National:
1.
29
inhabited islands
in Andaman and Nicobar has excluded from Restricted Area Permit (RAP) regime
under the Foreigners (Restricted Areas) Order, 1963 till December 2022 by the
Union Government. The lifting of RAP will allow foreigners to visit these
islands without prior permission from the government. This decision aims to
increase footfalls and promote tourism. Government is also planning to open 11
other uninhabited islands to foreigners.
2.
The
government has extended e-visa facility for citizens of 165 countries at 25
airports and five seaports in order to promote tourism.
A 24X7 toll free multi-lingual tourist helpline has also been put in place as
part of the efforts.
3.
‘GoaMiles’-
the app-based taxi service of Goa Tourism Development Corporation was flagged
off in Panaji by Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and Tourism Minister
Manohar Ajgaonkar on August 7,2018. The service is
aimed at bringing about transparency in fares for the customers and it would
ensure that commuters are not cheated and at the same time would increase the
earnings of taxi drivers by ‘two to three’ times.
4.
The
Uttar Pradesh government has announced that it will appoint interns in every
block of the state for publicity of the welfare schemes of government. These
interns named as ‘Lok Kalyan Mitra’ will also provide feedback regarding
implementation of the welfare schemes.
5.
The
Delhi High Court on August 8, 2018 decriminalised begging in the national
capital, stating that the provisions penalising the act were unconstitutional
and deserved to be struck down. A bench of Acting
Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar ruled that the
consequences of this decision would be that the trial, under the Bombay
Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 against people alleged to have committed the
offence of begging, will now be liable to be struck down.
International:
1.
The
third India-Nepal coordination meet was held on August 8, 2018 to discuss
border security. A seven-member delegation from
Nepal, headed by Inspector General of Nepal Armed Police Force Shailendra
Khanal, arrived to take part in the three-day meet. Issues related to
security along the border and sharing of information on criminals were
discussed during the meet.
Science &
Technology:
1. Startup Academia Alliance
programme to fulfill Government’s mission to promote spirit of entrepreneurship
in the country has launched by Startup India. The
programme aims to reduce gap between scientific research and its industrial
applications in order to increase efficacy of these technologies and widen
their impact. The first phase of the programme was kickstarted
through partnering with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Regional
Centre for Biotechnology, Council on Energy, Environment and Water and TERI
School of Advanced Studies.
2. India has highest gender gap in
mobile phone ownership amongst 18 comparable countries and ranks among the
lowest in women’s access to Internet according to recent study released by
LIRNEAsia. The study also included comparative research
done by ICT Africa in Africa and DIRSI in Latin America.
3. Earth is at the risk of entering
an irreversible hothouse condition according to recent study.
Hothouse Earth climate will in long-term stabilise at global average of 4-5
degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial temperatures with sea level 10- 60
metres higher than today. Currently, global average temperatures are just over
1 degree Celsius above pre-industrial and rising at 0.17 degree Celsius per
decade.
4. Chinese astronomers have
discovered the most lithium-rich giant star ever known, which could shed new
light on the evolution of the universe.
A research team, led by astronomers from the National Astronomical
Observatories of China (NAOC), made the discovery with the Large Sky Area
Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST). With 3,000 times
more lithium than a normal star, it was found in the direction of Ophiuchus, on
the north side of the galactic disk, at a distance of 4,500 light years from
Earth. The star has a mass almost 1.5 times our sun.
5. The TRAI Mobile Apps namely DND
2.0 and MyCall with UMANG Platform were integrated by the Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI) on August 7, 2018. From now
onwards, the DND 2.0 and MyCall mobile apps will also be available on Umang
Platform. This integration is part of the policy initiatives of TRAI
that the authority has been undertaking over the years to protect the interests
of the consumers to safeguard their interests.
First in State/India/World:
1. Bharat Energy Storage Technology
Private Limited (BEST) owned the world’s first-ever thermal battery plant that was inaugurated in Amravati, Andhra Pradesh.
The thermal battery is based on alternative sources of energy production, and
its presence is expected to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. The plant will
begin its commercial operations from May 2019. BEST is planning to create a
battery capacity of 1000MW. This is expected to be upgraded to a 10GW capacity
by 2025. This plant is based on technology patented in India by Dr Patrick
Glynn in 2016.
Economy:
1.
The
import duties on 328 textile products has doubled to 20% from existing rate of
10% under Section 159 of the Customs Act, 1962 by Government.
The increase in duties will give edge to domestic manufacturers as imported
products are currently cheaper. It will curb soaring imports from China and
focus more on local value addition in labour-intensive sector. Earlier in July
2018, Government had doubled import duty on over 50 textile products —
including jackets, suits and carpets to 20%.
2. Journalist Swaminathan
Gurumurthy and Sahakar Bharathi patron Satish Kashinath Marathe were appointed
as part-time non-official Directors on the Central Board of Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) by the Central Government on August 7, 2018 following the approval from the Appointments
Committee of the Cabinet. With these latest
appointments, the total number of government appointed directors on the RBI
board comes to 10, the maximum permitted.
3. India is a source of growth for
the global economy for the next few decades according to International Monetary
Fund (IMF). The IMF report also described the
Goods and Services Tax (GST) as a "milestone reform" in India's tax
policy.
Schemes:
1.
Under
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), the Union Government, NABARD
and National Water Development Agency (NWDA) have signed revised Memorandum of
Agreement (MoA) for funding of central share of 99 prioritized irrigation
projects through Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF). The
revised MoA will enable Ministry of Water Resources to release Central
Assistance to prioritized projects under PMKSY as per requirements from time to
time.
Appointments/Resignations:
1. Justice Shripathi Ravindra Bhat
was appointed as the acting chief justice of the Delhi High Court on August 7,
2018. Justice Bhat will continue to hold the charge of
acting chief justice till Justice Rajendra Menon of the Patna High Court takes
over as the chief justice of the Delhi High Court in the coming days.
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Sports:
1.
Tokyo
2020 will be first Olympics to use facial recognition technology to increase security
around all venues. The facial recognition technology
will use IC chips within identification cards to automatically verify the
identity of those entering over 40 sporting venues. This system will help to
prevent fraudulent entry by people borrowing, stealing or faking an ID card.
The technology takes only 0.3 seconds to match up face with pre-registered
photo, making it world’s fastest such system.
2.
World
Champion weightlifter Mirabai Chanu pulled out of the Asian Games after failing
to recover from a lower back injury. Her absence
from the upcoming Asian Games comes as a huge setback for India, as she was
considered as one of the strongest contenders for a gold medal in the event.
3. The games period will be
made mandatory in all schools from 2019 onwards. This announcement was made
by Union Sports Minister, Rajyavardhan Rathore on August 6, 2018 Along with
this, the Minister said that the Ministry of Education will ensure a 50 per
cent reduction in the syllabus.
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