Top News Highlights- 1 October 2024

India’s Bid for Permanent UNSC Membership

• India’s Proponents: The US, France, and the UK are India’s proponents in her quest for permanent membership in the UNSC.
• Hurdles: China has been a hurdle, and the Uniting for Consensus group is opposed to the UNSC’s expansion.
• Amending the UN Charter: For the amending of the UN Charter, two-thirds of the UN members need to vote in favor, which also should be done with the UNSC permanent members in consensus.

Karnataka Withdraws General Consent for CBI

• CBI Consent: According to the DSPE Act, consent to investigation needs to be taken from the states. Karnataka is now the third state to withdraw such consent after West Bengal and Punjab.
• Effects: The CBI now needs case-wise permission to Karnataka to investigate.
• Exceptions: Cases ordered by the Supreme Court or the High Court are exempted from this move. Cases filed outside Karnataka are unaffected by this move.

India’s Contributions to CERN

• Membership: India is an associate member of CERN. It has substantially contributed to some of the major experiments led by the LHC.
• Major Discoveries: CERN discovered the Higgs Boson particle and also is studying antimatter.
• Indian Collaboration: TIFR is collaborating with CERN on experimental research and developing new accelerators.

National Centre of Excellence for AVGC-XR

• Sanction: The Cabinet sanctioned a National Centre of Excellence for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR).
• Future Prospects: India’s animation sector is growing at 25%, worth ₹46 billion.
• Unemployment: The hub is going to create 5,00,000 jobs and develop the creative economy.

Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak

• Disease Overview: MVD is a very contagious disease of hemorrhagic fever, for which no antiviral remedy or vaccine is available.
• Route of Infection: It spreads through human contact and predominantly remains in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Symptoms and Death Tolls: This disease causes extreme symptoms and a high percentage of death tolls.

PMLA and Bail Guidelines by Supreme Court

• Judgement: SC highlighted speed trials during the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and stringent bail conditions.
• Bail Liberties: Strict bail conditions do not limit the Constitutional Court’s discretion to grant bail in case a prolonged detention violates fundamental rights.
• Section 45: Bail can be granted if the accused has not committed the offense and would not commit it again.

Santhal Revolt (1855-56)

• Historical Background: The Santhal Revolt was a rebellion by Sidho and Kanho Murmu against British colonial rule.
• Reasons: Exploitation by Zamindars and forced evictions after the Permanent Settlement of 1793, which is what triggered the revolt.
• Legacy: Hul Diwas is celebrated annually in Jharkhand on the day of the rebellion.

Paryatan Mitra & Paryatan Didi Initiative

• Objective: This initiative trains locals as ambassadors and storytellers that will elevate tourism experiences.
• Focus: It focuses on women and youth involvement in developing such products as food and craft tours.
• Skill Development: It provides tourism-related training to improve employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Key Concepts & Policies

• General Consent (CBI): Permission from the state government is needed for CBI to probe cases in one particular state.
• CERN: European Organization for Nuclear Research, known for its discoveries in particle physics.
• AVGC-XR: Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality.
• Marburg Virus Disease: The disease is extremely rare, and extremely infectious; no cure.
• PMLA: Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, is a piece of legislation to prevent money laundering.
• Santhal Revolt: It was a tribal revolt in British India. They resisted exploitation at the hands of landlords and colonial authorities.
• Paryatan Mitra: A government initiative to increase tourism by including local communities.