1. KANNADA LANGUAGE BILL 2024 (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: The Karnataka government recently tabled a bill mandating Kannada on business signboards.

Kannada Language Comprehensive Development (Amendment) Bill, 2024

• About: The Kannada Language Comprehensive Development (Amendment) Bill, 2024 aims to modify the existing 2022 Act, emphasizing increased usage of Kannada on signboards.
• Signage Requirements: According to the bill, signboards must allocate 60% of space to Kannada, positioned in the upper half of the name board, impacting diverse sectors like commercial, industrial, and business establishments, trusts, counseling centers, hospitals, laboratories, amusement centers, and hotels.
• Mandate for Entities: Commercial entities are obligated to display 60% of their signage in Kannada, pending approval from government or local authorities.
• Institutional Changes: The Bill proposes appointing the director of the Directorate of Kannada and Culture as a committee member and designates the secretary of the Kannada Development Authority as the convener of the "State Level Committee."
• State-Level Committee: The newly formed committee, headed by the secretary of the Kannada Development Authority, will function as an enforcement authority overseeing the implementation of the official language.
• Ordinance Rejection: The Governor of Karnataka returned the January 5 ordinance, suggesting the Karnataka government pursue the bill's passage through the Assembly instead of resorting to an ordinance.
• Trigger for Ordinance Proposal: The decision to propose the ordinance was prompted by violent demonstrations by pro-Kannada groups on December 27, targeting businesses in Bengaluru for allegedly neglecting the state language.
• Fringe Group Actions: On December 27, a fringe language group vandalized numerous business establishments across the city, demanding a 60% usage of Kannada on signboards.

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2. ARTICLE 5 OF NATO Syllabus GS Paper 2 – IR)

Context: The former U.S. President raised a storm of criticism from the White House and top Western officials for suggesting he would not defend NATO allies who failed to spend enough on defense and would even encourage Russia to attack them.

NATO

• About: It is a military alliance established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty) of April 1949, by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations.
• Countries: NATO currently has 31 members- most of them European nations, plus the United States and Canada. The newest member is Finland, which joined last April.
• Founding members: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium.
• Funding: NATO is funded by its members. The U.S. contributes roughly three-fourths of NATO's budget

What Is NATO's Article 5?

• About: In Article 5 of the founding treaty, NATO members establish that an armed attack on any of them in Europe or North America is considered an attack against all.
• Commitment to Assistance and Action: The treaty outlines the commitment of NATO members to assist the attacked party promptly, both individually and collectively, using necessary actions, including armed force.
• Limitations: Article 5 falls short of guaranteeing an automatic military response to aid an ally under attack, relying instead on clear statements from political leaders to ensure its effectiveness.
• Dependence on Political Endorsement: The strength of Article 5 hinges on political leaders explicitly backing it with actionable support, emphasizing the importance of verbal affirmation to reinforce the commitment.
• Trump's Controversial Comments: During a time of heightened NATO concerns about Russia's intentions, Trump's remarks stirred controversy by suggesting a reluctance to take military action in defense of an ally, thereby undermining the assumed power of Article 5.

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3. PM SURYA GHAR MUFT BIJLI YOJANA (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: The Prime Minister of India recently announced the launch of PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, a rooftop solar scheme for free electricity.

PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana 

• Announced: It is a free electricity scheme that was earlier announced by the Finance Minister in her interim budget speech on February 1.
• Launched: To promote sustainable development designed to alleviate the financial burden on citizens, will offer substantial subsidies directly deposited into the beneficiaries' bank accounts.
• Funding: This initiative, backed by an investment exceeding Rs. 75,000 crores, 
• Aim: To illuminate one crore households by providing up to 300 units of free electricity monthly.
• Direct Subsidies and Concessional Bank Loans: To ensure financial ease for citizens, the Central Government plans to offer substantive subsidies directly to individuals' bank accounts. 

oAdditionally, heavily concessional bank loans will be provided, ensuring no undue financial burden on the people. The integration of all stakeholders into a National Online Portal will further enhance convenience.

• Grassroots Promotion through Incentives: To popularize the scheme at the grassroots level, Urban Local Bodies and Panchayats will be incentivized to promote rooftop solar systems within their jurisdictions. Simultaneously, the initiative is expected to result in increased income, reduced power bills, and the generation of employment opportunities for the population.

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4. ONE NATION ONE STUDENT ID CARD (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Social issues-Education)

Context: The Education Minister of India said that the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) will be the aspirational and global document for students in India.

Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR)

• About: APAAR, which stands for Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry, is envisioned as a special ID system for all students in India, starting from childhood.

oGet a lifelong APAAR ID, making it easy to track academic progress from pre-primary education to higher education. 

• Gateway: APAAR would also serve as a gateway to Digilocker, a digital system where students can store their documents and achievements, such as exam results, and report cards.
• Vision: To create a positive change, allowing state governments to track literacy rates, dropout rates, and more, helping them make improvements.
• Aim: To reduce fraud and duplicate educational certificates by providing a single, trusted reference for educational institutions. 
• Only first-party sources that issue certificates will be allowed to deposit credits into the system, ensuring authenticity.

How will it work?

• Every individual will have a unique APAAR ID, which will be linked to the Academic Bank Credit (ABC), which is a digital storehouse that contains the information of the credits earned by students throughout their learning journey.
• If the student changes schools, all her data in the ABC will be transferred to her new school just by sharing the APAAR ID.

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5. APEDA (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has facilitated around 500 startups in marketing and exporting millet-based value-added products.

APED

• Established by: Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act, 1985. It came into effect on 13th February 1986.
• Headquarters: New Delhi.
• Composition:

oChairman, appointed by the Central Government

oThe Agricultural Marketing Advisor to the Government of India, ex-officio;

oOne member appointed by the Central Government representing the NITI Aayog;

oThree members of Parliament of whom two are elected by the House of People and one by the Council of States

oEight members appointed by the Central Government representing various Ministries of the Central Govt.

oFive members appointed by the Central Government by rotation in the alphabetical order to represent the States and the Union Territories,

oSeven members appointed by the Central Govt.

Functions performed by APEDA

• Development of industries relating to the scheduled products for export,
• Registration of persons as exporters of the scheduled products,
• Fixing of standards and specifications for the scheduled products for the purpose of exports;
• Carrying out inspection of meat and meat products in slaughter ouses, processing plants, storage premises, conveyances or other places,
• Improving of packaging of the Scheduled products;
• Improving of marketing of the Scheduled products outside India.

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6. MSCI INDEX (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Eonomy)

Context: The gap in weightage between Indian and Chinese equities on the MSCI index is narrowing with several global investors preferring shares on Dalal Street over those in Shanghai.

oSince January 2021, India's weight in the MSCI Standard Index has more than doubled from 8.9% to 18.2%, whereas China's weight has declined from 40.1% to 25.4% during the same period

MSCI Index

• About: The MSCI World is a stock market index of 1,643 world’ stocks. 
• It is maintained by MSCI Inc, formerly Morgan Stanley Capital International, and is used as a common benchmark for ‘world’ or ‘global’ stock funds.

oThe index includes a collection of stocks of all the developed markets in the world, as defined by MSCI. 

oThe index includes securities from 23 countries but excludes stocks from emerging and frontier economies making it less worldwide than the name suggests. 

oA related index, the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI), incorporated both developed and emerging countries. 

oMSCI also produces a Frontier Markets index, including another 31 markets.

• MSCI Index India: As per the official definition, the MSCI Index India is used to evaluate the performance of large and mid-cap segments of the Indian market. 

oMSCI Global Investable Indexes (GIMI) Methodology is used for MSCI Index India.

oAround 85 percent of the Indian equity universe is covered by the MSCI Index India.

oThere are four constituents: Largest, Smallest, Average and Median.

• Significance: It is considered to be one of the important indices that focus on  different geographic areas and stock types such as small-caps, mid-caps, and large-caps.

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7. HARMONISED SYSTEM OF NOMENCLATURE (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: India is working to develop new tariff codes, called Harmonised System of Nomenclature or HSN codes in trade parlance, for certain rice varieties to enable exports of those that are traditionally not consumed by the people in the country.

Harmonised System of Nomenclature or HSN

• About: The HSN code is a 6-digit uniform code that classifies 5000+ products and is accepted worldwide. 
• Developed by: World Customs Organization (WCO) and it came into effect in 1988.
• Importance: The main purpose of HSN is to classify goods from all over the World systematically and logically. This brings in a uniform classification of goods and facilitates international trade.

HSN in India

• About: India is a member of World Customs Organization(WCO) since 1971.
• It was originally using 6-digit HSN codes to classify commodities for Customs and Central Excise. 
• Later Customs and Central Excise added two more digits to make the codes more precise, resulting in an 8-digit classification.

The Importance of HSN Under GST

• The HSN system serves beyond Customs agents, extending its significance to GST operations.
• HSN codes play a crucial role in streamlining the Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework.
• Utilizing HSN codes eliminates the necessity for exhaustive descriptions of goods in GST filings.
• Automation facilitated by HSN codes leads to significant savings in both time and financial resources for tax authorities.

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8.  INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY BOARD OF INDIA (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: Recently, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) amended rules to exclude assets in a real estate project handed over to the allottee from the company's liquidation process, offering relief to homebuyers.

 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)

• Establishment: On 1st October 2016 under the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016.
• Implementation: It plays a pivotal role in the implementation of the IBC, amending and consolidating laws related to insolvency resolution across individuals, partnership firms, and corporate entities in a time-bound manner.
• Functions: The IBBI regulates professionals and processes associated with insolvency.
• It exercises regulatory oversight over insolvency professional agencies, insolvency professional entities, insolvency professionals, and information utilities.
• Enforcement and Rulemaking: The board enforces rules governing corporate insolvency resolution, individual insolvency resolution, corporate liquidation, and individual bankruptcy under the IBC.
• Records and Information Dissemination: The IBBI collects and maintains records related to insolvency and bankruptcy cases. It also plays a role in disseminating information concerning such cases.
• Constitution and Membership: The board's constitution involves members appointed by the Central Government, including a Chairperson, three members from among officers of the Central Government representing the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and Ministry of Law (ex-officio), 

oone member nominated by the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) (ex-officio), and five other members nominated by the Central Government, with at least three being whole-time members.

• Term of Office: The office for the Chairperson and members (excluding ex-officio members) is five years or until they reach the age of sixty-five, whichever is earlier, and they are eligible for reappointment.

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9. MSP ISSUE (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: Recently, farmers demanding enactment of a law guaranteeing minimum support prices (MSP) for all crops, as per the Dr M S Swaminathan Commission's formula, broke through police barricades and braved tear gas en route to Delhi.

The Committee

• Establishment: The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare established a committee on July 18, 2022.
• Objective: To promote Zero Budget Based Farming, alter crop patterns to align with the country's evolving needs, and enhance the effectiveness and transparency of Minimum Support Price (MSP).
• Composition
• Chairperson: The committee is led by Sanjay Agrawal, a former agriculture secretary.
• Membership: NITI Aayog member (ii) two agricultural economists, (iii) an award-winning farmer, (iv) five representatives of farmers’ organisations other than the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), (v) two representatives of farmers’ cooperatives/ groups, (vi) one member of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), (vii) three persons from agricultural universities and institutions, (viii) five secretaries of the Government of India, (ix) four officers from four states, and (x) one joint secretary from the Agriculture Ministry.

SKM's Stand

• Non-Participation: The SKM has chosen not to participate in the ongoing protest and did not join the committee despite allocated positions.
• These microheadings provide a structured overview of the committee's establishment, composition, specific members, representation of farmers, and the current scenario with a focus on the SKM's involvement.

Purpose of Panel

• Farm Laws Withdrawn: On November 19, 2021, the Prime Minister of India announced the government's decision to repeal the three farm laws:

oFarmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020

oFarmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020

oEssential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020

• Committee Formation:  A committee will be constituted to address key agricultural issues:

oPromotion of zero budget farming (natural farming)

oScientifically changing crop patterns to align with evolving national requirements

oEnhancing the effectiveness and transparency of Minimum Support Price (MSP).

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10. AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci and Tech)

Context: In recent times several international celebrities have spoken up about their diagnosis and subsequent struggles with autoimmune diseases.

Autoimmune Diseases

• About: Autoimmune diseases are conditions in which your immune system mistakenly damages healthy cells in your body. Types include rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and some thyroid conditions.
• Target: Some autoimmune diseases target only one organ. Type 1 diabetes damages your pancreas. Other conditions, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, or lupus, can affect your whole body.
• Cause autoimmune disease: Some drugs may cause changes in your body that confuse your immune system.

oSome autoimmune diseases run in families, so you're at higher risk if your family has a history of them. 

oMicroorganisms like viruses and bacteria could set off changes that make your immune system attack itself. 

oSeveral factors can cause autoimmune disease such as environmental factors, genetics, hormonal imbalance, and lifestyle habits.

• Symptoms: Fatigue, Fever, General ill feeling (malaise), Joint pain and Rash.
• Most Common Autoimmune Diseases: Inflammatory bowel, Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Lupus, Type 1 diabetes, etc.

Women are more affected:

• A 2023 study by the University of Oxford stated that about 10% of the population they had studied had autoimmune diseases of which 13% were women and 7% were men.
• Cause: As per a group of scientists have found a molecular coating that is found in half of the X chromosomes in women might be the reason behind this phenomenon.
• Women and Men chromosome: Human females (and most mammals) contain two X chromosomes while the males of of the species contain one X and one Y chromosome. 

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