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Recently, the Government of India’s Special Window for Affordable & Mid-Income Housing (SWAMIH) completed its first residential project. The residential project – Rivali Park, located in suburban Mumbai, was the first housing project in India to have received funding under the SWAMIH Fund. Important points: This is a government backed fund that was set up as a Category-II …

According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), a total of 186 elephants were killed after being hit by trains across India between 2009-10 and 2020-21. Important points: Assam accounted for the highest number of elephant casualties on railway tracks (62), followed by West Bengal (57), and Odisha (27). Uttar Pradesh saw a single death. Measures Taken: A Permanent Coordination Committee has …

The Union Cabinet has approved a Rs. 18,100-crore, to reduce imports. The scheme is called the National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell Battery Storage (NPACC). It is under the Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises. Important points: It aims to give companies incentives on incremental sales from products manufactured in domestic units. It invites …

As per a latest report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), India continues to label itself as a country with no Community Transmission (CT) since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic Countries such as the United States, Brazil, United Kingdom, France have all labelled themselves as being in the ‘community transmission’ stage whereas Italy and Russia do not label themselves as being …

Recently, the Minister of State for Culture discussed various issues under the Cultural Exchange Programme with his Mongolian counterpart. Important points: Strengthening the strategic partnership- established in 2015. The Cultural Exchange Program between India and Mongolia stands renewed until 2023. 10 dedicated ICCR scholarships for studying ‘Tibetan Buddhism’ have been allocated for Mongolians to study in specialized institutes of …

The Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has decided to issue Sovereign Gold Bonds in six tranches from May 2021 to September 2021. Important points: The Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) scheme was launched in November 2015 with an objective to reduce the demand for physical gold and shift …

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has provided an enhanced allocation of Rs. 2250 Crore for the year 2021-22 for ‘Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture’ (MIDH). Horticulture is the branch of plant agriculture dealing with garden crops, generally fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants. M.H. Marigowda is considered the Father of Indian Horticulture. Important points: About: MIDH is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for …

Recently, some activists and organisations of Karnataka have raised the issue of increased child marriages in Lockdown with the Ministry of Women and Child Development. According to a report published in December 2020 by ChildLine India, the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have proved to be new drivers of child marriages in rural Madhya Pradesh. Important points: It is defined …

Recently, an independent global panel, the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPPR) in its report named “Covid-19: Make it the Last Pandemic concluded that the catastrophic scale of the Covid-19 pandemic could have been prevented. The report was requested by World Health Organization (WHO) member states in May 2020. Important points: A series of bad decisions meant Covid-19 …

India has S-400 TRIUMF, which also caters to the three threats (rockets, missiles and cruise missiles). But they have much longer range. It has a much larger air defence bubble to knock off threats. It is a mobile, surface-to-air missile system (SAM) designed by Russia. The system can engage all types of aerial targets within the range of …