• Trilateral coast guard exercise ‘Dosti 16’ kicked off in Maldives
• The biennial exercise Dosti was last conducted in 2021.
• Exercise Dosti was first conducted in 1991 between the Indian and Maldives Coast Guards.
  • Sri Lanka joined the exercise for the first time in 2012.

The exercises have focused on exercises and drills on providing assistance in sea accidents, eliminating sea pollution, and the coast guard’s procedure and conduct during situations such as oil spills.

• Union Cabinet approved for amendments to the existing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy on space sector.
• Under the amended FDI policy, 100% FDI is allowed in space sector.
• Now, the satellite sub-sector has been divided into three different activities with defined limits for FDI in each such sector.

DETAILS

• The amended policy extends the facility of up to 74% FDI under the automatic route for satellite manufacturing and operation, satellite data products and ground/user segment.
  • Beyond 74%, these activities are under government route.
• Up to 49% FDI under the automatic route will be allowed for launch vehicles and associated systems or subsystems, and creation of spaceports for launching and receiving spacecraft.
  • Beyond 49%, these activities will be under government route.
• Up to 100% FDI under the automatic route would be permitted for manufacturing of components and systems/sub-systems for satellites, ground segment and user segment.

• President Droupadi Murmu has appointed A S Rajeev as Vigilance Commissioner in the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).
• Prior to this appointment, A S Rajeev was Managing Director & CEO of Bank of Maharashtra, a public sector bank.
• Praveen Kumar Srivastava has been Central Vigilance Commissioner since May 2023, Arvinda Kumar has been a Vigilance Commissioner since August 2022.

 ABOUT CVC

• The CVC was set up through the Resolution of the Government of India on the recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption formed under Shri K. Santhanam in 1964.
• It was given statutory status through CVC Act 2003.
• Under the CVC Act, the Central Vigilance Commission became a three-member body, with the Central Vigilance Commissioner and two Vigilance Commissioners.
• The chairperson and the members are appointed by the President on the recommendations of a Committee consisting of-
  • Prime Minister (Chairperson),
  • Minister of Home Affairs, and
  • Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

• IIT Guwahati has launched India’s “largest” Remote Pilot Training Organisation (RPTO).
• The initiative was launched in collaboration with EduRade, a brand under RC HobbyTech Solutions Pvt. Ltd (RCH).
• Spanning across 18 acres, this facility at the IITG, can simultaneously operate nine medium-class drones, thus earning the distinction of being India’s largest RPTO.
  • An RTPO is a school where aspiring drone pilots are trained and once they complete their training they are provided with RPC (Remote Pilot Certificate) approved by the DGCA, allowing them to embark on a career as certified drone pilots.
• It aligns with the vision of establishing India as a global drone hub by 2030, thereby contributing to the ‘Namo Drone Didi’ initiative.
  • Announced on November 30, 2023, the Namo Drone Didi initiative is aimed at revitalising farming practices and empowering rural women by providing 15,000 women-led SHGs with drones between 2024 and 2026.

• The Cabinet Committee on Security has cleared the acquisition of 220 BrahMos extended-range supersonic cruise missiles for deployment on Indian Navy
  • The BrahMos is the main weapon for anti-ship and attack operations for the Indian navy warships.
  • The extended-range BrahMos is speculated to have an extended range of around 800 km.
• The deal worth around ₹19,000 crore will be signed between the BrahMos Aerospace and Ministry of Defence.

ABOUT BRAHMOS

• The BrahMos Aerospace is a joint venture of India and Russia.
• It produces supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.
• BRAHMOS is a two-stage missile with-
  • a solid propellant booster engine as its first stage which brings it to supersonic speed and then gets separated.
  • The liquid ramjet or the second stage then takes the missile closer to 3 Mach speed in cruise phase.
• Its cruising altitude could be up to 15 km and terminal altitude is as low as 10 meters.
• The BrahMos missile is also set to be exported soon to the Philippines which is its first global customer.
• Features
  • Universal for multiple platforms
  • “Fire and Forget” principle of operation
  • High supersonic speed all through the flight
  • Long flight range with varieties of flight trajectories
  • Low radar signature
  • Shorter flight times leading to lower target dispersion and quicker engagement
  • Pin point accuracy with high lethal power aided by large kinetic energy on impact

• The Rashtriya Udyamita Vikas Pariyojana was inaugurated in Sambalpur, Odisha.
• The initiative was also launched virtually across 9 cities – Bhopal, Kanpur, Indore, Varanasi, Bharatpur, Shillong, Silchar, Dibrugarh and Guwahati.

ABOUT THE SCHEME

• Tailored specifically for beneficiaries of the PM SVANidhi scheme, this unique National Entrepreneurship Development Project underscores the government’s commitment to nurturing job providers across the nation.
• The Rashtriya Udyamita Vikas Pariyojana aims to equip individuals with comprehensive entrepreneurship training, aligning with the vision of creating job providers rather than job seekers.
• The Rashtriya Udyamita Vikas Pariyojana will offer comprehensive entrepreneurship training over a period of 22 weeks, combining theoretical knowledge with practical exposure through experiential learning.
  • The training will be conducted through offline, online and hybrid modes, with certificates awarded upon completion, enhancing the course’s credibility and value.
• This initiative focuses on reskilling and upskilling employees to enhance their competitiveness and adaptability in an era of disruptive technology.
• The project will be piloted initially in selected districts, with a focus on ensuring 40% participation by women.

• The world is closing in on eradicating Guinea worm disease.
• There were more than 3.5 million cases of this disease in the 1980s, but according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) weekly epidemiological report, they dwindled to 14 cases in 2021, 13 in 2022, and just six in 2023.
• India received Guinea worm disease-free certification status from the WHO in 2000.

ABOUT GWD

• Guinea worm disease, also called dracunculiasis, is the work of the Guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis).
• It is one of the Neglected Tropical Diseases.
• Symptoms
  • The disease causes intense pain, swelling, and ulcers, making it hard for people to go about their daily lives.
  • Mostly affecting the legs and feet, Guinea worm disease worsens poverty and illness in areas where clean water and healthcare are scarce.
• Spread by drinking water containing Guinea worm larvae.
• Infection cycle
  • Individuals whose bodies the worm has entered first experience a painful blister, usually on a lower limb.
  • When seeking relief, they may immerse the affected area in water, which prompts the worm to emerge and release hundreds of thousands of larvae, potentially contaminating communal water sources and perpetuating the infection cycle.
• Infections in animals, particularly in dogs, have also been reported.
• There is no vaccine and drug to prevent the disease and treat patients.

• The inaugurated the first Skill India Centre (SIC) of the country in Sambalpur, Odisha was inaugurated in Sambalpur, Odisha.
• The centre is equipped with best-in-class infrastructure, cutting-edge technologies and modern facilities that will catalyse demand for formal skills and will serve as a catalyst in enabling youth to acquire the skills needed to succeed in their respective fields.
• The SIC will play a pivotal role in designing curriculum along with industry experts which will be aligned with the changing industry needs, promote standardization, and create employment opportunities that meet the demand for skilled talent across industries.

• An American moon lander named ‘Odysseus’ touched down on the lunar surface for the first time in over 50 years.
• This is NASA’s first return to the lunar surface since the last Apollo mission in 1972.
• The uncrewed Odysseus lander, was made by the Houston-based company Intuitive Machines in collaboration with NASA.
• It is the first commercial spacecraft to ever land on the moon without crashing.
• Odysseus launched atop a SpaceX rocket on February 14, carrying 12 payloads — six of them belonging to private companies and six of them science experiments for NASA.
• The spacecraft traveled 620,000 miles to aim for its destination: a crater in the moon’s south pole.

• The country’s longest transportation tunnel namely ‘T-50’ on Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) was dedicated by Prime Minister recently
• T-50 is one of the most challenging tunnels on the Banihal-Khari-Sumber-Sangadal section of USBRL. 
• The tunnel is 77 km long.
• At every 375 meters, a connecting passage between the escape tunnel and T-50 has been made so that the passengers can be brought to the escape tunnel and then, carried to their desired destinations in vehicles.
• Also the first electrified trains of the Kashmir valley were flagged off.
• Two electrified trains simultaneously, one from Srinagar to Sangaldan in the down direction and the other from Sangaldan to Srinagar in the up direction started service.