Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan on June 8-9, 2017. In this summit, India and Pakistan will become full members of the organization. The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and military organisation which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It is mainly aimed at military cooperation between the members and involves intelligence- sharing, counter-terrorism operations in Central Asia. Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status.

Notes:
India’s first automatic coastal warning for disasters will come up in Odisha from July 2017. Through alert system, Odisha will be able to warn its coastal population by pressing a single button from a control room in the Odisha capital in the event of natural disasters like tsunami or cyclone. The loud sirens will then go off simultaneously from towers at 122 spots locations including tourist destinations, fish landing centres and coastal habitations. The new system will also enable authorities to alert people in smaller pockets, depending on the severity of the disaster.

Notes:
Wipro Chairman Azim Premji will be honoured with the 2017 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for his efforts to reform India’s public school system. He is among the 9 philanthropists named recipients of the 2017 Medal of Philanthropy, who are selected for their distinguished and longstanding contributions to the public good. The Carnegie institutions will award the medals during a formal ceremony in October 2017. The honorees are recognized as catalysts for good whose philanthropy has had a significant and lasting impact on a particular field, nation, or community of people.

Notes:
Expenditure on the education of the children



Hence option [C] is the right answer.

Notes:
Difference in per cent expensses on printing cost and advertisement charges = (35 – 18)% = 17%
Now, 1% = 3.6%
∴ 17% = 3.6°17=61.2°

Notes:
Kelo irrigation project is implemented in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh on Kelo River, a tributary of Mahanadi River. The project is targeted to be completed by year 2018. The project was recently in news due to tussle between Chhattisgarh and Odisha state government over sharing of water of Mahanadi.

Notes:
Recently, the Karnataka government approved “Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy 2017”. With this, Karnataka became the first state to roll out an Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy in the country. Important Facts about the Policy

• It aims to bring down pollution levels and push the “Make in Karnataka” initiative.
• This policy would not only help at boosting sales of EVs, but also in setting up charging infra and special manufacturing zones.
• The policy aims to attract investments worth Rs31,000 crore
• Under this policy, the state government has proposed to set up new EV manufacturing zones, charging stations in public and private spaces including airports, railway stations, metro stations and encourage start-ups to develop business models
• The state government estimates that the new policy will help to create employment for 55,000 individuals over the next few years in the state.

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

Notes:
Hyderabad-based ICRISAT, or International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, has recently launched molecular breeding project for pulses.