The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has proposed a new model law, the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act, 2017. It seeks to end the monopoly of APMC mandis and promote private players through wholesale markets, direct sale and purchase of agricultural produce, single market fee, and one-time registration for trade in multiple markets. 12 states, namely Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, have agreed to implement the reforms. Read More...

Nuclear weapons trigger an explosive reaction that shears off destructive energy locked inside the bomb’s atomic materials. A thermonuclear weapon is a second-generation nuclear weapon design which is bombarded by the energy released by the detonation of a primary fission bomb within, compressing the fuel material (tritium, deuterium or lithium deuteride) and causing a fusion reaction. That fusion stage is mashing hydrogen atoms together in the same process that fuels the sun. When these relatively light atoms join together, they unleash neutrons in a wave of destructive energy. Some advanced designs use fast neutrons produced by this second stage to i... Read More...

Nutrition is an issue of survival, health and development for current and succeeding generations. Child born underweight have impaired immune function and increased risk of diseases such as diabetes and heart diseases in their later life. Malnourished children tend to have lower IQ and impaired cognitive ability, thus affecting their school performance and then productivity in their later life. Nutritional health of all age groups represents our National Economic Asset. Improving the nutritional status of the population is imperative for National Development. Under nutrition in young children is a major public health problem in India. The NFHS... Read More...

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana  (PMMVY) is a Maternity Benefit Programme that is implemented in all the districts of the country in accordance with the provision of the National Food Security Act, 2013. Objectives of the programme include providing partial compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the woman can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the first living child. The cash incentive provided would lead to improved health seeking behaviour amongst the Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers (PW&LM). Target beneficiaries of the programme include all Pregnant Women and Lactating... Read More...

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under the Ministry of Science and Technology has convened the Smart Agriculture Conclave. The objective of this conclave is to set “FarmerZone” - a collective open-source data platform for smart agriculture which will use biological research and data to improve the lives of small and marginal farmers. It is envisaged that “FarmerZone” will help cater to all needs of the farmer, from dealing with climate change, weather predictions and soil, water, and seed requirements to providing market intelligence. The conclave has identified the challenges faced in each agro-climatic region, i... Read More...

‘YUVA’ is an initiative by Delhi Police, it aims to connect with youth by upgrading their skill as per their competencies. It will help them to get a gainful employment under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna under the Ministry of Skill Development. Delhi Police has tied up with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for providing mass job linked skill training for the selected youth. National Skill Development Corporation shall be providing skill training to the youth under ‘Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna’ (PMKVY) and CII will provide job linked training through it... Read More...

The Ministry of Defence had constituted a Committee of Experts under the Chairmanship of Lt Gen (Retd) (Dr.) DB Shekatkar with a mandate to recommend measures for enhancing of Combat Capability & Rebalancing Defence Expenditure of the Armed Forces with an aim to increase "teeth to tail  ratio". The Committee of experts had submitted its report to the Ministry in December, 2016. The report was considered by the Ministry of Defence and 99 recommendations were sent to the Armed Forces for making an implementation plan. It is the first ever exercise after Independence. It was done by the Ministry of Defence in consultation with ... Read More...

NITI Aayog has relesed the Ease of Doing Business report based on an Enterprise Survey of 3,500 manufacturing firms across Indian states and union territories. The survey was conducted to assess the business regulations and enabling environment across India from firms’ perspective. The major findings of this report are as follows: Economic Performance and Reforms: higher level of economic activity and better performance on a range of doing business indicators are strongly correlated. Enterprises in high-growth states do not report major or very severe obstacles in: land/ construction re&sh... Read More...

Mosses are small flowerless plants that typically grow in dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. The individual plants are usually composed of simple leaves that are generally only one cell thick, attached to a stem that may be branched or unbranched and has only a limited role in conducting water and nutrients. Bryophytes is a collective term for mosses, hornworts and liverworts. According to a new research, mosses can be used to measure the impact of atmospheric change and could prove a low-cost way to monitor urban pollution. Mosses which generally... Read More...

It is a strategic nation building initiative to engage leaders who can guide and mentor students at more than 900 Atal Tinkering Labs. These labs are established across the country as a part of the Atal Innovation Mission. The campaign will be launched by the NITI Aayog. These labs are non-prescriptive by nature, and mentors are expected to be enablers rather than instructors. Atal Tinkering Labs are dedicated works spaces where students from Class 6th to Class 12th learn innovation skills and develop ideas that will go on to transform India. The labs are powered to acquain... Read More...

The main objective of the National Health Policy 2017 is to achieve the highest possible level of good health and well-being, through a preventive and promotive health care orientation in all developmental policies, and to achieve universal access to good quality health care services without anyone having to face financial hardship as a consequence. Primary aim: The primary aim of the National Health Policy, 2017, is to inform, clarify, strengthen and prioritize the role of the Government in shaping health systems in all its dimensions- investment in health, organization and financing of healt... Read More...

About Value Capture Financing (VCF) Value capture is a type of public financing that recovers some or all of the value that public infrastructure generates for private landowners. It seeks to enable States and city governments raise resources by tapping a share of increase in value of land and other properties like buildings resulting from public investments and policy initiatives, in the identified a... Read More...

The human body is estimated to have about 35 trillion cells, and about two to three times as many microbial organisms. Most of them live in the gastrointestinal tract, which is home to around 3,000-4,000 species of bacteria, not including viruses and other life forms. Some are harmful and many are not. Building on a growing, global scientific interest in the human microbiome — the colony of bacteria and microscopic forms that live in the gut, skin and other organs of the body — the CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh (IMTech), is working on a programme to tap its vast collection of microbial samples and develop thera... Read More...

Investments into drip irrigation systems, while sizeable, appear to pay off quickly as farmers realise a sharp increase in yields, alongside more efficient water use. Drip irrigation is sometimes called trickle irrigation and involves dripping water onto the soil at very low rates (2-20 litres/hour) from a system of small diameter plastic pipes fitted with outlets called emitters or drippers. Water is applied close to plants so that only part of the soil in which the roots grow is wetted, unlike surface and sprinkler irrigation, which involves wetting the whole soil profile. With drip irrigation water, applications are more frequent (usually... Read More...

Mukaish Badla Embroidery One of the most beautiful embellishment and ornamentation art- THE MUKAISH BADLA finds its origin in Lucknow. Mukaish, an almost dying craft of Lucknow, is age-old embroidery where thin strips of metallic wire are inserted into the fabric and then twisted to create metallic embroidery. Initially real silver and gold was used to make threads for the embroidery, but now real raw material is not used. Craftsmen have different ways of polishing the thread to make it appear brighter. Over time, Chikankari travelled far and wide but Mukaish remained in Lucknow’s narrow lanes. The karigars of this craf... Read More...

ISRO has developed a high energy lithium ion battery that will be used in space crafts. Now ISRO is all ready for a technology transfer of this innovation to the automobile industry for the manufacture of solar hybrid electric cars. How does it work? ISRO has developed this high energy lithium battery for a solar panel. This panel will also control the electronics of the vehicle and will ensure a steady power to provide a smooth ride. The hurdle that is being faced by ISRO is how to reduce t... Read More...

Hindi can be first among equals when it comes to national languages, but it cannot hope to become the only one. One of the most detailed debates in the Constituent Assembly was whether Hindi should be the official language of India. B.R. Ambedkar revealed that no other issue had generated as much heat as the one on the official language of the new republic. Hindi was accepted by a slim margin of one vote. It was supposed to replace English in 1965 as the language of government. The status quo was maintained after violent agitations in several states of peninsular India. Lingua Franca Read More...

What is a Geographical Indication? A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place. In addition, the qualities, characteristics or reputation of the product should be essentially due to the place of origin. It is used to identify agricultural, natural or manufactured goods. Since the qualities depend on the geographical place of production, there is a clear link between the product and its original place of production. Read More...

The N.K. Singh panel to review India’s fiscal discipline rules has recommended: Debt-to-GDP ratio of 38.7% for the central government, 20% for the state governments together by financial year 2022-23 Fiscal deficit of 2.5% of GDP (gross domestic product) by financial year 2022-23 Enacting a new Debt and Fiscal Responsibility Act after repealing the existing Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act Creating a fiscal council In 2016-17 debt-to-GDP ratio for the central government was 49.4% fiscal deficit at 3.5% of GDP The government is hoping to e... Read More...

Act passed in Lok Sabha The Motor Vehicles (Amendments) Act 2016 was passed in the Lok Sabha on April 10. Context The commitment to reduce road traffic deaths by 50% is certainly a laudable objective. In fact, road traffic accidents have been recognised as a serious problem at the national level and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has been issuing policy statements and announcing programmes to address the rapidly growing safety problem since the revision of the Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) in 1988. Read More...