Application: As explosiveit is one of the most powerful explosive materials known, with a relative effectiveness factor of 1.666. Ammonium Nitrate ,which has been used by terrorists in many bombs in India , has an Refactor of 0.42.
It is used by terrorists because it is hard to detect and safe to handle.
It is rarely used alone. When mixed with a plasticizer, PENTA forms a plastic explosive . Along with RDX it is the main ingredient of semtex.
SPECIAL PROTECTION GROUP (SPG)
In parliament , union Home minister stated that congress vice-president has an many occasions deliberately not used the SPG cover. He said that in the background of throwing of stones at Rahul Gandhi’s car in Gujarat recently .
Note on former PM and immediate family members:
Initially it provided security to PM only, but after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, the SPG Act was amended in 1991 to provide security to former PMs and their immediate families.
Former PMs their immediate family members and family members of a serving Prime Minister may, if they choose, decline SPG security.
LADAKH SCOUTS
President Ram Nath Kovind Presented the Presidential colour to Ladakh Scouts.
About it:
It is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army with the primary role of guarding Indiana’s borders in Ladakh region.
Its parent regiment is the Jammu & Kashmir Rifles.
It is nicknamed as the “Snow Warriors” or “Snow Tiger”
Background:
It was raised as the Nubra Guards in 1948.
It was amalgamated into the army as regular troops in 1963 following the Sino-Indian War of 1962.
It was converted into a standard infantry regiment in 2000, following the 1999 Kargil war.
It recruits mainly from Indian’s Ladakhi and Tibetan communities .
MISHRA DHATU NIGAM LIMITED (MIDHANI)
MIDHANI has signed as MOU with Department of Defence production for various performance parameters for the year 2017-18
About it :
It is a specialized metals and metal alloys manufacturing facility.
Status. It is a mini-ratna , Schedule ‘B’ Defence Public Sector Undertaking under the Department of Defence Production Ministry of Defence
It was established in 1973, with its headquarters at Hyderabad .
What are VVPAT Machines
It is an independent verification printer machine attached to EVM to provide feedback to voters about their vote.
Under this system, when a voter presses a button on the electronic voting machine to vote for a candidate, a slip of paper bearing the name and symbol of the party will briefly appear for about 10 seconds after which it will fall into a secure box. Thus maintaining a paper trail of all votes cast.
Article 35 A
It is a provision in the Indian consituttuion which was added through the constitution order, 1954, issued under article 370.
It empowers the J & K legislature to define permanent residents of the state
The J & K constitution defines a PR as a person who was state subject on May 14, 1954, or who has been resident of the state for 10 years, and has lawfully acquired immovable property in the state.
The definition of PR can altered when a law is passed for the same by a two thirds majority of J & K legislature.
Prefessor yash pal (1926 – 2017) - he contributed to the study of cosmic rays. He was first director of space applications centre, Ahmedabad .
He was appointed as the secretary general of second united nations conference on peaceful uses of outer space. He was the chairman of UGC.
Draft national education policy (kasturirangan committee)
It’s objective is to prepare the draft of national education policy which will replace the current national education policy, 1986.
Earlier, the TSR Subramanian comm. Submitted its report on the same topic in May 2016.
MADHYAMIK AND UCHCHTAR SHIKSHA KOSH
It is a single non lapsable corpus fund which would be maintained as a reserve fund in the Public account of India.
In this fund, all proceeds of secondary and higher education cess will be credited it is being levied under section 136 of finance act, 2007.
The fund will be used for expansion of secondary education and higher education. However, it will be used only after expenditure from the gross budgetary support has been exhausted.
It will be administered by ministry of human resource development.
Swasth Bachche, Swasth Bharat
It is an initiative of KV sangathan. Its objective are to
Prepare a physical health and fitness profile card for all students of KV
Encourage 60 min. of play each day to make physical activity an integral part of learning process.
To imbibe values of Olympics and Paralympics amongst students
NISTSER AMENDMENT BILL,2017
Recently , NITSER (National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research) Amendment Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha. Earlier, it has been passed in Lok Sabha.
About it :
The bill propose to introduce following two new Indian institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in the Second Schedule of the NITSER Act, 2007.
IISER TIRUPATI (AP)
IISER BERHAMPUR (ODISHA)
With the establishment of the two new IISERs there are now seven IISERs
IISERs are autonomous research and education institutions recoganized as Isntitutions of national importance.
NATIONAL DEWORMING DAY (NDD)
National Deworming day was observed by union health ministry on 10th August 2017.
It is a programme under the banner of national health mission.
Background: it was launched in 2015v as WHO estimates that 220 million children below 14 years of age are at risk of Soil Transmitted helminth (STH) infections in India.
Coverage :NDD is organised twice a year in all the states except Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh where deworming is carried out once in a year. The STH prevalence in these two States is less than 20%.
Strategy : In this device all children aged 1-19 years old whether enrolled in or out-of –school will be administered the chewable deworming tablet – ALBENDAZOLE tablet which is an effective solution to control worm infection . Deworming benefits in improving the physical and cognitive development of children.
Ministers involved. This program is being implemented by Union Health Ministry in close collaboration with Ministry of Human Resource and Development and Ministry of Women and Child Development
ZIKA VIRUS Zika virus is a mosquito – borne flavivirus
Timeline
It was first identified in Uganda in 1927 in monkeys through a network that monitored yellow fever.
From the 19660s to 1980s, human infection were found across Africa and Asia ,typically accompanied by mild illness.
Zika virus is primarily transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito from the Aedes genus, mainly Aedes aegypti in tropical regions.
Sexual transmission of Zika virus is also possible.
Other modes of transmission such as blood transfusion are being investigated.
Symptom:
The symptom are similar to dengue and include fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise, and headache. These symptoms are usually mild and last for 2-7 days
HEPATITIS
World hepatitis day was observed on July 28, 2017 with theme ‘Eliminate Hepatitis’
About : world Hepatitis Day (WHD)
It takes places every year on 28 July in honour of Nobel laureate Baruch Samuel Blumberg, discoverer of the hepatitis B virus, whose date of birth falls on 28 July.
Objective of WHD is to raise awareness of the global burden of viral hepatitis.
It is one of four disease- specific global awareness days officially endorsed by the World health Organization (WHO), the other three being:
It is an inflammation of the liver. The condition can be self – limiting or can progress to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
Cause: Hepatitis viruses are the most common cause . however , other infections, toxic substances(e.g. , alcohol, certain drugs), and autoimmune diseases can also cause it.
Five main types of hepatitis viruses: A,B,C,D and E While all cause liver disease, they vary in important ways.
SEPSIS
An American professor of Indian origin has developed a therapy for reducing the risk of sepsis in children’s . in this, the infant is fed with good bacteria that will block harmful bacteria. Details of the therapy were published in Nature journal.
About it:
It is Colloquially known as “ blood poisoning’
It is a life threatening medical condition that arises when the body’s immune system while fighting an infection also damages tissues and organs leading to widespread inflammation, leaky blood vessels, and abnormal blood clotting.
In severe cases, blood pressure drops, multiple organ failures ensue and the patient can die rapidly from septic shock
Sepsis is a global healthcare problem.
It is more common than heart attack, and claims more lives than any cancer.
It remain the primary cause of death from infection.
DEMENTIA
According to a study published in the lancer, around 35% od dementia is attributable to a nine risk factors; education to a maximum of age 11-12 years, mid- life hypertension , mid- life obesity, hearing loss-life depression , diabetes, physical inactivity, smoking and social isolation.
About it :
Dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life.
Diseases causing dementia are:
Alzheimer’s disease which makes up 50% to 70% of causes.
Vascular dementia (25%)
Lewy body dementia (15%)
Fronototemporal dementia,
Parkinson’s disease.
Syphills and
Creutzfedt- jakob disease
There is no cure for dementia . however, efforts to prevent dementia include trying to decrease risk factors such as high blood pressure , smoking , diabetes and obesity.
SILICOSIS
A labour court is Odisha’s Keonjhar district has awarded a compensation of Rs. 46 lakhs to the families whose bread-winning male members died of silicosis while working in a mining unit where ‘pyrophylite’ was ground to power.
About it ;
It is also known as “ grinder’s disease’ or Potter’s rot.
It is a type of pneumoconiosis ( Coal worker’s pneumoconiosis Asbestosis, Silicosis Bauxite Fibrosis and other occupational lung diseases fails under this category)
It is lung disease caused by breathing in (inhaling) silica dust.
MISSION PARIVAR VIKAS
On the occasion of world population day (July 11), Union Health Ministry launched new initiatives.
The new initiatives launched are as follows:
Mission Parivar Vikas:
Objective : to reduce the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) , which would not only reduce the population burden but would also decrease maternal mortality rates and infant mortality rate.
ANTARA:
A new injectable has been introduced under the “Antara” program.
Antara is a free contraceptive injection under the Mission Parivar Vikas.
It is an alternative to the current birth control methods such as intra-utrerine contraceptive device (IUCD), oral contraceptive pills and condoms.
Antara has Deoxy Medroxy Progestrone Acetate (DMPA) ,a drug that prevents pregnancy for three months by preventing release of egg from the ovary.
Union Government has approved the establishment of two Post Graduate Institutes for Research in yoga and Naturopathy.
These will be established by Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN) at
Nagmangla ( Karnataka) and
Jhajjar ( Haryana)
CCRYN is an autonomous Research Council under the Ministry of AYUSH. It is the apex body for research and education in the field of Yoga and Naturopathy.
INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION (ICA)
Ministry of Women & Child Development has invited suggestions on the issues related to civil aspects of international Child Abduction (ICA)
ICA:
In private international law, it refers to the illegal removal of children from their home by an acquaintance or family member to a foreign country. Here , “illegal” means ‘ in breach of custodial right” and “home” is defined as the child’s habitual residence.
For a child it leads to loss of their former language , cultural, name and nationality; violates numerous children’s right, and can cause severe psychological and emotional trauma to the child and family left behind.
SWACHH SURVEKSHAN GRAMIN 2017
Ministry of Drinking water and Sanitation released the Swachh Survekshancted Gramin 2017, which was conducted by the Quality Council of India (QCI) to assess the present status of rural sanitation in all States and UTs.
Key finding of the survey:
Since the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin, over 4.5 crore household toilets have been constructed and 5 States declared open defecation free (ODF).
Sanitation Coverage now extends to 62.45% of households, up from 39% in 2014. Among these households, nearly 92% of people who have access, actually use the toilets.
Dalit houses tend to have lower coverage, hinting at structural difficulties is accessing schemes.
Ranking : Top States.
GLOBAL LIVEABILITY RANKING
Recently Global Liveability Ranking were released for the year 2017.
About it :
It is a list of 140 cities published by the Economist intelligence Units (part of the economist group, a British media company) . The ranking considers 30 factors related to things like public safety, healthcare, education, infrastructure and environment .
The 2017 rankings :
Top 3 cities are : 1 Melbourne (Australia), 2 Vienna (Austria), 3 Vancouver (Canada)
Ranking of top 5 cities remain unchanged.
No Indian cities was ranked in the top ten or bottom ten.
Damascus (Syria) is the least favoured.
BEGGING IN INDIA
In August 2017, Union Minister for Women & Child Development Maneka Gandhi called for a law on beggary which instead of criminalizing the act, emphasizes on rehabilitation of beggars.
In India it is a common to find beggars everywhere especially at religious and spiritual sites, road sides, traffic light, railways stations, shopping places , etc .
More than 4,00,000 destitute people across the country are classified as “ beggars vagrants, etc’ in government data (based on the 2011 census).
PRADHAN MANTRI VAYA VANDANA YOJANA (PMVVY)
Recently , PM ‘formally’ launched the Pradhan mantra vaya vandana yojana (PMVVY) . ( The Scheme is under implementation since May 2017 ).
PMVVY:
It is a pension scheme for senior citizens aged 60 or above Under it :
There will be an assured return of 8 percent over a tenure of 10 years .
Investor will get the option to choose between the mode of payment – monthly , quarterly , half –yearly.
There is a minimum and maximum limit on the investment amount depending on the mode of payment of pension.
Premature withdrawal is allowed for the treatment of critical illness of the person or spouse
Life insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is the sole agency operating the scheme. It started offering the person scheme since May 4, 2017 and it will remain open for the next one year.
PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT
US .President Donald Trump announced that united States would be pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement.
About it:
The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gas emission mitigation, adaptation and finance.
The language of the agreement was negotiated by representative of 196 parties at the 21st conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Paris and adopted by consensus on 12 December 2015.
As on June 2017, 195 UNFCCC members has signed the agreement, 148 of which have ratified it.
Salient features of the agreement:
It calls for “ holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2*c above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to the temperature increase to 1.5* c above pre- industrial levels.
To achieve that goal , countries should reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible.
The agreement acknowledgement “ the important of averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change. However, this provision “ does not involve or provide a basis for any liability or compensation, “ as wealth nations do not want to be held financially liable for climates change insisted on
The agreement requires all countries to submit updated plans for reducing their greenhouse gas pollution through 2025 or 2030.
The deal required a global “ stocktake”- an overall assessment of how countries are doing in cutting their emissions compared to their national plans- starting in 2023 , every five year. The deal required countries to monitor , verify and report their greenhouse gas emissions using the same global system.
FIRECRACKERS & AIRPOLLUTION : SC JUDGRMENT
In its recent judgement , Supreme Court has banned the use of five chemicals in the manufacture of firecrackers to prevent air pollution.
Key highlight of the judgement :
The five specified chemicals are : antimony, lithium , mercury, arsenic and lead.
Petroleum and explosive Safety Organisation (PESO) has been entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring compliance particularly in Sivakasi.
SC also observed that Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has not laid down any standards with respects to air pollution caused by the bursting of firecrackers.
