Hazara Ethnic Group: Taliban militants in Afghanistan have vandalised and blown up a statue of Shiite militia leader Abdul Ali Mazari in the province of Bamiyan, the unofficial capital of the Hazara ethnic group. Mazari, widely known as a champion of the Hazaras, was executed by the Taliban in 1995. The Hazaras are an ethnic […]
Month: August 2021
Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) 5.0
Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) 5.0: Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh launched Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) 5.0 under Innovations for Defence Excellence – Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO) on August 19, 2021. Thirty five Problem Statements – 13 from the Services and 22 from Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) – were unveiled under DISC 5.0. […]
Re-Imagining Urban Rivers
Re-Imagining Urban Rivers: National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the National Institute for Urban Affairs (NIUA) had organised ‘Re-Imagining Urban Rivers’, a national level thesis competition in September 2020, under a joint project that the two organizations are implementing to promulgate river- sensitive development in our cities. This is a first of its kind […]
Draft Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge) Amendment Rules, 2021
Draft Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge) Amendment Rules, 2021: The Ministry of Power has proposed to amend rules for facilitating electricity producers to sell power to a third party, which it said can pare fixed costs and cut retail tariff for end consumers. The ministry circulated the draft Electricity (Late Payment Surcharge) Amendment Rules, 2021, seeking […]
Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 20th August 2021
Today Current Affairs: 20th August 2021 for UPSC IAS exams, State PSC exams, SSC CGL, State SSC, RRB, Railways, Banking Exam & IBPS, etc
Transparency of Pollution Control Boards
Non-Transparent Pollution Control Boards: A new report by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has revealed that most of the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) in India remain non-transparent entities when it comes to sharing information with the public. CSE is a public interest research and advocacy NGO based […]
New Development Bank
New Development Bank: During BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) meet, India proposed that NDB’s (New Development Bank) scope be expanded to strengthen Social Infrastructure besides promoting industry. Social Infrastructure includes the construction and maintenance of facilities that support social services such as healthcare, education, and housing. India is the chair of the […]
Supreme Court on Tribunal Reforms Bill, 2021
Tribunal Reforms Bill Of 2021: The Supreme Court of India (SC) has challenged the government to produce material showing its reasons for introducing the Tribunal Reforms Bill of 2021. The Bill replaces the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021 which was quashed by the Supreme Court. Issues Raised by SC: Unconstitutional Legislative […]
UNITE Aware
UN Peacekeepers: External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar has announced the rollout of a technological platform in partnership with the UN — ‘UNITE Aware’ — to help enhance the safety of UN peacekeepers. The platform has been used in four UN missions. This was announced during the recent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) open debate on […]
Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021 : Anti-Conversion Law
Gujarat Anti-Conversion Law: Gujarat Government has defended its new anti-conversion law in High Court saying marriages cannot be tool for “forceful conversion”. The HC is hearing two petitions that have challenged the newly enacted amendment in the law, which deals with forcible religious conversion through marriages. During the hearing, the Court observed that the amended […]
