WBCS Current Affairs 27/05/2017 to 02/06/2017 for WBCS Exam

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.Continue Reading WBCS Current Affairs 27/05/2017 to 02/06/2017 for WBCS Exam.

1. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has announced that the second Scorpene-class submarine is ready for surface sea trials. INS Khanderi, the second Scorpene class submarine has been built at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is the second of the six submarines being built at MDL in collaboration with France’s DCNS as part of Project 75 of Indian Navy. Salient Highlights INS Khanderi has been named Khanderi, after the Island fort of Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji which played had vital role in ensuring their supremacy at sea in late 17th century. Khanderi is also name for Tiger Shark. The state-of-the-art features in the submarine include superior stealth and ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision guided weapon. The attack from it can be launched with torpedoes, as well as tube-launched anti-ship missiles, whilst on surface or underwater. The stealth features gives it invulnerability, unmatched by many submarines. The submarine is designed to operate in all theatres, including the tropics. All means and communications are provided to ensure interoperability with other components of a Naval task force. It can undertake multifarious types of missions typically undertaken by any modern submarine such as anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence gathering, area surveillance, mine laying etc. In general, the Scorpene-class submarines are expected to significantly enhance India’s naval power and strength while making the country ocean safe and secure. Project 75 Under Project 75 India will construct 6 next generation diesel submarines with Air Independent Propulsion System (AIP) technology for the Indian Navy by 2022. The project is built with assistance and technology transfer from DCNS of France under deal signed in October 2005. The first of the series INS Kalvari is completing sea trials and will be commissioned shortly. The other four submarines are expected to be launched at nine-month intervals after the INS Khanderi.Continue Reading .WBCS Current Affairs 27/05/2017 to 02/06/2017 for WBCS Exam.

2. India’s Manika Batra and Mouma Das has created history by becoming the first Indian pair to reach the quarterfinals of the World Table Tennis Championships. The event is held in Dusseldorf. The last edition of the event was held in Suzhou in 2015. The next world TT championships will be held in Budapest in the year 2019. The duo will now take on the No. 1 and 2 Chinese players, Ding Ning and Liu Shiwen in an upcoming match. The World Table Tennis Championships are being held since 1926. The event is being organized biennially since 1957. Five individual events comprising men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s double and mixed doubles are currently held as a part of the championships.

3. The land version of the short range surface–to–surface ballistic missile Prithvi-II was successfully test-fired from a defence base off Odisha coast. The test was conducted by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Indian Army with logistics support from DRDO. The test was part of the user training exercise. The missile carrying a dummy payload was mounted on a Mobile Tatra transporter-erector Launcher (MTL). In November 2016, the twin trial of surface-to-surface nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile was successfully conducted by the India Army from a test range at Chandipur in Odisha. During the test, two Prithvi-II missiles in salvo mode were successfully test-fired in quick succession from a mobile launcher of the Integrated Test Range (ITR). Prithvi-II Prithvi-II is a tactical short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) developed indigenously by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It is the first missile to be indigenously developed by DRDO under India’s prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP). The missile is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of nuclear as well as conventional warheads. the missile has a strike range of 350 km. The missile is powered by liquid propellant and can operate with both liquid as well as solid fuel. It has the ability to dodge enemy missiles by using advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target. The missile was inducted into Indian armed forces in 2003. The missile has been inducted into the 333-missile regiment of the Indian Army. The missile can deliver warheads deep into enemy territory and inflict heavy damage to forward airfields. It is designed in such a way that it can be taken close to the forward line over any kind of terrain.

4. President Donald Trump has announced that the United States is set to withdraw from the historic 2015 Paris Accord as the accord was hurting his country and economy very badly. However, he has said that he is open for a “new transaction” on terms that are fair to the US. With the decision to pull out, the United States will join the short list of countries including Syria and Nicaragua that are not a part of the Paris Accord which has been signed by 195 countries in 2015. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change came into effect in November last year. Reasons Donald Trump has held that the deal was not tough enough on India and China. According to Trump, Paris Accord was unfair to the United States. He has held that implementation of Paris Accord would adversely impact the paper, cement, iron and steel, coal, and natural gas sectors of the American economy. It would also inflict a loss of $3 trillion in GDP, loss of 6.5 million industrial jobs and $7,000 less in annual income for American households. Implications Being the world’s second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, the exit of United States from the accord have raised questions about the fate of the accord. There are also fears that some more reluctant countries may also follow the steps of US in quitting the climate deal. As per the various estimates provided by entities like Climate Interactive and Climate Action Tracker, if US doesn’t reach its Paris Accord goal, then an additional 0.1 to 0.3 degrees Celsius will be added to global warming by 2100. With the exit of the US, China and EU are set to announce an alliance to take on a leadership role determined to protect the Paris Accord.

5. India and Russia have inked 5 pacts after wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Russia. Agreements An agreement on cultural exchanges for a period of two years (2017-2019) has been signed between the two nations. An agreement for the construction of the third stage of the Kudankulam NPP (KK5 & KK6) along with the Credit Protocol has been signed between NPCIL and ROSATOM An agreement between the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) and the Council of India on Scientific and Industrial Research has been signed to provide access to Rospatent experts to the Indian Digital Library of Traditional Knowledge (TKDL). Contract between JSC (Russian Railways) and the Ministry of Railways on the preparation of the justification for the implementation of the high-speed service at the Nagpur-Secunderabad section has been signed. Memorandum of cooperation between ALROSA Joint Stock Company and the Council for the Promotion of the Export of Precious Stones and Jewellery of India has been signed. Others India and Russia have decided to hold the first tri-Services exercises, named ‘Indra-2017’, this year. Both the countries have also decided to begin joint manufacturing of frigates and co-production of Kamov-226 military helicopters. Of all the agreements, the agreement on setting up of Units 5 and 6 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu with the Russian help was a much-awaited agreement. The reactors will be built by India’s Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) and Russia’s Atomstroyexport company, which is a subsidiary of Rosatom. Rosatom is the regulatory body of the Russian nuclear complex. The two units will have a capacity to produce 1,000 MW of power. An ‘Action Plan’ has also been devised for speeding up the bilateral cooperation in all fields by the two countries.

6. From July, Odisha will commission the ambitious Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS) to warn the vast population residing along its 480 km-long coast in the event of the occurrence of natural disasters like a tsunami or a cyclone. Andhra Pradesh is also reportedly developing such system to alert the people in case of natural calamities. Salient Highlights The warning can be disseminated just by pressing a single button from a control room in the State capital in the event of the occurrence of natural disasters. It would trigger loud sirens simultaneously from towers at 122 locations including tourist destinations, fish landing centres and coastal habitations situated across the state. The sound emanating from the towers can be heard in localities up to a radius of 1.5 km. Thus, Odisha become the first state to have developed an automatic public address system that can be activated across the state. The towers will be installed in 22 blocks under six coastal districts such as Balasore, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri and Ganjam The EWDS comprises of Satellite-Based Mobile Data Voice Terminals (SBMDVT), Digital Mobile Radio (DMR), Mass Messaging System (MMS) and Universal Communication Interface (UCI) for inter-operability among different communication technologies. The project at an estimated cost of ₹ 82 crore will be implemented with assistance from the World Bank. The EWDS will help the people to move to safer places before government agencies commenced evacuation.

7.Bharti Airtel has stated that it has got approvals from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) for the proposed scheme of merger with Telenor (India) Communications Private Ltd. Bharti Airtel now has filed the joint company application before the New Delhi Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal for approval. Bharti Airtel had announced its proposed merger with Telenor South Asia Investments Pte Ltd in February. Salient Highlights The merger will transfer all of Telenor India’s assets and customers and thus augmenting Airtel’s overall customer base and network. The merger is also subject to other statutory approvals like that of the Competition Commission of India. The merger will further bolster Airtel’s strong spectrum foot-print in seven circles including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Assam. These seven circles with a huge population concentration will offer a high potential for growth. It will result in the addition of 43.4 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz band. SEBI Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) was established in 1988. It got statutory mandate and powers under the SEBI Act, 1992. Its objective is to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development and regulation of securities market. The Key functions of SEBI are to regulate stock exchanges and other securities markets; registering and regulating the working of intermediaries who are associated with securities markets in any manner; Registering and regulating the working of venture capital funds and collective investment schemes including mutual funds; promoting and regulating self-regulatory organizations and prohibiting fraudulent and unfair trade practices relating to securities markets.

8. India and Pakistan’s admission to the China-backed Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will be formalised at the SCO’s summit to be held in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Astana Summit will be held on 8-9 June. The summit will complete the admission procedures of these two countries. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisaiton (SCO) granted full membership status to Pakistan and India during its Ufa summit held in Russia in 2015. India signed the Memorandum on accession in June 2016. The presence of world’s two most populous countries, China and India in the grouping would make SCO as the organisation with the largest population coverage. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) SCO is the political and security grouping headquartered in Beijing. It was founded in 2001. The full members of the organization are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The groupings main objective is military cooperation between the members. The grouping also works towards intelligence-sharing, counter-terrorism operations in Central Asia. Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status at present. China founded this grouping, called the Shanghai Five, in 1996. It comprised Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. In 2001 Uzbekistan was invited to join it and the SCO was officially born. After the Astana Summit Declaration in 2005, SCO has emerged as a regional security organization. Mongolia is the first country to receive observer status at the 2004 Tashkent Summit. Pakistan, India and Iran received observer status at the 2005 SCO summit in Astana, Kazakhstan on July 5, 2005. SCO is primarily centred on its member nations’ Central Asian security-related concerns, often describing the main threats it confronts as being terrorism, separatism and extremism. The role of China as well as strategic importance of SCO has increased over the period of a decade and now address problems like terrorism, separatism and militancy in the region.

9. Telangana has launched a digital wallet named T-Wallet for people to make public and private financial transactions. Salient Highlights The service has been launched as “anytime anywhere digital payment option for everyone”. This is first such initiative by any state government in the country. The service can also be availed by those people who do not have mobile phones. The public who do not have smartphones can use the wallet for transactions using MeeSeva centres. They can go to Mee Seva centres to open T-Wallet, load money and make payments. The T-Wallet will charge a nominal cost for private transactions and charges will not be applicable for paying electricity bills, water bills, property taxes, RTA challans etc. To provide the service, the Telangana Government has tied up with Vijaya Bank. RBI’s clearance has been obtained by the state government to launch the e-payment facility. The service could be availed in three languages, namely, Telugu, Urdu and English both on mobile phones and on online web browser.

10. Historian Ramachandra Guha has tendered his resignation as BCCI administrator citing personal reasons. He submitted his resignation letter to Chairman of the Committee of Administrators of the BCCI Vinod Rai on May 28. Ramachandra Guha was one among the four administrators appointed by the Supreme Court on January 30 to run the affairs of BCCI. The four member committee was headed by former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai. The other two members are managing Director of Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) Vikram Limaye and former Indian women cricket captain Diana Edulji. Background In its earlier order of January 2, 2017 the Supreme Court had removed Anurag Thakur as BCCI president, Ajay Shirke as BCCI secretary and disqualified all the board and its state association office bearers after they had failed to implement new norms set by the Justice Lodha Committee. The apex court held that Mr. Thakur and Mr. Shirke are unfit to continue at helm of BCCI for their obstructionist attitude and their incapacity to make affiliated State associations fall in line with Lodha committee. Ramachandra Guha Ramachandra Guha is a famous historian and writer. His research interests include social, political, environmental and cricket history. He also writes as a columnist in various newspapers including The Telegraph and Hindustan Times. His famous works include Gandhi Before India (2013), Patriots and Partisans (2012), Makers of Modern India (2010), India after Gandhi: The history of the world’s largest democracy (2007) etc. He has been awarded with Padma Bhushan in 2009, (2009), Sahitya Akademi award in 2011 for India After Gandhi. For year 2011–12, he had also served as the Philippe Roman Chair of International Affairs and History at the London School of Economics.

11. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will be launched in the summer of 2018 to explore the sun’s atmosphere. The purpose of the launch will be to study sun’s outer atmosphere and to understand how sun works. The name of the probe initially called the Solar Probe Plus has been renamed as the Parker Solar Probe in honor of astrophysicist Eugene Parker. This is the first time NASA has named a spacecraft after a living person. Astrophysicist Eugene Parker published a research paper predicting the existence of solar wind in 1958. At that time, it was thought that the space between planets was a vacuum. Parker’s theory of solar wind was later on confirmed by satellite observations. Solar wind is the flow of charged gases from the sun. Salient Highlights The 10-feet high Parker Solar Probe will fly within 6.4 million km of the sun’s surface right into the solar atmosphere. The probe will be subjected to brutal heat and radiation that has not experienced by any other man-made probes previously. The objective of the mission will be to study sun in detail and shed light on Earth and its place in the solar system. The mission will work towards determining the structure and dynamics of the plasma and magnetic fields at the sources of the solar wind. This will be NASA’s first mission to the sun and its outermost atmosphere corona. The mission is scheduled to end in June 2025

12. India captain Virat Kohli, former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and left-handed batsmen, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina are the only Indians who featured in ESPN’s ranking of the 100 most famous active athletes in the world. In the list, Virat kohli has been placed in the 13th spot, Dhoni in the 15th spot and Yuvrai and Raina in the 90th and 95th places respectively. The first place in the list was occupied by Portuguese footballer Christiano Ronaldo followed by Lebron James, soccer star Lionel Messi, tennis star Roger Federer, Phil Mickelson, Neymar, Usain Bolt, Kevin Durant, Rafael Nadal and Tiger Woods in that order. Other prominent personalities who figured in the list includes Ryan Lochte, and Formula One champion, Lewis Hamilton, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray etc. Methodology The ranking system is based on a formula devised by ESPN director of sports analytics Ben Alamar. They are based on the parameters like endorsements, social media reach and other data. This is ESPN’s second annual ranking of the biggest name in sports. The first edition of the list was published in 2016.

13. As per the data released by the Ministry of Statistics, India registered 7.1% growth in the financial year 2016-17, which is slower than the 8% registered in 2015-16. In the fourth quarter of 2016-17, India registered a growth of GDP growth of 6.1% compared with China’s 6.9% in the same period. Hence, it has lost its fastest-growing major economy tag in the fourth quarter of 2016-17. A decline is also visible in the Gross value added (GVA) growth. It was 6.6% for 2016-17 and 5.6% in the Q4 of 2016-17, compared with 7.9% in 2015-16 and 8.7% in Q4 of that year. The GDP growth rate has registered a slightly higher growth because of proportionate increase in indirect tax net of subsidies. While GDP gives a picture of whole economy, GVA gives pictures at enterprises, government and households levels. In other words, GDP is GVA of all enterprises, government and households. Further, Gross Value Added (GVA) broadly reflects the supply or production side of the economy. The GDP numbers have been computed based on the new 2011-12 base year recently adopted for data including the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI). Reasons The demonetisation drive of the government had an adverse impact on the economy. The GDP growth got reduced in Q3 and Q4 when compared with the growth rates in the beginning of the year. GVA growth also registered a slow down in almost every sector in Q4 of 2016-17 when compared with the growth registered in the corresponding period of the previous year. Capital formation was also relatively soft with growth below 30%.

14. ISRO’s GSLV-Mk III is all set to be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on June 5, 2017. GSLV-Mk III is the heaviest rocket ever made by ISRO which is capable of carrying heavy payloads. Salient Facts GSKV-Mk III can put four-tonne satellites in the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and is capable of placing up to eight tonnes in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This capacity is enough to carry a manned module and launch people into space. The rocket has three-stages with two solid motor strap-ons (S200), a liquid propellant core stage (L110) and a cryogenic stage (C-25). The solid booster S200 is the third largest solid booster in the world. It was successfully tested at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota on January 24, 2010. The indigenously developed cryogenic upper stage, C-25, which is the most difficult component was successfully tested on February 18, 2017. On June 5, GSLV-Mk III’s first developmental flight, D1, will place GSAT-19 satellite into space. GSAT-19 will help to improve telecommunication and broadcasting areas. This is India’s first fully functional rocket to be tested with a cryogenic engine. Cryogenic engine makes use of liquid propellants (liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen). ISRO took about 25 years, 11 flights and over 200 tests on different components to come up with this rocket. The rocket weighs 640-tonne which will be equivalent to the weight of 200 fully-grown Asian elephants. The rocket will be India’s heaviest but shortest rocket with a height of 43 metre.

15. United States for the first time has successfully tested its defence system against an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). During the test, a ground based interceptor launched from the California air base had shot down a mock intercontinental ballistic missile target which was fired from the Reagan Test Site in the Marshall Islands. A rocket from the Ground-based Midcourse Defence (GMD) entered into space and deployed its exo-atmospheric kill vehicle that smashed the target destroying it. Such an interception of a complex, threat-representative ICBM target is hailed as an important milestone for the GMD system. The GMD uses globally deployed sensors to detect and track ballistic missile threats. Need The test comes at the backdrop of US’s increased tensions with North Korea. Recently, North Korea test fired its ninth missile this year. North Korea’s quest is to develop weapons capable of hitting the United States. The test was the first live-fire test against a simulated ICBM for the Ground-Based Missile (GBM) Defense. It has hleped in the establishment of effective though limited ground-based defence against ICBMs. The United States is also worried about Iran’s increasing missile capabilities that threaten its strategic interests in the Middle East.

16. India and Spain have signed seven agreements following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy at the Moncloa Palace in the Spanish capital. The visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Spain in nearly 30 years. The last Prime Minister to visit Spain was Rajiv Gandhi in 1988. Earlier, PM Modi and the Spanish prime minister had met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Turkey in November 2015. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed Spain’s infrastructure, tourism, energy and defense companies to invest in priority sectors in India. Spain is India’s 7th largest trading partner in the European Union. Bilateral trade between both the nations have totalled USD 5.27 billion in 2016. Agreements Agreement for Transfer of Sentence Persons MoU on Cooperation in Organ Transplantation MoU on Cooperation in Cyber Security MoU on Cooperation in Renewable Energy MoU on Technical Cooperation in Civil Aviation Agreement on visa waiver for holders of diplomatic passports. MoU between Foreign Service Institute and Diplomatic Academy of Spain.

17. Scientists at IIT Kharagpur has come up with a new technology known as ‘soil-to-soil’ manufacturing technology for manufacturing cheaper, quicker and pollution-free. The technology is in the process of being patented. Biofuels are fuels which are in some way derived from biomass. The term covers solid biomass, liquid fuels and various biogases and also denotes Biodiesel, Bio alcohol and bio-gasoline. Salient Highlights The new technology makes use of natural resources to extract gaseous and liquid biofuel and then converts the wastes into bio fertilizer. At present 2gm of bioethanol can be manufactured from various naturally available ligno-cellulosic components. However, this process requires chemical treatment that results in polluting the environment. Lignocellulose refers to biomass. The new technology has replaced this chemical treatment with enzymes which degrade the lignin thereby making the manufacturing process totally pollution free. Lignins are complex organic polymer deposited in the cell walls of plants. In this process, the residual biomass can be used as organic fertilizer. The Project is funded by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Department of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The scientists used corn, sugarcane plants, the waste part of paddy straw, bamboo, banana plant, pineapple and cotton plants, kans grass (kassh phool), castor plant etc to produce biofuel. Significance The National Policy on Biofuels had set the target at 20% blending of biofuel with petrol by 2017. It is estimated that the biofuel business in India will touch Rs50,000 crore by 2022. At this backdrop, the new green technology can become a game changer.

18. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) which markets its product under the brand name ‘Amul’ has signed an MoU with ISRO for fodder acreage assessment using satellite observation and space technology. Salient Highlights As per the MoU signed, ISRO would help in identification between food and fodder crops at the village level. ISRO will also help in establishing suitable areas at village level for green fodder cultivation. The Space Applications Centre (SAC) of ISRO has already carried out assessment that concluded that green fodder availability for dairy livestock at district and village level through remote sensing is feasible. The significance of the agreement lies in the fact that the fodder acreage estimation can help in monitoring and planning of fodder development activities by the stakeholders in the dairy sector. This will help the milk producing farmers of Gujarat to reap benefits of fodder cultivation. Amul is procuring around 150 lakh litres of milk every day from around 35 lakh milk producers living in 18,500 villages. SAC Space Applications Centre (SAC) is one of the major centres of ISRO. It was established in the year 1972. It primarily focuses on the design of space-borne instruments for ISRO missions. It also develops applications of space technology covering the fields of communication, broadcasting, navigation, disaster monitoring, meteorology, oceanography, environment monitoring and natural resources survey for societal benefits. It is headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. GCMMF The GCMMF is one of the largest milk cooperatives in the world and the largest food products marketing organisation of India that exclusively markets products under the brand name of Amul and Sagar. It was formed by late Dr. Verghese Kurien in 1973, which today is jointly owned by 3.6 million milk producers in Gujarat. Kurien chaired GCMMF for more than 30 years (1973–2006). More than 70% of the members of the milk cooperative are small or marginal farmers and landless labourers including a sizeable population of tribal folk and people belonging to the scheduled castes.

19. World No-Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed every year across the world on 31 May. This day highlights the health risks associated with consumption all forms of tobacco and advocates for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption. In 1988, World Health Assembly of WHO had passed a resolution calling for the celebration of World No Tobacco Day, every year on May 31. Since then, the WHO has supported the observance of World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) every year. WNTD is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the WHO. Salient Highlights WHO has released a report ahead of the World Tobacco which has made the following observations: According to the report, smoking and tobacco use kills more than 7 million people every year. Hence, Tobacco has emerged as world’s single biggest cause of preventable death. The report has estimated that by 2030, over 80% of the deaths will occur in developing countries which are increasingly targeted by tobacco companies. The economic cost of tobacco use is estimated to be more than $1.4 trillion (1.3 trillion euros) spent each year by the households and governments in healthcare expenditures and lost productivity. It roughly corresponds to nearly 2% of the global gross domestic product (GDP). The report has also highlighted the dire environmental impact of tobacco production, distribution and waste. This is the first time the report has looked into the environmental impact of tobacco use. Tobacco farming is one of the main reasons behind deforestation in many countries. This is because huge amount of wood are needed for curing tobacco. The report also estimates that the tobacco industry emits nearly four million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually. The report has urged the countries to take tougher measures against tobacco use in the workplace and indoor public spaces.

20. India Mobile Congress 2017 (IMC 2017) is scheduled to be held as a three day event from 27th to 29th September 2017 in New Delhi. This was announced by the Union Minister for Communications Manoj Sinha. This is the first time India is all set to host its own mobile mega show. The Indian telecom market is the second-largest in the world after China. India has a total subscriber base of over 1.18 billion subscribers. Salient Highlights The India Mobile Congress will be the country’s first and biggest platform that will bring together all stakeholders of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and government on a common platform. It will see the participation of government bodies, Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), telecom equipment manufacturers, handset manufacturers and app providers. Apart from it, the event will serve as a platform for international players exploring avenues for investment in the country. It will help to attract investments towards programmes like Digital India Modelled just like the Mobile World Congress events of Shanghai and Barcelona, the event is aimed at bringing the Indian telecom industry at par with its international counterparts. The Mobile Congress will showcase exciting new products & innovation and share the India story. The event will be organised by Department of Telecommunications along with Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and other stakeholders. The event is expected to see the participation of 5000 paid participants from countries like the US, the UK, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Korea, the Philippines, Bhutan and Japan. Apart from this, the event is expected to see the participation of telecom giants like Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular.

21. India and Germany has inked 12 agreements after delegation level talks between Prime Minister Modi and German chancellor Angela Merkel on a range of issues like trade, skill development, cyber security and terrorism. Agreements The 12 agreements include 9 joint declarations of intent (JDIs) and 3 memoranda of understanding (MoU). They are: Agreement on collaboration between the Ministry of Skill Development and Germany’s BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research). This agreement would facilitate training of Indian skill development officers and cluster managers. JDI between Ministry of Science and Technology and the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) for the establishment of a Indo-German Centre for Sustainability. JDI between the Ministry of External Affairs and the German Foreign Office on cooperation on cyber policy. JDI between the Ministry of Finance and BMZ (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development) on Indo-German Development Cooperation. JDI between the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and BMWi (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy) over continuation of cooperation in the field of advanced training of corporate and junior executives from India. JDI between the Department of Heavy Industries and BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) on cooperation in vocational education and skill development for machine tools. Agreement between Ministry of Health and BMG (Federal Ministry of Health) on cooperation in health sector. Agreement between the AYUSH and BMG (Federal Ministry of Health) over cooperation in alternative medicine. JDI between the Ministry of External Affairs and the German Foreign Office on collaboration between Foreign Service institutes of both the country. JDI between the Ministry of Railways and German Ministry of Transport on cooperation in railway safety. JDI between the Ministry of Urban Development and German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development on cooperation for sustainable urban development. Others India thanked Germany for supporting its membership bid in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). India and Germany both support each other’s candidature for a permanent seat in a reformed UN Security Council. The G4 nations comprising Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan are supporting each other’s candidature for a permanent seat in a reformed UN Security Council. India and Germany together has also vowed to counter the challenges posed by those who encourage, support and finance terrorism. They also called for the earlier adoption of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. European countries like Germany, France, the UK and Sweden have recently faced a spate of terror attacks. The latest terror attack was at a concert in Manchester, UK.

22. The Reserve Bank of India has announced that new one rupee note has been printed by the government and will be soon put into circulation. The one rupee note was discontinued in 1994 because it was more expensive to produce such notes when compared to the one-rupee coins. In the following year, Rs. 2 and Rs. 5 notes were also discontinued to free up printing facilities for higher denomination notes. However, these old notes continue to remain in circulation and continue to remain as legal tenders. Salient Highlights The new Re.1 one will be predominantly pink-green on the obverse and reverse in combination with other colours. The new one rupee note will bear the rupee symbol. It will be 9.7 by 8.3 cm in dimension. The new note will feature ‘Bharat Sarkar’ on its masthead, and ‘Government of India’ printed below that. In contrast all the other currencies in India has ‘Bharatiya Reserve Bank’ and ‘Reserve Bank of India’ printed on them. This is because the one-rupee note has always been issued by the central government. The watermarks of the Re 1 note will include the Ashoka Pillar, the hidden numeral “1” and the hidden word “Bharat” in Hindi). The note will also feature an image of the ‘Sagar Samrat’ oil exploration rig. Background In January 2015, the government began printing of Re 1 notes after getting reports of coin shortage along with instances of melting coins for profit. The printing of new one rupee note will cost 94 paise, when compared to the one rupee coin, which will cost 70 paise. The new one rupee note will be the third new currency that will be introduced by the government since the demonetization drive in November.

23. Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli has become the only cricketer to get featured in the top 10 of the ICC Players Rankings for ODIs as he managed to stick to the third spot in the ODI batsman’s chart. Batting The top three batsmen featured in the ICC ODI Rankings are South Africa’s De Villiers (874), Australia’s David Warner (871) and Kohli (852). The other Indian batsmen who feature in the list are Rohit Sharma (12th), MS Dhoni (13th) and Shikhar Dhawan (15th). In the top 20 positions of the list, India, South Africa and England have four batsmen each inside the top 20 while New Zealand (three), Australia and Pakistan (two each) also have registered significant presence. Bowling In the ICC bowler’s chart, India’s left-arm spinner Axar Patel shares 11th position along with New Zealand’s Matt Henry. However, not even a single Indian has featured in the top 10 list of bowlers. The bowler’s chart has been headed by Kagiso Rabada of South Africa. The second and third positions were occupied by Imran Tahir (722) and Mitchell Starc (701). The other Indians who feature in the top 20 list include Amit Mishra (13th) and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (joint 18th). Among the bowlers, Bangladesh and England have three bowlers each inside the top 20, followed by New Zealand, South Africa and Australia with two each. Others The all-rounders’ list of the ODI rankings is led by Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan. The top five ODI teams are South Africa (122), Australia (118), India (117), New Zealand (114) and England (112)

24. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has launched a nation wide campaign titled ‘Darwaza Band’ to promote toilet use and freedom from open defecation across the villages of the country. The campaign has been launched in Maharashtra in the presence of actor Amitabh Bachchan, Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Narendra Singh Tomar, and Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis. Salient Highlights The campaign will run under the Swachh Bharat Mission. The campaign will be rolled out immediately across the country. Darwaja Band symbolically stands for shutting the door on open defecation. The campaign is supported by the World Bank. The campaign envisages to bring about a behaviour change in men who have toilets but are not using them. Actress Anuskha Sharma is also part of the campaign who will encourage women to stand up for this issue and assume leadership roles in their villages. Swachch Bharat Abhiyan The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Mission, launched on 2nd of October 2014, is so far the largest programme on sanitation by Indian Government. It has two sub-Missions viz. Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban). While rural mission comes under the purview of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation; the urban mission comes under Ministry of Urban Development. The basic objective is to provide sanitation facilities to every family, including toilets, solid and liquid waste disposal systems, village cleanliness, and safe and adequate drinking water supply by 2nd October, 2019.

25. The Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has appointed a renowned social and educational activist George Kurian as Vice-Chairman of National Commission for Minorities. The other appointed members of the National Minority Commission are social activist Syed Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi (Chairman), former Maharashtra minister Sulekha Kumbhare, Jain representative Sunil Singhi and Vada Dasturji Khurshed Kaikobad Dastoor. For the first time a Jain member has been appointed to the panel after the community was notified as minority in January 2014. Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Parsi and Jain are the six notified minority communities in the country. National Commission for Minorities The Union Government has set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. The commission is made up of a Chairperson, a Vice Chairperson and five members. Unlike other bodies like NCSC and NCST, NCM has no constitutional backing or status. NCM was made a statutory body in 1992 via the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. It works under the Ministry of Minority Affairs, and before the formation of this ministry it came under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Some state viz. Andhra Pradesh, Assam , Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi , Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have also set up State Minorities Commissions. There’s no prescribed selection process for making appointments with the Cabinet Appointments Committee arbitrarily picking up names from a list suggested by the “nodal” ministry.

26. The Goa State government has decided to ban buying and selling of plastic bags below 50 microns. Goa has already banned the use of plastic bags below 40 microns. Salient Highlights The ban will come to effect from July onwards. Initially, violators of the ban will be asked to pay a fine of Rs. 500 and subsequently the fine amount would be raised to Rs 5000 depending upon the initiative’s success. The move of the government is aimed at tackling the menace of garbage and litter in public places. Thin plastic bags tends to cause flooding by chocking the drains and are easily carried by wind and water in flood planes thus increasing the flooding of public places during rains. The state government also plans to simultaneously collect garbage dumped on highways to increase the cleanliness in the tourist state.

27. India and Fiji has signed an MoU on defence cooperation after the delegation level talks between Minister of Defence, Finance and Corporate Affairs, Arun Jaitley and the Minister of Defence and National Security of Fiji, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola in New Delhi. The MoU envisaged cooperation on defence industry, military training, humanitarian assistance & disaster management. In particular, Defence partnership as well as the maritime security and naval cooperation were identified as an area of promise. The MoU provides for stepping up of defence and security ties in defence production and military training. India-Fiji Fiji is an archipelago consisting of 332 islands located in the heart of Pacific Ocean. The main ethnic groups in the Fiji include Fijian, Indian, European, and other Pacific Islanders. As of now, around 37% of the total inhabitants of the country are of Indian origin. India was represented by a commissioner since 1948 to look after the interests of the people of Indian origin. After Fiji’s independence in 1970, the commissioner’s post was upgraded to that of the High Commissioner. India and Fiji’s bilateral ties have grown steadily in the past few years. Several MoUs have been signed between the two countries in the fields of health, Tourism, IT, defence and security.

28. Scientists have discovered a new glass frog species with transparent skin through which its beating heart is visible in the Amazonian lowlands of Ecuador. The frog with the scientific name Hyalinobatrachium yaku is known to possess unique physical and behavioural traits. The frog has dark green spots on its back. The frog has been discovered by employing a combination of fieldwork in the Amazonian lowlands of Ecuador and DNA sequencing in the lab. However, the scientists have observed that not all frogs have the heart that is white. Under Threat Scientists have identified that the newly identified species is already under the threat of extinction. The male of this new species are found to protect the eggs which are attached below the leaves of the tree until they hatch and fall on the water stream below. So, this glass frogs require pristine streams to breed in. Hence, if the stream gets polluted or dried up then these frogs cannot survive. These new species is already in danger as its habitat is threatened by oil exploitation. The habitat of the species is at present marked by rampant road building and oil exploitation. Generally, the Amphibians are considered the most threatened vertebrate class on the planet. Of the known 6,260 species of amphibians assessed by using IUCN’s categories and criterias, nearly one-third of the species (32.4%) have been identified as globally threatened or extinct. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) The IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organisation working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It was founded in 1948. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a leading non-governmental authority on the environment and sustainable development. It is also involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, lobbying and education. IUCN is best known to the wider public for compiling and publishing the IUCN Red List, which assesses the conservation status of species worldwide.

29. Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar has launched an Anti-Ragging Mobile App of the University Grants Commission (UGC) to help students register complaints against the menace of ragging in the country. Previously, students were required to visit the website to register a complaint against ragging. The new app will work on android platform and will facilitate students to register a complaint against ragging instantaneously. Students can log in and register their complaints immediately.The complaint will be sent to the concerned authorities for timely action and the action will be initiated immediately. As the records indicate that timely action had resulted in the decrease of ragging instances in campuses. This app is aimed at giving a feel of security to students.

30. Satyabrata Rout has been awarded Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar for the year 2016. He is a professor from the Department of Theatre Arts, S N School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad (UoH). He has been awarded for developing a unique method of teaching and practicing direction and design achieved from his experience working with eminent theatre practitioners and scholars. Satyabrata Rout is considered as one of the pioneers of ‘visual theatre’ in India. He has a rich experience of directing a number of plays, participating in national and international theatre festivals and conducting a numerous theatre workshops across the globe. The Sangeet Natak Akademi Puraskar (Akademi Award) is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi. The award is the highest Indian recognition given to practicing artists. The award includes a purse of Rs 50000, besides a Tamrapatra and Angavastram. The awards are being presented in the categories of music, dance, theatre, other traditional arts and puppetry. Sangeet Natak Akademi The Sangeet Natak Akademi was set up in 1953 for the promotion of performing arts. Setting up of Sangeet Natak Akademi is one of the main recommendations of the National conference on Dance, Drama, and Music, held in New Delhi in 1951. The Sangeet Natak Akademi is an Autonomous Body under the Ministry of Culture. It acts at the national level body for the promotion and growth of Indian music, dance and drama; maintenance of standards of training in the performing arts; recognition of outstanding artists; revival, preservation, documentation and dissemination of materials as well as instruments relating to various forms of music, dance and drama.

31. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has inaugurated the newly built Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) of the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) at Chitradurga in Karnataka. Salient Highlights Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) is the first of its kind range that has been set up by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), one of the premier laboratories of the DRDO. ADE works on a range of UAVs (unmanned air vehicles). The facility will be an integrated test centre for a cluster of DRDO’s aeronautical laboratories. The following labs will make use of the testing facility: the Centre for Air Borne Systems, the Gas Turbine Research Establishment, the Defence Avionics Research Establishment, the Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification, all of which are based in Bengaluru, and finally the Aerial Delivery Research & Development Establishment, which is based in Agra. The facility is meant to conduct flight-tests of indigenous unmanned and manned aircrafts such as naval and trainer versions of the Light Combat Aircraft, the unmanned air vehicles- Rustom-I and Rustom-II (Tapas); the Airborne Early Warning & Control Systems (AEW&C), Air-to-Ground weapons, parachutes and aerostats, etc. Significance The 28 km strategic ATR is expected to facilitate conditions for research, which is expected to enrich the human resource required in the field of aeronautical testing. The test range envisages a two kilometer runway besides other tracking and control equipment. The longer runway situated in the ATR will enable the developer labs to test bigger aircrafts such as the AEW&CS (Airborne Early Warning & Control Systems) aircraft meant for surveillance and intelligence gathering from sensitive areas. The DRDO’s AEW&CS will include much larger Airbus platforms in the future. Background The newly built ATR has been up and running for a few months. In November 2016, DRDO carried out its first successful flight of the UAV ‘Tapas’ 201, earlier called Rustom-2 in the ATR facility. Recently, in May 21, 2017, ADE had carried out the test flight of Tapas for a duration of 6 minutes. Tapas is a MALE or medium altitude, long endurance UAV that can sustain for 24 hours monitoring over a 200 km area.

32. A deep depression in the Bay of Bengal has been declared intensified into a tropical cyclone named Mora. This is second cyclone in the Bay of Bengal after Maarutha, which helped bring in the Monsoon earlier by a week over Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The tropical Cyclone Mora is likely to hit Bangladesh coast in next 24 hours and expected to cause heavy rains in West Bengal and North East Indian states. It may also help to pull monsoon faster over mainland. About 2017 North Indian Ocean cyclone season Every year, the North Indian Ocean cyclone season extends roughly between April to December with two peaks in May and November. This season includes cyclones in Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea, apart from Indian Ocean in northern hemisphere. The first cyclone of 2017 season was Cyclone Maarutha which was formed in April, 2017 triggering heavy rainfall in Sri Lanka, Myanmar and India’s Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Apart from other damages, three people were killed in Myanmar by Cyclone Maarutha. Cyclone Mora is second such cyclone in the Indian Ocean. Naming of Tropical Cyclone Tropical cyclones are classified into three main groups, based on intensity: tropical depressions, tropical storms, and a third group of more intense storms, whose name depends on the region. If a tropical storm in the North-western Pacific reaches hurricane-strength winds on the Beaufort scale, it is referred to as a typhoon. If a tropical storm passes the same benchmark in the Northeast Pacific Basin, or in the Atlantic, it is called a hurricane. Neither “hurricane” nor “typhoon” is used in either the Southern Hemisphere or the Indian Ocean. In these basins, storms of tropical nature are referred to simply as “cyclones”.

33. India’s C.A Bhavani Devi has become first Indian to win a Gold Medal in an international fencing tournament. She has won the gold medal in the sabre event of the Turnoi Satellite Fencing Championship held at Reykjavik in Iceland. In the final, she beat Sarah Jane Hampson of Great Britain 15-13 on points. About C A Bhavani Devi Chadalavada Anandha Sundhararaman Bhavani Devi is a sabre fencer from Chennai. She had previously won silver medal in another event. She is currently a fencing coach at Sagar Lagu’s training academy, the SAI Centre in Thalassery, Kerala.

34. Construction works for building Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) has commenced in Chile. After completion, the Extremely Large Telescope will become the world’s largest optical telescope which will be five times larger than the top observing instruments that are in use today. The telescope will be constructed at a 3,000 meter-high mountain in the middle of the Atacama desert. The telescope is scheduled to commence its operations in 2024. The ELT is funded by the European Southern Observatory. The organization comprises of European and southern hemisphere nations. It is expected that construction costs of ELT would come around 1 billion euros at 2012 prices. Significance The main mirror of the ELT will measure some 39 meters (43 yards) across. This massive size of the mirror will be of immense use to expand our understanding of the universe. The telescope will enhance the ability of astronomers to find more smaller planets, image larger ones, and possibly characterize their atmospheres. These capabilities will be key in understanding if life is present in those planets or not. The dry atmosphere of the Atacama desert offers perfect observing conditions one can find on Earth. No wonder around 70% of the world’s astronomical infrastructure are slated to be built in the Atacama desert by the 2020s. European Southern Observatory Established in 1962, European Southern Observatory is a 16 nation intergovernmental research organization for ground based astronomy. Its observatories are situated in Chile. It has built and operated many technologically advanced telescopes like New Technology Telescope, Very Large Telescope (VLT), Atacama Large Millimeter Array etc.

35. India and Mauritius have signed four agreements after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth in New Delhi. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth has chosen India as a destination of his first visit since taking over as prime minister of Mauritius early this year. India has extended a 500 million dollar line of credit to Mauritius. The Line of Credit has been signed between SBM Mauritius Infrastructure Development Co. Ltd and Export-Import Bank of India. Further, both the countries have agreed that effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in Indian Ocean is sine qua non for pursuing economic opportunities. India and Mauritius agreed to keep a vigil against piracy, humans and drugs trafficking as well as illegal fishing and other forms of illegal exploitation of marine resources. India had also appreciated Mauritius for signing and ratification of the framework agreement on International Solar Alliance. Both the countries have also agreed to cooperate hydrography for a secure and peaceful maritime domain. India is also supporting the National Coast Guard of Mauritius to augment its capacity through Project Trident. India will also renew the life of the Coast Guard Ship Guardian, which was given to Mauritius under an assistance programme. Four Agreements Agreement on Maritime Security Memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting up of a civil services college in Mauritius. MoU was signed between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Mauritius Oceanography Institute in marine sciences and technology. Submission of instrument of ratification of International Solar Alliance (ISA) by Mauritius.

36. Maharashtra’s chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has inaugurated India’s first multi-modal electric vehicle project at the Nagpur Airport Complex. The pilot project will have a fleet of 200 electric vehicles including taxis, buses, e-rickshaw and autorickshaws. All these electric-powered public transport vehicles will be fully owned by cab aggregator Ola. For the project Mahindra & Mahindra has manufactured 100 e2o electric taxis. Similarly, vehicles have been sourced from other manufacturers like Tata Motors, Kinetic, BYD and TVS, among others. In addition, four electric charging station has also been built by Ola in various places of Nagpur including the Nagpur airport. Background As per the NITI Aayog’s recent joint report with Rock Mountain Institute, adoption of electric and shared vehicles could help the country to save $60 billion in fuels while cutting down as much as 1 gigatonne (GT) of carbon emission by 2030 According to Mahindra & Mahindra, it has made a total investment to the tune of Rs600 crore in technology, products, and plants of e-vehicles. The company already has manufactured 2,700 e-vehicles which are running across India which are clocking around 14 million kms per day. Ola has stated that it has invested Rs50 crore in the Nagpur initiative and has plans to further scale up its operations by investing $2 billion in e-vehicles across all cities of India. It has set an ambitious target of running one million electricity-powered vehicles on the Ola platform by 2020.

37. Apple has opened its first store in Southeast Asia at Singapore’s upmarket shopping district. Apple expects this store to be one of the most of the most popular stores in the world. Most of the earnings for Apple comes from the sales of its flagship iPhone, which of late faces increasingly tough competition in a saturated market. Apple already has almost 500 stores globally with more than a million visitors daily. Apart from Singapore it has shops located in Hong Kong, China and Japan in Asia. Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is California based technology giant that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, online services, and personal computers. It was born out of Steve Jobs’ garage to reshape modern life with trend-setting gadgets. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in 1976 to develop and sell personal computers. Later in 1977, it was incorporated as Apple Computer. It was renamed as Apple Inc. in 2007, to reflect its shifted focus towards consumer electronics. Apple now has a massive $256.8 billion cash stockpile. The tech giant celebrated its 40th anniversary last year.

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