Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere
Key Points:
✅ June 21 marks the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.
✅ Solstices occur twice a year, indicating the shortest and longest daylight hours.
✅ The length of day and night differ significantly on solstice days.
✅ The Northern Hemisphere experiences the longest day and shortest night of the year on June 21.
✅ The Southern Hemisphere experiences summer in December.

👉 New Law to Curb Malpractices in Competitive Examinations
Key Points:
✅ The Centre has enacted a new law to prevent unfair means in competitive examinations.
✅ The law provides for a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to ₹1 crore for offenders.
✅ The law came into force from 21 June,2024
✅ The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, was passed by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on February 6 and 9, respectively.
✅ President Droupadi Murmu gave approval to the bill on February 12, turning it into a law.
✅ The Act aims to prevent unfair means in public examinations conducted by various bodies, including UPSC, SSC, NTA, Railway Recruitment Board, and banking recruitment examination bodies.
👉Provisions of the law include:
• Minimum of 3-5 years of imprisonment for cheating.
• 5-10 years of imprisonment and a minimum fine of ₹1 crore for those involved in organized crimes of cheating.

#UPSC #mains #GS2 #mains2024

✅ India Ranked 3rd globally in the growth rate of women researchers over the last decade (2% annual growth), behind Egypt and The Netherlands, according to report by Elsevier.
👉 Women now make up 33% of active researchers in India, compared to 22% in Japan and 30% in Egypt.
👉 Gender parity has been achieved in health sciences and life sciences in India, with women representing 41% and 43% of active researchers, respectively.
👉 Globally, women researchers represent 41% of active researchers, with a strong representation in health sciences.
👉 However, gender equality in research remains "unacceptably far away", with parity not expected until 2052.
👉 Women file "vastly fewer" patent applications than men, with only 3% of patent applications filed by teams consisting only of women.

#upsc #mains2024 #GS3

✅ In Ladakh, as a tribute to the heroes of the Kargil War, the Indian Army has opened the Khalubar War Memorial to tourists.
✅ This opening ceremony was part of the ‘Forever in Operations’ Division’s Pre-Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrations as this year, the country will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas on 26 July.
✅ Located in the renowned Aryan Valley this memorial commemorates the bravery and sacrifices of soldiers who fought to reclaim the valley during the war.
✅ Khalubar, a serene valley near the border, became a focal point during the Kargil War when enemy forces captured it.
✅ The Pre-Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrations also featured a ‘Trek to Battle Site’ led by Brig OP Yadav, YSM (Retd).

👉 The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducts the 3rd and final landing experiment of its Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) ‘Pushpak’.

✅ The landing experiment was conducted at the Aeronautical Test Range in Chitradurga, Karnataka.
✅ The ISRO says RLV LEX-03 (Reusable Launch Vehicle Landing Experiment 3), re-demonstrated the autonomous landing capability under more severe wind conditions.
✅ The Chinook helicopter released the Reusable Launch Vehicle Pushpak at an altitude of 4.5 kms from the runway.
✅ Pushpak approached the runway with a speed of 320 kmph as against 280 kmph of a typical fighter aircraft.
✅ After the touchdown, Pushpak’s velocity was reduced to nearly 100 kmph using its brake parachute. After which the landing gear brakes were employed for deceleration and stop on the runway.
✅ Pushpak utilised its rudder and nose wheel steering system to autonomously maintain a stable and precise ground roll along the runway.

#upsc #GS3 #mains2025 #sciencetechnology

👉 The Telecommunications Act, 2023: Replacing century old colonial laws

✅ The Act was passed by Parliament in December 2023, received Presidential assent on 24.12.2023
✅ On 21.06.2024, Union Government issued Gazette Notification for enforcing sections 1, 2, 10 to 30, 42 to 44, 46, 47, 50 to 58, 61 and 62 of the Telecommunications Act, 2023.
✅ The Act is guided by the principles of Samavesh (Inclusion), Suraksha (Security), Vriddhi (Growth), and Tvarit (Responsiveness) to achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat (Developed India) by 2047.
✅ The Act repeals the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, and the Indian Wireless Telegraph Act, 1933, due to significant technical advancements in the telecom sector
✅ The Telecommunications Act, 2023, aims to promote the growth and development of the telecom sector, ensure national security and public safety, and protect users' interests.

#upsc #GS2 #mains2024

👉 High Court reduces life sentence in POCSO case.
✅ The Karnataka High Court has reduced the sentence of an accused in a POCSO Act case from life imprisonment to 10 years, emphasising the need for valid reasons when imposing the maximum penalty.

✅ The accused, a 27-year-old man from Chikkamagaluru, had his appeal partially allowed by a division bench. However, the court increased his fine from Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000.
✅ The case involved the accused befriending and repeatedly sexually assaulting a minor girl in his neighborhood in June 2016.
✅ The girl's mother filed a complaint in December 2016 after finding that her daughter was pregnant.

👉 Kozhikode in north Kerala has been officially declared as India's first UNESCO 'City of Literature'.
👉 The city has a rich cultural heritage and has been an important destination for book festivals for many decades.
👉 June 23 will be celebrated as the 'City of Literature' Day of Kozhikode from next year, with special awards to be announced in six categories.
👉 Kozhikode is one of the 55 new cities that have joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), along with Gwalior from India.
👉 The UCCN now counts 350 cities in more than a hundred countries, representing seven creative fields.

Important Dates:
• October 31: World Cities Day
• June 23: 'City of Literature' Day of Kozhikode (from next year)

👉113 Countries Have Never Had Female Heads Of State Or Govt

✅ In 1893, New Zealand became 1st country to grant voting rights to women, and 47 years later, in 1940 Khertek Anchimaa Toka of the Tuvan People's Republic became the 1st female head of state.
✅ Despite progress, 113 countries have never had a female head of state or government.
✅ Currently, only 26 countries are currently led by a woman.
✅ According to a UN Women's global data on Women Political Leaders 2024, female political leaders represent 23.3% of Cabinet members heading Ministries in 2024, a slight increase from 2023.
✅ Women are primarily leading portfolios related to women and gender equality, family and children affairs, social affairs, and indigenous and minority affairs.
✅ Male dominance extends to Permanent Missions to the UN, with women holding only 25% of Permanent Representative posts in New York, 35% in Geneva, and 33.5% in Vienna.

#upsc #GS1 #GS2 #mains2024

✅ Cross-Border Train Service After 77 Years

👉 The cross-border train service between Rajshahi, Bangladesh and Kolkata, India is set to resume after a 77-year hiatus.
👉 This will be the 4th international train between India and Bangladesh, joining the Kolkata-Dhaka 'Maitree Express', Kolkata-Khulna 'Bandhan Express', and New Jalpaiguri-Dhaka 'Mitali Express'.
👉 The new train service will facilitate travel and create a new communication link with India, enhancing Rajshahi's importance in communications with India, Nepal, and Bhutan.
👉 Rajshahi-Kolkata train service was functional before the India-Pakistan Partition in 1947.

#UPSC #IR #mains2024