- Swaminathan, Rao, Charan Singh to get Bharat Ratna
- The Bharat Ratna will be conferred on the former prime ministers PV Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh as well as Green Revolution Pioneer MS Swaminathan.
- Two awardees already were announced earlier this year including Karpoori Thakur and LK Advani.
- The 5 tally of Bharat Ratna Awardees is the highest that has ever been announced in a single year after the four announced in 1999.
- Four of the five awards announced this year are posthumous.
- ‘Bharat Ratna’, the highest civilian Award of the country, was instituted in the year 1954. Any person without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex is eligible for these awards. It is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour.
2. Centre accounts for 60% of India’s debt, Kerala tells Supreme Court
- The state of Kerala told the Supreme Court that the union government accounts for approximately 60% of the total debt or outstanding liabilities of India.
- The statement was a retort to an accusation by the centre that Kerala was one of the most financially unhealthy states.
- Kerala said all the states put together account for the rest of the 40% of the total depth of the country.
3. Can preamble be amended keeping the date intact, asks Supreme Court
- The Supreme Court asked if the preamble of the constitution could have been amended without changing the date of its adoption on November 26th 1949.
- The preamble was amended only once in December 1976 by the Indira Gandhi government to introduce the words Socialist and secular and the phrase unity of the nation was replaced with unity and integrity of the nation.
- The changes were made in the preamble through the 42nd constitutional amendment during the emergency.
- The largest bench in the history of the Supreme Court in the Keshavananda Bharti case had held that preamble was an integral part of this constitution and was subject to the amending power of the parliament provided that basic structure was not tinkered with.
4. Cabinet nod to spectrum for Railways without TRAI reply
- A day after the telecom regulatory authority of India floated a consultation paper on whether Indian railways should be able to get wireless spectrum for caring real time data that would enhance passenger safety, the Union government approved the proposal even though the response was pending.
- The railways had sought additional 5 Megahertz of paired spectrum free of charge in the 700 MHz banned in July last year.
- The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was established on 20th February, 1997 by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.TRAI regulates telecom services including fixation/revision of tariffs for telecom services which were earlier vested in the Central Government.
5. India Saudi Arabia joint military exercise ends
- The maiden joined military exercise Sada Tanseeq Between the Indian Army and the Royal Saudi land force concluded in Jaipur on Friday.
- The 12th Day exercise seemed to achieve interoperability between the two forces and acquaint each other with operational procedures and combat drills under the UN mandate.
- SADA TANSEEQ is a joint military exercise conducted between the armed forces of India and Saudi Arabia. The exercise is designed to enhance the capabilities and interoperability.
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- Feb 10 – To Raise Awareness about Pulses and its Fundamental role played by it in Production, Nutrition and Better Environment, since 2018 with resolution United Nations General Assembly. Theme : Pulses, Nourishing Soils and People (2024).
