📰 Current Affairs

Lesotho is a landlocked enclave country entirely surrounded by South Africa.

The capital city of Lesotho is Maseru and its official currency is the Lesotho loti.

India established formal diplomatic ties with Lesotho in 1966 following its independence.

Capacity building is extended to Lesotho citizens under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme.

India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) serves as the primary institutional platform for India's multilateral engagement with African nations.

RBI introduced the Fully Accessible Route (FAR) in 2020 to permit non-resident investment in specified government securities without quantitative limits.

Treasury Bills (T-Bills) are short-term debt instruments issued by the Central Government in maturities of 91 days, 182 days, and 364 days.

Cash Management Bills (CMBs) were introduced by the Government of India and RBI in 2010 to meet temporary cash flow mismatches.

Sovereign Green Bonds (SGBs) were first issued by the Government of India in January 2023 to finance green infrastructure initiatives.

Public debt management in India is statutorily governed and executed by the Reserve Bank of India under the RBI Act of 1934.

Article 292 of the Constitution empowers the Union Government to borrow upon the security of the Consolidated Fund of India.

Article 293 of the Constitution regulates borrowing by States and requires Central consent if a State has outstanding Central loans.

Public Debt of the Union is listed under Entry 35 of the Union List (List I) in the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Article 262 of the Indian Constitution empowers Parliament to adjudicate disputes relating to waters of inter-State rivers.

The Inter-State River Water Disputes Act was enacted by Parliament in 1956 under Article 262.

The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) was constituted by the Government of India on June 2, 1990.

Biligundlu located in Krishnagiri district functions as the inter-State water measuring station between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

In February 2018, the Supreme Court modified CWDT award and allocated 177.25 TMC of water annually to Tamil Nadu.

The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMACWMA / CWRCThe two-tier statutory body implementing the Supreme Court's Cauvery award.💡 Click to open Syllabus Focus) and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRCCWMA / CWRCThe two-tier statutory body implementing the Supreme Court's Cauvery award.💡 Click to open Syllabus Focus) were constituted in June 2018.

River Cauvery originates at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri Range of Western Ghats in Kodagu district of Karnataka.

Article 341 empowers the President to specify Scheduled Castes for states and Union Territories.

Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner was established in 1961 under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Census operations in India are governed by the Census Act, 1948.

The first synchronous nationwide Census in India was conducted in 1881 under Viceroy Lord Ripon.

Rettamalai Srinivasan founded the Scheduled Castes Federation in Tamil Nadu and published 'Vijaya Vikatan'.

M.C. Rajah was the first leader from the Depressed Classes appointed to Madras Legislative Council in 1920.

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is the nodal central ministry for Scheduled Caste welfare.

The Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme was initially launched by the Government of India in 2003.

The National Policy on Biofuels was promulgated in 2018 and later amended in 2022 to advance biofuel target deadlines.

India advanced the target for achieving 20% ethanol blending in petrol (E20) from 2030 to the target year 2025-26.

India successfully achieved its target of 10% ethanol blending in petrol in June 2022, five months ahead of schedule.

Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana was launched in 2019 to provide financial support for commercial Second Generation (2G) bioethanol projects.

Bioethanol in India is principally produced from sugarcane molasses, damaged food grains, maize, and agricultural residues.

The Saiva Tirumurais consist of 12 volumes, compiled and codified by Nambiyandar Nambi under the patronage of Chola King Rajaraja I.

The first 7 Tirumurais are collectively known as Tevaram, composed by Sambandar (1-3), Appar (4-6), and Sundarar (7).

The 8th Tirumurai comprises Thiruvasagam and Thirukkovaiyar composed by Manikkavasagar.

The 10th Tirumurai is Thirumandhiram, composed by Thirumoolar, which deals with Saiva Siddhanta philosophy and Siddha medicine.

The 12th Tirumurai is Periyapuranam (also called Tiruthondar Puranam) composed by Sekkizhar in the 12th century CE.

Sekkizhar served as the Chief Minister (Uthama Chola Pallavarayan) under the Chola monarch Kulothunga Chola II.