Recently, International Vaccine Institute (IVI) has announced that Bharat Biotech’s Chikungunya vaccine candidate (BBV87) has entered into Phase II and III clinical trials Currently, there is no commercial chikungunya vaccine. Important points: BBV87 is an inactivated virus vaccine, similar to Covaxin. Inactivated vaccines contain viruses whose genetic material has been destroyed by heat, chemicals or radiation so they …

The domestic general insurance companies are gradually reducing their exposure to the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) to cut down their losses on account of high claims even as the Centre made the scheme optional and slashed its contribution. PMFBY and the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) were revamped in 2020. Important …

Recently, Afcons, an Indian company, has signed a contract for the largest-ever infrastructure project in Maldives which is the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP). The project is the result of bilateral consultation between India and the Maldives and has been under discussion since the visit of India’s External Affairs Minister to Male in September 2019. …

Recently, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with Fridays for Future launched a report named ‘The Climate Crisis Is a Child Rights Crisis: Introducing the Children’s Climate Risk Index’. It is the first comprehensive analysis of climate risk from a child’s perspective. Earlier an analysis, based on Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN) index, …

The Supreme Court of India recently held that the economic criterion cannot be the sole basis for deciding the creamy layer from among backward classes for the purpose of excluding it from the purview of providing reservation. The SC was hearing a petition challenging two notifications issued by the Haryana government sub-classifying …

The Chakma organisations have opposed the proposed deportation of 60,000 people belonging to the Chakma and Hajong communities from Arunachal Pradesh. Important points: They are ethnic people who lived in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, most of which are located in Bangladesh. Chakmas are predominantly Buddhists, while Hajongs are Hindus. They are found in northeast India, West Bengal, Bangladesh and Myanmar. …

Recently, the Vice-president of India visited monuments at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hampi in Vijayanagara district, Karnataka. Important points: The site of Hampi comprises mainly the remnants of the capital city of the Vijayanagara Empire (14th-16th century CE), the last great Hindu Kingdom. It encompasses an area of 4187, 24 hectares, located in the Tungabhadra …

Recently, India has overtaken the United States (US) to become the second-most sought-after manufacturing destination globally, driven mainly by cost competitiveness in the Global Manufacturing Risk Index 2021. In last year’s report, the US was at second position while India ranked third. Important points: It assesses the most advantageous locations for global manufacturing among 47 …

Recently, the Prime Minister paid tributes to Sree Narayana Guru on his birth anniversary. Earlier, the Vice President of India launched “Not Many, But One”, an English translation of poems of Sree Narayana Gurudev. Important points: Sree Narayana Guru was born on 22nd August, 1856 to Madan Asan and his wife Kuttiyamma in Chempazhanthy, a village …

Urbanisation in India has become an inescapable ordeal. With development of the services sector, the population pressure on cities has escalated. Delhi is the sixth-largest metropolis in the world. And yet, a third of its residences are part of slums with no basic resources.   Slums Slums are illegal urban settlements …

Recently, The United Nations (UN) officials claimed that there are no requests from the UN Security Council Permanent members for the delisting of the Taliban’s top leadership from sanctions thus far. They also refuted reports that the next meeting of the Taliban Sanctions Committee also known as the resolution 1988 committee, due in September 2021, would lift restrictions on designated …

Recently, the government of India has launched the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP). The NMP estimates aggregate monetisation potential of Rs 6 lakh crores through core assets of the Central Government, over a four-year period, from FY 2022 to FY 2025. The plan is in line with Prime Minister’s strategic divestment policy, under which …

Recently, the Indian Navy carried out a Maritime Partnership Exercise with the Philippine Navy in the West Philippine Sea. Earlier Indo-UK Naval Exercise, ‘Konkan 2021 was held in the English Channel. Important points: It will strengthen bilateral collaboration in the maritime domain towards a collective aim of ensuring a stable, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific This is in a series of …

Recently, the Delhi High Court has asked the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to consider as representation a petition to stop the alleged illegal construction of bridges and walls within tiger breeding habitat of the Corbett Tiger Reserve National Tiger Conservation Authority It is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. It …

Recently, the Ministry of Rural development has launched a new geospatial planning portal, ‘Yuktdhara’ to help in facilitating the new MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) assets with the use of remote sensing and GIS (Geographic Information System) based information. It is a new portal under ‘Bhuvan’. Important points: It is a culmination of joint efforts of …

A new study has identified for the first time that specialised immune cells (phagocytic cells) exist in certain varieties of sea corals and anemones. It will help in better understanding how reef-building corals and other reef animals protect themselves from foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses found in and around coral reefs. Phagocytosis It is the …

Recently, the government has announced that India is going to have 35 more earthquake observatories by the end of the 2021 and aims to add 100 more earthquake observatories by 2026. The announcement came at the inaugural function of the Joint Scientific Assembly of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA) – International Association of …

World Sanskrit Day (Viswa Samskrita Dinam) was celebrated on 22nd August 2021. In India, Sanskrit is a Classical and an Eighth Schedule language. In 2020, the Uttarakhand Government decided to develop ‘Sanskrit Grams’ across the state to teach use of Sanskrit regularly. Important points: It is an annual event aimed to promote revival and maintenance of Sanskrit Language. It is celebrated …

According to a new clause in the adoption regulations, Indian diplomatic missions abroad will now be in charge of safeguarding adopted children whose parents move overseas with the child within two years of adoption. So far, Indian missions have had a role in inter-country adoption of Indian children limited to kids adopted by Non Resident Indians …

Recently, a Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-appointed committee has suggested a four-tier structure for the Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs). In June 2020, the Central government approved an Ordinance to bring all urban and multi-state co-operative banks under the direct supervision of the RBI. In January 2020, the RBI revised the Supervisory Action Framework (SAF) for …