About:

• Mushirul Hasan (1949 – 2018) was a historian of modern India. He was a Professor in the Department of History and Culture, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
  
  
• Key Positions held:
  • He was the elected as the President of the Indian History Congress in 2002.
    
    
  • He served as the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia (2004-2009).
    
    
  • He was appointed as the Director-General of the National Archives of India in 2010.
    
    
  
  
  
• Awards and Honours:
  • Padma Shri
    
    
  • Ordre des Palmes Académiques: a national order bestowed by the French Govt. to distinguished academics and figures in the world of culture and education
    
    
  • Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship by the Indian Council of Social Science Research
    
    
  • Conferred the Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• The Kaiga Atomic Power Station (KAPS) is a nuclear power generating station situated at Kaiga, near the river Kali, in Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka, India.
  
  
• Units:
  • The power station currently operates four Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWRs), all of which are small-sized CANDU plants of 220 MW.
    
    
  • Kaiga Generating Station Unit-1 (KGS-1), located 56 km from Karwar, has been generating electricity continuously since May 13, 2016.
    
    
  
  
  
• Timeline:
  • KAPS began commercial operations in 2000.
    
    
  • KGS-1 has been generating electricity continuously since May 13, 2016.
    
    
  • In June 2018, KGS-1 had set a national record for continuous operation of 766 days.
    
    
  • In October 2018, KGS-1 had broken the earlier world record for longest uninterrupted operation among PWRS held by Pickering-7 (Ontario) in Canada which operated for 894 days and few hours.
    
    
  • According to official sources, KGS-1 will be shut down for maintenance on December 30. Nuclear power reactors undergo mandatory checks and have to get clearance from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board to continue operations.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• Type: It is a surface-to-surface Nuclear Capable Ballistic missile.
  
  
• Warhead: It can carry both nuclear and traditional weapons.
  
  
• Range: Agni-V, with a range of over 5,000 km, is India’s longest-range ballistic missile and can reach most parts of China, making it the mainstay of India’s triad to deliver nuclear weapons.
  
  
• Dimensions: it is a 17-meter long missile with two-meter diameter.
  
  
• It has been indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
  
  
• Technologies: Agni-V is the most advanced missile in the Agni series featuring many new technologies, including the very high accuracy Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial Navigation System (RINS) and Micro Navigation System (MINS) which improves the accuracy of the missile.
  
  

About:

• The Conference is being organized under the aegis of National Hydrology Project, Union Ministry of Water Resources by Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) at Indian School of Business (ISB), Mohali.
  
  
• The aim of the Conference is to foster dialogue between various stakeholders (from both within India and from other countries), including governments, the scientific and academic communities, so as to promote sustainable policies for water management.
  
  

Changes approved:

• Other key features:Mandatory contribution by the Central Government for its employees covered under NPS Tier-I to be enhanced from the existing 10% to 14%.
  
  
• Providing freedom of choice for selection of Pension Funds and pattern of investment to central government employees.
  
  
• Payment of compensation for non-deposit or delayed deposit of NPS contributions during 2004-2012.
  
  
• Tax exemption limit for lump sum withdrawal on exit has been enhanced to 60%. With this, the entire withdrawal will now be exempt from income tax (At present, 40% of the total accumulated corpus utilized for purchase of annuity is already tax exempted).
  
  
• Contribution by the Government employees under Tier-II of NPS will now be covered under Section 80 C for deduction up to Rs. 1.5 lakh for the purpose of income tax at par with the other schemes such as General Provident Fund, Employees Provident Fund etc.
  
  

• Implementation strategy and targets: The proposed changes to NPS would be made applicable immediately once time critical decisions are taken in consultation with the other concerned Ministries / Departments.
  
  
• of beneficiaries: All States/districts will be covered. Approximately 18 lakh central government employees covered under NPS would be benefitted from the streamlining of the National Pension System.
  
  

Urjit Patel:

• Urjit Ravindra Patel is an Indian economist.
  
  
• In 2013, he was appointed as Deputy Governor of RBI for a period of three years.
  
  
• He served as the 24^th Governor of the RBI from September 2016 to 10 December 2018. He succeeded Raghuram Rajan. During Urjit Patel’s tenure, the Government of India carried out demonetisation.
  
  
• According to sources, S. Vishwanathan, who is the senior most among the four Deputy Governors, has been given charge till the government finds a successor. Mr. Vishwanathan was appointed as Deputy Governor in July 2016.
  
  

Other RBI Governors to resign:

• Urjit Patel is the fifth RBI Governor in ‘Independent India’ to have resigned from his post before his term was over.
  
  
• The first RBI Governor Benegal Rama Rau (1949 – 1957) resigned because of his differences with then Finance Minister T.T. Krishnamachari.
  
  
• The other RBI governors to resign are KR Puri (1975 – 1977), RN Malhotra (1985 – 1988) and Bimal Jalan (1997 – 2003)
  
  
• However, the precedent for an RBI Governor resigning was set before Independence, when the first Governor, Sir Osborn Smith resigned in 1937 due to differences with the Finance Member of the Viceroy’s Council.
  
  

SWIFT:

• SWIFT stands for “Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication.”
  
  
• Status: SWIFT is a global member-owned cooperative society under Belgian law.
  
  
• Establishment: It was founded in 1973 by a group of 239 banks from 15 countries.
  
  
• Headquarters: La Hulpe, Belgium.
  
  
• Functions:
  • SWIFT is a secure financial message carrier. its core role is to provide a secure transmission channel so that Bank A knows that its message to Bank B goes to Bank B and no one else.
    
    
  • Apart from this, it also sells software and services to financial institutions, much of it for use on the SWIFTNet Network.
    
    
  
  
  
• What it doesn’t?
  • SWIFT does not facilitate funds transfer: rather, it sends payment orders, which must be settled by correspondent accounts that the institutions have with each other.
    
    
  • It does not hold accounts for its members.
    
    
  • It does not perform any form of clearing or settlement.
    
    
  
  
  
• Usage:
  • SWIFT is used by financial institutions like Banks, Depositories, Exchanges, Corporate Business Houses etc.
    
    
  • The majority of international interbank messages use the SWIFT network.
    
    
  
  
  

SWIFT India:

• SWIFT India is a joint venture of top Indian public and private sector banks and SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication).
  
  
• The company was created to deliver high quality domestic financial messaging services to the Indian financial community.
  
  

Extradition:

• Meaning:
  • Extradition is a process where one governmental authority formally returns an alleged criminal to another governmental authority for prosecution for a criminal charge.
    
    
  • It is initiated when a person commits a crime in country and flees to another country.
    
    
  
  
  
• Extradition vs deportation:
  • Unlike deportation, extradition is a judicial process.
    
    
  • g. in India a request to extradite an accused can be initiated only after a chargesheet is filed before the court and the court seeks the presence of the accused to face trial.
    
    
  
  
  
• Extradition treaties & arrangements:
  • In India, the extradition of a fugitive from India to a foreign country or vice-versa is governed by the provisions of Indian Extradition Act, 1962.
    
    
  • To ensure extradition, extradition treaties exists between nations. India currently (as of June 2018) has extradition treaties with 48 countries. The U.K. is among them.
    
    
  
  
  

Recent verdict:

• Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot ordered businessman Vijay Mallya to be extradited to India pointing to numerous misrepresentations made by Kingfisher Airlines and the businessman during the course of obtaining loans from a consortium of banks, including IDBI.
  
  
• The judge referred the case to British Home Secretary Sajid Javid for signing the extradition order. Under the treaty, Mr. Javid has two months to order the extradition, after which any appeal process would kick off.
  
  
• Mallya has the right to appeal to the High Court and should that go against him he could apply for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.
  
  

India Day:

• India Day event provided a platform for expressing the vision and achievements of RMNCH+A by major stakeholders from national, state, and community.
  
  
• It aimed to share and learn from the good practices and innovations implemented by different States/UTs and organisations to address various health challenges around maternal and child health.
  
  

Reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent (RMNCH+A) programme:

• In India, RMNCH+A was launched in 2013 to address the major causes of mortality among women and children as well as the delays in accessing and utilizing health care and services.
  
  
• Since the roll out of RMNCH+A, India’s maternal mortality rate (MMR) has fallen from 556 in the year 1990 to 130 in 2014–16 (SRS data).
  
  
• RMNCH+A is aligned with the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health and its key programming tenets to end preventable deaths, ensure well-being and expand enabling environments, popularly known as the Survive, Thrive and Transform approach.
  
  

About:

• The Lingayats is a numerically and politically strong community of Karnataka.
  
  
• They are followers of Basaveshwara, the founder of the Lingayats sect.
  • He was a 12^th century philosopher, Kannada poet and a social reformer during the reign of the Kalachuri-dynasty king Bijjala I in Karnataka.
    
    
  • He spread social awareness through his poetry, popularly known as Vachanaas.
    
    
  • He rejected gender or social discrimination. He introduced new public institutions such as the ‘Anubhava Mantapa’, which welcomed men and women from all socio-economic backgrounds to discuss spiritual and mundane questions of life, in open.
    
    
  
  
  
• Nagamohan Das panel:
  • Earlier the Karnataka State Minorities Commission constituted an expert committee headed by Justice Nagamohan Das to study the Lingayats ' demand for a separate religion tag.
    
    
  • On March 2 Justice Nagamohan Das recommended the state government to consider Lingayat’s plea to be considered a separate religion.
    
    
  • This gave a big boost to the Lingayat community’s demand for a minority-status tag.
    
    
  • The state government accepted the suggestions of the expert panel and subsequently the cabinet gave its nod to the recommendation of separate religion for the Lingayat community today.
    
    
  
  
  

Arguments by Centre for denying separate minority religion status for Lingayats

• Union Govt. said that a similar request was considered earlier and it was observed that Lingayats were always classified under Hindus since 1871 census, the first official census of India.
  
  
• Further, all members of scheduled caste professing Veerashaivas/Lingayat religion would lose their status if it is treated a separate religion.
  
  

About:

• Significance: HTS has the potential to transform the role of satellite communications in both commercial and government networksA high throughput satellite (HTS) is a satellite that has many times the throughput of a traditional Fixed-satellite service (FSS) using the same amount of allocated frequency on orbit.
  
  
• Underlying principle: These satellites accomplish this by taking advantage of frequency reuse and spot beams. By doing so, they reduce the cost per bit delivered, regardless of spectrum choice.
  
  

About:

• Location:
  • Gharana wetland is located along the border with Pakistan in RS Pura tehsil of Jammu district.
    
    
  • Gharana is surrounded by wetlands of Makwal, Kukdian, Abdullian and Pargwal where hundreds of migratory birds, including the bar-headed goose species arrive during the winter.
    
    
  
  
  
• Conservation status:
  • Gharana wetland is a notified wetland conservation reserve under the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife Protection Act 1978.
    
    
  • It has international recognition as one of the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in the world, declared by BirdLife International (UK) and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• Bioplastics, or plant-based plastics, are plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, food waste, etc.
  
  
• These are often promoted as a climate-friendly alternative to petroleum-based plastics. It is argued that –
  • Plastics are usually made from petroleum, so the carbon embodied is released into the atmosphere by degradation or burning, contributing to global warming.
    
    
  • However, Plants get carbon dioxide from the air through their leaves. Therefore, producing bioplastics consumes carbon dioxide, which compensates for the amount that is later released. Thus, it is assumed to be carbon-neutral.
    
    
  
  
  

Recent Study: Key Findings

• A recent study on bioplastics was published by the University of Bonn in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
  
  
• Key Findings:
  • It suggests that shifting to bioplastics could have less positive effects than expected.
    
    
  • In fact, increased consumption of bioplastics is likely to generate increased greenhouse gas emissions from cropland expansion on a global scale.
    
    
  
  
  
• Argument given:
  • It is because the production of bioplastics in large amounts would change land use globally. This could potentially lead to an increase in the conversion of forest areas to arable land.
    
    
  • However, forests absorb considerably more carbon dioxide than maize or sugar cane annually. This translates into enormous quantities of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) is a prescribed percentage of bank deposits which banks are required to keep with Central Bank in the form of reserves or balances.
  
  
• The two main objectives of CRR are:
  • That banks should have sufficient cash at all times to meet the payment demands of their deposit customers; and
    
    
  • It is a tool of monetary policy to control money supply in the economy. Higher the CRR with the Central Bank, lower will be the liquidity in the system and vice versa.
    
    
  
  
  

CRR in India:

• In terms of Section 42(1) of the RBI Act, 1934 the RBI prescribes the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) without any floor or ceiling rate.
  
  
• The current CRR prescribed is 4% of Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL). So, when a bank’s deposits increase by ₹100, and if the CRR is 4%, the banks will have to park ₹4 with the RBI. The bank can use only ₹96 for investments and lending purposes.
  
  

Key Recommendations:

• Unlisted Indian companies should be allowed to do direct equity listing in select overseas markets.
  
  
• Companies from select overseas jurisdictions should also be allowed to list their shares on Indian bourses.
  
  
• The SEBI panel only chose those jurisdictions as ‘Permissible Jurisdictions’ – where unlisted Indian companies can do a direct equity listing – that are part of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) board and not just ordinary members of the global body.
  
  

Significance of recommendations:

• The recommendations are significant as current regulations bar unlisted Indian companies to list their shares overseas, though such entities could list their depository receipts.
  
  
• Also, overseas companies can currently list here only by way of issuing Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs), a framework that has proved to be a non-starter.
  
  
• to the SEBI panel, such listing, if allowed, would benefit companies in the form of alternative source of capital, broader investor base and better valuation.
  
  
• And by allowing overseas companies to list in India, Indian investors could benefit from enhanced diversification of portfolios and participation in the wealth created by global companies.
  
  
• The recommendations are essential to make India a player in the global securities market.
  
  

Key Statistics (acc. to data provided by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment as on December 8, 2018):

• 13,973 manual scavengers have been identified in the country.
  
  
• Uttar Pradesh (11,563) has the highest number of identified manual scavengers followed by Karnataka (732). Chhattisgarh (3) and Madhya Pradesh (36) have the lowest.
  
  
• Rehabilitation:
  • Budget allocated for self-employment schemes declined from Rs. 448 crore in 2014 to Rs. 5 crore in 2017.
    
    
  • The number of one-time cash assistance to beneficiaries is declining since 2015-16.
    
    
  • The number of beneficiaries of skill development training is declining since 2016-17.
    
    
  
  
  
• Lives Lost:
  • Manual scavengers’ deaths continue despite rehabilitation measures.
    
    
  • Between 2015 and 2018, the highest number of sewer deaths were in Gujarat (26) and least in west Bengal, Tripura and Madhya Pradesh (2 each).
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• INDRA NAVY is the bilateral maritime exercise between Indian Navy and Russian Federation Navy which was initiated in 2003.
  
  
• The primary aim of the exercise is to increase inter-operability amongst the two navies, develop common understanding and procedures for maritime security operations.
  
  
• The 10^th edition of exercise INDRA NAVY will be conducted at/off Visakhapatnam from 9 to 16 December 2018. This edition of the exercise would be held in two phases.
  • The Harbour Phase would be held at Visakhapatnam from 09 to 12 December 2018.
    
    
  • The Sea Phase from 13 to 16 December 2018 would be conducted in the Bay of Bengal.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• AVIAINDRA-2018 is the second in the series of bilateral joint exercise between IAF-RFSAF. The inaugural IAF-RFSAF Ex AVIAINDRA was conducted in 2014.
  
  
• Objective of the exercise is to enhance operational coordination between the Indian and Russian Air Forces.
  
  
• Timeline: The exercise is being held in two phases.
  • Phase 1: In Russia, the IAF pilots flew alongside their Russian counterparts in RFSAF aircraft at Lipetsk from September 17 to 28, 2018.
    
    
  • Phase 2: In India, the RFSAF pilots will fly alongside their Indian counterparts in the IAF aircraft, which are common to both Air Forces from December 10 to 21, 2018.
    
    
  
  
  
• The exercise is unique wherein the foreign participant does not bring its air assets. e. in Phase-2 the Russian Air Force would not bring its assets and would take part in the drill using Indian platforms.
  
  

About:

• The district, consisting four circles - namely Mechuka, Pidi, Tato and Monigong - was carved out of West Siang district.
  
  
• The state assembly gave its assent to the creation of this new district owing to its large geographical area and inaccessible terrains.
  
  
• With the formal inauguration of Shi Yomi district, the number of districts in Arunachal Pradesh has increased to
  
  
• Two more districts will be formally inaugurated in the state this week, taking the total districts in the state to 25. In August 2018, The AP State Assembly passed Arunachal Pradesh Re-Organisation of Districts (Amendment) Bill 2018 Billfor the creation of three new districts - Pakke-Kesang, Lepa Rada and Shi Yomi.
  
  

About:

• ‘Talari’ is a large hat made of bamboo or cane that protects agricultural labourers in Odisha from the sun and rain when they work in the fields.
  
  
• The ‘smart-Talari’ developed by Babula Gouda, using locally available materials, generates solar power to run gadgets added to it.
  • Now the solar powered ‘smart-Talari’ has two small fans to cool working farmers and a light to help at night.
    
    
  • It also has a FM radio and audio player kit for entertainment and weather forecast.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• The Chang’e-4 lunar probe mission — named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology — launched on a Long March 3B rocket from the southwestern Xichang launch centre.
  
  
• It is expected to land on the far side of the Moon around the New Year to carry out experiments and survey the terrain.
  
  
• Significance:
  • Chang’e-4 is humanity’s first probe to explore the far side of the moon. No lander or rover has ever touched the surface there.
    
    
  • Unlike the near side of the moon that is “tidally locked” and always faces the earth, and offers many flat areas to touch down on, the far side is mountainous and rugged.
    
    
  • It was not until 1959 that the Soviet Union captured the first images of the heavily cratered surface, uncloaking some of the mystery of the moon’s “dark side”.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• CROSS BOW-18 was the combined guided weapons firing exercise of Surface to Air Missile.
  
  
• During it, firing of four different class of missiles – AKASH, SPYDER, OSA-AK-M and IGLA was successfully carried out on 5^th, 7^th and 8^th December 2018 during day and night in an integrated networked environment.
  
  
• This exercise was undertaken to improve the combat skills of missile Squadron crew.
  
  

About:

• Panna, Mukta (both oil fields) and Tapti (gas field) are located offshore to the south of Gulf of Khambhat, off the west coast of India in the Arabian Sea.
  
  
• Tapti field covering an area of 1471 sq.kms lies 160 km north-north west of the Mumbai city.
  
  
• It lies approximately in a water depth of 20 M on the northeast flank of Surat depression, of Mumbai Offshore Basin.
  
  
• The block comprises of two fields South Tapti and Mid Tapti, which occur in two large structural culminations.
  
  
• Tapti would be the country’s first offshore field to be decommissioned.
  
  

About:

• Kannur International Airport is an international airport serving the district of Kannur, in Kerala.
  
  
• It is owned and operated by Kannur International Airport Limited, a public–private consortium. The Government of Kerala, owns 32.86% of the company's shares, 22.54% by State and Central PSUs, 9.39% by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and 35.21% by others.
  
  
• The airport opened for commercial operations on 9 December 2018.
  
  
• With this, there are 4 international airports in Kerala, the other three being in Kochi, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram.
  
  

About:

• What is It? Talc, or Talcum, is a clay mineral consisting of hydrated magnesium silicate.
  
  
• Applications:
  • It is widely used in cosmetics, paints and ceramics. Talcum powder is among the most widely known talc-based self-care products.
    
    
  • In India, a large number of consumers rely on talcum powder and the market is estimated to be worth about ₹700 crore.
    
    
  
  
  
• Health Risks (according to a draft assessment by Canada’s public health department):
  • Breathing in products containing talc can lead to coughing, difficulty in breathing, decreased lung function and scarring of the lung issue.
    
    
  • Using products containing talc by women in the genital area “may cause ovarian cancer”.
    
    
  • International agency for research on Cancer has classified perineal use of talc-based body powder as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” on the basis of limited evidence in humans.
    
    
  
  
  

Windrush generation:

• Windrush generation refers to migrants from the Caribbean Commonwealth who had come to the U.K. at a time when they had the right to remain indefinitely in Britain, but had had their rights questioned under a toughened immigration regime.
  
  
• The Windrush generation is named after one of the many vessels that ferried some half a million people from the Caribbean islands to the U.K. in the late 1940s.
  
  

Windrush scandal:

• The Windrush generation, has fallen victim to a ruthless policy that stipulates annual net immigration objectives.
  
  
• In its wake, people with cultural links to the region but who have lived all their lives in the U.K. are having to provide proof of residence for every year of their stay of up to 60-70 years.
  
  
• Inability to furnish such evidence has been met with job losses, threat of deportation, withdrawal of welfare benefits and even denial of critical medical care.
  
  

About:

• Location: It is located between the Swat and Buner districts in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakthunkhwa province.
  
  
• Religious significance: Elum Valley carries a historical significance to both the Hindus and the Buddhists.
  • to Hindu belief, Lord Ram spent time meditating there during his 14 years of exile.
    
    
  • Buddhists believe it to be the site where a previous incarnation of Lord Buddha gave up his life.
    
    
  
  
  

Recent development:

• Pakistan’s Khyber Pakthunkhwa province is planning to construct a heritage park in Elum Valley to promote religious tourism.
  
  
• Under the project, fencing of the entire Elum Valley would be done and a separate track would be constructed in the heritage park.
  
  
• A fund of Rs. 5 million has already been allocated by the government to the authorities concerned as an initial grant for preparation of feasibility report of the project.
  
  

CWMA:

• The CWMA, under the Cauvery Water Management Scheme, 2018, was established one June 1, 2018, under Section 6A of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.
  
  
• Mandate of CWMA:
  • To give effect to the decision of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal as modified by the Supreme Court vide its Order, dated 16th February, 2018
    
    
  • Storage, apportionment, regulation and control of Cauvery waters, supervision of operation of reservoirs and regulation of water release.
    
    
  
  
  

Arguments by Tamil Nadu to oppose S. Masood Husain’s appointment:

• Giving Mr. Husain additional charge as chairman of the CWMA is leading to conflict of interest as he already is the chief of CWC. He was given additional charge as CWMA chairman in July 2018.
  
  
• The law mandated the Union Ministry of Water Resources to appoint a full-time chairperson for the CWMA. But, even after 6 months from the date of its constitution, is yet to be established in a full-fledged manner.
  
  

About:

• The bridge, across the valley of River Ijai near Noney (Manipur), is part of the 111-km Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal project, a national project, which is set to be completed by 2022.
  
  
• Once completed, it will have a pier height of 141 metres. The record for the tallest railway bridge is now held by the 139-m Mala Rijeka viaduct, Montenegro in Europe.
  
  
• There are total 45 tunnels in the project, the longest tunnel being 10.28 km long, which will be the longest railway tunnel in the northeast.
  
  

About:

• Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS), is a lake and the dam that creates it.
  
  
• Type: It is a type of Gravity Dam.
  
  
• Location: The dam is located below the confluence of river Kaveri with its tributaries Hemavati and Lakshmana Tirtha, in the district of Mandya in Karnataka.
  
  
• History: the project was conceptualised by Bharat Ratna awardee, Chief Engineer of Mysore M. Visvesvaraya. The construction began in 1911 and it began operations in 1938.
  
  
• Usage:
  • The water from the Dam is used for irrigation in Mysore and Mandya, and is the main source of drinking water for Mysore, Mandya and Bengaluru city.
    
    
  • The water released from this dam flows into the state of Tamil Nadu and is stored in Mettur dam in the Salem district.
    
    
  
  
  
• Brindavan Gardens, an ornamental garden, is attached to the dam.
  
  

About:

• The biennial Aero India began in 1996, and has emerged as the largest aerospace exhibition in Asia.
  
  
• It attracts all major aerospace manufacturers around the globe given India’s large armed forces looking at major modernisation and huge imports. Aero India 2017 saw the participation of 213 companies from 22 countries and 234 Indian companies.
  
  
• Yelahanka Air Force station in Bengaluru has hosted all the 11 editions so far.
  
  
• So far, Aero India has been defence-oriented while a separate civil aviation exhibition is held in Hyderabad. But in the upcoming 12^th edition of ‘Aero India’ at Bengaluru to be held from February 20 to 24, 2019, Aero India and aviation expo will be merged.
  
  
• The tag line of Aero India 2019 is “Runway for a billion opportunities.” The logo is inspired by the indigenous light combat aircraft Tejas.
  
  

About:

• Agencies involved: The hackathon has been launched by NITI Aayog in partnership with Perlin, a Singapore-based AI start-up.
  
  
• Duration of Hackathon: 4 months. The hackathon will be run two stages with Stage One ending 15 January 2019 and Stage Two, which will only include shortlisted participants from the previous stage, will conclude on 15 March 2019.
  
  
• Objective: In this hackathon, NITI Aayog is inviting developers, students, start-ups and companies to develop AI applications to make significant positive socio-economic impact for India.
  
  
• Awards: Winners will share in a prize pool worth USD $50,000 in both cash and non-cash rewards. Participants will also get mentorship from the hackathon co-sponsors to scale and implement their AI applications.
  
  
• Background:
  • With the vision to further expand the idea of ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) for All’ articulated in the National AI Strategy, NITI Aayog organises hackathons to source technologically-enabled solutions to address various developmental challenges.
    
    
  • NITI Aayog organized its first hackathon, ‘MoveHack’ in August, on the sidelines of the Global Mobility Summit 2018.
    
    
  
  
  

Arguments raised in their paper:

• Mutations and natural selection are the predominant evolutionary mechanisms to induce variations in flowering plants.
  
  
• In Genetic engineering all the molecular/cellular events which are triggered with the insertion of exogenous DNA, are not precisely understood.
  
  
• Huge socio-economic cost is borne by farmers from hybrids in Bt Cotton. Since cost of GE seeds and inputs as in Bt Cotton are very high, small farmers are unable to withstands crop losses.
  
  
• The site of a gene’s insertion is not controllable, and health concerns from unintended effects have been raised. Precautionary principle has been done away within India and no rigorous biosafety protocols and evaluation of GM crops are in place.
  
  
• Bt Cotton in India failed to live up to promises in 10 years, on high yields from pest resistance and reduction in insecticide use.
  
  

Scenario of GM Crops in India:

• Bt Cotton: It occupies greater than 95% of India’s cotton acreage. Yields have stagnated at 500kg/ha (lower than yields in China and Egypt)
  
  
• Bt Brinjal: It was cleared by GEAC, but was put on a moratorium by the UPA government.
  
  
• GM Mustard: GM Mustard developed by Delhi University was cleared by the GEAC, but later it was withdrawn.
  
  

Chief Economic Adviser (CEA):

• The Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) is the economic advisor to the Government of India working under the direct charge of the Minister of Finance.
  
  
• The CEA is the ex-officio cadre controlling authority of the Indian Economic Service.
  
  
• First CEA: JJ Anjaria (1956-61).
  
  
• Other prominent CEA’s in the past: Manmohan Singh (1972-76), Kaushik Basu (2009-2012), Raghuram Rajan (2012-2013).
  
  
• The post had been lying vacant after Arvind Subramanian left it in June 2018 after a four-year stint.
  
  

Krishnamurthy Subramanian:

• He is also an alumnus of IIT-Kanpur and IIM-Calcutta.
  
  
• He did his Ph.D from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 2005 under former CEA and RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.
  
  
• He is now an associate professor at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad.
  
  

Balance of Payments (BoP):

• The Balance of payments (BoP) record the transactions in goods, services and assets between residents of a country with the rest of the world.
  
  
• There are two main accounts in the BoP –
  • the current account and
    
    
  • the capital account.
    
    
  
  
  

Current Account:

• The current account records exports and imports in goods and services and transfer payments.
  
  
• Trade in services denoted as invisible trade (because they are not seen to cross national borders) includes both
  • factor income (payment for inputs-investment income, that is, the interest, profits and dividends on our assets abroad minus the income foreigners earn on assets they own in India) and
    
    
  • non-factor income (shipping, banking, insurance, tourism, software services, etc.).
    
    
  
  
  
• Transfer payments are receipts which the residents of a country receive ‘for free’, without having to make any present or future payments in return. They consist of remittances, gifts and grants. They could be official or private.
  
  
• The balance of exports and imports of goods is referred to as the trade balance.
  
  
• Adding trade in services and net transfers to the trade balance, we get the current account balance.
  
  

Online Travel Aggregator (OTA):

• An Online Travel Aggregator (OTA) is an intermediary / agent selling travel products and services such as the airlines, car rental, cruise lines, Hotels / Accommodation, railways and vacation packages on behalf of suppliers using internet as a medium.
  
  
• They establish an online market place and earn profits on the discounts commonly referred to as commission offered by the suppliers.
  
  
• Concerns: Several players in the OTA segment operating now without any accreditation / validation. Thus, there are risks of letting the market operate unhindered leading to unethical trade practices. In this background, the guidelines have been issued.
  
  

Recent guidelines by Tourism Ministry:

• This is a voluntary scheme open to bonafide OTA’s to bring them on a common platform in the organized sector.
  
  
• The recognition as an approved OTA shall be granted by the Union Ministry of Tourism for 5 years, based on the Inspection Report / Recommendations of a Committee
  
  
• The re-approval shall be granted for five years after inspection conducted by a Committee.
  
  
• It shall be mandatory for an approved OTA to prominently display the Certificate of approval given by the Ministry in the office premises so that it is visible to a potential tourist.
  
  
• The decision of Ministry of Tourism in the matter of approval/ re-approval shall be final.
  
  

About:

• Millets consists of Jowar, Bajra, Ragi and minor millets together termed as nutri-cereals.
  
  
• Observing an International Year of Millets in 2023 will enhance global awareness about Millets for food and nutrition security and hence increase production for resilience to challenges posed globally by climate change.
  
  
• Steps by Government of India:
  • This international endorsement comes in the backdrop of India celebrating 2018 as the National Year of Millets for promoting cultivation and consumption of these nutri-cereals.
    
    
  • Government has also increased Minimum Support Prices (MSP) of millets. Through the Department of Food and Public Distribution, State Governments are allowed to procure jowar, bajra, maize and ragi from farmers at MSP.
    
    
  
  
  

Timeline:

• The term, ‘De-notified and Nomadic Tribes’, can be traced to the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) of 1871.
  
  
• The colonial government notified nearly 200 tribal communities to be hereditary criminals and subjecting them to constant harassment by the administration.
  
  
• After India gained Independence, these tribes were ‘de-notified’ from the list of Criminal Tribes, and, hence, the term.
  
  
• The CTA was repealed and the Habitual Offenders Act (HOA) was enacted in various States. Currently, a variant of the HOA Model Bill as proposed by the Union Government stands enforced in 10 States across the country, having been enacted in many more.
  
  

Challenges faced by them:

• However, the HOA functioned as a mere extension of the CTA. Nomadic and semi-nomadic communities continued to face harassment at the hands of law enforcement agencies.
  
  
• Given their centuries-old tradition of constant movement, they often do not possess any residential proof, which leaves them out of the majority of the government’s schemes.
  
  
• Those deemed eligible for such schemes were randomly grouped under the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes or Other Backward Classes categories.
  
  

Steps taken by Government:

• To address these issues, the first National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic Tribes (NCDNT) was constituted in 2003, and reconstituted two years later under the chairpersonship of Balkrishna Renke, which submitted its report in 2008.
  
  
• The recommendations found an echo in the Idate Commission, constituted with the similar mandate in 2015, and currently withholding public release of its report.
  
  

Way ahead:

• The NCDNT report clearly recommends repealing the various HOAs as the Act still casts its shadow of the state on communities.
  
  
• However, the repeal of the HOA has to be accompanied by a slew of legal reforms to address the multitude of issues DNT communities face.
  
  
• Their unique lifestyle requires positive affirmation and development policies.
  
  

About:

• The World Food Programme is the food-assistance branch of the United Nations.
  
  
• Objectives: The WFP strives to eradicate hunger and malnutrition, with the ultimate goal of eliminating the need for food aid itself. It has set the target of achieving "Zero Hunger by 2030".
  
  
• Functions:
  • WFP’s efforts focus on emergency assistance, relief and rehabilitation, development aid and special operations.
    
    
  • It responds to emergencies making sure food reaches where it is needed, especially in times of civil strife and natural disasters.
    
    
  
  
  
• Global Presence: to WFP, it assists 91.4 million people in around 83 countries each year.
  
  
• Administration: The WFP is governed by an executive board which consists of representatives from 36-member states.
  
  
• Established in:
  
  
• HQ:
  
  
• It is a member of the United Nations Development Group.
  
  

About:

• Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamist fundamentalist organization that has been the de facto governing authority of the Gaza Strip since its takeover of that area in 2007.
  
  
• Hamas was founded in 1987 to liberate Palestine, including modern-day Israel, from Israeli occupation and to establish an Islamic state in the area.
  
  
• It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
  
  
• It is regarded as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union. Russia, China, and Turkey do not regard it so.
  
  

The recent resolution moved was the first proposed resolution condemning Hamas to be presented to the 193-nation assembly.