Amit Panghal:

• He is an Indian boxer from the state of
  
  
• In Asian Games 2018, he defeated Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan in the final of Men's Light Flyweight 49-kilogram category to win the gold.
  
  
• Earlier, he won the silver medal at 2018 Commonwealth Games in the light flyweight category.
  
  

Bridge event:

• In the bridge Men's Pair event, Pranab Bardhan and Shibhnath Sarkar finished top of the table with 384 points.
  
  
• This is the first time that bridge has been included at the Asian Games.
  
  
• Bridge is a card game using a standard 52-card deck. It is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table.
  
  

About:

• Financial support for participation of the Kho Kho team in an International event has been approved for the first time in relaxation of the existing guidelines of the Ministry
  
  
• to current guidelines, sports disciplines like Kho Kho, which are categorised as “Others”, will not be eligible for financial support for participation in International sporting events.
  
  
• The recent decision has been taken to
  • encourage traditional Games of the country as
    
    
  • pave the way for its future mainstreaming at the International level and its possible inclusion in sporting events like the Commonwealth Games, Olympics, etc.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• Red sanders is a variety of
  
  
• Scientific name: Pterocarpus santalinus.
  
  
• Common name: Red Sandalwood, Almug, Red Sanders, Saunderswood.
  
  
• IUCN status: Near Threatened.
  
  
• Habitat: It is found in dry deciduous forests.
  
  
• Distribution:
  • It is an Indian endemic tree species, having a restricted geographic range in the Eastern Ghats in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
    
    
  • Around 90% of the red sanders is found in the Palakonda and Seshachalam hill ranges of Cuddapha-Chittoor Districts of Andhra Pradesh.
    
    
  
  
  

Smuggling:

• Red sanders smuggling is rampant due to its huge demand in China, Japan and South-East Asia for medicine, dye-making and manufacturing furniture, musical instruments, chess-sets.
  
  
• Steps taken to prevent smuggling –
  • It is internationally protected under CITES (convention on international trade in endangered species) Appendix II since 1995.
    
    
  • In 2014, AP government formed RSATSF (Red-Sanders Anti-Smuggling Task-Force).
    
    
  • Operation Sesha has been launched by directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) by involving 17 countries.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• Scientific Name: Rucervus eldii.
  
  
• Common Name: Sangai, Brow antlered deer, Dancing Deer.
  
  
• Population: About 260 (acc. to a joint census conducted by the Forest Department in 2016).
  
  
• Habitat and Distribution: It is found only in Keibul Lamjao National Park – the largest single mass of phumdi is in the Loktak Lake – in Manipur’s Bishnupur district.
  
  
• Characteristics:
  • Sangai is a medium-sized deer, with uniquely distinctive antlers, with extremely long brow tine, which form the main beam.
    
    
  • The forward protruding beam appears to come out from the eyebrow, hence called the brow-antlered deer.
    
    
  • It has a dark reddish-brown winter coat, which turns paler in summer.
    
    
  • The deer walks on the hind surface of its pasterns with mincing hops over floating foliage, and is hence also called the Dancing Deer.
    
    
  
  
  
• Status:
  • State animal of Manipur.
    
    
  • Schedule-1 of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
    
    
  • Endangered on IUCN Red List.
    
    
  
  
  
• Conservation Issues:
  • Sangai faces threat from steadily degenerating habitat of phumdi as a result of continuous inundation and flooding caused due to artificial reservoir.
    
    
  • There is also invasion of non-native plants like Paragrass.
    
    
  • It also faces threats of diseases from the livestock, inbreeding depression and poaching.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has been setup under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communication with 100% equity owned by Government of India.
  
  
• It was launched as a pilot project in 2017 in Ranchi (Jharkhand) and Raipur (Chhattisgarh).
  
  
• Services provided:
  • Being a payment bank, it will not advance loans or issue credit cards to avoid risk like other banks to avoid risk.
    
    
  • But it will perform rest of the functions like accepting deposits, offering remittance services, mobile payments/transfers/purchases and other banking services like ATM/debit cards, net banking and third-party fund transfers.
    
    
  • it will also deliver the benefits of schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.
    
    
  
  
  
• Coverage: Initially, IPPB will have 650 Branches and 3250 Access Points spread across the country. By 31st December, 2018, all the 1.55 lakh Post Offices in the country will be linked to the IPPB system.
  
  
• Significance: By leveraging the vast network of the Department of Posts (with more than 3 lakh Postmen and Grameen Dak Sewaks), IPPB will significantly augment the reach of the banking sector in the country specially in the rural areas.
  
  

About:

• Establishment:
  • It was established in 1949, following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict.
    
    
  • In the absence of a solution to the Palestine refugee problem, the General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA's mandate, most recently extending it until 30 June 2020.
    
    
  
  
  
• Mandate: To support Palestinian refugees, and their patrilineal descendants, who fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 Palestine war and 1967 Six Day war.
  
  
• Services: It provides education, health care, and social services to the population it supports.
  
  
• Regions covered:
  • Aid is provided in five areas of operation: Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem;
    
    
  • Aid for Palestinian refugees outside these five areas is provided by UNHCR.
    
    
  
  
  
• Funding: It is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN Member States. It also receives some funding from the Regular Budget of the United Nations.
  
  

UNRWA vs UNHCR:

UNRWA is separate from the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the main UN refugee agency, which was created in 1950.

• Region covered:
  • UNRWA is the only UN agency dedicated to helping refugees from a specific region.
    
    
  • UNHCR is responsible for aiding other refugees all over the world.
    
    
  
  
  
• Refugee status:
  • UNRWA allows refugee status to be inherited by some descendants.
    
    
  • UNHCR has a specific mandate to aid its refugees to eliminate their refugee status by local integration in current country, resettlement in a third country or repatriation.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• Chola Naikar is a tribe found mainly in the Silent Valley National Park of Kerala.
  
  
• They speak Canarese, a dialect of Kannada. They are said to have migrated from Mysore forests.
  
  
• They are one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer tribes of the region.
  
  
• They are called Chola Naikar because they inhabit the interior forests. ‘Chola’ or ‘shoals’ means deep ever green forest, and ‘naikar’ means King. They also call themselves as ‘Malanaikar’ or ‘Sholanaikar’.
  
  

About:

• Sea surface temperature (SST) is routinely used for predicting whether the total amount of rainfall that India receives during the monsoon season will be less or more than the long-term mean of 887.5 mm.
  
  
• Now, scientists from Pune’s Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) have found that Ocean Mean Temperature (OMT) – which is analysed by measuring the ocean thermal energy during the January-March period – can better predict Indian summer monsoon than the SST.
  
  
• Reason for better prediction:
  • The SST is restricted to a few millimetres of the top ocean layer and is largely influenced by strong winds, evaporation, or thick clouds. Also, it does not reflect the thermal energy available in the upper ocean.
    
    
  • In contrast, OMT, which is measured up to a depth of 26-degree C isotherm, is more stable and consistent, and the spatial spread is also less. The 26-degree C isotherm is seen at depths varying from 50–100 metres.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) has released a report titled “National Assessment of Shoreline Changes along Indian coast”.
  
  
• In this, it mapped the shoreline changes along the Indian coast for the last 26 years.
  
  
• Key findings:
  • The Indian mainland has lost about 234.25sq. km of land to the sea from 1990 to 2016. West Bengal lost maximum land of 99.05sq. km during the period
    
    
  • While 33% of the coast was under erosion, only 29% was accreting (growing) and 38% was in stable state.
    
    
  • Eastern coast underwent more erosion due to frequent cyclonic activities from Bay of Bengal in past 3 decades, compared to the western coast, which remained largely stable.
    
    
  • Coastlines of West Bengal (63%) and Puducherry (57%) are most-vulnerable to erosion, followed by Kerala and Tamil Nadu at 45% and 41%, respectively.
    
    
  • Odisha on the eastern coast is the only state where the coast witnessed expansion of more than 50%.
    
    
  
  
  
• Comment: Changing shorelines not only threaten the coastal infrastructure and cause potential loss to the economy, but could also impact the fishing industry.
  
  

About:

• It is given to individuals and organizations in Asia regardless of race, creed, sex, or nationality, who have achieved distinction in their respective fields. (There are some instances where the winners came from Non-Asian countries, but accomplished something in Asia).
  
  
• It is named after Ramon Magsaysay, the third president (1953-57) of Philippines.
  
  
• Background: It was established in 1957 by New York based Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF), with the consent of Philippine government. The first Awards were given in 1958. Vinoba Bhave of India was one of the recipients.
  
  
• Award ceremony: The Award is presented in Manila, Philippines on August 31^st (the birth anniversary of Ramon Magsaysay). Awardees are presented with a certificate and a medal.
  
  

Winners of 2018:

About:

• Eco-tourism means ‘responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.
  
  
• Objective: To provide livelihood opportunities for the local communities, as well as educate visitors and enhance their understanding of nature.
  
  
• Salient Features:
  • Specialised training on eco-tourism activities will be imparted to Members of local communities so that they can be employed as nature and tourist guides for providing hospitality, as nature science interpreters and patrol partners to protect nature.
    
    
  • The policy has provisions of earmarking ‘inviolate space’ which will be a ‘no-go zone’ for tourists in those areas.
    
    
  • No permanent structures (camps, helipads and tourist bungalows) will be established in violation of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
    
    
  • Demarcation of eco-tourism zone will be based on target-species, their behavioural and habitat characteristics.
    
    
  • Eco-tourism will be promoted in wildlife conservation areas designated as Protected Areas (PAs), as well as in areas outside designated Protected Areas, including forests, mangroves, sacred groves, mud flats, wetlands and rivers.
    
    
  • Each State/UT will have to establish an Eco-Tourism Development Board to oversee the implementation of the policy.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• This makes Singphan Elephant Reserve as the 30^th elephant reserve in the country.
  
  
• It is located in Mon district of Nagaland. It is strategically located in contiguity with the Abhaypur Reserve Forest of Assam.
  
  
• The creation of reserve will give better protection and conservation of elephants in the state.
  
  
• and spreads over an area of 5825 acres (2357 hac).
  
  
• As per recent census report (2017), Nagaland has population of around 446 elephants.
  
  

About:

• The Government is implementing Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) for capacity augmentation of navigation on NW-1 (Varanasi-Haldia stretch) with the assistance of the World Bank.
  
  
• The new Designs unveiled will remove ambiguity on the class and type of vessels that can sail on river ganga will translate into savings for ship builders.
  
  
• This is a significant step in the growth of the country’s Inland Water Transport (IWT) sector as it will help overcome the unique navigation challenges river Ganga throws due to its complex river morphology, hydraulics, acute bends, shifting channels, meanders and current.
  
  

About:

• Launched in:
  
  
• Parent Ministry: Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.
  
  
• Objective: Rehabilitation of women in difficult circumstances.
  
  
• Strategy:
  • The scheme provides shelter, food, clothing and care to the marginalized women in need. There are more than 300 Swadhar Homes across the country under the scheme.
    
    
  • Under it, funds are released to the implementing agencies (which are mainly NGOs).
    
    
  
  
  
• Beneficiaries:
  • Widows deserted by their families and relatives,
    
    
  • Women survivors of natural disasters,
    
    
  • Women prisoners released from jail and without family support,
    
    
  • Women victims of terrorist/extremist violence etc.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

It discusses a range of provisions within all family laws, secular or personal, and suggests a number of changes to in the form of potential amendments and fresh enactments.

View of consultation paper on following areas:

• Uniform Civil Code (UCC):
  • UCC is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage. Cultural diversity cannot be compromised for achieving uniformity and on the name of secularism.
    
    
  • Instead of UCC, codify all personal laws so as to remove the prejudices in them.
    
    
  
  
  
• Age of Marriage: Fix the marriageable age for boys and girls at 18 years so that they marry as equals and to remove the stereotype that wives must be younger than their husbands.
  
  
• Divorce:
  • Introduce new grounds for ‘no fault’ divorce accompanied by corresponding changes to provisions on alimony and maintenance.
    
    
  • Upon divorce, a woman should get an equal part of the property gained after marriage.
    
    
  
  
  
• Under Muslim law the paper suggests the following:
  • Nikahnamas should make it clear that polygamy is a criminal offence and this should apply to “all communities.
    
    
  • Reform inheritance law by codifying Muslim law on inheritance, but ensuring that the codified law is gender just.
    
    
  
  
  
• Adoption: Expand the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015, to make it into a robust secular law that can be accessed by individuals of all communities for adoption.
  
  

Key Highlights of Kathmandu Declaration:

• The Kathmandu Declaration underlined the importance of multidimensional connectivity as a key enabler to economic integration of the region.
  
  
• It highlighted the importance of trade and investment as one of the major contributing factors for fostering economic and social development in the region.
  
  
• The member states also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of a BIMSTEC Gird Interconnection to enhance energy cooperation among the member states.
  
  

About:

• The Raxaul-Kathmandu rail line is expected to expand connectivity by enhancing people-to-people linkages and promoting economic growth and development.
  
  
• The signing of the MoU comes two years after China agreed to construct a strategic railway link with Nepal through Tibet with an apparent aim of reducing Nepal’s dependence on India.
  
  
• The MoU was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal's Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli on the side-lines of the 4^th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu.
  
  
• This was the third meeting between Modi and Oli this year. They met earlier during Oli's visit to India in April and the subsequent visit of Prime Minister Modi to Nepal in May.