1. MONEY BILL (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: Recently, a seven-judge Bench, led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, considered a request to prioritise a reference on how the Centre passed crucial amendments in Parliament as Money Bills.

Money Bill

• Article 110(1) of the Constitution: Money Bills, which must contain specific provisions, primarily related to taxation, government finances, borrowing, and guarantees.
• The procedure for passing Money Bills, as outlined in Article 109, involves them being introduced only in the House of the People (Lok Sabha).
• After passing the House of the People, a Money Bill is sent to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) for recommendations within 14 days. Options LS have on RS recommendations:

oIf the House of the People accepts the Council's recommendations, the Money Bill is considered passed with those amendments.

oIf the House of the People rejects the Council's recommendations, the Money Bill is passed as originally proposed by the House of the People.

oIf the Council of States doesn't return the Money Bill within 14 days, it's deemed passed in the form it was passed by the House of the People.

• Role of Speaker: He takes the final call if a bill is a money bill or not. And his decision cannot be challenged in any court of the country.

Criteria of Money Bill

• Tax imposition, abolition, remission, alteration, or regulation.
• Government of India's borrowing of money or giving guarantees.
• Management of the Consolidated Fund or Contingency Fund of India, as well as deposits and withdrawals.
• Allocation of funds from the Consolidated Fund of India.
• Identification of expenses as charges on the Consolidated Fund of India or increases in such expenses.

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2. INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – International Organization)

Context: Russian President Vladimir Putin recently held talks in Kyrgyzstan, his first foreign trip since the ICC issued an arrest warrant for him.

International Criminal Court (ICC)

• Establishment: In 2002 pursuant to the multilateral Rome Statute.
• Headquarter: The Hague, Netherlands.
• About: It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimeslike - genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.
• Members: 123 countries. Countries like – India, China and Pakistan have not signed the treaty and not a party.
• Jurisdiction: The ICC’s jurisdiction is limited only to natural persons (unlike the International Court of Justice, which hears disputes between states) with minimum age of the alleged perpetrator should be 18 years at the time of the commission of the crime.
• Relation with UN: The ICC is not part of the UN. The Rome Statute was negotiated within the UN; however, it created an independent judicial body distinct from the UN.

Difference with International Court of Justice (ICJ)

• Established: In 1945 under the UN Charter.
• Headquarter: Hague, Netherlands.
• Function: To settle legal disputes between states and to provide advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by UN bodies and specialized agencies. Every year the Court submits a report on its activities to the United Nations General Assembly.
• Composition: The Court is composed of 15 judges elected by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council (UNSC).

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3. MERA YUVA BHARAT (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Government Scheme)

Context: Recently, the Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister of India has approved the establishment of an autonomous body Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat).

Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat)

• About: MY Bharat is an autonomous body.
• Establishment: 2023.
• Ministry: Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
• Aim: It will serve as an overarching enabling mechanism powered by technology for youth development and youth-led development.
• Objective: The primary objective of Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) is to make it a whole Government platform for youth development.
• Beneficiaries: Youth in the age group of 15-29 years, in line with the definition of ‘Youth’ in the National Youth Policy.
• In the case of programme components specifically meant for adolescents, the beneficiaries will be in the age group of 10-19 years.
• It will provide equitable access to youth to actualize their aspirations and build Viksit Bharat across the entire spectrum of the Government.

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4. MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT BANKS (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: The G20 independent expert group recently outlined a vision for bigger, better, and bolder multilateral development banks by 2030.

Multilateral Development Banks

• About: It is an international financial institution established by two or more countries with the aim of promoting economic development in less affluent nations.
• Objective: MDBs extend financial support to their member nations through loans and grants, which are utilized for projects that foster social and economic development, such as constructing infrastructure or providing clean water to communities.
• Origin: The roots of MDBs can be traced back to the post-World War II era when they were created to reconstruct war-torn countries and stabilize the global financial system.
• Function: Unlike commercial banks that prioritize profit generation from loans and financial services, MDBs focus on offering grants and low-interest loans to enhance the economic well-being of underprivileged or developing countries.
• Major Multilateral Development Banks: World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, New Development Bank, etc.

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5. BHARATMALA PARIYOJANA (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: The recently proposed ₹20 trillion, 20-year project/plan (Vision 2047 plan) might replace the second stage of the Bharatmala highway development programme.

Key Features

• Vision 2047 plan which is in final stages of preparation with identification of new road alignments and completion of detailed project reports (DPR) for greenfield projects.
• The new Vision plan would also incorporate elements of Bharatmala 2 programme that also focuses on building a network of expressways across the country.

Bharatmala Project

• About: Bharatmala Pariyojana is an umbrella program for the highways sector envisaged by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways that focuses on optimizing the efficiency of freight and passenger movement across the country. 
• Under Phase-I of Bharatmala Pariyojana, the implementation of 34,800 km of national highways in 5 years (from 2017 to 2022) has been approved at an estimated outlay of Rs. 5,35,000 crore.
• The Bharatmala project envisions improving the efficiency of the National Corridor including the Golden-Quadrilateral and North, South –East West corridors by decongesting the choke points through the construction of elevated corridors, bypasses, ring roads, lane expansion, and logistics parks at identified points. 
• The project plan includes the construction of Border Roads of strategic importance along international boundaries and International Connectivity roads to promote trade with Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal.
• The program has identified around 26,200 km of Economic Corridors or routes that have heavy freight traffic.
• Emphasis on the use of scientific and technological planning for Project Preparation and Asset Monitoring.
• Satellite mapping of corridors to identify up-gradation requirements.

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6. RIDF (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: The Secretary of the Department of Finance Services (DFS) chaired the stakeholder’s meeting on the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) recently.

Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF)

• Establishment: The Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) was established in 1995-96.
• Implementing Agency: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) oversees RIDF.
• Inception: RIDF was introduced within NABARD as part of the Union Budget for 1995-96.
• Objective: RIDF aims to provide affordable financial support to State Governments and State-Owned Corporations to expedite ongoing projects related to medium and minor irrigation, soil conservation, watershed management, and other rural infrastructure initiatives.
• Funding: NABARD manages and maintains the fund.

NABARD

• About: It is an apex regulatory body for the overall regulation of regional rural banks and apex cooperative banks in India.
• Establishment: 1982.
• Ministry: Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
• Owned by: The Government of India.

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7. METHANE EMISSIONS (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env and Eco)

Context: According to a new report, recently, dedicated actions to reduce methane emissions are crucial to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

• Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and is estimated to have been responsible for 30 percent of the global warming since the Industrial Revolution, according to the report.
• Methane is the primary reason for ground-level ozone pollution

Methane Emissions

• Methane ranks as the second most prevalent human-caused greenhouse gas (GHG) following CO2, contributing to approximately 20% of worldwide emissions.
• Nearly half of all human-induced methane emissions can be attributed to China, the United States, Russia, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Mexico.
• Due to methane's potent greenhouse gas properties and relatively short atmospheric lifespan compared to carbon dioxide, substantial reductions could swiftly and significantly impact its potential for atmospheric warming.

Methane 

• Composition: Methane, with the chemical formula CH4, is the most basic hydrocarbon, comprising a single carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms.
• Utility: It serves as a globally employed fuel due to its flammable nature.
• Greenhouse Gas: Methane qualifies as a potent greenhouse gas.
• Warming Potential: Over its initial 20 years in the atmosphere, methane possesses over 80 times the heat-trapping capacity of carbon dioxide.

Emission by India

• India ranks as the fourth-largest global methane emitter, following China, the United States, and Russia.
• The Global Methane Tracker 2022 reveals that agriculture contributes to 61% of total methane emissions in India, while the energy sector accounts for 16.4%, and waste for 19.8%.

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8. BRAHMOS MISSILE (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci & Tech)

Context: The Indian military recently conducted successful trials of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles.

BrahMos

• BRAHMOS represents a collaborative effort between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPOM.
• The name BRAHMOS is derived from the rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva.
• The missile serves both Anti-Ship and Land-Attack roles through two variants.
• BrahMos operates at Mach 2.8, making it one of the fastest cruise missiles, with a launch weight ranging from 2,200 to 3,000 kg.
• Employing the "Fire and Forget" principle, it utilizes various flight modes enroute to its target.
• The missile incorporates stealth technology for reduced radar visibility and includes an inertial navigation system (INS) for targeting both ships and land.

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9. GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Social Issues -Health)

Context: India recently ranked 111th out of 125 countries in the 2023 Global Hunger Index, with a score of 28.7, signalling a serious hunger concern.

• The country came after neighbouring countries Pakistan (102nd), Bangladesh (81st), Nepal (69th) and Sri Lanka (60th). However, India fared better than South Asia and Africa South of the Sahara, which recorded a score of 27 each.
• As per the index, India also has the highest child wasting rate in the world at 18.7 percent, reflecting acute undernutrition.

Global Hunger Index (GHI)

• About: The GHI serves as a comprehensive instrument for measuring and monitoring hunger on a global, regional, and national scale.
• Objective: The GHI is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels, reflecting multiple dimensions of hunger over time.
• Published by: Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe
• Calculation: The GHI score for each country is determined by a formula that combines four indicators to capture the multidimensional nature of hunger:

oUndernourishment: The percentage of the population with inadequate caloric intake.

oChild stunting: The percentage of children under the age of five with below-average height for their age, indicating chronic undernutrition.

oChild wasting: The percentage of children under the age of five with below-average weight for their height, indicating acute undernutrition.

oChild mortality: The percentage of children who die before their fifth birthday, reflecting a combination of insufficient nutrition and unhealthy environments.

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10. ASTEROID BENNU (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci and Tech)

Context: Recently returned samples from asteroid Bennu suggest potential building blocks of life on Earth, with evidence of high-carbon content and water-bearing clay minerals.

Asteroid Bennu

• Situated approximately 200 million miles from Earth.
• Discovered in 1999 by the NASA-funded Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research team.
• Classified as a B-type asteroid, indicating a high carbon and mineral content.
• Estimated to have 20-40 percent of its interior as empty space, suggesting it formed within the first 10 million years of the solar system's existence, making it around 4.5 billion years old.
• Believed to have originated in the Main Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter, and its orbital dynamics are gradually bringing it closer to Earth due to gravitational interactions and the Yarkovsky effect, caused by absorbed sunlight.

OSIRIS-Rex Mission

• Launched by NASA in 2016, the OSIRIS-Rex Mission, or the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security - Regolith Explorer, embarked on a voyage to Bennu.
• It journeyed to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu with the goal of returning a sample to Earth for study.
• This mission aims to aid scientists in studying planetary formation, the origins of life, and enhancing our comprehension of asteroids with potential Earth impact.

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