CONTENTS

TNPSC BITS ...................................................................................................... 12

TAMIL NADU ..................................................................................................... 26
Chief Justice of Madras High Court 2024 ....................................................... 26
Tamil Nadu State Dog Breeding Policy, 2024 .................................................. 26
Ramsar tag for two bird sanctuaries ............................................................... 27
Factory employment in the state ................................................................... 28
Inter-se seniority of Ministers ........................................................................ 28
Heat wave Mitigation Road map ..................................................................... 29
Kalaichemmal awards 2024 ............................................................................ 30
Butterfly migration in 2024 ........................................................................... 31
Advisory on the term ‘Kuravan’ ...................................................................... 31
Herpetofauna survey – MTR 2024 ................................................................... 31
New Task Force to Reduce MMR..................................................................... 32
Pig Breeding Policy 2024 ................................................................................ 33
CyStar initiative............................................................................................. 33
Statues of freedom fighters 2024 ................................................................... 34
HIV/AIDS status in Tamil Nadu - 2024 ........................................................... 34
New GI tag applications - 2024 ....................................................................... 35
Power demand in first half 2024-25................................................................ 35
Expert for wildlife forensics ........................................................................... 36
Long-billed vulture’s nesting 2024 ................................................................. 37
Richness of threatened species 2024 ............................................................. 38
Tamil Nadu’s Oil Spill Contingency Plan 2024 ................................................ 38
Copper plates from Vijayanagara Kingdom ..................................................... 39
Gross State Domestic Product 2023-24 .......................................................... 40
‘Amudham Plus’ provisions ............................................................................ 40
Bioluminescent Waves in Chennai .................................................................. 41
Report of Vadakkupattu excavation ............................................................... 41
Pink Auto rickshaws ....................................................................................... 42
Private radio FM channels .............................................................................. 43
Windergy India 2024 ...................................................................................... 43

1
 40 Trekking trails .......................................................................................... 43
CM Trophy campaign 2024............................................................................. 44
Measures for farmers welfare in Tamilnadu .................................................... 45
NATIONAL ......................................................................................................... 46
India State of Forest Report (ISFR)................................................................. 46
Wildlife Habitats Development Scheme 2024 ................................................. 47
PARAM Rudra Supercomputers ...................................................................... 47
Free visa for friends of diaspora ..................................................................... 48
Paryatan Mitra & Paryatan Didi ...................................................................... 48
Constitution amendment bills for ONOE......................................................... 49
Fact Check Unit ............................................................................................. 50
SBI ERD report 2024 ...................................................................................... 51
Manual Scavenging Survey ............................................................................. 52
EMPS 2024..................................................................................................... 53
Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan ................................................. 53
National Health Accounts estimates 2020-21 and 2021-22 ............................. 54
Jal Hi AMRIT Program .................................................................................... 55
HIV infections in India 2024 .......................................................................... 55
New Classical Languages 2024 ........................................................................ 56
Religious Freedom in India 2024 .................................................................... 57
PM Internship Scheme 2024 .......................................................................... 57
ANNA DARPAN Initiative ................................................................................ 58
Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana 2024 ...................................... 58
National Mission on Edible Oils 2024 ............................................................. 59
SARTHIE 1.0 .................................................................................................. 60
Modified Eco-mark Scheme ............................................................................ 60
National Agriculture Code .............................................................................. 60
Antimicrobial Resistance and India ................................................................ 61
Supreme Court on Casteism in Prison ............................................................ 62
Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana for TB ....................................................................... 62
National Anubhav Awards Scheme - 2025 ....................................................... 63
Trachoma Free India ...................................................................................... 64
National Maritime Heritage Complex Development......................................... 64
Humsafar Policy ............................................................................................. 64

2
 Rice fortification supply extension................................................................. 65
Oral cancer in India........................................................................................ 66
India’s Vaccine Regulatory System................................................................. 66
10-point plan to strengthen India-ASEAN relations ........................................ 67
e-Migrate Portal v2.0 ...................................................................................... 67
National Electricity Plan For 500 GW ............................................................. 68
Shakthi SAT Mission 2024 ............................................................................. 68
Greenwashing Guidelines ............................................................................... 69
Minimum Support Prices hike 2025-26 .......................................................... 70
Doctrine of Lis Pendens - Supreme Court ....................................................... 70
Cancer cases by 2045 ..................................................................................... 71
India – US Defense deal 2024 ......................................................................... 71
Next Chief Justice of India 2024 .................................................................... 72
Samarth Scheme extension 2024 ................................................................... 72
8 years of UDAN ............................................................................................. 72
New Drugs and Clinical Trial (NDCT) Rules, 2019 ........................................... 73
e-Shram – One Stop Solution .......................................................................... 74
Section 6A of the Citizenship Act of 1955 ...................................................... 74
New missile testing range – Nagayalanka ........................................................ 75
SARTHI System .............................................................................................. 76
Kartarpur Corridor Agreement 2024 ............................................................... 76
Bharat Chana Dal Phase II .............................................................................. 77
Rights of Persons with disabilities rules 2024 (Amendment) ........................... 77
Bhu-Aadhaar .................................................................................................. 78
1st Mid-Career Training Program.................................................................... 79
PM-YASASVI Scheme ...................................................................................... 79
Localized Weather Forecasting ....................................................................... 80
New draft guidelines on passive euthanasia 2024 ........................................... 81
INTERNATIONAL ............................................................................................... 82
Same-sex marriage – Thailand ........................................................................ 82
Pact for the future.......................................................................................... 82
Minerals Security Finance Network ................................................................ 83
Steering Committee of the GlobE Network ..................................................... 83
Joint ministerial meeting of L.69 and C-10 groupings .................................... 84

3
DF-41 missile ................................................................................................. 84
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction ..................................................... 84
Top Immigrants source of USA ....................................................................... 84
Mount Erebus 2024 ........................................................................................ 85
Operation Northern Arrows ............................................................................ 86
Return of Chagos Archipelago ........................................................................ 86
International Medical Device Regulators Forum ............................................. 87
Redrawing of Alpine Borders .......................................................................... 87
First Mpox diagnostic test .............................................................................. 88
Marburg Virus - Rwanda ................................................................................. 88
Farewell to Horse Race - Singapore ................................................................ 89
Bilateral investment treaty (BIT) 2024 ........................................................... 89
China’s ‘Anaconda Strategy’ ........................................................................... 90
WHO core program for 2025-2028 .................................................................. 91
Global Digital Compact 2024 .......................................................................... 91
Members to Human Rights Council ................................................................ 91
President Murmu’s African Visit ..................................................................... 92
44th and 45th ASEAN Summits ........................................................................ 93
Gender-Responsive Climate Policies ............................................................... 94
India – Canada Diplomatic crisis 2024............................................................ 94
Record Solar Power Capacity of the World in 2023 ......................................... 95
Suppliers of restricted technology .................................................................. 95
UK Naga Skull Auction Controversy................................................................ 96
Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement ...................................... 97
SCO Summit 2024 - Pakistan ......................................................................... 98
Mount Adams eruption - USA ......................................................................... 98
West Nile virus in Ukraine .............................................................................. 99
FATF Grey List Rules ................................................................................... 100
Click-to-Cancel Rule..................................................................................... 101
World’s freest economy 2024 ....................................................................... 101
Rome Declaration......................................................................................... 101
16th BRICS Summit ..................................................................................... 102
India and China on LAC agreement .............................................................. 103
Hand-in-Hand Initiative................................................................................ 103

4
 Kazan Declaration ........................................................................................ 104
Global Deal on Genetic Information Use ....................................................... 105
ECONOMY ....................................................................................................... 106
Minimum wage rates for workers 2024 ......................................................... 106
7th annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) .......................................... 106
China Shock 2.0 ........................................................................................... 107
GST compensation Cess 2024 ...................................................................... 108
RBI Monetary Policy Committee 2024.......................................................... 109
Withdrawal of 2,000 Rs Notes ....................................................................... 110
700 billion USD forex reserves ...................................................................... 110
Annual Survey of Industries for 2022-23 ...................................................... 111
India’s Employment Growth (2016-2023) ..................................................... 112
India’s First Blue Loan ................................................................................. 112
Limits on UPI 123 & UPI Lite........................................................................ 113
All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey 2021-22 ...................................... 113
Annual modular survey ................................................................................ 115
Industrial output contracts .......................................................................... 115
Salary Increase in 2025 ................................................................................ 116
FTSE Russell EMGB index ............................................................................ 117
India’s Direct Tax Collections – FY 2023/24 ................................................ 117
INR denominated Line of Credit ................................................................... 118
Guidelines for import of seaweeds 2024 ....................................................... 119
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY........................................................................... 120
IISc Neuromorphic Computing ..................................................................... 120
Shahed-136B drone ...................................................................................... 120
India's First Mission to Venus ...................................................................... 120
New Drug delivery method ........................................................................... 121
Spiral galaxy - Caldwell 45............................................................................ 122
MAPCIS Crater ............................................................................................. 123
Neutrino Fog ................................................................................................ 123
New Mechanism for Protein Regulation in Cells............................................ 124
Earth's Future .............................................................................................. 124
New FAST Core Array ................................................................................... 125
Annular solar eclipse 2024 ........................................................................... 126

5
 C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas).................................................................... 126
Map of Sun's rotation ................................................................................... 127
CO2 and H2O2 in 'Charon' ............................................................................ 128
Sixth Ocean Hidden in Earth’s Mantle .......................................................... 128
Portable X-Ray Protection Barrier ................................................................ 129
Advanced PAP pen ........................................................................................ 129
Cancer detection with sound waves .............................................................. 130
Quantum nonlocality ................................................................................... 130
PSLV-37 mission Re-entry ............................................................................ 131
Lunar Polar Exploration Mission................................................................... 132
MACE Project ............................................................................................... 132
'Refreeze' Arctic Sea ..................................................................................... 132
Gold nuggets in orogenic quartz veins .......................................................... 133
First complete map of brain ......................................................................... 134
Artemis Mission 2035 .................................................................................. 134
TDP1 enzyme ............................................................................................... 135
Dragon Drones ............................................................................................. 135
THAAD Missile Defense System .................................................................... 136
Mysterious Brown Dwarfs ............................................................................. 137
Moonlight program ....................................................................................... 137
New photocatalyst ........................................................................................ 138
X-band radar on Wayanad ............................................................................. 139
SPADEX Docking Mission ............................................................................. 140
Solar Maximum 2024 ................................................................................... 140
Smart Insulin for Diabetes............................................................................ 141
Alkanes - chiral Brønsted acids .................................................................... 142
ENVIRONMENT................................................................................................ 143
New species of invasive flatworm ................................................................. 143
Tsetse fly ..................................................................................................... 143
New species of ghost shark ........................................................................... 143
Most Dangerous Bird .................................................................................... 144
Indian Wild Ass – Khur ................................................................................. 145
Erythrism among golden jackals................................................................... 145
Prespa Lake .................................................................................................. 145

6
 Honey Badger in India .................................................................................. 146
NBSAP Tracker ............................................................................................. 146
Status of Elephant in India 2022-23 ............................................................. 147
Negro River water Level................................................................................ 148
EnviStats India 2024: Environment Accounts .............................................. 148
Rare black panthers in Odisha ...................................................................... 149
New potter wasp species ............................................................................... 150
2024 Wild Ass Population Estimation ........................................................... 150
Rare Rain in Sahara Desert .......................................................................... 151
India’s Bird Population status 2024 ............................................................. 151
Extinction of 610 bird species ...................................................................... 152
Darwin’s Finches .......................................................................................... 152
Haber-Bosch Process .................................................................................... 153
Rufous-tailed rock thrush............................................................................. 154
Swell wave surges ......................................................................................... 154
Fourth global coral bleaching ....................................................................... 155
Marine Heat Waves ....................................................................................... 156
Temperature rise in key biodiversity areas ................................................... 157
Koalas - Extinction risk ................................................................................ 157
India’s second butterfly diversity hub .......................................................... 158
Nilgiri tit butterfly ....................................................................................... 159
COP16 of CBD .............................................................................................. 159
Great Indian Bustard - Artificial Insemination .............................................. 160
Mining Dust for Carbon Capture ................................................................... 161
Diamond Dust Solution for Global Warming .................................................. 161
Pledge for Fungal Conservation .................................................................... 162
Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems ...................................................................... 163
Giant Salmon Carp - Mekong River ............................................................... 163
Anguiculus Dicaprioi .................................................................................... 164
REPORTS AND INDICES .................................................................................. 164
World Talent Ranking 2024 .......................................................................... 164
Hurun India Under-35 List 2024 ................................................................... 165
Global innovation index 2024....................................................................... 165
World Social Protection Report 2024-26....................................................... 166

7
 Regional companion report for Asia and the Pacific ..................................... 167
Free to Think 2024 annual report ................................................................ 168
State of Global Water Resources Report 2023............................................... 168
Living Planet Report 2024 ............................................................................ 169
Global Hunger Index 2024 ............................................................................ 170
United Nations Women’s report 2024 ........................................................... 171
Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2024 ............................................... 172
World Energy Outlook 2024 ......................................................................... 173
The Unjust Climate report ............................................................................ 174
Global Trade outlook and statistics report 2024 - WTO................................. 174
World Economic Outlook 2024 ..................................................................... 175
Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index 2024 ......................................... 176
Economic Freedom of the World 2024 .......................................................... 176
Emissions Gap Report 2024 ......................................................................... 177
Poverty prosperity and planet report 2024 ................................................... 177
Global Nature Conservation Index (NCI) 2024 ............................................... 178
STATES ........................................................................................................... 179
Unclimbed peak in Arunachal Pradesh .......................................................... 179
Kasturirangan Committee Report - Karnataka .............................................. 180
Urban Governance Index in India ................................................................. 180
Verified Health Facility ................................................................................ 181
Assam’s Traditional Products - GI Tags......................................................... 182
25th Hornbill Festival .................................................................................. 183
Co-District – Assam ...................................................................................... 183
Pygmy hogs in Manas ................................................................................... 183
Gudiya bird of Bihar ..................................................................................... 184
Banjara Virasat Museum - Maharashtra ........................................................ 184
UP's rural women drive ................................................................................. 184
Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir elections .................................................... 185
Aurora Borealis - Leh .................................................................................... 185
End of President’s Rule in JK ....................................................................... 186
Demonstration Facility for Biopolymers ....................................................... 186
Uttarakhand's Roopkund Lake ...................................................................... 187
Dalit sub-quotas System – Haryana............................................................... 187

8
 24th National Para-Swimming Championship ................................................ 188
Bihar - First Dry Port ................................................................................... 188
PERSONALITIES, AWARDS AND EVENTS ......................................................... 189
Best Tourism Villages Competition - 2024.................................................... 189
American missionary Alice Brauer ................................................................ 189
MIDORI Prize 2024....................................................................................... 189
Nobel Prize 2024 in Medicine ....................................................................... 189
Nobel Prize in Physics 2024 ......................................................................... 190
Ratan Tata ................................................................................................... 191
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024 ..................................................................... 191
WAZA Awards 2024 ...................................................................................... 192
Nobel Prize 2024 in Literature...................................................................... 192
2024 Nobel Peace Prize ................................................................................ 193
Nobel in Economics 2024 ............................................................................. 193
5th National Water Awards 2023 .................................................................. 194
India Mobile Congress 2024 ......................................................................... 195
2024 Most 100 powerful women in Business ................................................ 195
UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award 2024 ............................................................ 196
Arjun Erigaisi ............................................................................................... 196
Rani Chennamaa 200th birth anniversary ..................................................... 197
SPORTS........................................................................................................... 197
Rafael Nadal Retirement............................................................................... 197
IMPORTANT DAYS ........................................................................................... 198
International Day of Older Persons 2024 - October 01 .................................. 198
International Day of Non-violence 2024 - October 02 ................................... 199
World Animal Welfare Day 2024 - October 04 ............................................... 199
World Space Week 2024 - October 04/10...................................................... 200
World Teachers' Day 2024 - October 05 ........................................................ 200
92nd Indian Air Force Day 2024 - October 05............................................... 200
World Postal Day 2024 - October 09 ............................................................. 201
World Cerebral Palsy Day 2024 - October 06 ................................................. 201
World Habitat Day 2024 - October 06 ........................................................... 202
Nilgiri Tahr Day 2024 - October 07 ............................................................... 202
World Cotton Day 2024 - October 07 ............................................................ 202

9
National Postal Week 2024 – October 09/15 ................................................. 203
World Mental Health Day 2024 – October 10 ................................................ 203
International Day of the Girl Child 2024 - October 11 .................................. 204
International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2024 - October 13 ................ 204
World Migratory Bird Day 2024 - October 12 ................................................ 205
World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2024 - October 12 ............................ 205
Breast cancer awareness Month 2024 - October 01/31 ................................. 206
World Egg Day 2024 - October 11 ................................................................. 206
World Standards Day 2024 - October 14 ....................................................... 207
International Day of Rural Women 2024 - October 15 .................................. 207
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day 2024 - October 15................. 207
Global Handwashing Day 2024 - October 15 ................................................. 208
World White Cane Day 2024 - October 15 ..................................................... 208
World Food Day 2024 - October 16 ............................................................... 209
World Anesthesia Day - October 16............................................................... 209
World Spine Day 2024 - October 16 .............................................................. 210
International Day for Eradication of Poverty 2024 - October 17 ................... 210
Police Commemoration Day 2024 - October 21 ............................................ 211
Mole Day 2024 - October 23 ......................................................................... 211
United Nations Day 2024 - October 24 ......................................................... 212
World Day against Death Penalty 2024 - October 10 ..................................... 213
World Osteoporosis Day 2024 - October 20 ................................................... 213
World Iodine Deficiency Day 2024 - October 21............................................ 214
World Sight Day 2024 - October 10 .............................................................. 214
Global Media and Information Literacy Week 2024 - October 24/31 ............. 215
Disarmament Week 2024 - October 24/30 .................................................... 215
International Snow Leopard Day - October 23 .............................................. 216
World Development Information Day 2024 - October 24 ............................... 217
International Day of Diplomats 2024 - October 24 ....................................... 217
World Polio Day 2024 - October 24 ............................................................... 218
63rd ITBP Raising Day - October 24 ............................................................. 218
International Gibbon Day 2024 - October 24 ................................................ 218
International Dwarfism Awareness Day 2024 - October 25............................ 219
World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2024 - October 27 ................................. 219

10
 World Trauma Day 2024 - October 17 ........................................................... 219
Indian Army Infantry Day 2024 - October 27 ................................................ 220
International Animation Day - October 28 .................................................... 220
International Day of Care and Support 2024 - October 29 ............................ 220
National Ayurveda Day 2024 - October 29 .................................................... 221
World Thrift Day 2024 - October 30.............................................................. 221
National Unity Day 2024 - October 31 .......................................................... 222
World Cities Day 2024 - October 31.............................................................. 222
MISCELLANEOUS ............................................................................................ 222
75th year of Central Silk Board ..................................................................... 222
Shankh Air ................................................................................................... 223
Nazca Lines – Peru........................................................................................ 223
Pillbox in Vizag ............................................................................................ 224
250-year-old memorial stone ........................................................................ 224
IVC and Dravidian links................................................................................ 224
Judge’s Asset Disclosure .............................................................................. 225
Treatment for retinal diseases ...................................................................... 226
Herbicide-tolerant BT cotton ........................................................................ 226
Doddalathur Megalithic Site - Karnataka ...................................................... 227
Life Expectancy Trends 2024 ....................................................................... 228
Mechazilla .................................................................................................... 228
Battle of Walong ........................................................................................... 229
Salmon farming ............................................................................................ 230
Statue of Lady Justice .................................................................................. 230
Cyber fraud cases 2024 ................................................................................ 231

11
 TNPSC BITS

❖ Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister released a digital commemoration titled ‘Tamilvel

P.T. Rajan Ninaivugalil 50’ to mark the 50th death anniversary of the Justice
Party leader and former CM of the erstwhile Madras Presidency P.T. Rajan.
❖ Keeladi has been selected as the Best Tourism Village 2024 under the heritage
category by the Union Ministry of Tourism.
❖ Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi
Stalin, has been elevated as Tamil Nadu’s Deputy Chief Minister.
❖ The Mankidia community becomes 6th PVTG to get habitat rights over forests in
Odisha.
❖ The Maharashtra government has approved renaming Pune Airport to 'Jagadguru
Sant Tukaram Maharaj Pune International Airport' to honour the 17th-century
saint.
❖ The 10th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region
Conference was held in New Delhi.
❖ The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare organized the National Conference
on Implementing Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in New Delhi.
❖ Bollywood producer Vinod Bachchan received the prestigious Global Prestige
Award at the House of Lords, UK for his significant contributions to the Indian
film industry.
❖ The 2024 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize will be awarded to Alexander Dunn of the
Georgia Institute of Technology, U.S.
❖ India launched the Computer Security Incident Response Team- POWER (CSIRT-
POWER) in New Delhi.
o The facility will aim to address the specific cyber security issues faced by the
Power sector in India.
❖ Pappammal at 109, a Padma awardee and organic farmer at Thekkampatti in
Coimbatore district, passed away recently.
❖ The Summit of the Future was held at the United Nations in New York With the
theme "Multilateral solutions for a better tomorrow".
❖ Union government inaugurated the Computer Security Incident Response Team
– Power (CSIRT-Power) at Northern Regional Power Committee in New Delhi.
❖ The 41st edition of Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Commanders' Conference was held
in New Delhi.
❖ Union Ministry of Textiles launched India-specific fashion trend book, “Paridhi
24x25” a bilingual web portal of VisioNxt and the AI Taxonomy e-book.

12
❖ The IMF has approved a $7 billion loan for Pakistan, aimed at boosting its
struggling economy, with disbursement starting at $1 billion.
❖ The Ministry of Rural Development recently organized a National Conclave in New
Delhi to focus on Gender Mainstreaming.
o This event held in collaboration with IWWAGE (Initiative for What Works to
Advance Women and Girls in the Economy).
❖ Tamil Nadu’s 50th SIPCOT industrial park will be opened at Panapakkam along
with the Tata Motors-JLR project.
o Seventeen other industrial parks are expected to come up over the next year.
❖ Russia and China have conducted a large-scale naval exercise called “Ocean-24”
in the Sea of Japan with the participation of about 15 countries.
❖ International Coffee Day is observed in October 1 since 2015, to recognize and
promote the global coffee industry.
❖ World Vegetarian Day is celebrated every year on October 1 to spread awareness
around benefits of vegetarianism and how it plays in important role in shrinking
environment footprint.
❖ Tamil Nadu Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the ₹9,000-crore
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and Tata Motors’ manufacturing facility in Ranipet.
❖ The Department of Science and Technology launched the Women in Space
Leadership Programme (WiSLP) in collaboration with the British Council as
part of the UK-India Education and Research Initiative.
❖ The Ninth Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB) was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
❖ India is set to host the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly
(WTSA) in New Delhi.
❖ The Nasa astronaut Sunita Williams has officially taken command of the
International Space Station (ISS) for the 2nd time.
❖ Veteran Bollywood actor Mithun Chakraborty will be honoured with the
Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
❖ Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh succeeded Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari as
the new Air Force chief.
❖ The Annual International Conference and Exhibition (AICE) 2024 has been
relocated for their 10th edition from Bari, Italy, to Dubai, the UAE.
o It took place in Dubai under the new name, World FZO 10 th World
Congress.
❖ Lay's is named Official Sponsor of FIFA World Cup 26™ & FIFA Women's World
Cup 2027.

13
❖ India's first Oxygen Bird Park near Nagpur (Maharashtra) is spread across 8
hectares housing over 8,000 diverse plant species.
❖ Former Defence Minister Shigeru Ishida became the 102nd Prime Minister of
Japan.
❖ The seventh edition of the Global Aerospace Summit, a premier forum for the
world’s aerospace supply chain, was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
❖ The Tamil Nadu government has nominated retired Madras High Court judge S.
Tamilvanan as the chairperson of the Tamil Nadu State Commission for the
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
❖ A two-day national ‘Tholkudi’ conference on ‘Preservation and Promotion of Tribal
Cultural Heritage of Tamil Nadu’ was organised by Department of Adi Dravidar
and Tribal Welfare and the Madras School of Social Work.
❖ Tamil Nadu govt developed TN-Alert, a bilingual mobile application, to inform the
public about the real-time weather forecast, rainfall data, alerts and reservoir
levels.
❖ The Manimegalai Awards for 2022-23 and 2023-24 was awarded to 70 SHGs and
federations by the Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women.
❖ India’s Gulveer Singh broke his national record in the men’s 5000m event by
clocking 13:11.82 to win gold at World Athletics Continental Tour in Niigata,
Japan.
❖ The Maharashtra Government declared desi (indigenous) cows as 'Rajyamata-
Gomata' considering factors like their significance since Vedic period.
❖ The India Sugar & Bio-Energy Conference was organized by the Indian Sugar &
Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) in New Delhi.
❖ India has become the World’s third largest Producer and Consumer of Ethanol.
❖ Squadron Leader Mohana Singh has become the first woman fighter pilot to
operating India's indigenously 'Made in India' LCA Tejas fighter jet.
❖ Center launched the Ideas4LiFE portal for inviting ideas related to products and
services for inducing behavioural changes related to environment-friendly
lifestyles.
❖ The central government launched the 5-year Cruise Bharat Mission, aiming to
boost cruise tourism in India to 1 million passengers and create 400,000 jobs by
2029.
❖ India launched world's first State-funded project of its kind, BharatGen, an
initiative to make the generative AI available to citizens in the different Indian
languages.
❖ India will soon become the fifth country to run hydrogen-fuelled trains, after
Germany, France, Sweden, and China.

14
❖ Virat Kohli completed 27000 international runs and became the fastest
cricketer to reach that milestone and broke the record of Sachin Tendulkar.
❖ Ishpreet Singh Chadha beat the four-time world champion Mark Selby in the
Pro circuit snooker held at England to make place in the semifinal of that
tournament.
❖ The eighth edition of India-Kazakhstan Joint Military Exercise KAZIND-2024
commenced in Uttarakhand.
❖ Archaeologists have unearthed the oldest eyeliner from the ruins of a
prehistoric city in Turkey, has proved that humans were using makeup more
than 8,000 years ago.
❖ BioNTech has started the international clinical trials for BNT116, an mRNA
vaccine aimed at treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
❖ The Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) has introduced ‘high-performance
computing’ or HPC named ‘Arka’ and ‘Arunika’ for the weather and climate
research.
❖ Operation Amrith (Antimicrobial Resistance Intervention for Total Health) of
Kerala has seen a sharp decline in the irrational use of antibiotics in the state.
o In early January this year, Kerala became the first State in the country to
ban the over-the-counter sale of antibiotics without a prescription.
❖ German Unity Day celebrated on 3 October to commemorate the anniversary
of German reunification in 1990.
❖ Meta has released its first open-source model Llama 3.2 with both image and text
processing abilities.
❖ Telangana has become the first State, in the country, to get a chapter of NITI
Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP).
❖ The Indian Air Force conducted a massive air show in Chennai to commemorate
the 92nd anniversary of the Force.
❖ The World Green Economy Forum was held in Dubai, under the theme,
“Empowering Global Action: Unlocking Opportunities and Advancing Progress”.
❖ The Indian Military Nursing Service (MNS) marked its 99th Raising Day on Oct
1st, 2024.
❖ India is going to host first-ever Kho Kho World Cup in 2025.
❖ The World Health Organization has adopted the Global Strategic Preparedness,
Readiness, and Response Plan, or SPRP, to minimize the dengue and other
threats from Aedes-borne arboviruses.

15
❖ Idagunji Mahaganapati Yakshagana Mandali Keremane has received recognition
from the UNESCO convention for safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage
(for the promotion of Yakshagana Dance).
❖ Typhoon Krathon made landfall in the major port city of Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
❖ The Union Cabinet has approved the ₹63,246 crore Chennai Metro Rail’s phase
II project
o This will span across 118.9 km with 128 stations and will have multi-modal
integration at 21 locations.
❖ The 2024 CM Trophy was inaugurated recently at Chennai and it is witnessing
over 33,000 participants from 38 districts competing in five categories.
❖ The road in front of the Jamaica High Commission in New Delhi has been officially
renamed as ‘Jamaica Marg ‘.
❖ The National Wildlife Week 2024 was observed during October 02/08 to educate
the community on the importance of preserving biodiversity and promoting
coexistence of humans and wildlife.
❖ Prime Minister inaugurated the ‘Lal Tipara Gaushala’ with a Bio-CNG plant in
Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
❖ India, Nepal, and Bangladesh have signed a trilateral agreement to export 40
megawatts of electricity from Nepal to Bangladesh via India’s power grid.
❖ Under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana, as of September
30, 2024, a total of 13,822 Jan Aushadhi Kendras have been established across
the country.
❖ In a step forward towards landing astronauts on the Moon by 2030, China has
unveiled the design of its special 'lightweight' lunar spacesuit.
❖ NATO will set up a new land command in Finland near the Russian border next
year.
❖ The 26th Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) 2024
was held in Dubai.
❖ Kerala has inaugurated India’s first supercapacitor manufacturing facility in
Kallyassery, Kannur.
❖ Ayush Medical Value Travel Summit 2024, themed 'Global Synergy in Ayush:
Transforming Health and Wellness through Medical Value Travel’ was held in
Mumbai.
❖ Prime Minister inaugurated GAIL's first CBG Plant in Ranchi, Jharkhand.
o It will process 150 tonnes of Municipal Solid Waste to produce 5,000 kg Bio-
CNG and 25 tons of fermented bio manure per day.
❖ Euronaval 2024, the world’s largest naval defence trade show, is to be held in
November at Paris.

16
❖ Tamil Nadu govt launched "Nallosai" in college and “Katral Inithu” in schools, to
help students, to develop holistic skills in arts, science, sports, information
technology, and soft and work skills After school/college hours.
❖ Madras Atomic Power Station Unit 2 at Kalpakkam has completed one year of
continuous operations recently.
❖ The centre has approved the establishment of a National Centre of Excellence
(NCoE) for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality
(AVGC-XR) in Mumbai.
❖ The 2024 edition of the annual apex-level international conference of the Indian
Navy – the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) was held in New Delhi.
❖ Mumbai Cricket team clinched the Irani Cup trophy for the 15th time after 27
years.
❖ Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has inaugurated the Kalaignar Centenary Park on
Cathedral Road in Chennai.
❖ With the Union government’s finance of 65% of the estimated cost of the project
of ₹63,246 crore, Chennai Metro Rail’s Phase-2 becoming a ‘Central sector’
project.
❖ The Conference on Maritime Decarbonization in India, co-hosted by the Ministry
of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and the Asian Development Bank, held in New
Delhi.
❖ DRDO has successfully conducted flight-tests of the 4th generation, technically-
advanced miniaturised Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) at
Pokhran.
❖ Mark Zuckerberg surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos become the world’s
second richest person, after Elon Musk according to the Bloomberg Billionaire
Index.
❖ Taiwan has received its first shipment of 100 land-based Harpoon anti-ship
missile systems from the United States.
❖ Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin was presented with the Asia HRD Lifetime
Achievement award.
❖ Tamil Nadu’s Health and Family Welfare Department has bagged the ‘UN Inter
agency Task Force Awards (UNIATF) for 2024’ under the category of Ministries of
Health for its flagship scheme ‘Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam’.
❖ The Maritime Exercise Malabar 2024 is held in Vizag with the participation from
Australia, Japan, and the United States.
❖ The Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh has inaugurated the Jal-Jagar Mahotsav at
the Ravishankar Reservoir in Gangrel Dam, Dhamtari district.

17
❖ The Indian and UAE governments are working on interlinking of UPI of India and
the AANI of UAE to facilitate the seamless cross-border transactions between two
countries.
❖ India has extended support of 400 million dollars and a bilateral currency swap
of 3,000 crore rupees to the Maldives.
❖ The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has launched
the Vishvasya-Blockchain Technology Stack to support the various permissioned
Blockchain based applications.
❖ India will host the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA)
of the International Telecommunication Union in New Delhi.
❖ Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare has been elected as the Chairperson
of the 77th Session of the WHO South-East Asia Region.
❖ India participated in the 44th session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and
Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) held in Dresden, Germany.
❖ The Greater Chennai Corporation launched 24-hour helpline, 1913 to report
instances of illegal dumping of construction debris, sewage, and waste in public
spaces and waterbodies.
❖ INS Nirdeshak, the second in a series of four Survey Vessels (Large) was delivered
to the Indian Navy.
❖ Bihar will develop Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary as its second tiger reserve due to
Valmiki Tiger Reserve reaching capacity.
❖ Hurricane Milton made landfall on the west coast of Florida (USA).
❖ The 100th birth anniversary of Immanuel Sekaran (October 9) was observed
recently.
o He participated in the freedom struggle through the quit India movement
while he was just 18 and was murdered in 1957 when he was only 33.
❖ The one-man commission of judge B. Gokuldas, to probe the methanol-laced
arrack resulting in the deaths in Kallakurichi district, has asked members of the
public, social activists and NGOs to present their views, opinions and suggestions
on the incident.
❖ The Indian Institute of Skills (IIS) Mumbai is established through a Public-Private
Partnership (PPP) model with a collaboration between the Ministry of Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship, and Tata IIS.
❖ The National e-Governance Division (NeGD) has recently announced the
integration of the UMANG app with DigiLocker - India’s Digital Wallet.
❖ The Cabinet Committee approved deals for the purchase of 31 MQ-9B High
Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) from U.S. as
well indigenous construction of two Nuclear Attack Submarines.

18
❖ The IIT Indore has developed a device for early detection of breast cancer by using
optical and acoustic signals combo at an affordable cost.
❖ India’s textile sector is expected to grow to nearly 350 billion dollars by 2030.
❖ The 38th National Games will take place in Uttarakhand from January 28 to
February 14 next year.
❖ India has launched its ‘Study in India’ campaign at the 20th International
Education Show in Sharjah (UAE), aiming to attract international students to its
universities.
❖ Nepali mountaineer, Nima Rinji Sherpa (18), made history by becoming the
youngest person to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter (26,246-foot) peaks.
o The record for summiting all 14 of the world’s highest peaks was previously
held by Mingma Gyabu “David” Sherpa (30).
❖ INS Talwar is participating in the eighth edition of IBSAMAR, a joint multinational
maritime exercise among Indian, Brazilian, and South African Navy held at South
Africa (Simon’s Town).
❖ The India Digital Agri Conference 2024, co-organized by ICFA and IIT Ropar TIF
– AwaDH was held at New Delhi.
❖ India took part in the 19th East Asia Summit (EAS) held in Vientiane, Lao.
❖ The central government has upgraded Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as
the 14th Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE).
❖ The Director-General of UNESCO announced the designation of Rabat (Morocco)
as World Book Capital for 2026.
❖ The Tamil Nadu government is introducing help desks at all primary health
centres (PHCs) to improve patient guidance, operational efficiency and improve
patient satisfaction.
❖ Inflation in India’s wholesale prices increased to 1.84% in September from 1.31%
in August.
o This is due to the food prices surging 9.5% from a 10-month low of 3.3% in
August as vegetables became nearly 49% costlier than last year.
❖ Pritpal Kaur, SP of Phek district in Nagaland, has been selected as the ‘2024 IACP
40 Under 40’ awardee by the prestigious US-based International Association of
Chiefs of Police (IACP).
❖ Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla led a parliamentary delegation to the 149th
Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva, Switcherland.
❖ Noel Tata has been appointed the new chairman of Tata Trusts.
❖ The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) hosted its annual ‘India
Leadership Summit 2024′ in New Delhi.

19
❖ Dipa Karmakar, the first Indian female gymnast to compete in the Olympics at
Rio 2016 has announced her official retirement from professional competition.
❖ The Indian Navy has recently launched its first indigenous multi-purpose vessel
Samarthak.
❖ Maharashtra government has decided to rename the Maharashtra State Skills
Development University as Ratan Tata Maharashtra State Skills Development
University.
❖ The Indian Railways has introduced a new Vande Bharat train service, marking
the longest journey in the country which runs 994 kilometres from Delhi to Patna.
❖ For the first time in India, 19th International Conference of Drug Regulatory
Authorities was held in New Delhi.
❖ ISRO Chairman S. Somanath has received the International Astronautical
Federation’s (IAF) prestigious World Space Award for Chandrayaan-3’s
remarkable achievement.
❖ Telangana will become the third state to hold a comprehensive household caste
survey after Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.
❖ The maharaja of the erstwhile princely state of Nawanagar, known as Jamnagar,
in Gujarat, has declared his nephew and former cricketer Ajay Jadeja as his heir
to the throne.
❖ Navi, a fintech company, has become India's fifth-largest ecosystem player for
second consecutive time on the UPI.
❖ Mountaineer Arjun Vajpai (Maharashtra) summitted Mt. Shishapangma (China)
and, became the first Indian to scale the peak.
❖ The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) confirmed that India will host
the ISSF Junior World Cup in 2025.
❖ The State-owned BEML secures ₹866.87 Crore contract for 'Made in India' Bullet
Trains.
❖ The Nagarjuna Sagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) in the Nallamala Forest has
been ranked first among India's 55 tiger reserves for its leopard population, with
an estimated 360 leopards.
❖ National Conference (NC) vice-president Omar Abdullah was sworn in as Jammu
and Kashmir Chief Minister.
❖ Indian woman scientist, Shubha Tole, has been appointed as the president-elect
of the International Brain Research Organisation (IBRO).
❖ The Kerala Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution and urged the
central government to withdraw the 2024 Waqf Amendment Bill.
❖ The Indian Army has rolled out its first overhauled T-90 Bhishma tank, further
enhancing its operational readiness.

20
❖ According to UNICEF, the Indian suppliers are the third largest provider of the
organisation's health and nutrition support to children globally.
❖ Global SWF has crowned Abu Dhabi with the title of world’s richest country, in
terms of its sovereign wealth funds.
❖ A new data from Indeed, reveals a 14% increase in cybersecurity jobs from
September 2023 to September 2024 in India.
o Bangalore leads the openings, with 10 per cent of listings, followed by Delhi
NCR (4%), remote jobs (2.2%), and Hyderabad (2%). Mumbai ranks fifth with
2 per cent.
❖ The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will set up an iGOT Lab to
facilitate online learning for all employees within the Ministry.
❖ Nayab Singh Saini took oath as new Chief Minister of Haryana for the second
term.
❖ Nikita Porwal from Madhya Pradesh was crowned Femina Miss India 2024 and
Rekha Panday representing the Union Territories in second place.
❖ The International 6G Symposium was the event organized by the Bharat 6G
Alliance was held in New Delhi.
❖ The South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), Chhattisgarh has inaugurated the
country’s 216th AMRIT (Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for
Treatment) Pharmacy.
❖ NITI Aayog hosted the Second International Methanol Seminar and Expo 2024 in
New Delhi.
❖ India’s Akhil Sheoran clinched a bronze medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions
shooting event at the ISSF World Cup Final 2024 in New Delhi.
❖ Prime Minister has inaugurated the ‘Karmayogi Saptah’ National Learning Week
aimed at enhancing the individual and organizational capacity of civil servants.
❖ The Indian Army’s Sudarshan Chakra Corps is conducting a major exercise called
“Exercise Swavlamban Shakti” near Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.
❖ Prabowo Subianto sworn in as 8th President of Indonesia.
❖ Odisha will host the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Bhubaneswar from 8th to
10th of January next year.
❖ Thiruvananthapuram becomes India’s first airport to get “world’s first self-
powered indoor air quality monitor” called Pavana Chitra.
❖ Indian Navy and the Royal Navy of Oman recently concluded their bilateral naval
exercise, 'Naseem Al Bahr' off the coast of Goa.
❖ The Indian Coast Guard successfully conducted the coastal security exercise
‘Sagar Kavach’ across Gujarat and the Union Territory of Daman & Diu.

21
❖ The New Zealand Women’s cricket Team for the first time lifted the ICC T20 World
Cup after 23 Years by defeating the South Africa, held at UAE.
❖ The Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR)
2024 was held in Manila, Philippines.
❖ Narayana Murthy, Founder of Infosys, was honoured with the India Lifetime
Achievement Award as part of the 2024 Patrick J. McGovern Awards.
❖ Mohanji, the renowned humanitarian and spiritual leader, was honoured with
Humanitarian Award at 2024 Conscious Companies Awards in Johannesburg,
South Africa
❖ Popular film Producer Rajkumar Hirani was given the National Kishore Kumar
Award in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh.
❖ Chennai Metro Rail’s first driverless train for the phase II project is likely to have
its first trial run on October 26.
❖ The Tamil Nadu government will provide 100 e-autos to ‘climate warriors’, women
from Self Help Groups, to enhancing climate awareness among the public and
creating livelihood opportunities for these women.
❖ IIT Madras is set to launch its first international flagship centre in Dubai for
research, innovation, and entrepreneurship in early 2025.
❖ The Andhra Pradesh government decided to do away with the two-child policy for
individuals having more than two children from contesting local body polls.
❖ Pakistan’s Senate passed the controversial 26th Constitution Amendment Bill,
which capping Pakistan’s Chief Justice tenure for three years.
❖ Egypt has been declared malaria-free by the WHO, making it the second country
globally to achieve this status in 2024 after Cabo Verde.
❖ Kargil district’s Kaksar Bridge (Ladakh) was renamed Capt. Amit Bhardwaj Setu
to honor the sacrifice of Capt. Amit Bhardwaj during the Kargil War.
❖ HDFC Bank, India's leading private sector bank, inaugurated its first branch in
Singapore to provide banking services in Singapore.
❖ 6th Assembly of International Solar Alliance is to be held in New Delhi.
❖ The Indian Railways have reduced the advance reservation period from 120 days
to 60 days, effective from November 1.
❖ The Centre of Excellence in Ayurveda Research to be established on the campus
of the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology
(NIIST) at Pappanamcode.
❖ The 14th biennial lake conference took place in Moodbidri, Karnataka on the
theme ‘Lake 2024 – wetlands for human wellbeing’.
❖ Hurricane Oscar made landfall as a tropical storm near the city of Baracoa in
eastern Cuba.

22
❖ The cyclonic storm, Dana, caused extremely heavy rainfall in Odisha & West
Bengal and made landfall in Odisha coast.
o Its name was suggested by Qatar.
❖ India and Colombia signed the Audio-Visual Co-Production Agreement, enabling
filmmakers from both countries to collaborate on various aspects of film
production.
❖ The Indian Air Force (IAF) and Singapore Air Force participate in the 12th Joint
Military Training (JMT) exercise at Kalaikunda Air Force station, West Bengal.
o Singapore is the only country in the world to which India offers its military
training facilities.
❖ The Tamil Nadu government has awarded the task of preparation of master plans
for 42 towns to four consultants under the Union government’s scheme of Amrut
2.0.
❖ The Vellore district administration will set up a modern compost yard to handle
waste generated from six village panchayats at least 2 km away from Indian Naval
Station (INS) Rajali in Arakkonam to prevent bird hits.
❖ The Madras High Court has ruled that contract employees too are entitled to
maternity benefits and that the provisions of the Maternity Act of 1961 would
prevail over contractual conditions if the latter either deny or offer less favourable
benefits.
❖ Lignite and coal mines of NLC India Ltd. (NLCIL) have got top scores and five-star
ratings for the year 2022-23 in a Union Coal Ministry survey.
❖ The former chairperson of the Maharashtra State Commission for Women, Vijaya
Rahatkar has been appointed as chairperson of the National Commission for
Women (NCW).
❖ A special parliamentary committee in Pakistan has appointed Justice Yahya
Afridi as the next Chief Justice, bypassing the traditional seniority principle.
❖ Footballer Bala Devi of Manipur has become the first Indian woman to score 50
international goals.
❖ 25 years after Kamarajar Port was named the country’s 12th major port, the mega
international container transshipment port (ICTP) at Galathea Bay in the Great
Nicobar Island has been notified as the 13th major port.
❖ India’s fourth nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), referred to as
S4*, was launched in Visakhapatnam.
❖ Three new airports are inaugurated in Chhattisgarh's Surguja, Madhya Pradesh's
Rewa and Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur.
❖ The government of India will commemorate Sardar Patel’s150th birth anniversary
with a two-year-long nationwide celebration from 2024 to 2026.

23
❖ Madhya Pradesh’s Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary near Bhopal will be notified as
the state’s eighth tiger reserve.
❖ India's Deepika Kumari won the silver medal in the women's recurve event at the
Archery World Cup Final 2024 in Tlaxcala, Mexico.
❖ Urmila Chaudhary of Nepal won the Global Anti-Racism Championship Award
2024.
❖ Israel officially joined the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as its 69 th member and
20th nonregional member.
❖ Google has named its Senior Vice President and IIT-Madras Alumnus Prabhakar
Raghavan as its new Chief Technologist.
❖ The 2024 edition of the Embassy’s flagship diaspora engagement event, Pravasi
Parichay, was inaugurated at the Embassy Auditorium in Riyadh.
o This week-long cultural celebration was titled “Classical Languages of India”
designed to showcase the country’s rich linguistic diversity.
❖ The Amaravati Drone Summit 2024, hosted by the Government of Andhra
Pradesh, was drawing an impressive turnout of over 11,000 visitors.
❖ The second edition of the Indian Army's flagship international seminar, the
Chanakya Defence Dialogue, was held in Delhi.
❖ The 14th All India Civil Defence and Home Guards conference was held at
Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
❖ Centre launched the 21st Livestock Census to update data on the livestock
population.
❖ The European Union has awarded its top human rights prize - Sakharov Prize -
to Venezuelan opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez
Urrutia.
❖ Global industry body International Copper Association (ICA) has elected Aditya
Birla Group firm Hindalco Industries Ltd as its newest member.
❖ The 31st edition of the Singapore-Indian Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX)
was held at Visakhapatnam.
❖ Mormugao Port Authority, Goa became the first Indian port to be listed on the
Environmental Ship Index (ESI) portal for their Harit Shrey program.
❖ India's top women wrestlers Sakshi Malik had authored her memoir as ‘Witness’.
❖ The Maharashtra government has launched India’s first integrated state-level
Cyber Command and Control Centre, equipped with world-class technology and
expertise.
❖ Thano village near Dehradun is designated as the ‘Writer’s village’ where writers
will get a calm and creative environment necessary for the creation of their works.

24
❖ IndiaAI and Meta have announced the establishment of the Centre for Generative
AI- Srijan, at IIT Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
❖ India’s first-ever coal gallery was unveiled at the National Science Centre in New
Delhi.
❖ A new memorial named Satark Park unveiled in Pune to honour the sacrifices of
Military Intelligence personnel who died in the line of duty.
❖ Google has signed a deal to use small nuclear reactors to generate the vast
amounts of energy needed to power its artificial intelligence (AI) data centres.
❖ Ratcliffe-on-Soar, the UK’s last coal power station, at Ratcliffe-on-Soar, finishes
operations recently after running since 1967.
❖ Nvidia became the world's most valuable company, by overtaking Apple with the
value of 3.53$tn.
❖ T V Narendran, MD and CEO of Tata Steel, has been elected as the Chairman of
the World Steel Association (world steel).
❖ The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has been awarded with SHRM - HR
Excellence Awards for ‘Excellence in Inclusion, Equity & Diversity’ and
‘Excellence in Managing the Distributed Workforce’ categories.
❖ India’s coking coal imports for the first six months of the current fiscal (April –
September) were at a six-year-high at 29.6 million tonnes (mt).
o Shipments from Russia witnessing a substantial rise of over 200 per cent
during this period.
❖ The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has announced that Australia as the
“Country of Focus” for the 55th edition of the International Film Festival of India
(IFFI).
❖ Meghalaya's capital, Shillong, has become the most popular travel destination for
Indians in 2025.
❖ Actor Darasing Khurana has received the Mahatma Gandhi Leadership Award
for his work towards raising awareness around mental health issues as the
'Commonwealth Year of Youth Champion'.
❖ The 11th Asia Clean Energy Summit (ACES) recently took place in Singapore.
❖ The U.S., France and Armenia have emerged as the top three customers for
Indian military exports.
❖ As a new conservation initiative, the Global Ecosystems Atlas, has been launched
to provide a comprehensive and unified resource for mapping and monitoring
ecosystems worldwide.
❖ The total investor count of mutual fund had stood at 50.1 million at the end of
September 2024.

25
 TAMIL NADU

Chief Justice of Madras High Court 2024

❖ Tamil Nadu Governor administered the oath of office to Justice Shriram on his
assumption of office as the 53rd Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.
❖ The Madras High Court has got a Tamil-speaking Chief Justice after a long gap
of 43 years.
❖ The last Tamil-speaking Chief Justice of the High Court was M.M. Ismail who
resigned on July 9, 1981.

Tamil Nadu State Dog Breeding Policy, 2024

❖ The Tamil Nadu State Dog Breeding Policy, 2024 was released recently.
❖ The policy prohibits the breeding of dogs that cannot withstand Indian climatic
conditions.
❖ It includes Pug and Chow Chow on the list of cold climate dogs whose breeding
is to be prohibited, given their health and welfare.
❖ Though the draft policy, released in February this year, had listed only these nine
breeds, the final policy includes two more: Pug and Chow Chow.
❖ The final policy has listed Rajapalayam, Kombai, Chippiparai, and Kanni as the
recognised breeds of Tamil Nadu.
❖ Kattai, Ramanathapuram Mandai, Malaipatti, and Sengottai, have to be
standardised, recognised, and registered to prevent the native dogs from
becoming extinct.
❖ It says the government will take steps to promote breeding of native breeds at
centres.
❖ The native dogs will not be recommended to be raised in a house with restricted
space.

26
Ramsar tag for two bird sanctuaries
❖ The Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission is pursuing Ramsar designation for two more
bird sanctuaries in Ramanathapuram.
❖ Ramanathapuram is home to five bird sanctuaries — Therthangal, Sakkara
kottai, Melaselvanoor-Keelaselvanoor, Kanjirankulam, and Chitrangudi.
❖ Of them, the Chitrangudi and Kanjirankulam sanctuaries received the Ramsar
status in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
❖ Tamil Nadu now boasts 18 Ramsar sites, the highest in India.
❖ The State’s wetlands constitute 6.92% of the total geographical area, above the
national average of 4.86%.
❖ The Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary, the first to receive the Ramsar
tag in 2002.

27
Factory employment in the state
❖ The Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) 2022-23 was released by the Union
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
❖ Tamil Nadu was the top State employing the highest number of persons in the
manufacturing.
❖ 1,84,94,962 number of persons were engaged in factories across India, and Tamil
Nadu accounted for 15%.
❖ The State also has the highest number of factories accounting for 15.66% of the
total 2,53,334 number of factories.
❖ The top five States employing highest number of persons in manufacturing were
Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
❖ These 5 states contributing about 55% of total manufacturing employment.
❖ Among the major states, in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA), Maharashtra
ranked first in 2022-23.
❖ It is followed by Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

Inter-se seniority of Ministers

❖ Tamilnadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin stands third in the inter-
se seniority of Ministers of the Tamil Nadu government.
❖ Prior to his appointment as Sport Minister, he stood 10th in the seniority list.
❖ His inter se seniority follows that of the Chief Minister and Minister for Water
Resources Duraimurugan.
❖ On September 28, the Governor appointed Minister Udhayanidhi as the Deputy
CM under Article 164 of the Constitution.

28
 ❖ He is thirdly occupied the deputy chief minister Post.
❖ Since 2009, Tamil Nadu has had 2 deputy CMs, none of whom have served at
least one full term.
❖ The first was former CM of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi's third son, M. K. Stalin
(2009-2011).
❖ O. Panneerselvam became the second deputy chief minister During 2017-2021
at Edappadi K. Palanisami’s government.
❖ There are no provisions in the Constitution for the designation of Deputy Prime
Minister or Deputy Chief Minister.

Heat wave Mitigation Road map

❖ Global reports indicate that India will lose up to 5% of its Gross Domestic Product
by 2030 to rising temperatures.
❖ Tamil Nadu with its warm tropical weather, is projected to be severely impacted
by heat.
❖ The State Planning Commission brought a report, ‘Beating the Heat-Tamil Nadu
Heat Mitigation Strategy’.
❖ The temperature range at which humans can thrive is 25 degrees Celsius to 30
degrees Celsius, with 60% humidity.
❖ However, in many parts of Tamil Nadu, this threshold is regularly breached.
❖ At present, nearly 74% of the State’s population is exposed to air temperature of
over 35°C.

29
 ❖ The Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority prepared the Heat Wave
Action Plan in 2019, and in 2023.

Kalaichemmal awards 2024

❖ The Tamil Nadu govt announced the Kalaichemmal awards for three painters and
three sculptors for their contributions to traditional and contemporary painting
and sculpture.
❖ These awards are presented by the department of art and sculpture.
❖ A Manivelu has been selected for the award in the traditional art category.
❖ L Balachandran and K Kanniappan have been selected for the award in the
traditional sculpture category.
❖ K Muralidharan and A Selvaraj selected for the award in the category of modern
art. R Raghavan will get the award in the modern sculpture category.

30
Butterfly migration in 2024
❖ Tamil Nadu has witnessed large-scale migration of butterflies belonging to the
Danainae sub-family from the Eastern Ghats and plains towards the Western
Ghats during September.
❖ They migrate from the Eastern Ghats and plains towards various nearest hill
ranges of the Western Ghats before the start of northeast monsoon.
❖ During April and May, these butterflies, generally called ‘tigers and crows’
migrate from the Western Ghat hill ranges towards the Eastern Ghats and plains
of Tamil Nadu.
❖ This is happened before the onset of the southwest monsoon.

Advisory on the term ‘Kuravan’

❖ The Tamil Nadu State Commission for the SC&ST has issued an advisory against
using the term ‘Kuravan/Kurathi Attam’ in cultural festivals.
❖ It has advised against using ‘Kura’ as a prefix or suffix, and ‘Kuravan/Kurathi
Attam’, as they were being used to disrespect those tribal communities. ‘
❖ Kuravan’ is a part of the Scheduled Castes in Tamil Nadu, and ‘Kuravar’ and
‘Malaikkuravar’, the Scheduled Tribes.
❖ The Commission also recommended the Tamil Nadu government to ban songs
that use the term ‘Kuravan’.

Herpetofauna survey – MTR 2024

❖ A recent herpetofauna survey, conducted in the buffer forests of the Mudumalai
Tiger Reserve (MTR), discovered a new species.
❖ It also resulted in the identification of 33 reptile species and 36 amphibian
species,
❖ The survey revealed four potential new species:
o Two geckos (one from the Cnemaspis genus and another from Hemidactylus),

31
 o A skink and
o A frog from the Sphaerotheca genus.
❖ The total number of identified species now stands at 55 reptile species and 39
amphibian species, with approximately 40% being endemic to the Western Ghats.
❖ Of these species, 16 are classified as threatened, and three are considered near-
threatened according to the IUCN.

New Task Force to Reduce MMR

❖ Tamil Nadu has constituted a State-level task force to reduce maternal deaths.
❖ The aim is to bring down the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) to less than 10 per
one lakh live births in the next two years.
❖ The present MMR is 45.5 per one lakh live births.
❖ It will comprise experts, and representatives from the Indian Medical Association,
the WHO and UNICEF.

32
Pig Breeding Policy 2024

❖ Tamil Nadu has unveiled a ‘pig breeding policy' aimed at enhancing pig rearing
in the state to ensure nutritional security.
❖ The policy includes infrastructure development, such as
o Establishment of a bacon factory,
o Promoting value addition of pork products for higher farmer profitability,
o Development of a cooperative-based market chain, and
o Implementing quarantine facilities for imported animals.
❖ The govt would provide subsidies, tax holidays, and financial support to boost
the pig farming sector.
❖ The policy also mandates a systematic process for identifying animals using 12-
digit UID ear tags as prescribed by the Union govt, with registration on the
'Information Network for Animal Productivity and Health (INAPH)'.

CyStar initiative

33
 ❖ IIT Madras has established the Centre for Cybersecurity, Trust, and Reliability
(CyStar) to bolster India's cybersecurity capabilities.
❖ It will focus on both fundamental and applied research, addressing the growing
cybersecurity needs of critical sectors such as finance, healthcare, automotive,
and electronics.
❖ CyStar will develop a comprehensive, multi-faceted strategy to address the
emerging cybersecurity challenges driven by artificial intelligence and the past-
quantum era.

Statues of freedom fighters 2024

❖ Tamil Nadu Chief Minister through video conferencing, has unveiled a statue of
various freedom fighters.
❖ Venni Kaladi statue was unveiled in Tenkasi district.
❖ Another statue of Veteran Kuyili was unveiled in Sivagangai district.
❖ A Statue of Thali Palayakar Malayandi Vengidupathi Ethalapar Nayakar, and a
memorial hall was unveiled in Tiruppur district.

HIV/AIDS status in Tamil Nadu - 2024

❖ The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Tamil Nadu stands at 0.16%.
❖ A total of 16,80,083 persons were living with HIV/AIDS in India.
❖ In Tamil Nadu, a total of 1,32,383 persons living with HIV/AIDS were under
antiretroviral therapy.
❖ From 0.38% in 2010, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, among pregnant women, has
dipped to 0.16% due to awareness and support from the public.
❖ The prevalence of HIV/AIDS among persons aged 15 to 49 years has dropped
from 0.35% in 2010 to 0.20% in 2023.

34
New GI tag applications - 2024
❖ The Tamil Nadu Food Processing and Agri Export Promotion Corporation
(TNAPEx) has filed an application GI tag for three food products.
o The Ramanathapuram panangkarkandu
o Kovilpatti seeval, and
o Ramanathapuram pattarai karuvadu.
❖ The NABARD Madurai Agri Business Incubation Forum (MABIF) was the
facilitator.
❖ The Ramanathapuram panangkarkandu (crystal palm sugar) has been produced
in this region for over 300 years.
❖ The pattarai karuvadu (dried fish) is a traditional dry fish preparation method
that involves burying fish in mud after smearing them with turmeric powder.
❖ Kovilpatti seeval is a traditional deep-fried snack known for its crispy texture and
unique flavour.

Power demand in first half 2024-25

❖ Tamil Nadu’s power demand increased 6.2% to 68,967 million units (MU) in the
first half of the financial year 2024-25.
❖ It was 64,958 MU in the same period last year.
❖ During the April-September period in 2024, the State saw a peak power demand
of 20,784 MW as against 19,045 MW in the comparable period last year.
❖ The State has the highest number of factories, accounting for 15.66% of the total
number of factories in India (2,53,334).

35
 ❖ During summer this year, the State’s power demand hit a new record, touching
an all-time-high of 20,830 MW on May 2.
❖ The daily consumption hit a new high of 454.32 MU on April 30.
❖ Tamil Nadu’s total installed power capacity was 41,126.68 MW, as on September
30, 2024.

Expert for wildlife forensics

❖ The Advanced Institute of Wildlife Conservation (AIWC) in Vandalur has become

the first institution from southern India to be officially recognised as a
government scientific expert.
❖ This institution was set up by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department in 2017.
❖ With this tag, the institute can support the Tamil Nadu Forest Department and
assist the forest and wildlife departments of neighbouring States with forensic
analysis, enhancing wildlife law enforcement in the region.

36
 ❖ So far, four organisations in India were equipped for analysis of biological
specimens:
o The Wildlife Institute of India (WII),
o The Zoological Survey of India,
o The BOTANICAL Survey of India, and
o The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education.

Long-billed vulture’s nesting 2024

❖ The population of the critically endangered long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus) has
seen a steady increase between 2015 and 2021.
❖ The species are exhibiting a 74% breeding success rate in the Mudumalai Tiger
Reserve (MTR).
❖ Out of 31 nesting pairs of vultures recorded between the same period, there were
23 successful fledglings.
❖ The long-billed vulture is also known as the Indian vulture.
❖ It has witnessed an increase from 13 recorded individuals in 2016 to almost 28
reported individuals in 2021.
❖ This is an increase of almost 115% in the population in a span of five years.

37
Richness of threatened species 2024

❖ Biologists created a GIS-based database of 512 species of fauna for the study —
‘Village Level Distribution Mapping of Threatened Fauna of the Western Ghats’.
❖ With 98 species, Tamil Nadu’s Valparai is at the top of the list of 7,630 villages
in the Western Ghats in terms richness of threatened species.
❖ The list included 133 species of fishes, 81 species of birds, 91 species of reptiles,
79 species of amphibians, 47 species of insects, 37 species of mammals and etc.
❖ Out of the 512 species, 27 were Critically Endangered, 131 Endangered, 117
Vulnerable, and 88 Near Threatened species, and the rest of the species were of
Least Concern, Data Deficient, or Not Evaluated.
❖ Valparai, a hill station in Coimbatore district, topped the list with 98 species.
❖ It is followed by Kannan Devan Hills in Kerala (83), Greater Bombay (69),
Kuttampuzha (64), Pariyaram (61), and Kumily (57) in Kerala.
❖ State-wise, Kerala topped the list with 354 species of threatened fauna, followed
by Tamil Nadu (274), Karnataka (237), Maharashtra (171), Goa (104), and
Gujarat (37).

Tamil Nadu’s Oil Spill Contingency Plan 2024

❖ The Tamil Nadu government has finalised a contingency plan to mitigate such
disasters.
❖ Four coastal districts are being identified as ‘very high’ risk for oil spills.
❖ This plan outlines the necessary steps and procedures for restoring an oil-
contaminated habitat or shoreline to its original state without causing any
adverse impacts on natural resources and the environment.

38
 ❖ It is intended for responding to marine oil spills of any type that occur within 12
nautical miles (24 km) off the State’s coastline.
❖ It also includes riverine systems extending 40 km inland or to the point where
tidal effects are noticeable, whichever distance is greater.
❖ As per the plan, coastal ecosystems including the Gulf of Mannar, Ennore, and
Pichavaram Mangroves are prioritized.

Copper plates from Vijayanagara Kingdom

❖ A set of copper plate inscriptions with two leaves have been discovered at the Sri
Singeeswarar temple at Mappedu village in Tiruvallur district.
❖ It is dating back to the 16th Century CE.
❖ The inscription was written in Sanskrit and Nandinagari script.
❖ It was engraved in 1513 during the reign of King Krishandevaraya.
❖ The plates recorded the gift of a village Vasalabattaka, renamed Krishnarayapura,
to several Brahmins by the king.

39
Gross State Domestic Product 2023-24
❖ Tamil Nadu’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) grew 8.13% in 2022-23 and
8.23% in 2023-24 at constant prices.
❖ In current prices, the growth rates were 15.48% in 2022-23 and 13.71% in 2023-
24.
❖ The growth rates for the All India GDP were 6.99% in 2022-23 and 8.15% in
2023-24 at constant prices.
❖ In current prices, they were 14.21% in 2022-23 and 9.60% in 2023-24.
❖ Tamil Nadu ranked second in GSDP at current prices, only behind Maharashtra.
❖ The Tamilnadu state has stood third in GSDP at constant prices, being surpassed
by Maharashtra and Gujarat, in 2022-23.
❖ Tamil Nadu’s inflation rates were 5.97% in 2022-23 and 5.37% in 2023-24.
❖ The All-India inflation rates was 6.65% and 5.38% during the respective periods.
❖ Tamil Nadu’s per capita income was estimated at ₹1,66,590 in 2022-23 and
₹1,79,732 in 2023-24.
❖ India’s per capita income of ₹99,404 in 2022-23 and ₹1,06,744 in 2023-24 at
constant prices.
❖ Tamil Nadu’s per capita incomes were 1.68 times the national per capita income
for both years.

‘Amudham Plus’ provisions

❖ The Tamil Nadu government has introduced an ‘Amudham Plus’ provisions
hamper.
❖ It contains 15 items to be sold through the Amudham departmental stores at a
cost of ₹499 per unit.

40
 ❖ The hamper from the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation is aimed at catering
to the needs of a family for a month.
❖ The ‘Amudham Plus’ provisions hamper is expected to benefit citizens, especially
during the Deepavali festival season.

Bioluminescent Waves in Chennai

❖ Chennai's East Coast Road beach blazed with the rare bioluminescent waves
recently.
❖ Bioluminescence is a natural phenomenon produced by certain marine
organisms; primarily microscopic plankton called dinoflagellates.
❖ These tiny creatures emit light through a chemical reaction within their bodies
when agitated by wave action or other disturbances in the water.
❖ The result is a display of blue-green light that appears to make the waves glow.
❖ Marine organisms use bioluminescence for various purposes, including defense
against predators, attracting prey, and communication.

Report of Vadakkupattu excavation

41
 ❖ A 700-page detailed final report on the two-phased excavations at Vadakkupattu
village in Kancheepuram district has been submitted to Director General, ASI.
❖ The aim was to know the complete history and information of the lower Palar
River Valley palaeolithic site.
❖ The first phase of excavation began in July 2022, wherein nine trenches were dug
up.
❖ In May 2023, the ASI carried out excavations at 12 more trenches.
❖ The excavated materials revealed that the site belonged to the Middle Paleolithic
Age, and flourished during the early historic and historic (Pallava) periods.
❖ One of the remarkable antiquities found during the excavation was the potsherds
with Tamil Brahmi script called ‘Matti’.

Pink Auto rickshaws

❖ The Tamil Nadu government partially funded ‘pink autorickshaws’ that will be
operated by women for women in Chennai.
❖ It aims to ensure the safe travel of women and children.
❖ The government will provide 1 lakh each as a grant to 250 women residing in
Chennai to buy CNG/hybrid autorickshaws.
❖ Women in the age group of 25-45 can apply for the scheme, and priority would
be given to widows and destitute women.
❖ The applicants should be residents of Chennai, should have passed the SSLC
examination and possess a driving licence.

42
Private radio FM channels
❖ Eleven towns in Tamil Nadu are set to get three private radio FM channels each.
❖ The Government of India (GoI) is gearing up for an e-auction to allot channels to
places that have not been covered so far.
❖ Coonoor, Dindigul, Karaikudi, Karur, Nagercoil, Neyveli, Pudukkottai, Raja
palayam, Thanjavur, Tiruvannamalai and Vaniyambadi are in the list of the 234
towns in the notice.
❖ The GoI has decided to conduct ‘ascending e-auctions’ to allot 730 channels to
234 uncovered places under the third batch of FM Phase-III radio channels.

Windergy India 2024

❖ The ‘Windergy India 2024’ conference was recently held in Chennai.
❖ The State aims to add 30 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity in the next
six years.
❖ The State have a total renewable energy capacity of 24 GW.
❖ It has set a target of 50% of energy consumption coming from renewable energy
sources by 2030.
❖ Tamil Nadu has a wind installed capacity of 10.5 GW and is a pioneer in wind
energy.

40 Trekking trails
❖ The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has put together a comprehensive list of 40
trails.
❖ It also launched a portal under the ‘Trek Tamil Nadu’ project featuring 40 trails.
❖ The portal www.trektamilnadu.com facilitates online bookings.
❖ All those above the age of 18 are permitted to book the treks.
❖ All those below the age of 18 can trek with the consent letter of the parents /
guardian.
❖ Kids below the age of 10 (allowed only for the easy treks) needs accompaniment
of parent or guardian.
❖ These 40 curated trails are spread over 14 districts across Tamil Nadu, including
the popular destinations such as the Nilgiris, Kodaikanal and Kanniyakumari.
❖ The treks are in compliance of the Tamil Nadu Forest and Wildlife (Regulation of
Trekking) Rules, 2018.

43
CM Trophy campaign 2024

❖ Chennai topped by winning 105 gold, 80 silver and 69 gold.

❖ Chengalpattu took the second spot in the medals tally with 31 gold medals with
26 silver and 36 bronze medals.

44
 ❖ Coimbatore ended with 23 gold, 40 silver and 39 bronze medals.
❖ Salem was the biggest mover on the medals tally from the last edition as they
jumped to fourth spot from 19th in 2023, winning 21 gold, 12 silver and 23
bronze.
❖ The 2024 CM Trophy is one of the largest grassroots initiatives in the country
and attracted over 33,000 participants from 38 districts.
❖ This was the first time that all the 38 participating districts found a spot on the
medals tally with Nilgiris taking the last spot.

Measures for farmers welfare in Tamilnadu

❖ A total sum of ₹91.07 crore has been released to support over 1.19 lakh farmers,
whose crops were affected by the Northeast monsoon since 2021.
❖ Crop insurance and compensation claims of ₹5,148 crore have been settled to
29.34 lakh farmers since 2021.
❖ The State has released a total sum of ₹624.04 crore as fair and remunerative
price and special incentive to sugarcane farmers.
❖ The cultivation of sugarcane has been increased from 95,000 hectare to 1.54 lakh
hectare.
❖ Sugar mills have been provided loans to the tune of ₹600 crore.
❖ Subsidies have been provided for about ₹335 crore to purchase the agricultural
machinery and equipment.
❖ A total of 14 new Uzhavar Sandhais have been set up.
❖ Decomposing machines have been installed at a total cost of ₹2.75 crore in 25
Uzhavar Sandhais to handle the waste generated.

45
 NATIONAL

India State of Forest Report (ISFR)

❖ The India State of Forest Report (ISFR), due for release in 2023, has been delayed
by over a year.
❖ The report, which is released every two years, is produced by the Forest Survey
of India (FSI).
❖ It has been published since 1991 and provides a comprehensive overview of the
state of India’s forests.
❖ This delay marks the second occasion when the government has missed the
report’s publication deadline — the last instance occurred in 2007.
❖ The last report, published in 2021, recorded the country’s total forest cover at
713,789 square kilometres or 21.71 per cent.
❖ It was a marginal increase of 1,540 square kilometres compared to the 2019 ISFR
publication.
❖ From 2013 to 2023, 95 per cent of deforestation occurred in natural forests.3
❖ As per MoEFCC, India had lost 173,396 hectares (1,733 square kilometres) of
forest for development works.
❖ It also claimed that compensatory afforestation had recovered 21,761 square
kilometres of forest area between 2013 and 2023.
❖ In Odisha, the unclassified forests increased from 17 square kilometres to 16,282
square kilometres between 1999 and 2015.
❖ But it was dropped to 22 square kilometres in the 2017 report.

46
Wildlife Habitats Development Scheme 2024
❖ The Union Cabinet has approved the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats
scheme for the 15th Finance Commission cycle for an overall outlay of ₹2,602.98
crore.
❖ The centrally sponsored scheme includes critical components such as Project
Tiger, Project Elephant and Development of Wildlife Habitat.
❖ The scheme envisages to boost technological interventions in different thematic
areas over the current and next financial year in our tiger and wildlife bearing
forests.

PARAM Rudra Supercomputers

❖ Three PARAM Rudra supercomputers, Indigenously Developed under the

National Supercomputing Mission were launched recently.
❖ Along with this, a ₹850 crore High-Performance Computing (HPC) system,
designed for weather and climate research, was also launched at the event.
❖ The three supercomputers have been built at a cost of ₹130 crore and have been
stationed in Pune, Delhi, and Kolkata.
❖ They will aid scientific research in fields such as astronomy, medicine, and high-
energy physics.

47
 ❖ The most powerful of these is the one installed at Delhi which has 3 petaflop
capacity.
❖ Pune has got one petaflop supercomputer, while the one at Kolkata has a capacity
of 838 terraflops.
❖ Others in the range include, PARAM 8000, PARAM Siddhi AI and PARAM
Utkarsh.

Free visa for friends of diaspora

❖ In a first-of-its-kind initiative, India will allow “friends” of diaspora members to
get free visas.
❖ Up to five foreign nationals nominated by the OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card
holders on a special website will be eligible for the gratis e-visa.
❖ The initiative is to be launched as part of a “Chalo India” campaign.
❖ OCI cardholders will need to register on the special website, which goes live in a
few weeks, and enter the details of their nominated friends.
❖ They will then be assigned a unique code after verification.
❖ The designated friends can then use the special code to avail of a free visa.
❖ There are about four million OCI cardholders, as per the government records.
❖ They can invite as many friends as possible and will also earn rewards for each
foreign visitor they successfully attract to India.

Paryatan Mitra & Paryatan Didi

❖ Ministry of Tourism has launched a national responsible tourism initiative titled
Paryatan Mitra and Paryatan Didi.
❖ It aims to elevate the overall experience for tourists in destinations, by having
them meet ‘tourist-friendly’ people who are Ambassadors and Storytellers for
their destination.

48
 ❖ In pilot mode, around 3,000 people have been trained in the 6 pilot destinations
on the importance of creating a positive experience for tourists.

Constitution amendment bills for ONOE

❖ The government is likely to bring three bills, including two to amend the
Constitution, to put in place its plan to hold simultaneous elections.
❖ The proposed Bill would seek to amend Article 82A by adding sub-clause (1)
relating to the ‘appointed date’.
❖ It will also seek to insert sub-clause (2) to Article 82A relating to the end of terms
of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies together.

49
 ❖ The Bill also proposes to amend Article 83(2) and insert new sub-clauses (3) and
(4) relating to the duration and dissolution of the Lok Sabha.
❖ It also has provisions related to the dissolution of the legislative assemblies and
amending Article 327 to insert the term ‘simultaneous elections’.
❖ The second Bill will create provisions to hold simultaneous elections to
municipalities and panchayats, along with elections to Lok Sabha and state
legislative assemblies by inserting a new Article 324A.
❖ This Bill is required ratification by at least 50% of the states.
❖ The third Bill will be an ordinary one to amend provisions in three laws dealing
with Union Territories with legislative assemblies — Puducherry, Delhi and
Jammu and Kashmir.
❖ It aims to align the terms of these Houses with other legislative assemblies and
the Lok Sabha as proposed in the first Constitutional Amendment Bill.
❖ The statutes it proposes to amend are the Government of National Capital
Territory of Delhi Act-1991, the Government of Union Territories Act-1963 and
the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act-2019.
❖ To pass the Constitutional Amendment Bills, a special majority of not less than
two-thirds of the House will be required.
❖ So, the government needs the support of 362 members, but it has only 292
members in the House.

Fact Check Unit

50
 ❖ The Bombay High Court has formally struck down the amended Information
Technology Rules, 2023.
❖ This amendment allowed the Centre to set up a fact check unit (FCU) to identify
fake, false and misleading information about the government and its
establishments on social media.
❖ As per the court, these Amendment Rules, 2023, violated “Article 14 (right to
equality), 19 (freedom of speech and expression) and 19(1)(g) (freedom and right
to profession) of the Constitution”.

SBI ERD report 2024

❖ SBI’s economic research department (ERD) released a new report, “Precursor to

Census 2024: The Fine Prints of a Rapidly Changing Nation.”
❖ The average annual exponential growth of India is expected to decline from 2.20
per cent in 1971 to 1 per cent in 2024.
❖ The national population will be in the range of 138-142 crore in 2024.
❖ The median age of India is expected to increase from 24 years in 2021 to 28-29
years in 2023/24.
❖ The working age population (15-59) is likely to increase to 65.2 per cent in the
2031 census.
❖ The elderly population will cross 15 crores (Female: 7.7 crore; Male: 7.3 crore),
with a growth of 4.6 crore during 2011-2024.
❖ Southern States, chiefly Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, in
incremental population growth is set to decline (vis-à-vis 2011).

51
 ❖ Northern States, led by UP and Bihar (with a 33 per cent share in incremental
growth), will drive the growth.
❖ The northern and eastern regions together are expected to have a 52 per cent
share of the entire population (51 per cent in 2011).
❖ Apart from the Union Territories, Goa and Kerala are highly urbanised.
❖ Among the major states, Tamil Nadu continues to be the most urbanised State,
with 54 per cent of the population living in urban areas, followed by Maharashtra
(48.8 per cent).
❖ Himachal Pradesh (10.3 per cent), followed by Bihar (12.4 per cent), Assam (15.7
per cent), and Orissa (19.0%) form the bottom end of the spectrum.

Manual Scavenging Survey

❖ 91.9% of the 38,000 workers profiled so far belong to Scheduled Caste (SC),
Scheduled Tribe (ST), or other backward class (OBC) communities.
❖ Of the profiled workers, 68.9% were SC, 14.7% were OBC, 8.3% were ST, and 8%
were from the general category.
❖ Between 2019 and 2023, at least 377 people across the country have died from
hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
❖ The profiling of sewer and septic tank workers (SSWs) is being carried out by the
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment as part of its NAMASTE programme.
❖ This scheme aims to mechanise all sewer work and prevent deaths due to
hazardous cleaning work.
❖ In 2023-24, this scheme was brought in to replace the Self-Employment Scheme
for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS).

52
 ❖ Twelve States and UTs have completed the profiling process, while the exercise is
still underway in 17 States.
❖ Tamil Nadu and Odisha are running their own programmes for SSWs, and are
not reporting data to the Centre under this programme.
❖ Of the identified manual scavengers of 43,797, 97.2% of them were from the SC
communities.
❖ The share of STs, OBCs, and others were each around 1%.

EMPS 2024
❖ The PM E-DRIVE scheme launched for the promotion of electric vehicles (EVs)
and the development of charging infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities.
❖ The scheme will run from October 1 to March 31, 2026, and aims to accelerate
the country’s shift towards electric mobility.
❖ The PM E-DRIVE will absorb the ongoing Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme
(EMPS) 2024, merging its budget and vehicle targets into the new framework.

Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan

❖ The Union govt launched the Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan.
❖ It aims to transform the socio-economic landscape of around 63,000 villages,
benefiting over 5 crore tribal residents across 549 districts and 2,740 blocks in
30 States and Union Territories.
❖ The initiative focuses on attaining saturation of critical gaps in social
infrastructure, health, education, livelihood, through 25 interventions
implemented by 17 different ministries and departments.

53
National Health Accounts estimates 2020-21 and 2021-22

❖ The National Health Accounts Estimates for India 2020-21 and 2021-22 released
by the Health Ministry.
❖ India has seen a decline in out-of-pocket expenditure out of total health
expenditure from 64.2% in 2013-14 to 39.4% in 2021-22.
❖ The government health expenditure’s share in the country’s total GDP increased
from 1.13% (2014-15) to 1.84% (2021-22).
❖ Also, the share of government expenditure in total health expenditure increased
from 29.0% (2014-15) to 48.0% (2021-22).
❖ Social Security Expenditure’s share in Total Health Expenditure increased from
5.7% in 2014-15 to 8.7% in 2021-22.

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Jal Hi AMRIT Program

❖ ‘Jal hi Amrit’ initiative was launched under AMRUT 2.0 to promote efficient water
management
❖ This initiative incentivises states and UTs to manage sewage treatment plants
efficiently, ensuring the production of good-quality, recyclable treated water.
❖ AMRUT 2.0 Launched in 2021 to provide universal coverage of water supply
through functional taps to all households in all statutory towns.

HIV infections in India 2024

55
 ❖ India’s annual new HIV infections have fallen 44% between 2010 and 2023, better
than the global average.
❖ India has made notable progress in reducing annual AIDS-related deaths by
nearly 80% between 2010 and 2023.
❖ Last year, there were 68,000 new infections in India, around 185 people were
infected every day.

New Classical Languages 2024

❖ The Union Cabinet approved giving the status of 'classical language' to five more
languages - Marathi, Bengali, Pali, Prakrit and Assamese.
❖ With this cabinet decision, the number of languages that have the status will
nearly double from six to 11.
❖ The languages that had the tag earlier were Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada,
Malayalam and Odia.
❖ Tamil was granted the status in 2004 and the last language to get it was Odia, in
2014.
❖ The new classical languages will also have the national awards, Chairs in
universities, and centres for promotion set up for them in due course.

56
Religious Freedom in India 2024
❖ The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
recently released a report.
❖ The USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate India as
a "Country of Particular Concern" for engaging in systematic, ongoing and
egregious violations of religious freedom.
❖ Throughout 2024, individuals have been killed, beaten, and lynched by vigilante
groups, religious leaders have been arbitrarily arrested, and homes and places of
worship have been demolished.

PM Internship Scheme 2024

❖ The Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme was launched on October 3.

❖ The PM Internship Scheme aims to provide internship opportunities to one crore
youth in the top 500 companies over the next five years.
❖ It will enhance youth employability in India by offering them hands-on exposure
to real-world business environments.
❖ The scheme represents a transformative opportunity to bridge the skills gap and
drive sustainable growth in India.
❖ The scheme is to provide on-job training to youth and an exposure to real-life
work environment.
❖ A monthly stipend of ₹4,500 will be provided to the interns from the central
government via DBT (Direct Benefit transfer), with an additional ₹500 offset
provided by the company’s CSR fund.
❖ The Candidates, aged between 21 and 24 years who are not engaged in full-time
employment, are eligible for the one-year internship programme.

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ANNA DARPAN Initiative

❖ The Food Corporation of India (FCI) is making big changes with a digital
transformation plan.
❖ This plan is focused on improving the way FCI manages the supply chain with a
new system called ANNA DARPAN.
❖ ANNA DARPAN is a new digital platform that will replace FCI’s old system, the
Depot Online System.
❖ It uses advanced technology to make managing food supply chains (like mandis,
mills, and depots) smoother and more efficient.

Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana 2024

❖ The Union Cabinet decided to merge all Central schemes in the agriculture sector
into following two new schemes.
o Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) and
o Krishonnati Yojana (KY).
❖ The schemes will have a Central share of ₹ 69,088.98 crore and the States will
have to add the remaining ₹32,232.63 crore.
❖ PM-RKVY is aimed at promoting sustainable agriculture.
❖ KY will address food security and agricultural self-sufficiency.
❖ The schemes will be implemented through State governments.

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National Mission on Edible Oils 2024

❖ The Union Cabinet has approved the National Mission on Edible Oils - Oilseeds
(NMEO-Oilseeds).

59
 ❖ It aims to boosting domestic oilseed production and achieving self-reliance in
edible oils.
❖ The Mission will be implemented over a seven-year period, from 2024-25 to 2030-
31.
❖ The newly approved NMEO-Oilseeds will focus on enhancing the production of
key primary oilseed crops such as Rapeseed-Mustard, Groundnut, Soybean,
Sunflower, and Sesamum.
❖ The mission aims to increase primary oilseed production from 39 million tonnes
(2022-23) to 69.7 million tonnes by 2030-31.

SARTHIE 1.0
❖ The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment and the National Legal
Services Authority (NALSA) launched the SARTHIE 1.0.
❖ It will bridge the awareness gap and provide legal assistance to ensure the
effective implementation of social welfare programmes.
❖ It aims to empower disadvantaged communities, including the SCs, STs, OBCs,
Senior Citizens, Transgender Persons, Victims of Alcoholism and more.
❖ The NALSA constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act of 1987.
❖ It has a mandate to provide legal aid to disadvantaged groups and spread legal
literacy.

Modified Eco-mark Scheme

❖ The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the
Ecomark Rules recently.
❖ It replaces the Ecomark scheme of 1991.
❖ The scheme will encourage the demand for environment-friendly products,
promote lower energy consumption, resource efficiency and circular economy.

National Agriculture Code

❖ The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has begun the process of formulating a
National Agriculture Code (NAC).
❖ This is same as the existing National Building Code and National Electrical Code.
❖ In agriculture, it has already set standards for machinery (tractors, harvesters,
etc.) and various inputs (fertilisers, pesticides, etc.)
❖ But there is no standard for agriculture practices like preparation of fields, micro
irrigation and water use.

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 ❖ The new NAC will cover all agriculture processes and post-harvest operations,
such as crop selection, land preparation, sowing/transplanting, irrigation
/drainage, soil health management, plant health management, harvesting /
threshing, primary processing, post-harvest, sustainability, and record the
maintenance.
❖ It will also include the standards for input management, like use of chemical
fertilisers, pesticides, and weedicides, as well as standards for crop storage and
traceability.

Antimicrobial Resistance and India

❖ The Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) Antimicrobial Resistance
Research and Surveillance Network has published its annual report for 2023.
❖ 55% of the antibiotics were prescribed not for the treatment of an infection, but
to prevent one.
❖ It is estimated that bacterial AMR was directly responsible for 1.27 million global
deaths in 2019 and contributed to 4.95 million deaths.
❖ The Lancet warns that AMR pathogens could kill over 39 million people by 2050.

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Supreme Court on Casteism in Prison

❖ The Supreme Court declared that caste-based division of labour in prisons is

“unconstitutional”.
❖ It highlighted the provisions in prison manuals in States such as Uttar Pradesh,
West Bengal, Odisha, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala that legitimised
caste inequalities.
❖ The Rajasthan Prison Rules, 1951, allocated latrine duties to the “Mehtar” caste,
a SC community and Brahmins or “sufficiently high caste Hindu prisoners” were
assigned to the kitchens.
❖ Segregating prisoners on the basis of caste would reinforce caste differences or
animosity that ought to be prevented in the first place.
❖ The differentiating between inmates based on “habit,” “custom,” “superior mode
of living,” and “natural tendency to escape” offends principles of substantive
equality.
❖ All States and Union Territories were directed to amend their prison manuals and
rules within three months to abolish such discriminatory practices.
❖ The court also mandated the removal of the “caste column” and any references
to caste in the registers of undertrials and convicts maintained in prisons.
❖ The court also ordered that necessary reforms be implemented in both the 2016
manual and the 2023 Act within three months.

Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana for TB

❖ The centre doubled the monthly nutrition support under Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana
(NPY) for tuberculosis (TB) patients under treatment from ₹500 to ₹1,000.

62
 ❖ Additionally, all household contacts of TB patients will be covered under the
Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan (PMTBMBA).
❖ All TB patients will now receive nutritional support of ₹3,000 to ₹6,000 under
NPY.
❖ Elimination of tuberculosis is one of the SDG to be achieved by 2030 by the world,
India has set the target of 2025.

National Anubhav Awards Scheme - 2025

❖ An Annual Awards Scheme was devised in 2015 to incentivize and encourage the
submission of the experiences through write ups.
❖ Till date, 10,886 write-ups have been published and 78 outstanding write ups
have been conferred with 59 Anubhav Awards and 19 Jury Certificates.
❖ For the first time, apart from the employees of Central Government, employees of
Central PSUs will also be eligible for submitting their write ups for 2025.

63
Trachoma Free India
❖ India has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, becoming the third
country in the South-East Asia region to reach this milestone.
❖ Trachoma is a highly contagious bacterial eye infection caused by Chlamydia
Trachomatis.
❖ It was once a leading cause of blindness in India, particularly in underprivileged
communities living in poor environmental conditions.
❖ India’s works against trachoma began in 1963 with the launch of the National
Trachoma Control Program.
❖ In 1971, blindness due to Trachoma stood at 5%, but now that figure dropped to
less than 1%.
❖ According to the WHO, around 150 million people worldwide are affected by the
trachoma.

National Maritime Heritage Complex Development

❖ The Union Cabinet approved the development of the National Maritime Heritage
Complex (NMHC) at Lothal in Gujarat.
❖ The Cabinet has also accorded in-principal approval for Phases 1B and 2 of the
projects.
❖ Phase 1A will have the NMHC museum with six galleries, including an Indian
Navy and Coast Guard gallery envisaged to be one of the largest in the country.
❖ Phase 1B will see NMHC museum getting eight more galleries, and the Light
House Museum which is planned to be world’s tallest.

Humsafar Policy
❖ Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways has unveiled the Humsafar Policy.
❖ It is a major initiative aimed at improving the overall infrastructure along India's
national highways.
❖ This policy focusses on providing essential amenities and enhancing the travel
experience for commuters.
❖ It is also ensuring that highways are more user-friendly and accessible to all.
❖ Under the Humsafar Policy, several essential facilities will be introduced or
upgraded across national highways.

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Rice fortification supply extension

❖ The Union cabinet approved the extension of the free fortified rice scheme from
July 2024 to December 2028.
❖ The aim of this is to “address anaemia and micro-nutrients deficiency”.
❖ The Fortification defines as “deliberately increasing the content of essential
micronutrients in a food so as to improve the nutritional quality of food and to
provide public health benefit with minimal risk to health”.
❖ One kg of fortified rice will contain iron (28 mg-42.5 mg), folic acid (75-125
microgram), and vitamin B-12 (0.75-1.25 microgram).

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Oral cancer in India

❖ India has the largest number of oral cancer cases caused by smokeless tobacco
(chewed, sucked on or sniffed) and areca nut (also called betel nut) use in South
Asia.
❖ It was hosting up 83,400 of the 120,200 cases globally in 2022.
❖ Smokeless tobacco accounts for over 30 per cent of all oral cancer cases globally.

❖ The contributing regions of South-Central Asia (a total of 105,500 cases) are, with
83,400 - India, 9,700 - Bangladesh, 8,900 - Pakistan and in Sri Lanka 1,300).
❖ It is followed by South-East Asia (a total of 3,900 cases, with 1,600 in Myanmar,
990 in Indonesia, and 785 in Thailand).
❖ The East Asia hosts a total of 3,300 cases, with 3,200 in China.

India’s Vaccine Regulatory System

❖ Drug regulator CDSCO and the National Regulatory Authority of India have met
the standards set up by the WHO for a functional vaccine regulatory system.
❖ Safety, efficacy, and quality were the three basic parameters of assessment of
vaccines.
❖ India has been declared 'functional' against all the core regulatory functions of
the WHO Global Benchmarking Tool Version VI.
❖ The WHO has established global standards and benchmarks for assurance of
vaccine quality through the
o Development of tools and guidelines,
o Benchmarking of the National Regulatory Authorities (NRA) and
o Pre-qualification programme of vaccines

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10-point plan to strengthen India-ASEAN relations
❖ The 21st ASEAN-India Summit was held in Vientiane, Laos.
❖ The theme of the vent was ‘Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience’
❖ During the event India announced a 10-point plan to mark a decade of India’s
Act East Policy.

e-Migrate Portal v2.0

❖ India launched the updated e-Migrate portal and mobile app version 2.0.
❖ It is marking a step towards safer, transparent, and inclusive labour mobility for
Indian workers going abroad.
❖ It aligns with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 10, promoting
orderly and responsible migration.

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National Electricity Plan For 500 GW

❖ India has unveiled its National Electricity Plan (Transmission) aiming to achieve
500 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2030 and over 600 GW by
2032.
❖ The National Electricity Plan seeks to support India’s goal of net-zero emissions
by 2070
❖ It projects the addition of over 1,91,000 circuit kilometers (ckm) of transmission
lines and 1,270 GVA of transformation capacity in the next decade.
❖ It also includes the provisions for integrating 47 GW of battery energy storage
systems and 31 GW of pumped storage plants, crucial for managing renewable
energy's intermittent nature.
❖ As of October 2024, India’s renewable energy-based electricity generation
capacity stands at 201.45 GW.
❖ It will be accounting for 46.3 percent of the country's total installed capacity.

Shakthi SAT Mission 2024

❖ Aerospace startup Space Kidz India has launched "Shakthi SAT".
❖ It is a global mission to train about 12,000 girls across 108 countries on space
technology.
❖ It is aiming for a satellite launch under ISRO's Chandrayaan-4 mission.

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 ❖ The mission includes 120 hours of online training for high school girl students
(aged 14-18).
❖ It will teach them about various aspects of space technology, payload
development, and spacecraft systems.

Greenwashing Guidelines
❖ The Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Greenwashing or Misleading
Environment Claims were issued by the Central Consumer Protection Authority
(CCPA).
❖ Its guidelines are limited to curbing greenwashing in advertisements of products
or services.
❖ The new norms would complement the existing Guidelines for Prevention of
Misleading Advertisements and Endorsement for Misleading Advertisements,
framed in 2022.
❖ Greenwashing refers to the growing tendency of companies, organisations or even
countries to make dubious or unverifiable claims about their activities, products
or services being environment-friendly or climate-friendly.
❖ Generic terms like “clean”, “green”, “eco-friendly”, “good for planet”, “cruelty-free”,
“carbon neutral”, “natural”, “organic”, “sustainable”, or similar other descriptions
for a product would be allowed only if the company is able to substantiate these
with evidence.

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Minimum Support Prices hike 2025-26
❖ The Union government has announced minimum support prices (MSP) for six
rabi crops for the 2025-26 rabi marketing season (RMS).
❖ Wheat, the country’s second-largest crop, sees an increase of `150 per quintal, or
6.59 per cent, over its current MSP.
❖ The new MSPs for 2025-26 will be ₹2,425 per quintal for wheat, ₹1,980 for barley,
₹5,650 for gram, ₹6,700 for lentils, ₹5,950 for rapeseed and mustard, and ₹5,940
for safflower.

Doctrine of Lis Pendens - Supreme Court

❖ The Supreme Court held that once a transaction is found to be hit by the doctrine
of lis pendens, then the defences of being a bona fide purchaser and lack of notice
regarding the sale agreement are not available.
❖ Lis pendens in common parlance means “a pending legal action”.
❖ The doctrine of Lis pendens finds its place in Section 52 of Transfer of Property
Act.

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 ❖ It provides that if there is any transfer of any immovable property pending
litigation, the same shall not affect the rights of the parties in respect to the
immovable property.
❖ But, the outcome of the litigation would be binding upon such a purchaser, who
has purchased the property during the pending litigation.

Cancer cases by 2045

❖ Cancer cases and deaths in India are projected to surge between 2022 and 2045.
❖ 12.8% increase in cancer incidence in India in 2025 compared to 2020 and that
cancer incidence is continuing to stand up.
❖ Among men in India, oral cancer, especially lip and mouth cancers, is the most
common.
❖ Breast cancer is the leading cancer among women, and cervical cancer is also a
major concern.
❖ Meanwhile, lung cancer is the most common type among women in China.
❖ BRICS nations are responsible for 42% of global cancer-related deaths.
❖ China bore the highest total productivity loss, estimated at $28 billion.
❖ South Africa faced the highest cost per cancer death at $101,000.

India – US Defense deal 2024

❖ India and the U.S concluded a $3.5 bn deal for the procurement of 31 MQ-9B
armed High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems
(RPAS).

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 ❖ The deal also includes 170 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles; 16 M36E9 Hellfire captive
air training missiles; 310 GBU-39B/B laser Small Diameter Bombs (SDB); and
etc.
❖ Hellfire missile is one of the most popular short-range air-to-ground (sometimes
air-to-air) laser-guided, subsonic tactical missiles.
❖ The AGM-114R multipurpose missile is the latest in the Hellfire II missile range
(7-11km).
❖ The MQ-9B 'hunter-killer' drones are the high-altitude long-endurance drones.
❖ They are capable of remaining airborne for over 35 hours and can carry four
Hellfire missiles and around 450 kgs of bombs.

Next Chief Justice of India 2024

❖ Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud has recommended the Justice Sanjiv
Khanna to the government for appointment as the 51st Chief Justice of India.
❖ Current CJI is scheduled to retire on November 10.
❖ Justice Khanna did not serve as the chief justice of any high court before his
appointment as a judge in the Supreme Court in January 2019.
❖ He is due to retire on May 13, 2025.

Samarth Scheme extension 2024

❖ The Government extends the “Samarth” (Scheme for Capacity Building in Textiles
Sector) scheme till March 2026.
❖ It is focusing on the job creation in organized textile industries while excluding
spinning and weaving.
❖ The program also emphasizes the upskilling of existing workers and supports
traditional textile sectors such as handloom and handicraft.

8 years of UDAN
❖ The UDAN scheme was introduced on October 21, 2016.
❖ UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) is aimed at enhancing regional air connectivity
and making flying more affordable.
❖ As many as 601 routes and 71 airports have been operationalised under the
UDAN scheme.
❖ A total of 86 aerodromes, comprising 71 airports, 13 heliports, and 2 water
aerodromes have been operationalised.

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 ❖ The number of operational airports in the country has doubled from 74 in 2014
to 157 in 2024.

New Drugs and Clinical Trial (NDCT) Rules, 2019

❖ The Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) has recommended the inclusion of
all antibiotics in the definition of new drugs in the New Drugs and Clinical Trial
(NDCT) Rules, 2019.
❖ It aims to curbing the growing anti-microbial resistance which is now recognised
as a public health threat globally.

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 ❖ The board is also looking at amending the labelling requirements under the Drugs
Rules, 1945 and adding a blue strip or box for antimicrobial products.
❖ It has recommended that no antimicrobials should be sold by the traders to the
non-pharmaceutical industries who do not hold requisite licences.
❖ DTAB is the highest statutory decision-making body on technical matters related
to drugs in the country.

e-Shram – One Stop Solution

❖ Union Ministry of Labour & Employment launched eShram One Stop Solution in
New Delhi.
❖ The primary purpose of the portal is to simplify the registration process for
unorganised workers and facilitate their access to government welfare schemes.
❖ It will provide seamless access of the different Social Security Schemes to the
unorganised workers registered on eShram.

Section 6A of the Citizenship Act of 1955

❖ A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of
Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
❖ It permits immigrants from Bangladesh residing in Assam to secure the Indian
citizenship.
❖ The principle of fraternity cannot be selectively applied to one section living in
Assam while another lot are labelled “illegal immigrants”.
❖ The immigrants who entered Assam on or after March 25 of 1971 were liable to
be detected, detained and deported.
❖ Section 6A traces its roots to the political solution of Assam Accord of 1985.
❖ It mandates that immigrants who entered Assam from Bangladesh prior to
January 1, 1966 would be deemed to be Indian citizens.

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 ❖ Those who entered into the State between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971
would be conferred citizenship based on the fulfilment of specific procedures and
conditions.
❖ The Section however barred citizenship to those who entered Assam after March
25, 1971.
❖ The Pakistani Army had launched Operation Searchlight to curb the Bengali
nationalist movement in East Pakistan on March 26, 1971.

New missile testing range – Nagayalanka

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 ❖ The Cabinet Committee on Security approved the establishment of a new missile
testing range in the Nagayalanka area of Andhra Pradesh's Krishna district.
❖ This will allow the defence researchers in the country to test a large number of
tactical missile systems.
❖ The new facility will support testing of surface-to-air missiles, anti-tank missiles,
and other projects under DRDO.

SARTHI System
❖ The Solar Assisted Reefer Transportation with Hybrid Controls and Intelligence
(SARTHI) system was introduced recently.
❖ It has introduced by the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship
and Management, Kundli (NIFTEM-K).
❖ It is an innovative solution to reduce post-harvest losses in perishable food
transportation.
❖ It features dual compartments designed to store fruits and vegetables at different
temperatures, addressing their unique storage needs.
❖ This design helps to extend shelf life and reduces losses due to chilling injury or
moisture loss.

Kartarpur Corridor Agreement 2024

❖ India and Pakistan agreed through diplomatic channels to extend the validity of
the agreement on Kartarpur Sahib corridor for another five years.
❖ The agreement was signed on October 24, 2019 for a period of five years.
❖ It aims to facilitate the visit of pilgrims from India to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib
Kartarpur in Narowal, Pakistan, through the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.
❖ Extension of validity of the agreement will ensure uninterrupted operation of the
corridor for use by pilgrims from India to visit the holy gurdwara in Pakistan.

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Bharat Chana Dal Phase II
❖ The Centre expanded its subsidised pulses program, introducing chana whole
and masur dal under the ‘Bharat’ brand.
❖ The initiative aims to provide these pulses at the discounted rates through the
cooperative networks, ensuring affordability for the public.
❖ The Bharat brand provides staples such as rice, flour, and pulses at subsidised
rates.
❖ It was launched as a part of the government’s broader aim to make essential
goods more affordable for middle-class consumers.
❖ Phase I of the brand was rolled out in October 2023 and Phase II was announced
earlier this month.

Rights of Persons with disabilities rules 2024 (Amendment)

❖ The government has enforced new amendments to the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (RPwD) rules.
❖ It aims to streamline the application process for disability certificates and Unique
Disability Identity (UDID) Cards.
❖ It will improve accessibility and provide more efficient services for persons with
disabilities.
❖ Now, individuals with specified disabilities can apply for disability certificates and
UDID cards through the UDID Portal.
❖ The amendments also introduce the color-coded UDID cards, signifying different
levels of disability:

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 o White for disabilities below 40 per cent,
o Yellow for 40-79 per cent and
o Blue for those with 80 per cent or higher disability.
❖ 4% reservation in government jobs is available for people with disabilities.
❖ But the people with blood disorders like thalassemia, haemophilia, and sickle cell
disease are not eligible for job reservations under the PwD category.

Bhu-Aadhaar

❖ Bhu-Aadhaar or ULPIN was launched in 2021 as a part of the land records

modernisation program.

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 ❖ Around 30 percent of the rural land parcels in the country have been given a
Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) or Bhu-Aadhaar.
❖ This is an initiative to give a 14-digit alpha-numeric identity to each land parcel.
❖ ULPIN was launched in 2021 as part of the Centre’s Digital India Land Records
Modernisation Programme (DILRMP).
❖ It aims to streamline and bring uniformity to the process adopted by states in
assigning unique identification numbers to land parcels.
❖ Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh have made
significant progress.
❖ In Gujarat, which has over 1.2 crore land parcels, the data show, the ULPIN has
been generated for 1.19 crore land parcels.

1st Mid-Career Training Program

❖ The National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) has successfully concluded its
first Mid-Career Training Program for civil servants from the BIMSTEC nations.
❖ The two-week program brought together 36 senior officials, including Deputy
Commissioners, Assistant Divisional Secretaries, Commissioners, and Deputy
Directors, from Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, and Bhutan representing the key
ministries.
❖ The program aimed to foster the regional cooperation and enhance governance
capabilities.

PM-YASASVI Scheme
❖ The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has implemented the PM Young
Achievers Scholarship Award Scheme for Vibrant India (PM-YASASVI).
❖ This comprehensive umbrella scheme is aimed at uplifting students from OBC,
EBC, and De-notified Tribes (DNT) by providing them with access to quality
education during their formative years.
❖ This scheme consolidates and enhances several earlier initiatives, including the
Dr. Ambedkar Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for EBCs and the Dr. Ambedkar
Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for DNTs.
❖ By integrating these schemes, it ensures a more streamlined and impactful
approach to supporting the educational needs of socially and economically
disadvantaged students.

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Localized Weather Forecasting

❖ Five-day weather forecasts, updated every hour, are now available at the level of
gram panchayats.
❖ It is the first major step towards localised forecasting across the country.
❖ It aimed at “empowering rural communities and enhancing disaster preparedness
at the grassroots, and will benefit farmers and villagers across the country.
❖ Hourly forecasts will be available on the e-GramSwaraj and Gram Manchitra
portals, and the Meri Panchayat app.
❖ e-GramSwaraj is already operational.

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New draft guidelines on passive euthanasia 2024

❖ Union Health Ministry comes up with new draft guidelines on passive euthanasia.
❖ The Doctors should take a "considered decision" on withdrawal of life support in
terminally ill patients on the basis of certain conditions including a documented
informed refusal by the patient or their kin.
❖ The guidelines laid out four conditions for the passive euthanasia to take a
"considered decision in a patient's best interests, to stop or discontinue ongoing
life support.
o The individual has been declared to have had a brainstem death
o There is medical prognostication and a considered opinion that the patient's
disease condition is advanced and not likely to benefit from aggressive
therapeutic interventions,
o A patient/surrogate documented informed refusal, following prognostic
awareness, to continue life support
o Compliance with procedures prescribed by the Supreme Court.
❖ A Terminal illness in the draft guidelines has been defined as an irreversible or
incurable condition from which death is inevitable in the foreseeable future.
❖ Severe traumatic brain injury which shows no recovery after 72 hours or more is
also included.
❖ For a patient without capacity, foregoing of Life Support proposals should be
made by a consensus among a group of at least three physicians who form the
Primary Medical Board (PMB).
❖ A Secondary Medical Board of three physicians with one appointee by the Chief
Medical Officer of the district must validate the decision by the PMB.

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 INTERNATIONAL

Same-sex marriage – Thailand

❖ Thailand’s king has signed a landmark marriage equality bill into law.
❖ This is making the kingdom the first country in Southeast Asia to recognise same-
sex marriages.
❖ LGBTQ+ couples will be able to register their marriage in January next year.

Pact for the future

❖ The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has adopted an ambitious pact-
“Pact for the Future”.
❖ It aims to make the organisation more relevant and effective on the global stage
in the 21st century.
❖ It will promote global peace, sustainability, and inclusivity for future generations.
❖ Countries like Russia, Iran, the North Korea, and Syria proposed changes to the
Pact.

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Minerals Security Finance Network

❖ India has joined the US-led minerals security finance network.

❖ It aims to “strengthen cooperation and promote information exchange and co-
financing” among participating institutions from the Indo-Pacific region and
Europe.
❖ The network is the latest initiative from the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP),
a framework established by the US in 2022.
❖ India was inducted to the MSP in June 2023.
❖ The MSP grouping is focused on the supply chains of minerals such as cobalt,
nickel, lithium and also the 17 “rare earth” minerals.

Steering Committee of the GlobE Network

❖ India has secured a position on the 15-member Steering Committee of the GlobE
Network, an international anti-corruption body.
❖ The Ministry of Home Affairs serves as India's Central Authority for the GlobE
Network.
❖ The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED)
acting as member authorities.
❖ The GlobE Network originated as an initiative from the G-20, supported by India
in 2020.
❖ The GlobE Network was officially launched on 3 June 2021.
❖ The network has 121 member countries and 219 member authorities.

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Joint ministerial meeting of L.69 and C-10 groupings
❖ India participated in the first-ever Joint Ministerial Meeting of the L.69 and C-10
groupings of nations on the sidelines of the 79th session of UNGA.
❖ The Committee of Ten (C10) is a group of African countries that is part of the
African Union (AU).
❖ It is dedicated to advancing Education, Science, and Technology.
❖ The L69 grouping consists of 32 developing nations (including India) from Asia,
Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific (Small Island Developing
States).
❖ It stands for expansion in both the permanent and non-permanent categories of
membership of UNSC.
❖ It derives its name from the draft document number “L.69”, tabled in 2007-08.
❖ This led to the initiation of the Intergovernmental Negotiation (IGN) process.

DF-41 missile
❖ China successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile- D-41, into the
Pacific Ocean.
❖ It has an operational range of up to 12,000–15,000km, capable of reaching the
US mainland.
❖ An ICBM typically has a range greater than 5,500km and is designed to carry
nuclear warheads.
❖ In May 1980, a DF-5 -China's first ICBM flew more than 9,000 kilometres.

Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction

❖ India has signed an international agreement called the Biodiversity Beyond
National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, or the "Treaty of the High Seas".
❖ The goal of the BBNJ Agreement is to protect marine life in areas of the ocean
that are not owned by any one country.
❖ These areas start 370 kilometres from any country's coastline and cover two-
thirds of the world's oceans.

Top Immigrants source of USA

❖ The United States of America is home to nearly one-fifth of world’s international
migrants.
❖ The foreign-born population in the US reached a record 47.8 million in 2023,
increasing by 1.6 million from the previous year.

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 ❖ Mexico, China, and India are among the top birthplaces for immigrants residing
in the US.
❖ Mexico remains the largest single country of origin, with 10.6 million Mexicans
living in the US, immigrants from India make up 6%, followed by China with 5%.

Mount Erebus 2024

❖ Mount Erebus is the southernmost active volcano on Earth that towers 12,448
feet into the air.
❖ However, it is a geological wonder that regularly emits gas, steam, and molten
rocks that are called volcanic bombs.
❖ The volcano regularly emits micro-crystals of gold.

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 ❖ This volcano emits around 80 grams of gold, which amounts to about $6,000
every day.
❖ Sir James Clark Ross, a British explorer, discovered the volcano in 1841 in his
expedition to Antarctica.

Operation Northern Arrows

❖ Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have launched targeted, limited ground operations
against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon under Operation Northern Arrows.
❖ The IDF aims to neutralize some of the immediate dangers that Hezbollah
presents to Israeli towns and cities.
❖ It is conducted in parallel with combat in Gaza and other areas.

Return of Chagos Archipelago

❖ The United Kingdom ceded sovereignty of the strategically important Chagos
Islands to Mauritius.
❖ The UK has long controlled Chagos and the Diego Garcia military base located
there, jointly operating it with the United States.
❖ The Chagos archipelago, comprising 58 islands, lies roughly 500 km to the south
of the Maldives archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
❖ In 1814, France ceded the islands to the British.
❖ In 1965, the UK constituted the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), of which
the Chagos Islands were a central part.

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 ❖ A few other BIOT islands were later ceded to the Seychelles in 1976 after it gained
independence from Britain.
❖ Chagos was attached to Mauritius, another British colony in the Indian Ocean,
for administrative purposes.
❖ But when Mauritius gained the independence in 1968, Chagos remained with
Britain.

International Medical Device Regulators Forum

❖ India has become an affiliate member of the International Medical Device
Regulators Forum (IMDRF).
❖ The IMDRF is a group of global medical device regulators, was established in
2011.
❖ It aims to speed up the adoption of international medical device regulatory
harmonisation and convergence.
❖ Its members include national regulatory authorities of the U.S., Australia,
Canada, the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Russia, China,
South Korea, Singapore and the WHO.

Redrawing of Alpine Borders

❖ Switzerland and Italy redrew their shared border in the Alps last week, forced by
melting glaciers.
❖ In 2023, Italy and Switzerland had set up a commission to study climate impacts
on glaciers and their subsequent effect on the border.
❖ Switzerland and Italy have agreed to changes along the landmarks of Plateau
Rosa, the Carrel refuge, and the Gobba di Rollin.
❖ This is where the Zermatt region of Switzerland meets the Aosta valley of Italy.
❖ The region is home to several ski resorts that fuel the economy of both countries.

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First Mpox diagnostic test
❖ WHO has listed the first Mpox in vitro diagnostic under its Emergency Use Listing
procedure.
❖ The Alinity m MPXV assay is a real-time PCR test that enables detection of
monkeypox virus (clade I/II) DNA from human skin lesion swabs.
❖ Currently, 35 laboratories across India are equipped to test suspected cases of
Mpox.
❖ In 2024, over 30,000 suspected cases were reported across the African region.

Marburg Virus - Rwanda

❖ Rwanda peaked a new case of sickness caused by Marburg virus – one of the
deadliest pathogens known.
❖ The Marburg virus disease (MRV) name derives from the disease was first
reported in western countries.

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 ❖ It was tracing back to lab outbreaks in Germany and the former Yugoslavia in
1967.
❖ Marburg virus can spread very quickly in the body, infecting and destroying cells
in the blood, liver and skin.
❖ Current statistics indicate an 88% mortality rate among those infected with MRV.
❖ Marburg virus is ‘zoonotic’, which means it is able to jump from an animal host
reservoir to humans through prolonged exposure.

Farewell to Horse Race - Singapore

❖ Singapore bade farewell to a 182-year-old British-era tradition of horse racing
recently.
❖ The Singapore Turf Club (STC) hosts horse racing since 1842.
❖ The Horse racing was introduced to Singapore over 182 years ago by Scottish
merchant William Henry Macleod Read.
❖ He had founded the Singapore Sporting Club which was later renamed to STC in
1924.

Bilateral investment treaty (BIT) 2024

❖ The Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) signed between India and the UAE has been
enforced from August 31 this year.
❖ It gives continuity of investment protection to investors of both the countries.
❖ UAE is the seventh largest with a share of 3% in the total Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) received in India.

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 ❖ The earlier Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA)
treaty between India and UAE was signed in December 2013 and expired on 12th
September, 2024.

China’s ‘Anaconda Strategy’

❖ Taiwan recently claimed that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is using an
‘anaconda strategy’ to squeeze the island nation.
❖ “Slowly, but surely” China is enhancing its military presence around Taiwan.
❖ The 'Anaconda Plan' refers to a military strategy proposed by Union General
Winfield Scott during the early stages of the American Civil War.
❖ The primary objective of this strategy was to suffocate the Confederacy
economically and militarily, similar to how an anaconda snake coils around and
asphyxiates its prey.
❖ There has been a steady increase in the number of ships China operates around
Taiwan, from 142 at the beginning of the year to 282 in August.

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WHO core program for 2025-2028
❖ India has now committed to give more than $300 million for the organisation’s
core program of work from 2025 to 2028.
❖ The biggest sum of $250 million will be spent on the Centre of Excellence for
Traditional Medicine.
❖ India has committed the largest amount of funds so far in southeast Asia.
❖ So far, WHO has received contribution pledges for over $2.2 billion towards a
$7.1 billion funding gap.

Global Digital Compact 2024

❖ The ‘Global Digital Compact’ (GDC) was adopted in the recently concluded UN
‘Summit of the Future’.
❖ It is not a binding law but a diplomatic instrument with a set of shared goals for
governments, institutions, firms, and other stakeholders to bear in mind.
❖ The GDC is a collaborative project with the objective of ensuring human oversight
of technologies in ways that advance sustainable development.
❖ To address the digital divide, the GDC proposes “digital public goods” that will
include open-source software, open data, and open AI models, plus adherence to
privacy and best practices.
❖ Earlier, the UN helped pilot and legitimise two other compacts.

Members to Human Rights Council

❖ The UN General Assembly elected 18 members to the 47-member Human Rights
Council for the 2025-2027 term.
❖ The 18 countries, including Benin, Bolivia, Colombia, Cyprus, Qatar, and
Thailand, were elected by a secret ballot.

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 ❖ The elected members will serve three-year terms beginning on January 1 next
year.
❖ The Geneva-based Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental body within
the United Nations system.
❖ It is responsible for promoting and protecting human rights around the world.
❖ Saudi Arabia failed to win a seat in the Council, with finishing in sixth place.

President Murmu’s African Visit

❖ President Droupadi Murmu is traveling to Algeria, Mauritania and Malawi.
❖ This is the first-ever visit by an Indian head of state to the three African countries.
❖ During the visit to the Sidi Abdellah Science and Technology Pole, a hub of
universities, she received an honorary doctorate.
❖ She has also inaugurated an India Corner at Hamma Garden at Jardin d’essai,
Algeria.
❖ Murmu’s visit coincides with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations
between India and Malawi.

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44th and 45th ASEAN Summits
❖ The 44th and 45th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits and
related summits kicked off in Vientiane, Laos.
❖ Malaysia has chaired ASEAN throughout 2025, under the theme “Inclusivity and
Sustainability.”
❖ 27th ASEAN-China Summit, the 27th ASEAN Plus Three Summit (ASEAN-China,
Japan, and the Republic of Korea), and the 19th East Asia Summit also held.
❖ The First ASEAN Summit was held in Bali, Indonesia in 1976.

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Gender-Responsive Climate Policies

❖ There has been a rise in gender-responsive climate policies and actions globally.
❖ Around 81 per cent of the Parties to the Paris Agreement referred to gender in
their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).
❖ Till that date, the total number of NDCs of 195 Parties was 168.
❖ 62.3 per cent described efforts to strengthen institutional mechanisms for
mainstreaming gender considerations across climate action.
❖ Some 11.5 per cent described initiatives aimed at increasing the gender balanced
groups engaged to support monitoring and evaluation of adaptation action.
❖ Around 55.7 per cent affirmed their commitment to gender equality.
❖ Women farmers currently account for 45-80 per cent of all food production in
developing countries depending on the region.
❖ About two-thirds of the female labour force in developing countries and more
than 90 per cent in many African countries are engaged in agricultural work.

India – Canada Diplomatic crisis 2024

❖ Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who India designated as a terrorist, is

shot dead in British Columbia of Canada in 2023.

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 ❖ Canada accused Indian intelligence for this incident.
❖ Canada have withdrawn 41 diplomats from India amid the ongoing dispute.
❖ Recently, Canada announced the expulsion of six Indian diplomats, including the
high commissioner.
❖ This led to India announcing the expulsion of six members of the Canadian high
commission in Delhi.

Record Solar Power Capacity of the World in 2023

❖ In 2023, global renewable energy capacity reached 3.9 terawatts (TW), up from
3.86 TW in 2022.
❖ However, this falls short of the required compound annual growth rate of 16.4%,
leaving a gap of 1.5 TW by 2030 if the current pace persists.
❖ A record 473 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power capacity was added globally in
2023.
❖ Solar PV continues to dominate, with 346.9 GW added in 2023, marking a 73%
increase from 2022.

Suppliers of restricted technology

❖ India has surged to become the second-biggest supplier of restricted critical
technologies to Russia.
❖ Indian exports of restricted items such as microchips, circuits and machine tools
surpassed $60 million in both April and May and leaped to $95 million in July.

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 ❖ India’s role in the shipment of such goods has presented a further challenge
because US and EU policymakers.

UK Naga Skull Auction Controversy

❖ A UK auction house has removed the ‘Naga Human Skull’ from its listings for a
live online sale.
❖ Critics called for the return of the 200-year-old skull, which was listed for auction
in Britain along with at least 25 other remains.
❖ The Naga skull, which features attached animal horns, was described as
particularly appealing to collectors interested in anthropology and tribal cultures.
❖ The opening bid was set at about ₹23 lakh, with an estimated final price of up to
around ₹43 lakh.
❖ The Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford holds around 6,500 Naga artefacts collected
during the British colonial period.

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Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement

❖ The multinational agreement is regulating the use of the Nile River’s waters has
officially entered into force, despite strong opposition from Egypt.
❖ The Nile Basin Initiative is a partnership of 10 riparian countries headquartered
in Entebbe, Uganda.
❖ The Nile is spanning 11 countries but only five countries signed and ratified the
treaty.
❖ Egypt and Sudan have yet to sign the agreement.
❖ They both have long been embroiled in a dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand
Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
❖ The GERD, a massive hydropower project on the Blue Nile, is providing electricity
to Ethiopia’s 120 million citizens.
❖ Egypt views the dam as an existential threat, as the Nile supplies 97 percent of
its water needs.
❖ The Nile Basin Initiative includes Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda,
while Eritrea participates as an observer.

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SCO Summit 2024 - Pakistan
❖ Islamabad hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2024.
❖ The summit aims to address critical issues such as regional security, economic
cooperation, and combating terrorism.
❖ India’s External Affairs Minister, alongside Prime Ministers from China, Russia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Iran’s First Vice-
President participated in the event.
❖ This is the first high-level visit by an Indian official to Pakistan in nearly nine
years.
❖ SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international body founded on June 15,
2001, in Shanghai, China.
❖ The organisation expanded to nine member countries with the inclusion of India
and Pakistan in 2017.

Mount Adams eruption - USA

❖ The Mount Adams, Washington's largest volcano, has recently shown a surge in
seismic activity after remaining largely dormant for thousands of years.
❖ Mount Adams has produced four lava flows within the last 12,000 years.
❖ The biggest concern is the possibility of lahars—mudflows composed of rock, ash,
and ice.
❖ Notably, past lahars from Mount Adams reached considerable distances about
6,000 and 300 years ago.

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 ❖ Due to the potential risks of these mudflows, Mount Adams is classified as a
“high-threat” volcano.

West Nile virus in Ukraine

❖ Ukraine reported a severe outbreak of West Nile virus (WNV).

❖ WNV is common in regions such as Africa, the Middle East, North America, and
West Asia.
❖ It typically spikes between the summer and autumn months of June and
September.
❖ The virus is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito,
which usually contracts the virus from migratory birds or horses.

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 ❖ The virus was first identified in Uganda’s West Nile region in 1937.
❖ There is currently no specific treatment or vaccine for WNV.

FATF Grey List Rules

❖ The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) made major changes to the criteria to
focus on those nations posing greater risks to the international financial system.
❖ The FATF identifies jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies in their system for
fighting money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.
❖ Under the revised criteria, jurisdictions will be prioritised for active review if they
meet the referral criteria and are:
o An FATF Member;
o A country on the World Bank High-Income Countries list (excluding those
with a financial sector of two or fewer banks); or
o A country that has financial sector assets above USD 10 billion (measured by
broad money).
❖ Around 21 nations are in FATF grey list now.

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Click-to-Cancel Rule

❖ The United States’ Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will soon implement a “click-
to-cancel” rule.
❖ It will make it significantly easier for consumers to cancel their subscriptions and
memberships.
❖ Requiring multiple taps or hiding the setting under multiple pages of settings will
be prohibited.
❖ It will also make companies liable to face civil penalties for complicating the
cancellation process.
❖ 2022 Research found that 42% of consumers had forgotten they were paying for
services they did not use.
❖ That Customers generally underestimated the monthly cost of their subscriptions
by an average of $133.

World’s freest economy 2024

❖ The 2024 “Economic Freedom of the World” report was compiled by the Fraser
Institute.
❖ Hong Kong regains title as world’s freest economy from Singapore.
❖ Coming in at No. 3 was Switzerland, followed by New Zealand and the US.
❖ At 165th place, Venezuela ranked last with a score of 3.02.
❖ The rankings of other major economies include Japan at No 11, Britain at No 12,
Taiwan at No 19, India at No 84 and mainland China at 104.

Rome Declaration
❖ The High-level Rome Water Dialogue took place on the sidelines of FAO’s annual
World Food Forum (WFF) at FAO headquarters in Rome.

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 ❖ FAO members and partners of the Global Framework on Water Scarcity in
Agriculture (WASAG) has adopted the Rome Declaration on Water Scarcity in
Agriculture.
❖ It is aimed at addressing water scarcity, increasingly exacerbated by the climate
crisis, particularly in the agriculture sector.
❖ The WASAG initiative was launched at the United Nations Climate Conference in
Marrakesh in 2016 to support countries in addressing water scarcity challenges.
❖ By 2050, more than half the global population will live in areas at risk of water
scarcity at least one month a year and agriculture.

16th BRICS Summit

❖ 16th BRICS Summit was held in Kazan, Russia.

❖ India had bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the
BRICS summit after 5 years.
❖ UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also attended the BRICS summit.
❖ This Summit concluded with the adoption of the Kazan Declaration.
❖ The first Bric summit was held in Russia's Yekaterinburg in 2009.
❖ South Africa was accepted as a full member at the Bric foreign ministers' meeting
in New York in September 2010.
❖ The New Development Bank (NDB) was establishment in 2014, with a capital of
$100 billion.
❖ In 2024, the group further grew with the addition of new members: Egypt,
Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

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 ❖ This is the first summit of the group following its expansion.
❖ Now, over 30 countries have expressed the desire to join Brics.

India and China on LAC agreement

❖ India and China have reached an agreement on the “patrolling arrangements”
and the resolution of the military stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
❖ The disengagement agreement came after 17 rounds of working mechanism
meetings and 21 rounds of military dialogue.
❖ The new agreement will facilitate Indian troops to resume patrolling up to their
old patrolling points in Depsang and Demchok
❖ Disputes have already been settled in Gogra-Hot Springs, Pangong Lake, and
Galwan Valley.
❖ India and China share a 3,488 km long border.
❖ While China claims about 90,000 sq km of India's territory, including in
Arunachal Pradesh.
❖ India has maintained that 38,000 sq km of land in the disputed Aksai Chin region
is the part of Ladakh.

Hand-in-Hand Initiative
❖ The Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum 2024 was held in Rome during the World
Food Forum.
❖ There are now 72 countries that have joined the Hand-in-Hand Initiative.
❖ The Hand-in-Hand Initiative has so far catalysed more than $3 billion in the
prioritized agrifood investments.

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 ❖ HIH Initiative, launched in 2019, is a flagship of FAO and one of its core priority
programme areas.
❖ It supports the implementation of the nationally led ambitious programmes to
accelerate the agrifood systems transformations by eradicating poverty (SDG1),
ending hunger and malnutrition (SDG2), and reducing inequalities (SDG10).

Kazan Declaration

❖ The 16th BRICS Summit concluded with the adoption of the Kazan Declaration.
❖ It is a comprehensive document outlining key areas of cooperation and the bloc's
unified stance on global issues.
❖ The theme of the Declaration is "Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global
Development and Security".
❖ The declaration emphasises the need for peaceful resolution through diplomacy.
❖ The summit underscored the importance of the G20 in global decision-making.
❖ The BRICS nations has reiterated their pledge to improve global governance by
advocating for a more agile, responsive, and representative multilateral system.
❖ BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism (ICM) is focussing on facilitating and
expanding innovative financial practices.
❖ The declaration has welcomed the use of local currencies in BRICS financial
transactions and supported the exploration of an independent cross-border
settlement infrastructure.

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 ❖ Establishing a BRICS Grain Exchange and studying the feasibility of a BRICS
Cross-Border Payment System and BRICS (Re)Insurance Company.
❖ India’s initiative to create an International Big Cats Alliance received recognition.
❖ It supports the initiatives of the BRICS R&D Vaccine Center, further development
of the BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for preventing mass infectious
diseases risks and the operations of the BRICS TB Research Network.

Global Deal on Genetic Information Use

e
❖ At the U.N. COP16 nature summit, member countries will negotiate a deal for the
use of genetic information from nature, known as digital sequence information
(DSI).
❖ The DSI refers to the digital representation of genetic codes extracted from living
organisms.
❖ These genetic sequences are digitized and often uploaded to the public databases
where they are stored for any researcher to use.
❖ The COP16 talks will focus on how this digital information is used and do not
touch on the actual samples and specimens.
❖ The charge of between 0.1% to 1% on annual revenues in key sectors using DSI
could generate between $1 billion and $10 billion annually.

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 ECONOMY

Minimum wage rates for workers 2024

❖ The Union government announced a hike in minimum wage rates for workers up
to ₹1,035 a day by revising variable dearness allowance.
❖ After revision, minimum wage rates in the area 'A' for workers in construction,
sweeping, cleaning, loading & unloading for unskilled work will be ₹783 a day
(₹20,358 per month).
❖ For semi-skilled workers, the minimum wage rate will be ₹868 a day (₹22,568 per
month).
❖ For skilled, clerical and watch & wards without arms at ₹954 a day (₹24,804 per
month).
❖ The minimum wage rate for highly skilled and watch & ward with arms will be
₹1,035 a day (₹26,910 per month).
❖ The new wage rates will take effect from October 1, 2024.
❖ Last revision was done in April 2024.

7th annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)

❖ The National Statistics Office (NSO), released the results of the Periodic Labour
Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24.
❖ The unemployment rate for 2023-24 remained unchanged at 3.2%, the same as
in 2022-23.
❖ Since 2017-18, the unemployment rate has not shown a year-on-year decline.

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 ❖ The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increased to 60.1% in 2023-24 from
57.9% in 2022-23 at national level.
❖ The rural LFPR rose to 63.7%, while the urban LFPR increased to 52%.
❖ Increasing Trend in Worker Population Ratio (WPR) was 58.2% in the year 2023-
2024.
❖ The same for male and female was 76.3% and 40.3% respectively.
❖ The unemployment rate in rural areas showed a little increase, rising to 2.5% in
2023-24 from 2.4% in 2022-23.
❖ But the urban unemployment rate improved to 5.1% from 5.4%.
❖ The unemployment rate for women rose to 3.2% from 2.9% in 2022-23.
❖ For men, the unemployment rate is decreased to 3.2% from 3.3%.
❖ The share of people engaged in self-employment, including small businesses
increased to 58.4% from 57.3% in 2022-23.

China Shock 2.0

❖ A 100 per cent duty on electric vehicles imposed by the US on imports from
China.
❖ The US tariff hikes also include a 50 per cent duty on solar cells and 25 per cent
on steel, aluminium, EV batteries and some minerals.
❖ China’s surpluses stem from industrial policies aimed at bolstering exports amid
weak domestic demand, prompting fears of a potential “China shock 2.0”.
❖ India’s imports from China grew at a much faster pace than from the rest of the
world.

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 ❖ Goods imports from China surged from $10.87 billion in 2005-06 to $61.71
billion in 2015-16.
❖ Despite many economic restrictions on Chinese businesses, imports from China
surpassed a record $100 billion in 2023-24.
❖ China’s exports surged significantly in the post Covid period compared with the
pre-pandemic period.
❖ According to IMF calculations, China’s share of global exports increased by 1.5
percentage points
❖ Bill Clinton, the then US President supported China’s accession to the WTO.
❖ This led to inexpensive Chinese goods, backed by abundant labour, flooded global
markets, resulting in manufacturing job losses internationally.
❖ Thus, China’s entry into the WTO came to be known as the “China shock”.

GST compensation Cess 2024

❖ The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has set up a 10-member GoM, chaired
by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary.
❖ It is tasked to decide on the taxation of luxury, sin and demerit goods once the
compensation Cess ends in March 2026.
❖ In the GST regime, compensation cess at varied rates is levied on luxury, sin and
demerit goods over and above the 28% tax.
❖ The proceeds from the cess were originally planned for five years after GST roll-
out or till June 2022.
❖ This cess is used to compensate States for revenue loss incurred by them post
the introduction of GST.

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 ❖ In 2022, the Council decided to extend the levy till March 2026.
❖ Currently, GST is a four-tier tax structure with slabs at 5, 12, 18, and 28%.
❖ However, as per GST law, tax of up to 40% can be imposed on goods and services.

RBI Monetary Policy Committee 2024

❖ The Reserve Bank of India has reconstituted the Monetary Policy Committee
(MPC) as per section 45ZB of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
❖ As per the provisions of the RBI Act, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)
consists of six members: three Members from RBI and three are appointed by the
Central Government.
❖ The 3 Members appointed by the Central Government shall hold office for a period
of four years.

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Withdrawal of 2,000 Rs Notes
❖ The Reserve Bank of India said that, about 98 per cent of the ₹ 2,000
denomination notes have been returned.
❖ The total value of notes of the denomination has reduced to ₹ 7,117 crore from ₹
3.56 lakh crore on May 19, 2023.
❖ 98 per cent of the ₹ 2000 banknotes in circulation as of May 19, 2023.
❖ On May 19, 2023, the RBI announced a surprise decision to withdraw the ₹ 2,000
currency notes.
❖ The denomination was introduced after the demonetisation of November 2016.

700 billion USD forex reserves

❖ India's forex reserves have crossed the $700 billion mark for the first time.
❖ With this milestone, India becomes the fourth economy in the world to surpass
$700 billion in foreign reserves, joining China, Japan, and Switzerland.
❖ The increase of $12.6 billion is also the largest weekly addition since July 14,
2023.
❖ India's reserves first crossed $100 billion in December 2003, taking more than
three years to add the next $100 billion.

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 ❖ The third $100 billion (from $200 billion to $300 billion) was achieved in less
than one year, with reserves surpassing $300 billion on February 29, 2008.
❖ The increase from $200 billion to $300 billion was the fastest, occurring in about
ten months.
❖ After peaking at $642 billion in September 2021, the reserves dropped to $525
billion within the following year, primarily due to revaluation losses.

Annual Survey of Industries for 2022-23

❖ The total number of employees in manufacturing industries increased by 7.5 per

cent to 1.84 crore in 2022-23 from 1.72 crore in 2021-22.
❖ This is the highest rate of increase in employment in manufacturing industries
in the last 12 years.

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 ❖ The highest employment was recorded in factories producing food products,
followed by textiles, basic metals, wearing apparel and motor vehicles, trailers
and semi-trailers.
❖ The total number of factories increased from 2.49 lakh in 2021-22 to 2.53 lakh
in 2022-23.
❖ The number of workers employed in the informal sector in 2022-23 had dropped
by 16.45 lakh or about 1.5 per cent to 10.96 crore compared to 11.13 crore in
2015-16.
❖ In terms of GVA, Maharashtra ranked first in 2022-23 followed by Gujarat, Tamil
Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

India’s Employment Growth (2016-2023)

❖ The employment in India increased by 36 per cent (17 million jobs) between 2016-
17 and 2022-23.
❖ During the same period, the gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an average
rate of over 6.5 per cent.
❖ As per the PLFS data from 2017 to 2023 the Worker Population Ratio (WPR) has
increased by 9 percentage points or almost 26 per cent during this period.

India’s First Blue Loan

❖ The International Finance Corporation (IFC), has partnered with Axis Bank to
provide a $500 million loan aimed at scaling up green finance and developing the
blue finance market in India.
❖ This marks IFC's first blue investment in the country and the largest green
financing by the institution.

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 ❖ Blue loans are designated for projects in areas like water and wastewater
management, marine plastic reduction, sustainable tourism, and the offshore
renewable energy.

Limits on UPI 123 & UPI Lite

❖ RBI has announced an increase in transaction limits on UPI123 and UPI Lite.
❖ Currently, the per-transaction limit in UPI123Pay is capped at ₹5,000.
❖ RBI has decided to enhance the per-transaction limit to ₹10,000.
❖ Currently, UPI Lite has a limit of ₹500 per transaction and an overall ₹2,000 per
UPI Lite wallet.
❖ It was hiked to a per-transaction limit of ₹1,000 and an overall wallet limit of
₹5,000.

All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey 2021-22

❖ This was the latest survey by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development (NABARD).
❖ This is NABARD's second survey conducted since 2016-17.
❖ The average landholding for farming among farmers in the country decreased
from 1.08 hectares in 2016-17 to just 0.74 hectares in 2021-22.

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❖ This was marking a reduction of about one-third (31 per cent).
❖ The average monthly household income of farmers increased from Rs 8,059 in
2016-17 to Rs 12,698 in 2021-22.
❖ It was reflecting a 57.6 per cent rise.
❖ The rural families spent an average of Rs 6,646 per month in 2016-17, now spend
Rs 11,262.
❖ It was representing a 69.4 per cent increase in monthly expenses since 2016-17.
❖ The number of families taking loans in rural areas has risen from 47.4 per cent
to 52 per cent.
❖ 23.5 per cent of families have at least one member receiving a pension, up from
18.9 per cent.
❖ 80.3 per cent of families are now having at least one insured member, compared
to just 25.5 per cent in 2016-17.
❖ 51.3 per cent of families reported better financial information, up from 33.9 per
cent.
❖ The financial savings among rural families rose from Rs 9,104 to Rs 13,209.
❖ Around 66 per cent of rural families saved in 2021-22, compared to 50.6 per cent
in 2016-17.

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Annual modular survey
❖ The statistics ministry has released a detailed annual modular survey (July 2022-
June 2023).
❖ The average out-of-pocket medical expenditure per household on hospitalisation
during the past 365 days in rural and urban areas has been estimated at Rs
4,129 and Rs 5,290.
❖ The average out-of-pocket medical expenses per household for non-
hospitalization treatments in the past 30 days were Rs 539 in rural areas and Rs
606 in urban areas.
❖ Approximately 96.9% of those in the 15-24 years age group were able to read and
write simple statements and able to perform simple arithmetic calculations.
❖ In the same age group, the figure was around 97.8% for males and 95.9% for
females.
❖ 23.3% of those in the 15-24 age group were not in education, employment or
training.
❖ 95.1% of households had a telephone or mobile connection while 9.9% had
computers.
❖ About 95.7% of those in 15-24 years age bracket in rural areas can use mobile
phones, in urban areas it was 97%.

Industrial output contracts

❖ India’s factory output, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP),
contracted by 0.1 per cent in August for the first time after a gap of 21 months.
❖ This data was released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

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 ❖ The overall industrial output had grown by 4.7 per cent in July and 10.9 per cent
in August 2023.
❖ Mining output has recorded a contraction of 4.3 per cent in August as against a
growth of 3.8 per cent in July and 12.3 per cent in the year-ago period.
❖ Electricity output also posted a contraction of 3.7 per cent in August compared
with 7.9 per cent in July and 15.3 per cent in the year-ago period.
❖ Sectorally, as per the IIP data, 11 out of the 23 sectors in the manufacturing
registered contraction in August 2024.

Salary Increase in 2025

❖ The median salary increase in India is forecasted to rise by 9.5 per cent in 2025,
similar to the 2024 actual salary increase of 9.5%.
❖ India continues to be the highest across the region.
❖ The others like Vietnam (7.6%), Indonesia (6.5%), the Philippines (5.6%), China
(5%) and Thailand (5%) are also projected to maintain a strong salary increase
for next year.
❖ Almost 28% of companies plan to add headcount in the next 12 months.
❖ While 68% companies will maintain their headcount in 2025 as compared to the
previous year.
❖ The voluntary attrition rates in India have reduced slightly from 11% in 2023 to
10.8% in 2024.

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FTSE Russell EMGB index
❖ The Fully Accessible Route (FAR) - eligible Indian government bonds will be
included in FTSE Emerging Markets Government Bond Index (EMGBI) starting
September 2025.
❖ Also, the Indian bonds will be included in the regional FTSE Asian Government
Bond Index (AGBI) and the FTSE Asian-Pacific Government Bond Index (APGBI).
❖ This would be the third global bond index to include Indian bonds after JP
Morgan Chase & Co and Bloomberg.
❖ All Indian government bonds that are eligible under the FAR programme and
meet other index inclusion rules will be added to the index.
❖ It is including securities with an original tenor of 14 years and 30-years issued
prior to 29 July 2024.

India’s Direct Tax Collections – FY 2023/24

❖ The Financial Year (FY) 2023-24 has seen a significant increase in the Direct Tax
collections, with provisional figures showing net collections at ₹19.58 lakh crore.

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 ❖ This represents a 17.70% increase from the ₹16.64 lakh crore collected in FY
2022-23.
❖ The Union Budget had initially estimated Direct Tax revenue for FY 2023-24 at
₹18.23 lakh crore.
❖ However, this was later revised to ₹19.45 lakh crore.
❖ The provisional Direct Tax collections have exceeded these Revised Estimates by
0.67%, and the original Budget Estimates by 7.40%.
❖ Before adjusting for refunds, the Gross collection of Direct Taxes for FY 2023-24
stands at ₹23.37 lakh crore.
❖ It is marking an 18.48% growth from the ₹19.72 lakh crore collected in FY 2022-
23.
❖ The Gross Personal Income Tax collection (including STT) for FY 2023-24 is
₹12.01 lakh crore.
❖ This is a 24.26% increase from the previous year’s ₹9.67 lakh crore.

INR denominated Line of Credit

❖ India has extended a new Line of Credit worth Rs 487.60 crore to the Government
of Mauritius.
❖ This marks the first-ever rupee-denominated Line of Credit extended by India to
any country.

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 ❖ This is provided for project financing under the Indian Development and
Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS).
❖ The IDEAS initiative supports the developmental projects in partner countries
through concessional loans.
❖ The project will be financed by the State Bank of India on concessional terms.

Guidelines for import of seaweeds 2024

❖ The Centre notified the ‘Guidelines for Import of Live Seaweeds into India’.
❖ It aims to facilitate the import of high-quality seed materials or germplasm to help
the coastal societies to find better livelihood opportunities.
❖ As per the new guidelines, to import live seaweed, the importers will have to
submit a detailed application to the Department of Fisheries.
❖ It will be reviewed by the National Committee on Introduction of Exotic Aquatic
Species into Indian Waters.
❖ Upon approval, the Department will issue an import permit within four weeks,
facilitating the import of high-quality seaweed germplasm.

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 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

IISc Neuromorphic Computing

❖ Scientists at the IISc, Bengaluru developed a technology that could change the
data processing methods.
❖ They have developed a type of semiconductor device called Memristor by using a
metal-organic film rather than conventional silicon-based technology.
❖ This material enables the Memristor to mimic the way the biological brain
processes information using networks of neurons and synapses.
❖ The Memristor, when integrated with a conventional digital computer, enhances
its energy and speed performance by hundreds of times.
❖ Neuromorphic computing is a field in which computers are designed and
modelled to mimic the structure and function of the human brain.

Shahed-136B drone
❖ Iran for the first time has showcased the Shahed 136B drone and Jihad ballistic
missile.
❖ The Shahed-136B is the new one-way attack drone which is also known as a
'kamikaze' drone.
❖ With a new feature, it has an operational range of more than 4,000 kilometres
(2,500 miles).
❖ "Jihad" is the single-stage liquid-fuel ballistic missile with a high-explosive
detachable warhead has a range of 1,000 km.

India's First Mission to Venus

❖ The Union Cabinet recently approved India’s first mission to Venus that ISRO
aims to launch in March 2028.

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 ❖ This will be the country’s second interplanetary mission after the Mars Orbiter
Mission launched in 2013.
❖ It aims to examine the surface and sub-surface of Venus, its atmosphere, its
ionosphere, and its interaction with the Sun.
❖ Venus is often called Earth’s twin because it is similar in mass, density, and size.
❖ Therefore, studying Venus may offer scientists clues about the evolution of Earth.
❖ Notably, Venus is thought to have had water at some point in its history but has
now become a dry and dusty planet.
❖ It has an extremely high surface temperature of around 462 degrees Celsius, even
hotter than Mercury.
❖ The atmospheric pressure on Venus is much higher than on Earth.
❖ 96.5% of the atmosphere of Venus is made up of carbon dioxide and there are
sulphuric acid clouds on the planet.
❖ Venus rotates very slowly on its axis as compared to Earth and one rotation of
Venus lasts around 243 Earth days.

New Drug delivery method

❖ The Scientists have used a chitin synthesis fungicide, Nikkomycin, produced by
the bacterial Streptomyces spp. to develop Nikkomycin loaded polymeric
nanoparticles.
❖ Chitin is the chief component of fungal cell walls and is absent in the human
body.

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 ❖ The drug loaded nanoparticles were found to disrupt the growth of Aspergillus
spp and found effective against fungal infection known as Aspergillosis.
❖ The nano formulation developed was found to be free of cytotoxic and hemolytic
effects.
❖ The use of polymeric nanoparticles is the most advanced method of drug delivery.

Spiral galaxy - Caldwell 45

❖ NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has shared a video of a Spiral galaxy known as
Caldwell 45, or NGC 5248.
❖ The spiral galaxy is located 59 million light-years away from Earth.
❖ It is home to starburst regions – places where stars form at a much higher rate
than usual.

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MAPCIS Crater

❖ Australian researchers have uncovered evidence of a massive impact crater of

Earth's geological history.
❖ The newly discovered structure, named MAPCIS (Massive Australian
Precambrian-Cambrian Impact Structure).
❖ It spans around 600 kilometers across central Australia.
❖ The impact may have occurred at the end of the Ediacaran period, within the
Neoproterozoic Era, roughly 538.8 million to 1 billion years ago.

Neutrino Fog

❖ The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment revealed that as we continue to push the

boundaries of dark matter detection, the issue of neutrino fog becomes
increasingly significant.
❖ The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment is a cutting-edge dark matter detection project
in South Dakota, USA.

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 ❖ Neutrinos, often referred to as “ghost particles,” are the subatomic particles with
nearly zero mass and no electric charge.
❖ Neutrino Fog are the interference caused by neutrinos in dark matter detection
experiments.

New Mechanism for Protein Regulation in Cells

❖ Scientists have discovered a new process involving the Wntless (WLS) protein.
❖ It is crucial for the development of organs in animals with backbones
(vertebrates).
❖ This discovery helps explain how proteins move inside cells.
❖ WLS is a protein found in cell membranes and is important for releasing another
protein called Wnt3a.
❖ Wnt3a helps with the signalling that guides the early stages of organism
development.
❖ WLS ensures that proteins go to the right places in the cell, helping organs like
the intestines, lungs, inner ear, and eyes develop properly.

Earth's Future
❖ Eight billion years into the future, astronomers have discovered what may be a
future Earth.
❖ Astronomers have got a unique look at what our planet might look like in eight
billion years.

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 ❖ The planet, known as KMT-2020-BLG-0414, is a rocky world 4,000 lightyears
away from Earth that orbits a white dwarf, which is the burning remnant of a
star.
❖ In 5 billion years, our sun is predicted to change into a white dwarf.
❖ But before then, Mercury, Venus, and maybe even Earth and Mars will be
consumed by our sun as it accelerates outward into a red giant.
❖ Humans may migrate to the icy moons Europa and Enceladus, which will become
water worlds as the sun becomes a red giant.

New FAST Core Array

❖ The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is situated in karst

region in Guizhou, southwest China.
❖ Now a second phase will add 24 new moveable radio telescopes, each with a
diameter of 131 feet (40 meters).

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 ❖ This expansion is named the FAST Core Array.
❖ It aims to make use of the "quiet" electromagnetic environment that exists within
a 3-mile (5 kilometers) radius around the telescope.

Annular solar eclipse 2024

❖ An annular solar eclipse was occurred recently, following the partial lunar eclipse
on September 17.
❖ Only Easter Island and a small area near the southern tip of Chile and Argentina
witnessed an annular eclipse.
❖ An annular eclipse happens when the moon is too far away from the Earth to
completely blot out the sun.
❖ Thus, it creating a dark silhouette surrounded by a bright ring of light called an
antumbra, or a "ring of fire".
❖ The next such eclipse, will be visible on March 29, across Europe, Asia, Africa
and North and South America.
❖ The second solar eclipse will be seen on September 21 in Australia and
Antarctica.

C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–Atlas)
❖ Bengaluru witnessed the Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) passing above
the city at a close range.
❖ The Comet C/2023 A3 was first discovered by China’s Purple Mountain
Observatory.

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 ❖ C/2023 A3 is a non-periodic comet.
❖ This means there is no set timeline on when the comet will appear.
❖ The comet is revisiting our solar system almost after 80,000 years.
❖ It will travel at some 129.6 million kilometres away from Earth.
❖ It is said to be a part of the Sextans constellation.
❖ The Halley comet is the periodic comet, which appears once every 75 years.

Map of Sun's rotation

❖ Indian astronomers have mapped the variation in the Sun's rotation speed from
its equator to its poles for the first time.
❖ This was done by using 100 years of daily solar observations from the Kodaikanal
Solar Observatory.
❖ This work provides a deeper understanding of the Sun's inner workings, crucial
for predicting its activity and impact on Earth.
❖ The Sun experiences differential rotation, meaning different parts of it rotate at
different speeds.
❖ The equator completes one full rotation in about 25 days, while the poles take
about 35 days.

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CO2 and H2O2 in 'Charon'

❖ The James Webb Space Telescope has detected carbon dioxide and hydrogen
peroxide on Pluto's largest moon Charon.
❖ The Charon’s surface consists of the crystalline water ice, ammonia, and other
organic materials.
❖ Charon with a diameter of approximately 1200 kilometres which is half the size
of Pluto.

Sixth Ocean Hidden in Earth’s Mantle

❖ Scientists have discovered a sixth ocean at approximately 700 kilometres beneath

the Earth's surface.
❖ This ocean is three times larger than all surface oceans combined.

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 ❖ This pool of water is trapped within a blue rock formation known as ringwoodite,
situated deep within the Earth’s mantle.
❖ However, the water reservoir is not an ocean in the traditional sense.
❖ They are water molecules trapped within the crystal structure of ringwoodite.

Portable X-Ray Protection Barrier

❖ Researchers have collaborated to devise a portable X-ray protection barrier and

examination box.
❖ The prototype of the biomedical device, used for x-ray-based histopathology
analysis of tissue samples to diagnose diseases.
❖ The shield effectively brought down radiation levels from some millihertz to
negligible microhertz during tests.

Advanced PAP pen

❖ Scientists have developed a cost-effective technique for fabricating paper-based

devices using an Advanced PAP (A-PAP) pen.

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 ❖ They have fabricated two-dimensional (2D) paper-based devices for chemical
detection of heavy metal and nitrite.
❖ The paper-based devices fabricated are distinguished by rapid, simple, and cost-
effective fabrication.

Cancer detection with sound waves

❖ The method uses ultrasound to turn a small part of our body’s tissue into droplets
that are released into the blood.
❖ These bubbles contain the molecules like RNA, DNA, and proteins that allow the
scientists to identify particular types of cancer.
❖ The high-energy ultrasound can break off a small piece of cancerous tissue into
droplets and release their contents into the bloodstream.
❖ This version of the test would cost a hundred-times less, around $100 (Rs 8,400).

Quantum nonlocality
❖ The Scientists have demonstrated that a universal standard for measuring and
quantifying non-local quantum correlations is not possible.
❖ Quantum nonlocality describes a strange connection between distant physical
objects, one that doesn’t allow for faster-than-light communication.
❖ This new research broadens the potential applications of quantum non-local
correlations.
❖ These are already used in secure communication, random number generation,
and cryptographic key creation.
❖ Quantum nonlocality used as a key resource for secure communication, random
number certification, and cryptographic key generation.

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PSLV-37 mission Re-entry

❖ ISRO’s upper stage of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-37 (PSLV C-37
mission) re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere successfully.
❖ The PSLV-C37 mission was launched on February 15, 2017 with Cartosat-2D as
the main payload along with another 103 satellites as co-passengers.
❖ The space agency has created history as it was the first mission to launch 104
satellites with a single vehicle.
❖ The atmospheric re-entry of the rocket body within eight years of its launch is
fully compliant with the international debris mitigation guidelines.
❖ The guideline of Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC)
recommends limiting the post-mission orbital life of a defunct object in Low-Earth
orbit (LEO) to 25 years.

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Lunar Polar Exploration Mission
❖ The National Space Commission, the apex body that decides on space missions,
cleared the fifth lunar mission — the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission or Lupex.
❖ This will be jointly implemented by India and Japan.
❖ It is part of India’s lunar series that eventually aims to send an Indian to the
Moon and bring her/him back.
❖ Both Chandrayaan-4 and Lupex will happen parallel to each other.

MACE Project
❖ India inaugurated Asia's largest imaging Cherenkov telescope at Ladakh's Hanle.
❖ It is situated at an altitude of almost 4,300 metres.
❖ The Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) observatory is also the
world's highest telescope of its kind.
❖ Gamma rays do not reach Earth's surface because the atmosphere absorbs them.
❖ However, they create high-energy particles that emit Cherenkov radiation, similar
to a sonic boom, as they travel faster than light through the atmosphere.
❖ MACE's mirrors and cameras capture this radiation, which is then traced back
to its cosmic source.

'Refreeze' Arctic Sea

❖ An innovative way is being created by scientists which will help them in "growing"
ice and "refreezing" the Arctic Sea.
❖ Pumps will be used by the engineers to cover ice with seawater, which is expected
to freeze in winter and thicken the ice layer.
❖ This will ensure that the ice lasts longer during the summer.

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 ❖ This is the first time done successfully with the help of hydrogen.
❖ Every decade, the Arctic Ocean is losing nearly 13 per cent of its ice.

Gold nuggets in orogenic quartz veins

❖ The Researchers discovered that the piezo catalytic effect of quartz under seismic
stress causes the accumulation of gold in quartz veins.
❖ Orogenic gold systems are commonly found in mountainous regions where large-
scale geological processes, such as the collision of tectonic plates, have occurred.
❖ The Large gold nuggets are often found in orogenic quartz veins formed during
the tectonic processes that create mountains.
❖ These nuggets form because, during earthquakes, the stress on quartz crystals
causes a reaction that deposits gold on their surfaces.
❖ This process happens repeatedly leading to the accumulation of gold nuggets.

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First complete map of brain
❖ Researchers released the first complete wiring diagram of all 139,255 neurons in
an adult fly brain — an animal capable of both walking and seeing.
❖ Previous studies have mapped smaller brain systems like fruit fly larva with 3,016
neurons, or the nematode worm with 302 neurons.
❖ Fruit flies have about 140,000 neurons, which is a tiny number compared to the
86 billion in the human brain.

Artemis Mission 2035

❖ NASA is planning to send humans to our closest extraterrestrial neighbour – Mars
by 2035.
❖ The trip to Mars is expected to take anywhere between 6 to 7 months and will
cover a distance of about 402 million kilometers.
❖ Mars was formed 4.6 billion years ago, the same time our solar system came into
existence.
❖ This red planet was very Earth-like in the sense it had an abundance of liquid
water and a denser atmosphere.

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TDP1 enzyme

❖ The Scientists from the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS),
Kolkata, have identified a new therapeutic target by activating a DNA repair
enzyme called Tyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase 1 (TDP1).
❖ Current anticancer drugs like Camptothecin, Topotecan, and Irinotecan focus on
inhibiting the enzyme Topoisomerase 1 (Top1).
❖ Cancer cells often develop resistance to these drugs, leading the researchers to
explore alternative treatment strategies.
❖ The researchers have discovered that cancer cells can survive Top1-targeted
chemotherapy by activating TDP1, which helps repair damaged DNA during cell
division.
❖ This process allows the cancer cells to counteract the effects of chemotherapy
and continue proliferating.

Dragon Drones
❖ A deadly new weapon has used in the Russia-Ukraine war.
❖ Dragon drones essentially release a substance called thermite - a mixture of
aluminium and iron oxide.
❖ When it ignited, thermite triggers a self-sustaining reaction that is quite difficult
to extinguish.
❖ It can burn through almost anything, from clothes to trees to military-grade
vehicles, and can even burn underwater.

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 ❖ During World War I, German zeppelins dropped thermite-laden bombs.
❖ The Allies dropped some 30 million 4-pound thermite bombs on Germany and
another 10 million on Japan during World War II.
❖ The use of thermite in war is not prohibited under international law.

THAAD Missile Defense System

❖ The USA is sent its advanced missile defence system THAAD, along with troops
to operate it, to Israel.
❖ THAAD stands for Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence.

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 ❖ The battery is used to intercept and destroy enemy missiles.
❖ A THAAD battery consists of 95 soldiers, six truck-mounted launchers, 48
interceptors (eight per launcher), radar surveillance and radar.
❖ It is rapidly deployable capability against short-range (up to 1,000 km), medium-
range (1,000–3,000 km).
❖ It has limited intermediate-range (3,000–5,000 km) ballistic missile threats inside
or outside the atmosphere during their final (terminal) phase of flight.

Mysterious Brown Dwarfs

❖ In 1995, researchers observed a brown dwarf orbiting Gliese 229 – a red dwarf
star located about 19 light-years from Earth.
❖ The brown dwarf names Gliese 229B was too dim for its mass.
❖ Its mass to be about 70 Jupiter masses, it should have been brighter than what
telescopes had observed.
❖ Scientists suspected Gliese 229 B might be twins.
❖ The recent research results showed that Gliese 229 B consists of two brown
dwarfs (Gliese 229 Ba and Gliese 229 Bb) about 38 and 34 times the mass of
Jupiter.
❖ They orbit each other with a period of 12 days and a separation of 16 times the
distance between Earth and the Moon.
❖ The observed brightness levels also match what is expected for two small brown
dwarfs in this mass range.

Moonlight program
❖ The European Space Agency (ESA) at the International Astronautical Congress,
launched its Moonlight Lunar Communications and Navigation Services (LCNS)
program.

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 ❖ It aims to offer critical support for over 400 moon missions planned by space
agencies and private companies in the next 20 years.
❖ The programme will have a constellation of about five lunar satellites that will
allow accurate autonomous landings, high-speed communication, and surface
mobility.
❖ These satellites will reportedly enable data transfer over 2,50,000 miles or
4,00,000 kilometres between the Earth and the Moon.
❖ Europe reportedly also has plans to land its Argonaut spacecraft on the moon by
2031.

New photocatalyst
❖ The Scientists have developed an efficient photocatalyst that can degrade in
sulfamethoxazole.
❖ It is a broad-spectrum antibiotic to less hazardous chemicals and reduce health
and environmental concerns associated with antibiotic contamination.
❖ The Antibiotic contamination has several adverse effects, including the antibiotic
resistance, ecological impact, human health concerns, etc.
❖ The Scientists have synthesized copper zinc tin sulfide Cu 2ZnSnS4 (CZTS)
nanoparticles (NPs) and copper zinc tin sulfide - tungsten disulfide CZTS-WS2
composite.
❖ Broad-spectrum antibiotics like sulfamethoxazole (SMX) have long been used to
treat human illnesses like urinary and respiratory tract infections.
❖ However, more than 54 % of SMX was released into the environment along with
the faeces and urine of the patients.

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X-band radar on Wayanad

❖ The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences approved an X-band radar to be installed

in Kerala’s Wayanad district.
❖ The device uses radio waves to determine the distance, velocity, and physical
characteristics of objects around the device.
❖ The Doppler radar relies on Rayleigh scattering, when the scatterer is much
smaller than the wavelength of the radiation.
❖ An X-band radar is radar that emits radiation in the X-band of the
electromagnetic spectrum: 8-12 GHz, corresponding to wavelengths of around 2-
4 cm.
❖ The smaller wavelengths allow the radar to produce images of higher resolution.
❖ X-band radars have a relatively shorter range.

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 ❖ The new radar is expected to be able to monitor the movements of particles, such
as soil, to inform landslide warnings.
❖ The first indigenously designed and manufactured X-band storm detection radar
was installed in 1970 in New Delhi.

SPADEX Docking Mission

❖ ISRO got two 400kg satellites that are part of a crucial upcoming mission known
as SPADEX – Space Docking Experiment.
❖ These satellites will be travelling at around 28,000 kmph and precisely align
themselves in a manner where they can perform a 'space handshake' and dock
to form a single orbiting entity.
❖ Ananth Technologies Private Limited (ATL) has completed the integration of two
400kg satellites for ISRO.
❖ This is the first time that ISRO is getting their satellites completely assembled,
integrated and tested by the Indian private industry at a private facility.

Solar Maximum 2024

❖ The Sun has now entered its "solar maximum period" in the current solar cycle.
❖ The solar maximum is a phase characterised by a significant rise in sunspots
and solar phenomena.
❖ The solar cycle represents the natural fluctuation of the Sun as it moves between
periods of low and high activity.
❖ Approximately every 11 years, at the peak of this cycle, the Sun’s magnetic poles
flip—similar to the North and South Poles on Earth swapping positions every
decade.

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 ❖ In the solar maximum phase, the Sun is capable of producing massive explosions
of light, energy, and solar radiation.
❖ The solar emissions interact with Earth's magnetic field, resulting in geomagnetic
storms.

Smart Insulin for Diabetes

❖ Scientists have developed the “holy grail” diabetes treatments - a “smart” insulin
that responds in real time to fluctuations in one’s blood sugar level.
❖ The newly developed NNC2215 is effective as human insulin at lowering blood
glucose in rats and pigs.

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 ❖ The engineered insulin requires a significant glucose spike to be activated, and
once it is activated, there is a sudden rush of insulin in the system.
❖ Type 1 diabetes, which often starts in childhood, occurs when the pancreas does
not produce insulin (or enough insulin).
❖ Type 2 diabetes sees the cells of the body develop resistance to insulin, meaning
greater amounts are required that what is produced by the pancreas.

Alkanes - chiral Brønsted acids

❖ A Researchers have developed a novel method to activate alkanes using confined
chiral Brønsted acids.
❖ It is significantly enhancing the efficiency and selectivity of chemical reactions.
❖ Alkanes are organic compounds that consist entirely of single-bonded carbon and
hydrogen atoms and lack any other functional groups.
❖ They are also relatively inert biologically and are not often involved in the
chemistry of living organisms.
❖ Alkanes do, however, react with oxygen, halogens, and a few other substances
under appropriate conditions.
❖ Reaction with oxygen occurs during combustion in an engine or furnace when an
alkane is used as a fuel.

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 ENVIRONMENT

New species of invasive flatworm

❖ A new species of invasive flatworm has been discovered in the United States and
has been found in several states in the south.
❖ The species, named Amaga pseudobama, was discovered by researchers and first
spotted in 2020 in North Carolina.
❖ It is thought to be native to South America.
❖ Later they found that this flatworm species was a completely different species.
❖ Terrestrial flatworms are known to kill other invertebrates, especially other native
worms, snails, and slugs.

Tsetse fly

❖ Tsetse flies are present in 34 African countries, according to a new atlas

published by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
❖ Tsetse flies (genus Glossina) transmit trypanosomes.
❖ Trypanosomes are unicellular parasites that cause sleeping sickness in humans.
❖ The parasites have a significant impact on livestock in Africa.

New species of ghost shark

❖ Scientists have discovered a new species of ghost shark that lives in deep ocean
waters near Australia and New Zealand.

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 ❖ The Australasian Narrow-nosed Spookfish, or Harriotta avia is closely related to
sharks and rays.
❖ Ghost sharks like this one are largely confined to the ocean floor, living in depths
of up to 2,600m (8,530 feet).

Most Dangerous Bird

❖ Cassowaries are native to Northern Australia, New Guinea, and surrounding

islands.
❖ This species is now at risk of extinction due to increased hunting and rapid
habitat loss.
❖ Fewer than 5,000 left in the wild in Australia.
❖ It is considered the most dangerous bird in the world.
❖ The family Casuariidae includes three living cassowary species, all of the genus
Casuarius.
❖ The largest cassowaries can stand as high as six feet and weigh up to 160 pounds.
❖ These large birds cannot fly, but their extremely powerful legs propel them at
great speeds (31m/Hr).
❖ Every year, World Cassowary Day is observed on September 26th.

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Indian Wild Ass – Khur
❖ The Little Rann of Kutch is home to the wild ass sanctuary, which is the only
remaining habitat of the Indian wild ass (Equus hemionus khur), locally called
khur.
❖ About 6,000 of these sandy and brown creatures live in this area.
❖ The khur has outlasted predators such as the cheetah and the lion, which were
last spotted in this region in the 1850s.
❖ The khur have recently overcome a near-extinction event on account of diseases.
❖ The viral African Horse sickness, and Surra (caused by the protozoan parasite
Trypanosoma evansi and spread by biting insects) had decimated many herds.
❖ Only a few hundred survivors were estimated in the 1960s.

Erythrism among golden jackals

❖ Researchers have recorded the first expression of erythrism in golden jackals,
Canis aureus, in the Nilgiris.
❖ This is an unusual congenital manifestation of reddish skin pigmentation.
❖ The record is the first that has been made in the golden jackal’s entire
distribution range.
❖ Erythrism is characterised by a deficit of melanin but an abundance of reddish
pigmentation.
❖ It results in a lighter and redder appearance compared to the normal phenotype.

Prespa Lake

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 ❖ One of Europe’s oldest lake - Lake Prespa is slowly dying.
❖ The majority of Little Prespa Lake, also known as Small Lake Prespa, sits in Greek
territory, with just its southern tip crossing into Albania.
❖ It is a smaller cousin of the larger Great Prespa Lake to the north.
❖ Of the 450 hectares of Little Prespa Lake in Albania, at least 430 hectares have
been transformed into swamps or dried up.

Honey Badger in India

❖ A honey badger, also known as the Ratel, has been captured on camera for the
first time in the Terai East Forest Division (TEFD) of Uttarakhand.
❖ Honey badgers are omnivorous mammals that belong to the weasel family.
❖ These nocturnal creatures’ diet is diverse, consisting of small animals, fruit and
honey.
❖ IUCN Red List listed it as “Least Concern”.

NBSAP Tracker
❖ The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans Tracker (NBSAP), a new tool
developed by World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF).
❖ It is monitoring the progress of countries in developing their NBSAPs that align
with the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
❖ Adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework was a crucial commitment by 196
countries who pledged to “halt and reverse” biodiversity loss by 2030.
❖ Only 10 per cent of nations have met their pledges to protect biodiversity, raising
significant concerns.
❖ Currently, just 20 countries have fully revised their NBSAPs since COP15.
❖ Only nine countries, along with the European Union, have submitted these
updated plans as of June 2024.

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 ❖ This leaves 186 countries lagging behind, including India, which has not yet
submitted its report.
❖ The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was adopted in
2022.

Status of Elephant in India 2022-23

❖ The Environment Ministry has shelved its elephant census report, ‘Status of
Elephant in India 2022-23’.
❖ Data from the unreleased report show a sharp decline in elephant populations in
the east-central and southern landscapes.
❖ The slide in numbers is especially dramatic in Southern West Bengal (84%),
Jharkhand (64%), Odisha (54%), and Kerala (51%).
❖ Until 2002, elephants were counted in India by the “total direct count” method.
❖ In 2002, the “indirect dung count method” was introduced in the southern states.
❖ In 2023, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala used a protocol combining the block
count and dung count methods.

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Negro River water Level

❖ Negro, One of the Amazon River's main tributaries has dropped to its lowest level
ever recorded.
❖ The level of the Negro River at the port of Manaus was at 12.66 metres recently.
❖ Its normal level is about 21 metres.
❖ It is the lowest since measurements started 122 years ago.
❖ The Negro River drains about 10 per cent of the Amazon basin and is the world's
sixth-largest by water volume.
❖ The 2250 Km long river passes through Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil.

EnviStats India 2024: Environment Accounts

❖ The Ministry of Statistics (MoSPI) has compiled and released the 7th consecutive
issue of the publication “EnviStats India 2024: Environment Accounts”.
❖ Installed capacity of solar energy in India has increased by more than 25 times
from 2.82 GW in March 2014 to 73.32 GW in December 2023.

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 ❖ India is one of the world’s 17 mega diverse nations with around 8% of the world’s
documented species.
❖ India hosts 4 of the 36 globally recognised biodiversity hotspots.
❖ There has been around 72% increase in the number and around 16% increase in
area for the Total Protected Area during the period 2000 to 2023.
❖ The coverage of Mangroves, which is an important sub ecosystem of the ocean
ecosystem, has increased around 8% over the years 2013 to 2021.
❖ Most of the IUCN Red List species in India are under the ‘Least Concern’ category.

Rare black panthers in Odisha

❖ A Black Panther has been spotted in the forest of Sundergarh district in Odisha.
❖ The panther was seen in the Daghora section jungle in Hemagiri Forest Range in
the district.
❖ So far, Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) is known as the country’s only
habitat that has the melanistic Royal Bengal tigers (RBT).

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New potter wasp species

❖ Entomologists have discovered a new species of potter wasp from Arunachal

Pradesh, in the Eastern Himalayas.
❖ The new species, Pseumenes siangensis, was found in Upper Siang.
❖ The new species differs from others in having specific morphological features and
colour patterns.
❖ Around 3,795 species of these wasps have been described across 205 genera.

2024 Wild Ass Population Estimation

❖ The number of Indian wild asses in Gujarat has increased over 26 per cent in the
past five years.

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 ❖ The total population of the wild ass is estimated to be at 7,672, compared to
6,082 counted in 2020.
❖ Earlier they found in northwest India and Pakistan to arid regions of Central Asia.
❖ But, now primarily found in the deserts of Little Rann of Kutch and Great Rann
of Kutch.
❖ In 1976, their number was only 720, which rose to 2,072 in 1990 and 4,451 in
2014.
❖ They were classified as Near threatened animals by IUCN.

Rare Rain in Sahara Desert

❖ A rare downpour has occurred in Sahara Desert, one of the world's most dry and
arid regions.
❖ This rare extreme weather came after two days of continuous rainfall in the
southeastern Morocco region of the North African desert.
❖ The ultimate influence of the event was the filling of Lake Iriqui.
❖ This lake had been dry since 1925, a period of 50 years.
❖ With over 9 million km2 of territory, the Sahara Desert is at increased risk due to
extreme weather associated with global warming.

India’s Bird Population status 2024

❖ WWF’s Living Planet Report 2024 highlighting catastrophic 73 per cent decline in
average size of wildlife populations in just 50 years.
❖ Between 1992 and 2002, the populations of white-rumped vulture and Indian
vulture combined with the slender-billed vulture dropped by 98 per cent and 93
per cent respectively.

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 ❖ 33 per cent decline in grassland butterfly species was reported in 22 countries
over two decades.
❖ In Odisha, native bee populations have dropped by 80% since 2002.
❖ 35% decline witnessed in the population of neelkanthas or Indian rollers.

Extinction of 610 bird species

❖ Researchers have documented the extinction of 610 bird species over a period of
130,000 years.
❖ This coincides with the spread of Homo sapiens across the globe.
❖ Dodo, the flightless bird was first discovered in 1598 by the Dutch sailors and
became extinct by 1681.
❖ The birds were used to the isolated environment of the island of Mauritius.
❖ Of the 610 bird species, 90% of them went extinct at least partially due to the
humans.
❖ The 610 species combined represented 3 billion years of the unique evolutionary
history.
❖ About 11,000 bird species now exist, occupying a dizzying array of ecological
niches.
❖ The researchers projected future extinctions of more than 1,000 species over the
next two centuries.

Darwin’s Finches
❖ The Scientists have revealed that just six consecutive droughts can lead to the
emergence of a new species of finch in the Galapagos islands.
❖ The physical changes in birds caused by extreme events "provide a pathway" for
a new finch species to form.

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 ❖ The Galapagos, an Ecuadorian province, is renowned for its diverse finch
population, collectively known as Darwin’s finches.
❖ This is due to their role in helping British naturalist Charles Darwin understand
evolution by natural selection.
❖ Darwin's finches are a group encompassing roughly 18 different passerine bird
species.
❖ They are noted for their remarkable variation in beak size and functionality.

Haber-Bosch Process
❖ A hundred million tonnes of nitrogen are now removed from the atmosphere and
converted into fertilizer via the Haber-Bosch process.
❖ This is adding 165 million tonnes of reactive nitrogen to the soil.
❖ To compare, biological processes replenish an estimated 100-140 million tonnes
of reactive nitrogen every year.
❖ Engineering by BASF’s Carl Bosch turned Haber’s tabletop setup into an
industrial process to produce fertilizer.
❖ Five years after Haber et al.’s accomplishment, BASF opened its first ammonia
factory in 1913.

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 ❖ The Haber-Bosch method has allowed industries to develop cheap synthetic
fertilizers.
❖ It was a critical component in the sevenfold rise in the world’s food supply during
the 20th century.
❖ A century ago, the average lifespan at birth of an Indian was only 19 years,
compared to 67+ years today.

Rufous-tailed rock thrush

❖ Rufous-tailed rock thrush (Monticola saxatilis) was spotted in Kanniyakumari
Wildlife Sanctuary.
❖ This is the first record of the bird in Tamil Nadu.
❖ Earlier, the bird has been spotted a few times in Kerala and largely on north-
western parts of India during migration.
❖ They breed in Southern Europe across Central Asia to Northern China.
❖ It migrates to Africa during the non-breeding season.

Swell wave surges

❖ The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services had issued a warning
to States of Kerala, South Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Lakshadweep.

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 ❖ Swell waves are long-wavelength ocean waves that travel away from their places
of origin.
❖ They are usually created by windstorms or other weather systems.
❖ Sea waves otherwise are usually generated due to local winds.
❖ Windstorms and other powerful air current systems transfer energy from the air
to water, making swell waves more powerful than locally generated waves.
❖ Because of their high energy, swell waves are able to travel large distances and
strike shores with considerably high power.
❖ Swell waves are also called Kallakkadal waves in India, which is a colloquial term
used by Kerala fishermen.
❖ The term has now been approved for scientific use by UNESCO.

Fourth global coral bleaching

❖ The ongoing fourth global coral bleaching (GCBE4) event began in January 2023.
❖ It is now the most widespread and surpassed the coral bleaching levels of 2014-
2017 by over 11 per cent.
❖ This severe and intense global bleaching event has been recorded in almost half
the amount of time than the previous event.
❖ At least 77 per cent of global reef areas have experienced bleaching level heat
stress in almost 20 months as part of GCBE4.
❖ Roughly 99.9 per cent of the coral reef areas in the Atlantic Ocean have
experienced bleaching-level heat stress during this event.

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Marine Heat Waves

❖ Marine Heat Waves (MHWs) are defined by the unusual warming of ocean waters.
❖ In recent years, global warming has made MHWs more frequent and intense.
❖ MHWs have typically been measured by observing temperatures at the ocean
surface.
❖ The Researchers found that MHWs deep in oceans may be “significantly under-
reported”
❖ Huge loops of swirling current, sometimes hundreds of kilometres across and
reaching down over 1,000 metres.

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Temperature rise in key biodiversity areas
❖ Up to 66 per cent of key biodiversity areas (KBAs) in tropical forests have recently
entered a Mean annual temperature regime.
❖ KBAs are sites contributing significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity
in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems.
❖ The proportion of KBAs with new temperature regimes was 72 per cent in Africa,
59 per cent in Latin America and 49 per cent in Asia and Oceania.
❖ The 2.9 per cent of KBAs in Latin America and 4.9 per cent in Asia and Oceania
have recently transitioned to almost entirely novel temperature regimes.
❖ Only 0.02 per cent of KBAs in Asia and Oceania remained almost stable.
❖ 34 per cent of tropical forest KBAs are not yet experiencing the new temperature
regimes.

Koalas - Extinction risk

❖ At one point, there were millions of Koalas, a eucalyptus-munching tree climber.
❖ Now, there are anywhere between 95,000 and 524,000 left in Australia.
❖ The government officially listed East Coast koalas as ’endangered’ in 2022.
❖ Chlamydia is a common sexually transmitted infection (STI) caused by the
bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis.
❖ It was first observed in koalas about 50 years ago.

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 ❖ In the times that followed it has wiped out entire local populations.
❖ Their populations have plummeted to between 95,000 and 524,000.
❖ Now, Australia has become the ’extinction capital’ of the world.
❖ This island nation is having the highest rate of mammal extinction in the world,
❖ About 100 of the country’s unique flora and fauna species wiped out in the last
123 years.

India’s second butterfly diversity hub

❖ Assam’s Kaziranga National Park has earned the distinction of being the second
butterfly diversity hub, after Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh.
❖ Butterfly Conservation Meet, the first of its kind, was held in September, this year
to check the status of the butterflies.

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 ❖ More than 446 butterfly species have been reported from the park.
❖ 18 of 446 butterfly species are new in India.
❖ This national park is spread across the districts of Golaghat, Sonitpur, Biswanath
and Nagaon in Assam.
❖ The park is home to two-thirds of the world's Indian rhinoceroses and is
considered a UNESCO world heritage site.

Nilgiri tit butterfly

❖ The Nilgiri tit (Hypolycaena nilgirica) is utilising a large terrestrial orchid plant as
a host.
❖ This is the first known record of the butterfly using this particular species of plant
as a host in India.
❖ The Nilgiri tit was first described in 1884 from Coonoor in the Nilgiris, since it
has been recorded in Sri Lanka.
❖ The Nilgiri tit was noted to lay its eggs on the inflorescence (complete flower head)
of the larval host plant, Eulophia epidendraea.
❖ This terrestrial orchid was found on rocky slopes in humid areas.

COP16 of CBD
❖ The 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) of the Convention on Biological Diversity
(CBD) is taking place in Cali, Colombia.
❖ During the event, they released a report titled ‘Closing Window of Opportunity:
Mapping Threats from Oil, Gas and Mining to Important Areas for Conservation
in the Pantropics’.
❖ It shows that the world’s best and most important ecosystems are facing a threat
from extractive industries.

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 ❖ These include key biodiversity areas, high-integrity forest landscapes, protected
areas, and Indigenous territories.
❖ The data reveals 518 Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA), which are 18 per cent of the
total such areas, have active and potential oil and gas concessions.
❖ As much as 180 million hectares of high-integrity forests are at risk in Amazon
and Congo basin regions and Southeast Asia.

Great Indian Bustard - Artificial Insemination

❖ The first Great Indian Bustard chick born through artificial insemination.
❖ Scientists at the National Conservation Breeding Centre in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
made this process.
❖ The great Indian bustard is a highly endangered bird species found in the Thar
area of Rajasthan.
❖ Now, only 173 birds are left, of which, 128 are found in the wild, while others are
bred in captivity.

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Mining Dust for Carbon Capture

❖ Darjeeling-based company, Alt Carbon, is turning mining dust into a climate-

friendly solution.
❖ It utilising a geo-chemical process known as enhanced rock weathering to tackle
atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).
❖ Being an organic fertiliser, the basaltic dust enriches the soil as well as
accelerates carbon sequestration.
❖ It takes about a 3-4 tonnes of basalt dust to sequester, or trap, a tonne of
atmospheric carbon over two to four years.
❖ Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric CO 2.
❖ The oceans are the major carbon sinks and capture about 30% of the CO 2 from
human activities.

Diamond Dust Solution for Global Warming

❖ A new study suggests that injecting diamond dust into the atmosphere could be
an effective method to cool the planet.
❖ Diamond dust is chemically inert.
❖ Annually injecting 5 million tons of synthetic diamond dust into the atmosphere
could potentially cool the Earth by 1.6°C over 45 years.
❖ However, implementing this solution would require an estimated investment of
$200 trillion.

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Pledge for Fungal Conservation

❖ The governments of Chile and the United Kingdom have prepared a ‘pledge for
fungal conservation’.
❖ Mushrooms, moulds, yeast, lichen and mildew may get their own taxonomical
kingdom ‘Funga’ alongside animals and plants for their conservation.
❖ The proposal was submitted to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
during the COP16 in Cali, Colombia.
❖ It aims to advance their conservation and to adopt concrete measures that allow
for maintaining their benefits to ecosystems and people.
❖ It is estimated that only eight per cent of the total 2.2 and 3.8 million species of
fungi are scientifically known.
❖ About 2,000 new species are discovered annually across the world.

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Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems
❖ New study highlights that deep coral ecosystems in the Eastern Pacific likely face
a two-pronged threat over the 21st century.
❖ They faced bleaching from warm water above and cold-water exposure from
below.
❖ Mesophotic coral ecosystems are found in tropical and subtropical regions at
depths between 100 and 490 feet.

Giant Salmon Carp - Mekong River

❖ With the last confirmed sighting in 2005, these species of fish seems to have
disappeared from the Mekong region for decades.
❖ Three giant salmon carp found in the Mekong River and a tributary in Cambodia
between 2020 and 2023.
❖ One nickname for the species is “ghost fish.
❖ It is a fascinating species native to freshwater habitats in East Asia, particularly
in regions like the Amur River basin.

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Anguiculus Dicaprioi
❖ Scientists have recently classified a new snake species in the Western Himalayas,
Anguiculus Dicaprioi.
❖ It honours the actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio, for his efforts
in raising awareness about climate change and wildlife conservation.
❖ Anguiculus Dicaprioi is a member of the Colubridae family, the most extensive
classification of snakes, consisting of various species and groups.
❖ The term “Anguiculus” means “small snake” in Latin.

REPORTS AND INDICES

World Talent Ranking 2024

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 ❖ India’s ranking at the IMD’s World Talent Ranking 2024 has come down to 58
from 56 last year.
❖ In 2022, India was at the 52nd rank.
❖ Switzerland came first, Singapore second, and Luxembourg third out of 67
economies in the eleventh edition.
❖ Singapore’s steady rise to the top – for the first time since the inception of the
ranking in 2014.

Hurun India Under-35 List 2024

❖ Isha Ambani, and Parita Parekh, co-founder of Toddle, are among the youngest
women named in the Inaugural 2024 Hurun India Under-35 list.
❖ The list features 150 Indian entrepreneurs under the age of 35.
❖ Akash Ambani and Ghazal Alagh of Mamaearth were also recognised in the list.
❖ Physics Wallah founder Alakh Pandey and Anjali Merchant got place in the list
❖ ShareChat co-founder Ankush Sachdeva is the youngest on this list.
❖ Around 82 per cent of the total entrepreneurs featured on this list are first-
generation business leaders.
❖ Bengaluru and Mumbai are the cities with the highest number of entrepreneurs
on this list, featuring 29 and 26 business leaders, respectively.

Global innovation index 2024

❖ This report is released by the Geneva-based World Intellectual Property
Organization.
❖ India holds the 39th position in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024
❖ The country now ranked first among the 38 lower-middle-income economies.
❖ The index evaluates the innovation performance of around 133 global economies.

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 ❖ It was 81st position in 2015.
❖ India has also secured the 4th position in the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) Science and Technology (S&T) Cluster Ranking.
❖ China reached the 11th position and remains the only middle-income economy
in the top 30.
❖ Switzerland, Sweden, the United States, Singapore, and the United Kingdom are
the top rankers.

World Social Protection Report 2024-26

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 ❖ The International Labour Organization (ILO) revealed that more than half of the
world’s population is covered by some form of social protection.
❖ The report is named “World Social Protection Report 2024–26: Universal social
protection for climate action and a just transition”.
❖ 52.4 per cent of the global population is now covered by at least one social
protection benefit, up from 42.8 per cent in 2015.
❖ In the 20 countries most vulnerable to climate change, a staggering 91.3 per cent
of people (364 million) lack any form of social protection.
❖ Globally, 50.1 per cent of women are covered by at least one social protection
benefit, compared to 54.6 per cent of men.
❖ Only 28.2 per cent of children aged 0-15 receiving child or family cash benefits
globally.
❖ This leaves 1.4 billion children without coverage.
❖ High-income countries spend an average of 16.2 per cent of their GDP on social
protection (excluding health).
❖ But low-income countries allocate a mere 0.8 per cent.

Regional companion report for Asia and the Pacific

❖ The International Labour Organisation (ILO) report released this report.

❖ The report is titled ‘Regional companion report for Asia and the Pacific of the
World Social Protection Report 2024-26: Universal social protection for climate
action and a just transition’.
❖ About 2.1 billion people still remain unprotected against various lifecycle and
socio-economic risks.
❖ Since 2015 the effective coverage rate in southern Asia by16.7 percentage points
(18.7 to 35.4%).

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 ❖ The Five most populous countries — Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia and
Pakistan have coverage rates as 22%, 75.6%, 48.4%, 54.3% and 20.2%,
respectively.
❖ The unemployment insurance schemes exist in India and Iran, but their coverage
is limited.
❖ In India, unemployment insurance covers by law only 11.5% of the working-age
population.

Free to Think 2024 annual report

e
❖ This annual report was published by the Scholars at Risk (SAR) Academic
Freedom Monitoring Project.
❖ It has documented 391 attacks on higher education communities in 51 countries
between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024.
❖ India’s academic freedom slipped from 0.6 points to 0.2 points from 2013 to 2023.
❖ India now ranks as “completely restricted”, its lowest score since the mid-1940s.

State of Global Water Resources Report 2023

❖ This new report was coordinated by World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
❖ 2023 is the second consecutive year in which all regions in the world with glaciers
reported ice loss.
❖ 2023 was driest year for global rivers in 33 years.

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 ❖ Glaciers suffer largest mass loss in 50 years.
❖ Currently, 3.6 billion people face inadequate access to water at least a month per
year.
❖ This is expected to increase to more than 5 billion by 2050.

Living Planet Report 2024

❖ The Living Planet Report 2024 is a biennial assessment by the conservation

organisation the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
❖ It revealed that the average size of monitored wildlife populations has decreased
by 73 per cent since 1970.
❖ Nearly 35,000 wildlife populations and 5,495 species of amphibians, birds, fish,
mammals and reptiles declined significantly.

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 ❖ Between 1970 and 2020, freshwater species were the most affected, with an 85
per cent decline.
❖ It is followed by a 69 per cent decline in terrestrial species and a 56 per cent
decline in marine populations.
❖ Latin America and the Caribbean, where populations have dropped by 95 per
cent, is followed by Africa, which has seen a 76 per cent decline.
❖ The Asia-Pacific region collectively reported a 60 per cent decline.
❖ Chinook salmon population dropped by 88 per cent between 1950 and 2020.

Global Hunger Index 2024

❖ It is jointly published by 'Concern Worldwide' and 'Welthungerhilfe'.

❖ The 19th Global Hunger Index (GHI) report for 2024 has ranked India 105th out
of 127 countries.
❖ This is placing India among nations with 'serious' hunger problems.
❖ India lags behind its neighbours Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, and Bangladesh,
while it ranks just above Pakistan and Afghanistan.
❖ The 2024 report is not directly comparable to the 2023 report due to a change in
methodology and revised data.
❖ However, it provides comparative data for the years 2000, 2008, 2016, and 2024.
❖ India continues to face severe challenges in child malnutrition, with the highest
child wasting rate (18.7%) globally.

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 ❖ The country also has a child stunting rate of 35.5%, an under-five mortality rate
of 2.9%, and a prevalence of undernourishment at 13.7%.
❖ Globally, around 733 million people face hunger each day due to a lack of access
to a sufficient amount of food.
❖ Also, about 2.8 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet.
❖ South Sudan, Burundi, Somalia are the bottom three countries.

United Nations Women’s report 2024

❖ The World Survey on the Role of Women in Development report was released
recently.
❖ It was focusing on the theme, “Harnessing social protection for gender equality,
resilience and transformation”.
❖ The paper is submitted every five years to the Economic and Financial Committee
of the United Nations General Assembly.
❖ Over 63 per cent of women globally still give birth without access to maternity
benefits.
❖ The rate rising to a staggering 94 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.
❖ Women aged 25-34 are 25 per cent more likely than men of the same age to live
in households facing extreme poverty.
❖ Nearly 1,000 social protection measures introduced by governments across 171
countries.
❖ But only 18 per cent focused on women’s economic security.

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Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2024

❖ The latest update of the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was released
by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty
and Human Development Initiative.
❖ According to the UN report, 1.1 billion people, over half of them minors, live in
acute poverty worldwide.
❖ India has 234 million people living in poverty, which is the medium Human
Development Index.
❖ India is among the five countries globally with the largest number of people living
in poverty.
❖ The other four countries are Pakistan (93 million), Ethiopia (86 million), Nigeria
(74 million) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (66 million), all low HDI.
❖ These five countries account for 48.1% of the global poor.
❖ The report notes that over half of the 1.1 billion poor people are children under
the age of 18 (584 million).
❖ Globally, 27.9 per cent of children live in poverty, compared with 13.5 per cent of
adults.
❖ In South Asia 272 million poor people live in households with at least one
undernourished person, and in Sub- Saharan Africa 256 million.
❖ About 83.7 per cent of poor people live in rural areas.

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World Energy Outlook 2024

❖ The report is published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and provides
key energy trends and projections.
❖ In 2023 alone, over 560 gigawatts (GW) of the renewable capacity were added
globally.
❖ By 2030, the renewable energy is expected to become the dominant source of
electricity, surpassing coal, oil, and gas.
❖ The global electric vehicle (EV) market is rapidly expanding, with EVs expected
to account for 50% of new car sales by 2030.
❖ India is on track to become the third-largest economy in the world by 2028.
❖ By 2035, iron and steel production are on track to grow by 70%.
❖ The cement output is set to rise by nearly 55%.
❖ The stock of air conditioners is projected to grow by over 4.5 times.
❖ It will be resulting in electricity demand from air conditioners in 2035 more than
Mexico’s total expected consumption that year.
❖ The total energy demand in India is set to increase by nearly 35% by 2035.
❖ Its electricity generation capacity will nearly triple to 1400 GW.

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The Unjust Climate report

❖ FAO economist presented the report “The unjust climate. Measuring the impacts
of climate change on rural poor, women, and youth”.
❖ Farm income sources of the rural poor in India were affected in different ways
depending on the type of climate stress.
❖ Poor households globally lose 5% of their total income in an average year due to
heat stress and 4.4% due to floods compared with households that are relatively
better off.
❖ Floods, globally, widen the income gap between poor and non-poor households
in rural areas by approximately $21 billion a year.
❖ Heat stress widen the gaps by more than $20 billion a year.
❖ A 1° C increase in average long-term temperatures leads to a 53% increase in the
farm incomes of poor households and a 33% decrease in their off-farm incomes,
relative to non-poor households.

Global Trade outlook and statistics report 2024 - WTO

❖ WTO revised downwards its projection of world merchandise trade growth to 3
per cent in 2025, from its earlier estimate of 3.3 per cent.
❖ For 2024, the WTO revised upwards its forecast for merchandise trade growth to
2.7 per cent, up from the previous estimate of 2.6 per cent.
❖ The first half of 2024 saw 2.3 per cent year-on-year increase.
❖ Europe has continued to weigh heavily on global merchandise trade in 2024.

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 ❖ Singapore, Malaysia and other Asian economies, including India and Vietnam,
show stronger growth.

World Economic Outlook 2024

❖ The latest World Economic Outlook is released by the International Monetary
Fund (IMF).
❖ The IMF expects the US economy the world's largest to expand 2.8 per cent this
year.
❖ It is slightly down from 2.9 per cent in 2023 but an improvement on the 2.6 per
cent it had forecast for 2024 back in July.
❖ The 20 European countries that share the euro currency are collectively expected
to eke out 0.8 per cent growth this year.
❖ The German economy isn't expected to grow at all this year.
❖ Worldwide inflation has been cooling from 6.7 per cent in 2023 to a forecast 5.8
per cent this year and 4.3 per cent in 2025.
❖ India's economy is expected to 7 per cent this year and 6.5 per cent in 2025.

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Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index 2024
❖ It is released by Oxfam and Development Finance International.
❖ It assessed the commitment of 164 countries and regions to fighting inequality.
❖ India was ranked at 127th place.
❖ The other South Asian countries such as Nepal (115) and Sri Lanka (118) have
performed better than India.
❖ Norway, Canada, and Australia have topped in the list.
❖ South Sudan and Nigeria are ranked in the bottom rank.

Economic Freedom of the World 2024

❖ The Fraser Institute, a Canada-based libertarian think tank, had produced the
analysis.
❖ This Annual Report ranked Hong Kong as the freest global economy.

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 ❖ It is followed by Singapore, and Switzerland.
❖ India was ranked 84th and neighbour Nepal placed 86th, Bhutan at 98th rank and
China place in 104th place.

Emissions Gap Report 2024

❖ The Emissions Gap Report is an annual publication of the UN Environment

Program.
❖ Six largest GHG emitters accounted for 63% of global GHG emissions.
❖ Least developed countries accounted for only 3%.
❖ India ranks 3rd in total GHG emissions with 4,140 MtCO 2e compared to China
and USA
❖ India’s historical CO2 emissions (1850–2022) are much lower (83 GtCO2 than
China (300 GtCO2) and US (527 GtCO2).
❖ Greenhouse-gas emissions rose to a new high of 57 gigatons (Gt) of CO2
equivalent in 2023 (1.3 % increase from 2022).
❖ The Nations must collectively commit to cut 42 % off annual greenhouse gas
emissions by 2030 and 57 % by 2035 in next NDCs.

Poverty prosperity and planet report 2024

❖ World Bank has recently released the ‘Poverty, Prosperity and Planet: Pathways
out of the Polycrisis’ report.
❖ Almost half the global population (44%) – around 3.5 billion people – live today
on less than $6.85 per day.

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 ❖ 8.5% of the global population (almost 700 million people) live today in extreme
poverty, on less than $2.15 per day.
❖ According to World Bank, the people in extreme poverty is who live on less than
$2.15 per day.
❖ In 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 16 % of the world’s population, but
67 % of the people living in extreme poverty.
❖ 29 million Indians are living in extreme poverty in 2024 down from 431 million
in 1990.
❖ 622 million people (7.3 % of the global population) are projected to live in extreme
poverty in 2030.

Global Nature Conservation Index (NCI) 2024

❖ This report evaluates the conservation efforts using the four markers — land
management, threats to biodiversity, capacity and governance, and future trends.
❖ India has been ranked 176th in the Global Nature Conservation Index, 2024.
❖ The country ranks as one of the five worst performers alongside Kiribati (180),
Turkey (179), Iraq (178), and Micronesia (177) in the ranking of 180 countries.
❖ The index reveals high use of pesticides and also warns against soil pollution.
❖ At rank 15, Bhutan is the only South Asian country among the top 50 ranks.
❖ Nepal, at the rank of 60, along with Sri Lanka and Pakistan are also ahead of
India, at ranks 90 and 151 respectively.

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 STATES

Unclimbed peak in Arunachal Pradesh

❖ A 15-member team from the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure
Sports (NIMAS) has scaled an unclimbed peak in the Tawang-West Kameng
region of Arunachal Pradesh.
❖ They named it as ‘Tsangyang Gyatso Peak’ in honour of the 6th Dalai Lama.
❖ The peak, at a height of 6,383 metres above sea level in the Gorichen range of
Arunachal Pradesh Himalayas.
❖ The Sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, was born in 1682 in Arunachal
Pradesh’s Mon Tawang.
❖ He was enthroned as the Sixth Dalai Lama at the age of 14 in 1697.
❖ In 1706, he was invited to China and died on the way.
❖ China calls Arunachal Pradesh as Zangnan.
❖ Also, China has been renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh since 2017 to assert
its claims.

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Kasturirangan Committee Report - Karnataka
❖ The Karnataka government has rejected the Kasturirangan committee report -
2014.
❖ It gave recommendation for the protection of the fragile Western Ghats region
from environmental degradation.
❖ It proposes that 37 per cent of the total area of Western Ghats, which is roughly
60,000 square kilometres, to be declared as eco-sensitive area.
❖ Out of this, 20,668 sq. km of the area falls in Karnataka covering more than
1,500 villages.
❖ A state-level expert committee conducted meetings in the Western Ghats districts
and prepared a report in 2015.
❖ It has recemented only 153 (as opposed to 1,553 villages) in Karnataka should
be declared ecologically sensitive areas.

Urban Governance Index in India

❖ Kerala has secured first rank in the Urban Governance Index (UGI).
❖ Odisha came second with 55.10.
❖ In fiscal empowerment, Kerala managed to have high score of 23.22 out of 30,
with Maharashtra coming second with 21.15.

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 ❖ Only four States (Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Mizoram, and Odisha) mandate that every
councillor should be part of at least one deliberative committee.

Verified Health Facility

❖ Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh are the
top five states in terms of the absolute number of health care facilities verified in
the Health Facility Registry (HFR).
❖ The National Health Resource Repository (NHRR) data was established in 2018.
❖ It aims to collect information on all public and private health care institutions
across the country.

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 ❖ The HFR is a repository of health facilities that aims to create a national digital
health register of both public and private health facilities.
❖ This includes hospitals, clinics, diagnostic laboratories, imaging centres, and
pharmacies of both modern and traditional systems of medicine.
❖ Karnataka is the only state with the highest number of verified facilities in the
country at 60,711.
❖ It is followed by Tripura and Chhattisgarh, which have coverage saturation rates
of 81.2 per cent and 69.1 per cent, respectively.
❖ At the bottom of the list are Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi, which have the lowest
levels of facility coverage.

Assam’s Traditional Products - GI Tags

❖ GI tag was given to following eight products from the Assam region, including
traditional food items and several unique varieties of rice beer.
❖ The first is the variant of rice beer ‘Bodo Jou Gwran’, which has the highest
percentage of alcohol (about 16.11%).
❖ The second variant is ‘Maibra Jou Bidwi’, known locally as ‘Maibra Jwu Bidwi’ or
‘Maibra Zwu Bidwi’.
❖ The third variant, called ‘Bodo Jou Gishi’, is also a traditionally fermented rice-
based alcoholic beverage.
❖ A GI tag has been secured by ‘Bodo Napham’, an important and favourite dish of
fermented fish.
❖ The other one is ‘Bodo Ondla’, a rice powder curry flavoured with garlic, ginger,
salt, and alkali.
❖ The ‘Bodo Gwkha’ has also received the GI tag.
❖ ‘Bodo Narzi’ is a semi-fermented food prepared with jute leaves.
❖ The ‘Bodo Aronai’, a small beautiful cloth, also has the GI tag.

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25th Hornbill Festival
❖ The 25th edition of Nagaland’s iconic Hornbill Festival, or the “Festival of
Festivals,” will take place in December 2024.
❖ The 10-day event showcase of Nagaland’s rich and traditional cultural heritage
in all its ethnicity, diversity and grandeur.
❖ The festival is a tribute to this bird, known for its qualities of majesty and
alertness.
❖ The IUCN Status of the bird is Near Threatened.

Co-District – Assam

❖ Co-districts is a pioneering initiative by the Assam government within the existing

districts.
❖ They rolled out 39 co-districts in the first phase.
❖ It aims to ensure timely access to essential govt services and streamline citizen-
centric services by bringing governance to the grassroots.
❖ These ‘co-districts’ will serve as smaller administrative units below the districts
led by an officer of the rank of Assistant District Commissioner.

Pygmy hogs in Manas

❖ Nine captive-bred pygmy hogs were released in western Assam’s Manas National
Park.
❖ It was the fifth such exercise by the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP)
since 2020.

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 ❖ The pygmy hog (Porcula salvania) is the world’s smallest and rarest wild pig most
threatened by extinction.

Gudiya bird of Bihar

❖ The Women’s Asian Champions Trophy-2024 is jointly being organised by Hockey
India.
❖ ‘Gudiya’ was named as the mascot for the 2024 game.
❖ The logo, central to the design is the iconic Bodhi Tree, a symbol deeply connected
to Bihar’s spiritual heritage.

Banjara Virasat Museum - Maharashtra

❖ The Banjara Virasat Museum has been inaugurated in Pohardevi at Washim in
Maharashtra to celebrate the rich heritage of the Banjara community.
❖ Banjara community is a group of nomadic tribes originally from Rajasthan who
have now settled in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and
Maharashtra.
❖ Poharadevi is considered a sacred site by the community, they often refer to it as
the “Kashi of the Banjara community.”
❖ The Banjaras were historically pastoralists, traders, breeders and transporters of
goods in the inland regions of India.

UP's rural women drive

❖ The Enterprising women business correspondents, known as BC Sakhis, have
facilitated transactions worth Rs 27,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh.
❖ BC Sakhis are appointed under nationwide women empowerment programme.
❖ They are members of self-help groups (SHGs) who are trained and certified to
provide banking and financial services in rural areas.

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 ❖ Uttar Pradesh leads the nation in the number of BC Sakhis, followed by Madhya
Pradesh and Rajasthan with nearly 19,000 and 10,000 correspondents,
respectively.

Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir elections

❖ The alliance of the National Conference (NC) and Congress has won the Jammu
and Kashmir assembly polls.
❖ This is the first assembly elections since 2014, first as a Union Territory and first
after the removal of Article 370.
❖ In Haryana, the BJP has created history by retaining the state for the record
consecutive third term.
❖ The BJP has won 48 seats while the Congress has secured 37.
❖ In J&K's 90 seats, the NC and Congress have won in 49, the BJP in 29 and the
PDP in three.

Aurora Borealis - Leh

❖ Auroras has appeared up the skies over Leh, India, as a severe geomagnetic storm
struck Earth.
❖ This event was triggered by a powerful coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun,
which reached Earth.
❖ The CME originated from an X1.8 solar flare, and it travelled at speeds exceeding
1.5 million miles per hour.
❖ The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has classified the
geomagnetic storm as G4.

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 ❖ It was indicating the severe conditions that could disrupt power grids and satellite
operations.
❖ Solar activity peaks in cycles of 11 years, reaching their solar maximum once per
cycle, which is due in 2025, and the effects of which are likely to be felt till 2026.

End of President’s Rule in JK

❖ The President’s rule has been revoked in Jammu and Kashmir before the
appointment of the Chief Minister.
❖ The Central rule began in Jammu and Kashmir on October 31, 2019, when the
erstwhile state was divided into two Union territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and
Ladakh.
❖ Jammu and Kashmir was without an elected government since June 2018.
❖ On December 19, 2018, then President of India announced President's Rule in
J&K under Article 356 of the Constitution.
❖ Now, the revocation allowed for the formation of a new government with a new
chief minister.
❖ The lieutenant governor will exercise executive control over critical areas,
including police, public order and land management.

Demonstration Facility for Biopolymers

❖ India's first Demonstration Facility for Biopolymers was inaugurated in Jejuri,
Pune.
❖ This facility focuses on developing technology for producing Polylactic Acid (PLA)
bioplastic.
❖ Biopolymers are made from biological sources such as fats, vegetable oils, and
sugars.

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 ❖ They offer advantages over synthetic polymers, including biodegradability,
allowing for easy decomposition by bacteria in soil.
❖ They also promote the carbon neutrality since the CO2 released during their
degradation can be reabsorbed by replacement crops.

Uttarakhand's Roopkund Lake

❖ Roopkund Lake, Uttarakhand's trekking destination, is located 16,500 feet above

sea level at the base of Mount Trishul.
❖ The lake’s size is approximately two acres with a depth of around 9 feet.
❖ It is known as the "lake of skeletons", the glacial body conceals hundreds of
human skeletons.
❖ The lake is now shrinking in both width and depth by about 0.1% to 0.5%
annually.

Dalit sub-quotas System – Haryana

❖ Recently the Haryana SC commission had recommended subclassifying the Dalit
communities into following two categories.
o The deprived scheduled castes (DSC) comprising 36 groups such as Balmikis,
Dhanaks, Mazhabi Sikhs and Khatiks, and
o Other scheduled castes (OSC) comprising castes such as Chamar, Jatia
Chamar, Rehgar, Raigar, Ramdasi, Ravidasi and Jatav.
❖ During the first meeting of the newly elected state cabinet had approved the
proposal.
❖ Now each subgroup gets 50% of the 20% SC quota for government jobs.

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24th National Para-Swimming Championship
❖ Karnataka has secured the overall title at the 24th National Para-Swimming
Championships.
❖ Maharashtra finished second, while Rajasthan took the third spot.
❖ The event witnessed participation of 518 swimmers from 28 states.
❖ In the individual categories, Mohammed Aasim of Kerala emerged the men’s
senior champion.
❖ Jeya Selvan (Tamil Nadu) won Gold in 50 metre backstroke - Men’s S6 Category.
❖ Simran Gaundalkar of Swimmers Club Belgaum set three national records in the
50 metre, 100 metre backstroke and 200 metre individual medley.

Bihar - First Dry Port

❖ Bihar’s first dry port was inaugurated at Bihta, a town near state capital Patna.
❖ A dry port, or inland container depot (ICD), provides a logistics facility away from
a seaport or airport for cargo handling, storage, and transportation.
❖ It acts as a bridge between sea/air ports and inland regions, facilitating efficient
movement of goods.
❖ It is being run in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
❖ Bihar is a major producer of fruits and vegetables such as potato, tomato,
banana, litchi and makhana (fox nuts).
❖ The state recorded exports worth Rs 20,000 crore in 2022-23.

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 PERSONALITIES, AWARDS AND EVENTS

Best Tourism Villages Competition - 2024

❖ Ministry of Tourism announced winners of the Best Tourism Villages Competition
2024 on the occasion of World Tourism Day.
❖ To promote tourism to the Soul of India (India’s villages), the Best Tourism
Villages Competition was introduced in 2023.
❖ Totally 36 villages recognized as winners across 8 categories.
❖ Keeladi from Tamil Nadu topped in the Heritage Category.
❖ Melkalingam Patti from the Namakkal District won the award in Spiritual and
Wellness Category.

American missionary Alice Brauer

❖ American missionary Alice Brauer passes away recently.
❖ She dedicated her life to the eradication of leprosy, tuberculosis, and polio in
Ambur for over 60 years.
❖ During her career spanning over six decades, her work reached over 60 villages
and improved the lives of the local communities.
❖ She is known in the name of “Missiyamma”.

MIDORI Prize 2024

❖ Vera Voronova from Kazakhstan and Ysabel Agustina Calderón Carlos from Peru
have been selected for the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity 2024.
❖ They have been recognised for their outstanding contributions to conservation
and sustainability.
❖ The MIDORI Prize is given every two years to people who make outstanding
contributions to protecting biodiversity at all levels.
❖ With this year's winners, the total number of MIDORI Prize recipients has reached
19 individuals from 17 different countries.

Nobel Prize 2024 in Medicine

❖ Scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun have won the 2024 Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine.
❖ They discovered microRNA, a new class of tiny RNA molecules that play a crucial
role in gene regulation.

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 ❖ It revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be
essential for multicellular organisms, including humans.
❖ It is now known that the human genome codes for over one thousand microRNAs.
❖ The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Katalin Karikó
and Drew Weissman.

Nobel Prize in Physics 2024

❖ The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton.
❖ They have used physics tools to develop methods that form the basis of today’s
powerful machine learning.
❖ John Hopfield has created an associative memory that can store and reconstruct
images and other patterns in data.
❖ Geoffrey Hinton invented a method that can automatically find properties in data,
allowing it to identify specific elements in pictures.
❖ The 2023 prize went to physicists Anne L'Huillier, Pierre Agostini, and Ferenc
Krausz for their work with electrons.

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Ratan Tata
❖ Ratan Tata, a former chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Sons passed away
recently.
❖ Tata received the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s most distinguished civilian
awards, in 2000 and “Padma Vibhushan” in 2008.
❖ Tata Group is a sprawling collection of nearly 100 companies, including the
country’s largest automaker and the largest private steel company etc.
❖ Tata pioneered commercial aviation in India when it launched an airline in 1932
that later became Air India.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024

❖ The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024 has been awarded to David Baker, Demis
Hassabis and John M Jumper.

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 ❖ Baker won “for computational protein design”, the American Jumper and Briton
were honoured for “protein structure prediction”.
❖ Baker has achieved the extraordinary feat of designing entirely new proteins.
❖ Demis Hassabis and John Jumper have developed an artificial intelligence (AI)
model to solve a 50-year-old challenge: predicting the complex three-dimensional
structures of proteins.

WAZA Awards 2024

❖ For the first time, a conservation-breeding program of a zoo in India is shortlisted

as a finalist for the 2024 Conservation & Environmental Sustainability Awards,
by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).
❖ It is for the Red Panda Conservation Breeding and Augmentation Programme of
the Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park.
❖ The breeding programme began with four red pandas from the wild taken into
the Darjeeling Zoo in 1990.

Nobel Prize 2024 in Literature

❖ The 2024 Nobel Prize has been awarded for the Literature to South Korean author
Han Kang.
❖ It is recognizing her "intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and
exposes the fragility of human life."
❖ Her another most notable works, "Human Acts" (2014), exemplifies her approach
to literature.
❖ The novel is rooted in the real-life Gwangju Uprising of 1980.
❖ Han's short story "Europa" (2012) further showcases her literary prowess.
❖ Her "The Vegetarian" (2007) won the Man Booker International Prize in 2016.

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 ❖ The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded 116 times to 120 Nobel Prize
laureates between 1901 and 2023.

2024 Nobel Peace Prize

❖ Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
2024 for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.
❖ It was representing survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
❖ Formed in 1956, Nihon Hidankyo is the largest and most influential organisation
of atomic bomb survivors in Japan.
❖ Last year, the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Iranian activist Narges
Mohammadi, who is currently imprisoned.

Nobel in Economics 2024

❖ The Nobel Memorial Prize in economics was awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon
Johnson and James A Robinson for their research into differences in prosperity
between nations.
❖ They have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country’s
prosperity.

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 ❖ Societies with a poor rule of law and institutions that exploit the population do
not generate growth or change for the better.
❖ Acemoglu and Johnson work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology while
Robinson is a researcher at the University of Chicago.
❖ Even though this prize for economics is not technically a Nobel Prize, it has
always been presented along with others.

5th National Water Awards 2023

❖ Odisha has been selected as the winner of the 5th National Water Awards 2023.
❖ UP is securing the second spot, and Gujarat and Puducherry jointly securing the
third spot.
❖ The award covers nine categories, honouring outstanding contributions to water
conservation and management across India.
❖ Parambur Big Tank Water User Association, Pudukkotai won third prize in Best
Water User Association category.
❖ Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore Won 1st Prize in Best Institution
(Other Than School/College) Category.
❖ IIT Madras has won third prize in Best Institution (Other Than School/College)
Category.
❖ Apollo tyres limited (ATL), Kanchipuram won 2nd prize in best industry category.

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India Mobile Congress 2024

❖ The eighth edition of the India Mobile Congress was held at Delhi.
❖ The theme of the event is ‘The Future is Now’.
❖ It witnessed the participation from over 120 countries.
❖ The digital plaque to inaugurate the WTSA 2024 organised by the International
Telecommunication Union, was unveiled during the event.
❖ Mobile data in India costs 12 cents per GB.
❖ In other countries, one GB of data is ten times more costly.
❖ Indians consume an average of 30 GB of data every month.
❖ Currently, India is home to 200 smartphone manufacturing units.
❖ The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly is also inaugurated
along with this event.
❖ It is being held every four years.

2024 Most 100 powerful women in Business

❖ Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, tops the 27th annual Most Powerful Women
list.

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 ❖ She is followed by CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser.
❖ It featured executives from 11 Asia-Pacific countries such as China, India, Japan,
South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, among 0others.
❖ Indian women business leaders in the list includes: Isha Ambani, Roshni Nadar,
Sandhya Devanathan of Meta India, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Falguni Nayar and
some others.

UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award 2024

❖ The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees will present its
annual Nansen Award to 5 people.
❖ This year’s winners are
o Jin Davod, is a young social entrepreneur.
o Sister Rosita Milesi (Brazil), a nun, lawyer, social worker.
o Maimouna Ba (Africa), an activist from Burkina Faso.
o Nada Fadol (Middle East & North Africa), a Sudanese refugee.
o Deepti Gurung (Asia-Pacific), who campaigned to reform Nepal’s citizenship
laws.
o Jin Davod, Europe - a young social entrepreneur.
❖ The Nansen Award was established in 1954 in the honour of the Norwegian
humanitarian, scientist, explorer, and diplomat Fridtjof Nansen.

Arjun Erigaisi

❖ GM Arjun Erigaisi made history by becoming the youngest Indian to surpass the
coveted 2800 Elo rating mark.
❖ He is also the only second from the country after Viswanathan Anand.
❖ His win in the European Chess Club Cup 2024 helped him become the World No.
3 in the live rating list.

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 ❖ Arjun became the 16th player to cross the 2800-rating mark.
❖ Five-time World Champion, Magnus Carlsen sits second on this list.

Rani Chennamaa 200th birth anniversary

❖ Rani Chennamaa, the Queen of Kittur was born on 23rd October 1778, in Kagati,
Belagavi district in Karnataka.
❖ After the death of her husband, she adopted Shivalingappa with aim of making
him heir to throne of Kittur.
❖ The British refused to recognize Shivalingappa under the ‘doctrine of lapse’ and
subsequently led to the Revolt.
❖ Though British lost 1st battle in 1824, she was later captured & imprisoned, till
her death in 1829.

SPORTS

Rafael Nadal Retirement

❖ Spain’s tennis player Rafael Nadal has announced his retirement from the
professional tennis.
❖ Nadal has won 22-grand slam singles title and a record 14 French Open titles.
❖ A five-time year-end world number one, he remained in the ATP top 10 for an
incredible 17 years, from 2005 until March 2024.
❖ During his peak years, he spent 209 weeks ranked as the world’s top player.
❖ He won at least one title every year from 2004 to 2022.

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 IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Older Persons 2024 - October 01

❖ It aims to recognize the contributions of older people to society and to raise

awareness of the issues they face.
❖ This date was chosen to coincide with the adoption of the UN Principles for Older
Persons.
❖ It set out a framework for addressing the rights and well-being of older
individuals.

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 ❖ The United Nations General Assembly established the day on December 14, 1990.
❖ The theme of 2024 is "Ageing with Dignity: The Importance of Strengthening Care
and Support Systems for Older Persons Worldwide".

International Day of Non-violence 2024 - October 02

❖ The day is observed on the birth anniversary of MK Gandhi and reflects upon his
philosophy and commitment to non-violence as a means of social and political
change.
❖ His struggles guided by non-violence and peaceful resistance.
❖ The principle of non-violence/non-violent resistance rejects the use of physical
violence in order to achieve social or political change.
❖ In June 2007, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously declared this
day.

World Animal Welfare Day 2024 - October 04

❖ It aims to celebrate animal rights and welfare all over the planet.
❖ It educates people about our species diversity, how to protect and rescue them
and about to make a positive impact on animal welfare.
❖ World Animal Day was first commemorated on March 24, 1925.
❖ The theme for this year is “The world is their home too.”

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World Space Week 2024 - October 04/10
❖ It wis highlighting the benefits of space exploration and promoting international
cooperation in space activities.
❖ It is established by the United Nations to commemorates two significant
milestones:
o The launch of Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, and
o The signing of the Outer Space Treaty on October 10, 1967.
❖ The launch of Sputnik 1 by the Soviet Union on October 4 marked humanity's
first artificial satellite in orbit.
❖ The Outer Space Treaty establishing a framework for international space law and
promoting peaceful exploration of space.
❖ This year’s theme is “Space and Climate Change.”

World Teachers' Day 2024 - October 05

❖ It is established by UNESCO to recognise the importance of teachers in society.
❖ The day marks the anniversary of the 1966 UNESCO/ILO Recommendation
concerning the Status of Teachers.
❖ It was first celebrated in 1994.
❖ It aims to honour the essential role that teachers play in shaping our lives.
❖ The 2024 celebrations will focus on “Valuing teacher voices: towards a new social
contract for education”.

92nd Indian Air Force Day 2024 - October 05

❖ Also known as ‘Bharatiya Vayu Sena’, the IAF was officially established on
October 8, 1932, by the British Empire.
❖ The air force is divided into five operational and two functional commands.

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 ❖ IAF ranks as the fourth largest operational air force in the world.
❖ This year's theme is “Bhartiya Vayu Sena – Saksham, Sashakt, Atma Nirbhar”.
❖ The Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted a mega airshow on the Marina Beach in
Chennai on October 6 to commemorate this day.
❖ The event drew an estimated 15 lakh people, setting a new record in the Limca
Book of Records for the largest attendance at an air show.
❖ The last event held 21 years ago was on a small-scale in Chennai.

World Postal Day 2024 - October 09

❖ This day is the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union in
1874 in the Swiss Capital, Bern.
❖ In 2024, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) celebrates its 150th anniversary.
❖ The theme for 2024 is “150 years of enabling communication and empowering
peoples across nations”.

World Cerebral Palsy Day 2024 - October 06

❖ It is to raise awareness and advocate for the rights of individuals living with
cerebral palsy (CP).
❖ This day serves as a reminder of the challenges faced by those affected by CP and
underscores the importance of support and inclusion in society.
❖ Cerebral palsy is a condition of movement and posture.
❖ In cerebral palsy, the brain develops differently in different children.
❖ Globally, about 1.7 crores of people have some form of cerebral palsy.
❖ This year’s theme is “Uniquely CP”.

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World Habitat Day 2024 - October 06
❖ In 1985, the United Nations General Assembly announced the celebration of this
day on the first Monday of October.
❖ This day serves as a powerful reminder that everyone is entitled to a decent and
safe place to live.
❖ "Engaging youth to create a better urban future" is the 2024’s theme.

Nilgiri Tahr Day 2024 - October 07

❖ Tamil Nadu celebrated the first ‘Nilgiri Tahr Day’ in 2023.
❖ October 7 was chosen by the Government as Nilgiri Tahr Day in honour of E.R.C.
Davidar.
❖ He was a wildlife conservationist who pioneered studies on the sole mountain
ungulate of Southern India as early as in 1960s.
❖ He took the first census of the Nilgiri tahr in the Nilgiris landscape during 1963
and reported that there were about 400 tahr in the Nilgiris.

World Cotton Day 2024 - October 07

❖ This day is dedicated to showcasing the incredible versatility of cotton.
❖ While cotton is a staple in the textile industry.
❖ It also plays a crucial role in animal feed, medical supplies and even the
production of edible oil.

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 ❖ This day originated from the Cotton Four nations—Burkina Faso, Benin, Chad,
and Mali—and other cotton-producing countries in Africa.
❖ The first World Cotton Day event was initiated in Geneva and observed on
October 7, 2019.
❖ The theme of 2024 "Megatrends Shaping Cotton Textile Value Chain”.

National Postal Week 2024 – October 09/15

❖ It aims to honour this integral service of the postal system.
❖ It is celebrated every year to highlight the importance of the postal services in
connecting people, supporting businesses, and contributing to the global
communication.
❖ October 10 is celebrated as the National Postal Day.
❖ The structured Postal service was introduced in 1854 by Lord Dalhousie.
❖ In 1852, the first postage stamp of India, known as the “Scinde Dawk,” was
introduced.
❖ India has 23 postal circles and 9 postal zones including Army Post Office.
❖ Post offices in India follows a 6-digit PIN Code system, which was introduced in
India in 1972.
❖ The theme for 2024 is "Connecting India: The Role of Postal Services in Nation
Building".

World Mental Health Day 2024 – October 10

❖ This initiative was dedicated for raising the awareness, promoting mental health
education, and advocating against the stigma surrounding mental health.
❖ World Mental Health Day was first observed on October 10, 1992.
❖ The theme for 2024 is 'Mental Health at Work'.

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International Day of the Girl Child 2024 - October 11

❖ It was established by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2011.

❖ This day was dedicated for raising awareness about the unique challenges girls
face worldwide and promoting their empowerment.
❖ This day highlights the need to address issues such as gender inequality, child
marriage, and limited access to education and healthcare.
❖ The theme of 2024 is “Girls’ vision for the future.”
❖ UNESCO proclaimed 1979 as the International Year of the Child.

International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2024 - October 13

❖ The day aims to raising awareness about disasters, their effect on living beings,
and preventive measures.
❖ This day was first observed in the year 1989 at the UNGA.
❖ Sendai Framework for Disaster Reduction 2015-30 was adopted at the 3rd UN
World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Japan.
❖ It aims to guide the multi hazard management of disaster risk in development at
all levels as well as within and across all sectors.

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 ❖ It is the successor instrument to the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) 2005-
2015.
❖ This year’s theme is “Role of education in protecting and empowering youth for a
disaster-free future.”

World Migratory Bird Day 2024 - October 12

❖ This day was celebrated in the Second Saturdays of May and October.
❖ The two days of this day serve as a means to reflect the cyclical nature of bird
migration, as well as the varying peak migration periods in the northern and
southern hemispheres.
❖ This year the dates are May 11 and October 12, 2024.
❖ It aims to highlights the need for international cooperation to conserve migratory
birds.
❖ Theme of 2024 is “Protect Insects, Protect Birds”.

World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2024 - October 12

❖ It aims to advocate for People Living with Palliative Care Needs (PLWPCNs) on
every second Saturday of October.
❖ 2024 marks 10 years of WHO’s, the only stand-alone resolution on palliative care.
❖ It was calling for all countries to “strengthen palliative care as a component of
comprehensive care throughout the life course.
❖ From 2011 to 2017 the number of palliative care services increased from 16,000
to 25,000, caring for 7 million patients.
❖ But still only about 12% of the need was met.
❖ The theme for 2024 is, “Ten Years Since the Resolution: How are we doing?”.

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Breast cancer awareness Month 2024 - October 01/31
❖ It aims to raise awareness about breast cancer, one of the most common cancers
affecting women worldwide.
❖ This month provides an opportunity to educate the public, promote early
detection, and encourage fundraising for breast cancer research and treatment.
❖ Breast cancer occurs when cells in the breast grow uncontrollably, forming a
tumour.
❖ About 25.8 per 100,000 women (age adjusted rate) and mortality rates of 12.7
per 100,000 women.
❖ With an expected 2.3 million new cases in 2020 (11.7% of all cancer cases), it is
the leading cause of global cancer incidence.
❖ Between 1965 and 1985 there was a nearly a 50% increase of breast cancer
incidence in India.
❖ Breast Cancer Awareness Day is celebrated every year on October 13.
❖ Theme for 2024 is No-one should face breast cancer alone.

World Egg Day 2024 - October 11

❖ It is celebrated on the second Friday in October each year.
❖ This occasion highlights the nutritional benefits, versatility, and significance of
eggs in diets around the globe.
❖ The day emphasises how eggs provide essential nutrients and affordable protein
to people worldwide.
❖ It was established at Vienna 1996.
❖ The theme for 2024 is “United by Eggs.”

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World Standards Day 2024 - October 14
❖ This day offers the opportunity to increase understanding of the importance of
standardization.
❖ The date commemorates the first meeting held in 1946, London to establish an
international organization that would concentrate its efforts on standardization.
❖ The first World Standards Day was only celebrated in 1970.
❖ The theme for 2024 is Achieving industry, innovation and infrastructure through
AI.

International Day of Rural Women 2024 - October 15

❖ It aims to recognise the significant contributions of rural women to their families,
communities, and economies.
❖ It also promotes gender equality and empower these women.
❖ It was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007.
❖ The theme for 2024 is “Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All”.
❖ Women engaged in wage employment in agriculture earn 82 cents for every dollar
that men earn.
❖ From 2016, India also observes October 15 as Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas.

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day 2024 - October 15

❖ This day dedicated to honouring the memory of babies lost to miscarriage,
stillbirth or neonatal death.
❖ The day is also meant to raise awareness about the emotional and mental
challenges faced by those impacted by pregnancy and infant loss.
❖ Nearly 20 lakhs babies are stillborn each year, and many of these deaths are
avoidable.
❖ The probability of miscarriage before 20 weeks gestation in women aged 20 to 30
is 8.9%.
❖ This increase to 74.7% for women over the age of 40.

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Global Handwashing Day 2024 - October 15

❖ It aims to raise the awareness about the role handwashing plays in preventing
diseases and saving lives.
❖ This day was first initiated in 2008 by the Global Handwashing Partnership
(GHP).
❖ The regular handwashing with soap is one of the most effective ways to prevent
illnesses, such as diarrhoea and respiratory infections, especially among
children.
❖ This year's theme is "Why are clean hands still important?".

World White Cane Day 2024 - October 15

❖ It aims to recognise the importance of the white cane as a tool for individuals who
are blind or visually impaired.

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 ❖ The white cane allows them to navigate their surroundings safely and
independently.
❖ The day was first celebrated in 1964, with President Lyndon B. Johnson marking
the occasion.

World Food Day 2024 - October 16

❖ It aims to end hunger and make sure that every individual has access to
nutritious food.
❖ The Food and Agriculture Organization was founded on 16 October 1945.
❖ FAO started this day to start a fight against hunger, raise awareness about
healthy diets, and promote action against malnutrition and food security.
❖ The theme of 2024 is "Right to Food for a Better Life and a Better Future."

World Anesthesia Day - October 16

❖ This day honours the successful administration of the first anaesthesia and
commemorate and celebrates the milestone.
❖ Anaesthesia is a medical procedure that prevents patients from feeling pain
during treatments like surgery, tissue sample removal, dental work, certain
screening, and diagnostic tests.
❖ On October 16, 1846, American dentist and physician William Thomas Green
Morton conducted the first-ever diethyl ether anaesthesia experiment.
❖ The theme for 2024 is "Workforce Well Being".

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World Spine Day 2024 - October 16
❖ It aims to raising awareness about spinal health and the prevention of spinal
disorders.
❖ It was first celebrated in 2012 as part of the Bone and Joint Decade.
❖ The spine is the backbone and the central support structure of the body, which
supports basic activities like sitting, standing, walking, twisting and bending.
❖ Around 100 crores globally suffer from back pain and spinal-related issues.
❖ The theme for 2024 is “Support Your Spine.”

International Day for Eradication of Poverty 2024 - October 17

❖ The day tries to promote the dialogue and understanding about poverty within
governments and policymakers.
❖ On this day in 1987 over 100,000 people assembled at the Trocadero in Paris to
commemorate victims of poverty, hunger, violence and fear.
❖ In December 1992, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared this
day.

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 ❖ The theme for this year is “Ending Social and Institutional Maltreatment Acting
together for just, peaceful and inclusive societies.”

Police Commemoration Day 2024 - October 21

❖ The day marks the sacrifice of 10 CRPF men who lost their lives to a Chinese
attack in 1959.
❖ A police contingent comprising CRPF and ITBF personnel were killed by Chinese
troops in an ambush in the Hot Springs area near Ladakh.
❖ Hot Spring in Aksai Chin in Ladakh is situated between 15,000 and 16,000 ft
above the sea level on the Indo-Tibet border.

Mole Day 2024 - October 23

❖ The day is commemorated in honor of Avogadro’s number and is marked from
6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m.
❖ Avogadro number is denoted as 6.02x1023 to define the number of particles
present in a single mole of any substance.
❖ This number - or a mole - is a basic measuring unit for atoms and molecules
discovered by Amedeo Avogadro, an 18th-century Italian scientist.
❖ The theme for 2024 is EncantMole.

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United Nations Day 2024 - October 24

❖ This day marks the anniversary of the UN Charter’s adoption in 1945.

❖ After World War II, 51 nations established the United Nations in 1945 with the
goals of preserving world peace and security.
❖ The name 'United Nations' was coined by the United States President Franklin D.
Roosevelt.
❖ It is currently made up of 193 Member States.
❖ Each of the 193 Member States of the United Nations is a member of the General
Assembly.
❖ This day was first celebrated on October 24, 1948.

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World Day against Death Penalty 2024 - October 10
❖ The day encourages and consolidates the political and general awareness of the
worldwide movement against the death penalty.
❖ This year celebration dedicated to challenging the misconception that the death
penalty can make people and communities safer.
❖ 112 nations have abolished the death penalty for all crimes.
❖ The 5 countries that executed the most in the world in 2023 are, in order: China,
Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and the USA.
❖ At least 27,687 individuals are known to be under a sentence of death around
the world at the end of 2023.

World Osteoporosis Day 2024 - October 20

❖ It aims to raise awareness around the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of

osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease.
❖ Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease wherein your new bone formation
doesn’t keep up with the loss of old bone.
❖ In India, about 23 percent of children suffer from osteoporosis.
❖ About 37 percent of the Elderly are diagnosed to have osteoporosis, whereas
about 18 % of the adults have osteoporosis.

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World Iodine Deficiency Day 2024 - October 21
❖ It aims to raise awareness about the importance of iodine consumption and its
effect on health.
❖ This day is also known as World Iodine Deficiency Disorder Day.
❖ It causes significant health problems in 130 countries and affects 74 crore people.
❖ One-third (33%) of the world's population is exposed to the risk of the Iodine
Deficiency Disorder (IDD).
❖ In India, more than 6.1 crore people are suffering from endemic goitre and 88
lakh people suffer from mental/ physical disabilities.

World Sight Day 2024 - October 10

❖ It is observed on the second Thursday of October.

❖ It aims to highlight the importance of protecting our eyes and vision, raise
awareness of vision impairment and blindness, and promote eye and vision care.
❖ The theme of 2024 is “Children, love your eyes”

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 ❖ Among all cases of blindness, 90% of them can be avoided or treated if identified
early.
❖ Globally, nearly 220 crore individuals worldwide are visually impaired.
❖ 10 crore people suffer from a vision disability that could have been avoided or is
still unaddressed.

Global Media and Information Literacy Week 2024 - October 24/31

❖ It aims to share ideas and promote Media and Information Literacy for all.
❖ It is an annual event organised by UNESCO to raise awareness of the importance
of media and information literacy (MIL).
❖ It also celebrates the progress made towards achieving MIL for all.
❖ The Theme for 2024 will be “The new digital frontiers of information: Media and
Information Literacy for public-interest information”.

Disarmament Week 2024 - October 24/30

❖ It seeks to promote awareness and better understanding of disarmament issues
and their cross-cutting importance.
❖ It is starting on 24 October, the anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.
❖ The Ottawa Treaty, or the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, marks its 25th
anniversary this year.
❖ The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT) was entering into
force in 1970.
❖ The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) was opened for signature in
1996.

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 ❖ Nuclear Suppliers Group was established in 1974 after Pokhran test.
❖ The Australian Group was established in 1985.
❖ The Missile Technology Control Regime was established in 1987.

International Snow Leopard Day - October 23

❖ This day was started in 2013, following the adoption of the Bishkek Declaration.
❖ The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) thrives in harsh, high-altitude environments.
❖ They are native to the mountains of Central and South Asia.

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 ❖ They typically found at elevations between 9,800 and 17,000 feet in mountain
ranges
❖ The snow leopard lives in 12 of the most mountainous countries in the world.
❖ They are Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Mongolia,
Nepal, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
❖ It is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.

World Development Information Day 2024 - October 24

❖ It is a platform for raising awareness about issues such as education, health, the
environment, and economic development.
❖ It aims to promote awareness of global development issues and the importance
of information in addressing these challenges.
❖ It was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972.
❖ The date coincides with United Nations Day.

International Day of Diplomats 2024 - October 24

❖ It is honouring the invaluable role that the diplomats play in maintaining

international relations, fostering peace, and promoting dialogue between the
countries.
❖ It was initiated in 2017 by Indian diplomat Abhay Kumar.
❖ This day was first commemorated in Brasília, Brazil, with diplomats from several
nations participating.
❖ International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace was observed on
April 24.

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World Polio Day 2024 - October 24

❖ The Day was established by the Rotary International to commemorate the birth
of Jonas Salk.
❖ Jonas Salk led the first team to develop the vaccine against the disease in the
1950s.
❖ In 1955, he created the Inactivated Poliovirus Vaccine.
❖ In 1962, Albert Sabin created the Oral Polio Vaccine.
❖ OPV is being used exclusively in India since 1978.
❖ In 1988, WHO committed to eradicate the poliovirus, at the time, there were
around 3,50,000 cases worldwide.

63rd ITBP Raising Day - October 24

❖ The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is one of India’s five Central Armed Police
Forces.
❖ It was raised in the aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian War.
❖ ITBP was formally raised on October 24, 1962.
❖ with the security of the India-China border in the Himalayas.
❖ The force safeguarded along the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with
China.

International Gibbon Day 2024 - October 24

❖ Gibbons are apes in the family Hylobatidae.
❖ There are 20 different species of Gibbons and they are endemic to the tropical
and subtropical rainforests of South Asia.

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 ❖ India’s only ape species, the Western Hoolock gibbon is listed as endangered in
IUCN red list.
❖ Currently there are less than 3,000 gibbons in India, and they are usually seen
in North Eastern States.

International Dwarfism Awareness Day 2024 - October 25

❖ The day spreads about awareness on Achondroplasia - bone growth disorder that
causes dwarfism.
❖ Dwarfism is short stature that results from a genetic or medical condition.
❖ It is generally defined as an adult height of less than 4 feet 10 inches (147
centimetres).
❖ Achondroplasia is the most common type of dwarfism, and the word itself means
'without cartilage formation'.
❖ Dwarfism occurs one in every 15,000 to one in 40,000 births.

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2024 - October 27

❖ It recognises the dedicated efforts of professionals and institutions working to
safeguard our audiovisual cultural heritage for future generations.
❖ This day was established by UNESCO in 2005.
❖ This day emphasises the significance of preserving audiovisual materials like
films, sound recordings, and broadcasts.

World Trauma Day 2024 - October 17

❖ It aims to raise the awareness about trauma and its effects on individuals and
communities.
❖ This day highlights the importance of understanding trauma, its causes, and the
need for appropriate responses, particularly through trauma-informed care.

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 ❖ Trauma refers to an emotional response to distressing or life-altering events.
❖ The first annual World Trauma Day was established in 2011 in New Delhi, India.

Indian Army Infantry Day 2024 - October 27

❖ This day recognise the contributions of the largest fighting arm of the Indian
Army.
❖ On October 26, 1947, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, Hari Singh, signed
the instrument of accession.
❖ On 27th October 1947, the first troops of the Indian Army landed at Srinagar
airport, forcing the invaders, backed by Pakistan, to retreat.

International Animation Day - October 28

❖ It was established in 2002 by the International Animated Film Association
(ASIFA), a branch of UNESCO.
❖ The first public performance of projected moving images was Emile Reynaud’s
Theatre Optique in Paris, on October 28, 1892.
❖ The journey of Indian animation started with the government setting up the
Cartoon Films unit in 1955 in the Film Division complex in Mumbai.
❖ India’s first full-length animated movie was released in the 1990s namely ‘The
Legend of Prince Rama”.

International Day of Care and Support 2024 - October 29

❖ It honours the accomplishments of caregivers and promote laws and programs
that promote and improve care.

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 ❖ The global care workforce comprises 249 million women and 132 million men.
❖ By 2030, the number of care recipients is predicted to reach 2.3 billion.
❖ Women perform 76.2 per cent of the total amount of unpaid care work, 3.2 times
more time than men.

National Ayurveda Day 2024 - October 29

❖ This day is celebrated on Dhanvantri Jayanti.

❖ It aims to raise the awareness about Ayurvedic principles, medicinal herbs, and
lifestyle practices.
❖ The theme for 2024 is ‘Ayurveda Innovation for Global Health’.

World Thrift Day 2024 - October 30

❖ It aims to aware consciousness to people about their financial security, savings,

and freedom.
❖ During the 1st International Savings Bank Congress on 31 October 1924, at
Italy's Milan, World Savings Day was established.
❖ It was proposed by Filipo Ravizza, an Italian professor.

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National Unity Day 2024 - October 31
❖ Rashtriya Ekta Diwas or National Unity Day is celebrated to commemorate the
birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
❖ He was India’s first Deputy Prime Minister of India and first Home Minister of
India from 1947 to 1950.
❖ Patel successfully persuaded all the 565 self-governing princely states to accede
to India after getting independence from British colonial rule.
❖ The government will commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel with a two-year-long nationwide programme from 2024 to
2026.

World Cities Day 2024 - October 31

❖ It highlights the global push towards creating sustainable, inclusive urban
spaces.
❖ In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly officially designated this day.
❖ The theme for 2024 is “Youth leading climate and local action for cities.”

MISCELLANEOUS

75th year of Central Silk Board

❖ The Central Silk Board (CSB) holds a celebration to mark its platinum jubilee
year.
❖ A commemorative coin to mark the CSB platinum jubilee was also released on
the occasion.
❖ The Central Silk Board is an autonomous body working under the Union Ministry
of Textiles.
❖ The CSB is benefiting the sericulture stakeholders in the country by providing
trainings, workshops, awareness programmes, financial aids, and subsidies.
❖ About 9.5 million people in the country are dependent on sericulture as their
livelihood.

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Shankh Air
❖ Shankh Aviation Private Limited, has received a no objection certificate (NOC)
from the Union Civil Aviation Ministry, allowing it to begin operations.
❖ The NOC is valid for three years.
❖ It will be the first scheduled airline to launch from Uttar Pradesh, with hubs in
Lucknow and Noida.

Nazca Lines – Peru

❖ Archaeologists assisted by artificial intelligence, have discovered 303 previously
unknown giant symbols carved in the Nazca Desert.
❖ The carvings include birds, plants, spiders, humanlike figures with headdresses,
decapitated heads and an orca wielding a knife.
❖ These mysterious artworks formed in the ground by moving stones or gravel that
date back some 2,000 years.

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Pillbox in Vizag
❖ Monsoon erosion in the sands of Visakhapatnam’s beaches revealing a piece of
the Pillboxes used during the Second World War.
❖ These pillboxes, built during the peak of the Second World War
❖ These are equipped with loopholes through which defenders can fire weapons.
❖ It enabled soldiers to fire weapons while being protected from enemy attacks.

250-year-old memorial stone

❖ A stone sculpture believed to be from the 17th or 18th centuries was unearthed
in Modakkurichi taluk of Erode district.
❖ The sculpture, which has no inscriptions, depicts a couple along with images of
the sun and moon.
❖ Since there were no inscriptions, exact details on why the stone was carved are
unknown.

IVC and Dravidian links

❖ This Indus valley civilisation spanned 2,000 sites across 1.5 million square
kilometres in the territories of India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan during the
Bronze Age (3000-1500 BCE).
❖ Scholars Iravatham Mahadevan and Asko Parpola studied the antiquity of Tamil
language and the link between the language and the Indus Valley Civilisation.

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 ❖ Tamil goes back to Proto-Dravidian, can be identified as the language of the
thousands of short texts in the Indus script, written in 2600-1700 BCE.
❖ Sanskrit goes back to Proto-Indo-Aryan attested in a few names and words
related to the Mitanni kingdom of Syria between 1500 and 1300 BCE.
❖ The earlier forms of Indo-Iranian known only from a few loanwords in Finno-Ugric
languages as spoken in central Russia around 2000 BCE.
❖ But none of these very earliest few traces are older than the roots of Tamil.

Judge’s Asset Disclosure

❖ Of the 749 judges currently shown as posted in the 25 High Courts across the
country, the assets of only 98 are available in the public domain through the
declarations.
❖ Of these, three High Courts constitute over 80 per cent of the asset declarations.

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 ❖ The Kerala High Court tops with the details of 37 out of 39 judges available on
its website.
❖ The Punjab and Haryana High Court has uploaded the information of 31 of 55
judges.
❖ Thirly, the Delhi High Court has posted details of 11 of 39 judges.
❖ From Tamil Nadu, 5 of 62 has uploaded their information.

Treatment for retinal diseases

❖ IIT Madras, have identified a method to treat the retinal tears and diabetic
retinopathy.
❖ They used mild laser-induced convection to enhance the delivery of drugs injected
into the retina of the eye.
❖ There are around 11 million people in India with retinal disorders.

Herbicide-tolerant BT cotton
❖ The government is promoting Herbicide-tolerant BT (HTBT) cotton to reduce the
use of herbicide 'glyphosate'.
❖ 'Glyphosate' is designed to kill all plants coming into contact with it, the chemical
cannot ordinarily distinguish between crop and weed.
❖ The use of glyphosate involves health hazards and risk to human beings and
animals.
❖ The HTBt cotton variant adds another layer of modification, making the plant
resistant to the herbicide glyphosate.

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Doddalathur Megalithic Site - Karnataka

❖ Excavation works have started at the Doddalathur Megalithic burial site in Hanur
taluk of the Chamarajanagar district.
❖ The west of the village is a small hillock and in the adjacent fields are hundreds
of burials of the megalithic period which corresponds to the Iron Age.
❖ The burials consist of circles made of large boulders hence the name “megalithic”.
❖ Since iron technology came into use during this period, it is also known as Iron
Age.
❖ In south India, this period has been broadly placed in the time bracket of 1200
BCE to 300 CE.

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Life Expectancy Trends 2024

❖ According to new research, the humanity may have hit the upper limit of life
expectancy.
❖ Despite medical advances, breakthroughs in genetic research, and an increasing
number of people reaching the age of 100.
❖ But overall life expectancy has not significantly increased.
❖ Life expectancy measures the average number of years a newborn can expect to
live.
❖ While women continue to live longer than men, the rate of life expectancy
improvement has slowed.
❖ In the 1990s, life expectancy rose by an average of 2.5 years per decade.
❖ Between 1990 and 2019, the increase in life expectancy was only 6.5 years in the
longest-living countries.
❖ By the 2010s, that rate had dropped to 1.5 years per decade—and almost zero in
the U.S.
❖ The chances of reaching 100 years old are still quite low—5.3% for girls and 1.8%
for boys born in these regions.

Mechazilla
❖ SpaceX has landed its Starship rocket using an innovative structure called
"Mechazilla."
❖ This tall structure, equipped with massive mechanical arms, has transformed
rocket recovery methods.
❖ Mechazilla is the nickname for the large 400-ft rocket-catching structure at
SpaceX's Starbase in South Texas, USA.

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 ❖ These arms are designed to catch the Super Heavy booster in midair as it returns
to Earth.
❖ This new method of rocket recovery is far more efficient and reusable compared
to traditional landing techniques.

Battle of Walong
❖ Indian Army commemorated the 62nd anniversary of the Battle of Walong fought
during 1962 war with China.
❖ It honours the sacrifices of the brave soldiers and citizens of Walong.
❖ The battles were occurred at 3,000 to 14,000 feet.
❖ A small Indian troop, successfully halted the Chinese army's advance for 27 days
in the challenging terrain of Kibithu, Walong, and Namti Tri Junction (Tiger’s
Mouth).

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Salmon farming

❖ The rising demand for farmed salmon is affected coastal communities to access
affordable fish.
❖ Fish oil is increasingly in demand for salmon farms, which now supply 70 per
cent of all salmon consumed worldwide.
❖ The farmed Atlantic salmon alone accounted for 60 per cent of fish oil usage in
2020.
❖ Poor coastal communities depend on these small fish for both food and their
livelihoods.
❖ But because these fish are being used to feed farmed fish, like salmon, instead
of being available for local consumption, these communities are struggling to
access an affordable source of protein.

Statue of Lady Justice

❖ The Supreme Court has recently unveiled a new statue of “Lady Justice” with no
blindfold.
❖ The blindfold in the classic rendition has been popularly understood to represent
the impartiality of justice.
❖ It holds scales on one hand and the Indian Constitution (instead of sword) on the
other.
❖ The new statue with unimpeded vision is meant to signify that “Law is not blind;
it sees everyone equally.”
❖ This has been designed by Vinod Goswami, a muralist from College of Art in
Delhi.
❖ The imagery of Lady Justice can be traced back to Greek and Roman mythology.

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 ❖ The first Roman emperor Augustus (27 BCE-14 CE) introduced the worship of
Justice in the form of a goddess known as Justitia (or Iustitia).
❖ At the Calcutta High Court — first constructed in 1872 — images of Lady Justice
were carved into the pillars supporting the building.

Cyber fraud cases 2024

❖ Indians lost approximately Rs 120.3 crore to ‘digital arrest’ fraud schemes during
the first quarter of 2024.
❖ Also, they had lost Rs 1,420.48 crore in trading scam, Rs 222.58 crore in the
investment scam, and Rs 13.23 crore in romance/dating scam.
❖ The National Cybercrime Reporting Portal had recorded 0.74 million complaints
between January 1 and April 30 this year.
❖ It is following 1.5 million complaints logged in 2023.
❖ Tamil Nadu had a 9% share in cyber fraud cases.

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