CONTEXT: Recently, at the G20 (Group of Twenty) summit held virtually India called for a“New Global Index” for the post-Corona world . This year’s summit was hosted by Saudi Arabia. BACKGROUND: G20 It is an informal group of 19 countries and the European Union, with representatives of the International Monetary …

CONTEXT Release of interest sub-vented loan from Micro-Irrigation Fund (MIF) under PMKSY. MAIN POINTS: Micro Irrigation Fund with a corpus of Rs. 5000 crore created with NABARD was operationalised in 2019-20 The objective of the Fund is to facilitate the states in availing an interest sub-vented loan for expanding coverage …

CONTEXT: Union Labour Ministry notifies Draft Rules under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. BACKGROUND: The draft rules provide for the operationalization of provisions in the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code) relating to safety, health and working conditions of dockworkers, building or …

CONTEXT: 1.5 lakh tele-consultations completed through ‘eSanjeevani’ and ‘eSanjeevaniOPD’. BACKROUND: Health Ministry’s eSanjeevani completes 8 Lakh consultations National Teleconsultation Service: The Health Ministry launched the National Teleconsultation Service to facilitate telemedicine aiming to provide healthcare services to patients in their homes.This offers communication between doctors and patients who are geographically …

CONTEXT: Union Education Minister holds a review meeting on the progress of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan Scheme (UBA) through video conferencing. BACKGROUND : Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is inspired by the vision of transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an Inclusive India. …

CONTEXT: Recently, the 30 edition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) has been concluded in the Andaman Sea close to the Strait of Malacca. BACKGROUND: Naval Exercise: India and Thailand have been carrying out CORPAT along their International Maritime Boundary Line twice a year since 2005. Patrol Aircraft from both the …

CONTEXT: The government has set targets of 10% bioethanol blending of petrol by 2022 and to raise it to 20% by 2030 under the Ethanol Blended Programme (EBP) BACKGROUND: In the normal sugar season, about 320 LMT of sugar is produced against a domestic consumption of 260 LMT. This 60 …

Context: Online Release of Picture Postcard on Sawantwadi Toy by India Post India Post celebrates 151 Years of Postcard in India. Sawantwadi toys – These are handmade toys made of wood in Sawantwadi a town in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. They are made from the wood of the Indian Coral …

CONTEXT: RAISE 2020 – Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence. Representatives from the global AI industry to hold discussions at the Summit The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and NITI Aayog will organize a Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI), RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment …

Ocean Services, Modelling, Applications, Resources and Technology (O-SMART) SCHEME of the Ministry of Earth Sciences The objectives of O-SMART (Ocean Services, Modelling, Applications, Resources and Technology) scheme of Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Govt. of India are To generate and regularly update information on Marine Living Resources and their relationship …

Context: Government to set up Neutrino Observatory in the country India based Neutrino observatory (INO) will observe neutrinos produced in the atmosphere of the Earth. This observation will tell us more about the properties of neutrino particles, whose main source is the Sun and the Earth’s atmosphere. The neutrino detector …

context: The status of setting up of country’s second space rocket launching port by ISRO in Kulasekarapattinam, located in Tamil Nadu. • As per the request of Department of Space, Government of Tamil Nadu has identified 961.66.90 hectares in Thoothukudi district. • Land survey is completed for 431.87.74 hectares and …

News: Bills aimed at transforming agriculture in the country and raising farmers’ incomes. The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020. Bills passed by Lok Sabha on 17th September 2020, were passed by …

Forensic DNA Phenotyping refers to the prediction of appearance traits of unknown sample donors, or unknown deceased (missing) persons, directly from biological materials found at the scene. “Biological witness” outcomes of Forensic DNA Phenotyping can provide investigative leads to trace unknown persons, who are unidentifiable with current comparative DNA profiling …

CONTEXT: “BRICS countries continue to cooperate in Telecom/ ICT activities on International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Forum”. In the meeting a broad consensus was built to continue cooperation among BRICS Countries on important areas such as, the role of Information and Communication Technologies in the fight against COVID-19, building trust and …

There are 32 earth observation sensors with advanced capabilities, currently in orbit, providing space based information.Five earth observation satellites and five communication payloads were realized since January, 2018. Information support was provided for all the major disaster events viz. floods, cyclones and forest fires occurred since January 2020. ADVANTAGES About …

During the last three years and the current year, the Government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for construction of twelve (12) nuclear power reactors – ten (10) indigenous 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) to be set up in fleet mode & two (02) units of Light …

INVESTMENT IN ATOMIC ENERGY The Capital investment for the nuclear power projects is being funded with a debt to equity ratio of 70:30. The equity part is funded from internal resources of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Government Budgetary Support. The present policy (Consolidated FDI Policy of …

Context: DBT-BIRAC is supporting Covid-19 vaccine development by facilitating establishment of r-VSV vaccine manufacturing platform for first time in India. Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), set up by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India is supporting COVID-19 vaccine development by facilitating the establishment of the r-VSV vaccine manufacturing …

Context: The Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India is having three binational Centres namely Indo-French Centre for Promotional of Advanced Research (IFCPAR)established with France in 1987, Indo-US Science & Technology Forum (IUSSTF) established in2000 with USA and Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC) established in 2010under intergovernmental agreements. …