• Every year, International Day of Happiness is observed on March 20^th.
• On July 12, 2012, The General Assembly of the United Nations passed a resolution to proclaim March 20 as the International Day of Happiness.
• International Day of Happiness aims to recognise the significance of happiness in creating goals and aspirations for people and driving them to have a better life.
• It also promotes sustainable development, overall wellbeing and eradication of poverty.
  • India is one of the least happy countries in the world,coming in at 126th out of 146 countries in the World Happiness Index 2023.

• Getting ready for futuristic warfare, the Indian Army has established the first of its kind, the Signals Technology Evaluation and Adaptation Group (STEAG).
• It is part of the Army’s efforts to develop technologies, considering the future battlefield.
• The Signals Technology Evaluation and Adaptation Group or STEAG will undertake research and evaluation of futuristic communication technologies, like electronic exchanges, mobile communications, software-defined radios, electronic warfare systems, 5G and 6G networks, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, quantum computing, etc. for military use in view of the changing nature of the field.
• The hi-tech unit will carry out technical scouting, evaluation, development, and management of core ICT solutions and provide user interface support through the maintenance and upgrade of contemporary technologies available in the environment.
• It would be under Corps of Signals which is a combat support arm handling military communications.

• UP police will now use Trinetra app 2.0, a cutting-edge digital platform, that promises to transform the landscape of crime prevention and investigation.
• With over 9.32 lakh criminal records now digitized within Trinetra’s database, frontline officers will possess the capability to swiftly identify suspects during security checks.
• Trinetra app 2.0 can be used by all police personnel of Inspector and above rank as per requirement.
• The app offers seamless accessibility via Android and iOS mobile applications.
• Police personnel can input and access comprehensive crime-related information, including crime histories, FIR details, interrogation reports, audio recordings, photographs, rewards, incarceration details, and seizure records.

ABOUT CRIME GPT

• Artificial l Intelligence (AI) solutions company Staqu Technologies has launched its latest AI-powered offering, Crime GPT.
• This tool is claimed to be result of the company’s ongoing collaboration with the UP Government and Special Task Force in strengthening and expanding the horizons of the region’s security landscape.
• Crime GPT uses state’s criminal database and delivers results based on written and audio inputs.
• It comes with features such as facial recognition, speaker identification, voice recognition, and criminal gang analysis among others.
• Crime GPT is an extension of the company’s Trinetra application.

• The Opening Ceremony of the Bilateral Tri-Service Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Amphibious Exercise between India and US, Tiger Triumph, was held onboard INS Jalashwa.
• The Harbour Phase of the exercise is being conducted at Visakhapatnam and would include pre-sail discussions, Subject Matter Expert Exchange on professional subjects and deliberations on planning and execution procedures of various tasks.
  • Sports engagements are also scheduled to further enhance camaraderie between the participating armed forces personnel of both nations.
• The Sea phase would include units of both countries setting up a joint Command and Control Centre and a Joint Relief and Medical Camp.
• The participating units from the Indian Navy include a Landing Platform Dock, Landing Ship Tanks (Large) including their integral Landing Crafts and helicopters, guided missile Frigate and Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft.
• The Indian Army would be represented by one infantry battalion group including mechanised forces.
• The Indian Air Force would deploy medium lift aircraft, transport helicopters and a Rapid Action Medical Team (RAMT).
• Additionally, the Special Ops Forces from all the three services will also participate in the exercise.
• The US Task Force would comprise of a US Navy Landing Platform Dock including its integral Landing Craft Air Cushions and helicopters, a Destroyer, maritime reconnaissance and medium lift aircraft, and also, US Marines.

• World Air Quality Report 2023 was released by Swiss organisation IQAir.
• The report looked at data from more than 30,000 air quality monitoring stations across 7,812 locations in 134 countries, territories, and regions and tracked 5 concentrations – fine particulate aerosol particles measuring up to 2.5 microgrammes per cubic metre – to understand the exposure to the people living in the specific area and determine a population-weighted exposure level.

MAJOR FINDINGS

• India has emerged as the world’s third most polluted country.
• In 2023, India’s air quality, with an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 54.4 micrograms per cubic metre, was better than only two countries – Bangladesh(most polluted) and Pakistan(2^nd most polluted).
• Meanwhile, Bihar’s Begusarai was termed the world’s most polluted metropolitan area with an average PM2.5 concentration of 118.9 micrograms per cubic metre.
  • It was followed by Guwahati and Union territory of Delhi.
• Delhi, on the other hand, became the capital city with the poorest air quality, according to the IQAir report. Delhi’s 5 levels worsened to 92.7 micrograms per cubic metre in 2023.
  • This is the fourth consecutive time Delhi has emerged as the world’s most polluted capital city.
• Ten out of the top 11 most polluted cities in the world are from India, the other being Lahore in Pakistan.
  • Of the 50 most polluted cities in the world, 42 were Indian.

• About 96% of the Indian population face PM2.5 levels levels that are seven times higher than the recommended levels.
• The WHO has set the annual guideline level at 5 micrograms per cubic metre.

• Noted poet and litterateur Prabha Varma will be awarded the prestigious Saraswati Samman, 2023 for his verse novel Roudra Sathwikam.
• Published in 2022, Roudra Sathwikam is a novel written in poetic verse in Malayalam and probes the conflict between power and politics, individual and state, art and power in a unique way.

ABOUT THE WRITER

• Born in Thiruvalla, Kerala, in 1959, Varma has excelled as a bilingual writer, with exemplary literary works in both Malayalam and English.
• In a career spanning decades, Varma has to his credit more than 30 books, including a dozen collections of poems, three novels in verse, eight books on the contemporary sociopolitical milieu and literature, and seven collections of essays in criticism, among others.
• He has bagged more than 70 awards, including the National Sahitya Akademi Award and the National Film Award.

ABOUT THE AWARD

• Instituted in 1991, Saraswati Samman is one of the most prestigious literary awards in the country.
• It is awarded by the KK Birla Foundation.
• It is given every year to an outstanding literary work written in any Indian language by an Indian citizen and published within the last 10 years.
• It carries a citation, a plaque, and a cash prize of ₹15 lakh.
• The recipient is chosen by a selection committee, whose current head is former Supreme Court judge, Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri.

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• Tamilisai Soundararajan resigned as the Governor of Telangana and the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.
• Soundararajan, 62, is expected to return to electoral politics and contest Lok Sabha elections 2024 from Tamil Nadu.

• Election Commission has announced Sheetal Devi, a distinguished Para-archer from J&K and recipient of the Arjuna Award, as the National Icon in the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) category.
• Her name was announced at an Exhibition Cricket Match between the Indian Deaf Cricket Association Team and the Delhi and District Cricket Association team held in Delhi.

• Royal Challengers Bangalore won the Women’s Premier League 2024 title with an eight-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals in the final.
• RCB made easy work of their 114-run chase against DC to lift their maiden WPL title.

• India’s first integrated Oil Palm Processing Unit by 3F Oil Palm started its commercial operations.
• This integrated Oil Palm project will include a cutting-edge oil palm factory (Palm Oil Processing and Refinery), a zero-discharge effluent plant, a palm waste-based power plant, and additional structures and go-downs for support purposes.
• The factory located at Roing in lower Dibang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh, carries forward Mission Palm Oil, representing a pivotal step in India’s journey towards self-reliance in edible oils, catalyzed by the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP).
• This factory marks the first Oil Palm factory in Arunachal Pradesh and India’s first Oil Palm Factory under NMEO-OP.