What are the One-Person Companies (OPCs)?

In her Budget speech, the Union Finance Minister had announced measures to ease norms on setting up one-person companies (OPCs). Q.What are One-Person Companies (OPCs)? Discuss how they will help startups and non-resident Indians? What is an OPC? As the name suggests, a one-person company is a company that can be formed by just one… Continue reading

Hope: UAE’s first mission to Mars

The first Arab interplanetary mission is expected to reach Mars’ orbit on February 9 in what is considered the most critical part of the journey to unravel the secrets of weather on the Red Planet. Try this question from CSP 2014: Q.Which of the following pair is/are correctly matched? Spacecraft Purpose 1. Cassini-Huygens Orbiting the… Continue reading

Privacy concerns over Haryana’s Parivar Pehchan Patra

Amid concerns over the Parivar Pehchan Patra scheme, the Haryana govt. says enrolment is voluntary. But residents have little choice as the delivery of even birth and death certificates is linked to it. Practice question for mains: Q.What is Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) recently rolled out by Haryana Govt.? How it is beneficial compared to… Continue reading

Denmark’s artificial energy island project

The Danish government has approved a plan to build an artificial island in the North Sea as part of its effort to switch to green energy. The Energy Island concept provides an innovative solution for countries like India grappled with the scarcity of land required for RE projects! What is Energy Island? An energy island… Continue reading

What are Government Securities (G-Secs)?

The RBI has said that it would allow retail investors and other small investors direct access to its government securities trading platform. What are G-Secs? These are debt instruments issued by the government to borrow money. The two key categories are: Treasury bills (T-Bills) – short-term instruments which mature in 91 days, 182 days, or… Continue reading

[pib] MCA21 Version 3.0

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) will launch data analytics-driven MCA21 Version 3.0. What is MCA 21? MCA21 is an e-Governance initiative of Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) that enables easy and secure access of the MCA services to the corporate entities, professionals and citizens of India. It is the first Mission Mode e-Governance project… Continue reading

[pib] Startup India Seed Fund Scheme

Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) has been approved for the period of next four years starting from 2021-22. Seed Fund Scheme The scheme aims to provide financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization. 945 Crore corpus will be divided over the next 4 years for… Continue reading

The reason that India cannot afford to go on a debt binge

The article discusses the challenges associated with the Budget with a high fiscal deficit. Change in government’s stance India’s economy has suffered more than most from the covid pandemic and so have its people. Its economic contraction has put pressure on its government, like so many others, to respond. Until this week, government’s response had… Continue reading

The unmet health challenge

The article analyses the allocation for the health sector in the Budget and highlights the need for more allocations. Need to increase spending on health The Economic Survey argues for the need to increase public spending on healthcare to 2.5-3 per cent of the GDP — it’s about 1.5 per cent currently. The Survey points… Continue reading

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)

The government’s maternity benefit scheme, or Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, has crossed 1.75 crores, eligible women, till the financial year 2020, the Centre informed Parliament. PMMVY The PMMVY is a maternity benefit program introduced in 2017 and is implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It is a conditional cash transfer scheme… Continue reading

[pib] KAPILA for patent awareness

The Government has launched a campaign namely KAPILA for Intellectual Property Literacy and creating patent awareness, informed Union Ministry for Education to the Parliament. Remember one thing, ‘KAPILA’ Program is related to IP awareness. It sounds much like an animal husbandry related initiative. KAPILA Initiative KAPILA is an acronym for Kalam Program for IP (Intellectual… Continue reading

Iran rules out changes to Nuclear Deal

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ruled out changes to Iran’s nuclear accord with world powers and dismissed calls to broaden the terms of the deal and include regional countries. Do you know how the enmity between Iran and the US came into reality? We hope you have watched the Argo (2012) movie for sure! What is… Continue reading

‘Smart walls’ for Indian Borders

The new US President has stopped the construction of the much-publicized “border wall” between the U.S. and Mexico. Q.Smart fencing along with physical fencing can protect major infiltration areas of Indian borders. Analyse its feasibility for India. What is the news? The Mexico–US barrier also known as the border wall is a series of vertical… Continue reading

Maharashtra to introduce ballot papers along with EVMs

Maharashtra Assembly Speaker has directed the State Law and Justice Department to prepare the draft of a Bill which provides an option to voters to exercise their franchise on ballot papers along with electronic voting machines (EVMs). Manner of holding elections Article 328 of the Indian Constitution and number 37 of the State List of… Continue reading

Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2021

The 16th edition of Indo-U.S. joint military exercise ‘Yudh Abhyas’ is set to be held in Rajasthan between February 8 and 21. Yudh Abhyas The exercise near the India-Pakistan border aims at enhancing cooperation and interoperability between the two armies and will focus on counter-terrorism operations under the UN mandate. The drill comes days after… Continue reading

The Budget bids goodbye to fiscal orthodoxy

A whopping fiscal deficit at 9.5% of GDP for FY21 highlights departure of India’s fiscal policy from the path of fiscal consolidation. The article highlights the issues related to such departure. Important departure With its fiscal deficit at 9.5% of GDP for FY21 and 6.8% in FY22 Budget for 2021-22 seems to signal “spend like… Continue reading

Sri Lanka pushes India out of Colombo Terminal Project

After the strong opposition from within, the Sri Lankan government was forced to revoke a 2019 agreement with India and Japan to develop the strategic East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo Port. Map Reading: Note all these major ports and try recalling their sequences in the clockwise and counter-clockwise direction. What is the news?… Continue reading

India Justice Report, 2020

The second edition of the Indian Justice Report (IJR) was recently launched. Note the findings of this report. It is the only such report of its kind published in India. India Justice Report The IJR is an initiative of Tata Trusts in collaboration with Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause and Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative… Continue reading

Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) to revive urban water bodies

The urban water supply mission under the Jal Jeevan Mission announced in the Budget would include rejuvenation of water bodies as well as 20% of supply from reused water. Access to safe drinking water has been a grave problem for India, especially in rural areas where lack of usable water has resulted in decades-old sanitation… Continue reading

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