• Senior IAS officer Radha Raturi was appointed as the first woman chief secretary of Uttarakhand.
• Raturi, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1988 batch, replaces Sukhbir Singh Sandhu
• She is the first woman to hold the top administrative post in Uttarakhand.

• Chennai Metro Rail has become the first metro service to be included in the ONDC Network, marking a significant step forward in digital commerce for metro services.
• The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an initiative by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), has introduced ticketing services for passengers using the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd.

ABOUT ONDC

• Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a network based on open protocol and will enable local commerce across segments, such as mobility, grocery, food order and delivery, hotel booking and travel, among others, to be discovered and engaged by any network-enabled application.
• The platform aims to create new opportunities, curb digital monopolies and by supporting micro, small and medium enterprises and small traders and help them get on online platforms.

• Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko set a world record for the most time spent in space.
• He spent over 878 days and 12 hours outside the Earth’s atmosphere, totalling nearly two and a half years.
  • He has surpassed the milestone of his compatriot Gennady Padalka, who was in space for a total of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes and 48 seconds across five space journeys before retiring in 2017.

MORE ABOUT OLEG KONONENKO

• Oleg Kononenko, who is the commander of the Russian space agency Roscosmos cosmonaut corps, is on his fifth space mission.
• Alongside fellow Russian Nikolai Chub and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara, he began his current mission to the International Space Station on September 15, 2023.
• He will complete 1000 days in space on June 5, this year, making him the first person to achieve this feat. Further, he will have spent 1,110 days in space when his current expedition trip, which is planned to end on September 23, is completed.

• The International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation is held annually on February 6^th.
• The theme for this year is “Her Voice. Her Future”

ABOUT FGM

• Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve altering or injuring the female genitalia for non-medical reasons and is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights, the health and the integrity of girls and women.
• United Nations strives for its full elimination by 2030, following the spirit of Sustainable Development Goal 5.
• Since 2008, UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, leads the largest global programme to accelerate the elimination of female genital mutilation.
• The Joint Programme currently focuses on 17 countries in Africa and the Middle East and also supports regional and global initiatives.

• The Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) has finalised and recommended, quality standards for five spices — allspice, juniper berries, star anise, turmeric, and cardamom recently, to the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) for adoption as full -fledged Codex standards.
• The Committee is chaired by India and Spices Board India functions as its Secretariat.
• R. Sudharshan is the current Chairman of the Committee.
• The seventh plenary session of the CCSCH, held in Kochi, was the first physical meeting after a gap of five years.
• As many as 109 delegates from 31 countries attended the five-day long meeting.

ABOUT CODEX STANDARDS

• These are international food texts, including- standards, codes of practice, codes of hygienic practice, guidelines and other recommendations.
• Codex texts are voluntary and not binding on national food laws.
• Codex standards are globally important because they are prepared by intergovernmental committees, are referred to resolve international trade disputes and also form the basis of aligning national standards by Codex member countries.
• Standards in Codex are finalized through an 8-step process, with reviews at several stages, using working groups chaired by member countries.

ABOUT CAC

• The Codex Alimentarius Commission(CAC) is an international food standards body established jointly by the Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)in May 1963 with the objective of protecting consumer’s health and ensuring fair practices in food trade.
• Headquarters- Rome, Italy
• It conducts its work through various Codex committees, including CCSCH, hosted by different member countries.
• The commission has 189 Codex Members including India.

• The state of California in USA has been battered by incessant rains caused by the atmospheric river storms.

 ABOUT ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS

• Atmospheric Rivers indicate long narrow, elongated corridors of concentrated moisture transport associated with extratropical cyclones.
• These are largest transport mechanisms of freshwater on Earth.
• Strong landfall results in huge amounts of precipitation in short periods of time leading to flooding and mudslides.
• The term “Pineapple Express” is sometimes used to refer to atmospheric rivers that originate near Hawaii and travel eastwards towards the west coast of North America.
• Characteristics of Atmospheric Rivers
  • Typically formed in the tropics or subtropics where warm ocean surfaces evaporate water into the air.
  • Develop within the low-level jet stream, a fast-flowing, narrow air current.
  • The structure of an AR is like a narrow ribbon or corridor of moisture, often extending from the equator to higher latitudes.
  • Can transport vast amounts of water vapor

• NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) in partnership with Lyra, a French leader in securing e-commerce and proximity payments, has announced the acceptance of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment mechanism in France starting with the iconic Eiffel Tower.
  • Indian tourists rank as the second largest group of international visitors to the Eiffel Tower.
• UPI can be accepted internationally only if the payment operator in the home country has an arrangement with a similar payment operator in the overseas country.
• France has become the first European country to accept UPI.

ABOUT NIPL

• NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) was incorporated on April 3, 2020, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
• As the international arm of NPCI, NIPL is devoted for deployment of NPCI’s indigenous, successful Real-Time Payment System – Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Card Scheme – RuPay, outside of India.

• The death anniversary of Indian mathematician and physicist, Satyendra Nath Bose was observed on 4^th

ABOUT S N BOSE

• Born- January 1^st, 1894 in Calcutta
• He started his career in 1916 as a lecturer in physics at Calcutta University.
• Along with Meghnad Saha, he established modern theoretical physics in India.
• Bose wrote a brief article titled “Planck’s Law and the Hypothesis of Light Quanta”.
  • In agreement with him, his article was translated by Einstein into German and published in Zeitschrift für Physik in 1924 under Bose’s name.
• Satyendra Nath Bose collaborated with Einstein to develop the Bose-Einstein statistics and developing the theory of Bose-Einstein condensates.
  • Einstein applied Bose’s method to give theory of ideal quantum gas, and predicted phenomenon of Bose-Einstein Condensation (BEC).
  • BEC is a state of matter in which separate atoms or subatomic particles, cooled to near absolute zero (0 Kelvin/ -273.15 ⁰C), coalesce into a single quantum mechanical entity.
  • This single quantum entity can be described by a wave function, on a near-macroscopic scale.
• Awards and accolades
  • Rabindranath Tagore’s sole work of science, Visva-Parichay, was dedicated to Satyendra Nath Bose
  • He also received the Padma Vibhushan
  • In 1958, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society, London.
  • Satyendra Nath Bose received the nation’s highest honour for a scholar in 1959 when he was named the National Professor, a position he held for 15 years.
  • The SN Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences was named after him in Calcutta in 1986.
• He died in Kolkata on February 4, 1974.

ABOUT BOSONS

• In particle physics, a boson is a subatomic particle whose spin quantum number has an integer value.
• Bosons form one of the two fundamental classes of subatomic particle, the other being fermions, which have odd half-integer spin.
• Every observed subatomic particle is either a boson or a fermion.

• PM recently laid the foundation stone for Maa Kamakhya Divya Lok Pariyojana under PM’s Development Initiative for North Eastern Region (PM-DevINE) scheme.
• The Kamakhya Corridor appears to be a replica of the Kashi-Vishwanath Temple Corridor in Varanasi.
• With a budget allocation of Rs 498 crore, the project aims to upgrade the infrastructure surrounding the revered Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati.

ABOUT THE TEMPLE

• The Kamakhya temple is one of the biggest Shakti peethas in the country.
• Situated on the Nilachal hills, this temple is an important pilgrimage centre for tantric worshippers and Hindus.
• The former temple was destroyed by Kala Pahar, which was later reconstructed in 1565 by Chilarai, who was the reigning king of the Koch dynasty.
• This temple is dedicated to different forms of Mother Shakti, namely Sundari, Tripura, Tara, Bhuvaneshvari, Bagalamukhi and Chinnamasta.
• Dedicated to different forms of Lord Shiva, there are five temples within the complex of Kamakhya temple.
• In addition, the temple complex also houses three temples of Lord Vishnu, present in the form of Kedara, Gadadhara and Pandunath.
• The architecture of the temple is a combination of Nagara style and Saracenic style.
• Ambubachi Mela is one of the major festivals of this temple.
  • It is held every year to commemorate the yearly menstruation of Goddess Kamakhya.

• The 69^th edition of the Filmfare Awards 2024 took place in GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

AWARDS ACROSS CATEGORIES

• Best Film: 12th Fail
• Best Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra for 12th Fail
• Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male): Ranbir Kapoor for Animal
• Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female): Alia Bhatt for Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male): Vicky Kaushal for Dunki
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female): Shabana Azmi for Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani
• Best Music Album: Animal
• Best Playback Singer (Male): Bhupinder Babbal for “Arjan Vailly” from Animal
• Best Playback Singer (Female): Shilpa Rao for “Besharam Rang” from Pathaan
• Best Story: Amit Rai for OMG 2, Devashish Makhija for Joram
• Best Screenplay: Vidhu Vinod Chopra for 12th Fail
• Best Dialogue: Ishita Moitra for Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani
• Best Background Score: Harshavardhan Rameshwar for Animal
• Best Cinematography: Avinash Arun Dhaware for Three of Us
• Best Sound Design: Kunal Sharma (MPSE) for Sam Bahadur, Sync Cinema for Animal
• Best Debut Director: Tarun Dudeja for Dhak Dhak
• Best Debut Male: Aditya Rawal for Faraaz
• Best Debut Female: Alizeh Agnihotri for Farrey
• Lifetime Achievement Award: David Dhawan