GS-III

The government on Wednesday released the GDP growth estimates for previous years based on the new method of calculation and base year it had adopted in 2015. The new data and the manner in which it was released led to criticism from various quarters, including Opposition political parties and economists …

India’s fiscal deficit in the first seven months of the financial year, at Rs. 6.49 lakh crore, exceeded the budgeted target for the entire year, coming in at 103.9% of that target, according to official data released on Friday.The fiscal deficit was 96.1% of the budgeted amount in the same …

The Army will definitely witness an increase in the number of women officers in the coming years, but it is not yet ready to cast women in combat roles, the Chief of the Army Staff, General Bipin Rawat, said on Friday.“You will see an increase in the role of women …

A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said: “One of the projects to check pollution of the Ganga is installation of STPs at Haridwar with enhanced capacity… According to the compliance affidavit, the work is likely to be completed by February 2020. Having regard to significance and …

India will resist attempts by countries to renegotiate the Paris Agreement, said one of India’s key negotiators at climate talks set to begin next week in Katowice, Poland.While he didn’t name them, meetings in the run-up to the COP have seen several, particularly Australia, and the U.S. prominently, raise concerns …

Scientists have successfully created ‘mini-placentas’ that can provide a window into early pregnancy and help transform our understanding of reproductive disorders such as still-birth and miscarriage. The placenta supplies all the oxygen and nutrients essential for growth of the foetus. It may also be used for screening the safety of …

A Chinese scientist who stoked criticism over his claim that he had created the world’s first genetically-edited babies faced mounting pressure Thursday as China ordered a halt to his scientific activities and warned he may have broken the law. China’s National Health Commission has ordered an investigation into He Jiankui’s …

When Shan Junhua bought his white Tesla Model X, he knew it was a fast, beautiful car. What he didn’t know is that Tesla constantly sends information about the precise location of his car to the Chinese government. Tesla is not alone. China has called upon all electric vehicle manufacturers …

The government has decided to transfer more than half of Air India’s nearly Rs. 55,000-crore debt into a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to help the airline cut expenditure on servicing the huge loan, R.N. Chaubey, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said. “More than Rs. 29,000 crore will be moved from …

Attempts to reason why it was popular and did not affect economic growth more It’s not convincing to argue that the poor were willing to ignore their own hardship during demonetisation, since the rich and the corrupt were undergoing greater hardship, former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian writes in his …

Relaxes holding period for securitisation of loans to six months from one year In a move to make more liquidity available to non-banking finance firms, the Reserve Bank of India has relaxed the securitisation norms by relaxing the minimum holding period requirement. The move follows a demand from the government …

The Indian Space Research Organisation wants to make the ambitious manned mission Gaganyaan “more and more” indigenous by utilising the facilities available in the country, ISRO Chairman K. Sivan said here on Thursday. “In order to meet the Prime Minister’s (Narendra Modi) vision (of sending humans to space) by 2022, …

The Forest and Wildlife Department on Thursday conducted a State-wide census to enumerate the State’s captive elephant population. Over 520 elephants were counted. The final figures were yet to be ascertained. The survey was necessitated by an order issued by the Supreme Court that directed Chief Wildlife Wardens to identify …

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has urged Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to reduce the GST on tendu leaves from 18% to 5% in the interest of a large section of people dependent on it for their livelihood. In a letter to Mr. Jaitley on Thursday, Mr. Patnaik requested that …

Senior counsel Fali Nariman tells SC that court can seek delay in publication Senior advocate Fali Nariman told the Supreme Court on Thursday that it could not prohibit media from reporting petitions and pleas filed which contain scandalous allegations, but could consider issuing a direction to the media to postpone …

A convoy of cars announced the entry of Congress State president Sachin Pilot at Ganeti, a Jat-dominated village, near Tonk, around 4 p.m. Crowds of supporters surrounded his car, and Mr. Pilot was escorted into the village by security men, with the crowd following him as he hurriedly walked down …

Workhorse launch vehicle PSLV C-43 injects Hyper Spectral Imaging Satellite into space Nearly three minutes after lift-off on Thursday, India’s workhorse launch vehicle, the PSLV, carrying 31 satellites on board soared in a trajectory crossing the path of the Sun and sped to inject India’s Hyper Spectral Imaging Satellite (HysIS), …

The road has been remaining unusable due to extensive damage caused due to SW monsoon The 13-odd km road connecting Chadivayal and Siruvani has been remaining unusable due to extensive damages caused due to south west monsoon. But less human intervention following the road damages have become a bliss for …

Durgam Chinna’s life turned upside down last October, when her 40-year-old husband Venkatayya was found dead in his cotton fields in the village of Ankushapur, in the Jayashankar district of Telengana. Faced with mounting debts which had touched Rs. 8 lakh, the tenant farmer consumed pesticide. For his widow and …

The recent notification issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change allowing local bodies to stipulate environmental conditions while granting building permission will improve the launch pipeline and at the same time, help save time and cost for developers.As per the notification, municipalities, development authorities and district panchayats …