Current Affairs - 2019-20

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Wipro Chairman Azim Premji will be honoured with the 2017 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for his efforts to reform India’s public school system. He is among the 9 philanthropists named recipients of the 2017 Medal of Philanthropy, who are selected for their distinguished and longstanding contributions to the public good. The Carnegie institutions will award the medals during a formal ceremony in October 2017. The honorees are recognized as catalysts for good whose philanthropy has had a significant and lasting impact on a particular field, nation, or community of people.

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Mulberry silk is the most popular variety of silk in India, accounting for around 79% of the country’s silk production. In 2022, India produced nearly 26,000 metric tons of mulberry silk. The other varieties of silk produced in India are:

• Tasar, which accounted for 8.02% of the total raw silk production
• Eri, which accounted for 20.55% of the total raw silk production
• Muga, which accounted for 0.71% of the total raw silk production

India is the second largest producer of silk in the world. The five states that produce the most silk are Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Jammu & Kashmir.

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The required per cent = = 28.6% (approx)

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ISRO has recently established the Gadanki Ionospheric Radar Interferometer system at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.

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Enceladus is a moon of Saturn. It’s the sixth-largest moon of Saturn, with a diameter of about 500 kilometers (310 miles). Enceladus is mostly covered by fresh, clean ice, making it one of the most reflective bodies in the Solar System.  Enceladus is Saturn’s brightest moon and has the highest albedo (reflectivity) of any body in the solar system. Scientists have discovered that there are oceans, or sub-surface oceans beneath the icy surface of the moon. The ocean should be relatively rich in dissolved phosphorus, an essential ingredient for life.  Enceladus was recently in the news after NASA’s Cassini aircraft revealed several secrets about the ongoing geologic activity on it.

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The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed a UN Decade of Action on Nutrition, paving the way for tackling child hunger and ending all forms of malnutrition once and for all. Every country in the world in 2015, agreed to eliminate malnutrition by 2030. Brazil became the first country to make SMART commitments as part of the United Nations (UN) Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025.

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PMMSK scheme is envisioned as one-stop convergence support service for empowering rural women with opportunities for skill development, digital literacy, health and nutrition and employment. It aims to improve declining child sex ratio (CSR), ensure survival and protection of the girl child, ensuring the education and empowering her to fulfil her potential. It will provide an interface for rural women to approach government for getting their entitlement and for empowering them through training and capacity building.

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Global Energy Architecture Performance Index Report is published by World Economic Forum.The Report 2017 ranks 127 countries on their ability to deliver secure, affordable, sustainable energy. India ranked 87th among the 127 surveyed countries.

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The “TARANG’ Mobile App”, “e-Trans” & “DEEP” e-bidding web portals have been developed by Rural Electrification Corporation Transmission Projects Company Limited (RECTPCL). TARANG stands for Transmission App for Real Time Monitoring & Growth. It is a Mobile App & Web Portal with excellent monitoring tool that tracks upcoming transmission projects and monitor the progress of Inter-State & Intra-State transmission systems in the country. The “e-Trans” web platform is for e-bidding and e-reverse auction for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) in transmission projects. DEEP stands for the Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price; it is an e-Bidding portal for medium term (1-5 years) purchase of power.

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Recently, Germany has signed an agreement with India for providing soft loan to the tune of Euro 1 billion for the Green Corridor Projects in India. Intra State transmission schemes under Green Energy Corridors (GEC) are to be funded as 20% equity of the State Govt., 40% grant from National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) and 40% soft loan, whereas, the inter State transmission schemes are to be funded as 30% equity by PGCIL and 70% as soft loan, he added.