Current Affairs August 2 2019

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INDIAN AFFAIRS

President Ram Nath Kovind gives assent to Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019
On August 1, 2019, President of India Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019.  It will amend the Right to Information Act (RTI), 2005.
i. Changes: Amendments are made in Section 13, Section 16 and Section 27 of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
ii. Term of Information Commissioners: Under the Act, Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and Information Commissioners (ICs) are appointed at the national and state level to implement the provisions of the Act. They will hold office for a term of 5 years. The Bill removes this provision and states that the central government will notify the term of office for the CIC and the ICs…………………………Click here to Read more

Parliament passed Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill 2019
i. On August 2, 2019, Parliament passed the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019 with 147 members voting in favour of the bill and 42 against it. The Bill amends the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. It provides for special procedures to deal with terrorist activities, and empowered the government to designate individuals as terrorists on the grounds of terrorism.
ii. Powers: Under the Act, the central government may designate an organisation as a terrorist organisation if it commits or participates in acts of terrorism, prepares for terrorism, promotes terrorism, or is otherwise involved in terrorism……………………….Click here to Read more

Cabinet approves Introduction Of Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2019
On July 31, 2019, The Union Cabinet approved the Introduction of Chit Funds (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in Parliament. It is aimed at reducing the regulatory or compliance burden of the registered Chit Funds Industry and protect the interests of the Chit subscribers. It will amend the Chit Fund Act 1982.
i. Changes: The new bill will be incorporating the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee. The changes may be similar to the bill of 2018. The committee recommended that bill should incorporate insurance coverage for the chit fund subscribers where the cost must be borne by the chit fund company.
ii. A ROSCA Institution: It may allow a chit fund company to mention under their name as ‘A ROSCA Institution’ (Rotating Savings & Credit Association). This will help in distinguishing their business from other unconnected business. The old Bill had a provision for incorporating the name ‘fraternity fund’ instead of the commonly known ‘chit fund.’ Hereafter, words ‘A ROSCA Institution’ will be added to the nomenclature ‘fraternity fund’. It will help chit funds in their image makeover and brand building………………………………Click here to Read more

A report Grain by Grain 2019 on GRP on Indian fertilizer industry conducted by the CSE released
On July 29, 2019, Minister for Environment and Forests Prakash Javadekar released a report titled “Grain by Grain” for the year 2019 in New Delhi. It is a Green Rating Project (GRP) on the Indian fertilizer industry conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). GRP is a unique programme that rates Indian industry for its environmental performance. It is regarded as India’s only independent, rigorous and credible programme of its kind.
i. Coverage: The rating covered all the 28 operational plants in the country. 57% of the plants voluntarily participated in the rating by disclosing information and by allowing GRP team to verify them on the site. The remaining plants were rated on the basis of information available in the public domain and stakeholder surveys. The biggest public sector companies- National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) and Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO) refused to voluntarily participate in the rating………………………….Click here to Read more

30th interaction through PRAGATI platform chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
The 30th Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) platform was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. On his 30th interaction, many issues were reviewed
i. Grievances under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) was reviewed and the Prime Minister directed all the officers to achieve the target of ‘housing for all by 2022’
ii. Narendra Modi suggested a mechanism to collect feedback forms from Divyangjan regarding the accessibility issues faced by them in public premises under the government scheme Saugamya Bharat Abhiyan……………………………….Click here to Read more

President Ram Nath Kovind gives assent to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019
On August 1, 2019, President of India, Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019. With this, the Bill became an Act. It criminalizes instant ‘triple talaq’ among Muslims and attracts a jail term of 3 years for the husband.

President Ram Nath Kovind gives assent to the Finance Bill 2019
On August 2, 2019, President of India Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the Finance Bill 2019. It gives effect to the financial proposals of the Central Government for the financial year 2019-20. It was passed in the parliament on July 23, 2019.

Amit Shah will head a 4-member panel of ministers to combat mob violence and lynchings
Union home minister & BJP( Bharatiya Janata Party ) President, Amit Shah will now head a 4-member panel of ministers, which was created in 2018 to propose action against mob lynching. The panel was headed by then Home minister Rajnath Singh when it was formed.
Key facts:
i.The Four: The Group of Ministers (GoM) will have the members including S. Jaishankar(External Affairs Minister), Nitin Gadkari(union minister of road transport and highways), Ravi Shankar Prasad(Union Minister of  Law and Justice) and Thawar Chand Gehlot(Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment).
ii. SC Notice: The Supreme Court(SC) had directed the Central Government, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the State governments to respond to the plea seeking implementation of its directions issued in July 2018 to tackle mob violence and lynching.
iii. Rajiv Gauba committee:  After the report suggesting measures such as tightening of the law by placing clauses in the Indian Penal Code(IPC)  and the Code of Criminal Procedure submitted by the committee headed by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, the Government  held a meetings with social media platforms and asked them to take solid steps to remove content that created rumours and contributed to lynching.
iv. Report: More than 20 people were lynched in the months of May &June, 2018 based on the fake news posted on Social media platform, which incites such incidents.

150 million workers aimed by the govt. to be enrolled under PM pension scheme
Over the next 3 years under the pension scheme Pradhan Mantri shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM), the Union government aims to enroll 150 million workers to bring them under the social security net.
i. Labour secretary, Hiralal Samariya stated that about 50-60 million workers will be from the construction sector and Agriculture workers and self-employed retailers will also be part of this pension scheme.
Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan yojana (PM-SYM)
The scheme was announced in the month of February 2019. It provides monthly pension of Rs.3000 by contributing to this scheme till the age of 60 years.
Eligibility: People should work in the unorganised sector with monthly income less than or equal to Rs.15000 and the entry age to enroll in this scheme is 18-40years

Court infrastructure facilities topped by Delhi and Kerala, based on the report by independent legal think tank Vidhi Centre
According to a recent survey conducted by Vidhi centre for for Legal Policy in its report titled “Building Better Courts (Surveying the Infrastructure of India’s District Courts)”, Delhi (90%) and Kerala (84%) became the top-performing states in court infrastructure facility whereas Bihar (26%) and Manipur (29%) have the poorest infrastructure in lower judiciary.
i. Based on 9 parameters formulated by Vidhi Centre for legal policy, 665 district courts across 29 states and 9 union territories were surveyed on the physical and digital aspects of the court infrastructure

• The nine parameters are getting there, navigation, waiting areas, hygiene, barrier-free access, case display, security, amenities and website.

Other top performing and poor performing states
i. Nagaland, West Bengal, and Jharkhand were the lower ranking states in infrastructure but better than Bihar and Manipur.
ii. The higher-ranking states other than Delhi and Kerala are Meghalaya, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
Survey results
i. If a court complex had three-phase like ramps, tactile pavements and designated washrooms, they are considered to be a full-service court complex. Only 39% of states in India had the full-service court complexes.
ii. 81% (539 out of 665) of court complexes are accessible where public transport and 80% (532) complexes have parking.
iii. The largest number of court complexes inaccessible by public transport where Gujarat Sikkim and Tripura.
iv. According to the National Court Management Systems (NCMS) committee which was set up in 2012, a guide map or reception Centre along with the facilitation centre and  document filing Centre should be set up at the entrance of the complex but there are only 20% district courts having guide maps and 45% having help desk.
v. Goa, Jharkhand, UP and Mizoram had least number of functional washrooms in their court complexes
Security survey
Only 11% Court complexes had baggage scanning facility, 71% had fire extinguishers and only 48% had emergency exit signs

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Nagar Kirtan(Sikh religious procession) from Pakistan reaches India for the first time since Partition
To mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev , the Sikhism founder, a Nagar Kirtan , a Sikh religious procession was taken out for 1st time after Independence from Nankana Sahib district(birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev) of Pakistan’s Punjab province to Attari village in Amritsar,Punjab Indian side through the Attari-Wagah land route .

Key points:
i. The procession which comprising around 500 Sikh devotees will halt will at Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district of Punjab after passing through various cities and towns.
ii. The procession carrying the holy Guru Granth Sahib was organized by Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC),  an apex religious body of the Sikhs with the support from both Indian and Pakistani authorities.
iii. Ministers OP Soni and Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab cabinet ministers, Akali Dal leaders were among those who present on the occasion.
iv. Nagar Kirtan will stop at Golden Temple of  Amritsar before it begins its onward journey.
v. 2019 marks the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. Government of India(GoI) is celebrating the event throughout the country and across the globe for a period of one year from November 2018 to November 2019.
About Guru Nanak:
He was born on 29 November 1469 at Rāi Bhoi Ki Talvaṇḍi (present-day Nankana Sahib, Punjab, Pakistan) near Lahore(capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab).
He was the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated worldwide as Guru Nanak Gurpurab on Kartik Pooranmashi.
About Pakistan:
Capital: Islamabad
Currency: Pakistani rupee
Prime minister: Imran Khan
President: Arif Alvi

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI granted Bank of China to offer regular banking services in India
On August 1, 2019, India’s central banking institution, RBI(Reserve Bank of India) has allowed Bank of China (BoC) to provide regular bank services in India. BoC will be included in the Second Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.Key points:
i. Second schedule: All commercial banks including State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC(Housing Development Finance Corporation) Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB)and ICICI Bank(Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) are in the second schedule. Banks in this schedule have to comply with RBI regulations.
ii. Addition:  Jan Small Finance Bank Ltd has also been included in the second schedule. Apart from this, the name ‘Royal Bank of Scotland’ has been changed to ‘NatWest Markets Plc’.
iii. Removal: ‘National Bank of Australia’ has been removed from the bank list under the Banking Regulation Act,1949. The bank has been excluded from the second schedule.
2nd Schedule of the RBI Act, 1934:
It contains the list of Scheduled Commercial Banks. RBI includes only those banks in this Schedule which satisfy the criteria laid down in section 42(6)(a) of the Act. Banks not under this Schedule are called Non-Scheduled Banks.
The two basic conditions for a bank to be a Scheduled Commercial Bank are
i. The paid-up capital of the bank should be 5 lakh and above.
ii. The bank should work in the interest of depositors.

RBI’s Money Museum in central Kolkata boost people’s knowledge of banking system
India’s central bank, RBI’s (Reserve Bank of India) Money Museum, which was opened on March 11, 2019, aims at improving people’s knowledge of the banking system with the help of interactive displays at Council House Street in Central Kolkata, West Bengal has been drawing a lot of attention for its special initiative. Key Highlights:
i. The museum has a big tree made using unusable coins and demonetized notes attached with a computer model outlining how money gets transferred to the account digitally.
ii. It also has three divided sections. It includes

• 1^st section(History of Money): This section depicts the evolution of the barrier system and the grains used as currency in medieval ages.
• 2^nd section(History of Gold): It talks about gold and focuses on gold reserves in India.
• 3^rd section(History of RBI): This is all about the history of RBI.

iii. The Museum remains open from 10 am to 5 pm for visitors & its printing and bond making machines (an only machine which was used to print bonds for different states) are the eye-catching feature of the museum.
iv. It also has interactive games centre for children with the intention to promote financial literacy.
About RBI:
Governor: Shaktikanta Das
Headquarters: Mumbai
Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata
About West Bengal:
Chief minister: Mamata Banerjee
Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar
National parks: Buxa National Park, Gorumara National Park, Neora Valley National Park ,Singalila National Park.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

CRISIL lowers India’s FY2020 GDP growth forecast to 6.9 percent
According to the CRISIL (formerly Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited), a global analytical company providing ratings, research and policy advisory services report titled “CRISIL’s India Outlook 2019: Uphill trek”,  India’s GDP (gross domestic product) growth expected to grow by 6.9% in 2019 (FY-Fiscal Year 2020). It cuts the forecast from 7.1 % to 6.9% due to the triangulation of downside risks (weak monsoon, slowing global growth and Sluggish data for the first quarter (January to March) of the year 2019.Key points:
i. Growth: The second half (July 2019-December 2019) of the year will have its support from expected monetary easing, consumption, and statistical low-base effect. Due to food inflation, the agriculture sector will also be expected to improve. Farmers will also benefit from the income transfer of Rs 6,000 per year and farm loan waivers in some states.
ii. Interference: The splendid growth of India’s 8.2 % in fiscal 2017 was affected by the disruptions rooted from the policy initiatives and reforms and global uncertainty including US-China trade dispute.
iii. Corporate growth: The revenue growth of the corporate will be slipped back to single-digit (8%) after two fiscal years, which will be the reversing trend of double-digit growth in the past two fiscals.
iv. Impact:  The sales of automobile sector will be strongly affected by an increase  in costs due to changes in regulation, tightening liquidity, and moderating income growth.
v. NPA: The NPA’s ( non-performing assets) are expected to decline to 8 percent by FY 20 end from the high level of 11.5 % witnessed in FY18.
vi.NBFC:  CRSIL created a positive outlook for NBFC’s (non-banking finance companies ) particularly in retail will likely pick up gradually.
About CRISIL:
Headquarters: Mumbai
Founded: 1987
CEO: Ashu Suyash

Govt. Sets up KABIL to supply critical minerals to the Indian market
As a way of ensuring a consistent supply of critical and strategic minerals to the Indian domestic market, a joint venture company Khanij Bidesh India Ltd (KABIL) is to be set up. Joint venture
KABIL is a venture between National aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO), Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) and Mineral Exploration Company Limited (MECL) with equity participation ration is 40:30:30 respectively.
i. The joint venture was signed in the presence of Shri Pralhad Joshi, Hon’ble Minister of Mines,Coal and Parliamentary Affairs, Mines secretary Shri Anil Mukim and other senior officers.
Objective
KABIL is setup to ensure mineral security to the nation and also help in realising the overall objective of import substitution.
i. Energy storage through batteries will be done as a way of ensuring the commitment at the UN Climate Conference Paris 2015 where India pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to a greener mode of transportation.
ii. Minerals are needed in Aviation, Defence and Space Research sectors, but they especially require minerals with lower weight and high mechanical strength. Out of the 12 such minerals identified, Lithium Cobalt are significant ones.

India is the 7^th largest economy in the world in 2018: World Bank
The World Bank data for 2018 showed that India is the 7^th largest economy in the world in global GDP rankings at $2.73 trillion. Key Points:
i. India’s GDP rose from $2.65 trillion in 2017 to $2.7 trillion in 2018.
ii. In 2017, India had emerged as the sixth-largest economy.
iii. It still remains the fastest-growing major economy in the world.
iv. The growth is estimated to slow to 7% in the current fiscal year that ends in March 2020.
Top 10 Economies of 2018

About World Bank:
♦ Headquarters: Washington, D.C.,United States
♦ Founded: 1944
♦ Founders: John Maynard Keynes, Harry Dexter White

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award won by Ravish Kumar for journalism
India’s senior executive editor of NDTV, Ravish Kumar was awarded 2019 Raman Magsaysay Award which is regarded as the Asian version of the Nobel Prize.  He was awarded for “harnessing journalism to give voice to the voiceless”. Four other individuals were declared winners of this award along with Ravish Kumar.

Other winners
Four other winners of the 2019 Raman Magsaysay award are as follows:-

The winners will be awarded a certificate and a medallion with the image of Ramon Magsaysay on August 31, 2019.
Ramon Magsaysay award
The award is named after the 3rd President of Philippine Mr. Ramon Magsaysay in memory of his leadership. Every year it is given to Asian individuals who manifest the same selfless service like the Filipino leader.
First awarded- 1958
Presented by- Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Senior IAS Officer Bala Prasad  designated as the Special Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind
On July 31, 2019, According to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Government of India(GoI), E L S N Bala Prasad, a  1986 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre has been upgraded to the rank of Special Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind in the rank under Central Staffing Scheme.
i. He was earlier served as Officer on Special Duty(OSD) to the President.
Rakesh Asthana has been given the additional charge of the Narcotics Control Bureau for 6 months
As per the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Government of India(GoI),  Director General (DG)of Civil Aviation Security Rakesh Asthana (1984-batch Gujarat cadre officer) has been given the additional charge of the DG of  Narcotics Control Bureau(NCB) for a period of 6 months.
i. He will take additional charge as DG, NCB for a period of 6 months from the assumption of charge till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders.
ii. In January 2019, Asthana, a former CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation)officer was transferred to Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, after a tug of war with the then chief of the investigation agency Alok Verma.
iii. At NCB, Asthana will review and initiate quality operations to crack on the narcotics smuggling, nexus of drugs mafia and money laundering crimes.

Atish Dabholkar, a theoretical physicist from India appointed as new Director of ICTP, Italy
Atish Dabholkar(56), an Indian theoretical physicist from Kolhapur, Maharashtra has been appointed as the new director of Italy based International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)  for a five year term starting in November 2019 with the rank of Assistant Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He succeeds Fernando Quevedo, who has led the centre since 2009.Key points:
i. He is currently the head of ICTP’s high energy, cosmology and astroparticle physics section. He joined ICTP in 2014 on secondment from Sorbonne Université and the National Center for Scientific Research, where he has been a research director since 2007.
ii. Born in 1963, Dabholkar earned his Masters in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 1985 and his Ph. D. in theoretical physics from Princeton University in 1990 followed by postdoctoral and research positions at Rutgers University, Harvard University, and California Institute of Technology.
iii. He was also a professor at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (Mumbai), is well-known for his research on string theory and quantum black holes.
iv. He has been conferred with awards including India’s coveted ‘Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award’ (2006), a most prestigious national science prize awarded by Prime Minister, ANR(National Research Agency) Chaire d’Excellence (2007)award and National Leadership Award (2008).
About ICTP:
Headquarters: Trieste, Italy
Formation: 1964
Founder: Abdus Salam
About Maharashtra:
Capital: Mumbai
Chief Minister: Devendra Fadnavis
Governor: C. Vidyasagar Rao

Abhay Thakur accredited concurrently as the next permanent representative of India to the economic community of West African States
Current high Commissioner of India to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Shri Abhay Thakur has been accredited concurrently as the next permanent representative of India to the economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS). He is 1992 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer.
He will be residing in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria.
Nigeria
Capital- Abuja
Currency- Nigerian Naira
President- Muhammad Buhari
Recently Nigeria became the fourth African nation to join Global coalition to protect pollinators.
ECOWAS
It is a regional political and economic Union of 15 countries located in West Africa.
Headquarters- federal capital territory, Nigeria.
Chairperson– Mahamadou Issoufou.

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

IIT Kharagpur researchers develop ‘zero loss’ process HTC for wet MSW management
A research team from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur have developed a  ‘zero loss’ process called Hydro Thermal Carbonization (HTC) for the Indian conditions which can effectively manage mixed Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) with high moisture content where MSW can be converted into biofuel, soil amendment, and absorbents.
Key Points:
i. The research was led by Professor Brajesh Kumar Dubey from the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Kharagpur.
ii. Only 20-30% of organic fraction of municipal solid waste was recycled to biofuel using the existing waste incineration processes.

NASA’s TESS satellite discovers first nearby super Earth
A super-Earth was discovered by an international team of astronomers led by Lisa Kaltenegger and is considered to be the first potentially habitable world outside our own solar system.
Super earth
The super-Earth is named as GJ 357 d and it was discovered by NASA’s Translating Exoplanets Survey Satellite (TESS) according to new modelling research in “Astrophysical Journal Letters”.
i. This super Earth, GJ 357 d located about 31 light-years away from our solar system is more massive than earth and could contain liquid on its surface.
ii. The discovery of the GJ 357 system was announced in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” by Astronomers of Spain in July. Now, the system has GJ 357 b, GJ 357 c and GJ 357 d.

Flipkart launched ‘Samarth’ initiative to support weavers, artisans, and makers of handicrafts to its platform
On July 31, 2019, Anurag Thakur, Minister of State, Finance and Corporate Affairs and Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Flipkart Group launched ‘Samarth’, an initiative of Flipkart, to support weavers, artisans, and makers of handicrafts to its platform. Key Points:
i. It will help the community to on-board and sell the goods on the internet.
ii. Flipkart has tied up with 5 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to help the artisans use the online marketplace to sell the products.
About Flipkart:
♦ Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
♦ Founded: October 2007

OBITUARY

Steve Sawyer, Greenpeace warrior & a founder of Global Wind Energy Council passed away
On July 31, 2019, Steve Sawyer, famed wind energy campaigner and a founder of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) has passed away in an Amsterdam (Netherlands) hospital due to lung cancer. He was 63.i. He spent over ten years between 2007 and 2017 as a general secretary at GWEC.
ii. Known for stubborn courage and an ability to inspire others, Sawyer came into the global spotlight after the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior vessel by the French agents in Auckland harbor on July 10, 1985.
iii. Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira was killed by French secret service which blew two holes in the Rainbow Warrior’s hull, sinking the vessel, when Sawyer was on board celebrating his 29th birthday.
iv. He spent 30 years at Greenpeace International, where he rose to become executive director from 1988 to 1993  and served in various leadership positions at the environmental activists’ organization.
v. He was one of the environmental activists & create awareness about climate change.

Madhubani painting and Sujni artist Karpuri Devi passed away in the Madhubani district of Bihar
On July 30, 2019, Madhubani painting and Sujni artist Karpuri Devi, aged 94, passed away at the Heart Hospital at Mangarauni village in Madhubani district of Bihar where she was undergoing treatment. She hailed from Ranti village of Bihar and belonged to the first generation of Mithila painting artists.i. The National Award recipient contributed towards setting up of the Mithila Museum which is located in Tokamachi hills in Japan’s Niigata region.
ii. She was the recipient of several state awards and national merit certificate given by the Ministry of textiles, Union government.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World breastfeeding week observed from Aug 1-7 in over 120 nations
To encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world, the first week of August (aug 1-7),is celebrated as world breastfeeding week in more than 120 countries.
i. The theme for this year is “Empower parents, Enable Breastfeeding”.
ii. The World Health Organisation (WHO)along with UNICEF and their other partners works to promote the importance of family friendly policies which includes paid maternity leave for min. of 18 weeks to encourage responsibility of caring…………………………Click here to Read more

STATE NEWS

Delhi Public Library’s mobile library bus service launched
Mobile Library Buses procured under CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) assistance from Airport Authority of India (AAI) by Delhi Public Library (DPL), was launched by the Union Minister of state for culture and tourism-Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in New Delhi. DPL is functioning under the administrative control of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
i. It was launched under the “Ghar-GharDastakGharGharPustak” scheme of DPL that provide books to citizens of Delhi especially residents of slums, resettlement colonies, and rural areas.
ii. Other important members present on the occasion were Shri Avtar Singh, North Delhi Municipal Corporation mayor,.Dr. Ramsharan Gaur, chairman of Delhi Library Board & Director general of Delhi Public Library, Dr.Lokesh Sharma
Delhi
Chief minister- Arvind Kejriwal
Lieutenant governor- Anil Baijal
Important monuments- Red fort, Jama Masjid, Jantar Mantar, Lotus temple.

West Bengal Government launched awareness campaign ‘Save Green, Stay Clean’
On August 1, 2019, The Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee launched an awareness campaign ‘Save Green, Stay Clean’ for preserving the greenery and keeping the environment clean in Kolkata, which will be celebrated every year. She participated in the Padayatra for this purpose.i. The percentage of tree plantation increased to 19% from 11% in the past 8 years.
ii. State Government will also distribute more than 1 lakhs saplings throughout the state for spreading of greenery.
About West Bengal:
♦ Capital: Kolkata
♦ Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar
♦ National Parks: Buxa National Park, Gorumara National Park, Neora Valley National Park, Singalila National Park, Sunderban National Park, Jaldapara National Park
♦ Wildlife Sanctuaries: Ballavpur WLS, Bethuadahari WLS, Bibhuti Bhusan WLS, Buxa WLS, Chapramari WLS etc

Former Congress MLA from Assam Sarat Saikia passed away at the age of 71
Sarat Kumar Saikia, former three-time Congress MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) and the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) spokesman from Assam passed away in Kolkata suffering from kidney ailments for a long time. He was 71.i. Born in 1942 at Dumordulong village in upper Assam’s Sivasagar district, Saikia joined the Congress after completing his graduation.
ii. He was elected as MLA from Mahmora constituency three times in 2001, 2006 and 2011.
iii. He was denied a Congress ticket before the 2016 Assam Assembly polls and switched to the BJP.

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