Recently, Chandra’s Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2 (CHACE-2), a payload onboard Chandrayaan-2, has made the first-of-its-kind discovery on the distribution of one of the noble gases, Argon-40. India launched Chandrayaan-2, its second lunar exploration mission after Chandrayaan-1, from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in July 2019. Chandrayaan-2 Mission Chandrayaan-2 is an integrated 3-in-1 spacecraft consisting of an Orbiter of the Moon, …

Recently, the Finance Minister launched the E-bill Processing system on the occasion of 46th Civil Accounts Day (1st March). It was announced in the Union Budget 2022 to use the technology for facilitating the financial inclusion drive in India. The “Civil Accounts Day” is observed every year to mark the anniversary of the inception of the Indian Civil Accounts …

The National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) has deployed PARAM Ganga-a High-Performance Computational (HPC) facility at IIT Roorkee, with a supercomputing capacity of 1.66 Petaflops. Earlier, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru installed the supercomputer ‘ParamPravega’. It has been established by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) under the approach of NSM. The basic idea behind building a …

Amid the deepening crisis in Ukraine, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided to postpone its firepower demonstration, Exercise Vayu Shakti. The exercise was scheduled in the Pokhran ranges in Rajasthan. The last edition of Vayu Shakti was held in February 2019. What is Ex Vayu Shakti? It is a triennial exercise once every three year. It …

The Ninth Edition of India – Sri Lanka Bilateral Maritime Exercise SLINEX (Sri Lanka–India Naval Exercise) is being conducted at Visakhapatnam. The 8th edition of SLINEX was conducted off Trincomalee, Sri Lanka in October 2020. The exercise is being conducted in two phases, the Harbour Phase at Visakhapatnam followed by the Sea Phase in the Bay of Bengal The Harbour …

A team of scientists from the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) has discovered a new gin berry species named Glycosmis albicarpa from the Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. BSI, established in 1890, is the apex research organisation under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEFCC) for carrying out taxonomic and floristic studies on wild plant resources of the country. …

Recently, Maharashtra Governor was criticised for allegedly mocking 19th century social reformers Savitribai and Jyotirao Phule for “getting married at a young age”. Mahatma Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule stand out as an extraordinary couple in the social and educational history of India. They spearheaded path-breaking work towards female education and empowerment, and towards ending caste- and gender-based discrimination. …

Recently, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways received the maiden voyage of food-grains from Patna to Pandu port via Bangladesh in Guwahati (Assam). Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is planning to run a fixed schedule sailing between NW1 and NW2 heralding a new age of inland water transport for Assam & the Northeast India. The Inland Vessels …

According to the latest report from the V-Dem Institute at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg, the level of democracy enjoyed by the average global citizen in 2021 is down to 1989 levels, with the democratic gains of the post-Cold War period eroding rapidly in the last few years. The Report is titled ‘Democracy Report 2022: Autocratisation Changing …

Recently, on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2022, the Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), launched a Special Entrepreneurship Promotion Drive for Women -“SAMARTH” . Under the Samarth initiative of the Ministry, following benefits will be available to aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs: 20% Seats in free Skill Development Programs organised …

Recently, in its interim report, the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Delimitation Commission has proposed significant changes to the electoral map of J&K. The delimitation exercise had started in June 2021 in the state. Previous Distribution of J&K Constituencies The erstwhile J&K State had an 87-member assembly, with 37 constituencies in the Jammu region and …

Recently, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)and Russia discussed the ongoing situation in Ukraineand its implications for security in Europe at the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) in Brussels. Talks between representatives of NATO and Russia concluded without a clear outcome. NRC was established at the NATO-Russia Summit in Rome (Rome Declaration) on 28 May 2002. It replaced …

Recently, the fourth meeting of the foreign ministers of the QUAD grouping (India, the US, Australia and Japan) was held in Melbourne , Australia. The meeting was held amid escalating tension between Russia and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)countries over Ukraine, the Afghan crisis and increasing concerns over China’s “coercion” in the Indo-Pacific region. It is the grouping of four democracies –India, Australia, …

Recently, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released the second part of its sixth assessment report. This second part of the report is about climate change impacts, risks and vulnerabilities, and adaptation options. The first part of this report, on the physical science of climate change in 2021. It had warned that 1.5 degree Celsius warming was likely to be …

Recently, the Indian Army commenced implementation of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tagging of its ammunition inventory. Earlier in 2021, the Union Government integrated the E-Way Bill (EWB) system with FasTag and RFID. RFID is a type of passive wireless technology that allows for tracking or matching of an item or individual. The system has two …

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has proposed a guaranteed return scheme, Minimum Assured Return Scheme (MARS), which will provide savers and people from the salaried class an option for their investments. This will be the first scheme from the pension regulator that will offer a guaranteed return to investors. India’s pension assets under …

The evacuation of thousands of Indian students in Ukraine (Operation Ganga) is the most immediate impact of Russia’s war over Ukraine on India. However, the Russia-Ukraine conflict will have long-term implications too. For example, negotiating its relationships with the United States and other Western nations on one side, and the historically deep and strategic ties with Russia on the other. This will …

Recently, Ukraine has filed an application before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), instituting proceedings against Russia. Ukraine has accused Russia of falsely claiming that “acts of genocide have occurred in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of Ukraine”, and of using that as a pretext to recognise the independence of these regions and of going to war …

Recently, a Joint Military Exercise, “Exercise Dharma Guardian-2022”, between India and Japan will be conducted at foreign training node, Belagavi (Belgaum, Karnataka) from 27th February to 10th March 2022. Exercise Dharma Guardian-2022 is an annual training event which is being conducted in India since 2018. The scope of this exercise covers platoon level joint training on operations in …

Recently, India has improved its overall International Intellectual Property (IIP) score from 38.4% to 38.6%, and the country is ranked 43rd out of 55 countries on the International Intellectual Property Index. International Intellectual Property Index is an annual report compiled by the US Chambers of Commerce. This year (2022) the index is topped by the US with 95.4%. …