Central Adoption Resource Authority

About

• Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is a statutory body of Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India.
• It functions as the nodal body for adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions.
• CARA is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, ratified by Government of India in 2003.
• CARA primarily deals with adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children through its associated /recognised adoption agencies.

Hague Adoption Convention

• The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption is an international convention dealing with international adoption, child laundering, and child trafficking.
• It is an effort to protect those involved from the corruption, abuses, and exploitation which sometimes accompanies international adoption.
• The Convention was developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law, the preeminent organization in the area of private international law. It was concluded on 29 May 1993 and entered into force on 1 May 1995.
• The Convention has been considered crucial because it provides a formal international and intergovernmental recognition of intercountry adoption to ensure that adoptions under the Convention will generally be recognized and given effect in other party countries.
• 96 countries including India has signed and ratified this convention. Whereas Nepal, South Korea and Russia are yet to ratify it.

Bhupen Hazarika

About

• Bhupen Hazarika was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, singer, poet and film-maker from Assam, widely known as Sudhakantha.
• His songs, written and sung mainly in the Assamese language by himself, are marked by humanity and universal brotherhood and have been translated and sung in many languages, most notably in Bengali and Hindi.
• His songs, based on the themes of communal amity, universal justice and empathy, have become popular among the people of Assam, besides West Bengal and Bangladesh.
• He is also acknowledged to have introduced the culture and folk music of Assam and Northeast India to Hindi cinema at the national level.

Bhupen Hazarika Setu

• The Dhola-Sadiya Bridge, the country's longest river bridge is named after him.
• It inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Assam, will provide a big boost to the Indian Army as it protects the nation's Northeast region against China.
• The bridge, spans 9.2 km across the Brahmaputra River.

Cholesterol

About

• Cholesterol is an organic molecule. It is a sterol (or modified steroid), a type of lipid molecule, and is biosynthesized by all animal cells, because it is an essential structural component of all animal cell membranes.
• In addition to its importance for animal cell structure, cholesterol also serves as a precursor for the biosynthesis of steroid hormones, bile acidand vitamin D.
• Cholesterol is the principal sterol synthesized by all animals.
• In vertebrates, hepatic cells typically produce the greatest amounts.
• It is absent among prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea), although there are some exceptions, such as Mycoplasma, which require cholesterol for growth.

HDL versus LDL cholesterol

There are two main types of cholesterol: high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Lipoproteins are made of fat and proteins. Cholesterol moves through your body while inside lipoproteins.

1. HDL is known as “good cholesterol” because it transports cholesterol to your liver to be expelled from your body. HDL helps rid your body of excess cholesterol so it’s less likely to end up in your arteries.
2. LDL is called “bad cholesterol” because it takes cholesterol to your arteries, where it may collect in artery walls. Too much cholesterol in your arteries may lead to a buildup of plaque known as atherosclerosis. This can increase the risk of blood clots in your arteries. If a blood clot breaks away and blocks an artery in your heart or brain, you may have a stroke or heart attack.

Causes of high cholesterol

Lifestyle factors that may cause high cholesterol are:

1. obesity
2. a diet high in red meat, full-fat dairy products, saturated fats, trans fats, and processed foods
3. a large waist circumference (over 40 inches for men or over 35 inches for women)
4. lack of regular exercise

How to treat high cholesterol

To treat high cholesterol, doctors often recommend these lifestyle changes:

1. stopping smoking
2. eating a healthy diet
3. exercising regularly
4. reducing stress

Derivatives

About

• Derivatives are a security that derive their value from an underlying asset or benchmark. Common derivatives include futures contracts, options and swaps.
• Most derivatives are not traded on exchanges and are used by institutions to hedge risk or speculate on price changes in the underlying asset.
• Exchange-traded derivatives like futures and stock options are standardized and eliminate or reduce many of the risks of over-the-counter derivatives like counterparty and liquidity risks.
• Derivatives are usually leveraged instruments, which increases the potential risks and rewards of these securities.

Swachh Shakti 2019

About Swachh Shakti-2019:

• Swachh Shakti-2019 is a national event which aims to bring in to focus the leadership role played by rural women in Swachh Bharat Mission.
• Women Sarpanches and Panches from all over the country will be attending the event. Around 15,000 women are expected to participate in this year’s Swachh Shakti event aimed at empowering the women.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Shakti program first in 2017 at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• 6000 women sarpanches from across the country had assembled in Gujarat on the occasion of International Women’s Day under the banner of Swachh Shakti 2017. PM addressed and honoured them.
• The second Swachh Shakti event, Swachh Shakti-2018 was held at Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. 8000 women sarpanches, 3000 women Swachhagrahis and women champions from other walks of life from across the country were recognized for their outstanding contribution towards making a Swachh Bharat during the event.
• Now the third edition is being inaugurated from Kurukshetra.

PETROTECH -2019

Highlights:

• PM underlined the importance of energy as a key driver of socio-economic growth. Suitably priced, stable and sustainable energy supply, is essential for rapid growth of the economy.
• It also helps the poor and deprived sections of society, to partake of economic benefits.
• Stating that the there is a shift in energy consumption from West to East, PM said that United States has become the world’s largest oil and gas producer after the shale revolution.
• However there are signs of convergence, between cheaper renewable energy, technologies, and digital applications which may expedite the achievement of many sustainable development goals..
• PM emphasized that people must have universal access to clean, affordable, sustainable and equitable supply of energy. But more than a billion people across the globe still do not have access to electricity. Many more do not have access to clean cooking fuel.

About PETROTECH Conference:

• The PETROTECH series of International Oil & Gas Conference is a biennial platform for national and international experts in the oil & gas industry to exchange views and share knowledge, expertise, and experiences.
• Being held for the last over two decades with growing participation, PETROTECH-2019 is the 13th edition of the flagship event of the bustling Indian hydrocarbon sector that is a must-attend one in this part of the globe.
• The event aims to explore areas of growth in petroleum technology, exploration, drilling, production and processing, refining, pipeline transportation, petrochemicals, natural gas, LNG, petroleum trade, economics, legal and human resource development, marketing.

Light House Projects challenge

Highlights:

• The challenge has been launched to bring about paradigm shift in housing construction technology sector. The states and union territories that score the highest marks will be awarded lighthouse projects.
• The Urban Affairs Ministry has encouraged all the states and union territories to participate in the challenge proactively. The last date for participation is February 20, 2019.
• The states and UTs can send their applications in the prescribed format at the earliest and latest by February 20.
• The selected states or UTs will then enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MoU) with the Urban Affairs Ministry to execute these lighthouse projects in their regions under GHTC-India.
• The winning six states or union territories, which score the highest marks across the prescribed criteria, will be awarded lighthouse projects.
• The winners will receive central assistance to construct these projects as per Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) guidelines.

About Global Housing Technology Challenge-India (GHTC- India):

• The challenge (GHTC - India) seeks to obtain best available innovative construction technologies from across the globe through a unique competitive process.
• It aims to transform the eco-system of housing construction sector in the country through lighthouse projects built using advanced proven technologies.
• It will foster the development of domestic technological research, and building platforms for knowledge sharing and networking across the sector.

The challenge has three components viz.

1. Conduct of Grand Expo-cum-Conference

• Grand Expo and Conference on Alternative and Innovative Construction Technologies A Grand Expo and Conference will be organized biennially (once every two years) in India to provide a platform to all stakeholders associated with housing construction.
• The event will have panel discussions, inspiring talks, exhibition of prototypes, the exchange of knowledge and business, provide networking opportunities and the signing of MoUs.
• The first Expo and conference is proposed to be held on 2nd and 3rd March 2019 and is expected to be attended by a wide range of stakeholders such as technology providers, researchers, builders, developers, entrepreneurs, academia, civil society organisations, and public-sector agencies such as housing boards and public works offices.

2. Identifying Proven Demonstrable Technologies from across the globe

• Identifying and Mainstreaming Proven Demonstrable Technologies for the Construction of Lighthouse Projects Proven Technologies that are innovative and established are to be identified and mainstreamed from around the world for use in the Indian context.
• Such technologies will be invited to apply through a global online Express of Interest (EoI), which in turn will be rigorously screened by an eminent Technical Evaluation Committee constituted at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• Suitability for the different regions of India will be established, and these technologies will be further invited to design and build lighthouse projects of approximately 1,000 housing units each at six places in the country.
• These projects will demonstrate the merits of the selected technologies and serve as live laboratories for research, testing, technology transfer, increasing mass awareness and for mainstreaming them in the country.

3. Promoting Potential Technologies through the establishment of Affordable Sustainable Housing Accelerators- India (ASHA-I) for incubation and accelerator support.

• Identifying Potential Future Technologies for Incubation and Acceleration Support through ASHA - India (Affordable Sustainable Housing Accelerators) Potential Future Technologies from India that are applicable to the housing sector will be supported and encouraged through the ASHA India program.
• It will invite applications from local researchers and technology developers whose products are not yet market ready or are market ready and are yet to achieve scale.
• Promising solutions will be identified by an eminent Technical Evaluation Committee for Incubation and Acceleration support.
• Four eminent IITs will provide incubational facilities and support such as product development, mentoring and monitoring, prototyping, company incorporation, patent guidance and business model assistance.
• Accelerator workshops will be organised by leading institutions to enable a better eco-system familiarity for start-ups through master classes with funders, industry leaders, and sector experts. At least one accelerator workshop will be organized each year.

Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)

About Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme:

• Government of India has approved the introduction of a new credit linked subsidy programme called Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) by merging the two schemes that were in operation till 31.03.2008, namely Prime Minister's Rojgar Yojana (PMRY) and Rural Employment Generation Programme (REGP) for generation of employment opportunities through establishment of micro enterprises in rural as well as urban areas.
• PMEGP is a central sector scheme administered by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME).
• At the national level, the Scheme is being implemented by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), a statutory organization under the administrative control of the Ministry of MSME as the single nodal agency.
• At the State level, the Scheme will be implemented through State KVIC Directorates, State Khadi and Village Ind ustries Boards (KVIBs) and District Industries Centres (DICs) and banks.
• The Government subsidy under the Scheme will be routed by KVIC through the identified Banks for eventual distribution to the beneficiaries / entrepreneurs in their Bank accounts.
• The Implementing Agencies, namely KVIC, KVIBs and DICs will associate reputed Non Government Organization (NGOs)/reputed autonomous institutions/Self Help Groups (SHGs) / National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) / Udyami Mitras empanelled under Rajiv Gandhi Udyami Mitra Yojana (RGUMY), Panchayati Raj institutions and other relevant bodies in the implementation of the Scheme, especially in the area of identification of beneficiaries, of area specific viable projects, and providing training in entrepreneurship development.

Objectives:

• To generate continuous and sustainable employment opportunities in Rural and Urban areas of the country
• To provide continuous and sustainable employment to a large segment of traditional and prospective artisans, rural and urban unemployed youth in the country through setting up of micro enterprises.
• To facilitate participation of financial institutions for higher credit flow to micro sector.

Salient features of the scheme

• The Scheme is implemented through KVIC and State/UT Khadi & V.I. Boards in Rural areas and through District Industries Centres in Urban and Rural areas in ratio of 30:30:40 between KVIC / KVIB / DIC respectively.
• No income ceiling for setting up of projects.
• Assistance under the Scheme is available only to new units to be established.
• Existing units or units already availed any Govt. Subsidy either under State/Central Govt. Schemes are not eligible.
• Any industry including Coir Based projects excluding those mentioned in the negative list.
• Per capita investment should not exceed Rs. 1.00 lakhs in plain areas and Rs. 1.50 lakhs in Hilly areas.
• Maximum project cost of Rs. 25.00 lakhs in manufacturing sector and Rs. 10.00 lakhs in Service Sector.

Area of Operation

• Rural Area as declared under KVIC Act 2006 - Scheme to be implemented by KVIC, KVIB and DIC (“Rural Area” means the area comprised in any Village and includes the area comprised in any town, the population of which does not exceed twenty thousand or such other figure as the Central Government may specify from time to time as declared under KVIC Act 2006)
• Urban area - Only District Industries Centres (DIC).