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 …