UPSC with Shivaji kale

GLOBAL BIOFUEL ALLIANCE Context: Supported by G20 countries and organisations like IAE, ICAO, WEF, World LPG Foundation and on the side- lines of the latest G20 meeting at New Delhi, the Global Biofuels Alliance was announced • Leaders of India, Singapore, Bangladesh, Italy, USA, Brazil, Argentina, Mauritius and UAE have launched  Global Biofuel Alliance. • Global Biofuel Alliance is an initiative by India as the chair of G20 that aims to serve as a catalytic platform,  fostering global collaboration for the advancement and widespread adoption of biofuels. • It is an alliance of governments, international organisations and industry to facilitate adoption of  biofuels.  ABOUT BRICS • The members of BRICS are Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (Added in 2010), Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE (5 new members added in 2024) • The grouping was formalized with the first meeting of BRIC Foreign Ministers in 2006. The BRIC’s first summit was held in ...

‘ FIVE EYES’ INTELLIGENCE ALLIANCE Context: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's recent allegations, connecting the assassination of Khalistani leader  Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil to the Indian government, have brought attention to the intelligence-sharing  alliance known as the 'Five Eyes.' WHO ARE THE ‘FIVE EYES’? • The ‘Five Eyes’ is a multilateral intelligence sharing network of five countries, Australia, Canada, New Zealand,  the U.K. and the U.S.  • It is both surveillance based and tracks signals intelligence (SIGINT). • The alliance between the U.S. and the U.K. evolved around the Second World War to counter the Cold War  Soviet threat.  • In 1946, the alliance was formalised through an agreement for cooperation in signals intelligence.  • The arrangement was later extended to ‘second party’ countries – Canada joined in 1948, while Australia and  New Zealand became part of the alliance in 1956.  The Five Eyes have become...

The famed water body bound by Ukraine to the north and northwest, Russia and Georgia to the east, Turkey to  the south, and Bulgaria and Romania to the west, which links to the Sea of Marmara through the Bosporus and  then to the Aegean through the Dardanelles, has traditionally been Russia’s warm water gateway to Europe

6 . ANGEL TAX • Angel tax refers to the income tax (30.6 %) imposed on any unlisted company (usually start-up enterprises) in  receipt of investment which is above the fair market value. Such investment is treated as income from other  sources for the tax purpose. This tax was introduced in 2012 in the form of Section 56 (2) of the Income Tax Act  to plug money laundering practices. • Earlier, angel tax provisions were applicable only for investments received from resident investors. However,  Finance Bill 2023 has extended its applicability to non-resident investors as well. 7. WINDFALL TAX • Windfall tax is a higher tax levied by the government on specific industries when they experience unexpected  and above-average profits.  • The Government imposes this tax when they notice a sudden rise in an industry’s revenue due to external  incidents that they are not responsible for.  ○ E.g., Windfall tax imposed on upstream oil companies — ONGC, Oil In...

4 . OPEN NETWORK FOR DIGITAL COMMERCE (ONDC) As the platform recently surpassed the 10,000 daily order mark, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is all set to  change the duopoly in online food delivery services in India by cutting down the middleman between the business and  the consumer. Currently, the service is live in select cities like Bengaluru, and ONDC is said to benefit both businesses and  customers at the same time. WHAT IS ONDC? • ONDC is being established as a first-of-its-kind initiative globally to pave the way for reimagining digital  commerce in India and establishing a globally replicable model for digital commerce. • It represents a paradigm shift from an operator-driven monolithic platform-centric model, where the  buyer and seller must be part of the same platform/ application to enable transactions between them. Instead,  it encourages a facilitator-driven, interoperable decentralised network, where buyers and sellers can  t...

RHODAMINE B Why in News The Karnataka government on Monday prohibited usage of Rhodamine B artifi cial colour in ‘gobi  manchurian’ and ‘cotton candy’.  Rhodamine B (RhB) is a chemical compound that is used as a dye and metal chelating reagent.  It is also used in drugs, and the plastics, cosmetics, and silk, jute, leather, cotton, and wool industries.   Rhodamine B (RhB) is a chemical compound commonly employed in synthetic dyes for colouring  silk, jute, leather, cotton, and wool, as well as in the cosmetics and plastics industries.  Its low cost, however, also makes it a popular choice for food colouring.   Rhodamine B is an organic chloride salt that is green crystals or reddish-violet powder. It is soluble  in water, alcohol, and ether, and dilute solutions are fl uorescent.  THE DARIEN GAP Why in News The increasing number of people attempting to cross the treacherous Darien Gap, a stretch of dense  jungle spanning northern Colombia and sout...

January,2023 ‹ The Unique Identification Authority of India puts  in place a resident-friendly facility to help residents  update address in Aadhaar online with the consent  of the Head of Family. ‹ World’s longest river cruise MV Ganga Vilas  inaugurated. ‹ 21 unnamed islands of Andaman & Nicobar Islands  named after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees. ‹ 1 National Voters’ Day celebrated. ‹ Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train “Shri Jagannath  Yatra” flagged off. ‹ Six - day mega event “Bharat Parv” held. ‹ National Film Development Corporation organises  Shanghai Cooperation Organization Film Festival  in Mumbai. This Film Festival was held to mark  India’s Presidency at SCO. ‹ World’s first intra-nasal COVIDI 9 vaccine  “iNNCOVACC” unveiled. February 2023 ‹ The Union Budget 2023-24 presented in Lok Sabha, ‹ Third Khelo India Winter Games held in Gulmarg,  Jammu & Kashmir.  ‹ 14th edition of Asia’s biggest aero show “Aero  Indi...

DELHI JAMA MASJID  One of the largest mosques in India  It was constructed by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.   Made of red sandstone and marble  Also called Masjid-I-Jahanuma  The mosque houses many relics of Prophet Mohammad and draws devotees from far and wide.  Designed by Ostad Khalil, a renowned Mughal architect.  SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Pi  The world’s ‘friendliest’ chatbot powered by the new Infl ection-2.5 LLM.  Pi is an AI chatbot with which one can have deep and meaningful conversations.  It has been designed to be ‘empathetic, helpful, and safe’.  Infl ection 2.5 is claimed to be as good as GPT-4, one of the most advanced language models  available. Despite this level of performance, it uses only 40% of the computing power required  for training GPT-4.  It also excels in providing high-quality and up-to-date information in real-time. ADVANCED MEDIUM COMBAT AIRCRAFT  It aims to develop India’s indigenous fi fth-generation fi ghter multirole jet.  Th...

AGNI 5 Why in News India has successfully tested an Agni-V missile equipped with MIRV technology, joining a small  group of countries with this capability.  MIRV (Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle) technology is the capability that allows  multiple warheads to be loaded on a single missile delivery system and programmed to hit diff erent  targets, thus greatly enhancing the missile’s destructive potential.  They can all be made to hit the same location too, one after the other, thus ensuring complete  annihilation of the target.  In addition, MIRV-equipped missiles can be made to carry decoy warheads to confuse the defence  system.  The technology is not new. It was developed in the 1960s and fi rst deployed in the 1970s by the  United States and the then Soviet Union. France, the United Kingdom, and China have developed  this technology.   Another key strategic benefi t is the capability to cause crippling damage in a respon...

KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK Why in News PM visits Kaziranga National Park in Assam It is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India.  The park, which hosts two-thirds of the world’s Indian rhinoceroses, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It is the oldest park in assam.  It is along the river Brahmaputra on the North and the Karbi Anglong hills on the South.  It was declared a National Park in 1974. SACRED GROOVES Why in News A notifi cation over the declaration of oran and ecological areas as deemed forest. It stated that as per the directives of Supreme Court, oran, Dev-vans and Rundhs as forest lands will be given the status of deemed forest.  Sacred groves comprise patches of forests or natural vegetation-from a few trees to forests of several acres that are usually dedicated to local folk deities.  Sacred groves are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002 as “community reserves”  Sacred Groves are f...

STAND BY ARRANGEMENT BY IMF Why in News Pakistan’s new government’s eff orts to aquire international funds  The Stand-by Arrangement (SBA) provides short-term fi nancial assistance to countries facing  balance of payments problems.  Historically, it has been the IMF lending instrument most used by advanced and emerging market  countries.   Respond fl exibly to countries’ external fi nancing needs by supporting their adjustment policies with  short-term fi nancing.  All member countries facing actual or potential external fi nancing needs.  Most often used by advanced and emerging market countries, but low-income countries sometimes  use the SBA together with the Standby Credit Facility (SCF).  Typically covers a period of 12-24 months, but not more than 36 months. P NOTES Why in News The slight drop in P-NOTE Investment Participatory notes, referred to as P-notes or PNs, are derivative instruments of underlying Indian assets.  PNs, are fi nancial ins...

ALL INDIA HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE SURVEY 2022-23 Why in News After 11- year gap,Centre discloses key consumption expenditure survey data  Aim: Generating estimates of household Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE).  Data will play a key role in reviewing critical economic indicators, including the GDP,Poverty levels  and the Consumer Price Infl ation.  Conducted by:National Statistical offi ce.  Duration: At every Five years.  Key Findings:  The survey indicates a substantial increase in average monthly per capita consumption  expenditure (MPCE) since 2011-12.  Urban households witnessing a 33.5% rise and   Rural households experienced a 40.42% increase.  There has been a decrease in the proportion of spending on food in both rural and urban  households compared to 2011-12. MPCE varies across states, with Sikkim having the highest MPCE and Chhattisgarh having the lowest. WORLD LARGEST AGRI STORAGE PLAN Why in News Prime Minister Narendra M...