• General Manoj Mukund Naravane has penned his autobiography titled “Four Stars of Destiny: An Autobiography.”
• Gen MM Naravane served as the 28th Chief of Army Staff, leading the Indian Army with distinction from December 2019 to April 2022.

• Brazilians paid their last respects to football legend Mario Zagallo, a four-time World Cup-winning player and coach who died at age 92 recently.
• He was the first ever footballer to win the FIFA World Cup trophy as both player and coach.
• The only other men to win the World Cup as both player and coach are Franz Beckenbauer of Germany (1974 and 1990) and Didier Deschamps of France (1998 and 2018).

• Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, also known as NRI Day (Non-Resident Indian), is celebrated on January 9^th.
• It holds great significance in recognising and honouring the Indian diaspora spread across the globe.
• Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was first introduced in 2003 by the then Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to commemorate the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India on January 9, 1915.
• Since 2015, Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas is celebrated at an interval of every two years.
• It is the flagship event of the Ministry of External Affairs, with events held in different cities.

• UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2024 report was released recently by UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

MAJOR FINDINGS

• A lower forecast for global GDP growth, to an estimated 4 percent in 2024 from 2.7 percent in 2023
• Lingering risks and uncertainties include Russia-Ukraine war, the conflict in Palestine, and the decisions of several developed economies to keep interest rates higher
• Global inflation is projected to decline further, from an estimated 5.7 per cent in 2023 to 3.9 per cent in 2024.

ABOUT INDIA

• India is projected to grow at 6.2 per cent in 2024, supported by robust domestic demand and strong growth in the manufacturing and services sectors.
• India remains the fastest-growing large economy in the world.
• In 2022, FDI (foreign direct investment) flows to India rose by 10 per cent, making it the third largest host country for announced greenfield projects.

• Innovations for Defence Excellence- Defence Innovation Organization (iDEX-DIO) is all set to participate in the tenth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2024.

ABOUT IDEX

• iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence), the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Defence, was launched in 2018.
• The objective of the scheme is to cultivate an innovation ecosystem in the Defence and Aerospace sector by collaborating with startups, innovators, MSMEs, incubators, and academia.
• iDEX offers grants and support for R&D with significant potential for future adoption in Indian defence and aerospace.
• It is currently engaged with around 400+ Startups and MSMEs, till now procurement of 31 items worth over Rs 2000 Cr. has been cleared.
• iDEX has also received the PM Award for Innovation in the defence sector.
• iDEX is funded and managed by a “Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO)‟ formed as a “not for profit‟ company as per Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013 for this purpose.

• SVAMITVA Scheme has been conferred with the prestigious 1st Prize in the Innovation Sandbox presentation for “Digital Transformation Initiatives in Land Governance through SVAMITVA Scheme”, during “Public Policy Dialogues” Conclave.

ABOUT SVAMITVA SCHEME

• SVAMITVA stands for survey of villages and mapping with improvised technology in village areas.
• SVAMITVA Scheme is a Central Sector Scheme that has significantly contributed to the empowerment of rural communities in India.
• Nodal Ministry- Ministry of Panchayati Raj
• The SVAMITVA Scheme aims to cover all villages in India over a five-year period, from April 2020 to March 2025.
• It is implemented with the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, State Revenue Department, State Panchayati Raj Department and Survey of India.
• By leveraging cutting-edge drone surveys and GIS mapping technology, the scheme ensures accurate demarcation of land parcels, thereby mitigating disputes and providing individuals with property records of rights i.e. SVAMITVA Property Cards.
  • These facilitate monetization of properties, enabling bank loans and comprehensive village-level planning.

STATISTICS

• Drone survey has been completed in 2.90 lakh villages and 66 crore property cards have been prepared for 1.06 lakh villages so far.

• The government has decided to fix price of new sulphur coated urea “Urea Gold” at ₹266.5 per bag.
• However, the net weight per bag Urea Gold has been fixed at 40 kg against 45 kg in case of conventional urea.

ABOUT UREA GOLD

• Urea Gold is created by infusing urea with sulfur, creating a composite fertilizer with 37% nitrogen (N) and 17% sulfur (S).
  • For this, preheated urea granules are coated with molten sulphur.
• It is developed by Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Ltd (RCF).
• Sulphur-coated urea facilitates a gradual release of nitrogen, thereby enhancing its availability and uptake by crops.
• The inclusion of humic acid in Urea Gold further extends its lifespan as a fertilizer.
• It also reduces overall urea usage consumption by 25% as per Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) study.
• Sulphur-coated Urea is expected to play a pivotal role in enhancing soil health, optimizing nutrient release, and ensuring improved crop yields.

• India will launch the European Space Agency’s (ESA) pioneering Proba-3 mission in September 2024.
• The launch vehicle of choice for this mission is the reliable PSLV-XL rocket, operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
• It will be deployed in a high Earth orbit.

ABOUT PROBA-3

• This ambitious project marks the world’s first precision formation flying mission, with a pair of satellites designed to operate in unison as a ‘large rigid structure’ in the vastness of space.
• Much like the moon passes in front of the sun during a solar eclipse, the two satellites — an occulter and a specialized instrument called a coronagraph — will mimic a natural solar eclipse by lining up 144 meters (472 feet) apart, such that the former blocks out the sun’s glaring disk for the latter.
• Maintaining formation throughout the orbit is difficult due to high fuel costs.
  • Therefore, each orbit will be divided between 6 hours of formation flying manoeuvres at apogee and the rest of the orbit in passive safe drifting.
• Thus, it will mimic an artificial eclipse in space, providing a continuous view of the corona.

• India’s solar observation mission, Aditya-L1, has entered the sun’s orbit after a four-month journey.
• ISRO is only the third space agency to station a spacecraft at the L1 after NASA and the European Space Agency.
• The latest mission by ISRO is the first by any country in Asia to be placed in orbit around the sun.
• Aditya, named after a Hindu sun deity, has travelled 932,000 miles (1.5m km) from Earth – still only 1% of the distance between Earth and the sun.
  • Aditya-L1 was launched in 2023 with PSLV C57.
• It is now at a point called Lagrange point L1.
  • These are the points where the gravitational forces of both celestial bodies cancel out, allowing it to remain in a stable halo orbit around the sun. (Lagrange point)
  • There are five Lagrange points.

OBJECTIVES

• It will study coronal mass ejections,
  • CMEs- periodic phenomenon in which huge discharges of plasma and magnetic energy are released from the sun’s atmosphere. These bursts are so powerful they can reach the Earth and disrupt the operations of satellites.
• The mission also aims to shed light on the dynamics of several other solar phenomena like Solar wind distribution and temperature anisotropy etc. by imaging and measuring particles in the sun’s upper atmosphere.
• It is carrying 7 payloads-
  • 4 remote sensing payloads
  • 3 in-situ payloads

• A hog deer has been spotted for the first time in the Chilla Range of Rajaji Tiger Reserve, being captured recently by trap cameras.

ABOUT HOG DEER

• Scientific name- Axis porcinus
• Global spread – northern India, Pakistan and Southeast Asia.
• In India, Hog Deer inhabits the alluvial grasslands of the Terai forest right from Corbett to the forests of Assam.
• They feed on tender shoots and grasses in addition to flowers and fallen fruit.
• Hog deer as named has a peculiar habit of running like a hog with its head down without the traditional leaps of a deer.
• Hog deer live in open areas and avoid closed forests.
• Males tend to be territorial and mark their territory with glandular secretions.
• Hog deer are solitary animals. However, they may occasionally be observed feeding in small herds in open terrains.
• Protection status
  • IUCN red list status – Endangered.
  • Schedule I of the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

ABOUT RAJAJI TIGER RESERVE

• It is spread across Uttarakhand’s three districts – Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri Garhwal.
• It is situated along the hills and foothills of the Shiwalik ranges.
• It was named after the famous freedom fighter C. Rajgopalachari; popularly known as “Rajaji”.
• It was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2015 as the 48th tiger reserve of the country.
• Vegetation– broadleaved deciduous forests, grasslands, scrub land and pine forests
• Flora– Amaltas, Rohini, Palash, Shisham, Sal, Sandan, Khair etc.
• Fauna– Elephants, Tigers, Jungle Cat, Leopard, Goral, Striped Hyena, Himalayan Black Bear, Sloth Bear, Jackal, Barking Deer, Sambhar, Wild boar etc