• The U.S. will send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and additional Patriot air defense missile system battalions to the Middle East.

ABOUT THAAD

• The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or simply abbreviated as THAAD, is a missile defence system that is designed to intercept and destroy short and medium-range ballistic missiles in their final flight phase.
• First proposed in 1987 and then finally deployed in 2008, the THAAD cannot be used as a form of attack against an enemy.
• THAAD is coupled with space-based and ground-based surveillance stations, which transfer data about the incoming missile and inform the THAAD interceptor missile of the threat type classification.
• This system has been designed and manufactured by the USA company Lockheed Martin.

ABOUT PATRIOT AIR DEFENCE SYSTEM

• The Patriot stands for Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target.
• It was initially developed as a system to intercept high-flying aircraft, by U.S. aerospace and defence giant Raytheon Technologies Corp.
• It is a mobile system that usually includes powerful radar, a control station, a power generator, launch stations and other support vehicles.
• The Patriot system’s radar has a range of over 150 km and it can track over 50 potential targets at the same time.
• It has been deployed in 18 countries, including the U.S.

• The Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission 1 (TV-D1) was launched successfully by ISRO
• It is called “In-flight Abort Demonstration of Crew Escape System (CES)”.
• TV-D1 Vehicle– The Liquid propelled single stage Test Vehicle uses a modified VIKAS engine with Crew Module (CM) and Crew Escape System (CES) mounted at its fore end.
• Following were the mission objectives and all the objectives were achieved-
  • Flight demonstration and evaluation of Test Vehicle sub systems.
  • Flight demonstration and evaluation of Crew Escape System including various separation systems.
  • Crew Module characteristics and deceleration systems demonstration at higher altitude & its recovery.
• Following this, ISRO will carry out a test flight with a ‘Vyomitra’.
  • Vyommitra is a female-looking spacefaring humanoid robot being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation to function on-board the Gaganyaan.

ABOUT GAGANYAAN MISSION

• The ambitious mission aims to send a crew of 3 astronauts into space on a Low Earth Orbit of 400 km for three days and bring them safely back to Earth.

India will become the fourth country to send a crewed spacecraft to space after USA, Russia, and China.

• Canada’s inability to provide safety and security to Indian diplomats challenges the “most fundamental aspect” of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, as per External Affairs Minister.
• Canada recently withdrew 41 of its diplomats from India and “paused” walk-in services at its consulates in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chandigarh, affecting Canadian visa facilities for Indians.
• Earlier Indian missions in Canada had stopped issuing visas in September amid diplomatic row.

ABOUT VIENNA CONVENTION

• The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) is a United Nations treaty that set some common principles and terms on how countries must treat each other’s diplomatic representatives, in order to ensure friendly relations and maintain proper communication channels between countries.
• 193 countries have ratified the convention, meaning they agree it should be legally binding on them.
  • India ratified it through the Diplomatic Relations (Vienna Convention) Act of 1972.
• Article 9 of the convention states that the receiving State may, at any time and without having to explain its decision, notify the sending State that the head of the mission or any member of the diplomatic staff of the mission is persona non grata or unwelcome.
• It also covers diplomatic immunity.
  • It’s the privilege of exemption from certain laws and taxes granted to diplomats by the country in which they are posted.
  • It was framed so that diplomats can function without fear, threat or intimidation from the host country.
• Host nations hold the responsibility to protect diplomats from attacks on their freedom and dignity.

• A species of butterfly that is rare in the western Himalayas, the paintbrush swift butterfly has been photographed and documented for the first time in Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district.
• The State supports around 430 butterfly species or about 25% of the total number of butterfly species found in India.
• The paintbrush swift (Baoris farri), a butterfly species of the Hesperiidae family, was sighted and photographed in the second week of October.
• It was first described by lepidopterist Frederic Moore, more than 145 years ago, from the eastern Himalayas.
• Paintbrush swift’s habitat distribution is common in northeast, central and south India, and rare in Uttarakhand.

• On October 24, United Nations Day marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter.
• With the ratification of this founding document by the majority of its signatories, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United Nations officially came into being.
• In 1971, the United Nations took a significant step by adopting Resolution 2782, designating United Nations Day as an international observance.

• A new Laboratory of Advance Synthesis and Characterisation (LASC) at Gujarat is developing LASC probe stations for universities in India and abroad for investigation of opto-electronic properties in a wide range of materials, including semiconductors, thin films, LEDs, and solar cells.
• The heart of the probe station consists of three elements which mark it differ than the available and imported similar systems. These include-
  • Peltier Elements— a solid-state device capable of transferring heat when subjected to an electrical current;
  • zero welding helping it attain high vacuum level and
  • a system that offers superior control over opto-electronic functions.
• The systems are user-friendly, equipped with tungsten tips, which provide exceptionally low resistance for high-temperature measurements.

ABOUT OPTOELECTRONICS

• Optoelectronics is the study and application of electronic devices and systems that source, detect and control light, usually considered a sub-field of photonics.
• It is largely based on semiconductor materials.
  • These exhibit suitable bandgap energies for absorbing near-infrared and visible light, and their electric conductivity (albeit not perfect) is also essential for such applications.
• Examples- Telecommunication laser, Optical fibre, Blue laser, LED traffic lights, Photodiodes

• The Kasturi Cotton Bharat website, a digital platform for necessary information and updates on the initiative was launched recently.
• The website highlights the registration process for ginners to produce the Kasturi Cotton Bharat brand and its processes that make the branded Indian cotton unique.
• The Kasturi Cotton Bharat is a joint initiative by the ministry of textiles, the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), and trade and industry bodies to work on the principle of self-regulation by owning complete responsibility of branding, traceability, and certification of Indian cotton to enhance its competitiveness in the global market and create a sustainable ecosystem for all stakeholders involved.
• On the eve of World Cotton Day on October 7, the ministry of textiles introduced the ‘Kasturi Cotton Bharat’ brand of cotton by which Indian cotton has been endowed with a brand and a logo that represents whiteness, softness, purity, lustre, and Indianness.
  • It is the first ever Brand & Logo for Indian Cotton.

• Turkish Defence ministry has stated that Ankara intends to continue to faithfully comply with the Montreux Convention on the Non-Admission of warships of Non-Black Sea countries to the Black Sea through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.

 ABOUT MONTREUX CONVENTION

• The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits or simply known as the Montreux Convention is an international agreement that governs the use of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits in Turkey.
• The international agreementwas signed by Australia, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Japan, Romania, Yugoslavia, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and Turkey and has been in effect since November 1936.
• According to it, Turkey has control over the Turkish Straits.
• In the event of a war, the pact gives Turkey the right to regulate the transit of naval warships and to block the straits to warships belonging to the countries involved in the conflict.
• Merchant vessels enjoy freedom of passage through the Turkish Straits , while passages of vessels of war are subject to some restrictions that vary depending on whether these vessels belong to the Black Sea littoral States or not.
• The Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, also known as the Turkish Straits or the Black Sea Straits, connect the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea via the Sea of Marmara.

It is the only passage through which the Black Sea ports can access the Mediterranean and beyond.

• An ambitious effort for the integration of India’s “ancient strategic acumen” into the contemporary military domain and develop an “indigenous strategic vocabulary”, rooted in India’s “philosophy and culture” was launched under ‘Project Udbhav’.
• Its objective is to synthesise ancient wisdom with contemporary military practices, forging a unique and holistic approach to address modern security challenges.
• It is a collaboration between the Army and the United Service Institution of India (USI), a defence services think tank.
• It was launched at the first Indian Military Heritage Festival (IMHF).
• The primary deliverables of Project Udbhav are
  • To develop understanding of ancient military system and indigenous strategic military culture through the study of evolution of Indian military system and strategic thoughts;
  • Educating junior military leaders and informing senior military commanders and academia about the theories concepts and
  • Teachings available in classical texts and facilitate the creation of a knowledge pool for scholars and defence personnel for further studies.

• Over a century-old market at Maharaj Gunj locality in Downtown is getting a much-awaited facelift by the authorities under the Srinagar Smart City’s Downtown Urban Renewal Project.
• The Maharaj Gunj market area has a rich mix of vernacular and colonial architecture.
• Other projects taken on in this area include Bohri Kadal and Zaina Kadal markets under the project.
• Initiative by – Srinagar Smart City Limited and the Kashmir chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).
  • To conserve vernacular elements of Kashmiri architecture, including colonnaded walkways, decorative pilasters, and exposed moulded brickwork.
  • It aims to conserve elements introduced in Kashmir by Dogra Hindu kings between 1846 and 1947.

ABOUT DOGRA KINGDOM

• Dogra dynasty was founded by Maharaja Gulab Singh Jamwal (1792-1857).
• He was Jammu and Kashmir’s first Maharaja, a princely kingdom.
• From the 19^th century until October 1947, Jammu was ruled by the Dogra Rajputs, who belonged to the Jamwal clan.
• Under the 1846 Treaty of Amritsar, British gave away Kashmir to Gulab Singh.
• He also annexed Ladakh and Baltistan areas.