• The Centre constituted a six-member committee to examine various issues relating to the queer community.
• The panel will be headed by the Cabinet secretary. The Secretary, Department of Home, Secretary of Ministry of Women and Child Development, Secretary of Department of Health and Family Welfare, Secretary of Legislative Department and Secretary of Department of Social Justice and Empowerment are among other members of the committee.
• The move comes months after the Supreme Court refused to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages asserting the matter should be dealt by the Parliament.
• On October 17, 2023, the apex court directed the Centre to constitute a committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary to examine the issues related to the queer community.
• The committee will suggest measures to ensure that the queer community does not encounter any discrimination in accessing goods and services, social welfare schemes, or face threat of violence among others.

Supriyo Vs Union of India case

• The petitioners challenged the validity of Section 4 (c) of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 on that ground that the provision discriminates against same sex couple by denying them benefits such as adoption, surrogacy, employment and retirement benefits.

About LGBTQIA+ Community:

• The “L, G” and “B” refer to sexual orientation, meaning those to which one is attracted, most often referring to lesbian or gay.
• Bisexual is an attraction to both males and females.
• Transgender refers to one who identifies as a sex other than was named at birth.
• The Q indicates questioning and queer.
• Questioning is a label one might use to convey they are exploring their identity and may not want to label themselves while Queer is often used to identify oneself as a member of the LGBTQIA++ community.
• The “I” speaks to intersex in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male.
• ‘A’ refers to asexual who do not have sexual feelings.
• ‘++’ suggests openness and inclusivity.

• The World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced the 20th edition of its Young Global Leaders Community: The Class of 2024. The list includes nearly 90 individuals under the age of 40 from diverse fields, including politics, business, civil society, the arts, and academia.
• This year, five Indians have been selected for the Young Global Leaders program. They are:
  • Bhumi Pednekar (Art and Culture) – Bollywood actress known for films like “Dum Laga Ke Haisha”, “Toilet: Ek Prem Katha”, and “Badhaai Do”
  • Adwaita Nayar (Business) – Chief Executive Officer, Nyka Fashion
  • Arjun Bhartia (Business) – Director, Jubilant Group
  • Priya Aggarwal Hebbar (Business) – Non-Executive Director, Vedanta Limited
  • Sharad Vivek Sagar (Social Entrepreneurs) – Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Dexterity Global

About the Young Global Leaders Program

• The WEF’s Young Global Leaders program was launched in 2005 and aims to identify the future generation of leaders who can contribute to addressing the world’s most pressing challenges. The program includes a three-year leadership development curriculum, executive education courses, learning journeys, and opportunities to collaborate with peers.

The World Economic Forum

• The World Economic Forum is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Cologny, Switzerland. It was established in 1971 by Klaus Schwab with the goal of promoting public-private cooperation to address global issues.

• GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) has won the prestigious ‘Best Airport Staff in India & South Asia 2024’ award by Skytrax.
• The award was announced at a glittering ceremony held on 17th April at the Passenger Terminal EXPO 2024 in Frankfurt, Germany.
• Hyderabad Airport emerged as the number one airport among all participating airports in India and South Asia.

About Skytrax:

• Skytrax is a global air transport rating organisation, having evaluated airports and airlines worldwide since 1989.
• It assigns star ratings from 1 to 5 stars based on diverse assessments that significantly impact the passenger experience.

• Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bachchan will be honoured with the prestigious third Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar award for his remarkable dedication to the nation, its people, and society.
• Music maestro A R Rahman will receive the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Puraskar for contribution to Indian music.
• The award will also be presented to non-profit organisation Deepstambh Foundation Manobal for services in the field of social service.
• The Ashtavinayak Prakashit’s “Galib”, produced by Malhar and Vajreshwari, will be recognised as the best drama of the year.
• Marathi writer Manjiri Phadke will receive Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Puraskar (Vagvilasini Puraskar) for contribution to literature, while actor Randeep Hooda will be feted with the Vishesh Puraskar for contribution to cinema.
• Veteran actors Ashok Saraf and Padmini Kolhapure will be honoured with Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Puraskar for their contribution to cinema.
• The recipients also include Roopkumar Rathod for his contribution to the field of music, Bhau Torsekar for editorial services and Atul Parchure for services to theatre and drama.

About Award:

• It was established by the Deenanath Mangeshkar Smriti Pratishthan in memory of the late legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar on February 6, 2022.
• Previous recipients of this esteemed award include Prime Minister Narendra Modi and popular singer Asha Bhosale.

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised India’s growth forecast for 2024-25 to 6.8% from 6.5% on the back of strong domestic demand and a rising working-age population.
• The Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, estimates the economy to grow at 7% in the current financial year that started on April 1.
• The IMF estimates Asia’s third largest economy’s gross domestic product to grow at 6.5% in the next financial year.
• It projected global output growth in 2024 and 2025 at 3.2%, after bottoming out at at 2.3% at the end of 2022.

• The “Tirangi Barfi” of Kashi, a sweet treat regarded as the “sweet weapon” of freedom fighters during the Quit India Movement, has finally received the prestigious Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
• The GI Registry awarded GI certification not only to the Banaras Tirangi Barfi but also to five other Uttar Pradesh products.
• These include Banaras Metal Casting Craft, Lakhimpur Kheri Tharu Embroidery, Bareilly Cane and Bamboo craft, Bareilly Zardozi Craft, and Pilkhuwa Hand Block Print Textile.
• Uttar Pradesh now retains its position as the state with the most GI-tagged products in India, reaching a total of 75. Tamil Nadu follows behind with 58 GI products.

• The Government has appointed Vice Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, PVSM, AVSM, NM, as the next Chief of the Naval Staff with effect from the afternoon of April 30, 2024.
• The present Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral R Hari Kumar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM retires from service on April 30, 2024.
• The Vice Admiral DK Tripathi has commanded Indian Naval Ships Vinash, Kirch and Trishul. He has also held various important operational and staff appointments which include Fleet Operations Officer of the Western Fleet; Director of Naval Operations; Principal Director, Network Centric Operations and Principal Director, Naval Plans at New Delhi.

• Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has launched India’s First ‘medical devices calibration facility on wheels.
• This has been developed by IIT Madras under its ‘Anaivarukkum IITM’ (IITM for all) Initiatives.
• This mobile facility will ensure pervasive quality healthcare irrespective of geographical locations across the country. This will help to test and maintain medical devices that are used in wide range of hospitals including those in villages at their doorsteps.
• This initiative boosts the United National Sustainable Development Goal 3, which calls for Health and well-being for all.
• The infrastructure available in this mobile unit include state-of-the-art equipment to test the safety of medical devices and their functionalities as per international standards.

• The Retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and former UN official Bhimeswara Challa has unveiled his latest book India—the Road to Renaissance: A Vision and an Agenda at an event at the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Bella Vista campus.

• Sanjana Sanghi, a prominent Bollywood actress and UNDP Youth Champion, has been appointed as the Brand Ambassador for SPACE India, a leading space education organization.

ABOUT SPACE INDIA:

• Founded in 2001, SPACE India has inspired over 1.5 Million students and facilitated the integration of Astronomy and Space Science into the curriculum of 1,000 schools pan India.
• With a rich legacy spanning over 24 years in Astronomy, Space Science and STEM education, SPACE India has consistently pursued its purpose while keeping it aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG).