GS-2
U.S. curbs: India to decide on Iran crude imports after polls
Indian External Affairs Minister told her Iranian counterpart that India will take a call on the purchase of Iranian energy after the general elections
WTO: India moots ‘unbiased’ assessment of trade policies
India is trying to rally the support of other developing countries in the World Trade Organisation to reform the “biased” system of assessing a country’s services trade policies
Ban on LTTE extended by five more years
The Centre has extended the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for five more years for violent and disruptive activities which are prejudicial to the integrity and sovereignty of India.
U.S. updates military plans against Iran
US has updated military plan against Iran. It envisions sending as many as 1, 20,000 troops to West Asia should Iran attack U.S. forces or accelerate work on nuclear weapons.
U.S. trade office targets $300 bn Chinese imports
The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has published plans to increase tariffs on 3,805 Chinese imports, valued at about $300 billion.
Pepsi, Coke may go off shelves in TN from August
Leaders of a trade body in Tamil Nadu have announced that the ban on sale of Pepsi and Coca-Cola in Tamil Nadu would be effective from August 15. The traders had then cited two reasons for taking this decision — health issues and the fact that multinational firms exploit groundwater resources.
Project to use technology to study crop yield estimates
In a bid to reduce the delay of crop insurance claim settlements and increase the accuracy of compensation due to farmers, a pilot project will be started to test the use of technology to determine yield estimates at the panchayat level this summer.
India finds OECD index for services trade faulty
ndia has found problems with the current method under which the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ranks countries based on their services trade policies, indicating the outcomes are biased and counter-intuitive.
Implementation issues in 10% reservation
A new Constitution amendment provides 10% reservation to individuals from economically weaker sections (EWS) in the general category for government jobs and educational institutions in India. This law raises several implementation questions
GS-3
Floods result of rampant construction: SC
The Supreme Court has warned that unbridled construction activities in eco-sensitive areas with natural water flow have a devastating effect and lead to natural calamities like those seen in the recent floods in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Uttarakhand.
Quick, cheap diagnostic test for Haemophilia A
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)’s National Institute of Immunohaematology, Mumbai, has developed a cost-effective Point-of-Care (POC) rapid diagnostic test for severe Haemophilia A and Von Willebrand Disease (VWD).
Southwest monsoon likely to set in over Kerala on June 4
According to Skymet, the monsoon is likely to arrive in Kerala on June 4 but is poised to make “sluggish” progress thereafter
Odisha government to use drones to spot deer
The Odisha government has decided to use drones to locate about 4,000 spotted deer that lived in the Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary, on the coast between Puri and Konark, before Cyclone Fani struck on May 3
Kerala to de-link ICU care from organ donation
Kerala is moving towards the mandatory certification of brain death at intensive care units in all medical facilities in the State, irrespective of whether organ donation takes place or not.
Wayanad sanctuary is tiger kingdom in Kerala
A monitoring programme of the Forest Department for 2017-18 has found that the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS), a biodiversity hotspot in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, holds the largest tiger population in Kerala.
A recent paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A. shows that global warming during the past half century has contributed to a differential change in income across countries
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