Key aspects of revised regulations include: 

• To simplify the registration process and to bring about ease in compliance requirements  for FPIs, the broad based eligibility criteria for institutional foreign investors has been done away with.
  
  
• On reviewing the risk profiling of the FPIs, it is decided that the FPIs may be re-categorized into two categories, instead of the present requirement of three categories.
  
  
• Registration for multiple investment manager  (MIM)  structures  has  been simplified.
  
  
• Considering that the central banks are relatively long term, low risk investors directly/ indirectly managed by the Government, the central banks that are not the members of BIS (Bank for International Settlement) shall also be eligible for FPI registration.
  
  
• The entities established in the international financial services center (IFSC) be deemed to have met the jurisdiction criteria for FPIs.
  
  
• FPIs shall be permitted for off-market transfer of securities which are unlisted, suspended or illiquid, to a domestic or foreign investor.
  
  
• Offshore funds floated by Indian Mutual Funds shall now be permitted to invest in India after obtaining registration as FPI.
  
  
• The requirements for  issuance  and  subscription of Offshore  Derivative Instruments (ODIs) have been rationalized.
  
  

About:

• Their conclusions are based on the discovery of a tranche of vertebrate fossils from nearly 14 million years ago in a geological period known as the Miocene.
  
  
• The fossils, consisting mostly of ribs, and parts of teeth and bones, were unearthed from Palasava village of Rapar taluk in Kutch, Gujarat.
  
  
• Overall, the fossil finds from Palasava suggest that a rich diversity of fauna and flora sustained in warm, humid/wet, tropical to sub-tropical environmental conditions during the Middle Miocene (about 14 Mya).
  
  
• Geological changes eventually closed off the salt-flats’ connection to the sea and the region turned into a large lake, eventually becoming salty wetlands.
  
  

Significance:

• The findings showed Kutch to be a potential treasure trove of mammal fossils with possible continuity to vertebrate fossils in the Siwalik, spanning Pakistan to Nepal.
  
  
• The findings point to clues on how mammals dispersed between Africa and the Indian subcontinent when part of India was in the Gondwanaland supercontinent that existed nearly 300 million years ago.
  
  

Cabinet Secretariat: 

• Administration: 
  • The Cabinet Secretariat functions directly under the Prime Minister. 
    
    
  • The administrative head of the Secretariat is the Cabinet Secretary who is also the ex-officio Chairman of the Civil Services Board. 
    
    
  
  
  
• The business allocated to Cabinet Secretariat under Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 includes: (i) Secretarial assistance to the Cabinet and Cabinet Committees; and (ii) Rules of Business. 
  
  
• Functions: 
  • The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961 and Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 facilitating smooth transaction of business in Ministries/ Departments. 
    
    
  • The Secretariat assists in decision-making in Government by ensuring Inter-Ministerial coordination, ironing out differences amongst Ministries/Departments and evolving consensus. 
    
    
  • Management of major crisis situations in the country is also one of the functions of the Cabinet Secretariat. 
    
    
  
  
  

Key findings: 

• Although Tigers are listed in Appendix I of CITES, which bans all commercial international trade for member countries, recent years have revealed an increase in tiger captive breeding to fuel demand for various tiger products.
  
  
• Overall, 2,359 tigers were seized from 2000 to 2018 across 32 countries and territories globally. These occurred from a total of 1,142 seizure incidents.
  
  
• Apart from live tigers and whole carcasses, tiger parts were seized in various forms such as skin, bones or claws.
  
  
• On average, 60 seizures were recorded annually, accounting for almost 124 tigers seized each year.
  
  
• The top three countries with the highest number of seizure incidents were India, followed by China and Indonesia.
  
  
• India is the country with the highest number of seizure incidents (463, or 40% of all seizures) as well as tigers seized (625).
  
  
• In terms of various body parts seized, India had the highest share among countries for tiger skins (38%), bones (28%) and claws and teeth (42%).
  
  

About: 

• Objective of Index: Incentivise rooftop solar by creating healthy competition among the States.
  
  
• Bodies involved: SARAL has been designed collaboratively by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF), Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and Ernst & Young (EY).
  
  
• Methodology: The Index evaluates Indian states based on their attractiveness for rooftop development. SARAL currently captures five key aspects –
  • Robustness of policy framework
    
    
  • Implementation environment
    
    
  • Investment climate
    
    
  • Consumer experience
    
    
  • Business ecosystem
    
    
  
  
  
• Rankings: Karnataka has been placed at the first rank in the Index. Telangana, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have got 2nd, 3rd and 4th rank respectively.
  
  

About: 

• Full name: National Mission to improve Learning Outcomes at the Elementary level (NISHTHA). 
  
  
• What is it? NISHTHA is the world’s largest teachers’ training programme of its kind in the world. 
  
  
• Objective: To motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students. 
  
  
• Features: Under it, teachers will develop their skills on various aspects related to Learning Outcomes, School Safety and Security, ICT in teaching-learning including Artificial Intelligence, Environmental Concerns and School Based Assessment in a joyful learning manner. 
  
  
• Coverage: It aims to build the capacities of around 42 lakh participants covering all teachers and Heads of Schools at the elementary level in all Government schools, faculty members of SCERTs, DIETs as well as Block Resource Coordinators and Cluster Resource Coordinators in all States/UTs. 
  
  
• Strategy: Training will be conducted directly by 33120 Key Resource Persons (KRPs) and State Resource Persons (SRP) identified by the State and UTs, who will in turn be trained by 120 National Resource Persons identified from NCERT, NIEPA, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), CBSE and NGO. 
  
  

Location: 

• The team of ASI took up an intensive survey in the region between Chandur Bazar to Dariyapur of Purna basin at Phupgaon, Amravati district of Maharashtra. 
  
  
• The site is situated in the vast meander of the river Purna, a major tributary of Tapi, which used to be a perennial river, but at present is completely dried-up due to the dam construction in the upper stream. 
  
  

Findings:  

• A total of 9 trenches were taken for excavations, which brought to light the house remains and other associated features like hearth, post-holes and artefacts.
  
  
• The excavation also exposed antiquities like beads of agate-carnelian, jasper, quartz and agate were collected in large quantity. Iron, Copper objects have also been collected from all the trenches. Large quantity of graffiti marks had been observed on the potsherds.
  
  
• Chronologically, the site could be placed between 7th C BCE and 4th C BCE.
  
  

Significance:

• The excavation indicates the presence of sedentary (permanent) settlement, belonging to the Iron Age of Vidarbha.
  
  
• The finding from Phupgaon indicates its contemporaneity with other Iron Age settlements of Vidarbha like Naikund, Mahurjhari, Bhagimori and Thakalkat.