News: India and China have started the process of disengagement at Depsang Plains and Demchok, two of seven friction points in Eastern Ladakh. This development comes after a military standoff at the LAC that lasted for more than four and a half years. 1. Demchok is a disputed area where India and China have varying… Continue reading Disengagement starts at two points along LAC in Ladakh, likely to be completed month-end

News: A study by the Natural History Museum (NHM) has found that biodiversity decline is faster inside key protected areas than outside them, raising serious questions about the ongoing conservation practices. 1. Researchers analysed the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII), which registered a decline of 1.88 percentage points globally between 2000 and 2020. 2. Biodiversity Intactness… Continue reading Why protected areas are seeing faster biodiversity decline

News: A pilot project has been initiated at Pothupara, Kerala, where the members of the Kadar tribe are taking up restoration of natural forests degraded by invasive alien species. 1. Kadar Tribe: It is an indigenous tribal community in South India, predominantly inhabiting the forests of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. 2. They are categorised as… Continue reading Tribal community in Kerala to remove alien species of plants

News: The Union Government has decided to enhance the limit of Mudra loans to Rs. 20 lakh from the current Rs. 10 lakh for those entrepreneurs who have availed and successfully repaid previous loans under the ‘Tarun Category’. 1. The Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) was launched in 2015 to facilitate microcredit to non-farm micro… Continue reading Govt. Doubles loan limit under Mudra Yojana to Rs. 20 lakh