1) Privilege Committee: Rajya Sabha passed a motion to end suspension of an Member of Parliament (MP) following a recommendation by privileges committee.
- It is a parliamentary standing committee present in both Houses of Parliament.
- Consists of 15 members in Lok Sabha (10 in case of Rajya Sabha) nominated by the Speaker (Chairman in case of Rajya Sabha).
- Key Function: Investigate questions involving the breach of privileges of House or members, as referred to it by presiding officer of Houses.
2) Open Source Software (OSS): Meta and IBM formed the AI Alliance, supporting an open-source approach to AI development.
- OSS, like Linux and Mozilla, are developed via open collaboration, and their source code is available for anyone to use, examine, alter and redistribute.
- OSS differs from closed-source software like Microsoft Word, which are sold to end users by the creator or copyright holder.
- Closed-source software cannot be edited, enhanced or redistributed except as specified by the copyright holder.
- India has adopted a policy on adoption of OSS and established National Resource Centre for Free & Open-Source Software to support OSS ecosystem
3) Chandrayaan-3 Propulsion Module: ISRO has successfully returned the Chandrayaan-3’s Propulsion Module from lunar orbit to Earth’s orbit.
- It is a milestone in ISRO’s goal to bring back manned missions in the future.
- It marks the first instance of bringing an object back from lunar orbit.
- It is also ISRO’s first demonstration of a gravity assist flyby around another celestial body.
- It is a technique of using a planet’s or celestial body’s gravity to redirect and accelerate a spacecraft toward Earth.
- Payload SHAPE onboard the module will continue to conduct a spectroscopic study of Earth’s atmosphere from Earth’s orbit.
4) Gram Manchitra: Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) is promoting Gram Manchitra to facilitate Spatial Planning by the Gram Panchayat
- It is a Geographic Information System (GIS) Application, launched by MoPR in 2019.
- It has been developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC).
- It helps to perform spatial planning at Gram Panchayat level with use of geo-spatial technology.
- It provides single Geo Spatial platform to better visualize various developmental works and provide a decision support system for Gram Panchayat Development Plan.
Places in News:
1) Philippines (Capital: Manila):
- A Strong earthquake of magnitude 7.6 sparked a tsunami warning in the Philippines.
- Political Features:
- It is an archipelago in South-eastern Asia between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
- It is divided into three island groups: Luzon (largest island of country), Visayas, and Mindanao.
- It is bounded by Philippine Sea, Celebes Sea, Sulu Sea and South China Sea.
- Geographical Features:
- Islands are composed primarily of volcanic rock and coral.
- Highest point: Mount Apo (active volcano)
- Largest Lake: Laguna de Bay
- Major Rivers: Cagayan and Rio Grande de Mindanao
