Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
MAY 2017
1st MAY 2017
1. Panchavadyam
orchestra of five instruments
temple art form
evolved in Kerala.
2. Thayambaka
type of solo chenda
Chenda is a cylindrical wooden drum.
developed in Kerala
3. Mizhavu
big copper drum
played in the Koodiyattam performing art of Kerala
4. Koodiyattam
Sanskrit theatre traditionally performed in Kerala.
officially recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
the only surviving specimen of the ancient Sanskrit theatre.
finds several mentions in ancient sangam literature
5. Koothu
informal dance structure, which originated in Tamil land.
performances generally depict scenes from ancient epics like Ramayana, Mahabharatha and other classical epics.
traditionally no dialogues, instead only songs.
6. ―457‖ visa policy
of Australia
scrapped by it
benefited skilled Indian IT workers
7. Palestine
Two parties:
Hamas - Gaza Strip
Fatah Party - West Bank
Recommendations:
1. scrap all 40 existing skill councils
2. replaced them by just 21 councils in accordance with the national industrial classification of different sectors,
3. review the NSDC‘s role and functioning comprehensively with reference to its Memorandum of Association
4. introduce an oversight mechanism on the NSDC preferably from the central bank
5. Chairman of NSDC should be excluded from NSDF.
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No court shall take cognizance of any offence except on a complaint made by the UID authority or a person
authorised by it.
3. Tarang Sanchar Portal
Web portal for sharing information on mobile towers and electromagnetic field (EMF) emission compliances
Launced in May 2017 by Department of Telecom (DoT)
4. Dholes or Indian wild dogs
Protected under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
‗endangered‘ under IUCN
conservation breeding centre at Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP) amidst Kambalakonda Reserve Forest in
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
plans to reintroduce a pack of 16 into the forests in theEastern Ghats
3rd such effort. Earlier two cases:
(i) Darjeeling‘s Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park had a programme for the red panda
(ii) Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme was undertaken in Assam
5. BrahMos
product of joint collaboration between India and Russia
named after Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers
supersonic missile
fire and forget capability
initially range 290 km since MTCR restrictions. Now India member of MTCR
now range 450 km and the plan is to increase it to 600 km.
is capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against surface and seabased targets.
Advanced BrahMos Block III Land Attack Cruise Missile (LACM) successfully test fired
Can be sold to friendly third world countries
6. Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)
multilateral export control regime
informal and voluntary partnership
35 countries , including India since 2016 (China, Pakistan are not members)
to prevent the proliferation of missile and unmanned aerial vehicle technology capable of carrying above 500 kg
payload for more than 300 km.
7. Rashtriya Uchhatar Shiksha Abhiyan
initiated in 2013 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development,
centrally sponsored scheme
to provide strategic funding to higher educational institutions throughout the country.
8. Stressed assets = NPAs + Restructured loans +Written Off Assets
9. Non Performing Asset (NPA)
An NPA means interest or principal is not repaid by the borrower during a specified time period (90 days).
10. Restructured asset
Those assets which got an extended repayment period, reduced interest rate, converting a part of the loan into
equity, providing additional financing, or some combination of these measures.
11. Written off assets
Those that bank or lender doesn‘t count as money that borrower owes to it.
The financial statement of the bank will indicate that the written off loans are compensated through some other way.
This does not mean that the borrower is pardoned or got exempted from payment.
12. Twin balance sheet problem
stressed companies
NPA-laden banks
13. Public Sector Asset Rehabilitation Agency (PARA)
Bad Bank
suggested by Economic Survey 2017-18
to be established to deal with the problem of bad loans.
14. National Steel Policy 2017
aims at attracting Rs. 10 lakh crore investments in the steel sector by 2030-31.
gives ―preference to Domestically Manufactured Iron & Steel Products (DMI&SP)‖ in Government Procurements.
15. SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing
Clusters)
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Central Sector Scheme
for the period 2016-20 coterminous with the 14th Finance Commission cycle.
to supplement agriculture, modernize processing and decrease agri-waste.
umbrella scheme incorporating ongoing schemes of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MFPI) like
(i) Mega Food Parks,
(ii) Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure,
(iii) Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure, etc.
(iv) Infrastructure for Agro-processing Clusters,
(v) Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages,
(vi) Creation / Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities
Etc.
16. UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik)
Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)
component of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP), 2016
to stimulate regional connectivity with flights covering distances up to 800 km through a market-based
mechanism.
caps fares at Rs. 2500 per seat per hour.
43 cities are expected to be mainstreamed on India‘s flight connectivity grid.
VGF will be used to bridge the gap between the cost of airline operations and expected revenue.
Five airlines — Alliance Air, SpiceJet, Turbo Megha, Air Odisha and Air Deccan — were awarded 128 routes
under the scheme after a bidding process.
Air India‘s subsidiary Alliance Air will be the first airline to start operating flights between Delhi and Shimla
1. Swachh Survekshan-2017
cleanliness survey commissioned by the Union Urban Development Ministry
carried out by the Quality Council of India
across 434 cities
cleanest city: Indore in Madhya Pradesh; 2nd : Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh
dirtiest city : Gonda in Uttar Pradesh
2. Bilkis Bano case
post- Godhra riots case of 2002
gang rape of pregnant woman
Bombay High Court on 4 May 2017 upheld the conviction of 11 accused and set aside the acquittal of 7 others
3. Bhilar
in Satara district, Maharashtra
India‘s first ‗village of books‘
robust collection of literature in Marathi
4. Central Information Commission (CIC)
set up under the Right to Information Act, 2005
to act upon complaints from individuals under the RTI Act.
it comprises of 1 Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and not more than 10 Information Commissioners (IC)
appointed by the President of India.
5. Foreign Account Tax Compliant Act (FATCA), 2010
It is a United States federal law to enforce the requirement for United States persons including those living outside
the U.S. to file yearly reports on their non-U.S. financial accounts to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
(FINCEN).
It requires all non-U.S. (foreign) financial institutions (FFIs) to search their records for indicating U.S. person-status
and to report the assets and identities of such persons to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
FATCA is controversial because governments and banks have been forced to comply under threat of a 30%
withholding penalty of all U.S. dollar transactions.
The U.S. has yet to comply with FATCA itself, because as of 2017, it has not yet provided the promised reciprocity
to its partner countries and it has failed to sign up to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).
6. Agni series missiles
family of medium to intercontinental range ballistic missiles developed by India
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long range, nuclear weapons capable surface to surface ballistic missiles.
The first missile of the series, Agni-I was developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program and
tested in 1989. After its success, Agni missile program was separated from the IGMDP upon realizing its strategic
importance.
7. Artificial Neural networks
a computational model used in machine learning, computer science and other research disciplines
based on a large collection of connected simple units called artificial neurons, loosely analogous to axons in a
biological brain.
Such systems can be trained from examples, rather than explicitly programmed, and excel in areas where the
solution or feature detection is difficult to express in a traditional computer program.
Like other machine learning methods, neural networks have been used to solve a wide variety of tasks, like
computer vision and speech recognition, that are difficult to solve using ordinary rule-based programming.
1. Ordinance
Temporary laws that are promulgated by the President of India on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet.
They can only be issued when Parliament is not in session.
Ordinances cease to operate either if Parliament does not approve of them within six weeks of reassembly, or if
disapproving resolutions are passed by both Houses.
2. Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A)
launched by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in June 2016
for addressing the large stressed assets of the corporate sector with banks
eligible if total loans by all institutional lenders in the account exceed Rs 500 crore
The project should have started its commercial operations and there should be cash flows from the project
allows lender (bank) to acquire equity of the stressed project
loans are divided into sustainable and unsustainable components.
scheme allows banks to rework stressed loans under the oversight of an external agency.
external independent agency evaluates how much of the debt is ‗sustainable‘
3. Joint Lenders Forum ( JLF)
Under the stressed asset norms of RBI that took effect on 1 April 2014, as soon as interest payments on a loan are
delayed by 60 days, a JLF comprising all lenders must be put in place
within 45 days, the JLF must come up with a Corrective Action Plan (CAP).
Under the JLF framework for revitalising distressed assets in the economy, even before a loan account turns into
an NPA, the new system helped identify the stress by segregating the accounts into three categories —
Special Mention Accounts (SMA)
i. SMA-0 --> if <30 days + sign of incipient stress
ii. SMA-1 --> loan overdue for 31-60 days
iii. SMA-2. --> if >60 days
4. Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case
Incident of December 2012
Supreme Court upheld the Delhi High Court‘s verdict of 2013
confirmed the death penalty to four convicts
One accused committed suicide in Tihar Jail
One juvenile sentenced by the Juvenile Justice Board, now free
5. draft Civil Aviation Requirements on ―Handling of unruly or disruptive passengers‖
6. Supreme Court directions on children living in orphanages and child care institutions
7. Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights
India has acceded to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1992
8. Part IX B of Constitution
On ―The Co-operative Societies‖ (Articles 243-ZH to 243-ZT)
Added by Ninety Seventh Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011
Provisions for incorporation, regulation and winding up of co-operative societies based on the principles of
democratic process
maximum number of directors on board as twenty-one.
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reservation of one seat for SC/ST and two seats for women on the board of every co-operative society.
fixed term of five years from the date of election in respect of the elected members of the board and its office
bearers; maximum time limit of six months during which a board of directors of co-operative society could be kept
under suspension; independent professional audit;
right of information to the members of the co-operative societies
Empowering the State Governments to obtain periodic reports of activities and accounts of co-operative societies
Providing for offences relating to co-operative societies and penalties in respect of such offences.
9. Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act
grant special powers to the Indian Armed Forces in "disturbed areas".
an officer of the armed forces has powers to:
i. After giving such due warning, Fire upon or use other kinds of force even if it causes death, against the
person who is acting against law or order in the disturbed area for the maintenance of public order,
ii. To arrest without a warrant anyone who has committed cognizable offences or is reasonably suspected of
having done so
iii. To enter and search any premise without warrant
iv. Stop and search any vehicle or vessel reasonably suspected to be carrying such person or weapons.
Any person arrested and taken into custody under this Act shall be made present over to the officer in charge of
the nearest police station with least possible delay.
Army officers have legal immunity for their actions. There can be no prosecution, suit or any other legal
proceeding against anyone acting under that law.
Nor is the government's judgment on why an area is found to be disturbed subject to judicial review
On July 8, 2016, in a landmark ruling, Supreme Court ended the immunity of the armed forces from
prosecution under AFSPA
10. Special Drawing Rights (SDR)
an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969
to supplement its member countries‘ official reserves.
SDRs can be exchanged for freely usable currencies.
SDR is neither a currency, nor a claim on the IMF
IMF may allocate SDRs to member countries in proportion to their IMF quotas
The value of the SDR is based on a basket of five major currencies— US dollar, euro, British pound sterling,
Japanese yen and Chinese renminbi (yuan) added in Sept 2016
11. Disarib
Molecule synthesised by Indian researchers from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru
Can facilitate targeted killing of cancer cells
Disarib works by binding itself to a protein called BCL2, which suppresses the death of cancerous cells
Unlike the FDA-approved BCL2 inhibitor ABT199, disarib shows better efficiency in killing cancer cells, also does
not cause any side effects.
However, expression of BCL2 is low in certain cancer cell lines such as breast cancer, chronic myelogenous
leukemia and cervical cancer. So the Disarib molecule would be ineffective in these cancers.
1. ―Cobweb phenomenon‖
After the prices of a particular agricultural commodity shoot through the roof during a season of scarcity, farmers
resort to boosting the production on the premise of the pre-existing demand and prices, leading to a problem of
plenty.
2. Minimum Support Price (MSP)
3. Shell Companies
4. Round-tripping
sending money to tax havens abroad in the guise of payments for fake imports through shell companies and bringing
back that money, showing it as ―foreign investment‖.
5. Prevention of Money Laundering Act
6. Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act
7. Non-Functional Upgrade (NFU)
NFU entitles all officers of a batch who are not promoted to draw the salary and grade pay that the senior-most
officer of their batch would get after a certain period.
8. Chabahar port
9. Gwadar port
10. Asian Development Bank (ADB)
regional development bank
established in 1966,
headquartered in Manila, Philippines.
was modeled closely on the World Bank
admits the members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
and non-regional developed countries.
ADB now has 67 members, of which 48 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.
11. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)
It is a United States federal law
It requires United States persons, including U.S. citizens who live outside the United States, to report their financial
accounts held outside of the U.S
It requires foreign financial institutions to report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about their U.S. clients.
India had signed an agreement with the U.S. on July 9, 2015 which enables automatic exchange of financial
information between India and the U.S. The agreement came into effect on August 31, 2015.
The agreement provides that Indian Financial Institutions will provide the necessary information to the Indian tax
authority i.e. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which information will then be transmitted to the U.S.
automatically in the case of FATCA.
The compliance is needed for bank accounts, mutual fund, national pension scheme and other such
transactions.
12. Fuel cell
a devices that split the hydrogen atoms into protons and electrons and get the electrons to flow through a
circuit — flow of electrons is electricity.
1. Kulbhushan Jadhav
former naval officer
sentenced to death in Pakistan
Pakistan failed to provide consular access to India despite 15 requests,
India won a stay order from the International Court of Justice
2. International Court of Justice
primary judicial branch of the United Nations (UN).
Seated in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands,
settles legal disputes submitted to it by states and provides advisory opinions on legal questions
3. Geneva Conventions
rules that apply only in times of armed conflict
seek to protect people who are not or are no longer taking part in hostilities;
these include :
I. the sick and wounded of armed forces on the field,
II. wounded, sick, and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea,
III. prisoners of war
IV. civilians
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4. Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963
an international treaty that defines a framework for consular relations between independent states.
A consul normally operates out of an embassy in another country, and performs two functions:
i. protecting in the host country the interests of their countrymen, and
ii. furthering the commercial and economic relations between the two states.
The treaty has been ratified by 179 states
5. Vijay Mallya
Chairman of UB Group, an Indian conglomerate with interests in beverage alcohol, aviation infrastructure, real estate
and fertiliser among others.
Kingfisher Airlines, an airline established as a major business venture in 2005 became insolvent and was shut down
in 2012.
A group of 17 Indian banks are trying to collect approximately ₹9,000 crore in loans which Mallya has
allegedly routed to gain 100% or a partial stake in about 40 companies across the world.
Presently in UK; extradition sought
Mallya also served in the Rajya Sabha for his home state Karnataka.
6. Amur falcon
falcon family bird
breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China
migrates in large flocks across India and over the Arabian Sea to winter in Southern Africa.
diet consists mainly of insects, such as termites
7. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
autonomous body under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006
responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.
8. Bishnois
a Vaishnavite sect, living in western Rajasthan on the fringe of the Thar desert,
have for centuries, been conserving the flora and fauna to the extent of sacrificing their lives to protect the
environment.
The basic philosophy of this religion is that all living things have a right to survive and share all resources.
In the fifteenth century, Swami Jambeshwar Maharaj initiated the Bishnoi sect.
He laid down 29 tenets for his followers which included a ban on killing animals, a ban to the felling of trees –
especially the khejri – which grows extensively in these areas, and using material other than wood for
cremations.
9. Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010
to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or
associations or companies
prohibits acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to the
national interest and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
10. Chenab Bridge
world‘s tallest railway arch bridge being constructed over the Chenab river in Jammu
will be capable of handling high intensity blasts like high level trinitrotoluene (TNT) blast load.
11. Lopinavir gsyrup
paediatric formulation for HIV infected children
Cipla Pharmaceutical is its sole manufacturer in India
Cipla stopped production over non-payment of dues by government.
12. Indian Antarctic Program
a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional program under the control of National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean
Research (NCAOR), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.
India has signed the Antarctic Treaty
Dakshin Gangotri base commissioned in 1983, superseded by the Maitri base from 1990.
The newest base commissioned in 2015 is Bharati, constructed out of 134 shipping containers.
Under the program, atmospheric, biological, earth, chemical, and medical sciences are studied by India, which has
carried out more than 30 scientific expeditions to the Antarctic.
13. Electrick
developed by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in the U.S.
conductive touch screens can be created by applying conductive paints, bulk plastics or carbon-loaded film.
uses a well-known technique called electric field tomography to sense the position of a finger touch.
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Like many touchscreens, Electrick relies on the shunting effect — when a finger touches the touchpad, it shunts
a bit of electric current to ground.
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it uses a system of genes from soil bacterium that makes mustard — generally a self-pollinating plant — better suited
to hybridisation than current methods.
Activists have however maintained that publicly available data on DMH-11 shows that its yield is no better than
existing varieties.
4. El Nino and La Nina
El Niño events are associated with a warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific, while La Niña events are the
reverse, with a sustained cooling of these same areas.
These changes in the Pacific Ocean and its overlying atmosphere occur in a cycle known as the El Niño-Southern
Oscillation(ENSO).
The atmosphere and ocean interact, reinforcing each other and creating a 'feedback loop' which amplifies small
changes in the state of the ocean into an ENSO event.
The term El Niño translates from Spanish as 'the boy-child'. Peruvian fishermen originally used the term to describe
the appearance, around Christmas, of a warm ocean current off the South American coast.
La Niña translates as 'girl-child' and is the opposite ENSO phase to El Niño.
5. Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)
It is also known as the Indian Niño
It is an irregular oscillation of sea-surface temperatures in which the western Indian Ocean becomes alternately
warmer and then colder than the eastern part of the ocean.
The IOD involves an aperiodic oscillation of sea-surface temperatures, between "positive", "neutral" and
"negative" phases.
A positive phase sees greater-than-average sea-surface temperatures and greater precipitation in the western Indian
Ocean region, with a corresponding cooling of waters in the eastern Indian Ocean-which tends to cause droughts in
adjacent land areas of Indonesia and Australia.
The negative phase of the IOD brings about the opposite conditions, with warmer water and greater precipitation in
the eastern Indian Ocean, and cooler and drier conditions in the west.
The IOD also affects the strength of monsoons over the Indian subcontinent.
6. Tehreek-e-Taleem (campaign for education)
to be launched on October 15th, the birth anniversary of late president A P J Abdul Kalam.
to be launched in 100 districts of the country to take government‘s educational programmes to the minority
communities.
7. ‗Spyder‘
Low level surface-to-air quick reaction missile
acquired from Israel
Range : 15 km
test fired from a test range in Odisha.
8. proposed Strategic Partnership (SP) model
meant to promote the private sector in defence manufacturing.
Proposed to create domestic expertise in four key areas, namely, fighter aircraft, helicopters, submarines, and
armoured vehicles and main battle tanks.
One company would be selected for each area based on its competence, which would then tie up with the foreign
Original Equipment Manufacturer selected through the procurement process, to build the platform in India with
significant technology transfer.
The Armed Forces are apprehensive over the overall model as they feel the SP model will block new technology
and new players coming to the defence sector.
On the other hand, existing defence players argue for committed orders for the next 30 years to give them the
economies of scale as defence involves large investments.
9. Old Sana‘a
inscribed on UNESCO‘s World Heritage List since 1986.
Perched 7,500 feet up in Yemen‘s western mountains, with more than 100 mosques and 6,000 houses built before the
11th century,
the old city is famed for its multi-storeyed homes of red basalt rock, with arched windows decorated with white
latticework.
But months after a Saudi led coalition intervened against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in March 2015, UNESCO added
the ancient city to its List of World Heritage in Danger.
10. WPI
11. CPI
12. IIP
13. GDP
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14. GNP
15. GVA
16. Real GVA
17. Nominal GVA
1. Panchsheel
five principles of peaceful co-existence
Their first formal codification in treaty form was in an agreement between China and India in 1954.
This agreement stated the five principles as:
1. Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
2. Mutual non-aggression.
3. Mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs.
4. Equality and cooperation for mutual benefit.
5. Peaceful co-existence.
2. Hafiz Mohammad Saeed
He set up Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) in 1991
LeT involved in Indian Parliament attack in Dec 2001.
A series of seven explosions on suburban Mumbai trains in 2006. LeT suspected to be behind the attacks.
Coordinated shooting and bomb blasts across Mumbai in 2008. LeT and JuD involvement suspected.
UN declares Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) as a front for LeT and labels it a banned organization in 2008.
Pakistan bans JuD too. Puts Hafiz under house arrest following the UN decision.
Hafiz again put under house arrest in Lahore since Jan 2017 for ―spreading terrorism in the name of jihad.‖
3. ―Road Connectivity Project for LWE Affected Areas‖ scheme
centrally sponsored scheme
approved in December 2016
will be implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana in 44 districts.
in LWE States including the 35 worst affected LWE districts which account for 90% of total LWE violence in the
country and 9 adjoining districts critical from security angle
The PMGSY guideline does not permit construction/upgradation of Major District Roads (MDRs). However,
keeping special circumstances of LWE areas in view, MDRs would be taken up under the scheme as a special
dispensation. The National Highways and the State Highways would be excluded from this project.
4. Thermographic camera
It is also called an infrared camera or thermal imaging camera
It is a device that forms an image using infrared radiation, similar to a common camera that forms an image using
visible light.
Instead of the 400–700 nanometre range of the visible light camera, infrared cameras operate in wavelengths as long
as 14,000 nm (14 µm).
A team of scientists from IIT-Bombay has now made a key breakthrough in developing India‘s first infrared
sensors for thermal imaging.
The research started in 2010, with funding from DRDO.
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5. NGO - Darpan
A NITI Aayog portal
In 2016, the government made it mandatory for NGOs and voluntary organisations to register with the NITI Aayog
portal to enable them to apply for grants from any Ministry.
However, the trusts and NGOs not seeking government funding were not required to do so.
Educational trusts and societies seeking minority status are required to register with the NITI Aayog portal, whether
they need government aid or not.
It is not needed only in cases of institutions run by individuals.
6. National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions
Its inception in 2004
has awarded minority status certificates to 12,954 schools and colleges in the country.
Minority status permits schools and colleges to have a say in the reservation quantum and limits interference from
the government.
7. Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)
It is a guided ballistic missile with a minimum range of 5,500 kilometres
It is primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery.
Russia, the United States, China, North Korea and India are the only countries currently known to possess land-based
ICBMs, Israel has also tested ICBMs but is not open about actual deployment.
8. Agni-V
It is an intercontinental ballistic missile developed by DRDO.
It is a three-stage solid fuelled missile
Agni V has been successfully test-fired by DRDO in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016 and has been inducted
The exact range of the Agni-V missile is classified but stated to be more than 5,500 km
Chinese experts say that the missile has the potential to reach targets 8000 km away and that the Indian government
had deliberately downplayed the missile's capability in order to avoid causing concern to other countries.
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7. Antidumping duty
An anti-dumping duty is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it
believes are priced below fair market value.
Dumping is a process where a company exports a product at a price lower than the price it normally charges on its
own home market.
To protect local businesses and markets, many countries impose stiff duties on products they believe are being
dumped in their national market.
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It is at the edge of a vortex of ocean currents known as the South Pacific gyre, which tends to capture and hold
floating trash.
8. VoCo
New software developed that provides an easy means to add or replace a word in a recording of a human voice.
9. Spirit (Mars Exploration Rover (MER-A))
It was launched by NASA in 2003 and landed successfully in 2004.
Nearly 6 years after the original mission limit, Spirit‘s wheels became trapped in sand.
In 2010, NASA conceded defeat in its efforts to free the rover and stated that it would now function as a stationary
science platform, but later lost contact.
NASA ceased attempts to re-establish communication in 2011.
10. Opportunity (Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B))
It was launched by NASA in 2003 and landed successfully in 2004.
Opportunity is still operational and mobile as of May 2017.
11. Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory (MSL))
It was launched by NASA in 2011 and landed in 2012
Curiosity is still operational and mobile as of May 2017.
12. Yellow eyed penguins
New Zealand‘s iconic penguins
may go extinct within the next 25 years due to rising ocean temperatures and climate change,
unless urgent conservation actions are undertaken.
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10. Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion
and Profit Shifting
11. ferroelectret nanogenerator (FENG)
paper-thin, flexible device, scalable and bidirectional, meaning it can convert mechanical energy to electrical energy
and electrical energy to mechanical energy
can generate energy from human motion
has been used to power a keyboard, LED lights and an LCD touch-screen.
could one day lead to foldable loudspeakers or even talking newspapers
12. In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF)
A process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm outside the body, in vitro ("in glass").
The fertilised egg (zygote) is cultured for 2–6 days in a growth medium, an embryo culture, and is then transferred to
the same or another woman's uterus, with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy.
13. In Vitro Gametogenesis, (IVG)
scientists will likely be able to create a baby from human skin cells that have been coaxed to grow into eggs and
sperm and then used to create embryos that can be implanted in a womb.
With IVG, two men could have a baby that was biologically related to both of them, by using skin cells from one to
make an egg that would be fertilized by sperm from the other.
Women with fertility problems could have eggs made from their skin cells
Some scientists are even talking about what they call the ―Brad Pitt scenario‖ when someone retrieves a celebrity‘s
skin cells from a hotel bed or bathtub.
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5. Nyaya Sanyog or ‗Legal Assistance Establishments‘
to be established by NALSA as State Legal Services Authorities‘ offices all over the country
will cater to poor litigants and the families of undertrials languishing in jails to get quick access to justice.
will provide facilities that enable litigants to access court documents, case status and connect to their advocates
online and through dedicated phone numbers.
6. M777 ultralight howitzers
manufactured by BAE Systems of USA
In November 2016, India entered into a contract with the U.S. government for buying 145 BAE Systems built
M777 A-2 artillery guns in a $737-million deal.
Twenty-five of them will be imported and 120 assembled in India in partnership with the Mahindra group.
These are the first modern 155-mm artillery guns to be inducted after the Swedish Bofors guns in the 1980s, the
deal for which kicked up a major controversy and left the Army‘s artillery modernisation programme stalled for
years.
The Bofors guns, found effective during the Kargil war, continue to be the mainstay.
7. Bofors scam
The Bofors scandal was a major political scandal that occurred between Sweden and India during the 1980s and
1990s, initiated by Indian National Congress (Congress party) politicians and implicating the Indian prime minister,
Rajiv Gandhi, and several other members of the Swedish and Indian governments who were accused of receiving
kickbacks from Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply India's 155 mm field
howitzer
It was the biggest arms deal ever in Sweden, and money marked for development projects was diverted to secure this
contract at any cost. The investigations revealed flouting of rules and bypassing of institutions
8. ‗Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2017‘
A Bill that seeks to deter economic offenders from fleeing the country by attaching and confiscating properties
owned by them in India.
The Bill makes provisions for a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to declare a person a
‗Fugitive Economic Offender‘.
A Fugitive Economic Offender is a person who has an arrest warrant issued in respect of a scheduled offence and
who leaves or has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution, or refuses to return to India to face criminal
prosecution.
It comes against the backdrop of India seeking the extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya from the U.K. for
defaulted loans to banks.
9. African Development Bank
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has 81 member countries, 57 of which are from Africa. India is among the
other 24 non-regional members
annual meeting of AfDB in Gandhinagar, Gujarat in May 2017
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the meeting,
PM had in the India- Africa Summit committed a $10 billion line of credit to African nations.
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Last year, India was ranked 143 among 188 countries.
11. Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant
At Kudankulam in the Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu.
Construction is by NPCIL and Atomstroyexport of Russia.
Construction on the plant began on 31 March 2002, but faced several delays due to the fishermen's objection.
The reactors are pressurised water reactor of Russian design, model VVER-1000.
They are water-cooled, water-moderated power reactors.
Unit 1 was synchronised with the southern power grid on 22 October 2013.
Due to operators and suppliers requirement for insurance, the cost of units 3 & 4 is twice the cost of units 1 & 2.
12. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
It is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand, Vietnam) and the six states with which ASEAN has existing free trade agreements (Australia, China,
India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand).
RCEP negotiations were formally launched in November 2012 at the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia.
The agreement is scheduled to be finalized by the end of 2017.
RCEP is viewed as an alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a proposed trade agreement which
includes several Asian and American nations but excludes China and India.
13. Nano-hologram
A team of scientists from RMIT University and the Beijing Institute of Technology have designed the 'world's
thinnest' hologram.
It can be seen without 3D goggles and is 1,000 times thinner than human hair.
Integrating holography into everyday electronics would make screen size irrelevant – a pop-up 3D hologram can
display a wealth of data that doesn‘t neatly fit on a phone or watch.
14. Combustible ice
It is a frozen mixture of water and concentrated natural gas.
Technically known as methane hydrate
It can be lit on fire in its frozen state
It has been found beneath seafloors and buried inside Arctic permafrost and beneath Antarctic ice.
It is believed to comprise one of the world‘s most abundant fossil fuels.
It was successfully mined by a drilling rig operating by China in the South China Sea.
A drilling crew in Japan reported a similar successful operation offshore the Shima Peninsula.
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It is known to possess several beneficial properties — antioxidant, antitumour, anticancer, antidiabetic and
antibacterial properties.
mangiferin reduced cell death — it increased the expression of proteins which act against cell death and decreased
the proteins causing cell death.
AIIMS doctors showed the protective effects of mangiferin on reperfusion injury in diabetic rats
Reperfusion injury happens in heart tissues when blood supply returns after a heart attack.
7. Apoptosis
programmed cell death
Unlike earlier known trigger mechanisms that involve chemicals being released by the cell destined for death, recent
study found there is a physical mechanism.
The study has found that a particular type of imperfection in the alignment of the cells appears to be correlated with
the position of the cell destined to die.
8. Monarch Butterfly
North American butterfly, and is considered an iconic pollinator species
notable for its annual southward late-summer/autumn migration from the northern and central United States and
southern Canada to Florida and Mexico.
During the fall migration, monarchs cover thousands of miles, with a corresponding multi-generational return north.
9. Kuiper Belt
It is a circumstellar disc in the Solar System beyond the (known) planets, extending from the orbit of Neptune (at
30 AU) to approximately 50 AU from the Sun.
It is similar to the asteroid belt, but is far larger—20 times as wide and 20 to 200 times as massive.
Like the asteroid belt, it consists mainly of small bodies, or remnants from the Solar System's formation.
While many asteroids are composed primarily of rock and metal, most Kuiper belt objects are composed largely
of frozen volatiles (termed "ices"), such as methane, ammonia and water.
The Kuiper belt is home to three officially recognized dwarf planets: Pluto, Haumea, and Makemake.
10. Dwarf planet
In August 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) demoted Pluto to a dwarf planet
In the Solar System, a dwarf planet is a celestial body which:
1. is in orbit around the Sun,
2. has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium (a nearly round shape), and
3. has not "cleared the neighborhood" around its orbit.
11. Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)
diverse group of tropical infections which are especially common in low-income populations in developing regions
of Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
They are caused by a variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa and helminths.
These diseases are contrasted with the big three diseases (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria), which
generally receive greater treatment and research funding.
Seventeen neglected tropical diseases are prioritized by WHO.
Of these 17, two were targeted for eradication (dracunculiasis (guinea-worm disease) by 2015 and yaws by 2020),
and four for elimination (blinding trachoma, human African trypanosomiasis, leprosy and lymphatic filariasis by
2020).
12. Elimination of a disease
A disease is considered ‗eliminated‘ when the prevalence rate in a regional population is less than 1 case per 10,000
population size.
13. Eradication of a disease
It is the reduction of an infectious disease's prevalence in the global host population to zero.
14. Mycobacterium Indicus Pranii (MIP)
It is a non-pathogenic mycobacterial species
translational application as an immunotherapeutic
The origin of the proposed name is a combination of the site of isolation of the bacterial species from India (indicus),
discovery by Pran Talwar (pranii) and characterization at the National Institute of Immunology, India
A vaccine developed will be administered to people living in close contact with leprosy patients.
15. Leprosy
Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD)
is a long-term infection by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae
Symptoms that develop include granulomas of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not highly contagious
Leprosy is curable with a treatment known as multidrug therapy.
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Is an NTD
India plans to eliminate by 2018
16. Elephantiasis or lymphatic filariasis
disease caused by parasitic worms known as filarial worms.
The worms are spread by the bites of infected mosquitoes
Most cases of the disease have no symptoms.
Some people, however, develop a syndrome called elephantiasis, which is marked by severe swelling in the arms,
legs, or genitals.
The skin may become thicker as well, and the condition may become painful.
Is an NTD
India plans to eliminate by 2017
17. Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) or Kala-Azar
transmitted through the bite of the female sand fly.
In India, a majority of cases are reported in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Rapid diagnostic tests followed by single day treatment now makes rapid cure possible.
Sandflies breed on mud walls, so vector control by indoor spraying with insecticides and ultimately with improved
housing can result in their control.
Is an NTD
India plans to eliminate by 2017
18. Titan
Saturn‘s largest moon
Outside of Earth, Titan is the only other planetary body in the solar system with actively flowing rivers, though
they‘re fed by liquid methane instead of water.
Clouds condense and rain down on the surface, feeding rivers that flow into oceans and lakes.
Titan, like Mars but unlike Earth, has not undergone any active plate tectonics in its recent past.
19. Alzheimer‘s disease
chronic neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and worsens over time.
It is the cause of 60% to 70% of cases of dementia.
The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events (short-term memory loss).
As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems with language, disorientation (including easily getting
lost), mood swings, loss of motivation, not managing self care, and behavioural issues.
The disease process is associated with plaques and tangles in the brain. Clumps of a protein called amyloid plaques
form around nerve cells in the brain, tangle them, resulting in cell death.
20. Ebola virus disease
cause a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever in humans and other mammals
also, bleeding, vomiting and diarrhoea,
spreads easily by contact with bodily fluids.
The natural reservoir of Ebola virus is believed to be bats, particularly fruit bats
2013–2015 Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa, which has resulted in at least 28,616 suspected cases and 11,310
confirmed deaths
It spread between countries, starting in Guinea then moving across land borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia.
Recent cases in in an isolated part of Democratic Republic of Congo.
21. Female Aedes aegypti mosquito
mosquito that can spread dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika fever, yellow fever viruses, and other diseases.
Only the female bites for blood, which she needs to mature her eggs.
22. Female Anophelese mosquito
mosquito that can spread malaria, filariasis
23. Culex mosquito
mosquito that can spread Japanese encephalitis, also filariasis, and avian malaria
24. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
forum for 21 Pacific Rim member economies that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
The twenty one (21) member economies are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia,
New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Canada, United States, Chinese Taipei, People‘s Republic of China,
Hong Kong, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Chile, Peru, Russia, and Vietnam.
It accounts for about 50% of the world‘s trade and almost 60% of global GDP.
Among APEC‘s objectives is ensuring that goods, services, investment and people move easily across borders in the
Asia-Pacific region.
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The location of the meeting rotates annually among the member economies, and a famous tradition, followed for
most (but not all) summits, involves the attending leaders dressing in a national costume of the host country.
25. Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
A trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru,
Singapore, the United States (until 23 January 2017) and Vietnam.
The finalized proposal was signed on 4 February 2016, concluding seven years of negotiations.
It currently cannot be ratified due to U.S. withdrawal from the agreement on 23 January 2017.
The TPP contains measures to lower both non-tariff and tariff barriers to trade, and establish an investor-state dispute
settlement (ISDS) mechanism.
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1. Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ)
Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) is a defined area of 10,400 sq km around the Taj Mahal to protect the monument from
pollution.
The TTZ comprises over 40 protected monuments including three World Heritage Sites the Taj Mahal, Agra
Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.
TTZ is so named since it is located around the Taj Mahal and is shaped like a trapezoid.
The Supreme Court of India delivered a ruling on December 30, 1996 regarding industries covered under the TTZ,
in response to a PIL seeking to protect the Taj Mahal from environmental pollution.
It banned the use of coal/ coke in industries located in the TTZ with a mandate for switching over from coal/ coke
to natural gas, and relocating them outside the TTZ or shutting down.
2. Canola
It is the international trade name for mustard carrying lower levels of erucic acid — less than 2% — in oil and is
considered as one of the healthiest options.
Canola oil is imported in India
Agriculture scientists believe a ―yellow revolution‖ in Punjab is possible which can emerge as the canola hub of
the country.
3. H1N1 influenza or swine flu
was the most common cause of human influenza (flu) in 2009
In June 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new strain of swine-origin H1N1 as a pandemic.
This strain is often called swine flu by the public media.
outbreak in several parts of Kerala recently
4. Indian Institute of Technology – Madras campus
The 236-acre campus was once part of the Guindy National Park
220 deer and eight blackbucks have died in last two years on the sprawling campus
Blackbuck is a Schedule-I species under the Indian Wildlife Act, 1972, an endangered species.
5. Arisaema translucens or cobra lily
was recently rediscovered in the western Nilgiris after 84 years.
Featuring a distinctive translucent spathe, it was last collected by E. Barnes in 1932.
Barely a few hundred cobra lily plants are left in the wild
found only in a small area measuring less than 10 sq. km. in the Nilgiris.
Toda tribals of the Nilgiris know the plant well
6. Bheem Army Ekta Mission
established in July 2015 by Chandrashekhar Azad Ravan with the sole aim of empowering Dalits through education.
runs almost 300 schools in Saharanpur and districts in its vicinity
massive protest at Jantar Mantar against Dalit atrocities in Saharanpur, UP
7. Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay (1916 –1968)
He was one of the most important leaders of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the forerunner of the present day Bharatiya
Janata Party.
In 1951, when Syama Prasad Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Deendayal was seconded to the party by
the RSS, tasked with moulding it into a genuine member of the Sangh Parivar.
Upadhyaya conceived the political philosophy Integral Humanism – the guiding philosophy of the Bharatiya Janata
Party.
The philosophy of Integral Humanism advocates the simultaneous and integrated program of the body, mind and
intellect and soul of each human being.
His philosophy of Integral Humanism is a synthesis of the material and the spiritual, the individual and the collective.
He visualised for India a decentralised polity and self-reliant economy with the village as the base.
He died under unexpected circumstances and was found dead on 11 February 1968 at Mughal Sarai railway yard.
8. Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials,
equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.
The NSG was founded in response to the Indian nuclear test in May 1974.
India wants to be a member of NSG
Membership by consensus
NSG has 48 members including China
9. Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT)
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international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote
cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and
general and complete disarmament.
treaty entered into force in 1970.
As of August 2016, 191 states have adhered to the treaty, though North Korea, which acceded in 1985 but never
came into compliance, announced its withdrawal from the NPT in 2003.
India has not signed ; calls it discriminatory
The treaty defines nuclear-weapon states as those that have built and tested a nuclear explosive device before 1
January 1967; these are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China. Four other states are
known or believed to possess nuclear weapons: India, Pakistan, and North Korea have openly tested and declared
that they possess nuclear weapons, while Israel is deliberately ambiguous regarding its nuclear weapons status.
10. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
It is an intergovernmental organization of 13 nations as of 2017.
OPEC's members are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia (the
de facto leader), United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela, while Indonesia is a former member.
founded in 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela)
headquartered since 1965 in Vienna.
As of 2015, the 13 countries accounted for an estimated 42 percent of global oil production and 73 percent of the
world's "proven" oil reserves, giving OPEC a major influence on global oil prices that were previously determined by
American-dominated multinational oil companies.
11. Apache helicopters
attack helicopters of USA
India has contracted 22 of these through the Foreign Military Sales programme.
12. Chinook helicopters
heavy-lift helicopters of USA
India has contracted 15 of these through the Foreign Military Sales programme.
13. Rudra helicopters
Manufactured by HAL
Inducted
armed version of HAL Dhruv (ALH)
14. International Solar Alliance (ISA)
India launched an International Solar Alliance (ISA) at the CoP21 Climate Conference in November 2015
invited all countries located fully or partly between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn to join,
to function from the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), Gurgaon.
to share collective ambitions to reduce the cost of finance and technology that is needed to deploy solar power
widely; generation and storage technologies would be adapted to the individual countries‘ needs.
Among the tasks that the Alliance would pursue are, cooperation in training, building institutions, regulatory issues,
common standards, and investment including joint ventures.
The alliance entered into an understanding with the World Bank for accelerating mobilization of finance for solar
energy.
The Alliance, consisting of 121 countries, is led by India.
Nauru recently became the sixth country to ratify it.
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It is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company.
It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and
enabling the colonization of Mars.
SpaceX has since developed the Falcon launch vehicle family and the Dragon spacecraft family.
It is the first privately funded company to successfully launch, orbit, and recover a spacecraft (Dragon in 2010)
It is the first private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station (Dragon in 2012)
In March 2017, SpaceX became the first to successfully re-launch and land the first stage of an orbital rocket.
5. Vizhinjam seaport project
Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multi purpose Seaport is a greenfield port been developed at Vizhinjam in
Thiruvananthapuram, capital city of Kerala.
CAG report highlights unfavourable conditions in the concession agreement of having gone against the interests of
the Kerala government and to the advantage of Adani Ports and SEZ Private Limited.
6. Visiting Advanced Joint Research (VAJRA) Faculty Scheme
It will offer accomplished NRI scientists the opportunity to undertake research in India for a maximum period of
three months every year, while granting them the status of adjunct faculty in an Indian institution round the year.
7. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)
ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia.
The practice is found in Africa, Asia and the Middle East in some communities
8. khatna
involves cutting the part of the clitoral hood or the prepuce, of girls as young as seven years.
Dawoodi Bohra community practices it in India
9. EU-BTIA (Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement)
has been deadlocked since 2013, despite 16 rounds of negotiations.
Mr. Modi‘s visit to the European Commission in April 2016 failed to bring about any agreement to even resume the
talks that essentially broke down over high taxes, market access and India‘s concerns over visas for skilled workers.
10. International Space Station
It is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit.
The ISS maintains an orbit with an altitude of between 330 and 435 km
Its first component launched into orbit in 1998, and the ISS is now the largest man-made body in low Earth orbit
and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth.
The ISS programme is a joint project among five participating space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA,
and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
The ISS consists of pressurised modules, external trusses, solar arrays, and other components.
ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, and American Space Shuttles.
The ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct
experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and other fields.
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At present, both domestic and international passengers are unable to use in-flight Internet services over Indian
airspace.
Even international airlines that offer such a facility to its passengers have to discontinue the service while the aircraft
is flying over the Indian airspace.
The Centre will need to amend the Telegraph Act, 1885, as well as the related Indian Telegraphy Rules to provide
on-board Wi-Fi services.
It promises to substantially improve safety of airlines as it enables flight tracking in respect of aircraft in near real
time reporting latitude, longitude, altitude, true heading and ground speed; streaming of flight data recorder of the
aircraft in real-time; and facilitating real time intervention for safety and security based on flight data monitoring,‖
5. Start-up definition India
Under Start-up India scheme, a start-up is defined as:
i. an entity that is headquartered in India
ii. which was opened less than seven years ago. For the biotechnology sector, the period is up to 10 years
iii. has an annual turnover less than Rs. 25 crore
iv. is working towards innovation, development, deployment, and commercialisation of new products, processes, or
services driven by technology or intellectual property and scalability of business model with a potential for
employment generation or wealth creation.
A Letter of Recommendation from an incubator/industry body for recognition or tax benefits no longer required
w.e.f. May 2017.
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3. Pratyangira
It is 1,046-year-old stone idol of Narasimmee
It was stolen from the Vriddhagiriswarar Temple in Vriddhachalam, Tamil Nadu, nearly 15 years ago.
The ancient Chola temple of Vriddhagiriswarar was commissioned by Sembiyan Mahadevi, among the most
powerful queens of the Chola empire and an ardent worshipper of Lord Siva.
The idol was bought by the Canberra-based National Gallery of Australia (NGA) from alleged idol smuggler and
antique dealer Subhash Kapoor.
It was returned to Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism, when he visited Australia in September 2016.
The ancient Chola temple of Vriddhagiriswarar was
4. National Electronic Fund Management System (NEFMS)
For direct and faster release of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(MGNREGS)
5. Mann ki Baat
a radio programme where Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about issues close to his heart directly to the
listening public
31 episodes completed
6. Jan ki Baat (voice of the people)
a survey on Mr. Modi‘s personal app, the Namo App, has been launched (closing June 15) with an exhaustive list of
questions and multiple choice answers ranging from very bad to excellent ratings.
To know what exactly they think of his government‘s performance as it enters its fourth year.
Nearly all government schemes launched by the current dispensation have been listed for rating
More significantly, the survey seeks to find out not just where the respondent is residing but the Assembly
constituency where he/she votes before starting off with the survey.
7. Tea Board of India
The Tea Board of India is a state agency of the Government of India established to promote the cultivation,
processing, and domestic trade as well as export of tea from India.
It was established by the enactment of the Tea Act in 1953 with its headquarters in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).
The Tea Board India is responsible for the assignment of certification numbers to exports of certain tea
merchants.
This certification is intended to ensure the teas‘ origin, which in turn would reduce the amount of fraudulent
labelling on rare teas such as ones harvested in Darjeeling.
1. Hizbul Mujahideen
It is a Kashmiri separatist group.
It is designated a terrorist organisation by India, the European Union and the United States,[
Founded by Muhammad Ahsan Dar in September 1989.
Holding a pro-Pakistan Ideology, the group is considered to be the largest indigenous militant group in Kashmir.
Its commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat and his associate killed in an encounter in Pulwama in May 2017.
Bhat had taken over as the militant outfit‘s group commander after the death of Burhan Wani in July 2016.
2. eMigrate programme
After hundreds of complaints from workers about mistreatment, the MEA‘s Overseas Affairs department (then a
separate ministry) had in July 2015 set up a database initiative called the eMigrate programme, that gathers
extensive information on emigrants as well as foreign employers, their companies and recruiting agents.
eMigrate programme mandates inspection of premises of UAE companies
The United Arab Emirates, one of the largest employers of Indians in the Gulf, has raised a red flag with the Ministry
of External Affairs over what it terms as ―sovereignty issues.‖
Other Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, had also raised issues earlier.
3. Blue-collar workers
workers in labour intensive sectors including construction, industrial sector, transport, etc.
4. Solar wind
It consists of a plasma of electrons and protons flowing away from the sun at hypersonic speeds.
Its existence was first inferred indirectly in the 1950s by observing the shapes of comet tails.
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5. Comets
They are icy wanderers that travel far into space and make an appearance periodically in the skies when they pass
close to the Sun.
Their shape is characteristic — a small rounded match-head-like halo followed by a long tail — and dictated by its
interaction with the solar wind.
The halo and the tail consist of material that has sublimated from its icy nucleus and has been dragged out by the
solar wind.
6. Rosetta Mission
Rosetta was a space probe built by the European Space Agency
launched in 2004.
Along with Philae, its lander module, Rosetta performed a detailed study of comet 67P/Churyumov–
Gerasimenko.
In 2014, the spacecraft reached the comet, its lander module Philae performed the first successful landing on a comet,
though its battery power ran out two days later.
Communications with Philae were briefly restored in June and July 2015, but due to diminishing solar power,
Rosetta's communications module with the lander was turned off on 27 July 2016.
In September 2016, the Rosetta spacecraft ended its mission by hard-landing on the comet in its Ma'at region.
7. Pliosaur
a new species of a fossil found in Russia
a large predatory marine reptile from the ‗age of the dinosaur‘ —
Pliosaurs are a special kind of plesiosaur
The plesiosaur possess an unusual body shape not seen in other marine vertebrates with four large flippers, a stiff
trunk, and a highly varying neck length.
Pliosaurs are characterised by a 2m-long skull, enormous teeth and extremely powerful jaws, making them the top
predators of oceans during the ‗age of the dinosaurs‘.
8. Metastasis
spread of a cancer or other disease from one organ or part of the body to another without being directly connected
with it.
9. Group of 7 (G7)
group consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The European Union is also represented within the G7.
G8 has become G7 from 2014 as Russia has been suspended due to its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
A very high net national wealth and a very high Human Development Index are the main requirements to be a
member of this group.
10. Indian Economic Zone (IEZ) in Bangladesh
India-Bangladesh MoU for construction of the IEZ in June 2015
Indian investment in the Zone will be facilitated through the concessional Line of Credit (LoC) extended by the
Government of India to the Government of Bangladesh.
aimed at increasing Indian investment in Bangladesh and giving a greater role to the private sector
Trade balance is heavily in India‘s favour, as out of the total bilateral trade of $6.8 billion with Bangladesh in 2015-
16, India‘s exports were worth $6 billion.
Boosting investments from India into Bangladesh is aimed at offsetting this trade imbalance.
The move to increase investments from India also comes in the backdrop of China, in October 2016, promising
investments worth around $24 billion in Bangladesh.
11. India Emerging 20 (IE20) programme
The initiative was introduced by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan‘s business and promotional agency, London &
Partners.
It is on a mission to uncover some of India‘s most promising companies looking to expand on the international
stage.
20 Indian tech start-ups have been named as the winners
The 20 selected companies have been invited to London to help facilitate international partnerships, alliances and
business opportunities.
They would also get insights about how to take advantage of London‘s unique position as a global business centre
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29th MAY 2017
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If all goes well, this rocket could be India‘s vehicle of choice to launch ―Indians into space, from Indian soil
using Indian rockets.
ISRO has already prepared plans of hoisting a two to three human crew into space as soon as the government gives it
a sanction of about $4 billion.
If the human venture materialises, India would become only the fourth country after Russia, the U.S. and
China to have a human space flight programme.
8. G-20
international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies.
founded in 1999 with the aim of studying, reviewing, and promoting high-level discussion of policy issues pertaining
to the promotion of international financial stability.
summits since 2008
The members include 19 individual countries and along with the European Union (EU). The EU is represented by the
European Commission and by the European Central Bank. Collectively, the G20 economies account for around 85%
of the gross world product (GWP), 80% of world trade (or, if excluding EU intra-trade, 75%), and two-thirds of the
world population.
9. Project 75I
The Project 75I-class submarine is a follow-on of the Project 75 Kalvari-class submarine for the Indian navy.
Under this project, the Indian Navy intends to acquire 6 diesel-electric submarines, which will also feature
advanced Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) systems to enable them to stay submerged for longer duration and
substantially increase their operational range.
10. Mylopotamos
Scientists have identified a unique gene variant in people living in isolated Greek villages in Mylopotamos in
northern Crete that protects them from heart diseases despite enjoying a high-fat diet.
have cardioprotective qualities.
Researchers also found a separate variant of the same gene to be associated with lower levels of triglycerides in the
Amish founder population in the U.S.
11. Transparent frog species:
A newly identified frog species — with transparent skin through which its beating heart is visible — is under
threat of extinction.
The frog (Hyalinobatrachium yaku), discovered in the Amazonian lowlands of Ecuador, has unique physical and
behavioural traits.
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It moves further north-northeastward to India.
It could trigger massive landslides and flash floods in the north eastern states in India.
3. Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SR-SAM)
Indian Army‘s global contest for two regiments of SR-SAM cancelled. The decision was taken at a meeting of the
Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley
The case continued for 5-6 years and trials of certain equipment were conducted.
The DAC has now decided to go in with additional Akash systems
The Army has a requirement for four regiments of SR-SAMs. It had earlier ordered two Akash regiments and
formally began inducting them in May 2015. Two more regiments were meant to be procured.
Earlier it was stated that Akash would be used at static formations and a more agile SRSAM to protect advancing
troops during war
4. Akash
Akash is a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile defense system developed by the Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO).
The missile system can target aircraft up to 30 km away, at altitudes up to 18,000 m.
It has the capability to "neutralise aerial targets like fighter jets, cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles" as well as
ballistic missiles.
It is in operational service with the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force.
5. Marawi
It is a southern city of 200,000 people in Philippines
It is held by Islamist militant group Maute since 23 May 2017.
Military helicopters unleashed more rockets on positions held by the rebels.
Maute is aligned with Islamic State
6. Participatory Notes
They are commonly known as P-Notes or PNs
They are instruments issued by registered foreign institutional investors (FII) to overseas investors, who wish to
invest in the Indian stock markets without registering themselves with the market regulator, the Securities and
Exchange Board of India - SEBI.
SEBI permitted foreign institutional investors to register and participate in the Indian stock market in 1992.
Investing through P-Notes is very simple and hence very popular amongst foreign institutional investors.
SEBI is tightening norms for PNs
It proposes levying a regulatory fee of $1,000 on every foreign portfolio investor (FPI) that issues ODIs or PNs.
SEBI-registered FPIs will have to pay this fee once every three years for each of their ODI subscribers, beginning
April 1, 2017.
1. Bhupen Hazarika
He was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, singer, poet and film-maker from Assam, widely known
as Sudhakantha.
His songs, written and sung mainly in the Assamese language by himself, are marked by humanity and
universal brotherhood and have been translated and sung in many languages, most notably in Bengali and
Hindi.
He is also acknowledged to have introduced the culture and folk music of Assam and Northeast India to Hindi
cinema.
Recipient of Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987), Padmashri (1997), Padmabhushan (2001) and Padma
Vibhushan (2012, posthumously)
Hazarika was awarded with Dada Saheb Phalke Award (1992)
2. Vibrant Gujarat Summit
It is the name given to a biennial investors' summit held by the government of Gujarat.
The event is aimed at bringing together business leaders, investors, corporations, thought leaders, policy and opinion
makers
The summit is advertised as a platform to understand and explore business opportunities in the State of Gujarat.
The 8th global Summit of Vibrant Gujarat was held from 9–13 January 2017.
It was also the time when 3 Zika virus cases were detected in the country but kept under wraps.
3. Minesweepers or Mine Counter Measure Vessels
Minesweepers are crucial to detect mines and explosives planted by the enemy targeting our ships as they
enter or leave harbours.
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The Indian Navy is presently left with four ageing minesweepers which will be retired by 2018 end.
After repeated delays and protracted negotiations, India and South Korea are set to be close to finalising the
Rs. 32,640 crore deal for 12 for the Indian Navy.
Goa Shipyard Limited has been nominated as the yard for construction by the government.
The ships would be manufactured in India under Transfer of Technology.
The first ship is expected to be delivered three years after the contract is signed.
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