Kerala Affairs
Kerala government makes Haritha Karma Sena user fee mandatory
The has made theuser feeforHaritha Karma Sena(HKS) mandatory, coming into effect from April 1. As per the order, if anyone defaults on the user fee payments, then it will be collected as arrears along with theirproperty tax.
As per the order, households and establishments are obliged to pay the user fee set by the local bodies to the relevant agencies for waste collection, including plastics. The local body can fix the monthly user fee. However, the order has not given any assurance on any kind of relaxations for the BPL category. But the local body has been given the authority to decide on exempting anyone from the user fee.
National and International Affairs
India rejects China’s attempt to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh
The two spacecraft forming the European Space Agencys Proba-3 mission are ready with instruments and sensors allowing them to maneuver to a millimeter-scale precision relative to one another. The spacecraft will fly into space on India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in 2024.
The spacecraft is set to go into the testing phase where engineers will subject them to a simulated space Environment. The spacecraft has been designed to demonstrate precision formation flying in space, where they will fly together maintaining a fixed configuration as a large rigid structure.
OPEC members announce cut in oil production exceeding one million barrels per day from next month
In a sudden announcement, OPEC members, such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, and Algeria, have declared voluntary oil production cuts of more than one million barrels per day from May to December. They have stated that this is a preventive action to support the stability of the oil market
The group, which consists of 23 oil-producing countries, had reduced its collective output by two million barrels per day in the previous year and is expected to maintain the agreed-upon production levels at their upcoming virtual meeting
Finland Becomes 31st NATO Member After Turkeys Approval
Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has announced that Finland has become the 31st member of the alliance, thanks to Turkeys unanimous vote. Despite Russias opposition to Finlands membership, Turkeys approval has allowed the extension of NATO. Finland a long border of over 1,300 kilometers with Russia, and its decision to join NATO was prompted by security concerns following Russias invasion of Ukraine in 2022. However, Swedens application to join NATO has been declined by Turkey and Hungary.
NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is an intergovernmental military alliance established in 1949. It was formed as a collective defense pact between North American and European nations to deter Soviet expansion and protect member states from potential Soviet aggression during the Cold War