• Recently, the Appointments Committee of Cabinet has approved the appointment of senior IPS officer Ravi Sinha as the chief of India’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) for a period of two years.

ABOUT RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS WING (R&AW)

• It was established in 1968 to handle the India’s international intelligence affairs.
• After the 1962 China-India war and the Indo-Pakistani war in 1965, India established a separate and distinct external intelligence organization – the Research and Analysis Wing.
• In 1968, then India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi appointed N. Kao as the first director of RAW.
• At present, the intelligence arm operates under the aegis of the Prime Minister’s Office.
• It collects military, economic, scientific, and political intelligence through covert and overt operations.
• The agency is also charged with monitoring terrorist elements and smuggling rings that transport weapons and ammunition into India.

• Recently, tenders floated for implementation of Kalasa Banduri project were put out without obtaining forest and environment clearance.

ABOUT KALASA-BANDURI PROJECT

• Aims to divert water from two tributaries of the Mahadayi river (also known as Mandovi): Kalasa and Banduri to the Malaprabha river.
  • Malaprabha river is a tributary of Krishna river.
• Mahadayi or Mhadei, the west-flowing river, originates in Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary (Western Ghats), Belagavi district of Karnataka and drains into Arabian Sea.
• Entire project aims to construct several dams on the river Mandovi.
• Aimed at facilitating drinking water for towns in drought-hit northern Karnataka.
  • The areas include Dharwad, Belagavi, Bagalkote and Gadag among others.

• Recently, scientists at Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI) have developed the thinnest, lightweight and biodegradable paper-based supercapacitor.

ABOUT BIODEGRADABLE SUPERCAPACITOR

• Supercapacitor is an electrochemical charge storage device with a fast charging/discharging cycle, high power density and a longer lifecycle.
• This supercapacitor which can fully charge a device within 10 seconds, has been developed from seaweed (marine macroalgae).
• Features– high tensile strength and performance, as well as cost-effective
• Applications– electronics, memory backup systems, airbags, heavy machines, electric vehicles, etc.

ABOUT SEAWEEDS

• Seaweeds are macroalgae attached to rock or other substrata and are found in coastal areas.
• They are the primitive, marine non-flowering marine algae without real tissue differentiation between root, stem and leaves
• They are classified as Chlorophyta(green), Rhodophyta (red) and Phaeophyta (brown) based on their pigmentation.
• Green seaweed has a high amount of a particular type of cellulose in its cell wall.
• Large seaweeds form dense underwater forests known as kelp forests, which act as underwater nurseries for fish, snails and sea urchins.

• Grievance Redressal Assessment and Index (GRAI) 2022 was launched recently.
• GRAI 2022 was conceptualised and designed by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Govt. of India based on the recommendation of Parliamentary Standing Committee of Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
• Objective– to present organisation-wise comparative picture and provide valuable insights about strengths and areas of improvement regarding grievance redressal mechanism.
• 89 Central Ministries and Departments were assessed and ranked based on a comprehensive index in the dimensions of (1) Efficiency, (2) Feedback, (3) Domain and (4) Organisational Commitment and corresponding 12 indicators.
• GRAI has highlighted that time taken in disposing of grievances declined from 32 days in 2021 to 18 days in 2023.
• Data between January and December 2022, was used from the Centralised Public Grievance Redressal and Management System (CPGRAMS).

ABOUT CENTRALISED PUBLIC GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CPGRAMS)

• It is an online web-enabled system developed by National Informatics Centre (Ministry of Electronics & IT [MeitY]), in association with Directorate of Public Grievances (DPG) and Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).
• It aims to enable submission of grievances by the aggrieved citizens from anywhere and anytime (24×7).
• It is a single portal connected to all the Ministries/Departments of Government of India and States.
• Available in 22 scheduled languages along with English.

• World Economic Forum(WEF) recently released the Gender Gap Report- 2023.

MAJOR FINDINGS

• At the current rate of progress, it will take 131 years to reach full parity.
• Iceland with 91.2% takes the top spot along with Norway (87.9%) and Finland (86.3%)

• Iceland is the only one to have closed more than 90% of its gender gap.

• Overall, the Southern Asian region has achieved 63.4% gender parity, the second-lowest of the eight regions.
• As per the latest report, India has been ranked at 127 out of 146 countries in terms of gender equality.
• According to the report, India had attained parity in enrolment across all levels of education.
  • India had closed 64.3% of the overall gender gap.
• However, it underlined that India had reached only 36.7 % parity on economic participation and opportunity.
• On political empowerment, India has registered 3% parity, with women representing 15.1% of parliamentarians — the highest for the country since the inaugural report in 2006.
• The index ranked India’s neighbours Pakistan at 142, Bangladesh at 59, China at 107, Nepal at 116, Sri Lanka at 115 and Bhutan at 103.

• A four-day district-level Ashadh Nag Mela began at the ancient Nag temple at Banikhet in Chamba district recently with a shobha yatra.

• China inked an agreement with Pakistan to set up a 1,200-megawatt nuclear power plant Chashma-V at Chashma in the Mianwali district of Punjab.

• Petteri Orpo, the leader of the conservative party in Finland, has been elected as the country’s prime minister by the parliament.
• He will lead a coalition government comprising four parties.

• A. Bhavani Devi, an Olympian from Chennai, made history by securing India’s first-ever medal at the Asian fencing championships held in Wuxi, China.
• Bhavani’s outstanding performance and determination earned her a well-deserved bronze medal in this prestigious event.

• The term “Blue Ocean Event” refers to a hypothetical event in which the Arctic Ocean becomes ice-free during the summer months.
• It describes a scenario where the extent of sea ice in the Arctic has melted to such a degree that only small, scattered patches or a completely ice-free ocean surface remains.
• BOE represents a critical tipping point in the Arctic system, as more sea ice melts, it reduces the amount of sunlight reflected into space, leading to further warming and ice loss.