Saint Kanakadasa Jayanti
Kanakadasa was a musician and a poet from Karnataka. On the occasion of his Jayanti (the birth anniversary), people from all walks of life gather to honour the revered saint. Several cultural programmes are organised, including lectures on the life, works, and...
E-SIM vs SIM Cards
E-SIM (embedded SIM) is a digital version of the physical SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card that identifies your phone virtually and provides it with a network connection. SIM cards were introduced as a core feature of the 2G almost two decades ago. E-SIMs, also...
Global Hunger Index 2023
The Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2023 was jointly released by two international humanitarian organisations, Welthungerhilfe (WHH) and Concern Worldwide on October 12, 2023. India has been ranked 111 among 125 countries, which means that it has slipped four positions as...
Reproductive Rights of Women in India
Pregnancy termination is a delicate subject that has been discussed and debated for many years nearly in all the countries of the world. The Supreme Court of India recently declared that all women, married or not, have equal rights to seek abortion up to 24 weeks of...
Investor Risk Reduction Access Platform: Functions and Benefits
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed the introduction of an Investor Risk Reduction Access (IRRA) platform in case of disruption of trading services provided by the trading member (TM) in December 2022. This platform was recently introduced...
First New Treatment for Sickle Cell
Introduction After relentless efforts spanning over a period of nearly two decades, the first sickle-cell treatment, known as CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) therapy, has been finally developed. The treatment is expected to benefit...
Green Energy Corridor Phase-II
The Green Energy corridor is a network of infrastructural projects designed to integrate India’s traditional national grid with the power produced from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydro. Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) conducted a...
Spurt in Unsecured Loans in India—Some Aspects
The surge in consumer credit has been the major cause of the increase in unsecured loans. The Reserve Bank of India has expressed its concern over this matter and mentioned (in July 2023) that the retail loans had grown almost twice the pace of overall credit growth...
The 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
The 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) opened on September 5, 2023 and the General Debate was held between September 19 and 23 and then again on September 26, 2023 at the UN Headquarters, New York, USA. Dennis Francis, the Permanent...
Multimodal Artificial Intelligence: Some Aspects
Introduction Multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) is a cutting-edge technology that focuses on revolutionising the working of AI systems. It is a type of AI that makes use of several modes of data so that determinations can be made more accurately, insightful...
Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana: Some Aspects
Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM AJAY) was formed by merging three existing schemes, namely, PMAGY (Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana), SCA to SCSP (Special Central Assistance to Scheduled Castes Sub Plan), and BJRCY (Babu Jagjivan Ram Chhatrawas...
NASA’s Asteroid Bennu Sample Shows Rich Reserves of Carbon and Water
Introduction Recently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has successfully brought the sample of potentially hazardous asteroid, Bennu to the Earth. The sample consists of rocky space rubble, collected in space, having a weight of around 100-250...
A Giant Ozone Hole Discovered over Antarctica
Introduction Recently, a giant Ozone hole has been discovered over Antarctica, known as the White Continent, by satellite measurements. In this region, the amount of ozone is around 220 Dobson Units or below. (A Dobson is an ozone concentration measuring unit,...
Lok Sabha Ethics Committee vs Privileges Committee
Context Recently, Trinamool Congress leader, Mahua Moitra, appeared before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee that has been enquiring regarding the BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s allegations that Moitra accepted bribes and favours for asking questions in the Lok Sabha on behalf...
Crisis in India’s Tea Industry: Factors
The Indian Tea Association (ITA), which is one of the frontline bodies of the Tea Planters Association, was founded in 1881. The association has contributed towards the development and growth of the industry coordination with the Tea Board of India. ITA member gardens...
Hoysala Temples Inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List
Three Hoysala-era temples in Karnataka were inscribed into the UNESCO’s World Heritage List on September 18, 2023, under the collective entry of ‘Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas’. The announcement was made during the World Heritage Committee’s 45th session in Riyadh,...
‘Santiniketan’ on the UNESCO World Heritage List
Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore’s abode ‘Santiniketan’ in West Bengal has been inscribed on the UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites during the 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in September 2023. It is India’s 41st UNESCO...
Compulsorily Convertible Debentures
A compulsorily convertible debenture (CCD) is a type of bond that has a specified time by which the entire value of the debenture must be converted into shares. CCDs are an essential means of financing on which businesses rely to raise funds. In corporate finance, a...
Non-Deliverable Forward Contract
A usually short-term forward contract which is cash-settled is referred to as a non-deliverable forward (NDF). Since the notional amount is never transferred, the asset is referred to as ‘non-deliverable’. For an agreed-upon sum of money, or in the case of currency...
Amrit Dharohar Scheme
Introduction The Amrit Dharohar Scheme was announced by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the Union Budget session 2023–24. This scheme aims at creating awareness among the people regarding the importance of wetlands, conserving environment, and...