Current Affairs Question - 22 August 2019

Explanation :

Explanation:

• The Karnataka government has amended the Karnataka Poisons (Possession and Sale) Rules 2015 and notified Nictoine as Class A poison. The notification has also ordered the suspension of all kinds of promotion of e-cigarettes, including online promotion
• Class A poisons are highly toxic chemicals (cyanogen, hydrocyanic acid, nitrogen peroxide, and phosgene) which even in very small quantities are dangerous to life.
• This step will help curb the illegal sale, smuggling of nicotine cartridges and e-cigarettes across the state.

Nicotine

• It is a plant alkaloid that contains nitrogen, which is found in several types of plants, including the tobacco plant and can also be produced synthetically.
• It is used both as sedative and stimulant.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• The 28^th BASIC Ministerial meeting on Climate Change was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil between 14 -16 August, 2019.
• These countries expressed their concern for climate change and its adverse effects. They reaffirmed their commitment to the successful implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change-UNFCCC, its Kyoto Protocol and its Paris Agreement,based on the recognition of the needs and special circumstances of developing countries.

BASIC Countries

• The BASIC countries-Brazil, South Africa, India and China are a bloc of four large newly industrialized countries formed by an agreement in November, 2009.
• These nations have a common position on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and raising the massive funds that are needed to fight climate change.
• These four countries put together has one-third of world’s geographical area and nearly 40% of the world’s population.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• On 5^th August, 2019, National Academy of Art (Lalit Kala Akademi) celebrated its 65th Foundation Day in New Delhi.
• To promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, both within and outside the country, the Government of India established Lalit Kala Akademi (National Akademi of Arts) at New Delhi in 1954.
• The Akademi has regional centres called RashtriyaLalit Kala Kendras at Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Garhi in New Delhi and Bhubaneswar with workshop facilities in painting, sculpture, print-making and ceramics.
• It provides scholarships, fellowship programmes and organizes art-related exhibitions in India and overseas.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• The Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, as part of its strategic commitment to improve global trade, is conducting India’s first national Time Release Study (TRS)between 1^{st _} 7^th August, 2019.
• The aim is to identify and address bottlenecks in the trade flow process and take the corresponding policy and operational measures required to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of border procedures, without compromising efficient trade control. Expected beneficiaries of this initiative will be export oriented industries and MSMEs, who will enjoy greater standardization of Indian processes with comparable international standards.
• This initiative will help India maintain the upward trajectory on Ease of Doing Business, particularly on the Trading across Borders indicator which measures the efficiency of the cross border trade ecosystem. Last year India’s ranking on the indicator improved from 146 to 80.
• The TRS is an internationally recognized tool advocated by World Customs Organization to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of international trade flows.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online