3 July 2016

Rajasthan now wants more daughters as child sex ration comes down

·        In India, a social problem doesn't get attention it deserves till it reaches alarming proportion. In that sense, census 2011, that reported steep fall of 21 points in child sex ratio, proved a blessing in disguise for the girl child in Rajasthan.

·        As per census 2011, child sex ratio (CSR) fell to sub 900 levels in Rajasthan. It was 909 in 2001 census but a decade later came down to 888. Out of 33 districts in the state, barely 10 districts had a CSR of 900 or above.

·        Experts had been warning about skewed child sex ratio ever since 2001 census revealed yawning gap between number of girls and boys in Rajasthan. But no one took them seriously and the slide continued.

·        A big shock was needed for people and the policy makers to acknowledge the impending catastrophe and census 2011 data was just what the doctor had ordered.

Religious Texts to be included in Haryana School Curriculum

·        Texts from the holy books of various religions will be incorporated in the curriculum of government schools in Haryana from this month, a minister said.

·        The subject of moral education which includes religious texts from 'Bhagavad Gita' (Hindu religion), 'Quran' (Islam), the 'Bible' (Christianity) and 'Guru Granth Sahib' (Sikhism) will be introduced at a programme to be held in the Kurukshetra University auditorium on July 5.

·        Haryana Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said moral education would be introduced as a subject for students from class six to class 12.

Rs.5,000 cr. Central aid sought for Mission Kakatiya

·        Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao requested the Centre to extend an assistance of Rs.5,000 crore for Mission Kakatiya programme being implemented for the last two years for restoration of minor irrigation tanks with an objective of water conservation and improving groundwater table.

·        The State Government launched Mission Kakatiya programme last year with plans to restore over 46,500 minor irrigation tanks across the State, including the revival of chain-link tank system introduced by the Kakatiya dynasty.

MEA, MSDE sign pact to skill Indians seeking overseas jobs

   ·      Ministries of External Affairs, and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship formalised an agreement today to implement Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY), a scheme designed to offer skill development to Indians seeking jobs overseas.

·        The MoU will institutionalise a framework to provide skill training to lakhs of Indians who go abroad to work every year.


·        On the occasion, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Indian emigrant workers, especially those who went to the Gulf through recruitment agents, were exploited due to lack of requisite skills.

Chinappa enters top 10 in World Squash Rankings

·        Current national champion Joshna Chinappa became the second Indian in history to enter into the top 10 in PSA World Squash Rankings.


·        The 29-year-old climbed a rank after finishing as the runner-up in the HKFC International tournament in Hong Kong.


·        While, Dipika Pallikal, who was the first Indian to crack the top 10 back in 2012, was ranked 19th globally.

2 July 2016

International Day of Co-operatives observed today

·        The International Co-operative Day / International Day of Co-operatives is celebrated on the first Saturday of July every year.

·        To be celebrated on the 2nd of July 2016, this year’s theme is ‘Co-operatives: The power to act for a sustainable future’.

·        Its aim is to increase awareness on co-operatives and promote promote the movement's successes and ideals of international solidarity, economic efficiency, equality, and world peace.


·        The International Day also aims to to strengthen and extend partnerships between the international co-operative movement and other actors, including governments, at local, national and international levels

First squadron of LCA Tejas inducted into Indian Air Force

The first squadron of indigenously designed and manufactured Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas was inducted into Indian Air Force (IAF). State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over the first two Tejas aircrafts to IAF as part squadron at the Aircraft System Testing Establishment in Bengaluru.
 Key Facts 
The first squadron of LCA Tejas has been named as ‘Flying Daggers’. Its base will be located in Sulur, Tamil Nadu. It will have total 20 aircrafts, including 4 trainers. However, the two aircrafts will be operated initially by the squadron at Bengaluru for nearly two years. Remaining 18 aircraft including 4 trainers will be inducted at Sulur base in 2018.

About LCA Tejas 

• Tejas is a single-engine lightweight multi-role fighter jet. It has been pegged as world’s smallest and lightest supersonic fighter. 
• It is outcome of India’s LCA programme, which began in the 1983 to replace country’s aging MiG-21 fighters. 
• It is a tailless and having compound delta wing design. It is powered by a single engine. It is mounted with inbuilt MultiMode Radar (MMR), Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) systems.
• It is equipped with a quadruplex digital fly-by-wire flight control system in order to ease handling by the pilot. LCA Tejas has a limited reach of a little over 400-km.
• It will be mainly used for close air-to-ground operations.

Amul to officially sponsor Indian contingent at Rio Olympics 2016

India’s largest food products marketing organization Amul has become the official sponsor of Indian contingent to the 2016 Rio Olympics. In this regard, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells its product under the brand Amul has inked an agreement with Indian Olympic Association (IOA). 
Key Facts

•  By sponsoring Indian contingent, Amul seeks to engage with youth and leverage the connection between the energy of milk and sports. 
• In this regard, GCMMF will launch a series of advertising campaigns for milk and various dairy products to promote this association. 
• Amul will use its famous tagline, Amul Doodh Pita hai India to cheer the Indian contingent. It also has embarked upon an “Eat Milk with Every Meal” campaign to highlight the importance of milk and dairy products like cheese, yogurt, butter, ghee, paneer, etc.

President Pranab Mukherjee presents BC Roy National Awards for 2008, 2009 & 2010

• President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday presented the Dr BC Roy national awards for 2008, 2009 and 2010 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. These awards were presented on the occasion of National Doctors’ Day observed on July 1 to pay honour and tribute to India’s most famous physician Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. 
• The awardees are
•  2010: Nikhil C. Munshi, O.P. Kalra, Tejinder Singh, Subash Gupta, Amrinder Jit Kanwar, Rajendra Prasad and Glory Alexander.
•  2009:H. Sancheti, Renu Saxena, Atul Kumar, A.K. Kriplani, Kanan A. Yelikar, H.S. Bhanushali, G.V. Rao, Moti Lal Singh, C.N. Purandare and C.V. Hari Narayan.
•  2008: Rajeshwar Dayal, Mammen Chandy, Neelam Mohan, Rohit V. Bhatt, Mohan Kameswaran, Harsha Jauhari, Gopal H. Badlani and Yash Gulati.

High-speed OPV INS Tarasa launched by Indian Navy

Indian Navy has launched INS Tarasa, the fourth and last ship in the series of the Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC). It is being built by Kolkata (West Bengal) based Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), for the Indian Navy. The WJFACs are ideally suited and used for interception of fast-moving surface craft.

About INS Tarasa 

• INS Tarasa like the previously launched ships of WJFACs series has been named after the picturesque island in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago in Bay of Bengal. 
• It is an improved variant of the Car Nicobar-class high-speed offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).
•  It is powered by the latest 4,000-series MTU engines and has displacement capacity of 315 tonnes. It is fitted with advanced machinery control system. 
• It has been designed to attain maximum speed of 35 knots and for an endurance of nearly 2,000 nautical miles at 12-14 knots. 
• The ship will be fitted with CRN-91 indigenous 30mm gun with optronic pedestal. It will also have the latest communication equipment and radars to enable effective surveillance. 
• INS Tarasa will perform anti-smuggling, fishery protection and search and rescue operations.