Supreme Court Issues New Guidelines for Environmental Regulatory Bodies
On January 31, 2024, the 3-judge bench of the Supreme Court (SC) of India issued a set of guidelines for effective functioning of environmental regulatory bodies and authorities in India

• The 3-judge bench, led by Justice Bhushan Ramakrishna Gavai (BR Gavai), includes justices Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha, and Prashant Kumar Mishra.

Guidelines for Effective Functioning:
i.The SC stated that the bodies, authorities, regulators and executive offices incharge of environmental duties should function with institutional features and should be accountable, transparent and efficient in their functioning.
ii.The court also directed that composition, qualifications, tenure, method of appointment, and removal of members should be clearly specified.
iii.The appointments should be made regularly to ensure continuity. The organisation shoud be staffed with people with requisite knowledge, technical expertise, and specialisation.
iv.The mandate and roles of each authority and body should be defined to avoid overlap and duplication of work. Establish a method for constructive coordination among institutions.
v.The authorities and bodies must receive sufficient funding and their finances must be certain and clear.
vi.The organisations should establish the norms for public hearings, decision-making process,the right to appeal prescription and timelines.
Permanent Body Approval:
i.SC passed the directions while approving the Centre’s notification, making the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), a permanent body.
ii.The CEC assists the SC on environment and forest issues, and will now have members chosen by the Centre for a fixed tenure with specified functions.
iii.SC mandated regular audits of the performance of environmental bodies towards proper institutionalisation to ensure accountability and transparency.

Zoho, Juspay, and Decentro received RBI Nod for Payment Aggregator Business
As of February 6, 2024, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted final approval to two fintech startups namely Juspay Technologies Private Limited(Juspay) and Decfin Tech Private Limited (Decfin) and a Software-as-a-Service(SaaS) provider Zoho Payment Technologies Private Limited (Zoho) to act as a Payment Aggregator (PA).

• The authorisation was granted under Section 7 of Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

Key Points:
Zoho:
i.Chennai (Tamil Nadu) based, Zoho Payment Technologies Private Limited is the first SaaS company to function as PA.
ii.Zoho received in-principle authorisation from RBI in February, 2023.
Juspay:
i.Bengaluru (Karnataka) based, Juspay Technologies Private Limited has reached the second stage of approval as a PA in December 2023.
ii.It is a payment gateway company allowing card, wallet, and Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based transactions via their platform and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
Decfin:
i.Bengaluru (Karnataka) based Decfin Tech Private Limited will also function as PA under the name ‘Decentro’.
ii.Decentro facilitates neo-banks, digital marketplaces, and financial technology companies to integrate banking and payment solutions using their APIs.
Functions:
i.These entities will carry on the business of a PAs as defined in ‘Guidelines on Regulation of Payment Aggregators and Payment Gateways’ issued by RBI.
ii.As PA, they provide secure online payment systems and solutions to merchants.
CoA:
RBI has also issued Certificates of Authorisation (CoA) under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 for Setting up and Operating Payment System in India.
Additional Info:
RBI has also extended its Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) scheme till 31 December 2025.

OECD’s Economic Outlook Raised India GDP Growth Forecast for FY25 to 6.2%
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Economic Outlook, Interim Report February 2024 titled “Strengthening the Foundations for Growth” has raised India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for FY 2024-25 to 6.2%, up from the November 2023 estimate of 6.1%.

• For 2025-26(FY26), the OECD maintains India’s growth forecast at 6.5%.

About the Report: The OECD Economic Outlook, prepared by the OECD Economics Department, is the twice-yearly analysis of the major global economic trends and prospects for the next 2 years.
Key Points:
i.India’s inflation is likely to improve, reaching 4.9% in FY25, down from the projected 5.3% projected in November 2023.
ii.FY26 forecasts show a marginal increase of 4.3%, slightly higher than the initial 4.2%.
Investment Boost:
i.India and Indonesia are poised for steady expansion over the next 2 years, driven by robust investment growth.
ii.GDP is expected to rise by over 6.25% and 5% per annum, respectively.
Additional info:
i.Inflation in emerging-market (EM) economies are expected to remain higher than in the advanced economies and will ease gradually through FY25. Tighter monetary policy and energy and food price cycles have been the key drivers of inflation.
ii.In countries like Brazil, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and South Africa, inflation is projected to gradually ease and converge towards central bank targets by the end of 2025.
Note: The Economic division of the Union Ministry of Finance stated that the Indian economy is expected to expand at around 7% in FY25. For the 4th consecutive year(post-COVID-19 pandemic) India’s economy will grow at or over 7%.
Economic Outlook – Global:
i.The Outlook projects global GDP growth of 2.9% in 2024 and a slight improvement to 3.0% in 2025. This is in line with the OECD projections from November 2023(2.7% for 2024 and 3.1% for 2025).
ii.Headline inflation in G20 countries is expected to decline from 6.6% in 2024 to 3.8% in 2025. Core inflation in the G20 advanced economies is projected to fall back to 2.5% in 2024 and 2.1% in 2025.

Nima Sarikhani Wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year 59 People’s Choice AwardNima Sarikhani of the United Kingdom(UK) won the 2023 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 59 People’s Choice Award by the Natural History Museum, London(UK).

• Nima Sarikhani won this award for his photo of a polar bear sleeping peacefully on a small iceberg.

About the Award:
i.The award contest is annually organised by the Natural History Museum and it was originally founded in 1965 by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Wildlife Magazine.
ii.The People Choice Award was given based on the online poll featuring the 25 best photographs by shortlisting 50,000 entries from around the world.
iii.Nima Sarikhani’s photo titled ‘Ice Bed’ got 75,000 votes in the online poll to win the award.
iv.The other four finalists for the award were – The Happy Turtle by Tzahi Finkelstein (Israel), Starling Murmuration by Daniel Dencescu (Germany), Shared Parenting by Mark Boyd (Kenya), and Aurora Jellies by Audun Rikardsen (Norway).
v.The winner is awarded with £ 10,000 (Pound), a trophy and personalised certificate.
v.The five images will be displayed online and at London’s Natural History Museum until June 30, 2024.
Click here to view top five finalists’ images
About the Photo:
Nima Sarikhani took the photo of a sleeping polar bear after three days of searching for polar bears on the coast of the Svalbard archipelago of Norway.
Note–
The 2022 Wildlife Photographer of the Year 58 People’s Choice Award was awarded to Sascha Fonseca (Germany) for the image ‘World of the Snow Leopard’.

Apurva Chandra appointed as Secretary of MoH&FW; Sanjay Jaju Appointed as Secretary of MIB
Apurva Chandra, Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), has been appointed as the Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoH&FW).

• Sanjay Jaju was appointed as the New Secretary of MIB succeeding Apurva Chandra.
• Rajiv Mani takes addtional charge as Secretary of Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice (MoL&J)

About Ministry of Law and Justice (MoL&J):
Union Minister– Kiren Rijiju (Constituency: Arunachal West, Arunachal Pradesh)
Minister of State– S. P. Singh Baghel (Constituency: Agra, Uttar Pradesh)

Olzhas Bektenov becomes the Youngest PM of Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan’s president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has appointed Olzhas Bektenov(43 years) of Amanat party as the new Prime Minister (PM) of Kazakhstan. Olzhas Bektenov is the youngest PM in Kazakhstan’s history.

• He has been serving as the head of the Executive Office (chief of staff) of the President since April 2023.
• He also served as a Deputy Chairman of the ‘Agency for Public Service and Fighting Corruption’ in 2018.
• The appointment comes after the dismissal of Alikhan Smailov’s government which was in power since January 2022.
• In 2022 Bektenov became chairman of the Group of States against Corruption of the Council of Europe (GRECO).

Asian Development Bank appoints Mio Oka as Country Director for India
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed Mio Oka as its new Country Director for India.

• Mio Oka will take over from the incumbent Takeo Konishi who has been elevated as ADB Director General for South Asia.
• Mio Oka has been associated with ADB for more than 18 years; She joined ADB in 2005 as a Social Developmental Specialist.
• Before joining ADB, she served for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan(2004-05), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (1998-2001) and Japan International Cooperation Agency(2001-03).

About Asian Development Bank (ADB):
President – Masatsugu Asakawa
Headquarters – Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines
Established in – 1966

IRS Officer Narendra Kumar Yadav Appointed As Brand Ambassador For Fit India Movement
Narendra Kumar Yadav, Indian Revenue Service (IRS) 2009 batch officer, has been the first civil servant to be appointed as a brand ambassador for the Fit India Movement.

• Narendra Kumar Yadav is currently serving as an ‘Additional Director GST (Goods and Services Tax)’ in the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.
• Fit India Movement was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 to make fitness an integral part of everyone’s daily lives. The movement aims to bring about behavioural changes and move towards a more physically active lifestyle.       

BSDMA launched a Novel Device ‘NITISH’ to Alert People on Natural CalamitiesThe Bihar State Disaster Management Authority (BSDMA) has launched the Novel Initiative Technological Intervention for Safety of Humanlives (NITISH) device in the presence of Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister (CM) of Bihar. The device aims to provide an earlier alert of natural calamities.

• The pendant-like device was developed by BSDMA in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Patna, Bihar.

About NITISH Device:
i.The device, synced with Bihar Meteorological Service Centre, will alerts people half an hour before calamities like lightning, floods, heatwaves, and coldwaves.
ii.It is a waterproof device and gets charged from body heat.
iii.The device will alert the user in 3 ways: It will send a voice message; Its colour will change from green to red; and the device will keep warming till its user switches it off.
iv.The device is designed specifically for farmers but can also be used by common people.
Additional Info:
An Mobile Application ‘Indravraj’ has similar features to the NITISH Device is also available in Bihar to minimise deaths and injuries caused by lightning and thunderstorms.
About Bihar:
Chief Minister – Nitish Kumar
Governor – Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar
National Park – Valmiki National Park
Wildlife Sanctuary – Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary, Gautam Buddha Wildlife Sanctuary

Veteran Broadcaster & Sahitya Akademi winner Farooq Nazki Passed Away
Mir Mohammad Farooq Nazki, a Prominent broadcaster, poet, and Sahitya Akademi awardee, passed away at the age of 83 at Katra in the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

• He was born on 16 February 1940 in Madar village in Bandipora district, J&K.

About Mir Mohammad Farooq Nazki:
i.He started his career in 1960 as a journalist in the “Zamindar” newspaper and was known for his significant roles in All India Radio (AIR) Kashmir and Doordarshan(DD).
ii.He was among the 1st Indian broadcasters to travel to Europe and was trained in television media and programming in the United Kingdom (UK), and Germany.
iii.He served as Director of Doordarshan and erstwhile Radio Kashmir Srinagar (AIR Srinagar) from 1986 to 1997.
iv.He also served as Media Advisor of Two (former) Chief Minister(CM) of J&K, Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah.
v.He retired as Deputy Director General of Doordarshan in 2000.
Awards/Honours:
In 1995, he was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi award in Kashmiri language for his poetry book “Naar Hatun Kazal Wanas” (Fire in the Eyelashes).

Chile’s former president Sebastián Piñera Passed Away
Sebastián Piñera Echenique, the two-time former president of Chile and Chilean businessman, has passed away by drowning in Lake Ranco in Chile after a helicopter crash. He was born on 1st December 1949 in Santiago, Chile.
As the President of Chile:
i.Sebastián Piñera served his first tenure as President of Chile from 2010 to 2014.
ii.He was the first conservative politician to be elected as president after the end of military rule in Chile.
iii.He belongs to a political party called Coalición por el Cambio (Coalition for Change), founded in 2009.
iv.He was again made President of Chile from 2018 to 2022.
Political entry:
i.Sebastián Piñera started his political career as an independent senator candidate for the Democracy and Progress Pact in 1989.
ii.He founded the Renovación Nacional (National Renewal) party in 2001 and served as its President till 2004.
iii.He also contested the 2005 presidential election in Chile, but failed to win it.
As A Business Person:
i.As of 8 February 2024, Sebastián Piñera (Sebastian Piñera & family) was ranked 1,027 on ‘Forbes Billionaires 2023: The Richest People In The World’, with a net worth of USD 2.9 billion.
ii.He also served as the Director of the Avanza Chile Foundation in 2014.
iii.Piñera also started a credit card company Bancard in 1976.
About Chile:
President – Gabriel Boric
Capital – Santiago
Currency – Chilean Peso

British-Indian Peer Baroness Shreela Flather Passed Away
British-Indian peer, Shreela Flather passed away at the age of 89. She was a life peer as Baroness of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire (Towns in the United Kingdom (UK)).
Note:
A life peer is an honour given to individuals and grants them to be members of the House of Lords (the upper house of the UK Parliament) with the title of Baron (male) or Baroness (female).

• She was the first British Asian woman to become a life peer in 1990.
• She was also the first British Asian woman to become mayor in UK(of Windsor and Maidenhead) and as the Justice of the Peace.
• She played a key role in the construction of the renowned Memorial Gates at Hyde Park Corner in London, which pay tribute to the war efforts of Commonwealth soldiers during the World Wars.
• She wrote a book entitled “Woman – Acceptable Exploitation for Profit”, showing extreme poverty can be changed by bringing women into paid works, it was published in 2010 by Whittles Publishing.

Gujarat FM Kanubhai Desai presented State Budget of Rs 3,32,465cr for FY25i.The Finance Minister (FM) of Gujarat, Kanubhai Desai presented Rs 3,32,465 crore state budget for the  financial year 2024-25 (FY25) in the Gujarat Assembly House in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It was the highest-ever budget presented in the history of Gujarat.
ii.The state proposes no new taxes.
iii.The budget estimates for 2024-25 includes Revenue Receipts of Rs 229653.17crore, Revenue Expenditure of Rs 219831.89 crore, Capital Receipts of Rs 95292.12 crore, and  Capital Expenditure of Rs 108615.17 crore.
iv.It reflects road map of Viksit Gujarat 2047 under the Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s Viksit Bharat 2047 Sankalpana.
v.The growth rate of Gujarat is 14.9%.
vi.Gujarat government’s FY25 fiscal plan unveiled with Rs 146.72 crore surplus budget.
About Gujarat:
Chief Minister– Bhupendra Patel
Governor– Acharya Devvrat
National Parks– Marine National Park, Vansda National Park

Uttarakhand Becomes 1st State to Pass Bill on Uniform Civil Code BillOn 7th February 2023, Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly passed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Uttarakhand Bill, 2024 which aims to govern and regulate laws related to marriage, divorce, land, property and inheritance for all citizens, irrespective of their religion.

• The bill will now be sent to President of India Droupadi Murmu for her assent after which it will become a law.
• With this, Uttarakhand will become the first Indian state to get a common law.

Note: The bill was Introduced in the House by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
Background:
The UCC Bill is based on the draft submitted by a high-level committee formed by the Uttarakhand government under the chairmanship of retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai.
Note: Though Goa is governed by a UCC (Portuguese Civil Code), the state Assembly did not pass any law on the subject. Goa retained the Code after its liberation in 1961.
Noted Aspects of the Bill:
i.Mandatory registration of Live-In relations;
ii.Conditions for a Contract marriage;
iii.A Ban on Halala, Iddat, and Polygamy;
iv.Similar inheritance rights for men and women.
Key Points:
i.Under the UCC Bill, live-in relationships require registration within 1 month from the date of entering into the relationship.

• Adults engaging in live-in relationships must obtain consent from their parents.

ii.The bill also imposes a ban on child marriage and introduces a uniform process for divorce.
iii.It provides equal rights to women of all religions in their ancestral property.
iv.As per the UCC Bill, the age for marriage will be 18 for women and 21 for men in all communities.

• Marriage registration is mandatory in all religions and marriages without registration will be invalid.

v.No divorce petition will be allowed to be filed after 1 year of marriage.
Exemptions:
The proposed law does not apply to Uttarakhand’s Scheduled Tribes (STs) and individuals and group of people whose customary rights are protected under the Part XXI of the Constitution of India.