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 Kimberley Process
● The Kimberley Process is an international certification scheme that regulates
trade in rough diamonds.
● It aims to prevent the flow of conflict diamonds while helping to protect legitimate
trade in rough diamonds.
● It's a binding agreement that imposes extensive requirements on each and every
participant to remove conflict diamonds from the global supply chain.
● India is a founding member of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
● Conflict/blood diamonds/war diamonds - The UN defines conflict diamonds as
"diamonds that originate from areas controlled by forces or factions opposed to
legitimate and internationally recognized governments, and are used to fund
military action in opposition to those governments, or in contravention of the
decisions of the Security Council”.

SVEEP
● Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation program known as
SVEEP.
● It’s the flagship program of the Election Commission of India.
● Programme Objective- Voter education, spreading voter awareness and
promoting voter literacy in India.

Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC)

● FSDC is an apex-level body constituted by the GOI.
● It’s not a statutory body.
● It is constituted to strengthen financial stability and enhancing inter-regulatory
coordination.
● FSDC replaced the High Level Coordination Committee on Financial Markets.
● Composition of the council-
❏ Chairperson: The Union Finance Minister of India
❏ Members: its members include the heads of the financial sector regulatory
authorities (i.e, SEBI, IRDA, RBI, PFRDA and FMC) , Finance Secretary,
Department of Economic Affairs, Secretary, (Department of Financial
Services, Ministry of Finance) and the Chief Economic Adviser etc.
● Responsibilities -
❏ Macro prudential supervision of the economy
❏ Inter-Regulatory Coordination
❏ Financial Literacy
❏ Financial Stability
❏ Financial Sector Development

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 ● RBI Governor is head of a sub-committee of FSDC.
● The Sub-Committee discusses issues relating to financial sector development and
stability including substantive issues relating to inter-regulatory coordination.

The Bonn Challenge

● It was launched in 2011 by the Government of Germany and IUCN, and later
endorsed and extended by the New York Declaration on Forests at the 2014 UN
Climate Summit.
● It's a global effort to bring 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and
degraded land into restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030.
● At the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) 2015 in Paris, India also joined
the voluntary Bonn Challenge pledge to bring into restoration 13 million hectares
of degraded and deforested land by the year 2020, and an additional 8 million
hectares by 2030.
● India’s pledge is one of the largest in Asia.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

● UNCCD was established in 1994, It's the only legally binding international
agreement set up to address the problem of desertification.
● The main agenda of this convention is to achieve land degradation neutrality by
2030.
● India is a signatory to UNCCD.
● India will host for the first time, 14th session of the Conference of Parties
(COP-14) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in
September 2019.
● The Theme of 2019 (25th anniversary of the Convention) is “Let’s Grow the
Future Together”.

Pls Note- The 1992 Rio Earth Summit gave rise to the three Rio Conventions:
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

M-15
● M-15 is a blend of 15 % methanol and 85 % Gasoline.
● Use of blended fuel M-15 in BS-IV cars can result in lowering down greenhouse
gas emissions by about 5%-10%.
● M-15 fuel blending is available as an option and there is no proposal to make
such blending mandatory in the near future.

Proton therapy
● Proton therapy which is also known as proton beam therapy is a type of Radiation
therapy.

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 ● It uses protons rather than x-rays to treat cancer.
❏ A proton is a positively charged particle. At high energy, protons can
destroy cancer cells.
● It can also be combined with x-ray radiation therapy, surgery, chemotherapy,
and/or immunotherapy.
● Like x-ray radiation, proton therapy is a type of external-beam radiation therapy. It
painlessly delivers radiation through the skin from a machine outside the body.

PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme

● It's a farm income support scheme which was announced in 2019 interim budget.
● The features of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme are:
❏ The Centre will transfer Rs 6,000 every year to vulnerable landholding
farmer families, having cultivable land upto 2 hectares.
❏ Rs 6,000 income support will be transferred directly into the bank accounts
of the beneficiary farmers in three instalments of Rs 2,000.
● Now as per latest update, all landholder farmers’ families in the country are
eligible for the PM-Kisan Scheme, except -
(I) All Institutional Land holders
(II) Farmer families in which one or more of its members belong to the following
categories :
❏ Former and present holders of constitutional posts
❏ Former and present Ministers/ State Ministers, MP, MLA , former and
present Mayors of Municipal Corporations etc
❏ All serving or retired officers and employees of Central/ State Government
Ministries as regular employees
❏ All retired pensioners whose monthly pension is Rs.10,000/-or above
❏ All Persons who paid Income Tax in last assessment year.
❏ Professionals like Engineers, Doctors,Lawyers.

Surjit Bhalla Committee on Trade and Policy

● High Level Advisory Group (HLAG) headed by Dr. Surjit S. Bhalla has been
constituted by the Department of Commerce to improve india's trade performance.
● HLAG has also made recommendations for tax reforms which will help to boost
exports.
● The Committee has recommended “Elephant Bonds” as a specialised security
product.
● It's 25-year sovereign bonds in which people declaring "undisclosed income" will
be bound to invest 50% , which should be utilised only for infrastructure projects.

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 Geet Ramayana
● It is a collection of 56 Marathi language songs chronologically describing events
from the Indian Hindu epic, the Ramayana.
● It was broadcast by the All India Radio, Pune in 1955–1956.
● Geet Ramayan was acclaimed for its lyrics, music and singing
● It's written by G. D. Madgulkar and the songs composed by Sudhir Phadke.
● It's considered a "milestone of Marathi light music" and the "most popular" Marathi
version of Ramayana.

Nipah Virus
● Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus (it is transmitted from animals to humans)
and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between
people.
● In infected people, it causes a range of illnesses from asymptomatic
(subclinical) infection to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis.
● The virus can also cause severe disease in animals such as pigs, resulting
in significant economic losses for farmers.

Schemes to Reduce IMR and SBR

● Public Health is a State subject.However, to reduce infant mortality and stillbirth,
various programmes and schemes under National Health Mission are
implemented by States/ UTs.
● LaQshya a Labour Room quality improvement programme is implemented in over
2100 health facilities across the country including medical colleges.
● Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) is supported to provide vaccination
to children against life threatening diseases such as Tuberculosis, Diphtheria,
Pertussis, Polio, Tetanus, Hepatitis B, Measles, Rubella, Pneumonia and
Meningitis caused by HaemophilusInfluenzae B.
● Promotion of Institutional deliveries through cash incentive under Janani
Suraksha Yojana (JSY) and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) entitles
all pregnant women (PW) delivering in public health institutions to free ante-natal
check-ups, delivery including Caesarean section, postnatal care and treatment of
sick infants till one year of age.
● Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) is implemented to
provide fixed-day assured, comprehensive and quality antenatal care universally
to all pregnant women on the 9th of every month.
● Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) Programme is being
implemented to meet the challenge of high incidence of anaemia amongst
adolescent girls and boys.

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 Group of Twenty (G20)
● Recently, G-20 Summit was hosted by Japan’s Osaka.
● G20 is a global forum (Government & Central bank Governors) comprised of
twenty of the world’s largest economies.
● Its membership includes European Union and 19 countries.
● It was Founded in 1999 and expanded its agenda since 2008.
● The main focus of G20 is on addressing global economic challenges.
● The G20 Summit is formally known as the Summit on Financial Markets & the
World Economy.
● The G20 does not have a permanent secretariat or Headquarters.The President is
chosen by a rotation system amongst the member countries.

World Environment Day

● World Environment Day 2019 hosted by China this year with a theme of “Air
Pollution”. Some Air Pollution Facts-
❏ 92 percent of people worldwide do not breathe clean air.
❏ Air pollution costs the global economy $5 trillion every year in
welfare costs
❏ Ground-level ozone pollution is expected to reduce staple crop
yields by 26 percent by 2030.
● India has formulated and launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)
which is a time-bound national level strategy to tackle increasing air pollution.
● The main aim of the programme is 20-30% reduction of PM2.5 and PM10
concentration by 2024.
● The focus of this year's WED is on the identified 102 Non attainment cities across
the country.
● Non-attainment cities are those which are consistently showing poorer air quality
than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
● Each city under this list needs to develop its own action plan based on sources of
pollution. The plan document is not binding since the document is not a legal
document.

Cabinet Committees
● The Cabinet Committee are institutional arrangements to reduce the workload of
the Cabinet.
● The Cabinet Committees are extra-constitutional in nature (They are not
mentioned in the Constitution).
● All committees except Cabinet Committee on Accommodation and Cabinet
Committee on Parliamentary Affairs will be headed by Prime Minister.
● The two remaining committees will be chaired by Home Minister.
● Types of Cabinet Committees-
❏ Standing Cabinet Committee: These are permanent in nature.
❏ Ad-hoc Cabinet Committee: These are temporary in nature and are formed
from time to time.

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 ● Recently, Union government has released the composition of eight Cabinet
Committees, including two new ones (one is on Investment & the other on
Employment and Skill Development).
● Committee on Investment - This will identify key projects required to be
implemented on a time-bound basis.
● Committee on Employment and Skill Development - This will provide direction to
all policies, programmes, schemes and initiatives for skill development.

Cyclone Vayu
● Cyclone Vayu named by India, was located in the northern Arabian Sea.
● The India Meteorological Department issued an orange alert for Cyclone Vayu.
● The India Meteorological Department is the nodal agency, which is responsible for
weather forecasting and meteorological observations.
● Pls Note- Cyclonic activity is comparatively more severe in the Bay of Bengal, as
compared to Arabian Sea.
● Because Surface temperature of the Bay of Bengal is more than Arabian Sea
which is required to sustain the low-pressure system.
● In addition, the Bay of Bengal receives higher rainfall and constant inflow of fresh
water from the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers.

Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016

● Employment of a Child below 14 years is completely prohibited in any occupation
or processes.
● The Amendment prohibits the employment of adolescent (14-18 years) in
hazardous occupations and processes.
● Census 2011 shows decline in Child Labour which has come down to 1.01 crore
as compared to 1.26 crore in 2001.

Speaker of the Lok Sabha

● BJP MP Om Birla was unanimously elected as the Speaker of the 17th Lok
Sabha.
● The speaker of the Lok Sabha is elected from all other members by simple
majority.
● Incase of joint sitting of both houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha)
the Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over the meeting.
● The Lok Sabha Speaker decides whether a bill brought to the house is a money
bill or not. Once he decides any bill as a money bill, this decision can not be
challenged.
● The Speaker holds office from the date of election till immediately before the first
meeting of the Lok Sabha after the dissolution of the one to which he/she was
elected.
● The Lok Sabha Speaker is eligible for re-election.

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 Tuberculosis (TB)
● The World Bank and the Government of India signed a Loan Agreement of $400
Million to expand the coverage and the quality of interventions for the control of
Tuberculosis.
● The Government is committed to achieve the target of TB elimination by 2025.
● The World Bank supported program will cover nine States of India.
● Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium
tuberculosis. It typically affects the lungs but can also affect other sites.

20th Anniversary of The Victory at Kargil

● The year 2019, marks the 20th anniversary of victory in ‘Operation VIJAY’
popularly known as the ‘Kargil War’.
● The ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas’ celebrations for the year 2019 will be spread over three
days from 25-27 July 2019 and will be organized at Dras and New Delhi.
● The Kargil War is a saga of strong political, military and diplomatic actions.
● Kargil Vijay Diwas is a special occasion for the people of Ladakh. People of
Ladakh shall be participating in the run ‘Ek Daud Shaheedon Ke Naam’.

Cabinet approves New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill,2019

● The Bill provides for setting up of an independent autonomous body for
institutional arbitration.
● The New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (NDIAC) will be headed by a
Chairperson, who has been a Judge of the Supreme Court or a Judge of a High
Court or an eminent person.
● Objectives of NDIAC-
❏ Bring targeted reforms to develop itself as a flagship institution for
conducting international and domestic arbitration
❏ Provide cost effective and timely services for the conduct of arbitrations
and conciliations at Domestic and International level.

First-ever World Food Safety Day

● The first-ever “World Food Safety Day” adopted by the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations is celebrated on the 7th of June 2019 under
the theme "Food Safety, Everyone's Business".
● The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, have developed first State
Food Safety Index (SFSI) to measure the performance of States on food safety.
● Raman 1.0
❏ Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare launched a new-age,
hand-held battery operated device called Raman 1.0.
❏ It performs rapid detection (within 1 minute) of economically driven
adulteration in edible oils, fats and ghee.
❏ The equipment tests more than 250 samples per battery charge, collects
and stores data on the cloud using a smart device.

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 ❏

Fifth Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog

● The Governing Council of NITI Aayog comprises the PM, Chief Ministers of all the
States and UT's with Legislatures and Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar
Islands, and four Union Ministers as ex-officio members and three Union Ministers
as Special Invitees.
● It is the premier body tasked with evolving a shared vision of national
development priorities/strategies with the active involvement of States.
● The NITI Aayog has been mandated with fostering cooperative federalism through
structured support, initiatives and mechanisms with the States on a continuous
basis, recognizing that strong States make a strong nation.
● The First Meeting of NITI Aayog was held on 8 February 2015.

National Anti-profiteering Authority(NAA)

● The GST Council in its recent meeting has discussed the proposal of extending
the tenure of the NAA to one more year.
● Profiteering meaning - Unfair profit realized by traders by manipulating prices, tax
rate adjustment etc. So from GST point of view Profiteering is , when traders will
not reduce the prices of the commodities even after GST Council has reduced the
tax rates of commodities and services.
● NAA receives number of complaints for not passing full benefits of tax cuts to
consumers.
● NAA was constituted under Section 171 of the Central Goods and Services Tax
Act, 2017.
● Pls Note that GST Council is a constitutional body for making recommendations to
the Union and State Government on issues related to Goods and Service Tax.
● The GST Council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister

Work on Economic Census -2019 gathers momentum

● The Economic Census provides disaggregated information on various operational
and structural variables of all establishments located within the geographical
boundary of India.
● It also provides valuable insight into geographical spread/clusters of economic
activities, ownership pattern, persons engaged, etc.
● The Seventh Economic Census is being conducted by the Ministry of Statistics
and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in 2019.
● In the current Economic Census, MoSPI has partnered with CSC e-Governance
Services India Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle under the Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology as the implementing agency.
● The first Economic Census was conducted in 1977 covering only non-agricultural
establishments employing at least one hired worker on a fairly regular basis.

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 Jan Shikshan Sansthans (JSS)
● Jan Shikshan Sansthans are established to provide vocational training to
non-literate/ neo-literate/ school dropouts by identifying skills as would have a
market in the region of their establishment.
● Earlier Jan Shikshan Sansthans were known as Shramik Vidyapeeth and it were
under the Ministry of Human Resources Development.
● JSS was transferred to the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship in
2018.
● Recently, The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has decided to
waive off fee for SC/ST candidates who join vocational training under JSS.

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