CONTENTS

TNPSC BITS ...................................................................................................... 13

TAMIL NADU ..................................................................................................... 21
GI Tag for 11 products ................................................................................... 21
4th desalination plant ..................................................................................... 22
Vaikom Satyagraha centenary fete ................................................................. 22
Road map for $1-trillion economy .................................................................. 23
New scheme for government school students ................................................. 23
PM’s Chennai visit ......................................................................................... 24
125th Anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna Math .................................................. 25
TN REACH initiative....................................................................................... 25
Longest elevated corridor ............................................................................... 26
Street Child Cricket World Cup ...................................................................... 26
Online gambling banning Bill.......................................................................... 27
Tiger Reserve Evaluation for 2022 ................................................................. 27
Robot for knee replacement surgeries ............................................................ 28
Local extinction of tiger populations .............................................................. 28
Vanniyakula Kshatriya Public Charitable Trusts and Endowments Board........ 29
Closure of Retail shops ................................................................................... 29
GI tag for Cumbum grapes .............................................................................. 30
Assembly proceedings telecast in sign language ............................................. 30
Rank cities on green index ............................................................................. 31
Equality Day observation ............................................................................... 31
Bill for provide water, first-aid facilities in shops, establishments .................. 31
TANGEDCO Domestic coal receipt .................................................................. 32
Justice K. Chandru committee ....................................................................... 32
Tamilnadu Backward Classes Commission extension ...................................... 33
Ancient rock art site Nilgiris .......................................................................... 34
New ‘carbon-neutral’ hubs .............................................................................. 34
Oru Panpattin Payanam: Sindhu Mudhal Vaigai Varai ..................................... 35
50 public sector undertakings against private competitors ............................ 35
Revision of Stamp duty .................................................................................. 35

1
 Merger of TANGEDCO’s wings ......................................................................... 36
Elayaperumal memorial hall ........................................................................... 36
Copper plates with Thevaram hymns.............................................................. 37
Reservation for Dalit Christians ..................................................................... 37
Top digital payment transactions cities in 2022 ............................................ 38
Centre for Innovation in Governance ............................................................. 39
Monthly pension for MLAs.............................................................................. 40
V.P. Singh statue ............................................................................................ 40
T.N. Fiscal Responsibility Act bill ................................................................... 40
5 percent Education tax ................................................................................. 41
Relaxation of work hour norms Bill ................................................................ 41
Rare gold plate with inscription ..................................................................... 42
Danish fort in Tharangambadi ........................................................................ 43
Skill hub under PMKVY .................................................................................. 43
GI tag for Manamadurai Pottery ..................................................................... 44
Selvamagal Saving Scheme Rank .................................................................... 44
The Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules – 2023........................................... 44
NATIONAL ......................................................................................................... 45
Annual India TB Report 2023 ......................................................................... 46
Annual Periodic Labour Force Survey 2021-2022 ........................................... 46
SMART-PDS .................................................................................................... 47
National Strategy and Roadmap for Medical and Wellness Tourism ................ 47
One World TB Summit .................................................................................... 48
National Rabies Control Programme ............................................................... 49
Project Himshakti .......................................................................................... 50
Gaj Utsav 2023 ............................................................................................... 50
50th anniversary of Project Tiger .................................................................... 51
eVTOL air taxi in India ................................................................................... 51
Sagar Parikrama Phase IV ............................................................................... 52
Committee for Pension reforms ...................................................................... 53
New India Literacy Program ........................................................................... 53
Mission Arikompan ........................................................................................ 54
3-Star Garbage Free cities .............................................................................. 55
Civil-20 India 2023 Inception Conference ...................................................... 55

2
Space System Design Lab ............................................................................... 55
Labour20 engagement group’s inception meet ............................................... 55
CBI’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations ............................................................... 56
New Vande Bharat Express ............................................................................. 56
ISRO YUVIKA 2023......................................................................................... 57
India Justice Report ....................................................................................... 57
Police - Population ratio in India .................................................................... 58
Competition Amendment Bill, 2023 ............................................................... 59
2nd largest solar manufacturer by 2026........................................................... 59
National party status ...................................................................................... 60
Anti-establishment terminology ..................................................................... 61
India’s Defence export .................................................................................... 61
Gaj Utsav - 2023 ............................................................................................. 62
Exercise ‘KAVACH’ ......................................................................................... 63
8th Vande Bharat Express ............................................................................... 63
SC on Sealed cover jurisprudence................................................................... 64
Use of MPLADS Funds in FY23 ....................................................................... 65
Country-level model for estimating TB cases .................................................. 65
5th cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) .............................. 66
33 new GI registrations .................................................................................. 66
President on Sukhoi 30 MKI ........................................................................... 67
E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 ................................................................ 68
Dogri version of Indian Constitution .............................................................. 69
Vibrant Villages Programme ........................................................................... 69
Best public transport in the world 2023 ......................................................... 70
IT amendment rules 2023 .............................................................................. 70
Indian Space Policy 2023 ............................................................................... 71
Stacking up the Benefits Lessons from India’s Digital Journey – Report ......... 72
State of India’s Environment report ............................................................... 72
International Big Cat Alliance ........................................................................ 73
State Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI) 2021-22 ................................................ 73
Guidelines on Professional Responsibilities of Students and Teachers ............ 74
National Credit Framework for IKS ................................................................. 75
Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiative....................................................... 75

3
 Ambedkar circuit tourist train ....................................................................... 75
Constitution Bench for same-sex marriage case ............................................. 76
5th investor in AI ........................................................................................... 76
RAPIDX Rail Service ....................................................................................... 77
Unified Portal of Central Bureau of Narcotics ................................................. 78
India Ransomware Report 2022...................................................................... 78
Farmers Distress Index................................................................................... 78
Mission 50K-EV4ECO ..................................................................................... 79
Incident Management Services ....................................................................... 79
Support for Irrigation Modernization Program ................................................ 80
India’s population .......................................................................................... 80
National Quantum Mission ............................................................................. 81
Scheme to promote tribal products ................................................................ 82
Animal Birth Control Rules - 2023 ................................................................. 82
Army Commanders’ Conference ..................................................................... 83
Census of Water bodies in India...................................................................... 83
Millet Initiative – MAHARISHI ........................................................................ 84
Fifth Round of UDAN ...................................................................................... 85
Misinformation Combat Alliance .................................................................... 86
10,000 km of Optic Fibre Cables .................................................................... 86
Asia's Longest Underwater Hydrocarbon Pipeline............................................ 87
SC order to Governors .................................................................................... 87
100 Food Streets ............................................................................................ 88
Malaria cases from 2015 to 2022.................................................................... 88
Vibrant Villages Program integrated PM Gati Shakti ....................................... 89
'First village' signboard in India-China border................................................. 90
India’s First BSL-3 Mobile Laboratory ............................................................. 90
INTERNATIONAL ............................................................................................... 91
Polio cases in Burundi .................................................................................... 91
Operation Interflex ......................................................................................... 91
Egypt joins BRICS bank.................................................................................. 92
Change of Indonesia capital ........................................................................... 92
Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific policy ..................................................... 93
Saudi-Iran truce ............................................................................................. 94

4
National League for Democracy Party – Myanmar ........................................... 94
Siniyah Island ................................................................................................ 95
Azerbaijan and Tajikistan as malaria-free ....................................................... 95
Marburg virus disease – Tanzania ................................................................... 96
Britain on trans-Pacific pact........................................................................... 96
Oil production cuts ........................................................................................ 97
Deep sea mining operations ........................................................................... 97
IPCC Synthesis Report ................................................................................... 98
No support for coal project ............................................................................. 99
Most Traded Currency in Russia ..................................................................... 99
Finland in NATO ........................................................................................... 100
SCO’s New dialogue partner .......................................................................... 101
UN's Program on HIV/AIDS ........................................................................... 101
COPE INDIA Exercise.................................................................................... 102
First-Ever Anti-Spyware Declaration............................................................. 102
World’s 1st Drone Carrier .............................................................................. 103
Qatar and Bahrain diplomatic tie ................................................................. 103
Joint working group meet on Chabahar port ................................................ 104
King Charles’ coronation emblem ................................................................. 104
World's first human death from H3N8 bird flu .............................................. 105
Olkiluoto 3 Reactor ...................................................................................... 105
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s overseas office ............................... 106
New Cuban President .................................................................................... 107
Multilateral exercise Orion ........................................................................... 107
Oxford's malaria vaccine .............................................................................. 108
25 Years of Good Friday Agreement ............................................................. 108
Operation Kaveri .......................................................................................... 109
Exercise INIOCHOS-23 ................................................................................. 109
Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) .................................................................. 110
world’s largest ‘narco-state’.......................................................................... 110
Mongolia’s 1st refinery ................................................................................. 111
Bangladesh New President ............................................................................ 111
New trilateral to deepen regional relations ................................................... 112
Safety Across Asia for the Global Environment ............................................. 112

5
ECONOMY ....................................................................................................... 113
Corporate Debt Market Development Fund ................................................... 113
Surge of Indian exports ................................................................................ 113
Foreign Trade Policy 2023............................................................................ 114
Committee to strengthening MDBs .............................................................. 115
India and Malaysia trade in rupee................................................................. 115
Unclaimed deposits to RBI ........................................................................... 116
IPEF negotiating round ................................................................................ 117
FPI destinations in FY23 .............................................................................. 117
India’s biggest trading partner ..................................................................... 118
Miniratna Category-I for SECI ...................................................................... 118
New Logo of SEBI ........................................................................................ 119
India’s first-ever REITs and InvITs index ...................................................... 119
IT Tariff dispute ........................................................................................... 120
Biggest Oil Supplier to India......................................................................... 121
India's annual remittances - 100 billion mark .............................................. 121
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY........................................................................... 122
India's first cloned Gir female calf ................................................................ 122
Device to detect milk adulteration ............................................................... 122
Ultra-Micro Supercapacitors ......................................................................... 123
Mice with cells from 2 males ........................................................................ 123
Powerful ‘X-class’ solar flare ......................................................................... 124
SNAP-10A ..................................................................................................... 124
Source of Fast Radio Bursts ......................................................................... 125
Reusable Launch Vehicle Mission ................................................................. 126
Monster black hole ....................................................................................... 126
Microsoft’s Security Copilot ......................................................................... 127
Volcano in Venus.......................................................................................... 127
1st indigenous quadruped robot ................................................................... 128
MATSYA-6000 .............................................................................................. 128
India’s first Bauxite Certified Reference Material (CRM) ............................... 129
Piezoelectric Effect ...................................................................................... 130
Asia’s largest 4-metre ILMT .......................................................................... 130
Plant fungus infecting humans ..................................................................... 131

6
 ‘The hat’: 50-year-old geometry mystery ...................................................... 131
Images of Earth from Space.......................................................................... 132
Missile Amogha III........................................................................................ 132
Dhawan II Engine ......................................................................................... 133
Black holes closest to Earth ......................................................................... 134
Rare-earth elements (REEs) deposits ............................................................ 134
AI Model DAGGER ........................................................................................ 134
Endometriosis .............................................................................................. 135
Medical devices as Spy ................................................................................. 135
Uranium-241 ................................................................................................ 136
Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer - Juice ............................................................... 136
Artsens device .............................................................................................. 137
CL-Flam ....................................................................................................... 138
Touchless biometric system ......................................................................... 138
Supercritical carbon dioxide ......................................................................... 139
Complete Human Genome ............................................................................ 139
Jupiter's asteroids ........................................................................................ 140
World first smart gun ................................................................................... 141
Ningaloo Eclipse ........................................................................................... 141
Antineutrinos discovery ............................................................................... 142
Magnetoresistance ....................................................................................... 142
PSLV-C55/TeLEOS-2 Mission ....................................................................... 143
GRX-810 alloy .............................................................................................. 144
SuperBIT instrument.................................................................................... 144
Myelin Sheath .............................................................................................. 145
Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron waves........................................................... 145
Nagastra 1 .................................................................................................... 146
Sea-based Endo-Atmospheric Interceptor ..................................................... 147
Seeds in Space ............................................................................................. 147
ENVIRONMENT................................................................................................ 148
World Energy Transitions Outlook 2023 ....................................................... 148
Graveyard for imported CO2......................................................................... 148
Biofuels Alliance .......................................................................................... 149
Release of Tigresses into Tiger Reserves ...................................................... 150

7
 Thiania indica .............................................................................................. 150
Global Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Infrastructure ........................................ 151
Spiranthes hachijoensis ............................................................................... 151
Fernarium in National Park .......................................................................... 152
Cyrtopodion Vindhya ................................................................................... 152
50 years of Bandipur Tiger Reserve .............................................................. 153
Trichrysis poseidonia ................................................................................... 154
Exostoma Dhritiae ....................................................................................... 154
Long-Tailed and Smew Ducks ....................................................................... 155
Fifth cycle of the All-India Tiger Estimation – 2022 ..................................... 155
Deepest fish ever .......................................................................................... 156
Amolops siju ................................................................................................ 157
Asian King Vulture conservation and breeding center .................................. 157
New butterfly species discovered in Kerala ................................................... 158
Tigers in Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary ............................................................ 158
Banking on Climate Chaos Report ................................................................ 159
Mangrove pitta bird census .......................................................................... 159
Coalition of Coastal Cities ............................................................................ 160
Helopeltis Theivora ...................................................................................... 160
Indian skimmers in Satkosia wildlife sanctuary............................................ 161
REPORTS AND INDICES .................................................................................. 162
Triple Threat Report .................................................................................... 162
Hurun Global Rich List ................................................................................. 162
Top 10 contributors to warming ................................................................... 163
Passport Index 2023 ..................................................................................... 164
The State of School Feeding Worldwide 2022 ............................................... 165
World Bank’s report ..................................................................................... 165
World Energy Transitions: Outlook 2023 ...................................................... 166
Global trade outlook and statistics ............................................................... 167
Top ten Busiest airport ................................................................................ 168
Infertility Prevalence Estimates 1990–2021 Report ..................................... 168
Government Trends Report .......................................................................... 169
Freedom House Index ................................................................................... 170
World’s ‘most criminal countries’ ranking .................................................... 170

8
 Global Unicorn Index 2023 ........................................................................... 171
Thales Data Threat Report 2023................................................................... 172
Global Food Policy Report ............................................................................ 172
Top 10 Wealthiest Cities in the World in 2023 ............................................. 173
World’s Children 2023 report ....................................................................... 174
The Global Climate 2022 report ................................................................... 175
The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems ................................................... 175
Logistic Performance Index (LPI) – 2023 ....................................................... 176
Global Military Expenditure Report .............................................................. 177
STATES ........................................................................................................... 178
‘Disturbed areas’ tag under AFSPA ............................................................... 178
Gandhamardan hills biodiversity heritage site .............................................. 178
European Union GI Tag ................................................................................ 179
100% electrification of rail network – Haryana ............................................. 179
Nagri Dubraj rice .......................................................................................... 180
Unseasonal Rains - Natural calamity............................................................. 180
India’s first cool roof policy ......................................................................... 181
Best state in e-procurement ......................................................................... 181
Whistling Village .......................................................................................... 182
India’s First solar-powered tourist boat ........................................................ 183
India’s 1st 3D printed post office ................................................................. 183
New GI tag of Madhya Pradesh Products ....................................................... 183
First water budget ........................................................................................ 184
Repeal of municipal act ................................................................................ 185
10 years of India’s first environmental referendum ...................................... 185
MGNREGA Person days generation for 4th year ............................................. 186
Hun-Thadou cultural festival ........................................................................ 187
National Award for Fasal Bima Yojana .......................................................... 187
NE’s largest multipurpose indoor stadium .................................................... 188
DNA database of unidentified bodies ............................................................ 188
New biodiversity hotspots in West Bengal .................................................... 188
India’s first heavy lift drone ......................................................................... 189
Assam-Arunachal Pradesh Border Disputes Pact ........................................... 189
Kochi Water Metro ....................................................................................... 190

9
 Kerala's First Vande Bharat Express ............................................................. 191
Zero Shadow Day .......................................................................................... 191
Indore-model waste treatment ..................................................................... 192
PERSONALITIES, AWARDS AND EVENTS ......................................................... 193
Ironman Krishna Prakash ............................................................................. 193
Claude Lorius – a Pioneer in Climate Science ............................................... 193
Intel co-founder Gordon Moore..................................................................... 194
WSIS Award 2023 ......................................................................................... 194
Urban Climate Film Festival ......................................................................... 195
Second EMPOWER meeting .......................................................................... 195
Medal design for Gangwon 2024 ................................................................... 196
Water and Heritage Shield ............................................................................ 196
MCC honorary life membership .................................................................... 197
Four new astronauts of NASA ....................................................................... 198
Naresh Gupta ............................................................................................... 198
100 Most Influential Women in US Finance .................................................. 199
Keshub Mahindra ......................................................................................... 199
Wealthiest CM in India ................................................................................. 200
Femina Miss India 2023 ............................................................................... 200
Rani Rama Devi............................................................................................ 201
National Panchayat Awards 2023 ................................................................. 201
International Prize in Statistics 2023........................................................... 202
Best Social Impact Award ............................................................................. 202
100 Most Influential People of 2023 ............................................................. 203
Santokbaa Humanitarian Award ................................................................... 204
Gates at Sydney Cricket Ground................................................................... 204
Gallantry award to 1st women Air Force officer ............................................ 204
Goldman Environmental Prize ...................................................................... 205
Malcolm Adiseshiah Award 2023 .................................................................. 206
SPORTS........................................................................................................... 206
Women’s World Boxing Championships 2023 ............................................... 206
4th Asian Kho Kho ........................................................................................ 207
ISSF World Cup Shooting Championship ...................................................... 207
Women's Boxing World Championships......................................................... 207

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 FIFA World Cup Host counties...................................................................... 208
Asian Wrestling Championships ................................................................... 208
Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023................................................................... 209
Wisden Almanack's cricketers ...................................................................... 210
London Marathon ......................................................................................... 210
IMPORTANT DAYS ........................................................................................... 211
Universal Acceptance Day – March 28 .......................................................... 211
Rajasthan Day - March 30 ............................................................................ 211
RBI foundation Day - April 01 ...................................................................... 211
Odisha Foundation Day – April 01 ................................................................ 212
International Children's Book Day - April 02 ................................................ 213
World Autism Awareness Day - April 02 ........................................................ 213
Prevention of Blindness Week 2023 - April 1/7 ............................................ 214
International Day of Mine Awareness - April 04 ............................................ 214
National Maritime Day - April 05 .................................................................. 215
International Day of Conscience - April 05 ................................................... 215
International Day of Sports for Development and Peace - April 06................ 215
World Health Day - April 07 .......................................................................... 216
World Homoeopathy Day - April 10 ............................................................... 216
International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Rwandan Genocide - April 07 ... 217
International Romani Day - April 08 ............................................................. 218
CRPF valor day - April 09 ............................................................................. 218
National Safe motherhood Day - April 11 ...................................................... 218
International Day of Human Space flight - April 12 ...................................... 219
World Parkinson's Day - April 11 .................................................................. 219
International Day for Street Children - April 12............................................ 220
World Chagas Disease Day - April 14............................................................. 220
National Fire Service Day - April 14.............................................................. 221
Universal Day of Culture - April 15 ............................................................... 222
Thirunangaiyar Day - April 15 ...................................................................... 222
75th foundation of Himachal Pradesh - April 15 ............................................ 223
World Art Day - April 15 ............................................................................... 224
Save the Elephant Day - April 16 .................................................................. 224
World Hemophilia Day - April 17 .................................................................. 224

11
 International Day for Monuments and Sites/ World Heritage Day - April 18 . 225
World liver Day - April 19 ............................................................................. 225
UN Chinese Language Day - April 20 ............................................................. 226
National Civil services Day - April 21 ........................................................... 226
International Mother Earth Day - April 22 .................................................... 226
World Creativity and Innovation Day - April 21 ............................................ 226
World Book Day - April 23 ............................................................................ 227
UN English Day - April 23 ............................................................................. 227
National Panchayati Raj Day - April 24 ......................................................... 228
World Day for Laboratory Animals - April 24................................................. 228
World Malaria Day - April 25 ......................................................................... 228
Khongjom Day in Manipur - April 23 ............................................................ 229
International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace - April 24 ...... 229
World Immunization Week 2023 - April 24/30 ............................................. 230
World Intellectual Property Day - April 26 .................................................... 230
World Stationery Day - April 26 .................................................................... 230
World Day for safety and Health at Work - April 28....................................... 231
International Delegate’s Day - April 25 ......................................................... 231
International Astronomy Day - April 29 ........................................................ 232
International Sculpture Day - April 29 .......................................................... 232
International Girls in ICT Day 2023 – 27 April.............................................. 232
International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day 2023 - April 26 ........... 233
World Veterinary Day 2023 - April 30 ........................................................... 233
Ayushman Bharat Diwas 2023 - April 30....................................................... 233
MISCELLANEOUS ............................................................................................ 234
Foreign lawyers practice in India ................................................................. 234
Al-Mohed-Al Hindi - 23 ................................................................................. 234
Konkan 2023 ............................................................................................... 235
Exercise Vayu Prahar ................................................................................... 235
ChatGPT decision on bail plea ...................................................................... 236
Re-emerges of Zealandia ............................................................................... 236
Ban on rental e-scooters ............................................................................... 237

12
 TNPSC BITS

 Jindal Steel gets India's first BIS licence to manufacture fire-resistant steel.
 The union home minister inaugurated Gorata Martyr Memorial and Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial at Gorata ground in Bidar, Karnataka.
 The 13th edition of the bilateral exercise 'Bold Kurukshetra' between the Indian
Army and the Singapore Army was held at Jodhpur Military Station, Rajasthan.
 The Ministry of Electronics and IT set up a task force for framing a draft roadmap
for the artificial intelligence ecosystem by end of April.
o This IndiaAI platform will focus on promoting Indian Startups, Research and
Innovation.
 Indian Higher Education Meet 2023 was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
o It aims to encourage and invite the global student community to pursue their
higher education in India.
 The 3rd edition of the International SME Convention 2023 (ISC) is organized
recently.
o The event is focusing on India’s major four sunrise sectors, namely Cleantech
& Green Energy, Manufacturing, Services Sector, and Agro food Processing &
Agri Implements sector.
 The International Day of Zero Waste was observed for the first time on 30 March
2023.
o It aims to raise awareness of the importance of zero waste and responsible
consumption and production practices and urban waste management
contributing to achieving sustainable development.
 The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public
Grievances, Law and Justice suggested that the duration of any recruitment
examination should not ordinarily exceed six months instead of the current
notification to final result is nearly 15 months duration.
 Every year on March 31st, International Drug Checking Day is observed to educate
people about drugs and their effects and promote harm reduction initiatives to
reduce the risks associated with drug use.
 The first joint conference of army chiefs of India and African countries is held in
Pune.
 The National Youth Conclave-2023 is organized by the National Institute of Urban
Affairs in New Delhi.
 International Ayurvet conclave on the theme ‘Veterinary and Ayurveda’, was held
at Rishikul campus of Ayurvedic University at Haridwar, Uttarakhand.

13
 The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the WHO South-East Asia
Regional office have organized a global conference on digital health in New Delhi.
o Theme of the event is: ‘Taking Universal Health Coverage to the last citizen’.
 Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated her nation’s first
submarine base ‘BNS Sheikh Hasina’ at Pekua in Cox’s Bazar.
 The World Government Summit 2023 was held under the theme of “Shaping
Future Governments” in Dubai, UAE.
 The first-ever SCO Conference on Shared Buddhist Heritage took place in New
Delhi.
 The three-day Summit on the topic of ‘Collaboration In Sports and Physical
Fitness’ with delegates from SCO nations held in New Delhi.
 Nikki Haley, former South Carolina's governor and Former U.S. ambassador to the
UN, launched her bid to the USA 2024 presidential candidate on behalf of the
Republican Party.
 The Department of Telecom organized the ‘First International Quantum
Communication Conclave’ at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
 President Droupadi Murmu awarded the prestigious President’s Colour to INS
Dronacharya, gunnery school of Indian Navy, located in Kochi, Kerala.
o This is the highest honour bestowed on a military unit for its exceptional
service to the nation.
 The Indian industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata has been appointed as an
Honorary Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO).
 The second meeting of the newly formed engagement group, Startup20 was held
in Gangtok, Sikkim.
 The 2nd G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) meeting was held in
Udaipur, Rajasthan.
 Actor Ranveer Singh has emerged as India's most valued celebrity of 2022,
according to a new celebrity brand valuation report.
o He is followed by Virat Kohli, Akshay Kumar, Alia Bhatt and Deepika
Padukone.
 Dhanya Rajendran, co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of The News Minute, has been
declared the winner of the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman
Media person for 2022.
 India's commercial capital Mumbai has been included in the World Tree City 2022
list, for the second consecutive year.
 World’s third and India’s second largest cricket stadium is going to be built in
Jaipur.

14
 Maharashtra’s Metro Nagpur was honoured with the prestigious Asia Book of
Records certification for three different categories.
 The two-day G20 Research and Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG) Conference,
held in Dibrugarh, Assam.
o It discussed the ways towards building a sustainable and circular bio-
economy.
 The first meeting of the G20 Chief Science Advisers Roundtable (G20-CSAR) held
in Ramnagar, Uttarakhand.
o This was the first time that chief science advisers of different countries
gathered for a roundtable conference at the G20 platform.
 Aliya Mir, a prominent sociologist, has been awarded the wildlife conservation
award by the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for her exceptional efforts in
conservation.
o She is the first woman from Jammu and Kashmir to work for Wildlife SOS, and
first woman to receive this honour in the region.
 The Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL) conferred a special
literary award on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
o The award has been conferred for his trilogy - The Unfinished Memoirs, The
Prison Diaries and the New China 1952.
 The 1st G20 Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) Meeting took place in
Mumbai.
 The 1st Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group (DRRWG) meeting under India's
G20 Presidency was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
 The Second G20 Sherpas meeting under India’s G20 Presidency, chaired by India’s
G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant took take place Kumarakom, Kerala.
 The two-day Science-20 conference under India’s G20 presidency held at the
Hapania International Fair Ground in Agartala, Tripura.
 India’s top men’s doubles badminton pair of Satwiksairaj Ranki Reddy and Chirag
Shetty won Swiss Open Super 300 Badminton doubles title in Basel, Switzerland.
 Indian weightlifters Dhanush Loganathan and Jyoshna Sabar won bronze medals
in their respective categories in the IWF World Youth Championships, held at
Albania.
 Neeraj Nigam has been appointed as Executive Director by the Reserve Bank of
India.
 Anjali Sharma successfully scaled the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro in South Africa
while wearing an Indian traditional Gaddi dress (Luanchadi).
 IIT Kanpur, hosted the Youth20 Consultation under the G20 Presidency of India.

15
 Philanthropist and art collector Kiran Nadar was recently conferred "Chevalier de
la Légion d'Honneur" (Knight of the Legion of Honour) by France.
 The Tamil Nadu CM released a Keeladi augmented reality app.
o It helps people from across the globe can view the 200 artefacts excavated in
Keeladi in augmented reality and 3D mode.
 India’s First quantum computing-based telecom network link between Sanchar
Bhawan and National Informatics Centre became operational in New Delhi.
 The Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy committee (MPC) decided to keep the
repo rate unchanged at 6.5% at the bi-monthly policy, released in April 2023.
 Italy has become the first country in the West to ban ChatGPT, the popular
artificial intelligence chatbot from U.S. startup OpenAI.
 The American state of Georgia passed a resolution condemning Hindu phobia,
o Thus, it is becoming the first state in the country to do so.
 Kim Cotton became the first woman to officiate as an on-field umpire in a men's
international match between two ICC full-member teams.
o Prior to this, Kim had worked as an on-field and TV umpire in 54 women's
T20Is and 24 women's ODIs.
 The International Conference on Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence was
held in Oxford, the United Kingdom.
 Scotland's parliament appointed Humza Yousaf as first minister.
o He is the youngest and the first Muslim leader of a government in western
Europe.
 The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution that urging the Union
Government and asking President to issue appropriate instructions to Governor
to give his assent to Bills passed by the Assembly.
 Airports Authority of India has decided to operate small flights on the new runway
in Vellore from November.
 The 5th International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI)
2023, was held in New Delhi.
 The Tamil Nadu Police Academy at Vandalur has won the Union Home Minister’s
trophy for the best institute in India for training Sub-Inspectors.
 A mobile app called TN-Alert is to be launched to provide information on location-
based disaster warnings, thunder, lightning, rain and water availability of
reservoirs to the public.
 MF Hydra, a hybrid vessel utilising batteries and liquid hydrogen fuel cells recently
completed two weeks of sea trials in Norway.

16
 The External Affairs Minister of India launched 'Tulsi Ghat Restoration Project'
during his visit to Uganda's Kampala.
 An information stealing malware that is usually delivered through email, known
as Raccoon Stealer, was used to target eight Central government entities.
o It is an information stealer malware that retrieves sensitive data from infected
machines.
 The newly constructed Kilambakkam bus terminus in Chennai has named as
‘Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus’.
 The first All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Northeast India was
inaugurated in Changsari near Guwahati, Assam.
 Indian chess Grandmaster D Gukesh won the World Chess Armageddon Asia &
Oceania event.
 Rajasthan’s first Vande Bharat Express train, which operates between Ajmer and
Delhi Cantt, was inaugurated recently.
 Telangana Chief Minister unveiled the 125-ft tall bronze statue of BR Ambedkar
in Hyderabad.
o It is India’s tallest Ambedkar statute.
 Bharat Biotech has won the `Best Production /Process Development’ award as
part of the Vaccine Industry Excellence (ViE) awards at the World Vaccine
Congress 2023, held at Washington of USA.
 The Supreme Court has initiated steps towards inclusive infrastructure and
sexuality sensitisation for LGBTQIA+ community within the premises to ensure a
dignified work environment at the apex court.
o Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy had been inducted as a member of
Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee (GSICC).
 The Union Home ministry announced the examinations to recruit constables in
Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) will be conducted in 13 regional languages.
o The question paper will be set in Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi,
Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Urdu, Punjabi, Manipuri and
Konkani languages.
 The G20 Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS) is being organized at
Varanasi by the Department of Agricultural Research and Education.
 The World Voice Day is an annual event celebrated on April 16th to raise
awareness about the importance of voice in our daily lives.
 High Glory Footwear India Private Limited, a subsidiary of Taiwan-based Pou Chen
Corporation signed an MoU with the Government of Tamil Nadu to set up a non-
leather footwear manufacturing unit at the SIPCOT Industrial Park,
Ulundurpettai.

17
 Nepal along with India has become a founding member of the International Big
Cats Alliance.
 The Ministry of Panchayati Raj will be celebrating National Panchayat Awards
Week from April 17 to 21.
 Assam created history and marked its entry in the Guinness Book of World
Records with more than 11000 dancers and drummers performing 'Bihu' dance
and playing 'dhol' in a single venue.
 MRF Ltd. has emerged as the second-strongest tyre brand in the world after
French company Michelin.
o It is the only Indian tyre manufacturer to be featured in the top 10.
 India has retained the Category I status under the USA Federal Aviation
Administration's international aviation safety programme
 India to be the chair and Nigeria to be the deputy chair of the Finance Ministers
Working Group for a Commonwealth Call for Reform of the Global Financial
Architecture.
 The Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (FINE) 2023 was organized by
the National Innovation Foundation, an autonomous institute under the
Department of Science and Technology (DST).
 Raj Subramaniam, the Indian-American CEO of FedEx, has been presented with
the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman.
o This is the highest civilian award given by India to persons of Indian origin and
Indian diaspora.
 As per the recent data, the UAE remains India’s second largest export destination
after USA and third largest source of imports` after China and Russia.
 Union Culture Ministry and the International Buddhist Confederation organized
1st International summit on Buddhism in New Delhi.
 The Union Minister of State (IC) Science & Technology launched 'Yuva' portal
aimed to help in connecting and identifying potential young start-ups across the
country.
 The Maharashtra government will celebrate V D Savarkar’s birthday, May 28, as
‘Swatantrya Veer Gaurav Din’.
 Elon Musk is planning a “TruthGPT”, an AI initiative to rival OpenAI and Google's
DeepMind.
 The Buzi Bridge in Mozambique was virtually inaugurated by the External Affairs
Minister of India.
o It has been built by India as part of the 132 km Tica-Buzi-Nova-Sofala Road
project.

18
 Kolkata Metro became the first metro rail in the country to make an under-river
journey as its rakes passed through an underwater tunnel below the Hooghly
River.
o This rail system connects the Howrah station complex on the western bank of
the Hooghly River to Armenian Ghat on the eastern bank.
 Legendary singer Asha Bhosle to be felicitated with the Lata Deenanath
Mangeshkar award.
 City Union Bank (CUB) launched India's first Voice Biometric Authentication
banking app for its mobile banking app which uses it to improve security.
 Argentina will host the FIFA Under-20 World Cup following the decision to strip
Indonesia of the right to stage the tournament by FIFA.
 IFGE-Compressed Biogas Producers Forum has organized the two-day Global
Conference on Compressed Biogas in New Delhi.
o Theme of the event is “Towards Progressive Policy Framework for a Robust CBG
Foundation and Growth”.
 Ace Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen won the second world Championships title by
defeating Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Tam in the 50kg summit.
o She becomes only the second Indian after Mary Kom to win the title twice.
 Former Chancellor Angela Merkel was decorated with Germany’s highest possible
honour in recognition of her near-record 16 years at the helm of the country.
 The Tamil Nadu government will reduce the allocation for the Governor’s
Discretionary Fund (DF) from ₹5 crore to ₹3 crore this year.
 Tamil Nadu Government introduced a Bill in the Assembly seeking to amend the
Tamil Nadu Fisheries Universities Act, 2012 (Tamil Nadu Act 21 of 2012).
o It aims to empower the State government instead of the Governor to appoint
Vice-Chancellors.
 Tamil Nadu’s peak power demand crossed 19,000 MW for the first time on April
19 by touching 19,087 MW.
 The Election Commission of India recognises Edappadi k. Palanisami as AIADMK
general secretary.
 Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook has launched the company's first retail store in
India at Mumbai.
 IIT Madras will set up its first international campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
 A lion from Bannerghatta Biological Park of Bengaluru has been brought to the
Arignar Anna Zoological Park (AAZP) in Vandalur, Chennai as part of an exchange
programme.

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 Veteran film historian, columnist and writer Madabhushi Rangadorai, popularly
known by his pen name-Randor Guy passed away recently at Chennai.
 UN Spanish Language Day is observed on April 23 to mark the death anniversary
of the great genius of Spanish letters, Miguel de Cervantes.
 Lady Willingdon Institute of Advanced Study in Education, earlier known as Lady
Willingdon College of Education, in Triplicane of Chennai celebrated it centenary.
o It was established on Nov 4, 1922 and the first batch of students graduated in
April 1923.
 The International Exhibition and Conference "INDIA STEEL 2023" was held at
Mumbai.
 Tata Steel has managed to hold its name on the List of Steel Sustainability
Champions 2023 for the 6th year consecutively.
 The plan to establish the Sabarimala greenfield airport at Erumely of Kerala has
got an approval from the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation.
 Salem emerges top participant in Great Backyard Bird Count 2023 with over
10,000 checklists uploaded through the four-day birdwatching event.
 Nagaland has got the approval to set up its first medical college since it got
statehood in 1963.
 Union Bank of India, for the first time, secures 1st rank as per the report on EASE
Reforms Index for Q3 FY 2022-23 published by Indian Banks' Association.
 Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of India’s first Digital Science Park in
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala as part of state’s major infrastructure push worth
Rs 1,500 crore.
 French President Emmanuel Macron has signed into law of pension reforms which
raises the state pension age from 62 to 64.
 The United Nations’ High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism
recently launched a new report titled “A Breakthrough for People and Planet:
Effective and Inclusive Global Governance for Today and The Future”.
 The Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Public Administration, 2022, was
conferred to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)
for the successful implementation of ‘PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan’
programme.
 Amara Raja-backed Log9 Materials inaugurated the country's first lithium-ion cell
manufacturing facility in Bengaluru.
 Union External Affairs Minister co-chaired the 4th India-CARICOM ministerial
meeting with his Jamaican counterpart in Georgetown, Guyana.
o Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is an intergovernmental organisation that
is a political and economic union of 15 member states.

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  International Dance Day is observed on 29 April every year to celebrates the
birthday of famous French dance artist Jean-Georges Noverre, who was born in
1727.
 TN government decided to sell cooking gas cylinders through fair price shops.
o The Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Department already sells 5kg and 10kg free
trade licence cylinders.
 The Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister of India Sarbananda Sonowal
inaugurated the National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways & Coasts
(NTCPWC) at the Discovery Campus of IIT, Madras.
 The three-day International Conference on Defence Finance and Economics
(ICDFE-2023) held in New Delhi.
 OPEC's share of India's oil imports fell at the fastest pace in 2022-23 to the lowest
in at least 22 years.
 International Jazz Day observed every year on April 30 to highlight jazz music and
its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe.

TAMIL NADU
GI Tag for 11 products
 In a first time, 11 products from Tamil Nadu were conferred with a geographical
indicator (GI) tag together.
 With this, Tamil Nadu would surpass Karnataka to become the state with the
highest number of GI tags by 56 products.
 Recently, Ramanathapuram’s ‘Mundu Chilli’ and Vellore’s Elavambadi spiny
brinjal received the tag.

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4th desalination plant
 VA Tech Wabag Ltd has bagged an order from Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply
and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) for building a 4th desalination plant in Chennai.
 Once the project is complete, Chennai can treat about 750 MLD of desalinated
water.
 Tamil Nadu has been the pioneer in the use of desalination technology for
providing potable water and achieving water security.
 It already has two fully functional desalination plants near Chennai - Minjur and
Nemmeli (2013).
 Minjur, the first desalination plant in India, was opened in 2010.

Vaikom Satyagraha centenary fete

 Kerala and Tamil Nadu’s Chief Ministers jointly inaugurated the centenary year
celebrations of the anti-caste struggle Vaikom Satyagraha on April 1.
 Lower castes like the Ezhavas and Pulayas were considered polluting and various
rules were in place to distance them from upper castes.
 These included a prohibition, not just on temple entry, but even on walking on the
roads surrounding temples.
 On March 30, 1924, in the temple town of Vaikom in the princely state of
Travancore, a non-violent agitation started.
 It is marking the beginning of “temple entry movements” across the country.
 Sree Narayana Guru, Chattambiswamy, TK Madhavan and Ayyankali were the
prominent personalities of the struggle.
 In November 1936, almost a decade after the conclusion of the Satyagraha, the
historic Temple Entry Proclamation was signed by the Maharaja of Travancore.

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Road map for $1-trillion economy
 The State government has selected Boston Consulting Group to “develop an overall
strategy and road map for Tamil Nadu to realise the vision of $1-trillion economy”.
 Tamil Nadu is the second largest State economy in the country and has the third
highest GDP per capita.
 It is the most urbanised and industrialised State, with a strong manufacturing
base and a large services sector.
 Tamil Nadu is also the third largest exporting State, accounting for over 9% of
India’s exports.
 Its export industry is also significant, as it accounts for over 9% of India's total
exports, making it the third largest exporting State.
 Tamil Nadu ranks second in India for computer, electronics, and optical products
manufacturing accounting for 18 percent of national production.
 It ranks fourth in terms of electronic exports, which were worth 2.2 billion dollars
in 2021-22.

New scheme for government school students

 Chief Minister M K Stalin launched Thiranari Thervu Thittam (Aptitude scheme).
 1,000 students (500 boys and 500 girls) studying in class X will be chosen for this
scheme.
 A stipend of Rs 1,000 will be provided every month until they finish Class 12.
 Students selected under this scheme will also get Rs 12,000 as stipend annually
during their under-graduation and post-graduation.

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  Under the initiative, IIT-M will connect one lakh students studying in rural
locations of the State.
 Part of the 'Anaivarukkum IIT-M' (IITM for all) initiative, this outreach programme
on STEM aims to motivate students to take up a career in semiconductor
technologies.

PM’s Chennai visit

 Prime Minister inaugurated the state-of-the-art integrated terminal building at the
Chennai airport in Tamil Nadu.
 It has 100 check-in counters; 108 immigration counters and it can handle nearly
35 million passengers per year.
 He flagged off the Chennai–Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express from Puratchi
Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Station, Chennai.
 This is second Vande Bharat train for the State but the first one that will run
within Tamil Nadu.
 The first Vande Bharat express train service is being operated from Chennai-
Mysuru via Bengaluru.
 The Prime Minister also flagged off a new Tri-weekly Express service between
Tambaram and Sengottai.
 This is also the first regular train service from Chennai to Tiruvarur-Karaikudi
section.

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125th Anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna Math
 The 125th Anniversary celebrations of Sri Ramakrishna Math held at Vivekananda
House in Chennai.
 It was started in Chennai in 1897 by Swami Ramakrishnananda, one of the direct
disciples of Ramakrishna.
 The ‘Book on Holy Trio’ also released on the occasion.

TN REACH initiative
 TN REACH, an institution mechanism will be formulated to use helicopters for
travel between cities and towns.
 TN REACH stands for Tamil Nadu Regional Aerial Connectivity through
Helicopters.
 More than 80 unused helipads across Tamil Nadu will soon be put to use with
helicopter services planned by the State government.

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  Tamil Nadu Industrial Corporation (TIDCO) will be the nodal agency to implement
the plan.
 The mechanism would build upon
o Heli Disha- an administrative guidance manual for helicopter operations,
o Heli Sewa - a portal for providing online landing clearance for helicopter
operations.

Longest elevated corridor

 The first elevated corridor for Madurai district, part of the four-lane highway
connecting Madurai with Thuvarankurichi in Tiruchi via Natham was inaugurated
by PM.
 This is part of National Highway 785 and built under Bharatmala Pariyojana.
 This 7.3 km-long elevated corridor is the longest in Tamil Nadu.

Street Child Cricket World Cup

 Chennai will host the Street Child Cricket World Cup 2023.
 It will be organised by Street Child United in partnership with Shree Dayaa
Foundation.
 This is the second edition of the Street Child Cricket World Cup.
 It will take place at Amir Mahal of Chennai, the official residence of the Nawab of
Arcot.
 The inaugural event was held in London/Cambridge in 2019.

26
Online gambling banning Bill
 Tamil Nadu Governor has given his assent to a Bill banning online gambling which
was adopted in March by the state Assembly for a second time.
 This bill aims to ban online gambling, including online rummy and poker with
stakes in the state.
 It is dealing a blow to the nascent but fast-growing skill gaming sector.
 Recently, MeitY had notified new gaming-related amendments to the IT Act 2021
on April 6.
 It allowed multiple self-regulatory organisations (SROs) to determine whether a
real-money game, where the transfer of money is involved, is permitted to operate
in India or not.
 Earlier, Tamil Nadu had set up a five-member committee led by retired Justice K
Chandru to analyse the negative effects of these games and make
recommendations for a new law prohibiting "online gambling games".

Tiger Reserve Evaluation for 2022

 The National Tiger Conservation Authority conducted fifth cycle of the
Management Effectiveness Evaluation for 2022.
 The Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) and the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) ranked
fifth and eighth among the 51 tiger reserves in the country.
 They are improving their ranking from ‘very good’ to ‘excellent’.
 The two are among the 12 tiger reserves in the ‘excellent’ category.
 The Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) and the Kalakkad and Mundanthurai
Tiger Reserve (KMTR) continued to be in the ‘very good’ category.

27
  The newly declared Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve was adjudged to be
‘good’.

Robot for knee replacement surgeries

 Chennai based Prashanth Hospitals has commissioned an advanced fourth-

generation robot to conduct knee replacement surgeries.
 This equipment is the first of its kind to be installed in Chennai.
 It has been launched in four countries only so far.
 India is the fourth country to do this.
 The robot reduced pain and blood loss.
 It is resulting in the patients being up on their feet faster.

Local extinction of tiger populations

 The latest tiger census summary report was prepared by the National Tiger
Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India.

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  This report claimed local extinctions of tiger population in Kanniyakumari and
Srivilliputhur.
 Srivilliputhur is part of the newly-formed Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve
(SMTR) in the State.
 In 2020, four tigers were captured in camera traps.
 In February 2023 also there was direct evidence of tiger presence in Rajapalayam
range.

Vanniyakula Kshatriya Public Charitable Trusts and Endowments Board

 Tamil Nadu government reconstituted the Tamil Nadu Vanniyakula Kshatriya
Public Charitable Trusts and Endowments Board.
 Retired IAS officer M. Jayaraman was chosen as its chairperson.
 The term of office of the Chairperson and Members of the Board is for a period of
three years from the date of issue of notification.

Closure of Retail shops

 Tamil Nadu will close down 500 retail shops run by the Tamil Nadu State
Marketing Corporation Limited (Tasmac) this year.
 The 500 shops to be identified and closed will account for roughly 10% of the 5,329
retail shops run by Tasmac.
 This will be the third time such a large number of Tasmac shops will be closed
down.
 Late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced the closure of 500 shops when she
returned to power in 2016.
 Edappadi K. Palanisamy announced the closure of another 500 shops when he
became the Chief Minister in 2017.

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GI tag for Cumbum grapes
 The Cumbum grapes (Cumbum Panneer Thratchai) has got Geographical
Indication tag.
 The Cumbum valley located at the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu is known as the
'Grape’s city of South India'.
 The Panneer grapes were first introduced in Tamil Nadu by a French priest in
1832.
 These grapes are rich in vitamins, tartaric acid and antioxidants and reduces the
risk of some chronic diseases.

Assembly proceedings telecast in sign language

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  The initiative will benefit people who are hearing impaired.
 It has been made to record and telecast the proceedings of the Assembly through
YouTube in sign language.
 It is the initiative to make compliance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Act of 2016.

Rank cities on green index

 The Tamil Nadu government is set to rank cities based on ‘green index’ and other
environmental metrics.
 It aims to deal with the environmental impacts of rising urban population.
 It provides them insights into effective policies and best practices, and support the
cities’ actions against climate change.
 The ranking will be based on both quantitative and qualitative indicators.
 That imply a city’s current environmental performance as well as its intentions to
improve in the future.
 The city with the highest score in this ranking will be recognized as the Climate
Ambassador for that year.
 Urban population is increased by 30.6% between 2001 and 2011.

Equality Day observation

 Tamil Nadu Chief Minister announced that the birthday of Dr Ambedkar (April 14)
will be celebrated as ‘Equality Day’.
 He made this announcement under Rule 110 in the assembly.
 A pledge would also be taken across the state on the day.
 The crux of the pledge is upholding equality and the oath is to rise against the
social oppression in the name of caste, to stand with the oppressed for their rights
and equality and to build an egalitarian society.

Bill for provide water, first-aid facilities in shops, establishments

 The Tamilnadu State government’s new bill seeks to provide drinking water, rest
rooms and first-aid facilities in shops and establishments.
 This bill will amend the Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act, 1947.
 It shall make effective arrangement to provide the staff in the shop or
establishment sufficient supply of wholesome drinking water.

31
  It shall provide toilets accessible to the staff at all times during the working hours.
 It should provide for separate toilet for men and women.
 It shall provide the staff with adequate and suitable break room and lunch room
with provision for drinking water.
 Every employer shall provide first aid facilities as may be prescribed.

TANGEDCO Domestic coal receipt

 Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd. (TANGEDCO) received

192.67 lakh tonnes of domestic coal during 2022-23.
 This is the highest quantum in the last 10 years.
 During 2022-23, the receipt of coal from Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd mines is 178.64
lakh tonnes.
 The receipt from Singareni Collieries Company Limited is about 14.03 lakh tonnes.

Justice K. Chandru committee

 The Tamil Nadu government has constituted a single member committee headed
by retired Madras High Court judge K. Chandru.
 It is tasked to recommend the measures for effective administration of the
homes functioning as per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children)
Act of 2015.
 He will study and make recommendations regarding infrastructure, health,
nutrition, staff requirement, after care issues and stakeholder participation.

32
Tamilnadu Backward Classes Commission extension
 The state’s backward classes commission headed by Justice Thiru V.
Bharathidasan has sought six months to submit a report regarding the
contentious 10.5% reservation for the Vanniyar community within the quota for
most backward classes.
 Now, based on the commission’s request, the time to submit a report has been
extended.
 This 10.5% internal reservation in Tamil Nadu was introduced by the AIADMK on
26 February 2021.
 The 10.5% internal quota was applicable in public education and employment.
 In November 2021, the Madras HC held the quota for Vanniyars as
unconstitutional and later, Supreme Court also upheld the same.

33
Ancient rock art site Nilgiris

 An ancient rock art site near Jackanarai village in Kotagiri Block, was discovered
recently.
 This has depiction around 40 abstract rock paintings.
 The red-ochre art, comprise abstract geometrical images, mostly lines,
anthropomorphic figures and what could be depictions of weaponry.
 This could be the 16th such site recorded in the district.
 It may have cultural link with local Kurumba tribe.

New ‘carbon-neutral’ hubs

 The Tamil Nadu government has selected Rajapalayam and Rameswaram to be

made ‘carbon-neutral hubs’.
 Rajapalayam is strategically situated at the foothills of the pristine Western Ghats,
with reserved forests.
 It is also part of an important catchment for the upper Vaippar river basin.

34
  Rameswaram, a spiritual destination, attracts thousands of tourists every day.
 To achieve carbon-neutrality, the government has planned to take following steps:
o Establishing bio-CNG plants for wet waste processing,
o Promoting a low-emission lifestyle through land use planning,
o Removal of accumulated waste through biomining, and
o Increasing low-emission transport systems.
 It will also work for increasing the carbon sink through afforestation.
 It establishing material recovery facilities to reduce ocean-bound plastic.

Oru Panpattin Payanam: Sindhu Mudhal Vaigai Varai

 Recently Tamilnadu CM launched the book named Oru Panpattin Payanam:
Sindhu Mudhal Vaigai Varai.
 These book that traces the connections between the Indus Valley civilisation and
Dravidian history.
 The book is the Tamil translation of former IAS officer R Balakrishnan’s
book Journey of a Civilisation: From Indus to Vaigai.
 Balakrishnan’s book attempts to trace a history of the Indus Valley civilisation and
says that the original inhibitors of the civilisation were Dravidian.

50 public sector undertakings against private competitors

 Tamil Nadu government has chosen Ernst & Young, a multinational consultancy
firm, as a consultant for the financial and operational analysis of 50 selected
Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) in the State.
 The consultant will also act as a project management unit in the Finance (BPE)
Department.
 The Finance (Bureau of Public Enterprises) Department was formed in 1982.
 It has the intention of ensuring policy uniformity in the management of PSUs and
Statutory Boards.

Revision of Stamp duty

 Tamil Nadu has revised the rate of stamp duty after 22 years.
 The amendment Bill named "Indian Stamp (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act 2023.
 Stamp duty for documents is chargeable at the rate indicated in Schedule - I of
the Indian Stamp Act, 1899.

35
  The cost of printing physical non-judicial stamp papers has increased manifold
times since 2001.
 Payment of stamp duty below Rs 100 denomination would continue to be made
available through e-stamping.

Merger of TANGEDCO’s wings

 Tamil Nadu Energy Department policy note for 2023-24, was recently tabled in
the state Assembly.
 It has proposed to merge Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation
Ltd’ (Tangedco) Mines wing with its Coal wing.
 This will reduce the expenditure and to have better control of coal for both existing
and upcoming Thermal Power Stations.
 Tangedco currently has a thermal power capacity of 4,320 MW.
 Another 4,100 MW of projects is likely to be added to the State’s grid in the next
two years.

Elayaperumal memorial hall

 The Tamil Nadu government will construct a memorial hall to mark the birth
centenary of Dalit leader and former president of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee
L. Elaya Perumal at his home town in Chidambaram.
 He worked for the rights of Scheduled Caste community, was agitated on noticing
‘two pot system’ even during his school days and acted against it.
 Between 1940 and 1970, Elayaperumal spearheaded several protests on various
social issues in the erstwhile South Arcot and Thanjavur districts.
 He joined the Congress and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Cuddalore
Parliamentary constituency at the age of 27.
 He was MP thrice and also represented Egmore Assembly constituency.

36
  He headed the Committee on Untouchability, Economic and Educational
Development of the Scheduled Castes in 1965
 Former CM Karunanidhi had conferred the first ‘Annal Ambedkar Award’ on
Elayaperumal in 1998.

Copper plates with Thevaram hymns

 More than a hundred rare copper plate manuscripts of an explication of the hymn
‘Thevaram’, have been unearthed near the Sattanathar temple in Sirkazhi in
Mayiladuthurai district.
 Thevaram was written by Thirugnanasambanthar.
 This is the first time that the manuscripts of the 'Thevaram' have been discovered
in the form of copper plates.
 A total of 413 plates are in good shape but around 80 to 90 plates are broken.

Reservation for Dalit Christians

 The Tamil Nadu Assembly adopted a resolution seeking to bring Dalit Christians
under the ambit of reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC).
 The resolution stated that Dalit Christians should also benefit from reservation
like Buddhists and Sikhs.

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  As per the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1950, no person belonging to
a religion other than Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism can be deemed Scheduled
Caste and hence cannot avail reservation.
 M. Karunanidhi had demanded the same in 1996, 2006, and 2011.
 The central government was set up Justice K.G. Balakrishnan Commission in
October 2022 .
 It is tasked to consider the pleas of Dalits Christians and Muslims to be included
in reservation quotas.
 The Sachar Committee (2005) had recommended reservation for Dalit Christians
and Muslims.
 The Justice Ranganath Mishra Commission (2007) had also recommended
deletion of Para 3 of the Presidential Order of 1950.
 Para 3 in the order said that any non-Hindu could not be regarded as a scheduled
caste.
 This order was amended in 1956 to include Sikhs, and in 1990 the Buddhists,
among the scheduled castes.
 Now, it says that nobody who is not a Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist can be a scheduled
caste.

Top digital payment transactions cities in 2022

 Chennai has become 5th leading city for digital payment transactions in 2022 in
the country.
 The report was released by payment services firm World line India.
 Chennai has made 14.3 million transactions with a total value of USD 35.5 billion.

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  Bengaluru topped the list with 29 million transactions worth USD 65 billion.
 It is followed by New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune.
 In 2022, frequently visited physical merchant categories together accounted
for over 43 per cent in terms of volume and about 40 per cent in terms of value,
across the country.
 E-commerce space, gaming, utility and financial services contributed to over 85
per cent of transactions and 25 per cent in terms of value.
 Education, travel and hospitality sector accounted for 15 per cent in volume and
75 per cent in terms of value.

Centre for Innovation in Governance

 Recently TN Finance Minister announces Centre for Innovation in Governance.
 It will be formed in the State Planning Commission under the Tamil Nadu
Innovative Initiatives (TANII).
 It will work with cutting-edge institutions in innovation in governance.
 It helps to State government departments and district administrations to work
with modern technology companies to implement innovations.
 It provides public services without any obstacles.
 The Department of Economics and Statistics will be modernised with additional IT
facilities to improve functional efficiency.
 It will be strengthened by providing computers, wi-fi and other facilities to all
government offices.

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Monthly pension for MLAs
 The pension for MLAs and members of the erstwhile TN Legislative Council will be
increased from ₹25,000 to ₹30,000 per month from June.
 This June marks the commencement of the birth centenary of late Chief Minister
M. Karunanidhi.
 The medical allowance being provided to these pensioners will be increased from
₹50,000 to ₹75,000 per annum.
 The family pension provided will be increased from ₹12,500 to ₹15,000 per month.

V.P. Singh statue

 Tamil Nadu government is to install statue of former Prime Minister V.P. Singh in
Chennai.
 The statue would be installed to express the “Tamil society’s gratitude” to the
former PM for his contribution to social justice and other causes.
 The CM made this announcement under Rule 110 of the Assembly.
 V.P. Singh implemented 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in
Central government jobs as per the recommendations of B.P. Mandal.
 He was PM for just 11 months and 8 days — from 2 December 1989 to 10
November 1990.

T.N. Fiscal Responsibility Act bill

 The State government tabled a Bill in the Assembly to amend the Tamil Nadu
Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2003.

40
  It aims to extending the time limit to eliminate the revenue deficit by 2025-26.
 The Bill also seeks to reduce the fiscal deficit to 3% of Gross State Domestic
Product (GSDP) by March 31, 2025, to utilise the maximum fiscal space available.
 The State government’s decision was based on the recommendations of the 15th
Finance Commission.

5 percent Education tax

 The government has decided to amend the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act,
1998.
 It will enable the urban local bodies in the State to levy and collect education tax
at 5% of the annual value of the property.
 They may levy education tax within its area at a rate not exceeding 5% of the
annual value of all buildings.
 The Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Act, 1998, was suspended in 2000.
 But it was updated and revived as the Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies
(Amendment) Act, 2022.
 The Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules, 2023, were framed and came into force
from April 13.

Relaxation of work hour norms Bill

 The Tamil Nadu Assembly passed an amendment to the Factories Act, 1948.
 It aims to enable exemption to industries from the present norms on maximum
work hours, holidays and overtime wages as defined in the Act.
 Workers can now choose to work for 12-hour daily shifts and they will be entitled
to four-day work week, with three days off.

41
  The bill now empowers the state government to exempt any factory or group or
group of factories from any or all of the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948, which
entail rules related to working hour limits.
 Some sections are: Sections 51 (weekly hours), 52 (weekly holidays), 54 (daily
hours), 55 (intervals of rest), 56 (spread over) or 59 (prohibition of overlapping
shifts).

Rare gold plate with inscription

 A golden plate with Thirugnanasambandar song inscribes of Bhakti literature has
been found in the Arulmigu Edaganathaswarar temple in Thiruvedagam, Madurai.
 This is located on the banks of river Vaigai in Madurai district.
 It is one of the first plates with an ancient inscription to be found in gold.

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Danish fort in Tharangambadi
 The Tourism Department has sanctioned ₹3 crore to carry out various
infrastructure development works at the Danish Fort in Tharangambadi.
 Danish Fort, also referred to as Fort Dansborg, was built in 1620 at the eastern
coastal village of Tharangambadi.
 It is also served as a base for Danish settlement in the region and was later sold
to the British.

Skill hub under PMKVY

 The Union government has identified National Institute of Technology-Trichy as

one of the ‘skill hubs’ under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)
scheme.
 It aims to provide skill training to youths including school and college students
and dropouts in and around Trichy.

43
  The training programme will be extended to unemployed youths, and that the skill
training centre would be launched soon.
 NIT-Trichy will be the nodal skill centre to provide development and vocational
training opportunities to the target population segments.

GI tag for Manamadurai Pottery

 The Manamadurai pottery recently earned a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
 Manamadurai in Sivagangai district is known for pottery making.
 The Vaigai river enriches the clay used for the Manamadurai pottery.
 The raw materials of pot Soil, water, sand, lead, graphite, calcium lime, ash, red
lead, sodium silicate, manganese, iron, and plasticizing.
 The pot is painted in different colours.

Selvamagal Saving Scheme Rank

 Tamil Nadu has been ranked second in the list of states with the highest number
of accounts opened under the Selvamagal Savings Scheme.
 Uttar Pradesh topped in the list.
 The Selvamagal Savings Scheme is a special savings scheme launched for 10-year-
old girl children.
 So far, 38.38 lakh accounts have been opened in Tamil Nadu under this scheme.

The Tamil Nadu Urban Local Bodies Rules – 2023

 The Tamil Nadu government has released new rules for urban local bodies.
 In Tamil Nadu, Municipal Corporations, Municipalities and Municipal
Corporations are divided into 4 categories.

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 o Municipalities with a population of more than 10 lakhs are classified as Special
Level Corporations,
o Between 5 and 10 lakhs as Selection Level Corporations,
o Between 3 and 5 lakhs as First Level Corporations and
o With a population of up to 3 lakhs as Level 2 Municipal Corporations.
 Divisions based on income are:
o Income above 15 crores are classified as special level municipalities.
o Income between 9 crores and 15 crores are classified as examination level
municipalities.
o Income between 9 crores and 6 crores are classified as first level municipalities.
o Income below 6 crores are classified as second level municipalities.
 Also, the number of councilors is to be selected in the Corporation, Municipalities
and Boroughs on the basis of population.
 Number of councillors based on population:
o 230 councilors in a corporation with a population of more than 80 lakhs.
o Municipal Corporations with a population of 60 to 80 lakh may have 200
councillors.
o Municipalities with a population of more than 2.25 lakh may have 52
councillors.
o Municipalities with a population of less than 30,000 may have 22 councillors.
o Municipalities with a population of more than 25,000 may have 21 councillors.
o Municipalities with a population of 10,000 to 15,000 may have up to 12
councillors.

NATIONAL

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Annual India TB Report 2023
 TB patient registration has improved by 56 per cent, from 15.5 lakh in 2014 to
24.22 lakh in 2022.
 From April 2018 till date, around Rs. 2,102 crores have been disbursed to over 79
lakh people on TB treatment across the country via Direct Benefit Transfer.
 The estimates of Drug Resistant TB in India have reduced by 20% from 1.49 lakh
in 2015 to 1.19 lakh in 2021.
 As per the Global TB Report, 2022, the incidence of TB in India has reduced by
18% from 256/lakh population in 2015 to 210/lakh population in 2021.
 This is 7 percentage better than the global average of 11% reduction.

Annual Periodic Labour Force Survey 2021-2022

 It gives estimates of key employment and unemployment indicators like the labour
force participation rates (LFPR), worker population ratio (WPR), unemployment
rate (UR), etc.
 The agriculture sector has the highest estimated percentage distribution of female
workers followed by manufacturing.
 Nearly 63% workers are female in the agriculture sector at the pan-India level.
 The estimated percentage distribution of female worker in the manufacturing
sector is 11.2%.
 The estimated female labour force participation rate (LFPR) in Haryana on usual
status for age 15 years and above is 19.1%.

46
SMART-PDS
 The Scheme for Modernization and Reforms through Technology in Public
Distribution System (SMART-PDS) was proposed by the Department of Food and
Public Distribution.
 The centre urged all states and union territories to implement the SMART-PDS to
ensure the smooth operation of the public distribution system.
 It aims to transform the Public Distribution System’s information technology to
standardize the operation and implementation.
 The smart PDS is a joint operation of the central and state government.
 However, it is the responsibility of the state governments to issue smart cards.

National Strategy and Roadmap for Medical and Wellness Tourism

 The Ministry of Tourism has formulated this document, in order to boost medical
tourism in the country.

47
  This policy identified the following key pillars for the development of medical-value
travel in the country.
o Developing a brand for India as a wellness destination.
o Strengthening the ecosystem for medical and wellness tourism
o Enabling digitalization by setting up Online Medical Value Travel (MVT) Portal
o Enhancing accessibility for Medical Value Travel
o Promoting Wellness Tourism
o Governance and Institutional Framework
 ‘E- Medical Visa’ and ‘E-Medical Attendant Visa’ have also been introduced for 156
countries.
 Foreign Tourists Arrival on medical purpose increases from 1.83 lakh in 2020 to
3.04 lakh in 2021.

One World TB Summit

 The One World TB Summit - 2023 was inaugurated at the Rudraksha Convention
Center in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
 The 'Annual India TB Report 2023' was also released in the event.
 It is a compilation of the country's efforts towards making India TB free by 2025.

48
National Rabies Control Programme

 The Central Government has launched the National Rabies Control Programme
(NRCP) for prevention and control of Rabies.
 The Strategies of the National Rabies Control Program are as follows:
o Provision of rabies vaccine & rabies immunoglobulin through national free
drug initiatives
o Training on appropriate animal bite management, prevention and control of
rabies, surveillance and intersectoral coordination
o Strengthening surveillance of animal bites and rabies deaths reporting
o Creating awareness about rabies prevention
 ‘National Action Plan for Dog Mediated Rabies Elimination (NAPRE) from India by
2030’ also was launched recently.

49
  The stray dog population control and management of the stray dogs is the mandate
of the local bodies.

Project Himshakti
 Ministry of Defence, signed a contract with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for
procurement of two Integrated Electronic Warfare Systems ‘Project Himshakti’.
 The project is under the Buy Indian Indigenously Designed Developed and
Manufactured category comprising contemporary and niche technologies.
 ‘Project Himshakti’ will encourage participation of Indian Electronics and
associated industries, including MSMEs.

Gaj Utsav 2023

 The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest has decided to celebrate Gaj Utsav
2023 at Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

50
  This is aims to commemorate the successful completion of 30 years of Project
Elephant and to give more impetus to conservation efforts.
 Project Elephant is a centrally sponsored scheme.
 It was launched in February 1992 for the protection of elephants, their habitats
and corridors.

50th anniversary of Project Tiger

 A 3-day mega event to be held in Mysuru, Karnataka to celebrate 50 years of
Project Tiger.
 The Government of India started Project Tiger on April 1, 1973, to promote tiger
conservation at Corbett National Park.
 This is launched during then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure.
 At the time of its launch in 1973, ‘Project Tiger’ included nine tiger reserves spread
over 18,278 sq. km.
 Today, there are 53 tiger reserves covering more than 75,000 sq km with around
3000 Tigers.
 India harbours more than 70% of global wild tiger population, which is increasing
at an annual rate of 6%.

eVTOL air taxi in India

 India is planning to offer eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) air taxis
transportation technology by 2025.

51
  Countries like Singapore, UAE, France, Germany, UK and US have already
announced their plans to launch these air taxis by 2025.
 US aerospace company Jaunt Air Mobility decided to setup its air taxi assembly
unit in India.

Sagar Parikrama Phase IV

 The fourth phase of the Sagar Parikrama program covered three coastal districts
of Karnataka – Uttara Kannada, Udupi, and Dakshina Kannada.
 Sagar Parikrama is an initiative to organize a sea voyage across all coastal states
and union territories to support fishermen, fish farmers, and other stakeholders.
 It aims to address their concerns and facilitate their economic development by
implementing various fisheries schemes and programs.
 Phase I was started on March 2022 from Mandvi, Gujarat to Okha-Dwarka, and
concluded at Porbandar by covering 3 locations.
 Phase II was held on September 2022 and covered seven locations.
 Phase-III was held on February 2022 and covered coastal districts of Gujarat and
Maharashtra.

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Committee for Pension reforms
 The Government of India announced the formation of a committee to look into
improving the system of pension for government employees.
 The committee aims to find a middle ground between the fiscally imprudent old
pension system and the reform-oriented National Pension System.
 This move comes against the backdrop of at least five Opposition-ruled states
adopting the Old Pension Scheme.
 The committee will be headed by Finance Secretary T V Somanathan.

New India Literacy Program

 The Government of India has launched a “New India Literacy Programme” (NILP)
for five years from the FYs 2022-23 to 2026-27.
 It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
 The scheme aims to cover a target of 5.00 crore non-literates in the age group of
15 years and above.
 The Scheme has five components:
o Foundational Literacy and Numeracy,
o Critical Life Skills,
o Vocational Skills Development,
o Basic Education and

53
 o Continuing Education.
 The scheme is based on technology and implemented predominantly through
online mode.
 The teaching learning material and resources have been made available on
DIKSHA platform of NCERT and can be accessed through the mobile-apps.

Mission Arikompan
 A wild elephant by the name of Arikomban has been causing chaos in the higher
ranges of Idukki district, Kerala.
 Over the past few years, Arikomban has trampled at least 10 people to death and
destroyed around 60 houses and shops.
 The forest department has initiated ‘Mission Arikomban’, an operation to capture
the rogue tusker.

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3-Star Garbage Free cities
 1000 Cities are targeted to become 3-Star Garbage Free by October 2024.
 The Garbage Free Cities (GFC) Star rating protocol was launched in January 2018.
 It aims to encourage competitive spirit among urban local bodies (ULBs).
 The highest rating is 7-star garbage free: Indore bagged that standard.
 The waste processing in India has gone up by over four times from 17% in 2014
to 75% today.

Civil-20 India 2023 Inception Conference

 The Civil-20 India 2023 Inception Conference’s first plenary session was held in
Nagpur, Maharashtra.
 Theme of the event is “Balancing Development with Environment”.
 The session was chaired by former Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda
Mishra.

Space System Design Lab

 The Space Systems Design Lab of the Indian National Space Promotion and
Authorization Centre (IN-S PACe) was inaugurated in Ahmedabad recently.
 It aims to help space start-ups turn their innovative ideas into implementable
models more quickly, and reduce research and development costs.
 It consists of high-end analysis and simulation software for mission simulation,
modelling, visualising, optimising payload and spacecraft.

Labour20 engagement group’s inception meet

 Two-day Labour20 (L20) engagement group’s inception meeting, as part of India’s
G20 presidency, held in Amritsar, Punjab.
 It adopted two joint statements as the final outcome of the two-day deliberations.

55
  The first One is calling for resolving the question of portability of social security
among G20 nations as a first step towards universalisation of social security.
 The second one is for plugging the gender gap in the global work force.

CBI’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations

 The CBI is celebrating its 60th anniversary on April 1.
 To marking the Diamond Jubilee Celebration year of CBI, a Postage Stamp and
Commemorative Coin were released.
 CBI was established by a resolution of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs dated
April 1, 1963.
 The CBI is not a statutory body.
 It derives its power to investigate from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act,
1946.
 The establishment of the CBI was recommended by the Santhanam Committee on
Prevention of Corruption (1962–1964).

New Vande Bharat Express

 Indian Railways' eleventh Vande Bharat Express was launched recently.

 It will operate from Rani Kamalapati station in Bhopal and Hazrat Nizamuddin in
the national capital.
 This is the Madhya Pradesh's first Vande Bharat Express.

56
  It is also the second fastest Vande Bharat Express after the New Delhi-Varanasi
Vande Bharat Express.

ISRO YUVIKA 2023

 It gives Indian Space Research Agency has designed an educational initiative for
children.
 YUVIKA stands for ‘‘YUva VIgyani KAryakram’’.
 It is also known as the "Young Scientist Program.
 It is specifically designed for school-age children who are interested in the newest
developments in space science and technology.

India Justice Report

 The India Justice Report (IJR) was initiated by Tata Trusts in 2019.
 This is the third edition.
 This report is based on overall data of 4 pillars of justice delivery namely Police,
Judiciary, Prisons, and Legal Aid.
 In India Justice Report (IJR) 2022 the State of Karnataka has achieved the top
rank among the 18 large and mid-sized States with populations over one crore.
 The State of Tamil Nadu has ranked in second position and Telangana in Third.
 The State of Gujarat has got the fourth position and Andhra Pradesh is at slot five
 The State of Uttar Pradesh is at rank 18 which is the lowest.
 The list of Seven Small States with a population less than one crore each, was
topped by Sikkim.
 It has been followed by Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura.
 The State of Goa is at rank Seven which is the lowest.

57
  The Tamil Nadu Prison Department has bagged the first place.
 It is followed by Karnataka and Telangana.
 Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh were at the bottom rank.

Police - Population ratio in India

 Bihar and West Bengal have the lowest ratio of police personnel to per lakh
population in the country at 75.16 and 97.66 respectively.
 The sanctioned strength of Bihar's police-population ratio is 115.08 while West
Bengal's is 160.76.

58
  The ratio for the whole country as on January 1, 2022 of police personnel per lakh
persons is 152.80 as per actual strength.
 But the sanctioned strength is 196.23 for the country.
 Tamil Nadu’s sanctioned strength is 171.95 but the actual strength is 154.25.

Competition Amendment Bill, 2023

 The upper house (Rajya Sabha) of the Indian parliament passed the Competition
(Amendment) Bill, 2023 recently.
 This Bill seeks to amend the Competition Act, 2002.
 It gives the Competition Commission of India (CCI) its powers to prevent practices
that harm competition and the interests of consumers.
 This amendment aims to bring the competition regime up to speed with the
changes in how businesses operate currently, especially in the digital markets.

2nd largest solar manufacturer by 2026

 India will become self-sufficient and will be the second-largest PV manufacturing
country after China in 2026.
 India’s cumulative module manufacturing nameplate capacity has been more than
doubled from 18GW in March 2022 to 38GW in March 2023.

59
  In terms of upcoming PV manufacturing installations, Gujarat is the leading state
in India.
 It accounts for nearly 57% of all the upcoming PV manufacturing capacity.

National party status

 The Election Commission of India (ECI) accorded the status of a national party to
Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party.

60
  It is also withdrawing the same for the Trinamool Congress, Communist Party of
India, and the Nationalist Congress Party.
 With the removal of NCP, CPI, and TMC, there are now only six national parties in
the country.
 BJP, Congress, National People’s Party, CPM, Bahujan Samaj Party and the latest
addition AAP are the national parties now.
 According to Election Commission rules, a party gets national status if it is
recognized as a state party in four states.
 For recognition as a state party, it has to secure at least six percent of the valid
votes polled and two seats each in Assembly or Lok Sabha polls.

Anti-establishment terminology
 The Supreme Court ruled that Criticism of governmental policy cannot be termed
“anti-establishment”.
 It also, quashing the Centre’s telecast ban on Malayalam news channel Media One.
 Anti-establishment referred as that individual or Organisation who Opposed or
hostile to the social, economic, and political principles of a ruling class (as of a
nation).
 Criticism of government policy can by no stretch of imagination be brought within
the fold of any of the grounds stipulated in Article 19(2).
 Article 19(2) lays reasonable restrictions in the interests of the security and
sovereignty of India.

India’s Defence export

 India’s defence exports reach all-time high of Rs 15,920 crore in 2022-23.

61
  This is the highest ever and a notable tenfold increase since 2016-17.
 The country’s defence exports in 2021-22 was Rs 12,814 crore, Rs 8,434 crore in
2020-21.

Gaj Utsav - 2023

 The Gaj Utsav-2023 was inaugurated at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam by
the President of India.
 It aims to work towards mitigating these challenges and ensuring a better future
for elephants in India.

 It is a significant event in India that commemorates the 30th anniversary of Project

Elephant.
 Project Elephant is a flagship conservation initiative launched by the Indian
government in 1992.
 Kaziranga National Park was established in 1905 and known for its high
population of Asian elephants.

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Exercise ‘KAVACH’
 Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) conducted a large-scale Joint Military
Exercise ‘KAVACH’.
 It is involving the assets of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
 It demonstrated the capabilities and preparedness of the Armed Forces to
safeguard India's maritime interests and ensure the security of the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands.

8th Vande Bharat Express

 Prime Minister launched the second Vande Bharat Express between two Telugu
speaking States.

63
  It will operate from Secunderabad station in Telangana and Tirupati in Andhra
Pradesh.
 The train is the eighth Vande Bharat Express introduced by Indian Railways.
 This is the first train which connecting the two Telugu-speaking States.

SC on Sealed cover jurisprudence

 A Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) said it would not accept a “confidential”
submission from the Centre.
 This is held during on the disbursal of arrears to retired defence personnel under
the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme.
 The CJI has repeatedly underlined the need for transparency in the functioning of
the court.
 Sealed cover jurisprudence is the practice of seeking and accepting information
from government agencies in sealed envelopes that can only be perused by judges.
 It has been followed by the Supreme Court in the past, and sometimes lower courts
as well.
 This can happen in broadly two kinds of cases
o when the information is connected to an ongoing investigation and,
o when the information is personal or confidential in nature.

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Use of MPLADS Funds in FY23

 Gujarat had the highest utilization to released fund ratio of Members of Parliament
Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds in the fiscal year 2022-23.
 Rs. 66 crores were allocated to the Gujarat, but it utilized Rs. 95.77 crore, or
145.11%.
 Other major states with the greatest utilisation to released fund ratios are
Jharkhand (128.45%), Karnataka (127.76%), Kerala (122.33%), West Bengal
(113.54%), and Tamil Nadu (112.86%).
 The MPLAD Scheme is a Central Sector Scheme and it is fully funded by the
Government of India.
 This Scheme was announced on December 23, 1993.

Country-level model for estimating TB cases

 India has become the first country in the world to develop a sophisticated
mathematical model to track the spread of tuberculosis (TB) cases.
 It is based on the natural history of the disease, individual cases of infection,
healthcare-seeking behaviour, missed or correct diagnosis, treatment coverage,
and outcome.
 According to WHO estimates, the TB incidence rate (per 10,000) in India in 2021
was 210.
 Using the Indian mathematical model, it was estimated to be 196 in 2022.
 The WHO estimated that the TB incidence absolute number to be 29.50 lakh in
2021.
 The Indian model suggested it was 27.70 lakh in 2022.
 According to WHO, the TB mortality rate (per 10,000) in 2021 was estimated to be
35, which reduced to 23 in 2022 as per the Indian model.
 WHO’s TB mortality absolute numbers were estimated to be 4.94 lakh in 2021.

65
  The Indian model suggested it was 3.20 lakh in 2022.
 In 2022, a total of 23,58,664 patients were diagnosed with drug-susceptible TB
(DSTB).
 The treatment initiation rate among the notified cases for 2022 was 95.5 per cent.
 The highest case notification rate among States was seen in Delhi (546 per lakh
population).
 The lowest among States was seen in Kerala (67 per lakh population).

5th cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE)

 The government has been using the MEE to assess tiger reserves across the
country since its inception in 2006.
 The Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Kerala was once again adjudged the best
managed tiger reserve in the country.
 Satpura (Madhya Pradesh) and Bandipur (Karnataka) came second, while
Nagarhole (Karnataka) was ranked third in the 2022 cycle of Evaluation.
 53 Tiger Reserves have been notified till now.
 Of these 53 tiger reserves, only 51 were evaluated.
 Two newly declared tiger reserves, Ramgarh Vishdhari and Ranipur, have not been
included in the current cycle of MEE.

33 new GI registrations
 India has reached the highest-ever GI registrations in 2022-23 by completing 33
new GI registrations on March 31.
 Among them, 10 belonged to UP, including two from Varanasi.

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  With the new addition of 10 goods, UP has 45 GI goods.
 Out of these, 20 belong to the Varanasi region.
 Currently, the GI Registry has granted GI tags to 441 Indian products and 34
foreign goods.
 The Geographical Indications Registry is located in Chennai.

President on Sukhoi 30 MKI

 President Droupadi Murmu took a sortie on the Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft
from Tezpur Air Force Station in Assam.
 Murmu became the third President and second woman President to fly in a fighter
aircraft.

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  Former President Pratibha Patil flew in the Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet in 2009 from
the Pune air force base.

E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022

 The E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 kicked in from April 1, 2023.

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  The first set of e-waste Rules was notified in 2011 and came into effect in 2012.
 The latest rules introduce the new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regime
that will apply to every manufacturer, producer, refurbisher, dismantler and
recycler of electronic products.
 It restricted the use of hazardous substances in manufacturing electrical and
electronic equipment (EEE).
 It mandates the reduction of the use of lead, mercury, cadmium among others in
the manufacturing of electronic equipment.
 The manufacturer is Responsible to collect e-waste generated during manufacture
and to ensure its recycling or disposal.
 However, the rule does not apply to waste batteries, packaging plastics, micro
enterprises and radio-active waste, as covered under the provisions of the law.

Dogri version of Indian Constitution

 Union Minister of Law released the first edition of the Dogri version of the Indian
Constitution at the University of Jammu.
 It is a significant step towards promoting linguistic diversity and preserving the
cultural heritage of the country.
 Dogri is a language spoken in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
 It is one of the 22 recognized official languages of India.
 Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali were added into Eighth Schedule by the 92nd
Amendment Act of 2003.

Vibrant Villages Programme

 The centre launched 'Vibrant Villages Programme' at Kibithoo - a border village in
Arunachal Pradesh.
 It is aimed to changed people’s approach towards border villages.
 This program will help in improving the standard of living of the people of the
border villages and encourage them to stay in their places.
 It will prevent migration from these villages and also strengthen the security of the
border
 It has been identified for comprehensive development under the Programme 2967
villages in 46 blocks of 19 districts
 They located all along the northern border in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim,
Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Ladakh.

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Best public transport in the world 2023
 This data was compiled by ‘Time out’ agency over 50 cities across the globe.
 Mumbai ranks 19th in list of ‘world’s best’ cities for public transport.
 Berlin, Prague, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Stockholm are the top 5 cities with best public
transit system.
 Mumbai is the only Indian city to feature in the list.

IT amendment rules 2023

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  The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) notified the
Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code)
Amendment Rules, 2023.
 As per the new rule, MeitY can constitute a fact-checking unit to determine fake
news with respect to any business of the central government.
 The fact-checking unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) is the “preferred
agency” for the task.
 Any news that has been deemed “fake” by fact-checking unit will have to be taken
down by all platforms, including social media platforms.

Indian Space Policy 2023

 The Indian Space Policy 2023 was recently approved by the Cabinet Committee on
Security.
 The Policy is expected to have a significant impact on the Indian space economy.
 It aims to increase India's share in the global space economy from less than 2% to
10%.
 The policy delineates the roles and responsibilities of ISRO, NSIL and IN-SPACe.
 ISRO will focus its energies on developing new technologies, systems, and research
and development.
 NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) will be responsible for strategic activities related to
the space sector.
 The objective of NSIL is to augment private industry participation in the space
economy and create a self-reliant space industry in India.
 Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) will serve
as the interface between ISRO and non-governmental entities.

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Stacking up the Benefits Lessons from India’s Digital Journey – Report
 International Monetary Fund published a paper titled ‘Stacking up the Benefits
Lessons from India’s Digital Journey.’
 India has built a world-class digital public infrastructure.
 It is transforming lives and economy and can be a lesson for many countries to
follow.
 The India Stack is the collective name of a set of commonly used digital public
infrastructure (DPIs) in India.
 It consists of three different layers
o Unique identity (Aadhaar)
o Complimentary payments systems (Unified Payments Interface, Aadhaar
Payments Bridge, Aadhaar Enabled Payment Service), and
o Data exchange (Digi Locker and Account Aggregator).

State of India’s Environment report

 The Centre for Science and Environment and Down to Earth recently released the
2023 State of India’s Environment report.
 Over 30,000 waterbodies have been encroached on in the country.
 India is generating 150,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste every day.
 More than half of this is either dumped in landfills or remains unattended.
 Four years and 11 months is the average duration of life lost to air pollution in
India.
 In Haryana, the average life span reduction was seven years and five months.
 The lowest lifespan fall was recorded in Ladakh, shortened by four months.

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  Rural India is losing more years due to air pollution-related health issues than the
urban belt.
 India needs 35 per cent more community health centres.
 Between January and October 2022 (304 days), India witnessed extreme weather
events on 271 days.
 These extreme weather events claimed over 2,900 lives.
 India’s overall global rank in meeting the United Nations-mandated sustainable
development goals (SDGs) has also slipped by nine places.
 Environmental crimes continue unabated and courts need to decide on 245 cases
every day to clear the backlog.

International Big Cat Alliance

 The Prime Minister launched the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) during the
50 years of Project Tiger celebration.
 IBCA aims at conservation of seven big cats namely Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow
Leopard, Cheetah, Jaguar and Puma harbouring our planet.
 It would further strengthen global cooperation and efforts to conserve the wild
denizens, especially the big cats.

State Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI) 2021-22

 Union Ministry of Power and New & Renewable Energy has launched the State
Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI) 2021-22 report.
 This is the annual progress of states and UTs in energy efficiency implementation,
for FY 2020-21 and 2021-22.

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  It is developed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in association with
Alliance for an Energy – Efficient Economy (AEEE).
 It has an updated framework of 50 indicators aligned with national priorities.
 Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan and Telangana are in the Front
Runner category (>60 points).
 Assam, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Punjab are in the Achiever category (50-60
points).
 Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Chandigarh are the top-performing states
in their respective state groups.
 Telangana and Andhra Pradesh showed the most improvement since the last
index.

Guidelines on Professional Responsibilities of Students and Teachers

 The National Medical Council, has for the first time issued a set of guidelines
specifying professional responsibilities of medical students, teachers and
institutions.
 It explained the code of conduct for teachers and students while
studying/working, relationship between a teacher and student, expectations from
the two and their collective responsibility to the community.
 Sexual orientation, gender and socio-economic class should not be the base for
any discrimination

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National Credit Framework for IKS
 The University Grants Commission (UGC) has directed that the National Credit
Framework (NCrF) be implemented in all Higher Education Institutions (HEI).
 NCrF is an enabling framework that lays down basic principles of creditisation of
learning from several dimensions including academic, vocational, and experiential
learning.
 Through this, students (at all levels) will earn credits for education and learning
in all subjects, and in all mediums such as online, digital, and blended learning.
 Students across the country will also gain credit for their expertise in several
aspects of the Indian knowledge system, including the Puranas, the Vedas, and
other components.

Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiative

 Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry launched the Animal Pandemic
Preparedness Initiative.
 World Bank-funded Animal Health System Support for One Health (AHSSOH)
project also launched.
 They will enhance India's preparedness and response to potential animal
pandemics.

Ambedkar circuit tourist train

 IRCTC launched the first Ambedkar circuit tourist train.
 The eight-day special tour will include visits to prominent places associated with
the life of Dr. Ambedkar.
 The Ambedkar Circuit was the fourth in the list of special tourist circuits namely,
Ramayana Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, and North East Circuit.

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  The ‘Bharat Gaurav Tourist train’ is being operated under the ‘Dekho Apna Desh’
initiative.
 It is aimed at promoting domestic tourism, and is a joint collaboration between
the Ministries of Tourism and Railways.

Constitution Bench for same-sex marriage case

 The Supreme Court formed a new Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice of
India DY Chandrachud to hear a series of petitions seeking legal recognition of
same sex marriages.
 The other four Associate Judges on the Bench are Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul,
S. Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli and P.S. Narasimha.
 Article 145(3) mandates that cases involving substantial questions and
interpretation of the Constitution should be heard by a Bench of at least five
judges.

5th investor in AI
 India ranked fifth in terms of investments received by startups offering artificial
intelligence (AI)-based products and services last year.

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  Total investments in AI startups in India stood at $3.24 billion in 2022.
 Thus, India is ahead of South Korea, Germany, Canada and Australia, among
others.
 Those ahead of India in the list are the US, China, the UK and Israel.

RAPIDX Rail Service

 India's first semi-high-speed regional rail services have been named as 'RAPIDX'
by the NCRTC.
 The trains will run on the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridors.
 It will be implemented to connect key urban nodes across the National Capital
Region.
 The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) is a joint venture
company of the Union government and states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and
Uttar Pradesh.

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Unified Portal of Central Bureau of Narcotics
 Centre launched the unified portal of the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN).
 It will instil efficiency and transparency and reduce the time taken by the pharma
industry to get a trade licence.
 This will leverage drastic reduction in ‘processing-time’ and conserving the
resources of the trade for other fruitful business activities.
 CBN dealing with the international trade of narcotic drugs, psychotropic
substances, and precursor chemicals under the ambit of various United Nations
Conventions and the provisions of NDPS Act, 1985.

India Ransomware Report 2022

 India saw a 53 per cent increase in ransomware incidents in 2022.
 India experienced about 700,000 malware attacks in 2022, up from 650,000 in
2021.
 India was the second most targeted country in the Asia Pacific & Japan region for
ransomware attacks.
 It was the third most attacked country in 2021.
 There was a total of 14,983,271 ransomware threats globally in 2022.
 38.06% of the attacks targeting Asia, and 10.51% of those attacks being detected
in India.

Farmers Distress Index

 The Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) scientists have
developed an early warning system called the ‘Farmers Distress Index’.
 CRIDA is an Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) organ.
 The Index has been built on the 21-simple questions, divided into seven blocks of
three questions each.

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  By receiving answers to those questions, we can tell whether they are experiencing
distress or not.
 The Development of this index is part of the NABARD-funded project on ‘Farmers
Distress and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)’.

Mission 50K-EV4ECO
 The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) established Mission 50K-
EV4ECO.
 This is the pilot phase to strengthen the EV ecosystem.
 It includes the uptake for 2- wheelers, 3- wheelers and 4- wheelers through direct
and indirect lending.
 This programme serves as a model for the SIDBI-World Bank's EVOLVE
programme.

Incident Management Services

 India plans to extend its marquee Incident Management Services (IMS) to all
national highways to reduce road fatalities and improve safety for road users.

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  As part of this initiative, highways would be equipped with ambulances, cranes,
round-the-clock patrol vehicles.
 It also provides skilled workers capable of providing quick post-crash response,
critical in saving lives of accident victims.
 Road accidents claimed 156,000 lives in 2021 in India - or 457 lives per day.
 Indian roads report one accident every minute, and one fatal accident every four
minute.

Support for Irrigation Modernization Program

 Support for Irrigation Modernization Program (SIMP) is a new initiative taken up
by Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
 The Technical Assistance is provided by the Asian Development Bank.
 It aims to modernize Major/ Medium Irrigation (MMI) projects in the country.
 SIMP is proposed to be taken up in 4 phases.
 Objective of the programme
o Improve water use efficiency,
o Increase crop water productivity and
o Increase farmer’s income in the command area of the project

India’s population
 India’s population is expected to surpass that of China by the middle of this year.
 The annual State of World Population report by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
has pegged India’s mid-2023 population at 1,428 million.
 This is marginally ahead of China’s 1,425 million.
 The United States is a distant third, with an estimated population of 34 crore.
 With close to 50% of its population below the age of 25, India has a time-bound
opportunity to benefit from the demographic dividend.
 Just eight countries will account for half the projected growth in global population
by 2050.
 They are: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria,
Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania.
 Two-thirds of people now live in a country where lifetime fertility corresponds with
zero growth.

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National Quantum Mission

 The Centre approved the National Quantum Mission with an estimate of Rs 6,003
crore for eight years.
 It aims to put India among the top six leading nations involved in the research and
development in quantum technologies.
 The US, China, France, Austria, and Finland are in the R&D stage and are yet to
venture into the application stage of the technology.

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  Quantum technology is a field of physics and engineering those studies and
applies the principles of quantum mechanics to the development of new
technologies.
 Quantum mechanics is the branch of physics that describes the behaviour of
matter and energy at a microscopic scale, where the classical laws of physics do
not apply.
 Quantum technology includes various types of technologies, such as quantum
computing, quantum cryptography, and quantum sensing.

Scheme to promote tribal products

 Union Tribal Affairs Ministry launched a ‘Marketing and Logistics Development for
Promotion of Tribal Products from North Eastern Region’ (PTP-NER).
 This centrally-sponsored scheme aims to empower individuals to become self-
employed and self-reliant.
 It will promote value addition and marketing of products made by the tribals from
the north eastern region.

Animal Birth Control Rules - 2023

 The Central Government has notified the Animal Birth Control Rules, 2023 under
Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960
 This is superseding the Animal Birth Control (Dog) Rules, 2001.
 As per the extant Rules, the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme for the
sterilization and immunization of the stray dogs are to be carried out by the
respective local bodies/municipalities/Municipal Corporations and Panchayats.

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  The Municipal Corporations need to implement the ABC and Anti Rabies Program
jointly.
 The Rules also provides the guidelines how to deal with the human and stray dog
conflicts without relocating the dogs in an area.

Army Commanders’ Conference

 The first edition of the biannual Army Commanders’ Conference (ACC) for 2023 is
held recently.
 For the first time, this Conference was conducted in hybrid format.
 It brainstormed the current and emerging security scenario apart from reviewing
operational preparedness of the force.

Census of Water bodies in India

 The Ministry of Jal Shakti released a report of the first-ever water body census
recently.
 It was conducted in 2018-19, the census is also the first time that such an exercise
has been conducted in the country.
 It is a database of water bodies, which provides information about ponds, tanks,
lakes and reservoirs in India.

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  India has 24.24 lakh water bodies like ponds, tanks, and lakes.
 97.1% (23,55,055) water bodies are in rural areas and only 2.9% (69,485) are in
urban areas.
 West Bengal is accounting the most (7.47 lakh) and Sikkim the least (134).
 The top five states in terms of a number of water bodies are West Bengal, Uttar
Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam.
 They constitute around 63 per cent of the total water bodies in the country.
 The top five States in terms of the number of water bodies in urban areas are West
Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Tripura.
 In terms of the number of water bodies in rural areas, top five States are West
Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Assam.
 59.5 per cent of water bodies are ponds, followed by tanks (15.7 per cent),
reservoirs (12.1 per cent), Water conservation schemes/percolation tanks/check
dams (9.3 per cent), lakes (0.9 per cent) and others (2.5 per cent).
 It was found that 55.2 per cent of water bodies are owned by private entities
whereas 44.8 per cent of water bodies are in the domain of public ownership.

Millet Initiative – MAHARISHI

 At the three-day 12th Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS) held at
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
 The theme of the MACS 2023 is Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems for
Healthy People and Planet.
 During this event, India tabled the “Millets and Other Ancient Grains International
Research Initiative (MAHARISHI)” proposal.
 It aims at advancing research collaborations and generating awareness about
millets and other ancient grains during International Years of Millets 2023 and
after.

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Fifth Round of UDAN
 The government has launched the fifth round of the Regional Connectivity
Scheme- UDAN.
 It aims to further enhance the connectivity to remote and regional areas of the
country.
 Only aircraft operations of Category 2 (20-80 seats) and Category 3 (>80 seats) will
fall in this round.
 The earlier stage length cap of 600 km is waived off and there is no restriction on
the distance between the origin and destination of the flight

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Misinformation Combat Alliance
 The Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA) is an alliance of media companies set
up in March 2022.
 It aims to combat misinformation and build tools to aid fact-checking.
 Recently, it has approached the government to act as a self-regulating body to flag
fake news online in line with the IT Rules, 2021.
 It is currently a network of 14 digital publishers which includes publications such
as Boom Live, Factly, The Logical Indian, Vishwas News and The Quint.
 Membership in the MCA is open to any organization that applies.

10,000 km of Optic Fibre Cables

 The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is to Develop 10,000 km of Optic

Fibre Cables Across India by FY 2025.

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  This move is aimed at providing internet connectivity to remote locations and
expediting the roll-out of new-age telecom technologies like 5G & 6G.
 National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML) will be implementing
the network of digital highways.
 NHAI has identified around 1,367 km on Delhi-Mumbai Expressway and 512 km
on Hyderabad-Bangalore Corridor as pilot routes.

Asia's Longest Underwater Hydrocarbon Pipeline

 The longest underwater hydrocarbon pipeline in Asia runs beneath the
Brahmaputra.
 This world’s second-longest pipeline connects the river island Majuli with Jorhat
in upper Assam.
 The laying of 24-inch diameter and 5780-metre-long pipeline was completed by
the Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited (IGGL).

SC order to Governors
 The Supreme Court reminded the Governors to bear in mind that Article 200 of
the Constitution.
 This article mandates them to either give assent or return bills “as soon as
possible”.
 The phrase ‘as soon as possible’ has a significant content and must be borne in
mind by constitutional authorities.

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  The observation is part of a judicial order of the court in a petition filed by the
State of Telangana complaining that Governor has kept pending several important
Bills sent to her for assent in September 2022.

100 Food Streets

 Union Health Ministry in collaboration with Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
has requested states/UTs to develop 100 food streets in 100 districts across the
country.
 It will create an example for other such streets to come up across the country for
ensuring hygienic and safe food practices.
 The aim of this project is to encourage safe and healthy food practices among food
businesses and community members.
 An assistance will be provided under the National Health Mission in the ratio of
60:40 or 90:10.

Malaria cases from 2015 to 2022

 India witnessed an 85.1-per cent decline in malaria cases and an 83.36-per cent
decline in deaths caused by the disease from 2015 to 2022.
 India was the only high-burden, high-impact country in the South-East Asia
region.
 India endorsed the malaria elimination roadmap of the Asia-Pacific Leaders
Alliance at the East Asia Summit in 2015.
 It galvanised the region in striving to become malaria-free by 2030.

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Vibrant Villages Program integrated PM Gati Shakti
 Vibrant Villages Programme along China border is to be integrated with PM Gati
Shakti mega project.
 Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) is aims to develop infrastructure and open up
villages to tourists.
 VVP is also aims to stop migration of border population.
 VVP will also be part of the portal of Gati Shakti mega project.
 The digital platform of Gati Shakti brings 16 Ministries including Railways and
Roadways together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of
infrastructure connectivity projects.
 It will incorporate the infrastructure schemes of various Ministries and State
Governments like Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry/land ports,
UDAN etc.

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'First village' signboard in India-China border
 India's Border Road Organisation (BRO) put up a signboard saying 'India's first
village' in Mana village.
 It is located at north Indian state of Uttarakhand which borders China.
 The village is on the India-China border in Chamoli District.

India’s First BSL-3 Mobile Laboratory

 India’s First BSL-3 Mobile Laboratory RAMBAAN was displayed at G20 Health
Working Group Meeting in Goa.
 It is Made-in-India mobile clinic initiative Rapid Action Mobile BSL3+ Advanced
Augmented Network (RAMBAAN).
 It is India's first state-of-the-art health infrastructure for pandemic preparedness.
 It can be used to reach remote regions to carry out testing.
 The GPS-enabled technology allows the bus to transfer the test report instantly.

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 INTERNATIONAL

Polio cases in Burundi

 Burundi’s health authorities declared an outbreak of Polio in the landlocked east-
African country in its first in 30 years.
 Poliovirus type 2 was also confirmed in five samples from environmental
surveillance of wastewater from the region
 The type 2 infection can occur when the weakened strain of the virus contained in
the oral polio vaccine, circulates among under-immunised populations for a long
period.
 There is no treatment for the disease that mostly affects children under the age of
five.

Operation Interflex
 Britain and its nine partners are training Ukrainian military recruits under
Operation Interflex.
 It is the British-led multinational military operation to train and support the
Armed Forces of Ukraine.
 It aims to teach weapon handling, range activity, marksmanship, fieldcraft basics,
field tactics, battle casualty drills, counter explosives, the laws of armed conflict,
first aid, and cyber security awareness.
 Earlier in 2015, under the Operation Orbital, British military was train and
support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
 Unlike its predecessor, Operation Interflex takes place within the United Kingdom.

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Egypt joins BRICS bank
 Egypt has joined as member in BRICS’s New Development Bank (NDB).
 NDB is a multilateral development bank jointly founded by the BRICS countries
in 2014.
 It was formed to support infrastructure and sustainable development efforts in
BRICS and other underserved, emerging economies.
 Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay joined the NDB in September
2021.

Change of Indonesia capital

 Jakarta is congested, polluted, prone to earthquakes and rapidly sinking into the
Java Sea.
 It has been described as the world’s most rapidly sinking city.
 At the current rate, it is estimated that one-third of the city could be submerged
by 2050.

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  Now the government is in the process of leaving, moving Indonesia’s capital to the
island of Borneo.
 The city is expected to be inaugurated on Aug 17 next year to coincide with
Indonesia’s Independence Day.

Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific policy

 Japan’s PM Kishida unveiled the Japanese plan for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific
policy.
 The first pillar is about the principles for peace and rules for prosperity.
 The second one emphasises on addressing challenges in an Indo-Pacific way.
 The third one focuses on multi-layered connectivity.
 The last one is about extending efforts for security and safe use of the “sea” to the
“air”.
 Japan will develop the Matarbari Port in Bangladesh as part of ‘this policy’.

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Saudi-Iran truce
 China has succeeded in brokering truce between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
 Both the countries signed an agreement in Beijing and accepted to re-establish
diplomatic ties.
 Over the past decade, Iran and Saudi Arabia have engaged in multiple proxy
conflicts in the wake of the Arab Spring.

National League for Democracy Party – Myanmar

 Myanmar's military government took another major step in its ongoing campaign
to cripple its political opponents.
 It dissolved around 40 opposition parties including that of ousted leader Aung San
Suu Kyi’s NLD for failing to meet a registration deadline ahead of elections.
 The NLD won a landslide victory in the November 2020 election.
 But in February 2021, the army blocked all elected lawmakers from taking their
seats in Parliament and seized power.
 The National League for Democracy was founded in 1988 in the wake of a failed
uprising against military rule.

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Siniyah Island
 Archaeologists have found the oldest pearling town in Siniyah Island, United Arab
Emirates.
 It is believed that this is to be the oldest pearling town in this region.
 This city flourished during the period between the end of the sixth century and
the middle of the eighth century AD.
 This island is located in the emirate of Umm al-Quwain in the Persian Gulf.

Azerbaijan and Tajikistan as malaria-free

 The World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Azerbaijan and Tajikistan as
malaria-free.
 The certification follows a sustained, century-long effort to stamp out the disease
by the two countries.
 Certification of malaria elimination is the official recognition by WHO of a country’s
malaria-free status.
 For this status, the chain of indigenous malaria transmission by Anopheles
mosquitoes has been interrupted nationwide for at least the past three consecutive
years.

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  Azerbaijan detected its last case of locally transmitted Plasmodium vivax ([Link])
malaria in 2012 and Tajikistan in 2014.
 With this announcement, a total of 41 countries and 1 territory have been certified
as malaria-free by WHO.
 It includes 21 countries only from the European Region.

Marburg virus disease – Tanzania

 Tanzania has announced its first outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus disease
(MVD).
 The MVD was first discovered in 1967 in Marburg and Frankfurt in Germany and
Belgrade, Serbia.
 It is from the same “virus family” as Ebola.
 It causes a severe haemorrhagic fever, while fatality rates have varied from 24% to
88%.
 There have been several outbreaks since its discovery, with the worst being Angola
in 2004-2005 with 227 deaths.
 The virus is initially transmitted to people from fruit bats, and then from person
to person through body fluids or contaminated objects.

Britain on trans-Pacific pact

 The United Kingdom has agreed to join an 11-country Comprehensive and
Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
 UK looks to deepen ties in the region and build its global trade links after leaving
the European Union.
 The CPTPP is the successor to a previous trans-Pacific trade pact.
 Its members include fellow G7 members Canada and Japan, and historic UK allies
Australia and New Zealand.

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  The remaining members are Mexico, Chile and Peru, along with Malaysia,
Singapore, Vietnam and Brunei.

Oil production cuts

 Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ members are going to reduce oil production
amounting to around 1.16 million barrels per day.
 The move, according to the countries, is aimed at market stability.
 This group consist of 23 oil-producing countries.
 They had reduced its collective output by two million barrels per day in the
previous year.

Deep sea mining operations

 The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is taking permit applications in July from
companies that want to mine the ocean’s floor.

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  The undersea mining will be conducted to extract key battery materials — cobalt,
copper, nickel, and manganese.
 They are in the form of potato-sized rocks called “polymetallic nodules”.
 They are found at depths of 4 kilometers to 6 kilometers (about 2.5 miles to 3.7
miles).
 The Jamaica-based ISA was established under the UN Convention on the Law of
the Sea.
 It holds authority over the ocean floors outside of its 167 member states’ Exclusive
Economic Zones.

IPCC Synthesis Report

 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has published its
Synthesis Report of the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).
 It is highlighting the urgent need for action to prevent global temperatures from
exceeding the 1.5°C threshold.
 Global mean sea level increased by 0.20 m between 1901 and 2018.
 Human influence has likely increased the chance of compound extreme events
since the 1950s.
 It includes increases in the frequency of concurrent heatwaves and droughts.
 Approximately 3.3 – 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable
to climate change.
 Between 2010 and 2020, human mortality from floods, droughts and storms was
15 times higher in highly vulnerable regions, compared to regions with very low
vulnerability.

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No support for coal project
 The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has issued an update to its Green
Equity Approach (GEA) policy.
 It will no longer allow financial intermediary clients to support new coal projects.
 IFC is the World Bank’s private sector arm.
 Previously, the GEA only required clients to reduce their exposure by half by 2025,
and to zero by 2030, but did not prevent new investments.

Most Traded Currency in Russia

 China’s yuan has replaced the US dollar as the most traded currency in Russia.
 Before the Ukraine invasion, the yuan’s trading volume on the Russian market
was negligible.
 Despite all that, the dollar remained the most popular currency on the Russian
market until now.

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  Global foreign-exchange reserves allocation in the yuan accounted for about 2.7%
of the total amount by end of 2022.

Finland in NATO
 Finland has become the 31st member of the NATO security alliance.
 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance established by the
North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April, 1949.
 NATO aims to guarantee the security of its members through political and military
means.
 NATO's protection does not extend to members' civil wars or internal coups.

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SCO’s New dialogue partner
 Saudi Arabia has approved the decision to join the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) as a “dialogue partner.”
 The SCO is a security and political union of countries throughout Eurasia,
including China, India and Russia.
 The Shanghai Cooperation Organization now includes India, Pakistan,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
 Observer countries include Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia.
 Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey are currently
dialogue partners.

UN's Program on HIV/AIDS

 India has been elected as a member of the UN Statistical Commission, the
Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Programme Coordinating Board of the
Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
 It is elected by the Economic and Social Council ECOSOC of the United Nations.
 They are important subsidiary bodies of the ECOSOC.
 The Statistical Commission is the highest body dealing with international
statistical activities and is responsible for standards setting in the field of
statistics.
 India was a member of the Statistical Commission last in 2004.

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COPE INDIA Exercise
 The Air Forces of India and the U.S. are set to conduct the Cope India exercise at
the Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal.
 It is a bilateral exercise between the air forces of the two countries.
 Japan will be participated as an observer.
 It will further enhance operational capability and interoperability between the two-
air force.

First-Ever Anti-Spyware Declaration

 The US and 10 other nations issued the first-ever significant anti-spyware
declaration.
 They recognise the threat posed by the misuse of commercial spyware and the
need for strict domestic and international controls on the proliferation and use of
such technology.
 Recently, US President Joe Biden issued an executive order to prohibiting the US
federal government from using spyware.

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World’s 1st Drone Carrier
 Turkey commissioned its largest warship, TCG Anadolu.
 It is touted as the world’s first Unmanned Combat Aerial Aircraft (UCAV) carrier.
 This vessel will allow us to conduct military and humanitarian operations in every
corner of the world.

Qatar and Bahrain diplomatic tie

 Qatar and Bahrain resume their diplomatic ties after over two years since the Arab
boycott of Qatar was lifted.
 In January 2021, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt
ended a three- and half-year embargo of Qatar.
 But all except Bahrain had already restored travel and trade links in 2021.

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Joint working group meet on Chabahar port
 The first meeting of the India-Central Asia Joint Working Group on Chabahar Port
held in Mumbai.
 The two-day meeting was attended by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
 The special invitees were the country representative of the UNWFP, the deputy
foreign minister of Iran and the consul general of Afghanistan.

King Charles’ coronation emblem

 The Britain's King Charles III coronation ceremony is scheduled on 6 May, 2023.
 The Buckingham Palace released the newly appointed king's official coronation
emblem.
 Former Apple chief designer Jony Ive has designed King Charles III's coronation
emblem.
 The designer, Jony Ive, holds some 14,000 patents globally.

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World's first human death from H3N8 bird flu
 A Chinese woman has become the first person to die from a type of bird flu (H3N8).
 She was the third person known to have been infected with the H3N8 subtype of
avian influenza.
 All of the 3 cases have been in China, with the first two cases reported last year.
 Though rare in people, H3N8 is common in birds in which it causes little to no
sign of disease.
 It has also infected other mammals.

Olkiluoto 3 Reactor
 After 18 years, the Olkiluoto 3 reactor kicked off regular production recently.
 It has 1,600-megawatt capacity and was connected into the Finnish national
power grid in March 2022.

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  Construction of Olkiluoto 3 began in 2005 and was due to be completed four years
later.
 The Olkiluoto 3 is Western Europe’s first new reactor in more than 15 years.
 It is the first new-generation EPR, or European Pressurized Reactor.
 It was developed in a joint venture between France’s Areva and Germany’s
Siemens.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s overseas office

 Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is going to open the bank's first
overseas office in Abu Dhabi.
 As a founding member of AIIB, the UAE actively contributes to the bank's sound
governance and rapid growth.
 The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development was mandated to represent the UAE on the
bank's board.
 AIIB has approved 212 projects amounting to over USD 40 billion in 33 member
countries.

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New Cuban President
 The National Congress of Cuba extended the five-year term of Cuban President,
Miguel Diaz-Canel.
 In 2018, Diaz-Canel succeeded Raul Castro as president and first secretary in
2021 of the Cuban Communist Party, respectively.
 He is the first non-Castro person born after the 1959 revolution to hold both of
those significant positions.
 In recent years, the Cuban economy has collapsed, with GDP falling 11% in 2020
after the pandemic struck.
 Inflation from January to October of last year was 40% at official rates.

Multilateral exercise Orion

 For the first time, four Rafale fighter jets took part in multilateral exercise Orion
at Mont-de-Marsan, France.
 Ex Orion is one the largest exercises held by France in recent times involving
around 12,000 troops, including NATO.
 Besides the India and the France, Air Forces from Germany, Greece, Italy,
Netherlands, Spain, U.K. and U.S. was also part of this multilateral exercise.

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Oxford's malaria vaccine
 Ghana has become the first country in the world to approve a new malaria vaccine
from Oxford University.
 The R21/Matrix-M vaccine is the first to exceed the World Health Organization’s
target of 75% efficacy.
 It has been cleared for use by Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority in children aged
5-36 months.
 They are the group at highest risk of death from malaria in the country.
 In Ghana, the disease is both endemic and perennial, an estimated 5.3m cases
and 12,500 estimated deaths were recorded.

25 Years of Good Friday Agreement

 The Good Friday Agreement was signed on April 10, 1998.
 It was signed between factions of Northern Ireland, and the governments of Britain
and Ireland.
 It aims to end decades of violence in Northern Ireland among those who wished to
remain with the United Kingdom (UK) and those who wanted to join Ireland.

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Operation Kaveri
 India’s “Operation Kaveri” was launched to evacuate Indians stuck inside war-torn
Sudan.
 The government is making the most of a 72-hour ceasefire window to bring out
about 3,000 civilians.
 The operation, which involves the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy, is being
coordinated by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Exercise INIOCHOS-23
 The Exercise INIOCHOS-23, a multi-national air exercise hosted by the Hellenic
Air Force (Greece).
 The Indian Air Force will be participating with four Su-30 MKI and two C-17
aircraft.
 The objective of the exercise is to enhance international cooperation, synergy and
interoperability amongst the participating Air Forces.

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Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA)
 The European Parliament has approved the world’s first set of comprehensive
rules.
 It aims to bring largely unregulated cryptocurrency markets under the ambit of
regulation by government authorities.
 The European Parliament is the legislative body of the 27-country block European
Union.
 The regulation is called the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA).
 It will come into force after formal approval by member states.
 About 22% of the global crypto industry was concentrated in central, northern,
and western Europe.
 They received $1.3 trillion worth of crypto assets.
 MiCA will impose compliance on the issuers of crypto assets, who are defined as
the “legal person who offers to the public any type of crypto-assets”.
 It will apply to crypto-asset service providers (CASPs) providing one or more of
these services.

world’s largest ‘narco-state’

 Syria has become the biggest narco-state in the world.
 Its economic survival now depends heavily on the production and export of
Captagon.
 Captagon is commonly known as "party pills and "poor man's coke".
 It is a banned illicit drug recognized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime UNODC (2021).
 It is a synthetic stimulant that combines amphetamine and caffeine.
 A "narco-state" as a nation where a significant portion of the economy is reliant
on the illicit trade of narcotic drugs.

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Mongolia’s 1st refinery
 Mongolia’s first oil refinery, built and funded with Indian assistance, will be
completed by 2025.
 Mongolia is entirely dependent on Russia for its energy imports.
 The refinery would help Mongolia meet 70% of its demand domestically.
 Mongolia is quite rich in coking coal, copper, gold, uranium and rare earth
elements.

Bangladesh New President

 Mohammed Sahabuddin was sworn in as the 22nd President of Bangladesh.
 He actively participated in the 6-Point Movement in 1966, Bhutta (Maize)
Movement in 1967, mass uprisings in1969, the election of 1970 and Liberation
War in 1971.
 In 1975 he led a protest against the brutal killing of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman.
 For that along with his family members, he was imprisoned for three years.

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New trilateral to deepen regional relations
 The first trilateral consultations between the Foreign Affairs Ministry of India,
Armenia, and Iran took place in Yerevan, Capital of Armenia.
 They also discussed the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
 This is a freight corridor that connects India, Iran, and Russia.
 The goal of INSTC is reducing the time and cost of transporting cargo from Mumbai
to Moscow.
 The INSTC agreement was originally signed in 2002 by Russia, Iran, and India and
has since been expanded.

Safety Across Asia for the Global Environment

 Safety Across Asia for the Global Environment (SAFE) is a United Nations project.
 It aims at surveying Asian wet markets and other facilities that pose a high risk of
transmitting zoonotic diseases from animals to humans.
 Four Asian countries - China, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos - were initially selected
for the survey.
 Now, China is not participating in this program and Vietnam and Laos also yet to
approve the surveys.

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 ECONOMY

Corporate Debt Market Development Fund

 SEBI decided to set up a corporate debt market development fund in the form of
an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) with an initial corpus of Rs 3,000 crore.
 It will act as a backstop facility for purchase of investment grade corporate debt
securities during times of stress.
 The move is aimed at instilling confidence amongst the participants in the
corporate bond market and to generally enhance secondary market liquidity.

Surge of Indian exports

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  Indian goods and services exports have crossed the USD 750 bn-mark for the first
time.
 In 2021-22, the country's goods and services exports touched an all-time high of
USD 422 billion and USD 254 billion respectively.
 Exports were down by 8.8 per cent at USD 33.88 billion in February 2023
compared to USD 37.15 billion in the same month last year.
 Imports also declined for a third month on the trot in February at USD 51.31
billion, down by 8.21 per cent compared to USD 55.9 billion a year ago.

Foreign Trade Policy 2023

 The Union Commerce ministry announced the new Foreign Trade Policy 2023.
 The government reiterated sector-specific targets to achieve the goal of $1 trillion
merchandise exports and $1 trillion services exports by 2030.
 Under the new policy, Faridabad, Moradabad, Mirzapur and Varanasi have been
declared as towns of export excellence for apparels, handicrafts, handmade carpet
and dari, and handloom and handicraft categories, respectively.
 These are in addition to the existing 39 towns under the category.
 Under the new policy, the dairy sector has been exempted from maintaining
average export obligation.
 It will encourage e-commerce exports, which is expected to grow to $200-300
billion by 2023.
 Under this, Designated zone with warehousing facility will be created.
 It also aims at streamlining the SCOMET policy, which covers special chemicals,
organisms, materials, equipment and technologies.

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Committee to strengthening MDBs
 Under the aegis of India’s G20 Presidency, a 11-member expert group has been
set up to explore measures to strengthen the multilateral development banks
(MDBs).
 Professor Lawrence Summers, President Emeritus, Harvard University and N K
Singh, are co-convenors of the G20 Expert Group.
 The panel would work on making a road map for an updated MDB ecosystem for
the 21st century.
 It would develop Mechanisms for coordination among MDBs for them to address
and finance global development and other challenges more effectively.

India and Malaysia trade in rupee

 India and Malaysia have agreed to settle trade in the Indian rupees.
 India is willing to take concrete steps towards de-dollarisation of its international
trade.
 This initiative by RBI is aimed at facilitating the growth of global trade and to
support the interests of the global trading community in Indian rupees.
 International Bank of Malaysia has operationalised this mechanism by opening a
Special Rupee Vostro Account through Union Bank of India.
 India-Malaysia bilateral trade touched $19.4 billion during 2021-22.
 Malaysia is the third largest trading partner of India in the ASEAN region, after
Singapore and Indonesia.

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Unclaimed deposits to RBI

 The Public Sector Banks have transferred unclaimed deposits (till February 2023)
of Rs 35,012 crore to the RBI.
 SBI tops the list with an unclaimed amount of Rs 8,086 crore.
 Punjab National Bank has transferred Rs 5,340 crore and Canara Bank has Rs
4,558 crore.

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IPEF negotiating round
 The second Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) negotiating
round held in Bali, Indonesia.
 Negotiators from India and 13 other countries also participated in the Bali
negotiating round.
 During the Bali Round, discussions covered all the four pillars of the IPEF
o Trade (Pillar I)
o Supply Chains (Pillar II)
o Clean Economy (Pillar III) and
o Fair Economy (Taxation & Anticorruption) - (Pillar IV).
 India participated in the discussions related to Pillars II to IV.

FPI destinations in FY23

 Overseas flows into Indian capital markets originating from tax-haven Mauritius
witnessed the sharpest decline.
 Norway and Singapore gained favour in 2022-23.
 The total assets under custody (AUC) from Mauritius declined nearly 42 per cent
to Rs 6.66 trillion at the end of March 2023.
 This was Rs 10.88 trillion a year ago.
 Norway and Singapore saw a 13 per cent and 5 per cent increase in AUC,
respectively.

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India’s biggest trading partner

 US emerges as India's biggest trading partner in FY23 at USD 128.55 bn.

 The bilateral trade between India and the US has increased by 7.65% in 2022-23.
 It was USD 80.51 billion in 2020-21.

Miniratna Category-I for SECI

 State-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) has got the status of
Miniratna Category-I Central Public Sector Enterprise.

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  It was Incorporated in 2011.
 SECI is the primary implementing agency for renewable energy schemes/projects
of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
 Criteria for Miniratna- I status
o The CPSEs have made a profit in the last three years continuously,
o With a pre-tax profit is 30 crores or more in at least one of the three years and
o Need to have a positive net worth.

New Logo of SEBI

 The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) unveiled its new logo.
 This is released during its 35th Foundation Day.
 The new logo represents SEBI’s commitment to facilitating economic growth
through capital formation.
 It is also incorporating the power of technology and data into policy-making.
 SEBI was granted statutory powers in 1992.

India’s first-ever REITs and InvITs index

 The National Stock Exchange (NSE), has launched India’s first ever Real Estate
Investment Trusts (Reits) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) Index.
 They aim to track the performance of Reits and InvITs that are publicly listed and
traded on the NSE.
 Both are recognized as strong alternative financial instruments to raise funds
against the cash-generating infrastructure and real estate projects.

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IT Tariff dispute

 The WTO ruled that, India violated trade rules by imposing huge import duties on
certain information and communication technology products.
 India will challenge the ruling of the Geneva-based multilateral organisation.
 The WTO was hearing a dispute on India imposing a 10 percent custom duty on
mobile phones and some other tech products in 2017.
 India later raised the custom duty from 10 to 20 percent which upset countries
like the US, China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan.
 India has been arguing that the 2017 decision was taken in order to curb imports
and encourage domestic production of tech products.
 India also, added that these tech products were not part of the 1996 agreement
on Information Technology.

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Biggest Oil Supplier to India
 Russia was the largest exporter of crude oil to India by value in February in spite
of the western price cap of $60 per barrel.
 Crude imports from Russia in February stood at $3.35 billion.
 It is followed by Saudi Arabia at $2.30 billion and Iraq $2.03 billion.
 Between April and February Indian import of Russian oil jumped to $27 billion.
 Moscow became the second largest crude exporter to New Delhi in FY23.

India's annual remittances - 100 billion mark

 India has become the first country in the world to cross the $100 billion mark in
annual remittances from overseas.
 According to the World Bank, private remittances or remittances from NRIs to
relatives and friends in India crossed the threshold in 2022 with an impressive
12% year-on-year growth.
 The country is likely to retain the top remittance destination tag in FY23, which it
beat China in FY21.
 The remittances to low-income and middle-income countries reached around $630
billion in 2022, up 5% year-on-year.

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 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

India's first cloned Gir female calf

 Under a project by National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal of Haryana
to work on cloning of indigenous cow breeds such as Gir and Sahiwal.
 NDRI has produced the country's first cloned female calf of the desi breed Gir.
 This cloned Gir female calf was named as 'Ganga’.
 It can produce more than 15 litres of milk per day.

Device to detect milk adulteration

 IIT Madras Researchers developed a three-dimensional (3D) paper-based portable
device that can detect adulteration in milk within 30 seconds.
 The test could be even performed at home.
 It can detect multiple substances commonly used as adulterating agents including
Urea, detergents, soap, starch, hydrogen peroxide, sodium-hydrogen-carbonate
and salt.
 This new technology is affordable and could also be used to test other liquids such
as water, fresh juices, and milkshakes for traces of adulteration.

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Ultra-Micro Supercapacitors
 Researchers at the IISc-Bengaluru have developed a new type of supercapacitor
as it is smaller or ‘ultra-micro’.
 It is capable of storing larger amounts of energy.
 So, it is easier to use in smaller electronic devices, eliminating the need for
batteries, while ensuring that the device stays charged for a longer time.
 Over time, the batteries lose their ability to store charge and therefore have a
limited shelf-life.
 But the Capacitors, can store an electrical charge for much longer, by their design.
 Supercapacitors combines the best of both batteries and capacitors.
 They can store and release large amounts of energy, and are therefore highly
sought-after for next-generation electronic devices

Mice with cells from 2 males

 For the first time, scientists have created baby mice from two males.
 They took skin cells from the tails of male mice and transformed them into
“induced pluripotent stem cells’’.
 Then, they converted male mouse stem cells into female cells and produced
functional egg cells.
 Finally, they fertilized those eggs and implanted the embryos into female mice.
 About 1% of the embryos – 7 out of 630 – grew into live mouse pups.
 So, the applicability of this technique to humans is very uncertain.

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Powerful ‘X-class’ solar flare
 The Sun sent out a powerful “X-class” solar flare that peaked at 8.03 AM March
29.
 The flare was classified as an X1.2 flare.
 The solar flare was detected by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
 It came from a sunspot region on our solar system’s central star called AR3256.
 There are four classes of solar storms–B, C, M and X.
 A C-class storm is 10 times more powerful than a B-class storm and so on.
 Each class is therefore divided into nine subdivisions.
 The X-class denotes the strength of the flare.
 The number that comes after it signifies their strength at a finer scale.

SNAP-10A
 The SNAP-10A was launched on April 3, 1965 on an Atlas-Agena D rocket.
 SNAP-10A was the world’s first operational nuclear reactor in space.

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  The objective of this was to produce at least 500 watts of electricity for a year or
longer.
 It was operational for just 43 days. but, still remains in orbit

Source of Fast Radio Bursts

 For years, astronomers have been confounded by a special kind of radio signal–
fast radio bursts and its source.
 But now, scientists may have found what causes them- neutron stars collapsing
into black holes.
 Fast radio bursts are intense but short radio signals that last for milliseconds.
 Recently, astronomers studied two neutron stars colliding and turning into a black
hole, generating a burst of gravitational waves.
 After this event, it seems to have produced a fast radio burst.
 So, the merging of two such neutron stars may have caused the strange radio
waves.
 But it can only truly apply to the fast radio burst - FRB 20190520B.

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Reusable Launch Vehicle Mission
 The ISRO in collaboration with the IAF and DRDO successfully conducted the RLV
autonomous landing mission (RLV LEX) at Chitradurga, Karnataka.
 This test was the second of five tests that are a part of ISRO’s efforts to develop
RLVs, or spaceplanes/shuttles.
 It can travel to low earth orbits to deliver payloads and return to earth for use
again.
 The first test with RLV-TD (HEX1) involved the vehicle landing on a hypothetical
runway over the Bay of Bengal.
 While the 2nd LEX experiment involved a precise landing on a runway.
 Three more experiments — return flight experiment (REX), powered cruise flight,
and Scramjet Propulsion Experiment (SPEX) — have to be conducted.

Monster black hole

 Astronomers have discovered one of the biggest black holes inside a galaxy.
 The giant black hole has a mass of 30 billion suns.
 It could consume billions of suns like the one in our Solar System.

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  The black hole is located in one of the galaxies of the Abell 1201 galaxy cluster.
 It is located hundreds of millions of light-years from Earth.
 This is discovered through gravitational lensing method for the first time.
 Gravitational lensing is where a foreground galaxy bends the light coming from a
more distant object and magnifies it.
 When a star collapses at the end of its life, it gives birth to black hole.

Microsoft’s Security Copilot

 Microsoft unveiled its latest cybersecurity innovation, Microsoft Security Copilot.
 This tool incorporates next-generation AI to help security professionals quickly
identify and respond to potential threats.
 It also gaining a better understanding of the overall threat landscape.
 By combining Microsoft’s vast threat intelligence and the power of Chat GPT-4
Security, Copilot serves as an easy-to-use AI assistant for security professionals.

Volcano in Venus
 A new analysis has found direct geological evidence of recent volcanic activity on
the surface of Venus for the first time.
 Researchers have observed a volcanic vent changing its shape and getting bigger
in size in around eight months.
 These Surface changes observed on a Venusian volcano during the Magellan
mission.
 From 1990 to 1992, the Magellan spacecraft (17) imaged the surface of Venus
using synthetic aperture radar (SAR).

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1st indigenous quadruped robot
 Hyderabad-based Svaya Robotics has developed India’s first indigenous
quadruped (four-legged) robot and exoskeleton.
 Quadruped robots are four-legged robots which can walk or run in uneven and
rough terrains.
 These robots can carry 25 kg in payload and walk along with the soldier.
 By wearing wearable exoskeleton, soldiers can carry heavy loads without
expending much effort.

MATSYA-6000
 The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) is working on a mission named
‘Samudrayaan’ to send three people to 6000-metre depth.
 It will use a vehicle called ‘Matsya 6000’ for deep sea exploration.

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  The indigenous mission will lead India to the group of five countries who have
tasted success with such manned submersible vehicles at such depths.
 The ‘Matsya 6000’ will help scientific personnel explore deep ocean mineral
resources rich in nickel, manganese, cobalt, and other rare earth elements.

India’s first Bauxite Certified Reference Material (CRM)

 National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO has successfully developed a
Bauxite Certified Reference Material (CRM) in joint collaboration with Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
 It is named as BARC B1201
 This is the first of its kind CRM in India and 5th in the World.
 A certified reference material is a particular form of measurement standard.
 Testing laboratories use CRMs to calibrate measuring instruments, evaluate test
procedures and for quality control purposes.

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Piezoelectric Effect
 For the first time, scientists have reported evidence of the piezoelectric effect in
liquids.
 The effect has been known for 143 years and in this time has been observed only
in solids.
 The effect was found in
o Pure 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium bis (trifluoromethyl-sulfonyl) imide and
o 1-hexyl-3-methyl imidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide
 Both are ionic liquids (liquids made of ions instead of molecules) at room
temperature.
 In the piezoelectric effect, a body develops an electric current when it is squeezed.
 Quartz is the most famous piezoelectric crystal.

Asia’s largest 4-metre ILMT

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  Asia’s largest 4-metre International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) was
inaugurated in Uttarakhand.
 The telescope is located at an altitude of 2,450 metre on the Devasthal Observatory
campus of Aryabhata Research Institute of Observational Sciences.
 The observatory will explore the deep celestial sky, classifying objects from
asteroids to supernovae, and space debris.

Plant fungus infecting humans

 A 61-year-old man from Kolkata was infected by a killer plant fungus.
 This is the world's first case of infection by this rare pathogen.
 Fungal diseases aren't exactly uncommon in humans.
 Among the millions of known species, only a few hundred are capable of causing
us much harm.
 Ringworm, athlete's foot, and thrush commonly make themselves at home in damp
areas of our skin, much to our irritation.
 Fungi that commonly feed on rotting vegetation, such as species of Aspergillus,
can infect deeper parts of our body.

‘The hat’: 50-year-old geometry mystery

 A group of four scientists have discovered an entirely new shape which has 13
sides and has named it “the hat”.
 It is the first ‘einstein’ tile to have been found.
 It is a shape which cover a plane without overlapping, leaving gaps, or repeating
patterns.
 The shape is a polykite with the edges of eight kites to make it.
 This shape is the first time a single aperiodic tile has been found to cover a plane.

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  There are a limited number of aperiodic tiles that have been found over the years
since the first tile sets, consisting of 20,000 shapes, were created in 1960s.

Images of Earth from Space

 ISRO has shared stunning new images of the planet clicked using Ocean Colour
Monitor on Earth Observation Satellite (Oceansat-3).
 The images are a mosaic generated by National Remote Sensing Center (NRSC)
from data beamed back by the spacecraft.
 They provide information about global vegetation cover on land and ocean biota.
 OceanSat-3 is a nanosatellite that was launched by ISRO as part of the PSLV-C54
mission on November 2022.

Missile Amogha III

 Bharat Dynamics Limited has carried out a successful test of its ‘Amogha-III’
Missile.
 It is the latest 3rd generation man-portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM)

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  It has a fire-and-forget capability and does not require external intervention after
the launch.
 Range of the missile is 200 to 2500 meters.

Dhawan II Engine

 The Private space vehicle company Skyroot Aerospace test-fired its 3D-printed
Dhawan II engine.
 This cryogenic engine was developed by the company for its heavier vehicle,
Vikram II.
 Skyroot carried out its first sub-orbital flight in last November 2022.
 The launch used a single-stage solid fuel Vikram S rocket.

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Black holes closest to Earth
 The European Space Agency discovered a new family of black holes which are
unique in nature.
 The two black holes discovered are the closest ones to the Earth.
 Black hole Gaia BH1 is at a distance of 1560 light-years from Earth in the direction
of the constellation Ophiuchus.
 Gaia BH2 is located 3800 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus.

Rare-earth elements (REEs) deposits

 Scientists at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad
discovered light rare earth elements (REE) in Anantapur district of Andhra
Pradesh.
 These elements are key components in many electronic devices and whose
industrial applications span sectors like imaging, aerospace, and defence.
 Rare earths are 15 elements referred in the lanthanide and Actinide series of the
periodic table of elements, together with scandium and yttrium.

AI Model DAGGER
 A new AI-powered computer model called DAGGER is specifically trained to predict
precisely when and where solar storms will strike Earth.

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  This AI to examine data from NASA’s spacecraft observations of the solar wind and
forecast the location of an impending solar storm anywhere on Earth.
 It can currently predict a geomagnetic disturbance 30 minutes before the event.

Endometriosis
 U.S. based company named DotLab has announced a blood test to reliably
diagnose endometriosis.
 Endometriosis is a debilitating condition which affects 10% of women worldwide.
 Endometriosis is a painful chronic disease in which tissue similar to the lining of
the uterus, or endometrium, grows outside of it.
 Till now people have to wait for 6.7 years on average for a diagnosis.
 The estimated number of people with endometriosis is 190 million worldwide.
 About 42 million in India alone affected by endometriosis.

Medical devices as Spy

 Medical technology devices can be turned into spyware and malware and can even
breach data.
 Medical devices contain software as medical device (SaMD) and software in
medical devices (SiMD) and are usually connected to the internet, mobile phones,
servers, and the cloud.
 It Includes oximeters, hearing aids, glucometers, medical monitoring watches, and
implants such as pacemakers and insertable loop recorders.
 India has one of the world’s top 20 markets for medical devices and the fourth-
largest in Asia.

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  Medical device imports rose by a record 41% to ₹63,200 crore ($ 7.91 billion) in
2021-22 from ₹44,708 crore ($5.59 billion) in 2020-21.
 The medical devices sector in India is projected to reach $50 billion by 2025.

Uranium-241
 Physicists in Japan discovered a previously unknown isotope of uranium.
 The new isotope, uranium-241, has 92 protons and 149 neutrons.
 This discovery of a new neutron-rich uranium isotope is the first since 1979.
 Theoretical calculations suggest it could have a half-life of 40 minutes.
 Uranium is in the class of elements in the periodic table known as “actinides’’.
 All actinides are radioactive, but uranium is one of the four most radioactive
elements.

Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer - Juice

 The European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or
Juice mission.

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  The mission aims to carry out a detailed exploration of the Solar System’s largest
planet and its icy moons, which potentially have habitable environments.
 Only two other spacecraft have ever examined Jupiter.
 The Galileo probe orbited the gas giant between 1995 and 2003.
 Juno has been circling the planet since 2016.

Artsens device
 Researchers from IIT Madras have developed a non-invasive device to screen for
cardiovascular diseases.
 The device, called Artsens, can be used by non-experts for routine medical
examinations.
 The device would be accessible to a large population in clinical and non-clinical
settings.

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CL-Flam
 IIT Indore, NASA-Caltech, and Sweden’s University of Gothenburg have
collaborated to develop a low-cost camera setup called CL-Flam.
 It can provide multispectral imaging of four chemical species in a flame using
single DSLR camera.
 Earlier scientific imaging required a complex system with four cameras.

Touchless biometric system

 Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and IIT-Bombay have joined hands
in order to develop a robust touchless biometric capture system.
 Both will carry out joint research to build a mobile capture system for fingerprints
along with liveness model integrated with the capture system.
 It will allow fingerprint authentication from home alike face authentication.

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Supercritical carbon dioxide
 New research by IIT Madras has suggested the use of Supercritical carbon dioxide
to flush out oil from depleting oil and gas reservoirs.
 Above a certain temperature and pressure, carbon dioxide acquires properties that
are midway between gas and liquid.
 It became denser and easy to pump - known as supercritical state.
 It is a fluid state of carbon dioxide where it is held at or above its critical
temperature (31∘C) and critical pressure (73 atm).

Complete Human Genome

 The Human Genome Project announced that they had completed the first human
genome in 2003.
 For the first time, the DNA blueprint of human life was unlocked.
 But they weren’t actually able to put together all the genetic information in the
genome.
 There were gaps: unfilled, often repetitive regions that were too confusing to piece
together.
 With advancements in technology that could handle these repetitive sequences,
scientists finally filled those gaps in May 2021.
 The first end-to-end human genome was officially published on March 31, 2022.
 This year, for the first time, the entire genome of a single human being – a man
named Leon Peshkin – is due to be released.

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Jupiter's asteroids
 NASA's Lucy spacecraft has spotted Jupiter's asteroids for the first time ever.
 The NASA probe was able to capture deep-space images of four asteroids known
as the Trojans.
 The four Trojan asteroids were captured between March 25 and 27.
 The asteroids that were captured for the first time are called Eurybates, Polymele,
Leucus, and Orus.
 They all part of two large groups of rocks that follow Jupiter's orbit around the
Sun.
 To click these images, Lucy used L'LORRI (Lucy Long Range Reconnaissance
Imager).
 Lucy is 530 million kilometres away from its asteroid targets.
 The spacecraft is expected to reach its asteroid targets in 2027 and 2028 after it
was launched in October 2021.

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World first smart gun
 Biofire company of USA announced the sale of 'smart guns' that uses biometric
identification.
 Using the biometric identification, only authorized persons are allowed to fire from
the gun.
 It utilizes fingerprint and facial recognition, and have been integrated seamlessly
with the firing mechanism.

Ningaloo Eclipse

 During the eclipse, the Moon will pass between the Sun and the Earth.
 In the parts of the Earth that are in the dark part of the Moon’s shadow will
experience a total solar eclipse.
 But sometimes, the Moon is too far away from the Sun to completely cover the
sun.
 When this happens, it is called an annular eclipse.

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  Since the surface of the Earth is curved, eclipses can go from annular to total and
vice versa.
 This is called a hybrid eclipse or Ningaloo Eclipse.
 The hybrid solar eclipse not visible in India.

Antineutrinos discovery
 Scientists accidentally discovered antineutrinos using extremely pure water for
the first time.
 They originated from a nuclear reactor more than 240 kilometers (150 miles) away.
 This breakthrough promises neutrino experiments and monitoring technology that
use inexpensive, easily acquirable and safe materials.
 Antineutrinos are the antimatter of neutrinos.
 They have an almost non-existent mass and charge and they rarely if ever interact
with other particles.
 This makes them especially difficult to detect.
 They are produced as a by-product when neutrons separate into protons and
electrons in nuclear reactors.

Magnetoresistance
 Researchers in the UK, have discovered another property of graphene.
 It is a single-atom-thick layer of carbon atoms bonded in a honeycomb pattern –
that further distinguishes this ‘wonder’ material.
 Graphene displays an anomalous giant magnetoresistance (GMR) at room
temperature.

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  The magnetoresistance in monolayer graphene at 27º C held between two layers
of boron nitride increased by 110% under a field of 0.1 tesla.
 To compare, the magnetoresistance in these conditions increases by less than 1%
in normal metals.
 GMR is the result of the electrical resistance of a conductor being affected by
magnetic fields in adjacent materials.
 It is used in hard disk drives and magneto resistive RAM in computers, biosensors,
automotive sensors, microelectromechanical systems, and medical imagers.

PSLV-C55/TeLEOS-2 Mission

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  ISRO successfully launched its PSLV-C55/TeLEOS-2 mission, sending two
Singapore-made satellites into the space.
 Of the two satellites, TeLEOS-2 is the primary one, and Lumelite-4, the ‘co-
passenger.'
 The mission also marks the 57th flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

GRX-810 alloy

 NASA researchers have developed a new high-strength, high-temperature-

resistant alloy called GRX-810.
 GRX-810 is made primarily of nickel, cobalt, and chrome.
 The temperature resistance of current state-of-the-art 3D printed superalloys is
up to 1,093 degrees Celsius.
 It is over 1,000 times more durable than normal alloys.
 It will help increase the strength and toughness of components and parts used in
aviation and space exploration.

SuperBIT instrument
 The Super Pressure Balloon-Borne Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) was flown to the
edge of space by a helium-filled NASA scientific balloon.
 It was the first operational flight by the stratospheric observer.
 It took its first images on this flight, showing the “Tarantula Nebula” – a bright
cluster of gas and dust in a galaxy neighbourhood near our Milky Way.
 It also, captured the collision between the two galaxies NGC 4038 and NGC 4039,
known as “the Antennae.”

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Myelin Sheath
 Scientists have fabricated monolayers of pure myelin basic protein (MBP), a major
protein component of myelin sheath.
 It is a protective membrane that wraps around the axon of nerve cells and acts as
a model protein in studying diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS).
 MBP helps in compactification of the myelin sheath.
 The fabricated tailored monolayers can give an in-depth understanding of the role
of MBP in forming multi-lamellar myelin sheath structure.

Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron waves

 Scientists have identified Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) waves, a form of
plasma waves in the Indian Antarctic station, Maitri.

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  These waves play an important role in precipitation of killer electrons.
 The killer electrons are the electrons having speed close to speed of light, which
form the radiation belt of planet Earth.
 The study can help understand the impact of energetic particles in the radiation
belts on the low orbiting satellites.
 The Electromagnetic Ion Cyclotron (EMIC) are the traversing plasma waves
observed in the Earth’s magnetosphere.

Nagastra 1

 The Indian Army signed a contract to purchase more than 450 completely
indigenous Nagastra-1 loitering munitions.
 Nagastra-1 loiter munition has advanced features such as abort, recover, and
reuse capabilities.
 It is superior to similar systems developed by more technologically advanced
countries.

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Sea-based Endo-Atmospheric Interceptor
 DRDO and Indian Navy has successfully conducted a maiden flight trial of a sea-
based endo-atmospheric interceptor missile.
 The purpose of the trial was to engage and neutralize a hostile ballistic missile
threat.
 This success elevates the country into the elite club of nations having Naval
Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) capability.
 Prior to this, DRDO has successfully demonstrated land-based BMD system with
capability to neutralize ballistic missile threats from opponents.

Seeds in Space
 Last year, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) sent seeds into space.
 It aims to develop resilient crops that can help provide sufficient food as the planet
heats up.
 This is the first feasibility study by these organisations to determine the effect of
cosmic radiation, microgravity and extreme temperatures on plant genomes and
biology.
 The Seeds of arabidopsis and sorghum were sent to space and having spent
around 5 months at the International Space Station.

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 ENVIRONMENT

World Energy Transitions Outlook 2023

 Global investment in energy transition technologies reached a new record of USD
1.3 trillion in 2022.
 It was released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
 The Developing countries attracted only 15 percent of global Renewable Energy
investments in 2022.
 The least developed countries attracted only 0.84 per cent of the total RE
investments on average between 2013 and 2020.
 Brazil, Chile and India received the bulk of these investments.
 Investments declined from 27 per cent of the total investment in Renewable Energy
in 2017 to 15 per cent in 2020.
 In South Asia, investments per capita fell 26 per cent between 2015 and 2021.
 As per the report, the world will require annual investments of $5.7 trillion on
average between 2021 and 2030.
 $3.7 trillion required between 2031 and 2050 to meet the target.

Graveyard for imported CO2

 Denmark inaugurated a project to store carbon dioxide 1,800 metres beneath the
North Sea.
 This is the first country in the world to bury CO2 imported from abroad.
 The "Greensand" project is expected to store up to eight million tonnes of CO2 per
year by 2030.

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Biofuels Alliance
 The Global Biofuel Alliance was announced under India’s G20 Presidency.
 The US and Brazil are joined this India-led initiative.
 The aim of this Alliance is to encourage cooperation and promote the use of
sustainable biofuels, including in the transportation industry.
 The US and Brazil are the top 2 players in Biofuels.
 They lead in biodiesel and ethanol production.
 Together they accounted for 84% of the world’s ethanol production and 26% of the
world’s biodiesel production.
 India, Brazil and the United States, are the leading biofuel producers and
consumers in the world.

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Release of Tigresses into Tiger Reserves
 One tigress each will be released to Kota’s Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve and
Bundi’s Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan.
 Apart from the two tigresses, Gaurs and wild dogs and some other wild animals
will also be released in the reserve area.
 The decision was taken to increase the tiger population in the region and to
improve the ecological balance of the area.

Thiania indica
 Researchers from Kerala University has discovered a new spider species from the
Western Ghats.
 Both the males and the females of the species exhibited reddish brown carapace.
 Only one species, viz., Thiania bhamoensis, that belongs to the genus has been
previously recorded in India.
 The particular species has been distributed across China, Myanmar, Thailand,
Laos and Indonesia.

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Global Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Infrastructure
 The U.N.'s World Meteorological Organisation has come up with a new Global
Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Infrastructure.
 It aims to provide better ways of measuring planet-warming pollution and help
inform policy choices.
 It will integrate space-based and surface-based observing systems.
 The three major greenhouses gases are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous
oxide.
 Of those, CO2 accounts for around 66% of the warming effect on the climate.
 The increase in CO2 levels from 2020 to 2021 was higher than the average growth
rate over the past decade

Spiranthes hachijoensis
 A new species of orchid with delicate, glass-like blooms has been discovered by
Japanese scientists.
 It is named as the "Spiranthes hachijoensis".
 Despite its presence in Japan's parks and gardens, it took a decade to confirm
that the plant was an unknown species.
 Spiranthes is a genus of orchids in the subfamily Orchidoideae, commonly known
as ladies’ tresses.
 It includes approximately 50 species widely distributed across the tropical and
temperate regions of the Americas, Eurasia, and Australia.

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Fernarium in National Park
 Eravikulam National Park (ENP) in Kerala has a Fernarium set up inside the park.
 This is the first time such a fern collection has been established in the hill station.
 Out of 104 available varieties, 52 varieties of ferns have already been planted in
the new Fernarium.
 Ferns are part of the Epiphytic family.
 They grow naturally in a soilless condition.
 The plants obtain water and nutrients through leaching from trees.
 ENP is the natural habitat of Nilgiri Tahr in Munnar.

Cyrtopodion Vindhya
 A new species of naked-toed gecko (Cyrtopodion) has been discovered in Dahod
and Panchmahals districts in Gujarat.
 It has been named after Vindhya hills as ‘Cyrtopodion Vindhya’.
 It is the fifth endemic species of reptile described in the last fifteen years from the
state of Gujarat.

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  These gekkonid lizards distributed across the arid regions of north Africa, Arabia,
and Central Asia to north western India.
 There are 23 known species of genus Cyrtopodion genus of the Gecko family.
 This is the twenty-fourth one.

50 years of Bandipur Tiger Reserve

 Bandipur in Karnataka completed 50 years as a Project Tiger Reserve.
 On April 1, 1973, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi launched the flagship
conservation programme to arrest the big cat’s dwindling population.
 There were 12 tigers in Bandipur when Project Tiger was launched.
 Today, the number of tigers utilizing the park is 173.
 Bandipur was among the first nine reserves to be brought under the flagship
programme.
 The Bandipur Tiger Reserve is an important component of the country’s first
biosphere reserve, Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

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Trichrysis poseidonia
 A research team has discovered a new species of cuckoo wasp from southern India.
 The new species of cuckoo wasp has been named Trichrysis poseidonia.
 Its specimens were collected from Tamil Nadu and Madayipara in Kannur.
 Another specimen was obtained from Nepal.
 The specific name is derived from Poseidon, the Greek God of the Sea.
 These wasps belong to the family Chrysididae.
 They are also known as cuckoo wasps, because they are kleptoparasitic (stealing
food from others) on other wasps and bees as the cuckoo bird.
 The members of the family Chrysididae are more active in warm areas and they
are heliophilic (more active in sunlight).
 The laterite plateau of Madayipara is well known for its rich biodiversity and is
suitable for these wasps.

Exostoma Dhritiae
 A new catfish species has been discovered by scientists of the Zoological Survey of
India (ZSI) in Arunachal Pradesh.
 The new species has been named ‘Exostoma Dhritiae’ after Dhriti Banerjee, the
first woman director of the ZSI.
 The new species was found in Siking stream, a tributary of the Siang River in
Upper Siang district.
 It is a small fish found in streams in these hills and locally called ‘ngorang’ by local
tribals.

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Long-Tailed and Smew Ducks
 The rare long-tailed ducks have been spotted in Wullar lake, Kashmir after over
84 years.
 These ducks sighted last time in Hokersar was in 1939 by F Ludlow.
 They are slim, colourful sea ducks with long tails.
 They fly quickly and low, often forming and reforming tight clusters.
 The long-tailed ducks migrate all the way to British Columbia on their way west
from Alaska and Russia.
 Smews (Mergellus albellus) are medium-sized ducks that are part of the Anatidae
family.
 The smew is a species found in both Eurasia and Europe.
 They rarely visit different parts of the Indian subcontinent.

Fifth cycle of the All-India Tiger Estimation – 2022

 The tiger census covered forested habitats in 20 states of India.
 The number of tigers in India was 3,167 in 2022.
 It was raised from 2,967 in 2018.
 The growth, however, slowed to 6.7 per cent in these four years from around 33
per cent during 2014-2018.

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  The highest number (1,161) of tigers were photographed in the Central Indian
Highlands and Eastern Ghats in 2022.
 Tiger occupancy in Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Telangana showed a
decline.
 Tiger occupancy in the Western Ghats declined to 824.

Deepest fish ever

 Scientists have captured footage of a fish swimming more than 8 km underwater.
 This setting is a new record for the deepest fish ever recorded.
 The animal is an unknown snailfish species belonging to the genus Pseudoliparis.
 It was filmed at a depth of 8,336 metres in the Izu-Ogasawara trench, south-east
of Japan.
 Scientists also caught two other snailfish, of the species Pseudoliparis belyaevi, in
the Japan trench from a depth of 8,022 metres.
 At 8,000 metres underwater, the pressure is 800 times greater than at the ocean
surface.

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Amolops siju
 Recently, researchers have discovered a new species of frogs from Siju cave system
in the South Garo Hills district of Meghalaya.
 This is an uncommon habitat for this group of frogs, which is commonly found
around cascades.
 It is a new species of the marmoratus group from a cave ecosystem.
 This is the second time that a frog was discovered from inside a cave in the
country.
 The first being the discovery of the Micrixalus spelunca in 2014 from a cave in
Tamil Nadu.

Asian King Vulture conservation and breeding center

 The world’s first conservation and breeding centre for the Asian king vulture is set
to open in Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj district.
 The centre was named as Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Centre (JCBC).
 It is a 15-year project which aims to raise at least 40 vultures.
 It is aimed is to maintain a sustainable population of the species by breeding king
vultures in captivity and releasing them into the wild.

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  The red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) is localized primarily to northern India.
 In 2004, the species was up listed to ‘near threatened’ from ‘least concern’ by the
IUCN.
 In 2007, it was up listed to ‘critically endangered’ in the IUCN Red List.

New butterfly species discovered in Kerala

 Researchers have recently discovered Caltoris bromus sadasiva near Akkulam and
Vembanad lakes in Kerala.
 It is also the first record of the species Bromus swift (Caltoris bromus).
 It is found in the Western Ghats and Peninsular India.
 It belongs to Hesperiidae family of Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies).
 The butterfly was first spotted at Akkulam lake in 2005 and later in Vembanad in
2009 by Dr. Sadasivan.

Tigers in Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary

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  Photographic evidence of tigers has been captured for the first time in Suhelwa
Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh.
 The sanctuary was established in 1988 and is located in Shravasti, Balrampur,
and Gonda districts of Uttar Pradesh.
 It is a significant area within the Bhabar-Tarai eco-system region.

Banking on Climate Chaos Report

 World’s 60 largest banks have spent a staggering $5.5 trillion or Rs 4,49,36,265
crore on financing fossil fuel projects since the Paris Agreement was signed in
2016.
 United States was the top financier of fossil fuels, providing 28% of total financing
in the fossil fuel sector in 2022.
 As much as $673 billion was spent on fossil fuel financing in 2022 alone.
 Canada and Japan were the top financiers for fossil fuels from 2020-2022.
 G7 countries provided $73 billion in public finance for fossil fuels from 2020-2022.

Mangrove pitta bird census

 The first-ever census of mangrove pitta birds was carried out in Kendrapara and
Jagatsingpur districts of Odisha.
 179 such birds were sighted during the census.
 The highest concentration of the birds has been found in the mangroves near the
Mahipura river mouth inside the Bhitarakanika National Park.
 Mangrove pitta birds are a nearly threatened species found in few pockets of
eastern India.
 It includes Odisha’s Bhitarakanika and West Bengal’s Sundarbans.

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Coalition of Coastal Cities
 Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has launched a
coalition of coastal cities to fight marine litter pollution across India.
 India has a coastline of more than 7,000 kilometres, has a role to play in
controlling this danger.
 About 80 per cent of marine litter comes from land-based mismanagement of solid
waste that reaches the ocean bed through various land-to-sea pathways.
 The remaining 20 per cent is contributed by coastal settlements.
 Plastic accounts for 90 per cent of all the waste that ends up in the marine
ecosystem.

Helopeltis Theivora
 The tea mosquito bug (Helopeltis Theivora) is spreading rapidly and affecting tea
production in both low and high-elevation plantations in Southern India
 It is a major sucking pest of tea in most tea-producing countries.

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  The nymphs and adults of the TMB suck the sap from tender leaves, buds and
young shoots, which results in heavy crop losses.
 India has the second largest area under tea in the world with around 6.37 lakhs
hectares.
 The tea area in North India is 5.36 lakhs hectares while South India has an area
of 1.01 lakh hectares.

Indian skimmers in Satkosia wildlife sanctuary

 Breeding of Indian Skimmers has been recorded for the first time in Satkosia
wildlife sanctuary, Odisah.
 The Indian Skimmers usually arrive at Satkosia in November and leave by March
second week.
 The Indian Skimmer is native to India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan
and Vietnam.
 Their last breeding in the Mahanadi River stretch was recorded years back in
Munduli area.
 Recent surveys estimate the population of Skimmers in Bangladesh and India at
just 3,000 to 3,500 respectively.

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 REPORTS AND INDICES

Triple Threat Report

 The UNICEF’s “Triple Threat” report discuss the three water-related threats –
inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH).
 Globally, 600 million children still lack safely managed drinking water.
 1.1 billion lack safely managed sanitation and 689 million lack basic hygiene
service.
 149 million children still face the indignity of practising open defecation and
unsafe water.
 Ten countries alone – with a combined population of over 190 million children and
all in sub-Saharan Africa – face this triple burden.
 Around 2 out of 5 deaths from unsafe WASH are concentrated in these countries.
 Globally, the percentage of households with access to at least basic drinking water
rose to 90% in 2020 from 82% in 2000.
 Access to households with at least basic sanitation rose to 78% in 2020 from 56%
in 2000.

Hurun Global Rich List

 Hurun launched the 12th Anniversary Edition of 2023 M3M Hurun Global rich list.
 The list has been released in association with M3M India.
 Mukesh Ambani became the only Indian to feature in the list of top 10 billionaires
across the world.

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  Ambani ranked first, followed by Gautam Adani among Indian billionaires.
 Cyrus Poonawalla stood third with a net worth of $28 billion.
 Shiv Nadar and their family is fourth with $27 billion and Lakshmi Mittal is fifth
with $20 billion.

Top 10 contributors to warming

 India is ranked fifth among the top 10 contributors to global warming.
 US is the largest contributor through their emissions of key greenhouse gases
since 1850.
 USA is followed by China, Russia, Brazil and India.
 Indonesia, Germany, the UK, Japan, Canada stands next 5 places.
 India is responsible for 0.08 degrees Celsius of warming from the 1850s through
2021.
 The global warming resulting from the emissions of all three Green House Gases
(GHG): carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O).
 Of the three gases, global emissions of CO2 have contributed the most to warming.
 Up to 2021, warming through global CO2 emission was 1.11°C, through CH4
emission it was 0.41°C and through N2O emission 0.08°C.
 The combined contributions to warming from Brazil, South Africa, India and China
rose from 17% in 1992 to 23% in 2021.

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Passport Index 2023
 The Passport Index 2023 has been published by Arton Capital.
 And it ranks passports of 199 countries.
 India fell six places from 138th to the 144th position in the annual passport index
for 2023.
 With its current ranking, Indians can travel to 21 countries visa-free, need a visa
for128 countries, and can avail of the visa-on-arrival option for 47 countries.
 This year, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has the highest mobility score and
ranks number one.
 It was followed by Sweden, Germany, Finland, Luxembourg, Spain, France, Italy,
the Netherlands, and Austria
 In Asia, South Korea had the highest score and ranks at number 12 on list.
 It is followed by Japan.

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The State of School Feeding Worldwide 2022
 The reach of school meals in low-income countries remains four percent below
pre-pandemic levels.
 It has fallen by approximately four per cent in low-income countries, with the
biggest declines observed in Africa.
 High-income, upper middle-income and lower middle-income countries showed a
consistent, modest increase of 4 per cent, 4 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively.
 Low-income countries have increased their domestic funding for school meals up
from 30 per cent in 2020 to 45 per cent in 2022.
 It has the potential to create 1,000-2,000 jobs for every 100,000 children receiving
school meals.
 30 million increase happens in the number of children receiving school meals
between 2020 and 2022.
 Of this, the five countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa accounted
for 19 million of the increase in the number of children fed.
 The study analysis is based on a sample of 176 countries, up from 163 countries
in 2020.

World Bank’s report

 The report titled as ‘Striving for Clean Air: Air Pollution and Public Health in South
Asia’ was released by the World Bank.
 South Asia is home to nine of the world’s 10 cities with the worst air pollution.
 Dhaka ranked seventh in the list of cities worldwide with worse air quality.

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  Air pollution is responsible for about 20 per cent of the total premature deaths in
Bangladesh.
 In South Asia, nearly 60% of the population lives in areas where concentrations of
5 exceed an annual mean of 35 μg/m3 (WHO prescribes 5 μg/m3).
 In the densely populated Indo-Gangetic Plain, it is over 20 times higher than the
WHO-prescribed levels.
 This report identifies six major airsheds in South Asia where spatial
interdependence in air quality is high.

World Energy Transitions: Outlook 2023

 The recent report was released by International Renewable Energy Agency.
 As per the report, the global energy transition is still “off-track” and falls short of
the 1.5 degrees Celsius pathway.
 To keep 1.5°C alive”, deployment levels must grow from some 3,000 gigawatt (GW)
today to over 10,000 GW in 2030, an average of 1,000 GW annually”.
 China, the European Union and the United States accounted for two-thirds of all
additions in 2022.
 In 2022, 85 per cent of global renewable energy investment benefitted less than
50 per cent of the world’s population.
 Africa accounted for only 1 per cent of additional capacity in 2022.

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Global trade outlook and statistics

 The new “Global Trade Outlook and Statistics” report estimates real global GDP
growth at market exchange rates of 2.4% for 2023.
 It was released by the World Trade Organization.
 The value of world merchandise trade rose 12% to US$ 25.3 trillion in 2022.
 The value of world commercial services trade increased 15% in 2022 to US$ 6.8
trillion.
 Projections for both trade and output growth are below the averages for the past
12 years of 2.6% and 2.7% respectively.

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  India ranked 18th in terms of exports of commodities and was the 9th importer of
global merchandise goods trade worldwide.
 In terms of commercial service exports, India came in 7 th place with USD 313
billion, or 4.4 per cent of the global total.
 Imports stood at USD 263 billion, or 4% of all commercial services imported
globally.

Top ten Busiest airport

 Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport has been ranked as the ninth
busiest airport in the world in 2022.
 This airport is handling 59.5 million passengers annually.
 The report was published by Airports Council International (ACI) World.
 It is a global organisation which measures and assesses airport standards.
 The top 10 airports last year, five were in the US and one each in the Gulf, UK,
Europe, South and West Asia.
 Delhi was the only Asian hub to be on the list.

Infertility Prevalence Estimates 1990–2021 Report

 The report’s purpose is to provide estimates of the global and regional prevalence
of infertility by analysing all relevant and representative studies from 1990 to
2021.

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  About 17.5 per cent of the global adult population is affected by infertility.
 Approximately one in six people have experienced infertility at some stage in their
lives, globally.
 The available data indicate that estimated lifetime prevalence of infertility is
highest in the WHO Western Pacific Region (23.2%) and lowest in the WHO Eastern
Mediterranean Region (10.7%).
 Estimated period prevalence of infertility is highest in the WHO African Region
(16.4%) and lowest in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (10.0%).

Government Trends Report

 The 'Government Trends' report has been published by the Deloitte Center for
Government Insights.
 The unifying theme of the 2023 report is ‘dissolving boundaries’.
 The report has highlighted the nine trends that are reshaping how governments
deliver solutions to the common citizen.
 COVID-19 was a major catalyst in increasing the collaboration between
governments and agencies across the sectors.
 Out of the nine trends, five are cross-cutting - meaning the governments are
actively working to eliminate obstacles in key areas.
 The remaining four trends have been encapsulated under domain-focused trends.

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Freedom House Index
 US government-funded non-profit organization ‘Freedom House’ released its
annual report titled ‘Freedom of the World 2023’.
 India has been ranked a “partly free” country for the third year in a row.
 The report also states that democracy in India is “losing ground”.
 It uses surveys and analyses to tabulate indices around freedom and human
rights.
 Tibet along with South Sudan and Syria ranked as world's least free country in
the index.

World’s ‘most criminal countries’ ranking

 The World of Statistics has shared the ranking of the world's "most criminal
countries".
 On the list, Venezuela has been ranked top, followed by Papua New Guinea (2),
Afghanistan (3), South Africa (4), Honduras (5) respectively.
 India stood at 77 spots while the US and UK were ahead of India in the criminal
ranking country.
 The USA was at 55th number and the UK at 65th rank, according to the World of
Statistics.
 Turkey, Germany, and Japan were among the least criminal countries, ranking at
92nd, 100th, and 135th ranks.

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Global Unicorn Index 2023
 According to Hurun’s Global Unicorn Index 2023, India bagged the third spot with
68 new unicorns.
 India is third only to the US' 666 unicorns and China’s 316.
 However, none of the Indian startups made it to the top 10 list.
 The top-most unicorn in India is online educator BYJU’S that is worth $22 billion.
 It is followed by food delivery platform Swiggy and fantasy sports platform
Dream11.

 India also had the third-highest number of gazelles, but was fifth when it came to
the number of Hurun Global 500 companies.

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  Bengaluru is one of the five cities, apart from San Francisco, Shanghai, Beijing,
and Shenzhen, that have more start-ups.
 They are likely to contribute more to the Hurun Global 500s within 5 years.

Thales Data Threat Report 2023

 This is a comprehensive analysis of cybersecurity trends and threats.
 In India, more than half (52%) of IT professionals reported a surge in ransomware
attacks in the past one year.
 This is higher than the global figure of 48 percent.
 53% of respondents in India said that their IoT devices were the biggest targets.
 It is followed by Cloud-based storage (41%) and Cloud delivered applications
(SaaS) (40%).
 82 percent of Indian respondents reported data loss from ransomware attacks,
compared to 67 percent globally.

Global Food Policy Report

 The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) released the Global Food
Policy Report-2023.
 Rise in food insecurity during 2020-2022 due to multiple crises such as the
COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, natural disasters along with civil unrest and
political instability.

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  205 million people across 45 countries experienced crisis-level acute food
insecurity or worse in 2022.
 20% of Africa’s population is food insecure and undernourished.
 Due to the climate change impact, as many as 72 million more people will be
undernourished by 2050.
 Half of the world’s population or around 3.83 billion people worldwide live in
households reliant on agrifood systems-based livelihoods.

Top 10 Wealthiest Cities in the World in 2023

 Consultancy firm Henley and Partners has ranked several cities by running
through the numbers of millionaires residing in each city.
 New York City, Tokyo, The Bay Area, London and Singapore ranked in the first 5
spots.
 The list was dominated by cities in China and the United States.
 Bengaluru has been given a special mention as one of the fastest-growing cities in
the Asia Pacific region.

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World’s Children 2023 report
 The UNICEF India released a report "The State of the World's Children 2023: For
Every Child, Vaccination."
 This report highlights India as one of the countries with the highest vaccine
confidence in the world.
 In Odisha, 90.5 percent of children fully immunized and it is higher than the
national average of 76.4 percent.
 The importance of vaccines for children held firm or improved only in China, India
and Mexico out of 55 countries studied.
 The vaccine confidence marks a decline in over a third of the studied countries,
e.g., in the Republic of Korea, Papua New Guinea, Ghana, Senegal and Japan after
the start of the pandemic.
 A total of 67 million children missed out on vaccinations between 2019 and 2021.
 Vaccination coverage levels decreasing in 112 countries.
 In 2022, the number of measles cases was more than double the total in the
previous year.
 The number of children paralysed by polio was up 16 per cent year-on-year in
2022.
 When comparing the 2019 to 2021 period with the previous three-year period,
there was an eight-fold increase in the number of children paralysed by polio.
 The poorest households, 1 in 5 children are zero-dose while in the wealthiest, it is
just 1 in 20.
 These challenges are greatest in low- and middle-income countries, where about
1 in 10 children in urban areas are zero dose and 1 in 6 in rural areas.

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The Global Climate 2022 report
 World Meteorological Organisation’s (WMO) released a State of the Global Climate
2022 report.
 The years 2015 to 2022 were the eight warmest in the 173-year instrumental
record.
 South Asia and the Indian subcontinent region are known to be highly vulnerable
to climatic changes.
 The global mean temperature in 2022 was 1.15°C [1.02–1.28] above the 1850–
1900 average.
 The Indian monsoon onset was earlier and the withdrawal later than normal in
2022.
 The precipitation totals were above the long-term (1951–2000) average in the
western Indian summer monsoon region.
 The rate of global mean sea level rise in the first decade (1993–2002) of the satellite
record was 2.27 mm per year.
 It has doubled between the 2013–2022 as 4.62 mm per year.
 The Antarctic Sea ice reached a record low of 1.92 million [Link] on February 25,
2022.
 It is almost 1 million [Link] less than the long-term (1991-2020) average.
 Somalia had almost 1.2 million internally displaced people due to drought, with
over 60,000 people crossing into Ethiopia and Kenya during the same period.

The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems

 The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently released this report.
 It explains the gender disparities in agriculture and its impact on global economy
and food security.

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  Currently, over 345 million people are estimated to experience acute food
insecurity.
 There is a 24% gender gap in land productivity between farms managed by men
and women of the same size.
 In wage employment in agriculture, women earn 82 cents for every dollar that men
earn, indicating a gender wage gap.
 In sub-Saharan Africa, 66% of women’s employment is in agrifood systems, while
in southern Asia, it is 71%.

Logistic Performance Index (LPI) – 2023

 India has climbed six places on the World Bank's Logistic Performance Index (LPI)
2023.
 It is now ranking 38th in the 139 countries index.
 India was ranked 44th on the index in 2018 and has now climbed to 38th in the
2023 listing.
 India's performance has drastically improved from 2014, when it was ranked 54th
on the LPI.

 India's rank moved up five places in infrastructure score from 52nd in 2018 to 47th
in 2023.
 It climbed to the 22nd spot for international shipments in 2023 from 44th in 2018
and moved four places up to 48th in logistics competence and equality.

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  According to the report, the average dwell time for containers between May and
October 2022 was three days for India and Singapore.
 The dwell time for the U.S. was seven days and for Germany, it was 10 days.

Global Military Expenditure Report

 The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released the report.
 India was the fourth biggest military spender in the world in 2022.
 It stood after the United States, China and Russia.
 Saudi Arabia was in fifth place.
 The five countries accounted for 63% of the world’s military spending.
 India’s military spending of $81.4 billion was the fourth highest in the world.
 It was 6% more than in 2021 and up by 47% from 2013.
 Total global military expenditure increased by 3.7% in 2022, hitting a new high of
$2,240 billion.
 Also, India’s share of the global arms imports was the highest during the last five
years at 11%.
 It followed by Saudi Arabia (9.6%), Qatar (6.4%), Australia (4.7%) and China
(4.7%).

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 STATES

‘Disturbed areas’ tag under AFSPA

 The Centre has decided to decrease the jurisdiction of "disturbed areas" declared
under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in Nagaland, Assam
and Manipur from April.
 For the last six months, AFSPA has been in force in eight districts and one sub-
division of Assam and in most of Manipur.
 "Disturbed area" declaration in Manipur (except Imphal Municipality area) was in
force since 2004.
 AFSPA was earlier in force in all nine districts of Nagaland since 1995, but it has
now been reduced to eight.
 The "disturbed areas" notification was in force since 1990 in the whole of Assam
till March 31,2022.
 From April 1, 2022, it restricted to nine districts and one sub-division of another
district.
 From April 1 this year, it is reduced to only eight districts.

Gandhamardan hills biodiversity heritage site

 The Odisha government has declared the Gandhamardan Hill Range in Bargarh
and Balangir district as a Biodiversity Heritage Site (BHS).
 This is the third BHS of Odisha after Mandasuru Gorge in Kandhamal district and
Mahendragiri Hill Range in Gajapati district.
 One angiosperm, Ficus conccina var dasycarpa and one spider, Peucetia
harishankarensis, are endemic to this hill.

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  Two historical monuments such as the Nrusinghanath Temple is located on the
northern slope and Harishankar Temple is situated on the southern slope of the
foot hills.

European Union GI Tag

 The European Union (EU) has granted the Geographical Indicator (GI) tag to
Kangra tea of Himachal pradesh.
 It will help tea farmers of Kangra get better prices for their produce in the
European countries.”
 The Kangra tea had got the Indian GI tag in 2005 but it was not recognised by the
EU.
 Kangra leaves are known to have Calcium, Zinc, Folic Acids, Vitamin B1, Vitamin
B2 and Vitamin B6.

100% electrification of rail network – Haryana

 The Indian Railways has achieved a significant milestone, by completing 100%
electrification of Railway network in Haryana State.
 The existing Broad-Gauge network of Haryana is 1,701 Route kilometre is now
100% electrified.
 Haryana state’s territory falls in Northern, North Central & North Western
Railway’s jurisdiction.

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Nagri Dubraj rice
 Chhattisgarh’s special aromatic Nagri Dubraj rice received Geographical
Indication (GI) tag.
 This will provide a new identity to this rice at National and international level.
 Nagari Dubraj rice, popularly known as Basmati of Chhattisgarh, is the
traditional, fragrant rice variety of the state.
 After “Jiraphool” rice of Surguja district in the year 2019, now Nagri Dubraj rice
has been given the Geographical Indication tag/
 GI tag for Nagri Dubraj was awarded to 'Maa Durga Swayam Sahayata Group', a
women’s self-help group.

Unseasonal Rains - Natural calamity

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  The Maharashtra government decided to consider unseasonal rains a natural
calamity, to provide relief to affected farmers in the State.
 The decision would help the administration to provide relief to farmers whose
crops have been damaged due to untimely rain.
 A separate category was created for this.
 This is the first State in the country to consider unseasonal rains a natural
calamity.

India’s first cool roof policy

 Hyderabad municipal administration and urban development department has
launched India’s first Cool Roof Policy 2023-2028.
 The policy aims to drive state-wide adoption of cool roofs by making it mandatory
to install cool roofing materials, such as solar reflective paints, tiles or sheets.
 It planned to achieve a target of implementing clean roofing technology across 300
square kilometres of roof area — majorly (200 sq km).

Best state in e-procurement

 Tripura has been awarded as the best performing state among north-eastern
states in the implementation of e-procurement.
 To maintain transparency, the state has made it mandatory to go for e-
procurement if the value of any government purchase or contract goes beyond Rs.
25,000.

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  The total value of payments made through e-procurement and Government
eMarketplace (GeM) portals increased from Rs 4,451 crore in 2020-21 to Rs 7441
crore in 2021-22.

Whistling Village
 Rajya Sabha MP Rakesh Sinha presented his development report on Kongthong
village in Meghalaya.
 Kongthong is located in the East Khasi Hills in Meghalaya.
 It is popular as the ‘whistling village’ due to its unique tradition of ‘Jingrwai
Lawbei’.
 When a child is born, the mother comes up with a unique tune for the baby.
 The tune becomes their name.
 Only the mothers can give these unique names to their children.
 Kongthong people belong to the Seng Khasi Tribe and speak Khasi language.
 According to Census 2011, the village has a population of 567.
 Out of 567, 275 are males and 275 are females, and a literacy rate of 55%.

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India’s First solar-powered tourist boat
 Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation (KSINC) launched India’s First
solar-powered tourist vessel Sooryamshu.
 This vessel can carry up to 100 passengers.
 It will operate in the Marine Drive-Kadamakudy corridor and later 10 km into the
sea.

India’s 1st 3D printed post office

 Bengaluru will soon have India’s first post office built out of 3D printing
technology.
 The 1,000-square-feet building will cost 25 lakh rupees to set up, reducing the
final cost by 25%.
 This will function the same as normal post offices.

New GI tag of Madhya Pradesh Products

 Madhya Pradesh's Products such as Gond Painting, Sharbati Wheat get GI Tag.
 Gond painting is traditional art of Madhya Pradesh and belong to the Gond tribe.

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  Patangarh village of Dindori district is famous for gond paintings.
 Shabarti wheat is a regional variety of wheat grown in Sehore and vidisha districts.
 It helps in excess of 300 proteins in the body to utilize insulin and glucose
emission.

First water budget

 Kerala became the first state to adopt a water budget.
 It came up with a solution to water scarcity in certain regions there.
 The water budget would be helpful in properly utilising the resource and
preventing wastage.
 The first phase of the project would cover 94-gram panchayats and 15 block
panchayats.
 Specific recommendations have been provided to each panchayat as part of the
Water Budget.

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Repeal of municipal act
 The Nagaland state government is repealing the Nagaland Municipal Act of 2001
recently.
 This led to the cancellation of the State Election Commission’s notification for
holding elections to Nagaland’s 39 urban local bodies (ULBs) with 33% of the seats
reserved for women.
 Nagaland is the only State where ULB seats are not reserved for women as
mandated by clause IV of the 74th Amendment to the Constitution of India.
 Most of the traditional tribal and urban organisations oppose the 33% reservation
of seats for women.
 They argued that such reservation would violate the special provisions granted by
Article 371A of the Constitution to Nagaland.
 The Article states that no Act of Parliament would apply to the religious or social
practices of the Nagas, Naga customary law and procedure, administration of civil
and criminal justice involving decisions according to Naga customary law, and
ownership and transfer of land and its resources.
 The first and only civic body election in Nagaland was held in 2004 without any
reservation of seats for women.
 The then State government amended the 2001 Municipal Act in 2006 to include
33% reservation for women in line with the 74th Amendment.
 In September 2012, the State Assembly passed a resolution to exempt Nagaland
from Article 243T of the Constitution which is related to the reservation for women.

10 years of India’s first environmental referendum

 Ten years ago, on April 18, 2013, the Dongoria Kondhs, a particularly vulnerable
tribal group (PVTG) from Rayagada in Odisha won a legal battle.
 In the Orissa Mining Corporation Ltd vs Ministry of Environment & Forest case,
the Supreme court recognised their cultural, religious and spiritual rights on the
Niyamgiri Hill, over Vedanta Company’s claim to exploit the hills for bauxite.

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  The Supreme Court ordered a referendum is to be held amongst the affected Gram
Sabhas to obtain the consent on the project from the community.
 They all unanimously voted against it in the referendum.

MGNREGA Person days generation for 4th year

 Rajasthan topped the country in terms of person days generation under Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
 This is the continuous fourth year for the state.
 In 2022-23, Rajasthan generated 35.61 crore person days at a total cost of Rs
10,175 crore under the scheme.
 Rajasthan is followed by Tamil Nadu (33.45 crore), Uttar Pradesh (31.18 crore),
Andhra Pradesh (23.96 crore) and Bihar (23.69 crore) in terms of person days
generation.

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Hun-Thadou cultural festival
 The 5th edition of HUN - a Thadou Cultural Festival 2023 held at Kangpokpi
district of Manipur.
 HUN festival is an annual cultural festival and a civilising act of the Thadou
community of Manipur.
 It is celebrated at the arrival of the new year according to the Thadou community.

National Award for Fasal Bima Yojana

 For the first time, Karnataka has bagged the national award for the best
implementation of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) in the country.
 The state recorded a 47.74% increase in the enrolment of farmers under the
scheme.
 While the area covered under the scheme increased by 41.80%.
 Puducherry, has secured the top rank in the smaller States category for its
successful implementation of the PMFBY crop insurance scheme.

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NE’s largest multipurpose indoor stadium
 The Multi-purpose Indoor Stadium at Polo Grounds of Shillong of Meghalaya will
be the largest multi-purpose indoor stadium in the entire Northeast region.
 The upgradation, renovation and improvement of JN Sports Complex process is
undergoing.
 The renovated stadium would include a football ground with natural grass turf
and also a state-of-the-art facility for hosting track and field events.

DNA database of unidentified bodies

 Himachal Pradesh has become the “first state” to create a DNA database of
unidentified bodies.
 The process was started in April last year and so far, records of 150 DNA samples
of unidentified bodies have been stored in the database.
 The identification of bodies would help the family members in performing the last
rites of the deceased.
 It would also help in nabbing the criminal in cases where crime led to death.

New biodiversity hotspots in West Bengal

 The state government has added four new biodiversity heritage sites (BHS) in West
Bengal.
 With this, West Bengal now has the highest number of biodiversity heritage parks
in the country.
 The four new sites are
o Char Balidanga- Nadia,
o State Horticulture Research and Development Station campus - Nadia,

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 o Namthing Pokhar in Darjeeling and
o Amkhoi Fossil Park in Birbhum.
 Namthing Pokhari is the home to the Himalayan salamander.
 Amkhoi Fossil Park is the first wood fossil park in West Bengal.
 The existing four BHS in Bengal are: Chilkigarh Kanak Durga in Jhargram,
Baneswar Shiv Dighi in Cooch Behar, Tonglu and Dhotrey in Darjeeling.

India’s first heavy lift drone

 Odisha Chief Minister launched the first of its kind heavy lift logistics drone.
 It is made by Odisha-based start-up ‘BonV Aero’.
 It has the capacity to transport 50 kg over 10 kms.
 In its next phase, the startup aims to develop its flagship platform ‘RM002’ that
can transport 200 kilograms of freight over 40 kilometres.

Assam-Arunachal Pradesh Border Disputes Pact

 Assam and Arunachal Pradesh signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to
end a 51-year-old inter-state border dispute.

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  The dispute in question is over 123 villages that stretch across 12 districts of
Arunachal Pradesh and eight of Assam.
 This dispute was going on since 1972 has been resolved permanently.
 Under the agreement, both the states have agreed that this agreement will be final
with regards to these 123 disputed villages.
 Further, neither of the states will make any new claim related to any area or village
in future.
 Assam and Arunachal Pradesh share an 804.1 km long boundary.

Kochi Water Metro

 It is first of its kind public boat service in India integrated with a metro rail
network.

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  This project is being implemented by Kochi Metro Rail Corporation Limited
(KMRL).
 It will connect 10 islands around the city in Malabar coast.
 The overall project comprises of 78 electric boats with a total of 38 terminals.

Kerala's First Vande Bharat Express

 Prime Minister flagged off Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express in
Thiruvananthapuram.
 It will connect Thiruvananthapuram with the northernmost Kasaragod district.
 It would cover the 586 km long journey in eight hours.

Zero Shadow Day

 Bengaluru is witnessed Zero Shadow Day on April 25 across the city.
 Zero Shadow Day is a rare and unique phenomenon that occurs at different times
in different locations on Earth.
 During this brief period, the sun is precisely overhead at noon without any tilt.
 It occurs twice a year in locations between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of
Capricorn, such as Bengaluru.

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  For Bengaluru, the next one is on August 18.

Indore-model waste treatment

 It is a widely recognized and successful waste management model implemented
by the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC).
 It is a sustainable and cost-effective way of managing wet waste while also
producing clean energy.
 It involves the bio methanation of wet organic waste, which produces bio-CNG
(compressed natural gas) as a by-product.

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 PERSONALITIES, AWARDS AND EVENTS

Ironman Krishna Prakash

 As part of the ‘Drowning Prevention Awareness’ campaign, IPS officer Krishna
Prakash swam from Gateway of India to Elephanta Caves, Mumbai.
 He completed the expedition of 16.20 kms in just 5 hours 26 minutes and became
the first person in history to do so.
 In 2017, he completed the Ironman Triathlon, one of the most challenging sports
events in the world.
 This achievement earned Prakash the ‘Iron Man’ title and a mention in the World
Book of Records.
 He was the first Indian Government Servant, Civil Servant, and Uniformed
Services Officer to earn this title.

Claude Lorius – a Pioneer in Climate Science

 Claude Lorius, a pioneering glaciologist, passed away recently.
 He was best known for his research into climate change.
 In 1956, he joined an expedition to Antarctica.

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  His work in Antarctica helped to prove that humans were responsible for global
warming.
 His research into air bubbles trapped in the ice was published in 1987.
 In 2002, he was awarded the CNRS gold medal along with his colleague Jean
Jouzel.
 He was the first Frenchmen to receive the prestigious Blue Planet Prize.

Intel co-founder Gordon Moore

 Intel co-founder Gordon Moore passed away recently.
 In 1968, he and partner Robert Noyce (who passed away in 1990) co-founded Intel
Corp.
 He proposed what came to be known as Moore’s Law in 1965.
 He received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 1990.
 He won Othmer Gold Medal for outstanding contributions to progress in chemistry
and science in 2001.
 In 2009, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

WSIS Award 2023

 The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is an annual award event
coordinated by the International Telecommunication Union in collaboration with
UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD.
 Theme of the event was ‘WSIS Action Lines for Building Back Better and
Accelerating the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’.
 The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) along with National Informatics Centre
(NIC), has been recognized for its Audit Online software programme at the WSIS
Forum 2023.

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  Audit Online has been awarded under the Action Line category ICT Applications:
e-Government based on the most voted project in the category.
 This software facilitates the financial audit of accounts at all the three levels of
Panchayats.

Urban Climate Film Festival

 The National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) is organising the first Urban Climate
Film Festival through the CITIIS program under U20 engagement events.
 A curated selection of 11 films from 9 countries is showcased in the festival.
 The selected films will be screened at the festival in New Delhi, Mumbai,
Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Ahmedabad over subsequent months.
 They aimed at create wider awareness of the impact of climate change on life in
cities and engage the public in the dialogue on sustainable urban development.

Second EMPOWER meeting

 The second EMPOWER meeting is held at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
 Theme of the Meeting is “Women’s Empowerment: A Win-Win for Equity and
Economy”.
 The Inception meeting of G20 EMPOWER was held at Agra, Uttar Pradesh.
 EMPOWER stands for Empowerment and Progression of Women’s Economic
Representation.

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Medal design for Gangwon 2024
 The Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games will take place in South Korea.
 The design of medals for Gangwon 2024 emerged through an open competition.
 The Brazilian artist Akira Uwai's creation - 'A Sparkling Future' - was chosen by a
panel of judges.

Water and Heritage Shield

 A sacred Hopi site in Arizona was awarded the ICOMOS Water and Heritage Shield.
 The Sípàapu is a rocky dome made of limestone as well as a spring located on the
Little Colorado river.
 It holds immense importance for the Hopi, Navajo, and Zuni tribes.
 This was awarded by the International Committee on Monuments and Sites
International Science Committee.

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  The purpose of the Shield is to help the public become aware of the significance of
water and indigenous sacred sites all over the world and the right to cultural and
historical memory.

MCC honorary life membership

 The Marylebone Cricket Club has revealed the names of its latest members on
whom the club has bestowed honorary life membership.
 The historic club gives honorary membership to the finest men and women who
have contributed to the game.
 The members’ list has five names from India.
 They are: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mithali Raj and
Jhulan Goswami.

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Four new astronauts of NASA
 Nasa has named the four astronauts who will take humanity back to the Moon by
Artemis-2 mission after a 50-year gap.
 Christina Koch will become the first woman astronaut ever assigned to a lunar
mission.
 Victor Glover will be the first black astronaut on one.
 The two other astronauts are Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen.

Naresh Gupta

 Naresh Gupta, former IAS officer passed away recently.

 He was the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Tamilnadu between 1998 and 2000.

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  He was served as Home Secretary for around a year in 2001-02.
 He Worked as Member Secretary of the State Planning Commission during 2002-
05.
 He was again posted as the CEO between 2005 and 2010.
 He held the post during the 2006 assembly election and 2009 general elections.

100 Most Influential Women in US Finance

 Five Indian-American women have made it to the list of 100 Most Influential
Women in US Finance.
 Indian-origin Anu Aiyengar from J.P. Morgan, Ariel Investment's Rupal J.
Bhansali, Sonal Desai of Franklin Templeton, Goldman Sach's Meena Flynn and
Savita Subramanian from Bank of America are featured in the list.

Keshub Mahindra
 Keshub Mahindra, ex-Mahindra Group chairman, passed away recently.
 During his chairmanship, the Mahindra Group grew from a manufacturer of
automobiles to a federation of companies.
 He was elected the President of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM)
SIAM in 1964.
 He had served as the non-executive Chairman of Union Carbide India Ltd when
the Bhopal gas tragedy occurred in 1984.

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Wealthiest CM in India
 Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is the wealthiest chief minister
of the country with a total of ₹510 crore assets.
 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has the lowest total assets of about
Rs 15 lakh.
 The three CMs with the lowest declared assets are - West Bengal’s Mamata
Banerjee (over Rs 15 lakh), Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan (over Rs 1 crore) and
Haryana’s Manohar Lal (over Rs 1 crore).
 There are 28 state chief ministers and two union territories — Delhi and
Puducherry — also have chief ministers.
 The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir does not have a chief minister
currently.

Femina Miss India 2023

 The 59th edition of the Femina Miss India was Organised for the first time in
Manipur.
 Rajasthan’s Nandini Gupta was crowned Femina Miss India World 2023.
 Now, she will represent India at the Miss World contest.

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  Delhi's Shreya Poonja became the first runner-up.
 Manipur's Thounaojam Strela Luwang was crowned as the 2nd runner-up.
 The 71st edition of the Miss World pageant will be held in the United Arab Emirates
this year.

Rani Rama Devi

 Rani Rama Devi Tondaiman passed away recently.
 She called as ‘Rajmatha’ of the then Pudukottai Samasthanam.
 Rani Rama Devi is the wife of late Radhakrishna Tondaiman.
 He is brother of Raja Rajagopala Tondaiman who was the last ruler of Pudukottai
‘Samasthanam’.
 She headed several committees that took up kumbhabhishekams of several
temples in Pudukkottai district.
 She has also served as President of Tamil Nadu Swimming Association, Vice
President of Volleyball Association and Member of LIC Board of Directors.

National Panchayat Awards 2023

 In a boost for the state government's initiatives in rural areas, Telangana bagged
13 awards at the National Panchayat Awards 2023 under various categories.
 Of the 13, that state won eight awards under Deen Dayal Upadhyay Panchayat
Satat Vikas Puraskar (DDUPSVP) for 2021-2022.
 Five awarded under Nanaji Deshmukh Sarvottam Panchayat Satat Vikas Puraskar
(NDSPSVP) 2023.

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  The DDUPSVP is for individual theme-wise performance and NDSPSVP is for
aggregate performance under all the themes.
 The National Panchayat Awards honour the best-performing panchayats (local
self-government bodies) across the country.
 The awards were first instituted in 2011 and have since been held every year.
 In previous years, there was a special quota for the Union Territories in the
awards.
 However, this year, there was no separate quota for the Union Territories.

International Prize in Statistics 2023

 Noted Indian-American statistician Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao has been

awarded the 2023 International Prize in Statistics.
 This is often referred to as the Nobel prize of statistics.
 The prize is awarded biennially by a collaboration among five leading international
statistics organizations.
 Rao is one of the architects of Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata.
 He conferred with the Padma Bhushan in 1968 and Padma Vibhushan in 2001.
 Rao received the SS Bhatnagar prize in 1963 and was elected a fellow of the Royal
Society in 1967.

Best Social Impact Award

 A Varanasi-based start-up, Beggars’ Corporation, received the Best Social Impact
Award in the Innopreneurs Global Startup Contest.
 The startup has been recognized for its innovative way to address the problem of
begging.

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  The Beggars’ Corporation aims to use this donated money to train beggars into
employment generators and build their capacities for startups.
 West Bengal has 85,000 beggars, followed by Uttar Pradesh which has 65,835
beggars in the state.
 As per the various data, Indians donate ₹34,242 crore annually to India’s 413,670
beggars.

100 Most Influential People of 2023

 Shah Rukh Khan, topped the list of most influential people around the world in
the 2023 TIME100 poll.
 In second place are the Iranian women who are protesting for their rights.
 In third place, were the healthcare workers who’ve been at the frontlines of the
pandemic since 2020.

 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took the fourth spot.

 Lionel Messi secured the fifth spot
 India’s SS Rajamouli, Alia Bhatt and Deepika Padukone also have secured a place
on the list.

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Santokbaa Humanitarian Award
 Prestigious Santokbaa Humanitarian Award has been conferred to Founder-
Director of Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL),
Sonam Wangchuk.
 He is a notable engineer, innovator, educationist and sustainable development
reformist.
 This award is an initiative of Shree Ramkrishna Exports (SRK) a leading diamond
crafting and exports company, and its philanthropic arm Shree Ramkrishna
Knowledge Foundation (SRKKF).

Gates at Sydney Cricket Ground

 To honour Sachin Tendulkar, iconic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Australia

has unveiled a gate named after him.
 The SCG also added another cricketing legend Brian Lara, who will be sharing the
honour with Sachin.
 The gates were be unveiled to mark Tendulkar's 50th birthday and the 30 th
anniversary of Lara's 277 at the SCG.
 With this new honour, both will join the league of great Donald Bradman, Alan
Davidson and Arthur Morris.

Gallantry award to 1st women Air Force officer

 The Wing Commander Deepika Misra was conferred the Vayu Sena medal by
Indian Air Force (IAF).
 This is making her the first woman Air Force officer to receive a gallantry award.

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  This was for an act of “exceptional courage” displayed during a flood relief
operation in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
 She was among 58 personnel who received the gallantry award during the
investiture ceremony held in New Delhi.

Goldman Environmental Prize

 Alessandra Korap Munduruku, 39, has been awarded this year's Goldman Prize.
 This prize recognises grassroots activism.
 A leader from Brazil's indigenous Munduruku community has been recognised for
her successful fight against mining in the Amazon rainforest.
 Other Goldman Environmental Prize recipients
o Tero Mustonen from Finland,
o Delima Silalahi, a Batak woman from North Sumatra, Indonesia
o Chilekwa Mumba, a Zambian community organiser
o Zafer Kizilkaya of Turkey
o Diane Wilson, an American shrimp boat captain

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Malcolm Adiseshiah Award 2023
 Utsa Patnaik, a renowned economist has been selected for the Malcolm Adiseshiah
Award 2023.
 The award is given every year by the Malcolm & Elizabeth Adiseshiah Trust.
 The national level award honours outstanding social scientists.

SPORTS

Women’s World Boxing Championships 2023

 India emerged as a dominant force at the 13th edition of the IBA Women’s World
Boxing Championship 2023, held in New Delhi.
 The event concluded with four Indian female boxers securing gold medals in
different weight categories.
 It was organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA).

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4th Asian Kho Kho
 The Indian men’s and women’s teams clinched the titles at the 4th Asian Kho Kho
Championships.
 In the finals, the Indian men defeated Nepal.
 In the women’s semi-final, India beat Bangladesh.
 In both men’s and women’s categories, the third place was shared by Bangladesh
and Sri Lanka.
 The event was organised by the Kho Kho Federation of India and was hosted by
the Assam Kho Kho Association.

ISSF World Cup Shooting Championship

 Indian shooters opened their account with 4 gold and 3 bronze in Cairo, Egypt
and one bronze in Doha, Qatar.
 Team India won 1 gold, 1 silver and five bronze in Bhopal.
 Thus, India’s overall medal tally to 15 in the ISSF Shooting World Cup 2023.

Women's Boxing World Championships

 Indian women boxers recreated history and brought home four gold medals at the
IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship.
 Nitu Ghanghas (48kg), Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Lovlina Borgohain (75) and Saweety
Boora (81kg) won gold for the country.
 India stood on the top in the gold medal tally at the championship
 This was India’s second time in history to win four gold medals at the Women’s
World Boxing Championships.
 In 2006, Mary Kom, Sarita Devi, Jenny Lalremliani and Lekha K.C won gold for
the country.

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FIFA World Cup Host counties
 FIFA has withdrawn Peru’s hosting rights to the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2023.
 The country was not ready to stage the tournament later this year.
 The tournament is scheduled from 10 November to 2 December 2023.
 Earlier, FIFA also removes Indonesia as the host of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023.
 This was due to the Indonesian official’s objection to the participation of Israel.
 A total of 24 teams were scheduled to play from May 20 to June 11.
 Israel have qualified for the first time.
 FIFA picked both Peru and Indonesia in 2019 to host the respective 2021 editions
of the tournaments.
 Both have been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Asian Wrestling Championships

 The 2023 Asian Wrestling Championships was the 36th edition of Asian Wrestling
Championships of combined events held in Astana, Kazakhstan.
 India finished this event with 1gold, 3 silver and 10 bronze medals.

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Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023
 Hero Intercontinental Cup 2023 football tournament is to be held at Bhubaneswar
in June month.
 India will play with Lebanon, Mongolia and Vanuatu in the tournament.
 The Indian Men’s National Team had previously never played against Mongolia
and Vanuatu.
 But Against Lebanon, India holds a record of playing six matches.
 This will be the third edition of the Hero Intercontinental Cup in India.
 The previous two being held in Mumbai (2018) and Ahmedabad (2019).

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Wisden Almanack's cricketers
 Surya kumar won the honour of Wisden Almanack's leading T20I cricketer.
 Harmanpreet Kaur became the first Indian woman to win the Cricketer of the Year
award.
 She is one of the five Cricketers of the Year announced in the 2023 Wisden
Cricketers' Almanack.

London Marathon
 Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum won the London Marathon with the second-fastest time in
history.
 Kelvin set the course record with a time of 2 hours, 1 minute, 25 seconds.
 He just missed out on Eliud Kipchoge's world record by 16 seconds.
 In the women's race, Sifan Hassan won the race.
 Hassan, won the 5,000m and 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

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 IMPORTANT DAYS

Universal Acceptance Day – March 28

 This year marks the first-ever Universal Acceptance Day being celebrated
worldwide.
 Universal Acceptance (UA) is a technical requirement that ensures all valid domain
names and email addresses, regardless of script, language, or character length.
 It can be equally used by all Internet-enabled applications, devices, and systems.
 The day provides an opportunity to rally local, regional, and global communities
and organizations to spread UA awareness and encourage UA adoption with key
stakeholders.

Rajasthan Day - March 30

 On March 30 of 1949, the princely states of Jodhpur, Jaipur, Jaisalmer and
Bikaner merged to form the 'Greater Rajasthan Union'.
 On May 15, 1949, the Matsya Union merged with Greater Rajasthan to create a
single, unified state of Rajasthan.
 The State Reorganisation Act of November 1, 1956 also brought some minor
changes in Rajasthan.

RBI foundation Day - April 01

 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was established on April 1, 1935.
 India’s central bank was established accordance with the Reserve Bank of India
Act, 1934.

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  It is responsible for regulating the monetary policy of the country and managing
the nation’s currency and credit system.
 The RBI serves as the banker to the government and performs various functions
such as issuing currency notes, managing foreign exchange reserves, and
supervising banks and financial institutions.
 It also plays a crucial role in maintaining the stability of the financial system and
promoting economic growth.

Odisha Foundation Day – April 01

 In 1936, it was the first state that was formed on a linguistic basis.
 Sir John Hubbak was the first governor of the state.
 Earlier, it was the part of Bihar.

 On April 1, 1936, the Odisha state became a separate province.

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  The state was originally called Orissa.
 The parliament passed the Orissa Bill, and 96th Constitution amendment Act in
March 2011 to rename it as Odisha.

International Children's Book Day - April 02

 Since 1967, this day celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to
children's books.
 2 April is the birthday of classic children’s book author Hans Christian Andersen.
 Every year the host countries will change in rotation basis.
 Greece is the sponsor for International Children's Book Day 2023.

World Autism Awareness Day - April 02

 This day observed to emphasise the significance of supporting people with autism
and to improve the quality of their life.
 This year is the Sixteen annual World Autism Awareness Day.
 Autism refers to a broad range of conditions that are characterized by different
challenges by repetitive behaviour nonverbal and speech communication, and
social skills.
 “Light It Up Blue” is the theme of this year event.

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Prevention of Blindness Week 2023 - April 1/7
 The Government of India organises the Prevention of Blindness Week from April
1-7 every year to raise awareness about the causes and prevention of blindness.
 The annual event aims to support individuals with visual impairments, and to
promote access to eye care services.
 Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur, the first health minister of
India, established the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness.
 The observance of the week was started in 1960.

International Day of Mine Awareness - April 04

 It aims to raise awareness against explosive mines and gather assistance towards
their eradication.
 The mine action community plays a significant role towards achieving the mine
action goals.
 And it is led by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS).
 Theme of the year is “Mine Action Cannot Wait”.
 In 1997, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention was established for signature.
 It led the first campaign against mines.
 And 164 countries have ratified it since then.

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National Maritime Day - April 05
 This day commemorate the sailing of the first Indian commercial vessel, SS
Loyalty.
 The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways started this day in 1964.
 This year will mark the 60th National Maritime Day.
 The theme for National Maritime Week 2023 is 'Amrit Kaal in Shipping'.

International Day of Conscience - April 05

 Conscience is the ability of a person to distinguish between what’s right and what’s
wrong.
 It was launched at the United Nations, New York on February 5, 2019 by the
Federation of World Peace and Love (FOWPAL).
 The Kingdom of Bahrain had submitted a draft resolution titled “Promoting the
Culture of Peace with Love and Conscience.”
 This year event is celebrated with the theme - ‘Building a Culture of Peace’.

International Day of Sports for Development and Peace - April 06

 This day marks the opening of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896.
 It aimed as sport to be celebrated as a tool to bring social change and foster peace
and understanding.
 The theme for 2023 is 'Scoring for People and the Planet'.

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World Health Day - April 07
 This day commemorating the establishment of the World Health Organization in
1948.
 This year WHO celebrates its 75th anniversary.
 In April 1945, politicians from around the world gathered in San Francisco to
establish the United Nations.
 At the meeting, leaders from Brazil and China suggested the creation of global
organization specifically devoted to global health.
 The organization’s headquarters are based in Geneva, Switzerland.
 It has six regional and 150 country offices across the world.
 As this is the 75th anniversary, the WHO has chosen the theme as "Health for All”.

World Homoeopathy Day - April 10

 This day pays tribute to homoeopathy and its contribution to the world of
medicine.
 It also aims to spread awareness about homoeopathy as a form of medicine and
work towards improving its success rate.
 The day marks the birth anniversary of German physician Dr Christian Friedrich
Samuel Hahnemann.

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  He is regarded as the founder of homoeopathy.
 The theme of 2023 is "One Health, One Family."

International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Rwandan Genocide - April 07

 The day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2003.
 The date, 7 April, marks the start of the 1994 genocide by Hutus
 It lasted for the 100-day period to mid-July 1994.
 Around 800,000 Tutsis were slaughtered in Rwanda during these 100 days.

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International Romani Day - April 08
 It aims to celebrate Romani culture, history and language and raise awareness of
the issues facing Romani people.
 It commemorates the first historical World Roma Congress assembled near
London, England in Orpington in 1971.
 It was organised by the World Council of Churches and the Government of India.

CRPF valor day - April 09

 This day pay tribute to the bravery and selfless sacrifice of the Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF) soldiers.
 It marks the anniversary of a remarkable battle that took place in 1965 between
the CRPF and a Pakistan Brigade.
 A small group of the CRPF got into combat with enemies and killed around 34
Pakistani soldiers.
 CRPF came into existence as the Crown Representative's Police on 27 July 1939.
 After Indian Independence, it became the Central Reserve Police Force on the
enactment of the CRPF Act on 28 December 1949.

National Safe motherhood Day - April 11

 This day commemorate the birth anniversary of Kasturba Gandhi, the wife of
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

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  It promotes maternal health and reduce maternal mortality rates in the country.
 The day was initiated by the White Ribbon Alliance India (WRAI).
 It was officially recognised by the Indian government in 2003.
 The theme of 2023 is “Motherhood is a blessing from God. "

International Day of Human Space flight - April 12

 This day celebrates the contribution of space science and technology and ensuring
the realisation of the conservation of outer space for peaceful purposes.
 On this day in 1961, the Russian cosmonaut became the first human to journey
into outer space.
 Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space flight to orbit
the Earth.
 The United Nations recognized the importance of this milestone and, in 2011,
declared this day.

World Parkinson's Day - April 11

 It aims to provide the patients and health care people a way to work together to
raise awareness about the disease.
 This day mark the birth anniversary of Dr James Parkinson, who identified
Parkinson's as a as a medical condition.
 He published an article 'An Essay on the Shaking Palsy' in 1817.
 Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative disease which affects the neurological system.

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International Day for Street Children - April 12
 It aims to raise awareness for kids who are frequently left out of statistics.
 This day strives to provide them with medical care, education, and skills training
for a better quality of life.
 There are 2,02,765 children living on the streets of India.
 This year’s theme is ‘Keeping Street-Connected Children Safe’.

World Chagas Disease Day - April 14

 It aims to raise awareness about this little-known disease that affects millions
every year, especially the poor population and people in Latin America.
 In 2019, the 72nd World Health Assembly dedicated this day to the disease.
 This year’s theme is “time to integrate Chagas disease into primary health care”.

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  Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis.
 The disease is named after physician Carlos Chagas who first detected it in a
Brazillian child in 1909.
 It is a communicable parasitic disease that has infected 6-7 million people and
claims around 12,000 lives every year across the globe.
 It is caused by the parasite protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi.
 There are currently no vaccines available for Chagas disease.

National Fire Service Day - April 14

 This day pays homage to brave fire personnel, who have lost their lives while
performing their duties.
 It was on this day in 1944, during a fire-fighting operation that 66 fire personnel
belonging to the Bombay Fire Brigade, died.
 The theme of this year is “Learn Fire Safety, Increase Productivity".
 April 14th to 21 is observed as ‘Fire Safety Week’.
 The theme of this year is ‘Awareness in Fire Safety for Growth of National
Infrastructure (AGNI)’.

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Universal Day of Culture - April 15
 This day is the result of an international agreement to ratify legal recognition for
the preservation of cultural artefacts and works of art.
 The United States ratified it for the first time on April 15, 1935.
 This day seeks to preserve the cultures of all nations and communities.

Thirunangaiyar Day - April 15

 Tamilnadu government observes thirunangaiyar day on April 15.
 On this day, Tamil Nadu established the country’s first welfare Board in 2008.
 In 2006, the Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi replaced the former title of ‘aravani’
and replaced it with the more dignified ‘Thirunangai’
 A welfare Board set up with this name under the Social Welfare department.
 During this year observation, Chief Minister handed over the State-level award for
‘Thirunangaiyar’ to transperson P. Aishwarya from Vellore district.
 She has served the transperson community for the past 22 years and has been
creating awareness about them through folklore and drama.
 Grace Banu and Marlima Muralitharan received this award in 2021 and 2022
respectively.

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75th foundation of Himachal Pradesh - April 15
 The province of Himachal Pradesh was organised on 15 April 1948 as a Chief
Commissioner’s State.
 This time the State level function was held at Kaza in the tribal Lahul-Spiti district.
 Later on, the 25th of January 1950, Himachal was made a ‘C’ category State.
 On 1st of November, 1956, Himachal Pradesh was declared a Union Territory.
 In 1966, the hilly areas of Punjab were included in Himachal Pradesh.
 On the 18th of December 1970, Parliament passed the Himachal Pradesh Act.
 On the 25th of January 1971, Himachal Pradesh came into existence as a full-
fledged State and became the 18th State of the country.

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World Art Day - April 15
 It aims to honour the contributions of artists and promote the importance of art
in our lives.
 The International Association of Art, a partner of UNESCO, created this day to
promote creative activity around the world.
 This day marks the birthday of the famous artist, Leonardo da Vinci, who is
regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time.
 The first World Art Day was celebrated on April 15, 2012.

Save the Elephant Day - April 16

 It aims to promote awareness of the issues faced by elephants and inspire efforts
to protect these majestic animals.
 The African bush elephants and Asian elephants are both listed as endangered
species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
 African forest elephants are classed as critically endangered.

World Hemophilia Day - April 17

 This day is commemorating the birthday of Frank Schnabel.
 He founded the World Federation of Haemophilia.
 This occasion serves as a platform to increase awareness and provide education
about haemophilia and other bleeding disorders.

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  Haemophilia is a rare disease characterized by the inability of the blood to clot
properly due to a deficiency in specific clotting factors.
 It was resulting in prolonged bleeding that can be life-threatening in certain cases.
 The theme for 2023 is "Access for All: Partnership. Policy. Progress. Engaging your
government, integrating inherited bleeding disorders into national policy".

International Day for Monuments and Sites/ World Heritage Day - April 18
 The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in 1982 took a
decision to celebrate this day.
 It is popularly known as World Heritage Day.
 It is approved by UNESCO in 1983 during its 22nd General Conference.
 This day is to celebrate the cultural and natural heritage of the world and raise
awareness about the importance of preserving and protecting these invaluable
treasures for future generations.
 The theme for this year is “Heritage Changes.”

World liver Day - April 19

 It aims to spread awareness about the importance of liver health and educate
people on how to maintain a healthy liver.
 According to an estimate by WHO, between 1990 to 2017, there has been a 100%
increase in the incidence of new liver cancer cases.
 In India, liver ailments amount to the 10th most common reason for death.
 The theme for 2023 is ‘Be Vigilant, Do Regular Liver Check-Up, Fatty Liver Can
Affect Anyone.’
 The liver is the second most vital organ in our body.
 It helps in over five hundred functions that are related to metabolism, immunity,
excretion and storage of absorbed nutrients.

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UN Chinese Language Day - April 20
 UN celebrates Chinese Language Day with an emphasis on cultural diversity and
multilingualism.
 The date for the Chinese day was selected from Guyu ("Rain of Millet"), which is
the 6th of 24 solar terms in the traditional East Asian calendars, to pay tribute to
Cangjie.
 Cangjie is a very important figure in ancient China.
 Chinese was established as an official language of the United Nations in 1946.

National Civil services Day - April 21

 This day is dedicated to the civil servants to commemorate their exemplary work
and to reflect on their achievements.
 The date, April 21, commemorates the day when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
addressed the probationers of the Administrative Services Officers in 1947.
 In his speech, Patel acknowledged the civil servants of the country as the “steel
frame of India”.

International Mother Earth Day - April 22

 It aims to raise awareness regarding the environmental concerns and
solutions.
 The General Assembly designated this Day through a resolution adopted in
2009.
 The year 2008 declared as the International Year of Planet Earth.

World Creativity and Innovation Day - April 21

 The day promotes the importance of creativity and innovation in all aspects of
human life.
 The first Day was celebrated in 2002 at Canada and in 2005, the United Nations
recognised this day.
 April 21 was the day when Leonardo da Vinci, the great Italian artist and inventor,
was born.

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World Book Day - April 23
 The day is observed globally to promote the love for reading, writing, publishing,
and copyright.
 It is also known as world Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the
Book.
 The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization organized
the first World Book Day on April 23, 1995.
 Several great writers have their birth anniversary and death anniversary on this
date including William Shakespeare, Garcilaso de la Vega, and Miguel de
Cervantes.
 The theme for 2023 is 'Indigenous Languages.'

UN English Day - April 23

 This day commemorate the birth and death anniversary of the English playwright
and poet William Shakespeare.
 It aims to promote multilingualism and cultural diversity, as well as to celebrate
the importance of the English language in the world.
 It was established first time by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2010.

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National Panchayati Raj Day - April 24

 The day marks the establishment of the first Panchayati Raj system in India on
April 24, 1993.
 In modern India, the Panchayati Raj system was first introduced in 1959 by the
Jawaharlal Nehru-led government at Rajasthan.
 In 1993, this system was given constitutional status through the 73rd Amendment
to the Indian Constitution.
 Theme for 2023 is 'Sustainable Panchayat: Building Healthy, Water Sufficient,
Clean & Green Villages'.

World Day for Laboratory Animals - April 24

 The purpose of this day is to draw attention to the suffering and killing of animals
that take place in laboratories all around the world.
 This day was established more than 40 years ago to promote the cause of the
National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS).
 In 1979, NAVS created this day on Lord Hugh Dowding's birthday.

World Malaria Day - April 25

 It aims to spread awareness about this disease, bring together the global malaria
community to highlight global efforts to end the disease.
 This Day was established by the World Health Organization at its 60th session in
2007.
 The theme for this year is - “Time to deliver zero malaria: invest, innovate,
implement”.

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  Malaria is a disease caused by a plasmodium parasite
 It is spread to people by the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.

Khongjom Day in Manipur - April 23

 The Khongjom Day is remembered for the battle fought in 1891 Anglo Manipuri
War.
 Manipuri people resented the British interference in the internal affairs of
Manipur.
 It commemorates Manipuri warriors who battled against the British, especially
Major Paona Brajabashi.

International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace - April 24

 This day seeks to reaffirm the UN Charter and its principles of resolving disputes
among countries through peaceful means.

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  It acknowledges the use of multilateral decision-making and diplomacy in
achieving peaceful resolutions to conflicts among nations.
 Multilateralism is based on founding principles such as consultation, inclusion,
and solidarity.
 It was established on the 12th of December 2018.
 And it was first observed on 24th of April 2019.

World Immunization Week 2023 - April 24/30

 It aims to highlight the collective action needed to protect people from vaccine-
preventable diseases.
 It raises people's knowledge of the advantages of immunisation and to motivate
them to get their shots.
 The theme of this year is ‘The Big Catch-Up’.

World Intellectual Property Day - April 26

 The day is celebrated to make people know how intellectual property (IP) rights
encourage innovation and creativity.
 It was established by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO).
 It promotes the role of IP in stimulating innovation and creativity.
 Theme for 2023 is ‘Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity’.

World Stationery Day - April 26

 It is an annual event observed every last Wednesday of April.
 It was first celebrated in 2012 and has since become a global event.
 It was created to celebrate the written word and to encourage people to use
stationery in their daily lives.

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  The day is also an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of writing
and its role in communication, education, and creativity.

World Day for safety and Health at Work - April 28

 This day is dedicated to creating awareness and preventing occupational disease
in addition to accidents across the world.
 The day is also known as International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured
Workers or International Workers’ Memorial Day.
 This day is initiated by the International Labour Organization 2003.
 Theme for 2023 is: "A safe and healthy working environment as a fundamental
principle and right at work”.

International Delegate’s Day - April 25

 It aims to raise awareness of the role of the representatives and delegates of

Member States to the United Nations.
 Delegates from 50 countries came together in San Francisco on April 25, 1945.
 On June 26, 1945, two months after the first meeting, the 50 countries signed the
United Nations Charter.
 On April 2, 2019, the United Nations General Assembly designated this day.

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International Astronomy Day - April 29
 International Astronomy Day is observed two times a year.
 While one is celebrated in Spring and the other one is in Autumn.
 The Spring Astronomy Day falls on April 29, 2023.
 The first Astronomy Day was celebrated in 1973 by the Astronomical Association
of Northern California.

International Sculpture Day - April 29

 This day is observed on the last Saturday of April every year.
 It was established by the International Sculpture Centre.
 It aims to raise awareness, appreciation and enjoyment of sculpture in
communities across the globe.

International Girls in ICT Day 2023 – 27 April

 It is an annual event celebrated on the fourth Thursday of April.
 It aims to encourage and empower girls and young women to explore and pursue
careers in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
 This Day was declared by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on
April 8, 2011.
 Theme of this year is “Digital Skills for Life".

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International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day 2023 - April 26
 This day was established by the UNGA on December 8, 2016, in memory of
Chernobyl disaster.
 It is observed in memory and honour of those who lost their lives.
 The Chernobyl disaster took place on April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl Nuclear
Power Plant in Ukraine in the former Soviet Union.
 The accident took place during a routine safety test of a nuclear reactor.

World Veterinary Day 2023 - April 30

 This annual event is celebrated on the last Saturday of April.
 It aims to raise awareness about the importance of veterinarians and their
contributions to animal health, welfare, and public health.
 Theme for 2023 is Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness in the Veterinary
Profession.
 World Veterinary Day was first celebrated on April 29, 2000.
 It as an initiative by the World Veterinary Association (WVA).

Ayushman Bharat Diwas 2023 - April 30

 The Ayushman Bharat Diwas is observed to uplift the ideals of the Ayushman
Bharat yojana.
 Ayushman Bharat Yojana was launched in 2018.
 The Scheme has the benefits cover of 5 lakh rupees per family per year.
 It aims to provide healthcare benefits to all Indians who can’t afford proper medical
facilities.
 It has provided insurance coverage to 40% of India’s population for secondary and
tertiary care, including hospitalization costs.

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 MISCELLANEOUS

Foreign lawyers practice in India

 The Bar Council of India (BCI) notified the Rules for Registration and Regulation
of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2022
 Now, foreign lawyers and law firms to practise foreign law, international law,
international arbitration, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual
property matters etc on a reciprocal basis.
 Also, the BCI has the right to refuse to register any foreign lawyer or law firm.
 On March 13, 2018, a division bench of Justices had ruled that foreign law firms
or foreign lawyers cannot practise law in the country either on the litigation or
non-litigation side.
 However, the court said that there was no bar on foreign law firms or foreign
lawyers visiting India for a temporary period for giving legal advice to their clients.
 BCI is a statutory body and it governing legal practice in India.

Al-Mohed-Al Hindi - 23
 The Indian Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Force will participate in joint naval
exercise ‘Al-Mohed-Al Hindi - 23’.
 This is the second such exercise between the two countries.

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  The first joint naval exercise held in August 2021.

Konkan 2023
 The Indian Navy and the UK Royal Navy conducted their annual bilateral maritime
exercise called Konkan 2023 in Arabian Sea.
 It aims to improve cooperation and learn best practices through various maritime
drills.
 The exercises covered all domains of maritime operations, air, surface, and sub-
surface.

Exercise Vayu Prahar

 The Indian Army and Air Force have conducted a 96-hour multi-domain air and
land exercise, ‘Vayu Prahar’, in the eastern sector.
 The main objective of formulating plans can lead to synergy in multi-domain
operations.
 This enables the coordination and rehearsal among various agencies for quick
mobilisation, transportation and deployment of forces.
 The stand-off between India and China in the western sector of the LAC in eastern
Ladakh is now in its third year.

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ChatGPT decision on bail plea
 An Indian judge used ChatGPT to make a decision on the bail plea of a man
accused of murder.
 This is the first such use of artificial intelligence by a court in India.
 A bench of Justice Anoop Chitkara at the Punjab and Haryana Court sought the
AI tool's help while hearing the bail application of Jaswinder Singh.
 He is accused of rioting, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy and murder.
 It gave response that bail would depend on the “specific circumstances of the case”
and the “laws and regulations” of the jurisdiction.
 Finally, they denied Mr Singh bail as he had a criminal history of two attempted
murder cases.

Re-emerges of Zealandia
 After 375 years of speculation and exploration, scientists have finally confirmed
the existence of a "missing" continent known as Zealandia.
 This continent is approximately 1.89 million square miles in size.
 It was once part of an ancient supercontinent called Gondwana.
 It included Western Antarctica and Eastern Australia over 500 million years ago.
 Zealandia began to "pull away" from Gondwana roughly 105 million years ago.
 The existence of Zealandia was first recorded in 1642.
 The vast majority of this "new" continent is located underwater, lying beneath
6,560 feet (2km) of water.
 Zealandia is now recognized as the world's eighth continent.

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Ban on rental e-scooters
 Paris introduced e-scooters in 2018 to promote non-polluting forms of urban
transport.
 But as the two-wheeled vehicles grew, accidents also increased.
 In 2022, three people died and 459 were injured in e-scooter accidents in Paris.
 In January, Mayor announced a referendum on banning e-scooters from the
streets of Paris.
 A total of 89 per cent of voters favoured the proposed ban, 11 per cent opposed it.
 The city will completely do away with these battery-powered devices by September
1, 2023.

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