ANSWER: D

ANSWER: A

 ANSWER: B

 ANSWER: D

• DRDO conducted two consecutive successful flight tests of Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missile at Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.
• VSHORADS is a Man Portable Air Defence System (MANPADS) designed and developed indigenously by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad in collaboration with other DRDO facilities and various Indian industry partners.
• It is meant to target low altitude aerial threats at short
• These are lightweight and portable surface-to-air missiles.
• These can be fired by individuals or small groups to destroy aircraft or helicopters.
• Propelled by a dual thrust solid motor, it incorporates many novel technologies including miniaturised Reaction Control System (RCS) and integrated avionics.

 ANSWER: C

• A tigress recently died of electrocution in a buffer zone of Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.
• It is situated in the northeastern part of the state of MP and is bordered by the Guru Ghasidas National Park on the south.
• It is located in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh; it comprises Sanjay National Park and Dubri Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It forms a wildlife corridor connecting Bandhavgarh and Palamau Tiger Reserve.
• Topography:
  • Undulating topography, some small hills interspersed with plain area.
  • Rivers like Banas, Gopad, Mawai, Mahan flow through.
• Flora: It comprises of North Indian moist deciduous peninsular sal and North Indian dry deciduous peninsular sal. The forests in the Dubri sanctuary range from dense to open sal forests with remains of degraded bamboo stumps.
• Fauna: Tiger, Sloth bear, Chital, Nilgai, Chinkara, leopard, Dhole (wild dog) Hyena, Porcupine, Jackal, Fox, Indian Wolf, Indian Python Four-horned Antelope, and Barking deer etc.

 ANSWER: B

• Successful flight-test of Power Take Off (PTO) shaft was conducted on LCA Tejas.
  • PTO shaft, critical component in aircraft, will support the requirements of future fighter aircraft & their variants and offers competitive cost & reduced time of availability.

About LCA Tejas

• LCA Tejas is all weather, single engine, lightweight, highly agile, 4.5 generation, multi-role supersonic fighter aircraft.
• It was designed by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the Department of Defence Research and Development and produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• Tejas has many advanced features like Beyond Visual Range Missile capabilities, Air-to-Air Refuelling and Air-to-Ground weapons.
• It is equipped with a state-of-the-art satellite-aided inertial navigation system.
• The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme was started by the Government of India in 1984 when they established the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) to manage the LCA programme.
  • It aimed at replacing the ageing Mig 21 fighter planes.

 ANSWER: D

• The Singapore Army and Indian Army participated in the 13^thedition of Exercise Bold Kurukshetra, a bilateral armour exercise at Jodhpur Military Station, India.
• First conducted in 2005, this exercise underscores the strong and long-standing bilateral defence relationship between both countries and enhances cooperation between the two armies.
• Other exercise between India and Singapore includes Joint Military Training (Air Force), Trilateral Maritime Exercise SIMTEX (with Thailand) and Exercise Agni Warrior (Army).

 ANSWER: A

• NITI Aayog has launched ATL Sarthi under Atal Innovation Mission (AIM).
• ATL Sarthi is a comprehensive self-monitoring framework to strengthen the ever-growing ecosystem of Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL).
• It provides a Monitoring and Evaluation framework to enhance the performance of ATLs.
• AIM is establishing ATLs in schools across India to foster curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds.
• AIM is Government of India’s flagship initiative to create and promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across the country.

 ANSWER: C

• Recently Russia agreed to extend Black Sea Grain Deal for 60 days.
• BSGI was brokered by United Nations and Türkiye in July 2022 between Russia and Ukraine.
• The deal endeavours to tackle escalating food prices emanating from supply chain disruptions due to effective blockage of Black Sea.
• The deal put in place a Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), comprising senior representatives from Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN for oversight and coordination.
• Objective- To provide for a safe maritime humanitarian corridor for Ukrainian exports (particularly for food grains and fertilizer including ammonia) from three of its key ports, namely, Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi on Black Sea.
• Ukraine is among the largest exporters of wheat, maize, rapeseed, sunflower seeds and sunflower oil, globally.

 ANSWER: C

• Recently, the first international conference of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Shared Buddhist Heritage was held in New Delhi.
• Nodal Ministry: It was organized by the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of External Affairs and the International Buddhist Confederation.
• Objective- To re-establish trans-cultural links and seek out commonalities, between Buddhist art of Central Asia, art styles, archaeological sites and antiquity in various museum collections of the SCO countries.
• Focus of the Conference: India’s civilizational connection with the SCO nations.
• The event, under India’s leadership of SCO has brought together Central Asian, East Asian, South Asian and Arab countries on a common platform to discuss Shared Buddhist Heritage. It will celebrate Buddhist common heritage and build stronger and deeper bonds amongst the countries.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

• It is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation of Eurasian Nations.
• The SCO currently comprises of eight Member States (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), four Observer States interested in acceding to full membership (Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia) and six “Dialogue Partners” (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka.
• Secretariat- Beijing, China.

 ANSWER: C

• Recently, the Prime Minister greeted the Sikh community on the commencement of Nanakshahi Sammat 555.
• Nanakshahi Sammat is a calendar system that was introduced by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in 2003.
• It is named after the founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak Dev Ji to mark his 500th birth anniversary.
• It is a tropical solar calendar used in Sikhism.
• The Nanakshahi calendar is used by Sikhs around the world to mark important dates and festivals in the Sikh calendar, including the birth anniversaries of the ten Sikh Gurus, the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev, and the anniversary of the founding of the Khalsa Panth.
• It is based on the “Barah Maha” (Twelve Months), a composition composed by the Sikh gurus reflecting the changes in nature conveyed in the twelve-month cycle of the year.
• The year begins with the month of Chet, with 1 Chet corresponding to 14 March.
• The reference epoch of the Nanakshahi calendar is the birth of Guru Nanak Dev, corresponding to year 1469 CE.

ANSWER: B

• Denmark inaugurated a project to store carbon dioxide 1,800 metres beneath the North Sea, the first country in the world to bury CO₂ imported from abroad.
• The CO₂ graveyard, where the carbon is injected to prevent further warming of the atmosphere, is on the site of an old oil field.
• Led by British chemical giant Ineos and German oil company Wintershall Dea, the “Greensand” project is expected to store up to eight million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030.

 ANSWER: C

• Uttarakhand launched the country’s first “Resham Keet Bima” programme to safeguard its sericulturists. 200 sericulturists from five blocks in four districts—Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, and Nainital.
• The programme has been launched as a pilot project spanning five development blocks of four districts of the state in order to safeguard farmers from loss.
• The initiative is managed by Saral Krishi Beema.

ANSWER: A

• Padma Shri awardee and Millet Man of Himachal Nek Ram Sharma today urged students and women to play a leading role in bringing millets back to the food plate.