CONTEXT: The Union Government’s fiscal deficit further widened to ₹9.53 lakh crore, or close to 120% of the annual budget estimate, at the end of October of the current fiscal (2020-21). DETAILS: The deficit widened mainly due to poor revenue realisation. The fiscal deficit or gap between the expenditure and …

CONTEXT: Inauguration of Honey FPOs under the “Formation & Promotion of 10,000 FPOs” Scheme. IMPORTANT POINTS: The Honey FPO Programme of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) has been inaugurated. The Honey FPOs made by the Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) under the aegis of …

CONTEXT: India and Finland sign MoU for developing cooperation in the field of environmental protection and biodiversity conservation. DETAILS: The MoU is a platform to further advance Indian and Finnish partnership and support, exchange best practices in areas like prevention of air and water pollution; waste management; promotion of circular …

CONTEXT: The Central Government made the rules under the powers conferred by the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. The Act came into effect on 10 January 2020, which is the first concrete step towards ensuring welfare of transgender persons. BACKGROUND: In 2014, the Supreme Court of India, in …

CONTEXT: Recently, the Prime Minister of India has addressed the concluding session of the 80 All India Presiding Officers Conference via videoconference, at Kevadiya (Gujarat) on the occasion of Constitution Day (26 November). MAIN POINTS: The idea is about structuring the Indian election cycle in a manner so that elections …

CONTEXT: PM inaugurates RE-Invest 2020. MAIN POINTS: The 3rd Global Renewable Energy Investment Meeting and Expo (RE-Invest 2020) is organised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. The theme for RE-Invest 2020 is ‘Innovations for Sustainable Energy Transition’. The event is showcased as India’s biggest renewable energy event. The …

CONTEXT Recently, the tropical cyclone Nivar has made landfall along the Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coast.Landfall refers to the phenomenon of a cyclone’s outer wall moving over the coastline and beyond. MAIN POINTS Tropical Cyclone: A tropical cyclone is an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized …

CONTEXT: Rainfall over the southern peninsular region has been deficient so far, indicating that the northeast monsoon has remained subdued this year. Inter Tropical Convective Zone (ITCZ): The current position of the ITCZ has also contributed to the poor rainfall during the ongoing monsoon season.  The ITCZ is a low-pressure …

CONTEXT: EPFO conferred with Platinum Partner Award for highest transactions on UMANG App. BACKGROUND: As a majority of EPFO members are from the socio-economically disadvantaged sections, an accessible and affordable solution was needed to reach out to crores of EPFO subscribers. Considering the popularity and ease of usage of internet-based …

CONTEXT Recently, the Prime Minister (PM) has chaired the 33 PRAGATI meeting.Interaction through PRAGATI is held once every month on Fourth Wednesday, known as PRAGATI Day. MAIN POINTS Highlights of the Meeting: The PM asked states to develop a state-specific export strategy, and reviewed development projects worth Rs. 1.41 lakh …

CONTEXT: Recently, the Union Minister of Food Processing Industries has attended the Independent Management Advisory Committee (IMAC) meeting to consider the proposals received under the Scheme for Creation of Infrastructure for Agro-Processing Cluster (APC) of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY). MAIN POINTS: IMAC approved 7 proposals with a total …

CONTEXT: China sold negative-yield debt for the first time. 5-year bond was priced with a yield of – 0.152%, and the 10-year and 15-year securities with positive yields of 0.318% and 0.664%. What are negative yeild bonds? These are debt instruments that offer to pay the investor a maturity amount …

CONTEXT: Recently, India has successfully test-fired a land-attack version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The test by the Army comes over a month after the Naval version of BrahMos was successfully test fired from Indian Navy’s indigenously-built stealth destroyer INS Chennai. Features : …

CONTEXT: PM pays tribute to Lachit Borphukan on Lachit Diwas. Background: During the last phase of the Battle of Saraighat 1671, when the Mughals attacked the Assamese forces through the river in Saraighat, many Assamese soldiers began losing their will to fight. It was Lachit’s clarion call to all the …

CONTEXT: China has launched an unmanned spacecraft to bring back lunar rocks, the first attempt by any nation to retrieve samples from the Moon in four decades. MAIN POINTS The Chang’e-5 mission, named after the ancient Chinese goddess of the moon, will seek to collect lunar material to help scientists …