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Rapidly melting Antarctic ice is dramatically slowing down the flow of water through the world’s oceans, and could have a disastrous impact on global climate, the marine food chain and even the stability of ice shelves, new research has found. Key findings of the study: The “overturning circulation” of the …

India is responsible for 0.08 degrees Celsius of warming from the 1850s through 2021, a new study estimated. India’s emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from 1851-2021 have resulted in 0.04°C, 0.03°C and 0.006°C of global warming over pre-industrial levels, respectively. Overall, the country ranks fifth among the top 10 contributors to warming. Since 2005, India climbed to the …

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in) may soon be exempt from responding to queries under the Right to Information Act.  Key details: A proposal was reviewed to include CERT-in in the Second Schedule to the RTI Act, which deals with exempted organisations like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Border Security Force. The exemption would allow CERT-in …

Mahila Samman Savings Certificates made available in Post Offices. Mahila Samman Savings Certificate scheme is a small savings scheme backed by the government. It does not have any credit risk. This scheme is a one-time small savings scheme that will be made available for a period of two years, up to March 2025. Eligibility It can be done only in …

The Finance Ministry pared the disinvestment target for 2023-24 to a nine-year low of ₹51,000 crore and publicly acknowledged the multiple challenges it is facing in privatising public sector enterprises (PSEs) and raising funds through minority stake sales, a drive that has stalled since Air India’s sale. What is Disinvestment? …

ISRO releases images of Earth captured by its EOS-06 satellite EOS-6 is the third-generation satellite in the Oceansat series. This is to provide continuity services of Oceansat-2 spacecraft with enhanced payload specifications as well as application areas. Payloads Ocean Color Monitor (OCM-3) Sea Surface Temperature Monitor (SSTM) Ku-Band Scatterometer (SCAT-3) ARGOS Mission Objectives To ensure the data continuity of Ocean colour …

The closure of the Indira Gandhi Canal, considered the lifeline for northern and western Rajasthan districts, for repair and relining of feeders, is set to have an impact on the drinking and irrigation needs of 1.75 crore people in the State. Indira Canal: The Indira Gandhi Canal, originally called, Rajasthan Canal is …

Rapidly melting Antarctic ice is dramatically slowing down the flow of water through the world’s oceans, and could have a disastrous impact on global climate, the marine food chain and even the stability of ice shelves, new research has found. Key findings of the study: The “overturning circulation” of the …

While informing the Punjab and Haryana High Court that it has not been able to arrest a fugitive pro-Khalistan preacher, the Punjab government said Amritsar Rural police has issued a “hue and cry notice” against him. Police issues a ‘hue and cry notice’ when it requires help of public in cases such as: …

Quality Control Orders (QCO) have been issued for fibres — cotton, polyester and viscose — that constitute the basic raw materials for majority of the Indian textile and clothing industry. While the standards were available earlier too, these are now revised and made mandatory for a few, and yet to be finalised for others. International …

For the first time, scientists have reported evidence of the piezoelectric effect in liquids. The effect has been known for 143 years and in this time has been observed only in solids. The effect was found in ionic liquids (liquids which are made of ions instead of molecules) at room temperature. What is …

The Union government will not allow the displacement of tribespeople to make way for the ₹72,000-crore Great Nicobar island project, the Tribal Affairs Ministry told the Rajya Sabha. About the project: The project, being implemented by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO), includes: International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) The proposed …

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed three contracts recently. The first contract with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) pertains to the procurement of the Automated Air Defence Control & Reporting System ‘Project Akashteer’ for the Indian Army. The second contract with BEL relates to the acquisition of Sarang Electronic Support Measure (ESM) systems. The contract with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a Central Public …

Waste management in the solar photovoltaic (PV) sector still lacks clear directives. What is PV waste? Globally, India has the world’s fourth highest solar PV deployment. The installed solar capacity was nearly 62GW in 2022. According to a 2016 report by the International Renewable Energy Agency, India could generate 50,000-3,25,000 tonnes of PV waste by 2030 and more than four million tonnes by 2050. …

Australian technology may help generate power from defunct gold mines in Kolar Gold Fields in Karnataka. Need for such technology: A drawback that makes renewable energy unreliable, from solar or wind power, is that there is no power during nights or windless days. The idea is to address this challenge by relying on low-tech gravity. How power will be generated? …

The Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he intends to deploy tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus What are tactical nuclear weapons? Nuclear weapons can be categorised into two types — strategic and tactical. Strategic weapons refer to weapons that have bigger objectives, such as destroying cities or larger targets with larger war-waging objectives in mind. Strategic …

India emerged as world’s second largest crude steel producer since 2018 and second largest consumer of finished steel since 2019. A Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Specialty Steel was approved by the Government on 22.07.2021, with a financial outlay of ₹ 6,322 crores. The PLI scheme aims to extend an incentive of 4% to …

The Defence Minister informed the  Parliament about IDEX scheme. The iDEX initiative was launched in 2018. iDEX aims to achieve self – reliance and foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging Industries including MSMEs, start-ups, individual innovators, R&D institutes and academia. iDEX has launched challenges on frontier technologies/ domains to ensure that the Services enjoy a technological edge over their adversaries. SOURCE: THE HINDU, …

UP man booked under Wildlife Protection Act for keeping injured Sarus crane. The Wildlife Protection Act came into force in 1972. To provide for the protection of wild animals, birds and plants to ensure the ecological and environmental security of the country. To conserve protected species in two main ways: firstly, by prohibiting their hunting and secondly by protecting their habitat through the creation …

National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA) scheme implemented for conservation and management of wetlands (includes lakes) in the country on cost sharing basis between Central Government and respective State Governments Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) provided financial assistance to the States/Union Territories under the National Wetlands Conservation Programme (NWCP) and National Lake …