The Centre has increased the intake of direct recruit IAS and IPS officers to 180 and 200 since 2012 and 2020, respectively, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh informed Rajya Sabha.

The “optimal intake” of directly recruited IAS officers was increased following recommendations of the Baswan Committee which had also suggested that any number above 180 would “compromise quality” and exceed the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Singh said.

Besides, any move to induct more than 180 IAS officers would cause “distortion” in their career pyramid, especially for senior posts in the government, the Union minister said.

Even as tuberculosis, one of the biggest killers, saw a 19 percent increase in 2021, the Centre has now planned to launch a new programme -- Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (PMTBMBA) -- that will encourage financial contributions from not only non-governmental organisations (NGOs) but also private sector corporates and the community.

Q1.  Name the  Japanese video journalist who has been arrested  ned in Myanmar while covering a brief pro-democracy march and  has been charged with violating a law against spreading false or alarming news ?

1. Nathan Maung
2. Danny Fenster
3. Toru Kubota
4. Robert Bociaga
5. None of These

Q2. The RBI  has raised its  key rate on Aug 4  by 50 bps to

1. 4.40 per cent
2. 5.40 per cent
3. 6.25 per cent
4. 6 .5 per cent
5. None of These

Q3. According to the Family Court Act of 1984, it is mandatory for a state government to set up a family court for every city or a town whose population exceeds

1. One million
2. Two million
3. Five million
4. Ten million
5. None of These 

Q4. India on Aug 4 successfully test-fired laser-guided Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) from Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun at KK Ranges near Ahmednagar in

1. Odisha
2. Andhra Pradesh
3. Karnataka
4. Maharashtra
5. None of These

Q5. Hiroshima Day is observe on

1. 2 August
2. 4 August
3. 6 August
4. 8 August
5. None of These

Answers

1-----------------------------3   Toru Kubota

2-------------------------------2    5.40 per cent

3-------------------------------1   One million

4-------------------------------4   Maharashtra

5------------------------------3   6 August

India and the US will hold an over two-week-long mega military exercise in Uttarakhand's Auli in October amid the fast-evolving regional security scenario.

The 18th edition of exercise "Yudh Abhyas" is scheduled to take place from October 14 to 31.

The last edition of the exercise took place in October 2021 in Alaska in the US.

The exercise is aimed at enhancing understanding, cooperation and interoperability between the armies of India and the US.

The "Yudh Abhyas" exercise is taking place in the backdrop of India's lingering border row with China in eastern Ladakh.

The Indo-US defence ties have been on an upswing for the past few years.

In June 2016, the US designated India a "Major Defence Partner".

The two countries have also inked key defence and security pacts over the past few years, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies as well as provides for deeper cooperation.

The two sides also signed the COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018 which provides for interoperability between the two militaries and provides for the sale of high-end technology from the US to India.

In October 2020, India and the US sealed the BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) to further boost bilateral defence ties.

Senior-most judge of the Supreme Court Justice U U Lalit, who is in line to become the next Chief Justice of India (CJI), has been part of several landmark judgements including the one which held the practice of divorce through instant 'triple talaq' among Muslims illegal and unconstitutional.

If appointed, Justice Lalit will become the second CJI who was directly elevated to the apex court Bench from the Bar.

Justice S M Sikri, who became the 13th CJI in January 1971, was the first lawyer to be elevated directly to the top court bench in March 1964.

Justice Lalit is in line to become the 49th CJI of India on August 27, a day after incumbent Justice N V Ramana demits the office.

Justice Lalit, who was a renowned senior advocate, was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court on August 13, 2014.

The Lok Sabha  on  Aug 3 passed a bill that seeks to transform the National Rail and Transportation University into central university to be called Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya.

Currently, the National Rail and Transportation University located in Vadodara is a deemed-to-be-institution.

The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, which also seeks to expand the scope of the deemed university from beyond the railways to cover the entire transport sector to support the ambitious growth and modernisation in the field, was passed by a voice vote after a brief discussion.

Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, a multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional institute, would be the first central university after rollout of the National Education Policy, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said replying to a debate on the Bill.

The plan is to unify different departments to create a new infrastructure where various transport sector elements -- railways, road, waterways, aviation and port along with information and technology -- will coordinate with each other on the platform of Gati Shakti Mission.

The proposed global standard institute aims at not producing job-seekers but job creators, he said He said the establishment of the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya will address the need of talent in the strategically important and expanding transportation sector and meet the demand for trained talent to fuel the growth and expansion of the sector.

Earlier Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the focus of the institute will on five major aspects -- transport focussed courses, skill development, applied research, technology development and transport economics and infrastructure financing.

Vaishnaw said the Budget has allocated Rs 166 crore for the institute in FY'23.

The university is named after the government's flagship Rs 100-lakh crore PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity.

The Gati Shakti Master Plan is essentially a digital platform bringing together 16 ministries, including roadways and railways for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects.

It seeks to incorporate infrastructure schemes of various ministries and state governments such as Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry and land ports, UDAN.

After infuriating China over her trip to Taiwan, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met South Korean political leaders in Seoul on  Aug 4 but avoided making direct public comments on cross-Strait relations that could have further increased regional tensions.

Pelosi, the first incumbent House speaker to visit Taiwan in 25 years, said on Aug 3  in Taipei that the American commitment to democracy on the self-governing island and elsewhere "remains ironclad." In response, China announced it would launch its largest military manoeuvres aimed at Taiwan in more than a quarter of a century.

After visiting Taiwan, Pelosi and other members of Congress flew to South Korea — a key U.S. ally where about 28,500 American troops are deployed — on  Aug 3 evening, as part of an Asian tour that included stops in Singapore and Malaysia.

She met South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin Pyo and other senior members of Parliament. After that hour-long meeting, Pelosi spoke about the bilateral alliance, forged in blood during the 1950-53 Korean War, and legislative efforts to support a push to boost ties but didn't directly mention her Taiwan visit or the Chinese protests.

The Biden administration and Pelosi have said the United States remains committed to the so-called one-China policy, which recognizes Beijing but allows informal relations and defence ties with Taipei. The administration discouraged but did not prevent Pelosi from visiting.

New tensions erupted over Nagorno-Karabakh on  Aug 3 as three soldiers were killed and Azerbaijan said it had taken control of several strategic heights in the disputed region.

The escalation drew immediate international rebuke, with Russia accusing Baku of violating the brittle ceasefire and the European Union urging an "immediate cessation of hostilities".

Arch enemies Armenia and Azerbaijan fought two wars -- in 2020 and in the 1990s -- over Azerbaijan's Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In the aftermath of the latest war, Armenia was forced to cede swathes of territory it had controlled for decades, and Russia deployed some 2,000 peacekeepers to oversee a fragile truce, but tensions persist despite a ceasefire agreement.

The European Union called for an "immediate cessation of hostilities" between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces in Karabakh.

Following Russia's intervention in Ukraine on February 24, an increasingly isolated Moscow lost its status as the primary mediator in the Karabakh conflict.

Six weeks of fighting in the autumn of 2020 claimed more than 6,500 lives and ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement.

In July, Azerbaijan began the process of returning its people to land recaptured from Armenian separatists in what Baku calls "The Great Return".

The oil-rich country has vowed to repopulate the recaptured lands. President Ilham Aliyev had for years promised to recapture lands lost in the 1990s and the first returns marked a symbolic moment for Azerbaijan.