The second India-Myanmar bilateral Army exercise ‘IMBEX 2018-19’ commenced at Chandimandir military station, with the aim of this joint training event is to train the Myanmar delegation for participation in UN peacekeeping operations.
During the exercise, focus will be on training the Myanmar Army on tactics, procedures, expertise and methodology required by the contingent of the member nations for serving in UN peacekeeping operations.
The Myanmar delegation will form the core group of trainers who will further impart training to Myanmar Army personnel who are likely to serve in UN peacekeeping operations.
This is the second military training exercise on UN peacekeeping between the two countries being conducted on Indian soil.
FACTFILE – United Nations peacekeeping
It is a role held by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations as “a unique and dynamic instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace”.
Peacekeepers monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict areas and assist ex-combatants in implementing the peace agreements they may have signed.
Accordingly, UN peacekeepers can include soldiers, police officers, and civilian personnel.
The United Nations Charter gives the United Nations Security Council the power and responsibility to take collective action to maintain international peace and security.
In 2007, a peacekeeper volunteer was required to be over the age of 25 with no maximum age limit.
Peacekeeping forces are contributed by member states on a voluntary basis.
As of 30 June 2018, there are 104,680 people serving in UN peacekeeping operations (90,454 uniformed, 12,932 civilian, and 1,294 volunteers).
Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh are among the largest individual contributors with around 8,000 units each.
Jaideep Govind appointed Secretary General of NHRC
Senior IAS officer Jaideep Govind was appointed Secretary General of National Human Rights Commission.
Before this appointment, he was posted as Special Secretary and Financial Adviser in the ministries of rural development, panchayati raj, drinking water and sanitation.
Govind, a 1984 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh Cadre, has held various important posts in various capacities such as Additional Secretary in Home Ministry and has looked after critical areas of left-wing extremism and police modernization.
He addressed the UN Forum in New York on human trafficking and attended an important meeting on trafficking of women and children in Bangkok.
FACTFILE – The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India
NHRC is an autonomous public body constituted on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance in 1993 and was given a statutory basis by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (TPHRA).
It is responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights, defined by the Act as “rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants”.
Chairman – Justice H. L. Dattu
January 16, 2019
Central government allocated Rs 6,084 crore for MGNREGA 2018-19
The Central government allocated an additional Rs 6,084 crore to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA).
The total allocation to the scheme to Rs 61,084 crore in 2018-19, making it the highest ever allocation.
FACTFILE – Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act”, MGNREGA
It is an Indian labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the ‘right to work’.
It aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
The act was first proposed in 1991 by P.V. Narasimha Rao , it was finally accepted in the parliament and commenced implementation in 625 districts of India.
It is “the largest and most ambitious social security and public works programme in the world”.
MGNREGA is to be implemented mainly by gram panchayats (GPs). The involvement of contractors is banned. Labour-intensive tasks like creating infrastructure for water harvesting, drought relief and flood control are preferred.
Government forms GoM for GST issues in real estate
The Centre constituted a seven-member Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into Goods and Services Tax (GST)-related issues of the real estate sector, to analyse the tax rate of GST on the under-construction residential properties for boosting the realty segment.
Nitin Patel, the Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, would head the GoM which would
Various other issues related to the sector, the GST rate on under-construction residential properties, demand to slash the rate on the segment to 5 per cent from the current 12 per cent.
Other members of the GoM are finance ministers of five states — Sudhir Mungantiwar of Maharashtra, Krishna Byre Gowda, Kerala, T.M. Thomas Isaac, Karnataka, Manpreet Singh Badal, Punjab and Rajesh Agarwal of Uttar Pradesh. Goa Minister of Panchayat Mauvin Godinho is also a member.
The GoM would examine and suggest ways for composition scheme or any other scheme, for boosting real estate sector and suggest scheme for transition vis-a-vis introduction of suggested scheme.
India Meteorological Department to launch system for predicting thunderstorms
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has decided to implement an end-to-end prediction system for predicting thunderstorms or lightning by April 2019.
The IMD will be implementing an end-to-end prediction system for predicting thunderstorms or lightning by April 2019.
IITM Pune has already installed 48 lightning sensors around the country which can locate the thunderstorm/lightning activities in real time. The institute has also developed a mobile app called ‘DAMINI’ to give alerts on impending lightning activity over the area.
Currently IITM Pune and IMD are developing a new website for IMD along with the mobile apps for farmers and city forecasts.
IMD, in a bid to further strengthen its observational network will install “10 new X-band weather radars” over north-west Himalayas (Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand) by end of this year.
11 more C-band radars will be installed by IMD over the plains of India by 2020.
IITM Pune with the help of IMD and Mumbai Municipal Corporation is installing a new dense rain-gauge network over Mumbai with 200 rain-gauges.
India, Japan reiterate cooperation in Indo-Pacific
India and Japan reiterated that they would continue to work for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region during a meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono.
The two leaders exchanged views on regional and global issues of common interest, they reaffirmed that based on shared values and interests, the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership has acquired a broader significance in the current global context and has become a factor of prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
India, along with Japan, the US and Australia, in 2017 revived a quad that seeks to work for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, a region that stretches from the east coast of Japan to the east coast of Africa.
Sushma Swaraj and Kono held discussions on follow-up actions taken on decisions taken during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan for the 13th India-Japan Annual Summit in October last year.
Delhi government collaborates with Washington University to monitor air quality
Delhi government has signed a MoU with Washington University (St Louise) to undertake a real-time Source Apportionment Study in India’s national capital to evaluate the air quality issues.
The MoU is aimed at a joint study to be undertaken by the Washington University and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) for the real-time source apportionment with special reference to particulate matter (PM)2.5.
Analysis of elemental, organic carbon and 72 inorganic elements will also be undertaken under the study.
The work will be undertaken by the personnel of the Aerosol and Air Quality Research Laboratory (AAQRL). Under the study, two special monitors will be used to obtain the composition of PM2.5.
The data will help to understand the source profile which needs to be regulated for the effective improvement of air quality in the city.
Wireless sensors will also be deployed in the city to help monitor the real-time air quality and the source of pollution at select locations in the city.
Sheikh Hasina takes oath as Bangladesh PM for 4th term
Sheikh Hasina was sworn in as Bangladesh’s Prime Minister for a record fourth term following her party’s victory in the recent election.
PM Hasina was sworn in along with her new 47-member Cabinet before President Abdul Hamid at his official residence in Dhaka.
BIOGRAPHY – Sheikh Hasina
Sheikh Hasina Wazed is serving as the 10th Prime Minister of Bangladesh, having held the office since January 2009. She is the longest serving prime minister in the history of Bangladesh.
She is the daughter of Bangladesh’s first President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
She previously served as opposition leader from 1986 to 1990 and from 1991 to 1995, as Prime Minister from 1996 to 2001, and has been leading the Bangladesh Awami League since 1981.
In 2008, she returned as Prime Minister with a landslide victory.
In January 2014, she became Prime Minister for a third term and also won a fourth term in December 2018.
Hasina is considered one of the most powerful women in the world, ranking 26th on Forbes’ list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2018.
She is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an International network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers.
Cabinet approves Citizenship Amendment Bill
The Union Cabinet approved the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 that aims to give citizenship to illegal migrants of six minority groups from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Union Cabinet, cleared the bill soon after a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) presented its report in the Lok Sabha endorsing the move to legalize minority immigrants who entered Assam till December 31, 2014.
LS passes bills on right to education, personal laws
The Lok Sabha passed “Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018” and “The Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018”.
Union Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar introduced “Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018” saying that the amendment made by the Rajya Sabha in the bill to further amend the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 be taken into consideration.
Union Minister P.P. Choudhary introduced “Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018” to amend the Divorce Act, 1869; Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939; Special Marriage Act, 1954; Hindu Marriage Act, 1955; and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956. It strikes out leprosy as a ground for seeking divorce.
January 09, 2018
India, Norway to boost cooperation on SDGs, Ocean economy
India and Norway agreed to work in close cooperation on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the ocean economy following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Norwegian counterpart Erna Solberg.
The two sides signed the terms of reference for the establishment of a Dialogue on Trade and Investment, which would give impetus to business cooperation and encourage participation of Norwegian companies in the flagship programmes of India.
Conclusion of the free trade negotiations between EFTA (European Free Trade Association) and India is a priority for both governments.
The agreement on bilateral ocean dialogue signed between the two sides following the talks will give new direction to cooperation in all sectors in this area. A joint task force on Blue Economy was also established in order to promote multi-sectoral cooperation in various aspects of Blue Economy.
They also urged the international community to work towards early finalisation of the (India-initiated) Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism mooted by India at the UN.
Lok Sabha passes DNA technology bill
The Lok Sabha passed “The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019,
The bill seeks to provide the regulation for use and application of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) technology for the purpose of establishing the identity of certain categories of persons including victims, offenders, suspects, undertrials, missing persons and unknown deceased persons.
There are only 30-40 DNA profiling experts in the country and 15-18 labs, but no DNA data bank is available in the country so far.
Over 40,000 unidentified bodies were recovered and around 1 lakh children were found missing previous year, as per a government data. So there is a need for a bill to identify them. Despite that, there is need to apprehend repeated offenders through DNA profiling.
The Bill establishes a DNA Regulatory Board. Every DNA laboratory that analyses a DNA sample to establish the identity of an individual, has to be accredited by the Board.
Written consent by individuals is required to collect DNA samples from them. Consent is not required for offences with punishment of more than seven years of imprisonment or death.
The Bill provides for the removal of DNA profiles of suspects on filing of a police report or court order, and of undertrials on the basis of a court order. Profiles in the crime scene and missing persons’ index will be removed on a written request.
Vikram Misri assume office as Indian envoy to China
India’s new envoy to China Vikram Misri, discussed the bilateral ties with top Chinese officials.
The envoy, who succeeds Gautam Bambawale, met Hong Lei, Deputy Director General of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, and presented his credentials.
Misri also met Wu Jianghao, Director General of Asian Affairs of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Misri, 54, was serving as Indian envoy in Myanmar before China assignment.
He was also stationed in various Indian Missions in Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America.
Lok Sabha passes Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2018
The Lok Sabha passed the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2018 that aims to run the scam-tainted Medical Council of India (MCI) through a panel of eminent professionals.
The government is looking at regulating the medical education in India in a qualitative and transparent manner.
This bill supersedes MCI and the powers of the council have been vested in a Board of Governors. This board will continue to perform till a Council is constituted.
This bill has been issued so that medical education can be regulated in best manner, as MCI turned out to be massive failure.
The related National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill 2017 that seeks to replace MCI with a National Medical Commission and overhaul the medical education system in India is still pending in the Parliament.
The NMC will consist of 25 members and it will determine fees for up to 40% seats in private medical institutions and deemed universities.
Medical Advisory Council will be constituted, which will be the primary platform through which the states/union territories can put forth their views and concerns before the NMC.
The Bill allows practitioners of Ayurveda and other traditional Indian systems of medicine the licence to prescribe allopathic drugs after they have passed a ‘bridge course.’
The government has been pushing the NMC Bill amid resistance from Indian Medical Association (IMA) and other sections.
Lok Sabha passes Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2018-19
The second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2018-19 for gross additional expenditure of Rs 85,948.86 crore, which includes Rs 41,000 crore for recap of the Public Sector Banks (psbs), was passed by voice vote in the Lok Sabha on 31st December.
The supplementary demand was tabled by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on December 20 seeking Parliament’s approval for additional expenditure of Rs 85,948.86 crore.
Responding to a debate over it, Jaitley said the government had enabled connecting villages by building roads and ensured that there wasn’t any villages left where there is no electricity.
Mamata Banerjee announces life insurance, financial aid for farmers in West Bengal
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a yearly financial aid worth Rs 5,000 per acre for all the peasant family in the state.
WB CM also announced a life insurance coverage worth Rs 2 lakh for each of the state’s farmers within the age group of 18-60 years under a state-sponsored scheme, Krishak Bondhu, from 2019.
All the farmers within the age group of 18 to 60 years will be provided life insurance coverage of Rs 2 lakh by the state government. In case of their death, be it natural or unnatural, the families would be provided the money.
January 2
India may have welcomed maximum new borns on New Year: UNICEF
India is estimated to have welcomed 18 per cent of the total babies born globally on January 1, 2019,
According to the UNICEF, 69,944 babies were expected to be born on the New Year Day out of 3,95,072 babies likely to be born across the world.
Globally over half of these births are estimated to taken place in seven countries, along with India like China (44,940), Nigeria (25,685), Pakistan (15,112), Indonesia (13,256), the US (11,086), Democratic Republic of Congo (10,053), and Bangladesh (8,428).Sydney was set to greet an estimated 168 babies, followed by Tokyo (310), Beijing (605), Madrid (166) and finally, New York (317).
Fiji in the Pacific was likely to deliver 2019’s first baby and the US its last.
First Chief Justice of Telangana High Court sworn-in
Justice Thottathil Bhaskaran Nair Radhakrishnan was sworn in as the first Chief justice of Telangana High Court. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan administered oath to him at a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan.
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, judges, lawyers and senior officials attended the ceremony.
Justice Radhakrishnan had been serving as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for both the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh since July last year.
The gazette notification said January 1 would be the appointed day for the Andhra Pradesh High Court which will start functioning from Amaravati while the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad will become the High Court for Telangana.
Assam Minister flags off export of mandarin fruit to Dubai, Hong Kong
Assam Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary flagged off the export of mandarin fruits produced in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam to Dubai and Hong Kong.
Assam as well as the North Eastern Region is considered an organic hub.
With a view to creating a sustainable market for the producers of the region, Industries and Commerce Department has initiated efforts to encourage and provide logistic and infrastructural support for export of agri-horti produces of the state.
The 380th tithi mahotsav of Bhattadev and the 71st biennial session of Kamrup Damodar Sangha was held with a two-day programme from December 27.
the biennial subject committee meeting was held with Jatindra Nath Sarma, president, Kamrup Damodar Sangha in the chair.
In the open meeting, a new committee was selected with Jatindra Nath Sarma as president, Kumud Chakrabartty as the working president and Bipin Chandra Das as the general secretary. In a resolution, the meeting demanded the State government to reconstruct the present temple to accommodate a large gathering along with proper sanitation facilities.
FACTFILE – Bhattadeva (1558–1638)
Baikunthanatha Bhagavata Bhattacharya is acknowledged as the father of Assamese prose.
Though Bhaktiratnakar-katha, the Assamese translation of Sankardev’s Sanskrit composition Bhaktiratnakar by Gopala Charana Dwija preceded the works of Bhattadeva, Bhattadeva’s prose had an influence in the development of a high and dignified style.
Bhattadeva’s and Gopala Charana Dvija’s 16th century works are considered to be the earliest examples of prose in Indian languages.
Bhattadeva’s erudition in Sanskrit grammar and literature, and his command over the Bhagavata earned him the title of Bhagavata Bhattacharya
Nagaland way behind SDG targets: NITI Report
Nagaland, along with Mizoram and Goa, are the three worst performers under industry, innovation and infrastructure category with a zero score in implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets, according to SDG India Index Baseline Report, 2018 released by NITI Aayog.
Majority of the States and Union Territories (UTs) have fallen behind on this goal with 26 States and UTs in the “Aspirant” category with index score less than 50.
In SDG index score for the goal of industry, innovation and infrastructure, Nagaland is also among the last three worst performers with a score of 40. Manipur ranked the lowest with a score of 33.
Under the SDG index score for the goal of good health and well-being, the State again has one of the lowest score (34) under the ‘Aspirant’ category.
However, under the SDG index score for the goal of peace, justice and strong, Nagaland is one of the “frontrunners” with a score of 87. Under the goal of zero hunger, the State was accorded 69 points which also falls under the same category. In the goal of clean water and sanitation, it stood at 58.
The SDG index score for the goal of reduced inequalities for Nagaland stood at 80 which falls under the “front runner” category while Meghalaya, Mizoram and Telangana were the only three States which were deemed as “achievers”.
In general, from among the States, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have come out as the front runners in implementing the 2030 SDG targets.
Along with the three States, the UTs of Chandigarh and Puducherry were also among the front runners on the SDG India Index with a score between 65 to 99 on a scale of 0 to 100, where 100 signifies that it has achieved the 2030 national targets.
FACTFILE – SDG India Index
The NITI Aayog developed the country’s first SDG India Index to document the progress made by the States and UTs towards meeting SDG targets and released a baseline report for 2018.
The SDG India Index was constructed spanning across 13 out of 17 SDGs. The index tracks the progress of all the States and UTs on a set of 62 priority indicators, measuring their progress on the outcomes of the interventions and schemes of the Government of India. The SDG India Index is intended to provide a holistic view on the social, economic and environmental status of the country and its States and UTs.
Each of the 17 SDGs are mapped with a set of 169 targets to be achieved by 2030. These were used as the foundation for building the SDG India Index.
Cabinet Approves National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCIM) Bill, 2018
The cabinet has approved the setting up of the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCIM) Bill, 2018 that provides for conducting overall education of traditional medicine system of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa- commonly known as Tibetan system of medicine.
The cabinet has also approved the National Commission for Homoeopathy (NCH) Bill, 2018, that proposes setting up a new panel entrusted with conducting overall education of Homoeopathy.
The NCIM Bill, seeks to replace the existing regulator Central Council for Indian Medicine (CCIM) with a new body to ensure transparency.
The draft Bill provides for the constitution of a National Commission with four autonomous boards entrusted with conducting overall education of Ayurveda, under Board of Ayurveda and Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa under Board of Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa.
Union Cabinet approved listing of seven CPSE through IPO and FPO
The seven PSUs are Telecommunication Consultants (India) Ltd, RailTel Corporation India Ltd, National Seed Corporation India Ltd, Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd, Water and Power Consultancy Services (India) Ltd, FCI Aravali Gypsum and Minerals (India) Ltd, and Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) are to be listed on stock exchange through initial public offering (IPO) and one Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) to issue follow-on public offer (FPO).
Listing in the Stock Market – Initial Public Offering (IPO) and (FPO) Follow-on Public Offering (FPO).
IPO
FPO
Initial Public Offering (IPO) refers to an offer of securities made to the public for subscription, by the company.
Follow-on Public Offering (FPO) means an offer of securities for subscription to public, by an publicly traded enterprise.
First public issue
Second or third public issue
Issued by Unlisted Company
Issues by already listed Company
Objective of raising capital through public investment.
Objective of Subsequent public investment.
India commits Rs 4,500 crore to Bhutan’s 12th Five-Year Plan
India announced that it will contribute Rs 4,500 crore to Bhutan’s 12th Five-Year Plan, following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering.
India will provide a transitional trade support facility of Rs 400 crore over a period of five years to strengthen bilateral trade and economic linkages.
There are a number of institutional mechanisms between India and Bhutan in areas like security, border management, trade, economy, hydroelectricity, development cooperation and water resources.
India has already set up three hydro-power projects in Bhutan with a total capacity of 1,416MW, which are operational. About three-fourths of the power generated is exported to India and the rest is used for domestic consumption.
Both leaders reiterated their commitment to jointly develop 10,000MW of hydro-power generating capacity in Bhutan and in this regard discussed the 2,560 Sunkosh hydro-power project.
December 30
Assam CM lays foundation of NDRF’s new campus
Chief Minister SarbanandaSonowal laid the foundation stone of the new campus of the National Disaster Response Force’s (NDRF) 1st Battalion at Amsing.
The Chief Minister said NDRF has always been playing a stellar role during natural calamity in the spheres of disaster management and people of the country depend on their services during such critical times.
NDRF and SDRF are both providing services during critical situations which have been instrumental in saving both life and property.
FACTFILE – The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)
It is a specialised force constituted “for the purpose of specialist response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster” under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
The responsibility for disaster management in India’s federal system is that of the State Government. The ‘nodal Ministry’ in the central government for management of natural disasters is the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
When ‘calamities of severe nature’ occur, the Central Government is responsible for providing aid and assistance to the affected state, including deploying, at the State’s request, of Armed Forces, Central Paramilitary Forces, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and such communication, air and other assets, as are available and needed.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is under the National Disaster Management Authority, the “Apex Body for Disaster Management” in India.
The Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairperson of the NDMA.
Third Annual ‘Dwijing Festival’ in Chirang district
The ongoing third annual ‘Dwijing Festival’ on bank of the Aie river in Chirang district coveys a strong message that we (all communities) were and will live and work together in the State, said Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who participated in the festival.
He also said that the nation or the State which has rich water resources can make rapid progress and to make it understand and to present the importance of the rivers ‘Namami Brahmaputra’ and ‘Namami Barak’ river festivals were celebrated in the State.
BTC Chief Hagrama Mahilary termed the Dwijing Festival as the reflection of development, amity, unity and solidarity among the communities living in BTC which, according to him, saw better development after the BJP assumed power in the State and at the Centre.
Mahilary expressed his desire to upgrade this ‘Dwijing (Dwi-water/river, jing-bank) festival’ to a scale similar to the ‘Hornbill Festival’ of Nagaland next year.
FACTFILE – DWIJING FEST 2018-19
The Dwijing Festival is an annual river festival to be celebrated in the BTAD region with various colorful events viz. ethnic trade and food festival, exhibition, games & sports, river campaign & adventure and various culture programs to make it a centre of attraction for the visitors as a New Year Festival.
Being a medium/platform of earning for the local and others of the region, the festival put its focus especially to the buisness activities for the better economy generation through rural tourism. However the festival is meant to provide help to the flood victim families through charity generation and distribution.
FACTFILE – River Aie (Mother) River
River Aie originates from the Himalayan Mountains of Bhutan and flows through the Chirang and Bongaigaon districts of Assam before joining the river Brahmaputra.
The River creates a massive attraction for many tourists (locals/visiting) for picnic and weekend activities during the winter season and in summer the river creates massive damages to both the sideways due to heavy rainfall resulting in loss of properties and lives of many families.
India submits sixth national report to Convention of Biological Diversity
India on 29th December submitted its sixth national report (NR6) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) highlighting the progress it has made in achieving the 12 National Biodiversity Targets (NBT) set under the convention process.
The report highlights that while India had already exceeded two targets, it was on track to achieve another eight soon. The remaining two would be met by the stipulated time of 2020.
As per the NR6 report, India had been investing a huge amount on biodiversity directly or indirectly through several development schemes of the Central and state governments — to the tune of Rs 70,000 crore per annum as against the estimated annual requirement of nearly Rs 1,09,000 crore.
India has nearly two-thirds of the population of wild tigers in the world. The population of lion has risen from 177 in 1968 to over 520 in 2015, and elephants from 12,000 in 1970s to 30,000 in 2015.
One-horned Indian Rhino which was on the brink of extinction during the early 20th century, now number 2,400.
Further, while globally over 0.3 per cent of total recorded species are critically endangered, in India only 0.08 per cent of the species recorded are in this category.
India is committed to protecting its rich heritage of biodiversity which are so vital to our economic and social development.
Assam Publication Board Lifetime Achievement Award to Nagen Saikia
The Publication Board, Assam today announced its Lifetime Achievement Award for the current year to former Asam Sahitya Sabha president Prof Nagen Saikia.
The award consists of a cash amount of Rs 2 lakh, a citation, a shawl and a packet of books published by the Publication Board.
India, China agree on ‘10 pillars’ of cooperation
Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held extensive talks under a newly set up framework and agreed on “10 pillars” of cooperation to enhance cultural and people-to-people exchanges to open a new chapter in Sino-India ties.
Minister said the armies of the two countries are working to strengthen communication and striving to implement confidence building measures that will help in maintaining peace and tranquility in border areas, which she said, is an important prerequisite for development of ties.
On trade ties, there was a need to find a solution to India’s expanding trade deficit with China and hoped that China will provide support for market access to Indian goods and services.
India and China have agreed on ‘10 pillars’ of cooperation to enhance cultural and people-to-people exchanges. These pillars are cultural exchange, cooperation in films and television, museum administration and sports, exchanges between youths, cooperation on tourism, exchanges between states and cities, cooperation in traditional medicine, yoga and education.
India and Japan signed loan agreements worth more than Rs 6,600 crore
India and Japan exchanged notes and signed loan agreements worth more than Rs 6,600 crore for developing the second phase of Chennai Metro, to help India on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and for a dairy project.
The Government of Japan has committed JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Official Development Assistance (ODA) totalling Yen 105.497 billion (equal to Rs 6,668.46 crore, approximately) for the three projects.
The Japanese ODA loan for Chennai Metro Project (Phase 2)(I) is for JPY (Japanese Yen) 75.5 billion, JPY 15.0 billion for Program for Japan-India Cooperative Actions towards SDGs in India and JPY 14.9 billion for Project for Dairy Development.
The notes were exchanged between Finance Ministry’s Department of Economic Affairs Additional Secretary C.S. Mohapatra and Ambassador of Japan to India Kenji Hiramatsu. The loan agreement for Chennai Metro and dairy project was signed between Mohapatra and JICA New Delhi Chief Representative Katsuo Matsumoto.
The cooperative actions programme aims to promote SDGs in India especially in social development by supporting government efforts to strengthen policy framework and implementation mechanism, thereby supporting India in achieving SDGs by 2030.
The dairy development project aims to increase sale of milk and dairy products by increasing farmers’ access to organised market, upgrading dairy processing facilities and marketing infrastructure and enhancing the capacity of producers owned institutions.
SDG India index by NITI Aayog
The government’s premier think tank has developed the country’s first SDG India Index to document the progress made by India’s states and Union Territories towards meeting SDG targets and released a baseline report for 2018.
Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have come out as the front runners in implementing the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets.
Along with the three states, the UTs of Chandigarh and Puducherry were also among the front runners on the SDG India Index with a score between 65 to 99 on a scale of 0 to 100, where 100 signifies that it has achieved the 2030 national targets.
The SDG India Index baseline report 2018 highlights the progress being made by states and UTs in moving towards multiple targets of the SDGs.
The SDGs are ambitious global development goals that address key aspects of universal wellbeing across different socio-economic, cultural, geographical divisions and integrate the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development.
The Index has been developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Global Green Growth Institute and United Nations in India.
The Index tracks progress of all states and UTs on 62 priority indicators selected by NITI Aayog, which in turn is guided by MoSPI’s National Indicator Framework comprising 306 indicators and based on multiple-round consultations with ministries and states.
Odisha govt approves Rs 10,000 crore KALIA scheme for farmers
The Odisha cabinet approved the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme amounting to over Rs 10,000 crore for farmers.
The scheme will provide financial, livelihood, cultivation support along with insurances to the farmers.
Under KALIA, the amount will be spent over a period of three years till 2020-21. All the small and marginal farmers of the state (over 30 lakh) will be covered under this scheme.
An amount of Rs 10,000 per family at the rate of Rs 5,000 each for kharif and rabi seasons will be provided financial assistance for taking up cultivation.
This assistance is for five crop seasons spanning three years from 2018-19 to 2021-22.
Annual financial assistance of Rs 10,000 per household will be provided to take care of sustenance of those farmers who may not be able to take up cultivation or avail livelihood options due to old-age, disability, disease or other reasons.
Life insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh and additional personal accident cover of Rs 2 lakh will be provided to both cultivators and landless agricultural labourers covering about 57 lakh households.
December 23
State-level Farmers’ Fair held at Kahikuchi
Two-day-long State level Farmers’ Fair cum Farmer-Scientist interaction programme on the topic, ‘Doubling the farmers income by 2022 in Assam: Technological options and way forward’ was organised by the ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute (ATARI), Zone VI, at the Horticultural Research Station, AAU, Kahikuchi.
The inaugural programme was attended by Parimal Suklabaidya, Minister of Fisheries, Excise, Environment & Forest, AK Singh, DDG, Agricultural Extension, ICAR, New Delhi, Dr SN Goswami, Vice-Chancellor, CMJ University, Jorabat, Meghalaya, Dr L Obed, Director, Coconut Development Board, Guwahati, Dr Bidyut C Deka, Director, ICAR-ATARI Zone-VII, Umiam, Dr Prasanna Pathak, DEE, AAU, Jorhat and other dignitaries of ICAR institutes and Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat.
Assam is a source state for child trafficking, says ASCPCR
The Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (ASCPCR) in collaboration with UNICEF Assam organised a State-level workshop ‘Prevention and response to combat child trafficking in Assam’ at the Assam Administrative Staff College.
ASCPCR Chairperson Dr Sunita Changkakati mentioned that Assam is a source state for child trafficking since the children are trafficked to different destination states and subjected to various forms of torture and exploitation.
Chief of UNICEF Assam, Dr Tushar Rane, gave a brief overview of the context and data on child trafficking and appreciated the child protection workforce for their tremendous work towards rescue and protection of vulnerable children.
The workshop discussed the key bottlenecks in addressing the issues of child trafficking and also explored and identified the key areas of intervention to combat child trafficking and ensure justice to the victim.
The participants included representatives from the Department of Social Welfare, State Child Protection Society, police, district legal services authorities, child welfare committees, district child protection units and civil society organisations from all the districts of the State.
Binod Khanal to receive Pratima Pandey Award
This year’s Pratima Barua Pandey Award will be given to BinodKhanal, an exponent of folk culture from Biswanath district.
The award, instituted by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) in memory of legendary singer Pratima Barua Pandey, is given every year to a person having significant contribution in preserving and promoting the folk culture of the State.
Nuclear-capable Agni-IV successfully test fired
Nuclear strategic ballistic missile Agni-IV was successfully test fired from APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast on 23rd December.
The Strategic Forces Command of Indian Army successfully test fired the surface-to-surface intermediate range ballistic missile from launchpad number-4 of the integrated test range at 8.30 a.m.
The missile was test-fired as a part of user training exercise.
The missile, which has the latest features to correct and guide itself for in-flight disturbances, is equipped with state of the art Avionics, 5th generation onboard computer and distributed architecture.
Earlier in December, Agni-V was successfully test fired from APJ Abdul Kalam Island.
7th anti-terrorism India-China military exercise ends
The 7th edition of anti-terrorism India-China joint military exercise concluded in Chengdu area of China. The Validation and Closing ceremony of the seventh edition of joint India-China military exercise ‘Hand-in-Hand 2018’ was conducted at Chengdu, China.
The exercise included lectures and discussions on various counter-terrorism aspects, like cordon and search operations, raid on terrorist hideouts, intelligence collection and joint operations.
Also, integrated live firing was conducted for both contingents to enhance interoperability and promote jointmanship.
As part of validation exercise, troops of both armies carried out specialised joint counter-terrorist operations including room intervention and hostage rescue which was witnessed by dignitaries of both armies
Exercise Hand-in-Hand 2018 was very successful in increasing the bonhomie and camaraderie amongst troops from both countries.
GST Council nods formation of Centralised Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (AAAR)
The GST Council on Saturday gave its approval to creation of a Centralised Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (AAAR) by amending the GST Act.
The GST Council in its 31st meeting held here gave in-principle approval to the creation of AAAR to deal with the cases of conflicting decisions by two or more State Appellate Advance Ruling Authorities on the same issue.
The Council also approved amendments to “Section 50 of the CGST Act”, which would allow interest to be levied only on the net tax liability of the taxpayer, after taking into account the admissible input tax credit.
ICCCBSA Global meet on climate change under way at AAU, Jorhat
The four-day International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Agriculture (ICCCBSA) commenced at the Assam Agricultural University, where 1,038 individual research papers to be presented in the conference would throw up at least 15 integrated researchable projects to mitigate climate change, conserve the earth’s biodiversity and assist in sustainable agriculture.
Grant Singleton, Principal Scientist at the International Rice Research Institute, (Philippines) and the Guest of honour of the event, said that sustainable development of agriculture was the need of the hour as by 2050 the earth would have to feed a population of seven billion people.
The conference has been organised as part of the year-long golden jubilee celebrations from April 2018 to March 2019.
FACTFILE – Assam Agricultural University (AAU)
AAU is an agricultural education state university which was established in 1969 in Jorhat in the state of Assam, India.
The jurisdiction of the University extends to the entire State of Assam with regard to teaching, research and extension education in the field of agriculture and allied sciences.
It was established in 1969
Vice-Chancellor – Kamal Malla Bujarbaruah
The university has six Regional Agricultural Research Stations in each agricultural zone of Assam at Titabar, North Lakhimpur, Shillongoni, Diphu, Gossaigaon and Karimganj.
The university also has four Commodity Research Stations at: Citrus Research Station, Tinsukia, Sugarcane Research Station, Buralikson, Horticulture Research Station, Kahikuchi and Goat Research Station, Burnihut.
The university also has established Krishi Vigyan Kendras for extension purpose in all the districts of Assam.
Nokpante fest in Garo Hills
The 7th Nokpante Festival, a winter festival of Garo Hills region, was organised by Damas Youth Forum (DYF) in collaboration with the NGH administration, Sports and Youth Affairs and Tourism departments and GHADC.
The two-day festival included traditional games that are unique to the community like wapong ska, makkre wa’jol malla, matcha matchu, makkre bolgong malla, sa’rong’kol kalla, sompi sompa, among others which test the physical and mental capacity of the contestants as well as their expertise.
The highlight of the festival was the traditional fashion show for both men and women. Boys dressed themselves as warriors (matgrik) and the girls in traditional dakmanda. The festival concluded with a Rock show that included local Rock bands Riprap, Jethro, Markus.
India Post launches e-commerce portal
India Post announced the soft launch of its e-commerce portal, the Department of Posts has done only soft launch and full fledge operations of the service will start around or after mid-December.
The Department facilitates has collected and remitted more than Rs 2,700 crore under cash-on-delivery till January 2018 since its introduction in December 2013.
The ongoing e-commerce business segment resulted in increase of 13 percent revenue of India Post in the 2017-18 and total revenue the department earned under Speed Post till January 2018 was Rs 1,502.60 crore.
India signed Agreement with Google for better flood management
The Central Water Commission (CWC) has signed a collaboration agreement with Google for improving the flood prediction system. As per the agreement, the CWC and Google will share technical expertise in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning and geo-spatial mapping.
The MoU covers analysis of hydrological observation data to collaborate on improving the flood prediction systems, which will help provide location-targeted, actionable flood warnings, a high priority research project utilising the Google Earth engine to help visualise and improve flood management and a cultural project to build online exhibitions on the rivers of India. The term of agreement is for three years.
According to the CWC, the States affected by floods till October, 2018 include Tripura, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka (extreme flood situation), Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, NCT Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
India, Myanmar committed to combat terror
The India-Myanmar joint statement signed during the state visit of President Ram NathKovind also noted the need to maintain security and stability along the India-Myanmar border, which is essential for the socio-economic development of the population living in the border areas.
India and Myanmar have reiterated their commitment to not allow insurgent groups to use their soil for hostile activities.
Both sides underlined their mutual respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and reaffirmed their shared commitment to fight insurgent activities and the scourge of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
Both sides reiterated their mutual respect for the already demarcated boundary between the two countries and emphasised the need to resolve amicably outstanding boundary demarcation issues at the earliest, through existing bilateral mechanisms.
The leaders of the two countries reaffirmed their common aspiration for peace, collective prosperity and development of the region and beyond. The leaders agreed to continue exploring new opportunities to expand bilateral relations for the mutual benefit of the people of both countries.
Both sides agreed to sign at the earliest the MoU for cooperation on combating timber trafficking and conservation of tigers and other wildlife. Negotiations on the MoU on bilateral cooperation for prevention of trafficking in persons; rescue, recovery, repatriation and reintegration of victims of trafficking are nearing completion.
With regard to the Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project, both sides welcomed the signing of the MoU on appointing a port operator, which would enable the Sittwe Port and Paletwa IWT infrastructure to be used commercially for the development of the surrounding areas.
December 16
Digital CIC opened in Baksa district of Assam
A digital Community Information Centre (CIC), established under ‘SBI Gram Seva’, a flagship programme of the State Bank of India’s CSR initiative, was inaugurated in Baksa district.
The project is being implemented in the district across five remote villages by the Assam Centre for Rural Development (ACRD), an NGO working on various developmental issues.
The CIC, first-of-its kind in the district, is meant for the backward tribal communities to access government schemes, jobs, health, internet and rural banking services.
Each CIC is digitised and has a computer, wi-fi connectivity, a flat screen TV, drinking water facility, library, books, and information related to government jobs and schemes, among other things.
FACTFILE – ‘SBI Gram Seva’
The ‘SBI Gram Seva’ project is a flagship programme launched by the State Bank of India Foundation in 2017 across six states of India, including Assam.
It focuses on integrated development of villages through the gaon panchayats.
India, France reiterate resolve to jointly fight terrorism
India and France reiterated their resolve to jointly fight the global scourge of terrorism following delegation-level talks headed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Both India and France were implementing their outlined action in joint strategic vision cooperation in the Indian Ocean region.
Now the two sides are working towards deepening and expanding these large contacts, especially at the operational and service level.
Le Drian also called for a joint collaboration between the two countries in the field of cinema.
Nasscom partners IIT-Madras for training workforce in digital skills
Nasscom has collaborated with the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras for its FutureSkills Platform that is targeted at re-skilling/upskilling four million people on digital skills.
Under its FutureSkills Platform, Nasscom aims to re-skill/upskill four million people from the IT-ITeS industry, students entering the workforce and employees of other industries/government on digital skills.
The partnership with IIT-Madras will facilitate the building of an able workforce to support the industry and other stakeholders. This will ensure that there is plenty of trained manpower for the jobs being created in the evolving ecosystem.
The partnership will be directly with the Sector Skills Council (SSC) which is the education and skill development initiative of Nasscom.
The SSC and IIT Madras will work towards building a skills academy and establish a program with extensive courses and training programmes to facilitate skill building in the institution
Amazon India signs MoU with FISME to empower MSMEs
Amazon India on 13th December announced a partnership with the Federation of Indian Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises(FISME) to empower Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to leverage growth opportunities in the e-commerce sector.
As per the MoU, Amazon.in in collaboration with FISME will conduct various events and workshops across the country that will enable and encourage the MSMEs in the country to sell their products to millions of consumers from India and across the globe by leveraging e-commerce marketplace solutions.
in and FISME aim to educate MSMEs on the nuances of online selling domestically and also B2C exports to enable them to sell across multiple international locations.
Through the collaboration, MSMEs will get access to experts from Amazon, FISME and various service providers to help them understand the procedures and requirements related to areas such as logistics, cataloging, imaging, taxation and will guide them through the entire process of selling through the e-commerce marketplace route.
MSMEs will be educated on digital business opportunity, brand building, documentation, listing methodology and services such as fulfillment by Amazon & Sponsored Ads.
Manju Baruah, the first woman manager in Assam’s tea garden history
For the first time in the nealy-200-year-old history of commercial tea cultivation in Assam, the industry has got a woman garden manager.
Manju Baruah, who is currently serving as garden manager for Apeejay Tea’s Hilika Tea Estate at Doomdooma in Tinsukia district.
Terming managerial responsibilities in tea gardens as a big challenge that also involves a lot of tedious outdoor duties, Manju said that her love for the outdoors and adventure since childhood served her in good stead in discharging her responsibilities.
Myanmar‘s Sittwe Port in ready for operations
Sittwe Port in Myanmar, being administered by the Ministry of External Affairs under the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project to facilitate connectivity between the mainland and the north eastern States of the country is “ready” for operations.
The project was jointly identified by India and Myanmar to create a multi-modal mode of transport for shipment of cargo from mainland India to Myanmar as well as to the northeastern part of India through Myanmar.
The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project will connect Sittwe Port in Myanmar to the India-Myanmar border, is expected to contribute to the economic development of the northeastern States by opening up the sea route for goods.
It will reduce pressure on the Siliguri Corridor, and since the project is of political and strategic significance, it was decided to execute it through India’s grant assistance to Myanmar.
K Subramanian appointed as Chief Economic Adviser (CEA)
Union Government appointed ISB Hyderabad professor Krishnamurthy Subramanian as Chief Economic Adviser for a period of three years. The post of CEA had been lying vacant since Arvind Subramanaian left the post.
An IIT-IIM alumnus, Subramanian holds PhD (Financial Economics) from Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, the US. He has served on the expert committees on Corporate Governance and on Governance of Banks. He was a member of SEBI’s standing committees on Alternative Investment Policy, Primary Markets, Secondary Markets and Research. He is also on the boards of Bandhan Bank, the National Institute of Bank Management, and the RBI Academy.
The key responsibilities of the CEA include providing policy inputs on industrial development and foreign trade, conducting analysis of trends in industrial production and releasing statistical information on key economic indicators.
Google announces ‘Journalism AI’ project
To help news industry use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in more innovative ways, Google has announced a partnership with Polis, the international journalism think-tank at London School of Economics and Political Science, to create “Journalism AI”.
Part of the Google News Initiative (GNI), the “Journalism AI” project will focus on research and training for newsrooms on the intersection of AI and journalism.
The Asia-Pacific Google News Initiative (GNI) Innovation Challenge will fund selected projects up to $300,000 and finance up to 70 per cent of the total project cost, that inject new ideas into the news industry.
Germany offers support to rebuild Kerala
The German government has offered help in the form of grants, loans at low rates of interest and by participating in specific projects to rebuild Kerala which was devastated after the worst ever floods in August.
Martin Ney, the German Ambassador to India, said Germany was ready to support the state by contributing to the “Rebuild Kerala” initiative.
Had talks with the Centre and have offered to provide up to Rs 720 crore under low interest loans to promote climate-resilient reconstruction of bridges and roads in Kerala.
Along with this aRs 24 crore grant for technical support that will provide international expertise in the field of infrastructure planning.
The support for infrastructure development will be through the German Development Bank KfW, who will ink an agreement with the Kerala government.
The talks with the Centre took place in Delhi last week when they decided to include Kerala in discussions about 190 different projects that Germany was supporting in various states.
The German government is also working on a study on floating solar sites at two dams in the state.
The other programme is aRs 40 crore grant funded project that will be done at selected 43 places which will help reduce vulnerability to climate change of small farmers through watershed development projects.
FAO approves 2023 as International Year of Millets
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has approved India’s proposal to observe an International Year of Millets in 2023.
Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh had made the demand in August this year, which has been accepted by the ongoing FAO Council in Rome.
Millets consist of Jowar, Bajra, Ragi and minor millets, together termed as nutri-cereals.
The development will enhance global awareness to bring back these nutri-cereals to the plate, for food and nutrition security and for increasing production to face the challenges posed by climate change, globally.
In addition, the Council also approved India’s membership to the Executive Board of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) for 2020 and 2021.
FACTFILE – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
It is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
FAO is also a source of knowledge and information, and helps developing countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices, ensuring good nutrition and food security for all.
As of August 2018, The FAO has 197 member states.
Headquarters – Rome, Italy
Head – José Graziano da Silva
India expected to receive total remittance of $80 billion in 2018
India is expected to receive a total remittance of $80 billion in 2018, said the latest edition of the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief, released on 8th
Among major remittance recipients, India retains its top spot, with remittances expected to total $80 billion this year, followed by China ($67 billion), Mexico and the Philippines ($34 billion each), and Egypt ($26 billion).
As global growth is projected to moderate, future remittances to low and middle-income countries are expected to grow moderately by 4 per cent to reach $549 billion in 2019. Global remittances are expected to grow 3.7 per cent to $715 billion in 2019.
According to the brief, remittance flows rose in all regions and was driven by a stronger economy and employment situation in the US and a rebound in outward flows from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the Russian Federation.
December 9
CM Prema Khandu launches Arunachal Pradesh’s ‘Shi Yomi ‘ as 23rd district
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu inaugurated the newly created Shi Yomi district, the 23rd district in the State, bordering China.
Headquartered at Tato, the new district, comprising of four administrative Circles viz. Mechuka, Tato, Pidi and Manigong, was bifurcated from West Siang district.
The State Assembly had passed the Arunachal Pradesh (Reorganisation of Districts) (Amendment) Bill, 2018 in the last House session paving the way for creation of Shi Yomi district, along with two other districts.
Thanking the people for donating land for government establishments for free, the Chief Minister urged to set priorities right as the government can’t afford lavish spending. He also promised that in the coming Budget session, provision for funds for the development of infrastructure will be kept.
India’s first artificial heart valve technology launched
In line with the Make in India initiative, global medical device maker Meril Life Sciences on 8th December launched its first indigenously designed and manufactured artificial aortic valve for patients who are at a high risk or unwilling to undergo open heart valve replacement surgery.
The Transcatheter Aortic Heart Valve Replacement (TAVR), which will be sold under the brand name “Myval”, is a minimally invasive procedure in which the doctor places a artificial valve into the patient’s diseased valve via a catheter inserted through the femoral artery.
It is an alternative way to replace diseased valves without undergoing traditional open heart procedure, which some patients may not receive well.
Meril is the first Indian company to commercially make this therapy available in the country.
The company has also received an approval from the Indian drug regulator Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for commercialisation of TAVR.
TAVR is increasingly becoming a preferred alternative for surgical valve replacement because it is associated with faster recovery time.
India, Iceland discuss geothermal energy cooperation
India and Iceland discussed cooperation in geothermal energy among other areas during a bilateral meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Icelandic Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson.
The two Ministers noted that in the areas such as geothermal energy, fisheries, IT, pharmaceuticals and tourism, both countries could establish strong partnership.
The Icelandic Minister appreciated growing opportunities for Icelandic companies in the fast-growing Indian economy.
The two Ministers expressed satisfaction at the ongoing cooperation at multilateral and international forums.
Sushma Swaraj and Thordarson also discussed the possibility of enhanced cooperation in the Arctic Council, an inter-governmental forum of Arctic states where India has an observer status.
FACTFILE – Geothermal energy
Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the earth.
The geothermal energy of the Earth’s crust originates from the original formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of materials.
The geothermal gradient, which is the difference in temperature between the core of the planet and its surface, drives a continuous conduction of thermal energy in the form of heat from the core to the surface.
Earth’s internal heat is thermal energy generated from radioactive decay and continual heat loss from Earth’s formation. Temperatures at the core–mantle boundary may reach over 4000 °C (7,200 °F).
The high temperature and pressure in Earth’s interior cause some rock to melt and solid mantle to behave plastically, resulting in portions of the mantle convecting upward since it is lighter than the surrounding rock.
With water from hot springs, geothermal energy has been used for bathing since Paleolithic times and for space heating since ancient Roman times, but it is now better known for electricity generation.
Worldwide, 11,700 megawatts (MW) of geothermal power was available in 2013.
Geothermal power is cost-effective, reliable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly, but has historically been limited to areas near tectonic plate boundaries.
Kerala CM commissions Kannur airport
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu commissioned the Kannur International Airport Ltd (KIAL).
The first flight from the airport was flagged off, with 180 passengers to Abu Dhabi.
This is the fourth international airport in the state, the rest are in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode.
The KIAL is slated to serve more than 1.5 million international passengers annually and authorities estimate the number will increase five-fold by 2025.
It is expected to boost tourism in Kannur, Kasargode, Wayanad and increase trade and commerce in the handloom and spices sectors.
North East Skill Centre (NESC) to be launched in January
The ambitious North East Skill Centre (NESC) project, a joint collaboration of the Assam Skill Development Mission (ASDM) and Institute of Technical Educational Services, Singapore (ITEES), will be launched in January.
The centre will offer a one-year certificate course to achieve the twin goal of generating employment and meet the demand of the industry for skilled manpower.
Specialised and industry-driven training would be imparted in four sectors – beauty and wellness, retail services, hospitality –food and beverage service and hospitality – housekeeping.
The NESC will have state-of-the-art infrastructure located on a sprawling campus in Guwahati with a fully equipped laboratory.
G20 summit: India presents 9-point agenda on fugitive economic offenders
India on Friday presented a nine-point agenda to G20 member nations calling for strong and active cooperation among them to comprehensively deal with fugitive economic offenders.
The agenda was presented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the second session of the G20 Summit on international trade, international financial and tax systems.
Cooperation in legal processes such as effective freezing of the proceeds of crime, early return of the offenders and efficient repatriation of the proceeds of crime should be enhanced and streamlined.
India also called for joint efforts by G-20 countries to form a mechanism that denies entry and safe havens to fugitive economic offenders.
India suggested the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) should be called upon to assign priority and focus to establishing international cooperation that leads to timely and comprehensive exchange of information between the competent authorities and financial intelligence units.
India also advocated setting up of a common platform for sharing experiences and best practices including successful cases of extradition, gaps in existing systems of extradition and legal assistance, etc.
Double Taxation Pact between India & Hong Kong came into effect
The double taxation avoidance pact between India and Hong Kong came into effect on 30th November after both sides completed the due procedures.
The agreement between India and Hong Kong for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income was signed on March 19.
India completed all the relevant procedures required by its laws for the entry into force of the agreement on May 11 and the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region completed all the relevant procedures required by its laws for the entry into force of the agreement on November 30.
The pact will stimulate flow of investment, technology and personnel from India to Hong Kong and vice versa.
It will prevent double taxation and provide for exchange of information between the two sides.
The agreement will also improve transparency in tax matters and will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance.
BRICS leaders declare common stand on WTO reform
Leaders of the emerging economies’ bloc BRICS declared their common stand on the reform of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 30th
A communique was issued after Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa held an informal meeting on the sidelines of G-20 Summit.
BRICS countries agreed that full support should be given to the rules-based multilateral trading system represented by the WTO and to ensure transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive international trade.
BRICS countries pledged to support the improvement of the WTO, increase its relevance and validity and safeguard the core values and basic principles of the WTO, and agreed that the WTO should embody the interests of all members, developing economies in particular.
December 2
Siu-Ka-Pha Divas observed on December 2
Asom Divas, a day to remember the contributions of the first Ahom king Chaolung Siu-Ka-Pha, was observed in various places in Assam.
Since 1996 December 2 has been celebrated in Assam as the Sukaphaa Divawkh, or Axom Divawkh (Assam Day), to commemorate the advent of the first king of the Ahom kingdom in Assam after his journey over the Patkai Hills.
FACTFILE – Chaolung Sukaphaa (r. 1228–1268)
Siu-Ka-Pha was the first Ahom king in medieval Assam, was the founder of the Ahom kingdom.
A Tai prince originally from Mong Mao, the kingdom he established in 1228 existed for nearly six hundred years and in the process unified the various indigenous ethnic groups of the region that left a deep impact on the region.
Rajnath Singh to inaugurate Hornbill Festival
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the 19th edition of the Hornbill Festival at Kisama village.
Nagaland Governor PB Acharya will be the chief host on the occasion, while US Ambassador to India, Kenneth I Juster, has been invited as the guest of honour.
The Nagaland Government has earmarked Rs 5 crore for the festival, which will culminate on December 10. The celebrations and programmes have been scheduled in five districts of the State including Kohima, Dimapur, Mokokchung, Phek and Wokha, she said.
The annual festival unites one and all, while promoting the tourism prospects of the State. The festival aims to display the rich traditions and the vibrant culture of Nagaland through colourful performances, crafts, sports, food fairs, games and ceremonies.
The heritage village of Kisama has been made a plastic-free zone. The visitor turnout to Kisama stood at 2.43 lakh last year and the number might swell this year.
Kaziranga National Park home to 907 Eastern Swamp Deer
During a Census of Eastern Swamp Deer in Kaziranga National Park, physical counting of the species in Kaziranga National Park had put the total population of Eastern Swamp Deer at 907, which is less than the last census figure carried out in 2016, where the total population was 1,148.
Last year’s heavy flood in Kaziranga had killed many wild animals, including Eastern Swamp Deer.
FACTFILE – The barasingha or swamp deer
The barasingha deer species distributed in the Indian subcontinent.
Populations in northern and central India are fragmented, and two isolated populations occur in southwestern Nepal. It is extinct in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The swamp deer differs from all the Indian deer species in that the antlers carry more than three tines.
Because of this distinctive character it is designated barasingha, meaning “twelve-tined.”
Mature stags have 10 to 14 tines, and some have been known to have up to 20.
It is listed on CITES Appendix I. In India, it is included under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
It is put under Vulnerable category in IUCN conservation status.
G-20 Summit endorses multilateral trade system and WTO reforms
The G-20 Summit concluded on 1st December, with members endorsing the multilateral trading system, and calling for reforms to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
International trade and investment are important engines of growth, productivity, innovation, job creation and development.
The system is currently falling short of its objectives and there is room for improvement. Therefore support the necessary reform of the WTO to improve its functioning.
Signatories to the Paris Agreement, reaffirm that the Paris Agreement is irreversible and commit to its full implementation, reflecting common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.
The two-day summit discussed issues such as the future of work, infrastructure for development, financial stability, climate sustainability and international trade, among others.
India to host G-20 summit in 2022, coinciding with the country’s 75th anniversary of Independence. PM Modi thanked Italy for allowing India to play the host. Italy was to host the international forum in 2022.
FACTFILE – G-20
The G-20 is a grouping of the world’s 20 major economies.
G-20 members comprise Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK and the US. Spain is a permanent guest invitee.
Collectively, the G-20 economies account for nearly 90 per cent of the gross world product, 80 per cent of world trade, two-thirds of the world population, and approximately half of the world land area.
DAC approves purchase of BrahMos, armoured vehicles
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the procurement of equipment worth Rs 3,000 crore which included the BrahMos missile for Navy ships and Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARVs) for the Army’s main battle tank Arjun.
The DAC, chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, approved the procurement of the indigenous BrahMos missile for two Indian Navy ships to be built in Russia.
The indigenously designed BrahMos missile is a tested and proven supersonic cruise missile and will form the primary weapon on-board these ships.
The ARVs to be procured are designed and developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation and would be manufactured by M/S BEML.
ARVs ensure efficient and speedy repair and recovery operations during combat.
ASEAN experts to meet on military medicine in Lucknow
A four-day meeting of experts in military medicine from ASEAN countries, being co-chaired by India and Myanmar, will be held here from 2nd The objective is to establish better cooperation in medical operations amongst the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries.
For civil support by military operations other than war, especially humanitarian assistance and disaster response missions.
There will be expert working group on military medicine, 4th bilateral talks between India and Myanmar, a table-top exercise and planning for field training exercises encompassing broad themes.
Around 50 delegates from various countries and officers from India’s Army Medical Corps are likely to participate in the event.
The event aims to establish preparedness and response mechanisms to manage mass casualties and outbreak of infectious diseases resulting from large-scale disasters as also to facilitate synergy, better understanding, increase capability of the combined operations amongst the Armed Forces of Asean member states and Asean Plus countries.
FACTFILE – ASEAN nations and thier Capital
Nation of Brunei – Bandar Seri Begawan
Cambodia – Phnom Penh
Indonesia – Jakarta
Lao People’s Democratic Republic – Vientiane
Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur
Republic of the Union of Myanmar – Naypyidaw
Republic of the Philippines – Manila
Republic of Singapore – Singapore
Kingdom of Thailand – Bangkok
Socialist Republic of Vietnam – Hanoi
Govt launches ‘Digital Sky Platform’ online platform for registration of drones
The Union Civil Aviation Ministry launched the ‘Digital Sky Platform’ for the registration of drones and their operators. Nano drones in India can start flying legally with immediate effect from 1st December as the Civil Aviation regulations come into force.
For drones, operators and pilots are required to register on the Digital Sky Portal. Payments for Unmanned Aerial Operator’s Permit (UAOP) and Unique Identification Numbers (UIN) will be accepted through the Bharat Kosh (bharatkosh.gov.in) portal.
To get permissions to fly Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS), operators or remote pilots will have to file a flight plan.
Flying in the ‘green zones’ will require only intimation of the time and location of the flights via the portal or the app.
Permissions will be required for flying in ‘yellow zones’ and flights will not be allowed in the ‘red zones’.
The government in August had announced a policy and guidelines for drones designed to open up an array of opportunities in the Indian civil aviation sector.
The regulations are intended to enable visual line-of-sight, daytime only and a maximum of 400 feet altitude operations.
The regulations list various categories of drones, and all of these except the “nano” type weighing less than 250 gram and those owned by government and intelligence agencies, are to be registered and issued with a Unique Identification Number (UIN).
Assam, Bihar and J&K at bottom of Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS)
Assam, Bihar and Jammu & Kashmir featured on the bottom of the new Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) index due to the lack of good transport facilities, scarcity of logistics services and bad track record in timeliness.
Best Performer – Gujarat, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh
The LEADS index is developed by the Commerce and Industry Ministry and Deloitte – ranks states in terms of the logistical support they provided to promote goods trade.
Assam and Uttar Pradesh – worst performers in Healthcare Access and Quality Index
The index is created by the Global Burden of Disease study and published in the medical journal The Lancet.
Best Performer – Goa and Kerala
Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are the laggards in UN’s India SDG index
Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are the laggards in the sustainable development goals (SDG) Index
Best Performer – Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu
Ranking of states released by federal policy think tank NITI Aayog and the UN.
The SDG India Index Ranking
India as a whole has a score of 58, showing the country has reached a little beyond the halfway mark in meeting the sustainable development goals adopted by India and 192 other nations in 2015.
Tamil Nadu topped the states in poverty reduction
Kerala topped in providing quality education
Kerala and Tamil Nadu also topped in facilitating good health and well-being.
Sikkim topped in Gender equality
National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS) 2017-18
To check the progress in sanitation outcomes, including the open defecation free (ODF) status under Swacch Bharat Abhiyan.
Kerala and Mizoram are the best performing States, with 100% of open defecation free households
Kerala topped the Public Affairs Index 2018 by Public Affairs Centre (PAC)
Top 5 states – Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat
Bottom states – Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh topped Ease Of Doing Business Ranking by DIPP & WB
Top 10 states – Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan and West Bengal.
Pune led the Ease of Living Index of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
Global Conference on Cyberspace organized in India.
Theme – Cyber4All: A Secure and Inclusive Cyberspace for Sustainable Development.
Brahmos missile successful air launch
The Indian Air Force conducted the first-ever successful air launch of the BrahMos cruise missile from a Sukhoi Su-30 MKI multirole aircraft.
It is the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile
Glide Bomb – Smart Anti Airfield Weapon
DRDO successfully test fired the Glide Bomb – a Smart Anti Airfield Weapon (SAAW).
India successfully test fires Indigenous Subsonic Cruise Missile Nirbhay
Chandipur test range along the Odisha coast.
It is India’s first indigenously designed and developed Long Range Sub-Sonic Cruise Missile.
NASA Launches Next-Generation Weather Satellite Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1)
to monitor weather around the world and help improve forecasts.
is a joint venture between the US space agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Moscow Declaration on TB &HIV
Representatives from 120 countries adopted the Moscow Declaration to eliminate additional deaths from HIV co-infection by 2020 and achieving synergy in coordinated action against TB and non-communicable diseases.
ISRO’s Sun Mission to take off in 2019
India will send ISRO’s solar mission Aditya-L1 to a vantage point in space, known as the L1 Lagrange point, to do imaging and study of the sun.
Facebook Rolls out Disaster Maps in India
In a bid to help communities recover and rebuild faster in the aftermath of natural disasters in India, Facebook introduced new measures, including its Disaster Maps feature in the country.
First Power Plant under PM Ladakh Scheme commissioned in Drass
The 1.5-mw small hydropower plant in Biaras Drass of Kargil has become the first project to be commissioned under the Prime Minister’s Ladakh Renewable Energy Initiative.
to minimize dependence on diesel in the Ladakh region and meet power requirement through local renewable sources.
International Solar Alliance and India
the first treaty-based international government organisation to be based in India, with 19 countries ratifying its framework agreement.
countries located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
The ISA is headquartered in Gurgaon
International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography
The Union Cabinet approved the agreement with UNESCO on establishment of International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography, as a Category-2 Centre (C2C) of UNESCO, in Hyderabad.
AAROGYAM – 2017
The 1st International Exhibition & Conference on AYUSH & Wellness.
Ajeya Warrior Military Exercises
This is a biennial joint military exercise between India and army of United Kingdom
Ekuverin
The joint military exercise between Indian Army and Maldives National Defence Force
Sentinel-5p Satellite
a European satellite being commissioned by the European Union and the European Space Agency, tracking the levels air pollutants around the world
designed to make daily global maps of the gases and particles that pollute the air.
New Graphene-Based Battery Charges Five Times Faster
Scientists has developed a new graphene-based battery material with charging speed five times faster than today’s lithium-ion batteries.
Graphene is a sheet of carbon atoms bound together in a honeycomb lattice pattern, is hugely recognized as a “wonder material” due to the myriad of astonishing attributes it holds.
Monkey Fever
Kyasanur forest disease (KFD) is a tick borne viral haemorrhagic fever endemic in Karnataka.
The virus causing the disease: KFD virus (KFDV) is a member of the genus Flavivirus and family Flaviviridae.
What Is CYBORG
The term Cyborg was first coined by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. kline to describe man-machine system in which the control mechanism of the human portion are modified externally by drugs or regulatory devices so that the being can live in an environment different from the normal one
an organism with organic and biomechatronic body parts that is partly human and partly machine .
Agni 5
India successfully conducted the “first pre-induction trial” of its over 5,000-km range Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile
Agni -5 is the fifth in the line of the Agni Missiles
NASA to launch Parker Solar Probe to explore Sun’s outer atmosphere
Bharat Bio Typhoid Shot
Bharat Biotech has received a pre-qualification from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for Typbar Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine.
Typbar TCV is the first typhoid vaccine clinically proven to be administered to children from 6 months of age to adults, and confers long-term protection against typhoid fever.
GOLD and ICON Mission to explore the Ionosphere
NASA has announced that it would launch two missions to explore the little-understood area of 96 km above Earth’s surface.
The Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission will be launched in January 2018, and the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) will be launched later in 2018.
India’s Fastest Supercomputer
Pratyush, India’s fastest supercomputer yet, was unveiled at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) in Pune.
Pratyush is a collection of several computers that can deliver a peak power of 6.8 petaflops, facilitating the weather forecasting and climate monitoring in the country.
Pratyush is fourth fastest supercomputer in world dedicated for weather and climate research
India Misses Kala Azar Elimination Deadline
India has missed the 2017 deadline for elimination of Kala Azar (black fever).
Elimination is defined as reducing the annual incidence of Kala Azar (KA) to less than 1 case per 10,000 people at the sub-district level.
Kala Azar is a slow progressing indigenous disease caused by a single-celled parasite of the Leishmania family.
In India Leishmania donovani is the only parasite causing the disease. The parasite is found in abundance in the bone marrow, spleen and liver.
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
In SCNT the nucleus, which contains the organism’s DNA, of a somatic cell (a body cell other than a sperm or egg cell) is removed and the rest of the cell discarded.
Rotavac is the First Indian designed vaccine to pass the WHO Test
Rotavac became first indigenously developed vaccine from India to be pre-qualified by World Health Organisation (WHO). It means that vaccine can be sold internationally to several countries in South America and Africa.
The Rotavac vaccine, developed by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech Limited, was included in India’s national immunization programme.
Venezuela becomes first country to launch its own Digital Currency
Venezuela became the first country to launch its own cryptocurrency.
The official cryptocurrency has been named Petro
World Congress on Information Technology
The Government of Telangana has hosted the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) in 2018, at Hyderabad.
World Sustainable Development Summit 2018 held in India
organized by the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
International Conference on Sustainable Biofuels 2018 organized in New Delhi
jointly organized by Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India on behalf of Mission Innovation and Biofuture Platform
Biofuels – fuels produced directly or indirectly from organic material – biomass – including plant materials and animal waste.
India Energy Congress 2018 was held in New Delhi
organised by World Energy Council India (WEC India) and inaugurated by Union Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister.
Milan 2018 multinational mega event at Andaman & Nicobar
With the underlying theme of ‘Friendship Across the Seas’
Rustom 2
India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation successfully completed the test flight of its Rustom 2 drone at the Aeronautical Test Range.
It is part of the Rustom line of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that includes Rustom-I, Rustom-H and Rustom-C.
Three-parent Babies
Mitochondrial replacement therapy, which creates “three-parent babies”, involves a portion of the child’s DNA coming from their mother, father and a third person – an egg donor.
Britain’s fertility regulator Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has allowed doctors to create country’s first ‘three-parent’ babies through mitochondrial donation therapy.
aimed at preventing passage of incurable genetic diseases from mothers to offsprings
India Successfully Test-Fires Nuclear Capable Ballistic Agni II Missile
An indigenously developed intermediate-range nuclear capable ballistic Agni II was successfully test-fired from Launch Complex-4 of Integrated Test Range (ITR) from the Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast.
India Successfully Test-Fires Nuclear Capable Prithvi-II
India successfully test-fired it’s indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile as part of a user trial by the Army from a test range in Odisha.
Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP)
was conceived by renowned scientist Dr A P J Abdul Kalam to enable India attain self-sufficiency in the field of missile technology.
IGMDP was sanctioned to develop Prithvi, Trishul, Akash, Nag and a Technology Demonstrator Agni Missile.
Japanese Encephalitis
Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a flavivirus related to dengue, yellow fever and West Nile viruses, and is spread by mosquitoes.
Nearly 100 New Exoplanets Have Been Found in Kepler Space Telescope (K2 mission) Mission Data of NASA
Exoplanets – are all the planets in the universe beyond own solar system.
Rocky planets: Rocky planets are mainly composed of heavier elements
Super-Earths: Super-Earths are planets of between 1 and about 10 Earth masses
Ocean planets and desert planets: planets with enough water to completely cover the entire surface of the planet with oceans.
Gas Giants: All planets with masses exceeding 10 Earth masses
Hot Jupiter: a gas giant that orbits its host star in a very close orbit
Rogue planets: planets without a central star; they are free-floating throughout our galaxy
India To Launch Mission To Explore Moon’s South Pole
India’s second lunar mission – Chandrayaan-II – is scheduled for an April 2018 launch.
It is under Chandrayaan-1 mission that the ISRO spotted water on the moon.
Chandrayaan-2 is a further extension of the project and it is as good as landing a man on the moon.
Chandrayaan-2 Mission
India’s second mission to the Moon is a totally indigenous mission comprising of an Obiter, Lander and Rover.
Marshall Islands to Issue World’s First Legal Tender cryptocurrency
It will be world’s first sovereign cryptocurrency that can be used as legal tender.
This cryptocurrency will be called Sovereign (SOV), has been developed in partnership with Israeli startup Neema.
Unlike Venezuela’s Petro cryptocurrency, the SOV will be recognized in law as legal tender, holding equal status as the US dollar, which is the Pacific island nation’s current currency.
Arctic Seed Vault celebrated the 10th anniversary
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway in the Arctic Circle got a delivery of more than 76,000 seed batches from gene banks in 22 countries.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is meant as a natural deep freeze to back up the world’s gene banks in case of disasters ranging from nuclear war to global warming. It has about 900,000 seed samples.
Exercise Samvedna
a Multilateral Air Force exercise, aimed to ensure better understanding and sharing of response procedures between a number of friendly neighbouring nations.
It was the first Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in association with South Asian Region nations.
involved representatives from air forces of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and the UAE.
MILES-18: first ever multi-nation naval exercise at sea held in Andaman
As part of the tenth edition of MILAN 2018.
Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand were the participating countries.
MILAN:
Milan’ was first held in 1995 with the participation of just five navies.
The aim of the initiative was to have an effective forum to discuss common concerns in the Indian Ocean Region and forge deeper cooperation among friendly navies.
Saposhi – a new malware
It is capable of taking over electronic devices and turning them into ‘bots’, which can be then used for any purpose, including a Distributed Denial Of Service attack which, with enough firepower, can cripple entire industries.
DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack is an illegal large-scale cyber campaign where a big number of devices are used to create traffic to a certain server.
Lamitye 2018
Joint military exercise ‘Lamitye’ was held between India and Seychelles. It is conducted biennially between the two countries.
Varuna-18
The navies of India and France conducted a joint bilateral exercise, “Varuna-18”, in the Arabian Sea off the Goa coast
The project in Theni district has been cleared by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
aims to study atmospheric neutrinos in a 1,300-m deep cavern in the Bodi West Hills in Theni district, Tamil Nadu.
If completed, the INO would house the largest magnet in the world, four times more massive than the European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN’s Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector’s magnet.
India Successfully Tests 3rd-Gen Anti-Tank Missile NAG In Desert Conditions
Anti Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) Nag is one of five missile systems developed indigenously by DRDO under integrated guided missile development programme (IGMDP). The other four missiles are Agni, Akash, Trishul and Prithvi.
India’s First Cloned Assamese Buffalo Born
The Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) claimed that a cloned Assamese buffalo male calf was born for the first time in India.
New State Of Matter Rydberg polarons Created
created “giant atom” and filled it with ordinary atoms, creating a new state of matter termed Rydberg polarons. These atoms are held together by a weak bond and are created at very cold temperatures.
It uses ideas from two different fields: Bose Einstein Condensation and Rydberg atoms.
BEC (Bose Einstein Condensate) is a liquid-like state of matter that occurs at very low temperatures. A BEC can be perturbed to create excitations which are akin to ripples on a lake.
A ‘Rydberg atom’ is an atom in which an electron has been kicked out to a very large orbit.
TESS: NASA, SpaceX Collaborate To Search For Exoplanets
NASA’s little spacecraft, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, will ascend on a Falcon 9 rocket of the SpaceX to go up in the space.
The primary mission objective of TESS is to survey brightest stars near Earth for transiting exoplanets over two-year period.
ISRO–BHEL Tie up for the Production of Space Grade Lithium-Ion Cells
ISRO has entered into a Technology Transfer Agreement (TTA) with Bharat Heavy Electricals
Limited (BHEL), to transfer the technology for the manufacture of space grade Li-Ion cells
Li-Ion Battery
type of rechargeable battery that contains several cells. Each cell consists of cathode, anode and electrolyte, a separator between electrodes and current collectors.
It is light weighted and is one-third the weight of lead acid batteries. It is nearly 100% efficient in both charging and discharging as compared to lead battery which has 70% efficiency. It completely discharges i.e. 100% as compared to 80% for lead acid.
Scientists discovered a new human organ ‘interstitium’
It will be the 80th organ in the human body. It might be also the biggest organ in human body.
The discovery of interstitium will help to explain how cancer spreads in body and pave way for new ways to detect and treat the disease.
Defence Planning Committee under National Security Advisor Ajit Doval
The committee will drive the country’s military and security strategy, draft capability development plans, guide and accelerate defence equipment acquisitions.
AFSPA lifted in Meghalaya
However, it has been partially revoked in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act
enacted in 1958 to bring under control what the government of India considered ‘disturbed’ areas.
States under AFSPA (before April 1, 2018) included: Assam, Nagaland, Manipur (except the Imphal municipal area), Arunachal Pradesh (only the Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts plus a 20-km belt bordering Assam), Meghalaya (confined to a 20-km belt bordering Assam) and J&K.
Cybersecurity Tech Accord singed by 34 global technology and security companies
It represents a watershed agreement among the largest-ever group of companies agreeing to defend all customerseverywhere from malicious attacks by cybercriminal enterprises and nation-states.
The 34 companies include ABB, Arm, Cisco, Facebook, HP, HPE, Microsoft, Nokia, Oracle, and Trend Micro, and together represent operators of technologies that power the world’s internet communication and information infrastructure.
Internet Security Threat Report 2017 – India emerged as 3rd most cyber-threat vulnerable
released by security solutions provider Symantec, summarizes the state of cyber threats across the world.
ISRO loses contact with GSAT-6A Satellite
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has lost contact with GSAT-6A, a satellite launched aiming to provide mobile communication facilities.
Chinese Space Station Tiangong 1 Falls to Earth
China’s prototype space station, whose name translates as “Heavenly Palace 1,” breaking apart and burning up in the skies over the southern Pacific Ocean.
Tiangong-1 was China’s first prototype space station or space laboratory. It was placed in orbit in September 2011.
The spacecraft cemetery / Point Nemo
considered the most remote place on Earth (at about 2400 km from any spot of land).
used to crash-land defunct satellites.
Harimau Shakti 2018
joint training exercise between Indo-Malaysian defence is being conducted in the dense forests of Sengai Perdik, Hulu Langat, Malaysia.
SAHYOG-HYEOBLYEOG 2018
The Indo-Korean joint anti-piracy exercise
Govt. bans imports of hormone Oxytocin
to stop its misuse in the livestock industry because it causes hormonal imbalances and shortens the lives of milch animals.
Often called the ‘love hormone’
Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter and a hormone that is produced in the hypothalamus. From there, it is transported to and secreted by the pituitary gland, at the base of the brain.
It plays a role in the female reproductive functions, from sexual activity to childbirth and breast feeding.
Odilorhabdins (ODLs) – new class of Antibiotics to combat Drug Resistance
which has a distinct way of killing bacteria, has been discovered which may help combat drug-resistant or hard-to-treat bacterial infections.
The bacteria help to kill the insect and importantly secrete the antibiotic to keep competing bacteria away. The antibiotic kills bacteria by binding to ribosome.
IIT-Delhi Installs India’s First 5G Lab
It will be the first of its kind 5G lab in the country and has been setup at Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management.
from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
IRNSS-1I is expected to replace IRNSS-1A, the first of the seven navigation satellites that was rendered ineffective after its three rubidium atomic clocks failed.
The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)
is an independent satellite based regional system developed indigenously by India
The NAVIC system is constellation of seven satellites, (namely IRNSS-1I, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F and 1G) of which three are geostationary and four are nongeostationary.
NASA launches planet-hunter Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)
It will discover thousands of exoplanets in orbit around the brightest stars in the sky.
Brahmos Supersonic Cruise Missile extended life of 15 years
The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with an extended life of 15 years was for the first time
successfully test fired from the Integrated Test Range in Balasore in Odisha.
BrahMos has become the first Indian missile whose life has been extended from 10 to 15 years.
The missile had also reached the maximum speed of 3 Mach, i.e. three times faster than the speed of sound.
BrahMos is supersonic cruise missile developed by joint-venture between Russia’s Mashinostroyenia and India’s Defence Research and Development Organization
It has been named after two rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva (river in western Russia).
Punjab government organised First census to estimate Indus Dolphin
Indus Dolphins, one of the world’s rarest mammals
Punjab government along with WWF-India are conducting a first organised census.
Found only in India and Pakistan, the Indus Dolphins are confined to only 185 km stretch between Talwara and Harike Barrage in India’s Beas river in Punjab.
Technology to tackle Space Junk
A spacecraft that will demonstrate a range of innovative technologies to clean up space debris has been deployed from the International Space Station (ISS)
RemoveDEBRIS – will attempt to address the build-up of dangerous space debris orbiting Earth.
RemoveDebris will deploy a large sail that will drag it into the Earth’s atmosphere, where it will be destroyed.
Net Generation SFDR Surface-to-Air Missile
successfully carried out the first test of a new surface-to-air missile with nozzle less booster making its mark as a military superpower in South East Asia region.
Indigenously designed and developed by DRDO, the missile flew in its intended trajectory at a
speed of Mach 3 (thrice the speed of sound).
The missile, powered by Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR), was test-fired at Integrated Test Range (ITR) off Odisha coast.
Russia Launches Soyuz-2.1B
Russia has successfully launched Glonass-M positioning satellite on board of Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket
GLONASS is Russian acronym for Global Navigation Satellite System, which provides real-time
positioning data for surface, sea and airborne objects around globe, at accuracy reportedly at par with US Global Positioning System (GPS).
now total 26 Glonass satellites in orbit.
Glonass is considered as counterpart to GPS of US, Galileo of European Union (EU) and Beidou of China.
Genome Valley 2.0
The Telangana Government has signed a MoU with Singapore-based Surbana Jurong for preparing a roadmap for Genome Valley 2.0, an upgraded version of life sciences and biotechnology.
The Genome Valley cluster has emerged as the largest life sciences destination in Asia, being home to over 200 companies employing 10,000 people.
Meghalayan – Newest phase in Earth’s History
named it The stalagmite from a cave in Meghalaya helped define climatic events 4,200 years ago, marking the beginning of the phase that continues till today.
The Meghalayan Age began with a mega global drought that devastated ancient agricultural civilizations from Egypt to China.
It is part of a longer period known as the Holocene Epoch, which reflects everything that has happened over the past 11,700 years.
This discovery done by the International Commission on Stratigraphy of the International
Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)
Biodiesel in India
India’s domestic crude oil output stagnating and the demand for oil continuing to rise at an everincreasing pace, India has an opportunity to use substitutes of fossil fuels for both, economic and environmental benefits.
Ethanol is one such substitute that can be produced from sugarcane and used for transport by blending it with petrol/gasoline.
Another option is biodiesel, which can be produced from the oil-bearing seeds of certain plants and blended with diesel.
India’s first-ever environment friendly biofuel powered flight between Dehradun and Delhi was propelled by blend of oil from jatropha seeds and aviation turbine fuel.
Bio-jet fuel is greenhouse gas (GHG) neutral, carbon neutral, reduces air pollution.
Jatropha
Jatropha is drought-resistant perennial plant that can grow in marginal or poor soil.
The Problem of Jatropha is availability of it’s seeds.
Delhi Police gets india’s first All-Women SWAT Team
Delhi Police is the first police force in the country to have an all-women Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team.
SCO Peace Mission 2018
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Peace Mission 2018 exercise was started on 24 August 2018 at Chebarkul, Russia.
All eight members of SCO (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) participitated
Roadmap for ‘Gaganyaan’ manned flight to space
ISRO unveiled details of its first indigenous human space mission to be launched in 2022.
This will be the first human space mission to be indigenously developed by ISRO. If successful,
India will become fourth nation in the world to send astronaut into space after US, Russia and China.
Indian Air Force (IAF) Rakesh Sharma was first Indian to travel to space.
World’s First Wind-Sensing Satellite ‘Aeolus’
European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched wind-sensing satellite named ‘Aeolus’ into orbit on board of Vega rocket from French Guyana.
satellite dedicated to map Earth’s wind on global scale in particular tropical winds which are very poorly mapped.
IIT Madras developed first microprocessors under Project Shakti
The first of family of six industry-standard microprocessors under Project Shakti.
Project Shakti was started in 2014 as IIT-M initiative and part of it is funded by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
The International Nitrogen Initiative
Indian scientist and academician Nandula Raghuram was elected as the Chair of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI), a global policy making initiative.
Government bans Fixed Dose Combination (FDC) Drugs
Central government has banned 328 combination drugs in the background of growing antibiotic resistance due to the misuse of medicines.
Fixed Dose Combination (FDC) drugs includes two or more active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) combined in a single dosage form, which is manufactured and distributed in fixed doses.
Zika Virus cause of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome
Transmission: Zika virus is primarily transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito from the Aedes genus, mainly Aedes aegypti in tropical regions. Sexual transmission of Zika virus is also possible.
Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Microcephaly – It is a condition where a baby is born with a small head or the head stops growing after birth.
Guillain-Barre syndrome – the body’s immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous
system muscle weakness and loss of sensation in the legs and/or arms.
National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) released the report HIV Estimations 2017.
The HIV Estimations 2017 is the 14th round in the series of HIV Estimations under National AIDS Control Programme (NACP).
India had around 21 lakh people living with HIV (PLHIV) with adult prevalence of 0.22%.
Around 87000 new HIV infections and 69000 AIDS related deaths happened in 2017.
The impact of the NACP has been significant with more than 80% decline in estimated new infection from peak of epidemic in 1995. Similarly, estimated AIDS related death declined by 71% since its peak in 2005.
goal of attaining the ‘End of AIDS’ by 2030.
World’s first human case of Rat Hepatitis E has been detected in Hong Kong.
Hepatitis E is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis E virus (HEV): a small virus, with a positive-sense, single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) genome.
India-US 2+2 Dialogue
India hosted inaugural 2+2 Dialogue with United States in New Delhi.
US defence secretary Jim Mattis and secretary of state Mike held talk with Indian Foreign minister and defence minister.
G-4 Summit
India hosted summit meeting of the G-4 nations (Brazil, Germany, India and Japan) at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN.
The summit aimed at pushing for early UN Security Council reforms.
They restated their support for Africa’s appropriate representation in a reformed and expanded
Council, which bears primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
Saudi Arabia to join CPEC Project
Saudi Arabia is set to join the multibillion-dollar project China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as a third major economic partner.
CPEC
The $46-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project focuses on road building and
energy infrastructure to end chronic power shortages in Pakistan and to link China’s landlocked
north-west with the deep-water port Gwadar on the Arabian Sea.
The ambitious project is a part of China’s “One Belt and One Road” or new Silk Road project. It is being built from the restive Xinjiang province in China to Gwadar in southwestern Pakistan.
India’s four more nuclear facilities under IAEA Safeguards
The four reactors included under IAEA are – two Russian-designed Pressurised Light Water Reactors and two Pressurised Heavy Reactors being built with Indian technology.
India’s Nuclear Programme
India plans to build 21 reactors by 2030 for power generation as well as to promote Cancer research.
In power generation, a notable achievement was one of the longest run of reactor Unit-1 of Kaiga plant.It has become the third longest running plant in the world.
IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)
It is the world’s central intergovernmental forum for scientific and technical co-operation in the nuclear field.
Headquarters: Vienna, Austria
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on 7 October 2005.
4th International Ayurveda Congress in The Netherlands.
The congress was organized jointly by The International Maharishi AyurVeda Foundation, The Netherlands; the All India Ayurvedic Congress, New Delhi; and the International Academy of Ayurveda, Pune.
Germany has rolled out World’s First Hydrogen Train
Nicknamed Hydrail, these trains are called Coradia iLint trains and have been manufactured by Alstom, one of Europe’s largest railway manufacturers.
The train has batteries made of lithium-ion that is used in mobile phones and home appliances.
the train is equipped with fuel cells that produce electricity through a combination of hydrogen and oxygen, a process that leaves steam and water as the only emissions. Excess energy is stored in lithium ion batteries on board the train.
International Center for Transformative Artificial Intelligence
NITI Aayog, Intel and the TIFR have come together to setup a model International Center for Transformative Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI) towards developing and deploying AI-led application-based research projects.
It will be located in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Dickinsonia – ancient fossil of the earliest animal
Scientists have discovered an ancient fossil of the earliest animal on geological record -Dickinsonia – that lived on Earth 558 million years ago.
Apsara U Reactor, India’s first and oldest atomic reactor
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has set in motiona higher capacity version Apsara-upgraded (U).
Radioisotopes generated via power generation in nuclear reactors, research reactors, accelerators and spent fuel are used in agriculture, healthcare, industry and even municipal waste management.
Apsara reached criticality in August 1956, was also the first in Asia.
Oneer – innovative technology for Drinking Water Disinfection System
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (CSIRIITR), Lucknow has developed an innovative technology for Drinking Water Disinfection System with trade name Oneer.
Train 18 – India’s First Engine-less train
A 16-coach prototype known as Train 18 or T18, Indian Railways’ first engine-less train, made its inaugural trial run recently.
Capable of running at a speed of up to 160 kmph, it is being referred to as a successor to the Shatabdi Express.
The fully air-conditioned semi-high speed train has been manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai.
2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine
jointly awarded to James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo.
for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation.
2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Frances H. Arnold “for the directed evolution of enzymes” half of the prize and other half of the prize to George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter ”for the phage display of peptides and antibodies.”
2018 Nobel Prize in Physics
one half to Arthur Ashkin “for groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics” and other half jointly to Gérard Mourou “for the optical tweezers and their application to biological systems”
Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize is awarded annually from a fund bequeathed by the Swedish inventor and industrialist Alfred Nobel.
The prize is widely regarded as the most prestigious award given for intellectual achievement in the world.
The prize is awarded for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace.
The first distribution of the prize took place in 1901. An additional award in Economic Sciences was established in 1968 and was first awarded in 1969.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences confers the prizes for physics, chemistry, and economics.
The Karolinska Institute confers the prize for physiology or medicine and the Swedish Academy confers the prize for literature.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee based in Oslo confers the prize for peace.
Gaganyaan
A MoU was signed between ISRO and the Federal Space Agency of Russia ROSCOSMOS on joint activities in the field of the human spaceflight programme Gaganyaan.
If successful, India would be the fourth nation to send a human in space after the US, Russia and China.
Gaganyaan is India’s maiden human spaceflight programme scheduled for completion by 2022.
GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle, which has the necessary payload capability for this mission, will be used to launch Gaganyaan.
China’s Artificial Moon
China has planned to launch an artificial moon over the city of Chengdu, in Sichuan province, by 2020 to provide an alternative means of street lighting and save on electricity.
As per preliminary reports the artificial moon would be a mirror orbiting Chengdu at a height of 500 km. It would reflect the sun’s light at night, and supplement street lighting in Chengdu, which has a population of 1.6 million.
China is not the first country to try beaming sunlight back to Earth. In the 1990s, Russian scientists reportedly used giant mirrors to reflect light from space in an experimental project called Znamya or Banner.
Andhra, West Bengal withdraws CBI power to investigate
Section 5 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (DSPEA) gives powers to the CBI over all areas in the country, but Section 6 states that without the consent of the state concerned, it cannot enter that state’s jurisdiction.
Apart from Mizoram, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, the agency has consent in one form or the other for carrying out investigations across the country.
Kilogram re-defined
At the 26th CGPM, General Conference on Weights and Measures, in Versailles, Paris more than 60 nations came together to vote unanimously for a new system that redefines the kilogram.
kilogram, the ampere (electrical current), the kelvin (thermodynamic temperature) and the mole (amount of a substance) were redefined at the conference.
The kilogram has been defined since 1889 by a shiny piece of platinum-iridium kept in a special glass case, the International Prototype of the Kilogram (IPK), also known as Le Grand K (The Big K). It is housed at the headquarters of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), just outside Paris.
Now the kilogram will be defined by the Planck Constant, denoted as h, is a physical constant that is the quantum of action, which relates the energy carried by a photon with the frequency of its electromagnetic wave.
designed and built to work in the same way a human brain does, has been fitted with its landmark one-millionth processor core and has been switched on for the first time.
The SpiNNaker is capable of completing more than 200 million actions per second, with each of its chips having 100 million transistors.
Biological neurons are basic brain cells present in the nervous system that communicate primarily by emitting spikes of pure electro-chemical energy.
Neuromorphic computing uses large scale computer systems containing electronic circuits to mimic these spikes in a machine.
One billion neurons is one per cent of the scale of the human brain, which consists of just under 100 billion brain cells, or neurons, which are all highly interconnected via approximately one quadrillion synapses.
European Human Brain Project
The HBP Flagship was launched by the European Commission’s Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) scheme in October 2013
HysIS (Hyper Spectral Imaging Satellite)
ISRO has successfully launched the PSLV-C43 mission that carried HysIS (Hyper Spectral Imaging Satellite) as part of its payload.
GSAT 29 launched
ISRO’s GSAT-29 communication satellite recently launched successfully by the second developmental flight of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III-D2) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
GSAT 29 – weighing 3,423 kg at lift-off, GSAT-29 is the heaviest satellite to be launched from India.
GSLV Mk III – three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle developed by ISRO. The vehicle has two solid strap-ons, a core liquid booster and a cryogenic upper stage.
Earth BioGenome Project
with an ambitious objective was recently announced to map the entire genome of every known animal, plant, fungus and protozoan on earth.
A decade-long experiment to map the genomes of roughly 1.5 million species — all the complex life forms known to man
China unveils heavenly palace space station ‘Tiangong’
a replica of its first permanently crewed space station, which would replace the international community’s orbiting laboratory and symbolises the country’s major ambitions beyond Earth.
The International Space Station – a collaboration between the US, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan, has been in operation since 1998 but is due to be retired in 2024.
INS Arihant
INS Arihant, India’s first nuclear ballistic missile submarine, has completed its first deterrence patrol.
With the induction of INS Arihant, India is ready with its nuclear triad – the capability of firing nuclear weapons from land, air and sea.
India has now become part of an elite club of countries – Russia, the US, China, France and the UK that possess nuclear ballistic missile submarines – the only non-Permanent member of UNSC having a sea-based nuclear deterrent.
India’s Nuclear Doctrine
made in 2003.
The basic principle of India’s nuclear doctrine is “No First Use”.
Nuclear weapons will only be used in retaliation against a nuclear attack on Indian Territory or on Indian forces anywhere.
10th Indian Ocean Naval Symposium
26 of the 32 countries that constitute the membership of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) are participating in the 10th edition of the event that commenced in Kochi
CCRAS Developed AYUSH Drug QOL-2C for Cancer Patients
