• Bill add four Particularly Tribal Vulnerable Groups (Bondo, Mankidia, etc.) to ST list of Odisha.
• Article 366 (24) prescribes that Scheduled Caste (SC) means such castes, races or tribes as are deemed under article 341 of constitution.
• Article 366 (25) prescribes that Schedule Tribes (ST) means such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 of the Constitution.
• President may with respect to any State or Union territory, after consultation with governor can notify castes, races or tribes which will deemed to be SC/ST.
  • Parliament may by law modify the list of SC/ST specified in notification issued.

• Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of multiple road upgradation as part of the SASEC corridor connectivity.

• About SASEC 
  • Genesis: Established in 2001.
  • Secretariat : Asian Development Bank
  • Members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives ,Sri Lanka, Myanmar 
  • Objective: It is a project-based partnership to promote regional prosperity by improving,
    • Cross-border connectivity
    • Boosting trade among member countries and
    • Strengthening regional economic cooperation
  • Four Main SASEC Sectors: Transport, Trade facilitation, Energy, and Economic corridor development.

• Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution launched ‘Bharat Rice’ at a subsidized rate. 
  • In the first phase, it will be offered to consumers through three central cooperative agencies - Kendriya Bhandar, National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (Nafed), and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF).
• Earlier, the government has started retailing subsidized Wheat flour and Chana dal under the ‘Bharat’ Brand.
• It aims to stabilize prices, curb food inflation, and augment domestic availability of these food items. 

• Environmental activists protested against potential adverse impacts of a proposed six-lane elevated highway in BNP.

• Bannerghatta National Park
  • Location: Near Bangalore, Karnataka.
  • Bannerghatta Biological Park, an integral part of BNP, also hosts India’s first butterfly park.
  • Vegetation: Scrub type with mixed dry deciduous patches.
  • Fauna: Panther, elephant, tiger, sloth bear, spotted deer, grey langur, bonnet macaque etc.
  • Suvarnamukhi stream, originating at Suvarnamukhi hills, runs through the center of the park.
  • Four wildlife ranges: Anekal, Bannerghatta, Harohalli and Kodihalli.

• Cameroon, a central African country, has adopted the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization.

• About Nagoya Protocol
  • Adopted in 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, it is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
    • India is a party to the Nagoya Protocol. 
  • It aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way. 
  • It establishes a clear framework on how researchers and companies can obtain access to genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge. 

• Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India has convened the 24th PM-STIAC meeting.

• PM-STIAC:
  • Constituted in 2018, PM-STIAC advises the Prime Minister on all matters related to Science, Technology and Innovation. 
    • Council works under the office of PSA and PSA acts as its chairperson.
  • Objectives:
    • Synergizing Science & Technology collaborative research with various stakeholders.
    • Fostering effective public-private linkages for driving research
    • Formulating and coordinating major inter-ministerial Science & Technology missions.
  • PM-STIAC shaped several missions such as Deep Ocean Exploration Mission, One Health Mission, National Quantum Mission, etc

• Recently, provisions of the ANRF Act have been brought into force.
  • ANRF Act repealed Science and Engineering Research Board Act, 2008.

• About ANRF
  • Operationalized by Department of Science and Technology.
  • Governing Board headed by Prime Minister of India. 
  • Functions : To provide strategic direction for research, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the fields of
    • Natural sciences including mathematics
    • Engineering and technology
    • Scientific and technological interfaces of humanities and social sciences etc.

• India's Davis Cup team defeated Pakistan to secure its place in World Group I.

• This was the first time in 60 years when an Indian tennis team travelled to Pakistan to play a Davis Cup tie.
• Davis cup is an annual international team event for men’s tennis.
• Davis cup is run by International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is competed by teams from 155 nations (2023) in a knock-out format.
• Davis cup originally began as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge in 1900 A.D. between the USA and Great Britain.

Suriname (Capital: Paramaribo)

• A Parliamentary delegation from the Republic of Suriname, called on the President of India.

• Political Features
  • Located on the northern coast of South America.
  • Boundaries:  Atlantic Ocean to the north, French Guiana to the east, Brazil to the south, and Guyana to the west.

• Geographical Features
  • Tropical rainforest covers southern part of the country.
  • Economically, dependent on extensive supply of natural resources, most notably Bauxite.
  • Major Rivers: Maroni, Courantyne, Coppename, Suriname River etc.
  • Highest Peak: Juliana Top