300 CA Topics for Prelims 2024

International Relations
(Topics 1-30)
 Index: International Relations
S No. Topic S No. Topic
1. iCET 16. APEC
2. INDUS-X 17. IMO
3. Minerals Security Partnership 18. OPEC: Angola Withdraws
4. CDRI 19. International Seabed Authority
5. Voice of Global South Summit 20. Five Eyes Alliance
6. G-20 Summit: Major Takeaways 21. Atlantic Declaration
7. AU inclusion in G-20 22. Dakar Declaration
8. Global Biofuels Alliance 23. CPTPP
9. IMEC 24. CTBT
10. Hiroshima AI Process 25. Bletchley declaration on AI
11. BRICS Expansion 26. Genocide Convention
12. NATO+5 27. Wagner Group
13. International Criminal Court 28. 13th Amendment: Sri Lanka
14. IORA 29. IPMDA
15. ECOWAS 30. Israel-Palestine Conflict
 Index: Location in News
S No. Topic S No. Topic
1. Araku Valley 16. Afghanistan
2. Assam 17. Indonesia
3. Kutch 18. Maldives
4. Kakrapar NPP 19. Red Sea
5. Lothal 20. Bab-el Mandeb Strait
6. Loktak Lake 21. Ben Guiron canal
7. Kuno National Park 22. Comoros
8. Kamlang Tiger Resaerve 23. Egypt
9. Siang River 24. Mozambique
10. Nagarno-Karabakh Region 25. Sudan
11. C+C5 Nations 26. Johannesburg
12. Thailand 27. Niger
13. Kuril Islands 28. Gabon
14. South China Sea 29. Morocco
15. Helmand River and Iran 30. Derna City: Libya
 Index: Location in News
S No. Topic S No. Topic
31. Rwanda 41. Iceland
32. Suez Canal 42. Lithium Triangle
33. Kakhovka Dam 43. Suriname
34. Kosovo-Serbia 44. Canada
35. Oslo Forum and Norway 45. Panama Canal
36. Vilnius (Lithuania) 46. Lake Titicaca
37. Baltic Nations 47. Pacific Island Countries
38. Nordic-Baltic 8 48. Papua-New Guinea
39. Murmansk Port 49. Solomon Islands
40. Mount Etna 50. Kilauea Volcano
 Index: Science & Technology
S No. Topic S No. Topic
1. Gaganyaan 16. Project Kuiper
2. Aditya-L1 17. Chikungunya Vaccine
3. Chandrayaan-3 18. GEMCOVAC-OM
4. NISAR Mission 19. Havana Syndrome
5. XPoSat 20. Guillain-Barre syndrome
6. ISRO Launch Vehicles 21. White Lung Syndrome
7. Shenzhou-16 Mission 22. Nipah Virus
8. Luna-25 23. CCHF
9. Euclid Mission 24. Pompe Disease
10. SLIM 25. Smart Bandage
11. OSIRIS-REx 26. Aspartame
12. Betelguese Star 27. WHO Global TB report
13. Phosphine Gas on Venus 28. GIDH
14. Super Blue Moon 29. Anthrobots
15. Karman Line 30. Apple Vision Pro
 Index: Science & Technology
S No. Topic S Topic
No.
31. Generative AI 41. Prachand LCH
32. Multimodal AI 42. Ransomware
33. Deepfakes 43. Small Modular Reactor (SMR)
34. Google Gemini 44. Deep Ocean Mission
35. Dark Fibre 45. Samudrayaan: Matsya 6000
36. National Quantum Mission 46. Cloud Seeding
37. Graphene 47. Nitrogen-9
38. Vanadium 48. Nobel Prize in Medicine
39. LK-99 Superconductor 49. Nobel Prize in Physics
40. Airbus C-295 50. Nobel Prize in Chemistry
 Index: Environment
S No. Topic S Topic
No.
1. COP-28: About 11. Adaptation Gap Report
2. COP-28: Main Takeaways 12. L&D Fund
3. COP-28: Global Stocktake 13. GLOF
4. COP-28: Indian Stand and 14. Ozone Layer Depletion
engagements
5. Climate Club 15. Cyclone Biparjoy
6. UN High Seas Treaty 16. Acequias
7. CBAM 17. Blue Flag Beaches
8. International Big Cat 18. Rat Hole Mining
Alliance
9. Green Fuels Alliance India 19. PRITHVI Scheme
10. Emission Gap Report 20. GRAP
 Index: Environment
S No. Topic S Topic
No.
21. E-20 Blending 31. Manas National Park
22. Electrified Flex Fuel 32. Invasive Alien Species
Vehicle
23. Green Hydrogen 33. Invasive Plant Species
24. Marine Light Pollution 34. Pusa-44
25. Swachh Survekshan Awards 35. Deep sea Coral Reef
2023
26. Direct seeding of Rice 36. Artificial reef
27. Tiger Population 37. GOBAR-Dhan Scheme
28. Brain Eating Amoeba 38. Pink Bollworm
29. GM Mustard 39. Glysophate
30. Seagrass 40. Press Mud
 Index: Species in News
S No. Topic S No. Topic
1. Clouded Leopard 16. Hog deer
2. Jaguars 17. Pangolins
3. Asian Cheetah vs African Cheetah 18. Atlantic Menhaden
4. Snow Leopard 19. Alligator Gar fish
5. Himalayan Brown Bear 20. Gangetic River Dolphin
6. Iberian Wolf 21. Ghol Fish
7. Himalayan Wolf 22. Sturgeon
8. Asiatic Wild Dog (Dhole) 23. Indian Flapshell Turtle
9. Hoolock Gibbon 24. Red Sand Bao
10. Mithun 25. Vultures in India
11. Stump-tailed Monkey 26. Indian Eagle Owl
12. Pygmy Hog 27. Great Indian Bustard
13. Namdapha Flying Squirrel 28. Red Fire Ant
14. Euarasian Otter 29. Sea-Buckthorn
15. Punganur Cow 30. Red-Sanders
 Index: Economy
S No. Topic S No. Topic
1. Difference between Interim 16. D-SIBs
budget and Vote on Account
2. Budget Major Highlights-1 17. CBDC
3. Budget Major Highlights-2 18. IBC
4. Budget Major Highlights-3 19. IIP
5. Budget Major Highlights-4 20. Reverse Flip
6. Budget Major Highlights-5 21. ONDC
7. Budget Major Highlights-6 22. LPSS
8. Monetary Policy Committee 23. MSP
9. Inflation Trend 24. National Logistics Policy
10. Greedflation 25. Dark Patterns
11. Rupee Internationalization 26. Lithium Mining in India
12. Trade Settlement Cycle 27. DLI
13. I-CRR 28. DFC
14. PCA Framework 29. Greenwashing
15. Open Market Operations 30. Nobel Prize in economics
 Index: Polity
S No. Topic S Topic
No.
1. Uniform Civil Code 11. BSA 2023
2. Article 370 12. DPDP Act 2023
3. Sub-categorization of OBCs 13. NRF
4. 16th Finance Commission 14. ED
5. Parliamentary Privilege 15. Standing Committee on
Statistics (SCoS)
6. Privileges Committee of 16. One-Nation One-Election
Parliament
7. Ethics Committee of 17. Zero FIR
Parliament
8. Electoral Bonds 18. UAPA 1967
9. BNS 2023 19. Fast Track Special Courts
10. BNSS 2023 20. MPLADS e-Sakshi
 Index: Govt. Schemes in News
S No. Topic S No. Topic
1. PM Vishwakarma 16. PMFBY
2. Lakhpati Didi Scheme 17. PMMSY
3. PMUY 18. PMJDY
4. Jal Jeevan Mission 19. Mo Jungle Jami Yojana
5. PM JANMAN 20. Amrit Bharat Station Scheme
6. PM KISAN 21. Amrit Dharohar Yojana
7. PM SVANidhi 22. MAHIR
8. PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana 23. MISHTI
9. AB-PMJAY 24. VAIBHAV scheme
10. Ayushman Arogya Mandir 25. Gati Shakti Master Plan
11. PM-POSHAN 26. PM e-bus Sewa
12. POSHAN 2.0 and Saksham Anganwadi 27. Bharat NCAP
13. Mission Vatsalya 28. PM DevINE
14. Tele-Manas 29. MY Bharat
15. Skill-India Mission 30. CITIIS 2.0 & UDAN Scheme
 Index: Miscellaneous
S No. Topic S Topic
No.
1. Global Gender Index Report 11. Iron Dome
2. Energy Transition Index 2023 12. White Hydrogen
3. MDPI-2023 13. Operation Ajay
4. Global Hunger Index 2023 14. Garba as ICH
5. UCCN 15. CERVAVAC
6. 19th Asian Games 16. Alluri Sitarama Raju
7. Gold: World Athletics 17. Bharat Mandapam
Championship
8. Kavach 18. G20: India’s Cultural
Showcase
9. MQ-9B Drones 19. Nobel Peace Prize
10. IAF New Ensign 20. Nobel Prize in Literature
India and the World
Launched in January 2023. This
initiative elevates the bilateral
strategic relationship between India and
1. iCET
the US to new heights.

Both countries will share their core

technologies as per this agreement.

Some of the key focus areas are:

• Setting up a research agency partnership to drive

collaboration in areas like AI
• Innovation ecosystems
• Defense industrial & technological cooperation and
defense startups
• Cooperation in human spaceflight
• Semiconductor ecosystem development
• Advancement in 5G and 6G technologies
• Adoption of OpenRAN network technology in India
2. INDUS-X
3. Minerals Security Partnership
 4. CDRI
CDRI is an Independent International Organization consisting of global partnership of national
governments, United Nations agencies and programs, multilateral development banks and financing
mechanisms, the private sector, and academic and research institutions.

It aims to increase the resilience of infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks,
thereby ensuring sustainable development.

It was launched in 2019, at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York.

CDRI is India's second major global initiative after the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

The CDRI Secretariat is based in New Delhi, India.

 5. Voice of Global South
Summit
PM inaugurated a global centre for
excellence called DAKSHIN in the
Second Voice of Global South
Summit.
Responsible Technology Use: PM
Modi highlighted the importance of
responsible technology use,
especially in the era of artificial
intelligence.
Global Representation: Provide a
platform for countries of the Global
South to voice their perspectives
on international issues and global
governance.
Humanitarian Aid and
Diplomacy: India’s condemnation
of the terrorist attack in Israel and
the provision of humanitarian aid
to Palestine were discussed,
emphasizing diplomatic
approaches to conflicts.
Technology and Climate
Focus: Addressed issues related to
technology, climate change, and
sustainable development,
showcasing a holistic approach to
global challenges.
Inclusivity in G20: Efforts were
made during India’s G20
presidency to make the G20 more
inclusive and human-centric, with a
focus on development for the
people and by the people.
International/
Multilateral
Organizations
§ New Delhi Declaration
§ AU admitted as 21st Member
§ Global Biofuel Alliance
§ India-Middle East-Europe Economic
Corridor
§ The 55-member African Union was formally
made permanent member of the G20, on
par with the European Union, in order to
make the grouping more representative.
§ Until now only South Africa was a member
of the G20.
§ The entry of the AU would provide greater
voice to the Global South within the G20
where the G7 countries have long played a
dominant role.
 GBA is a multi-stakeholder alliance of The initiative aims to position biofuels as a key
Governments, International Organizations and to energy transition.
Industries, bringing together the biggest
consumers and producers of biofuels and
interested Countries from Global South to drive
development and deployment of biofuels.
A multinational rail and shipping project
linking India with the Middle East and
Europe has been announced.

The corridor would include India, Saudi

Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan,
Israel and the European Union.

It will challenge China’s economic ambitions

in the region.

It aims to boost trade, deliver energy

resources and improve digital connectivity.
10. Hiroshima AI process

The annual G7 Summit held in Hiroshima, Japan, initiated

the Hiroshima AI Process (HAP), which is likely to
conclude by December 2023, signaling a significant step
towards regulating Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The HAP aims to facilitate international discussions on

inclusive AI governance and interoperability to achieve
a common vision and goal of trustworthy AI.

It recognizes the growing prominence of Generative AI

(GAI) across countries and sectors and emphasizes the
need to address the opportunities and challenges
associated with it.

The HAP will operate in cooperation with international

organizations such as the Organisation forEconomic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) and the Global
Partnership on AI (GPAI).
§ BRICS is a grouping of the world
economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China,
and South Africa formed by the 2010
addition of South Africa to the
predecessor BRIC
§ In August 2023, at the 15th BRICS Summit,
South African President Cyril
Ramaphosa announced
that Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi
Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had
been invited to join the bloc. Full
membership will take effect on 1 January
2024.
§ Argentina has refused to join BRICS.
12. NATO+5
§ The Armenian parliament recently voted to join the International
Criminal Court.
§ Mandate: To hold to account those guilty of worst crimes of
concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes,
crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
§ Six Official languages: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian
and Spanish.
§ Headquarters: The Hague, the Netherlands. Established: 2002

§ Complementarity :The ICC is intended to complement, not to

replace, national criminal systems; it prosecutes cases only when
States do not are unwilling or unable to do so genuinely.
§ Cooperation: As a judicial institution, the ICC does not have its
own police force or enforcement body; thus, it relies on
cooperation with countries worldwide for support.

§ India is not signatory to ICC

14. Indian Ocean Rim
Association (IORA)
Established in 1997 as an intergovernmental
organization of States on the rim of the Indian
Ocean, the IORA has members from Africa, West
Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Members: 23 member states and 11 dialogue

partners. All sovereign States of the Indian Ocean
Rim are eligible for membership of the Association.

Aim: strengthening regional cooperation and

sustainable development within the Indian Ocean
region.
16. APEC
 Recently, India was re-elected to the International Maritime
Organisation (IMO) Council with the highest tally at elections held at
its Assembly in London for the 2024-25 biennium.

It is a specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible

for measures to improve the safety and security of international
shipping and to prevent pollution from ships.

It is the global standard-setting authority for the safety, security and

17. IMO environmental performance of international shipping.

Its main role is to create a regulatory framework for the shipping

industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted and universally
implemented.

Formation: It was established as the Inter-Governmental Maritime

Consultative Organization (IMCO) in 1948, became a specialized
agency of the United Nations in 1959 and was renamed International
Maritime Organization in 1982.
 Assembly: It is the highest Governing Body of the IMO. It consists of all Member
States, and it meets once every two years in regular sessions. The Assembly is
responsible for approving the work program, voting the budget and electing the
Council.
Council: It is the Executive Organ of the IMO and is responsible, under the
Assembly, for supervising the work of the Organization.

Committees: The five policy-making committees are responsible for

the development, review, updating, and approval of the organization’s
Structure of guidelines and regulations.

IMO Funding: Funding for the organization comes from contributions by Member States,
as well as voluntary donations and commercial activities.

Members: It currently has 175 Member States.

Headquarters: London.
18. OPEC: Angola
Withdraws
Angola, one of Africa’s two biggest oil producers, has announced it is leaving the oil
producers’ organization Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC)over a dispute on output quotas.

OPEC and 10 allied nations decided to further slash oil production in 2024 to prop
up volatile global prices, which Angola said goes against its policy of avoiding decline
and respecting contracts.

The OPEC (headquartered in Vienna, Austria) is a permanent, intergovernmental

organization, created at the Baghdad Conference in 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait,
Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.

Angola joined the group in 2007 and is not the first country to leave the cartel.

Ecuador, Indonesia and Qatar have all done the same.

Angola’s departure from OPEC will leave it with 12 members.

19. International Seabed Authority
20. Five Eyes
Alliance
The Five Eyes is an intelligence alliance
comprising nations including Australia,
Canada, New Zealand, the United
Kingdom and the US.

These countries are parties to

the multilateral UK-USA Agreement, a
treaty for joint cooperation in signals
intelligence.

These partner nations exchange a wide

spectrum of intelligence within one of the
world's most tightly-knit multilateral
agreements as part of the collaboration.
Important
Declarations,
Conventions &
Treaties
 21. Atlantic
Declaration
The United States and the United Kingdom have
announced the Atlantic Declaration for a Twenty-First
Century U.S.-UK Economic Partnership.

This declaration aims to adapt, reinforce, and

reimagine the longstanding alliance between the two
nations to effectively address the challenges of the
current era.

With this new declaration, both nations seek to

strengthen their collaboration in defence, security,
science, technology, and economic domains.
Ministers from the world’s 46 least developed countries (LDC)
recently issued a joint Dakar Declaration on Climate Change
2023.

The joint Dakar Declaration on Climate Change 2023 outlines the

expectations and priorities of least developed countries for 28th
Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change

While LDCs account for more than 14 percent of the global

population, they only account for about 1 percent of emissions
from fossil fuels and industrial processes, according to the
ministers.

In addition, the countries bear the least historical

responsibility for climate change, are forced to adapt beyond
their capabilities and are at the forefront of the climate crisis
23. CPTPP
§ It is a multilateral treaty that bans all nuclear explosions,
whether for military or peaceful purposes; and the improvement
of existing nuclear weapon designs.
§ Its negotiation started in the 1990s and it opened for signatures
in 1996.
§ It will enter into force after all 44 States listed in Annex 2 to the
Treaty have ratified it.
§ Once it enters into force, it will be legally binding against
nuclear testing.
§ CTBT does not explicitly define nuclear weapons and nuclear
explosive devices.
§ India, China, the USA, the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Israel, and Egypt have not ratified CTBT.
25. Bletchley Declaration on AI
26. Genocide
Convention
South Africa instituted proceedings against Israel in the International Court of
Justice (ICJ) and argued that the manner in which Israel was conducting its
military operations in Gaza violated the Genocide Convention

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide is

an instrument of international law that codified for the first time the crime of
genocide.

It was the first human rights treaty adopted by the UN General Assembly on 9
December 1948.

It signified the international community’s commitment to ‘never again’ after

the atrocities committed during the Second World War.

India has ratified this convention.

Miscellaneous
 27. Wagner Group
The Wagner Group first surfaced during Russia’s annexation
of Crimea in 2014.

Essentially a network of contractors that supply soldiers

for hire, the group isn’t registered anywhere and its source
of funding remains unknown.

Apart from Ukraine, Wagner Group is reportedly also active

in West Asia and several countries in Africa.

When Putin decided to invade Ukraine in 2022, Wagner Group

was at the heart of Russian operations. As the Russian
advance stalled, the Wagner’s manpower became increasingly
important.
The organisation was accused of being involved in the
massacres, rape, and torture of civilians in Ukraine’s Bucha
that took place in March 2022.

According to media reports, it provides its services to

different governments often in exchange for access to gold
and diamond mines.
28. 13th Amendment Sri Lanka
29. Indo-Pacific
Maritime Domain
Awareness (IPMDA)
At the 2022 Quad Summit in Tokyo, Leaders announced the IPMDA.

IPMDA is a technology and training initiative to enhance maritime

domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific region and to bring increased
transparency to its critical waterways

MDA is increasingly becoming a pre-requisite for safe and efficient

conduct of maritime activity.

Till 200 nautical miles from a country’s coastline lies within the
jurisdiction of coastal states, even large areas under the jurisdiction of
coastal states remain unmonitored, either due to lack of capacity of the
coastal state or due to geographical limitations.
30. Israel-Palestine Conflict
Location in News
(Topics 1-50)
India
1. Araku Valley
Araku Valley is a hill station in Eastern Ghats

Araku Valley, home to the Araku tribes, is approximately 114 km from the
popular coastal city of Visakhapatnam. Ihome to the Araku tribes, is
approximately 114 km from the popular coastal city of Visakhapatnam.

Araku Valley is home to the biodiversity hotspots – Anantagiri and

Sunkarimetta Reserved Forest.

Araku Valley is also home to two of the highest peaks in the Eastern
Ghats – Jindhagada Peak and Gallikonda Peak.

This valley in the Eastern Ghats is known for its coffee plantations.
2. Assam
Assam, situated at the foothills of the eastern Himalayas, is the largest State in
northeast India and lies in the middle reach of the river Brahmaputra and
Barak.
The State accounts for nearly 2.4% of India‘s total geographical area

The Brahmaputra basin covers an area of 5,80,000 sq. km out of which 70,634
sq. km falls within Assam.

The land has uneven topography, full of hills, plains and rivers.

The State is bordering Arunachal Pradesh in the east, West Bengal, Meghalaya,
Bangladesh in the west, Arunachal Pradesh, Bhutan in the north and Nagaland,
Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura in the south
3. Kutch
4. Kakrapar NPP
5. Lothal
The NMHC is being constructed at the
historic Indus Valley civilization region
of Lothal, Gujarat, under the Ministry of
Ports, Shipping, and Waterways.

Its primary objective is to showcase the

maritime heritage of India from ancient
to modern times, utilizing an
edutainment approach and
incorporating the latest technology.
 6. Loktak Lake
Loktak lake hosts the world’s only floating national park, the Keibul Lamjao National Park.

It is a natural habitat for the browantlered deer or the Sangai – which is the state animal of
Manipur. The national park is characterized by many floating decomposed plant materials
locally called ‘phumdis’ (a Manipuri word meaning floating mats of soil and vegetation).

Loktak Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in the north-eastern region of India and has
been designated as a wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention in
1990.
 Ten people were recently arrested for
their alleged involvement in forest
It is located in the Sheopur district in
crimes, including hunting and tree-
Madhya Pradesh.
cutting, near the Kuno National Park

7. Kuno National Park (KNP).

It is named after the Kuno River (One of

It is nestled near the Vindhyan Hills. the main tributaries of the Chambal
River) that cuts across it.

Initially established as a wildlife

Kuno National Park was selected under
sanctuary, it was only in 2018 that the
‘Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah
government changed its status into a
in India’.
national park.
 8. Kamlang Tiger Reserve
Around 20 different butterfly species were recently identified and recorded
during a ‘Butterfly walk & nature trail’ organised by the Kamlang Tiger
Reserve
It is located in the southeastern part of Lohit District in Arunachal
Pradesh near the border with Myanmar.

It is named after the Kamlang River, which flows through the reserve and
joins the Brahmaputra.

It is spread between the famed Namdapha National Park on its south and
Lang River on its north.
 9. Siang River
Recently, India proposed to construct a barrage on Siang
River to save it from hazards posed by Chinese dam being
built in the Tibet region.

Also known as the Tsangpo River in Tibet and is one of the

major rivers in northeastern India and southern Tibet.

It is a transboundary river that flows through both India

and China before eventually joining the Brahmaputra River
in Assam.
Asia
 10. Nagarno-
Karabakh Region
Nagorno-Karabakh, known as Artsakh by Armenians, is a
landlocked mountainous area in the Caucasus region (the
transcontinental region between the Black Sea and the
Caspian Sea).
It is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but
its inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians.
 11. C+C5 Summit

The C+C5 stands for China plus Central Asia, indicating the
participation of both China and the five Central Asian nations,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and
Uzbekistan.

The purpose of the C+C5 summit is to strengthen the

relations and cooperation between China and these Central
Asian countries.

The first C+C5 summit took place in Xi’an, China, and

resulted in the signing of the ‘Xi’an Declaration,’ which
outlines the shared vision and goals for China-Central Asia
cooperation.
12. Thailand
13. Kuril Islands

In Japan, conservative voices are hinting that Russian

and Ukraine war could give Japan a chance to take
control of disputed Kuril Islands.

These are a set of four islands situated between the

Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean near the north of
Japan's northernmost prefecture, Hokkaido.

Japan refers to them as Northern territories, Russia

calls them the Kuril Islands and South Korea named
them as Dokdo islands.

These are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire belt and have
over 100 volcanoes, of which 35 are said to be active
volcanoes along with hot springs.

Both Russia and Japan claim sovereignty over them

though the islands have been under Russian control
since the end of World War II.
14. South China Sea
 With Afghanistan and Iran locked in a water dispute, tension between the two neighbours has

15. Helmand escalated after two Iranian security personnel and a Taliban fighter were killed in a border clash.

The Helmand River is the longest river in Afghanistan and the primary watershed for the endorheic
Sistan Basin.

River and Iran It emerges in the Sanglakh Range of the Hindu Kush mountains in the northeastern part of Maidan
Wardak Province, where it is separated from the watershed of the Kabul River by the Unai Pass.
 More than 2000 people have been killed and over 9,000 injured following
powerful earthquakes in Afghanistan.

As per the U.S. Geological Survey, the quakes hit 35 km northwest of the city
of Herat on Saturday, with one of them measuring 6.3 magnitude

Afghanistan is earthquake-prone because it's located in the

16. Afghanistan Quake mountainous Hindu Kush region, which is part of the Alpide belt
17. Indonesia

Indonesian President Joko Widodo officially

inaugurated a $7.3 billion high-speed railway
connecting Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia,
with the city of Bandung.

This railway is part of China’s Belt and Road

Initiative
18. Maldives

The Maldives has recently found itself in the midst of diplomatic

turmoil, raising questions about its relations with
India through undiplomatic remarks, military positioning, and the
scrapping of crucial agreements.

Located south of India, the Maldives holds immense strategic

importance in the Indian Ocean, acting as a gateway to the Arabian
Sea and beyond.

This allows India to monitor maritime traffic and enhance regional

security.
 19. Red Sea
A US warship and multiple commercial vessels were recently
attacked in the Red Sea, deepening maritime tension in the
Middle East
It is a semi-enclosed inlet (or extension) of the Indian
Ocean between the continents of Africa and Asia. It is one of
the world’s warmest seas.
It is connected to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean to the
south through the Gulf of Aden and the narrow strait of Bab
El-Mandeb.
 It is a strait of great strategic and economic
importance, connecting the Red Sea in the northwest to
20. Bab-el Mandeb Strait the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean in the southeast.
It also separates Arabia, in the northeast, from the
African continent, in the southwest.

It further acts as a link between the Indian Ocean and

the Mediterranean Sea via the Red Sea and the Suez
Canal.
The name of the strait, Bab El-Mandeb means “Gate of
Tears” in Arabic, referring to the large number of
shipwrecks that have occurred in this region.
21. Ben Gurion Canal
Africa
22. Comoros

As part of the Indian Navy’s long

range deployment, INS Trishul
visited port Anjouan, Comoros
from 31 May to 02 June 23.

The ship anchored off Anjoun

Island on 31 May 23 and was
received by civil-military
leadership.
23. Egypt
• Egyptian President
conferred the
country’s highest
state honour “Order
of the Nile” award to
the Prime Minister of
India
 24. Mozambique
Indian Coast Guard ship ‘Varaha’ Makes Port Call in
Mozambique

Location: It is located in Southeastern Africa.

Bordering Countries: It is bordered by six countries:

Northwest: Zambia Southwest: South
North: Tanzania West: Zimbabwe
and Malawi Africa and Eswatini
25. Sudan
India has started ‘Operation Kaveri’ to
evacuate its nationals owing to the Current
Crisis in Sudan.

Around 3,000 Indians are stuck in various

parts of Sudan, including capital Khartoum
and in distant provinces like Darfur.
26. Johannesburg
15th BRICS Summit
happened in
Johannesburg in 2023

South Africa is a country

on the southernmost tip
of the African continent,
marked by several distinct
ecosystems
27. Niger
Niger is currently in the midst of a political upheaval as
a military coup has taken control, ousting the democratically
elected President.
Niger is a landlocked country located in West Africa, bordered
by Algeria, Libya, Chad, Nigeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Mali.

Niger has more than 80% of its land area lying in the Sahara
Desert.

Niger takes its name from the Niger River, which flows through
the southwestern part of its territory

It is the largest country in West Africa and roughly twice the

size of France.
28. Gabon
The Military seized power in the West African country
of Gabon, making it the eighth former French Colony
in the region to see a coup d’etat since 2020.

Gabon is located in Central Africa, along the west

coast of the continent. It is situated near the equator.

Gabon is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the

northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of
the Congo to the east and south, and the Atlantic
Ocean to the west.
 29. Morocco
Recently, a powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck central
Morocco, 72 kilometres southwest of Marrakesh.

It is a mountainous country in western North Africa that lies

directly across the Strait of Gibraltar.

It retains much of its ancient architecture and even more of its

traditional customs.

Morocco’s largest city and major Atlantic Ocean port is Casablanca,

an industrial and commercial centre.

Capital: Rabat

It borders Algeria to the east and southeast, the Western Sahara to

the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Mediterranean
Sea to the north.
It is the only African country with coastal exposure to both the
Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
30. Derna City: Libya
Devastating floods occurred in Derna, Libya
due to the collision of Dams and flash floods
caused by a Mediterranean storm named
Daniel.

Derna (Darnah) is a port city in eastern Libya.

Capital: Tripoli

Geographical Boundaries: It is a country in the

Maghreb region in North Africa.
31. Rwanda
32. Suez Canal
Europe
33. Kakhovka Dam

The Kakhovka Dam was It was destroyed on June

a major hydroelectric 6th, 2023, in an
power plant and explosion that caused
reservoir on the massive flooding and
Dnieper River in southern a humanitarian crisis in
Ukraine. the war-torn region.
34. Kosovo-Serbia

Serbian protesters and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)peacekeepers

recently clashed in Kosovo, leading to more than 60 injuries. It is the most serious
violence seen in the region in over a decade.

Serbia: Serbia is a landlocked country in eastern Europe that shares borders with
Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, etc.

Kosovo: Kosovo is a small landlocked region that lies to Serbia’s

southwest, sharing borders with North Macedonia, Albania, and Montenegro.
Many Serbs consider Kosovo the birthplace of their nation.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008,but Serbia does not

recognize Kosovo’s statehood.
35. Oslo Forum and
Norway
Oslo Forum is the leading series of retreats for international
mediators and peacemakers.

The Oslo Forum (started in 2003) is a series of retreats for

international conflict mediators, high-level decision-makers, and
other peace process actors.

It provides a discreet and informal space to reflect on current

mediation practice, collaborate across institutional and conceptual
divides and advance negotiations.

The Forum is co-hosted by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign

Affairs and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD).

All discussions take place under the Chatham House Rule.

Participation is by invitation only.Chatham House (UK) is an
independent policy institute and a forum for debate and dialogue.
36. Vilnius (Lithuania)
The 2023 NATO summit took place from 11–12 July
2023, in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

Formed in 1949 with the signing of the Washington

Treaty, NATO is a security alliance of 31 countries
from North America and Europe.

In April 2023, Finland joined the alliance as its

31st member
37. Baltic Nations In a unified stance, Poland and
the Baltic nations have formally
requested Belarus to expel the
Russian mercenary group
Wagner.
They are Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania.
Capitals: Tallinn (Estonia), Riga (
Latvia) and Vilnius (Lithuania)
The Baltic nations, often
collectively referred to as
the "Baltic States," are a group of
three countries in Northern
Europe located along the eastern
coast of the Baltic Sea.
They are bounded on the west
and north by the Baltic Sea, on
the east by Russia, on the
southeast by Belarus, and on the
southwest by Poland and an
exclave of Russia.
38. Nordic-Baltic 8
39. Murmansk Port
India’s engagement with Russia’s Arctic region
has been strengthening with India-bound goods
constituting the maximum share of cargo handled
this year by Murmansk Port

The seaport of Murmansk is one of the largest ice-

free ports in Russia.

It is located on the Kola Peninsula at the coast of

Barents Sea.

It is about 2,000 km northwest of Moscow.

40. Mount Etna

Mount Etna which is one of the world’s most active

volcanoes, was causing public concern as well it started
erupting recently
It is Europe’s most active volcano and one of the largest in
the world.

It is on the eastern coast of Sicily.

It is the highest Mediterranean island mountain and

the most active stratovolcano in the world.

It is about 3,326 meters high and is the highest peak in Italy

South of the Alps.
 41. Iceland
Iceland had declared a state of emergency following a series
of 800 earthquakes that struck the southwestern Reykjanes
peninsula in less than 14 hours.

Iceland is located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, technically the longest

mountain range in the world, but on the floor of the Atlantic
Ocean. The ridge separates the Eurasian and North American
tectonic plates — making it a hotbed of seismic activity.
North and South
America
42. Lithium Triangle
India, through a newly-floated state-owned company, inked a pact with an
Argentine firm mid-last year to jointly prospect lithium in the South
American country that has the third largest reserves of the silver-white
alkali metal — a crucial building block of the lithium-ion rechargeable
batteries

Lithium Triangle is an intersection of Chile, Bolivia and Argentina, known

for high quality salt flats.

Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, Salar de Atacama in Chile and Salar de Arizaro

in Argentina contains over 45%of known global lithium reserves.
43. Suriname
• President Droupadi, was conferred with the
highest civilian award of the Suriname, the
Grand Order of the Chain of the Yellow Star.
 44. Canada
Issue
• India Canada relations have
become sour recently due to
allegations by the Canadian
Prime Minister accusing
involvement of India in the
murder of Khalistani separatist
Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
• As a result, bilateral tensions have
risen, putting their traditionally
cooperative relationship under
strain
45. Panama Canal
Panama Canal recently limited average crossings to 32 ships a day as a
prolonged drought continues.

It is a constructed waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans

across the Isthmus of Panama.

It is one of the two most strategic artificial waterways in the world, the other
being the Suez Canal.

It is approximately 80 kilometers long.

The canal was built by the United States between 1904 and 1914, and it
was officially opened on August 15, 1914.

It is owned and administered by the Republic of Panama since the oversight

of the Canal was transferred from the United States to Panama in 1999.
46. Lake Titicaca
The water levels at Lake Titicaca are now reaching record
lows, worsened by the El Nino weather phenomenon,
compounding a long dry spell and rare high temperatures.

It is the highest navigable body of water in the world.

It is located at 3,810 metres above sea level in the Andes

Mountains of South America.

It lies on the border between Peru to the west and Bolivia to

the east.

Titicaca is the second-largest lake in South America (after

Maracaibo).
Pacific Island Countries
47. Pacific Islands
Countries
Forum for India-Pacific Islands
Cooperation (FIPIC): It is a
multinational grouping developed
in 2014 for cooperation
between India and 14 Pacific
Islands nations
48. Papua-New
Guinea
Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, embarked
on a visit to Papua New Guinea (PNG), where he
signed a significant defence cooperation agreement.

Papua New Guinea, in the southwestern Pacific,

encompasses the eastern half of New Guinea and its
offshore islands.

A country of immense cultural and biological diversity,

it’s known for its beaches and coral reefs. Inland are
active volcanoes, granite Mt. Wilhelm, dense rainforest
and hiking routes like the Kokoda Trail.
 49. Solomon Islands
• The Prime Minister of Solomon Islands while in China signed nine
agreements
• It is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900
smaller islands in Oceania.
• It is situated in the southwest Pacific Ocean, approximately 2,000
km to the northeast of Australia.
• Capital: Its capital, Honiara which is located on the largest island,
Guadalcanal.
• The terrain is mountainous and heavily forested.
• More than 90% of the islanders are ethnic Melanesians.
 50. Kilauea Volcano

The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island erupted recently,

according to an advisory from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
It is the youngest and most active Hawaiian shield volcano,
located on the southern part of the Island of Hawai'i, known as
Big Island
Hawaii is an island state of the United States, in the Pacific
Ocean about 2,000 miles southwest of the U.S. mainland. It is
the only state not on the North American mainland, the only
state that is an archipelago, and the only state in the tropics
Science &
Technology (50
Topics)
Space Topics
1. Gaganyaan
Mission
2. Aditya L1

Lagrange Points are positions in space where

the gravitational forces of a two-body system
like the Sun and Earth produce enhanced
regions of attraction and repulsion. These can
be used by spacecraft as "parking spots" in
space to remain in a fixed position with
minimal fuel consumption.
3. Chandrayaan 3
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
has successfully landed its Chandrayaan-3
Lander Module on the surface of the Moon.
 4. NISAR Mission
NISAR is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) observatory jointly developed by NASA
and ISRO.

It is an SUV-size satellite weighing 2,800 kilograms.

Synthetic-aperture radar is a form

of radar that is used to create two- It consists of both L-band and S-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR)
dimensional images or three- instruments, which makes it a dual-frequency imaging radar satellite.

dimensional reconstructions of
objects, such as landscapes. SAR NISAR will be the first satellite mission to use two different radar
uses the motion of the radar frequencies (L-band and S-band) to measure changes in our planet's
surface.
antenna over a target region to
provide finer spatial resolution than
conventional stationary beam- SAR is capable of penetrating clouds and can collect data day and
night regardless of the weather conditions.
scanning radars
5. XPoSat

• Indian Space Research

Organisation (ISRO) put its
first polarimetry mission X-ray
Polarimeter Satellite
(XPoSat)
6. ISRO Launch Vehicles
7. Shenzhou-16 Mission

China launched a spacecraft carrying three astronauts,

including its first civilian, to its Tiangong space station.
This is the country’s fifth manned mission to a fully
functional space station since 2021.
Under the mission, three Chinese astronauts replaced the
crew of Shenzhou-15 aboard the Tiangong space station,
who have been there since November 2022.
8. Luna-25

LUNA 25 CONSISTED OF A LANDER

AND ITS MISSION WAS TO SOFT-
ON AUGUST 11, ROSCOSMOS, THE
LAND NEAR THE MOON’S SOUTH
RUSSIAN SPACE AGENCY,
POLE, AND THERE STUDY THE
LAUNCHED ITS LUNA 25
OPTICAL, PHYSICAL, AND CHEMICAL
SPACECRAFT ONBOARD A SOYUZ 2
PROPERTIES OF MOONDUST AND
ROCKET.
MOON SOIL, AND THE
ATMOSPHERE.

BUT IT CRASHED ON AUGUST 20,

2023 AND WAS UNSUCCESSFUL IN
LANDING.
9. Euclid Mission

• ESA's Euclid mission is a space

telescope designed to explore the
composition and evolution of the dark
Universe.
• Euclid will explore how the Universe has
expanded and how structure has
formed over cosmic history, revealing
more about the role of gravity and the
nature of dark energy and dark
matter.
• Launch Vehicle: SpaceX Falcon 9
• Destination: Sun-Earth Lagrange point
2
 10. SLIM
• Japan recently landed a spacecraft called SLIM
(Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) on the lunar
surface, becoming the 5th country after the Soviet
Union, the US, China and India to achieve a soft
landing on the moon.
• SLIM was launched by the Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA) in September 2023
aboard the H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima
spaceport.

• It aims to demonstrate precision landing within 100

metres through new technologies.
• It also carried two mini robotic rovers developed
by Sony and Tomy for reconnaissance.

• The mission aims to revitalise Japan's space

program which suffered setbacks like the failure of
the flagship H3 rocket in March 2023.
11. OSIRIS-
REx
• NASA's OSIRIS-REx lands samples of
asteroid Bennu to Earth after historic 4-
billion-mile journey
12. Betelgeuse Star
Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star at a distance of 724
lightyears from the Earth is nearly 50 percent brighter
than usual, leading astronomers to suggest that the star
may explode in a violent supernova within tens of years
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star that forms the left
shoulder of the constellation of Orion.
It is one of the brightest stars in the night sky and one of
the largest stars ever discovered.
A supernova is the name given to the cataclysmic explosion
of a massive star.
 13. Phosphine Gas on Venus
Scientists detected phosphine at deeper
level in Venus' atmosphere than
before using the James Clark Maxwell
Telescope (JCMT) at Mauna Kea Observatory,
Hawaii.
Phosphine on Earth is known to be
synthesized by bacteria thriving in
environments with extremely low levels of
oxygen.
That discovery led to much debate and
excitement about the presence of life
Scientists in 2020 detected the presence
on Venus given that phosphine is a
of phosphine gas in the clouds of Venus.
molecule associated with biological activity
on Earth.
Scientists have acknowledged that while
the detection of phosphine could potentially
Phosphine has been detected in the deeper
serve as a biosignature, it could also be
layers of Venus' clouds.
attributed to other mechanisms that are
currently not completely comprehended.
14. Super Blue
Moon

On August 30, 2023, the

night sky was
illuminated by a rare
phenomenon: a super
blue moon.
A super blue moon
combines a supermoon
and a blue moon.
15. Karman Line

+ Located at 100 km (62 miles) above sea level, it is

an imaginary line that demarcates the earth’s atmosphere
from space.
+ It was established in the 1960s by a record-keeping body
called the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
+ It was named after aerospace pioneer Theodore von
Kármán.
+ Though not all scientists and spacefarers accept it (for
example, the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, and
the U.S. military place the line between outer space and the
atmosphere at 80 km (50 miles) above the Earth’s surface)
, a majority of countries and space organisations
recognise this boundary between earthsky and space.
16. Project Kuiper
+ It is Amazon’s project to build a network of 3,236
satellitesin low Earth orbit to provide high-speed
internet access anywhere in the world.
+ Its mission is to bring fast, affordable broadband
to unserved and underserved communities
around the world.
+ LEO is an orbit around the Earth with an altitude
that lies towards the lower end of the range of
possible orbits.
Health and Diseases
17. Chikungunya
Vaccine
A Chikungunya vaccine has been recently
approved by FDA is USA

This novel vaccine, named Ixchiq and

developed by European vaccine manufacturer
Valneva, marks a significant leap in combating
the chikungunya virus (CHIKV)
18. GEMCOVAC-OM
Recently, India’s first indigenous mRNA vaccine for the Omicron variant, GEMCOVAC-OM was approved under emergency
use guidelines by the Drug Controller General of India.

It was developed using the indigenous platform technology by Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. and supported under the
Mission COVID Suraksha, implemented by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).

It is a thermo-stable vaccine, which does not require ultra-cold chain infrastructure used for other approved mRNA-
based vaccines, making it easy for deployment pan India.
19. Havana
Syndrome
20. Guillain-Barre
Syndrome
 21. White Lung
syndrome
• An outbreak of a respiratory illness in northern China and Ohio in
the US — the White Lung Syndrome as people are calling it — has
sparked speculation online of a new pandemic threat after COVID-
19

• It originates from distinctive white patches on chest X-rays in

affected children.

• The term includes various respiratory illnesses like acute respiratory

distress syndrome, pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis, and silica-
related conditions.

• Causes: It is believed to be caused by a combination of bacterial,

viral, and environmental factors.

• The patients have symptoms including cough, fever, runny nose,

phlegm pileup in sinuses, difficulty breathing and fatigue.
22. Nipah Virus
The Nipah Virus has made a It is a zoonotic virus (it is
resurgence in Kerala, India, transmitted from animals to
with two fatalities. humans).

The organism that causes

Nipah Virus encephalitis is an
RNA or Ribonucleic acid
virus of the family
Paramyxoviridae, genus
Henipavirus, and is closely
related to Hendra virus.
23. CCHF
24. Pompe
Recently, India’s first patient diagnosed with the Pompe disease
died after spending nearly six years in a semi-comatose state

It is a rare inherited disorder that affects one child per million.

Disease Causes:

• Mutations in the GAA gene cause Pompe disease.

• The GAA gene provides instructions for producing an enzyme called acid alpha-
glucosidase (also known as acid maltase).
• This enzyme is active in lysosomes, which are structures that serve as recycling
centres within cells.
• The enzyme normally breaks down glycogen into a simpler sugar called glucose,
which is the main energy source for most cells.
• Mutations in the GAA gene prevent acid alpha-glucosidase from breaking down
glycogen effectively, which allows this sugar to build up to toxic levels in
lysosomes.
• This buildup damages organs and tissues throughout the body, particularly the
muscles, leading to the progressive signs and symptoms of Pompe disease.

Treatment: The treatment includes enzyme replacement therapy

(ERT).
25. Smart Bandage
 The artificial sweetener called aspartame, found in many soft drinks, is set to be declared
carcinogenic by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) cancer research unit.
It is the world's most commonly used low-calorie artificial sweetener, which is approximately
200 times sweeter than sucrose (common sugar).
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved aspartame for use in some dry foods in
1981 and for carbonated beverages in 1983.
26. Aspartame
It is made up of two amino acids: aspartic acid and phenylalanine, which are naturally
occurring amino acids in many protein-rich foods.
In the body, aspartame is metabolised into its constituent component's aspartic acid,
phenylalanine, and a small amount of methanol
27. WHO Global TB
Report
India accounted for the highest number of TB cases in the world in 2022,
with 2.8 million TB cases, representing 27% of the global burden.

It was the world's second leading cause of death from a single infectious
agent in 2022, following Covid-19.

TB caused almost twice as many deaths as Human Immunodeficiency Virus

(HIV)/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome stage (AIDS). More than 10
million people continue to fall ill with TB every year.

India reported a case fatality ratio of 12%, indicating that 12% of TB cases in
the country resulted in death.

India recorded 1.1 lakh cases of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) in 2022,

highlighting the continued challenge of MDR-TB as a public health crisis.
28. GIDH
01
Achieving one of the three
priority areas agreed upon
during India’s G20 presidency
in 2023, the World Health
Organization (WHO) recently
launched the Global Initiative
on Digital Health (GIDH)
virtually.
02 03
It is a WHO managed network It is a platform for sharing
aiming to amplify and align knowledge and digital
resources toward country-led products among countries.
digital health transformation
through strengthened
collaboration and knowledge
exchange.
National Digital Health Mission
29.
• Recently, researchers have developed miniature robots using
human cells and termed them as anthrobots.

• These are constructed from human tracheal cells which are bio-

Anthrobots •
robots that possess self-assembly capabilities.
These are capable of both movement and healing neurons
within a laboratory setting.

• They can spontaneously fuse together to form a larger structure

called a superbot, which was able to encourage the growth of
neurons.

• Size: They are measuring between the width of a human hair

and the tip of a sharpened pencil.
• Structure: The anthrobots displayed diversity in structure and
behavior. Some took on a spherical shape fully covered in cilia,
while others resembled a football shape irregularly adorned
with cilia.

• They hold promise for regenerative medicine, wound healing,

and disease treatment.
New Technologies
30. Apple Vision Pro Apple has unveiled the Vision Pro, a mixed reality headset that
allows “spatial computing” by using the wearer’s eyes, voice
and hands.
Vision Pro represents “spatial computing” and brings “a new
dimension to powerful personal technology”
Vision Pro is essentially an augmented-reality (AR)
headset that “seamlessly” blends the real and digital
worlds. The device can switch between augmented and full
virtual reality (VR) using a dial.
The real-time integration of digital information with the
environment of the user is known as Augmented Reality (AR).
31. Generative AI
Generative AI, or generative artificial intelligence, is a form of artificial intelligence (AI) in
which algorithms automatically produce content in the form of text, images, audio, and video.

Unlike traditional AI systems that are designed to recognize patterns and make predictions,
generative AI creates new content.

Generative AI is powered by foundation models (large AI models) that can multi-task and
perform out-of-the-box tasks, including summarization, Q&A, classification, and more.

These systems have been trained on massive amounts of data.

It works by using a Machine Learning (ML) model to learn the patterns and relationships in a
dataset of human-created content. It then uses the learned patterns to generate new content.
 32. Multimodal AI
+ There has been a paradigm shift within AI (Artificial
Intelligence)towards Multimodal Systems, allowing
users to engage with AI through a combination of
text, images, sounds, and videos.
+ Multimodal AI is artificial intelligence that
combines multiple types, or modes, of data to
create more accurate determinations, draw
insightful conclusions or make more precise
predictions about real-world problems.
+ Multimodal AI systems train with and use video,
audio, speech, images, text and a range of
traditional numerical data sets.
 33. Deepfakes
DEEPFAKE HAS EMERGED AS A SERIOUS THREAT TO
DEMOCRACY AND SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS ACROSS
THE WORLD. PROPAGATION OF DEEPFAKE
CONTENT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS HAS
AGGRAVATED THIS CHALLENGE.
DEEPFAKES ARE SYNTHETIC MEDIA THAT
USE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TO MANIPULATE
OR GENERATE VISUAL AND AUDIO CONTENT,
USUALLY WITH THE INTENTION OF DECEIVING OR
MISLEADING SOMEONE.
DEEPFAKES ARE CREATED USING A TECHNIQUE
CALLED GENERATIVE ADVERSARIAL NETWORKS
(GANS), WHICH INVOLVE TWO COMPETING
NEURAL NETWORKS: A GENERATOR AND A
DISCRIMINATOR.
34.
Recently, Google announced the launch of its latest, most
powerful AI model, Gemini.

It is a new multimodal general AI model, which means it can

Google
understand, and work with different formats, including text, code,
audio, image, and video, at the same time

It is now available to users across the world through Bard, some

developer platforms and even the new Google Pixel 8 Pro

Gemini
devices.

It can understand, explain and generate high-quality code in the

world’s most popular programming languages, like Python, Java,
C++ and Go.

It comes in three sizes — the yet -to-be-launched Ultra, Pro and

Nano.

Gemini Ultra, the largest and most capable model, will be meant
for highly complex tasks. It is available now only to select
customers,developers, partners and safety and responsibility
experts for early experimentation and feedback.
35. Dark Fibre
Three major telecom service providers, Reliance Jio
Infocomm, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, have
approached the state-run Bharat Broadband Network
Limited (BBNL) to use its dark fibre.

It is an unused optical fibre that has been laid but is not

currently being used in fibre-optic communications.
Since fibre-optic cable transmits information in the
form of light pulses, a "dark" cable refers to one
through which light pulses are not being transmitted.
Companies lay extra optical fibres in order to avoid
cost repetition when more bandwidth is needed.

It is also known as unlit fibre.

36. National Quantum Mission
37.
Graphene
• Researchers recently created the
world’s first functional
semiconductor made from
graphene.
38. Vanadium
Vanadium, a critical raw
material for many industrial
applications, has been found
recently in sediment
samples collected from the
Gulf of Khambhat in Gujarat.
Found combined in various
minerals, coal, and
petroleum, vanadium is
the 22nd most abundant
element in Earth’s crust.
It is harder than most
It is a chemical element with
It is a silver-gray, ductile, and metals and exhibits good
the symbol "V" and atomic
malleable metallic element. corrosion resistance against
number 23.
alkalis and acids.
The largest resources of Used in making steel, in
Leading
vanadium minerals are Vanadium flow batteries, as
Producers: China, South
found in South Africa and Chemical catalysts, in NPPs
Africa, and Russia.
Russia. and also used in medicine.
39. LK-99 Superconductor

Two new papers published recently have indicated the

possibility of a room-temperature superconductor

The two new papers uploaded on the internet, by

researchers from South Korea, state the creation of
a material known as LK-99.

LK-99, the new superconductor, can be synthesized through

a baking process that involves combining the
minerals lanarkite (Pb2SOâ‚…) and copper phosphide.

The resulting material exhibits two essential characteristics

of superconductivity even at normal air pressure and
temperatures as high as 127 degrees Celsius.
Miscellaneous Topics
40. Airbus C-
295
 41. . Prachand LCH
Recently, the Indian Army’s Light Combat Helicopter
(LCH) Prachand successfully carried out the inaugural
firing of 70 mm rockets and 20 mm turret guns both day
and night.

It is India’s first indigenous multi-role combat helicopter,

developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

It is designed to meet the needs of the Indian

armed forces operating in deserts and mountainous
areas.

The helicopter is fitted with Shakti Engine, which is co-

developed by HAL and France’s Safran.
 The Computer Emergency Response Team of India
issued an alert for ransomware called “Akira”.
Ransomware is a malware designed to deny a user or
organization access to files on their own computer.
By encrypting these files and demanding a ransom
payment for the decryption key, cyber attackers place
organizations/individuals in a position where paying
the ransom is the easiest and cheapest way to regain
access to their files.
Some variants have added additional functionality –
such as data theft – to provide further incentive for

42. Ransomware ransomware victims to pay the ransom.

Ransomware has quickly become the most prominent
and visible type of malware.
43. Small Modular
Reactors (SMR)

Conventional NPPs (Nuclear Power

The rise in coal consumption
Plants) have generally suffered
despite increased solar and wind
from time and cost overruns. As an
power underlines the need for Low-
alternative, several countries are
Carbon Electricity Resources such
developing (SMRs) – nuclear
as Small Modular Reactors
reactors with a maximum capacity
(SMRs) to ensure
of 300 MW – to complement
Deep Decarbonization.
conventional NPPs
44. . Deep Ocean
Mission
India is gearing up for a historic Deep Ocean Mission to
explore and harness the depths of the ocean, a frontier
that remains largely uncharted and holds immense
potential for scientific and economic benefits.

Deep Ocean Mission (DOM) is an ambitious initiative of

the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) which aims to
develop technologies and capabilities for deep sea
exploration.

Also, DOM is one of nine missions under the Prime

Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory
Council (PMSTIAC).
45. Samudrayaan:
Matsya 6000
+ Samudryaan and Matsya6000: As a part of DOM, India’s
flagship deep ocean mission, Samudrayaan, was
initiated in 2021 by the Minister of Earth Sciences.
+ With Samudrayaan, India is embarking on a
groundbreaking crewed expedition to reach a depth
of6,000 m to the ocean bed in the Central Indian Ocean.
+ This historic journey will be accomplished
by Matsya6000, a deep-ocean submersible designed to
accommodate a crew of three members.
+ It is constructed from a titanium alloy, the sphere is
engineered to withstand pressures of up to 6,000 bar.
46. Cloud
Seeding
47. Nitrogen-9

• Scientists discovered hints of the new isotope,

called nitrogen-9, by smashing beams of oxygen
isotopes into beryllium atoms in the U.S. National
Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory.
• It is characterized by seven protons and two
neutrons – which is an unusually high proton-to-
neutron ratio.
• This disparity has a critical effect on the isotope’s
stability, influencing its decay processes as well as
overall behavior.
• For one, the high proton content places nitrogen-9
atoms beyond the conventional stability
thresholds.
• Most nitrogen comes as the isotope nitrogen-14,
with seven protons and seven neutrons. But
physicists say they have glimpsed a far more
elusive variant with just two neutrons.
 48. Nobel Prize
in Medicine
+ Through their groundbreaking
findings, which have fundamentally
changed our understanding of how
mRNA interacts with our immune
system, the laureates contributed to
the unprecedented rate of vaccine
development during one of the
greatest threats to human health in
modern times.
49. Nobel Prize in
Physics
+ The three Nobel Laureates in Physics
2023 are being recognised for their
experiments, which have given humanity
new tools for exploring the world of
electrons inside atoms and molecules.
Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne
L’Huillier have demonstrated a way to
create extremely short pulses of light that
can be used to measure the rapid
processes in which electrons move or
change energy.
50. Nobel Prize in Chemistry
+ Quantum dots have unique properties and
now spread their light from television
screens and LED lamps. They catalyze
chemical reactions, and their clear light can
illuminate tumour tissue for a surgeon
ENVIRONMENT
TOPICS 1-40
INTERNATIONAL/NATIONAL
TREATIES AND
CONVENTIONS
 COPs are gatherings held within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
1. COP-28: About Change (UNFCCC) a multinational treaty established in 1992.

These meetings, denoted by the acronym COP, serve as the official sessions of the Conference of the Parties.

During these sessions, participating countries (Parties) evaluate global endeavors aligned with the primary goal
of the Paris Agreement, aiming to restrict global warming to approximately 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.

The COPs are the main decision-making body of the UNFCCC.

They adopt decisions and resolutions on various aspects of climate action, such as mitigation, adaptation,
finance, technology, and transparency.

Recently, the 28th Conference of Parties (COP-28) took place in Dubai, UAE, with representatives from 197
countries presenting their initiatives to curb global warming and engaging in discussions on future climate
actions.
2. COP 28:
MAIN
TAKEAWAYS
 3. COP 28: GLOBAL STOCKTAKE
• The Global Stocktake (GST) is a periodic review mechanism established under the
Paris Agreement in 2015.
• The text proposes eight steps to keep the global temperature rise within the ambit
of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
• It calls for tripling renewable energy capacity globally and doubling the global
average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030.
• It calls for substantially reducing non-CO2 emissions, including, in particular,
methane emissions globally by 2030.
4. COP 28: INDIAN STAND AND
ENGAGEMENTS

Global River Cities Alliance (GRCA)

• It was launched at COP 28, led by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under the Ministry of Jal
Shakti, Government of India.
• GRCA highlights India's role in sustainable river-centric development and climate resilience.
• This platform will facilitate knowledge exchange, river-city twinning, and dissemination of best practices.

Quad Climate Working Group (QCWG) on Localised Climate Action

• The event focused on recognizing and amplifying the role of local communities, and regional governments in
supporting sustainable lifestyles.

The Green Credit Initiative has been conceptualized as a mechanism to incentivize

voluntary pro-planet actions, as an effective response to the challenge of climate change.
 5. CLIMATE CLUB

Recently, the Climate Club was formally launched at the 28th Conference of
Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

It is led by Germany and Chile, the Club has garnered support from 36 member
countries including Kenya, the European Union, Switzerland and others.

It aims to make decarbonisation of industries successful for climate and

businesses, through ambitious policies, alignment of methodologies and standards
and improving finance and assistance for emerging and developed economies.

The activities of the club are divided into three key pillars:-

• Pillar 1: Advancing ambitious and transparent climate change mitigation policies.

• Pillar 2: Transforming industries
• Pillar 3: Boosting international cooperation and partnership
 6. UN High seas
Treaty
UN (United Nations) members agreed on a High Seas Treaty to ensure
the protection and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas
beyond national jurisdiction.
It was agreed during talks led by the UN during the Intergovernmental
Conference (IGC) on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National
Jurisdiction (BBNJ) in New York, the US.

The treaty is yet to be formally adopted as members are yet to ratify it.
Once adopted, the treaty will be legally binding.

According to the 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas, parts of

the sea that are not included in the territorial waters or the internal
waters of a country are known as the high seas.

It is the area beyond a country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (that

extends up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coastline) and till
where a nation has jurisdiction over living and non-living resources.
No country is responsible for the management and protection of
resources on the high seas.
 7. CBAM
India recently flagged concerns relating to sensitive and confidential trade data of its exporters getting compromised while
complying with the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

It is a proposed European Union (EU) tariff on carbon-intensive products.

Purpose: To put a fair price on the carbon emitted during the production of carbon intensive goods that are entering the
EU and to encourage cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries.

It was adopted on May 17, 2023, and the CBAM transitional period started October 1, 2023.

It is designed to counter the risk of carbon leakage and operates by imposing a charge on the embedded carbon content
of certain imports that is equal to the carbon price of domestic production.
8. International Big Cat Alliance
9. Green Fuels Alliance India
Recently, the Danish government, in collaboration with A.P. Moller–Mersk and other partners, has announced the formation of the Green Fuels Alliance
India (GFAI) to advance their joint global goal towards carbon neutrality.

The alliance is underpinned by the Green Strategic Partnership (GSP) signed between India and Denmark in 2020.

Green Fuels Alliance India (GFAI) is an alliance between the Denmark and India to boost collaborative efforts in the sustainable energy solutions sector.

Aim is to to advance the green fuels sector, including green hydrogen, through innovation and partnerships.
CLIMATE
CHANGE
 1 2 3 4 5

Ahead of COP28, the The UNEP Emissions Gap Since 2010, it has provided Each year, the report also With the aim to inform the
United Nations Report (EGR) series tracks an annual science-based highlights key opportunities climate negotiations among
Environment Programme world progress in limiting assessment of the gap to bridge the emissions UN Member States,
(UNEP) released a report global warming well below between estimated future gap, tackling a specific issue the EGR is launched every
titled ‘Emissions Gap 2°C and pursuing 1.5°C in global greenhouse gas of interest. year ahead of the UN
Report 2023: Broken line with the Paris (GHG) emissions if Climate Change
Record — Temperatures Agreement. countries implement their Conference of the Parties
hit new highs, yet world climate mitigation pledges, (COP).
fails to cut emissions and where they should be
to avoid the worst impacts
of climate change.

10. Emission Gap Report

11. Adaptation Gap Report 2023
◦ It has been published annually by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
◦ t is estimated that adaptation costs will increase significantly by 2050 for most sectors, especially under high-
warming scenarios.
◦ The adaptation finance needs are 10-18 times as high as the current international public adaptation fund flows.
◦ The world countries must urgently cut greenhouse gas emissions and increase adaptation efforts to protect
vulnerable populations.
◦ In 2021, funding from developed countries to developing countries for adaptation projects was 15% lower than
in previous years.
◦ It identifies seven ways to bridge the adaptation gap, which include an increase in international finance
flows and greater domestic mobilisation of resources.
◦ Also, it calls for a reform of the global financial architecture to ensure greater and easier access to finance for
climate-related purposes from multilateral agencies such as the World Bank or the IMF.
12. Loss & Damage
Fund (L&D Fund)
◦ The 'Loss and Damage' (L&D) fund is a financial
mechanism designed to address the irreversible
consequences of climate change that cannot be
avoided or mitigated through adaptation efforts.
◦ Adaptation is the proactive response to climate
change, the art of survival using which communities
and countries make deliberate choices to prepare
for and cope with climate-related challenges.
◦ This fund recognizes and aims to compensate for
the real losses incurred by communities, countries,
and ecosystems due to the impacts of climate
change.
 Glacial lakes, like the South Lhonak Lake, are large bodies of
water that sit in front of, on top of, or beneath a melting glacier.

As they grow larger, they become more dangerous because glacial

lakes are mostly dammed by unstable ice or sediment composed
of loose rock and debris.

13. Glacial Lake In case the boundary around them breaks, huge amounts of water

Outburst Flood rush down the side of the mountains, which could cause flooding
in the downstream areas. This is called glacial lake outburst floods
(GLOF).

(GLOF) GLOF can be triggered by several reasons, including earthquakes,

extremely heavy rains and ice avalanches.

As these lakes are often found in steep, mountainous regions,

landslides or ice avalanches can sometimes fall directly into the
lakes and displace the water, causing it to over-top the natural
dam and flood downstream.
 According to a recent study, published in Nature Communications, stated that
the Antarctic Ozone Hole has been massive in the last four years.

The concentration of ozone at the core of the ozone hole has decreased by
26% from 2004 to 2022, despite the efforts outlined in the Montreal
Protocol, which aimed to reduce human-generated chemicals that deplete the
ozone layer.

14. Ozone An Ozone Hole refers to a severe depletion of the ozone layer—a region in the
Earth's stratosphere containing a higher concentration of ozone molecules.

Layer Ozone molecules (O3) in this layer play a crucial role in shielding the Earth from
harmful Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.

Depletion
Montreal Protocol: Universally adopted treated to eliminate CFCs and HCFCs

Kigali Amendment to Montreal Protocol: Adopted to eliminate HFCs

15. Cyclone Biparjoy
Cyclone Biparjoy was a very severe cyclonic storm that hit
Gujarat and parts of Rajasthan. It caused significant damage to
infrastructure, injuries and cattle deaths, but only two human
fatalities.

A cyclone is a large-scale system of air that rotates around the

centre of a low-pressure area. It is usually accompanied by
violent storms and bad weather. As per NDMA, a cyclone is
characterised by inward spiralling winds that rotate
anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in
the Southern Hemisphere.
Tropical cyclones are those which develop in the regions
between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer.
 16. Acequias
Spain turns to a medieval solution based on ancient wisdom for facing drought in
future.

These are the network of water channels created by the Moors, who conquered and
settled in the Iberian Peninsulain the Middle Ages, are being excavated and brought
back to life to adapt to the crises of climate change.

These are mutually managed irrigation channels that have been in continuous operation
in the arid region.

The word acequia is an adaptation of the Arabic as-saqiya, meaning water carrier or
water conduit.

Without acequias, snowmelt from mountain peaks would flow directly into rivers and
lakes that dry up during the summer. With them, the melted water is diverted to
multiple acequias and the water soaks into the ground in a ‘sponge effect’, and then
circulates slowly through aquifers and downslope in springs that irrigate crops during
the dry season.
17. Blue Flag Beaches
Blue Flag certification is a globally recognized eco-label accorded by Foundation for Environment
Education in Denmark (FEE).

The water bodies are given this label if the stringent criteria are maintained. The Blue flag beaches are
often in news hence it is necessary to understand its significance

The iconic Blue Flag is one of the world’s most recognized voluntary awards for beaches, marinas, and
sustainable boating tourism operators.

To qualify for the Blue Flag, stringent environmental, educational, safety, and accessibility criteria must be
met and maintained.

The mission of Blue Flag is to promote sustainability in the tourism sector, through environmental
education, environmental protection, and other sustainable development practices.
 18. RAT HOLE MINING

Recently, Rat Hole Mining method has been used to

evacuate 41 workers who were trapped
inside Uttarakhand's Silkyari tunnel.

Rat hole mining is a method of extracting coal from

narrow, horizontal seams, prevalent in Meghalaya.

The term “rat hole” refers to the narrow pits dug into
the ground, typically just large enough for one person
to descend and extract coal.

Rat-hole mining has been linked to a host of ecological

issues, such as the acidification of rivers, Land
Degradation, Deforestation, and Water Pollution.
19. PRITHVI SCHEME
To enhance the understanding of the Earth and its vital signs, the Union Cabinet recently approved the “PRITHvi VIgyan
(PRITHVI)” scheme.

It is an initiative of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) to enhance the understanding of the Earth and its vital signs.

This overarching initiative, with an allocation of Rs 4,797 crore for the period 2021-26, aims to significantly enhance
research, modelling, and service delivery across crucial areas like weather, climate, oceans, and the polar regions.

The Prithvi scheme integrates five existing sub-schemes:

• Atmosphere and Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems and Services (ACROSS)
• Ocean Services, Modelling Application, Resources and Technology (O-SMART)
• Polar Science and Cryosphere Research (PACER)
• Seismology and Geosciences (SAGE)
• Research, Education, Training, and Outreach (REACHOUT).
POLLUTION
 20. GRAP

Recently, the Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR & Adjoining Areas (CAQM) announced revision of the
Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) which came w.e.f. 1st October, 2023 in the entire National Capital Region.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has constituted a sub-committee for the operationalization of the
GRAP.

Stage I – ‘Poor’ Air Quality (AQI ranging between 201-300): Enforce NGT / Hon’ble SC’s order on over aged diesel / petrol
vehicles.

Stage II - 'Very Poor' (AQI 301-400): Rigorous actions to combat air pollution at identified hotspots in the region.

Stage III - 'Severe' (AQI 401-450): Impose strict restrictions on BS III petrol and BS IV diesel four-wheelers in certain areas
and may suspend physical classes in schools for primary grade children up to Class 5.

Stage IV - 'Severe Plus' (AQI greater than 450) : When the AQI exceeds 450, four-wheelers registered outside Delhi, except
for electric vehicles, CNG vehicles, and BS-VI diesel vehicles, will not be allowed to enter the city.
 Ethanol is an agricultural by-product which is mainly obtained from the
processing of sugar from sugarcane, but also from other sources such as rice
husk or maize.

Blending ethanol with petrol to burn less fossil fuel while running vehicles is
called Ethanol Blending.

21. E-20
E20 fuel is a blend of 20% ethanol and 80% petrol. The E20 was launched by
the Prime Minister of India in February 2023 in Bengaluru. This pilot covers at
least 15 cities and will be rolled out across the country in a phased manner.

Blending
India has been increasing its ethanol blending in petrol from 1.53% in 2013-14 to
10.17% in 2022.

The government has advanced its target to achieve 20% ethanol blending in
petrol from 2030 to 2025.

During our G20 presidency, the government has also proposed to launch
a global biofuel alliance with countries like Brazil to promote biofuels
internationally.
22. Electrified Flex Fuel Vehicle

Recently, the Minister of Road Transport

and Highways of India unveiled the
Prototype of BS-6 Stage-II, Electrified Flex
fuel vehicle.
An Electrified Flex Fuel Vehicle has both
It is the World’s first BS-6 Stage-
a Flexi Fuel engine and an electric
II Electrified Flex fuel vehicle.
powertrain.

Flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) have In flex fuels, the ratio of ethanol to petrol
an internal combustion engine and are can be adjusted, but the most commonly
capable of operating on gasoline and any used flex fuel uses 85 per cent ethanol
blend of gasoline and ethanol up to 83%. and 15 per cent petrol.
23. Green Hydrogen The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE)
notified the green hydrogen standard for India,
outlining the emission thresholds for production of
hydrogen that can be classified as ‘green’.
In developing countries such as India, which is
investing in the National Hydrogen Mission,
hydrogen could be used in transportation, power
generation and industry.
By the end of the decade, the International Energy
Agency (IEA) anticipates that hydrogen will find a
host of new applications, including powering grids
and fuelling the building and transportation sectors.
 Artificial lighting refers to the light that is produced
from artificial sources such as candles, fire, electricity, etc
24. Marine Light Pollution Recent study has shown that Light Pollution is a growing
threat for marine ecosystems.
25. Swachh Survekhsan
Awards 2023
It is an annual survey of cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation
in cities and towns across India, launched as part of the
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (specifically under SBA-Urban).
It was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairs (MoHUA) with Quality Council of India (QCI) as its
implementation partner.
Surat in Gujarat and Indore in Madhya Pradesh were jointly
declared cleanest cities of the country at the annual clean
city awards 2023 of the Union Urban Affairs Ministry.
This was for the seventh year in a row that Indore has
been ranked as the cleanest city in India.
 • DSR, also called the ‘broadcasting seed technique’, is
a water-saving method of sowing paddy.
• Seeds are directly drilled into the fields in this method.

26. Direct • This saves groundwater, as opposed to the

traditionalwater-intensive method, under which rice
seedlings are transplanted from a nursery to waterlogged

Seeding of
fields.
• With DSR technique, farmers must sow paddy only after
pre-sowing (rauni) irrigation and not in dry
fields. Further, the field should be laser levelled.

Rice • No significant reduction of yield under optimal

conditions;
• Savings on irrigation water by 12-35% under efficient
water management practices;
• Reduces labor and drudgery by eliminating seedling
uprooting and transplanting;
• Reduces cultivation time, energy, and cost
BIODIVERSITY
 27. Tiger
Population
• According to the latest census, the total number of
tigers in India has seen a remarkable increase of 200,
surging from 2,967 to 3,167 over the last four years
• The Government of India started Project Tiger to
address this issue, resulting in 53 tiger reserves in India,
up from nine when the project began. Tiger numbers
almost doubled from 2006 to 2018, reaching 2,967, and
are now above 3,000.
• To promote the conservation of tigers, “Project Tiger”
started in India in 1973. There are presently 53 tiger
reserves covering more than 75,000 sq km or over 2.4%
of India’s total geographical area.
28. Brain A 15-year-old boy in Kerala’s Alappuzha district has died due to a
rare infection caused by Naegleria fowleri or “brain-eating amoeba”

Eating Naegleria fowleri, commonly known as “brain-eating amoeba,” is a

single-cell organism.

Amoeba It is found in a warm freshwater environment such as lakes, hot

springs and even in poorly maintained swimming pools.

First discovered in Australia in 1965, it is so small that it can only be

seen with a microscope.

Only one species of Naegleria, Naegleria fowleri, infects people

The amoeba enters the human body through the nose and then
travels up to the brain
29. GM Mustard
Recently, the Government of India told the Supreme Court that Genetically Modified (GM) crops such
as mustard will make quality edible oil cheaper for the common man and benefit national interest by reducing
foreign dependency.

The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has approved the environmental release of Dhara
Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11), a genetically-engineered variant of mustard.

If approved for commercial cultivation it would be the first genetically modified food crop available to Indian
farmers.

GM crops are derived from plants whose genes are artificially modified, usually by inserting genetic material
from another organism, in order to give it new properties, such as increased yield, tolerance to
a herbicide, resistance to disease or drought, or improved nutritional value.
 • Citizen divers restore seagrass just off the
coast of Kiel in northern Germany, Baltic
sea to fight climate change.
• It is flowering plant that grows submerged
in shallow marine waters like bays and
lagoons.
• They are so-named because most species

30. Seagrass
have long green, grass-like leaves.
• Seagrasses have roots, stems, and leaves
and produce flowers and seeds.
• Like terrestrial plants, seagrass also
photosynthesizes and manufactures their
own food and releases oxygen.
• They evolved around 100 million years ago,
and there are approximately 72 different
seagrass species that belong to four major
groups.
31. Manas NP
It is a national park,
It is located in
UNESCO Natural World
the foothills of Himalayas
Heritage site, a Project
in Assam. It is contiguous
Tiger reserve, an elephant
with the Royal Manas
reserve and a biosphere
National Park in Bhutan.
reserve.

Fauna:The Park is known

Flora: It contains some of for its rare and
the largest remaining endangered endemic
grassland habitats in the wildlife such as the Assam
sub-Himalayan grassland roofed turtle, hispid hare,
ecosystems. golden langur and pygmy
hog.

The name of the park The Manas River is a

originates from the Manas major tributary of
River, which is named Brahmaputra River, which
after the serpent goddess passes through the Manas
Manasa. National Park.
 32. Invasive Alien
Species
The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Services (IPBES) has recently released an "Assessment Report
on Invasive Alien Species and their Control.”

About 6% of alien plants, 22% of alien invertebrates, 14% of alien

vertebrates, and 11% of alien microbes are known to be invasive.

The water hyacinth ranks as the world's most widespread invasive alien
species on land.

Lantana, a flowering shrub, and the black rat hold the second and third
positions on the global invasion scale.

The brown rat and house mouse are also widespread invaders.
33. Invasive Plant Species
An invasive or alien species is
an introduced species to an
environment that
becomes overpopulated and
harms its new environment.
They can be introduced to
an area by ship ballast water, Rapid reproduction and
growth,
accidental release, and most
often, by people.

Ability to survive on various

Phenotypic plasticity (ability food types and in a wide
High dispersal ability, to adapt physiologically to
range of environmental
new conditions), and conditions.

Senna Spectabilis, Prosopis

Juliflora, Lantana camara and
Water Hyacinth are major
invasive plant species
 34. Pusa-44
Recently, Punjab Chief Minister announced that the state will ban the cultivation of the PUSA-44 paddy variety from 2024

It is a paddy variety which was developed in 1993 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

By the end of 2010s, it had gained widespread popularity among farmers across the Punjab, covering approximately 70 to
80% of the area under paddy cultivation.

Farmers claim that PUSA-44 yields nearly 85 to 100 mann (34 to 40 quintals) per acre, while other varieties’ yield average
is 28 to 30 quintals per acre.

Concerns
• It is a long-duration variety, taking around 160 days to mature.
• This is around 35 to 40 days more than other varieties, requiring 5-6 extra cycles of irrigation.
• With Punjab facing severe groundwater depletion and the availability of short-duration paddy varieties, the government aims to conserve one month of
irrigation water by banning the variety.
• Moreover, this variety is also known to exacerbate the long-running issue of stubble burning in the state.
35. Deep Sea Coral Reef
Scientists have mapped the largest known deep-
sea coral reef, located off the Atlantic coast of
the United States.
The reef spans approximately 500 km in length,
stretching from Florida to South Carolina. At
certain points, its width reaches up to 110 km.
The reef’s area is almost three times larger
than Yellowstone National Park.
36. Artificial Reef

To promote sustainable practises, the Department of

Fisheries has sanctioned 732 artificial reef units for 10
coastal states as a sub-activity under the “Integrated
Modern Coastal Fishing Villages” of Pradhan Mantri
Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).
An artificial reef is a manmade structure that may
mimic some of the characteristics of a natural reef.
37. Gobar-dhan Scheme
Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources (GOBAR)-Dhan was launched by the Government of India in April 2018 as a part of the biodegradable waste
management component under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin.

The scheme intends to positively impact village cleanliness and generate wealth and energy from cattle and organic waste.

The main focus areas of GOBAR-Dhan are to keep villages clean, increase the income of rural households and generate energy and organic manure from
cattle waste.

The Sustainable Alternatives towards Affordable Transporation (SATAT) scheme by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) encourages
entrepreneurs to set up CBG plants produce and supply CBG to oil and gas marketing companies (OGC/OMC) for selling it as automotive and industrial fuels.
 Cotton Crop
38. Pink Bollworm
It is one of the most destructive pests of
cotton.
Scientific name: Pectinophora gossypiella
Distribution: Originally native to India, it is
now recorded in nearly all the cotton-growing
countries of the world.
 Experts have recently warned pesticide sellers against the
sale and storage of glyphosate as its exposure is known to
cause cancer.
Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide that can kill certain
weeds and grasses.
39. GLYSOPHATE
The product is used primarily in agriculture but also in
forestry and lawn and garden care.

Glyphosate is a small molecule made of a linear carbon

chain with weaker bonds, which makes glyphosate less
persistent in the environment.
In India, it goes by various brand names, including Roundup,
Glycel, and Brake.

Glyphosate works by inhibiting an enzyme called EPSP

synthase, which is essential for the synthesis of certain
amino acids that plants need for growth.
 40. PRESS MUD
• Sugarcane byproduct press mud can help generate 460,000
tonnes of compressed biogas (CBG) valued at Rs 2,484 crore
• It is often known as filter cake or press cake.
• It is the agricultural waste obtained when cane juice is
repeatedly filtered before being sent for sugar extraction.
• The filters are cleaned periodically, and the waste is
deposited in the yard of the mill.
• Nearly 3 to 4 percent of press mud is obtained
when one tonne of cane is crushed.
• At present, mills recycle this agricultural waste as manure by
composting it and supplying it to the farmers in the area.
• It can be utilised as a feedstock for biogas production through
anaerobic digestion and subsequent purification to create
compressed biogas (CBG).
Species in News
Topics 1-30
IUCN Red List
Classification
Wildlife Protection Act Schedules
Mammals
1. Clouded Leopard
It is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China.

The clouded leopard is categorised into two species: the mainland clouded leopard distributed from central
Nepal to peninsular Malaysia, and the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) native to Borneo and Sumatra.
The mainland clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is often likened to the Ice Age sabretooth because it has the
largest canines in proportion to its skull size among all cat species.
It also has rotating rear ankles that enable it to climb down head first from trees, unlike the other felines.

They seemed to go wherever they pleased without worrying about other predators, primarily because of their
ability to climb trees, even hang upside down from large branches.
It most often inhabits primary evergreen tropical forests and also lives in secondary forests, logged forests, dry
tropical forests, grassland, mangrove swamp, scrubland, and coastal hardwood forest.
In India, it is found in Sikkim, northern West Bengal, Meghalaya subtropical forests, Tripura, Mizoram,
Manipur, Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
It is the State animal of Meghalaya.

Conservation status IUCN: Vulnerable

2. Jaguars •

•
•
•

•
3. Asian Cheetah
vs African
Cheetah
4. Snow
Leopard
5. Himalayan Brown Bear
 6. Iberian Wolf

It is a subspecies of Grey wolf that has been isolated from mixing with other wolf
populations for over a century.
These form the largest wolf population in Western Europe.

It is native to the Iberian Peninsula comprising Spain and Portugal.

They inhabit forests, inland wetlands, shrublands, grasslands, pastures, and

mountainous areas.
They live, hunt, and travel in small packs. Each pack includes the alpha male and female
with their young as well as older offspring.
The alphas are the leaders of the pack, establishing the group's territory, selecting the
den sites, tracking down, and hunting prey.
They are mainly carnivores.

Conservation status IUCN: Vulnerable

7. Himalayan
Wolf
8. Asiatic Wild Dog (Dhole)
9. Hoolock
Gibbon
• Global Gibbon Network (GGN)
held its first meeting in China to
discuss conservation of Hoolock
Gibbon. Hoolock Gibbon is the
only ape found in India. It is
native to eastern Bangladesh,
India, Myanmar, and Southwest
China.
10. Mithun Northeast’s Mithun gets a
The Mithun or gayal (Bos
‘food animal’ tag from the
frontalis) is considered a
Food Safety and
descendant of the Indian
Standards Authority of
Gaur or bison.
India (FSSAI)

It plays an important role

It is distributed
in the socio-economic
in Northeast India,
and cultural life of tribes
Bangladesh, northern
such as the Nyishi,
Myanmar and in Yunnan,
Apatani, Galo and Adi in
China.
Arunachal Pradesh.

Conservation status
•IUCN: Vulnerable
•CITES: Appendix I.
11. Stump-tailed Monkey
12. Pygmy Hog
It is the smallest and rarest species of wild pig in the world.

It is one of the very few mammals that build its own home, or nest,
complete with a ‘roof’.

It is an indicator species as its presence reflects the health of its primary

habitat, tall and wet grasslands.

Habitat: It prefers undisturbed patches of grassland dominated by early

succession riverine communities, typically comprising dense tall grass
intermixed with a wide variety of herbs, shrubs and young trees.

Currently, the viable population of this pig in the wild is in the Manas
Tiger Reserve in Assam.

Conservation status:

•IUCN: Critically Endangered

•The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
 13. Namdapha Flying Squirrel
Recently, a Namdapha flying squirrel has
It is an arboreal, nocturnal flying It is one of the 43 known flying squirrel
resurfaced in Arunachal Pradesh after going
squirrel endemic to Arunachal Pradesh. species in the world.
missing for 42 years.

Distribution: They inhabit tall Mesua ferrea

It was named the Namdapha Flying
These squirrels are not capable of flight like jungles, often on hill slopes in the
Squirrel after the location it was discovered
birds or bats; instead, they glide between catchment area of the Dihing
in an area which falls under the Namdapha
trees. River(particularly on the western slope of
National Park.
the Patkai range) in northeastern India.

Conservation status:
They are herbivores (frugivores, granivores). •IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
They eat various fruits, nuts, seeds, fungi, •Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: schedule II
flowers, and tree sap.
14. Eurasian Otter
15. Punganur Cow
16. Hog Deer
17. Pangolins
 Fishes,
Amphibians
and Reptiles
18. Atlantic Menhaden
19. Alligator Gar Fish
20. Gangetic It is a freshwater species and one of the few river
River Dolphin dolphins found in the world.

It inhabits the Ganges-Brahmaputra-

Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river
systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.

Common Names: Blind dolphin, Ganges dolphin,

Ganges susu, hihu, side-swimming dolphin, South
Asian River Dolphin

The Gangetic Dolphin has been recognized

as India's National Aquatic Animal.

IUCN: Endangered
Wildlife (Protection) Act:
Conservation status: Schedule-I
CITES: Appendix I
 21. Ghol Fish

01 02 03 04
Gujarat recently Ghol fish is also known IUCN Status: Near Habitat: Persian Gulf to
declared the black- as ‘Sea Gold’ for its Threat Pacific Ocean
spotted high market value.
croaker(Protonibea
Diacanthus), locally
known as the Ghol fish,
as the state fish.
22. Sturgeon The Convention on
International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild About: Sturgeons represent
Fauna and Flora (CITES) in a natural heritage of the
1998 listed the species as Danube River Basin and key
endangered and put indicator species for high
restrictions on fishing of ecological quality of rivers.
sturgeons from the Danube
and Black Sea.

Habitat: 27 species of Threats: Blocked migration

sturgeons and paddlefishes routes through dams, Loss
distributed across the or degradation of habitats,
Northern hemisphere. and Pollution.

IUCN Red list: There are 6

species of sturgeon in the
Danube River. Five of them CITES: Appendix-II.
are now listed as critically
endangered.
 • About Indian Flapshell Turtle : It
(Lissemys punctata) is one of the
most common softshell turtles found
in India.
• The “flap-shelled” name stems from
the presence of femoral flaps located
on the plastron. These flaps of skin
cover the limbs when they retract into
the shell.
• Conservation Status:
– IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
CITES: Appendix II
23. Indian –

– Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I

Flapshell Turtle
 A report by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)-India has
highlighted 172 incidents of seizures involving the red sand boa
(Eryx johnii) between 2016 and 2021 in India.

The red sand boa (Eryx johnii) is a non-venomous snake that

lives in the dry parts of the Indian subcontinent.

It’s also known as the Indian sand boa. The red sand boa is
a thick-set snake that’s usually reddish-brown, known for
its blunt tail, which it uses to mimic its head when it senses a
threat.

Classified as ‘Near Threatened’ by the International Union for

Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with a declining population
trend.

24. Red Sand The red sand boa is highly sought after in the illegal wildlife
Bao trade due to its demand in the pet trade and its use in black
magic.
Birds and
Insects
25. Vultures
in India
26. Indian Eagle Owl
27. Great Indian Bustard

Great Indian Bustard

28. Red Fire Ant
Plant Species
29. Sea-buckthorn
30. Red-Sanders
§ An Interim Budget is presented by a
government that is going through a transition
period or is in its last year in office ahead of
general elections.
§ The purpose of the interim budget is to ensure
the continuity of government expenditure and
essential services until the new government can
present a full-fledged budget after taking office.
 Feature Interim Budget Vote on Account

Constitutional Provision Article 112 Article 116

Financial Statement presented by the To meet essential government expenditures for

Purpose
government ahead of general elections. a limited period until the budget is approved.

Covers a specific period, usually a few It is generally granted for two months for an
Duration of Expenditure months until a new government is formed, and amount equivalent to one-sixth of the total
a full budget is presented. estimation.

Cannot change the tax regime under any

Policy changes Can propose changes in the tax regime
circumstances

Ensures the smooth functioning of the

Provides continuity in governance during the
Impact on Governance government and public services until the
transition period between two governments.
regular budget is approved.
Capital Expenditure

• An 11.1% increase in the capital expenditure outlay for 2024-

2025 was announced.
• The capital expenditure is set at Rs 11,11,111
crore, constituting 3.4% of the GDP.

Economic Growth Projections

• The GDP growth for FY 2023-24 real GDP growth is projected

at 7.3%, aligning with the RBI's revised growth projection.
• The International Monetary Fund upgraded India's growth
projection to 6.3% for FY 2023-24. It also anticipates India
becoming the third-largest economy in 2027.

Revenue and Expenditure Estimates (2024-25)

• Total Receipts: Estimated at Rs 30.80 lakh crore, excluding

borrowings.
• Total Expenditure: Projected at Rs 47.66 lakh crore.
• Tax Receipts: Estimated at Rs 26.02 lakh crore.
GST Collections

• Reached ₹1.65 lakh crore in December 2023, crossing the ₹1.6 lakh crore benchmark for the seventh time.

Fiscal Deficit and Market Borrowing

• Fiscal deficit is estimated at 5.1% of GDP in 2024-25, aligning with the goal of reducing it below 4.5% by 2025-
26 (announced in budget 2021-22).
• Gross and net market borrowings through dated securities in 2024-25 are estimated at Rs 14.13 and 11.75 lakh
crore, respectively.

Taxation

• The Interim Budget maintains the existing rates for direct and indirect taxes, including import duties.
• For Corporate Taxes: 22% for existing domestic companies, 15% for certain new manufacturing companies.
• No tax liability for taxpayers with income up to ₹7 lakh under the new tax regime.
• Certain tax benefits for Start-Ups and investments extended by one year up to March 31, 2025.
 Clean Energy Sector
• Viability gap funding for wind energy. It will help
in harnessing offshore wind energy potential, aiming for
an initial capacity of 1 gigawatt.
• Establishment of coal gasification and
liquefaction capacity of 100 million tonnes by 2030.
• Phased mandatory blending of CNG, PNG
and compressed biogas
• Financial assistance for procurement of biomass
aggregation machinery
• Rooftop solarization: 1 crore households will be enabled
to obtain up to 300 units of free electricity per month
• Strengthening e-vehicle ecosystem by supporting
manufacturing and charging
• New scheme of biomanufacturing and bio-foundry to be
launched to support environment friendly alternatives
Agricultural Sector
• Encouraging the use of 'Nano DAP' for various crops
across all agro-climatic zones.
• Formulating policies to support dairy farmers and
combat Foot and Mouth Disease.
• Strategizing for AtmaNirbharta (self-reliance) in oilseeds,
covering research, procurement, value addition, and crop
insurance.
• Nano-DAP (Di-ammonium Phosphate) is a
nanotechnology-based agri-input developed by the
Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO). It
helps in correcting the Nitrogen & Phosphorus
deficiencies in standing crops.
 Infrastructure Housing Sector Healthcare Sector Fishery Sector For States Capex

•Railways: Three major •Government plans to •Encouraging Cervical •Establishing a new •The continuation of
economic railway subsidize the Cancer Vaccination for department, 'Matsya the fifty-year interest-
corridor programmes construction of 30 million girls (9-14 years). Sampada,' to address the free loan scheme for
will be implemented- affordable houses in •U-WIN platform for needs of fishermen. capital expenditure to
energy, mineral & rural areas. immunization efforts states was announced.
cement corridors, port •Housing for Middle Class of Mission •A total outlay of Rs 1.3
connectivity corridors, scheme to be launched Indradhanush to be lakh crore, with a
and high traffic density to promote middle class rolled out. provision of Rs 75,000
corridors. to buy/built their own •Expanding crore for fifty-year
•Forty thousand normal houses the Ayushman Bharat interest-free loans to
rail bogies will be scheme to include support state-led
converted to Vande all ASHA reforms.
Bharat standards for workers, Anganwadi •Special attention will be
enhanced safety, workers, and helpers. paid to the eastern
convenience, and region to make it a
passenger comfort. powerful driver of India's
•Aviation: Expansion of growth.
existing airports and
comprehensive
development of new
airports under the UDAN
scheme.
•Urban Transport:
Promotion of urban
transformation via Metro
rail and NaMo Bharat.
7. Major Highlights-6 (other Info)
 8. Monetary Policy Committee
The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (RBI Act) has been amended by the Finance Act, 2016 to provide for a statutory and
institutionalized framework for MPC.

Under Section 45ZB of the amended RBI Act, 1934, the central government is empowered to constitute a six-member MPC.

Function: The MPC is entrusted with the task of fixing the benchmark policy rate (repo rate) required to contain inflation within the
specified target level.

Composition:

•MPC will have six members - the RBI Governor (Chairperson), the RBI Deputy Governor in charge of monetary policy, one official nominated by the RBI Board, and
the remaining three members would represent the Government of India.
•The external members hold office for a period of four years.

The quorum for a meeting shall be four Members, at least one of whom shall be the Governor and, in his absence, the Deputy
Governor, who is the Member of the MPC.

The MPC takes decisions based on a majority vote. In case of a tie, the RBI governor will have the second or casting vote.

The decision of the MPC would be binding on the RBI.

9. Inflation Trend
Annual retail inflation in India was little changed at 5.09% in February 2024, compared to 5.1%
in January and market forecasts of 5.02%. Food inflation was 8.66%, slightly higher than 8.3%
in January, mainly due to prices for vegetables
 10. Greedflation
There is a growing consensus across the world that corporate greed is
causing inflation and workers are being doubly penalised by low wage
increases and higher interest rates

Greedflation simply means (corporate) greed is fuelling inflation.

In other words, instead of the wage-price spiral, it is the profit-price

spiral that is in play.

In essence, greedflation implies that companies exploited the

inflation that people were experiencing by putting up their prices way
beyond just covering their increased costs and then used that to
maximise their profit margins. That, in turn, further fuelled inflation.

In Europe and the US there is a growing consensus that greedflation is

the real culprit.
11. Rupee Internationalisation

A Reserve Bank of India-appointed

Internationalisation of the rupee is
working group recommended
a process that involves increasing
various measures to accelerate the
use of the local currency in cross-
pace of internationalisation of the
border transactions.
rupee.

Basically, it is a process of
promoting and increasing the use
of the INR as a widely accepted
currency for international
transactions and investments.
It involves enhancing the
currency's acceptance, liquidity,
and usability in global markets.
12. Trade Settlement Cycle
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which had in July announced it was working on launching
real-time settlement of trades, is now planning to implement one-hour settlement of trades first

In one-hour settlement, if an investor sells a share, the money will be credited to their account in an hour,
and the buyer will get the shares in their demat account within an hour

The current cycle of T+1 means trade-related settlements happen within a day or 24 hours of the actual
transactions.

India became the second country in the world to start the T+1 settlement cycle in top-listed securities after
China.
13. I-CRR
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that it would discontinue the incremental cash reserve
ratio (I-CRR) in a phased manner.
CRR is a percentage of total deposits (currently, stands at 4.5%) that the banks have to maintain as
liquid cash with the RBI.
The I-CRR is an additional cash balance which the RBI can ask banks to maintain over and above
the CRR - for a specific period.
In August 2023, after announcing the monetary policy, the RBI Governor said that banks will have
to maintain an I-CRR of 10%
The RBI announced I-CRR as a temporary measure to absorb excess liquidity from the banking
system.
The level of surplus liquidity in the system surged because of the return of Rs 2,000 banknotes to
the banking system
14. PCA Framework
The RBI has announced the
extension of the Prompt
Corrective Action (PCA)
framework to Government
Non-Banking Financial
banks identified as financially
Companies (NBFCs),
excluding those in the Base
Layer, starting from October 1,
2024.
History: The RBI introduced
the PCA Framework in
December 2002 as an early
intervention mechanism,
inspired by the US Federal
Deposit Insurance
Corporation’s PCA framework.
Definition: The PCA
Framework is a watchlist of
weak by the central bank.
Last Update: The revised
PCA framework came into
effect on January 1, 2022.
Coverage: The PCA
Regulatory Measures: When
Framework applies exclusively
a bank falls under PCA, the
to commercial banks and does
regulator imposes restrictions
not extend to cooperative
on its operations, such as
banks or non-banking
curbs on lending activities.
financial companies (NBFCs).
Risk Threshold: The RBI has
Monitoring Areas: The
updated the level of capital
revised framework places a
adequacy ratio shortfall that
heightened focus on capital
triggers classification into the
adequacy, asset quality, and
“risk threshold three”
leverage.
category.
15. Open
Market
Operations
Recently, the Reserve Bank of India announced its decision
to consider the Open Market Operation (OMO) sale of
government securities to manage liquidity in the system

OMOs are conducted by the RBI by way of sale and

purchase of G-Secs (government securities) to and from the
market with an objective to adjust the rupee liquidity
conditions in the market on a durable basis.
When the Reserve Bank feels that there is excess liquidity in
the market, it resorts to sale of securities thereby sucking out
the rupee liquidity.

Similarly, when the liquidity conditions are tight, RBI may buy
securities from the market, thereby releasing liquidity into
the market.
 A bank is considered a D-SIB if its failure might seriously disrupt the financial
system due to the bank’s size, cross-jurisdictional activities, complexity, lack of
substitutability and interconnectedness.

Under the D-SIB framework announced by theReserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2014,
the central bank was required to -

•Disclose the names of banks designated as D-SIBs, and

•Place them in appropriate buckets depending upon their Systemic Importance Scores (SISs).

Depending on the bucket in which a D-SIB is placed, an additional common equity

requirement[Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1)] is applicable to it.

16. D-SIBs •Tier 1 capital (measured by the capital adequacy ratio (CAR)) is the core measure of a bank's financial
strength from a regulator's point of view.

It means that these banks have to earmark additional capital and provisions to
safeguard their operations.

RBI has classified SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank as D-SIBs.

Similarly, the Basel - Switzerland-based Financial Stability Board (FSB), an initiative

of G20 nations, has identified, in consultation with the Basel Committee on Banking
Supervision (BCBS), a list of G-SIBs.
•There are 30 G-SIBs currently (no Indian bank), including JP Morgan, Citibank, HSBC, Bank of America,
Bank of China, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, and Goldman Sachs.
17. CBDC
RBI is gradually expanding its
CBDC pilots to include more
banks, cities, diverse use
cases, and a broader
audience.
CBDCs are a digital form of
a paper currency and
unlike cryptocurrencies that
operate in a regulatory
vacuum, these are legal
tenders issued and backed by
a central bank.
A fiat currency is a national
currency that is not pegged to
the price of a commodity such
as gold or silver.
The RBI launched pilots
for digital rupee in the
wholesale in November
2022 and in the retail
segment in December 2022
It is the same as a fiat
currency and is exchangeable
one-to-one with the fiat
currency.
Though the concept of
CBDCs was directly inspired
by Bitcoin, it is different from
decentralised virtual
currencies and crypto assets,
which are not issued by the
state and lack the ‘legal
tender’ status.
18. IBC
The Supreme Court recently upheld key provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), which had
been challenged on various grounds, including the alleged absence of due process and a violation of natural justice
principles.

It is the bankruptcy law of India which seeks to consolidate the existing framework by creating a single law for
insolvency and bankruptcy.

It provides for a time-bound process to resolve insolvency.

Applicability: The provisions of the Code are applicable to companies, limited liability entities, firms, and individuals
(i.e. all entities other than financial service providers).

Timeframe for completion of the
exercise
•Companies have to complete the
entire insolvency
exercise within 180 days under
the IBC. The deadline may be
extended if the creditors do not
raise objections to the extension.
•For smaller companies, including
startups with an annual turnover
of Rs 1 crore, the whole exercise
of insolvency must be completed
in 90 days, and the deadline can
be extended by 45 days.
•If debt resolution doesn't happen,
the company goes for liquidation.
IBC (Contd.)
Regulation
•The Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Board of India (IBBI) has been
appointed as a regulator and it
can oversee these proceedings.
•IBBI has 10 members appointed
by the Central Government.
•IBBI regulates insolvency
professionals, insolvency
professional
agencies, and information utilities
set up under the Code.
Procedure
•When a default occurs,
the resolution process may
be initiated by the debtor or
creditor.
•The insolvency professional
administers the process.
•The professional provides
financial information of the
debtor from the information
utilities to the creditor and
manages the debtor’s assets.
•This process lasts for 180 days,
and any legal action against the
debtor is prohibited during this
period.
 About
• It is one of the Prime indicators of economic development for the
measurement of trends in the behavior of Industrial Production
over a period of time with reference to a chosen base year.
• It indicates the relative change of physical production in the field
of industries during a specified year as compared to the previous
year.
• It is computed and published by the National Statistical
Organisation (NSO) on a monthly basis.
19. IIP • The base year is always given a value of 100. The current base
year for the IIP series in India is 2011-12.

Index of Eight Core Industries

• It measures the collective and individual performance of
production in selected eight core industries viz. Coal, Crude Oil,
Natural Gas, Petroleum Refinery Products, Fertilizers, Steel,
Cement and Electricity.
• The objective of the ICI is to provide an advance indication of
production performance of industries of ‘core’ nature before the
release of IIP by the National Statistics Office.
20. Reverse Flip
It is a term used to describe the trend of overseas start-ups shifting their domicile to India and listing on Indian
stock exchanges.

The general motivation for a reverse flip is the increased certainty of an exit at a higher valuation in India.

This trend has been gaining traction in recent years, as start-ups look to capitalise on India’slarge and growing
economy, access to deeper pools of venture capital, favourable tax regimes,better intellectual property
protection, a young and educated population, and favourable government policies.
The Economic Survey 2022-23 recognised the concept of reverse flipping and proposed ways to accelerate the
process, such as simplifying the processes for tax vacations, taxation of ESOPs, capital movements, decreasing tax
layers, and the like.
Flipping is when an Indian company transforms into a 100% subsidiary of a foreign entity after it has moved its
headquarters overseas, including a transfer of its intellectual property (IP) and others.
21. ONDC
• It is an open-source network set up to enable buyers and
sellers to transact with each other irrespective of the e-
commerce platform on which either of them are registered.
• It will enable local commerce across segments, such as
mobility, grocery, food order and delivery, hotel booking and
travel, among others, to be discovered and engaged by any
network-enabled application.
• It is an initiative of the Department for Promotion of Industry
and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce
and Industry.
• It comprises of buyer-side apps where consumers can place
orders, seller-side apps that onboard merchants and display
their listings, and logistics platforms that handle deliveries.
INFRASTRUCTURE,
AGRICULTURE AND
MISC.
CROPS ON WHICH MSP
IS PROVIDED
§ At present, the Central Government sets MSP
for 23 crops.
§ 7 cereals (bajra, wheat, maize, paddy barley,
ragi and jowar);
§ 5 pulses (tur, chana, masur, urad and moong);
§ 7 oilseeds (safflower, mustard, niger seed,
soyabean, groundnut, sesame and
sunflower);
§ 4 commercial crops (raw jute, cotton, copra
and sugarcane
24. NLP (National Logistics
Policy)
Logistics Performance Index
2023

India ranks 38 out of 139 countries on World Bank's Logistics Performance Index Report 2023; India’s rank has
improves by sixteen places from 54 in 2014

The Logistics Performance Index (LPI) is a tool created by the World Bank to help countries identify challenges
and opportunities in their trade logistics performance. The LPI is conducted every two years and is based on
perceptions of a country’s logistics.
• The LPI considers factors such as:
• The speed of customs clearance
• The transparency of customs processes
• The predictability of customs-related requirements
• The efficiency of customs clearance process
• The quality of trade- and transport-related infrastructure
• The ease of arranging competitively priced shipments
• The quality of logistics services
• The ability to track and trace consignments
25. Dark Patterns
Many people have complained about airlines and online travel websites tricking them into buying things
they did not mean to, for example seats, when booking flights

Dark patterns refer to deceptive design techniques used in user interfaces to manipulate or deceive users
into taking certain actions or making specific choices online.

Such patterns are unethical user interface designs that deliberately make Internet experience harder or even
exploit the users.

These patterns exploit cognitive biases and behavioural tendencies to trick or mislead users, often for the
benefit of the platform or business implementing them.

These tricks can include creating a false sense of urgency, making people feel bad for not doing something,
forcing them to take certain actions, trapping them into subscriptions, or constantly bothering them.
26. Lithium Mining in India
The news of potentially significant
reserves of lithium in J&K and
Rajasthan in India has been welcomed
universally.

It is a soft, silvery-white non-ferrous

metal and is one of the key
components in rechargeable
batteries for mobile phones, laptops,
digital cameras and electric vehicles.

It is also used in some non-

rechargeable batteries for things
like heart pacemakers, toys and
clocks.
27. Designed Linked
Incentive (DLI)
It aims to offer financial incentives as well as design infrastructure support
across various stages of development and deployment of semiconductor
design(s) for Integrated Circuits (ICs), Chipsets, System on Chips (SoCs),
Systems & IP Cores and semiconductor linked design(s) over a period of 5
years.
Objectives
Nurturing and facilitating the growth of domestic companies, startups
and MSMEs.
Achieving significant indigenization in semiconductor content and IPs
involved in the electronic products deployed in the country, thereby
facilitating import substitution and value addition in the electronics
sector.
Strengthening and facilitating access to semiconductor design
infrastructure for the startups and MSMEs.
Duration: The scheme shall initially be for three (3) years from 01-01-2022.
28. Dedicated Freight
Corridor (DFC)
Context: ‘95% of Freight Corridors will be ready by March
2024

Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC): Spans 1,337

kilometers from Sahnewal near Ludhiana in Punjab,
crossing through Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and ending at
Sonnagar in Bihar.

Western Dedicated Freight Corridor

(WDFC): Connects Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Jawaharlal
Nehru Port (JNPT) in Mumbai, covering a 1,506-kilometer
route through states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana.
29. Greenwashing

It is the process of conveying a false

The Advertising Standards Council of India
impression or misleading
(ASCI) recently proposed guidelines that
information about how a company’s
aim to check Greenwashing in ads.
products are environmentally sound.

Greenwashing involves making an

In addition, greenwashing may occur when
unsubstantiated claim to deceive
a company attempts to emphasize
consumers into believing that a company’s
sustainable aspects of a product to
products are environmentally friendly or
overshadow its involvement in
have a greater positive environmental
environmentally damaging practices.
impact than they actually do.
 INDIAN
POLIT Y:
TOPICS 1-20
INDIAN CONSTITUTION
 DPSP 1. U N I F O R M C I V I L C O D E

Uttarakhand state assembly successfully passed Uniform Civil Code.

• Articles 36-51 under A Uniform Civil Code refers to a single law for the entire country, applicable to all religious communities in
Part-IV of the Indian their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.
Constitution deal with It is intended to replace the system of fragmented personal laws, which currently govern interpersonal
relationships and related matters within different religious communities.
Directive Principles of
State Policy (DPSP) Article 44 of the Constitution lays down that the State shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for
the citizens throughout the territory of India.

• DPSP are ideals which are Article 44 is one of the Directive Principles mentioned in Part-IV of the Constitution
meant to be kept in mind
Personal law subjects such as marriage, divorce, inheritance come under the Concurrent list of the
by the state when it Constitution.
formulates policies and Both, the Parliament and state legislature can make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in the
enacts laws Concurrent List.

Goa is, at present, the only state in India with a uniform civil code.

The Portuguese Civil Code of 1867, which continues to be implemented after India annexed the territory in
1961, applies to all Goans, irrespective of their religious or ethnic community.
2. ARTICLE
370
 The Justice G. Rohini-headed Commission for the sub-
categorisation of Other Backward Classes (OBC) caste
groups submitted its long-awaited report to the Ministry of
Social Justice and Empowerment after nearly six years of
work.
The commission was set up on 2nd October,
2017 under Article 340 of the Constitution (President’s
power to appoint a Commission to investigate the
conditions of the backward classes).

In 2018, 102nd Constitution Amendment

Act granted constitutional status to the National Commission
for Backward Classes (NCBC).
3. Sub-
categorization
This elevated the NCBC from its previous status as a
of OBCs statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment, giving it more authority and recognition in
safeguarding the interests of backward classes, including the
OBCs.
Need for Sub-categorisation
4. 16th Finance Commission
The Government of India, in adherence
Specific terms of reference have been
to Article 280(1) of the Constitution, has
outlined, including the distribution of tax
established the Sixteenth Finance
proceeds between the Union and States,
Commission, appointing Dr. Arvind
principles governing grants-in-aid to States,
Panagariya, former Vice-Chairman of NITI
and measures to bolster State funds for local
Aayog and Professor at Columbia University,
bodies like Panchayats and Municipalities.
as its Chairman.

The Commission has also been tasked

with reviewing disaster management The Commission has been requested to
financing arrangements under the Disaster make its report available by 31st October,
Management Act, 2005, and making 2025.
recommendations for improvements.
Finance
About
Commission • The Finance Commission is a Constitutionally mandated body that is at
the center of fiscal federalism.

Article 280

• The Finance Commission is Set up under Article 280 of the Constitution to

recommend how tax revenue should be shared between the Union and
states (and among states themselves).
• It empowered the President to, after 5 years from the commencement of
the Constitution, constitute a Finance Commission every 5
years consisting of a Chairman and 4 other members.
• Parliament would determine the qualifications of the Commission’s
members and procedures.
• Draft Article 260 also laid down the duties of the Finance Commission.

Amendment to Article 280

• In 1992, Article 280 was amended to expand the duties of the Finance
Commission – to make recommendations to the President on increasing
funds in the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of
the Panchayats and Municipalities in the State based on the
recommendations made by the Finance Commission of the State.
5. Parliamentary Privilege
Classification of Parliamentary Individual Privileges Collective Privileges

Privileges •Members
arrested
cannot
during
be
the
•Right to publish its reports,
debates, and proceedings.
session of Parliament 40
days before the beginning •Right to exclude
and 40 days after the end strangers from its proceedings
of a session. •Right to make rules to
regulate its own procedure
•Members have freedom
of speech in Parliament, •Right to punish members as
and no member is liable to well as outsiders for breach of
any proceedings in any its privileges
court
•The courts
•They are exempted from prohibited inquiring into the
jury service when proceedings of a House.
Parliament is in session.
•No person can be
arrested without the
permission of the presiding
officer.
6. Privileges Committee of
Parliament

RAJYA SABHA CHAIRMAN
RECENTLY DIRECTED THE RAJYA
SABHA PRIVILEGES COMMITTEE TO
INVESTIGATE THE COMPLAINTS
FILED BY FOUR MPS WHO
ACCUSED ANOTHER MEMBER OF
PROPOSING THEIR NAME FOR A
HOUSE PANEL WITHOUT THEIR
CONSENT IN VIOLATION OF
RULES.
A BREACH OF PRIVILEGE IS
A VIOLATION OF ANY OF THE
PRIVILEGES OF MPS/PARLIAMENT.
THIS COMMITTEE CONSISTS OF 15 IN THE RAJYA SABHA, THE DEPUTY
MEMBERS IN LOK SABHA (10 IN CHAIRPERSON HEADS THE
CASE OF RAJYA COMMITTEE OF PRIVILEGES.
SABHA) NOMINATED BY THE
SPEAKER (CHAIRMAN IN CASE OF
RAJYA SABHA).
Powers and Functions
The committee examines every question involving a breach of privilege of the House or of the members or of any
Committee thereof referred to it by the House or by the Speaker/Chairman.
It also determines with reference to the facts of each case whether a breach of privilege is involved and makes suitable
recommendations in its report.
It also states the procedure to be followed by the House in giving effect to its recommendations.

When a question of privilege is referred to the Committee by the House, the report of the Committee is presented to the
House by the Chairman or, in his absence, by any member of the Committee.
Where a question of privilege is referred to the Committee by the Speaker, the report of the Committee is presented to
the Speaker who may pass final orders thereon or direct that it be laid on the Table of the House.
The Speaker/Chairman may refer to the Committee any petition regarding the disqualification of a member on the
ground of defection for making a preliminary inquiry and submitting a report to him.
The procedure to be followed by the Committee in these cases is so far as may be the same as applicable to questions of
breach of privilege.
 Recently, the Lok Sabha Speaker referred the complaint against a sitting member of
parliament to the House Ethics Committee
7. Ethics
Committee of
Parliament The genesis of formation of the Ethics Committee in Parliament can be traced to a
resolution adopted at the Presiding Officers Conference held in New Delhi in
October, 1996.

Each house of the parliament has its own ethics committee.

Ethics committee in Lok Sabha

Composition: It consists of not more than
fifteen members and nominated by the Term: They shall hold office for a term not
It was first constituted in 2000. exceeding one year.
Speaker.

Ethics committee in Rajya Sabha

Composition: It consists of 10
members nominated by the Chairman of Term: They shall hold office for a term not
It was constituted in 1997. exceeding one year.
Rajya Sabha.
Functions
To oversee the moral and ethical conduct of the Members;

To examine the cases referred to it with reference to ethical and

other misconduct of the Members.
Any person or member may make a complaint relating to unethical
conduct of a member to the committee.
In the case of the Ethics Committee only an MP can be examined
for misconduct
 In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of
India has declared the electoral bonds scheme as
8 . E L E C TO R A L unconstitutional and violative of the right to
information under Article 19(1)(a) of the
BONDS Constitution.

Electoral bonds were a form of anonymous

donations to political parties that were introduced
by the Finance Bill 2017 and notified on January 29,
2018. The scheme allowed any individual or entity to
purchase electoral bonds from SBI in denominations
of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh, and Rs
1 crore and donate them to any registered political
party.
New Laws/Acts
 The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, set
to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 was
recently passed in the Parliament

New Offences
9. BHARATIYA
NYAYA • Mob lynching: It codifies offences linked to mob lynching and
hate-crime murders
SANHITA • Organised Crime: For the first time, tackling organised crime is
brought under the realm of ordinary criminal law
(BNS) • Terrorism:The BNS brings terrorism under the ambit of
ordinary criminal law
• Attempt to Suicide:The BNS introduces a new provision that
criminalises “whoever attempts to commit suicide with the
intent to compel or restrain any public servant from
discharging his official duty”
• Promise to Marry:The BNS introduces Clause 69
criminalising “deceitful” promise to marry
 9. B H ARAT I YA N YAYA SAN H I TA
( B N S) CON T D.

Deletions Other Important changes

• Unnatural Sexual Offences: Section 377, which
criminalised homosexuality among other “unnatural”
sexual activities, has been repealed under the BNS
• Adultery:The offence of adultery, which was struck
down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional in 2018,
has been omitted under the BNS
• Thugs:The IPC under Section 310 criminalises those
who have been “habitually associated with committing
robbery or child-stealing” and labels them a thug. This
provision is criticised for attaching colonial notions of
criminality for certain tribes. The BNS has fully omitted
this provision.
• Gender neutrality:While rape laws continue to operate
only for women, the BNS has tweaked some other laws
to make in gender neutral
• Fake news:The BNS introduces a new provision under
IPC Section 153B which deals with hate
speech, criminalising publishing false and misleading
information
• Sedition:The BNS introduces the offence of sedition
under a new name and with a wider definition
• Community Service:The BNS also calls for community
service as a punishment for petty offences, which will be
the part of penal code for the first time.
 10 . B H A R AT I YA N AG R I K S U R A K S H A
SA N H I TA 2 0 2 3 ( B N S S )

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) seeks to replace the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973
(CrPC). The CrPC provides for the procedure for arrest, prosecution, and bail.

The BNSS mandates forensic investigation for offences punishable with seven years of imprisonment or
more. Forensic experts will visit crime scenes to collect forensic evidence and record the process.

All trials, inquiries, and proceedings may be held in electronic mode. Production of electronic communication
devices, likely to contain digital evidence, will be allowed for investigation, inquiry, or trial.

If a proclaimed offender has absconded to evade trial and there is no immediate prospect of arresting him,
the trial can be conducted and judgement pronounced in his absence.

Along with specimen signatures or handwriting, finger impressions and voice samples may be collected for
investigation or proceedings. Samples may be taken from a person who has not been arrested.
 10 . B H A R AT I Y A N AG R I K S U R A K S H A
S A N H I TA 2 0 2 3 ( B N S S ) C O N T D .

• Key changes in :
• Detention of undertrials
• Medical examination
• Forensic investigation
• Signatures and finger impressions
• Timelines for procedures
• Hierarchy of Courts
 11. B H A R AT I YA SA K S H YA
A D H I N I YA M 2 0 2 3 ( B SA )
• The BSA 2023 replaces IEA 1872 at the same time retains most
of the provisions of the IEA,1872.
• Key Changes
• Documentary Evidence: Under the IEA, a document
includes writings, maps, and caricatures. The BSA adds that
electronic records will also be considered as documents.
• Oral Evidence: Under the IEA, oral evidence includes
statements made before Courts by witnesses in relation to a
fact under inquiry. The BSA allows oral evidence to be given
electronically.
• Admissibility of Electronic or Digital Records as Evidence

• Joint Trials: A joint trial refers to the trial of more than one
person for the same offence.
 12. DPDP ACT 2023

Applicability
• The law applies to the processing of digital personal data within India where such data is: (i) collected online, or (ii) collected
offline and is digitized. It will also apply to the processing of personal data outside India if it is for offering goods or services in
India.
Consent
• Personal data may be processed only for a lawful purpose after obtaining the consent of the individual. A notice must be given
before seeking consent.
• The notice should contain details about the personal data to be collected and the purpose of processing.
Lower age of consent
• The Law gives powers to the central government to prescribe a lower age of consent than 18 years for accessing Internet
services without parental consent if the platform they are using can process their data in a “verifiably safe manner”.
• This would essentially mean a white-listing approach for companies in the edtech sector, and for medical purposes, among other
things.

Ease of cross-border data flows

• The Centre has proposed to significantly ease cross-border data flows to international jurisdictions – by moving away from a
whitelisting approach to a blacklisting mechanism.
• Earlier, the government had said that it would issue a list of countries where data flows would be allowed.
 12. DPDP ACT 2023 (CONTD.)
Impact on Social Media
Companies
Significant Data Fiduciaries (the
fiduciaries with huge volume and
processing sensitive data) have to
develop their own user
verification mechanism.
It will reduce the anonymity of
users and decrease trolling, fake
news and cyberbullying.
Exemptions
Rights of the data principal and
obligations of data fiduciaries
(except data security) will not
apply in specified cases.
Data Protection Board of
India
The central government will
establish the Data Protection
Board of India. Key functions of
the Board include: (i) monitoring
compliance and imposing
penalties, (ii) directing data
fiduciaries to take necessary
measures in the event of a data
breach, and (iii) hearing grievances
made by affected persons.
Board members will be appointed
for two years and will be eligible
for re-appointment.
Penalties
The schedule to the Act specifies
penalties for various offences such
as up to: (i) Rs 200 crore for non-
fulfilment of obligations for
children, and (ii) Rs 250 crore for
failure to take security measures
to prevent data breaches.
Penalties will be imposed by the
Board after conducting an inquiry.
GOVERNANCE/MISCELLANEOUS
 About

• It is an apex body to provide high-level strategic direction of scientific research in

the country in accordance with the recommendations of the National Education
Policy (NEP), will be established at a cost of 50,000 crore over the period 2023-
28.
• It enhances “India’s national research infrastructure, knowledge enterprise, and
innovation potential, for scientific pursuit”.
• Goals:To increase private sector contributions to research in India and to ensure
that a larger portion of government funds go to state universities and colleges.
• Nodal Agency:The Department of Science and Technology (DST) will be NRF's
administrative department.
13 . N AT I O N A L
R E S E A RC H Governing body

F O U N DAT I O N • The Prime Minister will be the ex-officio President of the Board.
• The Union Minister of Science & Technology & Union Minister of Education will
(NRF) be the ex-officio Vice-Presidents.
• NRF’s functioning will be governed by an Executive Council chaired by
the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.

Functions

• Forge collaborations among the industry, academia, and government departments

and research institutions, and create an interface mechanism for participation and
contribution of industries and State governments in addition to the scientific and
line ministries.
• It will focus on creating a policy framework and putting in place regulatory
processes that can encourage collaboration and increased spending by the
industry on R&D.
 14 . E N FO RC E M E N T D I R E C TO R AT E ( E D )
About
• The Enforcement Directorate
was established in the year 1956
as an ‘Enforcement Unit’ under
the Department of Economic
Affairs.
• Later, in 1957, this Unit was
renamed as ‘Enforcement
Directorate’.
Administrative control
• Presently, it is under the
administrative control of the
Department of Revenue (under
the Ministry of Finance) for
operational purposes.
Functions
• ED is responsible for
enforcement of the Foreign
Exchange Management Act,
1999 (FEMA), and certain
provisions under the PMLA.
• ED has the power to attach the
asset of the culprits found guilty
of the violation of FEMA.
• It has also been empowered to
undertake, search, seizure,
arrest, prosecution action, and
survey, etc. against the offences
committed under PMLA.
Appointment of Director of
ED
• The ED Director is appointed
by the central government on
the recommendation of a
committee:
• chaired by the Central
Vigilance Commissioner and
• members comprising of
Vigilance Commissioners,
Home Secretary, Secretary
DOPT and Revenue Secretary.
1 5 . S TA N D I N G C O M M I T T E E O N
S TAT I S T I C S ( S C O S )

• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme

Implementation (MoSPI) has replaced the
Standing Committee on Economic
Statistics (SCES) - tasked with examining
economic indicators only, with a Standing
Committee on Statistics (SCoS).
• The SCoS has a broader mandate to
review the framework and results of all
surveys conducted under the aegis of
the National Statistical Office (NSO).
 15. S TA N DI N G COMMI TTEE ON S TATI S TI CS
( SCOS) CON T D.

Objective Need Terms of reference

The SCoS will provide a new internal oversight
mechanism for official data, revamping a SCES set
up in 2019.
The development assumes significance amid sharp
critiques of India’s statistical machinery by
members of the Economic Advisory
Council (EAC) to the PM.
The EAC’s chairperson (Bibek Debroy)
had mooted an overhaul of the system and
contended that the Indian Statistical Service has
“little expertise in survey design”.
To ensure more coverage, the panel can have up
to 16 members.
To expand the mandate beyond economic data
and advise the Ministry on technical aspects for
all surveys, such as sampling, design, survey
methodology and finalisation of results.
To identify data gaps that need to be filled by
official statistics, along with an appropriate
strategy to plug those gaps.
To explore the use of administrative statistics to
improve data outcomes.
 Acts as the nodal Coordinates the statistical Prepares national Maintains liaison with
agency for planned work in respect of the accounts as well as international statistical
development of the Ministries/Departments of publishes annual estimates organisations, such as the
statistical system in the the Government of India. of national product. United Nations Statistical
country. Division (UNSD),
Economic and Social
NSO Commission for Asia and
the Pacific (ESCAP), IMF,
RESPONSIBILITES ADB, FAO, ILO, etc.

Compiles and releases the Conducts the Annual Provides statistical Organises and conducts
Index of Industrial Survey of Industries (ASI). information to assess and periodic all-India
Production (IIP) every evaluate the changes in Economic Censuses and
month in the form of the growth, composition follow-up enterprise
‘quick estimates’. and structure of the surveys.
organised manufacturing
sector.
 The High-level Committee (HLC) on One Nation, One Election submitted its report
to President Droupadi Murmu. The report said that simultaneous elections would lead to
a fundamental transformation in the electoral process and overall governance.

The HLC, popularly known as the Kovind panel after its chairman, former President Ram
Nath Kovind, was constituted in September 2023.

16. One Nation

The concept of "One Nation, One Election" envisions a system in which all state and Lok
One Election Sabha elections must be held simultaneously.

(ONOE)
This will entail restructuring the Indian election cycle so that elections to the states and
the centre coincide.

This would imply that voters will vote for members of the LS and state assemblies on the
same day and at the same time (or in a phased manner as the case may be).
17. Zero FIR

The police in such a case can no longer claim that they have no jurisdiction.

Such an FIR is then later transferred to the police station that has the actual
jurisdiction so that the investigation can begin.

It was introduced on the recommendation of the Justice Verma

Committee formed at the backdrop of the brutal Nirbhaya gang rape in
Delhi in 2012.
This puts a legal obligation on the police to begin an investigation and take
quick action without the excuse of the absence of jurisdiction.

FIR is the information given to a police officer in writing as per the

provisions of Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

From the point of view of an informant, the main purpose of an FIR is to set
criminal law into motion.
Objective of Zero FIR
To avoid delay and any other kind of disruptions.

To make police bound to take the jurisdiction.

Timely jurisdiction is to be taken immediately after the registration

of the FIR.

To make sure that the investigation is done properly.

To enable the case to proceed fast.

 The UAPA was introduced in 1967 as a legislation to set out reasonable restrictions on the
fundamental freedoms under Article 19(1) of the Constitution, such as freedom of speech, right
to assemble peacefully, and the right to form associations.

Over the years, terror-specific legislations like the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention)
Act (TADA) and Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) were repealed after running into legal
trouble, and the UAPA became the primary anti-terror legislation in India.

In line with its stated objectives, the UAPA punishes the commission, funding, and support of
“unlawful activities” and “terrorist acts”.

It lays down the definitions and rules for designating an organization as an "unlawful
association" if it is engaged in certain types of activities.

‘Unlawful activity’ is defined as any action taken by an individual or association – through an act,
words, spoken or written, or by signs or visible representation – which is intended to, or
18. UAPA 1967 supports a claim to, bring about the cession of a part of the territory of India, or the secession of
a part of the territory of India from the Union, or which incites any individual or group of
individuals to bring about such cession or secession.
It covers activities which disclaim, question, disrupt, or are intended to disrupt the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of India, and which cause or intend to cause disaffection against India.
 UAPA 1967 (Contd.)
In 2004, the UAPA was amended, and 'terrorist activities' were brought within its fold, under which 34 outfits, including the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-
Mohammad, were banned.

Under the Act, the central government may designate an organization as a terrorist organization if it:

commits or participates in acts of terrorism; prepares for terrorism; promotes terrorism; is otherwise involved in terrorism;

The 2019 Amendment gave the Home Ministry the power to designate individuals as terrorists.

The Act extends to the whole of India.

The UAPA applies to anyone who commits a UAPA crime in India or outside India. It applies to Indian citizens irrespective of where the crime is committed, and
also includes people in Government service, and people on ships and aircrafts registered in India.
19. Fast Track Special Courts
(FTSCs)
20. MPLADS e-Sakshi
Recently, the Minister of State
(Independent Charge) of the
Ministry of Statistics and
Programme Implementation
(MoSPI) launched the
MPLADS e-SAKSHI Mobile
Application.
This real-time
access enhances decision-
making processes, enabling
swift responses to emerging
needs or issues.
It was launched for revised
fund flow procedure
under Members of Parliament
Local Area Development
Scheme (MPLAD) Scheme.
The application will
streamline the
communication between MPs
and relevant authorities,
facilitating a more efficient
exchange of information.
It will bring forth a myriad of
benefits, revolutionising the It would offer convenience
way Members of and accessibility, allowing
Parliament engage with and MPs to propose, track, and
manage development oversee the projects at their
projects in their fingertips.
constituencies.
It will promote transparency
It has the features for budget
by providing MPs with
management, ensuring MPs
instant updates on the status
can monitor expenditures.
and progress of their
proposed projects.
 MPLAD Scheme
It was first introduced in 1993.

The Scheme is fully funded by the Government of India under which funds are released in the form of grants-in-aid directly to the district
authorities.
The funds released under the Scheme are non-lapsable,e., the entitlement of funds not released in a particular year is carried forward to the
subsequent years, subject to eligibility.
At present, the annual entitlement per MP/ constituency is 5 crore rupees.

The role of the Members of Parliament is limited to recommend works. Thereafter, it is the responsibility of the district authority to sanction,
execute and complete the works recommended within the stipulated time period.
The elected Lok Sabha Members can recommend works in their respective constituencies.

The elected members of the Rajya Sabha can recommend works anywhere in the state from which they are elected.

Nominated Members of the Parliament can recommend works for implementation, anywhere in the country.

MPLADS works can be implemented in areas affected by natural calamities like floods, cyclone, hailstorm, avalanche, cloudburst, pest attack,
landslides, tornado, earthquake, drought, tsunami, fire and biological, chemical, radiological hazards, etc.
Government
Schemes in News
Topics 1-30
Welfare
Schemes
1. PM Vishwakarma
• This is a central sector
scheme launched by the Ministry of
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises,
which offers services like market linkage
support, skill training, and incentives for
digital transactions to artisans and
craftspeople engaged in specified trades.
• Time period: Five years (FY 2023-24 to
FY 2027-28).
 2. Lakhpati Didi Scheme
It was announced by the Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2023.

Objective: To encourage women to start micro-enterprises within their villages.

Under the Lakhpati Didi Initiative, the government aims to train two crore women.

The programme is aimed at training women in self-help groups (SHGs) so that they can earn
a sustainable income of at least Rs 1 lakh per annum per household.

The initiative has been initiated by DAY-NRLM, wherein each SHG household is encouraged to
take up multiple livelihood activities coupled with value chain interventions, resulting in
a sustainable income of Rs 1 lakh or more per year.
Under this scheme, women will be trained in various skills, such as plumbing, LED bulb making,
drone operation and repair, and tailoring and weaving.

After completing the training, women will be provided with opportunities to earn income using
their skills.

The ministry of rural development is adopting a whole-of-government approach for maximum

impact through convergence to transform the rural economy with the enabling of ‘Lakhpati Didis’.
 The Union Cabinet has recently approved the extension of
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) for release of 75 lakh
LPG connections over three years from Financial Year 2023-24 to
2025-26.

Provisioning of 75 lakh additional Ujjwala connections will take

the total number of PMUY beneficiaries to 10.35 crore.

3. PMUY As per the existing modalities of Ujjawala 2.0, the first refill and
stove will also be provided free of cost to Ujjwala beneficiaries.

A targeted subsidy of Rs.200 per 14.2 kg LPG cylinder for upto

12 refills per year is being provided to PMUY consumers.

Without continuation of PMUY, eligible poor households may

not be able to get their due benefit under the scheme.
4. Jal Jeevan Mission
• It is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through
individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural
India.
• It is based on a community approach to water and will include extensive
Information, Education and communication as a key component of the
mission.
• Nodal Ministry: Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under
the Jal Shakti Mantralaya.
• Strategy:
• This Mission focus on integrated demand and supply side
management of water at the local level, including creation of
local infrastructure for source sustainability like rainwater
harvesting, groundwater recharge and management of household
wastewater for reuse in agriculture.
• The Mission will converge with other Central and State
Government Schemes to achieve its objectives of sustainable
water supply management across the country.
• Funding Pattern:
• 50:50 between Centre and States
• 90:10 for Himalayan and North-Eastern States.
• In case of UTs, 100% funding is provided by the Central
government.
 The Scheme is aimed at providing PVTG households and habitations
with:

•basic facilities such as safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation,
•improved access to education, health and nutrition,
•road and telecom connectivity, and sustainable livelihood opportunities.

In addition, saturation will also be ensured for schemes like Pradhan

Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), Sickle Cell Disease Elimination, TB
Elimination, 100% immunisation, PM Poshan, PM Jan Dhan Yojana, etc.

This initiative is part of the Pradhan Mantri-PVTG Development Mission

announced in India’s 2022-23 Union Budget.

5. PM JANMAN The govt has allocated Rs 15,000 crore over three years to develop
them.

PVTGs are more vulnerable among the tribal groups.

In 1960-61, the Dhebar Commission identified disparities among

Scheduled Tribes, leading to the creation of the “Primitive Tribal
Groups” (PTG) category.

In 2006, this category was renamed Particularly Vulnerable Tribal

Groups (PVTGs).
 6. PM KISAN
The Prime Minister recently distributed the 15th installment of the
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Yojana, totalling over
Rs 18,000 crore and benefiting more than 80 million farmers.
It is a Central-Sector scheme with 100% funding from the Government
of India.

Objective: The scheme aims to supplement the financial needs of the

farmers in procuring various inputs to ensure proper crop health and
appropriate yields, commensurate with the anticipated farm income.
It has become operational from 1.12.2018.

Under the scheme, income support of 6,000/- per year in three equal
installments will be provided to all land-holding farmer families.

The definition of family for the scheme is husband, wife, and minor
children.

The State Government and UT administration will identify the farmer

families that are eligible for support as per scheme guidelines.

The fund will be directly transferred to the bank accounts of the

beneficiaries.
7. PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar
Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry recently set a new target for its PM SVANidhi scheme for street vendors.

It was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on June 01, 2020.

Purpose: To provide affordable Working Capital loans to street vendors to resume their livelihoods that have
been adversely affected due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

It is a micro-credit facility that provides street vendors with a collateral-free loan of Rs 10,000 with low rates of interest
(below 12%) for a period of one year, aiding the vendors in getting back on their feet financially.

The duration of the scheme initially was until March 2022. It has been extended till December 2024, with a focus on
enhanced collateral-free affordable loan corpus, increased adoption of digital transactions and holistic socio-economic
development of the Street Vendors and their families.
 In this scheme, the central government will provide 300 units of
free electricity per month to its beneficiaries by investing worth
₹75,000 crores.

The free electricity scheme was earlier announced by the Finance

Minister in an interim budget speech.

8. PM Target: It aims to light up 1 crore households.

Surya
Ghar Under the scheme Urban Local Bodies and Panchayats shall
be incentivisedto promote rooftop solar systems in their

Muft Bijli jurisdictions.

Yojana The Central Government will guarantee no financial burden on

the people by providing significant subsidies directly to their
bank accounts and offering highly concessional bank loans.
 9. Ayushman
Bharat-PMJAY
• PM-JAY is the world’s largest health insurance scheme fully
financed by the government.
• Launched in 2018, it offers a sum insured of Rs.5 lakh per
family for secondary care and tertiary care.
• Health Benefit Packages covers surgery, medical and day care
treatments, cost of medicines and diagnostics.
• It is an entitlement-based scheme that targets the beneficiaries as
identified by latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data.
• The funding for the scheme is shared – 60:40 for all states and
UTs with their own legislature, 90:10 in Northeast states and
Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal and Uttarakhand and 100%
Central funding for UTs without legislature.
• Nodal Agency:
• The National Health Authority (NHA) has been constituted as an
autonomous entity under the Society Registration Act, 1860 for
effective implementation of PM-JAY in alliance with state
governments.
10. Ayushman Arogya Mandir
Recently, the Union Government has
decided to rename the existing
Ayushman Bharat Health and
Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs) as
‘Ayushman Arogya Mandir
To date,61 lakh AB-HWCs have been
made functional across
the country, which is higher than the
initial target.
The Government of India
announced in 2018 that 1.5 lakh
HWCs would be created in the
It was decided the Centre would
country by transforming existing sub- provide 60% of the funding and, in
health centres and primary health turn, states would follow its design
centres to deliver comprehensive
primary health care and declared this manual.
as one of the two components of
Ayushman Bharat.
The AB-HWCs provide maternal and
child healthcare services,
including primary-level care for The new tagline of AB-HWCs
emergencies and trauma, including is Arogyam Parmam Dhanam’.
free drugs and diagnostic services,
among other things.
 Government will provide one hot cooked meal in Government and
Government-aided schools.

The scheme will replace the existing national programme for mid-day
meal in schools or Mid-day Meal Scheme.

It has been launched for an initial period of five years (2021-22 to 2025-
26).

11. PM- The scheme will cover 11.8 crore students enrolled in classes 1 to 8 in over
11.2 lakh schools across the country.

POSHAN Primary (1-5) and upper primary (6-8) schoolchildren are currently entitled
to 100 grams and 150 grams of food grains per working day each, to
ensure a minimum of 700 calories.
The scheme will be extended to students studying in pre-primary or
Balvatikas running in government and government aided primary schools.

Balvatika is the pre-school that was started in government schools last year
to include children aged younger than six years in the formal education
system.
12. POSHAN 2.0 and
Saksham Anganwadi
 Mission Vatsalya Scheme is a roadmap to achieve development and child
protection priorities aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs).

It lays emphasis on child rights, advocacy and awareness along

with strengthening of the juvenile justice care and protection system with
the motto to 'leave no child behind'.

Background:
13. Mission
Vatsalaya
• The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 provisions and the Protection
of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 form the basic framework for implementation of
the Mission.

Components under Mission Vatsalya: It include:

• Improve functioning of statutory bodies;

• Strengthen service delivery structures;
• Upscale institutional care/services;
• Encourage non-institutional community-based care;
• emergency outreach services;
• Training and capacity building.
14. Tele-Manas
Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across
States (Tele MANAS) has been launched during October
2022.

Aims: It aims to provide free tele-mental health services all

over the country round the clock, particularly catering to
people in remote or under-served areas.

There are 42 active Tele Manas cells across 31 states and

Union Territories.

The service is accessible through the toll-free

numbers with options to choose preferred languages (20
languages included till now).
 Tele-MANAS will be organised in two tier system:

• Tier 1: It comprises of state Tele-MANAS cells which

include trained counsellors and mental health specialists.
• Tier 2: It will comprise of specialists at District Mental Health
Programme (DMHP)/Medical College resources for physical
consultation and/or e-Sanjeevani for audio visual consultation.

Tele-MANAS Services offered by Tele MANAS:

• Tele counselling by trained counsellors.

• Tele Consultation by Mental Health professionals when
required.
• Referral Services to other Mental Health Establishments such as
Medical Colleges, District Mental Health Program (DMHP)
services and speciality institutes.
 15. Skill India Mission
• The Skill India Mission is a flagship program implemented by
the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) with
the aim of empowering the country's youth by providing them with
skills and training to enhance their employability.
• The Mission has a central body to oversee its objectives which consists
of a Governing Council, a Steering Committee, and a Mission
Directorate.
• The Mission Directorate is backed by three additional institutions.
• The National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) concentrates on
ensuring quality and conducting policy research in the field of skills.
• The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is a public-private
partnership (PPP) organisation responsible for enhancing capacity and
providing support to private training partners.
• The Directorate General of Training (DGT) is entrusted with the
implementation of training and apprenticeship programs.
16. PMFBY
About:
• A scheme of the Ministry of
Agriculture & Farmers Welfare,
PMFBY is an insurance service for
farmers for their yields, launched in
2016.
• The new Crop Insurance Scheme is
in line with the One Nation One
Scheme theme.
• The PMFBY replaced the previous
two schemes: the National
Agricultural Insurance Scheme
(NAIS) and the Modified NAIS.
Objectives:
• To provide insurance coverage and
financial support to the farmers in
the event of failure of any of the
notified crops as a result of natural
calamities, pests and diseases.
• To stabilise the income of farmers to
ensure their continuance in farming.
• To encourage farmers to adopt
innovative and modern agricultural
practices.
• To ensure flow of credit to the
agriculture sector.
 17. PMMSY

• It aims to bring about the Blue

Revolution through sustainable and
responsible development of the fisheries
sector in India.
 18. PMJDY
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) has successfully
completed nine years of implementation.

PMJDY creates a platform for universal access to banking facilities with

at least one basic banking account for every household, financial
literacy, and access to credit, insurance, and pension facilities.
It aims to expand banking services through branches and Banking
Correspondents (BCs).

It covers both urban and rural areas and those who open an account
would get indigenous Debit Card (RuPay card).

There is no requirement to maintain any minimum balance in PMJDY

accounts.

Accident Insurance Cover of Rs.1 lakh (enhanced to Rs. 2 lakh to new

PMJDY accounts opened after 28.8.2018) is available with RuPay card
issued to the PMJDY account holders.
 19. Mo Jungle Jami Yojana

The Odisha government has introduced the Mo Jungle Jami Yojana, a scheme aimed
at bolstering forest rights among tribals and forest dwellers across the state's districts.

If implemented, Odisha will become the first state in India to recognize community forest
rights in addition to individual rights offered by the central government.

The scheme aims to ensure livelihood and food security for the Scheduled Tribe and forest
dwelling population by granting ownership of land and access to forest resources to the
beneficiaries in accordance with their entitlements.

Odisha has a significant number of villages and Scheduled Tribe families that are targeted to
benefit from the scheme. With 62 different tribes, including 13 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal
Groups (PVTGs), the state’s tribal population accounts for 22.85% of the overall population
Development/Miscellaneous
Schemes
20.Amrit Bharat Station Scheme
It is an ongoing Indian Railways
mission launched in February
2023 by the Ministry of
Railways to redevelop 1,309
stations nationwide.
The scheme aims to transform
railway stations into modern,
well-equipped hubs with
improved passenger amenities,
better traffic circulation, inter-
modal integration, and
enhanced signage.

It is based on Master Planning

The scheme shall cater for the
for the long termand the
introduction of new
implementation of the
amenities as well as the
elements of the Master Plan as
upgradation and replacement of
per the needs and patronage of
existing amenities.
the station.

The ultimate goal is to

transform these stations into
vibrant city centres over the
long term.
 Features
Modern passenger amenities: This includes providing clean and hygienic waiting areas, restrooms,
Special amenities for the disabled, and food and beverage outlets.

Improved traffic circulation: This includes creating separate entry and exit points for passengers
and vehicles, widening roads and footpaths, and providing adequate parking facilities.

Inter-modal integration: This includes providing seamless connectivity between railway stations and
other modes of transport, such as buses, taxis, and auto-rickshaws.

Upgraded signage: This includes providing clear and visible signage in multiple languages to guide
passengers.

Sustainability: This includes using energy-efficient lighting and appliances.

Eco-friendliness:

•Rainwater harvesting systems and green spaces

•Ballastless tracks, which reduce noise and vibration

Roof plazas, where available, provide additional space for commercial activities and passenger
amenities.
 The Central government has embarked on a mission - the Amrit Dharohar
initiative - to promote tourism at ecologically-sensitive wetlands better
known as Ramsar sites like Odisha’s Chilika lake and Haryana’s Sultanpur
bird sanctuary

The initiative is a part of the 2023-24 budget announcement and was

launched during June 2023 to promote unique conservation values of the
Ramsar Sites in the country.

21. Amrit The initiative to develop these sites has been taken by the Union Tourism

Dharohar Ministry and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
under the ‘Amrit Dharohar Capacity Building Scheme’ 2023.

Yojana The scheme is being implemented in convergence with various Central govt
ministries, State wetland authorities, and a network of formal and informal
institutions, working together for a common cause.

As of now, 16 Ramsar sites have been identified out of which 5 have been
taken up as a pilot project for skill development of the facilitators, tourism
service providers, stakeholders in and around these sites.
22. MAHIR (Mission on Advanced
and High-Impact Research )
The mission aims to quickly identify emerging technologies in the power
sector and develop them indigenously, at scale, for deployment within and
outside India.
Funding: The Mission will be funded by pooling financial resources of the
Ministry of Power, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Central
Public Sector Enterprises under the two Ministries.
Additional funding will be mobilized from the Government of India's budgetary
resources.

Duration: The mission is Planned for an initial period of five years from 2023-
24 to 2027-28.

Areas Identified for Research: Alternatives to Lithium-Ion storage batteries,

Modifying electric cookers/pans to suit Indian cooking methods, Green
hydrogen for mobility (High-Efficiency Fuel Cell), Carbon capture etc.
 Increase mangrove coverage across
The Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline India's coastal regions.
Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI)
scheme is a government-led initiative in
India aimed at enhancing mangrove
coverage along coastlines and saltpan
lands to improve ecological health, Implement best practices in mangrove
protect against natural disasters, and plantation, conservation, and
support local livelihoods. management.

23. MISHTI Aim

Mobilize resources through public-
private partnerships.

Develop mangrove-associated
ecotourism and generate livelihoods for
coastal communities.

Contribute to climate change mitigation

and coastal erosion prevention.
 Ramsar Sites
A Ramsar site is a wetland designated to be
of international importance under an
environmental treaty signed in February
1971 at Ramsar, Iran under the auspices of
UNESCO.

Ramsar identifies wetlands of international

importance, especially those providing
waterfowl habitat.

It provides for national action and

international cooperation regarding the
conservation of wetlands, and wise
sustainable use of their resources.

India has 75 Ramsar sites - Odisha’s Chilka

Lake and Bhitarkarnika Mangroves, West
Bengal’s Sundarbans, Chitrangudi Bird
Sancturary in Tamil Nadu are some of the well-
known Ramsar sites in India.
 The Government of India has introduced a new fellowship programme
called Vaishvik Bhartiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) to facilitate collaboration between
the Indian diaspora in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and
Medicine (STEMM) and Indian academic and research institutions
The VAIBHAV Fellowship aims at improving the research ecosystem of India’s
Higher Educational and Scientific Institutions by facilitating academic and research
collaborations between Indian Institutions and the best institutions in the world
through mobility of faculty/researchers from overseas institutions to India.
Knowledge Verticals: The programme will focus on 18 identified knowledge
verticals, including quantum technology, health, pharmaceuticals, electronics,

24. VAIBHAV agriculture, energy, computer sciences, and material sciences, among others.

Scheme Eligibility: The fellowship is open to outstanding scientists and technologists

of Indian origin (Non-resident Indians (NRI)/ Persons of Indian
Origin (PIO)/Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) who are actively engaged in research
activities in their respective countries.
Collaboration Duration: Selected fellows will have the opportunity to work in
collaboration with Indian Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs), universities, and
public-funded scientific institutions.

Fellowship Grant: VAIBHAV fellows will receive a monthly fellowship grant of INR
4,00,000, which will support their research activities during the collaboration
period.
25. Gati Shakti Master Plan
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the
ambitious Rs 100 lakh crore Gati Shakti Master Plan
to provide multi-modal connectivity to more than
1,200 industrial clusters.
 26. PM e-bus Sewa
Under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme, 10,000 e-buses will be deployed across cities in the country.

The scheme was introduced to give a push to the slow adoption of e-buses in public transport.

Support for Operation:

• Under this scheme, city bus operations will be done on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
• This scheme will support bus operations for 10 years.
• States/Cities shall be responsible for running the bus services and making payments to the bus operators.
• The Central Government will support these bus operations by providing subsidies to the extent specified in the
proposed scheme.

Funding:

• It has been allocated a total funding of Rs 57,613 crore.

• Out of this financial provision, the central government will contribute Rs 20,000 crore, while the remaining portion
will be covered by the state governments.

Coverage: It will cover cities with a population of 300,000 and above and will include all
the capital cities of the ‘Union Territories, North Eastern Region, and Hill States’.
 27. Bharat NCAP

Under the Bharat NCAP, cars

Recently, the union Minister of voluntarily nominated by
It is a testing protocol, wherein
Road Transport and Highways automobile manufacturers will be
automobiles in India shall be
launched the Bharat New Car crash tested as per protocols laid
accorded Star Ratings based upon
Assessment Programme (Bharat down in the soon-to-be-
their performance in crash tests.
NCAP) in New Delhi. published Automotive Industry
Standard 197.

While India has mandatory crash

The testing protocols adopted by
the Bharat NCAP are modelled on
the Global NCAP.
Unlike in other countries where the
test norms for cars, the Bharat
NCAP are carried out by non-
NCAP rating will be of superior
government entities, there will be a
standard and will be aligned with
Bharat NCAP Authority in India.
global crash-test protocols.

The authority will also host the

safety ratings of all new car models
on a website for public knowledge.
 Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-
DevINE) is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% Central funding and
will be implemented by Ministry of Development of North Eastern
Region (DoNER).

The PM-DevINE Scheme has an outlay of Rs.6,600 crore for the

28. PM DevINE four-year period from 2022-23 to 2025-26

The objectives of PM-DevINE are to:

Fund infrastructure Support social development

Enable livelihood activities Fill the development gaps in
convergently, in the spirit projects based on felt
for youth and women; various sectors.
of PM Gati Shakti; needs of the NER;
 29. MY Bharat
Recently, the Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister of India has approved the
establishment of an autonomous body Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat).

It is an autonomous body will benefit the youth in the age group of 15-29 years, in line
with the definition of ‘Youth’ in the National Youth Policy.

In case of programme components specifically meant for the adolescents, the

beneficiaries will be in the age group of 10-19 years.

It will help in Setting the focus of the Government on Youth Led development and to
make the Youth “active drivers” of development and not merely “passive recipients”.

It will be launched on 31st October, 2023 on National Unity Day.

 The primary objective of Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) is to
make it a whole of Government platform for youth development.

Under the new arrangement, with access to resources &

connection to opportunities, youth would become community
change agents and nation builders allowing them to act as the
Objectives Yuva Setu between the Government and the citizens.
It seeks to harness the immense youth energy for nation
building.

Mera Yuva Bharat supported by a technology platform would

help to increase the Youth outreach efforts of the Department
of Youth Affairs.
 30. CITIIS 2.0
Recently, the Union Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas launched the
CITIIS 2.0 Challenge.

It is a program conceived by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in partnership with the
French Development Agency (AFD), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the European Union (EU), and
National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).

Objective: The program envisages supporting competitively selected projects promoting a circular
economy with a focus on integrated waste management at the city level, climate-oriented reform
actions at the State level, and institutional strengthening and knowledge dissemination at the National
level.

Funding: The funding for this program would include a loan from AFD and KfW and a technical assistance
grant of Rs.106 cr from the EU.

The program will run for four years, i.e., from 2023 to 2027.
 Aim

• Drive investments into urban climate action through

competitively selected projects promoting a circular economy
with focus on integrated waste management.
• Foster climate-sensitive planning and action in states and cities
through evidence-driven approaches.
• Build institutional mechanisms, leverage partnerships and

Aim and anchor capacity building for all urban local bodies in India.

Components of
Components

• Component 1: Financial and technical support for developing

CITIIS 2.0
projects focused on building climate resilience, adaptation and
mitigation in up to 18 smart cities through a selection of
competitively selected projects promoting a circular economy
with a focus on integrated waste management.
• Component 2: All States and UTs will be eligible for support on-
demand basis.
• Component 3: Interventions at all three levels; Centre, State and
City to further climate governance in urban India through
institutional strengthening, knowledge dissemination,
partnerships, building capacity, research and development to
support scale-up across all States and Cities.
Bonus: UDAN Scheme

The scheme UDAN envisages

UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam
The Ministry of Civil Aviation providing connectivity to un-
Naagrik) is a regional airport
launched the 5.1 version of RCS- served and under-served Implementing Ministry: Ministry
development and "Regional
UDAN to enhance connectivity airports of the country through of Civil Aviation
Connectivity Scheme" (RCS) of
to remote areas of India. revival of existing air-strips and
the Union Government.
airports.

This is first-of-its-kind scheme

It is a key component of the
globally to create economically
National Civil Aviation Policy The scheme is jointly funded by
viable flights on regional routes
(NCAP) which was released by the central government and
so that flying becomes
the Ministry of Civil Aviation state governments
affordable to the common man
(India) in 2016.
even in small towns.
Miscellaneous
Topics 1-20
1. Global Gender
Index Report
• India was ranked at 127 out of 146 countries in
terms of gender parity ̶ an improvement of eight
places from last year, according to the recently
published annual Gender Gap Report, 2023
• Global Gender Gap Report is released annually by
the World Economic Forum (WEF) since 2006.
• It measures gender parity in 146
countries and across four areas: economic
participation and opportunity, educational
attainment, health and survival and political
empowerment.
Highlights of Global Gender
Gap Report 2023

On political empowerment, India has

India had closed 64.3% of the overall
India was ranked at 127 out of 146 registered 25.3% parity, with women
According to the report, India had gender gap. However, it underlined
countries in terms of gender parity, representing 15.1% of
attained parity in enrolment across that India had reached only 36.7 %
an improvement of eight places from parliamentarians ̶ the highest for
all levels of education. parity on economic participation and
last year. the country since the inaugural
opportunity.
report in 2006.

Iceland is the most gender-equal

The index ranked Indiaʼs neighbours Overall, the Southern Asian
country in the world for the 14th
Pakistan at 142, Bangladesh at 59, region has achieved 63.4% gender
consecutive year and the only one to
China at 107, Nepal at 116, Sri parity, the second-lowest of the
have closed more than 90% of its
Lanka at 115 and Bhutan at 103. eight regions.
gender gap.
2. Energy Transition Index 2023
World Economic Forum (WEF) has ranked India at the 67th place globally on its Energy Transition Index (ETI).

The Index highlights India as the sole major economy with energy transition momentum accelerating across
all dimensions

Rankings:

• Sweden topped the list and was followed by Denmark, Norway, Finland and Switzerland in the top five on the list of 120 countries.
• France (7) was the only G20 Country in the top 10, followed closely by Germany (11), the U.S. (12), and the U.K. (13).

Global Outlook:

• Global average ETI scores increased by 10% since 2014 but showed only marginal growth in the past three years.
• Only 41 countries have made steady progress in the past decade.
3. MDPI-2023
• Recently, the NITI Aayog has
released a Discussion Paper
titled-ʻMultidimensional
Poverty in India since 2005-
06ʼ, stating that 24.82 crore
people
escaped Multidimensional
Poverty in the last nine years.

National MDPI
Global MDPI
4. Global Hunger
Index 2023
◦ Concern Worldwide and Welt Hungerhilfe, non-
governmental organisations based in Germany and
Ireland, respectively, releases the Global Hunger
Index (GHI) report

◦ India with a composite score of 28.7, is ranked

at 111 out of 125 countries as per the GHI 2023.
 ◦ Recently, Kozhikode in Kerala and Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh have been added to the prestigious
creative cities list of UNESCO for contributions in the fields of literature and music, respectively.

◦ The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was created in 2004.

◦ To promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor
for sustainable urban development.

◦ Almost 300 cities around the world currently make up this network.

◦ Objective: Placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the
local level and cooperating actively at the international level.

5. ◦ UNESCO designates the creative cities in seven fields: craft, folk art, media arts, film
design, gastronomy, literature, and music.

UNESCO’s ◦ The applications in India are routed through the Ministry of Culture.

◦ Kozhikode is a permanent venue for the annual Kerala Literature Festival and hosts several other

UCCN book festivals.

◦ Gwalior has a rich and diverse musical heritage encompassing classical Hindustani music, folk
music, and devotional music. The city also has some prestigious music institutes and hosts popular
festivals.

◦ Other Indian cities which are added to this network

◦ Srinagar and Jaipur: in the field of crafts and folk arts
◦ Mumbai: Film category
◦ Chennai and Varanasi: Music category
◦ Hyderabad: Gastronomy category.
6. 19th Asian
Games
◦ India finished with a record haul of 107 medals at the Hangzhou
(China) Asian Games, its best ever after the previous best haul of 70
medals (16 gold) at the Jakarta 2018 Asian Games.
◦ 2023 Games saw two medal sports make their debut: e-Sports and
Breakdancing.

◦ Apart from them, Cricket, and board games - Go, Xiangqi, and
Chess returned to Asian Games in this edition after not featuring in
the 2018 Asiad.

◦ The Asian Games is the biggest sports competition in Asia, held

once every four years. The symbol for the Asian Games is the rising
sun with interlocking rings.

◦ It is recognised by the International Olympic Committee.

◦ The first-ever Asian Games were held in New Delhi in 1951.

7. Gold in World
Athletics
Championship 2023
Neeraj Chopra, with a best throw of
88.17m became the first Indian
athlete to win a gold medal at the
Senior World Championships in the
men's javelin throw event at the
World Athletics Championships
2023 held in Budapest, Hungary.
Neeraj Chopra was already the first
Indian track and field athlete to win
a gold medal at the Olympics (Tokyo
2020), Diamond League title (2022)
and Junior World Championships
(2016).
World Athletics
Championship
◦ The World Athletics Championships (until 2019
known as the IAAF World Championships in
Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition
organized by World Athletics.

◦ Alongside the Olympic Games, they represent the

highest-level championships of senior international
outdoor athletics competition for track and field
athletics globally, including marathon running and
race walking
8. Kavach
• It is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection
(ATP) system.
• Kavach was developed by the Research Design and
Standards Organisation (RDSO) under Indian Railway (IR) in
collaboration with Medha Servo Drives Pvt Ltd, HBL Power
Systems Ltd and Kernex Microsystems.
• It is a set of electronic devices and Radio Frequency
Identification devices installed in locomotives, in the
signalling system as well the tracks, that talk to each other
using ultra-high radio frequencies to control the brakes of
trains and also alert drivers, all based on the logic
programmed into them.
• Since 2016, the railways have been carrying out field tests
for Kavach on passenger trains.
Kavach: Applications

It has been designed to assist locomotive pilots in avoiding Signal Passing At Danger (SPAD) and overspeeding.

The system can alert the loco pilot, take control of the brakes and bring the train to a halt automatically when it
notices another train on the same line within a prescribed distance.

The device also continuously relays the signals ahead to the locomotive, making it useful for loco pilots in low
visibility.

It also controls the speed of the train by an automatic application of brakes in case the loco pilot fails to do so.

It helps the loco pilot in running the train during inclement weather conditions such as dense fog.
9. MQ-9B Drones

• Recently, the U.S. Congress

was officially informed of the
potential sale of 31 MQ-9B high-
altitude long-endurance armed
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
to India, valued at
approximately $3.99 billion.
10. IAF New Ensign
Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Chief recently unveiled a new
Ensign for the force.

Only the IAF Crest will be incorporated into the new IAF
Ensign.

This crest prominently features the national symbol, the

Ashoka Lion, at the top, with the words "Satyamev Jayate" in
Devanagari script below it.

Beneath the Ashoka Lion is a Himalayan eagle with

outstretched wings, symbolising the fighting spirit of the IAF.

A ring in light blue colour encircles the Himalayan eagle with

the words “Indian Air Force".

The IAF motto, derived from the Bhagavad Gita, "Nabha

Sparsham Deeptam", meaning "touching the sky with glory,"
is inscribed below the Himalayan eagle in golden Devanagari.

IAF crest symbolises the source of inspiration and

encouragement.
11. Iron Dome

About Genesis Success rate

• It is a short-range, • The genesis of the • The Iron Dome was

ground-to-air, air Iron Dome goes deployed in 2011.
defence system that back to the 2006 • While Rafael claims
includes a radar and Israeli-Lebanon a success rate of
Tamir interceptor war, when the over 90%, with more
missiles that track Hezbollah fired than 2,000
and neutralise any thousands of rockets interceptions,
rockets or missiles into Israel. experts agree the
aimed at Israeli • The following year, success rate is over
targets. Israel announced 80%.
• It is used for that its state-run
countering rockets, Rafael Advance
artillery & mortars Systems would
(C-RAM) as well as come up with a new
aircraft, helicopters air defence system
and unmanned to protect its cities
aerial vehicles. and people.
12. White Hydrogen
◦ Recently, scientists looking for fossil fuels beneath the ground in northeastern
France have discovered a large reservoir of white hydrogen.
◦ White hydrogen is also referred to as “natural,” “gold” or “geologic” hydrogen.
◦ It is naturally produced in the Earth’s crust and is considered a potential
source of clean energy.
◦ It generally exists combined with other molecules.
◦ White hydrogen has several advantages over other types of hydrogen
◦ It causes no CO2 emissions when used as a fuel.
◦ It is compatible with existing infrastructure and technologies for hydrogen
production and utilisation.
◦ It is cheaper and more efficient than steam reforming or electrolysis.
◦ It is abundant and renewable.
◦ Its deposits have been found across the world, including in the US, Eastern
Europe, Russia, Australia, France, and other countries.
◦ It is estimated that globally, there could be tens of billions of tonnes of white
hydrogen.
Types of Hydrogen

Grey Hydrogen: It is produced via coal or lignite gasification(black or brown), or

via a process called steam methane reformation (SMR) of natural gas or
methane (grey). These tend to be mostly carbon-intensive processes.

Blue Hydrogen: It is produced via natural gas or coal gasification combined with
carbon capture storage (CCS) or carbon capture use (CCU) technologies
to reduce carbon emissions.

Green Hydrogen: It is produced using electrolysis of water with electricity

generated by renewable energy.
13. Operation Ajay

India launched Operation Ajay to bring

back Indians from Israel as the conflict
escalated with Israel retaliating against
Hamas's attack.

Operation Ajay was not technically an

evacuation operation.

It was an operation to repatriate its citizens

from Israel.
14. Garba as ICH
◦ United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), during its
18th session of the Intergovernmental Committee in Botswana, officially added Gujarat's iconic
Garba dance to its esteemed Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage(ICH) of
Humanity.

◦ The Garba dance form is the 15th cultural item from India to make it to the UNESCO
list. Kolkata’s Durga Puja was the last one added in 2021.

◦ Garba is a form of Gujarati folk dance that is performed during the nine-day Hindu festival
of Navratri, which celebrates the victory of good over evil.

◦ The name Garba comes from the Sanskrit word for womb, implying life and creation.

◦ Garba dances celebrate fertility, honor womanhood, and pay respect to any of an array of
mother goddesses.

◦ Garba is accompanied by rhythmic music, singing, and clapping. The dance can be performed
by anyone, regardless of age, gender, or social status.

◦ Modern Garba is heavily influenced by Dandiya Raas, a dance traditionally performed by men.
The merger of these two dances has formed the high-energy Garba dance that is seen today.
 15. CERVAVAC
◦ The Serum Institute of India in 2023 launched an indigenous HPV vaccine known as CERVAVAC.
◦ The Indian Government intends to initiate a three-phase vaccination drive against human papillomavirus (HPV) for
girls aged 9-14, aiming to mitigate the risk of cervical cancer.
◦ The vaccine also offers protection against the HPV strains that cause cancer of the anus,
vagina and oropharynx. Additionally, it also protects against the HPV strains that are responsible for genital warts.
◦ Cervical cancer develops in a woman's cervix. It is the 4th most common type of cancer among women, globally
and 2nd most common among women in India.
◦ India contributes the largest share of the global cervical cancer burden; nearly 1 in every 4 deaths globally due to cervical
cancer (as per The Lancet study).
◦ Almost all cervical cancer cases (99%) are linked to infection with high-risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV) , an extremely
common virus transmitted through sexual contact.
16. Alluri Sitarama Raju
The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu graced and addressed the
closing ceremony of the 125th Birth Anniversary of Alluri Sitarama Raju at
Hyderabad.

Alluri Sitarama Raju was a prominent Indian freedom fighter and a tribal
leader who played a crucial role in the Indian independence movement.

He was born on July 4, 1897, in Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh, in

present-day India.

He hailed from a tribal community called the Kondadora or Kondareddy

community.
Rampa Rebellion
• The Rampa Rebellion of 1922, also known as the Manyam Rebellion.
• It was a tribal uprising, led by Alluri Sitarama Raju in Godavari Agency of Madras Presidency, British India.
• The Rampa administrative area was home to about 28,000 tribes.
• These tribes followed the ʻPoduʼ system of cultivation, whereby every year some amounts of forest
tracts were cleared for cultivation, as it was their only source for food.
• While for the tribes, the forests were essential for their survival, the Britishers wanted to evict them so that
they could plunder these areas for wood, which would eventually help in building their railways and ships.
• To get the forests cleared, ʻThe Madras Forest Act, 1882ʼ was passed, thereby restricting the free movement
of the tribal communities and prohibiting them from engaging in their traditional Podu agricultural system.
• This oppressive order was the beginning of the Manyam Rebellion.
• It began in August 1922 and lasted until the capture and killing of Raju in May 1924.
17. Bharat
Mandapam
Bharat Mandapam is the newly built International Exhibition-cum-Convention Center (IECC) complex at Pragati
Maidan in New Delhi, where India hosted G-20 Summit.

The Bharat Mandapam was inspired by the 12th century Anubhava Mandapam (a pavilion for public festivals) of
Lord Basaveshwara.

The architectural design of Bharat Mandapam is inspired by “Indiaʼs rich traditions,” symbolizing the nationʼs
confidence in its heritage while embracing modern amenities and contemporary living.

The buildingʼs shape is influenced by the elegant form of the Shankha (conch shell).

Various walls and facades of the Convention Centre intricately depict facets of Indiaʼs traditional art and
culture, including representations of ʻSurya Shaktiʼ (solar energy), ʻZero to ISROʼ (space exploration
achievements), and ʻPancha Mahabhutaʼ (fundamental elements of the universe).
18. G-20: Indiaʼs Cultural
Showcase
Bharat Mandapam (inspired
from Anubhav Mandapam).
Thanjavur
Buddha sitting under Bodhi
Paintings and Dhokra art.
Konark Chakra of Odishaʼs
Bronze statue of Lord Sun Temple and Image of
Nataraja (Chola style). Nalanda University (used
as iconic backdrops).
Brass statue of Lord Diverse musical heritage
(Hindustani, Folk, Carnatic,
tree. Devotional).
19. Nobel
Peace
Prize
20. Nobel
Prize
Literature