The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has raised a few objections to the Home

Ministrys bid to frame a new law to regulate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS),
loosely referred to as drones.
The Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has told the Home Ministry
that licensing and safety of all aircraft manned or unmanned was their
domain
Recently, the Home Ministry circulated a draft law to regulate the low-flying
objects for inter-ministerial consultations. The regulations were circulated
more than a year after the DGCA put out draft guidelines for obtaining unique
identification numbers for citizens to use drones in the public domain.
as per International Civil Aviation Organisation guidelines, aircraft, whether
manned or unmanned, does not affect its status as an aircraft and the safety
oversight is the responsibility of the DGCA.
DGCA has the capacity to detect aircraft of a particular size and [which] fly at a
certain altitude. It has radars to detect their presence. The unmanned objects,
if they fly low, cannot be detected by any radar. It has security and privacy
issues,
The Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Communist Party of India
(Marxist) and the Communist Party of India have told a parliamentary panel that
the existing first-past-the-post system needs to be replaced with a hybrid format
where elections for a small number of seats are through proportional
representation.
The Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice,
headed by Congress leader Anand Sharma, is deliberating on electoral reforms.
because of a division of votes, a party with even a 20% share does not get a
single seat, while a party with a 28% share an get a disproportionately large
number of seats.
suggested a dual system where separate votes for a candidate and a party could
be considered. This system is followed by various European countries.
recommendations of the Law Commissions 170th and 255th report should be
implemented. A mix of both first-past-the-post and proportional representation
should be tried. Both the reports had suggested that 25% or 136 more seats
should be added to the Lok Sabha and be filled by proportional representation.
Deogarh, which became the first open defecation-free (ODF) district in Odisha, has
decided to give villages having 100% toilet usage priority in government
programmes to keep the cleanliness and sanitation momentum going.
 Deogarh had completed providing individual household latrines in all the
villages across the district by July end.
Upon achievement the target, the district was recently declared ODF.
As a reward for using toilets, the village is linked with all government
programmes on a priority basis
After tasting success in providing individual latrines, the district
administration is now pushing for washing hands and use of medicated
mosquito nets.
district administration was giving priority to piped water supply projects
where toilet usage was found to be satisfactory.
Usage of toilets largely depends on availability of water.
Tube-wells are being set up in villages. To encourage villagers to carry forward
the drive, the district administration has started recognising efforts through
different felicitation programmes.
A tree plantation drive launched under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act on the pasture land, situated outside the villages in
Rajasthan, has become a source of additional revenue for panchayats.
The State governments scheme, aptly named Panchphal Yojana, has also
helped resolve encroachment issues on the pasture land. The problem of
shrinking size of land, a cause of tension earlier, has been solved considerably
with the plantation.
The Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department is coming up with a one-stop portal to help
tourists book hotels, tickets, travel guides and vehicles.
Apart from proposing a ban on swimming on Goas beaches after sunset, a
high-level meeting of tourism industry stakeholders chaired by Chief Minister
Manohar Parrikar on Monday directed the State police to crackdown on cooking in
public places by tourist groups, including, on beaches.
unhygienic and resulted in huge amount of garbage being strewn in public area
meeting was attended by representatives from state government agencies
including senior police officials and tourism and travel industry stakeholders.
A decision was also taken to undertake a drive to make tourists aware of the
perils of swimming in the sea after sunset.
also hand out pamphlets at the border check-points, at hotels, restaurants and
shacks, asking tourists not to swim after sunset
Nilgiri Mountain train services were stopped between Coonoor and
Udhagamandalam due to mudslide at Wellington in Tamil Nadu
 culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 of the IPC
carries a life sentence or up to 10 years of imprisonment.
A rally at Srirangam on Monday on the eve of the Cauvery Maha Pushkaram
Thousands of devout are expected to congregate at the focal point Thula
Kattam at Mayiladuthurai in Nagapattinam district.
The celestial transit of planet Jupiter from Kanni Rasi to Thula Rasi is said to
be the Maha Pushkaram period. Arrangements have been made for people from
various regions to take a holy dip in the sacred spots in cauvery river
organising committee led by the Akhila Bharatha Sanyasees Sangam has
co-opted the roles of several Hindu maths,
centralised recruitment system for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs)
All-India recruitment to these institutions, through the Institute of Banking
Personnel Selection, has been facing opposition.
clauses on language proficiency and immediate amendments to give preference
to those who knew the regional language. The new rules say that those who do
not know the regional languages can learn it within six months, or time frame
fixed by the board of RRBs.
IPC Section 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of
religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to
maintenance of harmony),
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday announced the
launch of Pelli Kanuka (marriage gift), a scheme aimed at helping families of brides
belonging to the poor and disadvantaged sections of society.
create artificial fingerprints using polymer resin chemical at varied temperatures
through the Polymer Curing Instrument (UV rays).
Enthused by the success of its pilot project on operationalising an early earthquake
warning system in Uttarakhand, IIT-Roorkee is planning to deploy the
first-of-its-kind system across all sesmic-prone major cities of the north India
newly constructed Bihar Museum, registered under Societies Act.
Set to be formally thrown open to the public on Gandhi Jayanti on October 2,
the newly constructed Bihar museum is spread in over 17 acres of prime land
on Bailey Road in the capital built at a cost of 498 crore under a foreign
consultant.
The Patna museum is one of the richest in the country, with several invaluable
sculptures like Mauryan age female figurine Yakshini [the Didargunj Yakshi],
Buddhist and other Mughal era stone and bronze statues, paintings...
 under a systematic plan all these priceless artefacts are being shifted to the
Bihar Museum which is registered under the Societies [Registration] Act (1860)

Save Yakshini, Save Patna museum campaign in the State along with

intellectuals, experts, archaeologists, activists and students of the Patna Art

College.
eminent Buddhist scholar Rahul Sankrityayana whose several invaluable
Thangka paintings, Buddhist manuscripts and books brought from Tibet in
1930s were donated to the Patna museum,
Trading at Asias biggest chilli yard in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh continued to be
affected as traders and commission agents showed defiance to the A.P.
governments orders to do trading through Electronic National Agricultural
Marketing (e-nam) portal.
The State government has taken a decision to implement the new initiative
across all market committees from September 1. But the commission agents
continue to stall trading citing difficulties in implementing the online system.
The pan-India electronic trading portal networks the existing market
committees to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities. It
also provides a single window service for all market committee related
information and services, including commodity arrivals and prices, buying and
selling trade offers and provision to respond to trade offers.
Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi kicked-off his 36-day Bharat Yatra against child
trafficking and sexual abuse from the southern tip of the country in kanyakumari
towards New Delhi on Monday. The yatra will pass through Madurai, Salem,
Vellore and Chennai.
In June, the Pentagons half-yearly report on the situation in Afghanistan described
India as Afghanistans most reliable regional partner and noted the interests
conflicting in many cases of countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, Russia
and the Central Asian states in Afghanistan, not to mention Pakistan.
celebrated privacy judgment (K.S. Puttaswamy, 2017)
In reaffirming the coalescence of fundamental rights to life and liberty
guaranteed under Articles 14, 19 and 21 following the Constitution Bench
judgments in Cooper (1970) and Maneka Gandhi (1978), the court echoed the
philosophical wisdom of Justice Krishna Iyer articulated years ago that
cardinal rights in an organic Constitution which makes man human, have a
synthesis.
 While finding its earlier decision in ADM Jabalpur a constitutional aberration,
the judges emphasised that the interpretation of the Constitution cannot be
frozen by its original understanding, reminiscent of Judge Cardozos
celebrated statement long ago that the Constitution does not embody rules for
the passing hour but principles for an expanding future.
government should move forward on the report of the Group of Experts under
the chairmanship of Justice A.P. Shah (2012) suggesting a model privacy law
referred to by Justice S.K. Kaul in his concurring judgment.
report, which recommended nine fundamental principles as the basis of
the proposed privacy law, could be reviewed in the framework of the
Puttaswamy decision and can provide credible basis for a comprehensive
legal architecture to secure privacy rights.
A less noticed but significant feature of the privacy ruling is a disclaimer of
judicial power to introduce new constitutional rights in the exercise of the
courts judicial review jurisdiction.
Nearly 150 nations are signatories to the Refugee Convention. Though India is not
a signatory, it has risen to the occasion in crises
Centres decision to put unruly air passengers on a no-fly list
list will be maintained by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, and be put
in the public domain
Aggrieved passengers can appeal within 60 days to an appellate committee.
Sir Arthur Cotton who built a barrage on river Godavari (and several others) is
gratefully remembered by people in coastal Andhra Pradesh.
called a Modern Bhagirath and his statue is kept in a temple. Newspapers in
the State carry special articles on occasion.
Macaulay in 1833 was the first on record among those ruled India to reject caste
and communal distinctions in categorical terms:
Macaulays two gifts to India, the rule of law and English language;
Japanese Prime Minister Shinz Abe will arrive in Gujarat later this week to lay
the foundation stone for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR)
project also known as the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train.
three advantages from the MAHSR project: economic benefits, including
infrastructure development and job creation; technological development, in
which Indian companies imbibe the new technologies and potentially also
become suppliers to HSR contracts worldwide; and cultural transformation
through a demonstrated ability to implement large projects and improve safety.
 HSR systems are around three times more fuel-efficient than aeroplanes and
five times more fuel-efficient than cars. Given the traffic density in this corridor,
this project could lead to a significant reduction in Indias carbon footprint.
A dedicated HSR training institute is being developed at Vadodara. It will also
provide a foundation for the future development of other high-speed corridors
in India.
there should be a focus on leveraging the post-implementation synergies, which
could make this a transformational project for India.
An economic concept that serves as the linchpin for central bankers across the
world is the Phillips curve. Developed by New Zealand economist A.W.H. Phillips, it
states that there is an inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment in
any economy. Phillips studied price and employment data in the United Kingdom
from 1861 to 1957 to arrive at this interesting conclusion.
The underlying logic behind the Phillips curve is that wages are quite sticky,
or inflexible, in a market economy, so unemployment is bound to shoot up
whenever workers refuse to accept lower wages.
Inflation, which increases nominal but not real wages, is assumed to trick
workers into accepting a lower remuneration for their services; it is thus an
indirect wage cut that helps prevent an increase in unemployment.
Central bank chiefs try to maintain the level of unemployment at the
non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment, which is the unemployment
rate at which inflation too is just under control.
Whenever inflation is too low and unemployment too high, central banks
increase the money supply to encourage greater employment. When this causes
inflation to shoot up too high, they reduce the money supply, which results in
lower inflation but also slightly higher unemployment.
The stagflation of the 1970s proved quite convincingly that high unemployment
and high inflation can very well co-exist. Also, wages may not be as rigid as
many economists assume, which means that they could adjust downward quite
comfortably in many cases
Lastly, loose monetary policy, apart from ramping up inflation, often also
causes structural distortions in the economy which lead to higher
unemployment.
Given such complexity in an economy, any effort to micromanage it may well be
a fools errand.
Paradox of aid
 refers to the paradoxical situation wherein countries that are blessed with good
institutions to achieve economic growth have no need for foreign aid, while
countries that possess poor institutions that inhibit their growth do not benefit
from any amount of foreign aid.
proposed by British development economist Peter Thomas Bauer in his 1971
book, Dissent on Development.
paradox of aid emphasises the importance of good institutions to achieve better
economic conditions in the developing world, and the ineffectiveness of foreign
aid to achieve a substantial improvement in living standards in the absence of
the right institutions.
Paying tributes to Swami Vivekananda on the anniversary of his speech at the
World Congress of Religions in Chicago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday
juxtaposed it with the 9/11 terror attack in the U.S., saying the World Trade Center
tragedy would not have taken place had the message of love and brotherhood of the
speech been understood.
anniversary of Vivekanandas speech in Chicago in 1893.
Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra has written to the Chief Justices of the High
Courts to explore the possibility of constituting special Benches on Saturdays to
hear criminal and jail appeals in which legal aid has been provided.
Chief Justices of the High Courts had already agreed to go ahead with the
project from September 9. The High Courts of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Patna,
Jharkhand and Karnataka had constituted special Benches to hear these
appeals on Saturdays
top judiciary had taken several steps to fast-track the justice justice delivery
system, including judges working during vacations.
Supreme Court on Monday directed the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court
to nominate two additional district judges within 10 days as observers to deal with
the upkeep and maintenance of the disputed Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid site in
Ayodhya.
court on August 11 said it would commence the final hearing in the
long-standing Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute from December 5,
a day before the 25th anniversary of the demolition of the medieval-era
structure.
I-T department was graduating towards a non-intrusive method of verification of
politicians assets, it would only consider specific cases referred to it by the Election
Commission.
 introduced the PAVA gun to replace the pellet gun, but it is not very effective, in
Kashmir
In April 2016, the DGCA had proposed detailed guidelines for civilian use of drones.
DGCA had proposed that drone users would have to obtain its permission and
get a unique identification number for each drone. The user was also required
to get security clearance from the Bureau of Civil Aviation and all drone
operations over 200 feet would require the DGCAs nod.
MHA had raised some objections to DGCAs draft, saying anti-UAV technology
to detect and neutralise the threats from a hostile drone is also required,
Swami Vivekanandas slogan of oneness in his historic Chicago speech was as
relevant today as it was in 1893
Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorted the youth to create a New India on the
occasion of the 125th year of Swami Vivekanandas address at the World
Parliament of Religions in Chicago and BJP ideologue Deendayal Upadhyayas
centenary celebrations.
on August 8, the Home Ministry directed the States to conduct surveys and prepare
to deport Rohingya in a continuous manner.
36th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva
because India is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention, the country can
dispense with international law on the matter, together with basic human
compassion.
However, by virtue of customary law, its ratification of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the obligations of due process and the
universal principle of non-refoulement, India cannot carry out collective
expulsions, or return people to a place where they risk torture or other serious
violations.
India agreed to enhance existing assistance to Afghan security forces, including in
capacity-building and training of Afghan soldiers in India, during a Partnership
Council meeting on Monday, even as Afghanistans Foreign Minister suggested a
larger role for India in regional diplomacy.
conclusion of the Partnership Council meeting, the second such since the
Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) was signed in 2011
first high-level engagement between India and Afghanistan since the
announcement of a new South Asia policy for Afghanistan by U.S. President
Donald Trump, vowing to take tough action against Pakistan if it fails to crack
down on terror groups, a policy that was welcomed in both Kabul and New
 Delhi.
Ms. Swaraj said in a veiled reference to Pakistan, and announced 500 new
scholarships for children and kin of the Afghan National Defence and Security
Forces to honour their sacrifices for the cause of entire humanity and
ensuring the safety of Indians working in Afghanistan.
Pakistan-based terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba
Daesh (ISIS), Al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, will lay
the groundwork for the next level of collaboration during the annual summit
meeting to be held in Gandhinagar on Wednesday
high point of the visit was likely to be the joint inauguration of the
Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project and bilateral security dialogue.
review the recent progress in the multifaceted cooperation between India and
Japan under the framework of their Special Strategic and Global Partnership
and will set its future direction,
will be the fourth annual summit between them.
leaders would jointly participate in the ground-breaking ceremony for the
Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project using Japanese Shinkansen
technology also known as the bullet train project in Gandhinagar.
Through a video-link, they will participate in the ground-breaking ceremony of
the High Speed Railway Training Institute to be set up in Vadodara.
Mr. Abe will visit the memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi at Dandi Kutir.
However the focus of Mr.Abes visit is likely to be the bilateral discussion on
security issues, especially on North Korea and China.
In their annual defence dialogue last week, the two countries had resolved to
collaborate closely in defence production, including on dual-use technologies.
The Centre has firmed up the criteria for the procedure for selection of 2,000
research students from 23 Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institute
of Science, Bengaluru, who will be eligible for fellowship of 70,000 a month for
innovative research projects.
Research students in IISc and IITs who got an 8 CGPA or above in B.Tech or
were in the top 20 percentile will be eligible to apply for these fellowships
Being rolled out as part of the research fellowship scheme of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, this is expected to give a boost to quality research and
innovation
The students will have to submit their project proposals to a portal and these
 will be assigned to a national coordination institution. Innovative projects that
promise to break new frontiers in knowledge in the area will be shortlisted and
the candidates will be called for an interview.
However, those who get the scholarships will have to refund the amounts if the
project does not come to completion.
Depending on the area or subject, proposals will be assigned to the particular
IIT that is known to have greater expertise in the area for assessment
up to 2,000 projects will be selected.
The scheme, it is believed, will offer an incentive to bright researchers who
move towards corporate jobs for financial reasons to dedicate themselves to
research and innovation. They will not be permitted to take up a job during the
term of the fellowship.
The scheme will go through the Cabinet to get its nod for being rolled out.
Phensedyl cough syrup
The 81-km long marine drive that connects Coxs Bazar with Teknaf has now
become the new landing point for these Rohingya people.
Teknaf, a sub-district of Coxs Bazar
Irma, once ranked as one of the most powerful hurricanes recorded in the Atlantic,
hit a wide swath of Florida over the past day, first making landfall on the Florida
Keys archipelago and then coming ashore south of Naples and heading up the west
coast.
Irma, now a tropical storm with sustained winds of up to 70 miles per hour (110
km per hour), was located about 35 miles (56 km) west of Gainesville and
headed up the Gulf Coast, the National Hurricane Center said at 8 a.m. ET
(1200 GMT).
The U.S. had originally pushed for a strict oil embargo, as well as a freeze on the
assets of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
A new draft text circulated late on Sunday maintains an embargo on gas but
would limit sales of oil to 5,00,000 barrels for three months from October 1 and
2 million barrels from January 1 for a period of 12 months, according to the text
obtained by AFP.
Hazara Shia community in balochistan
Arish, the capital of North Sinai province in Egypt
In a trade-off for ExxonMobil, Indias Petronet LNG will increase its volumes from
the Gorgon LNG project in Australia by an extra 1 million tonnes a year to about
2.5 million tonnes a year, but at cheaper rates than initially agreed in 2009.
 IndusInd Bank, which has been looking to expand its microfinance business, has
begun exclusive talks for a merger with micro lender Bharat Financial Inclusion
(formerly SKS Microfinance), the companies informed the exchanges on Monday.
MOSCOW on Monday opened a brand new park to the public just steps from the
Kremlin, boasting wonders such as an ice labyrinth, despite criticism over its huge
price-tag.
Zaryadye Park has replaced a gigantic Soviet-era hotel on the banks of the
Moscow river, which was demolished in 2006 leaving a lot that stood empty for
many years as investors and City Hall clashed over the space, valued at more
than $1 billion.
The park consists of a landscape with different geobotanical zones including
one resembling a tundra, as well as attractions like a philharmonic hall
concealed under a hill with a glass crust roof and an ice cave with a labyrinth.
climate control for the parks southern plants will be provided with infrared
lanterns, while fish will be supplied into the pond on a weekly basis.
Scientists are developing an ultra-thin spacecraft that can remove space debris
which potentially threatens satellites or astronauts by enveloping junk in the
Earths orbit and dragging it through the atmosphere, causing it to burn up.
The Brane Craft, being developed by U.S.-based Aerospace Corporation, is
flexible and measures less than half the thickness of a human hair.
It has to be bullet-proof, because a five-micron diametre particle can penetrate
the main structural sheet, which is only 10 microns thick
The spacecrafts microprocessor and digital electronics are fabricated in such a
way that if one component gets damaged, the others will continue to work.
21-point Surakshit School Vahan Policy.
The Transport Department is considering inducting electric buses in the Capitals
public transportation sector
Given the substantial price tag on such vehicles, however, the government is
currently in the process of conducting a cost-benefit analysis to ascertain future
course of action in relation to such vehicles
The City Taxi Scheme, 2017, is a regulatory framework that will oversee the
operation of cabs in Delhi.
In addition to legal curbs on shared rides aboard cabs, the scheme will also
institute caps on fares as well as limit the total number of vehicles that can be
operated by them,
The Delhi High Court on Monday sought to know from the Centre and the Aam
 Aadmi Party (AAP) government whether the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order,
directing closure of industries located in residential areas and discharging
untreated toxic waste in drains leading to the Yamuna, was being implemented.
river, which has a 22-km stretch in Delhi.
offence of defacing public properties, which attracts a maximum jail term of 10
years.