• Israel deployed its ship-mounted defense system, C-Dome, for the first time. C-Dome, a naval adaptation of the Iron Dome, protects against rocket and missile threats.
• Utilizing radar detection and interceptors, it boasts high effectiveness. Mounted on Sa’ar 6-class corvettes, it integrates with ship radar for enhanced target detection.
• Operational since November 2022, C-Dome ensures comprehensive maritime defense against modern threats, showcasing Israel’s advanced military technology

• NTPC Limited, India’s largest power company, is set to unveil a new version of its flagship corporate social responsibility initiative, the Girl Child Empowerment Mission (GEM). This program aligns with the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save the Girl Child, Educate the Girl Child) campaign launched by the Government of India.

• The Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) is organizing the festival ‘Shakti – A Festival of Music and Dance’ from April 9 to 17, 2024. The festival is celebrated in seven different Shaktipeeths (sacred sites) across the country. The event is being organized under the Kala Pravah series to revive the temple traditions in the country during the auspicious Navratri period

• Peter Higgs gained fame for the discovery of ‘Higgs-Boson Particle’ i.e. ‘God Particle’.
• Peter Higgs was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2013 for this groundbreaking discovery, which helped explain how the universe was created after the Big Bang.

• India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission team given 2024 John L. ‘Jack’ Swigert Jr. Award.
• The award, presented by the Space Foundation during the annual Space Symposium in Colorado, acknowledges the extraordinary achievements of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Chandrayaan-3 team in the realm of space exploration and discovery

About Chandrayan-3 mission:

• Chandrayaan-3, launched by ISRO in July 2023, comprised a lander named Vikram and a rover called Pragyan. On August 23, 2023, the mission made history when Vikram successfully touched down on the lunar surface at the South Pole, an area that had remained unexplored by previous missions.
• By landing on the Moon’s South Pole, India became the fourth country to master the technology of soft landing on the lunar surface, following the United States, China, and the former Soviet Union. This accomplishment has opened up new avenues for understanding the Moon’s geology, potential water ice reserves, and other scientific revelations

Award Background:

• The John L. “Jack” Swigert Jr. Award for Space Exploration is named after astronaut John L. Swigert Jr., who served on the famous Apollo 13 lunar mission. The award honors individuals or organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to space exploration and discovery, embodying the spirit of accomplishment that the Apollo 13 crew exhibited in overcoming adversity.

• Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (CSIR-IMMT) for Technical & Knowledge cooperation for Critical Minerals.

Key Highlights:

• Under the MoU, KABIL will leverage the technical expertise and services of CSIR-IMMT to undertake various projects, including the design and analysis of metallurgical test work-plans, development and review of process flowsheets, and the selection of process technologies for mineral processing, beneficiation, and metal extraction.
• Furthermore, the agreement will also embark on joint research and facilitate the exchange of scientific information between the two entities.
• Advancing scientific research and technology development in the mineral and metallurgical sectors are essential to the growth and sustainability of the Indian mining industry and ultimately will play a pivotal role in meeting mineral security of the nation as well as domestic requirements.

About KABIL:

• KABIL is a JV company of three Indian public sector undertakings – National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) and Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Limited (MECL)
• It work under the aegis of Ministry of Mines, Government of India.
• Mandate of KABIL is to identify, explore, acquire, develop, mine, process and procure critical and strategic minerals to ensure supply side assurance and mineral security of the nation for meeting domestic requirements and give a big push to Make in India initiative.

Recently, the Supreme Court announced that it would soon address petitions for 100% verification of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips, just ahead of the first phase of voting on 19th April 2024.

Highlights:

• The VVPAT machine is attached to the ballot unit of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), and provides visual verification for the vote cast by a voter by printing a slip of paper with the voter’s choice on it.
• The slip of paper with the candidate’s details is briefly displayed for verification behind a glass window, giving the voter 7 seconds, before dropping into a compartment below.
• Voters are not allowed to take the VVPAT slip home as it is used to verify votes in five randomly selected polling booths.
• The concept aims to enhance trust in the voting process by enabling physical verification of electronically cast votes, reassuring both voters and political parties about the accuracy of their votes.
• Following prototype preparation, field trials were conducted in Ladakh, Thiruvananthapuram, Cherrapunjee, East Delhi, and Jaisalmer in July 2011.
• It led to the approval of VVPAT by an expert committee of the ECI in February 2013.

• Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Amit Kumar Sharma has launched a two-day pulse polio campaign for children below the age of five in the district at Regional Hospital, Reckong Peo.
• Under the pulse polio campaign, a target had been set to administer polio vaccine to 4,600 children below the age of five in the district, for which 101 booths have been established in the entire district.
• The Chief Medical Officer Dr Sonam Negi provided detailed information about the campaign to locals present on the occasion.

• The Himachal Pradesh High Court has ordered the state government to release the withheld honorarium of democracy guards.
• Judge Sandeep Sharma, accepting the petition of Himachal Pradesh Loktantra Senani Sangh, ordered the release of honorarium to the members of the Sangh.
• The court made it clear that as long as the law related to the Loktantra Prahari Samman Rashi is in force, the government cannot stop this amount.
• Himachal Pradesh government has withheld the honorarium of democracy fighters from February 2023. Under this, about 80 people are given 12 to 20 thousand rupees every month.

ABOUT SCHEME:

• The former BJP government had made the Himachal Pradesh Loktantra Prahari Samman Rashi Scheme in 2019.
• To give legal recognition to the scheme, Himachal Pradesh Loktantra Prahari Samman Act was passed in 2021.
• Its objective is to provide Samman Rashi to the people (democracy guards) who were lodged in jails or police stations during the emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi government.
• Emergency was declared in the country by the Indira Gandhi government. During the Emergency, between 25 June 1975 and 21 March 1977, all the people of the state were imprisoned for political reasons. He is to be given an honorarium under the ‘Loktantra Prahari Samman Rashi’ scheme.

• Mohammedan Sporting of Kolkata won the I-League 2023-24 by defeating Shillong Lajong Club 2-1 at the SSA Ground in Shillong, Meghalaya.
• Mohammedan Sporting has also qualified for next year’s AFC Cup, which will be organised by the Asian Football Federation.
• Since the start of the I-league in 2007-08, Mohammedan Sporting has never been able to win the I-league. It was the first I-league title for the illustrious Kolkata football club.

ABOUT ‘I-LEAGUE’

• The I-League is a professional men’s football league started in 2007-08 by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The I-League replaced the National Football League. The National Football League was started by the AIFF in 1996 to make Indian men’s football professional, raise the standards of domestic football, and make the game popular across the country.
• Dempo Sports Club of Gao won the first I-League in 2007-08. It is also the most successful team in the I-League history, winning the title 3 times.