• Dr Aditi Sen De, a physicist with the Harish Chandra Research Institute, Prayagraj, has won the 2023 GD Birla Award for Scientific Excellence, for her outstanding contribution to the development of quantum technologies.
• De is the 33rd scientist, and the first woman to receive this award.
• The award is given annually by the KK Birla Foundation since 1991.
• It recognises outstanding contributions by Indian scientists who are under the age of 50 and living and working in India.

• ‘Dharma Guardian’ is an annual exercise held alternately in India and Japan.
• The fifth edition of the joint military exercise ‘Dharma Guardian’ between the Indian Army and the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces commenced recently at Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan.
• The objective of the exercise is to promote military cooperation and enhance joint capabilities to conduct joint operations in semi-urban environments under Chapter VII of the United Nations mandate.
• The Japanese contingent is being represented by soldiers of the 34th Infantry Regiment, and the Indian Army contingent is being represented by a battalion of the Rajputana Rifles
• Both sides have 40 military personnel each.

• The United Arab Emirates’ has been removed from the grey list, nearly two years after its inclusion by the Financial Action Task Force
• It will ease the road for the country’s investors seeking to acquire significant influence in Indian NBFCs.

ABOUT FATF

• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.
• It was set up in 1989 out of a G-7 meeting of developed nations in Paris.
• The Secretariat is located at the OECD Headquarters in
• It sets international standards that aim to prevent these illegal activities and the harm they cause to society.
• It leads global action to tackle money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing.
• It researches how money is laundered and terrorism is funded, promotes global standards to mitigate the risks, and assesses whether countries are taking effective action.
• About Lists
  • Black List–High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action
    • It identifies countries or jurisdictions with serious strategic deficiencies to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and financing of proliferation.
    • Three nations are in black list-
      • Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
      • Iran
      • Myanmar
    • Grey List
      • It identifies countries that are actively working with the FATF to address strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
      • When the FATF places a jurisdiction under increased monitoring, it means the country has committed to resolve swiftly the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and is subject to increased monitoring.

• Armenia has suspended its participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
• This was announced by the Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan recently.

ABOUT CSTO

• Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is an intergovernmental military alliance between Russia and other former Soviet republics.
• Origin
  • The Collective Security Treaty Organization originates from the conclusion of the Collective Security Treaty, which was signed in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) on May 15, 1992 by the heads of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
  • Later, it was joined by Azerbaijan, Belarus and Georgia (1993).
  • The treaty entered into force upon completion of the national ratification procedures on April 20, 1994.
• The CSTO presently includes six states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
• CSTO Secretariat – Moscow, Russia
• The Collective Security Council (CSC) is the highest body of the Organization and consists of heads of the member States.
  • Sessions of the CSC are held alternately in the member States as necessary, but at least once a year.
  • The chairmanship of the Council is transferred in the order of the Russian alphabet, unless the Council decides otherwise.

• Geeta Batra, an Indian economist, has been named as the new Director at the Independent Evaluation Office of the World Bank’s Global Environment Facility.
• This makes her the first-ever woman from a developing country to hold the coveted post.

ABOUT GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY

• The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.
• The GEF is a unique partnership of 18 agencies — including United Nations agencies, multilateral development banks, national entities and international NGOs — working with 183 countries to address the world’s most challenging environmental issues.
• It has a unique governing structure organized around an Assembly, the Council, the Secretariat, 18 agencies, a Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel, and the Evaluation Office.
• It is a financial mechanism for five major international environmental conventions:
  • the Minamata Convention on Mercury,
  • the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs),
  • the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD),
  • the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and
  • the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• Secretariat- Washington DC
• GEF Council is main governing body, comprises 32 members appointed by constituencies of GEF member countries (14 from developed countries, 16 from developing countries, and two from economies in transition).
  • The Council meets twice annually.
  • The Council develops, adopts and evaluates the operational policies and programs for GEF-financed activities.

• The Madhya Pradesh government has made a significant decision to introduce ‘bag less school’ once a week for students in classes 1 to 12 starting from the upcoming academic session of 2024-25.
• This initiative aims to alleviate the stress faced by students and will be implemented in both government and private schools across the state.
• The state government has also issued a notice outlining the weight limits for students’ school bags based on their respective classes.
• Students in-
  • classes 1 and 2 – bags weighing between 1.6 to 2.2 kg,
  • classes 3 to 5 – bags weighing between 1.7 to 2.5 kg.
  • classes 6 and 7 – bags weighing between 2 to 3 kg, and
  • classes 8 – bags weighing between 2.5 to 4 kg
  • classes 9 and 10- bags weighing between 2.5 to 4.5 kg

• Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu launched the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Samman Nidhi Yojana at Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district.
• Under the first phase of the scheme, Rs 1,500 per month would be paid to all women of Lahaul and Spit aged between 18 and 60 years.
• The CM, while inaugurating the Lahaul Sharad Utsav, announced that from February 1, Rs 1,500 would be provided to 2.37 lakh women in the state, who were receiving a pension of Rs 1,100.
• This way, 42 lakh women of the state would now receive a pension of Rs 1,500 per month.

• World number-one Magnus Carlsen from Norway defeated GM Fabiano Caruana in the final classical game to win the inaugural 2024 Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge and the $60,000 top prize.
• GM Levon Aronian took third place with a powerful win over GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
• “Freestyle chess” is a new name for the variant where the back rank pieces are placed randomly, so as to make the game more a test of skill and imagination than memory of book openings.

• Philippines has become the first Asian country to ratify a convention to end workplace violence and harassment.
• The International Labor Organisation said that the Philippines deposited the instrument of ratification of the Violence and Harassment Convention 2019 (No. 190)
• Convention No. 190 serves as the inaugural international labor standard to comprehensively address violence and harassment in the realm of work.
• It mandates members to develop inclusive and gender-responsive strategies, in consultation with representative employers’ and workers’ organizations, aimed at preventing and eliminating workplace violence and harassment.

• The Prime Minister inaugurated the Sudarshan Setu, a four-lane cable-stayed bridge connecting Okha to Beyt Dwarka island in Gujarat.
• It is India’s longest cable-stayed bridge of length around 2.32 km.
• The bridge spans 2.32 kilometres, with a central double-span cable-stayed portion covering 900 metres, accompanied by a 45-kilometre-long approach road.
• The bridge aims to simplify access for devotees commuting between Okha and Bet Dwarka.
• Before its construction, the pilgrims had to rely on boat transport to reach the Dwarkadhish Temple in Beyt, Dwarka.
• The four-lane 27.20-metre wide bridge has 50 metre wide footpaths on each side.
• The bridge boasts a unique design, featuring a footpath adorned with verses from Srimad Bhagavad Gita and images of Lord Krishna on both sides.