Category: articles

World Bank Group

World Bank Group International Organizations Establishment     July 1944, during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Initial Purpose     To help rebuild European nations devastated by World War II;    Later expanded to include global development and poverty reduction. Components     International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)    International Development Association (IDA)    International Finance Corporation (IFC)    Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)    International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Membership     189 member countries. Headquarters     Washington, D.C., United States. Main Functions     Provides loans, credits, and grants; offers technical expertise and policy advice;…

Disaster Management Bill

Disaster Management Bill Disaster Management Bill tabled in Lok Sabha / आपदा प्रबंधन विधेयक लोकसभा में पेश किया गया The Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024, introduced by Union Minister Nityanand Rai, aims to establish a national disaster database and Urban Disaster Management Authorities in major cities. It empowers the National and State Disaster Management Authorities to prepare disaster plans, replacing previous executive committees, sparking opposition concerns about state authority encroachment. Provisions in the Bill Creation of a Disaster Database: The Bill mandates the establishment of a comprehensive disaster database at both national and state levels, which will include disaster assessments,…

Ariel another watery moon

Ariel another watery moon NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope found evidence of a subsurface ocean on Uranus’s moon Ariel, which explains the presence of frozen CO2 on its surface. Carbon monoxide and carbonite minerals suggest that a hidden ocean may be supplying CO2 and interacting with Ariel’s surface, requiring further investigation. Triton’s retrograde rotation is explained by its shared origin with Pluto before being captured by Neptune. Another mystery involves Uranus’s moon Ariel, which has frozen CO2 on its surface despite its distance from the Sun. On July 24, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) detected signs of a liquid…

Lokmanya Tilak

Lokmanya Tilak The Prime Minister recently paid tributes to Lokmanya Tilak on his birth anniversary. About Lokmanya Tilak: Bal Gangadhar Tilak, commonly known as Lokmanya Tilak, was a prominent Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, social reformer, and political leader during the Indian independence movement. He was one of the prime architects of modern India and probably the strongest advocate of Swaraj, or Self Rule for India. He is known for his slogan, “Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it.” He was born as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak, and his followers bequeathed upon him the title of ‘Lokmanya’, meaning he who…

Dark Oxygen

Dark Oxygen Scientists have recently discovered a strange phenomenon, dubbed “dark oxygen” in the deep sea. About Dark Oxygen: Oxygen that is being produced in complete darkness thousands of feet below the ocean surface is termed dark oxygen. Why is the discovery important? Until now, it was thought that oxygen was created only through photosynthesis, a process that requires sunlight. Oceanic plankton, drifting plants, algae, and some bacteria are the primary elements attributed to the production of oxygen in the ocean. All these organisms are capable of photosynthesis. The production of oxygen at such depths is thought to be impossible…

National Testing Agency

National Testing Agency  The National Testing Agency (NTA) was established in 2017 by the Indian government to conduct electronic mode entrance examinations for professional courses. Despite its mandate, operational challenges, including recent controversies over examination integrity, have sparked calls for reforms and decentralised testing mechanisms across India’s educational landscape. What is the National Testing Agency? /राष्ट्रीय परीक्षण एजेंसी क्या है? About: The National Testing Agency (NTA) was established as a Society registered under the Indian Societies Registration Act, of 1860. It is an autonomous and self-sustained testing organisation to conduct entrance examinations for admission in higher educational institutions. Governance: NTA…

Supreme Court, back to its full judicial strength

Supreme Court, back to its full judicial strength President DroupadiMurmu appointed Justices N. Kotiswar Singh and R. Mahadevan to the Supreme Court, restoring its full strength of 34 judges. Justice Singh is the first from Manipur, and Justice Mahadevan, from Tamil Nadu’s backward community, adds diversity. Procedure for appointment of Supreme Court Judges: Constitutional Basis: The appointment process is outlined in Article 124 of the Indian Constitution. Eligibility Criteria: As per article 124 [3] Indian Constitution, a person to be appointed as a Supreme Court judge of India Must be a citizen of India. Must have been a judge of…

Project Elephant

Project Elephant Project Elephant was launched by the Government of India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests in February 1992. It’s a scheme aimed at supporting states in managing their wild Asian elephant populations through financial and technical assistance. Objectives of Project Elephant Simplified Conservation Planning: Create and promote smart plans to protect elephants using science. Combat Illegal Trade: Stop the illegal buying and selling of elephant tusks and shield elephants from hunters and poachers. Prevent Deaths: Develop ways to stop unnatural causes of elephant deaths in India. Restore Habitats: Bring back the natural homes of elephants and the paths they…

Asur Community

Asur Community  The Gumla district administration in Jharkhand has announced that the Asur community, a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) residing in the Netarhat plateau region of Gumla, will soon benefit from the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006. About Asur Community: The Asur’s are a very small Austro-Asiatic ethnic group living primarily in the Indian state of Jharkhand, mostly in the Gumla, Lohardaga, Palamu and Latehar districts. A small minority lives in the neighbouring states. They are included in the list of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). As per the 2011 census, the tribe has a population of around 23,000.…

Heat Dome

Heat Dome The entire western United States has come under the grip of a sweltering heatwave, which began last week. The scorching temperatures and dry conditions are a result of a heat dome centred over California. About Heat Dome: It is a weather phenomenon where a high-pressure system in the atmosphere traps warm air like a lid on a pot, for an extended period of time. As the warm air is not able to rise upward, the sky remains clear — clouds are formed under the opposite circumstances as the rising warm air cools down, and the water in it…