• In a joint effort, the space agencies of India-ISRO and Japan-JAXA are embarking on the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LUPEX).
• This mission, slated for a 2025 launch, aims to assess the feasibility of establishing a lunar base, investigate the presence of water ice, and advance surface exploration technologies.
• JAXA will develop the rover and ISRO, the lander.
  • The rover will carry instruments of ISRO and JAXA alongwith those of the NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

• The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), in collaboration with Generation India Foundation (GIF) and Amazon Web Services India Private Limited (AWS India) is providing ‘cloud’ skills training to 1,500 learners and connecting them to employment opportunities, under project AMBER.
• The initiative has been undertaken under the SANKALP programme of MSDE with a focus on women to improve gender diversification in the tech industry and underprivileged groups.
• The project is co-funded by MSDE (under the SANKALP program) and private philanthropy.
• It aims to train 30,000 youth, 50% of whom will be women.

WORKING

• Under this collaboration, the learners take part in AWS (re/Start), a workforce development program for unemployed and underemployed individuals, that covers fundamental AWS cloud skills as well as practical career tips
• Through real-world scenario-based exercises, labs, and coursework, learners are trained in multiple technologies, including Linux, Python, networking, security, and relational databases.
• The program also covers the cost for learners to take the AWS Cloud Practitioner Certification exam that
  • validates their cloud skills and knowledge and
  • connects the participants with job interview opportunities in cloud or IT with local employers.

• The National Health Authority (NHA) announced that Mizoram has become the first state in India to operationalize Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission’s (ABDM) microsite project.
  • It was started in Aizawl.
• NHA had recently announced 100 microsites project for accelerated adoption of digital health mission scheme across the country.
• The microsites are defined geographical regions where focused outreach efforts would be made to onboard small and medium scale private healthcare providers.
• Under this, all healthcare facilities including the private clinics, small hospitals and labs in the region shall be made ABDM-enabled and will offer digital health services to the patients.
• These microsites would be implemented by the state Mission Directors of ABDM while the financial resources and overall guidance would be provided by NHA.
• An interfacing agency under this program will have an on-ground team to reach out to the healthcare providers in the area.
• Patients will be able to link the health records generated at these facilities with their Ayushman Bharat Health Accounts (ABHAs) and will be able to view and share these records using any ABDM-enabled Personal Health Record (PHR) application on their phones.

• The Centre may be considering a minimum export price (MEP) for a host of specialty rice, including the basmati variety, to ensure that unscrupulous traders don’t ship excess quantities abroad.

ABOUT MEP

• MEP involves “fixing a floor price” below which an exporter shall not sell the product to an overseas customer.
• MEP is imposed in view of the rising domestic retail / wholesale price or production disruptions in the country.
• It aims to restrict export volumes and curtail domestic prices.
• It is a kind of quantitative restriction to trade.
• It is intended to be imposed for short durations and is removed when situations change.
• Section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development And Regulation) Act, 1992, provides legal backing for MEP.

• The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Limited Series Production-7 (LSP-7) successfully test fired the ASTRA missile.
• It is an indigenous Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile aimed to engage and destroy highly manoeuvring supersonic aerial targets.
• It is designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and other laboratories of the DRDO.
• Astra is approx. 3.8 meters in length and has a diameter of 178mm with launch weight of around 160 kg.
• Other features
  • Range :           80 -110 km
  • Altitude :           up to 20 km
  • Max Speed :           Mach 4.5
  • Propulsion :           Solid Rocket Motor

• Calyampudi Radhakrishnan Rao, 102, among the world’s most eminent statisticians, died recently in the United States.
• He was born on September 10, 1920, in Hadagali, Bellary district in a Telugu family.
• He taught and researched at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata.
• Rao pioneered several fundamental statistical concepts such as the Cramer–Rao inequality and Rao–Blackwellization theorem and Fisher–Rao metric, concepts that appear in undergraduate textbooks on statistics and econometrics.
• He served as chairman of the Committee on Statistics (1962-69), chairman of the Demographic and Communication for Population Control (1968-69), chairman of the Committee on Mathematics, Atomic Energy Commission, AEC (1969-78), member of the Committee on Science and Technology, COST (1969-71).
• After his retirement, Rao moved to the United States and worked at several universities.
• Former U.S. President George Bush conferred on him the National Medal of Science.
• He was awarded India’s highest honours the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan in 1969 and 2001, respectively.

• India has become the 4^th country to land on the Moon (after United States, Russia, and China) and the first to land on its south-pole with successful landing of Vikram lander which was onboard the Chandrayaan 3.
  • Chandrayaan-3 is expected to operate for at least one lunar day (14 Earth days) on the lunar surface.
• The Pragyan rover onboard the lander will move around the landing site within a radius of 500 meters, conducting in-situ experiments and sending data and images to the lander.
• The Vikram lander will relay the data and images to the orbiter, which will then transmit them to Earth.

• A rare black eagle has been spotted for the first time in the lush Chail wildlife sanctuary located in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district.

ABOUT BLACK EAGLE (ICTINAETUS MALAIENSIS)

• It belongs to the family Accipitridae.
• It is the only member of the genus Ictinaetus.
• These are large and distinctive dark eagles of forested mountains and hills.
• The distinguishing feature of the majestic bird is its striking yellow beak, a vibrant contrast to its black feathers.
• They hunt mammals and birds, particularly at their nests.
• Global distribution- Found in in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South and Southeast Asia, as well as southeastern China.
  • In India, they are found in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, forests of the Eastern and Western Ghats in peninsular India.
• A Unique behaviour of the black eagle is – a preference for the treetop canopy, where it seemingly finds its perfect perch amidst the foliage.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN red list: Least concern

ABOUT CHAIL SANCTUARY

• It is home to a variety of species such as the pine pheasant, barking deer, leopard, ghoral and sambar.
• It is spread over 110 sq. km.
• The park is also home to a variety of birds. Cheer pheasant and kalij pheasant are the most popular birds that can be sighted in the sanctuary.
• Golden eagle and grey headed flycatcher can also be seen flying.

• International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is observed annually on August 23^rd.
• Theme of the day this year is “Fighting slavery’s legacy of racism through transformative education”
• Brief history- An uprising began in Saint Domingue, today’s Haiti, on August 23, 1791, that played a pivotal role in ending the transatlantic slave trade.

• A positive Indian Ocean Dipole pattern has started to emerge to the northwest of Australia, increasing the likelihood of abnormally warm and dry weather over large parts of Australia.

ABOUT INDIAN OCEAN DIPOLE

• The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) refers to an index that measures sea surface temperatures across eastern and western tropical Indian Ocean.
• It is also called Indian Nino.
• A positive IOD occurs when warmer than average water builds up in the western tropical Indian Ocean, near the Horn of Africa, and unusually cold water lies in the eastern Indian Ocean, near Indonesia.
• By contrast, negative IOD events occur when abnormally cool water lies near the Horn of Africa and unusually warm water sits near Indonesia.
• The positive IOD event is known to help the South-West monsoon and rainfall in African coast and vice versa.