Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna

• Facebook has appointed Ajit Mohan as managing director and vice­president of the social networking site’s India operations.

Current Affairs, 24 September 2018

• Sikkim’s first-ever airport inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra at Pakyong. The airport is not only India’s 100th functional airport but also one of the country’s five highest airports. The Indian Air Force (IAF) will find this airport convenient for the landing and taking off of its aircrafts.

 

                     The airport was constructed by the Airports Authority of India.

Neelakurinji(Strobilanthus kunthianus) 

Kurinji or Neelakurinji is a shrub that is found in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in South India. Nilgiri Hills, which literally means the blue mountains, got their name from the purplish blue flowers of Neelakurinji that blossoms only once in 12 years.

The Paliyan tribal people living in Tamil Nadu used it as a reference to calculate their age.

Western Ghats

The Western Ghats was included as a ‘World Natural Heritage Site’ by UNESCO in 2012. According to the organisation, the Ghats, which are older than the Himalayas, are home to at least 325 globally threatened flora, fauna, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish species. It has been recognised as one of the world’s eight ‘hottest hotspots’ of biological diversity.

 MAVEN spacecraft

Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN)mission was developed by NASA to study the Martian atmospherewhile orbiting Mars. 

Mission goals include determining how the planet's atmosphere and water, presumed to have once been substantial, were lost over time.

Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha (DBHPS

Headquarter - Chennai, Tamil Nadu

In 1964, the institution was recognised by the Indian Government as one of the Institutes of National Importance.

The organisation was established by Annie Besant in 1918 with support from Mahatma Gandhi, who became the founder president of the Sabha, who held the post till his death.

The first Hindi class was taken by Gandhi’s son Devdas Gandhi.

Aim

Prorogating Hindi in South India to unite the northern and southern states of the country in greatest interest of integration of the nation.

Current Affairs 20 September 2018

The government has appointed renowned scientist Kamlesh Nilkanth Vyas as chairman of Atomic Energy Commission and secretary of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). He will succeed Shekhar Basu.

Atomic Energy Commission;-{setup in 1948}

Is a governing body of Department of Atomic Energy(DAE is under the direct charge of PM)
to organise research in atomic scientists in country & promote nuclear research

Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM);-
Is a poverty alleviation scheme implemented by Union Mo Rural Development to promote self-employment & organization of rural poor.
Scheme is implementing across the country in all States & UTs (except Delhi & Chandigarh)Cabinet approved extension of timeline (1year) for implementation Special Package(without linking it with poverty ratio) under DAY-NRLM for J&K.

India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline Project

§  It is first such pipeline through which refined diesel will be supplied to Bangladesh from India.

§  The project involves construction of 130-kilometre long pipeline that will connect Siliguri in West Bengal and Parbatipur in Dinajpur district of Bangladesh.

Exercise Aviaindra-18

An Air Force level exercise between India and the Russian Federation. 

1^st  Aviaindra was conducted in 2014 and has been planned as a bi-annual exercise.

Cyclone-30
The country’s biggest cyclotron facility that will produce radioisotopes vital for diagnosis and treatment of cancer has become operational.

Global Environment Facility (GEF)

The government along with United Nations body FAO has launched an agriculture project.

Purpose-  The project aims to transform agricultural production to generate global environmental benefits by addressing biodiversity conservation, land degradation, climate change mitigation and sustainable forest management.

It is  to be implemented in five landscapes 

Madhya Pradesh

Mizoram

Odisha

Rajasthan

Uttarakhand

The Global Environment Facility was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to help tackle our planet’s most pressing environmental problems. Today, the GEF is an international partnership of 183 countries, international institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector that addresses global environmental issues.

Current Affairs19 September 2018

1. Welcome Back, Pluto

When pluto was discovered in 1930 it was considered as 9^th planet. But later after long debate finally it was kept in the list of Dwarf Planet in 2006 by International  Astronomical Unit.

The Criteria by which any planet is considered as planet is –

1.   it must be round.

2.   it must orbit the sun.

3.   it must have “cleared the neighbourhood” of its orbit.

Important Facts about Pluto

Pluto has five known moons, the largest of which is Charon. Charon is about half the size of Pluto itself, making it the largest satellite relative to the planet it orbits in our solar system.

Pluto orbits the Sun about 3.6 billion miles (5.8 billion km) away on average.

A year on Pluto is 248 Earth years. A day on Pluto lasts 153 hours, or about 6 Earth days.

Pluto has a thin atmosphere of nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide. The atmosphere has a blue tint and distinct layers of haze.

2. World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

7th UNWTO Global Summit on Urban Tourism is being held in Seoul, capital of South Korea.

Theme: ‘A 2030 Vision for Urban Tourism’.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

UNWTO’s membership includes 158 countries.

It is the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

3. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has announced that it will establish its South Asia Area Office and Technology Innovation Centre at New Delhi.

ITU headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.

There are 193 Member States of the ITU, including all UN member states except the Republic of Palau, plus the Vatican City.

4.The Government has launched an online ‘e-Sahaj’ portal for grant of Security Clearance. The portal will facilitate an applicant to submit application online and also to view the status of his application from time to time

5. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY)

Launched in - April, 2016

It took place over earlier insurance schemes viz. National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS), Weather-based Crop Insurance scheme and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS).

Benefits

It envisages a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for Kharif crops, and 1.5% for Rabi crops. The premium for annual commercial and horticultural crops will be 5%.

The scheme is mandatory for farmers who have taken institutional loans from banks. It’s optional for farmers who have not taken institutional credit.

Objectives:

§  Providing financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/damage arising out of unforeseen events.

§  Stabilizing the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.

§  Encouraging farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.

§  Ensuring flow of credit to the agriculture sector which contributes to food security, crop diversification and enhancing growth and competitiveness of agriculture sector besides protecting farmers from production risks.

SSC -Science & GS Questions 3 September 2016"

1. 0°K is equivalent to 1) 273°C
2) -273°C
3) 0°C
4) 100°C

2.The oxygen liberated during photosynthesis comes from
1) Water
2) Carbon dioxide
3) Glucose
4) Chlorophyll

3.The term 'Higgs Boson' is associated with
1) Nano Technology
2) Oncology
3) God Particle
4) Stem Cell Research

4.The component used for tuning a radio is basically a variable ____________________.
1) Resistor
2) Condenser
3) Inductor
4) Transformer


5.Which of the following is not a donor atom? 1) Phosphorus
2) Antimony
3) Arsenic
4) Aluminium

 6.The Beaufort scale is used to measure: 1) Atmospheric pressure
2) Altitudes of mountains
3) Wind velocity
4) Intensity of earthquakes

7. The waste management technique that involves the use of micro-organisms to remove or neutralize pollutants from contaminated site is called
1) Bio sensor
2) Bio magnification
3) Bio remediation
4) Bio concentration

8.In IT networking, which of the following device is used in physical layer?
1) Repeater
2) Router
3) Transport Gateway
4) Bridge

9.The purest form of water in nature is
1) Rain water
2) Lake water
3) River water
4) Sea water

10.The source of energy that causes the least global warming is
1) coal
2) Geothermal energy
3) Natural Gas
4) Petroleum

11.The constellation 'Sapta Rishi' is known to Westerners as the 
1) Seven Monks
2) Alpha Centauri
3) Big Dipper
4) Small Bear

12.MUDRA Bank has been launched to help
1) Small business
2) Marginal farmers
3) Poor women
4) Rural sector

13.Which of the following controls the insurance business of India?
1) RBI
2) IDBI
3) SEBI
4) IRDA

The Speaker of Lok Sabha addresses his letter of resignation to the 
1) President of India
2) Prime Minister
3) Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha
4) The Chief Justice of India

14.Who presided over the first session of the Indian National Congress?
1) A.O. Hume
2) Surendranath Banerjee
3) W.C. Banerjee
4) Badruddin Tayyabji

15. Which of the following writers has called Akbar's Din-i-Ilahi as a monument of his folly, not of wisdom?
1) Badayuni
2) Vincent Smith
3) Barni
4) W.Haig

16. Question 31.Which of the following region in India is now regarded as an "Ecological Hot Spot"?
1) Western Himalayas
2) Eastern Himalayas
3) Western Ghats
4) Eastern Ghats

17.Bridge is the technique used in
1) Athletics
2) Wrestling
3) Weight lifting
4) Karate

18.Which of the following books is called the 'Bible of Socialism'?
1) Economics of Welfare
2) Das Capital
3) Value and Capital
4) Asian Drama

19.Which country recently detonated its first hydrogen bomb?
1) North Korea
2) South Korea
3) Iran
4) Libya

20.The Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rojgar Yojna (SJSRY) mainly aims at creating employment opportunities for 
1) both self employment and wage employment in urban areas
2) self employment in urban areas only
3) wage employment in urban areas only
4) None of these

21.Who is known as the 'Father of Green Revolution' in India?
1) G. Paul
2) Norman Borlaug
3) Van Neil
4) Dr. Mithchell


22.Which one of the following party was founded by Subhash Chandra Bose?
1) Abhinav Bharat
2) Azad Hind Sena
3) Revolutionary Army
4) Forward Block

23.First national park of India that was established in 1936 was named as
1) Kanha National Park
2) Bharatpur National Park
3) Hailey National Park
4) Rajaji National Park

24.Who is the 1st Indian female amputee to climb Mount Everest?
1) Arunima Sinha
2) Bachendri Pal
3) Santosh Yadav
4) Premlata Agarwal

Current Affairs18 September 2018

• Germany launches world's first hydrogen-powered train.

Nahargarh Biological Park

• Nahargarh Biological Park, a part of the Nahargarh sanctuary is located about 12 km from Jaipur on the Jaipur-Delhi highway At Nahargarh Biological Park, ornithologists can expect to see over 285 species of birds, of which, the most popular is the white-naped tit, which can only be found here.

Cyber varsity  set up by Maharashtra:

The Maharashtra Government has taken the first step towards setting up a varsity dedicated to mitigating cyber threats.

Jhum Cultivation

NITI Aayog report has recommended that the Ministry of Agriculture should take up a “mission on jhum cultivation” to ensure inter-ministerial convergence.

What is Jhum cultivation?

This practice is considered as an important mainstay of food production for a considerable population in North-East India.

Jhum cultivation, also known as the slash and burn agriculture, is the process of growing crops by first clearing the land of trees and vegetation and burning them thereafter. The burnt soil contains potash which increases the nutrient content of the soil.

Karnataka is the India's first

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