• The Supreme Court declined to entertain a writ petition seeking an independent audit of the source code governing the entire Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) system.
  • A ‘source code’ is a set of written instructions to a machine’s hardware.
  • It provides a virtual window into the inner workings and processes of an electronic device.
• The petitioner had submitted that the independent audit should be undertaken by applying the IEEE 1028 standard.
  • This is a well-established standard for software reviews and audits fixed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the world’s largest technical professional organization (HQ: Piscataway, New Jersey, USA).
• The Supreme Court, however, said the Election Commission of India (ECI) was constitutionally entrusted with the superintendence and control of the polls and no material has been provided to show that the ECI was in breach of its constitutional mandate.

FACTS ABOUT EVMS

• EVM is a microcontroller-based portable instrument and does not require electricity and run on an ordinary battery.
• MB Haneefa invented the first Indian voting machine in 1980.
• It was first used in 1981 in the by-election to North Paravur Assembly Constituency of Kerala in 50 polling stations.
• The EVMs were commissioned in 1989 by Election Commission of India in collaboration with Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited.
• The law was amended by the Parliament in December, 1988 and a new section 61A was inserted in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 empowering the Commission to use voting machines.
  • The amended provision came into force with effect from 15th March, 1989.

• The committee constituted by the government to look into the contentious issue of legal cultivation of cannabis in Himachal for non-narcotic purpose has recommended the go ahead to farming under stringent regulations.

• The committee, headed by Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, submitted its report to CM, who tabled it in the Vidhan Sabha.
• Non-narcotic uses-
  • Food, textiles, paper, construction material, furniture, cosmetics, biofuels, healthcare products
  • Cannabidiol compounds effective in treating cancer, epilepsy, chronic pain
• Panel recommendations
  • Amendments to the NDPS Act, 1985;
  • developing SOPs for cultivation; and
  • forming a state-level authority to function as single window system
  • Creation of seed banks and a fund for research, development
  • Specialised excise staff for regulation, monitoring.

• International Day of Sign Languages is observed annually on September 23^rd to raise awareness about the crucial role sign language plays in upholding the human rights of individuals who are deaf.
• The theme for this year is “A World Where Deaf People Everywhere Can Sign Anywhere!”.

• The Foreign Ministers of the 69 group of nations held a meeting on the sidelines of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly to exchange views on reform of the United Nations Security Council.
• The leaders called the expansion of the UNSC “essential” to make the body “more representative, legitimate, and effective.”
• The L.69 group consists of developing nations from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific (Small Island Developing States).
• They are united by a common desire to achieve comprehensive reform of UNSC and strengthen multilateralism.
• India is a member.

• The Mobile Application and the Web Portal for General Crop Estimation Survey (GCES) was launched recently.
• It is developed by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• Portal and the app provide a comprehensive repository of yield estimation including village wise GCES plans.
• One of the key features of the mobile application is Geo referencing– it enables the primary worker to draw the boundary of the experimental plot and upload photos of the plot as well as of the crops through it.

• The National Medical Commission (NMC) of India has been awarded the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) Recognition status for a tenure of 10 years.
  • The National Medical Commision, NMC, is India’s premier regulatory body overseeing medical education and practice.
• This will enable Indian medical graduates to pursue postgraduate training and practice in other countries that require WFME recognition, such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
• After this development, all 706 existing medical colleges in India have become WFME accredited.
• Moreover, the new medical colleges that will be set up in the coming 10 years will also become WFME accredited.

ABOUT WORLD FEDERATION FOR MEDICAL EDUCATION

• The World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) is a global organisation dedicated to enhancing the quality of medical education worldwide.
• Established in 1972 in Copenhagen.
• Headquarters– Ferney-Voltaire, France.
• The organisation is currently registered in the UK and France.

• The endangered Indian Skimmer was spotted along the Ghaghra river at Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.

ABOUT INDIAN SKIMMER

• Indian Skimmer is an unusual looking bird with a striking red, orange beak where the lower bill is longer than the upper bill.
• Also known as Indian scissors bill.
• Characteristics
  • It measures 40 to 43 cm in length and has a wingspan of 110 cm.
  • It feeds by opening its mouth and skimming the top of river water with its lower bill for fish, larvae and shrimps.
  • They breed between February to June and raise one to three chicks per clutch.
• Less than 6,500 Indian Skimmers are left globally.
• Global distribution- North Indian rivers, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
• About 20% of the total population nests along river Chambal.
• IUCN red list status- Endangered.

GHAGRA- A SAFE HAVEN

• Ghaghra, a sanctuary for numerous threatened species, serves as one of the last strongholds for the critically endangered gharial and Gangetic dolphin in UP.
• Both Gharial and Indian Skimmer need suitable sandbars to nest.
• Ghaghra has many sand islands all along its length.
• Indian Skimmers are highly threatened species and are extremely vulnerable to habitat loss.
• Threats– Sand mining, agricultural activities, cattle movement and human disturbance are major threats to sandbar habitats of the bird, which are seasonally formed during summers.

• India has won its bid to host the prestigious International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement (ICCC) in 2027, a gathering that brings together global leaders, scholars, and industry professionals to discuss advancements in cement research.
• National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCCBM) and IIT Delhi, effectively presented India’s bid.
• India clinched the bid over competing nations UAE and Switzerland.
  • The last conference in India took place in 1992 in the national capital.

ABOUT ICCC

• ICCC is a premier event that critically assesses the advancements in cement and concrete research
• It has been held approximately every four to six years since 1918.
• Permanent Secretariat– Dusseldorf, Germany

ABOUT NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR CEMENT AND BUILDING MATERIALS

• NCCBM is a premier research and development organisation dedicated to research, technology development, education, and industrial services for the cement, allied building materials, and construction industries.
• It operates under Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
• India boasts the world’s second-largest cement industry with an installed capacity of 600 million tonnes.

• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare launched an AI chatbot — the first of its kind to be integrated with a major flagship scheme of the central government — for the PM-KISAN scheme.
• It has been developed and improved with the support of EkStep foundation and Bhashini.
• The introduction of the AI Chatbot in the PM-KISAN grievance management system is aimed at empowering farmers with a user-friendly and accessible platform.
• The chatbot is currently available in English, Hindi, Bengali, Odia and Tamil, and will soon be available in all 22 official languages of the country.

ABOUT PRADHAN MANTRI KISAN SAMMAN NIDHI (PM-KISAN) SCHEME

• PM-KISAN is a central sector scheme launched in February 2019 to support the financial needs of land-holding farmers in India.
• The scheme offers an annual financial benefit of Rs 6,000/- in three equal instalments to eligible farmers’ families through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.
• Since its inception, over Rs. 2.61 Lakhs Crores disbursed to more than 11 Crore farmers so far, it stands as one of the largest DBT schemes globally.
• The scheme has played a vital role in providing income support to landholder farmer families across the country with cultivable land.

• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister recently unveiled a 108-foot-tall statue of the 8th-century spiritual leader Adi Shankaracharya in Omkareshwar town.
• The foundation stone for a Rs 2,200-crore ‘Advait Lok’, which will contain a museum, situated on Omkareshwar Mandhata Hill, overlooking the Narmada river, was also laid.

ABOUT STATUE OF ONENESS

• The ‘Statue of Oneness’, conceptualised around six years ago, depicts Shankaracharya as a 12-year-old child when he is said to have visited Omkareshwar, which has one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines — said to be the most sacred abodes of Shiva.
  • Adi Shankaracharya, who was born in what is now Kerala, is said to have arrived at Omkareshwar as a young monk, where he encountered his guru Govind Bhagwadpad, resided in the sacred city for four years, and received his education.
• Weighing 100 tonnes, the statue was conceptualised by an Indian team of artists, a sculptor and engineers.
• The metal casting was done in China’s Nanchang city and shipped to Mumbai in several batches.
• The idol, installed on a 75-foot platform, is made up of bronze that contains 88% copper, 4% zinc and 8% tin.
  • Its internal structure is made-up of high-quality steel.
• The design for the statue was conceptualised by painter Vasudeo Kamath, who found inspiration in Raja Ravi Verma’s depiction of Shankaracharya.