• The protesting wrestlers at Jantar Mantar have expressed their willingness to undergo narco analysis tests, provided that it is monitored by the Supreme Court and broadcasted live for the entire country to witness.

ABOUT NARCO TESTS

• In a narco analysis test, a drug called sodium pentothal is injected into the body of the accused, which transports them to a hypnotic or sedated state in which their imagination is neutralised.
• In such state, the accused is understood as being incapable of lying and is expected to divulge the truth.
  • In India, Narco analysis tests were notably used in the 2002 Gujarat riots case, and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case.

ABOUT SODIUM PENTOTHAL-

• Sodium pentothal, or sodium thiopental, is a fast-acting, short-duration anaesthetic used in larger doses to sedate patients during surgery.
• It is also referred to as a “truth serum”

ABOUT POLYGRAPH OR LIE DETECTOR TEST-

• It measures and records several physiological indicators– blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked and answers a series of questions.
• This test is based on the assumption that physiological responses that are triggered when a person is lying are different from what they would be otherwise.
• A numerical value is assigned to each response to conclude whether the person is telling the truth, is deceiving, or is uncertain.

• Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) met recently to speed up efforts on proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India.
• It would give India market access to resource-rich Eurasia.
  • FTA is a pact between two or more nations to reduce barriers to imports and exports among them.

ABOUT EAEU

• The Eurasian Economic Union is an international organization for regional economic integration.
• It came into existence on 1^st January 2015.
• Member states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz, and Russia.
• The EAEU provides for free movement of goods, services, capital, and labor within its borders.
• It pursues, coordinates, & harmonizes the policies in the sectors determined by the Treaty and international agreements within the Union.

• Ministry of Minority Affairs has approved a grant of Rs. 45.34 Crores under Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK).
• Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM) has been sanctioned a total amount of Rs. 35.52 crores and National Institute of Unani Medicine (NIUM), Bengaluru has been sanctioned Rs. 9.81 crores.
• This will support the upgradation of Unani Medicine facilities at Hyderabad, Chennai, Lucknow, Silchar and Bengaluru.

ABOUT PMJVK

• It is a centrally sponsored scheme (CSS) under Ministry of minority affairs.
• The erstwhile Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP) has been restructured and renamed as Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram for effective implementation, since 2018.
• It aims to develop infrastructure projects, provide basic amenities and reduce imbalances and development deficit in the identified Minority Concentration Areas.
• PMJVK is implemented through the State Governments/ Union Territory Governments.
• Projects under PMJVK are proposed by the States/ UTs where land is already available with the State/ UT.
  • The Central Government does not acquire land for construction under the scheme. The land cost or land acquisition costs are not covered under this programme.
• The scheme is now implemented in all Districts of the country including all the Aspirational Districts.
• For consideration under PMJVK, the communities notified as minority communities under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 would be taken as Minority Communities.

• Russian hackers have encrypted IIB data through a ransomware attack and demanded $250,000 in bitcoins to undo the damage.
• The hackers claimed to have stolen sensitive data such as policy details, claims history, and personal information of millions of customers.

ABOUT INSURANCE INFORMATION BUREAU OF INDIA

• IIB is an autonomous body established by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) in 2009 and formally inaugurated in 2010.
• It is registered as an independent society under the Andhra Pradesh Societies Registration Act in 2012.
• HQ: Hyderabad, Telangana
• The main objective of IIB is to act as a single platform maintaining a repository and analytics of insurance-sector related information in India.
• Functions
  • Providing analytical insights and reports to IRDAI and other stakeholders on various aspects like trends, patterns, performance, risks, frauds, etc.
  • Developing and maintaining databases and repositories of insurance data
  • Facilitating data sharing and exchange among different stakeholders
  • Developing and implementing standards and best practices for data quality, security and governance in the insurance sector.
  • Undertaking research and development activities
• Furthermore
  • It provides a bundle of services related to motor insurance to multiple stakeholders Spearheads Mortality and Morbidity Investigation Centre (MMIC) Operations.
  • It handles Central Index Server which acts as a nodal point between different Insurance Repositories.
  • Maintains a Registry of all Hospitals in the Network of Insurance (ROHINI)

• The Transport Outlook 2023 report was recently released by International Transport Forum at Leipzig Transport Summit.
• It is a biennial report.

Major findings

• The Report examines the impacts of different policy measures on global transport demand and carbon dioxide emissions to 2050.
• The report emphasises on crucial role that decarbonising transport sector will play in achieving SDG goals.
• If action to decarbonise transport is accelerated, the transport sector can reduce its CO2 emissions by about 80% over the next 25 years (compared to 2019).
• The efforts must include
  • investing in public transport infrastructure,
  • supporting the transition to transport modes with higher occupancy or load factors, and
  • promoting the development of more compact cities.

About International Transport Forum

• It is an intergovernmental organization.
• It is politically autonomous and administratively integrated with the OECD.
• Member: 64 member countries, including India.
• It acts as a think tank for transport policy and organizes the Annual Summit of transport ministers.
• The ITF is the only global body that covers all transport modes.
• The Decarbonising Transport initiative of the ITF promotes carbon-neutral mobility to help stop climate change.
• It is based at OECD Headquarters in Paris, France.

• An inter-state dispute is imminent between HP and Punjab Government regarding Punjab Government’s Shanan project in Mandi.
• HP govt. says that the 99-year-old lease of the project and its assets given to Punjab by the then ruler of Mandi, Raja Joginder Singh Bahadur, was to come to an end on March 2, 2024.
• Punjab government on the other hand says that hydro project was given to Punjab as per Section 48, sub-clause 1 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act.
• The ending of 99-year-old lease that HP Government is referring to, becomes null and void after Independence.
• The lease was made in the year 1935 before India became an independent nation. This is an already settled issue with the Government of India admitting on two occasions that the project belongs to Punjab.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

• The Shanan project (Uhl river hydroelectric project) is believed to be worth Rs 1,600 crore and it generates 110 MW of power.
• When it was built in 1932, it had an installed capacity of 48 MW.
• This was enhanced by the Punjab Government in 1982.

• The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has elected Harsh Jain, as its new Chairman.
  • He is the founder of Dream11, a leading online fantasy gaming platform.
• Rajesh Magow of MakeMyTrip has been appointed as the vice chairperson, and Satyan Gajwani of Times Internet will serve as the Treasurer.
• Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is a not-for-profit industry body registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
• Mandate– to expand and enhance the online and mobile value-added services sectors.

• Microsoft has launched Jugalbandi, a generative AI-driven multilingual chatbot accessible via popular messaging platform, WhatsApp.
• The chatbot has been developed by AI4Bharat in collaboration with IIT Madras.
• The bot has been especially made to cover areas of rural India.

• Iran recently unveiled the latest iteration of its liquid-fuelled Khorramshahr ballistic missile amid wider tensions with the West over its nuclear program.
• The Khorramshahr-4 is named after an Iranian city that was the scene of heavy fighting during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.
• It is a surface to surface ballistic missile developed by Aerospace Industries Organisation under Iranian Defence Ministry.
• The missile also is called Kheibar, after a Jewish fortress conquered by the Muslims in the 7th century — in what is now Saudi Arabia.
• The missile has a 2,000-kilometre range with a 1,500-kilogram warhead.
• It could be prepared for launch in a short period.
• It is modeled after North Korea’s Musudan ballistic missile.

• Many migrant workers appeared in examination under Changathi project of Kerala Literacy Mission.
• The project has been envisaged by the literacy mission for teaching migrant labourers to read and write Malayalam and Hindi.
• It is designed to address the exclusion faced by migrant labourers in society, this program aims to teach them to read and write Malayalam and Hindi.
• The programme was first launched on August 15, 2017, in Perumbavoor, Kerala.
• Examination was conducted based on ‘Hamari Malayalam’, a textbook specially prepared by the literacy mission for the purpose.