Merged Final Lap 2023 & 2024

Final Lap 2023 Consolidated 2
Final Lap 2024 88

ENVIRONMENT
Climate Change
GHG effect short wavelength of visible light from the sun pass through the
atmosphere and are absorbed, but the longer wavelengths of
the infrared radiation from the heated earth are unable to pass
through the atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases Water vapor (biggest overall contributor to GHG effect)
CO2 &
.> CH4 6
> N2O > HFCs > PFCs > SF6 [warming potential]
Short-lived Climate pollutants SCLPs remain in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of
time than carbon dioxide (CO2), yet their potential to warm the
atmosphere can be many times greater.
SCLPs: Black Carbon, Methane, Hydrofluorocarbons,

Tropospheric Ozone
Colors of Carbon 1. Black Carbon: formed by the incomplete combustion of
fuels; Reduces albedo of a surface
2. Brown Carbon: smoke released by the combustion of
organic matter;
3. Blue Carbon: Carbon stored in marine ecosystems ;
Marine ecosystems store more carbon per unit area than
terrestrial forests
4. Green Carbon: captured into terrestrial plant biomass in
photosynthesis and stored in the plants and soil of
natural ecosystems
Ocean Acidification (called ‘evil twin • Decrease in pH of oceans but it is still greater than 7
of global warming’) • Average ocean pH is about 8
Arctic Amplification • Heating up of Arctic 4 times faster than rest of the World.
Ozone Depletion • ozone in stratosphere – good – absorbs UV rays
• ozone in troposphere – bad – pollutant
• sunlight responsible for formation as well as destruction of
ozone
• colder conditions → more polar stratospheric clouds →
more ozone depletion
• ozone depletion → stratosphere cools
• Dobson unit – to measure thickness of ozone layer
Mitigation Strategies • Carbon capture, utilisation & storage
• Emissions Trading
• Carbon Tax
• Geo-engineering – injecting sulfur in atmosphere, mirror in
space, seeding the sea with iron
UNFCCC Est in 1992 Rio Earth Summit as a framework for international
cooperation to combat climate change
Secretariat: Bonn, Germany
Important COPs:
• COP 3 – 1997 - Kyoto Protocol
• COP 8 – 2002 - New Delhi
• COP 19 – 2013 – Warsaw
• COP 21 – 2015 - Paris Agreement
• COP 26 – Glasgow, UK
COP 27 (Held at Sharm El Sheikh, ->Setup of Loss and Damage Fund to assist vulnerable countries
e-mail: contact@atishmathur.com www.atishmathur.com telegram: https://t.me/csepaper2atish

Egypt) Outcomes -> Arrangements for operationalization of Santiago Network
->Sharm EL Sheikh Dialogue for aligning financial flows as per
article 2.1c of Paris Agreement
->Koronivia Joint Work For Agriculture (Agri and food security)
->Call to phasedown coal power and phase out inefficient coal
subsidies
COP26 – Glasgow outcomes Global Methane Pledge
• cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030
• India did not sign
Deforestation Pledge
• End and reverse deforestation by 2030
Clydebank Declaration
• Develop green shipping corridors to speed up
decarbonization of maritime industry
Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS)
• Promote disaster and climate resilience of infrastructure
assets in small island developing states (SIDS)
• Launched by India, Australia, UK, Fiji, Jamaica, Mauritius
• It has been co-created by the Coalition for Disaster
Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) with support from
Member Countries and organizations and Small Island
Developing States (SIDS) representatives
Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG)
• aims to connect energy grids across borders to facilitate
a faster transition to the use of renewable energy.
• Launched by India & UK
India’s Commitments (Panchamrit)
● Increase non-fossil energy capacity to 500GW by 2030
● Meet 50% of energy requirements from renewable
energy by 2030
● Reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one
billion tonnes from now to 2030
● Reduce carbon intensity of economy by 45% (previous
target was 35%) by 2030
● Achieve net-zero by 2070
e-Amrit portal • portal aims to serve as a ‘one-stop site’ to provide all the
information related to the adoption of electric vehicles in
India
• Launched by India at COP26 summit
• joint initiative between NITI Aayog and the UK Government.
Global Methane Initiative (Launched International public-private initiative to achieve reduction in
in 2004) anthropogenic methane emissions and use of methane as a
valuable energy source
Mission LIFE (Lifestyle For Pro Planet approach that mobilises citizens to use environmental
Environment) friendly options such as LED bulbs, Public Transport , reduction
of single use plastic , recycling of old clothes , reduction in e
waste among others
Some Miscellaneous Environmental -> Breakthrough agenda:
Developments Framework for decarbonisation of power , transport , steel ,

hydrogen and agriculture ; India is a member
->First Movers Coalition:
Decarbonise sectors of Aluminium , Aviation , Shipping , Steel ,
Trucking , Cement and Chemicals ; India is a member
->Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETP):
To Mobilise Private Sector Capital for decarbonization and
decommissioning of coal fired power plants. Here India argues
that coal cannot be singled out as a fuel and is needed for
development needs
-> Fit for 55 package: 55% emission reduction target which the
European Union (EU) has set for 2030
-> Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE) : Indo-USA clean
energy program launched in 2009
-> Leaf (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance)
Coalition launched by Norway, UK and US to mobilize funds for
tropical forest protection.
50 Years of Stockholm Conference Stockholm +50 held at Stockholm, Sweden in 1972, it was first
UN conference on environment and led to origin UNEP
International Solar Alliance (ISA) • Jointly launched by India and France during COP 21 (Paris)
• HQ: Gurugram
• Countries that do not fall within the Tropics can join the
alliance and enjoy all benefits as other members, with the
exception of voting rights.
Carbon Border Adjustment Proposed carbon tariff imposed on goods imported to
Mechanism (CBAM) the European Union from countries with less strict climate
policies
Forest Carbon Credit Stamp They are permits for companies to emit a certain amount of CO2
Issued by China
CRISP-M Tool • Jointly launched by M/o Rural Development and M/o
Panchayati Raj
• integration of climate information in Geographic Information
System (GIS) based watershed planning under MGNREGA
Existing Carbon Trading Mechanisms 1. Renewable Energy Certificates under RPO obligations
In India 2. Energy Saving Certificates under PAT scheme
(Article 6 of Paris Agreement seeks
to establish carbon trading Note: These certificates are tradable on PXIL and IEX;
mechanisms)
Carbon Neutrality Palli Panchayat in J&K is India’s first carbon neutral panchayat
Keeling Curve Longest Uninterrupted instrumental record of atmospheric
carbon dioxide. Located at Hawaii near world’s largest active
volcano – Mauna Loa. Today C02 levels are comparable to those
of 4 million years ago
Climate Financing Green Climate Fund (GCF)
set up in 2010
Global Environment Facility (GEF)

established in 1992 Rio Earth Summit || World Bank administers
the fund || GEF serves as a "financial mechanism" to 5
conventions: UNFCC, CBD, UNCCD, Stockholm - POPs, Minamata
- Mercury

Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF)
established under UNFCCC in 2001 to finance projects in
developing country parties
Adaptation Fund
established in 2001 to finance adaptation projects and
IPCC 6th Assessment Report 1. Part I - scientific basis for climate change average surface
temperature of the Earth will cross 1.5 °C over pre-
industrial levels by 2040 and 2°C by the middle of the
century without sharp reduction of emissions
2. Part II - likely impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation
issues
3. Part III - actions that can be taken to combat climate
change
4. Net Anthropogenic GHG have risen in last decade
5. Sectoral Share of GHG Emissions:
Energy > Industry > Agriculture
Global Methane Assessment Report ->Methane is responsible for more than 25% of global warming ---
(by UNEP and Climate and Clean Air ->India is among top 5 emitters
Coalition) -> Top 3 Sources of Methane:
Wetlands > Fossil Fuel Extraction > Livestock
State of Global Climate Report Average global temperature has increased by 1.2°c above pre-
(WMO) industrial level and Ocean acidification is increasing
Greenhouse Gas Bulletin (WMO) CO2 reached 413 ppm in 2020 – 149% of pre-industrial level
Methane (CH4) – 262% of pre-industrial level
Nitrous dioxide (N2O) – 123% of pre-industrial level
Emissions Gap Report 2022 (UNEP) ->Fossil fuel CO2 account for maximum GHG emissions
->Top 4 emitters: China > US > EU > India
->Current NDCs would lead to temperature increase of 2.7°C by
2100
->To get on track for limiting global warming to below 2.0°C and
1.5°C, global GHG emissions must be reduced by 30% and 45%
respectively
Adaptation Gap Report 2022 (UNEP) While policies and planning are growing for climate change
adaptation, financing and implementation are still far
behind where they need to be.
Climate Change Performance Index Assesses performance in 4 categories: GHG emission, Renewable
2023 energy, Energy use, Climate policy
Published By – • First three ranks – empty
Germanwatch, New Climate • #4 - Denmark
Institute, Climate Action Network • #8 – India (Up 2 positions)
Global Climate Risk Index 2021 India – 7th worst hit country due to extreme weather events in
(Germanwatch) 2019
Mapping India’s Climate Vulnerability Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)
report
analysed 640 districts in India and found that 463 of these are
Climate Vulnerability Index vulnerable to extreme floods, droughts and cyclones

Pollution:
Air pollutants CO, SO2, NO2, O3, PM10, PM2.5, Ammonia
Other air pollutants:
Lead, Arsenic, Nickel, Acrolein, Asbestos, Benzene
National Air Quality Index (AQI) By CPCB, MoEFCC
Launched in 2014 under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
8 pollutants:
SO2, NO2, CO, O3, PM10, PM2.5, NH3, Pb
6 AQI categories - Good, Satisfactory, Moderate, Poor, Very

Poor, Severe
National Ambient Air Quality By CPCB, MoEFCC

Standards (NAAQS) 12 pollutants:
SO2, NO2, CO, O3, PM10, PM2.5, NH3, Pb, As, Ni, Benzene,
Benzopyrene
SAFAR (System of Air Quality and • by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)
Weather Forecasting And Research) • to monitor air quality in metropolitan cities of Delhi,
Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune
Radon Emitted naturally by soil || generally found in basements

Fly Ash Fine powder left after combustion of coal
contains several toxic heavy metals like lead (Pb), nickel (Ni),
zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn)

Applications: agriculture – improves water holding capacity,
making cement & bricks, making adsorbent waste water
treatment
Pusa bio-decomposer Developed by Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Pusa,
Delhi
To decompose stubble
Torrefaction Swedish technology to convert rice stubble into bio-coal
Green crackers – SWAS, STAR, SAFAL Don’t contain lithium, arsenic, barium and lead
developed by CSIR-NEERI
Flu Gas Desulphurization To remove SO2 from exhaust flue gases of thermal power plants
Selective Catalytic Reduction To remove NOx from flue gases.
Converts NOx to nitrogen in the presence of a catalyst
Electrostatic Precipitator Removes fine particles like smoke and dust from gases
Ozone pollution • Stratospheric ozone – good
• Tropospheric (ground-level) ozone – bad
• Ground-level ozone is secondary pollutant formed by
chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx),
carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4) and volatile organic
compounds (VOC)
• Ozone is most likely to reach unhealthy levels on hot sunny
days in urban environments
National Clean Air Programme • Launched by MoEFCC in 2019 to cut PM10 and PM2.5
(NCAP) concentration by at least 20% in next 5 years (2017 – base
year)
• To be implemented in 102 non-attainment cities
• Not legally binding, implemented by CPCB
• New target for 2026: 40% reduction in particulate matter
Commission for Air Quality • Statutory body
Management in NCR and Adjoining • Replaced Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA)
Areas (CAQM) • Farmers exempted from penal provisions
• Appeal against CAQM orders → NGT
• Enforces GRAP (Graded response action plan) In Delhi
WHO Air Quality Standards 99% of global population breathes air that exceeds WHO quality
limits
BS 6 Norms Set by CPCB these standards enforce pollution control measures
for automobile manufacturers,
BOD, COD, Dissolved Oxygen Dissolved Oxygen – amount of oxygen present in water (should
be > 8 mg/L)
↑ temperature ➔ ↓ dissolved oxygen
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) – dissolved oxygen needed

by microorganisms to decompose organic waste (only
biodegradable) in water
Chemical oxygen demand (COD) – oxygen needed by chemicals

to decompose organic waste (biodegradable + non-
Bioaccumulation , Biomagnification Bioaccumulation – increase in concentration of a pollutant from
the environment to the first organism in a food chain

Biomagnification – increase in concentration of a pollutant as it
moves from one trophic level to the next
Diseases by pollutants Mercury – Minamata
Cadmium – Itai Itai
Nitrates – Blue Baby syndrome / Methamoglobinemia
Fluoride – Fluorosis
Arsenic – Black Foot Disease
Microplastic, Nanoplastic Plastic particles < 5 mm (microplastics) || < 100 mm
(nanoplastics)
Found in cosmetics, synthetic clothing, plastic bags and bottles
Plasticrust Thin coating of plastic that grows on rocks at sea shore
Composed of polyethylene
Endosulfan Pesticide banned in 2011 under Stockholm convention.
Endosulfan toxicity is a major issue in Kerala
Nonylphenol Used in detergents, it can disrupt human endocrine system if it
contaminates drinking water
Dead zone Dead zones are hypoxic areas in the world's oceans and large
lakes. Hypoxia occurs when dissolved oxygen concentration
falls to or below 2ml of O₂/liter.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch Gyre, sargasso sea weed, plastic litter
GloLitter Partnership Implemented by IMO + FAO
Aims to tackle marine plastic litter
MARPOL Convention, 1973 IMO’s convention for prevention of pollution of the marine
environment by ships
International Maritime Organization (IMO) – specialised UN
agency
London Convention, 1972 control of all sources of marine pollution and to take all
practicable steps to prevent pollution of the sea by dumping of
wastes and other matter
Honolulu strategy Reduce the impact of marine debris worldwide
Bharat Tap Initiative by MoHUA to provide low flow sanitary ware to reduce
water consumption and wastage at source
Composite Water Management Index NITI Aayog
Uses Falkenmark Index – used to measure water scarcity
Arth Ganga Focus on creation of livelihood opportunities to sustain the
activities under Namami Gange Programme.
Aim is to contribute 3% to GDP from Ganga Basin
Groundwater India extracts the most groundwater in the world (25% of global
groundwater extraction)
90% of it used for irrigation
10% - drinking, domestic & industrial use
India WRIS (Water Resources Web portal containing info related to water resources
Information System) Launched in 2019 under National Hydrology Project
Zero Liquid Discharge Water treatment process to recirculate all the water with zero
liquid waste
Components: pre-treatment → Reverse Osmosis (RO) →
Evaporator & Crystalliser
Water Plus city under Swachh • cities with best practices in the safe discharge of sewage
Survekshan 2021 and faecal sludge, safe cleaning of sewer and septic tanks
• Indore declared as the first ‘water plus’ city

• Grey water is the water which can be reused , eg – water
from bath , kitchen etc
• Note : Mission Sujalam by M/o Jalshakti aims to create
awareness on grey water reuse
River Cities Alliance (RCA) • Launched by M/o Jal Shakti

• to provide the member cities with a platform to discuss and
exchange information on aspects that are vital for
sustainable management of urban rivers, sharing best
practices and supporting innovation
• The Alliance is open to all river cities of India. Any river city
can join the Alliance at any time.
Plastic Waste Management • Bans single-use plastic of low utility and high littering
Amendment Rules 2021 potential
• Single-use Plastic items to be completely banned from July 1,
2022: earbuds with plastic sticks, plastic flags, polystyrene,
plastes, cups, glasses, cutlery, straw, trays, wrapping etc
• Thickness of plastic carry bags increased to 75 microns wef
Sept 2021 and 120 microns wef 31 Dec 2022
Global e-Waste Monitor 2020 e-waste generation: US > China > Japan > Germany > India (5th)
Waste to energy Incineration – burning waste in presence of O2
Pyrolysis – burning waste in absence of O2 to produce syngas
(CO + CO2 + H2)
Gasification – burning waste in controlled amount of O2 to
produce syngas
Biomethanation – microbiologically convert waste into biogas
Bioremediation use of microorganisms to convert to degrade environmental
pollutants into less toxic forms
in-situ – bioventing, biosparaging, bioaugmentation

ex-situ – landfarming, biopiles, bioreactors, composting
phytoremediation – use of plants

mycoremediation – use of fungus
Conventions Stockholm Convention – persistent organic pollutants
Basel Convention – transboundary movement of hazardous
waste and their disposal
Rotterdam Convention - hazardous chemicals and pesticides
Minamata Convention – mercury
Washington Convention – CITES

Bonn Convention – CMS
Cartagena Protocol – biosafety to ensure safe handling of living

modified organisms
Nagoya Protocol – access and benefit sharing
COP15 of UNCCD ->To restore 1 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030
-> Abidjan Call : To boost long term environment sustainability

->Abidjan Declaration on achieving gender equality for land
restoration
COP14 was held in India were we pledged to restore 26 million
hectare land by 2030
Biodiversity
Indian Tiger / Royal Bengal Tiger IUCN: EN
India – home to 80% of global tiger population
Population – statewise: MP > Karnataka > Uttarakhand
Population – Tiger reserves: Jim Corbett > Nagarhole > Bandipur
Tiger reserve with highest tiger density: Jim Corbett
Tiger reserves with no tigers: Buxa (WB), Dampa (MZ), Palamu
(JH)
Tigers found in 13 countries: India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh,

Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Malaysia,
Indonesia, Russia
Related terms: CA|TS, mSTRIPES, CaTRAT, TX2
New Tiger Reserves : Ramgarh Vishdhari (Rajasthan) ; Ranipur

Tiger Reserve (UP)
KAZI 106F: India’s only golden tiger, found in Kaziranga NP

Leopard IUCN: VU
Population – statewise: MP > Karnataka > Maharashtra
Snow Leopard IUCN: VU
Found in 12 countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal,
Bhutan, China, Russia, Mongolia, Uzbek, Tajik, Kyrgyz, Kazak
Cheetah African Cheetah: VU || Asiatic Cheetah: CR
African Cheetah
• World’s fastest land mammal; Diurnal = they hunt during day
• They don’t roar ; Bigger in size as compared to Asian
Cheetah ; Gestation period of 93 days
Asiatic Cheetah
• declared extinct in India in 1952
• surviving today only in Iran
Cheetah Reintroduction In India

->5 Male and 3 Female African Cheetahs from Namibia
introduced in Kuno National Park , Madhya Pradesh
->It is worlds first intercontinental large wild carnivore
translocation project
Asiatic Lion IUCN: EN
Surviving today only in India

Its range is restricted to Gir National Park and adjoining (Pania,
Mitiyala, Girnar Sanctuaries)

Asian Elephant IUCN: EN
Species: Indian, Sri Lankan, Sumatran, Borneo (all EN)
Population – statewise: Karnataka > Assam > Kerala
It is India’s National Heritage Animal

Initiatives: MIKE, E8, E50:50
Indian Rhino (Great One-Horned
Rhino) Asian – Indian, Javan, Sumatran
Rhino
African – Black, White
Indian Rhino: VU
• Largest of all Rhino species
• Excellent swimmers
• Found in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan
• Assam is home to the largest population of greater-one
horned rhinos, with more than 90% in Kaziranga National
Park.
• Pobitra WS (Assam) has the highest density of Indian rhinos
in the world.
• Other states: WB, UP
Great Indian Bustard IUCN: CR
Found in arid and semi-arid grasslands: India and Pakistan
states: RJ, MP, GJ, MH, KN, AP
RJ’s state bird (locally known as Godawan)
Supreme court has ordered power companies in Rajasthan And
Gujarat to make high tension cables underground so that the
bird doesn’t get injured
Gangetic Dolphin IUCN: EN
• Found in Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnali-Sangphu

river systems
• Functionally blind and finds its prey using echolocation
• Being a mammal, cannot breathe in water, so comes to
surface every 30-120 sec
• Females larger than males
Other freshwater dolphins: Baiji (Yangtze), Boto(Amazon),

Bhulan(Indus, Beas) [all EN]
Brackish water: Irrawady dolphin – Chillika lake [EN]
Vulture Species: long-billed, slender-billed, red-headed, white-backed

Threats: veterinary drug Diclofenac, collision with overhead
wires, electrocution
Indian Pangolin IUCN: EN
found in Pak, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
Gharial IUCN: CR
Live in freshwater systems
Found majorly in Chambal river small population in Girwa river,
Ramganga river

Hoolock gibbon IUCN: EN
India has only western hoolock gibbon
Only apes found in India
Dugong (Sea Cow) IUCN: VU
Only herbivorous marine mammal
Come to the surface to breathe
Others Dhole (Asiatic Dog): found in KN, MH, MP
Caracel: wild cat recently included in Recovery Programme –
Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitat
Fishing Cat: found in Sunderbans mangroves, around Chillika,
Western Ghats
Butterflies in news Krishna Peacock, Indian Jezebel, Orange Oakleaf, Golden
Birdwing, Striped Hairstreak, Elusive Prince, Tamil Yeoman
Kaiser-i-Hind – state butterfly of Arunachal Pradesh
Himalayan Serow IUCN: VU
Herbivores mammal found in Himalayas (altitude of 2000-
4000m)
Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) IUCN: EN
Non-fragrant variety of sandalwood
Endemic to Andhra Pradesh
Used for – furniture, musical instruments, medicinal purposes,
extraction of santalin (red pigment)
Golden Langur IUCN: EN
Habitat: transvoundary region of Bhutan-India
Turtles vs Tortoise Turtles – live in sea, mainly carnivores
Tortoise – live on land, mainly herbivores
Monotremes Egg laying mammals – Platypus, Echidna – found only in Aus, NZ
World’s first 5-country biosphere Extending through Croatia, Austria, Slovenia, Serbia, Hungary
reserve (CASSH) the Mura, Drava and Danube Rivers form one of the
great wetlands of the world – the Amazon of Europe.
COP15 of Convention on Biological • Adoption of Kunming Declaration - calls for urgent and
Diversity (CBD) @ Kunming, China integrated action to reflect biodiversity considerations in all
sectors of the global economy
• Kunming Biodiversity Fund – to support biodiversity projects in
developing countries
• 30 by 30 target – protect 30% of land and sea area by 2030
Wild Life (Protection) Amendment ->New Chapter added for implementation of CITES
Act 2022 -> Rationalization of Schedules – Schedules have been reduced
from 6 to 4
->Schedule 1: Animal species with highest level of protection
->Schedule 2: Animal species with a lesser protection
->Schedule 3: Protected Plant Species
->Schedule 4: Specimen listed in appendix under CITES
-> Wild animals will be declared vermin by Central Govt Notification
-> Transfer or Transport of live elephants allowed with proper
certification
India State of Forests Report 2021 By Forest Survey of India, MoEFCC
Total forest cover: 21.7% of geographical area
Total tree cover: 2.9% of geographical area

Forest cover:
Absolute → MP > Arunachal > Chhattisgarh > Odisha >
Maharashtra
%age → Mizoram (84%) > Arunachal Pradesh (79%) > Meghalaya
(76%) > Manipur (74%) > Nagaland (73%)
Tiger reserve with largest forest cover

Absolute - Nagarjunasagar Srisailam TR
%age terms – Pakke TR
Mangroves:
West Bengal (43% of total mangrove area) > Gujarat > Andaman &
Nicobar
Bamboo cover:
MP > Maharashtra > Arunachal > Odisha
Wetlands area:
Gujarat > West Bengal
Protected Areas ~5% of India’s area is protected area
Biosphere Reserves
National Parks
Wildlife Sanctuaries
Conservation Reserve – owned by govt
Community Reserve – owned by community/private
Biodiversity Heritage Sites ->State Govt in consultation with local bodies can notify then under
Biodiversity Act 2002 ; Total 35 such sites in India
Important Laws, Bodies, Terms Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 → Animal Welfare
Board of India (M/o Fisheries and Animal Husbandry)
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 →

• National Board for Wildlife (chaired by PM) – approves
alteration of boundary of NP, WS
• Central Zoo Authority (chaired by Env Minister)
• Wildlife Crime Control Bureau
Water Act, 1974 → CPCB
Forest (Conservation Act), 1980 → Forest Advisory Committee –

approves diversion of forest land for non-forest use
Forest Conservation Rules (2022) : There has been controversy
regarding these rules as some sections feel the new rules overlook
the role of indigenous communities in management of forests.
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 → Central Groundwater

Authority
Provides for Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ) as transition zones between
high protection and no protection areas

National Forest Policy 1988 → provided for Joint Forest
management
Forests Rights Act, 2006 → provides for Community Forest

Resource Management, Critical Wildlife Habitats
NGT Act, 2010 → NGT

CRZ norms, 2018
Ramsar sites 75 Ramsar sites in now in India

Peatlands Cover 3% of global land
Largest natural terrestrial carbon store
Found in: permafrost regions (poles, high altitudes), coastal areas,
beneath tropical rainforests, boreal forests
Blue Flag Beach certification by Denmark-based FEE
10 blue flag beaches in India:
Shivrajpur (Gujarat), Ghoghla (Diu), Kasarkod and Padubidri
(Karnataka), Kappad (Kerala), Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh),
Golden (Odisha), Radhanagar (Andaman and Nicobar), Kovalam
(TN), Eden (Puducherry)
UN Decade on Ecosystem 2021-30

Restoration
Living Planet Report WWF
Living Planet Index WWF
Global Biodiversity Outlook Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
Sustainable Development
Sustainable Development Report ->Published by Sustainable Development Solutions Network
2022 -> India ranked 121 out of 163
-> It ranks countries on performance of SDG-2030 targets
Cloud Forests ->Cloud forests are mountain tropical forests found at river
headstreams and covered with clouds
->They have shorter trees, are coller and wetter than other
forests
Biofuels Considered renewable energy source
Generations: 1G (food crops), 2G (non-food crops), 3G
(engineered algae)
Types:
▪ Bioethanol: used as additive (India targets 20% ethanol-
blending by 2025)
▪ Biodiesel: can be directly used as fuel (target 5% blending of
biodiesel in diesel by 2030)
▪ Biogas
▪ Biojet
National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 Categorization of biofuels, VGF to 2G biorefineries, allows use of
surplus foodgrains

Electricity Rules 2022 ->Consumers are entitled to demand supply of green power
from discoms
->Commercial/Industrial consumers can voluntarily purchse
green power
Methanol Economy India’s first indigenously designed High Ash Coal Gasification
based Methanol Production Plant installed by BHEL @
Hyderabad
Coal coal gasification Syngas (H2, CO, CO2) Methanol
Solar Energy Installed solar capacity: 54 GW (31 mar, 2022)

State with highest installed solar capacity: Karnataka
Wind Energy Installed wind capacity: 40 GW (30 Nov, 2021)
State with highest installed wind capacity: Tamil Nadu
Jaisalmer Wind Park (capacity 1000 MW): largest wind park in

India
Hydrogen Grey H: natural gas split into H2, CO2 | CO2 emitted into
atmosphere
Blue H: natural gas split into H2, CO2 | CO2 is captured and stored
Green H: water split into H2, O2 using solar/wind power | No CO2
emitted
Fugitive emissions unintentional leaks emitted from sealed surfaces, such as
packings and gaskets, or leaks from underground pipelines
resulting from corrosion or faulty connections.
wind and solar don't have fugitive emissions
Methane hydrates molecules of natural gas enclosed within a solid lattice of water
molecules.
Energy Conservation (Amendment) ->Empowers central govt to specify carbon trading schemes
Act 2022 ->New Energy Conservation and sustainable building code
-> Increases members in governing council of BEE (Bureau of
Energy Efficiency)
Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) Platform for trading renewable energy
Geothermal Energy 7 geothermal provinces in India:
• Himalayas - Ladakh, Manikaran, Tapoban;
• Sohana - Haryana, Rajasthan;
• West coast – Maharashtra;
• Cambay – Khambet;
• Son-Narmada-Tapi (SONATA) - Tatapani, Anhoni-Samoni;
• Godavari – Manuguru;
• Mahanadi – Bakreshwar
Fostering Effective Energy Transition WEF
report
Energy Transition Index WEF
World Energy Outlook IEA (International Energy Agency)
Global Energy and CO2 Status report IEA
Global Electric Vehicles Outlook IEA
Geospatial Energy Map of India NITI Aayog + ISRO

Agriculture
Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) Beejamrutham (seed treatment), Jeevamtrutham (no fertilisers,
terms no pesticides), Acchadana (Mulching), Whaapasa (soil moisture)
No vermicomposting done
Benefits: low cost, less water use, less electricity, lower methane
emissions
Participatory Guarantee Systems Certification of organic produce
(PGS) M/o Agriculture
World of Organic Agriculture report India ranked #1 in number of organic farmers
2020 Rank #9 in terms of area under organic farming
Sikkim – fully organic state
Aquaponics, Hydroponics, Hydroponics: growing crops in water w/o soil
Aeroponics Aeroponics: no growing medium
Aquaponics = Hydroponics + Aquaculture
Vertical farming Growing crops in vertically stacked layers
Conservation Agriculture 3 components: permanent soil cover, minimum soil disturbance,
crop rotation
Green-Ag Project Project of FAO + MoEFCC
Funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF)
To reduce emissions from agriculture
5 states: UK, RJ, MP, OD, Mizoram
Soil Health Card: 12 parameters Macro
Primary: N P K
Secondary: Sulphur
Micro: Iron, Copper, Boron, Manganese, Zinc

Soil Podsol: cold & humid | rich in Silica and Lime
Latosol: hot & humid | rich in Iron, Aluminium
Gleysol: waterlogged peaty soil
Millets ->2023 is the international year of millets
->India produces 20% of World’s Millets
->Major Millets in India : Jowar , Bajra , Ragi
Globally Important Agricultural Initiative of FAO
Heritage Systems (GIAHS) 3 GIAHS in India:
• Kuttanad Below Sea Level Farming System of Kerala.
• Koraput Traditional Agriculture of Odisha.
• Pampore Saffron Heritage of Kashmir.
Virtual water Water consumed for production of agri and non-agri
commodities throughout their lifecycle
Locusts Omnivorous
Locust Warning Organisation: M/o Agriculture
Bamboo Survives in wide range of conditions
In India, it is found naturally in almost all parts except Kashmir
It in NOT a tree under definition of tree by Indian Forest Act,
1927
Geography
Tropical Cyclone conditions 5-20° North, South (Coriolis force), sea surface temp > 27°C, high
humidity, presence of low pressure, small variation in vertical

wind speed
La Nina, El Nino Normal year/ La Nina
Western Tropical Pacific (warm) – Eastern Tropical Pacific (cool)
El Nino
Western Tropical Pacific (cool) – Eastern Tropical Pacific (warm)
El Nino Modoki
WTP (cool) - Central Tropical Pacific (warm) – ETP(cool)
Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) Low pressure band moving from west to east
MJO over Indian ocean → good rainfall in Indian subcontinent
Indian Ocean Dipole (Indian Nino) Positive phase → good rainfall in Indian subcontinent
Western Indian Ocean (warm) – Eastern Indian Ocean (cool)
Negative phase → scarce rainfall in Indian subcontinent

Western Indian Ocean (cool) – Eastern Indian Ocean (warm)
Atlantic Meridional Overturning • AMOC is a large system of ocean currents driven by
Circulation (AMOC) differences in temperature and salinity (water’s density)
• Weakening due to global warming (as temp difference
between poles and equator decreasing)
Boreal Summer Intra Seasonal Heat transfer from Indian ocean to western Pacific ocean during
Oscillation (BSISO) monsoon (June- Sept)
Causes short-term climate variability in monsoon system
Heat Dome A heat dome is created when an area of high pressure stays over
the same area for days or weeks, trapping very warm air
underneath - like a lid on a pot.
This phenomena was seen in North America in Jun-Jul 2021

South Atlantic Anomaly Weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field
Here, Van Allen radiation belt comes down to 200 km altitude
Van Allen Radiation belt zone of energetic charged particles that are captured by and
held around a planet’s magnetosphere.
Mt Everest 86 cm higher
Highest mountains:
From sea level: Mt Everest
From Earth’s core: Mt Chimborazo
From base of mountain: Mauna Kea
Karakoram anomaly the stability or anomalous growth of glaciers in the central
Karakoram, in contrast to the retreat of glaciers in other nearby
mountainous ranges of Himalayas and other mountainous
ranges of the world.
Miscellaneous
6th mass extinction ongoing extinction event of species during the
present Holocene epoch (with the more recent time sometimes
called Anthropocene) as a result of human activity.
Evil Quartet 4 major causes of biodiversity loss: habitat loss, overexploitation,
invasive alien species, secondary extinction
Carbon Fertilisation phenomena that the increase of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere increases the rate of photosynthesis in plants.

Great Green Wall Project to combat desertification in Africa
Deep Ecology environmental philosophy which promotes the inherent worth of
all living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human
needs
Joshimath Land Subsidence ->Land subsidence is gradual sinking of ground surface
->Unplanned construction , location of city near tectonic fault –
Vaikrita Thrust, perennial rivers and large hydropower dams ;
These factors are major causes of this incident
Coalition For Disaster Resilient ->HQ: New Delhi , India
Infrastructure ->It was launched in 2019 by India at UN climate action summit
->It has 31 countries and works on intersection areas of Sendai
Framework and Paris Deal
Mawmluh Cave, Meghalaya Listed as a first 100 Geological sites by International Union Of
Geological Sciences
India’s 33rd Elephant Reserve MoEFCC has declared Terai Elephant Reserve (TER) in Dudhwa
Pilibhit region of UP as an elephant reserve

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Biotechnology
Central Dogma of
Molecular Biology
DNA Deoxyribonucleic Acid is the carrier of genetic information.

Double Helix, Self-Replicating Structure.
Gene Unit of information that gets passed down from parents to

offspring. It is a specific section of DNA composed of DNA base
pairs.
Genetic Modification Direct Manipulation of DNA of an organism to get desired

(GM) Technology characteristics
Approaches for Gene 1. CRISPR- Cas9

Editing/ Gene 2. Homing Endonuclease
Modification 3. Site Directed Endonuclease (SDN)
● In SDN ‘Nucleases’ are used which are like
molecular scissors which cleave the DNA at
desired position
● SDN 1 and 2 do not introduce any alien gene while
SDN3 does
● In SDN 1 and 2 result is indistinguishable from a
conventionally bred crop
Bioeconomy An economy that sources its energy and material needs from
renewable sources
GM Crops regulators in ● Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under Ministry of

India Science is the nodal for GM research and setting of safety
standards
● GEAC - Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is the
regulator under Ministry of Environment and Forests to
approve GM Crops in India, allow field trials and approve
large scale release in environment
● ICAR - Indian Council For Agricultural Research under
Ministry of Agriculture for R&D on GM crops

Advantages Of GM Crops 1. Better Productivity
2. Increased Food Security
3. Enhanced Nutritional Quality
4. Better Soil Fertility
Challenges of GM Crops 1. Environmental contamination

2. Disturbance in Gene Pool and loss to biodiversity
3. Biosafety - safety of animal and human food systems and
ecosystem health.
4. Genetic contamination - GM crops could create
superweeds which are invasive in nature and can destroy
ecosystems
Guidelines for safety ● Released by Department of Biotechnology (DBT)

assessment of Genome ● Plants modified using SDN 1 and SDN 2 techniques are
Edited Plants 2022 exempt from certain rules under Environment Protection
Act, 1986 to expedite their approval process
DMH 11 (Dhara Mustard ● GEAC has approved its environmental release

Hybrid) ● It is a transgenic hybrid crop developed by researchers at
Delhi University by crossing Indian Mustard Varuna
(Barnase Line) with East European Early Heera 2 Mutant
(Barstar Line)
● Foreign genes come from a soil bacteria called ‘Bacillus
amyloliquefaciens’
CAR (Chimeric Antigen ● T cells are types of WHite Blood Cells (WBC) that attack
Receptor)- T Cell Therapy foreign pathogens
● This therapy aims to EDIT these T cells to form CAR-T cells
which can then be used in rapid recovery of cancer and
save patients from strenuous chemotherapy sessions
● Remember -
○ T cells and B cells are types of WBCs called
lymphocytes
○ B cells produce antibodies to attack the invading
pathogens while T cells destroy body’s own cells
which are taken over by virus/cancer
Genome Sequencing ● A genome is an organism’s complete set of DNA.

Sequencing it involves deciphering the order in which
base pairs of the DNA are arranged
● In human DNA, there are 3 billion base pairs
● Genome sequencing helps in understanding human
evolution, identify genetic diseases
● USA in 1990 led the Human Genome Project (HGP) while
in India we have had initiatives like INDIGEN (by CSIR) and
Genome India (by DBT)
● INSACOG ( Indian SARS Cov2 Genomics Consortium) was
an recent programme by CSIR, MoHFW, DBT etc to
sequence the genome of SARS COV2 virus.
Cloning ● China, for the first time in the world has been able to

clone a wild arctic wolf
● Primarily there are 3 types of cloning - DNA cloning,
Reproductive cloning (Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
Technology) and Therapeutic Cloning
Indian Biological Data ● Opened in Faridabad, Haryana, it will be a national

Center (IBDC) repository for all life sciences data in India that is
generated from publicly funded research
● Supported by DBT, data will be stored in a 4 petabyte
supercomputer - ‘Brahm’
● Similar other facilities in India :
○ National Gene Bank, Pusa
○ National Animal Gene Bank, Karnal
○ Indian Seed Vault, Changla, Ladakh
Molecular Motor ● These are type of proteins that drive intracellular

movement by converting chemical energy to mechanical
work - useful in processes like muscular contraction, cell
division etc
Information & Communication Technology
National Geospatial Policy ● Launched by Ministry of Science And Technology

● It aims to provide open data platforms to boost
innovation and startups in this sector
● Geospatial technology is used to identify a location on the
surface of Earth
● It can be used to generate satellite imagery, mapping,
navigation, aerial survey and earth observation
● Survey of India (under MoST) will be the key
implementation body
Draft National Data ● Formulated by Ministry of Electronics and Information

Governance Framework Technology (MeITY) it aims to enhance data led
Policy governance in India
● Standardised data management standards, increase
access to quality data and protect non personal data of
consumers are some of the features of policy
● The policy aims to create IDMO (Indian Data Management
Office) which will store ‘anonymized’ non personal
datasets available with government entities and that are
to be collected in future from citizens
● Access of this data will be given to startups and for R&D
● Policy doesn't apply to private players, but they can
contribute their data voluntarily
● There is no provision to monetize the data
● Related : NDAP (National Data Analytics Platform)
operated by NITI Aayog that hosts variety of public
datasets and provides tools for quick analysis of it
5G • Private captive 5G networks are allowed in India

● Recent 5G Spectrum Auction earned 1.5 lakh crore from
the government. Auctions were for 3 frequency bands -
low, medium and high. Most revenue was earned from
sale of low band spectrum.
Mobile Edge Computing ● Technique to process data, close (location-wise) to the

point where it is generated to get faster analytics with
minimal latency.It provides near real time analytics and
highly efficient system performance.
Virtual Private Network ● Encrypted connection over internet from a device to a

(VPN) network in real time
● Offers anonymity, security as well as confidentiality
Generative AI ● GPT (Generative Pretrained Transformer) : Large

Language Model, trained on text data on internet
● Lambda - mimic humans in conversation
● Can create new content like music, videos and even write
computer code
4D Printing ● 4D printing is the process through which a 3D printed

object transforms itself into another structure over the
influence of external energy input such as temperature,
light or other environmental stimuli.
● It can have applications in robotics, cancer treatment etc
Quantum Key ● It is a secure cryptographic communication protocol

Distribution ● Here 2 parties (involved in communication) can generate a
(QKD) shared secret key which can be used to encrypt/decrypt a
message. This generated key then can be distributed
between 2 parties using QKD.
● QKD technology underpins Quantum Communication
technology that ensures unconditional data security by
virtue of the principles of quantum mechanics, which is
not possible with the conventional encryption systems.
The conventional cryptosystems used for data-encryption
rely on the complexity of mathematical algorithms,
whereas the security offered by quantum communication
is based on the laws of Physics. Therefore, quantum
cryptography is considered as future-proof Since no
future advancements in the computational power can
break quantum-cryptosystem
● ISRO, IIT Delhi and DRDO are leading QKD development in
India
Proof Of Work And Proof ● Terms related to consensus mechanism in

Of Stake cryptocurrencies that allow mining of new blocks by
making sure valid/authentic work is done
● Blockchain uses Proof of Work while Ethereum uses the
Proof of Stake Mechanism
Digi Yatra ● Mobile Application developed by Ministry Of Civil Aviation

for seamless transit through airports
● With this, a passenger’s face will act as a boarding pass
and there will be no need for carrying multiple documents
India Stack ● A platform of open APIs (Application Programming

Interface) like - Aadhar, UPI, Co-WIN, Digi locker etc
Global Declaration on ● It aims to keep internet open and free

future of Internet ● India is not a party to this declaration
National Internet ● Not for profit organisation, established in 2003

Exchange Of India (NIXI) ● Facilitates exchange of domestic internet traffic between
Internet Service Providers
● Functions as India’s registry for ‘.in’ domain
Digilocker and Ayushman ● Digilocker will be used to store health records under
Bharat Digital Mission ABDM
(ABDM) ● Documents stored/issued on digilocker are to be treated
at par with physical documents as per IT rules, 2016
Global Lighthouse ● Led by McKinsey and WEF, it is a community of

Network manufacturers who showcase leadership in application of
4th Industrial Revolution technologies like AI, Big Data
etc.
Aryabhat 1 ● Analog chipset designed by IISc for AI applications like

Alexa/Siri etc.
Cryptojacking ● A hard to detect cyber-attack, where a computing device

is hacked to illicitly mine cryptocurrency
E- SIM ● Embedded SIM, where SIM card is physically soldered

onto the device PCB and cannot be easily removed
BharOS ● Android based mobile operating system designed by IIT

Madras
Bluebugging ● Hacking a device via its Bluetooth connection
Hermit ● Commercial spyware with ability to infect ios and android

devices. It is used to steal sensitive information from a
device
● Its use has been reported in Syria, Kazakhstan and Italy
PARAM PORUL ● Indigenously built supercomputer at NIT Trichy

● It has direct contact liquid cooling technology to obtain a
high power usage effectiveness
Space Technology
Mars Orbiter Mission ● Recently the orbiter lost communication with ground
station, bringing it to its end of life after 8 years

● The mission was launched in 2013 via PSLV C25
● Achievements of Mission :
○ Photographed the far side of Deimos ( 1 of the
natural satellites of Mars)
○ Gave information about composition of Martian
exosphere
Recent Mars Missions by 1. Perseverance By NASA

Other Nations 2. Hope Mission By UAE
3. Tianwen 1 by China
4. MMX Mission by Japan
Note : Perseverance rover collected rock sample from Jezero

Crater called ‘South Seitah’ and Moxia on board the rover was
able to produce Oxygen at Mars
NaVIC (Navigation with ● Developed by ISRO, it is a regional (not global)

Indian Constellation) navigational system
● Earlier called IRNSS, it functions via a cluster of 7
satellites. (4 in geosynchronous, 3 in geostationary orbit)
● It provides navigational range of around 1500km from
Indian Landmass
Other Global Navigational 1. GPS (USA)

Systems 2. GLONASS (Russia)
3. Galileo (EU)
4. Beidou (China)
Artemis I ● Moon Mission planned by NASA

● It aims for deep space exploration and later to land 1st
woman on moon
● In Greek Mythology, Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo
and goddess of moon
James Webb Space ● It is NASA’s largest and most powerful space science
Telescope (JWST) telescope.
● Built by International collaboration between NASA,
European Space Agency (ESA), and Canadian Space
Agency (CSA).
● Webb views the universe in infrared, Its primary mirror is
6.5 metres in diameter.
● It will not be in orbit around Earth but will orbit the Sun,
1.5 million kilometres away from the Earth at the second
Lagrange point or L2.

Private Sector in Space 1. IN- SPACE ( Indian National Space Promotion and
Authorisation centre ; set up at Ahmedabad) has been
conceptualised to promote space activities of private
players in India
2. Hyderabad's Dhruva Space and Bengaluru's Digantara
were authorized by IN-SPACe for launch of payloads
onboard PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) of
PSLV-C53.
3. Mission Prarambh: Involved launch of Vikram-S (VKS),
India’s first privately built rocket by Hyderabad based
Skyroot Aerospace.
4. India’s first private launch pad unveiled at Sriharikota
Designed by Agnikul (a startup) and executed in support
of ISRO and IN-SPACe.
Space Sustainability Space sustainability refers to ensuring that all humanity can
continue to use outer space for peaceful purposes and
socioeconomic benefit now and in the long term.
Threats to space sustainability :

1. Orbital crowding and Space Debris leading to Kessler
Syndrome
2. Militarisation and weaponization of the space
GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO ● Developed by Airports Authority of India And ISRO
Augmentation and ● Possible uses in Air traffic control, crop spraying etc.
Navigation)
Aditya L1 mission by ISRO It will study the Sun’s corona, solar emissions, solar winds and
flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and will carry out
round-the-clock imaging of the Sun.
L1 stands for Lagrange Point 1.

Blood Moon Blood Moon, commonly known as total lunar eclipse, occurs
when the moon passes through the darkest part of Earth's
shadow, known as the umbra. It is called blood moon
because of the reddish hue.
Sunspots Sunspots are areas that appear dark on the surface of the Sun.
They are cooler than other parts of the Sun’s surface. They form
at areas where magnetic fields are particularly strong .Magnetic
field lines near sunspots can cause a sudden explosion of energy
called a solar flare
Health
Traditional Medicine ● Recently, WHO Director-General laid the foundation stone

for world's first and only Global Centre for Traditional
Medicine (GCTM) at Jamnagar in Gujarat
● According to WTO, Traditional medicine (TM) is the sum
of the knowledge, skill, and practices based on the
theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different
cultures, for treatment of physical and mental illness.
Tuberculosis (TB) Caused by bacteria : Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Vacccine against it : BCG Vaccine
Can impact : Brain , Lungs , Kidney
Initiatives to End TB In India we have the Nikshay portal, Nikshay poshan yojana
and National Plan to End TB by 2025
Moscow Declaration 2017 : To enhance accountability towards
ending TB by 2030
About Antimicrobial ● AMR is the ability of a microorganism (like bacteria,

Resistance (AMR) viruses, and some parasites) to stop an antimicrobial
(such as antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials) from
working against it.
● WHO has declared AMR as one of the top 10 global public
health threats facing humanity
● Causes of AMR : Over prescription, unregulated use of
antibiotics, adding excessive antibiotics to agricultural
feed, poor hygiene etc
mRNA Vaccines ● Unlike conventional vaccines that inject a weakened form

of a virus or bacteria into the body, RNA vaccines use part
of virus’ own genes to stimulate an immune response
● mRNA vaccines teach cells how to make copies of the
spike protein that triggers an immune response
inside human bodies, when actual infection takes place.
Food Fortification Deliberately increasing the content of essential micronutrients in

food to improve the nutritional quality of to provide public health
benefit with minimal risk to health.

● In India, wheat flour and rice are fortified with Iron,
Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid, Milk and Edible Oil with
Vitamins A and D and Double Fortified Salt with Iodine and
Iron
Concept of ‘One Health’
ORS (Oral Rehydration Dr Dilip Mahalanabis who pioneered the emergency use of oral
Solution) rehydration solution (ORS) in 1971 refugee camps for diarrhoeal
diseases passed away.
He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his discovery in 2023
About ORS:
-It is a mixture of electrolytes (salts) and carbohydrates (in the
form of sugar) dissolved in water.
-They are used to replace salts and water that the body loses
during dehydration caused by gastroenteritis, diarrhoea or
vomiting. The main electrolytes are potassium and sodium.
Monkeypox Zoonotic disease caused by the virus belonging to the

Orthopoxvirus genus. Same genus also includes variola virus
which causes smallpox and cowpox virus.
Largely occurring close to tropical rainforests of Africa. Animal-to-
human transmission can occur from direct contact with the blood,
bodily fluids, or cutaneous or mucosal lesions of infected animals.
It is now a public health emergency of international concern
(PHEIC) under the WHO's International Health Regulations
(IHR),2005.
Human Papillomavirus HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that may cause cervical
(HPV) cancer.Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer of
women in India despite being largely preventable.
Cervical cancer can be eliminated if all prepubertal girls are given

HPV vaccination globally.

Cervavac, the country’s first quadrivalent human papillomavirus
vaccine (qHPV) has been Manufactured by Serum Institute of
India.
Zombie Virus Zombie virus is a virus emerged due to thawing of permafrost as

global temperature is rising.
Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) LSD is a vector-borne pox disease that is caused by Capripoxvirus
Lumpi-ProVacInd vaccine has been developed by Indian Council of

Agricultural Research (ICAR).It is a homologous, live attenuated
vaccine specifically targeted to protect cattle against LSD virus.
LSD infects cattle and water buffalo mainly through vectors such
as blood-feeding insects. The disease is not zoonotic, meaning it
does not spread from animals to humans.
Africa's 1st Malaria Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, announced support for the
Vaccine rollout of the first malaria vaccine in Africa (starting with Ghana,
Kenya and Malawi) from 2022-2025.
Malaria is caused by parasites that are transmitted to people

through infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.5 parasite species
cause malaria in humans, and 2 of this: P. falciparum (most
prevalent on African continent) and P. vivax (prevalent outside of
sub-Saharan Africa)– pose greatest threat.
Sickle cell anaemia Occurs due to a genetic mutation that causes hemoglobin in red
blood cells (RBCs) to clump together.Affects the shape of RBCs.
RBCs are usually round and flexible, so they move easily through
blood vessels. In sickle cell anaemia, some RBCs are shaped like
sickles or crescent moons. They become rigid and sticky, which
can slow or block blood flow.
Canine Distemper Virus Canine distemper is caused by the paramyxovirus virus and it
(CDV) spreads through body fluids like infected urine, blood and saliva.
The virus attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous
systems of puppies and dogs and can be transmitted to lions,
tigers, leopards and other wild cats as well as seals.
There is no known cure for CDV.
It is considered a threat to Asiatic Lions of Gujarat
Shigella bacteria Shigella is a genus of bacteria that causes an infection called

shigellosis. It is a gastrointestinal infection and second leading
cause of bacterial diarrhoea worldwide and third leading cause of
death in children less than 5 years old.
Transmitted through contaminated food or water, or through
person-to-person contact. It is Endemic in most low- or middle-
income countries (LMICs).No vaccines available for shigellosis.
Recently outbreak was reported in Kerala

Defence
GSAT 7 Series Satellites • GSAT 7 series satellites are advanced satellites developed
by ISRO to meet the communication needs of the defence
services.
• GSAT 7 satellite (launched in 2013) is mainly used by the
Indian Navy for its communication needs.
• GSAT 7A (launched in 2018) helps in radar communication
of Indian Air Force
• GSAT 7B will primarily fulfil the communication needs of
the Army. It will help the Army enhance its surveillance in
border areas
Flight Trajectory of
Various types of Missiles
BrahMos Missile ->Philippines signed a deal to purchase BrahMos

->BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile system
->It can be launched from land, sea and air
->BrahMos is a collaboration between India (DRDO) and Russia
(NPO Mashinostroyenia).
->Name represents Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers.
->It is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine as
first stage and liquid ramjet as second Stage. It operates at fire
and forget principle.
->Following India’s entry in MTCR in 2016, it was decided to
extend the range to 450 km and to 600 km at a later stage
S400 S-400 is a mobile long-range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM)

system. Equipped with four different missiles, it can engage
enemy aircraft, ballistic missiles, and Airborne Warning And
Control System (AWACS) planes at 400km, 250km, medium-range
120km and short-range 40km.
It has the capability to engage 80 targets at one time with
response time of 9-10 seconds.
HELINA Indigenously developed (by DRDO) helicopter launched Anti-Tank

Guided Missile (ATGM) ‘HELINA’ was successfully flight tested.
It is third generation fire and forget class ATGM system mounted
on the Advanced Light Helicopter
Scorpene Submarines Fifth Scorpène-class submarine Vagir was delivered to the Indian
Navy.

Six Scorpene submarines are being built indigenously under
Project-75 by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) under
technology transfer from Naval Group of France.
Other 5 are: Kalvari, Khanderi, Karanj, Vela, Vagsheer.
Features : anti-warship and anti-submarine operations,
intelligence gathering and surveillance and naval mines laying.
INS Vikrant PM commissioned India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier INS

(Indian Naval Ship) Vikrant.
INS Vikrant has been designed by Indian Navy’s Directorate of

Naval Design, and built at Cochin Shipyard Limited, a public sector
shipyard under Ministry of Shipping.
India has had aircraft carriers earlier too — but those were built
either by British (INS Vikrant and Viraat) or Russians (INS
Vikramaditya).
About INS Vikrant :Over 76% of material and equipment on board

is indigenous. Uses Short Take Off But Assisted Recovery
(STOBAR) aircraft-operation mode that uses a ski-jump for
launching aircrafts.
Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vagsheer, sixth and last submarine of Project 75, has been
Vagsheer launched. Vagsheer is a diesel attack submarine, designed to
perform sea denial as well as access denial warfare.
P 75 is one of two lines of submarines, other being P75I, as part of

a plan for indigenous submarine construction with technology
taken from overseas firms.
Under P75, Kalavari, Khanderi, Karanj and Vela have been

commissioned. Sea trials are on for Vagir.
It is Constructed by Mazagon Dock Ltd
Kamikaze Drones Indian Army to induct kamikaze drones in eastern Ladakh.
Kamikaze Drones are small, unmanned aircraft that are packed

with explosives that can be flown directly at a tank or a group of
troops that are destroyed when it hits the target and explodes.
Also called Switchblade drones as their bladelike wings spring out
on launch.
Note : Drones like Ghatak and Tapas are being developed

indigenously too
Some Aircrafts 1. Dornier Aircraft - Passenger aircraft given by HAL to

Manufactured by Alliance air to operate in North East under UDAN Scheme
Hindustan Aeronautics 2. Tejas Mark 2 : Advanced version of LCA Tejas
Ltd. (HAL)

Pinaka Multi Barrel ● Developed by DRDO, this system will now be exported to
Rocket Launch System Armenia
● In recent times Indian Defence Exports have increased
manifold due to steps like Positive Indigenization list,
SRIJAN Portal and initiatives like IDEX
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Nuclear Fusion Vs Nuclear

Fission
Note :
A fusion device
(Tokamak) is being built
in southern France under
the International
Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor
(ITER). India is part of this
initiative
Lithium • Lithium is the lightest solid metal. It is currently produced

from hard rock or brine mines.
• Australia is the world's biggest supplier. In India first
traces of Lithium ever to be discovered in the ancient
igneous rock of Karnataka’s Mandya district. Recently
Lithium reserves were also discovered in J&K. Currently
India imports all its lithium needs, with China and Hong
Kong biggest suppliers
Lithium Triangle : Argentina, Bolivia And Chile

Fuel Cell
Nobel Prizes 2022 1. Chemistry - Awarded for research on Click Chemistry. It is

a branch of science in which molecular building blocks
snap together quickly and efficiently. Instead of trying to
make carbon atoms react with each other, click chemistry
focuses on using smaller molecules that already have a
complete carbon frame. Use : Development of enzyme
inhibitors, ligands and better pharma products
2. Physics - Awarded for experiments on Quantum Science -
mainly Quantum Entanglement (QE) and Quantum
Teleportation. Entanglement is when multiple objects –
such as a pair of electrons or photons – share a single
quantum state. By measuring the property of one particle
we can immediately determine the result of an equivalent
measurement on the other particle, without any check.
Use: Quantum computing and Cryptography
3. Medicine: Awarded for sequencing the genomes of
extinct Hominins and studies on Human Evolution.
Neanderthal DNA was extracted from ancient remains.
Neanderthals developed outside Africa and populated
Europe and Western Asia from around 400,000
years. They went extinct around 30,000 years ago.
Nobel Awardee analysed and sequenced the
mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of Neanderthals –
demonstrating that Neanderthals were genetically
distinct. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited via maternal
(mother) line only and has 16,000 base pairs as compared
to Nuclear DNA with 3 billion Base pairs and inherited via
both the parents.

ECONOMY
GDP and GVA Gap • Recently in Indian Economy the gap between
GDP and GVA has increased
• This is because GDP is calculated at Market
Prices and GVA is calculated at Basic Prices
• GDP lags behind GVA if tax collections are low
and subsidies are high in an economy.
• [GDP] = [GVA] +[Net Taxes] - [Net Subsidies]
Green GDP • It is growing faster than traditional GDP after

3 decades
• NCAVES (Natural Capital Accounting and
Valuation of Ecosystem Services) is the
standard used by MoSPI for environmental
accounting
• Uttarakhand became first state to calculate
its GEP - Gross Environment Product
Environmental Kuznets Curve
World Bank’s report- Poverty And Shared • The World Bank has updated its definition of
Prosperity extremely poor. People earning less than 2.15
dollars per day are now considered extremely
poor. (Earlier the criteria was 1.9 dollars)
• Poverty Line is kept at 6.85 dollars per person
per day.
Glass Cliff • A term which relates to the phenomenon of

promoting women/minorities to higher-
leadership positions during times of crisis
with an aim to blame them if things don't
improve
Technical Recession • 2 consecutive quarters (6 months) of decline

in real GDP
Categorization of Countries based on • UN classifies Nations as : Developed

Economic Growth Countries,Economies In Transition,
Developing Countries (India Lies here)
And Least Developed Countries
• World Bank Classifies Nations as (based on
Gross National Income or GNI, per capita) :

o Low Income Countries - where GNI
per capita is less than 1085 dollars
o Lower Middle Income Countries
where GNI is between 1085 to
4255 dollars
o Upper Middle Income Countries
where GNI is between 4255 and
13205 dollars
o High Income Countries where GNI
is above 13205 dollars
• India lies in the lower middle income
category. To become a developed nation we
have to cross the benchmark of 13,000 GNI
per capita by 2047
Balance of Payments for India • For FY22 India had a trade surplus in services
but a deficit in merchandise goods
• For FY23 India’s combined exports have
crossed $ 750 billion
• India remained largest recipient of
Remittances with the figure touching $100
billion
‘5 Pran’ Given by PM Modi on 15th August 1. Become a developed nation by 2047

2022 2. Shed Colonial Mindset
3. Take pride in our roots
4. Work for Unity of Nation
5. Sense of Duty among citizens
Key Taxes Out of GST Ambit • Excise on Alcohol

• Property Tax
• Electricity Duty
• Basic Customs Duty
• Stamp Duty
• Taxes on crude, petrol, diesel, ATF and
Natural Gas
Circular Trading • Fraudulent practice of availing Input Tax

Credit in the GST system by generating fake
invoices
National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) • Was Formed under the GST regime
• Will wind up its operations soon
• Anti-Profiteering complaints under GST will
now be looked at by Competition
Commission of India as per orders from CBIC
De-Dollarization • Term used to denote the efforts put in to

reduce the dominance of US dollar in
international markets by promoting
transactions in other currencies

Digital Tax • OECD showcased how Bigtech MNCs were
evading taxes via the practice of Base Erosion
and Profit Shifting
• It suggested a 2 pillar formula which
comprised of a Global Minimum Tax of 15% on
these entities
• India currently levies an Equalization Levy and
a DIgital Services Tax in this regard
G24 The Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on

International Monetary Affairs and Development,
or (Group of 24 (G-24)) was established in 1971 in
order to help coordinate the positions of
developing countries on international monetary
and development finance issues, as well as and to
ensure that their interests are adequately
represented in negotiations on international
monetary matters. Though originally named after
the number of founding Member States, it now
(Member Nations) has 28 Members
Government Debt Govt debt

1. Public Debt (against Consolidated Fund of
India)
i. Internal – marketable, non-marketable
ii. External
2. Other Liabilites (against Public A/c of India)
Internal debt >>> External debt
Debt to GDP ratio FRBM target (by 2024-25)

Centre – 40% of GDP
States – 20% of GDP
India’s external debt External debt ($613 bn)

Long-term debt >> Short-term debt
Acc to denomination
USD (55%) > INR (30%) > SDR (6%) > Yen (5%)
Windfall Tax • One off tax imposed on entities that have

unexpectedly received large profits
• Recently applied on Mil Marketing Companies
as they profited heavily due to Russia-
Ukraine war and oil crisis

Tax Sources of Central Government
Tax collection: GST > Corporation Tax > Income

Tax > Excise > Customs
Subsidy: Food > Fertiliser > Fuel
Deficits: FD (5.9%) > RD (2.9%) > PD (2.3%)
Financial Services Institutions Bureau • Bank Boards Bureau replaced by FSIB

(FSIB) • It will work under Department of Financial
Services, Ministry Of Finance
• It will recommend appointment, transfers
and termination of top posts in Public sector
banks, insurance companies and other
Financial institutions
Banking System Liquidity • On any given day, if the entire banking

system is a NET borrower from RBI then the
banking system liquidity is said to be in
deficit, else it is in surplus
• In September 2022 the liquidity turned deficit
after months of surplus, resulting in banks
increasing deposit rates to attract consumer
deposits. This also led to hike in loan rates
EASE 5.0 • A reform roadmap for Public Sector Banks to

adopt better practices and new age
technology
Interoperable regulatory sandbox • A framework to regulate new Fintech

companies who offer hybrid products and lie
under domain of multiple finance sector
regulators
• SEBI, RBI, PFRDA, IRDAI are all on board with
IFSCA acting as the principal regulator
CPI (R), CPI(U), CPI (All India) National Statistics Office(NSO), MoSPI
CPI (AI): weights [base year - 2012]

Food & Beverages (45%) > Services (20%) >
Housing (10%) > Fuel & Light (7%) > Clothing,

footwear (6.5%) > Personal care (4%) > Household
goods services (4%) > Pan masala, tobacco (2.4%)
Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) Includes: cereals, meat, fish, egg, milk, oats, fats,
vegetables, pulses, sugar, spices
Does not include: pan, tobacco, intoxicants
CPI (Industrial Workers) Labour Bureau, MoL&E

CPI (Rural Labourer)
CPI (Agri Labourer) CPI (IW) – used for fixing dearness allowance to
central/state govt employees
CPI (AL) – used for fixing MGNREGA wages
WPI Economic Advisor to DPIIT, Min of Commerce
WPI weights: [base year 2011-12]

1. Manufactured products – 64%
Processed food, edible oil, paper products,
chemicals, plastic, cement, metal products
etc
2. Primary articles – 23%
Unprocessed food, eggs , meat, oilseeds etc
Crude petroleum
Minerals
3. Fuel & power – 13%
High speed diesel, petrol, LPG
** no services
IIP NSO, MoSPI
IIP weights (based on type of goods):

Primary goods (34%) > intermediate goods (17%) >
consumer non-durables (15%) > consumer
durables (13%) > capital goods (8%)
IIP weights (based on sector):

Manufacturing (77%) > Mining (14%) > Electricity
(8%)
Index of Eight Core Industries Economic Advisor to DPIIT, Min of Commerce
weights:
Refinery products > Electricity > Steel > Coal >
Crude Oil > Natural Gas > Cement > Fertilizers

Inflation In India in 2022 • It remained more than 6% for 3 consecutive
quarters, mainly due to supply side shocks
like lockdowns and Russia Ukraine War
• There was a divergence observed between
CPI and WPI indicators. This was mainly
because the basket of commodities
measured by both indices are different. (WPI
does not account for services, while CPI does)
Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) • Under RBI Act, 1934 – amended by Finance
Act, 2016
• 6 members
• Chaired by RBI Governor
• Monetary policy goal – inflation targeting
• Inflation target decided by Union govt in
consultation with RBI
• MPC fixes the benchmark policy interest rates
(repo rate, reverse repo) to restrain inflation
within the inflation target.
Important rates CRR à 4.5 %

SLR à 18 %
Repo Rate à 6.5 %
SDF à 6.25 %
Reverse repo à 3.35 %
Bank rate, MSF à 6.75 %
SDF (Standing Deposit Facility) SDF allows the RBI to absorb excess cash from
the economy by sucking liquidity from
commercial banks without giving government
securities in return to the lenders.
Banks park their money with RBI but without G-
sec as collateral.
Account Aggregator (AA) System • AA are entities that help individuals digitally
access and share financial information and
services from multiple vendors
• It enables consent based data sharing,
provides all financial services like credit,
insurance etc under one platform.
• It is regulated by RBI under the NBFC-AA
licence
Cost Inflation Index (CII) • It is released by Income Tax Department

• Based on CPI (urban)
• Helps taxpayers compute their long term
capital gains tax

RBI’s Digital Payment Index • Shows Robust Growth in Digital Payments
from 2021 to 2022
• For payment service providers, RBI has
mandated data localization. This mandate will
be audited by empanelled auditors from
CERT-IN
Crypto Asset Reporting Framework • Launched by OECD to report crypto

related transactions and curb tax
evasions due to them.
Digital Banking Units (DBU) • They are specialised service end points with
minimal infrastructure to cater to needs of
last mile consumers.
• They can provide facilities like passbook
printing, cash withdrawal and balance check,
all digitally
• All scheduled commercial banks can set up
DBUs. However, Regional Rural Banks,
Payment Banks and Local Area Banks Are
NOT allowed to setup DBUs

Card Tokenization • As per new RBI rules, online merchants
cannot directly store consumer’s credit/debit
card details on their servers
• Card tokenization is a process to encrypt
those details and then store it
UPI goes International • Now accepted in Singapore, UAE, Nepal And

Bhutan
Green Bonds • World Bank issued the first green bonds in

2008
• They are used to finance projects which are
environment friendly
• Recently RBI issued Sovereign Green Bonds
on behalf of Government of India
• Recently Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam became
first municipality to issue green municipal
bonds
• Projects that are NOT eligible under
Sovereign Green Bonds by government :
o Projects involving extraction of
minerals.
o Nuclear projects, landfill projects and
biomass projects utilising feedstock
that originates from protected areas
o Hydropower projects greater than 25
Megawatt capacity
Investor Education and Protection Fund • Setup under Ministry of Corporate Affairs to
Authority (IEPFA) promote investor education and prevent
frauds
India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) • Set up at IFSC GIFT CITY to allow trading in
gold and bullion

Poison Pill Strategy • Shareholders rights plan that allows them to
purchase additional shares at discount
Front Running • Illegal Practice in India, where a trader who is

aware of a large upcoming share purchase
order, buys the same share in advance and in
bulk with a motive to get huge profit
Insurance Penetration • Ratio of total insurance premium to the GDP

of a country
• It is 4.2% in India, whereas the global average
is 6.3%
NPS vs OPS
Internationalisation of Rupee • To increase global acceptance and credibility

of INR and to settle cross border transactions
using it.
• Rupee denominated Masala Bonds, Trade
Settlement via VOSTRO accounts and
currency swap agreements are some
measures taken up to increase
internationalisation of rupee
Outcomes of the 12th Ministerial 1. Check on illegal fishing and no subsidy

Conference of WTO towards fishing outside EEZ
2. IP waiver granted for COVID vaccines
3. Extension of Moratorium applied to
electronic commerce transactions
4. No export restrictions on food security
purchases of World Food Programme
Goods Trade Barometer Index published by WTO shows slowing down of trade
growth

Currency War • When countries deliberately weaken their
currencies in order to keep their exports
competitive
• Reverse Currency War - When Countries
ensure that their currency doesn't lose value
against $, to save themselves from costlier
crude imports.
FDI In India • Top Sources of FDI in India : Singapore >

Mauritius > UAE > USA
• Top recipient states:
Karnataka > Maharashtra > Delhi
• India is the 7th topmost recipient of FDI in the
world. Top 3 FDI receivers are: USA, China
and Hong Kong

India’s Forex Reserves
As of 7th April 2023 - India’s Forex reserves

stood at 584 Billion dollars
Global Innovation Index by WIPO • India moves up 6 places to rank 40th in 2022
• Switzerland, USA and Sweden are top 3
rankers
• India has been ranked first in the ICT services
export sub indicator
• NITI Aayog also brought out India Innovation
Index - where Karnataka, Manipur and
Chandigarh topped in their respective
categories.
NIPAM (National Intellectual property • By Ministry of Commerce to impart IP

Awareness Mission) awareness and training
India Skills Report, 2023 • Published by Wheebox, AICTE and

Confederation of Indian Industries
• India's employable workforce has increased
to 50.3%
• Employability of women is greater than that
of men.
• UP, Maharashtra and Delhi are top 3 states
with highest employable workforce
NIPUN ( National Initiative for promotion • Program by MoHUA to upskill 100,000

of upskilling of Nirman Workers) construction workers under DAY-NULM
Unicorns in India • A unicorn is defined as a startup whose

valuation has crossed 1 billion dollars
• India has more than 100 unicorns
• India is 3rd in number of unicorns worldwide
after USA and China
Nano Urea • Developed by IFFCO

• It is an alternative to urea in farmlands

• It has better Nitrogen Use efficiency, higher
yield and productivity
• It is environmentally friendly and has
potential to eliminate urea import in India by
2025
• IFFCO is also on similar lines working on
NANO-DAP (Diammonium Phosphate) which
is a combine of Nitrogen and Phosphate
fertilisers
2023 - International Year of Millets • Millets are super-food, nutri cereals as they
declared by UN General Assembly are rich in iron, iodine and anti-oxidants
• They require less water to grow, are climate
friendly and can help us defeat malnutrition
Rice Crop - Important facts • India is the second largest producer and
largest exporter of rice in the world
• Strategies of Rice Cultivation - Drilling,
Transplantation, Direct Seeding And SRI -
system of rice intensification
• Golden Rice - Rice fortified with vitamin A
• Kalanamak rice or Buddha rice - A GI tagged
rice of Uttar Pradesh with black husk and rich
in iron and zinc
Cotton Crop - Important Facts • Brown Cotton or Kandu - local indigenous

variety of cotton grown in Karnataka, Fabric
made from it has UV protection properties
• BG1, BG2 and BG2 RRF (Protects against
American Bollworm) are GM varieties of BT
Cotton
Asian Palm Oil Alliance • Formed by 5 major oil importing countries -

India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri
Lanka
• TO get a collective bargaining power and
make imports sustainable
• Indonesia is the largest producer and
exporter of Palm Oil
• India is the world’s largest importer of edible
oil
Codex Alimentarius • International food standards and codes that

contribute to quality, safety and fairness of
international food trade
Organic Aadhar • Likely to be rolled out by APEDA for farmers

engaged in organic farming under NPOP-
National Programme For Organic Production
Gold Mining in India • India is the world’s 2nd largest consumer of

gold after China

• India imports 89% of its gold
• States in India with largest gold resource -
Bihar > Rajasthan> Karnataka
• Agencies are exploring the possibility of
extracting gold from a large reserve in Jamui,
Bihar
Green Steel • It utilises green hydrogen in place of coking

coal to manufacture steel
MSME Sector • Definition -

o Micro = 1 crore investment
o Small = 10 crore investment
o Medium = 50 crore investment
• MSME sector contributes :

o 30% to GDP
o 45% to Manufacturing Output
o 48% to exports
o 11 crore jobs via 6 crore +
enterprises
Digital Competition Law • Parliamentary Committee on Finance has

urged for enactment of such a law to curb
anti- competitive practices by Big Tech
• Currently Competition Commission of India
hears such cases with appeal to NCLAT
Tourism in India • Dharamshala Declaration - adopted by

National Conference on Tourism which sets
the goal to become world leader in tourism
by 2047
• India ranks at 54 out of 117 nations in the
global travel and tourism index released by
WEF
Framework to curb the menace of Fake/ • Unveiled by Department of Consumer Affairs

Deceptive Reviews of Products on E- and Prepared by BIS
commerce sites • Fake Reviews violate consumer’s right under
Consumer Protection Act, 2019
Open Network for Digital Commerce • Initiative of DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce

(ONDC) • It is an open, decentralised and interoperable
platform to enable large scale digital
commerce
• It democratises and decentralises E-
Commerce
• Promotes freedom of choice for the
consumer, better market access for MSME
sellers, ends monopolistic tendencies of Big
Players

Telecom Sector In India • 80 crore + Internet users
• Overall teledensity greater than 90%
• Recent Reforms :
1. Rationalisation of AGR (Adjusted
Gross Revenue) - removal of non
telecom revenue from the definition
of AGR
2. Fixed spectrum auction calendar
3. 100% FDI via automatic route
4. Telecom development fund, launched
by USOF (Universal Service Obligation
Fund) for rural communications.
National Logistics Policy (NLP) • Launched by Ministry of Commerce with aim

to increase efficiency of logistics sector in
India
• Logistics cost in India is around 14% of GDP -
aim is to bring it down and at par with
international standards of 8-9% of GDP
• ULIP = A 3 tier Unified Logistics Interface to
bring all transportation services on a single
platform
• LEADS Report 2022 - Logistics EASE across
States ranks states on basis of logistical
efficiencies
Developments in Rail Sector • National Rail Plan aims to increase freight

share of railways to 45%
• Railways are undergoing electrification and
phasing outing diesel locomotives under
Green Rail Programme
• Traditionally Railways use LHB coaches made
of Stainless steel but recently 1st ever all
aluminium wagon rake (made by BESCO and
HINDALCO) was flagged off
• Aluminium coaches are 100% recyclable, have
a lesser carbon footprint and are faster to
produce.
• Chenab Bridge in J&K as part of link between
Katra and Banihal is now the world's HIGHEST
rail bridge
• Noney Bridge on Jiribam - Imphal Rail Line,
when completed will be world’s tallest rail
bridge
Aircraft Leasing • Indian Airlines is allowed to take wide-body

aircraft on wet lease for up to one year.
• Wet lease refers to renting of the plane along
with operating crew and engineers.

• In technical term, wet leasing is called ACMI,
i.e. Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and
Insurance.
• Dry lease is when the airline leases only the
vehicle.
• Damp Lease is the middle between two
where an airline wet-leases a plane but uses
its own cabin crew.
BHARAT Series Number Plates on Vehicles • To avoid the hassle of re-registration of

vehicles when moving across states, MoRTH
has come up with Bharat series numbers that
will be applicable all across India
• They will be offered at a cost to those with
frequently transferable jobs
Landlord Port Model • JNPT, Mumbai became India’s first 100%

landlord major port
• In a landlord port, port authority is only a
regulator while port operations are done by
private players
Maritime India Vision 2030 • Promote Green Shipping and increase share
of renewable energy at major ports to 60% by
2030
Yotta D1 Name of India’s Biggest Hyperscale Datacenter

located at Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Market Based Economic Dispatch Reform to move towards a centralized ( 1 nation,

Mechanism 1 grid, 1 frequency, 1 price) power model instead
of the currently followed decentralized model
World Energy Outlook, 2022 • Published by IEA (India not a member of IEA)
• Globally, India will see maximum increase in
energy demand
• By 2030, electricity generation via coal will
peak in India ; 35% of India’s electricity mix
will be renewable by 2030
Power Exchanges in India • India Energy Exchange (IEX)

• Power Exchange India Ltd (PXIL_
• New : Hindustan Power Exchange (HPX)
World’s first CNG terminal To be Built at Bhavnagar port in Gujarat
PESO (Petroleum and Explosives Safety • Arm of DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce

Organisation) • Regulates safety of hazardous and explosive
substances
• ISRO has recently been given exemption and
now it does not need PESO licensing to carry
out its operations

Nobel Prize in Economics • Given to 3 US based economists for research
in Banking and financial crisis
• Their research revealed that bank run leads to
bank failures which can turn an ordinary
recession into a depression
• There is a fundamental conflict in every
society between need to save and need to
invest. Banks offer a solution to this conflict
and are crucial for any economy
Corporate Social Responsibility There have been certain changes in CSR rules.
Companies now need to utilize unspent CSR
funds within 3 years and expenditure marked for
Social impact assessment can only be utilized
upto 2.5% of CSR Quota.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Countries arranged as per Border • Bangladesh (4096 km)

Length with India • China (3488 km)
• Pakistan (3323 km)
• Nepal (1850 km)
• Myanmar (1600 km)
• Bhutan (699 km)
• Afghanistan (106 km)
India-China • Borders: 3488 Km border divided into 3 sectors -

Western, Eastern and Central
• No Mutual Agreement on what constitutes the
LAC (Line of Actual Control, came into existence post
1962 war)
• Western Sector: India considers Johnson line to be the
border while China considers the McDonald Line to be
the border.
• Eastern Sector: dispute over McMahon Line and over
areas of Tawang and Chumbi Valley
• Island Chain Strategy : First Island Chain, Second Island
Chain And Third Island Chains are a group of Islands
with US naval bases in western pacific built by USA to
contain erstwhile USSR and China.
• China Plus One Strategy : Refers to investors/countries
diversifying trade and placing their manufacturing units
outside of China to avoid supply chain disruptions like
those which happened during the COVID pandemic.
India can attract investment by leveraging on this
sentiment.
• Chinese App Ban done under Section 69 A of
Information Technology Act, 2000
India-Pakistan • Indus Water Treaty: Signed in 1960 between India and

Pakistan, brokered by World Bank
• Water sharing arrangement: Waters of eastern rivers
(Ravi, Sutlej and Beas) have been allocated to India and
that of Western Rivers (Indus, Chenab and Jhelum)
have been allocated to Pakistan
• India has asked for revision to the treaty as Pakistan is
not following the 3 tier dispute resolution mechanism
India-Bangladesh • MoU on water sharing of Kushiyara River. Kushiyara is

a distributary of Barak river as it splits into Surma and
Kushiyara on entering Bangladesh.

• Rail links : Agartala (India) to Akhuara (Bangladesh)
and Chilahati (Bangladesh) to Haldibari (India)
expected to open soon.
• Feni Bridge - also known as Maitree Setu will connect
areas of Tripura to Bangladesh over the Feni River
• India is the second biggest trading partner of
Bangladesh after China.
• Recently announced Ganga Vilas Cruise will pass
through Bangladesh to reach India’s Northeast
Places in News (India’s

Neighbourhood)
Key Operations by India over last • Operation Raahat: In 2015 to evacuate foreign and
few years: Indian citizens from conflict hit Yemen
• Operation Devi Shakti: To evacuate people from
Afghanistan after Taliban Takeover
• Operation Ganga: in 2022 to evacuate Indians from
Ukraine
• Operation Dost: to help Turkey and Syria to recover
from Earthquake
Porcupine strategy • Asymmetric warfare focused on fortifying a weak

state’s defences to exploit the enemy's weaknesses
rather than taking on its strengths.
Digital Nomad Visa To deal with the economic impacts of Covid-19, Indonesia
(DNV) has announced DNV for travellers, to attract more foreign
tourists. DNV would allow remote workers to stay tax-free.
Comprehensive Economic India recently signed CEPA with Australia and UAE.
Partnership Agreement (CEPA) With UAE :
• Around 90% of products exported from India to
UAE will attract zero duty.It Provides for a
permanent safeguard mechanism to deal with
sudden surge in imports of any product

• It also has stringent 'rules of origin' reflecting
requirements for substantial processing of up to
40% value addition.
• UAE is India’s third biggest trading partner behind
USA and China
With Australia :
• The agreement is called ECTA - Economic
Cooperation and trade Agreement
• Provide zero-duty access to 96% of India’s exports
to Australia including shipments from key sectors
such as engineering goods, gems and jewellery,
textiles etc.
I2u2 Summit (India, Israel, United I2U2 was first mentioned in October 2021, following the
Arab Emirates, and United Abraham Accords between Israel and UAE, to deal with
States) issues concerning maritime security, infrastructure, and
transport in the region.
It is also referred to as the ‘West Asian QUAD’
Abraham Accords Abraham Accords is a series of peace agreements between

Israel and several Arab countries, UAE being
the first. In 2020, it was mediated by the USA between
UAE, Bahrain and Israel.
• The name “Abraham” refers to the great father of the
faith of the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam.
Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) Established in 2015 to encourage foreign investments in

the Russia’s Far East (RFE) region.
Aimed at connecting the Far East with the Asia Pacific
region.
India offered a $1 billion line of credit to develop
infrastructure in the region.
Geneva Conventions (1949) 4 conventions that relate to protecting sick/wounded

soldiers and prisoners of war. It talks about humane and
fair treatment to them
Ashgabat Agreement Ashgabat Agreement (India joined in 2018): It aims to

establish an international multimodal transport and transit
corridor between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.
INSTC It encompasses ship, rail and road routes connecting India

with Russia, Central Asia and Europe via Iran. India is also
planning to include Chabahar port in the INSTC framework.

Important Places In the Russia Transnistria Region –(Moldova) Located On the east bank
Ukraine Region : of Dniester River. Lies between Moldova to its west and
Ukraine towards its east.
Snake Island - Zmiany Island, also known as Snake or

Serpent Island. Located off black sea, it belongs to Ukraine
India- USA Relations • USA became India’s top trading partner in FY22
surpassing China
• NISAR satellite for earth observation is being built
by NASA and ISRO
• Both are members of QUAD, hold 2+2 dialogue and
engage in Malabar Naval Exercises
• They recently signed BECA agreement
2+2 dialogue • It is a ministerial dialogue involving Foreign and

Defence Ministers of 2 countries
• India does it with Russia, USA, Japan and Australia
India - Japan Relations • Japan is the biggest bilateral donor to India in

terms of Official Development Assistance (ODA)
• Japan and India are part of G4 along with Brazil and
Germany - Nations who seek a permanent seat at
UNSC
• ISRO and JAXA are working on LUPEX - a lunar
polar exploration mission
• Recently Former Japan Prime Minister (PM) Shinzo
Abe was Assassinated. India finds a special mention
in his book Utsukushii Kuni E (Toward a Beautiful
Country).
INDO-PACIFIC ECONOMIC • USA led framework of 14 countries to build resilient

FRAMEWORK FOR PROSPERITY supply chains in Indo Pacific
(IPEF) • It is not an FTA. India is a member
• Indo Pacific is an important trade region as it
accounts for 62% of World GDP
Note : In Early 2023 USA signed ICET (Initiative for Critical

and Emerging Technologies) with India for collaboration in
areas of semiconductors , AI etc.
AUKUS Three-way strategic defence alliance between Australia,

the UK and US with objective – to build a class of nuclear-
propelled submarines
Minerals Security Partnership US led international partnership for a stable and diverse
(MSP) mineral supply chain. Alliance will focus on supply chains of
minerals such as Cobalt, Nickel, Lithium and 17 “rare earth”
minerals. India is NOT a member

Partners in the USA - along with Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom
Blue Pacific (PBP) and Japan - announced a new initiative to support Pacific
islands and to boost diplomatic, economic ties in the
region.
Indo-Pacific Trilateral Development • India and France setup this fund, it aims to support India-
Cooperation (TDC) Fund based innovators and start-ups in taking their innovations
to third countries, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
India's Global Innovation Partnership (GIP) launched with
the UK will provide a template to use the TDC Fund.
Friend-shoring Plan Term used to denote countries with shared values

(‘friends’) coming together and securing and diversifying
supply chains to prevent them from external shocks
High Ambition Coalition for Nature Aim is to protect at least 30% of the world's land and ocean
and People by 2030 (Global 30×30 target - which have replaced the
Aichi targets). It was launched by France in 2019 and India
joined it in 2021
India - Germany Energy Deal $10.5 Billion Green Deal to Boost Clean Energy Use.
In 2022, India and the G7 had agreed to work towards a
Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP)
Global Gateway It is European Union (EU’s) €300 billion

infrastructure fund plan to counter China’s Belt and Road
Initiative (BRI)
Other initiatives for Infrastructure Build Back Better World (B3W) initiative: launched byG-7,
development: to help narrow USD 40+ trillion infrastructure needs in the
developing world.
Asia-Africa Growth Corridor: An Indian-Japanese

collaboration regarding connectivity and cooperation
between Asia and Africa.
Nord Stream Underwater gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany

via the Baltic Sea. Leaks were discovered in this pipeline, it
is crucial for gas supplies to Europe
G33 G33 or ‘Friends of Special Products (FoSP)’ a coalition of

developing countries pushing for flexibility at WTO for
limited market opening in agriculture. India is a member.
Amendment in India’s WMD WMD as per the act are Nuclear, Biological and Chemical
(weapons of mass destruction) Act Weapons. Their Manufacture, Delivery and now Financing
2022 have been prohibited by law

INTERPOL ( Estb 1923 with
Headquarters in Lyon, France)
Macolin Convention: It is against

match fixing, enforced by Interpol
From India, CBI participates in it.
Defence Offset Policy for foreign Foreign defence suppliers were mandated to spend at
suppliers of defence equipment to least 30% of the total contract value in India through
India procurement of components, transfer of technologies or
setting up of research and development facilities.
Meant to improve the domestic defence manufacturing.
Valid for all defence contracts upwards of 2000 crore
Scorched Earth Tactics Military strategy which seeks to destroy anything that
could be of use to enemy, including energy supplies,
bridges, agricultural fields, road and railway links, etc.
(Russia is employing them against Ukraine)
Dirty Bomb It contains radioactive material, such as uranium, which is

scattered through the air when it detonates
It uses radioactive materials from hospitals, nuclear power
stations or research laboratories. This makes them much
cheaper and quicker to make than nuclear weapons.
Indian Antarctic Act, 2022 1. Provides measures for protecting the Antarctic
environment and gives effect to the Antarctic
Treaty, the Convention on the Conservation of
India’s Research stations at Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
Antarctica : 2. Prohibits Indian expedition without a permit;
Maitryi , Bharati and Dakshin Eliminating mining or illegal activities. Provisions
Gangotri applicable to any, Indian or foreign Citizens;
3. Establishment of a Committee on Antarctic
Governance and Environmental Protection to be
chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Earth
Sciences (Nodal for the purposes of Act)
4. Constitution of the Antarctic fund for research
Paris Club Paris Club is an informal group of creditors whose role is to

find coordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment
(India is NOT a member but an ad difficulties experienced by debtor countries.
hoc participant)

Lusophone World A term used to denote Portuguese Speaking Countries
Across the World.
India hosted the International Lusophone Festival in Goa.
2Africa Pearls Facebook parent Meta with Bharti Airtel to expand 2 Africa
Pearls to India. 2Africa Pearls is one of world’s longest
subsea cable systems that will interconnect countries in
Africa, Asia, and Europe and provide improved fix line
broadband internet
Institution Headquarter Members Important Information
UN New York 193 Countries India has proposed reforms in United

Nations via NORMS (New Orientation
for Reformed Multilateralism) to
determine a global order that best
reflects contemporary realities
UNGA New York 193 Countries Key Resolutions Adopted Recently:

->Access to clean and healthy
environment as Universal Human
Right.
->Resolution on multilingualism
that mentions Hindi language for
first time.

UNSC New York Permanent 5 ( USA, Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique
UK, France, China, and Switzerland were elected to UNSC
Russia) + 10 Non as non-permanent members
Permanent Members for 2023-2024 term.
elected by UNGA for a Other non-permanent members are:
2 year period. Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and
UAE.
UN Habitat Nairobi,Keny 193 Members including Mandate is to promote socially and

a India Environmentally sustainable towns
and cities.
UNESCO Paris, France 195 countries which Mandate is to protect and promote
DO NOT include USA, cultural diversities across the world
Israel and
Liechtenstein
UN ECOSOC 54 Member Countries, India was elected to the UN ECOSOC

elected by General for the term 2022-24, last year, in the
Assembly Asia-Pacific States category along with
Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Oman.
UNHRC Geneva, Members are elected UNGA adopted a resolution

Switzerland region wise based on a suspending Russia from the UNHRC
fixed criteria. over its war in Ukraine.
UNGA, by a two-thirds majority of the
In 2021, India was re– members present and voting, may
elected for a 6th term suspend the rights of membership in
that will end in 2024 the Council of a member of the
Council
Angela Merkel, former Chancellor of
Germany, has won 2022 UNHCR
Nansen Refugee Award for protecting
refugees at Syria crisis.
United New York Elected by ECOSOC UN Economic and Social

Nations based on equitable Council (ECOSOC) adopted a
Commission geographical resolution to remove Iran from
on distribution for a CSW.
Status of period of 4 years
Women India was elected from
(CSW) 2021 to 2025
G20 No Argentina, Australia, Key Highlights of the Bali Declaration-

Permanent Brazil, Canada, China, 2022 :
Secretariat France, Germany, ->The motto for this G-20 summit was
India, Indonesia, Italy, Recover Together, Recover Stronger.
Japan, Republic of -> It welcomed the Black Sea Grain
Korea, Mexico, Russia, Initiative brokered by Turkey and the
Saudi Arabia, South UN for securing food exports from
Africa, Türkiye, the Russia and Ukraine
United Kingdom, the ->G20 troika : Indonesia , India ,Brazil

United States, and the ->Motto for 2023 : Vasudhaiva
European Union. Kutumbakam
-> 2 tracks : Sherpa and Finance
QUAD – USA, Australia, Japan, Highlights of 4th

India QUAD Summit, Tokyo :
->Agreement to combat illegal,
unregulated and unprotected (IUU)
fishing
->Launched Quad Climate Change
Adaptation and Mitigation Package
(Q-CHAMP)
SCO - Beijing, China China Key highlights of the meeting in

Shanghai Kazakhstan Kyrgyzsta Samarkand 2022:
Cooperation n ->SCO Presidency handed to
Organizatio Russia India which will host SCO 2023
n Tajikistan Uzbekistan -> Varanasi, declared as the SCO
India, Pakistan Tourism and Cultural Capital for 2022
Iran ->Iran accepted as a permanent
member
SAARC Kathmandu, Afghanistan , Nepal Recently there were month long

Nepal Pakistan, India protests in SAU (South Asian
Sri Lanka, Bhutan University), Delhi for demand of
Bangladesh, Maldives increased stipends
BIMSTEC Dhaka, Nepal, Bhutan Formed via Bangkok declaration in

Bangladesh Bangladesh 1997, it aims to boost the blue
Myanmar, India economy of Bay of Bengal Region
Sri Lanka, Thailand
BRICS Shanghai, Brazil Russia India Brics summit news :

China China South Africa ->India proposed Online Database for
BRICS documents, BRICS Railways
Research Network, and strengthening
cooperation between MSMEs.
Related :
New Development Bank (NDB) has
announced the launch of its Indian
Regional Office in GIFT City
NDB has admitted four new members

in 2021: Bangladesh, Egypt, the United
Arab Emirates (UAE)
and Uruguay.

NATO Brussels, Members shown in the
Belgium next column
->NATO was formed in 1949 by the

Washington Treaty .It derives its
authority from article 51 of UN charter
->It has a system of collective defence
- where attack against one is
considered as attack against all.
Finland has joined NATO on 4th April
2023
NAM (Non 120 countries Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has

Aligned completed 60 years.
Movement) NAM’s first conference - The Belgrade
Conference held in 1961 under the
leadership of India, Yugoslavia, Egypt,
Ghana, and Indonesia
Origin: Asia-Africa Conference held in
Bandung, Indonesia in 1955.
Arctic Tromso, USA, Russia Formed through the Ottawa

Council Norway Canada, Norway, Declaration by 8 arctic states in 1996
Denmark, In News because of possible opening
Iceland, up of a northern sea route in the
Finland, Sweden Arctic.
Region is important for supply of

critical minerals like LNG

Social Issues
Issues Relating to Vulnerable Sections
Women In STEM (Science, Technology, • Mere 18.7 % women representation among

Engineering and Math) STEM researchers in India
• Vigyan Jyoti, GATI, Kiran, CURIE, WEST
(Women in Engineering, Science and
Technology), BIOCARE are initiatives of
Ministry of Science And Technology to
increase women representation in STEM
Adoption In India ->There are majorly 2 laws which govern

adoption process in India :
1)Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 :
Regulates adoption of a Hindu child by a
Hindu couple
2)Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 : Regulates
adoption of abandoned, orphaned or
surrendered children along with adopting
children of relatives.
Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 (Adoption The Juvenile Justice Act establishes bodies :
Provisions) 1. CARA (Central Adoption Resource
Authority)
2. SARA ( State Adoption Resource
Authority)
3. DPCU (District Child Protection Unit)
4. District Child Welfare Committee
Prospective parents should register

themselves with the Child Adoption Resource
Information and Guidance System (CARINGS)
of CARA
POCSO Act, 2012 ( Protection of Children from • Protects children under age of 18 from
Sexual Offences) offences of sexual nature
• Applies ONLY to child victims and adult
offenders
• In case 2 children (Both under 18) are
involved in a sexual crime, they cannot be
booked under POCSO,the Juvenile Justice
Act will apply.
Surrogacy Regulation Act 2021 • Maximum Surrogacy attempts for a

surrogate capped at 3
• Surrogate Mothers are allowed abortion
• Forms a National Assisted Reproductive under MTP Act, 1971
Technology and Surrogacy board • Intending couple has to: provide health
(NARTSB) chaired by the Minister of insurance to surrogate, give certificate of

Health and Family Welfare. Similar infertility, plus age criteria for wife with
institution also exists at state level - no surviving child
SARTSB • The act bans commercial surrogacy and
allows no monetary reward to surrogate
mother
• Surrogate Mother : at least one child of
her own , between 25 to 35 years of age ,
act as a surrogate only once in her lifetime
and cannot provide her own gametes.
(Gametes have to come from the
intending couple)
Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act,

1971 • Right to safe and legal abortion for all
women (including transgenders) up to 24
weeks of pregnancy irrespective of
marital status.
• Pregnancy of a married woman due to
forcible sex shall be treated as 'rape'
under the act
• A woman doesn’t need family consent for
abortion
• Protects privacy of minor females while
aborting a child
• Up to 20 weeks : One doctor’s advice
needed
• B/w 20-24 weeks : Two doctors to advise
• Beyond 24 weeks : Permitted only on
ground of foetal abnormalities on advice
of a district medical board
Digital Shakti 4.0 • Initiative by National commission of

women, Ministry of Women and Child
Development , Meta and CyberPeace
foundation to digitally skill women and
sensitise them against cyber harm.
Atal New India Challenge (ANIC) • It is a women centric innovation challenge

under Atal Innovation Mission of NITI
Aayog to provide funding to innovative
women startups
Thiruvananthapuram declaration • 1st Women Legislators conference in

Kerala held in 2022, ended with this
declaration. It pushes to get the women
reservation bill (33% seats reserved to
women in central and state legislatures)
passed.
Prohibition Of Employment as Manual • Criminalizes employment of any individual

Scavengers Act, 2013 as a manual scavenger

• Allows a person to step into
latrines/septic tanks only if they have
proper gear and equipment
Transgenders Karnataka Govt has given 1% Horizontal

Reservation to transgenders in all
government services
Persons with Disabilities (PwD) • Ministry of Social Justice And

Empowerment has released a new Draft
National policy for PwD
• As per census 2011, 2.2 % of Indian • The 2016 Act for PwD granted them 5%
population can be categorized under PwD reservation in government educational
• GREAT (Global Report of Assistive institutes and 4% in government jobs
Technology) released by WHO and • Assistive technology : That aids PwD to
UNICEF talks about use of assistive tech lead a better life. Eg : Power Walkers,
to better lives. Wheelchairs etc.
• Government of India’s Accessible India
Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) has
led to awareness in designing disabled
friendly buildings.
Denotified Tribes • Britishers in 1871 came up with an act

‘Criminal Tribes Act’ which labelled certain
• These communities may have tribes which communities as ‘born criminals’
are nomadic/ semi nomadic in nature • This led to stigmatisation and
• BS Renke Commission in 2008 estimated marginalisation of these groups
their population at 15 crore. • Post independence this act was repealed
• In 2019 Govt. set up a welfare board for in favour of Habitual Offenders Act 1952
Nomadic, Semi Nomadic and De Notified • Post repeal, these communities came to
Tribes. be called as ‘De-notified tribes’
• They still suffer from social apathy
GOAL (Going Online as Leaders Programme) • Initiative by Ministry Of Tribal Affairs and
Facebook to digitally skill 10 lakh tribal
youth.
National Tribal Research Institute (NTRI), New • Inaugurated in June 2022, it will serve as a
Delhi centre to promote and preserve Tribal
Heritage
• It will coordinate with existing tribal
research facilities to provide policy inputs
to government for tribal welfare

EDUCATION SECTOR:
Highlights of New Education Policy (NEP), • From a 10+2 system to a 5+3+3+4 system at
2020 school level
• Flexible system - allows a student to choose
subjects as per their wish
• Focus on vocational education, internships
and industry exposure from a young age
• 3 language policy with an emphasis on
mother tongue as mode of instruction for
early schooling
• An Academic Bank Of Credit available on
digilocker that will capture credits for hours
studied, courses taken - right from school to
higher levels of education as per National
Credit Framework.
• 4 year bachelors with multiple entry and exit
options for students
• In Higher education -
o Foreign Universities which are in top
1000 as per QS rankings would be
allowed to set up campus in India
o More autonomy to colleges
• Ending Rote learning and focus on creative
skills, conceptual learning with aid of
technology
• As per UGC guidelines, now students can
pursue 2 full time academic programs
simultaneously in physical mode.
Eg : Doing two bachelors together or two
masters together.
New initiatives under NEP 2020:
• NSQF : National Skills Qualification
framework
• NISHTHA : National Initiative for Schools
Head and Teachers Holistic Advancement
(Teacher training module)
• NIPUN BHARAT mission :
o A campaign under Samagra Shiksha
Scheme to build basic literacy and
numeracy skills at foundational level.
o To enable all children at the end of
Grade 3 to attain foundational skills
by the year 2026-2027
National Curriculum Framework (NCF) for • Released by NCERT in pursuance of NEP 2020
Foundational Stage

• A set of guidelines to impart education at
foundation stage
Key Points in NCF :
1. Students should be taught exclusively in
mother tongue till age of 8
2. Jaadui Pitara - a pedagogy involving toys,
puzzles and flashcards for joyful and
playful learning of a child
3. Develop FLN (Foundational Literacy and
Numeracy) - ability to read with meaning
and perform basic math by end of class 3
4. No text book burden until age 6
5. Follows a Panchakosha system of
Education (Taken from Taittiriya
Upanishad, shown on left image) that
focuses on holistic development of 5
aspects - physical, intellectual, emotional,
spiritual and development of life energy.
Key Term : ‘Learning Poverty’ Defined as inability to read or comprehend age

appropriate text by age 10 ;As per world bank,
learning poverty has increased in India due to
COVID
Key term : ‘Functional Literacy’ Ability to write his/her name along with basic
counting, reading and writing abilities.
1. RAISE
Artificial Intelligence Initiatives by India : 2. GPAI
3. National AI Mission by PM - STIAC
4. Responsible AI for Youth by Ministry of
Education, Ministry of Electronics and IT and
Intel
PM E-vidya Scheme • The PM eVidya scheme was launched under

the One Nation One Digital Platform with the
Central Institute of Educational Technology objective of protecting the education of
(CIET), a constituent unit of National children during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Council of Educational Research and • It unifies all digital initiatives of education -
Training (NCERT) under Ministry of DIKSHA app, SWAYAM Prabha TV channels,
Education (MoE), Government of India has SWAYAM online portal, radio podcasts and
been awarded with the UNESCO’s King mental health programs for students.
Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize for the Use • It helped minimise learning losses during
of ICT (under initiative of PM e- Vidya) in COVID 19
Education for the year 2021.
Health, Nutrition and Sanitation :

Integrated Child Development • Nodal : Ministry of Women and Child Development
Scheme (ICDS) • Beneficiaries: children in age of 0 to 6 years and
pregnant/lactating mothers

• The ICDS Scheme offers a package of six services, viz.
(a) Supplementary Nutrition (b) Pre-school non-
formal education (c) Nutrition & health education (d)
Immunization (e) Health check-up and (f) Referral
services.
• Poshan 2.0 : Focus on reducing stunting, wasting and
malnutrition among children. Use of technology to
track service delivery
• Poshan Vatika : Nutri gardens in schools, villages to
provide fruits and vegetables to children
• Saksham Anganwadi : To use technology to improve
Anganwadi centre services.
Key Term : Kangaroo Mother Care Kangaroo mother care is a method of care of preterm
infants. The method involves infants being carried,
usually by the mother, with skin-to-skin contact. WHO
recommends it for the care of low-birth-weight and
preterm infants.
Grassroot Healthcare Workers 1. AWW: Anganwadi workers - paid an honorarium of

3500+500 under ICDS scheme to take care of children
2. ANM: Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife. Take care of
delivery and immunisation.
3. ASHA: Accredited Social Health Activist. First point of
contact in a rural setup
ASHA and ANM workers serve under NRHM (Ministry of
Health)
Drug Regulatory Framework In • Recently deaths were reported in Gambia, due to

India spurious cough syrup exported by Indian
Manufacturer - Maiden pharmaceuticals (Syrup
The current Drug contained DEG - Diethylene Glycol which is poisonous
Regulatory regime is as )
below :
• Drug and Cosmetics Act,1940 is the parent act which
Ministry Of Health controls import, manufacture and distribution of
drugs in India.
• For drug pricing there is a separate authority NPPA
DGHS (Directorate General under Ministry of Chemicals And Fertilizers
Of Health Services )
Central Drugs Standard

Control
Organisation(CDSCO)
Drug Controller General Of

India (DCGI)

Key Term : ‘Notified Disease’ • Any disease which is required by law to be reported
to the government.
• For example it is legally binding for medical
practitioners to report cases of diseases like cholera,
dengue and AIDs to the government database.
• Parliamentary standing committee on health has
recommended to include cancer as a notified disease
to get accurate data and curb its under reporting.
Paalan 1000 and parenting App To educate parents about early childhood care
(MoHFW) And provide advise via mobile application to new parents
for first 1000 days of their child.
SWACHH SARVEKSHAN 2023 ->Swachh Survekshan (urban) has been carried out by
MoHUA with the theme of waste to wealth.
It tries to aim for garbage free, open urination free
(yellow spot) and open spitting free(red spot) cities. It
gives star rating and certification for ODF/ODF+/ODF++
status
->Swachh Survekshan (rural) has been done by Jal Shakti
ministry. It aims to retrofit old toilets into twin pit
toilets.(Retrofit to twin pit Abhiyan)
Universal Social Security • As per latest economic survey, 90% of Indian

Workforce is employed in Informal Jobs
• It is obligatory on the government to provide social
security to safeguard these citizens from
vulnerabilities of old age, sickness and unemployment
• Government Initiatives regarding this :
->E- shram Portal : To create a database for
unorganised and migrant labour
->PM Shram Yogi Mandhan pension
Code on Social Security, 2020
World Population • As per UNFPA, world has touched a population of 8

billion people
• Last 1 billion took 12 years and next 1 billion will take
15 years as world population becomes 9 billion by
2037
National Air Sports Policy, 2022 • Released by ministry of civil aviation, aim to make
india a hub for air sports.
Right to be forgotten • Refers to complete erasure / deletion of personal

data from internet on request of an individual
Right to repair • Refers to Right of Consumers to get their products

repaired either through original manufacturers or via
(Its Policy is being formulated by 3rd party
Ministry Of Consumer Affairs) • This saves E waste and consumer’s money

ART & CULTURE
Temples in News Important Facts For Prelims
Lingaraj Temple, Bhuvaneshwar, Odisha ● Built by kings of Somvanshi Dynasty in

10th - 11th century AD
● Example of Kalinga Architecture, which is
a substyle of Nagara Architecture
● Shivling here is called ‘HariHara’ which
represents a syncretic mix of Vaishnavism
and Shaivism
Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha ● Built by Anantavarman Chodaganga in 12th

Century and is famous for its ‘Rath Yatra’
● Also called ‘Yamanika Tirtha’
Hoysala Temples, Karnataka ● Built by Hoysala Dynasty Kings between

10th-14th Century AD
● 3 Major Temples :
○ Chennakesava Temple at Belur
along Yagachi RIver
○ Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebid
○ Kesava Temple at Somanathpura
along River Kaveri
● They follow ‘Vesara’ architecture and a
Star like ‘Stellate’ Floor Plan.
● India’s Official Nomination to Unesco WHS
list for 2022-23
Martund Sun Temple, Jammu And Kashmir ● Built by King Lalitaditya Muktipada of
Karkota Dynasty in around 750 AD
● It was destroyed by Sikander BushtiKhan
in 15th century AD
● Recently after 30 years, Navgrah pooja
was held here.
Mahuli Group Of Temples, Satara, Maharashtra ● Built in Hemadpanthi style of architecture

by Prime Minister Hemadpant in court of
Yadavas of Devagiri in 12th Century CE
● Also called ‘Dakshin Kashi’
○ Remember there are multiple
temples in India which are referred
to as ‘Dakshin Kashi’
Ramappa Temple, Telangana ● Dedicated to Shiva or Rudreshawar

● Built by sculptor Ramappa under Kakatiyas
in 12th century CE
● It is an UNESCO WHS
Archaeological Sites in News Important Facts For Prelims

Asurgarh, Odisha ● Oldest Fortified Settlement in Odisha dating
back to 9th Century BC
Adichannalur, Tamil Nadu ● Remains from Megalithic age and Iron age
have been found
● Situated on Thamirabarani river and close to
Korkai port mentioned in Sangam Literature
● Budget 2020 had allocated funds for onsite
museum here
● Remember : Attirampakkam and Arikamedu
are also 2 distinct archaeological sites
present in Tamil Nadu only.
Megalithic Jars,Dima Hasao District,Assam ● Date back to 2000 BC and have similarities
with those found in Indonesia and Laos
Rock Cave, Kasipeta, Telangana ● Evidences of Mesolithic and Megalithic

period
● Cave paintings depict bison, snake and a
man with weapon
Cyclopean Wall (Rajgir, Bihar) ● 40 km long stone wall built by king

Jarasandha in pre Mauryan era.
● Bihar government has requested ASI to get
it listed as an UNESCO WHS
Rakhigarhi (Hisar, Haryana) ● One of the largest (areawise) sites of

Indus Valley Civilization
● DNA research at 2 women skeletons
named RGR7 has helped bust the myth
of aryan invasion theory as they do not
contain the R1A1 gene characteristic of
aryans
Rock cut Sculptures of Unakoti, Tripura ● Unakoti literally means ‘One less than a
crore’
● Shaiva and Buddhist sculptures dating to
9th century CE
Anang Tal Lake, Delhi ● Built by Anangpala Tomar of Tomar dynasty

in 11th century as part of Lal Kot which was
later subsumed into Qila Rai Pithora by
Prithvi Raj Chauhan
● It is now a monument of national
importance under AMASR Act 1958
Mangarh Hillock (Banaswara, Rajasthan) ● Place of a tribal massacre carried out by

British in 1913
● Also the place where Govind Guru led the
Bhils and Garasiya tribes under Bhagat
Movement to fight for tribal rights

Amendments to Flag Code of India The amendment allows the national flag to be
flown both in day and at night if it is displayed
in the open or on the House of a member of
the public. Earlier, the tricolour could be
hoisted only between sunrise and sunset.
Panini Code § An Indian scholar claims to have solved
Sanskrit’s biggest puzzle - a grammar
problem found in the ‘Ashtadhyayi’.
§ Ashtadhyayi: Written by the scholar
Panini towards the end of the 4th century
BC.
§ It is a linguistic text that set the standard
for how Sanskrit was meant to be
written and spoken.
Awards in News Important Facts For Prelims
UNESCO Asia Pacific Award for Cultural Given to 4 sites in India :

Heritage Conservation 1. Qutub Shahi Architecture (Step Wells)
of Golconda Fort
2. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu
Sangrahalaya, Mumbai for its Gothic
Art and Deco Ensembles
3. Domakonda Fort, Telangana
4. Byculla Station, Mumbai (Asia’s oldest
Rail station -1853)
International Booker Prize ● Geetanjali Shree for Ret Samadhi

(Tomb of Sand) in 2022
● For 2023 Tamil Work ‘Pyre’ is in
contention

REPORTS/INDICES
UN Agencies
Report/Index Published by Insights
Gender Inequality Index 2022 UNDP India's value is 0.49
and was ranked at 122
in 2021
Human Development Report UNDP
Multidimensional Poverty Index UNDP + Oxford Poverty 3 dimensions, 10
and Human indicators:
Development Initiative Education: Years of
(OPHI) schooling, School
Attendance
Health: Child
mortality, Nutrition
Standard of living:
Electricity, Housing,
Drinking Water,
Sanitation, Cooking
Fuel, Assets
World Migration Report 2022 International
Organization for
Migration (IOM)
World Economic Situation and UNDESA + UNCTAD
Prospects (WESP) Report
World Investment Report 2022 UNCTAD Top Sources of FDI in
India: Singapore >
USA > Mauritius >
Netherlands >
Switzerland
State of World Population Report UNFPA (United Nations Title: Seeing the
2022 Population Fund) Unseen: The case for
action in the
neglected crisis of
unintended
pregnancy
Global Education Monitoring UNESCO
Report
State of Education Report for India UNESCO
2022
Children's Climate Risk Index UNICEF + Fridays for comprehensive
Future overview of exposure
and vulnerability to
the impacts of climate
change from a child's
perspective
www.atishmathur.com email: contact@atishmathur.com telegram: https://t.me/csepaper2atish

World Food Price Index FAO measure of the
monthly change in
international prices of
a basket of food
commodities
State of Food Security and FAO, IFAD, UNICEF,
Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2022 WFP, WHO
Global Wage Report 2022 ILO Global wages declined
in 2022 for the first
time since the 2008
global financial crisis
due to increasing
living expenses.
Global Estimates of Modern ILO In 2021, 50 million
Slavery Report 2021 people were living in
modern slavery, of
which 28 million were
in forced labour and
22 million were
trapped in forced
marriage.
State of the World's Forests FAO
(SOFO) 2022
World Water Development Report UN Water
World Happiness Report 2022 United Nations ● #1 – Finland, #136 –
Sustainable India
Development Solutions
Network
World Economic Forum (WEF)

Report/Index Insights
Global Competitiveness Report/Index
Global Risks Report 2023 Major global risks
• In the next 2 years: Cost of living;
Natural disasters and extreme
weather events; Geoeconomic
confrontation
• In the next 10 years: Failure to mitigate
climate change; Biodiversity loss and
ecosystem collapse
Global Gender Gap Index 2022 ● India’s rank – 135 out of 146
● World will take 132 years to achieve
gender parity at current rate
● India performs worst in the world (last

ranked) on the indicator of health
● 4 dimensions: Economic Participation
and Opportunity, Educational
Attainment, Health and Survival,
Political Empowerment
Global Travel and Tourism Index ● India ranked at 54th out of 117
countries
● Japan secured Rank 1
Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2022 • energy transition not keeping pace
with the growing climate urgency.
• recent disruptions from a post-
pandemic surge in energy demand,
fuel supply bottlenecks, inflationary
pressures and reconfigured energy
supply chains as a result of the war in
Ukraine have made the transition even
more difficult.
Global Social Mobility Index 2020 5 dimensions of social mobility: Health,
Education, Technology, Work, Protection
and Institutions
Environment-related
Ecological Threat Institute of Economics Threats due to population
Report 2022 and Peace (IEP) growth, water stress, food
insecurity, droughts, floods, cyclones,
and rising temperature.
Most vulnerable: Middle East and
North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and
South Asia
Environment Yale Univ + WEF + India ranked 180th
Performance Index Columbia Univ
State of the Global World Meteorological
Climate Report Organization (WMO)
Adaptation Gap UNEP
Report 2022
Emissions Gap Report UNEP Top GHG emitters: China > US > India
2022 > EU27
Per capita emitters: US > Russia >
China
Living Planet Report World Wide Fund for 69% decline in the wildlife
2022 Nature (WWF) populations of mammals, birds,
amphibians, reptiles and fish, across
the globe in the last 50 years

Climate Change Germanwatch, New 4 parameters: greenhouse gas
Performance Index Climate Institute, emissions, renewable energy, energy
2023 Climate Action use, climate policy
Network
India ranked #8
No country in top 3 positions
Global Climate Risk Germanwatch
Index
Global Biodiversity Convention on
Outlook Biological Diversity
(CBD)
Global Land Outlook UNCCD
Food Waste Index UNEP
Miscellaneous
Global Hunger Index 2022 Concern Worldwide, 4 indicators:
Welthungerhilfe undernourished, child
wasting, child stunting,
child mortality
India's rank => 107 among
121 countries behind Sri
Lanka (64), Nepal (81),
Pakistan (99), Bangladesh
(84)
World Inequality Report World Inequality Lab • richest 10% of the global
2022 population own 76% of
all wealth
• poorest half of the
global population
possesses just 2% of the
total
India Energy Outlook IEA
World Energy Outlook IEA
Global EV Outlook IEA
Global Energy & CO2 Status IEA
report
Democracy Index 2022 Economist Intelligence Unit based on 5 categories:
(EIU) electoral process and
pluralism, civil liberties,
functioning of government,
political participation,
political culture
four regime types: full

democracies, flawed
democracies (INDIA),
hybrid regimes and
authoritarian regimes.
Global Liveability Index EIU
2022
Global Peace Index Institute for Economics and
Peace
Global Terrorism Index Institute for Economics and
Peace
Freedom in the World 2023 Freedom House (USA India has been termed as
based human rights ‘partly free’ country in
watchdog) terms of democracy and
free society
Academic Freedom Index Global Public Policy
Institute
World Press Freedom Reporters without Borders India's rank => 150 out of
Index 2022 180
Corruption Perception Transparency International India's rank => 85th among
Index 2022 180
Democracy Report 2022: Varieties of Democracy (V- 4 regime types: Liberal
Defiance in the Face of Dem) Institute, Sweden Democracy, Electoral
Autocratization Democracy, Electoral
Autocracy, and Closed
Autocracy
India’s rank=> 108

(Electoral Autocracy)
Global State of Democracy International Institute for
Report 2022 Democracy and Electoral
Assistance (International-
IDEA
Global Innovation Index WIPO, INSEAD, Cornell India => #40 out of 132
2022 #46 (in 2021), #81 (in 2015)
World Competitiveness Institute for Management

Report/Index Development (IMD)
Henley Passport Index Henly India – 85th most powerful
2023 passport
visa-free/visa-on-arrival
travel to 59 countries
World Drug Report 2022 UNODC (UN Office on ● India is one of the
Drugs and Crime) largest markets for
opium users
● It is a transit channel
between 2 major
narcotic hubs: Golden

Crescent: Pakistan,
Afghanistan , Iran and
Golden Triangle:
Thailand, Myanmar,
Laos , Vietnam
● Worst affected in India:
Punjab and Manipur
World Mental Health WHO ● Approximately 1 billion

Report people in world suffer
from mental health
issues
Global Status Report on WHO ● Less than 50% of
Physical Activity , 2022 countries have a
national physical
activity policy.
● Less Physical activity
increases the risk of
Cardiovascular and Non
Communicable diseases
like Obesity, Diabetes,
BP etc.
Global Tuberculosis Report WHO ● TB is the second leading
2022 killer after COVID 19
● India has the highest -
28% of global TB
caseload although India
also saw most
reduction in cases in
2020
Domestic
India Innovation Index 2022 NITI Aayog Karnataka, Manipur and
Chandigarh have topped in
their respective categories
Geospatial Energy Map of NITI Aayog + ISRO holistic picture of all
India energy resources of the
country
National Multidimensional NITI Aayog 3 dimensions, 12 indicators
Poverty Index Health: Nutrition, Child &
Adolescent Mortality,
Antenatal Care
Education: Years of
Schooling, School
Attendance

Standard of living: Cooking
Fuel, Sanitation, Drinking
Water, Electricity, Housing,
Assets, Bank Account
State Health Index NITI Aayog Top: Kerala, TN, Telangana
title: Healthy States, Bottom: UP, BH, MP
Progressive India
Good Governance Index Department of Top: GJ, MP, HP, Delhi
2021 Administrative Reforms
and Public Grievances
(DARPG), Ministry of
Personnel, Public
Grievances and Pensions
NFHS-5 MoH&FW Data 2019-21
Sex ratio: 1020 w per 100 m
SR @ birth: 952
TFR: 2
Child nutrition
Underweight: 32%
Wasting: 19%
Stunting: 36%
Anemic women: 53%

Export Preparedness Index NITI Aayog + Institute of 4 parameters: policy,
2021 Competitiveness business ecosystem,
export ecosystem, export
performance
#1 - Gujarat
Public Affairs Index Bangalore-based think tank Based on three pillars of
Public Affairs Center (PAC) governance - growth,
equity and sustainability
#1 Haryana
Financial Stability Report RBI
Financial Inclusion Index RBI 3 dimensions:
• access to financial
services
• usage of financial
services
• quality of the products
and the service delivery
Digital Payments Index RBI to capture the extent of
digitisation of payments
across the country
LEADS Report 2022 DPIIT, M/o Commerce To gauge the logistics
performance of states and
Union Territories (UT) and

identifying areas where
they can improve logistics
performance
Top: #1 MH
Swachh Survekshan 2022 MoHUA Cleanest City: Indore
Best Ganga Town:
Haridwar
Cleanest Cantonment:
Deolali Cantt (MH)
Cleanest State: MP
Ease of Living Index MoHUA Rank #1 Bengaluru
(million+ category), Shimla
(< million category)
Municipal Performance MoHUA Rank #1 Indore (million+),
Index New Delhi MC (< million)
State Food Safety Index FSSAI
Tiger Status Report 2022 National Tiger India’s tiger pop => 3167
Conservation Authority statewise: MP > KN > UK
(NTCA) Tiger reserves: Corbett >
Nagarhole > Bandipur
largest Tiger Reserve:

Nagarjun Srisailam TR
Smallest TR: Orang TR
India State of Forests Forest Survey of India, Forest cover:
report 2021 MoEFCC Absolute à MP >
Arunachal > Chhattisgarh >
Odisha > Maharashtra
%age à Mizoram (84%) >

Arunachal Pradesh (79%) >
Meghalaya (76%) >
Manipur (74%) > Nagaland
(73%)
Sample Registration Office of the Registrar MMR: 103 per 1 lakh live
System (SRS) Bulletin General of India, M/o Home births
Report Affairs Kerala: 30
UP, BH, RJ – showed
improvement
WB, HR, CH, UK - worsened
UDISE+ (Unified District Ministry of Education UDISE+ has a mandate of
Information System for collecting information from
Education) all recognized schools
imparting formal education
from Pre-primary to class
XII. Information collected

through the digital
platform, UDISE+ is utilized
for planning, optimizing
resource allocation and
implementing various
education-related
programs and assessing
progress.
National Achievement Ministry of Education , MCQ based survey every 3
Survey , 2021 India years for students of class
3 , 5 , 8 and 10 to judge
learning outcomes.
National Health Account Ministry of Health and ● 3.2% of GDP is being
Estimates , 2018-19 Family Welfare spent on healthcare (a
decline from 2014)
● Out of pocket
Expenditure of
Healthcare has declined
from 60% to 48.2 % in
2018-19
Crime in India Report, 2021 NCRB under Ministry of ● Overall crime rate per
Home Affairs lakh population has
declined
● Crime against women,
children, elderly, SC and
ST has increased
● Cyber-crime , economic
and environmental
offences too have
increased
Prison Statistics India NCRB ● 67% of prisoners are
Report undertrials (those
whose cases are
pending)
● Prisons in India are
overcrowded , with
130% occupancy rate
● 66% inmates are either
SC,ST or OBC
Accidental Deaths and NCRB ● Deaths and suicides
Suicides Report show an increasing
trend , pandemic seems
to have taken a toll on
emotional well being of
people

Scheme Implementing Agency Facts related to scheme
NAMASTE ( National 1. Ministry of Social ● Aim to eliminate the

Action For Mechanised Justice and unsafe and undignified
Sanitation Ecosystem) Empowerment practice of manual
scavenging.
2. Ministry of Housing ● Target of ZERO FATALITY
and Urban Affair in sanitation work.
● Provide alternate
employment to manual
scavengers
● Manual Scavengers die in
unsanitary conditions in
septic tanks due to toxic
fumes of : Methane ,
Hydrogen Sulphide And
Carbon Monoxide.
● 97% Manual Scavengers
are from SC community
500 AMRUT Cities are targeted in
the first phase while funding is
from National Safai Karamchari
Finance Development Corp.
SMILE (Support for Ministry of Social Justice and This umbrella scheme covers
Marginalized Individuals Empowerment welfare measures for both
for Livelihood and transgender persons and persons
Enterprise”) who are engaged in the act of
begging with focus on
rehabilitation, provision of
medical facilities, counseling,
education, skill development,
economic linkages etc with the
support of State
Governments/UTs/Local Urban
Bodies, Voluntary Organizations,
Community Based Organizations.
Rashtriya Vayoshree Ministry of Social Justice and A Central sector scheme funded
Yojana Empowerment from the Senior Citizens’ Welfare
along with ALIMCO Fund.
All unclaimed amounts from small
savings accounts, PPF and EPF are
transferred to this fund
Provides assistive living devices
like hearing aids , artificial
dentures, walking sticks to BPL
senior citizens

PM Daksh Yojana Ministry of Social Justice and It is a National Action Plan for
Empowerment skilling marginalized persons
covering SCs, OBCs, EBCs, DNTs,
Sanitation workers including
waste pickers.
SEED (Scheme for Ministry of Social Justice and ● SEED scheme aims to give
Economic Empowerment free coaching for
Empowerment of competitive exams ,
Denotified ,Nomadic ,Semi health insurance and
Nomadic communities) financial assistance to
Scheme these communities
MPLADS (Member of Ministry of Statistics And ● Central sector scheme to

Parliament Local Area Programme Implementation enable MPs to
Development Scheme) recommend development
works in their
constituencies
● Total 5 crore rupees are
given per annum in 2
instalments of 2.5 crore
each. These funds are non
lapsable
● District Collector is the
supervising authority and
has to inspect atleast 10%
of the work under
implementation
Government E Ministry of Commerce and ● Online marketplace ,

Marketplace (GeM) Portal Industry technical support has
been provided by National
E governance division
under Ministry of IT and
Electronics.
● Portal for government
procurement. Can be used
by centre , state , PSUs
etc.
● Private players cannot be
buyers but they can sell
here
● For all central ministries
there is a target of 25%
procurement from MSMEs

on GeM and under it 4%
from SC/ST entrepreneurs.
ODOP (One district One 1. Ministry of Commerce ● To realise the potential of

Product) 2. Ministry of Food a district and make them
Processing Industries competitive in production
of a single good
● Now the scheme has been
operationally merged with
Districts as Export
Hub(DEH) scheme.
ONDC (Open Network For Ministry Of Commerce ● ONDC will democratise e-

Digital Commerce) commerce by providing
small kirana shop owners
the facility to digitally
deliver their goods
Nikshay Poshan Yojana Ministry Of Health and Family ● Support Tuberculosis

Welfare patients with a direct
benefit transfer for their
nutritional needs
National Suicide Ministry Of Health and Family To counsel individuals and

Prevention Strategy Welfare alleviate social stigma related to
mental health issues
KIRAN Helpline Ministry of Social Justice and ● To tackle Stress , anxiety

Empowerment etc
Manodarpan Portal Ministry of Education ● Psychological support to

students , teachers and
family
SWAMITVA Scheme Ministry Of Panchayati Raj ● Land assessment survey

by drones and 3D
mapping to grant title
deeds to their owners and
create a reliable , accurate
proof of ownership via
property cards
Jal Jeevan Mission Jal Shakti Ministry ● Provide tapped water

supply to every rural
home by 2024
● Paani Samiti of villagers to
decide amount to be paid
for water consumption
keeping in find the socio-
economic condition of the
user

● 55 liters of water per
person per day
● More than 50% rural
households have been
covered with a piped
connection till now
● It is a centrally sponsored
scheme with 50-50 fund
sharing for most states
and 90-10 sharing for
Himalayan and North
Eastern states
Mission SUJALAM Ministry of Jal Shakti The Ministry of Jal Shakti began
‘SUJALAM’, a ‘100 days campaign’
as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit
Mahotsav’ celebrations to create
more and more ODF Plus villages
by undertaking waste water
management at village level
particularly through creation of 1
million Soak-pits and also other
Grey water management
activities.
PM SvaNidhi Scheme Ministry Of Housing and ● PM Street Vendor

Urban Affairs Atmanirbhar Nidhi
● To grant collateral free
loans of upto Rs 10,000 to
street vendors for their
working capital needs
● SIDBI is the implementing
agency and credit
guarantee is provided by
government
Bharat Tap Initiative and Ministry Of Housing And ● To provide low flow taps
Nirmal Jal Prayas Urban Affairs and sanitary ware to
reduce water
consumption
Padhe Bharat Campaign Ministry of Education ● 100 day reading campaign

upto grade 8
NEAT - National Ministry Of Education ● To Provide Technical

Educational Alliance For Books in regional
Technology languages
● To provide best ed tech
solutions to students
across the country
● AICTE: Implenting partner

PM SHRI Schools Ministry Of Education ● Upgrade and develop
more than 14500 schools
across the country
● Modern , environmentally
sustainable infrastructure
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan Ministry Of Education ● To engage faculty and

students of higher
education institutes in
finding solutions to
developmental challenges
in Rural Areas
National Means Cum Merit Ministry Of Education ● To award scholarship to

Scholarship Scheme meritorious students of
EWS category.
● Prevent drop out post
class 8
● These are given to
students of class 9 to 12
whose annual parental
income is less than 3.5
lakh rupees
● 12,000 rupees per gannum
month
via DBT
SHRESHTHA ( Scheme for 1. Ministry of Education To provide high quality education

Residential Education for 2. Ministry of Social for
Students in High Schools justice and meritorious but poor Scheduled
in Targeted Areas) Empowerment Castes(SC) students in CBSE
affiliated reputed residential
schools across the country.
Students are selected through a

through a National Entrance Test
for SHRESHTA (NETS) conducted
by NTA (National Testing Agency)
for admission in class 9 and 11.
YUVA (Young Upcoming Ministry of Education via ● To train budding authors

and Versatile Authors) National Book Trust below the age of 30
● Develop a stream of world
class authors
RAMP (Raising and Ministry of MSME ● Provide MSME with

Accelerating MSME access to credit , market
performance) and better governance
process
ZED (Zero Defect - Zero Ministry of MSME ● Certification scheme to

Effect) motivate MSME to
produce ZED products
● ZED will reduce wastage ,
save energy and be
sustainable for human and
environmental health.
SFURTI (Scheme of Fund Ministry Of MSME ● To organize traditional

for Regeneration of industries and artisans
Traditional Industries) into clusters to make
them competitive and
increase their income.
● SFURTI clusters are of two
types i.e., Regular Cluster
(500 artisans) with
Government assistance of
up to Rs. 2.5 crore and
Major Cluster (more than
500 artisans) with
Government assistance up
to Rs. 5 crore.
PM Employment Ministry of MSME ● Scheme was launched in

Generation Program (Along with KVIC) 2008
● Credit linked subsidy
scheme which promotes
self employment
● It was in news as India has
reached 100 unicorn start
ups mark with a combined
valuation of more than
300 Billion dollars
PM Shram Yogi Maan Ministry of Labour and ● Implemented by LIC and

Dhan Employment CSC e-governance services
India Ltd.
● 50-50 voluntary and
contributory pension
scheme in which the
beneficiary makes a
stipulated age specific
contribution and the
Central Government
matches it
● Available to unorganised
workers not covered by
NPS, ESIC or EPFO and
earn less than 15,000 per
month

PLI Scheme for Auto Ministry of Heavy Industries Launched in 2021 to propose
Sector financial incentives to boost
domestic manufacturing of
Advanced Automotive
Technology (AAT) products and
attract investments.The scheme
incentivizes only those eligible
AAT products for which a
minimum of 50 Domestic Value
Addition (DVA) is achieved.
1. PM Jeevan Jyoti Ministry of Finance ● Jeevan Jyoti Bima is a

Bima Yojana term life insurance of 2
2. PM Suraksha Bima lakh rupees at annual
Yojana premium of Rs 330/-
3. Atal Pension ● Suraksha Bima Yojana
Yojana provides compensation in
case of an accident.
● Atal Pension Yojana is
managed by PFRDA which
has stated that income tax
payers cannot avail this
scheme
1. PM Vaya Vandana Ministry of Finance PMVVY is implemented via LIC

Yojana (PMVVY) SCSS saw deposit limit increase to
2. Senior Citizen 30 lakhs in Budget 2023
Saving Scheme
(SCSS)
Mission Vatsalya 1. Ministry Of Women To foster a sensitive ecosystem

and Child for the development of children
Development and ensure their happy childhood
2. SARA (State Adoption
Resource Agency) To assist States/UTs in delivering
the mandate of the Juvenile
Justice
Act 2015 and 2030 SDG Goals
Under the mission Vatsalya Portal

will be developed that will cater
to needs of vulnerable (missing ,
orphan , abandoned) children
Mission Vatsalya Scheme is a

roadmap to achieve development
and child protection priorities
aligned with the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). It lays
emphasis on child rights,
advocacy and awareness along

with strengthening of the juvenile
justice care and protection system
with the motto to 'leave no child
behind'.
Mission Vatsalya scheme supports

the children through Non-
Institutional Care under Private
Aided Sponsorship wherein
interested sponsors (individuals/
institutions/ company/ banks/
industrial units/ trusts etc.) can
provide assistance to children in
difficult circumstance
Mission Shakti Ministry of Women and Child It is a mission mode scheme

Development aimed at strengthening
interventions for women’s safety,
security and Empowerment.
It has 2 subschemes :
1. Sambal : For safety and
security of women.
Includes components of
One Stop Center and Beti
Bachao Beti Padhao
scheme. Also has ‘Nari
Adalats’ to facilitate
gender justice and quick
dispute resolution
2. Samarthya : The
components consisting of
erstwhile schemes of
Ujjwala Swadhar Greh and
Working Women Hostel
have been included with
modifications. In addition,
the existing schemes of
National
Creche Scheme for
children of working
mothers and Pradhan
Mantri Matru vandana
Yojana ( under umbrella of
ICDS have also been
included
National Technical Textiles Ministry Of Textiles Technical textiles products are

Mission manufactured for non aesthetic
purposes, where function/utility is
the primary criterion

Technical textiles include textiles
for automotive applications,
medical textiles, geotextiles,
agrotextiles and protective
clothing . Eg : Hazmat suits ,
bullets proof vest etc.
India aims to be a global leader in
technical textiles and reduce its
import dependence
PM MITRA (Mega Ministry of Textiles Aim to integrate the

Integrated Textile Region entire textile value chain from
and Apparel) spinning, weaving, processing
/dyeing, printing to garment
manufacturing at one location
Scheme is Inspired by the 5 F
vision of the Prime Minister Farm
to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to
Foreign
PM Ujjwala Yojana Ministry of Petroleum And ● Provides LPG Connection

Natural Gas to poor households.
Benefits human and
environmental health
● More than 9 crore new
LPG connections have
been rolled out under the
scheme
● 99.8% households in India
now have access to LPG
● The connection is issued in
the name of a woman
who is above 18 in the
household. Family income
should be BPL as
determined by their
respective state
governments
PM Jan Aushadhi Yojana Ministry of Chemicals and ● Provide quality medicines

Fertilizers at affordable prices

PM DEVINE (Development 1. Ministry of ● Scheme will fund projects
Initiative for North East Development of related to infrastructure,
)Scheme North Eastern Region social development and
generation of livelihood
2. North East Council opportunities
● Under the PM DevINE
scheme, projects can be
recommended by Centre
and North East
States as well but priority
will be given to projects
posed by the states
Vigyan Jyoti Scheme 1. Department of ● Launched in 100 rural

Science and schools to encourage girls
Technology , Ministry to pursue STEM
of Science and ● Hand Holding by
Technology government right from
class 9 up to PHD level
2. Navodaya Vidyalaya
Samiti , Ministry of
Education
Operation AAHT Railway Protection Force Deployment of teams on long

distance train routes to curb
human trafficking
Ayushman Bharat Digital National Health Authority Will provide unique 14 digit health
Mission (Attached office of Ministry ID to each patient and a portal to
Of Health and Family Welfare) digitally store all their medical
records
DigiDoctor will make it easy to
find the right doctor,
appointment , payment of fee and
prescription can all be made/done
from a single portal
Telemedicine and E-Pharmacy
services will also be available
PM VIKAS Ministry of Minority Affairs Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Ko Kaam

Karyakram (PMKKK) has now
(caution: similar name been named as Pradhan Mantri
scheme was also Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM
announced in budget 2023 VIKAS) Scheme. The integrated
– but it is different and by scheme converges five erstwhile
MSME Ministry) schemes of the Ministry viz.
Seekho aur Kamao, USTTAD,
Hamari Dharohar, Nai Roshni and
Nai Manzil.

Final Lap 2024
ENVIRONMENT
Climate Change
GHG effect short wavelength of visible light from the sun pass through the
atmosphere and are absorbed, but the longer wavelengths of the infrared
radiation from the heated earth are unable to pass through the
atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases Water vapor (biggest overall contributor to GHG effect)
CO2 < CH4 < N2O < HFCs < PFCs < SF6 [warming potential]
Short-lived Climate SCLPs remain in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of time than
pollutants carbon dioxide (CO2), yet their potential to warm the atmosphere can be
many times greater.
SCLPs: Black Carbon, Methane, Hydrofluorocarbons, Tropospheric Ozone

Black Carbon formed by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, wood and other fuels
it reduces surface albedo of snow and ice and heats the surface
Brown Carbon brown smoke released by the combustion of organic matter
Blue Carbon • Blue carbon is the carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems.
• Coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrass
meadows sequester and store more carbon per unit area than
terrestrial forests and are now being recognised for their role
in mitigating climate change.
Green Carbon • carbon captured into terrestrial plant biomass in photosynthesis and
stored in the plants and soil of natural ecosystems
Ocean Acidification (called • Decrease in pH of oceans but its still > 7
‘evil twin of global • average ocean pH is about 8
warming’)
Ozone Depletion • ozone in stratosphere – good – absorbs UV rays (~90% of Earth’s ozone
resides in stratosphere)
• ozone in troposphere – bad – pollutant
• sunlight responsible for formation as well as destruction of ozone
• colder conditions à more polar stratospheric clouds à more ozone
depletion
• ozone depletion à stratosphere cools
• Dobson unit – to measure thickness of ozone layer
• Ozone hole – region of exceptionally depleted ozone in stratosphere
over Arctic and Antarctica (ozone levels below 220 Dobson units)
• Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption of 2022 (in South Pacific

Ocean) caused ozone depletion – released large amounts of volcanic
gases (water vapour, HCl, SO2)
1
Final Lap 2024
Ozone-depleting • Human-made gases that reach stratosphere and break down ozone
Substances molecules.
• Major ODS: CFCs (aerosols, refrigerants, solvents), HCFCs (aerosols,
refrigerants, solvents), halons (fire extinguishers), methyl bromide
(pesticides), carbon tetrachloride, methyl chloroform etc.
Vienna Convention, 1985 • Objective: to protect human health and the environment against the
effects of ozone depletion
• Montreal Protocol: to replace CFCs with HFCs (HFCs are not ODS)
• Kigali Amendment: it was realized that HFCs are potent green house
gases (GHGs) that contribute to climate change.
• As per UNDP, India surpassed Montreal protocol targets – exceeded
35% phase-out goal – achieved 44% reduction from 2020.
UNFCCC Est in 1992 Rio Earth Summit as a framework for international cooperation
to combat climate change
Secretariat: Bonn, Germany
Important COPs:
• COP 3 – 1997 - Kyoto Protocol
• COP 8 – 2002 - New Delhi
• COP 19 – 2013 – Warsaw
• COP 21 – 2015 - Paris Agreement
• COP 26 – Glasgow, UK
• COP27 – Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
• COP28 – Dubai, UAE
COP28 – Dubai - outcomes • Loss and Damage Fund
o It was operationalised with a US$ 800 million commitment to
provide financial help to countries trying to recover from climate-
induced disasters.
o The World Bank will be the "interim host" of the fund for four years.
• Global Stocktake (GST)
o COP 28 took first stock of how the international community has
collectively reduced its greenhouse gas emissions. It acknowledged
that countries failed to meet the $100 billion finance goal.
• Global Renewables & Energy Efficiency Pledge
o led by the European Union, the UAE and the US.
o To triple the world’s green energy capacity to 11,000 GW by 2030,
thereby reducing the reliance on fossil fuels in generating energy.
o neither legally binding nor a part of the official COP28 calendar.
o India & China have stayed away as the initiative calls for phasing
down of coal & “ending the continued investment in unabated new
coal-fired power plants.
• Global Drought Snapshot Report
o Launched by UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD))
o The report states that drought causes more economic loss and
affects more sectors of societies.
• ALTERRA FUND
o Launched by UAE
o aims to attract $250 billions of investment by 2030. The fund will
allocate $25 billion to climate strategies and $5 billion to incentivize
investment flow into the Global South.
2
Final Lap 2024
o The fund has four key pillars: 1) Energy Transition; 2) Industrial

Decarbonization; 3) Sustainable Living; 4) Climate Technologies Top
of Form.
• Global Green Credit Initiative
o Launched by India
o Under this initiative, green credits will be assigned to specific
environmental activities, and will be treated as tradable
commodities. These green credits will be able to be sold on domestic
market platforms.
o The main purpose of this initiative is to boost voluntary
environmental activities like tree plantation, water conservation,
sustainable agriculture, & waste management by incentivizing it for
big corporations & private companies, bringing about a change in
the climate Change issues.
o There are two main priorities of the initiative – water conservation
and afforestation.
• Climate Club
o Led by Germany and Chile.
o India not a member
o Aim: decarbonisation of industries through ambitious policies,
alignment of methodologies and standards and improving finance
and assistance for emerging and developed economies.
• Lead IT 2.0
o By India and Sweden
o For inclusive and just industry transition, development and transfer
of low-carbon technology and financial support to emerging
economies for industry transition.
• Global River Cities Alliance
o By National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under M/o Jal Shakti
o For sustainable river centric development.
India’s Panchamrit • Increase non-fossil energy capacity to 500GW by 2030

Commitments (COP26 • Meet 50% of energy requirements from renewable energy by 203
Glasgow) • Reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from
now to 2030
• Reduce carbon intensity of economy by 45% (previous target was 35%)
by 2030
• Achieve net-zero by 2070
Mission LIFE (Lifestyle For • Pro Planet approach that mobilises citizens to use environmental
Environment) friendly options such as LED bulbs, Public Transport , reduction of single
use plastic , recycling of old clothes , reduction in e waste among others
Global Methane Initiative • international public-private initiative to achieve reduction in
anthropogenic methane emissions and use of methane as a valuable
energy source
• launched in 2004
International Solar • Jointly launched by India and France during COP 21 (Paris)
Alliance (ISA) • HQ: Gurugram
• Countries that do not fall within the Tropics can join the alliance and
enjoy all benefits as other members, with the exception of voting
rights.
First Movers Coalition • Led by WEF and US Govt
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• India is a member
• To decarbonise sectors of Aluminium, Aviation, Shipping, Steel,
Trucking, Cement and Chemicals
Fit for 55 package 55% emission reduction target (from 1990 levels) which the European Union
(EU) has set for 2030
Carbon Border • proposed carbon tariff imposed on goods imported to the European
Adjustment Mechanism Union from countries with less strict climate policies
(CBAM) • aim: to encourage cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries.
• Adopted as part of EU’s Fit for 55 Package.
Green Deal Industrial Plan • EU recently unveiled it.
• To create supportive environment for scaling up the EU's
manufacturing capacity of the net-zero technologies required to meet
Europe's ambitious climate targets.
Just Energy Transition • A financing mechanism that aims to support developing countries in
Partnerships (JETP) their transition from fossil fuel-based energy systems to clean and
renewable energy sources.
• Launched at the COP26 in Glasgow (2021)
Forest Carbon Credit • They are permits for companies to emit a certain amount of CO2
Stamp • Issued by China
Partnership to Advance India-US

Clean Energy (PACE) Launched in 2009, to accelerate clean energy R&D
Climate Financing Green Climate Fund (GCF)
set up in 2010
Global Environment Facility (GEF)

established in 1992 Rio Earth Summit || World Bank administers the fund ||
GEF serves as a "financial mechanism" to 5 conventions: UNFCC, CBD,
UNCCD, Stockholm - POPs, Minamata - Mercury
Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF)

established under UNFCCC in 2001 to finance projects in developing country
parties
Adaptation Fund
established in 2001 to finance adaptation projects and
Climate engineering/ge0- tackle climate change by directly removing CO2 or limiting amount of
engineering sunlight reaching the Earth
Techniques:
• Carbon capture and storage (CCS): capture of CO2 emissions from
industrial processes, transport it and store in deep underground
geological formations.
• Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS): captured carbon is
reused in industrial process or stored.
Biochar It is a carbon-rich material produced by burning organic biomass under

complete absence (pyrolysis) or partial absence (gasification) of O2 at high
temperature.
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It is a stable form of carbon that can’t easily escape into the atmosphere.
Sunlight reflection • Stratospheric Aerosol Injection – SO2 is used
methods • Cirrus cloud manipulation
• Space-based mirrors
IPCC 6th Assessment 1. Part I - scientific basis for climate change average surface temperature
Report of the Earth will cross 1.5 °C over pre- industrial levels by 2040 and 2°C
by the middle of the century without sharp reduction of emissions
2. Part II - likely impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation issues
3. Part III - actions that can be taken to combat climate change
4. Net Anthropogenic GHG have risen in last decade
5. Sectoral Share of GHG Emissions:
• Energy > Industry > Agriculture
State of Cryosphere 2023 • Released by International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI)

• Cryosphere – frozen areas of the Earth
• Findings:
o Last decade witnessed 7 worst years of ice loss
o Himalayas to lose 50% of ice if global temp rises by 2° C
State of Global Climate World Meteorological Organisation(WMO) – specialised UN agency
Report 2022
Findings:
• Global mean temperature in 2022 was 1.15°C above the 1850–1900
average.
• Years 2015 to 2022 were eight warmest on record.
• Concentrations of three main greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide,
methane and nitrous oxide – reached record highs in 2021.
• Overall, 58% of ocean surface experienced at least one marine
heatwaves during 2022 and the rate of global mean sea level rise
has doubled
Greenhouse Gas Bulletin WMO
Global CO2 conc in 2022 reached 150% of pre-industrial level

Methane (CH4) – 264% of pre-industrial level
Nitrous dioxide (N2O) – 124% of pre-industrial level
Emissions Gap Report UNEP
2023
Findings:
• Top 4 emitters: China > US > India > EU27
• Global GHG emissions increased by 1.2 % from 2021 to 2022 with
fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes being main
contributors.
• Global temp rise of 3°C if the current policies continue.
Adaptation Gap Report UNEP
2023
Findings:
• Adaptation finance needs are 10-18 times higher than current public
flows.
• Adaptation finance gap is expanding, now at US$194-366 billion
annually.
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Production Gap Report UNEP

2023
Measures gap between governments’ planned production of fossil fuels
and production consistent with Paris agreement
Climate Change Germanwatch
Performance Index 2024
Findings:
• Assesses performance in 4 categories: GHG emission, Renewable
energy, Energy use, Climate policy
• First three ranks – empty
• #4 - Denmark
• #7 - India
• Worst ranked – #67 Saudi, #66 Iran
Global Climate Risk Index Germanwatch
Pollution
Air pollutants CO, SO2, NO2, O3, PM10, PM2.5, Ammonia
Other air pollutants:
Lead, Arsenic, Nickel, Acrolein, Asbestos, Benzene
National Air Quality Index (AQI) By CPCB, MoEFCC
Launched in 2014 under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
8 pollutants:
SO2, NO2, CO, O3, PM10, PM2.5, NH3, Pb
6 AQI categories - Good, Satisfactory, Moderate, Poor, Very

Poor, Severe
National Ambient Air Quality By CPCB, MoEFCC

Standards (NAAQS) 12 pollutants:
SO2, NO2, CO, O3, PM10, PM2.5, NH3, Pb, As, Ni, Benzene,
Benzopyrene
SAFAR (System of Air Quality and • by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)
Weather Forecasting And Research) • to monitor air quality in metropolitan cities of Delhi,
Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune
Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) • a framework designed to combat air pollution in the Delhi-
NCR region
• implemented by: CAQM
• enforcement based on AQI levels
Stage Delhi AQI Actions
I – ‘Poor’ 201-300 Hotels/restaurants to use only
electricity/clean fuel
II – ‘Very 301-400 Regulated operations of DG sets
Poor’
III – 401-450 strict restrictions on plying of BS III
‘Severe’ petrol and BS IV vehicles, discontinue
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physical classes in schools for

children up to Class V
IV – 450+ Do not permit LCVs registered
‘Severe+’ outside Delhi, other than EVs
/CNG/BS-VI diesel, discontinuing
physical classes even for classes VI–IX
Commission for Air Quality • Statutory body
Management in NCR and Adjoining • Replaced Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA)
Areas (CAQM) • Farmers exempted from penal provisions
• Appeal against CAQM orders à NGT
Central Pollution Control Board • Statutory body under Water Act, 1974
(CPCB) • Under MoEFCC
• Function: prevention, control or abatement of water and
air pollution
National Clean Air Programme • Launched by MoEFCC in 2019
(NCAP) • to cut PM10 and PM2.5 concentration by 20%-30% by 2024
(2017 – base year)
• To be implemented in 131 non-attainment cities
• Not legally binding
• Implemented by CPCB
Portal for Regulation of Air-pollution for monitoring of the implementation of the National Clean Air
in Non-Attainment cities (PRANA) Programme (NCAP) in 131 cities & disseminating
portal information on air quality to the public.
Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2023 • Conducted under NCAP by MoEFCC
• rank cities on the basis of implementation of activities
approved under city action plan and air quality in 131 NCAP
cities
• Results
Category Rank #1
million plus population Indore
million plus population Amravati
less than 3 lakhs population Parwanoo
PM emissions from burning crop Sugarcane (12) > Maize (11) > Cotton (10) > Rice (9) > Wheat (8)
residue (g/kg) *Note: 43% of all crop residue burnt in India is residue of rice
crop
Pusa bio-decomposer Developed by Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Pusa,
Delhi
To decompose stubble
Torrefaction Swedish technology to convert rice stubble into bio-coal
Coal in India Gondwana Coal (99% of India’s coal production)
• High ash content
• Low sulphur content
Tertiary Coal (found in North East)

• Low ash content
• High sulphur content
Pollution Control Technologies (PCTs) Pre-combustion
at different stages of a power plant’s • Coal washing and blending
operations
In-combustion
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• Low NOx Burner (LNB) and Over-Fire Air (OFA) in boiler for
NOx reduction.
• Limestone injection into the furnace for SOx reduction.
• Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion (CFBC) boilers:
environment-friendly technology to reduce the discharge of
pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxide by
injecting air and lime at the same time for burning.
Post-combustion
• Flu Gas Desulphurization: To remove SO2 from exhaust flue
gases of thermal power plants
• Selective Catalytic Reduction: To remove NOx from flue
gases. Converts NOx to nitrogen in the presence of a
catalyst
• Electrostatic Precipitator: Removes fine particles like
smoke and dust from gases
Fly Ash Fine powder left after combustion of coal
contains several toxic heavy metals like lead (Pb), nickel (Ni),
zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn)
Applications: agriculture – improves water holding capacity,
making cement & bricks, making adsorbent waste water
treatment
Radon Emitted naturally by soil || generally found in basements
Green crackers – SWAS, STAR, SAFAL Don’t contain lithium, arsenic, barium and lead
developed by CSIR-NEERI
Petroleum & Explosives Safety • nodal agency to look after safety requirements of the
Organisation (PESO) Explosives and Petroleum Sector including firecrackers.
HQ: Nagpur • Statutory body
• Under DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce
Cloud Seeding • deliberate introduction into clouds of various substances
that act as condensation nuclei to induce precipitation.
• Chemicals used: Salts such as silver iodide (AgI), potassium
iodide, sodium chloride, or dry ice (solid carbon dioxide)
• Clouds should contain supercooled water (less than zero
degree C)
Ozone pollution • Stratospheric ozone – good
• Tropospheric (ground-level) ozone – bad
• Ground-level ozone is secondary pollutant formed by
chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx),
carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4) and volatile organic
compounds (VOC)
• Ozone is most likely to reach unhealthy levels on hot sunny
days in urban environments
BOD, COD, Dissolved Oxygen Dissolved Oxygen – amount of oxygen present in water (should
be > 8 mg/L)
↑ temperature è ↓ dissolved oxygen
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Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) – dissolved oxygen needed

by microorganisms to decompose organic waste (only
Chemical oxygen demand (COD) – oxygen needed by chemicals

to decompose organic waste (biodegradable + non-
Bioaccumulation , Biomagnification Bioaccumulation – increase in concentration of a pollutant from
the environment to the first organism in a food chain
Biomagnification – increase in concentration of a pollutant as it

moves from one trophic level to the next
Diseases by pollutants Mercury – Minamata
Cadmium – Itai Itai
Nitrates – Blue Baby syndrome / Methamoglobinemia
Fluoride – Fluorosis
Arsenic – Black Foot Disease
Microplastic, Nanoplastic Plastic particles < 5 mm (microplastics) || < 100 mm
(nanoplastics)
Found in cosmetics, synthetic clothing, plastic bags and bottles
Plasticrust Thin coating of plastic that grows on rocks at sea shore
Composed of polyethylene
Dead zone Dead zones are hypoxic areas in the world's oceans and large
lakes. Hypoxia occurs when dissolved oxygen concentration
falls to or below 2ml of O₂/liter.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch Gyre, sargasso sea weed, plastic litter
GloLitter Partnership Implemented by IMO + FAO
Aims to tackle marine plastic litter
MARPOL Convention, 1973 IMO’s convention for prevention of pollution of the marine
environment by ships
International Maritime Organization (IMO) – specialised UN
agency
London Convention, 1972 control of all sources of marine pollution and to take all
practicable steps to prevent pollution of the sea by dumping of
wastes and other matter
Honolulu strategy Reduce the impact of marine debris worldwide
Composite Water Management Index NITI Aayog
Uses Falkenmark Index – used to measure water scarcity
Dublin Principles Related to Water management
Groundwater • India is the world’s largest user of groundwater exceeding
US and China combined. (25% of global groundwater
extraction)
• 90% of it used for irrigation
• 10% - drinking, domestic & industrial use
Bodies related to water Central Groundwater Authority (HQ: New Delhi)
• statutory - under Environment (P) Act, 1986
• under Jal Shakti Ministry
• to regulate and control development and management of
ground water resources in the country.
Central Groundwater Board (HQ: Faridabad)
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• non-statutory
• multidisciplinary scientific organisation to provide scientific
inputs for management, exploration, monitoring,
assessment, augmentation and regulation of ground water
resources of the country.
• under Jal Shakti Ministry
Central Water Commission (CWC)

• non-statutory
• attached office in Jal Shakti Ministry
India WRIS (Water Resources Web portal containing info related to water resources
Information System) Launched in 2019 under National Hydrology Project
Zero Liquid Discharge Water treatment process to recirculate all the water with zero
liquid waste
Components: pre-treatment à Reverse Osmosis (RO) à
Evaporator & Crystalliser
River Cities Alliance (RCA) • Launched by M/o Jal Shakti and M/o Housing & Urban Affairs
in 2021
• to provide the member cities with a platform to discuss and
exchange information on aspects that are vital for
sustainable management of urban rivers, sharing best
practices and supporting innovation
• The Alliance is open to all river cities of India. Any river city
can join the Alliance at any time.
Plastic Overshoot Day • Refers to the day when the amount of plastic waste
surpasses the capability of waste management systems to
effectively manage.
Plastic Waste Management • Bans single-use plastic of low utility and high littering
Amendment Rules 2021 potential
• Single-use Plastic items completely banned from July 1, 2022:
earbuds with plastic sticks, plastic flags, polystyrene,
plastes, cups, glasses, cutlery, straw, trays, wrapping etc
• Thickness of plastic carry bags increased to 75 microns wef
Sept 2021 and 120 microns wef 31 Dec 2022
Un-plastic Collective (UPC) • co-founded by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and WWF-
India.
• seeks to minimise externalities of plastics on the ecological
and social health of our planet. The word ‘un-plastic’
specifically refers to moving all types of plastics in a circular
economy and removing unnecessary plastic in the long run
Invisible e-waste Electronic items that often go unrecognized and aren’t properly
recycled within the appropriate waste stream are known as
invisible e-waste. E.g., vapes, LED accessories, USB cables,
power tools, smoke detectors, etc.
Waste to energy Incineration – burning waste in presence of O2
Pyrolysis – burning waste in absence of O2 to produce syngas
(CO + CO2 + H2)
Gasification – burning waste in controlled amount of O2 to
produce syngas
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Biomethanation – microbiologically convert waste into biogas

Bioremediation use of microorganisms to convert to degrade environmental
pollutants into less toxic forms
in-situ – bioventing, biosparaging, bioaugmentation

ex-situ – landfarming, biopiles, bioreactors, composting
phytoremediation – use of plants

mycoremediation – use of fungus
Conventions Stockholm Convention – persistent organic pollutants
Basel Convention – transboundary movement of hazardous
waste and their disposal
Rotterdam Convention - hazardous chemicals and pesticides
Minamata Convention – mercury
Washington Convention – CITES

Bonn Convention – CMS
Cartagena Protocol – biosafety to ensure safe handling of living

modified organisms
Nagoya Protocol – access and benefit sharing
Biodiversity
Indian Tiger / Royal Bengal Tiger IUCN: EN || CITES: Appendix I || WPA,1972: Schedule I
Status of Tigers Report 2022
• India – 3682 tigers, home to 75% of global tiger population
• Population – statewise: MP > Karnataka > Uttarakhand
• Population – Tiger reserves: Jim Corbett > Bandipur >
Nagarhole
• Tiger reserve with highest tiger density: Jim Corbett
• Tiger reserves with no tigers: Dampa (MZ), Kamlang
(Arunachal), Kawal (TL), Satkosia (OD), Sahyadri (MH)
Tigers found in 13 countries: India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh,

Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Malaysia,
Indonesia, Russia
Related terms: CA|TS, mSTRIPES, CaTRAT, TX2
Leopard IUCN: VU || CITES: Appendix I || WPA, 1972: Schedule I

Status of Leopards in India 2022
• 13,874 leopards in India
• Population – statewise: MP > Maharashtra > Karnataka
Snow Leopard IUCN: VU || CITES: Appendix I || WPA, 1972: Schedule I
First ever survey of snow leopards in India
• 718 snow leopards in India
• Statewise pop: Ladakh (477) > Uttarakhand (124) > HP
(51), Arunachal (36) > SK (21) > JK (9)
Found in 12 countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal,
Bhutan, China, Russia, Mongolia, Uzbek, Tajik, Kyrgyz, Kazak
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Cheetah African Cheetah: VU || Asiatic Cheetah: CR
Asiatic Cheetah
• declared extinct in India in 1952
• surviving today only in Iran
Asiatic Lion IUCN: EN || CITES: Appendix I || WPA,1972: Schedule I
Surviving today only in India

Its range is restricted to Gir National Park and adjoining (Pania,
Mitiyala, Girnar Sanctuaries)
Asian Elephant IUCN: EN || CITES: Appendix I || WPA,1972: Schedule I
Species: Indian, Sri Lankan, Sumatran, Borneo (all EN)
Population – statewise: Karnataka > Assam > Kerala
It is India’s National Heritage Animal

Initiatives: MIKE, E8, E50:50
Indian Rhino (Great One-Horned
Rhino) Asian – Indian, Javan, Sumatran
Rhino
African – Black, White
Indian Rhino: VU || CITES: Appendix I || WPA,1972: Schedule I

• Largest of all Rhino species
• Excellent swimmers
• Found in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan
• Assam has 71% of the world’s population (2895 as per 2022
census) with Kaziranga National Park harbouring the highest
number.
• Pobitra WS (Assam) has the highest density of Indian rhinos
in the world.
• Other states: WB, UP
Great Indian Bustard IUCN: CR
Found in arid and semi-arid grasslands: India and Pakistan
states: RJ, MP, GJ, MH, KN, AP
RJ’s state bird (locally known as Godawan)
Global Declaration of River Dolphins • Adopted by River dolphin range states- Bangladesh, Bolivia,
Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Nepal, Pakistan,
Peru and Venezuela.
• To halt and reverse the decline of all river dolphin species in
both Asia and South America.
Dolphin River Type IUCN
Boto Amazon Freshwater EN
Baiji Yangtze Freshwater EN
Bhulan Beas, Indus Freshwater EN
Susu Ganga Freshwater EN
Tucuxi Amazon Freshwater EN
Irrawady Chillika Lake Brackishwater EN
Gangetic Dolphin IUCN: EN
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• Found in Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnali-Sangphu

river systems
• Functionally blind and finds its prey using echolocation
• Being a mammal, cannot breathe in water, so comes to
surface every 30-120 sec
• Females larger than males
Vulture Species: long-billed, slender-billed, red-headed, white-backed
Threats: veterinary drug Diclofenac, collision with overhead
wires, electrocution
Indian Pangolin IUCN: EN
found in Pak, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
Gharial IUCN: CR
Live in freshwater systems
Found majorly in Chambal river
Small population in Girwa river, Ramganga river
Hoolock gibbon IUCN: EN

India has only western hoolock gibbon
Only apes found in India
Dugong (Sea Cow) IUCN: VU
Only herbivorous marine mammal
Come to the surface to breathe
Ghol or Black spotted Crocker state fish of Gujarat
swim bladders highly priced because of their medicinal and
commercial values.
Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) IUCN: EN || CITES: Appendix II || WPA1972: Schedule IV
Non-fragrant variety of sandalwood
Endemic to Andhra Pradesh
Used for – furniture, musical instruments, medicinal purposes,
extraction of santalin (red pigment)
Gentiana Kurroo • Himalayan medicinal plant on the verge of extinction
• perennial herb with flowers that are deep blue
• used for liver ailments, digestive disorders, diabetes, asthma,
and urinary tract infections
Golden Langur IUCN: EN
Habitat: transboundary region of Bhutan-India
Others Dhole (Asiatic Dog): found in KN, MH, MP
Fishing Cat: found in Sunderbans mangroves, around Chillika,
Western Ghats
Butterflies in news Dusted Apollo, Cigaritis meghamalaiensis, Noble’s Helen,
Krishna Peacock, Indian Jezebel, Orange Oakleaf, Golden
Birdwing, Striped Hairstreak, Elusive Prince, Tamil Yeoman
Kaiser-i-Hind – state butterfly of Arunachal Pradesh
Himalayan Serow IUCN: VU
Herbivores mammal found in Himalayas (altitude of 2000-
4000m)
Invasive Alien Species • Prosopis chilensis: drought-resistant plant, threat to Gulf of
Mannar BR, native to South America
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• Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis and Gambusia holbrooki):

feed on mosquito larva, introduced as biological mosquito
control, native USA
• Conocarpus Trees: invasive mangrove species, banned by GJ
govt
• Ludwigia peruviana: called primrose willow, threat to
elephant habitats, native to Central and South America
Turtles vs Tortoise Turtles – live in sea, mainly carnivores
Tortoise – live on land, mainly herbivores
Monotremes Egg laying mammals – Platypus, Echidna – found only in Aus, NZ
India State of Forests Report 2021 By Forest Survey of India, MoEFCC

Total forest cover: 21.7% of geographical area
Total tree cover: 2.9% of geographical area
Forest cover:
Absolute à MP > Arunachal > Chhattisgarh > Odisha >
Maharashtra
%age à Mizoram (84%) > Arunachal Pradesh (79%) > Meghalaya
(76%) > Manipur (74%) > Nagaland (73%)
Tiger reserve with largest forest cover

Absolute - Nagarjunasagar Srisailam TR
%age terms – Pakke TR
Mangroves:
West Bengal (43% of total mangrove area) > Gujarat > Andaman &
Nicobar
Bamboo cover:
MP > Maharashtra > Arunachal > Odisha
Wetlands area:
Gujarat > West Bengal
Protected Areas ~5% of India’s area is protected area
Biosphere Reserves
National Parks
Wildlife Sanctuaries
Conservation Reserve – owned by govt
Community Reserve – owned by community/private
Important Laws, Bodies, Terms Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 à Animal Welfare
Board of India (M/o Fisheries and Animal Husbandry)
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 à

• National Board for Wildlife (chaired by PM) – approves
alteration of boundary of NP, WS
• Central Zoo Authority (chaired by Env Minister)
• Wildlife Crime Control Bureau
Water Act, 1974 à CPCB
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Forest (Conservation Act), 1980 à Forest Advisory Committee –

approves diversion of forest land for non-forest use
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 à Central Groundwater

Authority
Provides for Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ) as transition zones between
high protection and no protection areas
National Forest Policy 1988 à provided for Joint Forest

management
Forests Rights Act, 2006 à provides for Community Forest

Resource Management, Critical Wildlife Habitats
NGT Act, 2010 à NGT

PARIVESH portal For obtaining environmental clearances
CRZ norms, 2018
Ramsar sites 80 Ramsar sites in India

Largest: Sunderban (WB)
Smallest: Renuka (HP)
State with most wetlands: TN (16) > UP (10)

Peatlands Cover 3% of global land
Largest natural terrestrial carbon store
Found in: permafrost regions (poles, high altitudes), coastal areas,
beneath tropical rainforests, boreal forests
Blue Flag Beach certification by Denmark-based FEE - recognized for their
cleanliness, safety, amenities, and eco-friendliness.
12 blue flag beaches in India:
Shivrajpur (Gujarat), Ghoghla (Diu), Kasarkod and Padubidri
(Karnataka), Kappad (Kerala), Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh),
Golden (Odisha), Radhanagar (Andaman and Nicobar), Kovalam
(TN), Eden (Puducherry), Thundi (Lakshadweep), Kadmat
(Lakshdweep)
Cryptobiosis state of an organism when it shows no visible signs of life and

when its metabolic activity becomes hardly measurable
Facultative parthenogenesis (FP) • ability of sexually reproducing species to sometimes produce
(also referred as "virgin birth”) offspring asexually.
• In FP, a female's egg cell can develop into a baby without being
fertilized by a male's sperm cell.
• Scientists have documented the first-known instance of a FP by
a crocodile.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) DNA that is collected from a variety of environmental samples such
as soil, seawater, snow or air, rather than directly sampled from an
individual organism.
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UN Decade on Ecosystem 2021-30

Restoration
Living Planet Report WWF
Living Planet Index WWF
Global Biodiversity Outlook Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
Sustainable Development
Biofuels Considered renewable energy source
Generations: 1G (food crops), 2G (non-food crops), 3G
(engineered algae)
Types:
§ Bioethanol: used as additive (India targets 20% ethanol-
blending by 2025)
§ Biodiesel: can be directly used as fuel (target 5% blending of
biodiesel in diesel by 2030)
§ Biogas
§ Biojet
National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 Categorization of biofuels, VGF to 2G biorefineries, allows use of
surplus foodgrains
Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) • Launched by India at G20 Summit
• Aim: To serve as a catalytic platform, fostering global
collaboration for the advancement and widespread adoption
of biofuels.
• GBA Members: 7 G20 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada,
India Italy, South Africa, USA.
Green Deposits a type of savings account where deposited money goes toward
environmentally friendly projects.
RBI recently issued a framework for Green Deposits.
Solar Energy Installed solar capacity: 74 GW (Jan 2024)
State with highest installed solar capacity: Rajasthan
Wind Energy Installed wind capacity: 45 GW (Jan 2024)
State with highest installed wind capacity: Tamil Nadu
Jaisalmer Wind Park (capacity 1600 MW): largest wind park in

India
Hydrogen Grey H: natural gas split into H2, CO2 | CO2 emitted into
atmosphere
Blue H: natural gas split into H2, CO2 | CO2 is captured and stored
Green H: water split into H2, O2 using solar/wind power | No CO2
emitted
Hydrogen for Heritage scheme Announced in the Union Budget 2023-24
Under it, Indian Railways will:
• Run 35 Hydrogen trains.
• Retro fitment of Hydrogen Fuel cell on existing Diesel Electric
Multiple Unit (DEMU).
Sustainable Alternative Towards • Encourages entrepreneurs to set up CBG plants, produce &
Affordable Transportation (SATAT) supply CBG to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for sale as
Scheme automotive & industrial fuels.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
(MoPNG).
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• Compressed biogas (CBG): Biogas is a mixture of methane,

CO2 and small quantities of other gases produced naturally
through the anaerobic decomposition of biomass. It is then
purified and compressed to give CBG
Flex Fuel Vehicle Vehicles that can run on more than one type of fuel, or even a
mixture of fuels such as petrol and ethanol.
Ex. E85 which has 85% ethanol fuel and 15% gasoline or other
hydrocarbon by volume.
Fugitive emissions unintentional leaks emitted from sealed surfaces, such as
packings and gaskets, or leaks from underground pipelines
resulting from corrosion or faulty connections.
Wind and solar don’t have fugitive emissions
Mission on Advanced and High • Launched by M/o Power + M/o New and Renewable Energy
Impact Research (MAHIR) • To indentify emerging technologies in power sector and
develop them indigenously
RETAP • launched under US-India under Strategic Clean Energy
Partnership (SCEP)
• To accelerate the development of emerging renewable
technologies.
Methane hydrates molecules of natural gas enclosed within a solid lattice of water
molecules.
Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) Platform for trading renewable energy
Geothermal Energy 7 geothermal provinces in India:
• Himalayas – Ladakh, Manikaran, Tapoban;
• Sohana – Haryana, Rajasthan;
• West coast – Maharashtra;
• Cambay – Khambet;
• Son-Narmada-Tapi (SONATA) – Tatapani, Anhoni-Samoni;
• Godavari – Manuguru;
• Mahanadi – Bakreshwar
Star Labelling Programme (SLP) • Launched in 2006 by Ministry of Power under the Energy
Conservation Act, 2001
• Implementation: By Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)
o Statutory body – Energy Conservation Act, 2001 – under
M/o Power
• Mandatory for 15 appliances and voluntary for 20.
Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency It is an evolved rating methodology for air conditioners that
Ratio (ISEER) factors in variance in higher temperature in India and rates air
conditioners accordingly.
UTPRERAK (Unnat Takniki Centre of Excellence to accelerate adoption of energy efficient
Pradarshan Kendra) technologies in Indian industry
Set up by BEE
Fostering Effective Energy Transition WEF
report
Energy Transition Index WEF
World Energy Outlook IEA (International Energy Agency)
Global Energy and CO2 Status report IEA
Global Electric Vehicles Outlook IEA
Geospatial Energy Map of India NITI Aayog + ISRO
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Agriculture
Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) Beejamrutham (seed treatment), Jeevamtrutham (no fertilisers,
terms no pesticides), Acchadana (Mulching), Whaapasa (soil moisture)
No vermicomposting done
Benefits: low cost, less water use, less electricity, lower methane
emissions
National Programme for Organic • Certification of organic produce
Production (NPOP) • Accredited Certification Bodies responsible for certifying.
• Implementing agency: Agricultural and Processed Food
• Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under
Ministry
• of Commerce & Industries
• Recognized by European Commission and Switzerland
Participatory Guarantee Systems • Certification of organic produce
(PGS) • Local Group responsible for certifying – no need for 3rd party
certification
• M/o Agriculture
Jaivik Bharat logo Introduced by FSSAI to communicate adherence of product to
NPOP and PSG
World of Organic Agriculture report India ranked #1 in number of organic farmers
2024 Rank #9 in terms of area under organic farming
Sikkim – fully organic state
Aquaponics, Hydroponics, Hydroponics: growing crops in water w/o soil
Aeroponics Aeroponics: no growing medium
Aquaponics = Hydroponics + Aquaculture
Vertical farming Growing crops in vertically stacked layers
Conservation Agriculture 3 components: permanent soil cover, minimum soil disturbance,
crop rotation
Cellular Agriculture • Production of animal-based products from cell cultures
rather than directly from animals.
Millets • 2023 - international year of millets
• India produces 20% of World’s Millets
• Major Millets in India : Jowar , Bajra , Ragi
Millets And Other Ancient Grains • Launched at G20 2023 meetings
International ReSearcH Initiative • Secretariat: Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR),
(MAHARISHI) Hyderabad
Soil Health Card: 12 parameters Macro
Primary: N P K
Secondary: Sulphur
Micro: Iron, Copper, Boron, Manganese, Zinc

Soil Podsol: cold & humid | rich in Silica and Lime
Latosol: hot & humid | rich in Iron, Aluminium
Gleysol: waterlogged peaty soil
Globally Important Agricultural Initiative of FAO
Heritage Systems (GIAHS) 3 GIAHS in India:
• Kuttanad Below Sea Level Farming System of Kerala.
• Koraput Traditional Agriculture of Odisha.
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• Pampore Saffron Heritage of Kashmir.

Virtual water Water consumed for production of agri and non-agri
commodities throughout their lifecycle
Geography
Tropical Cyclone conditions 5-20° North, South (Coriolis force), sea surface temp > 27°C, high
humidity, presence of low pressure, small variation in vertical
wind speed
La Nina, El Nino Normal year/ La Nina
Western Tropical Pacific (warm) – Eastern Tropical Pacific (cool)
El Nino
Western Tropical Pacific (cool) – Eastern Tropical Pacific (warm)
El Nino Modoki
WTP (cool) - Central Tropical Pacific (warm) – ETP(cool)
Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) 2 phases:
• Negative/Cool: cooler Eastern Equatorial Pacific, warmer
north, west and southern Pacific
• Positive/Warm: warmer Eastern Equatorial Pacific, cooler
north, west and southern Pacific
Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) Low pressure band moving from west to east
MJO over Indian ocean à good rainfall in Indian subcontinent
Indian Ocean Dipole (Indian Nino) Positive phase à good rainfall in Indian subcontinent
Western Indian Ocean (warm) – Eastern Indian Ocean (cool)
Negative phase à scarce rainfall in Indian subcontinent

Western Indian Ocean (cool) – Eastern Indian Ocean (warm)
Atlantic Meridional Overturning • AMOC is a large system of ocean currents driven by
Circulation (AMOC) differences in temperature and salinity (water’s density)
• Weakening due to global warming (as temp difference
between poles and equator decreasing)
Boreal Summer Intra Seasonal Heat transfer from Indian ocean to western Pacific ocean during
Oscillation (BSISO) monsoon (June- Sept)
Causes short-term climate variability in monsoon system
Atlantification Process wherein warm water from Atlantic Ocean is being
advected into Arctic Ocean in increasing amounts.
Heat Dome A heat dome is created when an area of high pressure stays over
the same area for days or weeks, trapping very warm air
underneath - like a lid on a pot.
This phenomena was seen in North America in Jun-Jul 2021

South Atlantic Anomaly Weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field
Here, Van Allen radiation belt comes down to 200 km altitude
Van Allen Radiation belt zone of energetic charged particles that are captured by and
held around a planet’s magnetosphere.
Karakoram anomaly the stability or anomalous growth of glaciers in the central
Karakoram, in contrast to the retreat of glaciers in other nearby
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mountainous ranges of Himalayas and other mountainous

ranges of the world.
Misc
6th mass extinction ongoing extinction event of species during the
present Holocene epoch (with the more recent time sometimes
called Anthropocene) as a result of human activity.
Evil Quartet 4 major causes of biodiversity loss: habitat loss, overexploitation,
invasive alien species, secondary extinction
Carbon Fertilisation phenomena that the increase of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere increases the rate of photosynthesis in plants.
Great Green Wall Project to combat desertification in Africa
Deep Ecology environmental philosophy which promotes the inherent worth of
all living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human
needs
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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Biotechnology
Cell Cell theory

• all living organisms are composed of cells and products of
cells
• all cells arise from pre-existing cells.
Types of cells
• prokaryotic – lack a membrane-bound nucleus
ex. Bacteria, archaea
• eukaryotic – have membrane bound nuclei (0, 1 or more)
ex. Plants, animals, fungi, protozoa
Cell organelles and their functions:

• nucleus – DNA storage
• mitochondria – energy production (ATP)
• ribosomes – protein production
• lysosomes – protein destruction (suicide bags)
• vacuole - store water, nutrients, and the waste materials of
the cell
Plant vs Animal cell Plant cell Animal cell

Have cell wall (outer cover) No cell wall
as well as cell membrane
(inner cover)
Large single vacuole Many small vacuoles
Have chloroplasts for No chloroplasts
photosynthesis
DNA, RNA • While DNA stores genetic information, RNA mostly helps in
transfer and expression of information. Though DNA and RNA
both function as genetic material, but DNA being chemically
and structurally more stable is a better genetic material.
• DNA has the blueprints for every protein in our body, all
packaged into a neat double helix.
• Transcription (making a complementary strand of RNA from
DNA) is completed within the nucleus
• Translation (making protein from RNA instructions) takes
place in the cytoplasm.
Terms • Chromosomes - In the nucleus of each cell, the DNA molecule

is packaged into thread-like structures called chromosomes.
• Genome – an organism’s complete set of DNA
• Gene – functional sequence of DNA
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• Genotype (backend) – pattern of genes in an organism’s DNA

responsible for particular traits
• Phenotype (frontend) – observable physical properties of an
organism
Genetic Modification Direct Manipulation of DNA of an organism to get desired

(GM) Technology characteristics
Approaches for Gene 1. CRISPR- Cas9

Editing/ Gene 2. Homing Endonuclease
Modification 3. Site Directed Endonuclease (SDN)
● In SDN, ‘Nucleases’ are used which are like
molecular scissors which cleave the DNA at
desired position
● SDN 1 and 2 do not introduce any alien gene while
SDN3 does
● In SDN 1 and 2 result is indistinguishable from a
conventionally bred crop
CRISPR cas9 This technology got awarded the Nobel Prize in 2020
Bt cotton • Only GM crop approved for commercial cultivation in India.

• it is said to lost its efficacy against the Pink Bollworm (PBW)
pest.
• GEAC asked states to test a new kind of transgenic cotton seed
that contains a gene, Cry2Ai, which makes cotton resistant to
pink bollworm.
• Bollgard I and Bollgard II technologies have been used in Bt
Cotton.
DMH 11 (Dhara Mustard ● GEAC has approved its environmental release

Hybrid) ● It is a transgenic hybrid crop developed by researchers at
Delhi University by crossing Indian Mustard Varuna
(Barnase Line) with East European Early Heera 2 Mutant
(Barstar Line)
● Foreign genes come from a soil bacteria called ‘Bacillus
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amyloliquefaciens’
GM Crops regulators in ● Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under Ministry of

India Science is the nodal for GM research and setting of safety
standards
● GEAC - Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is the
regulator under Ministry of Environment and Forests to
approve GM Crops in India, allow field trials and approve
large scale release in environment
● ICAR - Indian Council For Agricultural Research under
Ministry of Agriculture for R&D on GM crops
Bioeconomy An economy that sources its energy and material needs from
renewable sources
CAR (Chimeric Antigen • cellular immunotherapy treatment that uses T cells that
Receptor)-T Cell Therapy are genetically altered in a lab to enable them in locating
in destroying cancer cells more effectively.
• T-cells taken from patient’s blood à CAR gene inserted à
CAR T-Cells infused in blood
• Ex. NexCAR19 – to target cancer cells that carry CD19
protein.
Genome Sequencing ● A genome is an organism’s complete set of DNA.

Sequencing it involves deciphering the order in which
base pairs of the DNA are arranged
● In human DNA, there are 3 billion base pairs
● Genome sequencing helps in understanding human
evolution, identify genetic diseases
● USA in 1990 led the Human Genome Project (HGP) while
in India we have had initiatives like INDIGEN (by CSIR) and
Genome India (by DBT)
● INSACOG ( Indian SARS Cov2 Genomics Consortium) was
an recent programme by CSIR, MoHFW, DBT etc to
sequence the genome of SARS COV2 virus.
IndiGen Programme Whole-genome sequencing of 1000 Indian individuals

By CSIR
Genome India Project build a grid of the Indian “reference genome” after collecting
10,000 samples
• by Deptt of Biotechnology
Human Genome Project international research effort to determine the DNA sequence of
the entire human genome. It sequenced 92% of human genome.
Telomere to Telomere It sequenced the remaining 8% of human genome.

(T2T) consortium
Dark Genome • The human genome is conventionally divided into the

“coding” genome, which generates the ~20,000
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annotated human protein coding genes, and the “dark”

genome, which does not encode proteins.
• The dark genome is a vast space, accounting for the
~98.5% of genomic space where repeat elements,
enhancers, regulatory sequences, and non-coding RNAs
reside.
RNA interference (RNAi) • RNAi disrupts the production of harmful proteins by

technology intercepting and incapacitating mRNA transcripts before they
make it to ribosomes. This prevents the corresponding
proteins from being made
• Used for controlling gene expression, gene-silencing
mRNA vaccine Benefits: use of a non-infectious element, shorter manufacturing

times, and potential for targeting of multiple diseases. mRNA
vaccines can be developed in a laboratory using a DNA template
and readily available materials.
Enzyme Replacement • U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) recently gave nod
Therapy to world’s first enzyme replacement therapy (ERT).
• Adzynma - the first genetically engineered protein product for
ERT.
• for treating congenital thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura
(cTTP), a rare blood clotting disorder.
Mitochondrial
Replacement Therapy (3-
parent baby)
2 methods – pronuclear transfer, spindle transfer
Gene Drive ● genetic engineering technique that modifies genes so that

they don’t follow the typical rules of heredity.
● It increases the likelihood that a particular suite of genes will
be passed onto the next generation, allowing the genes to
rapidly spread through a population and override natural
selection.
● Applications: agri pest control, disease vector control
Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) ● small fragments of nucleic acids that are released from cells
and found outside the cell in body fluids as plasma, urine, and
cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
● cfDNA quantity in the blood increases under pathological
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conditions such as auto-immune diseases, cancer etc.

● used in detection and diagnosis of diseases
Stem Cells ● cells with the unique ability to develop into specialised cell
types in the body.
Type Description Ex
Totipotent Can develop into all cell Zygote
types
Pluripotent Into most cell types Embryo
Multipotent Into some cell types Umbilical cord
Oligopotent Into few cell types Bone marrow cells
Gene Therapy for Sickle ● USFDA approved 2 gene therapies for sickle cell disease:
Cell Disease Casgevy, Lyfgenia
● Casgevy is based on CRISPR which uses molecular "scissors" to
trim faulty parts of genes that can be disabled or replaced with
new strands of normal DNA.
● Lyfgenia uses a more conventional form of gene therapy that
uses a virus to transfer a gene into cells.
Molecular Motor ● These are type of proteins that drive intracellular movement by
converting chemical energy to mechanical work - useful in
processes like muscular contraction, cell division etc
Health
Immunity Types
• Innate – non-specific, present since birth
Ex. Skin, acid in stomach, saliva in mouth
• Acquired – specific to a pathogen – (B-cell and T-cell are also

called lymphocytes)
o Humoral – involves role of B-cell lymphocytes through
production of antibodies. B-cell produce antibodies that
destroys invading pathogen
o Cell-mediated – involves role of T-cell lymphocytes by
directly attacking and destroying the pathogen. T-cells
destroy body’s own cells that have been taken over by
pathogen. T-cells produce cytokines that activate other
parts of the immune system
Vaccines • Inactivated - use the killed version of the germ that causes a
disease. Ex. Hepatitis, polio, rabies
• Live-attenuated - use a weakened (or attenuated) form of the
germ that causes a disease. Ex. MMR, smallpox, chickenpox,
yellow fever
• mRNA – use genetic material from pathogen to make proteins
in order to trigger an immune response. Ex. Pfizer and
Moderna covid vaccine
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• Subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate - use

specific pieces of the germ—like its protein, sugar, or capsid
(a casing around the germ). Ex. Hib, Pneumococcal disease
• Toxoid - use a toxin (harmful product) made by the germ that
causes a disease. Ex. Diphtheria, Tetanus
• Viral vector - use a modified version of a different virus as a
vector to deliver protection. Ex. Covishield
Inverse Vaccine • In autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks healthy

tissue e.g., psoriatic disease
• Inverse vaccine stops the immune system from attacking
good, healthy cells. Instead, it retrains the immune system to
save healthy cells.
About Antimicrobial • AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites
Resistance (AMR) evolve over time and no longer respond to antimicrobials
(such as antibiotics, antivirals and antimalarials).
• WHO has declared AMR as one of the top 10 global public
health threats facing humanity
• Causes of AMR : Over prescription, unregulated use of
antibiotics, adding excessive antibiotics to agricultural feed,
poor hygiene etc.
Steps by WHO against AMR Steps by India
Global Action Plan on National Action Plan on
Antimicrobial Resistance containment of Antimicrobial
(GAPAR) Resistance (NAP-AMR), 2017
AWaRe (Access, Watch, Delhi Declaration on AMR

Reserve) Tool
Global Antimicrobial Red Line Campaign on

Resistance and Use Antibiotics.
Surveillance System
(GLASS)
Schedule H1 to the Drugs and

Cosmetics Act
Biofilm • thin layer of microorganisms (as bacteria) that forms on

various surfaces (like medical implants, kitchen counters, food
and food processing surfaces, contact lenses, human and
animal tissue) and exhibits antimicrobial resistance.
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Concept of ‘One Health’
Orphan diseases Diseases of low prevalence

ex. Thalassemia, sickle cell anemia etc
Sickle Cell Disease inherited disorder that affects the shape of red blood cells
(RBCs), which carry oxygen to all parts of the body.
blood vessels. In sickle cell disease, some RBCs are shaped like
sickles or crescent moons which slows or blocks blood flow.
Human Papillomavirus HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that may cause cervical cancer.
(HPV) Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer of women in
India despite being largely preventable.
Cervical cancer can be eliminated if all prepubertal girls are given

HPV vaccination globally.
Cervavac, the India’s first quadrivalent human papillomavirus

vaccine (qHPV) has been Manufactured by Serum Institute of
India.
Zombie Virus Zombie virus is a virus emerged due to thawing of permafrost as

global temperature is rising.
Sickle cell anaemia Occurs due to a genetic mutation that causes hemoglobin in red
blood cells (RBCs) to clump together.Affects the shape of RBCs.
blood vessels. In sickle cell anaemia, some RBCs are shaped like
sickles or crescent moons. They become rigid and sticky, which
can slow or block blood flow.
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Viral diseases Covid, Nipah, Zika, Polio, Influenza, Chikungunya, West Nile fever,
Dengue, Hepatitis, Kyasanur Forest disease (KFD), Measles-
Rubella
Dengue vaccine Dengvaxia
Chikungunya vaccine Ixchiq
Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) • LSD is a vector-borne pox disease that is caused by
Capripoxvirus.
• LSD infects cattle and water buffalo mainly through vectors
such as blood-feeding insects. The disease is not zoonotic,
meaning it does not spread from animals to humans.
Bacterial diseases TB, Leprosy (Hansen’s disease), Trachoma, Leptospirosis
Drugs price control Essential Commodities Act, 1955

⬇
Drug Price Control Order, 1995 à National Pharmaceutical Pricing
Authority (NPPA) controls prices of drugs mentioned in National
List of Essential Medicines (NLEM)
NPPA: not statutory, under M/o Chemicals and Fertilizers
NAMASTE Portal • National Ayush Morbidity and Standardized Terminologies

Electronic (NAMASTE) portal provides standardized
terminologies & morbidity codes for Ayurveda, Siddha and
Unani systems of medicine.
• Under Ministry of Ayush
Food Fortification Deliberately increasing the content of essential micronutrients in

food to improve the nutritional quality of to provide public health
benefit with minimal risk to health.
In India, wheat flour and rice are fortified with Iron, Vitamin B12
and Folic Acid, Milk and Edible Oil with Vitamins A and D and
Double Fortified Salt with Iodine and Iron
Biofortification breeding crops to increase their nutritional value. This can be

done either through conventional selective breeding, or through
genetic engineering.
Trans Fat • Partially unsaturated fats

• Can be natural or artificial
• increase shelf life, stabilize flavors
• raises LDL (bad cholesterol)
• found in vanaspati ghee, margarine, fried foods, burgers,
pizza etc.
• WHO’s REPLACE program – eliminate trans-fat from food by
2025
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Aflatoxin • Toxin and a potent carcinogen produced by Aspergillus flavus

fungi
• Mainly found in agri crops – rice, maize, groundnuts, figs,
spices
• found in milk too
• produced by improper handling of cereal grains & oilseeds
Non-Sugar Sweeteners • Contains few to no calories but has higher sweetness intensity
per gram than sugar
• Ex. acesulfame K, aspartame, advantame, cyclamates,
neotame, saccharin, sucralose, stevia, and stevia derivatives.
• Aspartame is used to sweeten diet colas that claim to have
‘no sugar, no calories.’
Food Safety and • Statutory body – FSS Act, 2006

Standards Authority of • Autonomous body under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
India (FSSAI) • Lays standards for food and regulate their manufacturing,
storage, transport etc.
Codex Alimentarius • international food standards body jointly established by WHO

Commission (CAC) and FAO.
• HQ: Rome, Italy
• India is a member
• Aim: to protect consumer’s health and ensure fair practices in
food trade.
• Codex standards are voluntary.
• Agreement on Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Measures (SPS) of WTO recognizes Codex standards
Xenotransplantation • transplantation, implantation or infusion of non-human

tissues or organs into human recipients.
INSACOG By Deptt of Biotechnology (M/o S&T) + MoH&FW

Consortium of national labs to monitor genomic variations of
SARS-Cov2
GAVI alliance Global partnership with the goal of increasing access to

immunization in poor countries
Coalition for Epidemic global partnership launched in 2017 to develop vaccines to stop
Preparedness future epidemics
Innovations (CEPI) India – founding member
Information & Communication Technology
5G vs 4G 4G 5G
Latency 10ms <1ms
Speed 1 Gbps 10 Gbps
Max Bandwidth 100 MHz 1000 MHz
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mmWave • Millimeter Wave band is a particular segment of radio

frequency spectrum that range between 24 GHz and 100 GHz.
This spectrum has a short wavelength, and is apt to deliver
greater speeds and lower latencies.
• higher the frequency, faster the data transfer but lower the
range
Mobile Edge Computing • Technique to process data, close (location-wise) to the point
where it is generated to get faster analytics with minimal
latency. It provides near real time analytics and highly efficient
system performance.
WiFi v LiFi WiFi LiFi

Speed 1-2 Gbps 1 Gbps
Privacy - Light is blocked by
walls, so more secure
Range 30 m 10 m
Interference yes no
issue
Virtual Private Network • Encrypted connection over internet from a device to a

(VPN) network in real time
• Offers anonymity, security as well as confidentiality
Deep Web Vs Dark Web
Generative AI • type of artificial intelligence that can create new content or
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data that is similar to what it has been trained on.

• It works by learning patterns and characteristics from a given
dataset and then generating new content based on that
understanding.
• Generative AI can be used to create text, images, music, and
more, often with impressive levels of realism and creativity.
• Ex. ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Dall-E
Deepfakes • video/image that has been edited using an algorithm to

replace a person in the original video/image with someone
else, in a way that makes the video look authentic.
4D Printing • 4D printing is the process through which a 3D printed object

transforms itself into another structure over the influence of
external energy input such as temperature, light or other
environmental stimuli.
• It can have applications in robotics, cancer treatment etc
Supercomputer Speed measured in FLOPS

Top 500 supercomputers – 3 supercomputers of India
#1 AMD’s Frontier (world’s fastest)
#2 Intel’s Aurora
#3 Nividia’s Eagle
#90 AIRAWAT (India) – developed by CDAC
Quantum Computing Qubit: basic unit of information in quantum computing

Key Principles
• Superposition: quantum bits can represent 0/1 both at the
same time
• Entanglement: quantum bits affect each other even at great
distances
Quantum Key • a secure communication method that uses quantum

Distribution mechanics to generate and distribute cryptographic keys. It
(QKD) allows two parties to create a shared secret key that can be
used to encrypt and decrypt messages
Proof Of Work And Proof • Terms related to consensus mechanism in cryptocurrencies

Of Stake that allow mining of new blocks by making sure valid/authentic
work is done
• Bitcoin uses Proof of Work while Ethereum uses the Proof of
Stake Mechanism
Markets in Crypto Assets • Passed by European Parliament

(MiCA) legislation • a legal framework for crypto-asset services providers as well as
consumer protection.
Web 3.0 • next evolution of the World Wide Web

• focus on decentralization, use of cryptocurrency, driven by AI
and ML, AR & VR, enhanced privacy and security, smart
contracts etc.
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Digi Yatra • Mobile Application developed by Ministry Of Civil Aviation for

seamless transit through airports
• With this, a passenger’s face acts as a boarding pass and there
is no need for carrying multiple documents
India Stack • A platform of open APIs (Application Programming Interface)

like - Aadhar, UPI, Co-WIN, digilocker etc
National Internet • Not for profit organisation, established in 2003

Exchange Of India (NIXI) • Facilitates exchange of domestic internet traffic between
Internet Service Providers
• Functions as India’s registry for ‘.in’ domain
Global Lighthouse • Led by McKinsey and WEF, it is a community of manufacturers

Network who showcase leadership in application of 4th Industrial
Revolution technologies like AI, Big Data etc.
Cryptojacking • A hard to detect cyber-attack, where a computing device is

hacked to illicitly mine cryptocurrency
E- SIM • Embedded SIM, where SIM card is physically soldered onto the
device PCB and cannot be easily removed
Bluebugging • Hacking a device via its bluetooth connection
RFID • RFID is the wireless non-contact use of radio frequency waves

to transfer data. RFID systems usually comprise an RFID
reader, RFID tags, and antennas.
• RFID doesn't need line of sight.
Space Technology
Orbits GEO – 35,786 km

MEO – 5000-2000 km
LEO – 160-1500 km
Polar orbit – type of LEO, usually travel past Earth from north to
south rather than from west to east, passing roughly over Earth's
poles.
GTO - special kind of orbit used to get from one orbit to another
ISRO’s launch vehicles PSLV

• 4 stages – solid, liquid, solid, liquid
• Carrying capacity – 1750 kg (LEO), 1500 kg (GTO)
GSLV
• 3 stages – solid, liquid, cryogenic
• Carrying capacity – 6,000 kg (LEO), 2250 kg (GTO)
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GSLV MkIII (LVM3)

• 3 stages – solid, liquid, cryogenic
• Carrying capacity – 8000 kg (LEO), 4000 kg (GTO)
POEM (PSLV Orbital • It allows for in orbit experiments during 4th stage of PSLV
Experimental Module)
Chandrayaan 3 • LV: LVM3

• Objectives:
o Demonstration of a Safe and Soft Landing on the Lunar
Surface
o Demonstration of Rover roving on the moon.
o Conduct in-situ scientific experiments.
• Payloads: RAMBHA, ChaSTE, ILSA, APXS, LIBS, SHAPE
NaVIC (Navigation with • Developed by ISRO, it is a regional (not global) navigational

Indian Constellation) system
• Earlier called IRNSS, it functions via a cluster of 7 satellites. ( 4
in geosynchronous, 3 in geostationary orbit)
• It provides navigational range of around 1500km from Indian
Landmass
Regional Navigation NavIC India

Systems Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) Japan
Global Navigational GPS USA

Systems GLONASS Russia
Galileo EU
Beidou China
Artemis I ● Moon Mission planned by NASA

● It aims for deep space exploration and later to land 1st
woman on moon
● In Greek Mythology, Artemis is the twin sister of Apollo and
goddess of moon
James Webb Space ● It is NASA’s largest and most powerful space science
Telescope (JWST) telescope.
● Built by International collaboration between NASA, European
Space Agency (ESA), and Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
● Webb views the universe in infrared,
● Its primary mirror is 6.5 metres in diameter.
● It will not be in orbit around Earth but will orbit the Sun, 1.5
million kilometres away from the Earth at the second
Lagrange point or L2.
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JUICE Mission • To study Jupiter and its three moons – Ganymede, Callisto and
Europa.
• By European Space Agency (ESA)
OSIRIS-Rex Mission • To collect samples from asteroid Bennu and deliver them to
Earth.
• Bennu is small near Earth carbon rich asteroid.
• By NASA
GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO • Developed by Airports Authority of India And ISRO
Augmentation and • Possible uses in Air traffic control, crop spraying etc.
Navigation)
Tidal Locking • It is a gravitational phenomenon in which an astronomical

body (Moon) has the same rotational period as its orbital
period around a partner (Earth). This means the body rotates
around its axis in exactly the same time it takes to orbit its
partner, resulting in the same side always facing the partner.
Aditya L1 mission by ISRO • Successfully placed at L1 point

• It will study the Sun’s corona, solar emissions, solar winds and
flares, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), and will carry out
round-the-clock imaging of the Sun.
• L1 stands for Lagrangian Point 1.
Structure of Sun Layers:

Core > Radiative zone > Convective zone > Photosphere >
Chromosphere > Corona
Coronal Heating problem: temperature decreases away from

sun’s core but corona is far hotter than photosphere
Solar Cycle: cycle of sun’s magnetic field. Every 11 years, sun’s

magnetic field completely flips. Cycle tracked using sunspots
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(darker, cooler areas on sun’s surface).
Moon craters Craters on the moon are of a more permanent nature than those
on earth. Why?
• Erosion, tectonics, and volcanism - keep the surface of the
earth crater-free and remove traces of collisions that have
happened in the past. Moon – no atmosphere, no tectonics,
no volcanism
• An absence of atmosphere on moon means no wind system
and no weather on the moon, and hence no cause for erosion
of existing craters.
• Absence of tectonics prevents the moon’s surface from
forming new rocks, or causing a shift in the existing surface
patterns, unlike that on earth.
• Absence of volcanism makes it impossible for craters to be
covered.
Blood Moon Blood Moon, commonly known as total lunar eclipse, occurs
when the moon passes through the darkest part of Earth's
shadow, known as the umbra. It is called blood moon
because of the reddish hue.
Universe composition • 5% - matter, 27% - dark matter, 68% dark energy

• Matter includes Earth, sun and other celestial bodies
• Dark matter doesn’t interact with electromagnetic force.
• Dark matter pulls galaxies together, while dark energy pushes
them apart.
Laser Interferometer observatory to detect cosmic gravitational waves

Gravitational-Wave operational: Hanford, Livingstone (US), GEO600 (Germany)
Observatory under construction: VIRGO (Italy), KAGRA (Japan)
(LIGO) approved: Hingoli (India)
Gravitational lensing • phenomenon predicted by Albert Einstein's general theory of

relativity
• describes how the path of light bends when it passes near a
massive object - mass of the object warps the fabric of
spacetime around it, causing light from objects behind it to
follow a curved path.
• To an observer, this makes the light source appear distorted,
magnified, or multiplied.
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Black Holes
Types of neutron stars Magnetar, Pulsar
Distance from sun Asteroid belt à Kuiper belt à Heliopause à Oort cloud
Dwarf planets Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Makemake, Haumea
Betelguese, Bellatrix Red supergiants
Goldilocks zone Habitable zone around a star.
Defence
Types of Missiles Ballistic Missile: A high-speed projectile designed for long-range

delivery, following a ballistic trajectory. Ex. Prithvi, Agni, Trishul
Cruise missile: A high-speed projectile designed for long-range
delivery, following a ballistic trajectory. Ex. Brahmos, Nirbhay
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Jet Engines
S400 • world’s most Advanced air defence system.

• Mobile long-range surface-to-air missile system developed by
Russia
• Carries command and control centre, automatic tracking and
targeting systems, launchers and support vehicles.
• Carries separate radar systems which can detect aerial targets
to a range of 400 kms (surveillance range up to 600km).
• Simultaneously engages 80 aerial targets.
• Can hit target up to altitude of 30km.
Astra Missile • Indigenously Developed by DRDO

• Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air missile
• Designed to engage and destroy highly manoeuvring
supersonic aircraft.
• All weather day and night capability
• Designed to mount on fighter aircrafts
• Range: 80-110 kms for version Mk1 and 160kms for version Mk2.
• Altitude: Up to 20 km.
• Max Speed: Mach 4.5
MQ-9B Reaper Drone • Country of origin: USA
Project 75 India - P75(I) • Acquire diesel-electric submarine of scorpene class in Indian

Navy.
• Under it, Kalvari, Khanderi, Karanj, Vela, Vagir, Vagsheer
commissioned.
Varunastra Anti-submarine torpedo

Designed and developed by DRDO
Misc
Nobel Prizes in Physics • for research related to attosecond pulses of light.

2023 • Attosecond pulses: incredibly short bursts of light, lasting for
just a billionth of a billionth of a second. These have allowed
scientists to capture the fastest events ever recorded, with a
time resolution on the order of attoseconds.
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Nobel Prizes in Chemistry • for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.
2023 • Quantum dots: man-made semiconductor particles or crystal,
size is normally not more than 10 nanometers. They exhibit
unique optical properties due to their small physical size
Nobel Prize in Physiology • for work that enabled the development of mRNA vaccines
or Medicine 2023 against Covid-19.
• mRNA vaccines work by introducing a piece of mRNA that
corresponds to a viral protein, usually a small piece of a protein
found on the virus’s outer membrane.
• By using this mRNA, cells can produce the viral protein. As part
of a normal immune response, the immune system recognizes
that the protein is foreign and produces specialized proteins
called antibodies.
Neutrinos Second most abundant particles in universe after photons

Interact very little with anything, hard to detect
No electrical charge, nearly massless, travel close to speed of
light
Fundamental forces Strength: Strong nuclear > Electromagnetic > Weak nuclear >
Gravitational
Infinite Range: Gravitational, Electromagnetic

Short range: Strong, Weak nuclear
Uranium Natural Uranium (2 isotopes) - 99.3% U-238 || 0.7% U-235

Enrichment - creates an effective nuclear fuel out of mined
uranium by increasing the percentage of uranium- 235 which
undergoes fission with thermal neutrons
Vanadium hard, silvery-grey, malleable metal

one of the 30 critical minerals, identified by India.
Derived from mined iron ore, shale, steel slag
Found in Karnataka > Maharashtra > Odisha
China – largest reserves
Brazil – largest exporter
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Final Lap 2024
ECONOMY
Fiscal Policy
Interim Union Budget Viksit Bharat by 2047 with the ‘mantra’ of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka
2024-25 Vikas, and Sabka Vishwas’
Key Highlights
• focus on upliftment of four major castes, that is, ‘Garib’
(Poor), ‘Mahilayen’ (Women), ‘Yuva’ (Youth)
and ‘Annadata’(Farmer)
• ‘Garib Kalyan, Desh ka Kalyan’ – DBT, PM-SVANidhi, PM-
JANMAN, PM-Vishwakarma Yojana
• Welfare of ‘Annadata’ – PM-KISAN SAMMAN, PM Fasal
Bima Yojana, e-NAM
• Momentum for Nari Shakti – Mudra Yojana, STEM courses
enrolment, house ownership under PM Awas Yojana,
• Rooftop solarization
• Agri food processing – PM Kisan Sampada Yojana, PM
Formalisation of Micro Processing Enterprises
• Infrastructure, Railways, Aviation, Green Energy, Tourism
Data:
Tax collection: GST > Corporation Tax > Income Tax > Excise >
Customs
Subsidy: Food > Fertiliser > Fuel
Deficits: FD (5.1%) > RD (2.0%) > ERD (0.8%) > PD (1.5%)
Ministry-wise allocation: MoD > MoRTH > MoR
Government Debt Govt debt
1. Public Debt (against Consolidated Fund of India)
i. Internal – marketable, non-marketable
ii. External
2. Other Liabilities (against Public A/c of India)
3. Extra Budgetary Borrowings
Internal debt (94%) >> External debt (6%)

State govt debt (70%) > union govt debt (30%)
long-term debt > short-term debt
fixed interest debt (95%) >> variable interest rate
Debt to GDP ratio FRBM target (by 2024-25)
Centre – 40% of GDP
States – 20% of GDP
India’s external debt (as External debt ($629 bn)
of Jun-2023) 1. Non-financial corporations – 39.8%
2. Deposit-taking corporations – 26%
3. General govt – 21%
4. Other financial corporations – 7.6%
Non-government debt (80%) >> government debt (20%)

Long-term debt (80%) >> short-term debt (20%)
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Acc to instruments: loans (33%) > Currency and Deposits (23%) >
Trade Credit and Advances (19%) > Debt securities (17%)
Acc to denomination: USD (54%) > INR (30%) > SDR (6%) > Yen (5%)
State Finances: A Study of • Capital outlay is budgeted to increase by 42.6 % in 2023-24

Budget of to 2.9% of GDP.
2023-24 by RBI • Debt-GDP ratio of states declined from 31% at end-March
2021, to 27.5% by end-March 2023, supported
• by fiscal consolidation.
• States’ consolidated gross fiscal deficit to gross domestic
product (GFD-GDP) ratio declined from 4.1% in 2020-21 to
2.8% in 2021-22, led by a moderation in revenue
expenditure, and an increase in revenue collection.
• Increased Tax Buoyancy with implementation of Goods
and Services Tax (GST).
National Infrastructure It has outlined plans to invest more than ₹102 lakh crore on
Pipeline infrastructure projects by 2024-25, with the Centre, States and
the private sector to share the capital expenditure in a 39:39:22
formula.
NIP includes both economic and social infrastructure projects.
National Monetisation NMP will help in evolving a common framework for monetisation
Pipeline of core assets. (Monetization through disinvestment and
monetization of non-core assets have not been included in the
NMP).
National Land NLMC is an agency to monetise surplus land and building assets
Monetisation Corporation of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and other govt.
agencies.
Will be fully owned by the Centre and under the administrative
jurisdiction of the Finance Ministry.
PM Gati Shakti It is essentially a digital platform to bring 16 Ministries including

Railways and Roadways together for integrated planning and
coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity
projects.
Based on 6 pillars – Comprehensiveness, Prioritization,
Optimization, Synchronization, Analytical, Dynamic
Terms Tax Elasticity: change in tax revenue in response to change in tax
rate
Tax Buoyancy: change in tax revenue with increase in GDP
Tax Expenditure: revenue forgone by the government due to tax
exemptions and concessions.
Pigouvian Tax: tax on any market activity that generates negative
externalities. Ex. Carbon tax
Tobin Tax: tax on the conversion of one currency into another
Monetary Policy & Banking

Monetary Policy • Under RBI Act, 1934 – amended by Finance Act, 2016
Committee (MPC) • 6 members
• Chaired by RBI Governor
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• Monetary policy goal – inflation targeting

• Inflation target decided by Union govt in consultation with
RBI
• MPC fixes the benchmark policy interest rates (repo rate,
reverse repo) to restrain inflation within the inflation target.
Important rates CRR à 4.5 %

SLR à 18 %
Repo Rate à 6.5 %
SDF à 6.25 %
Reverse repo à 3.35 %
Bank rate, MSF à 6.75 %
Standing Deposit SDF allows the RBI to absorb excess cash from the economy by
Facility (SDF) sucking liquidity from commercial banks without giving
government securities in return to the lenders.
Banks park their money with RBI but without G-sec as collateral.
SDF rate – 3.75 %
RBI Retail Direct Scheme In 2021, RBI allowed retail investors to invest in G-sec by opening
Retail Direct Guilt (RDG) account on its e-Kuber platform
Retail investors can directly buy G-secs, T-bills in primary market
(i.e., directly from RBI)
NRIs also permitted to open this account
G-sec Acquisition Program It is an upfront commitment and clear communication about the
(G-SAP) OMO purchase calendar. Under this, the RBI purchases bonds
worth a specific amount, which reduces the uncertainty and
allows investors to bid better in the scheduled auction with a pre-
decided calendar set by the RBI.
RBI’s Portals UDGAM Portal: search unclaimed deposits/accounts across
multiple banks at one place in a centralised manner.
PRAVAAH Portal: to apply for license to RBI by Banks/non-banks.
RBI’s Public-Tech Platform database that provides a seamless flow of information to lenders
for Frictionless Credit to make loan application approval faster.
National Bank for Estd through NaBFID Act, 2021
Financing Infrastructure It is a development financial institution (DFI) to support
and Development development of long-term infrastructure in the country.
(NaBFID) It will fund projects from both public and private sectors.
Chairman: KV Kamath
NARCL-IDRCL (Bad Bank) National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL)
• Purchase bad loans from banks
• Ownership: Public Sector Banks (51%), Pvt banks (49%)
India Debt Resolution Company (IDRCL)

• handle the debt resolution process
• Ownership: Pvt banks (51%), PSBs (49%)
Prompt Corrective Action It is a framework under which scheduled commercial banks with
weak financial metrics are put under watch by the RBI.
3 parameters - capital ratios, asset quality and profitability.
Supervisory Action Framework applies to Urban Cooperative

Banks (UCBs)
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Prompt Corrective Action PCA Framework for NBFCs came into effect from October 1, 2022.
for NBFCs It applies to:
a. All Deposit Taking NBFCs [Excluding Government
Companies],
b. All Non-Deposit Taking NBFCs in Middle, Upper and Top
Layers
NEFT, RTGS for non-banks RBI allowed non-banks to participate in its Centralised Payment
System [NEFT & RTGS]
Till now, only banks were allowed
eRUPI Electronic voucher based digital payment system which is person-
specific and purpose-specific
Developed by NPCI on its UPI platform
Offline digital payments • RBI released framework for offline digital payments to
promote digital payments in rural and semi-urban areas
• It will enable small value digital payments in offline mode
• An offline digital payment means a transaction which does
not require internet or telecom connectivity. Under this new
framework, such payments can be carried out face-to-face
(proximity mode) using any channel or instrument like cards,
wallets, mobile devices, etc
Digital Payments Index By RBI

to capture the extent of digitisation of payments across the
country.
Financial Stability Report RBI
Bi-annual report that reflects risks to financial stability and
resilience of financial system
UPI123Pay instant payment system for feature phone users
3-step method
Call à choose mode of transaction à Pay
4 modes of transaction - IVR (interactive voice response) number,
missed call, app functionality in phone, sound based
London Interbank Offer interest rate used by major banks in the market for short-term
Rate (LIBOR) loans. RBI issued advisory to to banks to transition away from
LIBOR and MIBOR.
other benchmarks: SOFR, SONIA, TONAR, SARON, ESTER
External Sector
India’s largest trading US > China > UAE > Saudi > Hong Kong
partners
Top destination of Indian US > UAE > Netherlands
exports
Top sources of Indian China > UAE > US
imports
Export Preparedness Index NITI Aayog
2022 to identify the fundamental areas critical for subnational
export promotion.
Ranks: TN > MH > KN > GJ
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Foreign Trade Policy 2023 goal to take India's exports to $2 trillion by 2030.
Four Pillars of FTP 2023:
• Incentive to Remission: Focusing on financial
incentives to boost exports.
• Export Promotion through Collaboration: Leveraging
collaboration between exporters, states, districts, and
Indian missions abroad.
• Ease of Doing Business: Implementing measures to
simplify export processes and reduce transaction costs
through e-initiatives.
• Emerging Areas: Emphasizing the importance of e-
commerce, developing districts as export hubs, and
streamlining the SCOMET (Special Chemicals,
Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies)
policy.
WTO 13th Ministerial Key outcomes:
Conference – Abu Dhabi • accession of Comoros and Timor-Leste brought WTO
membership to 166 countries, representing 98% of
world trade.
• endorsement in reforming the dispute settlement
system, with a draft for reform and a commitment to
achieving a fully functional system by 2024.
• e-commerce moratorium was renewed until MC14 or
March 31, 2026.
De-dollarisation process of moving away from the world’s reliance on the U.S.
dollar (USD) as the chief reserve currency.
Enforcing Contracts Portal Launched by M/o Law and Justice
Agriculture
Fertilisers Fertiliser subsidy
• Urea – fixed price
o Urea sold at statutorily notified price
o Not governed by Nutrient based subsidy scheme
• Non-Urea – fixed subsidy

o Manufacturers allowed to fix the MRP at market rates
o Govt provides fixed amount of subsidy
Pulses Grown in both Rabi and Kharif season
Gram – most dominant pulse (40% share in pulses)
Top producers – MP, MH, RJ, UP, KN
India is the largest producer, consumer and importer of

pulses.
Canada – largest exporter of pulses.
Cotton India – largest cotton producing country, 2nd largest consumer
of raw cotton
US – largest exporter of raw cotton
Palm Oil India – largest importer of palm oil
Indonesia – largest exporter
Fisheries India – 3rd largest fish producing country
Inland fish production > marine fish production
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Largest fish producing state – Andhra Pradesh

Portals WINDS portal: to centralize and manage hyper-local weather
data to enhance risk assessment, decision-making, and
support various aspects of the agricultural sector and rural
economy, including crop insurance, agriculture advisories, and
disaster mitigation.
Unified Portal for Agricultural Statistics (UPAg Portal): to

streamline and enhance data management in the agricultural
sector.
Industry and Mining

Rare Earth metals • Rare-earth metals are a set of 17 nearly-indistinguishable lustrous
silvery-white soft heavy metals. Despite their name, rare-earth
elements are relatively plentiful in Earth's crust, with cerium
being the 25th most abundant element at 68 parts per million,
more abundant than copper.
• Rare earths are abundant in the Earth’s crust but mineable
concentrations are less common, making reserves very valuable
and strategic.
• 17 rare earth elements are: lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce),
praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), promethium (Pm),
samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb),
dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm),
ytterbium (Yb), lutetium (Lu), scandium (Sc), and yttrium (Y).
• China provides more than 85 % of world’s rare earths
• Applications: consumer and industrial electronics, permanent
magnets, catalysts, battery etc
PLI scheme • give companies incentives on incremental sales (over a base
year) from products manufactured in domestic units.
• Incentives disbursed after the production has taken place
• PLI 1.0 : 13 Sectors covered
• Mobile Manufacturing and Specified Electronic
Components
• Critical Key Starting materials/Drug Intermediaries and
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Manufacturing of
Medical Devices.
• Advance Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery
• Electronic/Technology Products
• Automobiles & Auto Components
• Pharmaceuticals drugs
• Telecom & Networking Products
• Textile Products: MMF segment and technical textiles
• Food Products
• High Efficiency Solar PV Modules
• White Goods (ACs & LED)
• Specialty Steel
• PLI 2.0: IT Hardware - (i) Laptops (ii) Tablets (iii) All-in-One PCs
(iv) Servers and Ultra Small Form Factor (USFF).
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Inflation & Economic Growth Indices

CPI (R), CPI(U), CPI (All India) National Statistics Office(NSO), MoSPI
CPI (AI): weights [base year - 2012]

Food & Beverages (45%) > Services (20%) > Housing (10%) >
Fuel & Light (7%) > Clothing, footwear (6.5%) > Personal care
(4%) > Household goods services (4%) > Pan masala, tobacco
(2.4%)
Consumer Food Price Index Includes: cereals, meat, fish, egg, milk, oats, fats, vegetables,
(CFPI) pulses, sugar, spices
Does not include: pan, tobacco, intoxicants
CPI (Industrial Workers) Labour Bureau, MoL&E
CPI (Rural Labourer)
CPI (Agri Labourer) CPI (IW) – used for fixing dearness allowance to central/state
govt employees
CPI (AL) – used for fixing MGNREGA wages
WPI Economic Advisor to DPIIT, Min of Commerce
WPI weights: [base year 2011-12]

1. Manufactured products – 64%
Processed food, edible oil, paper products, chemicals,
plastic, cement, metal products etc
2. Primary articles – 23%
Unprocessed food, eggs , meat, oilseeds etc
Crude petroleum
Minerals
3. Fuel & power – 13%
High speed diesel, petrol, LPG
** no services
IIP NSO, MoSPI
IIP weights (based on type of goods):

Primary goods (34%) > intermediate goods (17%) > consumer
non-durables (15%) > consumer durables (13%) > capital goods
(8%)
IIP weights (based on sector):

Manufacturing (77%) > Mining (14%) > Electricity (8%)
Index of Eight Core Industries Economic Advisor to DPIIT, Min of Commerce
weights:
Refinery products > Electricity > Steel > Coal > Crude Oil >
Natural Gas > Cement > Fertilizers
House Price Index RBI
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Misc
Bharat NCAP (New Car • By Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH)
Assessment Program) • mechanism of awarding ‘Star Ratings’ to automobiles
based upon their performance in crash tests.
SWIFT messaging system • SWIFT is a messaging network that financial institutions
use to securely transmit information and instructions
through a standardized system of codes.
• It is not a financial institution itself: SWIFT does not hold or
transfer assets. Rather, it facilitates secure, efficient
communication between member institutions.
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POLITY
Basic Structure Doctrine • Article 13 is a limitation on a “law” which takes away or

abridges the rights conferred by Part III of the
Constitution.
• “Law” includes ordinance, order, bye-law, rule,
regulation, notification, custom or usage having in the
territory of India the force of law.
• “Law” doesn’t include Constitutional Amendment under
Article 368.
• Basic Structure acts as a limitation on Constitutional
Amendment under Article 368.
• Propounded in Keshavanand Bharti case – 24 April, 1973
• Independence of district judiciary – part of basic
structure (All India Judges Association vs UoI, 2023)
National Capital Territory of • Creates a statutory authority – National Capital Civil

Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2023 Services Authority (NCCSA) – to make recommendations
to LG regarding transfer posting, vigilance and other
incidental matters.
• Gives discretionary powers to LG in certain matters
Important Articles:
• Art 239AA – Special provisions wrt Delhi –
o Legislative Assembly to have power to make
laws on matters in State List and Concurrent
List except police, public order and land.
o CoM < 10% of total members in Legislative
Assembly.
o CM appointed by President
• Art 239AB – failure of constitutional machinery in
Delhi
Right to Silence • Right to silence emanates from Article 20(3), which

states that no one can be compelled to be a witness
against himself
• Protection is limited only to criminal proceedings
• Right is not available to a person being interrogated
under Customs Act, 1962, or Foreign Exchange
Management Act, 1999, since the person is not “accused
of an offence” and isn’t entitled to a lawyer
• In Nandini Satpathy v. P.L. Dani case, SC stated that
compelling a person to answer a question within the
limits of police station may result in a violation of Article
20(3).
Personality Rights • right of a person to protect his/her personality under the
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right to privacy or property.

• It includes name, voice, signature, images or any other
feature easily identified as markers of personality.
• Personality rights or their protection are not expressly
mentioned in any statute in India but are traced to fall
under the right to privacy and the right to property.
Right to Walk • Punjab has become the first state to implement the
'right to walk' + Right to walk make it mandatory for all
road-owning agencies, including the NHAI, to provide
footpaths and cycle tracks on the road.
Places of Worship Act, 1991 ● It was passed as a special law to “to prohibit conversion
of any place of worship and to provide for the
maintenance of the religious character of any place of
worship as it existed on the 15 August, 1947
● The law kept the Ayodhya temple out of its purview,
mainly because it was the subject of prolonged
litigation.
● Doesn’t apply to monuments and sites covered by
Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and
Remains Act, 1958.
Uniform Civil Code ● UCC refers to same set of civil laws applicable to all
citizens of India in their personal matters such as
marriage, divorce, custody, adoption and inheritance
● Under Article 44 (Directive Principles of State Policy) of
the Constitution
● Different religious communities are currently governed
by a system of personal laws, which have been codified
over the years through various pieces of legislation
● Goa is, at present, the only state in India with a UCC
(Portuguese Civil Code of 1867).
● ‘Personal Laws’ are a subject under concurrent list of
constitution.
Kui language • Proposal by Odisha cabinet to include Kui in 8th Schedule

of the Constitution
• Schedule 8 consists of 22 languages currently.
Minority Institutions • The term ‘minority’ not defined in the Constitution but
mentioned in Art 29, 30, 350A, 350B.
• National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 defines
‘minority’ as any community notified as such by the
Central government.
• Currently, 6 communities notified – Muslims, Christians,
Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsi, Jains
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Nari Shakti Vandan [Constitution • Parliament passed Constitution (106th Amendment) Act,
(106th Amendment)] Act, 2023 2023, to provide for one-third reservation to women in
the Lok Sabha (Article 330A), State Assemblies(Article
332A) and the assembly of NCT of Delhi (Article 239AA)
• It also includes reservation of 1/3rd seats for women
under total number of seats reserved for SCs/STs under
Article 332
• Provisions of this act shall come into effect after
delimitation after the first census taken after the
commencement of this act
• Provisions relating to reservation of seats for women
shall cease to have effect after the expiration of 15
years. Reservation for women, however, can be
extended by the Parliament by law.
• Periodic rotation of seats reserved for women after
each subsequent delimitation as Parliament may by law
determine
• Provisions of this act shall not affect any representation
in legislative assemblies and the Lok Sabha until their
dissolution.
Delimitation Commission • Article 82: Parliament enacts a Delimitation Act after

every Census to establish a Delimitation Commission.
• Function: To determine the number and boundaries of
constituencies to make population of all constituencies
nearly equal. To identify seats to reserve for SC/ST
• Composition: retd. SC judge, CEC, State EC
• Powers of a civil court
• Orders have force of law and cannot be questioned
before any court.
No Confidence Motion • Article 75(3)/Article 164(2) of the Constitution - the

Council of Ministers are collectively responsible to the
Lok Sabha
• For testing this collective responsibility, the rules of Lok
Sabha provide a particular mechanism – a motion of no-
confidence. The procedure is specified under Rule 198 of
the Lok Sabha. Constitution does not mention either a
Confidence or a No Confidence Motion.
• Any Lok Sabha MP, who can garner the support of 50
colleagues, can, at any point of time, introduce a motion
of no-confidence against the Council of Ministers
• A no-confidence motion can be moved only in the Lok
Sabha. It cannot be moved in the Rajya Sabha.
• If a no-confidence motion is passed, the government
must resign.
• There have been 27 no-confidence motions introduced
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in the Lok Sabha since independence. The first no-

confidence motion against the administration of the
then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was presented in
the Lok Sabha in August 1963
• Recently, 28th No Confidence was raised and was won
successfully by Govt.
Parliamentary Privileges • Parliamentary privileges are certain rights and

immunities enjoyed by MPs/MLAs, individually and
collectively, so that they can “effectively discharge their
functions”.
• These rights are also given to those individuals who
speak and participate in any committee of the
Parliament, which includes the Attorney General of India
and the Union Ministers.
• not available to President/Governor.
• When any of these rights and immunities are
disregarded, offence is called a breach of privilege and is
punishable under law of Parliament.
• Special privileges are enshrined under Article 105 (for
Parliament) and Article 194 (for state legislature) of
Constitution.
• Parliament, till now, has not made any special law to
exhaustively codify all the privileges.
• One of the privileges is that a member of Parliament
cannot be arrested in a civil case 40 days before the
commencement of the session or committee meeting
and 40 days thereafter.
• Parliament is the sole authority to ascertain if there has
been a breach or contempt of the House— no court is
entrusted with this power. A member of the House can
raise a question involving a breach of privilege with the
consent of the Chairman or Speaker.
Privilege Committee • It is a parliamentary standing committee present in both

Houses of Parliament.
• LS: consists of 15 members nominated by Speaker
• RS: consists of 10 members nominated by Chairman
• Function: Investigate questions involving the breach of
privileges of House or members, as referred to it by
presiding officer of Houses.
Expulsion of Lawmakers • The expulsion of an MP can be on a constitutional basis

or legal (Rules of the house) basis.
• Constitutional basis: An MP found guilty of breach of
privileges or contempt of the house can be suspended
from the house or face expulsion.
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• Legal basis of suspension and expulsions: To ensure

smooth proceedings and maintain order, the Presiding
Officer of the House has the power to force a Member
to withdraw from the House. In cases of extreme
misconduct, the House may expel a member “to rid the
House of persons who are unfit for membership” under
Rules 373, 374, 374A of LS and Rules 255, 256 of RS.
Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha • Consists of not more than 15 members

• members nominated by the Speaker for a term of one
year.
• Functions:
o To examine a complaint relating to the unethical
conduct of a member referred to it by the
Speaker.
o Make recommendations and formulate a code of
conduct for Members.
o Suggest amendments to the code of conduct.
• The First Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha was set up in
2000 and of Rajya sabha in 1997.
Rule 176 and Rule 267 of Rules of • Rule 176 allows for a short-duration discussion, not
Procedure and Conduct of exceeding two-and-a-half hours, on a particular issue.
Business in the Council of States. • Under Rule 267, a Rajya Sabha MP has the special power
to suspend the predecided agenda of the House, with
the approval of the Chairman.
Anti-Defection Law • Tenth Schedule inserted in the Constitution in 1985 by

the 52nd Amendment Act.
• It lays down the process by which legislators may be
disqualified on grounds of defection by the Presiding
Officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other
member of the House.
• The decision on question as to disqualification on
ground of defection is referred to the Chairman or the
Speaker of such House, and his decision is final. Subject
to judicial review (Kihoto Hollohan v Zachillhu, 1992)
Grounds of Defection
• If a member of a House belonging to a political party:
o Has voluntarily given up his membership of such
political party, or
o Votes, or abstains from voting in such House,
contrary to the direction of his political party.
• If an independent candidate joins a political party after
the election.
• If a nominated member of a house joins any political
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party after the expiry of six months from the date when
he becomes a member of the legislature.
Exemptions from disqualification

• If a member's original party merges with another party:
o The member is not disqualified if they join the new
merged party.
o The member is also not disqualified if they choose
not to join the merged party and decide to
function as a separate group. For the merger to be
valid, at least two-thirds of the members of the
original party in the legislature must agree to the
merger.
• If a person is elected as the Speaker of Lok Sabha or the
Chairman of Rajya Sabha then he could resign from his
party, and rejoin the party once he vacates that post.
Parliamentary Secretariat • Article 98/187: Each House of Parliament/State

Legislature shall have a separate secretarial staff.
• Function: to provide secretarial assistance, prepare and
publish a record of day to day proceedings, serve
parliamentary committees, payment of salaries and
allowances.
• Parliament may by law regulate the
• recruitment, and the conditions of service of persons
appointed, to the secretarial staff of either House.
• Speaker and Chairman can create new posts in
respective secretariat.
• Secretary-Generals of both houses hold ranks
equivalent to that of the Cabinet Secretary. However, in
the table of precedence, the Cabinet Secretary is placed
at the 11th position, whereas the Secretary, Lok Sabha/
Rajya Sabha are placed at the 23rd position.
Article 142 • provides Supreme Court power, to do “complete

justice” in any matter pending before it.
• While powers under Article 142 are sweeping in nature,
SC has defined its scope and extent through various
judgments.
Article 299 • Contracts made by Union or State are in the name of

President or Governor.
• Recently, the Supreme Court has held that the
government cannot claim immunity from the application
of law to a contract merely because one of the parties to
it is the President of India.
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Judicial Appointment SC HC
No. of judges Decided by Decided by
Parliament President
Chief Justice Appointed by Appointed by
President President
Other judges Pres in Pres in consultation
consultation with CJI + 2
with CJI + 4
Doctrine of Promissory Estoppel • It is a concept in contractual laws.

• It essentially prevents a “promisor” from backing out of
an agreement on the grounds that there is no
“consideration.”
• It is invoked by a plaintiff (party moving to court in civil
action) to ensure execution of a contract or seek
compensation for failure to perform the contract.
Narco Analysis Test • In narco test, sodium pentothal, also called ‘truth
serum’, is injected into a person which lowers a person’s
self-consciousness, allowing them to speak without
inhibition.
• Supreme Court in Selvi & Ors vs State of Karnataka &
Anr (2010) ruled that narco analysis, brain mapping and
polygraph tests cannot be conducted on any person
without his or her consent.
• Narco analysis report is not admissible as primary
evidence in the court. However, any information or
material that is subsequently discovered with the help
of voluntary administered test results can be admitted,
in accordance with Section 27 of the Evidence Act, 1872.
Chief Election Commissioner and • The Act replaces the Election Commission (Conditions of
other Election Commissioners Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of
(Appointment, Conditions of Business) Act, 1991.
Service and Term of Office) Act, • The legislation aims to bring transparency to the
2023 appointment process, responding to a directive from
the Supreme Court of India in the.
• SC, in Anoop Baranwal v Union of India case, 2023 laid
down that the CEC and ECs shall be appointed by a
committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the CJI and
the Leader of the Opposition of the largest opposition
party in the Lok Sabha.
• The Act addresses the appointment, salary, and removal
of the CEC and ECs.
• Search Committee shall prepare a panel of five persons
for consideration of the Selection Committee, for
appointment as the CEC and other ECs. It is to be
headed by the Minister of Law and Justice and
comprising two other members not below the rank of
Secretary to the Government of India.
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• Selection Committee: consists of the Prime Minister, a

Union Cabinet Minister, and the Leader of
Opposition/leader of the largest opposition party in Lok
Sabha.
• The salary and conditions of service of the CEC and ECs
will be equivalent to that of the Cabinet Secretary.
Under the 1991 Act, it was equivalent to the salary of a
Supreme Court Judge.
• The Act retains the constitutional provision (Article
324(5)) that allows the CEC to be removed like a
Supreme Court Judge, while ECs can only be removed
on the recommendation of the CEC.
National Party Status • 6 parties recognised by ECI as national parties – BJP,

INC, BSP, CPI(M), NPP, AAP.
• Criteria: fulfil any of the three conditions:
o Winning 2% seats or 11 seats in the Lok Sabha from
at least three different states in the latest general
election;
o Recognition as a state party in at least four states
o Polling 6% of the total valid votes in at least four
states, in addition to winning four Lok Sabha seats.
• Benefits:
o reserved symbol for its candidates contesting from
across the country.
o only one proposer to file nominations of
candidates.
o two sets of electoral rolls free of cost
o dedicated broadcast slots on public broadcasters
Doordarshan and All India Radio during the general
elections.
o 40 ‘star campaigners’ while a registered
unrecognized party can nominate a maximum of 20
‘star campaigners’.
Star Campaigners • They are nominated by political parties to campaign in

each set of constituencies for a specified duration.
• There is no law governing who can or cannot be made a
star campaigner.
• List of star campaigners must be communicated to Chief
Electoral Officer and ECI within a week from election
notification date under section 77(1) of Representation
of People Act (RPA), 1951.
• Recognised political party can have 40 Star campaigners
and an unrecognised (but registered) political party can
have 20.
• Poll Expenditure: As per section 77(1) RPA, 1951, their
travel by air or any other means of transport for
propagating programme of a political party shall not be
counted as expenditure by candidate.
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Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) • EVM consists of 2 units - Control Unit and a Balloting
Unit.
• The control unit is with the Election Commission-
appointed polling officer; the balloting unit is in the
voting compartment into where voter casts her vote in
secret.
• It runs on a single alkaline battery fitted in the control
unit, and can even be used in areas that have no
electricity.
• manufactured by Electronics Corporation of India
Limited (ECIL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
• can record a maximum of 2,000 votes.
• EVMs were 1st used in 1982 Kerala Assembly elections
(by-election).
• RP Act 1951 was amended in 1988 to allow usage of
EVMs.
• In 2004, EVMs were used for the 1st time in Lok Sabha
elections.
Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail • independent verification system designed to allow
(VVPAT) voters to verify that their votes were cast correctly.
• a paper slip is generated bearing name and symbol of
the candidate. The printed slip is visible for 7 seconds in
a viewing window attached to BU in voting
compartment.
Electoral Bonds (EB) • Recently, the Supreme Court declared EB Scheme

unconstitutional.
• Union Budget 2017-18 introduced EBs as interest-free
bearer instruments to cleanse the system of political
funding in the country.
• can only be issued by SBI
• can be purchased only by citizen or body incorporated in
India
• in multiples of 1K, 10K, 1L, 10L, 1C
• available for purchase for 10 days in Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct
• Political Party eligible to receive funds – registered
under RPA, 1951 & >1% votes in last Lok Sabha or state
election.
Electronically Transmitted Postal • Developed by ECI + CDAC

Ballot System (ETPBS) • Voter receives postal ballot in electronic format. He
downloads it, casts the vote and sends it to Returning
Officer through post.
• Electors eligible for ETPBS
o Service voters - armed forces, employed by GoI
outside India
o Overseas electors.
NOTA • Not a right to reject

• NOTA votes not counted while deciding winner.
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• No fresh elections if NOTA secures max votes. Candidate

with highest votes wins.
Section 62 - RPA, 1951 • Prisoners are not allowed to vote but people under
preventive detention can cast their vote through postal
ballot.
Two Constituency norm • RPA, 1951 allows a candidate to contest from more than
one seat.
• Amendment in 1996 – set the limit to 2 seats
Custodian of Enemy Property for • a quasi-judicial Authority under the Enemy Property Act,
India 2017 under Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Enemy property refers to property or assets held or
managed on behalf of an enemy, enemy subject or an
enemy company.
• Enemy means person or country which is an enemy
under Defence of India Act, 1962.
• Function: to manage and preserve the enemy
• properties.
Model Prisons Act 2023 • to replace a British-era Prisons Act, 1894 to overhaul the
prison administration
• focus on the reformation and rehabilitation of inmates
• Prisons is a State subject.
• Terms:
o Parole is a system of conditional release of a
prisoner with suspension of the sentence for a
specific period.
o Furlough is given in cases of long term
imprisonment. The period of furlough granted to a
prisoner is treated as remission (reduction) of his
sentence.
o Bail means procurement of release from prison of
a person awaiting trial or an appeal.
CBI • non-statutory body under Ministry of Personnel, Pension

and Public Grievances
• estd in 1963 on recommendations of Santhanam
Committee.
• governed by Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE)
Act, 1946.
• Headed by CBI Director – appointed by selection
committee (PM, LoP(LS), CJI).
• To investigate crimes in states, CBI needs consent of the
states. It can be – general consent or case specific.
• Recently, states like WB, PB, MN withdrew general
consent.
ED • Estd in 1952
• Under Deptt of Revenue, Ministry of Finance
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• Headed by ED Director – appointed as per provisions of

CVC Act, 2003
• Responsible for enforcement of:
o Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA)
o Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA)
o Fugitive Economic Offenders Act (FEOA)
o COFEPOSA
Competition Commission of • Statutory body under Competition Act, 2003

India • Under Ministry of Corporate Affairs
• Replaced Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices
(MRTP) Commission
• Function: eliminate practices having adverse effects on
competition
e-governed State • Kerala – first fully e-governed state in India

• It has digitised govt services ensuring prompt and
transparent delivery to citizens.
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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
UN Specialised Agencies 17 Specialized Agencies:

• FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations
• ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organization
• IFAD: International Fund for Agricultural
Development
• ILO: International Labour Organization
• IMF: International Monetary Fund
• IMO: International Maritime Organization
• ITU: International Telecommunication Union
• UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization
• UNIDO: United Nations Industrial Development
Organization
• UN Tourism: World Tourism Organization
• UPU: Universal Postal Union
• WHO: World Health Organization
• WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization
• WMO: World Meteorological Organization
• World Bank Group
UNESCO • US re-joined UNESCO
• HQ: Paris, France
• Specialised agency of UN, established
• in 1945 to contributes to peace and security by
promoting international cooperation in education,
sciences, culture, communication and information.
• Membership: 194 countries and 12 Associate
Members
• Composition: Secretariat, headed by Director-
General, implements the decisions of General
Conference and Executive Board.
UN Peacekeeping • It deploys troops and police from around the world,
integrating them with civilian peacekeepers to
address a range of mandates set by the UN Security
Council (UNSC) and the General Assembly.
• The financial resources of UN Peacekeeping
operations are the collective responsibility of UN
Member States.
• According to the UN Charter, every Member State
is legally obligated to pay their respective share for
peacekeeping.
• India is a major contributing nation to UN
peacekeeping activities, 2nd highest amongst
troop-contributing countries. In 2007, India became
the first country to deploy an all-women contingent
to a UN peacekeeping mission.
• Recently, the 75th anniversary of the beginning of
UN Peacekeeping was celebrated.
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• The theme of the 75th anniversary “Peace begins

with me”.
• A ceremony was held to posthumously award the
Dag Hammarskjold medal to peacekeepers who died
in 2022.
• Action for Peacekeeping (A4P): initiative of UN
Peacekeeping.
UN Commission on International • It is a subsidiary body of the UN General Assembly,
Trade Law (UNCITRAL) established in 1966.
• HQ at Vienna, Austria.
• Mandate: harmonization and unification of law of
international trade.
• Commission is composed of 60 member States
elected by the General Assembly. The 60 member
States include 14 African States, 14 Asian States, 8
Eastern European States, 10 Latin American and
Caribbean States and 14 Western European and
other States.
• The General Assembly elects members for terms of
six years; every three years, the terms of half of the
members expire.
• India is a founding member of this organisation.
International Coffee Organization • Established in 1963 under the aegis of the United
(ICO) Nations and following the approval of the first
International Coffee Agreement in 1962.
• ICO is the only intergovernmental organization for
coffee, bringing together exporting and importing
Governments.
• It currently represents 93% of world coffee
production and 63% of world consumption.
• Member countries: 49 (42 coffee exporting and 7
importing countries). India is a member of this
organisation.
Coffee Cultivation
• 2 major species — Coffea Arabica (Arabica) and
Coffea Canephora (Robusta).
• Climate: Hot and humid climate for its growth.
• Rainfall:150 to 250 cm.
• Temperature: Ranging between 15°C and 28 °C.
• It is generally grown under shady trees. Dry
weather is necessary at the time of ripening of the
berries. It is grown on hill slopes at elevations from
600 to 1,600 metres above sea level.
• Coffee growing states in India: Karnataka, Kerala,
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, among
which, Karnataka produces the most with over 70%
of the total output.
The Coffee Board of India

• Statutory body under the Coffee Act, 1942.
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• under Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

• functions from Bangalore.
International Maritime Organisation • specialized agency of the UN.
(IMO) • responsible for measures to improve the safety and
security of international shipping and to prevent
pollution from ships It is the global standard-setting
authority for the safety, security and environmental
performance of international shipping.
• It currently has 175 Member States.
• Headquarters: London
• Recently, India was re-elected to the International
Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council, with the
highest tally at elections held for the 2024–25
biennium.
L69 Grouping • aims to achieve comprehensive reform of UNSC
and strengthen multilateralism.
• includes developing countries from Africa, Latin
America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific.
• India is a leading country in L.69.
G7 • inter-governmental political forum consisting of
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United
Kingdom, and United States.
• accounts for over 50% of global net wealth, 32-46%
of global GDP and 10% of the world's population.
• Aim to discuss and coordinate solutions to major
global issues, especially in the areas of trade,
security, economics, and climate change.
• Russia has been a formal member (as part of the
Group of Eight/G8) from 1997 to 2014.
• The G7 is not based on a treaty and has no
permanent secretariat or office.
• Presidency rotates annually among member states.
G20 • Formed in 1999 following the Asian Financial Crisis
of the 1980s as a forum for Central bank governors
and finance ministers.
• Raised to summit level in 2008 to address the
global financial and economic crisis of 2008.
• G20 Presidency rotates annually.
Canada UK Turkey Russia Japan
USA France Saudi China S Korea
Mexico Germany South India Indonesia
Africa
Brazil Italy AU Australia
Argentina EU
• It has NO permanent secretariat or headquarters.
• India recently held the Presidency of the 18 G20
th
summit for the first time at New Delhi, with the

theme “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth,
One Family, One Future”.
• Outcomes:
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• Delhi Declaration: Accelerating progress on

SDGs, Women empowerment, Reforms of
Multilateral Institutions, International
taxation and Global Peace.
• Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA)
• India – Middle East – Europe Economic
Corridor (IMEC)
• African Union inducted in G20.
• Troika: It is working association between the
current presidency, past presidency and next
presidency.
African Union • It is a continental body consisting of 55 member
states in Africa.
• Aims to promotes political and socio-economic
integration, peace, stability, security, and human
rights.
• officially launched in 2002 and replaced its
predecessor, the Organization of African Unity
(OAU), which was founded in 1963.
• Headquarters: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi- • regional organisation established in June 1997 with
Sectoral Technical and Economic the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.
Cooperation • Initially, established as BIST-EC with 4 countries:
(BIMSTEC) Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
• Myanmar joined in December 1997 and the group
was renamed BIMST-EC.
• Secretariat: Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Aim: To create an enabling environment for rapid
economic development and social progress and
maintain peace and stability in the Bay of Bengal
region.
• Current Members: 7- Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka,
Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan (both joined
in 2004).
ASEAN • established in 1967 with signing of ASEAN

Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
• Secretariat: Indonesia, Jakarta
• Members: Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines,
Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar, Vietnam.
• Dialogue Partners: Australia, Canada, China, India,
the EU, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand,
Russia, the U.K, the U.S.
BRICS • acronym BRIC was coined by economist ‘Jim
O’Neill’ of Goldman Sachs in 2001 to indicate the
emerging powers that would be, alongside the
United States, the five largest economies of the
world in the 21st century
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• Secretariat: No permanent secretariat or office

• Current Members: Brazil, Russia, India, China,
South Africa + 5 new members: Egypt, Ethiopia,
Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
• Major initiatives of BRICS
• New Development Bank (NDB).
• Contingency Reserve Arrangement (CRA) to
provide short-term liquidity support to the
members.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation • founded at the Shanghai summit in 2001 by Russia,

(SCO) China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan
and Uzbekistan as a permanent intergovernmental
organization.
• HQ: Beijing, China
• aim: to address security related concerns,
Resolving border issues, Military Co-operation and
intelligence sharing, Countering terrorism, Co-
operation in education, energy, transportation, etc.
• Members: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan and Iran.
• 3 observer states: Belarus, Mongolia and
Afghanistan
• 6 dialogue partners: Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan,
Nepal, Sri Lanka and Cambodia
• India and Pakistan became full members at Astana
Summit in 2017.
I2U2 • grouping of India, Israel, USA and UAE.
• formed in October, 2021 following the Abraham
Accords between Israel and the UAE, to deal with
issues concerning maritime security, infrastructure
and transport in the region.
• Also referred as the ‘West Asian Quad’.
AUKUS (Australia, UK, US) • trilateral security partnership, launched in 2021.
• Aims to strengthen the ability of each government
to support security and defence interests; promote
deeper information sharing and technology
sharing; and foster deeper integration etc.
Indo-Pacific Economic Framework • economic initiative launched by United States
for Prosperity (IPEF) President in 2022.
• 14 member states: Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India,
Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New
Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, United
States and Vietnam.
• IPEF is based on 4 pillars: Trade; Supply Chains;
Clean Economy; Fair Economy
• IPEF partners are not required to join all four pillars
(India has not joined trade pillar).
• intends to advance resilience, sustainability,
inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and
competitiveness for member economies.
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North Atlantic Treaty Org (NATO) • military alliance established by the North Atlantic
Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April,
1949, by the United States, Canada, and several
Western European nations.
• HQ: Brussels, Belgium
• Aims to provide collective security against the
Soviet Union.
• Article 5 of Treaty states that attack on one
member is to be considered an attack on all
members. That effectively put Western Europe
under the "nuclear umbrella" of the US.
• Members: 32 (30 European nations, US and
Canada). EU members that are not a part of NATO
are: Austria, Cyprus, Ireland and Malta.
Collective Security Treaty (CSTO) • an intergovernmental military alliance that signed
in 1992.
• HQ: Moscow, Russia
• Members: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan.
• Objectives: To strengthen peace, international and
regional security including cybersecurity and
stability, the protection on a collective basis of the
independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty
of the member states.
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) • a political and economic alliance of countries in the
Gulf region.
• GCC was established in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1981.
• HQ: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Members: 6 - Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait,
Oman, and Bahrain
FATF • An inter-governmental body to combat money

laundering, terrorist financing and other related
• threats to the integrity of the international financial
system.
• Established by the G-7 Summit held in Paris in 1989.
• HQ: Paris
• Members: 37 member jurisdictions (including India)
and 2 regional organisations (Gulf Co-operation
Council and European Commission).
• India joined FATF in 2010.
• Maintains 2 lists: Grey List (Jurisdictions under
increased monitoring), Black List (High-risk
jurisdiction subject to call for action)
INTERPOL • It was established in 1923 to help police work
together to make the world a safer place.
• HQ: Lyon (France)
• Aim: To facilitate information-exchange between
national police forces.
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• Members: 196 member countries (including India)

• Each of the member countries hosts an INTERPOL
National Central Bureau (NCB).
• Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is designated
as the National Central Bureau of India.
• It issues 8 types of notices which are in the form of
alerts/requests allowing police in member countries
to share critical crime-related information.
Indian Ocean Rim Association • Inter-governmental organisation of countries

(IORA) bordering the Indian Ocean.
• established in 1997, based on vision of Nelson
Mandela.
• Aim: To strengthen regional cooperation and
sustainable development within Indian Ocean
region (IOR).
• Members: 23 members(including India).
• Not members: Pak, Myanmar
Organization of the Petroleum • a permanent intergovernmental organization that

Exporting Countries (OPEC) coordinates and unifies the petroleum policies of
its Member Countries.
• HQ: Vienna, Austria.
• Members (12): Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait,
Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria,
Republic of Congo, and Venezuela.
• Other key information: OPEC uses Brent Crude as a
benchmark for quality.
OPEC+
• created in 2016
• Members: OPEC + 10 (Russia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain,
Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, South
Sudan and Sudan)
International Organization of Legal • India has become an OIML certificate-issuing
Metrology (OILM) authority.
• OIML-Certificate system is a system for issuing,
registering, and using OIML certificates, and their
associated test or reports for measuring
instruments e.g., thermometers, clinical
thermometers, etc.
• Significance: increase in exports, earning of foreign
exchange, and generation of employment.
• OILM was Established in 1955 and headquartered in
Paris.
Paris Club • An informal group of mostly western creditor
countries. All 22 are members of the Organisation
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for Economic Co-operation and Development

(OECD) group.
• Created in 1956
• Objective: To find sustainable debt-relief solutions
for countries that are unable to repay their bilateral
loans.
• India is not a member
International Atomic Energy Agency • intergovernmental forum for scientific and
(IAEA) technical cooperation in the nuclear field.
• HQ: Vienna, Austria
• It applies nuclear safeguards– consisting of
monitoring, inspection, information analysis, and
other activities – to verify that nuclear activities
remain peaceful and detect and deter their
diversion, including to weapons-related purposes.
• implements comprehensive safeguards
agreements mandated by the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
India-Middle East-Europe Corridor • announced at the G20 Summit in New Delhi
(IMEC) • part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure
and Investment (PGII)
• The proposed IMEC will consist of Railroad, Ship-to-
Rail networks and Road transport routes extending
across two corridors, that is, The East Corridor –
connecting India to the Arabian Gulf, The Northern
Corridor – connecting the Gulf to Europe
• Signatories: India, the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, the
European Union, Italy, France, and Germany.
Partnership for Global Infrastructure • Initiative of G7 to fund critical infrastructure
and Investment (PGII) projects (roads, ports, bridges, communication
setups) in developing countries through public and
private investment and enhance global trade and
cooperation
Global Biofuels Alliance • launched by India at G20 Summit along with the
leaders of Singapore, Bangladesh, Italy, USA, Brazil,
Argentina, Mauritius and UAE.
• Aim: To serve as a catalytic platform, fostering
global collaboration for the advancement and
widespread adoption of biofuels.
Chip 4 Alliance (Fab4) • Grouping of four of the world’s top producers of
semiconductors: the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, and South
Korea
• It aims at reducing the world’s reliance on chips
made in China.
European Free Trade Association • intergovernmental organisation of Iceland,
(EFTA) Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
• Signed an FTA with India
Voice of Global South Summit • India hosted the 2nd VOGSS
(VOGSS)
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• Indian PM unveils DAKSHIN (Global South Centre of

Excellence) and called for 5 ‘Cs’ for the Global
South: Consultation, Cooperation, Communication,
Creativity, and Capacity
• The term “Global South” refers to various countries
often described as “developing,” “less developed”
or “underdeveloped.”
• The concept of the Global South can be traced to
the Brandt report of 1980.
Israel-Palestine (Places in News)
Countries arranged as per Border • Bangladesh (4096 km)

Length with India • China (3488 km)
• Pakistan (3323 km)
• Nepal (1850 km)
• Myanmar (1600 km)
• Bhutan (699 km)
• Afghanistan (106 km)
India-China • Border: 3488 Km border divided into 3 sectors -

Western, Eastern and Central
• No Mutual Agreement on what constitutes the
LAC (Line of Actual Control, came into existence
post 1962 war)
• Western Sector: India considers Johnson line to be
the border while China considers the McDonald
Line to be the border.
• Eastern Sector: dispute over McMahon Line and
over areas of Tawang and Chumbi Valley.
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India-Pakistan • Indus Water Treaty: Signed in 1960 between India

and Pakistan, brokered by World Bank
• Water sharing arrangement : Waters of eastern
rivers (Ravi, Sutlej and Beas) have been allocated
to India and that of Western Rivers (Indus, Chenab
and Jhelum) have been allocated to Pakistan
India-Bangladesh • India is the second biggest trading partner of

Bangladesh after China.
• Maitri Setu = India-Bangladesh friendship bridge
built over the Feni River, which flows between the
Indian boundary in Tripura and Bangladesh. It spans
1.9 kilometres joining Sabroom (in Tripura) with
Ramgarh in Bangladesh.
• Feni River forms part of the India-Bangladesh
border. It originates in the South Tripura district.
flows into Bay of Bengal. Some of the tributaries of
the Feni River include the Muhuri River, Raidak
River, Chandkhira River, Ryang River and Kushiyara
River.
• Agartala-Akhaura Railway Project recently
inaugurated. It will dramatically reduce travel time
between Agartala and Kolkata from 31 hours to just
10 hours. Funding for the project is entirely
provided by India, with contributions from the
Ministry for Development of North East Region and
the Ministry of External Affairs.
India-Myanmar • Free Movement Regime exists between India and

Myanmar. Under the FMR, every member of the hill
tribes, who is either a citizen of India or a citizen of
Myanmar and who is resident of any area within 16
km on either side of the Indo-Myanmar border can
cross the border on production of a border pass
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(one year validity) issued by the competent

authority and can stay up to two weeks per visit.
India - Sri Lanka Territoriality of Katchatheevu island remains a friction

point between 2 nations
India-France “Horizon 2047” is a roadmap signed in 2023 between

India and France to outline the course of their bilateral
relationship until 2047. The roadmap, signed on Bastille
Day in Paris, marks the 25th anniversary of the two
countries' partnership and aims to strengthen their
scientific cooperation, trade, and investment.
Key Operations by India over last few • Operation Raahat: In 2015 to evacuate foreign and
years: Indian citizens from conflict hit Yemen
• Operation Devi Shakti: To evacuate people from
Afghanistan after Taliban Takeover
• Operation Ganga: in 2022 to evacuate Indians from
Ukraine. (Feb 2022)
• Operation Dost: to help Turkey and Syria to recover
from Earthquake. (Feb 2023)
• Operation Kaveri: to bring back Indian nationals
from Sudan following a crisis that erupted in
Sudan. (Apr 2023)
• Operation Ajay to facilitate return of Indian citizens
from Israel. (Oct 2023)
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ART & CULTURE

UNESCO World Heritage Sites • sites are designated as having outstanding universal
value under the World Heritage Convention of 1972.
• 3 categories - cultural, natural, and mixed.
• 42 World Heritage Sites in India.
• #1 Italy (59 sites), #2 China (57 sites)
Santiniketan • 41st UNESCO World Heritage site of India
• a residential school and centre for art based on
ancient Indian traditions
• Established in rural West Bengal in 1901 by the
renowned poet and philosopher Rabindranath
Tagore
• Santiniketan was an experimental settlement in
education and communal life in a rural setting. The
community was in many ways meant to represent a
uniquely Indian example of a ‘total work of art’
(Gesamtkunstwerk) where life, learning, work and art
along with the local and the global intertwined
seamlessly.
Sacred Ensembles of Hoysalas • 42nd UNESCO World Heritage site of India
• includes the temples of Chennakeshava temple
(Belur) and Hoysaleshwara temple (Halebidu) and
Keshava temple (Somanathapur)
• Chennakeshava Temple (also called Vijayanarayana
Temple)
o Built by King Vishnuvardhana in 12th c
o Banks of river Yagachi
o Dedicated to Lord Vishnu
• Hoysaleshwara Temple (Halebid Temple)
o Built by King Vishnuvardhana in 12th c
o Banks of Dwarasamudra lake
o Dedicated to Lord Shiva
• Keshava Temple
o Built by Somanatha Dandanayaka in 13th c
o Dedicated to Lord Krishna
Konark Sun Temple Built during the 13th century under the reign of Eastern
Ganga King Narasimhadeva-I.
Also known as Black Pagoda
Kalinga architecture – temple consists of 2 parts – Deul
and Jagmohan.
Other sun temples in India: Martand (J&K), Katarmal
(Uttarakand), Surya pahar (Assam), Dakshinaaka (Bihar),
Arasavalli (Andra Pradesh), Suryanar Kovil (TN),
Modera(Gujarat), and Brahmanya (MP).
Martund Sun Temple, Jammu And ● Built by King Lalitaditya Muktipada of Karkota
Kashmir Dynasty in around 750 AD
● It was destroyed by Sikander Bushti Khan in 15th
century AD
Lingaraj Temple, Bhuvaneshwar, ● Built by kings of Somvanshi Dynasty in 10th - 11th
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Odisha century AD
● Example of Kalinga Architecture, which is a substyle
of Nagara Architecture
● Shivling here is called ‘HariHara’ which represents a
syncretic mix of Vaishnavism and Shaivism
Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha ● Built by Anantavarman Chodaganga in 12th Century
and is famous for its ‘Rath Yatra’
● Also called ‘Yamanika Tirtha’
Ramappa Temple, Telangana ● Dedicated to Shiva or Rudreshawar
● Built by sculptor Ramappa under Kakatiyas in 12th
century CE
● It is a UNESCO WHS
12 Jyotirlingas
Sengol • Sengol presented by head of Thiruvaduthurai

Adheenam (monastery) kept in the new
Parliament building.
• In the Chola Empire, Sengol was considered a
symbol of the path of duty, the path of service,
and the path of the nation. Practice of handing
over a sceptre since the Sangam Age. Finds
mention in texts such as Purananooru,
Kurunthogai, Perumpaanatrupadai, and
Kalithogai.
Statues Name Dedicated to Location
Statue of Adi Omkareshwar
Oneness Shankaracharya (MP)
Statue of Sardar Patel Kevadia (GJ)
Unity
Statue of Ramanujacharya Hyderabad (TL)
Equality
Statue of Jain monk Vijay Pali (RJ)
Peace Vallabh Surishwar
Statue of Kempegowda Bengaluru (KN)
Prosperity
UNESCO Creative Cities Network It has 350 creative cities in more than 100 countries,
(UCCN) spanning seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Art,
Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and
Music.
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8 Indian cities: Gwalior (Music), Kozhikode (Literature),

Mumbai (Film), Chennai (Music), Hyderabad
(Gastronomy), Varanasi (Music), Jaipur (Crafts and Folk
art) and Srinagar (Crafts and Folk art)
UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural 15 items from India:
Heritage Garba Of Gujarat, Kutiyattam Sanskrit theatre, Tradition
of Vedic chanting, Ramlila, Ramman: ritual theatre of the
Garhwal Himalayas, Chhau dance, Kalbelia folk dance of
Rajasthan, Mudiyettu ritual theatre of Kerala, Buddhist
chanting of Ladakh, Sankirtana, Traditional brass and
copper craft of utensil making of Thatheras of Jandiala
Guru in Punjab, Nawrouz, Yoga, Kumbh Mela, Durga Puja
in Kolkata
Garba • Folk dance performed on the occasion of the Hindu
festival of Navaratri, which is dedicated to the worship
• of the feminine energy or ‘Shakti’
• Takes place around a perforated earthenware pot
called a garbha deep ("womb lamp"), or an image
• of the mother goddess Amba.
• Dancers move around the pot in an anti-clockwise
circle.
Ol Chiki Script • created in 1925 by Raghunath Murmu (1905-1982) as a
way to write Santhali
• Santhali is a Munda language spoken mainly in
Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and also in
Bangladesh, eastern Nepal and Bhutan.
• There are about 7.3 million speakers of Santhali in
India, according to the 2011 census.
Kui language Kui Language belongs to the Dravidian Family of
languages and is spoken mainly by people of the Kondh
Tribe of Odisha
Mihir Bhoja • 9th century ruler from Gurjar – Pratihara dynasty.
• adopted the title of Adivaraha (devotee of Lord
Vishnu)
• Rajsekhara - his court poet
• involved in tripartite struggle for Kannauj with Palas in
the East and Rashtrakutas in the Deccan.
Meera Bai (1498-1546) • Saguna Bhakti saint – devotee of Lord Krishna
• born as Princess of Mewar, married to Rana Bhoj Raj -
son of Rana Sanga.
• poems in Braj language
Rani Durgavati • Born in 1524 in Chandela Dynasty of Mahoba (present
day UP)
• married to Dalpatshah of Gond Dynasty of Garha
Katanga in 1542.
• She ruled the kingdom of Garha-Katanga after the
death of her husband in 1550
• Fought against Akbar's commander Asaf Khan and the
neighboring Malwa Sultan Baz Bahadur.
Dayanand Saraswati • Born in 1824 in Morvi, Gujarat
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• Taught by Swami Virjanand Saraswati

• Wrote Satyarth Prakash, Veda Bhasya, Veda Bhasya
Bhumika
• gave the slogan "Go back to Vedas"
• established Arya Samaj in 1875
• In 1893, the Arya Samaj members of Punjab were
divided on the question of vegetarianism. The group
that refrained from eating meat were called the
"Mahatma" group and the other group, the "Cultured
Party".
Birsa Munda • born in 1875 in Munda tribe at Ulihatu, Khunti district
of
• Chotanagpur Plateau region (Jharkhand).
• started the faith of Birsait.
• started a movement called 'Ulgulan', or 'The Great
Tumult' against the exploitation and discrimination
against tribals.
Alluri Sitarama Raju • Born in 1897 in Andhra Pradesh
• Led the Rampa rebellion (also called Manyam
rebellion) – 1922-24
• Referred as “Manyam Veerudu” (Hero of the Jungles)
• martyred on May 7, 1924.
Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to the Norwegian author and dramatist Jon
Fosse, “for his innovative plays and prose which give
voice to the unsayable.”
Sahitya Akademi Award • literary honour, conferred annually on writers of most
outstanding books of literary merit published in any of
the major Indian languages.
• Besides 22 languages enumerated in Constitution,
English and Rajasthani language are also recognised.
• Award includes a casket containing an engraved
copper plaque, a shawl and an amount of Rs.
1,00,000/-
• Sahitya Akademi functions as an autonomous
organisation. It is registered as a society under
Societies Registration Act, 1860.
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GOVERNMENT SCHEMES
Scheme/Portal/Initiative Ministry/Agency Description
AAINA Dashboard for Ministry of Housing & Urban For performance monitoring of
Cities Affairs urban local bodies (ULBs) on
parameters: (i) Political &
Administrative Structure, (ii) Finance,
(iii) Planning, (iv) Citizen Centric
Governance and (v) Delivery of Basic
Services.
Amplifi 2.0 Portal Ministry of Housing and • portal aims to provide data on
Urban Affairs Indian cities.
• Make raw data from Indian cities
available on a single platform for
academics, researchers, and
stakeholders to help data-driven
policymaking.
CITIIS 2.0 Ministry of Housing and 3 major components:

Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in Component-1: Financial and technical
partnership with the French support for up to 18 Smart Cities for
Development Agency (AFD), projects promoting circular economy
KfW-Germany, European with focus on Integrated Waste
Union (EU), and National Management.
Institute of Urban Affairs Component-2: Support to all
(NIUA) States/Union Territories (UTs) for
Climate action.
Component-3: Interventions at
National level to support scale-up
across all cities and towns.
PM-SVANidhi Ministry of Housing and • to providing affordable loans to

Urban Affairs street vendors.
• It is a micro credit scheme,
SIDBI is implementing facilitating a working capital
partner. collateral free loan of ₹10,000,
with subsequent loans of ₹20,000
and ₹50,000 with 7% interest
subsidy.
• objectives include facilitating
working capital loan to street
vendors, incentivising regular
payments and rewarding digital
transaction through cashback
facility.
Pradhan Mantri Ministry of Social Justice & • It is a merged scheme of three

Anusuchit Jaati Empowerment Centrally Sponsored Schemes -
Abhuyday Yojana (PM- Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram
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AJAY) Yojana (PMAGY), Special Central

Assistance to Scheduled Castes
Sub Plan (SCA to SCSP), and Babu
Jagjivan Ram Chhatrawas Yojana
(BJRCY).
• Aim: To reduce poverty of the SC
communities by generation of
additional employment
opportunities through Skill
development, income generating
schemes and other initiatives.
SUPREME Initiative Ministry of Science and • To extend financial support for

Technology repair, upgradation, maintenance,
• retrofitting, or acquiring
additional attachments to
increase the functional
capabilities of existing analytical
instrumentation facilities.
• Facilities at institutions
recognised by the University
Grants Commission (UGC) are
eligible to apply for grants under
this initiative.
I-STEM (Indian Science, Office of Principal Scientific • developed with the concept “One
Technology, and Advisor (under Cabinet Nation One Portal” for the
Engineering facilities Secretariat) scientific community, aimed at
Map) “Linking Researchers and
Resources”.
• It assists users to locate the
specific facility they need for their
R&D work and identify the one
that is either located closest to
them or available the soonest.
Samavesha Project Office of Principal Scientific The project aims to enhance research
Advisor (under Cabinet collaboration in India by improving
Secretariat) accessibility to facilities and labs.
The platform allows researchers and
industries to connect with
institutions that have the required
equipment, enabling them to rent it
for experiments.
Poshan Bhi, Padhai Bhi Ministry of Women and • PBPB will focus on Early
(PBPB) Scheme Child Development (WCD) Childhood Care and Education
(ECCE) (first six years of children)
at anganwadis across the
country.
• It envisages training of
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anganwadi workers through the

National Institute of Public
Cooperation and Child
Development (NIPCCD)
Justice Clocks Ministry of Law and Justice • Electronic signage systems called
Justice Clocks have been installed
in the court complexes of High
Courts.
• These clocks aim to inform
stakeholders about key court-
related parameters and provide a
bird’s eye view of court-related
data.
• The initiative is expected to
increase awareness among the
public about the judicial process.
Nyaya Vikas Portal Ministry of Law and Justice • monitoring system developed
(Department of Justice) with the technical assistance of
National Remote Sensing Centre
of ISRO for collection of data on
progress and completion of court
halls and residential units and 3
new componentsviz; lawyers’
halls, toilet complexes and digital
computer rooms.
• Central assistance is provided to
the State Government / UT
Administrations for construction
of court halls and residential units
for Judicial Officers / Judges of
District, etc
• Funding: Northeastern and
Himalayan States (90:10); Union
Territories (100%), remaining
states (60:40).
SAMUDRA App Ministry of Earth Sciences • Launched by Indian National

Centre for Ocean Information
Services (INCOIS)
• for seafarers and the fishing
community.
• offers comprehensive
information on all ocean related
services.
PRITHvi VIgyan Scheme Ministry of Earth Sciences • The Prithvi scheme integrates five
existing sub-schemes:
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Atmosphere and Climate

Research-Modelling Observing
Systems and Services (ACROSS);
Ocean Services, Modelling
Application, Resources and
Technology (O-SMART); Polar
Science and Cryosphere Research
(PACER); Seismology and
Geosciences (SAGE); and
Research, Education, Training,
and Outreach (REACHOUT).
• scheme holistically addresses all
the five components of earth
system namely atmosphere,
hydrosphere, geosphere,
cryosphere and biosphere to
improve the understating of the
Earth System Sciences and to
provide reliable services for the
country.
Deep Ocean Mission Ministry of Earth Sciences • aims to develop technologies and
capabilities for deep sea
exploration.
• Key Pillars of the Mission:
o Deep-Sea Mining and Crewed
Submersibles
o Ocean Climate Change
Advisory Services
o Deep-Sea Biodiversity
Exploration and Conservation
o Survey and Exploration of
Deep-Ocean Minerals
o Harvesting Energy and
Freshwater from the Ocean
o Advanced Marine Station for
Ocean Biology
REACHOUT Scheme Ministry of Earth Sciences • umbrella scheme, of the

following six subschemes:
o Research and Development in
Earth System Science (RDESS);
o Outreach and awareness;
Knowledge Resources Center
Network (KRCNet);
o BIMSTEC Centre for Weather
and Climate (BCWC);
o International Training Centre
for Operational Oceanography
(ITCOocean)
o Program for development of
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skilled workforce in Earth

system sciences (DESK).
PM Vishwakarma Ministry of Micro, Small & • It envisages to provide end-to-

Scheme Medium Enterprise end holistic support to the
traditional artisans and
craftspeople in scaling up of their
conventional products and
services.
• Central Sector Scheme
• Duration: FY 2023-24 to FY 2027-
28
• Scheme will be jointly
administered by MoMSME, the
Ministry of Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship (MSDE), and
the Department of Financial
Services (DFS) under the Ministry
of Finance
• Artisans and craftspeople will be
provided recognition through the
PM Vishwakarma certificate and
ID card
• Eligibility criteria: An artisan or
craftsperson working with hands
and tools and engaged in one of
the recognized (18) family based
traditional trades with minimum
age of 18 years.
Swadesh Darshan 2.0 Ministry of Tourism • to develop sustainable and

Scheme responsible tourism destinations,
following a destination & tourism-
centric approach.
• major themes have been
identified for tourism under the
Scheme:
o Culture and Heritage
o Adventure Tourism
o Eco-Tourism
o Wellness Tourism
o MICE Tourism
o Rural Tourism
o Beach Tourism
o Cruises – Ocean & Inland
National Automated Ministry of Home Affairs • NAFIS is a pan-India searchable

Fingerprint • database of crime and criminal-
Identification System related fingerprints.
(NAFIS) • It is managed by the National
Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)
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Citizen Financial Cyber Ministry of Home Affairs • national helpline to report all
Fraud Reporting and sorts of financial frauds and
Management System immediately prevent the stealing
(CFCFRMS) of funds by cheats.
• made operational by Indian Cyber
Crime Coordination Centre (I4C),
under MHA, to integrate Law
Enforcement Agencies and Banks
and Financial Intermediaries.
• It leverages new-age
technologies for sharing online
fraud-related information and
taking action in almost real time.
Pradhan Mantri Janjati Ministry of Tribal Affairs • launched on Janjatiya Gaurav

Adivasi Nyaya Maha Divas - 15th November - birth
Abhiyan (PM JANMAN) anniversary of Sri Birsa Munda
• It was announced in the Union
Budget 2023-24
• It is aimed to improve socio-
economic conditions of the PVTGs
by saturating PVTG households
and habitations with basic
facilities such as safe housing,
clean drinking water and
sanitation, electricity, road and
telecom connectivity etc.
Bharat- New Car Ministry of Road Transport • India’s own crash-linked safety
Assessment Programme Highways(MoRTH) performance star rating system
(Bharat-NCAP) for cars.
• The five star rating system under
Bharat-NCAP would assign cars
between one to five stars based
on how well they perform in
crash tests with zero star
indicating lowest safety.
• Cars in India were so far following
the Global-NCAP rating system
due to a lack of Indian
standardised crash test rating
mechanism.
e-Detailed Accident Ministry of Road Transport • The project aims to develop an

Report (eDAR) Project Highways(MoRTH) Integrated Road Accident
Database (iRAD), to enrich the
accident databases from every
part of the country.
• The project would generate
various types of insights by
analysing the collected road
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accident data across the country

through implementation of data
analytics technique.
• funded by World Bank.
UDAN 5.1 Scheme Ministry of Civil Aviation • specifically designed for

helicopter routes.
• After 4 successful rounds of the
Regional Connectivity Scheme
(RCS) - Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik
(UDAN), the Ministry of Civil
Aviation has launched UDAN 5.1
to further enhance the
connectivity to remote areas of
the country and achieve last mile
connectivity through helicopters.
Digi Yatra App Ministry of Civil Aviation • Digi Yatra is conceived to achieve
contactless, seamless processing
of passengers at airports.
• It facilitates paperless travel and
avoids identity checks at multiple
points in an airport.
• Recently, Digi Yatra app, based on
Facial Recognition Technology,
user base crosses the one million
marks.
Amrit Bharat Station Ministry of Railways • launched in February 2023

Scheme (ABSS) • by the to redevelop 1,309 stations
nationwide.
• The scheme aims to transform
railway stations into modern,
well-equipped hubs with
improved passenger amenities,
better traffic circulation, inter-
modal integration, and enhanced
signage.
Hydrogen for Heritage Ministry of Railways • announced in the Union Budget

Scheme 2023-24.
• Under it, Indian Railways (IR) has
envisaged to run 35 Hydrogen
trains.
• Also, IR will do retro fitment of
Hydrogen Fuel cell on existing
Diesel Electric Multiple Unit
(DEMU).
SVAMITVA Scheme Ministry of Panchayati Raj • scheme is a collaborative effort of

the Ministry of Panchayati Raj,
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State Panchayati Raj

Departments, State Revenue
Departments and Survey of India.
• Central Sector Scheme
• It is a scheme for mapping the
land parcels in rural inhabited
areas using drone technology and
Continuously Operating
Reference Station (CORS)
• SVAMITVA provides a “Record-of-
Rights” to facilitate availing of
loans on the security of such
lands.
Project AMBER Ministry of Skill • It is a joint initiative of the

Development National Skill Development
Corporation (NSDC) in
collaboration with Generation
India Foundation (GIF) and
Amazon Web Services India
Private Limited (AWS India).
• The initiative has been
undertaken under the SANKALP
programme of MSDE with a focus
on women to improve gender
diversification in the tech industry
and underprivileged groups.
• This project aims to train 30,000
youth, 50% of whom will be
women.
Kasturi Cotton Bharat Ministry of Textiles • initiative by Cotton Corporation

of India, Trade Bodies & Industry.
• Objective: To work on the
principle of self-regulation by
owning complete responsibility of
Branding, Traceability and
Certification of Indian Cotton to
enhance its’ competitiveness in
the global market and create a
sustainable ecosystem for all
stakeholders involved.
Technology Ministry of Defence • to promote self-reliance in

Development Fund Defence Technology as part of
(TDF) Scheme 'Make in India' initiative.
• executed by DRDO
• encourages participation of
public/private industries so as to
create eco-system for enhancing
cutting edge technology
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capability for defence application

• Recently, limit of funding of
innovative defense projects under
Technology Development Fund
(TDF) has been raised to Rs 50
crore per project, from the
present limit of Rs 10 crore.
Project Akashteer Ministry of Defence • It will build a comprehensive air

defence picture for monitoring,
tracking and shooting down of air
defence assets.
• Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)
and Ministry of Defence had
signed a contract for the
procurement of Automated Air
Defence Control & Reporting
System
Project BHISHM Ministry of Health and • India has built the world’s first
Family Welfare disaster hospital, called Aarogya
Maitri Cube which can be airlifted
and assembled in 72 cubes.
• These medical cubes have been
indigenously developed under
Project BHISHM (Bharat Health
Initiative for Sahyog Hita and
Maitri).
Ayushman Bhav Ministry of Health and • aims to deliver healthcare

Campaign Family Welfare services to the last mile and
consolidate access and
affordability for underserved
populations.
• The campaign also raises
awareness about vital health
schemes and diseases, leveraging
India's digital inclusion efforts to
extend healthcare accessibility
Ayushman Arogya Ministry of Health and • Centre has decided to rename

Mandir (AAM) Family Welfare Ayushman Bharat Health and
Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) as
‘AAM’ with the tagline ‘Arogyam
Parmam Dhanam’.
• Launched under the Ayushman
Bharat Program in 2018, there are
over 1.6 Lakh centers in the
country.
• They are envisaged to deliver an
expanded range of services that
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go beyond Maternal and child

health care services.
• They provide care for non-
communicable diseases, palliative
and rehabilitative care, Oral, Eye,
and ENT care, mental health, and
first-level care for emergencies
and trauma.
Ayurveda Gyan Ministry of AYUSH • Launched by Central Council for

Naipunya Initiative Research in Ayurveda Sciences
(AGNI) Initiative (CCRAS)
• AGNI aims to promote research
for mainstreaming the Ayurveda
practices through scientific
validation and evidence-based
appraisal.
• It will provide a platform to
Ayurveda practitioners for
reporting their innovative
practices and experiences in
various disease conditions.
Sanchar Saathi Portal Ministry of Communications • developed by C-DoT under the

Department of Tele-
communications (DoT).
• The portal aims to provide various
reforms and services related to
mobile connections and
telecommunications.
• Aims to prevent frauds such as
identity theft, forged KYC,
banking frauds etc.
PUShP Portal Ministry of Power • Launched to ensure greater

availability of power during peak
demand season at a price higher
than ceiling of Rs 12 per unit by
certain category of sellers.
• DISCOMs will be able to indicate
their surplus power in block times
/ days / months on portal. Those
DISCOMs who need power will be
able to requisition the surplus
power.
Mission on Advanced Ministry of Power • to leverage Emerging

and High-Impact Technologies in the Power Sector
Research(MAHIR) Ministry of New and • to facilitate indigenous research,
Renewable Energy development and demonstration
of the latest and emerging
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technologies in the power sector.

• Duration: 5 years from 2023-24 to
2027-28
UTPRERAK Ministry of Power • Set up by the Bureau of Energy

efficiency (BEE)
• Centre of Excellence to accelerate
industry adoption of clean
technologies and thus scale up
India’s contribution to the global
energy transition.
• Centre would implement and
support projects in areas such as
training/capacity building,
showcase for energy efficient
technologies, information centre
and knowledge repository etc.
ENCORE Software Election Commission of • Election Commission of India

India (ECI) designed in-house software
for complete Candidate and
election management through
‘ENCORE’
• It is an end-to-end application for
returning officers to digitize votes
polled, tabulate the round-wise
data, and then take out various
statutory reports of counting
• Through this, various depts like
fire, education, police,
environment, etc. give ‘no
objection’ certificates for holding
rallies, road shows, etc. to
political parties or candidates.
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REPORTS/INDICES
UN Agencies
Gender Inequality Index 2022 UNDP India's value is 0.437 and was
ranked at 108 out of 193
countries
Human Development Report UNDP India #134/193
SL #78, China #7, Bhutan
#125, Bang #129, Nepal #146,
Pak #164
Multidimensional Poverty Index UNDP + Oxford Poverty and 3 dimensions, 10 indicators:
2023 Human Development Education: Years of
Initiative (OPHI) schooling, School
Attendance
Health: Child mortality,
Nutrition
Standard of living:
Electricity, Housing, Drinking
Water, Sanitation, Cooking
Fuel, Assets
415 million people moved

out of poverty in India within
just 15 years from 2005/2006
to 2019/2021
World Economic Situation and UNDESA

Prospects (WESP) Report 2024
World Investment Report 2022 UNCTAD Top Sources of FDI in India:
Mauritius > Singapore > USA
> Netherlands > Switzerland
State of World Population UNFPA (United Nations Title: 8 Billion Lives, Infinite
Report 2023 Population Fund) Possibilities
Global Education Monitoring UNESCO
Report
World Food Price Index FAO measure of the monthly
change in international
prices of a basket of food
commodities
Global Wage Report 2022 ILO Global wages declined in
2022 for the first time since
the 2008 global financial
crisis due to increasing living
expenses.
State of Food Security and FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP,
Nutrition in the World (SOFI) WHO
2023
State of the World's Forests FAO
(SOFO) 2022
84
State of Food and Agriculture FAO
(SOFA) 2023 Report
World Water Development UN Water
Report
World Happiness Report 2024 United Nations Sustainable India - #126/143, China - #60,
Development Solutions Nepal - #93, Pal - #108,
Network Myanmar - #118
Global Innovation Index 2024 World Intellectual Property India - #40/132
Organization(WIPO)
Gender Social Norms Index UNDP quantifies biases against
(GSNI) 2023 women, capturing people’s
attitudes toward women’s
roles
World Drug Report 2023 UN Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC)
State of Climate Services Report World Meteorological
2023 Organization (WMO)
World Economic Forum (WEF)

Report/Index Insights
Global Competitiveness Report/Index
Global Risks Report 2024 Major global risks
• In the next 2 years: misinformation &
disinformation, extreme weather events;
societal polarisation, cyber insecurity
• In the next 10 years: extreme weather
events, critical change to Earth’s systems,
biodiversity loss
Global Gender Gap Index 2023 ● India’s rank – 127 out of 146
● World will take 131 years to achieve
gender parity at current rate
● 4 dimensions: Economic Participation and
Opportunity, Educational Attainment,
Health and Survival, Political
Empowerment
Global Travel and Tourism Index ● India ranked at 54th out of 117 countries
● Japan secured Rank 1
Energy Transition Index 2023 • Shift from fossil-based energy production
and consumption (including oil, natural
gas, and coal) to renewable energy (RE)
sources like wind and solar.
• 3 parameters: equity, security,
sustainability
• India - #67/120
Environment-related
85
State of the Global World Meteorological
Climate Report 2023 Organization (WMO)
Adaptation Gap Report UNEP
2023
Emissions Gap Report UNEP Top GHG emitters: China > US > India >
2023 EU27
Per capita emitters: US > Russia > China
Living Planet Report World Wide Fund for 69% decline in the wildlife populations of
2022 Nature (WWF) mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles
and fish, across the globe in the last 50
years
Climate Change Germanwatch, New 4 parameters: greenhouse gas
Performance Index Climate Institute, emissions, renewable energy, energy
2024 Climate Action Network use, climate policy
India ranked #7
No country in top 3 positions
Global Climate Risk Germanwatch
Index
Global Biodiversity Convention on
Outlook Biological Diversity
(CBD)
Global Land Outlook UNCCD
Food Waste Index 2024 UNEP • measures food waste at retail and
consumer level.
• In 2022, the world wasted 1.05 billion
tonnes of food.
Global Drought UNCCD
Snapshot Report 2023
Plastic Overshoot Day Swiss-based research • Plastic Overshoot Day - day when the
Report consultancy Earth amount of plastic waste surpasses
Action (EA) the capability of waste management
systems to effectively manage.
• Recently, the Earth witnessed Plastic
Overshoot Day on July 28, 2023
State of Finance for UNEP Tracks public and private finance flows
Nature report 2023 to Nature-based solutions (NbS)
Ecological Threat Institute of Economics Threats due to population growth, water
Report 2023 and Peace (IEP) stress, food
insecurity, droughts, floods, cyclones,
and rising temperature.
Most vulnerable: Middle East and North
Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and South
Asia
Environment Yale Univ + WEF + India ranked 180th
Performance Index Columbia Univ
86
Miscellaneous
Global Hunger Index 2023 Concern Worldwide, 4 indicators: undernourished,
Welthungerhilfe child wasting, child stunting,
child mortality
India's rank => 111 among 125
countries behind Sri Lanka
(60), Nepal (69), Pakistan
(102), Bangladesh (81)
India Energy Outlook IEA
World Energy Outlook IEA
Global EV Outlook IEA
Global Energy & CO2 Status IEA
report
Democracy Index 2023 Economist Intelligence Unit based on 5 categories:
(EIU) electoral process and
pluralism, civil liberties,
functioning of government,
political participation, political
culture
four regime types: full
democracies, flawed
democracies (INDIA), hybrid
regimes and authoritarian
regimes.
Global Liveability Index 2023 EIU Vienna - #1
Delhi, Mumbai - #141
Global Peace Index Institute for Economics and
Peace
Global Terrorism Index Institute for Economics and
Peace
Freedom in the World 2023 Freedom House (USA based India has been termed as
human rights watchdog) ‘partly free’ country in terms
of democracy and free society
Academic Freedom Index Global Public Policy Institute
World Press Freedom Index Reporters without Borders India's rank => 161 out of 180
2023
Corruption Perception Index Transparency International India's rank => 85th among
2023 180
Democracy Report 2024: Varieties of Democracy (V- 4 regime types: Liberal
Democracy Winning and Dem) Institute, Sweden Democracy, Electoral
Losing at the Ballot Democracy, Electoral
Autocracy, and Closed
Autocracy
India’s rank=> 104 (Electoral

Autocracy)
World Competitiveness Institute for Management
Report/Index Development (IMD)
Henley Passport Index 2024 Henly India – 80th most powerful
passport
87
visa-free/visa-on-arrival travel
to 62 countries
Global Tuberculosis Report WHO ● TB is the second leading
2023 killer after COVID 19
● India has the highest - 27%
of global TB caseload
Global Slavery Index 2023 Walk Free Foundation ● Modern slavery is an
umbrella term and
includes a whole variety
of abuses such as forced
labour, forced marriage,
debt bondage, sexual
exploitation, human
trafficking, slavery-like
practices, forced or
servile marriage, and the
sale and exploitation of
children.
● worst offenders: North
Korea, Eritrea, Mauritania,
Saudi Arabia
Domestic
National Multidimensional NITI Aayog 3 dimensions, 12 indicators
Poverty Index Health: Nutrition, Child &
Adolescent Mortality,
Antenatal Care
Education: Years of
Schooling, School Attendance
Standard of living: Cooking
Fuel, Sanitation, Drinking
Water, Electricity, Housing,
Assets, Bank Account
• India's multidimensional
poverty has decreased
from 29.17% in 2013-14 to
11.28% in 2022-23
NFHS-5 MoH&FW Data 2019-21
Sex ratio: 1020 w per 100 m
SR @ birth: 952
TFR: 2
Child nutrition
Underweight: 32%
Wasting: 19%
Stunting: 36%
Anemic women: 53%

Export Preparedness Index NITI Aayog + Institute of 4 parameters: policy, business
2022 Competitiveness ecosystem, export
88
ecosystem, export
performance
Public Affairs Index Bangalore-based think tank Based on three pillars of
Public Affairs Center (PAC) governance - growth, equity
and sustainability
#1 Haryana
Financial Stability Report RBI • bi-annual report
• reflects risks to
• financial stability and
resilience of Indian
financial system
Financial Inclusion Index RBI 3 dimensions:
• access to financial
services
• usage of financial services
• quality of the products
and the service delivery
Digital Payments Index RBI to capture the extent of
digitisation of payments
across the country
LEADS Report 2023 DPIIT, M/o Commerce To gauge the logistics
performance of states and
Union Territories (UT) and
identifying areas where they
can improve logistics
performance
Swachh Survekshan 2023 MoHUA Cleanest City: Indore
Best Ganga Town: Varanasi
Cleanest Cantonment: Mhow
Cantt (MP)
State Food Safety Index FSSAI
Tiger Status Report 2022 National Tiger Conservation India’s tiger pop => 3682
Authority (NTCA) statewise: MP > KN > UK
Tiger reserves: Corbett >
Bandipur > Nagarhole
largest Tiger Reserve:

Nagarjun Srisailam TR
Smallest TR: Orang TR
India State of Forests report Forest Survey of India, Forest cover:
2021 MoEFCC Absolute à MP > Arunachal >
Chhattisgarh > Odisha >
Maharashtra
%age à Mizoram (84%) >

Arunachal Pradesh (79%) >
Meghalaya (76%) > Manipur
(74%) > Nagaland (73%)
Indian Landslide Susceptibility IIT Delhi • Sikkim has the highest

Map (ILSM) percentage of land area
89
(57.6 %) susceptible to
landslides.
• Arunachal Pradesh has the
highest absolute area
susceptible to landslides
UDISE+ (Unified District Ministry of Education UDISE+ has a mandate of
Information System for collecting information from
Education) all recognized schools
imparting formal education
from Pre-primary to class XII.
Information collected
through the digital platform,
UDISE+ is utilized for
planning, optimizing resource
allocation and implementing
various education-related
programs and assessing
progress.
Performance Grading Index Ministry of Education assess the performance of
(PGI) for School Education school education system at
System State and District level
All India Survey on Higher Ministry of Education • gross enrolment ratio
Education (AISHE) 2021-2022 (GER) in higher education
for the age group 18-23
years increased to 28.4%,
from 27.3%in 2020- 21 and
23.7% in 2014- 15,
• Female GER increased to
28.5% (2.07 crore) in 2021-
22 from 27.9 (2.01 crore) in
2020-21 and 22.9 percent in
2014-15.
Sample Registration System Office of the Registrar MMR: 103 per 1 lakh live births
(SRS) Bulletin Report General of India, M/o Home Kerala: 30
Affairs UP, BH, RJ – showed
improvement
WB, HR, CH, UK - worsened
National Achievement Survey Ministry of Education , India MCQ based survey every 3
, 2021 years for students of class 3 ,
5 , 8 and 10 to judge learning
outcomes.
National Health Account Ministry of Health and Family ● 3.2% of GDP is being spent
Estimates , 2018-19 Welfare on healthcare (a decline
from 2014)
● Out of pocket
Expenditure of
Healthcare has declined
from 60% to 48.2 % in
2018-19
Crime in India Report, 2022 NCRB under Ministry of Home ● Overall crime rate per
Affairs lakh population has
90
declined
● Crime against women,
children, elderly, SC and
ST has increased
● Cyber-crime , economic
and environmental
offences too have
increased
Prison Statistics India Report NCRB ● 67% of prisoners are
undertrials (those whose
cases are pending)
● Prisons in India are
overcrowded , with 130%
occupancy rate
● 66% inmates are either
SC,ST or OBC
Accidental Deaths and NCRB ● Deaths and suicides show
Suicides Report an increasing trend ,
pandemic seems to have
taken a toll on emotional
well being of people
India Justice Report Tata Trusts ● assesses and ranks each
state’s progress in
capacitating its major
justice delivery
mechanisms—the
judiciary, police, prisons,
and legal aid.
National Coal Index (NCI) Ministry of Coal ● to track coal prices
91

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Final Lap 2023 Consolidated 2

Final Lap 2024 88

SCLPs: Black Carbon, Methane, Hydrofluorocarbons,

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Global Environment Facility (GEF)

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6 AQI categories - Good, Satisfactory, Moderate, Poor, Very

National Ambient Air Quality By CPCB, MoEFCC

Radon Emitted naturally by soil || generally found in basements

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Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) – dissolved oxygen needed

Chemical oxygen demand (COD) – oxygen needed by chemicals

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River Cities Alliance (RCA) • Launched by M/o Jal Shakti

in-situ – bioventing, biosparaging, bioaugmentation

phytoremediation – use of plants

Washington Convention – CITES

Cartagena Protocol – biosafety to ensure safe handling of living

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Tigers found in 13 countries: India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh,

New Tiger Reserves : Ramgarh Vishdhari (Rajasthan) ; Ranipur

KAZI 106F: India’s only golden tiger, found in Kaziranga NP

Cheetah Reintroduction In India

Surviving today only in India

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Population – statewise: Karnataka > Assam > Kerala

It is India’s National Heritage Animal

• Found in Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnali-Sangphu

Other freshwater dolphins: Baiji (Yangtze), Boto(Amazon),

Vulture Species: long-billed, slender-billed, red-headed, white-backed

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Tiger reserve with largest forest cover

Protected Areas ~5% of India’s area is protected area

Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 →

Water Act, 1974 → CPCB

Forest (Conservation Act), 1980 → Forest Advisory Committee –

Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 → Central Groundwater

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Forests Rights Act, 2006 → provides for Community Forest

NGT Act, 2010 → NGT

Ramsar sites 75 Ramsar sites in now in India

UN Decade on Ecosystem 2021-30

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Coal coal gasification Syngas (H2, CO, CO2) Methanol

Solar Energy Installed solar capacity: 54 GW (31 mar, 2022)

Jaisalmer Wind Park (capacity 1000 MW): largest wind park in

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Micro: Iron, Copper, Boron, Manganese, Zinc

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Negative phase → scarce rainfall in Indian subcontinent

This phenomena was seen in North America in Jun-Jul 2021

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DNA Deoxyribonucleic Acid is the carrier of genetic information.

Gene Unit of information that gets passed down from parents to

Genetic Modification Direct Manipulation of DNA of an organism to get desired

Approaches for Gene 1. CRISPR- Cas9

GM Crops regulators in ● Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under Ministry of

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Challenges of GM Crops 1. Environmental contamination

Merged Final Lap 2023 & 2024

Merged Final Lap 2023 & 2024