PIB & AIR News 8th April, 2019

Questions:
1. Who has been appointed as the President of World Bank?
2. Where is Velavadar National park located?
3. Where is Varadero reef situated? Why is it important for marine biologists to be studied?

Today's News:

1. President of India releases the India rankings – 2019 and the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements(ARIIA)

• He presented India Rankings awards to the top eight institutions in different categories & presented the ARIIA awards to the top two institutions at a function held in New Delhi today 
• Besides overall rankings, category-specific rankings have been undertaken for colleges and universities, as well as subject-specific rankings for engineering, management, pharmacy, architecture, law and medicine.

2. International Convention on World Homoeopathy Day

• It is to deliberate on linking Education & Clinical Practice with Research
• It is being organised by the Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH), an autonomous research organisation, Ministry of AYUSH 
• The World Homoeopathy Day is observed every year on April 10 to commemorate the birth anniversary of the founder of Homoeopathy, Dr. Christian Fredrich Samuel Hahnemann.
• The Council is taking this as an opportunity to review the path trodden so far, taking stock of the challenges faced and to formulate future strategies for development of Homoeopathy. 
• There is an imminent need to focus on improving the quality of education and enhancing the success rate of an average practitioner. There is also a need to ensure the production and availability of high quality homeopathic drugs in the market.

3. Service Voter

• Service voter is a voter having service qualification. According to the provisions of sub – section (8) of Section 20 of Representation of People Act, 1950, service qualification means:
1. Being a member of the armed Forces of the Union ; or
2. Being a member of a force to which provisions of the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950), have been made applicable whether with or without modification ;
3. Being a member of an Armed Police Force of a State, and serving outside that state; or
4. Being a person who is employed under the Government of India, in a post outside India.
• Service voter belonging to defence and paramilitary forces have the option of either voting through postal ballot or through a proxy voter duly appointed by him/her.
• While an ordinary elector is registered in the electoral roll of the constituency in which his place of ordinary residence is located, person having service qualification can get enrolled as ‘service voter’ at his native place even though he actually may be residing at a different place (of posting)
• The wife of a service voter shall, if she is ordinarily residing with him, be also deemed to be a service voter in the constituency specified by that person. 
• A son / daughter / relative / servant etc. residing ordinarily with a service voter cannot be enrolled as service voter.
• This facility is not available to the husband of a female service voter.
• Service voter(1 & 2)  have option of either voting through postal ballot or through a proxy voter duly appointed by him. A service voter who opts for voting through a proxy is called Classified Service Voter (CSV).
• A service voter may appoint (by applying to Returning Officer in Form 13 F of Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 – Form available at the website of Election Commission) any person as his / her proxy to give vote on his / her behalf and in his / her name at the polling station. The proxy shall have to be ordinary resident of that constituency

4. Neelakurinji:

• Kurinji or Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthianus) is a shrub that is found in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in South India.
• Nilgiri Hills, which literally means the blue mountains, got their name from the purplish blue flowers of Neelakurinji that blossoms only once in 12 years.
• Some Kurinji flowers bloom once every seven years, and then die. Their seeds subsequently sprout and continue the cycle of life and death.
• The Paliyan tribal people living in Tamil Nadu used it as a reference to calculate their age.

5. 2019 Malaysian Open Badminton

• Winners of the Tournament 
• Men’s Singles: Lin Dan (China) 
• Women’s Singles: Tai Tzu-ying (Taiwan)
• The Malaysia Open is an annual badminton tournament that has been held since 1937 and it is also known as Malaysia Super Series

6. India evacuates peacekeeping CRPF contingent from Tripoli, Libya

• This was done after the situation in the war-hit nation suddenly worsened.
• Libyan Crisis Ever since the 2011 uprising which overthrew and killed long-ruling dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is engulfed in a crisis.
• Libyan National Army  (LNA) is backing the Tobruk-based parliament which governs the East of Libya and the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) controls Libya’s western parts from Tripoli.