Q. Why is this in News? A. China is constructing a new dam on the Mabja Zangbo river in Tibet, close to the tri-junction of India, Nepal and Tibet, raising concerns since China has ramped up creation of military and dual use infrastructure and in the eastern and western sectors of the LAC (Line of Actual Control). Q. What is the Background? A. The development comes in the wake of China unveiling plans in 2021 to build a massive dam on the lower reaches of Yarlung Zangbo to generate up to 70 GW of ... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News? A. The United States (US) shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted over US airspace for a couple of days. Q. What is a Surveillance Balloon? A. About: These cheap, quiet and hard-to-reach balloons have been used for reconnaissance purposes, including in conflicts like the American Civil War. The practice became widespread during World War I and was used extensively during the Cold... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News? A. Recently, India, France, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed to form a partnership to work together in the fields of nuclear and solar energy, as well as in tackling climate change and preserving biodiversity. The idea of this partnership was first discussed at a meeting in New York during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2022. Q. What Are the Major Highlights of the Trilateral Initiative? A. Read More...
Q. Why in News? A. Recently, the World Economic Forum (WEF) has released the 18th Edition of Global Risks Report 2023 which seeks that the world be prepared for ‘Natural disasters and extreme weather events’ in the next two years. The WEF report has been released ahead of its flagship Davos 2023 Meeting, which is titled as Cooperation in a Fragmented World. Q. What are the Findings of the Report? A. Most Severe Risks: ... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? A. Recently, some Environmental Activists have raised concerns over the 10,000-acre Aravali safari park Project proposed in Haryana. What are the Key Points of Safari Park? This project will be the largest such project in the world. Currently the largest curated safari park outside Africa is in Sharjah, which opened in February 2022, with an area of about two thousand acres. It aims to boost tourism and employment opportunities for the local people. ... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News? A. As part of India’s G20 presidency, Gujarat will host the first Tourism Working Group (TWG) meeting in the state’s Rann of Kutch from 7 to 9 February 2023. Rural and Archaeological tourism will be the focus area of Tourism. Also, Dholavira, which is a UNESCO World heritage site, will be the second spot for foreign delegates. Q. How is the G20 Emphasizing Interventions in the Tourism Sector? Read More...
Q What is the context ? A By 2047, India will complete 100 years after Independence. By that time, India strives to achieve the status of a developed economy, which means achieving a minimum per capita income equivalent to $13,000. Q What was Economic growth during the British period ? A Poor state of economy: It is not realized often that India’s economic progress in the first half of the 20th century under British rule was dismal. According to one estimate, during the five decades, India’s annual... Read More...
Q What is the context ? A China’s top development aid agency convened the first “China-Indian Ocean Region Forum” in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming. Q What is the China Indian Ocean Region Forum? A It is organised by the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA). It is the latest Chinese initiative focusing on the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). It underlines Beijing’s growing strategic interests in a region where its economic footprint has been deepening. Q What i... Read More...
Q What is the context ? A Crimes against tourists and other foreign nationals appear to be on the rise in India. Consider several recent cases, and the lessons they suggest. Q Which are the recent cases of crime against tourists ? A A case of rape and murder in Kerala: A few days ago, a Kerala session court sentenced two men to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of a Latvian tourist in 2018. A case of a rape of a girl child in Goa: A 12-year-old Russian girl was raped in... Read More...
Q Why is it in News ? A The ties between India and the UK are often described as a Living Bridge, a dynamic economic force of people, businesses and ideas. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi drives forward plans to make India a developed nation within the next 25 years and the UK forges deeper trade relationships around the globe, our connections are growing stronger every day. Q How India-UK trade relationship taking shape in recent time? A Enhanced trade relationship: India and the UK are two of the largest economies... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? A. India’s decision not to vote against a proposal to re-open the international trade in ivory at the ongoing conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Q. What is CITES? A. CITES stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It is as an international agreement aimed at ensuring “that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival”. It was drafted afte... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News? A. A few political parties are promising to restore to the Old Pension Scheme in some states. Q. What is the Old Pension Scheme? A. About: The scheme assures life-long income, post-retirement. Under the old scheme, employees get a pension under a pre-determined formula which is equivalent to 50% of the last drawn salary. They also get the benefit of the revision of Dearness Relief (DR), twice a year. The payout is fixed and th... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News? A. Recently, reorganization of 22 Standing Committees took place. Q .What are Committees of Parliament? A. About: A Parliamentary Committee is a panel of MPs that is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker/Chairman. The committee works under the direction of the Speaker/chairman and it presents its report to the House or to the Speaker/chairman. Parliamentary Committees have their origins in the British Parliament.... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news ? A. In a first, BSNL launches world’s largest NB-IoT to provide connectivity for millions of unconnected machines, sensors and industrial IoT devices across the country. Q. What is NB-IoT? A. NB-IoT is a Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) technology that works virtually anywhere. It will connect many more devices to the Internet of Things and make many new applications a reality. It is optimized for applications that need to communicate small amounts of data over long periods of time. Since it operates in licensed s... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News? A. According to recent findings, Andhra Pradesh has the largest anthropomorphic burial site collection in Tirupati district. Anthropomorphic sites are those marked by a representation of human form above the megalithic burials. Q. What are Megaliths? A. A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megaliths were constructed either as burial site... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News? A. Recently, Norway’s Ambassador to India has reported that the bilateral trade between India and Norway has doubled to $2 billion in the last two years. Q. What are the Upcoming Areas of Cooperation in India Norway Relations? A. Norway would invest $1 billion from its climate investment fund in five years worldwide, how much of the funds would be invested in India would depend on the projects. Norway is working with the Read More...
Q. Why is this in News? A. Minister of Railways has launched Indian Railway Innovation Policy- “StartUps for Railways”. Q. What are the Key Highlights of the Policy? A. About: Grant up to Rs. 1.5 Crore to innovators on equal sharing basis with provision of milestone-wise payment. The complete process from floating of problem statement to development of prototype is online with defined time line to make it transparent and objective. Trials of prototypes will b... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? A. The Union Home Minister has inaugurated the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS). Q. What is NAFIS? A. NAFIS is developed by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) at the Central Fingerprint Bureau (CFPB) in New Delhi. The project is a country-wide searchable database of crime- and criminal-related fingerprints. The web-based application functions as a central information repository by consolidating fingerprint data from all states and Union Territories. In April this year, Madhya Prades... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News? A. Recently, the Ministry of Education informed Lok Sabha that, during 2021-22, more than 3 Lakh women were trained under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) scheme. Q. What is PMKVY? A. Background: Skill India Mission was launched by the government in 2015 under which the flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is run. It aims to train over 40 crore people in India in different skills by 2022. ... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News? A. Recently, Microsoft has partnered with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), and Capacity Building Commission (CBC) to empower India’s civil servants with future-ready skills. The partnership under the project ‘Capacity Building by MSDE in Microsoft Digital Productivity Skills’aims to enhance the functional computer literacy of nearly 2.5 million civil servants of Government of India (GoI). This project is in line with the Mission Karmayogi. Q. What is Digital Li... Read More...