About:

• A kamikazi drone, also called a suicide drone or, more formally, a loitering munition, is an unmanned aerial vehicle that is designed to self-destruct after serving its purpose.
  
  
• It can be effective in room intervention during counter-terrorism operations — a drone breaking in and exploding will involve a lower risk of casualty than jawans entering physically.
  
  
• A loitering munition is portable, making it ideal for ground units such as NSG. While some come with a warhead, in others the drone itself is the main munition.
  
  
• Equipped with high-resolution cameras, it can also home in on radio emissions, or be flown manually by remote control. If a target is not engaged, the drone will return and land itself at the base.
  
  
• The name “loitering” derives from a defining characteristic: the ability to “loiter” in the air for an extended period of time before striking, giving the targeter, time to decide when and what to strike.
  
  

About:

• The disorder is caused by mutations in a gene known as ornithine decarboxylase 1 (ODC1) and is defined by a number of clinical features including large birth weight, enlarged head size, hair loss, reduced muscle strength, skin lesions, hearing loss and developmental delays.
  
  
• The disorder has still to be named and its long-term effects, which include impacts on the neurological system, are not completely known.
  
  
• The disorder was first described by researchers in a transgenic mouse model more than 20 years ago.
  
  

About:

• In the rural areas the smallest area of habitation, viz., the village generally follows the limits of a revenue village that is recognised by the normal district administration.
  
  
• The revenue village need not necessarily be a single agglomeration of the habitations. It may have one or more hamlets.
  
  
• But the revenue village has a definite surveyed boundary and each village is a separate administrative unit with separate village accounts. The entire revenue village is one unit.
  
  
• There may be un-surveyed villages within forests etc., where the locally recognised boundaries of each habitation area are followed within the larger unit of say the forest range officer’s jurisdiction.
  
  

Recent decision:

• As Tinkonia village fell under the Forest Department, its residents were deprived of basic govt. schemes and facilities like BPL cards, healthcare, education, electricity connections etc.
  
  

After being declared a revenue village by U.P. Government, it has been electrified and ration cards have been issued to its residents.

About:

• Status: National Board of Examinations (NBE) is an autonomous body under the Union Health Ministry.
  
  
• Origin: It was established in 1975 at New Delhi as a Society under Delhi Society registration act.
  
  

Mandate:

• Conducting National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test – Post Graduate (NEET-PG) and NEET-SS which are the only examinations for admission to Broad and Super Specialty Medical courses respectively.
  
  
• Conducting the licensing examination for Indian Citizens who have obtained their MBBS equivalent outside India.http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=183619
  
  

Arvind Saxena:

• Tenure as Chairman, UPSC: His tenure will commence from the date he enters upon the office of Chairman, UPSC. The term of his appointment will be till 08.2020 when he attains the age of 65 years or till further orders whichever is earlier.
  
  
• Background:
  • Shri Arvind Saxena joined UPSC as a Member on May 8, 2015, and has been performing duties of the post of Chairman, UPSC since June 20, 2018.
    
    
  • Prior to joining UPSC as Member, he was working as Director of the Aviation Research Centre (ARC).
    
    
  • He was selected for the Civil Services and joined the Indian Postal Service in 1978.
    
    
  
  
  

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC):

• Function: UPSC is India's central recruiting agency. It is responsible for appointments to and examinations for All India services and group A & group B of Central services.
  
  
• Formed in:
  
  
• HQ:
  
  
• Appointment of Chairman:
  • As per Article 316, the Chairman and other members of UPSC shall be appointed by the President.
    
    
  • A member of a UPSC shall hold office for a term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
    
    
  • As per Article 319, a person who holds office as Chairman shall, on the expiration of his term of office, be ineligible for re-appointment to that office.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• Cabotage means reserving coastal trade for national flag vessels; in other words, it refers to the practice of imposing restrictions for movement of domestic cargo by foreign flag vessels.
  
  
• Arguments for Cabotage: Cabotage restrictions are applicable in most countries to protect the domestic shipping industry from foreign competition as well as for the purpose of national security. China and USA are known to impose absolute cabotage restrictions.
  
  
• Arguments against Cabotage: However, the contrary view is that if coastal ships are less in number, cabotage restrictions do not do any good for the nation.
  • For instance, the growth of coastal fleet in India is not viewed as impressive.
    
    
  • When there are not enough domestic coastal vessels, imposing cabotage, discourages coastal transport due to the procedural lags.
    
    
  
  
  

Indian scenario:

• Cabotage is applied in the coastal trade or the internal trade from one port to another in India, which is generally carried out by ships of lower draft/depth. There is no absolute cabotage restriction in India.
  
  
• Legal backing: The policy of cabotage restriction for movement of domestic cargo by foreign flag vessels along the coast of India is governed as per Section 407 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, as amended from time to time.
  
  

About:

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released rules on interoperability of Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs)
  
  
• Interoperability allows compatibility between payment systems and once implemented, a user will be able to transfer funds between mobile wallets and also from their wallets to bank accounts.
  
  
• These rules do not force PPIs such as wallets to permit such transfers; instead, these guidelines are for “participating PPI issuers, who choose to adopt interoperability”.
  
  
• In cases where PPIs are issued in the form of wallets, interoperability across PPIs shall be enabled through unified payments interface (UPI). Where PPIs are issued in the form of cards, the cards shall be affiliated to the authorized card networks.
  
  

About PMSSY:

• Launched in:
  
  
• Objective: Correcting regional imbalances in the availability of affordable/reliable tertiary healthcare services and also augmenting facilities for quality medical education in the country.
  
  
• Components:
  • Setting up of new AIIMS like institutes in underserved regions of the country.
    
    
  • Upgradation of existing Govt Medical Colleges (GMCs)
    
    
  
  
  

The AIIMS in Tamil Nadu was announced in the Budget Speech of Finance Minister in 2015-16 and Ministry of Finance conveyed its in-principle approval for establishment of AIIMS in Telangana in April, 2018.

Key highlights of the order:

• Ban:
  • Blanket ban on online sale of firecrackers through e-commerce websites, including Flipkart and Amazon.
    
    
  • Ban on barium salts in crackers. Light and colour-emitting products like sparklers, lower pots, chakkars and torches disallowed due to the ban on barium salts use in fireworks.
    
    
  • Ban on joined firecrackers (series crackers or ‘laris’), as they caused “huge air, noise and solid waste problems.”
    
    
  
  
  
• Use of green crackers (reduced emission firecrackers):
  • Use of low emission crackers with PM reduction by 30-35% and a significant reduction in NOx and SO₂ due to in-situ water generation as dust suppressant.
    
    
  • These can be implemented subject to approval by PESO.
    
    
  
  
  
• Time for bursting crackers during:
  • Deepavali and other festivals: Two hours (between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.)
    
    
  • Christmas and New Year: Half-an-hour (between 11.55 p.m. and 12:30 a.m.)
    
    
  
  
  
• Role of PESO:
  • Petroleum and explosives safety organization (PESO) will ensure fireworks with permitted chemicals only to be purchased/sold/used during Deepavali.
    
    
  • For this, PESO will review the composition of fireworks to test for presence of banned chemicals like lithium, arsenic, lead and mercury. It will submit the report in 2 weeks.
    
    
  
  
  
• Punishment: In case of any violations, the Station House Officer (SHO) will be liable of contempt of court.
  
  
• “Community” bursting in pre-designated areas: The court urged the Central and State governments to permit “community” bursting of crackers during festivities in pre-designated areas. Public should be informed about the designated places a week before Diwali.
  
  

Arguments by Supreme Court:

• Bursting crackers is not a fundamental right and an essential practice during religious festivals like Diwali.
  
  
• Article 25 (right to religion) is subject to Article 21 (right to life). If a particular religious practice is threatening the health and lives of people, such practice is not entitled to protection under Article 25.
  
  
• Our endeavour is to strive at balancing of two rights, namely, right of the petitioners under Article 21 and right of the manufacturers and traders under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.
  
  

About:

• Background:
  • In 2013, an Expert Committee on Tribal Health was constituted jointly by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) under the Chairmanship of Dr. Abhay Bang.
    
    
  • It has recently presented its report to the Government of India.
    
    
  • It is the first ever such review of tribal health in India.
    
    
  
  
  
• Findings:
  • Tribals in India suffer from high incidence of malnutrition, bad maternal health and high incidence of communicable diseases
    
    
  • Non communicable diseases (hypertension, diabetes) are also fast rising in Tribals.
    
    
  • They are also highly addicted to alcohol (50% men) and tobacco (72% men).
    
    
  
  
  
• Recommendations:
  • Allocate 5% per capita of GDP on tribal health; 9.3% of state budget on tribal health should reach the secondary as well as tertiary health care to tribals.
    
    
  • Create a Tribal Health Index and estimate it annually.
    
    
  • Create a special cadre of 1,000 tribal health officers (including non-doctors) across 809 tribal majority blocks in 150 districts.
    
    
  • Establish a ‘Tribal Health Council and Directorate of Tribal Health’.
    
    
  
  
  

Status:

• In 1974, it was established as one of the first 9 Tiger Reserves under Project Tiger.
  
  
• In 1985, by including adjacent areas, it was enlarged and named as Bandipur National Park. 
  
  

• Geography:
  
  

• Tiger Reserve is situated in two contiguous districts (Mysore and Chamarajanagar) of Karnataka.
  
  
• It is located at the tri-junction area of the States of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
  
  
• Bandipur Tiger Reserve is surrounded by
  1. Nagarahole Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu) in the North West (Kabini Reservoir separates the two)
     
     
  2. Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu) in the South and
     
     
  3. Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) in the South West
     
     
  
  
  
• Together these 4 areas are part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
  
  
• Rivers: The park is situated between Kabini riverin the north and the Moyar river in the south. The Nugu river runs through the park.
  
  

 Ban on night traffic:

• In 2009, Karnataka High Court banned night traffic (between 9 pm and 6 am) on two national highways passing through Bandipur –
  • NH-67 (linking Karnataka with Tamil Nadu) and
    
    
  • NH-212 (linking Karnataka with Kerala).
    
    
  
  
  
• Kerala is arguing for removing the restriction on NH-212 as the alternate hilly road to divert the NH-212 traffic is longer by 30 km and adds to fuel consumption.
  
  
• Arguments in favour of Ban by environmentalists:
  • Night traffic led to road kills of more than 200 animal species in Bandipur. Ban has reduced Roadkill by nearly 6 times.
    
    
  • Night traffic adversely impacted the life cycle of these species.
    
    
  • Tamil Nadu never contested the decision. Infact, it imposed a similar ban on night traffic through its Mudumalai tiger reserve.
    
    
  • With more than 100 tigers and 1,800 elephants, Bandipur is a success stories of conservation.
    
    
  • Roads proposed under the Bharatmala project will connect Bangalore to different places in Kerala without affecting protected forests.
    
    
  
  
  
• Way ahead: Supreme court has decided to hear the matter on August 8, 2018.
  
  

About

• Comment on Recent decision:Safeguard measures are “emergency” measures wrt increased imports of particular products. Such measures can consist of quantitative import restrictions or increase in import duty.
  
  
• Guiding principles while applying safeguard measures:
  • they may be imposed only when imports of a particular product have caused or threaten to cause serious injury to the importing Member's domestic industry.
    
    
  • they be applied on a non-selective (i.e., most-favoured-nation, or “MFN”) basis;
    
    
  • such measures must be temporary;
    
    
  • they be progressively liberalized while in effect; and
    
    
  • the Member imposing them must pay compensation to the Members whose trade is affected.
    
    
  
  
  
• Agreement on Safeguards:
  • The Agreement on Safeguards sets the above mentioned rules for application of safeguard measures pursuant to Article XIX of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), 1994.
    
    
  • It was negotiated because GATT member were applying variety of ‘grey area’ measures (bilateral voluntary export restraints, orderly marketing agreements, and similar measures) to limit imports of certain products.
    
    
  
  
  
• In India, the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 has been amended to include various related provisions.
  
  

• The move is aimed towards helping the domestic solar cell manufacturers who are facing tough competition from cheap Chinese imports.
  
  
• However, according to analysts, this could affect existing projects dependent on cheap imports.
  
  

‘Serious injury’ means significant impairment in the position of a domestic industry.

‘Threat of serious injury’ is threat that is clearly imminent as shown by facts, and not based on mere allegation, conjecture or remote possibility.

About:

• Objective: Maximum utilisation of digital technologies to transform lives of people of the north east region.
  
  
• Strategy: Under it, eight thrust areas have been identified. Some of these are –
  • Provide mobile connectivity in all uncovered villages in the North East.
    
    
  • Set-up a cloud-hub for North East in Guwahati.
    
    
  • Capacity building for 50,000 state government employees in use of digital technologies.
    
    
  • Promoting BPOs at small cities of North East.
    
    
  • As part of the initiative, Union IT minister also inaugurated the first electronics manufacturing cluster in the North-Eastern region in Guwahati.
    
    
  
  
  
• Implementation mechanism: The majority of the projects will be implemented by the Department of Telecom.
  
  

Recent decision:

Union Cabinet has approved the following:

• Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) will be setup in every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal persons.
  
  
• There will be an Autonomous Society under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs similar to Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti to run the EMRSs.
  
  
• Upgradation of already sanctioned EMRSs on need basis with unit cost subject to a maximum of Rs. 5 crore per school.
  
  
• Setting up sports facilities in 163 tribal dominated districts at a unit cost of Rs. 5 crore each to be constructed by the year 2022.
  
  
• To begin with, the Cabinet has approved a financial cost of Rs. 2242.03 crore during 2018-19 and 2019-20 for rolling out the revamped scheme.
  
  

Background:

• EMRS is an excellent approach for imparting quality education to ST children. Apart from school building including hostels and staff quarters, provision for a playground, students' computer lab, teacher resource room etc. are also included in the EMRSs.
  
  
• By focusing on specific intervention to cater to the educational needs of STs, the quality of the life of STs is expected to improve to the level of rest of the social groups by 2021 Census.
  
  

Banga Bibhushan:

• Banga Bibhushan Samman is a title conferred by the West Bengal Government to honour the services of personalities in various fields. It is State's highest civilian award.
  
  
• It was initiated in 2011 by Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal.
  
  

Matua community:

• Matua Mahasangha is a Hindu reform movement which has considerable number of adherents in West Bengal as well as in Bangladesh. It is a religious sect of Bangladeshi Dalits who predominantly belong to the Namasudra caste.
  
  
• The movement was launched by the followers of Harichand Thakur, who belonged to the Namasudra community. His teachings focussed on Self-Dikshitisation ("Self-Realisation"), education as preeminently and the upliftment of the population the adherent's duty.
  
  
• They are a deciding factor in many Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal which assumes a lot of political significance.
  
  

About:

• World Food Day is celebrated every year around the world on 16 October in honour of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in 1945.
  
  
• View of FAO on global hunger:
  • After a period of decline, world hunger is on the rise again. According to the latest FAO 2018 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, over 820 million people are suffering chronic undernourishment.
    
    
  • While millions go hungry, 672 million people suffer from obesity, and a further 1.3 billion are overweight. 
    
    
  • Conflict, extreme weather events linked to climate change, economic slowdown and rapidly increasing overweight and obesity levels are reversing progress made in the fight against hunger and malnutrition.
    
    
  • 70 percent of the world's poor live in rural areaswhere people’s lives depend on agriculture, fisheries or forestry. That’s why Zero hunger calls for a transformation of rural economy.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• The Union Cabinet has given in-principle approval for development, operation and management of six airport under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model through Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC).
  
  
• These airports are Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvarupuram and Mangalore.
  
  
• Presently, the airports being managed under the PPP model include Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Cochin.
  
  
• Benefits:
  • This is expected to enhance the revenue to AAI and increased economic development in these areas in terms of job creation and related infrastructure.
    
    
  • The PPP airports in India have been ranked among the top 5 in their respective categories by the Airports Council International (ACI) in terms of Airport Service Quality (ASQ).
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• The Raxaul-Kathmandu rail line is expected to expand connectivity by enhancing people-to-people linkages and promoting economic growth and development.
  
  
• The signing of the MoU comes two years after China agreed to construct a strategic railway link with Nepal through Tibet with an apparent aim of reducing Nepal’s dependence on India.
  
  
• The MoU was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nepal's Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli on the side-lines of the 4^th BIMSTEC Summit in Kathmandu.
  
  
• This was the third meeting between Modi and Oli this year. They met earlier during Oli's visit to India in April and the subsequent visit of Prime Minister Modi to Nepal in May.
  
  

About:

• The Youth Exchange Programme is conducted by Department of Youth Affairs.
  
  
• Under it, Youth from India are sent to a few friendly countries and vice-versa under the for promoting exchange of ideas, values and culture amongst the youth.
  
  
• The nominations are sought from reputed institutions viz.
  • IITs, IIMs, NITs through Ministry of Human Resource Development; AIIMS;
    
    
  • Youth Organizations of Ministry viz. NSS (National Service Scheme), NYKS (Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan), RGNIYD (Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development);
    
    
  • National Youth Awardees etc.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• Governance: Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory. Under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar is self-governing, with some responsibilities, such as defence and foreign relations, remaining with the British government.
  
  
• Geography: It is located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula.
  • Gibraltar's territory covers 6.7 square kilometres and shares a 1.2-kilometre land border with Spain. It shares a maritime border with Morocco.
    
    
  • Gibraltar's terrain consists of the 426-metre-high Rock of Gibraltar made of Jurassic limestone, and the narrow coastal lowland surrounding it.
    
    
  • Gibraltar is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea and has “NO CONTACT WITH THE ATLANTIC OCEAN”.
    
    
  
  
  
• History and dispute:
  • In 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession. The territory was ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.
    
    
  • The sovereignty of Gibraltar is a point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations because Spain asserts a claim to the territory.
    
    
  • Gibraltarians rejected proposals for Spanish sovereignty in a 1967 referendum and, in a 2002 referendum, the idea of shared sovereignty was also rejected.
    
    
  
  
  
• Significance: It remains strategically important, with half the world's seaborne trade passing through the strait. It is also an important Tourist and cargo ship refuelling centre.
  
  

About:

• When observed? The United Nations has designated every 31st of October as World Cities Day.
  
  
• Objective: To promote the international community’s interest and cooperation in meeting opportunities and addressing challenges of urbanization.
  
  
• Origin: In December 2013, the General Assembly passed a resolution to designate 31 October, beginning in 2014, as World Cities Day.
  
  
• Bodies involved: It is observed by the United Nations system, in particular UN-Habitat, relevant international organizations, civil society and all relevant stakeholders.
  
  
• Theme:
  • The general theme of World Cities Day is “Better City, Better Life”, while each year a different sub-theme is selected.
    
    
  • The theme for World Cities Day 31 October 2018 is “Building Sustainable and Resilient Cities”.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• The mithun or gayal (Bos frontalis), is considered a descendant of the Indian Gaur or bison.
  
  
• It is distributed in Northeast India, Bangladesh, northern Myanmar and in Yunnan, China.
  
  
• Reared under free-range conditions in hilly forests, the mithun is known as the ‘cattle of the mountain’.
  
  
• It plays an important role in the socio-economic and cultural life of tribes such as the Nyishi, Apatani, Galo and Adi in Arunachal Pradesh.
  
  
• The gayal is the state animal of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
  
  
• IUCN status:
  
  
• It is listed in CITES Appendix I.
  
  

About:

• ‘Sextortion', a cyber-crime which has been observed in the West, is now a reality in India.
  
  
• In this, people, after visiting pornographic websites, found themselves being extorted with records of their online activities as leverage. It also includes extorting sexual favours from the victim instead of money.
  
  
• Sextortion is done using various methods.
  • One method involves chatting with an unsuspecting victim posing as a girl and getting them to send compromising pictures of themselves, which are then used for blackmail.
    
    
  • Another involves placing links on pornographic websites which, if clicked on, record the victim's activities.
    
    
  
  
  
• Perpetrators of the crime install back door programmes on the websites for the purpose of recording the activities of their victims.
  
  

About:

• Background: The decision follows more than 18 months of negotiations between the two sides, which began when the UK triggered Article 50 in the wake of the 2016 referendum leave vote.
  
  
• Way Ahead: The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on the 29th March, 2019. The deal needs to be approved by the UK Parliament, with many MPs opposing it. The Parliament is expected to vote on the deal early next month.
  
  

About:

• Background: In 2016, The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) launched 'Parinam Manjusha'.
  
  
• Function:
  • It is a digital academic repository which allows students to find their mark sheets, pass and migration certificates online.
    
    
  • Employers and educational institutions can also use it to verify academic records.
    
    
  
  
  
• Agencies involved: It has been developed by CBSE in collaboration with NEGD (Digi Locker) and is available at cbse.digitallocker.gov.in.
  
  

Weekly schedule:

The week-long programmes to be observed during Qaumi Ekta Week will be as under:

National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH):

• NFCH is an autonomous organisation with the Ministry of Home Affairs.
  
  
• The Foundation promotes Communal Harmony. It also provides financial assistance for rehabilitation of children rendered destitute in communal, ethnic or terrorist violence.
  
  
• It organises Communal Harmony Campaign coinciding with the Qaumi Ekta Week and observes the Communal Harmony Flag Day on 25th November.
  
  

Progress:

• Fewer children are dying each year worldwide.
  
  
• The number of children dying under-5 has fallen dramatically from 12.6 million in 1990 to 5.4 million in 2017.
  
  
• The number of deaths in children aged between 5 to 14 years dropped from 1.7 million to under a million in the same period.
  
  

Under-5 Mortality Estimates:

• Under 5 mortality in sub-Saharan Africa is 15 times higher than in Europe.
  
  
• Under-5 mortality rates among children in rural areas are 50% higher than among children in urban areas.
  
  
• Those born to uneducated mothers are more than twice as likely to die before turning five than those born to mothers with a secondary or higher education.
  
  
• Globally, in 2017, half of all deaths under five years of age took place in sub-Saharan Africa, and another 30% in Southern Asia.
  
  
• Without urgent action, 56 million children under five will die from now until 2030. But with simple solutions like medicines, clean water, electricity and vaccines, these deaths can be prevented.
  
  

Other Estimates:

• An estimated 6.3 million children under 15 years of age died in 2017, or 1 every 5 seconds, mostly of preventable causes.
  
  
• For children’s, the most risky period of life is the first month. In 2017, 2.5 million newborns died in their first month.
  
  
• Most children under 5 die due to preventable or treatable causes (such as birth complications, diarrhoea etc). By comparison, among children between 5 and 14 years of age, injuries become a more prominent cause of death, especially from drowning and road traffic.
  
  

About:

• Background: Ever since its inception in 1980, it is held every year between 14–27 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
  
  
• Objective: It provides a common platform for the manufacturers, traders, exporters and importers. The fair displays comprise a wide range of products and services including automobiles, textiles, household appliances etc.
  
  
• Organized by: India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).
  
  
• Theme of trade fair: 'Rural Enterprises in India'. 40 % of manufactures are from the MSME sector in rural areas of the country.
  
  
• Partner country: Afghanistan
  
  
• Focus country: Nepal
  • Focus state:Jharkhand
    
    
  
  
  

Mammals of India (MaOI):

• The website Mammals of India (MaOI), www.mammalsofindia.org, is an online, peer-reviewed, freely-accessible portal.
  
  
• Objective: To develop individual species pages for all Indian mammals with information on identification, variation, distribution, breeding and non-breeding ecology and species conservation.
  
  
• Working:
  • Under it, any person can upload geotagged photographic observations about mammals with information on habitat age of the observed individual.
    
    
  • Over time, these observations will be reviewed by subject experts and uploaded on the website.
    
    
  
  
  
• Timeline: It was launched late September 2018. By October 25, as many as 768 images, of 161 rare species of mammals, were uploaded.
  
  
• Benefits: These photographic records will help NCBS in –
  • Gathering information about lesser known mammals of the country.
    
    
  • Having distribution map of mammals in the country.
    
    
  • Knowing about interactions between different species of mammals, like predation and mutualism.
    
    
  
  
  

Biodiversity Atlas (India project):

• MaOI is a part of the Biodiversity Atlas (India project), which is an initiative of Krushnamegh Kunte, associate professor at NCBS.
  
  
• Under the project websites dedicated to butterflies of India, Moths of India, Cicacds of India, Odonatas of India (dragonflies and damselflies) , Reptiles of India, Amphibians of India and Birds of India are operational.
  
  

About:

• Type: It is a surface-to-surface Nuclear Capable Ballistic missile.
  
  
• Warhead: It can carry both nuclear and traditional weapons.
  
  
• Range: Agni-V, with a range of over 5,000 km, is India’s longest-range ballistic missile and can reach most parts of China, making it the mainstay of India’s triad to deliver nuclear weapons.
  
  
• Dimensions: it is a 17-meter long missile with two-meter diameter.
  
  
• It has been indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
  
  
• Technologies: Agni-V is the most advanced missile in the Agni series featuring many new technologies, including the very high accuracy Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial Navigation System (RINS) and Micro Navigation System (MINS) which improves the accuracy of the missile.
  
  

India Remembers project:

• The India Remembers project is a joint endeavour of the United Service Institution of India (USI) and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).
  
  
• It is a part of the ‘India and the Great War’ Centenary Commemoration project initiated by the USI in 2014 with the support of the Ministry of External Affairs and in close association with the British High Commission.
  
  

Saffron marigold as symbol of sacrifice:

• The marigold was chosen because it is easily and widely available and also because saffron is often seen as a colour of sacrifice.
  
  
• The government and the Army have to formally adopt the marigold to make it an official effort.
  
  
• Since 2016, the marigold along with the poppy, has been widely promoted in all India-related commemorative events around the world, that seek to highlight India’s contribution in the First World War, a diplomatic source said.