India and Malaysia Sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Strengthening Cooperation in the Field of Tourism.

• It will help in Promotion and marketing of tourism; with special focus on medical tourism, business tourism and ecotourism, Expansion in tourism research and training, etc.
• Malaysia is one of the important inbound tourist source markets for India. 
  • In the year 2022, over 2.5 lacs Malaysian tourists visited India.
• Recently, India and Malaysia elevated ties to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The Member States of the CSC signed the Charter and the MoU for the Establishment of the CSC Secretariat.

About Colombo Security Conclave

• It is a regional security grouping.   .
• Aim: To make maritime security, marine pollution response and maritime search & rescue priorities for the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
• Members: India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Maldives and recently joined by Bangladesh.
• Five pillars of cooperation: Maritime Security; Countering Terrorism; Combating Transnational Organised Crime; Cyber Security; and Humanitarian Assistance.

Measurements from NASA’s Endurance mission confirmed the existence of the AEF responsible for shaping Earth’s ionosphere. 

• Launched in 2022, Endurance Mission aims to measure Earth’s global electric potential.

About AEF

• Bidirectional weak electric field in the upper atmosphere. 
• Hypothesized 60 years ago and originates at around 250 Km altitude, where atoms break into electrons and positively charged ions.
• In the absence of this field, the two charges would have eventually drifted apart. 
• The effect of this field is the extension of the atmosphere's height, causing some ions to escape with the polar wind.

Government accorded ‘Navratna’ status to four Central Public Sector Undertakings.

• These are Railtel Corporation of India, Solar Energy Corporation of India, Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation. 

About Navratna Status

• Criteria: Public undertaking having Miniratna I, Schedule ‘A’ & ; have obtained ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ MoU ratings in 3 of last 5 years.
• Navratna public undertakings can invest up to 30% of their net worth in a year, with a cap of ₹1,000 crore.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has entered into an agreement with SAFHAL Helicopter Engines Private Limited to develop and produce the Aravalli engine.

• It is being developed for powering next-gen helicopters of HAL -Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) and Deck-Based Multi-Role Helicopter (DBMRH).
• SAFAL is a joint venture between France-based Safran Helicopter Engines and HAL.

The Indian Army launched the first phase of Project NAMAN.

Project NAMAN

• It is designed to provide dedicated support and services to Defence pensioners, veterans, and their families.
• Project NAMAN is centred around SPARSH (System for Pension Administration Raksha), and it also offers Government to Citizen (G2C) services, and Business to Consumer (B2C) services. 
  • SPARSH is being implemented for meeting the pension sanction and disbursement requirements for Armed Forces.
• Project involves the establishment of reception and facilitation centres, enabled through a tripartite MoU between the Indian Army, Common Service Centre (CSC), and HDFC Bank.

e-DRS application must be filed within one month from the date of receipt of specified order.

About e-DRS

• Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had notified the e-DRS, 2022 to reduce litigation and provide relief to eligible taxpayers.
• Under e-DRS, taxpayers can opt for e-Dispute Resolution against a ‘specified order’ if:
  • Aggregate sum of variations proposed or made does not exceed Rs.10 lakh and 
  • Returned income for the relevant assessment year does not exceed Rs. 50 lakh. 
• Act also provides for the constitution of Dispute Resolution Committees (DRC).

Both the Finance Ministry and RBI issued clarification that persons of Queer community can open joint bank accounts and declare their partners as nominees. 

• Earlier, the Supreme Court (SC) directed the government for the same. 

Queer/LGBTQ+ Community

• Navtej Singh Johar (2018) case, SC decriminalized same-sex relations. 
  • Although, same sex marriages are not recognized in India. 
• Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 provides for their welfare.