SFOORTI Application To help plan the traffic flows and optimize freight operations, Ministry of Railways have launched Smart Freight Operation Optimisation & Real Time Information (SFOORTI) App for Freight Managers which provides features for monitoring and managing freight business using Geographic Information System (GIS) Views and Dashboard. Salient features of SFOORTI Application are as below: With this application, movement of freight trains on Geographic Information System (GIS) view can be tracked. Both passenger and freight trains can be tracked over Zones/Divisions/ Sections in single GIS Continue reading →

National Youth Festival National Youth Festival is being celebrated on 12th January, that is, on the occasion of birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the youth icon of India. About the National Youth Festival: What is it? National Youth Festival (NYF) is the biggest Youth Festival of its kind in the Country. The Festival is organised by Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports in collaboration with State Govt. of Uttar Pradesh at Gautam Buddha University. Objective: The objective of organizing NYF is to provide a platform to Continue reading →

The Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) A one-day National Conference on Welfare of Laboratory Animals was recently organised by CPCSEA, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, with the theme of “Implementation of 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) while using animals in academic research and regulatory testing in India. The conference laid emphasis on the issue of ethical use of animals in academics and regulatory testing in India. The discussions were focussed on evaluating the possibilities of Continue reading →

All India Whips’ Conference The 18th All India Whips’ Conference was recently inaugurated at Udaipur, Rajasthan. The conference is hosting around 90 Delegates belonging to 19 States and Centre. Significance of the conference: The purpose of this conference is to strengthen the parliamentary democracy, its institutions and ultimately serve the people at large. The conference provides a platform to Whips of various political parties – ruling as well as opposition at the Centre as well as the States to exchange their views and experiences and Continue reading →

Medaram’s Jatara Central government is likely to declare Medaram’s Sammakka-Sarakka/Saralamma Jatara a national festival this year. Once declared a national festival, Jatara can be considered for ‘intangible cultural heritage of humanity’ tag of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). About the Medaram’s Sammakka-Sarakka/Saralamma Jatara: What is it? Sammakka-Sarakka Jatara held by forest dwelling Koya tribe of Telangana and surrounding States, is the biggest Tribal festival in Asia which is attended by one crore people on an average. Why is it held? The event Continue reading →

Iceland becomes first country to legalise equal pay iceland legalises equal pay A new law making it illegal to pay men more than women has taken effect in Iceland. The legislation makes Iceland the first country in the world to legalise equal pay between men and women. Key facts: Under the new rules, companies and government agencies employing at least 25 people will have to obtain government certification of their equal-pay policies. Those that fail to prove pay parity will face fines. The move is Continue reading →

Bharat Biotech’s Typbar-TCV: WHO approves Indian typhoid vaccine for global use The World Health Organisation (WHO) has given its pre-qualification to Typbar Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TVC) developed by Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech for global use. Typbar TCV is world’s first typhoid vaccine clinically proven to be administered to children from six months of age to adults, and confers long-term protection against typhoid fever. It has been evaluated in Human Challenge Studies at Oxford University. The WHO pre-qualification enables procurement and supplies of this life-saving vaccine Continue reading →

Parliament passes NABARD (Amendment) Bill, 2017 Parliament has passed the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, 2017 with the approval of Rajya Sabha. Lok Sabha already had passed the bill in August 2017. The Bill seeks to amend National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Act, 1981. The Act establishes NABARD for providing and regulating facilities like credit for agricultural and industrial development in the rural areas. Key Features of the Bill  The Bill allows Union Government to increase capital of Continue reading →

Schistura Larketensis: New species of blind fish discovered inside Meghalaya cave Scientists have discovered a new species of blind fish named Schistura larketensis inside a cave in East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya. The fish has been named after Larket village, where the cave has been found to encourage local people to take up biodiversity conservation. Schistura larketensis has lost its sight during its living evolution in perpetual darkness inside the cave. It has also lost its pigments too while adapting to its habitat in Continue reading →

India and Pakistan exchange list of nuclear sites for 27th consecutive year India and Pakistan have exchanged list of their nuclear installations and facilities with each other under the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack gainst Nuclear installations. This is the 27th consecutive exchange of such list between two countries after first list was exchanged on 1 January 1992. Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack against Nuclear installations  It is a bilateral agreement signed between India and Pakistan that bars them from carrying out any Continue reading →