The Union Cabinet has approved the restoration of the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) for the remaining part of Financial Year 2021-22 till 2025-26. It will be co-terminus with the period of the 15th Finance Commission The scheme was suspended for two financial years (2020-21 and 2021-22). …

Recently, the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan was held. The meeting was composed of National Security Advisors’ (NSA) of regional countries and chaired by the Indian NSA. The meeting called for “urgent humanitarian assistance” to the Afghan people and urged close cooperation and consultation among the regional countries over …

Recently, the fourth Scorpene Submarine ‘INS Vela’ of Project P-75 has been delivered to the Indian Navy Important points: The submarines in the Project-75 Scorpene Class are powered by diesel-electric propulsion systems. Scorpene is one of the most sophisticated submarines, capable of undertaking multifarious missions including anti-surface ship warfare, anti-submarine …

Recently, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Srinagar as a part of UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) After Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Varanasi and Jaipur, Srinagar is the sixth Indian city to achieve this distinction. Important points: The Srinagar city has been designated the creative city in …

The National Legal Services Day (NLSD) is celebrated on 9th November every year to spread awareness for ensuring reasonable fair and justice procedure for all citizens. Important points: NLSD was first started by the Supreme Court of India in 1995 to provide help and support to poor and weaker sections …

Recently, a global coalition of ten organisations launched the Global Resilience Index Initiative (GRII). Important points: It was launched during the Conference of Parties (CoP) 26 adaptation day (8th November 2021), it will be the world’s first curated, open-source reference index. It has been launched to build a universal model …

Experts say India has lost a decade in modernising its submarine fleet, while China has marched ahead in its larger naval and more specific submarine capabilities. Submarines first became a major factor in naval warfare during World War I (1914–18), also played a similar role on a larger scale in …

Recently, the President of India presented the Padma awards to 119 recipients for the year 2020 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The list comprises 7 Padma Vibhushans, 10 Padma Bhushans and 102 Padma Shri awards. Important points: The Padma Awards are announced annually on Republic Day (26th January). It was instituted in …

Recently, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has released the Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) Report (Index) 2021. Important points: The LEADS report is aimed at gauging the logistics performance of states and Union Territories (UT) and identifying areas where they can improve logistics performance. It was launched in …

Recently, India has launched a direct flight between Srinagar and Sharjah (UAE) operated by budget airline GoFirst (formerly known as GoAir). The flight was to operate through Pakistani airspace. However, the flight was denied permission to enter Pakistan and the flight had to take a longer route to reach the …