National
Diamond Jubilee celebration of the Supreme Court of India
⇒ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Diamond Jubilee celebration of the Supreme Court of India on 28 January 2024 at the Supreme Court auditorium in Delhi.
- Unveiling the seventy-fifth year of the Supreme Court, the Prime Minister also launched citizen-centric information and technology initiatives that include Digital Supreme Court Reports (Digi SCR), Digital Courts 2.0 and the new website of the Supreme Court.
Digital Supreme Court Reports:
The Digital Supreme Court Reports (SCR) will make Supreme Court judgments available to the citizens of the country free of cost and in electronic format.
- The key features of digital SCR are that all 519 volumes of the Supreme Court reports since 1950, covering 36,308 cases, shall be available in a digital format, bookmarked, user-friendly, and with open access.
Digital Courts 2.0:
Digital Courts 2.0 application is a recent initiative under the e-Courts project to make court records available to the Judges of the district courts in electronic form.
- This is coupled with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for transcribing speech to text on a real-time basis.
New website of Supreme Court:
The Prime Minister also launched the new website of the Supreme Court. The new website will be in bilingual format in English and Hindi and has been redesigned with a user-friendly interface.
NCC Directorate Maharashtra wins prestigious PM’s Banner at Republic Day Camp 2024
⇒ The NCC Directorate Maharashtra contingent has won the prestigious Prime Minister’s Banner at the Republic Day Camp -2024 event for the third time in a row creating a hat-trick.
- The Maharashtra Directorate contingent comprising of 122 Cadets won the Champions Trophy and the coveted Prime Minister’s Banner at the Republic Day Camp (RDC-2024) for standing first overall in addition to winning a rich haul of trophies and laurels/medals.
International
1st India-Saudi Arabia Joint Military Exercise ‘SADA TANSEEQ’
⇒ The inaugural edition of the India-Saudi Arabia Joint Military Exercise ‘SADA TANSEEQ’ was conducted from 29th January to 10th February 2024 at Mahajan, Rajasthan.
Participation:
- The Saudi Arabian contingent comprised 45 personnel, represented by Royal Saudi Land Forces.
- The Indian Army contingent also comprised 45 personnel, represented by a Battalion from the Brigade of the Guards (Mechanised Infantry).
Aim:
The aim of the Exercise was to train troops of both sides for Joint Operations in Semi Desert terrain under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.
Highlights:
- The Exercise enabled both the sides to share their best practices in the tactics, techniques and procedures of conducting operations in sub-conventional domain.
- The Exercise involved Establishment of Mobile Vehicle Check Post, Cordon & Search Operation, House Intervention Drill, Reflex Shooting, Slithering and Sniper Firing.
- It facilitated developing interoperability, bonhomie and camaraderie between troops from both the sides.
- It served as a platform to achieve shared security objectives, enhance the level of defence cooperation and foster bilateral relations between the two friendly nations.
Important Day
World Water Day 2024
⇒ World Water Day is observed every year on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
- World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis.
- A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.
Theme:
Every year, UN-Water — the UN’s coordination mechanism on water and sanitation — sets the theme for World Water Day. The theme of World Water Day 2024 was ‘Water for Peace’.
History:
- The idea of World Water Day was proposed in the year 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Brazil’s Rio De Janeiro.
- The resolution to observe World Water Day was first adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 22, 1992, after which March 22 was declared as World Water Day and is celebrated around the world since then.
- The first World Water Day was observed in the year 1993.