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Recently, the Prime Minister paid tribute to the former President APJ Abdul Kalam on his 90th birth anniversary. Kalam Program for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness Campaign (KAPILA) was launched in 2020 on the occasion of his birth anniversary. Important points: Born on 15th October 1931 at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu. His birth anniversary is celebrated as the National …

Recently, the government has accorded the ‘Maharatna’ status to state-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC). An order to this effect was issued by the Department of Public Enterprises, under the Ministry of Finance. PFC has become the 11th public sector enterprise to get the ‘Maharatna’ status in the country and joins the ranks of other such companies like ONGC, Indian Oil …

The international environmental think tank ‘Germanwatch’ released the Global Climate Risk Index 2021. This is the 16th Edition of the Index. It is published annually. Germanwatch, based in Bonn and Berlin (Germany), is an independent development and environmental organisation which works for sustainable global development. Important points: The Index analyses the extent to which countries and regions have been affected by the impacts of weather-related loss events (storms, …

Recently, the Kunming Declaration was adopted by over 100 countries at the ongoing 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in china. The adoption of the declaration will create momentum for a new global biodiversity pact. In a previous agreement, Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, signed in Aichi, Japan, in 2010, governments agreed …

Recently, the government of India has launched the ambitious Gati Shakti scheme or National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity plan, with the aim of coordinated planning and execution of infrastructure projects to bring down logistics costs. Important points: To ensure integrated planning and implementation of infrastructure projects in the next four years, with focus on …

Recently, as a part of the ongoing ‘Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ initiative the government of India inaugurated a training program on Indian Sandalwood Farming & Management. The programme aims at establishing Sandalwood Technology Innovation centres in the growing states, value addition in training & skill development as well as introducing new methods of cultivation …

Scientists from Chennai Mathematical Institute and Ors. have analysed data from the LIGO-VIRGO observatories and estimated the fraction of the binary Black Hole mergers detected so far that show potential to form Intermediate-Mass Black Holes. It is the phenomenon of merging of two or more black holes. Indian scientists have already observed merger of three supermassive black holes Merging of two …

Recently, the government has inaugurated C-DOT’s (Centre for Development of Telematics) Quantum Communication Lab and unveiled the indigenously developed Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) solution. The government has also allocated USD 1 billion for the National Mission on Quantum Technologies and Applications spanning over a period of 8 years. Important points: QKD, also called Quantum Cryptography, is …

Recently, the Prime Minister has launched the Indian Space Association (ISpA) via video conferencing. ISpA will act as a single-window and independent agency on matters related to space technology. The PM also remarked that the Government’s approach to space reforms is based on 4 pillars. Important points: ISpA aspires to be the collective voice of the …

Recently, the Union Environment Ministry has come out with a draft notification for regulation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) under Plastic Waste Management rules 2016. The draft specifies the quantity of waste that will have to be managed by producers, importers and brand owners who generate plastic packaging waste in India. Earlier, the Ministry had …

The 2021 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences has been awarded in one half to Canadian-born David Card and the other half jointly to Israeli-American Joshua D Angrist and Dutch-American Guido W Imbens. David Card has been awarded for his empirical contributions to labour economics. Joshua D Angrist and Guido W Imbens won the award “for their methodological contributions …

Recently, some researchers studied a meteorite from Katol, Maharashtra which was from the meteor shower of 2012. A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon. …

Recently, the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP), an international think tank released the Ecological Threat Report (ETR) 2021: Understanding ecological threats, resilience and peace. This is the second edition of the ETR, which covers 178 independent states and territories. The ETR includes the most recent and respected scientific research on population growth, water stress, food insecurity, droughts, floods cyclones, and rising temperature Important …

Recently, the government has asked the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) to begin developing 6G and other futuristic technologies to catch up with the global market in time. The next generation telecom technology (6G) is said to be 50 times faster than 5G and is expected to be commercially launched between 2028-2030. Important points: …

Recently, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) unanimously voted for recognising a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a Universal Human Right. If recognised by all, the right will be the first of its kind in more than 70 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the UN General Assembly …

Recently, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2021 was released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI). The Index considers data from 109 countries and 5.9 billion people. Highlights of the report: 3 billion people are multidimensionally poor. About half (644 million) are children under age 18. Nearly 85% live in Sub-Saharan …

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is set to launch ‘Lucy’, its first mission to explore the Jupiter Trojan Asteroids. Important points: The solar-powered mission is estimated to be over 12 years long, during which the spacecraft will visit eight asteroids covering a distance of about 6.3 billion km to deepen the understanding of the “young solar system”. The …

According to the World Bank, India’s economy, South Asia’s largest, is expected to grow by 8.3% in the fiscal year 2021-22. The South Asia economic focus report projects the region to grow by 7.1% in 2021 and 2022. It is a biannual economic update presenting recent economic developments and a near-term economic outlook for South Asia. Other Major reports of …

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the Monetary Policy Report (MPR) for the month of October 2021. It kept the policy rate unchanged for the Eighth time in a row maintaining an accommodative stance till the recovery is durable. Important points: Repo Rate – 4%. Reverse Repo Rate – 3.35%. Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) – 4.25%. Bank Rate- …

The Union Government is considering increasing the unit cost of deep-sea fishing vessels from Rs 80 L to Rs 1.3 Cr under the Palk Bay scheme to make it more attractive to fisherfolk. Earlier, the Marine Fisheries Bill 2021 was tabled in the Parliament during the Monsoon session. Important points: The Scheme, “Diversification Of Trawl Fishing …