by Spectrum Books | Feb 8, 2018 | Current Events
On February 7, 2018, the monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its bi-monthly review decided not to change interest rates. The repo rate (the rate at which RBI infuses liquidity into the banking system) was kept at 6 per cent. Of the six...
by Spectrum Books | Feb 6, 2018 | International Affairs
The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies has decided to admit India as its new member—its 42nd participating state. This is expected to raise the country’s stature in the field of non-proliferation despite...
by Spectrum Books | Feb 6, 2018 | International Affairs
China successfully tested its first photovoltaic highway based on home-grown technology in Jinan city, the capital of Shandong province, in December 2017. China has now become the second country to construct a photovoltaic highway. France introduced the world’s first...
by Spectrum Books | Feb 6, 2018 | International Affairs
Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech, a vaccine company, has received pre-qualification from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for itsTypbarTyphoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) against typhoid fever, as per an announcement in January 2018. The WHO tag would allow the firm to...
by Spectrum Books | Feb 4, 2018 | Economy
The 2018-19 Budget has apparently been guided by the mission to strengthen agriculture, rural development, health, education, employment, the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and infrastructure sectors. The finance minister quoted Vivekananda: “Let new...
by Spectrum Books | Feb 4, 2018 | Economy
January 29, 2018, saw the opening of the budget session of Parliament. The Economic Survey on Agriculture On the 29th, the Economic Survey 2017-18 was tabled in Parliament. The survey authored by the Chief Economic Adviser to the government, Arvind Subramanian, was...
by Spectrum Books | Feb 4, 2018 | Reports
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the UN Migration Agency, launched its flagship publication, the World Migration Report 2018, during the 108th IOM Council, in Geneva in November 2017.The report is the ninth in IOM’s World Migration Report (WMR)...
by Spectrum Books | Feb 4, 2018 | Reports
In January 2018, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released its Global Manufacturing Index. Japan topped the rankings on the back of developing the best structure of production in the Geneva-based WEF’s first ‘Readiness for the future of production report’. It is...
by Spectrum Books | Feb 4, 2018 | Current Affairs
A new programme, Students and MEA Engagement Programme (SAMEEP), has been launched by the Indian foreign office, as part of its ‘outreach’ mission, to take Indian foreign policy and its global engagements to students across the country. The objective is to familiarise...
by Spectrum Books | Feb 4, 2018 | Current Affairs
The government started its second and final phase of BharatNet project in November2017to provide high-speed broadband in all panchayats by March 2019. Under this phase, that has an outlay of around Rs34,000 crore, the government aims to connect 1.5 lakh panchayats...
by Spectrum Books | Jan 30, 2018 | Economy
On December 22, the Ministry of Communications launched the ‘Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office for A New India’ (DARPAN)project to improve the overall quality of service levels of rural post offices, add value to services and achieve “financial inclusion” of...
by Spectrum Books | Jan 30, 2018 | Economy
On December 27, 2017, the Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh launched a mobile application to forewarn farmers about diseases affecting their livestock so that farmers can take timely precautionary and control measures. The app, called Livestock...
by Spectrum Books | Jan 30, 2018 | Economy
On January 2, 2018, the Union minister for women and child development, Maneka Gandhi launched a web portal, National Repository of Information for Women (NARI), which aims to provide information on all government schemes for women. In a related move, the government...
by Spectrum Books | Jan 27, 2018 | Economy
The National Seed Association of India (NSAI), in January 2018, threatened to stop selling the cotton seeds developed with Bollgard-II (BG-II) technology if the Monsanto firms involved in introduction of the technology did not confirm its effectiveness (it has proved...
by Spectrum Books | Jan 27, 2018 | Economy
On January 1, 2018, the Coffee Board filed an application with the Geographical Indication Registry at Chennai to get the GI tag of five varieties of coffee.The varieties include Baba Budangiri Arabica, Coorg Arabica, Wayanad Robusta, Chikmagalur Arabic and Araku...
by Spectrum Books | Jan 27, 2018 | Economy
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), in January 2018, extended the requirement of the mandatory packaging of foodgrains and sugar products in jute bags for the year ending June 2018. The mandatory packaging norms have been extended under the Jute...
