U.S. commits $2 billion in drones and ammunition to Ukraine

• The Switchblade 600 kamikaze drone is a man-portable tube-launched loitering munition developed and designed by the US company AeroVironment.
• It is an upgraded version of Switchblade 300 fitted with an ATGM (Anti-Tank Guided Missile), designed to neutralize tanks and heavy armored vehicles.
• It aims to provide precision optics for destroying targets in a direct downward strike.
• Features:
• It can fly, track and engage non-line-of-sight targets and armored vehicles with precision lethal effects without the need for external ISR(Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) or fire assets.
• It has a range of over 40km and has more than 40 minutes of flight endurance.
• It is powered by an electric battery and propeller.
• It is equipped with high-resolution EO/IR sensors and advanced precision flight control, which are used for navigation, surveillance, and targeting.

Kamikaze drones

• Kamikaze drones are crewless aerial vehicles loaded with explosives that can fly directly to tanks or units and explode on collision.
• They are known as a “loitering munition” because they are capable of circling for some time in an area identified as a potential target and only striking once an enemy asset is identified.
• They are small, portable and can be quickly launched.
• They are designed to crash into a target and explode, detonating their warhead and destroying the drones in the process.
• Their main advantage is that they are hard to detect and can be fired from a distance.

India Ranks 42 In 55 Countries On International IP Index

• It is released annually by the US Chamber of Commerce.
• The index evaluates IP rights in 55 global economies across 50 unique indicators.
• The indicators include patent and copyright policies to commercialization of IP assets, and ratification of international treaties.
• The index aims to help nations navigate toward a brighter economic future marked by greater innovation, creativity, and competitiveness.
• International IPIndex 2023: The United States is ranked first, followed by the UK and France**. India is ranked 42nd in the index.**

Intellectual Property

• It refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names, and images used in commerce.
• Intellectual property rights (IPR) refers to the legal rights given to the inventor or creator to protect his invention or creation for a certain period of time.
• There are several types of intellectual property protection like patent, copyright, trademark, etc.

4 cops let off 4 smugglers of orangutans, suspended in Chennai

• These are exclusively arborealwhich means they live among the trees of tropical rainforests.
• According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), there are three species of orangutans: Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli.
• They feast on wild fruits like lychees, and figs, and slurp water from holes in trees.
• Orangutans can live up to 50 years, but they have a relatively low reproductive rate because females only give birth once every 5-10 years.
• Bornean and Sumatran orangutans differ a little in appearance and behaviour. While both have shaggy reddish fur, Sumatran orangutans have longer facial hair.
• Sumatran orangutans are reported to have closer social bonds than their Bornean cousins.
• Bornean orangutans are more likely to descend from the trees to move around on the ground.
• Conservation status
• IUCN: Critically Endangered

In a first, Indian submarine INS Sindhukesari docks in Indonesia

• It is a 3,000-tonne Kilo-class diesel-electric submarine.
• It was designed as part of Project 877 and built under a contract betweenRosvooruzhenie**, Russia**, and the Ministry of Defence (India).
• Features:
• It has a displacement of 3,000 tons.
• It has a maximum diving depth of 300 meters, a speed of up to 18 knots, and can operate solo for 45 days with a crew of 53.

Kilo-class submarines

• The Kilo Class is the NATO designation for a naval diesel-electric submarine made in Russia.
• The original version of the vessels were designated Project 877 Paltus (Halibut) in Russia.
• They are mainly intended for anti-shipping and anti-submarine operations in relatively shallow waters.
• The first Kilo Class submarine entered service in the Soviet Navy in 1980, and the vessel continues to be in service in the Russian Navy.
• These submarines are 70-74 meters long. It can travel at a maximum speed of 10-12 knots when surfaced and 17-25 knots when underwater.
• These vessels can carry up to eight surface-to-air missiles and 18 torpedoes or 14 underwater mines.

Financial crime watchdog FATF suspends Russia over Ukraine war

• FATF is an inter-governmental policy-making and standard-setting body dedicated to combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
• Objective: To establish international standards, and to develop and promote policies, both at national and international levels, to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
• It was established in 1989 during the G7 Summit in Paris to develop policies against money laundering.
• In 2001 its mandate expanded to include terrorism financing.
• Headquarters: Paris, France.
• FATF members include 39 countries, including the United States, India, China, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Germany, France, and the EU as such.
• India became a member of FATF in 2010.
• What are FATF ''grey list'' and ''blacklist''? FATF has 2 types of lists:
• Black List:Countries knowns as Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories (NCCTs) are put on the blacklist. These countries support terror funding and money laundering activities. The FATF revises the blacklist regularly, adding or deleting entries.
• Grey List: Countries that are considered a safe haven for supporting terror funding and money laundering are put on the FATF grey list. This inclusion serves as a warning to the country that it may enter the blacklist.
• Three countries North Korea, Iran, and Myanmar are currently in FATF’s blacklist.
• Consequences of being on the FATF blacklist:
• No financial aid is given to them by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Union (EU).
• They also face a number of international economic and financial restrictions and sanctions.

Kamioka Liquid Scintillator Antineutrino Detector

• Neutrinos are mysterious particles, produced copiously in nuclear reactions in the Sun, stars, and elsewhere.
• They also "oscillate"-- meaning that different types of neutrinos change into one another.
• A neutrino is a fermion that interacts only via weak interaction and gravity.
• Probing of oscillations of neutrinos and their relations with mass are crucial in studying the origin of the universe.
• Neutrinos are created by various radioactive decay; during a supernova, by cosmic rays striking atoms etc.

Antiparticle

• In quantum theory, every type of particle is associated with an antiparticle with the same mass but with opposite physical charges. For example, the antiparticle of the electron is the positron.

IRCTC  to  operate  Baba Saheb Ambedkar Yatra tour package under “Dekho Apna Desh” initiative

• The Baba Saheb Ambedkar Yatra, designed by IRCTC, aims to highlight the places and destinations associated with Ambedkar''s life.
• The First Journey of the Baba Saheb Ambedkar Yatra will be from New Delhi in April 2023.
• As part of the "Dekho Apna Desh" initiative, the Ministry of Railways, in collaboration with the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), operates Bharat Gaurav Tourist Trains on various theme-based circuits throughout India.

Dekho Apna Desh initiative

• Nodal Ministry: The Ministry of Tourism
• The scheme aims to promote tourism and encourage people to explore the rich cultural heritage and diversity of India.
• The scheme is intended to offer financial help to tourists travelling to different parts of India.
• The government has set aside a substantial budget for the implementation of this scheme, which will be used to promote travel and build out tourist infrastructure around the nation.
• Objectives: The scheme aims to increase domestic tourism in India and under this plan, around 50 destinations in the country will be developed and promoted to attract tourists.

MP Government''s Consent Not Needed For Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project: CM Gehlot

• This canal project aims to harvest surplus water available during the rainy season in rivers in Southern Rajasthan such as Chambal and its tributaries, including Kunnu, Parvati, and Kalisindh, and use this water in south-eastern districts of the state, where water is scarce for drinking and irrigation.
• It proposes to provide drinking water to 13 districts of Rajasthan and provide irrigation water for 2.8 lakh hectares of land through 26 different large and medium projects.

Chambal River

• It is one of the tributaries of the Yamuna River and the most pollution-free river in India.
• It originates at the Singar Chouri peak on the northern slopes of the Vindhya mountains
• On its south, east and west, the basin is bounded by the Vindhyan mountain ranges and on the northwest by the Aravallis.
• The Hadauti plateau in Rajasthan occurs in the upper catchment of the Chambal River to the southeast of the Mewar Plains.
• Tributaries:Banas, Kali Sindh, Sipra, Parbati, etc.
• Major Dams on the River: Gandhi Sagar Dam, Rana Pratap Sagar Dam, Jawahar Sagar Dam.
• The National Chambal Sanctuary is situated along river Chambal on the tri-junction of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Union Home Minister addresses ''Kol Janjati Mahakumbh'' at Satna, Madhya Pradesh today

• The Kol tribes belonged to the Proto-Australoid ethnic stratum.
• They consider themselves to be the descendants of Sahara Mata, a member of the Savaras of epic fame; she is known as the "mother of the Kol."
• They are concentrated in the northern districts of Madhya Pradeshand Small Kol populations are also found in Orissa and Maharashtra.
• The Kol speak local dialects of Hindi and use the Devanagari script for writing.
• They celebrate the Jawara festival which appears to be an ancient Kol agricultural festival that later acquired some Hindu characteristics.
• The name is derived from the juari plant, a type of millet. Jawara is held twice a year, in the fall just before the sowing of the winter crop, and in the spring after it has been harvested.

Kol Revolt/uprising

• The Kols, tribal people from the Chhota Nagpur area, rose in revolt against the British in 1831.
• The rebel kols were under the leadership of Buddhu Bhagat, Joa Bhagat, Jhindrai Manki, Madara Mahato fought against British rules.