GS2

Keeping in view the zero tolerance policy against terrorism, the Central Government regularly reviews administrative and legal requirements of National Investigation Agency (NIA). What is the NIA? The agency came into existence in 2008 in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. It is a central agency mandated to investigate all the offences affecting: the sovereignty, security and integrity …

New India Literacy Programme launched to cover a target of 5.00 crore non-literates in the age group of 15 years and above It is a centrally sponsored scheme. The government plans to implement during five years from 2022-23 to 2026-27. Aim: To provide educational aids to five crore students during the five years under the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy …

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has lifted limits on the payment of commissions to insurance intermediaries. The new rules: IRDAI has asked insurance companies, including life and non-life, to fix an overall cap on commission to agents, brokers and other intermediaries, giving more flexibility to insurers in managing their expenses. This means …

Union Minister of State for Panchayati Raj informed the Lok Sabha about implementation of the SWAMITVA Scheme. It is a Central Sector Scheme. To provide the ‘Record of Rights’ to village household owners possessing houses in inhabited areas (Abadi) in villages. Under the scheme, land parcels in rural inhabited area of all the villages of the country …

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed a $3 billion bailout plan for Sri Lanka’s struggling economy. What is a bailout? Bailout is a general term for extending financial support to a company or a country facing a potential bankruptcy threat. It can take the form of loans, cash, bonds, or stock purchases. A bailout may or may not …

Recently, the Indian Patent Office rejected an application by pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to extend its patent on the drug bedaquiline.  What is Bedaquiline? Bedaquiline is a drug in tablet form used to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). What is drug-resistant TB? As of 2017, India accounted for around one-fourth of the world’s burden of multi-drug-resistant …

India is considering translocating some tigers to Cambodia. India signed a memorandum of understanding with Cambodia to assist it with all technical details and knowledge regarding the reintroduction of the tiger in the country. How did tigers go extinct in Cambodia? Due to habitat destruction and poaching. The last tiger spotted on a camera trap in Cambodia was in 2007. …

Five people have died and three others are infected with the Marburg virus  in Tanzania. Marburg virus disease (MVD), earlier known as Marburg hemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal hemorrhagic fever. Marburg, like Ebola, is a filovirus and both diseases are clinically similar. Rousettus fruit bats are considered the natural hosts for the Marburg virus. However, African green …

The British government recently said that it would provide Ukraine with armour-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium. What is depleted uranium? Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the process of creating enriched uranium, which is used in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. In comparison to enriched uranium, depleted uranium is much less radioactive and is incapable of generating a nuclear …

The conviction, on Thursday, March 23, 2023, of Congress leader and now former Member of Parliament from Wayanad Rahul Gandhi by a Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Surat, Gujarat, and the issuance of a notification the next day by the Lok Sabha Secretariat of Mr. Gandhi’s disqualification raise some important …