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ENVIRONMENT
Climate Change
GHG effect short wavelength of visible light from the sun pass through the
atmosphere and are absorbed, but the longer wavelengths of
the infrared radiation from the heated earth are unable to pass
through the atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases Water vapor (biggest overall contributor to GHG effect)
CO2 > CH4 > N2O > HFCs > PFCs > SF6 [warming potential]
Short-lived Climate pollutants SCLPs remain in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of
time than carbon dioxide (CO2), yet their potential to warm the
atmosphere can be many times greater.

SCLPs: Black Carbon, Methane, Hydrofluorocarbons,

Tropospheric Ozone
Black Carbon formed by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, wood and
other fuels
it reduces surface albedo of snow and ice and heats the surface
Brown Carbon brown smoke released by the combustion of organic matter
Blue Carbon • Blue carbon is the carbon stored in coastal and marine
ecosystems.
• Coastal ecosystems such as mangroves, tidal marshes and
seagrass meadows sequester and store more carbon per
unit area than terrestrial forests and are now being
recognised for their role in mitigating climate change.
Green Carbon • carbon captured into terrestrial plant biomass in
photosynthesis and stored in the plants and soil of natural
ecosystems
Ocean Acidification (called ‘evil twin • Decrease in pH of oceans but its still > 7
of global warming’) • average ocean pH is about 8
Ozone Depletion • ozone in stratosphere – good – absorbs UV rays
• ozone in troposphere – bad – pollutant
• sunlight responsible for formation as well as destruction of
ozone
• colder conditions à more polar stratospheric clouds à
more ozone depletion
• ozone depletion à stratosphere cools
• Dobson unit – to measure thickness of ozone layer
Mitigation Strategies • Carbon capture, utilisation & storage
• Emissions Trading
• Carbon Tax
• Geo-engineering – injecting sulfur in atmosphere, mirror in
space, seeding the sea with iron
UNFCCC Est in 1992 Rio Earth Summit as a framework for international
cooperation to combat climate change
Secretariat: Bonn, Germany
Important COPs:
• COP 3 – 1997 - Kyoto Protocol
• COP 8 – 2002 - New Delhi
• COP 19 – 2013 – Warsaw
• COP 21 – 2015 - Paris Agreement
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• COP 26 – Glasgow, UK
COP26 – Glasgow outcomes Global Methane Pledge
• cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030
• India did not sign

Deforestation Pledge
• End and reverse deforestation by 2030
• India did not sign

Clydebank Declaration
• Develop green shipping corridors to speed up
decarbonization of maritime industry
• India did not sign

Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS)

• Promote disaster and climate resilience of infrastructure
assets in small island developing states (SIDS)
• Launched by India, Australia, UK, Fiji, Jamaica, Mauritius
• It has been co-created by the Coalition for Disaster
Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) with support from
Member Countries and organizations and Small Island
Developing States (SIDS) representatives

Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG)
• aims to connect energy grids across borders to facilitate
a faster transition to the use of renewable energy.
• Launched by India & UK

India’s Commitments (Panchamrit)

● Increase non-fossil energy capacity to 500GW by 2030
● Meet 50% of energy requirements from renewable
energy by 2030
● Reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one
billion tonnes from now to 2030
● Reduce carbon intensity of economy by 45% (previous
target was 35%) by 2030
● Achieve net-zero by 2070

e-Amrit portal • portal aims to serve as a ‘one-stop site’ to provide all the
information related to the adoption of electric vehicles in
India
• Launched by India at COP26 summit
• joint initiative between NITI Aayog and the UK Government.

Global Methane Initiative • international public-private initiative to achieve reduction in

anthropogenic methane emissions and use of methane as a
valuable energy source
• launched in 2004
International Solar Alliance (ISA) • Jointly launched by India and France during COP 21 (Paris)
• HQ: Gurugram
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• Countries that do not fall within the Tropics can join the
alliance and enjoy all benefits as other members, with the
exception of voting rights.
Fit for 55 package 55% emission reduction target which the European Union (EU)
has set for 2030
Carbon Border Adjustment proposed carbon tariff imposed on goods imported to
Mechanism (CBAM) the European Union from countries with less strict climate
policies

Forest Carbon Credit Stamp They are permits for companies to emit a certain amount of CO2
Issued by China

CRISP-M Tool • Jointly launched by M/o Rural Development and M/o

Panchayati Raj
• integration of climate information in Geographic Information
System (GIS) based watershed planning under MGNREGA

Partnership to Advance Clean Energy India-US

(PACE) Launched in 2009, to accelerate clean energy R&D
Leaf Coalition • Leaf (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance)
Coalition
• launched by Norway, UK and US to mobilise finance for
protection of tropical forest

Climate Financing Green Climate Fund (GCF)

set up in 2010

Global Environment Facility (GEF)

established in 1992 Rio Earth Summit || World Bank administers
the fund || GEF serves as a "financial mechanism" to 5
conventions: UNFCC, CBD, UNCCD, Stockholm - POPs, Minamata
- Mercury

Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF)

established under UNFCCC in 2001 to finance projects in
developing country parties

Adaptation Fund
established in 2001 to finance adaptation projects and
developing country parties
IPCC 6th Assessment Report Part I - scientific basis for climate change
• average surface temperature of the Earth will cross 1.5 °C
over pre-industrial levels by 2040 and 2°C by the middle of
the century without sharp reduction of emissions

Part II - likely impacts, vulnerabilities and adaptation issues

Part III - actions that can be taken to combat climate change

State of Global Climate Report World Meteorological Organisation(WMO) – specialised UN

agency
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Findings:
• Average global temperature has increased by 1.2°c above
pre-industrial level
• Ocean acidification increasing
Greenhouse Gas Bulletin WMO

CO2 reached 413 ppm in 2020 – 149% of pre-industrial level

Methane (CH4) – 262% of pre-industrial level
Nitrous dioxide (N2O) – 123% of pre-industrial level
Emissions Gap Report 2021 UNEP

Findings:
• Fossil fuel CO2 account for maximum GHG emissions
• Top 4 emitters: China > US > EU > India
• Current NDCs would lead to temperature increase of
2.7°C by 2100
Adaptation Gap Report 2021 UNEP

While policies and planning are growing for climate change

adaptation, financing and implementation are still far
behind where they need to be.

Production Gap Report 2021 UNEP

Measures gap between governments’ planned production of

fossil fuels and production consistent with Paris agreement
Climate Change Performance Index Germanwatch, New Climate Institute, Climate Action Network
2022
Findings:
• Assesses performance in 4 categories: GHG emission,
Renewable energy, Energy use, Climate policy
• First three ranks – empty
• #4 - Denmark
• #10 - India
• Worst ranked – #63 Saudi, #64 Kazakhstan
Global Climate Risk Index 2021 Germanwatch

Findings:
• India – 7th worst hit country due to extreme weather
events in 2019
Children’s Climate Risk Index UNICEF

ranks countries based on children’s exposure to climate and

environmental shocks
Mapping India’s Climate Vulnerability Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)
report
analysed 640 districts in India and found that 463 of these are
Climate Vulnerability Index vulnerable to extreme floods, droughts and cyclones
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Pollution
Air pollutants CO, SO2, NO2, O3, PM10, PM2.5, Ammonia
Other air pollutants:
Lead, Arsenic, Nickel, Acrolein, Asbestos, Benzene
National Air Quality Index (AQI) By CPCB, MoEFCC
Launched in 2014 under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
8 pollutants:
SO2, NO2, CO, O3, PM10, PM2.5, NH3, Pb

6 AQI categories - Good, Satisfactory, Moderate, Poor, Very

Poor, Severe

National Ambient Air Quality By CPCB, MoEFCC

Standards (NAAQS) 12 pollutants:
SO2, NO2, CO, O3, PM10, PM2.5, NH3, Pb, As, Ni, Benzene,
Benzopyrene

SAFAR (System of Air Quality and • by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)
Weather Forecasting And Research) • to monitor air quality in metropolitan cities of Delhi,
Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune

Radon Emitted naturally by soil || generally found in basements

Fly Ash Fine powder left after combustion of coal
contains several toxic heavy metals like lead (Pb), nickel (Ni),
zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn)
Applications: agriculture – improves water holding capacity,
making cement & bricks, making adsorbent waste water
treatment
Pusa bio-decomposer Developed by Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Pusa,
Delhi
To decompose stubble
Torrefaction Swedish technology to convert rice stubble into bio-coal
Green crackers – SWAS, STAR, SAFAL Don’t contain lithium, arsenic, barium and lead
developed by CSIR-NEERI
Flu Gas Desulphurization To remove SO2 from exhaust flue gases of thermal power plants
Selective Catalytic Reduction To remove NOx from flue gases.
Converts NOx to nitrogen in the presence of a catalyst
Electrostatic Precipitator Removes fine particles like smoke and dust from gases
Ozone pollution • Stratospheric ozone – good
• Tropospheric (ground-level) ozone – bad
• Ground-level ozone is secondary pollutant formed by
chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx),
carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4) and volatile organic
compounds (VOC)
• Ozone is most likely to reach unhealthy levels on hot sunny
days in urban environments
National Clean Air Programme • Launched by MoEFCC in 2019
(NCAP) • to cut PM10 and PM2.5 concentration by at least 20% in next
5 years (2017 – base year)
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• To be implemented in 102 non-attainment cities

• Not legally binding
• Implemented by CPCB
Commission for Air Quality • Statutory body
Management in NCR and Adjoining • Replaced Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA)
Areas (CAQM) • Farmers exempted from penal provisions
• Appeal against CAQM orders à NGT

BOD, COD, Dissolved Oxygen Dissolved Oxygen – amount of oxygen present in water (should
be > 8 mg/L)
↑ temperature è ↓ dissolved oxygen

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) – dissolved oxygen needed

by microorganisms to decompose organic waste (only
biodegradable) in water

Chemical oxygen demand (COD) – oxygen needed by chemicals

to decompose organic waste (biodegradable + non-
biodegradable) in water
Bioaccumulation , Biomagnification Bioaccumulation – increase in concentration of a pollutant from
the environment to the first organism in a food chain

Biomagnification – increase in concentration of a pollutant as it

moves from one trophic level to the next
Diseases by pollutants Mercury – Minamata
Cadmium – Itai Itai
Nitrates – Blue Baby syndrome / Methamoglobinemia
Fluoride – Fluorosis
Arsenic – Black Foot Disease
Microplastic, Nanoplastic Plastic particles < 5 mm (microplastics) || < 100 mm
(nanoplastics)
Found in cosmetics, synthetic clothing, plastic bags and bottles
Plasticrust Thin coating of plastic that grows on rocks at sea shore
Composed of polyethylene
Dead zone Dead zones are hypoxic areas in the world's oceans and large
lakes. Hypoxia occurs when dissolved oxygen concentration
falls to or below 2ml of O₂/liter.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch Gyre, sargasso sea weed, plastic litter
GloLitter Partnership Implemented by IMO + FAO
Aims to tackle marine plastic litter
MARPOL Convention, 1973 IMO’s convention for prevention of pollution of the marine
environment by ships
International Maritime Organization (IMO) – specialised UN
agency
London Convention, 1972 control of all sources of marine pollution and to take all
practicable steps to prevent pollution of the sea by dumping of
wastes and other matter
Honolulu strategy Reduce the impact of marine debris worldwide
Composite Water Management Index NITI Aayog
Uses Falkenmark Index – used to measure water scarcity
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Dublin Principles Water management

Groundwater India extracts the most groundwater in the world (25% of global
groundwater extraction)
90% of it used for irrigation
10% - drinking, domestic & industrial use
India WRIS (Water Resources Web portal containing info related to water resources
Information System) Launched in 2019 under National Hydrology Project
Zero Liquid Discharge Water treatment process to recirculate all the water with zero
liquid waste
Components: pre-treatment à Reverse Osmosis (RO) à
Evaporator & Crystalliser
Water Plus city under Swachh • cities with best practices in the safe discharge of sewage
Survekshan 2021 and faecal sludge, safe cleaning of sewer and septic tanks
• Indore declared as the first ‘water plus’ city

River Cities Alliance (RCA) • Launched by M/o Jal Shakti

• to provide the member cities with a platform to discuss and
exchange information on aspects that are vital for
sustainable management of urban rivers, sharing best
practices and supporting innovation
• The Alliance is open to all river cities of India. Any river city
can join the Alliance at any time.

Plastic Waste Management • Bans single-use plastic of low utility and high littering
Amendment Rules 2021 potential
• Single-use Plastic items to be completely banned from July 1,
2022: earbuds with plastic sticks, plastic flags, polystyrene,
plastes, cups, glasses, cutlery, straw, trays, wrapping etc
• Thickness of plastic carry bags increased to 75 microns wef
Sept 2021 and 120 microns wef 31 Dec 2022
Global e-Waste Monitor 2020 e-waste generation: US > China > Japan > Germany > India (5th)
Waste to energy Incineration – burning waste in presence of O2
Pyrolysis – burning waste in absence of O2 to produce syngas
(CO + CO2 + H2)
Gasification – burning waste in controlled amount of O2 to
produce syngas
Biomethanation – microbiologically convert waste into biogas
Bioremediation use of microorganisms to convert to degrade environmental
pollutants into less toxic forms

in-situ – bioventing, biosparaging, bioaugmentation

ex-situ – landfarming, biopiles, bioreactors, composting

phytoremediation – use of plants

mycoremediation – use of fungus
Conventions Stockholm Convention – persistent organic pollutants
Basel Convention – transboundary movement of hazardous
waste and their disposal
Rotterdam Convention - hazardous chemicals and pesticides
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Minamata Convention – mercury

Washington Convention – CITES

Bonn Convention – CMS

Cartagena Protocol – biosafety to ensure safe handling of living

modified organisms
Nagoya Protocol – access and benefit sharing

Biodiversity
Indian Tiger / Royal Bengal Tiger IUCN: EN
India – home to 80% of global tiger population
Population – statewise: MP > Karnataka > Uttarakhand
Population – Tiger reserves: Jim Corbett > Nagarhole > Bandipur
Tiger reserve with highest tiger density: Jim Corbett
Tiger reserves with no tigers: Buxa (WB), Dampa (MZ), Palamu
(JH)

Tigers found in 13 countries: India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh,

Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Malaysia,
Indonesia, Russia
Related terms: CA|TS, mSTRIPES, CaTRAT, TX2

KAZI 106F: India’s only golden tiger, found in Kaziranga NP

Leopard IUCN: VU
Population – statewise: MP > Karnataka > Maharashtra
Snow Leopard IUCN: VU
Found in 12 countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal,
Bhutan, China, Russia, Mongolia, Uzbek, Tajik, Kyrgyz, Kazak
Cheetah African Cheetah: VU || Asiatic Cheetah: CR

Asiatic Cheetah
• declared extinct in India in 1952
• surviving today only in Iran
Asiatic Lion IUCN: EN

Surviving today only in India

Its range is restricted to Gir National Park and adjoining (Pania,
Mitiyala, Girnar Sanctuaries)
Asian Elephant IUCN: EN
Species: Indian, Sri Lankan, Sumatran, Borneo (all EN)

Population – statewise: Karnataka > Assam > Kerala

It is India’s National Heritage Animal

Initiatives: MIKE, E8, E50:50
Indian Rhino (Great One-Horned
Rhino) Asian – Indian, Javan, Sumatran
Rhino
African – Black, White
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Indian Rhino: VU
• Largest of all Rhino species
• Excellent swimmers
• Found in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan
• Assam is home to the largest population of greater-one
horned rhinos, with more than 90% in Kaziranga National
Park.
• Pobitra WS (Assam) has the highest density of Indian rhinos
in the world.
• Other states: WB, UP
Great Indian Bustard IUCN: CR
Found in arid and semi-arid grasslands: India and Pakistan
states: RJ, MP, GJ, MH, KN, AP
RJ’s state bird (locally known as Godawan)
Gangetic Dolphin IUCN: EN

• Found in Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnali-Sangphu

river systems
• Functionally blind and finds its prey using echolocation
• Being a mammal, cannot breathe in water, so comes to
surface every 30-120 sec
• Females larger than males

Other freshwater dolphins: Baiji (Yangtze), Boto(Amazon),

Bhulan(Indus, Beas) [all EN]
Brackish water: Irrawady dolphin – Chillika lake [EN]

Vulture Species: long-billed, slender-billed, red-headed, white-backed

Threats: veterinary drug Diclofenac, collision with overhead
wires, electrocution
Indian Pangolin IUCN: EN
found in Pak, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
Gharial IUCN: CR
Live in freshwater systems
Found majorly in Chambal river
Small population in Girwa river, Ramganga river

Hoolock gibbon IUCN: EN

India has only western hoolock gibbon
Only apes found in India
Dugong (Sea Cow) IUCN: VU
Only herbivorous marine mammal
Come to the surface to breathe
Others Dhole (Asiatic Dog): found in KN, MH, MP
Caracel: wild cat recently included in Recovery Programme –
Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitat
Fishing Cat: found in Sunderbans mangroves, around Chillika,
Western Ghats
Butterflies in news Krishna Peacock, Indian Jezebel, Orange Oakleaf, Golden
Birdwing, Striped Hairstreak, Elusive Prince, Tamil Yeoman
Kaiser-i-Hind – state butterfly of Arunachal Pradesh
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Himalayan Serow IUCN: VU

Herbivores mammal found in Himalayas (altitude of 2000-
4000m)
Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) IUCN: EN
Non-fragrant variety of sandalwood
Endemic to Andhra Pradesh
Used for – furniture, musical instruments, medicinal purposes,
extraction of santalin (red pigment)
Golden Langur IUCN: EN
Habitat: transvoundary region of Bhutan-India
Turtles vs Tortoise Turtles – live in sea, mainly carnivores
Tortoise – live on land, mainly herbivores
Monotremes Egg laying mammals – Platypus, Echidna – found only in Aus, NZ
World’s first 5-country biosphere Extending through Croatia, Austria, Slovenia, Serbia, Hungary
reserve (CASSH) the Mura, Drava and Danube Rivers form one of the
great wetlands of the world – the Amazon of Europe.

COP15 of Convention on Biological • Adoption of Kunming Declaration - calls for urgent and
Diversity (CBD) @ Kunming, China integrated action to reflect biodiversity considerations in all
sectors of the global economy
• Kunming Biodiversity Fund – to support biodiversity projects in
developing countries
• 30 by 30 target – protect 30% of land and sea area by 2030
Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Not yet passed
Bill, 2021

Biological Diversity (Amendment)

Bill, 2021
India State of Forests Report 2021 By Forest Survey of India, MoEFCC
Total forest cover: 21.7% of geographical area
Total tree cover: 2.9% of geographical area
Forest cover:
Absolute à MP > Arunachal > Chhattisgarh > Odisha >
Maharashtra
%age à Mizoram (84%) > Arunachal Pradesh (79%) > Meghalaya
(76%) > Manipur (74%) > Nagaland (73%)

Tiger reserve with largest forest cover

Absolute - Nagarjunasagar Srisailam TR
%age terms – Pakke TR

Mangroves:
West Bengal (43% of total mangrove area) > Gujarat > Andaman &
Nicobar

Bamboo cover:
MP > Maharashtra > Arunachal > Odisha

Wetlands area:
Gujarat > West Bengal
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Protected Areas ~5% of India’s area is protected area

Biosphere Reserves
National Parks
Wildlife Sanctuaries
Conservation Reserve – owned by govt
Community Reserve – owned by community/private
Important Laws, Bodies, Terms Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 à Animal Welfare
Board of India (M/o Fisheries and Animal Husbandry)

Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 à

• National Board for Wildlife (chaired by PM) – approves
alteration of boundary of NP, WS
• Central Zoo Authority (chaired by Env Minister)
• Wildlife Crime Control Bureau

Water Act, 1974 à CPCB

Forest (Conservation Act), 1980 à Forest Advisory Committee –

approves diversion of forest land for non-forest use

Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 à Central Groundwater

Authority
Provides for Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ) as transition zones between
high protection and no protection areas

National Forest Policy 1988 à provided for Joint Forest

management

Forests Rights Act, 2006 à provides for Community Forest

Resource Management, Critical Wildlife Habitats

NGT Act, 2010 à NGT

PARIVESH portal For obtaining environmental clearances
CRZ norms, 2018

Ramsar sites 49 Ramsar sites in India

Largest: Sunderban (WB)
Smallest: Renuka (HP)

State with most wetlands: UP (10) > Punjab (6)

Peatlands Cover 3% of global land
Largest natural terrestrial carbon store
Found in: permafrost regions (poles, high altitudes), coastal areas,
beneath tropical rainforests, boreal forests
Blue Flag Beach certification by Denmark-based FEE
10 blue flag beaches in India:
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Shivrajpur (Gujarat), Ghoghla (Diu), Kasarkod and Padubidri

(Karnataka), Kappad (Kerala), Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh),
Golden (Odisha), Radhanagar (Andaman and Nicobar), Kovalam
(TN), Eden (Puducherry)

UN Decade on Ecosystem 2021-30

Restoration
Living Planet Report WWF
Living Planet Index WWF
Global Biodiversity Outlook Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

Sustainable Development
Biofuels Considered renewable energy source
Generations: 1G (food crops), 2G (non-food crops), 3G
(engineered algae)
Types:
§ Bioethanol: used as additive (India targets 20% ethanol-
blending by 2025)
§ Biodiesel: can be directly used as fuel (target 5% blending of
biodiesel in diesel by 2030)
§ Biogas
§ Biojet
National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 Categorization of biofuels, VGF to 2G biorefineries, allows use of
surplus foodgrains
Methanol Economy India’s first indigenously designed High Ash Coal Gasification
based Methanol Production Plant installed by BHEL @
Hyderabad

Coal coal gasification Syngas (H2, CO, CO2) Methanol

Solar Energy Installed solar capacity: 54 GW (31 mar, 2022)

State with highest installed solar capacity: Karnataka
Wind Energy Installed wind capacity: 40 GW (30 Nov, 2021)
State with highest installed wind capacity: Tamil Nadu

Jaisalmer Wind Park (capacity 1000 MW): largest wind park in

India
Hydrogen Grey H: natural gas split into H2, CO2 | CO2 emitted into
atmosphere
Blue H: natural gas split into H2, CO2 | CO2 is captured and stored
Green H: water split into H2, O2 using solar/wind power | No CO2
emitted
Fugitive emissions unintentional leaks emitted from sealed surfaces, such as
packings and gaskets, or leaks from underground pipelines
resulting from corrosion or faulty connections.
wind and solar don't have fugitive emissions
Methane hydrates molecules of natural gas enclosed within a solid lattice of water
molecules.
Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) Platform for trading renewable energy
Geothermal Energy 7 geothermal provinces in India:
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• Himalayas - Ladakh, Manikaran, Tapoban;

• Sohana - Haryana, Rajasthan;
• West coast – Maharashtra;
• Cambay – Khambet;
• Son-Narmada-Tapi (SONATA) - Tatapani, Anhoni-Samoni;
• Godavari – Manuguru;
• Mahanadi – Bakreshwar
Fostering Effective Energy Transition WEF
report
Energy Transition Index WEF
World Energy Outlook IEA (International Energy Agency)
Global Energy and CO2 Status report IEA
Global Electric Vehicles Outlook IEA
Geospatial Energy Map of India NITI Aayog + ISRO

Agriculture
Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) Beejamrutham (seed treatment), Jeevamtrutham (no fertilisers,
terms no pesticides), Acchadana (Mulching), Whaapasa (soil moisture)

No vermicomposting done

Benefits: low cost, less water use, less electricity, lower methane
emissions
Participatory Guarantee Systems Certification of organic produce
(PGS) M/o Agriculture
World of Organic Agriculture report India ranked #1 in number of organic farmers
2020 Rank #9 in terms of area under organic farming
Sikkim – fully organic state
Aquaponics, Hydroponics, Hydroponics: growing crops in water w/o soil
Aeroponics Aeroponics: no growing medium
Aquaponics = Hydroponics + Aquaculture
Vertical farming Growing crops in vertically stacked layers
Conservation Agriculture 3 components: permanent soil cover, minimum soil disturbance,
crop rotation
Green-Ag Project Project of FAO + MoEFCC
Funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF)
To reduce emissions from agriculture
5 states: UK, RJ, MP, OD, Mizoram
Soil Health Card: 12 parameters Macro
Primary: N P K
Secondary: Sulphur

Micro: Iron, Copper, Boron, Manganese, Zinc

Soil Podsol: cold & humid | rich in Silica and Lime
Latosol: hot & humid | rich in Iron, Aluminium
Gleysol: waterlogged peaty soil
Globally Important Agricultural Initiative of FAO
Heritage Systems (GIAHS) 3 GIAHS in India:
• Kuttanad Below Sea Level Farming System of Kerala.
• Koraput Traditional Agriculture of Odisha.
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• Pampore Saffron Heritage of Kashmir.

Virtual water Water consumed for production of agri and non-agri
commodities throughout their lifecycle
Locusts Omnivorous
Locust Warning Organisation: M/o Agriculture
Bamboo Survives in wide range of conditions
In India, it is found naturally in almost all parts except Kashmir
It in NOT a tree under definition of tree by Indian Forest Act,
1927

Geography
Tropical Cyclone conditions 5-20° North, South (Coriolis force), sea surface temp > 27°C, high
humidity, presence of low pressure, small variation in vertical
wind speed
La Nina, El Nino Normal year/ La Nina
Western Tropical Pacific (warm) – Eastern Tropical Pacific (cool)

El Nino
Western Tropical Pacific (cool) – Eastern Tropical Pacific (warm)

El Nino Modoki
WTP (cool) - Central Tropical Pacific (warm) – ETP(cool)
Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) Low pressure band moving from west to east
MJO over Indian ocean à good rainfall in Indian subcontinent
Indian Ocean Dipole (Indian Nino) Positive phase à good rainfall in Indian subcontinent
Western Indian Ocean (warm) – Eastern Indian Ocean (cool)

Negative phase à scarce rainfall in Indian subcontinent

Western Indian Ocean (cool) – Eastern Indian Ocean (warm)
Atlantic Meridional Overturning • AMOC is a large system of ocean currents driven by
Circulation (AMOC) differences in temperature and salinity (water’s density)
• Weakening due to global warming (as temp difference
between poles and equator decreasing)
Boreal Summer Intra Seasonal Heat transfer from Indian ocean to western Pacific ocean during
Oscillation (BSISO) monsoon (June- Sept)
Causes short-term climate variability in monsoon system
Heat Dome A heat dome is created when an area of high pressure stays over
the same area for days or weeks, trapping very warm air
underneath - like a lid on a pot.

This phenomena was seen in North America in Jun-Jul 2021

South Atlantic Anomaly Weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field
Here, Van Allen radiation belt comes down to 200 km altitude
Van Allen Radiation belt zone of energetic charged particles that are captured by and
held around a planet’s magnetosphere.
Mt Everest 86 cm higher

Highest mountains:
From sea level: Mt Everest
From Earth’s core: Mt Chimborazo
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From base of mountain: Mauna Kea

Karakoram anomaly the stability or anomalous growth of glaciers in the central
Karakoram, in contrast to the retreat of glaciers in other nearby
mountainous ranges of Himalayas and other mountainous
ranges of the world.

Misc
6th mass extinction ongoing extinction event of species during the
present Holocene epoch (with the more recent time sometimes
called Anthropocene) as a result of human activity.
Evil Quartet 4 major causes of biodiversity loss: habitat loss, overexploitation,
invasive alien species, secondary extinction
Carbon Fertilisation phenomena that the increase of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere increases the rate of photosynthesis in plants.
Great Green Wall Project to combat desertification in Africa
Deep Ecology environmental philosophy which promotes the inherent worth of
all living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human
needs
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Biotechnology & Nanotechnology
Cell Cell theory
• all living organisms are composed of cells and products of
cells
• all cells arise from pre-existing cells.

Types of cells
• prokaryotic – lack a membrane-bound nucleus
ex. Bacteria, archaea
• eukaryotic – have membrane bound nuclei (0, 1 or more)
ex. Plants, animals, fungi, protozoa

Cell organelles and their functions:

• nucleus – DNA storage
• mitochondria – energy production (ATP)
• ribosomes – protein production
• lysosomes – protein destruction (suicide bags)
• vacuole - store water, nutrients, and the waste materials of
the cell

Plant vs Animal cell Plant cell Animal cell

Have cell wall (outer No cell wall
cover) as well as cell
membrane (inner cover)
Large single vacuole Many small vacuoles
Have chloroplasts for No chloroplasts
photosynthesis
DNA, RNA • While DNA stores genetic information, RNA mostly helps in
transfer and expression of information. Though DNA and
RNA both function as genetic material, but DNA being
chemically and structurally more stable is a better genetic
material.
• DNA has the blueprints for every protein in our body, all
packaged into a neat double helix.
• Transcription (making a complementary strand of RNA from
DNA) is completed within the nucleus
• Translation (making protein from RNA instructions) takes
place in the cytoplasm.

Terms • Chromosomes - In the nucleus of each cell, the DNA

molecule is packaged into thread-like structures called
chromosomes.
• Genome – an organism’s complete set of DNA
• Gene – functional sequence of DNA
• Genotype (backend) – pattern of genes in an organism’s
DNA responsible for particular traits
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• Phenotype (frontend) – observable physical properties of an

organism
RNA interference (RNAi) • RNAi disrupts the production of harmful proteins by
technology intercepting and incapacitating mRNA transcripts before
they make it to ribosomes. This prevents the corresponding
proteins from being made
• Used for controlling gene expression, gene-silencing
mRNA vaccine Benefits: use of a non-infectious element, shorter
manufacturing times, and potential for targeting of multiple
diseases. mRNA vaccines can be developed in a laboratory using
a DNA template and readily available materials.
IndiGen Programme Whole-genome sequencing of 1000 Indian individuals
By CSIR
Genome India Project build a grid of the Indian “reference genome” after collecting
10,000 samples
by Deptt of Biotechnology
Human Genome Project international research effort to determine the DNA sequence of
the entire human genome.
Dark Genome • The human genome is conventionally divided into the
“coding” genome, which generates the ~20,000 annotated
human protein coding genes, and the “dark” genome,
which does not encode proteins.
• The dark genome is a vast space, accounting for the ~98.5%
of genomic space where repeat elements, enhancers,
regulatory sequences, and non-coding RNAs reside.

CAR T-Cell Therapy CAR-T (Chimeric antigen receptor T) cells

T-cells taken from patient’s blood à CAR gene inserted à CAR
T-Cells infused in blood
IndiGau • It is purely indigenous and the largest cattle chip of the
world launched recently
• will ensure accurate and efficient identification and
documentation of indigenous breeds
indigenous breeds of cattle: Sahiwal, Gir, Kankrej,
Tharpaker, Ongole, Kangayam
Bt cotton Only GM crop approved for commercial cultivation in India
Biotech PRIDE Guidelines • By Deptt of Biotechnology
• To facilitate sharing of biological data in India
• applicable for all biological data generated through research
conducted within the country
• in conformity with National Data Sharing and Accessibility
Policy (NDSAP) 2012

GM Rubber • world’s first GM rubber plant was planted in Assam recently

• Natural rubber is native of Amazon forest (S. America)
Gold nanoparticles Biocompatible, stable, non-toxic
Nanomicelles Hydrophilic outer shell, hydrophobic interior
Can be used for cancer treatment à targeted drug delivery
Nano Urea Liquid fertilizer Developed by IFFCO
it can curtail the requirement of the same by at least 50%
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ICT
Edge computing computation and data storage closer to the sources of data
benefits: high speed, low latency, better reliability, better
security, higher scalability
Narrowband-IoT • a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) radio
technology standard developed to enable a wide range of
cellular devices and services.
• connect devices that need small amounts of data, low
bandwidth, and long battery life.
Dark Net [Surface Web] [Deep Web [Dark Web]]
Dark Web cannot be accessed through traditional search
engines
requires TOR browser
Supercomputer Speed measured in FLOPS
Top 500 supercomputers – 3 supercomputers of India
#1 Japan’s Fugaku (world’s fastest)
#2 IBM’s Summit
#3 IBM’s Sierra
#63 PARAM Siddhi AI
#78 Pratyush
#146 Mihir

Recently, PARAM Pravega supercomputer installed at IISc

Quantum Computing Superposition – quantum bits can represent 0/1 both at the
same time
Entanglement – quantum bits affect each other even at great
distances

Sycamore – google’s quantum computer

Micius – China’s quantum satellite
Blockchain Anonymity, immutability, shared read & write, transparency,
distributed ownership
Blockchain Bill of Rights World Economic Forum
(Presidio Principles)
El Salvador First country to make bitcoins as legal tender
Non-Fungible Tokens Certify ownership of digital assets
Dark Fibre Extra optical fibre laid by companies for future need
5G vs 4G 4G 5G
Latency 10ms <1ms
Speed 1 Gbps 10 Gbps
Max Bandwidth 100 MHz 1000 MHz
mmWave • Millimeter Wave band is a particular segment of radio
frequency spectrum that range between 24 GHz and 100
GHz. This spectrum has a short wavelength, and is apt to
deliver greater speeds and lower latencies.
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• higher the frequency, faster the data transfer but

lower the range

WiFi v LiFi WiFi LiFi

Speed 1-2 Gbps 1 Gbps
Privacy - Light is blocked by
walls, so more secure
Range 30 m 10 m
Interference yes no
issue
Virtual Private Network VPN gives online privacy and anonymity by creating a private
(VPN) network from a public internet connection. VPNs mask
your internet protocol (IP) address so your online actions are
virtually untraceable.

IPv4 vs IPv6 IPv4 IPv6

32 bit 128 bit address
address
Numeric Hexadecimal alphanumeric address
address
Ex. Ex.
192.168.52.1 2345:0425:2CA1:0000:0000:0567:5673:23b5
Metaverse digital reality that combines aspects of social media, online
gaming, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and
cryptocurrencies to allow users to interact virtually.

Hologram It is an advanced form of photography that allows an image to

be recorded in three dimensions.
It can also be used to optically store, retrieve, and process
information.
It is based on the principle of interference of light waves.

RFID • RFID is the wireless non-contact use of radio frequency

waves to transfer data. RFID systems usually comprise an
RFID reader, RFID tags, and antennas.
• RFID doesn't need line of sight.

4-D printing 4th dimension – time

objects transform with time
Juicejacking cyberattack that uses a USB charging port to steal data or
infect phones with malware.
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Space
Orbits GEO – 35,786 km
MEO – 5000-2000 km
LEO – 160-1500 km

Polar orbit – type of LEO, usually travel past Earth from

north to south rather than from west to east, passing
roughly over Earth's poles.

GTO - special kind of orbit used to get from one orbit to

another
ISRO’s launch vehicles PSLV
• 4 stages – solid, liquid, solid, liquid
• Carrying capacity – 1750 kg (LEO), 1500 kg (GTO)

GSLV MkIII
• 3 stages – solid, liquid, cryogenic
• Carrying capacity – 10,000 kg (LEO), 4000 kg (GTO)

SSLV
• 3 stages – solid, solid, solid
• Carrying capacity – 500 kg (LEO)
James Webb Telescope Infrared space telescope
Collaboration – NASA + ESA + Canadian Space agency
Goal – search for the first galaxies formed after big bang
Parker Mission first spacecraft in history to “touch” the sun.
It flew through the Sun’s upper atmosphere – the corona –
and sampled particles and magnetic fields there.
Instruments – SWEAP, WISPR, ISIS, FIELDS
Tianwen-1 China’s mission to Mars
Zhurong rover
IRNSS Regional navigation system
3 geostationary
4 geosynchronous
Moon craters Craters on the moon are of a more permanent nature than
those on earth. Why?
• Erosion, tectonics, and volcanism - keep the surface of
the earth crater-free and remove traces of collisions
that have happened in the past. Moon – no
atmosphere, no tectonics, no volcanism
• An absence of atmosphere on moon means no wind
system and no weather on the moon, and hence no
cause for erosion of existing craters.
• Absence of tectonics prevents the moon’s surface from
forming new rocks, or causing a shift in the existing
surface patterns, unlike that on earth.
• Absence of volcanism makes it impossible for craters to
be covered.

Helium Flash Stars destroy lithium as they evolve into red giants
When stars grow beyond their Red Giant stage into the Red
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Clump stage, they produce lithium in what is known as a

Helium Flash and this is what enriches them with lithium.
Blue Straggler A class of stars on open or globular clusters that stand out
as they are bigger and bluer than the rest of the stars
Formed through – mass transfer from one to other star,
collision of two stars, interaction of >2 stars
Coronal Heating problem Temperature decreases away from Sun’s core
But corona is far hotter than photosphere
Maunder Minimum "prolonged sunspot minimum", was a period around 1645
to 1715 during which sunspots became exceedingly rare
Gravitational waves Recently, LIGO detected new source of GW à Neutron star
– Black hole collision/
GWs Travel at speed of light
Laser Interferometer observatory to detect cosmic gravitational waves
Gravitational-Wave Observatory operational: Hanford, Livingstone (US), GEO600 (Germany)
(LIGO) under construction: VIRGO (Italy), KAGRA (Japan)
approved: Hingoli (India)
Gravitational lensing Predicted by Einstein’s theory of relativity
Gravitational pull of massive objects bends the light.
EUVST, EZIE NASA missions to explore Sun
DAVINCI+, VERITAS NASA missions to Venus
Artemis Accords Shared principles to create a safe and transparent
environment which facilitates exploration, science, and
commercial activities for all of humanity to enjoy.
Unicorn black hole Closest black hole to Earth ever observed
Types of neutron stars Magnetar, Pulsar
Arktika-M Russia’s Arctic monitoring satellite
Distance from sun Asteroid belt à Kuiper belt à Heliopause à Oort cloud
Dwarf planets Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Makemake, Haumea
Betelguese, Bellatrix Red supergiants

Health
Immunity Types
• Innate – non-specific, present since birth
Ex. Skin, acid in stomach, saliva in mouth

• Acquired – specific to a pathogen

o Humoral – involves role of B-cell lymphocytes
through production of antibodies
o Cell-mediated – involves role of T-cell
lymphocytes by directly attacking and
destroying the pathogen

Vaccines • Inactivated - use the killed version of the germ that

causes a disease. Ex. Hepatitis, polio, rabies
• Live-attenuated - use a weakened (or attenuated)
form of the germ that causes a disease. Ex. MMR,
smallpox, chickenpox, yellow fever
• mRNA – use genetic material from pathogen to make
proteins in order to trigger an immune response. Ex.
Pfizer and Moderna covid vaccine
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• Subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate

- use specific pieces of the germ—like its protein,
sugar, or capsid (a casing around the germ). Ex. Hib,
Pneumococcal disease
• Toxoid - use a toxin (harmful product) made by the
germ that causes a disease. Ex. Diphtheria, Tetanus
• Viral vector - use a modified version of a different
virus as a vector to deliver protection. Ex. Covishield

Vaccines in news Covishield – viral vector

uses a chimpanzee adenovirus – ChAdOx1 – a type of
common cold virus, which attaches itself to cells and
injects DNA that tells the cells to make coronavirus spike
protein.

Covaxin – inactivated vaccine

Trans Fat • Can be natural or artificial

• increase shelf life, stabilize flavors
• raises LDL (bad cholesterol)
• India targets < 2% industrially produced trans-fat by
2022
• WHO’s REPLACE program – eliminate trans-fat from
food by 2023
State Food Safety Index FSSAI
Orphan diseases Diseases of low prevalence
ex. Thalassemia, sickle cell anemia etc
Candida auris Fungus causing severe illness in hospitalized patients
E-2025 initiative By WHO to eradicate Malaria from 25 countries by 2025
pathogen: Plasmodium (P. falciparum, P. vivax)
vector: female Anopheles
vaccine: Mosquirix
Dengue vaccine Dengvaxia
Viral diseases Covid, Nipah, Zika, Polio, Influenza, Chikungunya, West
Nile fever, Dengue, Hepatitis, Kyasanur Forest
disease (KFD), Measles-Rubella
Polio Type 2, 3 eradicated
Type 1 endemic only in Pakistan, Afghanistan
Bacterial diseases TB, Leprosy (Hansen’s disease), Trachoma, Leptospirosis
Foot and Mouth disease affects livestock || Viral || not zoonotic
Brucellosis Affects livestock || bacterial || zoonotic
Drugs price control Essential Commodities Act, 1955
⬇
Drug Price Control Order, 1995 à National Pharmaceutical
Pricing Authority (NPPA) controls prices of drugs
mentioned in National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM)

NPPA: not statutory, under M/o Chemicals and Fertilizers

INSACOG By Deptt of Biotechnology (M/o S&T) + MoH&FW
Consortium of national labs to monitor genomic variations
of SARS-Cov2
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GAVI alliance Global partnership with the goal of increasing access to

immunization in poor countries
Coalition for Epidemic global partnership launched in 2017 to develop vaccines
Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to stop future epidemics
India – founding member
RTPCR, RTLAMP Amplify viral samples for diagnosis of disease
ELISA test Detect antibodies

Misc
Neutrinos Second most abundant particles in universe after photons
Interact very little with anything, hard to detect
No electrical charge, nearly massless, travel close to speed of
light
Fundamental forces Strength: Strong nuclear > Electromagnetic > Weak nuclear >
Gravitational
Infinite Range: Gravitational, Electromagnetic
Short range: Strong, Weak nuclear
Muon g-2 experiment particle physics experiment to measure the anomalous
magnetic dipole moment of a muon
Uranium Natural Uranium (2 isotopes) - 99.3% U-238 || 0.7% U-235
Enrichment - creates an effective nuclear fuel out of mined
uranium by increasing the percentage of uranium- 235 which
undergoes fission with thermal neutrons
Nobel Prizes Chemistry: development of asymmetric organocatalysis
Medicine: for their discoveries of receptors for temperature
and touch
Physics: physical modelling of Earth’s climate, for the
discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in
physical systems from atomic to planetary scales
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ECONOMY
Fiscal Policy
Union Budget 2022-23 Amrit Kaal – India@75 to India@100

4 priorities –
1. PM Gati Shakti – National Master Plan
• a digital platform to bring 16 Ministries including Railways
and Roadways together for integrated planning and
coordinated implementation of infrastructure
connectivity projects.
• Driven by 7 engines – roads, railways, airports, ports, mass
transport, waterways, logistics
• Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) - transparent,
one window platform that can provide real-time
information related to logistics to all stakeholders.
• National Ropeways Development Program
• Extend coverage of Kavach – train collision avoidance
system
2. Inclusive Development
• Agriculture & Food Processing
o Promote chemical free natural farming
o Promote millet production
o Kisan drones to aid farmers
• Education
o ‘one class one tv channel’ component of PM
eVIDYA to be expanded
• Health
o Platform for National Digital Health Ecosystem
o National Tele Mental Health Programme for
quality counselling
o Integrated benefits to women through Mission
Shakti + Mission Vatsalya + Poshan 2.0 + Saksham
Anganwadi
• PM-DevINE – to fund infrastructure and social
development projects as per the need in North East
• Vibrant Villages Programme - enhance infrastructure in
villages along India's border with China, in states like
Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) -
World Bank assisted Central Sector Scheme, supporting
various covid Resilience and Recovery Interventions of
the Ministry of MSME. It aims at improving access to
market and credit, strengthening institutions and
governance at the Centre and State, improving Centre-
State linkages and partnerships, addressing issues of
delayed payments and greening of MSMEs
3. Productivity Enhancement
• Unique Land Parcel no for IT-based management of land
records.
• C-PACE – facilitate voluntary winding up of companies
• Chip embedded e-passports
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• Battery Swapping policy as an alternative to setting up

charging stations in urban areas
4. Financing of Investments
• capital expenditure for 2022-23 has been pegged at Rs 7.5
lakh crore. This is 35.4 % higher than the previous year’s
figure
• Infrastructure status for data centers and energy storage
systems
• Introduction of Digital rupee
• Set up International Arbitration Centre @ GIFT City

Data:
Tax collection: GST > Corporation Tax > Income Tax > Excise >
Customs
Subsidy: Food > Fertiliser > Fuel
Deficits: FD (6.4%) > RD (3.8%) > PD (2.6%) > ERD (2.8%)
Government Debt Govt debt
1. Public Debt (against Consolidated Fund of India)
i. Internal – marketable, non-marketable
ii. External
2. Other Liabilites (against Public A/c of India)

Internal debt >>> External debt

Debt to GDP ratio FRBM target (by 2024-25)
Centre – 40% of GDP
States – 20% of GDP
India’s external debt External debt ($614 bn)
1. Commercial borrowings – 37%
2. Non-resident deposits – 23%
3. Govt debt – 21%
4. Short term trade credit – 18%

Acc to denomination
USD (52%) > INR (32%) > SDR (7%) > Yen (5%)

National Infrastructure It has outlined plans to invest more than ₹102 lakh crore on
Pipeline infrastructure projects by 2024-25, with the Centre, States and
the private sector to share the capital expenditure in a 39:39:22
formula.
NIP includes both economic and social infrastructure projects.
National Monetisation NMP will help in evolving a common framework for monetisation
Pipeline of core assets. (Monetization through disinvestment and
monetization of non-core assets have not been included in the
NMP).

National Land NLMC is an agency to monetise surplus land and building assets
Monetisation Corporation of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and other govt.
agencies.
Will be fully owned by the Centre and under the administrative
jurisdiction of the Finance Ministry.
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PM Gati Shakti It is essentially a digital platform to bring 16 Ministries including

Railways and Roadways together for integrated planning and
coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity
projects.
Based on 6 pillars – Comprehensiveness, Prioritization,
Optimization, Synchronization, Analytical, Dynamic
ITAT e-dwar e-filing portal of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT)
launched by Ministry of Law and Justice

Monetary Policy & Banking

Monetary Policy • Under RBI Act, 1934 – amended by Finance Act, 2016
Committee (MPC) • 6 members
• Chaired by RBI Governor
• Monetary policy goal – inflation targeting
• Inflation target decided by Union govt in consultation with
RBI
• MPC fixes the benchmark policy interest rates (repo rate,
reverse repo) to restrain inflation within the inflation target.

Important rates CRR à 4 %

SLR à 18 %
Repo Rate à 4 %
SDF à 3.75 %
Reverse repo à 3.35 %
Bank rate, MSF à 4.25 %
Standing Deposit SDF allows the RBI to absorb excess cash from the economy by
Facility (SDF) sucking liquidity from commercial banks without giving
government securities in return to the lenders.
Banks park their money with RBI but without G-sec as collateral.
SDF rate – 3.75 %
RBI Retail Direct Scheme RBI allowed retail investors to invest in G-sec by opening Retail
Direct Guilt (RDG) account on its e-Kuber platform
Retail investors can directly buy G-secs, T-bills in primary market
(ie directly from RBI)
NRIs also permitted to open this account
G-sec Acquisition Program It is an upfront commitment and clear communication about the
(G-SAP) OMO purchase calendar. Under this, the RBI will purchase bonds
worth a specific amount, which will reduce the uncertainty and
allow investors to bid better in the scheduled auction with a pre-
decided calendar set by the RBI.
National Bank for Estd through NaBFID Act, 2021
Financing Infrastructure It is a development financial institution (DFI) to support
and Development development of long-term infrastructure in the country
(NaBFID) It will fund projects from both public and private sectors
Chairman: KV Kamath
NARCL-IDRCL (Bad Bank) National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL)
• Purchase bad loans from banks
• Ownership: Public Sector Banks (51%), Pvt banks (49%)
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India Debt Resolution Company (IDRCL)

• handle the debt resolution process
• Ownership: Pvt banks (51%), PSBs (49%)
Prompt Corrective Action It is a framework under which scheduled commercial banks with
weak financial metrics are put under watch by the RBI.
3 parameters - capital ratios, asset quality and profitability.

Supervisory Action Framework applies to Urban Cooperative

Banks (UCBs)
Prompt Corrective Action PCA Framework for NBFCs will come into effect from October 1,
for NBFCs 2022
It will apply to:
a. All Deposit Taking NBFCs [Excluding Government
Companies],
b. All Non-Deposit Taking NBFCs in Middle, Upper and Top
Layers

NEFT, RTGS for non-banks RBI allowed non-banks to participate in its Centralised Payment
System [NEFT & RTGS]
Till now, only banks were allowed
eRUPI Electronic voucher based digital payment system which is person-
specific and purpose-specific
Developed by NPCI on its UPI platform
Offline digital payments • RBI released framework for offline digital payments to
promote digital payments in rural and semi-urban areas
• It will enable small value digital payments in offline mode
• An offline digital payment means a transaction which does
not require internet or telecom connectivity. Under this new
framework, such payments can be carried out face-to-face
(proximity mode) using any channel or instrument like cards,
wallets, mobile devices, etc

Digital Payments Index By RBI

to capture the extent of digitisation of payments across the
country.
Financial Stability Report RBI
Bi-annual report that reflects risks to financial stability and
resilience of financial system
Factoring Regulation Allows banks and all types of NBFCs to engage in factoring
(Amendment) Act, 2021 business.
Factoring business is a business where an entity acquires the
receivables of another entity for an amount.

UPI123Pay instant payment system for feature phone users

3-step method
Call à choose mode of transaction à Pay
4 modes of transaction - IVR (interactive voice response) number,
missed call, app functionality in phone, sound based

External Sector
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India’s largest trading partner US ($112 bn) > China ($110 bn)
in calender year 2021
Top destination of Indian US > UAE > China > Bangladesh > Hong Kong
exports
Top sources of Indian China > UAE > US > Saudi Arabia > Iraq
imports
Export Preparedness Index NITI Aayog
to identify the fundamental areas critical for subnational
export promotion.
#1 - Gujarat
Enforcing Contracts portal Launched by M/o Law and Justice
Washington Consensus vs • G7 Economic Resilience Panel demanded a radically
Cornwall consensus different relationship between the public and private
sectors to create a sustainable, equitable, and resilient
economy.
• Washington Consensus minimised the state’s role in the
economy and pushed an aggressive free-market agenda of
deregulation, privatisation, and trade liberalisation.
• Cornwall Consensus (reflecting commitments voiced at the
G7 summit in Cornwall in June 2021) would invert these
imperatives. By revitalising the state’s economic role, it
would allow to pursue societal goals, build international
solidarity, and reform global governance in the interest of
the common good.

Agriculture
Fertilisers India is the 3rd largest producer and 2nd consumer of fertilisers

Fertiliser subsidy
• Urea – fixed price
o Urea sold at statutorily notified price
o Not governed by Nutrient based subsidy scheme

• Non-Urea – fixed subsidy

o Manufacturers allowed to fix the MRP at market rates
o Govt provides fixed amount of subsidy
Pulses Grown in both Rabi and Kharif season
Gram – most dominant pulse (40% share in pulses)
Top producers – MP, MH, RJ, UP, KN

India is the largest producer, consumer and importer of

pulses.
Canada – largest exporter of pulses.
Cotton India – largest cotton producing country, 2nd largest consumer
of raw cotton
US – largest exporter of raw cotton
Palm Oil India – largest importer of palm oil
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Indonesia – largest exporter

Fisheries India – 3rd largest fish producing country
Inland fish production > marine fish production
Largest fish producing state – Andhra Pradesh

Industry and Mining

Rare Earth metals • Rare-earth metals are a set of 17 nearly-indistinguishable lustrous
silvery-white soft heavy metals. Despite their name, rare-earth
elements are relatively plentiful in Earth's crust, with cerium
being the 25th most abundant element at 68 parts per million,
more abundant than copper.
• Rare earths are abundant in the Earth’s crust but mineable
concentrations are less common, making reserves very valuable
and strategic.
• 17 rare earth elements are: lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce),
praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), promethium (Pm),
samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb),
dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm),
ytterbium (Yb), lutetium (Lu), scandium (Sc), and yttrium (Y).
• China provides more than 85 % of world’s rare earths
• Applications: consumer and industrial electronics, permanent
magnets, catalysts, battery etc
PLI scheme • give companies incentives on incremental sales (over FY 2019-20)
from products manufactured in domestic units.
• Incentives disbursed after the production has taken place
• Sectors covered
• Mobile Manufacturing and Specified Electronic
Components
• Critical Key Starting materials/Drug Intermediaries and
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Manufacturing of
Medical Devices.
• Advance Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery
• Electronic/Technology Products
• Automobiles & Auto Components
• Pharmaceuticals drugs
• Telecom & Networking Products
• Textile Products: MMF segment and technical textiles
• Food Products
• High Efficiency Solar PV Modules
• White Goods (ACs & LED)
• Specialty Steel

Inflation & Economic Growth Indices

CPI (R), CPI(U), CPI (All India) National Statistics Office(NSO), MoSPI

CPI (AI): weights [base year - 2012]

Food & Beverages (45%) > Services (20%) > Housing (10%) >
Fuel & Light (7%) > Clothing, footwear (6.5%) > Personal care
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(4%) > Household goods services (4%) > Pan masala, tobacco
(2.4%)
Consumer Food Price Index Includes: cereals, meat, fish, egg, milk, oats, fats, vegetables,
(CFPI) pulses, sugar, spices
Does not include: pan, tobacco, intoxicants
CPI (Industrial Workers) Labour Bureau, MoL&E
CPI (Rural Labourer)
CPI (Agri Labourer) CPI (IW) – used for fixing dearness allowance to central/state
govt employees
CPI (AL) – used for fixing MGNREGA wages
WPI Economic Advisor to DPIIT, Min of Commerce

WPI weights: [base year 2011-12]

1. Manufactured products – 64%
Processed food, edible oil, paper products, chemicals,
plastic, cement, metal products etc
2. Primary articles – 23%
Unprocessed food, eggs , meat, oilseeds etc
Crude petroleum
Minerals
3. Fuel & power – 13%
High speed diesel, petrol, LPG

** no services
IIP NSO, MoSPI

IIP weights (based on type of goods):

Primary goods (34%) > intermediate goods (17%) > consumer
non-durables (15%) > consumer durables (13%) > capital goods
(8%)

IIP weights (based on sector):

Manufacturing (77%) > Mining (14%) > Electricity (8%)
Index of Eight Core Industries Economic Advisor to DPIIT, Min of Commerce

weights:
Refinery products > Electricity > Steel > Coal > Crude Oil >
Natural Gas > Cement > Fertilizers
GDP Growth Rate NSO, MoSPI
2021-22
Q1 à 20.1%
Q2 à 8.4%
Q3 à 5.4%
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21
8 8.26 7.04 6.12 4.12 -7.3
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Current Account Deficit (CAD)

House Price Index RBI

Misc
e-Shram portal • By M/o Labour and Employment
• National database for unorganized workers
• All registered workers to be issued an e-shram card with
Universal account number (UAN)
• UAN number will be a permanent number i.e. once
assigned, it will remain unchanged for the worker's
lifetime.
SWIFT messaging system • SWIFT is a messaging network that financial institutions
use to securely transmit information and instructions
through a standardized system of codes.
• It is not a financial institution itself: SWIFT does not hold or
transfer assets. Rather, it facilitates secure, efficient
communication between member institutions.
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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

G7 47th G7 summit – June 2021 @ Cornwall, UK

G7 is a bloc of industrialised democracies – Canada, US, UK, France,

Germany, Italy, Japan

Cornwall Consensus - revitalise the state’s economic role to pursue

societal goals, build international solidarity, and reform global
governance in the interest of the common good.
It is contrary to Washington Consensus which minimised the state’s role
in the economy and pushed an aggressive free-market agenda of
deregulation, privatisation, and trade liberalisation.

G20 Canada UK Turkey Russia Japan

US France Saudi China S.Korea
Mexico Germany S. Africa India Indonesia
Brazil Italy Australia
Argentina EU

NATO intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states, of which

28 are in Europe and the other 2 in North America (Canada, US)

Collective Security intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia.

Treaty Organisation Members (6) - Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and
(CSTO) Tajikistan
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FATF G7 initiative
39 members including India
Secretariat located at OECD HQ in Paris, France
2 lists:
• Grey list - Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring
Many – Pak, Turkey etc
• Black list - High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action
Only 2 – Iran, North Korea

SCO Iran joined as a permanent member

Other 8 members: Russia China India Pakistan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan Uzbekistan

Global Gateway EU initiative to mobilise €300 billion ($340 billion) in public and private
Initiative infrastructure investment around the world

Operation Ganga Evacuate Indian citizens from Ukraine

Operation Devi evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals from Afghanistan after
Shakti Taliban takeover

PLACES IN NEWS 1. Ukraine

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2. Dniester, Dnieper rivers : drain into Black Sea

3. Madagascar - ‘famine-like conditions by climate change’
suffering from famine caused by climate change, in spite of only
contributing 0.01% of all the carbon dioxide generated from 1933-
2019. Due to rising temperatures, the country is experiencing its
worst drought in 40 years. The impact of the drought on farming
is leading to hunger and food shortages.
4. Katchatheevu Island – Sri Lanka
5. Wakhan corridor: Afghanistan
6. Guinea – military coup
7. Oromo Region, Tigray region – Ethiopia - ethnic violence
8. Syria: Raqqa, Aleppo, Baghouz
9. Iraq: Erbil, Mosul, Kirkuk
10. Marib, Hodiedah: Yemen
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DEFENCE & SECURITY

India’s Bilateral Exercises

Country Exercise Maldives Ekuverin

Saudi Arabia Al Mohed Al Hindi Sri Lanka Mitra Shakti
Oman Eastern Bridge VI United States Vajra Prahar; Yudh Abhyas
Singapore Simbex France Shakti 2021
Indonesia Samudra Shakti Japan Dharma Guardian 2022
Australia AUSINDEX21 Seychelles Lamitiye 2022
Russia Indra Nepal Surya Kiran

India- Part of Multilateral Exercises

Participants Exercise

9 countries (Mongolia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, ZAPAD 2021

Russia, India and Belarus) + 8 observer countries
Mainly 5 countries (India, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand) + MILAN 2022
others
BIMSTEC countries PANEX-21
Quad nations (India, United States, Japan, Australia) Malabar Exercise

Defence Tech

Project 15B - Project to acquire stealth guided missile destroyers by Indian

navy
Project 17, 17A - Project to acquire frigates by Indian Navy

Project 75, 75I - Project to acquire submarines by Indian Navy

Ballistic missiles - Prithvi (s-s), Agni (s-s), Trishul (s-a), Akash (s-a), NAG (anti-tank)

Cruise missiles - BrahMos, Nirbhay

BrahMos - Joint venture between India and Russia.

- It is a multiplatform missile (can be launched from land, air, sea
and sub-sea); works in both day and night in all weather
conditions; pinpoint accuracy; two-stage (1st stage: solid
propellant; 2nd stage: liquid ramjet)
- Named after the rivers Brahmaputra (India) and Moskva (Russia).
- Philippines becomes the first country to place order for
BrahMos Missile.
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- Recently, India successfully test fired extended range of BrahMos

land attack missile and extended range sea-to-sea variant.
- The current versions have a range of about 500 km but the
export variant of the missile has a range of 290 km in order to
keep it under the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)
restrictions of 300 km.
Army Secure Indigenous - Replaced the existing Army Wide Area Network (AWAN).
Messaging Application - Built by in-house officers of the Corps of Signals of the Army.
(ASIGMA) - Features: real time data transfers and messaging requirements,
inbuilt system for multi-level security, global address book,
message prioritization & tracking, along with other advanced
features.
- In line with India’s Make in India initiative.
Ban on import of drones - Exception: drones imported “for the purpose of defence,
security and research and development.” Importing under this
will require prior clearances.
- The import of drone ‘components’ has also not been restricted
and no approvals will be required for the same.
- Push for Make in India and the vision to become ‘the global
drone hub by 2030.’
- Drone import has been banned in all three forms- completely
built up (CBU), completely knocked down (CKD), and semi
knocked down (SKD) forms.
India’s defence exports + - A growth from Rs. 1,521 crores in 2016-17 to Rs. 8,434.84 crores in
imports 2020-21. The Govt. is set to achieve exports worth of about Rs.
35,000 crores by 2025.
- India is the largest arms importer (accounting 11% of total
imports) in the world. The volume of India’s arms import fell by 21
per cent from 2012-16. [SIPRI report 2021]
- Most of India’s defence imports come from Russia both in 2012-16
and 2017-21.
Trends in International - By SIPRI
Arms Transfers Report - India - largest arms importer (accounting 11% of total imports) in the
2021 world.
- Source of India’s arms import - Russia (46%), France (27%), and the
USA (12%)
- US – largest arms exporter
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AFSPA

Drone Rules,2021
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CULTURE

National - MoU signed between Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Ports, Shipping &
Maritime Waterways for ‘Cooperation in Development of NMHC at Lothal, Gujarat
Heritage Complex - To be developed as an international tourist destination; first of its kind in the
country; separate pavilion for each state and UT.

National Mission - Scheme administered by the Ministry of Culture

on Cultural - To develop a ‘national register and interactive database of artists and art
Mapping practices from the villages of India’ on a robust IT-enabled platform.
- NMCM has been recently handed over to Indira Gandhi National Centre for
the Arts (IGNCA) for a pilot project (mapping 80 villages across India).
Kashi Vishwanath - Rs. 800-crore project for the makeover of Kashi Vishwanath Temple (since its
Corridor last renovation in 1780 AD by the Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore),
and developing a corridor connecting Baba Vishwanath to Lalitghat (directly
to Ganga).
- Dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest of
Shiva temples.

Sri Ramna Kali - President of India inaugurated Sri Ramna Kali Mandir in Dhaka that was
Mandir destroyed during the 1971 war.
- The building and the housed residents were attacked during the Operation
Searchlight by the Pakistan Army (targeting the political oppositions and
religious minorities).
Amar Jawan Jyoti - An eternal flame inaugurated by PM Indira Gandhi in 1972 at India Gate,
Central Delhi marking India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 Indo-Pak War
and nation’s tribute to the soldiers whose lives were lost.
- On normal days one of the four were kept alive. On important occasions, all
the four were lit.
- Now, it has been merged with the National War Memorial Flame.
Porunai River/ - The recent excavation by archaeologists in Tamil Nadu revealed the
Thamirabarani Thamirabarani river civilisation to be 3,200 years old.
River - Perennial river in Tamil Nadu originating in the Pothigai hills of the Western
Ghats and drains into the Gulf of Mannar (Bay of Bengal).
- Major tributaries: Gadananathi, Chittar, Sarvalar, Karaiyar (left) and
Manimuthar, Pachaiyar (right).
Geo-Heritage - Recently, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has identified 12 new sites in the
Sites Northeast to be included in the list of Geo-Heritage sites of the country.
- Refers to the geographical features which are geographically and culturally
important sites due to their distinct features.
- Total sites: 32
- No global geo heritage sites in India
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Statue of Equality - 216-foot-tall statue of Sri Ramanujacharya on the outskirts of Hyderabad,

Telangana.
- Sri Ramanujacharya statue is called the Statue of Equality because he
propagated the idea of social equality. His greatest contribution was the gift
of ‘VASUDHAIVA KUTUMBAKAM’ (meaning ‘all the Universe is one family’).
- His birth anniversary is being celebrated as the ‘Festival of Equality.’

Who was Sri Ramanujacharya?

- A Vedic philosopher and a social reformer who advocated the ideas of
equality & justice and stressed on the need to stop exploiting nature and for
being one with the nature.
- He was the chief proponent of Vishishtadvaita sub-school of Vedanata.
- His works: Navratnas, the Sri Bhasya, the Gitabhasya, Vedartha Samgraha,
Vedantasara, and Vedantadipa.

Ancient temple of - The ASI found remains of temple dating back to the Gupta period (5th century)
Gupta Period in Bilsarh village (declared ‘protected’ by ASI in 1928), Uttar Pradesh.
found - Till date only 2 other structural temples from the Gupta age- Dashavatara
temple (Deogarh) and Bhitargaon temple (Kanpur Dehat) have been found.
- The stairs of the temple had ‘Shankhalipi incriptions’ saying ‘Sri
Mahendratiya’, title of Kumaragupta I of the Gupta dynasty.

Shankhalipi script
- Discovered in 1836 by James Prinsep. It is also known as ‘shell-script’ dating
back to somewhere between the 4th and 8th centuries.
- Some sites with shell inscriptions- Mundeshwari Temple (Bihar), the Udaygiri
Caves (Madhya Pradesh) and Mansar (Maharashtra).
Bhasha Sangam - Launched by Ministry of Education under “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” to
Initiative teach basic sentences of everyday usage in 22 scheduled languages of India.
- Developed by NCERT.
- Available on DIKSHA, ePathshala, and 22 booklets.
Reclining Buddha - India’s largest statue of the Reclining Buddha is being installed at the
Buddha International Welfare Mission Temple in Bodhgaya.
- This posture represents The Buddha in his last illness, about toenter
Parinirvana.
- It was first depicted in Gandhara art.
- Reclining Buddha in India: Cave 26. Of Ajanta Caves & Kushinagar & Uttar
Pradesh.
Sambandar - The National Gallery of Australia has announced to return 14 works of art
to India including Sambandar.
- Sambandar was one of the Nayanars, a group of 63 Shaivite saints of
South India engaged in popularizing worship of Shiva between 6th to 9th
century.
- The Dancing child saint Sambandar is an artwork of 12th century
belonging to Chola Dynasty.
Historical Jallianwala Bagh Memorial
battles/uprisings - First opened by Dr. Rajendra Prasad on 13th April, 1961 in Amritsar to pay
in news tribute to the victims of the massacre.
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- On April 13th, 1919, a large crowd gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh to protest
the arrest of nationalist leaders Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satya Pal. In response,
Col. Reginald Dyer ordered his troops to start firing upon people.
- The PM is the chairperson of Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Trust who recently
inaugurated the renovated Jallianwala Bagh Complex.

100 years of Chauri Chaura Incident

- Date: February 4,1921 in the backdrop of the Non-Cooperation Movement.
- A crowd of protestors gathered in the Gorakhpur district of United Provinces
(now Uttar Pradesh) and set fire to a police station protesting against police
brutalities.
- It led to deaths of several policemen and protestors. In response Mahatma
Gandhi called off the NCM.

Malabar/ Moplah Rebellion, 1921

- Initially began as an uprising of Muslim tenants in the Malabar region of Kerala
against the British rulers and their Hindu landlords due to high revenue, lack
of security of tenure and other oppressive exactions.
- After the arrest of their leader Ali Musaliyar, the events turned into a large-
scale riot killing 10,000 lives.

Paika Rebellion, 1817

- The Paiks were traditional landed militia of Odisha who served as warriors and
policing functions during peacetime in return for rent-free lands and titles, all
of this was lost with the coming of Britishers.
- It was an armed rebellion, led by Bakshi Jagabandhu Bidhyadhar, against the
British East India Company’s rule in 1817 in Odisha.
- In response to a question, the Minister of Culture informed the Rajya Sabha
that Paika rebellion of 1817 cannot be called as the first war of independence

Battle of Saragarhi
- September 12, 2021 marked the 124th anniversary of the Battle of Saragarhi.
- Considered the finest last stands in the military history of the world when 21
soldiers of 36th Sikh regiment, led by Havildar Ishar Singh were pitted against
8,000 tribals. They managed to hold the fort for seven hours.
- Saragarhi was the communication tower between the Fort Lockhart and Fort
Gulistan housing British troops. The tribals wanted to cut the communication
tower between them.
Pochampally as - Pochampally, a village in Telangana has been selected as one of the Best
Best Tourism Tourism Villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation
Village (UNWTO).
- Referred as the ‘silk city of India.’ It is an artisanal village known for its
exceptional Ikat weaves and textures. Pochampally Ikat received a GI Tag in
2004.
- Bhoodan movement was initiated by Vinoba Bhave in 1951 at
Pochampally village
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Important dates World Hindi Day

in news - Celebrated since 2006 to commemorate the anniversary of the first World
Hindi Conference (held in Nagpur on 10th January, 1975), and promote the use
of Hindi language across the world.
- It is different from National Hindi Day/ Hindi Divas (14th September).
- On the occasion of World Hindi Day, UNESCO has agreed to publish Hindi
descriptions of India’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas

- The Union Cabinet approved 15th November as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas. The
date also marks the birth anniversary of Birsa Munda.
- To recognize the efforts of tribals in the preservation of cultural heritage and
Indian values and contribution of tribals (like Santhals, Bhils, Khasis, Mizos) in
India’s fight against British.
- A tribal freedom fighter museum at Ranchi will also be inaugurated.
UNESCO Historic Urban Landscape Project
- Started in 2011 for the inclusive and well-planned development of fast-growing
historical cities while preserving the culture and heritage.
- Six cities of South Asia, including Ajmer and Varanasi are part of the project.
Recently, Orchha and Gwalior (both in Madhya Pradesh) have been latest
additions.
- The project will be jointly developed by UNESCO, Govt. of India, and State
govt. of Madhya Pradesh.

Durga Puja
- Durga Puja in Kolkata is now one of the representatives of the Intangible
Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
- becomes the first festival in Asia to get this recognition.
- Goddess Durga, the feminine energy of the cosmos, is worshipped during the
five-day festival that begins on the 5th night of the nine-day Navratri festival
and ends on the tenth day when it is called as ‘Dashmi.’

UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN)

- UNESCO designated Srinagar as a part of UNESCO Creative Cities Network
(UCCN).
- Other Indian cities part of UCCN: Crafts and Folk Arts- Srinagar (2021) & Jaipur
(2015); Film- Mumbai (2019); Creative city of Music: Chennai (2017) & Varanasi
(2015); Gastronomy: Hyderabad (2019)
- Note: In India, the applications are routed through the Ministry of Culture.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

1. UNESCO inscribed the 13th-century Ramappa temple in Palampet,Telangana
as a World Heritage Site.
- Situated near Warangal, it showcases outstanding craftsmanshipof great
Kakatiya dynasty.
- Dated near 1213, built by a Kakatiya General Recherla Rudra Reddy,
during the period of the Kakatiya ruler Ganapati Deva.
- Main deity - Shiva
- is built of sandstone with decorated beams and pillars of carvedgranite
and dolerite.
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2. Dholavira, the Harappan-era archaeological site, was given the tag of the
40th UNESCO World Heritage Site in India.
- Located on Khadir island in the Great Rann of Kutch
- It is the fifth largest archaeological site of the Indus Valley Civilisation, dating
back to around 3000 BC and is believed tohave been occupied till 1500 BC.

Personalities in Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

news - Born on January 23, 1897.
- Bose advocated armed struggle for India’s independence and enlisted Nazi’s
help during WWII to rid India of British rule.
- Twice-elected president of the Congress; founder and President of the
Forward Bloc; founder of Provisional Govt. of Free India; revived the Indian
National Army (founded by Captain General Mohan Singh)
- Books – An Indian Pilgrim, The Indian Struggle
- On his recent birth anniversary, hologram (later to be replaced by granite
statue) of Netaji has been installed at India Gate.
- A Sankalp Smarak has also been installed in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands
to pay tribute to soldiers of INA and Netaji’s values of ‘Nishtha, Kartavya aur
Balidan.’

Rani Gaidinliu
- Born in Rongmei tribe of Manipur, Rani Gaidinliu joined the freedom
movement at the age of 13.
- She led the Heraka movement which aimed at establishing self-rule of Nagas.
- Former PM, Jawaharlal Nehru called her “daughter of the hills” and gave her
the title “Rani” for her courage.
- The Rani Gaidinliu Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum has recently been
inaugurated in Manipur.

Adi Shankaracharya
- Born around 788 AD in Kaladi village on the bank of river Periyar, Kerala,
Shankaracharya left home in search of learning and is believed to have taken
samadhi at Kedar Tirth at the age of 32.
- He was a devotee of Shiva and opposed Buddhist philosophers.
- propounded the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta (the oldest extant of
Vedanta schools of Indian philosophy).
- Literary works: Texts like Brahmasutrabhasya, BhajagovindaStotra,
Shankarasmrithi, Nirvana Shatakam, PrakaranGranths and poetic works like
Saundaryalahiri.
- Prime Minister, recently, unveiled Adi Shankaracharya’s 12-foot statue at the
seer’s Samadhi sthal Kedarnath (Uttarakhand).

Sri Aurobindo
- Born in Calcutta on 15th August, 1872. He was a spiritual leader, a yogi,
philosopher, poet and an Indian nationalist.
- He was an active participant during the freedom struggle from 1902 to 1910.
- He was also imprisoned in 1908 in the Alipore Bomb case. After this, he fled
to the Pondichery (then, a French colony) where he devoted himself to
development of “integral” yoga.
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- Literary works: BandeMatram (Newspaper, 1905), Bases of Yoga, Savitri: A

Legend and a Symbol, Rebirth and Karma, along with others.
- Recently, the PM chaired the 1st meeting of the committee constituted to
commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo.

Major Dhyan Chand

- Indian field hockey player regarded as the greatest in the sport’s
history.
- His birthday is celebrated as National Sports Day (29th August).
- Two highest honours named after him: Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna
Award (outstanding performance at international level for 4 years)
and Dhyan Chand Award ( for lifetime achievement).
- Awarded Padma Bhushan in 1956.
 REPORTS/INDICES

World Bank
Report/Index
World Development Report
Human Capital Index
Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Report
Global Economic Prospects (GEP) Report
Learning Poverty report
Logistics Performance Index

IMF
Global Financial Stability Report
World Economic Outlook

UN Agencies
Report/Index Published by Insights
Human Development Report UNDP
Multidimensional Poverty Index UNDP + Oxford Poverty 3 dimensions, 10
and Human indicators:
Development Initiative Education: Years of
(OPHI) schooling, School
Attendance
Health: Child
mortality, Nutrition
Standard of living:
Electricity, Housing,
Drinking Water,
Sanitation, Cooking
Fuel, Assets
World Migration Report 2022 International
Organization for
Migration (IOM)
World Economic Situation and UNDESA + UNCTAD
Prospects (WESP) Report
World Investment Report UNCTAD
State of World Population Report UNFPA (United Nations Title: Seeing the
2022 Population Fund) Unseen: The case for
action in the
neglected crisis of
unintended
pregnancy
Global Education Monitoring UNESCO
Report
State of Education Report for India UNESCO
2021
Children's Climate Risk Index UNICEF + Fridays for
Future
State of the World’s Children UNICEF impact of COVID-19
Report 2021 pandemic on
children’s mental
health
World Food Price Index FAO
State of Food Security and FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, 4 parameters:
Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2021 WFP, WHO affordability,
availability, quality
and safety
Global Wage Report ILO
State of the World's Forests FAO
(SOFO) 2021

World Economic Forum (WEF)

Report/Index Insights
Global Competitiveness Report/Index
Global Risks Report 2021
Global Gender Gap Report 2021 4 dimensions: Economic Participation and
Opportunity, Educational Attainment,
Health and Survival, Political
Empowerment
Energy Transition Index 2021
Global Social Mobility Index 2020 5 dimensions of social mobility: Health,
Education, Technology, Work, Protection
and Institutions
India's rank => 76 out of 82 countries

Environment
Report/Index Published by Insights
Ecological Threat Institute of Economics Based on population growth, water
Report 2021 and Peace (IEP) stress, food
insecurity, droughts, floods, cyclones,
and rising temperature.
Most vulnerable: Middle East and
North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and
South Asia
Environmental Yale Univ + WEF +
Performance Index Columbia Univ
State of the Global World Meteorological
Climate Report Organization (WMO)
Adaptation Gap UNEP
Report 2021
Emissions Gap Report UNEP Top GHG emitters: China > US > EU >
2021 India
Living Planet Report World Wide Fund for
Nature (WWF)
Climate Change Germanwatch, New 4 parameters: greenhouse gas
Performance Index Climate Institute, emissions, renewable energy, energy
Climate Action use, climate policy
Network
Global Climate Risk Germanwatch
Index
Global Biodiversity Convention on
Outlook Biological Diversity
(CBD)
Global Land Outlook UNCCD
Food Waste Index UNEP

Miscellaneous
Report/Index Published by Insights
World Inequality Report World Inequality Lab • richest 10% of the global
2022 population own 76% of
all wealth
• poorest half of the
global population
possesses just 2% of the
total
India Energy Outlook IEA
World Energy Outlook IEA
Global EV Outlook IEA
Global Energy & CO2 Status IEA
report
Global Health Security Nuclear Threat Initiative #1 US
Index 2021 (NTI) + Johns Hopkins #66 India
Centre
Global Hunger Index 2021 Concern Worldwide, 4 indicators:
Welthungerhilfe undernourished, child
wasting, child stunting,
child mortality
India's rank => 101 among
107 countries behind Nepal
(76), Pakistan (92),
Bangladesh (76)
Global Food Security Index Economist Impact + 4 factors:
2021 Corteva Agriscience • Affordability
• Availability
• Quality and Safety
 • Natural Resources and
Resilience

Global Nutrition Report WHO India has made no progress

2021 on anaemia and childhood
wasting
rise in anaemic Indian
women since 2016 (53%
women anemic)
Democracy Index Economist Intelligence based on 5 categories:
Unit (EIU) electoral process and
pluralism, civil liberties,
functioning of government,
political participation,
political culture
four regime types: full
democracies, flawed
democracies (INDIA),
hybrid regimes and
authoritarian regimes.
Global Liveability Index EIU
Food Sustainability Index EIU
Global Peace Index Institute for Economics and
Peace
Global Terrorism Index Institute for Economics and
Peace
Freedom in the World 2022 Freedom House (USA For the second consecutive
based human rights year, India has been
watchdog) termed as ‘partly free’
country in terms of
democracy and free society
Academic Freedom Index Global Public Policy
Institute
World Press Freedom Reporters without Borders India's rank => 142 out of
Index 2021 180
remains one of the world’s
most dangerous countries
for journalists
Corruption Perception Transparency International India's rank => 85th among
Index 2021 180
Democracy Report 2022: Varieties of Democracy (V- 4 regime types: Liberal
Autocratisation Changing Dem) Institute, Sweden Democracy, Electoral
Nature? Democracy, Electoral
Autocracy, and Closed
Autocracy
Global State of Democracy International Institute for number of countries
Report 2021 Democracy and Electoral moving
Assistance (International- towards authoritarianism in
IDEA 2020 was higher than that
of countries becoming
more democratic
Global Innovation Index WIPO, INSEAD, Cornell India => #46
2021
World Competitiveness Institute for Management
Report/Index Development (IMD)
Henley Passport Index 2022 Henly India – 83rd most powerful
passport
Global Manufacturing Risk Cushman & Wakefield (US- most sought-after
Index 2021 based firm) manufacturing destinations
#1 China, #2 India, #3 US

Domestic
Report/Index Published by Insights
India Innovation Index NITI Aayog
Geospatial Energy Map of NITI Aayog + ISRO holistic picture of all
India energy resources of the
country
National Multidimensional NITI Aayog 3 dimensions, 12 indicators
Poverty Index Health: Nutrition, Child &
Adolescent Mortality,
Antenatal Care
Education: Years of
Schooling, School
Attendance
Standard of living: Cooking
Fuel, Sanitation, Drinking
Water, Electricity, Housing,
Assets, Bank Account
State Health Index NITI Aayog Top: Kerala, TN, Telangana
title: Healthy States, Bottom: UP, BH, MP
Progressive India
Good Governance Index Department of Top: GJ, MP, HP, Delhi
2021 Administrative Reforms
and Public Grievances
(DARPG), Ministry of
Personnel, Public
Grievances and Pensions
NFHS-5 MoH&FW Data 2019-21
Sex ratio: 1020 w per 100 m
SR @ birth: 952
TFR: 2
 Child nutrition
Underweight: 32%
Wasting: 19%
Stunting: 36%

Anemic women: 53%

Export Preparedness Index NITI Aayog + Institute of 4 parameters: policy,
2021 Competitiveness business ecosystem,
export ecosystem, export
performance
#1 - Gujarat
Public Affairs Index Bangalore-based think tank Based on three pillars of
Public Affairs Center (PAC) governance - growth,
equity and sustainability
1st – Kerala
Last - UP
Financial Stability Report RBI
Financial Inclusion Index RBI 3 dimensions:
• access to financial
services
• usage of financial
services
• quality of the products
and the service delivery
Digital Payments Index RBI to capture the extent of
digitisation of payments
across the country
LEADS Report 2021 DPIIT, M/o Commerce To gauge the logistics
performance of states and
Union Territories (UT) and
identifying areas where
they can improve logistics
performance
Top: #1 GJ, #2 HR, #3 PB
Swachh Survekshan 2021 MoHUA Best Ganga Town: Varanasi
Cleanest Cantonment:
Ahmedabad Cantt
Cleanest State:
Chhattisgarh
Ease of Living Index MoHUA Rank #1 Bengaluru
(million+ category), Shimla
(< million category)
Municipal Performance MoHUA Rank #1 Indore (million+),
Index New Delhi MC (< million)
State Food Safety Index FSSAI
Tiger Status Report 2018 National Tiger India’s tiger pop => 2967
Conservation Authority statewise: MP > KN > UK
(NTCA) Tiger reserves: Corbett >
Nagarhole > Bandipur
India State of Forests Forest Survey of India, Forest cover:
report 2021 MoEFCC Absolute à MP >
Arunachal > Chhattisgarh >
Odisha > Maharashtra

%age à Mizoram (84%) >

Arunachal Pradesh (79%) >
Meghalaya (76%) >
Manipur (74%) > Nagaland
(73%)

Sample Registration Office of the Registrar MMR: 103 per 1 lakh live
System (SRS) Bulletin General of India, M/o Home births
Report Affairs Kerala: 30
UP, BH, RJ – showed
improvement
WB, HR, CH, UK - worsened
India TB Report 2021 MoH&FW 19% rise in TB cases over
the previous year
National Coal Index Ministry of Coal
Annual Status of Education Pratham (NGO) analysed the impact of
Report (ASER) 2021 Covid-19 on learning