Rakesh Garhwal

Circulatory system "Circulation means" anything which moves around. The system that contains the heart and the blood vessels and moves blood throughout the body . This system helps tissues get enough oxygen and nutrients, and it helps them get rid of waste products. Circulatory system is of two types  1. open circulatory system-  where there is no blood vessels involved ex- cockroach and 2. closed circulatory system like human being where blood vessels supplies the blood to other organs. This system consists 3 organs 1. blood  2.blood vessels  And most important 3. heart Blood vessels are further divided into two parts  1. arteries 2.veins The discovery of blood circulation system was done by William Harvey. Points to remember: Biological term of the heart is ‘Cardio’. Doctor Who study heart is called cardiologist our heart consist four Chambers  And is of a size of closed fist Atrium are the upper parts and ventricles are there a lower parts heart. It rema...

Why in News • Recently, the Union Cabinet cleared a proposal to bring uniformity in the marriageable age of men and women. •By amending the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006 and other personal  law, the legal age of marriage of women will be raised rom 18 to 21 years. •The decision is based on the recommendation of a four-member task force led by  former Samata Party chief Jaya Jaitly. •The SC has power under Article 139A to transfer to itself, cases involving the same  or substantially the same questions of law pending before two or more high courts. • It has been argued that the different ages for marriage violated the  fundamental rights of equality (Article 14), protection against discrimination  (Article 15), and dignity of life (Article 21) of citizens and went against India’s  commitment under the convention on elimination of all forms of discrimination  against women (CEDAW). Note: •The task force was set up to re-examine the age o...

CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF   Introduction: Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and his wife Madhulika Rawat have been confirmed to be among the 13 people who died in the IAF Mi-17V5 helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu. General Bipin Rawat was India's first Chief of Defence Staff. He was appointed for the topmost position in December 2019.   Background: The proposal for setting up a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) post has been contemplated around 20 years ago after the Kargil war of 1999 by the K. Subrahmanyam committee but it never moved forward due to the absence of political consensus and apprehensions among services. Later in 2012, the Naresh Chandra Committee recommended the appointment of a Permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), but it too never moved. On 15 August 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of Red Fort announced the creation of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) post.  On 31 December 20...

Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA)  Background: At least 13 civilians including a soldier lost their lives during open firing by security troops between Oting and Tiru villages in Nagaland's Mon district on December 4, 2021. The Special Forces in that area were reportedly tipped off by the intelligence agencies about the movement of some terrorists of the NSCN (KY) and ULFA.   History of Nagaland Insurgency: The British annexed Assam in 1826, and in 1881, the Naga Hills too became part of British India. In 1946 Naga National Council (NNC) was formed under the leadership of Angami Zapu Phizo. It declared Nagaland “an independent state” on August 14, 1947. On March 22, 1952, Phizo formed the underground Naga Federal Government (NFG) and the Naga Federal Army (NFA). The Government of India sent in the Army to deal with insurgency and, in 1958, Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was enacted. The Naga Hills, a district of Assam, was upgraded to a Nagaland state in 1963. On No...

Poshan Abhiyaan   Poshan Abhiyaan, also known as the National Nutrition Mission and launched in 2018 (although the programme was being implemented in 2017) by the Government of  India with the aim of tackling the malnutrition problem prevalent in India.   The chief objective of the mission is to reduce the level enhance the nutritional status of children in the country.   The mission is a multi-ministerial initiative and aims at removing malnutrition from the  country by 2022.   Poshan Abhiyaan is India’s flagship scheme to improve the nu adolescents, children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.   The mission leverages technology and convergence between various modules and  departments.   The term ‘Poshan’ in the name of the programme stands for ‘Prime Minister’s  Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition.   The programme has specific targets for reducing stunting, anaemia, under low birth weight. According to project the ...

What is UAPA?   It is a law aimed at prevention of unlawful activities associations in India. Its main  objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the  integrity and sovereignty of India   The National Integration Council appointed a Committee on National Integration and  Regionalisation to look into, the aspect of putting reasonable restrictions in the interests  of the sovereignty and integrity of India.   The agenda of the NIC limited itself to communalism, casteism and regionalism and not  terrorism.   Pursuant to the acceptance of recommendations of the Committee, the Constitution  (Sixteenth Amendment) Act, 1963 was enacted to impose, by law, reasonable  restrictions in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India.   The provisions of the UAPA Act contravenes the requirements of the International  Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.   UAPA Imposes rea...

Bhuri Bai a tribal champion  From extracting colour from plants and clay and painting on walls to stroking acrylic  colours on papers, Bhuri Bai is known as the first tribal woman artist to popularise the  art of Pithora painting. Bhuri Bai is an Indian Bhil artist.  Born in Pitol village, it's situated on the border of Madhya Pardesh and Gujrat but pitol  is a village of Jhabua district in Madhya Pradesh, Bhuri Bai belongs to the community of  Bhils, the largest tribal group  She has won many awards including the highest state honour accorded to artists by the  Madhya Pradesh government, the Shikhar Samman. She was awarded India's fourth  highest civilian award the Padma Shri in 2021.  Bhuri, belongs to one of the larg with many awards including Shikhar Samman, Madhya Pradesh’s highest state honour.   Nari Shakti Puraskar (Woman Power Award) is an annual award given by the Ministry of  Women and Child Development of  institutions that w...

Definition of a Transgender Person  The Act defines a transgender person as one whose gender does not match the gender  assigned at birth. It includes transmen and trans-women, persons with intersex  variations, gender-queers, and persons with socio-cultural identities, such as kinnar and  hijra.   Certificate of Identity: The Act states that a transgender person shall have the right to  self-perceived gender identity.   A certificate of identity can be obtained at the District Magistrate's office and a revised  certificate is to be obtained if sex is changed.   The Act has a provision that provides transgender the right of residence with parents  and immediate family members.   Prohibition Against Discrimination: The Act prohibits discrimination against a  transgender person in various sectors such as education, employment, and healthcare  etc.   Punishment: It states that the offences against transgender persons wi...

Cryptocurrency  In simplistic terms, Cryptocurrency is a digitised asset spread through multiple  computers in a shared network. The decentralised nature of this network shields them  from any control from government regulatory bodies.  The term “cryptocurrency in itself is derived from the encryption techniques used to  secure the network.  As per computer experts, any system that falls under the category of cryptocurrency  must meet the following requirements. Blockchain Technology  Blockchain is an innovative distributed ledger technology that was first introduced in the  design and development of cryptocurrency, Bitcoin in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto.  This technology eliminates the requirement of a central entity / third party to validate  the transactions over the peer-to-peer network  Blockchain uses a unique data structure where verification data related to the  transactional records is cryptographically secured against tampering and stored ...

PM Gati Shakti mission to reduce logistics cost for coal evacuation. Key Points • Integrated infrastructure and coordinated efforts in line with PM GatiShakti to  augment coal production About PM Gati Shakti • PM Gati Shakti Scheme The Gati Shakti is a national master plan aimed at the coordinated planning and  execution of infrastructure projects in India to reduce logistics costs. • Gati Shakti is a digital platform that will bring 16 ministries and departments of the  Government of India together and that includes the Railways and the Roadways  also. • The idea is to have a coordinated execution of infrastructure connectivity projects  across the country. • It is a Rs.100 lakh-crore project for developing ‘holistic infrastructure’. • The existing infrastructure schemes under various ministries will be incorporated  into this plan, including Sagarmala, Bharatmala, UDAN scheme, inland waterways,  etc. • The master plan will also cover economic zones s...

 S400 Triumph missile system, Government is aware of all developments that may  impact procurement of Defence Equipment. Government takes sovereign decisions  based on threat perception, operational Key Points  The S-400 Triumph (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) is an air defence missile  system developed by Almaz Central Design Bureau of Russia.  The S-400 was developed as an upgrade of the S-300 series of surface-to-air missile  systems.  Russia supplied two regiments of the S-400 Triumph system to the Armed Forces of  China by July 2019.  The contract for the delivery of S-400 Triumph to Turkey was signed in April 2017 and  the first batch was delivered in July 2019.  In October 2018, Rosoboron export signed a contract with India to deliver S-400 missile  system. FEATURES OF S-400 TRIUMPH  The S-400 Triumph air defence system integrates a multifunction radar, autonomous  detection and targeting systems, anti-aircraft missile syste...

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana: • Launched in May 2016. • Aim: To provide LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections to poor households. • Key features: A deposit-free LPG connection is given to the eligible household with  financial assistance of Rs 1,600 per connection by the Centre. • Target: The scheme gained traction with its ambit being expanded to include 80  million poor families from the earlier target of 50 million families with an additional  allocation of Rs 4,800 crore. Objectives of the scheme are: • Empowering women and protecting their health. • Reducing the serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuel. • Reducing the number of deaths in India due to unclean cooking fuel. • Preventing young children from significant number of acute respiratory illnesses  caused due to indoor air pollution by burning the fossil fuel. Eligibility criteria: • Applicant must a woman above the age of 18 and a citizen of India. • Applicant should belong...

AFSPA • Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) is a Parliamentary act that grants special  powers to the Indian Armed Forces and the state and paramilitary forces in areas  classified as “disturbed areas” • It gives powers to the army, state and central police forces to shoot to kill, search  houses and destroy any property that is “likely” to be used by insurgents in areas  declared as “disturbed” by the home ministry. • AFSPA is invoked when a case of militancy or insurgency takes place and the  territorial integrity of India is at risk. • Security forces can “arrest a person without warrant”, who has committed or even  “about to commit a cognizable offence” even based on “reasonable suspicion”. • It also provides security forces with legal immunity for their actions in disturbed  areas. • While the armed forces and the government justify its need in order to combat  militancy and insurgency, critics have pointed out cases of possible human r...

BrahMos • This is the first supersonic cruise missile to enter service. It is capable of attaining a  speed of Mach 2.8 (almost three times the speed of sound), it has a range of at least  290 km (a new version can reach up to 400km) • BrahMos is a ramjet supersonic cruise missile of a short-range developed by  Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Russian  Federation’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya. BrahMos was named after two major rivers of India and Russia: Brahmaputra and  Moskva. • The technology used in this joint venture is based on the Russian P-800 Oniks cruise  missile and similar sea-skimming cruise missiles from Russia. Technical Details of BrahMos • BrahMos is a medium-range 2 stage missile. The propulsion of BrahMos can be  explained as follows: • Stage 1  Solid Propellant Booster Engine  Is separated after it reaches MACH-1 or Supersonic speed • Stage 2  Liquid Ramjet Engine  Takes the missile close to MACH 3 in cruis...

GST (Goods and services tax) • Goods and Services Tax is an indirect tax used in India on the supply of goods and  services. It is a comprehensive, multistage, destination-based tax: comprehensive  because it has subsumed almost all the indirect taxes except a few state taxes. • Goods and Service Tax (GST) is levied on the supply of goods and services. Goods  and Services Tax Law in India is a comprehensive, multi-stage, destination-based tax  that is levied on every value addition. GST is a single domestic indirect tax law for  the entire country. Objectives Of GST • To achieve the ideology of ‘One Nation, One Tax’  GST has replaced multiple indirect taxes, which were existing under the  previous tax regime. The advantage of having one single tax means every state  follows the same rate for a particular product or service. Tax administration is  easier with the Central Government deciding the rates and policies. Common  laws can be introduc...

Beti Bacho and Beti Padhao Abhiyan  Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” is a very significant initiative launched by the Government of  India in 2015. It is launched to serve the purpose of creating general awareness and to  promote girl education in the country.   The declining sex ratio denotes the poor condition of the girl children in our country.  These initiatives taken are a step towards the empowerment of girls and women in the  country. It will prevent female infanticides and female foeticide. Objectives of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP)  Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme aims to achieve the goal of gender equality  where girls will get proper education and they will also get equal opportunities as boys.  The significant objectives of the scheme are:  To prevent biased nature of society towards girl child  To protect the lives of the girl children and give them a bright and safe future  To assure proper education and facilities to be provided t...

Stand-off Anti-tank (SANT) Missile • Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) for the successful flight test  of indigenously designed and developed helicopter-launched Stand-off Anti-tank  (SANT) Missile from Pokhran ranges on December 11, 2021. • Developed by: DRDO’s research centre, Imarat, in collaboration with the Indian Air  Force. • It will have both Lock-on After Launch and Lock-on Before Launch capability. • It is, reportedly, an upgrade on India’s Helina missile believed to have a range of 7 to  8km. • The new missile is said to have a range of between 15 and 20km. • It also comes equipped with a nose-mounted active radar seeker, enabling the  launch platform to be located at a safe distance from the target area.

About CDS post • Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces (CDS) is the military head and  chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee of the Indian Armed Forces. • The Chief of Defence Staff is the senior-most and highest-ranking uniformed officer  on active duty in the Indian military, and is the principal staff officer and chief  military adviser to the Minister of Defence.  • The Chief also heads the Department of Military Affairs. The first Chief of Defence  Staff was Mr Bipin Rawat who took office on 1 January 2020, and held it until his  death in a helicopter crash on 8 December 2021.  • The CDS is a four-star officer selected from among the serving officers of the Indian  Armed Forces. • While being "first among equals" among the service chiefs, the CDS is a single-point  military advisor to the defence minister. • The CDS is assisted by a deputy, the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff. The CDS heads  the Department of Militar...