HAL gets DGCA nod for new variant of passenger aircraft Hindustan 228-201 LW

• It is a passenger aircraft developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• It has a maximum take-off weight of 5695kgs with 19 passenger seating capacity.
• The aircraft would fall in the Sub-5700 kg aircraft category.
• Benefits:
• It has reduced pilot qualification requirements enabling pilots with a commercial pilot license to fly the aircraft.
• Enhanced availability of a pilot pool for the aircraft.
• Reduced operational cost.
• Reduced training requirements for flying and ground crew, including aircraft maintenance engineers.

Home Minister Amit Shah remembers Veer Savarkar on his death anniversary

• He was born in 1883 near Nasik in Maharashtra.
• He was the first to acknowledge the mutiny of 1857 as the first struggle for Independence and wrote the book ''The History of the War of Indian Independence''.
• He was a passionate promoter of Hindutva since childhood.
• He was sentenced to 50 years in the cellular jail of Andamans, also known as Kala Pani, for revolting against the Morley-Minto reforms (Indian Councils Act 1909) in 1911.
• After his release from jail, he worked on the abolishment of untouchability in Ratnagiri.
• Serving as the president of the Hindu Mahasabha political party, he opposed the Quit India movement in 1942.
• He founded the organizations Abhinav Bharat Society and Free India Society.
• He was a critic of the Indian National Congress and its acceptance of India''s partition.
• He was also a critic of Mahatma Gandhi and called him a ''hypocrite''. In 1948, he was charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.

First Bodoland International Knowledge Festival begins in Assam’s Kokrajhar

• The festival is being hosted by Bodoland University with support from the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) government.
• It seeks to provide a platform for thought leaders, educators, Research scholars, researchers, and practitioners to engage with constituents of Higher Education Institutions in BTR through participation.
• Goal: To create, foster and promote knowledge exchange, solution sharing, and partnership building for the achievement of social development priorities and key Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 in contemporary BTR and the world.
• It aims to draw the best practices from across the world to enhance scientific temperament for the creation of “Peaceful, Green and Smart Bodoland” in light of the Bodo Peace Accord 2020.

Bodo Peace Accord 2020:

• It is a tripartite accord signed in 2020 by representatives of Bodo organizations with the Central and Assam governments.
• The Bodo parties to the agreement include the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU), the United Bodo People’s Organisation (UBPO), and all four factions of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB).
• It presents a new model of power-sharing and governance in Assam under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
• Features:
• Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) which comprises four districts -Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri will be renamed the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).
• The number of seats in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) will be increased from 40 to 60 without adversely affecting the existing percentage of reservation for tribals”.
• It promises more legislative, executive, and financial powers to the BTC in respect of 40 subjects already transferred to it and eight additional subjects.
• The Assam government will set up a Bodo-Kachari Autonomous Council, which will be a satellite council for the focused development of Bodo villages outside the BTR.
• The Indian government will expedite the process of granting Hills tribe status to Bodos living in Hills areas.
• It also promises Scheduled Tribe status to Bodos living in the hill districts of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao.
• The Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police will be appointed in consultation with the BTC authority.

Hubble Space Telescope captures jellyfish galaxy JO201

• It is a jellyfish galaxy which lies in Abell 85 galaxy cluster.
• It is at a distance of about 700 million lightyears, in the constellation of Cetus or the Whale.

Jellyfish galaxies

• They are a type of galaxy that exhibit long “tentacles” or “tails” of gas, dust, and stars that appear to be streaming away from the galaxy’s main body.
• These tentacles are formed as the galaxy moves rapidly through the hot gas of a galaxy cluster, causing the gas to strip away from the galaxy and form a tail. This process is called ram-pressure stripping.
• The tendrils of jellyfish galaxies extend beyond the bright disc of the galaxy''s core.

Galaxy clusters

• They are the largest objects in the universe that are held together by their own gravity.
• They contain hundreds or thousands of galaxies, lots of hot plasma, and a large amount of invisible dark matter.
• Galaxy clusters are home to the biggest galaxies in the known universe and provide us with information about the structure of the universe on the largest scales.

IAF to participate in multilateral exercise ''Cobra Warrior'' in UK

• It is a multilateral exercise in which Air Forces from Finland, Sweden, South Africa, USA, and Singapore would also participate alongside UK’s Royal Air Force and Indian Air Force.
• The aim of the exercise is to participate in diverse fighter aircraft engagements and learn from the best practices of various Air Forces.
• IAF is participating in the exercise with five Mirage 2000 fighters, two C-17 Globemaster, and an IL-78 mid-air refueller aircraft.

India and the United Kingdom:

• Konkan ShaktiTri services exercise
• Ajeya warriorArmy exercise

First Look at Ryugu Asteroid Sample Reveals it is Organic-Rich

• It is a Japanese spacecraft that studied the asteroid Ryugu, collected samples, and brought them to Earth for analysis.
• It was the first to deploy rovers to operate on an asteroid.
• Mission Objectives:
• To clarify the origin and evolution of the Solar System, including the beginnings of life.
• To establish deep space exploration technology by taking on new challenges.
• It was launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in December 2014.
• It arrived at asteroid Ryugu on June 2018, collected samples from the asteroid during two touchdowns in 2019, and delivered the sample capsule back to the Earth on December 2020.
• After delivering the capsule, the spacecraft continued on to a new mission. This new phase is referred to as the “Extended Mission”, with a new target destination of the small asteroid, 1998 KY26.
• Hayabusa2 is a follow-up to Japan’s original Hayabusa mission, which was the first spacecraft to take samples from an asteroid, and was also the first mission to successfully land and take off from an asteroid. It returned samples from asteroid 25143 Itokawa to Earth on June 13, 2010.

Astronomers discover ‘Elusive Dying Radio Galaxies’ using deep radio surveys

• Radio Galaxies, also known as radio-luminous galaxies or radio-loud galaxies, are a particular type of active galaxy that emits more light at radio wavelengths than at visible wavelengths.
• These happen through the interaction between charged particles and strong magnetic fields related to supermassive black holes at the galaxies’ center.
• Radio galaxies are driven by non-thermal emissions.
• They are much bigger than most of the other galaxies in the universe.
• There are two broad classes of radio galaxies:
• Core-halo radio galaxies:
• They exhibit radio emission from a region concentrated around the nucleus of the galaxy.
• The region of radio emission is comparable in size to the optically visible galaxy.
• Lobed radio galaxies:
• They display great lobes of radio emission extending, in some cases, for millions of light years beyond the optical part of the galaxy.
• Some radio galaxies have a single lobe, but more often, the lobes are double, arrayed on both sides of the optical galaxy.

Japan to buy 400 Tomahawk missiles from US: PM Fumio Kishida

• It is an American-made long-range cruise missile used for deep land attack warfare.
• It can be launched from a ship or submarine and can deliver its warhead precisely to a target at a long range.
• They are designed to fly at extremely low altitudes at high subsonic speeds.
• It has an accuracy of about 5 meters (16 feet).
• The 6-meter (18.4-foot-) long missile has a range of up to 2,400 km (1,500 miles) and can travel as fast as 885 km (550 miles) per hour.
• The missile is powered by a solid propellant during its launch phase. Thereafter it is powered by a turbofan enginethat does not emit much heat, which makes infrared detection difficult.
• It is capable of twisting and turning like a radar-evading fighter plane.
• There are several variants of the Tomahawk missile, each with specialized capabilities.

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni to be chief guest at 8th Raisina Dialogue, says MEA

• It is India’s premier conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics, committed to addressing the most challenging issues facing the global community.
• It is held annually since 2016 in New Delhi.
• The Dialogue is structured as a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral discussion involving heads of state, cabinet ministers, and local government officials, who are joined by thought leaders from the private sector, media, and academia.
• It is organized by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.

Observer Research Foundation (ORF):

• Established in 1990, the ORF is an independent, nonpartisan think tank that conducts policy research on good governance, foreign policy, and sustainable economic development for India.
• ORF’s work spans a wide range of topics, including climate, energy, cyber issues and media, economic development, and national security.
• It provides non-partisan, independent, well-researched analyses and inputs to diverse decision-makers in governments, business communities, academia, and to civil society around the world.
• Mandate: It seeks to lead and aid policy thinking towards building a strong and prosperous India in a fair and equitable world.

Augmented reality headset enables users to see hidden objects

• It is an enhanced version of the real physical world that is achieved through the use of digital visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli and delivered via technology.
• It overlays digital content onto real-life environments and objects.
• AR works by superimposing digital information onto real-world objects to create a 3D experience that allows users to interact with both the physical and digital worlds.
• It incorporates three features: a combination of digital and physical worlds, interactions made in real time, and accurate 3D identification of virtual and real objects.
• Unlike Virtual Reality (VR), which creates its own cyber environment, AR adds to the existing world as it is.

Virtual Reality (VR)

• It is a simulated 3D environment that enables users to explore and interact with a virtual surrounding in a way that approximates reality as it is perceived through the users'' senses.
• The environment is created with computer hardware and software, and the users need to wear devices such as helmets or goggles (Virtual Reality headsets or helmets) to interact with the environment.