Context: The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has set a new target for its loan scheme for street vendors. PM SVANidhi (Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors Atmanirbhar Nidhi) Scheme: It was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on June 01, 2020 for providing affordable Working Capital Read More
Context: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently released a report on tobacco control measures. Key Highlights from the Report: Globally, the number of smokers has reduced by 300 million, with the prevalence of smoking declining from 22.8% in 2007 to 17% in 2021. Nearly 40% of Read More
Context: In a major policy change, the WHO has recently included three fixed dose combinations of cardiovascular medicines or polypills 2023 for use in primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. About Polypills: Evidence from large randomised-controlled trials shows that use of the polypill is associated Read More
Context Recently, two South Korean researchers proposed papers, claiming that a ‘lead-based compound’ developed by them had shown superconducting properties at room temperature, under normal pressure conditions. The discovery has the potential to revolutionize the technology space, and be one of the most impactful scientific discoveries of this century. Read More
Context The United Naga Council, an apex body of Nagas in Manipur, has asked the State government to immediately start the exercise to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the State. About the Naga council’s ask: According to the council, in the wake of the increasing Read More
Context The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Rajya Sabha that the total number of psychiatric patients in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) has increased by almost 38 per cent in reported psychiatric cases. About Around 3,864 cases were reported in CAPFs in 2021. There were a total of 1,470 psychiatric patients in Read More
Context In order to settle the pending contractual disputes of government and government undertakings, the finance ministry has launched the ‘Vivad se Vishwas II – (Contractual Disputes)’ scheme. The last date for submission of claims is October 31, 2023. Background The finance minister Read More
Context Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) raised the question whether the President’s power to declare ‘inoperative’ Article 370 of the Constitution, will not continue to hold the field after the dissolution of the erstwhile State’s Constituent Assembly on January 26, 1957. What are the Powers of President under Read More
Context: The Lok Sabha has recently passed the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023 that paves the way for digital birth certificates. About the bill: The Bill aims to create a centralised database for deaths and births to help in transparent delivery of public services Read More
Context: Recently, India has mooted the concept of a partnership between like-minded countries to work together on digital public infrastructure (DPI) that can be used by everyone. UPSC Probable Question What is Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and how does it facilitate the flow of people, money Read More