GS-III

The continued rise in oil prices and a crisis of confidence set off by the IL&FS episode pose a challenge Three weeks is a long time for the economy. Ask Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the mandarins in North Block. Until recently, it seemed as if growth was finally returning …

Ownership and management are treated at arm’s length, says HPCL CMD State-owned oil marketing company (OMC) Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) generated heated debates when it chose not to recognise ONGC as its parent even after the latter bought 51% stake in HPCL from the government for Rs. 37,000 crore. …

Transport fuel prices continued to rise on Sunday, with petrol inching closer to Rs. 91 a litre mark in Mumbai. Petrol touched Rs. 90.84 per litre, up from Rs. 90.75 on Saturday, data on the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) website showed. Petrol prices in Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai on Sunday …

‘It is controlled neither by govt. nor by capitalists’ Inaugurating a new chocolate-making factory set-up by dairy giant Amul in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said a cooperative like Amul is a viable economic alternative to capitalist and socialist models. The factory is an expansion of an already …

Several organisations roll out traditional methods to save trees affected by human activities in the city Using the knowledge of senior botanists, nature lovers initiated an experimental effort in Odisha’s Berhampur on Sunday to cure trees affected by human activities by using traditional ingredients. Berhampur Development Authority (BDA) chairperson Subash …

Ahead of the bilateral summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin later this week, discussions are “still under way” between the two sides to conclude a final deal for 200 Kamov-226T utility helicopters. “Having also received feedback from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of India, we …

Effect of expanded censorship strategy could more readily cause people to believe rumours about the economy, says professor Zhang Ming of Renmin University China has long made it clear that reporting on politics, civil society and sensitive historical events is forbidden. Increasingly, it wants to keep negative news about the …

Tough to retain teachers in village schools: Naidu Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday that it was becoming increasingly tough to retain good science and mathematics teachers in village schools. This should be corrected in order to develop scientific temper, he said here in Madhya Pradesh in connection with …

The displacement of some 40,000 Bru people from Mizoram in 1997 got much less traction than that of the Kashmiri Pandits seven years before. But making them return home from relief camps in adjoining Tripura has been equally frustrating for the Centre and the north-eastern States for almost 21 years …

Study analysed data from seven South Asian countries India accounts for 29% of black spotted turtles (Geoclemys hamiltonii) seized from across seven countries in South Asia, states a recent report by TRAFFIC, an international network monitoring trade in wildlife. Classified as vulnerable by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of …

Russia makes request, but no clarity on how the aircraft will be used A highlight on the sidelines of the upcoming India-Russia bilateral summit is likely to be the gifting of three MiG-21 fighter jets to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin will be in New Delhi on October 4 and …

Users can explore more than 150 different places Railway enthusiasts worldwide can now undertake a virtual journey with the Indian Railways, one of the largest and the busiest rail networks, on Google’s Arts and Culture platform. The Ministry of Railways, on Friday, partnered with the U.S.-based technology company for an …

Delegates from 68 countries attend Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention to learn from the experiment Political leadership and government financing, as well as the sparking of a people’s movement, are key elements of the Swachh Bharat story, Indian leaders told international delegates looking to learn from India’s sanitation successes at …

These have to be restored to their original habitats on the T.N. coast in 48 hours Unlike the other seizures in the past, officials of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) faced a different kind of challenge when they recovered 20 live corals from a house in Dum Dum in …

A Rajasthan village is free of open defecation — on paper The narrow village street is lined with gutters, dotted with excreta flushed out from latrines inside upper caste homes. Santa Devi pulls a corner of her sari over her mouth and begins to push the morning quota of waste …

Chemical pollutants could lead to the disappearance of half of the world’s populations of killer whales from the most heavily contaminated areas within a period of just 30 to 50 years, according to a study. More than 40 years after the first initiatives were taken to ban the use of …

A man in Hong Kong has been found to have a strain of hepatitis E that had only been seen previously in rats, researchers said Friday. While rats have passed on several other illnesses to people, this was the first discovery in humans of the rat variation of hepatitis E, …

It will also enable self-service analytics With a view to fast-tracking the adoption of data analytics in the government to improve delivery of services to citizens, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday unveiled a Centre of Excellence for Data Analytics (CEDA). The centre would help build analytic …

Move comes in the wake of challenges in global scenario Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu has approved the constitution of a high-level advisory group (HLAG) to look into the opportunities and ways to address the ongoing challenges in the global trade scenario, the government said on Friday. “The terms of reference …

Guilty participants face temporary or permanent stoppage of access to markets The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday issued the draft guidelines on prohibiting market abuse, which propose to debar errant participants from accessing the market. “Participants found guilty of market abuse may be subject to regulatory action, including …