India becomes 4th largest forex reserves holder globally

India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $835 million to touch a record high of $612.73 billion in the week ended July 16, 2021, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed. Forex Reserves India’s forex reserves cover: Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs) (rose by $463 million to $568.748 billion) Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) (up by $1… Continue reading

What is the School Bubble Concept?

The Karnataka government has proposed the ‘school bubble’ concept to mitigate the spread of the disease among children (aged below 18) attending offline classes at schools and pre-university colleges across the state. It takes a village to raise a child. -Anonymous What are school bubbles? School bubbles are physical classifications made between groups comprising a… Continue reading

Leaded Petrol is officially eradicated

The use of leaded petrol has been eradicated from the globe, a/c to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). What is Leaded Petrol? Tetraethyl-lead (TEL) is a petro-fuel additive, first being mixed with petrol beginning in the 1920s as a patented octane rating booster that allowed engine compression to be raised substantially. This in turn caused… Continue reading

Custodial Violence

Context Earlier this month, Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana expressed concern at the degree of human rights violations in police stations in the country. He said that “the threat to human rights and bodily integrity is the highest in police stations” Deaths in police custody Improvement in the situation: A reality check shows that… Continue reading

Free and Open Source Software

Context Recognising its potential, in 2015, the Indian government announced a policy to encourage open source instead of proprietary technology for government applications. However, the true potential of this policy is yet to be realized. Advantages of FOSS Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) today presents an alternative model to build digital technologies for population… Continue reading

Poultry Farm Establishment Rules

Small and marginal poultry farmers in India will now have to take measures similar to their bigger counterparts to prevent environmental pollution, according to new guidelines issued recently by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). What are the new guidelines? (A) Establishment Consent to Operate: The new guidelines state that for establishing and operating a medium-sized… Continue reading

PM inaugurates Jallianwala Bagh Memorial

Prime Minister has virtually inaugurated the renovated Jallianwala Bagh complex in Amritsar. What led to Jallianwala Bagh Massacre? Protesting the contentious Rowlatt Act The act officially known as the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919 was passed in 1919 by the Imperial Legislative Council. It had authorized the British government to arrest anybody suspected of… Continue reading

BCG vaccine: 100 years and counting

The first use of BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin), the vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) in humans have been completed for 100 years. What is TB? TB is a very ancient disease and has been documented to have existed in Egypt as early as 3000 BC. It is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, belonging to the… Continue reading

Asset monetisation — execution is the key

Context The government has announced an ambitious programme of asset monetisation. It hopes to earn ₹6 trillion in revenues over a four-year period. About Asset monetisation Unlike in privatisation, no sale of government assets is involved. The government parts with its assets — such as roads, coal mines — for a specified period of time… Continue reading

Govt’s clarifications on CSR Expenditure

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has clarified that companies have to ensure that funds transferred to implementing agencies are actually utilized for them to be counted towards mandatory CSR expenditure. What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? CSR is a type of business self-regulation that aims to contribute to the societal goals of a philanthropic, activist,… Continue reading

[pib] Bharat Series (BH-series) for Vehicles

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has rolled out a new series for vehicles registration ‘BH’ to avoid re-registration of vehicles while moving to another state. Bharat series (BH-series) There was a procedure of re-registration of a vehicle while moving to another state. A vehicle bearing BH registration mark shall not require assignment of… Continue reading

Places in news: Pantanal Wetlands

Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetlands is facing a severe crisis due to wildfires and climate change. Pantanal Wetlands The Pantanal is a natural region encompassing the world’s largest tropical wetland area, and the world’s largest flooded grasslands. It is located mostly within the Brazilian and extends to some portions of Bolivia and Paraguay. It… Continue reading

Animal Discoveries 2020 report by ZSI

India has added 557 new species to its fauna reveals Animal Discoveries 2020, a document published recently by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI). Major species discovered The number of faunal species in India has climbed to 1,02,718 species. Among the new species, some interesting species discovered in 2020 are: Trimeresurus salazar, a new species… Continue reading

How to read the state of the economy

Context GDP growth estimates range from a high of 11 per cent, as per the government, to 9.5 per cent as per RBI. The variation is stark. So, what should one look at to evaluate the state of the economy? Things to consider while evaluating the economy First, since the economy contracted by 7.3 per… Continue reading

Greater Male Connectivity Project

Maldives has announced the signing of a $500-million infrastructure project for the construction of the Greater Malé Connectivity Project (GMCP) with India. Greater Malé Connectivity Project This infrastructure project, the largest-ever by India in the Maldives, involves the construction of a 6.74-km-long bridge and causeway link. It will connect the Maldives capital Malé with the… Continue reading

[pib] Merging of three Supermassive Black Holes

Indian researchers have discovered three supermassive black holes from three galaxies merging together to form a triple active galactic nucleus, a compact region at the centre of a newly discovered galaxy that has a much-higher-than-normal luminosity. What are Supermassive black holes? A supermassive black hole is the largest type of black hole, with mass on… Continue reading

Places in news: Sambhar Lake

The world-famous Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan is constantly shrinking with the degradation of soil and water quality and a decline in the population of migratory birds. Sambhar Lake The lake, situated 80 km south-west of Jaipur, is the country’s largest inland saline water body which attracts thousands of migratory birds every year. The death… Continue reading

Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano

Geologists have detected a swarm of earthquakes at Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, though it was not erupting. Kilauea Volcano Kilauea is about 200 miles south of Honolulu, on the Big Island of Hawaii. It is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, having erupted 34 times since 1952. In Hawaiian tradition, Kilauea is home to the… Continue reading

SUJALAM Campaign

The Ministry of Jal Shakti began ‘SUJALAM’, a ‘100 days campaign’ to create more and more ODF Plus villages by undertaking wastewater management at the village level. SUJALAM Campaign The key activities that will be organized in the villages under this campaign include: Organizing Community consultations, Khuli Baithaks and Gram Sabha meetings to analyze the… Continue reading

The National Automated Facial Recognition System

Context On June 23, 2021, the Joint Committee examining the Personal Data Protection Bill (2019) was granted a fifth extension by Parliament. While the Government has been simultaneously exploring the potential of facial recognition technology. Automatic Facial Recognition in India To empower the Indian police with information technology, India approved implementation of the National Automated Facial Recognition System… Continue reading

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