• The combined value of shares listed on Indian exchanges reached $4.33 trillion, versus $4.29 trillion for Hong Kong.
• That makes India the fourth-biggest equity market globally.
• Top three stock markets are the US, China, and Japan.

• The National Voters’ Day is celebrated every year in India on January 25 to encourage the country’s voters to participate in the electoral process.
• This year, it is the 14th edition which is being celebrated.
• The first-ever National Voters’ Day was celebrated on January 25, 2011, to encourage more young voters to take part in the electoral process.
• Dedicated to the voters, NVD 2024 theme – ‘Nothing Like Voting, I Vote For sure’ is a continuation from last year’s theme.

• The third South Summit – the decision-making body of the 134-country G77 and China was held in Kampala,Uganda
• China is rallying the Group of 77 developing countries to push for reform of the global governance system which – according to some leaders in Africa, Asia and Latin America – disproportionately favours the West.
• Uganda assumed chairmanship of the group at the meeting, taking over from Cuba.

ABOUT G77 GROUPING

• It was established on 15 June 1964 by 77 developing countries signatories of the “Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Developing Countries” issued at the end of the first session of the United Nations Conference on the Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in
• The G-77 is the largest intergovernmental forum of developing countries in the United Nations system, and as such provides the means for the countries of the South to articulate and promote their collective economic interests.
• Members- 134 countries (including India)
• A Chairperson who acts as a spokesman, coordinates the Group’s action in each Chapter.
• The Chairmanship, which is the highest political body within the organisational structure of the Group of 77, rotates on a regional basis between Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean.

• The Serum Institute of India (SII) is joining the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations-
• CEPI will invest $30 million to build upon SII’s capabilities to supply affordable investigational vaccines in any epidemic or pandemic.

ABOUT CEPI

• It is a partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil organisations, launched at Davos, Switzerland, in 2017.
• It aims to finance and coordinate the development of new vaccines to prevent and contain infectious disease epidemics.
• Headquarters– Oslo, Norway.
• Mission- accelerate the development of vaccines and other biologic countermeasures against epidemics like- Nipah Virus, Lassa fever Vaccine
• It is being funded by the Wellcome Trust, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, World Economic Forum (WEF), Governments of Norway, Japan, India (Department of Biotechnology) and Germany.

• The Department of Science and Technology (DST) announced the first batch of ‘Vaibhav’ fellows at a function recently.
• The fellowship has been awarded to 22 scientists, for collaborations in AI and quantum technologies etc.

About VAIBHAV scheme

• It stands for Vaishvik Bharatiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Fellowship Program.
• It is a scheme meant to attract Indian-origin scientists based abroad for short-term collaboration.
• It envisages a collaboration between scientists of the Indian Diaspora with Indian higher educational institutions (HEIs), universities and public-funded scientific institutions.
• The VAIBHAV Fellows would identify an Indian Institution for collaboration and may spend up to two months in a year for a maximum 3 years.
• The 75 selected fellows would be invited to work in 18 identified knowledge verticals including quantum technology, health, pharma, electronics, agriculture, energy, computer sciences, and material sciences amongst others.
• Fellowship would include fellowship grant (INR 4,00,000 per month), international and domestic travel, accommodation and contingencies.

It bears striking similarities to another scheme, called Visiting Advanced Joint Research Faculty.

Similar scheme

VAJRA – VISITING ADVANCED JOINT RESEARCH FACULTY (VAJRA)

• The scheme, also of the DST, was initiated in 2018.
• Vajra is open to all foreign scientists, whereas Vaibhav is exclusively for the Indian diaspora.
• Under the scheme, foreign researchers would receive endowments at par with those in their own countries.
• The endowments for faculties would be US $15,000 in the first month of residency and US $10,000, for the remaining months.
• The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a Statutory body of the DST will implement the Scheme.
• The residency period of the VAJRA Faculty in India would be for a minimum of 1 month and a maximum of 3 months a year.

• The President has recently announced that the late socialist leader, Karpoori Thakur, will be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.

ABOUT KARPOORI THAKUR (JANUARY 24, 1924-FEBRUARY 17, 1988)

• Born on 24^th January, 1924 in Samastipur, Bihar; he was the son of a marginal farmer from the Nai (barber) community.
• Named Jannayak, or People’s Leader, Thakur was a freedom fighter, incarcerated during the Quit India movement in 1942, and has been seen as the architect of much of the social justice plank in Indian politics.
• The socialist icon went on to serve twice as Chief Minister of Bihar —
  • between December 1970 and June 1971 as part of the Bharatiya Kranti Dal and
  • between December 1977 and April 1979 from the Janata Party.
• Implemented the ‘Karpoori Thakur Formula’ in June 1970, providing 26% reservation, including 12% for OBCs, 8% for economically backward OBCs, 3% for women, and 3% for economically disadvantaged individuals from upper castes.
• He was part of the anti-Emergency movement, along with another great socialist leader, Jayaprakash Narayan.

ABOUT BHARAT RATNA

• ‘Bharat Ratna’, the highest civilian Award of the country, was instituted in the year 1954.
• Any person without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex is eligible for these awards.
• It is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour.
• The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister himself to the President.
• No formal recommendations for this are necessary.
• The number of annual awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year.
• On conferment of the award, the recipient receives a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a medallion.
• The Award does not carry any monetary grant.

• The Halda festival celebrations began in the Gahar and Tinan valleys of Lahaul and Spiti district.
• To celebrate the festival, villagers cut thin cedar branches into pieces and tie them into bundles to make a torch called ‘halda’.
• The torch is lit at a house where villagers gather to perform various rituals, besides singing and dancing.
• The aim of the festival is to appease local deities, seek better crop yield and ward off evil spirits.
• The Halda festival is similar to Diwali and starts on a full moon day.

It is dedicated to Shishkar Apa, who is believed to be the goddess of wealth in the Lamaistic pantheon

• The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) will widen the strategically important Sumdo-Kaza-Gramphu highway at a cost of Rs 1,400 crore to ensure better connectivity to the Spiti region of Lahaul and Spiti district from Manali and Lahaul.
• It will be a double-lane highway.
• The BRO has already started the exercise to widen the road after getting approval of funds from the Central Government.
• The Spiti region of Lahaul and Spiti district shares border with China.
  • So, the Central Government is keen to ensure better road connectivity to the region from Manali and Lahaul to ensure an easy access for the Indian Army to border and also provide access to common civilians to promote tourism.
• The 211-km-long road has been in a pathetic condition for many years.
• The BRO has divided the road project into four sections, namely Sumdo-Kaza, Kaza-Losar, Losar-Batal and Batal-Gramphu.

• The Union Home Minister recently inaugurated Centre of Excellence in Digital Forensics at National Forensic Sciences University in Gandhinagar.
• The ultra-modern Centre of Excellence in Digital Forensics has been endowed with state-of-the-art tools and infrastructure.
• The Centre will provide investigators with digital weaponry against cybercrime and also help in addressing crimes that are powered by the abuse of technology.

• Russian energy company Novatek was forced to suspend some operations at Ust-Luga, a huge Baltic Sea fuel export terminal and processing complex, due to a fire started by what Ukrainian media said was a drone attack.
• The attack is the third on Russia’s large energy infrastructure facilities.
• Ust-Luga is a settlement and railway station in Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, near the Estonian border, situated on the Luga River near its entry into the Luga Bay of the Gulf of Finland in Baltic Sea.