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Recently, a report published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)named Internet shutdowns: Trends, causes, legal implications and impacts on a range of human rights, stated that shutting down the internet affects people’s safety & well-being, hampers information flow and harms the economy. Internet shutdowns are measures taken …

Recently, the Ministry of Communications has launched ‘Dak Karmayogi, an e-learning portal of the Department of Posts. To recognise the good performance of employees of Department of Posts, Meghdoot Awards were also conferred in eight different categories. Meghdoot Award was introduced in the year 1984. This is the highest award of Department of Posts at National level for overall performance and …

Recently, a seminar on Production & Use of Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia in the Process Industry was held Process Industries are the companies that extract, transport and process raw materials to manufacture semi-finished or high-quality end products by means of physical, mechanical and/or chemical processes. Green Ammonia Ammonia is a chemical which …

Recognised as the “bird village” following community-driven conservation efforts, Menar in Udaipur district is set to be notified as Rajasthan’s new wetland. This will pave the way for getting the Ramsar sitestatus for this rural heartland of the Mewar region. Wetland and its Significance Wetlands are ecosystems saturated with water, either seasonally or permanently. They include mangroves, marshes, …

According to a new Study published, Residual Flood Damage under Intensive Adaptation, the risk of river flooding is expected to increase with climate change and socioeconomic development. Residual flood damage under intensive adaptation tries to estimate the global cost of employing adaptive flood measures depending on local economic scenarios and cost adaptation measures by trying to quantify the …

Prime Minister has launched Vanijya Bhawan and NIRYAT (National Import-Export Record for Yearly Analysis of Trade) Portal. Vanijya Bhawan is the new premises of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Vanijya Bhawan, which is constructed near the India Gate (New Delhi) will be used by the two departments under the Ministry i.e. Department of Commerce and …

Recently, the government has launched the pilot phase of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) with an aim to “democratise” the country’s fast growing digital e-commerce space that is currently dominated by the two U.S.-headquartered firms — Amazon and Walmart. ONDC ONDC is a freely accessible government-backed platform that aims to democratise e-commerce by moving it …

Investment in the Indian capital markets through Participatory notes (P-notes) dropped to Rs 86,706 crore till May-end, 2022. However, according to experts, foreign investors will reverse their selling stance and return to the country’s equities in the coming 1-2 quarters. In line with a decline in P-note investment, the assets under the …

Recently, the Minster of Home Affairs and Cooperation has addressed a conclave, organised by the National Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks and Credit Societies (NAFCUB), emphasising the needed Reforms for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCB). The NAFCUB is an Apex Level Promotional body of Urban Cooperative Banks and Credit Societies Ltd. in the Country. …

According to a new report, wetland conservation should feature as an independent topic of discussion in the negotiations at the upcoming biodiversity and climate change conferences for effective carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration is the long-term storage of carbon in plants, soils, geologic formations, and the ocean. Experts from the Wetlands International, a global non-profit, in a new white paper suggested five …

In the recently released Environment Performance Index-2022, India was at the bottom among 180. The Environment Performance Index (EPI) is an international ranking system that measures environmental health and sustainability of countries. The EPI, a biennial index, was started in 2002 as Environmental Sustainability Index by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with the Yale Center for …

Wildlife scientists and conservationists in Arunachal Pradesh flagged threats to local biodiversity from the proposed Etalin hydroelectric (3,097 MW) project in Dibang Valley. To raise the issue,they approached the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). WildLIfe Institute of India (WII)and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) have suggested …

MAP OF THE MOON Recently, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in partnership with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)and the Lunar Planetary Institute has released a new comprehensive map of the Moon, called the ‘Unified Geologic Map of the Moon’. The new map showcases the Moon in a 1:50,00,000-scale size, and is claimed to come …

Recently, the Ministry of Finance has announced that the National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL)along with the India Debt Resolution Company (IDRCL) will take over the first set of bad loans from banks and try to resolve them. The health of the balance sheets of Indian banks has improved significantly over the …

Recently, the Centre has approved the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for the Khari season 2022-23, stating that the rates are at least 1.5 times of the weighed average cost of production. The rates for 14 Kharif crops have been increased, the hikes ranging from 4% to 8%. Kharif Season Crops are sown from June to July and Harvesting …

India’s eight core sector industries showed a robust growth of 8.4% in April compared to 4.9% in March 2022. The eight core sector industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The eight core sector industries in decreasing order of their weightage are: Refinery Products> Electricity> Steel> Coal> Crude Oil> Natural …

Recently, the Prime Minister inaugurated the first Liquid Nano Urea(LNU) plant at Kalol, Gujarat. It is Indigenous Urea, introduced firstly by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) for farmers across the world. It is one of India’s biggest cooperative societies which is wholly owned by Indian Cooperatives Founded in 1967 with just 57 cooperatives, today it is …

India will oppose the continuation of a moratorium on Customs Duties on electronic transmission (E-Transmission) at the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) starting in June 2022 as it favors developed nations only. The moratorium was extended at the 11th MC in Argentina in 2017 for two years. In the General Council meeting in December …

Stockholm+50 is being held in Stockholm, Sweden. It will commemorate the 50 years since the 1972 United Nations (UN) Conference on the Human Environment (also known as the Stockholm Conference). The UN General Assembly will be convening this international meeting. This is being held at a time when the world is facing a triple planetary crisis of climate change, …

Recently, researchers have identified a new colorful species of leopard geckos named Eublepharis pictus, also known as the Painted Leopard Gecko, earlier it was thought to belong to a known species. The new species differs from all members of the genus Eublepharis except for E hardwickii. Eublepharis is a genus of terrestrial geckos native …