Current Affairs - 2019-20

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PfKelch13 C580Y is a mutant of P. falciparum Kelch13. It was recently making news as a potential Malaria superbug spreading in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. 

Notes:
Before April 2019, National Housing Bank (NHB) was a wholly-owned subsidiary of RBI. RBI sold its 100% equity to government in 2019 and now its owner is Government of India. This was done to end the cross-holding in the regulatory institutions as per the Narasimham-II committee report’s recommendations.

Notes:
Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the state of Madhya Pradesh. In the year 2018, it received the status of national park. It was selected as a probable location to implement the Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project, with an objective of establishing a second lion population in India.

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Bihar has celebrated its 106th foundation day on March 22, 2018. A number of programmes have been organized throughout the state on the occasion. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated a 3-day Bihar Diwas celebrations in Patna and also released 4 books- ‘Ek Tha Mohan’, ‘Bapu Ki Chiththi’, ‘Champaran Ki Kahani’ and ‘Neel Ke Dhabbe’ on this occasion. The 2018 theme for this year’s celebrations is “Centenary of Champaran Satyagraha and Elimination of Dowry and Child Marriage”. It was on this day when the British carved out the state from Bengal Presidency in 1912. Before that Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa were part of the Bengal province during the British rule.

Notes:
100%=360°
∴1%=360°/100
∴10%=360°*10/100=36°

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The above given information is for Tiwa tribe of Assam which has been frequently in news for practising Jhum cultivation.

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Project DARPAN (Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office for A New India) is an initiative by Ministry of Communication. It aims to improve the quality of services to rural poor, and achieve “financial inclusion” of un-banked rural population. The project will increase the rural reach of the Department of Posts and enable Branch Offices (BOs) to increase traffic of all financial remittances, savings accounts, Rural Postal Life Insurance, and Cash Certificates; improve mail operations processes by allowing for automated booking and delivery of accountable article; increase revenue using retail post business; provide third party applications; and make disbursements for social security schemes such as MGNREGS.

Notes:
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has introduced a new star rating methodology called Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (ISEER) for air conditioners. Keeping the performance of air conditioners during higher temperature in mind, ISEER will address the different climatic zones in India and higher temperature. ISEER measures energy efficiency of air conditioners based on a weighted average of the performance at outside temperatures between 24 and 43 degree C based on Indian weather data.

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The member states of Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Armenia.
Moldova has been granted the Observer Status in April 2017.

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Recently, the Union Defence Ministry has approved most of the proposals of a committee of experts, headed by Lt. Gen. D.B. Shekatkar (Retd) to bring host of reforms in the military and improve financial management. Recommendations of the committee are: Capital expenditure: Roll-on defence budget must have enough capital expenditure available for modernisation. It must be against the present practice of surrendering unspent capital budget at the end of each financial year. Performance audit: It must be conducted of non-combat organisations under the Defence Ministry. It must include those dealing with defence estates and accounts, Director- General of Quality Assurance, Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and National Cadet Corps (NCC). Downsizing or rationalisation of manpower: It will lead to significant savings. Joint services War College: It must be established for training middle-level officers. Reduce deployment of active-duty soldiers in avoidable postings: They will be replaced by retired officers and jawans in the running of NCC. Comprehensive reforms in the running of NCC: Transfer of NCC out of the Defence Ministry to the HRD Ministry: NCC can be run by re-employed or on-contract ex-service personnel.