Author: civil mentor

Bio fortified crops Context : Biofortified carrot variety developed by farmer scientist benefits local farmers. Details : The bio fortified crop- Madhuban Gajar was developed by Shri Vallabhhai Vasrambhai Marvaniya, a farmer scientist from Junagadh district, Gujarat.It contains high β-carotene and iron content.It is being planted in an area of over 200 hectares in JunaRead More…

India Revokes Ban on Export of Hydroxychloroquine Context : Recently, India revoked its earlier ban on the export of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), which is being used to treat Covid-19. Key Points : U.S. Pressure: The ban on HCQ was revoked by India after U.S. President said that India could invite “retaliation” if it withheld supplies of HCQ.Earlier, Read More…

MPLADS suspended Context : The Union Cabinet has approved a 30% cut in the salaries of all Members of Parliament and a two-year suspension of the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) scheme so that the amount saved can go to the Consolidated Fund of India to fight COVID-19. In this regard, it approved an ordinance to amend the Salaries, Allowances and Pension of Members Read More…

Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) Context : As a part of Government’s continued efforts to contain spread of COVID 19, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modihas decided not to operate Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) for two years (2020-21 and 2021-22). These funds will be used to strengthen Government’sRead More…

India plans to deploy antibody tests for COVID-19 Context : The Union government okayed antibody tests for the novel coronavirus (covid-19) April 4, 2020. What is Antibody Test : Antibody tests mean analyzing a patient’s sample, generally blood sample, for the presence/absence of a particular antibody or for the amount of antibody that is present. Antibodies are part of the bodRead More…

Impact of Economic Slowdown Due to Covid-19 Context : Amid the ongoing economic slowdown due to Covid-19 pandemic, The government witnessed a fall in tax collections.Foreign investors sold over ₹1 lakh-crore securities in a month (March), for the first time in history.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to shorten trading hours for foreign exchange and money markets pRead More…

Naval Dockyard develops low-cost device to screen people Context : Naval Dockyard (ND), Mumbai has designed and developed its own handheld Infrared radiation (IR)-based temperature sensor to screen people at gates. The sense will screen a large number of Naval personnel at the entry gates of the yard reducing the load on the security sentries at the gate.  IR-basedRead More…

Coating developed by JNCASR may prevent transmission of infection Context : Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), an autonomous institution under the Department of Science and Technology, has developed a one-step curable anti-microbial coating which, when coated on different surfaces such as textile, plastic and so on could kill a range of virus types including Read More…

“COVID-19 worst crisis since World War II“ Context : The United Nations warned that the world countries face the most challenging crisis since World War II. The pandemic is expected to cause a recession that probably has no parallel in the recent past. The announcement was made by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during the launch of the “Report on the socRead More…

RBI to implement Mega Bank Consolidation Plan Context : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stated that the schemes for the merger of 10 state-run banks into four lenders will come into force from 1 April.  RBI also stated that the branches of merging banks will operate as of the banks in which the banks have been amalgamated.The banks sought to defer the mRead More…