SC Lays Down Guidelines To Evaluate Evidence Of Victims in child trafficking cases

• Court observed that child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children is a “deeply disturbing reality” in India.

Guidelines to evaluate evidence of victims

• Vulnerability of Victim: Judicial scrutiny must recognise Socio-economic and cultural vulnerability of child victims.
• Minor inconsistencies in a trafficked child’s testimony must not discredit her evidence.
• Sole testimony of the victim is sufficient if it is credible and convincing.
• Secondary Victimization: Recounting abuse causes psychological trauma, stigma and fear of retaliation. Judicial evaluation must show sensitivity and realism.
• A trafficked child: Must not be treated as an accomplice but as an “injured witness”, deserving due regard and credence.

IN-SPACe has rolled out a Request for Proposal to establish Antariksh Prayogshala (Space Labs) at select academic institutions across India.

About Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe)

• Genesis: established in 2020.
• Autonomous agency: A single-window, independent, nodal agency that functions as an autonomous agency in the Department of Space.
• Objective: Space sector reforms to enable and facilitate the participation of private players.
• Function: responsible to promote, enable, authorize and supervise various space activities of non-governmental agencies.
  • Acts as an interface between ISRO and Non-Governmental Entities (NGEs).

Revised guidelines and Standard Operating Procedure for ‘Support to Poor Prisoners’ Scheme have been released by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

About Support to Poor Prisoners’ Scheme, 2023

• Objective: Enable release of indigent prisoners/undertrials unable to pay fines or furnish bail sureties; thus reducing prison overcrowding. 
• Nodal agency: The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
• Institutional Mechanism
  • District-level Empowered Committee, examines eligibility of prisoners, assess requirement of financial assistance for bail/fine and recommend release of funds.
  • State-level Oversight Committee
• Exclusions: Scheme is not applicable to offences under Prevention of Corruption Act, PMLA, NDPS Act and UAPA
  • Also excludes heinous crimes like Terrorism, national security offences, Dowry death, rape, human trafficking and POCSO Act
• Jail Superintendent has to inform District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) within 1 week if release is stalled due to non-payment of fine.

According to a study, wildfires in the tundra have been more active this past century than at any time in the past 3,000 years.

About Tundra Biome

• Location: 
  • Arctic regions, between 60° to 70° North latitude, span the northern parts of North America, Europe, and Asia, Antarctic tundra on the Antarctic Peninsula.
  • Alpine tundra occurs on high mountain tops around the world above the tree line (2400 meters to 1000meters).
• Characteristics: 
  • The environment is harsh, with low precipitation (less than 25 centimeters), poor soil nutrients, etc. 
  • They are largely treeless. 
• Flora and Fauna: Mosses, lichens, grasses, sedges, and dwarf shrubs, Arctic fox, caribou, musk ox, lemming, and polar bear etc.

A dedicated body, the Bureau of Port Security (BoPS), will be constituted for the security of vessels and port facilities.

About Bureau of Port Security (BoPS)

• It shall be constituted as a statutory body under the provisions of Section 13 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025.
  • It is being modelled on the lines of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
• Objective: It shall be responsible for regulatory and oversight functions relating to the security of ships and port facilities. 
• Key Functions: It shall also ensure timely analysis, collection and exchange of security-related information, with a special focus on cyber security. 
• It will function under the aegis of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

Currently, 47 DWRs are in operation across India, with 87% of the country's total area under radar coverage.

About DWRs                                               

• These are ground-based radar systems used by meteorological agencies to detect rain, thunderstorms, cyclones etc.
• It can provide information on both the position of targets as well as their movement.
• In India, DWR of varying frequencies — S-band, C-band and X-band — are commonly used by the IMD.

How Doppler Weather Radars Work?

• It uses the Doppler Effect i.e.  Change in frequency of a wave when the source is moving.
• Radar emits radio waves from an antenna. When waves hit atmospheric objects (raindrops, snow, hail), part of the energy is reflected back.
• Time taken for signal return helps determine the distance and intensity of precipitation.
• Larger particles reflect more energy, enabling estimation of rainfall strength.

James Webb Space Telescope Discovers A Bizarre Lemon Shaped World Orbiting A Pulsar.

Pulsar

• It is a rapidly spinning neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation (mostly radio waves) from its magnetic poles.
  • Pulsars are usually formed after the supernova explosion of a massive star.
• Rotation speed: Can rotate dozens to hundreds of times per second.
• Cosmic Clocks: Highly stable rotation makes pulsars precise natural timekeepers.