GS-III

Scientists have discovered the most-distant body ever observed in our solar system — located over 100 times farther than Earth is from the Sun. The new object has been nicknamed “Farout”. Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-life/most-distant-solar-system-object-ever-discovered/article25778079.ece

Climate change is driving glaciers in the Himalayas to melt more rapidly than at any point in the last 10,000 years, and could soon cause water supply shortage in parts of India, Pakistan, and Nepal, a study has warned. Researchers from Ohio State University in the U.S. showed that climate …

“It was like living with two hearts,” 54-year-old Loganathan of Namakkal summed up how his life has been for the last few years. The non-stop pulsating sound in his right ear resounded with that of his heart. Little did he or his surgeon realise that it was the brain that …

Hundreds of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officers joined a protest at the central bank’s headquarters here on Tuesday against a recent change in the promotion policy, Reserve Bank sources said. The protest, which started around lunchtime, went on till the evening prompting some senior central bank officials to discuss …

The Reserve Bank on Tuesday said it had decided to scale up the amount of liquidity infusion by Rs. 10,000 crore to Rs. 50,000 crore this month, after a review of the evolving liquidity conditions. The central bank had earlier announced to infuse liquidity amounting to Rs. 40,000 crore through …

The government has detected 3,196 cases of Goods and Services Tax evasion amounting to Rs. 12,766.85 crore in this financial year up to November 2018, according to the Finance Ministry. Of this, an amount of Rs. 7,909.96 crore has been recovered between April and November 2018, according to data provided …

The capital markets regulator has asked investment bankers to do more due diligence and price public issues more reasonably so that it would be acceptable to both investors and issuers. “IPOs not clicking is something, which is a cause of worry… Merchant bankers have a role to see that it …

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered the creation of “Space Command”, a new organisational structure within the Pentagon that will have overall control of military space operations. The command will be separate from Mr. Trump’s goal to build an entirely new branch of the military called “Space Force,” which …

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said its stay on sale of drugs and prescription medicines by online pharmacies will continue till rules are framed to regulate such entities. A Bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V.K. Rao said that “once the rules come into play, you [online …

The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday rapped the Union Water Resources Ministry over its notification pertaining to groundwater extraction. A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel came down heavily on the Ministry and said that the notification, issued on December 12, was against “national interest”. No-objection certificate …

The Patna Municipal Corporation is said to be considering renaming the city’s main intersection, Kavi Guru Rabindra Chowk, after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The move has stoked a controversy in Bihar. The proposal is said to have been made by Mayor Sita Sahu of the BJP. The Empowered …

In an evaluation of the rapid airlift capability of the Indian Air Force at times of war and natural disasters, the Western Air Command (WAC) airlifted a record 463 tonnes of load from Chandigarh to airfields and drop-zones in the Ladakh region in a single wave on Tuesday. This was …

A code of conduct for employees of all organisations and a declaration signed by them agreeing to ensure the safety of children are some of the provisions included in the Centre’s draft national child protection policy, prepared on the prodding of the Supreme Court in the wake of the Muzaffarpur …

A study is aiming to map the rural population for memory-related diseases, which is said to be the first such exercise in the country. The Srinivaspura Aging Neuro Senescence and Cognition (SANSCOG) project is a joint collaborative initiative between the Centre for Brain Research, National Institute of Mental Health and …

Visakhapatnam, now placed prominently in the tourism map of visitors from States such as West Bengal and Odisha, has two particular seasons when the footfalls grow phenomenally. One is during the Dasara or Durga puja period and the other in December, both before and after Christmas. This is the time …

This is the lowest day temperature recorded this winter, say weathermen For the first time this year, the mercury levels in the city plummeted by about 6 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, forcing the denizens to pull their woollens out of the cupboards. After the city witnessed heavy rain triggered by …

Scientists have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that can successfully predict whether a patient is at risk of developing a serious, and possibly life-threatening infection after surgery. Staphylococcus epidermidis is an ubiquitous coloniser of healthy human skin, but it is also a notorious source of serious infections with indwelling …

Scientists have developed an ingestible capsule controlled using Bluetooth wireless technology, which can be customised to deliver drugs or monitor health over long periods of time. The capsule can reside in the stomach for at least a month, transmitting information and responding to instructions from a user’s smartphone. Source : …

Probiotics may help treat bipolar disorder and other psychiatric mood disorders, a study has found. Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric condition characterised by dramatic shifts in mood from depression to mania. Currently, the standard treatment includes a combination of psychotherapy and prescription medications. Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-life/probiotics-may-help-treat-bipolar-disorder/article25760057.ece

A camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has captured the image of the InSight lander, which recently touched down on the Red Planet. The InSight lander, its heat shield and parachute were spotted by HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) in one set of images taken on December 6, …