National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)

• It is a registered trust that runs the ‘Namami Gange’ mission — India’s most ambitious endeavour to clean the Ganga river.
• The NMCG has a Rs. 20,000-crore, centrally-funded, non-lapsable corpus and consists of nearly 288 projects.
• The NMCG’s thrust is on roping in the private sector to not only set up sewage treatment plants but also maintain them.
• In return, the government offers to contribute 40% of the capital costs upfront and disburse the rest — with a profit margin — over 15 years subject to performance indicators being met.
• The mission also has projects to clean the ghats, rid the river of biological contaminants and improve rural sanitation and afforestation.

RBI raises rates again by 25 bps

• The RBI cited inflation concerns as it raised interest rates for the second time in as many months by 25 basis points, setting its benchmark repo rate at 6.5%.
• The increase will push up the cost of loans for all borrowers, from consumers looking to finance their purchases of homes and cars to businesses looking to meet their capital needs.

Monetary policy committee:

• The Monetary Policy Committee of India is a committee of the Reserve Bank of India that is responsible for fixing the benchmark interest ratein India. The meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee are held at least 4 times a year and it publishes its decisions after each such meeting.
• The committee comprises six members - three officials of the Reserve Bank of India and three external members nominated by the Government of India. They need to observe a "silent period" seven days before and after the rate decision for "utmost confidentiality".
• The Governor of Reserve Bank of India is the chairperson ex officio of the committee.
• Decisions are taken by majority with the Governor having the casting vote in case of a tie. The current mandate of the committee is to maintain 4% annual inflation until March 31, 2021 with an upper tolerance of 6% and a lower tolerance of 2%.

TRAI’s nod for sale of 5G spectrum

• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on recommended the auction of spectrum for offering 5G services for the first time in the country at a pan-India reserve price of about Rs.492 crore per MHz. The regulator has also called for an over 43% reduction in the reserve price of 700 MHz band spectrum.

5G

• Fifth-generation wireless, or 5G, is the latest iteration of cellular technology, engineered to greatly increase the speed and responsiveness of wireless networks.
• With 5G, data transmitted over wireless broadband connections could travel at rates as high as 20 Gbps by some estimates -- exceeding wireline network speeds.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is a statutory body set up by the Government of India under section 3 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.
•  It is the regulator of the telecommunications sector in India. It consists of a Chairperson and not more than two full-time members and not more than two part-time members.
• TRAI's mission is to create and nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications in India to enable the country to have a leading role in the emerging global information society.

Polio

• Polio (also known as poliomyelitis) is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus that attacks the nervous system. Children younger than 5 years old are more likely to contract the virus than any other group.
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 200 polio infections will result in permanent paralysis. However, thanks to the global polio eradication initiative in 1988, the following regions are now certified polio-free:

1.     Americas
2.     Europe
3.     Western Pacific
4.     Southeast Asia

• The polio vaccine was developed in 1953 and made available in 1957. Since then cases of polio have dropped in United States.