Indian Scientists have indigenously designed and developed a low-cost optical spectrograph that can locate sources of faint light from distant quasars and galaxies in a very young universe, regions around supermassive black-holes around the galaxies, and cosmic explosions. Such spectroscopes were so far imported from abroad involved high costs. The …

Recently, the second edition of India-Uzbekistan joint military exercise “Dustlik-2” started in Chaubatia, Uttarakhand. Aim : Counter Insurgency (CI) and Counter Terrorism (CT) operations in mountainous, rural and urban scenarios under the United Nations (UN) mandate. First Edition: Took place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in November 2019. Uzbekistan is important to India for security and connectivity to the Central Asian region and also …

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has conducted the final development test of Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) System, crucial for diesel electric submarines. Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) System: Submarines are essentially of two types: conventional and nuclear. The conventional submarines use diesel-electric engines, which require them to surface almost daily to get atmospheric …

Governments around the world are exploring the potential use of vaccine passports as a way of reopening the economy by identifying those protected against the coronavirus. Vaccine Passports: A vaccine passport is an e-certificate that stores and records jabs and Covid-19 test status. It can be kept in a smartphone app or …

Recently, several hundred Uighur Muslim women in Turkey staged an International Women’s Day march against the extradition agreement of Turkey with China and demanding the closure of mass incarceration camps in China’s Xinjiang Province. Earlier in 2020, the United States House of Representatives approved a legislation calling for sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for oppression of Uighur …

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways has suggested rationalisation of both freight and passenger fares. Social Service Obligations: The losses incurred by the railways in passenger services purportedly due to the social service obligations which include pricing tickets at fares lower than costs and passenger concessions. The railways incur losses to the tune of Rs. 35,000-38,000 …

Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) asked the government to explain the reasons for not setting up an “Independent Environment Regulator” to oversee green clearances. SC’s Order: SC had ordered the setting up of a national environment regulatory body under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to ensure independent oversight of green clearances way back in Lafarge Umiam Mining …

GS-2 JANAUSHADHI DIWAS The Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) celebrated the 3rd JanaushadhiDiwas (7th March 2021) to spread awareness about quality generic medicines, available at low prices. Theme of JanaushadhiDiwas was “SevaBhi – Rozgarbhi”. The Janaushadhi week was celebrated across the country from 1st-7th March 2021. As a part of celebrations, the Prime Minister inaugurated the 7,500th Janaushadhi Kendra at NEIGRIHMS, Shillong. Important points: Janaushadhi …

GS-3 NEW UMBRELLA ENTITY FOR PAYMENT SYSTEMS The private companies have shown interest in setting up New Umbrella Entities (NUEs) for payment systems – an idea floated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The aim is to create an alternate mechanism to the existing National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).     New Umbrella Entities (NUEs): About: NUEs will …

GS-3 PLI SCHEME FOR TELECOM SECTOR The Union Cabinet has approved the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI)scheme for the telecom sector with an outlay of Rs. 12,195 crores over five years. About the PLI Scheme: In order to boost domestic manufacturing and cut down on import bills, the central government in March 2020 introduced a scheme that aims to give companies …