Important topics notes

1. ISRO , India all space missions

 ISRO was formerly known as the Indian National Committee for Space
Research (INCOSPAR).
 Chairman ISRO S. Somanath
 ISRO has the world's largest constellation of remote-sensing satellites and
operates the GAGAN and IRNSS (NavIC) satellite navigation systems.
 It has sent three missions to the Moon and one to Mars.
 ISRO is primarily responsible for space-based operations, space
exploration, international space cooperation and the development of
related technologies
 ISRO is also one of only four governmental space agencies in the world to
have soft landing (unmanned) capabilities.
 It was set up at the behest of the then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at
the recommendation of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai in 1962, a prescient scientist.
 INCOSPAR was renamed ISRO in 1969 and was subsumed into
the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) Under the government of Indira
Gandhi
 In 1972, the Government of India set up a Space Commission and the
DoS (department of space)bringing ISRO under its purview.
 ISRO built India's first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by
the Soviet space agency Interkosmos in 1975.
 SLV-3 was followed by ASLV, which was subsequently succeeded by the
development of many medium-lift launch vehicles, rocket engines,
satellite systems and networks enabling the agency to launch hundreds of
domestic and foreign satellites and various deep space missions.
 The SLV's first launch in 1979 carried a Rohini technology payload but
could not inject the satellite into its desired orbit.
 It was followed by a successful launch in 1980 carrying a Rohini Series-
I satellite, making India the seventh country to reach Earth's orbit after
the USSR, the US, France, the UK, China and Japan.
 RS-1 was the third Indian satellite to reach orbit as Bhaskara had been
launched from the USSR in 1979.
 In the 1990s, the introduction of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)
was a significant boost for India's space program, achieving over 50
successful flights.
 It allowed India to launch low Earth orbit satellites, small payloads to
geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), and numerous foreign satellites.
 Meanwhile, India was developing the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle (GSLV) and sought cryogenic engines from Russia, but U.S.
sanctions blocked technology transfer.
  India eventually imported limited cryogenic engines from Russia and
developed its own cryogenic technology over two decades.
 The Kargil War and U.S. refusal to share GPS technology led India to
develop its own satellite navigation system, NaVIC. Navigation with Indian
Constellation
 ISRO launched Chandrayaan-1 in 2008, purportedly the first probe to
verify the presence of water on the Moon,
 the Mars Orbiter Mission in 2013, the first Asian spacecraft to enter
Martian orbit, making India the first country to succeed at this on its first
attempt
 The cryogenic upper stage for GSLV rocket became operational, making
India the sixth country to have full launch capabilities.
 A new heavier-lift launcher LVM3 was introduced in 2014 for heavier
satellites and future human space missions
 23 August 2023, India achieved its first soft landing on an extraterrestrial
body and became the first nation to successfully land a spacecraft near
the lunar south pole with ISRO's Chandrayaan-3, the third Moon mission
 Indian moon mission, Chandrayaan-3 saw the successful soft landing of
its Vikram lander at 6.04pm IST (1234 GMT) near the little-explored
region of the Moon in a world's first for any space programme.
 India then successfully launched its first sun probe, the Aditya-L1, aboard
a PSLV on September 2.
 Former president of India and chairman of DRDO, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
 India’s private launchpad by agnikul cosmos name : Dhanush
 India’ s private vehicle by skyroot aerospace name : Vikram
 5 space agencies that are involved in collaboration to assemble and
maintain the ISS NASA , Roscosmos , ESA , JAXA , CSA
 1 women to walk into space – Valentia Tereshkova
 Longest single human space flight : Valery Polyakov 437 days and 18 hrs


 Missions of ISRO
 Chandrayaan-1
 Start : 22 October 2008
 End : 28 August 2009
 Chandrayaan 1 as India's first lunar probe.
 It was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation on 22
October 2008, and was operated until August 2009.
 The mission included a lunar orbiter and an impactor.
 The mission was a major boost to India's space program, as India
researched and developed its own technology in order to explore the
Moon.
  The vehicle was successfully inserted into lunar orbit on 8 November
2008

 Chandrayaan-2
 Start : 22 July 2019
 End : Orbiter functional; the lander crashed onto Moon's surface due
to loss of control (caused by a software glitch) during the final phase
of descent
 Chandrayaan-2 was launched from the second launch pad at Satish
Dhawan Space Centre on 22 July 2019 at 2:43 PM IST (09:13 UTC) to
the Moon by a LVM3 (previously known as GSLV Mk III).
 The planned or by bit has a perigee of 169.7 km and an apogee of
45475 km.
 It consists of a lunar orbiter, lander and rover, all developed in India.
 The main scientific objective is to map the location and abundance of
lunar water.

 Chandrayaan-3
 Start :14 July 2023
 End : 10 November 2023 (Orbiter exited lunar sphere of influence)
 Chandrayaan-3 was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space
Centre, Sriharikota on 14 July 2023 at 14:35 IST (UTC +5:30) by LVM3
M4.
 The main scientific objective is to demonstrate end-to-end capability
in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface.
 The Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed on moon on 23 August 2023 at
18:05 IST (UTC +5:30).
 technology demonstration experiments, hop experiment on the
Vikram Lander was conducted and the Propulsion Module (PM) of
Chandrayaan-3 was moved from an orbit around Moon to an orbit
around Earth.
 The presence of rock type is found called Ferron anorthosite on moon

 Chandrayaan-4
 Expected launch : NET 2028
 Space craft : Lunar lander, sample return
 Chandrayaan-4 is a planned lunar sample-return mission of the Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and will be the fourth iteration in
its Chandrayaan programme.
 It consist of four modules namely Transfer module (TM), Lander
module (LM), Ascender module (AM) and Reentry Module (RM).
 Aditya-L1
 Start : 2 September 2023
 Aditya-L1 is the first Indian observatory class mission to study the solar
corona using a solar coronagraph and also chromosphere using near UV
instrument.
 X-ray spectroscopic instruments will provide flare spectra while the in-situ
payload observes the solar events during their passage from Sun to Earth
 On 6 January 2024, Aditya-L1 spacecraft, India's first solar mission, has
successfully entered its final orbit around the first Sun-Earth Lagrangian
point (L1), approximately 1.5 million kilometres from Earth

 Mars Orbiter Mission

 Start : 5 November 2013
 End : 2 October 2022
 Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan, is
a spacecraft orbiting Mars since 24 September 2014.
 It was launched on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research
Organization (ISRO).
 It is India's first interplanetary spaceflight mission and ISRO has
become the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after the Soviet space
program, NASA, and the European Space Agency.
 India is the first Asian nation to reach Mars orbit, and the first nation
in the world to do so in its first attempt
 Mars Orbiter Mission 2
 Expected launch : NET 2024
 Space craft : Mars orbiter
 Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (MOM 2) also called Mangalyaan 2 is India's
second interplanetary mission planned for launch to Mars by
the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in the 2021–2022 time
frame.
 It will consist of an orbiter, as said by ISRO chairman, K. Sivan in an
interview, but chances were that it will also include a lander and
a rover but later it was fully confirmed that it will an orbiter mission
only

 ASTROSAT
 Start : 28 September 2015
 End : sept 2022
 ASTROSAT is the first dedicated Indian Astronomy satellite mission
launched by ISRO on 28 September 2015
  which enabled multi-wavelength observations of the celestial bodies
and cosmic sources in X-ray and UV spectral bands simultaneously.
 It was in the Sun's orbit for 7 years.
 The scientific payloads cover the Visible (3500–6000 Å...), UV (1300–
op Å...), soft and hard X-ray regimes (0.5–8 keV; 3–80 keV).
 The uniqueness of ASTROSAT lies in its wide spectral coverage
extending over visible, UV, soft and hard X-ray regions.

 AstroSat-2
 Space craft : Space telescope
 AstroSat-2 is India's second dedicated multi-wavelength space
telescope, proposed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)
as the successor of the current Astrosat-1 observatory.
 ISRO launched an 'Announcement of Opportunity in February 2018
requesting proposals from Indian scientists for ideas and the
development of instruments for astronomy and astrophysics

 X-ray Polarimeter Satellite

 Start : 1 January 2024
 The X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) is a ISRO space
observatory to study polarization of cosmic X-rays.
 It was launched on 1 January 2024 on a Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle (PSLV-C58).[12][13] XPoSat will study the 50 brightest known
sources in the universe, including pulsars, black hole X-ray
binaries, active galactic nuclei, and non-thermal supernova remnants

 SPADEX
 Space craft : Space Docking Experiment
 SPADEX or Space Docking Experiment is a twin spacecraft mission
being developed by the ISRO to mature technologies related to orbital
rendezvous, docking, formation flying, with scope of applications in
human spaceflight, in-space satellite servicing and other proximity
operations

 NISAR
 Spacecraft : SAR satellite
 NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is a joint project
between NASA and ISRO to co-develop and launch a dual-
 frequency synthetic aperture radar satellite to be used for remote
sensing.
 It is notable for being the first dual-band radar imaging satellite

 Venus Orbiter Mission

 Shukrayaan
 Expected launch : December 2024
 Space craft : Venus orbiter
 The Indian Venus orbiter mission is a planned orbiter to Venus by
the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to study
the atmosphere of Venus

 Lunar Polar Exploration Mission

 Launch date : 2026
 Space craft : Lunar lander, rover
 Lunar Polar Exploration Mission is a concept mission
by JAXA and ISRO to explore the south pole region of the Moon in
2025.
 The mission concept has not yet been formally proposed for funding
and planning.

 Bhartiya Antariksha Station

 Expected launch : 2028-2035
 Space craft : Space station
 The Bhartiya Antariksha Station (referred in the media as Indian Space
Station) is a planned space station to be constructed by India and
operated by the (ISRO).
 The space station would weigh 20 tonnes and maintain an orbit of
approximately 400 kilometres above the Earth, where astronauts
could stay for 15–20 days.

 Gagan Yaan 1
 Expected launch : dec 2024
 Space craft : test flight (uncrewed)
 Gagan Yaan ("Orbital Vehicle") is an Indian crewed orbital spacecraft
(jointly made by ISRO and HAL) intended to be the basis of the Indian
Human Spaceflight Programme.
  The spacecraft is being designed to carry three people, and a planned
upgraded version will be equipped with rendezvous and docking
capability.
 The Gagan Yaan spacecraft will be launched by a Human-rated LVM
3from Satish Dhawan Space Centre and inserted into a 170 x 408 km
orbit
 This will be the first of two flight tests prior to the inaugural of crewed
mission..
 Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit
Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander
Shubhanshu Shukla are India’s astronauts-designate for Gagan Yaan,
India’s first crewed space mission announced by pm on feb 27

 Gagan Yaan 2
 Expect launch : 2025

 Spacecraft : test flight (uncrewed)
 Second of two flight tests prior to the inaugural crewed mission.

 Gagan Yaan 3
 2025
 Space craft : First crewed Gagan Yaan mission.
 If successful, India would become the fourth country in the world
(after the US, Soviet Union and China) to independently send humans
in space.

 SSLV
 Start : 16 aug 2024
 The 3rd and final development fight of SSLV placing the EOS-08 and
SR-0 demo sat satellite in orbit
 Will take 500km 500kg ko
 D1 failed D2 happened and this is D3

 7 Accidents and Disasters in Spaceflight History

 Iss expedition 36: water leak in astronauts suit
In 2013, during a spacewalk on the International Space Station, Italian
astronaut Luca Parmitano experienced a dangerous situation when his
 helmet began filling with water from a leaking liquid coolant system. The
water floated freely around his head, making it difficult for him to hear or
communicate. Despite the risk, Parmitano continued the spacewalk for over
an hour before safely returning to the ISS. The incident led to the
cancellation of the spacewalk, making it the second shortest in the station's
history. Parmitano was unharmed but in need of a towel afterward.

 Sts 51 L space shuttle challenger disaster

The Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986, was a tragic event in space
exploration history. Just over a minute after liftoff, the space shuttle
Challenger broke apart due to a malfunction in the O-rings, which caused a
fire and led to the shuttle's disintegration. All seven astronauts on board,
including Christa McAuliffe, a teacher participating in NASA’s Teacher in
Space project, lost their lives. The disaster occurred in freezing
temperatures, which had been flagged as a risk by engineers, but NASA
proceeded with the launch after previous delays. The tragedy led to a
temporary suspension of the space shuttle program and the establishment
of the Rogers Commission to investigate the causes.

 Apollo 12: lightening strikes and head scrape

The second manned lunar mission, Apollo 12, launched on November 14,
1969, faced a few challenges. Shortly after liftoff, the spacecraft was struck
by lightning twice, causing concern but no actual damage, allowing the
mission to proceed to the Moon as planned. However, during the return to
Earth, the spacecraft was hit by a strong wave during its ocean splashdown,
causing a 16-mm film camera to fall and cut astronaut Alan Bean's head.
Bean was quickly treated by fellow astronaut Charles Conrad and was
otherwise unharmed.

 Soyuz 1 parachute failure

Vladimir Komarov, one of the first Soviet cosmonauts, became the first
person to enter space twice, but his second mission on Soyuz 1 ended
tragically. The spacecraft, intended to test docking procedures with Soyuz 2,
encountered severe technical issues, including a failed solar panel that
limited power and control. The Soyuz 2 mission was cancelled, and Komarov
attempted to return to Earth. However, Soyuz 1's parachutes failed to
deploy correctly, causing the spacecraft to crash on April 24, 1967, killing
Komarov. He was the first fatality in spaceflight and has since been
honoured with memorials for his bravery.

 Mir 18 : exercise equipment to the eye

 In 1995, during a mission to the Mir space station, astronaut Norman
Thagard injured his eye while using exercise equipment designed for deep
knee bends. The elastic strap he was using snapped off his foot and struck
him in the eye, causing pain and sensitivity to light. Fortunately, the space
station had steroid eye drops on hand, and after treatment, Thagard's eye
healed, and he fully recovered.

 Sts -107 space shuttle Columbia disaster

The Columbia space shuttle disaster on February 1, 2003, was a tragic event
in NASA's history. During liftoff, a piece of foam broke off and damaged the
shuttle's left wing, creating a hole. Although NASA was aware of the
damage, they underestimated its severity. Upon reentry, gases entered
through the hole, causing the wing to break off, and the shuttle
disintegrated, killing all seven crew members. The disaster led to the
suspension of NASA’s space shuttle program. Remarkably, an experiment
studying worms in space survived the wreckage, symbolizing the crew's
dedication.

 Apollo soyuz test project : poisonous gas leak

The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in July 1975 was the first joint U.S.-Soviet
spaceflight, symbolizing the end of the space race. The mission went
smoothly as American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts docked their
spacecraft, exchanged gifts, and conducted experiments, speaking in each
other's languages. However, during the Apollo spacecraft's reentry, a
malfunction allowed poisonous nitrogen tetroxide to enter the cabin.
Although the astronauts developed chemically induced pneumonia, they
recovered after being treated in the hospital.

2. Interim budget
 Presented by Nirmala Sitaraman
 Presented on 1 feb 2024
 Interim Union Budget for 2024-2025 in Parliament today announced that
the capital expenditure outlay for the next year is being increased by 11.1
per cent to Rs 11,11,111 crore, which would be 3.4 per cent of the GDP.
 As per the IMF, India is likely to become the third-largest economy in
2027 (in USD at market exchange rate) and it also estimated that India’s
contribution to global growth will rise by 200 basis points in 5 years.
  Moreover, various international agencies such as the World Bank, the IMF,
OECD and ADB project India to grow between 6.4 per cent, 6.3 per cent, 6.1
per cent and 6.7 per cent, respectively in 2024-25.
 2024-25, the total receipts other than borrowings and the total expenditure
are estimated at Rs 30.80 and 47.66 lakh crore respectively.
 The tax receipts are estimated at Rs 26.02 lakh crore.
 the Finance Minister said, the scheme of fifty-year interest free loan for capital
expenditure to states will be continued this year with total outlay of Rs1.3 lakh
crore.
 A provision of seventy-five thousand crore rupees as fifty-year interest free loan is
proposed this year to support the milestone-linked reforms of Viksit Bharat by the
State Governments.
 The gross and net market borrowings through dated securities during 2024-25 are
estimated at Rs 14.13 and 11.75 lakh crore respectively and both will be less than
that in 2023-24.
 She informed that PM Mudra Yojana has sanctioned 43 crore loans aggregating to
Rs 22.5 lakh crore for entrepreneurial aspirations. It may be mentioned that thirty
crore Mudra Yojana loans have been given to women entrepreneurs.
 No change relating to taxation has been proposed in the Interim Budget.
 The same rates for direct taxes and indirect taxes, including import duties, have
been retained
 An interim budget is a special type of budget that helps the government manage
its expenses and income for a short period.
 It is usually created when a new government takes charge, or elections are around
the corner.
 It is like a temporary plan to keep things running smoothly until a full budget is
prepared.
 1st interim budget : R K Shanmukham Chetty in November 26, 1947
 Haribhai M Patel : It was the first time an interim budget was given by a finance
secretary and a former bureaucrat, and it was also the shortest budget presented.
 1 women to present interim budget : Indira Gandhi

3. Budget
 Article 112 of the constitution talks about the union budget known as
annual financial statement
 It is the statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the
government of a financial year i.e. 1 April to 31 march
 Changes made in 2017
i. Advancement of budget to feb 1 earlier used to be presented on last
working day of feb
ii. Merger of railway budget earlier the railway budget was different
and it was of British
iii. No plan expenditure i.e. every year new budget would be
introduced
 6 stages in parliament
i. Presentation of budget
ii. General discussion
iii. Scrutiny by departmental committee
iv. Voting on demands of grant
v. Passing and appropriation bill
vi. Passing of finance bill
 The 1 budget of independent India was presented in 1947
 Longest in words budget speech by : Manmohan Singh ji 1981 (18,650)
 Longest in duration : Nirmala ji 2020 (2.42hr)
 Most no of times who has presented : Morarji 10 times
 Budget theme
i. Employment
ii. Skilling
iii. Msmes
iv. Middle class
 3.4% of gdp is going to be used on infrastructure ( 11,11,11 cr )
 Pmgy phase 4 25k villages would be join with road
 Was started in 2015
 Gaya is aim to be developed
 Space infra structure 1000 cr would be used
 Bhu- Aadhar for all lands so there are no disputes among people
 Urban land would be under GIS
 Inflation should be 2% to 6%
2022 – 6.67%
2023 – 5.45 %
 fiscal deficit
2023 – 6.4% of GDP
2024 – 5.6% of GDP
2025 – 4.9 % of GDP
 3 cancer medicine out of custom duty
 15% reduction on mobile phone custom duty
 Gold 6 % reduction of cd
 Platinum 6.4 % reduction of cd
 25 minerals exempted from cd
 Budget : 48.21 lakh cr

4. BRICS
 BRICS is an intergovernmental
organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South
Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.
  The founding countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China held the first
summit in Yekaterinburg in 2009, with South Africa joining the bloc a year
later.
 Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates joined the organisation
on 1 January 2024.
 Saudi Arabia is yet to officially join, but participates in the organisation's
activities as an invited nation.
 The BRICS countries are considered the foremost geopolitical rival to the G7
bloc of leading advanced economies, implementing competing initiatives
such as the New Development Bank, the BRICS Contingent Reserve
Arrangement, the BRICS pay, the BRICS Joint Statistical Publication and the
BRICS basket reserve currency
 It was introduced in the 2001 publication, Building Better Global Economic
BRICs by then-chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Jim O'Neill
 The BRIC grouping's 1st formal summit, also held in Yekaterinburg,
commenced on 16 June 2009, with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Dmitry
Medvedev, Manmohan Singh, and Hu Jintao, the respective leaders of
Brazil, Russia, India, and China, all attending
 1st host country – Russia , Yekaterinburg (Sevastianov's House)
 Host : Dmitry Medvedev
 4th host country – India new Delhi taj hotel
 Host : Manmohan Singh
 29th march 2012
 8th host country – India Benaulim (Taj Exotica)
 Host : Narendra Modi
 15th 16th oct 2016
 13th host country – India new Delhi ( video conference )
 Host : Narendra Modi
 9th sept 2021
 16th host country – Russia
 22 – 24 oct 2024
 17th host country in Brazil

5. EFTA
 European free trade association
 Intergovernmental grouping of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and
Switzerland, signed a trade pact Sunday that will see the EFTA countries
committing to invest $100 billion in India and aiming to generate 10 lakh
jobs over a 15-year period in exchange for tariff concessions for their
pharma, chemical products and minerals, among other items.
 consisting of four European
states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
 EFTA was historically one of the two dominant western European trade
blocs, but is now much smaller and closely associated with its historical
competitor, the European Union.
 It was established on 3 May 1960 to serve as an alternative trade bloc
for those European states that were unable or unwilling to join the
then European Economic Community (EEC), the main predecessor of
the EU.
 The Stockholm Convention (1960), to establish the EFTA, was signed
on 4 January 1960 in the Swedish capital by seven countries (known
as the "Outer
Seven": Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and
the United Kingdom).
 A revised Convention, the Vaduz Convention, was signed on 21 June
2001 and entered into force on 1 June 2002.
 The main difference between the early EEC and the EFTA was that the
latter did not operate common external customs tariffs unlike the
former: each EFTA member was free to establish its individual customs
duties against, or its individual free trade agreements with, non-EFTA
countries.
 The founding members of the EFTA were: Austria, Denmark, Norway,
Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
 During the 1960s, these countries were often referred to as the "Outer
Seven", as opposed to the Inner Six of the then European Economic
Community (EEC).
 India and EFTA have inked a free trade agreement with an

investment plan of $100 billion over the next 15 years.

 The agreement was signed after a gap of almost
16 years as negotiations, started in 2008, but
were put on hold in November 2013. Talks
resumed in October 2016, and after 21 rounds of
negotiations were held before its conclusion.
 For the first time in the history of FTAs (free trade
agreements), a legal commitment is being made
to promoting target-oriented investment and the
job creation
 Almost all the domestic industrial goods would
get duty-free access in EFTA nations under the
agreement, besides duty concessions on
processed agricultural products.
  Switzerland, the major trading partner of India in
the bloc, already removed duties from January
this year on almost all industrial goods.
 India is offering 82.7 per cent of its tariff lines or
product categories, which covers 95.3 per cent of
EFTA exports of which more than 80 per cent of
imports is gold.
 Indian companies can look to Switzerland as a
base for extending their market reach to the EU
 After signing the agreement, Commerce and
Industry Minister Piyush Goyal described the
signing as a "watershed moment", as it is India's
first modern trade pact with a bloc having
developed countries.
 He said that for the first time in a trade
agreement, EFTA had committed to invest USD
100 billion in the next 15 years.
 It would take around a year for the agreement to
come into force.
 The agreement has 14 chapters, including trade
in goods, rules of origin, intellectual property
rights (IPRs), trade in services, investment
promotion and cooperation, government
procurement, technical barriers to trade and
trade facilitation

6. FATF
  Financial action task force
 Established in 1989
 Role : to check on that black money is not used and that money is not used
in terrorist activities
 Total members – 39
 Member countries – 37
 2 regional organizations which are FATF members they are
European commission
Gulf cooperation council
 Observer status is given to : Indonesia
 the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering and to
maintain certain interest
 In 2001, its mandate was expanded to include terrorism financing.
 India got observer status in 2006
 It become a member in 2010
 It was the 34th member of fatf
 Fatf classifies countries in 4 types
Regular follow up
Enhanced follow up
Grey list
Black list
 Fatf to meet the private sector stakeholders in April 2025
 President : Elisa de Anda Modrazo
 Headquarters : Paris

7. Chahbahar port
 Chabahar Port is a seaport in Chabahar located in southeastern Iran, on
the gulf of Oman .
 It serves as Iran's only oceanic port, and consists of two separate ports
named Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti, each of which has five berths.
 It is only about 170 kilometres west of the Pakistani port of Gwadar
 The first phase of the port was opened in 1983 during the Iran–Iraq War as
Iran began shifting seaborne trade east towards the Pakistani border in
order to decrease dependency on ports in the Persian Gulf which were
vulnerable to attack by the Iraqi Air Force.
 On 29 October 2017, the first shipment through the port was sent from
India en route to Afghanistan.
 To demonstrate the viability of the route, seven shipments of wheat as
aid to Afghanistan were planned to be sent by India by the end of
January 2018.
 On 3 December 2017, the first phase of the port construction was
inaugurated by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
  In January 2018, Iran and India signed an agreement worth $2 billion
for cooperation in the rail sector.
 A part of the agreement pertains to a memorandum of understanding
worth $600 million for Iran to purchase locomotives and freight cars
from India.
 In November 2018, The United States has exempted the multinational
Chabahar port project from its sanctions against Iran due to its
economic importance to Afghanistan.
 In February 2019, Afghanistan Launches New Export Route To India
Through Chabahar Port.
 At the inauguration of the new export route, officials said 23 trucks
carrying 57 tonnes of dried fruits, textiles, carpets and mineral products
were dispatched from the southwestern Afghan city of Zaranj to Iran's
Chabahar port. The consignment will be shipped to Mumbai.
 On 14 July 2020, Iran proceeded with the construction of the
Chabahar-Zahedan rail link independently, citing delays in the
proposed funding from India Iran issued a statement, clarifying that
while the funding of the rail link by IRCON had come up in negotiations,
it had not been agreed upon between India and Iran
 In late February 2024, the Taliban-led government of
Afghanistan announced an investment of $35 million in the Chabahar
port in southern Iran.
 According to The Diplomat, cooperation between Afghanistan and Iran
can provide the Taliban regime with more policy options and reduce its
dependence on Pakistan.
 India and Iran signed 1- year long sign 10 year long Chabahar port pact
 Deal between sarabande sonowal shipping minister of India was present
while signing of the agreement
 Deal between : Indian ports global limited and port maritime organization
of Iran
 Enable the operation of : shahid Beheshti terminal
 The port offers an alternative route that bypass Pakistan reducing India’s
reliance on its neighbour for trade with Afghanistan and beyond

8. Hema committee
 The Justice Hema Committee was constituted by the Government of
Kerala following Women in Cinema Collective's petition in response to
the 2017 actress assault case to document the challenges faced by women
working in Malayalam cinema.
 Chaired by retired Kerala High Court Judge Justice K. Hema, the committee
also included veteran actress Sarada and retired Indian Administrative
Service officer K.B. Valsala Kumari as its members
 The report was submitted to the government on December 31, 2019, but it
was not released to the public.
 No action was taken by the Kerala government (First Vijayan
Ministry & Second Vijayan Ministry) from December 2019 to July 2024.
 On July 6, the Kerala State Information Commission passed an order
directing the Kerala government to issue the committee report to RTI
applicants before July 22,
 after redacting information that could identify individuals mentioned in
the report, as prohibited under the Right to Information Act.
 On August 19, 2024, the report was made available to the RTI
applicants after the Kerala High Court, on Tuesday, August 13, upheld
the order of the State Information Commission and allowed for the
release of the Justice Hema Committee report, determining that there
was no breach of privacy.
 The Kerala government released only 233 pages of the report,
excluding sections that could infringe on the privacy of the individuals
mentioned.
 The report reveals the existence of an all-male power group of 15 top
people in the industry, including directors, producers and actors in the
Malayalam industry.
 According to the report, the power group determined who should stay
in the industry and who would be cast in films
 There are recommendations like establishing internal complaint
committee and gender awareness training
 Sreelekha Mitra revealed a disturbing encounter with Malayalam film
director Ranjith Balakrishnan. In response to these allegations, Ranjith
resigned from his position as Chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra
Academy. The alleged incident occurred during the production of the 2009
film Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha
 An actress disclosed inappropriate behaviour from Malayalam film
actors Siddique and Riyaz Khan. Subsequently, Siddique stepped down as
General Secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA)
