Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Exam Preparation

India Won the Asia Cup for the 7th time In the final match of Asia Cup 2018 (ODI), India defeated Bangladesh in the last delivery. In the entire series India did not lose any match, however, one match ended up as a draw against Afghanistan. Shikhar Dhawan won Man of the Series title. Liton Das was named Man of the Match. Asia Cup 2018 hosted by the United Arab Emirates.  Asia Cup 2016 (T20) was hosted in Bangladesh and won by India. First Asia Cup match was held in 1984 in Sharjah, UAE. Important Supreme Court Judgements in this month Mosque, Islam, and Ayodhya Dispute Observations in Ismail Faruqui need to be viewed in the context of land acquisition proceedings; not relevant in Ayodhya Title Dispute - SC SC refuses to review 1994 judgment that said ‘mosque is not integral to Islam’ The Supreme Court ruled that the civil suit has to be decided on the basis of evidence and that the previous verdict, which was announced during the hearing of the Ayodhya land d

World Rabies Day - 28 September World Rabies Day is celebrated on 28th September to increase awareness about rabies prevention. The subject of 2018 'Rabies: Share the message. Save life '. This day marks the death anniversary of Louis Pasteur, French chemist, and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine. Global Wetland Outlook The Ramsar Convention has recently issued its first-ever global report on the state of World's wetlands. The report found that around 35% of wetlands were lost between 1970 and 2015. Wetlands include lakes, rivers, marshes and peatlands, as well as coastal and marine areas like lagoons, mangroves and coral reefs. In India, The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the nodal Ministry for wetlands conservation. Wetlands in India account for 4.7% of the total geographical area. Economic Freedom Index - India ranked 96th India's 96th place in 162 countries on the Global Economic Freedom Inde

Highest UN Environment Award to PM Modi Indian Prime Minister and France President selected to be awarded highest UN Environment award - Champions of the Earth for their International Solar Alliance Initiative. Lifetime Achievement - Joan Carling, defenders of environmental and indigenous rights Policy Leadership - Indian PM and French President for ISA initiative and pledge to eliminate single-use plastic in India by 2022 Action and Inspiration -  China’s Zhejiang’s Green Rural Revival Programme Entrepreneurial Vision  - Cochin International Airport, India for use of Sustainable energy Science and Innovation -  Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods Cochin International Airport is the world’s first solar-powered airport. It runs its entire operations on solar energy. This award was launched in the year 2005 by UNEP to recognize exemplary individuals and organizations whose actions created a positive impact on the environment. Live streaming of court proceedings allowe

Financial Inclusion Index Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance has launched the Financial Inclusion Index. The index has taken into account three factors viz. access to financial services, usage of financial services and quality of financial services. The index will be a measure of access and usage of various financial products and services. The services include savings, remittances, credit, insurance and pension products. It enables fulfillment of G20 Financial Inclusion Indicators requirements. Human Capital Score A recent study that ranks countries for their levels of spending on human capital - education and health care has been published in Lancet. The study was conducted by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the request of the World Bank. India ranks 158th in the list behind Sudan and ahead of Namibia, in 1990 it was at 162. Finland topped the score while Turkey showed highest jump, USA at 27, China 44, Pakista

Govt to roll out e-Vidhan e-Vidhan, part of Digital India Programme, is a Mission Mode Project to digitize and make the functioning of State Legislatures paperless. Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (Nodal Ministry for this project) desires to roll out e-Vidhan as National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA), covering all 40 Houses including two Houses of Parliament and State legislatures. This project was first executed in Himachal Pradesh which made the Shimla Legislative Assembly the first Assembly in India to go paperless in 2014. It can be used by - Government Departments, Chair of Houses to conduct proceeding smoothly, Members of Houses to carry duties, and anyone can access the information on business in legislatures through NeVA mobile app (a workflow based app) deployed on MeghRaj Cloud. Hyderabad Metro 2nd largest in India Hyderabad Metro Rail (45 km) has now become the second largest metro rail network in India after Delhi Metro(350 km). It is also the world’s large

India's 100th Airport PM Narendra Modi inaugurated India's 100th Airport in Sikkim It will be the first airport at 4500 feet above sea level. This new Pakyong Airport is situated near Gangtok, capital of Sikkim. It has been built at a cost of over Rs. 600 crores. Opposition wins Maldives Presidential election Maldives' opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has won the presidential election. He received 134,616 votes compared to 96,132 votes of incumbent China backed President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom. Gayoom has conceded the defeat followed by hours of silence after the announcement of result by Election Commission. Voter turnout was 89%. Many international observers raised their concern over rigging election in favor of Gayoom. The US and India have welcomed Mr. Solih's win. Mr. Yameen had drawn the Maldives closer to China, which has stepped up its presence in the Indian Ocean in recent years. Mr Solih entered the Parliament for the first ti

PM launched Ayushman Bharat Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) at Ranchi, Jharkhand, on September 23, 2018. Under this scheme, over 10 crore families (i.e. 50 crore people), the poorest 40% of India’s population will be provided with health assurance every year. PMJAY will provide insurance up to Rs. 500,000 per family per year for in-patient secondary and tertiary treatment. A list of 1,350 procedures across 23 specializations, including pre- and post-hospitalization, diagnostics, and medicines have been prepared along with their rates for the scheme. A cadre of frontline health service professionals called Pradhan Mantri Aarogya Mitras (PMAMs) are being trained to facilitate the provision of treatment to beneficiaries at hospitals. Kakrapar Atomic Power Station Two units of Pressurised heavy water reactors in Kakrapur Atomic Power station recently attained 'criticality', that means now they

Live-in partners can adopt Individuals in a live-in relationship will once again be able to adopt children from and within India, which was earlier barred by CARA circular issued on May 31. Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is a statutory body of Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India. It functions as the nodal body for the adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions. India’s nodal adoption agency decided to withdraw a circular issued earlier this year disallowing them from doing so. India has ratified the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption 1993 in 2003. 271 mn Indians moved out of poverty: UN Over 270 million people in India moved out of poverty between 2005-06 and 2015-16. It is according to the 2018 global Multidimensional Poverty Index released by United Nations. The Report stated that India’s poverty rate came down to 27.5% from 54.7% during the period. In

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Virat Kohli and Mirabai Chanu are selected to be awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. Virat Kohli is currently Indian cricket captain and Mirabai Chanu is a weightlifter to receive the prestigious award September 25, 2018. Chanu was chosen for the prestigious award following her gold medal in the 48kg category at the World Championships 2017. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna is the highest sporting honour of India. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was among 20 sportspersons picked for the Arjuna Awards. Home Ministry to get integrated control room Ministry of Home Affairs is to get Integrated Control Room for Emergency Response (ICR-ER) Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is about to set up this state-of-the-art facility in Ministry of Home Affairs. ISRO will render its technical expertise for setting up of proposed ICR-ER whereas the project will be executed under the overall supervision of MHA. The ICR-ER will cater to the requirement of Disaster Manag

Exercise AVIAINDRA 2018 Air forces of India and Russia are participating in a 12-day drill 'Exercise Aviaindra' which focuses on anti-terrorist operations in a bilateral scenario. It is a bi-annual exercise. First Aviaindra was conducted in the year 2014. Aviaindra is being conducted at Lipetsk, Russia, from September 17 to 28. In its second leg, it will be conducted in Jodhpur from December 10 to 22. Aircraft participating in the exercise include Su-30 SM, Mig-29, Su-25, Mi-8 and An-26. Cabinet Approved Triple Talaq Ordinance Union Cabinet approves the ordinance to make instant triple talaq a penal offense. It was signed by President Ram Nath Kovind as per the ordinance making power assigned by The Constitution of India under Article 123. In a landmark verdict, five-judge Constitution Bench of Supreme Court had declared the centuries-old practice of instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat unconstitutional (Aug 2017). In pursuance of SC verdict, Government had

e-Sahaj for Security Clearance e-Sahaj is a portal launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs. It will enable individuals and private companies to submit the application for security clearances and view its status online. The Home ministry is the nodal authority for granting security clearances in certain sensitive sectors. India Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline Project India-Bangladesh has launched construction of 130 km long India Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline Project. It will supply 2.5 lakh tonnes of refined diesel yearly to Parbatipur depot from Numaligarh of Assam in India, later it will be increased to 4 lakh tonnes. The project cost is estimated to be Rs. 346 crore and to be completed in 30 months. 6 km of the pipeline is to be constructed on Indian side while remaining 124 kilometers will in Bangladesh. Akash Missile Procurement  Defense Acquisition Council has approved the procurement of new upgraded Akash Missile System. Defense Acquisition Council (

Goldman downgrades Indian Stocks First time since 2014, Goldman Sachs has downgraded Indian Equities from BUY to HOLD. Reasons cited were Expensive Valuation and Upcoming Election. Goldman has been bullish on Indian stocks since March 2014 because of expected 'pro-growth government policies and structural reforms'. Goldman Sachs is a multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in New York, US. 70th Emmy Awards HBO series Game of Thrones won 9 awards at this year's Emmy Awards given by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Drama Series: "Game of Thrones" Comedy Series: "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" Actor, Drama Series: Matthew Rhys, "The Americans" Actress, Drama Series: Claire Foy, "The Crown" Supporting Actor, Drama Series: Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones" An Emmy Award, or simply Emmy, is an American award that recognizes excellence in the television industry,

ISRO Successfully launched UK satellites ISRO has successfully launched two earth observation satellites NovaSAR and S1-4, weighing 450kg each into Sun Synchronous Orbit. ISRO has used PSLV-C42 (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle - C42) rocket to send these satellites of United Kingdom. It was 44th mission of PSLV. These satellites are synthetic Aperture radar and high-resolution optical earth observation satellites aimed at imaging, surveying resources, forest mapping, land use, ice cap, flood n disaster monitoring, urban management etc. The satellites belong to UK-based Surrey Satellite Technology Limited. Nepal-China joint military drill Nepal-China began its 12-day long Military Exercise 'Mt. Everest Friendship Exercise'. It is the second edition of Nepal-China military drill. It is being organized in China's Sichuan province. Indo-Nepal battalion-level military exercise is known as ‘Surya Kiran’. MP Fund remain unspent  Under the Ministry of Stat

First Tribal Tourist Circuit Under Swadesh Darshan Scheme , Union Ministry of Tourism has inaugurated India’s first tribal circuit in Chhattisgarh. This tribal circuit connects 13 tourist sites Jashpur, Kunkuri, Mainpat, Kamleshpur, Maheshpur, Kurdar, Sarodadadar, Gangrel, Kondagaon, Nathiya Nawagaon, Jagdalpur, Chitrakoot, and Tirthgarh. In Swadesh Darshan Scheme scheme total 13 thematic circuits have been identified for development viz. Buddhist Circuit, North-East India Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit. More tribal circuits are to be devloped in Nagaland and Telangana. Swadesh Darshan Scheme is 100% centrally funded scheme for the project components undertaken for public funding. It also has provision for leveraging voluntary funding under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Government mo

Paryatan Parv 2018 India is organizing 2nd edition of Paryatan Parv to draw focus on the benefits of tourism. The idea is to showcase the cultural diversity of the country and reinforcing the principle of 'Tourism for All'. It is being organized by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with other Central Ministries, State Governments. The three components of Paryatan Parv, are: Dekho Apna Desh: To encourage Indians to visit their own country Tourism for All: Tourism Events at sites across all States in the country are being organised Tourism & Governance: Interactive Sessions & Workshops with Stakeholders on varied themes will be organized across the Country India’s 1st underwater robotic drone India has launched its first underwater robotic drone, ‘ EyeRov TUNA’. It can send real-time videos of ships and other underwater structures to help with their repair and maintenance. It is designed to perform visual inspection and surveys of submerged st

Anti-Nuclear Medical Kit Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) has developed the first indigenous medical anti-nuclear kit. This kit is for protection against nuclear warfare or radioactive leakage. The kit contains 25 items capable of absorbing 80-90 percent of radiation. Amongst others, the kit contains Prussian blue tablet, Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) injection, Ca-EDTA Respiratory Fluid, Radioactive Blood Mopping Dressing, Radioactive urine/biofluid collector, Anti-gamma ray skin ointment, Amifostine injection, Indranil 150 mg tablet. It took 20 years of research to develop this kit by INMAS scientists. INMAS is a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).  It is located in New Delhi and it was established in 1961. Currently, we are purchasing anti-nuclear kits from US and Russia at a much higher price. Lion Safari at Nahargarh Biological Park Rajasthan to open its first Lion Safari at Nahargarh Biological

Health ministry banned 327 FDC drugs The Ministry of Health has banned the production, sale, and dispersal of about 328 fixed-dose combinations of drugs (FDCs). The expert panel probing the efficacy of 349 banned FDCs complied with the December 2017 apex court judgment and gave its report to India’s top drug advisory body, the Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB). These drugs include popular brands like Saridon (painkiller), Panderm (skin cream), Gluconorm PG (combination diabetes drug), Lupidiclox (antibiotic) and Taxim AZ (antibacterial). Around 6,000 drug brands are expected to be affected by this ban. This ban will bring an end to a long legal battle between the ministry and the drug manufacturers. CPI Inflation fell from 4.17% to 3.69% Data released by the Central Statistics Office showed that retail inflation was at 3.69 percent in August compared to 4.17 percent in July. Consumer price inflation fell below 4 percent for the first time in 2018. Inflation is cu

BARC Recommissioned its Oldest Reactor India's oldest nuclear research reactor Apsara has been upgraded and recommissioned under new name Apsara-U (Upgraded). Apsara was Asia's first nuclear research reactor, installed at India's nuclear weapon facility at BARC's Trombay campus (Maharashtra) since 1956. It was permanently shut down by BARC in 2009 for repair, which is complete and its capacity has been doubled now. Father of Indian Nuclear Program, Dr. Homi Jahangir Bhabha conceptualized the design of this indigenous reactor. It will increase indigenous production of radio-isotopes for medical application by about 50 percent, according to India's Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). Apsara-U uses plate type dispersion fuel elements made of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU). In the original reactor, the maximum thermal neutron flux level was about 1×1013 n/cm2/s at designed power (1 MW) whereas, in the upgraded version, flux is 6.1×1013 n/cm2/s of 2 MW power.

39th session of UN Human Rights Council UNHRC Headquarters in Geneva is all set to host the 39th session of UNHRC. The 38th session was held a few months ago in June-July this year. It holds regular sessions three times a year, in March, June, and September. UNHRC was formed in 2007 after replacing UNCHR (UN Commission on Human Rights) as under the UN system of the intergovernmental body, with the mission to promote and protect human rights around the world. In this session, it is expected to adopt a resolution on the human rights situation in Myanmar as session follows the report by the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, which detailed crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide by Myanmar’s security forces in Rakhine State. It has 47 seats with tenure of 3 years, and no member can occupy a seat for more than two terms. Also, these 47 seats are divided on the basis of the group of countries from various continents. Earlier its report on the human rights situation in

India's Import Basket With the fall in rupee value, the rise in Current Account Deficit is generally attributed to crude oil imports. Though crude oil import is the largest component of import basket but not be the only one disturbing the equilibrium. While crude imports jumped $21.7 billion, the imports of coal and coke, metal and mineral, non-ferrous metal and iron and steel rose $15.9 billion, 73% of the jump in petroleum and crude imports. Second largest import item, Electronic, accounted for 11.4% of the total, jumped 23.4% to $52.9 billion in FY18, from $42.8 billion last year. India’s imports rose 21% in FY18 over those in the previous year, its exports grew by only 9.98%, thereby widening the trade deficit. Gold, precious metals, gems, stones, machinery, transport equipment are having a similar growth trajectory. Sarala Puraskar Noted Odia poet Satrughna Pandav will receive the prestigious Sarala Puraskar for his poetry work ‘Misra Dhrupad.’ The 39th editi

China To Allow Nepal Access To Ports Ending India's monopoly on transit, China has allowed Nepal the access to its ports at Tianjin, Shenzhen, Lianyungang, and Zhanjiang.  Nearest of these ports is Zhenjiang which is 2755 km away from Nepal border. While the Indian port (in their use) of Kolkata is only 774 km and Visakhapatnam is 1194 km away. Nepal imports from Japan, South Korea, and other North Asian countries; access to Chinese ports will cut cost and time, Nepal officials claim. China had also agreed to allow Nepal use its dry (land) ports at Lanzhou, Lhasa, and Xigatse as well as roads to these facilities.  Apart from this development, China is already making fast inroads into Nepal with aid and investment in the field of infrastructure development especially road and railways. Nepal depends heavily on India for the supply including essential goods. Nepal snubs India for BIMSTEC First Military Drill Pune is hosting first ever six-day BIMSTEC joint militar

Power Subsidy to be under DBT The Central government is to bring new rules in electricity subsidy. It has proposed an amendment to Electricity Act, 2003 (currently draft) to make Direct Benefit Transfer compulsory for providing any subsidy. This will be for all the categories of consumers in any state. This step is taken to curb the practice of debt accumulation by distribution companies.  The consumers will get subsidy directly in bank accounts via DBT. Current Account Deficit Widens India's current Account Deficit CAD widens to 2.4% of GDP in the first quarter. The CAD stood at $15.8 billion (in Q1 2018-19) compared to $15 billion in last year's Q1. The widening of the CAD on a year-on-year basis was primarily due to a higher trade deficit. The trade deficit is at $45.7 billion as compared with $41.9 billion in 2017 India, Lanka begin the Joint Naval exercise Three Indian naval ships reached Trincomalee for Joint Naval Exercise, SLINEX 2018. This w

Pakistan to become 5th Largest Nuclear State The current state of nuclear warhead distribution across the globe -  Russia - 6850 United States - 6550 France - 300 China - 280 United Kingdom - 215 Pakistan - 145 India - 135 Israel - 80 North Korea- 15 According to reports, Pakistan is developing several nuclear weapons delivery systems, four plutonium production reactor, and its uranium enrichment facilities are further expanding. Pakistan's current 145 nuclear warheads are already way above US Defense Intelligence Agency prediction and its stockpile is expected to increase to 220 to 250 by 2025 (surpassing the United Kingdom) if its current proliferation trend continues. Its nuclear program seeks to create a full-spectrum deterrent that is designed not only to respond to nuclear attacks but also to counter an Indian conventional incursion onto Pakistani territory. Swadesh Darshan Scheme It is one of the flagship schemes of Ministry of Tourism for devel

CM KCR dissolved Telangana Assembly Telangana Cabinet passed the resolution to dissolve first Legislative assembly of Telangana State. Governor has accepted the recommendation of Chief Minister but asked him and his council of ministers to continue in office as a caretaker government The Legislative Assembly of Telangana currently consists of 119 elected members and one nominated member from the Anglo-Indian community. And, it has 17 Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Parliament) constituencies. CM K. Chandrashekhar Rao is from TRS, and Congress is the major opposition party in Telangana. Supreme Court Decriminalised Gay Sex A five-judge Supreme Court bench headed by CJI Deepak Mishra, by the unanimous decision today decriminalised Section 377 making gay sex legal in India. In 2013, the SC had overturned Delhi HC's 2009 judgement which had decriminalised sex between consenting adults of the same gender. Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, Fr