⦁ Mehrauli is the oldest inhabited area of what we call Delhi. ⦁ Little more than an urban village today, Mehrauli has survived and thrived over the years as a spiritual centre, a trading post, a wholesale market and now, as a destination housing multiple high-end boutiques. The seven cities …

⦁ The MSC was founded by a German official and publisher Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist at the peak of the Cold War (1947-1991). ⦁ Starting in 1963, the conference initially only focused on military issues and was mainly attended by western countries and their high-profile officials, who “came together to display a united …

⦁ The perfect storm is coming. And there is no forecast model for it. ⦁ Artificial-Intelligence (AI)-driven and directed weapon systems are revolutionising warfare and battlegrounds. It’s the next arms race. The search is now for the “safety lever” before one puts the finger on the trigger. ⦁ There are …

⦁ India and Japan on Friday will kick off an exercise between their armies to hone their warfare skills and boost interoperability, which comes soon after the two countries conducted their first-ever joint air combat drills last month with an eye firmly on China. ⦁ The exercise ‘Dharma Guardian’ at …

As India looks to purchase armed Predator Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) from the U.S., Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) and General Atomics announced at Aero India on Wednesday that the turbo-propeller engines that power the MQ-9B Guardian High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) RPAS will be supported by the HAL engine …

The country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, which is undergoing aviation trials, will be fully operational by year-end, and all efforts are on to make it happen, the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral R. Hari Kumar, said on Wednesday. The indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA-Navy) and the MiG-29K undertook …

Within a month of retiring from the Supreme Court of India, Justice S. Abdul Nazeer has been appointed Governor of Andhra Pradesh. Like many others, I believe it is no coincidence that he was a part of the Constitution Bench that decided the Ayodhya Ram Mandir land issue. In the …

It will soon be 14 years since the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka. The three-decade war that ended in May 2009 devastated the once peaceful and prosperous nation. Many civilians perished and large sections had no choice but to flee; some within the country while others left …

While the world is emerging from the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the very harmful but invisible pandemic of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is unfortunately here to stay. Most countries understood in 2020 the clear and present danger of COVID-19, forcing governments, including India’s, to respond with speed and accuracy. …

Located at a distance of 2,500 miles from the dwarf planet, the ring is so far from the Roche limit that it should have coalesced into a moon. The most powerful telescopes have revealed Quaoar as only an indistinct blob, which also has a moon, Weywot. Astronomers have found a ring …

The word Lavani comes from ‘lavanya’ or beauty. Lavani is a traditional folk art form in which women dancers wearing nine-yard-long sarees in bright colours, make-up, and ghunghroos perform on dholak beats on a stage before a live audience. As an indigenous art form, Lavani has a history going back …

India banned e-cigarettes in 2019. Ecigarettes were still available through online stores and local vendors. “Instances of such devices being sold at convenient/stationary stores near educational institutions have also been reported, which is resulting in easy access by young children to such products.” The increasing availability of such prohibited products …

A tenth century hero stone with ‘Vattezhuthu’ inscriptions on it was found in Thoothai village near Thirupuvanam district. It is three feet in height and 21 inches in width, a stone was found. The relief sculpture on the stone is that of aman, going to war, and he is holding …

The genetic revolution is well and truly underway in Indian agriculture with proposals for at least 5 crops before the Centre’s Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee While controversy has dogged the environmental release of genetically engineered (GE) mustard, other GE crops are being prepped at institutes across the country. Among these …

Somanchi, Anmol, ‘Food and Social Security at the Margins: The Parhaiyas of Jharkhand’, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol 58, Issue 4, January 28, 2023. While many government policies and schemes have been announced across the country to help vulnerable communities, it is imperative to look at the extent to which …

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in a report flagged the “inhuman and deplorable” condition of all 46 government-run mental healthcare institutions across the country. The report notes that the facilities are “illegally” keeping patients long after their recovery, in what is an “infringement of the human rights of mentally …

On February 3, the Union government hiked the windfall profit tax levied on domestically-produced crude oil as well as on the export of diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF). Just three days before this, the Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs Vivek Johri, told PTI that prices of …

Second Advance Estimates of production of major crops for agricultural year 2022-23 have been released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar said that foodgrain production of 3235.54 Lakh Tonnes is estimated in the current agricultural year. …

Microsoft has thrown down the gauntlet to Google with its $10 billion check to OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research firm behind ChatGPT and DALL-E. The investment is targeted at packing AI capabilities into Microsoft’s search, software and cloud systems over the next few years. And, at the top of that …

News of the discovery of “5.9 million tonnes inferred resources of lithium” in the Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district, Jammu & Kashmir, by the Geological Survey of India has been received as a game-changer in India’s impending transition to a green economy. The term ‘inferred’ refers to the ‘preliminary exploration …