1. Naropa traditional Festival held in Ladakh (_______________). On this occasion, 299 women dressed up in traditional Ladakhi wedding attire danced together making it to the Guinness World Records and declared the dance performance as Largest Ladakhi Dance.
- Celebrated every 12th year of the Tibetan calendar, the Naropa festival, also known as the ‘Kumbh Mela of the Himalayas’ .
2. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Pakyong Airport, as Sikkim's first and India's _______________________ functional Airport, Situated at 4,500 feet above sea level. It will provide a big boost to connectivity in Sikkim and will boost its tourism.
- It is located around 60 km from Indo-China border and around 30 km away from Gangtok, capital of Sikkim. It has capacity to handle 50 in-bound and as many out-bound passengers flights.
- PM also inaugurated new airport in Jharsuguda, also known as powerhouse of Odisha. It is first airport in Odisha to provide necessary connectivity to Bhubaneswar, Raipur and Ranchi under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN (UdeDesh Ka AamNaagrik) Scheme.
- Other than Jharsuguda, three more airports are being developed in Odisha - Jeypore (Koraput), Rourkela (Sundargarh) and Utkela (Kalahandi). Jharsuguda AirportJharsuguda is the second airport of Odisha after Bhubaneswar to become operational.
- Odisha assembly recently approved naming Jharsuguda airport after noted freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai. It is 2nd airport in Odisha to be renamed, after Biju Patnaik International airport in Bhubaneswar.
3. ________________ CM Pawan Kumar Chamling launched first data sharing and accessibility portal of state, called State Data Sharing and Accessibility Platform (SDSAP). State IT Department would upload data in portals twice a year – in April-May and September-October. State Direct Benefit Transfer portal was also launched.
4. After Supreme Court scrapped Section _____________________ of Indian Penal Code (IPC) that criminalised homosexuality, India became first-ever country to have a gender-neutral hostel. Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai became first campus in India to have a gender-neutral hostel ?
5. Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister _________________________ launched online software for Agmark, to make application and related services process simple, quick, transparent and 24x7.
- Agmark is certification mark that assures conformity to set of standards approved by Government agency Directorate of Marketing and Inspection. It is legally enforced by Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act of 1937 (and ammended in 1986).
- The present AGMARK standards cover quality guidelines for 205 different commodities spanning variety of cereals, pulses, vegetable oils, essential oils, fruits & vegetables, and semi-processed products like vermicelli.
6. All India Council for Technical Education will establish country’s first AICTE Training and Learning (ATAL) Academy in Jaipur (___________________), with 3 more ATAL academies to come at Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), Guwahati (Assam) and Baroda (Gujarat) by 2019.
- These will provide upgraded teaching methods and modules to make technical education more effective and accountable. Faculties will be trained on the eight-module course in these academies in five months.
- The training will be mandatory for new teachers from 2019 and it will be necessary for existing teachers and assistant teachers while applying for promotions.
7. _________________ CM Minister Chandrababu Naidu flagged off ‘Swachh Dhara’ programme at Amravati, To provide clean drinking water across state.
8. ______________ government started unemployment allowance as part of Yuva Nestam scheme for state’s youth from October 2018, launching a website at yuvanestham.ap.gov.in. It is aimed for unemployed youth between 25 - 35 years. It would give candidates an allowance of INR 1000 along with free of cost skill development training.
9. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) discovered collection of 254 Copper Coins in premises of Khirki Mosque (__________________ ). The mosque was built by Khan-i-Jahan Junan Shah, Prime Minister of Firoz Shah Tughluq (1351-88) and is believed to be one of 7 mosques built by him.
10. Around 600 food and beverage (F&B) importers from about 50 countries are likely to participate in Indusfood-II, touted as the world's food supermarket, in January 2019. It will be held in Greater Noida (________________________).
11. _______________ CM Pema Khandu launched State’s first Sainik School at Niglok in East Siang district. It started its first academic session from 27th August 2018 with 60 students.
12. As per a recent Law Ministry report, India has approx ______________________ judges per 10 lakh people on an average. Subordinate courts have a shortage of 5748 judicial officers, and 24 high courts have a total of 406 vacancies. Working strength of lower judiciary is 16726, while approved strength is 22474.
13. ____________________ movie ‘Village Rockstars’ selected as India’s official entry to Oscars 2019 (91st Academy Awards) under Foreign Language Film category. It was selected by 12-member jury of Film Federation of India (FII), led by Kannada producer-director SV Rajendra Singh Babu.
14. ___________________ player PV Sindhu is only sportsperson featuring in Forbes India’s 1st ‘tycoons of tomorrow’ list of 22 young achievers in the fields of business, acting and sports.
15.______________________ 's Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) will become first airport in Asia to introduce face recognition based passage system technology from 2019. For this, it signed agreement with Portuguese software firm Vision Box. It will allow passengers to board flights and move across different sections of the airport using automatic biometric boarding procedure instead of manual boarding passes verification.
16. Cabinet Approvals (Sep 05, 2018) -
- General Approvals -
- Approved establishment of permanent campus of _________________________ new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) at Amritsar, Bodh Gaya, Nagpur, Sambalpur, Sirmaur, Vishakhapatnam and Jammu, and their recurring expenditure at a total cost of Rs 3775 crores.
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) -
- Approved continuation of the Centrally Sponsored Umbrella Scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (CSS-IDWH) beyond 12thPlan period from 2017-18 to 2019-20. It consists of Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger (CSS-PT), Development of Wildlife Habitats (CSS-DWH) and Project Elephant (CSS-PE). Outlay is INR 1731 crores.
- Total 18 tiger range States in 5 landscapes of country would be benefitted under Project Tiger scheme.
- Similarly, for other two schemes, the coverage is entire country in case of Development of Wildlife Habitats (DWH) and 23 elephant range States for Project Elephant.
- It will generate direct employment of about 30 lakh mandays annually which shall include many local tribes besides non-tribal local workforce.
17. Cabinet Approvals (Sep 12, 2018) -
- General Approvals -
- Approved introduction of Bill in Parliament for amendment of NID Act 2014 to include four new _________________________________________ (NID) viz. Amaravati/Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Jorhat (Assam) and Kurukshetra (Haryana) within ambit of NID Act 2014 and declare them as Institutions of National Importance (INIs) at par with NID Ahmedabad.
- Approved Policy framework to promote and incentivize Enhanced Recovery (ER)/ Improved Recovery (IR)/ Unconventional Hydrocarbon (UHC) production Methods/ to improve recovery factor of existing hydrocarbons reserves for augmenting domestic production of oil and gas.
- It will be applicable to all contractual regimes and Nomination fields. It is expected to spur new investment, provide impetus to economic activities and generate additional employment opportunities.
- Cabinet approved new Umbrella Scheme Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan’ (PM-AASHA), aimed at ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers for their produce, as announced in Budget for 2018.
- PM-AASHA includes mechanism of ensuring remunerative prices to farmers and is comprised of -
- Price Support Scheme (PSS),
- Physical procurement of pulses, oilseeds and Copra will be done by Central Nodal Agencies with proactive role of State governments. In addition to NAFED, Food Cooperation of India (FCI) will take up PSS operations in states /districts.
- Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS)
- It is proposed to cover all oilseeds for which MSP is notified. In this direct payment of difference between the MSP and selling price will be made to pre-registered farmers selling his produce in the notified market yard through a transparent auction process. All payment will be done directly into registered bank account of farmer.
- This scheme does not involve any physical procurement of crops as farmers are paid difference between the MSP price and Sale price on disposal in notified market.
- Pilot of Private Procurement & Stockist Scheme (PPPS).
- Procurement Stats -
- During 2010-14, procurement was INR 3500 crores whereas during 2014-18, it has risen to INR 34000 crores.
- For procurement of these agri-commodities during 2010-14, Government Guarantee of 2500 crore was provided with expenditure of only 300 crores. During 2014-18, Guarantee has been increased to 29000 crores with expenditure of 1000 crores.
- Now, Cabinet has increased government guarantee by INR 16550 crores, making it 45550 crore in total. INR 15053 crores is sanctioned for PM-AASHA implementation.
- MOUs -
- Brunei Darussalam - Cooperation in Space Research, Science and Applications. Operation of Telemetry Tracking and Telecommand station for satellite and launch vehicles.
- Collaborative Research on Distributed Ledger and Block chain Technology in context of Development of digital economy by Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) with participating member banks, under BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism.
- Participating banks are - Banco Nacional de DesenvolvimentoEconomico e Social (BNDES, of Brazil), China Development Bank (CDB), State Corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank, of Russia) and Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).
- South Africa - exploration and uses of outer space for peaceful purposes.
- Egypt - Agriculture & allied sectors.
- Malta - Tourism.
- CCEA Approvals -
- Approved revising price of ethanol derived from B heavy molasses / partial sugarcane juice and fix a higher price for 100% sugarcane juice based ethanol for ethanol supply year from 1st December 2018 to 30th November 2019.
- Fix ex-mill price of ethanol derived out of B heavy molasses / partial sugarcane juice to INR 52.43 per litre (earlier 47.13 / litre).
- Fix the ex-mill price of ethanol derived from 100% sugarcane juice at 59.13 per litre (earlier from prevailing price of Rs.47.13 per litre).
- OMCs are advised to prioritise ethanol from 100 % sugarcane juice, B heavy molasses / partial sugarcane juice, C heavy molasses and Damaged Food grains/other sources, in that order.
- Approved continuation of Capacity Development Scheme for 2017-18 to 2019-20 with outlay of INR 2250 crores.
- CDS is an Ongoing Central Sector Scheme of MoSPI, aimed at augmenting infrastructural, technical as well as manpower resources for making available credible and timely Official Statistics for policy makers and public.
- It has 2 Sub-schemes - Economic Census and Support for Statistical Strengthening (SSS).
- Under Economic Census -listing of all non-agricultural establishments is undertaken periodically, which forms the basis for conducting detailed socio-economic surveys.
- SSS Sub-scheme is to strengthen State/ Sub-State level statistical systems/ infrastructure to facilitate development of a robust national system.
18. Cabinet Approvals (Sep 16, 2018) -
- CCEA Approvals -
- Approved equity investment of INR 1033.54 crores (+ 29.67%) of project cost for setting up a Coal Gasification based fertilizer projectin Talcher Fertilizer Ltd. (TFL)by Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited (RCF). Revival of Talcher project will ensure huge investment in the fertilizer sector from Government through PSUs.
- Approved enhancement of honorarium to Anganwadi Workers/Anganwadi Helpers (AWWs/AWHs) and performance linked incentive to AWHs with total cost of INR 10649 crores, till 31-03-2020.
-
Name of Functionary |
Old Rates p.m. |
Revised Rates p.m. |
Anganwadi Worker |
3000 |
4500 |
Anganwadi Worker at Mini-AWC |
2250 |
3500 |
Anganwadi Helper |
1500 |
2250 |
- Approved to construct new line between Budni to Indore (Mangaliyagaon) with approximate length of 205.5 Km, with cost 3261 crores.
- Approved ASHA Benefit Package w.e.f. October 2018, with 2 components -
- Eligible ASHAs and ASHA facilitators to be enrolled in social security schemes - Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha BimaYojana.
- Increase in amount of routine and recurring incentives under National Health Mission for ASHAs under NHM from Rs. 1000 to 2000 per month.
- The package entails an expenditure (Central funding) to Rs.1224.97 crore for two years 2018-19 and 2019-20.
- Approved Revised Cost Estimate of _______________________________ (DRIP) at the revised cost of Rs 3466 crore with the financial assistance of World Bank to improve safety and operational performance of 198 Dams. CCEA also approvaed 2 year time extension till 30th June, 2020.
19. Cabinet Approvals (Sep 26, 2018) -
- CCEA Approvals -
- New BG Electrified Line of 294.53 route Kms from Katghora to Dongargarh will provide rail connectivity to unserved areas of ______________________________ , with approx cost of 5950 crores.
- Construction of New Domestic Terminal Building and other allied structures at Patna airport at an estimated cost of 1216 crores, to enhance passenger handling capacity of airport to 4.5 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA), from 0.7 MPPA.
- Due to excess stocks and indication of similar excess production in sugar season 2018-19, cane price arrears of sugarcane farmers may also peak at unprecedented high level. To check this, CCEA approved assistance over 5500 crores to support sugar sector -
- Assistance to sugar mills by towards transport and other costs -
- Rs. 1000/MT for mills located within 100 kms from ports
- 2500/MT for mills located beyond 100 kms from port in coastal states
- 3000/MT for mills located in other than coastal states or actual expenditure, whichever is lower.
- Total expenditure on this account would be about Rs.1375 crore which will be borne by Government.
- To help sugar mills to clear cane dues of farmers, Government will provide assistance @ of Rs. 13.88 per quintal of cane crushed in sugar season 2018-19 to sugar mills to offset cost of cane. Total expenditure on this account would be about 4163 crores.
- General Approvals -
- Increasing of Government ownership in Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) and change in existing structure -
- Acquisition of 51% equity held by the -Government Institutions in GSTN, and Restructure GSTN, with 100% government ownership shall have equity structure between the Centre (50%) and the States (50%).
- Allow change in the existing composition of the Board of GSTN inducting three directors from Centre and States and three other independent directors to be nominated by Board of Directors and one Chairman and the CEO. Thus total number of Directors is 11.
- Central Assistance of INR 620 Crores and 206 Crores for implementation of relining of Rajasthan Feeder Canal and Sirhind Feeder Canal respectively over five years (2018-19 to 2022-23).
- Approved National Digital Communications Policy-2018 and re-designation of the Telecom Commission as the Digital Communications Commission.
- It aims to -
- Enhancing contribution of Digital Communications sector to 8% of India's GDP from 6% in 2017
- Provide universal broadband connectivity at 50 Mbps to every citizen;
- Provide 1 Gbps connectivity to all Gram Panchayats by 2020 and 10 Gbps by 2022
- Attract investments of USD 100 billion in the Digital Communications Sector;
- Expand IoT ecosystem to 5 billion connected devices.
- Secure digital communications infrastructure and services
- Strategy Includes -
- Establishment of a National Digital Grid by creating a National Fibre Authority.
- Creating a collaborative institutional mechanism between Centre, States and Local Bodies for Common Rights of Way, standardization of costs and timelines.
- Facilitating development of Open Access Next Generation Networks.
- MOUs -
- With Uzbekistan -
- Tourism
- Law & Justice
- Combating Illicit Trafficking in Narcotics, Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursors
- For establishment of the Uzbek-Indian Free Pharmaceutical Zone in the Andijan Region of Uzbekistan. The MoU will be signed during the visit of President of Uzbekistan to India on 1st October 2018.
- Agriculture and Allied sectors
- Pharmaceutical sector
- South Korea - Applied Science and Industrial Technology
- Co-operation MoU between Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK).
- MoU between NITI Aayog, and Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation (MEDRF) in the field of social, economic, industrial and regional development programs.
20. Cabinet cleared ordinance to make instant triple talaq penal offence, after It was signed by President Ram Nath Kovind later as per Article _____________________ of Constitution. Compelling reason cited by Government for promulgation of this ordinance was that practice of triple talaq continues unabated even after annulled by Supreme Court due to absence of legal framework.
21. Census _____________________ for first time in independent India will collect data on Other Backwards Castes (OBCs), after over 25 years after implementation of 27% reservation for OBCs based on Mandal Commission’s recommendations on basis of last castes data collected in 1931 census.
- In 1953, President under Article 340 had set up first Backward Classes Commission under chairmanship of Kaka Kelkar to identify backward classes other than SCs and STs at national level. Its conclusions were rejected later.
- Later in January 1979, 2nd Backward Classes Commission headed by B P Mandal was appointed to consider reservations, to redress caste discrimination. It reported that OBC population at 52% and classified 1,257 communities as backward. It also recommended increasing existing quotas, which were only for SC/ST, from 22.5% to 49.5% to include OBCs. Its recommendations were implemented in 1990.
- UPA government (under Manmohan Singh) accepted demand for caste-based enumeration and undertaken Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) in 2011. However, SECC-2011 data was not made public for certain errors identified by Registrar General of India.
22. ___________________ government launched doorstep delivery of 40 essential government services such as caste and marriage certificates, driving license and new water connections in the first phase. The services will be provided for an extra fee of Rs 50. Delivery would be completed with help of assigned Mobile sahayaks.
23. Election Commission of India (EC) removed NOTA (____________________) option from ballot papers of Rajya Sabha, Legislative Council elections following directive of Supreme Court.
- In August 2018, Supreme Court had said that NOTA will not be applicable as ballot option in Rajya Sabha polls. It will only continue to be option in direct elections such as Lok Sabha and state assemblies, quashing June 2014 notification of EC that allowed use of NOTA option in Rajya Sabha elections.
24. General Events / Conferences (Sep 1 - 10, 2018) -
- IARI held Conference on Motivating and Attracting Youth in Agriculture (MAYA) at National Agricultural Science Complex (NASC) in ___________________________________.
- 6th International Geriatric Orthopaedic Society of India Conference on theme “Increased Longevity with Reduced Fragility and Enhanced Mobility” held at AIIMS Delhi.
- A National Conference organised by Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association in New Delhi.
- 3-day Defence & Homeland Security Expo and Conference – 2018, organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in association in New Delhi.
- US-India Business Council (USIBC) organised its first India Ideas Summit in Mumbai.
- Ministry of Railways & Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) organised a seminar on “Leveraging IT for Mobility” in New Delhi. Minister of Railways & Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal launched a new app – “AAPOORTI’ mobile App of ‘Indian Railways e-procurement system’ (IREPS).
- 31st meeting of Central Hindi Committee held in New Delhi.
- 115th meeting of India-Pakistan Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) held in Lahore (Pakistan). PK Saxena (Indian Commissioner for Indus Waters), attended the same. Both countries agreed to undertake Treaty mandated tours of both Indus Commissioners in Indus basin on both sides.
- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) announced guidelines for ‘Sandbox’ method to enable testing of new innovative insurance products, during 11th Global Insurance Summit organised by Assocham in Mumbai. Sandbox method would allow insurers or a set of few policyholders to test products in a particular geography before they are available in market.
- Conference on “E-Mobility in Indian Railways” organized by Ministry of Railways through Institution of Railways Electrical Engineers (IRSEE) in association with NITI Aayog concluded in New Delhi.
- 4th Annual Sustainable Smart Cities India Conference held in Bengaluru.
- Bi-annual talks between Indian and Bangladeshi border forces held in New Delhi.
25. General Events / Conferences (Sep 11 - 20, 2018) -
- Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) organized National Conference of District Disability Rehabilitation Centres’ at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.
- Rajasthan government held convention on ‘Revitalising India as a Heritage Destination’ to focus on preserving heritage properties in Bharatpur.
- All India Pension Adalat held in New Delhi, organised by Department of Pension & Pensioners Welfare (DoP&PW). It is a large scale exercise for pensioners’ welfare undertaken by Government as part of good governance practices.
- My India WiFi India Summit & Awards 2018 organized by DigiAnalysys in New Delhi, with theme Achieving 10 million WiFi Hotspots by 2018.
- Asean World Economic Forum held in Hanoi (Vietnam), with theme ASEAN 4.0: Entrepreneurship and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
- Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines, Narendra Singh chaired 20th Central Employment Guarantee Council meeting in Bhopal.
- 4th Eastern Economic Forum held in Vladivostok (Russia), with theme The Far East: Expanding the Range of Possibilities.
- Inaugural Naval Flight Test Seminar held at Goa.
- Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb inaugurated ISRO’s Space Technology Incubation Centre(STIC) at National Institute of Technology Agartala. It was launched at the first edition of ‘Spacetronics’ organised by the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA).
- Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani presented ‘Shilp Guru’ and National Award to Master craft persons at a function held at Raipur (capital of __________________). 8 ‘Shilp guru’ and 25 National awards were presented for 2016. Shilp Guru’ is the highest award in the Handicraft sector in India.
- Home Affairs Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated two Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) pilot projects along India-Pakistan border in Jammu region.
- Jaipur Literature Festival held in Houston at Asia Society of Texas (USA). The festival is touted as world’s largest free literary gathering.
26. General Events / Conferences (Sep 21 - 30, 2018) -
- 7th National Conference on Excellence in Workplace Safety and Occupational Health in New Delhi.
- PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Conference on Academic Leadership on Education for Resurgence in New Delhi. To deliberate on challenges facing Indian education system and to work out a plan for a paradigm shift in terms of achieving academic outcomes and in regulation of education.
- 3rd meeting of IONS Working Group (IWG) on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) held in Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
- National literary and intellectual conference Lok Manthan 2018 held at Khel Gaon in Ranchi (Jharkhand).
- Joint border conference of India and Bangladesh held at Aizawl (Mizoram).
- India and Nepal's 5th meeting of Boundary Working Group (BWG) held in Kathmandu. Both Nations agreed to explore possibility of using high resolution satellite images in boundary survey work.
- Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs 2 day National Orientation workshop on National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) in New Delhi.
- NeVA is initiative of Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, aiming to make all legislatures in country paperless by making proceedings of houses digital. It hosts secure page for each Member of House for submitting Questions and other Notices.
- NeVA serves as ‘One Nation, One Application’ by bringing uniformity of database for easy and effective engagement of citizens with Government.
- 21st Central Zonal Council meeting held in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh).
- Vice president M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated Smart City Expo India-2018 in Jaipur (Rajasthan), to discuss utilizing benefits of new technology, town planning, challenges before socio-economic development in Smart City sector.
- National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) held its Grameena Habba Event in Bangalore (_______________________________________), to expand the market for weavers, rural artisans and craftsmen, SHGs, rural entrepreneurs, and farmers’ producer organisations.
- Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik inaugurated Odisha's official Bhawan in Chennai (Tamilnadu). He also launched ‘Kalahandi Dialogue’ at Bhawanipatna, in Kalahandi (Odisha).
27. _____________________ Government launched helpline 181, to help women in distress.
28. Govt. inaugurated website for _________________ Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2019 (www.epfindia.gov.in). The PBD 2019 will will held Jan 21-23 and will include Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth as Chief Guest. Member of Parliament of Norway Himanshu Gulati will be Special Guest. Member of Parliament of New Zealand Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi will be Guest of Honor.
29. Gujarat Government partnered with India-centric American advocacy group US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), for 9th Vibrant Gujarat annual industry summit to be held in January 2019 in _________________________.
30. Harsh Vardhan (Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest and Climate change) inaugurated air pollution control device WAYU(___________________________) for traffic junctions at ITO intersection and Mukarba Chowk in Delhi. WAYU is developed by CSIR – National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI).
31. Harvest festival of Nuakhai celebrated in western _________________. During this, new produce Nabannis are offered to presiding deities.
32. ____________________
Assembly passed State Commission for Scheduled Castes Bill 2018, for development setting up a commission for scheduled castes in the state, to safeguard interests of people belonging to SC community.
- State Assembly also passed Bills to rename 2 Universities - YMCA University of Science and Technology Faridabad renamed as J C Bose University of Science and Technology and Haryana Vishwakarma Skill University renamed as Shri Vishwakarma Skill University.
33. ______________________ Government signed MoU with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to set up ethanol plant at village Bohali village in Panipat district with an outlay of INR 900 crores, with capacity of 100 kilolitres of ethanol per day. This will motivate farmers in its 50 km radius area to manage crop residue and prevent straw burning and help to fulfill increasing demand of ethanol and also bio-fuels for consumers of petroleum product.
34. Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched 2 portals to strengthen Women Safety -
- ____________________________ (CCPWC) (url - cybercrime.gov.in), will receive complaints from citizens on objectionable online content related to child pornography, child sexual abuse material, sexually explicit material such as rapes. Complaints registered through this portal will be handled by police authorities of respective State/UTs.
- 2nd portal, National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO), which is accessible only to law enforcement agencies, will assist in effectively tracking and investigating cases of sexual offences. It is a central database of “sexual offenders”, to be maintained by NCRB for regular monitoring by State Police.
35. Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba launched an online ‘______________________________’ portal here today for grant of Security Clearance, to facilitate online submission of application and keep up with the status. MHA strives to decide Security Clearance cases in 60 days, down from 90 days currently.
36. ____________________ Metro became second biggest rail network in India with a total of 46 km service (2nd to Delhi Metro) After Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Governor ESL Narasimhan flagged off 16-km stretch between Ameerpet and L B Nagar.
37. __________________ will soon get country’s first exclusive dog park, spread over 1.3 acres. It will also has dog training and exercise equipments.
38. IT firm IBM has teamed up with IIT _______________ to ‘accelerate’ AI research in India through its AI Horizons Network.
39. India became only SAARC country to have a quit-line number on tobacco products (__________________________). India is the 4th such country in Asia after Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia to have a helpline number dedicated for helping people quit tobacco products.
40. India's First corn festival held in Chhindwara (_________________).
41. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) inaugurated S–Band Polarimetry Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota spaceport (_______________________). It will be used for observation of weather system up to range of 500 km and also for early warning of severe weather events.
- DWR has been developed by Bharat Electronics Ltd Bengaluru under ToT (Training of Trainers) from ISRO, as 7th radar of such type manufactured in country under “Make in India”.
42. Indian actress Jaya Prada appointed as goodwill ambassador for __________________ tourism, for 4 years.
43. Indian Railways launched a web portal called ____________________, as a platform for the Corporates and PSUs to contribute to creation of amenities at/near Railway Stations through Corporate Social Responsibility funds. Companies desirous of contributing can show willingness on the portal by registering their requests.
44. India’s first 205T Electric Drive Rear Dump Truck (Model BH205-E), developed by Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) has been launched, for use in the project of Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL) in Singrauli (______________________).
- EBH205E is electric drive rear dump truck for large scale mining operations. It is powered by Tier II emission compliant Modular Common Rail Electronic Engine with 2300 HP capacity. It is easily manoeuvrable with power-steering and short turning radius.
45. India’s first indigenously developed 500-megawatt (mw) Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam in _____________________ is expected to achieve criticality in 2019, now undergoing sodium commissioning.
- Criticality of Nuclear Reactor is event of it reaching self-sustained chain reaction. This means that no external source of neutrons is required to sustain fission in reactor core. It is precondition of producing useful amounts of energy from the reactor.
- PFBR has been designed indigenously by Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), to generate 500 MWe of electrical power, with operational life of 40 years. It generates power by burning mixed uranium-plutonium MOX fuel, a mixture of PuO2 and UO2.
- Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam (Bhavini) has been given responsibility to build these reactors. India is planning to build 21 such reactors by 2030.
46. International Aviation Summit held in __________________, jointly organised by the Airports Authority of India, Ministry of Civil Aviation and International Air Transport Association (IATA).
- Civil Aviation Ministry announced Vision 2035 under which it plans to build 100 new airports across India in the next 10-15 years with an investment of USD 60 billion and address major issues concerning aviation industry.
47. International Executive Council (International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID)), accorded Heritage Irrigation Structure (HIS) status on _______________________'s Sadarmatt anicut and iconic Pedda Cheruvu tank. Both these sites will now be inscribed in the ICID Register of Heritage Irrigation Structures.
- Sadarmatt anicut - The Sadarmatt barrage, across Godavari in Khanapur of Nirmal district, is an iconic structure installed by the then Hyderabad ruler Nawab Ikbal-ud-Dowla in 1891-92.
- Sadarmatt is 437.4 m long on its left flank and 23.8 m on its right flank. maximum flood discharge at the anicut is 7.76 lakh cusecs.
- Pedda Cheruvu -
- It is spread over an area of 618 acres and was built in 1897 during the rule of Mir Mahaboob Ali Khan, the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad State. It has a 1.8-km-long tank bund and 145-metre wall and three sluices.
48. ___________________ government introduced electric vehicles for official use, becoming 5th state of India and first state in eastern India to procure eco-friendly vehicles for government use.
49. ____________________ Government appointed KPMG as project consultant partner for rebuilding state ravaged by recent massive floods. Services of KPMG rendered for projects related to revamping to Kerala will be free of cost.
- Netherlands based KPMG is one of largest professional service companies in world and one of Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
50. _____________ Municipal Corporation (KMC) launcahed a flood forecasting and early warning system (FFEWS), as India’s first comprehensive city-level FFEWS. Asian Development Bank (ADB) from its Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund funded this project with technical assistance of a $1 million.
It also topped OpenSignal’s list of 4G availability with over 90.7% coverage, across all of India’s 22 telecom circles for May-July 2018.
51. MSME Ministry launched its monthly e-newsletter named ____________________ to disseminate information of activities undertaken by MSME Ministry and act as a communication bridge between MSME Ministry and its stakeholders.
52. _______________ government hiked ex-gratia to be paid to the kin of deceased journalists, from 1 to 4 lakhs. Also, 5 per cent interest subsidy will be given for a period of five years on housing loan up to Rs 25 lakh to deceased journalists from.
53. ________________ launched a first of its kind initiative called “Mil -Banche” in all government schools across the state. It Aims to create education and learning awareness among children.
54. _______________ Government will set up new Cyber University dedicated to mitigating cyber threats. It will train 3,000 professionals to fight cyber-attacks.
55. Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu launched ______________ - India coffee field force app and Coffee KrishiTharanga - digital mobile extension services.
- Mobile app ________________ is developed to ease work of field functionaries and to improve work efficiency. It harnesses power of mobility comprising latest technology in easing the whole process of the field activities like digitization of Coffee Growers & Estates with Geo Tagging, collecting Plantation details.
- Coffee KrishiTharanga services are aimed at providing customized information and services to increase productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability.
56. Minister of Electronics & IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad inaugurated Centre of Excellence for Data Analytics (CEDA) in _________________.
- CEDA will aid in fast-tracking adoption of advanced analytics in government, with centre aiming to strengthen citizen service delivery through data-driven governance.
- CEDA aims at providing following services to Government:-
- Data Quality Assurance Services.
- Custom-built Data Analytics Solutions.
- Develop reusable assets.
- Knowledge Management.
- Capacity Building and Self Service Analytics.
- Change Management - CEDA will help ministries in assessing impact from the analytics solutions and help in understanding changes to organizational roles and responsibilities
- DigiVaarta was also launched on this occasion, to express intention of spreading awareness on DigiDhan. It aims to enable citizen government dialogue and engage citizens in educational and outreach programmes. It has two components –
- An SMS application which operates from NIC’s SMS Gateway on a special Short-code service allotted for this purpose by DoT with the number “14444”. Citizens will receive SMS messages which are pre-approved by experts and the response messages will be made available for further action, analysis and research.
- A Mobile application version of DigiVaarta.
57. Minister of Railways and Coal, Piyush Goyal launched “Rail Heritage Digitisation Project” of Indian Railways in collaboration with _______________ Arts & Culture, accessible at https://artsandculture.google.com/project/indian-railways.
- Its a landmark effort to showcase country’s Rail Heritage to National and International audience in an online story-telling platform.
- Railways in India started on 16th April, 1853 between Bori bunder and Thane. Today we have three World Heritage Railways: DHR (Darjeeling Himalayan Railways), NMR (Nilgiri Mountain Railway), KSR (Kalka Shimla Railways).
- With over 151,000 kilometres of track, 7,000 stations, 1.3 million employees and 160 years of history, Indian Railway is one of the most celebrated railway networks in world.
58. Minister of State for Atomic Energy, Jitendra Singh inaugurated 10KW transmitter of All India Radio at Patnitop in Ramban District of ______________________. This would enable services to reach remote areas of the State in various districts like Ramban, Doda, Udhampur, Anantnag and parts of Jammu. It would be available at an ariel distance of 60 km in the frequency of 101 MHz.
59. Ministry of ________________ released National Museum Research Bulletin Number 10, revived after gap of 16 years. It also has released Sindhu Ghati Sabhyata:Ek Parichay, a Hindi version of An Introduction To Indus Valley Civilization which among the bestsellers at National Museum.
- Sindhu Ghati Sabhyata : Ek Parichay is Hindi version of An Introduction To Indus Valley Civilization, co-authored by Sanjib Kumar Singhm, Gunjan Srivastava and Rajesh Kumar.
60. Ministry of _______________________ Updates -
- Issued notification for bringing Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Act 2017 in force.
- It aims to safeguard rights of people living with HIV and affected by HIV. It also prohibits requirement for HIV testing as pre-requisite for obtaining employment or accessing health care or education.
- Launched pilot project for transport of sputum specimen for Tuberculosis (TB) Diagnosis by utilising services of Department of Post in New Delhi.
- Learning from this pilot project experience will be useful for adaptation of specimen transport mechanism through Postal Department across the country, as Significant proportion of TB patients in India are not tested for their symptoms because specimen does not reach laboratory due to non-availability of specimen transport mechanisms.
- Prohibited manufacture of 328 Fixed Dose Combinations (FDCs) for human use with immediate effect.
- Fixed dose combinations (FDC) Drugs have 2 or more active ingredients in a single dosage. They are widely used to improve patient compliance as it is easier for them to take one drug than several. They are acceptable only when drugs so combined have a therapeutic advantage.
- Released draft Charter of Patients’ Rights prepared by National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), aimed at creating consolidating comprehensive document on patients’ rights in India.
- It provides patients with right to emergency medical care and informed consent, right to non-discrimination, seek a second opinion and choose alternative treatment options, if available. It also includes 17 rights with description and draws upon all relevant provisions.
- Signed MoUs with Tata Trusts and Dell to provide a technological platform fornationwide prevention, control, screening and management program of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
61. Ministry of ______________ Updates -
- Signed MOU with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for setting up of an state-of-the-art Integrated Control Room for Emergency Response (ICR-ER) in Ministry of Home Affairs. It will increase the operational effectiveness and will be helpful in rendering timely assistance during emergency situations.
- Ministry of Home Affairs approved renaming Jharkhand's Nagar Untari town and railway station as Banshidhar Nagar, after Bansidhar Temple, dedicated to Krishna in Garhwa district of state. It is being done as part of its including Banshidhar Nagar as part of Krishna circuit and develop it as major tourist attraction under Swadesh Darshan Scheme.
62. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) released the first ever ‘Ease of Living Index’ covering 111 Indian cities -
- ________________________ topped among States, followed by Odisha and Madhya Pradesh
- It was decided in June 2017 to rank 116 cities (all smart cities and million plus cities) based on liveability parameters. The 'physical' pillar (infrastructure) was given highest weightage of 45, institutional (governance) and social were weighted 25 each. Economy was weighted 5.
- Ease of Living framework comprised four pillars namely Institutional, Social, Economic and Physical which are further broken down into 78 indicators across 15 categories .
- Top 10 Cities -
- Pune
- Navi Mumbai
- Greater Mumbai
- Tirupati
- Chandigarh
- Thane
- Raipur
- Indore
- Vijaywada
- Bhopal
63. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs partnered with _____________________ to launch Loo Review campaign on Maps, under Swachh Bharat Mission – Urban (SBM–U). It will run throughout October and November 2018 in an effort to increase awareness and ease of locating public toilets across India. It aims to encourage all local guides in India to rate and review public toilets on Google Maps.
64. Ministry of Tourism inaugurated India’s first tribal circuit project connecting 13 tourism sites in ____________________ under Swadesh Darshan Scheme. The circuit connects Jashpur, Kunkuri, Mainpat, Kamleshpur, Maheshpur, Kurdar, Sarodadadar, Gangrel, Kondagaon, Nathiya Nawagaon, Jagdalpur, Chitrakoot, and Tirthgarh.
- Tribal circuit project will improve existing tourist facilities, enhance the overall tourist experience and help in getting more visitors which in return will increase job opportunities in area.
- Under tribal circuit theme of Swadesh Darshan Scheme, Tourism Ministry has sanctioned four projects to Nagaland, Telangana and Chhattisgarh.
- Chhattisgarh was considered for the first tribal circuit theme for acknowledging sovereignty of tribes and to promote rich and diverse primitive assets in state.
65. Ministry of Tourism organized first ever India Tourism Mart (ITM 2018) in _______________________, in partnership with Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH).
66. Ministry of Tourism sanctioned Malanad Malabar Cruise Tourism Project under Swadesh Darshan Scheme for development of rural circuit in
________________________
. Approved cruise are Malabari Cuisine and Culinary Cruise (Muthappan Cruise). Valapattanam River- Theyyam Cruise AND Mangrove Cruise.
67. Ministry of Water Resources instituted National Water Awards, to encourage efficient management of water resources and create water consciousness in country.
- The awards will be given for _____________________ categories - Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Municipal Corporation, Best research, innovation and adaptation of new technology for water conservation, Best educative and mass awareness efforts, Best TV show for promoting water conservation, Best Newspaper, Best School, Best Institution for successful campus water usage, Best Resident Welfare Association (RWA), Organizations for Best Religious and Recreational & Tourism Water Uses and Best Industry for industrial water conservation.
68. Ministry of __________________ prepared draft Bill which proposes setting up armed Ganga Protection Corps (GPC) to arrest any person who has committed offence of polluting River Ganga punishable under this law.
69. Ministry of Women and Child Development inaugurated widows’ home ‘Krishna Kutir’ at Vrindavan in Mathura (_______________________). Krishna Kutir is special home for 1000 widows set under Swadhar Greh scheme and is the largest ever facility of its kind created by government organization.
70. _______________ Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi launched India's first National Scholarship Portal Mobile App (NSP Mobile App), to ensure a smooth and hassle-free scholarship system for students from poor and weaker sections. Using it, Students will be able to apply for scholarships sitting in their home.
71. _________ Updates -
- Constituted group of experts submitted report titled ‘Inventory and Revival of Springs in the Himalayas for Water Security.’
- It stated that nearly 30% of springs crucial to water security of people are drying and 50% have reported reduced discharge.
- It calls for spring mapping and revival, using 8 steps protocol should be taken up across Himalayan states in phased manner, applying carrying capacity concept to all major tourist destinations and implementing and monitoring tourism sector. It also has mooted 8-year programme to overhaul spring water management.
- Meghalaya with 3,810 villages with springs has highest number of these water sources in Eastern Himalayan States. Sikkim had greatest density with 94% of its villages having spring. In Western Himalayas, Jammu & Kashmir had both highest number of villages with springs at 3,313 and greatest density of 50.6%.
- Launched Online Course on Digital Payments, titled ‘Understanding Digital Payments’. It has been designed especially for India by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) a specialized UN Agency in ICT in consultation with NITI Aayog and Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
- It is being offered free of cost and is hosted by ITU Academy online, targeted at mid-level Government officers. Course duration is two weeks (1st to 15th October 2018).
- Recommended that Ministry of Agriculture to take up mission on shifting cultivation to ensure inter-ministerial convergence between different ministries. Highlights -
- State governments have divergent approaches towards shifting cultivation. creating confusion among grass-roots level workers and jhum farmer.
- It calls for policy coherence and recognising land for shifting cultivation as agricultural land where farmers practise agro-forestry for production of food rather than as forestland.
- Shifting Cultivation
- It is traditional agricultural practice that involves clearing vegetative forest cover on land and slopes of hills, drying and burning it before onset of monsoon and cropping on it thereafter. After harvest, this land is left fallow and vegetative regeneration is allowed on it till plot becomes reusable for same purpose in cycle.In north east India, it is called as jhum cultivation.
- Shifting cultivation causes in long term causes problem of land degradation and threat to ecology of the region at large. Burning of forests provide temporary nutrients like potash to soil. Burning of forests results in emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as CO2, NO2.
- ______________, Intel, and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) collaborated to set up a Model International Center for Transformative Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI) towards developing and deploying AI-led application-based research projects.
- It is part of ‘National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence’ Discussion Paper that focuses on establishing ICTAI in country through private sector collaboration.
- Based in Bengaluru, Model ICTAI aims to conduct advanced research to incubate AI-led solutions in three important areas – healthcare, agriculture and smart mobility.
- Learnings developed through this model ICTAI will be used to set up future ICTAIs across country.
72. National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) released report HIV Estimations 2017, stating _________________ has highest number of people living with HIV in India, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. In 2017, India had around 21.40 lakh people living with HIV (PLHIV) with adult prevalence of 0.22%.
73. National Rail and Transportation Institute (NRTI), India's first university in transport sector, has started functioning. It is presently functioning at National Academy of Indian Railwaysm in Vadodara (__________________). University of California, Berkeley and Cornell University are its international partners. It offers two undergraduate courses: BSc Transportation Technology and BBA Transportation Managements.
74. Northern states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and UTs of Delhi and ___________________ agreed to fix uniform tax rates on petroleum products, amid rising fuel prices. They also have agreed to bring uniformity in taxes on liquor and registration of vehicles and transport permit.
75. ______________ Updates -
- CM Naveen Patnaik has launched a ‘Star Rating program’ for industries to support State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) regulatory efforts to reduce pollution. It will rate industries from 1 to 5 based on their compliance to pollution standards.
- State Assembly has passed resolution seeking creation of 49 Member Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad or second house of legislature).
- Resolution now will be sent to Central Government (Union cabinet) for approval, following which it will be tabled in both houses of Parliament. Thereafter, presidential assent is required to make it Act.
- India has bicameral system of legislature. Just as Parliament has two Houses, States can have Legislative Council (LC) in addition to Legislative Assembly if they choose to. This option is available under Article 171 of Constitution.
- Currently, seven states have Legislative Councils viz. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana. Proposals to create Councils in Rajasthan and Assam are pending in Parliament.
- Legislative Council of state cannot have MLCs more than one-third of total number of MLAs of state assembly and not less than 40 members. Jammu & Kashmir is exception, as Section 50 of state’s Constitution, Assembly has 87 members and Legislative Council 36.
- Tenure of Member of Legislative Council (MLC) is six years (similar to Rajya Sabha MPs).
- State assembly approved naming newly-built Jharsuguda airport after noted freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai. It will be the second airport in Odisha to be renamed, after Biju Patnaik International airport in Bhubaneswar.
76. Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) made oil and gas discoveries in Madhya Pradesh and _______________, as category-III basins, having hydrocarbon and are considered geologically prospective for exploration.
- Madhya Pradesh - Deposits were discovered in block in Vindhyan basin. This find is at 3,000-plus meters deep and is being now tested.
- ________________ - Deposits discovered in well in Ashok Nagar of 24 Parganas district.
- India has 26 sedimentary basins, of which only seven category-I basins have commercial production of oil and gas. It is in the process of adding eighth basin by putting Kutch offshore discovery (it holds about one trillion cubic feet of gas reserves) to production.
77. PM Narendra Modi announced increase in remuneration for ASHA and Anganwadi workers.
- ASHA workers routine incentive has been doubled. In addition, all ASHA workers and their helpers will be provided free insurance cover under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Prime Minister Suraksha Bima Yojana.
- Anganwadi workers - Those receiving Rs. 3000 so far, will now receive Rs. ___________________. Similarly those receiving Rs. 2200, will now get Rs. 3500. honorarium for Anganwadi helpers also has been increased from Rs. 1500 to Rs. 2250.
78. PM Narendra Modi laid foundation stone of India International Convention and Expo Centre (IICC) in Dwarka (__________________________). On completion, it will be biggest indoor exhibition space in India and also rank among the top 10 in world, with capacity to accommodate 11,000 persons, 5 exhibition halls, 1-kilometre long foyer etc. The project has estimated cost of INR 25703 crores.
- It will be implemented by India International Convention and Exhibition Centre Ltd, a 100% government-owned company set up by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
79.
- PM Narendra Modi launched fortnight-long countrywide campaign- Swachhata hi Seva 2018, to mark start of ________________________ birth anniversary of Mahatama Gandhi on October 02, 2018.
- On this occasion, Jammu and Kashmir state has been declared open defecation free (ODF).
- Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary on October 2, 2019. Key Activities Include -
- National Launch, School Engagement - September 15
- Swachhata Sabhas: September 16
- Seva Diwas: September 17
- Railways Swachhata Divas – September 22
- Antyodaya Divas – September 25
- Also, President Ram Nath Kovind launched logo and web portal (http://gandhi.gov.in/) for commemoration of 150th birth anniversary of M K Gandhi on Oct 02, 2019. Logo is --
80. PM Narendra Modi launched work for India’s first Coal-gasification based fertilizer plant with pet coke blending will come up in Talcher (______________________________), developed by Talcher Fertilizers Limited (joint venture of GAIL (29.67 %), Coal India (29.67%), Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Limited (RCFL-29.67%) and Fertilizer Corporation of India (10.99%).
- It will be built at an estimated investment of Rs. 13,000 crore and is targeted to be commissioned by 2022. On completion, this plant will have capacity of producing 1.27 Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA) of Neem coated prilled urea using coal and petcoke as feedstock. Neem coated urea reduces leaching of nitrogen into soil and checks diversion of urea from agriculture uses.
- It will use gas produced from coal, thus reducing dependence on urea and gas imports. Pollutants like Carbon Dioxide (CO2) produced by this plant will be recycled for production of Urea and other by – products.
81. Pindara Thakur village in Amethi (___________________) has been made fully digital under Digital India Programme of government. It will have access to 206 government services digitally. It was linked with Wi Fi Chaupal and use of 2 GB free data for 15 days has been made available.
82.
- President ________________________ approved to set up a committee to run Medical Council of India, till Parliament passes legislation to replace MCI with a new commission.
- President __________________ gave his assent to Good samaritan bill of Karnataka, as first such legislation in India.
- Karnataka Good Samaritan and Medical Professional (Protection and Regulation during Emergency Situations) Bill 2016, provides legal protection to good samaritans who help accident victims with emergency medical care within the golden hour (first hour after a traumatic injury when emergency treatment is very crucial).
- President ________________________ inaugurated centenary celebrations of Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha in New Delhi.
- Government had recognised DBHPS as one of Institutes of National Importance in 1964. It is divided into four divisions one each for south states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
- DBHPS was established by Annie Besant with support from Mahatma Gandhi in 1918 with sole aim of prorogating Hindi in South India to unite northern and southern states.
83. ___________________ and Jammu and Kashmir signed an agreement for renewing work on INR 2793 crore Shahpurkandi dam project. It will be irrigating 37,173 ha of land and would provide 206MW of electricity to both states.
84. __________________ updates -
- State Assembly passed Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2018, containing provisions for -
- Relaxation of two-child provision for those aspiring to contest panchayat elections provided one of the children is differently-abled
- Allowing people suffering from leprosy to contest panchayat elections.
- State government will soon distribute mobile phones to women under Bhamashah Yojana, Focused on women in Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.
- State’s first lion safari inaugurated at Nahargarh Biological Park, located on Delhi-Jaipur National Highway in Aravalli foothills, near Jaipur. 10 Lions in this park were brought from Junagarh, Gujarat under an exchange programme.
85. S.S. Ahluwalia, Minister of State for Electronics and IT has launched _____________________ (CIMS) for improving Good Governance. Its a Media Server dedicated computer appliance with specialized application software that will offer audio and video on demand.
86. Singphan Elephant Reserve has been named as 30th elephant reserve in India, located in Mon district of ____________________________ and spreads over an area of 5825 acres (2357 hac).
87. Snow leopard spotted at height of about 4,000 metres in Lippa-Asra wildlife sanctuary in Kinnaur district of ________________________, ascertaining that snow leopards are inhabiting new areas.
- Snow leopard large cats are native to mountain ranges of Central and South Asia- including Himalayas, and Russia’s remote Altai mountains. In India, it is found in states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.
88. _______________________ Updates -
- Asked Government to form a law on deciding whether lawmakers facing criminal charges be barred from contesting elections or should they be disqualified only after conviction. SC also asked political parties and candidates to publish their criminal records at least 3 times in newspapers / TV channels after filing of nomination papers.
- Banned all construction activities in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh till October 9, after these states / UT failed to comply with court’s order to come up with a policy on solid waste management.
- Declared Centre's Aadhaar scheme as constitutionally valid. Bench stated that Aadhaar would remain mandatory for filing IT returns and allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN). But, it will not be mandatory for Bank accounts, Telecom services, Educational Admissions. Other Notable statements by SC are -
- Section 57 of Aadhaar Act that permits private entities to avail Aadhaar data has been struck down.
- Aadhaar authentication data cannot be stored for more than 6 months.
- National security exception under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act was also struck down.
Declined to refer 1994 Ismail Farooqui judgment (that mosques are not integral to Islam) to a larger constitution bench.
- Judgement was delivered by a 3 judge bench. Majority was written by Ashok Bhushan and Chief Justice Deepak Misra. 3rd judge, Abdul Nazeer presented a dissenting judgment.
- Decision to not refer issue of reconsideration of 1994 observations on Ayodhya-Ram Janmabhoomi land dispute case to a five-judge constitution bench paves way for SC to hear main Ayodhya land dispute.
- The issue whether mosque is integral to Islam cropped up when SC bench headed by CJI Misra was of petitions challenging Allahabad High Court's 2010 verdict, by which disputed land in Ayodhya was to be divided in 3 parts (Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla represented by Hindu Maha Sabha).
- Ismail Farooqui judgement -
- In 1994, Supreme Court had ruled that namaz or prayers could be offered anywhere and that a mosque was not necessary. This cleared way for government to acquire the land where 16th century Babri mosque was demolished by Hindu Kar Sevaks.
- Decriminalised part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises homosexuality, saying it was irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.
- Modified its July 2017 order in dowry harassment case for preventing misuse of Section 498A of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
- The July 2017 decision quashed immediate arrest of accused in dowry cases, saying that complaints under Section 498A of IPC should be scrutinised by Family Welfare Committees before any legal action by police.
- Now, After a plea filed by NGO 'Nyayadhar', an organisation formed by women advocates of Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district, Family Welfare Committees are scrapped.
- SC left it to Parliament to make suitable rules to check abuse of the law.
- Allowed live streaming and video recording of court proceedings across country, asking government to frame rules in this regard under Article 145 of the Constitution.
- SC earlier reserved its verdict on the matter on August 24, saying it wanted to implement open court concept to decongest courtrooms.
- Resumed filing of claims and objections by around 40 lakh people who were left out in draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) of Assam, giving second opportunity to citizens keeping in mind the magnitude of the issue. Bench will now hear the matter on October 23, 2018.
- Assam government in July 2018 released 2nd and final draft of state’s National Register of Citizens (NRC). The draft left out approx 40 Lakh people living in state, not marking them as legal citizens of India.
- Struck down Section 497 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860 that made adultery punishable offence for men.
- Section 497 of IPC (Adultery) says that whoever has sexual intercourse with wife of another man (without consent of that man), such intercourse not amounting to offence of rape, is guilty of offence of adultery. Such person shall be punished with imprisonment and / or Fine. In such case the wife shall not be punishable as an abettor.
- Struck down a rule that disallowed females in 10-50 age group from entering the Sabarimala temple in _______________________________. Chief Justice Dipak Misra-headed Constitution bench in a 4-1 verdict said temple rule violated their right to equality and right to worship.
89. ________________ Updates -
- State Govt. bannned sale of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), known as e- cigarettes.
- It comes after recent central government notification, asking all states / UTs to ban e-cigarettes.
- ENDS are devices that heat solution to create aerosol, which also frequently contains flavours, usually dissolved into propylene glycolor and glycerin. e-cigarettes (electronic cigarettes) are most common prototype of ENDS.
- State government announced Scheme for protection of exotic Neela kurinji (Strobilanthus kunthianus) plants that flower only once in 12 years.
- This plant species is native to Shola forests in Western Ghats. It is also seen in Shevroys Hills in Eastern Ghats, Anamalai hills and Agali hills in Kerala and Sanduru hills in Karnataka.
- It grows at height of 30 to 60 cm on hills slopes at an altitude of 1300 to 2400 meters where there is no tree forest. The flowers are purple-blue in colour and blooms once in 12 years.
90. To combat human trafficking, West Bengal government rolled out Swayangsiddha scheme (means self-reliance), to be executed by ________________________ Police. It aims to empower young boys and girls to make informed choices so that they are less vulnerable to trafficking and child marriage.
91. To tackle counterfeit drugs in India, NITI Aayog and IT Firm __________________ signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) will pilot a real drug supply-chain using blockchain distributed ledger and Internet of Things (IoT) software.
- It will allow sharing of information across drug supply chain securely, with every exchange getting recorded. There will be no tampering of any record of drug movement and no data will be deleted.
92. Traditional Marbat festival observed in Nagpur (_________________).
93. Transplant Authority of ______________________ made Aadhaar mandatory for Indian patients to register in state Network for Organ Sharing. While foreigners are asked to submit a No Objection Certificate (NoC) from the respective Embassies.
94. Union Territory of ___________________ won top position in National Clean School Award after seven schools from UT were awarded for cleanliness.
- Tamil Nadu bagged second position in National Clean School Award. The third position was shared by Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
- 52 schools from across country were bestowed with National Clean School Award in recognition of their efforts in carrying forward Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
95. ______________________ Police will soon launch first of its kind dial-FIR scheme, where a common man can register regular crimes without going to a police station. Under it, an online photographic dossier of criminals that will be provided to policemen on 22,000 new i-pads.
96. _________________ Updates -
- State Assembly passed resolution seeking status of “rashtra mata — mother of the nation” for cow, to strengthen efforts to conserve the species across country.
- State High Court declared fatwas as unconstitutional and illegal, banning all religious bodies and statutory panchayats in state from issuing fatwas. The ruling came, as the court declared illegal a fatwa banishing the family of a rape victim from their village.
- State ranked as best state in construction of maximum number of roads under PMGSY during 2017-2018, constructing 1839 kilometre roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana against a target of 1,500 km for 2017-18.
97. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated 2 coastal tourism circuit projects in ___________________ under Swadesh Darshan Scheme.
- First includes beautification of Nellore tank and Pulicat Lake, facelift to Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary, construction of restaurant and development of Kotha Koduru, Ubbalamadugu, Mypadu, Rama Theertham, and Isukapalli project.
- Second coastal circuit is aimed at developing Kakinada port, Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, Hope Island, construction of cottages and wooden huts at Aduru, Pasarlapudi and S Yanam and development of Kotipalli project.
98. Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated Indian Culinary Institute (ICI) in Tirupati (_____________________), promoted by Ministry of Tourism. M main objective of ICI is to institutionalize mechanism to support efforts intended to preserve, document, promote and disseminate Indian Cuisine.
