April 18th Current Affairs Quiz
April 17th Current Affairs Quiz
GRANT OF CONSULAR SERVICES, EXTENDED SUSPENSION OF EXISTING VISAS
Why in news? Union Ministry for Home Affairs (MHA), on 28.03.2020, had granted consular services on gratis basis to foreign nationals, presently residing in India due to travel restrictions in the context of COVID-19 outbreak, till 30th April, 2020. After considering the matter, it has been decided to extend the period of providing the following […]
CENS’S GOLD NANOSTRUCTURE SUBSTRATE
Why in news? Scientists have developed a substrate (the surface or material on which an organism lives, grows) for optical sensing applications using a gold nanostructure. Such substrates are sensitive to change in the refractive index of the surrounding medium and can detect biologically important molecules and chemicals in the laboratory. The substrate has potential […]
ORGANIC PSEUDOCAPACITOR: LOW-COST ENERGY STORAGE SOLUTION
Why in news? Scientists have developed a stable material for pseudocapacitors or supercapacitors which store electrical energy by electron charge transfer. The material can offer a low-cost scalable energy storage solution as an alternative to batteries. Details The team has developed the pseudocapacitive material, a hybrid xerogel structure (a solid formed from a gel by […]
WHY GOLD PRICES HAVE BEEN RISING BEFORE AND DURING COVID-19?
Introduction to rising Gold Prices Much before Covid-19’s impact reverberated across economies and led to a crash in global stock markets, gold prices had started their upward glide since May 2019 to culminate into a nearly 40 per cent jump in less than a year. The present gold prices in India are even higher, as […]
A VIRUS, SOCIAL DEMOCRACY, AND DIVIDENDS FOR KERALA
Kerala’s Success in Flattening the curve Though Kerala was the first State with a recorded case of coronavirus and once led the country in active cases, it now ranks 10th of all States and the total number of active cases (in a State that has done the most aggressive testing in India) has been declining […]
18th April – Editorials/Opinions Analyses
Contents Short on labourers, a long harvest A season of change: Meteorological department A virus, social democracy, and dividends for Kerala Why gold prices have been rising before and during COVID-19? SHORT ON LABOURERS, A LONG HARVEST Focus: GS-III Agriculture Lockdown’s Impact on Harvesting Usually, 90% of the wheat in Punjab and neighbouring Haryana is […]
A SEASON OF CHANGE: METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT
IMD’s Monsoon Forecast In the season of the abnormal, the IMD has announced that the monsoon this year would likely be normal. The agency follows a two-stage forecast system: indicating in April whether there are chances of drought or any other anomaly and then a second update, in late June, with a more granular look […]
SHORT ON LABOURERS, A LONG HARVEST
Lockdown’s Impact on Harvesting Usually, 90% of the wheat in Punjab and neighbouring Haryana is harvested using combine harvester machines. But with physical distancing norms in place now, for many small farmers, that system has been thrown out of gear as they can’t jointly hire the machine and the produce must be brought to the […]