India slides 8 places to 150 in 2022 Press Freedom Index

• India’s ranking, as per the report, fell on the back of increased “violence against journalists” and a “politically partisan media”, which has landed press freedom in a state of “crisis” in the world’s largest democracy.
• The ranking of India''s neighbours, except that of Nepal, have also slid down, with the index placing Pakistan at 157th position, Sri Lanka 146th, Bangladesh 162nd and Maynmar at 176th position, the report released by Reporters Without Borders said.
• According to the RSF 2022 World Press Freedom Index, Nepal has climbed up by 30 points in the global ranking at 76th position.
• This year, Norway (1st) Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd) Estonia (4th) and Finland (5th) grabbed the top positions, while North Korea remained at the bottom of the list of the 180 countries and territories ranked by the Reporters Without Borders.
• About the global scenario, the RSF said the 20th World Press Freedom Index reveals a two-fold increase in "polarisation" amplified by information chaos, that is, media polarisation fuelling divisions within countries, as well as polarisation between countries at the international level.

PM Modi, Danish counterpart hold delegation-level

• Both leaders reviewed the progress of the Green Strategic Partnership which was the first of its kind arrangement between India and Denmark. During the India-Denmark Virtual Summit in October 2020, the two sides gave their relationship the status of a Green Strategic Partnership.
• Prime Ministers of two sides participated in India-Denmark Business Forum with top business leaders from the two countries at the Confederation of Danish Industry.
• Earlier nine agreements were inked between the two countries in various sectors.

List of agreements signed/announced during the visit of Prime Minister to Denmark

1. Declaration of Intent (DoI) on Migration and Mobility
2. Letter of Intent (LoI) between Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, GOI and Ministry of Business, Industry and Financial Affairs of Denmark on Centre of Excellence in Green Shipping
3. Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) between the Ministry of Culture, GoI and Ministry of Culture of Denmark for the years 2022-2026
4. Letter of Intent (LoI) of between Ministry of Jal Shakti and Ministry of Environment of Denmark
5. MoU on Cooperation in the field of Skill Development, Vocational Education and Entrepreneurship
6. Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) on Cooperation in the fields of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
7. Launch of Energy Policy Dialogue at Ministerial level
8. India to join as mission partner to ICARS (International Centre for Anti-Microbial Resistance Solution)
9. Letter of Intent between Invest India and Technical University of Denmark to facilitate start-up collaboration

2nd India-Nordic Summit

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the 2nd India-Nordic Summit along with Prime Ministers of Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Norway.
• The summit will be hosted by Denmark.
• The Summit will focus on subjects like post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change, innovation and technology, renewable energy, the evolving global security scenario and India-Nordic cooperation in the Arctic region.
• Nordic countries are important partners for India in sustainability, renewable energy, digitisation and innovation. The visit will help in expanding India''s multifaceted cooperation with the Nordic region.

Lokpal to get permanent office at World Trade Centre in Delhi, office space bought for ₹ 254 cr.

• The office has been purchased for ₹254.88 crore, according to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the administrative Ministry for the Lokpal.
• On March 19, 2019, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh was appointed India’s first Lokpal along with eight other members.
• The appointment itself was made five years after the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act was passed in 2013 to investigate cases of corruption against certain categories of public servants.
• The Lokpal can inquire into allegations of corruption against anyone who is or has been Prime Minister, or a Minister in the Union government, or a Member of Parliament, as well as officials of the Union government under Groups A, B, C and D.
• The body also covers complaints against chairpersons, members, officers and directors of any board or autonomous body either established by an Act of Parliament and any society or trust or body that receives foreign contribution above ₹10 lakh.

''Political Neutrality Must For Civil Servants'', Says Supreme Court

• This was stated by a Bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and A.S. Bopanna while replying to a writ petition seeking a direction to the legislature to frame a law imposing a cooling-off period for retired bureaucrats with political ambitions.
• The petitioner said the need to give time to cool off after retirement was necessary owing to a high probability that civil servants, while in service, may do favours for certain parties with an eye on a political future or a high position.
• The Bench categorically said that civil servants would be liable for stringent action in case of any such breach in ethical standards under the All India Services (Conduct) Rules of 1968.
• It said that for civil servants, “courtesy, accountability and transparency, integrity, impartiality, neutrality, transparency and honesty are non-negotiable”.
• However, the Bench stated that the court could not make a law to introduce a cooling-off period for civil servants. The question whether to make such a law or not was best left to the legislature.

Lapsus$: how two teenagers hacked big tech firms

• Lapsus$ is said to be based in South America and is led by two teenagers, a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old.
• The group is relatively new but has successfully breached major firms like Microsoft. It has also publicly taunted their victims, leaking their source code and internal documents.
• Their hacking tactics include phone-based social engineering, SIM-swapping to facilitate account takeover, accessing personal email accounts of employees at target organisations etc.

President Kovind to attend Bodo Sahitya Sabha at Kachubari in Tamulpur district, Assam

• It is a historic moment for the Bodo Sahitya Sabha as no President of India has ever attended any literary event of any language in the northeastern region.
• Boro, also called Bodo, is the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Assam state of India.
• They are spread across north-eastern India.
• They are concentrated mainly in the Bodoland Territorial Region of Assam, though Bodos inhabit all other districts of Assam and Meghalaya.
• Bodos are officially identified as "Boro, Borokachari" scheduled tribe under the Constitution of India. Bodos speak Bodo language, which is recognised as one of twenty-two Scheduled languages of India.

Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurates NATGRID premises at Bengaluru

• The NATGRID CEO informed that the services of NATGRID solution will be available to 11 central agencies and police of all States and Union Territories.
• It will link user agencies with data holders, giving them access to real-time information needed for intelligence services and investigations.
• C-DAC Pune has been roped in as Technology Partner and IIT, Bhilai as Plan Management Consultant for the development of NATGRID solution.
• The National Intelligence Grid or NATGRID is the integrated intelligence master database structure for counter-terrorism purpose connecting databases of various core security agencies under Government of India collecting comprehensive patterns procured from 21 different organizations that can be readily accessed by security agencies round the clock.
• NATGRID came into existence after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

RPF launches Focused effort under “Operation Satark”

• Railway Protection Force (RPF) is a security force under the ownership of Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways, Government of India.
• It was formed in 1872 under the Railway Protection Force Act, 1957.
• It is the lead security agency in the field of railway security having a pan India reach. It is entrusted with the security of railway property, passenger area and passengers.
• Railway Protection Force has recently started “Operation Satark” with an objective of taking action against illicit liquor/FICN/illegal tobacco products/unaccounted gold and any other items being transported through railway network for the purpose of tax evasion and smuggling.