Q. Why is this in news?A. In the backdrop of frequent elections and related administrative as well as financial burden over India on elections it has been frequently suggested that India should adopt the presidential form of government instead of the parliamentary style of democracy, inherited from the British.Q. What is Parliamentary System of Government?The Constitution of India provides for a parliamentary form of government, both at the Cent... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?For the first time in the world, researchers at the GRAPES-3 muon telescope facility in Ooty (short for Udhagamandalam) Tamil Nadu have measured the electrical potential, size and height of a thundercloud that passed overhead on December 1, 2014. At 1.3 gigavolts (GV), this cloud had 10 times higher potential than the previous record in a cloud. Q. What is GRAPES-3 Experiment?GRAPES-3 (Ga... Read More...
Main Examination Pattern Instructions Answer all FIVE of the following questions. Each answer should be within 250 words. It takes 9-10 minutes to write each answer. Q1. What are the distinct aspects of Amaravati school of art? Discuss its importance. Ans.: The Amravathi school of art flourished in Deccan durin... Read More...
Que.: The status of women in a society is intimately linked to the demographic dynamics. Comment in the context of India. Key points about status of women and demographic dynamics. 1. Child marriages and the reproductive span is more Read More...
Q. Why is it in News? A. In the last week, India’s online pharmacy market saw two significant merger and acquisition deals. This has suddenly caused activity in a sector from which large investors have shied away due to lack of proper regulations.Q. How is the pharmacy market in India currently shaped?India is a fragmented market with over 8 lakh pharmacies.This gives online pharmacies an opportunity to capture their space without opposing large traditional re... Read More...
Q. Why is it in News? A. The Prime Minister, during his address to the nation on the 74th Independence Day, announced that the central government has set up a committee to reconsider the minimum age of marriage for women, which is currently 18.Q. What are various issues which committee will look into? On 2nd June 2020, the Union Ministry for Women and Child Development set up a committee to examine matters pertaining to age of motherhood, imperatives of lowering Maternal Mortality Ratio and th... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?A. Recently, Chhattisgarh government filed a petition against NIA Act saying that the Act “ultra vires the Constitution” and “beyond the legislative competence of the Parliament.Q. What is NIA Act?The law governs the functioning of India’s premier counter-terror agency. It was passed in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks.It makes the National Investigation Agency the only truly federal agency in the country, along the lines ... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?A. Recently US drug regulator FDA has issued emergency-use authorisation to Yale School of Public Health’s diagnostic kit, called SalivaDirect.Q. How useful are saliva tests for Covid-19?A. A saliva test is reported to be prone to less error than has been reported in nasal swab collection, which sometimes give false negatives.Q. What is a saliva test for Covid-19? Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?A. For the second time in a week, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) had to reduce water production capacity by 25 per cent after high levels of ammonia were detected in the Yamuna river.Q. What is Ammonia and what are its effects?Ammonia is a colourless gas and is used as an industrial chemical in the production of fertilizers, plastics, synthetic fibres, dyes and other products.Ammonia occurs naturally in the environment from the breakdown o... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?Recently, scientists from Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune have found the first synthetic route for producing flavonoids molecules related to the treatment of tuberculosis and chikungunya.ARI is an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.It is for the first time that scientists have been able to synthesize the flavonoid molecules such as&nb... Read More...
Q. Why in News ? A. The United States was further isolated over its bid to reimpose international sanctions on Iran with 13 countries on the 15-member U.N. Security Council expressing their opposition, arguing that United State's move is void given it is using a process agreed under a nuclear deal that it quit two years ago.Q. What is the Iran Nuclear deal?• Iran agreed to rein in its nuclear programme in a 2015 deal struck with the US, UK, Russia, China, France and Germany.• Under the ... Read More...
Q. What are Immunity Passports?They are the recovery or release certificate or a document attesting that its bearer is immune to a contagious disease.The concept has drawn much attention during the COVID-19 pandemic as a potential way to contain the pandemic and permit faster economic recovery.The can be used as a legal document granted by a testing authority following a serology test demonstrating that the bearer has antibodies making them immune to a disease.Q. What is the ongoing d... Read More...
Q. What is this news?A. In an effort to give a push to digital payments across the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is setting up a Payment Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) of Rs 500 crore.Q. What is the objective of the fund?A. This fund has been created to encourage acquirers to deploy point of sale (PoS) infrastructure, both physical and digital, in tier-3 to tier-6 centres and north eastern states. Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?A. The Defence Ministry recently announced a list of 101 items that it will stop importing.Q. What is Negative Imports List?A. The negative list essentially means that the Armed Forces—Army, Navy and Air Force—will only procure all of these 101 items from domestic manufacturers.The manufacturers could be private sector players or Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs).Q. Why such a de... Read More...
Que. Why do we use soap in the defence against germs? Ans.: Germs, or microbes, are everywhere. In the air, soil, water and on every surface, including our body. Most microbes are harmless and some are important for human health, like the ones that live in our gut. But there are several germs that cause problems, and these are the ones we prefer not to have on or in our bodies. Our first line of defense against those harmful germs is soap. Read More...
Q. What is this report?A. The report was released on the occasion of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and an international anti-slavery organisation Walk Free.Q. What are the highlights of the report?The report assessed the progress made by Commonwealth countries on the promises made in 2018 to end modern slavery by 2030 and achieve the SDGs of ending forced labour, human trafficking and child labour.The repo... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?A. Opposing the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal project and staking claim to Yamuna’s waters, Punjab Chief Minister warned about the repercussions. He has warned the Centre of political unrest in the state if asked to proceed with the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal project.Q. What is the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal issue?At the time of reorganization of Punjab in 1966, the issue of sharing of river waters between both the states emerged.Punjab refused to share waters of Ravi and Beas with Haryana stating it was agai... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?A. Vice President of India recently expressed concern over growing pendency of cases at all level of Judiciary and urges government and judiciary to ensure faster and affordable justice.Q. What is current status of pending cases in Indian Judiciary?According to the Economic Survey 2018-19 there are about 3.5 crore cases pending in the judicial system, especially in district and subordinate courts.About 87.54 per cent of the total pendency of ca... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?At least 112 people have died in three districts of Punjab after consuming spurious liquor in Ludhiana. Illicit liquor deaths have been the cause of worry in recent months.Q. What is Illicit Liquor or Hooch?• Alcoholic beverages are made by fermentation of sugary and starchy substances, followed by distillation to increase alcohol concentration. The active ing... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?Former Finance Secretary and retired IAS officer Rajiv Kumar has been appointed Election Commissioner (EC).Mr. Kumar has been appointed in place of Ashok Lavasa, who has resigned to join the Asian Development of Bank.Q. What is Election Commission of India?The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India.The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice Pres... Read More...