Important Current Affairs 13th August 2018

Important Current Affairs 13th August 2018 

                                                      National News

Beneficiaries under the scheme for Adolescent Girls in 2017-18
•    The Government is implementing Scheme for Adolescent Girls, a Centrally-sponsored scheme, to provide nutrition support for out of school adolescent girls (11-14 years).
•    The scheme has two components Nutrition and Non Nutrition.
•    More than 7 lakh out of school adolescent girls (11-14 years) benefitted under the scheme for Adolescent Girls in 2017-18.
•    In 2018-19, against the allocation of Rs. 500 crore, as of now a sum of Rs. 81.59 crore has been released to States/UTs.
Objective:
•    In addition, the scheme aims at motivating out of school girls in the age group of 11-14 years to go back to formal schooling or skill training under non-nutrition component of the scheme. 
•    The Scheme aims at all-round development of out-of-school Adolescent Girls of age 11-14 years and is implemented through the State Governments/UTs using ICDS infrastructure.
Important:
Minister of Women and Child Development is Stm Maneka Sanjay Gandhi.

Centre unlocks over 66 thousand crore green fund to increase forest cover 
•    The Centre has unlocked more than 66,000 crore rupees to increase the country’s forest cover. 
•    The Centre has finally notified the rules for utilisation of the money by states and Union Territories, and for setting up authorities to monitor its use for afforestation and conservation.
•    The rules have been framed two years after a law to this effect was enacted.
•    The rules specify that 80 percent of the compensatory afforestation amount will be utilised by states for plantations, assisted natural regeneration of forests, forest fire prevention, and pest and disease control in forest, soil and moisture conservation works and improvement of wildlife habitat, among others, in the list of 13 permissible activities. 
•    The remaining 20 percent will be used for 11 listed works to strengthen forest and wildlife protection related infrastructure.

All districts will be covered under the POSHAN Abhiyan 2019-20
•    POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission - NNM) set up by Government on November, 2017 aims to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anemia and low birth weight babies. 
•    Coverage of districts in a phased manner is 315 districts in 2017-18, 235 districts in 2018-19 and remaining districts in 2019-20.
•    The total budget for the POSHAN Abhiyaan is Rs.9046.17 crore with GoI share of Rs.2849.54 crore.
The important components of the Abhiyaan are:
Ensuring convergence with various programmes; incentivizing States/ UTs for achieving goals; IT enabled Real Time Monitoring (ICT-RTM); Evaluation; weighing efficiency and making nutrition visible; Community mobilization awareness advocacy etc. measuring height and length of children below 6 years of age. 

Launch of “PARIVESH”
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, launched PARIVESH (Pro-Active andResponsive facilitation by Interactive, Virtuous and Environmental Single-windowHub) on the occasion of World Biofuel Day.
PARIVESH
PARIVESH is a Single-Window Integrated Environmental Management System, developed in pursuance of the spirit of ‘Digital India’ initiated by the Prime Minister and capturing the essence of Minimum Government and Maximum Governance.

                                                               National News, Appointment

New Chairperson of Appellate Tribunal for Electricity
Smt. Justice Manjula Chellur took Oath as Chairperson, Appellate Tribunal for Electricity, Ministry of Power, here today. Prior to this, Smt. Justice Manjula Chellur was Chief Justice of Bombay High Court.  
Background:
Smt. Justice Manjula Chellur was born on 5th December, 1955 in Karnataka. She was the first woman Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court.  Smt. Justice Manjula chellur also served as the Chief Justice of Kerala High Court and the first female judge of the Karnataka High Court.  She demitted her office as Chief Justice of Bombay High Court upon attaining the age of superannuation on 4th December, 2017.

                                                           National News, Science

Jammu, Agartala to get Space Research Technology Centres
•    Union minister Jitendra Singh said Jammu and Tripura will get the country’s first Space Technology Research Centre. While the first centre in north India will function under Jammu-based Central University, the Tripura centre will work will work under Agartala-based NIT.
•    This was disclosed on the occasion of the beginning of year-long "Sarabhai Centenary" programmes of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), starting from today, that is, the 99th birth anniversary of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the first Chairman of ISRO and the founding father of India's Space Programme.
Important:
The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh.

Inauguration of the Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES)
Union Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan inaugurated a genetic resource storage facility at the Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES).
Details:
•    The Wildlife Genetic Resource Bank at LaCONES can store 17,000 vials worth of samples.
•    Currently genetic material, including DNA, cells and tissues besides semen and eggs of 23 wildlife species are stored. 
•    It is learnt a proposal has been made by the institution to increase the storage capacity. 
•    The bank will facilitate research and, if attempted, scope for cloning.

                                                       National News, Defence

DAC Approval for Procurement of Six Ngopvs
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman met here today and accorded approval for the procurement of six indigenously designed and manufactured Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels (NGOPVs) for the Indian Navy at an approximate cost of Rs. 4941 crore.
Salient Features:
•    The NGOPVs will be built in indigenous shipyards and will be fitted with state-of-the-art sensor suite with increased endurance. These platforms will strengthen maritime security by undertaking a multitude of operational roles both in blue water and littorals. 
•    These include seaward defence, protection of offshore assets, maritime interdiction operations and search & seizure operations, surveillance missions, mine warfare, anti-piracy missions, counter infiltration operations, anti-poaching/trafficking operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and search and rescue missions.

                                                                         Obituary

Veteran leader Somnath Chatterjee passed away in Kolkata
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee passed away in Kolkata this morning following a multiple organ failure. He was 89.
Important about Somnath Chatterjee
•    Somnath Chatterjee (25 July 1929 - 13 August 2018) was an Indian politician who had been associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for most of his life, though he was independent in the last decade of his life. 
•    He was the 13th Speaker of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) from 2004 to 2009.
•    He was Member of Parliament for Bolpur, West Bengal, and Member of Parliament for Jadavpur, West Bengal, and Member of Parliament for Bardhaman, West Bengal.

                                                                        Day & Dates

World Elephant Day Observed on August 12

•    World Elephant Day is an international annual event on August 12, dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world's elephants.
•    The first International Elephant Day was held on August 12, 2012. The film Return to the Forest, narrated by William Shatner, is about the reintroduction of captive Asian elephants to the wild and was released on the inaugural World Elephant Day.
Objective:
The goal of International Elephant Day is to create awareness of the urgent plight of African and Asian elephants, and to share knowledge and positive solutions for the better care and management of captive and wild elephants. African elephants are listed as "Vulnerable" and Asian elephants as "Endangered" on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. 

International Youth Day is celebrated globally 
•    International Youth Day is celebrated globally on August 12. 
•    There are currently 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in the world – the largest youth population ever.
Theme 2018
•    This year’s theme is Safe Spaces for Youth and the contributions they make towards freedom of expression, mutual respect, and constructive dialogue. Among these spaces are civic spaces, public spaces, digital spaces and physical spaces.
•    The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, specifically Goal 11, emphasizes the need for the provision of space towards inclusive and sustainable urbanization.

                                                    International News, Appointment

Michelle Bachelet appointed as the world body's next top human rights official 
•    Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet was appointed by the UN General Assembly as the world body's next top human rights official to replace Jordanian diplomat Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein.
•    UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had this week nominated Bachelet to be the next UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Her name was forwarded for consideration by the 193-member UN General Assembly, which approved her appointment.
Important
•    Bachelet will be the seventh High Commissioner since the Office was created in 1993. Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein has been in office since 1 September 2014. His predecessors are: Jos Ayala-Lasso (1994-97); Mary Robinson (1997-2002); Sergio Vieira de Mello (2002-03); Louise Arbour (2004-08); and Navi Pillay (2008-14).
•    Verónica Michelle Bachelet (29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who was the President of Chile twice, from 2006 to 2010 and from 2014 to 2018, the first woman in her country to occupy this position.

                                                        International News

India hands over 1st lot of houses to Indian-origin people in Sri Lanka 
•    India has handed over the first lot of houses built under a USD 350 million project for Indian-origin people, mostly Tamils, in Sri Lanka's tea plantation areas.
•    Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined the special ceremony through video conferencing at Dunsinane Estate in Nuwara Eliya city to hand over the houses constructed under the Indian Housing Project, the largest one by India in any country.
Figures and Facts:
•    Some 404 houses were handed over to the Indian-origin people, mostly Tamils. 
•    Out of the 60,000 houses, close to 47,000 have been completed so far.
•    Prime Minister Modi said that "we are signing the agreement for the construction of the additional 10,000 houses at a cost of 12 billion Sri Lankan Rupees".