October 2023 CA 12 Minutes To Clat

12 Minutes to CLAT Current Affairs Compendium – October 2023
CURRENT AFFAIRS COMPENDIUM – OCTOBER 2023

Visit us at: 12minutestoclat.com
Subscribe to us on: YouTube
Follow us on: Telegram, Instagram
E-mail: 12minutestoclat@gmail.com
12minutestoclat.com
12minutestoclat.com
12minutestoclat.com
INDEX
1. Global Hunger Index 2023
2. AFSPA in Assam
3. National Medical Commission’s order on seat allocation
4. UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network
5. Southeast Asia’s first high speed railway
6. Gaganyaan Mission
7. World Mental Health Day 2023
8. Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar
9. Asian Games 2023
10. Russia’s revocation of Comprehensive Nuclear Ban Treaty
11. KAZIND- 2023
12. World Cotton Day 2023
13. Sedition Charges against Arundhati Roy
14. Bihar Caste Survey
15. Project Udbhav
16. South China Sea Dispute
17. World Habitat Day 2023
18. Green Energy Corridor Phase – 2
19. Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal Dispute
20. BrahMos Missile
21. Nobel Prize 2023
22. Medical Termination of Pregnancy
23. World Dyslexia Day 2023
24. Kenya led Security Mission in Haiti
25. Eradication of Manual Scavenging
26. Electoral Bond Issue
12minutestoclat.com
27. Indian Ocean Rim Association

28. Operation Chakra- II
29. Maldives’ New President
30. Anti- Defection Proceedings in Maharashtra Assembly
31. J&J lifts patent on TB drug
32. Geographical Indication
33. Smart Fencing along Myanmar Border
34. SAMPRITI- XI
35. World Food Day 2023
12minutestoclat.com
1. Global Hunger Index 2023
Recently: The 18th edition of the Global Hunger Index 2023 was released in October 2023.
What is Global Hunger Index?

• The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a peer-reviewed report, published on an annual basis by Concern Worldwide and
Welthungerhilfe.
• It has been brought out almost every year since 2006.
• It was initially published by US based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Germany based
Welthungerhilfe.
➢ Irish NGO Concern Worldwide became a co- publisher in 2007 and IFPRI withdrew in 2018.
12minutestoclat.com
• It is an annual report and each set of GHI uses data from a 5-year period.
• Each country’s GHI score is calculated based on a formula that combines four indicators that together capture the
multidimensional nature of hunger:
➢ Undernourishment: The share of the population whose caloric intake is insufficient.
➢ Child stunting: The share of children under the age of five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic
undernutrition.
➢ Child stunting: The share of children under the age of five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic
undernutrition.
➢ Child mortality: The share of children who die before their fifth birthday, reflecting in part the fatal mix of inadequate
nutrition and unhealthy environments.
• Each country’s data are standardised on a 100-point scale.
• A final score is calculated after giving 33.33% weight each to components 1 and 4, and giving 16.66% weight each to
components 2 and 3.
• Countries scoring less than or equal to 9.9 are slotted in the “low” category of hunger.
➢ Countries scoring between 10.0 and 19.9 are considered under the “moderate” category.
➢ Those scoring between 20 and 34.9 are in the “serious” category and those scoring above 50 are in the
“extremely alarming” category.
Global Rankings:
• For the 2023 GHI report, data were assessed for 136 countries.
➢ Out of these, there were sufficient data to calculate 2023 GHI scores for and rank 125 countries.
• 20 countries scored less than 5 and displayed low level of hunger.
➢ These countries are not assigned individual ranks, but rather are collectively ranked 1–20.
• The Central African Republic was ranked last (125th) with a score of 42.3.
• According to the 2023 GHI scores and provisional designations, nine countries have alarming levels of hunger and 34
have serious levels of hunger.
• Madagascar has the second-highest 2023 GHI score in this year’s report, which, at 41.0, is considered alarming.
12minutestoclat.com
• The third-highest score in the 2023 GHI is held by Yemen, at 39.9.

• The world pledged to achieve zero hunger by 2030, but with the current trajectory, 58 countries will not reach low
hunger—much less zero hunger—by 2030.
• South Asia and Africa South of the Sahara are the world regions with the highest hunger levels, with GHI scores of
27.0 each, indicating serious hunger in both regions.
• The region with the lowest 2023 GHI score is Europe and Central Asia, whose score of 6.1 is considered low.
• The 2023 GHI score for the world is 18.3, considered moderate—less than one point below the world’s 2015 GHI score of
19.1.
India’s Ranking:
• India ranked 111th out of 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2023.
• India has a score of 28.7, indicating a serious level of hunger.
• The country came after neighbouring countries Pakistan (102nd), Bangladesh (81st), Nepal (69th) and Sri Lanka
(60th).
• However, India fared better than South Asia and Africa South of the Sahara, which recorded a score of 27 each.
• The rate of undernourishment in India stood at 16.6 percent and under-five mortality at 3.1 percent, the prevalence of
anaemia in women aged between 15 and 24 years stood at 58.1 percent.
• As per the index, India also has the highest child wasting rate in the world at 18.7 percent, reflecting acute
undernutrition.
12minutestoclat.com
SOURCE- Down To Earth

• India ranked 107th out of 121 countries in the 2022 edition of the Global Hunger Index (GHI).
• The Ministry of Women and Child Development has raised concerns about the report's methodology, suggesting "serious
methodological issues" and "malafide intent."
• Government’s Critical Arguments against GHI:
➢ Three out of the four indicators used for calculation of the index are related to the health of children and cannot be
representative of the entire population.
➢ The fourth and most important indicator ‘Proportion of Undernourished (PoU) population’ is based on an opinion poll
conducted on a very small sample size of 3,000.
➢ The measurement data of children under five years uploaded on the Poshan Tracker has consistently increased –
from 6.34 crore in April 2023 to 7.24 crore in September 2023.
➢ The percentage of child wasting, as seen on the Poshan Tracker, has been consistently below 7.2 per cent, month-
on-month, as compared to the value of 18.7 per cent used for child wasting in the Global Hunger Index 2023.
➢ Stunting and wasting, are outcomes of complex interactions of various other factors like sanitation, genetics,
environment and utilisation of food intake apart from hunger.
➢ There is hardly any evidence that the fourth indicator — child mortality — is an outcome of hunger.
12minutestoclat.com
World Hunger Day:

• It is observed annually on 28th May to raise awareness about the significance of eradicating hunger.
• It is an international initiative, established in 2011 by ‘The Hunger Project’
• Theme for 2023- Celebrating sustainable solutions to hunger and poverty.
• The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2 aims to achieve “zero hunger” and end hunger in all its forms by
2030.
2. AFSPA in Assam
Recently: The Assam Government has withdrawn the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA from four districts of
Assam and extended it in another four districts for six more months.
12minutestoclat.com
• The Assam government had last extended the 'disturbed area' notification under the AFSPA for another six months with
effect from April 1 in these eight districts.
• Assam has 35 districts and except for four, AFSPA has been revoked from remaining districts.
➢ These four districts are- These are Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Sivasagar and Charaideo.
• The four districts from which AFSPA has been revoked, with effect from April 01, are- Jorhat, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong
and Dima Hasao.
What is AFSPA?
• The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act is a paramilitary act that grants special powers to Indian Armed Forces, state, and
paramilitary forces in areas classified as 'disturbed areas'.
• The primary objective of AFSPA is to maintain law and order in such areas.
History:
• The history of AFSPA can be traced back to the Quit India Movement
of 1942.
• The Japanese soldiers were advancing to India‘s eastern borders, and incidents of mass violence were becoming a recurring
affair.
• The country was in chaos when the All-India Congress was declared illegal, and the then Viceroy of India, Lord
Linlithgow, declared a nationwide emergency.
• He also passed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Ordinance, 1942, which vested similar powers in the army as the
present-day AFSPA.
• The act was once again enacted in Nagaland in 1958. It was also enacted in Assam and Manipur as The Armed Forces
(Assam & Manipur) Special Powers Act, in the same year to tackle Naga insurgencies.
➢ The Naga National Council (NNC) caused rebellious uprisings against the Indian armed forces in the 1950s,
leading to disturbance and violence in the Naga Valley.
➢ Assam had earlier enacted the Disturbed Areas Act, 1955 to combat insurgencies.
➢ AFSPA, although similar, was yet very different from its predecessor, the 1942 act.
12minutestoclat.com
➢ This time around, the Act restricted its application to disturbed areas and the powers vested in the armed forces were
made more specific.
➢ Additionally, its applicability was confined to NEI, unlike the erstwhile legislation which was applicable throughout
India.
• It was also enforced in Punjab for 14 years, commencing October 15, 1983, and was ultimately repealed in 1997.
• It was enacted in Jammu & Kashmir in 1990 as Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990.
• Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Nagaland are the Indian States that are subject to the AFSPA currently.
Kea Features of the Act:

Disturbed Areas:
• A 'disturbed area' is officially declared through notification under Section 3 of AFSPA.
• Such areas are declared in order to counter terrorist activities or threats to India's sovereignty, national flag, anthem, or the
Constitution.
• The power to declare an area as disturbed lies with the Central Government, the Governor of the State, or the
administrator of the Union Territory, who can issue notifications in the Official Gazette.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs usually enforces AFSPA, but exceptions exist where the decision is left to State governments.
• The status of being a 'disturbed area' must be maintained for a minimum of three months, as per The Disturbed Areas
Act of 1976.
• Section (3) of AFSPA allows the Central government to deploy armed forces to assist civilian authorities when a region is
officially declared 'disturbed.
• This declaration must be published in The Gazette of India.
Powers with the Security Forces:

• Section (4) grants special powers to Army officers in disturbed areas, allowing them to use force, including lethal force,
against individuals suspected of violating the law.
12minutestoclat.com
➢ This includes situations involving the assembly of five or more people and the carrying of weapons.
➢ A warning is required before opening fire.
• Security forces have the authority to arrest individuals without a warrant and conduct searches without obtaining
consent.
• Individuals taken into custody must be handed over to the nearest police station as soon as possible.
• Prior permission from the Central Government is required for the prosecution of officers on duty for alleged violations of
human rights.
Controversy surrounding AFSPA and call for repeal.

• While AFSPA is seen as a necessary tool to combat insurgency and militancy, it has faced significant controversy and
criticism.
• Critics argue that AFSPA fails to protect and uphold human rights, citing cases of alleged misuse of authority by armed
forces, custodial rape and killings.
• The power of arbitrary arrest and detention provided by AFSPA contradicts Article 22, which provides safeguards for
preventive and punitive detentions.
• In 2000, the activist Irom Sharmila began a hunger strike that would continue for 16 years against AFSPA in Manipur.
• In 2004, the then central government set up a five-member committee under former Supreme Court Justice Jeevan
Reddy, which submitted its report in 2005 recommending the repeal of AFSPA.
• Subsequently, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, headed by Veeerapa Moily, endorsed these
recommendations.
• Former home secretary G K Pillai too supported the repeal of AFSPA.
• Former home minister P Chidambaram has said that the Act, if not repealed, should at least be amended.
• Until the Oting firing in 2021, no state government had openly demanded the repeal of AFSPA from their states.
➢ After Oting, the Nagaland Assembly passed a resolution for the first time for repeal of AFSPA.
➢ Three chief ministers —Neiphiu Rio of Nagaland, N Biren of Manipur, and Conrad Sangma of Meghalaya — have
demanded its repeal.
12minutestoclat.com
3. National Medical Commission’s order on seat allocation
Source- The New Indian Express
Recently: The National Medical Commission’s (NMC) decision to allow and allocate medical education seats according to the
population of a State or Union Territory is turning into a southern States versus the Centre debate on the freedom to provide
healthcare and education to people.
What was the notification?

• According to the commission’s Extraordinary Gazette Notification dated 16 August, 2023, medical colleges shall follow the
ratio of 100 MBBS seats for every 10 lakh population in that state or Union Territory (UT).
• After AY 2023-24 (2024-25 academic year), the Letter of Permission (LOP) for starting new medical colleges shall be
issued only for an annual intake capacity of 50/100/150 seats.
• Applicability: These guidelines are applicable to every medical institution which comes under the jurisdiction of National
Medical Commission and/or wishes to apply for establishment of new medical college or increase in seats for academic
session 2024-25 onwards.
12minutestoclat.com
• No medical colleges/institutes shall be allowed to increase its admission capacity beyond 150, after publication of these
guidelines.
➢ Institutes that have already applied for increase of MBBS seats (for 200 or 250) for the academic year 2023-24 but
were not granted permission due to some reason, may apply for permission to increase in admission capacity with
same number in the year 2024-25.
➢ In case, they fail to obtain the permission for increase in admission capacity in MBBS course during the academic year
2024-25 for any reason, admissions shall be restricted to 150 seats only.
• No excess admission shall be allowed in any circumstances under any quota.
➢ All admissions including for reserved quota shall be within the number of seats granted for admission to that college.
How does it affect certain states?

• If the above mentioned formula is followed, all the southern states — Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil
Nadu, and Telangana — will not be able to start a new medical college as they have crossed the mark.
• Apart from the southern states, smaller states and UTs like Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Puducherry, and Sikkim also
have more seats than prescribed by the new norm.
• Seat- to- population ratio (2021)-
➢ Tamil Nadu - 11,600: 7.64 crore
➢ Karnataka - 11,695: 6.76 crore
➢ Andhra Pradesh - 6,435: 5.34 crore
➢ Kerala - 4,655: 3.54 crore
➢ Telangana - 8,540: 3.77 crore
• According to the new guidelines, Tamil Nadu should only have around 7,600 seats, Karnataka (6,700), Andhra Pradesh
(5,300), Kerala (3,500), and Telangana (3,700).
• The World Health Organisation recommends a doctor-to-population ratio of 1:1,000, and southern states have crossed
it properly.
• According to NMC data, Andhra Pradesh had 1,05,799 registered doctors as of June 2022, while Karnataka had 1,34,426,
Kerala had 42,596 doctors, Tamil Nadu had 1,48,217 doctors and Telangana had 14,999 doctors.
12minutestoclat.com
• This means one doctor was available for 505 people in Andhra Pradesh, 503 people in Karnataka, 839 in Kerala, 600 in
Tamil Nadu and 2,540 in Telangana.
➢ Telangana doctors’ registration only started after 2014, after the formation of the state.
➢ The doctors practising in Telangana before 2014 are registered in Andhra Pradesh.
National Medical Commission (NMC):

• The National Medical Commission came into existence in 2020 through the National Medical Commission Act, 2019.
• It replaced the Medical Council of India (MCI) that was established in 1934 under the Indian Medical Council (IMC)
Act, 1933.
➢ The old Act was repealed in 1956 and a new act was enacted in its place. The new act was further amended in
1964, 1993 and 2001.
➢ The MCI was dissolved in 2018 and was replaced by Board of Governors (BoG), which was chaired by a
member of NITI Aayog.
➢ Later, National Medical Commission came into existence.
• The change is aimed at bringing reform in the medical education sector.
• The NMC has four autonomous boards:
➢ Undergraduate Medical Education Board
➢ Postgraduate Medical Education Board
➢ Medical Assessment and Rating Board
➢ Ethics and Medical Registration Board
• Apart from the Chairman, the NMC consists of 10 ex-officio members and 22 part-time members appointed by the
Central government.
• It aims at laying down policies for regulating medical institutions and medical professionals.
• It is headquartered in New Delhi, India.
• BN Gangadhar is the current chairman of NMC.
• Suresh Chandra Sharma is the current and first chairperson of National Medical Commission.
12minutestoclat.com
4. UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network
SOURCE- https://www.designcities.net/showroom/49-new-cities-join-unescos-creative-cities-network/
Recently: Kozhikode, a city in the Indian state of Kerala, has been officially designated as a UNESCO City of Literature.
• This recognition makes Kozhikode the first Indian city to receive this prestigious title.
➢ Prague was the first city in the world to receive the tag in 2014.
• On World Cities Day, 55 cities joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) following their designation by
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.
• Gwalior from Madhya Pradesh was also among these cities.
What is UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network?

• It is a flagship city programme of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which have recognized
culture and creativity as strategic drivers of sustainable urban development.
• It now includes 350 cities in over a hundred countries.
12minutestoclat.com
• The network represents seven creative fields, including Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature,
Media Arts, and Music.
• The overall situation and activities within the Network is reported in the UCCN Membership Monitoring Reports, each for a
4-year period for a particular city.
• Apart from Kozhikode and Gwalior, following cities have already been included in the list:
➢ Jaipur- Craft and Folk Arts (2015)
➢ Varanasi - Creative city of Music (2015)
➢ Chennai - Creative city of Music (2017)
➢ Mumbai - Film (2019)
➢ Hyderabad - Gastronomy (2019)
➢ Srinagar- Craft and Folk Arts (2021)
• The objective of Sustainable Development Goal 11 is related to sustainable cities and communities.
• It is projected that by 2050, 68% of the global population will reside in urban areas.
Annual Conference of Network Cities:

• An annual conference of mayors and other stakeholders of network cities, offers a unique occasion to strengthen ties
between creative cities from across the world.
• ‘Bringing Youth to the Table for the Next Decade’ is the theme of the 2024 conference.
• The last conference was held in Santos, Brazil, and this year’s conference was in Istanbul. The next conference will be
held in July 2024 in Braga, Portugal.
Kozhikode:
• Kozhikode, also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India.
• It is the second largest metropolitan area in Kerala and the 19th largest in India.
• Kozhikode is classified as a Tier 2 city by the Government of India.
12minutestoclat.com
• The North Kerala city of Kozhikode is home to many prominent personalities of the state’s literary and cultural world.
➢ The city, where several leading media houses are headquartered, has hundreds of publishing banners and several
libraries enriching its literary tradition.
• The first Malayalam novel Kundalatha was born in Kozhikode in 1887.
➢ It was authored by Appu Nedungadi.
• The Tali Temple here, and its environs served as the centre of the former Zamorin dynasty.
• Kozhikode continues to be the hub of the ancient martial art form Kalaripayattu — touted as the mother of all martial arts.
• It is also home to the traditional Muslim art forms, Mappilappattu and Duff Muttu.
World Cities Day 2023:

• With an aim to promote the international community’s interest in global urbanization, every year World Cities Day is
celebrated on October 31.
• This year the international day focuses on the theme of “Financing sustainable urban future for all”.
• “Better City, Better Life” has been the general theme of World Cities Day since its inception.
History:
• In its resolution 68/239, the United Nations Organization established World Cities Day on December 27, 2013.
• Therefore, on October 31, 2014, World Cities Day was celebrated for the first time.
• Later in 2014, UN-Habitat launched Urban October. This annual programme emphasizes urban challenges.
• It was the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlement in 1976 that influenced the decision of the
UNGA to establish World Cities Day.
UNESCO:
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN)
aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture.
12minutestoclat.com
• It was founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual
Cooperation.
• The first session of the General Conference of UNESCO was held in Paris during November-December of 1946.
• It is Headquartered in Paris, France.
• It has 194 (including US) Members and 12 Associate Members and is governed by the General Conference and the
Executive Board.
• Three UNESCO member states are not UN members: Cook Islands, Niue, and Palestine.
• While two UN member states are not UNESCO members: Israel and Liechtenstein.
• United States that officially withdrew from UNESCO in 2018, rejoined the organization in June 2023.
• Audrey Azoulay is the current Director- General of UNESCO.
5. Southeast Asia’s first high speed railway
12minutestoclat.com
Recently: Indonesian President Joko Widodo inaugurated Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway as it was set to begin
commercial operations.
• It is a key project under China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative that will drastically reduce the travel time
between two key cities.
• Widodo, along with other high-ranking officials, took a ride on September 13th from its first station, Halim in eastern
Jakarta, to Bandung’s Padalarang station, one of the line’s four stations, located about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from
the central area of Bandung.
• Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the coordinating minister for maritime and investment, said China Railway has agreed to
transfer its technology to Indonesia so that in the future the country’s high-speed trains can be made domestically.
What is high- speed railway?

• There's no standard definition, but a railway system designed for speeds above 250kmph is generally called high speed.
➢ Sections of these routes may have lower speed limits for safety reasons.
• China boasts the world's longest high speed railway network with 42,000 km of such tracks.
• Japan, Spain, France and Germany are the others where tracks dedicated for high-speed trains stretch over 1,000 km.
• The first high-speed rail system, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, began operations in Honshū, Japan, in 1964.
➢ Due to the streamlined spitzer-shaped nose cone of the locomotive, the system also became known by its English
nickname bullet train.
➢ It had a speed of 210kmph.
• In 1977, sections of the Florence-Rome line became Europe's first high-speed railway at top speed of 250kmph.
• The national French rail company started its first full high-speed line, between Paris and Lyons, on September 27,
1981, with top speed of 260kmph.
• India does not have a high- speed rail network yet.
➢ Construction of the Mumbai- Ahmedabad high- speed rail corridor that started in 2017, is underway and is
expected to be completed by 2028.
12minutestoclat.com
➢ India has several semi- high speed rail networks running at a speed of 160kmph. These are called Vande
Bharat Express and Gatimaan Express.
Details of the project:

• It is a $7.3bn (£5.9bn) project backed by China under its Belt and Road Initiative.
• It was constructed by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China, known as PT KCIC, a joint venture between an Indonesian
consortium of four state-owned companies and China Railway International Co. Ltd.
• The railway connects Jakarta with Bandung, the heavily populated capital of West Java province.
➢ It will cut travel time between the cities from the current three hours to about 40 minutes.
• It can reach speeds of up to 350km/h (217mph) with the journey spanning 142km.
• It is named as Whoosh which is short for Waktu Hemat, Operasi Optimal, Sistem Handal,” meaning “timesaving,
optimal operation, reliable system” in Indonesian language.
• The trains have been modified for Indonesia’s tropical climate and are equipped with a safety system that can respond to
earthquakes, floods and other emergency conditions.
• The 209-meter (685-foot) train has a capacity of 601 passengers.
• The estimated one-way prices per passenger would range from 250,000 rupiah ($16) for second class to 350,000
rupiah ($22.60) for VIP seats.
History:
• The rail deal was signed in October 2015 after Indonesia selected China over Japan in fierce bidding.
• Indonesia broke ground on the project in 2016.
• The line was originally expected to begin operations in 2019, but was delayed by disputes over land acquisition,
environmental issues and the COVID-19 pandemic.
• It was financed with a loan from the China Development Bank for 75% of the cost.
12minutestoclat.com
➢ The remaining 25% came from the consortium’s own funds.

• The project is part of a planned 750-kilometer (466-mile) high-speed train line that would cut across four provinces
on Indonesia’s main island of Java and end in the country’s second-largest city, Surabaya.
Belt and Road Initiative:
• The Belt and Road Initiative is a massive China-led infrastructure project that aims to stretch around the globe.
• Launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping
• It connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks
• It was previously known as the One Belt One Road Initiative.
• China aims to recreate its medieval Silk Road.
• The initiative envisioned a Chinese-led investment of over $1 trillion in partner countries by 2025.
• BRI was incorporated into the Chinese Communist Party's constitution in 2017.
• The project has a target completion date of 2049.
• It will coincide with the centennial of the People's Republic of China (PRC)'s founding.
• The plan was two-pronged:
1. Silk Road Economic Belt - Northern China investment which Links to Eurasia.
2. Maritime Silk Road - Starting in the South China Sea.
• It proceeds through Indo-China and South-East Asia, circling the Indian Ocean before ultimately reaching Africa and
Europe.
• To date, 147 countries—accounting for two-thirds of the world’s population and 40 percent of global GDP—have signed on
to projects.
• Recently, Italy joined the BRI.
• Build Back Better World (B3W), Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) and India-Middle East-
Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) are some of India’s initiatives against BRI.
12minutestoclat.com
6. Gaganyaan Mission
Recently: The ISRO achieved a major milestone by successfully executing Gaganyaan’s first Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission-
1 (TV-D1).
• The test vehicle mission aimed at studying the safety of the crew module and crew escape system in bringing Indian
astronauts back to Earth in the eventual Gaganyaan mission.
• The TV-D1 is the first of two abort missions to test crew safety mechanisms for the mission.
• After the launch of Gaganyaan, India would become the fourth nation to launch its own crew ed spacecraft after
the Soviet Union (later Russia), the United States, and China.
Test Vehicle – Demonstration (TV-D1):
• The new test vehicle was built exclusively to test systems instead of waiting for PSLV and GSLV launches.
• It was launched from the launchpad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
• The new rocket is basically expected to help the space agency avoid the large costs it would incur otherwise in testing the
crew module for the human space flight programme
• The crew escape system separated from the rocket at an altitude of approximately 17 km.
12minutestoclat.com
• In the TV-D1 mission, the Crew Module was empty but in an actual human mission, the capsule would be where the
astronauts are “contained in a pressurized earth-like atmospheric condition”.
➢ For the TV-D1 mission, it had an unpressurised version of the crew module.
• During the Test Vehicle Demonstration, the vehicle had gone up to a Mach no (1.2 Mach) – which is the speed of sound –
and initiated an abort condition for the Crew Escape System mission.
• The crew module made a successful splashdown in the Bay of Bengal around 10 km off the Sriharikota coast at the
programmed velocity
➢ It happened in the nominal time of a little over nine minutes after the 10 am lift-off.
• The payloads consisted:
➢ The Crew Module (CM)
➢ Crew Escape Systems (CES) with their fast-acting solid motors
➢ CM fairing (CMF) and Interface Adapters.
• The crew would actually be sent in the crew module on an LVM-3 rocket during the Gaganyaan mission.
What is Gaganyaan Mission?
• Gaganyaan is the first indigenous mission that will send Indian astronauts to space.
Aim-
• Gaganyaan project envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching crew of 3 members to a low-
earth-orbit of 300- 400 km for a 3 days mission and bring them back safely to earth, by landing in Indian sea waters.
History-
• The ISRO Policy Planning Committee made recommendation for a manned Space mission in 2004 and Preliminary studies of
Gaganyaan started under the generic name Orbital Vehicle in 2006.
• The space mission was first announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 in his Independence Day address to the
nation.
Cost-
12minutestoclat.com
• The total cost of Gaganyaan programme would be to the tune of Rs 9,023 crore.
Intricacies of the Mission:
• Under the Gaganyaan schedule, three flights will be sent in orbit. Of the three, there are two unmanned flights and
one human spaceflight called the orbital module.
• Payload of the orbital module:
The payload consists two modules-
➢ Crew module which is the spacecraft carrying human beings.
➢ The service module is powered by two liquid-propellant engines.
• These two modules are collectively known as orbital module.
➢ It weighs around 8000kg and will be equipped with emergency escape and emergency mission abort.
• LVM3 rocket is identified as the launch vehicle for Gaganyaan mission, as per ISRO.
• It is expected to be launched in 2024.
➢ Earlier, the mission was scheduled to be launched in 2022 but that could not be achieved due to Covid-19.
• Indian Navy and ISRO has released the Gaganyaan Recovery Training Plan at Water Survival Training Facility
(WSTF) at INS Garuda, Kochi.
➢ Astronaut Training Facility is established in Bengaluru.
• Since the first test was successful, ISRO will send a humanoid - a robot that resembles a human.
➢ Called Vyommitra - Sanskrit word for "space friend" - the female humanoid was unveiled by ISRO in 2019.
• The Indian Air Force had identified four fighter pilots as the potential crew for the human space flight mission.
➢ The potential crew had undergone basic training in Russia.
LVM3:
• The Launch Vehicle Mark-III or LVM3, previously referred as the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark
III or GSLV Mk III, is a three-stage, medium-lift launch vehicle developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO).
• It consists of solid stage, liquid stage and cryogenic stage.
12minutestoclat.com
• ISRO successfully conducted the first orbital test launch of LVM3 on 5 June 2017 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre,
Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
• The LVM3 has launched CARE, India's space capsule recovery experiment module, i.e. Chandrayaan-2, India's second
lunar mission in 2019 and Chandryaan- 3, India’s 3rd lunar mission in 2023.
• It was also a part of the mission in which 36 OneWeb satellites placed in orbit.
• It has the capacity to take 4 ton of payload to geosynchronous transfer orbit and 10- ton payload to low earth orbit. It is
totally suited for the Gaganyaan Mission that has an estimated payload of 5-6 tons.
• All systems in LVM3 launch vehicle are re-configured to meet human rating requirements and christened Human Rated
LVM3.
7. World Mental Health Day 2023
Recently: The 2023 edition of the World Mental Health Day was observed on October 10th.
• It provides an invaluable opportunity to foster dialogue, awareness, and understanding surrounding mental health issues.
12minutestoclat.com
What is Mental Health?

• According to the World Health Organization, Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with
the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community.
• Mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders.
• Peak mental health is not only about managing active conditions but also looking after ongoing wellness and happiness.
Theme:
• The theme of World Mental Health Day 2023 is ‘Mental health is a universal human right.’
• The purpose of this theme is to improve knowledge, raise awareness, and drive actions that promote and protect everyone’s
mental health as a universal human right.
History:
• World Mental Health Day owes its inception to the dedicated efforts of the World Federation for Mental Health
(WFMH).
➢ Established in 1948, this global organization has been advocating for mental health for decades.
• In 1992, they took a significant step by launching World Mental Health Day, a day devoted to addressing the often-
overlooked issue of mental health.
• Since then, this day has grown into a global movement, raising awareness and fostering understanding in over 150
countries.
Significance:
• The day prompts governments and organizations to recognize the significance of mental health and allocate resources
toward mental health programs and services.
• World Mental Health Day reminds us to reach out to friends, family, and colleagues who may be struggling with their mental
health.
12minutestoclat.com
8. Rashtriya Vigyan Purskar
Recently: In a significant move to acknowledge and inspire scientific innovation, the Centre has introduced a new set of National
Awards in the field of Science, Technology, and Innovation.
• These awards are named as the "Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar" (RVP).
➢ They aim to recognize the remarkable contributions made by scientists, technologists, and innovators in various fields
of science and technology.
• The Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar is set to be one of the highest recognitions in the field of science, technology, and
innovation in India.
• This comes days after the government released the finalised list of Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar 2022 awardees that was
held back for a year.
➢ The highest honour for young scientists retains the name Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar.
Eligibility:
• The eligibility for these awards extends to scientists, technologists, and innovators working in government or private sector
organizations, as well as individuals working independently.
12minutestoclat.com
• The criteria for recognition include distinguished contributions in terms of path-breaking research, innovation, or discovery in
any field of science, technology, or technology-led innovation.
• Notably, people of Indian origin residing abroad who have made exceptional contributions benefiting Indian communities or
society are also eligible for these awards.
Categories:
• The Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar will be awarded across four categories.
• Vigyan Ratna: The award will honour lifetime achievements in any field of science and technology.
➢ There will only be three Vigyan Ratnas awarded yearly.
• Vigyan Shri: It will acknowledge distinguished contributions in any field of science and technology.
➢ 25 Vigyan Shri awards will be conferred yearly.
• Vigyan Yuva-Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar: It will recognize and encourage young scientists under the age of 45 who have
made exceptional contributions in any field of science and technology.
➢ 25 Vigyan Yuva-Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar will be conferred yearly.
• Vigyan Team: It will be given to a team of three or more scientists, researchers, or innovators who have made exceptional
contributions in any field of science and technology.
➢ 3 Vigyan Team Awards will be conferred yearly.
Domains:
• The awards will cover 13 domains: Physics, Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Mathematics & Computer Science, Earth
Science, Medicine, Engineering Sciences, Agricultural Science, Environmental Science, Technology & Innovation, Atomic
Energy, Space Science and Technology, and others.
• The representation from each domain, including gender parity, will be ensured.
Jury:
• A committee under the chairmanship of the principal scientific adviser will select the awardees.
• The Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar Committee will be constituted of:
12minutestoclat.com
➢ All secretaries of all six science departments

➢ Four presidents selected from science and engineering academies
➢ Six distinguished scientists and technologists from different fields of science.
• This committee will be constituted annually, with the committee members ineligible for the award during their tenure.
• The awards processes will be carried out by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for the first
two years.
➢ It will be taken over by the newly instituted National Research Foundation.
Important Dates:
• Nominations for these awards will be invited annually on January 14 and will remain open until February 28 (National
Science Day).
• The awards will be announced on National Technology Day, May 11.
• On the other hand, the award ceremony will be held every year on the recently announced National Space Day, August
23, to mark the day India’s Chandrayaan-3 landed on the Moon.
The Old Science Awards:

• The number of the Science Awards have been reduced to add to the sanctity and value of the awards. After all, a coveted
award has to be coveted.
• The Department of Science and Technology used to give 207 awards, of which four were of national importance.
➢ They also had 97 private endowments and 56 internal awards.
➢ All internal awards, except for one named after Homi Jehangir Bhabha given by the Department of Atomic
Energy, have been dispensed.
➢ The internal award will be given to 30 recipients in the form of certificates.
➢ The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had three internal awards.
• The Department of Biotechnology gave six fellowships as awards.
• The Department of Atomic Energy gave 25 performance-based honours and 13 non-core domain awards.
12minutestoclat.com
• The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) gave seven awards, including the coveted Shanti Swarup
Bhatnagar award.
• The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences gave four national awards.
9. Asian Games 2023
Recently: The 2022 Asian Games, officially the 19th Asian Games, also known as Hangzhou 2022, was held from 23
September to 8 October 2023 in Hangzhou, China.
• Originally planned for 2022, the event had to be rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Important Facts about the Event:

• This Asian game featured 40 sports with 61 disciplines, including traditional Olympic sports and non-Olympic events.
• Athletes from Asia's elite participated in the event to secure the highest rankings.
12minutestoclat.com
• Athletes and sportspersons competed in 24 competitive sports, 18 ball sports, 9 adversary sports and 10 water
sports at the Asian Games 2023.
• The emblem of Hangzhou Asian Games is called "Tides Surging".
• The three mascots of the game are Congcong, Lianlian and Chenchen, collectively known as, “Memories of
Jiangnan”.
• The torch for the Hangzhou Asian Games is called the "Eternal Flame“.
• “Heart to Heart, @Future” was the motto for the Games.
• The medal of the 19th Asian Games named "Shan Shui“.
➢ It is characterized by the ceremonial jade Cong in the Liangzhu Culture.
• Esports and Breakdance made their inaugural appearances as official sporting events.
➢ The decision to include esports and breakdancing in the Asian Games programme came as late as December 2020.
➢ E-sports has been included at the 19th Asian Games as a medal event — a first at a major multi-sporting event.
➢ A total of 7 competing events feature-
o Arena of Valor Asian Games Version
o Dota 2
o Dream Three Kingdoms 2
o FIFA Online 4
o League of Legends
o PUBG Mobile Asian Games Version
o Street Fighter V: Champion Edition.
➢ India however, has only named their 15-member squad across four of the seven; League of Legends, Dota 2, FIFA
and Street Fighter.
• While chess and cricket will return to the games after the 2010 Guangzhou and 2014 Incheon Games respectively.
India’s Participation:
• India had sent 634 athletes to compete in 38 different sports at the Asian Games.
• The largest contingent consisted of 68 players in athletics.
• India secured a total of 107 medals.
12minutestoclat.com
• It consists of 28 Gold, 38 Silver and 41 Bronze.

• India holds the fourth position in the medal standings.
• The first 3 are China (382), Japan (186) and Republic of Korea (190).
• The previous best at 2018 Jakarta — 70 medals, 16 gold — had been well and truly relegated to a distant second.
• Shooting gave the most gold medals -- seven -- while athletics contributed six.
• The most medal was in Athletics (29) followed by Shooting (22).
• In a historic first for the Asian Games, India claimed the gold medal in women's javelin with Annu Rani.
• Additionally, Avinash Sable secured a gold medal in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase event
• Jyothi Surekha Vennam and Ojas Deotale, competing in compound archery, earned the highest number of gold medals
(three) for their country.
• Neeraj Chopra, India's star javelin thrower, won a gold medal in the Asian Games with a massive throw of 88.88m.
• India experienced a decline in performance in five specific events, namely tennis, bridge, kurash, wushu, and table
tennis.
• In the sport of table tennis, a bronze medal was won by Sutirtha Mukherjee and Ayhika Mukherjee.
➢ They achieved this by defeating formidable Chinese opponents.
What are Asian Games?
• The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every fourth year among athletes from all
over Asia.
• The Games are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and are described as the second largest
multi-sport event after the Olympic Games.
History:
• Following World War II, numerous Asian nations achieved independence.
• Guru Dutt Sondhi, a member of the Indian International Olympic Committee, introduced the concept of the Asian Games.
• In the year 1949, the Asian Games Federation was inaugurated in New Delhi where the first Asian Games were held in
1951.
12minutestoclat.com
• Athletes from 11 nations participated in the inaugural games, which featured six sports.
• The second edition of the event took place in Manila, Philippines, in 1954.
• After that, the Games occurred at four-year intervals.
• It has been hosted by nine different countries up to now.
• In 1981, the Asian Games Federation was renamed as the Olympic Council of Asia.
• The 1982 edition was the first Asian Games to be backed by the Olympic Council of Asia.
India and Asian Games:

• India hosted the first Asian game in 1951.
➢ The first mascot of the Asian Games – Appu, the Indian Elephant.
• The ninth edition of the Asian Games was held again in New Delhi in November and December 1982.
• Only seven conuntries - India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Thailand - have
appeared at every edition of the Games.
• India has won 672 medals at the Asian Games since the inaugural edition in 1951.
• Swimmer Sachin Nag won the 100m freestyle event at New Delhi 1951 to become India’s first gold medallist at the
Asian Games.
• In the same year, Roshan Mistry became the first Indian woman to win an Asian Games medal.
• The next and 20th Games in 2026 will be held in Japan in Aichi-Nagoya.
• It will be followed by a Middle Eastern swing through Doha in 2030 and Riyadh in 2034.
Olympic Council of Asia:

• It is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees.
• President : Sheikh Talal Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah
• Motto : Ever Onward
• Headquarters : Kuwait City, Kuwait
12minutestoclat.com
• Founded : 16 November 1982
10. Russia’s revocation of Comprehensive Nuclear Ban Treaty
SOURCE- BNN Breaking
Recently: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law revoking Russia’s ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban
Treaty.
• The move, though expected, is evidence of the deep chill between the United States and Russia, whose ties are at their
lowest level since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
• This row is over the war in Ukraine and what Moscow casts as Washington’s attempts to stymie the emergence of a new
multipolar world order.
12minutestoclat.com
What is Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty?

• The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a multilateral treaty to ban nuclear weapons test explosions and any
other nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments.
• The Treaty was negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva in 1994 and adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly.
• It was opened for signature in 1996 in New York.
• A total of 187 states have signed the treaty, and 178 have ratified it in their parliaments.
• The treaty is not legally valid until 44 named countries sign and ratify it – all nine that have nuclear weapons, and 35
others that possess nuclear power and research reactors.
➢ Five of the 44 Annex 2 States have signed but not ratified the CTBT: they are China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, and the
United States.
➢ Of the nine countries that possess nuclear weapons: Britain and France have signed and ratified.
➢ India, Pakistan and North Korea have yet to sign or ratify.
• When complete, it will comprise 321 monitoring stations and 16 laboratories, hosted by 89 countries.
➢ Around 90% are already operational, including in Russia and the United States.
• Impact:
➢ Though the treaty has not yet came into effect but in practice the treaty has created a taboo against explosive
nuclear tests.
➢ No country has carried such a test since the 1990s except North Korea, which conducted the most recent of its six
tests in 2017.
Other International Agreements related to disarmament of Nuclear-Weapons:

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear-Weapons-
• It is a UN treaty which sought to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and bring about eventual disarmament.
• Between 1965 and 1968, the treaty was negotiated by the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament, a United
Nations-sponsored organization based in Geneva, Switzerland.
12minutestoclat.com
• Opened for signature in 1968, the treaty entered into force in 1970.
• While the treaty actually consists of eleven articles, it is more commonly understood as having three ‘pillars’:
➢ Non-proliferation
➢ Disarmament
➢ The right to develop nuclear energy
• As required by the text, after twenty-five years, NPT Parties met in May 1995 and agreed to extend the treaty
indefinitely.
• 191 states have become parties to the treaty, though North Korea, which acceded in 1985 but never came into
compliance, announced its withdrawal from the NPT in 2003.
• The treaty defines nuclear-weapon states as those that have built and tested a nuclear explosive device before 1 January
1967; these are the United States (1945), Russia (1949), the United Kingdom (1952), France (1960), and
China (1964).
➢ Four other states are known or believed to possess nuclear weapons.
➢ India, Pakistan, and North Korea have openly tested and declared that they possess nuclear weapons, while
Israel is deliberately ambiguous regarding its nuclear weapons status.
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons-

• The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding
international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons
• It was adopted on 7 July 2017, opened for signature on 20 September 2017, and entered into force on 22 January
2021.
• The new treaty will make it illegal under international law for signatories to develop, test, produce, manufacture, acquire,
possess, stockpile, transfer, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons.
• It has currently 93 signatories, 69 state parties and 44 accessed countries.
• Its 24-paragraph preamble highlights several important reasons why nuclear weapons are dangerous and catastrophic to
humanity.
12minutestoclat.com
• India is a not a party to the treaty as it opposes the discriminative disarmament policy and argues for complete ban of
nuclear weapons.
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START):

• START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was a bilateral treaty between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR) and the United States of America on the limitation and reduction of strategic offensive arms.
• The original START was signed by the US and Soviet Union in July 1991, building on earlier arms reduction and limitation
treaties between the two superpowers.
• After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the ‘Lisbon Protocol’ was signed to include Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and
Belarus in this treaty.
• START I limited the number of heavy bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine launched ballistic
missiles (SLBMs), to 1,600 in total.
➢ These delivery systems were then limited to deploying no more than 6,000 nuclear warheads.
➢ START I expired in December 2009.
• START II- It was signed by US and Russia in 1993.
➢ START II treaty aimed to decrease the number of warheads possessed by both countries.
• START III- A framework for a START III treaty was agreed in 1997.
➢ It proposed a limit of between 2,000 and 2,500 warheads for each country.
➢ Significantly, it also proposed the destruction of the excess warheads and suggestions for cuts in tactical weapons.
➢ Negotiations never started after Russia withdrew in response to the US’s withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile
Treaty in 2002.
• New START Treaty- A new START treaty, officially named ‘Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of
Strategic Offensive Arms’, was signed by the US and Russia in April 2010 and entered into force in February 2011.
➢ This treaty commits the signatories to reducing their number of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550.
➢ It limits the deployed and non-deployed ICBM launchers, SLBM launchers and heavy bombers to 800.
➢ It is the result of the 2010 NPT review conference.
12minutestoclat.com
Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT):

• It was signed in Moscow in 2002.
• SORT was a treaty in which the US and Russia agreed to limit their nuclear arsenal to between 1,700 and 2,200
operationally deployed warheads each.
• It was eventually superseded by the new START.
11. KAZIND- 2023
Recently: Indian Army and Indian Air Force contingent comprising 120 personnel departed for Kazakhstan today to take
part in the 7th edition of Joint Military ‘Exercise KAZIND-2023’.
• The Exercise will be conducted at Otar, Kazakhstan from 30th October to 11th November 2023.
12minutestoclat.com
Participating Contingents:
• The Indian Army contingent for Exercise KAZIND-2023 includes 90 personnel led by a Battalion from the DOGRA
Regiment.
• The Kazakhstan contingent is primarily composed of personnel from the Regional Command South of Kazakh Ground
Forces.
• Additionally, 30 personnel from the Air Force, representing both sides, will participate in this edition of the exercise
alongside the Army contingents.
History:
• The Joint Exercise between India and Kazakhstan was instituted as ‘Exercise PRABAL DOSTYK’ in the year 2016.
• After the second edition, the Exercise was upgraded to a company-level exercise and renamed as ‘Exercise
KAZIND’.
• The Exercise has been further upgraded as a Bi-service Exercise this year by including the Air Force component.
Operations:
• In this edition of the Exercise, both sides will practice conduct of Counter Terrorism operations in a sub-conventional
environment under United Nations mandate.
• The contingents will jointly rehearse various tactical drills to include Raid, Search and Destroy Operations, Small Team
Insertion and Extraction Operations etc.
• The scope of the Exercise also includes conduct of Counter Unmanned Aerial System Operations.
India- Kazakhstan bilateral relations:

• Relations between India and Kazakhstan are ancient and historical, going
back to more than 2000 years.
• India was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of
Kazakhstan in 1991.
12minutestoclat.com
• Diplomatic relations were established in February 22, 1992.

• The Embassy of India was opened in Almaty in May 1992 and the Embassy of Kazakhstan in New Delhi in 1993.
• The capital of Kazakhstan was shifted from Almaty to Astana in 1997.
➢ The Embassy moved to Astana in November 2007.
➢ Following the resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the first President of Kazakhstan, in 2019, Astana was
renamed as Nur- Sultan in his honor. The name Astana was readopted in 2022.
• President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev participated in the First India-Central Asia Summit in virtual format hosted by
India on 27 January 2022.
➢ It coincided with the 30th Anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Central Asian
countries.
• Kazakhstan is the world's ninth-largest country by land area and the largest landlocked country in the world.
12minutestoclat.com
12. World Cotton Day 2023
SOURCE- JagranJosh
Recently: The 2023 edition of World Cotton Day was observed on October 7th.
• The day highlights the importance of cotton products worldwide.
• Cottonseed and cotton fibre are two of the most commonly used plant materials, and India is one of the world’s largest
cotton producers.
Theme:
• In 2023, the theme for World Cotton Day is “Making cotton fair and sustainable for all, from the farm to fashion.”
History:
• Cotton production received a significant boost during the start of the Industrial Revolution in Britain when textiles
became the country’s leading export.
12minutestoclat.com
• Currently, India holds the title of the world’s largest cotton producer, with most cotton production happening in
developing and least developed nations.
• The idea for World Cotton Day came from the Cotton Four nations – Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali.
• They initiated this celebration, which was first observed on October 7, 2019.
• This event was made possible with the support of organizations like:
➢ United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
➢ International Cotton Advisory Committee (I.C.A.C.)
➢ World Trade Organization (W.T.O.) Secretariat
➢ International Trade Centre (I.T.C.)
Significance:
• World Cotton Day is a special day when we take a moment to realize how important cotton is on a global scale.
12minutestoclat.com
13. Sedition Charges against Arundhati Roy
Recently: Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Tuesday granted the police sanction to prosecute author Arundhati Roy
and Kashmiri law professor Sheikh Showkat Hussain for allegedly conspiring against the state in a 13-year-old case.
• They were booked in 2010 for making provocative speeches on Kashmir following a complaint lodged by social activist
Sushil Pandit.
• The charges against them included CrPC Section 196.
➢ Section 196 of CrPC- It mandates seeking prosecution sanction from the state government for offences like hurting
religious sentiments, hate crimes, sedition and promoting enmity.
• Arundhati Roy is an Indian author best known for her novel The God of Small Things (1997), which won the Booker
Prize for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-expatriate Indian author.
What Happened?
• The case was filed in 2010 over comments Roy made at a conference on Kashmir called “Azadi – the Only Way Ahead”.
12minutestoclat.com
➢ The word “Azadi” is often used as a slogan for the Kashmiri independence movement.
• The initial complaint alleged that speeches by Roy and her co-defendants were provocative in nature and jeopardized public
security by suggesting that Kashmir was never part of India and advocating for Kashmiri independence.
• Two of the accused, Kashmiri separatist leader Sayed Ali Shah Geelani and Delhi University lecturer Syed Abdul
Rahman Geelani, have died since the initial complaint was filed.
• Sheikh Showkat Hussain, a former international law professor at the Central University of Kashmir, is still facing charges
alongside Roy.
• Significantly, the Delhi Police did not think the speeches merited prosecution for sedition at the time, as sought by a
complainant before a Magistrate court.
• However, a Metropolitan Magistrate rejected the police contention and, on November 27, 2010, directed the filing of a first
information report (FIR).
• The police complied with the order, invoking sections of the Indian Penal Code relating to sedition, statements
promoting enmity between different groups, imputations against national integration and statements
causing public mischief.
• The FIR also included Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) which seeks to punish “unlawful
activities”.
• Mr. Saxena has approved prosecution for the other offences, but not sedition, as there is a Supreme Court of India bar on
proceeding with sedition charges.
• It is not clear whether the police will press the UAPA charge, as Section 45 of the Act requires the sanction of the Central
government, and the rules prescribe strict time limits to obtain it.
What is Sedition?
• Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code talks about Sedition which is charged against provocation of hatred, contempt or
disaffection against the government established by law in India.
• It attracts imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years,
to which fine may be added.
• It was drafted by Thomas Babington Macaulay in IPC 1837 as section 113 but it was omitted from the IPC 1860.
12minutestoclat.com
➢ Later in 1870, Sir James Stephen introduced it by an amendment.

• It is a non- bailable offence and a person charged with Sedition cannot apply for a government job.
• They cannot have their passport and have to be present before the court whenever required.
• Incidentally, the sedition law was abolished by the United Kingdom in 2010.
• The 22nd law commission in its 279th report recommended a maximum life term, of seven years, or just a fine,
depending on the case.
• The recently proposed Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita repeals sedition.
➢ The word “Sedition” has been removed from the proposed law and replaced with Section 150.
➢ This section criminalises acts that endanger the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India.
➢ The new provision increases the maximum penalty to seven years.
Landmark judgements related to Sedition:

• Queen Empress vs Bal Gangadhar Tilak 1897- The court held that Sedition is exciting or attempting to excite in others
certain bad feelings towards the government.
➢ The court held that even if there was no excitement or attempt to excite mutiny or rebellion or any sort of actual
disturbance, exciting dissatisfaction is enough to charge someone for Sedition.
➢ Privy Council, the highest appellate court of that time, upheld this exposition of law.
• Ram Nandan vs State of Uttar Pradesh 1958- It was the first case to address the legitimacy of Section 124A.
➢ Allahabad High Court held that Section 124A of the IPC was ultra vires in character and violated Article 19(1)(a) of
the Constitution (right to freedom of speech and expression).
• Kedar Nath Singh vs State of Bihar case 1962- The constitutional validity of Section 124A was again challenged in
Supreme Court.
➢ The Supreme Court ruling was that for a crime to be established as sedition under Section 124A, there must be said
or written remarks that have the potential to cause disruption or disturbance of public order by means of violence.
➢ It meant there is no offence unless the statements are likely to incite violence.
➢ This verdict thus overruled the decision of the Allahabad High Court as the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional
validity of the Law of Sedition.
12minutestoclat.com
• Balwant Singh And Anr vs State of Punjab 1995- The Supreme Court ruled that simply raising slogans like "Khalistan
Zindabad" and "Raj Karega Khalsa" in public places do not amount to sedition in the absence of evidence or record of
occurrence of violence.
• Vinod Dua vs Union of India (2021)- The petitioner in a Youtube video presented a critical analysis of the Covid-induced
nationwide lockdown, to major health issues and insufficient testing facilities, along with scarcity of information regarding
availability of materials like PPE kits, N95 masks, etc.
➢ the apex court quashed a sedition case registered against senior journalist and held that a citizen has a right to
criticise or comment upon the measures undertaken by the government and its functionaries so long as he does not
incite people to violence against the government established by law or with the intention of creating public disorder.
• State vs Disha A. Ravi (2021)- Disha A. Ravi, a 22-year-old environment activist was taken in custody for her
involvement in the toolkit case during the farmer's movement against the new farmer's bills in 2020. She was accused of
sedition and criminal conspiracy.
➢ In the absence of evidence, the court set her free and upheld that dissent and divergence of thoughts was a sign of
healthy democracy as free speech is a Constitutionally granted fundamental right.
12minutestoclat.com
14. Bihar Caste Survey
SOURCE- The Quint
Recently: The Bihar government has released the results of its recently concluded survey of castes in the state.
• The Bihar government had issued a notification on June 6, 2022 to conduct a caste survey in the State.
• The survey recorded the economic status of families alongside their caste, and has estimatedly collected socio-economic
data for a population of 12.70 crore in the 38 districts of Bihar.
Important Findings of the census:
• The EBCs (Economically Backward Classes) are the biggest social group comprising 36.01% of the state’s population.
• The OBCs (Other Backward Classes) number is 27.12%.
• The census puts the share of Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) cumulatively at more
than 63%.
• The share of Scheduled Castes (SCs) is 19.65%
12minutestoclat.com
• Scheduled Tribes (STs) number is only 1.68% as a result of the bulk of the tribal population having become a part of
Jharkhand after the bifurcation of the state in 2000.
• The “unreserved” category comprises 15.52% of the state.
• Hindus comprise 81.99% of the population, and Muslims 17.72%.
• The populations of Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and other religious denominations are minuscule.
• Bihar’s population, according to the survey, is 13.07 cr compared to the 10.41 crore recorded in the.
How was the Survey Conducted:
• CM Nitish Kumar announced on June 1, 2022, that all nine parties, including the BJP’s Bihar unit, had unanimously
decided to go ahead with the "caste census.”
• The government allocated Rs 500 crore from its contingency fund for the exercise.
• The first phase of the survey took place between January 7 and 21 and involved counting the number of households.
• The second phase began on April 15.
➢ It aimed to collect data on castes, religions, economic backgrounds, and other aspects, such as the number of family
members living in the state and outside.
• The Patna High Court initially paused the exercise after five PILs were filed against it, questioning the state government's
competence to conduct what appeared to be a census.
• The court later allowed the survey to proceed in August, after the state government clarified that it was a "survey" and
assured that no one's data would be divulged.
• An app was used to collect the data for tabulation and processing.
• The app name was Bijaga (Bihar Jaati Adharit Ganana).
The EBCs:
• THE EBCs are a group of 130-odd castes that occupy the lower rungs of the OBC spectrum that is dominated by the
Yadavs and Kurmis.
• Among the EBCs are Mallah, Nai, Nonia, Dhanuk, Kahar, etc.
12minutestoclat.com
• Karpoori Thakur, who was Chief Minister of Bihar for a few months in 1970-71 and then from 1977-79, pioneered the
politics of EBC.
• He was the first to announce quotas within quota, earmarking 12% for EBCs and 8% for OBCs.
• Karpoori’s government did not last long, but the politics of EBC remained and grew stronger over the decades.
• Lalu Prasad appealed to a wide section of EBCs until the 1995 elections.
• Nitish Kumar, after coming to power in 2005, cultivated the EBCs, announcing more than a dozen welfare schemes for
them.
The history of Caste Census:

• The origin of caste census goes back to colonial exercise of 1881.
• The government, researchers, and others have been using the census for a long time to count the Indian population,
allocate resources, track social changes, and do things like redrawing boundaries.
• However, back in the 1940s, W.W.M. Yeatts, who was in charge of the 1941 Census in India, said that while the census is
a powerful tool, it's not great for detailed studies."
• The first Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) was conducted in 1931.
• It aims to visit every Indian family, whether they live in the countryside or cities. SECC can help create a big picture of
inequalities in India.
• Present Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India - Mritunjay Kumar Narayan.
12minutestoclat.com
15. Project Udbhav
SOURCE- ANI
Recently: The Indian Army's latest initiative, named "Udbhav," was officially launched by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh
during the inauguration of the Indian Military Heritage Festival on October 21st.
• The project’s objective is to synthesise ancient wisdom with contemporary military practices, forging a unique and holistic
approach to address modern security challenges.
What is Project Udbhav?
• ‘Udbhav’, which translates to 'origin' or 'genesis', acknowledges the vintage scriptures and writings of our Nation, that
span centuries in the past and contain profound knowledge that can benefit modern military strategies.
• It is a collaboration between the Indian Army and the United Service Institution of India (USI), a defence services
think tank.
• It is a visionary initiative by the Indian Army that seeks to integrate age-old wisdom with contemporary military pedagogy.
• An initiative in this research was earlier taken by the Army Training Command, who after delving into the ancient Indian
Scriptures such as Arthashastra, Nitisara by Kamandaki and Mahabharata compiled the ‘Compendium of 75 Stratagems’.
12minutestoclat.com
The Ancient Indian Strategies:

• The ancient Indian knowledge system is rooted in a 5000-years old civilisational legacy, which has attached great value to
knowledge.
• Literature like Chanakya's Arthashastra underscores the importance of strategic partnerships, alliances and diplomacy,
aligning with modern military practices such as international cooperation and soft power projection.
➢ Chanakya’s teachings on statecraft and warfare are studied by various institutions the world over.
• The wisdom of Thirukkural, the classical Tamil text authored by Thiruvalluvar, the Tamil philosopher, advocates ethical
conduct in all endeavours, including warfare.
➢ This aligns with modern military codes of ethics of just war and principles of Geneva Convention.
• Apart from ancient texts, a study of prominent military campaigns and leaders is also important.
➢ The empires of Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka and Cholas flourished and expanded in influence, during their
times.
➢ There are examples of the Ahom Kingdom too, which successfully ruled for 600 years, repeatedly defeating the
Mughals.
• The Naval Battle of Saraighat in 1671 was led by Lachit Borphukan.
➢ It stands as a stellar example of the use of clever diplomatic negotiations to buy time, employ psychological warfare,
focus on military intelligence and exploiting the strategic weakness of the Mughals.
• The tenets expounded by the ancient knowledge system, were also put to practise by Chhatrapati Shivaji and Maharaja
Ranjit Singh who defeated numerically superior Mughal and Afghan invaders.
United Service Institution of India:

• USI is a national security and defense services think tank based in New Delhi, India.
• It was founded in 1870 by a soldier scholar, Colonel (later Major General) Sir Charles MacGregor.
12minutestoclat.com
16. South China Sea Dispute
Recently: China installed a 300m floating barricade near the South China Sea’s Scarborough Shoal breaking out controversy
between China- Philippines.
• Both countries have been embroiled in a tussle over the shoal’s territorial claim since 2012.
• The Philippine coastguard says it has removed the “floating barrier” installed by China.
12minutestoclat.com
The Issue:
• The South China Sea is situated just south of the Chinese mainland.
• It is bordered by the countries of Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
• The South China Sea is one of the most strategically critical maritime areas.
• China claims more than 90% of the South China Sea.
• The South China Sea is a rich fishing ground that is believed to hold vast oil and gas reserves.
• More than half of the world's fishing vessels operate in this area.
• China seized the Scarborough Shoal in 2012 and forced fishermen from the Philippines to travel further for smaller
catches.
➢ The Scarborough Shoal also known as Huangyan Island.
• In 1947, China, under the rule of the nationalist Kuomintang party, issued a map with the so-called “nine-dash line”.
➢ The line essentially encircles Beijing’s claimed waters and islands of the South China Sea.
➢ The line continued to appear in the official maps even after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) came to power.
➢ The line runs as far as 2,000 km from the Chinese mainland to within a few hundred kilometres of the Philippines,
Malaysia and Vietnam.
➢ The line was initially the “eleven-dash line” but in 1953, the CCP-led government removed the portion
encompassing the Gulf of Tonkin, simplifying the border to nine dashes.
➢ The line comprises nine dashes which extends hundreds of miles south and east from its most southerly province of
Hainan.
• China’s claim on the waters and islands within the boundary is based on its “historical maritime rights” through the
Nine- Dash Line.
➢ However, the country has never clearly stated the line coordinates.
➢ The line runs many miles beyond what is allowed under the United Nations treaty on maritime territorial
issues, which China has signed.
Significance of South China Sea:
12minutestoclat.com
• There are 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in deposits under the South China Sea.
• The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimates that over 21% of global trade, amounting to
$3.37 trillion, transited through these waters in 2016.
• The Paracel Islands, along with the Spratly group to the south, are located within China’s nine or ten "dash-line".
Claims of Other Countries:

• Vietnam: It claims to have actively ruled over both the Paracels and the Spratlys since the 17th Century - and has the
documents to prove it.
➢ It disputes China's historical account, saying China had never claimed sovereignty over the islands before the 1940s.
• Philippines: It invokes its geographical proximity to the Spratly Islands as the main basis of its claim for part of the
grouping.
➢ Both the Philippines and China also lay claim to the Scarborough Shoal (known as Huangyan Island in China).
➢ It is a little more than 100 miles (160km) from the Philippines and 500 miles from China.
➢ Scarborough was administered by the Philippines as part of its Zambales province, until 2012.
➢ In 2012, a standoff was initiated by China through the use of warships against fishing boats, resulting in
effective capture by the Chinese maritime forces.
➢ In 2013, the Philippines solely filed an international case against China in the arbitration court in The
Hague, Netherlands.
➢ In 2016, the court declared that China's so-called nine-dash line claim in the entire South China Sea was invalid,
while upholding the sovereign rights of the Philippines in the area.
➢ China rejected the decision and sent more warships.
• Malaysia and Brunei: They lay claim to territory in the South China Sea that falls within their economic exclusion
zones, as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS.
➢ Brunei does not claim any of the disputed islands, but Malaysia claims a small number of islands in the Spratlys.
12minutestoclat.com
• Japan: It has no direct stake in the South China Sea but provides ships and military equipment to claimants like Vietnam
and the Philippines.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea:
• UNCLOS is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities.
• It was signed in 1982 and entered into force in 1994.
• Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): It is an area of the ocean, generally extending 200 nautical miles (1nm = 1.852km)
beyond a nation's territorial sea,
➢ Within these, a coastal nation has jurisdiction over both living and non-living resources.
• UNCLOS has 168 parties. An additional 14 UN members states have signed it but not ratified.
• Only 16 UN members and observer states have neither signed nor ratified the treaty.
Serious Clashes:
• In 1974, the Chinese seized the Paracels from Vietnam, killing more than 70 Vietnamese troops.
➢ In 1988, the two sides clashed in the Spratlys, with Vietnam again coming off worse, losing about 60 sailors.
• In early 2012, China and the Philippines engaged in a lengthy maritime stand-off, accusing each other of intrusions in
the Scarborough Shoal.
• Unverified claims that the Chinese navy sabotaged two Vietnamese exploration operations in late 2012 led to large anti-
China protests on Vietnam's streets.
• In May 2014, the introduction by China of a drilling rig into waters near the Paracel Islands led to multiple collisions
between Vietnamese and Chinese ships.
• In June 2019, Manila accused a Chinese trawler of ramming a Filipino fishing boat with 22 people on board.
➢ The Filipinos were rescued by the Vietnamese.
➢ In early 2023, the Philippines said Chinese vessels have been shining lasers at Filipino boats to temporarily blind
their crew.
12minutestoclat.com
17. World Habitat Day 2023
SOURCE- Gyaniadda.com
Recently: The 2023 edition of the World Habitat Day was observed on October 2nd.
• Every year, World Habitat Day is celebrated on the first Monday of the month of October.
• World Habitat Day is celebrated to raise awareness of the importance of having a habitat or a home of our own and discuss
important aspects of them, with reference to the impact they have on us.
• The day centres around the global observance, which is held in a different country each year with keynote speakers and
roundtable discussions focused on a specific theme.
Theme:
• The theme for this year is: ‘Resilient urban economies: Cities as drivers of growth and recovery’.
History:
• In 1986, the first World Habitat Day was celebrated in Nairobi, Kenya.
12minutestoclat.com
• The theme of that year's World Habitat Day was – Shelter is my right.
Celebration in India:
• Aligning with this year’s theme, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, hosted an event at Vigyan
Bhawan today i.e. on 9th October 2023.
• The focus of the event was to convene various urban stakeholders to discuss ways in which cities can be primed to address
economic and environmental challenges to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• Sustainable Development Goal 11 talks about making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
Urban Development in India:
• There investment in urban development has increased from Rs. 1.78 lakh crore between 2004- 14 to 18 lakh crores after
2014.
• The amount of waste processing and increased from 17% to 76% after 2014.
• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is planning to remove dumpsites through bioremediation in next two years.
• In India, despite the relatively low urbanisation, cities already contribute 66 percent to the national GDP.
➢ his number is expected to go as high as 80 percent by 2050.
• The Ministry praised the cities for raising for using municipal bonds to raise resources.
➢ Municipal Bond- These are debt securities issued by states, cities, countries and other government entities to fund
day- to day obligations and to finance capital projects such as building schools, highways or sewer systems.
➢ 12 cities have raised more than Rs. 4,384 crores through municipal bonds.
➢ Through the AMRUT mission, the government has pressed for cities to go to the markets to raise capital investment.
AMRUT Mission:
• Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) was launched in June 2015 by PM Narendra
Modi under the Government of India.
• Aim- To provide basic civic amenities to the urban areas to improve the quality of life with major focus to the poor and the
disadvantaged.
12minutestoclat.com
• It is the first focused national water Mission, which was launched in 500 cities and covered 60% of the urban population.
• The Mission was launched with an overall budget of Rs. 1 lakh crore allocated for the development under this scheme.
18. Green Energy Corridor Phase – 2
Recently: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, approved the project on Green
Energy Corridor (GEC) Phase-II – Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) for 13 GW Renewable Energy Project in
Ladakh.
• In his Independence Day speech in 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans for a 7.5 GW solar park in
Ladakh.
➢ Following this, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) prepared a strategy to establish a 13 GW
renewable energy generation capacity, complemented by a 12 GWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Pang,
Ladakh.
Details of the project:
• The project is targeted to be set up by FY 2029-30.
12minutestoclat.com
• The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 20,773.70 crores and Central Financial Assistance (CFA) is 40 percent
of the project cost i.e. Rs 8,309.48 crore.
• Implementing Authority - Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID).
• The transmission lines for this project will extend through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, culminating at Kaithal in
Haryana, where they will integrate with the National Grid.
• An additional interconnection is planned from Leh to the existing Ladakh grid to ensure a reliable power supply for the
region.
• The project will also link to the Leh-Alusteng-Srinagar line to provide power to Jammu & Kashmir.
• Overall, the project will involve the construction of 713 km of transmission lines, including:
➢ A 480 km high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line.
➢ Two 5 GW HVDC terminals at Pang in Ladakh and Kaithal in Haryana.
What is Green Energy Corridor?

• The GEC initiative was launched in 2012 and it serves as a dedicated transmission network for connecting renewable
energy zones to the national grid.
• The Green Energy Corridor (GEC) report was submitted by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) in FY
2012-13 and the implementation work started, after due approval process, in 2015.
• GEC comprises of both Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) and Intra State Transmission System (InSTS).
➢ It also comprises setting up of Renewable Energy Management Centre (REMC) and the control infrastructure
like, reactive compensation, storage systems, etc.
Inter-State Transmission System Green Energy Corridor Phase-I:
• This project with total 3200 ckm (circuit kilometre) inter-state transmission lines and 17000 MVA (mega volt ampere)
substations was commissioned in March 2020.
• The project was started in year 2015 and was implemented by PGCIL.
• The project cost is Rs. 11369 crores.
➢ Funding mechanism- 30% equity by PGCIL.
12minutestoclat.com
➢ 70% loan from KfW Development Bank (EUR 500 Million) & ADB (approx. Rs. 2800 crore).
• The project was implemented to evacuate approx. 6 GW of Renewable Energy power.
19. Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal Dispute
SOURCE- The Quint
Recently: The Supreme Court issued an order for the Punjab Government to finish the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.
• The court instructed the Union Government to facilitate discussions between Punjab and Haryana regarding the canal.
• Haryana has already completed its portion of the canal.
What is the dispute?

• Under Indus water treaty, 1960, signed between Indian and Pakistan – Ravi, Sutlej and Beas are allocated to India.
• The river Beas and Sutlej meets in Punjab.
• Ten years prior to Haryana's establishment, the annual water flow from the Ravi and Beas rivers was estimated at
15.85million acre feet (MAF).
12minutestoclat.com
• In 1955, the Union government convened a meeting involving three key parties:
➢ Rajasthan, undivided Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir.
➢ During this meeting, water allocations were made.
• Rajasthan receiving 8 MAF per year, undivided Punjab receiving 7.20 MAF, and Jammu and Kashmir receiving 0.65 MAF.
• The water dispute started in 1966 with Punjab Reorganisation Act.
• The Act divided erstwhile Punjab into the states of Punjab and Haryana.
• There emerged a need to share river water between the two newly separated states.
• However, Punjab opposed sharing water of Ravi and Beas rivers with Haryana, citing the Riparian Principle.
➢ The principle states that the owner of land adjacent to a water body has the right to use the water.
• It also argued that it had no water to spare.
• In March 1976, despite Punjab's protests, the Centre allocated 3.5 MAF to Haryana from undivided Punjab's 7.2 MAF.
• In 1981, an agreement was reached among Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
➢ The aim was to reallocate the waters of Ravi and Beas in "overall national interest and for optimum utilization of the
waters.”
• The water assessment was revised to 17.17 MAF.
• Through a mutual agreement, Punjab received 4.22 MAF, Haryana was allocated 3.5 MAF, and Rajasthan was given 8.6
MAF.
➢ The SYL Canal was a direct result of this agreement.
The Canal:
• It was planned to connect the Sutlej with Yamuna.
• It will enable Haryana to access its allotted water share.
• On 8 April 1982, the then PM Indira Gandhi launched the construction of SYL, in Kapoori village, Patiala district.
• A 214 km-long SYL Canal was planned for construction.
• Of this, 122 km would be in Punjab, and the remaining 92 km in Haryana.
• In response, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) launched a massive agitation, in the form of “Kapoori Morcha”.
• In 1985, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi met with Harchand Singh Longowal, the SAD chief.
• They signed an accord to establish a new tribunal for water assessment.
12minutestoclat.com
• As a result, Eradi Tribunal was set up, headed by Supreme Court Judge V Balakrishna Eradi.
• Soon after the agreement signed, Longowal was killed by Millitants.
• In 1990, M L Sekhri, and Avtar Singh Aulakh, both linked to the canal discussions, were also killed by militants.
• As violence seemed to escalate, Punjab stopped work on the canal.
• In 1987, the tribunal recommended an increase in the shares of Punjab and Haryana to 5 MAF and 3.83 MAF, respectively.
• In 1996, Haryana took its case to the Supreme Court.
➢ Their objective was to obtain a court order compelling Punjab to finalize the construction of the SYL project.
• In 1981, Haryana completed the construction.
• In 2002, the Supreme Court directed Punjab to continue work on SYL and complete it within a year.
• The Punjab government refused, and petitioned for a review of the court order, which was rejected.
• In 2004, by order of the apex court, the Central Public Works Department was appointed to take over the canal work
from the Punjab government.
• But the Punjab Legislative Assembly passed the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act of 2004.
➢ It abrogated all its river water agreements with neighbouring states.
• In 2016, The 2004 act was declared invalid by the Supreme Court.
• In 2020, SC asks Centre to mediate between CMs of Punjab and Haryana to find a solution.
• In early 2023: Centre tells SC that talks between the two states has failed as Punjab refused to construct its part of the
canal.
• The meeting was convened by Union Jal Shakti.
12minutestoclat.com
20. BrahMos Missile

Recently: Indian Navy has successfully test-fired a BrahMos missile from its warship in the Bay of Bengal.
• The supersonic missile, fired from an indigenously-built stealth destroyer by the eastern fleet achieved precision hit paving
the way for its induction into the Indian Navy.
• This was the third test of the missile in three weeks.
• On October 18, Indian Air Force (IAF) had successfully test fired the air-launched BrahMos supersonic cruise missile in
the Bay of Bengal.
➢ The air-launched BrahMos missile was test-fired from Su-30MKI fighter jet, which has been equipped to launch
the cruise missile.
➢ The aircraft took off with the missile from a southern peninsula air base and went almost 1,500 kilometers to
effectively attack a target from a wider range than before.
• Ongoing tests aim to extend its range from 250 kilometers to up to 450 kilometers, and even up to 600 kilometers.
• On March 30, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) inked a contract with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.
➢ This deal provided for procurement of next generation maritime mobile coastal batteries and BrahMos missiles at an
approximate cost of over `1,700 crore.
➢ The delivery of the system is expected to commence from 2027.
What is BrahMos?
• The name “BrahMos” is a combination of the names of Brahmaputra and Moskva (Russian) rivers.
• BrahMos missiles are designed, developed and produced by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture company set up by
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Mashinostroyenia of Russia.
• It is a two-stage missile with solid propellant booster as first stage and liquid ramjet as the second stage.
• The strike range of the nine-metre-long missile has been extended from 290 km to 450 km plus.
➢ This has done after India’s full membership to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) that removed
caps on the range of BrahMos cruise missile.
• Brahmos is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft, with a weight of 2.5 tonnes.
12minutestoclat.com
• There are various versions of the BrahMos, including those which can be fired from land, warships, submarines and
Sukhoi-30 fighter jets.
• The earliest versions of the ship launched BrahMos and land-based system are in service of the Indian Navy and the Indian
Army since 2005 and 2007 respectively.
The land-based system:
• The land-based Brahmos Complex has four to six mobile autonomous launchers.
• Each has three missiles on board that can be fired almost simultaneously.
• The land attack version of BrahMos has the capability of cruising at 2.8 Mach speed.
• With the upgraded capability, the missile can hit targets at a range of upto 400 kilometers with precision.
• Advanced versions of range above 1,000 kilometers and speed upto 5 Mach are said to be under development.
Ship-based System:
• The Indian Navy began inducting BrahMos on its frontline warships from 2005, and has capability to hit sea-based targets
beyond radar horizon.
• The Naval version has been successful time and again in sea-to-sea and sea-to-land modes.
• The BrahMos from ship can be launched as a single unit or in a salvo upto eight in numbers separated by 2.5 seconds
intervals.
➢ These salvos can hit and destroy a group of frigates having modern missile defence systems.
Air- launched Version:
• On November 22, 2017, Brahmos was successfully flight-tested for the first time from the IAF frontline fighter aircraft
Sukhoi-30MKI against a sea-based target in the Bay of Bengal
• BrahMos equipped Sukhoi-30s – which have a range of 1,500 kilometers at a stretch without mid-air refuelling – are
considered as key strategic deterrence for the adversaries.
• IAF is said to be integrating BrahMos with 40 Sukhoi-30 fighter jets across the various bases.
12minutestoclat.com
The submarine- launch version:

• This version has capability of being launched from around 50 meters below the water surface.
• The canister stored missile is launched vertically from the pressure hull of the submarine and uses different settings for
underwater and out of the water flights.
• This version was successfully tested first in March 2013 from a submerged platform off the coast of Visakhapatnam.
Missile Technology Control Regime:

• It is a multilateral export control regime whose members have an informal political understanding to limit the proliferation of
missiles and missile technology.
• The Missile Technology Control Regime was started in 1987 by the G-7 industrialized countries namely, the USA, UK,
Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Italy.
• There are a total of 35 members of the Missile Technology Regime (MTCR).
• India became a member in 2016.
• The treaty is not legally binding but an informal political understanding.
• MTCR membership will enable India to buy high-end missile technology and also enhance its joint ventures with Russia.
12minutestoclat.com
21. Nobel Prize 2023
Recently: The 2023 edition of the Nobel Prize have been announced.
What is a Nobel Prize?
• The Nobel prizes are a series of annual awards given in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and
peace.
• In 1968, an Economic Sciences prize also known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences was added
by Sweden's central bank.
• They are awarded to people "who have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind" in the previous 12 months.
• The Nobel Prizes were created by Alfred Nobel in his 1895 will.
• The first Nobel prize awards were presented in 1901.
• The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences presents awards for physics, chemistry and economic sciences.
• The Literature award is presented by The Swedish Academy.
• The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
12minutestoclat.com
• The Norwegian Nobel committee awards the Nobel Peace Prize.

• The Nobel Peace Prize is presented in Norway while the other awards are handed out in Sweden.
• The prizes are presented at ceremonies on 10 December, the death anniversary of Alfred Nobel, in Stockholm and
Oslo.
• Between 1901 and 2022, the Nobel Prizes and the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences were awarded 621
times to 1000 people and organisations.
• The recipient of each prize receives three things:
➢ A Nobel diploma
➢ A Nobel medal
➢ A cash prize of 10million Swedish krona - which is split between winners when there is more than one.
• Nobel can be shared among maximum 3 people and it can’t be awarded after death.
Who are recipients of 2023 Nobel Prizes?

Physics:
• Awarded to Anne L’Huillier, Pierre Agostini, and Ferenc Krausz.
➢ For creation experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in
matter”.
➢ An attosecond is one quintillionth of a second, or 10^-18 seconds.
➢ This is the timescale at which the properties of an electron change.
➢ Their research can help provide images from inside atoms and molecules.
• Prof L'Huillier, who is based at Lund University in Sweden, is only the fifth woman to win a physics Nobel.
• Prof Pierre Agostini is based at Ohio State University in the US.
• Prof Ferenc Kraus is at Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics in Germany.
• 2022 award were conferred to Alain Aspect, American John Clauser and Austrian Anton Zeilinger for research into
quantum mechanics.
• Wilhelm Röntgen was the first person to receive Nobel in Physics for discovering X-radiation.
12minutestoclat.com
Chemistry:
• Awarded to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov.
➢ For the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.
➢ They are used in medical imaging to guide surgeons, in better targeting of cancer drugs, and in solar panels.
• Russian physicist Alexei I. Ekimov, is credited with first discovering quantum dots in the 1980s.
• US chemist Louis E. Brus realized that quantum dot crystals could be developed while floating in fluid.
• Paris-born Moungi G. Bawendi invented a method for making custom-made quantum dots, expanding their potential
commercial and scientific applications.
• 2022 award was conferred to Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless "for the development of
click chemistry and bio-orthogonal chemistry.”
• 1st Nobel Prize in Chemistry was conferred to Jacobs Henricus Van't Hoff.
➢ For the discovery of the laws of chemical dynamics & osmotic pressure in solutions.
Physiology/ Medicine:
• Awarded to Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman.
➢ For their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA
vaccines against COVID-19.
• Katalin Kariko is Hungarian-born and Drwe Weissman is an American physician.
• They published the key finding in 2005.
• 2022 Nobel Prize in Medicine was conferred to Svante Paabo for his work on human evolution.
• 1st Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology was conferred to Emil Adolf von Behring for the discovery of serum therapy.
Literature:
• Awarded to Norwegian author Jon Fosse.
➢ For his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable.
12minutestoclat.com
• 2022 award was conferred to French writer Annie Ernaux.

• 1st Nobel Prize in literature was conferred to Sully Prudhomme
Nobel Peace Prize:
• Awarded to Iranian right activist Narges Mohammadi
➢ For her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.
• Ms Mohammadi is currently serving a 10-year jail term in Iran's notorious Evin prison in the capital, Tehran.
• 2022 award was conferred to Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the
Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties.
• 1st Nobel Peace Prize was conferred to Frédéric Passy and Henry Dunant.
Economics:
• Awarded to American Economic Historian Claudia Goldin
➢ For having advanced our understanding of women’s labour market outcomes
• She is currently the Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard University.
• She is only the third woman to receive the prize and the first to not share the award with male colleagues.
• Elinor Ostrom was the first woman to win the economics prize in 2009.
• In 2019 Esther Duflo shared the award with her husband Abhijit Banerjee, and Michael Kremer.
• 2022 award was conferred to Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig "for research on banks and
financial crises“.
• 1st Nobel Prize in Economics was conferred to Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen.
➢ For having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes".
12minutestoclat.com
22. Medical Termination of Pregnancy
SOURCE- The Times of India
Recently: The Supreme Court declined to permit a married woman, a mother of two, to terminate her over 26-week pregnancy
as the foetus was healthy and the AIIMS medical board found no abnormality with it.
• A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said the length of pregnancy has crossed 24 weeks, the upper limit
for allowing Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP), and therefore it cannot be permitted.
• The foetus was 26 weeks and 5 days old and there was no immediate threat to the mother.
• The bench was hearing arguments on the Centre's application seeking recall of the apex court's October 9 order
permitting the Medical Termination of Pregnancy in this case as the woman was suffering from post-partum psychosis after
the birth of her second child.
India’s laws on abortion:
12minutestoclat.com
• The termination of pregnancy in India is governed by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (MTP Act).
• MTP Act was first enacted in 1971.
• The latest amendment to the act was in 2021.
• Previously, the MTP Act only applied to married women.
• However, the 2021 amendment expanded its coverage to include unmarried women as well.
• Gestation period – It is the period of time between conception and birth.
• The Act allows termination of pregnancy in three stages –
➢ Up to 20 weeks, it's permitted with one doctor's advice.
➢ Between 20-24 weeks, it's allowed exceptionally based on two registered medical practitioners'
recommendations for specific categories.
➢ Specific categories of exceptions are listed in Section 3B of the MTP Act rules.
➢ Exceptions include cases such as rape involving minors, pregnancies involving women with disabilities, and changes
in a woman's marital status during pregnancy.
• After 24 weeks, a medical board in approved facilities decides on termination, considering substantial foetal
abnormality.
• The Act mandates that abortion should be performed exclusively by doctors with specialization in gynaecology or obstetrics.
• The Act maintains the confidentiality of women seeking abortion.
• Breach of confidentiality will lead to Fine and/or imprisonment of 1 year.
Judicial Stance on Termination Beyond 24 Weeks:

• In several instances, the courts have allowed abortion beyond the usual limits
• August 2022 - a special sitting was held to permit the termination of pregnancy for a rape survivor at 27 weeks and three
days.
➢ However, the current case differs in that the woman's marital status suggests consensual conception, rather than a
"forced" pregnancy.
• There have also been cases where the court overruled a medical board's decision to deny termination.
12minutestoclat.com
➢ One such case is 'Bhatou Boro v. State of Assam' (2017), involving a minor rape survivor's pregnancy of over 26
weeks.
Global Trend:
• Globally, there has been a trend towards liberalisation of abortion laws and increased access to abortion services.
• Since the early 1990s, nearly 60 countries across the world have eased abortion laws to expand the grounds under which
abortion is legal.
• Only four countries, namely the U.S., El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Poland have removed legal grounds for abortion
during this time period.
• Most notably, the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to abortion in 2022.
➢ The US overturned the landmark judgement of Roe v Wade (1973).
➢ It made abortion a constitutional right allowed abortion up to the point of foetal viability.
➢ Foetal Viability - the time after which a foetus can survive outside the womb.
12minutestoclat.com
23. World Dyslexia Day 2023
Source- eduvast.com
Recently: The 2023 edition of the World Dyslexia Day was observed on October 8th.
• Every year, World Dyslexia Week is observed from October 2 to 8 across the globe to spread awareness about this
learning disorder.
• October is also observed annually as Dyslexia Awareness Month, an initiative of The International Dyslexia
Association, in addition to World Dyslexia Day.
What is Dyslexia?
• Dyslexia is a common learning disorder that affects a person’s ability to read and write properly.
• Skills taken granted for such as reading and writing fluently, is an area of challenge for those who have dyslexia.
• Persons with Dyslexia are often unable to read quickly and write without committing errors.
12minutestoclat.com
• Persons with Dyslexia might struggle with reading, writing, vocabulary, and tasks that require hand-eye coordination.
• With an incidence rate of 20%, it comprises 80% to 90% of individuals diagnosed with cognitive disorders.
Theme:
• The theme for the year 2023- ‘Awareness Day is Uniquely You’.
History:
• 1881 marked the initial identification of dyslexia by the German physician Oswald Berkhan.
• Six years subsequent to the disorder’s identification, ophthalmologist Rudolph Berlin designated it as “dyslexia.”
• Berkhan identified the developmental reading disorder through an examination of the case involving a young child who
presented with significant challenges in acquiring accurate reading and writing skills.
• This global event was created in 2002 to highlight the difficulties that people with dyslexia experience every single day and
promote a more understanding attitude towards them.
12minutestoclat.com
24. Kenya led Security Mission in Haiti
Recently: The United Nations Security Council approved the deployment of international forces led by Kenya to curb
escalating gang violence in Haiti.
• This approval has been given around a year after Haiti approached the United Nations seeking urgent help to combat deadly
gang violence,
➢ This intervention is in the form of a foreign security mission, led by Kenya, to restore security, protect critical
infrastructure and control spiralling violence in the country.
• On October 2, the Council voted to adopt the resolution drafted by the United States and Ecuador, with 13 of the
15 members voting in favour of the mission.
Haiti, the history of political instability and the need for international intervention:
12minutestoclat.com
• Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the
Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
• The small Caribbean nation gained independence from France in 1804, becoming the world's first Black-led republic.
• Haiti’s history is marked by multiple coups, dictatorial regimes, and foreign interventions.
• From 1957 to 1986, Haiti was led by dictator François Duvalier (Papa Doc) and then later his son Jean-Claude
Duvalier (Baby Doc).
➢ Their twenty-nine-year rule was characterized by widespread human rights abuses, political repression, and
corruption.
➢ The regime ultimately fell when Jean-Claude Duvalier fled the country amid mass unrest and international pressure
calling for his removal.
• In 1990, Haiti held its first free and fair election, which saw Jean-Bertrand Aristide win in a landslide victory.
➢ He was ousted in a military coup the following year.
• In 1994, the United States led an intervention to restore Aristide to power and established the Haitian National Police
force to help maintain public order.
• In 2004, the United States intervened again, this time pressuring Aristide to resign due to government corruption
accusations and popular uprisings.
• Following Aristide’s 2004 ouster, the United Nations established a thirteen-year peacekeeping mission, known as the
UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
➢ However, it caused more chaos in the country.
• President Michel Martelly stepped down from office in 2016 after postponing presidential elections twice and ruling by
decree for more than a year.
• His successor, Jovenel Moïse, was elected that November, but he didn’t assume office until early 2017 after allegations of
fraud at the polls extended the election process.
➢ When he took office, Haiti was still reeling from the fallout of a Category-4 hurricane that made landfall in
October 2016.
➢ Like many of his predecessors, Moïse's tenure was marked by political and social turmoil and a worsening security
crisis.
12minutestoclat.com
➢ Opposition leaders accused Moïse of consolidating power by restricting the judiciary’s authority and establishing an
intelligence agency that reported solely to him.
➢ As calls for his removal grew, Moïse refused to step down following the end of his term, instead ruling by decree
from 2017 to 2021.
➢ Under his leadership, Haiti did not hold elections for four years and gang violence rose.
• On July 7, 2021, a group of armed men assassinated Moïse in his home.
• Haiti is led by the unelected government of Prime Minister Ariel Henry who could also have been involved in Moïse’s killing.
• Since the assassination and back-to-back natural disasters in 2021—consisting of a 7.2-magnitude earthquake and a
tropical storm—Haiti has experienced worsening political instability, criminal violence, and a growing humanitarian crisis.
• Gangs are a major source of instability and violence within Haiti, where they control many aspects of the country’s political
and economic landscape.
• In October 2021, a coalition of nine prominent gangs in Port-au-Prince, known as the G9, and its leader, former police
officer Jimmy Chérizier (known as Barbecue), blockaded Haiti’s largest fuel terminal, which supplies 70 percent of the
country’s gas.
• An estimated two hundred gangs operate in Haiti, ninety-five of which are in or near Port-au-Prince.
• Competition has led the gangs to coalesce into seven major coalitions, which has led to an escalation in violent crimes
and kidnappings.
• Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere where half the population lives below the poverty line, has a
small and ill-equipped military.
• Its police force, which has about 10,000 active personnel, has also been unable to contain the violence and for the same
reason an international intervention is needed.
The Kenya- Led Mission:

• Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry first sought international support to assist the national police in October last year after the
country plunged into a crisis
• This crisis occurred as “G9 and Family” seized control of the entry of the main fuel port Varreux in the capital protesting
the PM’s decision to cut fuel subsidies.
12minutestoclat.com
➢ The blockade brought the country to a standstill and led to massive shortages.
➢ A UNICEF report at the time claimed that the operations of three-quarters of the country’s major hospitals were hit
due to the blockade.
• To make matters worse, there was a shortage of bottled water in the backdrop of a new outbreak of cholera.
• The U.S. and the United Nations were hesitant to take the lead the needed foreign intervention.
• The stalemate ended in July this year after Kenya proposed to head the multinational force, following which the resolution
was forwarded to the UNSC.
• In addition to Kenya, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Antigua and Barbuda have pledged to send personnel to the
violence-racked country.
• The international forces will guard important public installations such as airports, ports and hospitals, among other places.
• They will be coordinating with the local police in carrying out anti-crime operations.
• Notably, the resolution adds that the forces will have the authority to make arrests in coordination with Haitian police.
• It also intends to create favourable conditions in the country to pave the way for elections.
• The definite strength of the force in Haiti has not been specified in the resolution, although discussions suggested that
2,000 personnel would be part of the mission.
➢ The Kenyan government had previously volunteered to send 1,000 officers of its national police force to assist and
train Haiti’s police force.
• The United States, meanwhile, has made it clear that it won’t send its troops.
➢ It, however, has pledged $100 million in logistical support like intelligence, communications, airlift operations and
medical aid.
Other International Missions in Haiti, their consequences and the foreign hesitancy for support:
• Past missions to the country have been hit by scandals, which led to Haitians taking to the streets and demanding their
withdrawal.
• U.N. peacekeeping mission — the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) went on from 2004 to 2017.
➢ The mission was marred by allegations during its deployment in the country.
➢ A sewage runoff from a peacekeeper camp was blamed for causing a cholera epidemic which saw more than
10,000 deaths.
12minutestoclat.com
➢ There were also serious allegations of sexual abuse against the U.N. peacekeepers.
➢ Since then, Haitians have been sceptical about the intervention of a foreign armed force.
• Countries were also wary of lending support to Prime Minister Henry who doesn’t enjoy the popular support of Haitians.
25. Eradication of Manual Scavenging
Recently: The Supreme Court has directed the Centre and states to take appropriate measures, frame policies and issue
directions to ensure that manual sewer cleaning is completely eradicated in a phased manner.
• The top court has asked the Centre to issue guidelines and directions that any sewer-cleaning work do not require
individuals to enter sewers for any purpose whatsoever.
Manual Scavenging in India:

• It is the practice of manually cleaning, handling, and disposing of human excreta and other waste materials from dry
latrines, open drains and sewers.
12minutestoclat.com
• India banned the employment of people as manual scavengers under The Employment of Manual Scavengers and
Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993).
➢ The Act recognizes manual scavenging as a “dehumanizing practice.”
• Later, The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, came into
picture.
➢ This act superseded the 2013 act and went beyond prohibitions on dry latrines, and outlawed all manual excrement
cleaning of insanitary latrines, open drains, or pits.
• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had launched the Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge on 19th November
(World Toilet Day) in the year 2023.
➢ It required all states to make sewer-cleaning mechanised by April 2021.
➢ It also had the provision proper gear and oxygen tanks, etc, in case of urgent manual scavenging.
• Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan, a national campaign for dignity and eradication of manual scavenging, was launched by Jan
Sahas in 2001.
• As many as 347 people died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks in India in the last five years.
➢ Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Delhi accounting for 40 per cent of these deaths, according to government data
cited in Lok Sabha in July 2022.
What are the recent Supreme Court Guidelines?

• A bench comprising Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Aravind Kumar issued a slew of fourteen directions to the Union
and State Governments for the effective implementation of the 2013 act.
• The bench was pronouncing the judgment in the case Dr.Balram Singh v. Union of India, which is a Public Interest
Litigation filed against the employment of manual scavengers.
• The court directed the central and state governments to pay Rs 30 lakh as compensation to the next of kin of those who
die while cleaning sewers.
➢ Rs. 10 lakh was fixed as compensation in this case, since 1993.
• In cases of permanent disablement arising from sewer operations, the Court directed the increase of compensation to
Rupees 20 lakhs.
12minutestoclat.com
• For other forms of disablement, the compensation must be not less than Rs 10 lakhs.
• The National Commission for Safai Karamchari (NCSK), National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC),
National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) and the secretary, Union Ministry of Social Justice and
Empowerment have been directed to draw the modalities for the conduct of a national survey within next three months.
• Appropriate models shall be prepared to educate and train all concerned committees.
• The top court directed that the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) shall also be part of the consultations
towards framing the aforesaid policies.
• The Union, states and Union territories are hereby directed to ensure coordination with all the commissions (NCSK, NCSC,
NCST) for setting up state-level, district-level committees and commissions in a time-bound manner.
• A portal and a dashboard, containing all relevant information, including the information relating to sewer deaths and
victims, and the status of compensation disbursement, as well as rehabilitation measures taken, and existing and available
rehabilitation policies, shall be developed and launched at an early date.
National Commission for Safai Karamcharis:

• The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) is currently a temporary non-statutory body.
• It investigates the conditions of Safai Karamcharis (waste collectors) in India and makes recommendations to the
Government of India.
• NCSK was constituted 12 August 1994 as a statutory body for a three-year period under the NCSK ACT, 1993, i.e., up
to 31st March, 1997.
• However, validity of the Act was extended up to March, 2002, and then up to February, 2004 vide Amendment Acts
passed in 1997 and 2001 respectively.
• It continued till February 2004, when the relevant Act expired.
• Since 2004, NCSK has been revived several times, the last extension due to expire on 31 March 2022.
• Shri M.Venkatesan is the current chairperson of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis.
12minutestoclat.com
26. Electoral Bond Issue
Recently: The Centre has notified the sale of 29th tranche of electoral bonds, starting November 6 to 20 as Assembly elections
are soon to be held in five states.
• These states are Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram.
➢ Elections in these states span from November 7th to 30th.
➢ The counting of votes will be done on December 3.
• Government of India has authorised State Bank of India (SBI to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29
Authorised Branches.
➢ These authorized branched include those in Bengaluru, Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai,
Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur and Mumbai.
• This notification comes after Supreme Court reserved its final verdict on the validity of the Electoral Bond Scheme (EBS)
during a three-day hearing by a constitutional bench of five judges.
What are Electoral Bonds?

• They were first announced in the 2017 Union Budget.
• The NDA government notified the Electoral Bond Scheme in 2018.
• The scheme introduced instruments through which money could be donated to political parties in India.
12minutestoclat.com
• It offers interest-free, bearer instruments for anonymous donations to political parties in India.
• These bonds are available in denominations of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh, and Rs 1 crore without
any maximum limits.
• It is authorised and issued by – State Bank of India and it’s 29 specified branches.
• A donor with a KYC-compliant account can purchase the bonds.
• It can be bought individually or jointly.
• Political parties can choose to redeem these bonds within 15 days of receipt to finance their electoral expenses.
• The electoral bonds are available for purchase for 10 days in the beginning of every quarter
• The first 10 days of January, April, July and October has been specified by the government for purchase of electoral
bond.
• An additional period of 30 days shall be specified by the government in the year of Lok Sabha elections.
Eligibility Criteria to receive electoral bonds:
• Any party that is registered under section 29A of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951.
• It has secured at least 1% of the votes polled in the most recent General elections or Assembly elections.
• The above-mentioned criteria are inclusive of each other.
• The party will be allotted a verified account by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
• The electoral bond transactions can be made only through this account.
Amendments:
• Earlier no foreign company was allowed to donate to political parties but now they are.
• They can do it anonymously.
• The cap that a firm could donate a maximum of 7.5% of its average three year net profit as political donations, has been
removed.
12minutestoclat.com
27. Indian Ocean Rim Association
SOURCE- PTI
Recently: India participated in the 23rd Council of Ministers (COM) meeting and the 25th Committee of Senior Officials
(CSO) of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, led by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
• Theme for the 23rd Council of Ministers (COM) Meeting - “Strengthening Regional Architecture: Reinforcing Indian
Ocean Identity.”
• The meeting marked the handing over of IORA Chairmanship from the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to the
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
➢ Bangladesh took charge in 2021.
• Sri Lanka will serve as Chair for a period of two years (2023-2025), while India will become the Vice-Chair of the
Association.
• Bangladesh will remain part of the IORA Troika for the period which will be constituted as follows: Sri Lanka (Chair),
India (Vice-Chair) and Bangladesh (Past-Chair).
• India will assume Chairmanship in 2025-27 period.
12minutestoclat.com
Takeaways from the meeting:

• The COM adopted the Colombo Communique and the 'IORA Vision 2030 and Beyond', among other IORA-related
documents.
• Both India and Sri Lanka exchanged some agreements.
• The agreements included the letter of exchange and acceptance regarding Phase 4 of the flagship Indian Housing Project
for the construction of 10,000 houses in the plantation areas.
• They also agreed on infusion of additional funds in nine ongoing High Impact Community Development projects.
• Additionally, inaugurations were also done virtually at a ceremony presided over by President Wickremesinghe. These
inaugurations included:
➢ 126 houses in Badulla, Matale and Matara districts under phase 3 of the Indian Housing project.
➢ 48 houses in Matale and Puttalam districts under the Model Village Housing project.
➢ 64 houses in Hambantota and Jaffna districts under Gram Shakthi projects.
• A joint logo was also launched commemorating 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
• Joint Venture Shareholders' agreement was signed between the National Dairy and Development Board (NDDB),
Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation and the Cargills Group of Sri Lanka.
Indian Ocean Rim Association:

• The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), formerly known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative (IORI) is an international
organisation consisting of 23 states bordering the Indian Ocean.
• The idea is said to have taken root during a visit of former South African Foreign Minister, Pik Botha, to India in
November 1993.
• It was cemented during the subsequent presidential visit of Nelson Mandela to India in January 1995.
➢ Consequently, an Indian Ocean Rim Initiative was formed by South Africa and India.
• In March 1997, the IOR-ARC was formally launched, with seven additional countries as members: Indonesia, Sri Lanka,
Malaysia, Yemen, Tanzania, Madagascar and Mozambique.
• The Headquarter of IORA is located at Ebene, Mauritius.
12minutestoclat.com
• Currently it comprises 23 countries, 10 dialogue partners, 2 specialized agencies and 2 observers.

Member Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, France/Reunion, India,
Countries Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives,
Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore,
Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand,
United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Dialogue China, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea,

partners Russia, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United
States of America.
Specialised 1. The Regional Centre for Science and Technology

Agencies Transfer (RCSTT) based in Tehran, Iran;
2. The Fisheries Support Unit (FSU) based in Muscat,
Oman
Observers Indian Ocean Research Group (IORG) and the Western

Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA).
• The IORA countries encompass about a third of the world's population; account for about 10% of the global Gross Domestic
Product (GDP); and 40% of the world's trade passes through the Indian Ocean.
• The Council of Ministers and Committee of Senior Official are the primary bodies of IORA.
• The IORA Council of Ministers Meeting (COM) is an annual meeting whereby Foreign Ministers from IORA Member States
meet to discuss and decide over IORA priorities.
• In consonance, the Committee of Senior Official (CSO), consisting of senior officials of Foreign Affairs meet twice per year,
and decisions taken by the Committee are then reported to the COM for final adoption.
12minutestoclat.com
28. Operation Chakra- II
Recently: The CBI has conducted searches at 76 locations across the country under Operation Chakra-2 after registering five
separate cases of cyber-enabled financial frauds, officials said on Thursday.
• One of the cases pertains to a racket siphoning off ₹ 100 crore of Indian citizens through a cryptocurrency fraud.
• The case was registered on the basis of inputs provided by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
• Two cases were registered on a complaint from Amazon and Microsoft that the accused ran call centres and posed as
technical support of the companies to target foreign nationals.
• Nine call centres were searched by the Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) under the operation.
What is Operation Chakra- II

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched Operation Chakra-II to fight against transnational organised cyber-
enabled financial crimes in India.
12minutestoclat.com
• For this, India’s federal agency has partnered with Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the USA, Cyber Crime
Directorate and IFCACC of INTERPOL, the National Crime Agency (NCA) in the UK, Singapore Police Force and
BKA of Germany.
➢ CBI has also partnered with tech companies to combat and dismantle infrastructure of illegal call centres.
• The searches for the cases were conducted at 76 locations across multiple states, including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar
Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Bihar, Delhi, West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh.
• 32 mobile phones, 48 laptops/hard disks, images of two servers, 33 SIM cards, and pen drives were confiscated and
numerous bank accounts were freezed.
• CBI also seized a dump of 15 email accounts, illuminating the intricate web of deceit spun by the accused.
• In another such case, CBI has identified 137 shell companies engaged in fraudulent activities.
➢ Many of them were listed with the Registrar of Companies in Bengaluru, where most of these companies’ directors
are based.
➢ Some of the directors were also associated with a Bengaluru-based payout merchant, which controlled around 16
distinct bank accounts, where about ₹357 crore had been funnelled.
➢ The agency has found that the accused was associated with a foreign national.
➢ Shell Companies- These are inactive companies used as a vehicle for various financial manoeuvres or kept dormant
for future use in some other capacity.
• In another case, CBI received inputs from the Singapore police via Interpol related to over 300 cyber-enabled frauds
involving more than 100 Indian bank accounts spread across 10 States/Union Territory.
Operation Chakra- I:
• Operation Chakra-1 was conducted by the CBI nearly a year ago in coordination with INTERPOL, the FBI, and police
forces of multiple countries.
• During this operation, searches were conducted at 115 locations across various states.
• In this operation, CBI along with state and Union Territories police, seized some Rs 1.5 crore in cash and 1.5kg of gold.
Central Bureau of Investigation:
12minutestoclat.com
• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India.
• It was formed by resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs but now operates under the operates under the jurisdiction
of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
• It works under the supervision of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) in matters pertaining to the Prevention of
Corruption Act, 1988.
• It is India’s representative for correspondence with the INTERPOL.
• The CBI is Headquartered in New Delhi.
• It is not a statutory body but derives its power to investigate from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
• Praveen Sood is the CBI director.
29. Maldives’ new President
Recently: India has been invited to the inauguration ceremony of the new Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, scheduled to
take place in two weeks.
12minutestoclat.com
• Last month, the opposition coalition leader Muizzu won presidential elections with a comfortable victory, stopping the
incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s re-election attempt in its tracks.
• He won 54% of the votes in the presidential polls’ final run-off on September 30.
• After the elections, there is a one-month long transition period which will end on November 17 with an inauguration
ceremony.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended former president Solih’s swearing-in ceremony in November 2018.
Who is Mohamed Muizzu?

• A British-educated civil engineer, Muizzu, 45, is the current mayor of Male, the country’s capital.
• He was an unlikely candidate for the presidency after serving as construction minister in the government of his mentor
Abdulla Yameen.
• Yameen is serving an 11-year-old prison sentence in corruption charges which makes him ineligible for contesting
elections.
➢ Therefore, Muizzu tapped to lead the party as his proxy in an election.
Why is the situation unfavourable for India?
• India was particularly concerned about Yameen’s perceived alignment with China and his actions, such as signing a free
trade agreement with Beijing, having opposition leaders and supreme court judges arrested, and declaring a state of
emergency.
Row over Indian Investment:
• Mohamed Muizzu had accused President Solih of compromising the Maldives' independence and sovereignty by seeking
India's endorsement for every major decision.
• Shortly after President Solih assumed office in 2018, India pledged assistance amounting to $1.4 billion for various
projects in the Maldives, including the flagship Greater Male connectivity project.
Presence of Indian Troops:
12minutestoclat.com
• Muizzu has also said that his immediate priority after taking over as president would be to ensure the withdrawal of Indian
troops stationed in the Maldives.
• According to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), 75 Indian military personnel stay in the Maldives to
maintain and operate the Dornier aircraft and two helicopters gifted to the Maldives by the Government of India.
• The two helicopters were gifted in 2010 and 2013.
• Dornier aircraft was presented to the Maldives in 2020, following a request from Male.
• The choppers and the aircraft are used for a range of functions such as medical evacuation, search and rescue operations,
training, surveillance, and patrol.
• Their presence fuelled suspicion and anger as many felt the reconnaissance aircraft were being used as an excuse to put
Indian boots on the ground.
• Mr Muizzu also says that the presence of these troops could put the Maldives at risk - especially as tensions between India
and China escalate along their Himalayan border.
Pro- China Stance:
• The Yameen administration’s pro-China tilt is no secret, and during his term from 2013 to 2018, Maldives-India relations
were particularly strained.
• When India and Western lenders were not willing to offer loans to Yameen's administration due to allegations of human
rights violations, Yameen turned to Beijing who offered him the money without any conditions.
• He then joined President Xi's Belt and Road Initiative - which aims to build road, rail and sea links between China and
the rest of the world.
• As minister under Yameen, Muizzu oversaw several Chinese-funded infrastructure projects in the country of less than one
million people.
➢ This included a $200m bridge linking the capital with the archipelago’s main airport.
• Mr Muizzu has also talked highly of Chinese infrastructure projects in the Maldives, saying the investments had transformed
Malé city and brought benefits to its residents.
Maldives and its relations with India:
• Republic Maldives is an archipelagic state and country in South Asia, situated in the Indian Ocean.
12minutestoclat.com
• It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometres (470 miles; 400 nautical miles) from the Asian continent's
mainland.
• India and Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links steeped in antiquity.
• India was among the first to recognize Maldives after its independence in 1965 and to establish diplomatic relations with
the country.
• In December 1976, India and the Maldives signed a maritime boundary treaty to agree on maritime boundaries.
➢ Treaty explicitly places Minicoy on the Indian side of the boundary.
• In 1981, India and Maldives signed a comprehensive trade agreement.
• Both nations are founding members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the South
Asian Economic Union and signatories to the South Asia Free Trade Agreement.
• India’s prompt assistance through Operation Cactus during the 1988 coup attempt, led to development of trust and
long‐term and friendly bilateral relations with the Maldives.
• India was the first to assist Maldives during the 2004 Tsunami as well as the water crisis in Malé in Dec 2014.
30. Anti- Defection Proceedings in Maharashtra Assembly
SOURCE- scobserver.in
12minutestoclat.com
Recently: The Supreme Court directed Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide disqualification petitions filed
under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) of the Constitution against the Eknath Shinde camp in the Shiv Sena dispute
by December 31.
• A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud ordered the Speaker to decide the disqualification petitions
against the breakaway faction headed by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) dispute by
January 31, 2024.
• A total of 56 MLAs are facing disqualification under the Tenth Schedule.
• There are 34 disqualification petitions pending before the Speaker in the Shiv Sena case and nine in the NCP matter.
What is the Anti- Defection Law?

• The Tenth Schedule was inserted in the Constitution in 1985 by the 52nd Amendment Act.
• It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection or Anti- Defection Law.
• Conditions for disqualification under anti- defection law- A member of a house can be disqualified if he/she -
➢ Voluntarily gives up the membership of his political party; or
➢ Votes, or does not vote in the legislature, contrary to the directions of his political party without taking proper
permission or informing before 15 days of such voting.
➢ If an independent candidate joins a political party after the election.
➢ If a nominated member joins a party six months after he becomes a member of the legislature.
• Paragraph 4 of the law states that disqualification on ground of merger will not apply in case of merger, provided if the
said merger is with two-thirds of the member of the legislative party who have consented to the merger.
• Paragraph 3 exempted disqualifications arising out of split with one-third of the members defecting from a political party.
➢ This paragraph was omitted after amending the schedule by the 91st amendment act of 2003.
• The decision is taken by the Presiding Officer of the Parliament or State Legislature which is the speaker or chairman
as may be the case.
• The law initially stated that the decision of the Presiding Officer is not subject to judicial review.
12minutestoclat.com
➢ This condition was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1992, thereby allowing appeals against the Presiding
Officer’s decision in the High Court and Supreme Court.
➢ However, it held that there may not be any judicial intervention until the Presiding Officer gives his order.
• The action can be initiated based on a disqualification plea moved by any other member of the Parliament/ state
legislatures.
Maharashtra Crisis:
• June 2022: Maharashtra Legislative Council elections held.
• Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) won the election with Uddhav Thackeray as the CM.
➢ Uddhav Thackeray belonged to Shiv Sena.
➢ MVA is a three-party alliance of the Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
• Soon after voting, senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde became unreachable.
• It later emerged that Shinde and 11 other MLAs went to Surat in BJP-governed Gujarat.
• After suspected cross-voting in Legislative Council elections, Uddhav Thackeray called meeting of all Shiv Sena MLAs.
• Shinde was removed from the post of Shiv Sena legislature party leader.
• Shinde, along with 40 MLAs moved to Guwahati, Assam, another BJP-ruled state.
• Shinde was declared the leader of the Shiv Sena legislature party by the rebel camp.
• Assembly Deputy Speaker Narahari Zirwal served disqualification notice to 16 rebel legislators after Shiv Sena filed a
petition.
• Meanwhile, Then Uddhav Thackeray resigned as CM.
• In late June 2022, Shinde was sworn in as CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis as deputy CM.
• February 2023: Election Commission ordered that the party name 'Shiv Sena' and the party symbol 'Bow and Arrow'
will be retained by the Eknath Shinde faction.
12minutestoclat.com
31. J&J lifts patent on TB drug
Recently: U.S.-based drug maker Johnson & Johnson has announced that it will not enforce patents for Sirturo — its brand
name for bedaquiline, which is used in the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis — in 134 low- and middle-
income countries.
• This move follows global pressure on the company to not pursue secondary patents on its breakthrough tuberculosis drug.
• Indian patent office has already rejected J&J’s secondary patent application for the fumarate salt of bedaquiline.
• After J&J lost its attempt to extend its monopoly in India, national TB treatment programmes from Ukraine and Belarus
also requested the company to drop its secondary patents in their countries.
• This success is a testament to the persistent efforts of TB activists, civil society and also countries prioritising public health
over corporations’ interests.
12minutestoclat.com
➢ The groups added that they now want to see Japanese pharma major Otsuka follow suit and publicly announce that
they will not enforce any secondary patents in low- and middle-income countries for the other critical new TB drug
Delamanid.
➢ The corporation’s primary patent over Delamanid has already expired in India and other countries.
➢ Delamanid is another key drug resistant TB drug used in combination with bedaquiline, and is particularly important
for the treatment of children.
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.
• Tuberculosis was the world’s deadliest infectious disease, as declared by the WHO, before COVID-19 swept the world.
• Multi- Drug Resistant (MDR) TB: MDR TB resists treatment by at least isoniazid and rifampicin, the two frontline
drugs in TB treatment.
➢ XDR TB resists these two drugs as well as fluoroquinolones and any second-line injectable drug.
➢ XDR TB is rarer than MDR TB.
➢ A peer-reviewed 2020 study reported that TB becomes isoniazid-resistant when a person doesn’t fully adhere to the
treatment regimen whereas rifampicin-resistance emerges due to other factors.
➢ It also found that the incidence of MDR TB (i.e. resistance to both drugs) was “strongly correlated with treatment
failure and spread through contact, and not to treatment compliance”.
• 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.
What is bedaquiline?
12minutestoclat.com
• After receiving an approval from US Food and Drug Administration in 2012, bedaquiline became the first new TB therapy to
become available after a period of 40 years.
• Janssen Pharmaceutical (a subsidiary of J&J) made bedaquiline around 2002.
• Several of the phase I and II clinical trials were conducted and it was approved by the US Food and Drug
Administration in 2012 based on the data of phase II trials.
• In 2018, the World Health Organization replaced two injectable drugs for MDR TB with an oral regimen that included
bedaquiline as the core treatment for rifampicin-resistant or multi-drug resistant TB.
• Bedaquiline is considered to be one of the most effective treatments available for drug resistant tuberculosis, with minimal
side-effects as compared to the existing drugs such as Kanamycin that can lead to kidney damage and permanent hearing
loss.
• It has also prompted development of shorter-courses (reduced from 2 years to 9 months or 1 year) of treatment for
such resistant TB.
• The drug first became available in India under the government’s TB programme in 2015.
➢ However, the availability remained an issue with a six-month course – which is the minimum required – costing Rs
21,000 per person.
Johnson & Johnson’s monopoly over the drug:
• The primary patent of bedaquiline and “its salts, isomers and enantiomers” expires on July 18 this year.
• A secondary patent would have extended the monopoly of the company on the drug for over four years till December
2027. This is called ever-greening of patents.
➢ Ever-greening of patents- when companies make slight changes to the formulation to extend the patent period,
guaranteeing their monopoly over the drug.
• With India being one of the biggest manufacturers of generics, the country’s patent law has a specific section that disallows
ever-greening of patents.
➢ It says that a drug cannot be termed as an invention if a new form of the same substance is developed without any
significant improvement in efficacy.In
12minutestoclat.com
• Other DR-TB drugs like linezolid have decreased in prices by over 90% with generic competition once Pfizer’s patent expired
in 2015.
32. Geographical Indication (GI)
SOURCE- Siasat.com
Recently: Goa cashew (kernel) got the geographical indication (GI) tag.
• Overall, 46 products from Karnataka have received the GI tag, with 16 of them hailing from Mysuru.
➢ These include renowned items such as Mysore Betel Leaf, Mysore Jasmine, Mysore Paintings and Mysore Sandal
Soap.
➢ Among the 46 products bearing the GI tag, 20 are handicrafts, 22 are agricultural products, 3 are manufactured
goods and one is a food product.
12minutestoclat.com
• In June 2023, seven different products from Uttar Pradesh were given Geographical Indication Tag by the GI Registry in
Chennai.
• These are: Amroha Dholak’, ‘Mahoba Gaura Patthar Hastashlip’, ‘Mainpuri Tarkashi’, ‘Sambhal Horn Craft’, ‘Baghpat Home
Furnishings’, ‘Barabanki Handloom Product’ and ‘Kalpi Handmade Paper’.
➢ Uttar Pradesh has 55 GI tagged goods currently.
About the Goan Cashews:

• The GI tag pertains to Goan cashew, which is linked to the Portuguese terms 'caju' or 'kaju' in Konkani.
• The request was by - Goa Cashew Manufacturers’ Association (GCMA)
• Facilitator - The Government of Goa's Department of Science, Technology, and Waste Management.
• Cashew, originally native to northeast Brazil, was introduced to Goa by the Portuguese in 1570.
• The first cashew factory in Goa - 1926.
• The first consignment of cashew kernels was exported – 1930
• By 1961 (Goa Liberation) - the cashew industry accounted for approximately 60 percent of industrial production in Goa.
• India is the 2nd highest exporter of cashew after Veitnam
Other GI Tags awarded this year:

• Udangudi ‘Panangkarupatti’ (palm jaggery/ gur) from Tamil Nadu received the tag in October 2023.
• Salem Sago – Tamil Nadu – September 2023
• Goa Mankurad Mango & Goan Bebinca – Goa – August 2023
• Udaipur Koftgari Metal Craft, Bikaner Kashidakari Craft, Jodhpur Bandhej Craft, and Bikaner Usta Kala Craft –
Rajasthan – August 2023
• Jalesar Dhatu Shilp – Uttar Pradesh – August 2023
12minutestoclat.com
Geographical Indication:
• A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical
location or origin.
• Geographical Indications are covered as a component of intellectual property rights (IPRs) under the Paris Convention for
the Protection of Industrial Property (1883).
• India enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act,1999 that has come into
force with effect from 15 September 2003.
• GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
• Darjeeling tea became the first GI tagged product in India, in 2004–2005.
33. Smart Fencing along Myanmar Border
SOURCE- X.com
12minutestoclat.com
Recently: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has unveiled a plan to enhance security along the Myanmar border in its 2022-
23 annual report.
• The plan involves a 100-kilometer advanced Smart fencing system to strengthen border surveillance.
• The initiative is driven by concerns over unfenced border sections and unregulated migration from Myanmar.
➢ These factors have contributed to ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur, claiming at least 175 lives since May.
What is Smart Fencing?
• Smart fence is a part of the government’s comprehensive integrated border management system (CIBMS).
• It works both as a surveillance tool and a warning system through sophisticated devices.
• It includes cameras, sensors, lasers and radar systems.
• The state-of-the-art sensors and CCTV cameras can pick up even the slightest movement and send alerts to the control centre.
➢ The term "smart" denotes the system's capacity to utilize technology for the efficient monitoring and response to border
threats.
The Smart Fencing Project:
• This project is part of the Indian government's plan, led by PM Modi.
• It is to fully secure and close off India's borders with Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.
• The inaugural pilot project in India was introduced in 2018 by then Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
➢ It covered two 6-kilometer sections of the India-Pakistan border in Jammu, starting in September 2018.
➢ Additionally, a similar project was launched on the India-Bangladesh border in 2019.
The Free Movement Regime:
• The FMR was implemented in 2018 as part of the Act East policy.
• The FMR was to be put in place in 2017 itself, but was deferred due to the Rohingya refugee crisis that erupted that August.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) states that a Free Movement Regime (FMR) is in place between India and Myanmar.
• Under the FMR, hill tribe members who are residents within 16 kilometers on either side of the Indo-Myanmar border can
cross the border.
• Eligibility criteria require individuals to be citizens of India or Myanmar.
12minutestoclat.com
➢ A border pass with a one-year validity, issued by the competent authority, is necessary for crossing.
• Visitors under the FMR can stay on the other side of the border for up to two weeks during each visit.
• The Manipur government suspended the FMR since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh urged the MHA in September to cancel the FMR along the Myanmar border.
➢ He also called for the completion of the border fencing.
India- Myanmar Border:
• India shares a 1,643-kilometer border with Myanmar.
• This border passes through Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Nagaland (215 km), Manipur (398 km) and Mizoram (510
km).
• Out of 1,643 km, demarcation of 1,472 km has been completed.
• The construction of fencing for a border length of 10.023 km at Moreh, Manipur has been awarded to the Border Roads
Organisation (BRO).
• The total construction is scheduled to be completed by 2023
• The border between India and Myanmar was demarcated by the British in 1826.
• It was without seeking the opinion of the people living in the region.
• The border effectively divided people of the same ethnicity and culture into two nations without their consent.
• Myanmar holds geopolitical importance for India due to its central position in the India-Southeast Asia region.
• It's the sole Southeast Asian nation with a direct land border with northeastern India.
Myanmar:
• Myanmar (formerly Burma) is a Southeast Asian nation.
• It borders with India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand.
• The name Burma was changed in 1989.
• Capital: Naypyidaw
• Myanmar suffered a recent coup in 2021.
• Current leader - Min Aung Hlaing
12minutestoclat.com
34. Exercise SAMPRITI- XI
Source- PTI
Recently: The Closing Ceremony of the joint military exercise between Indian and Bangladesh Army, ‘Exercise SAMPRITI-XI was
held at Joint Training Node, Umroi on 16 Oct 2023.
• The aim of the exercise was to achieve inter-operability and to acquaint each other with employment of joint task force in
Sub Conventional operations under Chapter-VII of UN Mandate (UNPKO).
The Contingents:
• The Bangladesh contingent comprised a group of 170 soldiers of 52 Infantry Brigade.
• Indian contingent comprised of 170 soldiers of 15th Battalion The Rajput Regiment from 66 Mountain Brigade.
• The 340 soldiers from both Bangladesh and Indian Armies shared their experience gained from conduct of various
operations across the globe in the past.
12minutestoclat.com
How was the Operation Conducted?

• The exercise was conducted in two phases.
• During the first phase, Command Post Exercise was conducted and in second phase Validation Exercise and Field Training
Exercise including Battle Inoculation was conducted.
• Both the contingents jointly took part in the validation exercise which included cordon and search operations, room
interventions along with air efforts.
• The exercise also included display and active use of new generation weapon and equipment by both armies.
History:
• Indo-Bangladesh joint exercise is organise on annual basis, alternate by India and Bangladesh on reciprocity basis under
the exercise name SAMPRITI.
• First Exercise SAMPRITI was held at Jorhat, India in the year 2009.
• A total of 10 Editions of joint exercise between two nations have been conducted till 2022.
Closing:
• A closing ceremony was organised to felicitate outstanding soldiers who performed exceedingly well in EX SAMPRITI-XI.
• Both the armies shared valuable combat experiences and best practices of each other.
• They also participated in a friendly Volleyball match and a camp fire on the final day to increase the bonhomie among
troops.
• he successful culmination of the joint training was a significant milestone in ensuring cordial relations between the two
countries.
35. World Food Day 2023
12minutestoclat.com
Source- Rojgar Samachar
Recently: The 2023 edition of the World Food Day was observed on October 16th.
• It is celebrated with the aim of shedding light on the millions of people globally who lack the means to afford a nutritious
diet and the crucial necessity of consistent access to wholesome food.
Theme:
• The theme for World Food Day 2023 is: “Water is life, water is food. Leave no one behind. "
• Water is essential to life on Earth. It covers the majority of the Earth's surface.
• It makes up over 50% of our bodies, produces our food, and supports our livelihoods.
• But this precious resource is not infinite and we need to stop taking it for granted.
History:
12minutestoclat.com
• Dr. Pal Romany, the former Hungarian Minister of Agriculture and Food, proposed the creation of World Food Day in
November 1979.
• This global observance is now celebrated by over 150 countries worldwide.
• In commemoration of the establishment of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, World
Food Day is annually recognized on October 16th.
Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO):

• The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads
international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security.
• It was founded on 16 October 1945 at Quebec City, Canada.
• It comprises 195 members, including 194 countries and the European Union.
• It is headquartered in Rome, Italy.
• Qu Dongyu is the current Director General of the FAO.
12minutestoclat.com

October 2023 CA 12 Minutes To Clat

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

October 2023 CA 12 Minutes To Clat

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

12 Minutes to CLAT Current Affairs Compendium – October 2023

CURRENT AFFAIRS COMPENDIUM – OCTOBER 2023

Follow us on: Telegram, Instagram

27. Indian Ocean Rim Association

1. Global Hunger Index 2023

What is Global Hunger Index?

• The third-highest score in the 2023 GHI is held by Yemen, at 39.9.

SOURCE- Down To Earth

World Hunger Day:

Kea Features of the Act:

Powers with the Security Forces:

Controversy surrounding AFSPA and call for repeal.

3. National Medical Commission’s order on seat allocation

Source- The New Indian Express

What was the notification?

How does it affect certain states?

National Medical Commission (NMC):

4. UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network

What is UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network?

Annual Conference of Network Cities:

World Cities Day 2023:

5. Southeast Asia’s first high speed railway

What is high- speed railway?

Details of the project:

➢ The remaining 25% came from the consortium’s own funds.

7. World Mental Health Day 2023

What is Mental Health?

8. Rashtriya Vigyan Purskar

➢ All secretaries of all six science departments

The Old Science Awards:

9. Asian Games 2023

Important Facts about the Event:

• It consists of 28 Gold, 38 Silver and 41 Bronze.

India and Asian Games:

Olympic Council of Asia:

• Founded : 16 November 1982

10. Russia’s revocation of Comprehensive Nuclear Ban Treaty

SOURCE- BNN Breaking

What is Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty?

Other International Agreements related to disarmament of Nuclear-Weapons:

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons-

Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START):

Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT):

11. KAZIND- 2023

India- Kazakhstan bilateral relations:

• Diplomatic relations were established in February 22, 1992.

12. World Cotton Day 2023

13. Sedition Charges against Arundhati Roy

➢ Later in 1870, Sir James Stephen introduced it by an amendment.

Landmark judgements related to Sedition:

14. Bihar Caste Survey

SOURCE- The Quint

The history of Caste Census:

15. Project Udbhav

The Ancient Indian Strategies:

United Service Institution of India:

16. South China Sea Dispute

Significance of South China Sea:

Claims of Other Countries:

17. World Habitat Day 2023

What is Green Energy Corridor?

19. Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal Dispute

SOURCE- The Quint