Israel-Lebanon Maritime Border Deal Hailed as ''Historic''

• It resolves a territorial dispute in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in an area that Lebanon wants to explore for natural gas.
• All of the Karish field would fall under Israeli control, while another potential gas field, Qana, would be divided but its exploitation would be under Lebanon’s control.
• It also sets a border between the maritime waters of Lebanon and Israel for the first time.
• The agreement does not touch on the shared land border between Israel and Lebanon, which is still disputed, but where both countries are committed to a ceasefire.
• This border is also called the Blue Line, a boundary that was drawn up by the UN after Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000.

Principle of seniority and next CJI Chandrachud''s ''5+1'' collegium

• The collegium system of appointing judges evolved through three significant verdicts of the Supreme Court, known as the First, Second, and Third Judges Cases.
• The Constitution of India does not mention the collegium system; however, these three cases established that the collegium headed by the Chief Justice of India will have primacy in the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary.
• The Supreme Court collegium is headed by the CJI and comprises four other senior-most judges of the court.
• This collegium makes recommendations to the government for appointment of judges to the SC and of Chief Justices of High Courts, and the transfers of HC judges.
• A separate three-member collegium, headed by the CJI and comprising the two senior-most judges of the SC makes recommendations for appointment of judges to HCs.

First Judges Case (1982)

• SC held that "consultation" of judges does not mean concurrence
• Hence, it gave the primacy in appointment of judges to the Executive.

Second Judges Case (1993)

• Court reversed its earlier ruling by changing the meaning of "consultation" to concurrence.
• With this, the advice tendered by CJI became binding. However, the CJI would have to take into account the views of two of his senior most colleagues.

Third Judges Case (1998)

• Court gave primacy to the opinion of CJI in the matter of appointment of Judges.
• However, Chief Justice must consult four seniormost judges of SC.
• Opinion of all members of the collegium should be in writing.
• Even if two judges in the collegium give an adverse opinion of a person for appointment as the SC judge, the CJI should not send the recommendation to the government.

What is a 5+1 collegium?

• Given the order of seniority, a potential CJI will enter the Chandrachud collegium only in May 2023. However, Justice Khanna will be the sixth member of the collegium from November 9, 2022 itself.
• This happened earlier in 2007 — when then CJI K G Balakrishnan took the top office, the collegium he headed did not have a potential CJI candidate. Justice S H Kapadia, who was next in line to be CJI, was invited to the collegium as the sixth member.

Union Minister Smriti Irani releases operations manual of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao

• The Central government recently announced the inclusion of skilling of girls in non-traditional livelihood (NTL) options in Beti Bachao Beti Padhao programme.
• The scheme will now also focus on increasing the enrolment of girls in secondary education, particularly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects.
• A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministries of Women and Child Development, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Minority Affairs.
• It emphasises convergence between Ministries and Departments to ensure adolescents complete their education, build skills, and enter the workforce in a diverse range of professions, including in STEM fields.
• A national committee headed by the Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development will be the apex committee to review the implementation of the scheme at regular intervals with State governments and Union Territory administrations.

Three lakh and counting: RTI pleas pile up at information commissions

• Nearly 3.15 lakh complaints and appeals are pending with 26 information commissions across India.
• The number of appeals and complaints pending in 2019, from data obtained from 26 information commissions was 2,18,347.
• In 2020, the number climbed up to 2,33,384 with data obtained from 23 information commissions, in 2021 the number was 2,86,325 with data from 26 commissions and in 2022, it was 3,14,323.
• The highest number of pending cases was in Maharashtra at 99,722, followed by Uttar Pradesh at 44,482, Karnataka at 30,358, the Central Information Commission at 26,724 and Bihar at 21,346.
• The report says two information commissions—Jharkhand and Tripura—out of 29 across the country have been completely defunct for 29 months and 15 months respectively.
• Manipur, Telangana, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are without chiefs at the moment.
• Only 5% of the all positions in commissions are being occupied by women.
• Also, several information commissions, including the Central Information Commission, are working at reduced capacity with less than the stipulated number of members being in office.
• Under RTI law, information commissions are the final appellate authority and are mandated to safeguard and facilitate people’s right to information.

IMF cuts India’s FY23 growth forecast to 6.8%

• IMF’s move follows the World Bank slashing its FY23 growth projection for India to 6.5 per cent recently from 7.5 per cent predicted earlier.
• India is projected to grow at 6.8% in the current fiscal year, following 8.7% growth in fiscal year that ended March 31 as per figures released in the IMF’s October 2022 World Economic Outlook.
• Growth rate for this year for India has been revised downward by 0.6 percentage points relative to the IMF’s June 2022 forecast, following a weaker output in the second quarter, and subdued external demand.
• The forecast for the next fiscal year remains unaltered at 6.1%.
• The IMF has projected 6.9% consumer price inflation this year and 5.1% next year.
• For the world as a whole, growth will slow down from 6.0% in 2021 to 3.2% in 2022 and 2.7% in 2023.

Reports Published by IMF:

• Global Financial Stability Report
• Fiscal Monitor
• World Economic Outlook
• Regional Economic Outlook
• Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda

53rd Capacity Building programme in Field Administration for Civil Servants of Bangladesh inaugurated at Mussoorie

• The National Centre for Good Governance was set up in 2014 by the Government of India as an apex institution in the country.
• Its head office is at New Delhi and registered office at Mussoorie.
• It focuses on good governance, policy reforms, training and capacity building, and to also work as a think tank.
• It has taken up capacity building of civil servants of several foreign countries in partnership with Ministry of External Affairs.
• It has imparted training to civil servants of 15 countries such as Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania, Tunisia, Seychelles, Gambia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Laos, Vietnam, Bhutan, Myanmar and Cambodia.
• The NCGG traces its origin to the National Institute of Administrative Research (NIAR).
• NIAR was set up in 1995 by the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA).
• NIAR was subsequently rechristened with an expanded mandate, as NCGG, which was inaugurated in 2014.

India hosted the 6th meeting of India-Norway Joint Working Group on Higher Education

• The Joint Working Group was established to monitor and oversee the implementation of the MoU on Cooperation in the field of Higher Education signed between India and Norway on 25th April, 2022.
• The two sides reviewed the progress made under the Indo-Norwegian Cooperation Programme developed under the ambit of the previous India-Norway MoU signed in 2014.
• They deliberated upon overall higher education policy and priorities, student/faculty mobility and cooperation in the field of skill development.

India’s relations with Central Europe (CE):

• India’s relations with countries in Central Europe (CE) remained on a steady upward track characterised by warmth and progress in 2021-22, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
• Rooted in cultural ties, relations with Central European countries have been free from any major irritants.
• India has received support from these countries at various multilateral fora.
• Regional groups within CE like the Visegrad Group (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) and the Nordic group (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland) also provide platforms for plurilateral exchanges with India.

PM Narendra Modi addresses UN World Geospatial International Congress

• The goal of this year''s UNWGIC is to promote a broad dialogue on global geospatial information management with all relevant governments, non-governmental organisations, academia, and the private sector.
• Theme: The theme of UNWGIC 2022 is ''Geo-Enabling the Global Village: No one should be left behind''.
• It was hosted by the ministry of science and technology of the government of India.
• The United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) convened the conference on UNWGIC 2022 and was organised by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
• It is conducted every four years with the objectives of enhancing international collaboration among the Member States and relevant stakeholders in Geospatial information management and capacities.
• The first UNWGIC was organized by China in October 2018.

PM Modi recently lays the foundation stone of various healthcare facilities in Civil Hospital Asarwa, Ahmedabad.

• The CyberKnife System is a non-invasive treatment for cancerous and non-cancerous tumors and other conditions where radiation therapy is indicated.
• CyberKnife treatments are typically performed in 1 to 5 sessions.
• It is used to treat conditions throughout the body, including the prostate, lung, brain, spine, head and neck, liver, pancreas and kidney.
• It can be an alternative to surgery or for patients who have inoperable or surgically complex tumors.
• It offers several advantages to patients, including rapid relief from pain and other symptoms.