- Indian Heritage
- Culture
- Modern Indian history
- The Freedom Struggle
- Post-independence
- Indian Society
A. population and associated issues
B. poverty and developmental issues
C.urbanization
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu
The Prime Minister’s vision is to improve the ‘ease of mobility’ of citizens by strengthening urban transport infrastructure and connectivity. In line with this vision, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), now named ‘Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri – Nhava Sheva Atal Setu’ has been built. The foundation stone of the bridge was laid by the Prime Minister in December 2016.
Atal Setu has been constructed at a total cost of more than Rs 17,840 crore. It is about a 21.8 km long 6-lane bridge having about 16.5 km length over the sea and about 5.5 km on the land. It is the longest bridge in India and also the longest sea bridge in India. It will provide faster connectivity to Mumbai International Airport and Navi Mumbai International Airport and will also reduce the travel time from Mumbai to Pune, Goa and South India. It will also improve connectivity between Mumbai Port & Jawaharlal Nehru Port.
7. Geographical features
8.Indian Constitution
9. Polity
10. Governance
A. institutions
B. regulatory
C. Government policies
D. role of NGOs
E. measures
ANUBHAV Awards Scheme, 2024’
On the directions of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, DOPPW had launched an on-line platform entitled ‘Anubhav Portal’ in March 2015 for sharing experiences of retiring/retired Central Government employees while working with the Government. It is envisaged that this culture of leaving notes by retirees will become the foundation stone of good governance and administrative reforms in future.
Government has notified the ANUBHAV Awards Scheme 2024. To participate in the scheme, retiring Central Government employees/pensioners are required to submit their Anubhav write ups, 8 months prior to retirement and up to 1 year after their retirement. Thereafter, the write-ups will be published after assessment by concerned Ministries/Departments. The published write-ups will be shortlisted for Anubhav Awards and Jury Certificates. The last date for submission under ANUBHAV Awards Scheme 2024 is 31.3.2024. Till date, 54 ANUBHAV awards have been conferred from 2016 to 2023. As per the scheme, all the Anubhav write-ups published on the Anubhav Portal w.e.f 31st July, 2023 to 31st March, 2024 will be considered for 05 Anubhav Awards and 10 Jury Certificates.
To encourage the broader participation in the Anubhav Awards Scheme, 2024, the DOPPW has undertaken an Outreach Campaign to reach out to every pensioner to submit his ANUBHAV experience. In this regard, meetings have been held with Nodal Officers of Ministries/ Departments and CAPF’s. Ministries/Departments have been requested to reach out to Pensioners for timely submission of ANUBHAV experiences. Knowledge-sharing sessions on the format of documentation of award-winning nominations have also been convened.
11. Social Justice
A. Welfare schemes
Divya Kala Mela 2024
The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) {DEPwD}, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt of India through National Divyangjan Finance and Development Corporation (NDFDC) organizes Divya Kala Mela unique event showcasing the products and craftsmanship of Divyang entrepreneurs/artisans from across the country. To continue the efforts of empowering Divyang Entrepreneurs, Divya Kala Mela is being organized from 12th January – 21st January 2024 at Ground-3 Reshimbagh, Nagpur (Maharashtra).
The Divya Kala Mela, Nagpur inaugurated today . Shri Omprakash urf Bachchu Kadu, MLA & Chairman Divyang Kalyan State Level Committee, Maharashtra. Shri Suraj Singh Thakur, Senior Leader BJP Maharashtra, Shri Krishan Khopade, MLA Nagpur, Shri Mohan Mate MLA BJP Dakshin Nagpur, Shri Naveen Shah, IFS, CMD, NDFDC, Dr Siddharth Gaikwad, Regional Dy. Commissioner for Divyangjan, Nagpur, Officials of NDFDC, Officials of CRC-Nagpur, Officials from Saksham Nagpur, Official from Social Welfare Deptt Nagpur, Speech & Hearing students of Schools in Nagpur, prominent NGOs working for Divyangjan and other dignitaries were also present during the programme.
The Mela would present an enthralling experience to the visitors, as vibrant products from various parts of the country including Jammu and Kashmir, North Eastern states will be seen together. Around 100 Divyang artisans/artists and entrepreneurs from about 20 states/UTs will be showcasing their products and skills in Nagpur. There would be Products in the following broad categories: Home Décor and lifestyle, Clothing, Stationery and eco-friendly products, packaged food and organic products, Toys and gifts, Personal Accessories – Jewellery, Clutch Bags Paintings etc. It will be an opportunity for all to go ‘vocal for local’ and products made by Divyang craftsmen with their extra determination can be seen/purchased.
B Health
C. Education
D. Human Resources
PM inaugurates 27th National Youth Festival in Nashik,
It has been the constant endeavor of the Prime Minister to make youth a key part of the country’s development journey. In another effort in this endeavor, the Prime Minister inaugurated the 27th National Youth Festival (NYF) in Nashik.
The National Youth Festival is organized every year from 12th to 16th January, with the 12th of January being the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. The host state for the Festival this year is Maharashtra. The theme of this year’s Festival is Viksit Bharat@ 2047: युवा के लिए, युवा के द्वारा.
NYF seeks to create a forum where youth from different regions of India can share their experiences and strengthen foundations for a united nation, in the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. About 7500 youth delegates from across the country are participating in the NYF at Nashik. Various events including cultural performances, indigenous sports, Declamation & Thematic Based Presentation, Young Artist Camp, Poster Making, Story Writing, Youth Convention, Food Festival etc. are being organized.
National Kala Utsav 2023
Union Minister of State for Education and Skill Development Dr Subhas Sarkar and Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, attended the valedictory ceremony of the Kala Utsav 2023. Additional Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, Shri Anandrao Vishnu Patil; Director, NCERT, Prof. Dinesh Prasad Saklani and other dignitaries and were also present at the function. National Coordinator of the Kala Utsav Prof. Jyotsna Tiwari presented a brief report on the Utsav. Prize-winning participants were awarded during the event.
While speaking at the event Dr Subhas Sarkar paid his reverence to Swami Vivekananda on his Jayanti and quoted his words, “Art is — representing the beautiful. There must be Art in everything.” He also said the platform of Kala Utsav not only celebrates creativity but also aligns with the vision set forth by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, which also resonates in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. NEP 2020 emphasizes providing education to all that develops moral, cultural, practical, traditional logical, cognitive, and basic abilities in an individual, Dr. Sarkar added.
Rajkumar Ranjan Singh in his speech expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for envisioning the Kala Utsav with an aim to preserve and promote the heritage of art and culture of the country in education. Kala Utsav has been an icon of the power of art in shaping our lives transcending boundaries and uniting us in the celebration of diversity, he said.
Shri Patil in his speech mentioned how art forms can be used as a means to manage stress. He also talked about the rich Indian cultural traditions and requested the participants to take their skills forward in upholding the position of the country.
The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, and National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) organised the Kala Utsav 2023 from 9-12 January 2024 at National Bal Bhavan and the Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, New Delhi.
Kala Utsav 2023 witnessed performances in 10 art forms: 1. Vocal Music – Classical; 2. Vocal Music – Traditional Folk; 3. Instrumental Music – Percussive; 4. Instrumental Music – Melodic; 5. Dance – Classical; 6. Dance – Folk; 7. Visual Arts (2-dimensional); 8. Visual Arts (3-dimensional); 9. Indigenous Toys and Games; and 10. Drama (Solo acting). This year 336 girls and 334 boys from 34 states and Union Territories, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti showcased their art forms in all these genres.
E. poverty and hunger
12. International relations
A. India and its neighbourhood
B. groupings and agreements
Joint Statement on India – United States Trade Policy Forum
The 14th Ministerial-level meeting of the India-United States Trade Policy Forum (TPF) was held in New Delhi, India on January 12, 2024. Minister of Commerce and Industry, India, Shri Piyush Goyal and U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Katherine Tai co-chaired the TPF meeting.
2. The Ministers underlined the significance of the TPF in forging robust bilateral trade ties and in enhancing the overall economic relationship. They welcomed the strong momentum in India-US bilateral trade in goods and services, which continued to rise and likely surpassed $200 billion in calendar year 2023 despite a challenging global trade environment. They acknowledged that considering the size of their economies, significant potential remains unrealized and expressed their mutual desire to further enhance engagement with the goal of continuing to increase and diversify bilateral trade. In this regard, the Ministers underlined the significance of the TPF in forging a robust economic relationship.
3. The Ministers took stock of the significant progress made in addressing concerns impacting the bilateral trade relationship since the 13th TPF held in January 2023. This was highlighted by the historic settlement of all seven longstanding trade disputes at the World Trade Organization (WTO) between the two countries as well as the understandings on market access related to products of significance to the bilateral trade relationship. These outcomes were delivered in the context of the historic state visit of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States in June 2023 and subsequently during the visit of U.S. President Biden to India for the G20 Summit in September 2023.
4. The Ministers agreed that their governments will pursue enhanced engagement leading to mutually beneficial outcomes in several areas, with a view to deepen the trade relationship for the benefit of working people. They identified certain areas, including critical minerals, customs and trade facilitation, supply chains, and trade in high tech products, in which the United States and India will develop an ambitious and forward looking roadmap for enhanced cooperation in order to achieve economically meaningful outcomes. The Ministers committed to pursue these efforts with a view to establish the foundation to launch future joint initiatives.
5. Ambassador Tai congratulated India on the successful completion and hosting of the G20 Presidency and the G20 summit, which saw the unanimous adoption of the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration. She welcomed the positive outcomes achieved in the G20 Trade and Investment Working Group, and in particular the adoption of the High Level Principles on Digitalization of Trade Documents. The Ministers agreed to further pursue support for the implementation of these principles in other forums so as to strengthen the pathways for digitalization of trade documents. The Ministers emphasized that the G20 is a valuable platform for initiating constructive dialogue and fostering cooperation among members on global trade issues and agreed to work together in that regard. Progress on Bilateral Trade Concerns
6. The Ministers highlighted the work undertaken by the TPF Working Groups since the 13th TPF Ministerial through regular high-level meetings. They expressed their intent to continue to work together on resolving outstanding trade issues and highlighted both progress and upcoming engagement on a select number of those issues. Non-Agricultural Goods
7. The Ministers agreed to establish a pathway in which India and the United States will mutually recognize results from accredited conformity assessment bodies utilizing International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and International Accreditation Forum (IAF) mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs), on a bilateral basis whenever possible. This will allow labs and conformity assessment bodies to certify that products are compliant with certain standards. This would eliminate duplicative testing requirements and reduce compliance costs for trade in high-quality goods. The Ministers committed to identify priority sectors of mutual interest for implementation and establish a Joint Facilitative Mechanism (JFM) for the same, the terms of reference of which will be finalized at the earliest.
8. The Ministers welcomed the finalization of the Turtle Excluder Device (TED) design developed with the technical support of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The collaboration between India and the United States to expedite the TED demonstrations will confirm that the TED design effectively minimizes the impact of commercial shrimp trawl operations on sea turtle populations. The Ministers acknowledged that NOAA has scheduled its visit to India for February 2024 to carry out field demonstrations with the newly designed TED and conduct workshops for stakeholders. Both sides acknowledged that the timely completion of the field demonstrations could contribute to the sustainable management and protection of marine and coastal ecosystems, thereby fostering enhanced seafood trade between the two countries.
9. The Ministers reiterated their commitment to ensure that technical regulations, such as Quality Control Orders, do not create unnecessary barriers to trade by providing sufficient opportunities for stakeholder consultations and ensuring that relevant domestic standards align with international standards to the extent feasible.
C.Indian diaspora
13. Economic Development
A. Government Budgeting
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX NUMBERS ON BASE 2012=100 FOR RURAL, URBAN AND COMBINED FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2023
The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is releasing All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Base 2012=100 and corresponding Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) for Rural (R), Urban (U) and Combined (C) for the month of December 2023 (Provisional) in this press note. CPIs for Sub-Groups and Groups for both All India and all States/UTs are also being released.
The price data are collected from selected 1114 urban Markets and 1181 villages covering all States/UTs through personal visits by field staff of Field Operations Division of NSO, MoSPI on a weekly roster. During the month of December 2023, NSO collected prices from 99.9% villages and 98.6% urban markets while the market-wise prices reported therein were 90.0% for rural and 93.7% for urban.
All India Inflation rates (on point to point basis i.e. current month over same month of last year, i.e. December 2023 over December 2022), based on General Indices and CFPIs are given as follows:
All India year-on-year inflation rates (%) based on CPI (General) and CFPI: December 2023 over December 2022
| Dec. 2023 (Prov.) | Nov. 2023 (Final) | Dec. 2022 | ||||||||
| Rural | Urban | Combd. | Rural | Urban | Combd. | Rural | Urban | Combd. | ||
| Inflation | CPI (General) | 5.93 | 5.46 | 5.69 | 5.85 | 5.26 | 5.55 | 6.05 | 5.39 | 5.72 |
| CFPI | 8.97 | 10.42 | 9.53 | 8.38 | 9.33 | 8.70 | 5.05 | 2.80 | 4.19 | |
| Index | CPI (General) | 187.6 | 183.6 | 185.7 | 188.2 | 184.2 | 186.3 | 177.1 | 174.1 | 175.7 |
| CFPI | 188.3 | 194.9 | 190.7 | 190.1 | 196.8 | 192.4 | 172.8 | 176.5 | 174.1 | |
Notes: Prov. – Provisional, Combd. – Combined
Monthly changes in the General Indices and CFPIs are given below:
Monthly changes (%) in All India CPI (General) and CFPI: December 2023 over November 2023
| Indices | Dec. 2023 (Prov.) | Nov. 2023 (Final) | Monthly change (%) | ||||||
| Rural | Urban | Combd. | Rural | Urban | Combd. | Rural | Urban | Combd. | |
| CPI (General) | 187.6 | 183.6 | 185.7 | 188.2 | 184.2 | 186.3 | -0.32 | -0.33 | -0.32 |
| CFPI | 188.3 | 194.9 | 190.7 | 190.1 | 196.8 | 192.4 | -0.95 | -0.97 | -0.88 |
Note: Figures of December 2023 are provisional.
Next date of release for January 2024 CPI is 12th February 2024 (Monday)
B. industrial
E.issues
14. Technology
15. Environment
Climate Conference 2024 “Decoding the Green Transition for India” organized by Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India
The Climate Conference 2024, themed “Decoding the Green Transition for India,” took place on January 12, 2024, in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Organized by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, the event focused on the pivotal role of the private sector, climate tech Startups and institutional investors in mobilizing financial resources and technical capabilities. The goal was to leverage government efforts, engage civil society and communities, and develop innovative climate services and adaptation technologies. The Conference was organised under the Green Climate Fund Readiness Programme with Delivery Partner UNDP India and supported by Knowledge Partner Avaana Capital.
Key dignitaries present at the inaugural session included Ms. Leena Nandan, Environment Secretary, Mr. Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa, Mr. K Rajaraman, Chairman, IFSCA, Mr. Mike Hankey, U.S. Consul General, and Mr. Nadir Godrej, Chairman & MD, Godrej Industries, and Chairman, Godrej Agrovet.
Ms. Leena Nandan, Secretary, MoEFCC, highlighted the global impact of extreme events due to climate change, emphasizing the need for immediate action, planning, and finance mobilization. She narrated the Ministry’s actions, including the Green Credits Programme. Recalling the Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE), she mentioned that the concept of ECOMARK labelling has been reinvented for informed consumer choices. Ms. Nandan stressed the importance of insurance and risk mitigation, mainstreaming climate startups, and upscaling them to industry and business models. It was emphasized that actions like biomass utilization and waste management are considerable for climate action.
Shri Amitabh Kant addressed India’s emerging issues of industrialization, urbanization, and growth, emphasizing five critical areas: renewable energy, energy storage, electric mobility, energy efficiency, and the circular economy. He highlighted the significance of promoting energy efficiency in micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for cost savings and increased competitiveness. Shri Kant emphasized the role of MDBs, IFIs, and philanthropists in supporting high-risk climate projects and proposed a combination of public and private funds for enhanced returns and attracting substantial capital. He also highlighted the potential of green hydrogen and storage system.
The Conference underscored India’s roadmap to achieving net-zero by 2070, focusing on green transition investments to transform energy systems, reduce CO2 emissions, conserve natural resources, increase biodiversity, and enhance climate resilience in a socially just and inclusive manner. It delved into the current landscape of climate finance in India, exploring the roles of government, venture capitalists, corporates, and industry leaders. Discussions also centered on strategies to boost financing in the climate-tech ecosystem, emphasizing emerging solutions with disruptive potential.
16. Security
DRDO conducts successful flight-test of New Generation AKASH missile off Odisha coast
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted a successful flight-test of the New Generation AKASH (AKASH-NG) missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha at 1030 hrs on January 12, 2024. The flight-test was conducted against a high-speed unmanned aerial target at very low altitude. During the flight-test, the target was successfully intercepted by the weapon system and destroyed. It has validated the functioning of the complete weapon system consisting of the missile with indigenously developed Radio Frequency Seeker, Launcher, Multi-Function Radar and Command, Control & Communication system.
The system performance was also validated through the data captured by a number of Radars, Telemetry and Electro Optical Tracking System deployed by ITR, Chandipur. The flight-test was witnessed by senior officials from DRDO, Indian Air Force (IAF), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). The AKASH-NG system is a state-of-the-art missile system capable of intercepting high speed, agile aerial threats. The successful flight test has paved the way for User trials.