• The Indian Navy has declared 2024 as ‘Year of Naval Civilians’ to improve administration, efficiency and well-being of Naval Civilians by addressing all facets of Civilian HR Management in a time bound manner.
  • Major focus areas towards maximising administrative efficiency, digital initiatives, generic and specific training programmes and welfare activities, have been identified for implementation in 2024.
• Naval Civilian Personnel constitute about a third of Indian Navy’s total workforce and contribute significantly to its operational effectiveness across all domains.
• Civilian personnel impact the overall performance of Naval formations such as Command Headquarters, Dockyards, Material Organisations, NADs, Naval Armament Inspectorates, Training Establishments and several other types of support units.

• Priyam Gandhi-Mody released her latest book “What If There Was No Congress: The Uncensored History of Independent India”
• The book, published by Rupa, revisits some of the key events that shaped India’s political history over the last 80 years – Partition, Kashmir, governance, scams, democracy and its interruptions, economic policy, intellectual colonisation and foreign policy – and also seeks to provide a roadmap to the India of tomorrow.
• The author says the Congress had “played a crucial role in the Indian freedom struggle; however, its leadership also made some missteps that resulted in the Balkanization of undivided India”.

• The FBI has shut down a China-backed hacking group called Volt Typhoon.
• The operation weeded out malicious Chinese software from a network or “botnet” of hundreds of compromised U.S. routers.
• Microsoft had earlier warned of Volt Typhoon’s hacking efforts, advising customers to change their security details.
• It is a state-sponsored hacking group based in China that has been active since at least 2021.
• The hackers had been targeting U.S. water treatment plants, the power grid, oil and natural gas pipelines, and transportation systems.

• The Karnataka government would launch a ‘Digital Detox’ initiative in collaboration with the All India Game Developers Forum (AIGDF), with special emphasis on gaming and social media.
• The aim is to spread awareness about the ills of spending too much time in the digital world and instead create an environment of responsible gaming.
• The Government of Karnataka will work with AIGDF and National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) to raise awareness about mindful technology.
• Through this initiative, both online and offline Digital Detox Centres will be set up across the state, which will offer personalised guidance, where trained professionals will provide counselling and support to individuals seeking to navigate their relationship with technology.
• Practical tools and techniques will help individuals learn effective strategies for managing screen time, setting boundaries, and cultivating mindful and healthy technology habits.

• Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs launched a web portal of CMPFO namely C- CARES.
• It has been developed and designed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), an R&D organization under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

ABOUT CMPFO

• Coal Mines Provident Fund Organization (CMPFO) is an autonomous organization under the aegis of Ministry of Coal.
• Established in 1948, for administering provident fund and pension schemes for the purpose of providing social security to the coal sector workers.
• The organization is presently rendering services to about 3.3 lakh PF subscribers and 1 lakh pensioners of coal sector.
• At present, CMPFO process settlement claims of provident fund subscribers and pensioners manually.
• With the launch of the portal, settlement of PF and pension claims will now be processed and settled online.
• It will facilitate faster processing, transparency in operations, better record management and monitoring.
• It will also instill confidence in the subscribers and pensioners.

• A green propulsion system, developed under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme, has successfully demonstrated in-orbit functionality on a payload launched by PSLV C-58 mission.
• The project — 1N Class Green Monopropellant thruster for altitude control and orbit keeping of micro satellite — was sanctioned to a Bengaluru-based start-up Bellatrix Aerospace Pvt Ltd, which was the development agency.

ABOUT TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FUND (TDF) SCHEME

• The TDF is a flagship programme of Ministry of Defence.
• It is executed by Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
• The scheme encourages participation of public/private industries especially MSMEs to create an eco-system for enhancing cutting edge technology capability for defence application.
• It provides Grant-in-Aid to industries as well as academic and scientific institutions for development of Defence and dualuse technologies in India.
• It aims to create a bridge amongst the Armed Forces, research organizations, etc., with private sector entities.

• Surajkund International Crafts Mela, the annual fair organised by Haryana Tourism in Faridabad to promote the tradition of Indian handloom and handicrafts commenced recently.

ABOUT THE FAIR

• The 37th edition of this mela began on February 2 and will wrap up by February 18.
• Theme state for this year – ‘Gujarat’
• Partner Nation- Tanzania
• This crafts mela is known as India’s most renowned events that celebrates art, culture, and heritage.
• The event will see participation of over 20 countries including South Asia, Africa and Europe.
• Surajkund meaning the ‘Lake of the Sun,‘ holds immense historical significance.
  • The mela got its name from Surajkund lake that was an ancient reservoir constructed by King Suraj Pal of the Tomar dynasty in the 10th century.

• The United States has approved the sale of 31 MQ9B drone to India.
• The Defence Security Cooperation Agency has said that the US State department gave the approval for the drones and related equipment worth $3.99 billion.
• Under the USD 3 billion deal, India will get 31 High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAVs, of which the Navy will get 15 Sea Guardian drones, while the Army and the Indian Air Force will get eight each of the land version – Sky Guardian.

ABOUT THE DRONE

• Also called Reaper/Predator
• Stealth feature of the drone -The drone can fly as close to 250 metres from the ground and operate with pin-drop silence.
• The drone can fly higher than a commercial aircraft, around 50,000 feet above the ground, and has a top speed of 275 mph or 442 km/h.
• A Predator drone can carry around 1,700 kg of payload, including four missiles and around 450 kg of bombs, and travel 2,000 miles without refuelling.
• The drone can fly continuously or hover over targets for up to 35 hours
• Manufactured by –General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
• Apart from air-to-air missiles, the drone can also be equipped with air-to-ground missiles
• It can be used for surveillance, intelligence gathering and airstrikes, made possible due to its wide-range sensors, multi-mode communication system, and precision weaponry.
• The MQ-9B can match 80 per cent of the capability of a manned patrol aircraft at about 20 per cent of its cost per hour. Hence its economic as well.
• The Sea Guardian, the Predator’s naval variant, has a 360-degree surface-search maritime radar, and sonobuoy monitoring system, enabling it to be deployed for anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions.

• Some members of a Hindu religious group forced their way into the Martand Sun Temple.

ABOUT MARTAND SUN TEMPLE

• The 8^th century temple is attributed to Lalitaditya Muktapida of the Karkota dynasty.
• The temple is located near the city of Anantnag in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir.
• It was dedicated to Surya, the chief solar deity in Hinduism.
  • Surya is also known by the Sanskrit-language synonym Martand.
• The ruins of temple have been protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), including during the decade of militancy in the 1990s, as a “monument of national importance”.
• The Martand Temple has three distinct chambers—the mandapa, the garbhagriha, and the antralaya—probably the only three-chambered temple in Kashmir.
• The temple is built in a unique Kashmiri style, though it has definite Gandhar influences.
• This courtyard was enclosed by a colonnade, which seem to have consisted of 84 pillars.
• The central shrine, or vimana, stands tall at around 60 feet.
  • It features intricate carvings and sculptures that depict various Hindu gods and goddesses.
• It is believed to be the oldest Sun temple and was said to have been destroyed during the reign of Sikandar Shah Miri, who ruled from 1389 to 1413.

• As per MoWCD, One Stop Centres have been established in over 700 districts across the country and around 8.3 lakh women have received help through them.
• This was declared at the 32^nd foundation day of the National Commission for Women (NCW).

ABOUT ONE STOP CENTRE SCHEME

• The One Stop Centre is a scheme of the Women and Child Development Ministry set up under the Nirbhaya Fund.
• It aims to support and assist women facing violence in public and private spaces, including domestic violence.
• These centres have an administrator, case workers, medical personnel, police facilitation officer, psycho-social counsellor, legal counsellor, security guard, IT staff and multi-purpose workers.

ABOUT NCW

• The National Commission for Women was set up as a statutory body in January 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990.
• It aims to
  • review the Constitutional and Legal safeguards for women,
  • recommend remedial legislative measures,
  • facilitate redressal of grievances and
  • advise the government on all policy matters affecting women.
• The commission was working towards creating favourable conditions for women to participate more in social, economic and political activities.

ABOUT NIRBHAYA FUND

• Nirbhaya Fund can be utilized for projects specifically designed to improve the safety and security of women.
• It is a non-lapsable corpus fund, being administered by Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.