1) Scientists have discovered four new balsam species from various locations in Eastern Himalayas in northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. They are Impatiens haridasanii, Impatiens pseudocitrina, Impatiens nilalohitae and Impatiens roingensis. Infrastructure project like road widening works, deforestation and other development activities are posing a threat to the natural habitat of the new species. Key Facts: Impatiens haridasanii: It was discovered in Pongchan. The species is characterised by small yellow flowers and hairy leaves. It has been named after Haridasan, former scientist, State Forest Research Institute, Arunachal Pradesh, for his contribution to the taxonomy of the north-eastern States. Impatiens pseudocitrina: It was discovered in Anjaw district. It sports bright yellow flowers with small red spots on the throat and has long spur at the back. Its name denotes similarities with I. citrina. Impatiens nilalohitae: It was discovered from the Lower Dibang valley. It grows to height of more than one metre and has dark purple flowers with pale yellow throat and green stalk. Its name denotes dark purple colour in Sanskrit. Impatiens roingensis: It was found growing in Roing and Upper Siang. It has clustered white flowers with yellow patch on the mouth and hooked spur. Balsams: Balsams are commonly known as jewel weeds because of diverse colour of their flowers. They are distributed throughout the Eastern Himalayas and the Western Ghats, Sri Lanka, South East Asia, Africa and Madagascar. Their genus is called Impatiens, signifying impatient nature of their fruits which explode when touched. India is home to more than 230 balsam species.Continue Reading WBCS Current Affairs 30 December 2017 to 05 January 2018.

2) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved implementation of Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) for capacity augmentation of navigation on 1,380-km Haldia-Varanasi stretch of National Waterway-1 (NW1) on Ganga River. The project will be implemented at a cost of over Rs. 5,370 crore rupees with the technical assistance and investment support of the World Bank. It is expected to be completed by March, 2023. Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP): JMVP was announced by Government in 2014-15 Budget to enable commercial navigation of at least 1500 tonne vessels on the Ganga river. The project envisages the development of waterway between Allahabad and Haldia on Ganga River that will cover a distance of 1620 km. The project covers Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The major districts under its ambit are Varanasi, Ballia, Ghazipur, Chhapra, Buxar, Patna, Vaishali, Khagaria, Begusarai, Munger, Bhagalpur, Sahibganj, Murshidabad, Pakur, Hooghly and Kolkata. The project aims to develop a fairway with three metres depth to enable commercial navigation of at least 1500 tonne vessels on the river. It also includes the development of fairway, multi-modal terminals, strengthening of open river navigation technique, conservancy works, modern River Information System (RIS) etc. The World Bank has provided technical assistance and financial support to the project. Besides, WB’s lending arm International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will provide loan of Rs 2, 512 crore for the project. Union government provide Rs 2,556 crore from budgetary allocation and proceeds from bond issue. Moreover, private sector participation under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode will provide Rs.301 crore. Major Impact: Development and operations of NW1 will provide alternative mode of environment friendly and cost effective transport mode. The project will contribute in bringing down the logistics cost in the country and reduce traffic burden and congestion on roads and railways. It will result into mammoth infrastructure development like multi-modal and inter-modal terminals, Roll on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) facilities, ferry services, navigation aids. It will also give impetus to socio-economic development and result in employment generation.

3) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved construction, operation and maintenance of 2-lane bi-directional Zojila Tunnel on Srinagar-Leh section connecting NH-1A in Jammu and Kashmir. The strategic tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to strategically important Leh region. On completion, it will be Asia’s largest 2-lane bi-directional tunnel. Key Facts: The Zojila Tunnel will be situated at an altitude of 11,578 feet on Srinagar-Kargil-Leh National Highway (NH-1A). The Project aims at construction of 14.150 km long 2-lane bidirectional single tube tunnel with a parallel 14.200 km long egress (escape) tunnel excluding approaches between Baltal & Minamarg in J&K at estimated cost of Rs 6,089 crore. The main objective of the project is to provide all whether connectivity to strategically important Leh region in J&K which at moment is limited to at best 6 months because of snow on the mountainous passes and threat of avalanches. Ladakh region remains cut off from rest of the country during winter months due to heavy snowfall. The project will be implemented by Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) through the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) on Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode. Significance: The construction of this tunnel will provide all weather safe, fast and cheap connectivity connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh. It will bring about all round economic and socio-cultural integration of these regions. It also has strategic and socio-economic importance and it will be instrument for development of economically backward districts in J&K. The project, on completion, will also lead to enormous boost in employment as local businesses get linked to National market and beautiful region is able to receive round the year tourist traffic.

4) The Union Cabinet has approved Agreement between India and Myanmar on Land Border Crossing. It is an enabling arrangement for movement of people across border of both counties. The agreement is expected to provide connectivity and enhance interaction of people of North Eastern States of India with the people of Myanmar. Significance: The agreement will facilitate movement of people on basis of valid passports and visas which will enhance economic and social interaction between two countries. It will facilitate regulation and harmonization of already existing free movement rights for people ordinarily residing in border areas of both countries. It will also give boost to economy of North East and leverage geographical connections with Myanmar to boost trade and people to people ties. It will also safeguard traditional rights of largely tribal communities residing along border which are accustomed to free movement across land border. Background: India shares 1,643-km long border with Myanmar. It passes through four northeaster states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. At present both countries have unique visa-free movement regime for people living within 16 km on either side of the border. Free movement regime (FMR) was bilateral agreement between India and Myanmar that allows free movement of Indian and Myanmarese citizens within 16 km of the border without visa restrictions for 72 hours. Its purpose is to alleviate insecurity of tribals living along India and Myanmar border as they still continue to have trans-border linkages with their kiths and kins. This regime has been in place to protect traditional social relations among border people. However, it has been misused by militants and criminals who are using it to smuggle weapons, narcotics, contraband goods and Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN).

5) The World Health Organisation (WHO) has given its pre-qualification to Typbar Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TVC) developed by Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech for global use. Typbar TCV is world’s first typhoid vaccine clinically proven to be administered to children from six months of age to adults, and confers long-term protection against typhoid fever. It has been evaluated in Human Challenge Studies at Oxford University. Significance: The WHO pre-qualification enables procurement and supplies of this life-saving vaccine to UNICEF, Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) and GAVI (vaccine alliance) supported countries. This also paves the way for WHO member countries to introduce the Typbar TCV into their immunization programs. TCVs are innovative products having longer-lasting immunity than older vaccines and require fewer doses. They can be given to young children through routine childhood immunization programs. TCVs have been recommended by WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (WHO-SAGE). Typhoid: Typhoid fever is caused by bacterium Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi). It infects humans due to contaminated food and beverages from sewage and other infected humans. Its symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, abdominal pain, and diarrhoea or constipation. Currently, a third of global population is at risk of typhoid fever, which results in loss of work and wages, lowered pregnancy outcomes and impaired the physical and cognitive development of children. According to International Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) estimates in 2016, there were approximately 12 million cases of typhoid fever resulting in around 130,000 deaths. Urbanisation and climate change have potential to further increase global burden of typhoid.

6) The Union Cabinet approved establishment of new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). The new AIIMS will be completed in a period of 48 months. It will consist of a hospital with a capacity of 750 beds and trauma centre facilities and have 20 Speciality and Super-Speciality Departments including 15 Operation Theatres. It will also have Medical college with an intake of 100 MBBS students per year and Nursing college with an intake of 60 B.Sc. (Nursing) students per year. Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana: PMSSY was announced in 2003. Its objectives are correcting regional imbalances in the availability of affordable/reliable tertiary healthcare services and augment facilities for quality medical education in the country. It establishes AIIMS in various regions of India apart from different government colleges. It is funded from different centrally sponsored schemes relating to creating infrastructure on health. Under this scheme, AIIMS have been established in Bhubaneshwar (Odisha), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Rishikesh (Uttarakhand) and Patna (Bihar) while work of AIIMS Rae Bareli (Uttar Pradesh) is in progress. Also, three AIIMS in Nagpur (Maharashtra), Kalyani (West Bengal) and Mangalagiri in Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) have been sanctioned in 2015, two AIIMS have been sanctioned at Bathinda (Punjab) and Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) in 2016 and in Kamrup (Assam).

7) The Union Government has announced details of electoral bonds for political funding that can be routed by donors to political parties. The electoral bonds scheme was announced in Union Budget 2017 with an aim for increasing transparency in political funding. It makes India first country in the world to have such unique bonds for electoral funding. Details of electoral bonds: Electoral bonds will be bearer instrument in nature of promissory note and an interest-free banking instrument. These can be redeemed only through the registered accounts of a political party in a prescribed time frame. It aims at rooting out current system of largely anonymous cash donations made to political parties which lead to generation of black money in the economy. Denominations: Electoral bonds can be purchased for any value in multiples of Rs.1,000, Rs.10,000, Rs.10 lakh, and Rs.1 crore from any of the specified branches of State Bank of India (SBI). Purchasers: A citizen of India or a body incorporated in India will be eligible to purchase the bond. The purchaser is allowed to buy electoral bonds only on due fulfilment of all extant KYC norms and by making payment from a bank account. It will not carry the name of the payee. Validity: It will have a life of 15 days during which they can be used to make donations to registered political parties. The bond can be encashed by an eligible political party only through a designated bank account with the authorised bank. The electoral bonds will be available for purchase for a period of 10 days each in months of January, April, July and October with additional 30 days to be specified by Central government in year of general election so that this does not become a parallel currency. Eligibility: Political parties that have secured not less than 1% of votes polled in last general election to Lok Sabha or Assembly can avail funding through this bonds. Significance: According to Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), most political parties use lax regime on donations to accept cash donations from anonymous sources. Nearly 70% of Rs. 11,300 crore in party funding over an 11-year period came from unknown sources. The electoral bonds will prompt donors to take banking route to donate, with their identity captured by the issuing authority.

8) Lok Sabha has passed The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to allow government to take up infrastructure projects within prohibited areas around protected monuments. The Bill amends the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958. AMASR Act, 1958: The AMASR Act provides for preservation of ancient and historical monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance. It provides for the regulation of archaeological excavations and for protection of sculptures, carvings and other like objects. It was passed in 1958. The Archaeological Survey of India functions under the provisions of this act. The Act prohibits construction in ‘prohibited area’, an area of 100 meters around protected monument. It does not permit construction in such prohibited areas even if it is for public purposes, except under certain conditions. The central government can extend the prohibited area beyond 100 meters. Key Features of Bill: The Bill amends provision related construction in ‘prohibited areas’ in the parent bill to permit construction of public works in ‘prohibited areas’ for public purposes. It introduces definition for ‘public works’, which includes construction of any infrastructure that is financed and carried out by central government for public purposes. The Bill empowers central government to allow public works based on recommendation of National Monuments Authority (NMA) on application forwarded by relevant central government department, that seeks to carry out construction for public purposes in a prohibited area. The Bill empowers NMA to consider an impact assessment of proposed public works in prohibited area, including its archaeological impact, visual impact and heritage impact. NMA will make a recommendation, for construction of public works to the central government, only if it is satisfied that there is no reasonable possibility of moving the construction outside the prohibited area.

9) The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on request of the Ministry of Shipping has exempted cruise tourists arriving with e-visa from the requirement of biometric enrolment for a period of three years i.e. till 2020. The purpose of the move is to promote cruise tourism in the country and make India attractive cruise tourist destination. Key Facts: This simplified immigration clearance procedure will make immigration clearance of such passengers faster, leaving them with more time to spend on shore. This is also important factor that will help cruise lines decide whether or not to include a destination in their itinerary. This simplified immigration clearance procedure is part of a series of steps to attract and to enhance cruise passenger experience at the major ports. Background: The Ministry of Shipping has been working towards simplifying immigration clearance procedure and providing passengers with customer friendly and hassle free logistics process when they embark on or disembark from their cruise at Indian ports. E-visa facility is being implemented in five major ports viz. Mumbai, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin and Chennai. Till now biometrics of passengers were required at port of first arrival for immigration clearance. However, the immigration procedure was taking more than internationally accepted norm of clearing immigration for all cruise passengers in a maximum of 90 minutes.

10) The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Former Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) chief Rajinder Khanna as Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA). He has been appointed without a fixed tenure and would remain at the post until further orders. In his new role, he will assist NSA Ajit Doval. Rajinder Khanna: He is 1978-batch Research and Analysis (RAS) cadre officer. He had headed RAW from December 2014 for a fixed two-year period. He is considered as the father of counter-terrorism unit in the RAW and has led many counter-terrorism operations in the spy agency and is reportedly an expert on Pakistan and Islamic terrorism. He also has been in the forefront of seeking cooperation from intelligence agencies around the globe. After his stint in RAW, he was appointed Officer on Special Duty (Neighbourhood Studies) in National Security Council Secretariat, the apex body on all internal and external security-related matters headed by the Prime Minister. Neighbourhood Studies prepares policy papers of neighbouring countries including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. National Security Advisor (NSA): The NSA is the chief executive of National Security Council (NSC) and primary advisor to Prime Minister on national and international security and oversees strategic issues. It is the NSA to whom intelligence agencies such as RAW and Intelligence Bureau report, rather than directly to Prime Minister. Due to such vested powers, NSA is prominent and powerful office in the bureaucracy. NSA is assisted by a Deputy NSA. The post was created in November 1998 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government. Brajesh Mishra was first to be appointed NSA of India. Since the inception of the post, all NSAs appointed belong to Indian Foreign Service (IFS) except M K Narayanan and incumbent, Ajit Doval, who belong to the Indian Police Service.

11) The Defence Ministry has given its final approvals for the procurement of 131 Barak missiles for Indian Navy and 240 precision-guided munitions (PGM) for Indian Air Force (IAF) together estimated at Rs.1,714 crore. The proposals were cleared by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. It is a regular procurement through the revenue expenditure. Precision-guided munitions (PGM): The 240 KAB-1500 PGMs will be procured from Rosoboronexport of Russia at a cost of Rs.1,254 crore. PGM is variant of the KAB PGMs. It has been in service of IAF and has been employed by Su-30 fighter jets. Due to the value of the contract, the approval of Defence Ministry was required,” a defence official said. This procurement will address the deficiency of Precision Guided Munitions in IAF arsenal and also enhance offensive capabilities of the IAF. Barak surface-to-air missiles (SAM): 131 Barak surface-to-air missiles (SAM) and associated equipment will be bought from Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd for Rs.460 crore. They will be installed on all frontline warships of the Indian Navy. These are SAM designed to be used as a ship-borne anti-missile defence system.

12) China has successfully developed new underwater surveillance network to help its submarines get stronger lock on targets while protecting nation’s interests along maritime Silk Road, which also includes Indian Ocean. The project is part of unprecedented military expansion fuelled by China’s desire to challenge United States in world’s oceans. Underwater surveillance network: The network is underwater surveillance system based on network of platforms — buoys, satellites, surface vessels and underwater gliders — that gather data from Western Pacific, South China Sea and Indian Oceans. The system works by gathering information about underwater environment, particularly water temperature and salinity, which navy can then use to more accurately track target vessels as well as improve navigation and positioning. The new surveillance system will enable Chinese submarines to steer a much safer course through difficult waters as well as improving their targeting ability.

13) Parliament has passed the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, 2017 with the approval of Rajya Sabha. Lok Sabha already had passed the bill in August 2017. The Bill seeks to amend National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Act, 1981. The Act establishes NABARD for providing and regulating facilities like credit for agricultural and industrial development in the rural areas. Key Features of the Bill: The Bill allows Union Government to increase capital of NABARD from Rs. 5000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore. Further, it allows Union Government to increase the capital more than Rs 30,000 crore in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), if necessary. The Bill provides that Union Government alone must hold at least 51% capital share of NABARD. Further, it transfers share capital held by RBI valued at Rs. 20 crore to Union Government. Currently RBI holds 0.4% of paid-up capital of NABARD and remaining 99.6% is held by Union government and this causes conflict in RBI’s role as banking regulator and shareholder in NABARD. The Bill replaces terms ‘small-scale industry’ and ‘industry in tiny and decentralised sector’ with terms ‘micro enterprise’, ‘small enterprise’ and ‘medium enterprise’ as defined in MSME Development Act, 2006. Further, it allows NABARD to provide financial assistance to banks if they provide loans to the MSMEs. The Bill substitutes references to provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 with references to the Companies Act, 2013. It includes provisions dealing with definition of a government company and qualifications of auditors.

14) The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has launched online portal NARI (nari.nic.in) for the empowerment of women. It has been developed by the Ministry to provide easy access to information on government schemes and initiatives for women. NARI portal: The NARI portal will provide information to women on issues affecting their lives. The portal summarise over 350 government schemes and other important information. The schemes are divided into 7 different categories — health, education, housing and shelter, employment, addressing violence, decision making and social support. It elaborates how Government is focussed to economically empower women through schemes under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). It will also provide tips on good nutrition, suggestions for health check-ups, information on major diseases, tips for investment and savings advice, job search and interview, information on crimes and against women and reporting procedures, contacts of legal aid cells, simplified adoption procedures and much more. It will endow women with power of information to build their life skills and facilitates them in taking full advantage of services provided by Government for them. It also provides link to Ministries, Departments and autonomous bodies offering these schemes as well as easy access to online applications and grievance redressal. e-Samvad portal: The MWCD also launched the portal to provide platform for NGOs and Civil Societies to interact with the ministry. Through it, NGOs and civil society can provide their feedback, suggestions, put up grievances, share best practices etc. This will help in formulation of effective policies and measures for welfare of women and children.

15) Parliament has passed Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2017 after it was passed by both the houses. The Bill amends Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, and replaces Ordinance promulgated in November 2017 to pave way for tightening loopholes in existing code and make resolution process more effective. Background: The IBC was enacted by the Parliament in 2016 to find time-bound resolution for ailing and sick firms, either through closure or revival, while protecting interests of creditors. Successful completion of resolution process is expected to aid in reducing rising bad loans (NPA-non Performing assets) in the banking system. Key Features of Bill: The bill redefines resolution applicant mentioned in code as person who submits resolution plan after receiving invite by insolvency professional to do so. It amends provision related to eligibility in IBC to state that insolvency professional will only invite those resolution applicants to submit plan, who fulfil certain criteria laid down by him with approval of committee of creditors and other conditions which may be specified by Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board. It prohibits certain persons from submitting resolution plan in case of defaults. These include: (i) wilful defaulters, (ii) promoters or management of the company if it has outstanding non-performing debt for over year and (iii) disqualified directors, among others. The bill bars the sale of property of a defaulter to such persons who is ineligible to be a resolution applicant during liquidation. It inserts provision to specify that person contravening any provisions of IBC, for which no penalty has been specified, will be punishable with fine ranging between Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 crore.

16) The Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) of Union Government has given its approval to Karnataka government for purchase of electric vehicles (EVs) under FAME India subsidised scheme. The state will purchase 40 electric buses, 100 four wheelers and 500 three wheelers at maximum of 60% subsidy under the scheme. The subsidy support is also provided for setting up electricity charging infrastructure across state capital Bengaluru. The EVs will ply in city as public transport which will protect environment, save fossil fuel and ensure public health. FAME India Scheme: The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME) India was launched in 2015 under the National Electric Mobility Mission (NEMM) aims at promoting eco-friendly vehicles in the country. It is being administered by the Heavy Industries Ministry. The objective of scheme is to provide fiscal and monetary incentives for adoption and market creation of both hybrid and electric technologies vehicles in the country. It also aims at incentivising all vehicle segments, including two-wheelers, three wheeler auto, passenger four-wheeler vehicle, light commercial vehicles and buses. The scheme covers hybrid and electric technologies like a strong hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles. Its mandate is to support hybrid or electric vehicles market development and its manufacturing eco-system in country in order to achieve self-sustenance in stipulated period.

17) According to the data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the eight core sectors expanded at fastest pace in more than year at 6.8% in November 2017. These eight industries — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity — had witnessed a growth of 3.2 per cent in November 2016. Key Facts: The output growth in November 2017 is highest since October 2016, when these core sectors had witnessed 7.1% rise. The growth was recorded on account of robust performance in segments like refinery (rose by 8.2%), steel (16.6%) and cement (17.3%) on an annual basis in November 2017. Crude oil and natural gas output too registered positive growth in November 2017. But coal output growth rate recorded a negative growth. Cumulatively, the growth in the eight core sectors during April-November this fiscal slowed to 3.9% as against 5.3% in the same period last fiscal. Core industry can be defined as main industry of economy. In most countries, there is particular industry that seems to be backbone of all other industries and it qualifies to be t core industry. In India, there are eight core sectors comprising of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity. The electricity has the maximum weight of 10.32% followed by Steel (6.68%), Petroleum Refinery (5.94%), Crude Oil production (5.22 %), Coal production (4.38 %), Cement (2.41%), Natural Gas production (1.71 %) and Fertilizer production (1.25%). Healthy growth in these key eight sectors has positive implications on Index of Industrial Production (IIP) as these eight segments account for about 41% of the total factory output.

18) The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched Allied and Health care Professional Database portal to make data repository robust to ensure better systems and frameworks for healthcare workforce in country. The database will help government to track the number of professionals and streams of allied and health care professions in the country. Allied and Health care Professional Database: The AHP portal has a capacity of capturing more than 10 lakh Allied and Healthcare Professionals’ (AHP) data. It will be helpful in expediting envisaged processes viz. licensing of professionals, workforce policy planning, and bringing transparency in system by maintaining standards of educational and clinical practice etc. More than 3000 professionals have already registered on portal during the testing phase. How it works? The AHPs can visit portal on link mentioned above and provide basic personal, qualification and professional information. The portal will also send auto-generated email to registered email of candidate for verification and will provide enrolment reference number for further usage. The candidates subsequently can login to portal using credentials received in email and edit information, upload qualification degree among other details.

19) The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appointed senior diplomat Vijay Keshav Gokhale (58) as Foreign Secretary, highest post for a diplomat in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He will have a two-year term and shall succeed S Jaishankar, who completes his extended tenure in January 2018. Jaishankar was appointed foreign secretary in January 2015, for two years, just a few days before his retirement. Foreign Secretary is the Vijay Keshav Gokhale. He is 1981-batch officer of Indian Foreign Service (IFS). He is considered an expert on China and is proficient in the use of Mandarin. Currently he is secretary (Economic Relations) in the Ministry of External Affairs. Earlier he was India’s Ambassador to China from January 2016 to October 2017. He has also served as India’s top envoy to Germany between October 2013 and January 2016. He has worked in Indian missions in Hong Kong, Hanoi, Beijing and in New York. He also has held the posts of director (China and East Asia) and then joint secretary (East Asia) in the MEA which covers India’s ties with China, Japan, Mongolia, Taiwan, North Korea and South Korea. He had played key role in 2017 India-China negotiations to resolve the 73-day standoff between Indian Army and Chinese Army (PLA) at Doklam Plateau, a tri-junction between Sino-India and Bhutanese border near Sikkim.

20) Scientists have discovered a new species of blind fish named Schistura larketensis inside a cave in East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya. The fish has been named after Larket village, where the cave has been found to encourage local people to take up biodiversity conservation. Key Facts: Schistura larketensis has lost its sight during its living evolution in perpetual darkness inside the cave. It has also lost its pigments too while adapting to its habitat in the dark waters.The orbital diameter of fish decreases gradually as its matures with eyes completely absent in older individuals. Small and faintly blackish spot-like depressions are seen in place of eyes, indicating evolutionary and morphological adaptations. Background: Researchers had discovered the new blind fish in cave during an expedition several years ago. The cave is about 880 meters above sea level and over 7 km in length. The new fish sample was collected from small stagnant pools which are of few square meters in area and about 1-2 metres in depth. These pools are about 1600 feet high from main entrance of cave. The pool bed is mostly sandy with pebbles. Significance: Though there are about 200 known species of similar kind of fish inhabiting streams and rivers throughout Indochina and Southeast Asia, this is first such discovery of blind fish. The new fish species can be immediately distinguished from all other species of Schistura (excluding Schistura papulifera for its vestigial subcutaneous eyes appearing as black spots). The high level of siltation, pollution and acidification in Jaintia Hills due to coal mining and cement plants is threatening local cave biodiversity.

21) India and Pakistan have exchanged list of their nuclear installations and facilities with each other under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear installations. This is the 27th consecutive exchange of such list between two countries after first list was exchanged on 1 January 1992. This is an annual exchange of conducted in 1st January between them to prevent them from attacking each other’s nuclear facilities. The exchange is part of an agreement between the two nuclear-armed neighbours meant to prevent attacks on nuclear facilities by each other. Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear installations: It is a bilateral agreement signed between India and Pakistan that bars them from carrying out any surprise attack (or to assist foreign power to attack) on each other’s nuclear installations and facilities. It was signed on 31st December 1988 and entered into force on 27 January 1991. It was signed by then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and his Pakistani counterpart Benazir Bhutto. Under it, both countries inform each other about their nuclear installations and facilities that need to be covered under the Agreement on 1 January every year.

22) State-owned gas utility GAIL India Ltd has commissioned India’s second largest rooftop solar power plant in Uttar Pradesh. It is 5.76 MWp (Mega Watt peak) solar plant installed at GAIL’s petrochemical complex at Pata in UP. The plant has over roofs of warehouses covers a total area of 65,000 square meters. It is expected to produce Peak Load Factor (PLF) of around 15% annually, over 79 lakh KWh of electricity is targeted to be generated for captive use of India’s largest gas-based petrochemicals plant. Largest rooftop solar plant in India: India’s largest rooftop solar plant was commissioned in December 2015 by Tata Power Solar in Amritsar, Punjab. It is 12 MWp solar rooftop project, which produces more than 150 lakh units of power annually. It offsets over 19,000 tonne of carbon emissions every year. Comment: India is planning to have 40 GW of rooftop photovoltaics (PV) by 2022. The Captive solar power initiative of GAIL will reduce carbon emissions by 6,300 tonnes per annum and help India achieve climate goals. Gas (India) Limited (GAIL): GAIL is the largest state-owned natural gas processing and distribution company in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi. It has following business segments: natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas transmission, liquid hydrocarbon, city gas distribution, petrochemical, exploration and production, GAILTEL and electricity generation. It was conferred with the Maharatna status in February 2013 by the Government of India. Only six other Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) enjoy this coveted status amongst all central CPSEs.

23) Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) became first countries of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to introduce Value Added Tax (VAT) for the first time to increase their revenue away from oil reserves. The other members of 6 member GCC– Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar — have also committed to introduce VAT, though some have delayed plans until at least 2019. Key Facts: The rate for VAT is set at 5% on the majority of goods and services including petrol and diesel, food, clothes, utility bills and hotel rooms. Number of goods and services including medical treatment, financial services and public transport have been placed in either zero rated or in exempt category. Comment: In Saudi Arabia, more than 90% of budget revenues come from oil industry while in UAE it is roughly 80%. Organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had long called for Gulf countries to diversify their sources of income away from oil reserves. Both countries have already taken steps to boost government coffers. Value Added Tax (VAT): A VAT is type of consumption tax that is placed on product whenever value is added at stage of production and at point of retail sale. It is one of the most common types of consumption tax implemented in more than 150 countries around the world. It is charged at each step of the ‘supply chain’. Final consumers generally bear the VAT cost while businesses collect and account for the tax, in a way acting as a tax collector on behalf of the government.

24) NASA is going to launch Parker Solar Probe in 2018 to explore the sun’s outer atmosphere. It will be launched onboard of Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle. It will perform its scientific investigations in a hazardous region of intense heat and solar radiation. Primary goals of mission: Trace how energy and heat move through solar corona. Explore what accelerates solar wind as well as solar energetic particles. Parker Solar Probe mission: It is NASA’s planned robotic spacecraft to probe outer corona of Sun. It has been designed and built by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. It is named after solar astrophysicist Eugene Parker. This is first time NASA spacecraft named after living person. The spacecraft is designed to endure harsh environment near Sun, by approaching within 8.5 solar radii (5.9 million kilometers) to ‘surface’ (photosphere) of Sun where incident solar intensity is approximately 520 times intensity at Earth orbit. It will be protected by solar shadow-shield made of reinforced carbon-carbon composite. The spacecraft systems and scientific instruments are located in central portion of shield’s shadow, where direct radiation from Sun is fully blocked. The primary power for mission is dual system of solar panels (photovoltaic array). Secondary source consists of much smaller secondary array power that uses pumped-fluid cooling to maintain operating temperature. It will use Venus’ gravity during seven flybys over nearly seven years to gradually bring its orbit closer to Sun. It will achieve velocity of up to 200 km/s, making it fastest spacecraft to date. Scientific goals: Determine structure and dynamics of magnetic fields at sources of solar wind. Trace flow of energy that heats corona and accelerates solar wind. Determine what mechanisms accelerate and transport energetic particles. Explore dusty plasma near Sun and its influence on solar wind and energetic particle formation.

25) Arunachal Pradesh was officially declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) state. It is second State from Northeast, after Sikkim and overall fifth state after Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Haryana to be declared ODF state. The announcement comes after three remaining districts – Upper Subansiri, Siang and Changlang were officially declared ODF. Arunachal Pradesh has total 21 districts and it attained this major cleanliness feat under Swach Bharat Abhiyan much before (one year and 10 months ahead) the national deadline of October 2, 2019. Background: Arunachal Pradesh had under taken ODF project under Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) SBM (G) by extending incentive of Rs 8,000 per toilet. This was addition to Central Government’s support of Rs 12,000, raising the grant for constructing a toilet to Rs 20,000. The State government also had launched Swachh Arunachal Mission on October 2, 2017 at Tawang which envisaged Swachh Protocol (Cleanliness Protocol) aimed at ensuring sustainability of assets created under SBM (Gramin). Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM): The SBM was launched in October 2014 to achieve universal sanitation coverage and to put focus on sanitation. It aims to achieve Swachh Bharat or make India clean by 2019, as a fitting tribute to the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The SBM consists of two sub-missions Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), implemented in rural areas, and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), implemented in urban areas. SBM-G seeks to eliminate open defecation in rural areas by improving access to sanitation by ensuring the use of toilets, besides their construction. It also seeks to generate awareness to motivate communities to adopt sustainable sanitation practices, and encourage the use of appropriate technologies for sanitation. Open defecation is an important factor for causing various diseases like intestinal worm infections, diarrhoea, polio, hepatitis etc.

26) Scientists have discovered new species of frog named Mewa Singh’s night frog (Nyctibatrachus mewasinghi) in Kozhikode’s Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala in Western Ghats. It was discovered in small stream running along the Peruvannamuzhi dam. It is latest contribution to spurt in amphibian discoveries across India. About Mewa Singh’s night frog: It belongs to genus Nyctibatrachus (commonly known as night frogs) endemic only to Western Ghats mountain range. This group has total 36 number of night frogs including Mewa Singh’s night frog. It has been named in honour of wildlife scientist Mewa Singh for his contributions to behavioural ecology and primate studies. The new night frog species is light brown in colour with an off-white underside. It sports faintly wrinkled skin with prominent granular projections. Currently, it is known only from Peruvannamuzhi in Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary in a small stream running along Peruvannamuzhi dam. Background: Since many frogs in genus Nyctibatrachus look similar, scientists had used both physical characteristics as well as genetic methods to confirm frog as new species. Using tissue samples of 10 collected specimens of newly discovered species, scientists analysed portions of two genes and found that it varied enough from other closely-related species to make it different species. They also had found that frog’s genetically closest relatives are Athirappilly night frog (found south of Palakkad Gap in Idukki and Thrissur) and Kempholey night frog (found in Western Ghats of Karnataka and northern Kerala). Morphologically, it can be distinguished from its similar-looking and genetically close relatives by several physical characteristics, including pattern of its webbed fingers and toes.

27) Botanical Survey of India (BSI) scientists have discovered two new species of ginger named Hedychium chingmeianum and Caulokaempferia dinabandhuensis in easternmost districts of northeast India. Both the plants belong to the family of Zingiberaceae, to which the commonly found ginger (Zingiber officinale) belongs. Key Facts: Hedychium chingmeianum: It was discovered in Tuensang district in Nagaland, both bordering Myanmar. It is an epiphytic plant and grows on trunks of tall trees. It has reddish stems and creamy white flowers. Caulokaempferia dinabandhuensis: It was found growing in rock crevices, boulders and humus rich soil in the Shirui Hills in Ukhrul in Manipur. It has beautiful oval-shaped pink flowers which appear in June-July. It has been named after Mr. Dinabandhu Sahoo. Significance: Out of 44 taxa, 31 species and 13 varieties of genus Hedychium found in India, only 5 are reported in south India. The remaining species are all found in northeast. Most of the species under this genus have medicinal properties. However, it is yet to be ascertained whether the newly discovered species Hedychium chingmeianum has medicinal properties or not.

28) Vidarbha cricket team won 2017 Ranji Trophy tournament. It is Vidarbha’s first Ranji Trophy title. In the final match held at Holkar stadium in Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Vidarbha thumped 9-wicket win over Delhi. After conceding 252-run first innings lead, Delhi was bowled out for 280 in their second innings, setting a target of merely 29 runs for Vidarbha. Vidarbha lost only one wicket and took only five overs to chase down the target. Ranji Trophy: Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between teams representing regional cricket associations. The trophy is named after England and Sussex cricketer Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji and was first played in 1934. At present, the championship is played between 27 teams which include 21 states (of 29 Indian states) and Delhi (UT). The format of Ranji Trophy is Round-robin then knockout. Mumbai has won Ranji title for record 41 times (10 of them being won with innings wins) after playing in record 45 finals.

29) State-run Gas (India) Limited (GAIL) has placed orders for another 400-km natural gas pipeline project under ambitious Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga (PMUG). The orders were placed for 400-km for pipeline from Dobhi (Bihar) to Durgapur (West Bengal). With this, the total pipe supply orders for 2,100 km of Jagdishpur-Haldia & Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project have been placed. GAIL also has placed 1,700 km of line laying orders. Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga: The ambitious 2,655 km long JHBDPL project also known as ‘Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga’ project originates at Jagdishpur (Uttar Pradesh). The main trunk of pipeline ends to Haldia (West Bengal) and Dhamra (Odisha). The pipeline passes through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha. The total cost of project is Rs. 12,940 crore and is targeted to be completed by 2019. The project is being implemented by state-run gas utility GAIL. It will augment GAIL’s existing network of trunk pipelines covering the length of around 11,000 km by 2540 km. Significance: The project is considered as a major step towards collective growth and development of the Eastern region of India. It will provide clean energy to households and transportation in the cities en-route the pipeline. It will usher Industrial development in East India by supplying environmentally clean natural gas to fertiliser and power plant, refineries, steel plants and other industries. Seven big east India cities viz. Varanasi, Jamshedpur, Patna, Ranchi, Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack – will be the major beneficiary of this project. Gas (India) Limited (GAIL): GAIL is the largest state-owned natural gas processing and distribution company in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi. It has following business segments: natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas transmission, liquid hydrocarbon, city gas distribution, petrochemical, exploration and production, GAILTEL and electricity generation. It was conferred with the Maharatna status in February 2013 by the Government of India. Only six other Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) enjoy this coveted status amongst all central CPSEs.

30) The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced to launch 31 satellites, including India’s Cartosat-2 series earth observation space craft in a single mission onboard on January 10, 2018. These satellites will be launched onboard of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C40 from the spaceport in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. It will be first PSLV mission after the unsuccessful launch of backup navigation satellite IRNSS-1H in August 2017 on board PSLV-C39, due to technical fault on final leg following perfect launch. Payloads: The mission will be combination of 28 nano satellites from foreign countries, including Finland, US and one micro and nano satellite from India. The mission’s main payload will be India’s Cartosat-2 series earth observation satellite. This will be the third satellite in the Cartosat-2 series Cartosat-2 series satellite launch is a follow-on mission with the primary objective of providing high resolution scene specific spot imageries. It carries Panchromatic and Multi-spectral cameras operating in Time Delay Integration mode. It is capable of delivering high resolution data. Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle: PSLV is third generation launch vehicle indigenously designed and developed by ISRO. It is one of world’s most reliable and versatile workhorse (launch vehicles) with 39 consecutively successful missions by June 2017. It is four stages launch vehicle and first Indian rocket to be equipped with liquid stages. It can take up to 1,750 kg of payload to Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbits (SSPO) of 600 km altitude and payload of 1,425 kg to Geosynchronous and Geostationary orbits. Four Stages: The uppermost stage or fourth stage of PSLV comprises of two Earth storable liquid engines. The third stage is solid rocket motor that provides upper stages high thrust after the atmospheric phase of the launch. Second stage of PSLV uses an Earth storable liquid rocket engine, know as Vikas engine, developed by Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre. The first stage uses uses the S139 solid rocket motor that is augmented by 6 solid strap-on booster. Successful missions: During 1994-2017 period, PSLV has launched 48 Indian satellites and 209 satellites for customers from abroad. It has been in service for over twenty years and has launched historic missions like Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), IRNSS (NAVIC) etc.

31) China successfully tested its first photovoltaic (solar) highway based on home-grown technology in country’s eastern Shandong province. With this, China became the second country in the world to construct a photovoltaic highway. France had introduced world’s first photovoltaic road fitted with solar panels in late 2016. Key Facts: China’s photovoltaic highway is constructed using solar panels which have thin sheet of transparent concrete on top of them, protecting the surface. It has wireless charging systems for electric vehicles (EVs). The photovoltaic panels of the highway are built to transfer energy to electric vehicles passing on top of them. The one-kilometre segment of solar-powered highway covers a surface area of 5875 sq m. The stretch has three layers viz. bottom layer which is insulator to prevent moisture from getting to photovoltaic devices in middle layer, and top layer has transparent concrete. The tested segment of the solar highway can generate 817.2 KW of electricity and is expected to generate 1 million KW hours of electricity each year. The electricity generated will be connected to China’s national power grid.

32) President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe as President of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR). He will succeed scholar and thinker Lokesh Chandra, who was appointed by the NDA government in October 2014 and has completed his three-year-term. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe is BJP’s national vice-president and is also a Rajya Sabha member from Maharashtra. He is vice-president of Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini which is South Asia’s only training and research academy for elected representatives and voluntary social workers. He had headed BJP’s training cell for over a decade and at present was national in-charge of two departments of the party — Policy Research and Good Governance. Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR): The ICCR is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of External Affairs. It was founded in 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, independent India’s first Education Minister. It is involved in India’s external cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their peoples. Its mandate is to actively participate in formulation and implementation of policies and programmes pertaining to India’s external cultural relations. It also seeks to foster and strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other countries. It also aims to promote cultural exchanges with other countries and people; and to develop relations with nations.

33) The Lok Sabha has passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill 2017 to pave the way for tightening loopholes in existing code and to make resolution process more effective. The Bill amends the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, and replaces an Ordinance promulgated in November 2017. Background: The IBC was enacted in 2016 to find a time-bound resolution for ailing and sick firms, either through closure or revival, while protecting interests of creditors. Successful completion of resolution process is expected to aid in reducing rising bad loans (NPA-non Performing assets) in the banking system. Key Features of Bill: Resolution applicant: The bill redefines resolution applicant mentioned in code as a person who submits a resolution plan after receiving an invite by the insolvency professional to do so. Eligibility for resolution applicants: It amends provision related to eligibility in IBC to state that insolvency professional will only invite those resolution applicants to submit a plan, who fulfil certain criteria laid down by him with approval of committee of creditors and other conditions which may be specified by Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board. Ineligibility to be a resolution applicant: It prohibits certain persons from submitting resolution plan in case of defaults. These include: (i) wilful defaulters, (ii) promoters or management of the company if it has outstanding non-performing debt for over year and (iii) disqualified directors, among others. Liquidation: The bill bars the sale of property of a defaulter to such persons who is ineligible to be a resolution applicant during liquidation. Penalties: The Bill inserts provision to specify that person contravening any provisions of IBC, for which no penalty has been specified, will be punishable with fine ranging between Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 crore. Comment: The bill has diluted some of stringent provisions of ordinance. It seeks to strike balance in trade-off between punishing wilful defaulters and ensuring a more effective insolvency process. The bill allows defaulting promoters to be part of the debt resolution process, provided they repay dues in month to make their loan account operational and resolution happens within overall time frame specified in the code. This amendment will help promoters who had submitted resolution plans before ordinance barred them from taking part in the resolution process of companies. It also allows asset reconstruction companies (ARCs), alternative investment funds (AIFs) such as private equity funds and banks to participate in bidding process.

34) Chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand (48) won World Rapid Chess Championship Title 2017 held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the final tie-breaker mini-match, Anand defeated Russia’s Vladimir Fedoseev by 2-0 score to reclaim title he had won in 2003. Earlier he defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway and went on to finish on top with 10.5 Points at the end of 15th and final round. But, he had tied with Vladimir Fedoseev and Ian Nepomniachtchi, both of Russia, who also had scored same number of points, a tie-breaker was required to decide the winner. The women’s title was won by China’s Ju Wenjun. Indai’s Dronavalli Harika was the best-placed Indian finishing 19th followed by Padmini Rout placed at 22nd place, S Vijayalakshmi at 34th position and Eesha Karavde at 35th. Viswanathan Anand: He was born on 11 December 1969 in Chennai. He became India’s first grandmaster in 1988. He is first Asian to win FIDE World Chess Championship from 2000 to 2002. He had won World Champion in 2007 by defeating Vladimir Kramnik and again in 2010 by defeating Veselin Topalov and in 2012 by defeating Boris Gelfand. In world Chess Championship 2013, he lost to challenger Magnus Carlsen of Norway and lost again to Carlsen in 2014. In 2006, he became fourth player in chess history to pass 2800 Elo mark on FIDE rating list, after Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov. He occupied number one position for 21 months, 6th longest on record. He is the first recipient of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1991, India’s highest sporting honour. In 2007, he was awarded Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award, making him first sportsperson to receive award.

35) The Environment Ministry has approved regional project on ‘Climate Resilience Building among Farmers through Crop Residue Management’ under National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC). The project was approved at meeting of National Steering Committee on Climate Change (NSCCC) held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Secretary, Environment Ministry. Key Facts: The project aims to mitigate climate change impacts and enhance adaptive capacity and counter adverse environmental impacts arising from stubble burning. It will be implemented following a phased approach. Based upon performance in first phase, its scope will be enhanced and more activities will be supported subsequently. The first phase of the project was approved for Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan at cost of approximately Rs. 100 crore. It will leverage approximately three times the approved amount with contribution from States as well as farmers. Initially, awareness generation and capacity building activities will be undertaken to encourage farmers to adopt alternate practices which will help them to diversify livelihood options and enhance income. Moreover, slew of technological interventions will be also undertaken for timely management of crop residue in addition to effective utilisation of existing machineries. Under this project, implementable and sustainable entrepreneurship models will be created in rural areas through upscaling successful initiatives and innovative ideas. Background: The straw burning is age-old agricultural practice followed by farmers biannually by setting fire to their fields to clear the land of residue (straw) of one harvest and sow the next. The problem has intensifying over the years, with Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh being the major burning hotspots. The problem of open burning of agriculture has resulted in serious issues contributing towards global warming and environmental pollution. It also has an adverse impact on air quality, soil health and human health. The open field burning emits Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Carbon monoxide (CO) and Nitrous Oxide (NO) along with particulate matter. National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC): NAFCC is a flagship Scheme of Union Government launched in 2015 to provide 100% central grant to the State Governments for implementing climate change adaptation projects. The Scheme has been designed to fulfill objectives of National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) and operationalize State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCCs). The objective of NAFCC is to assist states/UTs that are particularly vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change in meeting the cost of adaptation. Under it, Union Government encourages States to come up with innovative and scalable projects to develop resilience against climate change and mainstream it in the planning processes. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is National Implementing Entity (NIE) responsible for implementation of adaptation projects under NAFCC.

36) The Union Government has inked Loan agreement with World Bank for $40 Million IBRD Credit for “Uttar Pradesh Pro-Poor Tourism Development Project”. The project size is approximately $57.14 million, of which $40 million will be financed by World Bank, and remaining amount will be funded out of State Budget. The programme will have duration of 5 years. Key Facts: The objective of UP Pro-Poor Tourism Development Project is to increase tourism-related benefits for local communities in targeted destinations. It is expected to have far-reaching social, economic and environmental benefits by targeting local communities and entrepreneurs near some of main tourist and pilgrimage attractions in Uttar Pradesh. These main tourist and pilgrimage attractions are Agra, Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana and Govardhan in Braj region.

37) The World Health Organisation (WHO) is set to classify gaming disorder as a mental health condition in its forthcoming 11th International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is due to be published in 2018. Mental health experts and psychiatrists believe that internet and gaming addiction though affecting small population now, has become emerging psychological malady and it is likely to be major mental health problem in the coming years. Need: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders-V, a diagnostic bible for mental health professionals published by American Psychiatric Association already has classified gaming disorder as a mental health condition. Nearly 7% of population studied for gaming and internet addiction have exhibited depressive symptoms, somatisation and anxiety, including behavioural changes and sleep disturbances. International Classification of Diseases (ICD): ICD is the international standard diagnostic tool for epidemiology, health management and clinical purposes. Its full official name is International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. It is maintained by WHO. It is revised periodically and is currently in its tenth revision. Purpose: The ICD is designed as health care classification system to provide a system of diagnostic codes for classifying diseases, including nuanced classifications of wide variety of signs, symptoms, complaints, abnormal findings, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or disease. It maps health conditions to corresponding generic categories together with specific variations, assigning for these designated code, up to six characters long. It also promotes international comparability in collection, processing, classification, and presentation of these statistics. It is core statistically based classificatory diagnostic system for health care related issues of the WHO Family of International Classifications (WHO-FIC).

38) IAS officer Sumita Misra was appointed joint secretary in Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) for five years. She is 1990 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre. Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC): PMEAC is a non-constitutional and non-statutory, non-permanent and independent body, constituted with the prime and sole aim to analyse all critical issues, economic or otherwise, referred to it by the prime minister and advising him thereon. It is mandate to give advice to prime minister on economic matters such as inflation, GDP changes, export-import changes, creating supporting environment for increased trade and commerce. Current Composition of PMEAC: Bibek Debroy, NITI Aayog member is the chairman of the Council. Its four members are Ratan Watal (member-secretary), NITI Aayog’s principal advisor and former Finance Secretary; Economist Surjit Bhalla; Rathin Roy, Director of National Institute of Public Finance and Policy and Professor Ashima Goya, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research. Functions of PMEAC: Submit periodic reports to PM related to macroeconomic developments and issues which will have implications of the economic policy. Analyse any topics, issues assigned by the PM and provide advice to them. Analyse macroeconomic issues having high importance and present the views to PM and any other task which is assigned by Prime Minister.

39) The Union Ministry of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has launched Livestock Disease Forewarning –Mobile Application (LDF-Mobile App). It was launched by Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh in New Delhi. During the launch, the Minister also informed that dreaded Rinderpest disease has been eradicated from India. Key Facts: LDF-Mobile App was developed by ICAR-National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (ICAR-NIVEDI), Bengaluru. This app will be beneficial for consumers and stakeholders engaged in disease control programmes. The app will provide early diseases warning and also information about clinical samples for diagnosis in case of epidemic so that immediate action in case of epidemic. This app works on all kind of android smartphones and takes up 2.5 MB space. ICAR-NIVEDI had identified 13 priority diseases based on their past incidence patterns and built strong database of these diseases on app. The app considers both climatic and non-climatic factors and categorizes districts for a particular disease into Very High Risk, High Risk, Moderate Risk, Low Risk, Very Low Risk and No Risk so that stakeholders can effectively plan and utilize the available resources.

40) Senior IAS officer Amardeep Singh Bhatia was appointed as new director of Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). He is a 1993 batch IAS officer of Nagaland cadre. At present, he is joint secretary in Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO): The SFIO is a fraud investigating agency in India, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The SFIO is involved in major fraud probes and is the co-ordinating agency with the Income Tax Department and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The SFIO is a fraud investigating agency in India, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. It is involved in major fraud probes and is the co-ordinating agency with the Income Tax Department (IT) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). It is headquartered in New Delhi. It was established in January 2003 based on the recommendation of Naresh Chandra Committee on corporate governance and in backdrop of stock market scams due to failure of non-banking companies resulting in huge financial loss to the public. SFIO is a multi-disciplinary organization having experts from financial sector, accountancy, capital market, taxation, forensic audit, law, information technology, company law, customs and investigation. These experts have been taken from various organizations like banks, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and concerned organizations and departments of Government.

41) The Lok Sabha passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriages) Bill 2017 dclaring instant triple talaq illegal and criminalises it with up to three years in jail for the husband. The bill will now will be sent to the Rajya Sabha for passage before it is forwarded to the President for assent to come into force as law. Key Features of Bill: The Bill makes all declaration of talaq, including in written or electronic form (text message, email etc) to be void and illegal i.e. not enforceable in law. It defines talaq as talaq-e-biddat or any other similar form of talaq pronounced by Muslim husband resulting in instant and irrevocable divorce to his wife. It refers Talaq-e-biddat to practice under Muslim personal laws where pronouncement of word ‘talaq’ thrice in one sitting by Muslim husband to his wife results in instant and irrevocable divorce. Offence and penalty: It makes declaration of talaq a cognizable and non-bailable offence i.e. offence for which police officer may arrest an accused person without warrant. Moreover, if Muslim husband declaring triple talaq can be imprisoned for up to 3 years along with a fine. Allowance: It entitles Muslim woman against whom triple talaq has been declared to seek subsistence allowance from her husband for herself and for her dependent children. First Class Magistrate will decide this allowance amount. Custody of minor children: Muslim woman against whom triple talaq has been declared, is entitled to seek custody of her minor children. First Class Magistrate will make determination of custody of her minor children. Background: The Constitutional bench of Supreme Court in 3:2 majority judgment (verdict) given in August 2017 had declared Islamic practice of instant divorce through triple talaq as unconstitutional, illegal and void and not protected by Article 25 (freedom of religion) of the Constitution. The three majority judges had held that triple talaq is manifestly arbitrary and violative of the constitution and fundamental right under Article 14 (equality before law) so it must be struck down. Comment: It was alleged that practise of triple talaq adversely impact rights of women to a life of dignity and is against constitutional principles such as gender equality, secularism, international laws etc. It also undermines gender equality is a sacred principle of our constitution and modern society. Even 21 Islamic theocratic countries including Pakistan, Afghanistan have abolished it.

42) Indigenously developed Prithvi Advanced Air Defence (AAD) supersonic interceptor missile was successfully test-fired from a test range in Odisha. It is capable of destroying any incoming ballistic missile in low altitude. Test: The target missile Prithvi interceptor AAD missile was launched from launch complex 3 of Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha. After getting signals by tracking radars the missile directed its trajectory to destroy hostile target missile in mid-air in an endo-atmospheric altitude. Prithvi AAD supersonic interceptor missile: The Prithvi interceptor is a 7.5-meter long single stage solid rocket propelled guided missile. It is equipped with a navigation system, a hi-tech computer and electro-mechanical activator. It can destroy the incoming hostile ballistic missile in endo-atmospheric region (less than 30 km altitude) at a low altitude of less than 30 kms. The state-of-the-art missile has its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking and homing capabilities and sophisticated radars. Comment: This was the third supersonic interceptor test of missile carried out this year in which an incoming ballistic missile target was successfully intercepted, within 30 km altitude of the earth’s atmosphere. The earlier two tests were conducted on February 11 and March 1 2017, as part of efforts to have full-fledged multi-layer Ballistic Missile Defence system.

43) The Parliament has passed National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Amendment Bill, 2017. It seeks to amend National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Act, 2011. The Bill extends deadline for relocating slum dwellers and Jhuggi-Jhopri clusters, regulating street vendors, regularising unauthorised colonies, village abadi areas in NCT Delhi and calls for creating policy for farm houses constructed beyond permissible limits. Key Facts: National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Act, 2011 provides for achieving following provisions by December 31, 2017. Relocating slum dwellers and Jhuggi-Jhompri clusters in accordance with provisions of the Delhi Shelter Improvement Board Act, 2010 and Master Plan for Delhi, 2021. It calls for regulating street vendors in accordance withpolicy for street vendors outlined in Master Plan. It regularises unauthorised colonies, village abadi areas and their extensions). It creates policy for farm houses constructed beyond permissible limits, and It creates policy or plan for all other areas of National Capital Territory of Delhi in keeping with Master Plan. Provisions of Amendment Bill: The Bill seeks to extend deadline up to December 31, 2020. It deletes provisions and references related to regulation and protection of street vendors. It is mainly due to overlapping provision in Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 enacted in February 2014. The bill extends deadline wrt to no action will be taken by any local authority for various violations mentioned in parent act to December 31, 2020 from earlier December 31, 2017.