Pet coke

 Source: Economic Times    Context: The government permitted the import of Needle pet coke for making graphite anode material for lithium-ion batteries as a feedstock and not for any other purposes. Import of pet coke for fuel purposes is completely banned.   However, the sulphur content in the NPC should be less than 0.8 per …

Govt bans 14 fixed-dose combination drugs

Facts For Prelims:  Source: Firstpost   Context: The government has banned 14 fixed-dose combination drugs citing there is “no therapeutic justification” for these medicines and that they may involve “risk” to people. The decision was taken on the basis of the recommendations of an expert committee and the Drugs Technical Advisory Board. Prohibit the manufacture, …

Higgs boson decay

GS Paper 3  Syllabus: Science and Technology   Source: TH  Context: Physicists working with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle-smasher at CERN, reported that they had detected a Higgs boson decaying into a Z boson particle and a photon which is a very rare decay process.    About Higgs Boson: The Higgs boson is a …

Sal seeds

 Source: DTE  Context: The government-owned Tribal Development Co-operative Corporation of Odisha Ltd (TDCCOL) decided to procure sal seeds (Shorea robusta) from nine Odisha districts.   The move, which comes after a gap of three years, intends to arrest the distress sale of the minor forest produce (MFP).    About Sal Trees: The sal tree is native …

Oil reserves in salt caverns

GS Paper 3 Syllabus: Economy   Source: IE Context: Government-owned engineering consultancy firm Engineers India (EIL) is studying the prospects and feasibility of developing salt cavern-based strategic oil reserves in Rajasthan. This is in line with the government’s objective of increasing the country’s strategic oil storage capacity. The country’s three existing strategic oil storage facilities …

MH60R helicopter

Facts for Prelims (FFP)   Source: TOI  Context: The Indian Navy achieved another unique feat after an MH-60 ‘Romeo’ multi-mission helicopter landed on the indigenously-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. Manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corporation is an all-weather helicopter designed to support multiple missions with state-of-the-art avionics and sensors.  About MH60R: MH60R helicopter is a versatile platform …

Smart bandage

Facts for Prelims (FFP) Source: TH  Context: A new ‘smart bandage’ helps in treating chronic wounds in a much more effective manner.   What is a smart bandage? The bandage works by using biosensors to track the chemical composition of the wound exudates, which changes as the wound heals. It also monitors pH and temperature to …

Electronics Repair Services Outsourcing (ERSO)

Source: PIB  Context: MeitY launches a pilot project on Electronics Repair Services Outsourcing (ERSO) to make India Global Repair Capital.   Through the ERSO scheme, India hopes to capture 20% of the global repair service market – currently valued at $100 billion – in five years. At present, India’s revenue from repair services is about $350 million. …

World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector

   General Studies 3  Syllabus: Agriculture – Cooperative Societies   Source: PIB  Context: The Union Cabinet approved the constitution and empowerment of an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) for the facilitation of the “world’s largest grain storage plan in the cooperative sector” by the convergence of various schemes of the Ministries of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Consumer Affairs, Food …

New exoplanet with a mass 13 times that of Jupiter discovered

  Source: TH   Context: A new Jupiter-size exoplanet with the highest density known to this date and mass 13 times that of Jupiter, has been discovered by ISRO. The discovery of this massive exoplanet was made using the indigenously made PRL Advanced Radial-velocity Abu-sky Search spectrograph (PARAS). The newly discovered exoplanet is found around …

Chytridiomycosis

  Source: TH    Context: A new study has now developed a method to detect all known strains of a disease-killing frog’s world over, caused by the amphibian chytrid fungus. Chytridiomycosis, or “chytrid” for short, has driven severe declines in over 500 frog species and caused 90 extinctions, including seven in Australia. The extreme rate …

Flavanols

Facts for Prelims (FFP) Source: CNN    Context: A team of researchers recently discovered that a diet low in flavanols – a type of nutrient found in a variety of fruits, vegetables, and beverages such as tea, cocoa, or wine – plays a fundamental role in driving age-related memory loss.  These findings suggest that the ageing brain …

Evergreening of loans

  Source: Indian Express  Context: Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor raised red flags over banks adopting innovative methods for evergreening of loans – covering up the real status of stressed loans of corporates.    About Evergreening of loans: Evergreening of loans refers to a practice where banks or lenders provide additional funds or …

Foucault pendulum  

Facts for Prelims (FFP)  Source: TH   Context: A Foucault pendulum has been installed inside the new Parliament which is designed by the National Council of Science Museums, Kolkata. Invented by French physicist Léon Foucault in the mid-19th Century, the pendulum provided the first laboratory demonstration in history to show that the Earth spins on …

Policy on rare diseases

Facts for Prelims (FFP) Source: ET Context: The Delhi HC constituted a five-member ‘National Rare Diseases Committee’ to implement the National Rare Disease Policy-2021 efficiently and to “ensure that the benefits of the policy reach the ultimate patients of rare disease”.    Rare Diseases A rare disease, also referred to as an orphan disease, is …

Tarini

  Source: The Print   Context: Indian naval ship Vessel Tarini returns after a historic 188-day voyage.   About INS Tarini: INSV Tarini is a cruising sloopbuilt at the Aquarius Shipyard Goa. The vessel was christened INSV Tarini, after the Tara Tarini temple.

Snowball effect

  Source: Indian Express  Context: According to the World Economic Forum president India witnessing a ‘snowball effect’; set to see exponential growth in coming years.    About the Snowball effect: When the snowball starts to roll, it gets bigger and bigger, and that is what is happening with the Indian economy – the growth will …