Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019: A Parliamentary panel deliberating on the Personal Data Protection Bill has made the following recommendations: Limit the exemptions available to the government under the current version by placing reasonable restrictions on how the exemption can be availed. The government be exempted only under a “just, fair, reasonable and proportionate procedure”. […]
Category: Current Affairs
Preserving Landraces
Preserving Landraces: Padma Shri award was given to Rahibai Popere, popularly known as Seedmother, from Akole taluka of Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. She was awarded for recognition of her work that has helped save hundreds of landraces (wild varieties of commonly grown crops) at the village level. Presently, farmers mainly grow hybrid crops. Hybrid Crops: About: A […]
RBI’s Retail Direct Scheme
RBI’s Retail Direct Scheme: The Prime Minister has launched the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)- Retail Direct Scheme to open up the Government bond market for the retail investors. In February 2021, RBI proposed to allow retail investors to open gilt accounts with the central bank to invest in Government securities (G-secs) directly. Under the […]
Current Account Deficit
Current Account Deficit: According to a recent report by British brokerage Barclays, India’s trade deficit has been jumping continuously since July 2021. The widening Current Account Deficit (CAD) is driven by the massive spike in commodity prices led by crude oil. The CAD is expected to reach $45 billion or 1.4% of GDP by March […]
Glasgow Agreement
Glasgow Agreement: The “Glasgow climate pact” was adopted despite a last-minute intervention by India to water down language on “phasing out” coal to merely “phasing down”. The pledges on emissions cuts made at the two-week Cop26 summit in Glasgow fell well short of those required to limit temperatures to 1.5C, according to scientific advice. Instead, […]
National Achievement Survey 2021
National Achievement Survey 2021: The Union Government has conducted the National Achievement Survey (NAS) across India, assessing about 38 lakh students from 1.23 lakh schools in 733 districts in 36 States and Union Territories. The survey was last conducted in 2017 and was scheduled to take place in 2020. However, due to the Covid situation, […]
Norovirus
Norovirus: A highly contagious virus named Norovirus has been detected in Kerala. It is a group of viruses that leads to gastrointestinal illness. It causes inflammation of the lining of the stomach and intestines, in addition to severe vomiting and diarrhoea. Norovirus is resistant to many disinfectants and can heat up to 60°C. Therefore, merely […]
Tenures Of CBI & ED Directors Extended
Tenures Of CBI & ED Directors Extended: The President promulgated two ordinances that would allow the Centre to extend the tenures of the directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate from two years to up to five years. The Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act,1946 and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) […]
H-1B Visa Holders
H-1B Visa Holders: The United States has agreed to provide automatic work authorisation permits to the spouses of H-1B visa holders — a move that is likely to benefit thousands of Indian professionals based in the US. As per the latest amendments, while L-1 spouses will be given the extension without applying for it, H-4 […]
NASA’s DART Mission
NASA’s DART Mission: On November 24, at around 11.50 am (IST), NASA will launch the agency’s first planetary defense test mission named the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). The spacecraft will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. About DART Mission: The main aim of the mission […]
