Q. Why is this in News?A. The Ministry of Electronics and IT’s (MeitY) BHASHINI is working on a ChatGPT-Powered WhatsApp Chatbot to help Indian farmers learn about various government schemes.BHASHINI (BHASHa INterface for India) is India’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) led language translation platform.The launch of the WhatsApp chatbot may take time as ChatGPT currently relies on input in English, and the support for local languages is limited.Q. What are the Intended Features? Read More...
Q. Why is this in News?A. The Centre approved a plan for setting up 2 lakh Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), dairy, and fisheries cooperatives in the country in the next five years to strengthen the cooperative movement.Earlier, the Union Budget 2023 announced Rs 2,516 crore for computerisation of 63,000 PACS over the next five years, with the aim of bringing greater transparency and accountability.Q. What are the Key Points of the Plan?A. Aim: Read More...
Q. Why is this in News?A. Recently, the Ministry of Mines has notified Draft Geo-heritage Sites and Geo-relics (Preservation and Maintenance) Bill, 2022.The Bill is aimed at providing for the declaration, preservation, protection and maintenance of geo-heritage sites and geo-relics of national importance, for geological studies, education, research and awareness purposes.The GSI has declared 32 geo-heritage sites, including the Siwalik Fossil Park, Himachal Pradesh; Stromatolite Fossil Park, Jharmarkotra Rock ... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News?A. Recently, physicists working with the Kamioka Liquid Scintillator Antineutrino Detector (KamLAND) in Japan reported that after analysing two years’ data, they could not find signs that neutrinos could be their own anti-particles.Q. What was the Experiment?A. KamLAND looks for an event called neutrinoless double beta-decay.In normal double beta-decay, two neutrons in an atom turn into two protons by emitting two electrons and two electron antin... Read More...
Q What is the context ?A Union Minister of Earth Sciences has launched India’s First Manned Ocean Mission Samudrayan at Chennai.Q What is Mission Samudrayan ?A The Samudrayan project has been undertaken by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT).It will be a part of the Rs 6,000 crore Deep Ocean Mission.It is designed to carry 3 persons in 2.1meter diameter Titanium Alloy Personnel Sphere with an operational endurance of 12hrs and systems to support emergency endurance up to 96hrs.It could work at a depth between 1000 and 5500 meters. Read More...
Q What is Manual Scavenging?A Manual scavenging is the practice of removing human excreta by hand from sewers or septic tanks.India banned the practice under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR).The Act bans the use of any individual for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta till its disposal.In 2013, the definition of manual scavengers was also broadened to include people employed to clean septic tanks, ditches, or railway tracks.The Act recognizes manual scavenging as a... Read More...
Q Why is it in News ?A The Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has even in past and now proposed certain changes to some provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985.The recommendations have assumed importance in the backdrop of some high-profile drug cases including the recent arrest of Bollywood actor’s son.Key amendments suggestedTo decriminalise the possession of narcotic drugs in smaller quantities for personal purposes.Persons using drugs in smaller quantities be treated as victims.... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News?A. Recently, India ranks 42nd among 55 leading global economies on the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index 2023 released by the U.S. Chambers of Commerce, according to which India is ripe to become a leader for emerging markets seeking to transform their economy through IP-driven innovation.US topped the International IP Index followed by United Kingdom and France.Q. What is International IP Index?A. The Index evaluates the Read More...
Q. Why is this in News?A. Recently, Seattle became the first U.S. city to ban caste-based discrimination. It included caste as a class to be protected against discrimination, alongside race, gender, and religion.It has been hailed by anti-caste movement activists as a historic win.Q. What is the Status of Social Discrimination in India?A. About:Caste, through its rigid social control and networks facilitates economic mobility for some and erects barriers for o... Read More...
Q Why is it in News ? A The Union Government approved the continuation of more than 1000 Fast Track Special Court (FTSCs) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for two years (April 2021-March 2023).It includes 389 exclusive POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Courts.The Central share will be provided from the Nirbhaya Fund.Q What is background of this News ? A Fast track courts (FTCs) were first recommended by the Eleventh Finance Commission in 2000 "to substantially bring down, if ... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News?A. The Supreme Court has sought more information from the government about Mission Shakti, an umbrella scheme for the safety, security, and empowerment of women.This comes after concerns were raised about a possible shortage of protection officers to handle domestic violence cases.Q. What are the Raised Concerns Regarding Domestic Violence?A. According to a government document presented in court, 4.4 lakh cases of domestic assault are pending across 801 districts. Read More...
Q Why is it in News ?A India lost more than 95% of its vulture population through the 1990s and by the mid-2000s. Today, the country requires urgent conservation efforts to save vultures from becoming extinct.Q What are some details about vultures ?A Vultures belong to the Accipitridae family whose members include eagles, hawks and kites.They are relatively social birds with an average lifespan of 10-30 years in the wild.Vultures are slow breeders and so the survival of every individual is very crucial.Generally, vultures rely on other carnivores to ope... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News?A. Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted the flight acceptance hot test of the CE-20 cryogenic engine that will power the cryogenic upper stage of the launch vehicle for the Chandrayaan-3 mission.The test was successfully conducted at the ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu.Q. What are the Highlights of the Test?A. The hot test was carried out for a planned duration at t... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News?A. Recently, researchers studied a supernova explosion that occurred over 450 years ago using NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE).The explosion, called Tycho, was visible to people on Earth in 1572, and the shock wave from the blast is still propagating through the cosmos.Q. What is Tycho?A. Tycho is classified as a Type Ia supernova, which occurs when a white dwarf star shr... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News?A. Researchers at India’s National Centre for Biological Sciences, in collaboration with nine other institutions in India, Africa, and the US, have developed India’s first and only DNA vaccine candidate for dengue fever.In preliminary trials on mice, the candidate generated a robust immune response and improved survival rates after exposure to the disease.Q. What is DNA Vaccine?A. A DNA vaccine is a type of vaccine that uses a small piece of DNA Read More...
Q. Why is this in news?A. The government told the Supreme Court that paying all dues to 1.6 million army pensioners under the OROP scheme in one go may not be in the nation’s larger interest as it could disrupt allocations for other public purposes.Q. What is OROP Policy?A. OROP means the same pension, for the same rank, for the same length of service, irrespective of the date of retirement.The concept was provoked by the then decision by Indira Gandhi-led government, in 1973, two years after the historic victory in the 1971 Bangladesh war.Q. ... Read More...
Q Why is it in News ?A The European Parliament and European Union (EU) Member States announced that they had reached a political agreement on the Digital Services Act (DSA), 2022.It is a landmark legislation to force big Internet companies to act against disinformation and illegal and harmful content, and to “provide better protection for Internet users and their fundamental rights”.The proposed Act seeks to end the era of self-regulation by tech companies and give ‘practical effect to the principle that what is illegal offline, should be illegal online’.In India, a ... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News?A. Researchers propose a new model to tap into helium reserves to address shortage issues and a recent new study suggests that reservoirs of this gas, with no carbon footprint, likely exist in geological formations beneath the Earth.The helium production process comes with a high carbon footprint as its production is related to drilled natural gas or oil.Q. What is the Proposed Model to Tap Helium Reserve?A. The gas can be pr... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News?A. Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs suspended the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of the Centre for Policy Research (CPR).CPR (not-for-profit society), along with Oxfam India and the Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation (IPSMF), was surveyed by the Income Tax department earlier.Q. What is the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act?A. About:FCRA was enacted during the Emergency in 197... Read More...