GS Paper - II
Tensions in West Asia have spiked afresh after pagers and hand-held radios exploded of coordinated attacks across Lebanon and parts of Syria, killing at least 37 persons and injuring more than 3,500, according to the Lebanese government. Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese political party and militant group, has accused Israel of carrying out the attacks, which the Israelis have neither owned nor disowned.
GS Paper - II
Union Health Minister J P Nadda on 20 September 2024 said he had sought a report on the controversy over the alleged use of animal fat in the preparation of laddus that are distributed as prasadam at the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had alleged that during the previous YSRCP regime, animal fat was used to prepare the laddu prasadam at Tirumala.
GS Paper - III
The United States Federal Reserve (‘the Fed’), which is in charge of the country’s monetary policy, announced that it will cut the benchmark interest rate — the Federal Funds Rate — by 50 basis points, or half a percentage point.
GS Paper - III
According to a new study, the Earth’s gravitational field will temporarily capture a small asteroid, called 2024 PT5, in late September. The asteroid will stay for two months before flying off into space. While gaining a “mini-moon” is not new for Earth, the phenomenon is rare — in most cases, asteroids either miss the planet or burn upon entering the Earth’s atmosphere. A team of scientists discovered 2024 PT5 and published their findings in the journal Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society earlier this month.
GS Paper - II
The World Health Organization (WHO) congratulated the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for becoming the first country in the world to be officially verified as having eliminated leprosy. This significant milestone marks a new era in global public health efforts. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that by stopping the transmission of Leprosy, they are freeing people from the stigma and suffering.
GS Paper - II
A year-and-a-half after New Delhi issued a notice to Islamabad seeking the “modification” of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in January 2023, India has once again sent a formal notice to Pakistan, this time seeking the “review and modification” of the treaty.
GS Paper - II
India abstained in the UN General Assembly on a resolution that demanded that Israel bring an end, “without delay”, to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory within 12 months.
GS Paper - II
The mass pager attack in Lebanon, which led to explosions in handheld devices and killed at least 14 people has turned the spotlight on Israel’s Unit 8200, which is reportedly involved in an audacious cyberattack against Hezbollah.
GS Paper - II
The Union Cabinet has cleared the proposal to hold simultaneous elections in India, as recommended by a high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind.
GS Paper - III
The Union Cabinet has officially approved the Chandrayaan-4 mission, marking a significant milestone in India’s space exploration efforts. The mission, which will be managed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is allocated a total funding of Rs 2,104.06 crore.
GS Paper - II
Nearly 3,000 people were injured after pagers used by Hezbollah — the Shiite Islamic militant group based in Lebanon — exploded across the country simultaneously in an apparently coordinated attack. Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abia said the blasts killed eight people, including a girl.
GS Paper - III
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 18 September 2024 approved the establishment of the National Centre of Excellence (NCoE) for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR).
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on a plea challenging Allahabad High Court's judgment striking down 'UP Board of Madarsa Education Act 2004'.
GS Paper - III
Nigeria is poised to make a significant leap in its military capabilities by becoming the first nation to purchase four Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) through a soft credit arrangement. This development marks a milestone in international defence partnerships and highlights Nigeria’s commitment to enhancing its aerial defence capabilities.
GS Paper - III
Dyslexia occurs in about 5%-10% of people worldwide, making it the most common learning disorder. The symptoms can present as early as in infancy. Boys are affected two to three times more often than girls.
GS Paper - II
A chatbot with the ability to call out fake news and misinformation was able to persuade participants in a study to have second thoughts about their beliefs — which suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) can be used as a tool to combat conspiracy theories and disinformation.
GS Paper - III
On 17 September 2024, Prime Minister launched the Subhadra Yojana, the Odisha government’s scheme to transfer Rs 10,000 per year to eligible women beneficiaries in the state between the ages of 21 and 60.
GS Paper - III
The crew of the Polaris Dawn mission conducted the first ever private spacewalk on 12 September 2024, crossing yet another milestone for private industry in the space sector. The mission executed by billionaire Jared Isaacman and Elon Musk’s SpaceX is not regulated by NASA or the US government in any way. This, some have pointed, violates a treaty that the country signed more than 50 years ago. Here is how.
GS Paper - III
“Food versus fuel” is a familiar debate in the context of sugarcane, rice, maize, palm or soyabean oil being diverted for the production of ethanol and biodiesel. But there’s also a looming “food versus cars” dilemma, which is linked to phosphoric acid — the key ingredient in di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), India’s second most consumed fertiliser after urea — increasingly finding its way into the production of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).
GS Paper - II
Delhi, last month, hosted a first-of-its-kind dialogue on the conservation, restoration and governance of common resources such as forests, community lands, and water bodies like lakes or rivers, all usually referred to just as Commons. More than 500 people, most of them representing grassroots organisations in different parts of India, attended the three-day event. It was organised to raise awareness about the need to evolve more inclusive and community-led frameworks for the governance of the Commons.
GS Paper - I
Millions of people in Southeast Asia continue to struggle with torrential rains, floods, and landslides triggered by Typhoon Yagi — the strongest tropical cyclone Asia has seen this year and the second most powerful storm in the world so far this year after Hurricane Beryl.
GS Paper - II
Turkey has decided to officially bid to join BRICS, a grouping of some of the world’s emerging economies, originally comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — but largely dominated by Moscow and Beijing.
GS Paper - III
OpenAI has dropped its latest AI model, which is part of its secretive ‘Project Strawberry’. The new OpenAI o1 is the first in a planned series of “reasoning” models that have been designed to solve more complex tasks and problems in science, coding, and maths.
GS Paper - III
China is seeking public feedback on a plan to include cement, steel, and aluminium production in its carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) by the end of the year, in a move it hopes will boost market liquidity.
GS Paper - III
G42, an AI firm based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has unveiled a new large language model (LLM) called NANDA that will specifically cater to Hindi-speaking users. Named after one of India’s highest peaks, NANDA has been jointly developed by G42 subsidiary Inception and Cerebras Systems along with researchers from the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in UAE.
GS Paper - III
The United States and United Kingdom have both agreed to review Ukraine’s request to lift restrictions on the use of their long-range missiles, including Storm Shadow missiles, in Russian territory. But the growing indications from the West that it may approve Ukraine’s desire to use these weapons deep inside Russian territory have also sparked a terse response – and threat – from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
GS Paper - III
Two NASA astronauts aboard Boeing’s Starliner will stay on the International Space Station for months because of a faulty propulsion system whose problems included helium leaks. Back on Earth, SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, which finally launched on 10 September 2024, was delayed because of helium issues on ground equipment. Past missions that have been affected by pesky helium leaks include ISRO’s Chandrayaan 2 and ESA’s Ariane 5.
GS Paper - II
The China on 13 September 2024 approved proposals to raise the statutory retirement age from 50 to 55 for women in blue-collar jobs, and from 55 to 58 for females in white-collar jobs. Men will see an increase from 60 to 63. The change will set in from 1 January 2025, with the respective retirement ages raised every few months over the next 15 years.
GS Paper - II
Port Blair, the capital city of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, will now be known as ‘Sri Vijaya Puram’, Union Minister Amit Shah said on 13 September 2024. The decision of changing the name was inspired by “to free the nation from colonial imprints”. Sri Vijaya Puram symbolises the victory achieved in our freedom struggle and the A&N Islands’ unique role in the same.”
GS Paper - III
Scientists agree that preserving the Amazon rainforest is critical to combating global warming, but new data indicate huge swathes of the jungles that are vital to the world’s climate remain unprotected. Nearly 40% of the areas of the Amazon rainforest most critical to curbing climate change have not been granted special government protection, as either nature or indigenous reserves, according to an analysis by nonprofit Amazon Conservation.
