Polity: GS2
- Strained ties (TH) The Puducherry Lt Gov. should heed the legitimate demands of the elected govt.
- HC notice to Centre on PIL challenging contempt Act (TH) The petitioners have contended in their present petition that Section 2(c)(i) of the Act violates the right to free speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) and does not amount to a reasonable restriction under Article 19(2).
International Relations: GS2
- Reclaiming SAARC from the ashes of 2020 (TH) Despite the despondency, the rationale for its existence is intact, and India can use it as a stage for its global ambitions.
Economy: GS3
- Inflation slows to 4.59% as food prices ease (TH) India’s retail inflation decelerated appreciably to 4.59% in December, from 6.93% in November, dipping below 6% for the first time since March 2020 as food prices cooled. Other data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Tuesday, however, showed that a nascent industrial recovery, which had begun in September, retreated in November as industrial output shrank 1.9%.
- "Parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting of Commerce and Industry on ""New Foreign Trade Policy 2021-26"" held (PIB)" A key driver for India to achieve the USD 5 Trillion mark in an expedited time frame would be boosting exports, both merchandise and services, through systematically addressing domestic and overseas constraints related to the policy, regulatory and operational framework for lowering transactions costs and enhancing ease of doing business, creating a low cost operating environment through efficient, cost-effective and adequate logistical and utilities infrastructure. Improvements in the operations of the domestic manufacturing and services sector in combination with efficient infrastructure support by the government would result in correcting the imbalances within India and feed into the trade policy.
GS3: Science & Technology
- Explained: A missing supermassive black hole that has left astronomers baffled (IE) Scientists have been looking for the black hole using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope, and have so far found no evidence that it is anywhere to be found.
Schemes: GS3
- "Crop Insurance Scheme- The Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yajana (PMFBY) successfully completes 5 Years of operations on 13th January 2021 (PIB)" Integration of land records with the PMFBY portal, Crop Insurance mobile-app for easy enrollment of farmers and usage of technology such as satellite imagery, remote-sensing technology, drones, artificial intelligence and machine learning to assess crop losses are some of the key features of the scheme. The scheme makes it easier for the farmer to report crop loss within 72 hours of occurrence of any event through the Crop Insurance App, CSC Centre or the nearest agriculture officer.
