Greece and Turkey Subject – Mapping Context – Fearing a repeat of the 2015 refugee crisis, Greece has completed building a 40-km long wall and installed a hi-tech surveillance system on its border with Turkey to avoid the influx of Afghan migrants following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Concept –
Delimitation Subject – Polity Context – The Election Commission’s (EC) former legal eagle, SK Mendiratta, has red-flagged the Union government’s order setting up a Delimitation Commission for Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Assam and Nagaland, calling it “unconstitutional” and “illegal”. Concept – Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats to represent […]
Delta variant of Covid-19 Subject – Science and Tech Context – Delta variant spreads more rapidly than other Covid-19 strains Concept – Key mutations reduce effectiveness of vaccines, and high infectiousness during the pre-symptomatic phase in patients are among the main reasons fuelling the rapid spread. Delta variant (B.1.617.2) is at least 40 per […]
Delhi’s New Smog Tower Subject – Environment Context – Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal inaugurated on Monday the country’s first ‘smog tower’, an experimental set up worth Rs 20 crore to purify air in a 1-km radius around the structure. Concept – The structure is 24 m high, about as much as an […]
Cabinet Minister Arrest Procedure in India Subject – Polity Context – Three FIRs have been registered against Union Minister and Rajya Sabha member Narayan Rane, and the Maharashtra Police has sent a team to arrest him. Concept – If Parliament is not in session, a cabinet minister can be arrested by a law […]
The Major Port Authorities Act 2020 Subject – Infrastructure Context – Second wave slows down finalisation of rules of new Act. Concept – The Bill seeks to provide for regulation, operation and planning of major ports in India and provide greater autonomy to these ports. It seeks to replace the Major Port Trusts […]
Hallmark Unique Identification Subject – Economy Context – Gold jewellers across major cities participated in a nationwide strike against the mandatory hallmarking, Hallmark Unique Identification (HUID), effective June 16. Concept – HUID is a unique code that will be given to every piece of jewellery at the time of hallmarking. It will be […]
Potash Subject – Agriculture Context – EID Parry (India) Ltd., one of the largest sugar manufacturers in the South, has undertaken a pilot study to establish the extraction of potash from ash produced in distilleries. Concept – Potash includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. The name derives from pot ash, which refers to […]
Urban Co-operative Banks Subject – Economy Context – A Reserve Bank appointed committee has suggested a four-tier structure for the urban cooperative banks (UCBs). Concept – Co-operative Banks, which are distinct from commercial banks, were born out of the concept of co-operative credit societies where members from a community group together to extend loans to each other, at favourable terms. Co-operative Banks […]
Natural Gas Subject – Environment Context – Vedanta makes gas discovery in Gujarat. Concept – Natural gas is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting of methane and commonly including varying amounts of other higher alkanes, and sometimes a small percentage of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, or helium. It is formed when layers of decomposing plant and animal matter are exposed to intense […]