Recently, the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare inaugurated the world’s second-largest refurbished state-of-the-art National Gene Bank at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR). Gene Banks are a type of biorepository which preserve genetic material. A collection of seed plants, tissue cultures etc. A gene is the basic physical and functional unit of heredity. Genes are …

Under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) approximately 20.32 lakh Covid-19 tests and 7.08 lakh treatments were authorised from April 2020 to July 2021. Important points: It offers a sum insured of Rs.5 lakh per family for secondary care (which doesn’t involve a super specialist) as well as tertiary care (which involves a …

Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs has said in the Lok Sabha that owing to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, Census 2021 and other Census-related field activities have been postponed until further orders. In India, a census is conducted every decade and Census 2021 will be the 16th national census of the country. Important points: The earliest …

Recently, the Taliban has seized Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, raising questions over the US and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) trained Afghan Forces. The Taliban have proclaimed that there will be no witch hunt, that it will respect a transitional process, and that it will work for a future Islamic system that is …

Recently, scientists have found two nearly perfectly preserved cave lion cubs which lived 28,000 years ago, nicknamed Boris and Sparta. They were found in Siberia’s permafrost, Russia. The cubs were found 15 metres apart but are not only from different litters but were also born thousands of years apart. Important points: The Cave Lion (Panthera spelaea), often …

Recently, India and Saudi Arabia started their first-ever Naval joint exercise called the Al-Mohed Al-Hindi Exercise. The decision on this Bilateral exercise was taken in the Riyadh Summit held in 2019. Important points: Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kochi is participating in the exercise. The exercise comprises several coastal and sea-based exercises between the two navies. INS Kochi is the second …

Recently, a resolution has been reintroduced in the US House of Representatives to posthumously award the Congressional Gold Medal to Mahatma Gandhi for his contributions made through his methods of non-violence. If given the award, Mahatma Gandhi would become the first Indian to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, which is the highest civilian award in the US. …

Navroz festival is being celebrated in India on 16th August in India. Across the world, Navroz is celebrated at the time of the vernal equinox (marking the start of spring) in the Northern Hemisphere. Important points: Navroz is also known as Parsi New Year. In Persian, ‘Nav’ stands for new, and ‘Roz’ stands for the day, which literally …

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has planned to set up 200 ‘Van Dhan’ producer companies in all the 27 states in the next five years with priority to the Aspirational Districts under the Van Dhan programme Aspirational Districts are those districts in India that are affected by poor socio-economic indicators. The Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ Programme (TADP) is being anchored by the NITI Aayog at …

Recently, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched the 2nd phase of the SAMVAD programme. The second phase was launched on the completion of one year of programme. The programme is aimed at mental health outreach for children who are abandoned and orphaned, child survivors of trafficking, or in conflict with law. Earlier, the government …