Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3 Context: In 2016, BigBasket became one of the first companies in India to introduce electric vehicles (EVs) for last-mile deliveries. By going electric, the online supermarket successfully saved costs while being kind to the environment, and three years later, it added 1,000 more e-vans and 2,000 e-bikes to its fleet. ELECTRIC VEHICLES Electric vehicles are automobiles that are prepared by one or more electric motors using energy stored in rechargeable batteries DATA/ REPORTS NITI Aayog submitted a report to move out three-wheelers running on internal combustion engines According to WHO's  global air pollution database ,India....Read More

Syllabus: General studies paper 2 Context: In the light of the horrendous experience of the Government over the farm laws, the present practice of not referring the Bills to committees should be reviewed. Lok Sabha Speaker has spoken about strengthening the committee system in the recent presiding officers’ conference. One way of strengthening it is by getting all the important Bills examined by them.  A missed step of referred bills to the committees: In fact, available data shows that Bills are very rarely referred to the committees these days. House rules have vested the discretion in the presiding officers in the matter of referring the Bills to committees. No reasoned decisions....Read More

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2 Context: U.S. Trade Representative recently flagged India’s ‘unpredictable’ regulatory norms, high tariffs and market access restrictions as key impediments to bilateral trade. The US emphasised America’s continued interest in agriculture market access and conveyed that “worker-centric” policies will be the pivot for the Joe Biden administration’s approach to trade policy. Background  Recent trade visit is to revive the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF) after a four-year hiatus, US stated that the relationship is a top priority for President Biden, but highlighted that bilateral trade “never seems to quite live up to its significant potential”. Key Highlights of....Read More

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3 Context: Despite the announcement by the Prime Minister to repeal the three farm laws, farmers have said their protest will continue — and have written to the PM with their six remaining demands, including, most importantly, a legal mandate for minimum support prices (MSP). Core demands of farm unions Minimum Support Price based on the comprehensive cost of production should be made a legal entitlement of all farmers for all agricultural produce so that every farmer of the country can be guaranteed at least the MSP announced by the government for their entire crop. Guaranteed MSPs....Read More

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3 Context: On 16 November, Russia destroyed one of its old satellites by causing a tail-on collision with an ASAT rocket it had fired, at an altitude slightly higher than that of the International and Chinese space stations. The thousands of pieces of debris that resulted now pose a risk to space-station astronauts, other spacecraft that occupy low-earth orbits and launch vehicles destined for higher orbits. Junk from the Russian test is expected to intersect with the International Space Station’s (ISS) orbit 31 times a day, before spreading out further. Space debris moves faster than bullets....Read More