Context: The Union Cabinet cleared a ₹4,797-crore programme called ‘Prithvi’ (Earth) that is expected to subsume five existing schemes of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).

About Prithvi Vigyan Scheme:

The Prithvi scheme consolidates five existing sub-schemes, namely:

• Atmosphere & Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems & Services (ACROSS)
• Ocean Services, Modelling Application, Resources and Technology (O-SMART)
• Polar Science and Cryosphere Research (PACER)
• Seismology and Geosciences (SAGE)
• Research, Education, Training and Outreach (REACHOUT)

Aim:

The integration of these sub-schemes aims to enhance the understanding of Earth's systems and apply scientific knowledge for societal, environmental, and economic benefits.

Objectives and Focus Areas:

• Comprehensive Observations: The scheme emphasizes long-term monitoring across the atmosphere, ocean, geosphere, cryosphere, and solid earth to track Earth System's vital signs and changes.
• Development of Predictive Models: It focuses on creating models for weather, ocean, and climate hazards and advancing climate change science.
• Exploration Initiatives: Exploration of Polar Regions and high seas is a key aspect, aiming to discover new phenomena and Resources.
• Technological Advancements: The scheme stresses the development of technology for the sustainable exploitation of oceanic Resources for societal applications.

Role of the Ministry of Earth Sciences:

• Provision of Critical Services: The Ministry is responsible for delivering crucial services related to weather, climate, ocean and coastal states, hydrology, seismology, and natural hazards.
• Support in Disaster Management: These services are essential for issuing forecasts and warnings for natural disasters, aiding in disaster preparedness and risk mitigation.

Holistic Approach to Earth System Sciences:

• Broad Scope of Study: Earth System Sciences involve studying the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, cryosphere, and biosphere, and their complex interactions.
• Integrated Research Efforts: The Prithvi scheme aims to address these components comprehensively, enhancing understanding and providing reliable services for India.

Impact and Future Prospects:

• Addressing Major Challenges: The integrated research and development efforts under the scheme will tackle significant challenges in various fields like weather, climate, oceanography, cryospheric studies, and seismology.
• Harnessing Resources Sustainably: It explores sustainable methods to utilize both living and non-living Resources, contributing to national development and environmental conservation.

Context: UN report has revised India’s 2024 GDP growth forecast

Key highlights:

- The United Nations has revised India's GDP growth forecast for the year 2024 to 6.2%, down from the earlier estimate of 6.7%.

- The revision is attributed to the projection of robust domestic demand and strong growth in the manufacturing and services sectors.

- The larger South Asian region is estimated to have grown by 5.3% in 2023 and is expected to increase by 5.2% in 2024, with India being the fastest-growing large economy globally.

- China's investment prospects face challenges from a struggling property sector, while India positions itself as an alternative investment destination.

- FDI flows to India rose by 10% in 2022, making it the third-largest host country for announced greenfield projects.

- Global merchandise trade and industrial production remain weak, with India being an exception, as indicated by the manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index.

- Slowing global demand, trade tensions, and geopolitical conflicts are impacting trade flows, influenced by the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia.

- Climate change-related events, such as droughts and above-average rainfall, have affected the South Asian region in 2023.

- The 2023 GDP growth projection for India was revised upwards by 0.5 percentage points to 6.3%.

About the report:

• The report is released jointly by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs(UN/DESA), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD) and the five United Nations regional commissions.

UNCTAD

• It was established in 1964, is a permanent intergovernmental body under the United Nations General Assembly.
• It operates as part of the UN Secretariat and is also associated with the United Nations Development Group (UNDP).
• While reporting to the UN General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, UNCTAD has its own membership, leadership, and budget.
• The organization's headquarters are located in Geneva, Switzerland.
• UNCTAD produces various reports, including the Trade and Development Report, World Investment Report, Technology and Innovation Report, and Digital Economy Report.

Purchasing Managers’ Index

• The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) is an economic gauge obtained through monthly surveys of diverse companies.
• It assesses activity at the purchasing or input stage, distinct from industrial production, which reflects actual production.
• The two main types of PMI are Manufacturing PMI and Services PMI. It does not encompass informal sector activities.
• S&P Global, a global leader in financial information and analytics, releases PMI data for India. IHS Markit used to publish the PMI data for India before its merger with S&P.
• The Manufacturing PMI evaluates the performance of India's manufacturing sector based on a survey of approximately 500 manufacturing companies.

Context: Supreme Court judge Justice BR Gavai has been nominated as the Chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC), replacing Justice Sanjiv Khanna – the seniormost judge of the top court after the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

What is the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee:

• The Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, formed under Section 3A of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, is mandated to offer free and proficient legal assistance to the disadvantaged sections of society within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
• According to Section 3A, the committee is established by the Central Authority, namely the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
• The committee is headed by a sitting Supreme Court judge appointed as the chairman, and other members, meeting the qualifications specified by the central government, are nominated by the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
• Additionally, the CJI has the authority to designate the Secretary to the Committee.

Composition of SCLSC:

• Currently, the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC) is comprised of Chairperson BR Gavai and nine members appointed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
• The committee is granted the authority, as per Rule 10 of the NALSA Rules, 1995, to appoint officers and other staff members in accordance with the guidelines set by the central government and in consultation with the CJI.
• Furthermore, Rule 10 of the NALSA Rules, 1995, specifies the requisite numbers, experience, and qualifications for SCLSC members.
•  According to Section 27 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, the central government is empowered to formulate rules, through notification and in consultation with the CJI, for the effective implementation of the provisions outlined in the Act.

Legal Services Authorities Act 

• The Legal Services Authorities Act (1987) was enacted to establish a statutory foundation for legal aid programs.
• The primary goal is to provide free and competent legal services to specific eligible groups, including women, children, SC/ST, EWS categories, industrial workers, disabled persons, etc.
• The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) was constituted in 1995 under the Act to monitor and evaluate the implementation of legal aid programs and formulate policies for making legal services available.
• A nationwide network was envisioned for providing legal aid and assistance, with NALSA disbursing funds and grants to State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs) and NGOs for implementing legal aid schemes.
• In each state, SLSAs were established to implement NALSA’s policies, give free legal services, and conduct Lok Adalats.
• An SLSA is headed by the Chief Justice of the respective High Court, with the senior HC judge serving as its Executive Chairman. The HC Chief Justice is the patron-in-chief of the SLSA, while the CJI is the patron-in-chief of NALSA.
• District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) and Taluk Legal Services Committees were established in districts and most taluks, respectively.
• Each DLSA, situated in the District Courts Complex, is chaired by the District Judge of the respective district.
• Taluka or Sub-Divisional Legal Services Committees, headed by a senior civil judge, were established to collectively organize legal awareness camps, provide free legal services, and handle the supply and obtain certified order copies and other legal documents.

Need for legal services 

• The importance of providing legal services is emphasized in various provisions of the Indian Constitution.
• Article 39A specifically mandates that the State must ensure that the legal system promotes justice with equal opportunity, including the provision of free legal aid through suitable legislation or schemes.
• Articles 14 (right to equality) and 22(1) (rights to be informed of grounds for arrest) also obligate the State to ensure equality before the law and a legal system that fosters justice based on equal opportunity.
• While the concept of a legal aid program was initially proposed in the 1950s, it gained traction in 1980 with the establishment of a national-level committee chaired by then Supreme Court judge Justice PN Bhagwati.
• The Committee for Implementing Legal Aid Schemes, formed in 1980, took on the responsibility of monitoring legal aid activities throughout India.

Some of Africa’s dry areas face serious water shortages due to minimal rainfall. An ancient system of drawing water from aquifers, the “qanat system”, could help.

Qanat system

It is an ancient type of water-supply system, developed and still used in arid regions of the world.It taps underground mountain water sources trapped in and beneath the upper reaches of alluvial fans and channels the water downhill through a series of gently sloping tunnels.

• The qanats have been used for centuries in arid and semi-arid parts of north Africa, the Middle East and Asia, where water supplies are limited.
• It’s known by a variety of names, “foggara” in north Africa, “falaj” in Oman and “qarez” in parts of Asia.
• Many old qan?ts are still used in Iran and Afghanistan, chiefly for irrigation.
• It’s a system that’s managed by everyone and its benefits are shared.
• Some of the region’s qanat systems, like those in Iran, are protected under heritage status.
• Significance of the system
  • The qanat is sustainable as it works with gravity and no electricity is needed. It can even be used to create clean energy.
  • Water lost to evaporation is minimal in comparison to surface water supplies.
  • It can have a wide scale impact. Qanats are multiple kilometres long and once this water hits a floodplain, it can irrigate multiple hectares of land.
  • It fosters social cohesion. Many people, with different skills, are involved in maintaining the system.
  • The lifespan of the system extends beyond that of a deep water well, which is only about 20 years. Tunnels do not clog as easily as wells.
  • The quality of water coming from the mountains is much better than water on the plains. It’ll have lower salinity and be better for crops and people.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has begun the process of revising the current National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL) and invited relevant stakeholders to offer suggestions on adding or deleting diagnostic tests to the current list by the end of February.

National Essential Diagnostics List

The NEDL lists the essential and most basic tests that should be available at various levels of healthcare facilities in the country, including at the village level, in sub-health centres, health and wellness centres, and primary health centres.

• The ICMR had released the first NEDL in 2019 to make the availability of diagnostics an essential component of the healthcare system.
• The list includes general laboratory tests for a broad range of common conditions for the diagnosis of communicable and non-communicable diseases, disease-specific tests for HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, dengue, malaria, and area-endemic diseases.
• India is the first country to release the NEDL.
• Since 2018, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends the development and implementation of a National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL) to facilitate the availability of In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs) across the various tiers of the healthcare pyramid, facilities with or without a laboratory onsite.

What are Essential diagnostic tests?

• These are defined as those "that satisfy the priority healthcare needs of the population and are selected with due regard to disease prevalence and public health relevance, evidence of efficacy and accuracy, and comparative cost-effectiveness”.
• The test should focus on conditions with a high disease burden or having significant public health relevance, where the introduction of a diagnostic test will have a clear impact on disease diagnosis and management.

The crash in their population from estimated 4 crores in the early 1980s to less than a lakh by 2007 in India is unprecedented in the animal world. Outside of the oceans, vultures are the only known obligate scavengers.

• The ecological, social and cultural significance of vultures in India may be summed up as: scavenging on animal carcasses and thereby helping keep the environment clean.
• There are nine species of vultures in India out of which three have been on critically endangered list of IUCN and also listed under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. 
• White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis) 
• Slender billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) 
• Indian Vulture/long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus) 
• Himalayan Griffon – closely related to Indian Gyps – Near Threatened 
• Egyptian Vulture – Endangered 
• Red-headed vulture is on the critically endangered list of IUCN but not listed under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. (Schedule IV) 

Threats

A major threat to vultures is the painkiller diclofenac used by veterinarians to treat cattle. 

Effects

• When vultures consume these carcasses, diclofenac enters their system, but they are unable to metabolize it. 
• It results in uric acid accumulating in the birds’ blood and crystallizing around their internal organs, a condition called visceral gout.
• Accumulation of diclofenac results in gout-like symptoms such as neck drooping(Thanatosis), kidney failure and ultimately leading to death. 

Aceclofenac

• Indian Veterinary Research Institute has demanded a ban on using aceclofenac in cattle. 
• Aceclofenac is a veterinary painkiller. 
• It metabolises into diclofenac in water buffaloes and cows which eventually threatens vulture populations in the country. 

Drugs Toxic to Vulture

• Diclofenac has long been established as the prime reason for wiping out 99 percent of the vulture population in India in the 90s. 
• Later two more veterinary drugs, aceclofenac and ketoprofen, were found to be toxic for vultures. 
• As per the new study, nimesulide appears to act similar to diclofenac in exerting toxic effects on vultures.
• Flunixin
• Carprofen

Safe Drugs for Vultures

• Meloxicam 
• Tolfenamic acid 

Conservation Measures

• First Vulture Care Centre (VCC) was set up at Pinjore, Haryana in 2001. (to know the cause of decline)
• Later in 2004, the VCC was upgraded to being the first Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centres (VCBC) in India. 
• At present there are nine Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centres (VCBC) in India, of which three are directly administered by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).  
• The main objective of the VCBCs was to look after the vultures and breed them in captivity and also release them into the wild. 
• The Bombay Natural History Society and the RSPB (UK) are working as part of Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction (SAVE). 
• Every four years, they set out on a survey of epic proportions, covering 15,500km of road in 13 states across India, counting individual vultures of each of the three species.

Vulture census

• Vulture census was conducted in 2022.
• The last such census was carried out in 2015.
• The census would be conducted by scientists at the Bombay Natural History Society (a conservation NGO), along with teams from the 13 states and the MoEFCC. 
• Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. 

Vulture Safe zone

• Establishment of at least one vulture-safe zone in each state for the conservation of the remnant populations in that state. 
• Action Plan for Vulture Conservation 2020 – 2025
• The action plan was approved by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) in 2020. 
• An earlier one was formulated in 2006 for three years. 
• The new plan has laid out strategies and actions to stem the decline in vulture population, especially of the three Gyps species: 
  • Oriental white-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis) 
  • Slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris)
  • Long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus) 

• This would be done through both ex-situ and in-situ conservation.
• The plan has also suggested that new veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) be tested on vultures before their commercial release. 

International Efforts 

• SAVE (Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction) – It includes fourteen organisations involved and committed to helping the vultures to date, and this number is steadily growing. 
• Bombay Natural History Society works with SAVE.

International Vulture Conservation Awareness Day

The initiative is run jointly by the Birds of Prey Programme of the Endangered Wildlife Trust in South Africa and the Hawk Conservancy Trust in England.Through IVAD, both the organisation try to raise awareness about the threats that vultures are facing today and promote a coordinated international effort to publicise the conservation of vultures to a wider audience.

1. India achieves historic milestone at Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China clinching 107 Medals including 28 Gold Medals
2. Historic triumph of the Indian contingent at the Asian Para Games with 111 Medals including 29 Gold Medals
3. Exceptional performance of Indian Athletes at the World Athletic Championship
4. India organized FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023, Bhubaneswar – Rourkela
5. The First ever MotoGP Bharat organized in India
6. India hosted 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Mumbai: Hon’ble Prime Minister announced India’s interest in hosting the Youth Olympics 2030 and the Summer Olympics in 2036
7. First ever Khelo India Para Games held in Delhi
8. 37th National Games successfully held in Goa
9. Two portals for National Sports federation and for Khelo India infrastructure projects launched on National Sports Day 2023
10. 5th Edition of Khelo India Youth Games and 3rd edition of Khelo India University Games organized successfully

The Year 2023 saw commendable performances of Indian Sportspersons in several International Events

• India achieved a historic milestone at the Asian Games held in Hangzhou, China, clinching a total of 107 Medals (28 Gold, 38 Silver, 41 Bronze Medals). The Indian contingent shattered country’s previous record of 70 medals in the 2018 edition. Notably, athletics contributed 29 Medals, while archery and shooting accounted for 9 and 22 medals respectively.
• The success in Asian Games was followed by the triumph of the Indian contingent in the Asian Para Games which finished with historic 111 Medals including 29 Gold Medals, surpassing all previous records. The biggest haul for India came from athletics, with the Indian contingent securing 55 Medals including 18 Gold Medals.
• Indian Athletes showed exceptional performance in August, 2023, with Neeraj Chopra winning India’s first-ever Gold Medal in the prestigious World Athletics Championship. The Indian 4X400 m Relay Team had a spectacular run in the World Athletics Championship, finishing 5^th in the Finals and breaking the Asian Record on road to the finals. In chess, Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa finished second in the FIDE World Cup after a well-fought final against the World Number-1, Magnus Carlsen.
• At the Special Olympics World Summer Games 2023, Berlin, held between 17^th and 25^th June, 2023, the 280-member strong Indian contingent finished their campaign with 202 medals, including 76 Gold, 75 Silver and 51 Bronze.
• Satwiksairaj Reddy and Chirag Shetty became the first-ever Indian pair to win the prestigious Swiss Open Badminton Championship. Moreover, in the ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Cup 2023 held in Bhopal, India, the hosts won 7 Medals (1 Gold, 1 Silver, 5 Bronze), finishing 2^nd in the overall medal tally.

International Events hosted by India in 2023 :

• In the run-up to the prestigious FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023, Bhubaneswar – Rourkela, a nationwide Trophy Tour was kicked off in Bhubaneswar on 5^th December by the Chief Minister of Odisha. The coveted trophy traversed 13 states and 01 Union Territory before concluding its journey in Odisha on 25^th December. The world cup commenced on 13^th January 2023 and the finals was played on 29^th January, 2023. Germany won the tournament and Belgium won the silver.
• In a breakthrough moment for the development of motorsports in India, the first-ever MotoGP Bharat, one of the races of the prestigious MotoGP series was organized at the Buddha International Circuit, Noida. MotoGP is the top-tier motorcycle road racing event in the world where 22 riders representing 11 teams contested for the coveted title with Marzo Bezzecchi of Italy winning the inaugural MotoGP Bharat title.
• India hosted the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship 2023 held in New Delhi during March 23, where Indian women pugilists (Lovlina Borgohain, Nikhat Zareen, Nitu Ghanghas and Saweety Boora) bagged 4 gold medals in different weight categories, and India was crowned the best team of the tournament.
• With India Chairing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) this year, a 3-Day Sports Ministers’ Meeting and the Meeting of the SCO Expert Working Group was hosted by  Ministry of Youth Affairs and  Sports between 13^th & 15^th of March, 2023 at New Delhi, which had participation from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan, China and Tajikistan. The representatives of the Member States reaffirmed their commitment towards clean sports, a collaborative platform for the development of sports education and sports science.
• India hosted 141^st International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Mumbai, after a gap of 40 years. The IOC Session is the annual general meeting of the IOC, the apex global governing body of the Olympic Movement. The Session was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 14^th October 2023. An important decision taken by the IOC General Body was the approval for the inclusion of Cricket in the Los Angeles Olympic Games 2028. In addition to this, the Hon’ble Prime Minister announced India’s interest in hosting the Youth Olympics 2030, and the Summer Olympics in 2036.

National Games successfully organized in Goa:

The 37^th National Games were inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa on 26^th October 2023. This edition marked a significant milestone, with participation from over 10,000 sportspersons, coaches, and officials representing all States and Union Territories. Maharashtra topped the Medal tally with 228 Medals, followed by Services and Haryana.

The National Sports Day 2023 was celebrated throughout the country with the active participation of various stakeholders, including the Ministries and Departments of the Government of India, State Governments, Indian Missions abroad, educational Institutions etc. Various important initiatives were launched by this Department on the National Sports Day including the launch of the 3^rd edition of Fit India Quiz, two portals, one for the National Sports Federations and another for the Khelo India infrastructure projects.

Events under Fit India Campaign:

• After the success of 2 editions of the Fit India Quiz, the 3^rd Khelo India Quiz was launched on 29^th August 2023.
• The National Finals of the annual Fit India Quiz were organized between 23rd and 30th July 2023 in Mumbai, and the State/UT winners were felicitated by Hon’ble Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports. The Fit India Quiz is an embodiment of the Government’s commitment to the “Ek Bharat Shresth Bharat” motto, fostering unity and excellence.

• To commemorate the Swacch Bharat initiative, the 4th edition of Fit India Freedom Run was rechristened as the FIT India Swacchata Freedom Run 4.0 and was launched on 1^st October 2023 at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi.  The FIT India Swachhata Freedom Run 4.0 was organised between 1^st October and 31^st October 2023, and culminated with the Unity Run on 31^st October 2023, commemorating the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhai Patel. During this period, citizens were encouraged to dedicate 30 minutes to physical fitness in any form and adopt an active lifestyle and commit towards making India a healthy, clean and hygienic country.

Events organized under Khelo India Scheme:

• With a vision to identify talent and create an opportunity for young and aspiring para athletes to shine, the first-ever Khelo India Para Games were held in Delhi from 10th December to 17th December, 2023. Haryana came first with a total of 105 medals while Uttar Pradesh finished second and Tamil Nadu came third.

• The third edition of Khelo India University Games (KIUG) 2022 was successfully organized from 25^th May to 3^rd June, 2023 in Uttar Pradesh. The event saw participation of around 4700 athletes from over 200 Universities across the country. This edition of the KIUG had 21 sporting disciplines organized in four cities namely, Lucknow, Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Noida. Punjab University finished at the top of the Medals tally with 69 Medals including 26 Gold Medals, followed by Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and Jain University, Karnataka. The debut of water sports made this edition of KIUG more significant.
• The “Khelo India Dus Ka Dum” event organized to commemorate the International Women’s Day 2023, saw a massive participation of over 1 lakh women in 1500 plus sporting events organized across the country. The event enabled broad-basing the success of the Khelo India Women’s Leagues organized earlier for various sporting disciplines which saw the participation of 23,000 women athletes in 240 sporting at the zonal and national levels.

• The 5^th edition of Khelo India Youth Games was successfully concluded on 11^th February, 2023 at Upper Lake, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Maharashtra topped the Medal Tally with 161 Medals (including 56 Gold), followed by Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, in the Games.

• The 3^rd Khelo India Winter Games were inaugurated on 10^th February, 2023 at Gulmarg. Over 2000 players participated in the event. The Games were concluded on 14^th February, 2023, with Jammu and Kashmir topping the medal tally with 76 medals (including 26 Gold) followed by Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh. On this occasion, 40 Khelo India Centres were also e-launched by the Hon’ble Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports.

Revision in the norms of international exposure:

• The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has been supporting athletes in every possible way to prepare for the major competitions. The ceiling amount for boarding and lodging of athletes in international competitions to provide high-quality accommodation for the athletes had recently been raised in keeping with the current norm. The athletes traveling abroad for approved competitions will now be entitled to USD 250 per day from the previous entitlement of USD 150 per day. In addition to that, the athletes are being supported holistically to ensure that they have access to state-of-the-art infrastructure, equipment, best-in-class training and support staff.

Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2023

• In an effort to strengthen the Anti-Doping environment in the country, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, Hyderabad (NIPER Hyderabad) to create nutritional supplement testing capacity in India and increase awareness about the risks associated with use of nutritional supplements, increase research opportunities in the clean sport & anti-doping domain and provide options for safe and dope-free nutritional supplements for sportspersons.
• The meeting of the South Asia Regional Anti-Doping Organization (SARADO) was organized by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on 3^rd July, 2023 in Delhi to promote clean sports and strengthen the anti-doping landscape at the global level. An MoU was also signed between NADA, India and SARADO to increase regional cooperation in anti-doping in sports.

Web portal and mobile application ‘Know Your Medicine’ launched

• To promote clean sports and create awareness on the usage of nutritional supplements, a national conference was organized by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) on 13^th of April, 2023 at New Delhi. To further strengthen the drive towards clean nutritional supplements, a web-portal and mobile application namely ‘Know Your Medicine’ was launched. This app will enable the athletes to make an informed choice about the use of medicines and supplements, and India has now joined the select group of nations with such digital infrastructure available to its athletes.

The 6^th edition of Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) is currently underway, happening from 19th January to 31st January 2024, across four cities in Tamil Nadu: Chennai, Trichy, Madurai, and Coimbatore.

About: KIYG is a national-level, multi-disciplinary sports competition for school and college students in India.

• The games are held annually in January or February and are part of the government's Khelo India initiative.
• It aims to promote sports culture and identify sporting talent at the grassroots level.
• The previous 5 editions of the Youth Games have been held in Delhi, Pune, Guwahati, Panchkula and Bhopal.

Format: It is held in two categories, namely under-17-year-old school students and under-21 college students.

• It operates in a team championship format, wherein the medals earned by individual athletes or teams contribute to the overall medal tally of their respective state or Union Territory (UT).
• Upon the event's conclusion, the state or UT securing the highest count of gold medals is declared the winner.
• No other team barring Maharashtra and Haryana have won the KIYG title to date.

6^th edition of KIYG: A total of 933 medals (278 gold, 278 silver and 377 bronze) are up for grabs across 26 sports at KIYG, Tamil Nadu.

Squash is making its KIYG debut this year, while Silambam, a form of indigenous martial arts, is featured as a demonstration sport.

Mascot: Veera Mangai.

Rani Velu Nachiyar, fondly called Veera Mangai, was an Indian queen who waged a war against British colonial rule.

Also, the logo for the games incorporates the figure of poet Thiruvalluvar.

The Khelo India Winter Games 2024 will take place in Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir. The recently unveiled mascot, a Snow Leopard named 'Sheen-e She' or Shan, adds a unique touch to the event.

• The International Purple Fest 2024 is a global celebration of inclusivity and empowerment that is being held in Goa.

The festival aims to promote the rights of people with disabilities and create a platform for them to showcase their talents and abilities.

• U.S. designates China, Pakistan and North Korea and some other countries as 'Countries of Particular Concern' recently.
• Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) are countries where the government engages in or tolerates “particularly severe” violations of religious freedom.

The U.S. Department of State designates CPCs under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.

• Vellayani Lake of Punchakkari wetland is the largest freshwater lake in Trivandrum, Kerala.

The Vellayani Devi Temple, dedicated to Goddess Bhadrakali, is located on the eastern banks of the lake.