A U.K.-based startup claims to have developed biotransformation technology that can alter the state of plastics and make them biodegradable without leaving behind any microplastics. What is biotransformation technology? Biotransformation technology is a novel approach to ensure plastics that escape refuse streams are processed efficiently and broken down. Plastics made using this technology are given …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed a $3 billion bailout plan for Sri Lanka’s struggling economy. What is a bailout? Bailout is a general term for extending financial support to a company or a country facing a potential bankruptcy threat. It can take the form of loans, cash, bonds, or stock purchases. A bailout may or may not …

India’s first cable-stayed bridge and the first-of-its-kind in the country, is currently under construction and will soon be completed. The Anji Khad bridge is being constructed in the Reasi district of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This is a 80 km long bridge. The idea was first conceived in 2002 and was declared a …

Recently, the Indian Patent Office rejected an application by pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to extend its patent on the drug bedaquiline.  What is Bedaquiline? Bedaquiline is a drug in tablet form used to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). What is drug-resistant TB? As of 2017, India accounted for around one-fourth of the world’s burden of multi-drug-resistant …

India is considering translocating some tigers to Cambodia. India signed a memorandum of understanding with Cambodia to assist it with all technical details and knowledge regarding the reintroduction of the tiger in the country. How did tigers go extinct in Cambodia? Due to habitat destruction and poaching. The last tiger spotted on a camera trap in Cambodia was in 2007. …

This quote is part of a passage/essay written by Bhagat Singh. In this passage, Bhagat Singh outlines why reason, rather than blind faith, should drive anyone who believes in progress. Usage of the term faith: first, as a synonym for religious beliefs (‘old faiths’) and second, simply as faith (complete trust or confidence in someone or something) itself. Meaning …

Lights at public places and some temples in different cities including Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi were turned off between 8.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. as part of the global ‘Earth Hour’ event. Earth Hour was launched in 2007 by the World Wildlife Fund and its partners in Sydney, Australia. Earth Hour is described …

The Parsi community in India, which follows Zoroastrianism, celebrated Nowruz on March 21, marking the beginning of the New Year. Nowruz begins on the first day of the Farvardin, the first month of the Iranian solar calendar at the spring equinox, and continues for 12 days. In 1079 AD, a Persian king Jalaluddin Malekshah introduced …

Five people have died and three others are infected with the Marburg virus  in Tanzania. Marburg virus disease (MVD), earlier known as Marburg hemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal hemorrhagic fever. Marburg, like Ebola, is a filovirus and both diseases are clinically similar. Rousettus fruit bats are considered the natural hosts for the Marburg virus. However, African green …

The British government recently said that it would provide Ukraine with armour-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium. What is depleted uranium? Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the process of creating enriched uranium, which is used in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. In comparison to enriched uranium, depleted uranium is much less radioactive and is incapable of generating a nuclear …