prelimns 1

COP 28: It concluded in the UAE, bringing together nations 

that are signatories to the UNFCCC to tackle the issues 

arising from the climate crisis collectively.

• History of Post Office: The genesis of this extensive postal 

network dates back to 1727 AD when the first post office 

was established in Calcutta (Kolkata). General Post Offices 

(GPOs) were set up in Calcutta in 1774, Madras in 1786, and 

Bombay in 1793.

• ECI: Article 324 states that the Election Commission will comprise 

the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and such number of 

Election Commissioners (ECs), as the President may decide.

NCRB REPORT FINDINGS:

• Crime Against Women:

 There was a 4% increase in the number of cases registered 

in 2022 as compared to 2021. 

 The majority of cases were registered under ‘cruelty by 

husband or his relatives’ (31.4%) followed by ‘kidnapping 

and abduction of women’ (19.2%), ‘assault on women with 

intent to outrage her modesty’ (18.7%), and ‘rape’ (7.1%).

• Crime Against Children: 

 Registration of cases of crimes against children showed 

an increase of 8.7% over 2021. 

 A total of 30,555 cases have been registered against 

Juveniles during 2022, depicting a decline of 2.0% over 

2021. The crime rate depicts a decline from 7.0 in 2021 to 

6.9 in 2022.

• Crime Against Senior Citizens: The registered cases showed 

an increase of 9.3% over 2021. 

• Cyber Crime: During 2022, 64.8% of the cybercrime cases 

registered were with the motive of fraud, followed by extortion 

at 5.5%, and sexual exploitation at 5.2%. A total of 65,893 

cases were registered under cyber crimes, showing an 

increase of 24.4% in registration over 2021.

• International Incidence of oil spill:

 Venezuela: In 2020 oil leakage from the El Palito refinery in 

Venezuela.

 Japanese ship MV Wakashio carrying fuel oil split into two 

parts near Blue Bay Marine Park in south-east Mauritius. 

 Russia: Arctic (Norilsk diesel fuel spill) Oil Spill 

• Indian incidents of oil spill: 

 Ennore Oil Spill 2023: In Ennore, Tamil Nadu Kosasthalaiyar 

River has witnessed an oil spill from the Chennai Petroleum 

Corporation Limited post Cyclone Michaung.

 Chennai 2017: Two ships collided off Kamarajar Port 

Limited’s (KPL) harbor and resulted in a major oil spill 

disaster.

 Sundarban 2014: The oil spill in Sela River, Bangladesh 

created an environmental concern for India too. ONGC 

Uran Plan leaked oil in the Arabian Sea in 2013. 

 Mumbai coast: In 2010 two ships collided causing the 800 

tonnes of the oil spill.

• Child Marriage data:

 The all-India prevalence of child marriage in girls declined 

from 49.4 percent in 1993 to 22.3 percent in 2021 while 

that among the boys declined from 7.1 percent in 2006 to 

2.2 percent in 2021.

 According to National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) 

2019- 21: Women in the age group of 20-24 years who 

were married before they turned 18, are 14.7% in urban 

and 27% in rural areas.

• Global AI market: It is expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2025.

• India-Oman:

 The economic interdependence between India and Oman 

is robust and buoyant. Bilateral trade during FY 2021-

2022 reached US$ 9.988 billion and for the year 2022- 

2023 reached US$ 12.388 billion.

 Investment flows, both ways, have been robust as there 

are over 6000 India-Oman joint ventures in Oman with an 

estimated investment of over US$ 7.5 billion.

 The bilateral trade was USD 13.229 bn in 2021-22, 

(53.86% increase over the previous financial year). 

• India-Italy:

 Italy is India's 4th largest trading partner in the EU, after 

Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. 

 India ranks 15th as the country of origin of Italian imports, 

accounting for 1.5% of Italian imports. 

 Indian companies in Italy are mainly in the IT, electronics, 

and engineering sectors. Italy ranks 17th in FDI inflows in 

India from April 2000 to June 2022 with an FDI inflow of US 

$3.20 bn during this period.

• The total annual groundwater recharge for the entire country 

is 449.08 billion cubic meters (BCM), marking an increase 

of 11.48 BCM compared to 2022 and annual groundwater 

extraction for the entire country is 241.34 BCM.

• 13.5 cr Indians escape Multidimensional Poverty in 5 years. 

Steep decline in the number of multidimensionally poor from 

24.85% to 14.96% between 2015-16 and 2019-21.