The Union Labour and Employment Ministry has notified the Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-dhan Yojana 2019. It is a pension scheme for retailers and small traders. The pension scheme assures a minimum monthly pension of ₹3000 per month to small shopkeepers, retail traders and the self-employed people after attaining the age of 60 years once… Continue reading Centre notifies pension scheme for small traders
Author: ForumIAS
India rises in global innovation ranking
The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2019 has been released. Switzerland has been ranked first in the index. India has improved its ranking by five places to 52nd in 2019 from 57th position in 2018. India has also outperformed on innovation relative to its GDP per capita for nine consecutive years. India has improved its ranking… Continue reading India rises in global innovation ranking
Milky Way’s violent birth decoded
According to scientists, Milky Way was shaped in its present form as a result of collision with another smaller galaxy called Gaia-Enceladus, 10 billion years ago. The study has been based on data from the Gaia space observatory- a space observatory of the European Space Agency (ESA). Gaia seeks to map the positions of more… Continue reading Milky Way’s violent birth decoded
This Indian Ocean snail species may be first victim of deep-sea mining
The scaly-foot snail or Sea Pangolin is the first marine species to be assessed as officially endangered due to the potential threat of deep sea mining. The scaly foot snail is found at three hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. The three vents include Longqi vent field, Kairei vent field and the… Continue reading This Indian Ocean snail species may be first victim of deep-sea mining
New Space India Limited
The Central had set up New Space India Limited (NSIL) in March 2019. It is a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE), under the administrative control of Department of Space (DOS). The NSIL has been set up to meet the increasing demands of Indian space programmes and to commercially exploit the emerging global space market. The… Continue reading New Space India Limited
ISRO now looks to solar mission Aditya-L1
Following the successful launch of Chandrayaan-2, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is now focussing on launching the Aditya L-1 mission. The Aditya L-1 mission is a satellite designed to study the sun. It will be India’s first satellite to do so. The mission is aimed at studying the Sun from a halo orbit around the… Continue reading ISRO now looks to solar mission Aditya-L1
The Limits of Anti-Defection
The recent political crisis in Karnataka has demonstrated the ways in which the anti-defection law can be used and abused. The anti-defection law is contained in the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. The 10th Schedule was inserted to the Constitution through the 52nd Constitutional (Amendment) Act, 1985. The anti-defection law is based on the recommendations… Continue reading The Limits of Anti-Defection
Daily Quiz #22 UPSC Prelims Marathon – July 25, 2019
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Lok Sabha clears changes to UAPA, nod to term persons as terrorists
Lok Sabha has passed the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill 2019. The Bill amends the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,1967 providing special procedures to deal with terrorist activities and individuals and groups that foster terrorism in India. Under the Act,the central government may designate an organisation as a terrorist organisation if it (a)commits or participates in… Continue reading Lok Sabha clears changes to UAPA, nod to term persons as terrorists
Govt approves merger of NIMH with ICMR-NIOH
The Union Cabinet has approved the merger of National Institute of Miners Health(NIMH) with ICMR-National Institute of Occupational Health(NIOH). The merger will prove beneficial to both the Institutes in terms of enhanced expertise in the field of occupational health besides the efficient management of public money. Further,experts have welcomed the move as NIMH dedicated to… Continue reading Govt approves merger of NIMH with ICMR-NIOH

