• The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in parts of Nagaland, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh for another six months.
• The extension starts from April 1, 2024, and was determined after a review of the law and order situation in these northeastern states.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• As per the notification, the AFSPA has been extended in the whole of eight districts and 21 police stations in five other districts of
• In Arunachal Pradesh, it has been extended in three districts and areas falling under the jurisdiction of three police stations in Namsai district.
• Assam government issued a notification, stating that the ‘Disturbed Area’ tag under the AFSPA has been extended in areas covering Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Charaideo and Sivasagar

ABOUT AFSPA:

• The Act in its original form was promulgated by the British in response to the Quit India movement in 1942.
• After Independence, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru decided to retain the Act, which was first brought in as an ordnance and then notified as an Act in 1958.
• The Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 is an act of Parliament that gives the armed forces the power to maintain public order in “disturbed areas”. It gives the armed forces the authority to use force or even open fire after warning a person who is found to be in contravention of the law.
• A disturbed area is one where the “use of armed forces in aid of civil power is necessary”. Under section 3 of the AFSPA, any area can be declared disturbed due to differences or disputes between members of different religious, racial, language, or regional groups or castes or communities. The power to declare any territory “disturbed” initially lay with the states, but passed to the Centre in
• The AFSPA empowers the Army, para-military, and other security forces to arrest a person without a warrant, enter or search premises without a warrant, along with some other actions.

JEEVAN REDDY COMMITTEE

• In 2005, a Government-appointed five-member committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge, B.P. Jeevan Reddy, recommended that AFSPA be repealed.
• It suggested that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act could be suitably amended to deal with

• ‘International Day of Zero Waste is celebrated every year on 30 March. On this occasion, emphasis is laid on increasing awareness and motivating action towards ‘zero-waste’.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

• International Day of Zero Waste, celebrated annually on March 30, has a relatively short but impressive history.
• Driven by growing concern about the global waste crisis in 2017, awareness of waste increased in environmental communities. This led to the concept of a dedicated day to promote zero-waste solutions.
• It was adopted by the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) on 2 March 2022.
• Recognizing the urgency and importance of tackling waste, the UNEA adopted a resolution on 14 December 2022. In this, March 30 was declared as the International Day of Zero Waste.
• This proposal was brought by Turkey and 105 other countries joined in sponsoring it.
• The UNEP and the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) jointly facilitate the celebration. This day is organized by UNEP and UN-Habitat.

• The School of Naval Oceanology & Meteorology (SNOM) and Indian Naval Meteorological Analysis Centre (INMAC) has conducted a METOC (Meteorological and Oceanographic) seminar ‘Meghayan-24’ at Southern Naval Command on 28 Mar 24.
• The seminar was based on the theme “At the Frontline of Climate Action”.
• The inaugural address was delivered by Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff through virtual mode.
• An indigenous mobile application INDRA (Indian Naval Dynamic Resource for Weather Analysis) to disseminate weather related information and forecasts empowering optimal & quick decision making was also launched.
• The INDRA (Indian Naval Dynamic Resource for Weather Analysis) application has been developed by BISAG (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics) in coordination with Directorate of Naval Oceanology and Meteorology, Indian Navy.

• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) organized closing ceremony of the International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023 on 29 March 2024 at the FAO headquarters, Rome, Italy.
• The high-level hybrid event that allowed participants to join both in-person and virtually and was graced by esteemed dignitaries from various parts of the world, including Additional Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Maninder Kaur Dwivedi from Govt. of India.
• Following a proposal by India, backed by more than 70 countries, the United Nations General Assembly, at its 75th session in March 2021, declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
• The event showcased a series of insightful discussions and presentations underscoring the importance of millets in achieving sustainable development goals and its emergence as ‘Global Superfood’.

• United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Kamal Kishore of India as Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).
• Currently Kishore is Head of Department of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India (since 2015).
• He succeeds Mami Mizutori of Japan at UNDRR.

ABOUT UNITED NATION OFFICE FOR DISASTER RISK REDUCTION:

• The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), created in December 1999, is the successor to the secretariat of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction.
• It was established to ensure the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.
• It is part of the United Nations Secretariat and its functions span the social, economic, environmental as well as humanitarian fields.
• UNISDR supports the implementation, follow-up and review of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction adopted by the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction on 18 March 2015 in Sendai, Japan.

• Thailand is set to become the 1st nation in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.
• The Thai bill amends the Civil and Commercial Code of the country and proposes replacing gendered terms like “husband and wife” with gender-neutral language such as “spouses” and “individuals”

ABOUT SAME SEX MARRIAGE:

• Several countries in Asia criminalise lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people —Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Malaysia all criminalise some form of same-sex activities, according to United Kingdom-based registered charity Human Dignity Trust.
• On October 17, 2023, the Supreme Court of India had refused to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages in the country.
• 1st Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage – Taiwan (2019).
• 1st South Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage – Nepal (2023).

ABOUT THAILAND

• Thailand is located in the middle of southeast Asia.
• A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. Known originally as Siam, the country was renamed Thailand (Land of the Free) in 1939.
• Thailand’s population is currently 70 million, its capital city is Bangkok, its currency is the baht (THB), and the official language is

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) has jointly released the Food Waste Index Report 2024.
• According to the Food Waste Index Report 2024, households across the globe wasted over one billion meals a day in 2022.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

• The report defines “food waste” as “food and the associated inedible parts removed from the human food supply chain”.
• ‘‘Food loss” is defined as “all the crop and livestock human-edible commodity quantities that, directly or indirectly, completely exit the post-harvest/slaughter production/supply chain up to, and excluding, the retail level”.
• It noted that in 2022, there were 05 billion tonnes of food waste generated (including inedible parts), amounting to 132 kilograms per capita and almost one-fifth of all food available to consumers.
• Many low- and middle-income countries continue to lack adequate systems for tracking progress to meet Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 of halving food waste by
• At present, only four G-20 countries (Australia, Japan, U.K., U.S.) and the European Union have food waste estimates suitable for tracking progress.
• Hotter countries appear to generate more food waste per capita in households, potentially due to higher consumption of fresh foods with substantial inedible parts and a lack of robust cold chains.
• As compared to urban areas, rural ones generally wasted less food, due to “greater diversion of food scraps to pets, livestock and home composting”.
• As of 2022, only 21 countries had included food loss and/or waste reduction in their climate plans or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

ABOUT FOOD WASTE INDEX REPORT:

• It a study jointly authored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), a U.K.-based non-profit.
• It tracks the global and national generation of food and inedible parts wasted at the retail and consumer (household and food service) levels.

ABOUT UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME:

• It is the leading global environmental authority established in
• It sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system.
• Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya.

• Skyroot Aerospace, a space-tech company, has successfully test-fired the Stage-2 of Vikram-1 space launch vehicle, called Kalam-250, at the propulsion testbed of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), at its Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

ABOUT VIKRAM-1:

• Vikram-1 is a small-lift launch vehicle being developed by Skyroot Aerospace, an Indian private space company.
• This launch vehicle has a capacity to place 300 kg payloads in the Low Earth Orbit.
• The rocket is an all-carbon-bodied vehicle capable of placing multiple satellites into orbit; it also features 3D-printed liquid engines.
• Globally, Vikram-1 is among ‘elite few’ rockets with the capability to deploy orbital satellites.
• The ‘Vikram’ in the launch vehicles’ name is a tribute to Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India’s space programme.

ABOUT KALAM-250:

• The Kalam-250 rocket motor, which powers the second stage of the Vikram-1 rocket, is made of high-strength carbon composite material, which uses solid fuel and a high-performance Ethylene-Propylene-Diene terpolymers (EPDM) Thermal Protection System (TPS).
• This lightweight yet robust material helps to reduce the overall weight of the rocket while maintaining structural integrity.
• Additionally, the Kalam-250 uses solid fuel propellant, which is a type of rocket fuel that is stable, easy to store, and provides high thrust.
• The combination of carbon composite material and solid fuel propellant makes the Kalam-250 an efficient and reliable rocket motor.

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has identified three Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs) for the year 2023-24.
• Life Insurance Corporation of India, General Insurance Corporation of India and New India Assurance Co Ltd continue to be identified in the 2022-23 list of D-Slls.

ABOUT DOMESTIC SYSTEMICALLY IMPORTANT INSURERS

• D-SIIs refer to insurers of such size, market importance, and domestic and global interconnectedness, whose distress or failure would cause a significant dislocation in the domestic financial system.
• D-SIIs are perceived as insurers that are ‘too big or too important to fail’ (TBTF). This perception and perceived expectation of government support may amplify risk-taking, reduce market discipline, create competitive distortions and increase the possibility of distress in the future.
• These considerations require that D-Slls be subjected to additional regulatory measures to deal with systemic risks and moral hazard issues.
• Given the nature of their operations and the systemic importance of the D-Slls, these insurers have to raise the level of corporate governance and are being subjected to enhanced regulatory supervision.

ABOUT INSURANCE REGULATORY AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF INDIA (IRDAI)

• The Insurance Regulatory Development Authority is a statutory agency established by the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority Act of 1999.
• It was established on the recommendations of the Malhotra Committee Report, in 1999.
• IRDAI was founded as an independent body with its headquarters in New Delhi. In 2001, its headquarters were relocated to Hyderabad, Telangana.
• IRDAI is a 10-member body– a Chairman, five full-time members, and four part-time members appointed by the Government of India.

• Saudi Arabia breaks tradition by sending Rumy Alqahtani as its first-ever contestant to the Miss Universe pageant, signaling a significant shift in the country’s conservative stance towards beauty pageants.
• Alqahtani, a 27-year-old content creator from Riyadh, boasts a remarkable academic background with a Bachelor’s degree in dentistry and fluency in multiple languages.
• Her numerous crowns in national and international pageants underscore her versatility and achievements.
• The Miss Universe 2024 pageant not only marks Saudi Arabia’s debut but also features Iran’s first appearance.
• This reflects a broader trend of increasing inclusivity and diversity within the prestigious beauty competition, as seen in recent years with the inclusion of transgender and plus-size contestants.