1. CHABAHAR PORT (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – IR)

Context: Recently, India and Iran have made significant progress in narrowing their differences on a proposed 10-year pact for operations at the strategic Chabahar port

Chabahar Port

• Meaning: Chabahar is made of the Persian words Chahar meaning four; and bahar meaning spring. 

o Chabahar city is also home to Iran’s only deep-seaport with direct access to the ocean.

• Location: Off the Gulf of Oman in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan & is the only Iranian port with direct access to the ocean.
• Consists of two ports: Chabahar Port consists of two separate ports called Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti. 
• Significance: Important for its fishery sector and will act as an important trade center connecting South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. 

Significance for India

• Gateway to Central Asia and beyond: The port gives access to the energy-rich Persian Gulf nations' southern coast & and Central Asia and India can bypass Pakistan with the Chabahar port becoming functional.
• Access to Afghanistan: The International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) allowed India to trade with the outside world via Iran, but India could not do so with Afghanistan (not a member of INSTC) in spite of being a very close neighbor.
• Strategic Importance: Due to its location in the Gulf of Oman and at the entrance of the Strait of Hormuz and enables Iran to have direct entry to the Indian Ocean.

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2. GAZA STRIP (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Geography)

Context: Recently, Israel imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip, cutting off the water supply, as it kept bombing targets in the crowded Palestinian enclave in response to the Hamas surprise assault it has likened to the 9/11 attacks.

Gaza Strip

• About: It is also known as Gaza, is a Palestinian enclave situated on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
• Boundaries: It shares an 11-kilometer (6.8-mile) border with Egypt to the southwest and a 51-kilometer (32-mile) border with Israel to the east and north.
• Both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are territories claimed by the de jure sovereign State of Palestine.
• Israeli territory separates the territories of Gaza and the West Bank from each other.
• Initially under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, the Gaza Strip has been governed by Hamas, a militant Palestinian fundamentalist Islamic organization, since the Battle of Gaza in June 2007, following their victory in the 2006 elections.

Israel

• About: Israel is located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea in West Asia.
• Boundaries: North by Lebanon, the northeast by Syria, the east by Jordan and the West Bank, and to the southwest by Egypt

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3. UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – International Organization)

Context: Recently, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) expressed its deep distress over the announcement that Israel will initiate a complete siege of the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

• About: It is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN).
• Formation: By the UN Charter in 1945.
• Objective: Primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
• Members: 15 (5 permanent + 10 non-permanent members).
• Headquarters: New York, USA.
• UNSC Presidency: Held by each of the 15 members in turn for one month, based on English alphabetical order.
• Eligibility for Presidency: Both permanent and non-permanent members are eligible for the UNSC presidency.
• Presidential Powers: In the UNSC, the Council President has a broad range of procedural powers: They can call and preside over meetings, approve the UN body agenda for the month, issue presidential statements, decide the content & and theme of debates, etc.
• India as a non-permanent member: 8 times. The latest membership was for the year 2021-22.

UNSC REFORMS: MEANING

• The aim for UNSC reforms encompasses Reform in categories of membership (permanent, non-permanent) question of the veto held by the five permanent members' representation Size of an enlarged Council and its working relationship between UNSC & and UNGA, etc.

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4. MARRAKESH (MOROCCO) (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Geography)

Context: The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors' meetings in Marrakesh later this week are expected to unveil the roadmap for regulating crypto assets and reforming multilateral development banks (MDBs).Morocco

• Location: Western North Africa.
• Boundary: Algeria to the east and southeast, Western Sahara to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north.
• It is the only African country with coastal exposure to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
• Strait: It lies directly across the Strait of Gibraltar from Spain.
• Climate: Mediterranean climate, with mild wet winters and hot dry summers.
• Mountain Ranges: The Atlas Mountains dominate the central part of the country, while the Rif Mountains make up the northern edge.
• Jebel Toubkal is the highest point in Morocco at 13,664 ft (4,165 m) and is also the highest peak of the Atlas Mountains.

Marrakesh

Marrakesh is a UNESCO World Heritage Site & the fourth largest city in Morocco.

The 12th century Koutoubia Mosque in the city is one of the city’s important landmarks.

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5. TANZANIA (Syllabus: GS Paper 2– IR)

Context: Recently, India and Tanzania elevated their bilateral ties to a strategic partnership when the Prime Minister of India hosted Samia Hassan, President of the African country, marking a significant milestone as the first head of state to visit India from the continent after the African Union's recent inclusion as a member of the G20.

• Tanzania, which backed India's candidature for non-permanent membership of UNSC for 2028-29, announced it had decided to join the Global Biofuels Alliance launched by India at the G20 summit.
• Both Countries agreed to enhance cooperation in maritime security in the Indian Ocean region and expressed satisfaction over the first-ever Indi Tanzania joint exclusive economic zone surveillance exercise.

Tanzania

• Formation: It was formed as a sovereign state in 1964 through the union of the separate states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
• Capital: Dodoma 
• Located: It is located in east Africa just south of the Equator. 
• Boundaries: Uganda, Lake Victoria and Kenya to the north, by the Indian Ocean to the east, by Mozambique, Lake Nyasa, Malawi and Zambia to the south and southwest and by Lake Tanganyika, Burundi and Rwanda to the west.
• Mountain, Kilimanjaro (5,895 metres -Africa’s highest mountain)
• Lake: Lake Tanganyika (the world’s second-deepest lake).

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6. SHRESTHA SCHEME (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Govt Schemes)

Context: Recently, SHRESHTA has been making significant strides in expanding the scope of development interventions by collaborating with grant-in-aid institutions run by NGOs and residential high schools.

SHRESTHA Scheme

• Objective: Its primary objective is to enhance the socio-economic standing of Scheduled Castes individuals by offering top-tier education to their children in the finest private residential schools across the nation.
• Eligibility: Students must belong to the marginalized income groups within the SC community.
• Parental annual income must be less than Rs.2.5 Lakh annually.
• Mechanism: This mechanism is referred to as the National Entrance Test for SHRESHTA (NETS).
• The National Testing Agency (NTA) will be responsible for conducting NETS.
• Beneficiaries: The government has targeted that every year around 3000 students belonging to the SC category will be admitted to Class 9 and Class 11 under this system.

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7. GREAT BARRIER REEF (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env and Eco)

Context: Recently, there has been growing concern about the impact of climate change on the Great Barrier Reef, despite its significant economic and environmental value.

• Although nitrogen and phosphorous are essential to support the incredible biodiversity of the reef, too much nutrient can lead to losses of coral biodiversity and coverage. 
• It also increases the abundance of algae and the ability of coral larvae to grow into adult coral and impacts seagrass coverage and health, which is crucial for fisheries and biodiversity.

Great Barrier Reef

• Location: Situated in the Pacific Ocean, it can be found off the northeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, within the Coral Sea.
• Largest Coral Reef Area: Indonesia
• Coral Reef Areas in India: Gulf of Mannar, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Lakshadweep Islands and the Gulf of Kutch.
• UNESCO World Heritage Status: The Great Barrier Reef earned the esteemed status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981.
• Marine Protected Area: A substantial portion of this remarkable ecosystem falls under the protective umbrella of a marine protected area. 
• This area is overseen and managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority of Australia.
• Biodiversity: The Great Barrier Reef boasts an incredible array of marine life. Estimates suggest it serves as the habitat for around 1,500 species of fish and over 600 diverse coral species.

Initiatives to Protect Corals

• A number of global initiatives are being taken to address the issues, like:
• International Coral Reef Initiative
• Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN)
• Global Coral Reef Alliance (GCRA)
• The Global Coral Reef R&D Accelerator Platform

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8. NOBEL PRIZE IN ECONOMICS (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economics)

Context: The Nobel economics prize (2023) was awarded to Harvard University professor Claudia Goldin for research that has advanced the understanding of the gender gap in the labor market.

About

• Claudia Goldin has studied 200 years of women’s participation in the workplace, showing that despite continued economic growth, women’s pay did not continuously catch up to men’s and a divide still exists despite women gaining higher levels of education than men.
• Goldin’s research does not offer solutions, but it allows policymakers to tackle the entrenched problem.

Nobel prize in Economics

• The economics award was created in 1968 by Sweden’s central bank and is formally known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

List of the nine Indian Nobel Prize winners till date

• Abhijit Banerjee for Economics, 2019: For experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.
• Kailash Satyarthi for Peace, 2014: For struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education. Others:
• Venkatraman Ramakrishnan for Chemistry, 2009
• Amartya Sen for Economics, 1998
• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar for Physics, 1983
• Mother Teresa for Peace, 1979
• Hargobind Khorana for Medicine, 1968
• CV Raman for Physics, 1930
• Rabindranath Tagore for Literature, 1913

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9. DGGI (Syllabus: GS Paper 3– Economy)

Context: Reliance General Insurance Company (RGIC), a subsidiary of Reliance Capital, recently received show-cause notices amounting to nearly Rs 923 crore from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI).

Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI)

• Formerly named: the Directorate General of Anti-Evasion (DGAE).
• Establishment: 1979 as an independent unit under the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Regional Units: Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai.
• Achieved full Directorate status in 1983, led by a Director.
• Upgraded to Directorate General in 1988, headed by a Director General.

Main Responsibilities of DGGI

• Intelligence Gathering: DGGI is tasked with collecting, collating, and disseminating intelligence related to potential Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion and Central Excise and Service Tax duties across India. 
• Investigation: DGGI possesses the authority to initiate inquiries into suspected instances of GST evasion or non-compliance. This may entail summoning individuals, scrutinizing records, and conducting searches and seizures as necessary.
• Enforcement: The DGGI is responsible for enforcing the provisions of the GST law. This encompasses legal actions against offenders, imposition of penalties, and recovery of outstanding taxes and duties.

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10. MICROPLASTICS (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env & Eco)

Context: According to recent research, trillions of microplastic particles in the ocean threaten marine life, from huge filter feeders to tiny plankton.

• Microplastics in marine sediments alter microbial communities and disrupt nitrogen cycling, potentially magnifying human-caused problems like toxic algal blooms.

Microplastics

• About: Microplastics are minute fragments of diverse plastic materials present in the surroundings.

o These minute plastic particles pose a threat to marine environments and the creatures that inhabit them.

• A recent study revealed a groundbreaking discovery: microplastics, which are minuscule plastic particles, have been identified in human blood for the very first time.
• Two main categories of Microplastics

o Primary microplastics are released into the environment from a variety of sources.

o Secondary microplastics: are created when larger plastics break down.

Concerns related to microplastics

• Microplastics cause damage to human cells in the laboratory.
• It has the potential to adhere to the outer membranes of red blood cells, possibly restricting their capacity to carry oxygen.

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