| Pakistan has announced that it would allow the import of cotton and sugar from across the border after Line of Control (LoC) ceasefire announced by India and Pakistan. |
| Govt. retains 4% inflation target for RBI’s rate panel for 2021-26 |
| Military farms have been closed after 132 years of service. In 2012, the Quarter Master General branch had recommended the closure of military farms… In 2016, the Lt. Gen. D.B. Shekatkar (retd.) committee, appointed to recommend measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance defence expenditure of the armed forces |
| The 1st military farm was raised in 1889 at Allahabad. It is credited with pioneering the technique of artificial insemination of cattle and the introduction of organised dairying in India, providing yeoman service during the 1971 war, supplying milk at the Western and Eastern war fronts as well as during the Kargil operations to the Northern Command. |
| Union Cabinet has approved a PLI= production-linked incentive scheme for the food processing industry with an outlay of ₹10,900 crores... scheme would cover ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat foods, processed fruits and vegetables, marine products and mozzarella cheese. Organic products, free-range eggs, poultry meat and egg products are also covered… generate processed food output of ₹33,494 crores and create employment for nearly 2.5 lakh persons by the year 2026-27. |
| The government has sharply slashed the rates on all small savings instruments for the 1ST quarter of 2021-22. |
| The small savings schemes basket comprises 12 instruments including the Savings Deposit, National Saving Certificate (NSC), Public Provident Fund (PPF), Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) and Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme. |
| The government resets the interest rate at the beginning of every quarter… Theoretically, since 2016, interest rate resetting has been done based on yields of government securities of the corresponding maturity with some spread on the scheme for senior citizens… However, in practice, the interest rate changes are made considering several other factors. |
| Govt cuts rates–> Yield on Benchmark govt bonds falls |
| Commercial banks decrease deposit rates–> small saving rates decreases |
| Small savings have emerged as a key source of financing the government deficit, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic led to a ballooning of the government deficit, |
| lowering of interest rates will help the government reduce costs, it will hurt investors, particularly senior citizens and the middle-class. |
| Personal law subjects like marriage, divorce, inheritance come under the Concurrent List… The term, ‘Uniform Civil Code’ is explicitly mentioned in Part 4, Article 44 of the Indian Constitution. Article 44 says, “The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.”.. Goa is the only Indian state to have a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the form of common family law. |
| The Tianhe, or “Heavenly Harmony,” = name of the module of China’s permanent space station. It was launched in 2021-April with Long March 5B rocket. |
| New SEBI rule for fund manager compensation that 20% of their salary be paid in form of Mutual Fund Units so that they do their mutual fund investment / management work more seriously. |
| RT-PCR test detects the virus; Ct (cycle threshold) value sets a benchmark for whether a person is to be counted as positive. in Maharashtra: a patient considered Covid-positive if the Ct value is below 35. Globally, the accepted cut-off for Ct value for Covid-19 ranges between 35 and 40. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), NITI Aayog etc differ on what should be CT Value. |
| RT-PCR test detects the virus; Ct (cycle threshold) value sets a benchmark for whether a person is to be counted as positive. in Maharashtra: a patient considered Covid-positive if the Ct value is below 35. Globally, the accepted cut-off for Ct value for Covid-19 ranges between 35 and 40. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), NITI Aayog etc differ on what should be CT Value. |
| Mask Rule: Thailand PM fined $190 for not wearing mask. |
| Attitude Towards Women: “Sofagate” incident- President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council Charles Michel went to Turkey to meet President Erdogan in April 2021 but there was no chair kept for the lady to sit. She was made to sit far away in a sofa. |
| Stockholm International Peace Research Institute: INDIA WAS the third largest military spender in the world in 2020, behind only the US and China. If the amount was instead invested in medical infrastructure, then the situation would be more comfortable in the second wave of Corona. |
| Archery World Cup, Guatemala: Husband-wife Atanu Das and Deepika Kumari men’s and women’s individual recurve gold medal |
| RBI fixed the tenure of the managing director (MD),chief executive officer(CEO) and whole-time director (WTD) in private sector banks at 15 years and maximum age at 70 years. |
| Countries with highest percentage population vaccinated: Bhutan 75%, Israel 62%, UAE 51%, UK 79% USA 41%.., Brazil 12%, India 8% |
| Death: Delhi-based Hindustani classical vocalists Pt Rajan Mishra from Banaras Gharana. |
| Space-X Dragon Capsule: used for carrying four astronauts at the International SpaceStation (ISS) |
| India- poisonous snakes: 1) cobra 2) Russell’s viper, 3) saw-scaled viper and the 4) common krait. Snake venom is a mixture of protein and enzyme that helps kill the prey and digest it. King cobras have Neurotoxic Venom that affects the neural system. Russell’s Viper Venom has hemotoxin that affects the blood coagulation. |
| PMGKAY-2020) –> free grains to beneficiaries of National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. 2020’s Scheme gave 5 kg Food grains (Rice/Wheat) + 1 kilogram pulses each month free. 2021’s version: Scheme is extended but only 5kg grain, no pulses. |
| ✋RBI said the existing interim WMA (Ways and Means Advances) limit of Rs 51,560 crore for all states and UTs will continue till September 30. Theory |
| French Energy Company EDF Send proposal to the government of India to build 9,900 mega watt (MW) nuclear power plant at Jaitapur in Ratnagiri, the coastal districts of Maharashtra. This will be the world’s largest nuclear power project. |
| GERMAN GYMNAST Sarah Voss begins wearing a full body suit. 2) 2019: Serena Williams broke the tennis skirt-dress stereotype by wearing a full body catsuit at the French Open. |
| Denmark has become the first European country to start revoking the residency permits of some Syrian refugees, arguing that Syrian capital,Damascus, and neighbouring regions are safe so We can not grant you asylum anymore, You should leave Denmark… India on rohingya refugees. |
| A pulse oximeter is a tiny device that usually slides over your fingertip or clips on your earlobe and uses infrared light refraction to measure how well oxygen is binding to your red blood cells. Oximeters report blood oxygen levels via an oxygen saturation measurement called peripheral capillary oxygen saturation, or SpO2. It is also used for checking the health of Corona patients. |
| Type I interferons are Polypeptides that help the body fight against viral infections. “Virafin”- Antiviral for treatment of hepatitis, drug contains Interferon. Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) allows Zydus Cadila To use it for treatment of Corona. |
| NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover → has a device called the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) → It absorbs carbon dioxide converters into oxygen and releases carbon monoxide as a byproduct. It successfully produced 5 grams of oxygen which is sufficient for an astronaut to breath for 10 minutes |
| Article 311(2) – government employee shall be dismissed or removed or reduced in rank ONLY AFTER an inquiry. But this clause will not apply if President or the Governor is satisfied that in the it is not Practical to hold such inquiry due to state security interests-Then such government employee can be removed without enquiry.Using this provision JAMMU and Kashmir administration has set up a Special Task Force (STF) to initiate action against such government employees suspected of doing such Anti National activities. |
| Death: Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, the noted Islamic scholar, spiritual leader and author from Uttar Pradesh (1925-2021). A recipient of Padma Bhushan and Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavna Award, He was editor of Jamiat Ulema Hind and Al-Risala. |
| Vaccine Black marketing: No honour among black marketeers: Divyesh promised to sell remdesivir injection in black market for ₹7000 x 6 Nos = 42k. |
| Vaccine Black marketing: No honour among black marketeers: Divyesh promised to sell remdesivir injection in black market for ₹7000 x 6 Nos = 42k. |
| Sports Ethics: International Olympic Committee upholds Rule 50 i.e. sportsmen Will not be allowed to do protests Tokyo Olympics e.g. Holding fist, Wearing T-shirts with political slogans- (like Free Tibet) etc. |
| Corona 2020- RBI had ordered commercial banks not to pay dividends from their profits to the shareholders. This would help keep buffers ready to cover the losses arising out of coronavirus defaults. 2021: RBI relaxes the norms regarding dividend release. |
| Supreme Court appointed judicial Commission gives clean chit to the police man involved in the encounter killings of gangster Vikas Dubey of UP. |
| USA: Annual report of the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) puts India under “‘countries of concern’ tag Where religious freedom is in danger. Indian government’s stand, “we do not recognise this report. This organisation has no locus standi in matters related to India.” |
| USA President Joe Biden announce to cut emissions around 50 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. |
| Vaccine: Uttar Pradesh and Assam – announced that they would provide free Covid vaccination to those aged above 18 from May 1 |
| Reporters Without Borders (RSF) not-for profit body in Paris → World Press Freedom Index-2021. Top-3: Norway, Finland and Denmark. India@142. China@177, Bottom Most Eritrea@180. India’s rank unchanged compared to last year- it continues to be counted among the countries classified “bad” for journalism. |
| Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for judicial appointment is based on three SC decisions – the First Judges Case (1981),Second Judges Case(1993) and the Third Judges Case (1998). MOP: High Court Collegium headed by the Chief Justice of the HC initiates the process of appointment of other judges. Once the recommendation is made, the opinion of state governments and the input from the Intelligence Bureau are sought → then recommendations are processed by the central government → sent to the Supreme Court Collegium. BEFORE: The MoP does not prescribe a timeline for the Centre to forward the recommendations. But-2021: SC modifies the MoP judicial order that the government must act on the names recommended for appointment within four months. |
| SUPREME Court clears the way for appointment of retired judges as ad-hoc judges in High Courts under Article 224A to deal with backlog of cases. |
| Nasa’s experimental helicopter Ingenuity Becomes the first aircraft to fly in another world or planet (Mars). It was controlled by a NASA pilot on earth. Flying on Mars is nearly impossible because there is not much air to push against. At the surface of Mars, the atmosphere is just 1/100th as dense as Earth’s. Thus, to generate enough lift for helicopter the blades had to spin in opposite directions at more than 2,500 revolutions a minute |
| ALH (Advanced Light Helicopter) Mk III aircraft- This is the first indigenously built Helicopter with an all glass cockpit and will be used for search and rescue, special operations and coastal surveillance |
| European Union release is 10 pages document to increase its influence in the indo-pacific region and engage more with the countries like India Japan and Australia. Although it clarifies that the plan is not Anti-China. |
| RBI Sudarshan Sen Committee for comprehensive review Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) – a type of NBFC that buys bad loans from lenders & tries To extract maximum value out of it |
| genetically modified crops in India Arguments for allowing it: 1) Bangladesh Farmer adopted BT brinjal in 2018- The brinjal production increased 6 times and pesticide consumption reduced by 60% 2) GM mustard should be allowed because India imports over 65% of the edible oil requirement. 3) GM soybean and GM canola grown all over America. |
| Discrepancy in the number of farmers: Agriculture ministry (2016, 150 million), NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (2016, 100 million), Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKisan) Beneficiaries getting ₹6k/per year (2021:111 million enrolled). Unless there is a uniform definition And official statistics- Difficult make appropriate policies and targeted interventions to help the “Serious full time” farmers. |
| ⚾️📻⚾️🎓✋ Electoral bonds : Jharkhand Mukti morcha discloses that Hindalco company donated ₹1 cr through electoral bonds. this company has mining operations in Jharkhand |
| National Empowered Group on Vaccine Administration = Chairman RS Sharma. National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration Chairman Dr.VK Paul |
| China refused to pull back its troops from Hot Springs and Gogra Post |
| Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) allows a company with loan outstanding above Rs 50 crore and below Rs 500 crore to access it to raise fresh credit without providing any additional collateral. |
| ⚾️📻⚾️🎓✋United States placed 11 countries, including India, China, Japan, South Korea, Germany and Italy in the currency practices monitoring list |
| Turkey’s Central Bank bans use of cryptocurrency- Bitcoin can cause irreparable damage to the economy, and transaction crisis. |
| Mission Covid Surakha (2020): Department of Biotechnology (DBT) Under the ministry of Science Technology provide grants for Research Development of coronavirus vaccine in India. 2021: Haffkine Pharmaceutical (Mumbai) got approval to mfg doses of Covaxin. Previously a company famous for manufacturing oral polio vaccine and anti snake venom. |
| Ex-dy-Gov Shyamala Gopinath’s standing external advisory committee (SEAC), will evaluate ON TAP application. |
| 1999: RBI’s Regulation review authority (RRA 1.0) Today view the banking/NBFC sector regulation based on feedback from public bank and nbfc. 2021: Regulation review authority (RRA 2.0) headed by Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao for a period of one year for simplification of procedures and enhancement of ease of compliance |
| Digital economy: Cash withdrawal facility: BEFORE- Customer could withdraw cash from his account only from Bank’s branch/ ATM/ PoS (MicroATM) walle Bank-Mitras. AFTER: Even prepaid payment instruments like Amazon Pay/ PhonePe/ Mobikwick could offer it (through tieing up with shopkeepers). Benefits? Customer will feel comfortable so he will not carry a large amount of cash. Digital economy ⏫ |
| Citibank to close down retail / consumer banking in India & China, to focus on institutional banking investment banking at global level (IPO underwriting, Investment banking Wealth Management etc.). |
| Public Comminication: Corona-fear-mongering in social media: farm labourer in Dangs Districts of Gujarat committs suicide after diagnosed with Corona. Continuous fear mongering in Gujarat – “Shortage of Remdesivir injection how it is selling for 20000 rupees, Dead bodies are piling up”- So the person may have thought he would not survive and or it will put great financial burden on his family so decided to end life. While government authorities and media should inform the citizens about the threats of Corona to deter them from violating mask rule but not in such fear-mongering manner that person becomes suicidal. |
| Chevalierdes Arts et des Lettres”- French Embassy give this award to Guneet Monga, producer of ‘Lunchbox’ and ‘Pagglait’ for Her contribution to cinema and gender equality |
| French president Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to a French history teacher who was killed by by an Islamic extremist for showing cartoons of Prophet in classroom → Pakistan hardline parties warned serious threats → French Embassy tells French citizens to leave Pakistan at earliest because of threat on life. |
| India and France signed an agreement for cooperation for the Gaganyaan space mission to send 3 Indians in Space. France will train Indian flight physicians at French space agency CNES. Flight physicians or surgeons are responsible for astronaut’s health before, during and after the flight. Currently, all space physicians are from the Indian Air Force. Gaganyaan orbital spacecraft project (2018) originally intended to send astronauts from India to mark the 75th anniversary of independence in 2022. However, the mission was delayed by Corona. |
| Greed: Bernard madoff- Largest ponzi scam in history worth $64 billion→ USA court given 150 years jail, died in 2021. Even many mutual fund managers had Forwarded their innocent clients money into it |
| Birthplace of of Lord Hanuman: 1) Karnataka claims Hanuman was born on Anjeyanadri Hill in the valley of the Tungabhadra near Hampi, which is believed to correspond to Kishkinda of the Ramayana. 2) Andhra Pradesh-based Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, on the other hand, claims Hanuman’s birthplace to be in Anjanadri in the Seven Hills of Tirumala. |
| Coronavirus natural calamity? Disaster Management Act, 2005 → State disaster response fund srdf →Union State 75:25 contribution. Corona pandemic is a calamity but not yet defined as Natural Calamity so state governments are unable to use the money from this fund to help individual so Maharashtra CM writes to prime minister. |
| MSME development board- a Statutory body under the m s m e act chaired by the Union Minister. 46 members- 26 from official side and 20 from the industrial side. Controversy that all of the industry side are affiliated with BJP. |
MY BOX 