W.B.C.S Current Affairs 27 October 2018 to 02 November 2018.

The Importance of Current Affairs in W.B.C.S examinations is immense.Success inW.B.C.S  Prelims and W.B.C.S Mains Exam is mainly subjected to how well an aspirant is aware of the important current affairs. Preparation of current affairs for W.B.C.S is the key to unlock the exam.1) India ranked 77th among 190 countries by leapfrogging 23 ranks in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) 2018 rankings. In the 2017 rankings, India ranked 100th and had jumped 30 places. In 2016, 2015 and 2014, India had not improved much and was placed at 130, 131 and 134, respectively, in ranking. EODB 2018 was topped by New Zealand (consecutive for third time), followed by Singapore, Denmark, and Hong Kong. US was placed at eighth and China was ranked 46th while Pakistan is placed at 136th. Ease of Doing Business Index: The index ranks 190 countries based on 10 indicators across the life-cycle of a business, from “starting a business” to “resolving insolvency.” These 10 indicators are: Starting business, Dealing with construction permits, Getting electricity, Registering property, Getting credit, Protecting minority investors, Paying taxes, Trading across borders, Enforcing contracts and Resolving insolvency. Each one of these indicators carry equal weightage. In case of India, Delhi and Mumbai are only two cities surveyed by World Bank for this reankings. India’s performance in EODB 2018: Its jump in ranking in EODB 2019 was aided largely by improvement in areas such as “trading across borders”, “dealing with construction permits”, “getting electricity”, “getting credit” and “starting a business”. It has improved in rank in six out of ten indicators. It has moved closer to international best practice. India’s score also improved to 67.23, a gain of 6.63 from last year. The most dramatic improvements by India was registered in indicators related to ‘construction permits’ (improved to 52 from 181) and ‘trading across borders’ (rose to 80 from 146). However, compared to last year, India saw its ranking dip on various other parameters, such as “registering property”, “protecting minority investors”, “paying taxes” and “resolving insolvency”. It is among top ten economies improving most across three or more areas alongside countries such as Afghanistan, Djibouti, China, Azerbaijan, Togo, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Turkey and Rwanda. It is only other country, alongside Djibouti, to be in top ten for second year in row. Two economies with largest populations — China and India — demonstrated “impressive reform agendas”. It made starting business easier by integrating multiple application forms into general incorporation form. India also replaced value-added tax (VAT) with GST for which registration process is faster.Continue Reading W.B.C.S Current Affairs 27 October 2018 to 02 November 2018.

2) India has successfully carried out night user trial of Agni-I short-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile. The test flight was conducted by Indian Army’s Strategic Forces Command off Abdul Kalam Island in Bay of Bengal, off the coast of the Indian state of Odisha. The test was second known nighttime trial of Agni-I since its first such successful test in April 2014. Agni-I missile: Agni-I is short range nuclear capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile. It is first missile of the Agni series launched in 1983. It was developed by premier missile development laboratory of DRDO in collaboration with Defence Research Development Laboratory and Research Centre Imarat and integrated by Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad. It weighs 12 tonnes and is 15-metre-long. It is designed to carry payload of more than one tonne (both conventional and nuclear warhead). It is single stage missile powered by solid propellants. It can hit a target 700 km away. Its strike range can be extended by reducing the payload. It can be fired from road and rail mobile launchers. It is equipped with sophisticated navigation system which ensures it reaches the target with a high degree of accuracy and precision. The missile already has been inducted into armed forces. Since its induction it has proved its excellent performance in terms of range, accuracy and lethality. It is also claimed to be a part of India’s minimum credible deterrence under No first to use policy.

3) Harvard University (US) has selected Nobel Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai (20) for its 2018 Gleitsman Award in recognition of her work promoting girls’ education. She will be presented with this award at December 6, 2018 ceremony. The Gleitsman Award provides US $125,000 for activism that has improved quality of life around the world. Malala Yousafzai: Malala was born on 12 July 1997 in Mingora city in Swat province of Pakistan. At the age of 11 she had caught international attention as female education activist after writing for the BBC about life under the Taliban in Pakistan under pseudonym Gul Makai. Her campaign had led to Taliban assassination attempt near that left her severely wounded after she was shot in head in 2012. Later she had founded nonprofit Malala Fund to support her work. At present she is student at Oxford University in England. Awards and Honours: In 2014, at the age of 17 she was awarded Nobel peace prize, becoming youngest Nobel Laureate in the history of Nobel award. She had shared this award with Indian children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi. She also has been honoured with National Youth Peace Prize (2011), Mother Teresa Awards for Social Justice (2012), Simon de Beauvoir Prize (2013), Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought (2013), Anna Politkovskaya Award (2013). United Nations in her honour has declared 12 July as ‘Malala Day’.

4) The first ever India-US Dialogue on Intellectual Property (IP) was launched in New Delhi to deepen bilateral strategic cooperation on IP policy. It was launched by US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) and Industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in partnership with US-India Business Council (USIBC). It will be convened annually, alternating between New Delhi and Washington, DC. India-US Dialogue on Intellectual Property: The dialogue aims to identify solutions and also share technical knowledge and expertise between both countries in IP domain. It will provide platform to experts from both countries to develop stronger understanding of uniform IP frameworks and create solutions in collaborative way. The discussions under this dialogue included focus on joint opportunities and challenges related to whole spectrum of IP, including patent filing, regulatory landscape, copyright and infringement, technology transfer, and enforcement. Its recommendations will be shared with both governments to deepen strategic cooperation on IP policy.

5) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed senior IPS officer S S Deswal as Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). He will succeed R K Pachnanda, who superannuated from office and shall be in office for period up to his superannuation on August 31, 2021. Deswal is 1984 batch IPS officer of Haryana cadre. Prior to this appointment, he was Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP): ITBP is one of five Central Armed Police Forces of India. It was raised on 24 October 1962, under CRPF Act, in wake of 1962 Sino-Indian War. It was provided full autonomy after Parliament enacted Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force Act, 1992. It works under command of Union Home Ministry. It is headquartered in New Delhi. Its motto is Shaurya – Dridhata – Karm Nishtha (English: Valour – Steadfastness and Commitment). At present, ITBP is strong Central Armed Police Force of 90000 personnel. It primarily guards the 3,488 km long Indo-China border along Tibet Autonomous Region from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh. It is specialized mountain force and mans border outposts on altitudes ranging from 9000’ to 18700’ in Western, Middle and Eastern sectors of Indo-China Border. It is also engaged in variety of internal security tasks including anti-naxal operations, disaster management, civil Medical Camp, nuclear, biological and chemical disasters and UN peacekeeping missions around the world.

6) Veteran actor Anupam Kher has resigned as Chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). He was appointed as Chairman of FTII in October 2017 and had replaced Gajendra Chauhan. With this, Kher became first chairperson of FTII to resign before completion of his full term. He had served as chairman of FTII for 11 months, which makes his tenure shortest since FTII’s formation. Anupam Kher: In span of his 35 years acting career, he has appeared in over 500 films and many plays. He is best known for his roles in Saaransh, Daddy, Lamhe, Khel, Ram Lakhan, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara and A Wednesday among others. He has also acted in international films like Bend It Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice, Silver Linings Playbook and The Big Sick. He is recipient of Padma Shri (2004) and Padma Bhushan (2016). Film and Television Institute of India (FTII): FTII is premier institute in country that provides training for acting, film making, video editing, direction and production. It is autonomous body under Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It was established in 1960 and is registered under Societies’ Registration Act of 1860. FTII is situated in Pune (Maharashtra) on premises of erstwhile Prabhat Film Company. Since its inception, FTII has become India’s premier film and television institute. Its alumni have become technicians, actors and directors in the film and television industry.

7) As per data released by Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, index of eight core industries slowed down to 4.3% in September 2018. It is lowest growth recorded by core sectors in the last four months, as production of crude oil and natural gas declined by 4.2% and 1.8%, respectively. Previously, lowest growth rate was in May 2018 when core sectors expanded at 4.1%. In September 2018, Fertiliser, cement and electricity sectors output grew by 2.5%, 11.8% and 8.2%, respectively. However, growth of coal, refinery products, and steel sectors declined to 6.4%, 2.5% and 3.2%, respectively. Core industries: Core industries are main or key industries of the economy. In most countries, these particular industries serve as backbone of all other industries. In India, there are eight core sectors comprising of coal, crude oil, natural gas, petroleum refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity. The eight infrastructure sectors, constitute 40.27% of the total index of industrial production (IIP). Revised weightage in core sectors: Petroleum Refinery production (weight: 28.04%), Electricity generation (19.85%), Steel production (17.92%), Coal production (10.33%), Crude Oil production (8.98%), Natural Gas production (6.88%), Cement production (5.37%), Fertilizers production (2.63%).

8) The World Cities Day is observed every year across the world on 31st October to work together for planned and sustainable urban life in the wake of rapid growth of population and problems. Key Facts: The observance of this day aims to promote international community’s interest in global urbanization, push forward cooperation among countries in meeting opportunities and addressing challenges of urbanization, and contributing to sustainable urban development around the world. The global observation of 2018 World Cities Day was celebrated in Liverpool, United Kingdom. 2018 Sub-theme: ‘Building Sustainable and Resilient Cities’. It aims to highlight importance to support cities to become resilient and develop their capacity to absorb impact of hazards, protect and preserve human life and limit damage to and destruction of public and private assets while continuing to provide infrastructure and services after crisis. Background: The World Cities Day was established by United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) by passing resolution 68/239 in December 2013. This day was constituted in recognition of significance of urban basic services as foundation for overall social and economic development. The general theme of World Cities Day is “Better City, Better Life”, to promote successes of urbanization and address specific challenges resulting from urbanization, while each year different sub-theme is selected to either promote successes of urbanization or to address specific challenges resulting from urbanization. The first World Cities Day is celebrated in Shanghai, China on 31 October 2014 under sub-theme “Leading Urban Transformations”.

9) According to recently released Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas prepared by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), India among nations that face grave danger to soil biodiversity. The atlas was released as part of WWF’s bi-annual Living Planet Report (LPR) 2018. The key aspect of this year’s report was threat to soil biodiversity and pollinators, the two key drivers of biodiversity. These two key drivers loss were due to over exploitation of natural resources and agriculture. Highlights of report: Soil Biodiversity: It encompasses presence of micro-organisms, micro-fauna (nematodes and tardigrades for example), and macro-fauna (ants, termites and earthworms). Millions of microbial and animal species live and make up soils, from bacteria and fungi to mites, beetles and earthworms. Soil biodiversity, thus is total community from genes to species, and varies depending on environment. The immense diversity in soil allows for great variety of ecosystem services that benefit species that inhabit it, the species that use it and its surrounding environment. WWF’s ‘risk index’ for globe: It indicated threats from loss of above-ground diversity, pollution and nutrient over-loading, over-grazing, intensive agriculture, fire, soil erosion, desertification and climate change. India was coloured red on atlas and is among countries whose soil biodiversity faces the highest level of risk. Other countries in this category include Pakistan, China, several countries in Africa and Europe, and most of North America. India’s per capita ecological footprint: It was less than 1.75 hectares/person (it is in lowest band among countries surveyed). India’s high population made it vulnerable to ecological crisis, even if per-capita consumption remained at current levels. Pollinators: 150 million bee colonies were needed to meet the pollination requirements of about 50 million hectares of agricultural land in India, only 1.2 million colonies were present. Ecological loss: Population of fish, mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles has dwindled by average of 60% from 1970 to 2014 and fresh-water species have declined by 83% in same period. Globally, extent of wetlands os estimated to have declined by 87% since 1970. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF): It is international non-governmental organization working field of the wilderness preservation and reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named World Wildlife Fund. It is world’s largest conservation organization with over five million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries, supporting around 1,300 conservation and environmental projects. It founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Gland, Switzerland. WWF aims to stop degradation of planet’s natural environment and build future in which humans live in harmony with nature. Currently, its work is organized around these six areas: food, climate, freshwater, wildlife, forests, and oceans. It publishes Living Planet Report every two years since 1998 and it is based on Living Planet Index and ecological footprint calculation.

10) The 19th meeting of Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was held in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The meeting was attended by RBI Governor Dr. Urjit R. Patel, SEBI chairman, IRDAI Chairman along with heads and other senior officers of Government and financial sector regulators. Key Highlights of Meeting: Economic Review: It reviewed health of economy, both domestic and global, financial sector performance and issues due to rising oil prices. It also discussed issue of real interest rate, current liquidity situation, including segmental liquidity position in NBFCs and mutual fund space. Cyber Security in Financial Sector: It also reviewed developments regarding strengthening of Cyber Security in Financial Sector and progress made towards setting up of Computer Emergency Response Team in the Financial Sector (CERT-Fin) under Statutory Framework. It also deliberated on need for identifying and securing critical information infrastructure in financial sector. Crypto Currency: It also deliberated on issues and challenges of Crypto Assets and Currency. It was briefed about deliberations of High-level Committee chaired by Secretary (Economic Affairs) to devise appropriate legal framework to ban use o fprivate crypto currencies in India and encouraging use of distributed ledger technology (blockchain), as announced in Budget 2018-19. RegTech and SupTech: It also discussed market developments and financial stability implications of use of RegTech and SupTech by financial firms and regulatory and supervisory authorities. It also discussed implementation of recommendations of Sumit Bose Committee on measures, such as promoting appropriate disclosure regime for financial distribution costs. Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC): FSDC is super regulatory body for regulating financial sector which is vital for bringing healthy and efficient financial system in economy of the country. It was set up in 2010 by then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Mandate: To strengthen and institutionalise mechanism of maintaining financial stability, financial sector development, inter-regulatory coordination along with monitoring macro-prudential regulation of economy and promoting financial sector development. Composition: Union Finance Minister is chairman of FSDC. Its members are heads of all financial sector regulatory authorities (i.e, RBI, SEBI, IRDA, PFRDA), Chairman of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board, Finance Secretary and Secretary, Department of Economic Affair; Secretary, Department of Financial Services and Chief Economic Adviser.

11) Union Defence Ministry has signed contract worth Rs 2,435.15 crore with public sector Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata for manufacturing of four survey vessels aimed at boosting to capabilities of Indian Navy. The project completion time is 54 months from date of signing contract. The first ship will be delivered within 36 months and remaining within interval of six months for each vessel. Key Facts: These survey vessels will 110 metre long with deep displacement capacity of 3,300 tonnes and complement of 231. They will be equipped with highly advanced state-of-the-art hydrographic equipment and sensors including Hello Hanger to accommodate one advanced light helicopter. The design and construction of these vessels will be as per Classification Society Rules and Naval Ship Regulations and also conform to latest MARPOL (Marine Pollution) Standards of International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Applications: These vessels will be used for full-scale coastal and deep-water hydrographic survey of ports and harbours, approaches and determination of navigational channels and routes. They will be also used to undertake surveys of maritime limits up to Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and extended continental shelf. They will be deployed for collection of oceanographic and geophysical data for defence applications. In their secondary role, they will also perform limited search and rescue, ocean research and operate as hospital ship and casualty holding ships. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE): It is defence PSU and one of India’s leading state-owned shipyards, located in Kolkata, West Bengal. It builds and repairs commercial and naval vessels. It also has started building export ships. It was founded in 1884 as small privately owned company on eastern bank of Hooghly River. It was renamed as Garden Reach Workshop in 1916. It was nationalised by Government in 1960. It has Miniratna status. It is first Indian shipyard to build 100 warships. It is currently handling major project to make three Stealth Frigates for Indian Navy under P17A Project. 100 warships built by GRSE so far range from advanced frigates to anti-submarine warfare corvettes to fleet tankers, fast attack crafts, etc.

12) Odisha Government has launched an automatic public address system to warn citizens about cyclone and tsunami, floods. Key features- This is the first of its kind technology in field of Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS) in India. The EWDS of Odisha government has been implemented under the assistance of World Bank with a cost of around 82 crores. Around 122 towers have been installed along the 480 km long coastline of the odisha state to produce sound and sirens during emergency situations. Sound producing from the towers can be heard in communities within a radius of 1.5 km. The button will be pressed from the state emergency centre in Bhubaneswar during an emergency situation. Six coastal districts named Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri and Ganjam have been covered under the system. It’s a part of the last-mile connectivity programme under the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project an aimed at protecting people from the cyclone effects. The system will prove to be boon for the fisherman of the state. Odisha and disasters: Odisha is vulnerable to many disasters. The state is prone to tropical cyclones, Storm surges and tsunamis. A large part of the state comes under Earthquake Risk Zone-II. The super-cyclone of 1999 which claimed 10,000 lives in Odisha. In 2013.Cyclone Phailin hit the Indian coasts. Cyclone Hudhud hit Odisha in 2014.Recently cyclone Titli hit odisha coast in 2018. Disaster preparedness of Odisha- The Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) was established in 1999.OSDMA was the first disaster management authority centre established in India. Odisha has active State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). Odisha, has built close to 800 multipurpose cyclone and flood shelters in cyclone prone areas. All vulnerable regions in Odisha have active Cyclone Management Centres. Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) is a well known name in cyclone hit areas. The continuous focus on developing manpower, skill, and infrastructure, state of Odisha has emerged as one of the most disaster-ready states in the world today.Continue Reading W.B.C.S Current Affairs 27 October 2018 to 02 November 2018.

13) The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) scientists has developed less polluting green firecrackers named SWAS,SAFAL,STAR. Green crackers are so named because they do not contain harmful chemicals that would cause air pollution. Features: SWAS stands for safe water releaser, SAFAL stands for safe minimal aluminum and STAR stands for safe thermite cracker. These crackers are 15-20 percent cheaper than the conventional ones. STAR eliminates usage of Potassium nitrate and sulphur. SAFAL has less usage of aluminum as compared to commercial crackers. The new crackers have been developed by Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI) based in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute in Nagpur. The firecrackers have a unique property of releasing water vapour. The researchers at CECRI have developed green crackers by modifying the chemical formulations for flower pots, ‘jiljil’ and used flower pots as a substitution for barium nitrate . The crackers will come in the market after the approval from Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organization (PESO), which is the nodal agency for safety requirements in manufacture, storage, transport of all types of explosives. It matches the sound intensity of commercial crackers in the range of 105-110 decibels. About CSIR –NEERI: The CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute is a research institute created and funded by Government of India under the Ministry of Science and Technology. It works in the field of environmental science and engineering and is a part of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. It was established in Nagpur in 1958. The Indian fireworks industry has an annual turnover of over Rs 6000 crore .It provides employment opportunities to about 5 lakh families annually. CSIR tried to address pollution level and at the same time protecting the livelihoods of those involved in this industry.

14) A web-based tool to monitor the spread of fake news on social media platforms has been developed by the Researchers from the University of Michigan in the US. The tool uses a Platform Health Metric called the Iffy Quotient and will supposedly draw data from two external entities namely NewsWhip and Media Bias/Fact Checker. Working of the tool: The News Whip will collect URLs from hundreds of thousands of sites each day and then it will gather information about the engagements of these sites on Facebook and Twitter. The Iffy Quotient will fetch information by querying NewsWhip for the top 5000 most popular URLs Facebook and twitter. Then the tool will check using the information at Media Bias/Fact checker whether the URL has been classified as iffy, ok, or unknown. Newswhip- It is a social media engagement tracking firm to collect URLs of thousands of sites everyday and collect information whether these sites have involvement in Facebook and Twitter. Media Bias/Fact Checker- It divides the URL into three categories, ‘Iffy’ if the website is on a questionable source or a conspiracy list and ‘OK’ if the websites on the lists such as Left Bias, Right Bias or Satire, and ‘Unknown’ if the website is not on any of the lists.

15) The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has organised a seminar on Gandhian thoughts and Swachhta to make India a Swacch Bharat by 2019 -150 the birthday celebration of Mahatma Gandhi. It was being organized in the Wardha district of Maharastra with a focus on achievement of the objectives of sanitation and Gandhian thoughts via Swacch Bharat Mission. The topics for address in the seminar were appropriate technologies in rural sanitation, organic waste management, and preventive sanitation. Gandhi’s concept of Swachh evam Swawalambhi Sankul was the main focus of the seminar. The seminar ended with a visit to Sevagram Ashram to gain experience from Gandhiji’s life. Key facts about Swacch Bharat Mission: It is a program launched by Indian prime minister to make India Swacchh by 2019 which is the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) was launched on 2 October 2014 with two submissions, SBA (gramin) and SBA (urban). The mission is jointly managed Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) (for gramin) and the Ministry of Urban Development (for urban). The mission has components like Construction of Household Toilets, Community and Public Toilets, Solid Waste Management, Information, Education & Communication (IEC) and Public Awareness, Capacity Building and Administrative & Office Expenses (A&OE). The mission has well managed to reach great sanitation level in three years of launch. It is a massive Jan Andolan (people’s movement) and the rural sanitation coverage having increased from 39%, at the launch of the SBM in 2014, to over 95% today.

16) The annual bilateral summit of India –Japan held on 28, 29 October 2018 in Japan. The Indian prime minister visited Japan to attend the summit. The partnership between the two countries has been transformed a lot and it has now become as a ‘special strategic and global partnership’. Highlights: Japan investors will invest around $2.5 US dollars in India. The two sides agreed for a 2+2 dialogue between our foreign ministers and defence ministers to further work towards world peace. An India-Japan Business Platform will be established to enhance the development of industrial corridors and industrial network in the region Both countries will cooperate for the first time in the areas of traditional medicinal systems such as Yoga and Ayurveda. This will facilitate a boost in the healthcare in both the countries. Both the countries have agreed to synchronize upon sharing benefits of the Ayushman Bharat scheme and the Japanese healthcare programme. There will be commencement of talks on a military logistics pact, the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement, between the two nations that will ensure the access to each other’s military bases and naval bases. Japan will invest more significantly in the up gradation of infrastructure in the Northeast which will also link India to Southeast Asia. The two countries will work together to extend access to education, health and other amenities to the people of the Indo-Pacific, including Africa. Japan-India Investment Promotion Roadmap enhanced the contribution of Japan in India’s Make in India initiative with establishment of Business Support Centre in Ahmedabad. India–Japan recent ties: Cooperation in Sri Lanka, in the development of LNG-related infrastructure and in Africa, in the area of health service – developing a cancer hospital in Kenya Cooperation in Myanmar, to facilitate development efforts in the Rakhine State Cooperation in Bangladesh, for improving connectivity on the Ramgarh to Baraiyarhat stretch and constructing the Jamuna Railway Bridge over the Januma River. The Act East Forum established last year has served as a driving force to improve India-Japan cooperation in the North-East. The cooperation in the project for the construction of International Cooperation and Convention center in Varanasi. India and Japan are cooperating to construct the Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR).

17) The GoI has notified the sale of electoral bond by SBI through its 29 authorized branches from 1.11.2018 to 10.11.2018. 29. These SBI branches are in cities like New Delhi, Gandhinagar, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Mumbai, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chennai, Kolkata and Guwahati. The concept of electoral bond was initiated in Union Budget 2017.Later on Electoral bond scheme 2018 was introduced. What is Electoral Bond? An Electoral Bond is just like a promissory note that will be payable to bearer on demand and free of interest. It can be purchased by a citizen of India or anybody incorporated in India. Benefits of an Electoral bond. Transparent political funding. Protecting donors from harassment. No disclosure of information to third parties. Achieving Digital India vision. Bringing donations under tax preview. Electoral Bonds Scheme 2018: The scheme introduced that the a party registered under the Representation of People’s act, 1951 and securing not less than one percent of the votes polled in the preceding election is entitled to receive the electoral bonds. Electoral Bonds may be purchased by only citizen of India. An individual can buy Electoral Bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals. The bonds can only be encashed by an eligible political party only through a bank account with the authorized bank. Electoral Bonds are valid for fifteen calendar days from the date of issue. If the Electoral Bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period, no payment is made to any Political Party. The Electoral Bond deposited by an eligible Political Party in its account is credited on the same day. The bonds are issued in multiples of 1000, 10000, 1lakh, 10 lakh, 1 crore. The cash donation has been capped at Rs. 2000 and beyond that donations are via electoral bonds.

18) The sixth edition of North East festival is being organized till October 28, 2018 in New Delhi and the 15th edition of Indian International Centre festival is to be held from 27-31 October 2018. Key feature of North East Festival: Cultural performances involving Bagrumba dance, Hozagir dance of Tripura, Bihu dance of Assam, Garo Wangla dance and Manipuri martial arts performances called Thang Ta. Fashion shows with traditional patterns and textiles. Presentation of organic food and vegetables grown in the region. 150 craft stalls displaying exotic handloom and handicrafts products of north east region. Agriculture, horticulture and food processing stalls. There will be special performances by Nise Meruno, classical pianist and vocalist. Key Features of Experiencing the North East: The festival is a part of Destination North East Series being organised by North Eastern Council, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER). The festival is organised by Indian International Centre as 15th anniversary of its annual festivals. The theme for this year is “Experiencing the North East”. To showcase the richness of cultural heritage of North East there will be focus on presenting dance, music, theatre, exhibitions, and special cuisines to the visitors. There will be an exhibition specially focused on Bamboo products. A literary event called “These hills we come from’…Voices from North East. Will took place focusing on literature of the region. There will be a showcase of Films of the region also there in the festival. Thang Ta and sarit –sarak: These two are the martial art forms from the Indian state of Manipur. In Manipuri language thang means sword and ta means spear. Thang Ta is name for the ancient martial practice known as Huyen Lallong .The unarmed aspect of Thang Ta is named as sarit sarak.

19) Mammals of India (MaOI) is a new model of repository on Indian mammals by the Scientists and Researchers from the National Centers for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore. It is a citizen-scientific repository initiated in September 2018. It is a first such repository of Mammals in India. Special Features Of MaOI: It is an online, freely –accessible portal whose aim is to develop individual pages for all Indian mammals covering all related information about their distribution, breeding, variation, identification and conservation . The website mammalsofindia.org provides a facility to the citizen to upload photographic observations about mammals. 768 images, of 161 species of mammals, have been uploaded by October 25, 2018. The photographs of rare species such as Red Serow from Manipur, Lynx a species of wild cat from Jammu and Kashmir, Asian Golden Cat from West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh and Binturong, also known as bear cat, from East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh have been uploaded on this portal. This is an exclusive portal for mammals in India which will help in having a good distribution map of mammals all around the country. MaOI is an initiative under Biodiversity Atlas project. The Biodiversity Atlas is a species-based bioinformatics platform. India is a mega-diversity country with only 2.4% of the world’s land area but accounts for 7-8% of all global species. There are about 426 species of mammals known from India, which is about 8.86% of the world species. Citizen Science Projects in Conservation Of Indian Biodiversity: Citizen science projects are changing the scenario of collection of scientific information about biodiversity. These projects enable participants to make direct contribution to collection and research on information related to environmental issues. Citizens are the unpaid contributors in collecting information related to bio-diversity.

20) To double farmers’ income by 2022 the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved creation of FAIDF recently. The proposal for creation of fund was made in budget 2018-19. Salient features of the fund: The main aim is to boost fish production to achieve the target of producing 15 million tonnes of fish production by 2020 and 20 million tonnes by 2022-23 from current production of 11.4 million tonnes. The aim to achieve this target was set under Blue revolution. The nodal agencies for the fund will be National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), National Cooperatives Development Corporation (NCDC) and scheduled banks. The fund being raised by nodal loaning entities (NLE). The estimated fund size is about 7522 crore that will benefit country in both inland and marine fisheries areas. The fund will involve in attracting private investment and technologies in creation and management of fisheries all around the country. Indian Fish Market: Fisheries in India is an important economic activity and emerging sector. India’s fish production is estimated at around 12 million tonnes annually. India has become the second largest fish producing and aquaculture industry in the world. In aquaculture, India is second to china with a share of 6% in global aquaculture. The fisheries sector employed over 14.5 million people directly and many more indirectly. At present, Fish production contributes to around 1% to GDP of country and 5% to agricultural GDP of country. India exports one tenth of its Fish produced. The contribution of fish from the seas has lowered now and the share is rising from inland farming. The Indian government has taken a lot of other efforts to boost up Indian aquaculture market such as Integrating all the existing schemes under Blue Revolution, Establishing ‘Brood bank’ for commercially important species to ensure production and supply of certified broods to hatcheries in the country, developing cold water fishery, improving the manpower requirements of the fisheries programs. Overall, fisheries is a sunrise sector having a lot of future growth possibilities. All the 3 sub sectors viz. Inland, Aquaculture and Marine fisheries have a lot of scope for improvement. The recent step of creating FAIDF is a praised step to boost the fisheries sector to the desired level.

21) India will be among the top three aviation market by 2024 according to International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its 20- year air passenger forecast report. India is currently at seventh position in Global Aviation market. Key Highlights Of Report: The number of air passengers around the world will double to 8.2 billion in 2037. China will displace the US as the world’s largest aviation market in the mid- 2020. India will take the third place after US around 2024 surpassing UK. By 2037, India is expected to add 414 million passengers to its existing 572 million passengers. Home passenger traffic in India is growing at around 18.28 per cent to reach 243 million in 2018-19 and will grow to 293 million in 2020. When it comes to International traffic, it grew by 10.43 per cent to reach 65 million in 2018 and will grow to 76 million in 2020. The biggest growth in terms of air traffic will come from Asia- Pacific region with more than half the number of total new passengers in next 20 years. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to see the fastest growth at the rate of 4.8%, followed by Africa (4.6%) and West Asia (4.4%). International Aviation Traffic Association (IATA): It is the trade association for the world’s airlines formed in 1945 and headquartered in Montreal, Canada. It represents around 280 airlines or 82% of total air traffic. It helps to formulate aviation sector policy and standards. It also provides training services in many areas of aviation. Challenges To India Aviation Sector: The study identified several factors that can impact the future growth of Indian aviation industry: Growth Policy- The growth policy of 6.1% annually is expected to result in a total market of 520 million Indian passengers in 2037.The protectionist and other negative policy will hold India’s growth back to 4.9% and the total market will be 400 million in 2037. Ease of Doing Business: India is now at 100th position among 132 countries on World Bank’s Ease of Doing Report. The improvement in this area will impact sustainable growth of aviation sector. Travel and Tourism Competitiveness- India has also risen from 52nd place to 40th place in 2017 World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index. The improvements in this area as well as in airport infrastructure will further enhance India’s aviation market.Continue Reading W.B.C.S Current Affairs 27 October 2018 to 02 November 2018.

22) India railways announced its plan to link New Delhi and Ladakh by means of a railway line that will run along the India-China Border. The proposed Bilaspur-Manali-Leh Line would be the world’s highest railway line once launched. Key Facts of the Project: The projected cost to construct the 465 km line will be Rs 83,360 crore. The railway line will be the world’s highest at 5,360 metres above mean sea level which is comparable to China’s Quinghai-Tibet Railway Line at 2,000 metres. The project comprise of 74 tunnels, 124 major bridges, 396 minor bridges and 30 stations on the line. Keylong station on the route will be constructed inside a tunnel at the height of 3000 metres which is a first in India. Notably, more than half the train route would be covered through tunnels, the longest of which is 27 km. Whole length of the tunnels would be 244 km. The route will link crucial locations between Bilaspur and Leh such as Sundernagar, Mandi, Manali, Keylong, Koksar, Darcha, Upshi and Karu as well as several other towns of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. After the completion, the railway line will halve the time taken to cover the distance between Delhi and Leh from the current 40 hrs to 20 hrs. In addition to providing quick all-weather access to the armed forces, the railway line will also enhance tourism in the Ladakh region that is presently connected by road and air. The Ladakh-Himachal areas receives heavy snowfall and the road and air connectivity.

23) The 2018 World Wrestling Championships were fifteenth edition of World Wrestling Championships of combined events and were held from October 20 to 28 in Budapest, Hungary. Here are important facts: About UWW World Wrestling Championships- It is amateur wrestling world championship event organised by the United World Wrestling. It was started in 1904 with the Men’s Greco-Roman wrestling tournament. From 1951, the Men’s freestyle wrestling tournament began. From 1987, women’s freestyle championship started. The top medal winning countries- In the 2018 event, Japan won the most medals with 5 gold, 1 silver and 4 bronze. Russia comes second with 8 medals. India’s performance: India is at the 17th place with 2 medals – 1 silver and 1 bronze. Bajrang Punia bagged the silver medal. Pooja Dhanda won Bronze medal and became fourth Indian woman to win a medal at the World Wrestling Championship.
About Bajrang Punia. Bajrang Punia from Haryana is India’s freestyle wrestler who won a Bronze medal in 2013 world wrestling championships, bagged silver medal in 2015 commonwealth games, 2014 Asian games, and 2014 Asian wrestling championships. With the 2018 win, he has total four silvers in his kitty. He has also won a gold medal at the Asian Wrestling Championship 2017, 2018 commonwealth games, and 2018 Asian games. Pooja Dhanda: Pooja Dhanda from Haryana won silver medals in the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics and 2018 Commonwealth Games. With 2018 Bronze win, she became the fourth Indian woman grappler to win a medal at the World Championship. Before her, Alka Tomar in 2006, Geeta Phogat and Babita Phogat in 2012 had won a bronze medal each at the Worlds Championships.

24) The United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights (UN Human Rights Prize) was announced recently by María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd Session of United Nations General Assembly. The winners of 2018 award are: Asma Jahangir – Pakistan’s late human rights activist. Rebeca Gyumi – A Tanzanian human rights activist. Joenia Wapichana – Brazil’s first indigenous lawyer. Front Line Defenders – A human rights organisation of Ireland. About the UN Human Rights Prize: These awards were instituted by the General Assembly of United Nations in 1966 and are intended to honour and commend people and organizations which have done outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other United Nations human rights instruments. The first awards were given in 1968 and are given every five years since then. About 2018 Winners: Asma Jahnagir- Late Asma Jahangir (died Feb. 2018) was the fourth Pakistani woman to receive the prestigious award. She was an advocate from Pakistan, known for her persistent advocating for women’s rights and discrimination against minorities. She was first woman to serve as president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan. She was critical of Pakistan’s military, intelligence and armed groups. She faced death threats, imprisonments and beatings several times. She co-founded and chaired the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan; helped passing of a legislation against bonded labour in Pakistan; and worked on blasphemy cases. Rebeca Gyumi: Rebecca Gyumi is a Tanzanian advocate and founder of the Msichana Initiative in Tanzania. This is an NGO which advocates for girls’ right to education. In 2016, Gyumi had won a landmark case on child marriages after petitioning against the 1971 Tanzania Marriage Act which allowed girls as young as 14 to get married. Joenia Wapichana: Joenia Wapichana is an indigenous lawyer from northern Brazil, and she became first indigenous woman to be elected to the Congress. She was the first indigenous lawyer to speak in front of the Supreme Federal Court and more than a decade before that she became the first indigenous person to graduate from law school in the country. Front Line Defenders: Front Line Defenders is an Ireland based charity that provides support to human rights defenders having lives and health at risk through advocacy, grants, security and training. It was founded in 2001 in Ireland’s capital, Dublin. Trivia: So far, only one Indian personality – Baba Amte has been awarded United Nations Human Rights Prize. Baba Amte was given this prize in 1988.

25) Since 2008, the Global Agriculture Leadership Summit & Awards are organised by Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) with support of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare; Ministry of Food Processing Industries and Ministry of Commerce. The 2018 Global Agriculture Leadership Summit was 11th in this series and it was held in Hotel Hyatt Regency, New Delhi recently in October, 2018. Global Agriculture Leadership Awards – 2018: ICFA had established the Agriculture Leadership Awards in 2008 to recognize the leadership roles played by individuals and institutions positively impacting the lives of farmers and rural masses. During the recent summit, the Global Agriculture Leadership Awards – 2018 were announced and presented. The winners are as follows: Prof. Rudy Rabbinge, who has received International Leadership Award is Special Envoy – Food Security, Government of Netherlands. He has been awarded for his contribution in the field of food security and rural development. Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu was awarded the Policy Leadership Award for his proactive policies for uplifting the farming community by focusing on irrigation, investment, global partnerships, marketing initiatives and zero budget natural farming. Best States in Various Fields: The best fisheries State Award was given Jharkhand for efforts in augmenting the production potential of the state in fisheries segment. Further, Bihar is Best Animal Husbandry State, Nagaland is best Horticultural state, Gujarat is Best Agriculture State and Haryana has been conferred with Program Leadership Award. First World Agriculture Prize – Prof. M.S. Swaminathan: The event witnessed bestowing of Prof. M.S. Swaminathan with the first World Agriculture Prize. This prize instituted by the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) was presented by Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu at Vigyan Bhawan at a special session, named Swaminathan Global Dialogue on Climate Change and Food Security organised by the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture. Prof. M S Swaminathan: Prof. Swaminathan is known as Father of Green Revolution in India and is renowned worldwide for his basic and applied research in genetics, cytogenetics, radiation and chemical mutagenesis, food and biodiversity conservation. The United Nations Environment Programme has hailed him as ‘The Father of Economic Ecology’ owing to his commitment towards the ever-green revolution movement in agriculture. The ICFA’s World Agricultural Prize carries a cash component of $1,00,000 and will recognise individuals who have served humanity through agriculture. It will be an annual prize and would be presented to any individual or institution, importantly from Asian, African or Latin American countries who have played a seminal role in transforming agriculture globally and saving humanity from the curse of hunger.

26) The Central Vigilance Commission observes the Vigilance Awareness Week every year during the week in which birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (31st October) falls. The 2018 Vigilance Awareness Week is being observed from 29th October to 3rd November, 2018. Theme of the Week: The theme of Vigilance Awareness Week-2018 is- Eradicate Corruption-Build a New India (in English). Activities- The CVC has asked various central government ministries and organizations to conduct relevant activities during this week. Some of the activities include: Taking Integrity Pledge by all employees. Distribution of pamphlets/handouts on preventive vigilance activities, whistle blower mechanism and other anti-corruption measures. Conducting workshops and sensitization programmes for employees and other stake holders on policies/procedures of the organization and preventive vigilance measures. Publication of journals/newsletters on vigilance issues, systemic improvements and good practices adopted for wider dissemination and awareness, conducting various competitions such as debates, quiz etc. for the employees and their families on issues relating to anti-corruption and the use of organizational websites for dissemination of employees/customer oriented information. Further, there will be outreach activities for public/citizens including display of hoardings, banners, posters and distribution of handouts etc. at prominent locations/places in offices/field units and also at places with public interface , organization of grievance redressal camps for citizens/customers by organizations having customer oriented services/activities and the taking of the online “Integrity Pledge” developed by the Commission. Integrity Clubs in Schools: One of the highlights of the week will be establishment of Integrity Clubs in the schools and colleges to cultivate ethical values in the leaders of tomorrow. Awareness Gram Sabhas: The objective of Awareness Gram Sabhas is to sensitize the rural citizens about the ill-effects of corruption. In 2017, 67,131 such Gram Sabhas were organized during the Vigilance Awareness Week.Continue Reading W.B.C.S Current Affairs 27 October 2018 to 02 November 2018.

27) Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe, incumbent prime minister of Sri Lanka and appointed former President Mahinda Rajapaksha as new Prime Minister. In recent times, the politics of Sri Lanka is in turmoil because of the tension between President Sirisena and PM Vikramasinghe. In a sudden move, the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), the Political Front of President Mittipala Sirisena, withdrew support from the coalition government with Ranil Vikramasinghe’s Party United National Party (UNP). This coalition government was formed in 2015, when Sirisena became President by the support of Ranil Vikramasinghe. This sudden move also indicates a constitutional crisis lurking in Sri Lanka. According to the 19th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, Vikramasinghe could not be removed from the post without the majority. About Mahinda Rajapaksa: Mahinda Rajapaksa was born on November 18, 1949 in the southern province of British Sri Lanka. He was the 18th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from April 6, 2004 to November 19, 2005. After that, he was the 6th President of Sri Lanka from November 19, 2005 to January 9, 2015.

28) Union Government (Ministry of Culture) has announced winners of Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony for year 2014, 2015 and 2016. The awardees were selected by award jury headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and included Chief Justice of India Justice (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami and national vice president of BJP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe. Awardees are: 2014: Rajkumar Singhajit Singh. He is doyen of Manipuri dance. He is also teacher, performer and choreographer. 2015: Chhayanaut. It is cultural organization of Bangladesh established in 1961. It has played leading role in promoting Tagore’s works in Bengali culture, music and literature not only within Bangladesh, but all across the world. 2016: Ram Vanji Sutar. He is renowned sculptor. His first notable work was the 45-feet Chambal monument at the Gandhi Sagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh. He is also receipient of Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony: It is annual award instituted by Government of India in 2011 as part of commemoration of 150th Birth Anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. The award is given for cultural harmony and carries monetary amount of Rs. 1 crore, citation in scroll, plaque as well as exquisite traditional handicraft or handloom item. The award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or sex. It was conferred for first time on Indian Sitar Maestro Pt. Ravi Shankar in 2012 and second time on Shri Zubin Mehta in 2013.

29) Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) is going to issue masala bonds worth Rs. 5,000 crore to mobilise funds for various development works. KIIFB has appointed Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings for rating the masala bonds issue. The bonds will be listed in London and Singapore stock exchanges. The funds will be raised in tranches over period of 10 years. KIIFB: It is Kerala government owned financial institution. Its mandate is to mobilize funds for infrastructure development from outside state revenue. It is statutory body constituted by Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Act, 1999. Masala bonds: Masala bonds are rupee-denominated bonds through which Indian entities can raise money from foreign markets in rupee and not in foreign currency. Basically, it is debt instruments used by corporates to raise money from foreign investors in local currency. The issuance of rupee denominated bonds transfers risk associated with currency fluctuations to investors and not to the issuers. This is especially during depreciation of domestic currency and when borrowing is in foreign currency as company has to pay more while repaying its debt, or while servicing interest on such borrowings if the rupee weakened. From the issuer’s perspective, masala bonds provides cheaper borrowings compared to raising funds in India besides helps in diversifying its sources of fund-raising. Besides, it also helps in internationalization of the rupee and in expansion of Indian bond markets. Its issuance in long term can help to check slide of rupee and also reduce current account deficit over time.

30) The second edition of India Mobile Congress (IMC-2018) was held New Delhi from October 25-27, 2018. It was organised by Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). The theme was “New Digital Horizons. Connect. Create. Innovate”. IMC 2018: It saw participation of more than 200,000 professionals from telecom industry, encompassing 5G, start-up ecosystem, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Smart Cities and allied industry sectors. The exhibition featured more than 1,300 exhibitors. It saw greater International presence with participation of policy makers and regulators from partner countries from ASEAN (Association for Southeast Asian Countries) and BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) besides US, Canada and European Union (EU). India Mobile Congress (IMC): IMC was launched in 2017 to provide platform for policy makers, industry and regulators to engage in meaningful deliberations to drive the future direction of telecom sector. The first IMC held in September 2017 was attended by around 2,000 delegates, 32,000 visitors, 152 speakers, 100 exhibitors and 100 start-ups.

31) India has won Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) Award, 2018. The award was announced at Annual General Members Meet held at Georgetown, Guyana. Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) under Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions is institutional member of Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM). Key Facts: Unnayan Banka initiative for reinventing education using technology of Banka District, Bihar was awarded under Category “Innovation Incubation”. Unified Agriculture Markets of Karnataka Government was awarded in ‘Innovation in Public Service Management’. This initiative has also been awarded overall Gold Award for CAPAM Awards, 2018. Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM): CAPAM is non-profit association representing international network of over 1100 senior public servants, heads of government, leading academics and researchers located in over 50 different countries across the Commonwealth. It is guided by international leaders who believe in value of networking, knowledge exchange and promotion of good governance for betterment of citizens in Commonwealth countries. CAPAM announces its International Innovations Awards (IIA) Programme bi-annually, since 1998. These awards celebrate spirit of innovation in public service by recognizing organizations that have made significant contributions to improve governance and services in the public sector.

32) The United Nations Day is observed every year on 24th October to mark anniversary of entry into force of UN Charter in 1945. ‎With ratification of this founding document by majority of its members, including five permanent members of UN Security Council, United Nations officially came into existence. Since then, 24th October is celebrated as UN Day. On this day all member states of UN contribute finances to its operation to help further its goals. United Nations: ‎UN is successor of ineffective League of Nations and was established in 1945 after World War II in order to prevent another such conflict. Now, it has become world’s only truly universal global organization and is foremost forum to address issues that transcend national boundaries and cannot be resolved by any one country acting alone. Its prime role is to maintain world peace, human rights, promote social and economic development and provide aid around the world in cases of famine, natural disaster and armed conflict. The main organs of UN are: General Assembly (UNGA), Security Council (UNSC), Economic and Social Council (UNESOC),‎ International Court of Justice (ICJ), UN Secretariat, Trusteeship Council. Background: United Nations Day was established by UNGA by adopting Resolution 2782 in 1971. The day is devoted making people aware of achievements of United Nations Organization. This day is part of United Nations Week, which runs from 20 to 26 October.

33) The World Polio Day is observed annually across world on 24 October to create awareness about hazards of the crippling Polio disease. The day was instituted by Rotary International to commemorate birth of Jonas Salk who had led first team of researchers which had developed vaccine against poliomyelitis (polio virus). This development had led to widespread use of this inactivated poliovirus vaccine and subsequently use of oral poliovirus, developed by Albert Sabin. It also had led to establishment of Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in 1988 which has helped to reduce polio worldwide by 99%. Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI): GPEI launched in 1988 has played pivotal role in eradication of wild poliovirus. When it was launched wild poliovirus existed in 125 countries. Now, it exists in two countries Pakistan and Afghanistan. Till 2012, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country was reservoir of more than half of the Polio cases in the world. But in 2015, it was removed from list of Polio endemic countries by World Health Organization (WHO). Poliovirus: Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children below age of 5. The virus is transmitted from person-to-person. It mainly spreads through the faecal-oral route (e.g. contaminated water or food). After entering body, it multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and can cause paralysis. Its initial symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the limbs. In some cases, it causes permanent paralysis. There is no cure for polio, however it can only be prevented by immunization. Polio vaccine is given multiple times, almost always protects a child for life.

34) World Development Information Day (WDID) is observed every year on October 24 to draw attention of world to development problems and necessity of strengthening international cooperation to solve them. This day also coincides with United Nations Day (October 24). Background: The UN Conference on Trade and Development on May 17, 1972 had proposed measures for information dissemination and mobilization of public opinion relative to trade and development problems. These measures came to be known as resolution 3038 (XXVII), which was passed by UN General Assembly in 19, 1972 and instituted World Development Information Day on October 24. It was celebrated for the first time on October 24, 1972. This resolution was passed by UN General Assembly (UNGA) on December 19, 1972. The purpose of day is to improve dissemination of information and mobilization of public opinion, particularly among young people. It will lead to greater awareness of problems of development, thus, promoting efforts in sphere of international cooperation for development. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD): UNCTAD is principal organ of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) dealing with trade, investment, and development issues. It was established in 1964 and its permanent secretariat is in Geneva. Its primary objective is to formulate policies relating to all aspects of development including trade, aid, transport, finance and technology. It ordinarily meets once in four years.

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