Australia returns 29 antiquities to India Subject: History Section: Art and culture Context: Earlier this year, it was reported that the government has been instrumental in bringing back some 200 stolen antiquities to India from across the world. Since 2014, 228 cultural heritage objects have been retrieved from different countries while the majority […]
World Water Development Report 2022 Subject: Geography Section: Oceanography Context: The 2022 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report (UN WWDR 2022) entitled ‘Groundwater: Making the invisible visible’ was released on March 21, 2022. It describes the challenges and opportunities associated with the development, management and governance of groundwater across the […]
Ukraine war and food crisis Subject: Economy Section: Food security Concept: Food prices across the world were already rising fast amid supply chain disruptions and pandemic-related inflation. However, some prices—especially that of wheat—have shot through the roof because of the Ukraine crisis A recently published report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) […]
Small saving instruments and monetary policy transmission Subject: Economy Section: Monetary policy and banking Context: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sought a further reduction in interest rates on small saving instruments (SSIs) for the first quarter of fiscal 2022-23. Meanwhile, as per the RBI, with credit and deposit offtake picking up, […]
Ladakh’s plan to save its wolves Subject: Environment Section: Biodiversity Context: Over the past couple of years, village communities in Ladakh have been building Stupas next to traditional wolf traps, committing to stop killing wolves. Concept: Shangdong are traditional trapping pits with inverted funnel-shaped stone walls, usually built near villages or herder camps. […]
Green Burial Subject: Environment Section: Sustainable development Context: The ‘green’ burial trend gripping the US WHAT IS GREEN BURIAL? Green (or natural) burial emphasizes simplicity and environmental sustainability. The body is neither cremated nor prepared with chemicals such as embalming fluids. It is simply placed in a biodegradable coffin or shroud and interred […]
Divergence between CPI and WPI Subject: economy Section: Inflation Context: One striking feature of the Indian scenario is the difference between inflation as measured by the WPI and that evident in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) WPI inflation during the current financial year, in contrast to the trends observed in CPI-C inflation, has […]
Inflation Subject : economy Section: Inflation Context: Inflation has become a problem in India once again, well before it emerged globally and in the advanced countries as a major concern. In India, inflation rates of 6 per cent and above were evident even during the pandemic collapse, when much of the rest of […]
Study finds Climate variability may explain annual spike in ozone-destroying gas Subject: Environment Section: Climate change Context: Forest fires fueled by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon might be responsible for the short-term spikes in methyl bromide, a known destroyer of the ozone layer El Niño–Southern Oscillation: El Niño–Southern Oscillation(ENSO) is an […]
Solar Storms Subject: Science and Tech Section: Space What are solar storms? Just as the sun keeps sending us light and heat, it also throws out a lot of other material in all directions, including towards Earth. In fact, there is a constant stream of charged particles — electrons and protons — that […]