• India has recently conducted two successful flight tests of the Very Short-Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) missile system off the coast of Odisha.
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted these tests from a ground-based portable launcher at the integrated test range in Chandipur.
• These missiles were designed and developed domestically by the Research Centre Imarat, in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian industry partners.
• The VSHORADS system incorporates advanced technologies, including a miniaturised reaction control system and integrated avionics, which were successfully validated during the trials.
• The missile is powered by a dual-thrust solid motor.
• It is specifically designed to neutralise low-altitude aerial threats at short ranges.
• Additionally, both the missile and its launcher have been optimised for easy portability.
• The missile system, being man-portable and specifically optimised for lightweight compared to other missile systems, can be deployed quickly in the mountains close to the Line of Actual Control, with China in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.

• Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for 34 residential hostels across various states and central institutes.
• Among these, 28 hostels cater to SC students, providing accommodation for 3150 girls and 750 boys and 6 hostels are dedicated to OBC students, offering facilities for 396 girls.
• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing schemes for Construction/Repair of Educational Hostels for SC students (Under PM-AJAY) and Construction of Educational Hostels for OBC boys and girls.

 ABOUT PRADHAN MANTRI ANUSUCHIT JAATI ABHUYDAY YOJANA (PM-AJAY)

• It is a comprehensive scheme amalgamating three Centrally Sponsored Schemes, including Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY), Special Central Assistance to Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCA to SCSP), and Babu Jagjivan Ram Chhatrawas Yojana (BJRCY).
• This initiative was launched in the fiscal year 2021-22.
• Nodal ministry- Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
• Objectives of the Scheme-
  • The main objective of the scheme is to increase the income of the target population by way of various income generating schemes, skill development and infrastructure development.
  • To reduce the poverty among the target population and bring them above the poverty lines.
• It is a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented since 2021-22 as three components, which are as under:-
  • Development of SC dominated villages into an ‘Adarsh Gram’ component.
  • ‘Grants-in-aid for District/State-level Projects for socio-economic betterment of SCs’ component.
  • ‘Construction of Hostels in Higher Educational Institutions’component.

• ‘Status of Leopards in India Report 2022’ was recently released.
• The Leopard population estimation (5th cycle) was carried out by the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Institute of India.
• It was in collaboration with State Forest Departments, as part of the quadrennial “Monitoring of Tiger, Co-predators, prey and their Habitat-2022”.

MAJOR FINDINGS

• India’s leopard numbers rose by 8% from 12,852 in 2018 to 13,874 in 2022.
• While the highest number of leopards were reported in Madhya Pradesh (3,907), only three other States reported over a 1,000 animals each — Maharashtra (1,985), Karnataka (1,879) and Tamil Nadu (1,070).
• The survey covered 20 States of India, and focussed on about 70% of the animals’ expected habitat, which are India’s tiger reserves and protected forest areas.

 ABOUT INDIAN LEOPARDS

• Scientific Name- Panthera pardus fusca
• Geogrpahical spread- India, Nepal, Bhutan, and parts of Pakistan
• It is solitary and nocturnal in nature.
• Indian Leopards are good climbers and rely on trees for cover, so are found in various forested habitats, including rainforest, dry deciduous forest, temperate forest and northern coniferous forest (excluding mangrove forests and deserts).
• Unlike tigers, which are largely confined to forest reserves, leopards are far more adaptable and tend to be found in significant numbers, in villages and, sometimes, even in cities.
  • They are also known to prey on cattle and thus be involved in conflict.
• Other Threats- Habitat loss, illegal trade of skins and body parts, and persecution due to human-leopard conflict and livestock depredation.
• Protection Status–
  • IUCN Red list status- Vulnerable
  • CITES- Appendix I
  • WPA 1972- Schedule 1

• Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kuldeep Pathania disqualified six rebel Congress legislators from the membership of the Himachal Vidhan Sabha under the provision of the anti-defection law.
  • The six MLAs who have been the disqualified are Sudhir Sharma (Dharamsala), Rajinder Rana (Sujanpur), Inder Dutt Lakhanpal (Barsar), Ravi Thakur (Lahaul-Spiti), Chaitanya Sharma (Gagret) and Davinder Bhutto (Kutlehar).
• It is first-ever disqualification of any MLA under the anti-defection law in the history of Himachal Pradesh.

BRIEF OF ANTI DEFECTION LAW

• The anti-defection law (found under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution) was enacted to curb frequent floor-crossing by legislators.
• It was added to the Constitution through 52nd Amendment Act in 1985.
• The decision on questions as to disqualification on ground of defection are referred to the Chairman or the Speaker of such House, which is subject to ‘Judicial review’.
• Grounds for Defection
  • An elected member voluntarily gives up his membership of a political party.
  • An elected member votes or abstains from voting in such House, contrary to any direction issued by his political party or anyone authorized to do so, without obtaining prior permission.
  • If any independently elected member joins any political party.

If any nominated member joins any political party after the expiry of six months.

• IPS officer Atul Verma was recently appointed as the director general of Himachal Pradesh CID.
• Verma is a 1991-batch IPS officer and replaced Additional DGP of State Vigilance and anti-corruption bureau Satwant Atwal Trivedi, who had an additional charge as DG-CID.

• The Education Ministry and the Information and Broadcasting Ministry jointly launched a nationwide awareness campaign “Mera pehla vote desh ke liye (my first vote for the country)”
• Under this various events will be organised in universities, colleges, and higher education institutions to encourage the first-time voters to participate in the upcoming election.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a cautionary message to mobile phone users, advising them against charging their devices via public chargers.
• The warning is issued in the wake of rising worries about the security threats presented by the “juice jacking” cyberattack.
• The term “juice jacking” was first coined in 2011 by cybersecurity expert Brian Kreb.
• It is a type of cyberattack where hackers manipulate public USB charging stations by installing malware on them or altering their hardware, which enables them to steal data from linked devices.
• Hackers use this attack, often referred to as port jacking, to obtain sensitive information from the targeted device, including addresses, bank and credit card details, and passwords.

• The RBI’s Financial Literacy Week in 2024 has been observed from February 26 to March 1.
• Starting in 2016, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has consistently allocated each year to the observance of Financial Literacy Week (FLW).
• The primary goal is to convey messages regarding financial education to the general public, fostering the empowerment of individuals to adopt responsible financial behaviour and make informed financial decisions.
• The designated theme for the Financial Literacy Week 2024, is “Make a Right Start: Become Financially Smart”, with emphasis on “Saving and Power of Compounding”, “Banking Essentials for Students” and “Digital and Cyber Hygiene” which aligns with overall strategic objectives of the National Strategy for Financial Education: 2020-2025.
  • The theme for this year is targeted towards young adults, mainly students.
• The theme centres on young adults and students, seeking to imbue prudent financial habits from an early age.
• It promotes the cultivation of a robust financial groundwork, fostering enhanced financial security and the attainment of future goals.

• Rare Disease Day is observed on the last day of February every year to spread awareness about rare diseases among the people and provide a platform to talk about their impact globally.
  • With 2024 being a leap year, the day was marked on February 29 this time.
• The day was set up by the EURORDIS (the European Organization for Rare Diseases) in 2008.
  • EURORDIS is a non-profit alliance of more than 1,000 rare disease patient organisations across 74 countries in the world.

ABOUT RARE DISEASES

• According to the World Health Organization, rare diseases afflict 1 or less per 1,000 population.
• Barely 5% of the over 7,000 known diseases worldwide are treatable.
• Most patients typically receive only basic treatment that alleviates symptoms.
• Some require exorbitantly priced antidotes and supportive medication throughout their lives, which they can’t afford.

• Hyderabad witnessed the inauguration of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) during the concluding day of BioAsia 2024.
  • BioAsia is premier life sciences and healthcare forum in Asia.
• This will be the world’s first thematic centre focussed on healthcare and life sciences.
• The centre aims to create over 10,000 job opportunities in healthtech, foster 20-25 emerging companies and startups, and generate 10-25 novel ideas through its registry.

ABOUT 4IR

• 4IR means the digital transformation of the manufacturing industry by technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Additive Manufacturing, Internet of Things (IoT), etc.
• It also refers to “smart factories”–which are fully connected cyber-physical systems that merges the physical and digital aspects.