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GS-3 FALLING RUPEE RESERVES OF IRAN Recently, Indian merchants have almost entirely stopped signing new export contracts with Iranian buyers due to caution about Iran’s falling rupee reserves with Indian banks. Earlier in 2020, the Ministry of External Affairs informed that India is no longer involved in the Farzad-B gas …

GS-1 AMENDMENT OF INSURANCE OMBUDSMAN RULES, 2017 Recently, the Union government amended the Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017, bringing insurance brokers within the ambit of the Insurance Ombudsman and also allowed policy holders to file online complaints. Important points: Enlarged the Scope Of Complaints: Earlier it was only disputes. Now the amended rules will cover …

GS-2 EASE OF LIVING INDEX (EoLI) 2020 Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs announced the release of the final rankings of Ease of Living Index (EoLI) 2020. About: The EoLI aims to measure the well-being of Indian citizens in 111 cities, across the pillars of Quality of Life, Economic-ability, and …

GS-2 MUNICIPAL PERFORMANCE INDEX (MPI) 2020 Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs announced the release of the final rankings of Municipal Performance Index (MPI) 2020.  About: In the Million+ category, Indore has emerged as the highest ranked municipality, followed by Surat and Bhopal. In the Less than Million category, New …

GS-2 WORLD FOOD PRICE INDEX RISES IN FEBRUARY The World food prices have increased for the ninth consecutive month in February 2021. This increase is the at its highest level since July 2014. Highlights The Food and Agriculture Organisation stated that the food prices have increased because of jumps in …

GS-2 INDIA’S PERFORMANCE IN QS WORLD UNIVERSITY RANKINGS The eleventh edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject was released on March 4, 2021. The report was compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The ranking provided the independent comparative analysis regarding the performance of 14,435 individual university programme. As per …

GS-1 TSUNAMI WARNINGS ISSUED IN NEW ZEALAND The National Emergency Management Agency highlighted that; New Zealand has issued a Tsunami warning in the coastal areas on March 4, 2021 following an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 in the north-eastern coast of the country in the Kermadec Islands region. Highlights This was the third …

GS-3 SIMLIPAL FOREST FIRE The Simlipal Tiger Reserves in Odisha underwent the massive fires recently. The wildfires broke in the biosphere reserve situated in the Mayurbhanj district of Assam. Similipal Tiger Reserve It is a tiger reserve situated in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha in the northern part. The reserve …

GS-2 NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION (NHRC) NHRC of India is an independent statutory body established on 12 October, 1993 as per provisions of Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, later amended in 2006. NHRC has celebrated its Silver Jubilee (25 years) on October 12, 2018. Its headquarter is located in New Delhi. …

GS-2 CLOSURE OF SCHOOLS DUE TO COVID IMPACTED 247 MN CHILDREN IN INDIA: UNICEF  As many as 1.5 million schools remained shut during 2020 due to the pandemic and lockdowns, impacting 247 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in India, according to data released by UNICEF. Report: Online education is not an …

GS-3  14 TROJANS FOUND IN SERVERS Recentrly, Maharashtra Home Minister submitted a report prepared by the State’s cyber cell on a possible cyberattack that caused the October 12 power outage in Mumbai and parts of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Power Minister of Maharashtra recently said the report found 14 Trojan programs that had entered …

GS-2 FIELD TRIALS FOR CENSUS-NPR TO BEGIN SOON  The Registrar-General of India (RGI) is preparing to conduct field trials of the first phase of the Census and the National Population Register (NPR) using a mobile application in all the States and Union Territories. First phase: The first phase involving house listing and housing …

GS-2 FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2021: DEMOCRACY UNDER SIEGE: The government in India and its State-level allies continued to crack down on critics during the year. Freedoms in India have reduced, according to a report from a U.S. thinktank, Freedom House, resulting in India being classified as ‘partly free’. The ruling Hindu nationalist …

GS-3 SPACEX STARSHIP SN10 EXPLODES The Starship Prototype of the SpaceX was exploded shortly after it made its successful landing on March 3, 2021 for the first time after a high-altitude flight test. Key Facts The reason for the explosion of the prototype was not immediately clear. However, it was …

GS-3 FIVE NEW SHRUB FROGS SPECIES FOUND IN WESTERN GHATS The researchers from India and United States have found the five new species of shrub frogs. These species of the frog were discovered from the Western Ghats which is a globally recognised biodiversity hotspot. Important points: The five species of …

GS-2 WHO’S FIRST WORLD REPORT ON HEARING The World Health Organization (WHO) has published the first world report on hearing on World Hearing Day which was observed on March 3, 2021. In the new report, the WHO has highlighted that, one in every four individuals across the world will be …

GS-3 “CHABAHAR DAY” The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that, India will commemorate the ‘Chabahar Day’ on March 4, 2021 on the margins of the ongoing Maritime India Summit 2021 which is being held in Delhi from March 2 to March 4. Highlights The virtual event will witness the …

GS-2 EXERCISE DESERT FLAG-VI: UAE For the first time, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is participating in the Exercise Desert Flag-VI, hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force. Ex Desert Flag is an annual multinational large force employment warfare exercise hosted by the UAE Air Force. Aim:  To provide operational exposure to the participating forces while …

GS-3 PURPLE REVOLUTION UNDER AROMA MISSION Around 500 farmers across villages in Doda district in Jammu had their incomes quadrupled after shifting from maize to lavender cultivation which is being called purple revolution. It was possible due to initiatives taken under Aroma Mission. Purple Revolution (Under Aroma Mission): First-time farmers were given free lavender saplings …

GS-3 NDC SYNTHESIS REPORT: UNFCCC The UNFCCC, in its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Synthesis Report, has called for more ambitious climate action plans by the countries in order to achieve the Paris Agreement target of containing global temperature rise to 2°C (ideally 1.5°C) by the end of the century. The report was sought ahead of …