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The Union Cabinet has approved the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Nidhi (PMSSN) as a single non-lapsable reserve fund for share of Health from the proceeds of Health and Education Cess levied under Section 136-b of Finance Act, 2007. Salient features of the PMSSN A non-lapsable reserve fund for Health in …

Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises inaugurated two technology centres at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, three extension centres of big technological centres and seven mobile Udyam Express. Important points: The Ministry of MSME has rolled out the Technology Centres Systems Programme to develop the …

The Parliament gave its nod to the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 with Rajya Sabha passing it. The Lok Sabha has already passed the bill last month. About: The legislation seeks to amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The Act contains provisions to deal with domestic and international …

The Kerala High Court restrained the Centre from taking coercive action against Live Law Media Private Ltd., which owns a legal news portal, for not complying with Part III of the new IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Arguments by Petition: The court issued notice to …

Governments around the world are exploring the potential use of vaccine passports as a way of reopening the economy by identifying those protected against the coronavirus. Vaccine Passports: A vaccine passport is an e-certificate that stores and records jabs and Covid-19 test status. It can be kept in a smartphone app or …

Recently, several hundred Uighur Muslim women in Turkey staged an International Women’s Day march against the extradition agreement of Turkey with China and demanding the closure of mass incarceration camps in China’s Xinjiang Province. Earlier in 2020, the United States House of Representatives approved a legislation calling for sanctions on Chinese officials responsible for oppression of Uighur …

GS-2 JANAUSHADHI DIWAS The Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) celebrated the 3rd JanaushadhiDiwas (7th March 2021) to spread awareness about quality generic medicines, available at low prices. Theme of JanaushadhiDiwas was “SevaBhi – Rozgarbhi”. The Janaushadhi week was celebrated across the country from 1st-7th March 2021. As a part of celebrations, the Prime Minister inaugurated the 7,500th Janaushadhi Kendra at NEIGRIHMS, Shillong. Important points: Janaushadhi …

GS-2 PUSH FOR CHABAHAR PORT IN INSTC CORRIDOR India expressed its intent to include Chabahar port in the 13-nation International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) that extends from India to Russia, and to expand INSTC membership by including Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, at a “Chabahar Day” event organised as part of Maritime India summit. This Summit saw …

GS-2 SCHEMES OF WCD MINISTRY For effective implementation of various schemes and programmes of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, all major schemes of the Ministry have been classified under 3 umbrella schemes viz. Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Vatsalya and Mission Shakti. Schemes included under the Umbrella Scheme are …

GS-2 50% CAP ON QUOTA The Supreme Court decided to examine whether its nearly three-decade-old judgment which fixed reservation for the marginalised and the poor in government jobs and educational institutions at 50% needs a relook. In the Indira Sawhney verdict of 1992, a nine-judge Bench of the court had …

GS-2 RIGHTS OF OVERSEAS CITIZENS OF INDIA Recently, the government has notified a consolidated list of rights of the Overseas Citizens of India (OCI). The rights and restrictions are not new, they have been notified previously in 2005, 2007, and 2009. They were also mentioned in an OCI brochure published by the Ministry of …

GS-2 NEW RULE ON AIRBAGS The union government has passed a new notification making airbags compulsory for all vehicles in the country. The new notification is said to be a new safety feature and has been initiated on the advice of the Supreme Court of India. Details  The announcement is …

GS-2 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY International Women’s Day 2021 is being celebrated on 8th of March with theme #ChooseToChallenge. It indicates that a “challenged world is an alert world, and from challenge comes change”. About: Date: International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8 every year. History: IWD has occurred for …

GS-2 SANAʽA A Saudi-led military coalition mounted air strikes on Yemen’s Houthi-controlled capital Sana’a after it intercepted 10 drones launched by the Iran-backed rebels. About: Sanaa also spelled Sanaʽa or Sana, is the largest city in Yemen. Under the Yemeni constitution, Sanaʽa is the capital of the country, although the …

GS-2 CHINESE DAM ON BRAHMAPUTRA A draft of China’s new Five-Year Plan (2021-2025), which is set to be formally approved on March 11, 2021, has given the green light for the first dams to be built on the lower reaches of Yarlung Zangbo river, as the Brahmaputra is known in …

GS-2 JANAUSHADHI DIWAS 7th March 2019 to be celebrated as ‘Janaushadhi Diwas’ across India. As part of the celebrations, PM will interact with owners of Janaushadhi Kendras and beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) across the country.   About PMBJP: ‘Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana’ is a campaign launched by …

GS-2 QS WORLD SUBJECT RANKINGS 2021 25 programmes offered by higher education institutions in India ranked among the top 100 in the world in their respective subject categories, according to the latest edition(11th) of the QS World University Rankings by Subject. About the QS World Subject Rankings: Quacquarelli Symonds (QS): …

GS-2 ROAD TO GENDER INEQUALITY: UNDP Recently, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its latest report named “Protecting Women’s Livelihoods in Times of Pandemic: Temporary Basic Income and the Road to Gender Equality” has proposed a Temporary Basic Income (TBI) for poor women in developing countries. The proposal comes …

GS-2 INDIA – SWEDEN RELATIONS Indian Prime Minister held a Virtual Summit with the Prime Minister of Sweden to discuss bilateral issues and other regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest. The Summit provided an opportunity to discuss the international situation and response to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as …

GS-2 EASE OF LIVING INDEX (EoLI) 2020 Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs announced the release of the final rankings of Ease of Living Index (EoLI) 2020. About: The EoLI aims to measure the well-being of Indian citizens in 111 cities, across the pillars of Quality of Life, Economic-ability, and …