Muon G-2 Experiment Challenges Standard Model
On April 7, 2021, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (or Fermilab) had conducted an experiment on elementary particles (similar to electrons) known as ‘muons’. Fermilab, established in 1967, and located near Chicago (US), is a United States Department of Energy...
UN Report: ‘Geospatial Practices for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific 2020
The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) released ‘Geospatial Practices for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific 2020’ report on November 18, 2020. The report details the regional status and progress in areas such...
Siruvani Hills: A Butterfly Super-hotspot
Siruvani hills located in the Coimbatore hills of Tamil Nadu has been identified as a butterfly super-hotspot after a six-year study (from March 2015 to December 2020) conducted by The Nature and Butterfly Society (TNBS). The hills are a part of the Boluvampatti...
National Family Health Survey—5
On ‘International Universal Health Coverage Day’, December 12, 2020, the union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsha Vardhan released the first set of findings of the Fifth Round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), conducted in 2019–20. The first...
Euphranta siruvani: New Species of Fruit Fly Discovered
Researchers have discovered a new species of fruit fly (Euphranta siruvani) in Siruvani, situated in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, an ecological hotspot in the Western Ghats. The fruit fly, belonging to Tephritidae family, was seen in a non-forest area near...
Superbug Candidaauris Found in Andamans
A study conducted in March 2021 by the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, Delhi, in collaboration with the Department of Ocean Studies and Marine Biology, Pondicherry University, has for the first time found a deadly hospital pathogen, known as, the Candida auris, or...
Non-fungible Tokens: Cryptocurrency
A 10-second video by Mike Winklemann (a digital artist who is also known as Beeple) was sold for US $ 6.6 million at Nifty Gateway (an online marketplace for digital items) on February 22, 2021. Blockchain gave authentication to the video as ‘one-of-a-kind’. The...
Mice Embryos Grown in Man-made Womb
As per a research study, titled ‘Exutero Mouse Embryogenesis from Pre-gastrulation to Late Organogenesis’, published in the journal Nature in March 2021, Israeli scientists have successfully grown 250-cell embryos into mouse foetuses with fully formed organs using...
Vehicle Scrappage Policy
On March 18, 2021, the long-awaited vehicle scrapping policy of India was announced by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari. The policy which was aimed at phasing out of old vehicles, which were considered to be more polluting, was pending...
Publication of Notice Optional in Special Marriage Act, 1954
In January 2021, the Allahabad High Court had ruled that interfaith couples seeking to solemnise their marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 can choose not to publish the mandatory 30-day notice of their intention to marry. This ruling came on the plea of a...
The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act 2021
The President of India on March 28, 2021, gave his assent to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) (GNCTD) Act, 2021 that provides a framework for the functioning of the legislative assembly and the government of the National Capital...
Spain Makes Euthanasia Legal
On March 18, 2021, Spanish parliament (Cortes Generales) passed a bill to decriminalise euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide for long-suffering patients with incurable diseases and for people with unbearable permanent conditions. With this, Spain became the...
Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet Technology
On March 5, 2021, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested indigenously developed solid fuel ducted ramjet (SFDR) technology at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha. SDFR is a missile propulsion technology which uses...
Draft 5th National Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy
On January 1, 2021, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) released the draft of the fifth National Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (STIP). According to the DST, the fifth National STIP 2020 aims to capture the aspirations of a new and future-ready...
WhatsApp Alternatives
WhatsApp in January 2021 updated its terms and privacy policy. As per the policy, if users do not accept the changes, their accounts will be deleted. The new terms of service took effect on February 8, 2021. As a result, many of WhatsApp users are looking for...
Quota within Quota
In August 2020, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Arun Mishra, in State of Punjab vs. Davinder Singh and Others case, gave ruling in favour of granting preferential treatment to certain groups within scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes...
Dispute over Belgaum
On January 27, 2021, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, released a book on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute. The book was titled 'Maharashtra Karnataka Simawad: Sangharsh Ani Sankalp' (Maharashtra-Karnataka Border Dispute: Struggle and...
Apps by Indian Tech Startups
On April 13, 2020, the Government of India launched a challenge for Indian tech startup companies to come up with alternatives to already existing video conferencing apps. With the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc, video conferencing in every field has become the new...
The Three-finger Salute
On February 1, 2021, Myanmar's military usurped the powers of the democratically elected government of the National League for Democracy (NLD) by arresting President Win Myint, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other members of the party. As a sign of registering protest,...
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Extreme Fire Weather Risk
A research study, titled ‘Human-driven greenhouse gas and aerosol emissions cause distinct regional impacts on extreme fire weather’, conducted by University of California, Santa Barbara, United States, was published in the journal Nature Communications in January...