CURRENT AFFAIRS DESTINATION FOR UPSC & STATE CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATIONS
The Wuhan Institute of Virology, China Academy of Sciences had filed a patent application to use remdesivir to treat the novel coronavirus (2019 nCoV) on January 21, 2020, which has sparked debate on China’s social media about intellectual property issues. The company said it had filed patent applications for the drug’s use on coronaviruses in China and some other countries and regions in 2016, but it has not yet received Read More …
The Andhra Pradesh Assembly on January 27, 2020 passed a resolution for the abolition of the Legislative Council. 133 members, voted for it and none opposing it. The Opposition Telugu Desam Party had made it clear that it would boycott the proceeding. The state government had moved the resolution as per Article 169 (1) of the Constitution. Besides Andhra Pradesh (58 members), five other states have Legislative Councils: Bihar (58), Read More …
On 31 December 2019, World Health Organisation was alerted to several cases of pneumonia in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. On 7 January 2020, Chinese authorities confirmed that they had identified a new virus ( 2019 Novel Coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV ). The new virus is a coronavirus, which is a family of viruses that include the common cold, and viruses such as SARS and MERS. This new virus was Read More …
Kerala became the first State to challenge in the Supreme Court the constitutionality of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, which came into force on January 10, 2020. The State on January 14, 2020 approached the Supreme Court and filed a petition under Article 131 of the Constitution and asked for the law to be declared unconstitutional and in violation of Articles 14 (equality before law), 21 (protection of life Read More …
The presence of two monasteries — Mugalayikaviharika and Yajñapindikamahavihara have been confirmed from recent excavations at Moghalmari. Moghalmari is a Buddhist monastic site of the early medieval period in West Bengal’s Paschim Medinipur district. Facts The two monasteries were confirmed in a recent study of inscriptions on clay tablets recovered. The study was published in the PratnaSamiskha- a leading peer-reviewed journal from Bengal on Indian Archaeology. The monasteries at Moghalmari Read More …
Bojjannakonda is a famous Buddhist site at Sankaram, 3.5 km from Anakapalle and 41 km from Visakhapatnam. The villagers, as a part of an ancient ritual, used to throw stones at a belly-shaped object at the site on the Kanuma day during Sankranti, believing it to be a part of a demon. After a sustained campaign by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), this ritual has been Read More …
Researchers from the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, have published an article in the Current Biology, in which they have described that the red brittle star, called Ophiocoma wendtii, lacks eyes but can still see. A cousin of the starfish, O. wendtii resides in the coral reefs of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. It is only the second creature known after sea urchin to be able to see without having Read More …
Why in the news: Swarms of locusts descended on parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan, destroying crops and triggering panic. Facts The locusts, known as tiddis locally, have wreaked havoc on standing crops of castor, cumin, jatropha, cotton, and potato, and fodder grass in around 20 talukas. Among the four districts, Banaskantha is the worst affected. Gujarat has not witnessed such an invasion of locusts since 1993-94 . It is being said that Read More …
The Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) Epigraphy Branch has discovered the earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India as on date. It is also the earliest epigraphic evidence so far for the Saptamatrika cult. Till date, the Nagarjunakonda inscription of Ikshavaku king Ehavala Chantamula issued in his 11th regnal year corresponding to the 4th century A.D. was considered the earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India. Facts It was discovered in December Read More …
Why in the News? After protests in various parts of the country, against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 and the proposed National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC), West Bengal and Kerala announced to suspend the work related to the preparation and update of the National Population Register in their respective States. What is a National Population Register (NPR)? According to Section 14A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 the Central Read More …
Why in the News? The European Union-the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world after China and the United States, has announced an additional measures to reduce carbon emission. It has been named as the “European Green Deal”. What are the targets? The European Green Deal has following four objectives: Become climate-neutral by 2050 , Protect human life, animals and plants, by cutting pollution, Help companies become world leaders Read More …
Why in the News? Pope Francis on December 17, 2019 declared that the rule of “pontifical secrecy” no longer applies to the sexual abuse of minors, in a bid to improve transparency in such cases. The Church previously shrouded sexual abuse cases in secrecy, in what it said was an effort to protect the privacy of victims and reputations of the accused. What is Pontifical Secret? Pontifical secrecy was designed Read More …
An annular eclipse of the Sun will occur on December 26, 2019 (5 Pausha, 1941 Saka Era). How and When? From India annular phase will be visible in the morning after sunrise from some places within a narrow corridor of southern part of the country (parts of Karnataka, Kerala & Tamil Nadu) and it will be seen as partial solar eclipse from the rest part of the country. The narrow Read More …
Why in the News? The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on December 13, 2019 passed the Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill, 2019 (Andhra Pradesh Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2019). The bill was passed seeing the huge anti protests across the country against the rising the rape cases. The bill has been named after Disha-the name given to a veterinarian who was raped, murdered and burnt in Hyderabad on November 27, 2019. She Read More …
Unesco has listed traditional Thai massage, Nuad Thai, in its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on December 12, 2019 at its meeting that was held in Bogota, Columbia . What is Nuad? The Nuad Thai massage teachings focus on directing blood circulation around problem areas that help in solving muscle aches. Thai massage is an aspect of traditional medicinal wisdom that is related to Buddhist teachings and Read More …
