Q1. Recently, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar launched a 24×7 channel dedicated for Assam. Name of the channel is
Assam TV
Doordarshan Purnvanchal
Doordarshan Assam
NE Doordarshan
C. Doordarshan Assam
Channel telecasting from Doordarshan Kendra Assam situated at Guwahati. DD Assam is a channel exclusive for the state available on DD Free dish DTH, at channel no.0052.
Q2. Which district from Northeast region has been ranked second best in the NITI Aayog’s Aspirational District for the period of February-June 2020?
Kamrup
Ri-Bhoi
Hailakandi
Bishnupur
B. Ri-Bhoi
In January, 2018 the Government of India has launched the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ initiative with a vision of a New India by 2022 where the focus is to improve India’s ranking under Human Development Index, raising living standards of its citizens and ensuring inclusive growth of all.
Q3. Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel inaugrated “Thenzawl Golf Resort”, which is the first golf course of which Indian state?
Manipur
Nagaland
Mizoram
Tripura
C. Mizoram
The project was sanctioned under the Integrated Development of New Eco Tourism under the Swadesh Darshan-North East Circuit at Thenzawl. The project has been planned and created with an aim to provide fine quality golfing experience and this resort will generate employment for nearby villages and will promote tourism in the state.
Q4. How much amount was contributed by India to the India-UN development partnership fund?
$10.38 million
$15.46 million
$20.70 million
$25.20 million
B. $15.46 million
India has contributed the funds to the United Nations Office for South-south Cooperation (UNOSSC) as a permanent representative of the UN. Of this, 6 million USD to the overall fund and 9.46 million USD has been dedicated to the Commonwealth countries.
India-UN Development Partnership Fund is managed by UNOSSC which was established in 2017 with the aim to contribute to the efforts of developing countries towards the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Q5. Which state/UT planned to develop India’s first snow leopard conservation centre?
Jammu and Kashmir
Himachal Pradesh
Andaman and Nicobar
Uttarakhand
D. Uttarakhand
The aim of the project is to secure livelihoods, conservation, sustainable use and restoration of high range Himalayan ecosystems and also conversation of snow leopards and other endangered species and their habitats, found in Himalayas.
Q6. “India Report on Digital Education, 2020” has been launched virtually by which Ministry?
Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Civil Aviation
Ministry of Human Resource Development
Ministry of Culture
C. Ministry of Human Resource Development
The aim of the initiative is to assist teachers, scholars and students in their pursuit of learning. Some of the major medium to connect to the students were using WhatsApp Group for all the classes, Online classes through YouTube channel, Google meet, Skype etc., Some of the major digital initiatives Like Assam has launched the Biswa Vidya Assam Mobile Application for class 6 to 10. TRIPURA has an application titled ‘EmpowerU Shiksha Darpan’ in order to facilitate student’s appraisal.
Q7. Which company has partnered with Prasar Bharati for AI-enabled Independence Day celebration?
Microsoft
Facebook
IBM
Google
D. Google
Google India has collaborated with Prasar Bharati and Virtual Bharat for AI-enabled Independence Day celebration of India. The participants are only required to sing the National Anthem, then goggle by using Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology will convert that voice into any of the three traditional instruments enlisted by Google – shehnai, sarangi or bansuri.
Q8. Recently, which IIT researchers has received the Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Awards 2020 for generating electricity from wet clothes?
IIT Madras
IIT Bombay
IIT Guwahati
IIT Kharagpur
D. IIT Kharagpur
Another team from the institute was separately granted the same award for addressing the problem of energy conservation and thermal management in wearable and flexible electronic devices.
Q9. Nokia to set up Center of Excellence (CoE) for Networked Robotics at which Indian Institute?
IIT Hyderabad
IISc Bangalore
IIT Delhi
IIIT Bangalore
B. IISc Bangalore
Nokia Center of Excellence (CoE) for networked robotics will promote interdisciplinary research involving robotics, advanced communication technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) to develop socially relevant use cases across areas like emergency management, agriculture and industrial automation.
Q10. Who is appointed as the new Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir?
Girish Chandra Murmu
Rajesh Bhushan
Pradeep Kumar Joshi
Manoj Sinha
D. Manoj Sinha
The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir is the head of state of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He is appointed by the President of India. A Council of Ministers led by a Chief Minister is appointed by him from the membership of the legislative assembly. He also has the power to promulgate ordinances which have the same force as the acts of the legislative assembly.
Natasurya Phani Sarma Award to Aishwarya Kakati and Bhabesh Baruah
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal presented Natasurya Phani Sarma Award for the year 2020 to renowned theatre artistes Aishwarya Kakati and Bhabesh Baruah. The award comprises a sarai, commendation, man bastra and a cheque of Rs 2 lakh each.
A financial outlay of Rs 1.5 crore has been earmarked for the preservation of the samadhikshetra of Natasurya Phani Sarma.
The State government would set up a museum in memory of the cultural doyens like Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, Bishnu Prasad Rabha, Natasurya Phani Sarma and Dr Bhupen Hazarika.
BIOGRAPHY – Phani Sarma (1910–1970)
Phani Sarma was an Indian theatre actor, playwright, film actor and director.
In 1933 Phani Sarma starred in the first Assamese film, Joymati, directed by Jyoti Prasad Agarwala.
He acted in Agarwalla’s second picture Indramalati. And acted and directed Siraj in 1948 and Pioli Phukan in 1955.
Rajesh Bhushan appointed as Union Health Secretary
IAS officer Rajesh Bhushan took charge as the Union health secretary. He will succeed Preeti Sudan.
A 1987 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer, he was appointed Officer on Special Duty in the Ministry of Health in April 2020.
FACTFILE – Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is an Indian government ministry charged with health policy in India and for all government programs relating to family planning in India.
The Minister of Health and Family Welfare holds cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers.
The Ministry publishes the Indian Pharmacopoeia through the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), an autonomous body for setting standards for drugs, pharmaceuticals and healthcare devices and technologies in India
Andhra Pradesh approves bills for trifurcation of state capital
Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan gave his assent to the AP Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020, and the AP Capital Region Development Authority (Repeal) Bill, 2020, passed by the State Legislature.
One bill is for abolition of Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) that was created during the previous Telugu Desam Party (TDP) regime for building the capital in Amaravati, the other is aimed at decentralizing the administration by creating three state capitals.
The government plans to shift the executive capital to Visakhapatnam, judicial capital to Kurnool and retain Amaravati as the legislative capital.
The Governor had reportedly sought legal opinion on the procedure involved in the passage of the bills Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020 and the Bill to repeal AP Capital Region Development Authority Act, 2014
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) signs agreement with KVICfor supplies
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) an agreement with the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), becoming the first among the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) to get supplies from the Commission.
A total of 1,200 quintal of mustard oil is being procured from the KVIC by the ITBP with a total financial implication of Rs 1.73 crore.
It was decided during a meeting held at the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Directors General of the CAPFs in October last year that the use of terry Khadi uniform and other items of swadeshi origin should be made available to the CAPFs.
The ITBP had suggested that dhurries, blankets, towels, mustard oil, yoga kit, hospital bed sheets, pickels can be purchased for the forces through KVIC.
DIAT develops ‘Aashray’ medical bed isolationto combat COVID-19
Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, (DIAT) has developed ‘Aashray’, a medical bed isolation system to combat COVID-19 by preventing or minimising the spread of the virus.
This medical bed isolation is a low cost, reusable solution to maintain proper isolation of COVID-19 patients by creating a suction or negative pressure near exhale.
The product is modular and portable in design and can be suitable for different requirements such as institutional, hospitals and home/individual quarantine.
Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya second best inNITI Aayog’s Aspirational districts ranking
Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya has ranked second best in the list of aspirational districts ranked by NITI Aayog for the period of 2020 February-June.
While Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh has topped the list of aspirational districts, Bahraich of Uttar Pradesh have been placed at the second and third positions respectively. And Nawada district in Bihar has been ranked fourth and Moga district in Punjab is at the fifth place.
Health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion, skill development and basic infrastructure were the development areas that were taken into consideration for the ranking.
The aspirational districts programme, launched in January 2018, aims to transform districts that have shown relatively lesser progress in key social areas and have emerged as pockets of under-development.
Gujarat to set up Gujarat Skills Development Corporation (GSDC)
With the help of the National Skills Development Corporation (NSDC), the Gujarat government will be setting up the Gujarat Skills Development Corporation (GSDC), with seed fund of Rs 100 crore.
the state government will have 25 per cent share in the corporation, while 24 per cent stakeholding will be that of NSDC. The remaining 51 per cent of the share will be held by 10 private companies in equal proportion.
Gujarat government has already provisioned Rs 30 crore in the budget 2020-21 for the purpose.
The GSDC will be supporting and creating high quality skills training institutes in the state and will carry out activities such as skills financing, CSR lead skilling, capacity building, industry connect, market analytics, international collaboration knowledge and advisory services and NSQF courses, which are presently undertaken by the NSDC.
Hamed Bakayoko is the new Prime Minister of Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara chose Hamed Bakayoko to be the Prime Minster of the country.
FACTFILE – Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d’Ivoire, is a country located on the south coast of West Africa.
Ivory Coast’s capital is Yamoussoukro in the centre of the country, while its largest city is the port city of Abidjan.
Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs receives SKOCH Gold Award
Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs has received SKOCH Gold Award for its Empowerment of Tribals through IT enabled Scholarship Schemes project of Scholarship Divison of the Ministry.
The 66thSKOCH 2020 Competition was entitled “INDIA RESPONDS TO COVID THROUGH DIGITAL GOVERNANCE”.
To assimilate with the larger vision of ‘Digital India’ and to realize the cherished goal of e-governance, MoTA has integrated all 5 Scholarship Schemes with DBT Portal under the guidance of DBT Mission. The portal provides facility to States for data sharing through Web services and States can up-load proposal, UCs and SOE online.
6th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting held in Russia
Environment Ministers of the five BRICS countries i.e. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa participated in the 6th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting which was conducted virtually.
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar represented India and he expressed that the aspirations of the grouping are similar and best practices among the BRICS nations towards attainment of Sustainable Development Goals should be shared.
India will assume the BRICS Presidency in 2021.
FACTFILE – BRICS
BRICS is the acronym coined for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Since 2009, the BRICS nations have met annually at formal summits.
The Five BRICS countries represented over 3.1 billion people and four of five members are in the top 10 of the world by population.
These five nations had a combined GDP of US$18.6 trillion which is about 23.2% of the gross world product.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Assam unit and the National Cadet Corps (NCC) Directorate for the Northeastern Region, signed an agreement to engage more NCC volunteers to deal with children’s’ issues in the North East.
These two organizations will involve young people in planning, designing initiatives and communications on critical children issues, and provide them with opportunities to share their stories.
The goal is to reach out to 1 million young people in the North East as change-makers and create spaces for developing their leadership.
Serum Institute gets DCGI nod for clinical trials of Oxford vaccine
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given approval to Pune’s Serum Institute of India to conduct clinical trials of Oxford University-Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine in India.
The Serum Institute of India(SII) received approval after a thorough evaluation based on the recommendations of the Subject Expert Committee on COVID-19.
The Oxford University-Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccine candidate is in the midst of Phase II and III clinical trials in the UK, Phase III trials in Brazil, and Phase I and II clinical trials in South Africa.
MSME Minister approves Khadi Agarbatti Aatmanirbhar Mission
Union Minister for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) Nitin Gadkari has approved a scheme to raise production of ‘agarbatti’ to make India self-reliant on this product.
The Khadi Agarbatti Aatmanirbhar Mission, proposed by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), eyes employment generation as well as making India self-reliant in agarbatti production. It will aid the private incense sticks makers scale up production without any capital investment by them.
The KVIC will provide automatic incense sticks production and powder mixing machines to artisans by the private agarbatti manufacturers who will sign the agreement as business partners.
The KVIC will provide a 25 per cent subsidy and recover in easy instalments the rest cost of machine from artisans every month.
The business partner will provide raw material to artisans and will pay them wages on work basis. The cost of training of artisans will be shared by the KVIC and the private business partner on 75:25 per cent basis.
Hyderabad airport gets UNICEF-funded Mass Fever Screening System
Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) has received a UNICEF-funded a mass fever screening system to further enhance the efficacy of screening of passengers in view of COVID-19 pandemic.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in coordination with the Asian Development Bank, has provided state-of-the-art thermal scanner funded by the UNICEF.
The system automatically adjusts and adapts to the surrounding ambient temperature without any human intervention. Thus provides easy identification of passengers with elevated temperature, while simplifying operations and minimizing handling.
The Hyderabad Airport continues to handle the international relief flights under the government of India’s largest offshore evacuation programme of Vande Bharat Mission (VBM).
Northern Railway runs first-ever Vyapar Mala Express train to Tripura’s Jirania
The Indian Railways ran a special type of cargo service for transportation of cargo through the first “Vyapar Mala Express”. Traders book part of the goods carrying rake as per their requirement or supply order.
The first “Vyapar Mala Express” which started from Delhi’s Kishanganj station to reach Tripura’s Jirania station.
India’s first snow leopard conservation centre to be set up in Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat announced that India’s first conservation centre for snow leopards is to be set up in the forests of Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.
The centre to be developed by the Uttarakhand forest department along with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will work for conservation, restoration of Himalayan ecosystems, and creating livelihoods for local people.
The project also aims at the conservation of other endangered species along with the snow leopards.
Snow leopards are one of the most enigmatic wild cat species due to their reclusive nature. There are around 86 snow leopards in Uttarakhand right now.
In 2017, the central government had launched the six-year ‘SECURE Himalaya’ project, to support the conservation of the significant biodiversity of the mountain regions, including conservation projects of animals and forest resources spread over Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim.
Andhra Pradesh ties up with India’s FMCG majors to empower women
Andhra Pradesh government signed a pact with three FMCG major – Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), ITC and Procter and Gamble (P&G), for marketing and technology support for economic empowerment of women under two new schemes of the state.
An Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in the virtual presence of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, HUL Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Mehta, ITC Executive Director Sanjiv Puri and P&G India CEO Madhusudan Gopalan.
The FMCG companies will give handholding to women under the YSR Cheyutha scheme, to be launched shortly, that aims to provide annual financial assistance of Rs 18,750 for next four years to women of 45-60 years age group belonging to SC/ST and backward class and minorities communities.
They will also help in providing marketing opportunities and technology support to women under this proposed scheme.
The AP government also plans to launch YSR Asara Scheme in September 2020 under which Rs 6,700 crore will be spent annually on 90 lakh women and 9 lakh self-help groups in the state.
Andhra launches virtual campaign ‘E-RakshaBandhan’on cybercrimes against women
Andhra Pradesh CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched ‘E-RakshaBandhan’ campaign aimed at creating public awareness on cybercrimes against women and children.
The virtual cybercrime awareness programme jointly developed by Andhra Pradesh Police and Crime Investigation Department (CID), will focus on ensuring the safety of women and children in cyber space.
The campaign aims at creating awareness among the public on the sharp rise in cybercrimes, would be conducted through online sessions in the form of webinars, workshops, competition, covering different topics related to cybercrimes.
IIT Madras and Helyxon deploy remote monitoring device for Covid-19 patients
IITMadras’ Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre (HTIC) and Helyxon, a healthcare startup, have developed an AI-backed remote patient monitoring system ‘OXY2 ‘ for Covid-19 to keep tabs on critical parameters like temperature, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate and heart rate.
Equipped with geo-fencing tracking alerts, the OXY2 can keep a tab on the patient’s vital parameters and inform the medical staff about any aberration.
The device is completely self-contained, portable, wireless and can be clipped on to patient’s finger and data is streamed to a central monitoring system or any smart phone.
UAE becomes 1st Arab Nation to open a Nuclear Power Plant
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has begun start-up operations in the initial unit of its first nuclear power plant at the Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi.
The $22.4 billion Barakah nuclear power plant on the Gulf coast west of Abu Dhabi is being developed by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).
When fully operational, the four reactors will generate 5,600 megawatts (MW).
To diversify its energy economy, reduce dependence on fossil fuels and project its image as a regional leader in science and technology, the UAE has started this project.
A 24-hour channel Doordarshan Assam dedicated was launched by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar.
The Doordarshan channel in Assam is part of a new-found focus on northeast region.
Doordarshan Assam would also be contributing in a major way to the educational development of the state like other regional channels and it will be another milestone in the government’s effort to provide online education in regional languages across states.
Doordarshan Assam which will include serials, music programmes, travelogues, reality shows, feature films etc and will have ethnic touch highlighting cuisine, folk culture and tribal life of the state and region.
Nokia Centre of Excellenceto set up robotics lab at IISc Bengaluru
Finnish firm Nokia announced collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru to establish a network robotics laboratory for research on socially relevant use cases based on 5G and emerging technologies.
The Nokia Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Networked Robotics will promote interdisciplinary research involving robotics, advanced communication technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to develop use cases across areas like emergency management, agriculture and industrial automation, engagement and cooperation between academia, start-ups and industry ecosystem partners in research.
The tie-up would to help IISc in capacity building and human resources development in cutting-edge technology of robotics, 5G and autonomous systems.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diulaunches E-GyanMitra mobile app for online education
Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu has launched E-GyanMitra mobile app for online education.
Through this app, the students from primary till the higher secondary can take online classes and give there tests/exams.
The teachers will post the lectures and quiz for the students and the student can access those lectures, the teacher can monitor the progress of the students learning.
FACTFILE – Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is a union territory in western India.
It was created through the merger of the former union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu on 26 January 2020.
The UT is made up of four separate geographical entities Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman and the island of Diu, which were part of Portuguese India.
Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan launches ‘Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan 2020-21
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan launched ‘Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan, 2020-21, a national programme for popularizing science among school students.
This is a platform to indentify the talented minds with a scientific aptitude in the field of science and to promote the scientific acumen among the students.
Manoj Sinha appointed as new Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir
Former Union Minister Manoj Sinha has been appointed the new Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, after the resignation of Girish Chandra Murmu who is appointed as the new CAG of India.
Manoj Sinha was born on July 1, 1959 in Mohanpura of Ghazipur district of eastern UP.
He has served as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Communications and Minister of State for Railways in the Government of India.
FACTFILE – Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir
The Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir is the head of state of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The office of lieutenant governor was established after an Act was passed in August 2019 in the Parliament of India, reorganising the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories; Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on 31 October 2019.
Provisions contained within the act created the positions of Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh.
India contributes over USD 15 million to India-UN Development Partnership Fund
India has contributed around USD 15.5 million to the India-UN Development Partnership Fund, as per its commitment to supporting developing nations in their developmental priorities across all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti handed over a cheque of USD 15.46 million to the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) Director Jorge Chediek.
The tranche of USD 15.46 million includes USD 6 million to the overall fund, in which all the developing countries are eligible for partnership, and USD 9.46 million dedicated to the Commonwealth countries.
FACTFILE – India-UN Development Partnership Fund
The India-UN Development Partnership Fund was started in 2017
It is managed by the UNOSSC and implemented under the leadership of partner developing countries leveraging the strengths of United Nations Agencies, Funds and Programmes.
Till now as many as 55 projects and proposals have been approved to date with a total contribution of USD 41.8 million towards a USD 150 million multi-year pledge.
Union Agriculture Minister launches Sahakar Cooptube NCDC Channel
Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched the SahakarCooptube NCDC Channel, a new initiative by National Cooperative Development Corporation.
The Minister also launched guidance videos produced by NCDC on ‘Formation and Registration of a Cooperative’ for eighteen different states in Hindi and regional languages.
Union Government under AtmaNirbhar Bharat has recently announced a series of transformative measures and sector specific financial packages to help agriculture.
The initiatives are steps taken with the objective for India to become food factory of the world.
Punjab to distributing smartphones to HS students
The Punjab Cabinet approved for distribution of 1,73,823 smartphones to students of government schools, who are preparing to take their Class XII board exams with the help of online education amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The phones will be equipped with various smart features such as touch screen, camera and pre-loaded government applications like the ‘e-Sewa App’ with e-content related to Class XI and Class XII, as approved by the Department of School Education.
The Cabinet noted that four months of the academic year 2020-21 had already elapsed without regular on campus classes, and while private schools are conducting online classes, the students of government schools are facing a competitive disadvantage, especially those studying in Class XII.
Union Cabinet approved National Education Policy 2020
The Union Cabinet approved the National Education Policy 2020, with proposal for large scale, transformational reforms in both school and higher education sectors.
This education policy replaces the thirty-four year old National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986.
Based on the foundational pillars of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability, this policy is aligned to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and aims to transform India into a knowledge society and global knowledge superpower by making education more flexible, multidisciplinary and pragmatic.
Some of the important proposals under the new policy are
New Policy aims for Universalization of Education from pre-school to secondary level with 100 % Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030, by bringing 2 crore children, who are out of school children, back into the main stream.
Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education to be raised to 50 % by 2035. For this purpose an additional 3.5 crore seats to be added in higher education
New 5+3+3+4 school curriculum with 12 years of schooling and 3 years of Anganwadi/ Pre-schooling
Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, no rigid separation between academic streams, extracurricular, vocational streams in schools. Vocational Education to start from Class 6 with Internships
Assessment reforms with 360 degree Holistic Progress Card, tracking Student Progress for achieving Learning Outcomes.
Higher Education curriculum to have Flexibility of Subjects and Multiple Entry / Exit to be allowed with appropriate certification.
Teaching upto at least Grade 5 to be in mother tongue/ regional language. Promotes Multilingualism in both schools and Higher Education.
Academic Bank of Credits to be established to facilitate Transfer of Credits
National Research Foundation to be established to foster a strong research culture.
National Educational Technology Forum to be created to facilitate and promote use of technology with equity.
To set up a Gender Inclusion Fund,Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups.
National Institute for Pali, Persian and Prakrit , Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation to be set up.
Odisha becomes first state to get ‘Tsunami Ready’ tag
Odisha has become the first state to get two coastal villages ‘tsunami ready’, this also makes the India to become the first in the Indian Ocean region to achieve the honour.
Venkatraipur village of Ganjam district and Noliasahi village of Jagatsinghpur district have been acknowledged by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO for greater preparedness to face the tsunami disaster.
In a virtual event to be organised by Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS) Secretariat in Perth, Australia and the Indian Ocean Tsunami Information Centre (IOTIC) in Jakarta, Indonesia, ‘Certificate of Recognition’ will be handed over to the communities of Venkatraipur and Noliasahi as Tsunami Ready villages.
The Indian Ocean Tsunami Ready Programme of IOC-UNESCO is a community performance-based programme that facilitates tsunami preparedness as an active collaboration of the community, community leaders, and national and local emergency management agencies. It aims to improve coastal community preparedness for tsunami emergencies, to minimise the loss of life and property and to ensure structural and systematic approach in building community preparedness.
Regular tsunami mock drills are being conducted in the tsunami-prone villages as a part of International Tsunami Drills and National Tsunami drills. The Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS) for last-mile connectivity has been set up in the tsunami-prone villages.
Pradeep Kumar Joshi appointed as new Chairman of UPSC
Professor Pradeep Kumar Joshi is appointed as the new chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) that conducts the civil services and other class job selection examinations.
Joshi, currently a member in the Commission, will succeed Arvind Saxena who completes his term as UPSC chairman.
Earlier he was the chairman of both Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh Public Service Commissions. He joined the UPSC as member in May 2015.
Other members of UPSC are Bhim Sain Bassi, Air Marshal A S Bhonsle (retired), Sujata Mehta, Manoj Soni, Smita Nagaraj, M Sathiyavathy Bharat Bhushan Vyas, T C A Anant and Rajiv Nayan Choubey.
FACTFILE – Union Public Service Commission
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is India’s premier central recruiting agency, responsible for appointments to and examinations for All India services and group A & group B of Central services.
The agency’s charter is granted by Part XIV of the Constitution of India, titled as Services Under the Union and the States.
It is also required to be consulted by the Government in matters relating to the appointment, transfer, promotion and disciplinary matters. The commission reports directly to the President and can advise the Government through him.
It was originally established on 1 October 1926 as Public Service Commission, it was later reconstituted as Federal Public Service Commission by the Government of India Act 1935.
UPSC is one of the few institutions which function with both autonomy and freedom.
India’s first Kisan Special Parcel Train flagged off from Devlali Railway Station
Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar flagged off the India’s first Kisan Special Parcel Train ‘ Kisan Rail’ which will transport material between Maharashtra’s Devlali and Bihar’s Danapur Railway station.
The Kisan Rail will carry fruits and vegetables and will make stoppages at several stations and pick-up and deliver them. It will halt at Nasik Road, Manmad, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Burhanpur, Khandwa, ltarsi, Jabalpur, Satna, Katni, Manikpur, PrayagrajChheoki, PanditDeendayalUpadhyay Nagar and Buxar.
This initiative will help in bringing perishable agricultural products like vegetables, fruits to the market in a short period of time. The Kisan Rail train with frozen containers is expected to build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables, inclusive of fish, meat and milk.
Maharashtra & Google tie-up to deploy learning tools for schools
The Maharashtra govt announced a partnership with Google that will enable 2.3 crore students and teachers to access the technology giant’s blended learning programmes that combine classroom approach with online learning.
Google will deploy free tools like G Suite for Education, Google Classroom and Google Meet to facilitate remote learning.
The School Education Department will provide individual educators and students with their own G Suite ID to ensure every student – irrespective of their location – experiences continuity in learning.
Andrzej Duda sworn in President of Poland for 2nd term
Andrzej Duda was sworn in as the President of Poland for his second five-year term in office after he was re-elected.
He is the second president in post-communist Poland to win a second five-year term, after Aleksander Kwasniewski from 1995 to 2005.
Duda won the run-off elections with with 51.03 per cent of the votes, while his rival, Warsaw Mayor RafalTrzaskowski received 48.97 per cent.
FACTFILE – Poland
Poland is a country located in Central Europe.
It has an area of 312,696 square kilometres and has a largely temperate seasonal climate.
With a population of nearly 38.5 million people, Poland is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union.
Poland’s capital and largest metropolis is Warsaw.
Q1. Who among the following have been awarded with “Natasurya Phani Sarma Award for the year” 2020?
Dulal Roy and Arati Das Boiragi
Bhola Kakoti and Nipon Goswami
Uaday Shankar Siakia
Aishwarya Kakati and Bhabesh Baruah
D. Aishwarya Kakati and Bhabesh Baruah
The award comprises a sarai, commendation, man bastra and a cheque of Rs 2 lakh each.
Natasurya Phani Sarma had made tremendous contributions to the cultural field of Assam and through his work. He unified the greater Assamese society cutting across linguistic, religious and all other divides.
Q2. Northern Railway today ran it’s first-ever Vyapar Mala Express train from Punjab and was destined to which state?
Manipur
Arunachal Pradesh
Nagaland
Tripura
D. Tripura
This train destined for Jirania in Tripura has 46 wagons. It will help small traders in moving their cargo through Railways, in a short time, cost effective, convenient and environment-friendly mode of transportation.
Q3. Government of India has approved the setting up of the Directorate of AYUSH in which state?
Assam
Meghalaya
Tripura
Manipur
B. Meghalaya
The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) is purposed with developing education, research and propagation of indigenous alternative medicine systems in India.
The state government has also proposed another 22 health and wellness centres for the current financial year 2020-21.
Q4. The government of India unveiled the new National Education Policy (NEP) that introduced several changes in Indian education system-from school to college level. This new policy will replace
National Education Policy (NEP) 1968
National Education Policy (NEP) 1992
National Education Policy (NEP) 1990
National Education Policy (NEP) 1986
D. National Education Policy (NEP) 1986
The National Education Policy was framed in 1986 and modified in 1992. The Right to Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act) provides for free and compulsory education to all children from the age of six to 14 years. The new draft Policy recommends the extension of the Right to Education Act 2009 to all children between the ages of 3 to 18 years.
Q5. Which Ministry receives SKOCH Gold Award in digital India category for Empowerment of Tribals through IT enabled Scholarship Schemes project?
Ministry of Human Resource Development
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Ministry of Tribal Affairs
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
C. Ministry of Tribal Affairs
The SKOCH Awards were presented over a virtual platform at the 66th SKOCH Summit at New Delhi.
Skoch Award is the highest civilian honour in the country conferred by an independent organisation. The awards recognise leadership and excellence in accelerating socio-economic changes. Conferred to people, projects and institutions.
Q6. Governor of which state has gave his nod to three state-capital bills and CRDA Repeal Bills 2020 recently?
Uttar Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
B. Andhra Pradesh
The new tri-capital plan involves setting up executive, legislative and judicial capitals at Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Kurnool respectively.
Q7. United Launch Alliance (ULA) and which space agency has recently launched Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission to Red Planet?
NASA
ISRO
JAXA
CNES
A. NASA
The main aim of the Mars Perseverance Rover is to seek signs of ancient life and collect rock and soil samples for a possible return to Earth.
Q8. Name the book recently launched by the Union Minister Smriti Irani and Gajendra Singh Shekhawa which contains essays on Swachh Bharat Mission?
Swachh Bharat Sapna
Swachh Bharat Kranti
Swastha Bharat
Nirmal Bharat
B. Swachh Bharat Kranti
‘Swachh Bharat Revolution’ has been translated into Hindi by Shri Parameswaran Iyer, and is published as Swachh Bharat Kranti. The book aims at capturing the remarkable journey of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) through 35 essays from various stakeholders and contributors of Swachh Bharat Missionwho have shared their perspective on this social revolution.
Q9. Which country will host the 6th annual meeting of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2021?
UAE
Denmark
France
China
A. UAE
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank which was proposed by China in 2013 and the initiative was launched at a ceremony in Beijing in 2014. The bank started operation after the agreement entered into force in 2015. The bank currently has 103 members as well as 20 prospective members from around the world. Its aim is to support the building of infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region.
Q10. SABIC chemical plant, which is set to become world’s first-of-its-kind to operate on 100 per cent renewable power, is in which country?
Spain
Qatar
Ukarine
Brazil
A. Spain
SABIC’s polycarbonate facility in Spain is set to become the world’s first large scale chemical production plant which will run entirely on renewable power after a major agreement was signed with , an electricity utility company Iberdrola.
Q2. Where is the headquarter of Bodo Sahitya Sabha located?
Kokrajhar
Baksa
Udalguri
Chirang
A. Kokrajhar
Kokrajhar is a town in the Bodoland Territorial Region an autonomous territory in Assam. It is the headquarters of Kokrajhar district and the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC). It is located along the bank of Gaurang River.
Q3. Bodo Sahitya Sabha was founded under the presidency of
Samar Brahama Choudhury
Padmashree Modaram Brahma
Joy Bhadra Hagjer
Kanakeswar Narzary
C. Joy Bhadra Hagjer
Q4. Who was the first General Secretary of Bodo Sahitya Sabha?
Dharanidhar Basumatary
Sonaram Thaosen
Upendra Nath Brahma
Karendra Basumatary
B. Sonaram Thaosen
Q5. Bodo language was introduced as a medium of instruction at primary level in the year
1961
1962
1963
1964
C. 1963
Bodo language was introduced in 1963 as a medium of instruction in the primary schools and at secondary level in the year 1968 in Boro dominated areas. It is official language of the Bodoland autonomous region and co-official language of of Assam.
Q6. Bodo language has been included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution under which Amendment?
73rd Amendment
82nd Amendment
89th Amendment
92nd Amendment
D. 92nd Amendment
The 92nd Constitutional amendment Act amended the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution so as to include Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santali languages.
The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India lists the official languages of the Republic of India.
Q7. Which among the following is/are correct about Bodo Sahitya Sabha?
The main aim of the Sabha was the preservation and promotion of the Bodo language and culture.
It consisted of representatives of Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and Nepal in abroad.
In 1985, Bodo has been recognized as an associated state official language of Assam.
All of the above
D. All of the above
Q8. Who was selected for the Sahitya Akademi Annual Award- 2019 for his Poetry ‘Akhai Athumniphrai’?
Phukan Chandra Basumatary
Rituraj Basumatary
Guneswar Musahary
Brajendra Kumar Brahma
A. Phukan Chandra Basumatary
Q9. Bodo language has been recognised as an associate state official language of Assam in which year?
1968
1985
1874
1990
B. 1985
Q10. Who is the present President of Bodo Sahitya Sabha?
Q1. Which is the first city from Northeast to get a manhole cleaning robot ‘BANDICOOT’ to ensure minimal human involvement to clean the sewers?
Agartala
Guwahati
Itanagar
Aizawl
B. Guwahati
The automatic sewer cleaning device has been procured by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC). The device was developed by a Start-up India company called Genrobotics under the Make in India initiative, funded by CSR of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL).
Q2. Which state government recently deployed drone and anti-depredation quick response vehicle to guard forest areas?
West Bengal
Assam
Bihar
Kerala
B. Assam
This drone would be able to narrow-cast any purported movement of the poachers and would delve a blow to poaching in the national parks, wild life sanctuaries and other reserve forests.
Q3. As per the National Education Policy 2020, the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to be raised to what percent by 2035?
35%
25%
50%
60%
C. 50%
New Policy aims for universalization of education from pre-school to secondary level with 100 % Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030. Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to be raised to 50% by 2035, with addition of 3.5 crore seats.
Q4. The book “The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World” authored by
Venkaiah Naidu
Rajdeep Sardesai
S Jaishankar
Amartya Sen
C. S Jaishankar
Q5. Name the mobile application launched by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) recently?
Weather
Climate
Megha
Mausam
D. Mausam
This app is designed to communicate the weather information and forecasts to the general public. The app will forecast weather conditions of around 450 cities, which will show the weather conditions of the past 24 hours and seven days. It will also help to show radar images
Q6. Government of India recently inaugurated ‘World Class State of Art Honey Testing Laboratory’ in which state?
Tripura
Gujarat
Nagaland
Andhra Pradesh
B. Gujarat
The testing lab was established by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in Anand, Gujarat with support of NBB (National Bee Board).
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has now notified new standards of Honey, Bee Wax and Royal Jelly.
Q7. Which institute has recently developed medical bed isolation system named ‘Aashray’?
Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT)
Christian Medical College (CMC)
Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL)
Madra Medical College (MMC)
A. Defence Institute of Advanced Techology (DIAT)
Medical bed isolation system is a low cost, reusable solution to maintain proper isolation of COVID-19 patients. The product is modular and portable in design and can be suitable for different requirements.
Q8. Green-Agriculture, a project funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF) was launched in which state recently?
Telangana
Mizoram
Odisha
Sikkim
B. Mizoram
Mizoram is first among the five states where the project is to be implemented. The other four states are Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.
Q9. Who represents India in 6th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting through video conference?
Prakash Javadekar
Nirmala Sitharaman
Ramvilas Paswan
Harsimrat Kaur Badal
A. Prakash Jaadekar
BRICS is the acronym for the combined economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The first BRIC Summit took place in 2009 in the Russian Federation and focused on issues such as reform of the global financial architecture. South Africa was invited to join BRIC in December 2010, after which the group adopted the acronym BRICS.
Q10. Who has won the Lifetime Excellence Award 2020 in Earth System Science for his major contribution in the field of Biostratigraphy, Geology and Vertebrate Paleontology?
Anil Prakash Joshi
Usha Chaumar
Trinity Saioo
Professor Ashok Sahni
D. Professor Ashok Sahni
Earth system science (ESS) is the application of systems science to the Earth. It focuses on the operation of the whole Earth, including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere.
HRD Minister launches ‘India Report on Digital Education 2020’
Union Minister for HRD Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ virtually launched India Report on Digital Education, 2020, which elaborates on the innovative methods adopted by Ministry of HRD, Education Departments of States and Union Territories for ensuring accessible and inclusive education to children at home and reducing learning gaps.
Ministry of Human Resource Development has initiated many projects like DIKSHA platform, Swayam Prabha TV Channel, Online MOOC courses, On Air – Shiksha Vani, DAISY by NIOS for differently-abled, e-PathShala, National Repository of Open Educational Resources to develop e-content and energized books, telecast through TV channels, E-learning portals , webinars and other digital initiatives along with State/ UT Governments.
The report has been prepared by Digital Education Division of MHRD in consultation with Education Departments of States and UTs.
School Education is envisaged as a comprehensive and convergent programme committed to universalize digital education across the wide spectrum of schools from pre-nursery to higher secondary classes.
Various State and Union Territories Governments have also managed the critical task of providing digital education at the doorstep of the students, social media tools like WhatsApp Group, Online classes through YouTube channel and Google meet.
States and UTs have also distributed textbooks at children’s doorsteps.
India can be major agro products exporter with effective policy
A study conducted by MVIRDC World Trade Center Mumbai shows that India can emerge as top five exporters of agro commodities in the world, if governments take effective measures to handhold farmers.
Through focused intervention in capacity building, India can enhance its agro export to surpass Thailand and Indonesia and become the fifth largest exporter in the world.
The government should re-orient the role of its extension centres, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), to handhold farmers in growing those varieties of crops that are demanded in the global market.
KVKs should guide farmers on prudential use of pesticides and other agro chemicals so that they conform to the global quality standards, so that India’s export consignments are rejected because of presence of higher level of pesticides.
India has made remarkable progress in export of niche products such as capsicum chilly, castor oil, tobacco extracts; and also made considerable progress in export of basmati rice, meat and marine products.
As per latest WTO data, India ranks eighth with annual agro exports of $39 billion, after EU, USA, Brazil, China, Canada, Indonesia and Thailand.
As per FAO data, India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world but its share in world exports is 1.7-1.8 per cent.
IRCTC, SBI Card launch new Co-branded contactless Credit Card
IRCTC and SBI Card together launched their new Co-branded Contactless Credit Card on RuPay Platform.
The new RuPay credit card is equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC), with which, users can expedite their transactions at the POS machines by just tapping the card on the machines.
Hetero launches generic Covid-19 drug Favivir
Drug firm Hetero has launched genericoral antiviral drug Favipiravir used for treatment of patients with mild to moderate Covid-19, in India under the brand name ‘Favivir’ at Rs 59 per tablet.
The company has been granted the manufacturing and marketing approval for Favipiravir from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI).
Favivir is the second drug developed by Hetero after Covifor (Remdesivir) used in the treatment of Covid-19.
This medication has demonstrated positive clinical outcomes, it improves treatment accessibility to a significant amount of Covid-19 patient population, which have mild to moderate symptoms.
July 30, 2020
Union Cabinet approves National Education Policy 2020
The Union Cabinet approved the National Education Policy 2020, with large scale, transformational reforms in both school and higher education sectors in the country.
This education policy will replace the thirty-four year old National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986.
Built on the foundational pillars of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability, this policy is aligned to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and aims to transform India into a vibrant knowledge society and global knowledge superpower by making both education more holistic, flexible, multidisciplinary, suited to present needs.
New Education Policy aims for Universalization of Education from pre-school to secondary level with 100 % Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) in school education by 2030, by bringing 2 crore out of school children back into the main stream.
It proposes new 5+3+3+4 school curriculum with 12 years of schooling and 3 years of Anganwadi/ Pre-schooling. It also emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, no rigid separation between academic streams, extracurricular, vocational streams in schools. And teaching upto at least Grade 5 to be in mother tongue/ regional language.
GER in higher education to be raised to 50 % by 2035 ; and additional 3.5 crore seats to be added in higher education. Higher Education curriculum is also to have more flexibility of Subjects, with multiple entry / exit to be allowed with appropriate certification.
Academic Bank of Credits to be established to facilitate Transfer of Credits.
National Research Foundation to be established to foster a strong research culture
Light but Tight Regulation of Higher Education, single regulator with four separate verticals for different functions
Affiliation System to be phased out with graded autonomy to colleges.
The new policy also advocates increased use of technology with equity; and for these purpose a National Educational Technology Forum to be created.
NEP 2020 promotes Multilingualism in both schools and HEs; National Institute for Pali, Persian and Prakrit , Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation to be set up.
Earth Sciences Ministry announces National Awards for excellence in Earth System Science
Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) announced National Awards for excellence in Earth System Science. The Life Time Excellence Award is being awarded to Professor Ashok Sahni for his significant contribution in the field of Geology, Vertebrate Paleontology and Biostratigraphy.
The National Award for Ocean Science and technology is being awarded to Dr. V. V. S. S. Sarma, Senior Principal Scientist, CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Vishakapatnam and Dr. M. Ravichandran, Director, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Goa. Dr. S. Suresh Babu will be awarded the National Award for Atmospheric Science and Technology.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) provides the nation with the best possible services for weather, climate, ocean, coastal and natural hazards, for the Public Safety and socio-economic benefits. It also deals with exploration and sustainable harnessing of ocean resources – living and non-living.
MoES-Knowledge Resource Centre Network launched
Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has launched the “MoES-Knowledge Resource Centre Network (KRCNet)” under the Digital India initiative of Government of India.
The Ministry aims to develop a World-Class Knowledge Resource Centre Network (KRCNet). The traditional libraries of the MoES system will be upgraded into a top-notch Knowledge Resource Centres (KRC).
KRCs will be interconnected and integrated into the KRCNet portal. It will be a single point entry to the intellectual assets of the ministry.
Salient objectives of the MoES-Knowledge Resource Centre Network (KRCNet)
Establish a Total Quality Management (TQM) system by securing ISO certification for documenting MoESknowledge resources, its maintenance, easy retrieval and dissemination.
Collect, collate, analyze, index, store and disseminate the intellectual resources, products and project outputs available in MoES headquarter and its institutes.
Develop and maintain an up-to-date meta-data of the print & digital resources available in MoES headquarter and MoES institutes, including MoES services.
Provide 24X7 access to the subscribed knowledge contents through the KRCNet portal.
Application of information analytical tools & techniques like bibliometrics, scientometrics, big-data analytics, social media analytics etc., for policy formulation, report preparation and information dissemination.
Periodically organize training workshops to popularize usage of electronic journals, databases, digital products, data analytics etc.
Haryana engages Garuda Aerospace for drone-based anti-locust spraying
Drone-as-a-Service (DAAS) provider Garuda Aerospace has bagged a contract from the Haryana government for spraying anti-locust pesticide in the state.
Haryana is the third state after Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to have contracted Garuda Aerospace for drone-based anti-locust operations.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation gave conditional exemption to the Haryana government for use of remotely piloted systems for anti-locust operations.
Garuda Aerospace has been carrying out drone-based anti-coronavirus sanitation orders from several municipal corporations and smart cities like Varanasi, Rourkela, Raipur, Chennai and Hyderabad.
Guwahati Development Department (GDD) Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya inaugurated the first-ever manhole cleaning robot to end manual scavenging.
The robot named ‘BANDICOOT’ has been procured by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) along with six Skid Steer Loaders from JCB and six Backhoe Loaders from CASE and BOBCAT companies each.
The BANDICOOT robot is also the first of its kind in the world that was developed by a Start-up India company called Genrobotics under the Make in India initiative, funded by CSR of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL).
Guwahati is the third city in the entire country to procure this innovative technology to clean manholes after Gurugram and Coimbatore.
Hardik Satishchandra Shah appointed Private Secretaryto PM Modi
IAS officer Hardik Satishchandra Shah has been appointed the Private Secretary (PS) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Shah is a 2010-batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, is currently serving as a Deputy Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
FACTFILE – Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)
The Prime Minister’s Office consists of the immediate staff of the Prime Minister of India, as well as multiple levels of support staff reporting to the Prime Minister.
The PMO is headed by the Principal Secretary, currently PK Misra.
It was originally called the Prime Minister’s Secretariat until 1977, when it was renamed during the Prime Ministership of Morarji Desai ministry.
PM Modi inaugurated the Supreme Court building of Mauritius
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Supreme Court building of Mauritius with his counterpart Pravind K. Jugnauth via video conference, in presence of senior members of judiciary from Mauritius and other dignitaries from both the countries.
Prime Minister Modi said India and Mauritius jointly celebrated yet another landmark as a symbol of special friendship between the two countries.
The Supreme Court building of Mauritius has been constructed with Indian grant assistance and will be the first India-assisted infrastructure project within the capital city of Port Louis after Covid-19.
This project is one of the five projects being implemented under the ‘Special Economic Package’ of $353 million extended by the Government of India to Mauritius in 2016.
Union cabinet approval for remaining HRD Ministry as Ministry of Education
The Union Cabinet has approved the change of name of the Ministry of Human Resource Development as Ministry of Education.
The name change was done as per the recommendation of the draft New Education Policy 2020. The HRD ministry name was adopted in 1985, during the tenure of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, before that it was the Ministry of Education.
FACTFILE – Ministry of Education (MoE)
The Ministry of Education (MoE) is responsible for the implementation and formulation of the National Policy on Education approved by Union cabinet of India and to ensure that it is implemented in letter and spirit.
Planned development, including expanding access and improving quality of the educational institutions throughout the country, including in the regions where people do not have easy access to education.
The Ministry is divided into two departments – (1) Department of School Education and Literacy, which deals with primary, secondary and higher secondary education, adult education and literacy, and (2) Department of Higher Education, which deals with a university education, technical education, scholarship, etc.
Power Finance Corporationsigns agreement with IIT- Kanpur
Power Finance Corporation (PFC), a PSU under Ministry of Power and country’s leading NBFC, signed a MoA with Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K) for Training, Research, and Entrepreneurship Development in Smart Grid Technology.
As per the MoA, PFC will provide financial assistance of Rs. 2.38 Crore to IIT-K under its CSR initiative.
PFD will provide support to IIT-K in developing infrastructure for research and development on smart grid technology. And IIT-K will provide training on smart grid technology to 90 participants and provide fellowship to 9 selected candidates for development of ideas on Smart Grid Technology. The fellows will be assisted by Start-up Innovation and Incubation Centre (SIIC) of IIT-K and encouraged to take up entrepreneurial activities.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh launched a nutritional drink ‘Verka haldi’ or turmeric milk, produced by Milkfed to boost people’s immunity amid the Covid-19 pandemic, with the hope that this milk would soon emerge as a popular drink among consumers, to stay healthy and boost their immunity in the fight against coronavirus.
The Verka milk had been prepared by using a unique ‘haldi’ formulation, that had been developed and patented by Department of Biotechnology of Punjabi University in Patiala.
Verka Haldi Dudh has been launched, as part of Mission Fateh, at a price of Rs 25 for 200 ml which is within the reach of all sections of society and will be beneficial for health of young and old alike.
Centre to Provide Rs 346 croreto Assam to tackle flood fury
Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Sekhawat has announced to provide the first instalment of Rs 346 crore under the Flood Management Programme (FMP) in Assam.
The massive devastation caused by over a month long flood along with erosion in the state. The monsoon flood in Assam has killed at least 89 people, while around 26.32 lakh people in 26 of the 33 districts were affected.
The flood also badly damaged 115,515 hectares of crop area and infrastructures across the state.
The central minister requested the Chief Minister to send proposals for sanctioning money under Disaster Risk Management Fund which would facilitate the state government to get more funds from the Central Government for flood management, relief, erosion and other mitigation.
The Chief Minister also urged for funds to strengthen 5,000 km of embankments built since 1951 in the state, which also turned into road cum embankments.
Andhra Pradesh inks MoU with AMUL for dairy development
Andhra Pradesh government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with cooperative giant Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL).
The MoU is expected to give a boost to the empowerment of women self-help groups by encouraging the milk cooperatives in the government sector.
Joining hands with AMUL will help the women groups and dairy farming in the cooperative sector with an opportunity and exposure to world class infrastructure, technology and marketing opportunities which would improve their standard of living and self reliance of women.
Though the Andhra Pradesh stands fourth in milk production, only 24 per cent was going to the organised sector. The partnership with AMUL will help farmers to get good price and women groups.
Punjab signs pacts with IIT Ropar for skill development
Punjab state government has signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the IIT Ropar to boost skill development.
The MoUs provide for IIT’s Technical Education Department to become academic mentor for engineering colleges in Gurdaspur and Ferozepur, Sri Guru Gobind Singh Skill Institute at Shri Chamkaur Sahib, five government polytechnics and 10 government ITIs.
IIT Ropar would help the state in developing one model ITI and one model polytechnic.
FACTFILE – Indian Institute of Technology Ropar
Indian Institute of Technology Ropar (IIT Ropar) is an engineering, science and technology higher education institute located in Rupnagar, Punjab.
It is one of the eight newer Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India under The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Act, 2011.
India’s first public Electric Vehicle charging plaza inaugurated at New Delhi
Union Minister for Power, New and Renewable Energy, RK Singh, inaugurated India’s first public Electric Vehicle (EV) charging plaza at Chelmsford Club in New Delhi.
The charging plaza has been set up with a focus on enhancing energy efficiency and promoting e-mobility. This plaza will host 5 EV chargers of different specifications.
The minister also launched retrofit of air-conditioning to improve indoor air quality for safety and efficiency (RAISE) – a joint initiative of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
This is a part of the initiative to “Retrofit of Air-conditioning to improve Indoor air quality for Safety and Efficiency” developed for healthy and energy-efficient buildings, in partnership with USAID’s MAITREE programme.
Ministry of Youth Affairspartners with UNICEF to promote volunteerism among youth
Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) has partnered with UNICEF to strengthen the resolve to mobilise 1 crore youth volunteers to achieve goals of Atmanirbhar Bharat
MYAS signed a memorandum of intent was signed with YuWaah (a multi-stakeholder platform formed by the UNICEF) to work in partnership to promote volunteerism among India’s youth.
The partnership will leverage both Indian ministry and UN efforts to work with young people to co-create and implement solutions at scale tackling education, skilling and unemployment challenges for the youth in India.
July 23, 2020
NITI Aayog recommends mandatory use of 25% recycled material in infra projects
Niti Aayog will recommend to the government to mandate the use of recycled materials up to 25 per cent in large infrastructure projects, in line with the global move to promote the use of secondary products.
Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer of Niti Aayog, said that Govt should make 25 per cent use of recycled products (metals, plastics and paper) in large infrastructure projects to promote secondary products across India
Using recycled products by up to 25 per cent may reduce the raw material cost of the project by at least 10-15 per cent.
PM Modi at India Ideas Summit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address at the India Ideas Summit, the Summit is being hosted by the US-India Business Council (USIBC). The theme for this year’s Summit is ‘Building a Better Future’.
PM Modi said India has what is needed to power the global economic recovery and there has never been a better time to invest in the country.
India’s rise means a rise in global integration with increasing openness, a rise in competitiveness with access to a market which offers scale, and a rise in returns on investment with the availability of skilled human resources.
USA and India partnership can play an important role in helping the world bounce back faster after the pandemic.
NSDC and Airtel Payments Bank joins hands to skill rural youth
Airtel Payments Bank and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) announced a partnership to skill the youth in rural India and enable them to find employment opportunities in the financial services sector.
The partnership will leverage NSDC’s experience, training infrastructure and wide network with Airtel Payment Bank’s industry insights, to design and conduct targeted skill development programmes for rural youth.
The skill development programme will be tailored for imparting knowledge and skills for entry-level jobs, such as business correspondent and field sales executive, in the financial services sector.
The programme will focus on the adoption of digital tools to drive online banking and digital financial services, given the growing penetration of affordable smartphones and 4G networks in the country.
This collaboration will also extend to e-Skill India, NSDC’s digital skilling initiative.
FACTFILE – Airtel Payments Bank
Airtel Payments Bank is a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel.
It is the first company in India to receive a payments bank license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and it became the first live payments bank in the country.
It is a joint venture between Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd (holds 19.9% stake).
China launches first Mars mission Tianwen 1
China successfully launched its first Mars probe aiming to complete orbiting, landing and roving in a single mission.
A Long March-5 rocket, China’s largest and most powerful launch vehicle, carrying the spacecraft with a mass of about five tonnes, soared into the sky from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan province.
The Chinese Mars probe named Tianwen 1 or Quest for Heavenly Truth 1, will fulfil three scientific objectives (i) orbiting the red planet for comprehensive observation, (ii) landing on Martian soil and (iii) sending a rover to roam the landing site.
It will conduct scientific investigations into the planet’s soil, geological structure, environment, atmosphere and water.
The probe consists of three parts — the orbiter, the lander and the rover — and they will separate in Mars orbit. The orbiter will remain in the orbit for scientific operations and relay signals while the lander-rover combination makes an autonomous descent and landing.
Consumer Protection Act, 2019 comes into force from 20 July
The Consumer Protection Act,2019 comes in to force from 20 July, with its salient features including the establishment of central authority to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers.
This new Act will empower consumers and help them in protecting their rights through its various notified rules and provisions like Consumer Protection Councils, Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions, Mediation, Product Liability and punishment for manufacture or sale of products containing adulterant / spurious goods.
Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) will be empowered to conduct investigations into violations of consumer rights and institute complaints/prosecution, order recalls of unsafe goods and services, order discontinuance of unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements, impose penalties on manufacturers/endorsers/publishers of misleading advertisements.
The rules for the prevention of unfair trade practice by e-commerce platforms will also be covered under this Act. Every e-commerce entity is required to provide information relating to return, refund, exchange, warranty and guarantee, delivery and shipment, modes of payment, grievance redressal mechanism, payment methods, security of payment methods, charge-back options, etc. including country of origin.
E-Commerce platforms have to acknowledge the receipt of any consumer complaint within forty-eight hours and redress the complaint within one month.
India, Maldives sign agreement for establishment of ‘Emergency Medical Services’ in Malé
India and Maldives have signed an agreement for the establishment of ‘Emergency Medical Services’ in capital Male.
It is one of the several small and medium projects that are being financed by India under a grant assistance of around 20 million US dollars for the neighbouring country.
Maldives foreign minister Abdulla Shaheed thanked the Indian government and said that the emergency medical service unit will enhance timely access to quality emergency care and will increase collaboration between healthcare facilities and disaster response agencies.
FACTIFLE – The Maldives
The Republic of Maldives is a small island nation in South Asia, situated in the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean.
It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 700 kilometres from the Asian continent’s mainland.
The Maldives is one of the world’s most geographically dispersed sovereign states as well as the smallest Asian country by land area and population, with around 515,696 inhabitants.
It is the world’s lowest-lying country, with an average ground-level elevation of 1.5 metres above sea level.
Malé is the capital and the most populated city
The Maldives archipelago is located on the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge; this also forms a terrestrial ecoregion, together with the Chagos Archipelago and Lakshadweep.
The Maldives is a founding member of SAARC and also a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Non-Aligned Movement.
Tripura NGO’s scheme for well-off to help underprivileged people
An NGO from Tripura, Purvaudaya launched “Heart of Humanity”, a project to assist the poor and the needy people by connecting the well-off section of society with underprivileged people.
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, along with other ministers inaugurated three outlets of Purvaudaya in Agartala and outskirts areas in which clothes and food would be distributed to the poor free of cost.
At these outlets, the well-off citizens will donate unused and discarded items like clothes, mattresses, quilts, blankets, shoes, toys, books, artefacts, bags, etc which are still in good condition so that the needy people can take them for their use.
Funding of over Rs 8,700 croreapproved for 81 stressed housing projects under SWAMIH scheme
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said under the Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH initiative Rs 8,767 crore has been approved for 81 projects, enabling the completion of almost 60,000 homes across India.
While reviewing the performance of the Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH), Finance Minister underlined the need for speedy efforts to complete construction of projects for which last-mile funding has been sanctioned.
She also suggested that both private and public sector banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs) should see the special window as a stakeholder and increase support for early completion of stressed projects.
Sitharaman asked the Department of Economic Affairs to closely monitor the performance of SWAMIH to ensure that the capital raised is used for resolving stressed projects on urgent basis.
Greta Thunberg awarded €1-million Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity
Teenage Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was awarded the 2020 Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, worth €1-million (or $1.15 million) in prize money
Established in 2020, the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity aims to recognize individuals, groups or organizations whose contributions toward mitigating climate change stand out for “novelty, innovation and impact.”
FACTFILE – Gulbenkian Prize
Gulbenkian Prize is a series of prizes awarded annually by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
The main Gulbenkian Prize was established in 1976 as the Gulbenkian Science Prize awarded to Portuguese individuals and organizations.
The Gulbenkian Science Prize has now been restructured and is known as Gulbenkian Prizes on Cohesion, Knowledge and Sustainability and three prizes are awarded in each of the fields.
India successfully test-fires Dhruvastra
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducts flight trials of the anti-tank guided Nag Missile (HELINA), which has been named now as Dhruvastra.
The trials were carried out in direct and top attack mode, at Interim Test Range, Balasore, Odisha.
This is a third-generation, fire-and-forget, anti-tank guided missile. It will support both the airborne forces of the Indian Army as well as the Mechanised Infantry.
The land version of this missile is already available for integration the Nag missile carrier (NAMICA). The missile in the helicopter-launched configuration has been designated as Helicopter-launched NAG (HELINA).
After the completion of a successful trial, this can be fired from the indigenous `Dhruv’ Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), as well as Rudra (ALH WSI) attack helicopter.
July 25, 2020
Assam CM launches Drone for surveillance of forests
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal unveiled a surveillance quadcopter (drone) and an anti-depredation quick response vehicle, which will help intensify vigil and curb man-animal conflict.
An intensified 24X7 surveillance would become possible over the forest cover and check incidents of man-animal conflict.
The drone will narrow-cast any purported movement of poachers in the national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and other reserve forests.
The Odisha government has approved four investment proposals worth Rs 2,172.92 crore. The State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) approved the projects in metal and metal downstream sector, which will likely generate employment for 1,122 people.
Rungta Mines Limited proposed to set up 34 MTPA beneficiation plant in two phases with an investment of Rs 975 crore.
It also proposed to set up 20 MTPA underground slurry pipeline with an investment of Rs 951 crore.
Shyam Metalics and Energy Limited would expand its Pellet Plant from 0.3 MTPA to 1.2 MTPA capacity with a total investment of Rs 76.92 crore.
Rajesh Bhushan appointed as Health Secretary and Ajay Tirkey as Secretary of Department of Land Resources
Rajesh Bhushan, IAS officer of 1987 Batch, Bihar Cadre has been appointed as the new Health Secretary in the Union Health Ministry. He will succeed Preeti Sudan upon completion of her tenure.
Ajay Tirkey has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Land Resources in the Ministry of Rural Development.
Ram Mohan Mishra is appointed as Secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
Anil Kumar Jain has been given additional charge as Secretary, Mines along with his post of Secretary in the Coal Ministry.
IIT Kharagpur’s portable device to test Covid-19
Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur have developed a portable diagnostic device that can detect Covid-19 infection in 60 minutes at an estimated cost of Rs 400.
This entire non-invasive saliva-based test can be conducted in a very low-cost portable enclosure. The technology essentially uses a disposable simple paper-strip for chemical analysis and visualisation of results.
The device has been designed to be usable at locations with extremely poor resources. It can be operated by minimally trained personnel, precluding the needs for skilled technicians.
It is ready for commercialisation of the product and any corporate or start-up can approach the institute for technology licensing and commercial scale of production.
Turkmenistan granted observer status in the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Turkmenistan has been granted Observer status by the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Council. Turkmenistan has become the last former Soviet republic to establish formal ties with the trade body.
Neighbouring Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Afghanistan — have acceded to the WTO, while Uzbekistan has been in on-and-off negotiations on WTO accession since 1994.
FACTFILE –World Trade Organization (WTO)
The World Trade Organization is an intergovernmental organization that is concerned with the regulation of international trade between nations and is the largest international economic organization.
Commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948.
The WTO has 164 members and 25 observer governments
Nicaragua to join International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement
Nicaragua has become the 87th country to join the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement, an initiative led by India to promote sustainable energy.
Nicaragua’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Jaime Hermida Castillo signed the agreement at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations.
FACTFILE – International Solar Alliance
The International Solar Alliance is an alliance of 121 countries, most of them being sunshine countries which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
It was jointly launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former French President Francois Hollande at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in November 2015.
It is a major global initiative for the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement, envisioning rapid deployment of solar energy units. Last year the ISA amended its Framework Agreement to enable membership for all member countries of the United Nations.
Inclusion of UN member countries to the alliance will put solar energy in global agenda and the expanding membership will lead to the initiative benefitting the world at large.
The ISA Framework Agreement was opened for signature during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Morocco in November 2016 and the ISA became a treaty-based intergovernmental body in December 2017.
The ISA’s first assembly was held in New Delhi in October 2018.
Assam-origin scientist Dr Hifzur R Siddiquemakes major discovery in liver cancer
Dr Hifzur R Siddique, Assam-origin scientist now working as an assistant professor with Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), has made a path-breaking discovery in determining a major cause of liver cancer.
The discovery has the potential to serve as a therapeutic target for drug design by providing direction to the management strategy for this terminal disease.
Together with Prof Keigo Machida of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles and other collaborators, Dr Hifzur R Siddique has discovered that the central regulatory pathway of liver cancer is caused by alcohol and hepatitis infection.
The team found that the cancer cells and cancer stem cells accumulate TBC1D15, which promotes cancer in two ways– initially by interfering with the normal asymmetric cell division and then enhancing the cancer-causing NOTCH protein.
TRIFED signs MoU with IIT Delhi for Unnat Bharat Abhiyan
The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) has entered into a partnership with IIT Delhi for the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), a flagship national programme of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India.
A tripartite MOU was signed between TRIFED, IIT Delhi, on behalf of the UBA, as the National Coordinating Institute, and Vijnana Bharati, a Swadeshi Science Movement at IIT Delhi .
Tribal entrepreneurs under TRIFED’s Van Dhan programme will now be able to get access to the expertise of the entire network of 2600 + academic and research institutions under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA).
Together with IIT Delhi, the “National Coordinating Institute (NCI)” for Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA)” ,TRIFED envisages promoting Tribal Livelihoods and Income generating programmes through synergistic collaboration among the concerned Ministries, District Administration, local Panchayat Raj Institutes (PRIs), Voluntary Organisations, other stakeholders, as well as the other participating institutions.
TRIFED is implementing the Van Dhan Yojana a programme for value addition, branding and marketing of MFPs by establishing Van Dhan Kendras of around 300 tribal members each across the country to facilitate the creation of sustainable livelihoods for the forest-based tribal gatherers.
The partnership will benefit the tribal people and many more upcoming initiatives in the pipeline and will accelerate the transformation of tribal lives and livelihoods by reinvigorating their flagging economic condition.
Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launches state-of-the-art honey testing lab at Anand
Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated a ‘World Class State-of-the-Art Honey Testing Laboratory’ established by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in Anand (Gujarat) with support of National Bee Board (NBB).
Based on the parameters notified by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI), NDDB has set-up this lab with all the facilities and developed the test methods and protocols, accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL).
The ministry has taken up several activities to promote beekeeping under Mission on Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). The National Mission for Beekeeping being implemented through the National Bee Board and the states.
The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare has approved the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission(NBHM) for a period of two years.
India ranked 3rd in gaining forest area in the world
As per the latest Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), India has ranked third among the top 10 countries that have gained in forest areas in the last decade. India makes up for two per cent of total global forest area.
FAO brings this comprehensive assessment every five years since 1990. This report assesses the state of forests, their conditions and management for all member countries.
The top 10 countries that have recorded the maximum average annual net gains in forest area during 2010-2020 are China, Australia, India, Chile, Vietnam, Turkey, the United States, France, Italy and Romania.
The Asian continent reported the highest net gain in forest area in 2010-2020, it recorded 1.17 million hectares (ha) per year net increase in forests in the last decade.
India has been taking up massive afforestation and plantation schemes. During 2010-20, the rate of increase in naturally regenerating forest was just 0.38 per cent according to the FRA 2020.
India reported maximum employment in the forestry sector in the world. India accounted for 6.23 million, or nearly 50 per cent of 12.5 million people who are employed in the forestry sector globally.
July 27, 2020
PM Modi praises skilled artisans of Assam, Tripura and Manipur for value addition to bamboo products
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised skilled artisans of Assam, Tripura and Manipur for value addition to bamboo products including water bottles, tiffin boxes etc with the aim of making the country ‘Atmanirbhar’.
During his monthly ‘Mann ki Baat’, PM said these indigenous products boost the income of the people and the business during the festivities and various other occasions.
The government has set up a new National Bamboo Mission (NBM) to focus on the development of the bamboo sector in the country. Now the North Eastern Council Cane & Bamboo Development Council (NECBDC) act as a coordinating and facilitating agency for the North-Eastern region.
The North-Eastern region has now slowly become bamboo industry hubs as more youths and entrepreneurs are engaging in this craft with the support from the government. Various value-added bamboo products including bamboo tiffin boxes manufactured at a small town- Churachandpur of Manipur State have become popular.
Zogam Bamboo Works of Churachandpur now could provide jobs to a number of young craftsmen of the district and its products have international buyers from Singapore, Dubai, Oklahoma etc.
Delhi govt launches ‘Rozgar Bazar’ web portal to generate more jobs
The Delhi government launched a web portal to make job opportunities available to those who lost employment due to the COVID-induced lockdown, a move aimed at reviving the capital’s economy.
The web portal http://jobs.delhi.gov.in can be used by those looking for jobs and also for employers looking to recruit people.
Recruiters can go to the website and update their requirement. Job seekers can also go there and update their qualification, experience and requirement.
Kannan C S Warrier receives 2019 National Award of Excellence for Outstanding Research in Forestry
Coimbatore-based scientist, Kannan CS Warrier, has received the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education’s National Award of Excellence for exceptional research in forestry, including conservation of endangered sacred groves in the Alappuzha district of Kerala.
Sacred groves, also called kavu in Malayalam, are remains of natural forests, which are seen on the premises of Hindu ancestral homes (tharavaad). The breakdown of the joint family system spelt doom for Kerala’s sacred groves.
India builds World’s first-ever electrified Rail Tunnel for running Double Stack Container Trains
Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) has completed caving work for the one-kilometre long tunnel of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) through Aravalli mountain range in Haryana.
The tunnel connects Mewat and Gurugram district of Haryana and negotiates a steep gradient on the uphill and downhill slope of the Aravalli range.
The D-shaped tunnel with a cross-sectional area of 150 square metres, can accommodate double line with higher OHE (Over Head Equipment) to enable double-stack container movement on WDFC, making it world’s first electrified rail tunnel fit to run double-stack containers.
Assam CM Sonowal launches 2nd phase of PMAY(U) in State
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal centrally laid the foundation stone of the second phase of the flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) at a residence of Nagaon Choukitoop.
During the inaugural ceremony, CM distributed cheques of the first instalment of Rs 80,000 among three beneficiaries and also distributed cheques of last instalment among three beneficiaries of the town.
He also transferred the first and last instalments of Rs 80,000 and 30,000 respectively among 4000 and 2000 beneficiaries of the State through an electronic device.
India sends 10 diesel locomotives to Bangladesh Railways
India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal flagged off 10 broad gauge diesel locomotives to Bangladesh Railways under its “neighbourhood first” policy.
The 10 diesel locomotives were handed over from the Gede station of Sealdah Division of Indian Railways to Darshana station of Bangladesh Railways.
The handing over of these locomotives, under grant assistance from the Indian government, fulfils an important commitment made during the visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India in October, 2019.
Both the countries have stepped up their rail cooperation in mitigating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as trade via land border faced disruptions. There was the highest ever exchange of freight trains in the month of June 2020.
RBI to extend $400 millioncurrency swap facility to Sri Lanka
The Reserve Bank of India has signed necessary documents for extending a USD 400 million currency swap facility to Sri Lanka to boost the island nation’s draining foreign exchange reserves due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Haryana to host the Khelo India Youth Games in 2021
Haryana will host the fourth edition of the Khelo India Youth Games in 2021.
Star Sports will be the Official Broadcast Partner of the Khelo India Youth Games.
KIYG is a part of the revamped national programme for development of sports ‘Khelo India’ which was approved by the Union Cabinet in 2017.
The 2020 edition of KIYG was held in Guwahati.
The Khelo India Scheme aims to encourage sports all over the country.
Assam’s Poba Reserve Forest to be upgraded to wildlife sanctuary
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal announced that the Poba Reserve Forest in Dhemaji district would be upgraded to a Wildlife Sanctuary.
Poba Reserve Forest, declared in 1924 with an area of 10,522 hectares, is home to large number of flora and fauna.
FACTFILE – Poba Reserved Forest
Poba Reserved Forest is situated in Jonai Subdivision of Dhemaji District of Assam.
Poba is one of the richest rain forests of North-East India in terms of the flora and fauna found in it.
Poba Reserved Forest is an important elephant corridor linking the foot hills of Arunachal Pradesh and Dibru Saikhowa National Park via the proposed Kobu Chapori Reserve Forest.
Wildlife Sanctuary
A natural area which is reserve by a governmental or private agency for the protection of particular species.
It came under the category called “Protected Areas”. The Protected Areas are declared under Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has defined its Category IV type of protected areas
Reserved Forests
Land rights to forests declared to be Reserved forests or Protected forests are typically acquired and owned by the Government of India.
Unlike national parks of India or wildlife sanctuaries of India, reserved forests and protected forests are declared by the respective state governments.
Rights to all activities like hunting, grazing, etc. in reserved forests are banned unless specific orders are issued otherwise.
FIFA releases World Cup 2022 match schedule
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) released the match schedule for the 2022 World Cup which will be hosted by Qatar.
The tournament will begin November 21 at Al Bayt Stadium in the northern city of Al Khor with the hosts Qatar in action while the final will be played on December 18 at Lusail Stadium in Doha.
The group stage will be spread over the course of 12 days and will feature four matches a day to give all teams “optimal rest” between their matches and promise fans a full and exciting schedule.
FACTFILE – The International Federation of Association Football (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), FIFA
FIFA was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
It has headquartered in Zürich
It has total membership of 211 national associations. These national associations must each also be members of one of the six regional confederations viz. Africa, Asia, Europe, North & Central America and the Caribbean, Oceania, and South America.
FACTFILE – 2022 FIFA World Cup
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, scheduled to take place in Qatar in 2022.
This will be the first World Cup ever to be held in the Arab world and the first in a Muslim-majority country.
This will be the second World Cup held entirely in Asia after the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan.
Union Govt asked states to expedite work in Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan
Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Narendra Singh Tomar has urged the states to expedite the work under the Central government’s “Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan” with a competitive approach.
He reviewed the progress of Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan through video-conference with the Rural Development Ministers and senior officials of six states and found it satisfactory.
The drive of employment for migrant labourers at their native places launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 20, is being undertaken in 116 districts in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan.
The ‘Abhiyaan’ will continue for 125 days, and 25 projects coming under 11 different ministries have been identified for completion.
The Abhiyaan was found to be progressing well under various parameters which are being regularly monitored.
Union Minister Tomar emphasised on developing a competitive approach among the states to achieve maximum results along with minimising the hurdles being faced by various ministries in the implementation process so that the set targets are completed within the determined time period.
Gujarat to develop water aerodromes
Gujarat state government has decided to set up water aerodromes at four places in the state. For this project, a tripartite MoU is to be signed between the state government, Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Under Indian government’s Regional Connectivity Scheme, RCS UDAN-3 and 4, the Gujarat government has decided to set up 4 water aerodromes at Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad, Sardar Sarovar Dam, Kevadia in Narmada, Shatrunjay Dam in Palitana near Bhavnagar and Dharoi dam in Mehsana.
The AAI will act as the implementing agency in the project and will develop the project at four places.
Water aerodromes are spaces in water bodies, where amphibious aircraft can take off and land.
July 16, 2020
First container ship from Kolkata to Agartala through Chattogram Port inaugurated
The first-ever container cargo from Kolkata via Bangladesh’s Chattogram port has reached Agartala, achieving a “historic milestone” in the Indo-Bangladesh connectivity and economic partnership.
An agreement was reached to use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports for movement of India’s transit cargo through Bangladesh.
Via this route, the distance and time taken in transportation of goods for India particularly the northeastern States will get reduced significantly.
It will enhance business services and revenue generation for Bangladesh while the logistical sector will also get a big boost in Northeast part of India.
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaikinaugurates Covid Plasma Bank
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated a Covid Plasma Bank at SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack through video conferencing to start the convalescent plasma therapy treatment of acute COVID-19 patients in the state. He also appealed to people who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate their plasma for treatment of other critical patients in the state.
The therapy will be introduced in three dedicated COVID Hospitals, viz. SUM Hospital and KIIMS Hospital in Bhubaneswar and Ashwini Hospital in Cuttack.
He also expressed gratitude towards the Drug Controller General of India for allowing the state to use of convalescent plasma for treatment of acute COVID-19 patients.
PM Modi addresses a digital conclave on World Youth Skills Day on 15 July
Addressing a digital conclave on World Youth Skills Day, on July 15, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the coronavirus pandemic has changed the “culture” along with the “nature of the job”.
He said the mantra to remain relevant is – skill, re-skill and up-skill. Skill – Learn a new skill and value add to things. Re-skill – Add to your skill every day by learning something new. Up-skill – Widening your skillset is upskilling yourself.
FACTFILE – World Youth Skills Day
World Youth Skills Day is celebrated each year on July 15.
Its aim is to recognise the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship, and to highlight the crucial role of skilled youth in addressing current and future global challenges.
Scientists discover key element of strong antibody response to COVID-19
A team of scientists at the Scripps Research has discovered a common molecular feature found in many of the human antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
The team reviewed data on nearly 300 anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and noted that a subset of these antibodies is particularly powerful at neutralizing the virus and these potent antibodies are all encoded by the same antibody gene, IGHV3-53.
The research was a collaboration chiefly involving the Wilson and Burton labs, and the Scripps Research-based Neutralizing Antibody Center of IAVI, a prominent non-profit vaccine research organization.
Antibodies are Y-shaped proteins made in immune cells called B-cells. Each B-cell makes a specific antibody type, which is encoded by a unique combination of antibody genes in the cell.
The scientists found that an antibody gene called IGHV3-53 was the most common of the genes for the 294 antibodies.
Tamil Naduallows the use of BCG vaccine for 60-95 aged Covid patients
Tamil Nadu government has allowed a pilot project to study if the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, which is actually used for the treatment of Tuberculosis, will help reduce the mortality rate among elderly Covid-19 patients.
The National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis will start the pilot programme and BCG vaccine will be administered on a trial basis to people in the 60-95 age group.
The BCG vaccine was found to boost innate immunity, which could lower morbidity and mortality rates. The vaccine could reduce the severity of Covid-19, avoid hospitalisation and mortality rate.
Odisha partners with online learning platform ‘Coursera’ to upskill 50,000 Youths
The Odisha Skills Development Authority (OSDA) has partnered with leading online learning platform ‘Coursera’ to train 50,000 unemployed youths during the COVID-19 crisis.
The partnership is part of Coursera’s global roll-out of the ‘Workforce Recovery Initiative’ where any state and country can provide unemployed workers with free access to online learning.
The programme aims to build in-demand skills like data science, cloud computing and Internet of Things while also offering professional certificates like the Google IT Support Professional Certificate.
The ‘Workforce Recovery Initiative’ initiative is part of the Coursera- for-the-government offering launched in 2017 to equip government employees and citizens with in-demand skills.
India ranks 3rd in Global Manufacturing locations suitability
As per property consultant Cushman & Wakefield, India ranks third in the list of most-suitable locations for global manufacturing among 48 countries in terms of cost competitiveness and operating conditions.
China and the US retain the top two positions, while India has moved one place higher to rank third.
In cost scenario also India is at 3rd position after China and Vietnam. But India ranks 30th in risk scenario, due political and economic risks.
IIT Madras-incubated start-up develops ‘MediCAB’portable hospital for Covid cases
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras-incubated start-up, Modulus Housing, has developed a portable hospital unit Called ‘MediCAB’ that can be installed by four people anywhere within two hours.
‘MediCAB’ it is a decentralised approach to detecting, screening, identifying, isolating and treat Covid-19 patients in their local communities at these portable microstructures.
Recently it was launched recently in Kerala’s Wayanad District, where the units are being deployed to treat Covid-19 patients.
The start-up firm Modulus Housing is developing micro hospitals that can be deployed rapidly across the nation.
The Medicab unit is composed of four zones – a doctor’s room, an isolation room, a medical room/ward and a twin-bed ICU, maintained at negative pressure.
Ved Parkash Dudeja, RLDA Vice-Chairman is awarded ‘Infra Business Leader of the Year’
The Vice-Chairman, Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) Ved Parkash Dudeja, was recently awarded the coveted ‘Infra Business Leader of the Year’ award for 2020 by the Rail Infra and Mobility Business Digital Awards (RIMBDA).
RLDA is a statutory authority under the Ministry of Railways, responsible for the development of vacant railway land for commercial use for the purpose of generating revenue by non-tariff measures and creating assets for Indian Railways.
Dudeja has initiated several commercial projects, multifunctional complex, colony redevelopment and station redevelopment projects and shattered all previous records of earnings as well as those of awarding of lease contracts in 2019-20.
Union Govt launches IIT Delhi’s COVID-19 test kit ‘Corosure’ for commercial use
Indian Government announced the commercial launch of a COVID-19 test kit which was developed by the IIT Delhi at a base price of ₹399, the cheapest in the market.
Approved by the Indian Medical Council of India with the highest score and Drug Control General of India with very high sensitivity and specificity, the commercial product named ‘Corosure’ was commercially developed by a company named NewTech Medical Devises after obtaining license from the IIT Delhi.
HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, who e-launched the affordable RT-PCR based covid-19 diagnostic kit, said “the country requires affordable and reliable testing for the country which can help to control the pandemic. The Corosure has been developed indigenously and is much cheaper than other kits.
Hyderabad Airport gets India’s 1st contactless car parking
GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) that operates the Hyderabad International Airport is offering fully contact-less airport car parking service.
Apart from offering an end-to-end contact-less boarding experience for safe travel, GHIAL has also scaled up its NETC (National Electronic Toll Collection) FASTag Car Parking in collaboration with NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India).
With this, the Hyderabad international airport now offers the country’s first and only fully contact-less airport car parking experience for passengers and visitors.
July 18, 2020
6 Agricultural scientists from Northeast get ICAR awards
Six agricultural scientists of three northeastern states Tripura, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh were awarded ICAR’s National Award for their outstanding innovation in farming and boosting agricultural economy in the region.
Additionally, two Krishi Vigyan Kendras in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur and three farmers of Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya also received the ICAR awards for their exceptional feats in agricultural and farming sectors of the region.
Lopamudra Sahoo, Gulab Singh Yadav, Chandan Debnath and Basant Kumar Kandpal of ICAR research complex in Tripura received the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Award and Swami Sahajan and Saraswati Award.
Scientist Amit Kumar, associated with the ICAR research complex in Meghalaya and Nangsol Dolma Bhutia, Assistant Professor of Central Agricultural University at Pasighat have received the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for P.G. Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Agricultural and Allied Sciences.
FACTFILE – The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research is an autonomous body responsible for co-ordinating agricultural education and research in India
It is the largest network of agricultural research and education institutes in the world.
Clinical trials for Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine begins
India’s first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin got a nod from the AIIMS Ethics Committee to start human trials. AIIMS Delhi is among the 12 sites selected by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) for conducting phase I and II human trials of Covaxin.
In phase I, the Covaxin vaccine would be tested on 375 volunteers and a maximum of 100 of them would be from AIIMS.
Moreover, human dosing of the vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech India (BBIL) in collaboration with ICMR’s National Institute of Virology (NIV) also started with the vaccine being given to participants at AIIMS, Patna and PGIMS Rohtak.
Drug firm Zydus Cadila also started human clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate ZyCoV-D. The company will be enrolling over 1,000 subjects across multiple clinical study sites in India.
Earlier, DCGI has permitted two vaccines – Covaxin developed by the Bharat Biotech International Limited in collaboration with the ICMR and ZyCoV-D by Zydas Cadila Healthcare Ltd to go in for phase I and II human clinical trials.
Rose Raponda becomes Gabon’s first woman Prime Minister
The President of Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba, appointed the country’s first woman prime minister, Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda.
After serving as budget minister eight years ago, she became the first woman to be elected mayor of the capital Libreville in 2014. Raponda had served as defence minister since February 2019.
FACTFILE – Gabon
Gabon is a country on the west coast of Central Africa, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo on the east and south, and the Gulf of Guinea to the west.
Its capital and largest city is Libreville and the official language is French.
Abundant petroleum and foreign private investment have helped make it one of the most prosperous countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the 7th highest HDI and the fourth-highest GDP per capita (PPP) in the region.
Uttarakhand govt to start ‘Waste to Energy’ initiative
Uttarakhand government has decided to convert waste generated in the state to electricity under an initiative ‘Waste to Energy’. The electricity will be generated from the waste coming out in the municipal corporation and municipality area.
The initiative was taken into consideration keeping in view the present issues faced by most municipalities and corporations of land scarcity in depositing solid waste at one place.
According to the assessment by Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board (UEPPCB), the waste can generate up to 5 MegaWatt of electricity and curb the pollution.
Govt aims to make use of the 24 MW of biomass power generation capacity available in the state.
India ranks 34th in the Global Skills Index 2020 Report
India has surged ahead of China in business and technology skills due to its growing younger population, reported by the world’s largest online learning platform Coursera.
In its latest Global Skills Index 2020, India is placed at 34th position within the business domain as compared to China’s rank of 45.
Within the technology domain, India ranks 40th while China ranks 50th
Within the data science domain, India ranks 51th and within the data management competency, India ranks 58th.
Govt nod for contributions by individuals, institutions to NDRF
Central government has laid out the modalities for contributions and grants from any person or institution to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the contributions to the NDRF have been allowed through any of the modes like physical instruments, RTGS/NEFT/UPI and https://bharatkosh.gov.in
The NDRF, constituted under Section 46 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, supplements the State Disaster Response Fund of the states in case of natural calamities like cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloud burst and pest attack considered to be of severe nature by the government.
FACTFILE – National Disaster Response Fund
The Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DM Act) defines “disaster” to mean ‘a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man-made causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and destruction of, property, or damage to, or degradation of, environment, and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected area.’
The financial assistance from SDRF/NDRF is for providing immediate relief and is not compensation for loss/damage to properties /crops.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the National Disaster Management Authority takes decisions on the expenses from National Disaster Response Fund
Ashok Lavasa appointed Vice-President of Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed election commissioner Ashok Lavasa as its Vice-President on the recommendation of the Indian government.
Ashok Lavasa will succeed current vice president at ADB Diwakar Gupta and will look after private sector operations and public private partnerships.
FACTFILE – Asian Development Bank (ADB)
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines.
The company also maintains 31 field offices around the world to promote social and economic development in Asia.
The ADB was modelled closely on the World Bank and has a similar weighted voting system where votes are distributed in proportion with members’ capital subscriptions.
ADB is an official United Nations Observer.
Shareholding pattern – Japan holds the largest proportion of shares at 15.677%, the United States with 15.567%, China holds 6.473%, India holds 6.359%, and Australia holds 5.812%.
BIOGRAPHY – Ashok Lavasa
A 1980 batch Haryana cadre IAS officer, Ashok Lavasa took over as Election Commissioner on 23 January 2018.
He held a range of senior posts in the government, including finance secretary, environment secretary, civil aviation secretary among others.
UNICEF ties up with SAP India to provide career counselling to young people
UNICEF India partnered with a software major SAP India to provide career counselling to young people in order to improve their employability skills in the present and post-COVID-19 era.
UNICEF will also collaborate with ”YuWaah” – (Generation Unlimited), an initiative supported by the UN body, to provide digital education and occupational skill-set to the under-served young people of the country.
Generation Unlimited brings young people together with the private sector, governments, international and local organisations to tackle the challenge of investing in their learning and training.
Australia’s Monash University develops new blood test to trace coronavirus in 20 minutes
Researchers at the Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, have developed a new blood test that detects positive coronavirus cases in just about 20 minutes, a finding that could assist the world to mitigate the coronavirus spread through robust contact-tracing.
Researchers at the university developed the simple agglutination assay, an analysis to determine the presence and amount of a substance in blood to detect the presence of antibodies raised in response to the SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The team of researchers were able to identify recent COVID-19 cases using 25 microlitres of plasma from blood samples.
Positive COVID-19 cases caused an agglutination or a clustering of red blood cells, which was easily identifiable to the naked eye.
The findings could help high-risk countries with population screening, case identification, contact-tracing, confirming vaccine efficacy during clinical trials and vaccine distribution.
Delhi Police launches plasma donation campaign
On the initiative of Delhi Police, a ‘Plasma Donation Campaign’ has been launched at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
The objective of the campaign is to encourage people to come forward to donate plasma to be used for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.
Covid-19 related death rates of NE states among the country’s lowest
Central Govt informed that India has one of the lowest fatality rates in the world. Four northeastern states viz. Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Sikkim have zero case fatality rate (CFR) till now.
As per the Health Ministry data, the northeastern states have less than one per cent CFR.
Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura have a CFR of 0.23 per cent, 0.46 per cent, 0.48 per cent and 0.19 per cent respectively.
Himachal Pradesh promotes fruit cultivation through ADB funding
To make Himachal Pradesh a horticulture hub, the Asian Development Bank (ADB)funded HP Shiva Pilot Project is undergoing with an outlay of Rs 100 crore in four districts of the state.
The project would be implemented in Bilaspur, Mandi, Kangra and Hamirpur districts. Fruit-bearing sapling would be planted on 170 hectares. And a target of planting 2.50 lakh fruit-bearing saplings of orange, litchi, pomegranate, guava, etc., has been identified under the project in July and August.
The state has initiated several steps like 12.50 lakh hectare meter anti-hail net is made available for protecting the crops from natural calamities.
About 225 metric tonnes insecticide has been made available at subsidized rates. Special training is being given for packaging of apple, cherry and stone fruits. About 3.5 crore boxes were made available for packaging of fruits.
United Arab Emirates launches its first mission to Mars
The United Arab Emirates launched its first mission to Mars as it strives to develop its scientific and technological capabilities.
The Hope Probe blasted off from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center for a seven-month journey to the red planet, where it will orbit and send back data.
The Emirates Mars Mission with a cost of $200 million, it aims to provide a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere for the first time, studying daily and seasonal changes.
To develop and build the Hope Probe, Emiratis and Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), Dubai, worked with U.S. universities.
HRD Ministry announced guidelines on digital education
Union Human Resource and Development Ministry has announced guidelines for online classes operationalised by schools amid the COVID pandemic.
Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank virtually released the PRAGYATA guidelines on digital education, which has many recommendations including restriction on the screen time for students.
Online classes for pre-primary students should not be for more than 30 minutes a day. For Classes 1st to 8th, it has suggested that not more than two online sessions of up to 45 minutes each should be conducted in a day.
For the senior students, from class 9th to 12th, the suggested limit of the online classes is to a maximum of four sessions of up to 45 minutes each.
These guidelines on Digital Education provide a roadmap for carrying forward online education to enhance the quality of education. It also stresses upon the use of an alternative academic calendar of NCERT.
The Guidelines also emphasize the need to unify all efforts related to digital, online education, benefitting school-going children across the country.
Indian Railways’ first cable-stayed rail bridge in Jammu
The Anji Khad Bridge, India’s first cable-stayed Indian Railways bridge will soon connect Katra and Reasi in of Jammu–Baramulla rail line.
The ambitious project of Indian Railways has a single pylon, standing at a height of 331 metres above the river bed, is being developed by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited.
The cable-stayed railway bridge is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.
The total length of the bridge is 473.25 metres. The length of the viaduct is 120 metres and the central embankment has a length of 94.25 metres.
Indian-origin Chan Santokhi elected as the President of Suriname
Suriname, a small country in South America elected Indian-origin Chan Santokhi as the new President.
61-year-old Chan Santokhi, former police chief, won a landslide victory in the general elections.
Suriname is a former Dutch colony but the country’s relations with the Netherlands, which was once its primary trade partner, deteriorated under the previous regime.
FACTFILE – Suriname
Suriname is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America.
At just under 165,000 square kilometres, it is the smallest country in South America.
It’s capital and largest city is Paramaribo.
It is the first country to reach carbon neutrality.
Suriname is the only sovereign nation outside Europe where Dutch is spoken by a majority of the population.
Union Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated the Zoram Mega Food Park Ltd at Kolasib in Mizoram through virtual conference.
The Zoram Food Park built at a cost of Rs 75 crore will directly benefit over 25,000 farmers and will create employment for over 5,000 local people.
It is the first mega food park operationalized in Mizoram. It will benefit about 25,000 farmers in the core processing centre and primary processing Centre catchment areas.
The 55-acre Zoram food park, promoted by Zoram Mega Food Park Pvt Ltd, is located at Khamrang village in Kolasib District, Mizoram.
A total of 88 ministry-supported food processing projects have been sanctioned in the entire North Eastern Region.
The human trial of COVID-19 vaccinecandidate developed by the University of Oxford and backed by AstraZeneca Plc has shown a positive result. The vaccine has generated a protective immune response in the vaccinated sample population.
This Covid-19 vaccine is a chimpanzee adenovirus viral vector (ChAdOx1) vaccine that expresses the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. It uses a common cold virus i.e. adenovirus, that infects chimpanzees, which has been weakened so that it can’t cause any disease in humans, and is genetically modified to code for the spike protein of the human SARS-CoV-2 virus.
When the adenovirus enters vaccinated people’s cells it also delivers the spike protein genetic code. This causes these people’s cells to produce the spike protein, and helps teach the immune system to recognise the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
CBDT, MSME Ministry sign pact for sharing tax related data
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises signed a MoU for facilitating seamless sharing of Income Tax Return (ITR) related information concerning SMEs.
This data will enable the ministry to check and classify enterprises in Micro, Small and Medium categories as per the new criteria notified by the government.
MSME Criteria
Composite Criteria: Investment in Plant & Machinery/equipment and Annual Turnover
Classification
Micro
Small
Medium
Manufacturing Enterprises and Enterprises rendering Services
Investment in Plant and Machinery or Equipment: Not more than Rs.1 crore and Annual Turnover ; not more than Rs. 5 crore
Investment in Plant and Machinery or Equipment: Not more than Rs.10 crore and Annual Turnover ; not more than Rs. 50 crore
Investment in Plant and Machinery or Equipment: Not more than Rs.50 crore and Annual Turnover ; not more than Rs. 250 crore
TN signs eight investment MoUs for Rs 10,339 crore
Tamil Nadu government signed eight Memorandums of Understanding involving an industrial investment of about Rs 10,339 crore with an employment potential for 13,507 persons.
The proposed projects include production of solar cells and modules, air compressors, ductile iron foundry, industrial parks, cashew nut processing, data centre and a foundry expansion project.
Some of the important projects are
Vikram Solar to invest Rs 5,423 crore in a facility to produce solar cells and modules in Orgadam in Kancheepuram district.
Hiranandani group’s Yotta to set up a data centre in Chengalpattu district at an investment of Rs 4,000 crore.
Elgi Equipments will invest Rs 250 crore in setting up an air compressor unit.
Aquasub to invest Rs 200 crore to set up a ductile iron foundry in Coimbatore.
GI Agro Tech to set up a cashew nut processing unit at Villupuram investing Rs 36 crore.
JS Auto Cast to expand its foundry facility at Erode district at an outlay of Rs 40 crore.
CGD Satharai Pvt Ltd to set up an Industrial park projects with outlay Rs 250 crore at Kancheepuram district and NDR Infrastructure to set up another industrial park with an outlay of Rs 200 crore at Ranipet.
UP launches ‘Navin Rojgar Chhatri Yojana’ for SCs
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched ”Navin Rojgar Chhatri Yojana” for an all-round development of the Scheduled Castes communities.
Economic equality becomes the basis of social equality. The society with one of its sections becoming strong while another remaining weak will not be able to become self-reliant. It is necessary that there is a balance in the society and this balance should also be at the economic level.
Marianna Vardinoyannis & Morissana Kouyate win UN 2020 Nelson Mandela Prize
Marianna Vardinoyannis of Greece and Morissana Kouyate of Guinea are selected for this year’s United Nations 2020 Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize.
Marianna Vardinoyannis is a Greek philanthropist known for fighting childhood cancer and for a world without borders in health for about 30 years. He is also the world advocate for human rights and the protection of children’s health and welfare.
Morissana Kouyate is also a Human rights activist known for her contribution towards curbing violence against women and girls in Africa. She is a leading advocate in the fight against harmful traditional practices against women, particularly female genital mutilation.
The prize was established in 2014 by the General Assembly to recognise the achievements of those who dedicate their lives to the service of humanity by promoting the purposes and principles of the United Nations while honouring and paying homage to Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary life and legacy of reconciliation, political transition, and social transformation.
FACTFILE – The United Nations Nelson Mandela Prize
The United Nations Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize aims to recognize the achievements of those who dedicated their lives to the service of humanity as guided by the purposes and principles of the UN while honouring and paying homage to Mandela’s extraordinary life and legacy of reconciliation, political transition and social transformation.
The prize is awarded every five years. It was first awarded in 2015.
PM SVANidhi mobile app for street vendors launched
A mobile application of PM Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi, PM SVANidhi was launched in New Delhi to bring micro-credit facility for street vendors at their doorsteps.
PM SVANidhi Mobile App aims to provide a user-friendly digital interface for lending institutions and their field functionaries for sourcing and processing loan applications of street vendors under the scheme.
The app is a step towards boosting the use of digital technology and will enable field functionaries to ensure maximum coverage of the scheme.
The Mobile App will give impetus to the implementation strategy of the scheme besides promoting paper-less digital accessing of micro-credit facilities by the street vendors.
More than one lakh 54 thousand street vendors have applied for working capital loan across States and Union Territories. Out of which, loan to over 48 thousand street vendors have already been sanctioned.
PM SVANidhi scheme was launched for providing affordable working capital loan to street vendors to resume their livelihoods that have been adversely affected due to COVID-19 crisis.
Under the scheme, the vendors can avail a working capital loan of up to ten thousand rupees, which is repayable in monthly instalments in the tenure of one year. There will be no penalty on early repayment of the loan.
Q1. Recently, the government of which state had released a book titled ‘The Tangams’?
Tamil Nadu
Assam
Madhya Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
D. Arunachal Pradesh
The Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu has released a book titled “Tangams: An Ethnolinguistic Study Of The Critically Endangered Group of Arunachal Pradesh”. The book is based on the Tangams, a critically endangered speech community of Arunachal Pradesh resides at Kugging village, Upper Siang district.
Q2. According to the report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA), what is the rank of India forest areas during 2010-2020?
5th
8th
3rd
7th
C. 3rd
India accounted to 0.38% of annual gain in forest cover in 2010-2020, which is around 266,000 hectares of forest increase every year at an average.
Globally, 12.5 million people employed in the forestry sector. Out of this, India accounted for 6.23 million.
Q3. Who wins the first edition of the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity?
Kallan Benson
Greta Thunberg
Isra Hirsi
David Wicker
B. Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg has been awarded for her efforts to mobilise younger generations to tackle climate change.
Gulbenkian Prize is a series of prizes awarded annually by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. It is a special international Prize funded by an annual award of €100,000 each in the field of human rights.
Q4. Which Ministry has recently launched ‘MANODARPAN’ initiative to provide psychosocial support to students for their mental health and well-being?
Ministry of Human Resource and Development
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Ministry of Civil Aviation
Ministry of Commerce and Industry
A. Ministry of Human Resource and Development
‘MANODARPAN’ initiative a advisory guidelines for students, teachers and faculty of School systems and Universities along with families. Under this initiative the working group will provide support to address the mental health and psychosocial aspects both during and after COVID-19 lockdown through counselling services, online resources and helpline. A special web page of MANODARPAN and a handbook was launched.
Q5. India’s First public Electric Vehicle (EV) charging plaza inaugurated at which state/UT?
New Delhi
Tamil Nadu
Jammu and Kashmir
Karnataka
A. New Delhi
It has been set up for enhancing energy efficiency and promoting e-mobility. This plaza will host 5 EV chargers of different specifications.
Q6. Which country has been granted “Observer” status by the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Council?
Pakistan
Turkmenistan
Tajikistan
Iraq
B. Turkemenistan
Turkmenistan became the 25th country observer of the organization and the last former Soviet republic to establish formal ties with the trade body.
Q7. Recently, India and which country signed an agreement for establishment of ‘Emergency Medical Services Unit’?
US
Brazil
Bangladesh
Maldives
D. Maldives
This service is financed by India under grant assistance of around $20 million to the Maldives. The Emergency Medical Service will help to increase the collaboration between the countries, especially in the critical times of need.
Q8. Green Climate Fund (GCF) and which bank partnered towards ‘green recovery’ on the impacts of COVID-19 disease?
World Bank
EXIM Bank
National Development Bank
Asian Development Bank
D. Asian Development Bank
It is a partnership toward a ‘green recovery’ for members confronting the harsh economic impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. They agreed to strengthen collaboration on non-sovereign operations while ensuring GCF’s processes are as flexible as possible to foster at-scale financing.
Q9. Which state/UT has recently launched “Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana” to facilitate the doorstep delivery of ration to the beneficiaries?
Chandigarh
Jharkhand
New Delhi
Odisha
C. New Delhi
Under the scheme, wheat, flour, rice and sugar-packed hygienically in bags will be delivered to the doorstep of people. ‘Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana’ ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ scheme and will be implemented in Delhi on the same day.
Q10. India’s first in-orbit space debris monitoring and tracking system was recently developed by
Dhruva
Digantara
Team Indus
Pixxel
B. Digantara
Digantara Research and Technology (DRT) which has developed India’s first in-orbit space debris monitoring and tracking system that works on LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology. It is India’s first air and space surveillance company. It has received a grant of Rs 25 lakhs.
Q1. Recently, who among the following has been elected as the new President of Hockey India?
Gyanendro Ningombam
Tapan Kumar Das
Rajinder Singh
Pradyum Reddy
A. Gyanendro Ningombam
Gyanendro Ningombam is a resident of Imphal East district. He has been associated with hockey for several years. He was CEO of Manipur Hockey before being elected as Vice President of the association.
Hockey India was established on 20 May 2009. It is now the governing body with exclusive mandate to direct and conduct all activities for both men and women’s hockey in India.
Q2. Union Food Processing Minister, Harsimrat Kaur Badal has virtually inaugurated the “Zoram Mega Food Park” in which state recently?
Uttarakhand
Rajasthan
Jharkhand
Mizoram
D. Mizoram
This is the first Mega Food Park operationalized in the State of Mizoram. The mega food park will generate huge job opportunities for the youth and boost farmers’ income and reduce food wastage in the country.
Q3. As per the Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav, the capital cities of all North-East states in the country will be connected via the rail network by the year?
2024
2023
2025
2022
B. 2023
Except Sikkim, all northeastern states are connected to the rail network. Capitals of Assam, Tripura and Arunachal are already connected. In Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya, the capital connectivity work is in progress.
Q4. Recently, NITI Aayog has recommended the Government of India to use what per cent use of recycled products in large infrastructure projects?
10%
50%
25%
35%
C. 25%
Using recycled products by up to 25 per cent may reduce raw material cost of the project by nearly 10-15 per cent.
Q5. Fampay launched India’s first numberless card ‘FamCard’ in partnership with which bank?
ICICI Bank
State Bank of India
IDBI Bank
IDFC Bank
D. IDFC Bank
Using this numberless card, minors can finally make online and offline payments without the need to set up a bank account. Every transaction is protected with device locks like fingerprint, Face ID, pattern lock or PIN.
Q6. Government of which state has recently launched ”Navin Rojgar Chhatri Yojana” for an all-round development of the Scheduled Castes?
Assam
Uttar Pradesh
Rajasthan
West Bengal
B. Uttar Pradesh
The aim of the scheme is to provide financial assistant to support people to become self-dependent.
Q7. Who has been recently appointed as Vice-President of Asian Development Bank (ADB)?
Ashok Lavasa
TC Venkat Subramanian
David Rasquinha
Tarun Bajaj
A. Ashok Lavasa
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966. Its Headquarter is in Metro Manila, Philippines. From 31 members at its establishment it now has 68 members. Masatsugu Asakawa is the current President.
Q8. Who has been recently appointed as the First Woman Prime Minister of Gabon?
Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda
Dame Marguerite Pindling
Adrienne Louise Clarkson
Monica Dacon
A. Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda
She became the first woman to be elected mayor of the capital Libreville in 2014.
Gabon is located on the west coast of Central Africa. Its capital and largest city is Libreville. The official language is French.
Q9. What is the rank of India in Global Manufacturing Risk Index 2020?
3rd
2nd
5th
1st
A. 3rd
India ranked 3rd among 48 countries in in terms of cost competitiveness and operating conditions. The Index was released by the US-based property consultant Cushman & Wakefield. China and the United States retain the top two positions.
Q10. Recently, in which country India planned to create its first ever overseas oil stockpile?
Russia
US
Austria
Iran
B. US
India and the US have signed an MoU to develop a strategic petroleum reserve to store crude oil in America to increase India’s stockpile.
