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  WHAT'S HAPPENING? The India-China standoff in Ladakh, which began in April 2020  with People's Liberation Army (PLA) incursions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), has nearly completed a year. The Ladakh winter has receded, bringing curtains down on the first-ever instance of forward deployment by India and China through the region's bitter cold season, and disengagement has been achieved at two friction points, including Pangong Tso. Differences seem to have emerged between India and China over the next steps their armies need to take to further ease tension along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. FLIP FLOP The recent round of military talks between India and China saw the Chinese side switching track, Taking a rigid position on de-escalation in the Gogra-Hot Springs area, In contrast to its earlier posture when it was more fixated on the Finger area near Pangong lake. The change from the more "flexible" discussions that preceded the 1ith ...

  WHAT HAS HAPPENED? The UK government has added Pakistan to the list of undesirable 21 high-risk countries with unsatisfactory money laundering and terrorist financing controls. 21 COUNTRIES LIST This list of 21 countries- released by the UK Government replicates the list of countries named by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as high-risk or under increased monitoring. Pakistan shares the list at number 15 with conflict-ridden countries such as Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zimbabwe. The full list of high-risk third countries under Schedule 3ZA includes, in order: Albania, Barbados, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Demoeratie People's Republic of Korea, Ghana, Iran, Jamaica, Mauritius, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Senegal, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zimbabwe. WHAT THIS LIST REPRESENT? According to the UK government, the nations in this category pose a threat, Because of weak tax controls and lack of check and balance on terrorism-financing and m...

  WHAT  HAS HAPPENED? On Wednesday, the rupee fell sharply by 105 paise-its biggest single session fall in 20 months-to close at a five-month low of 74-47 against the US dollar, Amid concerms over Covid-19 and the RBT's newly announced programme to buy bonds worth Rs 1 lakh crore this quarter. These factors come on top of a strengthening dollar against the euro, which is resulting in a relative weakness of the rupee. RUPEE- IN LAST 1 YEAR Aher peaking at around 77 against the US dollar on April 21 last year, the rupee started appreciating and reached 72.27  on March 23 this year, The move to 77 had been preceded by a sharp rally in the dollar index before the Covid-19 pandemie hit the global economy; Since then, the gradual appreciation was underpinned by a fall in the dollar index, and a strong flow of foreign direct investment and foreign portfolio investment FPl inflows in FY21 amounted to over $35 billion. WHAT NEXT? Since Mareh 23, the rupee has been depreciat...

  India's newest diamond mine at Bakswaha, in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, is mow being estimated to be the country's langest diamond mine ever. However, the mining project comes at the cost of clearing forests with 2.15 lakh trees. The mines are located in the drought-prone Bundelkhand region, where further deforestation could lead to ecological degradation. Bundelkhand Green Madhrya Pradesh. Yellow Uttar Pradesh. Bakswaha is close to the Panna diamond mines. Estimated to have far higher copocity than Panna. The Diamond Mine The mines at Bakswaha were first surveyed in 2003-05 . Estimated to have 342 crore carats of diamonds. 2007 to 2010 -Australian mining flirm Rio Tinto rana pilot project, for extracting the diamonds. 2017 -Rio Tinto came up with an expansion proposal and a new project plan. Involved the cutting of 11 lakh trees. Rio Tinto abandoned the project after fears of not getting an environmental cdearance (alleged rift with the MP stote government)....

WHAT HAS HAPPENED? On Sunday, Mediapart, a French investigative news publication, reported what it claimed to be a "scandal" associated with the sale of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France's Dassault to India. The deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets, first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 , had led to questions by the opposition about alleged irregularities and non-adherence to procedure. ABOUT THE FRENCH REPORT Mediapart on Sunday published the first of a three-part series on the Rafale deal. The report said that in mid-October 2018 , French anti- corruption agency, Agence Française Anticorruption, First spotted the payment of C imillion (Rs 8.62 crore) and asked Rafale manufacturer Dassault for an explanation. Soon after the Rafale deal was finalised on September 23. 2016 , Dassault had agreed to pay the amount to oneof its sub-contractors in India, Defsys Solutions. Dassault said that money was used to pay for the manufacture of 50 large replica model...

 WHAT HAS HAPPENED? As many as 22 jawans were killed and 31 sustained injuries in the encounter with Naxals in Chhattisgarh on Saturday. Security forces have launched an operation along the Sukma- Bijapur border, where an intense face-off resulted in the deaths of 22 jawans. One soldier is still believed to be missing. Naxals seem to have decamped with the weapons, bullet-proof jackets, and even the shoes of dead soldiers, officials said. On Sunday morning, tribute was paid to the CRPF jawans killed in the line of action at the force's camp in Jagdalpur. WHAT HAPPENED IN CHHATTISGARH? An encounter broke out between security forces and Naxals along the Sukma-Bijapur border in Chhattisgarh on Saturday After a party of jawans was ambushed by Maoists near Jonnaguda village around noon. The forces were scattered and trapped alonga two-km long stretch of forest area. Officials confirmed that the encounter spot was barely 15 km from the Tarrem base camp of security forces. Naxals used li...

  On 13th March 2021 , Russian scientists launched a deep underwater telescope into Lake Baikal, The Baikal-Gigaton Volume Detector Purpose -To observe neutrinos. Surface Area = 31,722 km? Water volume = 23,615 cubic kilometres. Residence time = 330 years. UNESCO World Heritage Site. The lake starts freezing at the end of January, when temperatures in Siberia drop to -30°C. Remains frozen till May (nowadays March, as a result of climate change). What are Neutrinos? The universe is made of some fundamental particles that are indivisible. Atoms are divisible into protons, neutrons, electrons. Similarly, protons and neutrons are also divisible into some fundamental particles (but electrons are not divisible). Types of Fundamental Particles: 1. Quarks 2. Leptons 3. Antiquarks 4. Antileptons Fermions (matter and anti-matter particles) 5. Gauge Boson 6. Higgs Boson Bosons (force particles that mediate interactions between fermions) About a thousand trillion neutrinos pass through a huma...