India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021 was released by the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change. ISFR is a biennial (every two years) report on India’s forest and tree cover prepared by the Forest Survey of India (FSI). The ISFR 2021 is the 17thedition in the series since 1987. This is the increase recorded during 2019 and 2021. The last such report was published in 2019. The ISFR-2021 provides information on forest cover, tree cover, mangrove cover, growing stock, carbon stock in India’s ...
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An extended range sea-to-sea variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was test fired from the recently commissioned stealth guided missile destroyer INS Visakhapatnam. New features This version of the missile has been designed to launch either in a vertical or a horizontal mode from moving/stationary assets to target both land and sea targets. The missiles,fired at a speed of 8 Mach or nearly three times the speed of sound, significantly increase the capability of the ships in engaging long-range targets. Brahmos BrahMos is a joint collaboration between India and ...
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IndianOil, an Indian government corporation, has committed to support the National TB elimination Program (NTEP) in India by providing an enabling environment through integrated and prioritised intervention with City Coordination Committees, District Health Societies, Technical support groups, etc., under its Corporate Social Responsibility programme. CSR Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a business philosophy that dictates that companies around the globe should deviate from the narrow path of chasing only financial gains and wealth buildup and embark on a journey of sustainable development.  It includes community ...
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An electoral bond is designed to be an interest-free bearer instrument like a Promissory Note — in effect, it will be similar to a bank note that is payable to the bearer on demand. It can be purchased by any citizen of India or a body incorporated in India. A person being an individual can buy Electoral Bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals. The electoral bonds were announced in the 2017 Union Budget. The bonds will be issued in multiples of ₹1,000, ₹10,000, ₹1 lakh, ...
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President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021. The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 was recently passed by the Parliament. The Act defines surrogacy as a practice where a woman gives birth to a child for an intending couple with the intention to hand over the child after the birth to the intending couple. Highlights of the Act  The Act prohibits commercial surrogacy, but allows altruistic surrogacy. Altruistic surrogacy involves no monetary compensation to the surrogate mother other than the ...
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Recently, the heads of the world’s major economies—the Group of 20 (G20) nations has approved a new global minimum corporate tax. The deal, announced at the G20 summit in Rome, Italy, is “historic” since this is the first time nearly all nations have agreed to such a system. The New Bare Minimum G20 and G77, which represent a majority of the world’s nations and nearly the entire global economy, have approved a global minimum corporate tax that, OECD estimates, covers 90% of the global economy. The new Global ...
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NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope was launched, opening a new era of astronomy. The telescope is an international collaboration led by NASA in partnership with the European and Canadian space agencies.  About the telescope The Webb telescope willreach its destination in solar orbit about 1.6 million km from Earth — about four times farther away than the moon. And Webb’s special orbital path will keep it in constant alignment with the Earth as the planet and telescope circle the sun in tandem. By comparison, Webb’s 30-year-old ...
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Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai informed the Centre that the state is opposed to the Kasturirangan Committee report on Western Ghats. Western Ghats The Western Ghats is spread across the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight "hottest hot-spots" of biological diversity in the world. It hosts properties including national parks, wildlife sanctuaries ,world heritage sites, etc. It has over 7,402 species of flowering plants, 1,814 ...
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The Parliament has passed the Dam Safety Bill.  While it was passed by the Lok Sabha in August 2019, it was cleared by Rajya Sabha recently. The Bill proposes to help all states and Union Territories adopt uniform dam safety procedures. It provides for the surveillance, inspection, operation, and maintenance of all specified dams across the country. These are dams with height more than 15 metres, or height between 10 metres to 15 metres with certain design and structural conditions. As of 2019, India has 5,745 ...
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नागालैंड में कथित गलत पहचान के मामले में सुरक्षा बलों द्वारा हाल ही में नागरिकों की हत्या ने सशस्त्र बल विशेष अधिकार अधिनियम (AFSPA) पर एक बार फिर से बहस छेड़ दी है। हाल का मुद्दा नागालैंड के मोन जिले के तिरु और ओटिंग गांव के बीच के एक इलाके में सुरक्षा बलों ने एक कोयला खदान में काम करने वाले छह नागरिकों की हत्या कर दी। इस घटना से उस क्षेत्र में हिंसा भड़क उठी जिसमें सुरक्षा बलों द्वारा ...
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