1. BIG FOUR COMPANIES (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Economy)

Context: Global professional services networks Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and Ernst & Young (EY) - also known as the Big Four - provide a range of forensic services for applications, including business crises and disputes.

• Big Four term is applied to these accounting companies because of their enormous size, stellar reputation, and extensive global reach. Each accounting firm has a network of many distinct corporations, even though these businesses are typically called single entities. 

Key Points

• Consulting firms, including the Big Four, which undertake discreet investigative services for audits and risk management, may not be able to process digital personal data under the “legitimate purposes” clause of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023.
• According to the Bill tabled in the Lok Sabha, certain legitimate purposes would not require explicit consent from the user. 
• These include employment-related purposes to protect the employer from loss or liability, such as prevention of corporate espionage
• Processing digital data for intelligence and analytics on behalf of clients is at the core of these advisory solutions. 

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2. PROJECT DEVIKA (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Infrastructure)

Context: Union Minister of State Science & Technology said North India's first River Rejuvenation Project Devika is nearing completion. 

Key Points

• Built at a cost of over Rs 190 crore on the lines of ‘Namami Ganga’, the Project was launched by the Prime Minister. 
• This while reviewing Liquid Waste Management Project undertaken separately to protect the sanctity of holy Devika River in Udhampur, J&K.
• Devika which is considered as the sister of sacred river Ganga, has a great religious significance which is why the Liquid Waste Management Project with the network of pipes and manholes connecting all the households under Devika Rejuvenation Project is being constructed by Urban Environmental Engineering Department (UEED) to protect the sanctity of it. 
• Out of the 190 crore funds allocated for the project, the sharing of allocation is in the ratio of 90:10 by the Centre and UT respectively.

About River Devika

• Also known as Devika Nagari, the river originates from the hilly Suddha Mahadev temple in Udhampur and flows down towards western Punjab (now in Pakistan), where it merges with the Ravi river.
• The Devika River holds religious significance as it is revered by Hindus as the sister of the Ganga.

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3. PRISON REFORMS (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 - Social Justice)

Context: The Union home ministry has framed guidelines to decongest prisons and has asked states and Union Territories to release economically weaker prisoners who are in jails due to non-payment of fine or unable to secure bail due to financial constraints. 

• The scheme was announced by Union finance minister during her budget speech following which the MHA has launched consultation with states and Central ministries in April this year.

Key Points

• According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) prison statistics 2021, out of the total 554,034 prison inmates in the country, 373,337 or 67.5% belonged to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes.
• The home ministry has prepared guidelines and standard operating procedure (SOPs) on 'Support to Poor Prisoners' and forwarded to states and UTs for implementation of the scheme so that the first tranche of prisoners may be released ahead of the Independence Day celebrations on August 15.
• As per the guidelines, the Centre will provide financial support to states to extend relief to poor prisoners who are unable to avail bail or get released from prisons due to non-payment of fine, on account of financial constraints.
• This will enable poor prisoners, majority of whom belong to socially disadvantaged or marginalised groups with lower education and income level, to get out of prison. 
• Free legal aid is being provided to poor prisoners through the Legal Services Authority at various levels," stated the home ministry.
• A technology-driven solution is also being put in place to ensure that benefits reach the poor prisoners; reinforcing the E-prisons platform; strengthening of District Legal Services Authority and sensitisation and capacity-building of stakeholders to ensure that quality legal aid is made available to needy poor prisoners.

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4. ENDEMIC BIRDS OF INDIA (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Env & Eco)

Context: A recent publication by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) points out that about 5% of birds found in the country are endemic and are not reported in other parts of the world.

• The publication, titled 75 Endemic Birds of India, was recently released on the 108th foundation day of the ZSI.

Key Points

• India is home to 1,353 bird species, which represents approximately 12.40% of global bird diversity. Of these 1,353 bird species, 78 (5%) are endemic to the country.
• The highest number of endemic species have been recorded in the Western Ghats, with 28 bird species. 
• Some of the interesting species recorded in the country’s bio-geographic hotspot are the Malabar Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros griseus); Malabar Parakeet (Psittacula columboides); Ashambu Laughing Thrush (Montecincla meridionalis); and the White-bellied Sholakili (Sholicola albiventris).
• 25 bird species are endemic to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 
• Endemism in the Andaman group of islands must have developed because of the geographical isolation of the region.
• Some interesting bird species which are only found in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are Nicobar Megapode (Megapodius nicobariensis); Nicobar Serpent Eagle (Spilornis klossi); Andaman Crake (Rallina canningi); and Andaman Barn Owl (Tyto deroepstorffi). Four species of birds are endemic to the Eastern Himalayas, and one each to the Southern Deccan plateau and central Indian forest.
• Of the 78 endemic species, 25 are classified as ‘Threatened’ by the IUCN. 
• Three species (Bugun Liocichla or Liocichla bugunorum; Himalayan Quail or Ophrysia superciliosa; Jerdon’s Courser or Rhinoptilus bitorquatus) are listed as ‘Critically Endangered’. 
• Five of the endemic birds in India are categorised as ‘Endangered’, and 17 as ‘Vulnerable’, while 11 are categorised as ‘Near Threatened’ on the IUCN Red List.

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5. GNANAMUYARCHI (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 - Art & Culture)

Context: Palm manuscripts from the 18th Century titled Gnanamuyarchi have been discovered in an Armenian monastery in Northern Italy. 

Key Points

• A doctoral scholar of the Special Centre for Tamil Studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was allowed access to the manuscripts.
• According to a professor, it could be a copy of the first translation of Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercise in Tamil.
• This translation is most likely by Michele Bertoldi, known in Tamil as Gnanaprakasasamy. 
• This is a prose text from the early 18th Century (likely the 1720s) and has been printed several times in the 19th Century by the Mission Press in Puducherry.
• The library had categorised the manuscripts as ‘Indian Papyrus Lamulic Language–XIII Century’, and the authorities were not aware that it had been written in Tamil. 
• Those in charge of the monastery are of the opinion that the Armenians in Chennai could have brought the manuscripts to Italy.

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6. UNESCO HERITAGE DANGER LIST (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 - Art & Heritage)

Context: The Italian city of Venice should be added to a list of world heritage sites in danger, experts from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have stated in a new report.

Key Points

• Kyiv and Lviv in Ukraine are also on the recommendation for sites to be put on the danger list this year.
• The UNESCO World Heritage property comprises the city of Venice and its lagoon situated in the Veneto region of northeast Italy.
• In February 2023, the city was in the grips of a drought such that Italian lakes and rivers had dried up. In November 2019, historical treasures and buildings were endangered due to flooding.

UNESCO heritage danger list

• The list highlights a number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites which are threatened due to factors like armed conflict and war, earthquakes and other natural disasters, pollution, poaching, uncontrolled urbanisation and unchecked tourist development.
• UNESCO also sets certain guidelines and criteria under the 1972 World Heritage Convention, which decide, whether or not, a property is faced with specific and proven imminent danger or threat.

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7. GAURIKUND PILGRIMAGE SITE (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 - Geography)

Context: Three people have been killed and 17 others are missing after a landslide triggered by heavy rains hit Gaurikund, an important stop on the Kedarnath yatra route in Uttarakhand.

• The Char Dham roads, popularly known as ‘all-weather roads’, are ready. But incidents of extremely intense rains and landslides continue to increase the risk of the yatra.
• Thousands of pilgrims are arriving at the ‘Char Dham’ - the Hindu pilgrimage sites of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath - and the Sikh religious site of Hemkund Sahib even amid weather warnings.

Gauri Kund

• Gauri Kund is a Hindu pilgrimage site and base camp for trek to Kedarnath Temple, in Uttarakhand.
• It is situated at an altitude of 6502 feet above mean sea level in the Garhwal Himalayas.
• Anekadhangavadeswarar is revered in the 7th century Tamil Saiva canonical work, the Tevaram, written by Tamil saint poets known as the nayanars and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam, the 275 temples revered in the canon.
• Gauri Kund is associated with Shiva's wife, Parvati, who is also known as Gauri. 
• This place is also associated with the legend of how Ganesha acquired his elephant head. 

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8. POLYGAMY IN INDIA (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 - Indian Society)

Context: An expert committee formed by the Assam government to examine the legislative competence of the state legislature to enact a law to end polygamy submitted its report to Chief Minister.

• The committee was tasked to scrutinise the provisions of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Act, 1937 along with Article 25 of the Constitution in relation to the Directive Principles of State Policy for a Uniform Civil Code.

Polygamy in India

• The National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-20) showed the prevalence of polygamy was 2.1% among Christians, 1.9% among Muslims, 1.3% among Hindus, and 1.6% among other religious groups.
• The data showed that the highest prevalence of polygynous marriages was in the Northeastern states with tribal populations.
• A list of 40 districts with the highest polygyny rates was dominated by those with high tribal populations.

Legal Provisions

• Hindu Marriage Act 1955: It made Hindu polygamy would be abolished and criminalized.
• Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936: It had outlawed bigamy.
• Muslim Personal Law Application Act (Shariat) of 1937: Polygamy is not prohibited in Muslim legislation because it is recognised as a religious practice, hence they tend to preserve and practice it.

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9. DURAND CUP (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 - Sports)

Context:  The 132nd edition of Durand Cup kicked off in Kokrajhar, Assam. 

• Raksha Mantri graced the opening ceremony, which marked the grand beginning of the annual football competition for the first time in the Assamese city.
• The tournament is organised by the Armed Forces and supported by the Government of Assam.

Durand Cup

• The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, (also called IndianOil Durand Cup Powered by Coal India Limited for sponsorship reasons), is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla.
• The tournament is named after its founder Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, the foreign secretary of India from 1884 to 1894. 
• It was first began as a football tournament for different departments and regiments of Armed forces of India and the princely states.
• Since independence, the army's presence is maintained by the participation of several clubs of different regiments Indian Armed Forces as guest invitees.
• Unlike any other competition around the world winning team is presented with three trophies:
• Durand Cup (Nicknamed The Masterpiece): the original tournament trophy which became a rolling trophy since 1965.
• Shimla Trophy (Nicknamed The Artistry): donated by the residents of Shimla in 1904 to show their passion and support for the tournament, the trophy began to be awarded in rolling since 1965.
• President's Cup (Nicknamed The Pride): a rolling trophy that replaced the Viceroy's Trophy post-independence by the President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad.

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10. GSAT-24 (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Sci & Tech)

Context: Direct-to-home (DTH) service provider Tata Play (formerly Tata Sky), is gearing up to enhance bandwidth capacity by 50%.

• It plans to incorporate 24 new Ku-band transponders on the communication satellite GSAT-24.
• The new capacity will allow Tata Play to offer more channels and services on its platform, besides enhancing the picture quality.

GSAT-24

• NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a Government of India company under Department of Space (DoS) has undertaken GSAT-24 satellite mission as its 1st Demand Driven mission post space reforms.
• It is built by Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO).
• It is a 24-Ku band communication satellite weighing 4180 kg with Pan India coverage for meeting DTH application needs.
• NSIL has leased the entire satellite capacity to M/s Tata Play.
• The satellite was successfully placed into geostationary orbit by the Ariane 5 rocket, operated by French company Arianespace, from Kourou in French Guiana (South America).
• The Ariane 5 has successfully placed two satellites into geostationary orbit: MEASAT-3d for the Malaysian operator MEASAT, and GSAT-24.

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