Recently, President Joe Biden of the United States and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for the first virtual bilateral meeting. The meeting ended with the clear divergences in the positions taken by the two sides. US-China confrontation is on multiple fronts including ideological and cultural hegemonic rivalry, trade wars which …

Recently, Arunachal Pradesh has approved the large, brightly coloured Kaiser-i-Hind as the State butterfly. Kaiser-i-Hind literally means Emperor of India. Important points: It is one of the very rare and elusive swallowtail butterflies which are found at medium and higher elevations. Swallowtail butterfly is any of a group of butterflies …

Recently, scientists have observed a quasi-satellite named Kamo`oalewa, tracking the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, could be a fragment from the moon. A mission to collect Kamo’oalewa’s samples has been scheduled for a launch in 2025. Important points: Discovered in 2016 (through the PanSTARRS telescope in Hawaii), Kamo’oalewa is a …

Recently, the Union Government has conducted the National Achievement Survey (NAS) across India, assessing about 38 lakh students from 1.23 lakh schools in 733 districts in 36 States and Union Territories. The survey was last conducted in 2017 and was scheduled to take place in 2020. However, due to the …

Recently, the Prime Minister has launched the integrated ombudsman scheme. In 2019 the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had launched the Complaint Management System (CMS) in order to improve the customer experience in the grievance redressal process of banking services. The PM has also launched the RBI’s Retail Direct Scheme. …

The Centre Government is contemplating creation of the National Interlinking of Rivers Authority (NIRA). NIRA is supposed to be an independent autonomous body for planning, investigation, financing and the implementation of the river interlinking projects in the country. Important points: NIRA will function as an umbrella body for all river …

Recently, the 32nd edition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) between the Indian Navy and the Royal Thai Navy was conducted. Important points: India and Thailand have been carrying out CORPAT along their International Maritime Boundary Line twice a year since 2005. Indian Naval Ship (INS) Karmuk, an indigenously built …

The sixth edition of the Indo-French Shakti 2021 (bilateral joint training exercise), will be conducted in November in Frejus, France. From the Indian side, a platoon strength of a Gorkha Rifles Infantry Battalion will participate in the exercise. Important points: It will focus on Counter Terrorism operations in backdrop of …

Forces from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Israel and the United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) began a multilateral maritime security operations exercise in the Red Sea. This is the first publicly acknowledged naval exercise between the United States, Israel and the two Gulf countries. Important points: The UAE …

A new study has suggested that the earliest continental landmass emerged 3.2 billion year ago instead of 2.5 billion years ago (as per the continental drift theory). The study was conducted by researchers from India, Australia and the US. Continental Drift Theory Continental drift theory deals with the distribution of …