• Honduras President recently requested the country’s admission to the BRICS-led New Development Bank (NDB).

ABOUT NEW DEVELOPMENT BANK (NDB):

• The New Development Bank (NDB) is a multilateral development bank established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) with the purpose of mobilising resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs).
• The idea of setting up NDB was first conceived in 2012 during BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India.
• Agreed by BRICS leaders at the 5th BRICS summit held in Durban, South Africa in 2013.
• It was established in 2014, at the 6th BRICS Summit at Fortaleza, Brazil.
• The Bank formally came into existence as a legal entity in 2015.
• It is headquartered at Shanghai, China.
• The Bank has an initial authorized capital of 100 billion dollars and an initial subscribed capital of 50 billion dollars.

MEMBERS:

• The Bank’s membership is open to members of the UN.
• While new members can join the NDB, the five BRICS countries will retain a minimum of 55% of total shares.

CURRENT MEMBERS:

• Brazil
• Russia
• India
• China
• South Africa
• Bangladesh
• UAE
• Egypt

OBJECTIVES:

• Fostering development of member countries.
• Supporting economic growth.
• Promoting competitiveness and facilitating job creation.
• Building a knowledge sharing platform among developing countries.

• State-run hydropower company NHPC Ltd. will soon start trial runs for the Subansiri Lower project.

ABOUT LOWER SUBANSIRI HYDROELECTRIC POWER PROJECT:

• It is the biggest hydroelectric project undertaken in India so far.
• It is a run-of-river scheme on river
• Location: The Project is located near North Lakhimpur on the border of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
• Capacity: 2000MW
• It is a concrete gravity dam 116 m high from river bed level.
• It is being developed by the state-run National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC).

KEY FACTS ABOUT THE SUBANSIRI RIVER:

• It originates in the Tibet Plateau and is the largest tributary of the Brahmaputra River.
• The high topographic variation makes this river a potential zone for harnessing it for the hydropower.

WHAT IS A GRAVITY DAM?

• Gravity dams are massive structure dams which are constructed of concrete or stone masonry.
• Concrete gravity dams usually run in a straight line across a broad valley and resist the horizontal thrust of the retained water entirely by their own weight.
• This type of structure is durable and requires very little maintenance.

• The first chikungunya vaccine may be on its way with phase 3 trials of a single-shot jab developed by French biotech company Valneva showing the vaccine to be generally safe, well tolerated and provoking an immune response.

ABOUT CHIKUNGUNYA:

• It is a viral disease transmitted to humans through the bites of mosquitoes infected with the chikungunya virus.
• The word comes from the African Makonde language and means “bent over in pain.”
• It is most commonly transmitted by mosquitoes, Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti and Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus, which can also transmit dengue and Zika viruses.
• It was first described during an outbreak in southern Tanzania in 1952 and has now been identified in nearly 40 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

SYMPTOMS:

• Symptoms usually begin 4 to 8 days after a mosquito bite but can appear anywhere from 2 to 12 days.
• The most common symptom is an abrupt onset of fever, often accompanied by joint pain.
• Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue, and rash.
• Serious complications are uncommon, but atypical severe cases can cause long-term symptoms and even death, especially in older people.

TREATMENT:

• There is currently no approved vaccine or specific treatment for chikungunya virus infections.
• The goal of treatment for the infection is to relieve symptoms with rest, fluids and drugs.

• Issues have recently emerged in several Indian states regarding the interaction between Chief Ministers and Governors concerning the passing of bills. Chief Ministers have expressed concerns that Governors have delayed acting on bills presented for their assent.
• This situation raises important questions about the functioning of a democracy and the potential consequences of hindering the legislative process.

WHAT ARE CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE GOVERNOR?

• Article 153 says that there shall be a Governor for each State. One person can be appointed as Governor for two or more States.
• The Governor is appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal and holds office under the pleasure of the President (Article 155 and 156).
• Article 161 states that the governor has the power to grant pardons, reprieves, etc.
• The Supreme Court stated that the sovereign power of a Governor to pardon a prisoner is actually exercised in consensus with the State government and not the Governor on his own.
• The advice of the government binds the Head of the State.
• Article 163 states that there is a council of ministers headed by the Chief Minister to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, except some conditions for discretion.

DISCRETIONARY POWERS INCLUDE:

• Appointment of a chief minister when no party has a clear majority in the state legislative assembly.
• In times of no-confidence motions.
• In case of failure of constitutional machinery in the State(Article 356).

ARTICLE 200:

• Article 200 of the Indian Constitution outlines the process for a Bill passed by the Legislative Assembly of a State to be presented to the Governor for assent, who may either assent, withhold assent or reserve the Bill for consideration by the
• The Governor may also return the Bill with a message requesting reconsideration by the House or Houses.
• In the case of Purushothaman Nambudiri v State of Kerala, the Supreme Court ruled that a bill pending the Governor’s assent does not lapse upon the dissolution of the House.
• The Court inferred from the absence of a time limit in Articles 200 and 201 that the framers did not intend for bills awaiting the Governor’s assent to be at risk of lapsing.
• The second provision of Article 200 grants the Governor the discretion to refer a bill to the President if they believe its passage would infringe upon the powers of the High Court. The procedure for presidential assent is outlined in Article 201.
• In the Shamsher Singh case, the Court held that the Governor’s power to reserve bills for the President’s consideration is an instance of discretionary authority.

ARTICLE 201:

• It states that when a Bill is reserved for the consideration of the President, the President may assent to or withhold assent from the Bill.
• The President may also direct the Governor to return the Bill to the House or Houses of the Legislature of the State for reconsideration.

ARTICLE 361:

• Under Article 361 of the Constitution, the Governor has complete immunity from court proceedings for any act done in the exercise of their powers.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• The Supreme Court’s judgement in Nabam Rebia and Bamang Felix vs Dy. Speaker clarified that the Governor’s discretion under Article 200 is limited to deciding whether a bill should be reserved for the President’s consideration.
• The Court also underscored that Article 163(2) must be read in conjunction with Article 163(1), suggesting that only matters expressly permitting the Governor to act autonomously are beyond the purview of judicial challenge.
• Therefore, withholding assent to a bill indefinitely is unconstitutional, and a Governor’s action or inaction in this regard can be subject to judicial review.
• Punchhi Commission (2010): It recommended that it is necessary to prescribe a time limit within which the Governor should take the decision whether to grant assent or to reserve it for consideration of the President.
• National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC): It laid down a time-limit of four months within which the Governor should take a decision whether to grant assent or reserve it for the consideration of the President.
• It had also suggested the removal of the power of Governor, as provided in Article 200, to withhold assent for a piece of legislation and reserve a Bill for the consideration of the President except in cases as stipulated in the Constitution.

• The annual Group of Seven (G7) Summit, hosted by Japan, took place in Hiroshima initiated the Hiroshima AI process (HAP).
• HAP is an effort by G7 countries to determine a way forward to regulate artificial intelligence (AI).
• Hiroshima AI process (HAP) made a plan for ministers from the respective countries to meet by the end of the year to establish common rules on promoting trustworthy AI.
• HAP will work in cooperation with the OECD and Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) will discuss on generative AI by the end of this year.

GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP ON AI (GPAI)

• It is an international initiative to support responsible and human-centric development and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
• Aim – To bridge the gap between theory and practice on AI by supporting cutting-edge research and applied activities on AI-related priorities.
• It built around a shared commitment to the OECD Recommendation on Artificial Intelligence.
• GPAI is a group of 25-member countries.
• India joined the group as a founding member in 2020.
• It brings together engaged minds and expertise from science, industry, civil society, governments, international organisations and academia to foster international cooperation.

G7

• It is an intergovernmental economic group consisting of 7 largest IMF advanced economies such as Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US.
• EU is also represented within the G7 as an invitee.
• These countries are the 7 major advanced economies as reported by the
• Formerly called G8 with Russia in it, but due to Crimean crisis, Russia was ejected from the group.
• G7 summit is being held annually to discuss economic policies, while the G7 finance ministers have met at least semi-annually.
• It has no binding impact on policy, and all decisions and commitments made at G7 meetings need to be ratified independently by governing bodies of member states.

• A special session for children ‘Bal Satra’ was organized on ‘World Day against Child Labour’ at Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha, Shimla.
• 68 children, 43 of them girls, selected from seven states including Himachal Pradesh, participated in the special session for ‘Bal Vidhan Sabha’.
• The students performed the role assigned to them while exhibiting confidence and high level of awareness about issues confronting the state.
• Jahnavi, a class 10 student from a government school, a resident of Sundernagar in Mandi district, played the role of the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.
• There were also protests in the House as opposition MLAs (students) entered the well of the House to protest on the issue of drug problem.
• The CM, Vidhan Sabha Speaker, several ministers, MLAs and parents of the students witnessed the two-and-a-half hour proceedings
• Speaker Kuldeep Pathania said taking part in the Bal Vidhan Sabha was a lifetime experience for these 68 children who have been selected from 25,000 entries from nine states.
• The Vice-Chairman of Rajya Sabha Harivash Narayan Singh was the guest of honour.
• Earlier this session was held in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly.

• Japan’s Tokito Oda defeated top-ranked Alfie Hewett of Britain in the French Open wheelchair final to become the sport’s youngest Grand Slam champion 2023.
• The 17-year-old is also guaranteed to become the youngest ever world number one in the discipline.
• With this win, he also becomes the sport’s youngest Grand Slam champion.
• While Diede de Groot from Netherlands has secured the 2023 French Open – Wheelchair women’s singles.

• The Indian hockey team emerged champions of the Women’s Junior Asia Cup in Japan’s Kakamigahara by defeating South Korea 2-1 in a captivating final.
• Annu (22nd) and Neelam (41st) scored for India and Park Seo-yeon (25th) for Korea.
• This is India’s first title while South Korea (4) and China (3) share the honours from the previous editions.
• Acknowledging the team’s unbeaten streak in six matches — it also helped them qualify for the 2023 Women’s Junior World Cup in Chile — Hockey India (HI) declared a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh per player and Rs.1 lakh each for the support staff.

• Australia has won the World Test Championship after a crushing win over India in the final at The Oval, London.
• This was India’s second consecutive defeat in a WTC final; they had lost to New Zealand in the title clash of the inaugural edition in 2021.
• This was India’s fourth defeat in the ICC finals after their Champions Trophy victory in England in 2013. India lost the final of the T20 World Cup to Sri Lanka in 2014, then lost the Champions Trophy final to Pakistan in 2017 before a defeat to New Zealand in the WTC final in 2021.
• Australia also became the first men’s team in world cricket to win an International Cricket Council (ICC) world title in all three formats.
• Australia achieved the feat when they decimated India in the final of the World Test Championship 2021-23 at The Oval to become the new world champions of the longest format of the game.
• Australia won the first-ever 50-over World Cup in 1987 and went on to win 4 more titles, becoming the most successful side in 50-over World Cups.
• Australia also won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2006, beating the West Indies in the final.
• Player of the match – Travis Head

• Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy’s longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died on Monday. He was 86.
• Berlusconi’s extensive political career included appointments as Italian prime minister from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011.
• He worked as a member of the European Parliament since 2019, where he also served from 1999 to 2001.
• His Forza Italia party is currently a junior partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s ruling right-wing coalition.