India ranks 132 in UNDP''s Human Development Index, amid a global fall

• India ranks 132 out of 191 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI) 2021, after registering a decline in its score over two consecutive years for the first time in three decades.
• The drop is in line with the global trend since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic during which 90% of the countries have fallen backward in human development.
• The Index is part of the Human Development Report 2021-2022 released by the United Nations Development Programme.
• The HDI measures average achievement of a country in three basic dimensions of human development — a long and healthy life, education and a decent standard of living.
• It is calculated using four indicators — life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, and the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita.
• India’s HDI score of 0.633 places it in the medium human development category, lower than its value of 0.645 in 2018, indicating a reversal in progress.
• Like global trends, in India’s case, the drop in HDI from 0.645 in 2018 to 0.633 in 2021 can be attributed to falling life expectancy at birth — 70.7 years to 67.2 years.
• India’s expected years of schooling stand at 11.9 years, and the mean years of schooling are at 6.7 years. The GNI per capita level is $6,590.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has also exacerbated gender inequality, which increased 6.7% globally.

Spent nuclear fuel storage should be ''worked out'': SC

• The Supreme Court has said the problem of storing spent nuclear fuel from the Kudankulam nuclear power plant has to be “worked out”, possibly with the help of experts from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and officials at the highest level in the Tamil Nadu government.
• The Supreme Court asked Tamil Nadu government to come clear on the time schedule for the completion of public hearings by the State regarding the construction of an Away From Reactor (AFR) facility at the Kudankulam plant.
• The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) had sought an extension till July 2026 for the construction of the AFR facility. In 2018, the court had given the Corporation time till April 30, 2022.
• The AFR repository was supposed to be built in five years'' time, but this has not been done. In 2013, the Supreme Court had granted five years’ time to the NPCIL, till July 2018. In 2018, the court gave an extension till 2022 and said this was the final extension of time to create the AFR storage. Now, they are again asking for an extension.
• Spent nuclear fuel, occasionally called used nuclear fuel, is nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor (usually at a nuclear power plant).
• It is no longer useful in sustaining a nuclear reaction in an ordinary thermal reactor and depending on its point along the nuclear fuel cycle, it may have considerably different isotopic constituents.

Rajpath, a symbol of slavery, erased forever: PM

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the redeveloped two-kilometre stretch from India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhavan that was renamed Kartavya Path.
• Modi also unveiled a statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose under the canopy at India Gate that during British rule had a statue of King George V.
• Modi said: “Kingsway, that is, Rajpath, the symbol of slavery, has become a matter of history from today and has been erased forever. Today, a new history has been created in the form of Kartavya Path”
• The iconic stretch had been closed to the public since January 2021 for redevelopment works as part of the larger Central Vista revamp. The ₹477-crore project is the first of the Central Vista works to be completed and opened to the public.

Chinese military confirms disengagement of troops of China and India from Gogra-Hotsprings PP 15 in eastern Ladakh

• The move comes ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan next week, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to participate.
• On September 08, 2022, according to the consensus reached in the 16th round of India China Corps Commander Level Meeting, the Indian and Chinese troops in the area of Gogra-Hotsprings (PP-15) have begun to disengage in a coordinated and planned way.
• The consensus was reached at the Corps Commander level and the ground commanders on both sides had worked out the modalities which were now being implemented.
• The 16th round of talks was held on July 17 at the Chushul border personnel meeting point on the Indian side.

Queen Elizabeth II, the UK''s longest-serving monarch, has passed away after reigning for 70 years.

• The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change.
• Queen Elizabeth II''s tenure as head of state spanned post-war austerity, the transition from empire to Commonwealth, the end of the Cold War and the UK''s entry into - and withdrawal from - the European Union.
• Her reign spanned 15 Prime Ministers starting with Winston Churchill and including Ms Truss. She held weekly audiences with her Prime Minister throughout her reign.
• The Queen was born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, in Mayfair, London, on 21 April 1926.
• Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II and served as the consort of the British monarch from her accession as queen on 6 February 1952 until his death in 2021.

What is the 10-day Operation London Bridge that kicked off with Queen Elizabeth’s death?

• Queen Elizabeth II''s death kicked off Operation London Bridge, a detailed plan, put in place in the 1960s, which meticulously lists the procedures that roll out moments after her death and culminate with her funeral 10 days later.
• Operation London Bridge (also known by its code phrase London Bridge is Down) is the name of a funeral plan for Queen Elizabeth II.
• The plan includes the announcement of her death, the period of official mourning, and the details of her state funeral. The plan was first created in the 1960s and revised many times in the years before her death in 2022.
• As well as Operation London Bridge, there is an additional plan called Operation Unicorn, which details what would happen if the Queen were to die in Scotland.
• Running concurrently with Operation London Bridge is Operation Spring Tide, which addresses the accession of King Charles III to the throne and his first trip to the countries of the UK.

Uttarakhand panel seeks public inputs on Uniform Civil Code

• The expert committee formed by the Uttarakhand government to examine ways for the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has launched a website, seeking public opinion on the plan.
• Headed by retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (who is also the head of the Delimitation Commission), the committee has sought suggestions and recommendations from residents.
• The Committee will also prepare a report on implementing a UCC in Uttarakhand.
• Article 44 of the Constitution, lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for the citizens throughout the territory of India. The code would be applicable to all religious communities in matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption.

Devise policy in 3 months to open up job avenues for transgender persons: Supreme Court

• The order was a fallout of a petition filed by Shanavi Ponnusamy, a transgender person from Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, whose dream of flying high as an airline cabin crew member never took off.
• The court said the petitioner’s case raised wider issues about the formulation of government policy to ensure the guarantee of non-discrimination against transgender people.
• The Supreme Court observed that the government has to comply with the enabling provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019 in “letter and spirit”.
• The court detailed specific provisions of the Act which mandated that no person or establishment, whether government or private, should discriminate against a transgender person in matters of employment, including recruitment or promotion or in any other related areas.
• The court ordered the Department of Personnel and Training and the Social Justice Ministry to collaborate with the National Council for Transgender Persons, a body constituted under the Act, to consult stakeholders and prepare a “considered” policy for the community’s welfare and rights in the next three months.

Supreme Court fixes three key questions for examining EWS quota

• The court will examine
  • whether the amendment breaches the Basic Structure by permitting the state to make special provisions, including reservation, based on economic criteria;
  • whether it violates the Basic Structure by allowing the state to make special provisions in relation to admissions to private unaided institutions, and
  • lastly, whether the Basic Structure is trampled upon by the constitutional amendment by excluding SEBC/OBC/SC/ST communities from the scope of the EWS quota.
• Chief Justice Lalit said the three questions of law would form the foundation of the court’s examination and lawyers could expand on them while arguing.

Orissa HC orders immediate satellite proofing of illegal prawn enclosures in Kendrapara

• Bhitarkanika National Park is located in Kendrapara district in Odisha.
• The area has been designated as second Ramsar site of the State after the Chilika Lake.
• It is surrounded by Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary. Gahirmatha Beach and Marine Sanctuary are to the east, separating swamp region and mangroves from the Bay of Bengal.
• The national park and wildlife sanctuary is inundated by the rivers Brahmani, Baitarani, Dhamra, Pathsala.
• It is the second largest mangrove ecosystem in India.