Quality standards for 5 spices Finalized at 7th session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs at KochiThe quality standards for 5 spices namely small cardamom, turmeric, juniper berry, allpice, and star anise were finalised at the 7th session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH7) held in Kochi, Kerala.

• CCSCH7, hosted by the Government of India, was held from 29th January to 2nd February 2024.

Note:
CCSCH was established as one of the Commodity Committees under the CAC in 2013.
Spices Board India serves as the Secretariat organization which organises the Committee’s sessions.
Key Points:
i.The finalised quality standards for 5 spices were recommended to the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) for adoption as full-fledged Codex standards.
ii.The proposals for the development of Codex standards for Dried Coriander Seeds (proposed by India), Large Cardamom(Bhutan and Nepal), Sweet Marjoram( Egypt), and Cinnamon(Brazil) were submitted at the session and sent for approval by CAC47.
iii.The committee also adopted an innovative approach to developing standards, by grouping the many spices and culinary herbs into six categories according to the part of the plant from which they are derived.
Functions of CAC:
i.CAC is tasked with formulating internationally accepted standards pertaining to human food.
ii.It conducts its work through various Codex committees, including the CCSCH, hosted by different member countries.
Importance of CAC standards:
i.The Quality standards of CAC are recognized by the World Trade Organization (WTO) as international reference points for the resolution of trade disputes concerning food safety and consumer protection.
ii.The standards developed by CAC are voluntary in nature and the member countries could adopt and use them as reference standards to align their national standards.
About Codex Alimentarius Commission(CAC):
CAC is an international, intergovernmental body jointly established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Chairperson– Steve Wearne
Established in 1963
Headquarters– Rome, Italy

Federal Bank launches RuPay NCMC Wallet Debit CardFederal Bank has launched National Common Mobility Card (NCMC)-integrated debit cards which will enable its RuPay Debit Card holders to use their debit cards for offline payments at NCMC-enabled terminals at metro stations, buses, etc. Through this, the payment will be made  just by tapping the card on the card reader.

• Cards issued after April 2022 will exclusively support the NCMC feature.
• Customers can identify the RuPay Contactless feature by checking for the contactless indicator printed on the card.

Key Points:
i.NCMC RuPay Debit is a Dual Interface card for online (contact and contactless) and offline (contactless) transactions.
ii.Regular RuPay debit cards without contactless feature don’t support NCMC.
iii.NCMC RuPay Debit Cards allow storing money for contactless wallet payments.

• NCMC supports stored value payments (currently up to Rs 2,000, subject to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) changes) for simplified digital payments during travel.

v.For offline transactions, customers must activate the offline wallet, maintain a required balance, and tap the card at metro station gates.

• The Automatic Fare Calculator (AFC) deducts fare from the offline wallet.
• The upper limit for offline payment transactions is Rs 200, subject to changes.

About Federal Bank:
Managing Director & CEO– Shyam Srinivasan
Tagline– Your Perfect Banking Partner
Headquarters– Aluva, Kochi, Kerala
Establishment– 1931

REC won Best Green Bond – Corporate Award at The Asset Triple A Awards for Sustainable Finance 2024
Gurugram (Haryana) based REC Limited (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited) was awarded with the Best Green Bond – Corporate Award at The Asset Triple A Awards for Sustainable Finance 2024.

• REC was honoured for the issuance of Green Bonds worth USD 750 million in April 2023.
• This was the first USD Green Bond issuance from India after India assumed the G20 (Group of 20) Presidency and the largest-ever Senior Green Bond Tranche by a South or South-East Asian issuer

Note: 
i.REC Limited is a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Ministry of Power (MoP). 
ii.It is registered with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC), Public Financial Institution (PFI) and Infrastructure Financing Company (IFC).
iii.The Asset Triple A Awards are presented by The Asset(Asset Publishing and Research Ltd) to recognise those who excell in their respective industry.

Former Deputy PM LK Advani to be Honoured with Bharat RatnaFormer Deputy Prime Minister and Veteran Leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Lal Krishna (LK) Advani will be conferred with Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India.

• He will be the 50th recipient of the Bharat Ratna award since its inception in 1954.

Points to Note:
i.This is the 7th Bharat Ratna awarded by the current ruling government (Prime Minister Narendra Modi regime), since assuming power in 2014.
ii.The list also includes:

• Madan Mohan Malviya (Posthumous, 2015);
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee (2015);
• Pranab Mukherjee (2019);
• Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Hazarika (Posthumous, 2019),
• Nanaji Deshmukh (Posthumous, 2019); and
• Karpoori Thakur (Posthumous, 2024).

About LK Advani:
i.He was born in Karachi (pre-Partition Sindh), in present-day Pakistan, on November 8, 1927.
ii.In April 1970, he entered the Rajya Sabha from the office of the Chairman of the Delhi Metropolitan Council.
iii.From 1977 to 1979, he held the position of Union Minister of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
iv.In May 1986, he became the Party President of BJP and served for the longest period.
v.In 1988, he held the position of Home Minister and served as the Union Cabinet Minister of the Ministry of Home Affairs from 1999-2004.
vi.He was later elevated to the position of Deputy Prime Minister from 2022-2004.
About Bharat Ratna:
i.It was instituted in 1954 and is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour.
ii.The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister himself to the President.
iii.The number of annual awards is restricted to a maximum of 3 in a particular year.
iv.The award includes a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a medallion.

• The Award does not carry any monetary grant.

UNESCO Appoints Brazilian Footballer Vinícius Junior as Goodwill Ambassador for Education for All United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), appointed Brazilian footballer Vinicius José Paixão de Oliveira Junior (Vinícius Junior) as the Goodwill Ambassador for Education for All.

• Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO presented the letter of appointment to Vinícius Junior during a ceremony at the Real Madrid training center in Spain.
• Vinícius Junior becomes the 2nd Brazilian football player, after Pelé, to be appointed as the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

Note: Vinícius Junior has been a committed advocate for equal opportunity through education in Brazil.
Role as Goodwill ambasador:
In alignment with UNESCO’s goal of promoting education for all, Vinícius Junior will play a crucial role in:
i.Speaking at international conferences;
ii.Engaging with Member States and the public; and
iii.Supporting UNESCO’s global educational initiatives.
Notable Works by Vinícius Junior:
i.In 2021, he founded the Instituto Vini Jr to promote education among underprivileged Brazilian children and teenagers. The institute utilises sports values to inspire students from diverse backgrounds to pursue education.
ii.He won the 2023 Socrates Award at the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony for his collaboration with Fédération internationale de football association(FIFA) and Brazil in the “Racism, don’t pretend you don’t see it” campaign.
About Vinícius Junior:
i.He plays as a winger for the Spanish club Real Madrid and the Brazil national team.
ii.He played for Brazilian club “Clube de Regatas do Flamengo” from 2017 to 2018, he joined Real Madrid in 2018 and made his debut for Real Madrid Castilla in August 2018.
iii.He was a part of the real Madrid team that won 2 La Liga titles (2020, 2022) along with the UEFA(Union of European Football Associations) Champions League in 2022 and 2 FIFA Club World Cup trophies (2019, 2023).
iv.He won the Adidas Golden Ball at the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup in Rabat, Morocco.
About United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO):
Director-General– Audrey Azoulay
Headquarters– Paris, France
Establishment– 1945 (came into force in 1946)

Vivek Kumar Gupta Appointed as MD of NHSRCL
On 5th February 2024, Vivek Kumar Gupta, a 1988 batch Indian Railways Service of Engineers (IRSE) officer, took charge as the Managing Director (MD) of National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL). He succeeds Rajendra Prasad, who has been served as MD of NHSRCL since July 2022.

• Prior to this appointment, he was serving as Principal Executive Director of Gati Shakti at the Railway Board under the Ministry of Railways (MoR).
• He also worked for Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), and Central & Western Railways of India.

Note:
i.NHSRCL is jointly owned by MoR, the Government of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
ii.It is incorporated as Special Purpose Vehicle(SPV) in 2016 under the Companies Act, 2013 with an object to finance, construct, maintain and manage the High Speed Rail Corridor in India.

Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak Appointed as New Prime Minister of YemenThe Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) of Yemen appointed Dr. Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak as Yemen‘s new Prime Minister (PM) He replaces Dr. Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed who served as PM of Yemen from October 2018 to February 2024.

• Prior to the appointmnet, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak has been serving as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Yemen since 2020.
• The outgoing PM Dr. Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed will assume the role of an Advisor to the Chairman of the PLC.

About Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak:
i.He has worked as an Assistant Professor in several Yemeni universities and headed the Business Administration Centre for Graduate Studies at Yemen’s Sana’a University.
ii.He served as the head of the academic group in the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
iii.In 2013, he was assigned the role of Secretary General of the Comprehensive National Dialogue Conference.
iv.In 2014, he was appointed Director of the Presidential Office (Chief of Staff) and declined the position of PM.
v.In July 2015, he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Yemen to the United States of America (USA), in Washington, DC.

• He has also functioned as a non-resident ambassador to Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.

vi.He was also appointed as the Permanent Representative of Yemen to the United Nations (UN) in 2018.
About Yemen:
President– Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi
Capital– Sana’a
Currency– Yemeni Rial

IIT Madras partners with MIL for India’s 1st 155mm Smart Ammunition On February 5, 2024, The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) in Tamil Nadu (TN) has joined hands with Munitions India Limited (MIL) to develop India’s first 155mm smart ammunition, on the lines of indigenization in the defense sector.
Aim:
i.To increase the accuracy of the 155mm (millimeters) shell within a circular error probable (CEP) of 10 meters, which at present, is 500m.
ii.Another goal is to increase the lethality at the impact point when the ammunition hits the target.
Key Characteristics and Components of Smart Ammunition:
i.The smart ammunition will be guided by the Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) satellites, formerly known as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). Without depending on foreign satellite systems.
ii.The ammunition will be launched from 39 and 45 caliber 155mm artillery guns without changing the gun system.
iii.It will be a fin-stabilised, canard-controlled, and guided shell with a maximum range of 38km and a minimum range of 8km.
iv.Other features include three-mode fuse operation, point detonation, height of burst, and delayed detonation.
About Munitions India Limited (MIL):
Chairman and Managing Director– Ravi Kant
Parent Ministry– Ministry of Defence
Headquarters– Pune, Maharashtra
Establishment– 2021

NASA Discovers Potentially Habitable Planet ‘Super-Earth’ 137 Light-Years Away
A team of researchers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have identified a potential “super-Earth” called ‘TOI-715 b’ by using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

• The exoplanet is located 137 light-years away from Earth.

TOI-715 b:
i.TOI-715 b is approximately one and a half times wider than Earth.
ii.It orbits around a small, reddish dwarf star within the conservative habitable zone.
iii.The planet is also expected to attain the right temperature for the formation of liquid water on its surface
iv.The super-Earth completes one full revolution in just 19 days.
– A red dwarf is a type of star smaller and cooler than our Sun.
About TESS:
i.TESS is a space telescope launched by NASA in 2018 to conduct Exoplanetary studies.
ii.It uses the transit method to detect an exoplanet.
Additional Info:
TOI-715 b will be further studied by the James Webb telescope to learn about its properties.
About National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA):
Administrator – Bill Nelson
Headquarters – Washington D.C., United States of America(USA)
Established in – 1958

KUFOS & ISRO Partners for NISAR Phase II Research Programme
The Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) has partnered with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the second phase of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) research programme.

• KUFOS stands as one of the key agencies in South India selected to lead the implementation of the second phase.
• The first phase of NISAR validated the ground truth data in the forest biomass of Shimoga(Karnataka), Hoshangabad (Madhya Pradesh), and Nilambur regions (Kerala).
• The second phase will concentrate on optimizing drone-mounted optical and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) data for forest biomass stock estimation.

About NISAR: 
i.NISAR is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) observatory jointly developed by NASA and ISRO.
ii.NISAR aims to revolutionize Earth observation through a space-borne radar system.
iii.It is scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2024.

DRDO Successfully Conducts 4 Flight Trials of High-Speed Expendable Aerial Target ‘ABHYAS’The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted four flight trials of the High-Speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) ABHYAS at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha.

• The 4 trials were conducted with different mission objectives in a revised robust configuration using single booster.
• The trials took place between 30th January and 2nd February 2024.

About the Test Trails:
i.The aim of the test trials is to enhance the precision of the 155mm shell to achieve a Circular Error Probable (CEP) of 10 meters, compared to the current 500m CEP. Additionally, there’s a focus on improving lethality upon impact with the target.
ii.The trials achieved mission objectives like safe booster release, launcher clearance, and required launch velocity were achieved, while flight trials validated parameters including endurance, speed, maneuverability, altitude, and range.
Key Points:
i.ABHYAS, designed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), provides a realistic threat scenario for weapon system practice.
ii.It is designed for autonomous flying using an indigenous autopilot developed at ADE.
iii.It has radar cross-section(RCS), visual, and infrared (IR) augmentation systems for weapon practice.
iv.A laptop-based ground control system facilitates integration, pre-flight checks, data recording, replay, and post-flight analysis.
v.It has minimal logistics requirements and cost-effectiveness compared to imported equivalents.

New Species of Burrowing frog ‘Sphaerotheca Varshaabhu’ Discovered in Bengaluru, KarnatakaResearchers from national and international organisations discovered a new species of burrowing frog named ‘Sphaerotheca Varshaabhu’, found at Budumanahalli near Rajankunte in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It means ‘a genus of frog that welcomes rain’.

• The name Sphaerotheca varshaabhu, or Varshaa burrowing frog, comes from the frog’s behaviour of emerging from burrows during early showers.
• An article on this frog species was published in the international journal, Zootaxa.

Genus and Species:
Genus: Sphaerotheca; Species: Varshaabhu
Sphaerotheca is a genus of frogs that belong to the class Amphibia. Sphaerotheca is part of the Dicroglossidae family, which includes medium-sized burrowing frog species.
Research Team:
The discovery of the new species is a result of collaborative efforts from institutions like Mount Carmel College, JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), Bengaluru; Nanjing Forestry University, Jiangsu, China; Institute of Systematics, Evolution, Biodiversity (ISYEB), Paris (France), Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), and others.
Reason behind its name:
Researchers named the new species “Varshaabhu,” a combination of the Sanskrit words ‘varshaa’ means ‘rain’ and ‘bhu’ for ‘taking birth’.
Features:
i.Varshaa burrowing frogs are considered “medium-sized,” reaching about 1.5 inches in length.
ii.They have “robust, stocky” bodies, “rounded” snouts and “slightly warty skin.”
iii.Overall, it has a blotchy brown colouring with some greenish patches and small orange spots. Its eyes are speckled with metallic bronze.
iv.DNA analysis found in the new species had at least 3% genetic divergence from other burrowing frogs.
Note: The research team noted that earlier in 2020, a new species of burrowing frog named after Bengaluru city, Sphaerotheca Bengaluru, was found in the same area.

Indian Shooter Abhinav Bindra Selected as Torchbearer for Paris 2024 Olympics
Former Indian shooter and India’s first individual Olympic gold medal winner (2008), Abhinav Bindra has been selected as a torchbearer to take part in the Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay.

• A total of 11,000 torchbearers have been selected throughout France, with 10,000 participating in the Olympic Torch Relay and 1,000 in the Paralympic Torch Relay.

Paris 2024 Olympic torch relay:
i.The Olympic flame will be lit on 16th April 2024 at the Olympia sanctuary in Greece.

• Within Greece, the Olympic Flame will be moving from the Peloponnese to Athens, boarding the Belem to cross the Mediterranean Sea.

ii.The flame will arrive at Marseille(France) on 8th May 2024.
iii.The flame will then make a 68-day journey across 65 French territories and reach Paris for the Opening Ceremony on 26th July 2024.
Note: Abhinav Bindra, is also a member of the Athletes Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since June 2023.

Safer Internet Day 2024- February 6 Safer Internet Day (SID) is annually observed across the globe on the 2nd day(Tuesday), of the 2nd week, of the 2nd month (February) to promote safer, better, and more responsible use of the Internet for all, especially for children and young people.

• The annual event promotes the safe and responsible use of digital technology. It helps to raise awareness about online threats and ways to stay safe.

SID 2024 is observed on 6 February 2024, marking the 21st edition of SID.

• The 20th edition of SID, SID 2023 was observed on 7 February 2023.
• The 22nd edition of SID, SID 2025 will be observed on 4 February 2025.