Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)issued the first set of guidelines for digital lending, to crack down on illegal activities by certain players. Towards addressing concerns that had sprung up, the RBI had constituted a Working Group on ‘digital lending including lending through online platforms and mobile apps’ (WGDL) in January, 2021. The …

Recently, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has released a report titled “Global Employment Trends for Youth 2022: Investing in transforming futures for young people”. It is the only tripartite United Nation (UN) agency. It brings together governments, employers and workers of 187 member States (India is a member), to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes …

Recently, Russia suspended United Stated of America’s on-site inspections under New START Treaty with Washington due to Western sanctions and coronavirus infections. New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was the last remaining arms reduction pact between the former Cold War rivals and caps to 1,550 the number of nuclear warheads that can be …

In July 2022, Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) witnessed a net outflow of Rs 457 crore as investors parked their money in other asset classes as part of their portfolio rebalancing strategy. This was in comparison to a net inflow of Rs 135 crore in June 2022. Gold ETF, which aims to track the domestic physical gold …

India has hosted the Pre-Summit meeting of Tiger Range Countries (TRCs). The Tiger Range Countries Summit is scheduled to be held at Vladivostok, Russia on 5th September 2022. In January 2022, the 4th Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger conservation was held. India’s National Tiger Conservation Authority has also decided to introduce guidelines for the reintroduction of tigers that can …

Recently, a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that examined the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill 2021, has submitted its suggestions on the Bill. The JPC has accepted several amendments made by the Ministry of Environment & Climate Change (MoEFCC). The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (BDA) was enacted to provide for the conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, …

On World Biofuel Day 2022, the government of India announced a 2nd generation (2G) ethanol plant to be set up at the Indian Oil Corporation’s refinery in Haryana. This ethanol plant will help reduce air pollution from the Delhi and the NCR region along with generating additional income and green fuel. World Biofuel Day It is celebrated every year on …

Recently, in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State for Communications stated that there is no impact on the Environment due to Electromagnetic Field levels in India. Electromagnetic fields are a combination of invisible electric and magnetic fields of force. Electric fields are created by differences in …

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Review announced a 50-basis point hike in the repo rates thereby taking the cumulative rate hike over the last three months to 140 basis points.  Policy Repo Rate: 5.40% Repo rate is the rate at which the …

Recently, Government has modified the earlier scheme of ‘Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub-Scheme (SCA to TSS)’ with nomenclature ‘Pradhan MantriAdiAdarsh Gram Yojana (PMAAGY)’ for implementation during 2021-22 to 2025-26. It supplements the efforts of State Governments for development and welfare of tribal people by extending Special Central Assistance as an additive to the State Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP). It …

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous People is observed on 9 August each year to raise awareness and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population. On 9th August 2018, the first National Report on the State of India’s Tribal People’s Health was submitted to the Government of India by the Expert Committee on Tribal Health. The …

Recently, the Vice President of India highlighted the wrong assumptions of Members of Parliament about the Parliamentary privileges that action can’t be taken against them by investigating agencies during a Parliamentary session. There have been protests by some political parties against the alleged misuse of central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of …

Recently, the Manipur Assembly has resolved to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and establish a State Population Commission (SPC). The decision has come after at least 19 apex tribal organisations wrote to the Prime Minister demanding NRC and other mechanism to insulate the indigenous people from the “ever-increasing number of non-local residents”. National Register of Citizens NRC …

Recently, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) started a project to digitally map soil nutrients in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and central America to increase efficiency in using fertilizers. Also, it will organize and improve existing soil maps. Soil Mapping Soil Mapping is the process of delineating natural bodies of soils, classifying and grouping the delineated …

Recently, the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022 was introduced in Parliament amid protests and later sent to the standing committee for further deliberation. Many power engineers protested the Bill across the country, in states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Rajasthan, and others. The Electricity Amendment Bill, 2022 aims at giving multiple players open access to distribution networks of power suppliers and also allowing consumers to …

After three days of violence between Israel and Palestine, which resulted in killing of dozens of populations in both the countries, a ceasefire took place recently. Earlier this year as well, tensions flared up at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque between the Palestinians and Israeli police. These recurring clashes are part of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict. …

Recently, the Ministry of finance has informed Lok Sabha that the value of counterfeit currency in the banking system reduced from Rs 43.47 crore in 2016-17 to about Rs 8.26 crore in 2021-22. Counterfeiting, manufacture of false money for gain, a kind of forgery in that something is copied so as …

Government of India has set the target to expand India’s renewable energy installed capacity to 500 GW by 2030. India is also targeting to reduce India’s total projected carbon emission by 1 billion tonnes by 2030, reduce the carbon intensity of the nation’s economy by less than 45% by the end of …

According to the Australian Institute of Marine Science’s (AIMS) annual long-term monitoring report, Australia’s northern and central Great Barrier Reef (GBR) has experienced high levels of coral reef cover over the past 36 years. The researchers also warned that the gains could be quickly reversed due to rising global temperatures. Key highlights of Report …

Researchers at the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) have identified a fungus capable of removing toxic, recalcitrant (Not easily controlled), and carcinogenic Pyrene or Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the environment. The researchers used gas chromatographic-mass spectrometer and serotome analysis for their study. Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric identification of prominent metabolites helped determine the pyrene …