1. BLACK SEA GRAIN DEAL (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 -– IR)

Context: Russia's Putin and Turkey's Erdogan set to meet amid efforts to repair Ukraine grain deal.

• The international efforts continue to try to patch up the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which sent grain to parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat.

What is the Black Sea grain deal?

• The Black Sea grain initiative was negotiated in July 2022 between Turkey, the UN and Russia as a way of ensuring that Ukraine, one of the breadbaskets of the world, could ensure that its grain could leave its southern ports via the Bosphorus.
• The initiative, allows for commercial food and fertiliser (including ammonia) exports from three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea – Odesa, Chornomorsk, and Pivdennyi (formerly known as Yuzhny).

Black Sea

• Located in southeastern Europe, it is a vast inland sea.
• Shares its Borders with six countries: Ukraine to the north, Russia to the northeast, Georgia to the east, Turkey to the south, Bulgaria to the southwest, and Romania to the west.
• Through the Bosporus Strait, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles Strait, it maintains a connection with the Mediterranean Sea.
• Its expanse encompasses about 436,000 square kilometers (168,000 square miles).

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2. MAHENDRAGIRI (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – SCI & TECH)

Context: Text of the Vice-President’s address at the launch of the warship Mahendragiri in Mumbai.

• The launch of Mahendragiri is a significant milestone in our maritime history. It is the last of the seven warships of the Nilgiri-class stealth frigates built under Project 17A.

Mahendragiri

• It is the seventh vessel of the Project 17A frigates, and taking its name from a prominent peak in the Eastern Ghats in Odisha.
• The Indian Navy initiated Project 17 Alpha frigates (P-17A) in 2019.
• The inaugural ship in the P17A series is named after a historic frigate of the Navy, INS Nilgiri, which derived its name from the Nilgiri Hills.
• The remaining six ships in Project 17A are christened 'Nilgiri,' 'Himgiri,' 'Udaygiri,' 'Dunagiri,' 'Taragiri,' and 'Vindhyagiri.'

What is Project 17A?

• Launched by: Indian Navy in 2019
• Objective: To build a fleet of stealthy guided missile frigates. These frigates are currently in production by two companies: Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE).
• These guided missile frigates have been designed with a particular emphasis on stealth. 

oTheir construction incorporates radar-absorbent coatings, rendering them difficult to detect, and making it possible for them to approach enemies unnoticed.

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3. ONE NATION ONE ELECTION (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: The Indian government has constituted a committee to look into the ‘One Nation, One Election’ issue and submit a report for a debate in Parliament.

One Nation One Election

• The current electoral system in the country conducts separate elections for the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies with a five-year gap. 
• This happens either when the Lower House or state government's term ends or if either of them dissolves prematurely. The terms of state assemblies may not necessarily align with each other or with that of the Lok Sabha. Consequently, election operations occur throughout the year.
• It is considered crucial for mitigating the influence of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) on developmental projects.
• It is envisioned as a means to reduce election expenses across various tiers.
• In its 2018 draft report, the Law Commission of India examined the potential and obstacles associated with simultaneous elections in India.
• The concept was first introduced by the Election Commission in 1983 and subsequently explored by the Law Commission and NITI Aayog.
• The One Nation One Election proposal suggests holding simultaneous elections in all states and the Lok Sabha every five years. 

oThis would require restructuring the Indian election cycle to ensure that state and central elections happen concurrently. 

oThis means that voters would cast their ballots for both the Lok Sabha and state assemblies on the same day, simultaneously, or in a phased manner as needed.

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4. RASHTRIYA POSHAN MAAH (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Government Scheme)

Context: Rashtriya Poshan Maah is a huge campaign for the health of our family: PM

Rashtriya Poshan Maah

• About: Rashtriya Poshan Mah is observed as part of the POSHAN Abhiyan, which is the Prime Minister's comprehensive program for holistic nourishment.
• The first week of September is designated as Rashtriya Posham Maah.
• Aim: To increase understanding of the significance of nutrition in promoting well-being, fostering growth, and driving economic advancement.
• Initially Launched: The American Dietetic Association initiated its launch in 1973 with the aim of educating people about nutrition.
• India introduced: The concept of National Nutrition Week in 1982 to promote awareness of nutrition.
• Initiative: Women and Child Development Ministry and NITI Aayog

POSHAN Abhiyan

• Launched: In 2018 
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• Aim: To achieve improvement in the nutritional status of Children (0-6 years) and Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers (PW&LM) in a time-bound manner and ensure the attainment of a malnutrition-free India by 2022
• Targets: To reduce stunting, under-nutrition, and anaemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and reduce low birth weight by 2%, 2%, 3% and 2% per annum respectively. 

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5. MARINE HEATWAVES (Syllabus: GS Paper 3– Env & Eco)

Context: Study finds fish surprisingly resistant to marine heatwaves.

• Some marine heatwaves caused biomass declines, but these were exceptions, not the rule, say researchers.
• Prolonged periods of unusually warm ocean temperatures or marine heatwaves can have devastating effects on marine ecosystems, but the extent of the impact on fish was not known.

Key Points of Study

• Marine heatwaves can lead to decay and bleaching of sponges and corals, seabirds dying in large numbers, waterbodies witnessing harmful algal blooms, decimation of seaweeds and increased marine mammal strandings. 
• The study relied on data from long-term scientific trawl surveys of continental shelf ecosystems in North America and Europe conducted between 1993 and 2019.
• Although some marine heatwaves caused biomass declines, the researchers said these were the exception rather than the rule. 
• Marine heatwaves can drive local change. 
• The scientists also considered whether marine heatwaves were causing changes in the composition of fish communities, looking for losses of species associated with cold water and an increase in species associated with warm water (known as “tropicalisation”).

Heatwaves: Heatwaves are prolonged periods of abnormally high temperatures relative to the local climate conditions. They typically last for several days or even weeks. IMD recognises it as when the maximum temperature is 40°C or higher in the plains and 30°C or higher in hilly regions and the departure from normal temperature is 4.5°C to 6.4°C.

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6. ROHINI COMMISSION (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: Rohini Commission may recommend key changes to OBC quota policy.

• The report, which is more than 1,000-pages long, is divided in two parts -- the first deals with how the OBC quota should be allocated; and the second is an updated list of all 2,633 OBC castes across the country.

Key Points

• According to people familiar with the recommendations, the commission has said that “the purpose of sub-categorisation is not to establish a new hierarchy among OBCs, but to provide a level playing field for all”.
• The commission, the people added, has proposed the sub-categorisation of “the Central List of OBCs primarily on the basis of quantum of benefits enjoyed by different communities.”
• The people, who asked not to be named that the commission has recommended the criteria for this sub-categorisation, going beyond those adopted by earlier commissions like the Kaka Kalelkar or by the panel headed by BP Mandal.

Rohini Commission

• Set up: In October 2017 under Article 340.

oArticle 340 grants the President of India the authority to designate a commission tasked with examining matters related to OBCs and providing suggestions to enhance their circumstances.

• Aim: To examine the concentration of reservation and benefits among dominant OBC caste groups.

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7. WINDFALL TAX (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: Consumption of diesel dropped 2.9% and that of petrol rose 0.4% in August over last year, according to the state oil companies' data.

The demand for aviation turbine fuel (ATF) rose 9.5% year-on-year in August while that for LPG rose 4.4%.

Windfall Tax

• The purpose of a windfall tax is to impose additional taxes on a company's profits generated from an external event, often unexpected, such as the increase in energy prices due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
• According to the United States Congressional Research Service, a windfall is defined as an increase in income that is neither earned nor anticipated, and it does not result from any extra effort or expenses on the part of the entity.
• These profits cannot be attributed to the company's intentional actions, such as an investment strategy or business expansion.
• Governments typically impose a retroactive one-time tax, known as a windfall tax, on such profits, in addition to the regular tax rates.

The reason for implementing a windfall tax 

• It is introduced to finance social welfare initiatives.
• It serves as an additional source of income for the government.
• It functions as a means for the central authority to reduce the nation's expanded trade deficit.

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8. GREEN ENERGY (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci & Tech)

Context: India losing a green energy subsidy race against US and others.

Key Points

• The world’s most populous country and third-largest generator of carbon dioxide behind China and the U.S., India already faced significant hurdles in its energy transition. 
• India’s economy could jump from fifth to rank second or third by 2050. To meet electricity demand over the next two decades, India will have to add a power system the equivalent of the European Union’s in size, the International Energy Agency estimates.
• India's size and anticipated growth is still a significant draw for clean-energy investors, and low costs make it an economic place to site manufacturing projects. 

India’s energy status: India's power mix is currently heavily reliant on coal, which is a major source of carbon emissions.

• India has pledged to change this by tripling the amount of non-fossil fuel energy sources installed to 500GW by 2030.
• India is blending 10 % of ethanol in its petrol and targets to take it to 20 by 2025.
• In world, India’s rank is 4th in wind power, 5th in solar power, 4th in renewable power installed capacity.

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9. WISE-SCOPE FELLOWSHIP (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci & Tech)

Context: Societal challenges refer to problems and issues that affect societies on a large scale, often spanning across multiple domains such as environment, technology, health, energy, waste, water, management, agriculture, economics, and more.

WISE-SCOPE Fellowship

• Stands for: The Women In Science and Engineering (WISE)-Societal Challenges with Opportunities (SCOPE) Fellowship Program 
• Aim: To provide opportunities to Women Scientists and Technologists who have completed PhD and want to utilize their S&T knowledge and expertise for the benefit of society.
• This program promotes projects that directly deal with challenges at grassroots level and address them through S&T interventions.  
• Projects under WISE-SCOPE should provide S&T solutions to our social problems, livelihood generation, drudgery reduction, health and nutrition-related issues, management of natural resources, sustainable agriculture, climate change, disaster management etc.

Thematic Areas:

• Energy, Water and Waste Management (EWWM)
• Engineering and Technology Development (ETD)
• Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development (ECSD)
• Agriculture and Allied Sciences (AAS)
• Health, Food and Nutrition (HFN)

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

Context: India will be losing groundwater three times faster in 2041-2080, finds study.

• The rate of depletion of groundwater in India during 2041-2080 will be thrice the current rate with global warming, according to a new report.

Key Points

• As the country becomes warmer, people will draw more water from underground, leading to faster depletion.
• The projection that continued warming may triple groundwater depletion rates over the coming decades was made under a business-as-usual scenario. 
• Warming-induced groundwater pumping will also likely increase the area facing groundwater overexploitation in the future. 
• Currently, most overexploitation of aquifers is concentrated in the northwest and south India, but the study results further suggest overexploitation may expand to include aquifers in the southwest, the southern peninsula, and central India by 2050.
• Water resources in India: India has 18% of the global population but only 4% of the freshwater resources.
• Groundwater in India: As per, Central Groundwater Board of India, 17% of groundwater blocks are overexploited, meaning that the rate at which water is extracted is higher than the rate at which the aquifer can recharge. Groundwater support over 60% of irrigated agriculture and around 85% of domestic water supply in rural areas and 45% of it in urban areas.

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