Recently, group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman was awarded Vir Chakra which is a wartime gallantry award, by the President of India. The gallantry awards are announced twice in a year — first on the occasion of the Republic Day and then on the occasion of the Independence Day. Important points: Post-Independence, …

Recently, the Indian Railways has announced the new scheme ‘Bharat Gaurav’ to tap the huge potential of tourism. Important points: Under the scheme, now trains have a third segment for tourism. Till now, the Railways had passenger segments and goods segments. These trains are not regular trains that will run …

According to the recently released Global State of Democracy Report, 2021, the number of countries moving towards authoritarianism in 2020 was higher than that of countries becoming more democratic. Important points: The report aims to influence the global debate and analyses current trends and challenges to democracy, exacerbated by the …

Recently, NITI Aayog under the Indo-German Cooperation released the inaugural Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Urban Index and Dashboard 2021–22. Earlier in June 2021, the third edition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index and Dashboard 2020–21 was released by NITI Aayog. Important points: The index and dashboard are a …

Recently, after a gap of four years, the Trade Policy Forum (TPF) was convened between the United States and India. The Forum resolved to take economic ties between the two countries to the ‘next high level’ and exchanged views on ‘potential targeted tariff reductions’. Important points: To activate working groups …