Neutrinos are born during the process of nuclear fusion in the sun and thus, the sun is the source of most of the neutrinos that are passing through the atmosphere at any moment. It is estimated that about 100 billion solar neutrinos pass through our thumbnail every second. Neutrinos were …

Scientists have produced electron gas with ultra-high mobility, which can speed up transfer of quantum information and signal from one part of a device to another and increase data storage and memory. The need for attaining new functionalities in modern electronic devices has led to the manipulation of property of …

GS-2 5.JAPAN PROVIDES LOAN TO INDIA India and Japan signed an agreement for a loan of up to 50 billion yen (about Rs.3,550 crore) to back India’s economic support programmesfor the poor and vulnerable affected by the Covid-19 crisis. ABOUT THE LOAN: It is a part of Japan’s Official Development …

GS-3 4.NATURAL CAPITAL ACCOUNTING AND VALUATION OF THE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES PROJECT Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of the Ecosystem Services (NCAVES)India Forum-2021 is being organised by the Ministry of Statistics and ProgrammeImplementation (MoSPI) in virtual format. The MoSPI has taken up several initiatives under the project “Natural Capital Accounting and …

GS-2 3.DEMAND FOR AUTONOMY IN ASSAM There has been a demand for implementation of Article 244A for the creation of an autonomous State within Assam BACKGROUND: The appeal to the Centre has been for the creation of an autonomous State for the KarbiAnglong region. The districts are currently governed by …

GS-2 2.INDIA-MONGOLIA RELATIONS Recently, India and Mongolia have reviewed bilateral cooperation in hydrocarbons and steel sectors. IMPORTANT POINTS: India reiterated its commitment to timely completion of the Mongol Refinery Project, the country’s 1 oil refinery. The greenfield Mongol Refinery Project is being built under a Line of Credit from the …

GS-2 1.SEVENTH TRADE POLICY REVIEW OF INDIA AT THE WTO Recently, the final session of India’s seventh Trade Policy Review (TPR) concluded at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland. APPRECIATION FOR INDIA: Introduction of Goods & Services Tax in 2016. India’s efforts in the implementation of WTO’s Trade …

Context: CSIR-NAL scientists along with medical professionals from CSIR-IGIB came forward to address the shortages of ventilators in the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and indigenously designed and developed the non-invasivebilevel positive airway pressureventilator –SwasthVayu SwasthVayu, with additional features to treat Covid-19 patients and make the country self-reliant. The performance …

The Nation’s first indigenously developed DNA vaccine candidate against COVID-19, ZyCoV-D, by M/s Zydus Cadila has been approved by Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), for conduct of the Phase III clinical trials. The candidate has been supported by the National Biopharma Mission (NBM) under the aegis of BIRAC and …

Context: The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Scientific and Technical Cooperation between National Centre of Meteorology (NCM), United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) India. The MoU provides for sharing of …

GS-2 5.WORLD FOOD PRICE INDEX The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) food price index averaged 107.5 points in December 2020, up 2.3 points from November 2020. This marks the seventh month of consecutive increase. ABOUT THE INDEX: It was introduced in 1996as a public good to help in monitoring developments …

GS-2 4.SCHEME FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR Recently, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairshas approved the proposal of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)for CentralSector Scheme for Industrial Development of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). DPIIT comes under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. CENTRAL SECTOR …

GS-2  3. HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT Recently, the Standing Committee of National Board of Wildlife (SC-NBWL)in its 60 meeting has approved the advisory for management of Human-Wildlife Conflict(HWC)in the country. THE ADVISORY: In the meeting approval was given for including Caracal, a medium sized wildcat into the list of critically endangered species …

GS-2 2.SPECTRUM AUCTIONS Bidding for the sixth round of spectrum auction for radio waves worth Rs. 3.92 lakh crore will start from 1st March 2020. ABOUT THE SPECTRUM AUCTIONS: The long-awaited spectrum auction is being held after a gap of four years and over two years after the Telecom Regulatory …

Context: The year 2020 as the eighth warmest year on record since 1901 12 out of 15 warmest years were during the recent fifteen years (2006-2020) Past decade (2001-2010/ 2011-2020) was also the warmest decade on record Rainfall over the country as a whole during the SW monsoon season (June-September) …

GS-2 1.USTR Recently, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)has said thatthe Digital services taxes adopted by India, Italy and Turkey discriminate againstUS companies and are inconsistent with international tax principles. THE OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE (USTR): It is responsible for developing and coordinating US …

GS-3  5.RASTRIYA KAMDHENU AAYOG Recently, the RastriyaKamdhenuAayog has announced ‘KamdhenuGau-VigyanPrachar-Prasar Exam’ with an aim to “infuse curiosity” among people about the importance of cows, and to “sensitise and educate” them about the bovine species. IMPORTANT POINTS RastriyaKamdhenuAayog is an agency under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying)established for …

GS-1 4.ANUBHAVA MANTAPA IN BASAVAKALYAN Recently, the Chief Minister of Karnataka has laid the foundation stone for the ‘New AnubhavaMantapa’ in Basavakalyan, the place where 12th century poet-philosopher Basaveshwara lived for most of his life. ABOUT THE NEW ANUBHAVA MANTAPA: It will be a six-floor structure in the midst of the 7.5-acre plot and represent various …

GS-3 3.PAYMENT INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT FUND SCHEME Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the operationalisation of the Payment Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) scheme. OBJECTIVE: Develop payment acceptance infrastructure in tier-3 to tier-6 cities (centres), with a special focus on the north-eastern states of the country. The fund will be operational for three years effective from 1st January, 2021 and may be extended …

GS-2 2.LONGITUDINAL AGEING STUDY OF INDIA Recently, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has released the Longitudinal Ageing Study of India (LASI) Wave-1 Report on the virtual platform. ABOUT LASI: It is a full scale national survey of scientific investigation of the health, economic, and social determinants and consequences of population ageing in India. It …