Goa, Gujarat top NITI Aayog''s state energy and climate index

• The States have been categorised based on size and geographical differences as larger and smaller States and UTs. The index is based on 2019-20 data.
• Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab have been ranked as the top three performers in the category of larger States, while Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were the bottom three States.
• Goa emerged as the top performer in the smaller States category followed by Tripura and Manipur.
• Among UTs, Chandigarh, Delhi and Daman & Diu/Dadra & Nagar Haveli are the top performers.
• Punjab was the best performer in discom performance, while Kerala topped in access, affordability and reliability category.
• Haryana was the best performer in clean energy initiative among larger States and Tamil Nadu in the energy efficiency category.
• The State Energy and Climate Index (SECI) is the first index that aims to track the efforts made by States and UTs in the climate and energy sector.

Fourth Annual US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar led the Indian delegation. The US delegation was led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
• The dialogue enabled both sides to undertake a comprehensive review of cross-cutting issues in the India-US bilateral agenda related to Foreign Policy, Defense and Security.
• The Defence Minister said India''s Department of Space and the US''s Dept of Defence have finished a ''Space Situational Awareness'' agreement.
• An agreement on Defence Space and Defence Artificial Intelligence dialogues has also been reached.

Discovery of Megalithic Stone Jars in Assam

• The paper, ‘An archaeological survey of the Assam stone jar sites’ documents three distinct jar shapes (bulbous top with conical end; biconcial; cylindrical) on spurs, hill slopes and ridge lines.
• At one site, Nuchubunglo, as many as 546 jars were found. This is arguably the largest such site in the world.
• The study published in Asian Archaeology, calls for more research to understand the “likely cultural relationship” between Assam and Laos and Indonesia, the only two other sites where similar jars have been found.

CBIC Chairman releases National Time Release Study, 2022

• TRS are essentially a performance measurement tool for assessing the cargo clearance process of the international trade, as recommended by the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and the World Customs Organization (WCO).
• It adopts average cargo release time, i.e. the time taken from the arrival of the cargo at the customs station to its eventual release for import or export, as the case may be.
• The National Time Release Study (NTRS) 2022 covered 15 major Customs formations, including four port categories - seaports, air cargo complexes (ACCs), inland container depot (ICDs) and integrated check posts (ICPs) and is based on the sample period between 1st – 7th January 2022.

The Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to the Civil Aviation Ministry discussed ''e-BCAS project''.

• Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, BCAS establishes, develops, implements maintains, and reviews the National Aviation Security Programme.
• It also safeguards civil aviation operations against acts of unlawful interference and threat, taking into account the safety, regularity, and efficiency of flights.
• It has now undertaken e-BCAS, an initiative under e-Governance for automation of internal processes. This will be an online platform for facilitation of stakeholders.
• It will leverage strength of existing processes and organizational structure, with the objective to make entire activities transparent, user-friendly, and efficient.
• It will digitize the office processes, facilitate fast approvals, and ensure ease of doing business, by technological integration across various divisions and processes.
• Under e-Sahaj module, issuance of security clearance will be provided.
• Under the e-training module, 16 training courses are being run for aviation security training and certifications. The Module involves online testing and effective supervision of the quality of training being imparted.

PM Narenndra Modi honoured with first Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award

• Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Smruti Pratishthan informed that the award will be given annually to a person who has made a path-breaking, spectacular and exemplary contribution to the nation and its people.
• The organization said, Mr. Modi is an international statesman who has put India on the path of global leadership. Calling Mr. Modi an inspiration, the organization said, he is one of the greatest leaders that India has seen in its glorious history.
• Among the other awardees will be singer Rahul Despande, who will receive the Master Deenanath Award besides three other special awardees including veteran actress Asha Parekh, actor Jackie Shroff and the Mumbai Dabbawalas, represented by Nutan Tiffin Suppliers.

First flight of Made in India HAL Dornier Do-228 to take off from Dibrugarh in Assam to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh

• Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has approved a Scheme – “Providing air connectivity and Aviation infrastructure in North Eastern Region (NER)” to promote air connectivity in the States of NER and, if required, to develop infrastructure for air connectivity.
• As a part of this scheme, two important development will take place on 12th April 2022 –First flight of Made in India HAL Dornier Do-228 from Dibrugarh in Assam to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Alliance Air will be India’s first commercial airline to fly Indian made aircraft for civil operations.
• There will also be inauguration of First FTO (Flying Training Organization) for North Eastern Region at Lilabari, Assam.
• Connectivity in NER is very essential and Under “Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN)”, the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has identified NER as a priority area.

Anti-Tank Guided Missile ''HELINA'' successfully flight tested

• The flight-test was jointly conducted by the teams of scientists from Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF).
• The flight trials were conducted from an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and the missile was fired successfully engaging simulated tank target.
• The missile is guided by an Imaging Infra-Red (IIR) Seeker operating in the Lock on Before Launch mode. It is one of the most advanced anti-tank weapons in the world.
• Helina has a maximum range of seven kilometers and has been designed and developed for integration on weaponized version of the ALH.
• Helina can engage targets both in direct hit mode as well as top attack mode.
  • In the top attack mode, the missile is required to climb sharply after launch and travel at a certain altitude and then plunge on the top of the target.
  • In the direct hit mode, the missile travels at a lower altitude, directly striking the target.