GS3 Current Affairs Listing

NIPER Assam

National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research

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ICMR Revising National Essential Diagnostics List for First Time

• NEDL released in 2019
• lists essential & most basic tests ➡️ to be available at various levels of healthcare facilities
  • village level
  • PHC’s
  • wellness centres
  • sub-health centres
• recommended by WHO
• as per Indian Public Health Standards

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Regulating Indian Online Gaming Industry

Concerns with online gaming

• addictions
• mental illness
• suicides
• financial frauds
• privacy issues
• data security concerns (relevant Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023)

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TMT Project 30m Telescope

Mauna Kea, Hawaii (inactive volcano 🌋)

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Cost of Cancer Treatment

• pooled procurement of drugs: 82% less cost
• must be replicated for other diseases

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Nutrition Based Schemes

• Saksham Anganwadi
• Poshan 2.0
• Mission Shakti Scheme

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India and WTO

WTO

• 164 members
• ministerial ➡️ highest decision making forum

Peace Clause

• 2013
• change in subsidy calculation

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Geospatial Information can contribute 0.5 to annual GDP growth

• contribute 0.5% to annual GDP growth
• geospatial guidelines in 2021 deregulated the sector.
• Drone Rules 2021 sanctioned drone surveys for mapping
• National Centre of Geo-informatics ➡️ formed in 2015

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Bamboo Composites

• shares similarities with teak wood
  • teak wood that takes 30-40 years to grow.
  • 3-4 years mature bamboo
• Developed by- CSIR (AMPRI), Bhopal
• National Bamboo Mission
  • launched in 2006-07
  • Centrally Sponsored Scheme

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Kaziranga National Park

• Assam
• UNESCO site in 1985
• Brahmaputra river
  • gangetic river dolphin
• recent news: 2 Mammalian Species added to Fauna List Kaziranga
• big 5
  • 1-horned rhino
  • indian elephant
  • bengal tiger
  • wild water buffaloo (Bubalus bubalus)
  • eastern swamp deer (Cervus duvauceli)]]

Greater Kaziranga Programme

• launched in Oct 2023
• Burachapori Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary
  • western edge of Kaziranga National Park
  • explore mangroves

Biswanath Ghat

• best tourism village for India for 2023

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Using AI to improve sustainability in Indian Smart Cities

• SDG
• center for excellence in AI
  • 3 such centers for
    • Agriculture
    • health
    • sustainable cities
  • union budget 2023

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GM crops will make edible oil cheaper

• Mustard most used edible oil
• growing seeds indigenously

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Great Indian Bustard

• critically endangered
• natural habitat
  • Gujarat & Rajasthan

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Quote the labour report

World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2024 by ILO

• global unemployment will increase in 2024
• demographic transition in many low & middle income countries after 2030
  • migration policies
  • accurate forecast of labour demand
  • education, skilling & training

2017 report of ILO

• significant growth in international migration
  • last two decades
• from Asia & Arab, tripled to 19M in 2015

e-migrate list

• MEA
• workers going to conflict areas
• Israel not on this list
  • Why?
    • OECD country - already strict labour laws

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Amrit Dharohar Capacity Building Scheme 2023 Budget

• promote unique conservation values of Ramsar sites
  • 16 sites identified
    • Chilika lake, Odisha
    • Sultanpur national park, Haryana
    • Sirpur, MP
    • Yashwant sagar, MP
• employment opportunities
• local livelihood
• under
  • tourism ministry
  • MoEFCC

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India Needs Climate Specific Plans to Improve Climate Resilience

• IMD in 150th year
• CEEW examines monsoonal trend (from 1982-2002)
  • 68% tehsils (sub-divisional level)
    • experienced reduced rainfall
  • historic dry in:
    • Rajasthan
    • Gujarat
    • central Maharashtra
    • some parts T.N
• inc in N.E monsoon by 10% in the past decade
• 30% of India’s districts witnessed several years of deficient rainfall years and 38% districts witnessed several years of excessive rainfall.

Prevalent Trends

• long, dry spells
• torrential wet spells

Way Forward

• prioritising regional & sub-district forecasts over national ones

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Satellites tracking the weather

Prelims Bits

• INSAT 3D satellite
  • RGB imager
    • colour determined by:
      • solar reflectance
      • brightness temp
  • colour scheme
    • cloud type
• INSAT-3D & INSAT-3DR(repeat)
  • geostationary orbits
  • use radiometers for spectral measurements
  • carry atmospheric sounders
  • these 2 currently active

Feb 2024

• ISRO to launch INSAT-3DS (via GSLV MkII)
  • 3DS: second repeat

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Phyto cannabinoids and antibiotic properties

• THCBD (tetrahydrocannabidiol): antibiotic effects against Staphylococcus aureus bacterium
  • responsible for second most number of deaths due to anti microbial resistance
• Phytocannabinoid: cannabinoids that occur naturally in the cannabis plant
• Staphylococcus aureus: gram positive bacterium

Some important terms

⚡Hydrophilic molecule: molecules which are water loving. ⚡Lipophilic molecule: molecule which are fat loving. ⚡Indias’s AMR burden: India reported 2.97 lakh death in 2019 due to AMR (anti-microbial resistance)

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World Largest Iceberg A23a seen in Antarctica on 14Jan2024

A23a first broke off the Antarctic coast in 1986. It is the world’s oldest and largest iceberg.

Aspect	Description
Origin	A23a first broke off the Antarctic coast in 1986. It is the world’s oldest and largest iceberg.
shape	Tooth-shaped
Length	Nearly 4,000 square kilometers (twice the size of greater London)
Thickness	Up to 400 meters thick in places
Volume	It contains an estimated one trillion tons of fresh water
Location	Currently drifting between Elephant Island and the South Orkney Islands

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Exercise CYCLONE India-Egypt Joint Special Forces Exercise

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Havisure - India first indigenously developed Hepatitis A vaccine

Specifications	Details
About	It is India’s first indigenously developed vaccine for Hepatitis A.
Dosage	1. It is a two-dose vaccine. 2. The first dose given to those above 12 months of age and the second dose is administered at least six months later.
Who is eligible for the vaccine?	1. The vaccine is advised for routine immunization in children and individuals at risk due to exposure or travel to regions with high hepatitis A prevalence. 2. Additionally, individuals with occupational infection risks and those suffering from chronic liver diseases can also receive Hepatitis A vaccination.
Significance	This vaccine is expected to play a significant role in preventing Hepatitis A. Hepatitis A is a highly contagious liver infection transmitted through contaminated food or water.

•  viral infection
• inflammation of the liver.
• As per WHO there is no specific treatment for hepatitis A.

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Rashtriya Gokul Mission 2014

• to promote indigenous bovine breeds
  • to increase milk production

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NISAR Mission ISRO, NASA

• 3 yr mission life
• NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar Mission
• LEO - low earth orbit
• refer: NISAR

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2 Mammalian Species added to Fauna List Kaziranga

1. elusive binturong
   • the largest civet in India
   • also called bearcat
   • arboreal
   • nocturnal
2. Small clawed otter
   • freshwater
   • feeds on
     • fish
     • crustaceans
     • molluscs

• both listed under Schedule - I of Wildlife Protection Act 1972
• see also: Kaziranga National Park

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CoP28 - Economy Powered While Decarbonizing

• utilising existing assets better
  • managing thermal power plants outages
  • ⬆️ flexibility of existing coal fleet
    • $\downarrow$ min power load
    • improving ramp rate capabilities
    • CEAI $\to$ proposed
      • retrofitting of 92% current coal & lignite based capacity to enable it
  • indigenising supply chains
    • battery storage
    • RE technologies
  • incentivising payments for storage services beyond the supply of energy units
    • for backup
    • supply-demand balance

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Lake Retba, Senegal - Extinction Treat due to Nitrate and Pollution

• pink lake
  • pink caused due to Dunaliella Salina Bacteria
  • harmless to humans
• high salinity compared to dead sea
• near Atlantic Ocean
• under consideration by UNESCO for World Heritage Site Status

Some Other important lakes in West Africa

• Lake Bosumtwi in Ghana is the largest natural lake in West Africa.
• Lake Volta in Ghana is the largest man-made reservoir in the world.
• Lake Chad is a man-made reservoir located in Chad.

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Viability Gap Funding Scheme for Coal Gassification

• Coal gassification
  • coal ➡️ fuel gas
    • prodⁿ of gaseous fuels
      • hydrogen
      • methane
      • methanol, ethanol
    • cleaner option than burning coal
    • high ash content in indian coal ➡️ technical barrier

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Leprosy - 3 drug regimen released

• govt aims at stopping transmission of leprosy at the sub-national level by 2027

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Water Management - A Case Study

Can be cited as an example

• Water Management initiative turns drought prone Anantapur into green oasis
  • reverses migration
  • Andhra Pradesh

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Reasearch Collabs - Fellowships

• VAIshwik BHArtiya Vaigyanik ➡️ VAIBHAV
  • scientists of Indian origin
• VAJRA Scheme
  • other nationalities also

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World Inequality Report 2022

• described India as "a poor country with an affluent elite"
• Growth mania can be injurious to society

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New alloy - alternative magnetic refrigerant for minimizing greenhouse gas emissions

• Ni (Co)-Mn-Ti Heusler system

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How is pricing of water determined in India

Water pricing is determined by states by the respective municipality frameworks. There is no central authority for the regulation of water pricing.

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PayTM Faces RBI Action

• refer Payments Bank

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Gruha Arogya - Karnataka Doorstep Screening for Cervical Cancer

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![[Screening of cancers under Ayushman Arogya Mandir]

Butterflies in news

• Regal Apollo
  • schedule-II of WPA 1972
  • rare
• Dusted Apollo
  • high altitude
  • resembles Ladakh Banded Apollo
  • Himachal Pradesh
  • Manimahesh Lake ➡️ chamba
• 11 such species
  • 5 ➡️ scheduled species
• endangered

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Typbar

• indian vaccine for typhoid
• trials in malawi , Africa
• 4 yr efficacy

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Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021

• 3 states with best improvement in forest cover
  • Karnataka
  • Andhra
  • T.N.

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Micro credentials

• Micro-credentials are concise, specialized learning programs, distinct from traditional multi-year degrees
• Globally, entities like Google and Microsoft, along with universities, offer micro-credentials.

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Panchayat Revenues

• Panchayats earn only 1% of their revenue through taxes
• RBI Report: Higher autonomy of panchayats leads to better health outcomes

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Cygnus X-1

• AstroSat, India’s first, dedicated multi-wavelength astronomy mission, has achieved a remarkable feat by measuring X-ray polarisation from the Cygnus X-1 black hole.

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CCARES

• a web portal of Coal Mines Provident Fund Organization (CMPFO) namely CCARES to address the long-standing issue of digitizing its records and work processes.
• by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), an R&D organization under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
• administered by Ministry of Coal

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Wheat Blast

• Researchers have estimated that a wheat blast disease that may spread in the future could reduce global wheat production by 13% by 2050.
• fungal
  • MoT fungus

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Black-necked Crane

• IUCN Red List- Near Threatened (NT)
• CITES- Appendix I
• Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972- Schedule I
• Changthang Sanctuary, Ladakh.

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State of the World Migratory Species report

• by UNEP
  • Almost half (44 %) of the migratory species listed under CMS are experiencing a decline in population.

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e-jagriti portal

Consumer Affairs Secretary: AI in ‘e-Jagriti’ portal will help reduce the number of pending cases in consumer courts.

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Prabhav Report

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has recently released the CRISIL study report named “Prabhaav”. It assesses the impact of the Fund of Funds for Start-ups (FFS).

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Golden Backed Frog

• endemic to the Western Ghats of Karnataka and Kerala
• evergreen and semi-evergreen forests
• insectivorous

refer: Endemic Species

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Sora - OpenAI video generation model

• video from text prompt
• other example - Google Lumiere

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High-altitude pseudo satellite vehicle (HAPS)

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Rheumatoid Arthritis prevention

• repurposing an existing drug
• chronic
• autoimmune

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Child safety

UNICEF report ➡️ The Metaverse, Extended Reality and CHildren - evolution of virtual platforms - influence on children and young adults

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India rejected demand for data exclusivity in drug development

• FTA talks
  • EFTA
    • Switzerland
    • Norway
    • Iceland
    • Lichtenstein
• Data Exclusivity
  • clause in draft agreement
  • min 6 yr embargo on clinical trial data generated during the testing & development of drug.
    • could hamper India’s generic drugs industry

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New Drug to treat chronic kidney disease gets approval

• by CDSO

Drug

• jardiance / empagliflozin
• not recommended for
  • CKD treatment w/ poly-cystic kidney disease.

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T-cells hold hope against refractory multiple myeloma

• refer: CAR T-Cell Therapy for Cancer
• Multiple myeloma
  • second most common type of blood cancer in adults

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Virus Eating Cells

• Macrophages
  • present in the fluid filled sac around the lungs
  • immune cells
  • go into the lungs ➡️ if infection

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National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL)

•  premier aerospace research and development organization
• bengaluru
•  operates under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

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Anti -satellite weapons

• violate ➡️ Outer Space Treaty
• destroying satellites in their orbit

Kessler Effect

• cascading effect of colliding debris in space

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Recent Drone Developments by DRDO - Tapas Male

• Counter drone system
• Tapas MALE UAV
  • ISTAR application
    • Intelligence
    • Surveillance
    • Target Acquisition
    • Reconnaissance
• short range armed UAV archer
• focus on high endurance UAV's
• drone using Ni-Cd and Ag-Zn batteries
  • drone batteries unavailable in the country 😔

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Mitigating pollution with health insurance policy

• high pollution leading to type-II diabetes
• giving health cover

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Merchandise Export for India Scheme (MEIS)

• incentivize and support Indian exporters by providing them with financial assistance in the form of duty credits
• see also: MEIS vs RoDTEP

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Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) Scheme 2021

• no domestic taxes on exports
• tax remission benefits on exports of sugar
  • under development
  • as sugar exporters were denied
  • to control domestic prices in 2022

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UPI Latest News

• if account not been in use for $>$ 1yr, they shall be deactivated
  • prevents misuse
• 1L / day transaction limit
  • if hospitals or educational institutions, limit is 5L
• UPI ATM: scan QR code to withdraw paper money
• 1.1% interchange fee proposal for merchants
• 4hr cooldown when transacting $>$ 2K INR with new person
  • to prevent fraudulent transactions
• NFC based tap and pay
• UPI Lite
• UPI Lite X via NFC (does not need internet)
  • useful in areas with low network reception eg villages

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Prithvi programme for earth observation

subsumed 5 existing schemes of MoES

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Green Future

• cleantech, solar parks, solar drivers in andhra, millets etc
• refer: Green Future in India

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AgriStack - Indian Digital Ecosystem for Agri (in dev since 2020)

• federated structure & ownership of data w/ states
• use in handling crop estimate error; other methods
  • field verification
  • remote sensing

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CSIR-NGRI - install early warning systems against floods, rockslides, avalanches in Himalayan states

• to detect sudden rise in river waters
• safety of large infra projects and hydro power plants

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Bima Vahak - Insurance Awareness by IRDAI in every Gram Panchayat

• insurance inclusion; for all by 2047
• comprises corporates + individuals

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Kavach - TACS Railway ATP by RDSO

• indigenous automatic train protection, - SIL 4 standards (security integrity level)
• traffic collision avoidance system
  • RFID in transmission towers & stn
  • sudden brakes if red signal jumped
  • no collision if 2 trans face to face

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CoP28 - Global Stocktake, UAE Declaration

• operationalised Loss & Damage fund
• Global Stocktake
• transition away fossil fuels by 2030; inc nuclear energy capacity
• ALTERRA for Green Finance
• Global Methane Pledge (India NOT signatory)
• UAE Declaration (India NOT signatory)
• refer: UN Climate Change Conference

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Under Ground Mining promotion by Coal Ministry

• 70% coal reserves can be mined underground, but only 5% utilized
• PLI, B2 category (no govt approval) projects
• refer: Under Ground Coal Mining

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Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal University, Telangana

• Mulugu district
• $\uparrow$ avenues of higher edu, adv knowledge systems for benefit of tribals

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DevINE for infra development, Act East, Countering China

• Union Budget 2022-23, 1500cr, MoDev of NER
• challenge: manipur violence, fund under-utilization
• refer: PM Development Initiative for NER (DevINE)

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55% patients given antibiotics to prevent illness - NCDC survey

• National Centre for Disease Control
• concern - antibiotic resistance
• nodal agency for India’s National Programme on AMR containment
  • established NAC-NET
  • compilation of antibiotic consumption data.

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Small Module Reactor and Net Zero

• conventional nuclear power plants $\to$ time and cost overruns 😩
• SMR $\to$ low enriched uranium, assembled at site, no cost/time overrun
• refer: Small Modular Reactors

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All India Debt and Investment Survey

• AIDIA-2019
• latest survey released in 2021
• it showed the trend of deepening caste inequality in wealth in India

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5% Indian Birds Endemic - ZSI

• 12.4% of global bird diversity
• 75 endemic species on India@75 → Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav
• Manipur bush quail (Perdicula manipurensis) - endangendered, IUCN Red List

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Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill 2023

• critical and deep seated minerals
• 6 minerals (lithium) reclassified as “critical and strategic”
• eligible for exploration by private companies (attract them!)
• India dependent on imports
  • concern for supply chain vulnerabilities
• china, russia, australia

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Making Rural Young Employment Ready

refer: How to make rural youth employment ready

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GoI - GoManipur Peace Agreement w UNLF

• UNLF = United National Liberation Front
  • oldest valley based insurgent grp in Manipur

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ULFA signs peace accord with Centre, Assam Govt

• ULFA = United Liberation Front of Assam

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IT Park in North West Delhi

• services sector, night time economy

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Chatbots in Banking Sector

• 80% banks already have chatbot
• include vernacular laguages for greater accessibility

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Aadhar Linked Pay

• mandatory for MGNREGS from 1 Jan 2024
• fixes leakages
• issues:
  • flawed aadhar seeding
  • premature account mapping
  • lack of consent mechanisms

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16th Finance Commission

• will recommend tax sharing formula b/w center & states for Apr 2026 - March 2031

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Delhi Govt EV Policy

• incentivise EV usage

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Vertical Fiscal Imbalance

• power to raise most taxes with Union, while major spending done by states
• Kerala facing this issue
  • high expenditure on edu, health but low revenue allotment from centre
• see also 16th Finance Commission

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Rain Dependent Agriculture

• Odisha tribal community faced issue of low rain
  • switched to high value aromatic crops
  • strawberry
  • other low water requirement crops

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