GS-III

Regulator says the plan will undermine its autonomy The government’s proposal to transfer surplus money with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI) has met with a strong opposition from the regulatory body. The capital markets regulator feels that the proposal would …

India likely to consume 1.8 lakh crore units by 2025, says CII One of the key requirements for a $5-trillion economy is an investment of about Rs. 5 lakh crore in the power transmission sector over the next few years, in order to cater to the 1.8 lakh crore units …

India may have to revise downwards what is considered its “potential” rate of growth from 7-8% to bring expectations more in line with reality, former Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) Arvind Subramanian has argued in a paper. This paper comes as a follow-up to the one Mr. Subramanian published last month, …

Home Minister Amit Shah will head a reconstituted group of ministers (GoM) on Air India disinvestment and Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has been dropped from the panel, sources said. The panel, which is to work out modalities for the sale of Air India, will now have four Ministers — …

Floods drive rhinos out of Kaziranga park Kaziranga National Park (KNP)’s man-made highlands have turned into islands of relative safety for the park’s animals as large parts of Assam remain inundated by flood waters. Among the handful of species that have taken refuge in these patches of higher ground are …

Companies won’t be hit, she says The increase in tax on high net worth individuals, announced in the Union Budget, will not result in an outflow of Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The higher tax will only apply to individuals and …

The focus is on preparing residents of 1,517 habitations to take the test by 2020 After making two successful forays into the tribal hamlets of Wayanad, Kerala’s State Literacy Mission (SLM) is all set to earn the ‘100% literate’ badge for the outlier region, which has the highest tribal population …

They collect blood rather than absorb it, and last longer Inexpensive and reusable menstrual cups are safe and as unlikely as disposable pads or tampons to leak, according to the first major scientific review of the devices, published Wednesday. Some 70% of women who have tried menstrual cups said they …

Uses 2 population control methods — radiation and bacteria A breakthrough technique harnessing two methods to target disease-carrying mosquitoes was able to effectively eradicate buzzing biters in two test sites in China, according to research published on Thursday. The mosquitoes targeted are a type that is particularly difficult to control …

Less than 965 km from the North Pole, mercury rose to 21 degrees Celsius in Alert Temperatures hit a record 21 degree Celsius in Alert, the northernmost permanently inhabited spot on the planet less than 965 km from the North Pole, the Canadian meteorology service said on Tuesday. “It’s quite …