WOMEN ARMY OFFICERS ELIGIBLE FOR PERMANENT COMMISSION
Why in news? The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the Union government’s submissions that women are physiologically weaker than men as a “sex stereotype” and declared that Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers are eligible for permanent commission and command posts in the Army irrespective of their years of service
RADIO AIDS REVIVAL OF DYING TRIBAL LANGUAGE
Why in news? Using mobile radio, the Asur community has been spreading the popularity of the language within their geographical limits. The Asur language figures in the list of UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger. As per the 2011 census, the tribe has a population of around 23,000 in Latehar and Gumla […]
MADHYA PRADESH GRAPPLES WITH SPIRALING NEONATAL DEATHS
Why in news? Madhya Pradesh has recorded the highest percentage of newborn deaths of 11.5% against the total admissions to government run sick newborn care units (SNCUs) in the past three years across the country, a rate ominously spiralling since 2017 According to the National Health Mission (NHM). The country’s average is 7%. Several factors […]
Current Affairs for UPSC IAS Exam – 26 March 2020
Contents: Undisturbed mass nesting of Olive Ridleys at Rushikulya White House, Congress agree on $2 trillion virus rescue Bill Saudi King to chair G20 virtual summit Finance Ministry writes to RBI for relaxing farm loan NPA norms Union Cabinet approves recapitalisation of RRBs UNDISTURBED MASS NESTING OF OLIVE RIDLEYS AT RUSHIKULYA Focus: GS-III Environment and […]
ISRO MAKING PREPARATIONS TO LAUNCH GISAT-1 IN MARCH FIRST WEEK
GISAT-1 — Geo Imaging Satellite — will be the first of two planned Indian EO spacecraft to be placed in a geostationary orbit of around 36,000 km. It will apparently be in a fixed spot looking over the Indian continent at all times. With this satellite, which has high-resolution cameras, we can keep a constant […]
DOCTORS REMOVE LARGE THYROID GROWTHS FROM MELGHAT TRIBAL
For long, the massive enlarged thyroid glands among the Korkus tribal living in Amravati’s Melghat region have puzzled doctors. Doctors would see Korkus, mainly women, with these abnormal growths, known as goiter, weighing over one to two kilograms. An annual surgery camp held at a remote hospital in Chikhaldara has however changed that. While goiter […]
WAYANAD TIGER RESERVE
The Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS), though home to more than half the number of tigers present in Kerala, may not be notified as a tiger reserve as the proposal lacks public support. The ‘Status of Tigers in India’ report released last year had estimated the tiger population of Wayanad as between 75 and 80 individuals. […]
INDIA TO WITNESS SEVERE FOOD INFLATION DUE TO EXTREME WEATHER
Rising prices of food items, particularly that of vegetables, have spiked retail inflation to a 68-month high of 7.59 per cent in January 2020, according to the National Statistical Office Extreme weather events have led to crop damages, leading to a collapse in the supply of vegetables at a time of the year when they […]
CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON AGRICULTURE: 50 MILLION TO BE POOR BY 2030, SAYS UN BODY
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has said that climate change would push 100 million people into the abyss of poverty by 2030. Close to half of these would be due to climate change’s impacts on agriculture. Global development and government representatives from across the world made an appeal to urgently spend more on […]
US HAS REACHED A DEAL WITH THE TALIBAN TO REDUCE DEADLY ATTACKS
The United States and the Taliban have negotiated a proposal for a seven-day reduction in violence All along that the best, if not only, solution in Afghanistan is a political agreement This deal will take effect “very soon” and could lead to the withdrawal of an unspecified number of American troops from Afghanistan. “Reduction in […]