For the first time ever, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has started work on reopening the crucial Baralacha Pass in Himachal Pradesh much before schedule to restore connectivity to Leh in Ladakh. Important points: Bara-lacha la also known as Bara-lacha Pass is a high mountain pass in Zanskar range, connecting …

The National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management Bill, 2019 was introduced in Rajya Sabha by the Minister of Food Processing Industries, Ms. Harsimrat Kaur Badal, on February 13, 2019. The Bill declares certain institutes of food technology, entrepreneurship, and management as institutions of national importance. These institutes are …

Recently, the Kathakali actor Guru Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair died at the age of 105 in Kozhikode, Kerala. He played a significant role in making Indian classical dances popular in Kerala. Important  Points: Guru Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair was born on 16th June, 1916. He studied at Kalladikkodan school of Kathakali and was specialised in “Kalladikodan” style. The …

A week after a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court said it will consider whether the 1992 verdict in the Indira Sawhney case (popularly known as Mandal Commission case) — capping reservation at 50 per cent — by a nine-judge bench needs to be sent to a larger bench for a relook, petitioners against …

The Supreme Court recently intervened on behalf of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustards over the birds falling dead after colliding with power lines running through their dwindling natural habitats in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Threat from electrocution: A Bench led by Chief Justice of India will examine on a priority basis whether overhead …

The Supreme Court recently asked the Centre and the Election Commission of India to respond to a plea that fresh elections should be conducted in constituencies where the highest number of votes polled are NOTA (None Of The Above). The petition said candidates ‘rejected’ by voters should not be fielded again in the …

Pitting the largest animal on land against a minute insect. That is how the authorities intend to mitigate human-elephant conflict that seems to continue unabated in Kodagu and other parts of the south Karnataka region. Project RE-HAB: A pilot project launched in Kodagu entails installing bee boxes along the periphery of the forest and …

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) moved a Bill in the Lok Sabha recently in which it proposed that the “government” in the National Capital Territory of Delhi meant the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi. The Bill gives discretionary powers to the L-G even in matters where the Legislative Assembly of Delhi is empowered to make …

More than half of the faculty positions reserved for the OBCs in Central institutions of higher education are vacant while about 40% of those reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes also remain unfilled. Lacuna: The situation is particularly acute in the elite Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), where more than 60% of …

Two of the longest serving Artillery systems, the 130mm Self Propelled M-46 Catapult Guns and the 160mm Tampella Mortars were decommissioned today at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges. The 130mm Catapult, with a range of more than 27 km, was a successful merger of two existing weapon systems: Vijayanta tanks and …