COUNCIL

· an autonomous registered society under Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

· aims to promote the cause of productivity in all sectors of the Indian economy.

· a multipartite organization with equal representation from employers’ & workers’ organizations and Government, apart from technical & professional institutions and other interests.

·  a constituent of the Tokyo-based Asian Productivity Organization (APO), an Inter- Governmental Body, of which the Government of India is a founder member.

·  dedicated web portal for conciliation, arbitration and adjudication of the industrial disputes.

· brings all stakeholders – Government, Industry and Labour – involved in industrial disputes on single integrated platform.

· Workers have the option to go to the labour court directly in case no action is initiated within 45 days

its dashboard (to monitor the usage of the app).

ü  Tele Law app aims to Mainstream Legal Aid through Common Service Centres.

ü  benefit 73,000 Para Legal Volunteers (PLVs) of National Legal Service Authority and State Legal Services Authorities in the country

· also launched an app Nyaya Bandhu for solidifying the pro bono (providing legal services without charge) culture in the country.

ü  provides a platform to connect the registered eligible beneficiaries with the practicing advocates

· Constitutional commitment under Article 39A

   INSTEX SAS (Instrument for Supporting Trade Exchanges).

· a Special Purpose Vehicle aimed at facilitating legitimate trade between European economic operators and Iran.

· US pulled out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)                                                   or the Iran nuclear deal  and reimposed sanctions last year.

· function as a non- dollar, euro-denominated clearing house or payments channel that avoids monetary transfers in dollars

· It would be based in France with a German banker heading it and UK will head the supervisory board.

· focus initially on sectors such as pharmaceutical, medical devices and agri-food goods which are not the target of the US’s sanctions.

ACCORD TO JOIN NATO

·  a country in the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe.

· It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia.

· Macedonia was prevented from joining NATO or EU over its name as Greece cited historical concerns and opposed the use of the name “Macedonia” as cultural appropriation.

· Under Prespa Agreement, 2018 between Greece and Macedonia, the changed name North Macedonia was adopted.

NATO

·  a peacetime military alliance, established in 1949.consists of members from North America and Europe

· Twelve countries were part of the founding of NATO:

Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy,Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the united Kingdom, and the United States.

· Article Five of the treaty states that if an armed attack occurs against one of the member states, it shall be considered an attack against all members, who can use military force against the attacking state.

·  a global platform dedicated to shaping the future of governments worldwide.

· focusing on how they can harness innovation and technology to solve

universal challenges facing humanity.

DEVELOPMENT AND PROSPERITY (WGDP)

INITIATIVE

· aims to coordinate current programs and develop new ones to assist women in areas such as job training, financial support, and legal or regulatory reforms.

· to reach 50 million women in the developing world by 2025.

· The effort will draw on public and private resources, with the U.S. Agency for International Development initially setting up a USD 50 million fund.

(NHB)

ü  To transfer RBI’s stake in the NHB to the government, the Finance Bill 2018 amended the National Housing Bank Act, 1987.

· It is a statutory body set up to operate as The principal agency to promote and regulate housing finance institutions in India both at local and regional level.

· It launched NHB Residex, the first official residential housing price index in 2007

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND

·  created with NABARD and will provide the state/ UT governments subsidized loans for their proposal for developing marketing infrastructure in585 Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs) and 10,000 villages

RASHTRIYA KAMDHENU AAYOG

· work in collaboration with Animal Sciences or Agriculture University or departments or organizations of the Central or State Government engaged in the task of research in the field of breeding and rearing of the cow, organic manure, biogas etc.

·  help in providing a policy framework for conservation of indigenous cow breeds.

AND VILLAGE INDUSTRIES

merged under 2 umbrella heads i.e. ‘Khadi Vikas Yojana’ and ‘Gramodyog Vikas Yojana’

o Khadi Vikas Yojana subsumed Market Promotion & Development Assistance (MPDA), Interest Subsidy Eligibility Certificate (ISEC), Workshed, Strengthening Weak Infra, Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana, Khadi Grant and Khadi & VI S&T.

o Gramodyog Vikas Yojanaa comprise of Village Industries Grant.

· CCEA has also brought in a new component of ‘Rozgar Yukt Gaon’ to introduce enterprise-based operation in the Khadi sector and to create employment opportunities for thousands of new artisans in the current and next financial year (2018-19 and 2019-20).

o aims to introduce an ‘Enterprise-led Business Model’ in place of conventional ‘Subsidy-led model’ for khadi industries.

o It will be rolled out in 50 Villages and  special focus shall be on agro-based and food processing, handmade paper and leather, and pottery industries.

o For this, advanced skill development programmes will be launched at various centre of excellence institutes.

RUNWAY

· SWAYATT is an initiative to promote Start-ups,Women and Youth Advantage Through e- Transactions on Government e Marketplace (GeM).

· GeM Start-up Runway is an initiative of GeM in association with Start -up India

o It would provide an opportunity to start-up to conduct market trials, seek time-bound feedback, gain realistic product, price comparison and market valuation.

·  enable individual women entrepreneurs in sectors like food processing, agriculture, services and small units to borrow around Rs 50,000 to Rs 3 lakh at an annual interest rate of around 13-14 per cent or less.

·  a tenure of five years and  SIDBI will act as the financial intermediary and channel funds through participating financial intermediaries like banks, NBFCs etc.

· unsecured, unlisted bonds and offer fixed coupon rate of 3 per cent per annum to bond investors.

ü  They will be backed by a corpus fund to be mobilised through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contributions and through grant support from UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).

·       being built by the Border Roads Organization to provide all weather connectivity to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh and other forward areas.

· located on Arun River in Sankhuwasabha District of Eastern Nepal.

· a biennial International Oil & Gas Conference which provides a  platform for national and international experts in the oil and gas industry to exchange views and share knowledge, expertise and experience.

Armed

Forces

involved

Express

2019

Navy

Maritime

forces

West Indian

Ocean nations,

Europe, and

the United States

· It is sponsored by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and

conducted by U.S. Naval Forces Africa.

· INS Trikand, a Talwar-class frigate of the Indian Navy,

participated in this exercise

Gold’

exercise

–

Army

United States,

Singapore,

Japan, China,

India,Indonesia,

Malaysia and

South Korea.

· It contains three main components:

military field training, humanitarian assistance and

disaster relief training.

Topchi

Army

· It showcased the Artillery firepower using ultra light

Howitzer M-777,self-propelled gun K-9 Vajra and

Indigenous Swathi weapon locating Radar

Rahat

Army

conducted to synergise efforts for humanitarian

assistance and disaster relief operations.

MISSILES

·a French 2nd-generation man-portable ATGM which is produced in India by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) ) + French firm.

· range of 2 Km.

· Some of the indigenous anti-tank missiles include:

NAG,HELINA, SANT (Stand-off Anti-Tank) Missile, Cannon Launched Laser Guided Missile (CLGM), SAMHO, AMOGHA-1, AMOGHA-2, AMOGHA-3.

· an upgraded version, based on the original design of the Swedish 155-mm Bofors howitzers,which India procured in the mid-1980s.

·  product of joint efforts by the Ordinance Factory Board and the Army with contributions from the DRDO, DGQA etc. and several private enterprises.

· It operated for 14 years on Mars and  confirmed that water once flowed on the red planet

·  part of NASA’s Explorer Program and  is planned as a two-year mission with a twofold aim:

to understand the evolution of the universe and how common the ingredients for life are in our galaxy.

· study the origin of water and organic molecules in planetary systems.

· survey the entire sky every 6 months in optical as well as near-infrared light, creating the First spectral all-sky survey at infrared wavelengths.

·mission will create a map of the entire sky in 96 different colour bands, far exceeding the colour resolution of previous all-sky maps.

· accomplish its mission from a low-Earth polar orbit, also known as a Sun-synchronous orbit also help in identifying targets for more detailed study by future missions, such as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Wide Field

Infrared Survey Telescope

· “Hippocamp” is a horse-headed, fish-tailed creature in Greek mythology.

SPECTRAL PROGRAMME

· This hyper spectral programme, a first for the nation, will help detect or identify the presence of a human below trees, dense foliage, shrubs or inside a structure, whether it is day or night.

· detect human presence from air even if there is clouds cover, dense fog or snow cover.

ERICSSON India, launched the second edition of ‘IPrism’.

ü  IPrism is an Intellectual Property (IP) competition for students of schools, polytechnic institutes, colleges and universities. This competition is for residents of India only.

o based on IP in Daily Life in two categories – film making and comic book

making.

ü  Earlier edition of IPrism was based on film on Piracy and Counterfeiting and mobile gaming app.

About CIPAM

o  created under the aegis of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade to take forward the implementation of the National IPR Policy 2016.

o assists in simplifying and streamlining of IP processes, apart from undertaking steps for furthering IPR awareness, commercialization and enforcement.

2019

O third edition of Inclusive Internet Index,prepared by The Economist Intelligence Unit.

·       covers 100 countries, representing 94 per cent of the world’s population and 96 per cent of global GDP. Sweden has topped the ranking and Congo is on the last spot.

o measures inclusiveness based on four categories:

ü  Accessibility (network coverage),
Affordability (pricing),

ü  Relevance (availability of local-language content) and

ü  Readiness (capability to access internet).

DIGITAL HEALTH

· digital health-interventions to improve health of the population at national and sub-national levels by 2023.

· The Global Digital Health Partnership Summit was hosted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP).

o The Global Digital Health Partnership (GDHP) is a collaboration of governments and territories, government agencies and the World Health Organization, formed to support the effective implementation of digital health services.`

o Under this, 500 science projects would be funded.

o The project will be coordinated by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.

National Science Day

·  every year on February 28 to mark the discovery of Raman Effect by physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (honoured with Bharat Ratna, Nobel Price and Lenin Peace Prize)

· Theme: This year theme was ‘Science for the People and the People for Science’.

· open-ended fund seeks to raise $1 billion from the domestic and international markets.

Invest in the listed Indian equities based on pre-determined ESG factors.

· ESG investing is an umbrella term for investments that also consider and evaluate the long-term impact that business practices have on society and the environment.

CONDITIONING PROGRAMME

· Initially, EESL + BSES Rajdhani Delhi, will jointly implement a 12 month of the programme

o Under the program,  Super-Efficient Air Conditioners are distributed which are 40% more efficient than,but priced comparably with, the 3-star ACs currently available in the market.

O phasing out Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) =envisioned in Kigali Agreement.

O also reduce refrigerant demand as per India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP).

o EESL investment is partially supported by a grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

o Asian Development Bank (ADB) : providing necessary grant support and loan

United Nations Environment (UNEP):providing technical assistance.

About EESL

· joint venture of four national Public-Sector Undertakings  under Ministry of Power–

NTPC Limited, Power Finance Corporation Limited, Rural Electrification Corporation Limited and POWERGRID Corporation of India Limited.

· leads the market-related activities of the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE),one of the eight national missions under National Action Plan on Climate Change.

·  aims to provide consultancy services in the field of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, carbon markets, demand side management, energy efficiency, climate change and related areas.

· Its other programs include:

o Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA)

o Street Light National Programme (SNLP)

o Agriculture Demand Side Management (AgDSM) Programme

o Energy efficient Buildings Program

o Smart Meter National Program

COOLING SYSTEM

 India’s first district cooling system (with a capacity up to 20,000 refrigeration tonnes) in the state’s new capital Amaravati.

· District cooling systems produce chilled water, steam or hot water at a central plant and then pipe that energy out (either underground or over rooftops) to buildings for air conditioning, space heating and water heating. As a result, these buildings don’t

require their own chillers, air conditioners, boilers or furnaces.

· District cooling uses only 50% of primary energy consumption for cooling urban building, compared to other cooling systems. This also reduces carbon emissions and generate less noise

COLLABORATION PROGRAMME ON

BIOENERGY

· an international platform with the aim of improving cooperation and information exchange between countries that have national programmes in bioenergy research, development and deployment.

· The primary goal of joining IEA Bioenergy TCP by Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoP&NG) is  to facilitate the market introduction of advanced biofuels with an aim to bring down emissions and reduce crude imports.

The R&D work in IEA Bioenergy TCP is carried out carried out within well-defined 3-years programmes called “Tasks”.

· It was considered the Great Barrier Reef’s (Australia) only endemic mammal

· The bee (Megachile Pluto), aka ‘flying bulldog’ is the world’s largest bee, with a wingspan  more thanix centimeters (2.5 inches).

·  named after Alfred Russel Wallace, the codiscoverer of the theory of evolution alongside Charles Darwin.

· These are resin bees, they don’t make honey.

· They make their nest in termite mounds.

· IUCN status-Vulnerable

INSTRUMENT

· also known as Ghumat, Dakki or Budike.

· part of the Mando, a musical form of the Goan Catholics that combines elements of both Indian + Western music.

also part of the Zagor folk dance and Dulpod (Goan dance song).

· A smaller form of ghumot is generally used as the main accompaniment to the ‘Burrakatha’ a folk, storytelling tradition of Andhra Pradesh.

· Pongala (meaning- ‘to boil over’) is the ritual in which women prepare  sweet payasam (a pudding made from rice, jaggery, coconut and plantains)  and offer it to the Goddess.

· The Goddess is fondly referred to as ‘Attukalamma’.

· Attukal temple is also popularly known as women’s Sabarimala – where only women are allowed to take part in the rituals.

·  listed in the Guinness World Records in 2009 for being the largest religious gathering of women on a single day.

HISTORICAL RESEARCH

an autonomous organization  under Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD),  registered under Societies Registration Act 1972.

o objective::to promote and give direction to historical research and to encourage and

 foster objective and scientific writing of history.

o also provides fellowships and financial assistance to the young teachers in colleges, universities and also assists to promote scientific research, both in India and abroad.

o The composition of council is:

ü  An eminent historian nominated by the Government of India (Chairman);

ü  Eighteen historians nominated by the Government of India;

ü  A representative of the University Grant Commission;

ü  Director General of Archaeology

ü  Director of National Archives;

ü  Four persons nominated by the Government of India with one representative each of the Ministry of Education, the Department of Culture and the Ministry of Finance, and Member Secretary.

LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME (CHYLP)

· focusses on the less privileged children residing in backward areas by interacting with them in vernacular languages for their better understanding.

· Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Culture, is the implementation agency for this programme.

 partner states  :: Maharashtra and Daman & Diu.

· diaspora engagement programme through a three-week orientation, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs

· objective is of familiarizing the India Diaspora Youth, in the age group of 18-30 years

PROGRAMME

· aims to bring in to focus the leadership role played by rural women in Swachh Bharat Mission.

·  organized by the Ministry of Drinking water and Sanitation  + Government of Haryana.

· The Swachh Shakti program was first held in 2017 at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

· promoted under the aegis of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) and envisages to bring about a behavioral change in men who have toilets but are not using them.

· In part 2 of the campaign it aims

to further promote the use of toilets and to sustain the open defecation free status of villages across India.

· World Bank is supporting the ongoing part two of the Darwaza Band campaign.

TRANSFORMATION PROJECT

·  additional financing to the $500 million National Rural Livelihoods Project (NRLP)

approved by the World Bank in July 2011.

·  support enterprise development programmes for rural poor women and youth by

creating a platform to access finance including startup financing options to build their individual and/or collectively owned and managed enterprises.

·  includes developing financial products using digital financial services to help small producer collectives scale-up and engage with the market.

· also support youth skills development, in coordination with the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya  Grameen Kaushalya Yojana.

UN agencies involved in publication are:

ü  UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the five UN regional commissions

ü  an annual report published on the basis of the outcomes of Global Risks Perception Survey 2018-2019.

ü  This index is published annually by London based newspaper The Economist

ü  The Index ranks countries on a score of 1-100 where zero is “highly corrupt” and 100 is “very clean” based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be

ü  It measures how countries and cities grow, attract and retain talent, providing a unique resource for decision makers to understand the global talent competitiveness picture and develop strategies for boosting their competitiveness

• The day commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to Mumbai on 9 January 1915.

ü  However, this year the dates have been shifted to January 21 to 23 to accommodate Republic Day, Kumbh Mela celebrations.

• Pravasi Bharatiya Samman , both in India and abroad.

• Theme of PBD 2019 – role of Indian Diaspora in building new India.

• Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojna: was launched at PBD 2019 and

under this, Overseas Indians in the age group 45-60 will be taken on nationwide tour of religious places. o This will be sponsored by Center and the State Government.

o First preference to people from Girmitiya countries.

o Girmityas or Jahajis are descendants of indentured Indian labourers brought to Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa, East Africa, the Malay Peninsula, Caribbean and South America (Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname) to work on sugarcane plantations by European colonizers

• The conference is hosted by the Observer Research Foundation (independent think tank) + Government of India, Ministry of External Affairs.

 • The United States Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) launched a new innovation initiative titled “Fair Value for Innovation” at the Raisina Dialogue. – examine economic underpinnings that would enable breakthrough innovation, and explore how policymakers can harness innovation capital in India and around the globe through research, advocacy, partnerships, and programs.

 • In a diplomatic initiative to address the lingering conflicts and mistrust in the Gulf region, Iran proposed a new platform “Persian Gulf Regional Dialogue Forum” for regional peace building

• free trade agreement between Canada and 10 other countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

ü  It is informally known as TPP-11.

 • CPTPP includes a broad range of sectors such as agriculture, sea food products, forest products, industrial products, etc. Most tariff lines will become duty-free as the Agreement enters into force for each CPTPP country. Tariffs on other goods will be

eliminated gradually over “phase-out” periods (up to 20 years), which vary by country

 •aims to establish a multifaceted U.S. strategy to increase U.S. security, economic interests, and values in the Indo-Pacific region.

• mandates actions countering China’s illegal construction and militarization of artificial features in the South China Sea and coercive economic practices.

 • ARIA recognizes the vital role of the strategic partnership between the U.S. and India in promoting peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region and it calls for strengthening diplomatic, economic, and security ties between both the countries.

 • For strengthening of diplomatic, economic, and security ties with India, it allocates a budget of $1.5 billion over a five-year period to enhance cooperation with America’s strategic regional allies in the region.

• It called for establishment of an Arab free trade zone and the international community to support countries hosting refugees and displaced people.

•serves as a nodal organization for all core statistical activities of the country including evolving, monitoring and enforcing statistical standards and ensuring statistical co-ordination among the different agencies involved.

•a part-time Chairperson, four part-time Members and Chief Executive Officer of the NITI Aayog as ex-officio member.

• The Chief Statistician of India serves as the Secretary of the Commission.

 • The surveys examine the current situation including the job scenario in India’s manufacturing, services and infrastructure sectors.

• Industrial Outlook Survey (IOS) which provides useful insight into the performance of the manufacturing sector will be conducted by Hansa Research Group Pvt Ltd.

• Services and Infrastructure Outlook Survey (SIOS) seeks an assessment of the business situation the services and infrastructure sectors will be carried out by Spectrum Planning India Ltd

 • DRR is a provision under Companies Act. DRR is to be funded by company profits every year until the debentures are redeemed.

 The reserve is to be created out of the issuer’s profits of until at least 25% of the face value of debentures issued.

• Financial institutions such as banks and non-banking financial companies are exempted.

 • DRR protects investors against the possibility of default by Company.

Debentures

•  a type of bond that is not secured by physical assets or collateral.  backed only by the general creditworthiness and reputation of the issuer.

• An entity which needs to raise money for itself can issue debentures promising a fixed rate of interest and return of the principal at a certain date known as Debenture Redemption.

• Treasury Bills issued by governments are a type of Debentures.

• done to secure loans from bank and non-bank financial institutions.
 For the financial institutions, these pledged shares are collateral.

• Banks can sell the pledged shares if the price of the stock falls closer to the value agreed in the contract between them and the company.

Typically, the amount that is lent by banks or NBFCs to promoters is less than the market value of the shares.

 • High pledging levels are typically not considered a good sign by investors, as a downturn in the market price can lead to selling of shares by lenders & change in management

 • The committee will also examine the factors affecting the timely and adequate availability of finance to the sector along with certain other issues

• The Integrated Startup Complex under the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) includes the ultra-modern facilities of

 o Maker Village that promotes hardware startups,

 o BioNest that promotes medical technologies,

 o BRINC which is the country’s first international accelerator for hardware startups;

 o BRIC which aids developing solutions for cancer diagnosis and care, and    o Centre of Excellence set up by industry majors such as UNITY

• Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSSs) are established to provide vocational training to non-literate, neoliterate, as well as school drop outs by identifying skills as would have a market in the region of their establishment

• Its objective is to standardise Vedic education through drafting syllabus, conducting examinations and issuing certificates.

 • BSB will also be assigned the responsibility of evolving new kinds of schools that offer a blend of Vedic and modern education apart from affiliating traditional pathshalas.

 • It will address the problem of recognising traditional learning.

 • The board will be setup as per the model bye laws framed by Maharshi Sandipani Rashtriya Vedavidya Pratishthan, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

 • The good quality Research Journals in disciplines under Social Sciences, Humanities, Languages, Arts, Culture, Indian Knowledge Systems etc., will be maintained by CARE and referred to as ‘CARE Reference List of Quality Journals’.

• This will be used for all academic purposes. The ‘CARE Reference List of Quality Journals’ will be regularly updated and published by the UGC and the Members of the Consortium at their respective website

• international non-profit association of the national, regional and international associations in solar energy and the world ‘s leading corporations.

•  found at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference.

• National Solar Energy Federation is a founding member of the Global Solar Council (GSC).

o  an umbrella organization of all solar energy stakeholders of India such as international and national companies.

o works in a complimentary manner with the Central and State Governments for achieving India’s national solar target of 100 GW by 2022

• It has committed over $1.0 billion with the goal of investing $1.5 billion over the next five years to help end plastic waste in the environment.

 • The Renuka dam project has been conceived as a storage project on the Giri river (a tributary of the Yamuna) in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh

a pre Stressed Concrete Box Girder type bridge.

•  undertaken by the Border Roads Organisation (a body under under Ministry of Defence which develops and maintains road networks in India’s border areas and friendly neighbouring countries such as Sri lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar)

•  5.1-km long cable-stayed four-lane bridge weighing 2.5 lakh ton

• the first locomotive-less train in the country and will ply between Delhi & Varanasi.

•India’s first semi high-speed train with max speed of 180 kmph.

• China’s Shanghai Meglev Train  the fastest train in the world with operating speed of 350 km/h. no wheels and runs through Magnetic Levitation.

• Before Vande Bharat Express (Train 18), Gatimaan Express was the fastest train in India with maximum operational speed of 160 Km/hr.

• Indian Railway’s Mission Raftaar envisages a target of doubling of average speed of freight trains and increasing the average speed of all non-suburban passenger trains by 25 kmph in the next 5 years.

• Train 20: High speed train based on Train 18 with maximum speed of 200 kmph, to replace all Rajdhani Express fleet by 2020

 •  part of the global International Waterbird Census (IWC) carried out each January as a voluntary activity.

• In India, the AWC is jointly coordinated by the Bombay Natural History Society and Wetlands International.

 • Wetlands International is a non-profit organization established in 1937 as ‘International Wildfowl Inquiry’ and HQ in Netherlands.

• Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS): Nongovernmental organization in India engaged in conservation research

 • It aims to improve tactical as well as strategic response to large forest fires by disseminating specific Large Fire alerts with the objective to identify, track and report serious forest fire incidents.

 • It is part of the Fire Alert System (FAST) Version 3.0, where the FSI will monitor forest fire events using real time data from the satellite sensors.

• It is the largest lake in Iran, second largest lake in the Middle East and the sixth largest saltwater lake on earth.

• Before shrinking, it was considered as the second largest saltwater lake in the world.

 • It has been shrinking since 1995, due to a combination of prolonged drought, over-farming, dam constrictions and climate changing phenomenon.

• It has been designated as a site of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on wetland 1971.

• In 1976, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) designated Lake Urmia, a biosphere reserve

•  conducted annually by the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA), under Department of Science and Technology.

• first session was held in Kolkata under the General Presidentship of Ashutosh Mukherjee in 1914. In 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister, was the General President. The tradition has been carried on by successive PMs for the last 70 years.

• The theme this year was “Future India: Science and Technology”. PM emphasized on connecting science, technology and innovation with the people, in his address.

 for study of microbes and living specimens in a Subglacial Lake Mercer of Antarctica.

• This project could add to understanding of the evolution of life in t hese extreme environments on earth and other celestial bodies such as habitats deep inside Mars or on the ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn.

• A subglacial lake is a body of liquid water located in between an ice sheet and the continental land mass. The water remains liquid because the ice sheet above the water acts as an insulator and traps geothermal heat from the Earth’s crust

• intends to measure the polarization of X-rays arriving from distant neutron stars, black holes and other exotic celestial bodies.

• The observations will also test two of the most important theories in modern physics under extreme conditions: quantum electrodynamics and general relativity.

 • Quantum electrodynamics – commonly referred to as QED, it is a quantum field theory of the electromagnetic force.

• PS4 in PSLVC-44: Normally, the last stage of a PSLV rocket after releasing the primary satellite in space becomes dead and categorised as debris. However, in PSLV-C44, the fourth stage (PS4) of the vehicle would be moved to higher circular orbit so as to establish an orbital platform for carrying out experiments.

 • Payload: Kalamsat (Nano-satellite), a student payload will be the first to use PS4 as orbital platform and Microsat-R, a military imaging satellite

• PSLV is a four stage launch vehicle with alternating solid and liquid stages

• moving at about 50 km a year.

It didn’t move much between 1900 and 1980 but it has really accelerated in the past 40 years.

• Scientists periodically update the World Magnetic Model to map this process, and the most recent version – produced in 2015 – was intended to last until 2020.

• However, the magnetic field has been changing so quickly and erratically that while conducting a routine check, researchers realised that the shift was on the verge of exceeding the acceptable limit for navigation errors.

• This has forced researchers to make an unprecedented early update to the magnetic model that helps ships, planes and submarines in the Arctic navigate.

• The wandering pole is driven by unpredictable changes in liquid iron deep inside the Earth.

 • It is organised by Trade Promotion Council of India (TCPI) with the support of Dept. of Commerce, Govt. of India.

o TCPI is an apex trade and investment promotion organization notified in the Foreign Trade Policy.

 o The council provides strategies for expanding business internationally, by organizing specialized business events and simultaneously working with the Government by providing policy suggestions which are essentially based on inputs collated from research and industry stakeholders

 •  aims to build food systems where the food is good for you (highly nutritious), good for the planet and good for the smallholder farmer.

• A major objective under the initiative is to diversify staples which can have the strongest impact on nutrition, the environment and farmer welfare.

 About ICRISAT

• It is a non-profit, non-political organization that conducts agricultural research for development in the drylands of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

 • ICRISAT is headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana, with two regional hubs (Nairobi, Kenya and Bamako, Mali).

• The mission of the World Integrated Medicine Forum is to further develop evidence based Traditional and Integrated Systems of Medicine by promoting publicprivate co-operation.

•  organised by Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH), Ministry of AYUSH, Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia Convention of the United States (HPCUS), Pharmacopoeia Commission of Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy and Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO)

 a kind of an autoimmune disorder occurring in people who are genetically predisposed.

• In celiac patient, eating gluten triggers an immune response in small intestine. Over time, this reaction damages small intestine’s lining and prevents absorption of some nutrients (malabsorption). The intestinal damage often causes diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss, bloating and anemia, and can lead to serious complications.

• There’s no cure for celiac disease.

• According to experts at the AIIMS, celiac disease affects close to six to eight million people in India.

 • India has many Gluten free grains grown locallyJowar, Bajra, Makki, Ragi, Kuttu. Pulses, rice and vegetables are also indispensable part of Indian diet

• Triple Drug Therapy involves combination of three drugs Ivermectin, Diethylcarbamazine Citrate and Albendazol (Known as IDA).

• WHO has recommended three drug treatment to accelerate the global elimination of lymphatic filariasis.

• Lymphatic filariasis, a neglected tropical disease is caused by infection with parasitic worms living in the lymphatic system.

• The larval stages of the parasite (microfilaria) circulate in the blood and are transmitted from person to person by mosquitoes.

• Manifestation of the disease after infection takes time and can result in an altered lymphatic system, causing abnormal enlargement of body parts (like feet, arms, breasts, genitals) leading to severe disability and social stigmatization and poverty of those affected.

 • Recently, Indian Navy and Costal Guard conducted exercise ‘Sea Vigil 2019’- largest coastal defense exercise which has covered first time the entire coast of India including island territories.

 • Indian army and armies of various African countries recently conducted India-Africa Field Training Exercise (IAFTX)-2019.

 • This ASC will manufacture K9 Vajra self-propelled Howitzer guns under Make in India initiatives

• It is fitted with advanced radio frequency/infrared homing seekers, have an interception range of 70- 100 km.

• Once fully operational, it will equip all frontline Indian warships as an all-weather defense shield against incoming enemy’s fighters, drones, helicopters, missiles and other munitions

 • In addition, Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (CoE in AI) by NIC, was inaugurated.

• CoE in AI by NIC has been established with the motto of ‘Inclusive AI’ for responsive governance, to work towards improving Government service delivery to citizens.

• CoE in AI will be a platform for innovative new solutions in AI space.

 • The award is conferred by the University of Pennsylvania’s Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, to the personalities who have revolutionised the understanding of energy policy.

•  named in memory of French scientist Sadi Carnot, who in 1824 published Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire, which became the basis for the second law of thermodynamics. Carnot recognized that the power of the steam engine would “produce a great revolution” in human development.

 • Philip Kotler, the Father of Modern Marketing is a professor of marketing at Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management.

·       to honour mastery in the field of marketing and management. It focuses on the triple bottom-line of ‘people, profit and planet’. It will be offered annually to the leader of a nation

• The Madhya Pradesh : Yuva Swabhiman Yojana to ensure 100 days of employment every year to the youths from the economically weaker sections (EWS) in the urban areas.

 • Odisha +UNICEF India : “Jiban Sampark” to generate awareness about the development and welfare initiatives of state government among the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups of the state