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Daily Current affairs - July 22nd&23rd, 2018 for all competitive exams


Ministry of Human Resource Development announced ‘Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat’ scheme
Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) announced 'Padhe Bharat- Badhe Bharat' an initiative to promote reading culture among students. The initiative has been launched under 'Samagra Shiksha'.
  • Under this initiative, government will give an annual library grant to schools to allow students widen their ambit of learning.
  • The grant will be given to Primary to Senior Secondary levels and will vary between Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 20,000.
  • 'Samagra Shiksha' is an overarching programme for school education extending from Primary till class 12. The programme was introduced in the Union Budget 2018-19 with the aim to treat school education holistically without segmentation of primary and secondary education.

Environment Minister inaugurates advanced system of Air quality ‘SAFAR’ 
Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan unveiled a state-of-the-art Air Quality and Weather Forecast System– ‘SAFAR’ (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting) at Chandni Chowk in New Delhi.
  • The Environment Ministry’s mission model project ‘SAFAR’ is being implemented in four cities of India – Delhi, Pune, Mumbai and Ahmedabad as an operational service. 
  • First of its kind in the country, the system was developed indigenously by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune and operationalised by India Meteorological Department (IMD). 
  • It is integral part of India’s first Air Quality Early Warning System operational in Delhi. It will monitor all weather parameters like temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind speed and wind direction.
  • Pollutants monitored: PM1, PM2.5, PM10, Ozone, CO, NOx (NO, NO2), SO2, BC, Methane (CH4), Non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), VOC’s, Benzene, Mercury.
Monitored Meteorological Parameters: UV Radiation, Rainfall, Temperature, Humidity, Wind speed, Wind direction, solar radiation.
Air Quality Index is a tool for effective communication of air quality status to people in terms, which are easy to understand. It transforms complex air quality data of various pollutants into a single number (index value), nomenclature and colour.
There are six AQI categories, namely Good + Satisfactory, Moderately polluted, Poor, Very Poor, and Severe. Each of  these  categories  is  decided  based  on  ambient concentration values of air pollutants and their likely health impacts (known as health breakpoints).
AQ sub-index and health breakpoints are evolved for eight pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and Pb) for which short-term (upto 24-hours) National Ambient Air Quality Standards are prescribed.

Medini Puraskar Yojna Scheme re-introduced by Environment ministry
Environment Ministry re-introduced the ‘Medini Puraskar Yojna’– a scheme that awards Indian authors for their original work in Hindi on environment, pollution and climate change subjects.
  • Rs one lakh will be given as first prize, Rs 75,000 as second prize and Rs 50,000 as third prize. There will also be a consolation prize of Rs 25,000 and each author will receive a citation.
  • The award would be administered by Environment Ministry and shall commence from April 1 of each financial year annually.

‘Rent-a-lab’ policy to bring revenues to institutions
The government has proposed a new policy that could transform scientific instruments in government labs into lucrative assets generating a steady rental income. The policy is called the Scientific Research Infrastructure Management and Networks (SRIMAN).
  • Under the policy, the government plans to hire out to researchers all lab equipment that cost more than Rs.10 lakh. This would also reduce the amount of time such expensive instruments remain idle.
  • The new system, according to the policy, envisages institutions declaring on a website how often their instruments would be available for use by those outside the department or university. Those who would like to use, for example, a DNA-sequencing machine, would have to pay a fee and specify the purpose and time they would want it for.
  • Currently, the practice of researchers bidding for time-slots to use lab instruments is typically seen more with very expensive equipment, such as radio telescopes and particle-accelerators, which cost crores of rupees.

Advanced weather forecasting system unveiled in New Delhi
Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan has unveiled the first of a kind Air Quality and Weather Forecast System, SAFAR at Chandni Chowk in New Delhi. 
  • The giant true colour LED display will give real-time air quality index on the 24x7 basis with colour coding along with 72-hour advance forecast. 
  • The new system can track UV-Index, PM1, Mercury and Black carbon in real time and will provide health advisory and related precaution.

Rajnath Singh launches the Student Police Cadet (SPC) programme
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched the Student Police Cadet (SPC) programme for nationwide implementation at a ceremony in Gurugram, Haryana.
Earlier the Home Minister launched the theme song and training manual of SPC prepared by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D). 
  • The Ministry of Home Affairs-sponsored programme focuses on students of classes VIII and IX. In the initial phase, it will be implemented in all government schools in urban and rural areas across the country. A sum of Rs 50,000 would be provided to each school for educational assistance, training and contingencies under the programme.
  • The SPC programme will provide a healthy interface between schools and police and help inculcate in students the aspects of public safety, discipline, patience, tolerance, empathy, respect of senior citizens, social harmony, traffic sense and a corruption-free environment.

Rajya Sabha passes the State Banks Repeal & Amendment Bill, 2017
Rajya Sabha has passed the State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill,2017. The Bill seeks to repeal the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, the State Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956 and further to amend the State Bank of India Act, 1955.
  • Under it, the five associates banks that were merged are State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala  and State Bank of Travancore. The merger of these banks have already been effective from 1st April, 2017.

TN government sets up 24-hour helpline for protection of inter-caste couples
Tamil Nadu government has set a 24-hour helpline to assist and protect inter-caste couples.
  • A special cell has been formed in all districts and cities in the state, comprising district-level officers to receive complaints of harassment.

Odisha police launch drive to bust Pangolin smuggling racket
A special unit of the Odisha Police has launched a drive to bust an international syndicate that peddles “endangered” pangolin, one of the world’s most illegally traded mammals.
  • A process has been initiated to crack the international pangolin smuggling racket, possibly with the help of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). MLAT is an agreement between nations to exchange information or provide legal assistance for enforcing laws.
Pangolins is smuggled for its scales as it believed that they possess magic or charms and have medicinal properties. The scales serves as base component for indigenous (traditional) psychotropic substances. China is main illicit hub (market) for smuggled scales of Pangolins, where they have huge demand for medicinal and magical purposes.
Pangolin is only scaly mammal on the planet. According to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), it is also the most illegally traded vertebrate within its class (Mammalia).
Of the eight species of pangolin worldwide, two are found in India. They are Chinese pangolin, mostly found in northeast India and Indian pangolin.

5 Public sector Oil & Natural gas companies signed to implement Urja Ganga Gas Pipeline Project
Five public sector oil and natural gas companies have signed the joint venture agreement to implement the Rs 6000 Crore gas pipeline grid project in Northeast.
The five companies are Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), ONGC, GAIL, Oil India Limited and Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL).
  • The joint venture company will have equal equity contribution from all the partners for development of the natural gas pipeline project.
  • The schedule for commissioning the project will be four years, including one year pre-project activities. With the signing of the agreement the joint venture company will develop, build, operate and maintain the natural gas pipeline grid.
  • The proposed gas pipeline grid will connect Guwahati to the major Northeast cities and major load centers. The project is being implemented under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious Urja Ganga Gas Pipeline Project.
Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project:
The gas pipeline project aims to provide piped cooking gas to residents of Varanasi and later to millions of people in states like Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha.
According to GAIL, with the Urja Ganga project, 20 lakh households will get PNG connections. The project is said to be a major step towards collective growth and development of the Eastern region of India.

India-assisted ambulance service launched in Sri Lanka
PM Modi recently launched India-assisted emergency ambulance service in Sri Lanka through video conferencing from New Delhi.
  • The service was earlier introduced in two provinces of Sri Lanka with grant assistance from India and it will now be expanded to the remaining seven provinces.
  • In total, India has given a grant of $22.8 million- $7.6 million for the first phase and $15.2 million for the country-wide expansion.
  • This is the largest Indian grant project in Sri Lanka after Indian housing project.

Myanmar joined India initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA)
Myanmar has joined the India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), thus, becoming the 68th signatory to the Framework Agreement of the ISA that aims for optimum utilisation of solar energy.
  • The Paris Declaration establishes ISA as an alliance dedicated to the promotion of solar energy among its member countries.
  • The ISA’s major objectives include global deployment of over 1,000GW of solar generation capacity and mobilisation of investment of over US$ 1000 billion into solar energy by 2030.
  • When the ISA Framework Agreement entered into force on December 6th, 2017, ISA formally became a de-jure treaty based International Intergovernmental Organization, headquartered at Gurugram, India.

NASA’s ‘Remote Sensing Toolkit’
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched the ‘Remote Sensing Toolkit’ to promote commercial use of satellite data.
  • It is an online toolkit launched with an aim to make it easier for users to find, analyse and utilise the relevant satellite data for their research, business projects or conservation efforts. The toolkit provides a simple system that quickly identifies relevant sources based on user input.
  • This prompted the US space agency to introduce the Remote Sensing Toolkit. The Toolkit will help grow the number of users who put NASA”s free and open data archive to work for people.
  • It is managed by the NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. The program ensures technologies developed for missions in exploration and discovery are broadly available to the public, maximising the benefit to the nation.

Facebook to launch Satellite Athena in 2019


Facebook is working on a new satellite project, named Athena, that will provide broadband internet connections to rural and underserved areas.
  • The company aims to launch a satellite in early 2019. In 2016, Facebook’s internet satellite for Africa was lost when SpaceX’s rocket exploded.

NABARD launches first ever centre for climate change in South East Asia at Lucknow
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has launched the Centre for Climate Change, the first of its kind in South East Asia, in Lucknow for accelerating concerted climate action by various stakeholders in government, private, financial and non -government sectors.
  • The Lucknow Centre would help NABARD in enhancing its capacity building efforts manifold. Besides, the new institution would also extend professional support to stakeholders for designing climate related projects and take up collaborative studies and action research projects in the area.
  • It would also support capacity building and project preparation effort in developing countries in the region as also in Africa.

Federal Bank gets RBI nod to enter Bahrain, Kuwait, Singapore 
Private Sector Lender Federal Bank has received the regulatory nod to open offices in Bahrain, Kuwait and Singapore, but is awaiting local clearances before it starts operations. 
  • Federal Bank already has representative offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and its desire to expand comes even as a majority of its larger peers are downsizing their overseas presence. 

Public Affairs Index 2018 released by PAC
Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2018 has been released by the think tank Public Affairs Centre (PAC).
  • Kerala tops the list as best-governed state in the country. Kerala has topped PAI as the best-governed state for the third consecutive year.
  • Kerala is followed by Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat.
  • Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar ranked the lowest, indicating higher social and economic inequalities in the states.
  • Smaller states (with population less than two crore): Himachal Pradesh topped the list followed by Goa, Mizoram, Sikkim and Tripura. Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya were ranked at bottom of the index among small states.
The index is released since in 2016 by Bengaluru base Public Affairs Centre (PAC), a not for profit think tank which aims to improve governance in India.
It is based on 10 themes, 30 focus subjects and 100 indicators, relying solely upon government data.
It covers wide range of themes such as support to human development, social protection, essential infrastructure, women and children, crime, law and order, delivery of justice, transparency and accountability, environment, fiscal management and economic freedom.
2018 PAI also included separate index on children of India, giving measure of how child-friendly each of the states are.

Muhammed Anas Yahiya breaks own National record in 400m 
Star sprinter Muhammed Anas Yahiya once again entered the record books as he broke his own national record to win the 400 metres race at the Cena Noveho Mesta nad Metuji meet in the Czech Republic. 
  • Anas set a time of 45.24 seconds to break his own record of 45.31 seconds which he had set during the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast in April 2018. 

Historic Win: Lakshya Sen wins Badminton Asian junior championships title 
Indian badminton player Lakshaya Sen bagged the gold medal after defeating Indonesia’s top-seeded Kunlavut Vitidsaran in the final match of the Badminton Asia Junior Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia. 
  • The 16-year-old thrashed his Indonesian opponent to win gold for the country at the mega-event after a gap of six years. The feat is only the second for India in the men's singles category since Gautam Thakkar's gold way back in the 1965 edition of the tournament. 

Junior Asian Wrestling Championship: India win 8 Medals, Iran tops 
India won 8 medals in the two day Junior Asian Wrestling Championship which concluded in New Delhi.
  • The medals comprised 2 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze. Sachin Rathi won the gold after winning the bout in the 74-kilogram category. Deepak Punia then won the gold in the 86 kilogram category.
  • Iran with 189 points topped the team championship. India with 173 points finished second while Uzbekistan with 128 points came third. 




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