Current Affairs - 2019-20

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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.

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INS Arihant is a nuclear-powered submarine built by India. It is first indigenously built nuclear propelled strategic submarine and is the lead ship of the Arihant-class of submarines. It was designed and constructed as part of India’s nuclear weapons program. INS Arihant is India’s first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine, and it was designed to carry and launch ballistic missiles. The submarine was launched in 2009 and completed its sea trials in 2016. It is currently in service with the Indian Navy.

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Expenditure on the education of the children



Hence option [C] is the right answer.

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Hokersar is an important refuge for migratory waterfowls, shorebirds and trans-Himalayan species during winters. It also acts as one of the major flood absorption basins. Hokersar has been declared as Conservation Reserve under the Jammu and Kashmir Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1978. It was also declared as Ramsar site on November 8, 2005 under the Ramsar Convention. The study shows that the open waters of the wetland have been colonized by the weeds and other aquatic vegetation. Some areas of the wetland that existed in 1969 have been converted into paddy fields. About 10 hectares of the wetland has been converted into built-up area.This wetland is on the brink of extiction as per various environmentalists.

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Recently, Switzerland and India have inked a pact to extend the Indo-Swiss Building Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) by five years till 2021 based on successes achieved by the project in the first phase. 

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Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Ordinance, 2016 extinguishes the liabilities of the Reserve Bank and the guarantee of the central government towards Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.

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India’s first solar-based micro irrigation project has been recently launched at Dera Fateh Singh village in Pehowa in Kurukshetra district of Haryana. It is the country’s first pilot project on micro irrigation under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). Under the Central government’s initiative “more crop, per drop”, the project will draw energy from solar panels and the power grid. Recently, Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister of Haryana announced 85 per cent subsidy for solar power-run micro irrigation projects in 36 administrative blocks that are facing acute depletion of underground water table.

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The pangolin is world’s most trafficked animal. They are believed to possess magic or charms. They are hunted for their magical properties. Their scales when mixed with bark from certain trees; the scales are thought to neutralize witchcraft and evil spirits. In recently held global wildlife summit, a total trade ban in all species of pangolin was imposed by CITES. More than a million wild pangolins have been killed in the last decade, to feed the huge and rising appetite in China and Vietnam for its meat and its scales, a supposed medicine. The 182 nations of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) unanimously agreed a total ban on international trade on all species at the summit in Johannesburg.

Notes:
Recently, on 12 December 2017, two years after the historic Paris Climate Change Agreement was adopted, Heads of State, governments, civil society and the private sector met at Paris to drive forward climate action. The summit was named “One Planet Summit”. The One Planet Summit is designed to launch new initiatives that assist in ramping up financial flows to developing nations as they implement their climate action plans under the Agreement. The three aims of the One Planet Summit are:

• Take tangible and collective action
• Innovate
• Support one another

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Recently, scientists have discovered the first live specimen of a bizarre, giant worm-like animal in the Philippines that plants itself into mud like carrots and feeds on noxious fumes of sulphur. Its tusk like shells, measuring three to five feet long, were first documented in the 18th century.