Recently, Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Banglore for the first time discovered two species of Few-Electron Bubbles (FEBs) in Superfluid Helium Gas. It is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. The British chemist Sir William Ramsay discovered the existence of helium on Earth in 1895. It is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, non-toxic, …

Recently, a six person crew on Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity spaceship undertook a brief trip to the “edge of space” which is known as Suborbital Flight. Sirisha Bandla, an astronaut born in India, was a part of the crew. She was the third woman of Indian origin to go to space after Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams. Virgin …

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has demanded an additional $200 billion fund flow to developing countries from various sources to manage nature through 2030. It is one of many demands and targets that have been set through 2030 in the official draft of a new Global Biodiversity Framework. Convention on Biological …

Recently, the Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers has reviewed the initiatives of the Department of Fertilisers for making India Atmanirbhar in Fertilisers. The Government is planning to liberalise Market Development Assistance (MDA) policy to promote the use of alternative fertilisers. Important points: MDA policy was earlier limited to city compost only. There were demands to expand this policy by incorporating organic waste like Biogas, Green Manure, …

The Union Minister of Finance of India along with her counterpart, the Finance Minister of Bhutan has jointly launched Bharat Interface for Money – Unified Payments Interface (BHIM-UPI) in Bhutan. The payment system was launched by NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL), the international arm of National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), in partnership with the Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) of Bhutan. Important points: Bhutan is …

After a large-scale rejig at the Council of Ministers, Prime Minister effected some changes in Cabinet committees. Important points: Eight Cabinet Committees: Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. Cabinet Committee on Accommodation. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs. Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs. Cabinet Committee on Security. Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth. Cabinet Committee …

The Aadhaar enrolment of more than 27 lakh people in Assam has become uncertain/delayed because of the delay in completing the process of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The biometrics of these people were frozen after the publication of the NRC in August 2019. The Centre had earlier been asked to unfreeze the biometrics since …

Recently, the death of Father Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, while in judicial custody, has brought the stringent provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) into the focus. UAPA is the India’s main anti-terrorism legislation, but the law makes it more difficult to obtain bail. This difficulty in obtaining bail is …