DPIIT Issues Operational Guidelines of Startup India Fund of Funds (SIFoF) 2.0 Scheme.

• It builds on the success of Startups (FFS 1.0) launched in 2016 to address funding gaps and catalyse the domestic venture capital market for startups. 
• Mechanism: to be deployed through SEBI-Registered AIFs to boost private investment and expand Startup Funding access.

About SIFoF 2.0 Scheme

• Total corpus: ₹10,000 crore
• Ministry:  Ministry of Commerce and Industry. 
• Implementation Agency: Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
• Target: to support Deep tech and tech-driven innovative manufacturing, Empowering early-growth stage founders, etc.

Scientists have mapped the extent of the Vela Supercluster for the first time.

About Vela supercluster

• It is a collection of at least 20 galaxy clusters, each of which contains hundreds or thousands of galaxies, all gravitationally bound into a single entity. 
• It stretches across about 300 million light-years and contains an enormous amount of matter equivalent to about 30 million billion Suns.
• It lies around 800 million light-years from Earth within a region called the Zone of Avoidance (ZoA).
  • ZoA is a ~20% region of the night sky obscured by the Milky Way’s interstellar dust and stars, hiding background galaxies from optical observation.
• It is more massive than Laniākea, the supercluster that contains Earth and the rest of our galaxy.

Over 240 members of the B’nei Menashe community from Manipur and Mizoram were relocated to Tel Aviv by the Israel government.

About B’nei Menashe community

• They are a Jewish-identifying community from Manipur and Mizoram.
• They belong to Mizo-Kuki tribes, who claim descent from one of the “Ten Lost Tribes of Israel” (Tribe of Menashe).
• The tribe was exiled in 722 BC by Assyrian conquerors. 
• Bnei Menashe, which is Hebrew for the children of Manasseh, the first son of Joseph.

China’s Atlas Drone Swarm System raises concerns for global security.

About Atlas Drone Swarm System (Atelasi)

• Overview: It is a truck based drone swarm platform that integrates launch, command and support units to deploy and control multiple drones from a single system. 
• Capability: It can launch up to 96 drones rapidly and allows a single operator to control surveillance, communication, and attack functions.
• Security Implication: Strengthens asymmetric warfare capability of China and poses challenge to air defence systems of India.

China holds live-fire drills in waters near Philippines’ Luzon Island. 

About Luzon Island

• It is the largest island of Philippine archipelago. 
• It is bounded by the Philippine Sea (east), Sibuyan Sea (south), and the South China Sea (west).
  • To the north, the Luzon Strait separates Luzon from Taiwan.

The UK rejected any change to sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, as United States policy regarding the island remains under review.

About Falkland Islands

• It is internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the South Atlantic Ocean. 
• The Falkland Islands are an archipelago comprising two large islands (East Falkland and West Falkland) and several hundred smaller ones.
•  It lies about 480 km northeast of the southern tip of South America and a similar distance east of the Strait of Magellan.
• The islands are claimed by Argentina, and the dispute led to a war in 1982.

WHO prequalifies the first-ever malaria treatment for newborns and infants.

• The prequalification designation indicates that the medicine meets international standards of quality, safety and efficacy. 

About Malaria

• It is caused by Plasmodium parasites (a group of protozoans). 
• It spreads to humans through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
• It is mostly found in tropical and subtropical countries.
• The disease is preventable and curable.
• Key Malaria Vaccines for children: RTS, S/AS01 vaccine, R21/Matrix-M.

Ukraine marks the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster under a cloud of war.

Chornobyl disaster

• The Chernobyl disaster occurred on April 26, 1986 at a nuclear power plant near Pripyat (in present-day Ukraine, then USSR).
• A flawed safety test caused an uncontrolled nuclear reaction, triggering explosions and releasing massive radiation.

Other nuclear disasters: Three Mile Island accident (USA), Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (Japan), etc.