Q. Why is this in news ? The country’s largest lender State Bank of India has raised Rs 7,000 crore by issuing Basel III compliant bonds. Q. What are Basel III compliant Bonds? The bonds qualify as tier II capital of the bank, and has a face value of Rs 10 lakh each, bearing a coupon rate of 6.24 per cent per annum payable annually for a tenor of 10 years. There is a call option after 5 years and on anniversary thereafter. Read More...
Q. What is this debate now ? The government’s push to reform India’s agriculture sector has divided opinions and triggered a debate about the state of Indian agriculture. In the context of this debate, two long-standing characteristics of Indian agriculture are noteworthy. One, Indian agriculture is highly unremunerative. Two, it has been heavily regulated by the government and protected from the free play of market forces. According to the government, the new Bills passed by Parliament attempt to make it easie... Read More...
Q. Why in News? A. Recently, an investigation by the global watchdog Rainforest Action Network (RAN) has shown that various food, cosmetics and finance companies have links with companies implicated in the destruction of the Leuser Ecosystem, a forest area on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, Q. What is Leuser Ecosystem ? A. Leuser Ecos... Read More...
Q. Why is it in News ? A. While extending support to the move for salary-cut, most Members of Parliament have demanded that the MPLADS funds, meant for development work in constituencies, be restored immediately. Q. What is the MPLAD scheme? The Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) is a programme first launched during the Narasimha Rao Government in 1993. It was aimed towards providing funds for developmental works recommended by... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? A. The court has also asked India not to pursue the tax demand any more against Vodafone Group. In a unanimous decision, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague on Friday ruled that India’s retrospective demand of Rs 22,100 crore as capital gains and withholding tax imposed on the British telecommunication company for a 2007 deal was “in breach of the guarantee of fair and equitable treatment”. The court has also asked India not to pursue the tax d... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News? A. A limit has been imposed on total rewards under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). Q. What is Merchandise Exports from India Scheme ? A. Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) under Foreign Trade Policy of India (FTP 2015-20) is one of the two schemes introduced in Foreign Trade Policy of India 2015-20, as a part of Exports from India Scheme (The other scheme is Se... Read More...
Q. Why is this in News? Recently, the Global e waste Monitor 2020 Report was released. Q. What is E-Waste? It refers to all items of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and its parts that have been discarded by its owner as waste without the intent of re-use. According to Global e waste Monitor 2020 Report, in 2019, the world generated 53.6 Mt of e-waste, an average of 7.3 kg per capita, with 21% increase in just 5 years. It will increase by 38% between 2... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? A. Election Commission (EC) officials are exploring the potential of using blockchain technology to enable remote voting. The aim is to overcome the geographical hurdles in voting especially even amidst this pandemic. Remote voting may take place in person somewhere other than an assigned polling station or at another time, or votes may be sent by post or cast by an appointed proxy. Q. What is Blockchain Technology? Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? A. A recent study suggests that the “Wolbachia method” could be used to significantly reduce the incidence of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease, in populations where the illness is endemic. Q. How it works? This method involves introducing Wolbachia, a type of bacteria, into populations of Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species responsible for spreading dengue. Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? A. The Supreme Court has agreed to examine the constitutional validity of the Kerala Animals and Birds Sacrifices Prohibition Act of 1968 that prohibits sacrifice of animals and birds in temples to ‘please’ the deity. Q. What’s the issue and appellant stand? An appeal is filed in the Supreme Court by P.E. Gopalakrishnan and others who are Shakthi worshippers, and for whom, animal sacrifice is an integral part of the worship. Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? In the joint working group meeting of the Sustainable Growth Pillar of the India-US partnership, an India Energy Modeling Forum was launched. The forum would include knowledge partners, data agencies and concerned government ministries. NITI Aayog will initially coordinate the activities of the forum and finalizing its governing structure. Sustainable Growth Pillar is an important pillar of India-US Strategic Energy Partnership co-chaired by NITI Aay... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? Recently, it has been alleged that the strength of the Council of Ministers (CoM) in Madhya Pradesh exceeds the prescribed Constitutional limit. The recent expansion of the Ministry in Madhya Pradesh has increased the Council of Ministers strength to 34, which is more than 15% of the effective strength of the legislators at 206. The effective strength of the House is calculated by deducting the vacant seats... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? A. Recently ,the revival of the demand for two autonomous councils has made political parties and community-based groups call for bringing the entire Arunachal Pradesh under the ambit of the Sixth Schedule or Article 371 (A) of the Constitution. Q. What is the Sixth Schedule? The Sixth Schedule of Indian Constitution consists of provisions for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, according to Article 244 of the Indian Constitution. Passed by the Constituent Assembly in 1949, it seeks to safegua... Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? A. Senior advocates of Supreme Court recently expressed concern over Attorney General (AG) KK Venugopal not being heard in detail during the Prashant Bhushan contempt-of-court hearings in the Supreme Court. Q. What is the case for prior approval in Contempt Cases? The prior consent in writing of the Attorney General is required for the Supreme Court to initiate criminal contempt action in a case account to the Contempt of Court Act, 1971. Read More...
Q. Why is this in news? For the first time in the world, researchers at the GRAPES-3 muon telescope facility in Ooty (short for Udhagamandalam) Tamil Nadu have measured the electrical potential, size and height of a thundercloud that passed overhead on December 1, 2014. At 1.3 gigavolts (GV), this cloud had 10 times higher potential than the previous record in a cloud. Q. What is GRAPES-3 Experiment? GRAPES... Read More...
The Union Cabinet has decided to set up a National Recruitment Agency (NRA) which will conduct a common preliminary examination for various recruitments in the central government. Q. What is the need for NRA? A. As of now, aspirants have to take different exams that are conducted by various agencies for central government jobs. According to Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training, on an average 2.5 crore to 3 crore aspirants appear for about 1.25 lakh vacancies in the central government every year. As and wh... Read More...
Q. Why is it in News? A. Recently Delhi government has announced its new electric vehicle policy to incentivize adoption of electric vehicles, this has brought notice of environmentalist and field experts to recycling of electric vehicle batteries. Electric vehicles (EV) are a part of the new normal as the global transportation sector undergoes a paradigm shift, with a clear preference towards cleaner and greener vehicles. Like its western counterparts and China, India has pushed the mandate for EVs as w... Read More...
Q. Why this issue is in News? A. The recent Rajasthan government crisis has brought into the spotlight the role of the Governor in summoning the House of the State Assembly. Q What is the ongoing Rajasthan issue ? A. The Rajasthan Governor has returned the proposal by the State Cabinet, seeking to convene a session of the Assembly, for the second time, which would have allowed the Rajasthan chief minister to prove his strength on the floor of the House. This has raised legal questions on t... Read More...
The All Assam Students Union (AASU) made public a high-level committee’s confidential report on the implementation of 1985 Assam Accord’s Clause 6, which pertains to safeguards for the preservation and promotion of Assamese identity and heritage. Q. Which committee is this? A. In February, a government-appointed committee had submitted its recommendations for implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, a key provision that has been contentious for decades. The committee was set up by the Home Ministr... Read More...
Q. What is HCNG? A. The blending of hydrogen with CNG provides a blended gas termed as HCNG. HCNG stands for hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas and it combines the advantages of both hydrogen and methane. HCNG allows customers early hydrogen deployment with nearly commercial technology. It is being treated as the first step towards future hydrogen economy. Hydrogen has been regarded as a future secondary fuel for power system due to carbon... Read More...