■ SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE INITIATIVE (SCRI) LAUNCHED . ◇ The Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) was formally launched on Tuesday by the Trade Ministers of India, Japan and Australia. ◇ The three sides agreed that pandemic revealed supply chain vulnerabilities globally and in the region and noted the importance of risk management and continuity plans in order to avoid supply chain disruptions. □ CHINA'S REACTION ◇ China’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday described the move as ‘unrealistic’. ◇ The formation and development of global industrial and supply chains are determined by market forces and companies choices, it said. ◇ It also said that the artificial industrial ‘transfer’ is an unrealistic approach that goes against the economic laws and can neither solve domestic problems nor do anything good to the stability of the global industrial and supply chains. ▪︎ SOURCE - THE HINDU.📰

If you note, right from 2011, questions from some areas have been constants in this exam, i.e. they keep coming year after year or every alternate year. Some of these include:- Alternative energy sources and materials (e.g. H-CNG, bio-fuels, shale gas, photovoltaics, fly ash) Bio-technology – Hybridization, new developments such as DNA (genetic) engineering/alteration techniques (CRISPR, RNAi) Use of important microorganisms (e.g. blue-green algae), symbiotics etc. Nano-technology and developments – e.g. Carbon nanotubes Astrophysics (e.g. neutron stars, gravitational waves, black holes), Higher physics (e.g. general theory of relativity), space-missions Polar regions – Issues, bodies and treaties related to Arctic and Antarctica,  New developments such as seed vault Diseases in India – Outbreaks, pandemics, eradicated diseases, WHO or MoHFW guidelines Patents (issues and developments) – Evergreening, Patents Act, IPAB, WIPO Emerging technologies (especially communication)– Li-Fi, ...