Woman uses Thallium to seek revenge from in-laws

Thallium

• It is globally known as the ‘poisoner’s poison’.
• It was discovered by Sir William Crookes in 1861.
• It is a metal belongs to the main Group 13 (IIIa, or boron group) of the periodic table.
• It was used historically as a rodenticide.
• Properties
  • It is tasteless and odourless.
  • It is a soft, heavy, and low-melting element of low tensile strength.
  • It does not dissolve in water.
  • It dissolves slowly in hydrochloric acid and dilute sulfuric acid and rapidly in nitric acid.
  • It is found in trace amounts in the earth’s crust.
  • This metal continues to oxidizeoxidise upon prolonged contact with air, generating a heavy nonprotective oxide crust.
• Trace amounts of thallium are present in sulfide ores of zinc and lead; in the roasting of these ores, the thallium becomes concentrated in the flue dusts, from which it is recovered.
• Applications: It is used in the manufacture of electronics, low temperature thermometers, optical lenses, and imitation precious jewels.

PPF returns 41 bps behind formula rates

Small Savings Instruments (SSIs)

• These are a set of savings instruments managed by the central government with the aim of encouraging citizens to save regularly, irrespective of their age.
• Features
  • They provide returns that are generally higher than bank fixed deposits.
  • It also gives a sovereign guarantee and tax benefits.
  • The interest rates on small savings schemes change on a quarterly basis.
  • All deposits received under various small savings schemes are pooled in the National Small Savings Fund.
• These instruments can be classified under three headings:
  • Postal deposits (comprising savings account, recurring deposits, time deposits of varying maturities, and monthly income scheme (MIS).
  • Savings certificates (National Small Savings Certificate VIII (NSC) and Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP).
  • Social security schemes (public provident fund (PPF) and Senior Citizens‘ Savings Scheme (SCSS).
• The money in the fund is used by the central government to finance its fiscal deficit.

Individual investors can subscribe to Floating Rate Savings Bonds, 2020 (Taxable), under RBI’s Retail Direct Portal

Floating Rate Savings Bonds (FRSBs), 2020 (Taxable)

• It was introduced by the Government of India on July 1, 2020.
• FRSBs are interest-bearing, non-tradeable bonds issued by the Government of India that are repayable on the expiration of seven years from the date of issue.
• Eligibility: The bonds may be held by
  • A person resident in India, in her or his individual capacity, or in individual capacity on a joint basis, or in individual capacity on any one or survivor basis, or on behalf of a minor as father/mother/legal guardian.
  • A Hindu undivided family.
• Non-Resident Indians (NRI) are not eligible to invest in these bonds.
• Minimum Subscription: The bonds will be issued for a minimum amount of Rs. 1000 (face value) and in multiples thereof.
• Maximum Limit: There will be no maximum limit for investment in the bonds.
• A certificate of holding will be issued to the customer as proof of subscription.
• The bonds will be issued only in the electronic form called the Bond Ledger Account (BLA).
• Contributions to the bonds can be made in cash (up to ₹20,000/- only)/ drafts/cheques.
• Interest Rate:
  • The interest on the bonds is payable semi-annually on 1st January and 1st July every year.
  • The interest rate of the bond would be re-set half-yearly in sync with the coupon payment date.
  • It is linked to the prevailing National Savings Certificate (NSC) rate with a spread of (+) 35 bps over the respective NSC rate.
  • There is no option to pay interest on a cumulative basis.
• Repayment/Tenure:
  • The bonds shall be repayable on the expiration of Seven years from the date of issue.
  • Premature redemption shall be allowed for specified categories of senior citizens.
• Tax Treatment: Interest received will be taxable under the Income-tax Act, 1961, as amended from time to time and as applicable according to the relevant tax status of the Bond holder.
• Transferability: The Bonds held to the credit of Bond Ledger Account (BLA) of an investor shall not be transferable, except transfer to a nominee(s) legal heir in case of the death of the holder of the Bonds.
• Tradability /Advances: The bonds shall not be tradable in the secondary market and shall not be eligible as collateral for loans from banks, financial Institutions, and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) etc.

RBI-Retail Direct Scheme

• It was launched on November 12, 2021, as a one-stop solution to facilitate investment in Government Securities by individual investors.
• Under the scheme, individual investors are permitted to open a Retail Direct Gilt account with the RBI using an online portal, through which investments in government Securities can be made in primary and secondary markets.
• There are 4 kinds of government securities you can invest in through the RBI Retail Direct platform:
  • Government of India Treasury Bills (T-Bills)
  • Government of India Dated Securities (Dated G-Sec or Government Bonds)
  • State Development Loans (SDLs)
  • Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB)

Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda inaugurates National Tribal Festival at Vastrapur Hat in Ahmedabad

Aadi Mahotsav

• The mega event is being organised by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED).
• It serves as a unique, symbiotic bridge to embark on a journey through the tapestry of India''s indigenous heritage.
• In this event, a total of over 100 stalls would showcase the kaleidoscope of India''s tribal culture, craftsmanship, culinary artistry, and economic endeavours.
• This Aadi Mahotsav, besides other attractions of handicrafts, handloom, pottery, jewellery, will be showcasing ‘Millets grown by Tribals’.

TRIFED

• It is a national-level organisation under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
• It is primarily engaged in the development and marketing of tribal handicrafts and natural products.
• It came into existence in 1987 and got registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 1984 (now the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002).
• Mandate: Capability enhancement for Tribals, promotion of tribal products, and creation of marketing opportunities for the Tribals with a view to ensuring remunerative prices for their products and augmenting their income on a sustainable basis.
• It has been entrusted by the Government of India to implement its proposed Minimum Support Price Scheme for Minor Forest Produce.
• Head Office: New Delhi

Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojna (PM-AJAY)

Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhuyday Yojana

• It is a merged scheme of three Centrally Sponsored Schemes, namely Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana (PMAGY), Special Central Assistance to Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCA to SCSP), and Babu Jagjivan Ram Chhatrawas Yojana (BJRCY).
• Aim:
  • To reduce poverty of the SC communities by generation of additional employment opportunities through Skill development, income generating schemes and other initiatives
  • To improve socio-economic developmental indicators by ensuring adequate infrastructure and requisite services in the SC dominated villages.
• The Scheme has three components:
  • Development of SC dominated villages into an “Adarsh Gram”: The objective of this component is to ensure integrated development of SC majority villages so that, inter alia, there is:, Adequate infrastructure; all requisite infrastructure necessary for socio-economic development needs is to be provided under the Scheme.
  • ‘Grants-in-aid’ for District/State-level Projects for socio-economic betterment of SCs that may include creation of infrastructure in SC dominated villages including those selected under Adarsh Gram component, construction of Hostels/Residential schools.
  • Comprehensive Livelihood Projects which may include components such as Skill development, related infrastructure development, financial assistance towards loans taken by beneficiaries for acquisition/creation of assets required for livelihood generation etc.
  • Construction of Hostels in higher educational institutions which are top-ranked as per the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) of Government of India and are funded by the Centre/State/UT Governments either fully or partially.

Exercise harimau shakti-2023” commenced in umroi cantt, india

Exercise Harimau Shakti 2023

• It is a joint bilateral training exercise between Indian & Malaysian Armed Forces.
• The Malaysian Army contingent comprises troops from the 5th Royal Battalion of the Malaysian Army. The Indian contingent is being represented by a battalion of the Rajput Regiment.
• Aim: To enhance military capability for conducting of Multi Domain Operations in a sub conventional scenario.
• During the exercise, both contingents will establish a Joint Command Post & establish an integrated surveillance grid along with a Joint Surveillance Centre.
• Both sides will rehearse employment of joint forces in jungle/ semi urban / urban environment. In addition, intelligence collection, collation and dissemination drills will also be rehearsed.
• The Exercise will also witness employment of Drones/UAVs & Helicopters. Two sides will also practice casualty management and evacuation drills.
• Both the contingents will discuss logistics management and practice survival training at the Battalion level.
• The training will focus primarily on high degree of physical fitness, conduct of drills at tactical level and sharing of best practices with each other.
• The Exercise will culminate with a 48-hour long validation exercise in a semi-urban area.
• Last edition of the Exercise was conducted in Pulai, Kluang, Malaysia in November 2022.

Cognitive Computing Market Share, Size, Trends Analysis, Report 2023-2028

Cognitive Computing

• Cognitive computing is the use of computerised models to simulate the human thought process in complex situations where the answers might be ambiguous and uncertain.
• It is an attempt to have computers mimic the way the human brain works.
• The goal is to create intelligent systems that can adapt and make decisions similar to the way humans would.
• To accomplish this, cognitive computing uses artificial intelligence (AI) and other underlying technologies, including the following:
  • Expert systems.
  • Neural networks.
  • Machine learning.
  • Deep learning.
  • Natural language processing (NLP)
  • Speech recognition.
  • Object recognition.
  • Robotics.
• It uses these processes in conjunction with self-learning algorithms, data analysis, and pattern recognition to teach computing systems.
• Cognitive computing applications analyse patterns and apply machine learning to replicate human capabilities such as deduction, learning, perception, and reasoning.
• Unlike traditional programmed systems, cognitive computing solutions can analyse large amounts of unstructured data from various sources and identify patterns and insights.
• They can interpret text, images, and speech and make connections across data. Over time, these systems continue to learn from their interactions and experiences.
• The learning technology can be used for sentiment analysis, risk assessments, and face detection.
• In addition, cognitive computing is particularly useful in fields such as healthcare, banking, finance, and retail.

New software tool provides a way for safer design of genome editing

• For about a decade, researchers have used the CRISPR technology for genome editing. However, there are some challenges in the use of CRISPR.
• The first challenge is that the phenotypic, or observable, effects caused by unexpected CRISPR dynamics are not quantitatively monitored.
• A second challenge is that the CRISPR technology generally depends on basic genomic data, including the reference genome. The reference genome is like a template that provides researchers with general information on the genome. Unexpected sequence editing with mismatches can occur. These off-target sites are always unexpected.
• The DANGER analysis overcomes these challenges and allows researchers to perform safer on- and off-target assessments without a reference genome.
• The discovery holds the potential for applications in medicine, agriculture, and biological research.

DANGER (Deleterious and ANticipatable Guides Evaluated by RNA-Sequencing)

• DANGER analysis is a new software tool that makes genome editing safer by overcoming limitations in current CRISPR technology.
• Unlike traditional methods that rely on a reference genome, DANGER works by conducting risk-averse on- and off-target assessments using RNA-sequencing data.
• It evaluates phenotypic effects based on gene expression changes caused by deleterious off-target sites.
• The software quantifies the phenotypic risk at the gene ontology level without the need for a reference genome.
• The tool successfully evaluated the phenotypic effects of gene editing in human cells and zebrafish brains.
• It can be performed on various organisms, personal human genomes, and atypical genomes created by diseases and viruses.
• The open-source nature of the software allows for its adaptation to different genome editing systems beyond CRISPR-Cas9.

Genome editing

• It is a method that lets scientists change the DNA of many organisms, including plants, bacteria, and animals.
• Editing DNA can lead to changes in physical traits, like eye colour, and disease risk.
• Scientists use different technologies to do this.
• These technologies act like scissors, cutting the DNA at a specific spot. Then scientists can remove, add, or replace the DNA where it was cut.

CRISPR-Cas9

• CRISPR is short for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, which is a reference to the clustered and repetitive sequences of DNA found in bacteria, whose natural mechanism to fight some viral diseases is replicated in this gene-editing tool.
• Its mechanism is often compared to the ‘cut-copy-paste’, or ‘find-replace’ functionalities in common computer programmes.
• A bad stretch in the DNA sequence, which is the cause of disease or disorder, is located, cut, and removed — and then replaced with a ‘correct’ sequence. And the tools used to achieve this are not mechanical, but biochemical — specific protein and RNA molecules.
• The technology replicates a natural defence mechanism in some bacteria that uses a similar method to protect itself from virus attacks.

Pentagon rushes defences and advisers to Middle East as Israel''s ground assault in Gaza looms

Patriot Air Defence Missile System

• The Patriot (MIM-104), which stands for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target, is the S. Army’s most advanced air defense system.
• It is an all-weather surface-to-air missile defense system to counter tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and advanced aircraft.
• It was developed by Raytheon, an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate.
• The system was first used in combat during the 1991 Gulf War, with batteries protecting Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Israel, and was later used during the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
• It is in service with the US and allied countries, including Germany, Greece, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Poland, Sweden, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Romania, Spain, and Taiwan.
• Features:
  • It is a mobile system that usually includes powerful radar, a control station, a power generator, launch stations, and other support vehicles.
  • Depending on the version in use, the interceptor missiles can reach an altitude of more than 24 kilometres and hit targets up to 160 kilometres away.
  • Its radar can track up to 50 targets and engage five of them at once.
  • It is equipped with a track-via-missile (TVM) guidance system. Midcourse correction commands are transmitted to the guidance system from the mobile engagement control centre.
  • A Patriot battery can need as many as 90 troops to operate and maintain it.

Mycena fungi are evolving to have living hosts

Mycena

• Mycena is a large genus of small saprotrophic mushrooms in the family Mycenaceae.
• The genus is now known to include about 500 species worldwide.
• Habitat: They can be found on decaying wood, leaf litter, or soil, and they often appear in clusters or small groups.
• Features:
  • Most of the species are extremely small mushrooms, rarely exceeding a few centimeters in diameter and often only reaching diameters of a few millimeters.
  • Majority of species are grey, brown, and white in color, while a few are brightly colored.
  • They are characterized by a white spore print, a small conical or bell-shaped cap, and a thin, fragile stem.
  • Most have a translucent and striate cap, which rarely has an incurved margin.
  • These mushrooms have closely spaced, free, or attached gills that run down the stem. The gill color can be white, cream, or pinkish.
  • Mycenas are hard to identify as species, and some are distinguishable only by microscopic features such as the shape of the cystidia.
  • Some species are known to be edible, while some are known to contain toxins, but most of them are not known, as they are too small to be useful in cooking.
  • Some species are bioluminescent, meaning they can emit a faint, greenish glow in low-light conditions.