• A successful training launch of a medium-range ballistic missile, Agni-1 was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha.
• The user training launch successfully validated all operational and technical parameters of the missile.

ABOUT SERIES MISSILES

• The Agni series of missiles are the mainstay of India’s nuclear delivery options.
• The development of Agni missiles started in early 1980 under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.
• The Agni 1 to 4 missiles have ranges from 700 km to 3,500 km and they have already been deployed.

OTHER AGNI MISSILE TESTS IN RECENT TIMES

• Last year, India successfully test-fired the nuclear-capable ballistic missile Agni-V that can strike targets at ranges up to 5,000 km.
  • It is aimed at boosting India’s nuclear deterrence against China which has missiles like Dongfeng-41 having ranges between 12,000-15,000 km.
• India also successfully test-fired indigenously-developed new generation medium-range ballistic missile Agni Prime.
  • The missile’s strike range is between 1,000 km and 2,000 km.

ABOUT INTEGRATED GUIDED MISSILE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (IGMDP)

• Conceptualised by Dr A P J Abdul Kalam to enable India to attain self-sufficiency in the field of missile technology.
• The missiles developed under the programme were (P-A-T-N-A) :-
  • Prithvi– Short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile
  • Agni– Intermediate-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile
  • Trishul– Short-range low-level surface-to-air missile
  • Nag– Third-generation anti-tank missile
  • Akash– Medium-range surface-to-air missile

• Climate change and human intervention are threatening the Myristica swamps of Kerala.

ABOUT MYRISTICA SWAMPS

• These swamps are found in the Sacred Groves or evergreen forest patches and are included in the littoral and swamp forest groups.
• They have evolved over millions of years and are comprised of old-growth trees.
• In India, these unique habitats occur in the Western Ghats and a smaller distribution exists in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• The 55-acre Kammadam Kavu is the largest in Kerala.
  • This grove is home to a Myristica swamp over 2-3 acres.
• The Myristica swamp, like a mangrove, is found inside a forest. But mangroves thrive in saline water, Myristica requires freshwater.
• This species has stilt roots, or knee roots that pop up above the water level to breathe creating a varied habitat for many life forms.
• Found in freshwater areas, these groves harbour endemic and endangered plant species including those with medicinal properties.
  • One of the most endangered endemic species is the Myristica malabarica, a wild relative of nutmeg used extensively in Ayurveda.
  • Myristica fatue, which is very rare with just under 20 trees in Kerala.
  • The Syzygium travencuricum is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red Data book.
• Amphibians like frogs, toads and caecilians also flourish in these swamps as these species prefer mating and reproduction in waterlogged patches.
• These groves also have close ties with indigenous rituals and religion.
• They have deities related to snake and tree worship, and are protected by local communities, attached to temples or privately owned.
• Threats– main causes for the destruction of the swamps are human intervention, mismanagement of rivers and climate change.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES

• It is essential to keep the rivers healthy, as the waterbodies nurture these swamps.
  • If the rivulets disappear, the Myristica swamps will disappear.
  • With rivers drying out, the swamps are being invaded by semi-evergreen and deciduous species such as legumes, white dammer, terminalia and woody climbers, large flowering plants and invasive species.

• Government-owned engineering consultancy firm Engineers India Ltd.(EIL) is studying prospects and feasibility of developing salt cavern-based strategic oil reserves in Rajasthan.
• Rajasthan, which has bulk of requisite salt formations in India, is seen as the most conducive for developing salt cavern-based strategic storage facilities.

SALT CAVERN-BASED RESERVES VS. ROCK CAVERN-BASED RESERVES

• UNLIKE underground rock caverns, which are developed through excavation, salt caverns are developed by process of solution mining, which involves pumping water into geological formations with large salt deposits to dissolve the salt.
• Process is simpler, faster, and less cost-intensive than developing excavated rock caverns.
• Unlike rock caverns, salt cavern-based storages can be created and operated almost entirely from the surface.
• Salt cavern-based oil storage facilities are also naturally well-sealed, and engineered for rapid injection and extraction of oil.

GLOBAL PRECEDENCE

• The entire SPR programme of the United States has so far been based on salt cavern-based storage facilities.
• The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the world’s largest emergency oil storage, consists of four sites with deep underground storage caverns created in salt domes along the Gulf of Mexico coast in Texas and Louisiana.
  • These have a cumulative capacity of around 727 million barrels.

STRATEGIC OIL RESERVES IN INDIA

• India currently has an SPR capacity of 5.33 million tonnes, or around 39 million barrels of crude, that can meet around 9.5 days of demand.
• Construction of strategic oil reserves facilities is managed by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited (ISPRL), special purpose vehicle, under Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• The country’s three existing strategic oil storage facilities — at Mangaluru and Padur in Karnataka, and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh — are made up of excavated rock caverns.
• The country is in the process of expanding its SPR capacity by a cumulative 6.5 million tonnes at two locations — Chandikhol in Odisha (4 million tonnes) and Padur (2.5 million tonnes).

• The Bijli Mahadev Ropeway in Kullu is facing heavy opposition from residents of Kharal and Kashawari valleys.
• They demanded that the project should be shunned altogether.
• Villagers said that the deity Bijli Mahadev had orated through his oracle that any tampering with the barren mountain in the territory, from where the ropeway is proposed, will not be tolerated.
• A 7-km-long ropeway at a cost of Rs 240 crore is proposed from Pirdi near Kullu to Bijli Mahadev on top of the Kharal hill opposite Kulluk town.
  • Eight companies participated in the tenders invited by the National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), Company of the Government of India, which were opened on April 17 and were being technically examined.

• The Indian junior men’s hockey team maintained its continental supremacy by beating arch-rivals Pakistan 2-1 to become Asia Cup champions in Salalah, Oman.
• This was India’s fourth title having been crowned champions on three previous occasions in 2004, 2008 and 2015.
• Meanwhile, Pakistan has won the tournament in 1987, 1992 and 1996.

• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) celebrated 3 years journey of PM SVANidhi.
• The government also launched a PM SVANidhi mobile app for street vendors, to ease the loan application process.

ABOUT PRIME MINISTER STREET VENDOR’S ATMANIRBHAR NIDHI (PM SVANIDHI) SCHEME

• The PM SVANidhi is a micro credit scheme launched in 2020 to provide handholding support to street vendors, to tide over pandemic-induced economic stress.
• It is a Central Sector Schemee., fully funded by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs with the following objectives:
  • To facilitate working capital loan;
  • To incentivize regular repayment; and
  • To reward digital transactions
• The scheme facilitates a working capital collateral-free one-year loan of ₹10,000, with subsequent loans of ₹20,000 and ₹50,000 with 7% interest subsidy to approximately 50 lakh street vendors.
• The scheme aims to open new opportunities for street vendors to move up the economic ladder.
• The Scheme is available to all street vendors engaged in vending in urban areas.

• The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has released its 11th edition of the World of Work report.

MAJOR FINDINGS

• Uneven impact of the polycrisis (simultaneous occurrence of several catastrophic events like the war in Ukraine and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic).
• According to the ILO, the projected global unemployment rate for 2023 is expected to fall below pre-pandemic levels, reaching 3%.
• Latin America and the Caribbean, northern, southern, and western Europe, and central and Western Asia have demonstrated resilience in their labor markets, with unemployment rates ranging from 6.3% to 6.7%, showing a positive recovery trend.
• The ILO has introduced a new indicator called the jobs gap.
  • This encompasses all individuals who desire employment but are currently jobless.
• Developing countries also face additional challenges due to rising debt levels, which constrain their ability to implement effective policy interventions.
• The report advocates for global financial support for job creation and social protection to ensure a comprehensive recovery and bridge the employment gap.

• The Indian Navy achieved a unique feat after an MH-60 ‘Romeo’ multi-mission helicopter landed on the indigenously-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.

ABOUT MH-60R HELICOPTER

• It is the world’s most advanced maritime helicopter and is the most capable naval helicopter available today designed to operate from frigates, destroyers, cruisers and aircraft carriers.
• Manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
• It is an all-weather helicopter designed to support multiple missions with state-of-the-art avionics and sensors.
• Main missions of the MH-60R Seahawk are Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW).
• It can detect and track submarines and surface ships and attack with torpedoes and missiles.
• It carries advanced airborne active sonar, multi-mode search radar and nose-mounted forward-looking infrared (FLIR) turret.
• It has an integrated self-defense system.

• Press Information Bureau (PIB) marked its centennial anniversary.
• It is the nodal agency for government of India to disseminate information to the print and electronic media on government policies, programmes etc.
• It was originally set up as temporary cell (under then British government) in 1919.
• The first head of the cell was Dr LF Rushbrook Williams of Allahabad University who was designated as officer on special duty.
• In 1923, the bureau was made permanent as the Bureau of Public Information.
• In 1941, J Natrajan became the first Indian to head the bureau as principal information officer.
• It acquired its present name in 1946, and became a department of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting after 1947.
• It is headed by: Principal Director General (Media & Communication) who is assisted by a Director General and eight Additional Director Generals.
• Its activities can be broadly classified in three Categories:
  • Information, Education & Communication;
  • Feedback and Accreditation &
  • Special Services.

• A meeting of Foreign Ministers from the BRICS countries in South Africa recently was overshadowed by questions about whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would be arrested if he attended a summit of the five-nation bloc in August in Johannesburg.
• South Africa is thinking about legal options if Russian President, the subject of a war crimes arrest warrant issued by the ICC, did attend the summit.
  • The ICC accused Mr. Putin in March of the war crime of forcibly deporting children from Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine. Moscow denies the allegations.
• South Africa being an ICC membe, would theoretically be required to arrest Russian President if he attended.
  • States Parties to the Rome Statute have a legal obligation to cooperate.

ABOUT ICC

• It is an international court which investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
• HQ- Hague, Netherlands.
• It has 6 official languages: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.
  • Out if this English and French are working languages.
• It was established by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998.
• It has jurisdiction only over crimes committed after July 1, 2002, when the Rome Statute entered into force.
• The Court does not have its own police force.
  • It relies on State cooperation, for arrest and surrender of suspects.
• There are 123 countries party to the Rome Statute.
• India, China, Iraq, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey were never part of Rome statute.
• Countries that signed but did not ratify the treaty include Egypt, Iran, Israel, Russia, the United States, etc.