CivilServiceArticle: 02 AUGUST 2015 CURRENT AFFAIRS

India to host meeting of 14 Pacific island nations

India will host the heads of 14 island nations at the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC)
This is a first step for making a relation between the region, which is important from an economic and geostrategic standpoint
This will expected to pave the way for agreements in agriculture, food processing, fisheries, solar energy, e-networks for coordination in telemedicine and tele-education, space cooperation and climate change, all of which were mentioned as areas of potential cooperation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Fiji in 2014

Singer Lynn Anderson, who bagged a Grammy for her 1970 classic song “Rose Garden”, has passed away
Born in Grand Forks and raised in California, Anderson came from a musical family
Over the last four decades, “Rose Garden” has been covered numerous times by a wide variety of artists including K D Lang, Martina McBride, Suicide Machines and Southern Culture on the Skids
In June of 2015, she released the inspirational gospel album Bridges

The Spices Board has takes measures to support farmers by offering various subsidies
And sensitise them on the need to enhance the quality of spices through post-harvest improvement techniques, as a part of boosting spices production in the country
Board has also decided to provide financial assistance to farmers for irrigation, land development, mechanisation, replanting, soil conservation and organic farming of various spices
Kerala and Tamil Nadu would be provided with a sum of Rs.70,000 a hectare for replanting cardamom, while farmers in Karnataka would get up to Rs.50,000 a hectare
The Board also provides assistance for post-harvest improvement process of the spices in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and North-eastern states.
The assistance includes funding up to 50 per cent for seed spice thresher, pepper thresher, turmeric boilers and polishers, Integrated Pest Management kits for chilly growers and mint distillation units

The Indian women's archery team of Deepika Kumari, Laxmirani Majhi and Rimil Buriuly won the silver
They lost the World Championship final 4-5 to Russia at the Christiansborg Palace
Russian team comprising Inna Stepanova, Ksenia Perova and Tuyana Dashidorzhieva

Joshna Chinappa wins Victorian Open for 10th professional title
With the Australian Open to start in a few days and the venue being the same, the Joshna is looking forward to more success
Chinappa, last week lost to Line in Kooyong