Recently, the Prime Minister paid tributes to Sree Narayana Guru on his birth anniversary. Earlier, the Vice President of India launched “Not Many, But One”, an English translation of poems of Sree Narayana Gurudev. Important points: Sree Narayana Guru was born on 22nd August, 1856 to Madan Asan and his wife Kuttiyamma in Chempazhanthy, a village …
Read More »Yearly Archives: 2021
URBANISATION
Urbanisation in India has become an inescapable ordeal. With development of the services sector, the population pressure on cities has escalated. Delhi is the sixth-largest metropolis in the world. And yet, a third of its residences are part of slums with no basic resources. Slums Slums are illegal urban settlements …
Read More »DELISTING OF THE TALIBAN’S TOP LEADERSHIP
Recently, The United Nations (UN) officials claimed that there are no requests from the UN Security Council Permanent members for the delisting of the Taliban’s top leadership from sanctions thus far. They also refuted reports that the next meeting of the Taliban Sanctions Committee also known as the resolution 1988 committee, due in September 2021, would lift restrictions on designated …
Read More »NATIONAL MONETISATION PIPELINE (NMP)
Recently, the government of India has launched the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP). The NMP estimates aggregate monetisation potential of Rs 6 lakh crores through core assets of the Central Government, over a four-year period, from FY 2022 to FY 2025. The plan is in line with Prime Minister’s strategic divestment policy, under which …
Read More »INDIA-PHILIPPINE MARITIME EXERCISE
Recently, the Indian Navy carried out a Maritime Partnership Exercise with the Philippine Navy in the West Philippine Sea. Earlier Indo-UK Naval Exercise, ‘Konkan 2021 was held in the English Channel. Important points: It will strengthen bilateral collaboration in the maritime domain towards a collective aim of ensuring a stable, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific This is in a series of …
Read More »NATIONAL TIGER CONSERVATION AUTHORITY (NTCA)
Recently, the Delhi High Court has asked the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to consider as representation a petition to stop the alleged illegal construction of bridges and walls within tiger breeding habitat of the Corbett Tiger Reserve National Tiger Conservation Authority It is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. It …
Read More »YUKTDHARA
Recently, the Ministry of Rural development has launched a new geospatial planning portal, ‘Yuktdhara’ to help in facilitating the new MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) assets with the use of remote sensing and GIS (Geographic Information System) based information. It is a new portal under ‘Bhuvan’. Important points: It is a culmination of joint efforts of …
Read More »SPECIALISED IMMUNE CELLS
A new study has identified for the first time that specialised immune cells (phagocytic cells) exist in certain varieties of sea corals and anemones. It will help in better understanding how reef-building corals and other reef animals protect themselves from foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses found in and around coral reefs. Phagocytosis It is the …
Read More »JOINT SCIENTIFIC ASSEMBLY ON EARTHQUAKE OBSERVATORIES
Recently, the government has announced that India is going to have 35 more earthquake observatories by the end of the 2021 and aims to add 100 more earthquake observatories by 2026. The announcement came at the inaugural function of the Joint Scientific Assembly of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA) – International Association of …
Read More »WORLD SANSKRIT DAY
World Sanskrit Day (Viswa Samskrita Dinam) was celebrated on 22nd August 2021. In India, Sanskrit is a Classical and an Eighth Schedule language. In 2020, the Uttarakhand Government decided to develop ‘Sanskrit Grams’ across the state to teach use of Sanskrit regularly. Important points: It is an annual event aimed to promote revival and maintenance of Sanskrit Language. It is celebrated …
Read More »ADOPTION REGULATIONS, 2021
According to a new clause in the adoption regulations, Indian diplomatic missions abroad will now be in charge of safeguarding adopted children whose parents move overseas with the child within two years of adoption. So far, Indian missions have had a role in inter-country adoption of Indian children limited to kids adopted by Non Resident Indians …
Read More »SUPERVISORY ACTION FRAMEWORK (SAF) FOR UCBS.
Recently, a Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-appointed committee has suggested a four-tier structure for the Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs). In June 2020, the Central government approved an Ordinance to bring all urban and multi-state co-operative banks under the direct supervision of the RBI. In January 2020, the RBI revised the Supervisory Action Framework (SAF) for …
Read More »EXERCISE KONKAN
Indo-UK Naval Exercise, ‘Konkan 2021’ was recently held between INS Tabar and HMS Westminster in the English Channel. The English Channel is located between the Isle of Great Britain’s southern coast and France’s northern coast and separated from the North Sea on the north by the Strait of Dover. Important points: The Bilateral Konkan exercise is a naval exercise conducted between India …
Read More »ANNUAL AMARNATH PILGRIMAGE
Recently, as per the age-old tradition related to the annual Amarnath pilgrimage, the holy mace (Chhari Mubarak) of Lord Shiva was brought to the ancient Shankaracharya Temple. Important points: It is also known as the Jyesteshwara temple or Pas-Pahar by Buddhists. Persians and Jews call it Bagh-i-sulaiman or the Garden of King Solomon. Persian inscriptions are also found inside …
Read More »POLIO
Recently, India has decided to vaccinate Afghanistan returnees against Polio for free as a preventive measure against the Wild Polio Virus. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the only two countries in the world where polio is still Endemic. Important points: Polio is a crippling and potentially deadly viral infectious disease that affects the nervous system. There are three individual and …
Read More »HEAT WAVES
According to a recent study, more than 3,56,000 people died in 2019 as a result of extreme heat and that number is likely to grow in the future. Recent heat waves across the world have been alarming in terms of global warming and have been attributed to climate change. Important points: Heat wave is a condition of air temperature …
Read More »GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA (GSI)
Recently, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has identified certain geological sites across the Northeast for promotion of geo-tourism. 12 locations in the Northeast have been included in the 32 approved geo-tourism or geo-heritage sites in the country. Important points: Geo-heritage refers to the geological features which are inherently or culturally significant offering insight to earth’s evolution or history to earth …
Read More »THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (IVC)
A new research paper has provided some new insight on the linguistic culture of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) Earlier, a study found that the diet of the people of IVC had a dominance of meat, including extensive eating of beef. In July 2021, UNESCO announced the Harappan city of Dholavira in Gujarat as India’s 40th world heritage …
Read More »(ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT FUNDS) REGULATIONS, 2012.
Recently, the Ministry of Finance has launched ‘Ubharte Sitaare’ Alternative Investment Fund to facilitate debt and equity funding to export-oriented MSMEs (Micro Small and medium Enterprises). The fund is expected to identify Indian enterprises with potential advantages, but which are currently underperforming or unable to tap their latent potential to grow. Alternative Investment Fund Anything alternative to traditional forms of …
Read More »KAREZ SYSTEM OF AFGHANISTAN
The Karez System of Afghanistan is in threat whereas a similar system named Surangam in South India is thriving. Surangams resemble the karez System both in structure and spread. Important points: The surangam or suranga is usually found in northern Kerala and southern Karnataka. Surangam is basically a tunnel dug through a laterite hillock from …
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