Category: Defence and Security

Context:

• Recently, the President of India undertook a sortie in the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter PRACHAND at Air Force Station Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

About Light Combat Helicopter Prachand:

• • Nature: It is an indigenously developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH).

• Development: It is developed by state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

• • Uniqueness: It is the only attack helicopter in the world that can land and take off at an altitude of 5,000 metres (16,400 ft).
  • Engine: It is fitted with a 5.8-tonne twin-engine named Shakti engine, primarily designed for deployment in high-altitude areas. 

• Speed: Its maximum speed is 268 kilometres per hour.

• • Range: It has a range of 550 kilometres and endurance of over three hours.
  • Stealth features: It has the best stealth features, armored-shield systems, and dark-mode attack capability. It is equipped with a countermeasure dispensing system that protects it from enemy radars or infrared seekers of enemy missiles.
  • Crash resistant landing: Its crash-resistant landing gear gives it an added edge for better survivability, among other technologies like radar and IR signature.

• Protection: A pressurised cabin offers protection from nuclear, biological, and chemical contingencies.

• • Customisation: The multi-role attack helicopter has been customised as per the requirements of the Indian armed forces to operate both in desert terrains and high-altitude sectors. 

• Weaponry: The weapon complement includes a 20mm nose gun in the front, capable of firing 800 rounds per minute from a range of up to 2 km. It is also integrated with Mistral 2 (Air-to-Air) and planned integration for Dhruvastra (Helina) Anti-Tank Guided Missiles.

Source:

• PIB

Category: Government Schemes

Context:

• Union Minister of State for Development of NE Region distributed football at PM SHRI Kendriya Vidyalaya, Dakshin Dinajpur, as part of the Football for Schools initiative.

About Football for Schools (F4S) Programme:

• Partnering agencies: It is run by Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) in collaboration with UNESCO.

• • Launch: It was launched in mid-2019 with pilot projects in Puerto Rico and Lebanon. The F4S Programme will be re-launched in other regions in 2021.
  • Objective: It seeks to make football more accessible to both boys and girls around the world by incorporating football activities into the education system, in partnership with relevant authorities and stakeholders.
  • Implementation: In India, the programme is implemented by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education (DoSEL), with support from the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

• Global reach: It aims to contribute to the education, development and empowerment of around 700 million children globally.

• Life skills integration: It uses football to teach values such as teamwork, discipline, resilience, and fitness, aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• Inclusivity: It focuses on providing equitable access to both boys and girls, regardless of their background.
• Capacity building: It includes structured training for Physical Education teachers and coach-educators to ensure sustainable integration into school curricula. 
• Alignment: The F4S Programme is aligned with global sport, education and health policies, including UNESCO’s Kazan Action Plan, the Education 2030: Incheon Declaration and Framework of Action, and the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Action Plan on Physical Activity (GAPPA).

Source:

• PIB

Category: Environment and Ecology

Context:

• Recently, in Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh forest owl has been spotted 113 years after it was last seen.

About Forest Owlet:

• Family: It is a member of the typical owl family, Strigidae.

• Rediscovery: It was first described in 1873. As it was not sighted after 1884, it was considered extinct for many years. In 1997, it was rediscovered.

• • Habitat: It is mainly found in tropical and subtropical moist lowland woods, dense deciduous woodlands, open dry deciduous teak woods,and tropical and subtropical dry forests.
  • Distribution: It is endemic to the forests of central India. It was observed in Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, and at a few locations in the Melghat Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra.
  • Appearance: It is a typical owlet with a rather unspotted crown, presence of full throat collar, thickly feathered legs, heavily banded wings, and a tail.

• Diurnal: These birds are diurnal and have been observed to hunt during the day.

• • Diet pattern: They eat rodents, reptiles such as lizards and skinks, and insects.
  • Unique behaviour: It is known for its distinctive habit of lateral tail flicking when perched.

• Conservation Status

• • • IUCN Red List: Endangered (Downlisted from Critically Endangered in 2018 due to new population discoveries).
    • Wildlife Protection Act (1972): Listed under Schedule I (highest legal protection in India).

• CITES: Appendix I.

Source:

• The Times of India

Category: Society

Context:

• The Amondawa tribe in Brazil’s Amazon lives without clocks, calendars, or numerical age, organising life by natural cycles and identity changes, as revealed by researchers.

About Amondawa Tribe:

• Location: They are an indigenous community living deep inside Brazil’s Amazon rainforest.

• First contact: They were first contacted by the outside world in 1986.

• • Size of community: They are a small community of approximately 150 individuals who sustain themselves through traditional hunting, fishing, and small-scale farming (manioc and maize).
  • Uniqueness: They live without any concept of time as understood by modern civilisation. They have no linguistic or cultural equivalent for words such as “time”, “week”, “month” or “year”.
  • Event-based living: They do not view time as a separate “container” that events happen in; instead, they organize life around natural cycles (day/night, rainy/dry seasons) and sequential events.
  • No numerical age: They do not track birthdays or use numbers to calculate age. Instead, individuals change their names at different life stages to reflect their evolving social identity.

• Limited number system: Their native counting system typically only goes up to four.

• Linguistic relativity: This serves as a prime example of the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, suggesting that the language one speaks influences how they perceive reality.
• Threats to culture: The tribe faces modern challenges such as deforestation, exposure to outside diseases, and potential cultural erosion as younger generations learn Portuguese and adopt modern concepts like calendars for administrative purposes.
• Comparison with other tribes: Unlike the Jarwa or Sentinelese of India, who are relatively isolated, the Amondawa are increasingly interacting with government systems for identity documents.

Source:

• The Times of India

Category: Science and Technology

Context:

• CERT-In and the Satcom Industry Association of India (SIA-India) have jointly released comprehensive guidelines for cyber security across the country’s space ecosystem.

About Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In):

• • Nature: It is the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents as and when they occur.
  • Nodal ministry: It is a functional organisation of the Ministry of Information & Electronics Technology, Government of India.
  • Objective: It primarily aims to secure Indian cyberspace. The constituency of CERT-In is the Indian cyber community.
  • Establishment: CERT-In has been operational since January 2004. 

• Legal Mandate: It has been designated as the national agency under Section 70B of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

• Focus areas:

• • • Collection, analysis, and dissemination of information on cyber incidents.
    • Forecasts and alerts of cybersecurity incidents.
    • Emergency measures for handling cybersecurity incidents.
    • Coordination of cyber incident response activities.
    • Issue guidelines, advisories, vulnerability notes, and white papers relating to information security practices, procedures, prevention, response, and reporting of cyber incidents.
    • Such other functions relating to cyber security as may be prescribed.
  • Powers: To perform these functions, CERT-In is empowered to call for information and issue directions to service providers, intermediaries, data centres, body corporates, and any other person. 
  • Services: CERT-In provides services to organizations in the Government, Public, and Private sectors. In addition, CERT-In provides services to individuals and home users as well.
  • Collaboration: CERT-In collaborates with international counterparts to share information regarding emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and malware.

• Operation: CERT-In creates awareness on security issues through dissemination of information on its website (https://www.cert-in.org.in) and operates a 24×7 incidence response help desk. 

• Review committee: To ensure effective governance, a Review Committee oversees CERT-In’s operations. This committee includes but is not limited to representatives from various government ministries, such as:

• • Ministry of Law and Justice
  • Department of Telecommunications
  • Ministry of Home Affairs
  • Group Coordinator for Cyber Law and e-Security

Source:

• DD News