Current Context : South India’s first and the country’s largest third leopard safari was opened at the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP).

About Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP):

• Location : South of Bengaluru city, Karnataka.
• It was declared a National Park in 1974.
• It has been an integral part of Bannerghatta National Park and emerged out as an independent Establishment in 2002.
• It has different units such as Zoo, Safari, Butterfly Park, and Rescue Centre (Conservation of Captive animals).
• It is the first biological park in India to have a fenced, forested elephant sanctuary.
• In 2006, India’s first butterfly enclosure was inaugurated at the park.
• River: The Suvarnamukhi stream is the main source of water for the animals in the park, runs through the centre of the park.

Current Context : Central Electronics Limited achieved “Mini RATNA” status (Category-1) during its Golden Jubilee celebration.

• Eligibility for Mini Ratna : Organisation made profit in the last three years continuously, pre-tax profit is Rs.30 crores or more in at least one of the three years and have a positive net worth.

ABOUT CEL

• It works under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science & Technology.
• Established in 1974,
• Objective : to commercially exploit indigenous technologies.
• It is a pioneer in the country in the field of Solar Photovoltaic (SPV).

Current Context : The Indian Air Force (IAF) proposed to purchase of 10 TAPAS drones to Enhance Surveillance Capabilities.

ABOUT TAPAS UAV:

• The Tactical Airborne Platform for Aerial Surveillance (TAPAS) drones are classified as medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drones.
• It was previously referred to as Rustom-II.
• Developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• Designed to fulfil the Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, Tracking & Reconnaissance (ISTAR) requirements of the tri-services, the Tapas UAV can effectively operate both day and night.

FEATURES:

• It has an operating altitude of 30000 feet and an endurance of 24 hours.
• Range : 250 km, which can carry a variety of payloads up to a maximum of 350 kg with a wing span of 6 metres.
• Speed: 225 kmph.
• It can be controlled remotely.
• Technology : It is equipped with enhanced aerodynamic configuration, digital flight control, navigation system and synthetic aperture radar that will enable it to see through the clouds.

Current Context : DRDO handed over the Medium Range-Microwave Obscurant Chaff Rocket (MR-MOCR) to the Indian Navy.

ABOUT MR-MOCR

• Developed by: DRDO’s Defence Laboratory in Jodhpur.
• Objective : Obscure radar signals reduce detection.
• Working mechanism: The rocket, when fired will form a microwave obscurant cloud in space, thus creating an effective shield against hostile threats having Radio Frequency seekers.

Current Context : Recently, NSIL (India) and Space Machines company (Australia) signed an agreement to launch Space Machines Company’s second Optimus spacecraft.

• New Space India Limited (NSIL) is under the Department of Space and is responsible for producing, assembling and integrating the launch vehicle.
• The 450kg Optimus spacecraft is the largest Australian-designed and built spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2026 on ISRO’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).

About Space MAITRI (Mission for Australia-India’s Technology, Research and Innovation) mission :

• It aims to foster closer ties among commercial, institutional and governmental space organizations from both countries in the space domain.

Current Context : According to Education Minister, UGC-NET paper was leaked on the darknet led to the cancellation.

ABOUT DARKNET (OR DARK WEB)

• It is an encrypted part of the internet, that is not visible to the general public via a traditional search engine such as Google, Chrome etc,.
• It constitutes a large part of illegal activity on the internet.
• Content on DarkNet is encrypted and it requires a specific browser such as TOR (The Onion Ring) browser.

Uses:

• It accommodates illegal activity and contributes to its reputation as being a haven for criminals.
• Journalists and citizens working in oppressive regimes (to communicate without any government censorship)
• Researchers and students to do research on sensitive topics
• Law enforcement agencies.

Current Context : Annual World Drug Report was released on World Drug Day (or International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking).

• Released By United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

RELEVANT DATA

• Rise in drug abuse: In 2022, the number of people using illicit drugs increased to 292 million.
• Mostly used drugs: Cannabis consumed by 228 million people , followed by opioids (60 million people), amphetamines (30 million people) , cocaine (23 million), and
• Affected regions: Triple Frontier area (Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay) and Golden Triangle (Laos Myanmar and Thailand).
• Legalisation of Cannabis: Cannabis was legalised across Canada, Uruguay, and 27 jurisdictions in the United States.
• Environmental fallout: Drug-related activities contribute to deforestation, toxic waste dumping, and chemical contamination.

Celebrated on 29 June

Aim : to raise awareness to the specific challenges faced by tropical areas and highlights the unique characteristics of tropical regions.

Celebrated on 29 June

• This day honors the birth anniversary of Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, a pioneer in statistical science and economic planning.
• Theme : Use of data for decision making.
• Aim : to raise awareness about the importance of statistics in shaping policies and national development.

Current Context : At least 120 villages in six districts of Mizoram – Aizawl, Champhai, Lunglei, Saitual, Khawzawl and Serchhip have been infected by the African Swine Fever outbreak.

The death toll of pigs crossed to 3,350.

ABOUT AFRICAN SWINE FEVER (ASF):

• ASF is a highly contagious viral disease of domestic and wild pigs.
• Mortality rate can reach 100%.
• The ASF virus is a large, enveloped, double-stranded DNA virus that is the sole member of the genus Asfivirus within the family Asfarviridae.
• Symptoms: fever, weak pigs, lack of appetite, inflamed eye mucous membranes, red skin, (bloody) diarrhea, and vomiting.
• Spread through: Direct contact with infected animals, Indirect contact through the ingestion of products from infected animals, contact with contaminated clothing, vehicles, or equipment and bites by infectious soft ticks (where present).
• The virus is able to survive for long periods in pork and pork meat products.
• In India, it was first confirmed in Arunachal Pradesh and Assamin February-March 2020.

It is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa.