• An advanced wound care product developed by the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), named Cholederm, has won the approval of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) as a Class D medical device.
• Cholederm is a wound healing material derived from the extracellular matrix of the de-cellularised gall bladder of pigs and tissue engineered as membrane forms of a scaffold.
• It healed different types of skin wounds including burn and diabetic wounds in rats, rabbits or dogs etc. faster than similar products currently available in the market
• It is the first indigenously developed product to meet all regulatory requirements.
• The scaffold modulated the scarring reactions in subcutaneous, skeletal-muscle and cardiac tissues.
• It is the Central Drug Authority for discharging functions assigned to the Central Government under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940.
• It works under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
• Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI):
• DCGI is the head of the department of the CDSCO of the Government of India responsible for approval of licences of specified categories of drugs such as blood and blood products, IV fluids, vaccines and sera in India.

• Recently, Justice Clocks have been installed across the court complexes of high courts.
• Justice Clock is a LED display message sign board system (electronic signage system).
• It is to make effective use of database created through National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) and to make the information available to public.
• Initiative of Ministry of Law and Justice.
• Aim – To bring awareness to the public about justice sector, advertising the various schemes of the department and to give status of various fields to the public.
• Contents displayed – The clock will display the schemes of the Department of Justice and how citizens can benefit from the projects such as e-Courts, Access to Justice and Legal Aid to Poor.
• At present the following contents are being displayed
• Live Case Status (The details of ongoing cases in respective Court rooms are displayed during Court proceedings.)
• Case Pendency in District Courts
• E-courts videos
• NJDG Public Portal and District Court Services videos
• A total of 39 Justice Clocks are functional in 25 High Courts.

• The Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) certifies 98 Trainers trained in the cluster-based Training of Trainers project under the SANKALP programme.

ABOUT SANKALP PROGRAMME:

• The Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) programme was launched in
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE)
• It is a World Bank loan-assisted project and is aligned with the overall objectives of the National Skill Development Mission (NSDM).
• The project focuses on transforming the overall skilling ecosystem of India, covering both central and state-level agencies for improved outcomes.
• It also encourages innovative best practices at the local level, resulting in enhanced access, quality and capacity in the skilling ecosystem and improved access to and completion of skills training for female trainees and other disadvantaged groups.
• Strategy: Under SANKALP four key result areas have been identified viz –
• Institutional Strengthening (at National, State & District level)
• Quality Assurance Quality Assurance of skill development programs;
• Inclusion of marginalised population in skill development; and
• Expanding Skills through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).

• The Time Release Study (TRS), a performance evaluation instrument, calculates how long it takes to release cargo from customs facilities.
• It calculates the time it takes for cargo to arrive and be free of charge for domestic clearance for imports and for cargo to arrive and be carried away by the carrier for exports.
• The report examines the country’s major entrance and shipping points, including seaports, air cargo complexes (ACCs), inland container depots (ICDs) and integrated check posts (ICPs).

KEY CONCLUSIONS:

• The results underline the significance of the “Path to Promptness” strategy, which includes rewards for dependable clients, risk-based facilitation, and early filing of import documentation. All port categories for cargoes that include all three criteria meet the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan release time target.
• The NTRS 2023 focuses more emphasis on assessing export release time in line with the government’s focus on export promotion.
• The report makes a distinction between physical clearance (the end of the logistics procedures) and regulatory clearance (customs release). When taking regulatory approval into account, the analysis shows that the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan release time objective has been met for the majority of port categories.

• National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) is processing the approval for adding approximately 80 castes from six states to the Central List of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

ABOUT THE NEWS

• The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) is already processing the approval for most of them.
• There are currently over 2,650 different communities listed in the Central OBC list for all States and Union Territories, including the 16 communities that were added since 2014.
• In a report released by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE), the government had decided to include 16 communities to the Central list of OBCs from the states like Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
• The other states include Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana, from where communities are shortlisted to get included under the central OBC list.
• The Union government also highlighted its recent move to bring the 105th Amendment to the Constitution, which reaffirmed the rights of States to maintain their own OBC lists.

OBCS IN INDIA

• First defined in the 1980 Mandal Commission report, OBCs among Hindus were identified based on socio-educational field surveys, lists of OBCs notified by various State governments, the 1961 Census report, and extensive touring of the country.
• Among non-Hindus, the caste system was not found to be an inherent part of the religion.
• However, for equality, untouchables who converted from Hinduism and occupational communities known by their traditional hereditary jobs, such as the Gujjars, Dhobis, and Telis, were also identified as OBCs.

OTHER BACKWARD CLASSES (OBC) STATUS AND INCLUSION:

• Currently, for each state, there are two OBC lists, i.e.,
• One for the state and the Centre.
• So, a caste included in the OBC list of a state enjoys the reservation benefits in state government jobs and educational institutions, but not with respect to central government jobs or educational institutions.
• Procedure to include communities in Central List:

NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR BACKWARD CLASSES ACT, 1993:

• As per the NCBC Act, 1993, the Commission is mandated to constitute a Bench to examine the proposals of inclusion and then forward their decision to the Union government (with dissent, where applicable).
• The Cabinet then needs to approve the additions and bring legislation to this effect.
• The President is empowered to notify the change.

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS:

• Articles 15(4) and 16(4) make special provisions for socially and educationally backward classes of citizens (SEBCs, popularly known as OBCs), the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
• The Constitution (102nd Amendment) Act, 2018: It granted constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Castes (NCBC).

IT FURTHER INSERTED:

• Article 338B, which deals with the structure, duties, and powers of the NCBC.
• Role of NCBC: It was tasked with monitoring safeguards provided for socially and educationally backward classes, giving advice on their socio-economic development, inquiring into complaints, and making recommendations, among other functions.
• Article 342A, which deals with the powers of the President to notify a particular caste as an SEBC and the power of Parliament to change the list.

SUPREME COURT’S OBSERVATIONS:

The Maratha Reservation case:

• The SC had ruled that only the Centre had the power to draw up the OBC list, as per the above interpretation of the Constitution (102nd Amendment) Act (Article 342A only mentions the President & Parliament with no reference to states)
• To reverse the verdict and to restore the powers of the state governments to maintain the state list of OBCs, Parliament passed the 127th Constitution Amendment Bill, 2021.
• Amendment in Articles 366(26C) and 338B (9), after which states will be able to directly notify OBC and SEBCs without having to refer to the NCBC and the “state list” was being taken out of the domain of the President and will be notified by the Assembly.

• The Government has launched a new fellowship programme to connect the Indian STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math & Medicine) diaspora with Indian academic and R&D institutions for collaborative research work leading to sharing of knowledge, wisdom, and best practices in the frontier areas of science & technology.

ABOUT VAIBHAV FELLOWSHIPS PROGRAMME:

• The VAIBHAV Fellowships Programme is designed to promote collaboration and research engagement between outstanding scientists and technologists of Indian origin residing outside of India and Indian institutions.
• The fellowship is open to NRIs (Non-Resident Indians), OCIs (Overseas Citizens of India), and PIOs (Persons of Indian Origin) who are actively involved in research activities in their respective countries.
• VAIBHAV Fellows is required to identify an Indian institution for collaboration and can spend up to two months per year for a maximum period of three years in India.
• Funding provided by the government for the fellowship amounts to INR 4,00,000 per month for the entire duration.
• The primary aim of the programme is to enhance the research ecosystem in Indian higher educational institutions by facilitating collaborations between Indian institutions and renowned global institutions.
• The programme achieves this by promoting the mobility of faculty and researchers from overseas institutions to India.
• To be eligible for the fellowship, researchers must be affiliated with institutions ranked in the top 500 of the QS World University Rankings.
• Applicants must hold a Ph.D., M.D., or M.S. degree from a recognized university.
• A total of 75 fellows will be selected and invited to work in 18 identified knowledge verticals, including quantum technology, health, pharmaceuticals, electronics, agriculture, energy, computer sciences, material sciences, and more.
• The implementation of the VAIBHAV Fellowships Programme is overseen by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

• The Defence Ministry has accorded its approval to procure 30 MQ-9B Predator drones (Sea Guardian variant) from the US to crank up the surveillance apparatus of the armed forces.

ABOUT MQ-9B PREDATOR DRONE:

• The MQ-9B drone is a variant of the MQ-9 “Reaper”, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations.
• These are high-altitude long-endurance drones armed with strike missiles which can take out enemy targets with high accuracy.
• It was developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems(GA-ASI), primarily for the United States Air Force (USAF).
• The MQ-9B has two variants — SkyGuardian and its sibling SeaGuardian.
• The Indian Navy has been operating the MQ-9B Sea Guardian since 2020.

FEATURES OF MQ-9B SEA GUARDIAN:

• It can carry up to 5,670 kg and has a fuel capacity of 2,721 kg.
• The drone can operate at over 40,000 feet.
• The Predator also has a maximum endurance of 40 hours, making it useful for long-hour surveillance.
• It can support land, maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, strike, electronic warfare and expeditionary roles.
• It is also capable of automatic take-offs and landings.
• It can safely integrate into civil airspace, enabling joint forces and civil authorities to deliver real-time situational awareness anywhere in the maritime domain — day or night.

• Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has inaugurated the online portal of the Himachal Pradesh Nurses Registration Council (HPNRC).
• The website aims to provide nurses with Primary registration and renewal services, issuance of No Objection Certificates (NOC), additional qualification updates, foreign verification, online migration, transfer of registration.
• To boost the employment generation and streamline tracking processes, the website of Employment department will be combined with HPNRC’s website.

ABOUT HIMACHAL PRADESH NURSES REGISTRATION COUNCIL (HPNRC):

• A regulatory body which maintains the registration and licensing of qualified nurses in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India.
• Himachal Pradesh Nurses Registration Act, came into force from

• Recently the first Janjatiya Khel Mahotsav was organized at the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, Bhubaneswar.

ABOUT

• It was a coordinated effort between the Ministry of Culture, the Odisha Government, and KIIT University.
• It witnessed the assemblage of 5,000 tribal athletes and 1,000 officials from 26 states.

INDIGENOUS SPORTS

• ‘Sports’ being a state subject, the responsibility to promote indigenous sports in the country and conduct special training programmes for the development and promotion of traditional sports rests primarily with the respective State/Union Territory Governments. The Union Government supplements their efforts.
• Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports runs a Central Sector Scheme, namely, the ‘Khelo India – National Programme for Development of Sports’ Scheme (Khelo India Scheme), of which one of the Components, namely, ‘Promotion of rural and indigenous/tribal games’, is specifically dedicated to the development and promotion of rural and indigenous/tribal games in the country.
• Indigenous games of Mallakhamb, Kalaripayattu, Gatka, Thang-Ta, Yogasana and Silambam have been identified for promotion under this Component.
• Further, the Ministry has also made documentaries of various indigenous games in order to showcase and promote/revive them, namely, Gatka, Roll Ball, Tug of War, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta, Kho-Kho, Mallakhamb, Shooting Ball, Sqay, Kabaddi, Gilli Danda, Sikkim Archery, Dhoop Khel and Cowrie Khel, Paika Akhada and Chhau and Akhada Kushti, Hekko, Mizoram Games, Silabam, Lagori and Langadi.

• Five buildings and structures from Telangana have been selected to receive the ‘International Green Apple Awards for Beautiful Buildings’ in the Urban and Real Estate Sector category.
• These awards are presented by ‘The Green Organisation,’ an independent non-profit organization based in
• This is the first time any building or structure in India has received these prestigious awards and all five nominated structures from Telangana have been recognised.

SELECTED BUILDINGS AND CONSTRUCTIONS FROM TELANGANA

1. Mozzam-Jahi Market (Heritage category)
   • This building has been acknowledged for its exceptional restoration and re-use. The market holds historical significance and has been beautifully preserved and adapted for contemporary use.
2. Durgam Cheruvu Cable Bridge (Bridge category)
3. B R Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat Building
4. Integrated Command Control Centre of Telangana Police (Unique office category)
5. Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple or simply known as Yadadri or Yadagirigutta temple, is a Hindu temple

ABOUT GREEN ORGANIZATION

• The Green Organization, founded in 1994 in London, is an independent non-profit organization that focuses on acknowledging, rewarding, and promoting environmental best practices globally.
• Since 2016, they have been organizing the annual ‘Green Apple Awards’ in London, UK.