Abhishek Srivastava

Monthly Current Affair Magazine for UPSC CSE examination. This course is an exhaustive compilation of August 2018 current affairs which are segregated into National issues, Polity, and governance-related issues, etc. This will be highly beneficial for not only Prelims 2018 but also for Mains examination.

Crack UPSC CSE Prelims and Mains Exams. Know how to prepare for UPSC 2019 and 2020, complete syllabus, exam patterns, latest notifications to join IAS, IFS, IPS and other cadres of Civil Services.

UPSC CSE - GS

UPSC - Civil Services Examination (IAS) Preparation

Hindi

IAS Express: August 2018

Overview of the Course (in Hindi)

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC):
Functions
Gives policy guidelines to acquisitions, based on long-term
procurement plans
Clear all acquisitions, including imported equipment and those
produced indigenously or under a foreign licence
To monitor the acquisition process.
The DAC will preside over three wings
1. Defence Procurement Board
2. Defence Production Board
3. Defence Research and Development Board
Why is in news?
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the implementation
of Strategic Partnership guidelines

Defence Acquisition council, Oxytocin,Women farmers, Criminal law, British committee (in Hindi)

Genetically modified crops are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering methods.
 
The aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species like resistance to certain pests, diseases, environmental conditions, herbicides etc

Citizenship bill, Zika, GM crops & core industries (in Hindi)

Adultery law, Bandipur, UAE amnesty & Repo rate (in Hindi)

LIC stakes in IDBI, NCBC, Benami transactions (in Hindi)

SAARc and Dal lake (in Hindi)

West Nile, WHO, TRAI (in Hindi)

Article 35A, which empowers the State legislature to define
"permanent residents" and provide special rights and privileges in
State public sector jobs, acquisition of property within the State,
scholarships and other public aid and welfare programmes.
The provision mandates that no act of the State legislature coming
under the ambit of Article 35A can be challenged for violating the
Indian Constitution or any other law of the land.
Issue:
It is added by an order of President Rajendra Prasad under Article
370 in 1954 on the advice of the Nehru Cabinet. Parliament was not
consulted
Article 370 of the Indian constitution is an article that gives
autonomous status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir

Article 35A & Chandryaan 2 (in Hindi)

Imprint II, Star tortoise, CII & BEE (in Hindi)

Appointment of judges (in Hindi)

Sathyamangalam reserve, Maitree, LoU and LOC (in Hindi)

AES & Breastfed (in Hindi)

Manirang & Umang App (in Hindi)

ICAR, CPEC, World Biofuel day, Konchenzonga BR (in Hindi)

Konchenzonga BR & IMF, (in Hindi)

Niryat Mitra, National Sports University Billa, EPI 2018 & Radio galaxy (in Hindi)

Triple Talaq, UNHCR- Ecuador,Turkey- Yemen Crisis, UNHCR (in Hindi)

NDRF, Khalistan, Texas, Sarabhai, submarine training (in Hindi)

Swadesh Darshan Scheme, pollution, Corals, LaCones (in Hindi)

LaCONES, China energy, LIRA vs Dollar (in Hindi)

AFSPA & Ayushman Bharat (in Hindi)

Defence reforms, airport bidding, UBA 2.0(in Hindi)

Permanent commission for Women, Niti Ayog pitch, Himan Space flight, New Horizon mission (in Hindi)

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) is a large-scale physics experiment and observatory to detect cosmic gravitational waves and to develop gravitational-wave observations as an astronomical tool.
 
Gravitational waves:
 
Gravitational waves are the disturbance in the fabric of spacetime generated by accelerated masses and propagate as waves outward from their source at the speed of light.
 
They were first proposed by Henri Poincaré in 1905 and subsequently predicted in 1916 by Albert Einstein on the basis of his general theory of relativity.
 
Gravitational waves transport energy as gravitational radiation, a form of radiant energy similar to electromagnetic radiation.

LIGO, Jamshed-e-Nauroz & Tea export (in HIndi)

Representation of the People Act (Amendment) Bill, 2017
According to the provisions of 'Representation of
the People Act (Amendment) Bill, 2017 overseas
Indians, who are entitled to vote in India, can appoint a
proxy voter to cast their votes on their behalf.
Also, the overseas Indians would be allowed to use the
option of proxy, which till now was only available to
service personnel
Highlights of the Bill
Allow non-resident Indians (NRIs) to participate in
electoral politics on their own terms.
Remove an "unreasonable restriction" posed by
Section 20A of the Representation of the People
Act, which requires overseas electors to be physically
present in their electoral constituencies to cast their
votes.

RPA Act & Steel imports (in Hindi)

To deal with domestic and international arbitration, and defines the law for conducting conciliation proceedings.
 
Key features:
 
Arbitration Council of India
 
Its functions include:
(i) framing policies for grading arbitral institutions and accrediting arbitrators,
 (ii) making policies for the establishment, operation and maintenance of uniform professional standards for all alternate dispute redressal matters, and
 (iii) maintaining a depository of arbitral awards (judgments) made in India and abroad.

Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill 2018 & RAP regime (in Hindi)

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched UPI 2.0, an upgraded and renewed version of Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
 
The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a system developed by the NPCI and the RBI to aid instant transfer of money using a cashless system.
 
 
Features:
 
It will allow users to link their overdraft account to UPI.
 
Creation of one-time mandates and pre-authorisation of transactions for payment at later date and checking the invoice sent by merchant prior to making payment.
 
Using UPI services, one just requires a smartphone and a banking app to send and receive money instantly or to pay a merchant for retail purchase.

UPI 2.0 & Uaktite (in Hindi)

The NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey 2016-17 covered a sample of 1.88 lakh people from 40,327 rural households. Only 48% of these are defined as agricultural households.

More than half the agricultural households in the country have outstanding debt, and their average outstanding debt is almost as high as the average annual income of all agricultural households.
 
52.5% of the agricultural households had an outstanding loan on the date of the survey, and thus were considered indebted.
 
For non-agricultural households in rural India, that figure was 42.8%.
 
Agricultural households reporting any outstanding debt also had a higher debt liability compared with non-agricultural ones.
 
According to the survey, the average annual income of an agricultural household is ₹1.07 lakh. That is barely ₹2,500 more than the average outstanding debt of indebted farm households.
 
The survey found that only 10.5% of agricultural households were found to have a valid Kisan Credit Card at the time of the survey.
The biggest reason for taking loans among agricultural households was 
 
25% capital expenditure for agricultural purposes,
 
While 19% of loans were taken for meeting running expenses for agricultural purposes,
 
Another 19% were taken for sundry domestic needs.
 
Loans for housing and medical expenses stood at 11% and 12%, respectively.
 
Highest incidence of indebtedness came from those owning more than two hectares of land.
 
State figures
 
The southern States of Telangana (79%), Andhra Pradesh (77%), and Karnataka (74%) showed the highest levels of indebtedness 
The survey found that farm households took less than half their loans from commercial banks.
 
While 46% of the loans were taken from commercial banks, and
another 10% from self-help groups,
almost 40% were taken from non-institutional sources such as relatives, friends, moneylenders and landlords.

While loans from relatives and friends may be free of interest and reflective of social integration in communities.
 
A sizeable 11.5% households exhibited dependence on local moneylenders and landlords, which exposes them to exploitation by having to pay exorbitant interest.
 
 The persons resorting to local moneylenders often include either the illiterate or extremely poor ones which are not eligible for loans from formal institutions, or the households that do not have social networks that can help them in times of need.

NABARD Rural Financial Inclusion Survey 2016-17 (in Hindi)

India’s next indigenous fighter is expected to make its first flight by 2032. Development work on the jet is under way.
 
There are two major ways of making a military platform stealthier.
One is geometric stealth and other is material stealth.
 
In geometric stealth, the shape of the aircraft is designed at such angles so as to deflect away maximum radar waves thereby minimising its radar cross-section.
 
In material stealth, radar-absorbing materials are used in making the aircraft which will absorb the radio waves thus reducing the radar footprint.

AMCA & Nord Gas Pipeline (in Hindi)

GDP growth averaging about 7.4% this year and next driven by the underlying growth momentum in the economy, pre-election spending and a pickup in rural demand to largely offset the impacts of a weaker rupee and rising oil prices.
 
From a sovereign risk perspective, low foreign currency debt and long average debt maturity minimize exposures to rising rates and currency weakness.
 
The benefit of export competitiveness benefiting the economy would largely be in the medium to long term.

Dollar-Rupee Analysis (in Hindi)

Data localization or data residency law requires data about a 
nations' citizens or residents be collected, processed, and/or stored inside the country.

often before being transferred internationally, and usually transferred only after meeting local privacy or data protection laws, such as giving the user notice of how the information will be used and obtaining their consent.
 
Why is in news?
 
US. trade groups, representing companies such as Amazon, American Express and Microsoft, have opposed India’s push to store data locally.

Data Localization (in Hindi)

The scheme provides that each member of parliament of India has the choice to suggest to the Head of the District works to the tune of ₹5 crore per year, to be taken up in his/her constituency.
 
It also allows MPs to spend up to ₹10 lakh in any other constituency in India.
 
This scheme was administered by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) has been looking into its working.
 
Elected Members of Rajya Sabha representing the whole of the State as they do, may select works for implementation in one or more district(s) as they may choose.
 
Nominated Members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha may also select works for implementation in one or more districts, anywhere in the country.

MPLAD

Helena, Pitch Black and India-Japan (in Hindi)

Greece emerged from the biggest bailout in economic history after nine years of creditor-mandated austerity, with European institutions hailing the exit a success but jaded Greeks finding little reason to celebrate.
 
Exit from crisis
 
Athens will rely on bond markets to refinance its debt, officially leaving behind a crisis that shrank its economy by a quarter and pushed many into poverty.
 
Since early 2010, Greece has relied on more than €260 billion ($300 billion) lent by its eurozone partners and the International Monetary Fund.
 
The European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the eurozone’s bailout fund, expressed confidence that Athens could manage without an international financial safety net.

Greece bailout (in Hindi)

It is planned as an extensive database of credit information for all credit products in the country from point of origination of credit to its termination .
 
To provide lenders with a 360 degree view of the borrower’s outstanding credits and past performance.
 
This would allow better screening at the time of providing credit and superior monitoring during the life of the borrowing.
 
Why is in news?
 
The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, may need to be amended to facilitate the setting of a public credit registry (PCR), RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya .
 
Constraint
 
The RBI as a statutory corporation can only engage in those activities that are permitted by the RBI Act.

Public credit registry, NOTA in RS & Criminalising politics (in Hindi)

Real average daily wages in India almost doubled in the first two decades after economic reforms, but low pay and wage inequality remains a serious challenge to inclusive growth.
Stronger implementation of minimum wage laws and strengthening of the frameworks for collective bargaining by workers.
 
Overall, in 2009-10, a third of all of wage workers were paid less than the national minimum wage, which is merely indicative and not legally binding.
 
In 2011-12, the average wage in India was about ₹247 rupees a day, almost double the 1993-94 figure of ₹128. However, average labour productivity increased more rapidly than real average wages.
 
The average wage of casual workers — who make 62% of the earning population — was only ₹143 a day.
 
Daily wages in urban areas (₹384) also remain more than twice as high as those in rural areas (₹175).

ILO report on wages (in HIndi)

WhY is in news?
 
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has prepared a draft scheme document for “UDAN International” and invited comments from stakeholders till September 4.
 
State governments will be able to encourage tourism on preferred international air routes by offering subsidy to domestic airlines for a period of three years.
 
State will identify international routes for which the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will determine a subsidy amount per seat and invite bids from domestic carriers.
 
The airlines will bid on the percentage of flight capacity for which they require financial assistance, provided that the figure doesn’t exceed 60% of the flight capacity.
 
The government will grant financial aid only for the actual number of passenger seats that are unsold.

UDAN International & Missing Children (in Hindi)

Under new norms, cities and towns wanting to be declared ODF+ (Open Defecation Free Plus) must also be free of public urination and not just open defecation. 
 
This is the first time that the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) is officially including the elimination of public urination in its agenda.
 
The Mission is focussed on infrastructure and regulatory changes, on the assumption that this will lead to behaviour change.
 
The new ODF+ protocol
A city, ward or work circle could be declared ODF+ if, “at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating and/or urinating in the open, and all community and public toilets are functional and well-maintained.

Curbing open Urination & TRIFED (in HIndi)

Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Pipeline (TAPI), also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Galkynysh with participation of the Asian Development Bank
 
The pipeline will transport natural gas from the Galkynysh Gas Field in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India.
 
Construction on the project started in Turkmenistan on December 13th, 2015. The pipeline is expected to be operational by 2019.
 
Why is in news?
 
India has sought re-negotiation of the natural gas price it is to source through a proposed USD 10 billion (TAPI) pipeline in view of the slump in global energy markets.
 
The four nations to the pipeline projects had in 2013 signed a gas sale purchase agreement (GSPA) .

TAPI and POSHAN Maah (in HIndi)

Odisha CM:
 
Odisha aims to leverage its ports as part of a push to develop the State as a manufacturing hub in eastern India that could serve the larger South Asian regional market.
 
Emphasis is to drive port-led manufacturing, anchored by the three deep-water ports in the state along the east coast economic corridor,” Mr. Patnaik said.
 
The State’s focus is on ensuring state-of-the-art infrastructure and progressive policies to provide a conducive environment for industrial development.
 
New impetus to ties
 
Japan would be the country-partner for the second edition of ‘Make in Odisha’ investors meet to be held in November.

Make in Odisha, Indian Coffee and NCLT (in Hindi)

India’s logistics sector
It is very complex with more than 20 government agencies, 40 partnering government agencies (PGAs), 37 export promotion councils, 500 certifications, 10000 commodities, 160 billion market size.
 
It is highly defragmented so  the aim is to reduce the logistics cost from the present 14% of GDP to less than 10% by 2022.
 
As per the Economic Survey 2017-18, the Indian logistics sector provides livelihood to more than 22 million people and improving the sector will facilitate 10 % decrease in indirect logistics cost leading to the growth of 5 to 8% in exports.
 
Further, the Survey estimates that the worth of Indian logistics market would be around USD 215 billion in next two years compared to about USD 160 billion currently.

Imran Khan & National Logistics Portal (in Hindi)

Blockchains are a new data structure that is secure, cryptography-based, and distributed across a network.
 
The technology supports cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, and the transfer of any data or digital asset.
 
Allowing the transfer of digital goods without the need for centralized authorisation of transactions.
 
Advantage :
 
Blockchain records and validate each and every transaction made,-- secure and reliable.
 
All the transactions made are authorized by miners, -- the transactions immutable and prevent from hacking.

Lessons

43 lessons • 6h 5m

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Overview of the Course (in Hindi)

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Defence Acquisition council, Oxytocin,Women farmers, Criminal law, British committee (in Hindi)

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Citizenship bill, Zika, GM crops & core industries (in Hindi)

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Adultery law, Bandipur, UAE amnesty & Repo rate (in Hindi)

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LIC stakes in IDBI, NCBC, Benami transactions (in Hindi)

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SAARc and Dal lake (in Hindi)

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West Nile, WHO, TRAI (in Hindi)

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Article 35A & Chandryaan 2 (in Hindi)

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Imprint II, Star tortoise, CII & BEE (in Hindi)

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Appointment of judges (in Hindi)

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