Tiangong Space Station: China, which is growing its presence in space, has complained to the UN detailing two alleged space incidents involving its Tiangong Space Station and two Starlink satellites from Elon Musk-founded aerospace firm, SpaceX. Both the U.S. and China are parties to the Outer Space Treaty, which is formally known as the ‘Treaty […]
Category: Current Affairs
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA)
Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA): Nagaland will continue to be a ‘disturbed area’ for another six months under the AFSPA as the condition of the state remained “dangerous,” a move which comes amid growing clamour for withdrawal of the special powers to the armed forces, especially after the death of 14 civilians earlier this […]
Veerangana Lakshmibai
Veerangana Lakshmibai: The Jhansi Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh will be known as Veerangana Lakshmibai Railway Station. The Uttar Pradesh government had earlier sent a proposal about renaming the station to the Union Home Ministry. The ministry consents to a name change of any station or place after obtaining no-objections from the Union Ministry of […]
A defamation Case Has Been Filed Against Punjab Congress Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu
A defamation Case Has Been Filed Against Punjab Congress Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu: A defamation case has been filed against Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu for his speeches praising two party members for “being capable of making policemen wet their pants”. However, after the controversy, Sidhu said that the comment should not be taken […]
PESA Act
PESA Act: Hundreds of kendu leaf pluckers, binders and workers recently staged a demonstration in Sambalpur, Odisha demanding the abolition of GST on kendu leaves. A GST of 18 per cent is imposed on kendu leaves which is against the Forest Rights Act-2006 and the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) to […]
Ken-Betwa Link Project
Ken-Betwa Link Project: The Ken-Betwa river interlinking project will lead to the submergence of a major portion of the core area of the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, triggering a major loss of the tiger and its major prey species such as chital and sambar, according to a new study. The project may incur […]
FSSAI Draft Regulations For GM Foods
FSSAI Draft Regulations For GM Foods: Social activists working among farmers have come out against the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s (FSSAI) draft regulations on genetically modified (GM) food, terming it “unacceptable”. They want FSSAI to explicitly say that GM foods will not be allowed into India by way of production or imports. […]
Digital Lending
Digital Lending: A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Working Group (WG) on digital lending, including lending through online platforms and mobile apps submitted its recommendations in November this year. Key recommendations: A separate legislation should be enacted to oversee such lending. Setup a nodal agency to vet the Digital Lending Apps. A Self-Regulatory Organisation should […]
Nilgais
Nilgais: The Bihar government has announced that it will not cull the Blue Bull, locally known as the nilgai or ghurparas, anymore. It will, instead, sterilise them to control their increasing population in the state. The nilgai is the largest Asian antelope and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. The nilgai is the sole […]
Third Positive Indigenisation List
Third Positive Indigenisation List: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has restricted the import of 351 systems and components as a part of third Positive Indigenisation List to boost Indigenisation in Defence Manufacturing. In June 2021, the MoD had notified the second negative import list, renamed as the ‘positive indigenisation list’ of 108 items. The ‘First […]
