Current Affairs topics which you shouldn’t miss

In 150 questions of GS-I, current affairs comprise around 20-25 questions. It is important to note that many UPSC aspirants also appear for state civil service exams like UPPSC. The current affairs section in both exams forms a crucial part of the Prelims.

Here are a few topics from different areas that are worth looking at before you appear for UPPSC Prelims this year.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Kyoto University’s Takao Doi said timber could enable humanity to live in space. (Photo – Irene Wang/REUTERS)

— The world’s first wood-panelled satellite named Lignosat was launched into space by Japanese spacecraft to test the reliability of timber as a renewable building material for future space travel.

— It is developed by Kyoto University and homebuilder Sumitomo Forestry. It arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on November 5 aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule. After a month, it will be released into orbit above the Earth, where it will remain in orbit for six months.

— The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the PSLV-C59/PROBA-3 mission on December 5. PROBA-3, a European Space Agency (ESA) mission consisting of two satellites, is designed to study the solar corona—the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere.

— This will be the first-ever attempt at “precision formation flying”, where two satellites will fly together and maintain a fixed configuration in space.

— The private space company Agnikul has successfully launched the world’s first fully 3-D printed engine indigenously built rocket, Agnibaan, from ISRO’s Sriharikota facility.

— Japan is preparing to construct a groundbreaking ‘zeta-class’ supercomputer, projected to be 1,000 times faster than today’s most advanced machines.

— Development of the machine, known as “Fugaku Next,” will begin in 2025, led by Japanese firms RIKEN and Fujitsu.

— Europa Clipper is a NASA spacecraft that is the first mission designed to conduct a detailed study of Jupiter’s moon Europa. It was launched on October 14, 2024, and will reach Jupiter in April 2030.

— On September 26, three PARAM Rudra supercomputers installed at premier scientific institutions in Delhi, Pune and Kolkata were inaugurated.

— PARAM Rudra Supercomputers are developed indigenously by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).

 

POLITY

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar. (PTI)

— The Opposition gave notice for a motion of no-confidence against Rajya Sabha chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar on December 10, the first such action in India’s parliamentary history.

— Since the Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairperson must be the same individual, the process for their removal is also the same – and is laid down under Article 67.

— Under this provision, the Vice President “shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office” unless the Vice President resigns before that by sending a letter to the President, or is removed from office.

— The requirements for removing or impeaching the Vice President are provided under Article 67(b).

Article 66	Election Procedure of Vice-President.
Article 67	Term of office of Vice-President
Article 68	Time of holding the election to fill the vacancy in the office of Vice-President and the term of office of the person elected to fill the casual vacancy.
Article 69	Oath or affirmation by the Vice-President.
Article 70	Discharge of President’s functions in other contingencies.
Article 71	Matters relating to, or connected with, the election of a President or Vice-President.

— Five languages – Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali – are accorded the status of ‘classical language’. Now, the total ‘classical language’ in India is 11. This new category of language was created in 2004.

— Prakrit refers to a group of closely related Indo-Aryan languages. Ardhamagadhi is a dialect of Prakrit. Jain agamas and the Gatha Saptashati are written in Ardhamagadhi.

— Pali is a form of Sanskritised Magadhi Prakrit. It was the language of the Theravada Buddhist Canon — the Tipitakas.

— Prakrit and Pali are the two Classical languages that are not mentioned in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution.

— The PM Vidyalaxmi Scheme, launched on 6th November, is a new Central Sector scheme that seeks to provide financial support to students.

— Under the scheme, any student who gets admission to a Quality Higher Education Institution (QHEIs) will be eligible to get collateral-free and guarantor-free loans from banks and financial institutions to cover the full amount of tuition fees and other expenses related to the course.

— The National Pension System Vatsalya (NPS Vatsalya) scheme was launched by the Finance Minister on 18th September.

— It is a new pension scheme for children in the age group of 0 to 18 years. A parent can deposit a minimum of 1000 per month and a maximum with no limit.

— In September 2024, the Union Cabinet approved “Mission Mausam”, with a budget of Rs. 2000 crores, to enhance India’s ability to predict and respond to extreme weather events and the impacts of climate change.

— Under the initiative, a first-of-its-kind cloud chamber is being established at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune.

— The government has launched the Ayushman Vaya Vandana card under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) to provide health coverage to people aged 70 years and above, regardless of their income and economic status.

— It was launched on October 29, which is being observed as the 9th Ayurveda Day.

— The Union Cabinet has approved an outlay of Rs 79,156 crore (Central Share: Rs.56,333 crore and State Share: Rs. 22,823 crore) for the PM JUGA, a new tribal welfare scheme.

— The core objective of the scheme is to ensure saturation coverage and implementation of central schemes for improving the socio-economic conditions of tribal communities.

— The Union Cabinet approved the Rs 2,817-crore Digital Agriculture Mission for the creation of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in the farm sector on September 2, 2024.

— Three major components of DPI are envisaged under the Digital Agriculture Mission: AgriStack, Krishi Decision Support System (DSS), and Soil Profile Maps.

 

ENVIRONMENT

— Guru Ghasidas-Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve of Chhattisgarh has been notified as the 56th Tiger Reserve of India.

— Ratapani Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh has been notified as the 57th Tiger Reserve of India. As of 4th December 2024, there are 57 Tiger Reserves in India. Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) in West Champaran was the only tiger reserve in Bihar.

— India has added three new Ramsar sites taking the total number of Ramsar sites to 85.

Ramsar Sites	State	River	Description
Nanjarayan Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	River Noyyal	Home to species like the Eurasian coot, spot-billed duck, migratory bird species, and many types of herons.
Kazhuveli Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	It is connected to the Bay of Bengal in the north via Uppukalli Creek.	It is the second-largest brackish lake in Peninsular India. It is home to many globally endangered species, like the black-headed ibis and greater flamingo.
Tawa Reservoir	Madhya Pradesh	Tawa River	It is a man-made wetland, located within Satpura Tiger Reserve.

— COP, or Conference of Parties, is the annual meeting of the members of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) — an international agreement, signed in 1992, that has provided a basis for climate negotiations.

— COP3 in Kyoto, 1997: The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in this COP. It placed obligations on the set of rich and industrialised countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by assigned amounts. It did not last long as the rich and powerful countries were not happy with its provisions.

— COP21 in Paris, 2015: It led to the landmark Paris Agreement — a legally binding international treaty to limit global temperatures to below 2 degree Celsius, and preferably below 1.5 degree Celsius. The parties also agreed to submit their climate action plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), by 2020.

— COP26 in Glasgow, 2021: The Glasgow pact made a commitment to “phase down” the use of coal (this language was weakened from “phase out” late in the negotiations) and to phase out “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”. This was the first time that a UN climate agreement explicitly mentioned coal.

— COP28 in Dubai, 2023: A Loss and Damage fund was officially launched in Dubai. The fund is meant to provide financial help to countries struck by climate disasters.

— COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, 2024: Developed countries have committed to fund $300 bn a year for developing countries by 2035.

The only apes in India, Hoolock Gibbons are completely arboreal, monogamous and rarely venture out of the highest canopy of trees. (Source: Thinkstock)

— The forests of Northeast India are home to the country’s only apes: the western hoolock gibbon (Hoolock hoolock) and the eastern hoolock gibbon (Hoolock leuconedys).

— The western hoolock gibbon is found in all the states of the northeast, restricted between the south of the Brahmaputra River and east of the Dibang River. It is also found in eastern Bangladesh and north-west Myanmar. It is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Redlist and Schedule 1 of the Indian (Wildlife) Protection Act 1972.

— The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to clear water hyacinth from the Dhanauri wetlands and sought to know why the state authorities have not yet sent a proposal to notify the wetland as a Ramsar site.

— Dhanauri Wetlands is located in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.  It is a Sarus crane hotspot and supports 23 species of birds that are endangered, critically endangered and threatened.

— Orangutans are found only in Indonesia and Malaysia.

— IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Critically Endangered

— Species: Bornean (Pongo pygmaeus), Sumatran (Pongo abelii), and Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis).

 

UTTAR PRADESH SPECIAL

— Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna Monday presented the annual budget for the fiscal year 2024-25, unveiling a significant financial plan amounting to Rs 7.36 lakh crore.

Some significant provisions in UP Budget are:

— Rs 4000 crore provision for free distribution of tablets and smart phones to youth

— Rs 2057 crore for Ganga Expressway project

— Rs 2500 crore for preparation of Maha Kumbh mela in the year 2025

— Rs 100 crore for overall development of Ayodhya

— Rs 150 crore for expansion for Maharishi Valmiki International Airport in Ayodhya

— Rs 1150 crore for construction work of International Airport in Jewar, Gautam Budh Nagar

— Rs 150 crore for establishment of NIFT in Varanasi

— Rs 200 crore for PM mega integrated Textile and Apparel Park in Lucknow-Hardoi

— Rs 1750 crore provision has been made for development of roads leading to religious places

— The budget has new schemes or new provisions worth Rs 24,863 crore

• Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyami Vikas Abhiyan (MYUVA)

— The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh has launched the MYUVA Scheme with the aimed at nurturing entrepreneurship among the state’s youth.

— It aims to prepare one lakh young entrepreneurs every year by providing interest-free loans for projects of up to Rs 5 lakh. The government has allocated Rs 1,000 crore in the budget for the financial year 2024-25 to support this initiative.

— Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the country’s first all-girl Sainik School at Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district and termed it as a “golden moment in the history of women empowerment”.

— With a strength of nearly 870 students, Samvid Gurukulam Girls Sainik School has been established under the initiative of opening 100 new Sainik Schools in partnership mode with NGOs/private/state government schools in all states/union territories, of which 42 have already come up.

— The Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 is scheduled to commence on January 13, 2025, with the Paush Purnima Snan, and will conclude on February 26, 2025, at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India.

— Maha Kumbh 2025 is organised in four locations across India: Haridwar, Prayagraj, Nashik, and Ujjain.

The sculpted Ram Lalla idol, crafted by Arun Yogiraj, was unveiled during the ceremony. (PTI Photo)

— Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was inaugurated on January 22, 2024 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

— The 51-inch idol of Ram Lalla, sculpted by Mysuru-based artist Arun Yogiraj, was placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple.

— The mandir is built in the traditional Nagara style.

 

ECONOMY

— The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched three significant initiatives aimed at enhancing regulatory processes and improving access to financial services: the PRAVAAH (Platform for Regulatory Application, Validation and Authorisation) portal, the retail direct mobile app, and a fintech repository.

— De-dollarisation refers to the reduction of the alliance on the US Dollar currency as a chief reserve currency.

— The RBI has created an AI-powered model called MuleHunter.AI, which could reduce digital fraud by helping banks deal with the increasing problem of “mule” bank accounts.

— It has been developed by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), Bengaluru, a subsidiary of the central bank.

— Economic Survey 2023-24 was tabled in Parliament on 22nd July by Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.

— Economic Survey conservatively projects a real GDP growth of 6.5–7 per cent in FY 2024-25.

— 55% of the tax collected accrued from direct taxes and the remaining 45% from indirect taxes.

— The current account deficit for FY24 is around 0.7% of GDP.

— Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2024 on 23rd July.

— The focus is on four major castes: ‘Garib‘ (poor), ‘Annadata’ (farmers), ‘Yuva’ (youth), and ‘Mahilayen’ (women).

— The theme of the Budget: Employment, Skilling, MSMEs, and Middle Class.

— The Budget presented 9 priorities for generating ample opportunities for all: (1) Productivity and resilience in Agriculture, (2) Employment & Skilling, (3) Inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice, (4) Manufacturing & Services, (5) Urban Development, (6) Energy Security, (7) Infrastructure, (8) Innovation, Research & Development and (9) Next Generation Reforms.

— Angel taxes for all classes of investors have been abolished.

— The major source of revenue for the government: Borrowing and Other Liabilities (27%) > Income Tax (19%) > GST and Other Taxes (18%) > Corporation Txa (17%) > Non-Tax Receipts (9%).

— The major expenditure of the government: States’ share of taxes and duties (21%) > Interest Payments (19%) > Central Sector Scheme (16%).

— Expenditure on Key sectors: Defence (4,54,773 ₹ Cr) > Rural Development (2,65,808 ₹ Cr) > Agriculture and allied activites (1,51,851 ₹ Cr) > Home Affairs (1,50,983 ₹ Cr) > Education (1,25,638 ₹ Cr).

 

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

—  The TATA Advanced System Ltd. (TASL)-Airbus Final Assembly Line (FAL) facility has been inaugurated in Vadodara’s Harni area.

— It is the first private sector final assembly line for military aircraft in India. It will manufacture the C-295 medium-lift tactical transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The 6th Quad leaders’ summit was held in Wilmington, Delaware.

— US President Joseph R. Biden hosted the fourth Quad Leaders’ Summit in Wilmington, Delaware on September 21.

— QUAD Cancer Moonshot: The QUAD has launched it as a collective effort to leverage public and private resources to reduce the number of lives lost to cancer in the Indo-Pacific, with an initial focus on cervical cancer.

— Maritime Initiative for Training in the Indo-Pacific (MAITRI): The purpose is to monitor and secure Indo-Pacific waters, enforce their laws, and deter unlawful behaviour. The inaugural MAITRI workshop will be hosted by India in 2025.

— It also launched the Quad maritime legal dialogue to support efforts to uphold the rules-based maritime order in the Indo-Pacific.

— The 21st ASEAN-India Summit was held in Vientiane, Lao PDR, on 10 October 2024.

— Participating in the summit, PM Modi announced a 10-point plan to strengthen India-ASEAN relations.

— The theme was “Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience”.

— The 10 member states of ASEAN are Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos.

— Laos is the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) founded in 1967.

— India signed the US-led 14-member Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) bloc’s agreements on a clean and fair economy on 21st September.

— IPEF was launched on 23 May 2022 at Tokyo, Japan, comprising of 14 countries – Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and USA.

— India is now formally a part of the Minerals Security Finance Network (MSFN), a US-led initiative aiming to strengthen cooperation among members to secure supply chains for critical minerals.

— It has stemmed from the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) which was established by the US in 2022. India was inducted into the MSP in June 2023.

— The MSP is a collaboration of 14 countries and the EU to catalyze public and private investment in responsible critical minerals supply chains globally.

 

IMPORTANT DAYS/EVENTS

— The First Asian Buddhist Summit (ABS) is organised by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) in New Delhi from 5th – 6th November, 2024.

— The summit theme is ‘Role of Buddha Dhamma in Strengthening Asia’.

Asiatic Lion

— World Lion Day is celebrated on August 10 to bring people together from across the globe to pay tribute to the mighty lion.

— It was initiated by Big Cat Rescue, the world’s largest accredited sanctuary dedicated to big cats.

—  India is home to the Asiatic lion, found only in the Gir Forest.

— World Press Freedom Day, observed annually on May 3, highlights the vital role of journalism in society.

— This year, the Government of Chile and UNESCO hosted the 31st World Press Freedom Day Conference in Santiago.

— The theme for 2024 is “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of the Environmental Crisis.”

— December 3 is annually observed as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) by the United Nations since 1992.

— The theme for this year is “Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future.”

— The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has adopted the resolution to declare December 21, observed as Winter Solstice, as World Meditation Day.

 

PERSONS IN NEWS

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said that with geopolitical tensions, the impact of climate change and political uncertainties around the world, the situation is constantly changing. (Reuters)

— Sanjay Malhotra has been appointed as the new Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Governor, replacing Shaktikanta Das. He assumes charge as the 26th Governor of the RBI.

— The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor is appointed in accordance with the RBI Act, 1934, which specifies that the Governor is selected by the Central government.

— K Sanjay Murthy, a 1989-batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS officer, is the new Comptroller and Auditor General of India. He has succeeded Girish Chandra Murmu.

— President Droupadi Murmu on 24th October appointed Justice Sanjiv Khanna as the 51st Chief Justice of India.  

— Anil Pradhan, co-founder of Young Tinker Foundation, a non-profit organisation working on hands-on STEM education in underserved areas, was awarded the third Rohini Nayyar Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Rural Development.

— The Centre has appointed Vijaya Kishore Rahatkar as the ninth chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW). She will succeed Rekha Sharma.

— 20-year-old Rachel Gupta from Jalandhar has become the first Indian to win the prestigious Miss Grand International 2024 crown.

Renowned filmmaker and conservationist Mike Pandey (Image source: Wikipedia)

— Mike Pandey, a renowned filmmaker and conservationist has been awarded the 2024 Jackson Wild Legacy Award.

— 21-year-old Victoria Kjaer Theilvig of Denmark was crowned the 73rd Miss Universe, marking Denmark’s first-ever victory in the prestigious beauty pageant’s history.

— Sub-Lieutenant Anamika B Rajeev has made history by becoming the Indian Navy’s first woman helicopter pilot. She received the prestigious “Golden Wings” at a passing-out parade held at a naval air station in Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu.

— Major Radhika Sen, who served with the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), was awarded the prestigious ‘2023 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award’ by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

 

SPORTS

Gukesh became the youngest world champion in history at age of 18. (Illustration: Suvajit Dey)

— D Gukesh became the youngest world chess champion after defeating defending champ Ding Liren in Singapore. He became the 18th World Champion.

— Gukesh surpassed Russian great Garry Kasparov, who won the crown in 1985 at 22.

— Gukesh is the second grandmaster from his country to hold the world title. Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand was the undisputed world champion for six years starting in 2007.

— PV Sindhu and Sharath Kamal were India’s flag-bearers, and a total of 78 athletes and officials from 12 disciplines represented India.

— The mascot of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is Phryge. The slogan of Paris 2024 is “Games wide open”. Gagan Narang is the Chef-de-Mission of India.

—  Breaking, commonly known as breakdancing, is included at the Olympics for the first time in Paris.

Medal Tally
Rank	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1.	United States of America	40	44	42	126
2.	People’s Republic of China	40	27	24	91
3.	Japan	20	12	13	45
71.	India	0	1	5	6

Para athletes being welcomed on their return to India from the Paris Paralympics 2024, at the IGI Airport, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)

• India at the Paris Paralympics

— India has secured 4 gold medals in para-athletics, 1 gold in para-archery, 1 gold in shooting para-sport, and 1 gold in para-badminton. India is at 18th rank.

Rank	Countries	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1.	China	94	75	50	219
2.	Great Britain	49	44	31	124
3.	USA	36	41	27	104
18.	India	7	9	13	29

• FIH Hockey Stars Awards 2024

— The captain of the Indian men’s hockey team Harmanpreet Singh, who led the country to its second successive bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, won the FIH Player of the Year award for 2024 in Oman.

— PR Sreejesh, who retired from the game after winning his second Olympic medal, won the Goalkeeper of the Year award.

TENNIS
Tournament	Male category winner	Female category winner
French Open	Carlos Alcaraz	Iga Swiatek
Wimbledon	Carlos Alcaraz	Barbora  Krejcikova
US Open	Jannik Sinner	Aryna Sabalenka
Australian Open	Jannik Sinner	Aryna Sabalenka

— India has scripted history as they clinched their first-ever gold medal in the open section of the 45th Chess Olympiad held in Hungary. The United States acquired the second position while the defending Champion Uzbekistan finished third.

— India also clinched the gold medal in the women’s section of the Chess Olympiad.

 

REPORTS

Structure of Global Multidimensional Poverty Index. Source: HDRO and OPHI.

— The 2024 Multidimensional Poverty Index was published on 17th October by OPHI and the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme. It was launched in 2010.

— The five countries with the largest number of people living in poverty are India (234 million), Pakistan (93 million), Ethiopia (86 million), Nigeria (74 million) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (66 million). Together, these five countries account for nearly half (48.1 percent) of the 1.1 billion poor people.

— The Global Gender Gap Index is released annually by the World Economic Forum (WEF). 

— Iceland (93.5%) is ranked 1st while Finland is ranked second and Norway is ranked third.

— India ranks 129 out of the 146 countries. This puts India at the 18th position from the bottom. In 2023, India stood at 127 rank out of the 146 countries.

— India ranked 105th out of 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2024, with a score of 27.3, indicating a serious level of hunger.

— The GHI is published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe annually to measure and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels.

India’s SDG Score (PIB)

— India’s SDG score improved to 71 points in 2023-24 from 66 points in 2020-21 in Niti Aayog’s SDG India Index 2023-24.

— The SDG India Index, which evaluates progress made across 16 goals on a scale of 1 to 100, rated Kerala and Uttarakhand as the best performing states with a score of 79 points each, while Bihar emerged as a laggard with 57 points, followed by Jharkhand at 62 points.

— Between 2018 and 2023-24, fastest moving States are Uttar Pradesh (increase in score by 25), followed by J&K (21), Uttarakhand (19), Sikkim (18), Haryana (17), Assam, Tripura and Punjab (16 each), Madhya Pradesh and Odisha (15 each)

• Multidimensional Poverty in India since 2005-06

— This discussion paper was released by Niti Aayog in January 2024 which found that 24.82 crore people escaped multidimensional poverty in last nine years.

— Uttar Pradesh registered the largest decline in the number of poor with 5.94 crore people escaping multidimensional poverty during the last nine years followed by Bihar at 3.77 crore, Madhya Pradesh at 2.30 crore and Rajasthan at 1.87 crore.

Word of the Year
Oxford University Press	Brain rot	The supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.
Dictionary.com	Demure	Reserved, modest, or coy
Cambridge Dictionary	Manifest	to use methods such as visualization and affirmation to help you imagine achieving something you want, in the belief that doing so will make it more likely to happen
Collins dictionary	Brat	Adjective characterised by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude

 

ACHIEVEMENTS & AWARDS

— Three Indian literary works—Ramcharitmanas, Panchatantra, and Sahṛdayaloka-Locana—were added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register.

— Ramcharitmanas: This manuscript was authored by Goswami Tulsidas.

— Panchatantra: Attributed to Vishnu Sharma, this is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in verse and prose.

— Sahṛdayaloka-Locana: Written by 15th-century Kashmiri scholars Acharya Anandvardhan and Abhinavagupta, it was chosen for its aesthetic significance.

At least 10 different forms of craftsmanship survive in the Valley, including Pashmina and Kani shawls. (File Photo)

— Srinagar has become the fourth Indian city to be recognised as a ‘World Craft City’ by the World Craft Council (WCC).

— In 2021, it was designated as part of the UNESCO Creative City Network (UCCN) for crafts and folk arts.

— Jaipur, Malappuram, and Mysore are the other Indian cities that have previously been recognised as World Craft Cities.

— The Moidams in eastern Assam — a 700-year-old mound-burial system of the Ahom dynasty — made it to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, becoming the first cultural site from the Northeast to make it to the list. There are 43 World Heritage Sites located in India.

Samantha Harvey poses with the trophy and her book “Orbital” after winning the Booker Prize award 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

— British writer Samantha Harvey won the Booker Prize for fiction on Tuesday with “Orbital,” a short, wonder-filled novel set aboard the International Space Station that ponders the beauty and fragility of Earth.

— The RVP comprises four awards — Vigyan Ratna for lifetime achievement, Vigyan Shri for scientists of all ages, Vigyan Yuva for scientists under 45 years, and Vigyan Team for collaborative research work. The award was given on August 23, marking the first National Space Day.

Category	Winners
Vigyan Ratna	Govindraj Padmanabhan(86), a celebrated biochemist known for his work on the malaria parasite
Vigyan Shri	Annapurni Subramaniam, Jayant Bhalchandra Udgaonkar, Naba Kumar Mondal, and more
Vigyan Yuva	Vivek Polshettiwar of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, a chemist who works on carbon capture technologies; Urbasi Sinha of Raman Research Institute, Bengaluru, a leading expert in quantum research; and Roxy Mathew Koll of Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, a climate scientist.
Vigyan Team	The Chandrayaan-3 team

• Winners of this year’s Nobel Prize

Category	Winners	Awarded For
Nobel Prize for Medicine	Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun	the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry	David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John M Jumper	To David Baker “for computational protein design” and jointly to Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper “for protein structure prediction.”
Nobel Prize in Physics	John J Hopfield and Geoffrey E Hinton	Foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.
Nobel Prize for Peace	Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo	Its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and to demonstrate through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.
Nobel Prize for Literature	South Korean author Han Kang	Her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences	Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A Robinson	Studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity”. The Nobel citation states the three economists “have helped us understand differences in prosperity between nations”.

Category	Winner of the 76th annual Emmy Awards
Drama series	Shogun
Comedy series	Hacks
Actress in a drama series	Anna Sawai, Shogun
Actor in a drama series	Hiroyuki Sanada, Shogun
Limited, anthology series or movie	Baby Reindeer
Actress in a comedy series	Jean Smart, Hacks
Actor in a comedy series	Jeremy Allen White, The Bear

— The 70th National Film Awards ceremony was held at the Vigyan Bhawan. President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards to the winners.

Winners of the 70th National Film Awards
Dadasaheb Phalke Award	Mithun Chakraborty
Best Feature Film	Aattam
Best Feature Actor	Rishab Shetty, Kantara
Best Feature Actress	Nithya Menen in Tiruchitrabalam, and Manasi Parekh in Kutch Express
Best Feature Director	Sooraj Barjatya, Uunchai
Best Hindi Film	Gulmohar

— Padma Awards, one of the highest civilian awards in the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri.

— A total of 132 Padma awards have been conferred by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 22nd April 2024— five Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan, and 110 Padma Shri.

Following are the five Padma Vibhushan Awardees for 2024:

Name	Category	State
Ms. Vyjayantimala Bali	Art	Tamil Nadu
Shri Konidela Chiranjeevi	Art	Andhra Pradesh
Shri M Venkaiah Naidu	Public Affairs	Andhra Pradesh
Shri Bindeshwar Pathak (Posthumous)	Social Work	Bihar
Ms. Padma Subrahmanyam	Art	Tamil Nadu

 

All the Best!

Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.

For your answers, queries and suggestions write at khushboo.kumari@indianexpress.com

Why should you buy our Subscription?

You want to be the smartest in the room.

You want access to our award-winning journalism.

You don’t want to be misled and misinformed.

Choose your subscription package