Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:
Police Commemoration Day is celebrated annually on October 21st to honor police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. The day commemorates the sacrifice of ten policemen who died while defending India’s borders with China in 1959.
The day is also known as Martyr’s Day in all police forces of India. The government of India decided to observe October 21st as Police Commemoration Day to honor all police personnel who have died in the line of duty.
The National Police Memorial was unveiled on October 21st, 2018 in New Delhi. The memorial is for those who have died from 1947 to the present.

Notes:
The 5/20 rule is a norm of the Indian Aviation Ministry according to which under which national carriers are required to have five years of operational experience and a fleet of minimum 20 aircraft to fly overseas. Recently, the Cabinet gave its approval for partial abolition of the 5/20 rule, which will enable new carriers like Vistara and Air Asia to start international operations sooner. The government has decided to scrap a requirement that mandated airlines to have five years of domestic operations to be eligible to fly overseas. However, an airline will have to allocate 20 aircraft or 20% of their total fleet of aircraft, whichever is higher, to the domestic sector if they wish to fly overseas. So in place of 5/20 rule, the new proposed options are like 0/10 and 0/20.

Notes:
All given features are of Andhra Natyam. The dance form was recently in news when several artists and political leaders from Andhra Pradesh, including Union minister Venkaiah Naidu, approached the Centre to add Andhra Natyam to the list of major classical dance forms of the country. While the culture ministry has already granted in-principle approval for the same, Sangeet Natak Akademi is not convinced with the same.

Notes:
Second option is the correct answer. The pollen seeds of this tree are said to cause respiratory problems.

Notes:
On December 1, 2016, Yoga was listed as UNESCO’s Intangible cultural heritage.

Notes:
Petroleum coke, or pet coke, is a byproduct of oil refining. It is a key input material for cement producers and is a highly polluting fuel. The Supreme Court requested all states and union territories to move forward towards a blanket ban on the use of pet coke. Pet coke is a dirtier alternative to coal. The use of pet coke has come under scrutiny due to rising pollution levels in major cities. Pet coke is most widely used in the cement industry. It is also used as a primary material for electrodes used in electric steel furnaces for smelting and refining steel scrap.
The majority of pet coke is produced in the US but is transported to India and China. In 2016, the US sent more than 8 million metric tons of pet coke to India.

Notes:
Recently, Meghalaya became the first state in the country to operationalise a law that makes social audit of government programmes and schemes a part of government practice. The Meghalaya state government recently launched “The Meghalaya Community Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act, 2017”. The key provisions of the social audit law are as follows:

• Make an easy edit in the course of action for implementation of government schemes as per requirement
• The law gives people a direct say in how money will be spent and fills an information gap for officers and locals

The law also has provision for appointment of social audit facilitator to conduct the audit directly with the people.

Notes:
Recently, scientists discovered a new species of moth in the Talle Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh. The new species has been named as Elcysma Ziroensis. They are generally brightly coloured, day-flying Moths found in tropical and temperate regions. They tend to be slow fliers and store the distasteful and poisonous compound hydrogen cyanide within their bodies. The discovered specimen has a wingspan of 7 cm, and a cream colour with black markings on the wings, and prominent large red spot on the forewing.

Notes:
The India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2017 shows that water bodies inside forest cover have increased by 2,647 sq kms during the last decade. The states which have observed the maximum increase in the water bodies within the forest are Maharashtra (432 sq kms), Gujarat (428 sq kms), Madhya Pradesh (389 sq kms) are top three states showing increase in water bodies within forest areas. Overall, almost all the states have shown a positive change in water bodies. As per the report, all the states have shown an increase (in water bodies) except Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Bihar.