• India’s first multi-wavelength space-based observatory, AstroSat, has detected intense sub-second X-ray bursts emanating from a neutron star with an ultrahigh magnetic field, known as a magnetar.

ABOUT ASTROSAT

• Launched in 2015, into a 650 km orbit inclined at an angle of 6 deg to the equator by PSLV-C30.
• AstroSat is the first dedicated Indian astronomy mission aimed at studying celestial sources in X-ray, optical and UV spectral bands simultaneously.
• The payloads cover the energy bands of Ultraviolet (Near and Far), limited optical and X-ray regime (0.3 keV to 100keV).
• One of the unique features of AstroSat mission is that it enables the simultaneous multi-wavelength observations of various astronomical objects with a single satellite.
• The spacecraft control centre at Mission Operations Complex (MOX) of ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru manages the satellite during its entire mission life.
• Payloads

ABOUT MAGNETARS

• Magnetars are neutron stars distinguished by an ultrahigh magnetic field, exceeding that of Earth by over one quadrillion times.
• The emission of high-energy electromagnetic radiation in these celestial objects results from the decay of their magnetic fields.
• Additionally, magnetars exhibit notable temporal variability, including slow rotations, rapid spin-downs, and brief but intense bursts, extending to months-long outbursts.

• PM released the first series of 11 volumes of collected works of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya on the occasion of his 162^nd birth anniversary on December 25.
• The bilingual (English and Hindi) work in 11 volumes, spread across about 4,000 pages, is a collection of the writings and speeches of Malaviya, collected from every part of the country.
• Published by- Publications Division under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

ABOUT PANDIT MADAN MOHAN MALAVIYA

• Madan Mohan Malaviya, known as Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, also called Mahamana, was an Indian scholar, educational reformer, and leader of the Indian nationalist movement.
• Born- 25^th December 1861, in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) in Uttar Pradesh.
• He played a key role in the Indian independence struggle against British rule.
• He helped establish the Hindu Mahasabha in 1915.
• He founded Banaras Hindu University in 1916.
• He was elected as the President of the Congress committee (four times) in 1909, 1918, 1932 and 1933.
• Participated in Salt Satyagraha and the Civil Disobedience Movement and courted arrest.
• He was given the title of ‘Mahamana’ by Mahatma Gandhi and the second President of India, S. Radhakrishnan gave him the status of a ‘Karmayogi’.
• Publications
  • Hindi weekly- Abhyudaya in 1907 (made a daily in 1915)
  • Hindi monthly- Maryada in 1910
  • English daily- Leader in 1909
  • He was the editor of Hindi weekly, the Hindustan and Indian Union.
• He was conferred with the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian honor, posthumously in 2014.

• Good Governance Day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• The day is celebrated on the 25th of December every year to foster awareness among the people of the country about accountability in Governance and Government.

• Robert M. Solow, who won a Nobel in economic science in 1987, died recently. He was 99.
• He won the prize for his theory that advances in technology, rather than increases in capital and labor, have been the primary drivers of economic growth in the United States.
• Solow taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he and a fellow Nobel laureate, Paul A. Samuelson, forged the MIT style of economic analysis, which emerged as a leading approach in the second half of the 20th century and played an important role in economic policymaking.
• His work demonstrated the power of bringing mathematics to bear on important economic debates and simplifying the analysis by focusing on a small number of variables at a time.

• Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea unless Israel stops bombing Gaza.

ABOUT STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR

• The Strait of Gibraltar separates Africa from Europe.
• It is located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula.
• It lies between Spain in Europe and Morocco in Africa.
• It is the only link between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
• Until the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the Strait of Gibraltar served as the only access point to the Mediterranean Sea.
• It is one of the busiest waterways in the world.

• A group of researchers from Visva-Bharati University’s botany department have discovered a bacteria capable of boosting plant growth and named it ‘Pantoea Tagorei’ after Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
• It was discovered from soil samples collected in the Jharia coal mines.
• This is a plant growth promoting bacteria which has shown immense capability to boost the cultivation of paddy, pea and chilli.
• ‘Pantoea Tagorei’ efficiently extracts potassium from soil which enhances plant growth.
• It solubilises potassium and phosphorus and fixes nitrogen which help promote plant growth.
• This bacteria marks a significant stride toward fostering environmentally friendly agricultural methods.

• In 1986, the Consumer Protection Act was passed and it received the assent of the President on December 24.
• Since then, National Consumer Rights Day has been celebrated on this day to commemorate the occasion.

• The six fundamental rights of the Consumer Protection Act are-
  • Right to safety, Right to choose, Right to be informed, Right to be heard, Right to seek redressal, and Right to consumer education.
• The Consumer Protection Act 2019 was passed to widen the scope of the Consumer Protection Act 1986.
  • It also includes punishment against misleading advertisements, false product descriptions, or any kind of guarantee of products and services.
  • The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) is an entity established under the amended Consumer Protection Act.
    • It is tasked with imposing fines and penalties on companies engaged in false and misleading advertisements.
    • The CCPA plays a crucial role in enhancing consumer protection and ensuring accountability in businesses.

• Indian Navy commissioned its latest stealth guided missile destroyer INS Imphal in Mumbai.
• INS Imphal has joined the Western Naval Command.

 ABOUT INS IMPHAL

• Imphal is the first warship to have been named after a city from the North East.
• INS Imphal is a potent and versatile platform equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, including surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles, and torpedoes.
• It is constructed by Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai.
• The ship is fitted with a modern surveillance radar which provides target data to the gunnery weapon systems of the ship.
• The INS Imphal is equipped with BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles, with a displacement of 7,400 tonnes and an overall length of 164 meters.
• INS Imphal is powered by Combined Gas and Gas (COGAG) propulsion.
• It is capable of achieving speeds over 30 knots (56 km/hour).
• INS Imphal boasts of a high indigenous content of medium range surface-to-air missiles, anti-submarine indigenous rocket launchers, and 76mm super rapid gun mount.
• The ship’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities are provided by indigenously developed rocket launchers, torpedo launchers, and anti-submarine warfare helicopters.

• Ministry of Environment and Forest has issued a draft notification declaring one-kilometre area from the boundaries of the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary in Kangra district as an eco-sensitive zone.

 LIKELY IMPACT

• Commercial activity like the construction of hotels, resorts or any kind of polluting industry will not be allowed in the eco-sensitive zone around the Pong Dam sanctuary.
• The notification also prohibits laying of overhead electric or communication towers in eco sensitive zone.
• The establishment of saw mills, brick-kilns or commercial use of firewood would be banned in the area.

ABOUT PONG DAM LAKE WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

• Pong Dam Lake (also known as Maharana Pratap Sagar) is a manmade reservoir formed due to the construction of Pong Dam on Beas River in the wetland zone of Shivalik hills in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.
• It covers an area of almost 307 sq km.
• The Pong Dam is the highest earth fill dam in India and was constructed in 1975.
• In 1983, the entire reservoir was declared a Wildlife Sanctuary by the Himachal Pradesh government.
• Pong Dam Lake was designated a Ramsar site in 2002.
• Flora– Acacia, Jamun, Shisham, Mango, Mulberry, Ficus Kachnar, Amla, and Prunus.
• Fauna– Sambar, Barking Deer, Wild Bear, Nilgai, Clawless Otter, and Leopards etc.
  • More than 420 bird species belonging to 56 families have been recorded in the lake.

• President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to-
  • Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill 2023.
• These three new criminal justice bills were passed by the Parliament last week.

DETAILS

• The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, which is the principal law on criminal offences in the country.
  • The new act adds community service as a form of punishment.
  • For the first time, terrorism has been defined in the criminal justice system as act that intends to threaten unity, integrity, security or economic security of country, or strike terror in people.
  • There is a provision for life imprisonment and death penalty for the crime of rape of a woman under 18 years of age.
  • Sedition is no longer an offence. Instead, there are provisions penalising armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities included.
• The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023 has replaced the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC). The CrPC provides for the procedure for arrest, prosecution, and bail.
  • Specific time-lines have been prescribed for time bound investigation, trial and pronouncement of judgements.
  • Video recording of statement of sexual assault victims to be made mandatory.
  • The power to attach property from proceeds of crime does not have safeguards provided in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
  • All trials, inquiries, and proceedings may be held in electronic mode.
• The Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bill, 2023 replaced the Indian Evidence Act, 1872. The Act governs the admissibility of evidence in Indian Courts. It applies to all civil and criminal proceedings.
  • The provisions have been made in these legislations to digitize the entire process from FIR to case diary, case diary to charge sheet and charge sheet to judgment.
  • Electronic and digital record shall have same legal effects as paper records.