To take effect from: 01 Dec 2018
Points to remember
From : Dehradun to Delhi
Operated by: Spicejet Airlines
Fuel developed by: Dehradun-based CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum
Biofuel composition: Mix of the oil extracted from the seeds of Jatropha plant and aviation turbine fuel
Purpose: To rate and review political representatives.
Launched by: Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Former President of India
Developed by: Pratham Mittal of Outgrow.co
Platforms: Android, iOS
Languages available: 16
Venue: Hanoi (Vietnam)
Dates: 27 and 28 August 2018
Chairperson: Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe, PM of Sri Lanka
Inaugurated by: Smt Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister of India
Theme: Building Regional Architechtures
Launched by: World Bank
Name: Bond-i, (Blockchain Operated New Debt Instrument)
Points to remember
Date of Birth: 14 August 1923
Date of Death: 23 August 2018
Positions held: High Commissioner to UK and Rajya Sabha member
Books authored: Beyond the lines (Autobiography); India – The Critical years; Distant Neighbours – A tale of the subcontinent; India After Nehru; The Judgement:Inside story of the emergency in India; Wall at Wagah – India Pakistan Relations; Without Fear: The Life and Trial of Bhagat Singh
Venue: Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi and Aurangabad (Maharashtra)
Dates: 23 to 26 Aug 2018
Points to remember
Date of Birth: 08 April 1938
Date of Death: 18 August 2018
UN Secretary General from 1997 to 2006
Nationality: Ghana
Awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 along with UNO
HeliNa - Helicopter launched Anti-tank Guided Missile
HeliNa is a helicopter launched version of anti-tank missile Nag developed by DRDO
Range - 7 to 8 km
Test fired at - Pokhran, Rajasthan
Test fired from - HAL built helicopter Rudra
Dates: 18 to 20 Aug 2018
Venue: Mauritius
Inaugurated by : Mauritius PM Shri Pravind Kumar Jugnauth
Theme: Hindi Vishwa Aur Bharatiya Sanskriti
Launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on 13th August 2018
Assessment carried out by - M/s IPSOS Research Private Limited in consortium with M/s Athena Infonomics India Private Limited and Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
Total number of cities studied - 111
Top 5 cities - 1. Pune; 2. Navi Mumbai; 3. Greater Mumbai; 4. Tirupati; 5. Chandigarh
Bottom 5 cities - 107. Bhagalpur; 108. Bihar Sharif; 109. Patna; 110. Kohima; 111. Rampur
Released by: Economist Intelligence Unit, London
Top 5 cities - 1. Vienna (Austria); 2. Melbourne (Australia); 3. Osaka (Japan); 4. Calgary (Canada); 5. Sydney (Australia)
Born: 25 December 1924
Death: 16 August 2018
Prime Minister of India from: 16.05.96 to 01.06.96; 19.03.98 to 10.10.99; 10.10.99 to 22.05.2004
Minister of External Affairs: 26.03.1977 to 28.07.1979
Birth Place: Gwalior
AWARDS: Bharat Ratna: 2015; Padma Vibhushan: 1992; Outstanding Parliamentarian Award: 1994; Bangladesh Liberation War Honour: 2015
Events during his tenure as the PM of India:
Born: 01 April 1941
Death: 15 August 2018
Points to remember
Produced by: National Geographic
Directed by: Shri Robin Roy
Narration by: Shri Amitach Bachchan
The documentary tells the story of the President’s Bodyguard, the oldest surviving mounted unit and one of the senior most regiments of the Indian Army. The regiment was founded in 1773 and was known as the Governor General's Bodyguard during the British Raj.
Conducted by: Quality Council of India (QCI)
Rankings: A1 category stations (out of 75)
Rankings: A category stations (out of 332)
Zonal Railway rankings
Note: This is the third survey of its kind. First survey conducted by IRCTC in 2016 by conducting interviews of passengers at the stations on various parameters of cleanliness and rating them on these bases. The second survey in 2017 was conducted by Quality Council of India.
Born: 25 July 1929
Death: 13 August 2018
Speaker of the Lok Sabha from: 2004 to 2009
Outstanding Parliamentarian Award: 1996
Launched by : NASA
Launched on : 11 August 2018
Launched from : Cape Canaveral
Launch Vehicle: Delta IV-Heavy with Upper Stage
Purpose: To probe the outer corona of the Sun. It will be the first spacecraft to fly into the low corona. It will fly as close as 3.8 million miles from the Sun's surface.
Born: 17 August 1932 (Trinidad and Tobago)
Death: 11 August 2018
Nationality: British
Booker Prize: 1971 for "In a Free State"
Nobel Prize: 2001
Notable works: A House for Mr Biswas; A Flag on the Island; In a Free State; A Bend in the River; An Area of Darkness; India: A Wounded Civilization India: A Million Mutinies Now
NDA Candidate: Harivansh Narayan Singh (won - 125 votes).
Joint opposition candidate - BK Hariprasad (lost - 105 votes).
Former Dy Chairperson: Prof PJ Kurien
The Central Govt has notified amendments to Motor Vehicle Rules 1989 relating to registration mark on battery operated vehicles.
Transport vehicles: Yellow colour on green background.
All other battery operated vehicles: White colour on green background.
Designated by: United Nations General Assembly
First observed: 1995
Theme: Indigenous peoples’ migration and movement
Designated by: United Nations General Assembly
First observed: 2000
Theme: Safe Space for Youth
Designated by: Patricia Sims and Elephant Reintroduction Programme of Thailand
First observed: 2012
Theme: Bringing the world together to help elephants
Designated by: United Nations General Assembly
First observed: 2009
Theme: #NotATarget
Designated by: United Nations General Assembly
First observed: 2010
Designated by: United Nations General Assembly
First observed: 2011
Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards for the years 2013 to 17 were presented by the President on 01 August 2018.
2013 - Smt Najma Heptullah
2014 - Shri Hukmdev Narayan Yadav.
2015 - Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad.
2016 - Shri Dinesh Trivedi.
2017 - Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab.
Jammu and Kashmir: Shri Satya Pal Malik
Bihar: Shri Lalji Tandon.
Tripura: Shri Kaptan Singh Solanki
Haryana: Shri Satyadev Narayan Arya
Meghalaya: Shri Tathagata Roy
Sikkim: Shri Ganga Prasad
Uttarakhand: Smt Baby Rani Maurya
Awarded by: International Mathematical Union.
Awarded for: Outstanding contribution to mathematics by mathematicians under 40 years of age
Awarded at: International Congress of Mathematics, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Winners
Union Industry Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu unveiled the Geographical Indications (GI) Logo and tag line.
The Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM) under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) had launched a Logo and a Tagline Contest for Geographical Indications of India on 18th October, 2017, through mygov.in platform.
Winning tagline: अतुल्य भारत की अमूल्य निधि (Invaluable Treasures of Incredible India) by Akancha Tripathi.
Winner for logo design: Adri Chatterjee.
The Union Cabinet has approved conveying of no objection to reduction in Government of India shareholding in IDBI Bank Limited to below 50% by dilution. It has also approved acquisition of controlling stake by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) as promoter in the bank.
The process will be completed through preferential allotment / open offer of equity, and relinquishment of management control by the Government in the bank.
The Govt of India holds 85.96% of shares in IDBI Bank as on 30.06.18. The share will be brought to less than 50% by preferential allotment/open offer of equity to LIC which is wholly owned Govt undertaking.
Born: 03 June 1924 Died: 07 aug 2018.
Points to be noted
What is it? - Global Mobility Hackathon to crowdsource solutions aimed at the future of mobility in India.
Launched by - NITI Aayog
No of legs (stages) - 3 (Online, Singapore and Delhi)
Winners will be announced at - Move Summit in Delhi on 7 and 8 Sep 2018
In partnership with - Govt of Singapore
Knowledge Partner - PwC
Strategic Partner - NASSCOM
Purpose: To accord constitutional status to National Commission for Backward Classes
The position prior to the bill
Article 338 of the Indian Constitution establishes National Commission for Scheduled Castes and lays down its duties and powers in that respect.
Article 338A (Inserted by Const. Amendment Act, 2003) establishes National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and lays down its duties and power in that respect.
Article 342 deals with President's powers to specify tribes as Scheduled Tribes
The position after the current bill
Article 338B is inserted after 338 which establishes National Commission for Backward Classes and lays down its duties and powers in that respect.
Article 342A is inserted after 342 which deals with the President's powers to specify socially and educationally backward classes.
Amendment of Article 366 by insertion of clause 26C which defines socially and educationally backward classes.
Note: The amendment bill has introduced alongside National Commission for Backward Classes (Repeal) Bill, 2017 which repeals National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993 which had established the National Commission for Backward Classes.
A committee under the chairpersonship of Prof. H.R. Nagendra, Chancellor, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana, Bengaluru (S-VYASA) for making recommendations on Yoga Education in Universities has identified 6 universities for introduction of yoga departments.
Mohun Bagan Ratan - Pradip Chowdhury
Best Footballer Award - Shilton Paul
Best Cricketer Award - Sudip Chatterjee
Best Youth Footballer Award - Sourav Das
Special Award - Rahim Ali
Venue: Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Sports Park Arena in Nanjing, China.
Dates: 30 July to 5 August 2018.
Mens's Singles title winner - Kento Momota (Japan)
Mens's Singles title runner-up - Shi Yuqi (China)
Womens's Singles title winner - Carolina Marin (Spain)
Womens's Singles title runner-up - PV Sindhu (India)
Venue: Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, London
Dates: 21 July to 5 August 2018.
Winner - Netherlands (record 8th time)
Runner-up - Ireland
The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill,2018 has been passed by the Indian Parliament recently.
Background : The directions of Hon’ble Supreme Court in their judgment dated 20.03.2018 in Dr. Subhash Kashinath Mahajan Vs the State of Maharashtra and Another amount to amending the PoA Act and have diluted the provisions of the PoA Act.
The directions of the Hon’ble Court to conduct a preliminary inquiry within seven days by the Dy. S.P. concerned to find out whether the allegations make out a case under the PoA Act and that arrest in appropriate cases may be made only after approval by the S.S.P., would delay registration of First Information Report (FIR) and will impede strict enforcement of the provision of the POA Act.
All this would adversely affect the very objective of the Act to prevent commission of atrocities against members of SC and ST and be severely detrimental especially in heinous offences like sexual exploitation of SC/ST women including rape, gangrape, acid attacks and murder etc.
Point-wise details: Section 18A has been inserted which states that:-
(1) For the purpose of the PoA Act,-
(2) The provision of section 438 of the Code shall not apply to a case under the Act, notwithstanding any judgment or order or direction of any Court.
ARIAA:Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements
Moving On, Moving Forward - Shri Venkaiah Naidu
Atalji ne Kaha - Brijendra Rehi
1. For which of the following missions has the Union Cabinet recently approved raising of funds as Extra Budgetary Resources?
2. What is the theme of letter writing competition named Dhai Akhar organised by the Department of Posts?
3. Who is the director of the film Halkaa which has been made under the aegis of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban)?
4. Which of the following has been recently included in the UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves?
5. Who of the following has been chosen for the Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavna Award 2018?
6. Which country has been in news for having used Novichok, a deadly nerve agent against its former intelligence officer?
7. Lombok island which was hit by a devastating earthquake on Aug 5 killing more than 300 people is in which country?
8. In which city has Ikea, the Swedish furniture manufacturer opened its first store in India?
9. President of which of the following countries survived a drone attack on his life recently?
10. Which of the following states has launched a smartphone distribution scheme called Mobile Tihar?
11. Which State has become the first in the country to implement the National Policy on Biofuels?
12. Of which country has Mr. Emmerson Mnangagwa been elected the President?
13. To how many beneficiaries have cooking gas connections been distributed under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana till date?
14. Which country recently launched its first hypersonic aircraft name Xingkong-2 (Starry Sky-2)?
15. With which country does India conduct the joint military exercise Maitree?
16. What is the cashback (on GST amount) offered for Digital Transactions done via BHIM, Rupay or USSD mode as announced by the GST Council?
17. Which State has launched One District, One Product scheme to enhance skills of local people and provide employment?
18. Justice Gita Mittal was recently sworn in as the first female Chief Justice of High Court of -
19. Balramji Dass Tandon who passed away on 14 August 2018 was the serving Governor of which State?
20. Who of the following has won the Rogers Cup Tennis tournament 2018?
21. Who of the following has been chosen as the Road Safety Brand Ambassador by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways?
22. Usha Ananthasubramanian, who was dismissed from service on the last day of her retirement was the CEO/MD of which bank?
23. Genome sequencing of which of the following has been achieved by worldwide scientists recently?
24. Which company has launched VoIP service named WINGS?
25. To which political party does Mr. Imran Khan, the new Prime Minister of Pakistan belong?
26. Who of the following has become the first player to win all nine Masters 1000 tournaments?
27. Whose autobiography is titled 281 and Beyond?
28. In which of the following cities was the first Humboldt Penguin chick born in India?
29. Dr. G Satheesh Reddy has recently been appointed as the Chairman of which of the following organisations?
30. Which month has been chosen to be observed as Poshan Maah (Nutrition Month) by the Govt of India?
31. Which company has become the first Indian company to cross 8 trillion rupees in market capitalisation?
32. Scott Morrison is the new Prime Minister of which of the following countries?
33. In which country was the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Peace Mission Exercise held from 22 to 29 August 2018?
34. Which Australian cricketer's autobiography is titled No Spin: My Autobiography?
35. Which of the following cities was the venue of the 4th BIMSTEC Summit held from 30 to 31 August 2018?
36. Which of the following companies has launched a project named Navlekha to allow Indian vernacular news publishers to get their content online?