Study Indepth

India’s river systems are not just water channels but lifelines of biodiversity and livelihoods. Among them, the River Ganga has historically supported one of the richest inland fisheries in the world. However, decades of pollution, habitat degradation, altered river flows, and overfishing have severely depleted its native fish populations. AI-generated illustrative thumbnail Under the Namami Gange Programme , the ICAR–Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CIFRI) has implemented scientific river ranching to restore indigenous fish stocks while maintaining ecological balance and genetic integrity. What is Scientific River Ranching? Scientific river ranching refers to the planned release of native fish seeds into natural river systems based on ecological assessment, genetic safeguards, and long-term monitoring. Unlike conventional stocking, it focuses on ecosystem restoration rather than short-term production gains. Scale of Intervention (2017–2025) 169 r...

The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India, organised the 5th meeting of the National MSME Council on 24 February 2026 at the NASC Complex, PUSA Road, New Delhi. The high-level meeting critically reviewed the progress of the World Bank–supported RAMP Programme (Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance), a crucial initiative for India's economic backbone. The Context: Why the RAMP Programme Matters Introduced to help MSMEs recover and thrive post-pandemic, the RAMP programme is backed by significant World Bank funding. Previous MSME Council meetings laid the groundwork for state-level collaborations, but the 5th meeting marked a shift from planning to aggressive digital execution and technological integration. What is the National MSME Council? The National MSME Council functions as the primary administrative and coordinating body overseeing the implementation of the RAMP Programme. Its core responsibilities include: Ensuring...

The Constitution of India provides emergency provisions in Part XVIII. These provisions are meant to deal with abnormal situations. Under Articles 352, 356 and 360, the President can declare National Emergency, President’s Rule and Financial Emergency when the security, governance or financial stability of the country is threatened. Emergency Powers Three Types of Emergency Powers Article 352 National Emergency Article 356 President's Rule Article 360 Financial Emergency National Emergency (Article 352) If the President is satisfied that there is external aggression and armed rebellion, then he may declare a national emergency on the recommendation of the Cabinet. So far, three times national emergency has been declared:- 1962-1965 → On the ground of India-China & Indo-Pak war, proclaimed by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan 1971 → On the ground of Indo-Pak war, proclaimed by V.V. Giri 1975 → On the ground of internal disturbance, proclaimed by P...

The President of India plays a crucial constitutional role as the head of the State. These notes explain the Military, Financial, and Diplomatic Powers of the President in a clear and structured manner, covering the command of the armed forces, financial authority, and international relations. This content is especially useful for competitive exam preparation Military Powers President of India is the supreme commander of the Armed Forces. Therefore, only the President can declare any war and peace with any country. Armed forces can conduct their military expedition (अभियान) or other relief, rescue, rehabilitation operations only with the approval of the President. All the command headquarters of the Armed Forces, defence organisations, defence property and installations are under the control of the President. In foreign countries, the President appoints a senior officer of the Armed Forces as Military representative of the Government of India, who is known as "...

This section explains the legislative, ordinance, and judicial powers of the President of India including the process of summoning Parliament, promulgating ordinances, appointing judges, and granting pardons. Legislative Powers The President is an integral part of Parliament (Article 79). Hence he exercises many types of legislative functions. For eg: The President summons and prorogues the sessions of Parliament. No bill becomes an Act without the President’s assent. A Money Bill and a State Reorganisation Bill can be introduced in Parliament only with the prior recommendation of the President. After Lok Sabha election whenever the first meeting of Parliament take place and whenever 1st session of Parliament began every year the President addresses the joint sitting of both Houses. After the Lok Sabha election President appoint Protem Speaker and conduct oath of office to him & after that Protem Speaker can conduct oath of office other members. If th...

This topic explains the functions and powers of the President of India, covering both discretionary and constitutional powers, administrative processes, and the appointment procedures. Functions of the President The President of India is the highest constitutional authority of the country. Hence he has multiple and diverse functions, roles and responsibilities which can be divided/justified into 10 categories . And further they can be reclassified as Discretionary and Constitutional . Discretionary Powers (Only Three) Appointment of the Prime Minister Dissolution of Lok Sabha Terminations of the Council of Minister In these three matters President may take decision based upon his reason will and intellect (स्वेच्छा और बुद्धि). He is not bound by advice of the Council of Ministers. He may take any independent decision other than the Council of Ministers or He may follow any time tested tradition or conventions, or He may take the opinion of legal or constitutiona...

This topic explains the electoral system used for electing the President of India, including proportional representation, single transferable vote system, and the electoral college composition under Article 54 of the Constitution. Election of the President of India → Article 54 The election of the President is held in accordance with the system of Proportional Representation by means of Single Transferable Vote and the voting is by Secret Ballot . Proportional Representation (PR) States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal have a huge population. In one electoral constituency of an MLA there are usually 8–10 lakh voters who elect their representative. While in smaller states like Goa, Sikkim, North-Eastern states, Kerala one MLA constituency generally has 50,000–2 lakh voters who elect their representative. Due to this huge population difference, MLAs from different states cannot have equal vote value. Hence, proportional representation is followed to ens...

This topic explains when and how the office of the President becomes vacant, who acts as President, and the procedure of impeachment under the Constitution. Office of the President may fall vacant due to:- Death Leave Example:- Dr. Rajendra Prasad took leave during his daughter's marriage Resignation Setting aside of the election by the Supreme Court Impeachment If the President resigns from office then it must be duly sealed and signed in person by the President himself and this resignation is addressed to the Vice President. He does not submit his resignation to anybody , rather he leaves the resignation in the office of the President and the Principal Secretary to the Office of the President and other senior officials, and then the Vice President, Prime Minister, CJI and Speaker of Lok Sabha are immediately informed of his resignation thereafter the Vice President shall act as the President. e . If for any reason the Vice President (V.P.) is not avail...

The geological time scale is divided into Eras which has the longest span which is further divided into periods and the periods are divided into Epochs. Understanding the Pre-Cambrian era and subsequent geological periods is crucial for comprehending Earth's evolutionary history, the formation of landforms, and the development of life on our planet. PRE-CAMBRIAN ERA Archeozoic Era The Archeozoic Era started 3.8K-600 million years ago . Earth was very hot & had violent volcanic Eruptions . Proterozoic Era Started 2K million Years ago (MYA) . It is also known as pre-cambrian era . The world's oldest fold mountain Aravalli belongs to the pre-cambrian era. PALEOZOIC ERA Overview Started around 600 MYA . It is divided into 6 periods . Life started originating in the pre-cambrian era. Cambrian Period This was the earliest period in which majority of the oceans were flo...