ANSWER: D

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: C

• In an unprecedented extension of its celestial duties, the spacecraft that delivered asteroid samples from Bennu, OSIRIS-REx has embarked on a new mission, and NASA has renamed it.
• The mission will now be called OSIRIS-APEX (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security—Apophis Explorer) as it heads to study the near-Earth asteroid Apophis.

ABOUT OSIRIS-APEX

• Apophis
  • Asteroid 99942 Apophis is a near-Earth object (NEO) estimated to be about 1,100 feet (340 meters) across.
  • Apophis, a stony “S-type” asteroid composed of silicate materials and nickel-iron, differs significantly from the carbon-rich “C-type” Bennu.
  • Discovered- 2004
  • It originated in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
• The upcoming encounter with Earth on April 13, 2029, will bring Apophis within 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) of our planet.
• It aims to observe the physical changes induced by Earth’s gravitational pull during Apophis’ flyby.
  • These changes could include alterations in the asteroid’s orbit, rotation speed, and surface features such as quakes or landslides.

ABOUT OSIRIS-REX MISSION

• The OSIRIS-REx mission made headlines when it successfully returned a sample from asteroid Bennu to Earth on September 24.
• After a seven-year, 4 billion-mile odyssey, the spacecraft still had ample fuel and fully functional instruments.

ANSWER: A

• Around 1300 people made a Guinness World Record by playing tabla simultaneously in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
• The ‘Tabla Darbar’ festival program was organized at Karna Mahal of Gwalior Fort.
• A three-member team from the Guinness Book of World Records was present to monitor and record the performance.
• This concert was part of the ‘Tansen Samaroh’ music festival held annually in Gwalior.

OTHER FACTS

• The city of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh was added to UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN) on November 1, 2023 for its “strong commitment to harnessing culture and creativity”.
• Kozikodhe from Kerala (as ‘City of Literature’)was also among recent additions.
• Other Indian cities in the UCCN include
  • Jaipur: Crafts and Folk Arts (2015),
  • Varanasi: Creative City of Music (2015),
  • Chennai: Creative City of Music (2017),
  • Mumbai: Film (2019),
  • Hyderabad: Gastronomy (2019), and
  • Srinagar: Crafts and Folk Art (2021).

ANSWER: C

• The PM recently participated in the Veer Baal Diwas function at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
• It is commemorated on 26^th December every year.
• The Veer Bal Diwas marks the martyrdom of Sri Guru Gobind Singh’s sons- Sahibzada Zorawar Singh Ji and Sahibzada Fateh Singh Ji.
• The two younger sons were bricked alive on the orders of Aurangzeb’s governor of Sirhind, Wazir Khan.
• The two elder sons, Sahibzada Ajit Singh and Sahibzada Jujhar Singh both sacrificed their lives in the historic battle of Chamkaur, where a small number of Sikhs took on the huge army of the Mughals and the hill kings.

ANSWER: D

• The International Day of Epidemic Preparedness is observed every year on December 27^th.
• This special day encourages everyone, including individuals, institutions, and governments, to participate in educational and awareness activities that suit their country’s needs.
• It emphasizes how crucial it is to prevent, prepare for and work together against outbreaks like diseases.
• A resolution passed by the UN General Assembly on December 7, 2020, declared December 27 to be the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness.

ANSWER: C

• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently launched MedTech Mitra, an online portal that aims to assist medtech innovators in clinical evaluation, regulatory facilitation, and uptake of new products.
• The portal will be coordinated collaboratively by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), under the guidance of NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission.
• It will facilitate indigenous development of affordable, quality MedTech devices and diagnostics leading to reduction in import dependence (presently around 80%) in MedTech.

ANSWER: C

• Himachal Pradesh Police recently cracked down on an SUV owner for allegedly driving his vehicle across the Chandra River in Lahaul and Spiti district.

 ABOUT CHANDRA RIVER

• The River Chandra is one of the two rivers which merge to form the Chenab in the Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh
  • Other is Bhaga river which originates from Suryataal lake.
• It rises in the snows lying at the base of the main Himalayan range in the Lahaul and Spiti district.
• The beautiful Chandra Tal lake has formed at its source.
• It goes on to merge with the Bhaga River downstream of Keylong and form Chenab river.
• The entire area is a vast cold desert that receives little or no rain as it lies in the rain shadow of the Pir Panjal range lying towards South.
• The important human settlement along the river is Koksar.