Archives: Current Affair

Why in News ?  The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has begun the process of formulating a National Agriculture Code (NAC), on the lines of the existing National Building Code and National Electrical Code. What is the National Agriculture Code? The BIS is the national body which sets standards for different products across various economic […]

Snow algae are microscopic algae that thrive in cold, snowy environments, typically in polar regions like Antarctica and the high-altitude areas of the Himalayas and the Alps. They are known for giving snow a distinctive green, red, or orange tint, which occurs during the warmer months when snow starts to melt. Snow algae are an […]

Why in News ?  :There has been a steep 73% decline in the average size of monitored wildlife populations*in just 50 years (1970-2020), according to WWF’s Living Planet Report (LPR) 2024. The Living Planet Index (LPI), provided by ZSL (Zoological Society of London), includes almost 35,000 population trends of 5,495 species from 1970-2020. Key Findings […]

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2024 was awarded to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton “for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.” John Hopfield created an associative memory that can store and reconstruct images and other types of patterns in data. Geoffrey Hinton invented a method that can […]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will   attend the 21st ASEAN-India and the 19th East Asia Summits in Laos. The annual events are crucial as they are being held against the backdrop of fast developments in Myanmar where ethnic armed organisations are battling the military junta of the country, creating hurdles for regional connectivity and security plans. […]

Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA), also referred to as Nature-based Solutions (NbS), is an approach to climate change adaptation that uses biodiversity and ecosystem services to help communities reduce their vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. It focuses on the sustainable management, conservation, and restoration of ecosystems to strengthen resilience and enhance the adaptive capacity of […]

A die-off of coral reefs refers to the large-scale death or severe decline of coral reef ecosystems, often resulting in the loss of coral species and the collapse of the intricate marine biodiversity that depends on them. Coral reefs, which are formed by colonies of living corals, are highly sensitive to changes in their environment, […]

The terms “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) and “Special Watch List” (SWL) are designations used by the United States government, specifically by the U.S. Department of State, in relation to religious freedom violations. These designations are part of the broader framework established by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998, aimed at promoting religious […]

The GDC is a diplomatic instrument which focuses on the potential of digital technologies, with the specific intention to harness and regulate them for the common good. The GDC rests on the idea that digital technologies are dramatically changing our world. In the recently concluded ‘Summit of the Future’ organised by the United Nations, member […]

What does USCIRF report say about India? What is the mandate of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom? How does the UNSCIRF designate a country as a ‘Country of Particular concern’? How has the Indian government reacted to the report? The Washington DC-based United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on October […]