POLITY
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The executive power relation to concurrent subjects remains with​the state.
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Supreme Court in Kesavananda Bharati v Union of India reversed Berubari Judgment. Supreme Court also held
that Preamble is not a source of power nor a source of limitations.
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Preamble to UN Charter also starts with… WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED..
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JAMMU AND KASHMIR REORGANISATION (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2021 • It seeks to merge the All-India
Services J&K cadre with the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.
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It amends Article 239A which provides for creation of local Legislatures or Council of Ministers or both for
certain Union territories to provide for Legislative Assembly for UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
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J&K Panchayat. Jurisdiction of DDC – Entire District except municipalities or municipal corporations. • Term of
DDC – 5 Years • Reservation – allowed for SC/ST and Women. direct elections for District Development
Councils (DDCs), which will constitute the third-tier of the Panchayati Raj System. These councils replaced the
district development boards which functioned mostly as official bodies of the government. The J&K
administration has also amended the J&K Panchayati Raj Rules, 1996 to establish elected District Development
Councils in Jammu and Kashmir.. Right to Vote - All DDC members shall have the right to vote in the meeting of
the District Development Council • EXCEPTION - MLAs will have no voting rights in the case of election or
removal of the Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson.
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• Power of President to suspend the Legislative Assembly of Puducherry comes from Article 239 of the
Constitution of India
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, the term “or otherwise” provided in Section 51 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 regarding
power of the President means that he can impose President’s rule in the Union Territory even without
Administrator’s recommendation on the advice of Council of Minister
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ARTICLE 356 IS APPLICABLE ONLY FOR STATES AND NOT FOR UNION TERRITORY
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• For National Capital Territory of Delhi – Constitutional Failure is dealt as per Article 239AB which was added
by the Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991.
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For UT of Puducherry – Section 51 of THE GOVERNMENT OF UNION TERRITORIES ACT, 1963 provides for
application of President’s Rule in case of failure of constitutional machinery as per Article 239 of the
Constitution of India.
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Kotia cluster is a group of villages located on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
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VARIOUS MECHANISMS TO SETTLE DISPUTES • As per the National Commission to Review the Working of
the Constitution, the Constitution of India contemplates a variety of mechanisms for the settlement of inter-State
disputes. • The mechanisms include – 1. Judicial Mechanism under Article 131 (Original jurisdiction of SC) 2.
Solving dispute through Inter-State Council under Article 263 3. Parliament altering the boundary under Article
3
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Article 131 cannot be used to resolve dispute which involves a private party and a Government on the other
side. It must involve a question of law or fact on which the existence of a legal right of the state or the Centre
depends.
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Dispute arising out of any treaty, agreement, covenant, engagement, sand or other similar instruments in which
India entered before the commencement of the Constitutionis the exclusive domain of the executive.
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Interstate river water disputes fall within the jurisdiction of Art 262 (not 131).
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Inter state council - inquiring into and advising upon disputes which may have arisen between States. •
However, this power has not been given by the Presidential notification by which Inter-State Council has been
constituted.
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Heritage Conservation Committee - Constituted through notification of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.
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The building was designed by the British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker and was
constructed between 1921 and 1927. • It was opened in January 1927 as the seat of the Imperial Legislative
Council. • The opening ceremony of the Parliament House was performed on 18 January 1927 by Lord Irwin,
Viceroy of India.
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NITI Aayog, along with the Institute for Competitiveness has released the second edition of the India Innovation
Index 2020.
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Central Waqf Council is a statutory body under the administrative control of the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
Union Minister of Minority Affairs is the Chairperson of Central Waqf Council.
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“Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram” (PMJVK). The scheme is administered by Ministry of Minority Affairs. •
Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) is Centrally Sponsored Scheme, under which funds are released to
the State Governments. • The Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) has been restructured in 2018 and
is now being implemented in 1300 identified Minority Concentration Areas (MCAs), with an objective of
developing socio-economic infrastructure and basic amenities in the said areas.
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The general consent is necessary for CBI as the jurisdiction of the CBI and other agencies covered under Delhi
Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 is confined to Delhi and Union Territories. The Punjab government has
withdrawn general consent given to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for investigating cases in the
State. With this, the CBI would have to seek prior permission from State.
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Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Amendment of Article 240 - Article 240 deals with Power of
President to make regulations for certain Union territories. So, the name of new UT has been added. •
Amendment to First Schedule of the Indian Constitution - First Schedule provides for the LIST OF STATES AND
UNION TERRITORIES as per Article 1 and 4 of the Indian Constitution
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, state can override central legislation (if approved by President) by enacting any laws on entries mentioned
under Concurrent List – as per Article 254. • However, even if President has approved such a law passed by
state under Article 254, Centre still has power to enact a new legislation which overrides laws approved by the
President under Article 254.
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Article 262 bars jurisdictions of Supreme Court or any other Court in matters of river water dispute between two
or more states. • This means that any dispute relating to sharing of river water shall be adjudged by a Tribunal
constituted under Section 4 of Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956. Once, the tribunal has given its Award,
and then such an award can be appealed against in the Higher Courts.
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The decision of the Tribunal, after its publication in the Official Gazette by the Central Government shall have the
same force as an order or decree of the Supreme Court.
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ο Mahadayi river sharing dispute between Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
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Mahanadi river water sharing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh
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Vansadhara Water Dispute Tribunal between Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
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Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
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• Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders can lay claim to “only NRI (Non Resident Indian) quota seats
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OCIs have been granted all rights in the economic, financial and education fields in parity with NRIs - except, the
right to acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties. • OCI does not enjoy all the rights provided under
Article 15 and 16 of the Constitution of India.
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OCI is not to be misconstrued as 'dual citizenship' as OCI does not confer political rights.
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The National Population Register (NPR) is a comprehensive identity database maintained by the Registrar
General and Census Commissioner of India under Ministry of Home Affairs. • It is a Register of “usual residents
of the country”
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e Ministry of Home Affairs, “usual resident of the country” is one who has been residing in a local area for at
least the last 6 months or intends to stay in a particular location for the next six months.
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The NPR database would contain demographic as well as biometric details. NPR will contain three elements of
data: 1. Demographic Data, 2. Biometric Data, & 3. Aadhaar – UID Number
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NPR is mandatory unlike AADHAR.
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Certain information collected under the NPR will be published in the local areas for public scrutiny and
invitation of objections. This is in the nature of the electoral roll or the telephone directory.
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1872 has been popularly labelled as the first population census of India. 1872 Census did not cover all
territories possessed or controlled by the British.
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1881 CENSUS • However, the first synchronous census in India was held in 1881. W.C. Plowden was the
Census Commissioner of India for 1881 Census
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• Mr. M W M Yeatts was appointed as the Census Commissioner for 1951 Census. But he was replaced by Mr. R.
A. Gopalaswami due to death
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• NPCI mapper is a repository of Aadhaar numbers maintained by the APBS and used for the purpose of routing
the APBS transactions to the destination banks. • The NPCI Mapper contains Aadhaar number along with Issuer
Identification Number (IIN) of the Bank to which the customer has seeded his/her Aadhaar numbe
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CAA Exception - Exception: If the applicant has rendered distinguished service to the cause of science,
philosophy, art, literature, world peace or human progress, then the central government may waive all or any of
the conditions specified in the Third Schedule
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CAA shall not apply to the following: The provisions of CAA shall not apply to tribal area of Assam, Meghalaya,
Mizoram or Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and the area covered under "The Inner
Line" notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873
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The Court further elaborated that if power under Article 72 is exercised on irrational, irrelevant, discriminatory
grounds or in bad faith, then in such cases Court can examine the case and intervene if necessary
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Power to pardon vested in the President under Article 72 shall not be exercised independently without the aid
and advice of Home minister.
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►FARMERS HAVE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO PROTEST as long as their dissent against the controversial
agricultural laws did not slip into violence - SC
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The Constitution (Ninety-seventh Amendment) Act, 2011 Added the term “co-operative societies” in Article
19(1)(c).
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The Information Technology Act, 2000, the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC), 1973 and the Telegraph Act, 1885
are the three laws that deal with suspension of Internet services. SECTION 144 Before 2017, Internet
suspension orders were issued under Section 144 of the Cr.PC
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In 2017, the central government notified the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or
Public Service) Rules under the Telegraph Act to govern suspension of Internet
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• Directions to suspend the telecom services shall not be issued except by an order made by the Secretary to the
Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs in the case of Government of India or by the Secretary to the
State Government in-charge of the Home Department in the case of a State Government (hereinafter referred to
as the competent authority), and in unavoidable circumstances, where obtaining of prior direction is not feasible,
such order may be issued by an officer, not below the rank of a Joint Secretary to the Government of India, who
has been duly authorised
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The suspension order issued by the competent authority under sub-rule (1) shall not be in operation for more
than fifteen days. • Review of internet shutdown orders is done by a Review Committee headed by Cabinet
Secretary in cas
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In J&K internet ban issue, court stopped short of ruling that access to Internet is a fundamental right, it said that
the Internet as a medium is used to exercise other fundamental right
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Principle of Proportionality (K.S. Puttaswamy Judgment) must be applied for internet suspension orders.
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The Court declared that the expression “bride' occurring in Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 will
include not only woman but also transwoman or intersex person/transgender person who identifies herself as a
woman.
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Defamation is a ground of reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(2
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Sedition was not part of original IPC Draft
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Delhi High Court has ruled that United Nations is not a “State” under Article 12 and hence is not subject to its
jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. Section 86 CPC provides that to sue foreign State, consent of
the Central Government certified in writing is necessary
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Criteria for including a Scheduled Tribe in PVTG list are: 1. Pre-agricultural level of technology, 2. Low level of
literacy, 3. Economic backwardness 4. A declining or stagnant population.
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KELKAR COMMISSION – FIRST BACKWARD CLASS COMMISSION • The Commission was set up as a
Presidential Order under Article 340 to investigate the conditions of backward classes. The commission
submitted its report in 1955 but was not implemented
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MANDAL COMMISSION – SECOND BACKWARD CLASS COMMISSION PM Morarji Desai in December 1978
announced its formation. Submitted its report On 31st December 1980 to President N.S. Reddy. PM – Indira
Gandhi. Report implemented by Prime Minister V.P. Singh.
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2015 - RECOMMENDATIONS OF NCBC - CHAIRMAN - JUSTICE V. ESWARAIAH It discussed
sub-categorisation of OBCs at length and proposed that the Other Backward Classes/castes/ communities/
synonyms be divided into three categories - . Extremely Backward Classes (Group ‘A’), More Backward Classes
(Group ‘B’); Backward Classes (Group ‘C).
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In M. Nagraj case, the constitutional validity of 77th Amendment was challenged which provided for reservation
in promotion along with other amendments on backlog vacancies in reservation. The Supreme Court upheld the
constitutional validity of 77th Amendment and said these were mere enabling provisions.
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• The Court allowed reservations in promotion for members of SC/ST subject to proving three conditions: ο
Backwardness of class – so there is a need for quantifiable data to prove backwardness ο Inadequacy of
representation in the services. Administrative Efficiency under Article 335 must not be compromised
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JARNAIL SINGH V LACHHMI NARAIN GUPTA - States no longer need to collect quantifiable data on the
backwardness of SCs and STs in granting quota in promotions. • However, the states will have to back it with
data to show their inadequate representation in the cadre. The Court said that the principle of creamy layer can
be extended to members of SC/ST for promotions in government jobs.
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►RESERVATION IN PROMOTION NOT A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT
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E.V. Chinnaiah Judgment held that that all the castes in the Presidential Order under Article 341(1) of the
Constitution formed one class of homogeneous group
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Government has appointed Justice G. Rohini Commission for sub-categorisation of OBCs
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Tamil Nadu has reserved 7.5% seats in undergraduate medical admissions for governmentschool students who
qualified NEET. • The Horizontal Reservation will reduce the “de facto inequalities” between government-school
students and private-school students.
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Reservations in favour of physically handicapped [under Clause (1) of Article 16] can be referred to as horizontal
reservations.
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where the question of defection is with reference to the presiding officer himself, it will be decided by a member
of the House elected by the House in that behalf.
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Presently, there is no bar on a disqualified candidate under the Anti-defection law to contest elections to the
house in the same session.
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Judicial Review - Decision of Presiding Officer on disqualification due to defection shall be subject to Judicial
Review. Only the procedure followed cannot be judicially reviewed. Decisions on disqualification must be taken
within reasonable time - 3 months. • The power to resolve such disputes vested in the Speaker or Chairman is a
judicial power. (KIHOTO HOLLOHAN V ZACHILHU AND OTHERS )
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Prior to Constitution 91st Amendment - split of 1/3rd of members of political party was allowed
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Article 105 (3) has avoided direct reference to House of Commons but effectively such privileges continue till
Parliament frames a law. • The Parliament has not yet codified its privileges
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As of 2019, three presidents have been impeached by the House of Representatives: Andrew Johnson in 1868,
Bill Clinton in 1998, and Donald Trump in 2019. • No president has ever been removed from office via the
impeachment process.
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Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs and Cabinet Committee on Accommodation is headed by Union
Home Minister
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Appointments Committee of the Cabinet Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs Cabinet Committee on Political
Affairs Cabinet Committee on Security Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth Cabinet Committee on
Employment & Skill Development is headed by PM
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The procedure regarding Voting and Divisions in the House is governed by Article 100(1) of the Constitution and
as per Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha
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The constitutionally mandated post of Deputy Speaker to Lok Sabha is vacant even after constitution of 17th
Lok Sabha in May 2019. As per Parliamentary traditions, member from opposition parties are elected as Deputy
Speaker.
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DEPUTY SPEAKER • Election – Date to be fixed by Speaker of LS and notice for the election will be sent by the
SecretaryGeneral to every member
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Deputy Speaker is a member of General Purposes Committee and Library Committee. Deputy Speaker is the
ex-officio Chairperson of the Committee
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QUESTION HOUR • The first hour of every sitting of Parliament is generally reserved for the asking and
answering of questions.
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"Zero Hour". It starts at around 12 noon (hence the name) and members can, with prior notice to the Speaker,
raise issues of importance during this time.
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• It is mandatory for the President and the Governor to act according to such opinion as provided by the Election
Commission in case of disqualification on grounds of office of profit.
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Speaker appoints a committee to investigate the conduct and activities of MP, whether it is derogatory to the
dignity of the House and inconsistent with the Code of Conduct. • Committee on Ethics can also be asked to give
its recommendations
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Unlike Lok Sabha, the motion for suspension of member of Rajya Sabha is not moved by the Chairman but is
adopted by the Council.
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COMMITTEE ON ETHICS • It consists of 15 members nominated by the Speaker. The Chairperson of the
Committee is appointed by the Speaker
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Article 136 - Special leave to appeal by the Supreme Court • The Supreme Court may, in its discretion, grant
special leave to appeal from any judgment, decree, determination, sentence or order in any cause or matter
passed or made by any court or tribunal in the territory of India. • Article 136 shall NOT apply to any judgment,
determination, sentence or order passed or made by any court or tribunal constituted by or under any law
relating to the Armed Forces
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A web portal Legal Information and Management Based System (LIMBS) set up for monitoring of Court Cases of
the entire GOI. It functions under Department of Legal Affairs. LIMBS aims to digitalize the details of court cases
against Government of India pending under different ministries
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the number of judges of HC will be determined by the order of the president as provided under Article 216.
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Article 124: Every SC judge shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his/her hand and seal after
consultation with such other Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Court in the States as President may
deem necessary
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The other judges are appointed by the President after consultation with the CJI and such other judges of the
Supreme Court and the high courts as he deems necessary. The consultation with the chief justice is obligatory i
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A curative petition is usually decided by judges in chamber, unless a specific request for an open-court hearing is
allowed.
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Curative petition can be entertained if the petitioner establishes there was a violation of the principles of natural
justice
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A curative petition must be accompanied by certification by a senior advocate
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India currently has no law for regulation of mediation
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The Administrative Tribunals have not been given the contempt of court powers to the Tribunals. However, the
Constitution empowers the Parliament to give the powers of the contempt of courts to the Administrative
Tribunals by law
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Scandalising of the court and lowering of the dignity of the court will be considered as criminal contempt.
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• ERO-NET - Centralized Software for Electoral Roll Management and Form Processing.
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The MCC is operational from the date that the election schedule is announced till the date that results are
announced. • The MCC is not enforceable by law. However, certain provisions of the MCC may be enforced
through invoking corresponding provisions in other statutes
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• EC has amended the MCC prohibiting political parties from releasing their manifestos in the last 48 hours
leading up to voting in each phase of the coming Lok Sabha elections. (Umesh Sinha Committee)
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EVMs were first used in 70-Parur Assembly Constituency of Kerala in the year 1982. • EVMs do not require
electricity.
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State Election Commission of Haryana in compliance with the Supreme Court’s directive in PUCL v Union of
India has issued an order regarding application of NOTA option in the local body elections. As per the
notification, NOTA shall be treated as a ‘Fictional Electoral Candidate’ while declaring the election results. if in
any election, all the contesting candidates individually receive lesser votes than the ‘Fictional Electoral
Candidate’ i.e. NOTA, then none of the contesting candidates will be declared as elected and re-election shall be
held for the seat
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• Only political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951 and has
secured no less than one per cent votes in the last Lok Sabha elections are eligible to receive electoral bonds
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A star campaigner can be described as persons who are nominated by parties to campaign in a given set of
constituencies. There is no specific definition according to law or the Election Commission of India. • Star
campaigners for a party will not exceed 40 where it is a recognised political party. • For parties that are deemed
unrecognized, the number of star campaigners will not be more than 20.
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The Representation of People’s Act, 1951 says that most of the expenses incurred by the STAR campaigner
“shall not be deemed to be an expenditure in connection with the election”.
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The MCC states that if the star campaigner is a PM or a former PM, then expenses incurred for bullet-proof
vehicles required by centrally appointed security personnel will be borne by the government. • If another
political dignitary accompanies this candidate, then 50 per cent of expenses incurred for security arrangements
will be borne by the candidate.
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The Ministry of Law and Justice has amended the Conduct of Elections Rules, which has introduced a new class
of voters, called as the absentee voters. They are the senior citizens, above 80 years of age; the persons who are
engaged in essential services; and the persons with disabilities (PwD), who are not able to come to the polling
booth to exercise their vote.
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At present, there is no limit put on the expenditure of the political parties.
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►PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION ACT, 2018 - Amendments - Defined Undue Advantage - means any
gratification whatever, other than legal remuneration. Gratification also includes non-monetary compensation. •
Giving Bribe has been made an offence. • Specified timeline for completion of corruption cases by a Special
Judge within 2 year. Modified and enhanced the definitions and penalties. Protection to honest officials
irrespective of their ranks or levels.
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The RTI Amendment has removed the equivalence of CIC with that of CEC. This makes the CIC vulnerable to be
removed by the Central Government as CEC can only be removed on the same manner as that of Judge of
Supreme Court.
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The equivalence of state CIC and that of Election Commissioner and State Information Commissioner with Chief
Secretary of state (Clause in Conditions of services and not constitution) stands removed on salary.
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The Amendment to FCRA proposes to make Aadhaar a mandatory identification document for all the
office-bearers, directors and other key functionaries of an NGO or an association eligible to receive foreign
donations. However, International Commission of Jurists has observed that the amendment is against
international law and violates Resolution 22/6 of United Nations Human Rights Council
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The UNHRC resolution call upon states that legislation affecting the activities of human rights defenders and its
application must be consistent with international human rights law
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The resolution also call upon states to ensure that they do not discriminatorily impose restrictions on potential
sources of funding aimed at supporting the work of human rights defenders.
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Delhi prior to States Reorganisation was PART-C State ruled by Commissioner. • The Delhi State Legislative
Assembly came into being on 7th March, 1952 under the Government of Part-C States Act, 1951. Chaudhary
Brahm Prakash became the first Chief Minister in 1952. Constitution (69thAmendment) Act, 1991, Article
239AA and Article 239AB were added to the Constitution to give constitutional status to the National Capital
Territory of Delhi. This was on the recommendation of the Balakrishna Committee.
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ABOUT THE PLACES OF WORSHIP (SPECIAL PROVISIONS) ACT, 1991 • The law seeks to maintain the
“religious character” of places of worship as it was in 1947 — except in the case of Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri
Masjid dispute, which was then pending in Court.
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THE ACT DOES NOT APPLY TO (EXCEPTIONS) • Any place of worship which is an ancient and historical
monument or an archaeological site or remains covered by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and
Remains Act, 1958. • Any Court proceedings finally decided, settled or disposed of by a Court, Tribunal or other
authority before the commencement of this Act. (1991)
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►IT (INTERMEDIARY GUIDELINES AND DIGITAL MEDIA ETHICS CODE) RULES, 2021 - It defines ‘significant
social media intermediaries’ as those having number of registered users above a certain threshold (to be notified
later). Intermediaries need to block access to unlawful information within 36 hours upon an order from the
Court, or the government, They also need to Identify the First Originator of Information
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For news and current affairs, the following existing codes will apply: (i) norms of journalistic conduct formulated
by the Press Council of India, (ii) programme code under the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995.
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The OTT platforms, called as the publishers of online curated content in the rules, would self-classify the
content into five age based categories – U (Universal), U/A 7+, U/A 13+, U/A 16+, and A (Adult).
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• Blocking Content in case of Emergency - authorised officers may examine digital media content and the
Secretary, MIB may pass an interim direction for blocking of such content. The final order for blocking content
will be passed only after the approval by the Inter-Departmental Committee
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SPICe+ by Ministry of Corporate Affairs would offer 10 services by 3 Central Govt Ministries & Departments
(Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Labour & Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance) and One
State Government (Maharashtra), thereby saving as many procedures, time and cost for Starting a Business in
India and would be applicable for all new company incorporations. • SPICe+ Web form is a post-login service
and existing registered users would need to login into their account using their credentials
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In order to strengthen the security of the communications network in India, the Cabinet Committee on Security in
December 2020 announced the National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector, which will mandate
service providers to purchase equipment from trusted sources. The objective was to specifically check for any
‘backdoor’ or ‘trapdoor’ vulnerabilities. Decision would be based on approval of the National Security Committee
on Telecom headed by the Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA). The National Cyber Security Coordinator
will be the designated authority and will devise the methodology to designate trusted products.
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Automatic Facial Recognition System (AFRS) by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). AFRS will use police
records and will be accessible only to Law Enforcement Agencies. NCRB functions under Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA).
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Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) project of MHA is a Mission Mode Project under the
National e-Governance Plan (NeGP)
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Bid Rigging - means any agreement, between enterprises or engaged in identical or similar production or trading
of goods or provision of services, which has the effect of eliminating or reducing competition for bids or
adversely affecting or manipulating the process for bidding.
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National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, 1993 had defined “Safai Karamcharis” as any person engaged
in, or employed for, manually carrying human excreta or any sanitation work.
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National Commission for Safai Karamcharis Act, 1993 The Act established The National Commission for Safai
Karamcharis which had powers to investigate specific grievances
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National Commission for Safai Karamcharis is functioning as a NON-Statutory body of the Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment
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►NATIONAL PROGRAM AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT POLICY FRAMEWORK = NITI Aayog and Quality
Council of India. NPMPF will prove useful for mega projects like Bharatmala and Sagarmala.
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A company under the Companies Act is liable to contribute 2% of its average net profit for social welfare during
any financial year 1. If a company has a net worth of Rs. 500 crores or more, or 2. If the turnover of a company is
Rs. 1,000 crores or more, or 3. If the net profit of a company is Rs. 5 crore or more
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Contribution of any amount directly or indirectly to any political party shall not be considered as CSR activity.
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Donations made to PM-CARES do not fall under Right to Information Act and also cannot be audited by
Comptroller and Auditor General of India
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donations made under PM-CARES is categorised as an activity within Corporate Social Responsibility.
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• No Budgetary Support to PM-CARES • Foreign Donation Allowed under PM CARES Fund as it is exempted
under FCRA
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Prime Minister are the Chairman of the trust and its members include Defence Minister, Home Minister and
Finance Minister.
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–Donations to this fund will be 100% exempted from income tax under section 80(G)
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Maharashtra Governor has modified The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Forest Rights) Act, 2006, allowing rightful claimants of forest rights to appeal against decisions of the District
Level Committee. The notification also applies to areas covered under the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled
Areas) Act (PESA). Divisional Level Committee shall be headed by Divisional Commissioner.
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Minor forest produce includes all non-timber forest produce of plant origin. MFP is defined under the Scheduled
Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006.
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TRIFED came into existence in 1987 and is a nationallevel apex organization functioning under the
administrative control of Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
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Tech for Tribals is an initiative of TRIFED supported by Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises.
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• A person who has been a Judge of the Supreme Court - also made eligible to be appointed as Chairperson of
the Commission in addition to the person who has been the Chief Justice of India.
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To increase the Members of the Commission from two to three of which, one shall be a woman.
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Island Development Agency (IDA) was setup under the chairmanship of Home Ministry with CEO, NITI Aayog as
its convener. • IDA focuses on holistic Development of 10 islands of India.
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Constitution of India does not provide for creation of Law Commission of India and hence, it is not a
constitutional body. It is constituted through a government order and hence, it is created through an executive
order.
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The Law Commission was originally constituted in 1955 and is re-constituted every three years.
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As of now, the law commission is neither a permanent body nor a statutory body
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Prime Minister chaired the 31st interaction through PRAGATI — the ICT based multi-modal platform for
ProActive Governance and Timely Implementation. The system will ride on, strengthen and re-engineer the data
bases of the CPGRAMS for grievances, Project Monitoring Group (PMG) and the Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation
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Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) “substantially” financed by the government • Office of the Chief Justice
of India (CJI) are public authorities under RTI
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CPGRAMS is an online web-enabled system developed by National Informatics Centre (Ministry of Electronics &
IT [MeitY]), in association with Directorate of Public Grievances (DPG) and Department of Administrative
Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).
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Adjudicating Officers appointed by the UIDAI shall decide such matters, and may impose penalties up to one
crore rupees on such entities. • The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal shall be the appellate
authority against decisions of the Adjudicating Officer.
●
Lokpal shall consist of a Chairperson, who is or has been a Chief Justice of India or is or has been a Judge of the
Supreme Court or an eminent person. The Names proposed by the search committee would be scrutinised by
the selection committee, consisting of— ο the Prime Minister—Chairperson; ο the Speaker of the House of the
People—Member; ο the Leader of Opposition in the House of the People—Member (The Lokpal and Lokayuktas
(Amendment) Act, 2016 , the Chief Justice of India or a Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by
him—Member; ο one eminent jurist, as recommended by the Chairperson and Members
●
The Chairperson and every Member shall, on the recommendations of the Selection Committee, be appointed by
the President by warrant under his hand and seal and hold office as such for a term of five years or until he
attains 70 years of age (whichever is earlier).
●
NDAP is a pan-India initiative by NITI Aayog that aims to democratize access to publicly available government
data. NDAP will follow a user-centric approach and will enable data access.
●
►NITI AAYOG RELEASES DRAFT DATA EMPOWERMENT AND PROTECTION ARCHITECTURE - aims to
promote greater user control on data sharing
●
Section 69A of IT Act grants powers to the Central Government to “issue directions for blocking of public access
to any information through any computer resource”. • The 2009 Rules allow blocking of websites by a court
order and provide for Review Committee to review the decision to block websites as also establishes penalties
for the intermediary that fails to extend cooperation in this respect. • Supreme Court observed that that Section
69A unlike Section 66A is a narrowly drawn provision with several safeguards.
●
blocking must be done based on Reasonable Restrictions provided in Article 19(2). Decision to block must be in
writing so that it can be produced as evidence in Court if required under Article 226 or other provisions.
●
►HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT OF IDENTIFIED ISLANDS–NITI AAYOG • For overall development of the islands of
Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep,
●
National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) where every Indian will get a Health Identity Card which will have
health details of all Indians.• Idea of NDHM is based on NITI Aayog’s Report on National Health Stack (NHS).
●
►THE URBAN LEARNING INTERNSHIP PROGRAM – TULIP Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and
All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have jointly launched. TULIP has been conceived pursuant to
the Budget 2020-21announcement by the Finance Minister under the theme ‘Aspirational India’.
●
Social audit is a process in which, details of the resource, both financial and non-financial, used by public
agencies for development initiatives are shared with the community, often through a public platform.
●
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was the first Act to mandate Social
Audits by the Gram Sabha of all the projects taken up in the Gram Panchayat.
●
System of Inner Line Permit is applicable in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.
●
Assam has two categories of Scheduled Tribes (ST) – ST communities from Plains and ST communities from
Hills.
●
BODOLAND TERRITORIAL COUNCIL - was constituted under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India in
the year 2003 after the signing of Second Bodo Peace Accord
●
Arunachal Government was under the wrong impression of being protected through Inner Line Permit. • The
provisions of Article 371(H) added by Constitution 55th Amendment for Arunachal Pradesh do not ensure full
protection to the State’s people
●
Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN), is seen as a localised version of the National Register of
Citizens (NRC). It is a master list of all indigenous inhabitant
●
• Government of India appointed a Minorities Commission in 1978 under an administrative resolution. Statutory
Body. Central Government shall cause the recommendations to be laid before each House of Parliament along
with a memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed to be taken and the reasons for the
non-acceptance, if any, of any of such recommendations.
●
NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILD RIGHTS (NCPCR) - Statutory Commission. The
Commission shall consist of a Chairperson and six Members, out of which at least two shall be women. • The
Child is defined as a person in the 0 to 18 years age group
●
►NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR WOMEN - statutory body under the National Commission for Women Act,
1990. The Chairperson and every Member shall hold office for period not exceeding three years. The Central
Government shall cause the Reports of NCW to be laid before each House of Parliament along with a
memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed to be taken.
●
►CENTRAL VIGILANCE COMMISSION (CVC) - set up by the Government in February, 1964 on the
recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, An Ordinance by the President in 1998 made
the CVC a multi member Commission with "statutory status"
●
Central Vigilance Commissioner shall be ineligible for appointment in the Commission when he/she ceases to
hold office. Serves for a term of 4 years from the date of his/her appointment.
●
Central Vigilance Commissioner or any Vigilance Commissioner shall be removed shall be removed on grounds
of misbehavior or incapacity ο On order of the President ο And after an enquiry has been conducted by the
Supreme Court
●
National Legal Services Authority shall consist of • Chief Justice of India who shall be the Patron-inChief, • a
Serving or Retired Judge of the Supreme Court to be nominated by the President, in consultation with the Chief
Justice of India, who shall be the Executive Chairman and • Such number of other members, possessing such
experience and qualifications to be nominated
●
• The Legal services authority Act also lays down a framework for Lok Adalats • Every State Authority or
District Authority or Supreme Court Legal Services Committee or every High Court Legal Services Committee or,
Taluk Legal Services Committee may organise Lok Adalats. • Every Lok Adalat organised for an area shall
consist of such number of serving or retired judicial officers and other members as may be prescribed by any of
the respective Authoritie
●
Lok Adalat shall have no jurisdiction in respect of any case or matter relating to an offence not compoundable
under any law. Non-compoundable cases are serious criminal cases which cannot be quashed and compromise
is not allowed between the parties. It is always registered in the name of state.
●
Every award made by a Lok Adalat shall be final and binding on all the parties to the dispute, and no appeal
shall lie to any court against the award.
●
Quality Council of India (QCI) was set up in 1997 jointly by the Government of India and the Indian Industry
represented by the three premier industry associations ASSOCHAM, CII and FICCI. It provides technical support
to both Central and State government departments in implementing ISO 9001 standards. The Department of
Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, is the nodal ministry for QCI.
●
The Competition Act, 2002 establishes the Competition Commission of India. • Competition Act, 2002 was
enacted by replacing Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, (MRTP), 1969 on the recommendations of
Mr S. V. S. Raghavan Committee. The Chairperson and other Members of the Commission shall be appointed by
the Central Government from a panel of names recommended by a Selection Committee consisting of – • the
Chief Justice of India or his nominee – Chairperson • the Secretary in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs – Member
• the Secretary in the Ministry of Law and Justice – Member • two experts of repute
●
Competition Appellate Tribunal has been established for appeals.
●
FSSAI has been established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. It operates under Ministry of Health &
Family Welfare.
●
7th Amendment Act, 1956 Abolished the existing classification of states into four categories i.e., Part A, Part B,
Part C and Part D states, and re-organised them into 14 states and 6 union territories.
●
42th Amendment Act, 1976 - Provided for administrative tribunals and tribunals for other matters (Added Part
XIV A). 5. Froze the seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies on the basis of 1971 census till
2001. 5. Added three new Directive Principles viz., equal justice and free-legal aid, participation of workers in
the management of industries and protection of environment, forests and wild life. 6. Facilitated the
proclamation of national emergency in a part of territory of India. 7. Shifted five subjects from the state list to the
concurrent list, viz., education, forests, protection of wild animals and birds, weights and measures and
administration of justice, constitution and organization all courts except the Supreme Court and the high courts.
●
44th Amendment Act,1978 1. Empowered the president to send back once the advice of cabinet for
reconsideration. But, there considered advice is to be binding on the president. 2. Replaced the term ‘internal
disturbance’ by ‘armed rebellion’ in respect of national emergency. 3. Made the President to declare a national
emergency only on the written recommendation of the cabinet. 4. Deleted the right to property from the list of
Fundamental Rights and made it only a legal right. 5. Provided that the fundamental rights guaranteed by
Articles 20 and 21 cannot be suspended during a national emergency.
●
52th Amendment Act, 1985 (popularly known as Anti-Defection Law) Provided for disqualification of members
of Parliament and state legislatures on the ground of defection and added a new Tenth Schedule containing the
details in this regard.
●
61st Amendment Act,1989 Reduced the voting age from 21 years to 18 years for the Lok Sabha and state
legislative assembly elections.
●
91st Amendment Act,2003 (Made provisions to debar defectors from holding public offices, and to strengthen
the anti-defection law) - The total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Central Council of
Ministers shall not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha, The provision of the Tenth Schedule
(anti-defection law) pertaining to exemption from disqualification in case of split by one-third members of
legislature party has been deleted. It means that the defectors have no more protection on grounds of splits.’
(minimum 2/3rd members need to merge)
●
97th Amendment Act 2012 Introduction of Part IXB in the Constitution of India relating to Co-operative
Societies
●
102nd Amendment Act, 2018 Constitutional Status to National Commission for Backward Classes 103rd
Amendment Act, 2019 A maximum of 10% Reservation for Economically Weaker Sections
●
104th Amendment Act, 2019 To extend the reservation of seats for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and states
assemblies from Seventy years to Eighty years. Removed the reserved seats for the Anglo-Indian community in
the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
●
AK Gopalan Case, 1950 • Corresponds to the charges of violation of fundamental Right to freedom under the
Preventive Detention Act. SC held that the constitutional validity of a law cannot be verified by the Judiciary and
the Judiciary has only the capacity to verify whether the "procedure established by the law" has been followed.
(Article 21 of the Constitution)
●
Champakam Dorairajan Case, 1951 • The case challenged the reservations given to backward classes in
educational institutions in Tamil Nadu. • SC overruled the caste-based reservation as unconstitutional citing
right against discrimination as given in Article 15. (Led to the enactment of First Amendment Act)
●
Shankari Prasad Case, 1952 • The first Constitution Amendment Act, providing for reservations, was
challenged that it violated Fundamental rights. The court held that Parliament has power to amend the
Constitution.
●
Berubari Case, 1960 • While ceding a part of Indian Territory to an alien state the court in an advisory opinion
held that such process cannot take place unless a Constitution amendment to that effect is made. • Court opined
Preamble is not a part of the Constitution
●
Keshav Singh Case, 1964 • One journalist Keshav Singh was held for contempt of legislature for making
scathing criticism and often denigrating on a law passed. He was sentenced to jail. • SC held that the contempt
power of Parliament to issue warrants against individuals must comply with the due process requirements under
Article 21.
●
Sajjan Singh Case, 1965 The case related to the validity of 17th Constitutional Amendment Act which provided
for land acquisition contrary right to property. SC upheld that Fundamental Rights can be amended within the
purview of Article 368
●
Golaknath Case, 1967 SC while reversing the ruling made in Shankari Prasad and Sajjan Singh case held that
constitutional amendment cannot be extended to infringement of Fundamental Rights
●
Maneka Gandhi Casa, 1978 The SC overruled the AK Gopalan case and mooted the "due process of law"
doctrine according to which the procedure according to the law as well as the reasonableness and validity of the
law can be questioned by the Judiciary.
●
Minerva Mills Case, 1980 SC held that Fundamental Rights and Directive Principle of State Policy are
complementary to each other and if any law enacted to implement the Directive Principle not totally
contravening the Fundamental Rights is valid.
●
Hussainara Khatoon vs. State of Bihar First reported case of PIL.
●
Unnikrishnan Case, 1993 SC held that Right to Education also constitutes a Fundamental Rights as part of Right
to life under Act 21.
●
Sarala Mudgal Case, 1995 SC ruled that a man married under Hindu religious law cannot convert himself to
Islam for the purpose of marrying other women.
●
Bommai Case, 1995 SC held that federalism is a part of basic structure and State Governments cannot be
arbitrarily dismissed by a Governor and any such test of confidence of the Executive must be done on the floor of
the Assembly.
●
TMA Pai Case, 2002 SC held that the right to administer minority educational institution is not absolute and the,
State can regulate the institutional affairs to educational standards
●
lnamdhar Case, 2005 SC declared that the reservations for SCs/STs in private educational institutions null and
void. To overcome this judgment, the Government passed 93rd Constitutional Amendment in private institutions.
●
IR Coelho Case, 2006 SC ruled that the 9th Scheduled of the Constitution is subjected to judicial review.
●
Ashok Kumar Thakur Case, 2007 SC upheld the 93rd Constitutional Amendment Act providing for reservation
for SC/STs OBCs in Central Universities as well as Private institutions but subject to a ceiling of 50% of total
seats for reservation.
●
REPRESENTATION OF PEOPLES ACT, 1950 - Allocation of Seats in the House of People; No. of Seats in
Legislative Assemblies ; Allocation of seats in Legislative Council ; Preparation and revision of Electoral rolls ;
●
REPRESENTATION OF PEOPLES ACT, 1951 - Qualification – House of People; Legislative Assembly; Council of
States & Legislative Council ; Disqualification – Members of Parliament and State Legislature. ; Power of
Election Commission to reduce or remove disqualification by reason recorded in writing ; Notification for General
Election (President may notify on the recommendation of Election Commission) ; Registration of political parties ;
Election Deposits; Power of Election Commission for adjournment of Poll or countermanding of Elections on the
grounds of Booth Capturing; Right to Vote ; Appeal on religious grounds ; Prohibition of public meetings during
period of fortyeight hours ending with hour fixed for conclusion of poll ; Return of forfeiture of candidate’s
deposits
●
Three Judge Bench of Supreme Court using Doctrine of Severability has struck down parts of Constitution
Ninety Seventh Amendment which deals with co-operative societies as it did not follow the process laid down
in Article 368(2) of the Indian Constitution.
●
in 2017, the Central Government enabled the financially sound states to borrow directly from external agencies
subject to fulfillment of certain conditions. • The guarantee for such loans is given by the State Government. The
Government of India acts as counter-guarantor
●
The Court by applying Doctrine of Severability held Article 243ZI to 243ZQ as unconstitutional leaving aside
Article 243ZR and 243ZS.
●
Since ‘Cooperatives’ are expressly provided in the State List of 7th Schedule, a constitution amendment required
ratification by 50% of States which was not done in case of 7th Schedule. Thus, the SC ruled that whole of 97th
Constitutional Amendment will not be annulled. However, it will only apply to Multi-State Cooperative Societies
which come under the purview of Central Government. • So, the Supreme Court struck down part IX B of the
Constitution related to cooperative societies but declared the part related to multi-State cooperative societies
both within the various States and in the Union territories of India as valid. • The Court also referred Kihoto
Hollohan judgment where Doctrine of Severability was applied on Tenth Schedule
●
Doctrine of Colourable Legislation It is used to determine questions of competency to enact a law when a
legislature oversteps its conferred power and legislate upon something indirectly which it can’t do in a direct
manner. (Centre enacting something in State’s competence)
●
Doctrine of Severability/ Separability It is applied to remove certain part of a statute, or provisions of law when
declared invalid. Application of the doctrine prevent the entire law being declared unconstitutional
●
Doctrine of Harmonious Construction It is used to avoid any inconsistency, repugnancy or conflict within two or
more statutes, or provisions of the constitution. In case of contradiction, proper harmonization is to be done
between the conflicting parts so that one part does not defeat the purpose of another
●
Registrar General of Supreme Court prepares the roster as per the orders of CJI and CJI alone has the
prerogative to constitute Benches.
●
FIVE TRIGGER POINTS TO USE ARTICLE 224A (appointing retired judges for HC) FOR JUDICIAL
APPOINTMENT: SC 1. If the vacancies are more than 20% of the sanctioned strength. The cases in a particular
category are pending for over five years. 3. More than 10% of the backlog of pending cases is over five years old.
4. The percentage of the rate of disposal is lower than the institution of the cases either in a particular subject
matter or generally in the Court. 5. A situation of mounting arrears is likely to arise if the rate of disposal is
consistently lower than the rate of filing over a period of a year or more
●
Ad Hoc Judge Shall have all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of High Court Judgebut shall not be deemed
to be Judge of that High Court
●
Constitution is silent on – [tenure of Ad Hoc Judges+ number of judges to be appointed] – under Article 224A
●
Memorandum of Procedure(MoP) is an agreement between the judiciary and the government. It contains a set of
guidelines for making appointments to the Supreme Court and High Court. Constitution of India does not
prescribe for following of Memorandum of Procedure. The MoP evolved based on three Judges Case
●
The President of India promulgated the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance,
2021 under Article 123 to amend the Cinematograph Act, 1952, the Customs Act, 1962,, the Trade Marks Act,
1999 and the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 and certain other Acts. Authority
transferred to HCs.
●
The Airports Authority of India Act, 1994 - Central government, for disputes arising from the disposal of
properties left on airport premises by unauthorised occupants. High Court, for appeals against orders of an
eviction officer.
●
The Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002 - Civil Court
●
Supreme Court and High Court will have supervision over these Tribunals as well. Also, judicial power vested in
a tribunal cannot be to the exclusion of High Court or Supreme Court. o Tribunals have the authority to test
constitutionality of subordinate legislation but they do not have power to test the constitutionality of parent
legislation.
●
Article 323A gives exclusive power to the Parliament and Article 323B gives power to the concerned State
Legislature regarding tribunals.
●
Vacation Bench hears urgent matters pertaining to: o Applications for special leave under Article 136. (However,
Vacation Judge shall not decide a petition if raises substantial question of law relating to interpretation of the
Constitution.) o Applications for stay of execution of a decree or order or stay of proceedings in civil matters. o
Applications for transfer of cases under section 406 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to meet ends of
justice. o Applications for stay of proceedings in criminal matters. o Applications under article 32 of the
Constitution of an urgent nature
●
Article 139A(2) - The Supreme Court may, if it deems it expedient so to do for the ends of justice, transfer any
case, appeal or other proceedings pending before any High Court to any other High Court.
●
The all-India judicial service referred shall not include any post inferior to that of a district judge as defined in
article 236.
●
PUBLIC ENTERPRISES SELECTION BOARD • Executive Body - PESB is a high-powered body constituted by the
Government through an executive resolution. It functions under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and
Pensions.
●
WORLD FREEDOM INDEX REPORT - Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
●
• Central Government to appoint CBI Director based on recommendations of Selection Committee comprising: o
Prime Minister – as Chairperson o The Leader of Opposition or Leader of the single largest Opposition Party in
Lok Sabha –Member o Chief Justice of India or Judge of Supreme Court nominated by CJI
●
NHRC has been established in conformity with the Paris Principles for promotion and protection of human rights
and endorsed by the General Assembly of the United Nations
●
STATE HUMAN RIGHT COMMISSION • The Chairperson and Members shall be appointed by the Governor by
warrant under his hand and seal.
●
►FUNCTIONS OF CHIEF SECRETARY • Principal Advisor to the Chief Minister in all matters of state
administration. • He acts as the Secretary to the Council of Ministers. • Administrtative head of the State
Secretariat and attends the meetings of Cabinet and its subcommittees
●
●
Ministry of Home Affairs in 2020 declared Covid-19 as a notified disaster under the Disaster Management Act
for the purpose of providing assistance under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). However, MHA did not
specify payment of ex gratia to families of deceased
●
Supreme Court has mentioned that it is the statutory duty of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)
to recommend guidelines for the minimum standards of relief to be provided to persons affected by disaster,
●
In the Tribal Areas, as referred to in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, the Chief Executive Member of the
District Council of autonomous district, shall be the co-Chairperson.
●
• The notification of the Union Government regarding Mucormysis as an epidemic makes it mandatory for states
to report both suspected and confirmed cases to the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP). • The
objective of IDSP is to strengthen/maintain decentralized laboratory-based IT enabled disease surveillance
system
●
The project was restructured and extended and it continued in the 12th Plan as ISDP under National Health
Mission (NHM)
●
- Tribal Sub Plan scheme is not applicable to the states/UT where tribal population exceeds 60% as the Annual
Plan in these States/UTs is itself a Tribal Plan. TSP was renamed as Scheduled Tribe Component (STC) by
Ministry of Finance. Financial Grant under Article 275(1) by Ministry of Tribal Affairs
●
The Stringency Index is part of the Oxford University’s Covid-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT
●
The Constitution (One Hundred and Second Amendment) Act, 2018 - inserted three new Articles - 342A,
366(26C) and 338B in the Constitution. o Article 338B constituted the National Commission for Backward
Classes o Article 342A dealt with the Central List of the socially and educationally backward classes (commonly
known as the Other Backward Classes) and o Article 366 (26C) defined the socially and educationally backward
classes.
●
Section 80 of RPA 1951 - Any issue with respect to an election must be presented through an election petition.
• Section 80A – High Court of a particular constituency (where such disputes have arisen) shall have the
jurisdiction to try such election petition
●
CORRUPT PRACTICE - SECTION 123 OF RPA, 1951 - Appeal by a candidate on the ground of his religion, race,
caste, community or language. • Use of, or appeal to religious symbols or the use of, or appeal to national
symbols, such as the national flag or the national emblem. The promotion of, or attempt to promote, feelings of
enmity or hatred. The propagation of the practice or the commission of sati or its glorification for election
prospects. • Publication of any false statements about rival candidates – including their personal character and
conduct. • Getting any assistance from any gazetted officer to enhance election prospects. Punishment imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine or with both.
●
allocation of seats in Lok Sabha based on 1971 Census and division of each State into territorial constituencies
based on 2001 Census.
●
Orders of Delimitation Commission cannot be called in question before any Court of law.
●
Composition of Delimitation Commission (i) one member, who shall be a person who is or has been a Judge of
the Supreme Court, to be appointed by the Central Government who shall be the Chairperson of the
Commission; (ii) Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner nominated by the Chief Election
Commissioner, ex officio: (iii) State Election Commissioner of concerned State, ex officio.
●
The Commission shall determine its own procedure and shall, in the performance of its functions, have all the
powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure.
●
MISCELLANEOUS
●
SCHOOL EDUCATION QUALITY INDEX (SEQI) (NITI Aayog)
●
SDG INDIA INDEX (NITI Aayog) in collaboration with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
(MoSPI), the United Nations, and the Global Green Growth Institute
●
GOOD GOVERNANCE INDEX (Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
●
GLOBAL SOCIAL MOBILITY INDEX (World Economic Forum)
●
MEASUREMENT, ACTION, FREEDOM (Walk Free Foundation)
●
WOMEN BUSINESS AND LAW INDEX 2020 (World Bank)
●
DEMOCRACY INDEX (Economist Intelligence Unit)
●
GLOBAL MICROSCOPE FOR FINANCIAL INCLUSION REPORT (Economist Intelligence Unit) GLOBAL
LIVEABILITY RANKING (Economist Intelligence Unit) TECHNOLOGICAL READINESS RANKING (Economist
Intelligence Unit) GLOBAL BROADBAND INDEX (Economist Intelligence Unit) WORLDWIDE COST OF LIVING
SURVEY (Economist Intelligence Unit)
●
WORLD HAPPINESS REPORT (United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network)
●
GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX (Cornell University, INSEAD and WIPO)
●
HENLEY PASSPORT INDEX (HENLEY)
●
CORRUPTION PERCEPTION INDEX (Transparency International)
●
GLOBAL NUTRITION REPORT (Independent Expert Group of the Global Nutrition Report, supported by the
Global Nutrition Report Stakeholder Group.) The World Health Organization (WHO) is a Global Nutrition Report
Partner
●
GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX (Concern Worldwide and Welt Hunger Hilfe) Based on four indicators namely: •
Undernourishment • Child stunting • Child wasting • Child mortality
●
GLOBAL PEACE INDEX 2019 (Institute for Economics and Peace -IEP)
●
WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX (REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS -RSF) - the index only deals with press
freedom and does not measure the quality of journalism nor does it look at human rights violations in general.
●
INDIA CORRUPTION SURVEY 2019 {TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL INDIA (TII) AND LOCAL CIRCLES}
●
GLOBAL GENDER GAP INDEX (WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM) The index tracks progress towards gender parity
and compare countries gender gap across four dimensions: 1) Economic participation and Opportunity 2)
Educational Attainment 3) Health and Survival 4) Political Empowerment. India’s ranking has reduced by 28
places in 2021 edition. (140th rank)
GEOGRAPHY
●
In winter months, the weather conditions over India are generally influenced by the distribution of pressure in
Central and Western Asia.
●
A high pressure centre in the region lying to the north of the Himalayas develops during winter. This centre of
high pressure gives rise to the flow of air at the low level from the north towards the Indian subcontinent, south
of the mountain range
●
The surface winds blowing out of the high pressure centre over Central Asia reach India in the form of a dry
continental air mass. These continental winds come in contact with trade winds over north-western India
●
The variations in the atmospheric pressure closer to the surface of the earth have no role to play in the making
of upper air circulation
●
All of Western and Central Asia remains under the influence of westerly winds along the altitude of 9-13 km
from west to east. These winds blow across the Asian continent at latitudes north of the Himalayas roughly
parallel to the Tibetan highlands. These are known as jet streams.
●
Jets streams play a key role in determining the weather because they usually separate colder air and warmer air.
Jet streams generally push air masses around, moving weather systems to new areas and even causing them to
stall if they have moved too far away
●
When the jets streams are warmer, their ups and downs become more extreme, bringing different types of
weather to areas that are not accustomed to climate variation
●
Tibetian highlands acts a barrier In the path of Jet streams as a result it get bifurcated. One of its branch blow
north of tibetian highland and southern branch blows in an eastward direction, south of the Himalayas there by
influencing winter weather in India.
●
The western cyclonic disturbances which enter the Indian subcontinent from the west and the northwest during
the winter months, originate over the Mediterranean Sea and are brought into India by the westerly jet stream
●
An increase in the prevailing night temperature generally indicates an advance in the arrival of these cyclones
disturbances. Tropical cyclones originate over the Bay of Bengal and the Indian ocean. These tropical cyclones
have very high wind velocity and heavy rainfall and hit the Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa coast. Most
of these cyclones are very destructive due to high wind velocity and torrential rain that accompanies.
●
As the summer sets in and the sun shifts northwards, the wind circulation over the subcontinent undergoes a
complete reversal at both, the lower as well as the upper levels. By the middle of July, the low pressure belt
nearer the surface [termed as Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)] shifts northwards, By this time, the
westerly jet stream withdraws from the Indian region
●
It is generally believed that there is a cause and effect relationship between the ITCZ and jet stream. The ITCZ
being a zone of low pressure, attracts inflow of winds from different directions. The maritime tropical airmass
(mT) from the southern hemisphere, after crossing the equator, rushes to the low pressure area in the general
south-westerly direction. It is this moist air current which is popularly known as the southwest monsoon
●
An easterly jet stream flows over the southern part of the Peninsula in June, The easterlies normally do not
extend to the north of 30 degree N latitude in the upper atmosphere
●
The easterly jet stream steers the tropical depressions into India. These depressions play a significant role in the
distribution of monsoon rainfall over the Indian subcontinent. The tracks of these depressions are the areas of
highest rainfall in India. The frequency at which these depressions visit India, their direction and intensity, all go
a long way in determining the rainfall pattern during the southwest monsoon period
●
In July, the ITCZ is located around 20°N-25°N latitudes (over the Gangetic plain), sometimes called the monsoon
trough. This monsoon trough encourages the development of thermal low over north and northwest India. Due
to the shift of ITCZ, the trade winds of the southern hemisphere cross the equator between 40° and 60°E
longitudes and start blowing from southwest to northeast due to the Coriolis force. It becomes southwest
monsoon. In winter, the ITCZ moves southward, and so the reversal of winds from northeast to south and
southwest, takes place. They are called northeast monsoons
●
During April and May when the sun shines vertically over the Tropic of Cancer, the large landmass in the north
of Indian ocean gets intensely heated. This causes the formation of an intense low pressure in the north-western
part of the subcontinent. • Since the pressure in the Indian Ocean in the south of the landmass is high as water
gets heated slowly, the low pressure cell attracts the southeast trades across the Equator
●
These conditions help in the northward shift in the position of the ITCZ. The southwest monsoon may thus, be
seen as a continuation of the southeast trades deflected towards the Indian subcontinent after crossing the
Equator. These winds cross the Equator between 40°E and 60°E longitudes.
●
After withdrawal of westerly jet streams, easterly jet stream sets in at 15 degree N, thereby resulting in burst of
monsoon in India.
●
There seem to be two rain-bearing systems in India. 1. In Bay of Bengal causing rainfall over the plains of north
India. 2. Arabian Sea current of the south- west monsoon which brings rain to the west coast of India. Much of
the rainfall along the Western Ghats is orographic as the moist air is obstructed and forced to rise along the
Ghats.
●
The intensity of rainfall over the west coast of India is, however, related to two factors: (i) The offshore
meteorological conditions. (ii) The position of the equatorial jet stream along the eastern coast of Africa.
Frequency of tropical depressions depends on position of ITCZ/ monsoon trough
●
During the south-west monsoon period after having rains for a few days, if rain fails to occur for one or more
weeks, it is known as break in the monsoon. These dry spells are quite common during the rainy season.
●
In northern India rains are likely to fail if the rain- bearing storms are not very frequent along the monsoon
trough or the ITCZ over this region. (ii) Over the west coast the dry spells are associated with days when winds
blow parallel to the coast
●
EI-Nino is a complex weather system that appears once every three to seven years,
●
By the end of December (22nd December), the sun shines vertically over the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern
hemisphere. The weather in this season is characterised by feeble high pressure conditions over the northern
plain.
●
Winter monsoons do not cause rainfall as they move from land to the sea. 1. They have little humidity 2. Due to
anti cyclonic circulation on land, the possibility of rainfall from them reduces. So, most parts of India do not have
rainfall in the winter season.
●
In North-western India, some weak temperate cyclones from the Mediterranean sea cause rainfall in Punjab,
Haryana, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh. (ii) During October and November, northeast monsoon while
crossing over the Bay of Bengal, picks up moisture and causes torrential rainfall over the Tamil Nadu coast,
southern Andhra Pradesh, southeast Karnataka and southeast Kerala.
●
. In the coastal regions, the north-south extent of isotherms parallel to the coast confirms that temperature does
not decrease from north to south rather it increases from the coast to the interior.
●
Monsoon Winds of the Arabian Sea: The monsoon winds originating over the Arabian Sea further split into three
branches: (i) Its one branch is obstructed by the Western Ghats. These winds climb the slopes of the Western
Ghats from 900-1200 m. Soon, they become cool, and as a result, the windward side of the Sahyadris and
Western Coastal Plain receive very heavy rainfall ranging between 250 cm and 400 cm. After crossing the
Western Ghats, these winds descend and get heated up. This reduces humidity in the winds. As a result, these
winds cause little rainfall east of the Western Ghats. This region of low rainfall is known as the rain-shadow
area. (orographic) (ii) Another branch of the Arabian sea monsoon strikes the coast north of Mumbai. Moving
along the Narmada and Tapiriver valleys, these winds cause rainfall in extensive areas of central India.
Thereafter, they enter the Ganga plains and mingle with the Bay of Bengal branch. (iii) A third branch of this
monsoon wind strikes the Saurashtra Peninsula and the Kachchh. It then passes over west Rajasthan and along
the Aravalis, causing only a scanty rainfall.
●
Monsoon Winds of the Bay of Bengal - The Bay of Bengal branch strikes the coast of Myanmar and part of
southeast Bangladesh. But the Arakan Hills along the coast of Myanmar deflect a big portion of this branch
towards the Indian subcontinent. • The monsoon, therefore, enters West Bengal and Bangladesh from south
and southeast instead of south-westerly direction. From here, this branch splits into two under the influence of
the Himalayas and the thermal low in northwest India. • Its one branch moves westward along the Ganga plains
reaching as far as the Punjab plains. • The other branch moves up the Brahmaputra valley in the north and the
northeast, causing widespread rains. • Its sub-branch strikes the Garo and Khasi hills of Meghalaya.
Mawsynram, located on the crest of Khasi hills, receives the highest average annual rainfall in the world.
●
The Tamil Nadu coast is situated parallel to the Bay of Bengal branch of southwest monsoon. (ii) It lies in the
rain shadow area of the Arabian Sea branch of the south-west monsoon.
●
The months of October and November are known for retreating monsoons. • By the end of September, the
southwest monsoon becomes weak as the low pressure trough of the Ganga plain starts moving southward in
response to the southward march of the sun. • The retreating southwest monsoon season is marked by clear
skies and rise in temperature.
●
The weather in the retreating monsoon is dry in north India but it is associated with rain in the eastern part of
the Peninsula. Here, October and November are the rainiest months of the year
●
Indian monsoon gets influenced by the atmospheric dust particles swept up by winds from deserts in the
Middle East (Asian Deserts)
●
Aerosol influence occurs through scattering and absorbing radiation.
●
When carried by strong winds into the atmosphere, dust particles (Aerosols) from the Middle East absorb solar
radiation and become extremely hot. • The heat from these particles raises the heat of its surrounding
environment enough to change air pressure and circulation patterns of the wind. • This phenomenon is termed
as Elevated Heat Pump i.e., responsible for driving more moisture from sea to the Indian sub-continent, and
consequently increasing precipitation
●
Dust particles boost the power of Indian monsoons and monsoons increase the winds in the Middle East and
subsequently produce more dust aerosols.
●
With stronger monsoon there is heating in the upper atmosphere.
●
Solar Dimming Effect: it is a process where aerosols block the solar radiation from reaching the surface. It
causes land surface temperature to cool down which interferes with hydrological processes by reducing
evaporation and in turn reducing rainfall.
●
Scientists have found that aerosols have led to increased incidents of high rainfall events in the foothills of the
Himalayan Region
●
Aerosol can affect the radiative balance of the climate system by 1. directly scattering or absorbing sunlight, or
2. acting as cloud condensation nuclei & ice nuclei & thus modify the optical properties as well as lifetimes of
clouds . • Aerosols lead to enhancement or suppression of the Indian summer monsoon rainfall depending on
their duration & scale along with their tendency to scatter sunlight directly back into space, or by changing the
size of cloud particles, thus negatively affecting their capacity to absorb sunlight
●
The mixing height is the height of vertical mixing of air and suspended particles above the ground. • This height
is dependent upon atmospheric temperature profile
●
Vertical wind shear is a change in wind speed or direction with a change in altitude. Horizontal wind shear is a
change in wind speed with a change in lateral position for a given altitude.
●
When the wind shear is weak, cyclones grow vertically, and the latent heat from condensation is released into
the air directly above the storm, aiding in development. • Strong winds usually de-stabilize a cyclone and make
it less intense. • It means that the storms become more slanted/tilted and the latent heat release is dispersed
over a much larger area
●
‘Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Adaptation Planning in India Using a Common Framework’ was released
by Ministry of Science (not Ministry of Earth Sciences).
●
Flash drought develops at an unusually fast rate due to extreme weather conditions & persists from a few
weeks to some months
●
A drought year is defined by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) as a year in which: The overall rainfall
deficiency is more than 10% of the Long Period Average value (LPA) value; and If more than 20% of its area is
affected by drought conditions, either moderate or severe or combined moderate & severe
●
When the spatial coverage of drought is more than 40%, it will be called All India Severe Drought Year.
●
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the Integrated Drylands Development
Programme (IDDP) for drought management.
●
There is no single, legally accepted definition of drought in India. State Government is the final authority when it
comes to declaring a region as drought affected.
●
Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical substance in the universe. • It is not found in pure form on Earth. • It
must be produced from other compounds such as natural gas, biomass, alcohols, or water
●
At standard temperature & pressure, hydrogen is a nontoxic, nonmetallic, odorless, tasteless, colorless, & highly
combustible diatomic gas with the molecular formula H2.
●
The fuel produced from fossil fuels is called grey hydrogen. 2. Fuel produced from fossil fuels with carbon
capture & storage options are called blue hydrogen
●
A fuel cell converts chemical energy into electrical energy using oxidising agents through an oxidationreduction
reaction
●
In fuel cells, direct conversion of chemical energy into electrical energy. More efficient. Compared to diesel or
gas, H2 is more fuel efficien
●
Fuel cells are very expensive to produce
●
In the Decreasing order of overall efficiency: EVs > Hydrogen > Diesel > Petrol vehicles
●
Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in association with the Biodiesel Association of India (BDAI)
launched RUCO (Repurpose used cooking oil) Project. • It aims to convert vegetable oils, animal fats or
restaurant grease that has already been used in cooking into biodiesel for running diesel vehicles.
●
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) • It is a slightly better mode used to measure pollution load in the water. •
COD measures the amount of oxygen in parts per million required to oxidize organic (biodegradable &
non-biodegradable) & oxidizable inorganic compounds in the water sample.
●
India is the world’s 4th largest country in terms of total wind installations after China, the USA and Germany.
●
National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) will act as the Nodal Agency for the development of offshore wind
energy in the country. It has been established in Chennai in the 1998, as an autonomous R&D institution
●
As per the existing Indian Ports Act, 1908, the powers to plan, develop, regulate and control the minor ports
vest with the State governments. • However, the new draft Indian Ports Bill 2021 proposes to change this and
transfer many of these powers to MSDC, which has so far been only an advisory body. • Many powers currently
exercised by State governments would be taken over by the Union Government
●
Major Port Authorities Act • It replaced Major Trust Act, 1963. • The Major Port Authorities Act, with the
intention of decentralizing power, provides for the formation of a Board of Major Port Authority for each of the
major ports. • These boards will replace the existing Union government-appointed port trusts.
●
SAROD-Ports: SAROD-Ports were launched in 2020 for affordable & timely resolution of disputes in a fair
manner and enrichment of Dispute Resolution Mechanism with the panel of technical experts as arbitrators. This
institution will promote ease of doing business in the maritime sector because of the fast, timely, cost-effective
and robust dispute resolution mechanism.
●
Deepest Port: Gangavaram Port (Vishkhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh)
●
Largest Port by volume of cargo handled: Kandla Port
●
Southernmost Port in India: Tuticorin Port
●
Apart from the CIOB, polymetallic nodules have been identified from the central Pacific Ocean. It is known as the
Clarion-Clipperton Zone. India not involved currently
●
IREDA is a Mini Ratna (Category – I) Public Limited Government Company. • It is under the administrative control
of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy. • IREDA is established as a Non-Banking Financial Institution in 1987.
●
The Muruntau mine, Uzbekistan is one of the largest gold mines in the world. • Kalgoorlie Superpit Gold Mine,
Western Australia. • Boddington Gold Mine, Western Australia. • Grasberg mine, Indonesia
●
The Assam government has decided to provide garments made of ‘Eri’ to grade IV employees. • ‘Eri’ is a variety
of silk produced in the NE states. It is product of domesticated silkworm, philosamia ricini that feeds mainly on
castor leaves. • Unlike Other kind of silk, this cannot be reeled & it is only spun. • India is the only country
producing all five kinds of silk
●
India is the 2nd largest producer of wheat in the world.
●
About 85% of the rural water supply in India is dependent on groundwater.
●
UP, MP & the Centre signed a tripartite agreement last month to transfer “surplus” water from the Ken basin in
MP to the “deficit” Betwa basin in UP. It is India’s first river linking project & will take 8 years
to complete.
●
In the Ken Gharial Sanctuary gharials (CR fish-eating freshwater crocodiles) are bred in captivity and then
released
●
Krishnaraja Sagar Dam - Karnataka and Mettur Dam - Largest in Tamil Nadu. Both on Cauvery
●
Jal Jeevan Mission, launched in 2019, envisions to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual
household tap connections by 2024 to all households in RURAL India. JJM will be based on acommunity
approach to water (Jan Andolan for water— making water everyone’s priority. Jal Shakti Ministry
●
JJM Urban - MoHUA and not Jalshakti
●
Magneto-telluric (MT) is a geophysical method which uses natural time variation of the Earth’s magnetic &
electric fields to understand geological (underground) structure & processes
●
A huge ice block has broken off from Western Antarctica into the Weddell Sea, becoming largest iceberg in the
world
●
An iceberg (Freshwater) is less dense than salty sea water. b) So, while the amount of sea water displaced by
the iceberg is equal to its weight, the melted fresh water will take up a slightly larger volume than the displaced
salt water. c) This results in a small increase in the water level
●
Melting sea ice does not contribute directly to sea level rise (ice floats and displaces the same volume of water),
but sea ice is important because it enhances climate warming
●
loss of water on land is shifting the earth’s axis of rotation. • Earth’s axis of rotation has been rotating faster
than normal since the 1990s due to the sig
●
Geoglyphs are large man-made, un-explained geometrical patterns on land.
●
Females predominate the streams of short distance rural to rural migration. • Men predominate the rural to
urban stream or interstate migration due to economic reasons.
●
The Migrant Workmen Act, 1979 covers only laborers brought by a contractor & not independent migrants
●
The Kopili fault zone is a 300 km long & 50 km wide faultline extending from the western part of Manipur up to
the tri-junction of Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh & Assam. • It is a tectonic depression filled up by the alluvium of
the Kopili river & its tributaries. Kopili River is an interstate river flowing through the states of Meghalaya &
Assam. It is a south bank tributary of the Brahmaputra in Assam.
●
Sikkim Himalaya comes under high seismic hazard zone designated as Zone IV.
●
The substance, which is known as marine mucilage or "sea snot," forms when algae are overloaded with
nutrients. • It looks like a viscous, brown & foamy substance. • It is attributed to rising seawater temperatures &
pollution from waste poured into the sea & its tributaries
●
Bio char is charcoal that is used as soil amendment (minor improvement). • It is created using a pyrolysis
process (decomposition brought about by high temperatures), heating biomass in a low oxygen environment. •
Once the pyrolysis reaction has begun, it is selfsustaining, requiring no outside energy input. It increases crop
yields, sometimes substantially if the soil is in poor condition. • It helps to prevent fertilizer runoff & leeching,
allowing the use of less fertilizers. • It retains moisture, helping plants through periods of drought more easily
●
Most importantly, it replenishes exhausted or marginal soils with organic carbon • It fosters the growth of soil
microbes essential for nutrient absorption, particularly mycorrhizal fungi. • Bio char can increase soil fertility of
acidic soils (The most fertile soils are slightly acidic). • Bio-char reduces the acidity of the soil,
●
When two hurricanes spinning in the same direction pass close enough to each other, theybegin an intense
dance around their common centre. • If one hurricane is a lot stronger than the other, the smaller one will orbit it
& eventually come crashing into its vortex to be absorbed.
●
Medicanes are extra tropical cyclones formed over the Mediterranean Sea. • Medicanes occur more in colder
waters. The cores of these storms are also cold, as compared to the warm cores of tropical cyclones. • Warmer
cores tend to carry more moisture (hence rainfall), are bigger in size and have swifter winds.
●
Indian Ocean Cyclones Atlantic Hurricanes Western Pacific Typhoons Western Australia Willy-willies
●
The name ‘Nivar’, is suggested by Iran, according to the list prepared by the World Meteorological Organisation’s
panel.
●
A cold wave is declared when there’s a significant drop in minimum or night-time temperature. • Cold Wave is
considered when the minimum temperature of a station is 10°C or less (for Plains), and it is 0°C or less (for Hilly
regions)
●
Based on Departure ✓ Cold Wave ⸻ Negative Departure from normal is 4.5°C to 6.4°C ✓ Severe Cold
Wave ⸻Negative Departure from normal is more than 6.4°C
●
Based on Actual Minimum Temperature (For plain stations only) ✓ Cold Wave ⸻When the minimum
temperature is ≤ 04°C ✓ Severe Cold Wave ⸻When the minimum temperature is ≤ 02°C • Cold Wave
conditions for coastal stations ✓ When minimum temperature departure is 4.5°C or less and the minimum
temperature is 15°C or less.
●
Rossby Waves can also be responsible for droughts in India. • 10 out of 23 droughts in India in the past century
have occurred during years when El Niño was absent
●
The meandering jet streams are called Rossby Waves. • These waves occur naturally in the atmosphere &
oceans due to rotation of earth (Coriolis Force).
●
In its pure form, ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) is a white, crystalline chemical which is soluble in water. • It is the
main ingredient in the manufacture of commercial explosives used in mining and construction. • It is a common
chemical ingredient of agricultural fertilisers. • However, ammonium nitrate cannot be separated from fertilisers
●
Pure ammonium nitrate is not an explosive on its own.
●
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The member states of the NOAA include the major
Pacific Rim countries. • NOAA has developed the ‘Deep Ocean Assessment & Reporting of Tsunamis’ (DART)
gauge.
●
Tsunami Ready Programme of UNESCO is a community performance-based programme that facilitates tsunami
preparedness. ‘Tsunami Ready’ Tag is given by Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of
UNESCO.
●
Tsunami Ready in India is implemented by the National Board, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)
●
The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) is an international coalition of countries, United Nations
(UN) agencies, multilateral development banks, the private sector, & academic institutions.
●
Any hydrocarbon fuel i.e. Solid, Liquid or Gas, that is produced from an organic matter which may be living or
once living material, in a short period of time is considered a biofuel. • Examples include: ✓ Solid: Wood,
manure ✓ Liquid: Bioethanol and Biodiesel ✓ Gaseous: Biogas
●
As biofuels emit less carbon dioxide (CO2) than conventional fuels they can be blended with existing fuels
●
First Generation biofuels are produced directly from food crops through conventional methods like fermentation
●
These biofuels can produce Negative Net energy gains, releasing more carbon in their production
●
They are produced from non-food crops such as wood, organic waste, food crop waste and specific biomass
crops,
●
they will increase Positive net energy gains
●
The Third Generation of biofuels takes advantage of specially engineered energy crops such as algae. • The
algae are cultured to act as a low-cost, high-energy and entirely renewable feedstock. • It is predicted that algae
will have the potential to produce more energy per acre than conventional crops.
●
The Third Generation of biofuels takes advantage of specially engineered energy crops such as algae. • The
algae are cultured to act as a low-cost, high-energy and entirely renewable feedstock. • It is predicted that algae
will have the potential to produce more energy per acre than conventional crops.
●
Four Generation Bio-fuels are aimed at not only producing sustainable energy but also a way of capturing and
storing CO2. at all stages of production the carbon dioxide is captured using processes such as oxy-fuel
combustion. • The carbon dioxide can then be geo-sequestered by storing it in old oil and gas fields or saline
aquifers. They are made up from Genetically Engineered Crops.
●
Biofuel is made from renewable resources and relatively less-flammable compared to fossil diesel.
●
They have higher cetane and better lubricating properties. • This keeps the engine running for longer, requires
less maintenance
●
Disadvantages of Biofuels - Unless more efficient means of production are put into place, the overall carbon
emission does not get a very big dent in it. It also causes an increase in NOx.
●
●
Biofuel is less suitable for use in low temperatures
●
National Policy on Biofuels 2018 - promoting the production of biofuels from domestic feedstock in the coming
decade Set up second-generation (2G) biorefineries
●
The Policy categorises biofuels as: - i. Basic Biofuels – First Generation (1G) bioethanol & biodiesel and ii.
Advanced Biofuels – Second Generation (2G) ethanol, Municipal Solid Waste to drop-in fuels, iii. Third
Generation (3G) biofuels, bio-CNG etc. (Actual 3G uses Algae).
●
Surplus food grains with the approval of National Biofuel Coordination Committee.
●
Biodiesel • It is produced through a biochemical process called “Transesterification.”. Jatropha seeds rich in oil.
●
Biobutanol is a four-carbon alcohol produced by the fermentation of biomass. • The production of biobutanol
can be carried out in ethanol production facilities. , it has a lower energy content, on average 10-20%, than that
of gasoline. Biobutanol exhibits the potential to reduce carbon emissions by 85% when compared to gasoline
●
The Care 4 Chendamangalam (C4C) initiative is supporting the 2018 Kerala flood-affected weavers was in news
recently. • The GI-tagged Chendamangalam sari is recognisable by its puliyilakara border, a thin black line that
runs abreast with the sari’s selvedge.
●
Globally, geographical Indications are covered as a component of intellectual property rights (IPRs) under the
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. also governed by WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
●
The registration of a geographical indication is valid for a period of 10 years (same for a trademark).
●
Green fuels are called as biofuels. • E20 fuel is a, blend of 20% of ethanol with gasoline, as an automotive fuel
and for the adoption of mass emission standards for this fuel.
●
The current permissible level of blending is 10% of ethanol. • India reached only 5.6% of blending in 2019
●
India is the largest user of groundwater in the world. • It is about 25% of the global groundwater extraction
●
The Ocean Services, Technology, Observations, Resources Modelling and Science (OSMART) Scheme is an
umbrella scheme of the Ministry of Earth Sciences. To generate and regularly update information on Marine
Living Resources and their relationship with the physical environment in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone
(EEZ), 2) To monitor levels of sea water pollutants. advisories, warnings, data and data products, ocean forecast,
underwater vehicles, ballast water treatment,
●
The Rodrigues Triple Junction (RTJ), also known as the Central Indian [Ocean] Triple Junction (CITJ) is a geologic
triple junction in the southern Indian Ocean where three tectonic plates meet: the African Plate, the
Indo-Australian Plate, and the Antarctic Plate. Rodrigues is an autonomous region of Republic of Mauritius
●
Countries near the Equator do not experience high variations in daytime hours between seasons
●
Mt. Everest is known as Sagarmatha in Nepal. • In China it is called Mt Qomolangma,
●
The suture zones also provide the only record of deep oceanic crust & of ancient sea floor processes for roughly
the first 90% of Earth’s history. A suture zone is a linear belt of intense deformation, where distinct terranes, or
tectonic units with different plate tectonic histories join together.
●
Toda tribes are a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group settled in the upper Nilgiris. • Invasive species such as
acacia are pushing Toda community out of cattle rearing.
●
: The Ministry of Environment launched an online system for issuing transit permits for timber, bamboo and other
forest produce.
●
Green Blue Policy - Delhi Development Authority
●
National Capital Region Transport Corporation - is mandated to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain
RRTS in NCR and works under the administrative control of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, GOI. • NCRTC
is mandated to implement India’s first RRTS in NCR
●
} Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project - Lift irrigation is a method of irrigation in which water is not transported by
natural flow, (as in gravity-fed canal) but is lifted with pumps or surge pools, etc. Kaleshwaram is one of the
world’s largest multipurpose project on river Godavari. The project starts at the confluence point of Pranahita
River & Godavari River
●
The Kadar are Adivasi, a designated Scheduled Tribe in the Indian states of TN, Karnataka, and Kerala. • They
are an aboriginal tribe whose traditional way of life has been based on hunting and gathering
●
Parambikulam Tiger Reserve • It is between the Anaimalai Hills and Nelliampathy Hills. • It is located in the
Palakkad District of Kerala. • The reserve is credited with the first scientifically managed teak plantation in the
world.
●
NIIF is India’s first sovereign wealth fund (sate-owned fund) set up by GOI in 2015. • NIIF is a collaborative
investment platform for international and Indian investors, anchored by GOI. It was setup as a Category-II
Alternate Investment Fund.
●
The corals found across rocky patches along the Mumbai coastline are mostly fast-growing & non-reef building
corals.
●
Coral along Mumbai’s coastline will be translocated soon to make way for the Coastal Road project.
●
Australia's Great Barrier Reef Drops To 'Critical' Status’ in IUCN List. It can be seen from outer space and is the
world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms.
●
Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) • SAGAR is India's doctrine of maritime cooperation in the
Indian Ocean region
●
Odisha has 13 tribes which are recognised as PVTGs, the highest in the country.
●
Bonda Tribes • It’s a tribal community residing in the hill ranges of Malkangiri district in Odisha. • Bondas, a
particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG), live in settlements. Bondas have almost no connection to the outside
world
●
Brus? • They are a community indigenous to the Northeast, living mostly in Tripura, Mizoram, and Assam. • In
Tripura, they are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group. • In Mizoram, Mizos demanded that the
Brus be excluded from electoral rolls.
●
e five PVTGs in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands include Sentinelese, Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, and
Shompens.
●
The Uttar Pradesh government to take the unique culture of its ethnic Tharu tribe across the world. • The
community belongs to the Terai lowlands, of the Shivaliks or lower Himalayas. The word tharu is believed to be
derived from sthavir, meaning followers of Theravada Buddhism. • The Tharus live in both India & Nepal. Tharus
worship Lord Shiva as Mahadev, & call their supreme being “Narayan”. • Tharu women have stronger property
rights.
●
ENVIRONMENT
●
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently released its annual Emissions Gap Report 2020.
Around two thirds of global emissions are linked to the private household activities
●
Other Reports by UNEP - Adaptation Gap Report;
●
Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) - published by Germanwatch, New Climate Institute and the
Climate Action Network. First three ranks of the overall ranking remained empty. From the G20 countries, this
year, only the EU as a whole, along with the UK and India, rank among high performers.
●
Global Climate Risk Index • It was released by Germanwatch. • Index analyses to what extent countries and
regions have been affected by impacts of weather-related loss events (storms, floods, heat waves etc.). India
was the seventh worst-hit country, Mozambique the most.
●
State of the Global Climate report (Provisional) was released by World Meteorological Organization (WMO). to
monitor the domains most relevant to climate change,
●
Ministry of Earth Sciences’ (MoES) released a report titled ‘Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian
Region’. It is a first ever attempt to document and assess climate change in different parts of India.
●
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas (84-86 times stronger than CO2 over 20 years) and the second biggest
contributor to human-caused global warming after CO2.
●
N2O is a long-lived greenhouse gas (GHG) and an ozone-depleting substance, with an atmospheric lifetime of
116±9 years. • It is the third most important GHG. Agricultural production contributed almost 70% to global
anthropogenic N2O emission
●
National Centre of Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) found the largest decline in the Arctic Sea ice. National
Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) • It was established as an autonomous Research and
Development Institution of the Ministry of Earth Sciences
●
Aerosol Radiative Forcing (ARF) • Effect of aerosols on climate is normally quantified in terms of ARF. ○
Radiative forcing is a measure of the influence a factor has in altering the balance of incoming and outgoing
energy in the Earth-atmosphere system and is an index of the importance of the factor as a potential climate
change mechanism. ARF is the net change in energy balance of the earth system due to some forced
perturbation by anthropogenic aerosols
●
NITI Aayog in collaboration with International Transport Forum (ITF) have jointly launched the Decarbonising
Transport in India project. The ITF is an inter-governmental organisation within the OECD. It is the only global
body with a mandate for all modes of transport. India has been a member
●
Green-Ag Project • It aims to bring at least 104,070 ha of farms under sustainable land and water management.
Project will be implemented in 5 state: Mizoram, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Uttarakhand. • It is
funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Implementation - Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
●
In India agriculture and livestock accounts for 18% of gross national emissions, the third-highest sector after
energy and industry. o Out of this more than 85% of emissions are due to cattle production system, rice
cultivation and ruminant meat
●
Environmental Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) was constituted under Environment
Protection Act, 1986 with the objective of preventing and controlling the environmental pollution in the National
Capital Region
●
Pusa bio-decomposer • Recently, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Pusa, Delhi has developed a
decomposer capsule, “Pusa bio-decomposer” which could be converted into a liquid solution and sprayed on
fields to decompose the stubble. After making the liquid, he has to add jaggery and gram flour in it and has to
sprinkle that liquid on the stubble, after which it would bio-degrade in 20 days
●
Anti-smog gun is designed to create an ultra-fine fog, comprising very fine water droplets (less than 10-micron
in size). • These tiny water droplets will be spread over a sizeable area with the help of a high-speed fan, which
can absorb smallest dust particles in air.
●
Green crackers release water vapour and don't allow the dust particles to rise. They are designed to have 30%
less particulate matter pollution
●
Green Charcoal is a type of bio-fuel that can be made locally and inexpensively. • To make this, agricultural
waste materials appropriate to the season and the region are carbonized (conversion of an organic substance
into carbon or a carbon-containing residue) in a kiln. • It burns cleanly, reducing exposure to the smoke that
causes respiratory infections
●
Wet FGD: A shower of lime slurry is sprayed into a flue gas scrubber, where the SO2 is absorbed into the spray
and becomes a wet calcium sulfite and waste water.
●
FGD wastewater can be effectively and efficiently treated using large filter presses or large vacuum belt filters
for very large sludge production.
●
Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) • It is currently the most widely applied technology. • Ammonia is used as a
reducing agent to convert NOx to nitrogen in the presence of a catalyst in a converter. o The catalyst is usually a
mixture of titanium dioxide, vanadium pentoxide, and tungsten trioxide. • SCR can remove 60–90% of NOx from
flue gases.
●
• An electrostatic precipitator is a filtration device that removes fine particles, like dust and smoke, from a
flowing gas using the force of an induced electrostatic charge minimally impeding the flow of gases through the
unit.
●
Ammonia (NH3) is a colourless highly reactive and soluble alkaline gas. • It is prominent constituent of the
nitrogen cycle that adversely affects ecosystems at higher concentrations. • Ammonia is stored in liquid form
under high pressure or in gaseous form at low temperature. • Ammonia is naturally present in the body and
secreted by the kidneys to neutralise excess acid, while ammonia in the form of nitrogen is essential for plant
growth.
●
According to the Environment Protection Act, 1986, the levels of indoor air pollutants are often 2-5 times higher
than outdoor levels.
●
Biodegradable plastics are plastics degraded by microorganisms into water, carbon dioxide (or methane) and
biomass under specified conditions. India is a signatory to MARPOL (International Convention for the Prevention
of Pollution from Ships, 1978). In addition, Prevention of Marine Pollution is also dealt with by Merchant
Shipping Rules, 2009 under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958
●
A no objection certificate (NOC) is mandatory for new and existing industries, group housing societies, and
private water supply tankers for withdrawal of groundwater. • Projects falling within 500 m. from demarcated
wetland areas shall mandatorily submit a detailed proposal. Digital flow meters compulsory
●
Micro and small enterprises drawing groundwater less than 10 cubic metre/day are exempted
●
ZERO LIQUID DISCHARGE (ZLD) - is a water treatment process to recirculate all the water back to the process
with zero liquid waste. • A ZLD system involves a range of advanced wastewater treatment technologies for
treating water up to the level that can be reused inside the same Company.
●
Plastic credit model ü In this producer is not required to recycle their own packaging, but to ensure that an
equivalent amount of packaging waste has been recovered and recycled to meet their obligation. Producers and
processors/ exporters may exchange p
●
Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) ü Under this an organisation will manage the waste on behalf of
producers. ü Municipal bodies can also register as PRO or waste collector.
●
Electronic waste (ewaste) refers to all items of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and its parts that have
been discarded as waste without intent of re-use.
●
Bio-gasification • In this, bio-degradable component of the waste is decomposed in an anaerobic (absence of
oxygen) environment and biogas is liberated. • Wealth: o Biogas can be used as fuel for cooking and in gas
engines for generation of electricity. o Residual slurry from biogas plant is converted to compost through
vermicomposting which is utilized in organic farming
●
Recently, Cabinet ratified ban of 7 Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP’s) listed under Stockholm Convention.
Also, the Cabinet has delegated its powers to ratify chemicals under the Stockholm Convention to Union
Ministries of External Affairs (MEA) and Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)
●
The ratification process would enable India to access Global Environment Facility (GEF) financial resources in
updating National Implementation Plan (NIP). o NIP is to meet the country’s obligations under the Stockholm
Convention.
●
Organochlorines seem to be the reason behind a mystery disease that has impacted 450 patients in with
seizures, nausea, dizziness and headaches. • Organochlorines are a group of chlorinated compounds that belong
to the class of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). o They are relatively cheaper and as a result widely used as
pesticides
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ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE INDEX (EPI) - by Yale University.
●
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 (SPB 2011- 2020) • SPB 2011-2020 was adopted by the parties to
the CBD, 20 targets organized under 5 strategic goals, collectively known as the Aichi Biodiversity Targets
(ABTs).
●
Global Biodiversity Outlook - It is a flagship publication of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). •
GBO-5 provides global summary of progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. none of the 20 targets have
been fully achieved, though six targets have been partially achieved
●
Findings related to Indian species: o No confirmed sightings of the Jerdon's Courser (CR) since 2009: Jerdon's
Courser is a nocturnal bird known only from Eastern Ghats (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana) and is found on the
fringes of Sri Lankamaleswara Wildlife Sanctuary. ü It inhabits open patches within scrub-forest. This habitat is
under tremendous pressure due to various anthropogenic activities. o Himalayan Quail (CR) was last spotted in
2010 however it may still be extant, with an estimated year of extinction of 2023: The Himalayan quail is a
medium-sized bird belonging to the pheasant family, with distinctive red or yellow bill and legs, and prominent
white spots around the eyes. It is native to India, found only in the mountains of Uttarakhand in north-west
Himalayas. o All five freshwater dolphins species - Ganga, Amazon, Indus, Irrawaddy and Tucuxi - are
threatened with extinction.
●
Red List Assessment of Indian Grasshoppers will also include a new species of grasshopper (named
'TettilobusTrishula' or ‘Shiva’s pygmy trishula’) discovered in the Eravikulam National Park in Kerala’s Idukki
district. Grasshoppers live in all sorts of environments except those covered in snow
●
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has jointly
released a report titled The State of the World’s Forests (SOFO) 2020
●
More than half of the world’s forests are found in only 5 countries - Brazil, Canada, China, Russia and US
●
Forest-Specialist index, developed by World Wildlife Fund, has fell by 53% between 1970 and 2014 which
highlights the increased risk of species becoming vulnerable to extinction.
●
WWF is the world's largest privately financed conservation organization
●
Four species of locusts are found in India: Desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria), Migratory locust (Locusta
migratoria), Bombay Locust (Nomadacris succincta) and Tree locust (Anacridium sp.).
●
Desert locusts are “biphasic” animals, meaning they can take on two entirely different forms. o In their “solitary”
form, they are drab brown in colour and relatively harmless to crops.
●
Under certain conditions (such as optimum moisture and vegetation), the insects can switch into a “gregarious
form” and start forming swarms – turning electric yellow and displaying swarming behaviour.
●
Indian Ocean particularly warm. o Heavy rain triggers the growth of vegetation in arid areas where desert
locusts can then grow and breed.
●
Locust Warning Organisation (LWO), under Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare
●
Use of Pesticide: While the use of BHC and dieldrin stopped after the government banned them, malathion is
now the preferred insecticide by LWO. Agriculture officials who accompany them during control operations
mostly use chlorpyrifos and lambda cyhalothrin.
●
Some decades ending in 2020 areo United Nations Decade on Biodiversity o Decade of Action for Road Safety o
United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification
●
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed 2021–2030 as the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
●
, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released The Living Planet Report 2020 (LPR) along with the Living Planet index
(LPI). LPR, released every two years
●
LPI is a measure of the state of global biological diversity based on population trends of vertebrate species from
around the world. • LPI has been adopted by the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD). The LPI includes data
for threatened and non-threatened species. • The LPI doesn’t show numbers of species lost or extinctions
●
FinMin has recommended that MoEFCC disengage from these autonomous bodies: o Indian Institute of Forest
Management o Wildlife Institute of India o Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute o CPR
Environmental Education Centre o Centre of Environment Education
●
The NGT is a statutory and quasi-judicial body The Tribunal is not bound by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 or
the the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 but is guided by principles of natural justice. Members not eligible for
reappointment. Appeal in SC within 90 days.
●
High Level panel for Sustainable Economy (Ocean Panel) • It is a unique initiative of 14 serving world leaders
building momentum towards a sustainable ocean economy. India is not a member. It is supported by the UN
Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean.
●
India’s renewable energy generation capacity is the fourth largest in the world
●
Solar Photovoltaics (PV): It is based on the photovoltaic effect, by which a photon (the basic unit of light)
impacting a surface made of a special material generates the release of an electron.
●
Concentrating Solar Power (CSP): It uses sunlight to heat a fluid (depending on the particular application, it can
be water or other fluid)
●
Hydrogen can be used as an energy carrier directly in Internal Combustion engines and turbines in place of fossil
fuels or as blended mixture with fossil fuels. • H-CNG is a blend of hydrogen and CNG, the ideal hydrogen
concentration being 18%. H-CNG can reduce emission of carbon monoxide up to 70%. o Safer than hydrogen
due to its lower energy content. o Usable with existing CNG infrastructure, no major engine modifications are
required. o Improves engine efficiency etc
●
Shale gas refers to natural gas that is trapped within shale formations i.e. finegrained sedimentary rocks that can
be rich sources of petroleum and natural gas. o While CBM is a form of natural gas that is trapped in the carbon
structure of coal seams.
●
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) has approved Indian Energy Exchange (IEX)’s proposal for
transactions in the Green Term-Ahead Market (G-TAM) contracts. G-TAM will provide an exclusive platform for
trading of renewables and it would be the first physical trading of renewable energy (RE). Thus, obligated
entities be able to discharge their ‘renewable purchase obligations’ (RPO) by buying power from renewable
energy companies in the exchange.
●
Hydroponics is a method of growing food in water using mineral nutrient solutions without soil.
●
Aeroponics: There is no growing medium and hence, no containers for growing crops involved in aeroponics.
Mist or nutrient solutions are used instead of water.
●
ISRO has commercialized indigenously developed lithium ion battery technology. • EESL in collaboration with
NDMC has established India’s first public EV (Electric Vehicle) charging plaza in New Delhi.
●
Fostering Effective Energy Transition report was released by World Economic Forum (WEF)
●
National Green Tribunal (NGT) - “principle of no fault liability”, which means that the company can be held liable
even if it had done everything in its power to prevent the accident.
●
Doctrine of Absolute Liability - M.C Mehta vs Union of India (1986), famously known as Oleum Gas Leak case. •
According to this doctrine as defined by the Supreme Court, the enterprise owes an absolute and nondelegable
duty to the community to ensure that no harm results to anyone
●
Before MC Mehta Case - Doctrine of Strict Liability
●
Styrene is an organic compound that is a derivative of benzene. • It is in stored in liquid state and evaporates
easily
●
Benzene is found in crude oil. As a Volatile Organic Compound, benzene reacts with other air pollutants to form
ground levels ozonewhich can damage crops
●
N2O has replaced methane as the second largest Greenhouse Gas (GHG) from Indian agriculture.
●
, unlike Antarctica, the Arctic is not a global common. • There is no treaty that governs it, only the UN
Convention of Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) deals it. • Large parts of it are under the sovereignty of the five littoral
states — Russia, Canada, Norway, Denmark (Greenland) & the US & exploitation of the new resources is well
within their rights.
●
The US, not a party to UNCLOS, is under pressure to strengthen its Arctic presence
●
India has observer status in the Arctic Council,
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: India’s is the 3rd largest carbon dioxide emitter in the world after China and US.
●
Of the five developed countries with national net zero legislation — Sweden, Norway, UK, France and New
Zealand — only Sweden aims to become net zero before 2050.
●
Carbon Geoengineering - Enhanced Weathering: Exposing large quantities of minerals that will react with
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and storing the resulting compound in the ocean or soil.
●
The two most important carbon markets so far – the EU Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) and the UN's
carbon offsetting scheme, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) – are failures. it does not incentivise
investments in low-carbon technologies.
●
State of Global Climate 2020 - WMO
●
Methanogens are microorganisms that produce methane as a metabolic byproduct during the decomposition of
organic matter in hypoxic (low oxygen) conditions. • They are prokaryotic and belong to the domain of archaea. •
Wetlands provide a habitat favourable to methanogens. • Wetlands contribute to about 80% of the global
methane emissions from natural sources
●
Soils act as a major sink for atmospheric methane through the methanotrophic bacteria that reside within them.
• These bacteria use methane as a source of energy a process called Methane Oxidation.
●
More than 56% of the dust fertilizing the Amazon rainforest comes from the Bodélé depression in Northern
Chad in the Sahara Desert. The dust contains phosphorus
●
Conservation of Caracal cat (put under Indian critically endangered list) will get financial Integrated
Development of Wildlife Habitat (IDWH).
●
IDWH is an on-going Centrally Sponsored Scheme. • Under IDWH, financial assistance is provided to State/UTs
for protection and conservation of wildlife. Includes Protection of Wildlife Outside Protected Areas 3. Recovery
programmes for saving critically endangered species and habitats.
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Indicator species aka Sentinel Species
●
8 Indian Beaches got the certification in October 2020 1. Shivrajpur (Dwarka-Gujarat) 2. Ghoghla (Diu) 3.
Kasarkod [KN NOT Kasargod which is in Kerala] 4. Padubidri (Karnataka) 5. Kappad (Kerala) 6. Rushikonda (AP)
7. Golden Beach (Odisha) 8. Radhanagar (A&N Islands)
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• Society for Integrated Coastal Management (Under Environment Ministry) undertakes program “BEAMS”
(Beach Environment & Aesthetics Management Services) under its ICZM (Integrated Coastal Zone Management)
project
●
It is the nodal agency for successful implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) practices &
ENCORE project in all the 13 Coastal States/UTs. • It acts as secretariat to the National Coastal Zone
Management Authority (NCZMA).
●
‘Blue Flag’ certification is awarded annually by the Denmark-based non-profit Foundation for Environmental
Education. • It was started in France in 1985. 4 main criteria: 1. Water quality 2. Environmental management 3.
Environmental education 4. Safety
●
The following activities & facilities would be permitted in the CRZ of the beaches, including islands, subject to
maintaining a minimum distance of 10 meters from the High Tide Line (HTL): Portable toilet blocks, change
rooms & shower panels. Grey water treatment plant. Solid waste management plant. Purified drinking water
facility. Other associated facilities or infrastructure, as per requirements of Blue Flag Certification.
●
RE-HAB Project is an innovative way of preventing elephant–human conflicts. • It is an innovative project
demonstrated by Khadi & Village Industries Commission’s (KVIC). Under this project, bee boxes are used as a
fence to prevent elephants from entering human habitation
●
Khejri trees (State tree of Rajasthan) are considered scared by Bishnoi community.
●
Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative (IITI)? • It is a global coalition of public & private organisations who
are working to infuse green technologies & stimulate demand for low carbon industrial materials. • It is
coordinated by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
●
The Living Planet Report is published every two years by WWF
●
Great barrier reef habitat of species such as the dugong (‘sea cow’) & the large green turtle, which are
threatened with extinction.
●
Carbon Handprint • A handprint refers to the beneficial environmental impacts that organizations can achieve &
communicate by providing products that reduce the footprints of customers
●
Project Bold • Context: The project named “Bamboo Oasis on Lands in Drought” (BOLD) is the first of its kind
exercise in India which was launched from tribal village NichlaMandwa in Udaipur, Rajasthan. f reducing
desertification and providing livelihood and multi-disciplinary rural industry support has been initiated by Khadi
and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
●
The European Commission's plan, "Fit for 55," calls for its 27 member states to cut their output of greenhouse
gases by 55% by 2030, compared with 1990 levels. • As part of the European Green Deal, with the European
Climate Law, the EU has set itself a binding target of achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
●
Earth Overshoot Day is hosted and calculated by Global Footprint Network
●
Avicennia Marina • It is one of the most prominent mangroves species found in all mangrove formations in India.
• It is a salt-secreting and extraordinarily salt-tolerant mangrove species
●
No alternation of boundaries in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries can be done without the approval of the
National Board for Wildlife
●
Wildlife Advisory Board is a statuary body of the state (UT) government. Advise the State Government in
selection and administration of areas to be declared as Sanctuaries, National Parks, Closed Areas
●
In 2011, SC banned the production, distribution & use of endosulfan in India. Globally, use of endosulfan is
banned under Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. • Under pressure from pesticide firms
India sought remission on the ban for 10 years. • India has agreed to phase out use of endosulfan by 2017.
●
DDT is banned for agricultural use in India; however, it continues to be used for fumigation against mosquitoes
(disease vector control) in several places in India In India.
●
Anaerobic digestion is the process by which organic matter such as animal or food waste is broken down to
produce biogas & biofertilizer. • This process happens in the absence of oxygen in a sealed, oxygen-free tank
called an anaerobic digester.
●
Steel Scrap Recycling Policy does not envisage setting up of scrap centres by the Government. • The role of
Government is to be an enabler and provide a framework to facilitate the eco-system of metal scrapping in the
country. The Scrapping Centres are approved and monitored by the authorized agencies of the State/Union
Territory Governments.
●
Fly ash can increase crop yield when added to the soil. But if it gets deposited on the leaf, it will reduce
photosynthesis. • It also enhances the water holding capacity of the land.
●
Tropospheric, or ground level ozone, is not emitted directly into the air, but is created by chemical reactions
between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC).
●
This happens when pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants, and
other sources chemically react in the presence of sunlight. • Ozone is most likely to reach unhealthy levels on
hot sunny days
●
The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority is a Supreme Court-appointed body. • EPCA
tasked with taking various measures to tackle air pollution in the National Capital Region. • It was notified in
1998 by Environment Ministry under Environment Protection Act, 1986
●
Greenpeace India & the Centre for Research on Energy & Clean Air (CREA) has released its annual report titled
“Ranking the World’s Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Hotspots: India has continued to occupy the top spot in the world in
sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions for the fifth consecutive year in 2019.
●
The Central Government has issued an Ordinance to set up a Commission for Air Quality Management in the
National Capital Region & Adjoining Areas. In matters of air pollution & air quality management, the Commission
will supersede all existing bodies such as the CPCB, & even the state governments of Haryana, Punjab,
Rajasthan, & Uttar Pradesh. • It will have the powers to issue directions to the states.
●
Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo announced that the country’s capital would be relocated from Jakarta to the
province of East Kalimantan on the lesser populated island of Borneo.
●
Indonesia’s government launched a coastal development project called a Giant Sea Wall or “Giant Garuda
●
Important Reports by UNEP 1. Emission Gap Report, 2. Global Environment Outlook, 3. Frontiers, 4. Invest into
Healthy Planet. Major Programmes of the UNEP 1. Clean up the World 2. Billion Tree Campaign 3. World
Environment Day (June 5th)
●
The Sponge City indicates a particular type of city that does not act like an impermeable system not allowing
any water to filter through the ground. • It acts like a sponge and absorbs the rainwater. • It is then naturally
filtered by the soil and allowed to reach into the urban aquifers
●
Green ammonia production is where the process of making ammonia is 100% renewable & carbon-free.
●
The production of green ammonia could help in the transition to net-zero carbon dioxide emissions
●
Ammonia can be burnt in an engine or used in a fuel cell to produce electricity. b) When used, ammonia’s only
by-products are water & nitrogen. Ammonia is easier & cheaper to store, & transport & it can be readily
“cracked” & purified to give hydrogen gas when required.
●
ZLD is a water treatment process to recirculate all the water back to the process with zero liquid waste. • It has
near zero impact on environment. • The focus of ZLD is to reduce wastewater economically & produce clean
water that is suitable for reuse (e.g., irrigation)
●
EIA 2006 Amendment : Category A (national level appraisal) & 2. Category B (state level appraisal) Category A
projects require mandatory environmental clearance & thus they do not undergo the screening process. •
Category B projects undergoes screening process & they are classified into two types. 1. Category B, projects
(Mandatorily requires EIA). 2. Category B2 projects (Do not require EIA)
●
New Draft EIA : The notification envisages two kinds of approval: 1. prior environment clearance (EC) with the
approval of expert committees & 2. environmental permission or provision (EP) without the approval of expert
committees.
●
Almost 40 different projects such as clay & sand extraction or digging welL exempted from prior EC or prior EP
●
Several projects such as all B2 projects, irrigation, production of halogens, chemical fertilisers, acids
manufacturing, biomedical waste treatment facilities, building construction & area development, elevated roads
& flyovers, highways or expressways are exempted from public consultation
●
Special Rapporteurs are independent experts working on behalf of the United Nations. • They work on a country
or a thematic mandate specified by the United Nations Human Rights Council.
●
While the Environment Ministry had said that cigarette butts were not listed as hazardous, the Health Ministry
had maintained that they were not biodegradable.
●
Morphological Phenotypic Plasticity? • MPP is the ability of an organism to show drastic morphological
(physical features) variations in response to natural environmental variations or stimuli. • It is also known as
phenotypic responsiveness, flexibility, and condition sensitivity.
●
Sandalwood Spike Disease (SSD) • It is caused by phytoplasma bacterial parasites of plant tissues which are
transmitted by insect vectors. • SSD has been one of the major causes for the decline in sandalwood production
in the country. Presently, there is no option but to cut down and remove the infected tree to prevent the spread
of the disease.
●
Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) is India’s apex organization on animal taxonomy. Preparation of Red Data Book,
Fauna of India, and Fauna of States.
●
The Chairman of the NGT is required to be a serving or retired Chief Justice of a High Court or a judge of the
Supreme Court of India. NGT has not been vested with powers to hear any matter relating to the ✓ Wildlife
(Protection) Act, 1972. ✓ Indian Forest Act, 1927. ✓ Various laws enacted by States relating to forests, tree
preservation etc.
●
NGT was enacted under India's constitutional provision of Article 21, which assures the citizens of India the right
to a healthy environment. NGT Order can be challenged before the Supreme Court within ninety days.
●
CGWA has notified 162 critical/ overexploited areas for control & regulation of development of ground water
resources. • For enforcement of the regulatory measures in these areas, concerned Deputy Commissioners/
District Magistrates have been directed to regulate ground water development in these notified areas. •
Construction of new ground water structures is prohibited in the notified areas
●
NGT is mandated to dispose the cases within six months of their respective appeals.
●
The sanctioned strength of the tribunal is currently 10 expert members & 10 judicial members although the act
allows for up to 20 of each. • The Chairman of the tribunal who is the administrative head of the tribunal also
serves as a judicial member.
●
In all CRZ Rules, the regulation zone has been defined as the area up to 500 m from the hightide line (HTL). •
CRZ Rules are made by the Union Environment Ministry. • Implementation is to be done by state governments
through their Coastal Zone Management Authorities. • The states need to frame their own coastal zone
management plans in accordance with the central Rules.
●
CRZ Rules in 2011 • An exemption was made for the construction of the Navi Mumbai airport. • Projects of the
Department of Atomic Energy (nuclear power plants near the coast) were exempted.
●
2019 rules : CRZ-III (Rural) areas, two separate categories have been stipulated. 1. In the densely populated
rural areas (CRZIIIA) with a population density of 2,161 per sq km as per the 2011 Census, the no-development
zone is now 50 m from the high-tide level, as against the 200 m stipulated earlier
●
In the CRZ-IIIB category (rural areas with population density below 2,161 per sq km) continue to have a
no-development zone extending up to 200 m from the high-tide line
●
The new Rules have a no-development zone of 20 m for all islands close to the mainland coast, and for all
backwater islands in the mainland. • Floor Space Index Norms eased: In the CRZ 2019 Notification, the
government decided to de-freeze the Floor Space Index and permit FSI for construction projects.
●
Projects which are located in the CRZ-I (Ecologically Sensitive Areas) and CRZ IV (area covered between Low
Tide Line and 12 Nautical Miles seaward) will be dealt with for CRZ clearance by the Central Ministry. • The
powers for clearances with respect to CRZII and III have been delegated at the State level.
●
Refuse Derived Fuel is a renewable energy source that ensures waste simply is not thrown into a landfill.
●
The Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) was launched in 2008 as a global alliance of governments, NGOs, and the
private sector, with the aim of working together to save wild tigers from extinction. • In 2013, the scope was
broadened to include Snow Leopards. • The GTI’s founding partners included the World Bank, the Global
Environment Facility (GEF), the Smithsonian Institution ( a group of museums), International Tiger Coalition (40+
NGOs), etc. • The initiative is led by the 13 tiger range countries. Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Iran are not there amongst
TRC
●
Global Tiger Forum • Established in 1994, the Global Tiger Forum (GTF) has its headquarters in New Delhi. •
The General Assembly of GTF meets after every three years.
●
St. Petersburg Declaration on Tiger Conservation • In 2010, the 13 TRCs adopted the St. Petersburg Declaration
on Tiger Conservation and endorsed its implementation mechanism, called the Global Tiger Recovery Program.
• The global TX2 goal was to double the number of world’s wild tigers from ~3,200 to 7,000+ by 2022
●
NDC-TIA? • It is a regional initiative that aims to promote a comprehensive approach to decarbonize transport in
India, Vietnam, & China. The NDC-TIA programme has a duration of 4 years. • On behalf of the Government of
India, NITI Aayog, is the implementing partner.
●
There were two peaks of chlorophyll-a: 1. The primary peak occurred during the presouthwest monsoon due to
the recurrent phytoplankton bloom in the coastal water; 2. The secondary peak occurred during the end of the
southwest monsoon, spreading to far offshore areas. • The phytoplankton bloom contributes to the increase of
chlorophyll-a in nearshore waters • These algal blooms deplete the oxygen level in water, disrupting the ocean
ecosystem. • As a result, oceanic fauna such as fish assemblages are badly affected.
●
Phytoplanktons are tiny microscopic plants found in the ocean. They consume carbon dioxide and release
oxygen.
●
There are four types of chlorophyll: 1. Chlorophyll a, found in all higher plants, algae and cyanobacteria. 2.
Chlorophyll b, found in higher plants and green algae. 3. Chlorophyll c, found in diatoms, dinoflagellates and
brown algae, 4. Chlorophyll d, found only in red algae
●
e Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) have discovered way to measure the quantity
of chlorophyll-a in the Bay of Bengal in real-time.
●
Toxins in water produced by cyanobacteria killed more than 300 elephants in Botswana. • Cyanobacteria are
microscopic organisms common in water and sometimes found in soil. Cyanobacteria are often called
"blue-green algae. The chloroplast with which plants make food for themselves is actually a cyanobacterium
living within the plant's cells. They are usually unicellular bacteria, though they often grow in colonies large
enough to see. • They have the distinction of being the oldest known fossil
●
The Okavango Delta is a vast inland river delta in northern Botswana
●
The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) has developed an eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation
mechanism technology using consortia of marine microbes wheat bran (WB) immobilized on agro-residue
bacterial cells.
●
It was also found that they were more effective in their immobilised state than the free bacteria cells in
degrading the oil spills, in addition to being more versatile & resistant to adverse conditions. They could remove
84 per cent of the oils within 10 days.
●
The blue tide phenomenon appears when luminescent marine life makes the sea appear deep blue. • The
spectacle occurs when phytoplankton (microscopic marine plants), commonly known as dinoflagellates, produce
light through chemical reactions in proteins. Factors such as the wind pattern and the temperature of the ocean
also determine their occurrence
●
While smaller blooms may be harmless, slowmoving larger blooms impact deep-sea fishing. • According to
experts, the phenomenon is an indicator of climate change. • It is an ecological indicator of degraded water
quality. The phytoplankton shows up where seawater has low dissolved oxygen and a high presence of
Nitrogen
●
Organochlorines (OC) are a group of chlorinated compounds that belong to the class of persistent organic
pollutants (POPs) with high persistence in the environment. • Organochlorine pesticides are used in agriculture
& mosquito control. • The compounds include Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)
SOCIAL ISSUES
●
Generally mortality rate, death rate etc. are expressed in 1000, except which is expressed as 100000.
●
As per WHO, maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of
pregnancy.
●
Neonatal is between birth and 28 days. Infant is under 1 year.
●
Adolescent (ages 10–19) mortality rate • Probability of dying between 10 and 19 years of age,
●
Sex ratio at birth (SRB) • Number of male births per female births. Read twice, male birth. 2016-18 it was 1112
●
Chhattisgarh has highest death rate at 8 and Delhi has a rate of 3.3.
●
Madhya Pradesh has highest IMR at 48 and Nagaland lowest at 4
●
Highest MMR state: Assam (215), Lowest MMR state: Kerala (43)
●
Total fertility rate (TFR) • Total number of children born or likely to be born to a woman in her life time. • TFR of
about 2.1 children per woman is called Replacement-level fertility (RLF). Reduced from 3.6 in 1991 to 2.2 in
2018.
●
Sample Registration System (SRS) is a demographic survey for providing reliable annual estimates of IMR, birth
rate, death rate and other fertility and mortality indicators at the national and sub-national levels. • It became
fully operational during 1969-70. • SRS is conducted by Office of the Registrar General and Census
Commissioner under Ministry of Home Affairs.
●
SUMAN • It is an initiative (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) for zero preventable maternal and newborn
deaths. Free healthcare benefits are provided to pregnant women, mothers up to 6 months after delivery, and all
sick newborns.Zero expense delivery, Free transport, Zero-tolerance for denial of services at public health
facility
●
Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) - world’s largest alliance for women’s, children’s
and adolescents’ health. The Vice Chairs of PMNCH’s Board are the Government of India and UK.
●
Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for females in higher education is 26.4% against 26.3% for boys.
●
Gender Parity Index in primary, secondary and tertiary education is the ratio of the number of female students
enrolled at primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education to the number of male students in each level.
●
India’s GPI for the year 2018-19 at different levels of School Education is as under: Primary Education: 1.03
Upper Primary Education: 1.12 Secondary Education: 1.04 Higher Secondary Education: 1.04 India’s GPI
indicates that the number of girls is more than the number of boys at all levels of school Education.
●
GPI is released by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a part of its
Global Education Monitoring Report.
●
Women Entrepreneurship and Empowerment (WEE) • It is India’s First of its kind social, national initiative by IIT
Delhi and supported by Department of Science and Technology. • It aims to strengthen women
entrepreneurship in the country. It helps women ranging from college going students to middleaged housewives
●
Vigyan Jyoti is a programme to promote STEM learning among girl students. o It aims to inspire them towards
STEM careers by creating a level-playing field for meritorious girls from grades 9 to 12 to pursue STEM in their
higher education, especially in the areas where girls are hugely underrepresented. o The partnership with IBM
India will strengthen the current activities and expand to include more schools in future. o Women tech experts
working at IBM India will interact and be role models
●
Engage with Science of Vigyan Prasar (an autonomous organisation of DST) aims to build interest and create a
community of practice with students, teachers, and scientists connecting the high school students to the higher
education institutions
●
Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN): o In the year 2014, DST
restructured all women specific programmes under one umbrella called KIRAN. o The mandate of KIRAN
Program is to bring gender parity in S&T through gender mainstreaming
●
Under KIRAN : Women Scientist Scheme (WOS)’; ‘Consolidation of University Research through Innovation and
Excellence in Women Universities (CURIE)’ Programme ; Mobility Scheme (addresses relocation issues)
●
UDAAN: Launched by Ministry of Education to address the lower enrolment ratio of girl students in science and
engineering colleges
●
(BioCARe): An initiative of Department of Biotechnology, it mainly focuses on Career Development of employed/
unemployed women Scientists upto 55 years of age.
●
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA) - It enshrines principles of the UN Convention on
the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which India ratified in 1993
●
PWDVA intends to safeguard women against marital abuse, will apply even after divorce (2018 SC Judgement)
●
Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 or the PoSH Act
provides safeguards against false or malicious charges. • It was enacted to implement Vishakha Guidelines
●
Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action 1995 was adopted in Fourth World Conference on Women
(1995). The platform is not a legally binding document, but rather a guide for the U.N. governments and NGOs.
●
Task Force report (headed by Jaya Jaitly) - revising the minimum age of marriage for girls
●
Prohibitin of Child Marriage Act, 2006 - Underage marriages valid but voidable. Allows the minors to end the
marriage uptil two years of attaining majority.
●
Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017. • Applies to all establishments employing 10 or more people. • For
the first two surviving child up to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave is granted. o Women who are expecting after
having 2 children, paid maternity leave is 12 weeks i.e. 6 weeks pre-delivery and 6 weeks post-delivery. • For
adoptive and commissioning mothers 12 weeks of maternity leave is granted. • To be eligible for maternity
benefit, a woman must have been working as an employee in the establishment for a period of at least 80 days
in the past 12 months. • Act makes it mandatory for employers to educate women about benefits
●
State of Bihar has had two extra days of casual leave per month for women government employees to take time
off for periods since 1992
●
All India Services (Leave) Rules, Women employees and “single male parent”(7th pay commission) employees
with less than 2 surviving children are granted 730 days (2 years) of aggregate child care leave before the child
reaches the age of 18. , CCL can also be availed by a government servant for a disabled child of any age
●
Ministry of Defence extended the benefits of CCL to single male service personnel.
●
International Labour Organization (ILO), has become the first international labour standard ever to achieve
universal ratification. India is a founder member.
●
Definition of child under different acts • POCSO Act: Less than 18 • Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
Act, 2016: Less than 14 • The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015: Less than 16 •
Factories Act, 1948: Less than 15
●
India hasn’t ratified Freedof Association and Protection of the right to Organize convention and Right tot
Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention of ILO.
●
Women account for 32% of the agricultural labour force and contributing an estimated 55-66% to farm
production
●
The World Bank ü Ease of Doing Business ü World Development Report ü Global Economic Prospective o The
●
World Trade Organisation ü The World Trade Statistical Review ü The World Trade Report
●
SDG Gender Index - developed by Equal Measures 2030.
●
“Lost at Home” Report by UNICEF- e risks and challenges internally displaced children face
●
A mirror order is ancillary or auxiliary in character. It supports order passed by the court which has exercised
primary jurisdiction over custody of a child. It is passed to ensure that courts of the country where the child is
being shifted are aware of the arrangements which were made in the country where he had ordinarily been
residing. o It is to safeguard interest of the minor child and to ensure that both parents are.
●
Mirror orders find a more prominent place where Hague Convention on Civil Aspects on International Child
Abduction, 1980 does not apply. , India and Kenya are not signatory to the convention.
●
Centre recently constituted the National Council for Transgender Persons under Transgender Persons
(Protection of Rights) Act, 2019. The members of the council other than the ex officio members, shall hold office
for a term of 3 years
●
Transgender Rights Act, 2019 - Govt must take steps to provide health facilities to transgender persons
including separate HIV surveillance centre and sex reassignment surgeries.
●
Persons with "benchmark disabilities" are defined as those certified to have at least 40% of the disabilities
mentioned in the Act. o Every child with benchmark disability between the age group of 6 and 18 years shall
have the right to free education
●
UN Convention of Rights of Persons with Disability • Entered into force in 2008, it is the first comprehensive
human rights treaty of the 21st century and first legally binding instrument with comprehensive protection of
the rights of persons with disabilities. convention does not explicitly define disability, it recognizes that the
notion of “disability” is not fixed. India has ratified the convention.
●
Vanchit Ikai Samooh aur Vargon ki Aarthik Sahayta Yojana (VISVAS Yojana) • It is an Interest subvention Scheme
at 5% interest per annum for: o SHGs comprising exclusively of SC and/or OBC beneficiaries with
loans/borrowings up to Rs.4.00 Lakh o SC and OBC individual beneficiaries with loan/borrowing up to Rs.2.00
Lakh. • It is being implemented by Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment • It provides direct benefit of lower
rate of interest
●
Madhya Pradesh has highest tribal population followed by Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan.
●
Tribal Affairs Minister e-launched Tribal Health & Nutrition Portal “Swasthya” for Scheduled Tribes.
●
Sex ratio among tribals is 990/1000 as compared to national average of 933/1000.
●
Trifood Project: Joint initiative of Ministry of Food Processing Industry, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED. ü
Aims to enhance the income of tribals through better utilization of and value addition to the Minor Forest
Produce (MFP) collected by the tribal forest gatherers
●
Tech for Tribals: Supported by Ministry of MSME it aims at capacity building and imparting entrepreneurship
skills to tribal forest produce gatherers enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri VanDhan Yojana (PMVDY)
●
Namath Basai: Kerala government’s unique programme of teaching tribal children in their mother tongue.
●
World Health Organisation (WHO) defines healthy ageing as “the process of developing and maintaining the
functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age.” Healthy ageing replaces the World Health Organization’s
previous focus on Active ageing. It is based on Madrid International Plan of Action, 2002.
●
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched Decade of Healthy Ageing (2020-2030) (endorsed by World
Health Assembly
●
71% of elderly population resides in rural areas while 29 % is in urban areas
●
Kerala has maximum proportion of elderly people in its population (12.6%) and the least proportion is in Dadra
& Nagar Haveli (4.0%).
●
Silver economy is defined as the market that is being developed around the needs of an ageing population, with
a focus on innovation.
●
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched the ‘Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge’
●
Sanitation is a State subject
●
BANDICOOT: Spider-shaped robot in Kerala that cleans manholes and sewers
●
United Nations (UN) launched the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF)
●
Global Slavery Index - Walk Free
●
The Ujjawala and Swadhar schemes initiated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development run shelter and
rehabilitation services for rescued women.
●
Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008 • It provides social security to all unorganized workers including
domestic workers.
●
STARS project • It seeks to support the states in developing, implementing, evaluating and improving
interventions with direct linkages to improved education outcomes and school to work transition strategies for
improved labour market outcomes. • The overall focus and components of the STARS project are aligned with
the objectives of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of Quality Based Learning Outcomes. Project covers 6
states and not all.
●
ASER is an annual survey that aims to provide reliable annual estimates of children’s schooling status and basic
learning levels for each state and rural district in India. o Urban areas are not covered. NGO Pratham,
●
Schooling status is recorded for children in the age group 3 to 16, and children in the age group 5 to 16 are
tested for their ability to read simple text and do basic arithmetic
●
Except for 2015, ASER has been conducted every year since 2005. It shows small shift in enrolment from private
to government schools, across all grades and among both girls and boys.
●
Remote Learning Reachability Report released by UNICEF
●
IoEs are allowed to set up campuses abroad after receiving no objection certificates from Ministry of External
Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs. o Norms and standards of the offshore campus shall be the same as that
maintained on the main campus for similar courses. For private institutions no financial support.
●
NAAC is autonomous body established under Ministry of Education. o It conducts assessment and accreditation
of HEI such as colleges, universities or other recognised institutions to derive an understanding of the ‘Quality
Status’ of the institution.
●
National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) launched under Samagra
Shiksha is a capacity building programme for teachers
●
YUKTI (Young India combating COVID with Knowledge, Technology and Innovation) 2.0 web portal will help to
systematically assimilate technologies having commercial potential and information related to incubated
startups in our higher education institutions.
●
SAMARTH - is an Open Standard Open Source Architecture, Secure, Scalable and Evolutionary Process
Automation Engine for Universities and Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs). ● It caters to faculty, students and
staff at University/HEIs. Developed by: Ministry of Education, under National Mission of Education in Information
and Communication Technology Scheme
●
NDHM is a voluntary healthcare programme that aims to reduce the gap among stakeholders such as doctors,
hospitals, citizens etc by connecting them in an integrated digital health infrastructure. • Vision: To create a
national digital health ecosystem that supports universal health coverage in an efficient, accessible, inclusive,
affordable, timely and safe manner.
●
RAAH app: National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) created RAAH app. It is a
mobile application which helps people to search for information about professionals such as psychiatrists,
psychologists, psychiatric social workers, etc.
●
World Drug Report 2020 was released by The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
●
‘Nasha Mukt Bharat: - e-launched by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. As per the UNODC 2020
report, India is also among the countries with highest illicit cultivation and production of cannabis from 2010 to
2017. In 2018, India topped with largest seizure in South Asia. Alcohol is the most common psychoactive
substance used by Indians followed by Cannabis and Opioids. • Within India, the worst affected regions are
North East India (especially Manipur) and North West India (especially Punjab) f
●
The Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 - does not define “dangerous”, “infectious”, or “contagious diseases”, and an
“epidemic”.
●
Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana in order to make available quality generic medicines at
affordable prices to all. • Sanitary Napkins are also distributed from Jan Aushadhi Kendras to underprivileged
women at the minimum price of Rs.1 each
●
Global hunger Index (GHI) report - by Concern Worldwide (international humanitarian organization) and
Welthungerhilfe (private aid organisations in Germany). GHI scores are based on the values of 4 component
indicators: o Undernourishment -share of the population with insufficient caloric intake. o Child wasting - share
of children under age 5 who have low weight for their height. o Child stunting - share of children under age 5
who have low height for their age. o Child mortality - mortality rate of children under age 5
●
GHI score is determined on a 100-point scale - 0 is best possible score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst.
●
GHI 2020 gave score of 27.2 on a 100 point scale to India which puts the country in the “serious” category of
hunger.
●
Global Nutrition Report 2020 • It is a multi-stakeholder initiative that assesses progress in meeting 2025
Global Nutrition Targets established by World Health Assembly (WHA). four nutritional indicators i.e. target on
stunting, anaemia, overweight & exclusive breastfeeding.
●
State of Food and Agriculture 2020 • It is a FAO’s report presents new estimates on the pervasiveness of water
scarcity in agriculture and on the number of people affected.
●
Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) 2020 • Report is produced by Global Network against Food Crises, an
international alliance working to address the root causes of extreme hunger. • It was launched by European
Union, FAO and WFP
●
State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020 • The joint report is issued annually by Food and
Agriculture Organization, International Fund for Agricultural Development, UNICEF, World Food Programme and
WHO.
●
Food Coalition ● Recently, UN launched the Food Coalition to prevent COVID-19 food crisis ● It is a
multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral alliance, launched by Food and Agriculture Organization, a specialized agency
of the United Nations (UN) that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
●
Anthropause • It is a term coined, by UK researchers, to refer to coronavirus-induced lockdown period and its
impact on other species
●
HDR is released by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
●
HDR Office releases five composite indices each year: o Human Development Index (HDI), o Inequality-Adjusted
Human Development Index (IHDI), o Gender Development Index (GDI), o Gender Inequality Index (GII), o
Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).
●
if the Index were adjusted to assess the planetary pressures caused by each nation’s development, India would
move up eight places in the ranking. • HDR 2020 presents an adjustment to the index for "planetary pressures"
called Planetary-Pressures Adjusted HDI. o PHDI adjusts the standard HDI by a country’s level of carbon
dioxide emissions and material footprint, each on a per capita basis.
●
The World Bank has recently released the report titled ‘The Human Capital Index 2020. The index measures the
human capital that a child born today can expect to attain by her 18th birthday.
●
Human capital is slightly higher among girls than boys in most countries. India is among the only two countries
(other being Tonga), where child survival rates are higher for girls than for boys.
●
Human capital consists of the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate over their lives, enabling
them to realize their potential as productive members of society. Human resources are potential Human Capital.
●
NITI Aayog will leverage Monitoring Mechanism of Global Multidimensional Poverty Index
●
Poverty and shared prosperity 2020 Report • It is a biennial report of World Bank. India holds largest
population of extreme poor.
●
flagship publications of ILO are: o Global Wage Report which analyses the latest wage statistics and provides
insights on wage policies. o The World Social Protection Report which takes a comprehensive look at how
countries are investing in social security and World Employment and Social Outlook
●
State of World Population 2020 • United Nations’ Population Fund (UNFPA), Report focuses on gender bias and
violence against girls and women
●
World Migration Report 2020 • It was recently published by the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
●
Learning Poverty is defined as the percentage of 10-year-olds who cannot read and understand a simple story
●
National Initiative for Development and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI) • It is umbrella program is pioneered by
the Department of Science & Technology (DST) for nurturing ideas and innovations (knowledge-based and
technology-driven) into successful startups.
●
NSS is a Centrally Sector Scheme (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports) w
●
Global Social Mobility Index - by the World Economic Forum. to provide policy-makers with a means to identify
areas for improving social mobility
●
Academic Freedom Index • Index try to quantify the freedom of university scholars to debate politically and
culturally controversial topics without fearing for their safety or studies
●
Human Freedom Index • The Human Freedom Index presents the state of human freedom in the world based on
a broad measure that encompasses personal, civil, and economic freedom. e Cato Institute and the Fraser
Institute
●
World Food Programme (WFP) runs entirely on public donations by governments, corporations and individual
and is member of UNDG (United Nations Development Group).
●
Lilavati awards 2020 • The award is an initiative of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). named
after the 12th century book called “Lilavati”. The book was written by the mathematician Bhaskara II.
●
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process involves a review of human rights records of all UN Member States.
UPR process is under auspices of Human Rights Council (HRC)
●
Global Smart City Index (SCI) • Index is released by Institute for Management Development, in collaboration
with Singapore University for Technology and Design.
●
ECONOMY
●
Roll over risk It is a risk associated with the refinancing of debt—specifically, that the interest charged for a new
loan will be higher than that on the old
●
Gross fiscal deficit (GFD) It is the excess of total expenditure (including loans net of recovery) over revenue
receipts (including external grants) and non-debt capital receipts. Gross Fiscal Deficit (GFD) as a percentage of
GDP has been on a declining trend since 2012-13.
●
Most of the Government debt is at fixed interest rates, with floating internal debt constituting only 0.9 per cent
●
14-day Intermediate Treasury Bills (ITBs) These are non-marketable instruments issued to the State
Governments (and select Central Banks) to enable them to deploy their short-term surplus cash at a fixed
interest rate
●
Public Debt Management Cell (PDMC) as an advisory body within Budget Division, Ministry of Finance
●
Article 270 allows the Centre to levy cess and surcharge
●
Centre has raised borrowing limits for states from 3% to 5% of gross state domestic product (GSDP) for current
fiscal year, Of 200 basis points raise, 50 basis points will be unconditional while 150 points are conditional
●
Since PM CARES does not receive any government support, no CAG audit is required.
●
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audits the accounts of NDRF.
●
NDRF - Department of Agriculture and Cooperation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare
monitors relief activities for calamities associated with drought, hailstorms, pest attacks and cold wave/frost
while rest of the natural calamities are monitored by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
●
‘HONOURING THE HONEST' PLATFORM - aimed at easing the tax compliance and also rewarding honest
taxpayers.
●
India adopted a 2% DST (digital services tax) in 2020. o It applies only to non-resident companies, and covers
online sales of goods and services to, or aimed at, persons in India.
●
GST is not levied on real estate and electricity
●
GST Council is a Constitutional body under Article 279A,
●
issuers and beneficiaries of fake GST invoices can be detained under the COFEPOSA (Conservation of Foreign
Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act), 1974. o At present, actions are being initiated under the
GST law, income tax law and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act
●
Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) Grants • PDRD Grants is a mechanism provided by the Finance
Commission for compensation of any loss incurred by states from the Centre. • It forms 2nd largest chunk of
Finance Commission transfers after the assistance to local rural bodies.
●
Treasury Single Account (TSA) • TSA is a unified structure of government bank accounts that gives a
consolidated view of government cash resources.
●
BASEL Counter Cyclical Capital Buffers (CCCB). o CCCB is aimed at strengthening banks' defenses against
build-up of systemic vulnerabilities.
●
Inverted duty structure • It refers to taxation of inputs at higher rates than finished products that results in
build-up of credits and cascading costs.
●
• EASE (Enhanced Access and Service Excellence)reforms index measures the performance of each PSB
●
Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act 2020 that seeks to protect depositors of cooperative banks and
empower the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to regulate banking activities of cooperative societies. Exclusions: The
Act does not apply to certain cooperative societies. These are: o primary agricultural credit societies (PACS), o
cooperative land mortgage banks, and o any other cooperative societies (except those specified in the Act).
●
Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) are registered as cooperative societies under the provisions of, either the State
Cooperative Societies Act of the State concerned or the Multi State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002. •
Regulation of UCBs is split between RBI and centre/state-governments, while that of smaller co-operative
banks is divided between National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and state
governments
●
RBI asks urban co-operative banks (UCBs) to implement system-based asset classification (SBAC) • SBAC
means asset classification (downgrading as well as upgrading) carried out by the computerized systems of the
bank in an automated manner on an ongoing basis
●
RBI allowed RRBs to access the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF), marginal standing facility (MSF) and call or
notice money market. At pr
●
Priority sector guidelines do not lay down any preferential rate of interest for priority sector loans.
●
The provisions of PSL apply to every Commercial Bank [including Regional Rural Bank (RRB), Small Finance
Bank (SFB), Local Area Bank] and Primary (Urban) Co-operative Bank (UCB) other than Salary Earners’ Bank
licensed to operate in India by the Reserve Bank of India. Compliance of banks is monitored on ‘quarterly’ basis.
●
Regional rural banks, co-operative banks and small finance banks have to allocate 75% of ANDC to PSL.
●
Total PSL target for urban cooperative banks will also be increased from present 40% of their adjusted net bank
credit (ANBC) to 75% by 31 March 2024.
●
Fresh categories included in the PSL category: o bank finance of up to ₹50 crore to start-ups. o loans to farmers
both for installation of solar power plants for solarization of grid-connected agriculture pumps. o for setting up
compressed biogas (CBG) plants. Higher credit limit has been specified for farmer producer organisations
(FPOs)/farmers producers companies (FPCs) Loan limits for renewable energy have been doubled. credit limit
for health infrastructure (including those under ‘Ayushman Bharat’) has been doubled.
●
RBI guidelines require SFBs to list within three years of their net worth reaching ₹500 crore.
●
Small Finance Banks (SFBs) • These are private financial institution for the objective of financial inclusion. They
were proposed by the Nachiket Mor Committee of RBI
●
Payment Banks are required to Maintain 75% of deposits in govt. bonds o Maintain 25% of deposits in other
bank
●
SFBs cannot Extend large loans o Float subsidiaries o Cannot deal in sophisticated financial products
●
CBs registered under state laws (including MSCBs) are covered within the ambit of Entry 45 of Union list.
●
t SARFAESI Act, 2002 allows only secured creditors (lenders whose loans are backed by a security such as
mortgage) to take possession over a collateral security
●
ARC is incorporated under the Companies Act and registered with Reserve Bank of India under the SARFAESI
Act, 2002.
●
Provisions of SARFAESI Act not applicable to: o any security interest created in agricultural land o any case in
which the amount due is less than twenty per cent of the principal amount and interest o any security interest
for securing repayment of any financial asset less than one lakh rupees.
●
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) is a Statutory Body with regulatory oversight over Insolvency
Professionals, Insolvency Professional Agencies, Information Utilities, etc
●
Waterfall mechanism under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) gives priority to secured financial creditors
over unsecured financial creditors.
●
A pre-pack is an agreement for resolution of the debt of a distressed company through an agreement between
secured creditors and investors instead of a public bidding process. • In pre-packs, incumbent management
retains control of the company until a final agreement is reached.
●
RBI has now clarified that provisioning should be considered only for loans categorised as Special Mention
Accounts-2 (SMA-2) at the start of moratorium period.
●
Substandard Assets: Asset that has remained NPA for a period less than or equal to 12 months. • Doubtful
Assets: Asset that has remained in the substandard category for a period of 12 months. • Loss Assets: An asset
where loss has been identified by the bank or internal or external auditors or the RBI inspection, but the amount
has not been written off wholly.
●
NBFCs do not include any institution whose principal business is that of agriculture activity, industrial activity,
purchase or sale of any goods (other than securities) or providing any services and sale/purchase/ construction of
immovable property.
●
HFC is considered a NBFC under the RBI’s regulations. • In 2019, regulation of HFCs was handed over to RBI
from National Housing Bank.
●
PCGS was launched in 2019 offering sovereign guarantee (promise by Government to discharge liability in case
of default) of up to 10% of first loss to PSBs for purchasing assets rated BBB+ or above worth up to Rs.
1,00,000 crores, from financially sound NBFCs/ MFCs. o Now, it is extended to NBFCs/HFCs under SMA-1
category o
●
Ministry of Labour revises base year of the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-Industrial Workers (IW) • Base year will
be revised to 2016 from 2001, giving more weight to non-food items (spending on housing, education and
health) in inflation index calculation.
●
At the national level, there are four CPI numbers: CPI (IW), CPI for Agricultural Labourers (AL), CPI for Rural
Labourers (RL) and CPI for Urban Non-Manual Employees (UNME). o While the first three are managed by
Labour Bureau (Ministry of Labour), the fourth one is released by Central Statistical Organisation (Ministry of
Statistics and Programme Implementation).
●
Positive Pay mechanism to prevent frauds with high value cheques. The mechanism will be for all cheques of
values of ₹50,000 and above.
●
In simple words, monetization of fiscal deficits involves the financing of such extra expenses with money, instead
of debt to be repaid at some future dates. So, it is a form of "non-debt financing". As a result, under
monetization, there is no increase in net (not gross) public debt. Direct Monetization (DM): Under this method,
RBI prints new currency and purchases government bonds directly from the primary market (from the
government) using this currency.
●
Indirect monetization (IM): In this method, deficits are monetized as the government issues bonds in the primary
market and the RBI purchases an equivalent amount of government bonds from the secondary market in the
form of Open Market Operations (OMOs)
●
with the enactment of Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003, RBI was completely
barred from subscribing to the primary issuances of the government. • The FRBM Act as amended in 2017
contained an escape clause which permits monetization of the deficit under special circumstances
●
Transfer of funds from Govt account to Contingency Fund wii lead to fall in RBI’s surplus (dividend) to Central
government
●
Main risk provision accounts of RBI - Contingency Fund (CF); Currency and Gold Revaluation Account (CGRA);
Investment Revaluation Account Foreign Securities (IRA-FS); Investment Revaluation Account-Rupee Securities
(IRA-RS)
●
Contingency Risk Buffer (CRB) is component of RBI’s economic capital required to cover its monetary and
financial stability, credit, and operational risks.
●
As per Section 47 of the RBI Act, profits or surplus of the RBI are to be transferred to government, after making
various contingency provisions, public policy mandate of the RBI, including financial stability considerations. o
This is done in early August every year, after July-June accounting year of RBI is over.
●
SDLs (e bonds issued by state governments) qualify for Statutory Liquidity Ratio and are also eligible as
collaterals for borrowing through market repo as well as borrowing by eligible entities from RBI under Liquidity
Adjustment Facility.
●
MFIs groups are registered as NBFCs, societies, trusts and co-operatives
●
Voluntary Retention Route (VRR) • VRR is an investment window provided by RBI to Foreign Portfolio Investors,
which provides easier rules in return for a commitment to make higher investments.
●
Core Investment Companies (CIC) • CIC is a non-banking finance company (NBFC) which carries on the business
of the acquisition of shares and securities. o It holds not less than 90% of its net assets in the form of investment
●
Bank Investment Company (BIC) - will independently control all banks without government’s intervention. It will
also help ensure that government’s stake in these banks is strategically reduced to upto 51%. PJ Nayak
Committee
●
Financial Stability Report (FSR) by RBI is a bi-annual report that reflects risks to financial stability and the
resilience of the financial system
●
New Umbrella Entity will be authorised under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 and shall be a
company incorporated in India under the Companies Act, 2013. Entities eligible to apply shall be owned and
controlled by resident Indian citizens. UE shall have a minimum paid-up capital of ₹500 crore
●
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an initiative of the RBI and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA)
●
Pai is an artificial intelligence (AI) based chatbot, to create awareness around NPCI’s products
●
India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is a public sector company under the department of posts, ministry of
communication where the Indian government holds 100% equity. It is governed by the Reserve Bank of India
●
Points of Sale (PoS) machines • Under the facility of cash withdrawal at PoS terminals, cardholders can
withdraw cash using their debit cards and open system prepaid cards issued by banks in India. • However, credit
cards cannot be used under this facility. • Cash can also be withdrawn at PoS terminals through Unified
Payments Interface (UPI) as well as through use of electronic cards that are linked with overdraft facility
●
Surety Bond is a three-party agreement that legally binds together o principal who purchases bond to
guarantee quality of work to be done in future. o obligee who requires principal to purchase a bond to avoid
potential financial loss. o surety company that issues the bond and financially guarantees the principal's capacity
to perform a specific task.
●
A consol bond, also known as a "perpetual bond" or "prep," is a fixed income security with no maturity date. •
This type of bond is often considered a type of equity, rather than debt. • One major drawback to these types of
bonds is that they are not redeemable. However, the major benefit of them is that they pay a steady stream of
interest payments forever.
●
Negative Yield Bond are debt instruments that offer to pay the investor a maturity amounts lower than the
purchase price of the bond. • These are generally issued by central banks or governments, and investors pay
interest to the borrower to keep their money with them. • Negative-yield bonds attract investments during times
of stress and uncertainty
●
Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation recently signed an MoU with UNDP India to co-create India’s first
Social Impact Bond
●
Bharat Bond ETF is the ETF that invests in AAA rated bonds of public sector companies and has fixed maturity
period. • An ETF is a security that tracks an index, a commodity or a basket of assets like an index fund, but
trades like a stock on an exchange. The index has a sectoral cap of 20% and a single stock cap of 15%
●
only institutions or qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) can participate in a QIP.
●
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has identified Life Insurance Corporation of
India (LIC), General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) and The New India Assurance Co. as D-SIIs for
2020-21.
●
Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) is not available to corporates, partnership firms, Hindu Undivided Family
(HUF), Trusts etc
●
National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) is set to launch two weather-sensitive indices. • Two
indices are — the Indian Monsoon Index (Cumulative Monsoon Index) and Indian Rain Index (Monthly
Cumulative Rainfall Index). NCDEX will use India Meteorological Department definitions
●
Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) • SFIO is a multi- disciplinary organisation under the corporate affairs
ministry. Statutory Body under Companies Act, 2013
●
India has maintained a surplus with US, its largest trading partner.
●
India reported current account surplus for second straight quarter at 3.9% of GDP in April-June 2020. o Last
time India’s current account turned positive was in March quarter of 2006-07
●
India’s Tariff Profile (released as part of the World Tariff Profiles by WTO, UNCTAD and International Trade
Centre)
●
Binding coverage is a broad indicator of a country’s commitment to establish bound rates for imports and slowly
reduce tariffs.
●
NITI Aayog in partnership with the Institute of Competitiveness released the Export Preparedness Index (EPI)
report 2020.
●
Logistics Performance Index and Trading Across Border Doing Business - World Bank
●
Trade Facilitation Index - OECD
●
Enabling Trade Index - WEF
●
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Paris Convention) and the Berne Convention for the
Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Berne Convention)
●
Amendment to Doha Declaration extended transition period for LDCs for implementation of the TRIPS
obligations to 2021.
●
measures such as quotas, anti-dumping or “made in” labels may require a determination of origin. o Preferential
rules or origin: These apply in reciprocal trade preferences (i.e. regional trade agreements or customs unions) or
in non-reciprocal trade preferences (i.e. preferences in favour of developing countries or least-developed
countries (LDCs)).
●
Preferential rules of origin are more restrictive than non-preferential ones
●
De minimis or tolerance rule: It permits a specific share of the value or volume of the final product to be
non-originating without the final product loosing its originating status.
●
Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 (CAROTAR, 2020) • These
rules will be applicable on import of goods into India where the importer makes claim of preferential rate of duty
in terms of a trade agreement (TA).
●
India’s model BIT completely excludes the MFN clause to prevent foreign investors from taking advantage of
provisions in other BITs by ‘borrowing’ them through the MFN clause
●
The 2016 Model BIT does not contain a Fair and Equitable Treatment (FET) provision because ISDS tribunals
often interpret this provision too broadly. Instead, it contains a provision entitled ‘Treatment of Investments’ that
prohibits country from subjecting foreign investments to measures that constitute a violation of customary
international law
●
ISDS Mechanism: India has qualified its consent to ISDS by requiring that a foreign investor should first exhaust
local remedies at least for a period of five years before commencing international arbitration.
●
Investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) is a mechanism in a free trade agreement (FTA) or investment treaty
that provides foreign investors with the right to access an international tribunal to resolve investment disputes
●
Cairns Group • It is a coalition of 19 agricultural exporting nations lobbying for agricultural trade liberalization. o
It accounts for more than 25% of the world’s agricultural exports. • It was formed in 1986 in Cairns, Australia. •
India is not a member.
●
The Department of Commerce recommends the Anti-dumping duty whereas the Ministry of Finance levies this
duty.
●
Designation of a country as a currency manipulator by US does not immediately attract any penalties, but tends
to dent confidence about a country in global financial markets
●
Handicraft and GI Toys exempted from Quality Control Order - DPIIT has exempted these from use of Standard
Mark under licence from Bureau of Indian Standards.
●
Asia/ Pacific group (APG) on money laundering • It is an inter-governmental organization focused on ensuring
that its members effectively implement the international standards against money laundering, terrorist financing
and proliferation financing related to weapons of mass destruction. • India is a member.
●
Time Use Survey (TUS) by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) - to measure participation of men, women
and other groups of persons in paid and unpaid activities.
●
Definition of worker under the Industrial Relations code, 2020 excludes persons employed in a managerial or
administrative capacity, or in a supervisory capacity with wages exceeding Rs 18,000
●
Sole Negotiating Union: If there are more than one registered trade union of workers functioning in an
establishment, the trade union having more than 51% of the workers as members would be recognised as the
sole negotiating union. o Negotiation Council: In case no trade union is eligible as sole negotiating union, then a
negotiating council will be formed with representatives of unions that have at least 20% of workers as members
●
The code on social security is applicable to any establishment. The code reduces the gratuity period from five
years to three years for working journalists.
●
Code on Occupational Safety - Daily work hour limit: Fixes the maximum limit at eight hours per day. o
Employment of women: Women will be entitled to be employed in all establishments for all types of work
●
CODE ON INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, 2020 • It combines the features of three erstwhile laws: o Trade Unions
Act 1926, o Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 o Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
●
Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central (Amendment) Rules, 2018 allowed all industries to hire
workers on contract with a fixed tenure.
●
The Ministry of Labour and Employment (Ministry) has notified the draft of the Model Standing Orders, 2020 for
all manufacturing, mining and services sector. The draft document has explicitly mentioned Fixed Term
Employment as one of the classifications of a worker. More on news • The draft order has inserted fixed-term
employment as a category of employment but has removed “casual work" from the list. The list includes six
categories of workers, namely Permanent, Temporary, Apprentices, Probationers, Badlis and Fixed Term
Employment.
●
The Urban Learning Internship Program (TULIP) • TULIP is a program for providing internship opportunities to
fresh graduates in all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Smart Cities across country. o Applicants must be Indian
citizens who have completed their final year of college within last 18 months. o Programme does not have any
budget of its own.
●
Aatamanirbhar Skilled EmployeeEmployer Mapping (ASEEM) Portal • It is Artificial Intelligence-based platform
which will map details of workers based on regions and local industry demands and will bridge demand-supply
gap of skilled workforce across sectors. • It is developed and managed by National Skill Development
Corporation (NSDC)
●
Global Innovation Index (GII) - developed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) together with
top business universities like Cornell University, INSEAD etc.
●
Sahakar Mitra - internship programme to provide paid internship to youth . It is an initiative by National
Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), a statutory body under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers
Welfare’
●
YuWaah • YuWaah is a multi-stakeholder platform that aims to prepare young people to transition from
education and learning to productive work and active citizenship. - collaboration with UN in India (
●
PRICE ASSURANCE AND FARM SERVICES ACT, 2020 = At first, all disputes must be referred to the board for
resolution. If the dispute remains unresolved by the Board after thirty days, parties may approach the
Sub-divisional Magistrate for resolution. Parties will have a right to appeal to an Appellate Authority (presided
by collector or additional collector) against decisions of the Magistrate. o Both the Magistrate and Appellate
Authority will be required to dispose of a dispute within thirty days from the receipt of application. The
Magistrate or the Appellate Authority may impose certain penalties on the party contravening the agreement.
However, no action can be taken against the agricultural land of farmer for recovery of any dues.
●
The Act requires that imposition of any stock limit on agricultural produce must be based on price rise. A stock
limit may be imposed only if there is: (i) a 100% increase in retail price of horticultural produce; and (ii) a 50%
increase in the retail price of non-perishable agricultural food items. o The increase in price will be calculated
over the price prevailing immediately preceding 12 months, or the average retail price of the last five years,
whichever is lower.
●
Government notifies MSPs annually for 23 commodities inclusive of 14 kharif, 7 rabi and 2 calendar year season
crops. • In addition to these 23 crops, Government also notifies Fair and Remunerative Prices (FRP) for
sugarcane and jute. MSP for Toria and De-Husked coconut also is fixed on basis of MSP’s of Rapeseed/Mustard
seed and Copra respectively. • The Government notifies MSPs based on the recommendations of an
independent body, called Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)
●
Amongst Pulses, Gram, masur, rapeseed and Mustard seed are Rabi, rest are kharif including soybean.
●
Even cotton, groundnut and nigerseed are kharif.
●
Sunflower is Kharif, Safflower is Rabi
●
Over and above A2, C2 includes land rent (both leased and self-owned), interest on fixed capital and value of
labour (both hired and self). • It is also argued that 50 per cent of Cost C2 should be added as the profit
component, for determining the MSP.
●
Price Support Scheme (PSS): Applicable in case of MSP notified crops. • Market Intervention Scheme (MIS): To
support commodities, for which MSPs are not notified - fruits/vegetables/other horticultural products
●
Mechanism for Marketing of MFP through Minimum Support price and development of Value Chain of MFP
Scheme - TRIFED is nodal agency
●
Unlike e-NAM, which focuses on APMCs, the e-kisan mandis will seek to bring farmers, agri-producers, traders
and small buyers on a common platform for trading agricultural commodities. • It would operate in a
hub-and-spoke model, in which the NAFED -owned land will operate as a hub for FPCs in the area
●
: FPO with a minimum farmer-members’ size of 300 in plains, while 100 in North-Eastern and Hilly areas
(including such other areas of UTs).
●
NCDEX AGRIDEX is India’s first return based agricultural futures Index which tracks the performance of the ten
liquid commodities (both kharif and rabi seasons) traded on NCDEX platform. Commodities doesn;t include
wheat, rice, sugarcane
●
India grows all four species of cultivated cotton
●
India is the 2nd largest cotton producer (produces 23% of the world cotton) and the largest consumer of cotton
in the world. o India produces about 51% of the total organic cotton production of the world.
●
In 2018, India was the second largest agriculture producer in the world and had the largest arable land. • In
2019, India exported about 7% of Indian agriculture production. • India ranks 13th in the world in agriculture
exports despite being leading producer of milk, bananas, mangoes etc
●
Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Promotion Development Authority (APEDA). is under Ministry of
Commerce and Industry. • It is mandated with the responsibility of export promotion and development of
products
●
Major share of rice is cultivated during Kharif season while a small share of rice is grown in rabi /summer season
with assured irrigation.
●
India is second largest producer in fishery sector. The total fish production has nearly 65% contribution from the
inland sector and rest form marine fishing.
●
.Fisheries is a State subject. Marine Fisheries are a shared responsibility between the Central and Coastal
State/UT Governments.
●
Centre is responsible for the development, management and regulation of fisheries in the EEZ waters beyond 12
nautical miles and up to 200 nautical miles
●
Ministry for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has announced setting up of fish cryobanks. This would
be the first time in the world when “Fish Cryobank” will be established. • It will facilitate all time availability of
fish sperms of desired species to fish farmers. National Fisheries Development Board in collaboration with
National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources
●
“National Beekeeping & Honey Mission is a Central Sector Scheme
●
Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) announced by the Central Government on the basis of the recommendations
of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) after consulting the State Governments and
associations of sugar industry. • FRP is minimum price paid by mills to farmers.
●
Rastriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA) permanent apex advisory body, under Department of Animal Husbandry and
Dairying
●
Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) Scheme - allows a set quantity of specific products to be imported at a low or zero rate
of duty. • Under this scheme, Government allows import of four products: maize (corn); “milk and cream in
powder, granules”; crude sunflower seed or safflower oil and refined rape, colza or mustard oil.
●
National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) and National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is established under
Companies act
●
Factoring business is a business where an entity (referred as factor) acquires the receivables of another entity
(referred as assignor) for an amount
●
Receivable Exchange of India was set up by SIDBI in National Stock Exchange in 2016 for this purpose.
●
Local content is defined as the total value of the item procured less the value of imported content in the item as
a proportion of the total value.
●
Production Linked Incentive refers to a rebate given to producers. This rebate is calculated as a certain
percentage of sales of the producer (
●
Key Starting Material (KSM) term is used for intermediates in pharmaceutical industry
●
PLI scheme already for Mobile Manufacturing and Specified Electronic Components, Critical Key Starting
materials/Drug Intermediaries and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Manufacturing of Medical Devices.
●
The additional sectors are: • Advance Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery • Electronic/Technology Products •
Automobiles & Auto Components • Pharmaceuticals drugs • Telecom & Networking Products • Textile Products:
MMF segment and technical textiles • Food Products • High Efficiency Solar PV Modules • White Goods (ACs &
LED) • Specialty Steel
●
design of the earlier PLI scheme for electronics is such that it is compatible with World Trade Organization
commitments as the quantum of support is not directly linked to exports or value-addition
●
The scheme is outcome-based, which means that incentives will be disbursed only after production has taken
place. • The calculation of incentives is based on incremental production at a high rate of growth
●
The final proposals of PLI for individual sectors will be appraised by the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC)
and approved by the Cabinet. Savings, if any, from one PLI scheme of an approved sector can be utilized to fund
that of another approved sector. Any new sector for PLI will require fresh approval of the Cabinet
●
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in India are classified as per a Composite Criteria based on Investment in
Plant & Machinery/equipment and Annual Turnover
●
ICT based system ‘CHAMPIONS’ portal: has been launched by the Ministry of MSME. The portal will help in
handholding MSMEs, providing guidance to grab the new business opportunities and in the long run, become
national and international Champions. o It is fully integrated with Centralized Public Grievance Redress and
Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) and MSME Ministry’s own other web-based mechanisms.
●
ANIC-ARISE (Atal New India Challenges in Applied Research and Innovation for Medium and Small Enterprises)
Launched • It is a program launched by Atal Innovation Mission to promote research & innovation and increase
competitiveness of Indian startups and MSMEs. It will be driven by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO),
four ministries
●
India is second-largest steel producer and consumer in the world
●
Iron ore is the second most important stream of traffic of Railways and along with steel after coal. o India is the
fourth largest iron ore producing country
●
Solar Photovoltaics (PV): It is based on the photovoltaic effect, by which a photon (the basic unit of light)
impacting a surface made of a special material generates the release of an electron. • Concentrating Solar
Power (CSP): It uses sunlight to heat a fluid (depending on the particular application, it can be water or other
fluid)
●
The active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is the part of any drug that produces the intended effects
●
National Productivity Council (NPC) • NPC is autonomous organization under Department for Promotion of
Industry and Internal Trade (Ministry of Commerce & Industry). It is tri-partite non-profit organization with equal
representation from government, employers and workers’ organizations.
●
multi-modal logistic park will be developed under Bharatmala Pariyojna
●
Build-Operate and Transfer (BOT) toll model. accounted for almost 96% of NHAI’s all project awards in
2011-12, which came down almost to zero in the last two fiscals, due to various issues in existing MCA for BOT
(Toll) projects. This has forced NHAI to shift to Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) and Hybrid
Annuity Model (HAM).
●
InvIT would be the NHAI’s first asset monetisation model after it had earlier placed projects under the
toll-operate-transfer (TOT) model. ü Unlike InvIT, the responsibility of operation and maintenance in the TOT
model is vested with the contractor.
●
Data Lake and Project Management Software It is a cloud based and Artificial Intelligence powered Big Data
Analytics platform launched by National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). • With launch of this, NHAI
becomes first construction sector organisation to go ‘Fully Digital’
●
In Landlord Port Model, ownership of the port remains with port authority. Infrastructure is leased to private
firms that provide and maintain their own superstructure and install their own equipment to handle cargo. In
return, landlord port gets a share of revenue from the private entity.
●
Society for Affordable Redressal of Disputes-PORTS (SAROD-PORTS) will help in settlement of disputes
through arbitrations in maritime secto
●
India has two trans-shipment ports, Vallarpadam terminal in Cochin and Vizhinjam port in Trivandrum. Proposed
Enayam port is third major trans-shipment port. • A transshipment terminal act like a hub, into which smaller
feeder vessels bring cargo that then gets loaded onto larger ships for transportation to final destinations.
●
Vessels Traffic Monitoring Systems (VTMS) is mandatory under International Maritime Organization Convention
SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea).
●
V.O Chidambaranar port trust in Tamil Nadu, formerly known as the Tuticorin Port Trust,
●
TDR is a mechanism to facilitate the speedy acquisition of land for developing infrastructure such as city road
development, satellite towns, and metro rail. • Under the TDR route, the government acquires land from the
landowner in exchange for development rights
●
, India stood the third largest energy consumer in the world after United States of America and China. • India
also ranks highest in terms of growth rate of energy consumption in the world.
●
Bundling scheme • It is a plan to sell renewable energy (RE) and thermal power in a bundle so that end users
can get uninterrupted supply of power
●
Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) • It is the first and largest energy exchange in India providing a nationwide,
automated trading platform for physical delivery of electricity, Renewable Energy Certificates and Energy Saving
Certificates. • It is regulated by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).
●
Real Time Market (RTM) trading was approved in power exchanges in June 2020.
●
Energy scheduled through GTAM (Green term ahead market) contract shall be considered as deemed RPO
compliance of the buyer.
●
Atal Distribution System Improvement Yojana (Aditya)—to cut electricity losses below 12%.
●
PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification and Analysis in Power procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of
generators) • PRAAPTI App and web portal has been developed by Ministry of Power to bring transparency in
power purchase transactions between Gencos and Discoms.
●
World Economic Forum released the Energy Transition Index 2020.
●
India has the world’s fifth-largest reserves of coal, yet it is the world’s second-largest importer.
●
ONGC Limited has begun crude oil production from Bengal Basin making Bengal basin India’s eighth producing
basin.
●
UNlocking NATional Energy Efficiency potential (UNNATEE) • It is a national strategy document for accelerating
energy efficiency in India.
●
Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative • SATAT is an initiative aimed at
setting up of CBG production plants and make it available in the market for use in automotive fuels by inviting
Expression of Interest from potential entrepreneurs
●
MFI is defined as a non-deposit taking NBFC that fulfils the following conditions: • Minimum Net Owned Funds
of Rs.5 crore
●
“Qualifying asset” shall mean a loan which satisfies the following criteria: - • Loan disbursed by an NBFC-MFI to
a borrower with a rural household annual income less than Rs. 1.25 lakh or urban and semi-urban household
income less than Rs. 2lakhs. • Loan amount does not exceed Rs. 1.25 lakh per borrower. • Loan extended
without collateral.
●
The RBI has decided to merge three Ombudsman schemes (i) Banking Ombudsman Scheme (ii) Ombudsman
Scheme for Non-Banking Financial Companies and (iii) Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions into a
single scheme.
●
SHYAMALA GOPINATH COMMITTEE RBI has recently constituted a committee headed by former deputy
governor Shyamala Gopinath to evaluate applications for universal banks as well as small finance banks (SFB).
Based upon the recommendations of this committee, the RBI would provide ‘On-tap’ licensing to these Banks.
●
Sudhir Srivastava Committee has given recommendations to the RBI to enhance the WMA limit for the states
●
Ways and Means advances acts as a loan facility to the central and state governments to meet their cash
requirements. This facility is availed by the Government to meet temporary mismatches in their receipts and
expenditure. Duration: 90 days. Interest rate: Repo rate.
●
Can WMA be used to address deficit? No. It can be used only for addressing temporary mismatches in cash
balances.
●
“On-lending” means loans sanctioned by banks to eligible intermediaries such as NBFCs for onward lending for
sectors categorised as Priority sectors.
●
In May 2021, the RBI has decided to allow the Small Finance Banks to avail the facility of on-lending
●
RBI has made it mandatory to offer interoperability between Prepaid instruments (PPIs) b
●
Pre-Pack Insolvency process (PIRP) for the MSMEs. Under PIRP, there is a direct agreement between the debtor
(Borrower) and Creditor (Lender) to restructure the loans. There is no public bidding of the resolution plans and
hence no role for the external parties
●
The RBI has recently decided to allow non-bank entities to participate in the Centralised Processing System
(CPS). Present Status: RBI's centralised processing system (CPS) includes NEFT and RTGS. As of now, only the
banks have access to RBI's
●
►E-RUPI PM Modi has recently launched E-RUPI as the new digital payment system to send Government’s
benefits directly to the beneficiaries by leveraging mobile phones. • It is a cashless and contactless instrument
for digital payment. • It is a QR code or SMS string-based e-voucher, which is delivered to the mobile of
beneficiaries. • It could be used as a voucher in case of payments to medical treatment, education etc. • It is
one-time use voucher. • It is offline hence can be accessible even in the remotest areas
●
• It is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment. • It is a QR code or SMS string-based
e-voucher, which is delivered to the mobile of beneficiaries. • It could be used as a voucher in case of payments
to medical treatment, education etc. • It is one-time use voucher. • It is offline hence can be accessible even in
the remotest areas. New bill to provide deposit insurance to the depositors of the banks which have been
placed under moratorium.
●
. In April 2021, the RBI has decided to enhance the maximum limit to Rs 2 lakh per customer for Payment Banks
●
Non-Food Credit includes the loans provided for various purposes such as agriculture and allied sector,
industries, services and personal loans. Food Credit includes the loans provided by the banks to the Food
Corporation of India (FCI) and other agencies involved in the procurement of food grains.
●
ALL INDIA HOUSE PRICE INDEX (HPI) • Released by Reserve Bank of India (published quarterly).
●
A smallcase is a basket of shares that may reflect a particular investment theme, idea or a sector.
●
Carry trade is form of trading mechanism wherein the foreign investors take advantage of difference in the
interest rates between the countries to make profits
●
RBI has constructed a composite Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index)
●
OECD’S BEPS PROJECT AND GLOBE PROPOSALS - Pillar 2 (Global Anti-Base Erosion / GloBE proposal):Pillar
two seeks to introduce global minimum corporate tax of 15% to prevent BEPS by MNCs
●
Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Nidhi (PMSSN) as a non-lapsable fund. : Proceeds of share of health in the
Health and Education Cess
●
a higher share of our borrowings (Fiscal Deficit) is used for funding Revenue Expenditure rather than Capital
Expenditure. This shows a consistent decline in the quality of Fiscal Deficit in India
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F OIL BONDS • Long term special G-Secs with maturity period ranging from 15-20 years. • Non-SLR Status (Oil
Bonds cannot be considered as G-Secs for the calculation of SLR) • Rate of Interest on Oil Bonds (6.5%-8.3%)
marginally higher than normal G-Secs. • Not considered to be part of Fiscal deficit. But the outstanding liabilities
on the Oil Bonds form part of Public Debt. • Practice of issuing Oil bonds has ended in 2010 when Government
decided to de-control prices of Petrol.
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The rural areas account for 95% of the agriculture output, 50% of the manufacturing output and around 25% of
the service sector output.
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►e-SANTA "Electronic Solution for Augmenting NaCSA farmers' Trade in Aquaculture" – New electronic
platform to connect aqua farmers and the buyers directly. National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture (NaCSA)
which is an extension arm of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Ministry of Commerce &
Industry
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►SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION (SRI) Details: It is a low-water and labor-intensive method that makes
use of younger seedlings for increasing the productivity of irrigated rice. The SRI method was initially developed
in the 1980s in Madagascar and it has also been successfully adapted to other crops as well such as wheat,
finger millet, and sugarcane.
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SRI : Decrease water consumption by almost 40% + Increase yields by over 30% + Greater tolerance to abiotic
(drought, heat waves) and biotic (pest and diseases) stresses + Promote environment friendly practices such as
Organic farming, reduce emission of methane, improvement in soil fertility
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GLOBALLY IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL HERITAGE SYSTEMS (GIAHS) - Formulated by FAO on the occasion
of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002. IMPLICIT CRITERIA FOR IDENTIFICATION OF SITES
• Highest level of Biodiversity- Agricultural and Biological Diversity • Nature friendly Indigenous agricultural
practices • Support livelihoods of large number of small and marginal farmers Sites in India: Koraput Traditional
Agriculture of Odisha + Kuttanad Below Sea Level Farming System + Pampore region Saffron Heritage Site of
Kashmir
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Of imported edible oils, share of palm oil is about 60% followed by soybean oil and sunflower. India has
emerged as the largest importer of vegetable oils in the world followed by China & USA. Indonesia and
Malaysia are principal sources of palm oil import for India.
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‘Large Area Certification’ (LAC) scheme of the PGS-India (Participatory Guarantee System) certification
programme. Objective: Identify Traditional Organic Areas and transform them into certified organic production
hubs immediately. Recently A&NI
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Price of sugar are market driven & depends on demand & supply of sugar. However, with a view to protect the
interests of farmers, concept of Minimum Selling Price (MSP) of sugar has been introduced in 2018 so that sugar
mills may get at least the minimum cost of production of sugar,
●
The MSP has been fixed through the Sugar Price (Control) Order which has been issued in accordance with the
powers vested with the Government under Essential Commodities Act.
●
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has recently unveiled a unique project named “Bamboo
Oasis on Lands in Drought” (BOLD).
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Regulation of Mines and Mineral Development can be undertaken by both Centre as well as States (b) The
Powers of the States to regulate Mines and Mineral development should be laid down by the Centre through a
law passed by the Indian Parliament
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Centre: Rules and policies related to Major Minerals. The list of Major Minerals has been provided in the First
Schedule of the Act and include Coal, Lignite, Atomic minerals, Metallic and Non-metallic minerals such as
Iron-ore, bauxite, gold, precious stones, Copper, Lead, Zinc etc.
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State: Rules and policies related to Minor Minerals. The act provides for the list of minor minerals and includes
building stones, gravel, ordinary clay, ordinary sand and any other mineral which the Central Government can
notify.
●
The States can make rules and regulations relating to only minor minerals. But, they can make rules related to
prevention of illegal mining of all minerals.(Both Minor and Major Minerals)
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Major Minerals Royalty fixed by the Centre Collected by the State Governments; • Minor MineralsRoyalty fixed
and collected by the State Governments.
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: The distinction between Captive and merchant mines has been done away with. Henceforth, the Government
would not allocate Captive mines to the private sector. All the mines to be allocated in future, would be
merchant mines.
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PUBLIC ENTERPRISES SELECTION BOARD (PESB) Establishment: Non-statutory body constituted by the
Government through a resolution in 1987. Functions: Advise the Government on the appointments to the
highest posts in the Central Public Sector Enterprises.
●
Retail and Wholesale trade would be considered as part of MSME sector to avail priority sector loans from the
Bank
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OPEN NETWORK FOR DIGITAL COMMERCE (ONDC) - seeks to creating open-source software for the
e-commerce sector just like how we have UPI in banking sector. Such an open-source software can be used by
used by multiple companies to create e-commerce platforms. The task of implementing DPIIT’s ONDC project
has been assigned to the Quality Council of India (QCI).
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The Operate Maintain Transfer has been adopted in form of Toll-Operate-Transfer (ToT) model for PPP in
National Highways. While, the Operate Maintain Develop (OMD) model has been adopted for the maintenance
of Airports in India.
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India has emerged as the fifth largest foreign exchange reserves holder in the world after China, Japan,
Switzerland, and Russia.
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Current Account Surplus for the first time in the last 17 years
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MEDICINE PATENT POOL (MPP) - set up in 2010 by UNITAID. UNITAID was created in 2006 as part of the
global response to HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria as the “International Drug Purchasing Facility.” UNITAID
is hosted by WHO. Encourages the Patent holders to enter into non-exclusionary voluntary licensing
agreements with other pharma companies to ramp up production of life saving patented drugs and bring down
their prices
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Early harvest scheme is a precursor to a free trade agreement (FTA) between two trading partners. This is to
help the two trading countries to identify certain products for tariff liberalisation before the conclusion of FTA
negotiation.
●
India is not a member country of IEA. However, India is one among the associate countries.Criteria for
membership: • Emergency oil reserves equivalent to at least 90 days of net imports • A demand restraint
programme to reduce national oil consumption by up to 10%
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Gram Ujala Programme to make LEDs available at affordable cost in the rural areas
●
India’s largest floating solar power plant is expected to be commissioned at Ramagundam on the water surface
of Sri Ram Sagar Project reservoir located on Godavari River. This will be the largest floating solar plant in the
country in a single location as of now
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: India's first floating PV plant of 10 KW was installed in a lake in Kolkata in 2014
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RoDTEP Scheme Introduced under Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 Replaced the MEIS Scheme from Jan 1, 2021.
WTO Compliant. Implemented by: Ministry of Commerce and Industry
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►SMALL SATELLITE LAUNCH VEHICLE - designed to meet 'Launch on Demand' requirements in a
cost-effective manne. New Space India Limited.
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Venus Missions : DAVINCI+ and and VERITAS by NASA. ENVISION by ESA.
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Venus is the second-brightest object in the sky after the moon. It appears bright because of its thick cloud cover
that reflects and scatters light.
●
Venus is that its rotation period is longer than its orbital period.
●
Venus has retrograde motion, meaning it spins in the direction opposite to the direction in which it orbits the
Sun. (Sun would rise in west and set in east on Venus)
●
Due to slow rotation of Venus, it has no global magnetic field. (earth’s magnetic field is due to rotation of iron
core)
●
ISRO’s Shukrayaan-1 is a proposed orbiter to Venus to study its surface and atmosphere
●
As of now, Japan’s Akatsuki mission is studying the planet from Orbit.
●
Phosphene has no abiotic false positives (nothing but life can naturally produce the gas on earth)
●
The Davinci probe will take surface images using infrared light during it’s the end of its descent. It will return the
first high resolution pictures of the unique geological features on Venus known as “tesserae,” which may be
comparable to Earth’s continents, suggesting that Venus has plate tectonics.
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Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) RADIO TELESCOPE Collaboration have assembled
the largest collection of Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) in the telescope’s first FRB catalogue. It has no moving parts.
●
The digitized signals collected by CHIME will be processed to form a 3-dimensional map of hydrogen density of
universe, which will be used to measure the expansion history of the universe.
●
Radio pulsars are rapidly rotating, highly magnetized neutron stars that can act as exquisitely precise cosmic
clocks. Pulsars are like cosmic lighthouses as they emit beams of radio light from their magnetic poles, which are
misaligned with the neutron star rotation axis.
●
Fast Radio Bursts are brief (few millisecond) bursts of radio waves coming from far beyond our Milky Way
galaxy. Their origin is unknown
●
‘Black Hole Area Theorem’ by physicist Stephen Hawking stated that it is impossible for the surface area of a
black hole to decrease over time i.e., area of their event horizons — the boundary beyond which nothing can ever
escape — should never shrink.
●
Einstein's general theory of relativity holds that the force of gravity arises from the curvature of space and time.
The theory argued that space and time are inextricably connected, but it didn't acknowledge the existence of
gravity.
●
There are four types of black holes: Stellar, intermediate, supermassive, and miniature. The most commonly
known way a black hole forms is by stellar death.
●
Stellar black holes are made when the center of a very big star falls in upon itself, or collapses. When this
happens, it causes a supernova.
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Neutron stars are formed when a massive star runs out of fuel and collapses
●
There are 3 LIGO's sisters' facilities: Virgo in Italy, GE0600 in Germany and KAGRA in Japan. Also, there is
LIGO-India - a planned Joint India-US detector at Hingoli District in Maharashtra
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PASIPHAE aims to map the polarization of millions of stars at areas of the sky away from the Galactic plane, in
both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. This data will be used to create tomographic map of Galactic
magnetic field. • The ultimate goal of the program is the detection of the imprint of inflation of primordial light.
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These data and the distance to the star will help create a 3D model of the dust distribution and structure of the
galaxy's magnetic field.
●
Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos’s space company called Blue Origin concluded the online auction for
the first seat on New Shephard, a rocket system meant to take tourists to space. The system is a fully reusable
spacecraft
●
A Suborbital space flight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but comes back to earth
before completing one orbital revolution. • Usually, the Karman Line (located above 100 km from the surface of
the earth is considered to be boundary of space). So, if an object launched from earth reaches till Karman line
and beyond and then falls back to Earth is considered to be sub-orbital spaceflight.
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CIBER-2 • It is NASA program which aims to look for evidence of extra stars that have been not yet counted.
●
By studying the Cosmic Infrared Background, and its divergence from assumed values researchers feel that the
extra light must be coming from the glimmer of stray dwarf stars (stars outside galaxies). These stars could
have left their home galaxy, when it merged with another, a process called as tidal stripping
●
China is the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to carry out a manned mission on
its own.
●
China is not a participant in the International Space Station (ISS), largely as a result of US objections to the
Chinese program's secrecy and close military ties. o The ISS is a joint project between five participating space
agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Eur ope), and CSA (Canada).
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Chinese spaceship “Shenzhou-12” carrying a three-person crew docked with China’s new space station module
Tiangong space station.
●
Tiangong will be placed in low earth orbit. Once completed it will be one-fifth the size of ISS.
●
during the transition to the BEC there is transition from the state of chaos to the state of order.
●
BEC is a super cooled gas that no longer behaves as individual atoms and particles, but rather an entity in a
single quantum state.
●
The most intriguing property of BECs is that they can slow down light. Researchers have shown how light
traveling through a BEC got its speed reduced from its speed in vacuum of 3 × 108 metres per second to a mere
17 metres per second.
●
Boiling and freezing point of Helium are lower than those of any other known substance.
●
China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) achieved a peak temperature of 288 million
degrees Fahrenheit, which is over ten times hotter than the sun.
●
EAST, also called Artificial Sun, is an advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device based in China. The
tokamak is designed to replicate nuclear fusion process carried out by the sun and stars. EAST project is part of
the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) facility, which will become the world’s largest
nuclear fusion reactor when it becomes operational in 2035. ITER also includes India. A ‘Tokamak’ is a reactor
design that resembles a donut
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A nuclear reaction is the process in which two nuclei, or a nucleus and an external subatomic particle, collide to
produce one or more new nuclides.
●
Nuclear Fission: o The nucleus of an atom splits into two daughter nuclei. o This decay can be natural
spontaneous splitting by radioactive decay, or can actually be simulated in a lab by achieving necessary
conditions (bombarding with neutrons, alpha particles, etc.). o The resulting fragments tend to have a combined
mass which is less than the original. The missing mass is usually converted into nuclear energy. o Currently all
commercial nuclear reactors are based on nuclear fission.
●
Nuclear Fusion is defined as the combining of two lighter nuclei into a heavier one. o Such nuclear fusion
reactions are the source of energy in the Sun and other stars. o It takes considerable energy to force the nuclei to
fuse. T
●
Nuclear fusion also doesn’t produce any harmful radioactive waste and hence, is extremely
environment-friendly. o The hydrogen bomb is based on a thermonuclear fusion reaction. However, a nuclear
bomb based on the fission of uranium or plutonium is placed at the core of the hydrogen bomb to provide initial
energy
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: LEO satellites are positioned around 500km-2000km from earth
●
Geostationary orbit is located at a height of 35,786 km over the Earth’s surface, directly above the Equator. o
Most of the existing space-based Internet systems use satellites in geostationary orbit.
●
Satellites in this orbit move at speeds of about 11,000 km per hour, and complete one revolution of the Earth at
the same time that the earth rotates once on its axis. To the observer on the ground, therefore, satellite in a
geostationary orbit appears stationary, making it is easier to link to them
●
• ‘Five to 50’ service (OneWeb): OneWeb, a private company, has successfully launched constellations of 218
satellites in LEO
●
Starlink: It is a venture of SpaceX.
●
• Project Kuiper: It is a project of Amazon
●
Genome sequencing means revealing the order of bases present in the entire genome of an organism. DNA
nucleotides, or bases —Adenine, Cytosine, Guanines, and Thymine make up an organism's DNA. A genome is an
organism’s complete set of genetic instructions.
●
Some parts of genome are outside these chromosomes and are stored in the Mitochondria.
●
Exome, the portion of the genes responsible for making proteins occupies just about 1% of the actual gene.
Rather than sequence the whole gene, many geneticists rely on “exome maps”. However, the nonexome
portions also affect the functioning of the genes.
●
. Genome mapping in Indian ocean • National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) is going to launch a project for
Genome Mapping in the Indian Ocean. • Aim of the project: o To gather samples for genome mapping of
microorganisms in the Indian Ocean
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HTBt cotton variant adds another layer of modification, making the plant resistant to the herbicide glyphosate.
Fears include glyphosate having a carcinogenic effect, as well as the unchecked spread of herbicide resistance to
nearby plants through pollination, creating a variety of superweeds. HTBt cotton has not been approved by
government for cultivation
●
There is a shortage of the labour needed to do at least two rounds of weeding for Bt cotton. With HTBt, simply
one round of glyphosate spraying is needed with no weeding, savings cost for farmers
●
H10N3 is a subtype of the Influenza A virus which is commonly known as the bird flu virus. • It is a low
pathogenic, or relatively less severe, strain of the virus in poultry and the risk of it spreading on a large scale is
very low. Among animals, it can spread through respiratory droplets
●
Natural rubber is a native of warm humid Amazon forests and is not naturally suited for the colder conditions in
the Northeast.
●
Rubber tree needs a hot and humid climate with temperature ranging between 25°C and 35°C and the annual
rainfall of about 300 cm well distributed throughout the year. Deep, rich and well-drained loamy soil
●
• India is the fifth largest rubber-producing country in the world, after Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Brazil. •
State of Kerala has accounted for 76 percent of India’s rubber production
●
• In an allogeneic transplant, stem cells are collected from a matching donor and transplanted into the patient to
suppress the disease and restore the patient’s immune system. An allogeneic stem cell transplant is different
from an autologous stem cell transplant, which uses stem cells from the patient's own body.
●
A biologic drug (biologics) is a product that is produced from living organisms or contain components of living
organisms
●
Protein–Antibody Conjugates combines concepts of biologics and antibody–drug conjugates to produce
protein–antibody conjugates that can be used for targeted drug delivery
●
Antibody conjugation, also known as antibody labeling, is a technique for modification of antibodies which
involves with the attachment of a specific tag to an antibody. • These labelled antibodies can be used to isolate
and purify a protein of interest from a complex mixture, usually cells, tissues or whole organisms
●
Hendra virus (HeV) infection is a rare emerging zoonosis that causes severe and often fatal disease in both
infected horses and humans.
●
bats or ‘flying foxes,’ of the genus Pteropus, who are natural reservoir hosts of the Nipah and Hendra viruses.
●
Antigen: it is the part of the virus or bacteria which draws strongest immune response. Most vaccines exploit this
property of antigen and design vaccines around it. The Spike Protein of coronavirus is the antigen.
●
Live attenuated vaccines • It contains a version of the living microbe that has been weakened in the lab so it
can’t cause disease. • These vaccines will replicate in a vaccinated individual and produce an immune response
but usually can cause mild or no disease. • Immune response is excellent. Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR
combined vaccine) Varicella (chickenpox) Influenza (nasal spray) Rotavirus
●
Inactivated vaccines • The virus is first killed with chemicals, heat, or radiation and then used to make the
vaccine. No threat of disease. • May not always induce an immune response and response may not live longer.
Several doses of whole cell vaccines may be required to evoke sufficient immune response. • Inactivated
vaccines usually don’t require refrigeration, and they can be easily stored and transported in a freeze-dried form.
Hepatitis A, Influenza, polio, rabies
●
Sub-unit vaccine A piece of the virus (antigen) that is important for immunity, like the spike protein of COVID-19,
is used to make the vaccine. Human papillomavirus vaccines
●
Toxoid vaccines It contains a toxin or chemical made by the bacteria or virus. They make a person immune to the
harmful effects of the infection, instead of to the infection itself. Diphtheria and tetanus
●
Biosynthetic vaccines It contains manmade substances that are very similar to pieces of the virus or bacteria. HIV
●
Polysaccharide vaccines create a response against the molecules in the pathogen's capsule. These molecules are
small, and often not very immunogenic. • As a consequence, they tend to: o Not be effective in infants and young
children (under 18–24 months), o Induce only short-term immunity (slow immune response, slow rise of
antibody levels, no immune memory). • Examples of polysaccharide vaccines include Meningococcal disease.
●
Conjugate subunit vaccines create a response against the molecules in the pathogen's capsule. • In comparison
to plain polysaccharide vaccines, they benefit from a technology that binds the polysaccharide to a carrier
protein that can induce a long-term protective response even in infants. • Carrier protein - A protein linked to a
weak antigen to increase its immunogenicity when used as a vaccine.
●
Soberana-2 vaccine of Cube is the only coronavirus vaccine that relies on the conjugate vaccine technology.
●
Synthetic biology is a revolutionary technology that can help us manipulate biological organisms and processes
to improve humans, especially by redevelopment of cells to treat diseases.
●
LIQUID NANO UREA • Developed by IFFCO. India will be first country to start commercial production of Liquid
Nano Urea. • It is a nanotechnology-based fertiliser. It contains nanoscale nitrogen particles which have more
surface area and number of particles, which make it more impactful
●
uptake of Nano Urea is more than 80%. It is thus required in lesser amounts as compared to the conventional
urea fertiliser to fulfil plant's nitrogen requirement. • Cheaper than conventional urea • Reduce input costs to
farmer, leads to increase in farmers' income
●
Supersonic aircraft are planes that can fly faster than the speed of sound
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►NATIONAL INTERNET EXCHANGE OF INDIA NIXI is a not-for-profit organization working for spreading the
internet infrastructure in India by: 1. establishing internet exchanges through which internet data is exchanged
amongst ISPs, data centers and CDNs. NIXI functions under the Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology (MEITY).
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Internet Protocol version 6. It is the most recent version of Internet Protocol, that provides an identification and
location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the internet. It will replace the IPv4
protocol.
●
• IPv6 uses a 128-bit address compared to 32 bits in IPv4, allowing 2128 addresses. • IPv6 allows multicasting
i.e., the transmission of a packet to multiple destinations in a single send operation. • It will enable efficient route
aggregation. • Like the IPv4, IPv6 supports globally unique IP addresses. • Higher security • Enables Internet of
Things.
●
IPv4 and IPv6 are not interoperable and thus direct communication between them is impossible
●
CONTENT DELIVERY NETWORK (CDN) • A CDN refers to a geographically distributed group of servers that
work together to provide fast delivery of Internet content. • They house content near the telecom specialist
coops' organizations. • Greater part of web traffic across the present reality is directed through CDNs.
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India will now be able to access the COMSOL Multiphysics software suite at no cost through the I-STEM portal
academic users.
●
T INDIAN SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND ENGINEERING FACILITIES MAP (I-STEM) • It is an initiative of Office of
the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Govt. of India under the PM-STIAC mission. • The I-STEM National Web
Portal was launched formally in 2020. It protects the IP involved in building the I-STEM Portal.
●
It hosts the database of facilities across India so that a researcher desirous of using any of them can search for
the same and make a booking online for using it.
●
ation Clusters. ABOUT COMSOL PLATFORM • Developed by the COMSOL Group. It is used worldwide as an
indispensable tool for a variety of computer simulations for R&D as well as for learning and instruction. • It is a
general-purpose simulation software package for modelling designs, devices, and processes in all fields of
engineering, manufacturing, and scientific research
●
• It is hosted on a secure Azure Cloud and to be used simultaneously by up to 60 users located anywhere in the
country.
●
Doppler radars assist to track climate structure, cloud bands and gauge rainfall in an area of 500 km
●
UV-A and UV-B rays from the Sun are transmitted via our environment and all UV-C is filtered with the aid of
using the ozone layer. t Ultraviolet-C or UV-C Disinfection Technology will soon be installed in Parliament for
the mitigation of airborne transmission of SARS-COV-2.
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EUROPEAN ROBOTIC ARM NAUKA • It is a robotic arm similar to the human arm. It also an elbow, shoulders
and even wrists. • The ERA is the first robot able to 'walk' around the Russian segment of the International
Space Station. ERA has been developed by European Space Agency
●
Hubble Space Telescope has discovered evidence of water vapors in the atmosphere of Jupiter's moon
Ganymede. This water vapor forms when ice from the Ganymede's surface sublimates - that is turns from solid
to gas. Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system.
●
European Space Agency has planned for JUICE Mission, to be launched in 2022. JUICE stands for Jupiter Icy
moons Explorer. This mission will explore Jupiter and three of its largest moons, with emphasis on Ganymede as
a planetary body and potential habitat.
●
PERSISTENT VIRAL SHEDDING • When an individual recovered patients continue to carry low levels of virus
within their system for up to three months.
●
GALILEO PROJECT • The aim of this project is to search for extraterrestrial technological signatures of
Extraterrestrial Technological Civilisations. This ground based project searches for physical objects, and not
electromagnetic signals, associated with extraterrestrial technological equipment. (
●
Borgs are DNA sequences found outside the chromosomes. Other examples of Extrachromosomal elements are
plasmids.
●
2-DG DRUG • It is an indigenous drug developed by DRDO. It is expected to reduce dependence of medical
oxygen in COVID-19 infected patients.
●
T GUILLAIN-BARRE SYNDROME • It is a rare neurological disorder in which our body's immune system attacks
our nerves. The condition may be triggered by an acute bacterial or viral infection
●
Brucellosis is a bacterial disease that mainly infects cattle, swine, goats, sheep and dogs. Humans can get
infected if they come in direct contact with infected animals or by eating or drinking contaminated animal
products or by inhaling airborne agents. Human to human transmission of the virus is rare.
●
DRAGON MAN • It is the name given to skull fossil of an extinct species of archaic human ‘Homo longi’. The
skull was found in Northeast China. Homo longi to be closest relative to the modern human beings.
●
CREW-2 MISSION • The main objective of this program is to make access to space easier in terms of its cost, so
that cargo and crew can be easily transported to and from the ISS, enabling greater scientific research
●
Xenobots, named after the African clawed frog are synthetic organisms that are automatically designed by
computers to perform some desired function and built by combining together different biological tissues. •
These biological robots can record information about their surroundings and move using cilia – minute hair like
particles present on their surface. They can self-heal after damage, record memories and work together in
groups.
●
Wolf-Rayet stars represent a final burst of activity before a huge star begins to die.
●
cycle threshold; Ct is a value that emerges during RT-PCR tests. • In an RT-PCR test, RNA is extracted from the
swab collected from the patient. It is then converted into DNA, which is then amplified. • Amplification refers to
the process of creating multiple copies of the genetic material — in this case, DNA. • Amplification takes place
through a series of cycles — one copy becomes two, two becomes four, and so on. • Put simply, the Ct value
refers to the number of cycles after which the virus can be detected. • The lower the Ct value, the higher the
viral load —
●
Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system's ability to fight off harmful
antigens such as viruses. • Monoclonal antibodies have monovalent affinity i.e., they bind at only one receptor
site.
●
Mucormycosis is an aggressive and invasive fungal infection caused by a group of moulds called micromycetes. •
It can affect various organs but is currently manifesting as invasive rhino-orbitocerebral disease, crawling
through the sinus and working its way to the brain, affecting the ear, nose, throat, and mouth. It is not
contagious,
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Neuroglial cells, they quite different from nerve cells. • The major distinction is that glia does not participate
directly in synaptic interactions and electrical signalling, although their supportive functions help define synaptic
contacts and maintain the signalling abilities of neurons. • Glia is more numerous than nerve cells in the brain.
Protect brain against injury and disease, remove toxic agents and clears dead cells. Acts as brains protectors
●
KESSLER SYNDROME • This is an idea proposed by NASA scientist Donald Kessler in 1978. • It states that if
there was too much space junk in orbit, it could result in a chain reaction where more and more objects collide
and create new space junk in the process, to the point where Earth’s orbit becomes unusable.
●
Adenoviruses are preferred for vaccines because their DNA is double stranded which makes them genetically
more stable and the chances of them changing after injection are lower. • Rabies vaccine is an adenovirus
vaccine. • Adenovirus vaccines are a type of viral vector vaccine. In this vaccine, adenovirus is used as a tool to
deliver genes or vaccine antigens to the target host tissue. • However, there are drawbacks of adenovirus vector
vaccines like pre-existing immunity in humans, inflammatory responses etc. • COVISHIELD (AstraZeneca
vaccine) and Sputnik vaccines against COVID-19 are based on adenovirus
●