 The Bhitarkanika National Park (Odisha) has become the largest habitat of the endangered estuarine crocodiles in the country with a record number of their nesting sites spotted in it. Altogether 101 nesting sites of estuarine crocodiles were found this time by enumerators. The nesting spots had registered 25% rise this year. At least 1698 crocodiles, including albino species, were counted this year along the water-bodies of Mahanadi delta region, while the figure recorded last year stood at 1682. |
| Source- Business Standard |
 Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi laid the foundation stone of India's first advanced DNA forensic laboratory in Chandigarh as part efforts to reduce the backlog of cases needing advanced forensic analysis. Built at a cost of Rs 99.76 crore from the Nirbhaya Fund, the state-of-the-art 'Sakhi Suraksha' lab, will come up at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory campus to assist in investigation and prosecution of crimes including those committed against women and children. At present there are 6 Central Forensic Science Labs (CFSLs) in Chandigarh, Guwahati, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune and Bhopal and one State Forensic Science Lab in each State/UT. |
| Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB) |
 India has signed the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) in Nursing with Singapore. This is the first MRA being signed by India with any of our Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partners. In a major gain for India, Singapore agreed to expand coverage of Indian nursing institutions by recognising seven nursing institutions in the MRA. This has paved way for our healthcare service providers to institutionally access markets abroad. India and Singapore concluded the 2nd Review of India Singapore CECA which was officially announced by both sides today during Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s State visit to Singapore. |
| Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB) |
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over the Padma Shri award, one of India's highest civilian awards, to former Singaporean diplomat Tommy Koh. Koh was among 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) receipts of the prestigious award this year. Koh, 80, has served as Singapore's ambassador to the US and the UN, and as president of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea in 1981 and 1982. He is currently chairman of the board of governors of the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore. |
| Source- DD News |
 PM Modi is in Singapore on the last leg of his 3 nation tour, talks between Prime Ministers Narendra Modiand his counterpart Lee Hsien Loong led to the signing of 8 agreements between the two sides which covered areas as wide as military cooperation and connectivity. They reviewed bilateral economic ties and agreed to build on defence cooperation. |
| The 8 key fields under which the agreements were exchanged are: |
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| Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB) |
 The Income Tax Department has issued a new reward scheme titled “Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018” to seek people’s participation in the Income Tax Department’s efforts to unearth black money and to reduce tax evasion. The scheme is aimed at encouraging people to give information about benami transactions and properties as well as income earned on such properties by such hidden investors and beneficial owners. |
| Source- DD News |
 The Union Ministry of Culture introduced a new scheme called ‘Seva Bhoj Yojna’ to reimburse the central share of CGST and IGST on items for food/prasad/langar/bhandara offered free of cost by charitable religious institutions. The scheme has been launched for financial years 2018-19 and 2019-20 with a total outlay of Rs. 325.00 crores. |
| Source- DD News |
 The ICC has included Nepal, Netherlands, Scotland and the UAE in their ODI rankings list apart from the 12 existing countries. The Netherlands secured ODI status and a place in the 13-team ODI league by winning the ICC World Cricket League Championship last year, while Scotland, Nepal and the UAE earned ODI status by finishing as the three leading associates (along with the Dutch) in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018. |
| Scotland have been ranked in 13th on 28 points - 10 points behind 12th ranked Ireland - while the UAE are another 10 points behind on 18 in 14th position. The table is headed by England, who will host next year's ICC Cricket World Cup. India is ranked second, three points behind England. |
| Source- DD News |
 Following directions from Supreme Court, the Central Government has constituted the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CMA) to address the dispute over sharing of river water among Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry. In February, 2018 judgement, the Supreme Court had directed centre to form the CMA within six weeks. In the same verdict, the court had also increased Karnataka’s share in Cauvery Water marginally. |
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Composition and Powers of CMA
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 Social networking giant Facebook partnered with the National Commission for Women (NCW) to launch a Digital Literacy Programme (DLP). The DLP will be launched in collaboration with the Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF). Cyber Peace Foundation is a Ranchi, Jharkhand-based civil society organisation involved in training related to all aspects of cybersecurity. |
| Source- DD News |
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