Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs 2020 by AffairsCloud

State-Wise PDF
This is Paid PDF provided by AffairsCloud.com, Our team is working hard

in back end to provide quality PDF. If you not buy this paid PDF
subscription plan, we kindly request you to buy pdf to avail this service.
Help Us To Grow & Provide Quality Service
CURRENT AFFAIRS PDF PLANS

Current Affairs PDF 2020: Weekly, Study, Pocket and Q&A PDF’s
Current Affairs PDF 2019: Study, Pocket and Q&A PDF’s
Current Affairs PDF 2018: Study, Pocket and Q&A PDF’s
CRACK HIGH LEVEL PDF PLANS

Crack High Level: Puzzle & Seating Arrangement Questions PDF 2019
Crack High Level: English Language Questions PDF 2019
Crack High Level: Data Interpretation Questions PDF 2019
Suggestions & Feedback are welcomed
[email protected]
Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 1

State-Wise PDF
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs 2020
Table of Contents
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - January 2020 ..................................................................................................... 3
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - February 2020 .................................................................................................. 8
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - March 2020 ..................................................................................................... 12
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - April 2020 ........................................................................................................ 14
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - May 2020 ......................................................................................................... 17
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - June 2020 ......................................................................................................... 23
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - July 2020 .......................................................................................................... 28
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - August 2020 .................................................................................................... 32
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - September 2020 ............................................................................................. 42
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - October 2020 .................................................................................................. 54
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - November 2020 .............................................................................................. 62
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - December 2020 .............................................................................................. 78

State-Wise PDF
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - January 2020

1st Solar section in South Central Railways comes up in Nandyal-Yerraguntla section in Guntakal division of
Andhra
On January 9, 2020 the Nandyal-Yerraguntla section in Guntakal Division of Andhra Pradesh has been declared
as the first solar section in South Central Railway. In 2016 August Indian Railways opened Nandyal-Yerraguntla
section in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh.
Key Points:
i.All the 8 stations in the Nandyal-Yerraguntla section namely Madduru, Banaganapalle, Koilakuntla, Sanjamala,
Nossam, S.Uppalapadu, Jammalamadugu and Proddutur has been provided with solar panels which are capable of
meeting all the power needs in these railway stations.
ii.Total of 152 Solar panels were installed in these stations. The stations are equipped with 37 kWp (Kilowatt
Power) off Grid Rooftop Solar plants along with 250/125 Wp (Watt power) solar panels along with inverters and 12V
150 AH battery banks were installed. The total connected load on Solar Plants is on average 30 KWp.
iii.148 KWh (Kilowatt hour) energy units can be generated with an average of 8 sunny hours a day which results in
energy generation of 54,020 units throughout the year.
iv.Anticipated savings in terms of revenue is around Rs 5 lakh per annum and it also helps in reducing carbon
footprint to the tune of 49 metric tonnes per annum.
v.16 stations have already been declared Green Railway stations across Indian Railways, which are meeting energy
needs completely either through solar or wind power.
vi.By 2021-22 ,Indian Railways has planned to source about 1000 MegaWatt (MW) Solar Power and about 200 MW of
wind power across Zonal Railways & Production Units. Out of which 500 MegaWatt (MW) solar plants are to be
installed on the rooftop of Railway buildings.
About Indian Railways:
Founded- April 16, 1853
Headquarters- New Delhi
Ministry of Railway- Piyush Goyal
Chairman of Railway Board- Vinod Kumar Yadav
Andhra Pradesh Cabinet clears the Proposal for three capitals: Visakhapatnam, Amaravati, Kurnool
On January 20, 2020 Andhra Pradesh (AP) Government has passed Andhra Pradesh Decentralization and
Inclusive development of All Regions Bill-2020 for the tri-capital system. The bill proposes to
make Visakhapatnam as the executive capital, Amaravati as the legislative capital and Kurnool as the judicial
capital of Andhra Pradesh. The aim behind this bill is decentralised administration that will result in socioeconomic
progress at equal levels. Now the bill is presented before the legislative council.
Key Points:
i.The bill also provides for dividing AP into various zones and for establishing zonal planning and development
boards.
ii.As part of the bill village and municipal ward secretariats system which has brought in October 2019 has got the
statutory backing.
iii.The state cabinet also decided to increase the ex-gratia paid to the farmers of Amaravati from Rs.2,500 per month
to Rs.5,000 per month.
iv.The cabinet also approved the proposal of establishing the Amaravati Metropolitan Development Authority
(AMDA) in the place of AP Capital Regional Development Authority (APCRDA) by repealing the Capital Region
Development Authority (CRDA) Act.
About Andhra Pradesh:
Chief Minister- Jagan Mohan Reddy
Governor- Biswabhushan Harichandan
Capital City- Amaravati
State Tree- Neem tree

State-Wise PDF
State Flower- Water lilies
State Animal- Blackbuck
State Bird- Indian roller
CM Jagan Mohan reddy inaugurates YSR Aarogyasri scheme at Eluru, Andhra Pradesh
On January 3, 2020,In a bid to provide free medical treatment to the poor, The Chief Minister (CM) of Andhra
Pradesh (AP),Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy has inaugurated “YSR Aarogyasri scheme” at Eluru in West
Godavari district of AP.
The scheme will be extended to each district of the state from the month April 2020.
Key Points:
i.Eligibility & Treatment amount: The revamped healthcare scheme is aimed at providing free medical treatment to
people having an annual income of up to Rs 5 lakh & those eligible people will also be given Aarogyasri cards. For this,
the state government will distribute 1.42 crores cards with QR (Quick Response) codes across the state. Free
treatment will be provided to the person whose treatment cost is more than Rs 1,000.
ii.Coverage: The flagship scheme will cover 2,059 medical ailments, up from the previous 1059 diseases.
iii.Post-surgery care: Further, each & every eligible patient will be provided with a financial assistance of Rs 225 per
day, with a maximum of Rs 5000 per month by Dr YSR Aarogyasri Health Care Trust for post-surgery care.
iv.Pension: The eligible patient will also be provided with pension ranging from Rs 3,000 – Rs 10,000 based on the
disease.
v.ASHA Workers: Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) ,a community health worker will also deployed for every
350 houses in the state. In addition to this, the salaries of sanitation employees in hospitals will also be increased to
Rs 16,000 from Rs 8,000.
vi. Ambulances: A total of 1056 ambulances will be purchased by the state by March 2020 & 510 medicines with
WHO (World Health Organization) standards will be made available in government hospitals by April 2020.
About Andhra Pradesh(AP):
Capital– Amaravati.
Governor– Biswabhusan Harichandan.
State animal– Blackbuck.
State bird– rose ringed parakeet.
AP CM launches Rs 6,318 cr ‘Jagananna Amma Vodi’ scheme for indigent mothers

On January 9,2020 Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister(CM) Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy launched his
government’s flagship programme ‘Jagananna Amma Vodi’ scheme in Chittoor, AP. The scheme is to support lakhs
of poor and needy mothers to educate their children.
Amma Vodi scheme:
i.Rs.6318 crore has been released for the benefit of around 43 lakh mothers, under the scheme to educate their 82
lakh children around 70 kms in the state this year.
ii.An annual financial assistance to the tune of Rs.15,000 credited into the accounts of indigent mothers to educate
their children.
iii.The Jagananna Amma Vodi scheme is a first of its kind in the country to bring about historical changes in the
education system of the state of Andhra Pradesh.
Key Points:
i.The Government(govt.) determined to revamp the infrastructure in the govt. educational institutions
ii.As a part with an annual allocated budget of Rs.14,000 crore, it would take-up modernization works in 45,000
government schools, 471 junior colleges, 148 degree colleges and hostels in a phased manner.
iii.An amount of Rs.360 crore are alloted for mid day meal scheme in government schools to enhance the quality of
food with modification daily.
iv.Chief Minister (CM) also declared free reimbursement to all SC,ST,BC,EBC,Kapu,differently abled,minority and
economically poor students for pursuing degree,post graduation,polytechnic and engineering courses in the state.
Static about Andhra Pradesh:
Capital- Amaravati.

State-Wise PDF
Chief Minister- Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy.
Governor- Biswabhusan Harichandan.
State Bird- Indian roller.
State Animal- Blackbuck.
State tree- Neem tree.
Andhra Pradesh cabinet approves proposal to abolish legislative council

On January 27, 2020, The Andhra Pradesh (AP) cabinet chaired by the chief minister (CM) Yeduguri Sandinti
Jaganmohan Reddy has approved the abolition of the legislative council which the government feels is a major
hurdle for passing crucial bills.
Key Points:
i.This approval came after AP government failed to pass 2 important bills (Andhra Pradesh Decentralization and
Inclusive development of All Regions Bill-2020 for the tri-capital system & and the AP Capital Region Development
Authority (CRDA) Act (Repeal) Bill) in the upper house of the legislature.
ii.The bills states the government’s plan of having 3 different capitals for the state- Legislative, Visakhapatnam as the
executive capital, Amaravati as the legislative capital and Kurnool as the judicial capital.
About Legislative Council:
The Legislative Council is the upper house in the state legislature. Similar to the Rajya Sabha, the council is a
permanent house, which means that it cannot be dissolved. Only the state legislative assembly can be dissolved.
AP’s Legislative Council has a total of 58 members and opposite Chandrababu Naidu’s party has a majority with 28
members.
The State Government of Assam was the 1st to abolish its state legislative council in 1947.
Capital– Amaravati
Chief Minister– Jagan Mohan Reddy
Governor– Biswabhushan Harichandan
National Parks– Sri Venkateswara National Park ,Rajiv Gandhi National Park, Papikonda National Park.
State Tree– Neem tree
State Flower– Water lilies
Andhra Pradesh govt and Kfw inks a loan agreement for Rs.711 crore under ZBNF
On January 8, 2020 Andhra Pradesh government signs a loan pact for Rs.711 crore with Kfw, Germany
Development bank for expanding the climate-resilient Zero-Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) in the state for the
next five years.
Key Points:
i.To take up the insurance scheme Andhra Pradesh government will spend Rs 304 crore in addition to encourage 2.39
lakh farmers in 591 village panchayats.
ii.ZBNF already covers about 1.28 lakh hectares in 3,011 villages of Andhra Pradesh and the financial assistance from
German bank helps to cover about 2 lakh hectares in the addition.
iii.The helpline number “1800 599 3366” was also launched for enquiries related to the insurance scheme.
iv.The state government under takes ZBNF along with the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and Paramparagat
Krishi Vikas Yojana’s (PKVY) of the Centre government and technical supported by Azim Premji Philanthropic
Initiatives.
About Zero-Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF):
ZBNF is a method of Chemical-free agriculture practice which aims to bring down the cost of production to zero and
doubles the farmer’s income. ZBNF was also highlighted in budget 2019 for doubling farmer’s income by 2022
About Kfw:
Founded- 1948
Headquarters- Frankfurt, Germany

State-Wise PDF
For the 1st time, Vizag (Andhra Pradesh) to host 14th Global healthcare summit in 2021
On December 31, 2019, The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), a professional
association for Indian American physicians, is set to organize a 3-days long 14th Global Healthcare Summit
(GHS) in Visakhapatnam,Andhra Pradesh(AP) from January 3, 2021 for the 1st time.
Key Points:
i.Around 500 doctors from the United States of America (USA), Australia, Britain and other countries expected to
participate in the summit, which will focus on various communicable and non-communicable diseases, public health
hazards, eradication of tuberculosis(TB), preventing maternal mortality, control of Hepatitis B etc.
ii.Over the past few years, AAPI has been collaborating with several professional medical associations & made key
role in addressing diabetes with the launch of Sevak programme and CPR-AED(Proper cardiopulmonary
resuscitation-automated external defibrillator) training
About American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI):
Founded– 1984
Headquarters– Oak Brook, Illinois,US
President– Sudhakar Jonnalagadda (for 2020-21)
NITI Aayog’s Aspirational district ranking : Chandauli of UP tops in December 2019

On January 29, 2020, NITI Aayog ( National Institution for Transforming India), a policy think tank of the
Government of India (GoI), released the ranking of Aspirational Districts of the country for the month of December
2019.
Top 3: Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh (UP) has topped the list of aspiring districts in December 2019 with the
score of 57.6. It was followed by Balangir district of Odisha in 2nd (53.9) and YSR district (formerly known as Kadapa
District) of Andhra Pradesh in 3rd place (65.2).
Key Points:
i.The ranking is based on the progress made in 5 development areas in 112 aspirational districts across India in
December 2019. The rankings focus on progress in Health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources,
financial inclusion& skill development and Basic infrastructure.
ii.The Aspirational District Program was launched in January 2018. Aspirational districts are ranked every month.
This includes districts with relatively little progress in important social sectors.
Assam tops in best budgetary practices followed by Odisha,AP & Manipur at bottom: TII survey
On January 29, 2020 , According to the survey 3rd edition “Transparency In Budgetary Process Report” conducted
by Transparency International’s India (TII), Assam tops in the ranking of best practices followed by states
in budget formulation with a score of 70.
Key Points:
i.Assam was followed by Odisha (2nd with the score of 66) & Andhra Pradesh (AP) (3rd with the score of 64).While
Manipur ranked bottom with the score of 25.
ii.This survey is based on four parameters which includes public disclosure, budgetary process, post budget fiscal
management and efforts to make budget more transparent and citizen friendly.
iii.The survey classified the states in various categories including opaque (0-45 score), low level of transparency (46-
60), medium level of transparency (61-75), transparent (76-90) and highly transparent (91-100).
iv.The survey also recommends to enhance the budget transparency and accountability in state-wise. They include
better use of information, communication & technology for transparent financial management, strengthening

State-Wise PDF
institutions involved in the budgetary process, formulate plans for citizen’s engagement in budgetary process among
others.
Top 3& Bottom 3 states in Budget Transparency:
Rank State Name Score
1 Assam 70
2 Odisha 66
3 Andhra Pradesh (AP) 64
19 Punjab 29
20 Meghalaya 28
21 Manipur 25
About Transparency International:
Headquarter– Berlin, Germany
Founded– 1993
Managing Director– Patricia Moreira
Chairman of Transparency International India (TII)– S.R. Wadhwa
India successfully test-fired nuclear capable SLBM K-4 of 3,500 km range in Visakhapatnam coast in Andhra
Pradesh
On January 19, 2020 India successfully test-fired the nuclear capable Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) K-
4 at the Visakhapatnam coast in Andhra Pradesh. The range of K-4 ballistic missile is 3,500 Kilometer. The missile
was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The test was carried out from an
underwater platform in the sea.
Key Points:
i.By this test, India moved a step towards the induction of ballistic missile on the INS (Indian Naval Ship) Arihant class
nuclear submarines.
ii.The three-meter-long ballistic missile carries a nuclear warhead of over one tonne with a circular error probability
of 40 meters or less, which makes it ideal to strike targets from stand-off ranges.
iii.India is the fourth country after the United States (US), Russia, China to launches SLBM of 3,500 kilometer range.
iv.Apart from K-4, BO-5 is the other underwater missile with a strike range of 700 kilometers which is being
developed by India.
About DRDO:
Founded- 1958; Headquarter– New Delhi
Chairman- Dr G Satheesh Reddy
Visakhapatnam to host naval exercise ‘MILAN’ in March 2020

The Vishakapatnam city of Andhra Pradesh will host International naval exercise ‘MILAN’ in March 2020. The theme
of the exercise for the year 2020 is ‘Synergy Across the Seas’. Milan exercise which will be hosted by Eastern Naval
Command (ENC) aims to enhance professional interaction between foreign navies and also make use of the best
practices in the maritime domain.

State-Wise PDF
Key Points:
i.41 navies of different countries were invited so far, of which 30 navies have confirmed their participation in MILAN
2020.
ii.Visakhapatnam previously hosted International Fleet Review (IFR) in February 2016.
Capital- Amaravati (de facto).
Largest city- Visakhapatnam.
Dams- Nagarjuna sagar dam, Srisailam Dam.
National Parks(NP)- Papikonda NP, Sri Venkateswara NP.
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - February 2020

Andhra Pradesh flagged off India’s first ‘fruit train’ with bananas
On January 31, 2020 India’s first of its kind fruit train was launched from Tadipatri Railway Station in Anantapur
district & from Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh. This is the first time an entire train carrying a load of 980 metric
tonnes of locally grown bananas which has been sent to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNP)in Mumbai,
Maharashtra.Those bananas will be exported to Iran.
Key Points:
i.The bananas will be exported under the brand name ‘Happy Bananas’. Guntakal Railway division(is one of the four
divisions of South Coast Railway zone of the Indian Railways) has loaded bananas for export to West Asian countries
from Tadipatri at very first time.
ii.Farmers from Putlur region in Anantapur and Pulivendula in Kadapa district of AP will be exporting ‘Green
Cavendish’ bananas to international markets.
iii.The dispatch of first shipment was done by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development
Authority(APEDA), along with AP govt and one of the largest member exporters of banana.
iv.The train was formally flagged off by Container Corporation of India Ltd. (CONCOR) Chief General Manager (CGM)
D. Satyanarayana, A.P Horticulture Commissioner Chiranjiv Chaudhary; Desai Fruits Venture Founder Ajit Desai and
Guntakal Divisional Railway Manager Alok Tiwari in presence of Agriculture Minister Kurasala Kannababu.
State Animal- Blackbuck.
State Bird- Roller, Rose-ringed parakeet.
State Tree- Neem.
State Flower- Jasmine.
Rivers- Godavari river, Krishna river, Penna river, Gundlakamma river etc.
YSR Pension Kanuka doorstep pension scheme launched in AP; pensioner age reduced to 60 from 65
On February 01, 2020 the govt. of Andhra Pradesh (AP) has launched a doorstep pension delivery scheme named
‘YSR Pension Kanuka’. Under the scheme various welfare pensions will be delivered to the old age pensioners. The
old age pensioners age has also been reduced from 65 to 60 years.
Key Points:
i.Pensions: The disabled pensions (DP) will be Rs. 3000 per month whereas the pension amount for CKDU (Chronic
kidney disease of unknown)/dialysis pensions will be Rs. 5,000-Rs. 10,000 per month.
ii.Pension delivery: The beneficiaries will be delivered with the pension services through volunteers equipped with
smartphones.
iii.The number of beneficiaries will increase to 54.64 lakh by 2020 after the reduction of the age limit for pensioners.
It is also to be noted that out of Rs. 15, 675.20 crores earmarked by govt for the programme, Rs.1320.14 crore has
already been released.

State-Wise PDF
Chief minister- Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy.
National Parks(NP)- Papikondalu NP, Sri Venkateswara NP
CM Jagan mohan reddy inaugurates AP’s 1st Disha police station in Rajamahendravaram
On February 8,2020, The Chief Minister (CM) of Andhra Pradesh (AP) Yeduguri Sandinti (YS) Jaganmohan
Reddy has launched the 1st Disha Police Station in the State at Rajamahendravaram in East Godavari district with
the aim to provide speedy justice to female victims of sexual assaults and other heinous crimes under the Protection
of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. The CM also launched an app for women in distress to get
immediate response from the police.
Key Points:
i.The new police station will deploy counsellor, mobile kits to gather medical and scientific evidence, and care takers
to help the victims who come to the station.
ii.The AP state government has also decided to set up 18 exclusive Disha police stations – one each in 13 district
headquarters and the other 5 in Police Commissionerate limits.
iii.Background: Earlier in December 2019,Ap government has approved the A.P. Disha Bill, 2019 that makes it
mandatory to settle cases of atrocities against women in 21 days and punishment including a death penalty for the
offences of rape and gang-rape.
Governor– Biswabhusan Harichandan
Folk dances– Kuchipudi, Vilasini Natyam, Bhamakalpam, Veeranatyam.
National Park– Sri Venkateswara National Park ,Rajiv Gandhi National Park,Papikonda National Park.
AP govt inks MoU with 11 agri institutions to help farmers

On February 10, 2020 Andhra Pradesh (AP) Government (govt.) signed MoU (Memorandum of Understandings) with
11 agricultural institutions in the country to establish revolutionary changes in the agriculture sector through
technology & sustainable increase in farmers’ income using organic and natural farming processes.
Key Points:
i.MoU: Chief Minister (CM) Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy supervised the exchange of MoUs in Amaravati, AP,
between the state Agriculture Department and institutions, the Indian Council Agricultural Research (ICAR), National
Institute of Plant Health Management, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Central Fertiliser Quality & Training
Institute, National Seed Research & Training Institute.
ii.CM also announced 11,158 Rythu Bharosa Kendras will be set up across the state by June 2020, which will be
administered by agriculture, horticulture, veterinary and aquaculture assistants to guide farmers in best practices.
iii.Quality seed, fertiliser and pesticides guaranteed by state government will be made available at these centers.
iv.Agriculture Minister K Kanna Babu, Animal Husbandry Minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana, Civil Supplies Minister
K S V Rao, Agriculture Special Chief Secretary Poonam Malakondaiah were present on the occasion.
About Andhra Pradesh (AP):
Capital- Amaravati.
Chief Minister (CM)- Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy.
AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy launched Nadu-Nedu scheme for modernising hospitals

On February 18, 2020 Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Yedugiri Sandinti JaganMohan Reddy
launched the Nadu-Nedu scheme (roughly meaning then and now in Telugu) at STBC ground, Kurnool, AP. An
amount of Rs 15,337 crore has been allocated to modernise all government (govt)hospitals in 3 years.
Key Points:
i.The Government hospitals will be constructed or modernized with the highest Indian standard- Indian Public Health
Standards (IPHS).
ii.The scheme is developed based upon 3 phases

State-Wise PDF
iii.Phase 1: The govt has allocated Rs. 1,129 crore for the 1st phase.
iv.Phase 2: The govt has allocated Rs 1,212 crores & Rs 700 crores to Area Hospitals.
v.Phase 3: In third phase sum of Rs 12,300 crore have been allocated for constructing new hospitals with increased
number of doctors & nurses in the state due to lack of experienced doctors.
Phases of YSR Kanti Velugu for Eye Vision:
In the 1st phase of YSR Kanti Velugu, 66 lakh school children got free eye check-up by 60,000 staff.
In the 2nd phase, 500 experts identified 4,36,000 lakh children identified for further treatment or spectacles.
CM also launched third phase of YSR Kanti Velugu at a cost of Rs 560 crore under which 56,88,420 elderly would
get free eye screening across the state.
Capital- Amaravati.
AP CM Jagan Mohan launches ‘Jagananna Vasthi Deevena’ scheme for Students

On February 24, 2020, Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy has
launched an educational scheme called ‘Jagananna Vasthi Deevena (JVD)’ in Vizianagaram district. Under the
scheme, a financial assistance of Rs 2,300 crore will be provided to the students pursuing ITI, polytechnic, under-
graduate and post-graduate education courses to handle hostel and mess expenditure.
Key Points:
i.This scheme will benefit 11,87,904 students,where the ITI (Industrial Training Institute) students would get Rs
10,000 each, polytechnic students would get Rs 15,000 and under-graduates (UG) and post-graduates (PG) Rs 20,000
each in 2 instalments, in February and July every year. Funds will be added to the account of the beneficiary students’
mothers.
ii.Beneficiary students’ will be provided with a unique bar-coded smart card, which contains complete details of the
student to get the complete benefits.
iii.The scheme aims to improve the gross enrolment ratio in higher education (post-Intermediate), which was only
23% in AP now.
Capital City– Amaravati
AP Govt made history with ‘Intivadhakey Pension’ scheme by covering 94 % within few days
On February 05, 2020, The Andhra Pradesh (AP) state Government led by its Chief Minister(CM) Yeduguri Sandinti
Jaganmohan Reddy,has created a record with its ‘Intivadhakey Pension’ (Pension to your Doorstep) Scheme by
covering 94 % of about 60 lakh pensioners at their doorstep within a few days. The scheme was launched in 13
districts on February 1, 2020.AP is the 1st state in India to take up such an initiative of Door delivery of pension
service.
Key Points:
i.The AP government pays a monthly pension of Rs 2,250 to the elderly, widows, weavers, toddy tappers, fishermen,
single women and traditional cobblers and others, Rs 3,000 for disabled and Rs 5,000 to Rs.10,000 for CKDU(Chronic
Kidney Disease (CKD) of uncertain origin ) /Dialysis patients.
ii.Almost 4 lakh volunteers were equipped with biometric information of the about 50,50,394 eligible pensioners, and
the amount was transferred to their bank accounts on a single day.
iii.The state has released Rs 1,320 crore for the month of February for this programme.
Governor– Biswabhusan Harichandan.

State-Wise PDF
National Parks(NP)- Papikondalu NP, Sri Venkateswara NP
1 in 3 payments for maternity benefit scheme ‘PMMVY’ credited to wrong account: NITI Aayog
report
On February 23, 2020, According to “Transforming Nutrition in India: Poshan Abhiyan”, a 2nd progress report on
Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN) Abhiyaan (Nutrition Mission) until
September 2019, released by the NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog, worryingly 1 in 3 of
Aadhaar-based payments for Centre’s maternity benefit scheme/ Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana
(PMMVY) was credited to a wrong bank account. As per the report, 28% of 31.29 lakh of all Aadhaar-based
payments are going to different bank accounts than what had been provided by the beneficiaries.
Key Points:
i.As per the data gathered until March 31, 2019, the report notes that 66% of the direct benefit transfers for the
PMMVY were based on Aadhaar.
ii.According to a telephone survey of 5,525 beneficiaries, undertaken by the Ministry of Women and Child
Development (WCD), showed that just 60% of beneficiaries under the scheme were aware of the receipt of the
benefits and the bank accounts to which the money was remitted.
iii.Background: There have been records of long term delays with some beneficiaries having to wait for 2 years
period to get the benefit. They also facing problems in filling up the 32-page application form and providing nine
identity documents.
iv.Ranking of the states:
The report also ranked states & Union Territories to measure their readiness to execute the programme across 4
themes: governance and institutional mechanism; strategy and planning; service delivery and capacities; and
programme activities and intervention coverage. The States were classified into large and small categories for a
better comparison.Among the 19 large States, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh scored the top 3
ranks with the scheme implementation score of over 70%. While, Among the 8 small States, Mizoram and Sikkim
scored above 75%. Similarly, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh, and Daman and Diu scored above 75% & got top 3
spot among 7 Union Territories list.
Top 3 states in the ranking
Rank Large States (19) Small States (8) Union Territories (7)
1 Andhra Pradesh Mizoram Dadra and Nagar Haveli
2 Chhattisgarh Sikkim Chandigarh
3 Madhya Pradesh Nagaland Daman and Diu
Bottom 3 states in the ranking
Karnataka- 17th Tripura-6th Andaman and Nicobar Islands-5th
Assam-18th Manipur-7th Delhi-6th
Kerala -19th Goa-8th Lakshadweep-7th
v.Way forward: The report stressed to simplify the documentation and operational rules to avoid delays in money
transfer & also proposed to rationalize the mandatory waiting period of 180 days before the second installment is
released as well as the compulsory birth certificate for the release of the 3rd installment.
About PMMVY:
It is a maternity benefit programme being implemented in all districts of the country with effect from 1st January,
2017.Under this, pregnant women and lactating mothers get ₹5,000 for their 1st child in 3 instalments (of Rs1,000,
Rs2,000 and Rs2,000) on fulfilling some conditions including early registration of pregnancy, Ante-natal check-up,
and Registration of the birth of the child and completion of first cycle of vaccination for the first living child of the
family.The amount is meant to compensate women for the loss of wages and is aimed at ensuring a healthy
nutritional development of the newborn baby.

State-Wise PDF
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - March 2020

Andhra Pradesh ranked 1st in the country for overall implementation of POSHAN Abhiyaan
On March 9, 2020 Andhra Pradesh (AP) ranked 1st in the country for overall implementation of POSHAN( Prime
Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment) Abhiyaan as per September 2019 progress report of NITI
Aayog, “Transforming Nutrition in India: POSHAN Abhiyaan”.The 2nd anniversary of POSHAN Abhiyaan is recognized
by celebrating Poshan Pakhwada from 8th-22nd March 2020.
Overall Implementation Status of POSHAN Abhiyaan
It is classified under 3 categories & the following is named according to the position.
Top Position
Rank Large State Small State UT
1 Andhra Pradesh Mizoram Dadra & Nagar Haveli
2 Chhattisgarh Sikkim Chandigarh
3 Madhya Pradesh Nagaland Daman & Diu
Bottom Position
Large State Small State UT
Karnataka(17) Tripura (6) Andaman & Nicobar (5)
Assam (18) Manipur (7) Delhi (6)
Kerala (19) Goa (8) Lakshadweep (7)
i.Large State (19)-AP, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Rajasthan ,Bihar ,Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Telangana, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka,
Assam, Kerala.
ii.Small State (8)- Mizoram, Sikkim, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur, Goa.
iii.Union Territory(7)- Dadra & Nagar Haveli,Chandigarh, Daman & Diu,Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar, Delhi,
Lakshadweep.
Highlights of AP
As part of the programme it also trained all Angan Wadi Workers on modules created based on lifecycle approach
where 1st 1000 days of life, with the support of incremental learning Approach (ILA)& has given
55,607smartphones to them, to improve delivery service & to report day to day actions, as well as to council the
target.
Poshan Pakhwada 2020
The focus area of Poshan Pakhwada 2020 is ‘Men for Nutrition – Increasing Male Engagement in POSHAN Abhiyaan
to Improve Nutritional Indicators‘.It aims to reduce malnutrition from the country in a phased manner through the
life cycle concept, by adopting a synergized & result-oriented approach.
Tamil Nadu tops in Poshan Abhiyaan’s participants list
Tamil Nadu tops the list of the states in terms of the number of participants in the programme.
POSHAN Abhiyaan
It was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of the International Women’s Day on 8 March,
2018 Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan. It is India’s flagship programme to direct the attention of the country towards the
problem of malnutrition & address it in a mission-mode. It is earlier called as National Nutrition Mission (NNM),
since 18th December, 2017.
NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog has played a critical role in shaping the POSHAN Abhiyaan &
it is required to submit implementation status reports of POSHAN Abhiyaan every 6 months to the Prime Minister’s
Office (PMO).
The goals of POSHAN Abhiyaan
To achieve improvement in the nutritional status of Children from 0-6 years, Adolescent Girls, Pregnant Women &
Lactating Mothers in a time bound manner with fixed targets & aims to bring down stunting of children in the age
group of 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by the year 2022.

State-Wise PDF
Strategy/Pillars for implementation of the mission are:
Inter-sectoral convergence for better service delivery
Use of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) for real time growth monitoring & to track women & children
Intensified health & nutrition services for first 1000 days
Jan Andolan
About AP
Capital- Amaravati
Chief Minister– YS Jagan Mohan Reddy
Governor– Biswa Bhusan Harichandan
Andhra Pradesh CM lauched NIGHA app to control electoral malpractices

On March 8, 2020 Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy launched
the NIGHA application at Tadepalli, Andhra Pradesh. The app is aimed at curbing the use of money and alcohol in the
upcoming local body elections & launched in addition to the measures taken by State Election Commission & Police
department in order to control the electoral malpractices.The app was developed by Department of Panchayat Raj.
Key Points:
i.About NIGHA App: Citizens can download the NIGHA app on their smartphones and it allows the people to upload
photos and videos of distribution of money, alcohol or any other activity that violates MCC (Model Code of Conduct).
ii.The complaint registered through the app will be routed automatically to Central Control Room (CCR) &
information will be shared with the officials concerned, actions will be taken.
iii.The State government had earlier brought an ordinance to make amendments to the AP Panchayat Raj Act to take
strict actions against flow of money and liquor in elections.
iv.Irrespective of the party affiliation, if the candidate violates the MCC will be imprisoned to (2- 3 years) and
disqualification in the election.
v.PV Ramesh, Special Secretary to AP CM, Gopal Krishna Dwivedi, Panchayat Raj Principal Secretary and
Commissioner Girija Shankar were present during the occasion.
Other Events:
Dr A Mallikarjuna, Dr YSR Aarogyasri Healthcare Trust Chief Executive Officer (CEO), announced that the State
Government (govt) cleared dues of Rs 144.22 crore to 750 network hospitals under the Dr YSR Aarogyasri scheme.
The State govt clears Rs 361 crore on February 5, 2020 and Rs 144.22 crores on March 6, 2020 to the network of
hospitals.
Capital- Amaravati.
State Dance- Kuchipudi.
State Tree- Neem Tree.
LPG scheme PM Ujjwala Yojana closed; only 3 States & 5 UTs become kerosene-free
In accordance with the report of the Parliamentary Committee on Petroleum headed by BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)
member Ramesh Bidhuri, only three States and five Union Territories have become kerosene-free even though in
September 2019 the government has met the target of 8 crore LPG (Liquefied petroleum gas) connections under the
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).
The kerosene-free states are Haryana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh and Union Territories (UTs) are Delhi, Chandigarh,
Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Andaman & Nicobar Island and Puducherry.
The report points the gap between the continuing use of kerosene and the claim of 97% LPG coverage nationwide.
View Points of Petroleum Ministry: Target achieved in Sept, 2019, PMUY closed
-As of September 7, 2019, the govt has met the target of 96.9% coverage nationwide, except in Jammu and Kashmir.
-The allocation for the scheme has been declined by 58% from ₹2,724 crore during 2019-20 to ₹1,118 crore during
2020-21. The scheme has been closed and the present funds are meant to meet the arrears in the reimbursement of
expenditure.

State-Wise PDF
View Points of Petroleum committee; general category poor households still uses kerosene
-Large segments of people in various States still depended on kerosene for cooking and household lighting specially
the poor households in the general category in urban and semi-urban localities.
-The committee recommends that the scheme has to be extended to poor households in urban and semi-urban slum
areas, and achieve a higher LPG coverage of the population by providing connections to households that do not have
LPG.
About PMUY:
Launched in 2016, the scheme aims to provide LPG connections to 5 crore women belonging to Below Poverty Line
(BPL) families over a period of 3 years starting from FY 2016-17. Its objective is to safeguard the health of women &
children by providing them with a clean cooking fuel i.e. LPG.
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - April 2020

Andhra Pradesh to purchase ‘Portable Multi-feed Oxygen Manifold’
On April 1, 2020 the Andhra Pradesh (AP) government has proposed to buy a novel contraption, ‘Portable Multi-feed
Oxygen Manifold (MOM)’ to address the need for oxygen supply to coronavirus patients. It is developed by
Personnel of the Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam (NDV).
Key Points
i.It is designed using a 6-way radial header fitted to a single cylinder to deliver oxygen to 6 patients simultaneously
and enables critical care management for a large number of Covid-19 patients with limited resources. At first, the
Navy offered few MOMs to AP at free-of-cost.
ii.The preliminary trials were conducted at MI Room at NDV, followed by rapid trials at the Naval Hospital INHS
Kalyani, where it was successfully installed within 30 minutes
iii.After successful trials, NDV began the production of 10 portable MOMs with two 6-way radial headers capable of
meeting 120 patients at a makeshift location.
iv.The centre is also interested in MOM & also has conducted enquiries with NDV officials for its production & use.
About AP:
Capital– Visakhapatnam- executive capital, Kurnool- judicial capital, Amaravati- legislative capital
Chief Minister– Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy
25 lakh poor in AP to get house sites under Navaratnalu- Pedalandariki Illu programme
On April 1, 2020 The Andhra Pradesh (AP) Government has issued a modified set of guidelines for the distribution
of 25 lakh house sites to urban and rural poor under the Navaratnalu- Pedalandariki Illu (Houses for All Poor)
programme
Apart from getting necessary approvals under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), It has been working with
Housing And Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) and other organizations to secure loans.
Highlights
i.The beneficiaries with white ration cards will be allotted house sites at a concessional rate of Rs 1 & a sum of Rs 20
will be charged (Rs. 10 for stamp paper and Rs. 10 for lamination).
ii.The beneficiaries were noted that the site should only be used for constructing houses & the title deeds will be in
the form of conveyance deeds which contain security features like photographs, thumb impressions, signatures of
parties along with their details in addition to watermarks and emblems etc. on the stamp papers.
iii.The sale of vacant home sites is prohibited, but the beneficiaries after the construction of houses and occupying
them for at least 5 years can transfer if there is any need to meet the conditions laid down by the banks and financial
institutions.
iv.AP has postponed the distribution of sites to April 14, 2020 due to COVID-19, earlier it was scheduled on March 25,
2020 (Ugadi).

State-Wise PDF
Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy launches ‘YSR Nirman’ online platform
Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Jagan Mohan Reddy launches ‘YSR Nirman’ an online platform on April
6 to help various departments of the State to procure cement from suppliers for government works such as
Polavaram irrigation project, housing and roads & also display availability of cement demand and supply on a real-
time basis.
Key Points
i.The Government departments, district collectors, AP Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) and other
suppliers will be given access to the portal with user IDs and Passwords, the District Collector will forward the
consolidated demand to APCMA and it will then allocate the suppliers based on the quantity of cement.
ii.It connects various stakeholders such as Cement Manufacturers Association, manufacturing companies and
government departments.
iii.This portal will help reduce the waiting time of buyers & will also complete the project on time without any delay
& increases the accountability & transparency in the process.
iv.The State held a meeting with the cement manufacturers in February & decided that all the government
departments should procure cement at Rs 225 for Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) & Rs 235 for Ordinary Portland
Cement (OPC) a bag including Goods and Service Tax (GST).
v.All those supplies will be made in red bags by the cement companies, to distinguish it from private supplies and also
to prevent misuse.
About AP:
State Animal– Blackbuck
State Bird– Rose-ringed Parakeet
State tree– Neem
Jagan Mohan Reddy re-launches zero interest loan scheme for Women SHGs
On April 24, 2020 Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy re-launched zero interest
loan scheme for Women Self-Help Groups(SHGs) by releasing a sum of Rs 1,400 crores to 8.78 lakh SHGs (to benefit
about 91 lakh members) for the welfare of women.
Key Points
i.Each SHG will receive a sum ranging from Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 towards the interest component on their loans.
ii.Currently SHG are securing loans from banks at an interest rate of 7 to 13%.
iii.The State will also distribute house-sites to over 27 lakh women on July 8 as the programme got postponed due to
the Covid-19 pandemic.
About the scheme
The zero interest scheme was first launched by Former Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy in the united Andhra
Pradesh in 2011, under which the state government borne the interest burden on loans extended to the women
SHGs. But, after the state bifurcation, the Chandrababu Naidu-led government stalled the scheme in 2016-17.
Former CM YS Rajasekhara Reddy introduced the ‘Pavala Vaddi’ (interest at 25 paise) scheme when the interest on
SHG loans was about Rs 1, & later the scheme was modified to offer interest-free loans.
Other initiative for women SHG
CM has created a major employment opportunity to women SHG who are familiar with tailoring, by ordering masks of
3.5 masks per head, by this project over 40,000 women have been working & are earning about Rs 500 a day.
About AP:
State Dance– Kuchipudi
State Tree– Neem
AP launched ‘Covid Pharma’, a mobile application to trace people buying medicines for fever, cold
On April 25, 2020, The Medical and Health Department of Andhra Pradesh (AP) has launched ‘Covid Pharma’, a
mobile application(app) to keep a track of people buying medicines over-the-counter (OTC) for cough, cold and
fever from medical stores across the state.

State-Wise PDF
Gist about the app
i.The pharmacies in the State is expected to download the app and register the details of persons, including their
mobile number, making OTC purchases of medicines for common ailments & even those who buy medicines with a
prescription and share with the health department for better monitoring
ii.Purpose– To monitor patients who experience any increase in cold & fever, which helps to trace easily the persons
with any symptoms of coronavirus and works as an additional precautionary measure for regular sample testing
simultaneously
Key Points
According to Andhra Pradesh Pharmacy Council data, there are 68,000 registered pharmacists in the State.
AP now tops the number of sample tests conducted per million population in the country.
It has recruited 1,174 doctors on a temporary basis for a year to meet the emergency requirements in view of the
prevailing coronavirus pandemic, where most of these doctors will be posted in the COVID-19 hotbed districts like
Kurnool, Guntur, Krishna and Chittoor.
AP launches ‘COVID-19 AP’
i.The Department of Health, Medical and Family Welfare have launched ‘COVID-19 AP’ mobile application on the
android platform through which one can request the authorities for COVID test.
ii.Users can access the app by registering with a phone number & before requesting a test, they need to provide
information about symptoms, comorbid diseases and their location and village/ward secretariat number.
iii.They can get contact numbers of their local Asha workers, consult doctors online, go through the list of COVID
hospitals, quarantine centres, test centres and also register as a volunteer.
About AP:
State Animal– Blackbuck
Andhra govt launches fee reimbursement scheme for students namely Jagananna Vidya Deevena
Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy launched a scheme Jagananna Vidya
Deevena with an outlay of Rs 4,000 crore to provide full fees reimbursement to about 14 lakh college students,
including those in professional courses.
In this regard, the AP govt also released pending due of Rs 1,880 crore during the previous Telugu Desam Party
(TDP) government. The amount has been directly credited into the accounts of the students’ mothers.
The CM also launched a helpline number, 1902, for parents of the students to lodge a complaint if the college
management does not provide quality education or better facilities to their children.
Objective of the scheme
-Providing help to the financially weak students who want to study but unable to do so because of lack of finance.
-Promote Higher education in the state and encourage the youngsters for further education.
Jagananna Vasathi Deevana (JVD)
Apart from the above scheme, another scheme, Jagananna Vasathi Deevana, was also launched which will take care of
hostel and mess charges, students who are pursuing their higher education
About AP
State Flower– Water lilies, State Bird– Indian roller, State Animal– Black buck
State Tree– Neem
Former Andhra Bank chief Suresh N Patel takes charge as vigilance commissioner
On April 29, 2020 Former Andhra Bank chief Suresh N Patel(62) takes charge as vigilance commissioner in the
anti-corruption watchdog Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) & his oath of office is administered by newly-
appointed Central Vigilance Commissioner Sanjay Kothari.
Key Points
i.He will have a tenure of over two years, till late December 2022.

State-Wise PDF
ii.The post of the vigilance commissioner has been lying vacant since June 2019 after TM Bhasin completed his
tenure.
iii.Currently, Sharad Kumar is working as the other vigilance commissioner.
Gist about Suresh
His name to the post was recommended by a high-powered committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in
February 2020.
Was a member of the advisory board for banking and financial frauds of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) &
resigned after his selection as the vigilance commissioner.
Appointed as the managing director and chief executive officer of Andhra Bank in November 2015 till his
superannuation on December 31, 2017.
Has more than 3 decades of banking experience & has worked as the executive director in Oriental Bank of Commerce
before taking over as the chief of Andhra Bank.
About CVC:
The Central Vigilance Commission was set up by the Government in February,1964 on the recommendations of the
Committee on Prevention of Corruption, headed by Shri K. Santhanam, as an apex body to advise and guide Central
Government agencies in the field of vigilance.
CVC Act 2003
In 1998 the Government introduced the CVC Bill in the Lok Sabha in order to replace the Ordinance of 1988, but was
not successful & so was re-introduced in 1999 and remained with the Parliament till September 2003 & came into
effect after duly passed in both the Houses of Parliament and with the President’s approval.
Important Features of the Act
i.The Commission should consist of a Central Vigilance Commissioner (Chairperson) and not more than 2 Vigilance
Commissioners (members).
ii.The Central Vigilance Commissioner and the Vigilance Commissioners are to be appointed by the President on
recommendation of a Committee consisting of the Prime Minister (Chairperson), the Minister of Home Affairs
(Member) and the Leader of the Opposition in the House of the People (Member).
iii.The term of office of the Central Vigilance Commissioner and the Vigilance Commissioners will be 4 years from the
date on which they enter their office or till they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
Headquarters of CVC– New Delhi, India
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - May 2020

Five more States/UTs integrated with ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ platform, taking the total to 17
On May 1, 2020, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Shri RamVilas Paswan approved the
integration of 5 more States and Union Territories under “One Nation One Ration Card” plan with the already 12
existing states taking a total number of states/UTs to 17.
The newly approved states/UTs under this plan are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Dadra &
Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.
Already this plan has been initiated in 12 states viz. Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala,
Karnataka Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tripura.
All 17 States/UTs are instructed to formally commence seamless inter-State/national portability operations in a
single cluster w.e.f. May 1, 2020 or at the earliest, depending upon their on-field readiness.
Benefit of One Nation One Ration Card:
With this, the facility of national/inter-State portability will be available for nearly 60 Crore beneficiaries of 17
States/UT under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and they may lift their entitled quota of food grains from any
Fair Price Shop (FPS) anywhere in these 17 States/UT by using their same/existing ration card.
Reason behind the move:
This decision to integrate 5 more states has been taken as per the Supreme Court direction to the Centre for taking
the appropriate decision regarding the implementation of “one nation-one ration card” under the lockdown scenario,
as there have been reports of problems faced by migrant workers in getting subsidised food grains.

State-Wise PDF
About one nation, one ration card:
The scheme announced in June 2019 allows portability of food security benefits across the country from 1st June
2020. This means poor migrant workers or the beneficiaries who are taking food grains under the Public Distribution
System (PDS) will be able to buy subsidized rice and wheat from any ration shop in the country. Simply, it is inter-
state portability of ration cards.The rest of the country will be included in the portability scheme by June this year.
This will benefit 600 million beneficiaries out of 810 million covered under the Food Security Act, 2013.
200 new mandis added to the e-NAM platform from 7 States: Narendra Singh Tomar
On May 1, 2020 The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar has added 200 new
mandis to the e-National Agriculture Market(e-NAM) platform from 7 States & stated that by May 2020 there will be
around 1,000 Mandis joining the e-NAM platform for marketing of Agricultural produce at a function in Krishi
Bhawan through video conference.
Key Points
i.Live trading between mandis from Kurnool and Hubli in groundnuts and maize took place
ii.The 200 markets integrated with the e-NAM platform are: Andhra Pradesh (11 mandis), Gujarat (25 mandis),
Odisha (16 mandis), Rajasthan (94 mandis), Tamil Nadu (27 mandis), Uttar Pradesh (25 mandis) & Karnataka (02
mandis).
iii.Currently there are 585 e-NAM mandis in 16 States and 02 Union Territories on adding the new mandis it will
come to the total of 785.
iv.It is the 1st milestone achieved in the path of integrating 415 new markets across the country & is the 1st time
Karnataka is added to the list of e-NAM States.
v.It has gained more strength by reaching out to more farmers & traders of these new mandis, aiming to reach the last
mile farmer and change the way they sell agricultural produce.
e-NAM integrated with UMP
For the 1st time in India 2 different e-trading platforms e-NAM & Unified Market Platform(UMP) of Karnataka’s
Rashtriya e-Market Services (ReMS), an e-trading platform promoted by the Karnataka State Agriculture Marketing
Board for Agri commodities of the scale will be made interoperable
Benefits
Facilitate traders across both platforms & e-NAM to execute flawless trading in both the platforms by using Single
Sign On framework.
Help farmers of Karnataka to sell their produce to a large number of traders registered with e-NAM and even farmers
from e-NAM mandis in other States will be able to sell their produce to Karnataka traders who are enrolled with
ReMS platform of Karnataka & will promote inter-State trade between the States on-boarded on e-NAM platform &
Karnataka.
Highlights of e-NAM
As of 30th April 2020, total trade volume of 3.41 Crore MT & 37 Lakh numbers (Bamboo & Coconut) collectively
worth approximately Rs 1 lakh crore have been recorded on e-NAM platform.
1.66 Crore Farmers & 1.28 lakh traders have registered on e-NAM platform, currently there are more than 1,000
Farmers Producer Organisations(FPOs) on-boarded on e-NAM platform.
It facilitates trade beyond mandi/ state borders. A total of 233 mandis have participated in inter- mandi trade within
12 States, where 13 States/UTs have participated in the inter-state trading on e-NAM platform which allows farmers
to interact directly with distantly located traders.
Participants
The Ministers of State(MoS) for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Parshottan Rupala & Kailash Choudhary,
Secretary of Department Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers Welfare(AC&FW), Sanjay Agarwal, and senior officers
of the Ministry.
Few launches by the ministry to tackle COVID-19:
i.2 modules: FPO module- To help the farmer members of FPO to trade from their collection center; Warehouse
module- farmers can sell their stored produce in Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority(WDRA)
registered warehouses, which are declared as deemed mandi by States.
Aim– To help farmers to sell their produce without bringing them to mandi

State-Wise PDF
ii.“Kisan Rath” mobile app to help farmers to find suitable transport vehicles/tractors to carry their produce to
nearby mandi and warehouse etc.
Constituency of Ministers:
Narendra Singh Tomar- Morena, Madhya Pradesh
Parshottan Rupala- Gujarat
Kailash Choudhary- Baytoo, Rajasthan
Centre sets up “Rice Export Promotion Forum” to promote rice export

On 12th May 2020, Centre set up a new body Rice Export Promotion Forum (REPF) to give impetus to rice exports
under the aegis of Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Promotion Development Authority(Apeda).
Key points:
i.The Constitution of Rice Export Promotion Forum has been done considering the importance of exporting rice and
inherent the potentials and multifarious issues faced in the exportation.
ii.Basmati and non-basmati varieties are India’s largest commodity of agri-export basket.In 2018-2019 the shipments
stood at 7.77 billion USD with 4.72 billion USD by basmati export and 3.05 billion USD by non-basmati.
iii.The Rice Export Promotion Forum will be comprised of representatives from the rice industry, exporters, officials
of Apeda, Commerce Ministry, Agriculture Ministry and the Directors of Agriculture from West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh,
Punjab, Haryana, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh and Odisha who are the major rice producing
states.
iv.The identity and anticipated developments in the production and exports and the necessary policy measures will
be monitored by the EPF.
v.EPF will facilitate, support and provide solutions to the rice producers, exporters and other relevant stakeholders.
vi.EPF will identify, document the particulars and reach out the stakeholders in the production and supply chain of
the rice export and increase the export to the global market.
vii.India was allowed to export non-basmati from 2011 which led India to become the largest exporter of cereals.
viii.The Production rate has been growing steadily in the past several year, From 96 million tonnes in 2010-2011
went upto 117.47 million tonnes in 2019-2020
About Apeda:
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority is an apex body under the Ministry of
Commerce and Industry, Government of India, responsible for the export promotion of agricultural products.
Chairman- Paban K.Borthakur
Director- Tarun Bajaj
Established- December 1985
Head Office- New Delhi
Andhra Pradesh CM rolls out ‘CMAPP’ to monitor farming needs

On May 05, 2020, Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy has launched a
mobile application ‘CMAPP (Comprehensive Monitoring of Agriculture, Price, and Procurement)’ with the aim to
monitor the agriculture needs of the farmers in the state.
Key Points:
i.The mobile app showcases all data relating to the cost, procurement, and marketing facilities of the farmers for their
agriculture produce.
ii.Respective officials of the state are entrusted to monitor & review village level agriculture conditions including the
sale and procurement of crops on a daily basis & all the joint collectors work on agriculture department related will
be trained through a quick session on the use of the app.
iii.AP Agricultural Mission Vice-Chairman MVS Nagi Reddy & Special Chief Secretary of Agricultural Department
Poonam Malakondaiah were also present during the launch.

State-Wise PDF
State Fruit– Mango
State Tree– Neem
Dams– Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, Srisailam Dam, Polavaram Dam, Tatipudi Dam
AP govt forms 5-member panel headed by Neerabh Kumar Prasad to probe Vizag gas leak
On May 08, 2020, The Andhra Pradesh (AP) state government has formed a 5-member high-powered committee led
by Neerabh Kumar Prasad (special chief secretary of environment, forests, science and technology) to probe into
the causes behind the leakage of styrene gas from the LG Polymers India Ltd located at RR Venkatapuram in
Visakhapatnam. The panel required to submit its final report within one month.
Key Points:
i.The gas leak had claimed 12 lives and left more than 200 people ill after they inhaled the styrene gas.
ii.Terms of Reference (TOR): The terms of reference of the committee includes,
It will enquire into the cause for the leakage including the possible failure in the firm’s adoption of safety protocols.
It will look into the long-term effects of the gas leakage on the surrounding villages.
It also asked to suggest action to be taken against the industrial unit in case of any carelessness that led to gas
leakage. In addition, it will suggest measures to be taken by industry units, including safety norms to prevent such
accident in the future, and in case, if any observations and suggestions, it will be added in the report.
The state Government asked AP Pollution Control Board (APPCB) to provide assistance to the committee in preparing
the report.
iii.Other members of the panel includes Karikal Valaven, Special Chief Secretary (Industries), Vinay Chand
(Visakhapatnam district collector), RK Meena (Visakhapatnam Commissioner of Police) as members and Vivek Yadav
(Member Secretary, AP Pollution Control Board) as member convenor.
About Styrene:
It is a flammable liquid used in the manufacture of polystyrene plastics, fiberglass, rubber and latex.
According to ‘Tox Town’, a website run by the US National Library of Medicine, styrene is also found in vehicles and
cigarette smoke and natural foods such as fruits and vegetables.
Chief minister– Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy
State Flower– Jasmine
State Fruit– Mango
AP’s CM Jagan Mohan Reddy launches Rs 1,110 crores ‘ReStart’ to revive MSME sector
On May 22, 2020 Andhra Pradesh(AP)’s Chief Minister(CM) Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched Rs 1,110 crores
‘ReStart’ a new programme to support & boost the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise(MSME) sector in the State.
Major Highlights
This initiative will benefit over 72,531 micro-enterprises, 24,252 small and 645 medium scale industries. The state
government will allocate Rs 200 crores as investment capital by providing loans in partnership with the Small
Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) at a low-interest rate.
The package includes the following
Release of Rs 905 crores of pending incentives to MSME units in two months, waive fixed demand charges towards
power for three months from April 20 to June 20 for MSMEs amounting to Rs 188 crores, provide Rs 200 crores
working capital loans by creating a fund to meet their liquidity crisis.
Scheme
As part of this scheme, the 1st instalment of Rs 450 crores was released which will benefit nearly 98,000 units that
provide employment to more than 10 lakh people who were facing hardships due to the lockdown.
Key Points
i.The state has identified around 360 products to be purchased from the MSMEs, and its payments will be cleared in
45 days.

State-Wise PDF
ii.Of the total purchases, almost 25% will be done from the micro and small enterprises, 4% from the Scheduled
Caste(SC) and Scheduled Tribes(ST) community enterprises, and 3% from women entrepreneurs. Over 97,428
MSMEs are established in the state which employs about 10 lakh workforce.
iii.The collectors are directed to make a skill gap study with the industries and accordingly impart the required skills
among the youth through Skill Development Colleges & to lay special focus on the sector and assign a Joint Collector
exclusively for its development.
About AP:
About SIDBI:
Headquarters– Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Chairman & Managing Director– Mohammad Mustafa
Coir Geo textiles to be used in rural road construction under PMGSY-III: Govt
On May 20, 2020, According to the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency under Union Ministry of Rural
Development, Coir Geo textiles has been finally gets nod as a good material for rural road construction under the
third phase of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, (PMGSY-III).
Key Points:
i.As per the PMGSY new technology norms for road construction issued by the Government, 15% length in each batch
of proposals, is to be constructed using new age technologies. Of this, 5% length of the rural roads are to be
constructed using IRC Indian Roads Congress (IRC) accredited technology under PMGSY-III using Coir Geo textiles.
ii.Hence, 1674 km road will be constructed using Coir Geo textiles in 07 states namely- 164 Kms of road in Andhra
Pradesh (AP) , 151 kms in Gujarat, 71 kms in Kerala , 328 kms in Maharashtra,470 kms in Odisha, 369 kms Tamil
Nadu (TN) and 121 kms in Telengana. The construction will need One Crore Sq. mtrs of coir Geo-textiles, that will cost
around Rs.70 Crore.
About Coir Geo textiles:
It is a permeable fabric, natural, strong, highly durable, resistant to rots, moulds and moisture, free from any
microbial attack. It plays an important role in soil erosion. They protect the land and provide vegetative growth
during the formative period after which degrade into the soil.
About PMGSY: It was launched by the central Government in December 2000 to provide all-weather friendly single
road connectivity to the prescribed size.
About PMGSY-III:
Launched on December 18,2019, this phase aims to construct 1,25,000 km of roads with an estimated cost of about
80,250 crores rupees (Central Share of Rs. 53,800 crores) for the period 2019-20 – 2024-25.
The share of funds between the Centre and the states will be in the ratio of 60:40, but in 8 North Eastern states and
three Himalayan states (Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand) it will be in the ratio of
90:10.
About Rural Development Ministry:
Headquarters– New Delhi
Union minister– Narendra Singh Tomar
Minister of State– Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti
NABARD disburses Rs 12,767 crore to State Co-op Banks & RRBs to extend credit to farmers
On May 5, 2020, The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development(NABARD) disburses Rs 12,767
crore to State Co-operative(Co-op) Banks & Regional Rural Banks(RRBs) across the country to increase their
resources for extending credit to farmers during the lockdown due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.The loans
are being offered for one year at an interest rate of 4.8 per cent.
In total there are 33 State Co-ops & 45 RRBs in the country & are vital intermediaries in the rural credit structure.

State-Wise PDF
Major Highlights
i.NABARD so far has extended the refinance(May 4 & 5) to the rural banks in 15 states which includes- Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar
Pradesh and West Bengal.
ii.Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has announced a Rs 50,000 crore refinance facility for 3 All-India Financial
Institution(AIFI) namely- NABARD, the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), and the National
Housing Bank (NHB) on April 17.
iii.Of the Rs 50,000 crore refinance, NABARD received Rs 25,000 crore for refinancing RRBs, co-operative banks and
Micro Finance Institutions(MFIs).
iv.Since the second half of March 2020 when the lockdown came into force in different states as a measure to contain
the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, NABARD has disbursed nearly Rs 30,021 crore to rural banks.
v.Still the development finance institution has not disbursed any amount from the RBI’s refinance window.
vi.AIFIs play a significant role in meeting the long-term funding requirements of agriculture and the rural sector,
small industries, housing finance companies, Non-banking Finance Companies(NBFC), and MFIs.
About NABARD:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman– Harsh Kumar Bhanwala
Ultra-mega solar parks initiated India’s clean energy transition: US-based IEEFA report
In accordance with a report “India’s Utility-Scale Solar Parks—A Global Success Story” by Kashish Shah, a
researcher analyst at US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), the installation
of utility-scale solar parks or ultra-mega power plant (UMPP)in India has started the India’s energy sector
transition. This approach has attracted global investment.
It should be noted that in 2016, the Indian government has set a target of installing 175 gigawatts of renewable
energy by the FY2021-22and 275 gigawatts by FY2026-27to transform the country’s power sector from an
expensive, unreliable, and polluting fossil fuel-based system into a low-cost, reliable and low-emission system based
on renewable energy.
Efforts by India to transform its power sector
As of now, India houses multiple ultra-mega solar parks with capacities of more than 1GW, and two of them are the
largest commissioned solar installations in the world.
The Bhadla Solar Park in Rajasthan is the world’s largest such installation to date, covering more than 14,000 acres
with a total capacity of 2,245 megawatts (MW) whilePavagada Solar Park in Karnataka with a total capacity of 1400
MW.
Bhadla project has attracted record low solar tariffs in the range of Rs 2.44-Rs 2.62 kilowatt-hour, which remain
among the lowest tariffs in the country till date.
Apart from above, under-construction Ananthapuramu Solar Park in Andhra Pradesh will be the largest solar
power facility to be built from domestically manufactured solar cells and modules.
What is an ultra-mega power plant (UMPP)?
The UMPP concept involves a state government or local distribution company providing a single central grid
connection and acquiring land on which the project can be built, shielding developers from procurement and time-
delay risks.
About IEEFA:
It conducts research and analyses on financial and economic issues related to energy and the environment.
Headquarters– Cleveland, Ohio, United States (US).

State-Wise PDF
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - June 2020

FPI Minister Harsimrat Kaur Launches Food Processing Edition of Exclusive Investment Forum Hosted by
Invest India
On June 22, 2020, The Union Minister of Food Processing Industries (FPI) Harsimrat Kaur Badal has launched
the Food Processing Edition of the Exclusive Investment Forum (Webinar) hosted by Invest India.
The Forum, aims to conduct detailed interaction between leading global companies in the food processing sector and
policy makers of the central and 6 State Governments (Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana,
Uttar Pradesh).
Discussion at the Forum:
A total of 180 companies from 18 countries participated in the forum, which saw the discussion over the critical
aspects for investment decisions ranging from policy incentives, industrial zones, infrastructure capabilities and
special investor facilitation services were discussed at the forum so as to make India the next Global Investments hub.
Badal at the Forum:
– As per Badal, there is a need to make the western world aware of the superfoods of India. In addition, there is a lot
of opportunity in the ready to eat segment, in which global retailers may consider having Indian food in their stores.
– Government also decided to form Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS)’ and ‘Project Development Cell’ (PDC) in
Ministries / Departments to boost the domestic as well as foreign investments in food processing sector.
-As companies are moving away from countries they were importing food products from different countries, we
should promote ‘go vocal for local’ thought of PM Modi and use our domestic food products.
About Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI):
Minister of State (MoS)- Rameswar Teli
Vice-Admiral Atul Kumar Jain of ENC inaugurates a Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle Complex in Vizag
On June 10 2020, Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, flag officer commanding in Chief of the Eastern Naval
Command(ENC) inaugurated a Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) complex in Visakhapatnam.
Note: The Indian Navy has inducted two such systems to provide rescue cover for the submarines on the eastern and
western coasts.
About DSRV
The DSRV is designed to accommodate the new Submarine Rescue System with state of the art facilities to store DSRV
assets in a rescue ready state.
Features Of DSRV System
i.Consists of a Submarine Rescue vehicle.
ii.A Remote Operations Vehicle.
iii.Side-scan sonar and associated equipment.
iv.A Diver Decompression Chamber and hyperbaric medical equipment to decompress submarines after being
rescued from a sunken submarine.
v.It can be mobilized into the air or road to facilitate submarine rescue operation even at distant locations.
Note: This third-generation Indian Navy Submarine with rescue capability can be relied upon to assist during
submarine contingencies of other navies in the Indian Ocean Region(IOR).
About Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of
the Indian Navy. The primary objective of the Indian Navy is to protect the country’s maritime borders and help in the
expansion of its forces.
Chief of Naval Staff(CNS)– Admiral Karambir Singh
Three commands under the Navy
The Western Naval Command (Headquarters at Mumbai).
The Eastern Naval Command (Headquarters at Visakhapatnam)
The Southern Naval Command (Headquarters at Kochi)

State-Wise PDF
UP provided employment to 57 lakh 12975 migrant workers under MGNREGA; Highest in India
In accordance with the official government data, on June 15, 2020, Uttar Pradesh (UP) has provided employment to
57 lakh 12975 workers in 56,981 village panchayats of the state under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), making it the top Indian state to provide highest employment under
MGNREGS.
This employment is 18% of the total work generated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the country.
UP is followed by Rajasthan, which has engaged 53.45 lakh workers, Andhra Pradesh (AP) with 36 lakh
workers, West Bengal (WB) with 26 lakh and Madhya Pradesh (MP) with 23.95 lakh workers.
Key Points:
-The maximum number of workers in UP have been engaged in Sitapur district (about 1.91 lakh), followed by Basti
(1.60 lakh).
-UP has generated 7.93 crore man-days and will provide jobs to 10 lakh more workers in the coming days.
-A total of 18 lakh construction workers have returned to the state, of them, 6.71 lakh are in rural areas and 8.86 lakh
in urban areas. Those in urban areas are being given financial assistance of Rs 1,000 every month. Of them, about
41,000 workers are engaged in 3,000 projects of the Public Workers Department and another 20,000 in 926 projects
of the Housing Development Board. This has provided a major relief to more than 30 lakh migrant labourers who
have returned from other states to UP amid COVID-19.
Point to be noted: In FY19-20, the highest single-day engagement of labourers stood at 14 lakh, and around the same
time last year, an average of about 9 lakh workers were engaged under the MGNREGS.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)
Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act 2005, later renamed as the “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act”(MGNREGA) was passed in September 2005.It is an Indian labour law that aims to
guarantee the ‘right to work’.
Objective – “enhancing livelihood security in rural areas by providing 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a
financial year, to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work”.
The act was first proposed in 1991 by P.V. Narasimha Rao but it was finally introduced by Raghuvansh Prasad Singh,
Former Cabinet Minister of Rural Development.MGNREGA is to be implemented mainly by gram panchayats.
About UP:
Chief Minister– Yogi Adityanath
Capital– Lucknow
Governor– Anandiben Mafatbhai Patel
AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launches India’s 1st online waste management platform
On June 5, 2020 Andhra Pradesh(AP) Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched India’s 1st “online waste
management platform” of Andhra Pradesh Environment Management Corporation(APEMC) on the occasion of
World Environment Day to ensure 100% safe disposal of industrial toxic wastes. The State Department of
Environmental Management, APEMC, will take over responsibility of the online platform.
Also released the poster APEMC of e-platform highlighting its salient features, of the portal.
Key Point
i.APEMC has been set up as a government company to handle the industrial waste & will work in coordination with
Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board(APPCB) with a strong regulatory framework
To handle the waste from its generation till the end of its life cycle including sorting & streamlining the waste as
hazardous or non-hazardous or e-waste according to category, scientifically disposing of the waste at the disposal
centres.
ii.As per the Environmental Rules and Regulations APPCB will make necessary provisions for
industries/organizations to hand over the waste generated by their units which cannot be treated within their
premises, to APEMC for management of waste
Major Highlights of the platform
i.The platform will comply with the principles of 6 ‘R’s– Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, Redesign, Refurbish and
Remanufacture.

State-Wise PDF
ii.It ensures proper tracking, scrutiny and audit of the (industrial) waste & encourages the utilization of wastes
through co-processing
Background
AP has many industries falling under red and orange categories, which generate significant quantities of liquid waste,
hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste and air pollutants.
Note– CM informed that a new legislation, the AP Environment Improvement Act, 2020, will be enacted soon to
safeguard the environment
Officials present in the launch– Environment and Forests Minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy, Chief Secretary Nilam
Sawhney, Special Chief Secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad, Pollution Control Board Chairman B S S Prasad & member-
secretary Vivek Yadav among others.
About AP:
National Parks– Papikonda National Park, Sri Venkateswara National Park.
Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launches ‘Jagananna Chedodu’ scheme

On June 10, 2020 Andhra Pradesh(AP) Chief Minister(CM) Yeduguri Sandinti(YS) Jagan Mohan Reddy launched
the ‘Jagananna Chedodu’ scheme to provide financial assistance to tailors, barbers and dhobis(washermen).
Under the scheme, Rs 10,000 per person was provided to 2.47 lakh washermen(82,347), barbers(38,767) and
tailors(1,25,926).
In total Rs.247 crore was transferred to their bank accounts under financial liability so that bankers cannot use the
money to offset the loan repayment balances.
Other announcement
AP Government has introduced ‘Vidya Deevena kit’ for school students. This kit includes uniform,shoes,socks,books
and bags.
Officials attended the launch– Deputy Chief Minister P S C Bose, Ministers P R Reddy, K Sankaranarayana & Chief
Secretary Nilam Sawhney among others
Other few welfare schemes of AP
Rythu Bharosa, Amma Vodi, Pension Kanuka, Vidya Devena, Vasathi Deevena, Vahana Mitra, Nethanna Nestham and
Matsyakara Bharosa
Few other launches of AP’s:
The following launches were made by AP’s CM
i.Rs 4,000 crore Jagananna Vidya Deevena scheme to provide full fees reimbursement to about 14 lakh college
students(including those in professional courses)
ii.CMAPP(Comprehensive Monitoring of Agriculture, Price, and Procurement) mobile application to monitor the
agricultural needs of the farmers in the state.
iii.‘ReStart’ a new programme, with an outlay of Rs 1,110 crores to support & boost the Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprise(MSME) sector in the State.
About AP:
Wildlife Sanctuary(WS)– Coringa WS, Kolleru WS, Krishna WS, Rollapadu WS , Gundla Brahmeswaram WS, Sri
Lanka Malleswara WS,‘ Sri Penusila Narasimhaswamy WS, Kambalakonda WS.
AP, 1st Indian State presented its Budget amid COVID-19: Rs 2.24 lakh cr Budget publicized by Buggana
Rajendranath for FY21
On June 16, 2020, Finance Minister of Andhra Pradesh (AP) Buggana Rajendranath presented the AP state budget for
Rs 2.24 lakh crore for the FY20-21. With this, AP became the first Indian state to convene its Legislative Assembly and
Council which will adopt a budget for FY21 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Apart from this, AP Governor Biswabhusan
Harichandan addressed the Assembly through video conference, which is also another first for the country.
The budget amount stated a decrease of 1.4% over FY19-20 due to major economic slowdown caused by Covid-19.
The revenue deficit estimated at Rs 18,434 crore and a fiscal deficit estimated at Rs 48,295 crore.

State-Wise PDF
A revenue receipts of Rs 1.61 lakh cr projected in FY2020-21 while revenue expenditure is estimated at Rs
1,80,392.65 crore.
The capital expenditure, including loan repayments and other disbursements, is estimated at Rs 44,396.54 crore.
The budget projected a further rise in the state’s debt to Rs 3,48,998 crore in the 2020-21 which was increased to Rs
3.02 lakh crore at the end of March 2020.
Key Points from budget:
-In addition to the direct money transfer schemes implemented in the last fiscal, at least seven others will be
launched this year under the government’s flagship “Navaratnalu” programme.
-A sum of Rs 37,659 crore will be spent under the head Direct Benefit Transfer for schemes like YSR Pension
Kanuka, YSR Aasara, Jagananna Amma Vodi, Jagananna Vidya Deevena, YSR Kapu Nestham, YSR Jagananna Chedodu,
Jagananna Thodu, YSR Cheyuta.
The same schemes, with a total outlay of Rs 37,618 crore, will also be implemented under various sub-components
like SC, ST, BC, Minority and Kapu welfare for the respective communities
The allocation for Kapu welfare is Rs 2,845 crore and Rs 23,406 crore for BC welfare. The government allocated Rs
1,998 crore for minority welfare.
–Allocation to the agriculture sector stands at Rs 11,891 crore
Rs 3,615 crore will be distributed to farmers under the Rythu Bharosa scheme towards inputs and another Rs 1,100
crore towards interest-free farm loans.
–Allocation to education sector
Rs 22,604.01 crore for secondary and Intermediate education for 2020-21.
The Higher Education department received Rs 2,276.97 crore
A sum of Rs 348.31 crore was earmarked for technical education,
While Jagananna Vidya Deevena (RTF) received Rs 3,009 crore, Jagananna Vasathi Deevena (MTF) got Rs 2,000 crore.
A sum of Rs 3,000 crore was allocated for the Nadu-Nedu scheme under which 15,715 schools have been identified in
the first phase for taking up works in nine components to improve basic infrastructure.
Jagananna Goru Muddha scheme got Rs 974.86 crore.
-Allocation to the health sector is pegged at Rs 11,419 crore.
-For women members of self-help groups (SHGs) in rural and urban areas, a sum of Rs 1,365 crore has been
earmarked under the interest-free loan scheme.
Bill Introduced:
State government introduced and passed two Bills — the Decentralisation Bill and the AP Capital Region
Development Authority (CRDA) Repeal Bill.The Bill enables the setting up of three capitals, with Amaravati being the
Legislative capital, Visakhapatnam the Executive capital and Kurnool the Judicial capital.
Background:
The AP state government could not hold a regular budget session owing to the nationwide lockdown earlier. It had
obtained approval for a three-month budget of Rs 71,000 crore for the April-June period through an Ordinance in
the last week of March, 2020.
About AP:
Chief Minister– Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy
Andhra CM Jagan Mohan Reddy Launches YSR Kapu Nestham Scheme for Women of Kapu
On 24th June, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the Kapu Nestham scheme by keeping his pre-poll promise to provide
financial support of Rs 75000/- for a period of 5 year (Rs 15000/- per annum) to women of Kapu community.
The objective of the scheme is to financially empower Kapu women by enhancing their livelihood and living
standards with financial assistance.
Key Points:-
Women in the age group of 45-60 belonging to Kapu Community are benefited with this scheme.
In a period of Five years(from March 2020 to March 2024) an eligible woman will get a sum of Rs 75000.
About 354 crore is distributed to over 2.36 lakh womens belonging to Kapu, Balija, Telaga and Ontari communities
and having rice cards.

State-Wise PDF
The amount will be deposited in their bank accounts every month.
Around 23 lakh people of the Kapu community are benefited with Rs 4,470 crores by the YSR government under
different schemes(Amma Vodi, Vasati Deevena, Vidya Deevena, Vahana Mitra, Chedodu, Videsi Vidya Deevena and the
Kapu Nestham).
Eligibility:-
Permanent residents of Andhra Pradesh state can avail of the scheme benefits.
The applicant must belong to the below poverty line, and income per month should be Rs 10000/- and Rs 12000/- in
rural and Urban areas.
Applicants whose Family member is a Government employee or pensioner is not eligible to apply.
No family member should pay income tax.
Portal: http://navasakam.ap.gov.in/
Capital: Amaravati
Chief Minister: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy
Kapu Corporation:
Chairperson and MLA: J Raja
Harsh Vardhan released Annual TB Report 2020 prepared by Central TB Division; 14% rise in TB patients in
2019
On June 24, 2020, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s (MoHFW) Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and its
Minister of State (MoS), Ashwini Kumar Choubey launched the Annual “India TB (Tuberculosis) Report
2020” through a virtual event which is released by Central TB Division (CTD), MoHFW . The salient feature of 2020
report is that for the first time CTD introduced a quarterly ranking on TB elimination efforts by all the states and UTs.
In accordance with the report, there were around 24.04 lakh TB patients in 2019, a 14% increase in as compared to
the year 2018.
It should be noted that the sustainable goal of eradicating TB globally is 2030, but the Indian government is
committed to achieve this target in the country by 2025.
In this regard, the programme has been renamed from the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP)
to National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP). 14 committees have been constituted at national level to
provide technical guidance for programme implementation.
The Minister also released a Joint Monitoring Mission report, a manual on Direct Benefit Transfer to TB patients
under NIKSHAY system, a Training Module, and the quarterly newsletter NIKSHAY Patrika.
Following table shows the best performing states and UTs as per report:
Rank State
Larger states with more than 50 lakh population
1 Gujarat
2 Andhra Pradesh
3 Himachal Pradesh
Smaller states with less than 50 lakh population
1 Tripura
2 Nagaland
Union Territory
1 Dadra and Nagar Haveli
2 Daman & Diu
Key achievements listed in the report:
-There has been a reduction in the number of missing cases to 2.9 lakh cases as against more than 10 lakhs in 2017.
-Private sector notifications increased by 35% with 6.78 lakh TB patients notified.

State-Wise PDF
-Due to easy availability of molecular diagnostics, the proportion of children diagnosed with TB increased to 8
percent in 2019 compared to 6 percent in 2018.
-Provision of HIV testing for all notified TB patients increased from 67 percent in 2018 to 81 percent in 2019.
-Expansion of treatment services has resulted in a 12% improvement in the treatment success rate of notified
patients. For 2019 it is 81% compared to 69% in 2018.
-More than 4.5 lakh DOT (Directly observed treatment) Centers provide treatment covering almost every village
across the country.
-Near-complete on-line notification of TB patients have been achieved through the NIKSHAY system. NIKSHAY also
expanded the provision of four Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) schemes of the programme:
Nikshay Poshan Yojana (NPY) to TB patients
The incentive to Treatment Supporters
An incentive to Private Providers and
Transport incentive to TB patients in the notified tribal areas
About NIKSHAY
NI-KSHAY-(Ni=End, Kshay=TB), a web enabled patient management system for TB control under the NTEP is
developed and maintained by the CTD in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), and the World
Health Organization (WHO) Country office for India.
It is used by health functionaries at various levels across the country both in the public and private sector, to register
cases.
It also functions as the National TB Surveillance System and enables reporting of various surveillance data to the
Government of India.
Click Here for Official Link
Static :
World Tuberculosis Day– March 24
2020 theme– It’s Time
TB Campaign (India)– TB Harega Desh Jeetega
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - July 2020

First online NISHTHA programme launched for 1200 Key Resources Persons of Andhra Pradesh by
MHRD
Union HRD (Human Resource Development) Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Minister of State (MoS) for
HRD Sanjay Dhotre have jointly launched the first online National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers
Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) programme for 1,200 key resources persons (KRPs) of Andhra Pradesh (AP),
virtually from New Delhi.
• It is to be noted that, originally NISHTHA was launched in face-to-face mode in August 2019, but COVID-19
pandemic lockdown has affected the conduct of this programme, therefore, NCERT (National Council of
Educational Research and Training) has customised NISHTHA for an online mode through the DIKSHA and
NISHTHA portals.
• NISHTHA is organised at the elementary stage under Samagra Shiksha, a Centrally sponsored flagship
programme of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to improve learning outcomes and holistic
development of children
About NISHTHA:
NISHTHA is the world’s largest teachers’ training programme of its kind. 33 states and union territories launched this
programme in collaboration under Samagra Shiksha.
• In 29 states/union territories (UTs) the NCERT completed the NISHTHA training at state level.The training
programme at the state level in 4 States/UTs (Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, J&K and Bihar) are still in progress.
• A district-level teacher training programme has been initiated in 23 states/UTs.
In NISHTHA-face-to-face, first level training had been provided by the National Resource Group (NRG) to the KRPs
and State Resource Persons-Leadership (SRPs-L) identified by the states/UTs. Then KRPs and SRPs-L had

State-Wise PDF
provided training directly to teachers at block level. In NISHTHA –online also, KRPs will play a role of mentors for
the teachers, who will take online NISHTHA training on DIKSHA later on.
Chief Minister (CM)– Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy
Andhra Pradesh celebrates Rythu Dinotsavam (Farmer’s Day) on Birth Anniversary of YS

Rajasekhara Reddy – July 8
On 8th July 2020, Andhra Pradesh celebrated Rythu Dinotsavam (Farmer’s Day) to mark the 71st birth anniversary of
YS Rajasekhara Reddy, 14th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. The first Ruthu Dinotsavam(Farmer’s Day) was
celebrated on 8th July 2019.
Background:
Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy, the current Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and the son of YS Rajasekhara Reddy, issued
the Government Order(GO) to designate July 8th of every year as the Rythu Dinotsavam(Farmer’s Day)
commemorating the birth anniversary of the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy.
YS Rajasekhara Reddy:
i.He entered politics in 1978 and was elected 5 times to the state assembly and 4 times to the Lok Sabha.
ii.He served as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh from 2004 to 2009 and was again elected as the Chief minister in
2009.
iii.He introduced the 108 and 104 services in Andhra Pradesh.
iv.He died in a helicopter crash on 2nd September 2009.
Reason for Celebrating:
The former Chief Minister,YS Rajasekhara Reddy is known for various reforms that have made a long-lasting
transformational impact on the agricultural and health sector of the state.He launched a campaign project under
which free electricity was provided to the farmers in the state & he also launched Jalayagnam water management
program: To bring 8.2 million acres of land under irrigation.
Events 2020:
i.CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy releases the book “Naalo…Naatho…YSR”(Within me..With me…YSR) about YS
Rajasekhara Reddy life incidents till he took oath as CM, authored by YS Vijayalakshmi at Idupulapaya in Kadapa
district.
ii.The AP government has replaced the old ambulances and launched 412 new ambulances under 108 service and
also introduced 656 mobile medical units.
iii.The government has given the directives to name the Farmer’s Reassurance centre as Dr. YSSAR Farmers
Assurance Centers.
Government of Andhra Pradesh Announces Renewable Energy Export Policy 2020

On 17th July 2020, The State Government of Andhra Pradesh(AP) announced the Andhra Pradesh Renewable Energy
Export Policy 2020, which permits the sale of power to the other states of India. The policy will be in force for the five
years.
Aim of the policy:
To utilize the unused potential and to attract private investments to boost the economy and to generate additional
revenue to the government.
Nodal Agency:
i.To implement the projects the New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of AP Limited (NREDCAP),
will be the nodal agency under the new export policy 2020.

State-Wise PDF
ii.The NREDCAP, will allocate the renewable energy resource potentials to the developers on a first come first serve
basis through online application.
iii.The developers planning to set up energy export projects with manufacturing facilities will be given priority.
Features of AP Renewable Energy Export Policy 2020:
i.The Export policy of 2020 facilitates the establishment of solar, wind and solar-wind hybrid projects of capacity up
to 120 Giga Watts(GW) and renewable energy equipment manufacturing facilities in the state.
ii.The power generated from these projects will be exported to other states.
iii.The power distribution companies do not have any obligations to procure the power generated under this policy.
iv.Under this policy the hourly, intra-day, daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis banking and withdrawal of energy
are not prohibited.
Benefits:
i.Besides the regular incentives under the industrial promotion policies, the developers seeking to establish
equipment manufacturing facilities or ancillary facilities related to renewable energy will be given additional
incentives since they contribute to the development of the state’s economy in addition to creating employment.
ii.The developers will get an exemption from the payment of electricity duty for 10 years from the date of the
beginning of manufacturing activities.
Chief Minister– Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy
Recent Related News:
i.Andhra Pradesh CM rolls out ‘CMAPP’ to monitor farming needs
ii.AP govt forms 5-member panel headed by Neerabh Kumar Prasad to probe Vizag gas leak.
AP signs MoU with AMUL to help Women Self Help Groups and Boost Milk Cooperatives
The Government of Andhra Pradesh signed a MoU with AMUL (Anand Milk Union Limited) to empower women self-
help groups(SHG) and to encourage the cooperatives in government sectors.
The MoU was signed by Poonam Malkondaiah, Special Chief Secretary Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Dairy
Development and Rajan, Chennai Zonal Head of AMUL.
Key People:
AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke with RS Sodi, Managing Director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk
Marketing Federation and Sambalbhai Patel Chairman of Sabarkant District Cooperative Milk Producers Union
Limited over a virtual platform.
Features of MoU:
i.AMUL will support the women self-help groups and provide opportunities to the dairy farming in cooperatives and
exposure to the world class infrastructure, technology and marketing to increase the standard of living and self-
reliance of women.
ii.The partnership with AMUL will support the Self Help groups and the Farmers to get better prices for their
produce.
Key Points:
i.Andhra Pradesh produces around 4crore litres of milk per day and stands 4th in the production of Milk with only
24% under the organised sector.
ii.The State Government is providing around Rs.11000 crores per year to the 90 lakh women SHGs under YSR
Cheyutha and YSR Aasara.
iii.Andhra Pradesh with a gateway to the south with Anantapur, Chittoor and Visakhapatnam connecting other states,
provides a potential to develop as a marketing hub.
Governor– Biswa Bhushan Harichandan

State-Wise PDF
i.AP Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launches India’s 1st online waste management platform.
ii.CM Jagan Mohan Reddy Launches YSR Kapu Nestham Scheme for Women of Kapu.
India’s maternal mortality ratio declined to 113 in 2016-18: Registrar General’s Sample Registration
System (SRS)
In accordance with the “Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality in India 2016-18”, released by the Office of the
Registrar General’s Sample Registration System (SRS), the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in India has declined to
113 in 2016-18 from 122 in 2015-17 and 130 in 2014-2016 and almost 100 deaths lesser than in the period of 2007-
2009.
• States have been categorized into three groups namely, Empowered Action Group (EAG) States, Southern
States and Other States during the survey.
• The southern States registered a lower MMR — Andhra Pradesh (65), Telangana (63), Karnataka (92), Kerala
(43) and Tamil Nadu (60) as compared to states of Assam & EAG viz. Assam (215), Bihar (149), Madhya
Pradesh (173), Chhattisgarh (159), Odisha (150), Rajasthan (164), Uttar Pradesh (197), Uttarakhand (99) and
Jharkhand (71).
• In the category of other states Punjab has a maximum MMR of 129.
Points to be Noted:
-The target of United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of 3.1 is to reduce the global maternal
mortality ratio to less than 70 per 1,00,000 live births.
-The maximum proportion of maternal deaths during 2016-18 is 33% in the age group of 20-24.
Important Terms:
Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR): It is defined as the proportion of maternal deaths per 1,00,000 live births,
reported under the SRS.
Maternal Mortality Rate: This is calculated as maternal deaths to women in the ages 15-49 per lakh of women in
that age group, reported under SRS.
Maternal Death: As per World Health Organization (WHO), maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant
or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its
management.
Sample Registration System (SRS): It is India’s largest demographic sample surveys that among other indicators
provide direct estimates of maternal mortality through a nationally representative sample.
About Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India (ORGI):
The Office of the Registrar General, India works under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Registrar General & Census Commissioner– Dr. Vivek Joshi
On May 10, 2020, ORGI released its SRS bulletin based which has presented the estimates of Birth Rate, Death Rate,
and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) for the year 2018 for India and its States/UTs.
• As per that, India’s infant mortality rate (IMR) has improved very marginally from 33 per 1,000 live births in
2017 to 32 in 2018.
• The death rate of India has witnessed a significant decline over the last four decades from 14.9 in 1971 to 6.2
in 2018.
• There has been about an 11% decline in birth rate in the last decade, from 22.5 in 2009 to 20.0 in 2018.

State-Wise PDF
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - August 2020

National Commission on Population: Projects India’s Population to be More Feminine by 2036
The National Commission on Population under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) submitted the
Report of the Technical group on population projections July 2020, titled “Population projections for India and
States 2011- 2036”. The report projected that the India’s sex ratio of the total population (females per 1000 males)
is expected to be more feminine in 2036 compared to the population as of 2011.
Population projections for India and States 2011- 2036:
Sex ratio:
i.The report estimates the sex ratio to increase from 943 in 2011 to 957 in 2036.
ii.Compared to 2011, the sex ratio in 18 states except Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat are expected to
increase by 2036.
iii.In 2036, the lowest sex ratio of 899 is expected to be in NCT of Delhi, followed by 900 in Gujarat and 908 in
Haryana.
Infant Mortality Rate:
i.India’s Infant Mortality Rate(IMR) is reported to be 46 in 2010 which is expected to reduce to 30 by the end of
2031-2035.
ii.The report projects the IMR to reduce in all the state of India in 2011 to 2035.
Madhya Pradesh has the highest IMR at 58 followed by Uttar Pradesh with 57 in 2011-2015 which is expected to
come down to 37 and 38 in MP and UP respectively in 2031-35.
iii.During 2031-35, the IMR is expected to be in between 30-40 in Rajasthan, Assam, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, MP and UP.
iv.Kerala is expected to have the lowest IMR at 9 in 2031-35 followed by Tamil Nadu from 22 in 2011-15 to 16 during
2031-35.
Fertility Rate:
i.Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is expected to decline from 2.34 during 2011-2015 to 1.73 during 2031- 35.
ii.The declining fertility rate will change the age demographics of India’s population and increase the medium age
from 24.9 in 2011 to 34.5 in 2036.
iii.Bihar and UP have the higher TFR with 3.5 and 3.7 respectively which is higher than the TFR of India (2.5).
Population of India:
i.The report projects India’s population to increase by 25.7% in 25 years at a rate of 1% annually i.e., from 121.1
crore to 151.8 crore during 2011-36.
ii.The population density will increase from 368 to 463 persons per square kilometer.
iii.As per the 2011 Census India’s population was 1.21 billion which is estimated to grow by 311 million by 2036.
Youth Population:
i.Youth population (15-24 years) is expected to increase from 23.3 crores in 2011 to 25.2 crores in 2021 and then
continue to decrease to 22.7 crores in 2036.
ii.The youth population proportion to the total population is expected to become 14.9%in 2036.
Decline in rate of population growth:
The population growth rate will decline by 8.4% during 2021-2031.
Note:
The report projects that India will overtake China and become the most populated county around 2031.
Urban Population:
i.The urban population of India was 31.8% in 2011 which is projected to increase to 38.2% by 2036 which
contributes 73% of the total population growth by 2036.
ii.Delhi with 98% urban population in 2011 is expected to become 100% urban by 2036.
iii.Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana and Gujarat are expected to have more than 50% urban population by
2036.
Life Expectancy:
i.For men the life expectancy is expected to increase from 66 to 69 and for women it is expected to increase from 71
to 74.

State-Wise PDF
ii.Kerala could become the only Indian state to have life expectancy above 80 for women and 74 for men by 2036.
iii.The Northeastern states are estimated to have a life expectancy of 77 for women and 73 for men by 2036.
Click here for the complete report
i.UN’s Global Multidimensional Poverty Index: India Record Largest Reduction in Number of People Living in Poverty
ii.Climate-friendly Cooling can cut 460 Giga Tonnes of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Cooling Emissions and Policy
Synthesis Report
About Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoHFW):
Union Minister– Harsh Vardhan
Minister of State– Ashwini Kumar Choubey
AP Governor cleared three State-capital Bills and CRDA Repeal Bills 2020
On July 31, 2020, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh (AP) Biswa Bhusan Harichandan gave his assent to the Andhra
Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions and Andhra Pradesh Capital Region
Development Authority (CRDA) Repeal Bills – 2020.
• The clearance of the decentralisation Bill facilitates the development of Amaravati, Kurnool and
Visakhapatnam as the Legislative, Judicial and Executive Capitals respectively.
• On the other hand, the repeal (revoke) of the CRDA paves the way for the formation of the Amaravati
Metropolitan Region Development Authority.
About Decentralisation Bill:
The two Bills were passed only by the Legislative Assembly twice, first on January 20, 2020 and next on June 16, 2020
and were not cleared by the Legislative Council. The Council Chairman referred the two Bills to Select Committees for
wider examinations but the Committees were not constituted all these months.
• On the other hand, the government sent the Bills to the Governor for his assent under Article 197
(1) and (2) of the Constitution and, after wide-ranging legal consultations; he gave his assent to the new
legislation.
• Visakhapatnam will have the Raj Bhavan, the Secretariat and offices of the Heads of Departments, and
Amaravati will be the seat of the Legislature. The seat of all State judicial institutions established under the
State legislation will be located in Kurnool.
About CRDA Act:
The CRDA Act was enacted on December 22, 2014 for the development of the state capital post-bifurcation with a
specific area demarcated as the capital region. Now that the YSR Congress government decided to have three capitals
for the state, the CRDA Act is being repealed.
On June 16, 2020, Finance Minister of Andhra Pradesh (AP) Buggana Rajendranath presented the AP state budget for
Rs 2.24 lakh crore for the FY20-21. With this, AP became the first Indian state to convene its Legislative Assembly and
Council which will adopt a budget for FY21 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Apart from this, AP Governor Biswabhusan
Harichandan addressed the Assembly through video conference, which is also another first for the country.
State Flower- Jasmine
State Bird- Rose-ringed parrot
Andhra Pradesh CM Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy launched cybercrime awareness programme ‘E-Raksha

Bandhan’
On August 3, 2020, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy launched a one-month long virtual
cybercrime awareness programme ‘E-Raksha Bandhan’ in Amaravati.
The Aim of the Programme is to create awareness among women, youth and children on Cyber Crimes across the
state.

State-Wise PDF
It is organized by the Andhra Pradesh Police, CID, FM Radio, Cyber Crime Prevention Against Women and Children
(CCPWC), Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF) and other organisations.
About the programme:
i.The participants will be explained different types of cybercrimes, and tackling techniques and alarm raising
methods though the awareness programme.
ii.More than 1 lakh women and the general public would be trained under this programme up to August 31, 2020.
iii.Webinars, workshops, debates, essay writing, quiz and slogan writing competitions will be conducted every day on
different topics from 11 a.m. to 12 noon every day during the programme.
iv.The Andhra Pradesh police and state CID publicised a slogan “Let us make August a month of e freedom and e-
safety.”
Other participants of the programme:
Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharitha, A.P. Women Commission Chairperson Vasireddy Padma, Director General of
Police (DGP) D. Gautam Sawang, Additional DG (CID) P.V. Sunil Kumar and other officials attended the programme.
Other info:
i.The Disha Police Stations of the state completed investigation on 167 cases relating to crime against women and
chargesheets have been filed in the courts.
ii.The victims of the state were asked to complain through Disha APP and in Disha Police Stations on harassment and
cybercrimes.
i.On May 22, 2020 Andhra Pradesh(AP)’s Chief Minister(CM) Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched Rs 1,110 crores
About Andhra Pradesh
Capital – Amaravati
Chief Minister – Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy
Governor – Sri Biswa Bhusan Harichandan
Andhra Pradesh Government signed an MoU with ISB to drive economic growth of the state
On August 5, 2020 the Andhra Pradesh Government virtually signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
through the Economic Development Board, with the Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business (ISB) for setting up
a public policy lab called “GoAP-ISB Policy Lab” to drive the evidence-based policy decisions & to work with various
economic departments in the state.
The MoU was signed by the (CEO) Chief Executive of Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board, J V N
Subramanyam and ISB Dean Rajendra Srivastava signed in the presence of Industries and Commerce
Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy.
Objective: To recover the economy and to monitor the growth of the state during the COVID-19 phase.
About the MoU
i.The MoU has been signed to provide particular concentration on financial growth and job creation in Andhra
Pradesh.
ii.The state government has collaborated with ISB in developing indicators for: High Frequency, High Resolution
Indicators for Monitoring Economic Recovery in Andhra Pradesh’, Project on ‘Visakhapatnam’ as an Engine of
Growth, focus on ‘Food Processing Sector’ improving e-governance, data analytics unshackling informal sector
growth and reshaping the skilling programs.
About the GoAP-ISB Policy Lab
Aim: To create a knowledge for strategic planning, policy analysis, data analytics and action-research essential for
sustaining higher growth rate.
i.The lab is modelled by the lines of Policy Lab in the UK that works towards the objective of economic monitoring,
recovery, and development.
ii.The data analytics is designed to move from mere descriptive analytics to predictive and prescriptive policy
analytics which helps to conclude the economic conditions.

State-Wise PDF
Other facts:
i.Data will be generalized using Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) that gather evidence to measure the impact of
our policies.
ii.The Nobel Prize winners of the year 2019, were recognized for pioneering the RCT approach to the development of
the economy.
i.On June 10, 2020 Andhra Pradesh(AP) Chief Minister(CM) Yeduguri Sandinti(YS) Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the
‘Jagananna Chedodu’ scheme to provide financial assistance to tailors, barbers and dhobis(washermen). Under the
scheme, Rs 10,000 per person was provided to 2.47 lakh washermen (82,347), barbers (38,767) and tailors
(1,25,926).
ii.On May 22, 2020 Andhra Pradesh(AP)’s Chief Minister(CM) Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched Rs 1,110 crores
Capital – Amaravati
Governor – Biswabhusan Harichandan
About Indian School of Business (ISB)
Chairman of the Board– Harish Manwani
Dean – Rajendra Srivastava
Andhra Pradesh CM Launched “YSR Cheyutha” scheme to ensure sustainable livelihood for women
On 12th August 2020, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh launched “YSR Cheyutha” a scheme to
ensure the sustainable livelihood of women by providing a financial assistance of Rs.18750 per year for 4 years
YSR Cheyutha:
Objective:
• To support the contribution of women in economic progress.
• To provide technical assistance to the women interested to invest money in business.
Benefits:
i.The scheme benefits around 23 lakh women of age group 45-60 belonging to the minority community like SC, ST,
BC.
ii.The women are given complete freedom on how to spend their annual amount of Rs.18750, without any
restrictions.
Note:
The annual expenditure by the government for this scheme is around Rs. 4,687 crore.
Eligibility:
i.Women who attain the age of 45 as on August 12 are eligible to receive the benefits under the scheme.
ii.Women who are currently enrolled under the scheme and have crossed the age of 60 will cease to receive the
benefits of this scheme and will move to the Pension Kanuka, based on eligibility.
Recente Related News:
i.The Government of Andhra Pradesh signed a MoU with AMUL (Anand Milk Union Limited) to empower women self-
help groups(SHG) and to encourage the cooperatives in government sectors.
ii.Andhra Pradesh CM YS JaganMohan Reddy launched the Nadu-Nedu scheme (roughly meaning then and now in
Telugu) at STBC ground, Kurnool, AP. An amount of Rs 15,337 crore has been allocated to modernise all government
hospitals in 3 years.
River- Vamsadhara river (in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha)
Dams:
i.Srisailam Dam over Krishna River
ii.Nagarjuna Sagar Dam over Krishna River

State-Wise PDF
Andhra CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy Launches UPI-based Payment facilities in Village, Ward Secretariats
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the digital payment services through Unified
Payments Interface (UPI) in 15, 004 village and ward secretariats through video conference.
i.The Government of Andhra Pradesh has entered into a tie-up with National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI)
and Canara Bank for this digitalisation process.
ii.The facility was launched in the presence of Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, Peddireddy
Ramachandra Reddy Canara Bank Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, LV Prabhakar and NCPI Chief
Executive Officer Dilip Asbe.
Key Points:
i.The Scheme has been launched to ensure easy, safe and speed transactions in the rural areas.
ii.Around 545 types of services will be available for payment under this digitalisation process.
iii.To ensure the delivery of welfare schemes straight to the beneficiaries, One Volunteer is to be assigned for every
50 families and One Secretariat to be set up for every village or village having a population of 2, 000.
i.On 17th July 2020, The State Government of Andhra Pradesh(AP) announced the Andhra Pradesh Renewable
Energy Export Policy 2020, which permits the sale of power to the other states of India.
ii.On May 18, 2020 Canara Bank has launched a special business vertical dedicated for gold loans to meet the
financial needs of its customers to meet their emergency needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Capital – Amaravathi
Governor – Biswabhusan Harichandan.
Government of AP Signs MoU with Hindustan Unilever Ltd, P&G and ITC to Support Economic Empowerment
of Women
On 3rd August 2020, The state government of Andhra Pradesh(AP) signs a memorandum of
Understanding(MoU) with three International FMCG (Fast-moving consumer goods) companies- Hindustan Unilever
Ltd (HUL), ITC ltd., and Procter and Gamble (P&G) to provide marketing and technological support for the economic
empowerment of the women and to make them self-reliant.
• The MoU was signed in the presence of Y S Jaganmohan Reddy at his camp office in Tadepalli.
• Raju Babu, CEO of Society for elimination of rural poverty(SERP) on behalf of the government signed the MoU
while Joseph Verkey of P&G, Rajnikant Rai of ITC and Ramakrishna Reddy of HUL signed the MoU.
The state government of Andhra Pradesh is set to launch two schemes YSR Cheyutha and YSR Asara to support the
empowerment of women. Around Rs. 11,000 crores per year will be distributed under both the schemes which will
be around Rs. 44,000 crores for 4 years which will benefit around 1 crore women.
YSR Cheyutha:
i.The YSR Cheyutha scheme is set to launch on 12th August 2020, to support the women of the minority groups (SC,
ST, BC) aged between 45 and 60.
ii.Financial assistance of Rs. 18,750 per annum that is Rs. 75,000 for four years will be provided to the women under
the scheme to support them to become self-reliant and change their economic status.
iii.Under this scheme around Rs. 4,500 crores will be distributed.
YSR Asara:
i.YSR Asara is set to be launched in September 2020, which will benefit around 90 lakh women of around 9lakh self-
help groups.
ii.Under this scheme around Rs. 6,700 crores will be distributed.
Features of MoU:
i.The companies will support the women under the YSR Cheyutha and YSR Asara schemes.
ii.They will provide marketing opportunities and technology support for the women under the schemes which will
benefit around 25 lakh women in AP.
iii.This MoU will provide more employment opportunities with constant income for the women.

State-Wise PDF
Other Launch – Chief Minister also launched a web portal called HYPERLINK “http://4s4u.appolice.gov.in to provide
information on various issues like cyber crime, harassment and other issues for women safety. The portal will create
awareness on how and where to complain about the crime, how to download Disha App and has all the important
phone numbers to contact.
Note:
i.‘Shakti’ – HUL’s programme for women empowerment in Chittoor district.
ii.ITC stated that the company can extend cooperation with the state government in areas like watershed programs,
social forestry, health and sanitation and post harvesting programs.
Key People:
Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and Managing Director(CMD) of HUL, Sanjiv Puri, Executive Director of ITC
and Madhusudan Gopalan, CEO of P&G India participated over a virtual platform along with Ministers Peddireddy
Ramachandra Reddy, Botcha Satyanarayana, and Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney.
Capital-Amaravati
Chief Minister– Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy
i.APChief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy re-launched zero interest loan scheme for Women Self-Help
Groups(SHGs) by releasing a sum of Rs 1,400 crores to 8.78 lakh SHGs (to benefit about 91 lakh members) for the
welfare of women.
ii.AP Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched Rs 1,110 crores ‘ReStart’ a new programme to support &
boost the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise(MSME) sector in the State.
Andhra Pradesh Signed an MoU with The Boston Group to Setup Centre at Visakhapatnam
On August 5, 2020 Andhra Pradesh(AP) Government signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with US
based, The Boston Group(TBG) to set up a facility at Visakhapatnam dedicated to Research and Development (R&D)
in the Information Technology sector with focus on learning platforms and also leveraging advanced technologies like
artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and cybersecurity.
• The proposed facility is expected to create over 250 jobs in the IT sector in the state.
MoU Signing
The MoU was signed in the presence of Rathnakar Pandugayala, Special Representative to the AP Government for
North America and Subu Kota, TBG’s chairman and People Prime Worldwide.
About AP:
Capital- Amaravati
Chief Minister(CM)– Yeduguri Sandinti(YS) Jagan Mohan Reddy
About TBG:
Headquarters– Massachusetts, United States
Chief executive Officer(CEO)- Subu M. Kota
AP Govt Signed MoU with Reliance Retail, Jio and Allana Group to Help Women SHGs Market Their Products
On August 20, 2020 As part of implementation of the YSR Cheyutha scheme, Andhra Pradesh(AP) government has
signed an Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with Reliance Retail, Reliance Jio Infocomm and Allana Group to
empower women and help women Self-Help Groups(SHGs) in the state to market their products.
Key People
The MoUs were signed in the presence of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, Ministers P. Ramachandra Reddy
and S. Appala Raju, Principal Secretaries Gopal Krishna Dwivedi and Praveen Prakash among others.

State-Wise PDF
Provisions of the MoU
Reliance Retail
JioMart Kirana
i.Reliance Retail will support the micro-grocery women retailers through the ‘JioMart Kirana’ stores, which will be
digitally equipped and act as online stores.
ii.This will help JioMart to create new economic opportunities for micro-women entrepreneurs by extending the
benefits of the JioMart Kiranas initiative.
Buy Harvested Produce & Provide Inputs
i.It will buy harvested produce directly from women farmers without middlemen, which will increase realisation.
ii.It will provide inputs for cultivation, harvesting, sorting and packing to increase output and add incremental value
at the farm.
Reliance Fresh Fruits and Vegetables farmer connect programme
It will also support Women farmers through Reliance Fresh Fruits and Vegetables farmer connect programme.
Establish micro groceries- It will help establish micro groceries, modernise and digitise their stores.
Training & provisions– It will help women to run grocery retail shops, train them and provide them provisions at
competitive prices.
Reliance Jio Infocomm
i.The tie-up is to establish a direct linkage between the government and beneficiaries for seamless implementation
and monitoring.
ii.It will support the Government to connect to its beneficiaries using features of Jio Chat and will support the
beneficiaries through its unique program called Jio Associate Program by promoting various Jio products and earn
incremental revenues
Allana Group
i.The Allana Group, one of the largest exporters of processed food, will extend technical support for rearing buffalos,
cows, goat and sheep.
ii.It will provide modern packing methods and help in exports. It will also provide assistance to the women
entrepreneurs to establish feed units and to retail sale of hygienic meat.
Note– The government had already entered into MoU with AMUL, HUL, ITC and P&G for supporting the YSR Cheyutha
beneficiaries in the dairy and retail businesses
Schemes Launched
YSR Aasara
AP Govt will launch YSR Aasara scheme shortly, under which the debt burden of the SHGs, amounting to about Rs
6,700 crore per annum, will be carried by the state.
YSR Cheyuta
Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister of AP launched a scheme called YSR Cheyuta. Under this, a financial assistance
of Rs 18,750 will be given to 25 lakh women each, aged between 45 and 60, who belong to Scheduled Caste (SC),
Scheduled Tribes (ST), Backward Class(BC) and minority communities annually and help them take up productive
activities.
Note– AP Govt will spend Rs 11,000 crore every year for women empowerment.
i.AP Chief Minister (CM) Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy launched the NIGHA application at Tadepalli, Andhra
Pradesh.The app was developed by the Department of Panchayat Raj.
ii.In a bid to provide free medical treatment to the poor, The CM of AP, Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy has
inaugurated “YSR Aarogyasri scheme” at Eluru in West Godavari district of AP. The scheme will be extended to each
district of the state from the month April 2020.
About AP:
Capital– Amaravathi
National Parks– Papikonda National Park, Sri Venkateswara Park, Rajiv Gandhi National Park

State-Wise PDF
5th Swachh Survekshan 2020 Announced by Hardeep Singh Puri; Indore is India’s Cleanest City 4th Time in a
Row
On August 20, 2020, during a virtual event of Swachh Mahotsav organized by, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
(MoHUA), Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (MoS)-Independent Charge (I/C) MoHUA announced the 5th edition
of the annual cleanliness urban survey of India i.e.”Swachh Survekshan 2020 (SS2020)” conducted by MoHUA. A total
of 129 awards were given by the minister in which Madhya Pradesh’s Indore Creates record as India’s cleanest city
for the 4th consecutive time while Gujarat’s Surat and Maharashtra’s Navi Mumbai grabbed 2nd and 3rd positions
respectively.
• SS2020, the 28 days long completely digitized and paperless nationwide survey is the world’s largest
cleanliness survey covering 1.87 crore citizens of 4,242 cities, 62 cantonment boards and 92 towns along the
Ganga river.
• The SS2020 was focused on 9 key areas including 3R Principles of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
• The event also saw the felicitation of MoHUA’s partner organisations in the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban
(SBM-U) viz. United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
(BMGF) and Google.
Following table shows the top rankers in states:
Rank/Category State
States with Less than 100 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)
1 Jharkhand
2 Haryana
3 Uttarakhand
1 (Fastest Mover State) Assam
States with More than 100 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)
1 Chhattisgarh
2 Maharashtra
3 Madhya Pradesh (MP)
1 (Fastest Mover State) Odisha
Following table shows cleanest cities under different categories:
Rank City State
National Ranking (Cities > 10 Lakh)
1 Indore Madhya Pradesh (MP)
2 Surat Gujarat
3 Navi Mumbai Maharashtra
National Ranking (Cities 1 – 10 Lakh)
1 Ambikapur Chhattisgarh
2 Mysore Karnataka
3 New Delhi (NDMC) Delhi
Zonal Ranking (Cities 50 K – 1 Lakh)
1 (East Zone) Dhamtari Chhattisgarh
1 (North Zone) Gangaghat Uttar Pradesh (UP)
1 (North-East Zone) Jorhat Assam
1 (South Zone) Palamaneru Andhra Pradesh (AP)
1 (West Zone) Karhad Maharashtra

State-Wise PDF
Zonal Ranking (Cities 25 K – 50 K)

1 (East Zone) Jashpur Nagar Chhattisgarh
1 (North Zone) Nawanshahr Punjab
1 (North-East Zone) Mokokchung Nagaland
1 (South Zone) Medchal Telangana
1 (West Zone) Sasvad Maharashtra
Zonal Ranking (Cities upto 25 K)
1 (East Zone) Patan Chhattisgarh
1 (North Zone) Awagarh Uttar Pradesh (UP)
1 (North-East Zone) Jiribam Manipur
1 (South Zone) Piriyapatna Karnataka
1 (West Zone) Panhala Maharashtra
Cantonment (Cantt) Boards Ranking
1 Jalandhar Cantt Punjab
2 Delhi Cantt Delhi
3 Meerut Cantt Uttar Pradesh (UP)
ULBs Ranking – More than 1 Lakh Population
1 Indore Madhya Pradesh (MP)
2 Surat Gujarat
3 Navi Mumbai Maharashtra
ULBs Ranking – Less than 1 Lakh Population
1 Karad Maharashtra
2 Sasvad Maharashtra
3 Lonavala Maharashtra
Ganga Towns Ranking
1 (Less than 50 K Population) Chunar Uttar Pradesh (UP)
1 (50 K – 1 Lakh Population) Kannauj Uttar Pradesh (UP)
1 (More than 1 Lakh Population) Varanasi Uttar Pradesh (UP)
Category-wise Awards at National Level (SS2020 Awards):
Above 40 Lakh Population:
• India’s Cleanest Mega City– Amdavad, Gujarat
• Best Mega City in Citizen Feedback- Hyderabad, Telangana
• Best Mega City in Innovation and Best Practices- Chennai, Tamil Nadu
• Best Self Sustainable Mega City- Bengaluru, Karnataka
10-40 Lakh Population:
• India’s Cleanest Big City– Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh (AP)
• Best Big City in Citizen Feedback- Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh (MP)
• Best Big City in Innovation and Best Practices- Ludhiana, Punjab
• Best Self Sustainable Big City- Rajkot, Gujarat
• Fastest Mover Big City- Jodhpur, Rajasthan
3- 10 Lakh Population:
• India’s Cleanest Medium City– Mysuru, Karnataka

State-Wise PDF
• Best Medium City in Citizen Feedback- East Singhbhum, Jharkhand
• Best Medium City in Innovation and Best Practices- Berhampur, Odisha
• Best Self Sustainable Medium City- Bhilainagar, Chhattisgarh
• Fastest Mover Medium City- Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh (UP)
1-3 Lakh Population:
• India’s Cleanest Small City– Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh
• Best Small City in Citizen Feedback- Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh
• Best Small City in Innovation and Best Practices- Alappuzha, Kerala
• Best Self Sustainable Small City- Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh (AP)
• Fastest Mover Small City- Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh (MP)
State Capital/Union Territories (UTs):
• India’s Cleanest Capital– New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), Delhi
• Best UT in Citizen Feedback- Chandigarh
• Best State Capital in Innovation and Best Practices- Gandhinagar, Gujarat
• Best Self Sustainable State Capital- Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh (MP)
• Fastest Mover State Capital- Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (UP)
Other Awards:
• India’s cleanest city (< 1 Lakh Population)– Karad, Maharashtra
• Best City in Maximum Citizen Participation (< 1 Lakh Population)- Nandprayag, Uttarakhand
• Best City in Maximum City Participation (> 1 Lakh population)- Nagar Nigam Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh
(UP)
• Best City overall in National Citizen Led Innovation- Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh (MP)
Key Points:
-The cleanliness survey report, along with reports on Swachh Survekshan Innovations and best practices, Swachh
Survekshan Social Media Report and Report on Assessment of Ganga Towns were also released at the ‘Swachh
Mahotsav’ event.
-Dignitaries from all over the country, Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MOHUA, Chief Secretaries, Principal
Secretaries, Municipal Commissioners and swachhta warriors also attended the online event.
In July 2020, MoHUA launched the 6th edition of the survey, Swachh Survekshan 2021 which saw the introduction of
a new performance category, the Prerak DAUUR Samman which has a total of five additional sub- categories -Divya
(Platinum), Anupam (Gold), Ujjwal (Silver), Udit (Bronze), Aarohi (Aspiring).
About Swachh Survekshan:
Launched in 2016 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi its objective was to monitor the performance of Swachh Bharat
Abhiyan, which was launched on October 2, 2014, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
• Mysuru was chosen as the cleanest city in India in that edition of the survey.
• The extensive sanitation survey is commissioned by the MoHUA and carried out annually by Quality Council of
India (QCI).
Former AP Minister P Manikyala Rao died at 59 due to COVID-19

On August 1, 2020 Former Andhra Pradesh(AP) Minister Pydikondala(P) Manikyala Rao passed away at the age 59
due to COVID-19 infection in a private hospital in Vijayawada, AP. He was a Senior BJP leader. He was born on
November 1, 1961 at AP.He belongs to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
• He was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Thadepalligudem of West Godavari
district(May 2014 – May 2019) and served as the Endowment Minister in Chandrababu Naidu’s cabinet
between 2014-2018.
About AP:

State-Wise PDF
Former Minister & YSRCP Veteran leader Penmatsa Sambasiva Raju Passed Away
Penmatsa Sambasiva Raju, the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party(YSRCP) veteran leader passed away due to
his prolonged ill-health, at a private hospital in Visakhapatnam. He was about 85 years old. He served as Transport
Minister and Pro-tem Speaker of the united Andhra Pradesh Assembly.
• He was the only Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) who won the election for 8 times in the united
Andhra Pradesh Assembly(Sativada and GajapathiNagaram Assembly constituencies).
About Penmatsa Sambasiva Raju:
i.He started his political career as the samiti president in 1958.
ii.He was first elected as an MLA in 1968. Later he won as an MLA in GajapathiNagaram and Sativada Assemblies for
eight times. He is the only MLA to be elected from GajapathiNagaram.
iii.He served as the minister for transport and civil supply between 1989-94 in the Marri Channa Reddy Cabinet.
iv.He was the mentor of Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Botcha Satyanarayana.
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - September 2020

Andhra Pradesh Government Receives Nod to form Crop Insurance Firm from IRDA
On September 1, 2020, the Government of Andhra Pradesh (AP) received the nod from Insurance Regulatory and
Development Authority (IRDA) to form its Crop Insurance Firm Andhra Pradesh General Insurance
Company (APGIC).
Andhra Pradesh is among the few states like Bihar, West Bengal that has chosen to have their own crop insurance
schemes.
Key Points:
i.Andhra Pradesh General Insurance Company (APGIC) will run the state’s own YSR Free Crop Insurance Scheme.
ii.The authorised share capital of the company is Rs 101 Crores divided into 10.10 Crore equity shares of Rs 10 each.
iii.To be eligible for the scheme, the farmers must register themselves on the e-Karshak app (real-time crop
registration window).
iv.Department of Agriculture will be the nodal agency for the implementation of the Crop Insurance scheme.
v.The Farmers need to enrol for the scheme by September 5, by paying a premium of Rupees 1.
Background:
i.The state government will provide free crop insurance to all the farmers from 2019–2020 under YSR Crop
Insurance Scheme.
ii.In June 2020, the state government released Rs 596.36 crore for crop insurance claims.
iii.Around Six Lakh Farmers are expected to benefit from the scheme, the amount will be directly deposited in the
bank accounts of the farmers.
i.AP ranked 1st in the country for the overall implementation of POSHAN (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for
Holistic Nourishment) Abhiyaan as per September 2019 progress report of NITI Aayog.
ii.Bharti AXA General Insurance has launched its crop insurance campaign, ‘Bohot Zaroori Hai’ for farmers in
Maharashtra and Karnataka to encourage them about their yield protection and financial security.
Lakes – Kolleru Lake, Pulicat Lake
YS Jagan Mohan Reddy Launched 2 Nutrition Schemes to Provide Nutrition Food to Women & Children
On 7th September 2020, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched two nutrition schemes “YSR
Sampoorna Poshana” and “YSR Sampoorna Poshana Plus” to provide nutritious food to the pregnant women, new
mothers and children at the Tadepalli camp office.
The state government issued an order to rename the scheme – Agriculture Electricity Cash Transfer Scheme as YSR
Free Agriculture Power.

State-Wise PDF
About the Schemes:
i.YSR Sampoorna Poshana will provide nutritious food to the women and children in the urban and rural areas of
the plain lands and YSR Sampoorna Poshana Plus will focus on providing nutritious food in around 8320
Anganwadi Centres across the 77 tribal areas.
ii.These two schemes will benefit around 30.16 lakh mothers and children of the below poverty line (BPL) families.
Features:
i.Under these schemes, the government of Andhra Pradesh will spend around Rs.1863 crore per annum to provide
nutritious food to the women and children, with an expenditure of Rs.1100 per month for every beneficiary.
ii.The Department of Women Development and Child Welfare had developed a mobile app – YSR Sampoorna
Poshana App, to ensure effective implementation and monitoring of the schemes and to assess the delivery and
satisfactory level of the beneficiaries.
iii.Under YSR Sampoorna Poshana Plus, the nutritious meals will be distributed through the 8 Integrated Tribal
Development Agency (ITDA) and 52 Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).
iv.Under these schemes “Take Home Nutrition Kit” with nutritious foods are provided to the women and children.
Other Launches & Initiatives:
i.Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the YSR Sampoorna Poshana App, pocket book and SOP (Standard
operating procedure) Booklets.
YSR Free Agriculture Power:
The government of Andhra Pradesh reintroduced free power into the agriculture energy supply scheme – Agriculture
Electricity Cash Transfer Scheme which was announced on 1st September 2020 and renamed it as “YSR Free
Agriculture Power”. This scheme will be implemented in a new form from the next Financial year.
Key info:
On pilot basis this scheme will commence in Srikakulam from September 2020.
The monthly Direct Benefit Transfer(DBT) amount for the Srikakulam will be transferred by the government to the
AP Eastern Power Distribution Company against the farmers’ account.
Features:
i.Under this scheme the government will install smart meters to the agricultural power supply to implement the
central reform to implement a 2% hike in Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM Act) borrowing
limit.
ii.This hike will entitle an additional loan of Rs.20000 crores to the state in the current fiscal.
i.Andhra Pradesh CM Launched “YSR Cheyutha” scheme to ensure sustainable livelihood for women by providing a
financial assistance of Rs.18750 per year for 4 years.
ii.In a bid to provide free medical treatment to the poor, The Chief Minister (CM) of Andhra Pradesh (AP),Yeduguri
Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy has inaugurated “YSR Aarogyasri scheme” at Eluru in West Godavari district of AP.
Stadium– Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium, Indira Gandhi Stadium, Indira Priyadarshini Stadium
Tiger Reserve– Nagarjuna Sagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve also known as Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary.
UiPath Partners with APSSDC to Train Student in Robotic Process Automation

On 9th September 2020, as a part of an Academic Alliance Programme in Andhra Pradesh, UiPath, a Robotic Process
Automation (RPA) software company partnered with Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development
Corporation (APSSDC) to provide students with training in robotic process automation.
• This is designed to bridge the skill requirements and build RPA resiliency of more than 50000 students in one
year.
Features of the MoU:
i.Under this partnership UiPath will enroll more than 100 institutes under APSSDC and provide curriculum, content,
learning materials, software tools which are required to train their students.
ii.APSSDC will identify the institution to evaluate the possibilities to include RPA in university programs.
iii.UiPath and APSSDC will organize events like webinars and online sessions for educators, instructors and other
stakeholders.

State-Wise PDF
iv.These sessions are designed to increase the RPA literacy and provide knowledge about robot and automation
ready campus initiatives.
On 21st August 2020, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) announced its collaboration with National
Skill Development Corporation(NSDC) to offer a free digital education platform on emerging technologies and
professional skill development and to equip the next generation with digital skills.
About Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC):
Chairman– Challa Madhusudhan Reddy
MD & CEO– Arja Srikanth
Headquarters– Guntur, Andhra Pradesh
About UiPath:
Co-Founder & CEO– Daniel Dines
Co-Founder & CTO– Marius Trica
Headquarters– New York, United State of America
Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jaganmohan Reddy Launched ‘YSR Aasara’ scheme for Women Empowerment
On September 11, 2020 As a step to empower women economically and socially, YS Jaganmohan Reddy, Chief
Minister of Andhra Pradesh(AP), launched ‘YSR Aasara’ scheme. Under the scheme, AP government will reimburse
outstanding bank loans of women Self-Help Groups (SHG) as on April 11, 2019 into their accounts directly in four
phases. YSR Aasara is a part of the Navaratna welfare schemes.
1st installment released
In a virtual meeting with all district collectors and some of the beneficiaries, AP government has disbursed Rs
6,792.20 crores as the 1st installment of the total due of Rs 27,168.83 crores to bank accounts of 87,74,674 women
belonging to 8.7 lakh SHGs.
Key People
Ministers- Botcha Satyanarayana, P. Viswaroop, and Ch. Srinivasa Venugopala Krishna; Chief Secretary Neelam
Sawhney, Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)- R.K. Roja and V. Rajani, Adviser S. Ramakrishna Reddy; CEO
of SERP- Raja Babu, and other officials of the Panchayat Raj, BC Welfare, Social Welfare, and Minority Welfare
departments were present during the event.
Key Info
i.There is no restriction for the beneficiaries to utilise this amount,i.e., they can use it the way they like.
ii.If they intend to invest the money and make use of the business opportunities, Society for Elimination of Rural
Poverty(SERP) and Mission for Elimination of Poverty and in Municipal Areas(MEPMA).
iii.AP government will also open opportunities for entrepreneurship starting from small grocery stores to dairy and
food processing
Additional Info
AP Govt has signed MoU with corporates like ITC, Amul Dairy and Reliance, which was a part of women
empowerment through YSR Cheyutha and ‘YSR Aasara’
Few Other Schemes, Act initiatives Introduced by AP Govt:
YSR Sampoorna Poshana– nutritional support to lactating mothers and infants
Jagananna Ammavodi scheme– Depositing Rs 15,000 directly to the accounts of 43 lakh women.
Vidya Deevena scheme– A complete fee reimbursement scheme for college students
Vasati Deevena scheme– Govt is paying Rs 20, 000 to degree, ITI, polytechnic, eng. students to accommodate
expenses under the scheme with an annual expenditure of Rs 1,221 crore
Nadu-Nedu– All schools and hostels are given a complete facelift.
Jagananna Vasthi Deevena– Financial assistance of Rs 2,300 crore is to be provided in 2 installments to meet the
hostel and mess expenses of students who are pursuing post-intermediate courses.
YSR Cheyutha scheme– Women between 45-60 yrs belonging to SC, ST,BC, Minorities will receive Rs 18,750
annually for 4 years.
YSR Sunna Vaddi– Under this, AP Govt has distributed Rs 1,400 crore to women in the 45-60 age group, irrespective
of their region and affiliations.

State-Wise PDF
50% reservation– For women, 50% reservation in all nominated posts
Disha Act, 2019– AP is the 1st state to enact the Disha Act, 2019 that provides stringent punishment to those who
abuse, stalk or assault women.
Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy launched a one-month long virtual cybercrime awareness
programme ‘E-Raksha Bandhan’ in Amaravati. The Aim of the Programme is to create awareness among women,
youth and children on Cyber Crimes across the state. It is organized by the Andhra Pradesh Police, CID, FM Radio,
Cyber Crime Prevention Against Women and Children(CCPWC), Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF) and other
organisations.
Airport– Visakhapatnam International airport, Vijayawada International Airport,Tirupati International Airport
Festivals – Ugadi, Makar Sankranti, Lumbini festival
Andhra Pradesh CM Launches YSR Jala Kala Scheme to benefit Small & Marginal Farmers
On September 28, 2020 Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy launched YSR Jala Kala
Scheme for small and marginal Farmers. Under the scheme, the State Government will drill borewells in arid, and
uplands in the state with an expenditure of Rs. 2, 340 Crore over a period of four-years.
Under the scheme, borewells will be drilled free of cost for needy farmers and the state government will provide free
motors to small and marginal farmers.
The Scheme is being introduced to benefit upland farmers, who are dependent on Rains.
Features:
i.The scheme is estimated to benefit around 4.1 lakh small and 1.77 lakh marginal farmers.
ii.It will bring around 5 Lakh acres under cultivation through groundwater irrigation.
iii.More than three lakh borewells will be drilled in 144 rural assembly constituencies and 19 semi-urban assembly.
The borewells will be drilled after the feasibility report by hydro-geological and geo-physical surveys.
iv.The free motors will be provided at a cost of Rs 1, 600 crore on the State Government. The bore wells will be geo-
tagged and social audit will be conducted to ensure transparency.
10, 000 MegaWatt (MW) Solar Energy Project:
AP is setting up a 10, 000 MW solar energy project to provide free power for nine hours every day for the next 3
decades.
Rhythu Bharosa Kendras:
i.The Scheme was introduced to make Farming profitable, the government will support farmers from the stage of
sowing to marketing their produce.
ii.It will provide investment subsidy, interest-free loan, technology transfer through Rythu Bharosa Kendras.
iii.Under the Rythu Bharosa scheme, the government will provide Rs. 13. 500 annually to farmers.
i.On July 31, 2020, the Governor of Andhra Pradesh (AP) Biswa Bhusan Harichandan gave his assent to the Andhra
Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions and Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development
Authority (CRDA) Repeal Bills – 2020.
Ports – Visakhapatnam Port, Krishnapatnam Port
River – Gautami Godavari, Godavari, Krishna River, Palar, Pennar, Tungabhadra
AP Government signs MoU with CSIR-IICT to set up Bulk Drug Pharma Park
On September 3, 2020, the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd (APIIC) has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Indian Institute of Chemical
Technology (CSIR-IICT) to set up a Bulk Drug Park (BDP) in the state.
The park will be set up in a minimum of 2,000 acres at a cost of Rs. 6,940 crores in East Godavari District of Andhra
Pradesh.
It is being set up under the BDPs scheme of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Department of Pharmaceuticals,
Government of India.

State-Wise PDF
Signing of MoU:
Andhra Pradesh Industries Minister Mekapati Gautham Reddy attended the MoU signing session through virtual
mode from Nellore. Senior officials from both sides exchanged documents at the APIIC headquarters in
Mangalagiri.
Key Points:
i.The BDP will be established in the State by seeking financial support from the Government of India.
ii.CSIR-IICT will provide technical support as a knowledge partner in preparing the proposal to be submitted by the
AP Government to Department of Pharmaceuticals, Government of India.
iii.AP is playing a major role in the Indian Pharmaceutical Sector. It stands at the third position with $5
Billion output and $1 Billion worth of Exports.
Proposal by GoI:
i.The Central Government has proposed to develop 3 BDPs in the country through partnership with the State
Government. Andhra Pradesh will be the first state to establish BDP.
ii.It will provide a grant-in-aid to the States with a maximum limit of Rs. 1,000 Crore per park with 70% financial
assistance to the selected park.
iii.The project will involve a private partner who will offer land, design, build, finance, develop and operate the park.
iv.IICT-CSIR will act as the knowledge partner.
v.The proposals submitted by states will be examined by a council set up by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, GoI.
They will be ranked on the basis of marks. The top three states will be given in-principle approval, after which Details
Project Reports (DPRs) will be submitted.
i.Union HRD (Human Resource Development) Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Minister of State (MoS) for
HRD Sanjay Dhotre launched the first online National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic
Advancement (NISHTHA) programme for 1,200 key resources persons (KRPs) of Andhra Pradesh (AP).
ii.Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy has launched a mobile
application ‘CMAPP (Comprehensive Monitoring of Agriculture, Price, and Procurement)’ with the aim to
monitor the agriculture needs of the farmers in the state.
Governor – Biswa Bhusan Harichandan
Wildlife Sanctuary – Coringa, Kolleru, Krishna, Rollapadu, Gundla Brahmeswaram, Sri Lankamalleswara, Nelapattu,
Pulicat, Kaudinya, Sri Penisula Narasimhaswamy, Kambalakonda.
About CSIR:
Director General – Shekhar C. Mande
Headquarters – New Delhi
Andhra Pradesh Govt Signed 8 MoUs with Food Processing companies & Netherlands
On September 4, 2020, the state government of Andhra Pradesh (AP) inked 8 pacts with 7 major domestic and
global companies and with the Government of Netherlands to boost the food processing sector of various
agricultural products, including bananas, tomatoes, mangoes, sugar, chillies, vegetables, and aqua products in the
state.
• The Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in this regard was inked in the presence of Chief Minister Yeduguri
Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy. The MoU also aims to empower the women and the socially backward
communities economically.
• It should be noted that the State government is focusing on maximum utilisation of aqua base in the state. The
government had already proposed Fisheries University in West Godavari where the farmers are engaged in
aqua and fish culture.
About MoUs:
1. With Netherlands: The Netherlands government will help the state government and its farmers for interior
architecture, design, packaging and containers for the food processing.
With 7 other firms:
1. The firm IFB will assist the state government and its farmers in technology and marketing of shrimp and fish.

State-Wise PDF
2. A MoU with Empire Company is also for export and retail marketing of shrimp and fish.
3. Another company, ITC, would assist the government in mango, sweet lime and chillies.
4. The Lawrencedale Agro Processing India Private Limited had signed the MoU for food processing of
onions.
5. BigBasket had signed the MoU for processing of Tomato and Bananas in harvest and processing.
6. The Pune (Maharashtra) -based Futuretech Foods India had signed the MoU with the government to help in
all fruits including bananas beside vegetables.
7. The Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu)-based Indian council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-National Research
Center (NRC) for Banana had signed the MoU to help the government in banana processing, besides
introducing technology in dry banana products.
The state government is committed to take all the measures to support the farmers in the state and also urged them
to involve in food processing and utilize.
The State Government of AP announced the Andhra Pradesh Renewable Energy Export Policy 2020, which permits
the sale of power to the other states of India. The policy will be in force for five years. Its aim is to utilize the unused
potential and to attract private investments to boost the economy and to generate additional revenue to the
government.
Andhra Pradesh Retains Top Spot in EODB 2019 During BRAP 2018-19 Ranking
On September 5, 2020, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman has virtually
announced the 4th edition of State Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) Ranking for 2018-19 which was released by
Department of Industrial Promotion and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of commerce and industry. In accordance
with that, Andhra Pradesh (AP) topped the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) ranking 2019, followed by Uttar Pradesh
(UP) and Telangana at 2nd & 3rd place respectively. Among Union Territories (UTs), Delhi bagged the top spot.
• The state of UP improved to reach the 2nd spot from 12th spot in the 2018 ranking while Telangana slipped
from 2nd to 3rd position.
• It should be noted that EODB is a joint initiative by the DPIIT and the World Bank (WB) to improve the overall
business environment in the States.
• Parameters: The BRAP 2018-19 included 180 reform points covering 12 business regulatory areas such as
Access to Information, Single Window System, Labour regulation, Environment, land availability, construction
permit.
• Reason: The reason behind this ranking is to create an element of healthy competition in states in order to
achieve a larger objective of attracting investments and increasing EODB in each State.
Following table shows the top 5 states and lower ranked states under State Reform Action Plan 2019:
Rank State
1 Andhra Pradesh (AP)
2 Uttar Pradesh (UP)
3 Telangana
4 Madhya Pradesh (MP)
5 Jharkhand
States/UT with least ranking (29th) are: Arunachal Pradesh (AR), Chandigarh, Manipur, Meghalaya,
Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim and Tripura.
Following table shows the top (1st) performer region-wise:
Region State
North Uttar Pradesh (UP)

State-Wise PDF
West Madhya Pradesh (MP)

East Jharkhand
South Andhra Pradesh (AP)
UT Delhi
North Eastern Assam
About BRAP Ranking:
Initiated in 2015, BRAP ranking represent the EODB in the State with increased transparency, efficiency and
effectiveness of the government regulatory functions vis-a-vis the business enterprises.During the assessment full
weightage was given to the feedback from over 30,000 respondents at the ground level, who gave their opinion about
the effectiveness of the reforms.
In accordance with the data of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the United States (US) remained India’s top
trading partner for the second consecutive fiscal year in 2019-20 as bilateral trade between the US and India stood at
USD 88.75 billion as against USD 87.96 billion in 2018-19.
About Minister of Commerce and Industry:
Union Minister– Piyush Vedprakash Goyal
Minister of State– Hardeep Singh Puri, Som Prakash
Kerala tops literacy rate chart with 96.2%; Andhra Pradesh worst performer at 66.4%: NSO
In accordance with the report on “Household Social Consumption: Education in India as part of 75th round of
National Sample Survey(NSS) – from July 2017 to June 2018″ conducted by National Statistical Office (NSO),
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Kerala again emerged as the most literate state in the
country with 96.2% literacy followed by Delhi (88.7%), Uttarakhand ( 87.6%), Himachal Pradesh (86.6%) and Assam
(85.9%).
• On the other hand, Andhra Pradesh (AP) is the worst performer at 66.4% followed by Rajasthan at 69.7%,
Bihar (70.9%), Telangana (72.8%), Uttar Pradesh (73%) and Madhya Pradesh (73.7%).
• The survey provided state-wise detail of literacy rate among the persons aged seven years and above.
• The overall literacy rate in India is pegged at 77.7% where rural areas have 73.5% literacy rate and urban
areas has 87.7%.
• Literacy rate: Literacy rate is defined as the percentage of literate persons among persons of age 7 years and
above.
Objective :- to create the participation of persons aged 3 to 35 years in the education system, creating indicators of
the expenditure incurred on the education of household members and various indicators of those who are not
currently attending education.
This survey enclosed with both qualitative and quantitative aspects related to educational fulfilment of the household
members.
• Qualitative aspects included literacy, educational level attained, type of institution, nature of
institution,current attendance/enrolment, free education, reason for never enrolled/ever enrolled but
currently not attending, etc.
• Quantitative aspects, information was collected on expenditure incurred on education of the household
members by the household itself, by other households or by any institutions/organizations other than
Government.
Key Points:
-At national level, the male literacy rate is higher at 84.7% compared to 70.3% among women.
-Also, the male literacy rate is higher than the female literacy rate among all states.
• In Kerala, the male literacy rate is 97.4% compared to 95.2% among females and in Delhi stood 93.7% higher
than 82.4% among females.
• In the worst performing states, there was a considerable gap in male and female literacy rate like in AP the
male literacy rate is 73.4%, and female literacy rate is 59.5%.

State-Wise PDF
• In Rajasthan, the gap is even wider as male literacy rate stood at 80.8% compared to 57.6% of females and in
Bihar the male literacy rate was 79.7% compared to 60.5% of females.
-The report also revealed that nearly 4% of rural households and 23% of urban households possessed computers.
-Among persons aged 15-29 years, nearly 24% in rural areas and 56% in urban areas were able to operate a
computer.
Click Here for Official Report
About NSO 75th round (July 2017-June 2018) Survey:
NSO 75th round was conducted during 1st July 2017- 30th June 2018 under which 9 items were covered for broad
coverage of information. The survey covers whole of the Indian Union except the villages in Andaman and Nicobar
Islands which are difficult to access.
• This survey covered 1,13,757 households (64,519 in rural areas and 49,238 in urban areas) and enumerated
5,13,366 persons (3,05,904 in rural areas and 2,07,462 in urban areas). A total number of persons of age 3 to
35 years surveyed was 2,86,456 (1,73,397 in rural areas and 1,13,059 in urban areas).
• The Survey Design and Research Division (SDRD) of NSO undertook the development of the survey
methodology and the field work is carried out by Field Operations Divisions (FOD) and the data processing and
tabulation work was done by Data Quality and Assurance Division (DQAD).
In accordance with the annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for [July 2018 – June 2019] of NSO, India’s
unemployment rate fell between July 2018 and June 2019 to 5.8% from 6.1% during the same period of 2017-18
while the Indian economy grew 6.1% in 2018-19, slower than the 7% expansion recorded the year before.
About Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)
Minister of State (Independent Charge)– Rao Inderjit Singh
Secretary– Pravin Srivastava
Director General (NSS)– Vijay Kumar
Gujarat, Andaman & Nicobar Emerge as Best State/UT in providing Strong Ecosystem for Startups: DPIIT
ranking
On September 11, 2020 Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) released the 2nd Edition
of ‘States on Support to Startup Ecosystems 2019’ . The Rankings are based on providing a Strong Ecosystem for
promoting Startups.
i.Gujarat emerged as the best performer among Category X.Gujarat topped the rankings in the 2018 edition of
Ranking also.
(In Category x – All States and New Delhi, barring North Eastern (N. E) States & other Union Territories (U. T))
ii.Andaman and Nicobar Islands emerged as best performer among Category Y
(Category y – All N.E states except Assam and all UTs except Delhi).
iii. The Rankings were released by Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal and a total of 22
states and 3 UTs participated in the exercise.
Rankings:
For the purposes of ranking, states/UTs are classified into five categories: Best Performers (100 Percentile), Top
Performers (More than 75 to Less than 100), Leaders (More than or equal to 30 to less than or equal to 75), Aspiring
Leaders (More than 10 and less than 30) and Emerging Startup Ecosystems (Less than or equal to 10).
Category – X
All States and New Delhi, barring North Eastern (N.E) States & other Union Territories.
State Category
Gujarat Best Performer
Karnataka Top Performer
Kerala Top Performer
Category – Y
All N.E states except Assam and all UTs except Delhi

State-Wise PDF
State/Union Territory (U.T.) Category

Andaman & Nicobar Islands Best Performer
—– Top Performer
Chandigarh Leader
Other Performers:
Category X:
i.Bihar, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Chandigarh were placed in Leaders Category.
ii.Haryana, Jharkhand, Punjab, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Nagaland were placed in Aspiring Leaders Category.
iii.Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh,
Mizoram and Sikkim were placed in Emerging Startup Ecosystems.
Category Y:
i.Nagaland was placed in Aspiring Leader Category.
ii.Mizoram & Sikkim were placed in Emerging Startup Ecosystems.
Basis for Dividing into Categories:
The States and UTs have been divided into two groups to establish uniformity and standardisation in the ranking
process.
Ranking Framework:
i.The ranking framework 2019 has seven broad reform areas consisting of 30 action points ranging from institutional
support, easing compliances, relaxation in public procurement norms, incubation centres, seed funding, venture
funding, and awareness and outreach.
ii.The parameters also involved getting feedback from beneficiaries gathered through 60, 000 calls to connect with
beneficiaries to ascertain real situations at the implementation level.
Other Info:-
The National Report and Specific Reports for all participating States and Union Territories had also been launched
and it is available in Startup India Portal.
National Report – highlights the vision, trajectory, methodology and the future roadmap of the States Ranking
Exercise.
State Specific Report – containing a comprehensive analysis of respective ecosystem, which highlights strengths and
priority areas for future
A ‘Compendium of Good Practices’ adopted by various States in supporting start-ups has also been released. It
identifies 166 good practices.
Initiatives for Startups:
i.Government launched Startup India Action Plan in January 2016 to promote startups in the country.
ii.The aim of Startup India Action Plan is to give incentives like tax holiday and remodel Inspection regimes and
capital gains tax exemption.
Note – The DPIIT has created an India Investment Grid (IIG), an interactive investment portal providing details of
sectors, states and projects to ease the domestic and foreign investors.
Recent Related News: online portal called the
i.On May 8, 2020 Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Giriraj Singh (chief guest) presented
the award to the winners of “Startup India-Animal Husbandry Grand Challenge”.
ii.On June 25, 2020, According to the report, ‘Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2020; the New Normal for the
Global Startup Economy and the Impact of COVID-19’ released by Startup Genome, Bangalore,Bengaluru Becomes
India’s Only City in Top 30 with 26th position.
About DPIIT:-
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is a central government department under the
Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Secretary – Guruprasad Mohapatra.

State-Wise PDF
NCRD Released Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India 2019 Report; Delhi recorded highest number of road
accidents deaths among cities
On 1st September 2020, The National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB), Ministry of Home Affairs released an annual
report titled “Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India(ADSI) 2019”. This is NCRB’s 53rd edition of the series which
was started in 1967.
This is the only most comprehensive data bank related to the accidental and suicidal death available with the
government of India.
About the Report:
i.The report is prepared with the data and information on deaths due to accidents and suicides which were collected
by the State Crime Records Bureaux (SCRBx) from the District Crime Records Bureaux (DCRBx) and sent to the
NCRB.
ii.The data of the cities with a population of 10 lakh or more are collected separately.
Features:
i.The report contains the age group wise and sex wise details of the victims.
ii.The report classified the accidental deaths as two groups based on causes,
• Causes attributable to nature (tornado, earthquake, epidemic, flood etc.)
• Causes not attributable to nature (air crash, drowning, explosion, poisoning, traffic accidents etc).
iii.The report contains the details of deaths due to road accidents by causes, place of occurrence, type of road,
month of occurrence and by time of occurrence.
iv.The report also contains the details on suicide by causes like bankruptcy, marriage, relationships, failures, property
disputes etc and details of professional educational and social profile of the victims.
v.This also contains details of farmer’s suicide by cause, educational and scial status etc.,
Note:
The reason of suicides among farmers has not been published by NCRB since 2015.
Accidental deaths:
i.According to the report the variation percentage of accidental deaths and suicide during 2019 over 2018 are around
2.3% and 3.4% respectively.
ii.Traffic accidents are the major contributor of the total accidental deaths in India which amounts to around 43% of
total accidental deaths followed by sudden deaths, drowning and poisoning which collectively contributed around
24%.
iii.Natural disasters contribute 2% of the accidental deaths.
Road Accidents:
i.According to the report, road crash deaths in the country have increased by 1.3 per cent to 1,54,732 from
1,52,780.Number of accidents in the city, however, sees a decline of 7.2% as compared to 2018.
ii.Delhi recorded the highest number of deaths due to dangerous driving and overall road accidents in 2019.In
Chennai and Bengaluru, 1,258 and 768 persons died in road accidents respectively.
Traffic Accidents:
i.Around 85% of the deaths due to traffic accidents were in the road accidents and the remaining 15% was caused
due to railway accidents and accidents at the railway crossing.
ii.Around 7.7% victims of road accidents were pedestrians and motorised two wheelers are stated as the deadliest
with 38%.
iii.Road traffic injuries is the 8th leading cause of death in India of which around 65% belong to the age group of 18 –
45 years.
Suicidal deaths:
i.The report states that around 139,123 people died by suicide in India during 2019.
ii.Maharashtra (18,916), Tamil Nadu (13,493), West Bengal (12,665), Madhya Pradesh (12457) and Karnataka
(11,288) accounts for 49% of the suicides in India.
iii.Two third of suicides in India during 2019 belongs to the category with annual income less than Rs.1 lakh.
iv.Suicides among daily wage earners was higher which contributes 23% of those who died due to suicide.
v.The majority of the victims belong to the age group of 18-45 and educated.

State-Wise PDF
Farmers Suicide:
i.According to the report the number of farmers which includes cultivators and farm labourers, who committed
suicide in 2019 is around 10,281 which is only 68 numbers less than the farmers committed suicide in 2018.
ii.Suicide involving persons engaged in farming sector have increased in 2019 compared to 2018.
iii.Maharashtra topped the list constituting 38.2% (3927) of the such cases followed by Karnataka with 19.4%(1992),
Andhra Pradesh with 10%(1029), Madhya Pradesh with 5.3%(541) and Telangana and Chhattisgarh with 4.9% (499)
each.
iv.The farmers account for 7.4% of total suicides in India.
v.Maharashtra (2680) followed by Karnataka (1331), Andhra Pradesh (628) and Telangana (491) record the highest
suicides in the farming sector which includes farmers and cultivators in India during 2019.
vi.West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Delhi, Lakshadweep and Puducherry
reported ‘zero’ farmer suicides that includes cultivators and agricultural labourers during 2019.
Click here for complete report
Report Analysis carried out by SaveLIFE Foundation:
Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest road crash deaths with 15% of total deaths followed by Maharashtra with 9.4%
and Madhya Pradesh with 7.7%.
97.3% of total traffic accidents occur in the 53 mega cities of India during 2019 where Chennai accounts for 10.2% of
total road accidents reported in mega cities followed by Delhi with 8.0%.
i.National Crime Record Bureau’s (NCRB) report on Crime in India for the year 2018 was released. The report finds
that over 50 lakh crimes have been registered in 2018 which is 1.3% more than that of 2017.
ii.National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report titled ‘missing women and children in India’ states that the highest
number (33,964) of women who go missing in India are from Maharashtra & the number of missing children are
maximum (10, 038) in the State of Madhya Pradesh (MP) in the year 2016, 2017 & 2018.
About NCRB:
Director– Ramphal Pawar, IPS
Telugu Actor Jaya Prakash Reddy Passed Away at 74

On 8th September 2020, Veteran Telugu Actor Jaya Prakash Reddy, popularly known as JP passed away at the age of
74 at his residence in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh due to cardiac arrest.
He was born on 8th May, 1946 in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh.
About Jaya Prakash Reddy:
i.Jaya Prakash Reddy made his debut in the Telugu film industry in the film, Brahma Puthrudu (1988).
ii.He was well known for his supporting role as villain and comedian in both tamil and telugu films like Chennakesava
Reddy, Temper, Preminchukundam Raa, Seethayya, etc, and Anjaneya, Uthamaputhiran, Aaru etc.
iii.He starred in more than 100 films across Tamil, Telugu and Kannada industries.
iv.His last film was Sarileru Neekevvar (2020) starring Mahesh Babu.
Swami Agnivesh, Social activist, Former Cabinet Minister and Arya Samaj leader Passed Away at 80
On September 11, 2020 Swami Agnivesh(Original Name- Vepa Shyam Rao), renowned social activist, scholar, former
MLA(Member of the Legislative Assembly) and Cabinet Minister for Education of Haryana passed away at the age of
80 due to cardiac arrest at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) in New Delhi, India. He served as the
president (2004–2014) of the World Council of Arya Samaj, which is the highest international body of the Arya
Samaj. He was born on 21st September, 1939 in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh.
Key Info about Swami Agnivesh
i.He founded the Bonded Labour Liberation Front-BLLF(or Bandhua Mukti Morcha-BMM), a Non-Governmental
Organisation(NGO)
ii.From 1994 to 2004, he served as the chairperson of the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary
Forms of Slavery

State-Wise PDF
Books
He also has authored books namely, Vaidik Samajvad (Vedic Socialism)-1974, Religion Revolution and Marxism
among others.
Awards
Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award (2004) – Delhi, India; The Right Livelihood Award(2004)- Sweden ; M. A.
Thomas National Rights Award (2006) – Bangalore, India
Balli Durga Prasad Rao, Tirupati Lok Sabha MP Passed Away of COVID-19
On September 16, 2020 Balli Durga Prasad Rao, Tirupati(Andhra Pradesh-AP) Lok Sabha MP(Members of
Parliament) passed away of COVID-19 at Apollo Main Hospital in Chennai, TamilNadu. He was around the age of 64.
He belongs to Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party(YSRCP). He was born in Nellore district, AP on June 15, 1956.
• The first-time MP from the Tirupati (SC-Scheduled Caste) reserved constituency served as the
School Education Minister in the Chandrababu Naidu Cabinet in the undivided Andhra Pradesh during 1995-
96.
Note– He is the 2nd sitting MP after H. Vasanthakumar, Congress MP, from Kanyakumari constituency in Tamil Nadu
and 1st from AP to die of COVID-19.
Key Info about Balli Durga Prasad Rao
i.Balli Durga Prasad Rao is a lawyer by profession. He started his political career as a member of TDP(Telugu Desam
Party).
ii.For 4 times he served as an MLA(Member of the Legislative Assembly) from Gudur constituency of Nellore district,
i.e., in 1985, 1994, 1999 & 2009.
iii.He was also as Member of Public Accounts Committee(PAC) between 2009 and 2014 in the erstwhile undivided
state of Andhra Pradesh
iv.In 2019 he joined YSRCP and contested in Tirupati Lok Sabha elections
Renowned Singer SP Balasubrahmanyam dies aged 74

On September 25, 2020 Renowned Indian Singer Sripathi Paditha Arathyula Balasubrahmanyam (Popularly
known as SPB) passed away in Chennai at the age of 74 due to Cardio-Respiratory arrest.
He was admitted to hospital after testing positive for COVID-19. Even Though he tested Negative on September 4, he
continued to be on Ventilator and ECMO support, and breathed his last on September 25.
SP Balasubrahmanyam:
i.He was born on 4th June, 1946 at Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.
ii.SPB made his singing debut in 1966 in the Telugu Movie ‘Sri Sri Sri Maryada Ramanna’.
iii.He has given voice to over 40, 000 songs in 16 Indian languages.
iv.Apart from Singing, he was also a Dubbing Artist, Singer, Film Producer, and Music Director.
Awards & Honors:
i.He is a Six-time National Award Winner for Best Male Playback Singer (1979, 1981, 1983, 1988, 1995, 1996).
ii.He was also a recipient of 25 Nandi Awards, 4 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, and 3 Karnataka State Film Awards.
iii.In 2016, He was awarded with Indian Film Personality of the Year consisting of a Silver Peacock Medal by
International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
Civilian Honours by Government of India:
i.He was awarded Padma Shri in 2001 by the Government of India.
ii.In 2011, he was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.
Telugu Language Day: August 29

Telugu Language Day (Telugu Bhasha Dinotsavam) is celebrated on August 29 every year. The birth anniversary
of Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy, a prominent Telugu writer, is celebrated as the day whose contributions,
Vyavaharika Bhasha or Vaaduka Bhasha (Colloquial language) is immense. Telugu is referred to as ‘The Italian of the
East’, as Niccolò de’ Conti, the 16th century Italian explorer found that the Telugu language ends with vowels just like
the Italian language.

State-Wise PDF
• Telugu which belongs to the family of Dravidian languages(classical languages in India) is the official language
of the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.Predominantly, Telugu Language Day is celebrated in these
states.
Key Info
i.For the betterment of the Telugu language, AP Govt on this day will provide funds and presents awards
ii.On behalf of the AP Govt, the department of culture is responsible for organizing the day
Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy’s Key Contributions
i.With the help of him spoken Telugu was standardized and was accepted by scholars, as Spoken Telugu is different
from written Telugu, i.e., learning written Telugu was not helpful to understand or communicate.
ii.This is the reason for the usage of telugu schools and educational institutions as the medium of instruction,
examination, and writing.
About Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy
i.Personal Info
Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy was one of the earliest modern Telugu linguists during the British rule, who supported
the use of language & stood firmly against the use of scholaristic language(‘Grandhika Bhasha’)
ii.Works
His other works include- ‘Kalinga (Orissa) Charitra’; Developed language script and prepared lexicons for the ‘Savara’
people (Munda tribe); Sora-English Dictionary; Savara Patalu
iii.Honours
• The title Rao Saheb, was given by the British Government for his service to the Savaras, to pedagogy and to
Telugu but not for his loyalty to the Crown.
• The title “Kaisar-i-Hind Medal” was given to him in 1933 for his services by the british government.
• He is nicknamed as pidugu (a thunderbolt)- rhyming with his surname, Gidugu
• His work was recognized on Munda linguistics as pioneering and original by European linguisticians like Jules
Bloch and Daniel Jones
i.May 29th is observed as the International Everest Day to commemorate the first summit of Mt.Everest by Sir
Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal in the year 1953.
ii.72nd National Chartered Accountants Day 2020: July 1
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - October 2020

Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” Virtually Inaugurated Gyan Circle Ventures of IIIT Sri City, Andhra Pradesh
On October 8, 2020, Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Ministry of Education (MoE) virtually inaugurated
the Gyan Circle Ventures, a MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) funded Technology Business
Incubator (TBI) of Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Sri City (Chittoor), Andhra Pradesh (AP) through
Video Conference from New Delhi.
• Gyan Circle Ventures would function as a Technology Incubation and Development of
Entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0) incubation center.
Key Points:
–These ventures will foster entrepreneurship in youngsters and help them to become successful innovators by
providing support, in various phases.
— Emerging technologies will be used in such ventures like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Block-chain, Cyber Physical
Systems (CPS), Cyber Security, Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, etc.
–Notably, the TBI would have an Advisory Committee comprising leading Industrialists, entrepreneurs and technical
experts which will leverage their expertise to incubates.
Other IIIT Sri City Initiatives:
It has been part of the MoE’s Innovation Cell and established Institute Innovation Council. It has also established
an Entrepreneurship Cell (E-cell) to support and enable students to create innovative ideas and convert them into
business opportunities.

State-Wise PDF
Other Participants: Amit Khare, Secretary, Higher Education (HE), Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, MeitY; Satish
Chandra, Special Chief Secretary HE, Government of Andhra Pradesh; Bala M.S. Chairman, Board of Governors, IIIT Sri
City Chittoor; Srinivasa C. Raju, Chairman, Sri City; Prof. G. Kannabiran, Director, IIIT Sri City Chittoor.
AP CM Launched Rs 650 crore Jagananna Vidya Kanuka Scheme to Provide Free Kits to Govt School Students
On October 8, 2020 In an effort to combat child labor and help poor parents choose the education for their children,
YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh has launched Rs 650 crore Jagananna Vidya
Kanuka scheme at Punadipadu ZP High School Krishna District. Under the scheme free kits will be provided
to 42.32 lakh government school students from Class 1 to 10.
• The Schools are scheduled to begin from November 2, 2020.
Note– Kits will be distributed for 3 days across the state.
About Jagananna Vidya Kanuka
i.The Vidya Kaunaka kits comprise the following namely, 3 pairs of uniform cloth, 1 pair of shoes, 2 pairs of socks, a
belt, textbooks and notebooks and a school bag.
ii.The stitching charges of the uniform will be directly credited to the mothers’ account.
Key People
Ministers Adimulapu Suresh, Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy among others were present at the launch programme.
Key Info
In a bid to bring down the illiteracy rate of the state, which is at 34%, Andhra Pradesh government is introducing
welfare scheme
Other schemes and programme launched for school children
i.To encourage mothers to send their children to schools and drop the rate of illiteracy, Amma Vodi Scheme has been
implemented by depositing Rs 15, 000 annually into the mothers’ account directly.
ii.All govt schools are renovated and the necessary furniture is provided at par with the private schools, under the
Nadu Nedu-Mana Badi Programme.
On September 11, 2020 As a step to empower women economically and socially, YS Jaganmohan Reddy, Chief
Minister of Andhra Pradesh(AP), launched the ‘YSR Aasara’ scheme. Under the scheme, AP government will
reimburse outstanding bank loans of women Self-Help Groups (SHG) as on April 11, 2019 into their accounts directly
in four phases. YSR Aasara is a part of the Navaratna welfare schemes.
Wildlife Sanctuary– Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary, Gundla Brahmeswaram Wildlife
Sanctuary, Sri Penusila Narasimhaswamy Wildlife Sanctuary, Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary
Airport– Visakhapatnam International airport, Vijayawada International Airport, Tirupati International Airport.
AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy Launched “YSR Bima” Scheme for Families of Accident Victims to Get Rs.10000 Aid
On 21st October 2020, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister(CM) of Andhra Pradesh(AP) launched the “YSR
Bima” scheme to provide insurance cover for death or permanent disability of any family member of the beneficiary.
The scheme provides an immediate financial aid of Rs.10000 for the families of the victims. It will be the first time in
India that a state government will be single-handedly funding the insurance scheme.
The immediate assistance will be provided through the Village and Ward Secretariats.
Key People:
Dharmana Krishnadas, Deputy Chief Minister, ministers B. Satyanarayana, P. Ramachandra Reddy and G. Jayaram and
Nilam Sawhney Chief Secretary were also present during the launch of YSR Bima.
YSR Bima scheme:
Aim:
To provide relief to the families of the unorganised workers in case of any accident, death or disability.
Features:
i.The unorganised workers of age between 18 and 70 will be registered under the Unorganised Worker Social
Security Act, 2008 and will be enrolled as the beneficiary of the YSR Bima scheme.

State-Wise PDF
ii.The registered workers will also be enrolled as a member of State Accident Death and Disability Scheme, Aam Admi
Bima Yojana (AABY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY).
Benefits:
Upto 2 children of the beneficiary studying 9th, 10th, intermediate or ITI will be supported with a scholarship of
Rs.1200 per year.
Accidental death and Total disability:
i.For the beneficiaries aged between 18 to 50, a total amount of Rs.5 lakhs will be provided as Rs. 2.25 Lakh from
State Accident Death and Disability Scheme, Rs.75000 from AABY and Rs. 2 lakhs from PMSBY.
ii.For Beneficiaries aged between 51 to 70, a total amount of Rs.3 lakhs will be provided.
Natural Death:
i.For the beneficiaries aged between 18 to 50, Rs. 2 lakhs will be paid.
ii.In case of natural death Rs.30000 will be provided to the beneficiaries under the AABY.
Partial permanent disability:
A total of up to Rs.3,62,500 will be provided as upto Rs.2.25 lakh from State Accident Death and Disability Scheme,
Rs.1 lakh from PMSBY and Rs.37500 from AABY.
mothers and children at the Tadepalli camp office.The state government issued an order to rename the scheme –
Agriculture Electricity Cash Transfer Scheme as YSR Free Agriculture Power.
Wildlife Sanctuaries– Kolleru wildlife sanctuary, Coringa Wildlife sanctuary, Sri Lankamalleswara WildLife
Sanctuary, Krishna Wildlife sanctuary, Kaundinya WildLife Sanctuary, Penusila Narasimhaswamy wildlife sanctuary,
Kambalakonda WildLife Sanctuary
Dams- Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, Srisailam Dam, Mylavaram Dam
UP Emerge as Top Domestic Tourists Destination in 2019 & Secures 3rd Rank in Attracting Foreign Tourists
in 2019: ITS 2020
As per, Ministry of Tourism annual publication titled ‘India Tourism Statistics(ITS) at a Glance – 2020’, Uttar
Pradesh(UP), tops the Domestic Tourist Visits list 2019, with ~53.6 crore tourists ( i.e., 23.1% of the total
domestic tourists travellers visited in 2019). UP was followed by Tamil Nadu(~49.4 crore tourists) & Andhra
Pradesh(~23.7 crore tourists).
• Similarly, in terms of Foreign Tourist Visits list 2019, TamilNadu tops the list, with ~ 68 lakh foreign tourists,
i.e, 21.9 % of the total travellers visited in 2019. TamilNadu was followed by Maharashtra(~55 lakh tourists)
and UP(~ 47 lakh tourists)
Note
As per the publication, Around 2 billion domestic tourists and 31 million foreign tourists have visited India in 2019.
List of top 3 states/UTs(Union Territories) of the domestic & foreign tourist visit
Domestic Tourist Visits
Rank State Total Number of tourist Percentage Share (%)
1 Uttar Pradesh ~53.6 crore 23.1
2 Tamil Nadu ~49.4 crore 21.3
3 Andhra Pradesh ~23.7 crore 10.2
Foreign Tourist Visit
1 Tamil Nadu ~ 68 lakh 21.9
2 Maharashtra ~55 lakh 17.6
3 Uttar Pradesh ~ 47 lakh 15.1

State-Wise PDF
Key Info
i.Rajasthan(2.2%) secured 10th rank in the list of Top 10 States/UTs of India in terms of Number of Domestic Tourist
Visits in 2019.
ii.Goa(3.0%)secured the 10th rank in Top 10 States/UTs(Union Territories) of India in terms of Number of Foreign
Tourist Visits in 2019.
Additional Info
Uttar Pradesh to attract foreign and domestic tourists in large numbers, have identified number of circuits, namely,
Ramayan circuit, Braj circuit, Mahabharat circuit, Shaktipeeth circuit, etc.,
On September 5, 2020, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman has virtually announced
the 4th edition of State Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) Ranking for 2018-19 which was released by Department
of Industrial Promotion and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of commerce and industry. In accordance with that,
Andhra Pradesh (AP) topped the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) ranking 2019, followed by Uttar Pradesh (UP) and
Telangana at 2nd & 3rd place respectively. Among Union Territories (UTs), Delhi bagged the top spot.
About Uttar Pradesh:
Bird Sanctuary– Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary, Sandi Bird Sanctuary, Samaspur Bird Sanctuary, Okhla Bird Sanctuary,
Vijay Sagar Bird Sanctuary
Lakes– Moti Jheel, Surha Tal, Gobind Vallabh Pant Sagar, Raja Ka Tal, Keetham Lake
India’s Eight Beaches get International Blue Flag Certification

Eight Beaches of India have been awarded “BLUE FLAG” certification by Denmark based Foundation for
Environmental Education (FEE). India became the First Country to be awarded the Coveted International Blue Flag
certification for 8 beaches in one attempt.
International Jury:
It was selected by an International Jury consisting of eminent members from United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), FEE & International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
List of 8 beaches:
Beach State
Shivrajpur Gujarat
Ghoghla Diu
Kasarkod Karnataka
Padubidri Karnataka
Kappad Kerala
Rushikonda Andhra Pradesh
Golden Beach Odisha
Radhanagar Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Key Points:
i.Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are the only other Asian nations to be conferred with Blue
Flag Certification.
ii.India joins the list of 50 countries with “Blue Flag” certifications.
iii.The Government of India is planning to bring 100 beaches for “Blue Flag” certification in the next five years.
Criteria for Blue Flag Certification:
Water Quality:
No industrial wastage should affect the beach area; health of the coral reefs must be ensured.
Environmental Education and Information:
Information relating to coastal zone ecosystems and natural, sensitive areas in the coastal zone should be displayed.

State-Wise PDF
Environment Management:
Facilities for receiving recyclable waste materials to be made available in the beach. Also adequate facilities for clean
sanitary facilities and controlled sewage disposal should also be available.
Safety and Services:
Adequate number of lifeguards, lifesaving equipment and First aid equipment must be available.
Blue Flag Programme:
i.The Blue Flag is given by Copenhagen (Denmark) based Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). FEE is the
World’s Largest Environmental Education Organisation.
ii.In order to qualify for the prestigious label, the beaches have to meet a series of stringent environmental,
educational, safety-related and access-related criteria.
International Best Practices:
India bagged the 3rd Prize under the “International Best Practices” for pollution control in coastal regions.
India eco-label BEAMS:
i.On the occasion of International Coastal Cleanup Day 2020 (September 19, 2020) Ministry of Environment, Forest
and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched India’s own eco-label BEAMS (Beach Environment & Aesthetics
Management Services) with an aim to reduce pollution and to maintain high standards of cleanliness, safety for
beachgoers in accordance with coastal environment and regulations.
ii.Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM), MoEFCC launched the BEAMS program under ICZM
(Integrated Coastal Zone Management) for promoting policies for Sustainable development in coastal regions.
i.On occasion of International Coastal Clean-Up Day (September 19, 2020), MoEFCC announced that Eight Beaches of
India have been recommended for International eco-label “Blue Flag”.
ii.On 11th August 2020, Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of Environment Forest &Climate Change(MoEFCC)
launched a booklet on “Best practices of Human-Elephant Conflict Management in India” to strengthen coexistence of
the human-elephant, along with the Beta Version of “Surakhsya”.
About Foundation for Environment Education (FEE):
President – Lesley Jones
Headquarters – Copenhagen, Denmark
Chetan Anand, CWG Shuttle Medalist appointed as the Brand Ambassador of India’s first Badminton Brand,
‘Transform’
Chetan Anand, Indian Badminton player and Commonwealth Games(CWG) medalist was appointed as the brand
ambassador of Transform, India’s first homegrown badminton brand which was virtually launched on 7th October
2020.
Chetan Anand was signed as the face of Transform along with his academy in Hyderabad.
About Transform:
The racquets of Transform are made out of military grade graphite.
These racquets have the best weight to strength ratio which is on par with the best racquets available in the market
which are imported to India from overseas.
The initiative of Transform is promoted by VICKY Sports, one of India’s top 3 sports brands.
Products:
Transform produces racquets, nylon shuttles, shoes and apparels with design, style and colors for the new age
players.
The price of the racquet range from Rs.1990 to Rs11990 which are available
at https://www.transformbadminton.com/#.
About Chetan Anand:
i.Chetan Anand 40 years old Indian badminton player from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.
ii.He won his first Asian Satellite Tournament in 2001.
iii.He won the bronze medals under the Men’s Single and Mixed team in 2006 Commonwealth games at Melbourne,
Australia.
iv.He won the 3 gold medals under Men’s Single and 3 gold medals under Men’s team and one silver under Men’s

State-Wise PDF
Doubles in the South Asian Games of 2004, 2006 and 2010.
v.He won the Silver medal under Mixed team in the 2010 CWG in New Delhi.
Awards:
He received the Arjuna Award in 2006 for his performance in CWG.
Gurdeep Singh, CMD of NTPC Gets Extension on His Term Till July 2025
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) extended the tenure of Gurdeep Singh, the Chairman and
Managing Director(CMD) of NTPC limited. Gurdeep Singh will serve as the CMD till July 2025, which makes him as the
one of the longest serving chief of NTPC Ltd.
Gurdeep’s extended second term will start from 4th February 2021 and end on 31st July 2025, the date of his
retirement.
About Gurdeep Singh:
i.Gurdeep Singh is a mechanical engineer by training.
ii.He was appointed as the CMD of NTPC in February 2016.
iii.Prior to this appointment, he served as the Managing Director(MD) of the Gujarat State Electricity Corporation
Limited.
iv.He served in various firms in the power sector which includes, CLP, Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation(CESC),
IDFC, Powergen and AES.
Future Plans of NTPC:
i.With a total capital expenditure of Rs.1 trillion between 2019 and 2024, NTPC plans to become a
130Gigawatt (GW) power producer by 2032.
ii.NTPC is discussing with the state governments of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Andhra
Pradesh for the allocation of land parcels to establish Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Power Parks (UMREPP).
iii.NTPC plans to build the massive clean energy parks at a cost of 2 billion USD for each park.
About NTPC:
Chairman & Managing Director(CMD)– Gurdeep Singh
India Meteorological Department Launches Impact-Based Cyclone Warning System

On October 12, 2020 India Meteorological Department(IMD) launched a dynamic,
impact-based cyclone warning system to reduce economic losses and damage to
property caused by the cyclones that hit Indian coast annually. The system has been
commissioned from this cyclone season (October-December).
• The announcement of the launch was made by Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director-
General(DG) of IMD on October 6, 2020 while giving presentation on ‘Chasing the
Cyclones’, organised as part of World Space Week(October 4-10) celebrations by
the Indian Society of Remote Sensing (ISRS)’s Delhi chapter.
Key Info
i.As part of the new system, location-wise or district-specific designed warnings will be
prepared and disseminated, which also accounts for the local population, infrastructure,
settlements, land use and other elements.
• IMD before the launch of this system was giving a warning about the kind of
damage that can be expected.
ii.The cartographic, geological and hydrological data that are available for the district
concerned, will be extensively used by all disaster management agencies.
Web-based Dynamic Composite Risk Atlas
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under the project, entitled National Cyclone Risk Mitigation
Project (NCRMP) is developing a Web-based Dynamic Composite Risk Atlas (Web-DCRA) in collaboration
with IMD and state Governments of coastal states.

State-Wise PDF
Online pre-cyclone Exercise meeting Held under the chairmanship of IMD’s DG
i.IMD, under the chairmanship of Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, has organized an online pre-cyclone exercise meeting, to
review the preparedness, take stock of requirements, plan for the cyclone season October-December, 2020 and share
IMD’s new initiatives with stakeholders.
ii.National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Indian Air Force (IAF), Indian Navy (IN)
among others participated in the meeting.
General Info
i.In the pre- and post-monsoon months that are known for cyclone genesis, the major impact can be seen.
ii.A favourable atmosphere and sea conditions for the occurrence of cyclonic storms is offered by the post-monsoon
months of October and November. The storms particularly affect coastal Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal in
east coast and Gujarat in west coast.
iii.The storms during October to December, especially in the Bay of Bengal, are known to destroy the eastern coast of
the country and also damage property.
Additional Info
Cyclones are multi-hazardous in nature and so cause heavy rain, strong winds and storm surge over the affected
region simultaneously. This is along with the property loss.
Gist about India Meteorological Department
IMD is functioning under the Ministry of Earth Sciences(MoES), Government of India. It is headquartered in New
Delhi.
i.On June 12 2020, The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray and Union Minister for Health & Family
Welfare, Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Dr Harsh Vardhan jointly launched the state-of-the-art Integrated
Flood Warning System (I-FLOWS) in Mumbai with an aim to alleviate and monitor the flood activities by providing
early warning in the city during high rainfall and cyclone events.
ii.On February 25, 2020 The Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad has
launched 3 new ocean based specialised products for the benefit of fishermen & people living in the coastal areas of
South India. The 3 warning systems are Small Advisory and Forecast Services System (SVAS), Swell Surge Forecast
System (SSFS) and Algal Bloom Information Service (ABIS).
About India Meteorological Department(IMD):
IMD is functioning under the Ministry of Earth Sciences(MoES), Government of India.
HeadQuarters– New Delhi, India
Director-General(DG)– Mrutyunjay Mohapatra
About Ministry of Earth Sciences(MoES):
Union Minister– Harsh Vardhan(Constituency- Chandni Chowk, New Delhi)
Indigenously-Built Stealth Corvette ‘INS Kavaratti’ commissioned into Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam
On October 22, 2020, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General MM Naravane commissioned the Anti-Submarine Warfare
stealth corvette “INS Kavaratti” into Indian Navy at the Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam.
i.INS Kavaratti is the last of four indigenously built Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) stealth corvettes under Project
28 (Kamorta Class).
ii.The ship has completed sea trials for all the Latest equipment inside the vessel, and has been commissioned as a
fully combat-ready platform to the Indian Navy.
Design & Build:
i.It has been designed by the Directorate of Naval Design, Indian Navy’s Design wing.
ii.It was built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.
Key Points:
i.The corvette has upto 90 % indigenous content. The ship’s superstructure has been built with the use of Carbon
Composites.
ii.It is equipped with State-of-the-art weapons and sensors which are capable of detecting and prosecuting
submarines and is capable of fighting in Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare conditions.

State-Wise PDF
iii.It has been named after the capital of Lakshadweep group of Islands and has been constructed using high-
grade DMR 249A (Low carbon microalloyed grade of steel) Steel produced in India.
iv.The ship is a reincarnation of Arnala Class Missile Corvette of same name (INS Kavaratti-P80) which had a
distinguished service during the 1971 war for Liberation of Bangladesh.
Features of INS Kavaratti:
i.The corvette measures ~110 meters in Length, ~14 meters in Breadth and displacing 3, 300 tonnes. It can achieve a
speed of 25 knots.
ii.The corvette is fitted with anti-submarine rockets, torpedoes, medium and close-in weapon systems and
Indigenous surveillance radar ‘Revathi’.
iii.It is also capable of carrying Integral Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) helicopters.
iv.It has a multitude of advanced automation systems such as Total Atmospheric Control System (TACS), Integrated
Platform Management System (IPMS), Integrated Bridge System (IBS), Battle Damage Control System (BDCS) and
Personnel Locator System (PLS).
Persons who attended the Meeting:
Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command Vice-Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, GRSE Chairman and
Managing Director Rear Admiral (retired) V K Saxena and other officials attended the event.
First Commanding Officer:
The ship will be manned by a team of Twelve Officers and 134 sailors with Commander Sandeep Singh as First
Commanding Officer. It will be part of the Eastern Fleet under Eastern Naval Command.
i.The Fourth Edition of the Biennial Japan-India Maritime Exercise JIMEX-2020 took place between Indian Navy and
Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in the North Arabian Sea from 26th September-28th September, 2020.
About Indian Navy:
Chief of the Naval Staff – Admiral Karambir Singh
DRDO Successfully Flight Tested Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART)
After the successful testing of a new version of indigenously developed canister launched hypersonic nuclear-capable
Shaurya missile, on October 5, 2020, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight
tested the Supersonic Missile assisted release of Torpedo (SMART) from Dr. Abdul Kalam Island, formerly known as
Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha.
• All mission objectives, including missile flight upto the range and altitude, separation of the nose cone, the
release of Torpedo and deployment of Velocity Reduction Mechanism (VRM), were met perfectly.
• SMART will be used for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations beyond torpedo range.
• The technologies required for SMART were developed by DRDO laboratories, including Defence Research &
Development Laboratory (DRDL), Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad (Telangana), Aerial Delivery
Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) Agra (Uttar Pradesh), Naval Science & Technological
Laboratory (NSTL) Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh).
i.DRDO provides the drone named “Bharat” to the Indian Army– indigenously developed by the DRDO and will help in
monitoring high altitude areas along LAC in Eastern Ladakh (China Border).
ii.Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Science(INMAS) a Delhi based laboratory of DRDO has developed “Ultra
Swachh”, a disinfection unit to disinfect Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs), electronic items, fabrics and other
materials.
About Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO):
Chairman – G Satheesh Reddy

State-Wise PDF
Veteran Film-maker B. Vijaya Reddy Passed Away
On October 9, 2020 Veteran film-maker B. Vijaya Reddy, known as Vijay in the Kannada film industry passed
away due to cardiac arrest in a private hospital in Chennai, Tamil Nadu at the age of 84. He was born on 15th July
1936 in Tadepalligudem, West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.
• He floated a production house, Vijaya Shekhar Productions with another director V. Somashekhar and went on
to produce several films.
About B. Vijaya Reddy
i.He made his debut as a director in Rangamahal Rahasya (1970), a thriller.
ii.He was known for his collaborations with leading Kannada actor Rajkumar for movies like Gandhada Gudi (1973),
Mayura (1975) among others which are considered among the classic movies of Kannada cinema.
iii.He has also directed several leading men of Kannada cinema, namely Anant Nag in Naa Ninna Bidalare, Shankar
Nag in Auto Raja, etc.,
iv.Apart from Kannada he had also directed movies in other languages, namely Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - November 2020

Hardeep Singh Puri Launched Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge; Conferral of Swachhata Awards 2020 held on
World Toilet Day
The occasion of World Toilet Day i.e. on November 19, 2020, was observed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairs (MoHUA) and Ministry of Jal Shakti with a launch of Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge and conferring of
Swachhata Awards 2020 on the 20 best performing districts, respectively. Both events are detailed as below:
Hardeep Singh Puri launches Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge across 243 Cities
Minister of State (MoS), Independent Charge (I/C) Hardeep Singh Puri, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
(MoHUA) launched a Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge at a webinar in New Delhi where pledge has been taken by senior
officials representing 243 cities to mechanize all sewer and septic tank cleaning operations by 30th April 2021. They
also gave their commitment to work towards preventing any deaths from hazardous entry.
• Aim of Challenge: To prevent hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks and promote their mechanized
cleaning.
• It was launched on the lines of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) which has made significant progress
in the area of both sanitation and solid waste management since its launch in 2014.
Reason behind this launch:
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act (2013) and various
judgements of Supreme Court (SC) prohibit hazardous cleaning, i.e. manual entry into a septic tank or sewer without
protective gear and observing operating procedures Despite this, recurring episodes of human fatalities continue.
Therefore, to counter this situation, this decision has been taken.
About Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge:
The Challenge will raise awareness among citizens on the above mentioned issue along with infrastructure creation
for mechanized cleaning and capacity building of the workforce. Also, a dedicated helpline number has been set up to
register complaints and provide real-time solutions on desludging or sewer overflow.
• In May 2021, an assessment of participating cities will be conducted by an independent agency and results of
the same will be declared on August, 15 2021.
• Cities will be awarded in three sub-categories – with a population of more than 10 lakhs, 3-10 lakhs and upto 3
lakhs, with a total prize money of Rs 52 crores.
Other Releases:
The event saw the launch of a series of advisories prepared by Central Public Health and Environmental
Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO), MoHUA. These included the follows:
• Training Module for ‘Sanitary Workers on Cleaning of Sewer and Septic Tanks’
• A document on ‘Equipment & Workforce Norms for Managing Waterborne Sanitation in India’
• Consultative Document on ‘Land Application of Faecal Sludge’.

State-Wise PDF
• A series of posters were also released as part of a citizen centric behavior change communication campaign on
the subject of hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
Open Forum Event:
An Open Forum in the format of a panel discussion was also held on the subject of ‘Manhole to Machine Hole
Transformation’ where several States and cities such as Uttar Pradesh (UP), Maharashtra, Surat, Hyderabad and
Ludhiana shared their experiences and best practices.
Other Participants: The Webinar was also attended by Secretaries of Ministry of Social Justice, Department of
Drinking Water and Sanitation, and Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, who spoke about how
their Ministries were contributing to the cause of mechanizing such cleaning practices.
— Gajendra Singh Shekhawat conferred Swachhata Awards on 20 best performing Districts
Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) organized the “Swachhata Awards 2020” during the World
Toilet Day under ‘Swachh Bharat Mission – Grameen (SBMG)’ for promoting awareness on access to Safe Sanitation.
• In this regard, Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat along with the Minister of State
(MoS) Rattan Lal Kataria felicitated top districts with ‘Swachhata Puraskar’ through a virtual event from New
Delhi amid COVID-19 on same day.
• The awards recognized their significant contribution towards Open Defecation Free (ODF) Sustainability and
ODF Plus goals.
Names of 20 awardee Districts:
• Siang (Arunachal Pradesh)
• Cooch Behar (West Bengal)
• West Godavari and East Godavari (Andhra Pradesh),
• Kanker and Bemetara (Chhattisgarh)
• Vadodara and Rajkot (Gujarat)
• Bhiwana and Rewari (Haryana)
• Ernakulam and Wayanad (Kerala)
• Kolhapur and Nashik (Maharashtra)
• Kolasib and Serchhip (Mioram)
• Moga and Fatehgarh Sahib (Punjab)
• Siddipet and Peddapalli (Telangana)
Other Events:
The Union Minister had a virtual interaction or Sarpanch Samvad with nine Sarpanches from ODF Plus Gram
Panchayats where Sapanches shared their key activities such as SLWM, people’ participation and ODF Sustainability.
There was a screening of a short film on ODF Plus Film (Swachhata ke Paanch Mantra) which shows key components
of ODF Plus in a creative format.
About Swachh Bharat Mission – Grameen (SBMG):
On October 2, 2014, Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin/Rural) was launched as a part of SBM to make Gram Panchayats
ODF, clean and sanitized. Then in February 2020, Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase-II approved by the Union
Cabinet to focus on ODF Plus), which includes ODF sustainability and Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM).
• It is being implemented from 2020-21 to 2024-25 in a mission mode with a total outlay of Rs. 1,40,881 crores.
i.On September 18, 2020 Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MEITY) in partnership with National Jal
Jeevan Mission (NJJM), Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched ICT (Information & Communication Technology) Grand
Challenge for Development of ‘Smart Water Supply Measurement & Monitoring System’ to be deployed at the village
level.
ii.On October 7, 2020 Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs(MoHUA) launched the
API(Application Programming Interface) integration between the PM SVANidhi Portal and the SBI(State Bank of
India)’s eMudra portal.
About Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO):
Advisor– Dr. M. Dhinadhayalan
Parent Ministry– Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)

State-Wise PDF
Indian Naval Ship ‘Airavat’ reaches Port Sudan with Food Aid as Part of ‘Mission Sagar-II’
On November 2, 2020, Indian Naval Ship (INS) Airavat entered Port Sudan with 100 Tonnes of Food aid as part
of Mission Sagar-II. Under Mission ‘SAGAR’ Indian government is providing assistance to Friendly Foreign Countries
to overcome natural calamities and COVID-19 pandemic.
The mission is being done in close coordination with the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs and
other agencies of Indian Government.
Mission Sagar-II:
i.Under Mission Sagar-II, INS Airavat will deliver food aid to Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea amid
COVID-19 pandemic.
ii.Mission Sagar-II is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR-Security and Growth for All in the Region’
Note: – Mission Sagar-I was undertaken in May-June 2020, INS Kesari provided Food and Medicines to Maldives,
Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros.
INS Airavat:
i.INS Airavat is the third Shardul-class amphibious warfare vessel of Indian Navy.
ii.It was commissioned at the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam on 19th May 2009.
iii.It was built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata
Mission Sagar:
i.Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) was launched in 2015, it is India’s Strategic vision for the Indian
Ocean Region (IOR).
ii.Through SAGAR, India seeks to deepen Economic and Security cooperation with maritime neighbours and assist in
building maritime security capabilities.
i.On May 10, 2020, the government of India (GOI) has initiated a “Mission Sagar” as a part of their efforts to send
medical aid to five Island nations in the Indian Ocean amid COVID-19 pandemic.
About Ministry of Defence:
Union Minister– Rajnath Singh
Minister of State (MoS)– Shripad Yesso Naik
About Ministry of External Affairs:
Union Minister– Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
Minister of State (MoS)– Vellamvelly Muraleedharan
Govt plans to Set Up 14 More Water Aerodromes for Seaplane Services Under RCS UDAN Scheme
The Government of India plans to set up 14 more water aerodromes across India under the Regional Connectivity
Scheme(RCS) UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation(MoCA). This follows the launch of
the first seaplane service between the Statue of Unity in Kevadiya of Narmada Gujarat and Sabarmati Riverfront in
Ahmedabad.
These 14 aerodromes will enable seaplane services on multiple routes which includes, lakshadweep, Andaman and
Nicobar, Assam, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand.
Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) requested the Inland Waterways
Authority of India (IWAI) for the following assistance.
• To conduct a hydrographic survey
• To provide assistance in setting up floating jetties to enable the movement of passengers
• To set up navigation buoys.
The Potential locations:
i.Tehri Dam in Uttarakhand.
ii.Khindsi Dam and Erai Dam in Maharashtra.
iii.Guwahati riverfront and Umrangso reservoir in Assam.
iv.Prakasam barrage in Andhra Pradesh.
v.Havelock, Neil, Long and Hutbay islands in Andaman & Nicobar.
vi.Minicoy and Kavaratti in Lakshadweep.

State-Wise PDF
vii.Dharoi and Shatrunjaya in Gujarat.
About the Seaplanes:
i.The Twin Otters, a 14 passenger commuter airplane, certified by the Canadian Department of Transportation under
the normal category will be utilised for this initiative.
ii.The Twin Otters is an unpressurised, all metal, high wing, twin turboprop aircraft.
Key Points:
i.The Directorate of General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) under the ministry of Shipping has utilised the
Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) technology, a system to provide the provisional correction to GPS
signal to mark the runway in the shallow waters of Gujarat.
ii.For the operation during the night, this provision has been made over the navigation buoys for fixing the automated
navigation lights.
iii.SpiceJet has chartered a seaplane from Maldives and more seaplanes like this will be hired after the
commencement of the services.
Note:
The Gujarat Government has cleared a proposal to enter a tri-party agreement with MoCA and AAI for the
development of four water aerodromes for seaplanes service under RCS.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning to develop at least 100 Airports, Waterdromes, and Heliports by 2024
under UDAN (“Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik”)-Regional Air Connectivity Scheme.
About Ministry of Civil Aviation:
Union Minister– Hardeep Singh Puri
About Airport Authority of India(AAI):
Chairman- Arvind Singh
MoHFW Launches 3-Month accelerated SAANS Campaign to Reduce Childhood Pneumonia Deaths
On November 12, 2020 The Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) launched a 3 month accelerated
SAANS (Social Action and Awareness to Neutralise Pneumonia Successfully) campaign to reduce
childhood pneumonia deaths. The scheme focuses to raise awareness regarding childhood pneumonia and its early
intervention, enabling the caregivers across the country to identify critical symptoms at early stages and immediate
care-seeking with qualified providers.
Target of the Initiative– To reduce less than 5 pneumonia deaths, per a 1000 live births, to less than 3 deaths by
2025 through the accelerated SAANS (Social Action and Awareness to Neutralise Pneumonia Successfully) initiative.
About SAANS campaign
SAANS campaign was launched in 2019. It complements the national childhood pneumonia management guidelines
through a three-pronged approach to protect, prevent and treat pneumonia among children.
Key Info
• In order to increase the efforts to alleviate the burden of pneumonia in India, Save the Children, the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) have also partnered with the
MoHFW.
• One of the key objectives under the National Health Mission(NHM), is to reduce the child mortality, more so
from preventable diseases.
Statistics in regard to India’s Child Mortality:
i.India has a higher decline in the reduction of child mortality (71%) in comparison to the global reduction of 59%
between 1990 and 2017
ii.Under the NHM, the Under Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) has decreased in a fast manner between 2008 and 2018,
with a compound annual decline of 6.5% per year, compared to the 3.3% compound annual decline observed
between 1990 and 2007.
iii.For the first time, the U5MR of India is 36 per 1000 live births less than the global U5MR of 39 per a 1000 live
births.
iv.From the current levels, the National Health Policy targets to reduce it to 23 deaths by 2025.

State-Wise PDF
v.The USMR target that was set under the National Health Policy (23 per a 1000 live births by 2025) and Sustainable
Development Goals-SGG (25 per a 1000 live births by 2030) have been achieved by 7 states/ union territories,
namely Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Maharashtra, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh,
mothers and children at the Tadepalli camp office.
About Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW):
Union Minister– Harsh Vardhan(Constituency- Chandni Chowk,New Delhi)
Minister of State– Ashwini Kumar Choubey
Solar Capacity Addition falls 80% in Q2FY21; MNRE Proposed Wind-Solar Hybrid Park Scheme in States
In accordance with the report by Mercom Communications India, the solar capacity of India was decreased in Q2
FY21(July to September) as it added just 438 megawatt (MW) solar capacity, a down of 80% from 2,177 MW the same
period in 2019. As of September 30, 2020, India’s total solar installed capacity was at 37.4 Gigawatt (GW).
• In Q1 FY21 (April to June), 205 MW solar capacity was added.
• According to the report, India still has a robust large-scale solar project development pipeline of 44.7 GW, with
another 34.6 GW of projects tendered and pending auction at the end of third quarter of 2020.
About Mercom Communications India:
Mercom Communications India is a subsidiary of global clean energy communications and consulting firm Mercom
Capital Group.
Managing Director– Priya Sanjay
Headquarter– Bengaluru, Karnataka
MNRE proposes wind-solar hybrid park scheme in states
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has proposed the “Development of Wind Parks/Wind-Solar
Hybrid Park” scheme with proper infrastructure including evacuation facilities in place. It aims to address the issues
faced by renewable energy projects, in particular wind energy projects.
• As part of the same, states will prepare the necessary infrastructure for wind power project developers under
the plug- and-play model (availability of land, transmission, necessary infrastructure and necessary
approvals).
• The ministry has sought comments and feedback before November 28, 2020 for this scheme.
Key Points:
–The sites for the parks have been identified in 7 states with the help of National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE).
The states are Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
–If the site is found to be suitable, the park developer may consider developing a wind-solar hybrid park.
–The projects will be installed for a capacity of 53,495 MW (5 MW per sq km). The capacity of each park should be
500 MW and more. Parks with lower capacity may also be developed but in any case the capacity of each park should
not be less than 50 MW.
–MNRE will provide financial assistance of Rs 25 lakh per park to the developer for Detailed Project Reports (DPRs)
preparation and Rs 30 lakh per MW or 30% of the park development cost to park developer, whichever is lower.
Point to be noted:
–As of now, Wind plants comprise about 43% of the total installed renewable energy capacity of 89 GW.
–Annual wind capacity addition has slowed down from 3.4 GW in FY16 to 2.1 GW in FY20.
–The total installed power generation capacity of India is 373 GW, of which 62% are thermal power plants.
i.AAI achieved a major feat on October 2, 2020, by converting the Union Territory of Puducherry’s airport into its first
entirely solar-powered airport in the country i.e. “absolutely power-neutral” airport with the commissioning of
500KWp (kilowatts peak) ground-mounted solar power plant at a cost of Rs 2.8 crore.
ii.On October 6, 2020 NITI Aayog, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Invest India jointly organized a
Global Symposium ‘India PV Edge 2020’ virtually. It was organized to inform global Photovoltaics (PV) about
opportunities in India.

State-Wise PDF
About Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE):
Minister of State (MoS)-Independent Charge (I/C)– Raj Kumar Singh
Headquarter– New Delhi
Govt Approved Subsidized Loans worth Rs 3,971.31 cr for Micro-Irrigation Projects; Tamil Nadu received
highest loan approval
On November 21, 2020, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoAFW) has approved subsidized loans worth Rs
3,971.31 crore under Micro Irrigation Fund (MIF) for implementing micro-irrigation projects. These funds were
earlier approved by the steering committee of MIF.
• It should be noted that MIF is created with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
(NABARD) for implementing micro-irrigation projects.
• The maximum loan worth Rs 1,357.93 crore has been approved for the state of Tamil Nadu, followed by Rs
790.94 crore for Haryana, Rs 764.13 crore for Gujarat, Rs 616.13 crore for Andhra Pradesh, Rs 276.55 crore for
West Bengal, Rs 150 crore for Punjab and Rs 15.63 crore for Uttarakhand.
Key Points:
—-Of the total amount, NABARD has so far released an amount of Rs 1,754.60 crore to the states.
Rs.1754.60 crore has been provided to following states, Rs. 616.13 crore to Andhra Pradesh, Rs. 937.47 crore to
Tamil Nadu, Rs. 21.57 crore to Haryana and Rs. 179.43 crore to Gujarat.
About Micro-Irrigation Fund:
This fund with a corpus of Rs 5,000 crore was operationalised in FY20 with an outlay of Rs 5,000 crore to facilitate
states in availing subsidised loans for expanding coverage of micro irrigation beyond the provisions available under
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (Per Drop More Crop) to encourage farmers to install micro irrigation systems.
• The subsidized loans are also provided for taking up special and innovative projects but also under micro
irrigation.
What is micro-irrigation?
Micro irrigation is a modern method of irrigation by this method water is irrigated frequently (e.g. daily or multiple
times per day) through drippers, sprinklers, foggers and by other emitters on the surface or subsurface of the land.
• Micro irrigation applies water at low rates and pressures to discrete areas so irrigation water reaches the root
zone with minimal loss of water.
i.On September 24, 2020 Ministry for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare launched “Centralized Farm Machinery
Performance Testing Portal” (https://www.agrimachinery.nic.in/FMTTI/Management) in public domain. The Portal
has been developed by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW), Ministry of
Agriculture.
ii.Kerala Government has formed ‘Kerala Karshaka Kshemanidhi Board’ (Kerala Farmers Welfare Fund Board) – a
Board for upliftment of Farmers in the State. It is the first time in India that a Welfare Fund Board has been formed
for upliftment of farmers.
About Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoAFW):
Union Minister – Narendra Singh Tomar
Minister of State (MoS) – Parshottam Rupala, Kailash Choudhary
AP Government plans to set up 400 EV Charging Stations across the State

The Andhra Pradesh (AP) Government has decided to set up 400 Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations across the
state to promote the usage of electric vehicles. The EV stations will be built under the first phase of the “Go
Electric” Campaign.
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) launched the ‘Go Electric’ campaign in AP in coordination with APSECM
(Andhra Pradesh State Energy Conservation Mission).
Key Points:
i.The main aim of the Government is to attract investments in the EV sector by setting up electric vehicle
infrastructure, and charging stations.

State-Wise PDF
ii.New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Ltd (NREDCAP) has coordinated with
International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT), Manesar (Haryana) to set up testing facilities for auto
components and vehicles with an investment of INR 250 Crore.
Performance Study:
i.The State Government is planning to undertake real time performance study on electric vehicles.
ii.It will provide electric two-wheelers to the ward and village secretariat staff, and establish testing facilities for
auto components and vehicles.
iii.It is planning to establish charging infrastructure at every 25 km along the national highways.
iv.NREDCAP is the state nodal agency for establishment of Charging stations in Andhra Pradesh.
Benefits:
i.Installation of charging stations is expected to boost the confidence of users of electric vehicles and encourage
companies to launch new brands of e-vehicles.
ii.It will also help Andhra Pradesh to take the lead in the emerging e-vehicle sector. It will increase energy security,
control air pollution, and improve air quality.
Steps taken by AP Government:
i.NREDCAP has signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) for
deployment of electric cars. Around 300 Electric cars have been deployed at various government organisations.
ii.NREDCAP has signed agreements with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Rajasthan Electronic and
Instruments Limited (RIEL) for charging infrastructure.
iii.460 Chargers to be installed in 83 locations across Andhra under the Central Government sponsored Faster
Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) Electric Vehicles (FAME-II) Scheme.
Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE):
i.It is a statutory body under the Ministry of Power, Government of India.
ii.It assists in developing policies and strategies with the objective of reducing the energy intensity of Indian
Economy.
iii.It is the nodal agency for promoting electric vehicle charging stations.
Note:-
The Union government is aiming to make electric three-wheelers operational in the country by 2023 and electric two-
wheelers by 2025.
i.On June 10, 2020 Andhra Pradesh(AP) Chief Minister(CM) Yeduguri Sandinti(YS) Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the
‘Jagananna Chedodu’ scheme to provide financial assistance to tailors, barbers and dhobis(washermen).
ii.On September 4, 2020, the state government of Andhra Pradesh (AP) inked 8 pacts with 7 major domestic and
global companies and with the Government of Netherlands to boost the food processing sector of various agricultural
products, including bananas, tomatoes, mangoes, sugar, chillies, vegetables, and aqua products in the state.
Ports – Krishnapatnam Port, Kalingapatnam Port, Gangavaram Port, Machilipatnam Port
Solar Power Plant – Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park.
About Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE):
Director General – Abhay Bakre
AP CM, Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy Launched Interest Free Loan scheme “Jagananna Thodu”
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy launched a flagship scheme “Jagananna Thodu” aimed to
benefit several small traders and street vendors. The Scheme is allocated with a fund of 905 Crores to benefit 9.05
lakh street vendors and traders.
Objective: To Provide Interest Free loan upto Rs. 10,000 to street vendors and marginal traders.
About Jagananna Thodu:
i.Around Rs.1,000 crore is lent to nearly 10 lakh people where the government pays interest upto 100 crore annually.
ii.QR based Smart ID cards will be provided to vendors to avail the benefits.
iii.Vendors can enroll in the scheme by dialling toll free number 1902.

State-Wise PDF
iv.The loan amount will be directly credited to the beneficiary bank account.
v.The scheme will be monitored by Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) & Mission for Elimination of
Poverty in Municipal Areas(MEPMA) of of Andhra Pradesh government.
Beneficiaries:
Vegetable vendors, fruit vendors, small shopkeepers, pushcart vendors, and traditional artisans & other unorganized
sector vendors are eligible for this scheme.
Central Government Initiative for Street Vendor-PM SVANidhi:
i.Ministry of Housing & Urban Affair launched a scheme PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi( PM SVANidhi).
ii.To empower Street vendors the scheme provides Collateral free loans up to Rs. 10,000 for one year.
iii.Interest Subsidy @7% per annum on regular repayment of loan
iv.Cashback upto Rs.1200 per annum on undertaking prescribed digital transactions.
v.The duration of the scheme is till March 2022, and implemented by Small Industrial Development Bank of
India(SIDBI).
About SIDBI:
• Small Industrial Development Bank of India(SIDBI) is a financial institution that provides loans to Micro Small
and Medium Enterprises(MSME).
• Founded on 2nd April, 1990 under Indian Parliament Act.
• Headquarters- Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
• Deputy Managing Director- Shri Manoj Mittal, Shri V Satya Venkata Rao
Chief Minister- Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy
Governor- Biswabhusan Harichandan
Capitals- Visakhapatnam(Executive), Amaravati(Legislative & de facto capital ), Kurnool(judicial).
RBI Published 1st ever ‘nowcast’; India is in 1st historic technical recession
In accordance with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) first ever estimation based on high-frequency data namely
“nowcast”, India’s Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 8.6% in the quarter ended September 2020 i.e. Q2FY21.
Nowcast is prepared by a team of economists including Michael Debabrata Patra, RBI’s deputy governor.
• As per it, India also has entered a technical recession in the first half of FY21 for the first time in its history as
the economy had slumped about 24% in Q1FY21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• A recession is a period of declining economic performance that lasts for several months. It is defined as two
successive quarters of decline.
• The government will publish official statistics on November 27, 2020.
Key Points:
–Preliminary estimates show an increase in household financial savings to 21.4 % of GDP in Q1: 2020-21 from 7.9%
in Q1 and 10.0% in Q4: 2019-20.
–The team of authors used cost cuts at companies that boosted operating profits even at low sales and range of
indicators from vehicle sales.
–They also highlighted risks to global growth from a second wave of coronavirus infections.
–Retail inflation rises to 7.61% in October from 7.27% in September, 2020
In accordance with the government data, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rises to 7.61% in October 2020 as
compared to 7.27% in the previous month of September, 2020. It was 4.62 % in October 2019. On the other
hand, Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) rose to 11.07% in October, 2020 up from 10.68 % in September, 2020.
• The rise in general inflation was mainly on account of elevated food prices due to disruption from the COVID-
19 and excessive rainfall in states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh (AP) which have
damaged and delayed the harvesting of onions and other vegetables.
• On September 29, 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deferred implementation of provisions made under
Basel III capital due to uncertainty related to Covid crisis. In this regard, RBI will repel the final tranche of the
capital conservation buffer (CCB) and the implementation of net stable funding ratio (NSFR) by six months i.e.
April 1, 2021.

State-Wise PDF
• RBI also extended the enhanced borrowing facility provided to banks under the marginal standing facility
(MSF) scheme by six months till March 31, 2021. It was initially available up to June 30, 2020 and was later
extended up to September 30, 2020 due to economic disruptions amid COVID-19.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Formation– 1 April 1935
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors– 4 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, and M Rajeswar Rao)
APSSDC signs MoU with Four Firms – IBM India, SPI, ITDC & LVPA to promote Skill Development of Youth
Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
Four Separate Firms – IBM (International Business Machines) India, Singapore Polytechnic International (SPI),
India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) and LV Prasad Film & TV Academy (LVPA) for promoting Skill
Development among Youth.
The MoU has been signed to impart industry-driven skill courses to students from ITI (Industrial Training
Institutes), Polytechnic and Graduation.
Signing Authorities:
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of APSSDC, Dr Arja Srikanth signed the MoUs virtually in the presence
of Special Chief Secretary (Skill Development & Training), G Anantha Ramu and APSSDC Chairman Challa
Madhusudhan Reddy.
MoU with IBM India:
i.IBM India has partnered with Andhra Pradesh (AP) Government to set up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in
the Information Technology (IT) sector.
ii.IBM India will offer high-end training in Artificial Intelligence, coding, cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT),
block chain, data science and analytics, cybersecurity and big data and full stack.
iii.IBM will bear the cost of giving access to industry-relevant software as per academic initiative norms.
MoU with Singapore Polytechnic International (SPI):
i.SPI partnered with APSSDC to provide industry-led courses in advanced manufacturing, food innovation and
processing and entrepreneurship to be offered in skill colleges.
ii.It will provide Technical assistance for establishment of industry-specific labs, develop courses and curriculum and
evolve a quality assurance framework for standardisation of teaching and learning modules.
MoU with LV Prasad Film & TV Academy (LVPA):
i.LVPA will set up and operate a CoE in the media and entertainment sector in Visakhapatnam district.
ii.CoE will offer courses in 2D animation, digital photography, editing, VFX. In addition to these courses it will provide
apprenticeship support under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme.
MoU with India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC):
i.AP Government has partnered with ITDC to set up a CoE in the hospitality sector.
ii.ITDC will offer courses in hospitality trades, event management, front office operations, housekeeping, food and
beverage operations and entrepreneurship programmes.
i.On October 8, 2020 In an effort to combat child labor and help poor parents choose the education for their children,
YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh has launched Rs 650 crore Jagananna Vidya Kanuka scheme
at Punadipadu ZP High School Krishna District.
Festival – Lumbini Festival, Visakha Utsav, Ugadi
Dances – Veera Natyam, Kuchipudi, Gobbi Dance, Kolatam, Tappeta Gullu, Mathuri, Dhimsha
Kerala, Goa, Chandigarh emerge as Best Governed States and Union Territory : PAI 2020
Kerala emerged as the Best Governed State in the Large States Category, Goa emerged as the Best Governed
State in Small States Category, Chandigarh emerged as the Best Governed Union Territory based

State-Wise PDF
on Governance in the 5th edition of Public Affairs Index 2020 (PAI 2020) released by Public Affairs Centre (PAC)
on October 30, 2020.
Overall PAI 2020 Index – Scores and Rankings
i.Large States:
Rank Large States PAI 2020 Index
1 Kerala 1.388
2 Tamil Nadu 0.912
3 Andhra Pradesh 1
ii.Small States:
Rank Small States PAI 2020 Index
1 Goa 1.745
2 Meghalaya 0.797
3 Himachal Pradesh 1
iii.Union Territory:
Rank Union Territory PAI 2020 Index
1 Chandigarh 1.057
2 Puducherry 0.52
3 Lakshadweep 0
Parameters:
i.The rankings are based on a Composite Index.
ii.The performance is analysed in context of sustainable development defined by 3 pillars – Equity, Growth and
Sustainability, 5 Themes, 13 Sustainable Development Goals, and 50 Indicators.
Least Performers:
i.Uttar Pradesh (-1.461), Odisha (-1.201) and Bihar (-1.158) finished at the bottom of the ranking of Large States.
ii.Manipur (-0.363), Delhi (-0.289) and Uttarakhand (-0.277) finished at the bottom of the ranking of Small States.
iii.Dadar and Nagar Haveli (-0.69), Jammu and Kashmir (-0.50) and Andaman & Nicobar (-0.30) were the least
performers in the Union Territory Category.
Delta Analysis:
i.The report included Delta Analysis in which the results on state performance and ranking measured as the Delta
value over the last five years from 2015- 16 to 2019-20 was covered by PAI 2020.
It is based on Equity, Growth and Sustainability.
Equity:
i.In the Large States Category, in terms of Equity, Bihar followed by West Bengal, Odisha are the top performers, while
Kerala, Punjab and Maharashtra feature at the bottom.
ii.In the Small states, Mizoram is the top performer, Goa is placed at the Bottom.
Growth:
i.Among Large states Bihar, Assam and Odisha showed the highest improvement, while Kerala, Karnataka, Uttar
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu feature at the bottom.
ii.Among small states, Mizoram, Meghalaya have the highest growth with Manipur at the bottom. Himachal ranks 2nd,
but has least improvement in Delta value.
Sustainability:
i.In terms of Sustainability, Odisha and Haryana show the highest improvement.
ii.Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Assam are placed at the bottom among the Large States.
iii.Among small states, Goa is the top performer followed by Delhi and Tripura, while Meghalaya and Mizoram feature
at the bottom.

State-Wise PDF
Key Findings:
i.Female Worker population ratio has a negative relationship with growth, meaning that Gender Disparities are
increasing in high performing states.
ii.Agriculture distress is persistent in both high performing states and poor performing states.
iii.Rural indebtedness is increasing with a positive correlation between rural indebtedness and farmer suicides.
iv.Female labour force participation is a driving force in the case of high and middle performing states but not in the
case of low performing states.
i.On January 29, 2020, As per the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India, India’s youngest state
Telangana has emerged as Number 1 state in the ‘Decent work and economic growth’ category with the score of 82 on
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India index in 2019.
ii.On January 22, 2020, According to the ‘SKOCH State of Governance 2019’ report, Gujarat gained the top spot on the
back of better performance in Health, Education, Power and e-Governance segments.
About Public Affairs Centre (PAC):
Chairman – K Kasturirangan
Location – Bengaluru, Karnataka
30 Indian cities Will Face ‘Water Risk’ by 2050; Jaipur tops: WWF report
In accordance with the World Wide Fund (WWF) Water Risk Filter, an online tool, co-developed by the WWF for
Nature and Germany’s Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (KFW DEG), nearly a third of the 100
cities in the world susceptible to “water risk” are in India means 30 Indian cities are expected to suffer increased
water risks by 2050. The list of Indian cities was topped by Jaipur (Rajasthan) which is followed by Indore (Madhya
Pradesh) and Thane (Maharashtra).
• Among 100 cities, Jaipur ranked 45th and Indore featured at 75th.
• As per Risk Filter, an urgent action is required to mitigate this risk.
• On the global front, the cities such as Beijing, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Mecca and Rio de
Janeiro are included in this filter. China accounts for almost half the cities.
• Globally, populations in areas of high-water risk could rise from 17% in 2020 to 51% by 2050.
WWF Water Risk Filter evaluates the severity of risk places faced by graphically illustrating various factors that can
contribute to water risk. The factor varies from droughts to floods.
30 Indian Cities in the List:
Jaipur (Rajasthan), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Thane (Maharashtra), Amritsar (Punjab), Pune (Maharashtra), Srinagar
(Jammu & Kashmir), Kolkata (West Bengal), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Kozhikode (Kerala),
Visakhapatnam Andhra Pradesh, Thane (Maharashtra), Vadodara (Gujarat), Rajkot (Gujarat), Kota (Rajasthan),
Nashik (Maharashtra), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh), Hubli-Dharwad (Karnataka), Nagpur
(Maharashtra), Chandigarh, Ludhiana (Punjab), Jalandhar (Punjab), Dhanbad (Jharkhand), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh),
Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh), Surat (Gujarat), Delhi, Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) and Kannur
(Kerala).
Key Points:
–The analysis gave cities a risk score out of five in 2030 and 2050 where anything above 3 is a ‘high risk’ and anything
above 4 is a ‘very high risk’.
• Notably, all 30 Indian cities received a score of at least three or above for both 2030 and 2050,
and Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Amritsar and Ahmedabad topped the list with an overall score of 4.9, 4.8, 4.7
and 4.6, respectively.
–The 100 global cities that are expected to suffer the greatest rise in water risk by 2050 are home to at least 350
million people.
–Urban planning and wetland conservation need to be integrated to ensure zero loss of freshwater systems in the
urban areas.
• In this regard, there is a requirement of scaling up of initiatives where groups can come together and revive
wetlands such as Bashettihalli wetland in Bengaluru (Karnataka) and the Sirpur Lake in Indore.

State-Wise PDF
–The scenarios of Water Risk Filter are aligned to the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD)
recommendations which can help companies, and cities, in making more effective corporate action on climate and
water resilience.
i.On September 1, 2020, a report “Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for Food Systems”
published by WWF, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), non-profit organization EAT & think tank
Climate Focus based on strengthening food systems in the age of climate crisis.
ii.According to the WWF for Nature, one third of all food produced in the world goes to waste, which is equal to 1.3
billion tons of fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, seafood and grains. This would be enough to feed every undernourished
person on the planet.
About WWF Water Risk Filter:
Launched– 2012
Led by– Alexis Morgan
Headquarter– Berlin, Germany
About World Wide Fund (WWF):
President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Carter Roberts
Headquarter– Gland, Switzerland
Interstate Migrant Policy Index (IMPEX) 2019 released by India Migration Now, Kerala Top
The Mumbai (Maharashtra) based research non-profit India Migration Now has released “Interstate Migrant Policy
Index (IMPEX) 2019” stating integration of interstate migrants. In accordance to this, the states
of Kerala, Goa, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh (AP) have been most successful in integrating migrant workers.
• India’s average IMPEX 2019 score for 28 states and the Union Territory (UT) of National Capital Territory
(NCT) Delhi is 37 out of 100. This score reflects a lack of focus towards migrant’s integration and the laws for
migrants are not implemented to the full extent.
Central Government Policies for Migrant’s Welfare:
Migration within the country is a fundamental right for every citizen. In this regard, our legislation has the following
laws for the welfare of the migrants:
• Interstate Migrant Workmen (Regulation and Conditions of Service) Act 1979
• Minimum Wages Act 1948, the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970
• Equal Remuneration Act 1976
• Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1996.
Key Points:
–Kerala (57), Goa (51) and Rajasthan (51) are the only three states to score over 50 in the index. Further in these
three, Kerala leads on three indicators–child rights, education, and health and sanitation.
–Notably, the seven states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala attract 51% of
India’s inter-state migrants, according to an IMN analysis of Census 2011 data. Only two of these states, Kerala and
Maharashtra, feature in the top 10 on IMPEX.
–The index will help bureaucrats and stakeholders in evolving policy for India’s 455 million internal migrants. This
figure is from Census 2011.
–As per census 2011, 54 million migrants crossed state borders for work.
Parameters of IMPEX:
IMPEX examines state’s performance on 8 policy areas viz. child rights, education, health and sanitation, housing,
identity and registration, labour market, social benefits and political inclusion with more than 60 indicators.
• Scores are assigned from a total value of 100 to states based on existing schemes/rights for migrant workers.
i.India has been ranked 129 out of 158 countries in the Third Edition of Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI)
Index or CRI Index 2020 released by Oxfam and Development Finance International (DFI). According to the report,
India has spent only 4% of its budget on health during the Pandemic, which is the Fourth Lowest in the world.
ii.According to Arton Capital’s Passport Index 2020, India has been ranked 58th in the list of World’s Most Powerful
Passports. New Zealand topped the list followed by Japan, and Germany.

State-Wise PDF
About IMPEX:
–The IMPEX is a regional adaptation of the international Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX), conceptualised by
the Migration Policy Group and the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, both nonprofit policy think-tanks
based in Europe.
–India Migration Now is a venture of the South East Migration Foundation.
VP M. Venkaiah Naidu Virtually Presented the 2nd National Water Awards

On 11th November 2020, M. Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President(VP) of India virtually presented the 2nd National
Water Awards for 2019. The awards were presented at an award ceremony on 11th and 12th November 2020
organised by the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation under the Ministry of
Jal Shakti over a virtual platform.
• Tamil Nadu won the first prize for the Best State Award under Normal Category followed
by Maharsashtra and Rajasthan in 2nd and 3rd prizes respectively.
• Mizoram won the Best State Award under special category.
Key People:
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Rattan Lal Kataria, Minister of State for Jal Shakti, U.P. Singh,
Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General of National Mission for Clean Ganga along with
Padma Bhushan awardee Anil Joshi and noted environmentalists participated in the virtual event.
Best District Awards at the 2nd National Water Awards for 2019:
i.The best District Awards were divided into 6 zones (North, South, West, East, Northeast and Aspirational). The
awards were presented for two sub categories – Revival of Rivers and Water Conservation.
ii.Under the Revival of Rivers and Water Conservation category, for the North Zone, Ayodhya of Uttar Pradesh
and Almora of Uttarakhand won the best district award, for the South Zone, Vellore of Tamil Nadu and YSR
Kadapa of Andhra Pradesh, for the West Zone, Sangli of Maharashtra and Kachchh of Gujarat, for the Northeast
Zone
West Tripura (WC) of Tripura and for the Aspirational district category , Khandwa of Madhya Pradesh
and Vizianagaram of Andhra Pradesh wins the prize respectively.
Other Awards:
For the 2nd consecutive year, Maharashtra Water Regulatory Authority (MWRA) won the first prize under
the water regulatory authority category.
Click here to more about the 2nd National Water Awards
ISRO Launched India’s Earth Observation Satellite EOS-01 and 9 Others from Sriharikota, AP by PSLV-C49
In its first mission of 2020, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on November 7, 2020 has launched its latest
earth observation satellite EOS-01 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) or Sriharikota Range (SHAR), Andhra
Pradesh (AP) along with 9 international customer satellites fromLithuania (1), Luxembourg (4), and the US (4). These
were carried off by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C49.
• It should be noted that this was PSLVs 51st mission, 76th launch mission from SDSC SHAR, and 110th Spacecraft
mission of ISRO.
About EOS-01:
EOS-01 is a part of ISRO’s RISAT (Radar Imaging Satellite) series of SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellites and
originally named RISAT-2BR2 but was changed to EOS-1 as per new naming criteria. With an approx. weight of 628-
kilogram, EOS-01 is intended for applications in agriculture, forestry and disaster management support with all-
weather and day-and-night observation capability.
About International Customer Satellite:
The customer satellites were launched under a commercial agreement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL),
Department of Space, Government of India. The satellites launched are as follows:
Lithuania– R2
• It is a technology demonstrator.
Luxembourg– 4 Kleos or Scouting Mission satellites (KSM1)

State-Wise PDF
• These are for maritime applications from Kleos Space of Luxembourg, a company providing commercial
reconnaissance data. These satellites are intended to detect and geolocate maritime radio frequency
transmissions.
United States of America (USA)– 4 Lemur satellites
• These are multi-mission remote sensing small satellites for American company Spire.
• Spire provides weather, ship-tracking and aircraft-tracking information from space. Previously also it used
PSLV to get its Lemur satellites into orbit.
Future missions of ISRO:
There will be PSLV-C50 to launch satellite CMS-01, followed by the new vehicle SSLV – the first development flight –
to launch the EOS – 02 and the GSLV-F10 launch of EOS – 03.
• There will also be the launch of GSAT (Geostationary Satellite)-12R communication satellite into geostationary
transfer orbit in December, 2020. ISRO will use the PSLV-XL which features larger strap-on boosters for this
mission.
i.Under the ongoing collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and ISRO, the
NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite is scheduled to be launched by 2022.
ii.ISRO is all set to launch its first Venus mission “Shukrayaan-1” in 2025 with participation of French space agency
CNES (National Centre for Space Studies; French: Centre national d’etudes spatiales) .
About Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO):
Establishment– 1969
Chairman– Dr. K Sivan
About NewSpace India Limited (NSIL):
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD)– G Narayanan
DRDO Chairman Satheesh Reddy flags off First ‘Varunastra’ – Heavyweight Torpedo at BDL, Visakhapatnam
Unit
On November 21, 2020, Secretary, Department of Defence Research & Development (R&D) and Chairman, Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), G. Satheesh Reddy flagged off the first ‘Varunastra’, heavy weight
torpedo to be delivered to the Indian Navy during a ceremony held at Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL),
Visakhapatnam Unit, Andhra Pradesh.
Designed and Developed by:
The Varunastra has been designed and developed by Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL),
Visakhapatnam.
BDL, being the production agency, is manufacturing Varunastra at its Visakhapatnam unit for the Indian Navy.BDL
had signed a contract worth Rs 1,187 crore to manufacture the weapon, which is considered to be around 95 per cent
indigenous.
Participants:
Vice Admiral K. Srinivas, Project Director, Ship Building Centre, Samir V. Kamat, Director General, Naval Systems &
Materials (NS&M), DRDO, O.R. Nandagopan, Director of Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) from
DRDO were present during the flagging off ceremony.
Key Points:
i.‘Varunastra’ – is an Indian advanced heavyweight anti-submarine Torpedo and is capable of being launched from
both Ships and Submarines.
ii.It is powered by an electric propulsion system with multiple 250 Kilowatts Silver Oxide Zinc (AgOZn) batteries.
iii.It is capable of achieving a speed of 40 Knots (74 Kms/hr), weighs around 1.25 tons and can carry upto 250 kg of
conventional warhead.
iv.It is made of 95% Indigenous contents.
v.The heavyweight torpedo is also being offered for exports.

State-Wise PDF
Foundation Stone:
Dr. Satheesh Reddy laid the foundation stone for the establishing an state-of-the-art Central Store at BDL,
Visakhapatnam Unit.
Other associations of BDL:
BDL is also the manufacturing agency for Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM), Astra Air-to-Air Missile
System and other missiles.
i.On June 26, 2020, Indian Navy inducted an Advanced Torpedo Decoy System (ATDS) namely ‘Maareech’ that is
capable of being fired from all frontline warships.
About Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL):
BDL is the Lead Integrator for the Akash Weapon System of Indian army.
Chairman and Managing Director– Siddharth Mishra
Head Office– Hyderabad, Telangana
About Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL):
Director – Dr. OR Nandagopan
Head Quarter – Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
World Fisheries Day 2020 – November 21

The World Fisheries Day is annually celebrated across the globe on 21st November 2020, to create and spread
awareness about the importance of the healthy ocean ecosystem and to ensure the sustainable stock of fisheries in
the world.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO) of the United Nations(UN) celebrated World Fisheries Day 2020
on 20th November 2020 instead of 21st November 2020.
FAO Events 2020:
i.The holy see and FAO partners to celebrate the World Fisheries day 2020 on 20th November 2020.
ii.The events of World Fisheries Day 2020 (20th November 2020) of FAO are held within the context of the
celebration of 75th Anniversary of FAO and the 100th Anniversary of Stella Maris.
iii.The events include, “Voices from the Sea” a tribute to all the fishermen and workers whose lives were impacted
due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
iv.The Voices from the Sea will provide an opportunity to discuss the measures that countries have taken and are still
taking to limit the impacts of the COVID-19 on the fisher’s community.
World Fisheries Day in India:
The World Fisheries Day is celebrated in India on 21st November to highlight the importance of fisheries in India and
to demonstrate harmony with all fish folk communities, fish farmers and other stakeholders across the world.
2020 World Fisheries Day Events in India:
On 21st November 2020, The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying,
Government of India organised the event to celebrate the World Fisheries Day 2020 at NASC Complex, Pusa, New
Delhi. Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Minister of State (MoS) Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, was the Chief Guest
of the event.
Awards:
The government of India felicitated the fisheries sector awards for the first time on the World Fisheries day 2020.
Best Performing States for 2019-20:
Category State
Marine states Odisha
Inland states Uttar Pradesh
Hilly and North East states Assam
Best Organisations for 2019-20:
Category Organisation
Marine region Tamil Nadu Fisheries Development Corporation Ltd

State-Wise PDF
Inland region Telangana State Fishermen Cooperative societies Federation Ltd

Hilly region Assam Apex Cooperative Fish Marketing and Processing Federation Ltd
Best District 2019-2020:
Category District
Marine region Krishna, Andhra Pradesh
Inland region Kalahandi, Odisha
Hilly region Nagaon, Assam
Other awards:
Various awards for individuals and organisations were also presented to recognise their achievements in fisheries
and to acknowledge their contribution to the growth of the fisheries sector.
The category of the awards was,
• Best Fisheries Enterprise
• Best performing Fisheries Cooperative Societies/Fish Farmer Producer Organization(FFPO) /Self Help Group
(SHG)
• Best Individual entrepreneurs
• Best Marine and Inland Fish Farmer
• Best Finfish and Shrimp hatcheries
Key People:
Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, Minister for Dairy Development, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Government of Uttar
Pradesh along with fishers, fish farmers, entrepreneurs, stakeholders, professionals, officials and scientists from
across India participated in the event.
About Food and Agriculture Organisation(FAO):
Director-General– QU Dongyu
Headquarters– Rome, Italy
About Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying:
Union Minister– Giriraj Singh
Minister of State– Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, Pratap Chandra Sarangi
AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy launches Abhayam App for safety of Women travelling by Auto & Taxis; 1st IoT
enabled app for safety of Women
On November 23, 2020 Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister (CM) Jagan Mohan Reddy virtually launched the ‘Abhayam
App’ for the safety of women travelling by Auto & Taxis. The app will help women to raise an alarm in case of any
emergency.
i.This is the First Internet of Things (IoT) based women safety project.
ii.The app was launched as part of the First Phase of the Abhayam Project.
During the First Phase 1000 auto rickshaws equipped with GPS (Global Positioning System)/Internet of Things (IoT)
devices have been linked to the Abhayam app in Visakhapatnam.
Nirbhaya Scheme:
The project has been sanctioned by the Central Government under the Nirbhaya Scheme.
Key Points:
i.The App will be operated by the Transport Department.
ii.In Case of any emergency during travel, woman passengers can alert the police by pressing the panic button in the
application. Police will track the vehicle using GPS and reach them in 10 minutes.
iv.In order to facilitate the tracking of the vehicle, the passenger needs to scan the QR Code on the vehicle.
v.Passengers not having access to smartphones can use the panic button installed on the vehicle to inform the
Command Control Centre. This will stop the vehicle immediately and alert the nearest police station.
Monitoring the behaviour of the Driver:
Using the App, the Command Control Centre can monitor the behaviour of the Driver.

State-Wise PDF
Future Enhancement:
i.The State Government is aiming to bring 5, 000 vehicles into the Abhayam app by February 1, 2021, 50, 000 by July,
2021 and 1 Lakh by November, 2021.
ii.It will also cover the cities of Vijayawada and Tirupathi in the later phase of the project.
i.On September 28, 2020 Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy launched YSR Jala Kala Scheme
for small and marginal Farmers.
Governor – BiswaBhusan Harichandran
Stadium – Visakhapatnam ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.
Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - December 2020

MPEDA launches India’s 1st Aquafarmers Call Centre at Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has launched India’s 1st Call Centre for
Aquafarmers at Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. The call centre will handle calls in English & Hindi. Through the Call
Centre, MPEDA will address the technical issues, and impart knowledge about efficient farming methods. The call
centre will primarily cater to the needs of aqua farmers in Andhra Pradesh, as it is responsible for 60% of India’s
marine products export basket. The headquarters of MPEDA is situated in Kochi, Kerala.
AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy launches ‘Jagananna Jeeva Kranthi’ scheme – distribution of sheep, goats to
women
On December 10, 2020, Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Jagan Mohan Reddy virtually launched the
‘Jagananna Jeeva Kranthi’ scheme worth INR 1, 869 Crores for distribution of 2,49,151 sheeps, goats for
improving the living standards of women.
Objective:
To develop self-reliance among women through business opportunities and by providing assistance for better
investments.
Beneficiaries:
Women belonging to Backward Classes (BC), Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) in the age group of 45-60
years.
Gist of the Scheme:
i.Each Unit will consist of 15 Sheeps or Goats (5-6 months old 14 ewe lambs + 1 breeding ram or 14 weaned does +
1 breeding buck).
ii.They will be distributed in 3 phases – 20, 000 units till March 2021, 1.3 Lakh Units from April 2021-August 2021
and 99, 151 units from September 2021-December 2021.
iii.AP Government has signed into an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Allana Group for the
procurement of sheeps and goats and also a platform for marketing the meat products, this platform will act as a
market for the beneficiaries of the scheme.
iv.AP Government had also launched the distribution of 4.69 lakh units cows and buffaloes with ₹3,500 crore to
strengthen dairy sector, taking to total of ₹5,400 crore.
Key Points:
i.The scheme will help in boosting the rural economy of AP.
ii.Beneficiaries can buy local sheep or goat breeds from a region of their own choice.
iii.A committee of 2 veterinary doctors, officials from SERP (Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty) and banks
will guide beneficiaries who want to procure goats and sheeps from other sources.
iv.Women can sell their products anywhere, there will be no compulsion to sell them to particular entities.
Training Centres:
2 training centres for the purpose of sheep breeding will be established in Dhone, Kurnool district
and Penugonda, Anantapur district.

State-Wise PDF
MoU:
i.Andhra Pradesh has signed MoU with Reliance, Allana Group, Amul, Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble and
ITC to empower the women beneficiaries of YSR Cheyutha and Aasara schemes.
ii.As part of MoU, Allana will establish Meat Processing units in East Godavari and Kurnool districts to help the
beneficiaries.
Dignitaries Present:
Deputy CM Dharmana Krishnadas, Ministers Botcha Satyanarayana, Kurasala Kannababu, Seediri Appalaraju, AP Agri
Mission Vice-Chairman M.V.S. Nagireddy, and Special Chief Secretary Poonam Malakondaiah were present during the
virtual launch.
i.On March 9, 2020 Andhra Pradesh (AP) ranked 1st in the country for overall implementation of POSHAN Abhiyaan
as per September 2019 progress report of NITI Aayog, “Transforming Nutrition in India: POSHAN Abhiyaan”.
ii.On August 5, 2020 the Andhra Pradesh Government signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) through the
Economic Development Board, with the Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business (ISB).
Ports – Visakhapatnam Port, Krishnapatnam Port
Stadium – Dr. Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA–VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam
Andhra Pradesh CM Launches Housing Scheme ‘Navaratnalu-Pedalandariki Illu’ in East Godavari District
On December 25 2020, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the scheme
named Navaratnalu-Pedalandariki Illu (Nine jewels – housing for all the poor), at Komarigiri village of U-
Kothapalli block of East Godavari district.
i.A total of 30.90 lakh houses will be constructed by the government by 2024 for the poor people of the state and
ensure that every household in the state has a pucca (cemented) house. Rs 50,490 crore would be spent on the
construction of houses.
ii.Under the scheme, a house site patta will be issued to the beneficiaries and the patta will be registered in the name
of a women’s household. All the beneficiaries will be given 1.5 cents in rural areas or one cent in urban areas.
iii.30.75 lakh beneficiaries have been identified across the State, of which 28.30 lakh houses will be given under
17,000 YSR Jagananna layouts named YSR Jagananna Housing Colonies and another 2.62 lakh are of Township and
Infrastructure Development Corporation (TIDCO) flats.
Note : A Patta is a legal document issued by the Government in the name of the actual owner of a particular plot of
land. It can also be given to lands with buildings or individual houses etc. constructed on them.
Andhra CM Jaganmohan Reddy launches ‘YSR Free Crop Insurance Scheme’ for Farmers
On 15th December, 2020, Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Jaganmohan Reddy launched ‘YSR Free Crop
Insurance Scheme’ for farmers who have lost their crops during Kharif 2019. An amount of INR 1, 252 Crores was
directly credited into the bank account of around 9.48 Lakh farmers.
Participants:
Minister of Agriculture & Cooperation, K Kannababu; Chelluboyina Venugopala Krishna, Backward Classes (BC)
welfare Minister & MVS Nagi Reddy, Andhra Pradesh Agriculture Mission Vice Chairman were present during the
virtual launch.
Key Points:
i.The AP government has paid the entire premium on behalf of the famers, it has paid around INR 971 crore as
premium for the period 2019-20.
ii.Around 49.80 Lakh farmers have been brought under the ambit of the insurance.
iii.The crop insurance for 2020 will be paid in March/April 2021.
iv.The insurance is expected to cover a crop area of approximately 1.14 crore hectares.
i.November 4, 2020, Andhra Pradesh (AP) Government has decided to set up 400 Electric Vehicle (EV) charging
stations across the state to promote the usage of electric vehicles.

State-Wise PDF
Airport– Visakhapatnam International airport, Vijayawada International Airport, Tirupati International Airport
Festivals – Ugadi, Makar Sankranti, Lumbini festival
ADB Approved US$300 mn Loan for Primary Health Care Program in Urban Areas; $2mn Additional Grant for
its Implementation
On December 8, 2020, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved USD 300 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) loan
for Strengthening Comprehensive Primary Health Care in Urban Areas Program in India. In addition to the loan,
a $2 million technical assistance grant was also provided from ADB’s Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction to provide
technical support for program implementation.
Aim: The program involving all levels of governance viz. Central, State, and Municipal will strengthen, upgrade, and
increase the number of functional health and wellness centers in 13 states. It also aims to address COVID-19
challenges and to ensure equitable access and continuous provision of nonCOVID-19 health services.
• The program will support the Ayushman Bharat (the Healthy India initiative) Health and Wellness Centres
(AB-HWC) and Pradhan Mantri – Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PM-ASBY).
• The 13 states are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and West Bengal.
Key Points:
–It will conduct awareness and education campaigns on health and nutrition, including preventive measures and
strategies.
–It will also look after the physical and mental health and wellbeing of beneficiaries.
–It will benefit an estimated 256 million urban residents. , including 51 million from the slum
Reason behind the Program:
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that the Indian healthcare system is lacking behind even after the initiation of
favorable schemes by the Government. Taking this into consideration India launched Rs 65,560.98 crore PM-ASBY in
September 2020. Now in order to support it, the ADB funded above mentioned program was launched.
i.On November 3, 2020 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a USD 132.8 million loan to Modernize Power
Distribution Network in Meghalaya to improve power quality and upgrade the power distribution network in
Meghalaya.
ii.On September 25, 2020, ADB approved two loans worth USD 570 million (about Rs 4,200 crore) for urban sector
projects in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
About Asian Development Bank (ADB):
Establishment– 1966
President– Masatsugu Asakawa
Headquarters– Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines
Membership– 68 countries (Including India)
World Bank & Govt of India Signs $500 Million Green National Highways Corridors Project
On December 22, 2020 The World Bank and Government of India signed a $500 Million(around Rs 3,692
crore) Green National Highways Corridors Project to build safe, green and resilient highways in states of
Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
Points to be Noted
The loan will be provided by International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). It has a maturity of 18.5
years including a grace period of 5 years.
Key People
The agreement was signed by Dr Mohapatra on behalf of the Government of India and Ms SumilaGulyani, Acting
Country Director, India on behalf of the World Bank.
Note-The World Bank approved this project in March 2020.
Benefits of the Project
Support for MoRTH & Risk Disaster Management

State-Wise PDF
i.It will boost the capacity of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to mainstream the safety and
green technologies and also the climate resilience aspects in project design and implementation.
ii.Along with this, a disaster risk assessment of about 5,000 km of the National Highway network will also be
undertaken, under the project.
iii.It will support MoRTH to construct 783 km of highways in various geographies by combining safe and green
technology designs like local and marginal materials, industrial byproducts, and other bioengineering solutions.
Reduce GHG emissions
It will minimise Greenhouse Gas(GHG) emission in constructing and maintaining the highways.
Improve connectivity
It helps to improve connectivity and promote economic development.
Other Benefits
• Existing structures will be strengthened and expanded.
• New pavements, drainage facilities and bypasses will be constructed.
• Junctions will be improved and road safety features will be introduced.
Statistics regarding India’s Traffic
i.The National Highways of India carry about 40% of road traffic
ii.65% of freight traffic and 85% of passenger traffic is carried by 5.48 million km road network of India.
iii.It is to be noted that, in the last 6 decades, the traffic volume on the network is growing at a Compound Annual
Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10.8%.
On June 28, 2020, The board of executives of the World Bank (WB) has approved loan of $ 500 million (about Rs
3,700 crore) under ‘Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program (STARS)’project to improve the
quality and governance of school education across six states (Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Odisha, and Rajasthan) in India.
About World Bank:
The World Bank Group consists of 5 organizations, namely:
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), The International Development Association
(IDA), The International Finance Corporation (IFC), The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), The
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
HeadQuarters– Washington, DC, United States(US)
President – David Malpass
Founded– 1944
Member Countries– 189(including India)
Andhra Pradesh, Survey of India sign MoU for implementation of Land Survey;1st of its kind survey in India
On December 9, 2020 Andhra Pradesh (AP) Government and Survey of India (SoI) signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) for the implementation of ‘YSR Jagananna Saswath Bhoo Hakku-Bhoo Raksha Pathakam’ –
a land resurvey project in Andhra Pradesh. This is the 1st time in 100 years that such a survey is being conducted
in India. The Survey will be launched on December 21, 2020.
i.The survey will include all types of land – House site, Agricultural land & real estate layouts.
ii.The project is estimated to cost about INR 1, 000 Crore.
iii.The Survey will be conducted in 3 phases and will take place from December 2021-January 2023.
Dignitaries Present:
The MoU was exchanged in the presence of AP Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, Lieutenant General Girish Kumar,
Surveyor General of India, Deputy Chief Minister Dharmana Krishna Das, Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney.
SoI’s Contribution:
SoI will assist AP Government in technical matters, integration of land records, supervision and quality control
through establishment of seamless geodetic infrastructure.
Key Points:
i.The survey will be conducted in 1.26 Lakh Square kilometres across Andhra Pradesh except forest lands. 5,000
villages will be covered in the 1st phase, 6,500 villages in the 2nd and 5,500 villages in the 3rd phase.

State-Wise PDF
ii.The measurements will be measured accurately with a minimum error rate of 2 cms.
iii.Latest Technologies like CARS (Computerized Automotive Recording System) Technology, drones and rovers will
be used for the survey.
iv.AP will establish mobile tribunals to resolve land disputes on the spot.
v.After the survey, the Government will demarcate boundaries, and will issue passbooks to landowners.
Land Titling Authority:
Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy announced the setting up of a Land Titling Authority after the signing of the MoU
between the two entities.
Benefits due of Land Survey:
Land Titling Card:
i.A Land Titling Card will be prepared to be distributed for the people after the survey
ii.The Land Titling Card would have a unique identification number, measurements of the property, name of the
owner along with the photo, and ownership.
Digital Cadastral Map:
A Digital Cadastral Map (showing extent, value, and ownership of land, taxation) will be prepared after
the completion of the survey. The Map will bear all details of lands in the village.
Registration of sub-divisions and Distribution:
The survey will help in registration of sub-divisions and distribution at field level which have not been registered
in the last 100 years.
Other benefits:
i.Permanent land title to the owners will be provided 2 years after the finalisation.
ii.After the survey, Digitization of property registers, registry for complaints will be made available at the village
secretariat level.
Infrastructure for the Survey:
In order to implement the survey, the SoI and AP government will set up 70 base stations.
i.Around 4, 500 survey teams and 15, 000 surveyors will be involved in the resurvey project.
ii.Each Mandal or Unit will consist of 1 Drone team, data processing team and a resurvey team.
iii.Around 9, 400 Surveyors have been provided training by SoI for conducting the survey.
New Training Institute at Tirupati:
A Training Institute will be established in Tirupati for training people in surveying.
i.On August 3, 2020, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy launched a one-month long virtual
cybercrime awareness programme ‘E-Raksha Bandhan’ in Amaravati.
ii.On 17th July 2020, The State Government of Andhra Pradesh(AP) announced the Andhra Pradesh Renewable
Energy Export Policy 2020, which permits the sale of power to the other states of India.
Airports – Visakhapatnam International Airport, Vijayawada International Airport, Tirupati International Airport.
About Survey of India:
Survey of India is a Department under the Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India
Surveyor General of India – Lieutenant General Girish Kumar
7th edition of WASH Conclave 2020 Organized by UNICEF, NIRD&PR & 3 State Governments held virtually
A 3-Day virtual 7th edition of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Conclave 2020 kicked off in Hyderabad from
December 2-4, 2020. It was organized by UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), National Institute of Rural
Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD & PR) in collaboration with 3 state governments – Telangana, Andhra
Pradesh & Karnataka. Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Biswabhusan Harichandan participated as the Chief Guest of
the Conclave.
Theme – “Hygiene Matters”
Target – The Year 2024 is set as target for providing access, and use of safe and adequate drinking water to all
households.

State-Wise PDF
Objective:
To Facilitate knowledge exchange and action on WASH-related Issues in the context of COVID-19 Pandemic.
People present:
Nicolas Osbert, Chief of WASH, UNICEF India, Alka Upadhyaya, Director General of NIRDPR, Meital Rusdia, Chief of
UNICEF, Hyderabad field office were present during the virtual event.
Key Points:
i.He highlighted several state-level initiatives such as ‘Manam Mana Parisubrtha’ in Andhra Pradesh,
‘Swacchotsava Nityotsava’ in Karnataka & ‘Palle Pragathi’ to become 100% WASH Compliant and a healthy society.
ii.India is making significant progress in achieving Open Defecation-free status & Piped water supply Piped Water
Supply (PWS).
iii.It is also making significant progress to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Number 6 – “Clean Water
and Sanitation”.
iv.The participants of Conclave shared the best practices in WASH, and opportunities for strengthening strategies for
WASH Programs across 3 states.
Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) & Swachh Bharat Mission(SBM):
The Governor also highlighted that supply of adequate & Quality water supply and better sanitation facilities is the
main motive behind Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) & Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Programmes.
i.August 14, 2020 As per the latest report, ‘Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in school’s Special
focus on COVID-19’ released by WHO and UNICEF around 818 million children across the world lacked basic hand-
washing facilities in their schools making them prone to COVID-19.
About United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF):
Executive Director – Henrietta H. Fore
Headquarters – New York, United States of America
UNICEF Representative to India – Dr. Yasmin Ali Haque
About National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD & PR):
NIDR&PR works under the Union Ministry of Rural Development
Director General – Smt. Alka Upadhyaya
Headquarter – Hyderabad, Telangana
Southern & Eastern India witnessing higher rise in Pollution Levels than IGP: CPCB-IITD Survey
According to a survey conducted by CPCB-IITD (Central Pollution Control Board-Indian Institute of Technology,
Delhi), Southern India & Eastern India recorded a higher rate of increase in pollution levels than the Indo-Gangetic
Plain (IGP). The study was conducted based on Satellite Data from 2000-2019, which is the First-of-its Kind
survey to look at air pollution spatially.
i.The survey has also found that Air Pollution in Rural India has increased at par with Urban India.
ii.The states of Kerala (Urban 24.2%, Rural 21.9%), Goa (Urban 36.4%, Rural 37.3%), Andhra Pradesh (Urban 20.15,
Rural 18.9%) recorded the highest levels of pollution during the period.
States with Highest Levels of Pollution (2000-19):
State Pollution at Urban level Pollution at Rural level
Kerala 24.20% 21.90%
Goa 36.40% 37.30%
Andhra Pradesh 20.15% 18.90%
CPCB-IITD Survey:
i.The study has been commissioned by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
ii.The author of the study is Professor Sagnik Dey of IIT, Delhi.

State-Wise PDF
Key Findings:
i.Delhi’s PM 2.5 (Particulate Matter) has increased by 10.9 % between 2001 to 2015, whereas in the time frame PM
2.5 exposure in rural India increased by 11.9% thus emphasizing that rural India is at par with Urban India in Air
Pollution.
ii.The rate of increase of PM2.5 over Eastern and Southern India is more than 1.6% per year (2000-
19) & IGP reported less than 1.2% per year (2000-19).
iii.Across India 436 cities/towns with population of more than 1 Lakh in 2019 exceeded the National Ambient Air
Quality Standard (NAAQS) of 40 Micrograms per metric cube (μg/m3) in 2019.
iv.99.5 % of districts in India did not meet the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) air quality guideline of 10 μg/m3
as of 2019.
v.The study also states that PM 2.5 level in Gangetic plain and Western Part of India is Two Times more than the
Annual NAAQS.
PM 2.5 Levels between 2000-2010:
i.State which recorded Increase in Pollution Levels – Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and parts of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Northeast regions.
ii.State which recorded Decrease in Pollution Levels – Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and
Desert regions recorded downfall in pollution levels.
PM 2.5 Levels between 2010-2019:
i.States which recorded Increase in Pollution Levels – West Bengal, Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra and parts of
Gujarat, Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand
ii.State which recorded Decrease in Pollution Levels – Eastern Part of J&K (Now Union Territory of Ladakh) and
parts of Rajasthan recorded a downfall in pollution.
Causes of Increase in Air Pollution:
i.The Cause of increase in pollution in Odisha & Chhattisgarh (Highest in Eastern India) is mainly due to mining
activities and thermal coal power plants.
ii.High Urbanisation in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad were the main reason behind increased emissions in South
India.
iii.While unfavourable Meteorological Conditions in eastern and peninsular India coupled with increase in emission
has led to overall increase in Pollution levels.
iv.The study has noted that the rise in pollution in rural India is due to high reliance on solid fuel (Biomass & Coal)
for domestic use. Household sources are the “largest contributor to ambient PM 2.5 in India”.
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY):
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) launched in 2016 aims to provide LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) connection
to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) households.
i.The scheme will be essential in tackling pollutants at the rural level.
ii.It is a scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
National Clean Air Programme:
The spatial mapping of pollution will be useful for the government in designing policies under the National Clean Air
Programme.
i.On September 18, 2020, a high-level task force led by Dr Pramod Kumar Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime
Minister reviewed the action taken by agencies and firm up plans for the coming harvesting and winter season.
About Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB):
Chairman – S.P.S. Parihar
About Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT, Delhi):
Chairman (Chairperson, Board of Governors) – Dr. R. Chidambaram
Director (Ex-Officio Member) – Professor V Ramgopal Rao

State-Wise PDF
IAS officer Aditya Nath Das Appointed as the New Chief Secretary of AP
Aditya Nath Das, a 1987 batch IAS officer has been appointed as the New Chief Secretary to the Government of
Andhra Pradesh(AP). He will succeed the incumbent Nilam Sawhney who retires from the service on 31st December
2020. Aditya Nath Das is currently serving as the Special Chief Secretary, Water Resources and Environment, Forest,
Science and Technology departments. Aditya Nath Das is set to retire on 30th June 2021.
The order of the appointment was issued by Praveen Prakash, Principal Secretary (Political) on 22nd December
2020.
About Aditya Nath Das:
i.Aditya Nath Das has served as the Collector of Warangal (undivided AP) in 1999.
ii.He served as the Additional Commissioner of AP Bhavan in Delhi.
iii.He has also served as the Director of North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical
Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) on deputation to the Centre.
iv.He worked as the Commissioner and Director Municipal Administration Department.
v.He has also served as the Special Chief Secretary of the School Education and Higher Education departments.
Other Appointment:
i.Nilam Sawhney has been appointed as the Principal Advisor to the Chief Minister(CM) in the rank of Cabinet
minister after her retirement on 31st December 2020.
ii.She became the 2nd Principal Advisor to the CM with a cabinet rank.
iii.She will look after the Health and COVID-19 management, Centre-State relations and bifurcation issues,
administrative reforms like strengthening of Village and Ward Secretariats, and other institutions at various levels in
the districts, reorganisation of districts, land resurvey and titling Act.
iv.J Syamala Rao, 1997 batch IAS officer has been appointed as the officer on special duty in the water resource
department.
v.Y Srilakshmi, 1988 batch IAS officer from AP cadre (transferred form Telangana cadre to AP cadre) has been
appointed as the Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development
IAF Carries out Firing of Surface-to-Air Missiles Akash, Igla in Suryalanka, Andhra Pradesh
The Indian Air Force (IAF) carried out the Firing of Indigenously Developed Akash Missile System (Surface-to-Air
Missile) & Russian-origin Short-Range Igla Missile (Surface-to-Air Missile) as part of a drill which took place at
Air Force Station in Suryalanka, Andhra Pradesh. The drills were part of an exercise which was carried from
November 23-December 2 by the IAF.
Key Points:
i.Both the Akash Missile System & Short Range Igla Missiles were fired and they engaged the Maneuverable
Expendable Aerial Targets (MEAT) successfully.
ii.Vice Chief of Air Staff (VCAS) Air Marshal HS Arora was present during the guided weapons firing drill.
Akash Missile System:
It is a Nuclear Capable Missile Defence System developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) and manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL). It is India’s first indigenous missile designed by DRDO
i.It can fly upto a speed of 860 meters per second (Mach 2.5) and can target jets, drones, Air-to-Surface Missiles &
Ballistic Missiles.
ii.It can be Launched from both tanks and trucks and has a range of 30 Kms.
It is in operational service with both the Indian Army and IAF.
Igla Missile:
The Igla Missile is a Russian man-portable infrared homing Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM). They are possessed by both
Indian Army and IAF.
i.On 24th August 2020, Indian Air Force(IAF) Chief of the Air Staff(CAS) Air Chief Marshal (ACM)Rakesh Kumar Singh
Bhadauria, launched the mobile application “My IAF”, to provide career related information and details in IAF to the
aspirants.

State-Wise PDF
About Indian Air Force:
Chief of the Air Staff – Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria
Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh hands 3 DRDO Developed systems to Chiefs of 3 Armed Forces
On December 18, 2020, Union Minister for Defence, Rajnath Singh handed over 3 New Indigenous Systems –
Border Surveillance System (BOSS), Indian Maritime Situational Awareness System (IMSAS) & ASTRA MK-I
Missile all developed by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) to the Chiefs of 3 Armed Forces –
Indian Navy, Indian Air Force (IAF) & Indian Army at a function held in DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi.
i.BOSS was handed over to Chief of Army Staff General, MM Naravane, IMSAS was handed over to Admiral
Karambir Singh, Chief of Naval Staff & ASTRA Mk-I Missile handed over to Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, Air
Chief Marshal.
ii.Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State for Defence was the Guest of Honour of the handing over ceremony, while
General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff , Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Chairman of DRDO were present during the event.
Gist of 3 Defence Systems:
Border Surveillance System (BOSS):
i.It is an all-weather electronic surveillance system designed for automatically detecting the intrusion in harsh
high-altitude sub-zero temperature areas.
ii.It has a 20 Kilometre remote operation capability and has been deployed to Ladakh border for Day & Night
surveillance.
iii.Designed and Developed by Instruments Research & Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun and will be
produced by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Machlipatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
Indian Maritime Situational Awareness System (IMSAS):
i.The IMSAS is a modern, high performance intelligent software system which provides Global Maritime
Situational Picture, Marine Planning Tools & Analytical capabilities to Indian Navy.
ii.IMSAS provides an overall Maritime Operational Picture from the Naval Headquarters to each individual ship of
Indian Navy to enable Naval Command & Control (C2).
iii.Conceptualised and Developed by Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR), Bengaluru & Indian
Navy. BEL, Bengaluru (Karnataka) has implemented it.
iv.IMSAS has been deployed across Indian Navy operation centers at Delhi, Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Port
Blair, Chennai, Goa & Karwar.
ASTRA Mk-I:
ASTRA Mk-I is an indigenously developed first Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Missile capable of being launched from
Sukhoi-30, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Mig-29 & Mig-29K.
i.It is the 1st Air-to-Air missile developed by India.
ii.It has been developed by Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad & produced by Bharat
Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad.
iii.The missile is capable of engaging targets at varying range – Short-range targets at a distance of 10
Kilometres & Long-range targets upto a distance of 110 Kilometres.
DRDO Awards Ceremony:
Rajnath Singh Felicitated 45 eminent Scientists from DRDO for their extraordinary research work & Contribution.
Excellence awards were given to academic & industry for technology absorption. Individual awards, team awards,
technology spin-off awards, tech managerial award and other categories were given.
i.DRDO Lifetime Achievement Award 2018 – N V Kadam for contribution towards development of control and
guidance schemes for missiles.
ii.Agni Award for Excellence in Self-Reliance 2018 – Amit Sharma, he is the youngest awardee to receive the
award in the cyber-security domain.
iii.Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR), Leh conferred Defence Technology Spin-off Award for
helping increase farm productivity in Ladakh, Dr OP Chaurasia, Director, DIHAR received the award.
Amit Sharma & Team have made contributions in the field of open source data analysis, reverse engineering, crash
analysis & counter advanced persistent threats.

State-Wise PDF
i.On October 17, 2020 In order to augment its Research and Development(R&D) capabilities,CRPF has collaborated
with IIT Delhi, DRDO, and Joint Advanced Technology Centre (JATC), a joint initiative of DRDO and IIT Delhi.
ii.July 6, 2020 DRDO will establish a research cell at Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad(IIT-H), ‘DRDO – IIT-H
Research Cell’ to meet the future defence technological requirements of the country.
About Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO):
Chairman – Dr G Satheesh Reddy
Cnemaspis avasabinae: New Lizard Species Identified in Eastern Ghats, Velikonda Range in Andhra Pradesh
A team of researchers has discovered a new species of dwarf gecko named “Cnemaspis avasabinae”, This is
identified as the smallest known Indian Gekkonid from the Eastern Ghats. Cnemaspis avasabinae is the 12th
species discovered outside the Western Ghats and the first species from the Velikonda Range, Andhra Pradesh.
The new species has been given a common name “Sabin’s Nellore dwarf gecko”.
The paper about the discovery “A new species of South Asian Cnemaspis (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Eastern
Ghats, India” was published in Zootaxa.
Cnemaspis avasabinae:
i.Cnemaspis avasabinae belongs to the genus Cnemaspis.
ii.It was sighted in the dry evergreen forest among the rocks beneath a small stream at a height of less than 200
metres above sea level.
iii.The Cnemaspis have a good vision that enables visual signalling, which plays a major role in attracting mates in
these geckos.
iv.The males of the Cnemaspis avasabinae lack femoral pores.
Note:
Most lizards have femoral pores in both the sexes. The secretion from these pore plays a major role in communication
with possible mates and to mark the homerange.
Physical characteristic:
i.Cnemaspis avasabinae has a dorsal coloured body and grey pink tail with six pairs of dark brown patches.
ii.It can be diagnosed from all Indian congeners by its small body size of less than 2.9 cm.
Portulaca laljii: A New Species of Wild Sun Rose Discovered in Eastern Ghats, Prakasam District, Andhra
Pradesh
Botanists have discovered a new species of wild Sun Rose, ‘Portulaca laljii’ from Eastern Ghats(Prakasam District,
Andhra Pradesh) in India. The new species is from genus Portulaca (Family -Portulacaceae). The species is named
after Lal Ji Singh, an eminent botanist of the Botanical Survey of India associated with the Andaman and Nicobar
Centre of the Botanical Survey of India to honour his contributions.
• Botanists Pasupuleti Sivaramakrishna and Pulicherla Yugandhar associated with Sri Venkateswara University,
Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh have contributed to the discovery.
Important Info
i.The discovery has been published in the Journal of Asia Pacific Biodiversity in an article titled “A new species of the
genus Portulaca L. (Portulacaceae) from the Eastern Ghats, India”.
ii.Only little information is available about the population of the species, considering this, this species has been
placed under the ‘Data Deficient’ category of the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) List of
Threatened Species.
About Portulaca laljii:
i.It has morphological features like tuberous root, no hair in its leaf axils, a reddish pink flower(at about 0.5mm),
prolate-shaped fruits, and copper brown seeds without lustre, that distinguish the species from other species of
genus Portulaca.
ii.Flowering and Fruiting will be seen during July- February.
Note
The species were 1st spotted in April 2018. The explorations were undertaken in the Prakasam district during April

State-Wise PDF
2018 to February 2020.
About Plants Belonging to Genus Portulaca
i.The plants who belong to genus Portulaca are classified in Sun Rose category as they flower in bright sunshine.
ii.These plants show various degrees of juiciness in their vegetative parts like roots, stems and leaves.
iii.Earlier studies on genus Portulaca in India have revealed the existence of eight species.
All the Best for Your Exams!!!!!
Suggestions & Feedback are welcomed
[email protected]

Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs 2020 by AffairsCloud

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs 2020 by AffairsCloud

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs 2020 by AffairsCloud

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

State-Wise PDF

This is Paid PDF provided by AffairsCloud.com, Our team is working hard

CURRENT AFFAIRS PDF PLANS

Current Affairs PDF 2019: Study, Pocket and Q&A PDF’s

Current Affairs PDF 2018: Study, Pocket and Q&A PDF’s

CRACK HIGH LEVEL PDF PLANS

Crack High Level: English Language Questions PDF 2019

Crack High Level: Data Interpretation Questions PDF 2019

Suggestions & Feedback are welcomed

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 1

Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs 2020

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 2

Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - January 2020

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 3

AP CM launches Rs 6,318 cr ‘Jagananna Amma Vodi’ scheme for indigent mothers

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 4

Andhra Pradesh cabinet approves proposal to abolish legislative council

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 5

NITI Aayog’s Aspirational district ranking : Chandauli of UP tops in December 2019

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 6

Visakhapatnam to host naval exercise ‘MILAN’ in March 2020

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 7

Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - February 2020

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 8

AP govt inks MoU with 11 agri institutions to help farmers

AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy launched Nadu-Nedu scheme for modernising hospitals

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 9

AP CM Jagan Mohan launches ‘Jagananna Vasthi Deevena’ scheme for Students

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 10

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 11

Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - March 2020

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 12

Andhra Pradesh CM lauched NIGHA app to control electoral malpractices

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 13

Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - April 2020

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 14

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 15

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 16

Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - May 2020

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 17

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 18

Centre sets up “Rice Export Promotion Forum” to promote rice export

Andhra Pradesh CM rolls out ‘CMAPP’ to monitor farming needs

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 19

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 20

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 21

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 22

Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - June 2020

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 23

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 24

Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launches ‘Jagananna Chedodu’ scheme

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 25

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 26

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 27

Andhra Pradesh Current Affairs - July 2020

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 28

Andhra Pradesh celebrates Rythu Dinotsavam (Farmer’s Day) on Birth Anniversary of YS

Government of Andhra Pradesh Announces Renewable Energy Export Policy 2020

Report Errors in the PDF - [email protected] Copyright 2014-2020 @ AffairsCloud.Com 29