NATIONAL:
1. 3rd National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR)
Why in news – PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the 3rd session of NPDRR in New Delhi.
Key Points –
• Theme - “Building Local Resilience in a Changing Climate”.
• Bhunga houses (kutch) - A unique type of round mud hut that stood very firm during the earthquake of 2001 when it was very close to the epicenter.
• Recognition and Reform are the two main components for strengthening disaster management.
• Gujarat - First state to come out with the state disaster management act in 2001.
• Winners of the 2023 Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar –
(a) Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA)
(b) Lunglei Fire Station, Mizoram.
CDRI –
• Full form - Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.
• Launched by PM Modi during the UN Climate Action Summit on the 23rd September, 2019, at New York during 74th UN General Assembly.
• Aim - to promote the resilience of infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks.
• Members - 31 countries, 6 International Organisations and 2 private sector organisations.
• CDRI secretariat - New Delhi.
2. Bucher Papers on J&K
Why in news - Declassification of the Bucher Papers could affect foreign relations.
Key Points –
• It is a collection of top-secret documents from 1947 about accession of Kashmir to India.
• It is believed to contain “political and military arguments” related to why Jawaharlal Nehru decided to grant Kashmir special status under Article 370.
• General Sir Robert Roy Bucher served as the second commander-in-chief of the Indian Army between 1948 and 1949.
3. 10% Reservation for Ex-Agniveers
Why in news - The Centre declared 10% reservation for ex-Agniveers in recruitments to the post of constable in the Border Security Force (BSF).
Key Points –
• Benefits for Ex-Agniveers –
(a) Exempted from the Physical Efficiency Test during their absorption in the BSF.
(b) Upper age-limit shall be relaxable up to 3 years. (for 1st batch – 5 years).
• Agniveers - Youth selected under Agneepath Scheme.
3. 1st Electric Pilgrimage Corridor
Why in news - The country's first Electric Pilgrimage Corridor is being built in Uttarakhand.
Key Points –
• To be built along the Chardham Yatra route.
• Charging points are being made every 30 km for private electric vehicles (EV).
INTERNATIONAL:
1. New Capital of Indonesia
Why in news - Indonesia to relocate its capital from Jakarta (Java island) to Nusantara (Borneo Island, East Kalimantan province).
Key Points –
• The project is set to launch in 2024.
• Jakarta - World’s most rapidly sinking city, 1/3rd of the city could be submerged by 2050.
• Balik people - Indigenous people on Borneo Island who are being relocated.
• Indonesia aims to be carbon-neutral by 2045.
About Borneo Island –
• 3rd largest island in the world and the largest in Asia.
• Location - North of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east of Sumatra.
• World's oldest rainforests
• Politically divided among 3 countries: Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.
2. Merapi Volcano
Why in news - Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcanoe erupted.
Key Points –
• Located on Java Island.
• Indonesia's cultural capital – Yogyakarta.
• Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.
3. MQ-9 Reaper Drone Crashed
Why in news - US released video claiming Russian Su-27 fighter jet downed its MQ-9 Reaper drone.
Key Points –
• Russian jets sprayed fuel on it and clipped the propeller as it flew close over the Black Sea.
• It was the first direct confrontation between the United States and Russia during the Ukraine war.
About Black Sea –
• It is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean.
• Black Sea is bordered by 6 countries- Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia and Turkey.
• The Bosporus Strait connects it to the small Sea of Marmara which in turn is connected to the Aegean Sea via the Strait of the Dardanelles.
• To the north, the Black Sea is connected to the Sea of Azov by the Kerch Strait.
SUMMITS & CONFERENCES:
1. Joint Working Group (JWG) on Afghanistan
Why in news - The first meeting of the India-Central Asia Joint Working Group on Afghanistan was held in New Delhi.
Key Points –
• Participants - India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
• India to send its next consignment of wheat as an aid to Afghanistan under the Taliban regime via Chabahar port.
• More than 80% of the world’s opium and heroin is smuggled out of Afghanistan, which is a part of Golden crescent.
• Afghanistan shares a border with Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China and India.
SCIENCE – TECHNOLOGY:
1. GPT-4
Why in news - GPT-4 is a large multimodal model created by OpenAI announced on March 14, 2023.
Key Points –
• GPT-4 is the next big update to the technology that powers ChatGPT and Microsoft Bing.
• GPT-4 is supposedly bigger, faster, and more accurate than ChatGPT.
• GPT-4 can also use images to generate captions and analyses. (GPT-3 and GPT-3.5 - only accepted text).
What is ChatGPT ?
• It is a prototype dialogue-based AI chatbot capable of understanding and responding in natural language.
• It uses deep learning to produce human-like text.
• It can answer simple questions and solve complex coding problems
SECURITY:
1. Cheetah Helicopter Crashed
Why in news - A Cheetah helicopter of the Indian Army crashed in Mandala, Arunachal Pradesh.
Key Points –
• It was first flown in 1969.
• It is known for its capability to operate in hot tropical weather as well as high altitude conditions.
• It is a licence-built version of the French Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama.
FESTIVALS:
1. Bumchu Festival
Why in news - It is celebrated at Tashiding Monastery, Sikkim.
Key Points –
• Major highlight of festival - opening of the vessel containing the holy water.
• If the water level is higher or lower then it signifies ill fortune such as droughts, diseases and natural calamities.
BIHAR:
1. Vidya Didi
Why in news - The state government would take support of Vidya Didi to make the rural youth capable of competitive exams.
Key Points –
• They would run community library cum career development centers (CDCs).
• CDCs objective - to inform the students about various educational, entrepreneurship and career upliftment schemes.
• In the first phase, these centers would be opened in 100 blocks of 32 districts of the state.
About Vidya Didi –
• Educational qualification - 12th pass.
• Age – 18 – 40 years.
• Honorarium – Rs 6000 per month.
• She should be a member of Jeevika group or belong to the family of a member of this group.
• It would also be the responsibility of Vidya Didi to bring back the children who have dropped out of school.
POINTERS:
• Who has been appointed as the brand ambassador of the Women's World Boxing Championship - Farhan Akhtar and MC Mary Kom.
• Who has been appointed as India's ambassador of "She Changes Climate" - Shreya Ghodawat.
• According to the SIPRI report, which country has become the world's largest arms importer between 2018-22 - India.
• According to the 'World Air Quality' report, what is the position of India in the list of polluted countries - 8th .
• Which IIT has partnered with Sathya Sai Hospital for cardiac research - IIT Guwahati.
• By whom is Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL) being set up in schools across India - Atal Innovation Mission.
• Which state has become the first state in India to launch an insurance scheme for sericulture named 'Resham Keet Bima' scheme – Uttarakhand.
• In which state a 1300 year old Buddhist Stupa has been found – Odisha.
• Which state has requested the Center to allow cultivation of poppy - West Bengal.
• Gold mines have been found in three districts of which state – Odisha.