About:

• Polavaram Project, is an under-construction multi-purpose irrigation project.
  
  
• Location: It is being constructed on the Godavari River in the West Godavari District and East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh. Its reservoir spreads into parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha States also.
  
  
• The project has been declared a National Project by Government of India. The Polavaram Project Authority was constituted by the Union Cabinet in May 2014.
  
  
• Described as the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh, the Polavaram project, once completed, will provide irrigation water to 75.38 lakh acres of land in 13 districts of the State. Out of them, 32.2 lakh acres will be new ayacut.
  
  

About:

• Scientific name: Ratufa macroura.
  
  
• What is it? It is a large tree squirrel in the genus Ratufa.
  
  
• Distribution: The species is usually known to nest in the Western Ghats in Southern India ranging from Chinnar Wildlife sanctuary in Kerala to Anamalai Tiger Reserve and Palani hills in Tamil Nadu. It is also found in Sri Lanka.
  
  
• Conservation status: Owing to habitat loss and poaching, the species has been categorised as near threatened by the Red List and listed under Schedule II of CITES. It is also listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
  
  
• Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary: It is located in Shenbagathoppu, Srivilliputtur, Tamil Nadu.
  
  

Key Highlights of the report: 

• The Global Assessment contained a litany of estimates made after a three-year review of some 15,000 scientific papers that showed the profound impact of the rise of a globalised industrial society on the planet over the past half century.
  
  
• Up to one million of Earth’s estimated eight million plant, insect and animal species is at risk of extinction, many within decades.
  
  
• 40% of amphibian species and more than a third of all marine mammals are threatened.
  
  
• This is because of relentless pursuit of economic growth, twinned with the impact of climate change. Industrial farming and fishing are major drivers of threat.
  
  
• Only a wide-ranging transformation of the global economic and financial system could pull ecosystems back from the brink of collapse.
  
  

Comment:

• The report’s message echoed the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which said in October that profound economic and social changes would be needed to curb greenhouse gases quickly enough to avert the most devastating consequences of a warming world.
  
  
• The findings will also add to pressure for countries to agree bold action to protect wildlife at a major conference on biodiversity due to take place in China towards the end of next year.
  
  

Recent report: 

• CRISIL analysed State-owned electricity distribution companies (Discoms) in 15 States, which account for 85% of the aggregate losses. 
  
  
• According to it, aggregate external debt of these diiscoms is set to increase to pre-Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) levels of ₹2.6 lakh crore by the end of this fiscal. 
  
  
• With most States having limited fiscal headroom, continuous financial support to their discoms may be difficult. So discoms have to become commercially viable through prudent tariff hikes and a material reduction in aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses. 
  
  

Genetic study on people of Lakshadweep: 

• The Genetic study was done by a team of researchers at CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). 
  
  
• The studies have shown that a majority of human ancestry in Lakshadweep is largely derived from South Asia with minor influences from East and West Eurasia. 
  
  
• And, there was no evidence of early human migration through the Lakshadweep islands. Earlier it was presumed that Lakshadweep Islands might have presence of genetic signatures of ancient people, such as Andamanese and Australian aboriginals. 
  
  
• However, the genetic composition of the first human settlement of this archipelago is not clear. 
  
  

About: 

• Chemical name: Serotonin is also known as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). 
  
  
• What is it? Serotonin is a monoamine neurotransmitter i.e. it is a chemical that signals between neurons. 
  
  
• Functions: At the level of an organism, serotonin is known to be involved in coping with stress. However, the underlying mechanism of its neuro-protective role was unknown. 
  
  
• Recent discovery: The recent discovery establishes that serotonin is involved in the generation of new mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell) in neurons, increased cellular respiration and fuel (ATP) in the cell. 
  
  
• Medical applications: Serotonin’s newly indentified function has been studied in mice and rats. If found to be true in humans, it may have important medical implications. Serotonin signalling could be used to prevent mitochondrial abnormalities and neuronal loss. 
  • Neuronal loss is a major cause of neurodegenerative diseases such as in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. 
    
    
  • Abnormal mitochondrial functions are known to cause or contribute to neuronal death. 
    
    
  
  
  

About: 

• Scientific Name: Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis. 
  
  
• Common Name: It is also known as Purple Frog, Maveli frog or Pignose Frog. 
  
  
• Family: The purple frog is a frog species belonging to the family Sooglossidae.
  
  
• Features: 
  • Its body appears robust and bloated and is relatively rounded compared to other flattened frogs. Compared to other frogs, N. sahyadrensis has a small head and an unusual pointed snout. 
    
    
  • Adults are typically dark purplish-grey in color. 
    
    
  • It lives almost its entire life in underground tunnels, comes out to the surface for a single day in a year to breed. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Distribution: Earlier thought to be restricted to the south of the Palghat Gap in the Western Ghats, the species is now known to be quite widely distributed in the Western Ghats. 
  
  
• History: Herpetologists believe that the species should be rightly called a ‘living fossil’ as it’s evolutionary roots suggest it could have shared space with dinosaurs going back almost 70 million years ago. 
  
  
• Conservation Status: It listed as endangered on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 
  
  

About: 

• INS Ranjit, the third of the five Rajput-class destroyers built by the erstwhile USSR, was commissioned in 1983. 
  
  
• The ship has rendered yeoman service to the nation for 36 years. Since being commissioned, INS Ranjit has sailed for 2,190 days, covering over 7,43,000 nautical miles, equivalent to navigating around the world 35 times and 3.5 times the distance from the earth to the moon. 
  
  
• The ship was at the forefront of major naval operations and served on both the Eastern and Western seaboards. 
  
  
• Apart from naval operations like 'Op Talwar' and various multinational exercises, the ship participated in relief operations post Tsunami in 2004 and Hud-hud on 2014. 
  
  
• In recognition of the service rendered by INS Ranjit to the nation, the ship was awarded Unit Citations by the Chief of Naval Staff in 2003-04 and in 2009-10. 
  
  

About: 

• What is it? It is the fourth Scorpene class submarine being built under Project 75 for the Indian Navy. 
  
  
• Bodies involved: The submarine has been designed by French naval defence and energy group DCNS and manufactured by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDSL), Mumbai. 
  
  
• Significance: Scorpene submarines can undertake various types of missions i.e Anti-Surface warfare, Anti-Submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, area surveillance etc.  The Scorpene class is the Navy’s first modern conventional diesel-electric submarine series in almost two decades. 
  
  

About: 

• Names: Ramadan is also known as Ramazan, Ramzan, Ramadhan, or Ramathan. 
  
  
• What is it? It is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. 
  
  
• Religious significance: 
  • It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad. 
    
    
  • This annual observance is regarded as one of the Five Pillars of Islam. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Religious practices: 
  • For Muslims, Ramadan is a month of fasting, prayer. While fasting from dawn until sunset, Muslims refrain from consuming food, drinking liquids, smoking, and engaging in sexual relations. 
    
    
  • Pre-fast meals before dawn are referred to as Suhoor, while the post-fast breaking feasts after sunset are called Iftar. 
    
    
  • Muslims are also instructed to refrain from sinful behavior that may negate the reward of fasting, such as false speech and fighting except in self-defense. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Eid al-Fitr: The holiday of Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the next lunar month, Shawwal. 
  
  
• Taraweeh: it refers to extra prayers performed by Muslims at night, after Isha prayer during the month of Ramzan. 
  
  

About: 

• Name: The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) was formerly known as National Open School.
  
  
• What is it? It is the National board of education under the Government of India that administers examinations for Secondary and Senior Secondary examinations similar to the CBSE and the CISCE. It also offers vocational courses after the high school.
  
  
• Parent body: It is an autonomous institute under Union Ministry of HRD.
  
  
• Established in: 1989. 
  
  
• Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
  
  
• Courses offered: It provides the following Courses/Programmes of Study through open and distance learning (ODL) mode.
  • Open Basic Education (OBE) Programme for 14+ years age group, adolescents and adults at A, B and C levels that are equivalent to classes III, V and VIII of the formal school system.
    
    
  • Secondary Education Course
    
    
  • Senior Secondary Education Course
    
    
  • Vocational Education Courses/Programmes
    
    
  • Life Enrichment Programmes
    
    
  
  
  
• How does NIOS Function? NIOS operates through a network of five Departments, Regional Centres and Accredited Institutions (Study Centres) in India and abroad.
  
  
• Enrolment: It has a current enrolment of about 2.71 million students at Secondary, Senior Secondary & Vocational levels which makes it the largest open schooling system in the world.
  
  

About: 

• Who are they? Business correspondents are retail agents engaged by banks for providing services at locations other than a bank branch or an ATM. 
  
  
• Permitted services include: identification of borrowers, collection and preliminary processing of loan applications, collection of small value deposit, disbursal of small value credit, sale of micro insurance, MF products and pension products. 
  
  
• History: In 2006, RBI issued guidelines for engagement of BCs by banks for providing banking and financial services. 
  
  
• Who can act as BCs? The RBI has provided a long list of entities and persons who can act as BCs. 
  • Some of these are NGOs/ MFIs set up under Indian Societies/ Trust Acts (excluding non banking financial companies (NBFCs)), Societies registered under mutually aided co-op. societies (MACs) Act or the Coop. Acts of States, Section 25 companies, Post Offices, Individual kirana/ medical/fair price shop owners etc. 
    
    
  • In June 2018, Union government announced that all 2.9 lakh common service centres (CSCs) in the country will operate as business correspondents of banks. 
    
    
  
  
  

About: 

• Section 10 (Disposal of business by Election Commission) of The Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991, lays down that “all business of the Commission shall, as far as possible, be transacted unanimously”. 
  
  
• However If the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners (ECs) differ in opinion on any matter, such matter shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority”. 
  
  

Cannabidiol (CBD): 

• All drugs obtained from marijuana plant have an important medical ingredient called Cannabidiol (CBD), which is arousing interest in the scientific community due to its medical and therapeutic capabilities, but doesn’t cause intoxication or euphoria (the ‘high’). 
  
  
• Cannabidiol (CBD) is a phytocannabinoid discovered in 1940. It is one of some 113 identified cannabinoids in cannabis plants and accounts for up to 40% of the plant's extract. 
  
  
• Cannabidiol is not scheduled under any United Nations drug control treaties and in 2018 the World Health Organization recommended that it remain unscheduled. 
  
  
• But the marijuana plant itself has been banned because of another component, called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is psychoactive and produces a High. 
  
  

About: 

• The new state-of-the-art aircraft carrier is proposed to be build along the lines of Britain’s HMS Queen Elizabeth as part of the ongoing ‘Make in India’ negotations.
  
  
• The talks are under way for the Indian Navy to buy detailed plans for the 65,000-ton British warship to build a so-called “copycat supercarrier” to be named INS Vishal in 2022.
  
  
• If a deal can be agreed, the new warship would be built in India but UK companies could supply many of the parts.
  
  
• Such a new Naval carrier would serve alongside India’s 45,000-ton carrier INS Vikramaditya — bought from Russia in 2004 — and the currently under-construction 40,000-ton INS Vikrant, and could give India a larger carrier fleet than Britain.
  
  
• The reported India-UK Naval deal would follow the sale of Britain’s Falklands War carrier HMS Hermes to India in 1987, which was renamed INS Viraat and decommissioned two years ago.
  
  

About: 

• Background: The two sides have imposed tariffs on 360 billion dollars in two-way trade since last year but Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to a truce in December to refrain from further escalation. 
  
  
• Recent announcement by Donald Trump: Trade deal with China is going too slowly. For 10 months, China has been paying tariffs to the USA of 25 % on 50 billion dollars of high tech, and 10 % on 200 billion dollars of other goods. He added that the 10 % will go up to 25 %. 
  
  

Saccharine: 

• What is it? Saccharin is an artificial, or non-nutritive, sweetener. 
  
  
• History: The substance was first discovered in 1878 by researcher Constantin Fahlberg. Its popularity increased during the 1960s and 1970s among dieters as a result of its ‘calorie-free’ status. 
  
  
• Applications: Saccharine is a compound most commonly used in sugar-substitute sweeteners. It is used to sweeten products such as drinks, candies, cookies, and medicines. 
  
  
• Properties: 
  • It is 200 to 700 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar), does not raise blood sugar levels and like all non-nutritive sweeteners has no calories. However, it does have a bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at high concentrations. 
    
    
  • Saccharin is unstable when heated but does not react chemically with other food ingredients, which makes it good for storage. 
    
    
  
  
  
• India’s import from Indonesia: Indonesia, until recently, accounted for a large chunk of India’s saccharine imports. However, imports from Indonesia have declined since then. In the April 2018 to February 2019 period, India imported only 20% of its total saccharine imports from Indonesia. 
  
  
• Recent ban: According to Government of India, saccharine has been exported to India from Indonesia below their normal values and consequently, the Indian domestic industry has suffered a lot.
  
  

About:

• Name: He was born as Jarnail Singh, but later changed his name to Zail Singh. He was given the title of Giani as he was educated and learned about Guru Granth Sahib and other Sikh scriptures.
  
  
• Political career: Prior to his presidency, he was a politician with the Indian National Congress party, and had held several ministerial posts in the Union Cabinet, including that of Home Minister. He also served as the Chief Minister of Punjab (1972–77).
  
  
• NAM: He served as the Secretary-General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1983 to 1986.
  
  

About: 

• What is it? It is the name for the bi-annual shift of the secretariat and all other government offices in J&K from Srinagar (state’s summer capital) to Jammu (state’s winter capital). 
  
  
• When is it done? The secretariat is located in Srinagar from May to October and in Jammu from November to April. Along with the secretariat, the J&K High Court also moves. 
  
  
• Who started the Darbar Move? The practice was startedby Dogra King Maharaja Ranbir Singh in 1872. 
  
  
• Why was it started? This was done to escape extreme weather conditions in these places. It was a compulsion in the past because of poor means of transportation and communication. 
  
  

About: 

• What is it? Muslim Brotherhood is a movement. 
  
  
• History: it was founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna. 
  
  
• Objective: He preached that an Islamic religious revival would help Muslim nations improve their situation and defeat their colonial masters. He was not specific about the kind of Muslim revivalist government he was advocating. 
  
  
• Global influence: 
  • His ideas led inspired a large number of Islamist political movements and parties alongwith powerful missionary and charitable initiatives all over the world.  
    
    
  • Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Morocco, Turkey and Tunisia are among the countries that have large parties that trace their origins to the Brotherhood. 
    
    
  • Hamas, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood has been designated as an Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) by the US. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the fugitive leader of al-Qaeda, is a former member of the Egyptian Brotherhood. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood: 
  • There is a broad consensus among historians that the Egyptian Brotherhood, as an organisation at least, has not undertaken violent action since 1960s, when it formally announced they were only “preachers”. 
    
    
  • In Egypt, the Brotherhood has been in Parliament since in the 1980s, and one of its leaders, Mohamed Morsi, became President in 2012, who was ousted the following year. 
    
    
  
  
  

Key highlights of order:

• All schools in the State, including government, aided and unaided institutions, should ensure that the weight of a school bag is not more than 10% of the child’s weight. A bag of a student in Class 1 or 2 should weigh no more than 2 kg. It can weigh anywhere between 2 and 3 kg for students from Class 3 to 5. The prescribed weight increases progressively, with students in Class 9 and 10 allowed to carry bags in the 4-5 kg range.
  
  
• Students in Classes 1 and 2 should not be given any homework. All classwork should be kept in the school itself, either in files or books.
  
  
• Schools must set a timetable in advance, which will limit the number of books that have to be brought to class every day.
  
  
• schools should create awareness about the health hazards of lugging heavy school bags.
  
  
• Schools must provide some space in classrooms where students can store their notebooks and textbooks.
  
  
• Make provisions for drinking water facilities so students don’t have to carry water bottles in their bags.
  
  
• The third Saturday of every month should be followed as a “No School Bag Day”. On that day, teachers have to engage students without any books. Suggested activities include field visits, general knowledge clubs, art classes, indoor and outdoor games, abacus, dance classes, and debates.
  
  

Background:

• The order comes after the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development in October last year directed all States to draw up guidelines to reduce the weight of school bags.
  
  
• Following the Ministry’s direction, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education took up a pilot study, which was conducted by the Directorate of State Education, Research and Training and the Centre for Child and Law, National Law School of India University.
  
  

About:

• History: In February 2019, the Union Cabinet had cleared a new business arm for Department of Space (DoS). On March 6, 2019, the DoS registered NewSpace India Ltd. (NSIL) as its commercial entity. 
  
  
• Type: NSIL is the second commercial entity of the Department of Space (DoS) after Antrix Corporation Limited, which was set up in 1992 to market the products and services of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
  
  
• Headquarters: Bengaluru. 
  
  
• Financial administration: NSIL has an authorised capital of ₹10 crore and a paid up capital of ₹1 crore. 
  
  
• Mandate: The new company has following mandates – 
  • transfer technology to industry for producing the commercially successful PSLV spacecraft launchers; 
    
    
  • outsource assembly of small satellites and the upcoming Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) and 
    
    
  • to commercially exploit the R&D work done by ISRO centres and DoS constituents. 
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• Name: The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) was formerly known as UNISDR. On 1 May 2019, the UNDRR officially changed its acronym to UNDRR (from UNISDR) to better reflect its name.
  
  
• Mandate: UNDRR is the focal point of the United Nations system for disaster risk reduction (DRR) and the custodian of the Sendai Framework, supporting countries and societies in its implementation, monitoring and review of progress.
  
  
• History: UNDRR was established in 1999 as a dedicated secretariat to facilitate the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR).
  
  
• Parent body: It is an organisational unit of the UN Secretariat.
  
  
• Headquarters: Geneva. 
  
  
• Administration: It is led by the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction (SRSG).
  
  

Key highlights of the study:

• Northeast India, one of the wettest places on the Earth has been experiencing rapid drying, especially in the last 30 years. Some places which used to get as high as 3,000 mm of rain during the monsoon season have seen a drop of about 25-30%.
  
  
• This decline is associated with natural changes in the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO). Its impact on the sea surface temperatures and its interaction with the atmosphere affects the northeast Indian summer monsoon.
  
  
• The team used observed rainfall and sea surface temperature data for the period 1901-2014 for the study. The results show out that the reduction in rainfall during a major part of the last 114 years may be associated with global man-made factors, while the trend during the last 36 years is associated with natural phenomena.
  
  

About:

• Names: Moḍī script is also known as Mudiya. The word moḍī is derived from the Marathi verb modne, to break. Moḍī literally means ‘broken (script),’ a reference to its flowing form, with its rounded, looping strokes, all features that lent themselves well to the script’s swift reproduction by scribes on paper.
  
  
• Language: It is a script used to write the Marathi language, the state language of Maharashtra.
  
  
• Relation with Devanagari: The script developed from a cursive form of Devanagari, so shares a number of features with, and is visually similar to, that script.
  
  
• Cursive Features: The Moḍī script has several characteristics facilitate writing so that moving from one character to the next miminises lifting the pen from the paper for dipping in ink. Thus, MOḌĪ was a sort of “cursive” style of writing Marathi.
  
  
• History:
  • Moḍī emerged in the 1400s as a shorthand variant of the Devanagari used by scribes. It was used until the 1950s for writing Marathi. Now the Balbodh style of Devnagari is the primary script used to write Marathi.
    
    
  • Moḍī is considered by many to be extinct, although it is still used on a very limited scale for personal correspondence. Efforts are underway to preserve knowledge of the script before the last generation of frequent users dies.
    
    
  
  
  

Key highlights of the Index:

• Top rankers: Norway is ranked first while Finland is second placed.
  
  
• Bottom rankers: Turkmenistan (at 180th) is now last, replacing North Korea (up one at 179th). China is ranked at 177th.
  
  
• South Asia: South Asia in general features poorly on the index, with Pakistan dropping three places to 142, and Bangladesh dropping four places to 150.
  
  

Indian scenario:

• India has dropped two places to be ranked 140th out of 180 countries.
  
  
• Violence against journalists including police violence, attacks by Maoist fighters and reprisals by criminal groups or corrupt politicians is a striking characteristics of the press freedom in India.
  
  
• At least six Indian journalists were killed in connection with their work in 2018.
  
  
• Attacks against journalists increased in the run-up to general elections in the spring of 2019.
  
  
• There is an alarming rate of coordinated hate campaigns waged on social networks against journalists who dare to speak or write about subjects that annoy Hindutva.
  
  
• Coverage of sensitive regions, such as Kashmir, continues to be very difficult. Foreign reporters are barred from Kashmir and the Internet is often disconnected there.
  
  

Suraiya Hasan Bose: 

• Suraiya Hasan Bose was born in 1928. She did a one-year course on textiles at the Oxford University. Later, she returned to Hyderabad and set up the looms and workshop. 
  
  
• A textile revivalist, she has spent a lifetime in single-handedly reviving forgotten weaves like himroo (a Persian brocade weave) and mashru (a silk and cotton weave). 
  
  

Himroo: 

• Himroo is a fabric made of silk and cotton, which is grown locally in Aurangabad. 
  
  
• The word himroo originated from Persian word Hum-ruh which means 'similar'. Himroo uses Persian designs, and is very characteristic and distinctive in appearance. 
  
  
• Himroo is a replication of Kinkhwab, which was woven with pure golden and silver threads in olden days, and was meant for the royal families. 
  
  

Mashru: 

• The Mashru fabric is a vibrant, handwoven mix of Silk and Cotton textiles. The word ‘Mashru’ means ‘permitted’ in Arabic and its Sanskrit variation ‘Misru’ means ‘mixed’. 
  
  
• Mashru has a characteristic fine satin finish, bright contrasting stripes in vibrant colors and striped Ikat weave. 
  
  
• The fabric is mainly manufactured in Patan and Mandvi in Gujarat, India. 
  
  

About: 

• North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gave the order of firing to increase the combat ability of the country. The purpose of the drill was to test the operating ability and accuracy of multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons by the defence units. 
  
  
• It could be Pyongang's first short range missile launch for more than a year. Reacting to the development US President Donald Trump expressed confidence that the North Korean leader will not break his promise. 
  
  

Analysis:

• After gaining few tangible economic benefits from two summit meetings, the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, is now turning to a strategy followed by his father and grandfather.
  
  
• The latest move was intended to escalate the pressure on Mr. Trump to return to the negotiating table. And as Mr. Trump heads into the 2020 election, that strategy may threaten what the president has trumpeted as a signature diplomatic initiative, depriving him of the oppurtunity to declare he brought peace where his predecessors failed.
  
  
• In truth, the peace never got very far. The North Korea has spent the past year producing more nuclear material and fashioning an unknown quantity of it into new weapons, American intelligence agencies told Congress in late January.
  
  
• And now what the president has described as his biggest achievement on North Korea — a suspension of all nuclear and missile testing — hangs in the balance.
  
  

Timeline: 

• Israelis and Arabs have been fighting over Gaza on and off, for decades. It's part of the wider Arab Israeli conflict.
  
  
• Creation of Israel: After World War II and the Holocaust, more Jewish people wanted their own country. They were given a large part of Palestine, which they considered their traditional home but the Arabs who already lived there felt that was unfair and didn't accept the new country.
  
  
• 1948 war: In 1948, the two sides went to war. When it ended, Gaza was controlled by Egypt and another area, the West Bank, by Jordan. They contained thousands of Palestinians who fled what was now the new Jewish home, Israel.
  
  
• 1967 war: But then, in 1967, after another war, Israel occupied these Palestinian areas and Israeli troops stayed there for years.
  
  
• Hamas: Israel finally left Gaza in 2005 but soon after, a group called Hamas won elections and took control there. Much of the world calls Hamas a terrorist organisation. It refuses to recognise Israel as a country and wants Palestinians to be able to return to their old home - and will use violence to achieve its aims.
  
  
• Blockade: Since then, Israel has held Gaza under a blockade, which means it controls its borders and limits who can get in and out. Life for the many of the 1.5 million Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip is difficult.
  
  
• Peace Process: Many people want Gaza and the West Bank to be turned into a new country - Palestine. Israel won't agree to this unless it feels safe. The other sticking points are what will happen to Israelis who've settled in the West Bank, who will run Jerusalem and what will happen to the Palestinian refugees.
  
  

White tigers: 

• Reason for White colour: White tigers are not a separate sub-species, but are white in colour due to an expression of recessive genes. 
  
  
• Distribution: The white tigers are found only among the Indian tigers and can only be seen only in captivity now. The last white tiger reported in the wild was captured in the forests of Rewa in the state of Madhya Pradesh. 
  
  
• Features: White tigers have pink noses, white-to-cream coloured fur, and black, grey or chocolate-coloured stripes. Their eyes are usually blue, but may be green or amber. 
  
  

About:

• In 2015, the Union Cabinet approved the flagship "Namami Gange" programme which integrates the efforts to clean and protect the Ganga River in a comprehensive manner.
  
  
• In order to implement "Namami Gange" Programme, a three-tier mechanism has been proposed for project monitoring comprising of:
  • A high-level task force chaired by Cabinet Secretary.
    
    
  • State level committee chaired by Chief Secretary.
    
    
  • District level committee chaired by the District Magistrate.
    
    
  
  
  
• Salient features of Namami Gange:
  • Over 1,632-gram panchayats on the banks of Ganga to be made open defecation-free by 2022.
    
    
  • Several ministries are working with nodal Water Resources Ministry for this project includes - Environment, Urban Development, Shipping, Tourism and Rural Development Ministries.
    
    
  • Prime focus will be on involving people living on the river's banks in this project.
    
    
  • Under the aegis of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) & State Program Management Groups (SPMGs) States and Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions will be involved in this project.
    
    
  • Setting river-centric urban planning process to facilitate better citizen connects, through interventions at Ghats and Riverfronts.
    
    
  • Expansion of coverage of sewerage infrastructure in 118 urban habitations on banks of Ganga.
    
    
  • Development of rational agricultural practices & efficient irrigation methods.
    
    
  
  
  

About: 

• The patent is for the potato plant variety FL-2027 (commercial name FC-5). Pepsi’s North America subsidiary Frito-Lay has the patent until October 2023.
  
  
• For India, PIH has patented FC-5 until January 2031 under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001.
  
  
• Arguments by PIH: PIH, which has a buyback agreement with Gujarat farmers, accused the 11 farmers — three of whom earlier had contracts with the company — of illegally growing, producing and selling the variety “without permission of PIH”.
  
  
• Arguments by Farmers:
  • The agreement was that PIH would collect potatoes of diameter greater than 45 mm, and that farmers had been storing smaller potatoes for sowing next year.
    
    
  • They got registered seeds from known groups and farmer communities and had been sowing these for the last four years or so, and had no contractual agreement with anyone.
    
    
  • According to Section 39(1)(iv) of the PPV&FR Act, a farmer is entitled to save, use, share or sell his farm produce including seed of a variety protected under this Act, provided that he is not entitled to sell branded seed of a variety protected under this Act.
    
    
  • The rights on a patented seed differ from country to country. In the US, if someone has patented a seed, no other farmer can grow it. If PepsiCo is looking at enjoying similar rights in India, it does not hold.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• Full name of the Act: The Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act of 1994.
  
  
• Key objective of the Act: To ban the use of sex selection techniques after conception and misuse of pre-natal diagnostic technique for sex selective abortions.
  
  
• Salient Features of the Act:
  • It provides for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception.
    
    
  • It regulates the use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques only to detect genetic abnormalities, metabolic disorders, chromosomal abnormalities, certain congenital malformations, haemoglobinopathies and sex linked disorders.
    
    
  • The Central Supervisory Board (CSB) was constituted by the government under Section 7 to review and monitor implementation of the Act and rules made there under
    
    
  • It ‘criminalises’ non-maintenance of medical records by obstetricians and gynaecologists and suspend their medical licence indefinitely.
    
    
  • It mandates compulsory registration of all diagnostic laboratories, all genetic counselling centres, genetic laboratories, genetic clinics and ultrasound clinics.
    
    
  • Any person who puts an advertisement for pre-natal and pre-conception sex determination facilities through any media in electronic or print can be imprisoned and fined.
    
    
  
  
  

Key Highlights of the report on China’s military’s power:

• China’s expanding military capabilities are as of now mainly geared towards preventing any US military intervention in the Taiwan Strait, South and East China Seas as well as protecting its energy supply routes in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
  
  
• China continues to rapidly modernise its warfighting capabilities, ranging from nuclear-capable ICBMs (inter-continental ballistic missiles) and submarines to cyberwarfare and anti-satellite weapons.
  
  
• China is also developing hypersonic missiles (In August 2018, China successfully tested the Xingkong-2, a hypersonic waverider vehicle).
  
  
• However, it also seeks to establish additional military bases to project it’s hard power as well as guard its OBOR projects. After setting up its first overseas military base at Djibouti in 2017, apart from its submarines regularly using Karachi, China’s target locations for military basing could include West Asia, south-east Asia and the western Pacific.
  
  

Comment on India and China:

• China effectively uses Pakistan to bog India down in south Asia. China has sold arms worth over $5 billion to Pakistan, which range from the Caihong armed drones and precision strike weapons to eight Yuan class submarines and four Type-054A multi-role frigates.
  
  
• Chinese leaders are expert at employing tactics short of armed conflicts – such as Doklam standoff in 2017 – to pursue their objectives of territorial and maritime claims in the South and East China Seas as well as along its land borders with India and Bhutan.
  
  
• China has also setup 14 airbases and an extensive rail and road network in Tibet for swift deployment of troops along the LAC.
  
  
• India has no option but to keep a close watch on China’s strategic moves in the IOR and along the 4,057-km long line of actual control as well the ever-expanding military bonding between China and Pakistan.
  
  

About: 

• Parent body: CFTRI is a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
  
  
• Established in: 1950. 
  
  
• Location: It is headquartered in Mysore, Karnataka. It also has its resource centers in Hyderabad, Lucknow and Mumbai. 
  
  
• Mandate: 
  • The institute develops technologies to increase efficiency and reduce post-harvest losses, add convenience, increase export, find new sources of food products, integrate human resources in food industries, reduce costs, and modernize. 
    
    
  • Some of the Research focus areas of the institute are Food engineering, food biotechnology, microbiology, grain sciences, sensory science, Biochemistry, Molecular Nutrition and food safety. 
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• Meaning: PPIs are instruments that facilitate purchase of goods and services, including financial services, remittance facilities, etc., against the value stored on such instruments.
  
  
• Examples: Prepaid instruments can be issued as smart cards, magnetic stripe cards, internet accounts, internet wallets, mobile accounts, mobile wallets, paper vouchers and any of the instruments used to access the prepaid amount.
  
  
• Types: PPIs that can be issued in India are classified under three types viz.
  • Closed System PPIs: These PPIs are issued by an entity for facilitating the purchase of goods and services from that entity only and do not permit cash withdrawal. The operation of such instruments doesn’t require approval by the RBI.
    
    
  • Semi-closed System PPIs: These PPIs are issued by banks (approved by RBI) and non-banks (authorized by RBI) for purchase of goods and services at merchant locations which have a specific contract with the issuer to accept the PPIs as payment instruments.
    
    
  • Open System PPIs: These PPIs are issued only by banks (approved by RBI) and are used at any merchant for purchase of goods and services. Cash withdrawal at ATMs / Points of Sale (PoS) terminals / Business Correspondents (BCs) are also allowed through such PPIs.
    
    
  
  
  
• PPI issuer: PPI issuer is an entity operating / participating in a payment system for issuing PPIs to individuals / organisations. The money so collected is used by the entity to make payment to the merchants.
  
  
• PPI Holder: A holder is an individual / organisation who obtains / purchases PPI from the PPI issuer and uses the same for purchase of goods and services.
  
  

About: 

• Timeline: The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was established by resolution in 1991 of the former Commission on Human Rights. its mandate was most recently extended by Human Rights Council resolution 33/30 of 30 September 2016 for a further three year period. 
  
  
• Status: It is one of the thematic special procedures overseen by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and is therefore a subsidiary body of the UN. 
  
  
• Composition: This Working Group is composed of 5 independent human rights experts who are appointed in equitable geographical distribution from the following regions: Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and Other Countries, and South America and Caribbean. 
  
  
• Mandate: 
  • To investigate cases of deprivation of liberty imposed arbitrarily or otherwise inconsistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 
    
    
  • To conduct field missions upon the invitation of Government in order to understand the underlying reasons for instances of arbitrary deprivation of liberty; and 
    
    
  • To present an annual report to the Human Rights Council presenting its activities, findings, conclusions and recommendations. 
    
    
  
  
  

About: 

• Objective: The probe named Aditya-L1 will be sent by PSLV-XL from Sriharikota to observe the solar corona, the outer layers of the Sun. 
  
  
• Features: It will be inserted in a halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is 1.5 million km from the Earth. 
  
  
• Significance of Mission: 
  • A Satellite placed in the halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any eclipses.
    
    
  • Only NASA and ESA have successfully placed satellites at the L1 point as of date.
    
    
  • This will be the first Indian space mission to study the Sun.
    
    
  • It will be India’s third big extra-terrestrial outing after Moon and Mars.
    
    
  
  
  

About: 

• Meaning: Foreign-exchange reserves (also called forex reserves or FX reserves) are reserve assets held by a central bank in foreign currencies, used to back liabilities on their own issued currency as well as to influence monetary policy. 
  
  
• Importance of Forex:
  • Reserves are held for maintaining liquidity and allowing time to absorb shocks in situations where access to borrowing is curtailed or are very costly.
    
    
  • It provides confidence that the authorities are committed to the timely discharge of external obligations and to supporting the value of the local currency.
    
    
  • It is an important component of the Balance of Payment and an essential element in the analysis of an economy’s external position.
    
    
  • The aftermath of the global financial crisis has, however, triggered a debate on the costs of building up foreign exchange reserves as a self-insurance mechanism. It needs to be acknowledged that Forex reserves have helped insulate India from the worst.
    
    
  
  
  

About: 

• Background: In April, 2018 the Fifteenth Finance Commission had constituted an Advisory Council.
  
  
• The role and function of the Council:
  • To advise the Commission on any relevant issue related to the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Commission.
    
    
  • To assist in the preparation of any research study which would enhance the Commission’s understanding on the issue contained in its ToR; and
    
    
  • To help in broadening the Commission’s understanding to seek best national and international practices on matters pertaining to fiscal devolution.