Notes:
For the first time, the International team of scientists including 18 from India cracked the genetic code of wheat, the world’s most widely cultivated crop. The information generated will help to identify genes controlling complex agronomic traits such as yield, grain quality, resistance to diseases and pests, as well as tolerance to drought, heat, water logging and salinity. The research, which is published in Journal ‘Science’, stated that the DNA sequence of bread wheat has been ordered and it represents the highest quality genome sequence generated to date. The reference genome covers 94% (14.5 Gb) of the entire wheat genome. The bread wheat has a complex hexaploid genome which is 40 times larger than that of the rice genome and 5 times larger than the human genome. The availability of high quality reference genome would accelerate the breeding of climate-resilient wheat varieties to feed the ever-increasing world population and help address global food security in the decades to come.

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The “Panini Language Laboratory” has been inaugurated by Sushma Swaraj, the Union Minister of External Affairs (MEA), during the 11th World Hindi Conference (WHC) 2018 at Mahatma Gandhi Institute (MGI) at Port Louis in Mauritius on August 19. The Lab has been gifted by the Government of India (GoI) and it will help MGI in teaching of all Indian languages in Mauritius. The eminent scholars have stressed upon on refinement of the Hindi language by making it simple and interesting. The delegates from across the globe underlined the need of developing software for Hindi which can be available to common people on a reasonable price. The basic objective of 3-day conference is to connect Hindi language with culture to spread and popularise it in the entire world.

Notes:
On August 19, Wrestler Bajrang Punia clinched India’s first gold medal in the 18th Asian Games after defeating Takatani Daichi of Japan in the men’s 65 kg freestyle title bout in Jakarta, Indonesia. Punia, who hails from Haryana, had won three consecutive gold medals — 2018 CWG (Gold Coast), Tbilisi Grand Prix (Georgia) and Yasar Dogu International (Istanbul) — ahead of the 2018 Asian Games. Earlier, Indian shooters Apurvi Chandela and Ravi Kumar won the bronze medal in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event at the 2018 Asian Games. It was India’s first medal in the ongoing event.

Notes:
Kofi Annan (80), the former UN secretary-general and a Ghanaian diplomat, has passed away in Switzerland on August 18, 2018. He served two terms as UN chief from 1997 to 2006. Mr Annan was the first black African to become UN secretary-general. He later served as the UN special envoy for Syria, leading efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for helping to revitalize the international body, during a period that coincided with the Iraq War and the HIV/Aids pandemic. In September 2016, Annan was appointed to lead a UN commission to investigate the Rohingya crisis.

Notes:
The deadly agricultural insect-pest “Fall Armyworm (FAW)” has been recently spotted at a few places in the districts of Karimnagar, Kamareddy, Sangareddy, Medak and Gadwal in Telangana. It is known to attack and destroy several varieties of crops, but it prefers maize and sorghum because of the sweetness in their leaves. The Fall Armyworm (or Spodoptera frugiperda) is a species in the order of Lepidoptera and is the larval life stage of a fall armyworm moth. In its larva stage, it can cause significant damage to crops, if not well managed. The lifespan of the pest is 30 to 60 days and each generation can migrate to a distance of more than 400 km. It is considered deadly as it has caused massive agricultural losses in several countries in Africa. The worm was first found in Karnataka in the country and later spread to Tamil Nadu.

Notes:
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has decided to form a 3-member committee to look into the draft of Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations 2018. The expert committee will be led by B Sesikeran, former director of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), and comprise current NIN director Hemalatha and AIIMS’ Nikhil Tandon. In April, food safety regulator FSSAI had come out with the above draft that propose mandatory red colour-coded labels on packaged food products which are high in fat, sugar and salt contents. However, the Union Health Ministry has put on hold the draft after industry stakeholders expressed concerns referring to an adverse impact on the evolving packaged food industry. Hence, FSSAI has decided to set up committee to study in detail the concerns of the industry and make recommendations.

Notes:
The World Photography Day (WPD) is observed every year on August 19 to encourage photographers across the planet to share a single photo with the world with an aim – to share their world with the world. The idea behind the day is inspiring positive change in the world, by sharing the stories of the photographers from all around the world through their photographs. The date of August 19 was chosen to commemorate the invention of the Daguerreotype, a photographic process developed by Frenchmen Louis Daguerre and Joseph Nicephore Niepce in 1837. On 9th January 1839, the French Academy of Sciences announced the Daguerreotype process. On August 19 that same year, the French government purchased the patent and announced the invention as a free gift to the world. This event was an important step in the development of modern-day photography.

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The World Humanitarian Day (WHD) is held every year on August 19 to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service, and to rally support for people affected by crises around the world. The day recognizes humanitarian personnel and those who have lost their lives working for humanitarian causes. The campaign theme of 2018 WHD is #NotATarget. The day was designated by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to commemorate the 19th August 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Human Resource and Development (HRD) has proposed to set up a 5-member committee to suggest changes to the JEE (Advanced) examination in the wake of an inadequate number of candidates qualifying the entrance test this year. The aim of the committee, which will be headed by IIT-Madras director “Bhaskar Ramamurthy”, is to develop a robust and scientifically designed entrance exam system to test the potential of the candidates as well as to reduce their dependence on coaching institutes. The proposal is on the agenda of the IIT Council, which is considered to be the top decision-making body of all the IITs. Additionally, the IIT-Council is expected to discuss a suggestion made by one of the 23 premier engineering schools that the students who qualify JEE (Advanced) should be allocated an institute and not the engineering branch. According to the suggestion, the student should be allocated an engineering branch only in the second year, based on the aptitude exhibited in the first year. The IIT Council is scheduled to meet on August 21, 2018.

Notes:
On 16 August, the Amnesty International India (AII) has launched a new campaign “Our Safety, Our Rights” to create awareness among children to help them understand and identify sexual abuse. The campaign seeks to empower children to speak up and report sexual abuse without fear. The AII has collaborated with Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS), People’s Action for Rural Awakening (PARA), Institute of Social Education (ISE) to engage with children in 400 schools, across four Indian states – Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Through this campaign, an estimated 50,000 students, parents, teachers and other key stakeholders will be sensitized on the issue of child sexual abuse.The campaign will culminate on 2018 International Day of the Girl Child.