1) Gallantry Awards: On 75th Republic Day, President approves Gallantry awards to Armed Forces personnel.
- Gallantry awards are announced twice in a year (on Republic Day and Independence Day).
- Gallantry Awards are classified into two Categories
- Gallantry in the Face of Enemy: Param Vir Chakra, Mahavir Chakra , Vir Chakra.
- Gallantry Other than in the Face of Enemy: Ashok Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra.
- Order of precedence of these awards
- Param Vir Chakra, Ashoka Chakra, Mahavir Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Vir Chakra and Shaurya Chakra.
2) Kutia Kondh Tribe: Two persons from Kutia Kondh Tribe attended Republic Day parade in New Delhi as special guests.
- They are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) from Odisha.
- Currently, 75 tribes are given status of PVTGs in India.
- Society and culture:
- Families are mostly nuclear and patriarchal in character.
- Kondhs worship nature.
- Known for their buffalo sacrifice ritual, called “Kedu” to worship their Earth Goddess”.
- Agriculture:
- Shifting cultivation, or slash-and-burn agriculture.
- Kondhs call it dongar chaas or podu chaas
3) South Asian University (SAU): The Delhi High Court has ruled that the SAU is not subjected to the writ jurisdiction under Article 226.
- The court observed that
- The varsity’s character is that of an international institution as it derives powers from a 2007 inter-governmental agreement.
- It cannot be included under “other authority” as mentioned in Article 12 of the Constitution of India.
- SAU is an international university established by the member nations of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation in New Delhi.
4) Cyclone Kirrily: Tropical Cyclone Kirrily made landfall in Australia.
- Tropical cyclones originate and intensify over warm tropical oceans.
- Conditions favourable for Tropical cyclone
- Large sea surface with temperature higher than 27° C.
- Presence of the Coriolis force.
- Small variations in the vertical wind speed.
- A pre-existing weak low-pressure area or low-level-cyclonic circulation.
- Upper divergence above the sea level system.
