Inflation-indexed bonds

the Inflation-indexed bonds in India were issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2013 and were benchmarked to Wholesale Price Index (WPI).

Inflation-indexed bonds are financial instruments that attempt to protect the bonds' purchasing power by tying interest and principal payments to an index of price changes.

Indexed bonds include two types of compensation, a real rate of return plus compensation for the erosion of purchasing power. The inflation component on the principal will not be paid with interest but the same would be adjusted in the principal by multiplying the the principal with index ratio (IR). At the time of redemption, the adjusted principal or the face, whichever is higher, would be paid. The interest rate will be provided protection against inflation by paying fixed coupon rate on the principal adjusted against inflation. 

Economists have argued that inflation-indexed bonds could reduce government borrowing costs. If the market overestimates future inflation, the government will reduce borrowing costs by issuing inflation-indexed bonds rather than nominal bonds. This may occur because, for example, investors• expectations are not completely forward-looking or rational. Alternatively, the government, because it is able to influence inflation through its policies, may have better information about the future course of inflation, or perhaps has more faith in its commitment to contain it than the public does. In these cases a treasury can lower its costs by issuing indexed bonds.

The government can reduce the coupon rates on its borrowing by way of IIBs by reducing inflationary trends.

Extant tax provisions will be applicable on interest payments and capital gains on IIBs. There will be no special tax treatment for these bonds.

Intervention by RBI

A central bank such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), periodically intervenes in the debt market to influence the interest rates and rate of inflation in the economy. 

If RBI feels inflation is too high, it will sell government securities, and suck money out of the system. This act will push up interest rates in the economy, and businesses will cut back on capital expenditure financed by loans, reducing the demand for money.

Central banks also intervene periodically in foreign exchange markets.

If the rupee is rapidly depreciating, RBI will sell dollars in the market. This will increase the supply of dollars and the demand for rupees, causing the rupee price of the dollar to come down. 

On the contrary, if the rupee is rapidly appreciating, RBI will buy dollars and inject rupees into the economy. This will increase the demand for dollars and the supply of rupees, thereby leading to an increase in the rupee price of the dollar.

If interest rates in the US or the EU were to fall, FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investors) will ramp up investments in India. The resultant demand for rupees will cause the rupee to appreciate. In response, RBI will buy dollars and inject rupees into the system.

Source: VisionIAS

Exchange Rate

A nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) is a measure of the value of a currency against a weighted average of several foreign currencies. 

• The nominal exchange rate is the amount of domestic currency needed to purchase foreign currency. 
• If a domestic currency increases against a basket of other currencies inside a floating exchange rate regime, NEER is said to appreciate. 
• If the domestic currency falls against the basket, the NEER depreciates..
• An increase in NEER indicates an appreciation of the local currency against the weighted basket of currencies of its trading partners. 

The real effective Exchange Rate (REER) is the real effective exchange rate (a measure of the value of a currency against a weighted average of several foreign currencies) divided by a price deflator or index of costs. 

In simple words, a nation's nominal effective exchange rate (NEER), adjusted for inflation in the home country, equals its real effective exchange rate (REER).

An increase in REER implies that exports become more expensive and imports become cheaper; therefore, an increase indicates a loss in trade competitiveness.

If inflation is in an increasing trend in domestic nation relative to inflation in other countries, there is likely to cause an increasing divergence between NEER and REER.

Source: VisionIAS

World Bank

The Bretton Woods Conference, officially known as the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, was a gathering of delegates from 44 nations that met from July 1 to 22, 1944 in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire (USA), to agree upon a series of new rules for international financial and monetary order after the conclusion of World War II.

The World Bank Group consists of five development institutions. 

1. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) provides loans, credits, and grants. 
2. International Development Association (IDA) provides low- or no-interest loans to low-income countries. 
3. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) provides investment, advice, and asset management to companies and governments.
4.  The Multilateral Guarantee Agency (MIGA) insures lenders and investors against political risks such as war. 
5. The International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) settles investment disputes between investors and countries. 

• India was one of the forty-four original signatories to the agreements reached at Bretton Woods that established the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 
• It was also one of the founding members of the IFC in 1956 and the IDA in 1960. 
• India later became a member of the MIGA in January 1994. 
• India is not a member of ICSID.

Reports

• Ease of Doing Business 
• Human Capital Index.
• World Development Report.

**

The World Bank launched a “Toolkit on Enabling Gender Responsive Urban Mobility and Public Spaces in India” with the aim of suggesting ways to make public transport in Indian cities more inclusive of women’s traveling requirements.

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

The UNEP is a leading global environmental authority established on 5th June 1972. 

Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya

Functions: 

It sets the global environmental agenda, promotes sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for global environment protection. 

Major Reports: 

• Emission Gap Report, 
• Adaptation Gap Report, 
• Global Environment Outlook, 
• Frontiers, Invest in Healthy Planet. 

Major Campaigns: 

• Beat Pollution, UN75, 
• World Environment Day, 
• Wild for Life. 

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

• The formation of the IMF was initiated in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference. IMF came into operation on 27th December 1945.

Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) 

They are the IMF’s unit of account and not a currency.

The currency value of the SDR is determined by summing the values in U.S. dollars, based on market exchange rates, of a SDR basket of currencies

SDR basket of currencies includes the

• S. dollar,
• Euro,
• Japanese yen,
• pound sterling and
• Chinese renminbi (included in 2016).

The SDR currency value is calculated daily (except on IMF holidays or whenever the IMF is closed for business) and the valuation basket is reviewed and adjusted every five years.

Reports

Global Financial Stability Report

• It is released twice per year, in April and October.

World Economic Outlook

• It is a survey by the IMF that is usually published twice a year in April and October.

PYQs

Global Financial Stability Report’ is prepared by the (2016)

(a) European Central Bank
(b) International Monetary Fund
(c) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(d) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Asian Development Bank

• Asian Development Bank ADB is a regional development bank established in 1966. 
• It has 68 members. 
• India is a founding member. 49 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside. 
• It aims to promote social and economic development in Asia and the Pacific. 
• As of 31st December 2019, ADB’s five largest shareholders are Japan and the United States (each with 15.6% of total shares), the People’s Republic of China (6.4%), India (6.3%), and Australia (5.8%). 
• It is headquartered in Manila, Philippines.

Essay

 “Fraternity is only another name for democracy”

Central Asia

Central Asian countries: 

• Kazakhstan, 
• Kyrgyzstan, 
• Tajikistan, 
• Uzbekistan, and 
• Turkmenistan 

Importance

• Central Asia is extremely rich in mineral and natural resources. 
• Kazakhstan has one of the biggest reserves of uranium, besides stores of coal, lead, zinc, gold, and iron ore. 
• Kyrgyz  Republic is rich in gold and hydro-power, and 
• Turkmenistan has one of the world’s largest reserves of natural gas. 
• Tajikistan has huge hydro-power potential and Uzbekistan has gold, uranium, and natural gas.

Square Kilometre Array (SKA)

The world's largest radio astronomy facility is currently under construction in Australia and South Africa. Scientists will use the exceptionally powerful Square Kilometre Array (SKA) to probe the mysteries of the universe.

Source: The Indian Express

National Party

Criteria

1. it is ‘recognized’ in four or more states; or

2. if its candidates polled at least 6% of total valid votes in any four or more states in the last Lok Sabha or Assembly elections and have at least four MPs in the last Lok Sabha polls; or
3. if it has won at least 2% of the total seats in the Lok Sabha from not less than three states.

ECI has recognized nine**parties as national parties  

1. BJP, 
2. Congress, 
3. Trinamool Congress, 
4. CPI(M), 
5. CPI, 
6. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), 
7. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP),  
8. Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party (NPP)
9. Aam Adami Party (AAP)

Uniform Civil Code (UCC)

 Directive Principle of State Policy (DPSP)

• Article 44

Morocco: North African Country

 

Price Indices: CPI and WPI

  The inflation rates in the country are the year-on-year

1. Wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation rate
2. Consumer price index (CPI) based inflation rate

• The CPI-based inflation data is compiled by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (or MoSPI) and 
• the WPI-based inflation data is put together by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (or DPIIT).

Difference

• WPI does not take into account the change in prices of services.
• If services such as transport, education, recreation and amusement, personal care, etc. get significantly costlier, then retail inflation will rise but there will be no impact on wholesale price inflation.

Repo Rate, Reverse repo rate, Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) Rate

The interest rate that the RBI charges when commercial banks borrow money from it is called the repo rate.

• when the RBI wants to encourage economic activity in the economy, it reduces the repo rates. This indicates to people spend money.

Reverse repo rate

• The interest rate that the RBI pays commercial banks when they park their excess cash with the central bank.

 The repo rate is higher than the reverse repo rate.

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) Rate

• The Cash reserve ratio is a certain percentage of cash that all banks have to keep with the RBI as a deposit.

Constituent Assembly

•  1935: INC officially called for a constituent assembly to frame a constitution for India.

1938: Nehru Made a Statement regarding the Constitution

1940: August Offer Accepted the Demand

a constituent assembly was established under the provisions of the Cabinet Mission plan.

Composition

• Constituted in 1946
• 389: 296 For British India and 93 For Princely States

Dr. BR Ambedkar

Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar

Born: April 14, 1891

Died: December 6, 1956 (Dehli)

• Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly
• Article 32: Soul of the Constitution and the very heart of it

Events

1923: Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha

1930: Temple Entry Movement (Kalaram Temple, Nasik)

1930-32: Attended all the Round Table Conferences

1932: Poona Pact

1936: Independent Labour Party

1947: Law Minister

1951: Resigned

1956: Became a Buddhist (Nagpur)

1990: Bharat Ratna

1990-91: Year of Social Justice

Important Works 

• Mook Nayak (weekly-1920)
• Janta (Weekly-1930)
• The Annihilation of Caste 1936
• The Untouchables 1948
• Buddha or Karl Marx 1956

Book

• The Budhha and His Dhamma

“Man is mortal.  Everyone has to die some day or the other. But one must resolve to lay down one's life in enriching the noble ideals of self-respect and in bettering one's human life...  Nothing is more disgraceful for a brave man than to live life devoid of self-respect.” 

Group of Seven (G7)

 Countries

1. United States of America
2. Canada
3. United  Kingdom (UK)
4. France
5. Italy
6. Germany
7. Japan
8. Russia

2022 Summit: Schloss Elmau, Germany

United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

• established by the UN Charter in 1945.
• Council HQ at New York

 The six principal organs of the United Nations.

1. UNSC
2. the General Assembly (UNGA)
3. the Trusteeship Council
4. the Economic and Social Council,
5. the International Court of Justice
6. the Secretariat

United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

• 15 members
• 5 permanent (UK, US, Russia, France, China)
• 10 non-permanent (2 Yr)
• Presidency rotates every month

Volcano Eruption

Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, erupted after 38 years on Sunday (November 27), spewing ash and debris, and covering the night sky of Hawaii’s Big Island in an incandescent red hue.

Famous volcanoes in the world

1. Krakatoa, Indonesia
2. Mount Vesuvius, Italy
3. Mount Fuji, Japan
4. Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland
5. Kīlauea, Hawaii
6. Mount St Helens, USA

Indus Water Treaty

 

Governor

Article 164

• The CM shall be appointed by the Governor
• The other Ministers shall be appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister
• CM and Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor 

In Addition

Red Sand dunes of Vizag

• Erra Matti Dibbalu
• geo-heritage site by GIS in 2014
• other places Tamil Nadu, Visakhapatnam, and Sri Lanka

Kangar Valley National Park

• Bastar region of Chhattisgarh
• Deciduous type of forest
• Bastar Maina 

MGNREGA

• It provides a legal guarantee for 100 days of unskilled manual employment in every financial year of any rural household.
• Funded by the Central government
• Social Audit has to be done by the Gram Sabha

Kashi Tamil Sangamam

•  IIT Madras and Banaras Hindu University (BHU) is the venue for the one-month-long Kashi Tamil Sangamam
• Ministry of Education
• Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
• Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat

Pandya King

• King Parakrama
• 15th Century
• Madurai
• Kasi Vishwanath Temple in Tamil Nadu

The Competition Act, 2002

• It should be noted that on the recommendations of the Raghavan committee, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP Act) was repealed and replaced by the Competition Act, 2002.
• The Competition Act, 2002, as amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007
• In accordance with the provisions of the Amendment Act, the Competition Commission of India and the Competition Appellate Tribunal have been established
• he government of India replaced Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in 2017.
• The provisions of the Competition Act relating to anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant position were notified on May 20, 2009

Source: The Indian Express

Competition Commission of India

• It is a quasi-judicial body.
• within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs
• established to enforce the competition law under the Competition Act, 2002
• recommendations of the Raghavan committee, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP Act) was repealed and replaced by the Competition Act, 2002.

Commission consists of a Chairperson and not more than 6 Members appointed by the Central Government.

VISION 

To promote and sustain an enabling competition culture through engagement and enforcement that would inspire businesses to be fair, competitive, and innovative; enhance consumer welfare, and support economic growth.

MISSION

 The Competition Commission of India aims to establish a robust competitive environment through:

• Proactive engagement with all stakeholders, including consumers, industry, government, and international jurisdictions.
• Being a knowledge-intensive organization with high competence level.
• Professionalism, transparency, resolve, and wisdom in enforcement.

Source: The Indian Express

ChatGPT: The AI Chatbot

• Developed by OpenAI 
• ChatGPT is based on GPT-3.5, a language model that uses deep learning to produce human-like text

Agroforestry

• known as 'social forestry'
• aims at achieving a more ecologically diverse and socially productive output from the land than is possible through conventional agriculture

Great Indian Bustard

• Found mainly in Rajasthan and Gujarat
• Critically endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Why Critically Endangered??

• Transmission Lines

Conservation Efforts

• The SC in April 2021 ordered: Underground Transmission Line

Election Commission of India

Appointment

• By President 
• 6 years tenure or up to the age of 65 Years whichever is earlier
• Same salary as judges of the SC of India

Article 324

•  The powers of  “superintendence, direction, and control of elections” is to be vested in an Election Commission.

Size

• not fixed by the constitution

Article 324(2) says that “the Election Commission shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner and a such number of other Election Commissioners if any, as the President may from time to time fix”.

All three ECs have equal say in the decision-making of the Commission.

Emissions Gap Report 2022

• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 
• Titled ‘Emissions Gap Report 2022: The Closing Window — Climate Crisis Calls For Rapid Transformation of Societies’

The world is falling short of the goals set forth in the Paris Climate Agreement adopted in 2015, and no credible pathway is currently in place to restrict global warming to under 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Governor

• Under Articles 155 and 156 of the Constitution, a Governor is appointed by the President and holds office “during the pleasure of the President”.
• The Governor can be appointed and removed by the central government.
• Article 163 of the Constitution says the Governor will normally be aided and advised by the Council of Ministers except in those functions which require his discretion.

United Nations Climate Change Framework Convention (UNFCCC)

• The Conference of Parties (COP) is the apex decision-making body

• UNFCCC was formed in 1994

• To stabilize greenhouse gas emissions and to protect the earth from the threat of climate change

• COP Presidency rotates among the five recognized UN regions

COP27

• Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt

Air Quality Index (AQI)

• The color-coded AQI index was launched in India in 2014.
• Launched by the central government in 2014 as part of the Swachh Bharat campaign.
• a technical study was awarded to IIT Kanpur. 
• IIT Kanpur and the Expert Group recommended an AQI scheme.
• The pollutants measured include PM 10, PM 2.5, Nitrogen Dioxide, Ozone, Carbon, etc.

There are six categories of AQI, namely 

1. ‘Good’ (0-50), 
2. ‘Satisfactory’ (50-100),
3.  ‘Moderately polluted’ (100-200),
4.  ‘Poor’ (200-300), 
5. ‘Very Poor’ (300-400), and 
6. ‘Severe’ (400-500).

Source: Indian Express

Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)

• To regulate the acceptance and utilization of foreign contribution 

Provision

• To open a bank account for the receipt of foreign funds in the State Bank of India, Delhi.
• To utilize those funds only for the purpose for which they have been received, and as stipulated in the Act.
• They must not transfer the funds to another NGO.

Registration

• apply online
• MHA makes inquiries through the Intelligence Bureau 
• The MHA is required to approve or reject the application within 90 days.
• FCRA registration is valid for five years.
• NGOs are expected to apply for renewal within six months of the date of expiry of registration.

Cancellation

• violation of the Act
• Once the registration of an NGO is canceled, it is not eligible for re-registration for three years.
• All orders of the government can be challenged in the High Court.

Add on

• https://iassaheb.blogspot.com/2022/06/fcra.html

Source: The Indian Express

Rape Cases

 

Source:  The Indian Express

Carbon Dating

• Carbon-14 (C-14) isotopes of carbon with an atomic mass of 14
• Ratio of C-12 to C-14
• C-12 is stable

Not Applicable 

• Non-living things

Kamikaze drones

• Iran
• Used in Ukraine  

 Countries have such drones

• US
• Russia, 
• China, 
• Israel, 
• Iran and 
• Turkey

Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM)

• Ministry of Defence
• INS Arihant: 1st indigenous Strategic Strike Nuclear Submarine
• Test: Bay of Bengal

Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM)

• K family of missiles
• Developed by DRDO
• Code named after Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

Draft Telecommunication Bill 2022

• India: 2nd largest telecom market
• 100% FDI in the sector
• Department of Telecom

An asteroid sample

• NASA OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft, 
• Asteroid Bennu

Add on

• https://iassaheb.blogspot.com/2022/08/hayabusa-2-mission.html

DART Mission

• Asteroid Dimorphos
• NASA

Word

•  Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL)

PM PRANAM

•  PM Promotion of Alternate Nutrients for Agriculture Management Yojana 

Kushiyara river

• Distributary of Barak River
• Flows through Assam

Kushiyara Agreement

• India and Bangladesh

Hague Convention

To Protect Children and their families against the risks of illegal, irregular, premature adoptions abroad.

• India has signed the Hague Convention
• Only to children below the age of 16.

Swami Vivekananda

• Founder of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission
• January 12: National Youth Day

Books

• Raja Yoga
• Jnana Yoga
• Karma Yoga

Sonification Project

• NASA
• James Webb Space Telescope
• Carina Nebula

Sonification

• Non-speech audio to convey information or perceptualize data

Rice

• Temperature: 22-32 C
• Rainfall: 150-300  cm
• Soil: Deep clayey and loamy

Recent News

For Addition

• Fortified Rice
• System Of Rice intensification (SRI)

Among the following crops, which one is the most important anthropogenic source of both methane and nitrous oxide? 

(a) Cotton 

(b) Rice 

(c) Sugarcane

(d) Wheat

Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan

Goal

• eliminating tuberculosis by 2025

Union Health Ministry

Scheme

• Support for 1-3 Years 

Reservation

Article Related to the Reservation for SC and ST

• Article 15(4) and 16(4); Reserve seats in Govt. Service 
• Article 16 (4B): Carry forward Seats
• Article 330 and 332: In Parliament and SLA
• Article 243D: Panchayat
• Article 233T: Municipality
• Article 335

Cases

Indra Sawhney v/s Union of India (1992)

• Creamy Layer
• < 50%

EWS Quota

• 103rd CA 2019
• 10% EWS Quota
• Article 15(6) and 16(6) added

Basic Structure:

• Kesavananda Bharti Judgment (1973): Doctrine of Basic Structure
• Shankari Prasad (1951)
• Golak Nath (1967)
• Minerva Mills (1980)

Section 124A IPC

Human Development Index 2021

India 

• Rank: 132/191
• Point: 0.633 lower than the world average of 0.732
• Category: Medium

 

Indicators

• Life expectancy at Birth (SDG 3)
• Expected Years of Schooling (SDG 4)
• Mean Years of Schooling ( SDG 4)
• Gross National Income (GNI)

Subhas Chandra Bose

• Born: 23rd January
• Book: The Indian Struggle
• Spiritual Guru: Swami Vivekananda
• Political Guru: C.R. Das
• 1919: Selected to be in Indian Civil Services, Resigned

Indian National Congress (INC)

• 1938: Haripura: President
• 1939: Tripuri: President, Resigned

Formed All India Forward Bloc within INC

World Water Week

• from August 24 till September 1
• Organised by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)
• Theme is- “Seeing the Unseen: The Value of Water”.

World Water Day

• March 22 
• Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.
• Theme of 2022 “Groundwater: making the invisible visible.”
• The theme was decided by UN-water at its 30th meeting in Rome. It was proposed by the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC).

Government Initiatives

• Catch the Rain campaign 2022
• Jal Andolan a Jan Andolan
• Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’
• Atal Bhujal Yojana, a Central Sector Scheme
• National Water Mission
• Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has instituted National Water Awards and “Water Heroes – Share your stories” 
• Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP)
• Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

Hayabusa-2 mission

• was launched in December 2014
• Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) 
• To study the asteroid Ryugu
• Ryugu is also classified as potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs). and was discovered in 1999.
• The Hayabusa mission-1 brought samples from the asteroid Itokawa in 2010.

Asteroids

• Asteroids are rocky objects that orbit the Sun, much smaller than planets
• called minor planets

NASA

• NASA’s OSIRIS-REX mission collected samples from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020, which will be brought to Earth in 2023.

Source: The Indian Express

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

• a permanent intergovernmental international organization. 
• It meets once every year 
• The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the highest decision-making body in the SCO
• The Secretariat in Beijing (China) and the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent(Uzbekistan).
• Russian and Chinese are the official working languages of the SCO.
• SCO Business Council’s Permanent Secretariat is headquartered in Moscow.

History

• Before creation of SCO in 2001,Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan were members of the Shanghai Five
• It was after the accession of Uzbekistan to the organization in 2001, the Shanghai Five was renamed the SCO.
• India and Pakistan became members in 2017.
• 17^th September, 2021, it was announced that Iran would become a full member of the SCO.

SCO full members

•  India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Drought

Drought is a rainfall-scarce period, affecting the availability of water for irrigation, drinking,etc 

They are classified into three types:

• METEOROLOGICAL drought is a prolonged dry spell in periods when rainfall is expected 
• HYDROLOGICAL drought is when scarcity of water begins to hit normal supplies in the system 
• AGRICULTURAL drought is when scarcity of water begins to affect the agricultural production

Source: The Indian Express

Number of women scientists goes up

 

Source: The Indian Express

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)

• Statutory authority
• Under the Jurisdiction of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
• Aadhar Act 2016
• 12 digit 

National Investigation Agency (NIA)

• Central Agency
• It is empowered to deal with terror-related crimes across states w/o special permission from the states.
• NIA Act, 2008
• Works Under Ministry Of Home Affairs

Curzon

• Appointed Viceroy of India In 1899
• Partition Bengal 1905
• "We could lose all our dominions and still survive, but if we lost India, Our sun would sink its settings."

Reforms

• Universities Act of 1904: brought all the universities in India under the control of the government.
• The Agriculture Research Institute In Pusa(Bihar)
• Police Commission 1902: Chairman: Andew Frazer
• Northwest Frontier Province(NWFP)
• Imperial cadet Corps
• Ancient Monuments Act, 1904

PYQs

• 2014