GS-3 PENCH TIGER RESERVE Recently, a female cub of ‘man-eater’ tigress Avni has been released into the wild in the Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) of Maharashtra.  Important points: It is located in Nagpur District of Maharashtra and named after the pristine Pench River. The Penchriver flows right through the middle …

GS-3 DUMPING INERT WASTE IN ASOLA BHATTI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY The Supreme Court-mandated Ridge Management Board has decided to constitute an expert committee to look into the proposal of dumping inert (non-reactive) waste in the mines of Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary (Delhi). Inert Waste: Inert was te is waste which is …

GS-3 SOLID FUEL DUCTED RAMJET TECHNOLOGY The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted the test of the Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) technology, which is crucial for the indigenous development of long range air-to-air missiles. Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) Technology: SFDR technology is a missile propulsion …

GS-2 QS WORLD SUBJECT RANKINGS 2021 25 programmes offered by higher education institutions in India ranked among the top 100 in the world in their respective subject categories, according to the latest edition(11th) of the QS World University Rankings by Subject. About the QS World Subject Rankings: Quacquarelli Symonds (QS): …

GS-2 ROAD TO GENDER INEQUALITY: UNDP Recently, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its latest report named “Protecting Women’s Livelihoods in Times of Pandemic: Temporary Basic Income and the Road to Gender Equality” has proposed a Temporary Basic Income (TBI) for poor women in developing countries. The proposal comes …

GS-2 INDIA – SWEDEN RELATIONS Indian Prime Minister held a Virtual Summit with the Prime Minister of Sweden to discuss bilateral issues and other regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest. The Summit provided an opportunity to discuss the international situation and response to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as …

GS-3 FALLING RUPEE RESERVES OF IRAN Recently, Indian merchants have almost entirely stopped signing new export contracts with Iranian buyers due to caution about Iran’s falling rupee reserves with Indian banks. Earlier in 2020, the Ministry of External Affairs informed that India is no longer involved in the Farzad-B gas …

GS-1 AMENDMENT OF INSURANCE OMBUDSMAN RULES, 2017 Recently, the Union government amended the Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017, bringing insurance brokers within the ambit of the Insurance Ombudsman and also allowed policy holders to file online complaints. Important points: Enlarged the Scope Of Complaints: Earlier it was only disputes. Now the amended rules will cover …

GS-2 EASE OF LIVING INDEX (EoLI) 2020 Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs announced the release of the final rankings of Ease of Living Index (EoLI) 2020. About: The EoLI aims to measure the well-being of Indian citizens in 111 cities, across the pillars of Quality of Life, Economic-ability, and …

GS-2 MUNICIPAL PERFORMANCE INDEX (MPI) 2020 Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs announced the release of the final rankings of Municipal Performance Index (MPI) 2020.  About: In the Million+ category, Indore has emerged as the highest ranked municipality, followed by Surat and Bhopal. In the Less than Million category, New …