• Cyclotrons are used to produce radioisotopes for diagnostic and therapeutic use for cancer care.
• Cyclone-30 facility is at Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), Kolkata, a Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) unit
• This facility will provide for affordable radio isotopes and related radiopharmaceuticals for the entire country especially for Eastern India
• It also have export potential for Germanium-68/Gallium-68 generator for in-situ production of Gallium-68 and Palladium-103 isotopes, used for breast cancer diagnosis and prostate cancer treatment, respectively.

Pursuing the goal of indigenisation and self-reliance, the DAC recently approved the procurement of two Regiments of Akash Missile Systems under 'Buy (Indian)' category from Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL)

• Ministry of Home Affairs is the nodal Ministry for security clearances in certain sensitive sectors before issue of licence/permit, permission, contract etc, to companies/ bidders/individuals by the administrative Ministry.
• The objective of national security clearance is to evaluate potential security threats, including economic threats, and provide risk assessment before clearing investment and project proposals in key sectors.

• A zonal council is not a constitutional body. The five Zonal Councils were set up by The States Re-organisation Act, 1956, for central, norther, easter, western and southern zones.
• The North-eastern states have a seperate council called the North Eastern Council set up under the North Eastern Council Act, 1972
• Union Home Minister is the chairman of the Zonal Councils.
• Each Zonal Council has a Standing Committee consisting of Chief Secretaries of the member States of their respective Zonal Councils.

It is not an inter-governmental body. Its members are professional astronomers from across the world.

Functions of IAU

• definition of fundamental astronomical and physical constants
• unambiguous astronomical nomenclature
• promotion of educational activities in astronomy
• informal discussions on the possibilities for future international large-scale facilities

Furthermore, the IAU serves as the internationally recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and surface features on them.

Asteroids are located in between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

The Report was given by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, mainly to track the annual progress of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) laid down in 2015.

In South Asia, people living below the extreme poverty line has come down from 45% in 1990 to just 1% today, while in sub-Saharan Africa it has merely declined from 59% to 22% in this period.

This has shifted “the geography of poverty” to sub-Saharan Africa, which should now be the focus of the “third wave of poverty reduction” until 2050.

Arbitration is a dispute settlement process in which an impartial third party is appointed to study the dispute and hear both the parties to arrive at a decision which is binding on both the parties.

Conciliation is a method of resolving a dispute, wherein an independent person helps the parties to arrive at negotiated settlement. However, a conciliator do not have the power to enforce his/her decision.

It is an Oxfam report.

It says 'The world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies appear to be dodging an estimated $3.8 billion in tax per year across 16 countries'