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The Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) is a highway network that connects India's 4 largest cities - Delhi(north), Mumbai(west), Kolkata(east), and Chennai (south). It is India's longest highway project and the 5th longest in the world that also passes through 13 states. It is managed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways. It is intended to establish faster transport networks betwee

Promotion for disables in Group A

The Union government recently issued an order for Persons with Disabilities to be considered for reservation in promotions up to the lowest rung of Group A posts in the Central government. The reservation is in retrospective effect from June 30, 2016.

Iron Ore Exports to China

China has emerged the highest buyer of iron ore from India for April-November period (8 months), a 400% year-on-year rise. Data shows that nearly 95% of India’s iron ore shipments have gone to China while small stocks went to Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea.

Cumulative Roof Top Solar (RTS)

Cumulative Roof Top Solar (RTS) in India has crossed 10 GW and Gujarat has emerged as the leader in the segment with a contribution of 30% to the total capacity. Gujarat’s share was 3.2 GW, followed by Maharashtra at 1.9 GW and Rajasthan at 1.1 GW capacity. According to Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) the Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of RTS installations during Mar, 2019 to Nov, 2023 is about 46%.

X-37B

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launched with the X-37B experimental spacecraft in U.S. recently. The X-37B is a re-entry spacecraft designed to operate in low-Earth orbit. The X-37B has been used to carry out research on Relaying solar energy from space for use back on Earth Studying the effects of radiation on seeds used to grow food

Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF)

MANF is to provide 5- year fellowships in the form of financial assistance to students from 6 notified minority communities to pursue M. Phil and Ph.D. 6 notified communities - Buddhist, Christian, Jain, Muslim, Parsi and Sikh, notified by the Central Government. The program is funded and formulated by the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

Argentina in BRICS

Argentina formally rejects BRICS membership recently. BRICS made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa announced it was admitting 6 new members in a bid to counter the Western-led global order. The membership of Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates was due to take effect from January 1, 2024.

Pelagic Birds

Birdwatchers across India were able to document rare ‘pelagic’ (who spend a large portion of their lives on the open ocean) birds throughout 2023 just off the Karnataka coast. Brown Skua was sighted for the 1st time in Karnataka. Significant sightings - Sooty Shearwater, Brown Skua, Brown Booby, Streaked Shearwater and Masked Booby. Pomarine Skua, Arctic skua, Long-tailed skua, Swinhoes storm-petrel, Wilson’s storm-petrel, Flesh-footed shea

Lakhbir Singh Landa

The Ministry of Home Affairs has designated Lakhbir Singh Landa, a Canada-based member of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), as an “individual terrorist” recently. He has been designated as an individual terrorist under Section 35 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

New Admirals’ epaulettes

The Indian Navy recently unveiled the new design of the Admirals' Epaulettes, an ornamental shoulder piece worn to show the rank of an officer. The Admirals’ epaulettes consist of a golden navy button, an Octagon, a sword and a telescope.

Bail in serious Crimes

The Supreme Court (SC) recently held that a plain assertion of innocence or a promise to co-operate in the trial by an accused is no ground to grant bail in a case of a serious nature. The SC also said the completion of investigation in a serious offence was not a default ground for bail.

Chameleon Trojan

‘Chameleon Trojan’ is a malware that can disable biometric authentication methods like fingerprint and face unlock to steal the phone’s PIN in Android operating systems. The malware collects information on app usage habits to determine when the user is using their device and launch attacks when they are least likely to use it.

Beypore International Water Fest, 2023

The Indian Navy participated in the Beypore International Water Fest 2023 organised by Kerala recently. INS Kabra, high-speed offshore patrol vessel of the Southern Naval Command was deployed at Beypore as part of this event. The festival is considered India's largest water festival and highlights Kozhikode as the country's main center for adventure water sports.