National

Coal Logistics Plan and Policy

• Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi will launch the Coal Logistics Plan and Policy in New Delhi.
• Aligned with the goal of nearly doubling coal production by 2030, the Ministry of Coal has developed a comprehensive action plan for the development of coal logistics infrastructure across the country.

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act

• Government has declared the Muslim Conference Jammu and Kashmir (Sumji faction) and Muslim Conference Jammu and Kashmir (Bhat faction) as Unlawful Associations with immediate effect for five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Renewable Energy Parks

• NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) has signed a Joint venture Agreement with Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited (MAHAGENCO), to develop Renewable Energy Parks in Maharashtra.

International

Investment Facilitation Development Agreement (IFD)

• India, along with South Africa, successfully blocked China-led investment facilitation proposal at the World Trade Organisation conference.
• India argued that the IFD falls outside the scope of the WTO, as it is not strictly a trade issue beyond the scope of the Marrakesh agreement.

Defence

Homeland Security Dialogue

• India-U.S. Senior Officials’ Homeland Security Dialogue (HSD) was held in New Delhi.
• Both sides agreed to hold the next round of the Senior Officials’ Homeland Security Dialogue in Washington DC.

Sports

German Open

• Indian shuttlers Aakarshi Kashyap and Sathish Kumar Karunakaran entered the second round at the German Open in Mulheim.

Awards & Honours

Sangeet Natak Akademi

• Six eminent personalities in the field of performing arts have been elected by Sangeet Natak Akademi as Akademi Fellows or Akademi Ratna.
• General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi also selected ninety-two artists from different fields including Music, Dance, Theatre, and Puppetry for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for the years 2022 and 2023.
• The honour of Akademi Fellow carries a purse money of three lakh rupees while the Akademi Award carries a purse money of one lakh rupees, besides a Tamrapatra and Angavastram.
• General Council of the Akademi has also selected 80 young artists for Sangeet Natak Akademi Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar for the years 2022 and 2023.
• The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar carries a purse money of 25 thousand rupees besides a Tamrapatra and Angavastram.

Person in News

Sunil Bharti Mittal

• Bharti Enterprises founder and chairman, Sunil Bharti Mittal has become the first Indian citizen to receive an Honorary Knighthood from United Kingdom's King Charles III.
• An honorary Knighthood is one of the highest honours granted by the British Sovereign to civilians, conferred upon foreign nationals in recognition of their exceptional contributions.

Yoon Suk Yeol

• South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is expected to visit India this year.

Daljit Singh Chaudhary

• IPS officer Daljit Singh Chaudhary has been appointed as new director general of NSG.

Miscellaneous

River Basin Management Collaboration

• Jal Shakti Ministry has signed agreement with 12 technical education institutions for academic and research collaboration towards basin management of six rivers.
• These are Narmada, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, Cauvery and Periyar.
• This agreement was signed under the National River Conservation Plan.

'SOLDIER AND WAR POEM'

• A poetry anthology titled “SOLDIER AND WAR POEM: BEST OF NATIONAL POETRY COMPETITION” was released by Commandant, National Defence Academy Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar in Pune.

Poshan Utsav

• Ministry of Women and Child Development is organizing Poshan Utsav which will serve as a platform to disseminate important messages on the value of good nutrition through a Cartoon Coalition.
• A ‘Poshan Utsav Book’ has been curated by the Deendayal Research Institute and supported by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to promote cultural heritage and traditional nutritional practices.
• Poshan Utsav aims to leverage popular cartoon characters to advocate holistic nutrition among children through collaboration between the Ministry of Women and Child Development and Amar Chitra Katha.