November 2023 CA 12 Minutes to Clat

12 Minutes to CLAT Current Affairs – November 2023
CURRENT AFFAIRS COMPENDIUM – NOVEMBER 2023
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INDEX
1. Agartala- Akhaura Rail Link
2. WHO’s New Regional Director
3. Bihar Reservation Amendment Act
4. Haryana Job Quota Issue
5. Bhutan- China Border Talks
6. Bhutan’s King’s visit to India
7. National Cancer Awareness Day
8. The Suez Canal Alternative
9. FATF On- Site Review
10. Cricket World Cup 2023
11. India’s new consulate in Seattle
12. National Legal Services Day 2023
13. Extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana
14. The Governor v. State Row
15. World’s first Chikungunya Vaccine
16. Indian Navy tests first indigenously developed ‘anti-ship missile’
17. 66th Grammys Awards
18. National Milk Day 2023
19. Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) Initiative
20. World Pneumonia Day 2023
21. Plea for Declaration of Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve
22. UK Rwanda Asylum Issue
23. WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2023
24. The demise of Saharasri
25. AUSTRAHIND 2023
26. International Students Day 2023
27. Justice Fatima Beevi

28. Appointment of New Chief Information Commissioner
29. The Deepfake Issue
30. India’s space programme
31. Leave benefits in Armed Forces
32. CV Raman’s birth Anniversary
33. Qatar Death Row
34. Japan gets new island after volcanic eruptions
35. Mitra Shakti 2023
1. Agartala- Akhaura Rail Link
SOURCE- ANI
Recently: On November 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina virtually inaugurated the
rail link between Agartala (Tripura) and Akhaura (in Bangladesh).
• The rail link will boost cross-border trade and significantly reduce the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata via Dhaka.
• India and Bangladesh share a 4,096km long international border, the 5th longest international border in the world.
➢ It is 262km in Assam, 856km in Tripura, 318km in Mizoram, 443km in Meghalaya and 2,217 km in West Bengal.
What is Agartala- Akhaura Rail Link?
• It is a 12.24 km long rail line constituting of about 6.78 km dual gauge rail line in Bangladesh and 5.46 km in Tripura.
• It encompasses one major bridge and three minor bridges.
• Once completely operational, the project would reduce the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata from about 31 hours
at present to 10 hours.
➢ The existing commute distance between the two cities is 1,581 km and a requires a re-route via Guwahati and
Lumding in Assam.
➢ This would be curtailed to 460 km.
• The construction on the Indian side was done by public sector enterprise Indian Railways Construction International
Ltd.
• The construction on Bangladesh’s end was done by Texmaco Rail and Engineering.
• Nischintapur in West Tripura would serve as the international immigration station.
➢ It will provide facilities to process immigration-related scrutiny for passengers.
➢ Additionally, in September, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had declared Nischintapur
as a Land Customs Station (LCS).
➢ Land Customs Station - It refers to any notified place meant for the clearance of goods imported or to be exported by
land or inland water.
History:
• According to a 2015 report of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in Kolkata, Past records revealed the rail link
was suggested as far back as 1974 with the signing of a protocol between the two countries for cross-traffic movement.
• The idea then became dormant and would only be revived many years later, during Trade Review Talks between India
and Bangladesh in December 1998.
• The memorandum of understanding for the Agartala-Akhaura rail link was signed in 2010 during Ms. Hasina’s visit to
India.
• The project was sanctioned during the year 2012-13 and the foundation stone for Agartala-Akhaura rail link was laid in
July 2016.
• The project was supposed to be completed in 2020 but was delayed following land acquisition issues and the Covid-19
pandemic.
Financing:
• In June, Northeast Frontier Railway had anticipated the project would be completed at a total cost of ₹862.58 crore on the
Indian side.
• Ministry for the Development of the Northeast Region provided the funds.
• In addition to this, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) provided the Bangladeshi government an assistance of
₹392.52 crore for work on the other side.
Other Connectivity Links between India and Bangladesh:

• As of now, five broad gauge connectivity routes are operational entailing links with Bangladesh – all of them from West
Bengal.
• These include-
➢ Gede railway station (West Bengal) to Darsana (Bangladesh)
➢ Benapole to Petrapole (West Bengal)
➢ Singhabad (West Bengal) to Rohanpur
➢ Radhikapur (West Bengal) to Birol
➢ Haldibari (West Bengal) to Chilahati
• There passenger trains that run between Indian and Bangladesh are-
➢ Kolkata-Dhaka Maitree Express
➢ Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan Express
➢ New Jalpaiguri-Dhaka Mitali Express.
• Work is underway to connect Mahihasan railway station in Assam to Shahbazpur in Bangladesh.
• There is an interchange of close to 100 cargo trains per month between India and Bangladesh.
• Approximately 2.66 metric tonnes were sent to Bangladesh in the previous financial year.
• The major commodities of export include stone, food grains, China clay, gypsum, maize, onion and other essential items, as
and when required, from India.
Other Projects inaugurated on November 1:

• Khulna- Mongla Port Rail Line Project:
➢ It is a 65km long broad gauge rail route linking Mongla Port with the existing rail network in Khulna.
➢ The project is supported by Government of India’s concessional line of credit.
➢ The total estimated cost of the project is USD 388.92 million.
➢ Mongla is the second- largest port in Bangladesh after the Chittagong Port.
• Maitree Super Thermal Power Project:
➢ It is a 1320 MW Super Thermal Power Plant (MSTPP) located in Rampal in Khulna division of Bangladesh.
➢ It has been implemented by the Bangladesh- India Friendship Power Company Private Limited, which is
50:50 joint venture company between India’s NTPC Ltd and Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB).
➢ Unit 1 of the power plant was unveiled in September 2022 and unit 2 was inaugurated in November 2023.
➢ It is under the concessional financing scheme loan of USD 1.6billion.
2. WHO’s new regional director
Recently: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s daughter Saima Wazed, emerged victorious in the elections of becoming
the regional director of the World Health Organization’s South-East Asia region held in New Delhi.
• Wazed defeated Dr Shambhu Prasad Acharya, a public health veteran and the lone candidate from Nepal.
The ESSlection:
• The vote was held during the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia Region.
• Bangladesh, Bhutan, DPR (North) Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-
Leste — 10 of the 11 member countries — took part in the vote.
➢ Myanmar did not send a delegation to the meeting.
• Wazed secured eight out of 10 votes against Shambhu Prasad Acharya.
• The nomination will be submitted to the WHO Executive Board during its 154th session, taking place in Geneva in
January.
• The newly appointed regional director will take office on February 1 and will hold the position for four years, till 2028.
Who is Saima Wazed?

• Saima Wazed, 50, is a Bangladeshi activist and the daughter of Bangladesh's Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina.
• She had been drafted as a global autism advocate of the World Health Organization's 25-member Expert
Advisory Panel on mental health for 4 years in 2014.
• Wazed organized the first South Asian conference on Autism in 2011 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• In 2016, Wazed has conferred World Health Organization's South-East Asia Region Award for Excellence in
Public Health.
• In 2017, she has been awarded the International Champion Award for her outstanding contribution to the field of
autism.
• Ms. Wazed will succeed Poonam Khetrapal Singh, an Indian national, who became the first woman to assume the
office of WHO regional director for South-East Asia in 2014.
➢ In 2018, WHO member states elected Khetrapal Singh for a second five-year term.
World Health Organization:

• World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations’ specialized agency for Health was founded in 1948.
• It is an inter-governmental organization and works in collaboration with its member states usually through the Ministries of
Health.
• It began functioning on April 7, 1948 – a date now being celebrated every year as World Health Day.
• It is Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It releases Global Nutrition report annually since 2013 in order to assess the state of global nutrition.
• There are 194 Member States, 150 country offices, six regional offices.
• The WHO countries are categorized into 6 regions.

Regions Headquarters
Africa Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
Europe Copenhagen, Denmark
South-East Asia New Delhi, India
Eastern Mediterranean Cairo, Egypt
Western Pacific Manila, the Philippines
The Americas Washington, D.C., United States
➢ The regional divisions of WHO were created between 1949 and 1952 and are based on article 44 of the WHO's
constitution, which allowed the WHO to "establish a [single] regional organization to meet the special needs of [each
defined] area".
➢ Each region has a regional committee, which generally meets once a year, normally in the autumn.
➢ Each regional office is headed by a director, who is elected by the Regional Committee.
➢ The regional director is effectively the head of WHO for his or her region.
➢ Since 1999, regional directors serve for a once-renewable five-year term, and typically take their position on 1
February.
• The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the legislative and supreme body of the WHO.
➢ Based in Geneva, it typically meets yearly in May.
➢ It appoints the director-general every five years and votes on matters of policy and finance of WHO, including the
proposed budget.
➢ The Assembly elects 34 members, technically qualified in the field of health, to the executive board for three-
year terms.
• Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is the current Director General of World Health Organization since 2017.
3. Bihar Reservation Amendment Act
Recently: Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on November 17 approved the State Government’s ‘Bihar Reservation
Amendment Bill’ which was passed unanimously by the State Legislature during the recently concluded winter session.
• The act increases caste-based reservations in education and government jobs from 50% to 65%, crossing the ceiling set
by the Supreme Court.
• The government’s move is backed by the recent caste-based headcount and ascertainment of the economic status of
families across all castes and religions.
What is the change?

• According to the bill, quota for Extremely Backward Class (EBC) will be raised from 18% to 25%; for Backward
Class (BC) from 12% to 18%.
➢ According to the state’s caste survey, 36.01% of the population are EBCs, and 27.13% are OBCs.
• Scheduled Castes will get a reservation of 20%, up from 16%

➢ The SC population is estimated at 19.65%.
• The quota for Scheduled Tribes has been doubled from 1% to 2%.
➢ With most of the tribal areas going to Jharkhand after the bifurcation of Bihar in 2000, the tribal population in
Bihar is around 1.7%.
• The government has explained that since another 10% Economically Weaker Sections quota is effective under a different
Act, it will not be a part of the current bill.
➢ Therefore, the total quota limit in the state will increase to 75% now.
➢ This is well past the 50% limit set by the Supreme Court in 1992 for total caste-based reservations.
• Earlier, there was also a 3% quota for backward class women.
➢ But since there is already a provision for 35% quota for women of all castes and creed in government jobs and
educational institutions, the separate 3% quota for backward classes women becomes redundant.
• The “unreserved” category comprises 15.52% of the state.
• Bihar’s population, according to the recent survey, is 13.07 cr compared to the 10.41 crore recorded in the.
Poverty in Bihar and alleviation Measures:

• In view of the extent and incidence of poverty in the state at 34.1% of the total families, the Bihar government has
announced poverty alleviation programmes for all caste groups, irrespective of their religion, by way of financial assistance
to be provided by the state government.
• The state has 94 lakh poor people with no assured work and income less than Rs 6,000 a month.
• The poverty alleviation measures include:
➢ Financial assistance of Rs 2.5 lakh per family to start economic activity.
➢ Extension of self-help group activities to towns to increase their number to more than 10 lakh with 1.5 crore women
members (at present 1.30 crore)
➢ An increase in the loan amount from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.
• Thrust given to girls’ school and college education has helped lower the female fertility ratio to:
➢ 1.6 against the national average of 1.7 in the case of women who are graduates.
➢ 2 in the case of wives educated up to the intermediate level.

➢ 2.9 in the case of wives holding matriculation degrees.
What is the 50% cap on reservation in India?

• In 1979, the Janata Party government constituted the Second Backward Classes Commission – popularly known as
the Mandal Commission after its chairman, the Bihar MP Bindheshwar Mandal
➢ The commission aimed to identify the socially or educationally backward classes of India and to consider reservations
as a means to address caste inequality and discrimination.
• The commission developed 11 social, economic and educational criteria to identify the backward classes who were
called “Other Backward Classes” or OBCs.
• The Mandal Commission’s report, submitted in 1980, called for giving reservation to the Other Backward Classes.
➢ The Commission concluded that India’s population consisted of approximately 52 per cent OBCs, therefore 27% of
government jobs should be reserved for them.
• Soon after the report was submitted, however, the Congress returned to power and it was put in cold storage.
➢ It took a decade and another non-Congress government, this time led by VP Singh, to implement the Mandal
Commission’s recommendations.
• In 1991, the Congress government issued another notification providing an additional reservation of 10 per cent for other
economically backward sections.
Indra Sawhney & Others v. Union of India, 1992:

• The Supreme Court while upholding the 27 percent quota for backward classes, struck down the government notification
reserving 10% government jobs for economically backward classes among the higher castes.
• Supreme Court in the same case also upheld the principle that the combined reservation beneficiaries should not
exceed 50 percent of India’s population.
Constitutional Provisions for Reservation in India:

• Article 15(4)- Provides for the advancement of any socially and economically backward classes of citizens or for SCs and
STs.
• Article 15(5)- Provides for Reservation for Backward, SC, and ST classes in private educational institutions.
• Article 16(4)- Provides for reservation in public employment for backward classes.
• Article 16(4A)- Included in the constitution through 77th amendment and provides for reservation in promotion.
• Article 330- Provides for reservation of seats for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha.
• Article 332- Provides for reservation of seats in the state legislative assembly.
4. Haryana Job Quota Issue

Recently: The Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act
passed by the Haryana government in 2020.
• Justices G S Sandhawalia and Harpreet Kaur Jeewan held the 2020 act "ultravires" and declared it ineffective from the date
it came into force.
• The bench was hearing petitions filed by Faridabad Industrial Association and other industries.
• Earlier, the High Court had stayed the operation of the Act in 2022.
• The stay was set aside by the Supreme Court on an appeal.
➢ They underlined that discriminating against individuals based on their state would be negative treatment against other
citizens of the country.
➢ They held it as a violative of Part III(Fundamental Rights) of the Constitution of India.
• Earlier, in November 2019, the Andhra Pradesh Assembly had passed The Andhra Pradesh Employment of Local
Candidates in the Industries/Factories Bill, 2019.
➢ It reserves three-fourths of jobs for local candidates within three years of the commencement of the Act.
➢ The law was challenged in the Andhra Pradesh High Court and is yet to be heard on merits.
What was Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020?

• The act was introduced by the State Assembly in 2020 and was passed in 2021. It came into effect from January 15,
2022.
• It provided 75% employment to local candidates in the private sector.
➢ Local candidates are candidates who have a domicile in the State
• The original draft required 15 years of residency to be considered a local candidate.
➢ It was later revised to 5 years of residency.
• This provision was for local candidates in jobs with a monthly gross salary or wages are not more than Rs 30,000/-
➢ The State government originally said that the reservation would apply to jobs paying up to ₹50,000.
• The Act applied to new recruitments after the commencement only i.e. not with retrospective effect.
• The Act applied to all the ‘Employers’ of the State of Haryana, which are under:
➢ Any company, partnership firm, society, trust, limited liability partnership firm.
➢ Any person / employer employing 10 or more employees in any trade /business/ manufacturing / enterprises
• All the employers were required to register their existing employees on the designated portal within a period of three months.
• An employer can initiate any new recruitment process after completing online registration of existing employees.
• Employers have the option to claim an exemption from the requirement to provide 75% employment in new jobs to local
candidates.
➢ This exemption applies when a sufficient number of local candidates with the desired skills, qualifications, or proficiency
are not available for the specific category of jobs.
Government’s oversight:
• Every employer will have to furnish a quarterly report on the designated portal and mention details about local candidates
employed and appointed during that period.
➢ The reports furnished by the employer will be scrutinized by the authorized officers not below the rank of Sub-
Divisional Officers.
• The companies found to be violating the Act are liable to a fine between ₹10,000 and ₹2 Lakh.
• The act was not a permanent legislation.
➢ It was supposed to remain in force for 10 years of being enacted.
Constitutional Rights and Remedies:

• Article 14 which provides right to equality for every citizen.
• Article 15 which provides prohibition of discrimination based on place of birth.
• Article 16(3) guarantees the absence of birthplace-based discrimination in public employment. It further provides that
there has to be equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.
• Article 19 (e) provides freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.
• Article 19(g) provides freedom to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.
5. Bhutan- China Border Talks
SOURCE- BBS
Recently: China and Bhutan held their 25th round of boundary talks in Beijing and signed a Cooperation Agreement on the
“Responsibilities and Functions of the Joint Technical Team (JTT) on the Delimitation and Demarcation of the Bhutan-China
Boundary.”
• The boundary talks were held between Bhutan's Foreign Minister Dr. Tandi Dorji and China's Vice Foreign Minister Sun
Weidong.
• The last border talks (24th round) between China and Bhutan were held in 2016.
• It should be noted that Bhutan and China don’t have direct diplomatic relations, and liaise via their embassies in
Delhi.
• China has border disputes with some 18 countries that surround China including Indian and Bhutan.
The boundary and the dispute:

• China asserts claims over roughly 764 square kilometre in the northwestern and central regions of Bhutan.
• Bhutan and the Tibetan Autonomous Region share a contiguous border to Bhutan’s north and west of about 470 km.
• Originally, the dispute was part of border negotiations between India and China.
• However, direct dialogues between China and Bhutan were initiated in 1984.
➢ Since then, over 25 rounds of border talks and 13 rounds of expert-level meetings have taken place.
• China and Bhutan signed the Guiding Principles on the Settlement of Boundary Issues in 1988.
• The Agreement on Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the border areas was between the countries in
1998.
• Since 1984, talks between Bhutan and China have largely focused on two separate areas of dispute.
➢ These include Doklam and other areas in Bhutan’s west, near the Bhutan-China-India tri-junction measuring
269 square kilometers and the Jakarlung and Pasamlung valleys located near Tibet to Bhutan’s north, which
measure 495 sq. km.
• The sacred Buddhist area of the Beyul Khenpajong in the north is also disputed.
• More recently, China has also laid claims to 740 sq. km territory in Bhutan’s eastern Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary.
➢ On July 5, 2020, China explicitly stated that it has a border dispute with Bhutan in the eastern region, for the first time
since 1986.
➢ This move was seen by some observers as a negotiating tactic to bring Bhutan back to the table.
• Since 1996, China has offered an exchange of territory with Bhutan, seeking to relinquish its claim to disputed regions
in the north (Jakarlung and Pasamlung) in exchange for Bhutan ceding more strategically important territory in the west.
➢ For Beijing, Doklam remains the goal: It sits at a junction that connects Tibet, Bhutan, and India, and it would
provide the Chinese People’s Liberation Army with a tactical advantage.
➢ To make this a more attractive proposition, China noted that the territory in the north was far larger than the territory
it sought.
➢ Although the initial offer nearly worked, the 1996 talks ultimately broke down.
Why is India concerned?

• New Delhi is mainly watching the demarcation discussions over Doklam as is specifically worried about the territory swap
proposal of China.
• The Doklam trijunction cuts very close to India’s Siliguri corridor, also known as the Chicken Neck, a 22km narrow stretch
that connects the North Eastern States to the rest of India.
➢ Therefore, India would not like to see China gain access to any area closer to it.
• Since the Doklam standoff in 2017, China has doubled down on its control of the Doklam plateau.
• It has continued to build “underground storage facilities, new roads, and new villages in disputed areas in neighbouring
Bhutan,” erasing many of the strategic gains that New Delhi had hoped for after China agreed to step back from
the standoff point in 2017.
• India is also worried over China’s demand for full diplomatic relations with Bhutan, and opening an Embassy in Thimphu.
• Given India’s challenges with Chinese projects and funding in other neighbouring countries including Bangladesh, Nepal,
Sri Lanka and the Maldives, any Chinese presence in a small country like Bhutan would be problematic.
• However, Bhutan’s leadership has thus far said that all decisions would consider India’s interests and has always consulted
India on issues of concern.
Different Perspectives on Border Demarcation:
• China believes that geographical principles like river valleys and mountain passes should apply to the definition of the boundary
along with the watershed.
• India believes that the boundary should be demarcated around the principles of the highest watershed.
• According to an 1890 Convention, China has claimed the crest of the mountain range, which separates the water flowing
into Tibet and Bhutan as the boundary between Bhutan and China.
• India on its part has claimed the highest line of the mountains separating the river as the boundary line.
• Based on these positions, for China, Mount Gipmochi is the starting point for drawing the border between Bhutan and China.
➢ Meanwhile, for India, the principle of the highest watershed, which follows the peaks of Batangla, Merugla, and
Sinchula, should form the border separating Bhutan and China.
➢ Gipmochi peak is 4,425 meters above the mean sea level
➢ Merugla and Sinchula passes lie at an altitude of 4,640 meters and 4,429 meters, respectively.
• The Doklam trijunction point lies at Betang La. China wants to shift this point about 7 km south of Batang La to the peak
called Mount Gipmochi.
➢ However, New Delhi is opposed to the move as that would mean the entire Doklam plateau would be under Beijing’s
control.
• If both Bhutan and India are on the same page, then the boundary should be demarcated at the highest elevation.
The three- Step Roadmap:

• The 3-Step roadmap MoU signed by the Bhutanese Foreign Minister and Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister in 2021 during
the 10th round of their Expert Group Meeting (EGM) in Kunming, China.
• The Joint Technical Team (JTT) was established in August 2023 during the 13th Expert Group Meeting in Beijing, to
implement the roadmap and draw a line clearly delineating Bhutanese and Chinese territory.
• Bhutan and China don’t have diplomatic ties, as Bhutan has avoided diplomatic relations with all the United Nations Security
Council permanent members.
• The 3-Step Roadmap involves:
1) The delimitation of the border on maps through talks between the two sides.
2) Visiting the sites on the ground and conducting surveys.
3) Actual demarcation of the 477 km border
6. Bhutan’s King’s visit to India
SOURCE- X@narendramodi
Recently: The King of Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, recently concluded a week- long visit to India (3
November to 10 November).
• The King met with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the External Affairs Minister S Jaishanker.
• During this visit he went to Assam, Delhi and Maharashtra. The delegation consisted of high-level officials.
➢ This was His Majesty’s first official visit to Assam and Maharashtra.
• This visit comes immediately on the tails of the Bhutanese Foreign Minister, Tandi Dorji’s visit to China.
➢ But what stands out is that there has been no mention of any discussion or even reference to the border issue and
the Bhutan-China border talks.
Takeaways:
• The King’s visit can be seen as a success because India and Bhutan agreed to cooperate on building two rail links.
➢ One will be constructed by India and will connect Gelephu and Kokrajhar in Assam.
➢ The second proposal is of a rail link between Banarhat in West Bengal and Samtse in Bhutan.
• This will also feed into the International Airport which is in works by Bhutan as a part of the Special Economic Zone
(SEZ) at Samtse.
➢ The Bhutanese King will be announcing this SEZ on 17 December later this year.
• During the visit, His Majesty and the Prime Minister of India held discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation
and regional and global issues of mutual interests.
• The two leaders expressed satisfaction with the significant progress made since their last meeting in April 2023.
• The Bhutanese side thanked GoI for the timely release of development assistance to ensure smooth and uninterrupted
conclusion of crucial projects under the 12th Five Year Plan (2018-2023).
➢ To take the exemplary bilateral partnership forward, the Indian side reiterated commitment to step up support for
Bhutan’s 13th Five Year Plan.
• The two sides welcomed export of surplus power by Basochhu hydro power project through the Indian Energy
Exchange beginning October 2023
• The two sides expressed satisfaction with the progress in construction of the 1020 MW Punatshangchhu-II hydro
power project and looked forward to its early commissioning in 2024.
Why is the Assam visit significant?

• Bhutanese King had a three-day historic visit to the Indian State of Assam.
• Despite the 265.8 km border shared by Assam and Bhutan, this marked the first visit of a Bhutanese monarch to the
state.
• During the visit to Assam, Hon’ble Governor of Assam Shri Gulab Chand Kataria hosted a dinner in honour of His
Majesty.
• The visit was also significant as it came after a tense period, in which the peaceful relationship between the neighbours
became complicated in the 1990s.
➢ This was due to the insurgent groups setting up camps and operating out of forests in southeast Bhutan.
• In the 1990s, the Indian military and Assam police launched successive crackdowns against militant groups in Assam,
putting them under pressure.
➢ At the same time, Bangladesh ceased to be a place of refuge as well as the pro-India Awami League government
under Sheikh Hasina came to power in 1996 and started taking action against them.
• As a consequence, these groups set up camps in southeast Bhutan, particularly in the Samdrup Jongkhar district that
borders Assam.
• According to the Bhutan government, at the time of its crackdown, there were 13 United Liberation Front of Asom
(ULFA) camps, 12 the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB camps and 5 Kamatapur Liberation
Organization (KLO) camps in its territory (this organisation was mostly active in West Bengal).
• Bhutan had entered into dialogue with these groups in 1998 but still been reluctant to take coercive action to drive them
out, a major factor in which, was the small size and inexperience of its military.
➢ However, the talks did not yield any outcome for the government despite five rounds of talks with the ULFA and three
rounds with the NDFB.
• The hill kingdom was then pushed to undertake its first military operation in 140 years to flush out the militants from its
territory.
• ‘Operation All Clear’ was launched by the Royal Bhutan Army on December 15, 2003.
➢ It dealt a crippling blow to the ULFA, NDFB and the KLO, which had set up camps in Bhutanese territory.
India Bhutan bilateral Relations:
• Bhutan was among the first nations to recognize India after its independence in 1947.
• India opened an office of a Special Representative in Thimphu in 1968. Bhutan reciprocated in 1971.
• The two offices were upgraded to full-fledged embassies in 1978.
• The basis for bilateral relations between India and Bhutan was formed by the Indo-Bhutan Treaty of Peace and
Friendship of 1949.
• Article 2 of the treaty critically gave India a role in guiding Bhutan’s foreign policy.
➢ This was upgraded in 2007 as “to encourage Bhutan’s sovereignty”, abolishing the need to take India’s guidance
on foreign policy.
• The trade between the two countries is governed by the India Bhutan Trade and Transit Agreement 1972 which was
last renewed in November 2016.
7. National Cancer Awareness Day 2023
SOURCE- Mynation.com
Recently: The 2023 edition of the National Cancer Awareness Day was observed on November 7th.
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide, representing
nearly 1 in 6 deaths globally.
• In 2020, the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s (IARC) World Cancer Report released by WHO said
that Asia shares 49.3% of the total number of global cases of the deadly disease.
➢ The report estimated that from 2020-2040, Asia will report an increase of 59.2% in new cases of the disease.
➢ The report further stated that one in 10 Indians would develop cancer in their lifetime and one in 15 would
die of it.
• World Cancer Day is observed annually on February 4th.
What is Cancer?
• It is basically the rapid creation of abnormal cells that grow beyond their usual boundaries, and which can then invade
adjoining parts of the body and spread to other organs. This process is called metastasis.
• There are two main categories of cancer-
➢ Hematologic (blood) cancers are cancers of the blood cells, including leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple
myeloma.
➢ Solid tumor cancers are cancers of any of the other body organs or tissues. The most common solid tumors are
breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancers.
• Causes:
➢ Physical factors – Ionizing radiation, such as X-rays and gamma rays
➢ Chemical factors – Such as tobacco and smoke
➢ Biological factors – Viral oncogenes, proto-oncogenes and cellular oncogenes
• Cancer Stage- When a cancer is found, tests are done to see how big the cancer is and whether it has spread from where it
started. This is called the cancer’s stage.
➢ A lower stage (such as a stage 1 or 2) means that the cancer has not spread very much.
➢ A higher stage (such as a stage 3 or 4) means it has spread more.
➢ Stage 4 is the highest stage.
• Treatment- Commonly, three types of treatment are available for cancer.
➢ Surgery – Surgically removing localized cancerous mass (Effective for benign tumours).
➢ Radiation therapy – In this therapy, radiation is used to kill the cancer cells.
➢ Chemotherapy – Chemotherapeutic drugs are used to kill cancer cells.
Theme:
• There has been no official announcement of the theme for the National Cancer Day 2023 but the theme for the World
Cancer Day 2022- 24 is ‘Closing the Care Gap’.
History:
• National Cancer Awareness Day was first announced by the Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan in September
2014.
➢ Therefore in 2014, the day was celebrated for the first time and focuses on the early detection and cure of cancer.
• The World Cancer Day was first observed on February 4th 2000 at the World Cancer Summit Against Cancer for
the New Millennium, which was held in Paris.
Significance:
• On this day, various healthcare organisations, government agencies, and non-profit groups collaborate to organise
awareness campaigns, seminars, and screenings to mark National Cancer Awareness Day and work towards reducing the
burden of cancer nationwide.
8. The Suez Canal Alternative
Recently: The Israelis are promoting a Red Sea-Mediterranean Sea waterway, the Ben Gurion Canal, as a rival to the Suez
Canal.
• The proposed concept involves excavating a canal across the Negev Desert, which is currently under Israeli control.
➢ This canal would span from the Gulf of Aqaba's tip, also known as, Gulf of Eilat.
➢ The Gulf is situated at the southern edge of Israel and south western Jordan, to the Eastern Mediterranean
coast.
History of Ben Gurion Canal:
• In the mid-1800, the British considered the proposal of a canal to the Red Sea via the Dead Sea.
• In 1855, Rear Admiral William Allen, an English naval officer proposed an alternative to the Suez Canal titled “The Dead
Sea – A new route to India.”
➢ But William Allen did not know that the dead Sea was much below sea level.
➢ His idea was that a canal that would connect the three water bodies - Red Sea, Dead Sea and the Mediterranean
Sea.
➢ It would be cheaper than the projected Suez Canal.
• The US toyed with the idea of digging a canal opposite the Suez Canal in 1963.
• Lawrence Livermore Patriot Laps in the US recommended it in a memo.
➢ This was in response to Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's decision to nationalize the Suez Canal in
1956.
• The controversial plan was revealed to the world only in 1994.
➢ The proposal involved 520 nuclear blasts to excavate more than 160 odd miles through Israel’s Negev desert,
instead of traditional methods.
➢ The contentious proposal also noted that the project will be aggressively opposed by the Arab states.
➢ The memo noted that there were 130 miles of "virtually unpopulated desert wasteland.
➢ Thus, it would be amenable to nuclear excavation methods.
• The memo came as the US Atomic Energy Commission was investigating using "peaceful nuclear explosions" to dig out
useful infrastructure
• But the PNE project remained experimental, after the US found that 27 experiments with PNEs heavily irradiated the
landscape.
• The Atomic Energy Commission was also abolished in 1974.
• Meanwhile, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory still exists.
• The Ben Gurion Canal Project was named after Israel’s founding father David Ben-Gurion.
• It remains one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects ever planned on paper.
• If it were to be actually completed, transform global maritime dynamics by taking away Egypt’s monopoly over the
shortest route between Europe and Asia.
The more recent deal:
• The Israeli state-owned Europe Asia Pipeline Company (EAPC) and the UAE-based MED-RED Land Bridge signed an
arrangement on 20th October 2020.
• This deal involved utilizing the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline for transporting oil from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean.
• On 2 April 2021, Israel announced that work on the Ben Gurion Canal is expected to begin by June 2021.
• The initial reference to the Ben Gurion Canal was published about two years back in Hebrew language publications.
• As per the sources, Israel will build the canal from Eilat on the Red Sea to Mediterranean.
Why has the canal not been built yet?
• First and foremost, such a project would be extremely complex and almost prohibitively expensive.
• The estimated cost of such a project may be as high as the $ 100 billion, much more than what it might take to widen the
Suez Canal and solve its traffic problem.
• According to the previous cited memo, it was the cost of digging such a canal conventionally that made planners look at the
nuclear option.
• Of course, the risk of nuclear fallout makes this option extremely risky as well.
Suez Canal:
• It is sea-level waterway running north-south across the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt to connect the Mediterranean and
the Red seas.
• The canal separates the African continent from Asia, and it provides the shortest maritime route between Europe and
the lands lying around the Indian and western Pacific oceans.
• It is one of the world’s most heavily used shipping lanes that extends 193km and carries over 12% of world trade by
volume.
• In 1858, the Universal Suez Ship Canal Company (La Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de Suez) was formed.
➢ It was given the right to begin constructing the canal and operate it for 99 years.
➢ After that time, the Egyptian government would control the canal.
• The Suez Canal is actually the first canal that directly links the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. It was opened for
navigation in November 1869.
• The 150-year-old canal was controlled by British and French interests in its initial years, but was nationalised in 1956
by Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel Nasser.
• The nationalization led to an international crisis in the middle- east, known as the Swiss Crisis.
• A large cargo ship named 'Ever Given' got stuck near the southern end of the Suez Canal causing a huge jam of vessels at
either end of the canal.
9. FATF On- Site Review
SOURCE- AP
Recently: A Financial Action Task Force (FATF) team arrived in India as part of the process to conduct the country’s mutual
evaluations.
• It aimed to ascertain if the authorities have put in place and effectively implemented the required legal framework against
money-laundering and terrorist financing.
• The team arrived in Delhi in the first week of November.
• During the on-site visit, for around two weeks, the team members will hold meetings with senior government officials and
representatives of the private sector.
• They may meet senior functionaries of the Department of Revenue under the Finance Ministry and officials of various
enforcement agencies, such as:
➢ Enforcement Directorate
➢ Narcotics Control Bureau
➢ National Investigation Agency [as it enforces the anti-terror Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act]
• The FATF, which is likely to visit Mumbai as well, may also meet civil society representatives.
What are Mutual Evaluations?

• FATF mutual evaluations are in-depth country reports analysing the implementation and effectiveness of measures to
combat money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing.
• The reports are peer reviews, where members from different countries assess another country.
• Mutual Evaluations have two main components:
➢ Effectiveness: During this visit, the assessment team will require evidence that demonstrates that the assessed
country’s measures are working and delivering the right results.
➢ Technical Compliance: The assessed country must provide information on the laws, regulations and any other
legal instruments it has in place to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation.
• Usually, the FATF evaluation team comprises over a dozen members that include FATF Secretariat officials and domain
experts.
• A complete mutual evaluation takes up to 18 months.
• The process has various stages like Assessor training, Country training, Selection of assessors, Technical
compliance, Scoping, On-site visit, Report drafting, Plenary discussion, Final quality review and Follow-up.
A brief on the process:
• The process starts with the selection of the legal, financial and law enforcement experts for the assessment team.
• The country concerned provides to them all relevant laws and regulations that are in place to prevent criminal abuse of the
financial system.
• Assessors analyse the information, primarily looking at the technical requirements of the FATF standards.
• A draft report is then prepared identifying areas of focus for the on-site visit.
• After the visit, a draft mutual evaluation report covering both the elements of technical compliance and effectiveness is
brought out.
• It goes through various cycles of discussions and review by the assessed country and independent reviewers.
• The FATF plenary discusses the findings, include the ratings, and adopts the final report for publication.
• In India’s case, the report may be discussed during the June 2024 plenary.
What is Financial Action Task Force?

• It is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money
laundering and to maintain certain interest.
• In 2001, its mandate was expanded to include terrorism financing.
• Since 2000, FATF has maintained the FATF blacklist (formally called the "Call for action") and the FATF greylist
(formally called the "Other monitored jurisdictions").
• FATF monitors progress in implementing its Recommendations through "peer reviews" ("mutual evaluations") of
member countries.
• The blacklist has led financial institutions to shift resources and services away from the listed.
• At the time of its formation, FATF had 16 members, which by 2023 had grown to 40.
• In its first year, FATF issued a report containing forty recommendations to more effectively fight money laundering.
• These standards were revised in 2003 to reflect evolving patterns and techniques in money laundering.
• The FATF Plenary is the decision-making body of the FATF. It meets three times per year.
• T. Raja Kumar is the current President of FATF.
10. Cricket World Cup 2023
Recently: Australia won its 6th world cup title beating India in the finals on 19th November, 2023.
• The finals happened in Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujrat.
➢ The Narendra Modi Stadium was formerly called the Motera Stadium or the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium.
➢ It was renamed in 2021.
• The one-day international (ODI) competition was held across 10 stadiums in the country.
• The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team conducted an air show in finals.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Deputy PM Richard Marles was among the celebrities who attended the
final.
Cricket:
• Cricket is played with a bat and ball and involves two competing sides (teams) of 11 players.
• There are three formats of cricket played at the international level – Test matches, One-Day Internationals and
Twenty20 Internationals.
• These matches are played under the rules and regulations approved by the International Cricket Council.
• Test cricket is the traditional form of the game, which has been played since 1877 and now settled in a five-day format
which comprises two innings each.
• One Day Internationals, also known as ODIs, are a pacier format which started in 1971.
• These are one-innings matches of 50 overs per side.
• Twenty20 is a format of 20 overs per side has brought in new audiences since its advent in 2005.
➢ The T20 World Cup is organized every year since 2007.
➢ As of 2024 it will include 20 teams.
➢ The event has generally been held every two years.
ICC men's cricket world cup:
• The Cricket World Cup in an international 50-over one-day cricket competition that is held every four years.
• It is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC).
• It is also one of the most-watched sporting events globally.
• The first Cricket World Cup of any kind was a women’s tournament organised in 1973.
➢ It was by the International Women’s Cricket Council, which later merged with the ICC.
• Being the only country with sufficient resources to host the event, England organized the first Men's Cricket World Cup in
1975.
• The competition featured eight teams and adopted the ODI format in its fifth year.
• The first tournament was played in white kits, with red balls and in a 60-overs-a-side format.
• The six Test-playing nations at the time included Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and the West
Indies.
• Sri Lanka and a composite team from East Africa joined the aforementioned nations in the cricket event.
• South Africa, one of the strongest teams in world cricket, were serving a ban from international cricket.
➢ It was over the country’s apartheid-era policies.
• The tournament is organized every four years.
• As of 2023, there have been a total of 13 editions of the Cricket World Cup.
Format:
• There are 10 teams taking part from around the world.
• The World Cup starts with a "round-robin" stage where the 10 teams play each other once.
• A victory earns two points and the top four teams go through to the semi-finals.
• The first-place team then played the side finishing fourth, with second and third place playing each other.
• Then the finals take place between the winning teams of both the matches.
• The semi-finals and the final are the “Knock out matches”
• The tournament has a US$10 million pot.
• The winner of the tournament will take home US$4 million, with the runners-up winning US $2 million.
• Teams also collected US$40,000 for every group stage win.
Hosts:
• The International Cricket Council (ICC) determines the host through a tender process.
• The International Cricket Council's executive committee votes for the hosts of the tournament after examining the bids
made by the nations keen to hold a Cricket World Cup.
• All the World Cup events so far have been held in nations in which cricket is a popular sport.
• Most of the tournaments have been jointly hosted by nations from the same geographical region.
• England have hosted most World Cups – a total of 5 (including the first three World Cups).
➢ England has hosted most number of World Cup alone, doing it in 1975 and 1979.
➢ In 1983 & 1999, despite being regarded as the only host for the tournament, some matches were played in Ireland,
Netherlands, Scotland and Wales.
• The West Indies hosted the tournament in 2007 but are not considered as sole hosts.
➢ It is because the West Indies represents a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries.
• The 2027 will be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia which will encompass 14 teams.
• The 2031 edition will be hosted by India, Bangladesh.
India as a host:
• India, by hosting the 2023 edition, became the host for the fourth time in the tournament's history.
• India is the second nation to host the world cup alone in the 2023 edition (13th World Cup).
• India and Pakistan hosted the tournament in 1987 (4th edition).
• Then in 1996 (6th edition), the India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka hosted the cup together.
• The last tournament India hosted was along with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in 2011.
• The 2011 was the 10th edition of the tournament.
Winners:
• The first winner of the tournament was West Indies.
• Australia by winning 6th time became the most successful nation in the history of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.
➢ Australia earlier won in – 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015.
• India and West Indies twice each, while Pakistan, Sri Lanka and England have won it once each.
• India first won in 1983 under the captaincy of Kapil dev.
• India secondly won in 2011 under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
2023 World Cup Awards:

• Player of the Match (Finals): Travis Head
• Player of the Tournament - Virat Kohli (765 runs, 1 wicket, 5 catches)
• Most Runs - Virat Kohli (765 runs in 11 innings)
• Highest Score - Glenn Maxwell (201* vs Afghanistan in Mumbai)
• Most Hundreds - Quinton de Kock (4 hundreds)
• Most fifties - Virat Kohli (6 fifties)
• Most Wickets - Mohammed Shami (24 wickets in 7 innings)
• Best figures - Mohammed Shami (7/57 vs New Zealand in Mumbai)
• Most Sixes - Rohit Sharma (31 sixes)
International Cricket Council:

• The International Cricket Council is the global governing body of cricket.
• It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909.
• It was by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa.
• It was renamed as the International Cricket Conference in 1965 and adopted its current name in 1987.
• It is Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• CEO: Geoff Allardice
• Chairman: Greg Barclay
11. India’s new consulate in Seattle

Recently: India is set to soon open a new consulate in Seattle in the US, around seven years after it first made an
announcement on the initiative.
• India had first announced its plan to open a consulate in Seattle in 2016.
• India also announced during the visit that it will open consulates in 2 other US cities.
• The US had also announced that it will open consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.
Difference between an Embassy and a Consulate:
• Due to the high level of interaction between countries in our interconnected world of today, diplomatic offices, such as
embassies and consulates, are needed in each country to aid in and allow such interactions to occur.
• As of now India has 122 embassies, 110 consulate and 8 representations across the world.
• The decision to open a consulate in Seattle reflects the city’s status as a burgeoning hub for technology, innovation, and
trade.
➢ It is home to numerous tech giants, including Microsoft, Amazon, and Boeing, making it a global technology and
aerospace hub.
Embassy:
• An embassy is larger and more important than a consulate and is described as a permanent diplomatic mission,
which is generally located in a country's capital city.
• An embassy is responsible for representing the home country, for handling major diplomatic issues (such as negotiations),
and for preserving the rights of its citizens abroad.
• The ambassador is the highest official in the embassy and acts as the chief diplomat and spokesperson for the home
government.
• Usually, if a country recognizes another as being sovereign, an embassy is established to maintain foreign relations and
provide assistance to traveling citizens.
• Ambassadors are typically appointed by the highest level of the home government.
• In the United States, ambassadors are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
• The Indian Embassy is in Washington DC and the Ambassador is Taranjit Singh Sandhu.
• US has an Embassy in Delhi and Eric Garcetti is the US Ambassador to India.
Consulate:
• A consulate is a smaller version of an embassy and is generally located in the larger tourist cities of a country, but not
the capital.
• Consulates (and their chief diplomat, the consul) handle minor diplomatic issues such as issuing visas, aiding in trade
relationships, and taking care of migrants, tourists, and expatriates.
• Consulate General is the chief official of a Consulate.
• The US has four consulates in India in Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore.
• There are six Indian Consulates in US including in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York City and San Francisco.
Who will be the Consulate General of the Consulate in Seattle?

• It is learnt that 2002 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Prakash Gupta will be the Consulate-General at the mission
in Seattle.
• Gupta is currently serving as a joint secretary at the UNP (United Nations Political) Division at the Ministry of
External Affairs (MEA).
• He has also served as the deputy chief of mission in Indonesia and also as the consulate general in Shanghai.
• He is expected to travel later this month to open the consulate.
12. National Legal Services Day 2023
SOURCE- https://en.janbharattimes.com/life-style/national-legal-services-day-history-significance-more
Recently: The 2023 edition of the National Legal Services Awareness Day was observed on November 9th.
• It is a significant occasion aimed at providing legal relief to the weaker sections of society.
Theme:
• The theme for 2023 is Justice for All: Empowering marginalized through legal awareness.
• This theme emphasized the importance of providing equal access to legal resources and knowledge, especially to those who
are underprivileged and marginalized.
History:
• In 1995, the Supreme Court of India enacted the Legal Services Authorities Act with the primary objective of extending
legal support to marginalized sections of society.
• This significant legislation was officially passed on November 9, 1995, and since then, it has been commemorated as
National Legal Services Day.
• Another crucial rationale behind the establishment of Legal Services Day was to introduce Alternative Dispute
Resolution methods to the populace.
• Following the enactment of the Act, the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) was established on December 5,
1995.
Legal Services Authorities in India:
• Various organizations have been set up to provide legal help to less privileged sections of the society.
• These include:
➢ National Legal Services Authority at the national level
➢ Supreme Court Legal Services Committees at the Supreme Court level
➢ 39 High Court Legal Services Committees
➢ 37 State Legal Services Authorities
➢ 673 District Level Services Authorities
➢ 2,465 Taluk Legal Servies Committees
13. Extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana
SOURCE- republicworld.com
Recently: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 4 announced the extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana
(PMGKAY) while addressing a rally in Durg, Chhattisgarh.
• At the beginning of 2023, the scheme had been extended for one year, which will end on December 31.
• The Prime Minister's latest announcement, however, ensures the scheme will continue for another five years.
What is Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMKAY)?

• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) is an initiative through which eligible beneficiaries receive a fixed
quantity of food grains, such as rice and wheat, at a nominal price.
• The scheme was launched in April 2020 as a part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative envisioned by PM Modi, aimed to
help around 800 million impoverished people.
• Under the PM-GKAY scheme, the government provides 5 kg of free food grains every month to eligible beneficiaries.
• This assistance is in addition to the subsidised 5kg ration provided under the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
➢ This will allow families covered under the Public Distribution System (PDS) to access essential food items at a nominal
cost ranging from Rs 1 to Rs 3 per kilogram.
• The scheme is operated by the Department of Food and Public Distribution under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs,
Food and Public Distribution.
• The nodal ministry for the scheme is Ministry of Finance.
• The government extended the scheme six times to provide the additional free food grain for 28 months.
➢ Phase I and II ( 8 months) : April’20 to Nov.’20
➢ Phase-III to V (11 months) : May’21 to March’22
➢ Phase-VI ( 6 months) : April’22 to Sept.’22
➢ Phase-VII (3 months) : October to December 2022.
• Initially, one kg of pulses was also provided under the scheme, which was later restricted to chana dal only, and then
discontinued in later phases.
Cost:
• According to the Ministry of Women and Child Development, between financial years 2020-22, approximately 111.8 million
metric tonnes of food grains were allocated, amounting to a planned financial outlay of Rs 3.91 trillion.
➢ This covered phases I to VII of the scheme over the span of 28 months.
• As of January 1, 2023, PMGKAY was extended for another year, with an estimated expenditure of Rs 2 trillion.
➢ This made it one of the largest food security programmes in the world.
Beneficiaries of the scheme:
• Families belonging to the Below Poverty Line – Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and Priority Households (PHH)
categories will be eligible for the scheme.
• PHH are to be identified by State Governments/Union Territory Administrations as per criteria evolved by them.
• Beneficiaries should have active Ration Card from any state of India.
• The AAY households are entitled to 35 kg of food grains per month irrespective of the number of family members.
➢ The priority households get food grains depending on the number of family members (each member 5 kg per
month).
National Food Security Act (NFSA):

• The National Food Security Act 2013, also known as the Right to Food Act, aims to provide subsidised food grains for
approximately 67 per cent or two-thirds of India's population.
• It was signed into law on September 12, 2013, retroactive to July 5, 2013, under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's
Congress-led UPA Government.
• The midday meal scheme, Public Distribution System, and maternity entitlements, among other initiatives, fall under this
Act.
• The NFSA covers about 20 crore families who account for two-thirds of the country’s population – 50% for urban and
75% for rural.
• Eligible individuals are entitled to receive 5 Kgs of foodgrains per person per month at subsidized prices.
• It is set at Rs. 3, 2, 1 per Kg for rice, wheat, and coarse grains respectively.
• Pregnant and lactating mothers receive meals during pregnancy and six months post-childbirth, along with a maternity
benefit of no less than Rs. 6,000.
• Children up to 14 years are entitled to nutritious meals according to prescribed standards.
• Eldest woman of the household of age 18 years or above should be the head of the household for the purpose of issuing
of ration cards under the act.
• The Act incorporates provisions for establishing grievance redressal mechanisms at both the District and State levels.
• For effective and uniform implementation of NFSA 2013, PMGKAY will subsume the two subsidy schemes of Department of
Food & Public Distribution:
➢ Food Subsidy to Food Corporation of India
➢ Food Subsidy for decentralized procurement states dealing with procurement, allocation and delivery of free
foodgrains to the states under NFSA.
Public Distribution System (PDS):

• The Public Distribution System (PDS) evolved as a system of management of scarcity through distribution of foodgrains at
affordable prices.
• Revamped Public Distribution System (RPDS):
➢ It was launched in June, 1992 with a view to strengthen and streamline the PDS as well as to improve its reach.
➢ Food grains for distribution in RPDS areas were issued to the States at 50 paise below the Central Issue Price.
➢ The scale of issue was up to 20 kg per card.
• Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS):
➢ It was launched in June, 1997 with focus on the poor.
➢ Within the TPDS, beneficiaries were categorized into two groups: households falling below the poverty line (BPL)
and households above the poverty line (APL).
➢ AAY was launched in December, 2000 for one crore poorest of the poor families for making TPDS aimed at
reducing hunger among the poorest segments of the BPL population.
14. The Governor v. State Row
SOURCE- Frontline
Recently: In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court on November 20 emphasised that the Governor lacks the discretion to
withhold assent to bills when the State Legislative Assembly repasses them.
• The 3-judge bench lead by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud also added that once they have been repassed, these Bills are
put in the same footing as Money Bills.
• The court’s verdict comes in response to a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government.
➢ It accused Governor R.N. Ravi of creating a constitutional impasse by delaying or refusing to consider 12 crucial bills
passed by the State Assembly.
Other states challenging Governor’s actions:
• Many non-BJP-ruled States, such as Kerala and Punjab, have also raised concerns about the overreach of Union-appointed
Governors.
• Kerala, in two separate petitions, pointed out that eight of its proposed laws have been pending with the Governor for
years.
➢ CM of Kerala- M.K. Stalin
➢ Governor of Kerala- RN Ravi
• Punjab alleged that the Governor has been sitting on seven of its bills since June.
➢ Governor of Punjab- Banwarilal Purohit
➢ CM of Punjab- Bhagwant Mann
• A collective of academicians, including former Vice Chancellors, last week urged the West Bengal government to approach
the SC on the issue of Bills pending with the Governor.
➢ Owing to this, the search and selection committees for 31 Universities in the State have been stalled.
➢ Governor of West Bengal- CV Ananda Bose
➢ CM of West Bengal- Mamta Banerjee
• Telangana’s Governor only cleared bills pending since September 2022 following the Supreme Court’s intervention in April.
➢ Governor of Telangana- Tamilisai Soundararajan
➢ CM of Telangana- K. Chandrashekar Rao
The process of granting assent:

• Assent of the Governor or the President is necessary for a Bill passed by the legislature to become law.
• The Money Bills are considered to have automatic assent of the Governor.
• When a Bill passed by both Houses of the Legislature is presented to the Governor for his assent.
• The Governor has four alternatives under Article 200 of the Constitution of India, that is , to:
➢ Give assent
➢ Withhold assent
➢ Return the Bill to the Legislative Assembly for reconsideration
➢ Reserve it for the consideration of the President.
• If the Governor chooses to withhold assent, he should return the Bill ‘as soon as possible,’ requesting the Assembly to
reconsider the proposed law or any specified provisions or suggest amendments.
• The Assembly is not obligated to accept these recommendations and can pass the Bill again in its original form.
➢ This time, the Governor is constitutionally bound to give assent to it and does not enjoy the discretion to refer it to
the President.
• A Bill can be reserved for the President’s consideration if the Governor is of the opinion that it would endanger the position
of the concerned High Court by whittling away its powers.
• There is no timeline prescribed for Governors to make a decision with regard to a Bill.
• Similarly, no timeline has been outlined for the President to decide on the outcome of a Bill.
• There is, however, a time period of six months prescribed for the State Assembly to reconsider a Bill if the President
decides to refer it back to the House.
Powers of the Governor:

• Article 163(1): It states that a Council of Minister led by the Chief Minister, shall assist and advise the Governor in the
discharge of his duties except to the extent that he is compelled to exercise his functions at his discretion under the
constitution.
• Article 164(1): Provides the Governor with the powers to appoint the Chief Minister.
➢ The Article also provides that the ministers shall hold office “at the pleasure” of the governor (doctrine of
pleasure).
➢ The Article does not expressly state that the withdrawal of that pleasure by the governor shall be only on the advice
of the chief minister.
• Article 200: Deals with the discretionary powers of the Governor, i.e., to give assent, withhold or refer a Bill for Presidential
assent.
• Article 174: It authorizes the Governor to summon, dissolve, and prorogue the state legislative assembly.
• Article 175(2): the Governor can summon the House and call for floor test to prove whether the Government has.
Relevant Judicial Pronouncements:

• Samsher Singh v. State of Punjab (1974): The Bench held that a governor acts on the aid and advice of the council of
ministers in executive action.
➢ The Governor is not required by the Constitution to act without such aid and advice or even against the aid and
advice of the council of ministers.
➢ It also held that wherever the governor has any discretion, they must exercise that discretion in harmony with the
council of ministers.
• Nabam Rebia & Bamang Felix versus Dy. Speaker, Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (2016 SC): A five- judge
Supreme Court Bench held that even though the governor may be authorised to exercise some functions, under different
provisions of the Constitution, the same is required to be exercised only based on the aid and advice tendered under Article
163.
➢ The discretionary powers that be exercised only when it has been expressly authorised, by or under a constitutional
provision, to discharge the function concerned, in their own discretion.
• BP Singhal v. Union of India (2010): Commenting on the doctrine of pleasure, the Supreme Court in B.P. Singhal case
observed that this doctrine was subject to a restriction in Article 310(2) and the restrictions in Articles 311(1) and (2).
➢ Article 311(2) that no such employee shall be dismissed or removed from service except after an inquiry.
15. World’s first Chikungunya Vaccine
Recently: On November 9, the world’s first vaccine for chikungunya was approved by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) in the U.S.
• It was approved using the Accelerated Approval pathway, which allows the FDA to clear certain products for serious or life-
threatening conditions based on evidence of a product’s effectiveness that is likely to provide clinical benefit.
What is Chikungunya?
• It is a mosquito borne- disease transmitted primarily by the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.
• The disease was first discovered in Tanzania by RW Ross and typically occurred in Asia and Africa.
• Urban outbreaks were first recorded in Thailand in 1967 and in India in the 1970s
• It’s characterized by symptoms that are similar to other mosquito-borne viruses like Zika and dengue.
➢ Those symptoms include muscle soreness, fever, fatigue, and joint pain.
➢ Severe symptoms and deaths from chikungunya are rare and usually related to other coexisting health problems.
• As of now, there is no cure, only symptomatic relief, with analgesics to help with the pain, antipyretics for the fever, rest,
and adequate fluids.
• According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the countries currently experiencing the highest cases
include Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Bolivia.
About the Vaccine:

• The vaccine is produced by Austrian firm Valneva under the brand Ixchiq.
• It has been approved for administration in people who are 18 years or older, and are at increased risk of exposure to the
virus.
• Ixchiq is a live-attenuated vaccine. These types of vaccines are modified so that the virus is weakened and unlikely to
cause a full infection.
• Antigens in the vaccine, in this case the weakened virus, help prompt an immune response in the body where antibodies
and white blood cells are created to fight the perceived infection.
➢ Once this occurs, the immune system has the ability to quickly create these antibodies when exposed to the virus in
the future.
• It may cause symptoms in the vaccine recipient similar to those experienced by people who have the disease.
• Its safety was evaluated in two clinical studies conducted in North America in which about 3,500 participants, 18 years of
age and older, received a dose of the vaccine
➢ The other study included about 1,000 participants receiving a placebo.
• The effectiveness of the vaccine was based on immune response data from a clinical study conducted in the U.S. in
individuals 18 years of age and older.
➢ In this study, the immune response of 266 participants who received the vaccine was compared to the immune
response of 96 participants who received the placebo.
16. Indian Navy tests first indigenously developed ‘anti-ship missile’
Recently: India successfully conducted the second trial of its first indigenous naval anti-ship missile on Tuesday, following its
initial trials in May last year.
• The test was a collaborative effort between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the
Indian Navy.
• It was launched from a Seaking 42B helicopter on November 21.
Background:
• Indian Navy announced in October its preparations for the inaugural trial of a new Long Range Anti-Ship Missile,
developed by DRDO, with a range of 500 km.
➢ It surpasses the range of BrahMos Missile.
• Earlier in May 2022, India tested its first indigenous short-range anti-ship missile, known as ‘Naval Anti-ship Missile-
short range’ (NASM-SR), weighing 380 kilograms with a range of 55 kilometres.
• Additionally, in March, the Indian Navy successfully conducted a Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) firing
from INS Visakhapatnam, validating the capability to engage anti-ship missiles.
Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM):
• The MRSAM weapon system, also named the ‘Abhra’ Weapon System, is a collaborative effort between DRDO, Israeli
Aerospace Industries (IAI), and Indian defense industry partners, including MSMEs.
• The system comprises a Combat Management System (CMS), Mobile Launcher Systems (MLS), Advanced Long Range
Radar, Mobile Power System (MPS), Radar Power System (RPS), Reloader Vehicle (RV), and Field Service Vehicle.
• Powered by an indigenously developed rocket motor and control system, MRSAM stands as a testament to India’s
technological advancements in defense.
17. 66th Grammy Awards

Recently: The Recording Academy has officially revealed nominations for the 2024 GRAMMYs.
• It will take place Feb. 4, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
• The 2024 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 66th GRAMMY Awards, will air live on the CBS Television Network and
will stream on Paramount+.
• In a big surprise, Abundance in Millets, a song featuring PM Narendra Modi got a nod at the 2024 Grammy Awards.
• It bagged a nomination in the “Best Global Music Performance category”.
• The category is for new vocal or instrumental Global music recordings.
Abundance in Millets:
• Abundance in Millets was created in celebration of the ‘International Year of the Millets’.
• The track was created to raise awareness regarding millets as another potential key to minimising world hunger.
• The song has been sung by Falu (Falguni Shah) and her husband and singer Gaurav Shah.
• It is composed by Falguni Shah (Falu) and Gaurav Shah, along with Kenya Autie, Greg Gonzalez and Soumya
Chatterjee.
• Kenya Autie has produced the music video as well.
• Falu Shah has been nominated for the Grammy Award multiple times.
➢ She won it in 2022 for 'Best Children's Album' for her album 'A Colorful World'.
➢ Her husband, Gaurav, has also worked with her on projects before and the two were part of her band called 'Foras
Road'.
• PM Narendra Modi had collaborated with Indian-American singer Falu for the song.
• The song features parts of a speeches delivered by the Prime Minister.
• He gave a speech inaugurating the Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference in March 2023 in New Delhi.
• Falu revealed that the idea for the song emerged during a meeting with PM Modi in Delhi 2022 after winning the Grammy.
• It was Modi who suggested creating a song to address hunger issues.
• The song was released in June 16, 2023 across different streaming platform.
Grammy Awards:
• The GRAMMY Awards are the most prestigious music award show featured each year.
• The GRAMMYs are presented by The Recording Academy and recognize musicians of every age and every genre.
• The GRAMMY Awards, began as The Gramophone Awards, first took place in 1958 and was presented in 1959.
• The award is presented annually in the United States by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences
(NARAS).
➢ NARAS is commonly known as the Recording Academy.
• To be eligible for a Grammy, it must be released in the US.
• It should be between October 1 of the previous year and midnight September 30 of the given Grammy year.
• The Grammy Awards were not televised together from 1958 to 1971.
➢ Instead it was filmed and broadcasted on NBC throughout the year.
• Pierre Cossetter purchased the rights for broadcast of the ceremony in 1971.
➢ It was from here when the Grammy Awards were telecasted on live.
• In total, there are 94 categories for the 2024 Grammy Awards

➢ These categories were consolidated into 11 fields, down from 26.
• Three new GRAMMY categories will debut at the 2024 GRAMMYs: Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative
Jazz Album and Best Pop Dance Recording.
• There are also categories awarded each year which encompass all genres and musical types:
➢ Best New Artist
➢ Song of the Year
➢ Album of the Year
➢ Record of the Year
• Only two artists have ever won all 4 of these awards: Christopher Cross and Adele.
The Procedure:
• The GRAMMYs voting process begins with members and record companies submitting entries.
• They are then screened for eligibility and category placement.
• The Online Entry Process (OEP) Access Period took place from July 17, 2023 – Aug. 31, 2023.
• First Round Voting occurred from Oct. 11 to Oct. 20, 2023.
• Lastly, Final Round Voting will span Dec. 14, 2023 to Jan. 4, 2024.
• And the winners will be announced during Music's Biggest Night on Feb. 4!
• The Academy's voting members, all involved in the creative and technical processes of recording, then participate in:
➢ The nominating process that determines the five finalists in each category
➢ The final voting process which determines the GRAMMY winners.
Recording Academy:
• The Recording Academy is an American learned academy of musicians, producers and other musical professionals
• Founded in 1957.
• Headquartered at Santa Monica, California, United States
• CEO: Harvey Mason Jr.
Notable Awardees:
• The record for the most Grammy Awards won in a lifetime is held by Beyoncé who has won 32.
• Pandit Ravi Shankar is the first Indian to win a Grammy Award.
• It was for his album West Meets East in the ‘Best Chamber Music Performance’ category in 1968.
• Tanvi Shah became the first Indian woman to win a Grammy Award.
• She won her Grammy for her performance in the song "Jai Ho" from the movie "Slumdog Millionaire."
International Year for Millets:
• The year 2023 has been officially designated as the "International Year of Millets.“
• This designation is the result of India's proposal, which gained endorsement from United Nations' Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
• It received approval during the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 2021.
• India is the world’s largest producer and second-largest exporter of millet, a gluten-free grain.
• India has been actively advocating millet as an alternative to conventional staples like wheat or rice.
18. National Milk Day 2023

SOURCE- agriculturepost.com
Recently: The 2023 edition of National Milk Day was observed on November 26th.
• The day marks the 102nd birth anniversary of Dr Verghese Kurien, popularly known as the 'Father of White
Revolution.’
• India is the largest producer of milk. India runs a huge dairy industry that contributes approximately 5.3% of the GDP of
India.
• On 1st June every year, World Milk Day is also celebrated which was established by the Food and Agricultural
Organisation in 2001.
• National Gopal Ratna Awards are conferred as part of the celebrations.
Who was Dr Verghese Kurien?
• Dr Verghese Kurien was an Indian born on 26 November 1921.
• He was born in a Syrian Christian family.
• He was regarded as the Father of the White Revolution because he changed the scenario of the dairy industry as he
successfully led the world’s extensive project i.e. Operation Flood that was launched in 1970
➢ It was the World’s largest dairy development programme.
• Because of his efforts only, India became the largest producer of milk in 1998.
• He was honoured with several awards:
➢ Ramon Magsaysay Award- 1963
➢ Krishi Ratna- 1986
➢ World Food Prize- 1989
➢ Padma Shri- 1965
➢ Padma Bhushan- 1966
➢ Padma Vibhushan- 1999
Theme:
• The National Milk Day does not have any theme.
• World Milk Day 2023 theme is ‘Showcasing how dairy is reducing its environmental footprint, while also
providing nutritious foods and livelihoods.’
History:
• The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), the Indian Dairy Association (IDA), and 22 state-level milk
federations in 2014 together decided to celebrate the birthday of Dr Verghese Kurien who was known as the father of
India's White Revolution on 26 November.
• Therefore, the first National Milk Day was observed on 26 November 2014.
Significance:
• The importance of milk in our diet and the economy of the country is huge. The day commemorates the birth anniversary of
Dr. Verghese Kurien and also creates awareness about the significance of milk in our lives.
19. Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) Initiative

SOURCE- PIB
Recently: Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar stressed the importance of QUAD’s Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness
(IPMDA) initiative in securing a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific, during the 4th Goa Maritime Conclave
(GMC) held from October 29 to 31 in Panaji.
Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) initiative?
• The initiative was announced by the Quad (India, Japan, Australia and the USA) countries in 2022 during the Leaders’
Summit in Tokyo.
• IPMDA is a technology and training initiative to enhance maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific region and to bring
increased transparency to its critical waterways.
• It harnesses innovative technology, such as commercial satellite radio frequency data collection, to provide partners
across Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean region and the Pacific Islands Region.
• It also helps in gathering near real-time information on activities occurring in their maritime zones.
• To track “dark shipping” and build a “faster, wider, and more accurate maritime picture of near-real-time activities in
partners’ waters”.
➢ Dark Shipping is a term used to describe a vessel operating with its Automatic Identification System (AIS)
turned off.
➢ AIS transponder systems transmit a ship’s position at sea, alongside identification data and other useful information
that vessels and maritime authorities can reference.
➢ It will enable countries to monitor illegal fishing even when the boats have turned off the transponders.
• IPMDA initiative will offer an integrated and cost-effective maritime domain to partner countries.
QUAD:
• Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or QUAD is a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan and the
United States that is maintained by talks between member countries.
• The dialogue was initiated in 2007 by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with the support of Australian Prime Minister
John Howard, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.
• The Quad ceased following the withdrawal of Australia during Kevin Rudd's tenure as prime minister due to tensions
between US and Australia in the Indo Pacific.
• Following Rudd's replacement by Julia Gillard in 2010, enhanced military cooperation between the United States and
Australia was resumed.
• Meanwhile, India, Japan, and the United States continued to hold joint naval exercises under Malabar.
• During the 2017 ASEAN Summits in Manila, all four former members led by Abe, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm
Turnbull, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and US President Donald Trump agreed to revive the quadrilateral alliance.
• Aim- To counter China militarily and diplomatically in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly in the South China Sea.
Goa Maritime Conclave 2023

• The GMC is Indian Navy’s outreach initiative and a high-level gathering of naval and defense officials from various Indian
Ocean Region (IOR) nations to discuss common maritime challenges and enhance regional cooperation.
• The fourth edition of the Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC) was hosted by the Indian Navy from 29 – 31 Oct, 23 under the
aegis of the Naval War College, Goa.
• The conclave’s theme was “Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean Region: Converting Common Maritime
Priorities into Collaborative Mitigating Frameworks”.
➢ It highlights the necessary imperative for collaboration towards realising India’s vision of SAGAR (Security and
Growth for All in the Region).
• The event hosted Minister/ Chiefs of Navies/ Heads of Maritime Forces from 12 IOR countries.
➢ These countries included Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius,
Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Indian Navy:
• The Indian Navy (IN) is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces that was established on 26th January, 1950.
• The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy.
• The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy.
➢ Admiral R. Hari Kumar is the current Chief of Naval Staff.

• Shaṁ No Varunaḥ is the motto of the Indian Navy.
• It operates significantly in the Persian Gulf Region, the Horn of Africa, the Strait of Malacca, and routinely conducts
anti-piracy operations and partners with other navies in the region.
• It also conducts routine two to three month-long deployments in the South and East China seas as well as in the
western Mediterranean Sea simultaneously.
• It is headquartered in New Delhi.
• The Indian Navy Day is observed annually on 4th December to recognize the accomplishments and achievements of the
Indian Navy during Operation Trident during the Indo- Pakistan War, 1971.
• Chatraprati Shivaji Maharaj is considered as the father of the Indian Navy.
20. World Pneumonia Day 2023
SOURCE- indiatvnews.com
Recently: The 2023 edition of the World Pneumonia Day was observed on November 12th.
• On this day, health organisations, together with ordinary people, try to educate, raise awareness and promote advocacy that
pneumonia is curable.
What is Pneumonia?
• It is a common and potentially life-threatening respiratory infection that affects millions of people worldwide.
• It is an inflammatory condition of the lungs characterised by the accumulation of pus, mucus, and other fluids in the air
sacs.
➢ These accumulations hinder the normal exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide, leading to severe respiratory
distress.
• It can be caused by various pathogens and manifests in several types, each with its unique characteristics.
• Streptococcus Pneumoniae is the most common cause of bacterial pneumonia in children.
• Haemophilus Influenzae Type b (Hib) is the second most common cause of bacterial pneumonia
• Respiratory syncytial virus is the most common cause of viral pneumonia
• Pneumonia can affect people of all ages, but it is particularly dangerous for young children, the elderly, and individuals with
compromised immune systems.
• Following are the types of Pneumonia:
➢ Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP)
➢ Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (HAP)
➢ Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP)
➢ Aspiration Pneumonia
➢ Atypical Pneumonia
➢ Fungal Pneumonia
➢ Viral Pneumonia
• According to WHO 14 Lakh children under the age of five years die every year because of Pneumonia, accounting for
18% of all deaths of children under five years old worldwide.
• According to UNICEF, every 39 sec a child dies of Pneumonia
Theme:
• The theme for the year 2023 is ‘Every breath count: Stop Pneumonia in its track’
History:
• On 12 November 2009, the first World Pneumonia Day was observed.
• On this day, the Global Coalition Against Child Pneumonia launched the ‘Stop Pneumonia’ campaign, which was
backed by governments and civil organisations leading to the enactment of sound policies.
➢ The campaign concentrated more on low and middle-income countries where children are affected by respiratory
infections and malnutrition.
• In 2017, a coalition known as Every Breath Counts was formed to empower low and middle-income nations in their fight
against respiratory diseases like pneumonia.
➢ The UN agencies, international NGOs, institutions, and organisations are the members of this global coalition.
➢ It was formed to support the government on Global Action Plan on Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD).
21. Plea for Declaration of Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve
Recently: The three months deadline set by the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court for notifying a tiger reserve in
Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) contiguous areas of the state, ended.
What is the matter?

• Goa Foundation, a Goa-based environmental NGO, had filed a public interest litigation seeking directions regarding the
constitution of a tiger reserve in Goa
➢ This was already recommended by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in terms of Section 38
(V) (1) of the Wildlife Protection Act.
➢ Claude Alvares is the Director of the Goa Foundation
• The PIL was triggered after a tigress and its three cubs were found dead in Mhadei WLS in January 2020.
• The Goa government had approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the High Court’s judgement.
➢ The apex court has recently refused to stay the High Court order.
• On October 30th, The Goa Foundation filed a contempt petition before the Bombay HC at Goa seeking action against the Goa
government for not complying with the directions of the High Court.
Background:
• The Status of Tigers (Co-predators & Prey) in India report, released by the National Tiger Conservation
Authority (NTCA) in 2014, spoke about the presence of tigers in the region.
➢ According to the report, The Cotigao-Mhadei forest complex of Goa comprises five protected areas:
o Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary
o Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park
o Bhagwan Mahavir National Park
o Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary
o Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary
➢ They together cover an area of 750 sq mts, forming a contiguous belt connecting the forests of Karnataka and
Maharashtra.
➢ It further added that Goa has a persistent tiger presence with about three to five tigers.
• In 2011, Jairam Ramesh, the then Minister of State for Environment and Forests, wrote to former Goa CM
Digambar Kamat to declare the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve.
➢ The letter mentioned that Mhadei is a contiguous tiger landscape to Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka to
its south-east and to Anshi Dandeli Tiger Reserve to its south which has around 35 tigers.
➢ Ramesh also referred to a 2008 study carried out by the Wildlife Institute of India that said that “protected
areas of Goa and their contiguous forests in Karnataka and Maharashtra were possibly some of the best potential
tiger habitats in the Western Ghats region and needed protection.”
NTCA Recommendation:
• The NTCA has made a recommendation to the state for a tiger reserve in 2016.
➢ Reason for the Recommendation: Protections for the area would be enhanced and lead to stricter security measures,
such as a ‘Special Tiger Protection Force’ for guarding purposes.
• Over the next 18 months, the Forest Department prepared a tentative map for the reserve – comprising largely
undisturbed areas with few human hamlets as the core zone, its most protected area.
• This was adjoining the Kali Tiger Reserve and Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary of Karnataka and Maharashtra, in the
North of Mhadei WLS, Bhagwan Mahaveer WLS and National Park, Netravali and Cotigao WLS.
• A draft proposal in 2018 mentioned that a map has been drawn to demarcate the contiguous forest habitat in existing
protected areas in Western Ghats as the core zone.
• Main villages and human habitation were to be kept outside this zone and placed in the proposed buffer zone, as far as
possible.
• The proposed map said that out of 745.18 square kilometres of protected areas, 578.33 sq km was proposed as
core zone and 166.85 sq km as the buffer zone.
• The then Chief Minister directed the State Board for Wildlife study on the on the socio-economic impact on locals residing in
fringe areas before finalising the proposal.
➢ The CM is the de facto chairperson of the State Wildlife Board.
• The proposal got stalled at this stage.
What is the stance of the Goa Government?

• Directory Function of the Provision: Referring to the recommendations by NTCA, the state government argued before the
court that the provisions of section 38-V (1) of the Wildlife Protection Act were only directory and not mandatory.
• Delay in the issuance of the Final Notification: The state said that final notification under Section 26-A of the WLPA is yet
to be issued for Bhagwan Mahaveer, Mhadei WLS (partly), Netravali WLS (partly).
➢ Section 26A of the Wildlife Protection Act provides that State Government shall issue a notification specifying the
limits of the area which shall be comprised withing the sanctuary and the date from which the area will be a
sanctuary.
• Rights of the Forest Dwellers: It also argued that further studies were necessary and the rights of the forest dwellers
needed to be settled entirely before such steps could be taken.
➢ The court in response cited the 1997 direction from the Supreme Court, directing several state governments to
settle the rights and claims of forest dwellers.
➢ Goa failed in completing this process and is now citing it as an excuse.
Wildlife Sanctuary:
• A Wildlife Sanctuary is run by the government to protect the species of animals and birds.
• It protects flora and fauna and their natural habitats.
• Very limited human activity is permitted here. Animal Poaching and Hunting is prohibited.
➢ Trees or plants may not be cut down for agricultural or other purposes.
• Wildlife Sanctuaries allow visitors for educational recreational and other purposes.
• There are 573 existing wildlife sanctuaries in India covering an area of 123,762.56 sq. km covering 3.76% of the
geographical area of the country.
Tiger Reserves:
• It is a legally declared protected area dedicated to the conservation of striped big cats in their natural environment.
• It could be a National Park or a Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Today, there are 54 tiger reserves across India, spanning 75,000 sq km.
• Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand established in 1973 was the first Tiger reserve in India.
• The tiger reserves of India were set up in 1973 under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and are governed under Project
Tiger, which is administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, Government of India.
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared tiger as an endangered species in 1986.
• International Tiger Day is observed annually on 29th July.
National Tiger Conservation Authority:

• It is a statutory body that is the managing authority of Project Tiger and India’s Tiger reserves.
• It was constituted in 2005 under enabling provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, following the
recommendation of Tiger Task Force.
• The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 was amended in 2006 for strengthening tiger conservation and constituting the NTCA.
• NTCA comes under the chairmanship of Ministry of Environment and Forests.
22. UK- Rwanda Asylum Issue
SOURCE- thejournal.ie
Recently: The UK government suffered a legal setback after the country's Supreme Court in 5 judge bench ruled that
its Rwanda policy is unlawful.
• After the ruling, the asylum policy cannot be implemented in its current form.
• Several UK outlets had called the hearing crucial for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before an election expected next year.
Who is an Asylum Seeker?

• An asylum seeker is a person who has left their country.
• The purpose is seeking protection from persecution and serious human rights violations in another country.
• However, they haven’t yet been legally recognized as a refugee and is waiting to receive a decision on their asylum claim.
• A refugee is a person who has fled their own country.
• It is because they are at risk of serious human rights violations and persecution there.
• Refugees have a right to international protection.
Current Refugee Status in UK:

• The UK is marking the rising numbers of refugees and asylum-seekers from conflict zones, namely Afghanistan, Syria,
and Yemen.
• According to government figures, a record 45,775 people were detected arriving without permission in Britain in 2022.
• In 2023, more than 27,000 have arrived on small boats so far.
• In the first half of 2023, the largest number of asylum seekers came from Afghanistan.
• In 2022, the highest number of asylum seekers came from Albania.
• Ukrainian refugees who came to the UK after Russia's invasion of their country are not included in the figures.
• In 2022, the UK had the fifth highest number of asylum applications in Europe.
➢ It was behind Germany, France, Spain and Austria.
• People are not allowed to work while their asylum claim is being processed, but after 12 months, they can apply for
permission to do jobs on the UK shortage occupation list.
How do they come to UK?
• The people arrive in the UK through "illegal, dangerous, or unnecessary methods," such as on small boats across the
English Channel.
➢ The English Channel is dangerous journey of about 32 km.
➢ It is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France
➢ It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its north-eastern end.
➢ It is the busiest Shipping area in the world.
• The journey is generally from France in small boats organised by criminal gangs.
• With the pandemic shutting down most routes in 2020, many opted to travel in small boats organised by traffickers.
• Dozens have not survived the trip, drowning in the bitter cold waters of the English Channel.
What was the policy?

• In April 2022, then-UK PM Boris Johnson signed a deal in Kigali with the Rwandan government.
• It was signed by Priti Patel ( UK) and Vincent Biruta (Rwanda)
• Tory party PMs after Johnson — Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak — continued to champion the scheme.
• It allowed the UK to send some asylum-seekers to Rwanda to claim their asylum.
• The African nation would accept asylum seekers and consider them for permanent settlement.
• They would in return receive financial support and protection.
• Rwanda will commit to taking in asylum seekers who arrive in the U.K. on or after January 1, 2022.
• The UK has paid the Rwandan government £140 million for housing and integrating the migrants as part of the pilot
scheme.
• This Arrangement was supposed to last 5 years which can be renewed for 1 more year.
• The first deportation flight in June 2022 was blocked by a last-minute injunction from the European Court of Human
Rights.
• The government also passed an Illegal Migration Act in 2023.
➢ It says anyone arriving in Britain by small boat after the law was passed on July 20, 2023, has had their asylum
claims declared “inadmissible.”
Aim:
• The Rwanda plan would have helped the country financially.
• UK spends more than 3 billion pounds a year on dealing with asylum applications.
• After becoming the Prime Minister Sunak made "stopping the boats" one of his top five priorities
The Supreme Court Ruling:
• In a unanimous judgment, the Supreme Court agreed with the Court of Appeal.
• The court recognized that there are substantial grounds for believing that asylum seekers removed to Rwanda would
face a real risk of being returned to their home country.
• This situation could result in them facing ill-treatment, known as refoulement.
• This situation would put the UK in breach of its obligations of non-refoulement under international and domestic law.
• It breaches part of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which prohibits torture and inhuman
treatment.
➢ The UK is a signatory to the ECHR.
➢ The ECHR is a Strasbourg-based human rights court that deals with compliance with the European convention
on human rights.
➢ The court is not connected to the European Union, and after Brexit 2020, the UK remains a member.
➢ The court usually deals with violations that happen on the territory of the member state, but with exceptions.
Rwanda:
• Rwanda is a small land-locked country in east-central Africa, 4,000 miles (6,500km) south-east of the UK.
• The capital is Kigali.
• It borders Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Tanzania and Uganda.
• With a landmass about one-tenth of the size of the UK, it has a population of 13.8 million.
• President Paul Kagame hopes to win a fourth term in 2024, which would extend his presidency to nearly three decades.
➢ He won the last presidential election in 2017 with nearly 99% of the vote.
• According to Human Rights Watch, "Rwanda is a country where it's very dangerous to oppose the government”
23. WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2023
Recently: The 2023 edition of the Global Tuberculosis Report was released by the World Health Organization.
What is Tuberculosis?
• Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria.
• Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body.
• India has taken up the challenge of eliminating TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global target.
• World Tuberculosis Day falls every year on March 24th.
• It is a preventable and usually curable disease. Yet in 2022, TB was the world’s second leading cause of death from a
single infectious agent, after coronavirus disease.
• It spreads when people who are sick with TB expel bacteria into the air (e.g. by coughing).
• The Sustainable Development Goal 3.3 aims for ending tuberculosis.
What is WHO Global Tuberculosis Report?

• The World Health Organization Global Tuberculosis Report was established in 1997.
• It provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic and of progress in prevention, diagnosis and
treatment of the disease, at global, regional and country levels.
• The 2023 edition of the report is based primarily on data gathered by WHO from national ministries of health in annual
rounds of data collection.
• In 2023, 192 countries and areas (out of 215) with more than 99% of the world’s population and TB cases reported
data.
Findings of the Report:

• There was a major global recovery in the number of people diagnosed with TB and treated in 2022, after 2 years of COVID-
related disruptions.
➢ However, TB remained the world’s second leading cause of death from a single infectious agent in 2022, after
COVID-19.
➢ The Global TB targets have either been missed or remain off track.
• The reported global number of people newly diagnosed with TB was 7.5 million in 2022.
➢ This is the highest number since WHO began global TB monitoring in 1995, above the pre-COVID baseline (and
previous historical peak) of 7.1 million in 2019.
• India, Indonesia and the Philippines, which collectively accounted for a large share (≥60%) of the global reductions
in the number of people newly diagnosed with TB in 2020 and 2021, all recovered to above 2019 levels in 2022.
• Globally in 2022, TB caused an estimated 1.30 million deaths.
• Worldwide, an estimated 10.6 million people (95% UI: 9.9–11.4 million) developed TB in 2022.
• The global gap between the estimated number of people developing TB (incident cases) and the reported number of people
newly diagnosed with TB (notified cases) narrowed to a best estimate of 3.1 million in 2022, down from around 4 million
in both 2020 and 2021 and back to the pre-pandemic level of 2019.
• Thirty high TB burden countries accounted for 87% of the world’s TB cases in 2022.
• Two-thirds of the global total was in eight countries:
➢ India (27%)
➢ Indonesia (10%)
➢ China (7.1%)
➢ Philippines (7.0%)
➢ Pakistan (5.7%)
➢ Nigeria (4.5%)
➢ Bangladesh (3.6%)
➢ the Democratic Republic of the Congo (3.0%)
• In 2022, 55% of people who developed TB were men, 33% were women and 12% were children (aged 0–14
years).
• Global targets set at the first UN high-level meeting on TB for the 5-year period 2018–2022 were not achieved.
Indian Scenario:
• India accounts for 27 per cent of the total TB cases in the world.
• The report noted two positive trends for India.
➢ There was an increase in reporting of TB cases, crossing even the pre-pandemic high with 24.2 lakh cases in
2022.
➢ The coverage of treatment for the infection increased to 80%.
• A sudden drop in mortality due to TB was noted in the 2023 report.
➢ This was owing to the WHO report accepting India’s Sample Registration System dataset as the basis for the
calculations instead of the Global Burden of Disease report.
➢ With the change in dataset, India’s TB mortality dropped from 4.94 lakhs in 2021 to 3.31 lakhs in 2022.
➢ This resulted in a reduction in India’s contribution towards global mortality from 36 per cent in the previous
years to 26 per cent in 2022.
• Nearly 28.2 lakh people got TB in India in 2022, meaning one person gets TB every 11 seconds in India, according to the
report.
• The Global TB report 2023 shows that reporting of cases has improved in India, going beyond the pre-pandemic levels.
➢ India reported 24.2 lakh cases in 2022 similar to the 24.04 lakh cases reported during 2019.
➢ The report also noted that India was the only country to have completed a National TB prevalence survey since 2019.
• The report acknowledged an increase in coverage of TB treatment in India, increasing by 19 per cent over the
previous year.
➢ In fact, India was among only four countries among the 30 high-burden countries in the world that were able to
achieve more than 80 per cent treatment coverage.
• India has set a target of 2025 for eliminating TB in the country.
• The national strategic plan 2017-2025 sets the target of no more than 44 new TB cases per lakh population by 2025.
➢ The 2023 report pegs this number at 199 cases per lakh.
➢ The programme also aims to reduce the mortality to 3 deaths per lakh population by 2025.
➢ Even with the WHO accepting the lowered estimates for India, this stands at 23 per lakh population.
24. The demise of Saharasri
Recently: Sahara India group chief Subrata Roy Sahara, who had been battling multiple health issues, passed away at a private
hospital in Mumbai late Tuesday, November 14 night.
• Roy’s demise followed “an extended battle with complications arising from metastatic malignancy, hypertension, and
diabetes.”
Who was Subrata Roy?

• Subrata Roy was an Indian businessman who founded the business conglomerate Sahara India Pariwar in 1978.
• He was born into a Bengali Hindu family in Araria on 10 June 1948 to Sudhir Chandra Roy and Chhabi Roy.
• His father and mother came from Dhaka, Bikrampur, East Bengal (now Bangladesh) from a rich landlord family named
Bhagyakul Zamindar.
• Roy's journey began with his education in mechanical engineering from the Government Technical Institute in
Gorakhpur.
• He ventured into business in Gorakhpur before taking over Sahara Finance, a struggling chit fund company, in 1976.
• By 1978, he had transformed it into Sahara India Pariwar, which would grow to become one of India's largest
conglomerates.
• Under Roy's leadership, Sahara expanded into numerous businesses.
➢ The group launched the Hindi language newspaper Rashtriya Sahara in 1992.
➢ It initiated the ambitious Aamby Valley City project near Pune in the late 1990s.
➢ The group entered the television space with Sahara TV, later renamed Sahara One.
➢ The company sponsored the Indian national cricket team and owned a stake in India’s Formula One team, on top
of purchasing luxury hotels in London and New York.
• Sahara operates through more than 5,000 establishments across India and has a workforce of around 1.2 million (field
and office) under the Sahara India umbrella.
Awards and Honors:

• Roy was named the tenth-most influential Indian businessmen in 2012 by India Today.
• In 2004, the Sahara group was termed by Time magazine as "the second largest employer in India after Indian
Railways".
• Roy received an honorary doctorate in business leadership from the University of East London in 2013.
• He received a Business Icon of the Year award at the Powerbrands Hall of Fame Awards in London in 2011.
• He received the Global Leadership Award in 2004.
The Legal Battles:

• Subrata Roy was embroiled in controversy and was involved in a lengthy legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Board
of India over the repayment of billions of dollars to investors.
• In 2011, Sebi had asked Sahara group firms - Sahara India Real Estate Corporation (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing
Investment Corporation (SHICL) - to refund money raised in violation of norms from nearly 3 crore investors through
certain bonds known as Optionally Fully Convertible Bonds (OFCDs).
➢ The regulator set up an enforcement cell to handle claims from investors.
• In 2012, The SC upheld that the group had raised funds through illegal bonds asking the two firms to refund the money
collected from investors with 15 per cent interest.
• He was arrested in 2014 for failing to appear before it in connection with legal dispute.
• Roy was held in custody in the Tihar Jail, Delhi and was out on parole since May 2016.
• Roy’s story and legal battles were featured in the Netflix docuseries “Bad Boy Billionaires,” which chronicled the rise and
fall of four Indian businessmen, accused of corruption.
• As on March 31, 2023, the total amount deposited in nationalised banks was around Rs 25,163 crore – including interest
on the funds recovered from the two Sahara companies.
➢ According to Sebi's annual report, it has received less than 20,000 applications and refunds have been granted to
over 17,000.
➢ However, the total amount refunded was just Rs 138 crore.
➢ The remaining applications were closed either due to their records not being traceable or no response from
bondholders.
➢ According to former regulators, while these are unclaimed funds, they should go to the government and not to
investor protection funds.
➢ Given the scale of the funds and the fact that investors could not be validated, the amount could be appropriated by
the government.
➢ Regulators are not sure how this can be done without legislation.
25. AUSTRAHIND- 23
SOURCE- PIB
Recently: Days after the India-Australia 2+2 summit, an Indian Armed Forces contingent with soldiers from all three
services left for Perth on Wednesday to take part in the two-week-long second edition of AustraHind-23 – a joint military
exercise.
• The exercise will be conducted at Perth, Australia from 22nd November to 06th December 2023.
What is AUSTRAHIND?
• It is a tri- service exercise instituted in 2022 and the first edition was conducted in Mahajan, Rajasthan.
• It is planned to be an annual training event to be conducted alternatively in India and Australia.
The Participating Contingents:
• Indian Army contingent comprises 60 personnel from a Battalion of the GORKHA Rifles.
• One officer from Indian Navy and 20 personnel from Indian Air Force will also participate from the Indian side.
• The Australian Army contingent comprising 60 personnel will be from the 13th Brigade.
• The Australian contingent will include 20 personnel each from the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air
Force.
Aim:
• To foster collaborative partnership and share best practices between the two sides.
• The exercise will also promote inter- operability while undertaking multi-domain operations in Urban and Semi- Urban terrain
under Chapter VII of United Nations on peace keeping operations.
Training Curriculum:
• The joint exercise will promote exchange of ideas and jointly rehearse tactics, technique and procedures for conducting tactical
operations.
• The training curriculum also includes sniper firing, and jointly operating surveillance and communication equipment to achieve
a high degree of situational awareness.
• Casualty management and evacuation will also be rehearsed besides tactical actions at Company/ Battalion level.
India- Australia Relations:

• The historical ties between India and Australia started immediately following European settlement in Australia from 1788.
• India and Australia established diplomatic relations in the pre-Independence period, with the establishment of India Trade
Office in Sydney in 1941.
• Australia and India upgraded bilateral relationship from ‘Strategic Partnership’ in 2009 to Comprehensive Strategic
Partnership (CSP) in 2020.
• India and Australia conduct a biennial naval exercise named AUSINDEX.
26. International Students Day 2023
SOURCE- radio26.cu
Recently: The 2023 edition of the International Students Day was observed on November 17th.
• It allows us to celebrate the struggles of overseas students and boost them to achieve their goals.
Theme:
• The theme for International Students Day 2023 is “Learning Beyond Borders: A Global Perspective.”
• This theme is about how it’s essential for students from various countries to learn together.
• It highlights how studying in different countries helps us know more about the world.
History:
• The day was first started to honor students in Czech universities who faced tough times during World War II.
➢ he students were fighting against the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, and sadly, some were killed.
➢ The Nazis closed down Czech universities, and the students faced many challenges
• The idea to remember these events and honor students came from Czechoslovak Army troops in England in 1940.
• They wanted to renew the Central Association of Czechoslovak Students, which had been disbanded by the German
Protectorate in Czechoslovakia.
• With support from Edvard Beneš, the President-in-Exile of Czechoslovakia, the association was reestablished in
London on November 17, 1940.
• Efforts were made to convince students from different nations to acknowledge November 17 as a day to commemorate and
resist the Nazis.
• Fourteen countries, including Czechoslovakia, France, the UK, the USSR, and others, agreed and signed a
proclamation.
• They proclaimed November 17 as International Students’ Day.
• The inaugural meeting was held in London’s Caxton Hall on November 16, 1941, with support from President Beneš.
• On November 17, 1941, members of the association had a meeting with President Beneš.
• Meetings like these continued annually on November 17 throughout World War II.
Significance:
• International Students Day is a symbol of coming together, learning without borders, and enjoying the different cultures that
international students bring to schools around the world.
27. Justice Fatima Beevi
Recently: On 23rd November, Justice M. Fathima Beevi passed away at the age of 96.
• She was the first female Judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court of India.
• She died at a private hospital in Kerala’s Kollam.
Who was Justice Fatina Beevi?
• Born in Pathanamthitta in 1927, she was the eldest of eight children of Annaveetil Meera Sahib and Khadeeja Beevi.
• She finished school at Catholicate School in Pathanamthitta in 1943.
• She completed her graduation in Chemistry from Women’s College.
• Then she studied law at a government law college in Thiruvananthapuram.
• Her dream was a post-graduation in Chemistry, but Sahib was inspired by the story of Anna Chandy.
➢ Anna Chandy was the first woman judicial officer in the then erstwhile Travancore state.
➢ She made history in the corridors of the legal profession as well as judiciary, at every level.
• In 1949-50 it was mandatory to clear an exam by the Bar Council to get enrolled as a lawyer.
• In 1950, Beevi became the first woman law graduate to get the gold medal from the Bar Council.
• She then enrolled as a junior advocate in Kollam district court
• Beevi was appointed as a judge of the Kerala High Court in 1983.
• She was elevated to a judge of the Supreme Court in 1989.
• Justice Beevi leaves behind an illustrious career as the judge of the Supreme Court from 1989 to 1992.
• She was also the first Muslim woman Judge to be appointed to any Higher Judiciary.
• She holds the distinction of being the first woman Judge of a Supreme court of a nation in Asia.
• After retiring from the apex court, she served as a member of the National Human Rights Commission from 1993 to
1997.
• She serve also as the governor of Tamil Nadu from 1997 to 2001.
• She was the recipient of the Hon. D. Litt and Mahila Shiroma Shiromani Award in 1990.
• She was also awarded with the Bharat Jyoti Award and the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) Lifetime
Achievement Award.
The Supreme Court of India:
• The original Constitution of 1950 envisaged a Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and 7 puisne Judges.
• The number was to be increased by Parliament.
• Currently, the SC comprises the Chief Justice and not more than 33 other Judges appointed by the President of India.
• Supreme Court Judges retire upon attaining the age of 65 years
Qualification to become SC judge:
• According to Article 124(3), a SC:
➢ Must be an Indian citizen
➢ Has been for at least five years a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession; or
➢ Has been, for at least ten, years an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession; or
➢ Is, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist.
Appointment:
• Articles 124(2) and 217 governs the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts respectively.
• Under both provisions, the President has the power to make the appointments.
• This occurs after consultation with such Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as the President
may deem necessary.
• Over the years, the word “consultation” has been at the centre of debate on the executive’s power to appoint judges.
➢ In practice, the executive has held this power since Independence.
• A convention of seniority was evolved for appointing the Chief Justice of India.
• This changed, however, in the ’80s in a series of Supreme Court cases.
• The judiciary essentially impounded the power of appointment to itself.
• The tussle between the executive and the began following the Indira Gandhi-led government's move in 1973.
➢ This involved superseding three senior judges and appointing Justice A N Ray as the CJI.
➢ In three cases, the Supreme Court evolved the collegium system for appointing judges.
➢ The cases came to be known as the Judges Cases
The First Judge Case - S P Gupta v Union of India (1981):
• The Supreme Court ruled that the President does not require the “concurrence” of the CJI in appointment of judges.
• The ruling affirmed the pre-eminence of the executive in making appointments.
• It was overturned 12 years later in the Second Judges Case.
The Second Judges Case - SCARA v Union of India (1993)

• The Supreme Court evolved the ‘collegium system’ for appointment and transfer of judges in the higher judiciary.
• It stated that the viewpoint belonged not to the CJI alone but to the institution.
• Collegium formed – CJI + 2 senior-most judges
Third Judges Case — 1998
• The Supreme Court expanded the collegium to 5 members.
• Collegium formed – CJI + 4 senior-most judges
• Currently, The Collegium has six judges instead of five.
➢ This is because none of the 4 senior most judges will become the next CJI.
➢ It is mandatory for the next CJI to be a part of the Collegium.
➢ Justice Sanjiv Khanna is therefore the 6th member of the Collegium right now who will succeed Chief Justice DY
Chandrachud as the next CJI.
Procedure:
• When a vacancy for the post of a Supreme Court judge arises, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) sends his recommendation to
the Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs.
• The CJI decides on his recommendation in consultation with a collegium.
• The Union Law Minister presents the CJI’s final recommendation to the Prime Minister.
• Then the PM advises the President of India in appointing the Supreme Court judges.
• The appointment is announced by the Secretary to the government of India once the warrant of appointment is signed by
the President of India.
National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC):
• The Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, passed by Parliament in 2014, established the NJAC (Article 124A).
• The purpose was to create a commission for appointing judges, replacing the Collegium system.
• This would essentially increase the government’s role in the appointment of judges.
• The NJAC was to comprise:
➢ The Chief Justice of India as the ex officio Chairperson
➢ Two senior-most Supreme Court Judges as ex officio members
➢ The Union Minister of Law and Justice as ex officio member
➢ Two eminent persons from civil society
• One of the two eminent member would be nominated by a committee.
• The committee will consist of the CJI, Prime Minster and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
• The other would be nominated from the SC/ST/OBC/minority communities or women.
• In 2015, the Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional and null and void.
• The landmark judgement came to be known as “Fourth Judges case”
• However, in 2022 an attempt was made to revive the commission through National Judicial Commission Bill, 2022.
All Indian Judicial Services:

• The AIJS is a reform push to centralise the recruitment of judges at the level of additional district judges and district
judges for all states.
• It is on the same lines of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

• Article 312 of the Constitution provides for the establishment of All India Judicial Service (AIJS)
• The idea of a centralised judicial service was first mooted in the Law Commission’s 1958 ‘Report on Reforms on Judicial
Administration’.
➢ It was the 14th report of the commission
• In 2006, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice in its 15th Report
backed the idea of a pan-Indian judicial service.
➢ It also prepared a draft Bill.
• In 1992, the Supreme Court in All India Judges’ Assn. (1) v. Union of India directed the Centre to set up an AIJS.
• In a 1993 review of the judgment, however, the court left the Centre at liberty to take the initiative on the issue.
• In 2017, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the issue of appointment of district judges, and mooted a
“Central Selection Mechanism”.
• However the issue is still pending as the states see it as an affront to federalism.
• Currently, Articles 233 and 234 of the Constitution of India deal with the appointment of district judges, and place it in the
domain of the states.
• The selection process is conducted by the State Public Service Commissions and the concerned High Court.
Women in Judiciary:
• Cornelia Sorabji was India's First Woman Lawyer.
• Justice Leila Seth became the first woman to become Chief Justice of a state High Court, Himachal Pradesh, in 1991.
• Justice Indu Malhotra became the first woman lawyer to be directly appointed as a judge of the SC.
• Currently there are 3 women judges in the supreme court.
• They are Justice Hima Kohli, Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Bela M. Trivedi.
• In 73 Years of the Indian Supreme Court, there have been 268 Judges. Of these, only 11 Judges have been women.
• So far, the SC has not had a woman Chief Justice.
• If the principle of appointing the senior most judge as the CJI is followed, Justice B.V. Nagarathna will be India’s first
woman Chief Justice in September 2027.
➢ However, her tenure as CJI will be 36 days.
28. Appointment of New Chief Information Commissioner
SOURCE- PIB
Recently: Former IAS officer Heeralal Samariya was sworn in as the 12th Chief Information Commissioner by President
Droupadi Murmu.
• The post was lying vacant following the completion of Y K Sinha's tenure on October 3.
• Samairya's swearing-in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan was attended by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh among others.
• The Supreme Court had on October 30 asked the Centre and the state governments to take steps to fill the post.
• Samaira, after taking the oath, administered the oath of office to two Information Commissioners -- Anandi Ramalingam
and Vinod Kumar Tiwari -- at a swearing-in ceremony organised in Central Information Commission.
About the newly Appointed Officers:

Heeralal Samariya:
• Sixty – three - year - old Heeralal Samariya is the first Dalit to have been appointed to the post of Chief Information
Commissioner.
• He was working as information commissioner in the transparency panel Central Information Commission (CIC) since
November 7, 2020.
• Samariya retired after serving as the Labour and Employment Secretary in the government of India.
Anandi Ramalingam:
• Ramalingam, before joining as the Information Commissioner, was holding the post of Chairman and Managing
Director, Bharat Electronics Ltd.
• She is a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Electronics and Communication Engineering.
• She also has experience in the field of procurement, conceptualisation, design and development and production of
equipment, technical matters and coordination with different authorities and RTI matters.
• Her area of expertise includes administration and governance.
Vinod Kumar Tiwari:

• He is a 1986-batch Indian Forest Service officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, also served as Additional
Secretary in the Coal Ministry.
• Before joining as Information Commissioner, he held the post of Head of force-cum-Principal Chief Conservator of Forests as
head of Himachal Pradesh forest department, Shimla.
• He holds a Bachelor's degree in Science and a Master's degree in Geology.
• His area of expertise includes administration and governance.
Central Information Commission:

• The Central Information Commission is a statutory body, set up under the Right to Information Act in 2005.
• The commission includes one chief information commissioner and not more than ten information commissioners.
• The information commissioners are appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of a committee consisting
of the Prime Minister as Chairperson, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister to
be nominated by the Prime Minister.
• The oath to CIC is administered by President of India and the oath to the Information Commissioners is administered by
the CIC.
• Two women have been chief information commissioners: Deepak Sandhu (fourth chief information commissioner overall)
and Sushma Singh (fifth overall).
• The Chief Information Commissioner and an Information Commissioner shall hold office for such term as prescribed by the
Central Government or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
➢ They are not eligible for reappointment.
• Wajahat Habibullah was the first chief Information Commissioner of India.
• According to recent data, the current RTI disposal rate is 90.5%.
29. The Deepfake Issue
SOURCE- Dread Central
Recently: The Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government would make rules
around deepfakes.
• The plan is supposed to have four pillars:
➢ Detection of deepfakes
➢ Prevention by removing or reducing their virality
➢ Strengthening reporting mechanisms
➢ Spreading awareness about the technology
What are Deepfakes?
• Deepfakes are manipulated images, sounds and voices, generated to create realistic but fake representations of people,
events, or scenarios.
• It is developed using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms.
• Deepfakes are produced that can be used in a variety of ways for both images and videos.
➢ Face Swapping: Substituting one person's face for the one in the video.
➢ Attribute Editing: Altering the video subject's appearance, such as their hair colour or style.
➢ Face re-enactment: Projecting the subject's facial expressions from one person's face onto the subject in the target
video; and
➢ Material that is entirely synthetic: Although real material is used to train people's appearances, the final image is
completely artificial.
• The term "deepfake" first emerged in late 2017.
• A Reddit user with the same name created a platform on the online news and aggregation site to share pornographic
videos.
➢ These videos were generated using open-source face-swapping technology.
How does it work?
• The technologies that create deepfakes include Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) and machine learning
(ML).
• ML is a subset of AI that enables systems to learn and improve from experience in the form of the data it collects.
• GANs are a type of machine learning algorithm that use two neural networks—a generator and a discriminator.
➢ The generator produces fake data while the discriminator distinguishes between real and fake data—a feedback loop
called deep synthesis.
Concerns:
• Deepfakes can manipulate public perception, spread misinformation, and tarnish reputations.
• In the hands of cybercriminals, deepfakes become dangerous weapons.
• It can disrupt and destroy businesses and governments.
• Most recently, actor Rashmika Mananna was a victim of a viral deepfake video, sparking serious concerns over the misuse
of the technology.
Laws against Deepfakes in India:

• Section 66E of the IT Act of 2000 is applicable in cases of deepfake crimes.
➢ It involves capturing, publishing or transmitting a person’s images in mass media, violating their privacy.
➢ This offense is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to ₹2 lakh.
• Section 66D of the IT Act 2000: It provides a provision to prosecute individuals who use communication devices or
computer resources with malicious intent, to cheat or impersonate someone.
➢ It can result in imprisonment for up to three years and/or a fine of up to ₹1 lakh.
• Section 51 of Indian Copyright Act of 1957: It provides for penalties for certain offenses including infringement of
copyright.
• Section 500, Indian Penal Code: It deals with the punishment for Defamation which shall be a minimum imprisonment
for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or both.
• Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, may offer some safeguards against the misuse of personal data.
➢ Although it does not expressly cover the issue of deepfakes.
Other Countries:
China:
• In 2019, the Chinese government introduced a law.
• It mandates individuals and organizations to disclose when they have used deepfake technology with a clear disclaimer.
• China also recently established provisions for deepfake providers, in effect as of 10 January 2023.
European Union:
• Updated in June 2022, the EU’s Code of Practice on Disinformation addresses deepfakes through fines of up to 6
percent of global revenue for violators.
• The code was initially introduced as a voluntary self-regulatory instrument in 2018 but now has the backing of the Digital
Services Act, 2022.
South Korea:
• In 2020, South Korea passed a law that makes it illegal to distribute deepfakes that could "cause harm to public interest“.
• It is for offenders facing up to five years in prison or fines of up to 50 million won or approximately 43,000 USD.
USA:
• On the federal level, the DEEP FAKES Accountability Act, was introduced in 2019.
➢ It seeks to require deepfake creators to disclose their use and prevent the distribution of deepfakes intended to
deceive viewers or harm.
• The United States of America has also introduced the bipartisan Deepfake Task Force Act to counter deepfake
technology.
• India, along with countries like the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and China, signed the Bletchley Declaration
in 2023.
➢ It was on the first day of the AI Safety Summit hosted by the UK government.
➢ The nations agreed to work hand in hand on AI safety research.
30. India’s Space Programme
SOURCE- The Hindu Archives
Recently: The Indian space program recently celebrated its diamond jubilee, marking 60 years of remarkable
achievements.
• The Indian space research program traces its roots back to the 1960s.
• The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) held a slew of programmes on November 25 to mark the 60th
anniversary.
➢ The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre is a major space research centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
• In a fitting tribute to that first launch, a two-stage Rohini series RH200 sounding rocket will lift off from Thumba on
November 25.
➢ The celebrations will be formally inaugurated by Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh.
➢ Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S. Somanath, senior ISRO officials and veterans will be
present.
How did the journey begin?
• On the evening of November 21, 1963, a Nike Apache rocket took off from a small launch pad.
• The launch occurred on the beach at Thumba.
➢ Thumba is a fishing village on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram and is a site of VSSC.
• It rose 208 km into the sky, reaching a significant altitude.
• Subsequently, it released a sodium vapor payload, painting the twilight sky with a big, bright orange cloud.
• Vikram Sarabhai was present during the launch, as were E.V. Chitnis, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and the French payload
specialist Jacques Blamont, among others.
Nike Apache:
• The Nike Apache is a type of sounding rockets.
➢ Sounding rockets are usually one or two stage solid propellant rockets.
➢ They are primarily intended for probing the upper atmospheric regions using rocket-borne instrumentation.
• The Nike apache launch was an international effort under the United Nations.
• The rocket came from the NASA, U.S.
• The sodium vapour payload was from France, and the range clearance from an MI-4 helicopter from the then Soviet
Union.
• The rocket and payload engineers were Indians.
• The rocket had been mated with the payload in St. Mary Magdalene Church, Thumba, which had been taken over by the
national government.
• The parish priest’s house served as the mission control centre.
• Later days saw launching of two-stage rockets imported from Russia (M-100) and France (Centaure).
• While M-100 could carry a payload of 70 kg to an altitude of 85 km, the Centaure was capable of reaching 150 km with
a payload of approximately 30 kg.
India’s indigenous Rockets:

• ISRO started launching indigenously made sounding rockets from 1965
• In 1967, ISRO started launching a series of indigenous sounding rockets named 'Rohini' from TERLS.
➢ TERLS is Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station
• RH-75, with a diameter of 75mm, was the first truly Indian sounding rocket, which was followed by RH-100 and RH-125
rockets.
• In 1975, all sounding rocket activities were consolidated under the Rohini Sounding Rocket (RSR) Programme.
• At present, India operates three sounding rocket variants —RH-200, RH-300-Mk-II and RH-560-Mk-III.
Aryabhata:
• Aryabhata was India's first satellite, named after a ancient Indian mathematician.
• It was completely designed and fabricated in India.
• It was launched by a Soviet Kosmos-3M rocket from Kapustin Yar on April 19, 1975.
ISRO:
• The Indian Space Research Organisation is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka.
• Operating under the Department of Space (DOS), ISRO is India's primary agency for conducting space research, space
exploration and research and development of technologies for space-based applications.
• Indian space programme started with Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) which was
formed in February 1962 under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) on the insistence of Vikram Sarabhai.
• It eventually got superseded by ISRO on 15th August 1969 to institutionalize space research in India with Vikram
Sarabhai as its founder.
• In 1972, the government of India set up a Department Of Space, bringing ISRO under it.
• India's first satellite Aryabhata, was built by ISRO in 1975 and was launched by the Interkosmos (Soviet Union).
• S. Somnath is the current chairman of ISRO.
• Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian to go into space in 1984.
Key Centres and Units:
• Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram: Builds Launch Vehicles.

• U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Bengaluru: Designs and develops Satellites.
• Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota: Handles the Integration and Launching of satellites and launch
vehicles.
• Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Valiamala & Bengaluru: development of liquid stages, including cryogenic
stages.
• Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad: Engages in the development of sensors for Communication and Remote
Sensing satellites.
Achievements:
• On July 18, 1980, India became part of a select club of nations.
➢ It’s because of home-grown Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3).
➢ It was weighing 17 tonnes and it placed the 35-kg Rohini satellite into orbit.
• The only other countries with the ability to launch their satellites into orbit using their own vehicles were the Soviet Union,
the U.S., the U.K., and France.
• The SLV-3s were followed by the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicles (ASLVs).
➢ Then the Polar Satellite Vehicles (PSLVs), and the Geo-stationary Satellite Launch Vehicles (GSLVs) came.
• India created history in 2017 by successfully launching 104 satellites on PSLV-C37 on a single mission from SDSC,
Sriharikota.
➢ It overtook the previous record of 37 satellites launched by Russia in 2014.
• India’s national space agency accomplished the first ever landing of a spacecraft, the Chandrayaan- III, near the lunar
south pole on August 23.
• On September 2, ISRO launched Aditya-L1, the agency’s first solar probe.
• And on October 21, ISRO completed a successful launch abort system test for the Gaganyaan.
➢ Gaganyaan is a spacecraft India hopes will carry three national astronauts around Earth on an orbital mission by
2026.
31. Leave Benefits for Armed Forces
SOURCE- IndiaTimes
Recently: In a landmark decision, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved an unprecedented proposal that a landmark
decision, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved an unprecedented proposal.
• With the issuing of the rules, the grant of such leaves to all women in the military, whether one is an officer or any other
rank, will be equally applicable.
• The new proposal offers benefits specifically to those who fall within the top 25% of Agniveers.
• To be eligible, these individuals must have been selected based on merit after completing a four-year tenure in the three
services.
Present Scenario:
• At present, the women officers get maternity leave of 180 days with full pay for each child.
• The above is subject to a maximum of two children.
• It is with a provision for extension of a month of leave without pay in exceptional cases.
• And 30 days of leave in the instance of a miscarriage or abortion.
• Childcare leave of 360 days is granted in total service career to women officers.
• The childcare leave is subject to the child being less than 18 years of age.
• Child adoption leave of 180 days is granted.
➢ It will be after the date of the valid adoption of a child below one year of age.
• So far, there were no women air warriors or sailors in the Indian Air Force or Navy.
➢ Both started inducting women in their ranks after the Agnipath military recruitment scheme.
➢ The Army had started inducting women in the ranks in just one arm — the Corps of Military Police (CMP) — in
2019.
➢ Now women are getting inducted in the CMP as Agniveers
Role of women in Indian Army:

• The role of women in the Indian Army began in 1888 when the ‘Indian Military Nursing Service’ was formed during the
British Raj.
• The Army Act 1950 prohibited the appointment of women to regular commissions in the Indian Army.
• However, in 1958, the Indian Army's Medical Corps became the first military institution to regularly appoint female troops.
• But it was only in 1992 that the organisation opened doors and started inducting women in non-medical roles.
• Women were first inducted into the Indian Army as Short Service Commission officers in 1993.
• The first major step towards giving permanency to the position of women officers in the Army came in 2008.
➢ It was decided that those serving in the Judge Advocate General department and Army Education Corps would
be offered Permanent Commission.
➢ While the two branches hardly have any troops to command and are mostly administrative appointments, the move
meant women could now rise above the rank of Lt Colonel.
• In Babita Puniya Case in 2020, the Supreme Court directed that women officers in all 10 streams of the Army be
granted permanent commission.
Role of Women in Indian Navy:

• In 1991, the Indian Navy began inducting women as officers, marking the start of their inclusion in the Navy's ranks.
• Over time, the Indian Navy has expanded opportunities for women officers, including opening all branches and enabling
their induction through the National Defence Academy (NDA).
• For the first time women are also being recruited for sailors’ entries under the Agnipath Scheme.
• The Indian Navy has also taken a significant step by allowing the induction of women officers on frontline ships, an area
that was previously restricted to them
• In 2020, the Navy announced deploying its first batch of women pilots on the Dornier maritime aircraft.
Role of Women in Indian Air Force:

• Women first became a part of the Indian Air Force (IAF) during World War II when the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
(WAAF) was founded in 1942.
• Nevertheless, their contributions were mainly focused on non-combat position.
• After independence, In 1993, the IAF decided to induct women as Short Service Commission (SSC) officers in the flying
branch.
• The IAF started inducting women as Transport and Helicopter pilots in 1994.
• In 2010, the IAF granted permanent commission to women officers in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) and Education
branches
• In 2015, a decision was taken to induct women as fighter pilots and they are currently under training.
32. CV Raman’s Birth Anniversary
Recently: The 135th birth anniversary of CV Raman was observed on November 7th.
Who was CV Raman?
• Renowned Indian physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, popularly known as C.V. Raman, was awarded the
prestigious Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.
• He became the first person of Asia descent to win this prestigious award.
• Born on November 7th, 1888, in Tiruchirappalli, Southern India, Raman's early exposure to an academic atmosphere,
thanks to his father who was a lecturer in mathematics and physics, paved the way for his illustrious career.
• His journey in academia began at Presidency College, Madras, where he passed his B.A. examination in 1904 with
flying colors.
➢ He secured the first place and the gold medal in physics.
• 1917 was the year when Raman was allotted a professorship at the University of Calcutta.
• 1924 was when he was elected as a part of the Royal Society and later in the year 1930 was knighted by the British.
• 1933 marked the year when he came to be the first director of the Indian Institute of Science.
• 1948 is known as the year in which Raman went on and founded the Raman Research Institute.
• In the year 1933, CV Raman was the first Indian to become the Director of the Indian Institute of Science situated
in Bangalore.
➢ The professor handled the post for four years( till 1937).
• CV Raman was the first Pallet Chair of Physics at Calcutta University.
The Raman Effect:

• On December 10, 1930 CV Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize by the Committee for Physics of the Royal Swedish
Academy of Sciences.
• February 28th is observed as the National Science Day annually to commemorate the discovery of Raman Effect by CV
Raman.
• His discovery, known as the Raman Effect, revealed that a small fraction of the scattered light acquires different
wavelengths than that of the original light.
• This happens because some of the incoming photons' energy can be transferred to a molecule, giving it a higher level of
energy.
• The Raman Effect has since been applied with great success in various fields of molecular physics and has effectively helped
to check the symmetry properties of molecules, thus addressing problems concerning nuclear spin in atomic physics.
33. Qatar Death Row
SOURCE- theprint.in
Recently: Court in Qatar has officially accepted the appeal documents challenging the death sentences handed down to eight
former Indian naval personnel.
What is the matter?
• A Qatar Court sentenced eight former Indian Navy personnel to death on charges of Espionage.
• A Qatar Court sentenced eight former Indian Navy personnel to death.
• The former Indian Navy personnel are –
➢ Captain Saurabh Vashisht
➢ Commander Purenendu Tiwari
➢ Captain Birendra Kumar Verma
➢ Commander Sugunakar Pakala
➢ Commander Sanjeev Gupta

➢ Commander Amit Nagpal
➢ Captain Navjet Singh Gill
➢ Sailor Ragesh
• In August 30, 2022, Qatar’s intelligence agency picked up the men from their homes in the dead of night.
➢ Since then, they have been kept in solitary confinement.
• The first bail of theirs was denied on September 2022.
• The Indian nationals had their first trial in March,2023 and the second trial was conducted in June 2023.
• India’s ambassador to Qatar met the men in prison on October 1 after being granted consular access.
• Indian ambassador to Qatar – Shri Vipul
• All along, the Qatari authorities did not specify the reason for the detention to the families of the eight men.
• Leaked reports suggest that the men have been accused of sharing secret information with 3rd Country.
• This information pertains to the stealth submarine program they worked on.
• Unnamed sources in India and Qatar also suggested the men were charged with spying for Israel.
• Some sources indicated that the Indian nationals were overseeing the induction of Italian small stealth U2I2
submarines.
• They were working for a defence services provider company, Dahra Global Technologies, in Qatar.
• Charges were also framed against two Qatari nationals.
➢ One of whom is Khamis al-Ajmi, the CEO of Al Dahra Global.
➢ Al-Ajmi was also kept in solitary confinement for a period of two months and was granted bail later.
Dahra Global Technologies:
• Dahra is a Gulf-based provider of complete support solutions to the Aerospace, Security, Defense, Information Technology &
Communications sectors.
• The veterans were engaged in delivering training and consultancy services to Qatar's navy forces.
• They also provided guidance to the Qatari regime regarding the acquisition of submarines.
• Their primary business focus is on defence services.
• Their services encompass activities like equipment procurement and sales, system implementation etc.
• In 2019, Commander Purnendu Tiwari received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, the highest recognition for Indians living
abroad.
• Commander Tiwari served as the Managing Director at Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services.
• He had a distinguished career in the Indian Navy and commanded multiple warships during his service.
Qatar:
• Qatar is a peninsular Arab country.
• Capital: Doha
• Prime minister: Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani
• Qatar is a significant supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India
India- Qatar Relations:
• Qatar, a tiny gas-rich country on the Persian Gulf, has historically friendly ties with India.
• India recognized Qatar soon after its independence in 1971.
• In 1973, India and Qatar established a full diplomatic relationship.
• Trade has been a central pivot.
• It is with India sourcing 40% of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) needs from Qatar, accounting for nearly half of the
global imports.
• India is among the top four largest export destinations for Qatar
• In 2008, India and Qatar signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement during the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh.
• It has been extended every five years, the last time in November 2018.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Qatar in June 2016 .
• The Emir (King) of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, paid a state visit to India in 2015.
• In March 2015, during the visit of Qatari Foreign Minister Dr. Khalid Bin Mohammed Al Attiyah to India, an agreement was
exchanged between the two countries.
• The agreement in question was related to the "Transfer of Sentenced Persons.“
➢ This agreement allows for Indian prisoners convicted in Qatar to serve the remaining part of their sentence in India.
➢ Similarly, Qatari citizens convicted in India can be sent to their home country to serve their sentence under this
agreement.
• Under this 2015 agreement, convicted individuals can be repatriated to serve out the sentence at home.
• Sentence of Indian Navy veterans must be commuted or pardon obtained and this agreement invoked,” former Naval Chief
Admiral Arun Prakash, said on social media on Friday.
Kulbhushan Jadhav Case:

• Kulbhushan Jadhav is an Indian national who is on the death row in Pakistan.
• He is accused of carrying out espionage and sabotage activities against Pakistan at the behest of India's intelligence
agency.
• India has denied the allegations.
• Pakistan claims the former Indian Navy officer was arrested on March 3, 2016 in Balochistan.
• Pakistan claims that Jadhav entered Chabahar in 2003 with a fake passport that showed his name as Hussain Mubarak
Patel.
• Pakistani officials claimed that his job was to destabilise Pakistan by strengthening a separatist movement in Balochistan and
Karachi.
• The Indian side, however, maintains that he was kidnapped from Iran.
• There he was running a business in the port city of Chabahar after a “premature retirement” from the Navy.
• He was sentenced to death by Pakistani court in 2017.
• The execution was stayed by Pakistan after India filed an appeal against the judgement at the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) in May, 2017.
• The Court pronounced its verdict in the case in July, 2019, rejecting India's appeal for Jadhav's release.
• They ordered Pakistan to suspend the execution.
• ICJ ruled that Pakistan will have to review the entire process of trial and conviction of Jadhav.
• ICJ ruled to provide India with consular access.
• In 2021, Pakistan’s Parliament has enacted a law to give Indian death-row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav the right to file a
review appeal against his conviction by a military court.
International Court of Justice:
• The International Court of Justice, also called the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
• It settles disputes between states in accordance with international law.
• It also gives advisory opinions on international legal issues
• Established - 26 June 1945
• Headquarter - Peace Palace of Hague, Netherlands
Counsellor Access:
• Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963 which provides for consular access to foreign
nationals.
• A consul, distinct from a diplomat, serves as a representative of a foreign state within a host country.
• Their primary role is to advocate for and safeguard the interests of their fellow countrymen living or visiting the host
country.
• Article 36 of the Vienna Convention outlines a fundamental principle regarding the treatment of foreign nationals who are
arrested or detained.
• It mandates that foreign nationals in custody should be promptly informed of their right to have their embassy or consulate
notified about their arrest.
• Upon the request of the detained foreign national, the police are obligated to transmit this notification to the respective
embassy or consulate.
34. Japan gets new island after volcanic eruptions
Recently: Japan, known for its stunning landscapes and geological activity, has recently witnessed the birth of another island in
its archipelago.
• This phenomenon occurred due to a series of volcanic eruptions near Iwoto Island in the Ogasawara Island chain,
showcasing the dynamic nature of the country’s geography.
About the new island:
• The newly created island has not been named yet.
• It is approximately around 100 m in diameter, and took shape through phreatomagmatic eruptions.
➢ These eruptions are actually triggered when magma reacts with seawater, thereby resulting in explosive releases of
ash and steam
• Location: The eruption started on October 21, 2023, around 1 km off the coastline of Iwoto Island, which was
formerly known as Iwo Jima.
➢ It’s a site with a significant historical significance as it witnessed World War II's most intense battles.
➢ It is among the 111 active volcanoes in Japan and has witnessed previous eruptions.
➢ The island’s name was officially changed to Iwoto in 2007 by Japanese authorities.
• These eruptions continued for around 10 days, which further led to the accumulation of volcanic material on the shallow
seabed, ultimately reaching above the sea's surface.
• Ogasawara island chain, also known as the Bonin Islands, constitutes a volcanic arc comprising over 30 islands and
islets, some of which remain volcanically active.
➢ The most recent island formation event within this region transpired in 2013, stemming from the eruption of another
underwater volcano.
35. MITRA SHAKTI 2023
SOURCE- PIB
Recently: The ninth edition of Joint Military exercise “Exercise MITRA SHAKTI-2023” between Indian and Sri Lanka, commenced
in Aundh (Pune).
• The exercise is being conducted from 16th to 29th November 2023.
• Mitra Shakti’, which means power of friendship, is conducted alternately in India and Sri Lanka.
Contingents:
• The Indian contingent, of 120 personnel, is being represented mainly by troops from the MARATHA LIGHT INFANTRY
Regiment.
• The Sri Lankan side is being represented by personnel from 53 Infantry Division.
• 15 personnel from Indian Air Force and five personnel from Sri Lankan Air Force are also participating in the
exercise.
• The participation of the two air force makes the 9th edition the first bilateral and bi-service exercise between the two
countries.
Aim:
• The aim of the exercise is to jointly rehearse sub-conventional operations under Chapter VII of the United Nations
Charter
➢ It authorises the Security Council to take enforcement measures, including the use of military force, to address
threats to international peace and security.
How is the exercise being conducted?
• The scope of the exercise includes synergising joint responses during counter-terrorist operations.
• Both sides will practice tactical actions such as raid, search and destroy missions, and heliborne operations.
• In addition, Army Martial Arts Routine (AMAR), combat reflex shooting and yoga will also form part of the exercise
curriculum during this edition.
• It will also involve employment of Drones and Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems besides helicopters.
• Drills to secure helipads and undertake casualty evacuation during counter-terrorist operations will also be rehearsed jointly
by both sides.

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12 Minutes to CLAT Current Affairs – November 2023

CURRENT AFFAIRS COMPENDIUM – NOVEMBER 2023

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27. Justice Fatima Beevi

1. Agartala- Akhaura Rail Link

Other Connectivity Links between India and Bangladesh:

Other Projects inaugurated on November 1:

2. WHO’s new regional director

Who is Saima Wazed?

World Health Organization:

• The WHO countries are categorized into 6 regions.

3. Bihar Reservation Amendment Act

What is the change?

• Scheduled Castes will get a reservation of 20%, up from 16%

Poverty in Bihar and alleviation Measures:

➢ 2 in the case of wives educated up to the intermediate level.

What is the 50% cap on reservation in India?

Indra Sawhney & Others v. Union of India, 1992:

Constitutional Provisions for Reservation in India:

4. Haryana Job Quota Issue

What was Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020?

Constitutional Rights and Remedies:

5. Bhutan- China Border Talks

The boundary and the dispute:

Why is India concerned?

The three- Step Roadmap:

6. Bhutan’s King’s visit to India

Why is the Assam visit significant?

7. National Cancer Awareness Day 2023

8. The Suez Canal Alternative

9. FATF On- Site Review

What are Mutual Evaluations?

What is Financial Action Task Force?

10. Cricket World Cup 2023

2023 World Cup Awards:

• Most Sixes - Rohit Sharma (31 sixes)

International Cricket Council:

11. India’s new consulate in Seattle

Who will be the Consulate General of the Consulate in Seattle?

12. National Legal Services Day 2023

13. Extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana

What is Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMKAY)?

National Food Security Act (NFSA):

Public Distribution System (PDS):

14. The Governor v. State Row

The process of granting assent:

Powers of the Governor:

Relevant Judicial Pronouncements:

15. World’s first Chikungunya Vaccine

About the Vaccine:

16. Indian Navy tests first indigenously developed ‘anti-ship missile’

17. 66th Grammy Awards

• In total, there are 94 categories for the 2024 Grammy Awards

18. National Milk Day 2023

19. Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) Initiative

Goa Maritime Conclave 2023

➢ Admiral R. Hari Kumar is the current Chief of Naval Staff.

20. World Pneumonia Day 2023

21. Plea for Declaration of Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve

What is the matter?

What is the stance of the Goa Government?

National Tiger Conservation Authority:

22. UK- Rwanda Asylum Issue