This is a new initiative which makes you able to cover full current affairs from the bible of civil service aspirants ie,HINDU.We give direct notes from HINDU;Which replaces hindu reading. We give important news & what next to do? You collect those add on notes & make notes perfect.If found useful shoot feedbacks to [email protected] | Your feed backs are valuable.

Action against farmers using herbicides on GM mustard

• The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee’s (GEAC) sub-committee has drafted several recommendations on GM mustard before it approved the crop for commercial release in May this year.
• These included a proposal for legal action on farmers using the glufosinate-based herbicide (Basta) on the crop unless otherwise approved by the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee.
• In response to an RTI query, the GEAC has provided minutes of the sub-committee’s May 11, 2017 meeting which reflect an apprehension that farmers may use herbicides to kill weeds that grow in crops of herbicide-tolerant GM Mustard.

What next? Make a note on different GM crops approved in india & how they differ from normal variants. 

Scientists build DNA from scratch to alter life’s blueprint

• Jef Boeke’s lab discovered yeast that works with chunks of man-made DNA.
• Scientists have long been able to make specific changes in the DNA code.
• Now, they’re taking more radical step of starting over, and building redesigned life forms from scratch.
• International team of 11 labs on four continents are working to “rewrite” the yeast genome, following a detailed plan they published in March.
• Their work is part of a bold and controversial pursuit aimed at creating custom-made DNA codes to be inserted into living cells to change how they function, or even provide a treatment for diseases.

What next? Study the structure of DNA & RNA, How these two differs? Highlight THYMINE & URACIL

NASA jets to chase solar eclipse

• Scientists are planning to chase the shadow of the moon using NASA’s research jets during the upcoming total solar eclipse in the U.S in order to capture the clearest ever images of the Sun’s outer atmosphere.
• Amir Caspi of the Southwest Research Institute in the U.S. and his team will use two of NASA’s WB-57F research jets to follow the darkness across the U.S. on August 21.
• Taking observations from twin telescopes mounted on the noses of the planes, Mr. Caspi will capture the clearest images of the Sun’s corona to date and the first-ever thermal images of Mercury, revealing how temperature varies across the planet’s surface.
• “These could well turn out to be the best ever observations of high frequency phenomena in the corona,” said Dan Seaton, researcher at the University of Colorado. The total solar eclipse provides a rare opportunity for scientists to study the sun, particularly its atmosphere.

What next? Make a note on important initiatives of NASA.

‘India-Israel ties can affect Al Aqsa conflict’

• India’s friendly ties with Israel could ‘interfere’ with the ongoing Israel-Palestinians conflict over the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, said the envoy of Palestine on Wednesday.
• The Ambassador, Adnan Abu Al Haija, termed Israel’s latest security measures in Al Aqsa compound a ‘religious war’ and said Palestine expected a “positive attitude” from the Indian government.
• “India’s present government is friendly to Israel. Previous governments were also close to Israel but this government is particularly so. India’s friendly ties with Israel could interfere with the present situation in Jerusalem,” said the envoy.
• “The Al Aqsa mosque is an Islamic place of worship. Jerusalem is a city of three religions and we respect all religions.” He, however maintained that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Israel which excluded a visit to the Palestinian territory did not impact ties between two sides.

What next? Go through the india israel relationship & important agreements.

Thirty years of soul-searching — the lasting legacy of 1987

• Thirty years , since President J.R. Jayewardene of Sri Lanka and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India signed the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord in July 1987.
• The accord’s story has become part of history in India as well as Sri Lanka. However, has Sri Lanka’s politics changed since the advent of the accord? The answer is both ‘yes’ and ‘no.’

The accord had two immediate objectives.

1. To end Sri Lanka’s ethnic war by persuading the Tamil militant groups to lay down their arms and then join the so-called political mainstream.
2. To alter the constitutional and structural framework of the Sri Lankan state and offer regional autonomy to the minority Tamil community through devolution of powers. The two objectives have been met with only partial success.

What next? Make a note on important events in india sri lanka relation like fishermen issue,LTTE..click here for our 12 MINUTES VIDEO SERIES ON IR.

Time to change course

• Since December 2015, Chennai has limped from one extreme weather-related shock to another — the floods, the failed monsoon of 2016, Cyclone Vardah, and now the water crisis.
• Chennai’s defining element is water. But the city shows scant regard for this precious but dangerous resource.
• Located squarely in the intervening floodplains of three rivers on a high-energy coastline, Chennai is a disaster-prone location.
• Any badly located city can be vulnerable merely by virtue of its location. But only a special kind of city — a city with a death wish — actively makes a bad situation worse.
• Nothing speaks more elegantly to Chennai’s death wish than what governments are doing to the wetlands in North Chennai.
• In June, the State government conceded the Government of India-owned Kamarajar Port Ltd’s (KPL) request to divert 1,000 acres of the hydrologically sensitive Ennore wetlands for industrial installations that are best built on dry land.
• The proposal is pending Central government clearance. If permitted, KPL’s dream will turn out to be Chennai’s worst nightmare, far worse than the 2015 floods.

What next? Make a note on leveling of ENNORE chennai and its implications.

Questions of age

• The Supreme Court has shown due restraint in declining to apply the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act to mentally retarded adults whose mental age may be that of a child.
• It would have been tempting to give a purposive interpretation to the term ‘child’ under POCSO, which refers to those below 18 years of age, and rule that it encompasses those with a ‘mental age’ of a person below 18.
• It would have been compelling to acknowledge how similarly a child and an adult with inadequate intellectual growth are placed when it comes to sexual assault: both may show the same lack of understanding about the situation they are in and incapacity to protest.
• The court has chosen the challenging path of analysing the import of such judicial interpretation, along with the question whether expanding the notion of age is within its remit.
• It has ruled that it is outside its domain. POCSO is meant to protect children from sexual offences.

What next? Define POSCO and its provisions.

‘GST, note ban to boost economy’

• Economic activity is expected to rebound due to a supportive monetary policy, the effect of the Goods and Services Tax, and the eventual formalisation of the economy due to demonetisation, according to a report by Fitch Ratings.
• The report also highlighted uncertainty over the government committing to reducing its debt and the detrimental effect of farm loan waivers on states’ finances.

What next? Make a note on GST & important tax slabs

---

Share your feedbacks & suggestions about this!!! If found useful ,we will continue. Shoot a mail to [email protected]  If atleast 100 users responded; we will continue.

SHARING IS CARING..SHARE WITH FRIENDS..