Editorials

The passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha almost three  decades after it was first tabled in Parliament is a welcome move that can finally  shatter a political glass ceiling.  Bill  The Women’s Reservation Bill (WRB) was passed by the Lok Sabha with a two-thirds majority. The …

New Parliament  The new parliament, developed as a part of Central Vista Redevelopment project • Takes care of infrastructural hurdles in parliamentary functioning.  Inside Parliament  Prime minister inaugurated the parliament and placed ‘Sengol’, the symbol of power  transfer to India from the British.  The entire building accommodates around 5,000 works …

Context: The ‘State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World’ by FAO: 2021 India approx. 74% or 1 billion of the population cannot afford a healthy diet. Food security is when all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet …

The Union government has constituted a committee headed by former President to explore the possibility of conducting simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, the Legislative Assemblies, municipalities, and panchayats. The proposal has been under consideration by the Government of India since 2014. Pros and Cons of One Nation, One Election …

Causes of climate change Burning fossil fuels  Cutting down forests   Farming livestock  These are increasingly influencing the climate and the earth’s temperature.  This adds enormous amounts of greenhouse gases to those naturally occurring in the  atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect and global warming.  Global warming  2011-2020 was the warmest decade …

Over the last few months, since onset of monsoon in India, we have been confronted with the news of frequent floods, torrential rains and landslides costing us hundreds of lives and hundreds of thousands of rupees as economic damage to public and private properties. We have witnessed several floods, cloudburst …

Map Reading:

Syllabus: IR Context A three member UAE Navy Subject Matter Expert Delegation led by Colonel Dr Ali Saif Ali Mehrazi arrived India on 27 Aug 23 for four-day visit to specialised Meteorology, Oceanography and Weather Modelling units of Indian Navy (IN) at Kochi, Goa and New Delhi. This visit signifies …

Syllabus: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests. Context BRICS found new purpose with expansion; but contradictions too Emerging BRICS Ever since the grouping, set up as a coalition of emerging economies, said last year that it was open to new members, as many …

Name of twilight when the sun is 12º below the horizon Ans: Nautical Thing that appears at astronomical dusk and disappears at astronomical dawn Ans: Faintest star visible to the naked eye Asura who could only be slain at twilight Ans: Hiranyakashipu Pink border visible above the earth’s shadow at …

1.The founder of Madras. Ans: Francis Day The other statue, apart from the ‘Triumph of Labour’, in Madras that is reminiscent of the photograph of the American Marines in Iwo Jima, is located here. Ans: Inside the DGP HQ opposite the Gandhi Statue on the Marina. Gandhiji established this in …

Dye named for a country with a colour associated with denim – Ans: Indigo   Reddish-purple dye secreted by Muricidae molluscs – Ans: Tyrian purple   Dye whose name comes from Sanskrit for “made by worms” – Ans: Kermes

Syllabus: Investment models, Government budgeting Why in NEWS The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a scheme to add 10,000 e-buses to city bus services across the country, and to shore up urban infrastructure under green mobility initiatives with a focus on cities having no organised bus services. PM e-bus Sewa …

Syllabus: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures. Context The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) released the Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) 12th monthly report for States …

Syllabus: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. THE GIST The Supreme Court is set to hear on August 18, petitions challenging the Patna High Court’s verdict upholding the Bihar government’s ongoing caste survey. The Census conducted at the beginning of every …

Context: Fortification of urea, DAP and other commodity fertilisers with micronutrients is the way forward for boosting crop yields and maximising the use efficiency of imported nutrients. PM officially launched ‘Urea Gold’ fertiliser – developed by the state-owned Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd (RCF) – urea fortified with sulphur. Normal …

Hawaiian island of Maui   one of the deadliest US wildfires in recent years – burnt through multiple neighborhoods, including the historic town of Lahaina burned first in vegetation and then rapidly spread into populated areas – drought conditions prevailed in the island – Strong wind and low humidity strengthened …

During the annual Perseid meteor shower near the town of Bariloche, Argentina, on Friday. The Perseid meteors are rocky debris left behind by the Swift-Tuttle comet, dragged towards earth when the planet’s orbit crosses the comet’s path.

The energy storage based on lithium-ion batteries will help India to achieve its greenhouse mitigation targets since the basic raw material for production of electric vehicles is lithium and other critical materials. At present, investments in manufacturing and overall value addition for Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACCs) are negligible in India …

Syllabus – Conservation NEWS is about Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO) – Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela – first summit in 14 years – set up in 1995 by the South American countries that share the Amazon basin. Treaty about Launch an alliance to fight deforestation …