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The Supreme Court allowed all appeals by the Tata Group and upheld its decision to sack Cyrus Pallonji Mistry as the chairman and executive director of the group. COURSE OF EVENTS On October 24, 2016, Mistry was removed from his post of Chairman of Tata Sons by the board. He was appointed to the top position in 2012. Following his ouster, Mistry had moved the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) challenging his removal. He said that the majority shareholder of Tata Sons, the Tata Group was indulged in oppression of minority shareholders of the group.  NCLT AND NCLAT  In its 2017 judgment, the NCLT upheld Mistry’s removal from as Executive Chairman and Director. It had observed that just because the board of Tata Sons had held a board meeting at short notice or included the item agenda (that removed Mistry from his post at the top) at the last minute, it could not be termed as a fraud. In December 2019, the NCLAT had reinstated Cyrus Pallonji Mistr...

At least four persons were killed in Bangladesh’s Chittagong and dozens severely injured during protests against the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  The protests, which were already going on across the country against Modi’s scheduled visit, intensified after the prime minister landed in Dhaka to take part in Bangladesh’s National Day celebrations. DETAILS Activists from Hefazat-e-Islam, an Islamic fundamentalist group, and students affiliated with Left parties were involved in the protests.  Traditionally, the Hefazat has always allied with the Jamaat-e-Islami, which has ties with the Bangladesh’s main opposition party, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The students were protesting because they believe Prime Minister Modi is guilty of the Gujarat riots and that he represents a Right-wing pro-Hindutva party.  The Hefazat activists have been protesting since last year when they came to know that PM Modi will be visiting Dhaka. Many Bangladeshis are also unhappy w...

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and her counterpart in Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina signed five Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs). They were related to areas of importance such as connectivity, commerce, information technology and sports to further strengthen the bilateral ties between the two nations and together work towards development.  PM Modi also presented a representational key of 109 ambulances to PM Hasina, along with a representational box to her as a symbol of India's gift of 1.2 million COVID vaccine doses that were promised earlier on. In return, he received a gold and a silver coin released on the occasion of the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from PM Hasina, along with another silver coin released on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh's Independence. HIGHLIGHTS  The two sides also discussed issues related to the Rohingya with India saying it was happy to facilitate “safe, speedy and sustainable” return of the forcibly ...

The Supreme Court flagged the possibility of misuse of money received by political parties through electoral bonds for ulterior objects like funding terror or violent protests. ELECTORAL BONDS Electoral Bond is a financial instrument for making donations to political parties. The system of electoral bonds was announced in the 2017 Union Budget. The bonds are issued in multiples of Rs. 1,000, Rs. 10,000, Rs. 1 lakh, Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 1 crore without any maximum limit. State Bank of India is authorised to issue and encash these bonds, which are valid for fifteen days from the date of issuance. Donors can purchase and subsequently donate the bonds to their party of choice, which the party can then cash through its verified account within 15 days. The bonds are available for purchase by any person (who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India) for a period of ten days each in the months of January, April, July and October as may be specified by the Central Governme...

N.V. Ramana, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court, has been recommended as the next top judge by the present Chief Justice of India (S A Bobde). Justice Ramana will take over as the 48th Chief Justice of India (CJI) from 24th April 2021. He would be the CJI till 26th August, 2022.  APPOINTMENT  The Chief Justice of India and the Judges of the Supreme Court (SC) are appointed by the President under clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution. The outgoing CJI recommends his successor. The Union Law Minister forwards the recommendation to the Prime Minister who, in turn, advises the President. SC in the Second Judges Case (1993), ruled that the senior most judge of the Supreme Court should alone be appointed to the office of the CJI. The Supreme Court collegium is headed by the Chief Justice of India and comprises four other senior most judges of the court. The collegium system is the system of appointment and transfer of judges that has evolved through judgments of the ...

On 23rd March 2021, a massive cargo ship, named Ever Given, turned sideways in Egypt's Suez Canal.  The ship appeared to be stuck some 6 kilometers north of the southern mouth of the canal near the city of Suez. This blocked traffic in the crucial East-West waterway for global shipping. About 64 vessels traveling southbound were also affected.   All these vessels are stuck in transit between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. MV EVER GIVEN The vessel blocking Suez, the Ever Given was a Panama-registered container ship. It was on its way to Rotterdam in the Netherlands from China.  The 2018-built vessel, which is 400-m long and 59-m wide, got stuck due to a mishap caused by bad weather. The ship is operated by Evergreen Marine, a Taiwanese transport company. THE SUEZ CANAL It was opened in 1869.  It connects Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Sinai Peninsula from mainland Africa.  The Suez Canal provides a crucial link for oil, n...

India, Pakistan, China and other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will hold a joint anti- terrorism exercise this year, the eight-member bloc said. The decision to hold the joint exercise "Pabbi-Antiterror 2021" was announced during the 36th meeting of the Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Pabbi is a large town in Pabbi Tehsil of Nowshera District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is the base of Pakistan's National Counter Terror Centre. RATS The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is headquartered in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.  It is a permanent organ of the SCO which serves to promote cooperation of member states against the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism. The Head of RATS is elected to a three-year term.  SCO Formation: 2001. Predecessor: Shanghai Five group, founded on 26 April 1996. Headquarters: Beijing, China. Membership: 8 member states. Secretary General: Vl...

Mizoram is caught between a humanitarian urge and India’s policy on refugees.  At least 1,000 people from the adjoining Chin State of Myanmar are said to have crossed over to Mizoram, fearing a military crackdown. Most of the refugees waded across the Tiau River that runs along much of Mizoram’s 510-km border with Myanmar.  The Mizoram government favours providing refuge to the Chins, who are ethnically related to the majority Mizos in the State.  However, the Ministry of Home Affairs made it clear that “India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol theron”. INDIA-MYANMAR BORDER Much of India's border with Myanmar is without any fence.  The Assam Rifles personnel guard the border but a tough terrain comes in the way of maintaining airtight vigil.  There have been calls to fence the border as it will also help in checking the movement of extremist groups to and from Myanmar. REFUGEE CONVENTION...

A unique “double mutant” coronavirus variant with a combination of mutations, not seen anywhere else in the world, has been found in India. The double mutation in key areas of the virus' spike protein may increase the risks and allow the virus to escape the immune system. VARIANT According to the study, the ‘L’ type strain of coronavirus became more dominant in China.  The ‘S’ type coronavirus became more contagious in the rest of the world.  However, in Europe, another strain of virus strain was found which swaps between amino acids D and G and was given the name – D614G.  In India, the first strain of coronavirus was ‘L’ strain that originated in Wuhan, according to experts, which eventually mutated into ‘S’ and ‘G’ stains, which have spread across the country. MUTATION Mutation is an alteration in the genetic material (the genome) of a cell of a living organism or of a virus that is more or less permanent and that can be transmitted to the cell’s or the virus’s de...

The Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2020 has been awarded to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is Bangladesh’s Father of the Nation.  The Gandhi Peace Prize 2019 was also conferred this year, another posthumous award, to Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman. This is the first time the Gandhi Peace Prize is being posthumously awarded. GANDHI PEACE PRIZE Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award instituted by the Government of India since 1995  It was instituted on ocassion of the 125th Birth Anniversary commemoration year of Mahatma Gandhi.  The award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or sex.  It recognises individuals who uphold Gandhian social principles. SELECTION The award recipients are selected by a ‘Jury’ comprising of:  Prime Minister of India (as the Chairperson)  The Chief Justice of India  Leader of the single largest Opposition Party in Lok Sabha (Adhir Chowdhury)...

The resolution on ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’ was adopted in the United Nations Human Rights Council.  22 member states of the 47-member Council voted in its favour.  India abstained from the vote.  UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT  The draft resolution is based on a damning report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights that was submitted to the Human Rights Council on January 27.  The report warned that Sri Lanka’s failure to address human rights violations and war crimes committed in the past had put the country on a “dangerous path” that could lead to a “recurrence” of policies and practices that gave rise to the earlier situation. The report pointed to the appointment of at least 28 serving or former military and intelligence personnel to “key administrative posts”. It also pointed at the appointments of two senior military officials implicated in UN reports on alleged war crimes and crimes against hu...

The World Happiness Report 2021 was released by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. This is the ninth World Happiness Report. HISTORY The first eight reports were produced by the founding trio of co-editors assembled in Thimphu in July 2011, pursuant to the Bhutanese Resolution passed by the General Assembly in June 2011. The assembly had invited national governments to "give more importance to happiness and well-being in determining how to achieve and measure social and economic development." The first World Happiness Report was released in 2012. Although the World Happiness Reports are based on a wide variety of data, the most important source has always been the Gallup World Poll.  2021 REPORT The World Happiness Report 2021 focuses on the effects of Covid-19 and how people all over the world have fared. Theme: Life under COVID-19. Finland once again is the world's happiest country.  People in war-torn Afghanistan are the most unhappy with their l...

The Rajya Sabha passed the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020.   The Bill seeks to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. The new amendment Bill also allows termination of pregnancy on the opinion of one doctor, at any point during the course of the pregnancy, if it is immediately necessary to save pregnant woman's life. The “name and other particulars of a woman whose pregnancy has been terminated shall not be revealed”, except to a person authorised in any law that is currently in force. Voluntarily terminating a pregnancy is a criminal offence, under section 45 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.  In 1971, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, was introduced to allow abortion by medical practitioners (gynaecologists and obstetricians) on certain grounds.  TERMINATION UPTO 20 WEEKS Under the Act, a pregnancy may be terminated up to 20 weeks by a married woman in the case of failure of contraceptive method or device.  The ...

The report titled, is prepared by Swiss organisation, IQAir, in the form of the 'World Air Quality Report, 2020', The report is based on PM2.5 data from 106 countries and uses ground-based monitoring stations, operated by governmental agencies, local residents, non-profit organisations and companies. THE FINDINGS South Asia remained the most polluted region of the world with Bangladesh, India and Pakistan sharing 42 of the 50 most polluted cities worldwide. India is the third most polluted country in 2020 behind Bangladesh and Pakistan.  In 2019, India was ranked fifth.  In 2020, twenty-two of the world's 30 most polluted cities are in India.  Delhi has been ranked as the most polluted capital city globally.   India, on the whole, however, had improved its average annual PM 2.5 levels higher in 2020 than in 2019. Air quality improved in India last year as compared to the previous years owing to the coronavirus induced lockdown.  Average pollution lev...

India has commissioned its secretive nuclear missile tracking vessel that had been under construction since 2014. With this, India has Entered a select league of nations with the capability to monitor missile launches at long distances, enhancing the testing programme and adding a crucial part to a national missile defence system.  The specialized Ocean Surveillance Ship, called the VC 11184, was commissioned in October last year in a ceremony that was not made public. The ship will be operated by a joint crew of The National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), The Defence Research and Development Organisation, The Indian Navy. At present, only the US, France, China and Russia operate similar vessels that are used to track missile launches at sea.

The central government introduced the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in the Lok Sabha.  It will amend the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991.  It aims to "further define the responsibilities of the elected government and Lieutenant Governor (LG) in Delhi". PROVISIONS The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021, proposes to amend Sections 21, 24, 33 and 44 of the 1991 Act. The amendment to section 21 makes the expression 'Government' referred to in any law to be made by the Legislative Assembly shall mean the Lieutenant Governor (LG). The Bill gives discretionary powers to the LG even in matters where the Legislative Assembly of Delhi is empowered to make laws. It seeks to ensure that the LG is “necessarily granted an opportunity” to give her/his opinion before any decision taken by the Council of Ministers (or the Delhi Cabinet) is implemented. The amendment also says...

China made changes in Hong Kong’s electoral system.  THE NEW SYSTEM The number of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (HKLC) members have been increased to 90, with the additional members also nominated, thereby reducing the share of elected representatives. Before, only half of the 70 members of HKLC were directly elected and the rest were nominated. The Election committee (Hong Kong electoral college) has been expanded to include Beijing-nominated members. The Election Committee, as previously, will be responsible for electing the Chief Executive, and will also choose some of the members of HKLC. The selection of “patriots” will be ensured by the setting up of a new candidate qualification review committee. HISTORY Hong Kong was occupied by Britain after the Opium War in 1840. There were two opium wars: first from 1839-1842 and the second from 1856 – 1860. Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed between UK and China in 1985.  According to the treaty, China reassumed contr...

According to a recent report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) India’s arms imports came down by a third (about 33%) between 2011-2015 and 2016-2020. IMPORTS India remains the second highest importer, behind Saudi Arabia. Russia is the largest arms supplier to India in both periods (2011-2015 and 2016-2020).  However, Russia’s share of Indian arms imports fell from 70% to 49%. India’s arms imports from France increased by 709%. EXPORTS The top five global arms exporters were the US, Russia, France, Germany and China in 2016-2020. India accounted for 0.2% of the share of global arms exports during 2016-20, making the country the world’s 24th largest exporter of major arms. This represents an increase of more than 200% over India’s export share (0.1%) during the previous five-year period of 2011-15. Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Mauritius were the top recipients of Indian military hardware. SIPRI Formation: 6 May 1966. Headquarters: Solna, Stockholm, Sweden. Chai...

Ariz Khan, convicted of the murder of a Delhi Police inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, has been given the death penalty.  He was found guilty under section 302 of the IPC. He was allegedly associated with terror outfit Indian Mujahideen.  Apart from awarding him the death penalty, the Delhi court also imposed a total fine of Rs 11 lakh on Ariz Khan. Earlier in 2013, co-accused Shahzad had been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2008 Batla House encounter.  BATLA HOUSE ENCOUNTER  Batla House is a locality in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar, where an encounter between the Delhi police and alleged terrorists took place on September 19, 2008.  The terrorists were suspected to be the members of terror outfit, Indian Mujahideen.  The encounter had taken place within a week of 2008 Delhi serial blasts that had killed 30 people.  Blasts had taken place at Karol Bagh, Connaught Place, Greater Kailash and India Gate.

Myanmar‘s first satellite is being held on board the International Space Station following the Myanmar coup. Human rights activists and some officials in Japan worry that those cameras could be used for military purposes by the junta that seized power in Myanmar on February 1. The manager of the project said, “We won’t get involved in anything that has to do with the military. The satellite was not designed for that”. DETAILS In 2017, the Myanmar government established a steering committee to set up a Myanmar-owned satellite system. In August 2019, Intelsat 39, a communications satellite, was launched from French Guiana.  Myanmar planned to launch its first satellite in 2021, using Japanese technology. Engineers and researchers in the country was to develop an ultrasmall satellite and launch it into Earth orbit with the help of Japan's Hokkaido University and Tohoku University. The satellite would be an earth observation satellite, which would be used to raise productivity in ...

At least eight persons were injured on March 14, when a "pressure cooker bomb" exploded at a crowded government office in Siraha district's Lahan in south-eastern Nepal. The Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morchac(Revolutionary), an armed outfit led by Jaya Krishna Goit, claimed responsibility for the blast.  It said that it was part of the outfit's "campaign against corruption". JANATANTRIK TARAI MUKTI MORCHA "Terai People's Liberation Front;" also Terai Janatantrik Mukti Morcha (TJMM)) is a political organisation in Nepal. It was formed in 2004 as a split from the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M) around Jay Krishna Goit.  It aims creation of a separate Madhesh state for Madhesi peoples in the Terai region of Nepal. The group accused the CPN-M of not guaranteeing the autonomy of the Terai region.

El Salvador has become the first country in central America and the third in all Americas to get the malaria-free certificate from the World Health Organization (WHO) in recent years.  Malaria elimination certificate is awarded to a country when the chain of indigenous transmission of the disease has been disrupted nationwide for at least three consecutive years.  El Salvador, which received the certificate on February 25, 2021, didn’t report a single case of malaria that was acquired locally (indigenous) since 2017.  It recorded it last malaria death in 1984. The only other countries in the WHO Regions of Americas to have eliminated malaria in recent years are Paraguay (2018) and Argentina (2019).

National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) is going to launch the first-of-its-kind project of Genome Mapping in the Indian Ocean. Indian Ocean is the third largest water body in the world, covering about 20% of the Earth’s water surface.  DETAILS A team of scientists and researchers from the NIO on board its research vessel Sindhu Sadhana will spend 90 days traversing the course of over 10,000 nautical miles in the Indian Ocean on the research project to reveal the internal working of the body of the ocean at a cellular level. They will course the Indian Ocean from India’s east coast, Australia, Port Louis in Mauritius and up to the border of Pakistan, off India’s west coast. The researchers will collect samples from various stretches of the ocean at an average depth of about 5 km. It will help scientists understand the internal working of the ecosystem of the Indian Ocean. The aim is to gather samples for genome mapping of microorganisms in the Indian Ocean. It also aims to underst...

The price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for domestic consumption has increased by 41% or Rs 237.5 per cylinder in the last ten months.  LPG Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a term widely used to describe a family of light hydrocarbon gases.  The two most well known gases in this family are propane and butane.  India’s LPG mix has a 60% share of butane and 40% share of propane. Propane, which comes from natural gas processing and oil refining, is a flammable hydrocarbon gas that is liquefied through pressurization.  It is commonly used for heating and cooking.  Butane is also a flammable hydrocarbon gas that comes from natural gas processing and oil refining.  It is more commonly used as a fuel, propellant and refrigerant. Propane has a boiling temperature of -42°C, whilst butane has a higher boiling point at -2°C. CALCULATION OF PRICE The price of LPG is decided based on an import parity price (IPP) formula, which is based on international produ...

The first meeting of the leaders of the “Quad" countries—the US, India, Australia and Japan—held on 12th March. Heads from all four countries came together for a virtual summit.  The meeting focussed on the whole lot from Covid vaccine provides to local climate change.  Before this, the highest level engagement was that of ministers.  Foreign ministers of all four countries have met thrice in the last three years, twice in person and once virtually. AREAS OF CO-OPERATION The focus of the meeting was the Indo-Pacific, all four leaders made a mention of it. 4 clear and specific areas of cooperation have been identified. Maritime security and cooperation Covid-19 related issues.  Climate change Economic and technological cooperation QUAD HISTORY It was first mooted by former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2007. But couldn’t move ahead with Australia pulling out of it, mostly due to Chinese pressure. In 2017 with Donald Trump, gave shape to the long-pe...

France has begun its first space military exercises to test its ability to defend its satellites. In 2019, France had announced its Commandement de l’Espace (CdE) (French Space Command). These space military exercises are the first ever attempt not only for the French army but also for Europe. France also plans to develop anti-satellite laser weapons and to strengthen surveillance capabilities to close the gap with rivals; China and Russia.  DETAILS The exercise drills are codenamed "AsterX". It is to commemorate the first French satellite Asterix from 1965. The aim of the exercise is to monitor a potentially dangerous space object as well as threats to its own satellite from another foreign power possessing a considerable space force. The new US Space Force and German space agencies are also taking part in the exercises. IndSpaceEx: India’s first ever simulated space warfare exercise.

The Prime Minister flagged off a commemorative ‘Dandi March’ on 12th March, from a ground beside the Abhay Ghat, the resting place of late Prime Minister Morarji Desai near the Sabarmati Ashram. It was done to launch the celebrations of the 75th year of Independence - ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.  2021 DANDI MARCH The padyatra is being undertaken by 81 marchers from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi in Navsaria.  It is a journey of 386 km which will end after 25 days, on 5th April 2021. Descendants of those who walked the Salt March (in 1930) will be honoured. Marchers will traverse the route in memory of the 78 who accompanied Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 from Ahmedabad to Dandi and two others who had joined mid-route. Big events will be organised at six places associated with Gandhi.  Cultural programmes are planned at 21 spots on the route at the nightly stops for the walkers. 2005 DANDI MARCH In 2005, the then Congress-led UPA government at the Centre had initiated a s...

India’s biggest floating solar power plant by generation capacity is to come up at Ramagundam in Peddapalli district of Telangana. The plant is being developed by the National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC)  It will have a capacity of 100MW. The project is in line with India's commitment to attain the target of 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2022 including 100 GW of solar installed capacity.  WORLD'S LARGEST SOLAR PLANT The world's largest solar power plant with 600 MW capacity is being set up on Omkareshwar Dam on Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh.  The project costing Rs 3,000 cr is expected to start power generation only by 2022-23.

Tirath Singh Rawat was sworn in as the new Uttarakhand chief minister. Tirath began as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker, served as pracharak and went to hold key positions in ABVP.  Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had resigned amid a political crisis in the BJP state unit.  The development comes a day after Trivendra Singh Rawat met central BJP leaders in Delhi. Rawat was named the chief ministerial candidate by the BJP after it stormed to power in 2017, winning 57 of 70 seats in the state assembly. WHY? There has been speculation that BJP was mulling political changes in the state after several ministers and MLAs have expressed apprehensions over the working style of Rawat.  A section of state leaders are of the view that the party's electoral prospects under him may not be very bright.   

The Supreme Court said it is an institution that has the “highest respect for women” while clarifying its “Will you marry her?” remark during the hearing of a rape cas. The apex court added that its observations on the case were “completely misreported”.  THE CASE The FIR against Mohit was lodged in 2019 under Sections 376, 417, 506 of the Indian Penal Code and under Sections 4 and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 ("POCSO Act") by the girl.  The girl alleged that during 2014-2015, when she around 16 years of age, the accused raped her.  He also promised to marry her to prevent her from filing police complaint.   However, the accused backtracked from his promise and married someone else.  After the accused was granted anticipatory bail by the Sessions Court, the girl approached the Bombay High Court seeking its cancellation. The HC ruled in favor of the girl. CASE IN SC A bench headed by the CJI was hearing a SLP filed by M...

Sri Lanka on Tuesday said it will develop the West Container Terminal (WCT) at the Colombo Port along with India and Japan.  India has named Adani Ports, which was earlier nominated to invest in the ECT while Japan is yet to respond. Before, the two partners were ejected from a 2019 tripartite agreement to jointly develop the East Container Terminal (ECT), amid port unions' resistance to “foreign involvement”.  DETAILS AND COMPARISON Commercially, the west terminal offer is better for India as it gives 85% stake for developers of the West Terminal against the 49% in ECT.  Geo-politically too, West Terminal is almost the same fom the security aspect and the necessity to have a port terminal in Sri Lanka.  Also, West Terminal is no smaller in size or depth compared to the East Terminal.

International Women's Day is celebrated annually on 8th March.  The theme for 2021 was,  “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world”. HISTORY Women’s Day was first celebrated back in 1911 by Clara Zetkin, who was a German.  The roots of the celebration had been in the labour movement. In 1913, the celebrations were shifted to 8th March. International Women's Day was celebrated for the first time by the United Nations in 1975. In December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions. CARGO SHIP The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways flagged off an all-women crew onboard Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) vessel MT Swarna Krishna. The initiative was a part of SCI’s ongoing Diamond Jubilee celebrations and also to commemorate the Internatio...

Union minister Nitin Gadkari said that he is hopeful that the construction work on ₹8,662-crore Dwarka Expressway will be completed before 15 August, 2022.  The 29-km expressway, which connects Dwarka in Delhi to Gurugram, has been constructed under the Bharatmala Project.   Its 18.9-kilometre length falls in Haryana while the remaining 10.1-kilometre length is in Delhi.  It starts from Shiv-Murti on National Highway-8 and ends near KherkiDaula Toll Plaza. Its construction will also immensely help to reduce air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region. The project also comprises India's first 9-km long 8- lane flyover (34-metre wide) on single pier with 6-lane service roads.  BHARATMALA PROJECT Bharatmala Pariyojana is an umbrella program for the highways sector that focuses on optimizing efficiency of freight and passenger movement across the country. The project was cleared by the Union Cabinet on October 25, 2017. The first phase of the Bharatmala scheme includes ...

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released the Food Waste Index Report 2021. DETAILS It revealed that 17% of all food available at consumer level (11% in households, 5% in food service and 2% in retail) was wasted in 2019 and around 690 million people had to go hungry.  This report estimates that around 931 million tonnes of food waste was generated in 2019. 61% of the waste came from households, 26% from food service and 13% from retail. Developed Countries like Austria produce very low amounts of waste at 39 kg/capita/year.  On the other hand, countries like Nigeria are producing waste at 189 kg/capita/year.  For India, the waste in kg/capita/year was 50. UNEP Founded: 5 June 1972. Headquarters location: Nairobi, Kenya Head: Inger Andersen.

Space construction company Orbital Assembly Corporation unveiled its ambitious project of building a hotel above Earth’s atmosphere. The company is planning to start building the hotel, Voyager Station, in the low Earth orbit in 2025 that could be operational as early as 2027. DETAILS The space hotel will be different from the International Space Station (ISS) since the giant wheel with 24 modules, connected by elevator shafts, will rotate to generate artificial gravity of a level found on the Moon’s surface. It will also have 44 emergency return vehicles (ERVs) with automated flight controls for autonomous landing, according to the construction company.  The planned orbit and elevation for Voyager Station is 97 degree and 500-550 kilometres from Earth surface in a sun-synchronous orbit. This means the space hotel will be synchronised to always be in the same ‘fixed’ position relative to the Sun, helping reduce thermal stress and allow for almost continuous solar power generation.

The Freedom in the World 2021 report has downgraded India’s status from ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’. It pointed to a decline in global democracy over the last 15 years. The report said that nearly 75% of the world’s population lived in a country that faced deterioration over the last year. The most free countries in the world, with a score of 100, are Finland, Norway and Sweden. The least free with a score of 1 are Tibet and Syria.  The report is published by US based human rights watchdog Freedom House. India’s score was 67, a drop from 71/100 from last year 

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched 19 satellites as part of the first dedicated commercial PSLV mission for its commercial company NewSpace India Limited (NSIL).  The company was set up in March 2019 under the Department of Space. The PSLV-C51/Amazônia-1 mission carry Brazil’s Amazônia-1 as the primary payload, along with 18 other guest satellites, including five Indian satellites.  It is ISRO’s first launch of 2021 and the 53rd flight of the PSLV. DETAILS The NSIL facilitated the mission through a commercial agreement with the American company Spaceflight Inc. The rocket will fly in its DL configuration, with two solid strap-on boosters.  PSLV-C44, launched in 2019, was the first flight to use PSLV-DL variant. There will also be on board 12 pico satellites by Swarm Technologies, US, called SpaceBees (Basic Electronic Elements).  These are the world’s smallest two-way communications satellites that are meant to provide and data relay.  I...

By 2023, Mumbai will be home to India’s first undersea tunnel, which will be part of the the city’s Coastal Road project.   The twin tunnels have a length of 2.07 km of which a kilometer will be under the sea.  They are being built as part of the Mumbai Coastal Road Project. The project is a 10.58- km stretch starting from the Marine Drive promenade to the Worli-end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. DETAILS OF THE ROAD PROJECT The road is part of a plan to link South Mumbai with North with a tollfree freeway that is expected to ease up traffic in one of the most congested cities in the world. It is the first undersea road tunnel in the country which will pass through Arabian Sea near Girgaon Chowpatty.  It will start from Priyadarshani Park and end at Netaji Subhash Road in Marine Drive. The undersea tunnel will be 20 metres below the seabed. PROBLEM Such tunnels are under the sea which makes the dispensation of carbon monoxide which is emitted by cars a difficult proposition...

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to retain Pakistan on the “greylist” till the next review of its performance on its recommendations during the June Plenary session. FATF acknowledged Pakistan’s significant progress in combating terrorism, however it was still to fully comply with three of the 27-point action plan. BACKGROUND During the October-2020 Plenary, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan was given an extension for full compliance with the 27-point action plan till February 2021. It had then not fully complied with 6 of the 27 directives. The FATF had issued the 27-point action plan after placing Pakistan on the ‘Grey List’ in June 2018.  The action plan pertains to curbing money laundering and terror financing. FINANCIAL ACTION TASK FORCE It is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 during the G7 Summit in Paris. The FATF assesses the strength of a country’s anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing frameworks, however it does not go by indi...

India and Pakistan have agreed to observe the 2003 ceasefire agreements along the Line of Control (LoC) and all other sectors. The decision was taken after discussion between the two Director Generals of Military Operations (DGsMO), Lt Gen Paramjit Singh Sangha, from India, and his Pakistani counterpart, Maj Gen Nauman Zakaria. 2003 CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT The original ceasefire agreement was reached in November 2003, four years after the Kargil War (1999). The 2003 ceasefire agreement remains a milestone as it brought peace along the LoC until 2006.  Between 2003 and 2006, not a single bullet was fired by the jawans of India and Pakistan. However, since 2006, ceasefire violations have become the norm with increasing frequency. INDIA-PAKISTAN RELATIONS The two sides last connected at the highest level during the Christmas day of 2015, when Indian Prime Minister landed in Lahore for an unannounced visit to meet Pakistani Prime Minister. Dialogue broke down soon thereafter because of the...