1. Government declared ______________ educational ‘Institutions of Eminence’ , out of 114 applications (74 from public sector & 40 from private sector) -
- Public Sector - Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore Karnataka, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
- Private Sector - Jio Institute (Reliance Foundation), Pune under Green Field Category, Birla Institute of Technology & Sciences Pilani, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal (Karnataka).
- Each ‘Public Institution’ selected as ‘Institution of Eminence’ will get financial assistance up to 1000 Crore over 5 years, to help them become World Class Educational Institutions.
- To achieve top world ranking Institutions shall be provided with
- Greater autonomy to admit foreign students up to 30% of admitted students
- Recruit foreign faculty upto 25% of faculty strength
- Offer online courses upto 20% of its programmes and
- Enter academic collaboration with top 500 in world ranking Institutions without permission of UGC
- Freedom to fix and charge fees from foreign students without restriction
- Flexibility of course structure in terms of number of credit hours and years to take a degree
2. 1st international festival of Mizoram ‘Mizo Zohnahthlak’ organized in _________________ (Mizoram). It is aimed at uniting the Mizo ethnic community socially and culturally under a single platform.
3. 4-day Annual Cultural Festival Behdienkhlam held in Jowai (_______________).
4. According to recently released language data of Census 2011, Hindi is most spoken in India with it being mother tongue of ___________% Indians, followed by Bengali. Marathi replaced Telugu as 3rd most spoken language in nation. Sanskrit is least spoken in India(Sanskrit by approx 25000 people).
- More than 19,500 languages or dialects are spoken in India as mother tongue.
- There are 121 languages which are spoken by 10,000 or more people in India.
5. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh launched _____________________Milk Mission in Shillong, to promote Milk revolution in State, along with sanctioning projects 215 crores through National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
- Project consists of 2000 dairy farm units, in one unit there is provision for purchase of 5 cows, shed constructions, storage room construction, animal insurance, 79 bulk milk coolers of 500 litre capacity, 13 milk tankers of 3000 litre capacity etc.
6. Airports Authority of India (AAI) will set up Civil Aviation Research Organization (CARO) at _______________’s Begumpet Airport, with cost of 1200 crores to be spent over 12 years. Its focus will be on pursuing inter-disciplinary solutions to improve the civil aviation sector. CARO will find indigenous solutions to meet challenges posed by growing air traffic and for enhancing safety and efficiency of aircraft operations.
7. An innovative cost-effective drinking water project in ________________ will provide safe drinking water at price of 50 Paise / Litre, termed as Sulabh Jal. It is cheapest safe drinkling water solution in world, launched in Darbhanga by Sulabh International.
8. ______________ Updates -
- CM N Chandrababu Naidu laid foundation stone of Amaravati International Sports Complex in Vijayawada. He also launched ‘Project Gandiva’. Under it, government will choose students aged between 10-16 years and offer them international level facilities and coaching with an aim to secure medals in Olympic Games in a period of 10 years.
- CM Chandrababu Naidu launched ‘e-Pragati core platform’, aimed at connecting citizens to various Govt departments, autonomous organisations and 745-plus services.
- State Government launched 60 Anna Canteens across state in first phase to provide subsidised food to urban poor. They will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner at Rs 5 a meal, to be run by Akshaya Patra Foundation. State Government plans to set up 203 Anna Canteens.
- Other States having subsidised food canteens - Amma canteens (Tamil Nadu (1st)).Tamilnadu Inspired other states - Rajasthan (Annapurna Rasoi Yojana), Madhya Pradesh (Deendayal canteens), Delhi (Aam Aadmi canteens), Aahar (Odisha), Indira Canteens (Karnataka).
9. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) allowed photography within premises of all centrally protected monuments/sites except at Ajanta Caves, Leh Palace and Taj Mahal (_____________). It has been ruled after PM Narendra Modi questioned logic behind existing restrictions.
10. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will upgrade infrastructure at 7 sites in ___________, under Adarsh Smarak Scheme for Conservation of Monuments. These are Shore Temple in Mamallapuram, Vellore Fort, Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur, Kailasanathar Temple in Kancheepuram, Sittannavasal Caves, Gingee Fort and Moovar Koil in Kodumbalur.
11. As a first such Initiative in Country, _______________ Tourism Development Corporation will launch India’s first public sector hotel run entirely by women for women in capital Thiruvananthapuram, named Hostess.
12. As per US-based Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis (IEEFA), _________________ is new national leader in renewable energy generation, overtaking Tamil Nadu.
13. _____________ Employees PRANAM Act would be implemented in state from October 02, 2018 (Gandhi Jayanti), To not let employee neglect their loved ones. The Act will deduct 10% of an employee’s pay and transfer it to the account of relatives concerned. Another 5% would be deductible if the employee has a differently abled sibling.
14. _____________________ released final draft of National Register of Citizens (NRC), after first draft released in January 2018 that included 1.9 crore names out of total 3.29 crore applicants. It has left out 40.07 lakh people wherein 2.89 crore people were found eligible.
- NRC was prepared in 1951.
- Out of 40.07 lakh applicants left out of final draft, 2.48 lakh applicants have been kept on hold including D-Voters (doubtful voters), descendants of D-voters and persons whose cases are pending before foreigners tribunal.
15. BJP led ______________ (NDA) Government won its 1st No Confidence motion moved in Lok Sabha, as moved by a former NDA ally Telugu Desham Party (TDP). In this trust vote, NDA bagged 325 votes against motion, while 126 members voted in favour.
- Constitutional rule allows any Lok Sabha MP who can garner support of 50 colleagues, to introduce motion of no-confidence against Council of Ministers. If there are 50 MPs in favour, motion is admitted and speaker allots date for discussion on motion. If government loses trust vote, it has to resign.
- Rajya Sabha does not have procedure for moving of no-confidence motion against Government and also adjournment motion, censure motion.
16. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) aunched its first Internet telephony service ______________________, to be on complete roll out from August 1, 2018. It also launched prepaid initiative in its landline offerings and a rent free landline connection for existing subscribers
- To use Internet telephony through this app, customer needs to install soft app on any of its smart devices, having internet to make and receive calls from anywhere in India and abroad with any party (mobile/landline). Through wings, customer can make or receive calls by using internet service of any operator.
- This service will use mobile numbering scheme, provided using IP based access network of IMS NGN Core switches to allow users to make and receive calls over the Internet via their landline or mobile phone.
17. Bhitarkanika national park in ________________ became largest habitat of endangered estuarine crocodiles in India with a record number of 101 nesting sites.
18. Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) secured image trademark for its iconic building, Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers located on Dalal Street in Mumbai, under Trade Marks Act ________________________. Henceforth no one can use images of the Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers for commercial purposes without consent from BSE or paying it licensing fee. BSE’s Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers serves as barometer of Indian economy.
19. CSIR- National Physical laboratory (NPL) signed MoU with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) for indigenous development of petroleum __________________ (CRMs) under trade name of Bhartiya Niredeshak Dravyas (BNDTM). It will make sure that highest standard quality ecosystem is maintained for petroleum products used by all stakeholders.
20. Cab Aggregator Ola signed MoU with ______________ government to create 35000 job opportunities in state, as part of Saksham initiative.
21. Cabinet Approvals (July 18, 2018) -
- General Approvals -
- Approved to make district magistrates (DMs), instead of courts, as final authority for approving adoptions. Courts are overburdened and take long time to approve adoptions. Since, DMs have information about adoption cases and have access to all departments, it is easier for DMs to take the process ahead faster.
- Approved to grant Special Remission to Prisoners as part of commemoration of 150th birth anniversary of M K Gandhi to be observed in 2019. Prisoners to be considered for special remission are Male convicts of over 60 years of age (55 for Women and Transgender convicts) and who have completed 50% of their actual sentence period, Physically disabled convicts (70% disability) and more and who have completed 50% of their sentence period AND Terminally ill convicts.
- _________________________________ (CCEA) Approvals -
- To protect interest of sugarcane farmers, Approved Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane for 2018-19 at 275 per quintal for a basic recovery rate of 10% and premium of 2.75 /qtl for each 0.1 % increase in recovery above 10%. Cost of production of is INR 155 per quintal. Remittances to sugarcane farmers will be over 83000 crores. Updated FRP will be w.e.f. 1st October, 2018.
- Approved establishment of new medical college at Deoria at a cost of INR 250 crores under Phase-II of Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
- Approved proposal for Continuation of Pre-Matric, Post Matric and Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship Schemes for the students belonging to the six notified Minority Communities at a total cost of Rs. 5338.32 crore for period up to 2019-20. This will benefit 70 lakh students annually.
- Approved policy framework for streamlining operations of Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) for increased domestic production of hydrocarbon resources. Framework includes -
- Special dispensation for E&P activities in North Eastern Region (NER), Based on recommendations in 'Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for North East'.
- Sharing of Royalty and Cess in Pre-NELP Exploration Blocks, to benefit Pre-NELP Exploration Blocks in which fresh investment for additional development activities is expected as sharing of royalty and cess, and cost recoverability of same will help in making additional investment commercially viable for Licensee company; ONGC/OIL.
- Extending tax benefits under Section 42 of Income Tax, 1961 prospectively to operational blocks under Pre-NELP discovered fields for extended period of contract under PSC extension policy.
- Relaxing timeline from 7 days to 15 days for giving written notice to notify the occurrence of a Force Majure event in PSCs.
- Approved completion of 83 minor irrigation projects and 8 major / medium irrigation projects in Maharashtra’s drought prone Vidharbha and Marathawada regions. Cost of projects is approx 13651 crores, with Central Assistance of 3831 crores under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana- Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (PMKSY-AIBP).
- MOUs -
- MoU amongst BRICS Nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) on Regional Aviation Partnership Cooperation.
- Cuba - Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy.
- Indonesia - Pharmaceutical products, pharmaceutical substances, biological product and cosmetics regulatory functions.
- Approved Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) agreeents -
- Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) (signed in 2010) with Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPA) of Ireland.
- MoU with Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF).
- MoU with National Board of Accountants and Auditors, Tanzania.
22. Cabinet Approvals (July 4, 2018) -
- MOUs -
- With United Kingdom - Law & Justice and to set up a Joint Consultative Committee.
- General Approvals -
- Approved creation of 1 post each of Vice-Chairperson and Member in National Commission for Safai Karmacharis.
- Approved renaming Agartala Airport in Tripura as Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore Airport, Agartala.
- Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore, who ascended throne of the erstwhile Tripura Princely State in 1923, was an enlightened ruler. Agartala Airport was constructed in 1942 on land donated by Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore.
- Approved continuance of 8 existing schemes of Ministry of Home Affairs upto March 2020 for relief and rehabilitation of migrants and repatriates under the Umbrella scheme "Relief and Rehabilitation of Migrants and Repatriates", with financial implication of 3183 crores for 2017-18 to 2019-20. Schemes are -
- Central Assistance for one-time settlement of displaced families from Pak Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and Chhamb settled in Jammu & Kashmir.
- Rehabilitation Package and up-gradation of infrastructure of Bangladeshi Enclaves and Cooch Behar District after transfer of enclaves between India and Bangladesh under Land Boundary Agreement.
- Relief assistance to Sri Lankan refugees staying in camps in Tamil Nadu and Odisha.
- Grant-in-Aid to Central Tibetan Relief Committee (CTRC) for five years for administrative and social welfare expenses of Tibetan settlements.
- Grant-in-Aid to Government of Tripura for maintenance of Brus lodged in relief camps of Tripura.
- Rehabilitation of Bru/Reang families from Tripura to Mizoram.
- Grant of enhanced relief of Rs. 5.00 lakh per deceased person, who died during 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots.
- Central Scheme for Assistance to Civilian Victims/Family of Victims of Terrorist/Communal/LWE Violence and Cross Border Firing and Mine/IED blasts on Indian Territory'.
- Approved DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill 2018, aimed at expanding application of DNA-based forensic technologies to strengthen justice delivery system of country.
- By providing for the mandatory accreditation and regulation of DNA laboratories, Bill ensures that with proposed expanded use of this technology in country, there is also assurance that DNA test results are reliable and data remain protected from misuse or abuse in terms of the privacy rights of our citizens.
- Approved India’s accession to WIPO Copyright Treaty, 1996 and WIPO Performers and Phonograms Treaty, 1996 which extends coverage of copyright to the internet and digital environment. These treaties will help India to enable creative right-holders enjoy fruit of their labour, through international copyright system that can be used to secure return on investment made in producing and distributing creative works.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) Approvals -
- Approved expanding scope of Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) by enhancing its capital base to 10000 crores and asking it to mobilise 100000 crores for Revitalizing Infrastructure and Systems in Education (RISE) by 2022. CCEA also approved infusing additional Government equity of 5,000 crore (in addition to 1,000 crore already provided) in HEFA. This would enable addressing the needs of all educational institutions with differing financial capacity in an inclusive manner
- Approved increase in Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all 14 kharif crops for 2018-19 Season, ensuring minimum 50 % profit for farmers. Crops are - Paddy, Jowar, Bajra, Ragi, Maize, Arhar(Tur), Moong, Urad, Groundnut, Sunflower Seed, Soyabean, Sesamum, Nigerseed and Cotton. It will cost INR 15000 Crores to the Government.
- Updated MSPs for Kharif Crops are -
-
| Crop |
Earlier MSP |
New MSP |
% Rise |
| Paddy |
1550 |
1750 |
12.90 |
| Jowar |
1700 |
2430 |
42.94 |
| Bajra |
1425 |
1950 |
36.84 |
| Ragi |
1900 |
2897 |
52.47 (Most Increase) |
| Maize |
1425 |
1700 |
19.30 |
| Arhar(Tur) - |
5450 |
5675 |
4.13 |
| Moong |
5575 |
6975 |
25.11 |
| Urad |
5400 |
5600 |
3.70 |
| Groundnut |
4450 |
4890 |
9.89 |
| Sunflower Seed |
4100 |
5388 |
31.42 |
| Soyabean |
3050 |
3399 |
11.44 |
| Sesamum |
5300 |
6249 |
17.91 |
| Nigerseed |
4050 |
5877 |
45.11 |
| Cotton |
4020 |
5150 |
28.11 |
- Several Farmer Friendly Initiatives taken by govt. are -
- Premium rates to be paid by farmers are very low - 2 % of sum insured for all kharif crops, 1.5% for all rabi crops and 5 % for commercial and horticulture crops. Government launched Mobile App Crop Insurance, to help farmers to find out details about insurance cover available in their area and to calculate insurance premium for notified crops
- Government launched a scheme to develop a pan India electronic trading platform under 'National Agriculture Market' (NAM) aiming to integrate 585 regulated markets with common e-market platform in order to facilitate better price discovery and ensure remunerative prices to farmers.
- Government formulated a new model Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2017 to provide farmers market options beyond the existing APMC regulated market yards.
- Soil Health Cards are being issued to farmers, renewed every 2 years. SHC provides information on fertility status of soil and a soil test based advisory on use of fertilizers. Over 15 crore Soil Health Cards have been distributed.
- Under Paramparagat KrishiVikasYojana (PKVY), Government is promoting organic farming and development of potential market for organic products.
- Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana is being implemented to extend coverage of irrigation 'HarKhetkoPani' and improving water use efficiency 'Per Drop More Crop ' in a focused manner.
- Government is focusing on improving productivity of crops such as rice, wheat, coarse grains and pulses under National Food Security Mission.
- A dedicated online interface e-KrishiSamvad provides direct and effective solutions to problems faced by farmers.
- Government is encouraging formation of Farmer Producer Organisations. Budget for 2018-19 has extended a favourable taxation treatment to Farmer Producers Organisations (FPQs) for helping farmers aggregate their needs of inputs, farm services, processing and sale operations.
- Government has set up a buffer stock of pulses and domestic procurement of pulses is also being done under Price Stabilization Fund (PSF), mainly to protect consumers. It aims to ensure that farmers should get full benefit of increased MSPs. For this, it is essential that if price of agriculture produce market is less than MSP, Government should purchase either at MSP or work in a manner to provide MSP for farmers through some other mechanism.
- A handbook for women farmers 'Farm Women Friendly Hand Book' containing special provisions and package of assistance which women farmers can claim under various ongoing Schemes has been brought out.
- With above measures taken, Government has set a target to double the farmers' Income by 2022.
- Approved extension of scheme of recapitalization of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) for upto 2019-20. It will enable RRBs to maintain minimum prescribed _____________________________________________________________ (CRAR) of 9 %.
- 56 RRBs are functioning in the country. As on 31st March, 2017, credit given by RRBs is 2,28,599 crores.
- Scheme of Recapitalization of RRBs started in FY 2010-11 and was extended twice in 2012-13 and 2015-16. Amount of 342.80 crores will be utilized to provide recapitalization support to RRBs whose CRAR is below 9%.
- First regional rural bank was 'Prathama Bank' that was established on 2nd October, 1975 in Moradabad (UP). RRBs are jointly owned by Government of India, concerned State Government and Sponsor Banks with capital shared in proportion of 50%, 15% and 35% respectively.
23. Central Oil PSUs IOCL, ONGC, GAIL, OIL, and NRL signed agreement for executing 1500 Km North-East Natural Gas Pipeline Grid, to connect all North-East States to National Gas Grid, under Urja Ganga Gas Pipeline Project. JV will have equal equity contribution from all partners. Expenditure is INR __________________________ crores and is scheduled to compete by 2022 in three phases.
- Urja Ganga Gas Pipeline Project was launched in October 2016 with an aim to provide piped cooking (PNG) gas to residents of eastern region of country and CNG gas for vehicles. It envisaged laying 2,050-km pipeline connecting Jagdishpur (UP) to Haldia (West Bengal) by 2018, covering UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.
24. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched __________________ mobile help centre to reach out to people undertaking annual pilgrimage to 3880 metres high holy cave shrine of Amarnath..
25. Central Reserve Police Force launched ‘Madadgaar Helpline’, a distress helpline for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, with helpline number ___________.
26. Centre and state governments of Tripura and _________________ signed agreement for repatriation of thousands of people belonging to Bru community from Tripura to ________________________. Over 3200 people living in refugee camps in Jampui Hills of Tripura for two decades are being replaced to ___________ before October 2018.
27. ___________________ Govt. launched a smartphone distribution scheme called 'Mobile Tihar' under Sanchar Kranti Yojna. It includes distribution of smartphones to 45 lakh women and 5 lakh children and setting up of 556 new mobile towers.
28. ______________________ government launched a new Aabhar Aapki Sevaon Ka Pensioners Portal, enabling a central mechanism for pension database and making payment in a unified manner to benefit 80,000 pensioners. All pensioners can access portal at ekoshonline.cg.nic.in/aabhar/.
29. Commerce ministry approved a proposal of HCL Technologies to establish a new IT special economic zone (SEZ) in Vijayawada (_______________________), with investment of Rs 408 crores.
30. Common Service Center (CSC) and National Health Accounts (NHA) signed MoU to implement Ayushman Bharat scheme (NHPS) through 3 lakh Common Service Centers (CSCs) across country.
- NHPS aims to cover over 10 crore poor vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage of up to Rs. ________________ (per family per year) for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.
- CSCs will help beneficiary to identify his name in Health Ministry database and his entitlement for the scheme. It will also help beneficiary to scan and upload his KYC documents for verification of his identity and claim his entitlement.
31. Competition Commission of India (CCI) launched an Online Guidance System for determining notifiability of merger & acquisitions (combinations) in terms of Competition Act ___________________, named as Do It Yourself (DIY): A notifiability check for mergers & acquisitions under the Competition Act.
32. Country’s first e-waste recycling unit will come up in Bengaluru (_______________________). As per a report, Bengaluru ranked third after Mumbai and Delhi and generates nearly 92,000 tonnes of e-waste annually.
33. ____________________ Govt. approved a scheme under which farmers will be able to lease out a part of their agricultural land for setting up of solar panels to get additional income, called Mukhyamantri Kisan Aaye Badhotri Solar Yojana.
- Any farmer can rent out not more than one-third of his land to a private firm to set up solar panels at a rate of 1 lakh per annum per acre.
- Panels will be set up at a height of 3.5 metres, so that the land can also be used for agriculture.
- Farmers will also get 1,000 units of free solar power without any investment.
34. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) released final rankings of States in Ease of Doing Business.
- Top 5 - ___________________________ (1), Telangana (2), Haryana (3), Jharkhand (4), Gujarat (5).
- DIPP (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) in collaboration with World Bank conducted an annual reform exercise for all States / UTs under Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP). It aims to improve delivery of various Government services in an efficient manner.
- DIPP for first time introduced taking feedback to ensure that reforms have actually reached ground level. 78 reforms out of 372 were identified for survey. More than 5,000 private sector users in 23 States and UTs shared their experience.
35. Election Commission of India launched a mobile app called _________________________, for citizens to report any violation of the model code of conduct during elections. It will be operational only where elections are announced, beginning from coming elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Rajasthan. Vigilant citizen has to take a picture / video of upto 2 minutes duration of scene of violations of model code.
36. ___________________ and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) partnered to train youth and entrepreneurs in India about digital skills. Courses will be on : digital marketing, online safety and financial literacy in regional languages.
37. Food Ministry allowed sugar mills to manufacture ethanol directly from sugarcane juice or an intermediate product called B-molasses, amanding Sugarcane Control Order __________________________. It would help mills divert cane juice for ethanol manufacturing during surplus years.
- Now,in case of production of ethanol directly from sugarcane juice or B-molasses, recovery rate of sugarcane factory will be determined by considering every 600 liters so produced as equivalent to one tonne of production of sugar.
- Earlier, sugar mills were allowed to manufacture ethanol from by-product called C-molasses, after sugar was taken out while processing raw sugarcane juice.
38. Gauhati High Court declared _____________________________ Parliamentary Secretaries (Appointment, Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2007 as “unconstitutional, in line with Supreme court's judgement against a public interest litigation filed by Kyoda Ram on matter of appointing parliamentary secretaries.
39. General Events / Conferences (July 01 - 10, 2018) -
- National Workshop on Skill Development for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) organized by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) in New Delhi.
- Election Commission organized a two-day “National Consultation on Accessible Elections,” in ________________________________________________________.
- A conference of Ministers for Power, New & Renewable Energy of States & Union Territories held in Shimla (Himachal Pradesh).
- Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare held special meet on Marine Fisheries - Mariculture in India in Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu).
- 2 Day National Level Consultations on Accessible Elections held in New Delhi. During This, Election Commission Announced several Measures to improve Participation of Persons With Disabilities in Election Process. It Includes Issuing Electoral Photo Identity Cards with Braille Features for Visually Impaired, Auxiliary Polling Stations to be Established, Mobile APP to be Developed by ECI for PWD.
- 9th and final meeting of Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on Nepal-India Relations concluded in Kathmandu (Nepal).
- 9th Heads of Mission Conference held in New Delhi, with theme Unprecedented Outreach: Unparalleled Outcomes.
- Govt. Aims to link 22000 rural markets with Electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) by 2020, as announced at AgriVikas 2018 conclave on agriculture and allied sectors in Bhubaneswar (Odisha). It will enable farmers sale directly to potential buyers.
- Exhibition titled Arth - art for earth held at IGNCA (New Delhi. IGNCA introduced 5 PG diploma courses and 6 new Certificate Courses in art and culture and related subjects.
- PG Diploma -
- Cultural Informatics, Preventive Conservation, Buddhist Studies, Digital Library and Data Management, Manuscriptology and Palaeography
- Certificate Courses -
- Academic Integrity and Research Ethics, Open Access for Library and Information Science Professionals, Open Access for Researchers, Digital Library and Information Management, Research Methodology, Cinema Studies and Cultural Documentation.
- Ministry of Statistics &Programme Implementation (MoSPI) organized 2 day International Round Table Conference at New Delhi, called Data for New India. It aims to identify innovative ideas for improving the statistical system in India, taking cue from best practices followed in advanced countries.
- 22nd International Conference on Non-Ferrous Minerals and Metals 2018 held at Ranchi (Jharkhand). During this meet, Tapan Kumar Chand, (CMD of NALCO), received Knowledge Excellence Award for Outstanding Contribution in Aluminium Knowledge domain.
- First meeting of Task Force on e-commerce held in New Delhi. Task Force was formed under chairmanship of Suresh Prabhu (Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation). It is divided into nine sub-groups.
- 2nd meeting of joint working group on tourism cooperation between India and Nepal concluded in Kathmandu, Nepal.
- 67th plenary meeting of North Eastern Council (NEC) held in Shillong (Meghalaya).
- PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Dharohar Bhawan, new Headquarters building of Archaeological Survey of India, in New Delhi.
- India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) organized a Capacity Development programme for Media Officials from Bhutan, in New Delhi.
- Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Ananth kumar laid foundation stone of new (32nd) Central Institute of Plastics Engineering &Technology (CIPET) Building at Dehradun (Uttarakhand). He also allocated 40 crores for establishing a plastic park in Uttarakhand, to generate employment for over 5000 people.
40. General Events / Conferences (July 11 - 20, 2018)
- First meeting of India-Bangladesh Joint Committee on Border Haats held in Agartala (________________________________).
- 10th Delhi Dialogue (DD X) held in New Delhi , with theme Strengthening India-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation. It is an important platform for engagement with ASEAN on political, security and economic issues.
- All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) and IIT (Indian Institute of Technology)-Delhi signed MoU to enhance research in field of Ayurveda, during 2 day conference on ‘Raising towards Excellence’ held in New Delhi.
- Ratha Yatra (Festival of Chariot of Lord Jagannath) celebrated every year at Puri in Odisha. It is be celebrated on 2nd day of shukla pakshya (waxing cycle of moon) of Ashadh Maas (3rd month in Lunar Calendar).
- 2nd India-China Maritime Affairs Dialogue was held in Beijing, China. 4th India-Japan Maritime affairs dialogue also held in Japan.
- 7th Indo US Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) held in New Delhi.
- 1st meeting of Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on coordination between Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and agriculture held at NITI Aayog (New Delhi). It was chaired by Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
- 1 day meeting of directors of 59 institutes of higher learning held in Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
- Conference of Intra-ocular Implant & Refractive Society of India held in Chennai (TN).
- 4th National Conclave on Mines & Minerals held at Indore ()Madhya Pradesh).
- Top Nuke Powers USA and Russia's current Presidents Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin held their first-ever one-to-one talks in Helsinki (Finland).
- Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) joined National Day event of Montenegro in India on July 13, 2018 in New Delhi, named Trendy Montenegro with Indian Khadi.
- SBI organized a Kisan Mela it its rural and semi-urban branches across country to impart financial literacy to farmers.
41. General Events / Conferences (July 21 - 31, 2018)
- 1st Nepal-India Think Tank Summit held in Kathmandu, to foster greater collaboration and knowledge-sharing among the think tanks of two countries.
- 11th state-level pineapple festival cum Sellers & Buyers Meet and Youth Festival 2018, held in Thoubal district of _______________________________________.
- 2 day Air Defence India 2018 Seminar & Exhibition held in New Delhi.
- From 1st August 2018, Gaj Yatra exhibition will be conducted to raise awareness about conservation of elephants in Delhi. It will be conducted for 2 months. It is conducted as part of India Habitat Centre year-long multi-media festival on sustainable development named Habitat Photosphere.
- 2nd Young Superintendent of Police Conference held in New Delhi.
- 3 day National Traders’ Conclave held at Constitution Club of India in New Delhi.
- 2nd meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyan in New Delhi.
- Government launched POSHAN Abhiyaan (PM’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment) from Jhunjhunu (Rajasthan). It aims to use a targeted approach to reduce level of malnutrition across Nation. More Info is available at http://www.icds-wcd.nic.in/nnm/home.htm.
- International conference on “Empowering Women: Fostering Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainability” organized by NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) in New Delhi.
- International conference on India-Vietnam economic ties held in New Delhi.
- 7 day Kharchi Puja held at Puran Habeli in Tripura, as an annual festival to cleanse sins of mortal souls.
- The tourism department of Rajasthan announced that The 2nd National Tourism Conclave was organised in Jaipur.
- World-class permanent exhibition on four eminent personalities of Bengal – Rabindranath Tagore, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Syama Prasad Mukherjee, held at National Library in Kolkata.
- On occasion of Guru Purnima, Ministry of Human Resource Development organized a National Conference of Vice Chancellors & Directors of Higher Education Institutions of India in New Delhi, with theme Research and innovation in Higher Education.
- A conference for Indian Languages Technology Industry ‘Bhashantar’ held in New Delhi. During this, IT ministry launched a desktop software e-Aksharaya.
42. ______________________ auto major Volkswagen (VW) will set up a design centre in Chakan near Pune, to expand its production capacity, with investment of over 8000 crores.
43. __________________________ government unveiled State IT Policy 2018, replacing the IT policy which was released in 2015. It aims at creating a globally competitive information technology ecosystem in state. Government plans to attract at least five large multinational IT companies and help create 8000 - 10000 jobs for locals.
44. Government announced that all villages adopted by Member of Parliaments under ‘Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana’ would get free Wi-Fi services. Under this, Setting up of ____________________ WiFi hotspots at existing rural exchanges of BSNL will be done.
45. Government decided that a museum for all prime ministers of country would be constructed in Teen Murti Bhavan complex that houses the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), ______________________.
46. Government in June 2017 approved setting up 10 indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MW each in fleet mode, by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). Projects are -
-
Location & State |
Project |
Capacity(MW) |
Chutka, Madhya Pradesh |
Chutka -1&2 |
2 X 700 |
Kaiga, Karnataka |
Kaiga - 5&6 |
2 X 700 |
Mahi Banswara, Rajasthan |
Mahi Banswara - 1&2 |
2 X 700 |
Gorakhpur, Haryana |
GHAVP - 3&4 |
2 X 700 |
Mahi Banswara, Rajasthan |
Mahi Banswara - 3&4 |
2 X 700 |
- With these projects, Total nuclear power capacity of India will reach 22480 MW by _________________________.
47. Government launched ______________________ 2.0, as a flagship programme of HRD Ministry, it aims to link Higher Education Institutions with set of atleast (5) villages, so that these institutions can contribute to the economic and social betterment of these villages. Currently 748 Institutions are participating under it.
48. Government launched a new __________________________________ Technology that would help check on vehicle thefts. Under this, thousands of small dots laser etched will be sprayed with a vehicle identification number on all over the vehicle’s body including its engine. It is yet to be finalized by Central Motor Vehicles Rules -Technical Standing Committee (CMVR-TSC).
49. Government named Thse Walled City of Jaipur (____________________) as proposed site for Inclusion in UNESCO World Heritage List. There are a total of 37 World Heritage sites in India at Present.
50. ____________ Updates -
- CM Vijay Rupani launched 'Poshan Abhiyan'--a statewide mission to eradicate malnutrition among children by providing them nutritious food through Anganwadi centres. He also launched PURNA (Prevention of Under Nutrition and Reduction of Nutritional Anaemia among Adolescent Girls) project to eliminate malnutrition among girls in the age group of 14 to 18.
- State Government granted religious minority status to approx 170 Jews living in state, being 3rd state in India to grant religious minority status to Jews after West Bengal and Maharashtra.
- State Govt. approved 39-crore rupees ‘Seema Darshan’ project for developing more infrastructure facilities from T-Junction to Zero Point at Nadabet near Suigam in Banaskantha district, to instil patriotism through a unique Gujarat initiative for border tourism.
- State government launched Urban Sanitation and Cleanliness Policy for better management of solid and liquid waste in cities. It focuses on streamlining collection and disposal of all types of waste in cities and towns.
- State govt. launched Vaccination drive against measles-rubella, with 300 crores help from Central Government.
51. Hardeep S Puri (Minister of State (I/C) of Housing and Urban Affairs) launched ________________________ (ISCF) and Internship (ISCI) program, to provide youth an opportunity to experience aspects of Urban planning and governance. Smart Cities Digital Payments Awards 2018 were also launched.
- India Smart Cities Fellowship (ISCF) Program is designed to provide valuable experience to the youth interested in smart cities specifically, and urban renewal sector in general and will bring in new ideas to implement solutions for key urban problems.
- India Smart Cities Internship (ISCI) Program - MOHUA will engage students pursuing Higher education as Interns to help implementation of Smart City Projects in various States/Cities. Internship will be on unpaid basis for 6 to 12 weeks. They will be given an Experience Certificate at successful completion of program.
- The Smart Cities Digital Payments Awards 2018 - 100 days Challenge in 100 Smart Cities aims to promote ease of living for India’s urban residents. Objective of these awards is to guide and reward Smart Cities for promoting digital payments and carrying out innovative payment initiatives.
52. _____________ Updates -
- State Education Department launched ‘I am not afraid of English’ initiative from Class 1 in the state’s primary schools, aimed at capacity building of teachers to enable them to help students to learn, read, write and speak English.
- State Government launched ‘Paudhagiri campaign’, to increase green cover in state and improve climatic conditions. Under this, 22 lakh students studying in Class 6th to 12th will plant sapling each, during 3 months of monsoon ( July, August and September), provided by State forest department. Student will get total Rs 300 in three years for succesfully looking after its sapling.
- State government enhanced ex-gratia grant being given to family members of police personnel who die in line of duty, from 10 lakh to 30 lakh.
53. _____________ Updates -
- State Govt. a 1.55-crore project to set up a cow sanctuary at Kotla Barog. Unlike gaushalas where the animals are kept indoors and fed in-house, animals will be free to roam in fenced area meant to keep a fixed number of cows.
- Adjudged as top performer under Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) in country.
- State government approved implementation of Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) for procurement of 2,29,136 metric tonnes of apples, with price fixed at 7.50 per kg.
- State government banned use of plastic polythene and thermocol cutlery across state, which was announced by state govt on World Environment Day on June 5, 2018.
54. IFFCO launched e-commerce platform IFFCO iMandi to address needs of 5.5 Crores farming community associated with it, in partnership with ____________________-based technology firm iMandi. Through this, IFFCO is targeting to reach GMV (gross merchandise value) of $5 billion in 2 years. Using it, farmers buy all agri inputs of IFFCO, including fertilisers, agro chemicals and seeds at discounted price and get free delivery at their doorstep.
55. ISRO partnered with __________________’s Directorate of Health Services to set up a telemedicine center at an altitude of 12,700 feet to provide service to pilgrims en route to Amarnath shrine.
56. Indian IT industry apex body NASSCOM (National Association of Software & Services Companies) opened Centre of Excellence for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (CoE-DSAI) in Bengaluru (____________________________). to nurture innovation in emerging disruptive technologies such as AI and to leverage the power of data science.
- NASSCOM also signed MoU with NITI Aayog to collaboratively foster applied research, accelerating adoption and ethics, privacy and security.
57. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) _____________ developed TreadWill, an online tool to help people cope with issues related to mental health. This website designed to help people deal with stress, low mood, lethargy and other depressive symptoms through different online exercises, questionnaires and games.
58. Indian Railways launched first consolidated _____________________ (IR-BMS), with data on its 1.5 lakh bridges. IR-BMS aims for meaningful assimilation, analysis and dissemination of information related to various activities about its bridges.
59. Indian Railways organized a programme on Ethics in Public Governance and Launched “Mission Satyanishtha”, at National Rail Museum in __________________. It aims to sensitize all railway employees about need to adhere to good ethics and to maintain high standards of integrity at work.
60. Indian Railways will start a special train called Shri Ramayana Express, which will cover important destinations related to Ramayana in a 16-days journey in November. It will be spread across India as well as _______________.
61. Indian government approved terms of net neutrality, allowing internet to remain unrestricted and non-discriminatory. Net neutrality implies that telecom service providers must treat all internet traffic equally, without any regard to type, origin or destination of content. Govt. Also approved installation of around ____________________ lakh WiFi hotspots in all gram panchayats with funding of 6000 crores by December 2018.
62. India’s first private sector unit for manufacturing Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) and light bulletproof vehicles (LBPV) will be set up by DCM Shriram Industries Group on campus of Shriram Rayons in Kota (_________________________).
63. Indigenously manufactured semi high-speed train called Train 2018, code-named Train 18 will be rolled out in September 2018, built by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) of Chennai (___________________), It is capable of running at a speed of 160 km per hour. It will be self-propelled on electric traction like metro trains, along with Wi-Fi and infotainment and several other facilities.
64. ___________________ Government announced to develop country’s first Khadi mall.
65. ___________________ Government declared Kozhikode and Malappuram districts free from Nipah virus infection, as no positive case of the infection was reported till completion of double incubation period of virus.
66. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) launched its, in-housedeveloped,single-umbrella e-marketing systemnamed ________________________ (KIMIS). The system can be accessed from anywhere in the country for the sale and purchase of Khadi and Village Industries products.
67. Kochi Metro Rail (____________________) launched India’s first exquisite air-conditioned bed space dormitory-Peters Inn, with 200 bed air-conditioned cabins. Daily rent for the bed space is inr 395.
68. Law Commission of India (LCI) in its ______________________ Report Legal Framework: Gambling and Sports Betting including Cricket in India, recommended that gambling and betting on sports be allowed as regulated activities.
- It recommended number of changes in law for regulating betting for making it taxable under direct and indirect tax regimes and used as source for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).
- It recommended linking Aadhar or PAN card of individual indulging in betting and gambling and making transaction cashless to regulate illegal activities such as money laundering.
- FDI in casino and online gaming industry will bring substantial amounts of investment to those states that decide to permit casinos, propelling growth of tourism, while also enabling such states to generate higher revenue and employment opportunities.
- 21st Law commission of India is led by former SC Justice Balbir Sinsh Chauhan, constituted effect from 1st September, 2015. It has a three-year term, ending on 31st August, 2018.
69. Lok Sabha MPs will be allowed to ask a maximum of _____________________ questions in the house per day from upcoming Monsoon Session, down from earlier 10 permitted questions.
70. _____________ Updates -
- CM Shivraj Chauhan inaugurated NTPC's 250 MW Solar Power Plant in Mandsaur, costing approx 1500 crores.
- State government launched an outstanding power bill waiver scheme and subsidised power scheme called ‘Sambal’ for labourers and poor families. Under it, Below Poverty Line (BPL) families would be provided electricity at a cost of Rs 200 per month (maximum).
- State govt will appoint girls as a district Brand Ambassador who have recorded significant achievements in any field under the Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao scheme, as a first of its kind initiative.
71. __________ Updates -
- State government has set up a seven-member expert panel to prepare guidelines for surrogacy centres in state.
- State government will launch one transformer per farmer Scheme, to reduce electricity losses. Under it, 2 lakh farmers will be given electricity connection for high voltage distribution line which will ensure uninterrupted power supply.
- Farmers who lose their cattle in attack by wild animals will now get Rs 40,000, up from Rs 25,000 earlier.
- Rs 2 lakh hike in for kin of people killed in an attack by wild animals was announced.
72. _____________ Updates -
- State Cabinet approved convergence of phase 4 of Health Insurance Scheme with centre’s Ayushman Bharat Yojana. Under this, health coverage has been increased to Rs. 5 lakh from previous Rs.2.8 lakh per household excluding government employees.
- State Govt. released policy document of 5 year jackfruit mission, during state's jackfruit festival. It aims to generate employment opportunities for over 80,000 farmers, costing approx 80 Crores INR.
73. Microsoft signed MoU with _________________________ government to provide free digital training to 9,500 college students in one year. Microsoft will also train educators from government colleges through the Microsoft Innovative Educator Programme, building capacity for innovative use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in classroom.
74. Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan laid foundation stone for permanent campus of National Skill Training Institute (NSTI) for Women at Mohali (_____________________). This is first NSTI Institute for state and First in India which is exclusively for women.
75. Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan laid foundation stone of country’s first National Skill Training Institute at Barang near Bhubaneswar (____________________).
76. Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) launched a mobile application named Mumbai Weather Live that will provide information on extreme weather events in _________________.
77. Ministry of Earth Sciences unveiled blueprint of ________________ (DOM), that proposes to explore deep-ocean by emulating success of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in designing and launching satellites. For this, Centre has drawn up five-year, Rs. 8,000 crore plan. Focus will be on technologies for deep-sea mining, underwater vehicles, underwater robotics and ocean climate change advisory services, among other aspects.
78. Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) declared 438 sq.km. area around Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (_____________________) in Nilgiris as an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ)., to prohibit human activities near the reserve, which was declared a tiger habitat in 2007. It is a critical part of Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve spread over 5,500 sq. km.
79. Minsitry of _____________ Updates -
- Will create a National Database of Arms Licenses system from April 2019, with names of all arms licence holders with a unique identification number (UIN), to keeping tab on authorised private gun holders and hold their misuse. Any arms licence without UIN will be considered invalid.
- Will upgrade National Information Security Policy and Guidelines (NISPG) to secure government data and control access to it, to prevent leaking of sensitive information.
- NISPG has been prepared by MHA, based on experience of existing security standards and frameworks and global best practices and experience of implementation in wake of expanding information security threat scenario.
- Sponsored Student Police Cadet (SPC) Programme launched in Gurugram (Haryana), to build bridge between Police and larger community through school students by inculcating values and ethics in them through classes in school and outside. It focuses on students of class 8th and 9th.
- It does not have any prescribed text book and also any exam. Only one class is proposed in a month. Programme will broadly cover Crime prevention and control.
- Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) with support of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has prepared handbook for imparting instructions.
80. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas amended Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules 1959 to include shale in definition of petroleum, to enable exploration of all hydrocarbons in existing fields which is line with new ____________________________ (HELP). It will help in enhancing domestic exploration and production of hydrocarbons and increasing India’s energy security and reducing dependency on imports.
- Shale is fine-grained sedimentary rock that forms from compaction of silt and clay-size mineral particles, commonly called as mud. Shale is distinguished from other mudstones due to laminated (rock is made up of many thin layers) and fissile (rock readily splits into thin pieces along the laminations) nature.
81. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) issued draft amendments to Central Motor Vehicles Rules ______________ -
- Makes mandatory for vehicles to affix sticker confirming fitting of Fastag in front wind screen of vehicles.
- Stipulates additional conditions for obtaining national permit.
- Tanker carrying dangerous or hazardous goods will be painted in white colour.
- Fitness certification of transport vehicles will be renewed for 2 years for vehicles up to 8 years old and for 1 year for vehicles older than 8 years.
- Henceforth, pollution under control certificates and driving license can be carried in physical or digital form.
- Goods carrying vehicles will be required to carry goods in closed body of vehicle or container, or use tarpaulin if needed to carry in open.
82. Monsoon Season 2018 - 19 Passed Bills -
- Rajya Sbha passed State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017 to merge six subsidiary banks with SBI. It was approved by Lok Sabha in 2017. It repeals State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act 1959 AND State Bank of Hyderabad Act 1956, that established SBI subsidiary Banks.
- Lok Sabha passed The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Second Amendment) Bill 2017 to abolish ‘no detention policy’ in schools (meaing that no child can be held back in any class until completion of elementary school (classes 1-8)). It will empower central / state government to allow schools to hold back child in class 5 / 8, after re-examination on being failed at first.
- Lok Sabha passed Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill 2017 to reduce number of cheque dishonour cases pending in courts, amending Negotiable Instruments Act 1881.
- Interim compensation - Allows court trying offence related to cheque bouncing to direct drawer (person who writes cheque) to pay interim compensation to complainant. It will not exceed 20% of cheque amount and will be paid by drawer within 60 days.
- Deposit in case of appeal - If drawer convicted in cheque bouncing case files appeal, appellate court may direct him to deposit minimum of 20% of compensation awarded by trial court during conviction. This will be in addition to any interim compensation.
- Returning interim compensation - If drawer is acquitted during trial or by appellate court, court will direct complainant to return interim compensation along with interest.
- Lok Sabha passed National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill 2017, to approve institutions which are funded by Centre or states, but do not have recognition. It amends NCTE Act 1993. Key Features Include Retrospective recognition of certain teacher education institutions and permits these institutions to start new course / training in teacher education to institutions.
- Rajya Sabha passed Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill 2013 . It amends Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA) 1988, to bring it in line with United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). Key Features Include
- Making Giving bribe a punishable offence
- Making it mandatory to take prior approval of competent authority to conduct any investigation into offence alleged to have been committed by a public servant.
- Sets trail time period. In case of delays, reasons for it must be recorded for every extension of six months obtained. Total trial period may not exceed 4 years.
- Anyone who is caught bribing government officials can be sentenced to a jail term of up to 7 years.
- Lok Sabha passed Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill 2018 that aims to curb practice of evading criminal prosecution by economic offenders fleeing from country to evade clutches Indian law by remaining outside jurisdiction of Indian courts. Key Features -
- It is applicable in cases where total value involved in such economic offences is Rs.100 crore or more.
- It establishes Special Court under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 to declare a person as FEO. court will appoint ‘administrator’ to oversee confiscated property.
- It empowers director / deputy director (appointed under Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002) to attach any property mentioned in application with permission of special court. Attachment will continue for 180 days, unless extended by court.
- Bill allows any civil court or tribunal to disallow person declared FEO, from filing or defending any civil claim.
- Director / deputy director will have powers vested of civil court.
- Appeals against orders of special court will lie before High Court.
- Lok Sabha passed Homeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill 2018, that seeks to replace _______________________________________________________ (CCH) with a board of governors.
- It abolishes CCH, as it does not have the powers to deal with its corrupt chief and other members.
- New board will comprise seven eminent homeopathy practitioners and administrators to be appointed by government.
- Lok Sabha passed Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2018 -
- Jail term of minimum 20 years or life imprisonment or death for rape of girl under 12 years.
- Increases minimum punishment from 10 years to 20 years for crime of rape of girl under 16 years, which can be extended to imprisonment for rest of life.
- Increases minimum punishment for rape of women from rigorous imprisonment of 7 years to 10 years, which can be extended to life imprisonment.
- Investigation and trial must be completed in two months. It proposes 6 months’ time limit for disposal of appeals in rape cases.
83. Myanmar joined India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), making it _____________________________ signatory to Framework Agreement of ISA.
- ISA was jointly launched by India and France in November 2015 at Paris on side lines of COP21 UN Climate Change Conference. Its Framework Agreement came into force in December 2017.
- It is headquartered at campus of Natioanl Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), Gurugram, Harayana, making it first international intergovernmental treaty based organization to be headquartered in India. Upendra Tripathy is current head of ISA.
84. NITI Aayog Approved Blue Print for _______________________, a Digital Healthcare Infrastructure To Implement Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Scheme.
- National Health Stack will facilitate collection of comprehensive healthcare data across the country. It Includes assigning a Digital Health ID for every Indian Citizen, Which will enable privileged medical institutions to access Person's Health Data.
- Ayushman Bharat aims to provide a coverage of INR 5 Lakh per family annually and benefit more than 10 crore poor families. NITI Aayog has invited comments from stakeholders on consultation paper, by August 1, 2018.
85. _______________________________ (NCPCR) drafted fee regulations to put in place uniform fee framework to check increases in school fees by unaided private schools. NCPCR will recommend these draft regulations to Ministry of Human Resource Development. It Sugsests -
- 10% yearly cap on fee hike permissible by private, unaided schools.
- Setting up district fee regulatory authority in states to monitor school fee increases.
- Formula for determining fees, based on school’s location, costs incurred, revenue earned, student strength and other parameters.
- It proposes revenue fines of 1 %, 2 %, 5 % on first 3 violations and bar admissions after any further violations.
86. National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) has installed a remote sensing instrument- LiDAR (____________________________) for assessment of offshore wind resource at Gulf of Khambhat, off Gujarat Coast.
87. _______________ became first central paramilitary force to opt for e-ticketing instead of railway warrant. With this, its personnel don’t have to carry railway warrants as Buying tickets through railway warrant system is a lengthy process.
88. Nissan Motors signed MoU with Government of __________________ to establish a new global center for its digital operations in India.
89. Niti Aayog proposed 15-point action plan named “_____________________” for combating air pollution in ten most polluted cities.
- Government should increase focus on electric and hybrid vehicles. Procurement of electric vehicles (EVs) should be mandatory for vehicles for central government use. Central government offices should replace existing fleets older than 15 years to electric vehicles by April, 2021.
- Niti Aayog has suggested a carrot-and-stick policy towards air pollution adopted in many European countries. It has called for implementing a large scale feebate programme beginning 2020.
- Niti Aayog favoured setting up smog-free towers in cities for providing quick relief from sudden spike in air pollution. Smog-free towers are an innovative technological solution deployed across Europe, which cleans polluted air in an area around it.
- To deal with Construction dust, Niti Aayog asked government to enforce use of ready-made concrete.
- Recommended strategic decommissioning of inefficient power plants, primarily running on coal. Renewable energy sources must be deployed and preferred.
- Suggested government to push to rooftop solar panel power generators. Increasing solar power generation is a critical measure that needs to be adopted in order to reduce air pollution.
90. Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in __________________ became first oil public sector undertaking (PSU) in India to adopt an online legal compliance system by introducing ‘Legatrix‘. Legatrix is cloud-based compliance management system, to effectively manage legal and regulatory compliances through monitoring control at different levels.
91. __________ Updates -
- CM Naveen Patnaik inaugurated 300 crores Rukura Medium Irrigation Dam project in Sundargarh district, to irrigate 5,800 hectares of agricultural field.
- State Government launched Green Mahanadi Mission, a plantation drive under which 2 crore saplings will be planted along Mahanadi river and its tributaries. It aims to stop soil erosion on river banks and recharge groundwater reserves. Odisha government will also set up a riverine port on river Mahanadi in Kendrapara district.
- State Government unveiled first-ever ‘Tribal Atlas’, a compilation of demographic and cultural information of the tribal population in state, as first-of-its-kind tribal compilation in India. It gives information on tribal regions in state and key demographic indicators like literacy, sex ratio and education.
- State Govt. would implement its own food security act from October 2, 2018. It would cover nearly 34.44 lakhs people left out of National Food Security Act (NFSA).
- State Special Task Force (STF) launched drive to bust international syndicate that peddles pangolin, one of world’s most illegally traded mammals. It requested Home Ministry to ask Myanmar government to block transit route for smuggled pangolin under Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). Pangolin is only scaly mammal on planet. Of its 8 species worldwide, 2 are found in India (Chinese pangolin and Indian pangolin).
- State government constituted a Heritage Cabinet, headed by CM Naveen Patnaik, aimed at protection of cultural and historical monuments.
- State government signed an MoU with global organization Sightsavers to prevent avoidable blindness , to strengthen education for blind students. This would benefit 25,000 visually impaired and 1.3 lakh students with special needs.
- Will host Triennial of International Art (TIA), India’s first private sector triennial, in December-January, as a 40 day event.
- State government decided to increase the inter-caste marriage incentive from 1 lakh to INR 2.5 lakh. They can withdraw amount only after 3 years of marriage.
92. Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) launched a digital campaign, ThinkForHealth, calling for ideas to improve access to healthcare in india, in partnership with _______________ government.
93. PM Narendra Modi Inaugurated Bansagar Canal Project, aimed to boost irrigation in Mirzapur and Allahabad districts of _____________________.
- He also laid Foundation Stone of Mirzapur Medical College, inaugurated 100 Jan Aushadhi Kendras in State and launched a bridge over River Ganga at Balughat (Chunar), to facilitate connectivity between Mirzapur and Varanasi.
94. PM Narendra Modi laid foundation stone of country’s first ___________________ (MOX) zone in Noida (Uttar Pradesh), to act as catalyst for growth of mobile and allied sectors in state. MOX will be dedicated ecosystem for mobile industry, providing integrated platform to mobile manufacturers, research and development (R&D) and allied industries. PM Modi also launched 81 investment projects worth INR 60,000 crores in Uttar Pradesh.
95. Piyush Goyal (Minister of Coal, Railways, Finance & Corporate Affairs) launched the Coal Mine Surveillance & Management System (CMSMS) and Mobile Application ‘__________________’ developed by CMPDI (a Subsidiary of CIL).
- Basic objective of CMSMS is reporting, monitoring and taking suitable action on unauthorised coal mining activities. CMSMS is a web based GIS application through which location of sites for unauthorised mining can be detected. It will use satellite data to detect changes by which unauthorised mining activity extending beyondallotted lease area can be detected.
- Complaints originating from coal mines allotted to Coal India will go to Coal India Offices and those originating from coal blocks not allotted to Coal India will go straight to State Government Officers and for each complaint the alert will also go to DM and SP of district.
- System also uses information provided by responsible citizens using smartphones using the mobile application “Khan Prahari’.
- Its Uniqueness is that it uses satellite data as well as public input to capture information on unauthorised coal mining activities and also take appropriate action on them with due transparency.
96. Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID) signed MoU with ______________ Power Corporation for energy efficiency and agricultural demand side management programme.
97. President Ram Nath Kovind gave is assent to _____________ Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Bill 2015, passed by State Assembly in August 2015. It aims to check rising incidents of witch hunting cases across state, eliminating superstition from society by making such offences under it as non-bailable, non-compoundable and cognizable.
- It imposes up to 7 years of jail and fine up to 5 lakh rupees. It also proposes sentence of 3 years imprisonment if anybody blames a person for natural disasters in a particular locality.
98. Public Affairs Index 2018 released by think tank Public Affairs Centre (PAC) -
- Top 5 States - Kerala (1), _____________________, Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat (5). Kerala named 3rd best governed state for 3rd consecutive year.
- Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar ranked the lowest on PAI.
- Top 5 small states - Himachal Pradesh (1), Goa, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura (5). Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya were ranked at the bottom of index among small states.
- Total of 30 focus subjects and 100 indicators were measured to derive PAI.
99. Puducherry Tourism announced first Pondicherry International Film Festival (PIFF), to showcase over 100 films from more than 25 countries. It will be held in September 2018, with _______________ as partner country.
100. RPG Group Owned Tyre major CEAT signed MoU with _________________ State government to invest 4000 crores in a greenfield plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai to boost State’s tyre manufacturing capacity.
101. Railways introduced Double Stack Dwarf Container Services, flagging off from Western Railway’s __________________ railway station on its maiden commercial run. Despite being smaller in size, dwarf containers can hold a capacity of 30,500 kgs.
102. __________ Updates -
- State Government signed MoU with a private trust Sohanlalji Buladeviji Ojha Gaushala Samiti to build its first 'Cow Sanctuary', a shelter for 10000 cows, in Bikaner district. State government introduced a 20 % surcharge on liquor to use the proceeds for protection of cows.
- In 2015, Rajasthan became first state to have a separate department and ministry for the welfare of cows.
- India’s first cow sanctuary is located at MP’s Agar Malwa district, named Kamdhenu Gau Abhyaranya.
- State Govt. launched Bijli Mitra Mobile app, to help farmers to get their defunct transformers replaced within 6 hours of registering a complaint through app. It is initially launched in Jhalawar.
- State became first state to implement National Policy on Biofuels, unveiled by central Government in May 2018. Under this, State Government will lay emphasis on increasing production of oilseeds and establish Centre for Excellence in Udaipur to promote research in fields of alternative fuels and energy resources.
- State government approved 1 % reservation for 5 communities - Gadia Lohar, Banjara, Gujjar, Raika and Gadariya.
- State government launched Annapurna Dudh Yojana, to provide milk thrice a week to 62 lakh students in government schools and madrassas. While students till Class 5 will get 150 ml, students in Class 6-8 will get 200 ml.
103. Sambalpur railway division (____________________) of East Coast Railway Zone has set a record by constructing 6 limited height subways (LHS) at one go, in a single block of four and half hours, as first of its kind launch in Indian Railways. It eliminated all unmanned Level Crossing Gates over Sambalpur Division.
104. Science& Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan unveiled a Air Quality and Weather Forecast System– SAFAR (_____________________________________) at Chandni Chowk in Delhi. The giant LED displays real-time air quality index with colour coding alongwith 72-hour advance forecast. The system, first of its kind in the country, was developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology Pune.
- It will also measure sun’s UV-Index (UVI), PM1, Mercury and Black carbon in real time in addition to regular air quality and weather parameters like PM2.5, PM10, Sulfur Dioxide, Ozone, Nitrogen Oxides, Carbon Monoxide.
105. Supreme Court Bench (A.K. Sikri and Ashok Bhushan) ruled for the 3rd time that Chief Justice of India (CJI, currently _______________) is Master of Roster. CJI is an individual judge and not powerful collective of five senior-most judges of Supreme Court called the ‘Collegium’. CJI has exclusive authority to allocate cases to fellow judges and is spokesperson of the court.
- Judgment was based on petition filed by former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan for considering expression CJI should be read as meaning Collegium for purpose of allocation of cases. Petition mentioned that to have collegium of SC judges collectively to allocate cases rather than leave entire power in hands of CJI in his administrative capacity as ‘Master of Roster’.
106. Supreme Court ruled that private hospitals in _________________, which were given land on concessional rate, must provide free treatment to certain percentage of poor patients. It is mandatory for private hospitals, built on land allocated by government on concessional rates, to provide 10 % treatment to In Patient Department (IPD) and 25 % to Out Patient Department (OPD) for free.
107. _____________ Updates -
- State government has set a 24-hour helpline to assist and protect inter-caste couples, to eradicate ‘honour killing’ completely.
- State government released draft state Forest Policy that aims to conserve forests and wildlife, under Vision 2023 document.
- State has 30.92 % of the forest declared as ‘protected areas’. It has 15 wildlife sanctuaries, 5 National parks, 15 bird sanctuaries, 3 biosphere reserves and 4 project tiger areas.
- State will develop innovative strategies to enhance forest and tree cover from current 21.76 % to 33 % by 2030.
- Forest department will also develop mangroves in Tamil Nadu as ‘bio-shield’ along the coast as per the policy.
108. _____________ Updates -
- CM K Chandrasekhar Rao laid foundation stone for Gattu irrigation project in Jogulamba Gadwal district, Telangana, with cost approx 554-crores.
- State Government signed MoU with Singapore-based engineering & consulting firm Surbana Jurong for preparing roadmap for Genome Valley 2.0, an upgraded version of life sciences and biotechnology industrial cluster state’s capital Hyderabad.
- Genome Valley is India’s first organized pharma-biotech cluster for life sciences R&D activities and largest life sciences destination in Asia, being home to over 200 companies employing 10,000 people.
- State government allotted 200 acres to 3 women entrepreneurs’ associations in state. 50 acres has been allotted to FLO at Sultanpur. 30 acres has been allotted to Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs (COWE) at Toopran, and 120 acres to Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of India (ALEAP).
109. To cut costs incurred by state over travel expenses of ministers and bureaucrats, ________________ Govt. announced one person, one car policy.
110. Top beverage companies initiated a buyback programme for all PET bottles sold in _____________________, with a predefined buyback price to be mandatorily printed on larger PET/PETE bottles. Most companies have set the buyback value at Rs 15 per kg for PET bottles and 5 per kg for shrink wraps.
111. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) will set up ‘Design University for Gaming’ in Visakhapatnam (_____________________). For This, UNESCO signed agreement with Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB).
112. _____________ Updates -
- State Government announced a new Defence Manufacturing policy named ‘Defence Aerospace Unit and Employment Generating Policy 2018’. Under this -
- Entrepreneurs will be given land under plug and play formula investment of INR 50000 crore in 5 years. This would generate 2.5 lakh jobs.
- Six districts — Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Kanpur and Lucknow – will be notified for the Defence manufacturing hub, with focus on Bundelkhand region.
- There will be 2 categories of investment - mega anchor project worth over Rs 1000 crore which will include companies willing to build aircraft, tanks, choppers and anchor units which could invest 200 - 400 crores in several regions.
- Government also approved proposal to get bank loan of INR 12000 crores from PNB for construction of Purvanchal Expressway.
- It also approved construction of civil airports at Aligarh, Azamgarh, Moradabad and Shravasti under Regional Air Connectivity policy.
- Government also approved asset settlement of UP Mining Development Corporation.
- State Government granted Status of Revenue Village to three villages inhabited by the Tongia Scheduled Tribe in and around forests in Saharanpur district under Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA). Villages are - Kaluwala, Sodhinagar and Bhagwatpur.
- Granting of Revenue Status to villages means that these villages will now come under revenue department instead of forest department.
- State Govt. issued an order to ban use of plastic in state from July 15, 2018, in line with central govt's plan to end use of single-use plastic products by 2022. This will be 3rd Plastic ban in state since 2015.
113. ____________________ High Court declared entire animal kingdom (all animals, including avian and aquatic species) as legal entities with rights, duties and liabilities of living person.
- HC was hearing PIL by Narayan Dutt Bhatt, filed in 2014 where petitioner had sought directions to restrict movement of horse carts (tongas) between India and Nepal through Banbasa in Champawat district of Uttarakhand. However, HC enlarged scope of petition in larger public interest to promote protection and welfare of animals.
- HC directed State Government that no animal, including horses moving between India and Nepal, carries excess weight. It also banned use of any sharp equipment throughout state to avoid bruises, swelling, abrasions or severe pain to animals.
- It also directed all veterinary doctors across state to mandatorily treat animals brought to them.
114. ____________ Updates -
- State Assembly passed Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill2018, with 59 state subjects. It allows Lokayukta to investigate other 58 subjects under State List, with approval of two-third of members of assembly. The Bill Keeps CM out of its purview in matters relating to public order.
- State Government signed MOU with British Council, to promote cultural, educational and skill development exchanges between UK and state, on occasion of British Council's 70th anniversary in India.
- State assembly passed a bill to change state’s name from West Bengal to ‘Bangla’ in all three different languages.
115. Western Ghats, one of India’s Hottest Biodiversity Hotspots and a UNESCO World Heritage site, has been marked ___________ in Lonely Planet’s top five ‘2018 Best in Asia’ list. One of flowering plant species, Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) which blooms once every 12 years and has started to bloom in famed hill station of Munnar, has been mentioned in report.
116. Western Railway renamed Elphinstone Road suburban railway station in ________________ to Prabhadevi Station (PBHD). It was initially named after Lord Elphinstone, Governor of Bombay Presidency from 1853 to 1860. It has now been renamed in honour of local deity Prabhadevi.
