Latest UN Security Council 1267 Sanctions Monitoring Committee report has recorded that Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, a UN-designated terror outfit, was "linked" to the Delhi Red Fort terror attack

About 1267 Sanctions Committee

• It is a subsidiary body of the UN Security Council charged with overseeing sanctions against ISIL (Da'esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals and groups.
• Origins: Established by Resolution 1267 (1999), which originally imposed an air embargo and assets freeze specifically on the Taliban.
• Composition: Comprises all 15 members of the Security Council and makes decisions by consensus.
• Functions: Designating individuals for the sanctions list, considering requests for delisting or exemptions and reporting annually to the Security Council.

Recently, National Medicinal Plant Board completed 25 years.

About NMPB (HQ: New Delhi) 

• Origin: Established in 2000 by a Government Resolution. 
• Ministry: Union Ministry of AYUSH.
• Chairperson: Union Minister for AYUSH
• Mandate: To promote coordination among State, central Governments, etc., on all matters relating to medicinal plants.
  • Other functions related to medicinal plants: Policy implementation, export promotion, Research and development, conservation, etc.
• Important initiatives related to medicinal plants
  • E charak portal: online market mechanism for information exchange between various stakeholders
  • Central Sector Scheme on Conservation, Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants

Supreme Court of India issued guidelines for designation of Senior Advocates by the Supreme Court. 

About Senior Advocates 

• Source: Designated under the Advocates Act, 1961.
• Authority: Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates consisting of Chief Justice of India (Chairperson) and 2 senior-most Judges of the Supreme Court of India.
• Elligibility: Minimum 10 years’ experience as an advocate, or combined 10 years as advocate and District & Sessions Judge/judicial tribunal member.
  • Based on ability, standing at the Bar, or special knowledge/experience in law. It is a title/label, not a post.
  • at least 45 years of age, unless relaxed, and must be practising in the Supreme Court.
• Restrictions 
  • Restricted from filing a Vakalatnama (acting directly for clients), or appearing in court/tribunals without an Advocate-on-Record (AoR) or instructing junior. 
  • They cannot draft pleadings or directly accept briefs, focusing solely on arguing cases.

Recently a Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha floated the idea of introducing ‘Right to Recall’ in India's parliamentary democracy.

About Right to recall 

• It is a form of direct democracy which allows voters to remove an elected representative before their term ends.
• Status: In India, it is only supported at local level in some states e.g., Chhattisgarh. 
  • Many other countries like the US (in some States), UK have provisions for Right to Recall.  

Other tools for Direct democracy 

While India is a Representative Democracy, certain tools allow citizens to exercise power directly.

• Referendum: A proposed piece of legislation is referred to the electorate for acceptance or rejection.
• Initiative:  Citizens can propose a bill to the legislature for enactment.
• Plebiscite: Primarily deals with sovereignty, territorial disputes, or political status.

Union Ministry of Home Affairs issued guidelines formalising protocol for the rendition of Vande Mataram.

• Key guidelines: It should be sung before national anthem when both are played, audience shall stand to attention except when played as part of film or documentary, etc. 

About Vande Mataram 

• Origin: Composed in Sanskrit (Bengali script) by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and first published in Anandamath (1882).
  • Adopted as India’s National Song by the Constituent Assembly in 1950.
• On January 24, 1950, it was declared that Vande Mataram would have equal status with the National Anthem (Jana-gana-mana).
• It was recited, for the first time in public, by Rabindranath Tagore in 1896 at the 12th Annual Session of the Indian National Congress.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) launched a new mission, Arctic Sentry, to bolster security in the Arctic.

• NATO is a political and military alliance created in 1949 after signing the North Atlantic Treaty. 
• Currently has 32 members and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. 

About Arctic Sentry

• Led by: Joint Force Command Norfolk (JFC Norfolk) that serves as a bridge between North America and Europe for NATO.
• Strategic Purpose: Safeguard NATO members, protect territory, and maintain stability in challenging scenarios like increased military activity from Russia and growing interest from China.

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in collaboration with All India Society for Electronics and Computer Technology (AISECT) launched Kaushal Rath  under “Yuva AI for All” programme. 

•  Kaushal Rath is a mobile Artificial Intelligence (AI) awareness initiative that advances the goal of democratising AI education at scale. 

About Yuva AI for all

• Free, 4.5 hour self-paced national course for making AI accessible and understandable to every Indian.
• Available on leading platforms including FutureSkills Prime, iGOT Karmayogi and others. 
• Part of IndiaAI Mission. 

Researchers have identified inscriptions in Tamil Brahmi script in Valley of the Kings in Egypt belonging to 1^st and 3^rd Centuries C.E. shedding light on ancient trade links. 

• It mentions names of trader in Tamil Brahmi script eg. Cikai Korran (Crown Leader), Kopan, Catan, Kiraṉ. 
  • Korran is also mentioned in Sangam literature where a Chera king is directly addressed as koṟṟaṉ. 

About Tamil Brahmi Script

• A variant of Brahmi script used to write the ancient Tamil inscriptions. 
• Period: 300 BC and 100 AD. 
• Greatest Work: Thirukkural.