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1) The 9th India-Japan-US trilateral meeting was held in New Delhi and was represented by senior diplomats by three countries. It held consultations on regional and global issues of mutual interest and focussed on connectivity, counter-terrorism and other regional and global issues of common concern. Key Facts: The trilateral countries agreed to continue to collaborate to promote increased connectivity in Indo-Pacific. They also agreed to remain engaged and strengthen cooperation in support for free, open, prosperous, peaceful and inclusive Indo-Pacific region through partnership with countries in region. They also explored practical steps to enhance cooperation in areas of connectivity and infrastructure development, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, maritime security, maritime domain awareness and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA-DR). The trilateral emphasised on importance of keeping the sea lanes open, over India’s concern about maintaining freedom of navigation in South China Sea and western Pacific Ocean. Background: The India-Japan-US trilateral was launched in December 2011 when Hillary Clinton was US Secretary of State. For first several rounds, the trilateral was held at director or assistant secretary level. It was elevated to ministerial level in 2015. The inaugural ministerial trilateral was held in September 2015 in New York on sidelines of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Session. It was hosted by then US Secretary of State John Kerry. It was also represented by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. The last ministerial dialogue was also held in New York, US in September 2017.

2) According to recently published Internet Security Threat Report, India emerged as third most vulnerable country in terms of risk of cyber threats, such as malware, spam and ransomware in 2017. India has moved up by one place over previous year. The report was published by security solutions provider Symantec. The global threat ranking of countries was based on 8 metrics viz. malware, spam, bots, phishing, network attacks, web attacks, ransomware and cryptominers. Key Facts: United States (with 26.61% global threats) was most vulnerable country to such cyber-attacks, followed by China (10.95%) in 2017. In India, 5.09% of global threats were detected, slightly less than 5.11% in 2016. India continues to be second most impacted by spam and bots attacks, third most impacted by network attacks, and fourth most impacted by ransomware. The threat landscape in recent years has become more diverse, attackers are working harder to discover new avenues of attack and cover their tracks while doing so. With the sudden spread of WannaCry and Petya/NotPetya ransomware attacks, swift growth in coinminers in 2017 provides another reminder that digital security threats can come from new and unexpected sources. Cyber criminals are rapidly adding cryptojacking to their arsenal as ransomware market has become overpriced and overcrowded. It is rising threat to cyber and personal security. Cryptojacking is process of unauthorised coinminers siphoning resources from personal computer systems to giant data centers. Its massive profit incentive puts people, devices and organisations at risk of unauthorised coinminers. The crypto-coin mining gold rush resulted in an 8,500% increase in detections of coinminers on endpoint computers in final quarter of 2017.

3) According to Steel Users Federation of India (SUFI), India has overtaken Japan to become world’s second largest producer of crude steel in February 2018. China is the largest producer of crude steel in the world, accounting for more than 50% of the production. Earlier in 2015, India had overtaken US to become third largest producer of crude steel. Key Facts: India’s crude steel production stood at 93.11 million tonnes (MT) for period April 2017 to February 2018 and was up 4.4% as compared with April 2016-February 2017 period. This helped to overtake Japan and become second largest producer of crude steel in the world. The growth in steel production was attributed to policies undertaken by government followed host of steps taken to curb imports, push local demand with initiatives like Make in India and implement GST and infrastructure projects, to encourage the domestic market.

4) The Union Cabinet has introduction of Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018 in Parliament for better protection and promotion of human rights in the country. The Bill will amend Protection of Human Rights, 1993 which was last amended in 2006. Salient Features of Bill: It proposes to include National Commission for Protection of Child Rights as deemed Member of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). It proposes to add woman member in composition of NHRC. It proposes to enlarge scope of eligibility and scope of selection of Chairperson, NHRC as well as State Human Rights Commission (SHRCs). It proposes to incorporate mechanism to look after cases of human rights violation in Union Territories. It proposes to amend term of office of Chairperson and Members of NHRC and SHRCs to make it in consonance with terms of Chairperson and Members of other Commissions. Benefits: The amendment will strengthen Human Rights Institutions of India further for effective discharge of their mandates, roles and responsibilities. Moreover, the amended act will be in perfect sync with agreed global standards and benchmarks towards ensuring rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of individual in the country. The amendment will make NHRC and SHRCs more compliant with Paris Principles concerning its autonomy, independence, pluralism and wide-ranging functions in order to effectively protect and promote human rights.

5) The Union Cabinet chaired gave its approval for rightsizing Competition Commission of India (CCI) from one Chairperson and six Members (totalling seven) to one Chairperson and three Members (totalling four). It will be done by not filling existing two vacancies of members and one more additional vacancy, which is expected in September 2018 when one incumbent member complete his term. Benefits: The downsizing proposal of CCI is expected to result in reduction of three Posts of members CCI in pursuance of Government’s objective of “Minimum Government – Maximum Governance”. In several major jurisdictions such as in Japan, US and United Kingdom Competition Authorities are of similar size. Moreover, it also pursuance of Government’s objective of easing mergers and amalgamation process in country. It will help in faster turnaround in hearings, resulting in speedier approvals that will help in stimulating business processes of corporates and result in greater employment opportunities in country. Competition Commission of India (CCI): CCI is quasi-judicial statutory body established under The Competition Act, 2002. It was established in October 2003 and became fully functional in May 2009. Section 8(1) of the Act provides CCI shall consist of Chairperson and not less than two and not more than six Members. Presently, Chairperson and four Members are in position. It has been functioning as a collegium right from its inception. It functions under Ministry of Cooperate Affairs. CCI aims to eliminate practices that adversely affect competition in different industries and protect interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade. Its seeks to eliminate practices having adverse effect on competition, promote and sustain competition, protect interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade in markets of India. It also gives opinion on competition issues on reference received from statutory authority established under any law and undertakes competition advocacy, create public awareness and impart training on competition issues.

6) The Union Cabinet has approved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Technical Cooperation in Rail Secto. The MoU was signed in February 2018 with Federal Transport Authority – Land & Maritime of UAE. Key Facts: The MoU will provide platform to Indian Railways to interact and share latest developments and knowledge in railway sector. It will facilitate exchange of information, expert meetings, technical visits and implementation of jointly agreed cooperation projects between both countries. The MoU will enable technical cooperation in following areas. Regulation, safety and technical investigation of accidents. Station redevelopment. Locomotives, coaches and wagons. Any other area jointly identified by both countries in future. Background: Ministry of Railways has signed numerous MoUs for technical cooperation in Rail sector with various foreign Governments and their National Railways. The identified areas of cooperation under these MoUs inter alia include high speed corridors, development of world class stations, speed raising of existing routes, heavy haul operations and modernization of rail infrastructure, etc. The cooperation is achieved through exchange of information on developments in areas of railways technology and operations, technical visits, knowledge sharing, training & seminars and workshops in areas of mutual interest.

7) The Union Cabinet has been apprised of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Canada to foster cross-border partnerships focused on research excellence and industry-academic collaboration. The MoU was signed in February 2018 in New Delhi. Key Facts: The MoU aims at fostering cross-border partnerships in research excellence and industry-academic collaboration between India and Canada to bring robust innovation gains to both countries. It will enable researchers from both countries to undertake graduate level academic research mobility and cross-border industry-academic cooperation. Under graduate level academic research mobility programme, both countries will support upto 110 Masters and PhD student researchers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields in 3-year period. Eligible students from Indian universities will get chance to participate in 12 to 24 weeks’ research with Canadian university research laboratories. The same number of researchers from Canadian universities will also participate in 12 to 24 weeks’ research with research laboratories of eligible Indian universities. Under cross-border Industry-Academic Cooperation, upto 40 Master’s and PhD student researchers in 3-years from each side will participate in 16 to 24 weeks’ research with industry partners located in counterpart country. The collaboration is expected to lead to new knowledge creation, Industrial exposure, joint scientific publications, Intellectual Property generation, etc. This MoU will further strengthen India’s long-standing relationship in Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation with Canada.

8) The Union Cabinet has approved closure of Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) Burn Standard Company Ltd (BSCL) under Ministry of Railways. This decision was taken in view of continuous poor physical and financial performance of company for more than decade despite financial assistance and other support from government and low probability of its revival in future. Key Facts: The closure of company will save public funds, which are currently being used for loss making BSCL and can be used for other developmental work. Central Government will provide one-time grant of Rs. 417.10 crore towards severance package and for clearing current liabilities of BSCL. In addition, outstanding loan of Rs. 35 crore given to BSCL by Ministry of Railways will be written off. The severance package will benefit 508 employees of BSCL from Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS). Burn Standard Company Ltd (BSCL): BSCL was incorporated in 1976 following nationalization and amalgamation of Burn and Company and Indian Standard Wagon Company Limited in 1987 under Department of Heavy Industries (DHI). The company was engaged in manufacturing and repair of wagons and production of steel. It was referred to Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) in 1994 and was declared sick in 1995. The company continues to be sick company since then. Its administrative control was transferred from DHI to Ministry of Railways in 2010 as approved by then Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

9) The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved signing of Cooperation Arrangement between India and Afghanistan for cooperation in the field of food safety and related areas. The agreement will be singed between Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW) and Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation & Livestock (MAIL), Afghanistan. Key Facts: The cooperation arrangement will facilitate information sharing training and capacity building measure between both countries. It will help learning from each others best practice to improve food safety ecosystem. The areas of cooperation under the agreement includes. Establish mechanism of information exchange and communication. Facilitate organization of joint seminars, workshops, visits, lectures, training programme, etc. Facilitate technical exchange on identified topics of interest especially about import procedures, quality control operations, sampling, testing, packaging and labelling. Other areas of interest to participants within their responsibilities as they may mutually determine.

10) The Union Cabinet has given its ex post facto approval to Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Iran on establishment of an expert group on trade remedy measures. The MoU was signed in February, 2018 during visit of Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani to India. It aims to promote cooperation in areas of mutual interest. Key Facts: The MoU will promote cooperation between two countries in area of trade remedies. It will include exchange of information, capacity building activities, cooperation in investigations related to anti-dumping and countervailing duty, etc.


11) NASA has successfully conducted Advanced Supersonic Parachute Inflation Research Experiment (ASPIRE) to test supersonic parachute that will help its space exploration missions to land on Mars. The parachute was launched aboard of sounding rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in US. It was tested in sky, mimicking conditions of entering red planet. Key Facts: The test of ASPIRE was meant to mimic conditions that spacecraft will experience during red planet entry, descent and landing (EDL). Shortly after liftoff, ASPIRE splashed down into Atlantic Ocean, from where it was retrieved by boat. Analysis of recovered parachute, and data gathered by cameras and other instruments will help researcher’s complete design of the chute for NASA’s 2020 Mars rover. Background: NASA’s ambitious Mars rover mission is set to launch in 2020 to deploy six-wheeled vehicle on martian surface to study rocks on site and cache samples for eventual return to Earth. It will rely on special parachute to slow spacecraft down when it is entering Martian atmosphere at over speed of 12,000 mph (5.4 kilometers per second). The six-wheeled rover body is based heavily on NASA’s earlier Curiosity Mars rover.

12) The Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), Bengaluru was adjudged as overall best Indian university in National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2018 or NIRF-3 released by Ministry of Human Resource Development . This year it is third edition NIRF survey and was released as part of India Rankings 2018 for the Educational Institutions. Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) was adjudged best engineering college and Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) the best management institution. Delhi University’s Miranda House was adjudged best college, AIIMS-Delhi as best medical college and NLSIU-Bengaluru as best law school in country. NIRF Survey: NIRF survey is indigenous ranking framework for higher education institutions in country. It outlines methodology and follows Indian methodology to rank institutions across country based on five parameters broadly covering Teaching, Learning and Resources, Research and Professional practices, Graduation Outcomes, Outreach and inclusivity and Perception. It ranks nine categories of institutions including universities, engineering, management, pharmacy, architecture, Law, medical institutions and general degree colleges. NIRF Survey 2018: In it, total of 2809 institutions have participated in 9 categories. Collectively they have submitted 3954 distinct profiles, some in multiple disciplines and categories. This included 301 Universities, 906 Engineering Institutions, 487 Management Institutions, 286 Pharmacy Institutions, 101 Medical Institutions, 71 Law Institutions, 59 Architecture Institutions and 1087 General Degree Colleges. The parameters used for 2018 ranking were broadly similar to those used in previous years. However, some of sub-parameters have been further tweaked for greater robustness and accuracy.

13) The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has relaxed algorithm trading norms at commodity derivatives exchanges. The market regulator has raised limit of trading using algorithm trading process up to 100 orders per second by user from the existing limit of 20 orders per second. Key Facts: The decision was taken after receiving representations from exchanges along with views of SEBI’s subcommittee- Commodity Derivatives Advisory Committee. SEBI has asked exchanges to ensure that limit provided by it is subject to its ability to handle load. Besides, it also has decided to do away with requirement of empanelment of system auditors by the exchanges for system audit of algorithmic trading. Algorithmic trading: Algorithmic trading in financial markets refers to transaction orders generated by using advanced mathematical models that involves automated execution of trade. It uses mathematical models and software codes to make transaction decisions on exchanges and execute them at high speed. This technology-driven trading enables traders to take advantage of any profit making opportunities arising in the market much before a human trader can even spot them. It was introduced in India in 2009. At present, on National Stock Exchange (NSE), algorithm trades accounts close to 16% of all trades. On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), it was 8.56% in January 2017. Difference between algo trading and high frequency trading (HFT): Both are often used inter-changeably, but they are not really same. HFT refers to high-volume orders executed within split-seconds to make immediate gains from market opportunities. HFT trading are often backed by algo trading, which spot trading opportunity.

14) The Ministry of Commerce and Industry have launched digital initiatives of Export Inspection Council (EIC) for ease of export to boost to India’s potential for agricultural and food export. EIC is the official export certification body of Central Government. These initiatives were launched under flagship Digital India Initiative to keep pace with changing dynamics of the world. Key Digital Initiatives: EIC has developed three portals to reduce transaction time and cost in transparent manner in order to continue vision for credible inspection and certification and strengthen confidence on Indian produce. These portals will provide opportunity for ease of export and also play important role in Go Green initiative by reducing paper usage and saving millions of trees. EIC has integrated complete export food chain into this digital platform to provide fast, efficient and transparent services for ease of doing business in all sectors. It also has linked primary production, chain catch, aquaculture pond, dairy farms and apiaries. Lab-one assessment portal: It is one of the portals launched. It will provide unified approach to all stakeholders like accreditation bodies, regulators and laboratories by bringing them together on common platform. It will help in simplifying procedures for granting joint certification and joint decisions thus reducing cost, time and multiplicity of assessment. Export Alert Monitoring portal: It will monitor non-compliances raised by importing countries. It will enable monitoring of alerts and action taken by multiple organizations involved in initial certification in food safety and bio-security. It will also help in analysing trend, understanding trade barriers to reduce alerts and enhance export trade. Export Inspection Council (EIC): ECI was established by Central Government under Section 3 of Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963. It was established to ensure sound development of export trade of India through Quality Control and Inspection and for matters connected thereof. EIC is advisory body to Central Government. It is empowered to notify commodities which will be subject to quality control and inspection prior to export. It establishes standards of quality for such notified commodities. It also specifies type of quality control and inspection to be applied to such commodities. EIC also exercises technical and administrative control over the five Export Inspection Agencies (EIAs), one each at Channai, Delhi, Kochi, Kolkata and Mumbai established by Ministry of Commerce for purpose of implementing various measures and policies by it.

15) According to monthly survey Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), India’s manufacturing sector activity fell to five-month low in March 2018. It felled from 52.1 in February 2018 to five-month low of 51.0 in March 2018 indicating slowest improvement in operating conditions recorded by survey since October 2017. PMI March 2018 Survey: Manufacturing activity: This is eighth consecutive month that PMI has remained above 50-point-mark. In PMI parlance, reading above 50 indicates growth and below it denotes contraction. March 2018 figure indicates manufacturing activity remained in expansion mode. But five month low indicates that new business orders rose at slower pace and decline in employment as firms showed little appetite for recruitment. Exports: India’s new export orders rose during March 2018, but on negative note, further advances in trade disputes may potentially weigh on sales to international clients. The impact of US tariffs on steel and aluminium on India is expected to be limited, as India’s exports in both metals to US accounted for less than 0.4% of total merchandise exports. PMI employment data: Firms have reduced their payroll numbers for first time in eight months, albeit at fractional pace. It gives warning signs in the labour market. Manufacturers operating in consumption and intermediate market groups signaled no appetite for recruitment. Business sentiment: It remained weak, reflecting some concerns regarding business prospects over next 12 months. Prices front: The recent build-up of inflationary pressures eased in March 2018, with softer increases in both input costs and output prices recorded. Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI): PMI is an indicator of business activity-both in the manufacturing and services sectors. It is a survey-based measure that asks respondents about changes in their perception of some key business variables from month before. It is calculated separately for manufacturing and services sectors and then composite index is constructed. Implications for economy: PMI is usually released at start of month, much before most of official data on industrial output, manufacturing and GDP growth is made available. It is, therefore, considered a good leading indicator of economic activity. Manufacturing growth measured by PMI is considered good indicator of industrial output.

16) Central Government has notified inclusion of 120 castes/communities, their synonyms and sub-castes in the Central List of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) for different States/Union Territories in the last three years. It was informed by Ministry of State for Social Justice and Empowerment in written reply in Lok Sabha. Key Facts: The castes and communities, their synonyms and sub-castes were notified on basis of advice tendered by National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) under Section 9(1) of NCBC Act, 1993. The NCBC determines inclusion of castes/communities in the Central List of OBCs on the basis of norms established w.r.t. social, educational, economic, representation in central services and miscellaneous parameters. The castes and communities listed in the Central OBC list get reservations in appointments in government jobs and admissions into government institutions. National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC): NCBC is statutory body established under NCBC Act, 1993 in the aftermath of Mandal Case (1992) judgement. It was established on directives of Supreme Court as it had ordered to set up permanent statutory body to look into complaints of under-inclusion, over-inclusion or non-inclusion of any class of citizens in list of OBCs. Composition: NCBC comprises Chairman, Social Scientist, two persons having special knowledge in matters of backward classes and member secretary. The chairperson must have been Judge of Supreme Court or High Court. Their appointments, removal and decision regarding salaries, allowances etc. are done by the Central Government. Chairperson and members have tenure of three years. Functions & Powers of Commission: NCBC examines request for inclusion of castes into backward classes and hear complaints of over and under inclusion. Its advice is generally binding upon central government. Further, every 10 years, the central government undertakes revision of the lists by consulting it. The commission has powers of a civil court in few matters. Report of Commission: NCBC presents annual report to Central Government containing full account of its activities during previous year. The report is placed before each House of Parliament by Central Government, along with memorandum explaining action taken on advice tendered by Commission. The memorandum also contains reasons for non-acceptance of any such advice.

17) The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into 14 Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (UAPA) and 2 Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (BAPA) in March 2018. The 2 bilateral APAs were entered into with US . With the signing of these Agreements, CBDT has entered total 219 APAs. This includes 199 Unilateral APAs and 20 Bilateral APAs. Of this, 67 APAs (58 Unilateral and 9 Bilateral) were signed in FY 2017-18. Key Facts: The 16 APAs entered into during March, 2018 pertain to various sectors of economy like Information Technology, Telecommunication, Pharmaceutical, Automobile, Beverage, Trading, Manufacturing and Banking, Finance and Insurance. The international transactions covered under them include payment of royalty fee, provision of corporate guarantee, business support services, marketing support services, engineering design services, engineering support services, contract manufacturing, merchanting trade of agro commodity, import/export of components, provision of IT services, ITES, investment advisory services, availing of technical services, etc. Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) Scheme: The APA scheme launched by Government endeavours to provide certainty to taxpayers in domain of transfer pricing by specifying methods of pricing and setting prices of international transactions in advance. Its provision was introduced in Income-tax Act, 1961 in 2012 and Rollback provisions to it were introduced in 2014. The scheme aims to strengthen Government’s resolve of fostering non-adversarial tax regime. It has significantly contributed towards improving ease of doing business in India and has been appreciated nationally and internationally for being able to address complex transfer pricing issues in a fair and transparent manner. Significance : APA gives certainty to MNCs that agree on certain principles in valuation of their cross-border transactions. They also provide assessees with alternate dispute resolution mechanism with respect to transfer pricing. It helps in determining arm’s length price of international transactions in advance for maximum period of five future years.

18) Indian Army has signed Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) with HDFC Bank on the Defence Salary Package. It is renewed version first MoU signed between Indian Army HDFC Bank and in 2011 and renewed in March 2015. The current MoU is tailor made to suit requirements of serving soldiers, pensioners and families. Key Facts: This MoU will benefit large number of serving and retired Indian Army personnel who are having their accounts with HDFC bank. It will also provide them an opportunity to access modern banking facilities.Under current MoU, Indian Army personnel will get other benefits like free personal accident death cover and free permanent disability cover of Rs 30 lakhs. The dependent child in case of accidental death of defence personnel will get free educational cover of upto Rs 1 Lakh per year for four years. They will also get 100% processing fees waived for Car Loans and Personal Loans. Background: Currently Indian Army has MoUs on Defence Salary Package with 11 public and private sector banks. These MoUs are considered for inception and renewal with banks on analyzing their utility and suitability to requirements of serving soldiers, pensioners and families.

19) According to index of eight core industries released by Ministry of Commerce and Industry, eight core infrastructure sectors grew by 5.3% in February 2018. It was mainly due to robust performance of refinery products, fertilizer and cement segments. The core sectors expanded by 6.1% in January 2018 and it grew by just 0.6% in February 2017. Cumulatively, these 8 sectors grew by 4.3% in April-February 2017-18 against 4.7% in the same period last fiscal. Breakaway of January Performance: Petroleum refinery production: It recorded 7.8% growth. Fertilizer production: It recorded 5.3% growth. Cement production: It recorded 22.9% growth. Electricity generation: It grew by 4%. Coal production: It grew by 1.4%. Steel production: It grew by 5%. Crude oil production: It declined by 2.4%. Natural Gas production: It declined by 1.5%. Core industries. Core industries can be defined as main industry of the economy. In most countries, there is particular industry that seems to be backbone of all other industries and it qualifies to be the core industry.In India, there are eight core sectors comprising of coal, crude oil, natural gas, petroleum refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity. The eight infrastructure sectors, constitute 40.27% of the total index of industrial production (IIP). Revised weightage in core sectors: Petroleum Refinery production (weight: 28.04%), Electricity generation (19.85%), Steel production (17.92%), Coal production (10.33%), Crude Oil production (8.98%), Natural Gas production (6.88%), Cement production (5.37%), Fertilizers production (2.63%).

20) According to report released by global startup ecosystem map Startupblink, India was ranked 37th out of 125 countries in global startup ecosystem in 2017. Startupblink is a global startup ecosystem map with tens of thousands of registered startups, coworking spaces, and accelerators. Its report prepared in association with ANSYS Startup Program measures startup ecosystem strength and activity. It includes global ranking index of 125 countries and 900 cities, measuring their startup ecosystem strength and activity. The rankings of country are based on thousands of data points gathered from various sources, such as incubators and accelerators that appear on StartupBlink global ecosystem. Key Facts: Top 5 Countries in Global startup ecosystem in 2017 are United States (1st), United Kingdom (2nd), Canada (3rd), Israel (4th) and Germany (5th). Small nations of less than 10 million inhabitants like Sweden (6th), Denmark (7th), Switzerland (8th), and Singapore (10th) were placed in the top 10. In Asia, the list was topped by Singapore (10th) and was closely followed by China (12th), South Korea (17th), and Japan (20th). In Africa, the list was topped by South Africa (38th) followed by Kenya (53rd), Egypt (54th), and Nigeria (57th). India’s rank indicates that more has to be done in terms of ease of doing business, startup policies, and complicated tax compliance. The Indian startup ecosystem is also yet to see major exits which is seen as important measure to gauge the maturity of a startup ecosystem. India ranked below Latin American countries Mexico and Chile which stood at 30 and 33 respectively. Bengaluru, New Delhi, and Mumbai featured in the list top cities in the global ranking.

21) The Central Bureau of Excise and Customs (CBEC) under Finance Ministry has imposed a 10% duty on imports of key smartphone components such as populated printed circuit boards (PCBs), camera modules and connectors. At present there is zero import duty imposed on the three components. Significance: This move will make imports of components expensive while giving stimulus to local manufacturing under Make in India program. Such input parts for making these components locally, will not attract any import duties. But it will lead to increase in prices of mobile phones for those companies that do not make or source these components locally. PCBs make up about 50% of cost of making smart phone. This decision will push local assembly or manufacturing of these components as companies who make here will get a price advantage over those who don’t. Background: This decision follows the government’s announcement to impose 20% basic customs duty (BCD) on fully built mobile phones, which came into effect from February 1, 2018 as part of its phased manufacturing program (PMP). Since 2014, import duties have acted as catalyst to grow investment into mobile phone manufacturing in India, with number of factories increasing to 120 from handful. International contract manufacturing companies like Foxconn, Flex, Wistron and handset makers from China, India besides South Korea’s Samsung have taken local production of mobile phones to 225 million in 2017, which his more than 80% of the phones sold in country. Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP): Government had PMP in May 2017 for promoting the growth of domestic manufacturing of Cellular mobile handsets. This programme is under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MieTY). Its overall aim is to impose duties (differential duty regime) and give tax reliefs and incentives on select products involved in domestic manufacturing of cellular handsets. It is called phased manufacturing programme because it will give fiscal benefits to domestic manufacturing of various components of cellular handsets in different fiscals.

22) Researchers have discovered new grass-like plant species named Fimbristylis agasthyamalaensis in Ponmudi hills within the Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. It has been classified as sedge, the grass-like plant and has been named after the locality from which it was found. Key Facts: The new species of plant belongs to the Cyperaceae family. Its flowering and fruiting were observed from October to March. In India, Cyperaceae genus is represented by 122 species, of which 87 are reported from the Western Ghats. Many of the known Cyperaceae species are medicinal plants or used as fodder. Threats: Fimbristylis agasthyamalaensis is highly prone to wild grazing. It is also subject to anthropogenic pressures as its habitat falls within tourism spot and perimeter of place of worship that could lead to its extinction in absence of scientific conservation. Researchers have recommended preliminary conservation assessment of plant as ‘critically endangered,’ according to IUCN criteria. Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve (ABR): ABR in situated at the southern-most end of the Western Ghats and spread over two southern states Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It was established in 2001. It is named after Agastya Mala peak that rises up to almost 1868 metres above sea level, in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. In March 2016, it was included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves of UNESCO. ABR covers an area of 3,500 sq km at an altitude ranging from 100 metres to 1,868 metres above the Mean Sea Level. It covers Peppara and Shendurney wildlife sanctuaries and parts of the Neyyar sanctuary in Kerala and the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve of Tamil Nadu. Its flora mostly consists of tropical forests and is home to 2,254 species of higher plants including about 400 that are endemic. About 400 Red Listed Plants, 125 species of orchids and rare, endemic and threatened plants have been recorded from the reserve. It is also home to rare endimic animals include tiger, Asian Elephant, and Nilgiri Tahr. It is home to Kanikaran tribe, one of the oldest surviving ancient tribes in the world.

23) According to recently published global study, India is among countries which are at greatest risk of food insecurity due to weather extremes caused by climate change. The study had examined how climate change could affect vulnerability of different countries mainly 122 developing and least-developed countries (mostly in Asia, Africa and South America) to food insecurity — when people lack access to sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. It examined projected changes in weather extremes and their implications for freshwater availability and vulnerability to food insecurity. Key Findings: Climate change caused by 2 degrees Celsius global warming is expected to lead to more extremes of both heavy rainfall and drought, with different effects in different parts of world. Such weather extremes will increase vulnerability to food insecurity. The countries at greatest vulnerability to food insecurity due to climate change are Oman, India, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Brazil. Global warming is expected to lead to wetter conditions on average causing floods and putting food production at risk. But agriculture may also get harmed by more frequent and prolonged droughts in some areas caused by climate change. Wetter conditions are expected to have biggest impact in South and East Asia, with most extreme projections suggesting flow of River Ganges could more than double at 2 degrees Celsius global warming. Some areas are projected to see increase in flood event lengths of 4 days or more, particularly India and Bangladesh, for which such increases are projected in all ensemble members to some extent. The areas worst affected by droughts are expected to be southern Africa and South America – where flows in Amazon River are projected to decline by up to 25%. Some climatic change is already unavoidable, but if global warming is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, this vulnerability is projected to remain smaller approximately 76% of developing countries than at 2 degrees Celsius.

24) Ministry of Tourism in close collaboration with Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had launched Adopt a Heritage Project. Under it, selected public sector companies, private sector companies and individuals will develop tourist amenities at heritage sites. They will be called as ‘Monument Mitra’ and adopt the sites essentially under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity. Adopt a Heritage Project: Objectives- Provide world class tourist facilities at various natural and cultural heritage sites, monuments and other tourist sites. Make these selected sites tourist friendly, enhance their tourist potential and cultural importance in planned and phased manner across the country. Features- The project primarily focuses on providing basic amenities that include cleanliness, public convenience, drinking water, ease of access for tourists, signage etc. and advanced amenities like Souvenir shop, Cafeteria, TFC etc. It seeks active participation of industry to ensure sustainable model formulation for tourism sector. The public and private companies adopting these monuments will also look after their operations and maintenance initially for 5 years subject to review at any time. Resources for capital and recurring cost for this project is proposed through industry participation, through CSR or any other funding option subject to review and approval of Oversight & Vision Committee. The heritage sites and monuments enlisted under this project are categorized as green, blue and orange on basis of tourist footfall and visibility. It is mandatory for monument mitra, opting for monument from green category to choose at least one site from either blue or orange category.

25) According to Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), the subscriber base of Atal Pension Yojana (APY) stood at 97.05 lakh at end of 2017-18 fiscal. It was lower than target of 1 crore set by pension regulator PFRDA. The scheme saw addition of over 48.21 lakh subscribers in 2017-18. In 2016-17, total number of subscribers under APY reached 48.83 lakh with absolute incremental addition of 23.98 lakh accounts. In 2015-16, as many as 24.84 lakh subscribers were under APY fold. Atal Pension Yojana (APY): APY was launched in June 2015 with aim to provide affordable universal access to essential social security protection to unorganized work force of country, which makes major chunk of labour force (88%). It had replaced earlier government-backed pension Swavalamban scheme targeted at the unorganised sector. It is available to all citizens of India in the age group of 18-40 years (making minimum period of contribution by subscriber is 20 years). Under scheme, subscriber will receive minimum guaranteed pension of Rs. 1000 to Rs. 5000 per month, depending on his contribution, from age of 60 years. There is no exit to scheme before age of 60. In case of death of subscriber, spouse of subscriber is entitled for same amount of pension till his or her death. Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA): PFRDA is a statuary pension regulatory authority of India established under PFRDA Act, 2003 enacted by Parliament. It functions under the aegis of Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services. It was established in August 2003 and is headquartered in New Delhi. PFRDA promotes old age income security by establishing, developing and regulating pension funds. It also protects interests of subscribers to schemes of pension funds and related matters. It is responsible for appointment of various intermediate agencies such as Central Record Keeping Agency (CRA), Custodian, Pension Fund Managers, NPS Trustee Bank, etc.

26) The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) celebrated its foundation day this year on April 2, 2018. The day was celebrated as day of Sampark (connect), Sanwad (interaction), Suraksha (security) and Sampreshan (disseminate). Several initiatives were launched on this occasion. They are MSME contact programme; Samridhhi, a virtual assistant; revamped SIDBI website (www.sidbi.in) and Bankability Kit. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI): SIDBI is the principal development financial institution for promotion, financing and development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector in India. It was established on April 2, 1990 through an Act of Parliament (thus, it is statutory body). It is headquartered in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. SIDBI aims to facilitate and strengthen credit flow to MSMEs and address both financial and developmental gaps in MSME eco-system across the country. It co-ordinates functions of institutions engaged in similar activities. Currently, the shares of SIDBI are held by Central Government and 29 other institutions including public sector banks (PSBs), insurance companies owned and controlled by Central Government. MSME Sector: MSME is second largest employment generating sector after agriculture sector. It provides 80% of jobs in industry with just 20% of investment. It contributes around 31% to nation’s GDP and 45% and 34% share of the overall exports and manufacturing output (2017 report).

27) Multi Modal Logistics Park at Balli Station near Madgaon in Goa was recently inaugurated. The part is located on Konkan Railway route. It has been set as per MoU entered between Konkan Railway & Container Corporation of India Ltd (CONCOR). It will benefit trade and industry from economic transport solutions and state of art facilities. Key Facts: The facility is initially spread over 81,300 square meters with scope for expansion with traffic growth in future. It can handle both domestic and exim container traffic. In addition, it can also handle commodities transported by both open and covered wagons. It has 5000 square meters of Custom Bonded Warehousing space. It will also provide host of value added services like stuffing, repackaging etc. Significance: The park from its economic transport solutions and state of the art facilities will benefit both trade and industry in Goa. It will generate additional source of revenue for Konkan Railway. The container depot at park will reduce time required to cover distance between JNPT port (Mumbai) and Goa via road in 30-40 hrs from 16 to 18 hrs. Thus, it will save time, along with cost of transportation and relieve congestion on road and fuel.

28) China’s out-of-control Tiangong-1 space lab has re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, landing in middle of the South Pacific Ocean near world’s ‘spacecraft cemetery or graveyard’. Most of its parts were burned up during gravity-propelled re-entry process. The spacecraft cemetery also known as Point Nemo — considered the most remote place on Earth (at about 2400 km from any spot of land). It often used to crash-land defunct satellites. Between 1971 and mid-2016, space agencies all over the world have dumped between 260 and 300 spacecraft into the region. Tiangong-1: Tiangong-1 (Heavenly Palace or Celestial Palace-1) was China’s first prototype space station or space laboratory. It was placed in orbit in September 2011 as part of China’s efforts towards building its own space station independent and unconnected to any other international space-active countries. It weighed aroung 8,506 kg and was having length 10.4 m and diameter of 3.35 m. During its lifespan, Tiangong-1 had served as both manned laboratory and experimental testbed to demonstrate orbital rendezvous and docking capabilities during its active operational life. It was first operational component of Tiangong program, which aims to place a larger, modular station into orbit by 2023, the time when US-led International Space Station is expected to go out of service. It also tested docking systems and other technology needed for larger, multi-module space station to be built in 2020s. Tiangong-1 was originally planned to be decommissioned in 2013 but its mission was repeatedly extended. It reportedly stopped functioning in 2016 and wasn’t responding to commands from ground control, leading some experts to suggest the space laboratory was out of control. China has launched a second lab, Tiangong-2 in 2017 which continues to be operational.

29) Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has lost contact with India’s most powerful communication GSAT-6A satellite in less than 48 hours after it was launched. The loss in contact is believed to have been caused by power system failure or short circuit on the satellite. Key Facts: The GSAT-6A satellite was to be placed in orbit in three phases after its successful textbook launch on March 29, 2018 onboard of GSLV-F08. ISRO had successfully completed first orbit raising operation of GSAT-6A Satellite on March 30, 2018, which saw satellite changing its closest and farthest point from earth besides changing its inclination. The second orbit raising operation of GSAT-6A was successfully carried out on March 31, 2018, but during the third and final firing scheduled on April 1, 2018, communication with satellite was lost, hours after maintaining uncharacteristic silence on the health of the satellite. Orbit-raising refers to manoeuvres by which satellite is taken to its final orbit in stages. Each time, a series of thrusters – small engines onboard of satellite that makes alterations in the flight path – is used. GSAT-6A: GSAT-6A is high power communication satellite which was to have a mission life of about 10 years. It mandate was to provide mobile communication for India with multi-band coverage facility—five beams in S-band and one beam in C-band. It was India’s most powerful communication satellite ever built. The satellite had six-metre wide antenna, the biggest used by ISRO communication satellite so far, meant for the S-band communication. This was to enable satellite to provide mobile communication for country through handheld ground terminals, which was not possible earlier as smaller antennas meant larger ground stations. The satellite was also to provide with communication facilities for the armed forces.

30) Delhi became the first city in India to supply ultra-clean Bharat Stage (BS) VI grade fuel (both petrol and diesel) with an aim to combat the rising levels of air pollution in Delhi-NCR region. State-owned oil firms have started supplying the BS-VI fuel (equivalent to fuel meeting Euro-VI emission norm) at all their 391 petrol pumps in NCT. Key Facts: Other cities in NCR like Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Faridabad as well as other 13 major cities, including Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune will roll-out cleaner BS-VI grade fuel from January 1 2019. However, BS-VI fuel will be rolled out in rest of the country by April 2020. By switching to BS-VI, India will join league of US, Japan and European Union, which follow Euro Stage VI emission norms. Background: The Union Government in October 2016 had decided to skip one stage and migrate to BS-VI directly from BS-IV from April 2020 to fight the growing pollution. The deadline for it in Delhi was brought forward to 2018 due to higher level of pollution i.e. thick toxic smog faced in winter season. It was part of concerted efforts of Government to reduce vehicular emissions and improve fuel efficiency with an aim to reduce carbon footprints and keep environment healthy. Benefits of BS-IV fuel: The major difference in standards between the existing BS-IV and new BS-VI auto fuel norms is presence of sulphur. BS-IV fuels contain 50 parts per million (ppm) sulphur, while BS-V and BS-VI grade fuel will have 10 ppm sulphur. Thus, newly introduced BS VI fuel is estimated to reduce amount of sulphur released by 80%. It will also bring down the emission of NOx (nitrogen oxides) from diesel cars by nearly 70 % and 25% from cars with petrol engines. It will also bring down cancer causing particulate matter emissions from diesel engine cars by phenomenal 80%.

31) The 114th meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) between India and Pakistan was held in New Delhi. Representatives from both sides discussed Indus Water Treaty (IWT) dispute and resolution of outstanding issues. India’s Indus water commissioner PK Saxena and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials were part of Indian delegation for annual meeting. Pakistan’s six-member delegation will be led by Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah. Background: The meeting took place in backdrop of continuing tension between two neighbouring countries over host of issues, including alleged harassment of diplomats. Pakistan has been expressing concerns over India’s Pakal Dul (1000 MW), Ratle (850 MW) and Lower Kalnai (48 MW) projects — located in Chenab basin – contending they violated IWT, signed in 1960. India, however, has been maintaining that designs of these projects are very much in accordance with IWT. Permanent Indus Commission (PIC): The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was signed in 1960. It covers the water distribution and sharing rights of six rivers of Indus river system viz, Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum. The treaty specifies that waters from three western rivers viz. Indus, Jhelum and Chenab are reserved for Pakistan, while waters from eastern rivers viz. Ravi, Sutlej and Beas are for reserved for India. The PIC is established mechanism under IWT. Its mandate is to establish and maintain cooperative arrangements for implementation of water distribution pact and promote cooperation in development of Indus water systems between India and Pakistan. The meeting of PIC is held alternately in India and Pakistan at least once every year as mandated by treaty. The PIC had last met in Islamabad in March 2017.

32) India has replaced Vietnam to become second largest producer of mobile phones in 2017. This information has been shared by government on the basis of data provided by Indian Cellular Association. Key Facts: Currently, China stands at number one in mobile production around the world. The top three mobile producing countries are China, India and Vietnam. Annual production of mobile phones in India increased from 3 million units in 2014 to 11 million units in 2017. With the rise in mobile phone production, imports of the devices in the country also reduced to less than half in 2017-18. The government has established a Fast Track Task Force (FTTF) under Ministry of Electronics and IT, that has set target to achieve around 500 million mobile phone production in India by 2019.

33) To ensure safe future for young women, West Bengal government has launched a scheme called “Rupashree”. This scheme was earlier announced by Amit Mitra, the Finance Minister of West Bengal, at the time of budget. Under this scheme government provides one-time financial support for marriage of poor girls. Salient features: Before marriage an amount of Rs 25,000 will be credited to girl’s bank account. A woman is required to fill the application form before her marriage and submit it to the office of Block Development Officer or Municipality Office to avail benefits under Rupashree. While previous Kanyashree scheme promotes education among women, Rupashree scheme complements it with marriage assistance. Eligibility: Beneficiary must be the permanent resident of the West Bengal. Women should be more than 18 years of age at the time of their marriage. Annual income of a family should be less than 1.5 lakh. No minimum educational qualifications are required to apply for the scheme. The scheme will benefit about six lakh women from the economically backward section with family annual income not exceeding Rs. 1.5 lakh. State government has allocated Rs. 1500 cr for this scheme.

34) As a part of three-day international conference on “Accessible Tourism”, Nepal has launched its first accessible trekking trail for differently abled and elders in Pokhara city. The three day accessible tourism conference was organized in Nepal from March 29 to 31, 2018. The recently inaugurated trek is a 1.3 kilometers section of the 14 kilometer hiking path in the ridge connecting Sarangkot to Naudanda areas. The trek offers unmatchable view of Mt. Annapurna, Fisthtail and Manaslu. The trail has been equipped with proper signage and washrooms. Accessible Tourism Concept: Accessible tourism or inclusive tourism refers to an emerging concept referring to travel that is accessible to all people, with disabilities or not, including those with mobility, hearing, sight, cognitive, or intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, older persons and those with temporary disabilities.

35) As per previous decision of GST council, the e-way Bill System for Inter-State movement of goods across the country is being introduced from April 1, 2018. From this date, the businesses and transporters moving goods worth over Rs. 50,000 from one state to another will have to carry an electronic or e-way bill. The e-way bill will apply to inter-state transportation of goods worth over Rs. 50,000 through road, railways, airways and vessels. Background: The e-way bill provision of the goods and services tax (GST) was first introduced on February 1, 2018. However due to some technical issues, the GST Council decided to roll-out of the e-way bill starting with inter-state from April 1 and intra-state from April 15, 2018. Now, the platform has been made more robust and as many as 75 lakh inter-state e-way bills could be generated daily without any glitch. The system has been designed and developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). About E-way bill: E-way bill is an electric document generated on the GST Portal, which is a common and shared information technology (IT) infrastructure between the Centre and States; and acts as evidence for movement of goods. A company or an entity can upload relevant information prior to movement of a goods consignment from one state to another. Subsequently, the E-way bill for that consignment is generated via the GST portal. It may be noted that such a mechanism helps reduce the burden of tax collection under the GST regime and it is only applicable to transport of goods amounting to more than Rs 50,000 in value.

36) Pakistan has successfully test-fired its indigenously designed and built nuclear-capable, submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM) Babur III. The missile was fired from underwater dynamic platform and successfully engaged its target with precise accuracy, meeting all the flight parameters. Key Facts: Babur-III is the naval variant of the land-based Babur-II. The missile is capable of delivering various types of payloads including nuclear. It incorporates advanced technologies, including underwater controlled propulsion and sophisticated guidance and navigation features. The missile has strike range of 450 km. This is only the second time that Pakistan has announced test of SLCM Babur-III missile, with first test being conducted in January 2017. Duringfirst test, Babur-III was launched from unidentified underwater mobile platform. Babur-III missile provides Pakistan’s military credible second strike capability. Pakistan has been working hard with China’s help on developing this capability to carry out retaliatory nuclear strike even after enemy’s nuclear attack destroys or neutralises its land-based nuclear arsenal. India already has it.

37) Government has appointed former chairman of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Vineet Joshi, as the first Director-General (DG) of the National Testing Agency (NTA). He will have tenure of five years. He is 1992-batch IAS officer of the Manipur cadre. Prior to this appointment, he was resident commissioner of Manipur government. During his stint as CBSE chairman, he had introduced big changes such as Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) and making Class X board examination optional. National Testing Agency (NTA): NTA was approved by the Union cabinet in November 2017. It is autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organization to conduct entrance examinations for higher educational institutions in India. It is registered as society under Indian Societies Registration Act, 1860. Composition: NTA will be chaired by eminent educationist appointed by Ministry of Human Resource Development. Its CEO will be Director General (DG) appointed by Government. Besides, it has Board of Governors comprising members from user institutions. Mandate: Conduct entrance tests entrusted to it by any department or ministry. Bring high reliability and standardised difficulty level for assessing aptitude, intelligence and problem-solving abilities of the students. It will relieve CBSE, AICTE and other bodies of responsibility of conducting entrance examinations. Operations: It will take over majority of the examinations conducted by CBSE from 2019 in phased manner. It will start its operations with Joint Engineering Entrance (JEE) and National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET UG) for admissions to medical and dental programmes from 2019.

38) Government has appointed senior bureaucrat Chandra Bhushan Kumar as Deputy Election Commissioner. He will have tenure of five years. Bhushan is 1995 batch IAS officer of Union Territories Cadre. Election Commissioners: Election commission is multi member body and currently has three members including Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). They all are appointed by the President for a term which is fixed by the President. Tenure: The service conditions and tenure of office of CEC and Election Commissioners are determined by Act of parliament titled The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Conditions of Service) Act, 1991. This act has fixed their term for 6 years or till age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. Power/salary: The CEC and election commissioners have equal power and receive equal salary, allowances and other perquisites, which are similar to judge of Supreme Court. In case of difference of opinion amongst the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioner, the matter is decided by the Commission by majority.

39) India has received first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo comprising 1.2 Lakh tones of the Gas from United States. The cargo has landed at the Dabhol regasification terminal in Maharashtra. About the India-US LNG Contract: The recent consignment of LNG has been imported from US under a long-term contract of 20 years. This USD 32 Billion contract was signed between India’s GAIL and America’s Dominion Energy Cove Point project in Maryland and Cheniere Energy Inc’s Sabine Pass Project in Louisiana. India America Trade Relations: With a bilateral trade of around USD 126.1 billion in 2017, currently, United States is among the largest trade partners of India. The trade between two countries has increased at a compound annual growth rate of 11.4% from USD 20 Billion in 2000. India has been so far importing LNG from Middle East, particularly Qatar. In recent times, USA has increased production of petroleum products and has become one of the largest exporters of petroleum products. The import of LNG contracts is based on premise of diversifying India’s sources for clean energy. The government is promoting a shift towards gas-based economy but the current domestic production and infrastructure don’t suffice.

40) Scientists have discovered new organ in human body and have named it as ‘interstitium’. It will be the 80th organ in the human body. It might be might be also the biggest organ in human body. It was discovered while doctors were investigating patient’s bile duct, searching for signs of cancer. They had noticed cavities of this organ that did not match any previously known human anatomy. The discovery of interstitium will help to explain how cancer spreads in body and pave way for new ways to detect and treat the disease. Interstitium: The new organ is network of interconnected, fluid-filled spaces all over the body. It is found everywhere in human bodies, acting as shock absorber in all places where tissues are moved or subjected to force. It is made up of both flexible (elastin) and strong (collagen) connective tissue proteins, with interstitial fluid moving throughout. It lies beneath top layer of skin, but is also in tissue layers lining gut, lungs, blood vessels, and muscles. The organ acts like shock absorber in all places where tissues are moved or subjected to force to protect them from damage. Functions: The new organ’s interstitial spaces are organized by collagen mesh which allows it to shrink, expand making it as shock absorbers. It also acts as fluid ‘highway’ i.e. thoroughfares to transport critical fluids within organs and around body. It also plays important role in carrying lymph, a fluid that supports immunity and also travels through lymphatic vessels.

41) Russia has successfully test fired its latest nuclear Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) RS-28 Sarmat. This missile can carry an array of warheads capable of dodging missile defenses. The test was carried out at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, as spaceport in the west of Russia, close to the Arctic Circle. The ICBM Sarmat has the capacity to reach any point in the world. The missile will enter into service by 2021. Background: The RS-28 Sarmat is a heavy liquid-propellant ICBM capable of carrying nuclear charges. This missile is under development in Russia since 2000ss. The objective of this development is to replace the R-36M2 Voyevoda ICBM, which is Russia’s only Strategic Missile Force since 1988. The name Sarmat is based upon the nomadic Sarmatian tribes which used to live between 6th and 4th century BC in current territories of Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

42) Pakistan Navy successfully test fired indigenously developed Submarine Launched version of Cruise Missile (SLCM) BABUR. The missile was fired from an underwater dynamic platform, which successfully hit its target with sharp accuracy. The missile also met all its flight parameters. This is only the second time that Pakistan has announced a test of the submarine launched Babur-III missile, with the first test being conducted in January 2017. SLCM BABUR has a range of 450 KMs and is capable of delivering various types of payloads and incorporates state of the art technologies including underwater controlled propulsion, advanced guidance and navigation features.

43) The recent census carried out in Kaziranga National Park, Assam has revealed that there was a marginal increase in the population of the one-horned rhinoceros here. As per census report, currently there are 2,413 rhinos in Kaziranga National Park registering a marginal increase of 12 rhinos compared to last census. Out of the rhinos spotted, 642 are adult males and 793 are adult females while sex of 206 adult rhinos could not be determined during the census operation. About Kaziranga National Park: Kaziranga national park is located in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of Assam. The park is a home to two-thirds of the world’s great one-horned rhinoceroses, which are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species. It was designated with National Park status in 1968 and was declared UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 for its unique natural environment. Kaziranga is also recognized as an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International for conservation of avifaunal species.

44) Union law ministry is preparing to file a review petition against the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 that puts a stop to immediate arrests in complaints filed under its provisions. Back ground: Previously, in an attempt to curb the misuse of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989) and protect honest public servants Supreme Court gave following verdict: An arrest is not mandatory under the SC/ST Act, and the automatic arrest has been scrapped. The court further directed that public servants can only be arrested with the written permission of their appointing authority. This was to protect public servants and private employees from arbitrary arrests under the Atrocities Act Supreme Court also ruled that before arresting a public servant under the Act, a preliminary investigation by an officer not below the rank of deputy superintendent is a must. SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act: Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was enacted in the year 1989. It is a comprehensive law which not only defines atrocities against SCs and STs but also make several rules, regulations etc. for proper protection of these vulnerable classes. One of the provisions of the law states that public servant (non SC/ST) neglecting his duties related to SCs/STs will be punished with imprisonment for a term of 6 months to 1 year. Ministry of Social Justice is the nodal ministry to enforce the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

45) The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched GSAT 6A communication satellite on board of GSLV-F08 rocket from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. This was overall 12th GSLV flight (and fifth successful) and sixth flight with indigenously built cryogenic upper stage engine. GSAT-6A: GSAT-6A is high power S-band communication satellite with a mission life of about 10 years. It was placed in Geosynchronous orbit of Earth. It weighs 2066 kg and is most powerful home-made communication satellite till date. It is similar to GSAT-6 is a high power S-band communication satellite that was launched back in 2015. The S-band’s antenna of GSAT-6A was developed by ISRO’s Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad. It also has smaller 0.8-metre antenna for communication in the C band. It will provide mobile communication to India through multi beam coverage facility. It will also provide platform for developing technologies such as demonstration of S-Band Unfurlable Antenna, handheld ground terminals and network management techniques that could be useful in satellite based mobile communication applications. It will be also designated for military use especially in remotest areas of the country. Special feature of GSAT-6A: It has 6-metre-wide umbrella-like antenna that will be unfurled in space. The antenna is thrice as broad as antennas generally used in ISRO satellites. It will enable mobile communication from anywhere via hand-held ground terminals. It will require small ground station as regular communication satellites with smaller antenna require much larger ground stations. S-Band: S-band is electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). It is very useful and is used globally for 4G service and is extremely valuable for mobile broadband services. It crosses conventional boundary between Super High Frequency (SHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) bands at 3.0 GHz. Update: On April 1, 2018, ISRO confirmed that it had lost contact satellite GSAT-6A in the aftermath of second orbit-raising exercise.

46) NASA will send first-ever mission named as InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) dedicated to exploring the deep interior of Mars. InSight will be stationary lander that will be launched in May 2018. It will be first NASA mission since the Apollo moon landings to place seismometer, a device that measures quakes on the soil of another planet. InSight Mission: InSight is NASA’s Discovery Program mission that aims to place stationary lander equipped with seismometer and heat transfer probe on surface of Mars to study red planet’s early geological evolution. It is terrestrial planet explorer that will address one of most fundamental issues of planetary and solar system science. It will help in understanding processes that shaped rocky planets of inner solar system (including Earth) more than four billion years ago. The robotic lander will perform a radio science experiment to study internal structure of Mars by deploying seismometer and a burrowing heat probe. It will measure Mar’s vital signs such as pulse (seismology), temperature (heat flow probe) and reflexes (precision tracking). It will let scientists understand how different its crust, mantle and core are from Earth.