Q. Why is this in news? A. The Ministry of Power has notified the first part of the National Hydrogen Mission policy on green hydrogen and green ammonia, aimed to boost production of hydrogen and ammonia using renewable energy. Q. What is green hydrogen? A. Green hydrogen is hydrogen gas produced through electrolysis of water. It is an energy intensive process for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen— using renewable power to achieve this. Q. What are the Key takeaways of the Green Hydrogen Policy? A.&nbs... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? A. Over 2 crore people who have signed up for the Centre’s portal for unorganised sector workers hold a Graduate Degree. Q. What is E-Shram? A. On August 26, 2021, the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MOLE) launched the E-Shram, the web portal for creating a National Database of Unorganized Workers (NDUW), which will be seeded with Aadhaar. It seeks to register an estimated 398-400 million unorganized workers and to issue an E-Shram card. Q. What are th... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? A. An MP from Telangana submitted a Privilege Motion against PM regarding his remarks over the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh. Q. What is Parliamentary Privilege? A. Parliamentary privilege refers to the right and immunity enjoyed by legislatures. The legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties. They are granted so that the MPs/MLAs can effecti... Read More...
Q Why is it in News ? A The iconic Amar Jawan Jyoti (AJJ) at India Gate was extinguished as a part of its merger with the flame at the National War Memorial (NWM). This has sparked a political controversy. Q What is the Amar Jawan Jyoti? A The eternal flame at the Amar Jawan Jyoti underneath India Gate in central Delhi was an iconic symbol of the nation’s tributes to the soldiers who have died for the country in various wars and conflicts since Independence. Established in 1972, it was to mark India’s victory ov... Read More...
Q What is the context ? A The Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) report published in The Lancet provides the most comprehensive estimate of the global impact of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) so far. Q What is AMR? A Antimicrobial resistance (AMR or AR) is the ability of a microbe to resist the effects of medication that once could successfully treat the microbe Antibiotic resistance occurs naturally, but misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals is accelerating the process. A growing number of infections – such as pn... Read More...
Q Why is it in News ? A A recent report by the RBI shows that India received support of $17.86 billion in August 2021 by way of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) has helped cushion the worsening current account deficit. Q What are Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)? A SDRs, created by the IMF in 1969, are an international reserve asset and are meant to supplement countries’ reserves. Adding SDRs to the country’s international r... Read More...
Q Why is it in News ? A NEAT, first-of-its-kind government scheme, set in motion over two years ago, has finally taken shape, bringing courses offered by a group of edtech platforms within the reach of college and university students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Q What is NEAT Scheme ? A The National Education Alliance for Technology (NEAT) is implemented by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). It aims to act as a bridge between edtech companies, academic institutions and students. The initiative was taken a... Read More...
Q What is the context ? A The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has released the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021. Q What is India State of Forest Report ? A ISFR is an assessment of India’s forest and tree cover, published every two years by the Forest Survey of India under the MoEFCC. The first survey was published in 1987, and ISFR 2021 is the 17th. It compiles data com... Read More...
Q What is the context ? A There has been debate on the issue of MSP with some arguing against it while some favouring it. Q What are issues with MSP ? A The broad strands of argument against MSP are: MSP hinders the price discovery: Providing MSP does not allow the market to discover the prices; if market cleared prices are less than MSP, then the only buyer would be the government; this would render the government bankrupt. FPO as a mechanism to deal with markets: If markets have any distort... Read More...
Q What is the context ? A The Centre has informed the Delhi HC that it was awaiting the report of the Law Commission of India, which is examining various issues relating to the Uniform Civil Code. Q What is a Uniform Civil Code? A A Uniform Civil Code is one that would provide for one law for the entire country, applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc. Article 44, one of the directive principles of the Constitution lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a Uniform... Read More...
Q Why is it in News ? A The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released the First Advance Estimates (FAE) for the current financial year (2021-22 or FY22). Q What is GDP? A GDP measures the monetary value of all goods and services produced within the domestic boundaries of a country within a timeframe (generally, a year). It is slightly different from the other commonly used statistic for national income — the GNP. The Gross National Product (GNP) measures the monetary value of all goods and services by the peopl... Read More...
Q What is the context ? A Recently, the Missionaries of Charity established by Nobel Laureate Mother Teresa was in the news for the cancellation of its permission under the FCRA. Q Why is there issue with FCRA permissions ? A The levels of due diligence and the information sought on the one hand and the annual declarations to be given by the board members of civil society organisations on the other have increased significantly. The mandatory opening of bank accounts for foreign contributions has been centralised in one branch of the State Ban... Read More...
Q What is the context ? A The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) has sequenced about 1,00,000 samples. Q What is INSACOG? A INSACOG is a consortium of 10 labs and 18 satellite labs across India tasked with scanning COVID samples from patients and finding the variants that has led to spike in transmission. The institutes involved include the laboratories of the Department of Biotechnology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Indian Council of Medical Research, and the Health Ministry. Its work began i... Read More...
Q Why is it in News ? A China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs has issued standardized names for 15 places in the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh, to be used henceforth on official Chinese maps. MEA clarification The Ministry of External Affairs has dismissed the Chinese “invention”. Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be, an integral part of India, said MEA. Q Why is China giving names to places that are in India? A China claims some 90,000 sq km of Arunachal Pradesh as its territo... Read More...
Q Why is it in News? A The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has approached the Supreme Court against a Bombay High Court order granting bail to an advocate and activist. Q What is the case? A In its bail order, the court has asked the NIA Court to decide the conditions for her release. The activist was given ‘default bail’. The case highlights the nuances involved in a court determining the circumstances in which statutory bail is granted or denied, even though it is generally considered “an indefeasible right”. ... Read More...
Q What is the context? A Dowry death can be presumed if the wife was harassed, mentally and physically close before her death in the marital home, the Supreme Court has held. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana was interpreting Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code (dowry death). The provision mandates that the death of a married woman could be linked to the crime if she had been harassed for dowry “soon before her death”. Q What is the recent judgment? Ans. Bridges the gap between extreme Harassment and Death Read More...
Q Why is it in News? A Six Maoists including four women cadres were killed recently in an “exchange of fire” with a joint team of Telangana and Chhattisgarh police in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh. Q What is Naxalism? A The term ‘Naxal’ derives its name from the village Naxalbari of district Darjeeling in West Bengal, where the movement originated in 1967 under the leadership of Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal. It refers to the use of violence to destabilize the state through various communist guerrilla groups. Naxalites are far-... Read More...
Q What is the context ? A Market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued an order suspending futures trading in paddy (non-basmati), wheat, Bengal gram (chana dal), mustard seeds and its derivatives, soyabean and its derivatives, crude palm oil and green gram (moong dal) for a year. Q What are Derivatives? A A derivative is a contract between two parties which derives its value/price from an underlying asset. The value of the underlying asset is bound to change as the value of the underlying assets keep changing continuousl... Read More...
Q What is the context ? A The proposal to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 was cleared by the Union Cabinet based on the recommendations of a task force headed by Jaya Jaitley. Q What is minimum Age for Marriage in India ? A Personal laws of various religions that deal with marriage have their own standards, often reflecting custom. For Hindus, The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 sets 18 years as the minimum age for the bride and 21 years as the minimum age for the groom. In Islam, the marriage of a minor who has attained p... Read More...
Q What is the context ? A Zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) is back on top of the Government’s agricultural agenda, with PM set to highlight it at a national conclave. Q What is Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) ? A ZBNF is a set of farming methods, and also a grassroots peasant movement, which has spread to various states in India. Subhash Palekar perfected it during the 1990s at his farm in Amravati district in Maharashtra’s drought-prone Vidarbha region. According to the “zer... Read More...