The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working on a series of improvements to NavIC, or India’s equivalent of the Global Positioning System (GPS), so that more people are motivated to install and use it. Plans are also afoot to give it a global reach, S Somanath, ISRO Chairman, said …

A popular theme at seminars this autumn is de-colonisation. The concept notes explaining the theme treat it like a new deodorant — much required, of course, and expected to cure a chronic problem for good. Not that earlier generations had ignored it, but perhaps they lacked determination and propitious circumstances. …

The Kerala government has constituted a technical committee for preparing an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for the downstream part of the Mullaperiyar dam in Idukki district. Headed by the Chief Engineer (Inter-State Waters), Irrigation department, the six-member technical committee is expected to draft and submit the EAP within three months. …

Ambassadors of all countries in the UN Security Council (UNSC) will attend a memorial for victims of the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai on Friday, as part of a special session of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) at the Taj Mumbai hotel, one of the sites of the attacks in 2008. …

The beginnings of a renewable energy revolution rooted in agriculture are taking shape in India with the first bio-energy plant of a private company in Sangrur district of Punjab having commenced commercial operations on October 18. It will produce Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) from paddy straw, thus converting agricultural waste …

Tuesday was a historic day for the United Kingdom, which got its first-ever non-white Prime Minister in Rishi Sunak, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer and Britain’s youngest Prime Minister in recent times. Sunak, 42, is of Indian descent and was born to parents who migrated to Britain from East …

The CCI, the country’s competition watchdog is empowered under the Competition Act, 2002, to check whether companies especially large tech companies are not eliminating healthy competition in the market and creating a monopoly. The CCI said that due to Google’s various agreements with manufacturers, one of its major revenue-earning apps, …

There is good reason for the Supreme Court to ask the police to be proactive in dealing with hate speech by taking immediate legal action without waiting for a formal complaint. The Court has also warned of contempt action if the police showed any hesitation in compliance. Directed at the …

Background: On Friday, the Financial Action Task Force, the global watchdog on anti-money laundering and combating financing terrorism (AML/CFT) efforts, announced it would take Pakistan off its “grey list” of countries under “enhanced monitoring”, and welcomed what it called Pakistan’s “significant progress” in improving legal and government mechanisms. Pakistan, which …

Genetic mutations are the drivers of evolution of organisms. Not all mutations are functional. However, the ones with a functional advantage tend to emerge over time than those without. However, viruses rarely could evolve by exchanging large fragments of the genome called recombination. Recombination events are rare and occur when …

Astronomers have spotted what they think might be the most powerful explosion ever observed. The explosion is a gamma-ray burst which is known as GRB221009A, which might have been caused by a supernova that left behind a black hole. “Informally, we’ve been calling it the BOAT — the brightest of …

No tourist has ever trekked to Mugafi at 4,050 metres above mean sea level. But that has not stopped villagers in the most “disconnected” administrative circle in Arunachal Pradesh from readying the peak for visitors. The enthusiasm stems from their belief that the 157-km road to Vijaynagar, the circle headquarters, …

Damage control: The NGT wants the report to include the steps required for restoration of the habitat. Getty Images/iStockphotoJagdeep Rajput The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the Uttarakhand government not to proceed with the Pakhro tiger safari project inside the Corbett Tiger Reserve until a committee submits its final …

ISRO’s heaviest rocket lifting off from the second launchpad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. B. Jothi Ramalingam The heaviest rocket of the Indian Space Research Organisation, the LVM3-M2/OneWeb India-1, with 36 satellites on board took off from the second launch pad (SLP) of the Satish Dhawan Space …

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have studied microbial interactions in the international space station (ISS). This study would not only help understand the risks associated with short-and long-term space travel on astronauts’ health but also devise strategies to disinfect the ISS and …

Ministry of Women & Child Development is organizing Special Campaign 2.0 to reduce pendency and effective management of space with special attention on field/ outstation offices in addition to the Ministries and the attached/ subordinate offices. All the guidelines issued by DARPG were circulated to all concerned and the details …

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is actively participating in the Swachhata Campaign and Special Campaign for Disposal of Pending Matters (SCPDM) 2.0 from 2nd October, 2022 to 31st October, 2022. During the campaign, special focus has been on weeding out of old records, disposal of scrap and waste materials to …

The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) issued Notification on August 12, 2022 banning production, sale, stocking & distribution, import and usage of identified Single Use Plastic (SUP) items including cutlery items, thin packaging films, candy & ice-cream sticks w.e.f. July 01, 2022. In order to ensure its …

Union Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan along with MoS, I&B and Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Shri L. Murugan today announced the “KASHI TAMIL SANGAMAM” to be held from 16th Nov to 19th Dec 2022. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan also launched the website for registering for …

The region of Groningen in the Netherlands has a gas field that began operations in 1963. During the 1980s, the area saw numerous earthquakes — minor enough to avoid large damage but big enough for local buildings to develop cracks. However due to recent geopolitical tensions, the Dutch government wants …