Discuss the status of tuberculosis deaths globally as well as in India and mention Government’s efforts to control tuberculosis (TB). What are the other related risks associated? TB affects an estimated 10 million people globally every year, of which around 3.2 million are women. An estimated 1.6 million people die of TB every year, of whom 0.84 million are men and 0.5 million are women. An estimated 3.6 million people with TB are not reported to health systems across the world. India has the highest annual inc... Read More...
Despite being the world's fourth-largest producer, India is the second-largest importer of the dry-fuel. Therefore, in line with the vision to build an ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’, a slew of reforms to promote commercial mining of coal in India, has been announced. Q. What are some of reforms recently announced In Coal Sector? Commercial mining of coal is allowed, with 50 blocks to be offered to the private sector. Entry norms will be liberalised as it has done away with the regulation requiring power p... Read More...
What is logistics? Logistics is management of flow of goods from origin to destination to meet customer requirements in minimum time at minimum cost. Logistics is used more broadly to refer to the process of coordinating and moving resources – people, materials, inventory, and equipment – from one location to storage at the desired destination. The term logistics originated in the military, referring to the movement of equipment and supplies to troops in the field. Logistics include packaging, warehousing, transport and ... Read More...
What is this news? Union Minister Harsh Vardhan recently inaugurated the Next Generation Sequencing (NSG) facility at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad. What is use of NSG? The facility includes technology for high genome sequencing and also diagnostic sequencing of clinical samples. The state of art machine can sequence 18,000 samples in 8 minutes. The NSG would help prenatal genetic screening and counselling, thereby generating large scale genomic data critical for diagnosis and therapy. NSG facility would help in finding drugs for rare gene... Read More...
What is a chit fund? Chit fund is defined as per the Section 2(b) of the Chit Fund Act, 1982. According to this act; A chit fund is a type of rotating savings and agreement among different persons i.e. friends, relatives, neighbors and family members to subscribe a certain sum of money for a specified period of time. Chit funds are often microfinance organizations. Chit Funds are also known as the Chitty, Kuree, chit. In simple terms, a chit fund is an arrangement that a group of people arrive at to contribute money in a defined manner at periodic intervals into a ... Read More...
What is IREDA? Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) is a Mini Ratna (Category – I) Government of India Enterprise under the administrative control of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). IREDA is a Public Limited Government Company established as a Non-Banking Financial Institution in 1987 engaged in promoting, developing and extending financial assistance for setting up projects relating to new and renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency/conservation w... Read More...
Q. What are some of the features of this act? A. The act recognise and vest the forest rights and occupation in Forest land to forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD) who have been residing in such forests for generations. The act also establishes the responsibilities and authority for sustainable use, conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of ecological balance of FDST and OTFD. It strengthens the conservation r... Read More...
What are FASTags? FASTags are prepaid rechargeable tags for toll collection that allow automatic payment deduction from the FASTag, they are normally affixed on the windscreen of your vehicle. With the help of a FASTag, you will not have to stop your vehicle at toll plazas to pay the toll. As soon as the vehicle crosses the toll plaza, the toll fee will get deducted from the bank account/prepaid wallet linked to the FASTag affixed on the vehicle's windscreen. An activated FASTag works on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. Moreover, these FASTags do not have any expiry date, that is, they ... Read More...
Discuss the Draft National Food Processing Policy released for public feedback. The Ministry of Food Processing Industries released the Draft National Food Processing Policy, 2019 for public comments. The draft policy aims for the development of the food processing sector and addressing the critical gaps hampering its growth. It also aims to increase the investment in the sector by six-fold by 2035. Key features of the draft policy include: Objectives: Key objectives include: (i) reducing wastage at the farmer level to increase their incom... Read More...
Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (DIKSHA) 2.0 Diksha Portal was launched in 2017 for providing digital platform to teachers giving them an opportunity to learn and train themselves and connect with teacher community. This initiative has been taken forward to enhance coverage and improve the quality of e-content for teachers. What is DIKSHA Portal? DIKSHA will serve as National Digital Infrastructure for Teachers. All teachers across nation will be equi... Read More...
Q. What is Line of Actual Control? A. The Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory. Q. How is LAC is different from the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan? A. The LoC emerged from the 1948 ceasefire line negotiated by the United Nations (UN) after the Kashmir War. It was designated as the LoC in 1972, following the Shimla Agreement between the two countries. It is delineated on a map signe... Read More...
Discuss the trend of retail inflation in the last few months across multi commodities. India's retail inflation surged to the highest in over three years in November, led by a steep rise in prices of vegetables, such as onions, and pulses. Consumer Price Index inflation jumped to 5.54 percent in November 2019 compared to 4.62 percent in October, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation on Thursday. Rural inflation stood at 5.3 percent in November 2019 as against 4.3 perc... Read More...
What is WPI? Discuss the latest data and trends. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation, base year 2011-12, rebounded to 3-months high of 0.6% in November 2019. It was falling consistently for last six straight months to 0.2% in October from 3.2% in April 2019. Among the three major sub-groups(Primary products, Manufacturing and electricity), the inflation for primary articles and fuel and power increased, while inflation for manufactured products group was steady in No... Read More...
The Union Cabinet has given its approval to the National Policy on Electronics 2019 (NPE 2019), proposed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). What does the Policy envision? The Policy envisions positioning India as a global hub for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing - (ESDM) by encouraging and driving capabilities in the country for developing core components, including chipsets, and creating an enabling environment for the industry to compete globally. The new National P... Read More...
What is this DHRUV program of government? Union HRD Ministry launched a unique initiative for talented students Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme- DHRUV, which will act as a turning point in the lives of extra ordinarily talented students. Salient Features of the DHRUV The programme is named after a pole star called DHRUV TARA. The main objective of the program is to allow students to realize their complete potential and contribute to the society. The p... Read More...
India has recently inaugurated its first dedicated underpass for Wildlife Corridor on NH 44 which passes through Kanha-Pench Corridor. There has been Proofs through camera installed that wild animals are using it. Q. How do roads impact wildlife, and why should anyone bother? A. Wild animals are vulnerable to vehicular traffic passing through forests, especially at night when, blinded by bright headlights, even swift species like cats freeze. Over time, as animals learn to avoid roads, busy multilane hig... Read More...
Why in news? The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy released the guidelines for the New National Biogas and Organic Manure Programme in May 2018. What is Natural Biogas and Manure management Programme? The Government of India had launched the National Biogas and Manure Management Programme for reducing environmental degradation and prevents the emissions of GreenHouse Gases (GHGs) such as Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Methane into the atmosphere. This is a ... Read More...
What are air shields that may protect passengers from infection on board flights? A Seattle-based company Teague has come up with a device called an air shield that can fit on to existing air vents inside an airplane cabin, thereby reducing the risk of COVID-19 spreading in flight by regulating the air flows. How does COVID-19 spread on an airplane? Regarding transmission of the viru... Read More...
Q. What is ONOR ? A. One Nation One Ration Card (RC) will ensure all beneficiaries especially migrants can access PDS across the nation from any PDS shop of their own choice. Q. What are benefits and significance of ONOR ? 1. This scheme will ensure availability of the sufficient food grains to those poor workers who migrate from their home district. Read More...
What is PMFBY? Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana is the flagship scheme of the government for agricultural insurance in India in line with the ONE NATION- ONE SCHEME theme. Annual Commercial / Annual Horticultural crops, oilseeds and food crops (Cereals, Millets and Pulses) are covered under the scheme. PMFBY is optional for the farmers who have not availed institutional credit, while all the farmers who have borrowed institutional loans from banks are covered under the scheme mandatorily. Read More...