What is India's status in tuberculosis (TB)?India has the highest number of TB cases in the world. In India, an estimated 2.8 million patients were suffering from the disease in 2016, while 425,000 patients were estimated to have died during the year.Any targets for TB eradication?GOI aims to eradicate TB in India by 2025.What is the TB vaccine trial that is going on and on whom?The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has s... Read More...
What is the Mekedatu issue?Mekedatu, meaning goat’s leap, is a deep gorge situated at the confluence of the rivers Cauvery and Arkavathi, about 100 km from Bengaluru, at the Kanakapura taluk in Karnataka’s Ramanagara district. Karnataka intends to build a reservoir across river Cauvery near Mekedatu in Kanakapura taluk.Why is Karnataka embarking on it?It is to use the water for a hydro power station and supply drinking water to Bengaluru city and Ramanagara district.What are the... Read More...
United Nations agency, the World Intellectual Property Organization, has developed the Global Innovation Index (GII) together with top business universities: France’s INSEAD and Cornell University, US. The Confederation of Indian Industry has been a long-standing GII Knowledge Partner.The GII measures the innovative capacity and outputs of 129 economies, using 80 indicators ranging from standard measurements such as research and development investments and patent and trademark filings, to mobile-phone app creation and high-tech net exports.This year, India hosted the launch of the 2019 edit... Read More...
The Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) is an initiative by six countries – India and five ASEAN countries, namely, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam for cooperation in many areas. It was launched in 2000 at Vientiane, Lao PDR. Both the Ganga and the Mekong are civilizational rivers, and the MGC initiative aims to facilitate closer contacts among the people inhabiting these two major river basins. The MGC is also indicative of the cultural and commercial linkages among the member countries of the MGC down the centuries. The new MGC Plan of Action 2019-2022 envisages project-based cooperation in the sev... Read More...
What was the Mussoorie Resolution?Conclave of the Himalayan States held in Mussoorie recently passed the Mussoorie Resolution. What are the contents?The Mussoorie Resolution signed by the Himalayan States saw them pledging to make endeavours to protect and conserve the rich Himalayan heritage and ethos for the prosperity and well-being of the nation; cherish and nurture the wealth of biodiversity- the glaciers, rivers, lakes, forests and wildlife; preserve the vibrant folk arts and crafts, the culture and folklore to pa... Read More...
Why the Mission?India will launch 5 years ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ by October 2019 to enter hitherto untapped 75,000 sq km of area in international waters to tap vast marine resources. It will help India harness various living and non-living (water, mineral and energy) resources from the seabed and deep water. Focussing on blue economy in terms of sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth is crucial for country’s overall economic growth.What are the components of the Mission?Underwater robotics and ‘man... Read More...
The government of India has decided to prepare a National Population Register (NPR) by September 2020 to lay the foundation for a citizens' register across the country.What is the NPR?The NPR will be a list of the usual residents of the country. Who is a usual resident under it?For the purpose of the list, a usual resident is defined as a person who has lived in one place for the past six months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next six months or... Read More...
The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2018-19 in the Parliament today. The Key Highlights of Economic Survey 2018-19 are as follows: Shifting gears: Private Investment as the Key Driver of Growth, Jobs, Exports and Demand Survey states that pathways for trickle-down opened up during the last five years; and benefits of growth and macroeconomic stability reached the bottom of the pyramid. Sustained real GDP growth rate of 8% needed for a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25. “Virtuous Cycle” of savings, investment and exports catalyzed... Read More...
What is it? The middle income trap is an economic development condition, in which a country that attains a certain income (due to given demographic, technological and resource advantages) is unable to move higher. The World Bank defines as the 'middle-income range' countries with gross national product per capita that has remained between $1,000 to $12,000 at constant (2011) prices. Why does it happen? Read More...
What did the RBI change in its bimonthly credit policy review in June 2019?It reduced the repo rate to 5.75% from 6%- that is by 25 basis points. Why?1. To spur economic activity, which decelerated sharply in the January-March quarter of 2019, the Reserve Bank India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) unanimously decided to cut the policy repo rate by 25 basis points and change the monetary po... Read More...
What is it?The Trump peace plan, also known as the deal of the century, is an American peace proposal intended to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The plan was authored by a team led by Senior Advisor to the President of the United States Jared Kushner. What are its two parts?The plan is divided into two parts, an economic portion and a political portion. In June, 2019, the Trump ad... Read More...
What is it?RIC Forum (Russia, India, China) is a group of countries that is evolving together in global politics who also have official summits.When and why did it begin?RIC as a strategic grouping first took shape in the late 1990s under the leadership of Yevgeny Primakov as “a counterbalance to the Western alliance.” Read More...
What is nuclear fusion?Without fusion, there would be no life on Earth. What we see as light and feel as warmth is the result of a fusion reaction in the core of our Sun: hydrogen nuclei collide, fuse into heavier helium atoms and release tremendous amounts of energy in the process. In the extreme density and temperature of the stars, including our Sun, fusion occurs. Fusion is the process that powers the sun and the stars: when light atomic nuclei fuse together to form heavier ones, a large amount of energy is released. Where does it take place naturally? Read More...
When did man set foot on moon?It was 50 years ago in 1969 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the Moon.What is Chandrayaan-2 about?Chandrayaan-2 (Moon Mission) is attempting to soft land on the Southern Polar region of the lunar surface, where no nation has dared to go so far. Is the gl... Read More...
What is NSM? National Supercomputing Mission is an important initiative by Government of India to boost indigenous efforts to be in the forefront of supercomputing capability for socio-economic development of the nation. The mission jointly steered by Ministry of Electronics and IT and Department of Science & Technology, is being implemented through two leading organizations – Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore with an objective to meet the increasing computing deman... Read More...
What is graphene?Graphene is a form of carbon consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice.Graphite, the most common form of carbon, is basically a stack of graphene layers held together with weak bonds. Fullerenes and carbon nanotubes, two other forms of carbon, have structures similar to that of graphene; which can also be viewed as a fullerene or nanotube of infinitely large size. Read More...
What did Arvind Subramanian say?A new study by former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian says the economic expansion was overestimated between 2011 and 2017. Rather than growing at about 7% a year in that period, growth was about 4.5%, according to the research paper, published by the Center for International Development at Harvard University.The overestimation occurred after the government changed the methodology in calculating gross domestic product in 2... Read More...
What is NSO?MOSPI, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation merged the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) into National Statistical Office (NSO) in a major restructuring move in order to bring in more synergy by integrating its administrative functions within the ministry. It is to be headed by the Chief Statistician of India (CSI). According to the order, Statistical Wing, comprising the NSO with constituents as the CSO and the NSSO, to be an integral part of the ma... Read More...
Governing Council of NITI AayogWhat is its composition?The Governing Council of NITI Aayog comprises the Prime Minister of India, Chief Ministers of all the States and Union Territories with Legislatures and Lt. Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and four Union Ministers as ex-officio members and three Union Ministers as Special Invitees. What is its role? Read More...