posts

Context  ∙ The Public Account Committee report on ‘pollution caused by plastic’ was tabled in Parliament recently during the budget session. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)– CPCB is a statutory organization established under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.A. It is also entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention […]

Context ∙ India’s farm sector Gross Value Added (GVA) is likely to see little or no growth in the second half of 2023-24, with the full year-clocking about 1% growth, rating firm ICRA said recently.  About ∙ It cites the weak kharif crop estimates, mixed trends in rabi sowing and concerns regarding crop yields. ∙

Context ∙ Recently, music composer A.R. Rahman used an Artificial Intelligence (AI) software to recreate the voices of singers Bamba Bakya and Shahul Hameed who are now dead. About  ∙ A report by Market US has revealed that the global market for these voice cloning applications stands at $1.2 billion in 2022 and is estimated

Context:  Two years after Thailand made cannabis legal, the country appears set to crack down on its freewheeling drug market with a ban on “recreational” use of Marijuana. About: ∙ Thailand was the first country in Asia to legalise cannabis in June 2022.  ∙ The government introduced regulations that made cannabis a “controlled herb” that

In News  MILAN 2024 is the 12th edition of the Multilateral Naval Exercise scheduled from 19-27 Feb 24 at Visakhapatnam, ‘the City of Destiny’. About MILAN ∙ It is hosted by India, and made a modest beginning in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1995. ∙ The navies of Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand

In News INSAT-3DS will be launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). About INSAT-3DS ∙ INSAT-3DS Satellite is a follow-on mission of Third Generation Meteorological Satellite from Geostationary Orbit. ∙ Launch vehicle :The GSLV aims at deploying the INSAT-3DS meteorological satellite into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). ∙ Subsequent orbit-raising maneuvers will ensure that

Context:  The government acceding to the protesting farmers demand for a legal guarantee of MSP)is somewhat limited given India is under pressure on its farm subsidies at the WTO. About: ∙ The Cairns Group – comprising Australia, Brazil and Canada among others members — have claimed that India’s public stockholding (PSH) programme is highly subsidised

In Context ∙ Through more equitable investments, researchers hope menstruation will be recognised as a new frontier in regenerative medicine. About ∙ Researchers had long hypothesised that the endometrium contained stem cells, given its remarkable capacity to regrow itself each month.  ∙ The tissue, which provides a site for an embryo to implant during pregnancy

Context ∙ The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration has released new images of M87*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87. What is a Black Hole? ∙ A black hole is an extremely dense object whose gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape it. ∙ A

Context ∙ A new study based on estimates of warming from palaeo-thermometry, have said that the earth’s surface has already warmed by more than 1.5 degrees C on average over pre-industrial levels.  Background of 1.5 degrees C threshold ∙ The 1.5 degrees C is not a scientific threshold. It became enshrined in the Paris Agreement