- Denied entry into India for Karnataka event
- An Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) and Professor at the University of Westminster alleged that she was denied entry to India to speak on democratic and constitutional values
- The Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) Scheme was introduced by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955 in August 2005 The Scheme provides for registration as Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) of all Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs)
- Who were citizens of India on 26th January, 1950 or thereafter Or were eligible to become citizens of India on 26th January, 1950 Except who is or had been a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or such other country as the Central Government may specify
- A registered Overseas Citizen of India is granted multiple entry, multipurpose, life-long visa for visiting India
- Grounds for Cancellation of registration as OCI
- The Central Government may, by order, cancel the registration granted under sub-section(1) of section 7A if it is satisfied that OCI was obtained by means of fraud, false representation or the concealment of any material fact
- The OCI has shown disaffection towards the Constitution of India as by law established
- OCI has, during any war in which India may bee engaged, unlawfully traded or communicated with an enemy or been engaged in Or associated with, any business or commercial activity that was to his knowledge carried on in such manner as to assist an enemy in that war OCI has, within five years after registration under sub-section(1) of section 7A has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years
- Why are these rules important? In the interest of
- The sovereignty and integrity of India The security of India Friendly relations of India with any foreign country
- In the interests of the general public
2. Discovery of temples in Telangana shows spread of Chalukya reign
- A recent discovery shows that the village of Mudimanikyam on the banks of river Krishna was part of the kingdom ruled by Badami Chalukyas
- The distance between Mudimanikyam in Telangana and Badami in Karnataka is nearly 500 km
- Also discovered an inscription that is dated to the rulers of Badami Chalukyas who ruled between 543 AD and 750 AD
- This new information expands the historical extent of that realm
- The temples show Deccan cosmopolitanism
- Where there is space for more than two religions
- Along with Brahmanical religion, there was space for Buddhism and Jainism
3. IGNCA’s language atlas’ to shine a light on India’s linguistic diversity
- A proposed linguistic survey across the country by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) can provide the answer on the actual number of languages that can be considered to be “active” in the country
- It aims to enumerate how many languages are spoken and in which States and regions The IGNCA is an autonomous body under the Union Culture Ministry
- India recognises 22 languages officially
- These are part of Schedule 8 of the Indian Constitution
- According to Census data – 97% of the Indian population speaks one of the 22 languages There are an additional 99 non-scheduled languages included in the Census
- According to the 2011 Census, around 37.8 million people identify one of the 99 non-Scheduled languages as their mother tongue
- The native language of 1.2 million people remains unaccounted for
- Due to the decision not to include languages with less than 10,000 speakers in the Census since 1971
- Many of these languages not recorded in the official Census records are spoken by tribal communities
- Of all the Census surveys the official Census of 1961 was the most exhaustive and detailed with respect to linguistic data
- In this Census, even languages with a single speaker were included in the records
4. Blanets – Worlds around black holes
- Blanets, as are all planets that orbit not stars but black holes
- In 2019, a handful of scientists in Japan theorised that planets could form in the massive dust and gas clouds that astronomers have observed near supermassive black holes However, these planets aren’t expected to be anything like the earth
- These blanets are expected to be about 3,000-times as large as the earth
- They will have to orbit the black hole at a distance of about 100 trillion km
- Far enough for the black hole to not rip the blanet apart just as it’s being born
5. IMEC and Red Sea
- The Red Sea owes its strategic importance for global trade to the Bab el-Mandab Strait which lies between Yemen and Djibouti
- India’s trade with European and North African countries flows entirely through the Red Sea route
- Which is almost 24% of its exports and 14% of its imports
- As per the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), rising threats have prompted Indian exporters to hold back around 25% of their cargo ships transitioning through the Red Sea
- But – Global supply chains are battling delayed shipments and rising costs
- China is actively projecting China-Europe freight trains as an alternate route
- Which are part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
- The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) was announced during the G-20 summit in 2023
- It is estimated to cut the journey time from India to Europe by 40%
- And slash transit costs by 30% Another major challenge is the vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz
- The entire trade of the IMEC architecture flows through the Strait of Hormuz
- With Iran’s proximity and control over the strait, the risk of disruptions remain very high But – This can be avoided by including Oman in the IMEC architecture and keeping the supply chain away from Iran’s reach
- How to make IMEC viable?
- An empirical study on the economic benefits of the corridor needs to be conducted
- To attract stakeholders (governments, international organisations, and private sector entities)
- A robust financial framework needs to be in place
- A comprehensive multi-nation operational framework is needed
- The corridor involves facilitating trade across different legal systems
- A forum for the corridor needs to be constituted to undertake the aforementioned activities
6. Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) for 2022-23
- The urban-rural consumption divide has narrowed to 71% in 2022-23 from a peak of 91% in 2004-05
- So inequality is declining
- Less than 5% of Indians are now expected to be below the poverty line
- But rural households’ spending on food has dropped below 50% of total expenditure for the first time
7. Khelo India Winter Games
- Bhavani Thekkada Nanjunda, from Napoklu village in Karnataka’s Kodagu district
- The athlete won three golds by competing on the snow slopes at an altitude of 4,000 m in the Khelo India Winter Games
- 10-km Nordic ski
- 1.6-km sprint
- 5-km sprint
- The mascot — Snow Leopard
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Government of India has initiated a scheme to empower entrepreneurship and skill training named Rashtriya Udayamita Vikas Pariyojana. It aim to benefit PM SVANidhi Beneficiaries. Collaboration with Flipkart. Under Ministry of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
