History, Indian Art & Culture-GS Paper I

1. No Articles for Today

Geography-GS Paper-1

1. Increased rainfall alone will not help groundwater recovery

1. Between 2002 and 2022, about 95% of India’s groundwater depletion occurred in north India.
   • Satellite observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
   • Climate change can throw new challenges for the sustainability of groundwater due to increased groundwater pumping to meet irrigation demands for crops.
   • role of increased evapotranspiration due to warming climate, which will limit water availability for groundwater recovery.
   • excessive pumping from non-renewable groundwater storage will aggravate groundwater loss.

Social Issues-GS Paper 1

1. No Articles for Today

Constitution, Polity and Governance- GS Paper II

1. CAG had flagged shortcomings in report on derailments

1. Derailments in Indian Railways
   • There were shortfalls ranging from 30% to 100% in inspections by track recording cars and idling of track machines owing to various reasons
   • The major factor responsible for derailment was related to “maintenance of track”
   • Deviation of track parameters beyond permissible limits
   • Derailments were attributable to the Mechanical Department
   • Bad driving/over speeding” was also a key factor
   • Incorrect setting of points and other mistakes in shunting operations

Social Justice: Education, Health and Human Resource-GS Paper II

1. Govt. bans 14 combination drugs after panel flags risks, questions efficacy
2. Genetic changes power H5N1 virus spread, severity in animals
3. Why is India rethinking its anaemia policy?

1. Fixed-dose combination (FDC) medicines found to lack therapeutic relevance have been banned by the Union government
   • According to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), FDCs refer to products containing one or more active ingredients used for particular indication(s).
2. H5N1 virus (clade 2.3.4.4b), which spread among wild birds across 30 countries or territories across continents
   • The reassortant A(H5N1) viruses are genotypically and phenotypically diverse, with many causing severe disease with dramatic neurologic involvement in mammals.
   • The viruses have distinct in vitro characteristics including increased virus replication rates and ability to cause severe disease outcomes with dramatic neurologic involvement in mammalian animal models.
3. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), anaemia is a condition in which the number of red blood cells or the haemoglobin concentration within them is lower than normal.
   • India’s anaemia burden has grown alarmingly with NFHS-5 (2019-21) finding that 57% of women in the age group 15-49 and 67% children between six months and 59 months are anaemic (from the corresponding 53% and 58.6% respectively in NFHS-4/2015-16).
   • The most common nutritional cause of anaemia is iron deficiency.
   • According to the Health Ministry, assessment of anaemia in India is being shifted to the new Diet and Biomarkers Survey in India (DABS-I), launched last year to map diet, nutrition and health status and provide the correct estimate of anaemia among the rural and urban population.
     • DABS-I is a comprehensive national-level dietary survey, which will define food and nutrient adequacy by collecting individual dietary intake data of different age-groups of people from all States and UTs across the country. The study will also provide nutrient composition data on cooked and uncooked foods from various regions of the country for the first time.
     • On the other hand, NHFS provides information on population, health, and nutrition for India and each State/UT.
   • The WHO defines anaemia in children aged under five years and pregnant women as a haemoglobin concentration <110 g/L at sea level, and anaemia in non-pregnant women as a haemoglobin concentration <120 g/L.

International Relations-GS Paper II

1. What are the friction points on the LAC?
2. U.S.-India ties facilitate development of defence platforms
3. India urges G-20 countries to join vaccine research initiative to tackle inequity
4. Artefacts at risk as Sudan fighters take over Khartoum museum

1. Disengagement from five friction points — at Galwan after the violent clash in June 2020, the north and south banks of Pangong Tso in February 2021, at Patrolling Point (PP) 17 in the Gogra-Hot Springs area in August 2021, and PP15 in September 2022.
   • On the Depsang Plains and Demchok, there are fundamental disagreements, as India maintains that they are the two additional friction points that still remain while China has refused to accept it
   • Demchok is one of the two mutually agreed disputed areas in Eastern Ladakh, while Depsang is another friction point.
   • In Demchok while there are varying claims in the Charding La area, China has set up tents on this side of Charding nala. The crucial Sub-Sector North (SSN) consists of the Depsang plains and Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO).
   • Currently, the airfield at DBO is accessible by the 255 km-long Darbuk-Shyok-DBO (DSDBO) road. A plan for an alternate axis across Saser La which has an ancient trade route, is in the works.
   • In Depsang Plains, Chinese troops have been blocking Indian Army patrols from going up to the PPs 10, 11, 11A, 12 and 13, beyond the Y junction.
   • Chinese build-up in this area threatens Indian positions at DBO and also brings Chinese troops closer to the DSDBO road. Depsang is also close to the Karakoram pass overlooking the strategic Saltoro ridge and Siachen glacier, the world’s highest battlefield.
2. India and US are set to announce INDUS-X, a platform for start-ups and enterprises from both countries to identify collaborations for high-tech innovations within the ambit of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET)
   • INDUS-X, being coordinated by the U.S.-India Business Council
   • Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)
     • U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) allows the exploration of new ways to co-develop key defence platforms
   • U.S. is stepping up coordination and training exercises with its allies along the East China Sea to the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean, including with India.
   • U.S. has made some important strides in its relationship with Australia, India, and Japan through the Quad.
   • Project-75I
3. Indian government is working in partnership with two leading global non-profits to convene and build consensus among the G-20 member states and others, for a proposed Global Vaccine Research Collaborative.
   • This initiative will focus on addressing major gaps in vaccine R&D before the next pandemic, establishing a structure and principles for better preparedness and creating a mechanism to improve coordination and foster an enabling environment for vaccine R&D.
4. Members of the Sudanese paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, have taken over the national museum in Khartoum

Indian Economic Development-GS Paper III

1. Aadhaar-based system can solve the delay in wages of MGNREGS workers: govt.

1. Union government has urged State governments to ensure that the Aadhaar-based payment system
   • Under the MGNREGS, the ABPS has been in use since 2017, the Ministry said, adding that after almost universal availability of Aadhaar number to every adult, the government has decided to extend ABPS to beneficiaries under the employment scheme.

Science and Technology- GS Paper III

1. Self-healing in multilayer soft electronic devices
2. Low-temperature method for 3D printing of nanoscale glass
3. Do artificial intelligence systems need safeguards?

1. By combining two dynamic polymers, researchers present a new method for achieving autonomous realignment and self-healing in multilayered soft electronic devices and robots.
   • Like human skin, self-healing polymers allow soft electronic and robotic devices to recover autonomously from various forms of damage.
2. A hybrid organic-inorganic polymer resin enables 3D printing of nanoscale optical-grade glass at temperatures roughly half of what other approaches require.
3. Potential risks from advances in AI

Biodiversity and Environment, Disaster Management- GS Paper III

1. Study reveals butterflies’ biogeographic origins

1. While butterflies dispersed from North America to Europe relatively quickly about 75 million years ago due to the landmass then being nearly contiguous, the dispersal from North America to Asia was through colder northern regions and happened around 60 million years ago.
   • Like in most other animals, the dispersal of butterflies never followed a single direction.
   • North America largely being a temperate region has far less diversity compared with the tropical region in South America and Asia.

Security: Internal and External- GS Paper III

1. No Articles for Today

Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude-GS Paper IV

1. No Articles for Today