Due to “opposition” event, Mars outshined Jupiter, becoming the third brightest object (moon and Venus are first and second, respectively) in the night sky during the month of October. This year, while Mars’ closest approach to Earth was on October Read More …
Category: PRELIMS TERMINOLOGY
What is ketogenic diet?
Actor Mishti Mukherjee, 27, died on October 2, 2020 in a hospital in Bengaluru. According to the family sources, she suffered from kidney failure as she had been following a ketogenic diet. The ketogenic diet is weight loss diet which is Read More …
Scientific Social Responsibility’ (SSR)
According to Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology, Scientific Social Responsibility (SSR) is one of the three “mini policies” the government would bring in soon—these eventually might form part of the overarching policy for the development of Read More …
What is ‘Election Matter’ in Section 126?
Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 prohibits displaying any election matter by means, inter alia, of television or similar apparatus, during the period of 48 hours before the hour fixed for conclusion of poll in a Read More …
RAISE 2020
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and NITI Aayog are organizing a Global Virtual Summit on Artificial Intelligence (AI), RAISE 2020- ‘Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020,’ from October 5-9, 2020. The Summit will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Read More …
Zombie fires in Arctic
According to recent study, “Zombie fires” and burning of fire-resistant vegetation are new features driving Arctic fires. Scientists say that this summer’s carbon emissions from Arctic wildfires were a third higher than last year’s previous record levels, research suggests. The Read More …
Sandalwood Spike Disease (SSD)
According to a study by scientists from the Bengaluru-based Institute of Wood Science & Technology (IWST), India’s sandalwood trees are facing a serious threat with the return of the destructive Sandalwood Spike Disease (SSD). As per the study, the natural Read More …
Financial inclusion and micro markets (FI&MM) vertical
India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on September 26, 2020 said it has relocated the office of its Dy MD, financial inclusion and micro markets (FI&MM) vertical from Mumbai to the national capital Delhi. Under this new vertical, Read More …
Alliance for Multilateralism
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on September 25, 2020 addressed the Ministerial meeting of the Alliance for Multilateralism. Dr Jaishankar said, Multilateralism, if it is to grow, must be not just generous but also creative and practical. The Alliance Read More …
Pusa Decomposer: A bio-decomposer technique by IARI
The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) has developed a technology, called ‘Pusa Decomposer’, which is the bio-decomposer technique of converting crop stubble into compost. Technology is a microbial-based strategy (liquid formulation & capsules) which degrades the waste (pit or windrows) Read More …
Bhartiya Poshan Krishi Kosh (B.P.K.K.)
Bhartiya Poshan Krishi Kosh (B.P.K.K.), a web portal having information of India’s crop diversity across all districts – for both current and historical crops has been developed. It is an initiative by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development. Read More …
Brucellosis outbreak in China
In Lanzhou City in China, a leak in a biopharmaceutical company last year has caused an outbreak of brucellosis disease. More than 3,000 people have been infected with the disease since. Brucellosis is a bacterial disease caused by various Brucella Read More …
Feluda: India’s first CRISPR test
The Tata Group has announced the Tata CRISPR test, which is India’s first CRISPR test. It has been named ‘Feluda’- a fictional private detective from West Bengal created by renowned writer and filmmaker Satyajit Ray. It has been developed by a Read More …
i-ATS: DMRC’s train control signalling technology
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on September 15, 2020 launched ‘i-ATS’ (Automatic Train Supervision). It is an indigenously-built communication-based train control signalling technology for the metro. The i-ATS s a computer-based system that manages train operation. It is indispensable Read More …
Phosphine and Life on Venus
Scientists said that they have detected in the acidic clouds of Venus a gas called phosphine that indicates microbes may inhabit Earth’s inhospitable neighbour. The researchers did not discover actual life forms, but noted that on Earth phosphine is produced Read More …