Himalayan catchment A catchment is an area of land where water collects when it rains, often bounded by hills. As the water flows over the landscape it finds its way into streams and down into the soil, eventually feeding …
About the council The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system. The Council’s mandate is to promote “universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all” and “address situations of …
What is it? The COVAX facility seeks to accelerate the development and production of coronavirus vaccines through pooling in resources from the member countries, and then ensure that it is equitably distributed amongst them. COVAX is led by the World …
About NRA Last year, the central government decided to set up a common recruitment body called National Recruitment Agency (NRA). The Agency aims to conduct a single online ‘Common Eligibility Test’ or CET, the scores of which will be used …
NEWS Sri Lanka government has decided to overturn its tripartite agreement with India and Japan to develop Colombo’s East Container Terminal (ECT). As per the agreement signed by the former Maithripala Sirisena-Ranil Wickremesinghe administration, India and Japan together were to …
Why in the news? The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) Council held its maiden meeting and approved the establishment of the world’s largest radio telescope. About SKAO Radio telescopes: A radio telescope is a specialized antenna and radio receiver used …
Tumour Tumours are groups of abnormal cells that form lumps or growths. They can start in any one of the trillions of cells in our bodies. Tumours grow and behave differently, depending on whether they are cancerous (malignant), non-cancerous (benign) …
Background Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech revived the idea of a ‘bad bank’ by stating that the Centre proposes to set up an asset reconstruction company to acquire bad loans from banks. What is a ‘bad bank’? …
About Citing the prevalence of mental health issues and the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 crisis, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has launched a 24×7 Toll-Free Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline KIRAN (1800-599-0019). Launched in September 2020, the helpline …
What are Wetlands? Wetlands are land areas that are saturated or flooded with water either permanently or seasonally. As per the convention, ratified by Government of India, defines wetlands as ‘areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or …