1. OVERSEAS CITIZENSHIP OF INDIA (Syllabus GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: The Delhi High Court has directed the Centre to grant citizenship to a 17-year-old girl who was born in India to parents holding Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards and US citizenship.

Overseas Citizens of India (OCI)

• Constitutionality: India does not allow holding Indian citizenship and
  Citizenship of a foreign country simultaneously.
• History: Based on the recommendation of the High Level committee on Indian Diaspora, the Government of India decided to grant Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI).
• Amendment: Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) of certain category as has been specified in the Section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 are eligible for registration as OCI.
• Key Features:

o Limitations: if the applicant had ever been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh, he/she will not be eligible.

o Not been given any voting rights, election to Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha/Legislative Assembly/Council, holding Constitutional posts such as President, Vice President, Judge of Supreme Court/High Court etc.

• Benefits:

o Multiple entry, multi-purpose life long visa to visit India;

o Exemption from reporting to Police authorities for any length of stay in India;

o Parity with NRIs in financial, economic and educational fields except in the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.

o Registered Overseas Citizen of India shall be treated at par with Non-Resident Indian in the matter of inter-country adoption of Indian children.

o Registered Overseas Citizens of India shall be treated at par with resident Indian nationals in the matter of tariffs in air fares in domestic sectors in India.

o Registered Overseas Citizens of India shall be charged the same entry fee as domestic Indian visitors to visit national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India

---

2. GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Environment)

Context: The Rajasthan government, in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), has proposed an innovative solution to aid the conservation efforts of the Great Indian Bustard. They plan to establish tunnel-like aviaries that replicate the natural landscape of the desert grasslands, the native habitat of these birds.

Great Indian Bustard

• About: It is the State bird of Rajasthan and is considered India’s most critically endangered bird.
• Flagship species: It is considered the flagship grassland species, representing the health of the grassland ecology.
• Habitat: Its population is confined mostly to Rajasthan and Gujarat.Small populations occur in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
• Protection Status: IUCN: Critically Endangered, CITES: Appendix 1, Convention on Migratory Species (CMS): Appendix 1, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule 1
• Concerns: As Rajasthan shares the international border with Pakistan's Sindh and Punjab provinces, the birds have become easy prey for the gun-toting poachers.

Initiatives taken to protect GIB

• Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats: GIB is kept under the species recovery programme under the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
• Conservation Breeding Facility: MoEF&CC, Rajasthan government and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) have established a conservation breeding facility in Desert National Park at Jaisalmer in June 2019.
• Project Great Indian Bustard: It has been launched by the Rajasthan government with an aim of constructing breeding enclosures for the species and developing infrastructure to reduce human pressure on its habitats.

---

3. INDIA AI MISSION (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Science and Tech )

Context: In a bid to propel India's technological landscape into the future, the government has unveiled a series of ambitious IndiaAI Mission Projects, including upto 50% subsidy.

IndiaAI Mission:

• Launched: In 2024 for a period of 5 years.
• Aim: To ensure a structured implementation of the IndiaAI Mission through a public-private partnership model aimed at nurturing India’s AI innovation ecosystem. Democratize the benefits of AI across all strata of society.
• Objective: To erect a cutting-edge, scalable AI computing infrastructure by deploying over 10,000 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs).
• Key Components: IndiaAI Compute Capacity, IndiaAI Innovation Centre (IAIC), IndiaAI Datasets Platform etc.
• Fund allocation: Over 10, 300 drore.

Use of Fund:

• To fortify the IndiaAI Startup Financing mechanism, facilitating streamlined access to funding for budding AI startups and catalyzing their journey from product development to commercialization. 
• It will enable IndiaAI Innovation Centre (IAIC)  to spearhead the development and deployment of foundational models, with a specific emphasis on indigenous Large Multimodal Models (LMMs) and domain-specific models, leveraging edge and distributed computing for optimal efficiency.
• IndiaAI Datasets Platform, which will be developed by the Independent Business Division (IBD) of IndiaAI, is slated to receive a boost to enhance accessibility, quality, and utility of public sector datasets, in order to ensure data-driven governance and catalyzing AI-based innovation and research.
• IndiaAI FutureSkills program will focus on expanding the reach of AI education by increasing the accessibility of graduate and post-graduate AI programs.

---

4. EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: India plans to begin negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which is expected to significantly increase trade between the regions.

Eurasian Economic Union (EEU)

• About: It is an ambitious project for economic integration in the former Soviet region. Its formal objectives are to create a common market much like the European Union (EU).
• Evolution: Original proposal in 1994èEconomic community in 2000èEurasian customs union in 2010èEurasian Economic space in 2012èEAEU treaty signed in 2014 which was established in 2015.
• Members: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia.
• Administrative centre: Moscow, Russia.
• Benefits for India after FTA with EEU: The trade deal between the EEU and India is also likely to improve Indian exports into Russia.

India-Russia Trade:

• Economic Trade: At present, trade is skewed in favor of Russia. During FY24, India’s exports to Russia stood at $4.26 billion, while imports stood at $61.42 billion.
• India’s imports: Crude oil and petroleum products, coal, fertilizers, vegetable oil, pearl, iron & steel and newsprint.
• India’s exports: Pharma & drugs, iron & steel, processed minerals, marine products, telecom instruments and electronic machinery.
• India’s FTA Targets: India targets of having an FTA with all major world economies in 2024-25. Beginning 2024, it is in the advanced stages of negotiating FTAs with the UK, Oman, USA, the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Russia, Sri Lanka and Peru

---

5. INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY CODE (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: A recent study of  Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA) revealed that as of FY24, creditors realized   only   4%  of  their  claims under the  Insolvency and  Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Insolvency and  Bankruptcy Code (IBC)

• About: India’s bankruptcy law, designed to consolidate the existing framework by creating a comprehensive code for handling insolvency and bankruptcy cases. 
• Mechanism:

o Initiation: Filed by either the (financial or operational) to the NCLT. debtor or creditors

o Threshold: Default amount must be at least ₹1 crore.

o Deadline: 330 days for the completion of the resolution process

o NCLT Decision: The tribunal has 14 days to accept or reject the application, providing reasons if rejected.

• Interim Resolution Professional (IRP): IRP is appointed by the NCLT to take control of the debtor's assets and operations.

o Duties: Collects information, constitutes the Committee of    Creditors CoC, and manages the company's affairs.

o CoC Powers: Decides to continue with the IRP or appoint a new Insolvency Professional (IP).

• Resolution Plan: IP invites resolution plans from potential investors.

o Approval: A plan needs a 66% vote in favor from the CoC members.

o Submission to NCLT: The approved plan is submitted to the NCLT for final approval.

• Liquidation: If no resolution plan is approved within the stipulated timeframe or if the CoC decides so. The company's assets are sold off, and the proceeds are distributed among creditors.
• The Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (‘CIRP’) is a recovery mechanism for the creditors of a corporate debtor. A corporate debtor means a company or Limited Liability Partnership (‘LLP’) that owes a debt to its creditors.

---

6. ML & AI TECHNOLOGY HUB (MATH) (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – S&T)

Context: The Department of Science and Technology (DST), under the Ministry of S&T, and T-Hub, a Hyderabad-based start-up incubator, inaugurated the Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Technology Hub (MATH).

Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Technology Hub (MATH)

• About: It is a centre of excellence, for boosting AI innovation and nurturing start-ups in India. This collaborative effort is a significant step towards harnessing the country’s immense potential in the field of AI.

o This initiative represents a convergence of government support, technological infrastructure, and entrepreneurial spirit aimed at propelling India to the forefront of global AI innovation.

o It plans to incubate hundreds of AI-first startups in the next few years.

• Facilities to be provided: Funding, partnerships and mentorship for AI and machine learning startups across the country.
• Key focus area: Healthcare and clean tech among others.

Machine Learning:

• About: It is a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) and computer science that focuses on the using data and algorithms to enable AI to imitate the way that humans learn, gradually improving its accuracy.

o It is a self-adaptive algorithm that gets better and better analysis and patterns with experience or with new added data.

o For e.g. It processes all transactions happening on the digital platform, find patterns in the data set, and point out any anomaly detected by the pattern.

---

7. INDIA-MIDDLE EAST-EUROPE ECONOMIC CORRIDOR (IMEC) (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – IR)

Context: External Affairs Minister of India recently said that India is working to establish the India-Middle East- Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), passing through the Chabahar port, asserting that there is a need to re-engineer the global logistics map.

India-Middle East- Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC):

• About: It is a planned economic corridor that aims to bolster economic development by fostering connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Persian Gulf and Europe.
• The proposed route: From India to Europe through the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Greece.

o The IMEC will comprise of two separate corridors: The east corridor connecting India to the Gulf and northern corridor connecting Gulf to Europe.

• Need: To provide reliable and cost-effective cross-border ship to rail transit network to supplement existing maritime routes.

o To increase efficiency, reduce costs, secure regional supply chains, increase trade accessibility, enhance economic cooperation, generate jobs and lower greenhouse gas emission, resulting in a transformative integration of Asia, Europe and the Middle East (West Asia).

• Part of: The project is a part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII).
• Countries involved: India, USA, Saudi Arabia, UAE, European Union, Italy, France and Germany.

---

8. NEW EV POLICY (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Environment)

Context: Recently, centre government clarify that all auto companies can make investments under EV policy.

New Electric vehicle policy:

• Aim: To promote the country as a leading manufacturing destination for EVs and attract investments from global EV makers.
• Provisions:

o Three-Year Establishment Window: A three-year grace period provided for establishing local manufacturing units for EVs. Currently, India imposes hefty taxes ranging from 70 per cent to 100 per cent on imported cars, depending on their value.

o Domestic Component Stipulation: Requirement for at least 25% of components to be domestically sourced.

o Minimum Investment required: Rs 4,150 crore ($500 million).

o Maximum Limit: No limit on Investment.

o Timeline for manufacturing: 3 years for setting up manufacturing facilities in India, and to start commercial production of e-vehicles, and reach 50 per cent domestic value addition (DVA) within 5 years at the maximum.

o Domestic value addition (DVA) during manufacturing: A localisation level of 25 per cent by the 3rd year and 50 per cent by the 5th year will have to be achieved.

o Custom Duty Applicability: 15 per cent (as applicable to CKD units) would be applicable for a period of 5 years.

Benefit of EV Policy

• Attract manufacturers and investment: The E-Vehicle Policy is poised to attract global EV manufacturers, fostering high volume production within India.
• Economies of Scale and Affordability: With increased production, economies of scale will drive down the cost of EVs, making them more affordable for Indian consumers.
• Reduction of Air Pollution: The widespread adoption of EVs will lead to a significant decrease in air pollution levels within cities, positively impacting public health and the environment

---

9. OPEN NETWORK FOR DIGITAL COMMERCE (Syllabus GS Paper 2 – Governance)

Context: Recently, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said transactions on Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), crossed 70 lakh in this year.

Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC):

• About: The ONDC entity, a not-for-profit company incorporated under Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013, manages and operates the ONDC Network.
• Responsibilities: It is responsible for building and maintaining the underlying infrastructure as well as defining the rules of engagement and code of conduct for the Network Participants through the ONDC Network Policy and the ONDC Network Participant Agreement
• Not Application: ONDC is not an application, an intermediary, or software; it is a set of specifications designed to facilitate open interchange and connections between shoppers, technology platforms, and retailers.
• Components:

o Buyer-side apps: Consumers place orders.

o Seller-side apps: Merchants are onboarded and their listings displayed.

o Logistics platforms: Handle deliveries.

• Aim: Promote open networks for exchanging goods and services digitally or electronically., Create new opportunities and curb digital monopolies., Support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and small traders to get online, Democratize digital commerce from a platform-centric model to an open-network.
• Benefits: Provides small retailers with an opportunity to offer services and goods nationwide through an e-commerce system, Enables merchants to save data to build credit history and reach consumers, Expected to digitize the entire value chain and promote the inclusion of suppliers, Enhances efficiencies in logistics and value for consumers

---

10. INDIAN LEOPARD (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Environment)

Context: Recently, Leopard cat  spotted in Maharashtra’s Pench, in what is being billed as Central India’s first sighting of the species.

Indian leopard:

• About: A subspecies of the leopard (P. pardus) that is widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. .
• Habitat: They are adaptable to a range of habitats, including the Himalayan foothills, Western Ghats, dry deciduous forests, and the northeastern regions of India.
  • Conservation status:

  o IUCN Red List: Vulnerable

  o CITES: Appendix I

  o Wildlife (Protection) Act,1972: Schedule I

  • Behavioral pattern:

  o Elusiveness and Solitary Behaviour: The leopard is characterized by its elusive nature, preferring solitude, and is primarily active during the night.

  o Climbing Proficiency: Known for its exceptional climbing abilities, the leopard has been observed resting on tree branches during the day.

  o Tree-Associated Behaviours: The leopard exhibits distinctive behaviours such as dragging its kills up trees and suspending them there. It is also capable of descending from trees headfirst.

  • Population and regional distribution:

  o The leopard population in India witnessed an 8% rise from 12,852 in 2018 to 13,874 in 2022.

  o Madhya Pradesh reported the highest leopard count (3,907), followed by Maharashtra (1,985), Karnataka (1,879), and Tamil Nadu (1,070.

  • Human-Leopard Conflict:

  o Leopards' adaptability  leads to conflict, particularly in villages, as they are known to prey on cattle, resulting in higher mortality rates

---