News The WHO Pandemic Treaty was adopted as the second legally binding treaty in the WHO’s 75-year history, following the 2003 Tobacco Control Treaty. Need for the Treaty: Vaccine inequity during COVID-19: Rich nations hoarded vaccines, poor countries had limited …
News India has become the first country in the world to develop rice varieties (DRR Rice 100 (Kamala), Pusa DST Rice 1) using genome editing technology. What was the technology used? Scientists used Site-Directed Nuclease 1 (SDN-1) and Site-Directed Nuclease …
News Ladakh hosts the highest snow leopard density in the world. 68% of India’s snow leopard population (~477 out of 709 individuals) is found in Ladakh. Ladakh’s Hemis National Park recorded the highest ever density in the world Lowest densities …
News Methane is responsible for ~30% of the rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution. Methane concentration in the atmosphere is 2.5 times higher than pre-industrial levels. The three main human-caused sources of methane emissions: Agriculture, Energy, and Waste. …
What are Aerosols? Aerosols are tiny solid or liquid particles suspended in the air. Properties of Aerosols: Reflective Aerosols (e.g., sulphates): They act like mirrors, reflecting sunlight back into space. Net cooling effect at ground level. Absorbing Aerosols (e.g., black …
News: According to the World Bank, brick kilns contribute 8–14% of total air pollution in the region. Traditional kilns emit high levels of particulate matter (PM) and black carbon (soot), impacting air quality and public health. Key recommendation by government …
Background Gully erosion is emerging as a critical environmental threat, especially in the context of climate change and rapid land-use alterations. It is already affecting landscapes, agriculture, and settlements across regions—from eastern India to sub-Saharan Africa. In India alone, at …
Background The Yamuna River, one of the holiest and most polluted rivers in India, flows through Delhi and receives massive amounts of untreated sewage and industrial effluents. Despite multiple phases of the Yamuna Action Plan since 1993, the river’s water …
Background: The revival of the dire wolf by an US based company proves that extinct species can be brought back through advanced genetic editing and cloning technologies. This was done through gene editing using crispr (clustered interspaced short palindromic repeats) …
What is the FATF? The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental organization that designs and promotes policies and standards to combat financial crime. The FATF sets standards or recommendations for countries to achieve in order to plug the …