Blog

1) Project 15B and P17A Frigates: The Project 15B class of ships are the next-generation stealth guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy, being built at the MDL, which are follow-on classes of the weapon intensive P15A (Kolkata Class) Destroyers. P17A Frigates are warships that are follow-on class of the P17 (Shivalik Class) Frigates with improvedRead more

1) Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS): these are a set of uniform standards envisaged to improve the quality of health care delivery in the country. The IPHS documents have been revised keeping in view the changing protocols of the existing programmes and introduction of new programmes especially for Non-Communicable Diseases. Flexibility is allowed to suitRead more

1) Art 142: Article 142 provides discretionary power to the Supreme Court. It states that the court in the exercise of its jurisdiction may pass such decree or make such order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it. Such decree shall be enforceable throughout the territory ofRead more

1) Total factor productivity (TFP): Productivity levels measure the relationship between total products or output, and inputs or factors of production employed. Labour productivity is a measure of total output divided by the units of labour employed in the process of production. However, TFP is a measure of total output divided by a weighted averageRead more

Protected mobility vehicles: The Indian Army has floated a ‘Request for information (RIF)’ to purchase Protected Mobility Vehicles (PMV) for high-altitude areas and for deserts and plains. The PMV is essentially a wheeled armoured personnel carrier. It provides protection to the soldiers travelling inside the vehicle from mine blasts and sudden attack by small arms.Read more

Devashayam Pillae:   First Indian layman to be declared a saint by Pope Francis during a canonisation ceremony at the Vatican. Born in 1712, he was an official in the court of Travancore’s Maharaja Marthanda Varma when he was instructed into the Catholic faith by a Dutch naval commander. “Lazarus” or “Devasahayam” in Malayalam, translatesRead more

Long Period Average (LPA): The IMD predicts a “normal”, “below normal”, or “above normal” monsoon in relation to a benchmark “long period average” (LPA). The LPA of rainfall is the rainfall recorded over a particular region for a given interval (like month or season) average over a long period like 30 years, 50 years, etc.Read more

Sagittarius ‘A’ star: it refers to the believed location of the supermassive black hole in the centre of our galaxy. Event Horizon: Black holes are extraordinarily dense objects with gravity so strong that not even light can escape, making viewing them extremely challenging. A black hole’s event horizon is the point of no return beyondRead more

Green manure: Green manures are crops grown specifically for maintaining soil fertility and structure. It is done by leaving uprooted or sown crops parts, allowing them to wither onto the field and serve as mulch and soil fertilizers. They are normally incorporated back into the soil, either directly, or after removal and composting. There areRead more

Minorities: The Constitution recognizes Religious minorities in India and Linguistic minorities in India through Article 29 and Article 30. But Minority is not defined in the Constitution. Currently, the Linguistic minorities in India are identified on a state-wise basis thus determined by the state government whereas Religious minorities in India are determined by the CentralRead more