Gk knowledge for ssc, railway exam and others exams.

    Gk knowledge

• The first Indian track athlete to have won a medal in the history of the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships - Hima Das

1.  Capital of Thailand – Bangkok

Currency of Thailand - Thai Baht

• Number  of languages part of The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India – 22
• Ease of doing Business’ report is published by Agency - World Bank

            Banking

• Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer is -Elon Musk
• Electronic Vehicle maker targets production of 5 lakh cars at firm’s first factory outside the U.S. at –Shanghai
• Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines joint venture is -  Vistara

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Gk knowledge punjab

       

Gk knowledge punjab

Century’s Longest Total Lunar Eclipse will occur on - July 27-28

• Highest peak of the world – Mount Averest
• Height of Mount Averest – 8848

 A certain percentage of the total bank deposits has to be kept in the current account with RBI which means banks do not have access to that much amount for any economic activity or commercial activity – Cash Reserve Ratio(CRR)

-          The amount of money that is invested in certain specified securities predominantly central government and state government securities - SLR, statutory liquidity ratio

• Money in a bank that can be withdrawn at any time, that is, on demand - Demand Deposits
• Income that can be spent after taxes - Disposable Income
• Policy enacted by the government that increases output. Examples include lowering taxes and increasing government spending -Expansionary Fiscal Policy

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Current affairs world

National and International

• Police Antarik Suraksha Seva Padak is medal to be awarded to each police or security personnel of the Central or State forces  for duty in Jammu & Kashmir, North-East and Left-Wing Extremism affected districts for duration of – 2 years
• The Startup India Yatra’s technology partner- Shrofile
• The States Startup Ranking Framework was launched by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in  - February,2018
• Indian rank in biggest economy in World Bank Ranking pubsidhed by World Bank-2017
• State government has started ‘Seema Darshan’ project - Gujarat
• The combined operations of Idea and Vodafone will create the country's largest telecom operator worth over -  1.5 lakh crore

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GK knowledge punjab

• Capital city of the Seychelles – Victoria.
• Capital city of Maldives – Male.
• National currency of Maldives - Maldives Rufiyaa.
• United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) was founded in year - 1949.
• National currency of China - Renminbi (CNY).
• First World MSME Day was observed on - 27 June 2017.
• International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is observed on – 26 June.  
• The constitution of India came into force in year – 1950.
• Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) is working under the administrative control of - Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
• Vienna-based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was established in year - 1997.
• National currency of Seychelles - Seychellois Rupee.
• National currency of Bangladesh - Bangladeshi Taka.

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National and International news

National and International

• Under the National Food Security Act the mandated amount of foodgrains  to be provided by Government to per person per month at subsidised price - 5 kg
• Chaired the first meeting of the task force on e-commerce held recently in July 2018 - Rita Teaotia.
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) will be setting up a 'Design University for Gaming' -  Visakhapatnam
• According to Supreme Court of India’s who is the master of roster  - Chief Justice of India
• Country won men’s team gold medal in the World ranking para archery championship-2018 – India
• In July, 2018, RBI issued licence to Chinese Bank to launch operations in India - Bank of China

Sports

• Para Asian Games 2018 will be held at -  Jakarta
• Player played maximum matches for India in all International formats of Cricket - Sachin Tendulkar

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Tania Sachdev wins Commonwealth Chess Championship

• Grandmaster and former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta has added another feather to his cap by retaining the Commonwealth Chess championship crown in Colombo, Sri Lanka, while International Master Tania Sachdev also finished with a gold medal.
• In fact, all the medals in the senior category were won by the Indians players.
• Grandmasters S L Narayanan and Deep Chakkravarthy got the silver and bronze medals respectively in the open section, while Mary Ann Gomes and Kiran Manisha Mohanty reached the podium in the women's section.
• Despite finishing a very impressive overall fourth in the event, Nandhidhaa had to be content with the gold medal in junior girls' category.

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Gk knowledge India

General Knowledge 

• The Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been implemented all over India on dated - 1 July 2017.
• The first country in the world who implemented goods and services tax (GST) regime - France.
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is headquartered in - Paris, France.
• Ottawa is the capital city of country - Canada 

  All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was established in year - 1956.

  National Informatics Center (NIC) was established in year - 1976.

  In India, the Representative of People Act was enacted in - 1951.

  International Monetary Fund (IMF) is headquartered at - Washington D.C. (US).

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Daily current affair 2018

National

• "ReUnite" App are launched to search for lost children by social organization – Bachapan Bachao Andolan.
• 'National Aging Center' (NCA) is being set up at - AIIMS, New Delhi.
• National Generic Document Registration System (NGDRS) was launched on experimental basis in 3 states - Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra.
• NITI Aayog’s First Delta Ranking of Aspirational Districts topped by - Dahod, Gujarat.
• On June 29, 2018, direct international air services were started between Varanasi (India) and city - Kathmandu (Nepal).

International

• A bilateral meeting of Australia-India Ministerial Dialogue on 'Education Co-operation' was concluded in Adelaide Australia

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Banking Gk Material

National

• Theme of National Statistics Day 2018 - Quality Assurance in Official Statistics.
• It has been proposed to set up India’s first center for excellence for 'blockchain' technology in city - Hyderabad, Telangana.
• According to the World Bank report, due to changes in the environment, India's GDP could be loose by - 2.8%.
• The ban on the plastic packaging for retailor was lifted from June 28 in a state - Maharashtra.
• United Arab Emirates (UAE) will open its consulate in city - Hyderabad, Telangana.

International

• Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to keep this country in its 'Gray List' in june 18 - Pakistan.
• According to the World Bank's 'The start of a new poverty narrative' report, Maximum no. of poor people live in country – Nigeria.
• Large complex organic molecules found by astronomers on 'Enceladus': moon of planet - Saturn.
• The researchers from the University of Michigan have developed only 0.3 mm sized world's smallest "computer" and its name is - Michigan Micro Mote.

Banking

• India's rupee has this much historic downturn compared to the dollar on June 28, 2018 to - Rs 69.1.
• ICICI Bank has appointed this person as non-executive part time chairman and an independent director of the board from July 1 - G.C. Chaturvedi.

Sports

• This Indian pair qualify for the men's doubles event in the London Wimbledon 2018 tournament - Vishnuvardhan and N. Shriram Balaji.

Persons in News

• This first Indian-American woman to be elected to the House of Representatives, was arrested during a protest against the Trump administration’s “inhumane” “zero-tolerance” border policy - Pramila Jayapal.

General Knowledge

• National Statistical Day is observed in India on 29th June in the memory of - Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis.
• Paris (France) based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was established in year- 1989.
• The national currency of the United Arab Emirates - Dirham.
• In 2005, A spacecraft was sent to discover Saturn and its "Enselladus" moon named - Cassini.
• The name of the mineral derived from the meteoroid on the Mars - Zircon.

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Banking Gk Material

National & International

• Ministry of Women and Child Development launches report on ‘Women in Prisons’, under which it contains this no. of recommendation – 134.
• India handed over this maritime reconnaissance aircraft to Seychelles - Dornier.

• Students form Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science (HITS) has developed 33.39 grams satellite named -

• This state government signed an MoU with US-based Flextronics Technologies (India) for setting up a plant in Chittoor district for making "intelligent products" - Andhra Pradesh.
• ‘Nissan Knowledge City’, a digital innovation hub of Japanese Nissan Motors, will establish in state - Kerala.
• Pakistan’s this project have been planted planted more than 9,00,000 trees - Billion Tree Tsunami.
• This country granted EU (Withdrawal) Bill-2018 – Britain.
• From July 1, China will cut import tariffs on soybean from India and four other Asian nations to – 0%.
• Ruling party in this country proposes two regarding the Presidential elections amendment act – Maldives.
• India has pledged this much amount to United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees - USD 5 million.

Banking & Sports

• This Private sector lender is acquiring brokerage business of IL&FS Securities Services - IndusInd Bank.
• Shareholders of telecom operator Idea Cellular approved the new name for the company as -  Vodafone Idea Limited.
• This telecom company will connect Andaman and Nicobar Islands with optical fibre cables which will provide initial capacity of 400 gigabit per second - BSNL.
• 58th National Interstate Senior Athletics meet start in – Guwahati, Assam.

Person in News

• 2018 IIFA Best Actor winner - Irrfan Khan.
• 2018 IIFA Best Actress Award (posthumously) winner - Sridevi.
• New director and CEO of Bharti Airtel’s Airtel Business - Ajay Chitkara.

General Knowledge

• Capital city of Maldives – Male.
• National currency of Maldives - Maldives Rufiyaa.
• United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) was founded in year - 1949.
• National currency of China - Renminbi (CNY).

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Daily current affair & Gk updates

National & International

• Govt proposes to set up this no. of Van Dhan Kendras across country - 3,000.
• Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has become India's partner in oil refinery project at – Ratnagiri (Maharashtra).
• India has signed six MoUs to further expand bilateral ties with this island nation which is near Africa - Seychelles.
• NASA will send this mission to correct agricultural water imbalances on June 29 -  ECOSTRESS.
• Bangladesh navies will institute Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) from June 24 to 29 with - India.
• On June 22, 2018, India launched a technology and talent exchange program called 'Take-Change' for startup with country - Britain.
• Theme of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2018 - Listen First - Listening to children and youth is the first step to help them grow healthy and safe.

Banking & Sports

• RBI proposed that this type of Banks will have to set up a Board of Management - Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs).
• Indian Government testing this big data system that will assist banks in assessing credit risk - Credit Rating Model.
• In the 2018 World Stage 3 Archery Championship in the United States, this Indian woman archer has won the gold medal in women's recurve event - Deepika Kumar.
• England beat this country to complete ODI series whitewash in the 140-year cricket history – Australia.

Persons in News

• The presence Seychelles President is - Danny Faure.
• New MD and CEO of Manipal Global Education Services (MaGE) is - Ravi Panchanandan.

General Knowledge

• International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is observed on – 26 June.  
• The constitution of India came into force in year – 1950.
• Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) is working under the administrative control of - Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
• Vienna-based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was established in year - 1997.
• National currency of Seychelles - Seychellois Rupee.
• National currency of Bangladesh - Bangladeshi Taka.

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British Queen approves Brexit law that will end membership of EU

• The Bill has undergone more than 250 hours of acrimonious debate in the Houses of Parliament since it was introduced in July 2017.
• A Bill enacting Britain’s decision to leave the European Union (E.U.) has become law after months of debate.
• The E.U. (Withdrawal) Bill, which repeals the 1972 European Communities Act through which Britain became a member, had received royal assent from Queen Elizabeth II.
• The Bill transfers decades of European law onto British statute books in a bid to avoid any legal disruption.

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Banking Daily current affair and gk

National

• 3-day annual Sindhu Darshan Festival begins in the state - J&K (Ladakh).
• The Bharatiya Janata Party observed the 'black day' on the occasion of the 43rd anniversary of 1975's Emergency on - 25th June.

International

• With the total project portfolios of US$4.4 Billion, this country has been the largest borrower of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) - India. 
• This country end ban on female motorists women - Saudi Arabia.

Banking

• To promote the MSME sector of Goa, this bank has set up SARAL LITE (Systematic Offensive and Risk Assessment of Loan) - Union Bank of India.
• National Oil Company (ADNOC) of this country has signed an agreement to buy the stake of USD 44 billion petrochemical project in Ratnagiri - Abu Dhabi.

Sports

• This Indian becomes world’s second youngest GM - R Praggananandhha.
• He set a record for the most wins at different grands prix - Lewis Hamilton.
• He wins men's singles of Halle Open 2018 - Borna Coric.

Persons in News

• Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins presidential election of this country - Turkey.
• He retired as Justice of Supreme Court - J. Chelameswar.

General Knowledge

• International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking celebrates on - 26th June.
• The Supreme Court of India came into existence in the year - 1950 (January 28).
• This person is India's first Chief Justice of India - H. J. Kania.
• The first edition of the Sindhu Darshan Festival was held in the year - 1997.
• The Capital of Saudi Arabia is – Riyadh.
• The Haley Open is a tennis tournament organized in country - Germany.
• This country’s The 12 years and 7 months old Sergey Karjakin is the smallest Grandmaster in the world - Ukraine.
• The national currency of Turkey's European country is - Turkish Lira.

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Banking GK Material

NATIONAL

• ‘Suryashakti Kishan Yojana’ was launched in state - Gujarat.
• 'Amrit cities' competition of Clean Survey 2018 topped by – Indore.

INTERNATIONAL

• India’s plans to build a naval base in the western Indian Ocean region was rejected by country - Seychelles.
• Nepal will be connected to Tibet with railway route by country - China.
• This European country was declared its crisis over as they granted debt relief under a bailout exit strategy - Greek.

BANKING

• This no. of startup companies have been selected to partner with the Global Accelerator Network (GAN) for the second batch of 'India Accelerator' program - six.
• This Mumbai-based Finitech Startup P-2-P Loan Forum will open two branches in Noida and Bangalore in July 2018 - PaisaDukan.

SPORTS

• This Indian player clinches gold in men’s 50m breaststroke event at Singapore National Swimming C’ships - Sandeep Sejwal.
• This Indian player wins her maiden singles title on ITF Pro circuit - Karman Kaur Thandi.
• At 2018 Ulaanbaatar Cup boxing tournament, India fetched - Four bronze.
• This Indian player was declared SJFI Player of the Year - Neeraj Chopra (javelin).

PERSON IN NEWS

• Former Prime Minister of this country Kim Jong-pil died on 23 june - South Korea.
• The 64-year-old Padma Shri award-winning tennis player will get 'SJFI Medal' - Vijay Amritraj.

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

• The capital of Seychelles is - Victoria.
• Tibet is the autonomous region of this country on the northern Tibetan Plateau of the Himalayas - China.
• This is the currency of Greece - Euro.
• This is the world's oldest trading program, in which developing countries served with zero fees and get priority access to advanced markets - Generalised System of Preferences (GSP).

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GSP: win-win for Indo-U.S. trade

GSP WIN-WIN FOR INDO-U.S. TRADE

The Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) is one of the oldest trade preference programmes in the world, and was designed to provide zero duties or preferential access for developing countries to advanced markets.

The U.S. GSP programme was established by the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, and promotes economic development by eliminating duties on thousands of products when imported from one of the 129 designated beneficiary countries and territories.

What has been changed?

• In April 2018, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it would review the GSP eligibility of India, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan.
• The proposed review for India was initiated in response to market access petitions filed by the U.S. dairy and medical device industries due to recent policy decisions in India, which were perceived as trade barriers.

Impact on India

• This tremendous benefit to the global economy is a small aspect of the U.S. trade balance; for example, of the total $2.4 trillion U.S. imports in 2017, only $21.2 billion arrived via GSP, amounting to less than 1% of total U.S. imports.
• Despite GSP’s low significance in the U.S. trade balance, its benefits ultimately help U.S. consumers and exporters by contributing to lower pricing of final products.
• In 2017, the top 10 GSP products exported by India to the U.S. were motor vehicle parts, ferro alloys, precious metal jewellery, monumental or building stone, rubber tyres, travel goods, certain sweetened or flavored waters, polyacetals/polyethers/polyesters, electric motors and generators, and insulated cables and wires.

Why GSP should been Continued

• Despite continued economic growth over the last two decades or so, India is a lower middle-income country. GSP allows Indian exporters a certain competitive edge and furthers the development of the country’s export base. It also allows India to integrate with global value chains (GVC) and hence, with global markets.
• These advantages provide opportunities for small enterprises and help in the overall livelihood creation endeavour in India.
• Further, it is important to note that Indian exports to the U.S. under the GSP programme are mostly intermediaries, and are not in direct competition with U.S.

Today, our two countries engage in countless areas of mutual cooperation, and a supportive stance in recognition of our greater goals and shared values would promise significant progress in the future.

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ABC of International Courtckground: of Justice

Background

-          The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.

-          It settles legal disputes between member states and gives advisory opinions to authorized UN organs and specialized agencies.

Details:

-          The court's workload covers a wide range of judicial activity. After the court ruled that the United States's covert war against Nicaragua was in violation of international law (Nicaragua v. United States), the United States withdrew from compulsory jurisdiction in 1986 to accept the court's jurisdiction only on a case-by-case basis.

-           Chapter XIV of the United Nations Charter authorizes the UN Security Council to enforce Court rulings. However, such enforcement is subject to the veto power of the five permanent members of the Council, which the United States used in the Nicaragua case

-          The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).

-          The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.

-          The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. It is assisted by a Registry, its administrative organ. Its official languages are English and French

Jurisdiction

As stated in Article 93 of the UN Charter, all 193 UN members are automatically parties to the court's statute.Non-UN members may also become parties to the court's statute under the Article 93(2) procedure. For example, before becoming a UN member state, Switzerland used this procedure in 1948 to become a party, and Nauru became a party in 1988.Once a state is a party to the court's statute, it is entitled to participate in cases before the court.

However, being a party to the statute does not automatically give the court jurisdiction over disputes involving those parties. The issue of jurisdiction is considered in the three types of ICJ cases: contentious issues, incidental jurisdiction, and advisory opinions.

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Evening Banking Digest

National

• On 4 August, India will imposed retaliatory tariff on 29 products worth $235 million from - United States (US).
• 5th India International MSME Start-Up Exhibition 2018 was inaugurated on June 22 in - Delhi.

International

• India and the United States will hold an inaugural 2+2 dialogue on July 6 in - Washington D.C.
• The world Inaugural premiere of this Indian film takes place at London Indian Film Festival – Love Sonia.
• Scientists from this organization have discovered 'chlorophyll-f', which uses near-IR light for photosynthesis - Imperial College London.

Banking

• Odisha cabinet approved the proposal of a private industrial park in the Gangam District as a Domestic Terrest Area (SEZ) by – TATA group.

Sports

• This shuttler was adjudged as the Sportsperson of the Year for 2017 by the Sports Illustrated India - Kidambi Srikanth.
• In the history of ODI cricket, this country made world record of highest score of 481 runs – England.

Person in News

• Person resigns as Chief Economic Advisor in june 2018 - Arvind Subramanian.
• This Indian Actor and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador publish ‘Unfinished’ book in 2019 - Priyanka Chopra.
• This Veteran journalist and litterateur passed away in Raipur on 22 June - Prabhakar Choubey.
• This state’s Governor NN Vohra has appointed K Vijay Kumar and BB Vyas as advisers - Jammu and Kashmir.

General Knowledge

• The wavelength of IR-Rays is found in range of - 700 nanometers to 1 millimeter.
• The wavelength of X-ray is found in range of - 0.01 to 10 nanometers.
• X-ray was discovered in 1895 by scientist - Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen.
• Mongolia is the capital of this country – Ulaanbaatar.

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Haryana launches 7-Star Gram Panchayat Rainbow scheme

What is 7- Star Panchayat Scheme

          

What is 7- Star Panchayat Scheme

In a novel initiative, Haryana government has decided to give star rankings to its panchayats on the basis of seven social parameters under the state’s 7-Star Gram Panchayat Rainbow scheme.

-          As many as 1,120 villages of the state have achieved the rankings under the scheme, launched in January 2018.

-          Panchayats will be judged on sex ratio, education, hygiene, environment preservation, governance and social participation. The selected villages will be honoured at an award ceremony to be held in Panchkula, Gurugram and Rohtak next month.

Awards

-          The villages would be rewarded Rs one lakh for achieving each parameter. 

-          The villages having equal or more girl population will be given Rs 50,000 as bonus with their reward money. Similarly, the villages which adopt Swachhta Mission will be given additional Rs 50,000 as reward.

An online portal has also been developed for receiving claims of panchayats, for evaluation and verification.

The Ambala topped the star ranking with 407 stars followed by Gurugram with 199 stars and Karnal with 75 stars.

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22 June all info current affair, news & gk

National

• The world’s first International Centre for Humanitarian Forensics is in – Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• The 100th Smart City is – Shillong.
• India Smart City Award 2018’s City award was given to - Surat (Gujarat).
• The first state in the country, which implement '7-Star Gram Panchayat Rainbow Scheme' - Haryana.
• This many artists are selected for 2017's Natya Akademi Award – 42.

International

• This country quits UN Human Rights Council, who condemns alleged bias against Israel – US.
• This North American country legalises recreational use of marijuana nationwide - Canada.
• ‘Conference on International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development 2018-28’ was held in – Tajikistan.

Banking

• In metropolitan centres, The housing loan limits for eligibility under priority sector lending will be revised to - Rs. 35 lakh.  
• This online peer-to-peer lending company received the registration certificate from RBI - OML Technologies.
• This Indian software exporter company opened arms R&D branch called 'Makers lab' in Germany and the United States -Tech Mahindra.

Sports

• This country sets a new world record of 481 runs in 50 overs – England.

Person in News

• This yoga teacher is the recipients of PM award 2018 - Vishwas Mandalik.
• The Chief Financial Advisor resigned from his post - Arvind Subramanyam.

General Knowledge

• Government of India’s Smart City Mission launched in year - 2015.
• The UNHRC, established in 2006, is headquartered at - Geneva, Switzerland.
• Government of India established 'India Smart City Award' in year – 2017.

• International Yoga Day celebrates on - 21st June.

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National Health Profile 2018

National Health Profile 2018

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda launched the National Health Resource Repository (NHRR) on June 19, 2018 in New Delhi. The repository is India’s first ever national healthcare facility registry of authentic, standardised and updated geo-spatial data of all public and private healthcare establishments.

The Minister also released the National Health Profile (NHP)-2018 prepared by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI) on the occasion. The E-book of the annual document was also released. The National Health Profile covers demographic, socio-economic, health status and health finance indicators, along with comprehensive information on health infrastructure and human resources in health.

Significance

The National Health Profile is a very important tool as it has helped in designing various programmes such as free drugs and diagnostics and Mission Parivar Vikas.

In recent years, India has shown substantial progress on several indicators. India’s national health indicators like Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal Maternity Rate (MMR) and Total Fertility Rate (TFR) are declining faster than the world’s pace.

The vision of NHRR Project

The project envisions strengthening of evidence-based decision making and developing a platform for citizen and provider-centric services by creating a robust, standardised and secured IT-enabled repository of India’s healthcare resources.

NHRR will be the ultimate platform for comprehensive information of both, private and public healthcare establishments including Railways, ESIC, defence and petroleum healthcare establishments.

Under the Collection of Statistics Act 2008, over 20 lakh healthcare establishments such as hospitals, doctors, clinics, diagnostic labs, pharmacies and nursing homes would be enumerated under this census capturing data on over 1,400 variables.

Key Highlights

1. The Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI) has actively engaged with key stakeholders including leading Associations, Allied Ministries and several private healthcare service providers.

2. Approximately 4,000 trained professionals are dedicatedly working to approach every healthcare establishment for information collection.

3. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the project technology partner adhering to paramount data security.

The expected outcomes include:

•  Providing comprehensive data on all health resources including private doctors, health facilities, chemists, and diagnostics labs.
•  Establishing a National Health Resource Repository for evidence-based decision making, in line with digital India mission.
•  Enhancing the coordination between central and state government for optimisation of health resources.
• Improving data accessibility at all levels including State Head of Departments, thus, decentralising the decision making at district and state level.

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Daily current affair national & International and gk

National

• Under the Market Access Initiative Scheme (MAI), India study examines pharmaceutical market for pharma exports to - China.
• Central Water Commission (CWC) has entered into an agreement with this tech giant for effective management of floods in India - Google.
• The government plans to expand its BPO scheme to one lakh seats - BPO promotion scheme.
• India's largest National data centre will be set up in – Bhopal.
• This fifth FPV commissioned into the Indian Coast Guard - ICGS 'Rani Rashmoni'.
• Biospheres NGO plans to conduct ‘Devrai’ conservation project in Western Ghats in state - Maharashtra.  
• The Centre will set up the country’s fifth and biggest data centre in - Bhopal.

International

• US scientists designed world's most powerful and smart scientific supercomputer called - Summit.
• This country plans to create a new “Space Force” - US.

Banking

• ICICI Bank appointed its first chief operating officer (COO) - Sandeep Bakhshi.
• Indian Company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) opened its third distribution center in country -France.

Sports

• First women's tennis player in current WTA Tour rankings is - Simona Halep (Romania).
• This country’s Richard Gasquet won the title of 'Libima Open 2018' Men's Tennis Championship - France.

Person in News

• Lieutenant General Aziz Ahmed is new army chief of - Bangladesh.

General Knowledge

• The National Institute of Informatics (NIC) was established in India in year - 1976.
• China's national currency is - Renminbi.
• The capital city of United States is - Washington D.C.
• Dhaka is the capital city of - Bangladesh.
• The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) was established in the year - 1978

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175 GW from Renewable Energy by 2022: Is India too ambitious?

  India has missed several interim milestones since it announced its 175 GW target in 2015.

-       Whether India will be able to meet its target of 40 percent of power from renewable energy (RE) by 2030. 

Details

-       The break-up of India’s 2022 renewable energy target, as per public data, includes 100 GW from solar and 60 GW from wind power

-       The country installed around 60 GW renewable power capacity by November 2017, of which 27 GW, or 43.5 percent, was installed over four years from May 2014.

-       It has been observed that after 2 years of growth in implementing renewable projects, there has been a slowdown in new capacity additions – the reasons being diversion of a national clean-energy cess to subsidise GST-induced losses and a new import duty to protect domestic manufacturers of solar equipment.

-       Those changes have not taken place in the policy yet and there is a slowdown.

-       This is also due to issues such as power purchase agreements which have been signed but not executed.

-       The break-up of India’s 2022 renewable energy target, as per public data, includes 100 GW from solar and 60 GW from wind power.

-        The country installed around 60 GW renewable power capacity by November 2017, of which 27 GW, or 43.5 percent, was installed over four years from May 2014.

-       It has been observed that after 2 years of growth in implementing renewable projects, there has been a slowdown in new capacity additions – the reasons being diversion of a national clean-energy cess to subsidise GST-induced losses and a new import duty to protect domestic manufacturers of solar equipment.

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Current affair national & international, news & GK

Nationl

• On 18th June, 2018, European Union Film Festival (EUFF) will premiere in - New Delhi.
• According to BCG’s Global Wealth Report 2018, this percent of the total wealth in the country is with those having less than $1,00,000 net worth - 55%.

International

• A boy has contracted the first case of bubonic plague, which has seen for 26 years in - US.
• This country has adopted an economic plan that would allow more foreign workers as the country rapidly aging - Japan.
• US slapped a stiff 25 per cent tariff on $50 billion worth of - Chinese goods.
• This Arab country has announced sweeping changes in its labour and visa rules, due to which Businesses will now pay an annual fee of 60 dirhams ($16.34) per worker - United Arab Emirates.

Banking

• This State-run bank has approved to allot up to 10 crore new shares of bank to its employees under Employees Share Purchase Scheme (ESPS) - Punjab National Bank (PNB).
• This company is investing in setting up India's first carbon fiber manufacturing unit - Reliance Industries.

Sports

• National Basketball Association's (NBA) global event will be hosted by country - India.
• In the 18th Mr. Surnder Singh National Open Shooting Championship in Delhi, this Maharashtra shooter earned individual gold (10m air rifle), silver and team silver medal - Shahu Tushar Mane.

Person in News

• In space a total of 665 days record maker women Astronaut retired from NASA on June 15 - Peggy Whitson.
• This Chairperson of Sasakawa India Leprosy Foundation (SILF) was conferred upon the Japan Imperial Decoration - Tarun Das.
• This Indian painter's 1989 untitled work, 'Kali' fetched Rs. 26.4 crores at 'Milestone 200th Auction' - Tyeb Mehta.

General Knowledge

• Established on November 1, 1993, European Union (EU) is a political and financial group of – 28 countries.
• Fatal 'bubonic plague' is known as - Black Death.
• Japan's national currency is - Japanese Yen.
• The currency of United Arab Emirates (UAE) is - Dirham.
• The first part of the International Space Station (ISS) multi-national space station was sent into space in year - 1998.
• This is the name of the Soviet / Russian astronaut who has spent a record 878 days in space - Gennady Padalkin.

• World Trade Organization (WTO) located in Geneva was founded in year - 1995 (January 1).

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Maharashtra govt exploring hyperloop technology

• Maharashtra govt is exploring the hyperloop technology to drastically cut the travel time between Mumbai and Pune, located around 200km away from each other.
• It has approached a US-based firm, Virgin HyperloopOne, for the modern train project.
• The travel time between Mumbai and Pune, which now is around four hours, will get reduced to just 25 minutes if hyperloop train service is started.

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Why was quadrivalent flu vaccine developed?

For years, flu vaccines were designed to protect against three different flu viruses (trivalent). Trivalent vaccines include an influenza A (H1N1) virus, an influenza A (H3N2) virus and one influenza B virus. Experts had to choose one B virus, even though there are two different lineages of B viruses that both circulate during most seasons. This meant the vaccine did not protect against the group of B viruses not included in the vaccine. Adding another B virus to the vaccine aims to give broader protection against circulating flu viruses.

Case in India

• More than 115,000 cases of influenza and more than 8,000 deaths due to influenza have been recorded since 2010, according to the ministry of health’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP).
• However, this number is limited to influenza caused due to one strain, H1N1, only. 
• The experts also noted that in 2017, the H3N2 and B subtypes of influenza virus were circulating, due to a build-up of the susceptible population.
• It was the first time the team had documented circulation of H3N2 and Influenza B.

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What is quadrivalent flu vaccine?

The quadrivalent flu vaccine is designed to protect against four different flu viruses; two influenza A viruses and two influenza B viruses.

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In a first, WHO recommends quadrivalent influenza vaccine

Sanofi Pasteur’s injectable influenza vaccine containing two A virus strains and two B virus strains for active immunisation of adults of age 18 to 64 years was approved in 2017 by Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). 

The application for the paediatric indication is under review by the DCGI. Final approval is expected by the end of month of June.

Sanofi’s quadrivalent influenza vaccine was licensed for use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013. It is licensed in 26 countries.

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Swajal Launched in 115 Aspirational Districts of India

• Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation announced Swajal schemes in 115 aspirational districts of the country including both teh districts of Goa.
• The scheme involves national outlay of Rs 700 crores through flexible-funds under the existing NRDWP budget.
• These schemes will aim to provide villages with piped water supply powered by solar energy.
• The scheme will train hundreds of rural technicians for operation and maintenance of Swajal units.

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NLCIL's Three 100 MW Solar Power Projects dedicated to Nation

• Union Minister for Finance, Railways and Coal Piyush Goyal inaugurated three 100-MW solar power projects erected at Virudhunagar and Tirunelveli districts.
• The solar power projects erected at Thoppalaakkarai and Sethupuram in Virudhunagar district and Sellaiya Sezhiyanallur in Tirunelveli district, with an installed capacity of 100 MW each, were dedicated to the nation.
• The projects were erected at a cost of ₹ 1,302 crore, which include operation and maintenance cost for 15 years.
• The power produced from the units would be given to Tamil Nadu Power Generation and Distribution Company (Tangedco) at a cost of ₹4.41 per unit.

• NLCIL- NLC India Limited (NLCIL) formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation is a 'Navratna' profit making, Government of India Entreprise engaged in mining of lignite and generation of power through lignite based thermal power plants. NLCIL was established by GoI in 1956, following the discovery of lignite deposits in Neyveli, Tamil Nadu.

The Business portfolio of the company is as under:Lignite Mining,Thermal Power Generation,Solar Energy Generation,Wind Power Generation,Coal Mining.

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India to host European Union Film Festival

• India will host the European Union Film Festival (EUFF) from June 18 to June 24, 2018 at the Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi. Award-winning Slovakian Movie ‘Little Harbour’ will the opening film for the festival.
• During the festival 24 latest European movies from 23 European countries will be screened across 11 cities of India.
• The Festival will be inaugurated by the Hon'ble Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.

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Composite Water Management Index released

Why Part of D.N.A –  In February 2018, NITI Aayog had released a report on “Healthy States, Progressive India” which covered the ranking of States/ UTs in various health parameters. 

What is Water Management Index-  NITI Aayog has developed a Composite Water Management Index as a useful tool to assess and further improve the performance in efficient management of water resources. The index would provide useful information for the States and also for the concerned Central Ministries/Departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.

Details :

-       In pursuit of cooperative and competitive federalism, NITI Aayog has been laying emphasis on developing indicators on various social sectors.  As a step further in direction and keeping in view the criticality of water for life, NITI Aayog has prepared a report on Composite Water Management Index (CWMI).

-       The Report was launched today by Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources and Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog.  Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog and Secretaries/ senior officials of Ministry of Water Resources, Drinking Water & Sanitation and Rural Development were also present at the launch event.

-       The CWMIis an important tool to assess and improve the performance of States/ Union Territories in efficient management of water resources.  This has been done through a first of its kind water data collection exercise in partnership with Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation and all the States/ Union Territories.

-       The index would provide useful information for the States and also for the concerned Central Ministries/Departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.Simultaneously a web portal on the subject has also been launched.

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Paradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)

Context: After initial hiccups in implementing the maternity benefit programme Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), the government has finally made some headway and provided cash incentives to nearly 23.6 lakh beneficiaries out of an estimated 51.6 lakh a year.

 

Pradhan Mantri Matritva Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), previously Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY), is a maternity benefit program run by the government of India.

• PMMVY is implemented by the Ministry of Women & Child Development in collaboration with State Governments.
• It is Centrally Sponsored Scheme under which the cost sharing ratio between the Centre and the States & UTs with Legislature is 60:40, for North-Eastern States & three Himalayan States, it is 90:10 and 100% Central assistance for Union Territories without Legislature.
• It is a conditional cash transfer schemefor pregnant and lactating women of 19 years of age or above for first two live births.
• It provides a partial wage compensation to women for wage-loss during childbirth and childcare and to provide conditions for safe delivery and good nutrition and feeding practices.
• In 2013, the scheme was brought under the National Food Security Act, 2013 to implement the provision of cash maternity benefit of ₹6,000 stated in the Act.Context: After initial hiccups in implementing the maternity benefit programme Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), the government has finally made some headway and provided cash incentives to nearly 23.6 lakh beneficiaries out of an estimated 51.6 lakh a year.
  
  
  
  

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