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Debt status Report of Government of India  Salient features of Central Government Debt are as under: i. Central Government Debt stood at 45.7 per cent of GDP at end-March 2019, witnessing a marginal decline from 45.8 per cent at end-March 2018. ii. General Government Debt (GGD)-GDP ratio worked out to 68.6 per cent at end-March 2019, slightlylower compared to 68.7 per cent at end-March 2018. iii. 94.1 per cent of total Central Government debt at end-March 2019 was domestic debt. Sovereign external debt constituted 2.7 per cent of GDP at end-March 2019, implying low currency risk to GoI debt portfolio. The sovereign external debt is entirely from official sources, providing safety fromvolatility in the international capital markets. iv. The share of marketable securities in internal debt stood at 84.4 per cent at end-March 2019, slightlylower than 86.1 per cent at end-March 2018. v. Public debt in India is primarily contracted at fixed interest rates, with floating internal debt con...

 Earth quake and practises : Some recent tremors around Delhi have triggered discussions on earthquakes, particularly the consequences of their occurrence in densely populated urban areas. Unfortunately, it has also given rise to some rumours and fear mongering. So, let’s first be clear on a few things. Earthquakes cannot be predicted. Not yet. Also, they cannot be prevented. They will happen. There is no particular time when the probability of an earthquake happening is higher, or lower. In fact, in areas classified as seismic risk zone IV and V, there is always a probability of a big earthquake of magnitude 6 and above. The Delhi region and the entire Himalayas are in this risk zone. But tremors, even a series of them in a short period of time, are not a forewarning of any upcoming big event. There is ongoing research across the world on identifying precursors to an earthquake, but as of now there is no change in the situation. But, as has been pointed out in this newspaper a few...

Why South China sea is important for India?  South China Sea is an arm of western Pacific Ocean in Southeast Asia.It is south of China, east & south of Vietnam, west of the Philippines and north of the island of Borneo. What makes it so important? This sea holds tremendous strategic importance for its location as it is the connecting link between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. (Strait of Malacca) According to the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development (UNCTAD) one-third of the global shipping passes through it, carrying trillions of trade which makes it a significant geopolitical water body. As the importance of securing trade routes and accessing fast-depleting energy resources grow, the region is experiencing greater volatility and tension over the territorial disputes in the SCS. China, in particular has been an increasingly aggressive actor, using its political and military might to dominate smaller states at different points Why south China sea matters...

Background: There are about 25 lakh unregistered food processing enterprises which constitute 98% of the sector and are unorganized and informal. Nearly 66 % of these units are located in rural areas and about 80% of them are family-based enterprises. This sector faces a number of challenges including the inability to access credit, high cost of institutional credit, lack of access to modern technology, inability to integrate with the food supply chain and compliance with the health &safety standards. Strengthening this segment will lead to reduction in wastage, creation of off-farm job opportunities and aid in achieving the overarching Government objective of doubling farmers' income Details of the Scheme:   Objectives: Increase in access to finance by micro food processing units. Increase in revenues of target enterprises. Enhanced compliance with food quality and safety standards. Strengthening capacities of support systems. Transition from the unorganized sector to the form...

Department of Higher Education, M/o Human Resource Development, has mission to provide quality education to students across all Universities & HEIs. For this, M/o HRD has developed an e-Governance platform, SAMARTH(Enterprises Resource Planning) ERP, under National Mission of Education in Information and Communication Technology Scheme (NMEICT). ERP, SAMARTH, is an Open Standard Open Source Architecture, Secure, Scalable and Evolutionary Process Automation Engine for Universities and Higher Educational Institutions. It caters to faculty, students and staff at a University/Higher Educational Institutions. Now, the ERP, SAMARTH, has been implemented at  National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra,  a participating unit under the World Bank supported Technical Education Quality Improvement Program (TEQIP). The objective of this initiative is to automate the processes of the Institute.

As per the Food Corporation of India report dated 12.05.2020, FCI currently has 271.27 LMT rice and 400.48 LMT wheat. Hence, a total of 671.75 LMT food grain stock is available (excluding the ongoing purchase of wheat and paddy, which have not yet reached the godown).About 60 LMT food grains is required for a month under NFSA and other welfare schemes. Since the lockdown, about 80.64 LMT foodgrains have been lifted and transported through 2880 rail rakes. Apart from the rail route, transportation was also done through roads and waterways. A total of 159.36 LMT has been transported. 15,031 MT grains was transported through 11 ships. Total 7.36 LMT food grains have been transported to the North-Eastern States.Under the NFSA and PMGKAY, for next 3 months total 11 LMT food grainis required in NE States. Open Market Sales Scheme During the lockdown, NGOs and social institutions running relief camps can purchase wheat and rice directly from FCI Depots at Open Market Sales Scheme (OMSS) r...

Sariska Tiger Reserve is located in the Aravalli Hills, 35 km from Alwar, 250 km SW of Delhi and 110 km NE of Jaipur. The former hunting reserve of the Maharaja of Alwar, the Sariska valley is home to a variety of flora and fauna. The park has populations of tigers, leopards, Nilgai, Sambar, chital etc. The place is a paradise for bird lovers as it shelters a large population of Indian peafowl, crested serpent eagles, sand grouse, golden backed woodpeckers, great Indian horned owls, tree pies, vultures and many others.   The sanctuary is strewn with ruins of ancient temples dating back to the 10th and 11th centuries. Some of the highlights are the ruins of the Kankwari Fort and the 10th century Neelkanth temples. The way to the temples is rough but the architecture and the Khajuraho-like carvings will simply leave the visitor in awe of the place. Neelkanth Mahadeva, houses the ruins of over 300 Hindu and Jain temples constructed between the 8th and 12th Centuries. Chand Baoli(step ...

Half of world´s population is nourished by rice crops, but rice cultivation is harsh to he climate. The rice fields account for five percent of global emissions of the greenhouse gas methane, which is 25 times stronger than CO2. This is because the rice plants grow in water. When the fields are flooded, the soil becomes poor in oxygen, creating the right conditions for microorganisms to produce methane. Now researchers from Aarhus University and the University of Duisburg-Essen have found that cable bacteria could be an important part of the solution. In the laboratory, they have grown rice in soil with and without cable bacteria and measured what happened. "And the difference was far beyond my expectations. The pots with cable bacteria emitted 93% less methane than the pots without cable bacteria, "says Vincent Valentin Scholz, who conducted the experiments as a PhD student at the Center for Electromicrobiology (CEM) at Aarhus University. The result is published today in the...

With a population of 1.27 billion India is the world's second most populous country. It is the seventh largest country in the world with an area of 3.288 million sq kms. It has a long coastline of over 7,500 kms. India is a diverse country where over 22 major languages and 415 dialects are spoken. With the highest mountain range in the world, the Himalayas to its North, the Thar desert to its West, the Gangetic delta to its East and the Deccan Plateau in the South, the country is home to vast agro-ecological diversity. India is the world's largest producer of milk, pulses and jute, and ranks as the second largest producer of rice, wheat, sugarcane, groundnut, vegetables, fruit and cotton. It is also one of the leading producers of spices, fish, poultry, livestock and plantation crops. Worth $ 2.1 trillion, India is the world's third largest economy after the US and China. India's climate varies from humid and dry tropical in the south to temperate alpine in the northern...

In exercise of the powers conferred by sections of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 the government has notified the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016. These rules shall apply to every manufacturer, producer, consumer, bulk consumer, collection centers, dealers, e-retailer, refurbisher, dismantler and recycler involved in manufacture, sale, transfer, purchase, collection, storage and processing of e-waste or  electrical and electronic equipment listed in Schedule I, including their components, consumables, parts, and spares which make the product operational but shall not apply to o used lead-acid batteries as covered under the Batteries (Management and Handling) Rules, 2001 made under the Act; o micro-enterprises as defined in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 (27 of 2006); Hence, statement 1 is correct. o radio-active wastes as covered under the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 (33 of 1962) and rules made thereunder....

Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML) o It is a multi-stakeholder partnership that brings together all actors working to prevent marine litter and microplastics. It is a voluntary open-ended partnership for international agencies, Governments, businesses, academia, local authorities, nongovernmental organizations and individuals.  o It provides a unique global platform to share knowledge and experience, partners are able to work  together to create and advance solutions to this pressing global issue. o It was launched at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012  in response to a request set out in the Manila Declaration on Furthering the Implementation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities.  o The partnership is led by a Steering Committee and the United Nations Environment Programme  (UNEP) provides secretariat se...

How does Reserve Bank of India discharge its statutory obligation of being 'Banker to Government'? RBI carries out the general banking business of the governments through its own offices and commercial banks, both public and private, appointed as its agents. Section 45 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, provides for appointment of scheduled commercial banks as agents at all places or at any place in India, for purposes that it may specify, “having regard to public interest, convenience of banking, banking development and such other factors which in its opinion are relevant in this regard”. Reserve Bank of India maintains the Principal Accounts of Central as well as State Governments at its Central Accounts Section, Nagpur. It has put in place a well-structured arrangement for revenue collection as well as payments on behalf of Government across the country. A network comprising the Government Banking Divisions of RBI and branches of agency banks appointed under Section 45 ...

The Inter-communal Unity Appeal made in October 1923 by a group of Indians led by Lala Lajpat Rai, Mufti Kifayatullah, Swami Shraddhanand, Maulana Azad, Kasturba Gandhi and 95 others. All sections of our public need to be reminded of its pragmatic approach: “If any individual or group of individuals belonging to any community commits an act of violence against, or attacks the person, property or honour of women or places of worship (mandir, mosque, church or gurdwara, etc) of his neighbour or townsman or helps those who indulge in such misdeeds, he is, from the religious point of view, guilty of a great sin; and that it is the duty of co-religionists of such offenders to stand up and resist such miscreants and to protect those who are so attacked.”