The Chandrayaan-3 Mission is aimed at demonstrating critical technologies to land the spacecraft on the south pole of the moon. It is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. Chandrayaan-3 is a composite of three modules i.e., propulsion, lander and rover. The mission …

The Andhra Pradesh government has started removing “dotted lands” in the state from the prohibited list. The Andhra government has started to remove the “dotted lands” in the state from the prohibited list. This will lead to restoration of full rights of selling or pledging these lands to the farmers who own them. Over …

The Supreme Court upheld The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act of 2017 and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Conduct of Jallikattu) Rules of 2017. A five-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court upheld the amendments made by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka to ‘The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) …

The World Health Organization has recommended against using artificial sweeteners WHO in a recent report has recommended against using artificial sweeteners to achieve weight loss and prevent lifestyle diseases such as diabetes. The report emphasized that while there was a need to cut intake of sugar, it should not be replaced by artificial …

The Central Government approved Rs. 17,000cr PLI scheme For IT hardware Government approved the second phase of the Production Linked Incentive or PLI scheme for IT hardware The move is aimed to accelerate domestic manufacturing of hi-tech electronics, building on efforts that catapulted India to become the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the …

Government amends the rules under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, to bring in the international credit card spends outside India under the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS). The usage of an international credit card to make payments towards meeting expenses during a trip abroad was not covered under the LRS. The spendings through international …

The Central government approved Nutrient Based Subsidy for Nitrogen(N), Phosphorus(P), Potash(K) and Sulphur(S) for the 2023 kharif Season On the proposal of the Department of Fertilisers, the central government has revision of the NBS rates for Kharif Season (April-September) 2023 and for Rabi Season (January-March, 2023). Rs 70,000 crore will be spent …

RBI recently stated that some financial institutions were yet to facilitate an absolute transition away from the LIBOR benchmark. What is LIBOR? The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is a global benchmark interest rate that combines individual rates at which banks opine they may borrow from each other at the London interbank …

Maharashtra Government orders SIT probe over dispute regarding forceful entry of into the Temple. The Trimbakeshwar Mahadev Temple: Trimbakeshwar town is an ancient Hindu Pilgrim center located at the source of the Godavari River, 28 kms from Nashik in Maharashtra. Trimbakeshwar Mahadev Temple is considered one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. Trimbakeshwar means …

A tribal council’s order not to issue a Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificate to any Khasi person who adopts the surname of his/her father. The Khasi is an indigenous tribe of Meghalaya numbering about 1.39 lakh. They are of the three matrilineal communities of North-east besides the Garo and Jaintias. Following the matrilineal law of inheritance, …

Drug makers Serum Institute of India and Panacea Biotec are moving closer to develop the country’s first vaccine against dengue. They have applied to the Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) call for ‘Expression of Interest’ for collaborative Phase-III clinical trials for indigenous manufacturers. Phase-III clinical trial is being done for evaluation of efficacy, along with …

Ukraine claims it shot down Russia’s next generation hypersonic missile ‘Barrage’. A hypersonic missile is a weapon system which flies at least at the speed of Mach 5 i.e., five times the speed of sound and is maneuverable. The maneuverability of the hypersonic missile is what sets it apart from a ballistic missile as the …

The Kukis are an ethnic group that includes multiple tribes inhabiting the North-Eastern India, parts of Burma, and Sylhet and Chittagong hill tracts of Bangladesh. The Kuki people are believed to be the native to the Mizo Hills. The Kukis are also known as Lushai, Darlongs, Rokhums and among the Burma boarder they are known as Chins. The major population of Kuki is in …

The new Alzheimer’s drug Donanemab was found to slow down cognitive decline by 35% in people with early Alzheimer’s. Key Details: The new drug has been developed by the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. It was observed that the new Drug named ‘Donanemab’, does not only slow down cognitive decline by 355 but …

The government is considering restructuring the priority sector lending (PSL) scheme to allow deposits made by banks in the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) and such other funds to qualify as exposure under PSL. What are the norms for PSL? Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations require banks to allocate 40% …

Aadhaar-enabled Payment Services (AePS) is a bank-led model which allows online financial transactions at Point-of-Sale (PoS) and Micro ATMs through the business correspondent of any bank using Aadhaar authentication. There is no need for OTPs, bank account details, and other financial details for AePS. It allows fund transfers using only the bank name, Aadhaar number, and fingerprint captured during Aadhaar enrolment. Are …

India’s goods exports have fell the steepest in three years in April, 2023 because of the weakening global demand and declining commodity prices. According to the commerce ministry data, the Exports have declined by nearly 13% i.e., from $39.70 billion to $34.66 billion in the year-ago period. The Merchandise imports have also fell by 14% to $49.90 billion from …

Goa is concerned about Karnataka’s plan to construct the Kalasa Bhandura canal to divert water from the upper reaches of Mhadei to the Malaprabha basin. River Mandovi: River Mandovi is considered the ‘lifeline of Goa’. It is also known as Mhadei in its upper reaches. The Mandovi and the Zuari are the two primary rivers of Goa. Mandovi joins …

According to experts Mocha is the strongest cyclone on earth so far in this year.​​​​​​​ It has been categorized as an Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and as a ‘Super Cyclone’ by global weather website Zoom Earth. Mocha became the strongest cyclone ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean, including …

Context: The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural heritage (INTACH) has objected to the demolition of the Paralakhemundi railway station built in 1899 and has sought heritage status for it. The Paralakhemundi railway station: Located in the Gajapati district, Paralakhemundi railway station, is one of the oldest stations of Odisha. …