Results

Explanation: Some of the states owing to their uneven developments, tribal areas, backwardness aspirations of people need some special status in order to have uniform growth. 
Article 371: Provisions for Maharashtra and Gujarat
Article 371-A: Provisions for Nagaland
Article 371-B: Provisions for Assam 
Article 371-C: Provisions for Manipur
Article 371-D: Provisions for Andhra Pradesh 
Article 371-E: Establishment of Central University in Andhra Pradesh
Article 371-G: Provisions for Mizoram
Article 371-H: Provisions for Arunachal Pradesh
Article 371-I: Provisions for Goa 
Article 371-J: Provisions for Karnataka Hence, option B is the correct answer.

Explanation: All the given points are correct. Why is India called ‘quasi-federal: 
The Supreme Court has commented on the nature of the Indian Union in several judgments.
It has noted that the essence of a ‘federation’ is the existence of the Union of the States, and the distribution of powers between them. 
In S.R. Bommai vs. Union of India, it notes the commonly invoked model of federalism is the United States, by which it is clear that it is a federation of States. 
In India, Parliament has the power to admit new States, create new States, alter their boundaries and their names, and unite or divide the States. 
Even though the States are sovereign in their prescribed legislative field, and their executive power is co-extensive with their legislative powers, it is clear that “the powers of the States are not coordinate with the Union”. 
This is why the Constitution is often described as ‘quasi-federal’. 
This federalism is good as the need of different states are different and not the same. Treating all the states in same manner is matter of injustice.

Explanation:  The three major millet crops currently grown in India are jowar (sorghum), bajra (pearl millet) and ragi (finger millet). Millets are less expensive and nutritionally superior to wheat & rice owing to their high protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals like iron content. Millets are also rich in calcium and magnesium. They are also harder and drought-resistant crops, which has to do with their short growing season (70-100 days, as against 120-150 days for paddy/wheat) and lower water requirement (350-500 mm versus 600-1,200 mm). Challenges: Preference for Wheat 
Increased Demand for Processed Food 
National Food Security Act Promoting Other Grains: In rural India, the National Food Security Act of 2013 entitles three-fourths of all households to 5 kg of wheat or rice per person per month at Rs 2 and Rs 3 per kg, respectively, thus reducing the demand for millets.
Hence, option A is the correct answer. 

Explanation: All are correctly matched. 
Khola chilli:  The Goa state government has obtained a Geographic Indication (GI) tag for the popular Khola chillies grown by the Canacona Farmers Association. 
The government now plans to pursue GI tags for Goa’s coconut vinegar, local rice varieties, mancurad mango, Harmal chillies, Mandoli bananas and other local produce. 
Telia Rumal: Telia Rumal cloth involves intricate handmade work with cotton loom displaying a variety of designs and motifs in three particular lours — red, black and white.
It is an art of Ikat tradition using natural vegetable dyes. 
Ikkat is a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles . 
Uniqueness: Telia Rumal can only be created using the traditional handloom process and not by any other mechanical means as otherwise, the very quality of the Rumal would be lost. 
The telia fabrics were used by nobles (Nizam’s dynasty) in Hyderabad. The fabric was exported to Persian Gulf, Middle East, Aden, East Africa, Singapore and Burma.
Chokuwa rice:  Assam’s traditionally woven ‘Gamosa’ with its distinctive red border and floral motifs, and a semi-glutinous winter rice variety Chokuwa have earned the coveted geographical indications (GI) recognition as proof of their unique geographical origins, thereby getting legal protection to prevent their unauthorized use.

Explanation: 
He was a Venetian merchant, explorer, and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in the book named “The Travels of Marco Polo”. His descriptions about India 
Returning home from China in 1292 CE, Marco Polo arrives on the Coromandel Coast of India. He enters the kingdom of the Tamil Pandyas near modern day Tanjore, where, according to custom, ‘the king and his barons and everyone else all sit on the earth.’ The climate is so hot that all men and women wear nothing but a loincloth, including the king—except his is studded with rubies, sapphires, emeralds and other gems. Merchants and traders abound, the king takes pride in not holding himself above the law of the land, and people travel the highways safely with their valuables in the cool of the night. Marco Polo calls this ‘the richest and most splendid province in the world,’ one that, together with Ceylon, produces ‘most of the pearls and gems that are to be found in the world.’
The sole local grain produced here is rice. People use only their right hand for eating, saving the left for sundry ‘unclean’ tasks. Most do not consume any alcohol, and drink fluids ‘out of flasks, each from his own. They are addicted to chewing a leaf called tambur, sometimes mixing it with ‘camphor and other spices and lime’. 
They rely on the counsel of astrologers and have enchanters called Brahmans, who are ‘expert in incantations against all sorts of beasts and birds. For instance, they protect the oyster divers ‘against predatory fish by means of incantations’ and for this service they receive one in twenty pearls. The people ‘worship the ox,’ do not eat beef (except for a group with low social status), and daub their houses with cow-dung. In battle they use lance and shield and, according to Marco, are ‘not men of any valor.’ They say that ‘a man who goes to sea must be a man in despair.’ Marco draws attention to the fact that they ‘do not regard any form of sexual indulgence as a sin.’
Hence, both the statements are correct. 

Explanation:  Transition from coal driven power plant to clean energy
Transition from traditional mobility to electric mobility 
Transition from animal diet to plant based diet All the three will help in getting to net zero emission target. Hence, option C is the right answer. 

Explanation: 
A primary market is a source of new securities. Often on an exchange, it’s where companies, governments, and other groups go to obtain financing through debt-based or equity-based securities. Primary markets are facilitated by underwriting groups consisting of investment banks that set a beginning price range for a given security and oversee its sale to investors. 
Once the initial sale is complete, further trading is conducted on the secondary market, where the bulk of exchange trading occurs each day.
In the primary market, new stocks and bonds are sold to the public for the first time. In a primary market, investors are able to purchase securities directly from the issuer. 
Types of primary market issues include an initial public offering (IPO), a private placement, a rights issue, and a preferred allotment. Hence, statement 1 is incorrect. 
Stock exchanges instead represent secondary markets, where investors buy and sell from one another. 
After they’ve been issued on the primary market, securities are traded between investors on what is called the secondary market—essentially, the familiar stock exchanges. The most common type of primary market issues include:
Initial public offering (IPO): when a company issue shares of stock to the public for the first time
Rights issue/offering: an offer to the company’s current stockholders to buy additional new shares at a discount.
Private placement: an issue of company stock shares to an individual person, corporate entity, or a small group of investors—usually institutional or accredited ones—as opposed to being issued in the public marketplace. 
Preferential allotment: shares offered to a particular group at a special or discounted price, different from the publicly traded share price 
Secondary Market is the market wherein the trading of securities is done. Secondary market consists of both equity as well as debt markets. Securities issued by a company for the first time are offered to the public in the primary market.
 Once the IPO is done and the stock is listed, they are traded in the secondary market. The main difference between the two is that in the primary market, an investor gets securities directly from the company through IPOs, while in the secondary market, one purchases securities from other investors willing to sell the same. 
In these transactions among investors, the issuing company does not participate in income generation, and share valuation is rather based on its performance in the market. Income in this market is thus generated via the sale of the shares from one investor to another. Secondary markets are primarily of two types – Stock exchanges and over-the-counter markets.
SEBI is the regulator of the same. 
Secondary Loan Market Association (SLMA) 
The Secondary Loan Market Association (SLMA), it has been formed on the recommendation of the Reserve Bank of India’s Task Force on the Development of Secondary Market for Corporate Loans. Currently, the secondary market for corporate loans is mainly inter-bank transactions, undertaken on an ad hoc basis through transfer of loan accounts from one bank to another, and sale of stressed assets by banks to Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs). 
Presently the primary and secondary markets are restricted to banks and non-banking finance companies and domestic and foreign investors participate only in distressed debt through ARCs Hence, only statement 2 is correct

Explanation:Recent surveys by the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) have shown the presence of lithium resources in Mandya district, Karnataka.
AMD is the oldest unit of the Department of Atomic Energy. The lithium find is comparatively small, considering the size of the proven reserves in Bolivia, Argentina, Australia, and China respectively. 
Lithium is a chemical element with the symbol Li. It is a soft, silvery-white metal. Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element.
It is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in mineral oil. It is an alkali metal and a rare metal. 
India currently imports all its lithium needs.
China is a major source of lithium-ion energy storage products being imported into the country. 
Hence, option B is the right answer. 

Explanation: Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) upheld a 2013 judgment of the Gujarat High Court and struck down certain provisions of the Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2011. 
It gave a major boost for federalism as the 97th Amendment shrank the exclusive authority of States over its co-operative societies, a sector considered as a massive contributor to the economy.
Part IXB, introduced into the Constitution through the 97th Amendment, dictated the terms for running co-operative societies. 
The provisions in the Amendment, passed by Parliament without getting them ratified by State legislatures as required by the Constitution. 
It went to the extent of determining the number of directors a society should have or their length of tenure and even the necessary expertise required to become a member of the society. 
The word “cooperatives” was added after “unions and associations” in Article 19(1)(c) under Part III of the Constitution. This enables all the citizens to form cooperatives by giving it the status of fundamental right of citizens. 
A new Article 43B was added in the Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV) regarding the “promotion of cooperative societies”. • The provisions dealing with Multi State Cooperatives have been saved from being stuck down by SC using Doctrine of Severability. 
The other provisions have been stuck down as the amendment sought to legislate on a State subject but then was not ratified by half of the State Legislatures. 
Hence, only statements 2 and 3 are incorrect. 

Explanation:  Provisions with respect to tribunals were added to the Constitution under Part XIV-A by way of 42nd Amendment Act. 
Under Article 323-B, both the Parliament and State Legislatures can establish tribunals for other matters.  Hence, only statement 1 is correct.

Explanation: Ministry of Cooperation is headed by Minister of Home Affairs, which is of Cabinet Minister ranking. 
The total strength of Council of Ministers including the Prime Minister has been capped by 91st CAA at 15% of total number of members of the Lok Sabha
After the latest cabinet reshuffling, the total number of ministers including the Prime Minister is 78. 
Hence, only statements 1 and 3 are correct.

Explanation: Statement 1 is correct:  The Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 empowers the EC to recognise political parties and allot symbols. 
Under Paragraph 15 of the Order, it can decide disputes among rival groups or sections of a recognised political party staking claim to its name and symbol. 
The EC is also the only authority to decide issues on a dispute or a merger. The Supreme Court upheld its validity in Sadiq Ali and another vs. ECI in 1971.
The order, first promulgated in 1968, mandates the Election Commission to provide for specification, reservation, choice and allotment of symbols at parliamentary and assembly elections, for the recognition of political parties. 
The party or a candidate has to provide a list of three symbols from the EC’s free symbols list at the time of filing nomination papers in order to get a symbol allotted. 
When a recognised political party splits, the Election Commission takes the decision on assigning the symbol.
Statement 2 is correct: In almost all disputes decided by the EC so far, a clear majority of party delegates/office bearers, MPs and MLAs have supported one of the factions. The EC allocated the symbol to the group that secured this majority. Whenever the EC could not test the strength of rival groups based on support within the party organisation, it relied on testing majority only among elected MPs and MLAs. 

Statement 3 is correct: The EC do not recognize the new groups/parties (that did not win the party symbol) as either state or national parties. It is of the view that merely having MPs and MLAs is not enough, as the elected representatives had fought and won polls on tickets of their parent (undivided) parties. 
The rule introduced in 1997 states that the splinter group of the party — other than the group that got the party symbol — had to register itself as a separate party, and could lay claim to national or state party status only on the basis of its performance in state or central elections after registration. Hence, all the statements are correct. 

Explanation: Statement 1 is correct: Registration of Political parties is governed by the provisions of Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. A party seeking registration under the said Section with the Election Commission has to submit an application to the Commission within a period of 30 days following the date of its formation as per guidelines prescribed by the Election Commission of India in the exercise of the powers conferred by Article 324 of the Commission of India and Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Statement 2 is correct: To be eligible for a ‘National Political Party of India:a 6% vote share in the last Assembly polls in each of any four states, as well as four seats in the last Lok Sabha polls; or 2% of all Lok Sabha seats in the last such election, with MPs elected from at least three states; or
recognition as a state party in at least four states.
Statement 3 is correct: The biggest advantage of being recognized is getting the reserved symbol. A party recognized as a state party gets a reserved symbol within the state. For National Parties, the reserved symbol can be used across the country by its contesting candidates. This is one the biggest advantages since symbol plays a very important role in elections. 

•    Short selling shall be defined as selling a stock that the seller does not own at the time of trade. Short selling occurs when an investor borrows a security and sells it on the open market, planning to buy it back later for less money. 
•    According to SEBI Norms, All classes of investors, viz., retail and institutional investors, shall be permitted to short sell.
•    Short selling has a high risk/reward ratio: It can offer big profits, but losses can mount quickly and infinitely due to margin calls.
 

•    Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) is a measure of consumers‘perception of the overall state of the economy, which includes their outlook on their personal financial situation and the economy as a whole. 
•    In India, the CCI is calculated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and it is based on a survey of households across 13 major cities in the country. The survey is conducted by the RBI in collaboration with market research firm, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). 
 

•    The Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) was launched by India and the US in May 2022 and is being run by the National Security Councils of both countries.  
•    iCET would forge closer linkages between the government, academia, and industry of the two countries. The objective is to provide cutting-edge technologies to the rest of the world which are affordable. 
 

•    Additional surveillance Measure (ASM) was introduced in 2018 with the intention to protect investors from market volatility and unusual changes in share price. It is a measure by SEBI and recognised stock exchanges to control the incredibly volatile stocks on the Indian stock market. 
•    ASM in the stock market functions as a control measure for speculative trading to safeguard the interests of retail investors and keep them out of potentially dangerous trading situations. 
•    It is placed on securities with surveillance concerns based on objective parameters viz. Price / Volume variation, Volatility etc. in addition to other surveillance measures. The shortlisting of securities for placing in ASM is based on criteria that are jointly decided by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and exchanges. 
 

•    Turkey sits on the Anatolian tectonic plate, which borders two major faults, the North Anatolian Fault (NAF) that cuts across the country from west to east, and the East Anatolian Fault (EAF) in the southeast. The EAF is the tectonic boundary between the Anatolian Plate and the northward-moving Arabian Plate. In a strike-slip earthquake, two tectonic plates move horizontally past each other, whereas in a regular earthquake, the movement is vertical. Fault Zones, Tectonic Earthquakes, Volcanic Earthquake, Human Induced Earthquakes are the different types of Earthquakes. 
•    Strike-slip earthquakes occur along transform boundaries such as the San Andreas Fault in California while regular earthquakes occur along divergent or convergent plate boundaries where the plates move vertically such as along the Pacific "Ring of Fire. 
 

•    Land subsidence is defined as the downward, vertical movement of the Earth‘s surface, which can be brought on by both natural and human forces. Land subsidence differs from slope movement in that it requires little to no horizontal movement. 
•    Subsidence can be caused by mining, pumping subsurface fluids like groundwater or petroleum, or tectonic forces that bend the Earth‘s crust. These processes include groundwater dissolving underlying carbonate rock, gradual compaction of sediments, withdrawal of fluid lava from beneath a solidified rock crust and pumping subsurface fluids like groundwater or petroleum. 
•    In karst terrains, where the degradation of limestone by fluid flow in the subsurface forms voids, subsidence frequently results in significant issues (i.e., caves). 
 

•    Land subsidence has occurred in Joshimath as a result of the town‘s geological location and the haphazard and widespread development that has taken place there and nearby. Because Joshimath was constructed over the remnants of a previous landslide, even small triggers might cause the slopes to become unstable. In India‘s seismic zonation plan, the town is also in Zone V, which denotes the highest danger. 
•    It occupies a seismically active terrain because it is sandwiched between the Main Central Thrust (MCT) and the Vaikrita Thrust (VT). Joshimath is additionally vulnerable to severe weather because it is climatologically located in an area that commonly experiences concentrated, high-intensity rains. 
 

•    ChatGPT is a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence that can be used to ask queries. This chatbot is designed in such a way that the replies to the queries are both technical and jargon-free. 
•    It is a natural language processing (NLP) model that works using a large corpus of conversational data. It is capable of generating human-like replies, allowing natural conversation between the user and the virtual assistant. 
•    The chatbot makes use of Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF) technology. However, it is modified to appear friendlier to humans. It is based on GPT-3.5 – a deep-learning language model that produces human-like text. 
 

•    Article 80(1)(a) of the Constitution of India makes provision for the nomination of 12 members to the Rajya Sabha by the President of India in accordance with the provisions of Arts. Arts.80(3).
•     A panel of vice chairpersons of Rajya Sabha is nominated by the chairman from the members of Rajya Sabha. In the absence of Chairman and Deputy Chairman, a member from this panel preside over the Chair of Rajya Sabha
•    Renowned athlete PT Usha became the first nominated MP in Rajya Sabha to be nominated to the panel of vice chairpersons in December 2022. She chaired a session of Rajya Sabha in February 2023. 
 

•    Lithium is a soft, silvery-white metal. Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element. It is highly reactive and flammable and must be stored in mineral oil. It is an alkali metal and a rare metal. 
•    India has found 5.9 million tons of lithium reserves in the Reasi district of Jammu & Kashmir. This may be the seventh-largest deposit of the rare element, accounting for roughly 5.7% of all the reserves in the world. They are also said to be of a higher grade, 550 parts per million (ppm), against the average 220 ppm, making them highly lucrative. 
•    Around 14,000 tons of lithium reserves were found in Mandya, Karnataka. But there hasn‘t been any commercial supply of the metal from that site till now.  
 

•    NITI Aayog launched the National Data & Analytics Platform (NDAP) for open public use in May 2022. The platform aims to democratize access to public government data by making data accessible, interoperable, interactive, and available on a user-friendly platform. It hosts foundational datasets from various government agencies, presents them coherently, and provides tools for analytics and visualization. 
•    It serves foundational datasets from central and state government entities in machine-readable formats, with user-friendly interface and powerful analytics. As of Feb 2023, NDAP hosts 885 datasets from across 15 sectors and 46 Ministries. 
 

•    Article 124(7) of Indian Constitution states that no former judge or justice can practice law in any court under the Indian territory.
•    CJI can request a retired judge of the SC or retired judge of the HC to act as a judge of the SC for a temporary period. He can take this step after getting consent from the President of India and also of the person to be so appointed. 
•    There is no restriction on Judges from accepting any post outside Judiciary. Within a month of retiring from the Supreme Court of India. Recently, Justice S. Abdul Nazeer has been appointed Governor of Andhra Pradesh. Since 2014, he is the third Supreme Court judge who has received a high-profile political appointment soon after retirement, the other two being Justice P. Sathasivam (who was appointed Governor of Kerala), and Justice Ranjan P. Gogoi (who was appointed member of the Rajya Sabha). 
 

•    Swami Dayanand Saraswati was an Indian philosopher, social leader and founder of the Arya Samaj, a reform movement of Vedic dharma. 
•    His magnum opus is the book Satyarth Prakash, which has remained a highly influential text on the philosophy of the Vedas and clarifications of various ideas and duties of human beings. He believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas. 
•    Denouncing the idolatry and ritualistic worship, he worked towards reviving Vedic ideologies. He preached against the giving of donations to priests. He was staunchly against rituals and superstitions. 
•    He opposed the multiplicity of castes. He subscribed to the Vedic notion of chaturvarna system in which a person was not born in any caste but was identified as a brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya or shudra according to the occupation the person followed. Furthermore, he thought that caste atrocity is the main reason behind the conversion of lower castes into Christianity and Islam. He also established Vedic schools for the education of girls and boys of all castes. 
 

Subsequent to the dismantling of the Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM) in the petroleum sector, the Oil Coordination Committee (OCC) was abolished, and a new cell called the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC), attached to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, was created effective 1st April 2002. Its vision is to be the most authentic official source for data and policy analysis on the hydrocarbon sector in the country. Its functions are 
1. To render effective assistance to the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas in the discharge of its responsibilities, particularly pricing of petroleum products and administration of subsidy schemes. 
2. To monitor and analyze developments in the domestic oil and gas sector. To undertake analysis of domestic and international energy markets. 
3. To ensure effective administration of the subsidy schemes notified by the government. 
4. To monitor and analyze trends in prices of crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas and their impact on the oil companies and consumers and prepare appropriate technical inputs for policymaking. 
5. To monitor developments in the domestic market and analyze options for policy changes in pricing and transportation distribution of petroleum products.
 

Explanation:
•    The India Cooling Coalition is a multi-stakeholder group led by representation from non-profits, academic and research institutions, and industry associations engaged extensively in sustainable cooling research and application.
•    It provides a platform for dialogue with various national and international stakeholders and recommends policy initiatives to ensure the success of government programs on smart cities, smart grids, housing, buildings, universal access to power, cold chains, the transport sector, and the refrigeration servicing sector while ensuring affordable and sustainable cooling for all.
 

•    To increase the optimal use of wetlands in the cities and to improve their biodiversity, the Government of India launched the Amrit Dharohar Scheme. The scheme was announced by the Finance Minister during the budget speech.  
•    The scheme will promote their unique conservation values. This scheme will be implemented over the next three years to encourage optimal use of wetlands, and enhance biodiversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism opportunities and income generation for local communities
 

•    Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (transl.? Central School Organization) is a system of central government schools in India that are instituted under the aegis of the Ministry of Education. Its main objective is to provide uninterrupted education to the wards of transferable central government employees.
•    As of July 2022, it has a total of 1,248 schools in India and three abroad in Moscow, Tehran, and Kathmandu.
•    Its schools are all affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). A uniform curriculum is followed by schools all over India. By providing a common syllabus and system of education, the Kendriya Vidyalayas are intended to ensure that the children of government employees do not face educational disadvantages when their parents are transferred from one location to another. 
•    The chairman of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan is always the minister in charge of the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. 
 

•    While the Naga movement is the country‘s longest-running insurgency, underground Kuki groups, too, have fought the Indian government for an independent Kuki homeland spread across Manipur. Kuki militancy has its roots in ethnic identity struggles. They want Kukiland, which comprises Kuki-inhabited territories in Myanmar, Manipur, Assam, and Mizoram, to have self-determination primarily for groups belonging to their ethnic fabric. The second cause of insurgency in Manipur is intercommunal violence between the Kukis and the Nagas.
•     Gorkhaland (Northern West Bengal): Gorkhaland is a proposed state covering areas inhabited by the ethnic Gorkha (Nepali) people, namely the Darjeeling hills and Dooars in the northern part of West Bengal. The movement for Gorkhaland has gained momentum in line with the ethnolinguistic cultural sentiment of the people who desire to identify themselves as Gorkha.
•    Maru Pradesh is a geographical region and a proposed desert state in northwest India. Its proposed capital is Jodhpur. It would be carved out from the state of Rajasthan
 

•    Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). It started in 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. HFPA is a non-profit outfit made up of journalists and photographers on the entertainment beat in different media like newspapers, magazines, books, radio, and TV broadcasting in the United States. Most of the members of the HFPA are non-US citizens. 
•    The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the film industry. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy's voting membership. The Oscars are widely considered to be the most prestigious awards in the film industry. There is no monetary reward with these awards. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is made up of more than 9,000 motion picture professionals. Established in 1927, it currently has a stated aim of advancing the arts and sciences of motion pictures.
 

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

•    Antiquities in India are governed by the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972, which falls within the purview of the Archaeological Survey of India ("ASI"), Union Ministry of Culture. “Antiquity” is an article or object that is at least 100 years old. It could be a coin, sculpture, painting, or epigraph, or any object or article taken from a building or a cave, or anything that illustrates the science, art, crafts, customs, religion, or literature of a bygone age, or anything of historical interest. If it is a manuscript or record of any scientific, historical, literary, or aesthetic value, it should be at least 75 years old. 
•    Section 14(3) of the Act makes it mandatory for every person who owns, controls, or is in possession of any antiquity to register it before a registering officer within 15 days of its coming into his control or possession and obtain a certificate of registration. 
•    Antiquities can be sold, but only by a licensed person. Section 3 of the Act prohibits the export of an antiquity by anyone other than the Centre or its agencies. 
 

•    Kosovo, which has a majority Albanian population and a minority of Serbs, broke away from Serbia in 1999 and unilaterally declared independence in 2008, after years of tensions between the two ethnic groups.  
•    India, Brazil, China, Russia, and Mexico among others have not recognised the territory as an independent State. India has maintained that Kosovo‘s declaration of independence contradicts UNSC Resolution 1244, 1999 which sought to establish an interim administration for Kosovo to solve the political crisis there at the time. 
•    Though India and Kosovo - a partially recognised state - do not share diplomatic relations, a trade body between the two states known as the India-Kosovo Trade Commerce Economic Office (IKCEO) was inaugurated in New Delhi on 17 November 2022.
 

Vibrant Villages Programme is a Centrally sponsored scheme, announced in the Union Budget 2022-23 (to 2025-26) for development of villages on the northern border, thus improving the quality of life of people living in identified border villages. 
•    It will cover the border areas of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Ladakh.
•    It will cover 2,963 villages with 663 of them to be covered in the first phase. It aims towards the development of growth centres on "hub and spoke model" through promotion of social entrepreneurship, empowerment of youth and women through skill development and entrepreneurship.
 

•    During the 2008 crisis triggered by the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers, domestic banks in India backed by sound regulatory practices showed strength and resilience. A reason why a 'Silicon Valley Bank-like failure ' is unlikely in India is that domestic banks have a different balance sheet structure from developed economies. Household savings constitute a major part of bank deposits in India and the same factor provides stability in the balance sheet of banks unlike the developed economies.
•     A large chunk of Indian deposits is with public sector banks, and most of the rest is with very strong private sector lenders such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank. 
•    Customers need not worry about their savings, as the government and the regulators (SEBI, RBI) have always stepped in when banks have faced difficulties. For example, the rescue of Yes Bank where a lot of liquidity support was provided. 
 

•    Recently Bar Council had passed new rules to permit foreign lawyers to practice law in India, but still have not given permission to appear in Courts. 
•    State Bar Councils are statutory bodies established under Section 3 of the Advocates Act, 1961. They act as regulatory bodies, making rules for the legal profession and education in their respective states and also act as the representatives of the advocates of that state, thereby acting in their interests.
•    However, the foreign lawyers or foreign Law Firms have not been permitted to appear before any courts, tribunals or other statutory or regulatory authorities. They are allowed to practise transactional work /corporate work such as joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property matters, drafting of contracts and other related matters on a reciprocal basis.
 

•    The Gulf of Oman or Sea of Oman, also known as Gulf of Makran or Sea of Makran, is a gulf that connects the Arabian Sea with the Strait of Hormuz, which then runs to the Persian Gulf. It borders Iran and Pakistan on the north, Oman on the south, and the United Arab Emirates on the west. 
•    Naval forces from China, Iran and Russia staged joint drills in the Gulf of Oman in March 2023, amid heightened tensions with the United States. The exercise was named ‘Security Bond 2023‘. 
 

•    Recently, the UK government reached a landmark deal with the European Union 
(EU) on post-Brexit trade rules that will govern Northern Ireland. The Windsor Framework will replace the Northern Ireland Protocol, which had proved to be among the thorniest of Brexit fallouts, creating problems both economic and political.  
•    The Windsor Framework Deal proposes two crucial aspects: 
•    The first aspect is the introduction of a green lane and red lane system for goods. The agreement relates to goods crossing the Irish Sea from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. It introduces "conceptual" green and red lanes to reduce checks and paperwork on goods that are destined for Northern Ireland and separates them from goods at risk of moving into the EU Single Market. The green lane system will be for goods that will stay in Northern Ireland. The red lane system will be for goods that will go to the EU. It also includes a number of agreements on medicine control, VAT and alcohol duty.
•    The second aspect is the "Stormont Brake". It allows Northern Ireland lawmakers and London to veto any EU regulation. The veto is applicable if they believe that the regulation affects the region adversely.
 

1.    National Waterway 1 (NW-1) or Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system is located in India and runs from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal via Patna and Bhagalpur in Bihar across the Ganges river. It is 1,620 km making it the longest waterway in India. It is of prime importance amongst all the national waterways considering its locational advantages. The NW-1 passes through West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh. 
2.    National Waterway 2 (NW-2) is a section of the Brahmaputra River having a length of 891 km between the Bangladesh border near Dhubri and Sadiya in Assam. It is located completely within Assam. 
3.    Thus, a person travelling from Prayagraj to Dibrugarh passes through UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal (then Bangladesh) and Assam.
 

In the landmark Prakash Singh judgment, the Supreme Court in September 2006 had directed all states and Union Territories to bring in police reforms. The ruling issued a series of measures that were to be undertaken by the governments to ensure the police could do their work without worrying about any political interference. 
The Court put on record the deep-rooted problems of politicization, lack of accountability mechanisms and systemic weaknesses that have resulted in poor all round performance and fomented present public dissatisfaction with policing.
The Supreme Court Directives were –
1. Setting up of State Security Commissions (SSC) – lays broad policy guidelines, evaluated performance of state police & ensures state government does not exercise unwarranted pressure
2. Fixing the tenure (minimum of two years) and merit based transparent selection of the DGP
3. A minimum tenure for the Inspector General of Police 
4. Separation of investigation and law and order functions
5. Setting up of Police Establishment Boards– to decide transfers, postings, promotions and other service-related matters of police officers of and below the rank of DySP and make recommendation with these matter of police officers above rank of DySP.
6. Creating a Police Complaints Authority- to inquire into public complaints against police officers of and above the rank of DySP
7. Forming a National Security Commission– at the union level to prepare a panel for selection and placement of Chiefs of the Central Police Organisations (CPO) with a minimum tenure of two years.
What has been the record of States implement SC directive?
According to report by Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) notes that the efforts at implementing reforms remain slow, piecemeal and largely regressive. Not even one state was fully compliant with the apex court directives. 18 states passed or amended their Police Acts in this time but not one fully matches legislative models.

•    SEBI is a statutory body established on April 12, 1992, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992. 
•    The basic functions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India is to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote and regulate the securities market. 
•    SEBI is a quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial body which can draft regulations, conduct inquiries, pass rulings, and impose penalties.
 

•     Special Marriage Act (SMA), 1954 is an Indian law that provides a legal framework for the marriage of people belonging to different religions or castes. It governs a civil marriage where the state sanctions the marriage rather than the religion. Marriages solemnized under Special Marriage Act are not governed by personal laws.
•    The applicability of the Act extends to the people of all faiths, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists, across India. 
Personal laws, such as the Muslim Marriage Act, 1954, and the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, require either spouse to convert to the religion of the other before marriage. However, the SMA enables marriage between inter-faith or inter-caste couples without them giving up their religious identity or resorting to conversion. 
•    But, once married as per the SMA, an individual is deemed severed from the family in terms of rights like the right to inheritance. 
 

•    The Balkans, also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whole of Bulgaria. The Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the northwest, the Ionian Sea in the southwest, the Aegean Sea in the south, the Turkish straits in the east, and the Black Sea in the northeast. 
•    Historians state the Balkans comprise Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia. 
 

•    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. 
•    The RBI had issued the framework for dealing with D-SIB in 2014. The D-SIB framework requires the Reserve Bank to disclose the names of banks designated as D-SIBs starting from 2015 and place these banks in appropriate buckets depending upon their Systemic Importance Scores (SISs). 
•    The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has named the top three lenders in India – State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank – as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs), or banks that are too big to fail. These banks are required to maintain higher capital buffers to protect against potential losses and ensure their stability. In addition to the usual capital conservation buffer, D-SIBs in India are required to maintain additional Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital. 
 

•    The term "Hindu rate of growth" was coined by Professor Rajkrishna, an Indian economist, in 1978 to characterize the slow growth and to explain it against the backdrop of socialistic economic policies. The term came into being to show India‘s contentment with the low growth rate, post-independence.  
•    India in its initial years, post-independence, suffered from low savings and it resulted in low investments leading to low growth. India was believed to be caught in the low growth cycle and unable to break through this cycle, known as "Hindu rate of growth".
•    India's annual population growth rate was around 2% in the 1980‘s. While India did achieve a growth acceleration post-independence, in the forty years between 1947 and 1987, India’s GDP per capita (GPC) at constant prices increased by only 0.8 times, at a rate of 1.6 percent per annum. India was in contrast with Indonesia and Egypt who had their GPC growth at 4.2 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively, for almost same period of time. However, India’s growth accelerated post liberalization (LPG Reforms of 1991). Over the following three decades after 1991, India’s GPC quadrupled, growing at an average of 4.4 percent.

•    The Liancourt Rocks, also known by their Korean name of Dokdo or their Japanese name of Takeshima, form a group of islets in the Sea of Japan between the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago.  
•    While South Korea controls the islets, its sovereignty over them is contested by Japan. North Korea also claims the territory.
 

•    The role and duty of the Presiding Officer — Speaker of Lok Sabha and Chairman of Rajya Sabha — to maintain order so that the House can function smoothly. In order to ensure that proceedings are conducted in the proper manner, the Speaker/ Chairman is empowered to force a member to withdraw from the House
•    Speaker or Chairman can name a member who disregards the authority of the Chair or abuses the rules of the House by persistently and wilfully obstructing the business thereof. And the member so named will be suspended from the House for a period not exceeding the remainder of the session. 
•    Members of Parliament can also be expelled from the house for breach of privilege. legislatures‘ power to punish a member by suspending or expelling him or her from the legislative is derived from Article 194 (3) in the case of State legislatures and Article 105 (3) in case of Parliament. 
 

•    Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) (also called free float) rule requires all listed companies in India to ensure that at least 25% of their equity shares are held by non-promoters, i.e., public. Public shareholders could be individual or financial institutions and they normally buy shares through public offer or secondary markets. It was introduced to bring more transparency in the working of listed companies. 
•    Ministry of Finance has amended the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957 to exempt listed public sector companies from the minimum public shareholding norm. The government can now exempt any listed public sector enterprise from the Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) norm. It has been revised to make it easier for large companies to launch IPOs (Initial Public Offers). 
•    In 2010, SEBI amended the Securities Contracts Regulation Rules to insist on this 25% public float for private sector companies.  
 

•    The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. 
•    The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. Its capital and largest city is London. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have their own devolved governments, each with varying powers.
 

National Payments Corporation of India is an umbrella organization for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India, are an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks‘ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, for creating a robust Payment & Settlement Infrastructure in India. 
•    Various products launched by the NPCI are: 
•    Aadhaar Enabled Payment System 
•    Bharat Bill Payment System 
•    BHIM 
•    Cheque Truncation System 
•    Digital Rupee 
•    Immediate Payment Service National Automated Clearing House 
•    National Common Mobility Card 
•    National Financial Switch 
•    NUUP Services 
•    Query Service on Aadhaar Mapper (*99*99#) 
•    RuPay 
•    Unified Payments Interface 
NPCI International Private Ltd (NIPL) is the subsidiary of NPCI to popularise domestic payments technologies such as UPI and RuPay abroad and co-create payment technologies with other countries. 
 

•    Nutrient film technique (NFT) is a hydroponic technique where in a very shallow stream of water containing all the dissolved nutrients required for plant growth is re-circulated past the bare roots of plants in a watertight gully, also known as channels. 
•    A properly designed NFT system is based on using the right channel slope, the right flow rate, and the right channel length. The plant roots are exposed to adequate supplies of water, oxygen and nutrients. 
 

MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes) is a new programme that is declared in Union Budget 2023-23. MISHTI will facilitate mangrove plantation along India‘s coastline and on salt pan lands. 
•    PM PRANAM Scheme (Prime Minister Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth) - This programme will seek to incentivise states and union territories promoting alternative fertilisers and the balanced use of chemical fertilisers. 
•    Amrit Dharohar is a Central Government Scheme to protect wetlands, declared in Union Budget 2023-24. Amrit Dharohar will be implemented over the next three years to encourage optimal use of wetlands, and enhance bio-diversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism opportunities and income generation for local communities. 
•    Mission LiFe is a global initiative by India to help the world in its fight against climate change and lead to a sustainable way of life to achieve the sustainable development goals set by the U.N.
 

•    The Saint Helena Act 1833 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act was intended to provide for an extension of the royal charter granted to the East India Company, it is also called the Charter Act of 1833. This Act extended the charter by 20 years. This is known as the Saint Helena Act because it transferred the ownership of the island of Saint Helena from the East India Company to the British Crown. 
•    Age of consent 1861 - The 1861 Act laid down 10 years as the minimum age for sexual intercourse. The Hindu intelligentsia opposed raising this age to 10 on the grounds that it violated norms related to garbhadhan. 
•    Dr. Rukhmabai (1864 –1955) was an Indian physician and feminist. She is best known for being one of the first practising women doctors in colonial India as well as being involved in a landmark legal case involving her marriage as a child bride between 1884 and 1888. The case was instrumental in the drafting of the Age of Consent Act in 1891. 
•     Age of Consent Act, 1891 - It was a legislation enacted in British India in 1891 which raised the age of consent for sexual intercourse for all girls, married or unmarried, from ten to twelve years in all jurisdictions.
•       The Child Marriage Restraint Act was a legislative act passed on 28 September 1929. The act fixed the marriageable age for girls at 14 years and 18 years for boys. It is popularly known as the Sharda Act after its sponsor, Harbilas Sarda.
 

•    The Solomon Islands is a sovereign country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu. 
•    Its capital, Honiara, is located on the largest island, Guadalcanal. 
•    It is part of the ethnically Melanesian group of islands in the Pacific and lies between Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. 
 

•    NSC is the apex agency in the country handling internal and external security, conventional and non-conventional defence, military affairs, counterinsurgency, space and high technology, economy, counterterrorism, and environment. 
•    The NSC is headed by the Prime Minister and the NSA is its Secretary. The Ministers of Home Affairs, Defence, External Affairs and Finance are its members. 
•    NSC comprises the three-tier structure- Strategic Policy Group (SPG), the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) and the National Security Council Secretariat. The SPG chaired by the Cabinet Secretary is the principal forum for inter-ministerial coordination and integration of the relevant inputs. The NSAB undertakes long-term analysis and provides perspectives on issues of national security. 
 

•    The holy grail of the Sarna faith is " Jal (water), Jungle (forest), Zameen (land)" and its followers pray to the trees and hills while believing in protecting the forest areas. 
•    Believers of Sarna faith do not practice idol worship, nor do they adhere to the concept of the Varna system, heaven-hell, etc.  
•    Followers of Sarna faith regard themselves as belonging to a distinct religious group. Several surveys and reports have indicated that over 50 lakhs tribal people in the entire country put their religion as Sarna in the 2011 census, although it was not a code. 
•    The followers are largely concentrated in the tribal belt states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam. 
 

•    The laws for Regulating activities in Stock Market are: 
•    Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (SEBI Act) - The SEBI Act empowers SEBI to protect the interests of investors and to promote the development of the capital/securities market, besides regulating it. It sets out the functions and powers of SEBI and establishes its structure and management. 
•    Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (SCRA) - This law provides the legal framework for the regulation of securities contracts in India. It covers the listing and trading of securities, the registration and regulation of stockbrokers and sub-brokers, and the prohibition of insider trading. 
•    Companies Act, 2013 - This law regulates the incorporation, management, and governance of companies in India. It also sets out the rules for the issue and transfer of securities by companies. 
•    Depositories Act, 1996 - This law provides for the regulation and supervision of depositories in India. It sets out the procedures for the dematerialization and transfer of securities held in electronic form. 
•    Insider Trading Regulations, 2015 - These regulations prohibit insider trading in securities listed on Indian stock exchanges. They prescribe the code of conduct for insiders, the procedures for disclosures, and the penalties for violations. 
 

•    National Open Access Registry (NOAR) is a centralized online platform through which the short-term open access to the inter-state transmission system is being managed in India. 
•    It is an integrated platform accessible to all stakeholders in the power sector, including open access customers (both sellers and buyers), power traders, power exchanges, National/Regional/State LDCs and others. The platform provides automation in the workflow to achieve shorter turnaround time for the transactions. 
•    It was launched by the Ministry of Power.  
•    Nodal Agency: National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC) operated by Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO). 
•    NOAR would be key to facilitate faster electricity markets and enable the integration of Renewable Energy (RE) resources into the grid. 
 

•    First Loss Default Guarantee (FLDG) system an arrangement between a fintech company and regulated entity (RE), including banks and non-banking finance companies, wherein the fintech compensates the RE to a certain extent if the borrower defaults. 
•    Under this, the fintech originates a loan and promises to compensate the partners up to a pre-decided percentage in case customers fail to repay. The bank/NBFC partners lend through the fintech but from their own books. 
•    FLDG helps expand the customer base of traditional lenders but relies on the fintech‘s underwriting capabilities. FLDG is also seen as a validation of the fintech‘s underwriting capabilities for loans disbursed. 
 

Ajivika was a school of thought that developed in India during the same time as Jainism and Buddhism. It is one of the schools under Nastika philosophy (it does not believe in the authority of Vedas). It was founded by Goshala Makkhali in 5th century BCE. Gosala was considered to be friends with Mahavira. The sect is as seen as professing total determinism in the transmigration of souls, or series of rebirths. Whereas other groups believed that an individual can better his or her lot in the course of transmigration, the Ajivikas supposedly held that the affairs of the entire universe were ordered by a cosmic force called niyati that determined all events, including an individual’s fate, to the last detail and the premise is that there is no free will. Ajivikas also believe that all change was illusory and that everything was eternally immobile. This school of thought gained prominence for some time during Mauryan rule.

•    High-altitude balloons or stratostats are crewed or uncrewed balloons, usually filled with helium or hydrogen, that are released into the stratosphere, generally attaining between 18 and 37 km above sea level. In 2002, a balloon named BU60-1 reached a record altitude of 53.0 km.
Usages of High-Altitude Balloons are: 
•    Research/Scientific Purposes - Meteorology, atmospheric research, astronomy, and military research may be conducted from a research balloon. Weather balloons are a type of research balloon. 
•    Surveillance Purposes - High Altitude Balloon are used for surveillance, close range monitoring. They can also be capable of gathering electronic signals and intercepting communications. 
•    High Altitude Balloons for Internet - They are commonly known as Loon Balloons as the first High Altitude Balloon for providing internet was used under Project Loon. They are powered by solar panels and controlled by software on the ground 
•    Launching Rockets - A rockoon (from rocket and balloon) is a solid fuel sounding rocket that, rather than being immediately lit while on the ground, is first carried into the upper atmosphere by a gas-filled balloon, then separated from the balloon and ignited. This allows the rocket to achieve a higher altitude, as the rocket does not have to move under power through the lower and thicker layers of the atmosphere. 
 

•    Naegleria is an amoeba, a single-celled organism, and only one of its species, called Naegleria fowleri, can infect humans. It is commonly called the "brain-eating amoeba" because it can cause a brain infection when water containing the amoeba goes up the nose. 
•    It was first discovered in Australia in 1965 and is commonly found in warm freshwater bodies, such as hot springs, rivers and lakes. So far, Naegleria fowleri has been found in all continents and declared as the cause of Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) in over 16 countries, including India. 
 

•    Raccoon dogs are neither dogs nor raccoons. They belong to the canid family and are closely related to foxes. They are the only canids that hibernate during the winter. 
•    The Canid family, also known as Canidae, is a biological family of carnivorous mammals that includes domestic dogs, wolves, foxes, coyotes, jackals, and several other species. 
•    Raccoon dogs are wild animals, not domesticated pets. They live in large home ranges. These animals are omnivores and relish food sources such as rodents and berries. 
•    Raccoon dogs are originally from East Asia and are commonly found in parts of China, Korea and Japan, where they are known as tanuki. They are also found in Europe, where they were first brought in by fur traders in the 1920s. 
•    For decades, these animals have been farmed for their fur. Every year, millions of them are killed in China, which is a leading producer of raccoon dog pelts. To meet this huge demand, sellers raise raccoon dogs in small and crowded facilities while transporting them in small cages, often stacked with those of other animals. This serves as a perfect breeding ground for the spread of different diseases. 
 

•    In India, Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994 provides various regulations for the removal of human organs and its storage. It also regulates the transplantation of human organs for therapeutic purposes and for the prevention of commercial dealings in human organs. 
•    Recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has modified National Organ Transplantation Guidelines, whose provisions include: 
•    Removed upper age cap – it allows those above 65 years of age to receive an organ for transplantation from deceased donors. 
•    No domicile requirement – it removed the domicile requirement to register as an organ recipient in a particular state under a 'One Nation, One Policy' move 
•    No Fees for Registration - There will be no registration fee that states used to charge for this purpose 
•    According to Indian law, a minor is not allowed to donate organs or tissue before death. Only the organs/tissue of a deceased minor can be donated under the Transplantation of Human Organs & Tissues Act, 1994. 
 

•    In order to tackle the problem of water contamination and enhance access to clean and drinkable water, the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune has introduced a macro/microporous ionic organic framework - iVOFm - to clean polluted water. 
•    Viologen-unit grafted organic-framework (iVOFm) is a unique molecular spongelike material to clean polluted water by soaking up the contaminants in it. iVOFm employs amalgamation of electrostatics driven ion-exchange combined with nanometre-sized macropores and specific binding sites for the targeted pollutants. 
 

•    Indian Prime Minister launched the world's longest river cruise with MV Ganga Vilas on 13 January 2023 in Varanasi. MV Ganga Vilas is the first indigenously made cruise vessel to be made in India. 
•    The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is the coordinator of this ship tourism project. 
•    MV Ganga Vilas will start its journey from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and travel about 3,200 km in 51 days to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh, crossing 27 river systems in India and Bangladesh.  
 

•    A bank run occurs when a large group of depositors withdraw their money from banks at the same time. Customers in bank runs typically withdraw money based on fears that the institution will become insolvent. 
•    With more people withdrawing money, banks will use up their cash reserves and can end up defaulting. Bank runs have occurred throughout history, including during the Great Depression, 1929 and the 2008 financial crisis. 
 

Floor Test:
A floor test is a legislative measure conducted on the floor of the House to ascertain whether the executive (usually the government) enjoys majority support in the legislature. The primary objective of a floor test is to determine if the Council of Ministers (the government) commands the confidence of at least 51% of the members of the House. When an incumbent government is suspected to have lost its majority in the house, a floor test is called for. The process involves a vote where elected representatives express their confidence or lack thereof in the government. In case of doubts regarding the Chief Minister’s (CM) majority, the CM may be asked to prove the majority in the House. The numbers are considered based only on those Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) who were present to vote. If there is more than one individual staking claim to form the government, the Governor may call for a special session to determine who has the majority. This special case is called "composite Floor Test". Composite Floor Test is an innovation of the Supreme Court of India. 
No Confidence Motion:
A no-confidence motion (also known as a vote of no-confidence or a no-trust vote) can be sought by any House member. It expresses that they no longer have confidence in the ruling government. At least 50 House members must support the motion for it to be accepted. If the no-confidence motion is passed, it typically results in the government’s resignation. Unlike a floor test, which focuses on the majority support for the government, a no-confidence motion directly challenges the confidence in the ruling government. It is a powerful tool for the opposition to hold the government accountable. The government must defend its position and convince the House that it still enjoys majority support.
Recently, the Supreme Court of India has held that a Governor can call for a floor test any time he/she objectively feels a government in power has lost the confidence of the House and is on shaky ground.
The Constitution does not mention the terms "No-Confidence Motion", "Confidence Motion" or " Floor Test". However, it has relevant Articles that prompt these legislative exercises:
1. Article 75 specifies that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.
2. Article 164 specifies that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly of the State.
3. Article 163: It talks about the discretionary power of the governor.

•    Recently, the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) has notified India‘s first national assessment regulator, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development), which aims to set up assessment guidelines for all boards. 
•    PARAKH has been launched as part of the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 that envisaged a standard-setting body to advise school boards regarding new assessment patterns and latest research and promote collaborations between them. 
•    It will act as a constituent unit of the NCERT. It will also be tasked with holding periodic learning outcome tests like the National Achievement Survey (NAS) and State Achievement Surveys.

IREDA is a Government of India Enterprise under the administrative control of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
Its functions are:
1.To provide financial assistance to schemes and projects generating energy or electricity through renewable sources and conserving energy through efficient usage
2.Maintaining its position as the leading organisation for efficient and effective financing of renewable energy conservation projects. 
3. Promoting means of innovative financing.
 

•    A gig economy is a free market system in which organisations hire or contract workers for a short span of time. According to the Code on Social Security, 2020 , "A gig worker is a person who performs work or participates in work arrangements and earns from such activities, outside of the traditional employer-employee relationship". They are independent contractors, online platform workers, contract firm workers, on-call workers, and temporary workers. 
•    The Code on Social Security, 2020 provides for framing of suitable social security schemes for gig workers and platform workers on matters relating to life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, old age protection, etc. 
•    Government has launched e-Shram portal for registration and creation of a Comprehensive National Database of Unorganized Workers including gig workers and platform workers. It allows a person to register himself or herself on the portal on self-declaration basis, which is spread across around 400 occupations.
 

•    The Universal Declaration of Human Rights [UDHR] is a global document that establishes the freedom and rights of humans all around the world. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the document during the session in 1948 as per Resolution 217. The UDHR consists of 30 articles that are applicable to all humans belonging to different nationalities, religions, and races. 
•    In December 1966, the UN General Assembly adopted two international treaties that would further shape international human rights: 
•    The International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) which is monitored by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 
•    The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)- monitored by the Human Rights Committee. 
•    The UDHR and these two Covenants together are known as the International Bill of Human Rights. 
•    Although it is not legally binding, the protection of the rights and freedoms set out in the Declaration has been incorporated into many national constitutions and domestic legal frameworks. 
•    India is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and has ratified ICESCR and ICCPR. At various stages of drafting, India made a series of substantive contributions to the numerous articles that made up the UDHR. 
 

•    Articles 102 & 191: Basic disqualification criteria for an MP are laid down in Article 102 of the Constitution and for an MLA in Article 191. 
•    Article 102 authorizes Parliament to make law determining conditions of disqualifications and mentions some grounds for disqualification thereof: 
1.    Holding an office of profit under the Government of India or State Government 
2.    Being of unsound mind 
3.    Being an undischarged insolvent 
4.    Not being an Indian citizen or for acquiring citizenship of another country. 
Tenth Schedule: a member can incur disqualification under Anti-defection law if: 
•    If he voluntarily gives up the membership of the political party on whose ticket he is elected to the House; 
•    If he votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction given by his political party 
Criteria for disqualifications under RPA, 1951:
1. Is found guilty of certain election offences or corrupt practices in the elections.
2. Is convicted for any offence resulting in imprisonment for two or more years (except for the detention under a preventive detention law).
3. Has failed to lodge an account of his/her election expenses within the time.
4. Has any interest in government contracts, works or services.
5. Is a director or managing agent or holds an office of profit in a corporation in which the government has at least 25% share.
6. Has been dismissed from government service for corruption or disloyalty to the State.
7. Has been convicted for promoting enmity between different groups or for the offence of bribery.
8. Has been punished for preaching and practising social crimes such as untouchability, dowry and sati.
 

•    The Great Rann of Kutch was designated as a biosphere reserve in 2008. 
•    However it is not given the International status of UNESCO Protected Biosphere Reserve. 
•    Only 11 Biosphere in India is under UNESCO‘s Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme.  Great Rann of Kutch is not part of it. 
•    The climate of the ecoregion is subtropical. Temperatures average 44 °C during the hot summer months, and can reach highs of 50 °C. During the winter the temperature can drop to or below freezing. Rainfall is highly seasonal and is concentrated in the June to September monsoon season. During the monsoon season, local rainfall and river runoff flood much of the Rann to a depth of 0.5 metres. The waters evaporate during the long dry season, leaving the Rann dry again by the start of the next monsoon season. 
•    The Rann of Kutch is the only large, flooded grasslands zone in the Indomalayan realm. 
 

•    Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) is a flagship Scheme under Startup India Initiative. It aims to provide financial assistance to startups for Proof of Concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry, and commercialization. 
•    Nodal Ministry: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry. An Experts Advisory Committee (EAC) has been constituted by DPIIT, which will be responsible for the overall execution and monitoring of the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme. 
•    Eligibility to avail the Scheme: 
A startup, recognized by DPIIT (Ministry of Commerce and Industry), incorporated not more than 2 years ago at the time of application. Startups should not have received more than Rs. 10 lakhs of monetary support under any other Central or State Government scheme.
 

•    The Paris Club is a group of mostly western creditor countries that grew from a 1956 meeting in which Argentina agreed to meet its public creditors in Paris. It describes itself as a forum where official creditors meet to solve payment difficulties faced by debtor countries. 
•    Their objective is to find sustainable debt-relief solutions for countries that are unable to repay their bilateral loans. 
•    The members are - Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. 
•    All 22 are members of the group called Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 
 

•    The Group of Seven (G-7 Countries) leading economies have created an open, international climate club for countries that want to cooperate in the fight against global warming. The climate club aims to support the rapid and ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement, which seeks to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).  
•    It will work to help accelerate the industrial transition to cleaner forms of energy and to further develop emission-reduction measures. 
 

•    Operation Dost is the search and rescue mission initiated by the Government of India to help Syria and Turkey, after they witnessed a massive earthquake that left thousands of dead, injured and trapped under the rubble. 
•    Under operation dost, India has sent search and rescue teams, mainly teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), materials, medicines, medical equipment and consumables to Turkey and Syria. 

 

•    National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) was launched in 2022 as a Central Sector Scheme to enable 100% mechanical desludging of septic tanks and sewers in all cities and towns. 
•    The scheme is being undertaken jointly by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJE) and aims to eradicate unsafe sewer and septic tank cleaning practices. 
•    Its objectives include:  
•    Zero fatalities in sanitation work in India. 
•    All sanitation work is performed by skilled workers. 
•    No sanitation workers come in direct contact with human faecal matter. 
•    Sanitation workers are collectivised into Self Help Groups (SHGs) and are empowered to run sanitation enterprises. 
 

•     Exercise Tarkash is a joint counterterrorism between National Security Guard (NSG) and US Special Operations Forces (SOF). The main highlight of the exercise was mock drills for the CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) counter terror response by special forces of both countries. 
•    Exercise SEA DRAGON 23 is an annual, multinational anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise conducted by the United States Navy.  
•    Participating Countries: India, USA, Japan, Canada, and South Korea. 
•    The annual exercise launched in 2014. The exercise aims to achieve high levels of synergy and coordination between the friendly navies, which is based on their shared values and commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific. 
 

•    Article 371A of the Constitution mainly states that no act of Parliament would apply to the state of Nagaland in matter relating to religious or social practices of Nagas, Naga customary law and procedure, administration of civil or criminal justice involving decisions according to Naga customary law and ownership and transfer of land and its resources. The Legislative Assembly of Nagaland must pass a resolution for an act to be applicable to the state. 
•    Article 371G states that an act of Parliament would not apply to Mizoram in matters relating to religious or social practices of Mizo, Mizo customary law and procedure, administration of civil or criminal justice involving decisions according to Mizo customary law, ownership and transfer of land and its resources. 
 

Article 93 says that the House of the People (Lok Sabha) shall, as soon as may be, choose two members to be Speaker and Deputy Speaker so often as the offices become vacant. However, it does not provide a specific time frame.  
•    The election of the Deputy Speaker usually takes place in the second session and is generally not delayed further in the absence of genuine and unavoidable constraints. 
•    Under article 95 The Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker‘s office when it is vacant and acts as the Speaker when the latter is absent from the sitting of the House. In both the cases, he assumes all the powers of the Speaker. 
•    Deputy Speaker is not subordinate to the Speaker. He is directly responsible to the House. Consequently, if either of them wishes to resign, they must submit their resignation to other authority which implies that Speaker gives resignation to deputy Speaker and vice versa. 
 

•    Section 69 of the IT Act confers the centre, and the state government powers to issue content-blocking orders to online intermediaries such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), telecom service providers, web hosting services, search engines, online marketplaces, etc if the information or content being blocked to be deemed a threat to India‘s national security, sovereignty, or public order. 
•    Section 69A, for similar reasons and grounds (as stated above), enables the Centre to ask any agency of the government, or any intermediary, to block access to the public of any information generated, transmitted, received, or stored or hosted on any computer resource. Any such request for blocking access must be based on reasons given in writing. 
•    Social media intermediaries failing to comply with the rules and regulations are liable to be monetarily penalized along with an imprisonment term which may extend up to 7 years. 
 

•    Central Government introduced the National Pension System (NPS) with effect from January 2004 (except for armed forces). 
•    Thus, it is market-linked and return-based. In simple terms, the pay-out is uncertain. 
•    In 2019, the Finance Ministry said that Central government employees have the option of selecting the Pension Funds (PFs) and Investment Pattern. 
•    NPS is being implemented and regulated by PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority) in the country. National Pension System Trust (NPST) established by PFRDA is the registered owner of all assets under NPS. 
•    Any employee from public, private and even the unorganised sectors can opt for this. Personnel from the armed forces are exempted. The scheme is open to all across industries and locations. 
•    At retirement, they can withdraw 60% of the corpus, which is tax-free and the remaining 40% is invested in annuities, which is taxed.
 

•    Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as aerospace, which is the general term for Earth ‘s atmosphere and the outer space in its vicinity. 
•    By international law, a state “has complete and exclusive sovereignty over the airspace above its territory”, which corresponds with the maritime definition of territorial waters as being 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) out from a nation ‘s coastline. Airspace not within any country ‘s territorial limit is considered international, analogous to the "high seas" in maritime law. International Airspaces are governed under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for operational control. 
•    There is no international agreement on the vertical extent of sovereign airspace. Air Space does not include outer space, which, under the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 is declared to be free and not subject to national appropriation. The treaty, however, did not define the altitude at which outer space begins and air space ends. 
 

•    myScheme is a National Platform that aims to offer one-stop search and discovery of the Government schemes. It provides an innovative, technology-based solution to discover scheme information based upon the eligibility of the citizen. 
•    myScheme is an e-Marketplace for government schemes and services. The platform helps the citizen to find the right Government schemes for them. It also guides on how to apply for different Government schemes. 
•    myScheme platform is Developed, Managed, and Operated by National e-Governance Division (NeGD), with the Support of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievance (DARPG) and in partnership with other Central and State Ministries/Departments
 

E20 is a blend of 20% ethanol with petrol. The Government aims to achieve a complete 20% blending of ethanol by 2025, and HPCL and other oil marketing companies are setting up 2G-3G ethanol plants that will facilitate the progress.  
Ethanol is a biofuel, naturally produced by the fermentation of sugars by yeasts or by petrochemical processes like ethylene hydration. Derived from agricultural products- In ethanol blending, a blended motor fuel containing ethyl alcohol derived from agricultural products is blended with petrol specifically. 
Advantages of Ethanol Blending: 
•    Minimizes Dependence on Fossil Fuels; helps reduce global warming 
•    Ethanol Fuel is Cost-effective Compared to Other Biofuels - Ethanol fuel is the least expensive energy source since virtually every country has the capability to produce it. Corn, sugar cane or grain grows in almost every country which makes the production economical compared to fossil fuels. 
•    It will help in reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, etc. 
•    It will help reduce the oil import bill, thereby saving foreign exchange and boosting energy security. 
•    New jobs will be created in the original equipment manufacturing (OEM), component supplier, and aftermarket service provider sectors. 
•    Opens up Untapped Agricultural Sector - The fact that ethanol fuel production relies mainly on agricultural produce, individuals will be shoved into the untapped agricultural sector, and this will uplift a countries economy. 
•    Variety of Sources of Raw Material - Although corn and sugarcane are the chief raw material for producing ethanol fuel, pretty much every crop or plant containing starch and sugar can be used. 
 

•    PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission is the biggest all-India scheme to develop and improve the long-term public healthcare infrastructure in India. The government has laid out a spending budget of Rs 64,180 crore for the FY 2021-22 to 2025-26. 
•    It will fill the gaps in public health infrastructure in India, particularly in the critical care and primary care facilities in both urban and rural areas The scheme aims to make India ready to effectively manage any future pandemics and health emergencies. It will support 17,788 rural health and wellness centres in ten high-focus states. The mission also envisages establishing another 11,024 urban health and wellness centres in India. Under this scheme, 134 types of tests will be done free of cost at the district level. 
•    Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) was launched in 1985 after renaming expanded immunization programme of 1978. It is an integral part of NRHM.
•    Mission Indradhanush (MI) was launched to fully immunize more than 89 lakh children who are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated under UIP. It provides vaccination against 12 Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (VPD). It was launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 
 

•    MicroLEDs are self-illuminating diodes that have brighter and better colour reproduction than Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display technology.  
•    Each of these microLEDs are semiconductors that receive electric signals. Once these microLEDs are gathered, they form a module. Several modules are then combined to form screens. 
•    Benefits of Micro-LEDs are: 
1.    Brighter screens with better colour reproduction and viewing angles. 
2.    Limitless scalability, as microLED displays are resolution-free, bezel-free, ratio free, and even size-free. 
3.    The ability to freely resize the screen in any form for practical usage. 
4.    Self-emissive microLEDs that individually produce red, green, and blue colours without needing backlighting or colour filters. 
•    MicroLED technology is based on the use of sapphires, which are known for their ability to shine on their own indefinitely. The technology involves the use of tiny light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that are packed tightly together to create a bright and high-quality display. 
•    Unlike OLED displays, microLED displays use inorganic material such as gallium nitride. 
 

•    Employees' State Insurance Scheme (ESI)is an integrated measure of social Insurance embodied in the Employees' State Insurance Act, of 1948. It applies to factories and other establishments Road Transport, Hotels, Restaurants, Cinemas, Newspaper, Shops, and Educational/Medical Institutions wherein 10 or more persons are employed. 
•    Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) is responsible for the administration of ESI Scheme. ESIC is a statutory corporate body set up under the ESI Act, 1948. It provides socio-economic protection to the worker population and immediate dependent or family covered under the ESI scheme. 
•    It functions under the Ministry of Labour & Employment.
 

•     Payment aggregators are intermediaries that provide a single platform to connect multiple merchants to different payment processors. 
•    They typically provide a range of payment options to customers, including credit and debit cards, bank transfers, and e-wallets. Payment aggregators collect and process payment information, ensuring that transactions are secure and reliable. 
•    A payment gateway is a software application that connects an online store or merchant to a payment processor, allowing the merchant to accept payment from a customer. In physical stores, payment gateways consist of the point of sale (POS) terminals used to accept credit card information by card or by smartphone.
•    The main difference between a payment aggregator and payment gateway is that the former handles funds while the latter provides technology. Payment aggregators can offer a payment gateway, but vice versa is not true. 
•    Payment gateways are distinct from payment processors, which use customer information to collect payments on behalf of the merchant. 
 

•    Sealed Cover Jurisprudence (SCJ) is a legal concept that refers to the practice of presenting sensitive or confidential information to a court or tribunal in a sealed envelope or cover, to be opened and reviewed only by the judge or judges in charge of the case. 
•    There is no specific law that defines the doctrine of sealed cover. The SC derives its power to use it from Rule 7 of order XIII of the Supreme Court Rules 2013 and Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act of 1872. 
•    It is a practice used by the Supreme Court as well as the lower courts. 
•    Instances of usage of SCJ are: 
•    Rule 7 of order XIII of the Supreme Court Rules – The information can be kept confidential if its publication is not considered to be in the interest of the public. 
•    Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 - Official unpublished documents relating to state affairs are protected and cannot be compelled to disclose. 
•    Other instances – When the publication of information affects an ongoing investigation or breaches the privacy of an individual, it may be sought in secrecy or confidence. 
 

•    NI-KSHAY (Ni=End, Kshay=TB) is the web enabled patient management system for TB control under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP). 
•    It is developed and maintained by the Central TB Division (CTD), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Ni-kshay is used by health functionaries at various levels across the country both in the public and private sector, to register cases under their care, order various types of tests from Labs across the country, record treatment details, monitor treatment adherence and to transfer cases between care providers. It also functions as the National TB Surveillance System and enables reporting of various surveillance data to the Government of India. 
•    Ni-kshay Mitra initiative was launched by The President in 2022. The initiative aims to ensure additional diagnostic, nutritional, and vocational support to those on TB treatment and encouraged elected representatives, corporates and NGOs to come forward as donors to help the patients towards recovery.  
 

•    In October 2022, the Ministry of Education launched the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS) education of children in the three to eight years age group. The NCF for the Foundational Stage (NCFFS) is developed based on the vision of the NEP 2020. It has been developed by NCERT through an extensive consultative process with States & UTs up to grass root level and various institutions and organisations. 
•    Jadui Pitara is a play-based learning-teaching material tailored for children between the age group of 3-8 years. has been developed under the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) and is available in 13 Indian languages. It aims at enriching the learning-teaching environment and making it more child-centric, lively, and joyful for the Amrit Generation as envisioned in the NEP 2020. 
 

•    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was conceived at a UN conference in Bretton Woods, United States, in July 1944. Its functions are: 
•    To provide financial assistance to member countries with balance of payments problems, the IMF lends money to replenish international reserves, stabilize currencies and strengthen conditions for economic growth. Countries must embark on structural adjustment policies monitored by the IMF. 
•    IMF Surveillance: It oversees the international monetary system and monitors the economic and financial policies of its 190 member countries. IMF highlights possible risks to stability and advises on needed policy adjustments. 
•    Capacity Development: It provides technical assistance and training to central banks, finance ministries, tax authorities, and other economic institutions.  
•    To become a member of the World Bank, under the IBRD Articles of Agreement, a country must first join the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Membership in IDA, IFC and MIGA are conditional on membership in IBRD.

The World Bank Group consists of five development institutions.
1. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) provides loans, credits, and grants.
2. International Development Association (IDA) provides low- or no-interest loans to low-income countries.
3. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) provides investment, advice, and asset management to companies and governments.
4. The Multilateral Guarantee Agency (MIGA) insures lenders and investors against political risk such as war.
5. The International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) settles investment-disputes between investors and countries.
Among above 5, India is not a member of ICSID. India claimed ICSID Convention is not fair, convention's rules for arbitration leaned towards the developed countries. 
All of these efforts support the Bank Group’s twin goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity of the poorest 40% of the population in all countries.
 

•     The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. It currently operational under the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). 
•    A functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), it was established by ECOSOC resolution 11(II) of 21 June 1946. The CSW is instrumental in promoting women‘s rights, documenting the reality of women‘s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women. 
•    Iran has been expelled from the United Nation‘s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in a vote on which India abstained. 
•    CSW consists of one representative from each of the 45 member countries elected by the Economic and Social Council based on equitable geographical distribution. All the members serve a four-year term. India was elected as a member of the CSW in September 2020. 
 

•    Indian Capital Markets are regulated and monitored by the Ministry of Finance, The Securities and Exchange Board of India, The Reserve Bank of India and the National Stock Exchange (NSE).  
•    The Ministry of Finance regulates through the Department of Economic Affairs - Capital Markets Division. The division is responsible for formulating the policies related to the orderly growth and development of the securities markets (i.e., share, debt and derivatives) as well as protecting the interest of the investors. 
•    Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the regulatory authority established under the SEBI Act 1992 and is the principal regulator for Stock Exchanges in India. SEBI's primary functions include protecting investor interests, promoting, and regulating the Indian securities markets. 
•    National Stock Exchange (NSE) - In the role of a securities market participant, NSE is required to set out and implement rules and regulations to govern the securities market. 
•    Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is responsible for regulating the financial activities in the Indian economy. It monitors the capital market and keeps a close tab on the exchange rates. The monetary policy designed by the Reserve Bank of India affects the equity markets directly.
 

•    Global Terrorism Index (GTI) is produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), a think tank, using data from Terrorism Tracker and other sources. 
•    India ranks 13th on The Global Terrorism Index (GTI). The report shows that Afghanistan continues to be the country most affected by terrorism for the 4th year in a row, even though attacks and deaths decreased. 
•    Globally, deaths from terrorism fell by 9% to 6,701 deaths, marking a 38% decrease from its peak in 2015. Pakistan recorded the second largest surge in terror-related deaths worldwide in 2022, the toll increasing significantly to 643. 
•    South Asia remains the region with the worst average GTI score. Islamic State (IS) and its affiliates were the deadliest terror group globally for the eighth consecutive year, recording the most attacks and deaths of any group in 2022.