Notes:
The National Security Guard (NSG) will be the first central paramilitary force to opt for e-ticketing instead of the railway warrant under an agreement signed with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The MoU was signed between NSG and IRCTC at the headquarters of the special force in New Delhi. This system will eliminate the need for carrying railway warrants by the NSG personnel. Under the MOU, the IRCTC will extend the ticketing facility to the NSG headquarters and it may be later provided to the field units. A railway warrant is a voucher issued for train travel for certain categories such as government employees, security force personnel and retirees at subsidised rates or free of charge, exchangeable for a ticket.

Notes:
Vishwas Patel, who is Director at Infibeam Avenues, has been appointed as new Chairman of Payments Council of India (PCI), the apex body representing the companies in the payments and settlement system. He succeeded Naveen Surya, who has been elevated to the post of Chairman Emeritus. PCI has also announced the appointment of Loney Antony, Managing Director, Hitachi Payment Services as its new Co-Chairman. PCI was formed under the aegis of Internet and Mobile Association of India [IAMAI] in 2013 to cater the needs of the digital payment industry.

Notes:
The Ministry of Coal has launched the Coal Mine Surveillance & Management System (CMSMS) and ‘Khan Prahari’ mobile application in New Delhi. The basic purpose of CMSMS is reporting, monitoring and taking suitable action on unauthorised coal mining activities. The CMSMS is a Web-based GIS application through which location of sites for unauthorised mining can be detected. The basic platform used in the system is of Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology’s (MeiTY) map which provides village level information. The leasehold boundary of all the coal mines will be displayed on this map. The system will use satellite data to detect changes by which unauthorised mining activity extending beyond the allotted lease area can be detected and suitable action can be taken on it. The ‘Khan Prahari’ app uses space technology to curb illegal coal mining activity in the coalfield areas of the country, and provides people with a platform where they can report such incidents. One can upload geo-tagged photographs of the incident along with textual information directly to the system.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved Lining Project of Son Canal in Shahbad-Bhojpur region of Bihar, which would benefit the agriculture sector immensely in the region. The estimated cost of this project is USD $503 million out of which US $352 million is being provided by ADB. This project on completion will bring immense benefits to agriculture sector of Shahbad-Bhojpur region of Bihar.

Notes:
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched ‘The Eat Right Movement’ to empower the citizens by improving their health and well-being. It is a platform to provide credible information to help make informed and healthful eating choices. It is built on two broad pillars – “Eat Healthy and “Eat Safe”. “Eat Healthy” is about making healthy food choices. “Eat Safe” is about ensuring food safety from procurement to consumption and disposal of food. Led by the FSSAI, it is a collective effort, to nudge the citizens towards making right food and dietary choices. The aim of the programme is to cut down salt/sugar and oil consumption by 30% in three years.

Notes:
India has been ranked 57th most innovative nation among 130 countries in the 11th edition of Global Innovation Index (GII-2018), which is developed jointly by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). GII is a leading bench-marking tool for business executives, policymakers and others seeking insight into the state of innovation around the world. The ranking is constantly being used to evaluate progress on a continual basis. The GII ranks 126 economies based on 80 indicators. It is now in its 11th edition and has become a major input for policymakers on innovation around the world. On the global front, Switzerland maintained its number one position in the Global Innovation Index rankings. Other countries that fell in the top 10 list were Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, the US, Finland, Denmark, and Germany.

Notes:
Dr. Sandeep Sancheti, who is the Vice Chancellor of SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST), has assumed charge as the 97th President of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). The AIU was founded in 1925, and initially it was known as the Inter-University Board of India. The AIU currently has more than 720 members, represented by Vice Chancellors. It facilitates coordination and mutual consultation among Universities and acts as a liaison with the Central and State governments. Besides promoting academic excellence nationally and internationally, the AIU is also a body that is very much involved in cultural and sporting activities in higher education domain.

Notes:
The Rajya Sabha has, for the first time in 76 years since it came into being, entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a foreign counterpart for promoting inter-parliamentary dialogue. With this, M. Venkaiah Naidu became the first Chairman of the Rajya Sabha to sign such an agreement. He signed an MOU with the visiting President of the Senate of the Republic of Rwanda, Bernard Makuza, on 10th July 2018. The MOU with 6 articles of cooperation seeks to promote Inter-Parliamentary dialogue, Capacity building of parliamentary staff, Organisation of conferences, forums, seminars, staff attachment programmes, workshops and exchanges, Collaboration in mutual interest in regional and international multilateral parliamentary bodies in furtherance of bilateral relations and friendship between the two nations.

Notes:
The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has granted “Institutions of Eminence” (IoEs) status to IIT-Delhi, IIT-Bombay and the Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in the public sector, and Manipal Academy of Higher Education, BITS Pilani and Jio Institute by Reliance Foundation in the private sector. The Jio Institute has been selected under the Greenfield Category. The aim of this move is to improve the level of educational institutes in the country, so that they can compete with foreign institutions. The goal is to bring them into the top 500 institutions in the world within the next 10 years, and eventually in top 100. The Government will grant Rs 1,000 crore funds to the three public institutions in the next five years though; the private institutes will not be eligible for government funding.

Notes:
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has adopted Resolution 2427 to protect children in armed conflict. It aimed at providing legal framework for mainstreaming protection, rights, well-being and empowerment of children throughout the conflict cycle. The resolution 2427, which won unanimous approval of the 15 members of the council, strongly condemns the recruitment and use of children by parties to armed conflict as well as their re-recruitment, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and abductions. It demands that all relevant parties immediately put an end to such practices and take special measures to protect children. The resolution also emphasizes the responsibility of all states to put an end to impunity and to investigate and prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other egregious crimes perpetrated against children. The council was chaired by Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.