GS3

The Ganges river dolphin is found in parts of the Ganges, Meghna, and Brahmaputra river systems in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. They are locally known as Susu, which refers to the noise the dolphin is said to make when it breathes. The Gangetic river dolphin is India’s national aquatic animal. …

In the Antarctic floats a massive glacier, roughly the size of Britain, whose melting has been a cause of alarm for scientists over the years. Now, a new study has pinned the cause of the melting to the presence of warm water at a vital point beneath the glacier. The …

Three labourers were killed and two others injured during an operation to douse a forest fire at Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) in Maharashtra. Important points: It is situated in Gondia and Bhandara districts of Maharashtra. Gondia District shares common boundaries with the state of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in the …

The US Treasury Secretary has urged G20 nations to move towards a global minimum corporate tax. It is an attempt to reverse a “30-year race to the bottom” in which countries have resorted to slashing corporate tax rates to attract multinational corporations (MNCs). Important points: The US proposal envisages a …

A neutrino is a subatomic particle that is very similar to an electron, but has no electrical charge and a very small mass, which might even be zero. Neutrinos are one of the most abundant particles in the universe. Because they have very little interaction with matter, however, they are …

Union Minister launched NanoSniffer, a microsensor based explosive trace detector. What is NanoSniffer? NanoSniffer is the world’s first microsensor based Explosive Trace Detector (ETD) developed by NanoSniff Technologies, an IIT Bombay incubated startup. NanoSniffer has been marketed by Vehant Technologies, a spin-off from a former IIT Delhi incubated startup Kritikal …

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) issued regulations to operationalise pre-packs. Insolvency regulator IBBI issued regulations to help operationalise the pre-packaged insolvency resolution process (PPIRP) for corporate debtors classified as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The IBBI notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Pre-packaged Insolvency Resolution …

A neutrino is a subatomic particle that is very similar to an electron, but has no electrical charge and a very small mass, which might even be zero. Neutrinos are one of the most abundant particles in the universe. Because they have very little interaction with matter, however, they are …

Union Minister launched NanoSniffer, a microsensor based explosive trace detector. What is NanoSniffer? NanoSniffer is the world’s first microsensor based Explosive Trace Detector (ETD) developed by NanoSniff Technologies, an IIT Bombay incubated startup. NanoSniffer has been marketed by Vehant Technologies, a spin-off from a former IIT Delhi incubated startup Kritikal …

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) issued regulations to operationalise pre-packs. Insolvency regulator IBBI issued regulations to help operationalise the pre-packaged insolvency resolution process (PPIRP) for corporate debtors classified as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The IBBI notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Pre-packaged Insolvency Resolution …

The Ministry of Civil Aviation recently granted permission to the Central Mine Planning Design Institute to survey the coal field areas of Coal India Limited. According to the permission granted, the drones shall be deployed to monitor the mapping and surveying activity, inspection of coalfield. This is a conditional exemption …

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari recently announced that the project of Khadi and Village Industries (KVIC) called RE-HAB has become a huge success. Thus, it is to be implemented in other states as well. This includes Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, and …

John Kerry, the US President’s Special Envoy on Climate, is currently on a three-day visit to India. One of the objectives of Kerry’s visit is to explore whether India can agree to the possibility of pledging itself to a 2050 net-zero goal. Important points: Net-zero, which is also referred to …

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has put in place a secondary market Government Security Acquisition Programme (G-SAP) 1.0 for orderly evolution of the yield curve in FY22. Under the programme, the central bank will purchase government bonds of worth Rs 1 trillion (or one lakh crores of rupees). Importance : The …

Newly published results of an international experiment hint at the possibility of new physics governing the laws of nature. Important points: The results of the experiment, which studied a subatomic particle called the muon, do not match the predictions of the Standard Model, on which all particle physics is based, …

Recently, a combing operation in the Tekulguda region of Bastar, Chhattisgarh went terribly wrong and resulted in the death of 22 security personnel and many more wounded. This tragic incident is a major setback to India’s internal security (IS) capability at many levels and highlights the challenge that left-wing extremism (LWE) continues …

The Reserve Bank of India recently announced a Government Security Acquisition Programme, GSAP 1.0. Under the programme, the central bank will purchase government bonds of worth Rs 1 trillion (or one lakh crores of rupees). The first purchase of Rs 25,000 crore is to be made on April 15, 2021. …

The Reserve Bank of India recently released the report of Consumer Confidence Survey. The survey was conducted in major cities of the country over 5,000 respondents. Key Highlights of the survey The Consumer Confidence Index declined from 55.5 points in January 2021 to 53.1 points in March 2021. The Future …

The Union Cabinet approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for White Goods (Air Conditioners and LED Lights) with a budgetary outlay of Rs. 6,238 crore. The PLI Scheme for White Goods shall extend an incentive of 4% to 6% on incremental sales of goods manufactured in India for a …

Spearheaded by the United Nations (UN), the E9 Partnership was first established in 1993. E9 Countries include Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, and Pakistan. The initiative aims to advance the Sustainable Development Goal 4 agenda by driving rapid change in education systems in three of the 2020 Global …