· The allocation for Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes increased to Rs. 95,000 crores by over 12% compared to 2017-18.

· The allocation for Scheduled Castes increased to Rs. 56,619 crores while the allocation for Scheduled Tribes increased to Rs. 39,185 crores.

· Increase of 41% in the budget allocation for the welfare of OBC in 2018-19 over 2017-18.

· Scholarships for SC/ST students – 3,30,64,900 student benefitted during 2014-15 and 2015-16 by distribution of Rs. 7565 Cr.

· For the Pre-Matric Scholarship for OBC, the income eligibility has been increased from Rs. 44,500/- per annum to Rs. 2.5 lakh per annum. · For Pre-Matric Scholarship for SC, the income eligibility raised from Rs.2 lakh to Rs. 2.5 lakhs.

· Also the Stipend for day scholars has been raised from Rs. 150 to Rs. 225 and for hostelers, stipend raised from Rs. 350 to Rs. 525/. In Top Class Education for Scheduled Castes, income ceiling raised from Rs. 4.5 lakh to Rs. 6 lakh per annum.

· For Free coaching for SC and OBC students, the income eligibility raised from Rs. 4.5 lakhs to Rs. 6 lakhs. For local students, Stipend raised from Rs. 1500/- Rs. 2500/- and for outstation students, Stipend raised from Rs. 3000 to Rs. 5000. · For Pre-matric Scholarship for OBC, the rates of scholarships increased substantially.

· Reservations for Divyangjans in Government jobs raised from 3% to 4%.

· Over 6 lakh Divyangjans have so far benefitted from 5790 camps organized across the country since May 2014.

· Special camps organized for distribution of Aids and Assistive devices to 8 lakh persons with disabilities.

· Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan launched by the Government on 3rd December, 2015 · Objective is to make at least 50 percent of all government buildings in the national capital and all state capitals “fully accessible” for the disabled by December 2018.

· The scheme is ensuring a dignified life to Divyangjans. · Special camps organized for distribution of Aids and Assistive devices to 8 lakh persons with disabilities. · Access Audit of 1662 buildings in 50 cities completed till date.

· All 34 International Airports and all 48 Domestic Airports have been provided with accessible features viz. Ramps, Accessible Toilets, lifts with Braille symbols and auditory signals.

· 667 out of 709 A1, A, B, category Railway Stations and 13613 buses out of 1,41,572 buses have been provided with accessibility features.

· 917 identified websites of State Governments/UTs are in the process of being made accessible through ERNET India.

· Budget 2018: lending target under the MUDRA Yojana enhanced to Rs 3 lakh crore for the 2018-19 fiscal.

· Of the total loan accounts, 76 per cent are of women and more than 50 per cent belong to SCs, STs and OBCs.

· 54,733 loans sanctioned by the banks to Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Women borrowers as on 28.02.2018.

VENTURE CAPITAL FUND · Under the scheme of Venture Capital Fund, 66 companies have been approved Rs. 240 crores for Scheduled Caste Entrepreneurs.( As on 7th May, 2018) .

· A New Scheme Venture Capital Fund for OBCs on similar lines as Venture Capital Fund for SCs has been launched with an initial corpus of Rs. 200 crore. Amount of Rs. 140 crore has been provided during 2018-19 under Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes.

· Scholarship scheme launched on 11 November 2014 to provide scholarship to differently abled students to pursue technical education.

· Scholarship amount of Rs. 30,000 is provided towards tuition fee reimbursement and Rs. 20000 as contingency allowance. Under the scheme, 1000 scholarships per annum are available.

· Rs one lakh health insurance cover to people with autism, cerebral palsy and many disabilities.

INDIAN SIGN LANGUAGE RESEARCH AND TRAINING CENTRE (ISLRTC) · Established on 28th September, 2015. · First Indian Sign Language Dictionary of 3000 words was launched on 23.03.2018.

CELEBRATIONS OF 125TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF DR. B.R. AMBEDKAR: · 14th April declared as ‘Rashtriya Samrasata Divas’. · 26th November declared as ‘Constitution Day’. · Gramodaya se Bharat UdayAbihiyan- 14th- 24th April 2016.

· Types of disabilities have been increased from existing 7 to 21.

· Speech and Language Disability and Specific Learning Disability have been added for the first time.

· Acid Attack Victims have been included.

· Right to free education for children with disabilities of 6-18 years and Reservation of 5% seats for students with disabilities in Govt. and Govt. aided higher education institutions.

· Penalties for offences committed against persons with Disabilities (PwDs).

· Provides for the establishment of exclusive special courts for the speedy trial of offences of atrocities against the members of SCs & STs.

· Inserts a new chapter relating to “Rights of Victims and Witnesses”.

· Imposing certain duties and responsibilities upon the State for making necessary arrangement for protection of victims, their defendants and witnesses.

· Largest increase in a union budget for minority development: 62% increase in funding for minority affairs in 2018-19 budget to Rs. 4,700 crore.

· More than 45 lakh minority community students have benefitted from scholarships, fellowships, skill development and coaching schemes during the last one year

· Since 2014, 2.66 crore beneficiaries under Educational empowerment schemes 5,43,594, beneficiaries under employment oriented skill development programmes 1,76,2908 under women empowerment schemes .

· Lok Sabha passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, which seeks to ban instant triple talaq and will lead to imprisonment of up to three years and fine. · Bill that empowers Muslim Women passed by Lok Sabha on 29th December 2017.

Haj without Mehram · Muslim women can go for Haj Pilgrimage without male guardian, if their school of thought permits. · Keeping in mind the objective of womens’ empowerment, the restriction on women above 45 years of age to perform Haj pilgrimage unaccompanied by their male relatives has been removed. · This year, more than 1300 women are going on Haj pilgrimage without Mehram.

Multi Sectoral Development Program, MSDP restructured as “Prime Minister Jan Vikas Karyakram” by Cabinet on 2.5.2018 .

Objective: To provide better socio-economic infrastructure facilities to the minority communities and widen the coverage of the scheme.

Details: · Area to be covered under PMJVK 57 per cent more than MsDP. · MsDP covered 196 districts of the country whereas PMJVK would cover 308 districts of the country · 80%of the resources under the PMJVK for projects related to education, health and skill development.

· 33-40 % of resources under the PMJVK would be specifically allocated for women centric projects

· Earlier, only those cluster of villages which were having at least 50 population of minority community were taken. Now the population criteria has been lowered to 25 per cent. · Financial outlay: Rs. 3972 crore

· Scholarship Schemes · Maulana Azad National Fellowship · Padho Pardes · Free Coaching and Allied scheme

· Nai Udaan · Haj Subsidy abolished: Government in January 2016 abolished Haj subsidy. Savings worth Rs. 700 crores from this head to be used to finance the education of Muslim girls.

Economic Empowerment: · Learn and Earn- Seekho aur Kaam Karo

· USTAAD Ø Preserving and promoting the rich heritage of traditional arts & crafts of the Minority communities., Ø Boosting skill of craftsmen, weavers and artisans who are already engaged in traditional ancestral work

· Ø 69,840 trainees have been allocated for education and skill training in 22 States in 2016-17. Ø 30,160 trainees have been allocated during 2017-18.

· Maulana Azad National Academy of Skills- MANAS Ø Maulana Azad National Academy for Skills set up to address skill development needs of minority communities.

· Garib Nawaz Skill Development Centres: Ø The objective is to enable a large number of minority youths of India to take-up relevant skill sets which are in demand. Under the scheme, Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF) will use the cutting-edge of information technology to ensure quality, transparency and credibility to its skill training programmes

Ø Under this flagship scheme, Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF) has allocated 1,06,600 beneficiaries to 108 Program Implementing Agencies (PIAs). 212 centres have already commenced training programmes.

· Hamari Dharohar Ø aims at preservation of rich heritage and culture of minorities, by supporting curation of iconic exhibitions, calligraphy, preservation of old documents, research and development, etc

· Hunar Haat for Sab Ka Saath, Sabka Vikas Ø Exhibition to promote the traditional arts/crafts practised by minority communities (Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains, and Buddhists) and provide them with an opportunity to establish national and global market linkages.

Objectives of the conference: This conference is organised with a view to provide a platform for the prison personnel of all ranks at the national level to share their candid views on various operational as well as administrative issues not only with their counterparts, but also with other experts of national repute in this field.

The conference also seeks to identify best practices and standards in the working of Correctional Administration to meet new challenges in the present day’s context to bring out prison reforms in objective terms.

This event would also promote research and developmental activities on the functioning of the Correctional Administration across the country on the one hand and nudge to develop a scientific approach among the various Correctional Administration in a professional manner.

Stats: As of 2015, there are 4,19,623 persons in jail in India, of which, 17,834 (about 4.3%) are women. Of these, 11,916 (66.8%) are undertrial prisoners. There is an increasing trend in the number of women prisoners – from 3.3% of all prisoners in 2000 to 4.3% in 2015.

A majority of female inmates are in the age group of 30-50 years (50.5%), followed by 18-30 years (31.3%).

Of the total 1,401 prisons in India, only 18 are exclusive for women, housing 2,985 female prisoners. Thus, a majority of women inmates are housed in women’s enclosures of general prisons.

Need for reforms: Women in prisons face greater hardships than their male counterparts due to many factors such as social stigma, financial dependence on their families or husbands etc. These difficulties are further exacerbated when the woman has children.

Women have to face numerous problems in prisons owing to inadequacy of female staff which often translates to the reality that male staff becomes responsible for female inmates, which is undesirable. Women are not provided with meals that are nutritious and according to their bodily requirements.

Women are at a most disadvantageous position when it comes to their reintegration in society after release. Many are abandoned or harassed post-release, mainly due to the stigma attached with incarceration, which is even more pronounced in cases of women.

Women also tend to lose ties with their children over the years, due to inadequate child custody procedures. Also, a robust grievance redressal mechanism was required to tackle cases of sexual harassment, violence and abuse against women in jails.

Way ahead: Reforms are needed for improving the lives of women under incarceration including the elderly and the disabled, addressing a wide range of issues pertaining to pregnancy and childbirth in prison, mental health, legal aid, reintegration in society and their caregiving responsibilities among others. In this regard, changes in the National Model Prison Manual 2016 have also been suggested to bring it in line with international standards and norms.

About Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana: The Scheme aims at providing Senior Citizens, belonging to BPL category and suffering from any of the age related disability/infirmity Low vision, Hearing impairment, Loss of teeth and Locomotor disability, with such assisted-living devices which can restore near normalcy in their bodily functions, overcoming the disability/infirmity manifested.

This is a Central Sector Scheme, fully funded by the Central Government. The expenditure for implementation of the scheme will be met from the “Senior Citizens’ Welfare Fund“. Under the scheme, free of cost distribution of the devices, commensurate with the extent of disability/infirmity that is manifested among the eligible senior citizens will take place.

In case of multiple disabilities/infirmities manifested in the same person, the assistive devices will be given in respect of each disability/impairment. Beneficiaries in each district will be identified by the State Governments/UT Administrations through a Committee chaired by the Deputy Commissioner/District Collector. As far as possible, 30% of the beneficiaries in each district shall be women.

Background: As per the Census figures of 2011, the population of senior citizens in India is 10.38 crore. More than 70% of the population of senior citizens live in rural areas of the country. A sizeable percentage (5.2%) of the senior citizens suffers from some sort of disabilities related to old age. Projections indicate that the number of elderly population will increase to around 173 million by 2026.

About the Global Skills Park (GSP): It will be the First Multi-Skills Park in India, to enhance the quality of Technical and Vocational Education And Training (TVET) System in the State and create a more skilled workforce.

The Project will engage international TVET partners to support advanced training at the GSP who will bring global best practices in TVET management, training infrastructure, industry cooperation, and quality assurance.

The GSP campus will consist of core Advanced Training Institutes including the Center for Occupational Skills Acquisition and the Center for Advanced Agricultural Training as well as other support services focusing on entrepreneurship, training of trainers, and skill-related research.

The campus will have training facilities focusing on skills for manufacturing, service, and advanced agricultural jobs, benefitting about 20,000 trainees and trainers.

Significance: The Project will help improve the quality and relevance of the State’s TVET programs and will help impart advanced job-ready skills training of international standards that can meet the employment needs of the State’s emerging sectors.

The Project will also help in modernizing 10 industrial training institutes across the state by renovating training infrastructure and upgrading skills courses to align with industry and market needs.

Background: Mr. Trump moved to restore tough U.S. sanctions in May after withdrawing from Tehran’s nuclear accord with world powers. Iran challenged the sanctions in a case filed in July at the ICJ.

Why lift imposed sanctions? The U.S. sanctions “have the potential to endanger civil aviation safety” in Iran and sanctions limiting sales of goods required for humanitarian needs such as food, medicines and medical devices “may have a serious detrimental impact on the health and lives of individuals on the territory of Iran.”

About ICJ: What is it? The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial body of the UN. Established in 1946 to replace the Permanent Court of International Justice, the ICJ mainly operates under the statute of its predecessor, which is included in the UN Charter.

It has two primary functions: to settle legal disputes submitted by States in accordance with established international laws, and to act as an advisory board on issues submitted to it by authorized international organizations.

Members of the Court: The International Court of Justice is composed of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. These organs vote simultaneously but separately. In order to be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes in both bodies. In order to ensure a measure of continuity, one third of the Court is elected every three years. Judges are eligible for re-election.

Who nominates the candidates? Every state government, party to the Charter, designates a group who propose candidates for the office of ICJ judges. This group includes four members/jurists of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (machinery which enables arbitral tribunals to be set up as desired and facilitates their work) also picked by the State. Countries not part of the statute follow the same procedure where a group nominates the candidates.

Each group is limited to nominate four candidates, two of whom could be of their nationality. Within a fixed duration set by the Secretary-General, the names of the candidates have to be sent to him/her.

What are the qualifications of ICJ judges? A judge should have a high moral character. A judge should fit to the qualifications of appointment of highest judicial officers as prescribed by their respective states or. A judge should be a juriconsult of recognized competence in international law.

The 15 judges of the Court are distributed as per the regions: Three from Africa. Two from Latin America and Caribbean. Three from Asia. Five from Western Europe and other states. Two from Eastern Europe.

Independence of the Judges: Once elected, a Member of the Court is a delegate neither of the government of his own country nor of that of any other State. Unlike most other organs of international organizations, the Court is not composed of representatives of governments. Members of the Court are independent judges whose first task, before taking up their duties, is to make a solemn declaration in open court that they will exercise their powers impartially and conscientiously.

In order to guarantee his or her independence, no Member of the Court can be dismissed unless, in the unanimous opinion of the other Members, he/she no longer fulfils the required conditions. This has in fact never happened.

What is it? It is a National Level Entrepreneurship Awareness Campaign launched by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) on the occasion of Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The campaign has been launched in 115 Aspirational Districts identified by NITI Aayog in 28 States.

About the Campaign: The campaign would create and strengthen cadre of more than 800 trainers to provide entrepreneurship training to the aspiring youths across these districts thus encouraging them to enter the admired segment of entrepreneurs.

SIDBI has partnered with CSC e-Governance Services India Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle, (CSC SPV) set up by the Ministry of Electronics & IT, Govt. of India for implementing the campaign through their CSCs.

The objectives of the missionary campaign include: To inspire rural youth in aspirational districts to be entrepreneurs by assisting them to set up their own enterprise. To impart trainings through digital medium across the country. To create business opportunities for CSC VLEs.

To focus on women aspirants in these aspirational districts to encourage women entrepreneurship. To assist participants to become bankable and avail credit facility from banks to set up their own enterprise.

About SIDBI: Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) was set up on 2nd April 1990 under an Act of Parliament.

It acts as the Principal Financial Institution for Promotion, Financing and Development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector as well as for co-ordination of functions of institutions engaged in similar activities.

The capsule is 105 feet (32 meters) long and weighs 5 tons. Named as the Quintero One, the product is made almost entirely out of composite material.

What is hyperloop transportation system? It is a transportation system where a pod-like vehicle is propelled through a near-vacuum tube connecting cities at speeds matching that of an aircraft.

The hyperloop concept is a brainchild of Tesla founder Elon Musk. US-based Hyperloop Transport Technology (HTT) claimed it costs $40 million per kilometre to build a hyperloop system while building a high-speed train line would cost almost twice. The hyperloop system is being designed to transport passengers and freight.

How it operates? In hyperloop transporation, custom-designed capsules or pods are expected to zip smoothly through continuous steel tubes which are held at partial vacuum. The pod which sandwiches the passenger compartment between an air compressor upfront and a battery compartment in the rear is supported by air caster skis at the bottom.

The skis float on a thin layer of air provided under high pressure, eliminating rolling resistance and allowing for movement of the pods at high speeds. These capsules are expected to be driverless with estimated speeds of 1,000 km/h. Linear induction motors that are placed along the tube control the speed of the pod. Electronically-assisted acceleration and braking determines the speed of the capsule.

The Problems Plaguing the Hyperloop: Constructing a tube hundreds of kilometers long would be an engineering marvel in of itself. However, introducing a tube hundreds of kilometers long that operates at a near perfect vacuum which can support the force of capsule weighing thousands of kilograms as it travels hundreds of kilometers an hour is nothing short of sci-fi fantasy.

Small scale experiments reveal the fundamentals of the idea are sound. Although, in the real world, there are too many factors that cannot be accounted for with a small scale design. In the real world, there are tens of thousands of kilograms of atmospheric pressure which threatens to crush any vacuum chamber.

There is also the problem with thermal expansion which threatens to buckle any large structure without proper thermal expansion capabilities. The Hyperloop would also be stupendously expensive. There are many unavoidable problems facing the Hyperloop that threaten the structural integrity, and every human life on board. The problems can be addressed, but at a great cost.

Facts for Prelims: The government of Andhra Pradesh has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with California-based Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) to develop India’s first Hyperloop route in the state. The proposed route for the Hyperloop between the city centers of Vijaywada and Amaravati could potentially turn a trip of more than one hour into a 6 minute ride.

The project will use a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model with funding primarily from private investors.

About MASCOT: The 10-kg box-shaped MASCOT is loaded with sensors. It has been built by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the French Space Agency (Cnes).

It can take images at multiple wavelengths, investigate minerals with a microscope, gauge surface temperatures and measure magnetic fields. MASCOT will be largely immobile — it will “jump” just once on its mission, and it can turn on its sides. The MASCOT has a maximum battery life of just 16 hours.

MINERVA-II micro-rovers: About 10 days ago, Hayabusa2 dropped a pair of MINERVA-II micro-rovers on the Ryugu asteroid. It was the first time that moving, robotic observation device have been successfully landed on an asteroid. The rovers will take advantage of Ryugu’s low gravity to jump around on the surface -travelling as far as 15 metres (49 feet) while airbourne and staying in the air for as long as 15 minutes — to survey the asteroid’s physical features with cameras and sensors.

Objectives of Hayabusa2 mission: The Hayabusa2 is scheduled later this month to deploy an “impactor” that will explode above the asteroid, shooting a two-kilo (four-pound) copper object into it to blast a small crater on the surface. The probe will then hover over the artificial crater and collect samples using an extended arm.

The samples of “fresh” materials, unexposed to millennia of wind and radiation, could help answer some fundamental questions about life and the universe, including whether elements from space helped give rise to life on Earth.

Background: Hayabusa2, about the size of a large fridge and equipped with solar panels, is the successor to JAXA’s first asteroid explorer, Hayabusa — Japanese for falcon.

That probe returned from a smaller, potato-shaped, asteroid in 2010 with dust samples despite various setbacks during an epic seven-year odyssey and was hailed as a scientific triumph.

Context: Cabinet approves Redevelopment of Railway Stations by IRSDC as Nodal Agency, through simplified procedures and longer lease tenure.

About IRSDC: The Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of the Government of India that has been designed to develop new stations and redevelop existing Indian railway stations. IRSDC is a joint venture between IRCON and Rail Land Development Authority with a 51:49 equity shareholding ratio respectively.

The Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation(NIMHR) in Sehore District in Madhya Pradesh.

About: NIMHR will be the first of its kind in the country in the area of mental health rehabilitation. It will serve as an institution of excellence for capacity building in human resource and research in the area of mental health rehabilitation, and also recommending body suggesting models/protocols for effective rehabilitation of persons with mental illness.