Current affair of 7th August 2019

1. No-Detention Policy To Go From 2018:

The Lok Sabha has passed a bill to amend the Right to Education (RTE) Act to abolish the 'no detention policy' in schools. The bill provides for a regular examination in classes 5 and 8, and if the child fails, he or she shall be given additional opportunity for re-examination in two months' time.

Key highlights:

1. The government has decided to do away with the no-detention policy for students from the next academic session, Union Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said.
2. The decision was taken following representation from most of the States as they said the standard of education had deteriorated because of the policy. Under the Right to Education Act, 2009, no child admitted to a school will be held back in any class or expelled till the completion of elementary education covering Classes 1 to 8.
3. “There has been a unanimous decision of withdrawing the no-detention policy from the Right to Education Act 2009,” the Minister of State for HRD said here.

2. Maharashtra Govt Expands Ambit Of Loan Waiver Scheme:

The Maharashtra government has expanded the ambit of its loan waiver scheme to include even those farmers who had taken loans after 2008.

Key highlights:

1. Earlier, the scheme, titled Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Sanman Yojana, covered only those farmers who have loan outstanding between April 1, 2012 and June 30, 2016.
2. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made the announcement during his fortnightly programme ‘Mi Mukhyamantri Boltoy’.
3. A government resolution (GR) was issued on expanding the scope of the loan waiver scheme on 10 August. The decision had been announced in the Monsoon Session of the state legislature held in Nagpur this year.

3. Dr Mahesh Sharma Participates In ‘Second Meeting Of BRICS Culture Ministers’:

Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (Independent charge) for Culture and Tourism addressed the “Second Meeting of BRICS Culture Ministers” in Tianjin, China. India has signed bilateral cultural agreements and specific cultural exchange programmes with each of the BRICS countries.

Key highlights:

1. Dr Sharma said that under Cultural Mapping of India Scheme, a web portal launched for collection of online data from artistes for cultural mapping, which will serve as an artist repository. 
2. A sub scheme as a National Mission on Cultural Mapping and Roadmap with a Financial Outlay of Rs 469.40 crore for 2017-2018, 2018-2019 & 2019-2020 has been approved under the umbrella of “Kala Sanskrit! Vikas Yojna“.

4. Garib Nawaz Skill Development Centres To Set Up In 100 Districts Of The Country:

The Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) & Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi announced that Garib Nawaz Skill Development Centres will be established in 100 districts of the country which will effectively ensure employment oriented skill development of youth belonging to Minority communities.

Key highlights:

1. The Minority Affairs Minister also felicitated candidates, belonging to Minority communities, selected in the prestigious civil services examination who got financial assistance under “Nai Udaan” scheme.
2. The Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) & Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said here that Garib Nawaz Skill Development Centres will be established in 100 districts of the country which will effectively ensure employment oriented skill development of youth belonging to Minority communities. 
3. Shri Naqvi said that youths belonging to Minority community especially those from Jammu and Kashmir should take inspirations from these candidates who have cleared civil services examination. 

5. India Declares Itself Free From Bird Flu

India has declared itself free from Bird Flu (highly pathogenic Avian Influenza – H5N1 and H5N8) and notified it to the World Organisation for Animal Health. The move will help it resume export of poultry products to the countries which had banned trade in such items early this year.

Key highlights:

1. India has declared itself free from the highly contagious avian influenza (H5N1) or bird flu even as it stressed the need for continued surveillance.
2. "India has declared itself free from avian influenza (H5N1) from September 5, 2016 and notified the same to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)," the Department of Animal Husbandry under the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement.
3. In a letter to Chief Secretaries of states, the Centre has emphasised the need for ""continued surveillance especially in the vulnerable areas bordering infected countries and in areas visited by migratory birds".

6. IAAF Partners With Odisha Government For Establishment Of High Performance Academy:

The Odisha government signed an expression of intent (EOI) with the IAAF and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) for establishment of a high performance academy inside the premises of Kalinga Stadium.

Key highlights:

1. This was the first occasion when the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) partnered with any state government in the country for developing the academy for better training of athletes.
2. The state government is setting up the academy in collaboration with International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI).
3. "The state government has decided to set up High Performance Sports Academy at Bhubaneswar. It will have high performance sports centres in nine different types of sports

7. Fertiliser Subsidy Launch In 2018

The deadline for the national launch of direct benefit transfers for fertiliser subsidies has been set as January 1, 2018.

Key highlights:

1. Under DBT system, the subsidy will be provided after the actual sales of the fertilisers where the farmers’ name and Aadhaar based biometric details will be transferred to a central system.
2. This will make rolling out of subsidies easier and will help in organising fertilisers required by the authentic farmers.
3. In order to facilitate accurate information gathering and decision-making w.r.t. the position of requirement/supply/availability of various fertilizers at National, State and District levels, the DoF has developed various dashboards.

8. Bangalore will host the 10th AASF Asian Age Group Championships 2019 for the 1st time

For the first time, Bangalore(Karnataka) will host the 10th AASF (Asia Swimming Federation) Asian Age Group Championships 2019 starting from September 24, 2019, to October 2, 2019, will give the country’s swimming enthusiasts an opportunity to witness the aquatic event.

Key highlights:

1. Organizer: Swimming Federation of India(SFI)will organize the 9-day event.
2. Olympic qualification: The event recognized by FINA (International Swimming Federation) as an Olympic Qualifier, so the top Indian Swimmers will take advantage as they aim for A Qualification Mark for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
3. Participation: The event will have over 40 countries and about 1200 participants competing for top honours in 4 different aquatic disciplines such as swimming(will held at Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence(Sept-24 to 27), Diving (Sports Authority of India, Kengeri (Sept-29 to Oct 2), water polo(Sports Authority of India, Kengeri (Sept- 24 to 30)), and the visually-mesmerizing artistic swimming (Kensington Swimming Pool, Ulsoor from Sept-29 to Oct-2).
4. The 9th AASF Asian Age Group Championships was held in Uzbekistan in 2017

9. Nation celebrates 5th National Handloom day on august 7 2019

The 5th National Handloom Day is celebrated on August 7, 2019 to honour the Handloom weavers of the country and also to highlight the Handloom industry. A function to mark the occasion was held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

Key highlights:

1. The first National Handloom Day was inaugurated in Chennai at the centenary of Madras University by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 7th August 2015.
2. August 7 was chosen to commemorate Swadeshi Movement that was launched in Calcutta Townhall in 1905 protesting against Bengal’s partition by the British govt that ruled the Country.
3. This day focuses on socio-economic development contributed by the Handloom industry and also to increase the income of people working in that handloom sector.
4. Distributing Pehchan cards (health cards for the insured persons) and Yarn passbooks and MUDRA loans (Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Ltd).
5. Lighting units and certificates distribution for work shed construction.

10. World’s thinnest gold created by British Scientists

Scientists from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom (UK), claim to have created the world’s thinnest gold (periodic table representation of gold is Au) which is one million times thinner than fingernail of human. As it appears to be green in the water, researchers named it gold “nanoseaweed”.

Key highlights:

1. This paperwork was published in the journal Advanced Science. The lead author of the study is author Sunjie Ye.
2. As only two atoms are layered one over the other, this material is regarded as 2D because all atoms are usually surfaced with no bulk atoms beneath the surface.
3. Thickness of the material is just 0.47 nanometres.
4. With further Research going on for this material, scientists believe that it could be used in medical diagnostic tests and water purification system, electronic inks and bending screens.