After the cases of Delta Variant of Covid-19 continuously rising, a new variant called Lambda Variant (LV) is emerging as a new threat. Lambda Variant is dominant in Peru, India has not yet reported any case of LV. Important points: The strain was first identified in Peru in December 2020. Lambda is the dominant variant in the South American …

Recently, a rare Melanistic Leopard (commonly known as Black Panther) has been recorded in Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) of Maharashtra. Important points: Leopards (Panthera Pardus) are either light colored (pale yellow to deep gold or tawny) with black rosettes or with black fur. The melanistic leopards, which are either all-black or very dark in coloration, are known as black panthers. …

Recently, the Justice Department commemorated the milestone of crossing 9 lakh beneficiaries under its Tele-Law programme through Common Service Centres. Common Services Centre (CSC) programme is an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY), that serves as the access points for delivery of various electronic services to villages in India, thereby contributing to …

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has issued orders appointing an advisory committee for its Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) project that is aimed at curbing “digital monopolies”. This is in the direction of making e-commerce processes open source, thus creating a platform that can be utilised by all online retailers. Earlier, the Ministry …

Recently, a separate ‘Ministry of Co-operation’ has been created by the Central Government for realizing the vision of ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’ (Prosperity through Cooperation) and to give a new push to the cooperative movement. The Government has signaled its deep commitment to community based developmental partnership. It also fulfils the budget announcement made by the …

Recently, Ethiopia has started the second phase of filling a Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam’s (GERD) reservoir on the upper Blue Nile, which raised tensions from Sudan and Egypt ahead of an upcoming UN Security Council meeting on the issue. Ethiopia had previously announced it would proceed to the second stage of filling in July, with …

According to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Annual Report on Implementing the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, the plastic waste generated in 2018-19 was 3.3 million tonnes per year (roughly 9,200 tonnes per day). Important points: Plastic is a synthetic organic polymer made from petroleum with properties ideally suited for a wide variety of applications, …

The UK India Business Council (UKIBC) has released a report titled ‘Road to a UK-India Free Trade Agreement: Enhancing the Partnership and Achieving Self-reliance’. According to the UKIBC annual Survey on Doing Business in India, 77% of UK companies believe that the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign is an “opportunity” rather than a challenge. …