MoEFCC clears rail track in Western Ghats despite red flags

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has cleared a rail project in the Western Ghats spread across Goa and Karnataka, which can endanger its wildlife. About the project: The project is the doubling the track of Hospet-Hubballi-Londa-Vasco Da Gama railway line by the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL). It involves doubling of the… Continue reading

Meghalaya records India’s first bat with sticky disks

About the species A team of scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and a few European natural history museums stumbled upon very specialised small bat with “disk-like pads in the thumb and bright orange colouration”. The flattened skull and sticky pads enabled the bats to roost inside cramped spaces, clinging to smooth surfaces… Continue reading

The march towards an equitable data economy

The article explains the data governance norms we need to adopt to secure better societal outcomes. Whatsapp privacy issue New terms of service circulated by WhatsApp, caused a stir among the user. It informed users that data about chats with business accounts would be shared with Facebook. These policies seemed unfair to India as they… Continue reading

State of World Population Report 2021

The United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) flagship State of World Population Report 2021 titled ‘My Body is My Own’ was recently launched. State of World Population Report 2021 The State of World Population report is UNFPA’s annual flagship publication. It has been published yearly since 1978. It highlights emerging issues in the field of sexual… Continue reading

National Pension System (NPS)

The National Pension System (NPS) will no longer compel investors to convert 40% of their accumulated retirement corpus into an annuity. An annuity is a long-term investment that is issued by an insurance company and is designed to help protect you from the risk of outliving your income. Through annuitisation, your purchase payments (what you… Continue reading

[pib] National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI)

The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) has inaugurated three path-breaking initiatives for the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI). What is NIXI? National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) is a not-for-profit organization (section 8 of the Companies Act 2013) working since 2003 for spreading the internet infrastructure to the citizens of India through… Continue reading

Tackling second Covid wave

The article suggests ways to deal with the second wave of Covid in India. What explains the bigger second wave The size of any epidemic is a function of three things: 1) The size of the pool of the susceptible population. 2) The pattern of contact between the members of the population (frequency, mix, closeness… Continue reading

All gold jewellery to bear hallmark

The Centre will go ahead with its plan to mandate hallmarking of gold jewellery from June 1. The plan had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Note: Gold hallmarking is a purity certification and is voluntary at present. What is Hallmark Gold? The process of certifying the purity and fineness of gold is called… Continue reading

Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN)

An apex body of Naga tribes has asked the Nagaland government not to be hasty with the exercise to prepare the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN), seen as a variant of Assam’s National Register of Citizens. Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) The Government of Nagaland has decided to set up a… Continue reading

Indian Rhino Vision 2020

The ambitious Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV 2020) came to a close with the release of two rhinos — an adult male and a female — in Assam’s Manas National Park transported from Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary about 185 km east. Try this PYQ: Q.Recently there was a proposal to translocate some of the lions from… Continue reading

[pib] E-SANTA: Electronic marketplace to connect Aqua farmers and buyers

Union Commerce and Industry Ministry has inaugurated E-SANTA, an electronic marketplace providing a platform to connect aqua farmers and buyers. Note: Aquaculture also known as aquafarming is the farming of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic plants, algae, and other organisms. It involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial… Continue reading

[pib] MANAS Platform

The MANAS App to promote wellbeing across age groups was recently launched. Name, acronym and the purpose; thats all. The rest of the theory is of less importance. MANAS Platform MANAS is an acronym for Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System. It is a comprehensive, scalable, and national digital wellbeing platform and an app developed… Continue reading

NCAHP Bill 2020

The article highlights the key aspects of NCAHP Bill 2020 which recognises the allied healthcare professionals and seeks to regulate and set the standards of education. Regulating allied health professions The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2020 (NCAHP) was passed by Parliament in March. Global evidence demonstrates the vital role of allied… Continue reading

An aggressive vaccination drive holds the key to economic revival

The article highlights the challenges posed by the second wave of covid and how aggressive vaccination could help dealing with the issue. Severe second covid wave in India India’s daily new cases have surged past 1,50,000, much above the first peak. In India’s first wave, the increase from 50,000 to about 1,00,000 cases took about… Continue reading

Why the Personal Data Protection Bill matters

The existing data protection framework based on IT Act 2000 falls short on several counts. The Personal Data Protection Bill seeks to deal with the shortcoming in it. The article explains how the two differs. Need for new data protection regime The need for a more robust data protection legislation came to the fore in… Continue reading

Person in news: Jyotirao Phule (1827 –1890)

The Prime Minister has paid tribute to the great social reformer, thinker, philosopher and writer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule on his birth anniversary. Mahatma Phule Jotirao Govindrao Phule was an Indian social activist, thinker, anti-caste social reformer and writer from Maharashtra. His work extended to many fields, including the eradication of untouchability and the caste system… Continue reading

Places in news: Thwaites Glacier

The melting of Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier – also called the “Doomsday Glacier”– has long been a cause of concern because of its high potential of speeding up the global sea-level rise happening due to climate change. Thwaites Glacier Called the Thwaites Glacier, it is 120 km wide at its broadest, fast-moving, and melting fast over… Continue reading

Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT)

The Government of India’s decision to abolish the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), under the Tribunal Reforms Ordinance, 2021, has triggered a wave of criticism with filmmakers. The FCAT was the place filmmakers walked into as a penultimate resort to challenging edits suggested to their films by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Plunging… Continue reading

Indus and Ganges river dolphins are two different species

Detailed analysis of South Asian river dolphins has revealed that the Indus and Ganges River dolphins are not one, but two separate species. About Gangetic Dolphin The Gangetic river system is home to a vast variety of aquatic life, including the Gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica). It is one of five species of river dolphin found… Continue reading

Freedom of Navigation Operations

The US Navy has had “asserted navigational rights and freedoms approximately 130 nautical miles west of Lakshadweep Islands, inside India’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), without requesting India’s prior consent, consistent with international law”. Try this question: Q.What do you mean by Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs)? What are its legal backings? Discuss its significance. Freedom… Continue reading

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