• Currently, India has 3695 MNI under Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958.
• Archaeological Survey of India is responsible for protection, conservation and maintenance of such monuments.

Criteria for declaration of monument as national importance

• Ancient monument or archaeological site is not less than 100 years old.
• It has special historical, archaeological or artistic interest.
• Interested public do not have major objections to declare them as of national importance.

Issues with present list of MNI

• Selection Errors: Around quarter of current MNI may not have national importance.
  • Minor monuments considered as MNI (Example -Kos Minars, graves of British officers).
  • Movable antiquities treated as MNI (Standalone antiquities like sculpture pieces, statues, cannons etc.).
  • Untraceable monuments still being considered as MNI (Around 50 monuments missing).
• Over 60% monuments located in five states i.e., UP, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, MP and Maharashtra.
• Inadequate expenditure on conservation and maintenance of MNI.
• Source of problems is absence of definition of term ‘national importance’ and lack of prescribed substantive process/criteria for identifying MNI in AMASR Act or National Policy for Conservation 2014.

Recommendations of Report

• ASI should come up with substantive criteria for declaring MNI.
• Amend AMASR Act or introduce executive order for defining national importance.
• Handover monuments of local importance to states.
• Remove standalone antiquities from the list of MNI.
• De-notify untraceable and minor monuments.
• Add new monuments to address geographical imbalance.
• Increase fund allocation for protecting MNI.

• Five police officials from the state were felicitated with the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service and Police Medal for Meritorious Service on Republic Day.
• The President’s Police Medal for distinguished service has been awarded to Satwant Atwal Trivedi, ADGP, State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV & ACB), Shimla.
• Four police officials Rahul Sharma, Deputy SP, Forensic Science Laboratory, Junga; Jitender Singh, Assistant Commandant, 1st HPAP (HP Armed Police) Battalion, Junga, Shimla; Sub-Inspector Inder Dutt, 1st HPAP Battalion, Junga; and Head Constable Susheel Kumar, (SV & ACB), Shimla have been selected for the Police Medal for Meritorious Service.
• DGP Sanjay Kundu has congratulated all award winners for their achievements.

• The Nurpur district police have deployed a special team in Khanni area in Nurpur to check illegal mining on the Chakki riverbed on the inter-state border. The police team led by an ASI and comprising nine other personnel has started patrolling Khanni, Maira, Mouja Pail, Nakki and their surrounding areas that are affected by illegal mining.
• A delegation of elected representatives of gram panchayats surrounding the Chakki rivulet in Nurpur and villagers had met Chief Minister during his stay here last week and apprised him of rampant illegal mining in their area. In a memorandum submitted to Sukhu, they had alleged that the mining mafia had destroyed their fertile land in Khanni, Maira, Mouja Pail, Nakki and surrounding rural areas and created big trenches due to unscientific mining done with heavy machinery like JCB machines.
• The villagers had appealed to the state government to launch an aggressive crackdown against the mining mafia and save their fertile land from turning barren, underground water resources and the ecology of the area.
• Ashok Ratan, SP, Nurpur, said that on the receipt of complaints from locals and on the directions of the state government, a special mining police team comprising 10 members had been deployed in the affected areas to keep strict vigil on illegal mining.

• ONGC plans to map the geothermal energy sources of India in search of clean energy.
• Move comes at a time when India has set an ambitious target of 500 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030 and net zero carbon emission by 2070.

Geothermal Energy

• Geothermal energy is stored in the form of heat beneath the earth’s surface and is considered to be clean, renewable and carbon-free.
• Magma in inner layer of earth heats nearby rocks and underground aquifers, as a result hot water is released through geysers, hotsprings, steam vents,underwater hydrothermal vents, and mud pots. Hot water and steam can be piped up through underground wells and used to generate electricity in a power plant.
• As per preliminary investigations undertaken by Geological Survey of India, there are around 300 geothermal hot springs in India.
• Puga and Chumathang in eastern Ladakh are the most promising geothermal sites.
• Other sites include Cambay in Gujarat,Tattapani in Chattisgarh, Khammam in Telangana & Ratnagiri in Maharasthra.
• According to estimates, India has a potential of 10 GW of geothermal energy.
• Benefits of Geothermal energy : carbon-free, renewable, provides a continuous, uninterrupted supply etc.
• Disadvantages: location-specific energy source, associated with other emissions like sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, causes mini tremors in area of operation, high initial cost etc

• It is launched in partnership with Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and will focus on:
  • End-to-end management of plastic waste by promoting segregation of waste at source and collection of segregated waste.
  • Setting up Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) or Swachhata Kendras for recycling all kinds of plastic waste along the value chain.
  • Social Inclusion of 20,000 Safal Saathis or waste pickers through access to government welfare schemes and linkages etc.
  • Building capacities of Urban Local Bodies for adopting MRFs model for plastic and dry waste management.
• Initiative is a scale-up of existing partnership under UNDP’s flagship Plastic Waste Management Programme to develop a sustainable model for plastic waste management in India. It promotes collection, segregation, and recycling of all plastics to move towards a circular economy.

Circular economy

• An alternative to current linear economy, circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible to:
  • Extend life cycle of products.
  • Reduce waste to a minimum by creating further value.

• Demo-run of Vessel named SB Gangadhar in Guwahati, Assam was held in run-up to India Energy Week 2023 (IEW 2023).
• The boat ride was conducted on the 50-seater motor launch vessel ‘SB Gangadhar’, equipped with two Ruston diesel engines, and will run on MD-15 (15 per cent methanol blended High Speed Diesel).
• IEW 2023, first major event under India’s G20 Presidency, follows PM’s pledge at COP26 to cut India’s emissions to net-zero by 2070.
• IEW 2023 is held under Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

About Methanol

• Methanol (CH3OH), also known as wood alcohol, is a low carbon hydrogen carrier fuel produced from high ash coal, agricultural residue, CO2 from thermal power plants and natural gas.
• It has properties similar to ethanol.
• It is used in various products, including plastics, paints, cosmetics etc.

• Significance of Methanol economy for India
  • Blending of 15% methanol in gasoline can result in at least 15% reduction in import of gasoline/crude oil.
  • Would bring down GHG emissions by 20% in terms of particulate matter, NOx, and SOx.
  • Although slightly lower in energy content than petrol and diesel, methanol can replace these fuels in transport sector, energy sector and retail cooking.
  • Cost to convert vessels to run on methanol is significantly less than other alternative fuel conversions.
  • Would create close to 5 million jobs.

• The Government has now made it mandatory for Nidhi companies to inform the authority about change in control of the organisation. This is part of additional disclosers required by these companies. Other information required includes details of collection centres and profit details.
• These changes have been incorporated in the revised forms NDH-1 (return of statutory compliances), NDH-2 (application to Regional Director and intimation to the Registrar), NDH-3 (return for the half year ended) and NDH-4 (form for filing application for declaration as Nidhi company and for up-dation of status by Nidhis).

About Nidhi Companies

• Nidhi Company is a type of Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) formed with primary object of inculcating saving habits among its members and works on principle of mutual benefit.
• Registered under Companies Act, they are regulated by Ministry of Corporate Affairs for operational matters.
• They don’t require a license from RBI but RBI can issue directions to them on deposit-taking activities.
• They are controlled by Nidhi Rules, 2014.

• Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) moved Doomsday clock to 90 seconds to midnight largely because of mounting nuclear warfare in Ukraine.
• BAS was founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein and University of Chicago scientists who worked on Manhattan Project to build first atomic bomb.
• The world events are discussed by a board of scientists and other experts in various fields, including 13 Nobel Laureates, who determine where to place the hands of the clock each year.
• Doomsday Clock, created in 1947, is a design that warns the public about how close we are to destroying our world with dangerous technologies of our own making.
• More than 75 years ago, the clock started ticking at seven minutes to midnight. At 17 minutes to midnight, the clock was furthest from doomsday in 1991 as the Cold War ended and the US and Russia (then Soviet Union) signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
• Since its debut, minute hand has been reset 25 times.

• Several ORT breeding grounds in Godavari region like Sakhinetipalli, Malikipuram, Mamidikuduru and Allavaram etcof Andhra Pradesh (A.P) have been witnessing mass mortality of turtles.
• Scientific name of Olive Ridley Turtles (ORT) is Lepidochelys olivacea
• ORT are smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles, inhabiting warm waters of Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
• In India, they nest mostly in eastern coast in A.P and Odisha (Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary and Rushikulya coast).
• ORT, along with Kemps ridley turtle, are best known for their unique mass nesting called Arribada.
• Threats: Unfriendly fishing practices, exploitation of nesting beaches.
• Protection: IUCN status: Vulnerable, Schedule I species under Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

• Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has updated its Guidelines for Disclaimers made in advertisements.
• Key highlights of new guidelines
  • Companies will now have to ensure disclaimers should be kept to a minimum and avoid long and complex format with large blocks of text and difficult words which can be a deterrent to viewers.
  • Duration and readability of a disclaimer in a television commercial, or other video advertisements on digital platforms, should be clear to the consumers.
  • There should not be more than one disclaimer in a single frame of an ad.
  • For regulatory requirements where the disclaimer exceeds two lines additional hold duration should be accounted for.

About ASCI

• The Advertisement Standards Council of India (hereinafter, “ASCI”) was established in the year 1985 under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956.
• It has been defined as a “voluntary, self-regulatory council” which has been registered as a non-profit company.
• The ASCI team consists of a Board of Governors, members of the Consumer Complaints Council and a Secretariat.
• The Board of the ASCI consists of a governor and 16 members, which comprise of members of reputable firms including media agencies, advertisers and other individuals involved with the advertising business.
• It is important to note that the ASCI is not a government body and is not responsible for formulating rules for the general public.
• The Consumer Complaints Council is the body responsible for examining and investigating complaints from consumers and the public at large in relation to any contravention of the Code of Conduct of the News Broadcasting Associations and advertisement ethics.