In news: The stage is set for a historic meeting between the President of United States of America Donald Trump and the supreme leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un in Singapore's Sentosa Island on Tuesday. Key points: Summit was held in Sentosa island in Singapore North pledges to move towards denuclearization U.S. assures its old foe of... Continue Reading →
Role of civil services in a democracy. Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability and institutional and other measures. In news: The government has mooted the idea of allowing lateral entry from academia and the private sector at the joint-secretary level. The department of personnel and training’s call for applications to fill 10 joint-secretary... Continue Reading →
In news: ISRO offers indigenously made lithium ion batteries technology to firms Qualified companies or competent Indian industries/start-ups can now use its power storage technology to produce a range of Li ion cells for many purposes, mainly EVs or electric vehicles. ISRO’s rocket sciences node Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre will transfer its in-house technology non-exclusively to each... Continue Reading →
India and its neighbours; International Relations In news: India will host the first military exercise of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) group focussing on counter-terrorism in September. The exercise is scheduled to be held in Pune. The theme includes counter-terrorism in semi-urban terrain and cordon and search, and... Continue Reading →
overnment schemes; Welfare and Health In news: After initial hiccups in implementing the maternity benefit programme Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), the government has finally made some headway and provided cash incentives to nearly 23.6 lakh beneficiaries out of an estimated 51.6 lakh a year. About PMMVY: It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme Ministry... Continue Reading →
In news: Physicists at NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) pulled out a 14-year-long experiment to test a key principle underlying Einstein’s famous theory of general relativity – that describes how gravity relates to space and time. About the experiment: The test conducted by the NIST physicists is being considered as the most accurate... Continue Reading →
Indigenization of technology and developing new technology. In news: NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has selected 3,000 additional schools for the establishment of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs), bringing the total number of ATL schools to 5,441. The selected schools shall receive a grant of Rs 20 lakh spread over the next five years to... Continue Reading →
In news: The government has selected ten new iconic sites under Phase III of the flagship project Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) of the Swachh Bharat Mission. Key notes: Phase I iconic places are: Ajmer Sharif Dargah, CST Mumbai, Golden Temple, Kamakhya Temple, MaikarnikaGhat, Meenakshi Temple, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi, Shree Jagannath Temple, The Taj Mahal... Continue Reading →
Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies. In news: KVIC has created a world record of distributing maximum number of bee-boxes in one day. Key notes: The record was achieved by the KVIC in the Zangalee Army area at Kupwara in Kashmir beating its previous best of 1000 bee boxes distributed in Kaziranga forest area among... Continue Reading →
In news: A group of 30 students, part of Kashmir Super 50 recently visited New Delhi and interacted with General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Army Staff. About Project Kashmir Super 50: Project Kashmir Super 50 is a joint initiative by Indian Army, Center for Social Responsibility and Leadership (CSRL) and PETRONET LNG Limited (PLL).... Continue Reading →
Wisdom IAS 