India’s Disaster Risk Financing: The Union Government recently sanctioned only Rs 260 crore in disaster relief to Kerala following the devastating Wayanad landslides of July 2024, against the State’s estimated losses of Rs 2,200 crore. This glaring disparity has reignited debates around the weakening of cooperative federalism and the increasing centralisation of disaster-risk finance in […]
Category: Current Affairs
Uranium Contamination in Delhi
Uranium Contamination in Delhi: New groundwater testing by the Central Ground Water Board shows rising uranium levels in Delhi, with 13–15% of samples showing elevated contamination.Uranium contamination refers to the presence of uranium— a naturally occurring radioactive heavy metal— in groundwater at levels above permissible limits for safe drinking water. World Health Organization (WHO) guideline […]
World AIDS Day 2025
World AIDS Day 2025: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare organised the World AIDS Day 2025 observance under the theme “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response” and highlighted the national progress on AIDS control. In 1998, WHO marked the first World AIDS Day on 1st December to recognize the crucial role of civil society […]
India Re-Elected to UNESCO Executive Board for 2025–29
India Re-Elected to UNESCO Executive Board for 2025–29: India has been re-elected to the UNESCO Executive Board for the 2025–29 term, reaffirming global confidence in its leadership in multilateral governance.The Executive Board is one of UNESCO’s three constitutional organs responsible for supervising programme implementation and providing strategic direction to the organisation.UNESCO was created in 1945, […]
Heron Mk II
Heron Mk II: To enhance their unmanned capabilities in the wake of Operation Sindoor, the Indian armed forces have signed up for more satellite-linked Heron Mk II UAVs under emergency procurement. It is a Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). It was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). It offers an endurance of 45 […]
Sanchar Saathi
Sanchar Saathi: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has made it mandatory for all newly manufactured or imported mobile phones in India to come with the Sanchar Saathi app pre-installed. It is a security and awareness platform developed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). It is available both as an app and a web portal. Purpose […]
Bioremediation
Bioremediation: Bioremediation offers a cheaper, scalable, and sustainable alternative, especially in a country like India where vast stretches of land and water are affected but resources for remediation are limited. Bioremediation literally means “restoring life through biology.” It is the use of living organisms, primarily microorganisms, to degrade environmental contaminants into less toxic forms. It […]
Biological Weapons Convention
Biological Weapons Convention: The External Affairs Minister recently called for urgent reforms to strengthen global biosecurity and modernise the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), warning that biological threats are becoming harder to manage in a rapidly evolving scientific landscape. It is a legally binding international treaty that bans the use of biological and toxin weapons and […]
Masala Bonds
Masala Bonds: The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) recent decision to issue notices to the Kerala Chief Minister in the KIIFB masala bond investigation marks a significant escalation in a long-running conflict between the LDF government and central agencies over the state’s financing model. They are rupee-denominated bonds issued outside India by Indian entities. The International Finance […]
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau: The African country of Guinea-Bissau fell under the military rule. It is one of the smallest countries in the African continent. It borders Senegal to the north and Guina to its eastern and southern boundaries. Maritime Boundary: To the west, the country has a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean. It includes the Bijagos (Bissagos) […]
