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NATIONAL AFFAIRS
DoPT Notified Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024; Effective from
21st June, 2024
The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and
Pensions (MoPPG&P), Government of India (GoI) in exercise of powers given under sub-section (2) of
section 1 of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 (1 of 2024) has notified
that all the provisions of the said Act came into effect from 21st June 2024.

• The Act aims to prevent unfair means in public examinations and common entrance tests held
across India. All offences will be cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable under this
Act.
• The Act consists of 19 sections across 6 chapters which deal with the various aspects of public
examination to ensure transparency and credit of the exams conducted by public authorities.
Background:
i.The Act was 1st introduced by the Union Minister of State (MoS) Dr. Jitendra Singh, (MoPPG&P) as Public
Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Parliament)
on 5th February, 2024 during the Interim Budget session of the Parliament and was passed in Lok Sabha
on 6th February, 2024.
ii.Later, the Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Parliament) on 9th February, 2024.
iii.The President of India, Droupadi Murmu gave assent to Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair
Means) Bill, 2024 on 13th February, 2024.
Features of the Act:
Public Examination:
Section 2(k) of the Act defines “public examination” any examination conducted by authorities specified
under the schedule of the said Act or notified by the central government, these include:
• The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Railway
Recruitment Board (RRB), National Testing Agency (NTA), Institute of Banking Personnel
Selection (IBPS), and the Departments of the central government and their attached offices for
the recruitment.
Unfair Means:
Section 3 of the Act outlines minimum 15 actions that amount using unfair means in public examinations
“for monetary or wrongful gain”. It aims to prohibit collusion or conspiracy to facilitate indulgence in any
unfair means, these include:
• Unauthorised access or leakage of question paper or answer keys.
• Assisting a candidate during a public examination
• Tampering with computer network or resources.

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• Tampering with documents for shortlisting of candidates or finalising the merit list or rank of a
candidate in public examination.
• Conducting fake examination, issuing fake admit cards or offer letters to cheat or monetary gain.
Key points:
The Act also prohibits disclosing exam-related confidential information before time and an unauthorised
people from entering exam centres to create disruptions.
• All these offences are punishable under section 10 with imprisonment of minimum 3 years which
may extend to 5 years, and a fine up to Rs 10 lakh.
• If he/she fails to pay the fine, an additional punishment of imprisonment shall be imposed, as per
the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023(BNS2).
Service Providers:
Section 2(n) defines “service provider” to mean any agency, organisation, body is engaged by the public
examination authority for the conduct of the public
examination.
• It is mandatory on part of service
provider to report to the police and the
concerned examination authority, in case it
found any person or group of persons or
institution commits any offence or unfair
means under section 3, 4 and 5 of the act.
Failure to report such incidents will be
considered an offence.
• It prohibits service providers from shifting
the exam centre without permission from the examination authority.
Penalty:
As per the section 10 (2) under Chapter III of the Act, an offence by a service provider will be punishable
with fine up to Rs 1 crore and proportionate cost of examination will also be recovered from such a service
provider.
• Service provider will also be barred from conducting any public examination for a period of 4
years.
Organised crime:
The Act defines organised crime as an unlawful act committed by a person or a group of persons to further
a shared interest for wrongful gain in relation to public examinations.
• The Act has provision to punish persons who commits an organised crime with
imprisonment between 5 years and 10 years, and a fine of minimum Rs 1 crore.
• Also, if an institution found guilty of committing an organised crime, its property will be attached
and forfeited, and a proportionate cost of the examination will be also recovered from it.
Other Keyfacts:
i.The Act mandates an officer not below the rank Deputy Superintendent or Assistant Commissioner of
Police will investigate the offences under the Act.
• As per Section 12 (2) sub section (1) of the Act, the central government may transfer the
investigation to any central investigation agency.
ii.The Act specifies that “candidates” would not be liable for action within its purview and would continue to
be covered under existing administrative provisions of the Act
iii.No action will count as an offence if it is proved that the accused had exercised due diligence.

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About Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (MoPPG&P):

Union Minister– Narendra Modi (Lok Sabha constituency- Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (UP))
Union MoS– Dr. Jitendra Singh (Lok Sabha constituency- Udhampur, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K))

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Launches Web Portal For Faster Bank Settlements Under
AIF
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW) has
launched a new web portal to automate and accelerate the process of settlement of interest subvention
claims of banks made under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF).

• The portal was jointly developed by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’
Welfare (DA&FW) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
• NABARD chairman Shaji K.V. and officials from MoA&FW were present during the event.
Key Points:
i.This portal will ensure timely settlement of claims within a day and ensure transparency and check
corrupt methods.
• The portal shall be used by banks, Central Project Management Unit (CPMU) of DA & FW and
NABARD.
ii.It helps with the calculation of exact eligible interest subventions through the portal, reducing the
possibility of human error in manual processing and allowing for faster claim settlement.
iii.The automation of the interest subvention claim and credit guarantee fee claim processing will support
the government to release accurate interest subvention,
and reduce the turn-around time.
iv.This will turn help the farmers and agri entrepreneurs
financially and support them to take up projects for
development of agriculture in India.
Launch of Krishi Katha:
The Union Minister also launched ‘Krishi Katha’, a blog
site which will serve as a digital platform to displays the
voice of the Indian farmers and amplify the experiences,
insights and success stories of farmers across India.
• This will act as storytelling space where the
narratives of India’s agricultural community can
be shared and celebrated.
• This will support to create awareness, facilitate
exchange of knowledge, foster collaboration and
empower farmers.

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About Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF):

i. AIF was launched byPrime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi in 2020 to develop post-harvest management
infrastructure to reduce losses, provide better value to farmers, promote agriculture innovation, and
attract.
ii.As of June 2024, A total of Rs.72,000 crore has been invested, with Rs.43,000 crore already sanctioned for
67,871 projects under AIF.
iii. A total of Rs.1 lakh crore will be funded through banks and financial institutions up to 2025-26.
iv.The initiative offers a 3% interest subsidy on bank loans up to Rs.2 crore for a maximum of 7 years, as
well as repayment of credit guarantee fees paid by banks.
About Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA & FW):
Union Minister – Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Constituency – Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh-MP)
Minister of State (MoS) – Ram Nath Thakur (Rajya Sabha – Bihar); Bhagirath Choudhary (Constituency –
Ajmer, Rajasthan)

Union Minister Launches MSME TEAM Initiative & Yashasvini Campaign To Boost Online Trading
of MSMEs
Jitan Ram Manjhi, the Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) launched
the MSME Trade Enablement and Marketing (TEAM) Initiative and Yashasvini Campaign to boost micro
and small businesses trade using e-commerce and to support women entrepreneurs.

• The two initiatives were launched during the event of World MSME Day, ‘Udyami
Bharat’ on June 27 2024 in New Delhi, Delhi.
• The Union Ministry of MSME also amending the MSME Development Act, 2006 to improve
mechanisms for managing disputes related to delayed payments and to better address the
evolving needs of the MSME sector.
Key Points:
The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (M/o MSME) has identified six pillars. They are
1. Formalisation and access to credit
2. Increased access to market and e-commerce adoption
3. Increased productivity through modern technology
4. Enhanced skill levels and digitalization in the service sector
5. Support to Khadi, Village, and
6. Coir industry to globalise them and empowerment of women, artisans, through enterprise
creation, based on which the MSME-related initiatives are built.
About MSME TEAM Initiative:
i.It has been launched under the World Bank (WB)-supported Raising And Accelerating MSME
Productivity (RAMP) programme and implemented by National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC).

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ii.This initiative boosts e-commerce access for MSEs (micro and small enterprises) via the government’s
open e-commerce network Open Network for Digital
Commerce (ONDC) with an outlay of Rs 277.35 crore for
the period of three years (2024-2027).
iii.It aims to support Udyam-registered MSEs with
catalogue development and onboarding on ONDC along
with account management support in response to the
challenges MSEs face in accessing e-commerce, like limited
digital access, financial constraints, and lack of confidence
in operating through digital platforms.
• It will provide financial assistance for
onboarding, cataloguing, account management, logistics, packaging material, and design.
iv.The initiative is expected to benefit 5 lakh MSEs with 50% of them being women-owned enterprises.
v.Under this initiative, subsidies will be provided to MSEs for transportation and logistics and packaging
including packaging designs.
About Yashasvini Campaign:
i.Yashasvini Campaign is an awareness campaign, which focuses on formalising women-owned micro
enterprises in tier-2 and tier-3 cities and providing necessary support and assistance.
ii.It provides capacity building, training, handholding and mentorship to the women owned enterprises.
Note: MSMEs will play a key role in the movement towards Atmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat.
About Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (M/o MSME):
Union Minister – Jitan Ram Manjhi (Lok Sabha Constituency – Gaya, Bihar)
Minister of State (MoS) – Shobha Karandlaje (Lok Sabha Constituency – Bangalore North, Karnataka)

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Paraguay Becomes 100th Full Member of International Solar Alliance
The Republic of Paraguay officially became the 100th full member of the International Solar Alliance
(ISA), a treaty-based international intergovernmental organization. Paraguay handed over its Instrument of
Ratification to the ISA in New Delhi, Delhi.

Note: The ISA is an action-oriented, member-driven, collaborative platform for increased deployment of
solar energy technologies.
Key People: Fleming Raul Duarte, Ambassador of Paraguay handed over the Instrument of Ratification to
Abhishek Singh, Head of Depository, Joint Secretary of the Economic Diplomacy (ED) & Multilateral
Economic Relations (MER) Division, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

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ISA Overview:
i.The ISA was conceived as a joint effort by India and France to combat climate change through
deployment of solar energy solutions.
ii.It was conceptualised on the sidelines of the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Paris, France in 2015.
iii.This treaty-based intergovernmental organisation was launched by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra
Modi and Former President of France, François Hollande.
iv.The ISA works with governments to improve energy access and security worldwide and drive energy
transition in its member countries, promoting solar power as a sustainable way to transition to a carbon-
neutral future.
Membership and Framework:
i.Initially limited, the ISA’s Framework Agreement was amended in 2020, allowing all UN member states to
join.
ii.Currently, 119 countries are signatories to the ISA Framework Agreement, of which 100
countries have ratified and become full members of the ISA.
Note: Spain became the 99th full member of ISA in May 2024.
About the International Solar Alliance (ISA):
Director General– Dr Ajay Mathur
Headquarters– Gurugram, Haryana

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI Raised WMA limit for States/UTs by 28% to Rs 60,118 crore
On 28th June 2024, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that it has raised Ways and Means
Advances (WMA) limit or financial accommodation for state governments and Union Territories (UTs) by
28%, from Rs 47, 010 crore (fixed in April 2022) to Rs 60, 118 crore and will come into effect
from, 1st July, 2024.

• The WMA limit has been raised based on the recommendations made by the group formed by the
RBI which comprises finance secretaries of various states to address the expenditure data of
states for recent years.
Background:
i.WMA scheme was 1st introduced by Government of India (GoI) in 1997.
ii.In April 2021, RBI announced for the continuation of WMA limit to Rs 51, 560 crore for all states and UTs
due to the prevalence of the COVID-19.
iii.RBI decreased the WMA limits to Rs 47, 010 crore for all states/UTs through special WMA, and Overdraft
(OD) schemes were last reviewed and announced on 1st April, 2022.

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• These changes were recommended by the Advisory committee on WMA to state governments,
headed by Sudhir Shrivastava. The committee was formed by RBI in August, 2019.
Key Points:
i.RBI announced that Special Drawing
Facility (SDF) availed by state governments/ UTs will
continue to be linked to the quantum of their investments in
marketable securities, issued by the Government of India
(GoI), including Auction Treasury Bills (ATBs).
ii.RBI working group on Consolidated Sinking
Fund (CSF) and Guarantee Redemption
Fund (GRF) suggested that the maximum limit of SDF that
can be availed by states/UTs against the investments held
under CSF or GRF will be 50% of the lower of: outstanding
balance of the funds as on the last date of the second
preceding quarter, and the current balance held in CSF or
GRF.
• Also, the maximum limit of SDF for investments
held in ATBs will be 50% of the lower of:
outstanding balance of the funds in ATBs (91/182/364 days) as on the last date of the second
preceding quarter, and the current balance held in ATB.
Note: CSF and GRF are reserve funds held by state governments with RBI.
About WMAs:
i.These are temporary advances given by the RBI to the government to tide over any mismatch in receipts
and payments.
ii.There are two types of WMA: Normal WMA are clean advances and Special WMA or Special Drawing
Facility (SDF).
• The number loans given under the normal WMA is based on 3 year average of actual revenue and
capital expenditure of state.
• While, SDF is available before the availing of WMA and is offered against the collateral of the
government securities held by the state. The interest rate for SDF is 1% point less than the repo
rate.
iii.WMA is mentioned under Section 17(5) of RBI Act, 1934 which authorizes RBI to lend to the centre or
state governments subject to the repayment of loans within 90 days. Interest is charged at the
existing repo rate.
• If WMA exceeds 90 days, it would be considered as an Overdraft (OD) i.e. interest rate on ODs is
2% points more than the repo rate.
Points to Note:
i.State Governments or UTs can avail the OD facility on 14 consecutive days.
ii.State Governments or UTs can be in OD for a maximum number of 36 days in a quarter.
About Reserve Bank of India(RBI):
Governor– Shaktikanta Das(25th Governor of RBI)
Headquarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Established- 1 April, 1935

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RBI Imposes Rs 29.60 lakh Penalty on HSBC for Card Rule Violations
On 24th June 2024, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 29.60 lakh on The
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) for non-compliance with directions issued by
RBI on ‘Credit Card, Debit Card and Rupee Denominated Co-branded Pre-paid Card operations of Banks’
reiterated in ‘RBI (Credit Card and Debit Card – Issuance and Conduct) Directions, 2022.
• The penalty was imposed in the exercise of powers vested in RBI under the provisions of Section
47A(1)(c) read with Section 46(4)(i) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
• RBI conducted the Statutory Inspection for Supervisory Evaluation (ISE 2022) with reference to
the financial position of HSBC as on 31st March 2022.
• The HSBC failed to ensure that there was no negative amortisation while computing Minimum
Payment Due(MPD)in certain credit card accounts.
Note: The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp Ltd (HSBC), a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc, formerly
known as HongkongBank. It was incorporated in 1866.

RBI Launches ‘Finquiry’ to Allow Fintechs Directly Discuss with RBI

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) launched an exclusive 2-hour window called ‘Finquiry’ for fintechs to visit
the FinTech department of the RBI in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• This initiative aims to provide a platform for fintechs to seek clarity and discuss fintech-related
queries directly with RBI officials.
• This will foster better communication and understanding between RBI and the fintech companies.
Note: The window, launched on 26th June 2024, will be available on the last working Wednesday of every
month from 3 to 5 pm.

HDFC Life Launched ‘Bridge the Gap’ Campaign to Enhance Life Insurance Awareness
On the sidelines of National Insurance Awareness Day 2024(28th June 2024), HDFC Life Insurance
Company Limited introduced the ‘Bridge the Gap’ campaign to educate the public about the role of life
insurance.
• This initiative aims to clarify the benefits of life insurance and inform the public about its
importance.
• HDFC Life has partnered with ET NOW, an English-language business and finance news channel
in India, to produce a series of informative chat shows featuring discussions with HDFC Life
leaders and their partners. This will cover various aspects of financial planning with life
insurance, including protection, child plans, and retirement options.
Note: Life insurance penetration in India is low at only 3.2%, with a substantial protection gap of about
91%.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Brand Finance’s INDIA 100 2024: Tata Group Retains No.1 Position as India’s Most Valuable
Brand
According to the Brand Finance’s India 100 2024: The annual report on the most valuable and strongest
Indian brands June 2024, TATA Group retained the Number 1 position in the Brand Value Ranking 2024
with a 9% growth in brand value to USD 28.6 billion. TATA Group, the most valuable brand in India,
became the 1st Indian brand to near a USD 30 million brand value mark.
• Infosys continues to retain its 2nd spot, with a steady 9% growth in brand value (USD 14.2
billion), followed by HDFC Group in the 3rd spot with a brand value of USD 10.4 billion.

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• Taj retains its reputation as the strongest Indian brand for the 3rd consecutive year with a
AAA+ brand strength rating.
Note: Brand Finance is a London (United Kingdom – UK)-based independent brand valuation consultancy
that evaluates and ranks brands across sectors and countries.
About the Report:
i.Brand Value Report provides a complete breakdown of the assumptions, data sources, and calculations
used to determine the brand’s value and brand equity research.
ii.It is the culmination of an objective assessment of over 250 Indian brands, spanning many sectors
including, hospitality, automotive, pharma, etc.
Top 5 Most Valuable Indian Brands – 2024:

Brand Value (USD

Rank Brand Sector
billion)

1 Tata Group Diversified 28.6

2 Infosys IT Services 14.2

3 HDFC Group Banking 10.4

Life Insurance Corporation of India

4 Insurance 10.1
(LIC)

5 Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Oil & Gas 8.4

Top 5 Strongest Indian Brands 2024:

Brand Strength Index (BSI)

Rank Brand
score (out of 100)

1 Taj 92.9

2 Amul 91.0

3 LIC 88.0

4 Britannia 88.0

5 State Bank of India (SBI) 87.9

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Sustainability Perceptions Value:

i.Brand Finance also uses its Global Brand Equity Monitor (GBEM) research to compile a Sustainability
Perceptions Index.
ii.Tata Group leads the 2024 Sustainability Perceptions Index with the highest Sustainability
Perceptions Value of USD 4 billion.
iii.In assessing the gap between sustainability perceptions and
performance, HDFC Bank has the highest positive gap value
of USD 105 million among Indian brands in the rankings.
Points to note:
i.Mahindra with a brand value of USD 3.4 billion, leads
the Indian auto brand landscape. Bajaj Auto recorded a
significant 15% growth, reaching a brand value of USD 2.3
billion.
ii.HDFC Bank ranked as the No. 1 banking brand, with a
brand value growth of 38%.
• Indian Bank (USD 719 million), IndusInd
Bank (USD 1.3 billion), Union Bank of India (USD
1.5 billion), and Punjab National Bank (PNB) (USD
1.4 billion), are among the fastest-growing Indian banking brands.
iii.Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) ranked 1st Information Technology (IT) Services brand, with a brand
value up 11% to USD 19.2 billion.
iv.Tata Steel retains its top rank in the Mining, Metals and Minerals sector, with a 28% brand value
increase to USD 2.9 billion.
• JSW Steel is the fastest-growing metals brand with a 77% growth in brand value of USD 1.1
billion.
v.Westside (Retail) tops the list as the fastest-growing brand in India with 122% brand value growth,
ahead of Motherson (Auto Components) (86%),and Sonata Software (IT Services) (83%).
vi.The Telecoms sector achieves 61% growth in brand value, followed by Banking (26%) and Mining,
Iron & Steel sectors recording 16% average growth.
Some Most Valuable Indian Brands in 2024 (Various Sectors):

Category Brand

Most Valuable Food and Drink Sector Amul

Most Valuable Building Materials Sector Ultratech Cement

Most Valuable Manufacturing and Engineering

Larsen & Toubro (L&T)
Sector

Most Valuable Hotel Sector Taj Hotels

Most Valuable Insurance Sector LIC

Most Valuable Oil & Gas Sector Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL)

Most Valuable Tyre Brands MRF Tyres

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Standout Performances in India Brand Value Analytics 2024:

i.Raymond, a leading Indian apparel brand records a 12% brand value increase to USD 305 million.
• Raymond entered the rankings of the top 10 strongest brands in India for the 1st time,
securing a Brand Strength Index (BSI) rating of AAA-.
ii.Zetwerk Manufacturing company makes a debut in the India 100 2024 report by securing the 64th
rank as the most valuable Indian brands.
• It also secured the 2nd most valuable engineering brand with a brand value of USD 543 million.
iii.Indigo ranked as the most valuable airline brand in India, achieving a 26% brand value increase.
• Indigo is India’s 1st airline brand to surpass the USD 1 billion mark brand value (USD 1.1
billion).
iv.The National Stock Exchange India (NSE India) retains its position as a leading player both in India and
on the global stage and has improved its position by 12 ranks in 2024. In 2023, it ranked 91.
• NSE India has seen significant growth in its brand value with a 40% Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y)
increase to reach USD 378 million.
Recent related News:
As per the 18th Global 500 2024 annual report by Brand Finance, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led
Reliance Jio continues to be India’s top and strongest brand, ranked 17th among the world’s strongest
brands in 2024, with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) of 88.9 out of 100.
About Brand Finance:
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- David Haigh
Managing Director (MD) of Brand Finance India– Ajimon Francis
Headquarters– London, The United Kingdom(UK)
Established-1996

Sanjana Thakur Won Overall CommonWealth Short Story Prize 2024

On June 26, 2024, The Commonwealth Foundation announced Sanjana Thakur, an Indian writer from
Mumbai (Maharashtra) as the overall winner of 2024 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for her
story ‘Aishwarya Rai’, a reversed adoption story.

• Thakur is the third Indian writer to win the prize, which was launched in 2012. Previously it
was won by the Indian writers Parashar Kulkarni (2016) and Kritika Pandey (2020).
Regional Winners of CommonWealth Short Story Prize 2024:

Winner Name Region Story

Sanjana India (Asia)-Overall

Aishwarya Rai
Thakur winner

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Reena Usha
Mauritius (Africa) Dite
Rungoo

Canada (Canada and What Burns (translated from French into

Julie Bouchard
Europe) English by Arielle Aaronson)

Trinidad and Tobago

Portia Subran The Devil’s Son
(Caribbean)

Pip Robertson New Zealand (Pacific) A River Then the Road

‘Granta’, the literary magazine, has published all of the regional winner’s stories of the 2024
Commonwealth Short Story Prize.
Jury Panel:
The international panel of Commonwealth Foundation 2024 comprises of Chairperson and five
judges, one from each of Commonwealth Regions:
Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (Chairperson), Shashi Bhat (Canada and Europe), Richard Georges
(Caribbean), O Thiam Chin (Asia), Melissa Lucashenko (Pacific) and Keletso Mopai (Africa).
About Commonwealth Short Story Prize:
i.It is an annual award administered by London(The United Kingdom(UK)) Commonwealth Foundation
given for unpublished short fiction with 2000 – 5000 words.
ii.The prize covers the Commonwealth regions of Africa, Asia Canada and Europe, Caribbean and Pacific.
• The overall winner receives 5,000 Great British Pound(GBP) and regional winners receive
2,500 GBP. If the winning short tale is translated into English, the translator will get an extra
reward.
iii.There will be five winners, one from each region of the Commonwealth and one regional winner will be
selected as the overall winner.
iv.The writers from Mauritius, Rwanda, and St. Kitts & Nevis are included on the shortlist for the first
time, among the 13 Commonwealth nations represented this year.
Note: The prize is open to any citizen of a Commonwealth nation who is aged 18 and over.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

DRDO Completes Six Developmental Trials of HEAT ‘ABHYAS’ at Odisha
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully completed
the six consecutive developmental trials of ‘ABHYAS’, the High-Speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT),
with enhanced Booster Configuration from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha.

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• With this, ABHYAS has completed ten developmental trials, demonstrating the system’s
reliability.
Note: Earlier in February 2024, four trials were conducted with four different mission objectives in a
revised robust configuration using a single booster.
Key Points:
i.The trials were conducted with enhanced Radar Cross Section (RCS), Visual, and Infrared (IR)
augmentation systems, which required for weapon practice.
ii.The trials successfully validated the mission objectives like safe release of booster, launcher clearance, and
endurance performance.
iii.Two launches were conducted consecutively within a gap of 30 minutes, demonstrating the ease of
operation with minimal logistics.
About ABHYAS:
i. ABHYAS is a indigenous system designed by the DRDO’s Aeronautical Development
Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru (Karnataka).
• The ABHYAS was developed through the production agencies – Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
(HAL) and Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T).
ii.It is designed for autonomous flying with an autopilot, a laptop-based Ground Control System (GCS) for
aircraft integration, pre-flight checks, and autonomous flight.
iii.It provides a realistic threat scenario for practice of weapon systems and also records data during flight
for post-flight analysis.
iv.The booster has been designed by Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) and the navigation system by
Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad (Telangana).
About Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO):
It is the Research and development (R&D) wing of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Chairman – Samir V Kamat
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi
Formed – 1958

OBITUARY
Sikkim’s Former Lok Sabha MP Pahalman Subba Passes Away
Pahalman Subba, Sikkim’s first elected Member of Parliament(MP – Lok Sabha) passed away at Gangtok,
Sikkim. He was born on 12th March 1966 in Tikjek village, West Sikkim.
• He won the 1980 election on a Sikkim Janata Party (SJP) ticket and served as an MP until 1984.
He was the second MP of Sikkim and the first to win a contested election.
Note: Sikkim became a State of the Indian Union in 1975. Chatra Bahadur Chhetri of the Indian National
Congress was the first MP from Sikkim. He was elected unopposed during the 1977 election.

IMPORTANT DAYS
National Statistics Day 2024 – June 29
National Statistics Day (Statistics Day) is annually observed across India on 29 June to acknowledge and
appreciate the contributions of statisticians in India and popularise statistics as a field of study and its
significance in socio-economic planning, policy-making, and daily life.

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