Current Affairs - 2019-20

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Uttar Pradesh has become the first State to endorse the Central government’s draft bill that makes instant triple talaq a cognisable and non-bailable offence. The draft law, which provides for three-year imprisonment and a fine to a man trying to divorce his wife by uttering “talaq” three times, got the State government’s approval at a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow on December 5, 2017.

Notes:
Recently, the Ministry of Science & Technology has launched Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhayay Vigyan Gram Sankul Pariyojana to formulate and implement appropriate S&T. The scheme is initially launched on pilot basis under which the Department of Science and Technology (DST) will adopt few clusters of villages in Uttarakhand and transform them to become self-sustainable in terms of science & technology with the help of available local resources and skills. Practice of agriculture, agro-based cottage industries and animal husbandry in an eco-friendly manner will be emphasized during the implementation of the project.

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Alliance 8.7 is for a world without forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour. It is an initiative under the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It calls for effective measures to end forced labour, modern slavery, and human trafficking, as well as child labour in all its forms.

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“Operation Save Kurma” was conducted in the country by the WCCB to combat the proliferating illegal trade in live turtles and its parts from the country to destinations abroad. India is the only recipient of the certificate of commendation at the 69th Standing Committee meeting of CITES. The WCCB had convened a species specific operation on turtles, code named OPERATION SAVE KURMA” from December 15, 2016 to January 30, 2017 and recovered a total of 15,739 live turtles from 45 suspects, having inter-state linkages. The operation brought about awareness among the enforcement agencies to focus on the existing trade routes and major trade hubs in the country, which will be specifically focused in future.

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The Mankidia tribe has been recognised as one of the 13 particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) in the State. They are known for collection of Siali fibre, from which they build small huts and offer worship to their deities. This tribal group was in news for filing a claim for habitat rights in the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR). However, their claim was recently denied since the Forest Department thought that the indigenous people might face life threat from wildlife or even come in way of their free movement due to grant of habitat rights in the Tiger Reserve.

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Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya was born on September 25, 1916, in a village Nagla Chanderabhan in district Mathura of Uttar Pradesh. He was regarded as an ideal Swayamsevak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He is known for starting a monthly magazine “Rashtra Dharma”, a weekly “Panchajanya”, and a daily “Swadesh”. He conceived the political philosophy called “Integral Humanism”. Recently, the government celebrated his 100^th birth anniversary on 25^th September 2017.

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Irom Sharmila, also known as 'Iron Lady' announced the name of her political party as People's Resurgence Justice Alliance. Irom Sharmila is contesting in Manipur Elections-2017 from two constituencies- Thoubal and Khurai. While Khurai is her home constituency, Thoubal is constituency of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh.

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The union ministry of human resource development has launched Rashtriya Aviskar Abhiyan. It is a unique concept aims to inculcate a spirit of inquiry, creativity and love for Science and Mathematics in school children. Under Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan, government schools will be mentored by Institutes like IITs/ IIMs/ IISERs and other Central Universities and reputed organisations through innovative programmes, student exchanges, demonstrations, student visits, etc to develop a natural sense of passion towards learning of Science and Maths.

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The World Rabies Day (WRD) is observed every year on September 28 to raise awareness about rabies prevention and to highlight progress in defeating this horrifying disease. The day also marks the anniversary of Louis Pasteur’s death, the French chemist and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine. The 2018 theme is ” Rabies: Share the message. Save a life! “. Today, safe and efficacious animal and human vaccines are among the important tools that exist to eliminate human deaths from rabies while awareness is the key driver for success of communities to engage in effective rabies prevention.

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In Rome, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has recently launched the new ‘Africa Centre for Climate and Sustainable Development’ in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and FAO to fight climate change and boost sustainable development in Africa. The centre will provide a fast-track, demand-driven mechanism for African countries to access grant resources that support policies, initiatives, and best practices on climate change, food security, access to water, clean energy, and accelerating progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa. The Africa Centre has its roots in a declaration endorsed by the G7 meeting of the Environment Ministers in 2017. The new centre is established to facilitate coordination among the G7 and African countries on common initiatives in Africa to develop and scale-up innovative solutions for sustainable development, and to achieve the goals set by the 2015 Paris Agreement and the UN’s 2030 Agenda.