Karnataka is the India's first

 Karnataka is the India's first Sate to Introduced electric vehicles for official use. 

Current Affairs 1 to 3 September 2018

1. Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the statutory authority in charge of the waterways in India. Its headquarters is located in Noida, UP.

Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system from Allahabad to Haldia was declared as National Waterway No.1. States covered under NW-1: are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal.

payment banks

Payment banks are non-full service banks, whose main objective is to accelerate financial inclusion.

Minimum paid-up capital - Rs. 100 crore.

Features-

Accept deposits of up to Rs 1 lakh.

No lending.

Accept demand deposits.

Can issue ATM/debit cards but not credit cards.

Can carry out payments and remittance services through various channels.

BIMSTEC summit

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation

Fourth BIMSTEC summit was recently held in Nepal. 

The theme of the fourth BIMSTEC summit is ‘Towards a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable Bay of Bengal region’.

ESTABLISHED-  June 6, 1997, through the Bangkok Declaration.

Headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Member countries - South Asia —

Bangladesh,

Bhutan,

India,

Nepal,

Sri Lanka

Southeast Asia - Myanmar and Thailand.

Uniform Civil Code

Article 44 of the Constitution says that there should be a Uniform Civil Code. According to this article, “The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India”. Since the Directive Principles are only guidelines, it is not mandatory to use them.

Official language of union:

Hindi written in Devanagari script is the Official Language of the Union.  The original constitution provided that for a period of 15 years from the commencement of the constitution, English will continue to be used for all official purposes of the Union.

The constitution has put all authority in the hands of the central government both for formulating and implementing the language policy.

It is also special responsibility of the centre to develop and spread the official language (Hindi) of the union (art. 351).

Kanthasth”

The department has developed a computer software called “Kanthasth” for translating the all kinds of official files from English to Hindi and vice versa to make the translation work simpler and quicker.

An E-learning platform called the “Pravah” also being developed by the department for use in 16 Indian languages including English. Anybody can learn Hindi through his mother tongue with the help of this E-learning platform.

Raxaul-Kathmandu railway line:

Between India and Nepal.

Exercise Kakadu: 2018 

held in Australia.

Conservation of Western Ghats

Western Ghats region is under serious stress. The region is one of the richest biodiversity areas which needed to be conserved.

Environment Ministry set up the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel under Gadgil. The panel was asked to make an assessment of the ecology and biodiversity of the Western Ghats and suggest measures to conserve, protect and rejuvenate the entire range that stretches to over 1500 km along the coast, with its footprints in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.

The committee proposed a Western Ghats Ecology Authority to regulate these activities in the area.

Important recommendations of Madhav Gadgil Committee:

1.Strict regulation of tourism.

2.No new railway lines or major roads in ESZ I and II areas.

3.No new mining licences in ESZ I and II area.

4.No new special economic zones or hill stations to be allowed.

5.Ban on the cultivation of genetically modified in the entire area.

None of the six concerned states agreed with the recommendations of the Gadgil Committee.

In August 2012, Kasturirangan to “examine” the Gadgil Committee report.

Public Credit Registry

RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya made a case for setting up a Public Credit Registry (PCR), incorporating unique identifiers: Aadhaar for individual borrowers and Corporate Identification Number for firms.

Purpose- reporting of loan details to the PCR by lenders and/or borrowers is mandated by law. 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had formed a high-level task force on public credit registry (PCR) for India. The task force was chaired by Y M Deosthalee.

The task force has suggested the registry should capture all loan information and borrowers be able to access their own history. Data is to be made available to stakeholders such as banks, on a need-to-know basis. Data privacy will be protected.

ASEAN

Recently held in Singapore(15^th ).

Next ASEAN-India Business Summit will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in November 2018 with the theme “Towards Building Strategic Partnership between ASEAN and India in the Era of the 4th IR and Digital Economy”.

It will be followed by the 4th India-ASEAN Dialogue Partner Expo and Summit scheduled for 21-23 February 2019, in New Delhi.

Issues related to promoting connectivity, collaboration on Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) development, blue economy, healthcare, and tourism as well as women and youth economic empowerment were discussed.

ASEAN

Founded- 1967 by the five South-East Asian nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. 

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a political and economic organization aimed primarily at promoting economic growth and regional stability among its members.

Member states:10

Indonesia

Malaysia

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

Brunei

Laos

Myanmar

Cambodia

Vietnam.

Krishna Kutir, Swadhar Greh scheme.

Union Ministry of Women and Child Development recently inaugurated widows’ home ‘Krishna Kutir’at Vrindavan in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. The construction of the home was funded by Central Government and it will be managed by the Uttar Pradesh Government.

Krishna Kutir is a special home for 1000 widows set under Swadhar Greh scheme and is the largest ever facility of its kind created by government organization.

The Swadhar scheme was launched by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2002 for rehabilitation of women in difficult circumstances.

The scheme provides shelter, food, clothing and care to the marginalized women/girls who are in need.

East Asia Summit

6th East Asia Summit- Economic Ministers’ Meeting (EAS-EMM) was recently held in Singapore.

held annually 

Membership expanded to 18 countries including the United States and Russia at the Sixth EAS in 2011.

The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 December 2005.

EAS is an initiative of ASEAN and is based on the premise of the centrality of ASEAN.

EAS has evolved as a forum for strategic dialogue and cooperation on political, security and economic issues of common regional concern and plays an important role in the regional architecture.

six priority areas of regional cooperation 

Environment and Energy

Education

Finance

Global Health Issues and Pandemic Diseases

Natural Disaster Management

ASEAN Connectivity

 India endorses regional collaboration in all six priority areas.

Background-

The concept of an East Asia Grouping was first promoted in 1991 by the then Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad. 

Exercise Rapid Trident:

annual, multinational exercise that serves as the validation for Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence unit.

2018- Ukraine

Note-

1.     Mauritius was the top source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India in 2017-18 followed by Singapore.

2.     Fourth IAvC was recently held in Leiden, Netherlands. It was jointly organized by International Maharishi Ayurveda Foundation, Netherlands; All India Ayurvedic Congress, New Delhi and International Academy of Ayurveda, Pune in association with Indian Embassy in Netherlands.

3.     France has banned the use of smartphones in schools.

4.     The Maralal Camel Derby is an annual event, held midyear just outside of Maralal town. This is Kenya’s best known and most prestigious camel race, attracting both local and international competitors. The event is a major draw for spectators as well as racers. 2018 – Kenya.

5.     Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnai hydropower projects:- Chenab river.

Current Affairs 27/08/2018 to 30/08/201

Project Navlekha

Google's Project Navlekha to Help Indian Publishers Take Their Content Online.  India is important market for Google as it has second largest population of internet users in the world.

Horizon 2020’

The European Union and India will collaborate in research and innovation for developing a next generation influenza vaccine to protect people worldwide. The EU is funding is under its programme for research and innovation ‘Horizon 2020’.

1^st biofuel powered aircraft in India

India has now joined the small league of nations with the US and Australia to have flown a biofuel-powered aircraft. SpiceJet flew the Bombardier Q400 (VT-SUI) on biofuel from Dehradun to Delhi.

Corbett National Park

Corbett National Park is situated in the foothills of the Sub- Himalayan belt in Nainital districts of Uttarakhand state in India. Corbett is one of the richest bird regions of the Country and has been declared as an ‘Important Bird Area’ (IBA) by Birdlife International.

Established in the year 1936 as Hailey National Park.

The Project Tiger was first launched from here in 1973. 

Indian Ocean Conference

The third edition of Indian Ocean Conference is being held at Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. The Indian Ocean Conference initiated by India Foundation along with its partners from Singapore, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh is an annual effort to bring together Heads of States/Governments, Ministers, Thought Leaders, scholars, diplomats, bureaucrats and practitioners from across the region.

Bombay Natural History Society

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), one of India’s premier avian research institutes, has started operating its first regional centre on the campus of Wetland Research and Training Centre near Chilika Lake.

Chilika ---------- as the 1st “Ramsar Site” of India.

Chilika Lagoon is the largest coastal lagoon in India & 2nd largest lagoon in the world after The New Caledonian barrier reef in New Caledonia.

Bureau of Indian Standards

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the national Standards Body of India working under the aegis of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.

It is established by the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986.

Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC):

Union Government has constituted a new 21-member advisory panel on science, technology and innovation called Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC). It will replace earlier Scientific Advisory Committee to Prime Minister and to Cabinet.

Headed by - Principal Scientific Advisor to the government of India.

Total Members - 9 members, including Chairperson

E-cigarettes-

e-cigarettes contain nicotine and not tobacco.

It works by heating up a nicotine liquid, called “juice.”

e-liquid is composed of five ingredients: vegetable glycerin (a material used in all types of food and personal care products, like toothpaste) and propylene glycol (a solvent most commonly used in fog machines.) propylene glycol is the ingredient that produces thicker clouds of vapor.

United Nations Environment Programme –

Founded by Maurice Strong, its first director, as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm Conference) in June 1972.

Headquarters in the Gigiri neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya.

UNEP has overall responsibility for environmental problems among United Nations agencies.

Important Short News

Ø  Meghalaya has made it mandatory for married people to produce marriage certificates for all official purposes.

Ø  NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, the youngest member of the “Great Observatory” programme, has completed 15 years in space. launched in 2003 to study the universe in the infrared.

Ø  The Centre has signed MOU with Uttarakhand, UP, HP, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi for Construction of Lakhwar Multipurpose Project on Yamuna Near Dehradun.

Ø  Vostok-2018 is a military exercise that will be held in the month of September by Russia.

Ø  G20 is made up of European Union(28) &19 countries. 

Ø  The Tourism Ministry had launched ‘Swadesh Darshan’ scheme with an objective to develop theme-based tourist circuits in the country. These tourist circuits will be developed on the principles of high tourist value, competitiveness and sustainability in an integrated manner.

Ø  The European Space Agency (ESA) has successfully launched Aeolus satellite that will measure winds around the globe and help improve weather forecasting. The Earth Explorer Aeolus satellite was launched into polar orbit on a Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Ø  A panel headed by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, which deliberated on measures to check incidents of lynching, submitted its report to a Group of Ministers headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Ø  The Reserve Bank of India’s second annual report shows that since demonetisation cash transactions have increased.

Ø  Cheetah reintroduction project;-{in Nauradehi sanctuary,MP} Nauradehi was found to be the most suitable area for the cheetahs as its forests are not very dense.

Ø  K Vijay Raghavan, is the principal scientific adviser to the Government of India.

Ø   The fourth edition of Asian electoral stakeholders forum (AESF-IV) was held in Sri Lanka to discuss the state of elections and democracy in the region. It was jointly organised by Election Commission of Sri Lanka and Asian network for free elections (ANFREL).

Ø  Satya S Tripathi, an Indian development economist and lawyer, has been appointed assistant secretary general of the United Nations and will head the New York office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).