GS-III

It might seem harmless at first: a thread of dental floss tossed in the toilet, a contact lens swirling down the drain of the bathroom sink. But even the tiniest items can contaminate waterways. The small fragments of plastic contact lenses are believed to be contributing to the growing problem …

The rupee has suffered significant losses this year but the worst seems to be over and the domestic currency is expected to be in the range of 67-68 against the U.S. dollar by December, according to an economist with HDFC Bank. The rupee ended below the 70-mark against the U.S. …

TransportHub (TH), an online platform that provides technology ecosystem and a whole gamut of IoT and analytics solutions to transport and logistics businesses, has chalked out plans to foray into West Asia and Africa. “We have initiated talks with entities in Dubai and South Africa to expand our footprint in …

The textile industry can tap opportunities emerging globally in high-value manufacturing by converting fibre into fibre assemblies, according to Prasad Potluri, professor of robotics and textile composites and director of research at Northwest Composites Centre, University of Manchester. Mr. Potluri, who were here recently, told The Hindu that high-value manufacturing …

Public sector banks are in the process of closing or rationalising about 70 overseas operations as part of capital conservation exercise. Unviable foreign operations are being shut while multiple branches in same cities or nearby places are being rationalised with a view to achieving efficiency, sources said. As part of …

Global technology giants should reinvest part of their profits for development of infrastructure and job creation in revenue generating countries such as India, Union Minister of Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said. Speaking at the G20 Digital Economy Ministerial meeting in Argentina, the Minister said the largest and most …

The Defence Ministry is shortly expected to release project-specific implementation guidelines for the 111 naval utility helicopters to be procured under the Strategic Partnership (SP) model. However, foreign companies say there is still some clarity required on crucial legal, liability and technology transfer issues. “There are two important issues that …

Corporate India has been making large contributions to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF), and finding other ways to help too. The biggest donor so far is the Adani Foundation, with Rs. 25 crore for immediate relief, and another Rs. 25 crore committed for rehabilitation and resettlement. AF …

Amid several analyses of Kerala’s devastating floods earlier this month pointing to lack of preparedness escalating the impact of the extreme weather event, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) Madhavan Rajeevan said a ‘red alert’ issued by the IMD for several districts of Kerala two days ahead of the August …

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) standards is set to formulate a framework for quality services that should be provided to consumers and also talk about the benchmarks to deal with consumer complaints or after sales service in an effort to ensure quality in the services sector. At a meeting …

Former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has, in a letter, raised serious objections to the rules governing the administration of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund. He has described them as a “blatant breach of assurances” given to Parliament. Here is a look at the key issues involved What is the Compensatory Afforestation …

Non-institutional moneylending at exorbitant interest rates is a complex phenomenon, with different facets in different regions. While the Karnataka government on Friday announced one-time discharge of loans availed from moneylenders through Debt Relief Bill, 2018, implementing this is a tough task, given the nature of rural lending. Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/the-tentacles-of-moneylending-run-deep/article24783052.ece

Power trading solutions provider PTC India on Thursday announced that it has operationalised the flow of 126 MW inter-state wind power commissioned capacity to beneficiary states. The power will be supplied to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, PTC India said. The commissioned capacities are part of Ministry of New …

Vedanta Ltd. is planning invest as much as $8 billion or Rs. 56,000 crore in expanding its oil and energy businesses in India. “As India’s largest private sector oil producer, Vedanta Limited contributes 27% to the domestic production and aspires to take it up to 50%,” said Navin Agarwal, chairman, …

Minister for Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu has sought a detailed report from aviation regulator DGCA on the grounding of A320 Neo planes due to snags in Pratt and Whitney engines. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has in the meantime, submitted preliminary details on the status of the planes …

In a major effort to improve emergency medical support to soldiers posted in high-altitude areas, especially Siachen, the Integrated Defence Staff of the Defence Ministry and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday to set up telemedicine nodes in critical places across the country. …

At a time when the Opposition is using the dipping employment data as a stick to beat the government with, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has brought out a special issue of its annual journal, Yojana , on “Employment and self-employment”. The issue reportedly aims at clearing the air on …

An analysis of 14 cities in India, including six mega cities and eight metropolises, on how they fare when it comes to pollution and energy consumption from urban commuting, places Kolkata as the top-performing megacity. Bhopal leads the list on the lowest overall emissions. Delhi and Hyderabad are the two …

A study on air and travel-related pollution loads caused by urban transport has ranked Kochi as the 5th cleanest among the 14 Indian cities. The study carried out by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, looked at the quantum of toxic emissions of particulate matter (PM), nitrogen …

Microfinance lender CreditAccess Grameen made a tepid debut on the bourses on Thursday with the shares falling below the issue price even as the benchmark indices posted marginal gains. On BSE, the shares listed at Rs. 385, much lower than the issue price of Rs. 422 before closing at Rs. …