Pollution Control Board.
- Rule 15 has been removed, that stated explicit pricing of carry bags.
28. FMCG major ITC tied up with NITI Aayog to train 2 lakh farmers to increase their income and raise productivity of major crops in ____________ aspirational districts across 7 states by 2022. These districts are from Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
29. Finance Ministry approved to provide Assistance for completion of 8 Irrigation projects and 83 Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI) projects in Vidarbha, Marathwada and drought prone areas of ______________________, with Estimated cost INR 13651 Crores. These projects are expected to be completed by 2022-23.
30. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched Project _________ to address rising incidence of Vitamin D deficiencies (VDD). It aims to encourage schools to shift their morning assembly to around noon-time, to ensure maximum absorption of Vitamin D in students through natural sunlight.
31. Former __________ Bhaichung Bhutia launched his political party named “Hamro Sikkim”.
32. General Events / Conferences (Apr 11-20, 2018) -
- India's Largest Defence Expedition DefExpo-18 Held in Thiruvidanthai, Chennai (________________). Third India-Russia Military Industrial Conference was also held alongwith. Theme of expo was India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub. During DEFEXPO 18 -
- Boeing India, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Mahindra Defence Systems entered into agreement to manufacture fighter aircraft F/A-18 Super Hornet in India.
- Mahindra Defence Systems also signed agreement with ShinMaywa Industries of Japan to manufacture amphibious aircraft ShinMaywa US-2 in India. It is only ‘in-service’ open sea-capable amphibian aircraft with advanced equipment suitable for rough sea operations.
- India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) organized 2-day Consultative Workshop for Delegation from the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Kazakhstan in New Delhi.
- India-Wiesbaden Conference 2018 held in New Delhi with theme Securing Global Supply Chains through Government-Industry Partnerships towards Effective Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1540.
- First regional conference of eastern states on Water Resources is held in Kolkata (West Bengal), to address outstanding water resources issues.
- First meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) Abhiyaan held in New Delhi. It aims to ensure holistic development and adequate nutrition for pregnant women, mothers and children.
- 7th Home Expo India 2018, organised by Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) at India Expo Centre in Greater Noida (UP).
- Biannual Indian army commanders’ conference 2018 held in New Delhi.
- 2-day Regional Conference on “Urban Development: Technological Solutions and Governance Challenges” held in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
33. General Events / Conferences (Apr 21 - 30, 2018) -
- Election Commission a Training and Certification Programme for State Level Master Trainers (SLMTs) at New Delhi. Certification course for Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) was also conducted.
- Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu chaired first meeting of think tank on Framework for National Policy on E-commerce held in New Delhi.
- National Kharif Conference 2018 held in New Delhi.
- 23rd meeting of Western Zonal Council held at Gandhinagar (___________).
- First International SME Convention organised by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in New Delhi.
- 29th Road Safety Week held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. Book named "Have a Safe Journey" was also released.
- 3rd Annual 5G India Congress 2018 held in New Delhi.
- 3rd meeting of Island Development Agency (IDA) held in Delhi.
- Secure India Conclave, organised by Global Counter Terrorism Council held in New Delhi.
- National Disaster Response Authority (NDMA) conducted its first ever mock exercise at Patna (Bihar), aimed at enhancing preparedness of Airport Emergency Handlers (AEHs) to respond to CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) emergencies at airports.
- A Cancer Screening Mela was organized in Mizoram, by state's Health Department with Public Foundation of India and National Health Mission under initiative of Swasth Purv.
- Odisha Govt. inaugurated ‘Odisha Skills 2018’, state-level chapter of India Skill competition organised by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in Cuttack (Odisha).
- Kerala hosted India Skills Kerala 2018 in Kochi, as part of World Skills India 2018, to help youngsters to show their vocational skills. It also helped training students for World Skills Competition Kazan 2019 (Russia).
34. General Events / Conferences (April 1-10, 2018) -
- Second lead-up Conference to 3rd Annual Meeting of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) held in Visakhapatnam (________). About AIIB -
- Headquarters - Beijing (China).
- 64 Members and Jin Liqun is current (President).
- First meeting of the newly constituted ‘NITI Forum for North East held in Agartala (Tripura) today.
- 9th US-Japan-India held trilateral meeting in New Delhi.
- 2 Assam Spring Festival held at Manas National Park, organised by Indian Weavers’ Association and Swankar Mithinga Onsai Afat, an association of reformed poachers in Manas who are engaged in wildlife conservation.
- Uttarakhand’s second Mega Food Park- Himalayan Mega Food Park Private Ltd inaugurated at Mahuakhera Ganj in Kashipur in Udham Singh Nagar district. State's first Mega Food Park is operational at Haridwar.
- National Convention of Swachhagrahis held at Motihari (Bihar) with theme Satyagraha se Swachhagrah, organized as part of centenary celebrations of Champaran Satyagraha.
- 34th annual session of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) held in New Delhi.
35. _________________ government will launch its own app-based taxi service to few key tourist destinations of state. Taxi operators would be required to follow online queuing system, based on which a ride will be confirmed or assigned to them. It is expected to solve state’s problematic tourist taxi issue that has been plaguing its tourism sector for several years.
36. Government launched GOBARdhan Yojna nationally from National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) in Karnal district of _______________. GOBAR is acronym for Galvanising Organic Bio Agro Resources. This scheme focuses on managing and converting cattle dung and solid waste from farms and fields to useful compost, biogas and bio-CNG. It will also help in keeping villages clean and generate energy while increasing income of farmers and cattle herders.
- Central and state governments will provide funds in the ratio of 60:40, depending upon number of households in village.
- It will be beneficial as India is home to highest cattle population in world (around 30 crores) and produces around 3 million tonnes of dung. It will encourage farmers to consider dung and other waste not just as waste but as source of income.
37. Government preponed national development target date for completion of PMGSY-I (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) . Since its inception in 2000, PMGSY provided connectivity to 152124 habitations (from 178184 eligible habitations). Target is to Provide connectivity to 166012 habitations by March 2019.
- Construction of PMGSY roads reached record high of __________ kms per day in 2017-18 as against average of 73 kms during 2011 - 2014.
38. Govt. launched a Mobile App (m-Awas) for allotment of Government accommodations in General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) in __________ under the control of Directorate of Estates.
39. ____________________ Govt. approved setting up a 5,000 MW capacity solar park at Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR), as largest Solar Park in world. It would be set up in 11,000 hectares of land with an investment of INR 25000 crores.
40. Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited (GNFC) started Neem Project in Amethi District of _________________. Since 2015, GNFC, through its Neem Project has collected over 45,000 tonnes of neem seeds by engaging 4.5 lakh rural women in 5 states - Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan.
41. ______________ police unveiled Pocket Cop project, which will enable quicker verification of passport applicants, and search of accused persons. Under this, smartphones with data connectivity will be given to 4,900 police personnel.
42. HRD Ministry launched Study in India portal at URL www.studyinindia.gov.in, as a single window to cover all aspects relating to studying in India for foreign students. Students across world will now be able to pursue the education in prominent Indian Educational Institutions. Integration of e-SANAD portal and NAD (_____________) (of HRD Ministry), was also launched on the occasion.
- e-Sanad is aimed at online submission and verification of documents with ultimate object to extend contact less, cashless, faceless and paperless document attestation service. Using it, any type of document viz personal, educational or commercial can be authenticated and apostilled.
- National Academic Depository (NAD) is 24X7 online store house of all academic awards viz. diplomas certificates,, degrees, mark-sheets etc. duly digitised and lodged by academic boards, institutions, eligibility assessment bodies. It ensures easy access to and retrieval of academic award and validates and guarantees its authenticity and safe storage.
43. ____________ Government launched water ATM policy to provide clean drinking water at public places to people of state. Urban residents of state can now look forward to having a water ATM every 400 metres ?
44. ________________ Govt. approved Slum-In-Situ Rehabilitation Policy to provide housing facility to slum dwellers without making them relocate to other areas. Under this, total INR 1.67 lakh per dwelling unit will be provided to developer for construction of houses (1 Lakh by Central and 67000 by State Govt) ?
45. _______________ Government will introduce free Heli-ambulance services in order to help patients in far flung and inaccessible areas . Free Heli-ambulance services will be operated by Heli-mission Switzerland with the assistance of Lady Willingdon Hospital (Kullu District).
- State Govt. inaugurated Kanda Pattan-Sarkaghat Water Supply Scheme in Mandi district. It will benefit more than 31,000 people of region. State govt. also decreased age criteria for getting old age pension to 70 years from 80 years.
46. ________________ Govt. launched Mother’s Absolute Affection (MAA) programme with an aim to promote breastfeeding, strengthening inter-personal communication through ASHA workers, skilled support for breastfeeding at delivery points.
47. Human Resource Development Ministry launched 2nd edition of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan in New Delhi. Under this, students from ___________ higher educational institutions from across country will adopt nearby villages and visit them to get acquainted with regular lifestyle of village people and problems faced by them. Main objective is to enable higher education institutions to work with people of rural India in identifying development challenges and evolving appropriate solutions for accelerating sustainable development in rural areas.
48. Human Resource Development Ministry released NIRF India Rankings 2018 of higher educational institutions -
- Top 10 (Overall) -
- Indian Institute of Science ______________
- Indian Institute of Technology Madras
- Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
- Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
- Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
- Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
- Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
- Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
- Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
- Anna University, Chennai
- Top 5 Universities -
- Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
- Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi
- Banaras Hindu University Varanasi
- Anna University Chennai
- University of Hyderabad
- Top 5 Medical Institutes -
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences New Delhi
- Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh
- Christian Medical College, Vellore
- Kasturba Medical College, Manipal
- King George`s Medical University, Lucknow
- Top 5 Colleges -
- Miranda House, Delhi University
- St, Stephens, Delhi University
- Bishop Heber College, Tiruchirappalli
- Hindu College, Delhi
- Presidency College, Chennai
- Top 5 Engineering Institutes -
- IIT Madras
- IIT Bombay
- IIT Delhi
- IIT Kharagpur
- IIT Kanpur
- Top 5 Management Institutes -
- Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad
- Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore
- Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta
- Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow
- Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
49. Indian Railways inducted three 09-3x Dynamic Tamping Express machines for improved mechanised Track Maintenance, manufactured in India under Make in Inida initiative with imported components. This technology is available in five countries including India.
- Railways plans to induct _____________ more such machines in its maintenance fleet over next 3 years.
- These Machines can perform several track maintenance tasks which are currently performed manually / through several machines.
- Railways has planned complete mechanisation of inspection, monitoring, relaying and maintenance of track by 2024. Induction of such new machines will further help to improve safety, reliability and economy in maintenance of tracks over Indian Railways.
50. Kerala State Govt. Updates -
- CM Pinarayi Vijayan launched Pravasi pension scheme, offering pension of INR 2000 a month to state's Non Resident Citizens of 0ver 60 years age. To avail this scheme, person has to pay Rs 100 per month for 5 years.
- State Government will start a ‘community radio’ to update farmers about latest developments, as first such community radio in India. It will start broadcast from Kuttanad in Alappuzha district, known as rice bowl of _________.
- State's startup ecosystem congregation held at Kovalam, with name Huddle, organised by state's Startup Mission along with Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
51. Linguist Panchanan Mohanty from University of Hyderabad discovered 2 endangered languages Walmiki and Malhar predominantly spoken in remote regions of ________________.
- Walmiki - Spoken in district of Koraput and on bordering districts of Andhra Pradesh.
- Malhar - Spoken in a remote and isolated hamlet about 165 km away from Bhubaneswar. It is spoken by community consisting of about 75 speakers including children.
52. _______________ High Court became first court in south India and overall eighth in the country to introduce e-court fee payment facility. It will enable litigants who file cases in High Court to pay judicial stamp duty to government through e-stamps.
53. _______________ Govt. launched QUEST (Quality Evaluation for Sustainable Transformation), a centre to evaluate and quantify special development budget allocations and their impact on tribal development, to bring greater accountability in management of funds allocated for tribal welfare.
54. _______________ government announced that cancer patients would be provided with free chemotherapy treatment at district hospitals, starting June 2018. It aims to ease travelling and lodging problems of cancer patients who come to Mumbai's Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel, which is one of the country's premier cancer treatment facilities.
55. __________________'s Shirui Lily Festival 2018 has been concluded at Ukhrul district, to spread awareness about conservation of endangered Shirui Lily.
56. ________________ government launched ‘Mission Lakadong’ to achieve a five-fold increase in production of Lakadong turmeric, an organic variety of turmeric grown in state, to at least 50,000 metric tonne per year in 5 years. Jaintia Hills District is home to Lakadong turmeric.
57. Minister for Railways and Coal Piyush Goyal launched UTTAM App for Coal Quality Monitoring. UTTAM stands for – ______________________________(uttam.coalindia.in). It aims to provide an App for all citizens and coal consumers to monitor Third Party Sampling of coal across CIL subsidiaries. It provides a platform for monitoring of sampling and coal dispatches and aims to make citizens a stakeholder in coal ecosystem.
58. Minister of Information & Broadcasting Smriti Zubin Irani Launched a scholarship of INR ___________ in commemoration of Deen Dayal Upadhyay, for people who did exemplary work in development of journalism.
59. Ministry of Commerce and Industry launched digital initiatives of _______________ (EIC) for ease of export to boost to India’s potential for agricultural and food export.
- EIC developed three portals to reduce transaction time and cost in transparent manner.
- Lab-one assessment portal - It will provide unified approach to all stakeholders like accreditation bodies, regulators and laboratories by bringing them together on common platform.
- Export Alert Monitoring portal - It will monitor non-compliances raised by importing countries. It will enable monitoring of alerts and action taken by multiple organizations involved in initial certification in food safety and bio-security.
60. Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) released draft of ______________ (NCAP) proposing multiple strategies to reduce air pollution. NCAP aims to meet prescribed annual average ambient air quality standards at all locations in a stipulated time frame. However it does not mention any specific target and time frame.
61. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will roll out ‘Integrated initiative for prevention & control of viral _______________’ under National Health Mission (NHM) for prevention and control of viral _____________. It will have budgetary support of over 517 crores for three years.
62. Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises has extended Phase-1 of FAME India (________________________) Scheme to provide financial support to electric and hybrid vehicles by another six months till 30 September 2018 or till launch of phase-II.
- FAME-India scheme was launched in 2015 under National Electric Mobility Mission (NEMM). It aims at promoting eco-friendly vehicles in the country.
63. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) launched web-based application e-FRRO (_________________) to allow foreign tourists and travellers to avail of paperless and cashless visa-related services.
64. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) relaxed six-decade-old protected area permit (PAP) regime to allow foreign tourists to access border areas of Nagaland, Mizoram and ______________ for 5 years effect from April 1, 2018. However, citizens from Pakistan, China and Afghanistan will still be banned from all PAP areas.
65. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in New Delhi and southern state of ________________. Under it, gas connections will be distributed to identified beneficiary women in Delhi. PMUY was launched by PM Narendra Modi in May 2016 with tagline of Swachh Indhan, Behtar Jeevan.
66. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) published new draft rules to make mandatory for automobile manufacturers to provide high security registration plates (HSRP) to all new vehicles from _________ 1, 2019. HSRP to be fitted in all classes of motor vehicles will have tamper-proof plates with host of in-built security features and will offer increased protection against theft.
67. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways proposed One Nation One Tax policy for seamless movement of commercial vehicles across country. The Group of Ministers is headed by ___________ transport minister Yunus Khan.
- It will put check on people registering their vehicles in low tax states and running them in other states. It will also bring necessary relief to genuine cases requiring transfer of vehicles.
- Uniform tax should be based on invoice price of vehicles in three slabs. 8% tax on vehicles below 10 lakhs, 10% for vehicles costing between 10 -20 lakh, and 12% for vehicles above 20 lakh. Diesel vehicles may have to pay 2% extra taxes, while electric vehicles will be given 2% discount.
68. Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) launched _________________ Project. Under it, tourist amenities will be developed at selected heritage sites. Engaged Entities will be called as Monument Mitra and adopt sites essentially under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity.
69. Ministry of Tribal affairs approved establishment of first multipurpose Van Dhan Vikas Kendra in Bijapur District of _______________ for value addition of Forest Produce, as part of Government’s scheme of Mechanism for marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support price (MSP) and development of Value chain for MFP.
70. NITI Aayog launched ______________ under Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) with aim to bring-in innovations and technologies relevant to people. It will focus on efforts towards solving problems in core areas, to have direct impact on improving lives of citizens and generate employment.
71. NITI Aayog will build _______________ (NDAP) to host and analyse huge amount of data which shall be helpful for citizens to understand spend patterns of government, consumption trends and success of various government policies.
72. National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) under Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) issued Expression of Interest (EoI) for first offshore wind energy project of India in Gulf of Khambat off the coast of _______________, with 1000 MW (1 GW) capacity. MNRE is plannning to install at least 5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2022.
73. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) signed MoU with the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) to provide skill training to 500 youth and women at Kudankulam in ________________.
74. PM Narendra Modi announced that April 28 will be remembered as a historic day as on this day, every single village of India was electrified, few days before deadline of May 10, 2018.
- Leisang, a village in central Manipur's Senapati district, was last one to receive electricity on April 29, 2018 under _______________ (DDUGJY).
- Out of 18,452 villages that were without electricity in 2015, 17,181 have been electrified. Others are either uninhabited or classified as grazing reserves.
- Still, 3.2 crore homes are still not electrified as government considers a village electrified, if it has basic electrical infrastructure; and 10 % of its places including schools, local administrative offices and health centres have power.
- PM Modi in his speech on August 15, 2015 promised electrification all un-electrified villages within 1000 days. For this, government launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY).
75. PM Narendra Modi launched India's first 12,000 horsepower electric locomotive with transport capacity of 6000 tonnesfrom Madhepura locomotive factory of __________________, made with help of French company Alstom.
- India Joins Russia, China, Germany and Sweden that have successfully run over 12000 horsepower capacity electric Locomotives.
- Alstom will deliver 800 high horsepower locomotives over 11 years to India. First five locomotives will be imported while remaining 795 will be manufactured in India.
76. Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced development of a new Expressway between Delhi and _____________, at a cost of 1 Lakh Crore Rupees. Minister also disclosed plans for a Chambal Expressway which would be connected to Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, and is likely to benefit states like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
77. SJVN Limited signed MoU with Ministry of Power, setting target of generating ____________ Million Units during 2018-19 under ‘Excellent’ category. SJVN looks to have Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) target of 900 crores and Turnover of 2175 crores.
78. ________ is most trusted Internet brand in India as per TRA Brand Trust Report 2018, With 1.2 trillion searches per year. It is followed by Facebook, Amazon and eBay. Biggest falls was seen by Snapdeal(fell by 142 ranks) and best trust gainer is Netflix (up 506 ranks).
79. Supreme Court asked __________________ Sunni Waqf Board to show documents signed by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to prove its ownership on Taj Mahal. SC Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra asked Waqf board counsel to authenticate that Shah Jahan executed a ‘Waqfnama’ in favour of Waqf board, a document through which a person conveys intention to donate a property to Waqf for charitable purpose.
- SC also raised a question for Waqf board that how Shah Jahan could sign a document when he was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb after war of succession at Agra Fort in 1658 and Mughal emperor died in fort itself in 1666. SC also told council that Taj Mahal and other heritage structures were built by Mughals and were taken over by Britishers after end of Mughal rule.
- SC ruled this when he Waqf board counsel told court that Shah Jahan had himself declared Taj Mahal a Waqf property. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) filled an appeal in SC against waqf board’s declaring Taj Mahal as its property.
80. Surat railway station (__________________) will be third in India to be developed as a world-class facility under Railway’s station redevelopment programme, After Habibganj (Bhopal) and Gandhinagar (Gujarat), which will both be ready by 2019. It is being done Railway Ministry’s 1 lakh crore station redevelopment programme.
81. Swedish-Swiss Firm ABB announced commissioning of India’s first industrial solar microgrid in Vadodara (__________________). Microgrid is a localized electricity source which can function autonomously as well as by connecting and being synced with traditional centralized electrical grid (macrogrid). Microgrids with integrated battery energy storage are setup to ensure continuity of work during power outages.
82. ____________ Government Updates -
- Launched bi-lingual (Tamil and English) Uzhavan (farmer) mobile application in a bid to use technology for benefit of farmers. It will allow farmers to access nine types of services, including crop insurance, farm subsidies, farm equipments and related infrastructure.
- Launched Amma Free Wi-Fi zones in 5 cities of Tamil Nadu, under which Wi-Fi zones will be set up in 50 spots. Users will be offered 20 minutes of free internet service per day. After that users will be charged Rs 10 per hour.
83. _____________ Govt. announced 2 % reservation in state government jobs for sportspersons.
84. ____________ Government Updates -
- Approved INR 50 crores to set up an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) at Bodhjungnagar, 15 km away from Capital Agartala.
- Became first North East state to launch state component of Pradhanmantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PMKVY) in Agartala, aiming to train over 1.16 lakh youths by 2020.
85. UIDAI unveiled beta version of ‘Virtual ID’, which will soon be accepted by service providers in place of Aadhaar numbers. An Aadhaar holder can generate VID from UIDAI’s website is a random ____________________-digit number mapped to a person’s Aadhaar number and biometrics. VID would give any authorised agency like a mobile company, limited details for verification purpose.
- It will do away with sneed of disclosing 12-digit Aadhaar number for authentication or verification purposes.
- UIDAI also brought in secured digitally-signed QR Code on e-Aadhaar. It will contain photograph of Aadhaar holder in addition to demographic details.
86. _____________ Government Updates -
- Launched Ganga Hariteema Yojana (also known as Ganga Greenery scheme) in 27 districts of the state located on bank of river Ganga. It aims at enhancing green cover in catchment areas of river Ganga and control land erosion. Under it, tree plantation will be carried out in 1 Km areas from banks of river.
- Ordered all government hospitals and orphanages to establish Shishu Swagat Kendra - Palna, and put up cradles in front of their buildings so that any person can leave their unwanted child without disclosing their identity. Objective is to tackle problem of abandoning infants at roadside or other places which may pose a risk of life for baby.
- Approved construction of an integrated sugar complex in Pilibhit and setting up a Tiger Conservation Foundation in Dudhwa.
87. _________ Govt. Updates -
- Launched campaign to improve standard of education in government schools of state. Under it, 1 model school will be opened in Almora (Kumaon) and another in Garhwal region to offer quality education to poor and underprivileged children.
- Launched a campaign called “Devbhoomi dialogue”, calling upon youth to look for self-employment opportunities in their chosen fields.
88. Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairperson M Venkaiah Naidu rejected impeachment notice submitted by Opposition parties against ________________ Dipak Misra, stating that motion lacked substantial merit and was based on mere suspicion.
89. ___________ government will apply for coveted Ramsar Site recognition under Ramsar Convention for Sunderban Reserve Forest. Sundarbans Reserve Forest will be largest protected wetland in the country. There are currently 26 sites in India recognised as Ramsar wetland sites of international importance.
90. World Malaria Day (WMD) is being observed every year on _____________ across the world to recognise the global efforts to control preventable vector borne disease malaria. The theme of 2018 WMD is “Ready to beat malaria“