Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:
The United Nations Public Service Day is observed every year on June 23 to recognize the work of public servants and to encourage young people to pursue careers in the public sector. The day is also observed to celebrate value and virtue of public service to the community and to raise awareness regarding the contribution of public service in the development of society and honouring the work of public servants.

Notes:
The American Cancer Society presents the Luther L. Terry Awards. The awards recognize individuals and organizations that continue the work of Dr. Luther Terry. Dr. Terry was the ninth Surgeon General of the United States from 1961 to 1965. He is known for his warnings against the dangers of tobacco use.  The Luther L. Terry Awards recognize those who carry on Dr. Terry’s legacy and the importance of continuing his work. For example, in 2018, Professor Elif Dagli and Dr. Constantine Vardavas were recognized for their work on tobacco control.  Dr. Terry released the Smoking and Health-Report, which became one of the most important and widely quoted documents in medicine.

Notes:
Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) is a voluntary initiative that helps countries manage chemicals to reduce their harmful impact on human health and the environment. The goal of SAICM is to ensure that by 2020, chemicals are produced and used in ways that minimize significant adverse impacts on the environment and human health.
SAICM is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The development of SAICM was endorsed by Heads of State and Government at their summits in Johannesburg in 2002 and in New York in 2005.

Notes:
In the equilateral triangle centroid, incentre, orthocentre, coincide at the same point.
∴ Height 3 = in radius
∴ Height = Median = 33 = 9 cm
Hence option [B] is the right answer.

Notes:
The Unified Commanders’ Conference (UCC) for the year 2018 has started at New Delhi on July 30 to review external security challenges as well as the country’s preparedness. The 2-day annual conference will provide a platform for discussions at the Apex Level on all ‘Joint Issues’ among the three Services & Ministry of Defence. The scope of this conference is to enable the forum to facilitate joint stock taking of the previous year’s performance of all Services & Departments of Ministry of Defence and jointly chart the course for the next year. The conference will be attended by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Ramrao Bhamre, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, the Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force among others.

Notes:
The Sela Pass is a high-altitude mountain pass located on the border between the Tawang and West Kameng Districts of Arunachal Pradesh. It is highly prone to landslides or snow cover during winters. To facilitate easy mobilisation of army and vehicles on this route, government announced the construction of tunnel under the Sela Pass.

Notes:
Recently, Germany has signed an agreement with India for providing soft loan to the tune of Euro 1 billion for the Green Corridor Projects in India. Intra State transmission schemes under Green Energy Corridors (GEC) are to be funded as 20% equity of the State Govt., 40% grant from National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) and 40% soft loan, whereas, the inter State transmission schemes are to be funded as 30% equity by PGCIL and 70% as soft loan, he added.

Notes:
India was placed at 91st position in the recently released 2016 Networked Readiness Index (NRI) by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF). The index was released as the part of the WEF’s Global Information Technology Report. It measures countries’ success in creating the necessary conditions for a transition to a digitised economy and society.

Notes:
The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2017 (WESP) has been published by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Notes:
The Prime Minister Research Fellowship scheme has been launched to facilitate 1,000 B. Tech students for pursuing PhD courses at IITs and IISc. A sum of Rs 1,650 crore for the scheme for a period of seven years, beginning in 2018-19 has been announced in the Budget 2018. Under this scheme, students who have completed or are in the final year of B.Tech or integrated M.Tech or M.Sc in science and technology domains at IISc, IITs, NITs, IIITs will be offered direct admissions in PhD programmes in IITs and IISc. Students, who get shortlisted as per eligibility criteria will also be offered a fellowship of Rs 70,000 a month during the first two years, Rs 75,000 per month during the third year and Rs 80,000 per month during the fourth and the fifth year. This scheme, therefore, will go a long way in tapping the talent pool of engineers in the country for carrying out research indigenously in cutting-edge science and technology domains thereby transforming brain drain into brain gain.