3 October 2026
A paper in Nature on 30 September 2026 tracked 9,419 meals eaten by 173 hospitalised patients undergoing blood cancer treatment.
It paired them with 1,009 stool microbiome samples.
Intake of sweets and sugars during antibiotic exposure predicted lowered alpha-diversity and greater expansion of the pathobiont Enterococcus.
Among patients with above-median sugar intake, longer antibiotic duration was linked to higher mortality risk.
In mice, sucrose with antibiotics increased Enterococcus expansion 16.3-fold on day 3 and 33.4-fold on day 6.
Meals tracked:
9,419
Patients:
173
Stool samples:
1,009
Enterococcus expansion in mice, day 6:
33.4-fold
Why it matters for exams: Links diet, antibiotics and the microbiome, a growing health-science theme.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Enterococcus A gut bacterial genus — Here a pathobiont that expands when the microbiome is disrupted.
Dysbiosis Imbalance of gut microbes — Loss of microbial diversity.
3 October 2026
QNu Labs, with BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar, has demonstrated India's first free-space Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) link at a scale of 5.56 km. The field trial on the night of 27-28 September linked BISAG-N and IIT Gandhinagar. It achieved a Quantum Bit Error Rate below 5% and secure key generation at 230-260 bps. The keys were integrated with BISAG-N's post-quantum cryptography platform, Vedic Kavach, for end-to-end encryption of test messages. The release was issued by the Ministry of Electronics and IT.
Link length:
5.56 km
Secure key rate:
230-260 bps
Error rate:
below 5%
Why it matters for exams: Quantum communication is a favourite science-and-technology topic, and 'India's first' milestones are asked often.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
QKD Quantum Key Distribution — A method of sharing encryption keys using quantum properties of light.
BISAG-N Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics — An autonomous scientific society under MeitY.
Background
The European Space Agency (ESA) was created as an intergovernmental organisation in 1975. Its purpose, under Article II of its establishing Convention, is to promote for exclusively peaceful purposes cooperation among European States in space research and technology and their space applications. ESA's headquarters are in Paris, where policies and programmes are decided. Its sites include ESTEC in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, ESOC in Darmstadt, Germany, ESRIN in Frascati near Rome, Italy, the European Astronauts Centre in Cologne, Germany, and ESAC near Madrid, Spain, plus a launch base in French Guiana. Mandatory activities are funded by member contributions calculated according to each country's gross national product, while optional programmes are chosen by each member. Under geographical return, ESA invests in each member state, through industrial contracts, an amount roughly equal to that country's contribution.
Headquarters:
Paris
Earth observation centre:
ESRIN, Frascati
Space operations centre:
ESOC, Darmstadt
Mandatory funding basis:
Gross national product
Why it matters for exams: ESA's headquarters, centres and funding model are common questions on space agencies.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Geographical return ESA industrial policy — ESA invests in each member state, through contracts, roughly what that state contributes.
Optional programmes ESA funding — Programmes each member chooses whether to join and how much to contribute.
Background
WMO traces its roots to 1873, when the Vienna International Meteorological Congress tasked a committee with drafting rules for an international body to exchange weather information across borders. The resulting International Meteorological Organization (IMO) came into being at a congress in Rome and was a non-governmental organization. By the mid-1930s that status was seen as incompatible with the importance of meteorology, and the IMO Secretariat was moved to neutral Switzerland in 1939. The IMO became the World Meteorological Organization in March 1950, when its Convention entered into force. In 1951 WMO was designated a specialized agency of the United Nations, with a remit covering meteorology, hydrology and related geophysical sciences.
Predecessor:
International Meteorological Organization
Origin congress:
Vienna
UN status:
Specialized agency
Why it matters for exams: UN specialised agencies, their origins and mandates are a regular static-GK block in civil-service and PSC papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
IMO International Meteorological Organization — The non-governmental forerunner of WMO, not to be confused with the International Maritime Organization.
Hydrology Study of water resources — The study, measurement and forecasting of water resources, part of WMO's mandate.
Background
CERN's origins lie in the 1940s, when scientists in Europe and North America saw the need for a world-class European physics facility, to stop the brain drain to America and to unite post-war Europe. At an intergovernmental meeting of UNESCO in Paris in December 1951, the first resolution on a European Council for Nuclear Research (in French, Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) was adopted. Two months later an agreement was signed establishing the provisional Council, and the acronym CERN was born. The CERN Convention was agreed in June 1953 and signed by 12 States. It states that the Organization shall have no concern with work for military requirements and that its results shall be published or otherwise made generally available. CERN began in 1954, is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and its main area of research is particle physics.
Based in:
Geneva, Switzerland
Convention signed by:
12 States
Main research area:
Particle physics
Resolution adopted at:
UNESCO meeting in Paris
Why it matters for exams: CERN, the Large Hadron Collider and 'science for peace' are recurring science-and-technology questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
CERN Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire — The acronym comes from the French name of the provisional council set up in the early 1950s.
Brain drain Emigration of scientists — The loss of skilled scientists to another country; one reason CERN was proposed.
Background
SDSC SHAR at Sriharikota is called the Spaceport of India and provides launch base infrastructure for the Indian space programme.
Its facilities cover solid propellant processing, static testing of solid motors, launch vehicle integration, launch operations and range operations, including telemetry, tracking and command and a mission control centre.
Two launch pads host the launches of PSLV and GSLV, and a separate pad serves sounding rockets.
Its mandate has three parts: producing solid propellant boosters for ISRO launch vehicles, providing infrastructure to qualify subsystems and solid rocket motors, and providing launch base infrastructure for satellites and launch vehicles.
Role:
Launch base infrastructure for the Indian space programme
Launch pads for PSLV and GSLV:
Two
Known as:
Spaceport of India
Why it matters for exams: Questions often ask what SHAR does and where India's launches originate, set against ISRO's other centres.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
SHAR Sriharikota High Altitude Range — The launch range at Sriharikota that gives SDSC SHAR its name.
Sounding rocket Sounding rocket — A small research rocket that makes brief flights into the upper atmosphere.
Background
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is India's third-generation launch vehicle and the first Indian one equipped with liquid stages.
It has four stages: PS1 is the S139 solid motor with 139 tonnes of HTPB, PS2 is powered by the Vikas liquid engine, PS3 is a solid motor, and PS4 uses two liquid engines.
Strap-on boosters vary by variant: PSLV-XL uses 6, PSLV-QL uses 4, PSLV-DL uses 2, and the core-alone PSLV-CA uses none.
It can lift up to 1,750 kg to a Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbit at 600 km altitude and 1,425 kg to Sub-GTO.
Its reliability has earned it the title 'the Workhorse of ISRO'.
Number of stages:
4
Payload to Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbit:
1,750 kg
Payload to Sub-GTO:
1,425 kg
Strap-on boosters on PSLV-XL:
6
Why it matters for exams: Launch-vehicle stage structure, variants and payload figures are regular science-and-technology questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
HTPB Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene — The rubber-based fuel binder used in PSLV's solid motors.
Strap-on booster Strap-on booster — A small motor attached to the first stage for extra thrust at lift-off.
3 October 2026
A 1-kg mass of hair was removed from the stomach and small intestine of a nine-year-old girl in a rare surgery at NIMS Medicity, Neyyattinkara, near Thiruvananthapuram.
She was admitted with persistent abdominal pain and vomiting; ultrasound and CT scans showed severe intestinal obstruction and an endoscopy confirmed the hair mass.
The surgery was led by Dr Biju I G Nair, senior consultant in the Department of Paediatric Surgery; the girl recovered and was discharged.
A trichobezoar, or hairball, forms when a person repeatedly pulls out and swallows hair, which cannot be digested.
Rapunzel syndrome is the extremely rare condition in which a trichobezoar extends from the stomach into the small intestine; the hospital said fewer than 100 cases have been reported worldwide.
Mass removed:
1 kg of hair
Patient's age:
9 years
Hospital:
NIMS Medicity, Neyyattinkara
Cases reported worldwide:
fewer than 100
Why it matters for exams: Medical terms such as trichobezoar and Rapunzel syndrome appear in general-science and health sections of Kerala PSC and SSC papers.
Kerala PSCSSC
In plain words
Trichobezoar — A hairball formed when swallowed hair accumulates in the stomach.
Rapunzel syndrome — A trichobezoar that extends from the stomach into the small intestine.
Background
The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), 272 km long, covers Udhampur, Reasi, Ramban, Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama, Budgam and Baramulla districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Chenab Bridge in Reasi district is the world's highest railway bridge: 1315 m long, with an arch span of 467 m and a height of 359 m above the river bed.
The Anji Khad Bridge is Indian Railways' first cable-stayed bridge; its deck is 331 m above the river bed and its main pylon is 193 m high.
All tunnels longer than 2 km have mechanical ventilation, and escape tunnels have been built where a tunnel is more than 3 km long, totalling 66 km.
USBRL length:
272 km
Chenab Bridge height above river bed:
359 m
Chenab Bridge arch span:
467 m
Anji Khad deck height:
331 m
Escape tunnels:
66 km
Why it matters for exams: The record dimensions of the Chenab Bridge and the layout of USBRL are favourite static-GK and infrastructure questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Arch span — The distance covered by the curved arch of a bridge between its supports.
Pylon — The tall tower of a cable-stayed bridge from which the cables are strung.
3 October 2026
CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) celebrated its 85th Foundation Day on 1 October 2026 at Nagpur.
Chief Guest Dr Prakash Chauhan, Director, National Remote Sensing Centre (ISRO), Hyderabad, delivered the lecture 'Exploring Earth's Moon with Indian Lunar Missions'.
He outlined Chandrayaan-1 to Chandrayaan-3, the planned Chandrayaan-4 lunar sample-return mission, and Chandrayaan-5/LuPEX, a planned ISRO-JAXA mission to the Moon's southern polar region to study lunar volatiles including water.
NEERI Director Dr S. Venkata Mohan highlighted research on water, air quality, climate change and waste management, and initiatives such as NEERI-ZAR for flood-affected areas of Assam.
A policy brief on climate-attributed ecosystem loss and damage reporting for India was released.
Institute:
CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur
Foundation Day:
85th, on 1 October 2026
Chief Guest:
Dr Prakash Chauhan, Director, NRSC
Planned ISRO-JAXA mission:
Chandrayaan-5/LuPEX
Why it matters for exams: India's planned lunar missions and CSIR's research laboratories are recurring science and technology topics.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
CSIR-NEERI CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute — A CSIR laboratory in Nagpur working on environmental research.
NRSC National Remote Sensing Centre — The ISRO centre in Hyderabad for remote sensing applications.
Background
The USGS explains that most earthquakes and volcanic eruptions do not strike randomly but occur in specific areas, such as along plate boundaries, and names the circum-Pacific Ring of Fire, where the Pacific Plate meets many surrounding tectonic plates, as the most seismically and volcanically active zone in the world. Mexico's Pacific margin lies on that belt. A USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center page sets out the mechanism: most of the world's tsunamis are generated by earthquakes on large faults, called megathrusts, along which an oceanic plate moves beneath a continental plate, and such a fault exists off southern Mexico, where the oceanic Cocos plate dives beneath the North American plate. Above that subduction zone stands a line of volcanoes. NASA's Earth Observatory calls Popocatepetl one of Mexico's most active volcanoes, with a current period of activity ongoing since 2005 and near daily episodes of seismic tremors and eruptions; it sits southeast of Mexico City and has around 30 million people living within a 70-kilometer (44-mile) radius of its summit. Ash that stays high in the atmosphere is less of a concern for air quality, but it can travel large distances. For earthquakes, the USGS lists Earthquake Early Warning systems as operational in several countries around the world, including Mexico, Japan, Turkey, Romania, China, Italy, and Taiwan. Mexico City has an EEW system that warns of strong shaking from large earthquakes that occur off of the country's coast, built on a series of sensors located along the coast that detect shaking and rapidly determine the location and magnitude. Because Mexico City is located several hundred miles from the main plate boundary, the USGS says the city can receive up to a minute or more of warning of the impending shaking for subduction zone earthquakes, while warning times are shorter for earthquakes that occur closer to the city. This system has been in operation since 1991. The USGS states that neither the USGS nor any other scientists have ever predicted a major earthquake; an early warning system instead detects an earthquake that has already begun and sends the alert ahead of the shaking.
USGS name for the Pacific seismic and volcanic belt:
circum-Pacific Ring of Fire
What the USGS calls that belt:
the most seismically and volcanically active zone in the world
Plate boundary off southern Mexico:
the oceanic Cocos plate dives beneath the North American plate
Countries the USGS lists as having early warning systems:
including Mexico, Japan, Turkey, Romania, China, Italy, and Taiwan
Warning Mexico City can get for subduction zone earthquakes:
up to a minute or more of warning
How long the Mexico City system has run:
This system has been in operation since 1991.
People living near Popocatepetl, as NASA writes it:
around 30 million people living within a 70-kilometer (44-mile) radius of its summit
Why it matters for exams: Plate names, the Ring of Fire and the difference between prediction and early warning are standard science questions, and Mexico gives a single case where all three can be checked against one authority.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
megathrust megathrust fault — The very large fault at a subduction zone along which an oceanic plate moves beneath a continental plate.
subduction subduction — The sinking of one tectonic plate beneath another where the two meet.
EEW Earthquake Early Warning — A system that detects an earthquake already under way and alerts areas before the shaking waves reach them.
2 October 2026
A stunningly well-preserved fossil of a previously undescribed feathered dinosaur from China adds to the evidence that birds and their closest relatives evolved the ability to fly several times rather than through a single lineage, Nature reported.
The specimen is 57 centimetres long and is a microraptorine that lived in what is now Liaoning province between 145 million and 100 million years ago. It was found by a local farmer and described by a team of researchers from China, Italy and Slovakia.
The fossil preserves traces of feathers on the fore and hind limbs and at the end of the tail, and the animal is estimated to have been about three years old when it died.
Microraptorines are small meat-eating dinosaurs weighing around one kilogram that form the clade Microraptorinae, close relatives of the bird clade Avialae.
Comparing flight-related adaptations, the researchers found that 30 per cent of the 194 such adaptations identified in microraptorines also evolved in Avialae, including wing feathers, hook-shaped toe bones and a forearm bone longer than the upper arm.
The adaptations did not develop in the same order in the two groups, so they could not be considered the expression of a shared developmental regime.
Length of specimen:
57 centimetres
Age of the rocks:
145 million to 100 million years
Flight-related adaptations identified:
194, of which 30 percent also evolved in Avialae
Why it matters for exams: Convergent evolution, the Liaoning fossil beds and the bird-dinosaur link are standard biology and science questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Microraptorinae Microraptorinae — A clade of small feathered meat-eating dinosaurs, close relatives of birds, known from hundreds of specimens.
Avialae Avialae — The clade of the tree of life that contains birds and their closest flying ancestors.
Clade Clade — A group made up of an ancestor and all of its descendants.
2 October 2026
A study in Cochrane Evidence Synthesis and Methods, reported by Nature on 2 October 2026, questions a single clinical trial of 40 children in Iran, published in 2006.
The trial found an enormous advantage for Prozac (fluoxetine) over the antidepressant nortriptyline; no other paediatric trial found an effect size close to it.
Re-running the 2016 Lancet and 2020 Lancet Psychiatry meta-analyses without that trial made Prozac's outsized benefit disappear.
The 2021 Cochrane meta-analysis, which found only a small and unimportant advantage over placebo, had happened to leave the trial out.
The authors say guideline committees should review their recommendations, but they stop short of calling on clinicians to stop prescribing it.
Children in the trial:
40
Trial published:
2006
Meta-analyses re-run:
2016 and 2020
Why it matters for exams: Meta-analysis, evidence quality and clinical guidelines are tested in health and science papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Meta-analysis Statistical pooling of results from several studies — Its conclusions can swing if one trial with outlying data is included or left out.
2 October 2026
A 57-centimetre fossil from Liaoning province, China, was named Norellraptor barsboldi by an international team from China, Italy and Slovakia in Nature Communications on 29 September 2026; Nature reported it on 2 October.
It is a microraptorine, a group of small meat-eating dinosaurs of about one kilogram with feathers on their limbs, living between 145 million and 100 million years ago.
The specimen shows traces of feathers on its fore and hind limbs and at the end of its tail, and was found by a local farmer.
The team found that 30% of the 194 flight-related adaptations identified in microraptorines also evolved in the bird lineage, Avialae, but not in the same order.
That adds to evidence that birds and their close relatives evolved flight several times rather than once.
Fossil length:
57 centimetres
Age range:
145 to 100 million years ago
Flight adaptations shared with birds:
30% of 194
Why it matters for exams: Fossil discoveries and the evolution of flight are common science and current-affairs questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Microraptorine Member of the dinosaur group Microraptorinae — Small feathered meat-eaters closely related to birds, with hundreds of specimens found.
Avialae The clade that includes birds — The bird lineage whose flight adaptations were compared with those of microraptorines.
2 October 2026
The State will launch an IT Parks Affiliation Scheme on October 6 to link IT companies working outside the major IT parks to a State-level technology ecosystem.
Firms outside the government-owned IT parks can also use the benefits offered by the parks, and an affiliation portal is already open for registration.
The Kerala Tech Brand will be unveiled at Technopark Phase-I, Thiruvananthapuram, by Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty.
The brand aims to bring companies, co-working spaces and private technology infrastructure into one connected ecosystem.
A project to set up a prefabricated IT building of 2 lakh square feet at Technopark Phase-III will also be launched.
Launch:
October 6, 2026
Venue:
Technopark Phase-I
Prefab IT building:
2 lakh square feet
Why it matters for exams: A new scheme with a launch date, venue and named minister is a typical Kerala PSC current-affairs question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
2 October 2026
Indian Railways has raised the maximum permissible speed on the 111-km Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-Banihal section to 100 kmph, officials said.
Earlier, trains were permitted up to 85 kmph on the Katra-Sangaldan section and 75 kmph on the Sangaldan-Banihal section.
The Vande Bharat Express (Train No. 26401/26404) crossed the Chenab Bridge, the world's highest railway bridge, and the Anji Bridge, India's first cable-stayed railway bridge, at 100 kmph.
The section, in the Jammu division of Northern Railway, is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.
The Railway Ministry approved the increase after the prescribed safety conditions were complied with in August.
Section length:
111 km
Earlier speed limit:
85 kmph (Katra-Sangaldan); 75 kmph (Sangaldan-Banihal)
New speed limit:
100 kmph
Train:
Vande Bharat Express (26401/26404)
Why it matters for exams: USBRL, the Chenab Bridge and Kashmir's rail link are staple infrastructure questions in UPSC, SSC and PSC papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
USBRL Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link — The rail project that connects the Kashmir Valley to the national rail network.
Cable-stayed bridge — A bridge whose deck is held up by cables fixed directly to one or more towers.
2 October 2026
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant addressed the Seventh Congress of the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions at Samarkand in Uzbekistan.
The theme of the congress was constitutional justice in the era of digitalisation and artificial intelligence.
He said courts cannot remain untouched by technological change, which can widen access to justice and cut delay.
Artificial intelligence can help with legal research and with handling large volumes of information, but it can never replace judicial acumen or the act of deciding, which must stay with the judge.
He said the values of dignity, equality, liberty and fairness must remain constant through any technological change.
He recalled that the Supreme Court's committee on artificial intelligence released draft regulations for the use of artificial intelligence in courts in June 2026, built on the principle of human primacy.
Event:
Seventh Congress of the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts
Host city:
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Draft AI regulations:
Released June 2026
Why it matters for exams: India's participation in international judicial bodies and the use of artificial intelligence in courts are live polity and science-technology topics.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
AACC Association of Asian Constitutional Courts and Equivalent Institutions — A grouping of Asian apex and constitutional courts that meets to share practice on constitutional adjudication.
Background
The Union Cabinet approved the establishment of the Third Launch Pad (TLP) at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre of ISRO at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Indian Space Transportation Systems are, as the release puts it, completely reliant on two launch pads, the First Launch Pad (FLP) and the Second Launch Pad (SLP). The FLP was realised for PSLV and continues to provide launch support for PSLV and SSLV; the SLP was established primarily for GSLV and LVM3, also functions as standby for PSLV, and is getting ready to launch the human rated LVM3 for the Gaganyaan missions. The Third Launch Pad is meant for the Next Generation Launch Vehicles of ISRO and also to support as standby launch pad for the Second Launch Pad, and is to be built with maximum industry participation. The total fund requirement is Rs. 3984.86 Crore, and the TLP is targeted to be established within a duration of 48 months or 4 years. The release ties the decision to the expanded vision of the Indian Space Programme, including the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) by 2035 and an Indian Crewed Lunar Landing by 2040.
Total fund requirement for the Third Launch Pad:
Rs. 3984.86 Crore
Time targeted for establishing the Third Launch Pad:
48 months or 4 years
Launch pads Indian Space Transportation Systems rely on as on today:
First Launch Pad (FLP) & Second Launch Pad (SLP)
Planned Indian space station in the expanded vision:
Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) by 2035
Why it matters for exams: Sriharikota is the single place an examiner can test India's whole launch infrastructure from, and the names and roles of the three launch pads are exactly the detail that distinguishes a prepared candidate.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NGLV Next Generation Launch Vehicle — ISRO's planned heavier launch vehicle family with new propulsion systems.
Standby launch pad Standby launch pad — A second pad kept able to take over a vehicle's launches if the main pad is unavailable.
Background
India and France established diplomatic relations soon after India's independence in 1947. Launched on 26 January 1998, the Strategic Partnership with France was the first-ever for India with a Western nation, and the first for France with a non-Western nation. Defence and security, civil nuclear matters and space constitute the principal pillars of this strategic cooperation. In 2023 the two sides adopted the Horizon 2047 Roadmap, and in February 2026 the relationship was elevated to the level of a Special Global Strategic Partnership. In defence, the P-75 Scorpene Project saw the last and the sixth submarine commissioned in the Indian Navy in January 2025, the delivery of 36 Rafale aircrafts by France to India was completed in 2022, and on 28 April 2025 the two governments signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement for the procurement of 26 Rafale-M aircrafts for the Indian Navy. In space, ISRO and the French agency CNES have cooperated for over fifty years and have concluded an agreement for cooperation in the joint earth observation mission TRISHNA. Within the European Union, France is India's third-largest trading partner, after the Netherlands and Germany, and bilateral trade has more than doubled in the last decade to Euros 13.6 billion in 2025-26.
Strategic Partnership launched:
26 January 1998
Rafale aircraft delivered by France to India:
36 Rafale aircrafts
Rafale-M aircraft contracted for the Indian Navy:
26 Rafale-M aircrafts
ISRO-CNES joint earth observation mission:
TRISHNA
India-France bilateral trade:
Euros 13.6 billion in 2025-26
France's rank among India's trading partners in the EU:
third-largest trading partner, after the Netherlands and Germany
Why it matters for exams: India's bilateral relationship with France is asked as a set: the first strategic partnership with a Western nation, its three pillars, the Rafale and Scorpene deals, and the ISRO-CNES space track.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CNES Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales — France's national space agency, ISRO's partner in joint missions and launch cooperation.
TRISHNA Thermal infraRed Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural resource Assessment — The joint earth observation mission that ISRO and CNES have agreed to cooperate on.
Horizon 2047 Roadmap Horizon 2047 Roadmap — The document adopted by India and France to set the course of the partnership up to the centenary of India's independence.
Background
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is a protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It aims to ensure the safe handling, transport and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health. It was adopted on 29 January 2000 and entered into force on 11 September 2003. Its information system is the Biosafety Clearing-House, through which Parties exchange information on living modified organisms. The Protocol covers handling, transport, packaging and identification, unintentional transboundary movements, socio-economic considerations, and public awareness and participation. The Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress supplements the Cartagena Protocol, and the Protocol's governing body is the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol.
Adopted:
29 January 2000
Entered into force:
11 September 2003
Parent convention:
Convention on Biological Diversity
Information system:
Biosafety Clearing-House
Why it matters for exams: Which protocol covers biosafety and which covers benefit-sharing is a classic point of confusion in environment questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
LMO Living Modified Organism — An organism altered by modern biotechnology that the Protocol regulates in trade and transport.