Current Affairs for Govt Exams

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a network that connects objects in the physical world to the internet and to each other. By allowing devices to communicate with each other, IoT enhances consumer experience and productivity by minimising human intervention and associated disruptions, IoT’s Potential Applications The Internet of Things can be used to create value in several ways. In addition to improving productivity in current operations, the Internet of Things can enable new types of products and services. Application in various fields include:   👉● Agriculture: Real-time weather and soil alerts, crop advisory services, connected tools such as autonomous tractors and harvesters and personalized micro-financing can revolutionize agriculture. 👉  ● Manufacturing: IoT sensors can help reduce maintenance costs through preventive maintenance.   👉● Healthcare: Smart pills and medical wearables can make diagnostic and prescriptive healthcare affordable and accessible.   👉● e-Comm...

Along with endogenetic forces, Earth’s surface is being continuously subjected to by external forces originating within the earth’s atmosphere (exogenic forces) like weathering, mass movements, erosion and deposition. Weathering Weathering is defined as mechanical disintegration and chemical decomposition of rocks, through the action of various elements of weather and climate. Weathering occurs in situ, with little or no movement. Weathering can happen in three ways:   ● Chemical Weathering - A group of weathering processes i.e. solution, carbonation, hydration, oxidation and reduction act on the rocks to decompose, dissolve or reduce them to a fine clastic state through chemical reactions by oxygen, surface /soil water and other acids.   ● Physical Weathering - They are caused due to applied forces which can be gravitational forces, thermal expansion forces, water pressures etc. The repeated action of these processes cause damage to the rocks.   ● Biological Weathering- It is contribu...

The American Revolution or the U.S. war of Independence was a revolt waged by the American colonies to get independence from Great Britain during 1775. For more than a decade before the outbreak of American Revolution, tension had been building between colonists and the British authorities due to various reasons. The reasons include:   ● British Mercantilist Policy: The basis of England mercantile policy was that the State’s power depends on its wealth and colonies existed to serve the mother country. In fulfilment of these ideology, British started imposing many restrictions on colonies through Navigation Act, Trade Acts, and Industry Acts.   ● Navigation Law of 1651 – It was compulsory for American ships to visit British ports before leaving for other parts of the world.   ● Colonies were not allowed to use on-British ships in their trade.   ● Certain products such as sugar, tobacco, and cotton could be exported only to England.   ● Colonies were also forbidden to start certain indus...

Ethics is the study of moral philosophy. i.e., the study of what is right or wrong about the human action and thought. It is study of a set of standards that society places on itself. They guide individual's behaviors, choices and actions as a member of the society. Sources of Ethics  Ethics are derived from various sources, including religion, traditions and customs.   ● Religion: Religion is the most important source of ethics as religious teachings often prescribe what is right and wrong and society subscribes to such norms.   ● Traditions: Practices that are handed over from generation to generation become part of societal standards.   ● Family: Family is the fundamental unit of the society and they establish certain standards for a functioning society. A child is first educated about ethical norms in family.   ● Human conscience: Conscience helps a man to differentiate between good and bad, and certain standards for society are acceptable for all conscientious m...

The British came to India in 1600 as traders in the form of East India Company (EIC), which had the exclusive right of trading in India under charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I.  After the Battle of Buxar (1764), the EIC got Diwani rights also. However, party and parliamentary rivalries, political ambitions of statesman and commercial greed of merchants, jealousy of other sections of the British society due to the large wealth brought by the Company officials back to Britain etc led to the gradual transfer of power from company to crown by dilution of trade monopolies of East India Company.   ● Charter Act of 1793: It gave the East India Company a monopoly to trade with East only for a period of 20 years.   ● The Charter Act of 1813    ● It ended the trade monopoly of East India Company in India.   ● But the company’s monopoly to trade in tea with India and trade with China was kept intact.   ● Trade in India in all the commodities except tea was thrown open to all British s...

A non performing asset (NPA) is a loan or advance for which the principal or interest payment remained overdue for a period of 90 days. The higher is the amount of non-performing assets (NPAs), the weaker will be the bank’s revenue stream. In its Financial Stability Report for July 2020, the RBI highlighted that the gross NPA ratio fell from 9.3 percent in September 2019 to 8.5 percent by March 2020. However, the central bank said the GNPA ratio of the country's scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) may increase from 8.5 % in March 2020 to 12.5 %by the same period next year, under the baseline scenario.   Factors Behind Accumulation of NPAs In the Indian Banking Sector in Recent Years:   ● Historical Reason: The historical origins can be traced to the nationalization of banks in 1969. It opened a window for bank lending on political behest, patronage, and rent-seeking.   ● Public sector banks themselves are also responsible: Their lending was and is sometimes inept and sometimes corrup...

A tectonic plate (also called lithosphere plate) is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere. These plates move horizontally over the asthenosphere as rigid units. Thus, it is not the continent that moves as believed by Weigner. Continents are part of a plate and what moves is the plate.               The theory of plate tectonics identifies 7 major and 20 minor types of lithospheric plates. These plates are continuously in motion with respect to each other. These plates can be moving towards each other or away from each other, based on which the plate boundaries can be called as convergent or divergent boundaries. Fold mountains are triggered by endogenetic compressive forces and are formed at the convergent boundaries of two types: C-C Plate convergence and O-C Plate convergence, which is explained below.   Continental- Oceanic (O-C) Plate Convergence On convergence, the hea...

Answer The Preamble of the Constitution is a brief introductory statement which reflects the fundamental values and the philosophy on which the Constitution is based. It embodies the ideals and aspirations of the people of India. Values Enshrined in Preamble The Preamble talks about the nature of Indian polity as sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic and envisages that the objectives of Constitution is to secure justice, liberty, equality, fraternity, and dignity for its citizens. These words of Preamble, in totality, aptly describe the values that the makers of Constitution have enshrined in Constitution.   ● The term “Sovereignty” implies that India is internally supreme, not subjected to external power or control.   ● The principle aim of Socialistic value system is to eliminate inequality of income, status, and standards of living.   ● By Secularism, the Constitution means that India is neutral in religious matters and treats all religions impartially.   ● The...