Lifetime chauffeurs, domestic help for retired CJIs, Supreme Court judges

• Retired CJIs would also get secretarial assistants. The staff would be paid the salary and allowances of regular employees of the Supreme Court.
• The first series of amendments in the Rules on August 23 had allowed retired Chief Justices of India and Supreme Court judges chauffeurs, secretarial assistants and security cover only for a year. There was no mention of “domestic help”, who would be an employee in the level of junior court assistant.
• The benefit of 24-hour security cover has been extended to five years for retired Chief Justices and three years for retired judges of the Supreme Court. The judiciary had recently raised concerns about attacks on judges.
• Besides, former CJIs and retired judges of the top court can get their monthly mobile phone and Internet bills reimbursed to the extent of ₹4,200.
• A retired CJI is also entitled to a rent-free Type VII accommodation, other than the designated official residence, in New Delhi for six months immediately after retirement.
• The notification issued by the Law Ministry however said these post-retirement benefits would be available only if the retirees were not getting similar facilities from any High Court or government body.

Nepal has put on hold Gorkhas recruitment under India’s Agnipath scheme

• The decision to postpone these rallies has been taken by the Nepalese government as it is of the opinion that this new form of entry into the Indian military is not covered under the Tripartite Agreement signed between Nepal, Indian and UK governments in 1947, soon after Indian independence.
• As per the terms of this agreement four regiments of Gorkha soldiers – 2nd, 6th, 7th and 10th – were transferred to the British Army while the rest – 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th – remained with the Indian Army.
• A new Gorkha Regiment, the 11th Gorkha Rifles, was raised by India soon after Independence.
• The agreement also provides for the terms and conditions of the Nepal-domiciled Gorkha soldiers in the Indian Army and for their post-retirement benefits and pensions.

Moderna sues Pfizer/BioNTech for patent infringement over COVID vaccine

• Just a decade old, Moderna, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, had been an innovator in the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine technology that enabled unprecedented speed in developing the COVID-19 vaccine.
• The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines use the same technology, based on messenger RNA, or mRNA. Such vaccines make use of the messenger RNA molecules that tell the body’s cells what proteins to build.
• mRNA enters cells shortly after vaccination and instructs them to create a SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, prompting the immune response.

Chhattisgarh''s forest ''by mistake''

• The Union Ministry of Environment has objected to the transfer of thousands of hectares of land without following due process by Chhattisgarh from its Forest to the Revenue Department for setting up industries and for building road, rail, and other infrastructure.
• While the Chhattisgarh government has described these areas as non-forest land that were earlier given “by mistake” to the Forest Department, the Environment Ministry has warned that the land in question is “undemarcated protected forests”, which cannot be used for non-forest purposes without clearance under the Forest Conservation (FC) Act, 1980.
• Broadly, state Forest Departments have jurisdiction over two types of forests notified under the Indian Forest (IF) Act, 1927: Reserve Forests (RF), where no rights are allowed unless specified; and Protected Forests (PF), where no rights are barred unless specified. Certain forests, such as village or nagarpalika forests, are managed by state Revenue Departments.
• The FC Act, 1980, applies to all kinds of forests, whether under the control of the Forest or the Revenue Department, and it requires statutory clearance before forests can be used for any non-forest purpose such as industry, mining, or construction. In 1976, forests were included in List III (Concurrent List) under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

California government to ban ICE cars by 2035

• The rule would kick in with a 35 per cent limit on new passenger vehicle sales to be “zero emission” (or Battery Electric Vehicles) by 2026, which then goes up to 68 percent by 2030, and 100 per cent in 2035.
• California, besides being the biggest US state, is one of the largest markets for car sales in the world. So, California’s position on new car sales is extremely important.
• India has a target of meeting at least 65 per cent of all new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.
• Progress has been patchy though, with 6.38 lakh EVs registered in India since 2012 – less than 1 per cent of the total vehicle count.
• What is encouraging is that over 15 states have issued or adopted EV policies so far.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman says Indian Economy will grow at 7.4% this fiscal and next year

• She said, International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have projected India''s growth to be the fastest for the next two fiscal years, and their estimates are in sync with that of the Reserve Bank of India.
• On the issue of freebies, Ms Sitharaman said there is a need for a rigorous debate on the freebies side.
• She stressed that political parties making pre-poll promises should make budgetary provisions for taking care of the expenditures and not push the burden on other entities.

Indian Naval Ship Sumedha visits Port Klang in Malaysia

• Port Klang is a town and the main gateway by sea into Malaysia. Known during colonial times as Port Swettenham but renamed Port Klang in July 1972, it is the largest port in the country.
• INS Sumedha is an indigenously built Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel deployed for multiple roles independently and in support of Fleet Operations.

Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Participates in Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar Campaign at Puducherry

• "Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar/Clean Coast, Safe Sea" Campaign, is a 75-day citizen-led initiative, aimed at improving the coastal and ocean health via community action.
• The campaign began on July 5, 2022, and will culminate on 17th September 2022 - International Coastal Clean-up Day.
• The three strategic underlying objective of the Campaign is to alter and save the environment through behaviour change. The campaign''s three overarching goals are:
  • Consume Responsibly,
  • Separate waste at home, and
  • Dispose of waste responsibly.
• The campaign is spearheaded by Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) in partnership of Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Indian Coast Guard, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), other central ministries/organisation and other social organizations and educational institutions.
• The coastal clean-up campaign is being taken at 75 beaches along the coast line of with average 75 volunteers for every kilometre of coastline.

Ministry of Culture celebrates the successful inscription of ‘Durga Puja in Kolkata’ on the Representative List of ICH of Humanity in 2021

• ‘Durga Puja in Kolkata’ was inscribed on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity during its 16th session held in Paris, France from 13th to 18th December 2021.
• India now has 14 intangible cultural heritage elements on the prestigious UNESCO Representative List of ICH of Humanity.