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CBG: Renewable energy revolution

Context The beginnings of a renewable energy revolution rooted in agriculture are taking shape in India with the first bio-energy plant of a private company in Sangrur district of Punjab having commenced commercial operations on October 18. It will produce Compressed Biogas (CBG) from paddy straw, thus converting agricultural waste into wealth. Background Stubble burning… Continue reading CBG: Renewable energy revolution

What is FCRA and its recent amendments?

Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs amended certain provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA). The Ministry had made the FCRA rules tougher in November 2020, making it clear that NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) which may not be directly linked to a political party but engage in political action like bandhs, strike or road blockades will be considered of political… Continue reading What is FCRA and its recent amendments?

The Art of Bhoota Kola

There has been a controversy over the folk art of Bhoota Kola recently depicted in a famous Kannada movie. What is Bhoota Kola? Bhoota Kola is an animistic ritual dance performance where local spirits or deities are worshipped. It is believed that a person performing the ritual has temporarily become a god himself. This performer… Continue reading The Art of Bhoota Kola

In news: Sukapaika River

Sukapaika, a small river that stopped flowing 70 years ago in Odisha’s Cuttack district is set to be rejuvenated. Sukapaika River The Suka-paika (the dead) River originated from another river, the Mahanadi, near Ayatpur village. It flowed 27.5 km before meeting the Mahanadi again at Bankala. In the 1950s, the State’s water resource engineers had… Continue reading In news: Sukapaika River

Online Child Sexual Abuse Material

Context Last month, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches across States and Union Territories as part of a pan-India operation, “Megh Chakra”. The operation, against the online circulation and sharing of Child Sexual Abusive Material (CSAM) using cloud-based storage, was supposedly based on inputs received from Interpol’s Singapore special unit, in turn based… Continue reading Online Child Sexual Abuse Material

Pakistan is out of FATF ‘Grey List’ on terror funding

Global terror-financing watchdog FATF has announced Pakistan‘s removal from its grey list, saying the country has largely completed its action plans on anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism. What is the FATF? FATF is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering. The FATF… Continue reading Pakistan is out of FATF ‘Grey List’ on terror funding

India tests medium-range ballistic missile Agni Prime

India has successfully test-fired indigenously-developed new generation medium-range ballistic missile Agni Prime from the Odisha coast. Agni-Prime Missile Agni-P is a new generation advanced variant of the Agni class of missiles. It is the sixth missile in the Agni series of ballistic missile. It is a two-staged canisterised missile with a range capability between 1,000… Continue reading India tests medium-range ballistic missile Agni Prime

Efforts for Vulture Conservation

Context The Tamil Nadu government formed a committee to set up an institutional framework for the effective conservation of vultures. The State is home to four species of vultures the white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis), long-billed vultures (Gyps indicus), the Asian king vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) and the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus). Are the vulture population decreasing?… Continue reading Efforts for Vulture Conservation

What are Gift Taxes?

The Supreme Court recently ruled that shares within the lock-in period are not ‘quoted shares’, and thus they need to be valued as ‘unquoted shares’ to determine the gift tax liability. What are quoted and unquoted shares? According to the Wealth Tax Act, ‘quoted share’ in relation to an equity share or a preference share… Continue reading What are Gift Taxes?

What is Web 3.0?

India has a rapidly-growing Web3 ecosystem with more than 450 active start-ups in the space that raised $1.3 billion in funding till April 2022. What is Web 3.0? Web3 help users interact with decentralized applications built on blockchain technology. Web3 technologies like distributed ledgers, artificial intelligence, Metaverse and others aim to create the next-generation internet,… Continue reading What is Web 3.0?

Competition panel penalizes Google

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a ₹1,337.76-crore penalty on Google for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in the Android mobile device ecosystem. What did Google do? Google had abused its dominance in the licensing of its operating system for smart mobile devices, app store market for Android smart mobiles among… Continue reading Competition panel penalizes Google

An Indian Pioneer of ORT

Context In the demise of Dilip Mahalabnis on October 16 we lost a pioneering public health physician the ORS pioneer who helped save millions of lives. In 1978, a Lancet editorial termed ORS the most important medical advance in this century. Background ORT was first introduced worldwide in the 1970s to treat millions of children… Continue reading An Indian Pioneer of ORT

China’s total trade surplus with India ‘surpasses $1 trillion’

The favourable trade balance that China has enjoyed with India, since bilateral trade began to boom in the early 2000s, has now exceeded $1 trillion. India-China bilateral trade In 2021, annual two-way trade crossed $100 billion for the first time, reaching $125.6 billion, with India’s imports accounting for $97.5 billion, pegging the imbalance at close… Continue reading China’s total trade surplus with India ‘surpasses $1 trillion’

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