GS-III

A recent map published by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has revealed that water in nearly a dozen major stretches of the Ganga in West Bengal is so polluted that it is even unfit for bathing. The development comes at a time when the Centre has claimed that the …

The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), India’s next indigenous fighter, is expected to make its first flight by 2032. Development work on the jet is under way. “The AMCA will feature geometric stealth and will initially fly with two GE-414 engines. Once we develop our own engine, it can be …

The Indian Institutes of Technology need to hire regular foreign faculty to break into top global rankings, IIT Delhi Director V. Ramgopal Rao says. In an interview with The Hindu , Professor Rao underlined the need for the brightest minds to pursue research rather than land a finance job or …

Their annual income may just be enough to repay what they borrowed; Telangana, A.P., Karnataka top the list with over 70% indebted families More than half the agricultural households in the country have outstanding debt, and their average outstanding debt is almost as high as the average annual income of …

The government on Sunday clarified that the back-series GDP data purportedly released by it was just a draft using one of the several possible calculation methods, and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation would announce the results when it settled on a final method. “It is clarified through this …

Air Marshal B. Suresh’s primary concern as he air-dropped relief supplies over flood-hit Chenganoor on Sunday was to ensure that he did not accidentally injure citizens marooned on roofs. The Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Air Command, had made a mid-day sortie into the swamped locality on board an MI-17 B, …

Here’s some food for thought served in a pocket-friendly manner. The Tamil Nadu Hotels Association has announced a 5% discount on the bill if customers bring their own utensils and bags for food parcels. The association, with over 10,000 members, has passed a resolution to this effect. “On an average, …

Death toll rises to 210; over seven lakh people take shelter in relief camps After five days of extremely heavy rain and floods that ravaged several parts of Kerala, Sunday brought respite following a gradual decrease in rainfall and receding water levels in the flood-affected areas, particularly Chengannur and Chalakudy. …

The rescue operation for flood victims in Pathanamthitta and Thrissur districts continued on Saturday with response teams battling strong river currents and heavy rain to bring stranded citizens to safety, even as a parallel crisis unfolded in the Kuttanad region, where rising floodwaters inundated thousands of houses, forcing a mass …

India’s PC shipments notched a healthy 28.1% growth in April-June 2018 to 2.25 million units, buoyed by strong notebook demand, research firm IDC India said. On the pecking order of vendors, IDC said, HP Inc. maintained its leadership with a market share of 31.6% during the quarter followed by Dell …

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel has urged payment system operators to ensure adequate attention is paid to ensuring cybersecurity and redressing customer grievances. “Operators should ensure that no corner is cut regarding cybersecurity — after all, in a network environment we are only as strong as the …

The flow of bank credit to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that took a hit in the aftermath of demonetisation seems to have picked up again, a study by officials at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed. Growth of bank credit to the MSME sector, which had started …

With urban India responsible for an increasingly large share of the national GDP, the Centre now hopes to bring out city-level GDP data. This could help both cities and investors make wise decisions, and also help municipal bodies raise funds for their own infrastructure needs, according to a senior official …

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to aerially survey flood-hit Kerala on Saturday. More than 160 people have been killed and over 1.5 lakh moved to relief camps in the State. Mr. Modi also spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday and offered him all assistance. A high …

Hundreds of volunteers and fishworkers joined hands with teams of the armed forces, National Disaster Response Force, and State government agencies in a massive operation to rescue over 82,000 citizens from flooded locations in four districts on Friday. The rescue efforts which commenced at daybreak continued into the night. Helicopters …

Points to headwinds from elevated global crude prices and minimum support prices for kharif crops as reason. India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has revised its FY19 economic growth forecast down to 7.2% from 7.4% earlier. It cited the headwinds emanating from elevated global crude oil prices and the government’s decision …

Ashok Leyland, the Hinduja Group’s flagship company, unveiled Innoline, a BS IV engine driven by an in-line fuel pump. “This is the latest innovation from Ashok Leyland for commercial vehicles,” said Vinod K. Dasari, managing director, Ashok Leyland. “This technology can be upgraded and used for BS VI engines as …

Tea growers see an opportunity to boost the competitiveness of Indian tea in the global market, riding on the rupee’s recent weakness. India’s tea exports remained flat at 46.8 million kg between April and June compared to a year earlier although prices increased marginally. Arijit Raha, secretary general, ITA concurred …

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has upgraded the unified payments interface (UPI) with enhanced security features and overdraft facilities. Unveiling the UPI 2.0 on Thursday, RBI Governor Urjit Patel said that the upgraded UPI was the result of the calibrated approach adopted by RBI in the initial years …

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel sees domestic growth impulses continuing to remain reasonably strong as the monsoon, which has been normal ‘so far’, augurs well for the farm sector, according to the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee’s meeting earlier this month. “The manufacturing sector has continued …