About:

• At the same time the majority in each of the major religious groups show a marked preference for religious segregation and “want to live separately”, according to a nation-wide survey on religious attitudes, behaviours and beliefs conducted by Pew Research Center, a non-profit based in Washington DC.
  
  
• For instance, the report found that 91% of Hindus felt they have religious freedom, while 85% of them believed that respecting all religions was very important ‘to being truly Indian’.
  
  
• Also, for most Hindus, religious tolerance was not just a civic virtue but also a religious value, with 80% of them stating that respecting other religions was an integral aspect of ‘being Hindu’.
  
  
• Other religions showed similar numbers for freedom of religion and religious tolerance.
  
  
• While 89% of Muslims and Christians said they felt free to practice their religion, the comparative figures for Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains were 82%, 93%, and 85% respectively.
  
  
• Also, Hindu nationalist sentiments were less prevalent in the South. Among Hindus, those in the South (42%) were far less likely to say that being Hindu was very important to being truly Indian.
  
  

About:

• Iran’s 13th presidential elections were recently held.
  
  
• As per rules, the president should be a Shiite Muslim. Over 90 per cent of Iran’s population is comprised of Shiite Muslims.
  
  

Who is Raisi?

• Raisi first came to prominence when he became the Prosecutor General of Karaj in 1980, when he became the Prosecutor of Tehran and the First Deputy to the Head of Judiciary from 2004 to 2014 after which he became the Prosecutor General of Iran from 2014 to 2016.
  
  
• In 2019, Raisi was appointed the head of Iran’s judiciary, an appointment that sparked concerns because of his involvement in the mass executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 after the Iran-Iraq war.
  
  
• Amnesty International has identified Raisi as a member of the “death commission” that carried out “enforced disappearance and extrajudicial executions of several thousand political dissidents in Evin and Gohardasht prisons near Tehran between late July and early September 1988. Victims’ bodies were mostly buried in unmarked mass graves.”
  
  
• Raisi also has ties to the paramilitary group Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
  
  

About:

• The Ministry of Tourism has the main objective of promoting and facilitating tourism both inbound and domestic in India.
  
  
• Ministry of Tourism has recognized the immense potential of Rural Tourism and has been actively working on promotion and development of this niche area of tourism.
  
  
• Identification, diversification, development, and promotion of niche tourism products in the country is the initiative of the Ministry to overcome the aspect of ‘seasonality’ and to promote India as a 365 days’ destination, to attract tourists with specific interest, and to ensure repeat visits for the unique products in which India has a comparative advantage.
  
  

About:

• Medical Tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism or global healthcare) is a term used to describe the rapidly growing practice of travelling across international borders to obtain healthcare.
  
  
• Healthcare and Tourism are the fastest growing industries in the world. Medical Value Travel (MVT) is being promoted as a fusion product of these industries.
  
  
• Services typically sought by travellers include elective procedures as well as complex specialized surgeries such as joint replacement (knee/ hip), cardiac surgery, dental surgery, and cosmetic surgeries.
  
  
• The Key drivers for growth of Medical Tourism and wellness tourism are mainly affordability and accessibility of good healthcare services, facilitation around hospitality services, minimal waiting time, availability of latest medical technologies and accreditations.
  
  

What is it?

• ‘Sea snot’ is marine mucilage, which floats up on the surface of the sea like a brown phlegm.
  
  
• This thick slimy layer of organic matter looks like a viscous, brown and foamy substance.
  
  

Formation

• It is formed when algae are overloaded with nutrients as a result of water pollution combined with the effects of climate change.
  
  
• The nutrient overload occurs when algae feast on warm weather caused by global warming. Water pollution adds to the problem.
  
  
• Overproduction of phytoplankton caused by climate change/rising temperatures and the uncontrolled dumping of household and industrial waste into the seas has led to the present crisis in turkey.
  
  

About:

• The Toycathon 2021 was organized jointly by Ministry of Education in coordination with five other Ministries viz: Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Ministry of Commerce &Industry, Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises, and Ministry of Textiles.
  
  
• This inter-ministerial Toycathon focuses on conceptualizing new and innovative toys using local materials which are economical, affordable, safe, environment friendly, with exceptional high quality for both Indian and global markets.
  
  
• The Toycathon is based on nine themes viz. Indian Culture, History, Knowledge of India and Ethos; Learning, Education and Schooling; Social and human values; Occupations & specific fields; Environment; Divyang ; Fitness and sport; Out of the box, creative and logical thinking and Rediscovering/redesigning traditional Indian toys
  
  
• The Toycathon will have 3 variants of tracks of Junior Level, Senior Level and Start up Level and will allow participation of students and teachers from schools, colleges and universities apart from startups and toy experts.
  
  

About:

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is the second leading cause of death globally, with approximately 70% cancer cases occurring in low and middle-income countries.
  
  
• India’s cancer scenario is burdened with oral cavity cancer being the most common among men. In fact, India accounted for almost a third of the global incidence in 2020.
  
  
• As per the GLOBOCAN statistics, the rate of new cases being diagnosed has increased by a staggering 68% in the past two decades alone.
  
  
• As per the GLOBOCAN statistics, the rate of new cases being diagnosed has increased by a staggering 68% in the past two decades alone
  
  
• the unit cost of treating advanced stages (Rs. 2,02,892/- ) was found to be 42% greater than early stages (Rs. 1,17,135/-).
  
  
• Medical equipment accounted for 97.8% of capital costs, with the highest contributor being the radiology services that included CT, MRI and PET scan.
  
  
• India spent approximately Rs. 2,386 crores in 2020 on oral cancer treatment, paid for by insurance schemes, government and private sector spending, out of pocket payments and charitable donations or a combination of these.
  
  
• Without any inflation in costs, this will result in an economic burden on the country of 23,724 crores over the next ten years.
  
  

Working:

• A desalination plant turns salt water into water that is fit to drink.
  
  
• The most commonly used technology used for the process is reverse osmosis where an external pressure is applied to push solvents from an area of high-solute concentration to an area of low-solute concentration through a membrane.
  
  
• The microscopic pores in the membranes allow water molecules through but leave salt and most other impurities behind, releasing clean water from the other side.
  
  

Challenges:

• Desalination is an expensive way of generating drinking water as it requires a high amount of energy.
  
  
• The other problem is the disposal of the by-product — highly concentrated brine — of the desalination process. While in most places brine is pumped back into the sea, there have been rising complaints that it ends up severely damaging the local ecology around the plant.
  
  

Global and Indian scenario:

• Worldwide, desalination is seen as one possible answer to stave off water crisis. These plants are mostly set up in areas that have access to sea water.
  
  
• Desalination has largely been limited to affluent countries in the Middle East and has recently started making inroads in parts of the United States and Australia.
  
  
• In India, Tamil Nadu has been the pioneer in using this technology, setting up two desalination plants near Chennai in 2010 and then 2013.
  
  
• The other states that have proposed these plants are Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
  
  
• In November 2020, Maharashtra announced the setting up of a desalination plant in Mumbai, becoming the fourth state in the country to experiment with the idea. 
  
  

About:

• She announced a relief package of Rs 6,28,993 crore to support Indian economy in fight against COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 17 measures amounting to Rs. 6,28,993 crore were announced.
  
  
• These included two measures announced earlier, i.e. the additional Subsidy for DAP & P&K fertilizers, and extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) from May to November, 2021.
  
  
• She announced Rs. 1.1 lakh crore Loan Guarantee Scheme for COVID affected sectors. Of them Rs. 50 thousand crore will be for health sector. The scheme is aimed at upscaling medical infrastructure targetting unreserved areas.
  
  
• She also announced Rs. 1.5 lakh crore for Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, ECLGS which was launched as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat Package in May, 2020.
  
  
• She announced Creadit Guarantee Scheme which is a new scheme to facilitate loans to 25 lakh people through Micro Finance Institutions, MFI.
  
  
• The guarantee will be provided to Scheduled Commercial Banks for loans to new or existing NBFC- MFIs for on lending upto Rs. 1.25 lakh to about 25 lakh to small borrowers. 
  
  

About:

• NTPC has set a target to install 60 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2032. India’s largest power producer is also aiming at 10% reduction in net energy intensity by 2032.
  
  
• NTPC is among the few organisations globally to declare its Energy Compact goals.
  
  
• Further, NTPC has declared that it will form at least 2 international alliances/groups to facilitate clean energy research and promote sustainability in energy value chain by 2025.
  
  

What are Variants of Interest (VoI) and Variants of Concern (VoC)?

• When the mutations happen – if there is any previous association with any other similar variant which is felt to have an impact on public health – then it becomes a Variant under Investigation.
  
  
• Once genetic markers are identified which can have association with receptor binding domain or which have an implication on antibodies or neutralizing assays, we start calling them as Variants of Interest.
  
  
• The moment we get evidence for increased transmission through field-site and clinical correlations, it becomes a Variant of Concern.
  
  

Variants of concern are those that have one or more of the following characteristics:

• Increased transmissibility
  
  
• Change in virulence/ disease presentation
  
  
• Evading the diagnostics, drugs and vaccines
  
  
• The 1st Variant of Concern was announced by the UK where it was found. Currently there are four variants of concern identified by the scientists - Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. 
  
  

About:

• He inaugurated a 50-metre-long bridge constructed on the Leh-Loma Road in Ladakh. The Leh-Loma Road, which connects Leh with places such as Chumathang, Hanley and Tso Morori Lake, is vital for access to forward areas in Eastern Ladakh.
  
  
• In addition, Shri Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated 62 more bridges – 11 in Ladakh, four in Jammu & Kashmir, three in Himachal Pradesh, six in Uttarakhand, eight in Sikkim, one each in Nagaland and Manipur and 29 in Arunachal Pradesh.
  
  
• With the inauguration of 63 bridges in one go, BRO has surpassed its own record of 44 bridges launched in 2020.
  
  
• These 63 bridges, combined with 12 roads dedicated to the nation by Shri Rajnath Singh on June 17, 2021, form a bouquet of 75 infrastructure projects completed by BRO, when the nation is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its Independence. 
  
  

About:

• The ‘Agni Prime’ is the advanced version of the ‘Agni-1’ missile.
  
  
• The ‘Agni Prime’ is a short-range ballistic missile that will have a range of 1000 km to 1500 km and will have advanced features in agility and road mobility. It is a surface to a surface missile that can carry a payload of around 1,000 Kg or a nuclear warhead.
  
  
• The double stage missile will be lighter and much sleeker than its predecessor ‘Agni-1’.
  
  
• It is a canisterised missile. Canisterisation of missiles reduces the time required to launch the missile while improving its storage and mobility.
  
  
• The Agni class of missiles are the mainstay of India’s nuclear launch capability which also includes the Prithvi short-range ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles and fighter aircraft. 
  
  

About:

• The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi has bagged 23rd position, while AFMC Pune has bagged 34th rank, followed by CMC Vellore (49), JIPMER Pondicherry (59), Medical College Chennai (64), and IMS BHU Varanasi (72).
  
  

Toppers

• The US-based Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine ranked first with the highest score of 99.06, followed by Harvard Medical School, Perelman School of Medicine, and NYU Grossman School of Medicine. 
  
  

About:

• Rock phosphates or phosphorites are sedimentary phosphatic deposits comprising fine-grained mixture of various calcium phosphates, most important being hydroxylapatite, carbonateapatite, fluorapatite and their solid solutions.
  
  
• About 80% phosphate production in the world is derived from phosphate rocks (phosphorite)
  
  
• Rock Phosphate is the key raw material for DAP and NPK fertilisers and India is 90% dependent on imports.
  
  
• Of the total reserves/resources, 34% are in Jharkhand, 31% in Rajasthan, 19% in Madhya Pradesh, 8% in Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand each , respectively. Meagre quantities of resources are also located in Gujarat and Meghalaya. 
  
  

About:

• Bankim Chandra Chatterjee or Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (1838 – 1894) was an Indian novelist, poet and journalist.
  
  
• He is known as Sahitya Samrat (Emperor of Literature) in Bengali. He wrote fourteen novels and many serious, serio-comic, satirical, scientific and critical treatises in Bengali.
  
  
• He also received the title of Rai Bahadur in 1891.
  
  
• One of his brothers, Sanjib Chandra Chattopadhyay was also a novelist and is known for his book "Palamau". 
  
  

About:

• Baccaurea motleyana is a species of fruit tree which grows wild in parts of Southeast Asia.
  
  
• Its common names include rambai and rambi, and in Thai language mafai-farang. In the Bengali language the fruit is known as bugi and Narsingdi.
  
  
• In the Assamese language it is known as leteku.
  
  
• Each fruit has velvety pinkish, yellow, or brown skin which wrinkles at ripening and is filled with whitish pulp containing 3 to 5 seeds. The pulp is sweet to acid in taste.
  
  
• Leteku contains vitamin C and Iron.
  
  

About:

• Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (1921 –2004) was a politician who served as the 9th Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He also became the Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh in 1971.
  
  
• Father of Economic reforms: He sought to dismantle the License Raj system, reduce red tape and make Indian industries more competitive. He laid the foundation for trade liberalization and re-integration of Indian economy with the global economy, especially East Asian economies.
  
  
• Foreign policy: Among his bold moves in foreign policy were establishing diplomatic relations with Israel and reversing decades of frosty relations between India and the United States by bringing them together. He also launched the Look East policy.
  
  
• Father of Indian nuclear Program: He energised the national nuclear security and ballistic missiles program, which ultimately resulted in the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests by Vajpayee-led NDA government (the tests were planned in 1996 but they were not carried out as government at centre got changed due to 1996 general election).
  
  
• National Security: He was also fairly successful in controlling the separatist movements in Punjab and Kashmir.
  
  
• Local governance: The path-breaking 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments empowering local bodies during Narasimha Rao’s tenure as the Prime Minister are worthy of mentioning.
  
  

About:

• No person shall be qualified for appointment to the service unless the person is a resident of the UT of Ladakh.
  
  
• The new recruitment rules are mentioned in the Clause 11 of the Union Territory of Ladakh Employment (Subordinate) Service Recruitment Rules, 2021.
  
  
• The move has met a long-pending demand of the people of Ladakh, after it was carved out as a UT on August 5, 2019.
  
  
• The population of Ladakh, which comprises the districts of Leh and Kargil, is around 2.8 lakh as per the last census.
  
  
• Last year, J&K introduced the domicile certificate as eligibility criteria for appointment to government services.
  
  

PMAY- U Awards 2021 - 100 Days Challenge

• In addition, ‘PMAY- U Awards 2021 - 100 Days Challenge’ was also launched by Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) .
  
  
• The awards are given to recognize and celebrate the outstanding performances by States, Union Territories (UTs), Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and beneficiaries for successful implementation of the Mission.
  
  

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (URBAN)

• Implementation period: The Mission will be implemented during 2015-2022.
  
  
• Mission: To achieve the goal of Housing for All in Urban areas by 2022, when the Nation completes 75 years of its Independence.
  
  
• Features: Under it, central assistance will be provided to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and other implementing agencies through States/UTs for:
  • In-situ Rehabilitation of existing slum dwellers using land as a resource through private participation
    
    
  • Credit Linked Subsidy
    
    
  • Affordable Housing in Partnership
    
    
  • Subsidy for Beneficiary-led individual house construction/enhancement.
    
    
  
  
  
• Funding: Credit linked subsidy component will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme while other three components will be implemented as Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS).
  
  
• Eligibility: All statutory towns as per Census 2011 and towns notified subsequently would be eligible for coverage under the Mission.
  
  

About:

• To support the growth of the Defence sector and enhance manufacturing capacity in the sector, Two Defence Industrial Corridors are being set up in India, one in Uttar Pradesh and another in Tamil Nadu.
  
  
• Promoting Make in India, the Defence Industrial Corridors will catalyse indigenous production of defence and aerospace-related items. This will reduce our imports and promote the export of these items to other countries.
  
  
• Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor consists of the following six nodal points with the potential to develop defence industries in the corridor: Agra, Aligarh, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Kanpur and Lucknow.
  
  
• The Tamil Nadu Defence Corridor, being set up by the Government of Tamil Nadu, consists of the following five nodal points: Chennai, Coimbatore, Hosur, Salem and Tiruchirappalli
  
  

About:

• It has commissioned Monopole-I of the 2000 Mega-Watt (MW), Pugalur (Tamil Nadu) – Thrissur (Kerala) Voltage Source Convertor (VSC) based High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) System.
  
  
• This Project strengthens the power system of Southern Region of our Country.
  
  
• Monopole-II of the project was inaugurated by PM Modi in February, 2021 and with the commissioning of Monopole-I, the project has attained its full capacity.
  
  
• The Pugalur-Thrissur HVDC system, costing Rs. 5070 crore, is a part of the Raigarh-Pugalur-Thrissur 6000 MW HVDC system and enables transfer of 2000 MW to Kerala through the VSC HVDC station at Thrissur.
  
  

About:

• A comprehensive initiative, PM e-VIDYA was launched on 17th May 2020, with an aim to unify all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education.
  
  
• The programme interalia envisages development of special e-content for the Divyang (Children with Disabilities-CwDs).
  
  
• For the first time, an attempt was made to prepare guidelines for CwD also referred to as Children with Special Needs (CWSN) children so that the goal of inclusive education is fulfilled. 
  
  

About:

• It is a unique competition calling upon start-ups /entrepreneurs and students of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to develop innovative solutions to mitigate plastic pollution and develop alternatives to single use plastics.
  
  

Steps in India

• PM Modi gave a clarion call to phase out single use plastics by 2022
  
  
• Government of India has already banned import of plastic waste in the country.
  
  
• Ministry of Environment brought out Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, for handling plastic waste in an environmentally sound manner. Under the rules plastic carry bags below 50 microns have been banned.
  
  
• Further, the Ministry has issued a draft notification in March 2021 for amending the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, with respect to prohibiting identified 12 single use plastic items such as disposable plastic cutlery etc.”
  
  

About:

• Ministry should upload the details of the NGOs on its website within eight weeks and revise the information periodically. Any person who faced an issue because he/she/they belonged to the LGBTQIA+ community could approach any of the enlisted NGOs for safeguarding their rights.
  
  
• NGOs should also coordinate with the police with respect to offences committed against them.
  
  
• Appropriate changes should be made to the existing government short stay homes, anganwadi shelters, Garima Greh (shelter home for transgender persons) for providing accommodation, food, medical care facilities to those from the community in need of such assistance.
  
  
• Sensitisation programmes could also be conducted for stakeholders, including police and prison authorities, judges, physical and mental health professionals, educational institutions, health workers, public and private workplaces.
  
  
• LGBTQIA+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and such others’ (LGBTQIA+) community.
  
  

About:

• The researchers note that the cranium (the portion that encloses the brain) could be over 146,000 years old. The skull was found in the Songhua river in north-east China’s Harbin city.
  
  
• The cranium found in China has been dubbed the “Dragon Man” or Homo longi, a name that has been derived from the Long Jiang or Dragon river in the Heilongjiang province of China where the city of Harbin is located.
  
  
• Because of the distinctive shape of the skull, which was found almost complete, some members of the team have suggested that it be declared a part of a new species of the genus Homo.
  
  

Nesher Ramla Homo

• Researchers in Israel, also identified a previously unknown kind of ancient human called “Nesher Ramla Homo” that co-existed with Homo sapiens nearly 100,000 years ago when several species of humans co-existed in Asia, Europe and Africa.
  
  
• These include Homo sapiens, the Neanderthals, and the Denisovans. 
  
  

About:

• Snana Yatra is a ceremonial grand shower festival celebrated on the Purnima (full moon day) of the Hindu month of Jyeshtha.
  
  
• This is the first occasion in the year as per the Hindu calendar, when the deities Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra, Sudarshan, and Madanmohan are brought out from the Jagannath Temple (Puri) and taken in a procession to the Snana Mandap inside the temple premises.
  
  
• They are ceremonially bathed in 108 pots of ritually purified water and decorated for a public audience.
  
  
• In the evening, at the conclusion of the bathing ritual, Jagannath and Balabhadra are dressed up in elephant headgear representing the God Ganesh. This form of the God is called the ‘Gajavesha’.
  
  
• After the Snana Yatra the Gods are traditionally believed to fall ill and are kept in a sick room to recuperate in privacy under the care of the Raj Vaidya. With the Ayurvedic medication administered by the Raj Vaidya, the Gods recover in a fortnight. 
  
  

About:

• By resolution 42/112 of 7 December 1987, the General Assembly decided to observe 26 June as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
  
  
• The date June 26 is to commemorate Lin Zexu's dismantling of the opium trade in Humen, Guangdong, ending in June 25 1839, just before the First Opium War in China.
  
  
• This global observance aims to raise awareness of the major problem that illicit drugs represent to society.
  
  
• The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is the nodal agency for observing this day.
  
  
• The theme of the 2021 day is Share Facts On Drugs, Save Lives which aims at combating misinformation and promotes sharing the facts on drugs — from health risks and solutions to tackle the world drug problem, to evidence-based prevention, treatment, and care.
  
  

Announcements made:

• The government said that many taxpayers have received financial help from their employers and well-wishers to meet the cost of treatment of Covid-19. It has declared that there will be no tax liability on such amounts.
  
  
• No tax on ex-gratia payment received on account of the family member of the deceased employee due to Covid. Financial help received from relatives and friends will also not attract any tax till the total amount reaches Rs 10 lakh.
  
  
• Many people were facing discrepancies in linking their PAN with Aadhaar on the new income tax e-filing portal, therefore, the government has now extended this date from 30 June 2021 to 30 September 2021.
  
  
• The deadline for payment (without additional amount) under Vivad Se Vishwas scheme has been extended till August 31 while the last payment date with additional amount has been extended till October 31.
  
  
• Tax compliance deadline extended to save capital gains tax. Tax compliance time falling between 1st April 2021 and 29th September 2021 for making an investment, acquisition, deposit, payment, purchase, construction or such other action to save tax under the provisions contained in sections 54 to 54 GB of the Income-tax Act has been extended till 30 September 2021.
  
  

About:

• The escape system has been designed for the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and Trainer Aircraft, HJT-36 Aircraft and HTT-40 Aircraft.
  
  
• All modern aircraft are equipped with a Canopy Severance System (CSS) for a safe passage by pre-weakening/severing the canopy to facilitate the smooth escape of the pilot in a swift manner.
  
  
• The Canopy Severance System (CSS) is a life-saving device that helps in the safe ejection of a fighter aircraft pilot in a time of distress.
  
  

About:

• DRDO has initiated the ground trials of SWiFT, 1-ton All Up Weight (AUW) Technological Demonstrator for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Stealth Bomber).
  
  
• The trials will be conducted on the first assembled prototype, which will be involved in a series of a low, medium, and high-speed taxi testing to fathom aircraft’s performance and instrumentation by a ground control station to ascertain the functionality of the unmanned vehicle when it reaches a high speed.
  
  
• SWiFT has been powered by an NPO Saturn 36MT turbofan engine, which is manufactured by NPO Saturn Russia, for powering advanced trainers, light attack aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) that will be later replaced by Gas Turbine Research Establishment’s (GTRE) Small Turbo Fan Engine (STFE).
  
  
• SWiFt is an advanced technology project, which prepares the Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) which enables consistent, uniform discussions of technical maturity across different types of technology.
  
  
• Additionally, SWift’s validated technologies will be used in India’s Ghatak stealth flying wing combat drone-powered. 
  
  

About:

• The ‘Agni Prime’ is the advanced version of the ‘Agni-1’ missile.
  
  
• The ‘Agni Prime’ is a short-range ballistic missile that will have a range of 1000 km to 1500 km and will have advanced features in agility and road mobility.
  
  
• It is a surface to a surface missile that can carry a payload of around 1,000 Kg or a nuclear warhead.
  
  
• The double stage missile will be lighter and much sleeker than its predecessor ‘Agni-1’.
  
  

About:

• While major economies like the USA, Singapore, Germany, Brazil, Canada, UAE have seen a negative trend. India has seen a growth of 25 per cent in 2020 as compared to 2019.
  
  
• India is the fifth-largest recipient of FDI inflows in the world in the year 2019-20. It comes at a time when global FDI inflows have been badly hit by Covid-19, which declined to $1 trillion in 2020-21 from $1.5 trillion a year ago.
  
  
• Despite the disruption caused by the outbreak of the pandemic last year, India attracted the highest ever FDI inflow of $81.72 billion in the entire financial year 2020-21. The total FDI inflows in 2019-20 stood at $74.39 billion.
  
  
• India had attracted a total foreign direct investment (FDI) of $6.24 billion in April 2021, up 38 per cent year-on-year, according to data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
  
  

About:

• The three basic components of Indian defence forces are the army, navy and air force, each with its unique fighting profile, separate heads and multiple commands that are vertically split in terms of their command structure.
  
  
• The Indian Army and Indian Air Force have seven commands each while the Indian Navy has three commands.
  
  
• These commands are scattered across the nation and don’t coincide geographically.
  
  
• The proposed four theatre commands: air defence, maritime, integrated eastern and integrated western theatre commands, will promote ‘jointness’ among the three branches of the armed forces.
  
  
• It will ensure increased coordination to boost the overall fighting capabilities of the Indian armed forces, create capacities to adapt to the requirements of hybrid warfare along with seamless command centres to meet future challenges. 
  
  

About:

• The guidelines will be effective for the declaration of dividend from the profits of the financial year ending March 31, 2022, and onwards.
  
  
• NPA ratio should be less than 6% for dividend declaration
  
  
• The guidelines will be applicable to NFBCs regulated by RBI. As per the prescribed minimum prudential requirements for declaration of dividend, the net NPA ratio of the concerned NBFC should be less than 6 per cent in each of the last three years, including the end of the financial year for which the dividend is proposed to be declared.
  
  
• Also, NBFCs should meet the applicable regulatory capital requirement for each of the last three financial years, including the financial year for which the dividend is proposed. The guidelines prescribe a ceiling on the dividend payout ratio for NBFCs.