The US military said its MQ-9 Reaper drone crashed into the Black Sea after a Russian Su-27 fighter jet damaged its propeller. It is a remotely piloted drone. It can reach up to 50,000 feet for more than 27 hours, gathering intelligence with cameras, sensors and radars. It can also carry precision strikes. Black Sea ·        The Black Sea is a mediterranean …

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the US raises questions on the safety of depositors’ wealth everywhere but such failures are unlikely in the Indian system. What is the basis for the confidence in the resilience of Indian banks? Domestic banks have a different balance sheet structure. …

1,400-year religious protection of sika deer in Japan have made them genetically unique Key details: Nara has a long history and connection with sika deer, with classic Japanese poems about the deer being composed there 1,200 years ago. These deer are revered in this area as the messengers of the (Shinto) gods in Kasugataisha Shrine. Deer are still considered sacred creatures by …

Two United States Senators have introduced a bipartisan resolution reiterating that the US recognises the McMahon Line as the international boundary between China and India in Arunachal Pradesh. The resolution reaffirms India’s well-known and established position that Arunachal Pradesh, which China calls ‘South Tibet’, is an integral part of India. What is the McMahon Line? …

Atal Innovation Mission – NITI Aayog launches ATL Sarthi What is ATL Sarthi? It is a comprehensive self-monitoring framework to strengthen the ever-growing ecosystem of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL). ATL Sarthi will enable the ATLs to be efficient and effective. The initiative has four pillars: a self-reporting dashboard known as ‘MyATL Dashboard’ Compliance SOPs for schools to ensure financial and non-financial …

The Members of Parliament (MPs) have adopted 3154 Gram Panchayats under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) from 2014-15 to 2022-23. Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) was launched in 2014. To translate the comprehensive vision of Mahatma Gandhi about an ideal Indian village into reality. To trigger processes which lead to a holistic development of the identified Gram …

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has allowed foreign lawyers and law firms to practise in India. According to the Advocates Act, advocates enrolled with the Bar Council alone are entitled to practise law in India. All others, such as a litigant, can appear only with the permission of the court, authority or person before whom the proceedings are …

As the deadline for completing the Smart Cities Mission approaches, the government has asked 20 of the worst performing cities — ones that have completed the fewest projects under the mission — to buck up. Smart Cities Mission The Smart Cities Mission is an initiative of the Union Housing and Urban …

The United States formally approved a vast oil drilling project in Alaska, also known as the Willow What is the Willow Project? Willow Project is a massive and decades long oil drilling venture on Alaska’s North Slope in the National Petroleum Reserve, which is owned by the federal government of US. The area where the project …

A Sufi Samvad (Sufi Dialogue) programme was launched by a political party as a means of reaching out to the Muslim community. Key details: It is a year-long programme. It will end with a big meeting set to be addressed by Prime Minister of India. The idea of the programme is to go among the Muslim …