Blog

1) Project UDBHAV: ‘Project UDBHAV’ launched during inauguration of Indian Military Heritage Festival.   It is a collaborative project between the Indian Army and the United Service Institution of India (USI), a think tank.   Objective: To synthesize ancient wisdom with contemporary military practices for modern security challenges.   The ancient Indian knowledge system related with war includesRead more

1) INS Imphal: Indian Navy received INS Imphal, the first warship with separate accommodation for women sailors.    INS Imphal is third ship (after INS Visakhapatnam and INS Mormugao) of Project 15B Class of stealth guided missile destroyers.    It was built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited.    It is armed with supersonic Surface-to-Surface ‘Brahmos’ missiles and ‘Barak-8’Read more

1) Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA): Supreme Court held that DTAA cannot be given effect unless notified under the Income Tax Act.   Section 90 of Income Tax Act prescribes tax relief under the DTAA.   DTAA is a tax treaty signed between two or more countries.   Its objective is that tax-payers in these countries can avoidRead more

1) Yuva Sangam: Modelled on Kashi Tamil Sangamam, Yuva Sangam is an initiative by the Government of India under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.    It aims to strengthen people-to-people connect between youth belonging to different States/UTs of India.    Youths across various states will visit other states for 5-7 days.   Multi-dimensional exposure will be provided underRead more

1) Mount Vesuvius: Researchers used an AI program to read from an ancient scroll that was burned by eruption of Mount Vesuvius.  It is one of the active volcanoes on Europe’s mainland.  Location: Naples, Italy.  It is a composite stratovolcano, made up of pyroclastic flows, lava flows, debris from lahars.  Stratovolcanoes have steep sides andRead more

Subsurface Water Ice Mapping (SWIM) project: It aims to locate the best places to access water ice buried under the Martian surface. The recently released fourth set of maps is the most detailed and accurate since the project started in 2017.It is led by the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, and managed by NASA’sRead more

Global Declaration for River Dolphins: In a ground-breaking development, 11 Asian and South American countries recently signed a global declaration, the “Global Declaration for River Dolphins,” aimed at preserving the world’s six remaining river dolphin species. This declaration is designed to guide 14 nations where river dolphins inhabit, with a focus on responsible freshwater dolphinRead more

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: It will provide one of the deepest-ever views into the heart of our Milky Way galaxy. It will have two instruments. Wide Field Instrument: It will have a field of view that is 100 times greater than the Hubble infrared instrument, capturing more of the sky with less observing time.Read more

International Migration Outlook 2023: Recently, the ‘International Migration Outlook 2023’ was released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). India saw the highest migration flows to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in 2021 and 2022.In terms of nationalities, 0.13 million Indian citizens acquired the nationality of an OECD country inRead more

Small Savings Instruments (SSIs): These are a set of savings instruments managed by the central government with the aim of encouraging citizens to save regularly, irrespective of their age. They provide returns that are generally higher than bank fixed deposits. It also gives a sovereign guarantee and tax benefits. The interest rates on small savingsRead more