IRIS Chip
IT-Madras and ISRO jointly developed aerospace quality SHAKTI-based Semiconductor Chip – IRIS
- Stands for – Indigenous RISCV Controller for Space Applications
- SHAKTI class of systems – Based on RISC-V (Reduced Instruction Set Computer Five), an open-source Instruction Set Architecture (ISA), for designing custom processors.
- Backed by – Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under its Digital India RISC-V initiative (DIRV).
- Objective – To promote indigenous development of microprocessor-based products
Doctrine of Pith and Substance
Recently, SC dismissed centre’s plea to levy service tax on promotion, marketing, or sale of lottery tickets, uphelding 2012 Sikkim High Court ruling, which was based on doctrine of Pith and Substance.
- A doctrine that determines which level of government (union or state) is empowered to make a law, in case of ambiguity in legislative powers.
- It says that when there is a question of determining whether a particular law relates to a particular subject court looks to the substance of the matter
NB 8 Countries
Prime Minister of India met President of the Republic of Estonia which a part of NB8 countries
- Stands for Nordic-Baltic Eight countries
- An informal (non-institutionalized) regional cooperation group.
- Members – Nordic Countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) and Baltic Countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania).
Corruption Perception Index
Transparency International releases Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2024
- India scored 38 out of 100 (drop of one point from 2023) and ranked 96th.
- Least corrupt – Denmark followed by Finland and Singapore.
- Most Corrupt – South Sudan, Somalia, and Venezuela
Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen)
Parliamentary Panel presents a report on Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen)
- Launched on – 2nd October 2014 by Ministry of Jal Shakti
- A Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
- Objective – Eliminating open defecation in rural areas
- Major components – Construction of Individual household latrines (IHHLs) & Community Sanitary Complexes (CSCs), Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) etc.