PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates Diamond Jubilee Celebration of Supreme Court of IndiaOn January 28, 2024, the Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi inaugurated the Diamond Jubilee (75th Year) celebration of the Supreme Court of India (SCI) at the Supreme Court auditorium in Delhi.

• The day marks the 75th anniversary of the inauguration of the Supreme Court of India on 28th January 1950.

i.PM Modi launched multiple citizen-centric information and technology initiatives – Digital Supreme Court Reports(SCR), Digital Courts 2.0 and new website of Supreme Court(https://www.sci.gov.in/)
ii.A Ceremonial bench presided over by Chief Justice of India(CJI) Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud was assembled to mark Commencement of Diamond Jubilee Year (2024) of the SCI. The bench comprised all companion judges.
About Supreme Court of India (SCI):
It is the apex judicial body under the Article 124 of Constitution of India.
First Chief Justice of India (CJI)– Harilal J. Kania
Current CJI– Dhananjaya Yeshwant (DY) Chandrachud
Establishment– January 28, 1950
Headquarter– New Delhi, Delhi

Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan and MoJS Signs MoU on Modified PKC-ERCP Link ProjectMadhya Pradesh (MP), Rajasthan, and Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS), Government of India (GoI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for implementation of the “Modified PKC-ERCP” (Modified Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal with Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project) Link Project.

• The modified PKC-ERCP Link Project is the second project under the national perspective plan(NPP) of the interlinking of rivers (ILR) program of GoI.
• The Modified PKC-ERCP link project proposes to provide drinking and industrial water in 13 districts of eastern Rajasthan, Malwa, and Chambal regions of Madhya Pradesh.
• It will also provide irrigation to 2.8 lakh hectares (or more) in each of the two states (for a total of 5.6 lakh ha or more), as well as supplementing en route tanks.

About Rajasthan:
Chief Minister – Bhajan Lal Sharma
Governor– Kalraj Mishra
Wildlife Sanctuaries– Jaisamand Wildlife Sanctuary, Sajjangarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Phulwari ki nal Sanctuary
Dances – Ghoomar Dance, Gair, Chari Dance

Inaugural Edition of India-Saudi Arabia Joint Military Exercise ‘SADA TANSEEQ’ Commenced in Mahajan, Rajasthan The inaugural edition of the India-Saudi Arabia joint military exercise, “SADA TANSEEQ“, started on 29 January 2024 at Mahajan, Rajasthan, and will run until 10 February 2024. The exercise involves significant participation from both the Royal Saudi Land Forces and the Indian Army.
The exercise will facilitate the development of interoperability, bonhomie, and camaraderie between troops from both sides.
Objectives of the Exercise:
i.The primary aim of ‘SADA TANSEEQ’ is to provide intensive training to troops from both nations in executing Joint Operations within Semi Desert terrain under Chapter VII of the United Nations (UN) Charter.
ii.The exercise focuses on sharing best practices in tactics, techniques, and procedures for conducting operations in the sub-conventional domain.
Participants:
i.The Saudi Arabian contingent consists of 45 personnel and is being represented by the Royal Saudi Land Forces.
ii.The Indian Army contingent, also comprising 45 personnel, is represented by a Battalion from the Brigade of the Guards (Mechanised Infantry).
Activities:
The Exercise encompasses a range of activities designed to enhance the capabilities of both contingents:

• Establishment of Mobile Vehicle Check Post;
• Cordon & Search Operation;
• House Intervention Drill;
• Reflex Shooting;
• Slithering; and
• Sniper Firing.

Significance:
i.The Exercise will provide an opportunity for both the contingents to strengthen their bond.
ii.It will serve as a platform for achieving shared security objectives, enhancing the level of defence cooperation, and fostering bilateral relations between the two friendly nations.
About Saudi Arabia:
Capital– Riyadh
Head of State– His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Prime Minister– Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Currency– Saudi Riyal

NSRCEL IIM-B and SIDBI Launch Accelerator Fund for Startups
Nadathur S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL) at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) in Bengaluru, Karnataka, established in 2000, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to provide a pre-seed fund support for technology-oriented startups in India.
i.NSRCEL is providing financial support to early-stage ventures in India for last two decades and incubating 1600 startups with its direct investment.
ii.SIDBI has partnered with various Indian incubators for seed funding of tech startup in several fields such as healthcare,defence innovations,rural impact, and Research & Development (R&D).

• SIDBI ,formed in 1990 ,is the regulatory body responsible for the overall licensing and regulation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) finance companies in India.
• Chairman & Managing Director (MD) of SIDBI is Shri Sivasubramanian Ramann.

Titagarh Rail System,Amber Group Joined Hands for Joint SPV
Titagarh Rail System Limited (TRSL) of Kolkata,West Bengal and Delhi based Amber group, via its wholly owned subsidiary Sidwal Refrigeration Industries Pvt. Limited have collaborated to establish a joint Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for shared services.
i.The SPV will set up a new facility in India to manufacture critical railway components and subsystems used in the manufacture of railway and metro coaches.
ii.As part of this collaboration, TitagarhFirema SpA in Italy, an associate company of the Titagarh group where the govt. of Italy also holds an equity stake holder.
iii.Both TRSLwill invest around Rs 120 crores each to obtain around 50% each in the SPV for setting up the new railway component business as well as fresh equity investment in Firema,Italy.
iv.Under the agreement, Firema will grant Sidwal, Titagarh Rail as well as the SPV a preferred supplier status and right of first refusal (ROFR) for all their products.

Overview of 69th Hyundai Filmfare Awards: 12th Fail & Animal Won Major AwardThe 69th Hyundai Filmfare Awards (Filmfare Awards 2024) was held in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat from 27th to 28th January 2024.

• The Filmfare Awards 2024 were presented in partnership with the Gujarat Tourism, Government of Gujarat.

Highlights:
i.Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s directorial venture “12th Fail” won 5 awards at the 69th Filmfare Awards 2024, including Best Film and Best Director.
ii.Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s “Animal” movie also won 5 awards including Best Actor In A Leading Role (Male) and Best Music Album.
About Gujarat:
Chief Minister– Bhupendrabhai Patel
Governor– Acharya Devvrat
National Park– Gir National Park, Blackbuck National Park
Wildlife Sanctuary– Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Wild Ass Sanctuary

14th National Voters Day: President Droupadi Murmu Presented Best Electoral Practices Awards 2023 Droupadi Murmu, President of India, presented the Best Electoral Practices Awards 2023 during the event organised by Election Commission of India(ECI) as a part of the 14th National Voters Day (NVD 2023) on 25th January 2024 in New Delhi, Delhi.

• The award was presented to the State and District level officers for their outstanding performance in the conduct of elections during 2023.

Key Points:
i.A total 16 awards were presented during the event.. These include, Best Electoral Practices Awards 2023 to 13 individuals and ECI Media Awards to 3 Organization.
ii.During the event, ECI also launches a voter awareness campaign with the tagline, “Chunav ka Parv, Desh ka Garv” (Festival of Elections, Pride of the Nation), ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
About Election Commission of India(ECI):
Chief Election Commissioner– Rajiv Kumar
Election Commissioners– Anup Chandra Pandey, Arun Goel
Headquarter– New Delhi, Delhi

Comoros President Azali Assoumani won 4th term as President Azali Assoumani has been re-elected as the President of  the Union of Comoros for a fourth 5 year term . He won the 2024 Comorian Presidential Election with 62.97% of the total votes.

• Azali Assoumani has been serving as the President of Comoros since 1999.
• This marks his 3rd consecutive term and he will rule until 2029.

About Azali Assoumani:
i.Azali Assoumani, a former military officer, first came to power through coup and subsequently won 3 elections in 2002, 2016, and 2019.
ii.He exited politics in 2006 and returned in 2016 and won the Presidential election 2016.
iii.During his term as President, the government held a constitutional referendum in 2018 to extend the presidential term limits and end the system of rotation among the Comoros’ 3 main islands: Anjouan, Grande Comore, and Moheli.

• This enables Assoumani to seek a 4th term as President.

iv.He is currently serving as the President of African Union (AU) (Febuary 2023 to February 2024).
About Comoros:
Comoros is an archipelagic country made up of 3 islands in Southeastern Africa.
President– Azali Assoumani
Capital– Moroni
Currency– Comorian Franc

Iran Simultaneously Launches 3 Satellites for the 1st time Using Simorgh SLVOn 28 January 2024, Iran simultaneously launched 3 satellites for the 1st time using the 2-stage, liquid-fueled Simorgh (Phoenix) Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) developed by the Ministry of Defence.

• The satellites were launched from the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Semnan province, Iran into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
• The 3 satellites incldues a larger satellite named Mahda and two nanosatellites, Keyhan-2 and Hatef-1.

Note: This marks the 2nd satellite launch of Iran in January 2024.
About the Satellites:
Mahda Satellite:
i.Mahda, a “research satellite” developed by Iran’s Space Agency (ISA), is designed to test advanced satellite subsystems.
ii.Its design, construction, assembly, and testing stages were carried out at Iran’s Space Research Institute.
iii.The satellite weighing 32-kilogram(kg) entered a 450-km elliptical orbit with an apogee of 1,100 km.
iv.It will assess the performance of the Simorgh, Iran’s largest satellite carrier, to inject satellites into different orbits; and to evaluate the performance of new designs and the reliability of indigenous space technologies.
2 nanosatellites:
i.Keyhan 2 and Hatef 1 nano-satellites have been developed by Iran Electronics Industries (IEI), a state-owned subsidiary of the Ministry of Defence.
ii.Keyhan-2 and Hatef-1, weighing less than 10 kg each, are aimed at testing narrowband communication and geopositioning technology.
iii.Keyhan-2 is focused on local positioning for ground receivers without relying on global positioning systems (GPS).

• Keyhan-2 has status determination and control subsystems to aim stably and precisely toward the Earth.

iii.Hatef-1 was designed for narrowband communication using the Internet of Things (IoT).
About Iran:
President– H.E. Dr.Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi
Capital– Tehran
Currency– Iranian Rial

Indian Navy Decommissioned INS Nirupak at Visakhapatnam, APOn 29th January 2024, the Indian Naval Ship(INS) Nirupak, an indigenously designed and built hydrographic survey ship, was decommissioned at the Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh(AP).

• The ship was decommissioned after 38 years of service to the nation.
• The ceremony was presided over by Vice Admiral Adhir Arora, Chief Hydrographer to the Government of India.

About INS Nirupak:
i.INS Nirupak, the 3rd ship of the Sandhayak class, was launched on June 1981 at Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd(GRSE) in Kolkata, West Bengal(WB).
ii.The ship was commissioned into service on August 1985 by Vice Admiral Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni, then Chief of Naval Staff(CNS).
iii.The ship, based at Visakhapatnam was administered and controlled by the Flag Officer Commanding in Chief(FoC-in-C), Eastern Naval Command(ENC).

• Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar is the current FOC-in-C, ENC.

Points to note: 
i.INS Nirupak was awarded the Admiral Jal Cursetji Rolling Trophy for best survey ship in 1994, 1995, 2005 and 2009.
ii.The ship was actively involved in the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operation, including Operation Gambhir 2004(Tsunami Relief operation to Indonesia).
INS Sumitra Carried Out Two Successful Anti Piracy Operations; Rescued Iranian-flagged FV Iman & Al Naeemi
INS Sumitra successfully carried out Two anti-piracy operations in the Southern Arabian Sea approximately 850 nautical miles (nm) West of Kochi, Kerala.

• In less than 36 hours, INS Sumitra rescued two hijacked FVs and prevented misuse of these FVs for acts of Piracy on Merchant Vessels.

Details of the rescue: 
i.On 28th January 2024, INS Sumitra responded to a distress message from Iranian-flagged FV Iman and rescued the FV and her crew of 17 Iranian Nationals from pirates in the early hours of 29th January 2024.
ii.On 29th January 2024, INS Sumitra also rescued another Iranian-flagged FV Al Naeemi and her Crew of 19 Pakistani Nationals from 11 Somali Pirates.
About INS Sumitra: INS Sumitra is an indigenous Offshore Patrol Vessel deployed for Anti-Piracy and Maritime Security Operations in East of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden.
About Indian Navy:
Chief of Naval Staff– Admiral R Hari Kumar
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
Motto– “Sam no Varunah”, meaning: “Be auspicious unto us Oh Varuna”.
Founded – 26 January 1950

Australian Open 2024: Jannik Sinner & Aryna Sabalenka Win Men’s & Women’s Singles RespectivelyJannik Sinner of Italy won the men’s singles title, while Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus won the women’s singles title at the Australian Open (AO) 2024 held at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia.

• India’s Rohan Machanda Bopanna became the oldest man (at 43 years and 329 days) to win a Grand Slam after he and his partner Matthew Ebden (Australia) won the men’s doubles title at the Australian Open.
• Australian Open 2024, the 112th edition of the Australian Open, the 56th in the Open Era, and the first major/Grand Slam of the year 2024 was held from 14-28 January 2024.
• The Australian Open is played on hard courts.
• Rohan Bopanna also became the oldest world No. 1 in the Pepperstone Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) men’s doubles at 43 years and 331 days Rankings as per the list released by ATP on 29th January 2024.

About Australia:
Prime Minister– Anthony Albanese
Capital– Canberra
Currency– Australian Dollar

Football: East Bengal FC beats Odisha FC in Kalinga Super Cup 2024 Final
Fourth edition of the 2024 Indian Super Cup (also known as the 2024 Kalinga Super Cup) final football match was held between East Bengal FC and Odisha FC at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

• East Bengal FC won the match 3-2 and secured the Kalinga Super Cup 2024 under the captainship of Cleiton Silva.Odisha FC was the champion of 2023 Indian Super Cup.
• It is their first title in over 12 years and East Bengal qualified for the 2024–25 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League 2 preliminary stage.
• East Bengal FC defeated Jamshedpur FC in Semi Final meanwhile Odisha FC defeated Mumbai City in Semi Final to reach final.
• Odisha FC’s Lalthuammawia Ralte was adjudged the Best Goalkeeper of the tournament,
• Odisha FC’s Isak Vanlalruatfela won the the Kalinga Player of the Tournament award.

World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day 2024- January 30 World Health Organisation(WHO)’s World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day (WNTDD) is annually observed across the globe on 30 January to create better awareness of the devastating impact of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) on the poorest populations around the world.
The theme of WNTDD 2024 is “Unite. Act. Eliminate”.
Background:
i.The observance of World NTD day was first announced by the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi at the 2019 Reaching the Last Mile Forum.

• The inaugural NTD Day was observed in January 2020.

ii.On 31st May 2021, 74th World Health Assembly (WHA) recognised the 30th January of every year as World NTD Day through the decision WHA74(18).
About World Health Organization (WHO):
Director General– Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland

First-Ever UN International Day of Clean Energy – 26 January 2024The first-ever United Nations (UN) International Day of Clean Energy was globally observed on 26 January 2024 to create awareness and mobilise action towards a fair and inclusive transition to clean energy for the benefit of people and the planet.

• 26 January is also the founding date of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), 26 January 2024 marks the 15th anniversary of IRENA.