http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/evidhan-plan-yet-to-take-off-in-karnataka/article8805263.ece

http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/india-gets-its-first-paperless-assembly/

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• As close neighbors, India and Nepal share unique ties of friendship and cooperation characterized by an open border and deep-rooted people-to-people contacts of kinship and culture. There has been a long tradition of free movement of people across the border.
• Nepal shares a border of over 1850 km with five Indian states -Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
• Government of India initiatives to promote people-to-people contacts in the area of art & culture, academics and media include cultural programmes, symposia and events organized in partnership with different local bodies of Nepal, as well as conferences and seminars in Hindi.
• The Governments of India and Nepal have signed three sister-city agreements for twinning of Kathmandu-Varanasi, Lumbini-Bodhgaya and Janakpur-Ayodhya.
• The 'Indo-Nepal Battalion-level Joint Military Exercise SURYA KIRAN' is conducted alternately in India and in Nepal. The 13th Surya Kiran exercise was held in Pithoragarh (India) in May-June 2018.

Refer: Facts for Prelims: "

A type of plankton described as part of "the beating heart" of the oceans has been named after the BBC's Blue Planet series. Sir David Attenborough narrates this critically acclaimed series that dives deep into the marine environment of Planet Earth.

• The tiny plant-like organism is regarded as a key element of the marine ecosystem.
• A single-celled algae, the plankton is found throughout the world's oceans.
• It will now be officially known as Syracosphaera azureaplaneta, the latter translating from Latin as 'blue planet'.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43796939 ; "

"The Copenhagen Consensus Center focuses on cost-effective solutions to the world's biggest challenges. We create a framework to prioritize solutions, with the goal of achieving the most good for people and the planet. Our analyses take into account not just the economic, but also health, social and environmental benefits.. It was conceived to address a fundamental, but overlooked topic in international development: In a world with limited budgets and attention spans, we need to find effective ways to do the most good for the most people."

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/building-indias-talent-base/article23505879.ece ;

http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/our-story ; "