• The Election Commission is keeping a close eye on the election process through the cVIGIL app.
• It is a single app for recording, reporting, and resolving violations of the model code of conduct. Through this app, online complaints regarding violations of the model code of conduct can be made by capturing photos, videos etc.
• The cVIGIL app of Election Commission has become an effective tool in the hands of people to flag election code violations.
• The citizens can report Model Code of Conduct and expenditure violations through this app.
• Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv kumar said that the cVIGIL empowers citizens to report model code of conduct violations and assured action within 100 minutes.

• Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi was sworn in as judicial member, Lokpal. The oath was administered by Justice A. M. Khanwilkar, Chairperson, Lokpal of India.
• Shri Pankaj Kumar and Shri Ajay Tirkey took oath as member, Lokpal. The oath ceremony was organised today at Lokpal of India office in New Delhi.
• The new appointments took place as two existing Judicial Members namely Justice P. K. Mohanty and Justice Abhilasha Kumari and three Members namely Shri D. K. Jain, Smt. Archana Ramasundaram and Shri Mahender Singh have completed their tenure in Lokpal on 26th March 2024.
• Shri Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, before joining as Judicial Member, Lokpal of India, was serving as the Chairperson of 22nd Law Commission of India. Before that, he was Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court.
• Shri Pankaj Kumar is a 1986 batch IAS officer from Gujarat cadre. Before joining as Member of Lokpal of India, he was serving as Chief Secretary of Gujarat.
• Shri Ajay Tirkey is a 1987 batch IAS officer from Madhya Pradesh cadre. Before joining as Member of Lokpal of India, he was serving as Secretary of Department of Land Resources, Government of India.

ABOUT LOKPAL IN INDIA:

• The idea of a constitutional ombudsman in India was first presented in Parliament in the early 1960s by Law Minister Ashok Kumar Sen.
• The terms Lokpal and Lokayukta were introduced by eminent jurist LM Singhvi.
• The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 provided for the institution of Lokpal for the Union and Lokayukta for the States.
• These institutions are statutory bodies with no constitutional status.
• Till 2011, eight attempts were made to pass a bill related to this, but all attempts were unsuccessful.
• In the year 2011, the government constituted a group of ministers under the chairmanship of Pranab Mukherjee to give suggestions to curb corruption. This committee was formed to examine the proposal of Lokpal Bill.
• The ‘India Movement against Corruption’ under the leadership of Anna Hazare put pressure on the then UPA government at the Centre. As a result, the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2013 was passed in both the houses of the Parliament.
• On January 1, 2014, the President gave his assent to it, which came into force on January 16, 2014.
• The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 has provided for the institution of Lokpal for the Center and Lokayukta for the states.

• The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has decided to award the Abel Prize for 2024 to Michel Talagrand of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paris, France.
• Michel Talagrand receives the prize for his work in probability theory and stochastic processes.
• The common theme in Michel Talagrand’s groundbreaking discoveries is working with and understanding the random processes we see all around us. It has now become apparent that a thorough understanding of random phenomena is essential in today’s world.

ABOUT ABEL PRIZE:

• The Abel Prize is named after Niels Henrik Abel, Norway’s greatest mathematician throughout the times.
• The Abel Prize was established by the Norwegian Parliament (The Storting) in 2002, on the occasion the 200-year anniversary of his birth. The Prize is 7,5 million Norwegian Kroner.

• World Theatre Day, observed annually on March 27, celebrates the significance of theatrical arts and their role in the entertainment industry.
• The theme for World Theatre Day 2024 is ‘Theatre and a Culture of Peace’.

ABOUT WORLD THEATRE DAY

• The World Theatre Day was established by the International Theatre Institute (ITI) in 1962, and the first ever World Theatre Day was celebrated in the same year on 27 March.
• This day is dedicated to the promotion of the art form of theatre across the world.
• Every year on March 27, the ITI asks a famous artist to write a message about theatre. This message shares the artist’s thoughts on the art of theatre and its future.
• This tradition began in 1962 with a message written by Jean Cocteau.

• Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh participated in the 148th meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU, in Geneva, Switzerland. He led the Indian parliamentary delegation.
• The delegation includes five Rajya Sabha members – S. Niranjan Reddy, Kartikeya Sharma, Ashok Mittal, Prashanta Nanda, and Sumitra Balmik – along with Rajya Sabha Secretary General PC Mody.
• The Indian delegation highlighted the issues such as parliamentary diplomacy and building bridges for peace and understanding.
• The delegation attended the meetings of the IPU Asia Pacific Geo Political Group, APG BRICS Parliamentary Coordination Forum and IPU Forum of Women Parliamentarians. It also held a bilateral meeting with the Parliamentary delegation of Thailand.

ABOUT INTER-PARLIAMENTARY UNION

• The Inter-Parliamentary Union is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other initiatives include advancing gender parity among legislatures, empowering youth participation in politics, and sustainable development.
• The organization was established in 1889 as the Inter-Parliamentary Congress.
• Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
• Membership – 180 Members

• The Army Commanders’ Conference for the year 2024 will be held in hybrid mode, with the virtual conference scheduled for 28th March 2024 and the physical conference in New Delhi on 01st and 02nd April 2024.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• The conference will be chaired by the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), General Manoj Pande, in New Delhi, with Army Commanders participating virtually from their respective Command Headquarters.
• During the conference, Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh will also introduce and interact with senior military leadership.
• The discussion will focus on critical agendas impacting the welfare of the region’s military and veterans, and include specific subject matter expert interactions on the emerging geopolitical landscape and its impact on national security.
• During the physical conference on 01st April 2024, the Army’s top leadership will engage in intensive brainstorming sessions to enhance operational effectiveness, foster a culture of innovation and adaptability, and invest in training and development programs to ensure readiness for future challenges.
• The brainstorming session will also include discussion on issues related to the welfare of service personnel, with the aim of enhancing the quality of life for soldiers and their families.
• This will be followed by a meeting of the Investment Advisory Committee of Army Group Insurance under the chairmanship of COAS and attended by many experts in financial management.
• The Committee will deliberate on various welfare measures and schemes for the financial security of serving soldiers, ex-servicemen and their families.

COMMANDS IN THE INDIAN ARMY

• The Indian Army is a powerful and vast military force with over 1.2 million active members. It is divided into seven commands, each in charge of a specific region or operational area.
  • Northern Command (Headquarters – Udhampur, J&K)
  • Western Command (Headquarters – Chandigarh)
  • Eastern Command (Headquarters – Kolkata)
  • Southern Command (Headquarters – Pune)
  • South-Western Command (Headquarters – Jaipur)
  • Central Command (Headquarters – Lucknow)
  • Training Command (Headquarters – Shimla)

• The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Institute of Human Development (IHD) have jointly published a report titled “India Employment Report 2024”.

KEY FINDINGS

• India’s youth account for almost 83% of the unemployed workforce.
• The Labour Force Participation Rate, Worker Population Ratio and the Unemployment Rate showed a long-term deterioration between 2000 and 2018, but witnessed an improvement after 2019.
• The youth unemployment rate increased with the level of education, with the highest among graduates and higher among women than men.
• Most of the workers remain engaged in informal work and the share of regular work declined after 2018.
• India’s large young workforce don’t appear to have the necessary skills with 75% of youth unable to send emails with attachments.
• Among the educated unemployed youths, women accounted for a larger share (76.7%) than men (62.2%).
• India is also facing the challenge of a substantial gender gap in the labour market, with low rates of female labour force participation.
• India remains ready to reap a demographic dividend for at least another decade due to the youth population remaining at 23% of the total in 2036 from 27% in 2021.

MEASURES:

1. Promoting job creation.
2. Enhancing employment quality.
3. Tackling labor market inequalities.
4. Strengthening skills and active labor market policies.
5. Bridging knowledge gaps regarding labor market trends and youth employment.

ABOUT INDIA EMPLOYMENT REPORT 2024

• The India Employment Report 2024 is the third in the series of regular publications by the Institute for Human Development on labour and employment issues.
• It is undertaken in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO).
• The report examines the challenge of youth employment in the context of the emerging economic, labour market, educational and skills scenarios in India and the changes witnessed over the past two decades
• The report highlights recent trends in the Indian labour market, which indicate improvements in some outcomes along with persisting and new challenges, including those generated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• ISRO has unveiled a new introductory-level online training programme called ‘Space Science and Technology Awareness Training (START)’.
• ISRO will commence registrations for the START 2024 program from April 8 and conclude on April 12.
• The theme of ISRO START Programme 2024 is ‘Exploration of Solar System’.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• The START programme is part of the ISRO’s efforts to enable Indian students to become professionals in Space Science and Technology, as the organisation’s Space Science exploration programme continues to expand into new domains.
• START is aimed at postgraduate and final-year undergraduate students of Physical Sciences and Technology.
• The programme will cover various domains of Space Science, including Astronomy and Astrophysics, Heliophysics and Sun-Earth interaction, Instrumentation, and Aeronomy. It will be delivered by scientists from Indian academia and ISRO centres.
• The programme is intended to provide students with an introductory-level training in Space Science and Technology, giving them an overview of different facets of the field, research opportunities, and career options.
• The training will also emphasize the cross-disciplinary nature of Space Science, giving students insights into how the individual aptitudes can be applied to the field.
• The lectures will also cover topics on the Indian Space Science exploration program and research opportunities in Space Science and technologies.

ABOUT ISRO

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the space agency of India which is a major constituent of the Department of Space (DOS), Government of India.
• ISRO was previously the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), set up by the Government of India in 1962.
• ISRO was formed on August 15, 1969 and superseded INCOSPAR with an expanded role to harness space technology.
• ISRO has its headquarters in
• Chairman of ISRO- Somanath

• The Hurun Research Institute has released the “Hurun Global Rich List 2024”.
• Among global billionaires, Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, has re-emerged as the richest man, boasting a fortune of $231 billion.
• The 2024 Hurun Global Rich List is the 13th edition of the ranking of billionaires. Wealth calculations in the report are a snapshot of 15th January 2024.
• The 2024 list features a total of 3279 billionaires which includes 167 new billionaires. The number of billionaires globally increased by 5% compared to 2023.

TOP 5 BILLIONAIRES ON THE 2024 LIST:

TOP 3 COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF BILLIONAIRES:

TOP 5 CITIES WITH HIGHEST NUMBER OF BILLIONAIRES:

KEY HIGHLIGHTS: INDIAN BILLIONAIRES:

• Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, is the only Indian featured on the top 10 of the list.
• Gautam Adani, Chairperson of Adani Group, is ranked 15th with a total net worth of USD 86 billion.
• The cumulative wealth of Indian billionaires’ amounts to USD 1 trillion, which accounts to 7% of the global billionaire wealth.
• India’s addition of 94 new billionaires in a single year consolidates India’s position as the 2nd largest contributor to the world billionaire list.
• Industries that contributed India’s growth are, Pharmaceutical sector (39 billionaire) followed by Automobile and Auto components industry (27 billionaire) and Chemical sector (24 billionaire).

• The Indian Institute of Management, Sirmaur, conducted a 2-day Management Development Programme (MDP) on the topic ‘Personal Excellence’ for officials of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited.
• The programme was specifically designed for officials of the Green R&D Centre and was aimed at enhancing managerial skills.
• The process of co-learning with the participants involved a series of sessions focused on understanding strengths, team dynamics, and mindfulness techniques such as the ‘raisin exercise’.