Humayun’s Tomb This tomb, built in 1570, is of particular cultural significance as it was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent. It inspired several major architectural innovations, culminating in the construction of the Taj Mahal. It was built under the patronage of Humayun’s son, the great Emperor...
Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 Context: Delivering a judgment defining the contours of the otherwise “vague” Section 15 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, (UAPA) a division bench of the Delhi High Court has laid down some important principles upon the imposition of Section 15, 17 & 18 of...
Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought Context: Recently, the Prime Minister delivered a keynote address at the United Nations (UN) “High-Level Dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought” via video conference. He spoke as the President of the 14th Session of the Conference of Parties (CoP) of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The Dialogue will encourage all member states...
Resolution 75/260 of UNGA: HIV/AIDS Context: The Union Health Minister addressed the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on prevention of HIV/AIDS. The Resolution 75/260 of UNGA deals with the Implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the political declarations on HIV/AIDS. Key Points...
Official language Context: The Tulu speakers, mainly in Karnataka and Kerala, have been requesting the governments to give it official language status and include it in the eighth schedule to the Constitution. In 2020, there was a demand to include Tulu in the new National Education Policy (NEP). About: Official Language or Languages of a State: Part XVII of the...
National AI Portal Context: The ‘National AI Portal’, celebrated its first anniversary on 28th May, 2021. About: Artificial Intelligence (AI): It describes the action of machines accomplishing tasks that have historically required human intelligence. It includes technologies like machine learning, pattern recognition, big data, neural networks, self algorithms etc. AI involves complex things such as feeding a particular data into...
Rare Earth Metals Context: China’s dominance in the rare earth metals, key to the future of manufacturing, is posing a major concern for the West. About: Rare Earth Elements ⦁ They are a set of seventeen metallic elements. These include the fifteen lanthanides on the periodic table in addition to scandium and...
CHIME telescope Context: Scientists with the Canadian hydrogen Intensity mapping Experiment (CHIME) Collaboration have assembled the largest collection of Fast radio bursts (FRBs) in the telescope’s first FRB catalogue. Its significance: While catching sight of an FRB is considered a rare thing in the field of radio astronomy, prior...
Heritage Trees Context: The Maharashtra Cabinet has passed an action plan to protect and preserve trees older than 50 years in urban areas by terming them heritage trees. About: Concept of Heritage Tree Few important criteria for considering a tree as a "heritage tree" are: size, shape, rarity, aesthetical/historical values, association...
EnVision Mission to Venus Context: Recently, European Space Agency (ESA) has announced a new mission- EnVision mission to Venus. About: EnVision Mission It is an European Space Agency (ESA) led mission with contributions from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) It is likely to be launched sometime in the 2030s.Once launched on...
