GS

The Union government has constituted a committee headed by former President to explore the possibility of conducting simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha, the Legislative Assemblies, municipalities, and panchayats. The proposal has been under consideration by the Government of India since 2014. Pros and Cons of One Nation, One Election …

Syllabus:  Alternate fuel Context: Japan has started releasing treated radioactive water from the beleaguered Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean. Nuclear energy one of many alternatives to carbon-based power Currently, 10% of the world’s electricity Challenges Storage and disposal of nuclear waste in a safe, controlled manner. Several temporary …

Syllabus:  Agriculture-Exports The story so far In a move to check domestic rice prices and ensure domestic food security, the Indian government has prohibited the export of white rice, levied a 20% export duty on par-boiled rice till October 15, and permitted the export of Basmati rice for contracts with …

Syllabus: Distribution of key natural resources Context In compliance with the directives of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), Karnataka has begun releasing water from its reservoirs to Tamil Nadu. Map Reading Bulletins The outflow from the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir in Mandya district into the Cauvery was at the …

Syllabus: GS3-Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life. Context Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari launched the world’s first prototype of the BS 6 Stage II ‘Electrified Flex Fuel Vehicle’, developed by Toyota Kirloskar Motor BS 6 Stage II ‘Electrified Flex …

Syllabus:  Security challenges and their management in border areas Context The Army has signed contracts for the procurement of 130 tethered drones and 19 tank-driving simulators under Emergency Procurement (EP) and they will be delivered in 12 months. The armed forces are currently executing the fourth tranche of EPs sanctioned …

Syllabus: Environment conservation Context: Hollongapar sanctuary has become a ‘forest island’, a Wildlife Institute of India report said Primatologists have suggested rerouting a 1.65-km long railway track that has divided Hollongapar sanctuary in eastern Assam sanctuary dedicated to the western hoolock gibbon (Hoolock hoolock). Housing about 125 hoolock gibbons, India’s …

Syllabus:  Disaster and its management Tropical cyclones that originate near the Equator, while being devastating, have been unusually subdued in recent decades. Last major cyclone in India was Cyclone Okchi, which devastated parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka in 2017. A combination of global warming and a cyclical …

Syllabus:  General science Context: government tries to screen seven-crore tribal people for sickle-cell disease (SCD) and attempts to create a data bank of tribal people’s health. Sickle cell disease is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders that affect hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen through the body. It …

Syllabus:  Space technology Pragyan rover has confirmed the presence of sulphur on the moon’s surface, near its south pole. The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument aboard the rover has made the first-ever in-situ measurements on the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the south pole. The LIBS is a …