QUICK REVISION BOOKLET – PRELIMS 2020

LAST MINUTE QUICK REVISION OF IMPORTANT TOPICS (CURRENT + CONVENTIONAL) FOR PRELIMS 2020 .

Revision of all important Terminologies,Factoids etc from all subjects in 3-5 hours giving lead in many questions.

MOSAIC expedition– Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition – largest ever Arctic expedition led by Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany.

‘Operation Twist’ is RBI’s simultaneous selling of short-term securities and buying of long term securities through open market operations (OMO).

Dtrack– Malware attack on India’s largest Nuclear Power Plant-Kundankulam Nuclear Power Plant.

GEMINI– Gagan Enabled Mariner’s Instrument for Navigation and Information (GEMINI) device, a satellite-based advisory service for deep-sea fishermen.

IDRSS– India plans for its own space-to-space tracking and communication of its space assets this year by putting up a new satellite series called Indian Data Relay Satellite System (IDRSS).

Gravitational lensing – It is a phenomenon, which occurs when a huge amount of matter, such as a massive galaxy or cluster of galaxies, creates a gravitational field that distorts and magnifies the light from objects behind it, but in the same line of sight. NASA has announced that plan to use the phenomena of gravitational lensing.

IndArc– India’s first underwater moored observatory in the Arctic ocean.

Balmer Kapteyn basin– region mapped by Chandrayaan on moon surface which consists of light plains depoits of regolith.

‘Blue Flag’ beach– It is an ‘eco-tourism model’ of beaches. The Certification is accorded by the Denmark based Foundation for Environment Education.

Poly-Metallic Nodules (PMN) – Polymetallic nodules, also called manganese nodules, are rock concretions formed of concentric layers of iron and manganese hydroxides around a core- contain mainly nickel,copper,cobalt and managanese.

Bio rock Technology– Bio rock is the name given to the substance formed by electro accumulation of minerals dissolved in seawater on steel structures that are lowered onto the sea- bed and are connected to a power source. The technology works by passing a small amount of electrical current through electrodes in the water.

Avian Botulism– It is caused by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum and affects the nervous system of birds, leading to flaccid paralysis in their legs and wings and neck- reason for death of migratory birds in Sambhar Lake.

Sargossa Sea– Sargasso seaweed algae belt is increasingly growing. It is named for a genus of free-floating seaweed called Sargassum. While all other seas in the world are defined at least in part by land boundaries, the Sargasso Sea is defined only by ocean currents.- check the location on map.

WAYU (Wind Augmentation PurifYing Unit)– It is an air pollution control device developed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) which can purify air in an area of 500m2.

SAMEER – app where air quality information is available to public along with provision for registering complaints against air polluting activities.

LiDAR– Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)-It is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth.
Applications –Pollution monitoring, agriculture, hydrology,geology, archaeology etc.– important for Prelims this year.

MANAV- Human Atlas Initiative launched by Dept of Biotechnology.For the first time, Indian scientists will be mapping every single tissue of the human body to have deeper understanding of the roles of tissues and cells linked to various diseases.

UMMID (Unique Methods of Management and treatment of Inherited Disorders) – It aims to create awareness about genetic disorders amongst clinicians and establish molecular diagnostics in hospitals so that the benefits of developments in medical genetics could reach patients- supported by Department of Biotechnology.

Recent Satellites Launches-India

GSAT-30 -India’s telecommunication satellite GSAT-30 was successfully launched into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) on January 17, 2020 from Kourou launch base, French Guiana by Ariane-5 VA-251.

RISAT-2BR1/ PSLV-C48– a radar imaging earth observation satellite. The satellite will provide services in the field of Agriculture, Forestry and Disaster Management.

Cartosat-3 / PSLV-C47 – a third-generation agile advanced satellite having high resolution imaging capability.

RISAT-2B/ PSLV-C46– a radar imaging earth observation satellite developed by ISRO.

EMISAT/ PSLV-C45– The satellite is intended for electromagnetic spectrum measurement.

Golden rice is the collective name of rice varieties that are genetically modified to counter vitamin A deficiency in developing countries.

Vyomamitra (vyoma-space, mitra-friend) is an artificial intelligence-based robotic system (halfhumanoid) to mimic crew activity inside the crew module of Gaganyaan.

Anthropocene Epoch– The term ‘Anthropocene’ was coined in 2000 by Nobel Laureate Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer to denote the present geological time interval in which human activity has profoundly altered many conditions and processes on Earth.

Coal Gasification – It is one of the clean coal technologies and involves the process of converting coal into synthesis gas (also called syngas).

Syngas– Syngas is a mixture of hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2).

Parthenogenesis – is a reproductive strategy that involves development of a female (rarely a male) gamete (sex cell) without fertilisation or development of an embryo from an unfertilised egg cell.

Soil Organic Carbon (SOC)– It is the carbon associated with soil organic matter (SOM). SOM comprises the remains of plants and animals in the soil at various stages of decomposition, along with the microbial biomass and several by-products of complex biotic metabolic processes.

Land Degradation Neutrality – has been defined by the Parties to the Convention as a state whereby the amount and quality of land resources, necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security, remains stable or increases within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems.

M-HARIYALI – Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched m-hariyali app to encourage public engagement in planting trees and Green drives.

Miyawaki-style afforestation technique– It involves raising indigenous and native trees in dense plantations mimicking forest settings,will be implemented in Kerala.

Forest-PLUS 2.0– is five year programme that focuses on developing tools and techniques to bolster ecosystem management and harnessing ecosystem services in forest landscape management.

Quantum Supremacy-coined in 2012 by John Preskill- refers to a quantum computer solving a problem that cannot be expected of a classical computer in a normal lifetime.

Sycamore–54-qubit processor, named “Sycamore”, that is comprised of fast, high-fidelity quantum logic gates-for quantum computing.

Deemed Forests– Forests which are neither notified nor recorded- about 1 percent of country’s forests.

Important Bird Area (IBA)– is an area identified identified by Birdlife International as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.

‘Operation Oliva’ – operation by Coast Guards to to ensure safe breeding of Olive Ridley turtles.

Operation Save Kurma – species specific operation on Turtles by Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.

Gahiramatha– located in Odisha, is known as the world’s largest Olive Ridley rookery.

“Project Godawan“– project started by Rajasthan govt for conservationof the Great Indian Bustard at Desert National Park (DNP) in Jaisalmer.

Monitoring System for Tigers – Intensive Protection and Ecological Status (M-STrIPES)– It is a software-based monitoring system launched across Indian tiger reserves by the NTCA- asked in UPSC prelims earlier.

The Honolulu Strategy– It is a framework for a comprehensive and global collaborative effort to reduce the ecological, human health, and economic impacts of marine debris worldwide.

Biomining– It is the process of using microorganisms (microbes) to extract metals of economic interest from rock ores or mine waste.

Bioremediation – It is the treatment of pollutants or waste (as in an oil spill, contaminated groundwater, or an industrial process) by the use of microorganisms (such as bacteria) that break down the undesirable substance- asked in Prelims exam earlier.

Northern European Enclosure Dam(NEED)– Dutch government’s proposal to build two mega dams to separate the North Sea from the Atlantic Sea,is being hailed as a future solution to defend northern Europe from rising sea levels. Northern European Enclosure Dam (NEED) is a set of two proposed dams in the English Channel.

It would cut off the North and Baltic Seas from the Atlantic Ocean.

Microdot technology– In the microdot technology, the body and parts of the vehicle or any other machine are sprayed with microscopic dots, which give a unique identification.It helps check vehicle and spare parts theft .

RFID– Radio Frequency Identification- It is an electronic tag that can exchange data with an RFID reader through radio waves.

FASTag– It employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for payments directly from the prepaid or savings account linked to it. It is affixed on the windscreen that can enable electronic payment when it crosses a booth without stopping.

Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary– located in Bhutan.China attempted to stop funding for the Sakteng sanctuary from the U.N. Development Programme’s Global Environment Facility (GEF) on the grounds that it was “disputed” territory.

India’s INDCs:

improve the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 below 2005 levels
increase the share of non-fossil fuels-based electricity to 40 per cent by 2030
enhance its forest cover which will absorb 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030

Malathion, parathion, diazinon, fenthion, dichlorvos, chlorpyrifos, ethion : : organophosphate chemicalsto tackle Locust Attack

Gravitational Lensing– NASA has announced that plan to use the phenomena of gravitational lensing in its research to know how new stars are born.- Use of James Webb Space Telescope- It is a natural phenomenon, which occurs when a huge amount of matter, such as a massive galaxy or cluster of galaxies, creates a gravitational field that distorts and magnifies the light from objects behind it, but in the same line of sight.

Rollover Risk – The NBFCs raise capital in short-term market but the assets of NBFCs are of longer duration. Thus, there arises a need for refinancing the debt at short frequencies. The frequent repricing exposes NBFCs to the risk of facing higher financing costs. Such refinancing risks are referred as Rollover Risk.

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is defined as a sustainable agriculture production system that comprises of a set of farming practices adapted to the requirements of crops and local conditions of each region.

Hantaviruses are a family of viruses spread mainly by rodents and can cause varied disease syndromes in people worldwide. Infection with any hantavirus can produce hantavirus disease in people.

OneHealth programme aims to encourage team science by having networks of institutions collectively bid for grants to set up integrated OneHealth surveillance systems across India at 25 sentinel surveillance sites in potential emerging infectious disease hotspots.

Zoonotic diseases– The diseases which “spillover” from animals to humans are referred to as zoonotic diseases, and represent more than 60% of emerging infectious diseases worldwide.

Parapsilorhynchus alluriensis– Scientists have discovered a new species of edible freshwater fish from the Alluri forest of the Eastern Ghats in Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. Species belonging to genus Parapsilorhynchus is endemic to India, particularly peninsular India.

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an anti-malarial drug ,used for treating rheumatoid arthritis and malaria, India is one of the largest producers of HCQ in the world and exports $50m worth of it every year.

Gahirmatha beach lies near Bhitarkanika mangroves- largest nesting site of the Oliver Ridley Turtles.

Sundarbans wetlands– largest tidaly halophytic mangrove forests in the world, largest Ramsar site in India,UNESCO World Heritage Site,home to Royal Bengal Tigers.

Corals– marine invertebrates and reef builders that inhibit tropical(also sub tropical) oceans of the world and secrete calcium carbonate to form hard skeletons,greatest biodiversity of all marine ecosystems.

Emissions Gap Report-UNEP launched 10th Emissions Gap Report 2019 .Important Findings-

GHG emissions risen at a rate of 1.5% per year in the last decade
Top 4 emitters (China, USA, EU and India) contribute 55% of the emissions
India, Russia,Turkey are projected to ‘over perform’ their targets
NDC targets must rise 5 fold to cut the emissions rise to 1.5 degrees.

Gangetic Dolphin– National Aquatic Animal of India- Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers,freshwater species

Gharials– Endangered ,IUCN list,National Chambal Sanctuary- major habitat.

Olive Ridley Turtles– smalles,most abundant sea turtles,inhabit warms waters of Pacific ,Indian, Atlantic Oceans,unique mass nesting called Arribada,Vulnerable under IUCN list,Gahiramatha beach,Odisha– worlds largest nesting site.

Maze,Ryuk,Purga,Stop– names of ransomwares

Pusa Yashasvi – Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) has released a new variety of wheat named Pusa Yashasvi.It is also known as HD-3226.

Deepfakes – Deepfakes refer to manipulated videos, or other digital representations produced by sophisticated artificial intelligence, that yield fabricated images and sounds that appear to be real.

Edge computing is defined as the deployment of data-handling activities or other network operations away from centralized and always-connected network segments (like Dropbox, Gmail, etc.) and toward individual sources of data capture, such as endpoints like laptops, tablets.

RAISE 2020– Responsible AI for Social Empowerment 2020 -It is a global meeting of minds to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) for social empowerment, inclusion and transformation in key areas like Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility amongst other sectors.

E-2020 initiative – WHO is working with different countries and other partners on the E-2020 initiative to eliminate Malaria in these countries by 2020.

3S Project– Smart Safety Surveillance or 3S programme.It is a project to optimize post-marketing surveillance of priority drugs and vaccines. It was recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), considering the limited safety data on vaccines introduced in India.

SQUIDs– Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices are used to detect even the weakest magnetic field. They are
used in mine detection equipment to help in the removal of land mines.

Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic devices and systems that source, detect and control light.

Elastocaloric effect– It occurs when stress is applied or removed inducing an internal transformation in the structure of the material.It can be used for alternatives to fuel refrigerants.

Aarogya Setu is a contact tracing app to track user’s location, to establish whether they have come physically close to someone suffering from COVID-19, and to make an assessment of their risk of infection.

eSanjeevani- It is a web-based comprehensive telemedicine solution which extends the reach of specialized healthcare services to masses in both rural areas and isolated communities.

Drought Toolbox is currently being developed as part of the Drought Initiative through the close partnership among UNCCD, WMO, FAO, GWP, National Drought Mitigation Centre (NDMC) of the University of Nebraska, and UNEP-DHI . It is a is a sort of knowledge bank, which contains tools that strengthen the ability of countries and communities to anticipate and prepare for drought

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995)

asked in past Prelims exam
BPfA was adopted in Fourth World Conference on Women (1995).
1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, was one of the largest gatherings of the United Nations,and a critical turning point in the world’s focus on gender equality and the empowerment of women.

All India Survey on Higher Education-AISHE

Released by MoHRD
It covers all higher education institutions in the country, which are categorised into 3 broad categories: university, college & standalone institutions

QUAD– An informal but increasingly being formalized strategic dialogue between the United States, Japan, Australia and India.The dialogue was initiated in 2007 by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan.To develop one mechanism,to promote the free and open Indo-Pacific.

Jalsathi programme– Odisha launched the ‘Jalsathi’ programme ensure the supply of clean drinking water to consumers through piped water connections- implemented by women volunteers who serve as ‘Jalasathis’.

Mission Sagar has been launched as part of the government’s outreach initiative towards five Island nations in the Indian Ocean amidst the ongoing COVID-19.- Indian Naval Ship Kesari had departed for Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros.

BoBBLE is a joint India-UK project. It seeks to examine the impact of ocean processes in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) on the monsoon system.

Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) – India and Australia have signed a historic agreement, called ‘Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA)’, to allow access to military bases for logistics support.

Safe Hands Challenge– It is a campaign launched by the World Health Organization in the wake of 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic.

GRID 2020–The Global Report on Internal Displacement (GRID 2020) has been released by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). The centre is a part of the Norwegian Refugee Council.Nearly five million people were displaced in India in 2019 — the highest in the world so far.

Special 301 Report- It is prepared annually by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) that identifies trade barriers to United States companies and products due to the intellectual property laws, such as copyright, patents and trademarks, in other countries.

Commodity Markets Outlook– released by World Bank

Open Skies treaty– The treaty allows 34 countries to conduct unarmed surveillance flights over one another’s territories — including the US and Russia. It was signed in 1992 and went into effect in 2002.

Open Sky policy– The agreement will not only encourage connectivity and passenger travel between the two
countries, but will also result in reduction in airfares on these routes- UAE wants to have it with India.

Global Economic Prospects– World Bank Report

Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC): The RMFIC functions under the aegis of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC). It is based in Madagascar. It is designed to deepen maritime domain awareness by monitoring maritime activities and promoting information sharing and exchange.

THAAD defence systems – stands for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense. It is a transportable, ground-based missile defense system. This anti-ballistic missile defense system has been designed and manufactured by the US company Lockheed Martin.

GAFA tax- named after Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon—is a proposed digital tax to be levied on large technology and internet companies. France has decided to introduce the tax.

Vivad se Vishwas scheme is a direct tax scheme announced in Budget 2020, for settling tax disputes between individuals and the income tax department.

Business Correspondents– Business Correspondents are retail agents engaged by banks for providing banking services at locations other than a bank branch/ATM.

Input Tax Credit– It is the tax that a business pays on a purchase and that it can use to reduce its tax liability when
it makes a sale.

Satyabhama Portal– by Ministry of Mines- It allows online submission of project proposals along with monitoring of the projects and utilization of funds / grants.

ASEEM Portal– Aatmanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping (ASEEM) portal – AI based platform laucnhed by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) to help skilled people find sustainable livelihood opportunities.

CHAMPIONS – Creation and Harmonious Application of Modern Processes for Increasing the Output and National Strength- Technology Platform to empower MSMEs launched by PM.

CRR

It is a certain minimum amount of deposit that the commercial banks have to hold as reserves with the central bank.
The percentage of cash required to be kept in reserves, vis-a-vis a bank’s total deposits, is called the Cash Reserve Ratio.
2 primary purposes- 1. Ensures security of amount,2. IT can be used to control inflation.

Marginal cost of fund-based lending rate (MCLR)– MCLR refers to the minimum interest rate below which financial institutions can’t lend, except in certain cases.

Long Term Repo Operations– The LTRO is a tool under which the central bank provides one-year to three-year money to banks at the prevailing repo rate, accepting government securities with matching or higher tenure as the collateral. Its objective is to provide banks durable liquidity at reasonable cost.

LAF,MAF and LTRO– While the RBI’s current windows of liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) and marginal standing facility (MSF) offer banks money for their immediate needs ranging from 1-28 days, the LTRO supplies them with liquidity for their 1- to 3-year needs.

Helicopter money: It is an unconventional monetary policy tool, which involves printing large sums of money and distributing it to the public, to stimulate the economy during a recession (decline in general economic activity) or when interest rates fall to zero.The term was coined by American economist Milton Friedman.

Fully Accessible Route(FAR) – The Reserve Bank of India has allowed non-residents to invest in specified Government of India dated securities without any quantitative limit with effect from April 1, 2020. To enable this, RBI has decided to introduce a separate channel called ‘Fully Accessible Route’ (FAR).

Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) – In an effort to give a push to digital payments across the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is setting up a Payment Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) of Rs 500 crore.

Kurzarbeit scheme – Kurzarbeit is German for “short-work”. The policy provides for a short-time work allowance, called kurzarbeitgeld, which partially compensates for lost earnings during uncertain economic situations.

International Comparison Program (ICP) is the largest worldwide data-collection initiative, under the guidance of UN Statistical Commission (UNSC).The goal is of producing Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs) which are vital for converting measures of economic activities to be comparable across economies.

DHRUV-Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme

launched by MoHRD
It is a 14-day learning programme in which talented children will be mentored and nurtured by renowned experts in 2 areas- Science and Performing Arts.

Paramarsh Scheme

MoHRD launched ‘Paramarsh’ – a University Grants Commission (UGC) scheme for Mentoring Institutions aspiring to achieve National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) Accreditation.

Milk tea alliance– It is a pro-democratic front formed by thousands of internet users from Thailand, Taiwan and Hong Kong in social networks against the authoritarianism of the Chinese Government and its supporters.

Five Eyes– It is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. These countries are parties to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signals intelligence.

South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), also called as ‘dent’ in Earth’s Magnetic Field is an unusually weak spot in the Earth’s Magnetic Field that allows charged particles from Sun to dip closer to the Earth’s surface than normal.It is observed over South America and the southern Atlantic Ocean.

The Adaptation Fund is a financial instrument under the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol (KP) – established to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing country Parties to the KP– financed with a share of proceeds from Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)-administered by The World Bank- Since 2001

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) was adopted as a financial mechanism of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the end of 2011—The GCF is a legally independent institution –The World Bank serves as the interim trustee of the GCF-Secretariat—Songdo ,South Korea

Biocarbon Fund– The BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes supports developing countries’ efforts to reduce emission- managed by World Bank.

Clean Technology Fund– administered by World Bank

The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) is a World Bank programme and consists of a Readiness Fund and a Carbon Fund. The FCPF was created to assist developing countries to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, enhance and conserve forest carbon stocks, and sustainably manage forests (REDD+).

The Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) was created in 2001 to address the specific needs of developing countries under the UNFCCC- managed by GEF.

PVTGs in News

Continued……………..

Complete Booklet accessible to IASNOVA PRO Subscribers .

Falkenmark Index– It is the most commonly used measure of water scarcity.

Mission Kakatiya– It aims to restore over 46,000 tanks across the state and bring over 20 lakh acres land under cultivation in Telangana.

CAFE regulation- Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency/Economy (CAFE) Regulation to curb the vehicular pollution.

Safe Water Releaser (SWAS), Safe Thermite Cracker (STAR) and Safe Minimal Aluminium (SAFAL) – names of green crackers developed by CSIR+ NEERI.

Torrefaction – India is testing this Swedish technology that can convert rice stubble into ‘bio-coal’.

Cryosphere – It refers to frozen components of the Earth system that are at or below the land and ocean surface.

Permafrost– It is defined as “ground (soil or rock containing ice and frozen organic material) that remains at or below Zero degrees Celsius for at least two consecutive years”.

CLASS (Chandrayaan 2 Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer), is an instrument on Chandrayaan-2, designed to detect signatures of elements in the Moon’s soil.

Edge computing– This type of computing enables data to be analysed, processed, and transferred at the edge of a network. The data is analysed locally, closer to where it is stored, in real-time without latency.

Biometric Seafarer Identity Document (BSID)– The BSID has the dimensions of a smart ID card. It introduces modern security features like an embedded biometric chip, as well as optical security features such as micro prints/micro texts and Unique Guilloche pattern.

Pegasus – mobile spyware developed by Israeli cyberarms firm, NSO Group. It can infect both Android and iOS phones and hack data.

XENOBOT– It is world’s first ever living, self-healing robot developed by engineering frog embryos in the lab to behave like living, programmable organisms.

KP-Bot– Kerala Police has become the first police department in the country to use a robot named KP-Bot (SIranked) for police work.

Dolutegravir (DTG)– WHO has recommended the use of the HIV drug dolutegravir (DTG) as the preferred first-line and second-line treatment for all populations, including pregnant women.

Avian botulism –It is caused by a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum. It affects the nervous system of birds, leading to flaccid paralysis in their legs and wings and neck touching the ground.

AWare Tool For Battling AMR– It is a new online tool developed by WHO which aims at guiding policymakers and health workers to use antibiotics safely and more effectively.

Nano-pharmaceutical is an emerging field that combines nanotechnology with pharmaceutical and biomedical science with the goal of targeted drug delivery which may improve efficacy and safety profile.

Food fortification is the deliberate addition of one or more micronutrients to food so as to correct or prevent a deficiency and provide a health benefit.

Typbar TCV – It is manufactured by India based company, Bharat Biotech. It became the world’s first conjugate vaccine prequalified by the WHO.Pakistan became the first country in the world to introduce it.

Sheath Blight disease– It is a fungal disease, can cause up to 60 per cent reduction in rice yield.

Kepler-1649c– It is Earth-size exoplanet 300 light-years away which was recently discovered from data of NASA’s Kepler space telescope.

K2-18b – It is more than eight times the mass of Earth and orbits a red dwarf star 124 light-years away from Earth in the Leo constellation.

K2-18b -It is more than eight times the mass of Earth and orbits a red dwarf star 124 light-years away from Earth in the Leo constellation.

GW190412 is first observation of a Binary Black Hole (BBH) Merger where two black holes of distinctly different masses merged.

ANITA – Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna is first NASA observatory for neutrinos , a radio telescope designed to detect ultra-high energy cosmic-ray neutrinos from a scientific balloon flying over the continent of Antarctica.

Param Shivay,Param Shakti,Param Brahma– names of supercomputers installed under National Supercomputing mission.

LINPACK benchmark are a measure of a system’s floating point computer power. It measures how far a computer solves a system of linear equations.

MAC-Binding- Mac-binding means binding together the MAC and IP addresses, so that all requests from that IP address are served only by the computer having that particular MAC address.

EventBot Trojan – It is a mobile Banking Trojan and information stealer that specifically targets financial apps on phone and steals financial data of its victim. Trojan horse or Trojan is a type of malware that is often disguised as legitimate software.

Geotextiles are permeable fabrics which, when used in association with soil, have the ability to separate, filter, reinforce, protect, or drain. Typically made from polypropylene or polyester.Geotextiles support many civil engineering applications including roads, airfields, railroads, embankments, retaining structures, reservoirs, canals, dams, bank protection, coastal engineering and construction site silt fences or geotube.

CaTRAT (Camera Trap Data Repository and Analysis Tool)- It is an image processing software used for organizing and geotagging of photo-captures- used in Tiger Census.

Cytochrome-b marker– Where camera trappings were not possible due to low tiger numbers, scat (droppings) samples were collected to estimate minimum number of tigers through genetic analysis. Genomic DNA was extracted and samples were screened for species identification using a tiger specific cytochrome-b marker.

Maximum Entropy Models (MaxEnt): In some north-eastern states with logistical concerns, MaxEnt was used which is based on photos taken within small intensively searched areas to model suitable tiger habitat.

Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY)– DALY is a measure of overall disease burden, expressed as the number of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death.

Room of the River Project – Flood mitigation strategy of Netherland which will be replicated in Kuttanad district of Kerala.

Sendai Framework – for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030

Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005- 2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters.

COVID19BWM – CPCB’s biomedical wastetracking mobile application.

Pointe d’Esny region – Site of oil spill in Mauritius,home to rare and endemic life and sanctuaries.

Oil Slick– Oil usually spreads out rapidly across the water surface to form a thin layer that is generally referred as oil slick.

Sorbents: These are big sponges used to absorb oil. Indian Coast Guard has used this technique in the form of Graphene oil absorbent pads called ‘Sorbene Pads’ for its clean-up operation of the Maldives Oil Spill.

Indigenous Air Unique Quality Monitoring (AUM) Photonic System– It is an indigenous photonic system for real-time remote monitoring of air quality parameters.

Enteric fermentation: is a natural part of the digestive process in ruminant animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, and buffalo. Microbes in the digestive tract, or rumen, decompose and ferment food, producing methane as a byproduct.

Kigali Amendment to Montreal protocol aims the phase-down of HFCs (used as refrigerants) by cutting their production and consumption.

Aerosol radiative forcing is defined as the effect of anthropogenic aerosols on the radiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) and at the surface and on the absorption of radiation within the atmosphere. The effect of the total (anthropogenic + natural) aerosols is called aerosol radiative effect or total aerosol forcing.

Accelerating CCUS Technologies (ACT)– is an international
initiative, of 16 members including India, to establish CCUS as a tool to combat global warming.It will be in action from 2016-2021.

IFLOWS-Mumbai is a state of art Integrated Flood Warning system for Mumbai to enhance the resilience of the city of Mumbai by making it possible to have an estimate of the flood
inundation three days in advance, along with immediate weather updates.

Virtual Water – Virtual water (VW) is the water ’embodied’ in a product, not in real sense, but in virtual sense. It refers to the water needed to produce a product.Virtual water trade (VWT) refers to the import and export of hidden water in the form of products such as crop products, textiles, machinery and livestock — all of which require water for their production.

MAITREE is a part US-India bilateral Partnership between Ministry of Power and USAID aimed at accelerating the adoption of cost-effective energy efficiency within buildings etc- Development’s (USAID) Market Integration and Transformation Program for Energy Efficiency (MAITREE) program.

‘#iCommit’ initiative– Ministry of Power initiated the ‘#iCommit’ campaign, on the occasion of World Environment Day.It will be led by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).The ‘#iCommit’ initiative is centred around the idea of building an energy resilient future.

Surakhsya -a National portal for collection of real time information & also for managing Human Elephant Conflicts on a real time basis.

KAZI106F– It is India’s only Golden Tiger found in Kaziranga National Park of Assam.

Nanoparticles (NP) are defined as particles that range in size from 1 to 100 nm at least in one dimension. NPs have a high surface-tovolume ratio that enables them to possess unexpected optical, physical and chemical properties.

ANANYA– It is a Nano-technology based disinfectant spray developed by Defence Institute of Advanced Technology to combat COVID-19 by disinfecting all types of surfaces.

Nanozymes are nanomaterials that display enzyme-like
characteristics. They can disintegrate the cell membranes of a range of diseases causing bacteria. It is believed to act in battle against antibiotic resistance.

Micius is world’s first quantum-enabled satellite, launched by China in 2016.It is also known as the Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS) which is Chinese research project in the field of quantum physics. Recently, China’s quantum satellite, Micius enables first totally secure long-range messages.

Corona is the outermost layer of the Sun’s atmosphere, consisting of hot, diffuse, and highly ionized plasma.

INSPACe – Government of India has created Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (INSPACe) to boost private sector participation in entire range of space activities.

ASTHROS– It is NASA’s new mission to send a telescope, on a football stadium-sized balloon, high into the stratosphere to observe wavelengths of light invisible from the Earth.

Space bricks– Researchers from Indian Space Research Organisation and the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru has developed a sustainable process to make space bricks on the lunar surface.It uses urea sourced from human urine, which could be mixed with lunar soil to build structures on the moon.

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).

BelYo– It is country’s first COVID-19 blockchain platform.It will convert COVID-19-related clinical and vaccination data of citizens currently from the physical form into digital assets.

Captain ARJUN– (Always be Responsible and Just Use to be Nice)- It is a robot launched by Railway Protection Force, Pune to intensify the screening and surveillance.

Zoonotic disease (ZD)” or “zoonosis” is a disease that has passed into the human population from an animal source. It can be bacterial, viral, or parasitic in nature such as Ebola, malaria, rabies, COVID-19 etc.

One Health approach, which unites public health, veterinary and environmental expertise, as the optimal method for preventing as well as responding to zoonotic disease outbreaks and pandemics.

G4 flu virus– It is recently emerged strain of H1N1 influenza virus that is infecting Chinese pigs and that has the potential of triggering a pandemic.

Arsenicum album 30- It is a homoeopathic drug to correct inflammation in body. Following a Ministry of AYUSH advisory, several states have recommended this drug for preventive use against COVID19.

‘Accelerate Vigyan’ scheme– launched by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) to boost high-end scientific research and prepare scientific manpower that can venture into research careers by identifying research potential, mentoring, training and giving hands-on workshops on a national scale.

Deoxygenation of the oceans– Decrease in oxygen level of oceans by 2 percent between 1960 and 2010 leading to oceans becoming more acidic- called osteoporosis of sea as cycling of nitrogen phosphorous are affected and fishes dying in large numbers.

“wild- geese flying model” i.e. an “inverted V” pattern -Japan’s scholar Akamatsu’s third flying geese paradigm (FGP) is a model for international division of labor in East Asia based on dynamic comparative advantage. The paradigm postulated that Asian nations will catch up with the West as a part of a regional hierarchy where the production of commoditized goods would continuously move from the more advanced countries to the less advanced ones.

Debt Overhang– This refers to a situation where all current income of the borrower gets used up in repaying the accumulated debt, leaving little incentives to invest either in physical or human capital.

Deadweight losses- A deadweight loss is a cost to society created by market inefficiency, which occurs when supply and demand are out of equilibrium. Mainly used in economics, deadweight loss can be applied to any deficiency caused by an inefficient allocation of resources. Price ceilings, such as price controls and rent controls; price floors, such as minimum wage and living wage laws; and taxation can all potentially create deadweight losses.

Corruption Perception Index– The CPI scores and ranks countries/territories based on how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be by experts and business executives. It is a composite index, a combination of 13 surveys and assessments of corruption, collected by a variety of reputable institutions- released by Transparency International.

GAVI– Created in 2000, Gavi is an international organisation – a global Vaccine Alliance, bringing together public and private sectors with the shared goal of creating equal access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries.

The Five Eyes countries — the U.S., the U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Canada

Coral Triangle Day– June 9- It is a massive celebration of the Coral Triangle, the world’s epicentre of marine biodiversity, hich encompasses the seas of 6 countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste.

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) Formerly known as the Millennium Dam, is under construction in the Benishangul- Gumuz region of Ethiopia, on the Blue Nile River, which is located about 40km east of Sudan.

Reunion Island -India and France, For the first time, have conducted joint patrols from the Reunion Island- French terriroty in Indian Ocean.

Montenegro is the first country in Europe to declare itself coronavirus-free.It is a country of South and Southeast Europe on the coast of the Balkans.

Daulat Beg Oldie is the northernmost corner of Indian territory in Ladakh. It has the world’s highest airstrip.

Okavango Delta– Hundreds of elephants have died mysteriously in Botswana’s Okavango Delta.The Okavango Delta is a vast inland river delta in northern Botswana. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2014.

Natanz– Located in Iran’s central Isfahan province in Tehran, Natanz hosts the country’s main uranium enrichment facility. It is known as the first Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant of Iran.

Antifa stands for “anti-fascists,”It is an umbrella term for far-left-leaning movements that confront or resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists at demonstrations.

Loya Jirga– It is a mass national gathering that brings together representatives from the various ethnic, religious, and tribal communities in Afghanistan.

Countercyclical Capital Buffer–The countercyclical capital buffer is intended to protect the banking sector against losses that could be caused by cyclical systemic risks increasing in the economy. Countercyclical capital buffers require banks to hold capital at times when credit is growing rapidly so that the buffer can be reduced if the financial cycle turns down or the economic and financial environment becomes substantially worse.

The CRAR, also known as the Capital Adequacy Ratio CAR), is the ratio of a bank’s capital to its risk. It is a measure of the amount of a bank’s core capital expressed as a percentage of its riskweighted asset.

Swap ratio – Swap ratio is the ratio at which an acquiring company will offer its own shares in exchange for
the target company’s shares during a merger or acquisition.

Blue chip stocks are shares of very large and well-recognised companies with a long history of sound financial performance.

Ways and Means Advances– They are temporary loan facilities provided by RBI to the government to enable it to meet temporary mismatches between revenue and expenditure. The government makes an interest payment to the central bank when it borrows money. The rate of interest is the same as the repo rate.

Rights issue– It is an offering of shares made to existing shareholders in proportion to their existing shareholding. Companies often offer shares in a rights issue at a discount on the market price. Rights issues are used by companies seeking to raise capital without increasing debt. shareholders are not obliged to purchase shares offered in a rights issue.

The Open Budget Survey is part of the International Budget Partnership’s Open Budget Initiative, a global research and advocacy program to promote public access to budget information and the adoption of accountable budget systems.

State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World is an annual flagship report jointly
prepared by:
1. Food and Agriculture Organization.
2. International Fund for Agricultural Development.
3. United Nations Children’s Fund.
4. World Food Programme.
5. World Health Organization

Landlord Model– In the landlord port model, the publicly governed port authority acts as a regulatory body and as landlord while private companies carry out port operations —mainly cargo-handling activities.

Sharing economy, also known as collaborative consumption or peer-to-peer-based sharing, is a concept that highlights the ability of individuals to rent or borrow goods rather than buy and own them.Ex-Ola,Oyo etc

Benchmark crude– It is a crude oil that serves as a reference price for buyers and sellers of crude oil. There are three primary benchmarks, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Brent Blend, and Dubai Crude.

A compulsory licence is a licence or authorisation issued by the government to an applicant for making, using and selling a patented product or employing a patented process without the consent of the patentee. Chapter XVI of the Indian Patents Act 1970 and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights discuss compulsory licensing.

Non personal Data– Any set of data which does not contain personally identifiable information. This means that no individual or living person can be identified by looking at such data. Committee headed by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan has suggested that non-personal data generated in the country be allowed to be harnessed by various domestic companies and entities.

Surrogacy

Surrogacy is the practice whereby one woman carries the child for another with the intention that the child should be handed over after birth.
India remains among a handful of places where paid surrogacy is legal. It was banned for foreigners in 2015.

Child Well Being Index

Released by World Vision India and IFMR LEAD
Based on 24 indicators divided into 3 categories of Healthy individual development, positive relationships and protective contexts.

Van Dhan Vikas Kendra– Ministry of Tribal Affairs- It is an initiative targeting livelihood generation for tribals by harnessing the wealth of forest.

School Education Quality Index- SEQI– Released by NITI Ayog- 30 indicators divided into 2 broad categories-Outcomes and Govt processes aiding outcomes.2 types of Rankings-Overall Performance Ranking and Incremental Performance Ranking

PISA Test- The Programme for International Student Assessment – India will take part in PISA 2021. PISA is the OECD’s (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Programme.

Annual Status of Education Report-ASER-2019-NGO Pratham published ASER Report 2019 ‘Early Years’.’Early Years’ ASER collects data on the schooling or pre schooling status of children in the age group 4-8.It 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.

All India Survey on Higher Education-AISHE– Released by MoHRD– It covers all higher education institutions in the country, which are categorised into 3 broad categories: university, college & standalone institutions.

Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP)–MoHRD to launch a ₹1.5 lakh crore action plan EQUIP to improve the quality and accessibility of higher education over the next five years (2019-2024).

National Educational Alliance for Technology- NEAT
announced by MoHRD – IT is a public-private partnership scheme which aims to harness technology for better learning outcomes in higher education.-Use of AI in education

Study In India-Budget 2020 proposed to start an Indo-SAT exam under a ‘Study in India’ scheme.Objective is to target foreign students by branding India as an attractive education destination.

Global Hunger Index-The report, prepared jointly by Irish aid agency Concern Worldwide and German organisation Welt Hunger Hilfe termed the level of hunger in India “serious”. India is ranked 102 of 117 countries.

Eat Right India Campaign– Campaign with its new logo and tagline ‘Sahi Bhojan, Behtar Jeevan’ was released by the Union Health minister.- FSSAI campaign.

Swacch Survekshan League 2020-launched by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs .It will be a quarterly cleanliness assessment of cities and towns in India.

Swachh – Nirmal Tat Abhiyaan-Launched by MoEFCC-A mass cleanliness-cum-awareness drive in collaboration with the National Green Corps (NGC- Eco-club) in 50 identified beaches .

SDG India Index- 2019– Sustainable Development Goals India Index- 2nd edition released by NITI Ayog-Developed by NITI Ayog + Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) + Global Green Growth Institute + United Nations.

Motihari Amlekhgunj Oil Pipeline- first transnational petroleum pipeline from India- first South Asian oil pipeline corridor.

Trans-Himalayan Multidimensional Connectivity Network- THMCN is an economic corridor between Nepal and China and part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

HICDP – All six projects are grant projects fall under India’s High Impact Community Development Scheme (HICDP)- with Maldives.

Addu Tourism Zone– Also known as Seenu Atoll- the southernmost atoll of the Maldives.

Bhabhatron 2-Medical radiation equipment Bhabhatron II for treatment of cancer patients- India gifted to Myanmar.’

Paletwa-Zorinpui road-Final leg of the Kaladan project- India Myanmar

AL Shyena-India’s first locally produced anti- submarine torpedo- was bought by Myanmar also.

CMEC- China Myanmar Economic Corridor Proposed – a central road and rail transport infrastructure leading from Southern China’s Yunnan Province through Muse and Mandalay to Kyaukphyu in Rakhine State in Myanmar.

BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement-The sub-regional Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) seeks regulation of passenger, personnel and cargo vehicular traffic between the four BBIN countries- Bangladesh ,Bhutan ,India and Nepal.Bhutan has not ratified it.

Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project-It will connect the seaport of Kolkata with Sittwe seaport in Myanmar by sea.It will then link Sittwe seaport to Lashio in Myanmar via Kaladan river boat route and then from Lashio on to Mizoram by roa transport.

BIMSTEC-DMEx 2020-The 2nd BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise (BIMSTEC-DMEx) 2020 is a 3-day exercise that discussed standardization of protocol, formulation of policy and guidelines for protection of heritage sites during disasters and their conservation post-disaster.

Indo Pacific Oceans’ Initiative (IPOI)– India launched an open global initiative Indo Pacific Oceans’ Initiative (IPOI) at the East Asia Summit held in Bangkok, Thailand.

India’s 2+2 Mechanism– At ministerial level only with Japan and USA. At official level only with Australia.Decision taken to upgrade to ministerial level with Australia recently.

Power of Siberia Project-First cross border pipeline between China and Russia to pump natural gas to China from Russia’s far-east regions like Yakutia.

Future Investment Initiative (FII)– It is an initiative by Saudi Arabia to diversify the kingdom’s economy and reduce its dependence on petroleum products.

Shahid Behesthi Port of Chabahar-Jointly being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan for multi-modal transport of goods and passengers. It is located in the Gulf of Oman.

Blue Dot Network-Launched in 2019 on the sidelines of the 35th ASEAN Summit by the US, Australia and Japan.

Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement-India USA decided for early conclusion BECA.It is one of the four ‘foundational’ or enabling agreements with U.S. meant to improve interoperability between the militaries and allow transfer of high-end military platforms.

QUAD-An informal but increasingly being formalized strategic dialogue between the United States, Japan, Australia and India.

“A New Passage to India”– “Indo-German Partnerships on Higher Education” (IGP)

UN Peacekeeping Forces-Indian peacekeepers in South Sudan received prestigious UN medal.India has lost the highest number of its peacekeepers in various UN peacekeeping operations.

Himadri- India’s only research centre in Arctic.

IndARC- India’s first underwater moored observatory in the Arctic region.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)–also called Pasdaran, is a branch of the Iranian armed forces, independent of Iran’s regular army. Quds Force is a wing of IRGC which is responsible for its foreign operations.

Operation Sunrise– Armies of India and Myanmar carried out operation in their areas to bust camps of militant outfits.

New and Emerging Strategic Technologies (NEST)-Nodal division within the Ministry of External Affairs for issues pertaining to new and emerging technologies.

Cape Town Agreement-The Cape Town Agreement was adopted by the International Maritime Organisation in 2012 to help combat illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.

SOLAS-International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)—an internationally binding treaty on safety for merchant vessels that entered into force in 1980.

Operation Sankalp-Launched by Indian navy in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman for safety of Indian flagged vessels transiting through strategic shipping lane between Strait of Hormuz, Persian/ Arabian Gulf Region.

FOREST PLUS 2.0-launched by USAID + MoEF&CC-5 year programme that focuses on developing tools and techniques to bolster ecosystem management and harnessing ecosystem services in forest landscape management.

Bio-briquetting(Sikkim)-Bio-briquetting is a process through which biomass waste can be easily converted into high-density fuel briquettes. This can serve as substitutes for fuelwood to meet household-level cooking and heating needs.

Miyawaki-style afforestation technique– Kerala govt by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. It involves raising indigenous and native trees in dense plantations mimicking forest settings- results in denser forests faster.

‘Wastelands Atlas’ – 2019-released by Rural development ministry,carried out by National Remote Sensing centre-provides district and state wise distribution of different categories of wastelands.

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)-Independent intergovernmental body, established in 2012 to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services .India is a member.

Global Futures Report-released jointly by the World Wide Fund for Nature, The Global Trade Analysis Project and the Natural Capital Project- to enhance awareness of the risks to economic prosperity due to global environmental degradation.

Palau-Palau (located in the western Pacific Ocean) has become first country to ban sunscreen cream that is harmful to corals and sea life.

Gogabeel-Bihar’s first community reserve-0x-bow lake in Bihar’s Katihar district formed from the flow of the rivers Mahananda and Kankhar .

Singchung Bugun Village Community Reserve-It is a community reserve launched by Bugun community of Singchung Village, Arunachal Pradesh – to conserve the critically endangered bird called Bugun liocichla.

International Seed Treaty-ITPGRFA (International Treaty of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture) also known as Seed Treaty, is a comprehensive international agreement for ensuring food security through the conservation, exchange and sustainable use of the world’s plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA).

Environmental Migrants-According to International Organization for Migration (IOM), Environmental migrants are persons or groups of persons who, predominantly for reasons of sudden or progressive change in the environment that adversely affects their lives or living conditions, are obliged to leave their habitual homes, or choose to do so, either temporarily or permanently, and who move either within their country or abroad.

Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition-The Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC) is a voluntary initiative that catalyzes action towards the successful implementation of carbon pricing around the world. The CPLC brings together leaders from government, business, civil society and academia.

Loss and damage – has a specific meaning in climate policy. It deals with unavoidable and irreversible impacts of climate change, where mitigation has failed, and adaptation is not possible.Rich countries who have historical responsibility for climate change are asked to be iable to the developing countries who are already facing climate change impacts.

Kigali agreement amended the Montreal Protocol in 2016- It aims to phase out Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a family of potent greenhouse gases by the late 2040s.

Taj Trapezium Zone-An ‘eco-sensitive area’ around Taj Mahal having three world heritage sites namely Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.

CAFE Regulation -Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency/Economy (CAFE) Regulation to curb the vehicular pollution.It aims at lowering fuel consumption (or improving fuel efficiency) of vehicles by lowering carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Fugaku– The list of the fastest 500 supercomputers in the world got updated, and there’s a new number one: the Fugaku supercomputer built by the RIKEN Institute and the Fujitsu tech company in Japan.

Sabka Vishwas-Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2019– It was announced with the objective of settling pending disputes of Service Tax and Central Excise, which are now subsumed under GST.

(Enhanced Access and Service Excellence) EASE 3.0– It is a reform agenda which aims at providing smart, tech- enabled public sector banking (like Dial-a-loan for doorstep loan facilitation, palm banking),to enhance ease of banking in all customer experiences.

E-Gram Swaraj App is a step to make Gram Panchayats digital. This will provide Panchayats with a single interface to complete development projects and will provide information from planning of the project to its completion.

Swamtiva Yojana –This scheme has been launched for the purpose of measuring and documenting residential properties in rural areas.

Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC)-CRILC was set up by RBI in 2014-15 for early recognition of financial distress, enabling prompt action for resolution and fair recovery for lenders and as part of a framework for revitalizing distressed assets in the economy.

Basel Committee– It is an international committee formed in 1974 to develop standards for banking regulation.It consists of central bankers from 27 countries and the European Union.

Project Sashakt was proposed by a panel led by PNB chairman Sunil Mehta to address the bad loans problem in India’s banking sector.

Differentiated Banking– The banks which could be differentiated on the account of capital requirement, scope of activities and serve the needs of a certain demographic segment of the population are called as Differentiated Banks or Niche Banks. The idea of Differentiated Bank was mooted by Nachiket More Committee 2014, for Financial Inclusion.It can be classified as Payment Banks, Small Finance Banks, Regional Rural Banks, Local Area Banks Wholesale and Long-Term Finance (WLTF) banks etc.

NITI Aayog released the National Data and Analytical Platform (NDAP) vision document.Its Mission is to standardize data across multiple Government sources, provide flexible analytics and make it easily accessible in formats conducive for research, innovation, policy making and public consumption.

Open Credit Enablement Network (OCEN) – It is the new credit protocol infrastructure which would democratize lending and enable small borrowers to avail funds easily.

Waterfall mechanism under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)- This mechanism under IBC gives priority to secured financial creditors over unsecured financial creditors.

Payments Infrastructure Development Fund– PIDF-500 crores PIDF seeks to encourage acquirers to deploy Points of Sale (PoS) infrastructure for both physical and digital modes. (Especially in tier-3 to tier-6 centres and north eastern states.)

AIF means any fund established in India which is a privately pooled investment vehicle which collects funds from sophisticated investors, whether Indian or foreign, for investing it in accordance with a defined investment policy for the benefit of its investors. Regulated by SEBI

P K Mohanty Committee– It is setup by RBI to review the existing guidelines on ownership and corporate structure of private sector banks.

Bad Bank– Bad bank is an Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) that buys bad loans (NPAs) and other risky liabilities from banks which clears their balance sheet.

Zoram Mega Food Park (MFP) in Mizoram – It has been recently set up by Ministry of Food Processing Industries. This is the first MFP operationalized in Mizoram. MFP aims at providing a mechanism to link agricultural production to the market by bringing together farmers, processors and retailers

CHUNAUTI – Challenge Hunt Under NGIS for Advanced Uninhibited Technology Intervention-It is a NextGen Startup Challenge Contest under Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS) to find products & solutions to address challenges faced during and post pandemic situation with special focus on Tier-II towns of India.

N.K. Singh Committee– A panel under former Revenue Secretary, N.K. Singh was constituted by the government in May 2016 for reviewing the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003.

ICoSDiTAUS-2020 is the biggest ever international event dedicated to standardisation of Diagnosis and Terminologies of Traditional Medicine in terms of the broad level of participation covering virtually all the continents.

Biodiversity Samrakshan Internship Programme-The program proposes to engage 20 students with postgraduate degrees for a period of one year through an open, transparent, online competitive process.It has the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) as a nodal agency.

Not all Animals Migrate by Choice campaign-It is a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Campaign launched by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau on Illegal Trafficking of Endangered Species.It aims to curb illegal trade in wildlife which carries the risk of spreading dangerous pandemics.

Back2Basics: Aichi Targets

The ‘Aichi Targets’ were adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at its Nagoya conference.
The short term plan provides a set of 20 ambitious yet achievable targets, collectively known as the Aichi Targets.
The IUCN Species Programme provides advice to Parties, other governments and partners on the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and it’s Aichi Biodiversity Targets (2011 – 2020) and is also heavily involved in work towards the Target.

INDRA– India and Russia are to hold bilateral naval exercise INDRA 2020 in Andaman Sea, close to strategic Strait of Malacca.

SRIJAN–Online portal launched to promote indigenisation of Defence Production.

Project Cheetah– Under the project, around 90 Heron drones of the services are to be upgraded with laser-guided bombs, air launched anti-tank guided missiles and air to ground anti-tank guided missiles.

Dhruvastra- helicopter launched Nag Missile (HELINA) were successful.- third-generation anti-tank guided missile.

PASSEX Exercise–On July 20, 2020, the US Navy carrier USS Nimitz conducted maritime drills with Indian warships in the Middle East.

AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven– is a remotely controlled unmanned aerial vehicle that is launched with hand.

Spike Firefly-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle- UAV developed under a joint venture of Israeli company- Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel’s Ministry of Defence.

Operation Samudra Setu lasted over 55 days in which 3,992 Indian Citizens were brought back to their homeland by the sea route by the Indian Navy.

Shekatkar Committee-Government of India implemented the recommendations made by the Shekatkar Committee to create border infrastructure.

Operation Namaste- Indian Army launched “Operation Namaste” to contain the spread of Corona Virus in the country.

National Policy and Action Plan-2015–The Government primarily erected 2,329 mobile towers in LWE affected regions. With the increase in connectivity and construction of road, GoI aims to develop the region.

Swati Radar–India and Armenia signed deals on DRDO built “Swati” weapon locating radars.

RalDer-X– New explosive detection device.

Exercise Indra Dhanush– It is a joint air force exercise between the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom.

Milan 2020–Biggest multilateral naval exercise to be conducted in the Indian Ocean Region.The Exercise is to be conducted under the theme Theme: Synergy across the Seas.

Ajeya Warrior-India-UK hold joint exercise called Ajeya Warrior on February 13, 2020.

Parth- World’s Cheapest Gun Shot Locator developed by Indian Army.

Malta Abhiyan-The Indian Navy conducted the Coastal Security Exercise, Malta Abhiyan in the Sunderbans region to create awareness about the coastal security to the local community.

SAMPRITI-IX– A Joint Military Exercise between India and Bangladesh.

Him Vijay–Mountain combat exercise by Indian Army in Arunchal Pradesh.

Sahyog-Kaijin– India and Japan took part in a joint exercise called “Sahyog-Kaijin”- by coast guards.

Naseem-Al-Bahr–Indo-Oman bilateral naval exercise.

PVTGs In News

Kolam Tribe- Andhra(including Telangana) and Maharashtra
Maldhari Tribe – in Junagadh(Gujarat)- Lion conservation
Shompens- Great Nicobar Islands
Korwa Tribe -PVTG in Jharkhand
Mankidia community – Odisha
Abujh Marias- PVTGs in Chhatisgarh
Koragas- Karnataka , Kerala
Bonda community -Odisha
Idu Mishmi Tribes- Arunachal Pradesh
Birhor-PVTG in Chhattisgarh
Birjia Tribe- Jharkhand
Nyishi- Arunachal Pradesh
Chenchu- Andhra Pradesh

Biochar– is charcoal used as a soil amendment for both carbon sequestration and soil health benefits- stable solid, rich in carbon- made from biomass via pyrolysis.

Iron fertilization – introduction of iron to ocean surface to stimulate phytoplankton production- to enhance biological productivity and accelerate carbon dioxide sequestration .

Ocean afforestation – is a proposal for farming seaweed for carbon removal.

Ocean fertilization -type of climate engineering based on introduction of nutrients to the upper ocean to increase marine food production and to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Global Futures Report– released jointly by the World Wide Fund for Nature, The Global Trade Analysis Project and the Natural Capital Project.

Draft Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) is part of a World Bank-funded project named ENCORE (Enhancing Coastal and Ocean Resource Efficiency Program) which aims to strengthen integrated coastal zone management program (ICZMP) in all coastal States and Union Territories of India.

Climate change performance index- 2020– published by Germanwatch, Climate Action Network International and the NewClimate Institute-India’s ranking improved two places, from 11th (CCPI 2019) to 9th (CCPI 2020) entering into top ten rankings for the first time.

Global Climate Risk Index 2020– By international environmental think tank Germanwatch-India’s rank has worsened from 14th spot in 2017 to 5th most vulnerable country to climate change in 2018.Japan topped list.

SO2 Emissions- India is the largest emitter of sulphur dioxide in the world contributing more than 15 percent.
Largest source of SO2 in the atmosphere is the burning of fossil fuels by power plants and other industrial facilities-expansion of coal based electricity generation in India is the reason behind high emissions.

Atal Bhujal Yojana-Central Sector Scheme, to improve ground water management through community participation in identified priority areas- launched by Ministry of Jal Shakti.

Secure Himalaya-Project to ensure conservation of locally and globally significant biodiversity, land and forest resources in the high Himalayan ecosystem, while enhancing the lives and livelihoods of local communities. It is funded by GEF and UNDP.

World Energy Outlook-released by International Energy Agency-IEA.It provides analysis and insights on trends in energy demand and supply.

Biojet Fuel-Russian-origin AN-32 transport plane was formally fleet certified by DRDO to fly with the 10 per cent bio-jet blended ATF (aviation turbine fuel) made from Jatropha oil.

Jatropha Plant-Drought resistant perennial plant of Latin American origin ,now found all over the world in arid and semi arid tropical regions.Jatropha seeds contain about 35% non-edible oil. Can be used directly in diesel engines.

PM KUSUM-Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) Scheme.Scheme to provide energy , financial and water security to farmers.It targets to add decentralised solar power capacity of 25,750 megawatt by 2022.

Sustainable Livelihoods and Adaptation to Climate Change (SLACC)-Training programme launched by National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) for SLACC- funded by the Special Climate Change Fund .

Deep Ocean Mission-India plans to launch it to explore the depths of the ocean for deep sea-mining- to explore and extract polymetallic nodules.

Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction- GAR-It is published biennially by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).

Sasakawa Award-United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) during 6th Session of Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) in Geneva, conferred Sasakawa Award to Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra.

Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030–It was endorsed by the UN General Assembly following the 2015 Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR).

Amrabad Tiger Reserve, Nallamala Hills,Telangana-Centre granted “in-principle” clearance for uranium exploration in Amrabad Tiger Reserve in Telangana.India’s second-largest tiger reserve, next only to the Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve, Andhra Pradesh.

Pakke or Pakhui Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh– Arunachal Pradesh government is planning to build a highway named East-West Industrial Corridor through its core area.

Polar Vortex-A polar vortex is a low pressure area—a wide expanse of swirling cold air—that is parked in polar regions.

Coalition for Disaster Resilient Agriculture- CDRA-Announced by India’s PM at the UN Climate Action Summit 2019 held in USA -It is a voluntary international grouping, linking governments, UN agencies, banks, private sector groups, and academia to develop the resilience of infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks.

Styrene-It is a flammable liquid that is used in the manufacturing of polystyrene plastics, fiberglass, rubber, and latex. Styrene is also found in vehicle exhaust, cigarette smoke, and in natural foods like fruits and vegetables.- Vizag gas leak.

A green bond is like any other regular bond but with one key difference: the money raised by the issuer are earmarked towards financing `green’ projects.

Urja Dakshata Information Tool (UDIT) -It is a first ever initiative taken by BEE with World Resources Institute (WRI), to facilitate a database on energy e-fficiency.

Green Co Rating System-Green Companies (GreenCo) Rating System has been developed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).The system evaluates the companies on 10 broad green parameters.

Status of the World’s Forests Report -SOFO 2020-Released by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020-Released by United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021-30– The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed 2021–2030 as the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

Gangetic Dolphins-Bihar government is setting up India’s first observatory for the Gangetic dolphins in Bhagalpur district as Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary.

UN World Water Development Report- 2020-Published by UNESCO on behalf of the UN Water.

Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow On- GRACE-FO– a mission of NASA and German Research Centre for Geosciences launched in 2018, to track Earth’s water movement .

Green- Ag Project-Govt in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), launched a Global Environment Facility (GEF) assisted project, Green–Ag: Transforming Indian agriculture for global environment for the conservation of critical biodiversity and forest landscapes.Funded by the Global Environment Facility.

MARPOL is the main international convention aimed at the prevention of pollution from ships caused by operational or accidental causes. It was adopted at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 1973.India is a signatory to MARPOL.

COOLING EMISSIONS AND POLICY SYNTHESIS REPORT-by UNEP+ IEA

Mobile App “Mausam” for India Meteorological Department-Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)-It will communicate weather information and forecasts in a lucid manner without technical jargons.

Global e waste Monitor 2020 Report- is a collaborative product of Global Ewaste Statistics Partnership, International Telecommunication Union and International Solid Waste Association in close collaboration with UN Environment Programme (UNEP).India is the third largest electronic waste generator in the world after China and the USA.

Enhancing Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for Food Systems Report -It was published by WWF, UN Environment Programme, EAT and Climate Focus.

Decarbonizing Transport in India project-Launched by NITI Aayog in collaboration with International Transport Forum
Decarbonization means reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced as a result of transport.

Sukhna Lake declared as a Wetland-Sukhna Lake is a man-made lake in Chandigarh . It is situated at foothills of Shivalik Hills and was designed to collect runoff water from the Hills.

Maharashtra- 1st state to declare State Mangrove Tree as Symbol of Conservation-Sonneratia alba or mangrove apple approved as state mangrove tree.

Lonar Lake-Lonar lake turned pink due to a large presence of the salt loving ‘Haloarchaea’ microbes which are found in salt saturated water.-world’s largest basaltic impact crater.

Khazan Ecosystems-Khazan farming. This system is a carefully designed topo-hydro-engineered agro-aquacultural ecosystem mainly based on the regulation salinity and tides in Goa consisting of reclaimed wetlands and mangroves.

Seabed 2030 Project-It is a collaborative project between the Nippon Foundation of Japan and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO)-to produce world ocean floor map by 2030.

Aerial Seeding- Aerial seeding is a plantation technique wherein seed balls are sprayed on the predetermined location using aerial devices, including planes, helicopters or drones.

Etalin Hydropower Project -A 3097 MW Etalin Hydropower Project is proposed to be constructed over Dri and Tangon Rivers, situated inside the Dibang catchment zone in Arunachal Pradesh.

Shale Gas-Shale gas refers to natural gas that is trapped within shale formations i.e. fine-grained sedimentary rocks that can be rich sources of petroleum and natural gas.

Antrix-Antrix is the commercial arm of ISRO headquartered in Bangalore.

Starlink network-American company SpaceX recently sent 60 small satellites (under 500 kg each) into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for building low-cost Internet everywhere on Earth.

Space-based internet is the ability to use satellites in orbit around Earth to send and receive data. It provides better accessibility, more affordability, 24*7 availability and propels Internet of Things (IoT) technology.

Colistin-Health ministry has banned the manufacture, sale and distribution of the antibiotic colistin and its formulations for food producing animals and animal feed supplements.The drug has been used for treating infections caused by Gram-negative bacilli.It has side effects of nephrotoxicity and neurotoxicity.Misuse of colistin in the poultry industry is said to be a major reason for the increase in antibiotic resistance in India.

REPLACE–WHO calls on governments to use the REPLACE action package to eliminate industrially-produced trans-fatty acids from the food supply.Trans fats, or trans-fatty acids, are a form of unsaturated fat.

International Intellectual Property Index 2020– was released by US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Centre (GIPC).India’s rank – 40/53.

Global Innovation Index–India – 52/129 rank in 2019 -Developed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) together with top business universities like Cornell University, INSEAD .

Bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Programme– between the Indian Patent Office (IPO)and the Patent Offices of other interested countries/regions- recently between India and Japan.

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) have been described as “bioreactors that convert the energy in the chemical bonds of organic compounds into electrical energy through catalytic activity of micro-organisms under anaerobic conditions”.

Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) perform photosynthesis and produce sugar by fixing the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere- biofuel produced by algae is also called algal biofuel.

Superconductivity- complete disappearance of electrical resistance in various solids when they are cooled below a characteristic temperature. This temperature, called thetransition temperature, varies for different materials but generally is below 20 K (−253 °C).

Proton therapy is a type of radiation therapy — a treatment that uses high-energy beams to treat tumors. Radiation therapy using X-rays has long been used to treat cancers and noncancerous (benign) tumors.

Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave radio frequencies, the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), and generally extends from 3-30 MHz (10 to 100 meters), above the medium frequency band (MF), to the end of the HF band.Radio waves in the shortwave band can be reflected or refracted from a layer of electrically charged atoms in the atmosphere called the ionosphere.

Ceramic membranes are a type of artificial membranes made from inorganic materials (such as alumina, titania, zirconia oxides, silicon carbide or some glassy materials). They are used in membrane operations for liquid filtration.

Joint Lunar Polar Exploration Mission-It was conceptualized as joint mission between JAXA and ISRO in 2017 which aims to put a lander and a rover on the Moon’s surface.

Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence- GPAI- India joined GPAI as a founding member.GPAI is multi-stakeholder international partnership to promote responsible and human centric development and use of AI- hosted by OECD.

Patent Pooling-According to WIPO, patent pools are defined as an agreement made between two or more patent holders for licensing their patents to one another or any third party for the purpose of sharing their intellectual property rights.

BEC- 5th State of Matter-NASA Scientists observed the fifth state of matter in space for the first time as part of Bose Einstein Condensates (BEC) Experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

UPDATE

Global Gender Gap Report- 2020-released by World Economic Forum-India- 112/ 153– It was 108 in 2019.

SDG Gender Index-To measure global gender equality-India- 95/129-Index developed by Equal Measures 2030.

A blockchain, is a growing list of records, called blocks, that are linked using cryptography.Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block,a timestamp, and transaction data (generally represented as a Merkle tree).By design, a blockchain is resistant to modification of the data.

Mining-In cryptocurrency networks, mining is a validation of transactions.

Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS) are outstanding landscapes of aesthetic beauty that combine agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and a valuable cultural heritage.Located in specific sites around the world, they sustainably provide multiple goods and services, food and livelihood security for millions of small-scale farmers.

3 from India

Saffron heritage of India
Koraput traditional agriculture
Kuttanad below sea level farming

Agriculture Infrastructure Fund-It is a new pan India Central Sector Scheme. The scheme shall provide a medium – long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and financial support.

Dividend Distribution Tax-It is a tax levied on dividends that a company pays to its shareholders out of its profits.

Additional Tier-1 bonds-Under the Based III framework, banks’ regulatory capital is divided into Tier 1 and Tier 2 capital.Tier 1 capital is subdivided into Common Equity (CET) and Additional Capital (AT1).Tier-1 bonds are a type of unsecured, perpetual bonds that banks issue to shore up their core capital base to meet the Basel-III norms.

Countercyclical Capital Buffer-The countercyclical capital buffer is intended to protect the banking sector against losses that could be caused by cyclical systemic risks increasing in the economy.

Beaufort Gyre– a seawater current called the keeps the polar environment in balance by storing fresh water near the surface of the Arctic ocean.

Sustainable Growth Pillar is an important pillar of India-US Strategic Energy Partnership cochaired by NITI Aayog and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).In the recent joint working group meeting of the Sustainable Growth Pillar, an India Energy Modeling Forum was launched.

Energy modeling or energy system modeling is the process of building computer models of energy systems in order to analyze them.The Energy Modelling Forum (EMF)- to connect leading modelling experts and decision makers from government, industry, universities, and other research organizations.

Country-by-Country (CbC) Report– The Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action 13 report (Transfer Pricing Documentation and Country-by-Country Reporting) provides a template for multinational enterprises (MNEs) to report annually and for each tax jurisdiction in which they do business the information set out therein. This report is called the Country-by-Country (CbC) Report.

Base erosion and profit shifting refers to the phenomenon where companies shift their profits tomother tax jurisdictions, which usually have lower rates, thereby eroding the tax base in India.

CARES-The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $1.5 billion loan agreement for the ADB’s COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Programme (CARES Programme).

Global Terrorism Index (GTI)– by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP)- India as the seventh worst terrorism affected country.

Education for Justice-The Education for Justice (E4J) initiative was launched by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes to teach next generation about crime prevention and address problems under law.

Kasowal Bridge– It is a 484- metre long permanent bridge on the river Ravi to connect the Kasowal enclave of Punjab along the Pakistan border to the rest of the country.- Built by the Borders Roads Organization.

Naku La sector is a pass at a height of more than 5,000 metres above Mean Sea Level (MSL) in the state of Sikkim.

Doklam (or Zhonglan or Donglong): It is an area with a plateau and a valley which lies on the Bhutan-China border, near India. It is located between Tibet’s Chumbi valley to the North, Bhutan’s Ha valley to the East and India’s Sikkim state to the West.

Jubaland-It is an autonomous region in southern Somalia. Its eastern border lies 40–60 km east of the Jubba River, stretching from Gedo to the Indian Ocean, while its western side flanks the North Eastern Province in Kenya, which was carved out of Jubaland during the colonial period.

Depsang– It is an area at a crucial dip (called the Bulge) on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).The Chinese Army occupied most of the plains in 1962. India controls the western portion of the plains as part of Ladakh, whereas the eastern portion is part of the Aksai Chin region, which is controlled by China and claimed by India.

Nimu- Ladakh– It is the reserve brigade headquarter of the Indian Army. Its significance can also be ascertained from the fact that the Border Road Organisation (BRO) is constructing a road from Padum in the Zanskar Valley to Nimu.

Nagorno-Karabakh region– also known as Artsakh, is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh. It is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan

Azad Pattan hydel power project-power project is on the Jhelum river in Sudhoti district of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Mont Blanc is the second-highest mountain in Europe after Mount Elbrus. 2. It is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe.

Travel bubble-The Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have started what is being referred to as a ‘travel bubble’ to help put their economies back-Creating a travel bubble involves reconnecting countries or states that have shown a good level of success in containing the novel coronavirus pandemic domestically.

Social bubbles– The idea is based on New Zealand’s model of household “bubbles”, an exclusive social group that is allowed to meet with each other amid the pandemic.

Interahamwe militia– It is a far-right Hutu paramilitary organization active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

Manipur’s “Khudol” has been listed among the top 10 global initiatives for an inclusive fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.Food, health and hygiene requirements of the LGBTQI+ community, people living with HIV, daily-wage earners, children and adolescents is being ensured through the initiative “Khudol”.

The ‘KALIA’ scheme, of Odisha, Mukhya Mantri Krishi Ashirwad Yojana of Jharkhand and Rythu Bandhu of Telangana are some of the noted state govts schemes
that have shown positive impact on income and livelihood of farmers.

Vigyan Prasar– It is an outreach organisation dedicated to ensure that the rural populace is duly benefitted by it. It has produced more than 300 originally- written titles in popular science.

Tele-health Technologies-Telehealth technologies allow patients to be seen and diagnosed remotely by doctors.

E-Sanjeevani is the Indian teleconsultation service launched by MoHFW during this pandemic.

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Revision of all important Terminologies,Factoids etc from all subjects in 3-5 hours giving lead in many questions.

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