Indian Olympic shooter Abhinav Bindra is set to participate in the Olympic Torch Relay in Paris in 2024. The traditional relay in operation since Berlin 1936, is a historic event that takes place prior to the Summer Olympics. 

• The Olympic torch will be lit on April 16 at Olympia, Greece—the birthplace of the games. Next, it will travel to Athens in preparation for Paris in 2024.
• The flame will sail the Mediterranean on board the three-masted ship Belem to Marseille.
• It is scheduled to reach Marseille on May 8, where it will begin a 68-day Olympic flame Relay throughout France.
• It will pass through 65 regions before reaching the host city Paris to formally kick off the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Justice Ritu Bahri took oath as the first woman Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court.

• Governor Lieutenant General Gurmeet Singh (Retd) administered the oath of office to Justice Bahri at the Raj Bhavan here.
• Justice Bahri is the first woman to hold the post of Chief Justice in the state.
• Before becoming the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand, Justice Bahri was a judge in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has broken the world record for the most cumulative time spent in space, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos reported.

• The 59-year-old has now spent more than 878 days and 12 hours in space, surpassing fellow Russian Gennady Padalka, who set the previous record of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes, and 48 seconds in 2015.
• Kononenko has made five journeys to the International Space Station, dating back to 2008.
• Speaking with Russian state news agency TASS, the engineer said that each trip to the ISS required careful preparation due to the station’s constant upgrades — but that life as a cosmonaut was a childhood dream come true.

The Defence Security Cooperation Agency said that the US State department gave the approval for the drones and related equipment worth $3.99 billion.

• The United States said it has approved the sale of 31 MQ9B drone sale to India.
• The Defence Security Cooperation Agency said that the US State department gave the approval for the drones and related equipment worth $3.99 billion. The agency added that it had also delivered the required certification notifying the Congress of the sale.
• While the Indian Navy will get 15 out of the 31 drones, the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force will get eight each of high altitude long endurance drones from the United States.

World Cancer Day is held on 4th February every year. World Cancer Day 2024 will land on a Sunday(04 February 2024).

• World Cancer Day aims to prevent millions of deaths caused by cancer by raising awareness, sharing information, debunking myths surrounding cancer, and working with governments to take action. 
• Every three years, World Cancer Day and the UICC announce a new campaign theme and the specific focus of each year. 
• The campaign theme for 2022-2024 is “Closing the Care Gap”.

Indian Navy has declared 2024 as 'Year of Naval Civilians' to improve administration, efficiency and well-being of Naval Civilians by addressing all facets of Civilian HR Management in a time bound manner.

• Major focus areas towards maximising administrative efficiency, digital initiatives, generic and specific training programmes and welfare activities have been identified for implementation in 2024.
• Naval Civilian Personnel constitute about a third of Indian Navy's total workforce and contribute significantly to its operational effectiveness across all domains.
• Civilian personnel impact the overall performance of Naval formations such as Command Headquarters, Dockyards, Material Organisations, NADs, Naval Armament Inspectorates, Training Establishments and several other types of support units.
• A number of initiatives have been conceived and implemented in the past in order to enhance organisational efficiency and satisfaction levels amongst civilian personnel.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has introduced a new medal, Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak, after merging four existing medals – Union Home Minister’s Special Operation Medal, Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation, Asadharan Aasuchana Kushalata Padak and Union Home Minister’s Awards for Meritorious Service in Forensic Science.

• In 2018, the Union Home Minister’s Special Operation Medal was constituted to recognise those operations that have a high degree of planning and significance for the security of the country.
• The Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation was also instituted in 2018 for excellence in investigation.
• The Asadharan Aasuchana Kushalata Padak was instituted in the same year for exceptional performance and indomitable and daring intelligence service.
• The Union Home Minister’s Awards for Meritorious Service in Forensic Science was introduced in 2010.

Defence Minister of India Shri Rajnath Singh awarded Dr. Bina Modi with the ‘Outstanding Business Woman of the Year – 2023’ Award

• Dr. Bina Modi, Chairperson of the Modi Enterprises, was bestowed with the ‘Outstanding Business Woman of the Year – 2023’ Award.
• The award was presented to her at a prestigious conference by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce on ‘Strengthening Indo-US Relationship in Amritkal-Aatmanirbahr Bharat.’
• The government recognized her outstanding and remarkable contributions to the industry and placed her among the distinguished few women chairpersons of Fortune 500 and ET500 India companies. 

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch a humanoid robot, Vyommitra, into space.

• Announced by Union Minister Jitendra Singh, this groundbreaking mission precedes the renowned Gaganyaan mission, India’s first crewed spaceflight, slated for the following year.
• Vyommitra—which translates to ‘space friend’ from Sanskrit—has been created to mimic human functions during her space venture.
• Her tasks include operating control panels, issuing safety warnings, and managing life support systems.
• These capabilities prepare ISRO for the anticipated human journey, ensuring that all necessary systems are operational for the safety and success of Indian astronauts in space.
• In Delhi, Singh conveyed that the non-human test mission is projected to occur in the latter part of this year, with the human-crewed Gaganyaan following it in 2025.

Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh has been roped in as the brand ambassador of audio products brand boAt, the company announced through an official statement. Ranveer Singh has also made an investment in the company.

• The press release said that the Ranveer Singh invested an undisclosed amount in boAt, becoming a key stakeholder in the company.
• The company co-founded by Aman Gupta has also announced an upcoming campaign featuring Singh for Boat’s sub-brand 'Nirvana series'. 
• boAt, one of India's leading electronics and audio products company, was founded by Sameer Mehta and Aman Gupta in November 2016. After its last round of funding, the company was valued at around ?2200 crore.

Banwarilal Purohit may have resigned as Governor of Punjab. Before being appointed to the Raj Bhavan in Punjab, Mr. Purohit had served as Governor of Tamil Nadu from 2017 to 2021.

• On February 3, a day after he held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Mr. Purohit tendered his resignation as Punjab’s Governor and the Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
• The resignation comes amid a word of war between Purohit and the ruling AAP government in Punjab. He had written a series of letters to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann seeking clarifications on several issues pertaining to the state.
• A three-time MP (twice from the Congress and once from the BJP) from Nagpur, Purohit had earlier served as the governor of Tamil Nadu and Assam.