The Reserve Bank of India has released its monthly statement on developments in India's balance of payments. The net current account stood at -7.4 US$ billion for the month and -25.8 US$ billion for the April to September period, both figures marked preliminary. Net merchandise was -30.0 US$ billion for the month and -176.1 US$ billion for the half year, while net services came to 19.2 US$ billion and 105.0 US$ billion. Net transfers, the head under which money sent home by Indians abroad is counted, were 10.9 US$ billion for the month and 77.7 US$ billion for the half year. Net foreign direct investment was -4.9 US$ billion and net foreign portfolio investment -6.7 US$ billion for the month. The overall balance was 8.8 US$ billion for the month and 66.8 US$ billion for the half year, with monetary movements carrying the opposite sign because a minus there means an increase in reserves.
The Indian Space Research Organisation has carried out a successful ground static test of a new version of the PSLV third stage solid motor, known as PS3, at the Static Test Facility of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. The test follows anomalies seen in the PS3 stage during the PSLV-C61/EOS-09 and PSLV-C62/EOS-N1 missions. Before the test the agency reviewed the stage's design margins, raw material acceptance criteria, assembly procedures and quality checks. The nozzle configuration was improved to widen design margins, the mechanical interfaces were strengthened with redundant sealing systems, and updated non-destructive test procedures were applied during integration and transportation. Further tests are planned once the data from this one has been analysed. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is a four-stage vehicle in which the first and third stages are solid and the second and fourth are liquid.
Stage tested:PS3, the PSLV third stage solid motorTest site:Static Test Facility, SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota
Why it matters for exams: The PSLV stage configuration and the location of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre are standard Science and Technology questions.
The Karnataka High Court has held that a man's admission that he had a relationship with a child's mother does not prove he is the father and does not by itself justify ordering a DNA test. Justice Lalitha Kanneganti, sitting as a single judge, said a Family Court must first weigh the other evidence, such as the circumstances of the relationship, the child's birth and any acknowledgment of parentage, and may direct testing only if that evidence cannot resolve the dispute. The application had been made under Section 45 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, the provision on the opinion of experts. The Court relied on the Supreme Court's decision in Ivan Rathinam v. Milan Joseph, which requires existing evidence and the statutory presumption of legitimacy to be examined before DNA testing is directed, and on the privacy of the person to be tested under Article 21. The Family Court's order for a test was set aside and the application remanded with a direction to record reasons showing that testing is necessary and proportionate. The Court also noted that a child's claim to maintenance does not depend on the parents being married.
Provision invoked:Section 45, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023Precedent relied on:Ivan Rathinam v. Milan Joseph
Why it matters for exams: Section 45 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 on expert opinion is the durable Law point here.
ARIES is the short name of the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences. The institute is an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology, and its campus is at Manora Peak beside the hill town of Nainital in Uttarakhand. Research there covers observational Astronomy & Astrophysics and Atmospheric Sciences, and the institute has also moved into theoretical and numerical studies in Relativistic Astrophysics. The institute hosts four telescopes of 104-cm, 130-cm, 3.6-m DOT and 4-m ILMT apertures, and a 15-cm telescope is kept for solar observations. Scientists have used the 104-cm optical telescope as their main observing facility since 1972. The 130-cm, 360-cm and 400-cm telescopes stand at a site called Devasthal, about 60-Km away, where the skies are dark. A micro-pulse LIDAR and a ST Radar that measures winds up to an altitude of around 20 km also work at Nainital, and ARIES hosts the Aditya-L1 Support Cell.
Parent department:Department of Science & TechnologyCampus:Manora PeakLargest telescope:4-m ILMTDistance to the dark-sky site:60-Km
Why it matters for exams: Named research institutes, the department they work under and their big telescopes are regular one-mark questions.
ARIESAryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences — An autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology at Manora Peak, Nainital.
DOTDevasthal Optical Telescope — The 3.6-m telescope at the institute's Devasthal site.
ILMTInternational Liquid Mirror Telescope — The 4-m liquid mirror telescope hosted by the institute.
ST RadarStratosphere Troposphere Radar — A radar at Nainital that measures wind speed up to about 20 km altitude.
The National Institute of Nutrition, known as NIN, was started by Sir Robert McCarrison in 1918 as a 'Beri-Beri' Enquiry Unit housed in one room at the Pasteur Institute in Coonoor, Tamil Nadu. The unit grew into a Deficiency Disease Enquiry within seven years, and in 1928 it became the Nutrition Research Laboratories, with Dr. McCarrison as its first Director. The laboratories were shifted to Hyderabad in 1958. The institute took its present name, National Institute of Nutrition, at its golden jubilee in 1969. The campus stands inside Osmania University. The mandate covers Dietary Reference Intake Values, Recommended Dietary Allowances and Dietary Guidelines for Indians, and the institute also studies food and environmental safety. Nutrition Wards for its clinical work are available at Niloufer Hospital for Women and Children, Government Maternity Hospital and Osmania General Hospital.
Founder:Sir Robert McCarrisonPlace of origin:CoonoorShifted to Hyderabad:1958Campus:Osmania University
Why it matters for exams: Who founded the institute, where it began and where it moved to are asked in science and health sections alike.
The Indian Bureau of Mines, or IBM, was established in 1948 and works under the Department of Mines, Ministry of Mines. The Bureau promotes conservation and scientific development of mineral resources and protection of environment in mines, but not in mines of coal, petroleum & natural gas, atomic minerals and minor minerals. The Bureau started as a purely advisory body and now inspects mines, scrutinises and approves mining plans and mining schemes, and carries out geological and environmental studies. The Bureau prepares minerals maps and the National Mineral Inventory, gives technical consultancy to the mineral industry, and works as a data bank for mines and minerals. The Controller General heads IBM, which has six technical divisions and its head quarters at Nagpur. A Modern Mineral Processing Laboratory and Pilot Plant was set up at Nagpur with the assistance of United Nations Development Programme. The Bureau has 3 Zonal Offices, 12 Regional Offices and 2 Sub-Regional Offices.
Established:1948Ministry:Ministry of MinesHead of the organisation:Controller GeneralHead quarters:Nagpur
Why it matters for exams: Which minerals a body does not cover, who heads it and where it sits are the kind of details an examiner picks.
Cognac appears on the Geographical Indications record of India as Application Number 230. Status of that application is Registered, and the Applicant Name is Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac, written short as BNIC. Goods are shown as Manufactured and the entry sits in Class 33. Geographical Area for the entry is France, and the Priority Country is also France. Date of Filing was 28-12-2010 and the application appeared in Journal Number 39. Certificate Number 156 was issued, with a Certificate Date of 18-08-2011. Registration is Valid Upto 27-12-2030, and renewal papers are listed against the same record.
Application Number:230Applicant Name:Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC)Class:33Geographical Area:FranceCertificate Number:156
Why it matters for exams: That India's geographical indication record also carries foreign names, and what a GI class means, are useful exam points.
Villianur Terracotta Works is entered on the Geographical Indications record of India as Application Number 201. Status of the entry is Registered and the Applicant Name is Pondicherry Crafts Foundation. Goods are recorded as Handicraft and the entry falls in Class 21. Geographical Area for the entry is Pondicherry, with India as the Priority Country. Date of Filing was 22-03-2010, and the application was carried in Journal Number 39. Certificate Number 154 was granted, with a Certificate Date of 18-08-2011. Registration is Valid Upto 21-03-2030. Renewal papers against this entry are listed in the same record.
Khatamband is entered on the Geographical Indications record of India as Application Number 204. Status of the entry is Registered, and the Applicant Name is TAHAFUZ. Applicant Address on the record describes TAHAFUZ as a Society of Handicraft Artisans of J & K at Srinagar. Goods are recorded as Handicraft, and the entry covers Class 19 & 20 together. Geographical Area for the entry is Jammu & Kashmir, with India as the Priority Country. Date of Filing was 24-03-2010 and the application was carried in Journal Number 41. Certificate Number 164 was granted, with a Certificate Date of 06-01-2012. Registration is Valid Upto 23-03-2030, and a renewal notice of 16-06-2025 is listed against the entry.
KhatambandKhatamband — A handicraft of Jammu & Kashmir that holds a geographical indication, with the entry standing in the name of a Srinagar society.
TAHAFUZTAHAFUZ, Society of Handicraft Artisans of J & K — The Srinagar society named as applicant on this record.
GIGeographical Indication — A sign on goods that come from a particular place and owe their character to it.
The Rehabilitation Council of India, or RCI, works under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and looks after rehabilitation education and professional governance. Rehabilitation professionals are entered on the Central Rehabilitation Register, written short as CRR. RCI has waived the fees for CRR issuance, renewal and qualification addition, so students and professionals pay nothing for it. A CRR registration is now valid for seven years instead of five. RCI has also brought in an automatic renewal system for candidates who earn 100 or more Continuing Rehabilitation Education points. A total of 144 top-performing institutions and universities have been named Centers of Excellence, which take up CRE programmes and enjoy an extended seven-year approval tenure. Supplementary exams are to be held within 75 days of result declaration, so a student need not lose an academic year.
Ministry:Ministry of Social Justice & EmpowermentRegister:Central Rehabilitation RegisterCenters of Excellence named:144Points for automatic renewal:100 or more
Why it matters for exams: The register a professional must be on, and the ministry behind the council, are asked in welfare and education sections.
PESO is the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation. The organisation works under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, written short as DPIIT, in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. PESO licenses and oversees lakhs of facilities and assets, from refineries, depots, pipelines, road tankers and jetties to cylinders and pressure vessels, industrial and medical gases, explosives and fireworks. The head of the organisation is the Chief Controller of Explosives, written short as CCE. PESO works through its Headquarters, through Circle and Sub-Circle Offices, and through specialised centres. The specialised centres include the Fireworks Research and Development Centre at Sivakasi and the National Academy of Petroleum & Explosives Safety Testing Station. PESO does its licensing digitally through the National Single Window System, and tracks explosives through the System for Explosives Tracking & Tracing.
Department:Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal TradeHead of the organisation:Chief Controller of ExplosivesFireworks centre:Fireworks Research and Development Centre (FRDC) at SivakasiTracking system:System for Explosives Tracking & Tracing
Why it matters for exams: Which department a technical regulator sits under, and the title of its head, are standard one-mark questions.
NIPHM is the National Institute of Plant Health Management. NIPHM is an autonomous organization under the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. NIPHM works on Plant Protection Technology, on Plant quarantine and on Bio-security, leaning especially on crop-oriented Integrated Pest Management approaches. Biological control of crop pests, and biodiversity of natural enemies in the maize ecosystem, are among its subjects. NIPHM has been evaluating its white media for producing Nomuraea rileyi to manage the Maize Fall Army Worm. A second line of work is eco-friendly integrated management of stored grain pests for bulk grain storage in FCI godowns, and NIPHM has taken up field evaluation of the Sterile Insect Technique against the Oriental fruit fly, which attacks economically important fruit crops. NIPHM also runs capacity building programs for officers and farmers on plant protection subjects.
Status:autonomous organizationDepartment:Department of Agriculture and Farmers WelfarePest targeted with white media:Maize Fall Army WormTechnique tried on fruit fly:Sterile Insect Technique
Why it matters for exams: Which department an autonomous institute belongs to, and what plant quarantine means, come up in agriculture questions.