India issued names for 27 Arunachal locations in the updated official Survey of India (SoI) map for Arunachal Pradesh.
- Countering Chinese Claims: This move is a direct response to China's frequent attempts to rename locations in Arunachal Pradesh (which Beijing claims as "south Tibet") to manufacture "baseless narratives".
Names of Key Locations
- High-Altitude Passes: Thag La (Strategically vital pass in Tawang; opening battles of the 1962 war occurred here); Dzo La; Riza La; Pukur La.
- Land Area: Long Ju (one of the earliest flashpoints between India and China in 1959 when Chinese forces entered the area).
- Lake: Sambho Sarovar (a High-altitude lake).
- Monument: Sher-e-Thapa Memorial (Commemorates Trilok Singh Thapa, a celebrated hero of the 1962 war).
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Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has cautioned corporates and finance professionals against Boss Scam.
What is Boss scam (or CEO impersonation fraud)?
- In this scam, the fraudsters use the genuine WhatsApp account of a senior executive or covertly save an attacker-controlled number under the name of the “CEO” in the compromised device.
- Fraudsters then instruct accounts and finance employees to make urgent transfers of funds to mule bank accounts.
- Modus Operandi:
- Strategy A: Deep-fake methodologies like voice cloning, use of AI on video calls etc.
- Strategy B: Sending a compressed .zip archive comprising a malicious executable (.exe) accompanied by a Dynamic Link Library (.dll) file.
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1 sourceThe Centre has stepped up a nationwide surveillance and preparedness plan to contain leptospirosis.
About Leptospirosis
- Leptospirosis is a zoonotic bacterial disease caused by Leptospira.
- Transmission: Contact with water or soil contaminated by the urine of infected animals (especially rodents); human-to-human transmission is rare.
- Risk Factors: Floods, heavy rainfall, poor sanitation, and occupational exposure.
- Complications: Kidney failure, liver failure, meningitis and respiratory distress.
- Treatment: Early antibiotics (e.g., doxycycline or penicillin).
- Prevention: Avoid contaminated water, use protective gear, maintain hygiene and control rodents.
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Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed a joint defence agreement at the Mecca Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
About the agreement
- Key provisions:
- Collective Defence: Armed attack against any one of the countries will be regarded as an attack against them all.
- Strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression.
- Three countries bring complementary strengths to the partnership:
- Saudi Arabia: One of the world’s largest oil exporters and the Arab world’s biggest economy.
- Turkey: A NATO member with the alliance’s second-largest military and a rapidly growing defence industry.
- Pakistan: The world’s only nuclear-armed Muslim-majority country.
- Potential Implications for India: Widens diplomatic and strategic complexities related to India-Pakistan crises, balancing relations with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.
India to launch PLI scheme for polysilicon manufacturing to cut import dependence on China.
- India currently sources it entirely from China.
About Polysilicon
- Polysilicon (Polycrystalline Silicon) is an ultra-high-purity form of silicon, produced by refining metallurgical-grade silicon.
- Applications: Primary raw material for solar photovoltaic (PV) cells, semiconductor chips and electronic devices.
- Importance: A critical component in the solar energy value chain, influencing the efficiency and cost of solar modules.
- Production: Manufactured through energy-intensive processes such as the Siemens process, requiring high-purity quartz.
Five captive-bred slender-billed vultures at the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)’s facility in Assam were released into the wild for the first time globally.
- Vultures were transported from Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre, Guwahati and released at Jatayu Soft Release Centre in Kaziranga National Park.
About slender-billed vultures (Gyps tenuirostris)
- Geographical Range: India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal.
- India: Gangetic plain, Himachal Pradesh, northern Odisha, and east Assam.
- Habitat: Forest, Savanna, Shrubland, Grassland; also found near human habitation (scavenge from rubbish dumps and slaughterhouses).
- Threat: Gyps vultures in India have declined by 99% over the last 20 years due to the use of veterinary painkiller drugs like diclofenac.
- Conservation Status:
- IUCN: Critically Endangered; CMS (Appendix 1)
- Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022: Schedule 1
Astrobase Space Technologies, unveiled EVEREST, India's first privately built 800 kN FFSC engine.
About Everest
- EVEREST is a Full-Flow Staged Combustion (FFSC) Liquid Oxygen (LOX)-Methane rocket engine.
- Full-Flow Staged Combustion (FFSC) is an advanced closed-cycle engine with separate fuel- and oxidiser-rich pre-burners for higher efficiency.
- Propellants:Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Methane (LCH₄)
- Key Features: 3-D printed core components; 800 kN thrust, 340-second specific impulse, and 50–110% throttle range.
- Makes India the fourth country after Russia, the United States and China to possess FFSC engine technology.
As per NITI Aayog’s report DAY-NRLM has mobilised more than 10 crore rural households into nearly 92 lakh Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
- average household incomes increased by 49% among beneficiaries.
- 52% women gained better access to income-generating opportunities
About DAY-NRLM
- Genesis: NRLM was launched in 2010 as a mission-mode scheme by restructuring the erstwhile Swarnajayanti Grameen Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY).
- NRLM was renamed as DAY-NRLM in 2016.
- Ministry: Ministry of Rural Development
- Type: Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS)
- Four core components:
- social mobilization, community institution and capacity building;
- financial inclusion;
- livelihood promotion; and
- convergence.
