Most Probable Topics (101-200)

9. INS Arihant is a part of Indian Navy’s secretive Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project operated under the supervision of the Prime Minister’s Office and closely monitored by agencies such as the Department of Atomic Energy and the Submarine Design Group of the Directorate of Naval Design.The INS Arihant was built at the Ship Building Centre at    It is capable of carrying nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles.

10.Barak 8 Missile

– India tested Barak 8 long-range surface-to-air missile system (LRSAM) jointly developed by DRDO, Israeli Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

-fitted with advanced radio frequency/infrared homing seekers, have an interception range of 70-100 km.

– it will equip all frontline Indian warships as an all-weather defense shield against incoming enemy’s fighters, drones, helicopters, missiles and other munitions.

11.HAL Tejas

The HAL Tejas is an Indian single-engine, multirole light fighter designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy. It came from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India’s ageing MiG-21 fighters. In 2003, the LCA was officially named “Tejas”.

• It integrates technologies such as relaxed static stability, fly-by-wire flight control system, multi-mode radar, integrated digital avionics system and composite material structures.
• It is the smallest and lightest in its class of contemporary supersonic combat aircraft.
• The Tejas is the second supersonic fighter developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) after the HAL HF-24 Marut.

12. CHINOOK helicoptors

• developed by Boeing
• will boost heavy lift capabilities of Indian Air Force

13. Dhanush

-It is the first long-range artillery gun to be produced in India. It is an upgraded version, based on the original design of the Swedish 155-mm Bofors howitzers, which India procured in the mid1980s.

14. Inclusive Internet Index

• Released by The Economic Intelligence Unit
• India’s Rank– 47
• It measures inclusiveness based on four categories:-
• Accessibility (network coverage), Affordability (pricing), Relevance (availability of local-language content) and Readiness (capability to access internet).

15. Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan’ (PMGDISHA)

• It was launched in 2017 to make 6 crore rural households digitally literate by March 2019.
• It is expected to be one of the largest Digital Literacy Programmes in the world.
• Under the scheme, 25 lakh candidates will be trained in the FY 2016-17; 275 lakh in the FY 2017-18; and 300 lakh in the FY 2018-19.
• To ensure equitable geographical reach, each of the 250,000 Gram Panchayats would be expected to register an average of 200-300 candidates.

16. 5G

5G (from “5th Generation”) is the latest generation of cellular mobile communications. It succeeds the 4G (LTE/WiMax), 3G (UMTS) and 2G (GSM) systems. 5G performance targets high data rate, reduced latency, energy saving, cost reduction, higher system capacity, and massive device connectivity. The first phase of 5G specifications in Release-15 will be completed by April 2019 . The second phase in Release-16 is due to be completed by April 2020 .

17.Evolved High Speed Packet Access

Evolved High Speed Packet Access, or HSPA+, or HSPA(Plus), or HSPAP is a technical standard for wireless broadband telecommunication.HSPA+ can achieve data rates of up to 42.2 Mbit/s.It introduces antenna array technologies such as beamforming and multiple-input multiple-output communications (MIMO). The technology also delivers significant battery life improvements and dramatically quicker wake-from-idle time, delivering a true always-on connection. HSPA+ is an evolution of HSPA that upgrades the existing 3G network and provides a method for telecom operators to migrate towards 4G speeds that are more comparable to the initially available speeds of newer LTE networks without deploying a new radio interface. HSPA+ should not be confused with LTE though, which uses an air interface based on Orthogonal frequency-division multiple access modulation and multiple access.

18. CERT-In

 It is the national nodal agency under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for responding to computer security incidents as and when they occur, operational since January 2004.

GravityRAT– Malware detected recently by Maharashtra cybercrime department.

19. LTE- Long Term Evolution

Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless broadband communication for mobile devices and data terminals, based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA technologies. It increases the capacity and speed using a different radio interface together with core network improvements.

• LTE is commonly marketed as 4G LTE & Advance 4G, but it does not meet the technical criteria of a 4G wireless service.
• LTE is also commonly known as 3.95G.

20. Other wireless communication technologies-

• ZigBee
• WiMax
• EnOcean
• WiFiHaLow

21. Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

 It occurs when microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change in ways that render the medications used to cure the infections and causing them ineffective.

Government has proposed a ban on the use of antibiotic colistin that is widely for nontherapeutic purposes such as growth promotion and disease prevention in poultry, farming and aquaculture in India which increases antibiotic resistance in humans.

Colistin belongs to a group of antibiotics called polymixins which are termed “critically important by WHO. It is used when no other antibiotic works.

22. WHO has announced that Nepal has eliminated Trachoma and became the first country in South East Asia to do so.

 It is a chronic infective eye disease caused by infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis which is transmitted through contact with eye and nose discharge of infected people, particularly young children who are most vulnerable to the infection.  It is also spread by flies which come in contact with the infected person and is most common under poor environment, low personal hygiene and inadequate access to water.  It is one of the causes of the avoidable blindness and one of the 18 Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD).

23. DASSAULT RAFALE

• The Dassault Rafale is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation.
• Equipped with a wide range of weapons, the Rafale is intended to perform air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence missions. The Rafale is referred to as an “omnirole” aircraft by Dassault.
• 4TH Generation fighter jet
• Introduced in 2001, the Rafale is being produced for both the French Air Force and for carrier-based operations in the French Navy. The Rafale has been marketed for export to several countries, and was selected for purchase by the Indian Air Force, the Egyptian Air Force, and the Qatar Air Force.

24. Stealth Aircraft

• Stealth aircraft are designed to avoid detection using a variety of technologies that reduce reflection/emission of radar, infrared,visible light, radio frequency (RF) spectrum, and audio, collectively known as stealth technology.
• Stealth is the combination of passive low observable (LO) features and active emitters such as low-probability-of-intercept radars, radios and laser designators.
• The U.S. is the only country to have used stealth aircraft in combat.

In service Stealth aircrafts-

United StatesB-2 Spirit – Northrop Grumman

United StatesF-22 Raptor – Lockheed Martin

United StatesF-35 Lightning II – Lockheed Martin

ChinaChengdu J-20 – Chengdu Aircraft Corporation

• India and Russia are jointly working on development of stealth aircraft technology.

25. Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

• The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union.
• It became the most-produced supersonic jet aircraft in aviation history, the most-produced combat aircraft since the Korean War and previously the longest production run of a combat aircraft (now exceeded by both the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon).
• India is the largest operator of MiG-21s.
• MiG-21 became the first supersonic fighter jet to enter service with the IAF.
• Mig 21 Bison- Modernized version being used by India.
• 2nd generation fighter jet

26. General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon

• The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics (now Lockheed Martin) for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft.
• F-16 was the first fighter aircraft purpose-built to pull 9-g maneuvers and can reach a maximum speed of over Mach 2.
• The F-16 is the first production fighter aircraft intentionally designed to be slightly aerodynamically unstable, also known as “relaxed static stability” (RSS), to improve maneuverability.
• The AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile, or AMRAAM is a modern American beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) capable of all-weather day-and-night operations- was fired by Pakistani F-16 on India in Feb,2019.

27. Cryogenics

• In physics, cryogenics is the production and behaviour of materials at very low temperatures.
• A gas is said to be cryogenic if it can be liquefied at or below −150 °C (123 K; −238 °F).

Use in Launch Vehicles-

Cryogenic fuels for rockets with liquid hydrogen as the most widely used example. Liquid oxygen (LOX) is even more widely used but as an oxidizer, not a fuel.

28. GSLV/Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

The GSLV is designed mainly to deliver the communication-satellites to the highly elliptical (typically 250 x 36000 Km) Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). The satellite in GTO is further raised to its final destination, viz., Geo-synchronous Earth orbit (GEO) of about 36000 Km altitude (and zero deg inclination on equatorial plane) by firing its in-built on-board engines.

Due to their geo-synchronous nature, the satellites in these orbits appear to remain permanently fixed in the same position in the sky, as viewed from a particular location on Earth, thus avoiding the need of a tracking ground antenna and hence are useful for the communication applications.

GSLV Mk III is designed to carry 4 ton class of satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) or about 10 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is about twice the capability of GSLV Mk II.

29.PSLV/Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

PSLV is designed mainly to deliver the “earth-observation” or “remote-sensing” satellites with lift-off mass of up to about 1750 Kg to Sun-Synchronous circular polar orbits of 600-900 Km altitude.

The remote sensing satellites orbit the earth from pole-to-pole (at about 98 deg orbital-plane inclination). An orbit is called sun-synchronous when the angle between the line joining the centre of the Earth and the satellite and the Sun is constant throughout the orbit.

Due to their sun-synchronism nature, these orbits are also referred to as “Low Earth Orbit (LEO)” which enables the on-board camera to take images of the earth under the same sun-illumination conditions during each of the repeated visits, the satellite makes over the same area on ground thus making the satellite useful for earth resources monitoring.

The PSLV is also used to launch the satellites of lower lift-off mass of up to about 1400 Kg to the elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).

PSLV is a four-staged launch vehicle with first and third stage using solid rocket motors and second and fourth stages using liquid rocket engines. It also uses strap-on motors to augment the thrust provided by the first stage, and depending on the number of these strap-on boosters, the PSLV is classified into its various versions like core-alone version (PSLV-CA), PSLV-G or PSLV-XL variants.

30. Scramjet Engine/ Supersonic Combustion Ramjet

The Scramjet engine designed by ISRO uses Hydrogen as fuel and the Oxygen from the atmospheric air as the oxidiser.

A ramjet is a form of air-breathing jet engine that uses the vehicle’s forward motion to compress incoming air for combustion without a rotating compressor. Fuel is injected in the combustion chamber where it mixes with the hot compressed air and ignites. A ramjet-powered vehicle requires an assisted take-off like a rocket assist to accelerate it to a speed where it begins to produce thrust.

Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds around Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound) and can operate up to speeds of Mach 6. However, the ramjet efficiency starts to drop when the vehicle reaches hypersonic speeds.

A scramjet engine is an improvement over the ramjet engine as it efficiently operates at hypersonic speeds and allows supersonic combustion. Thus it is known as Supersonic Combustion Ramjet, or Scramjet.

India is the fourth country to demonstrate the flight testing of a Scramjet Engine.

31. Chandrayaan-2 Mission

• Chandrayaan-2, India’s second mission to the Moon is a totally indigenous mission comprising of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover. After reaching the 100 km lunar orbit, the Lander housing the Rover will separate from the Orbiter. After a controlled descent, the Lander will soft land on the lunar surface at a specified site and deploy a Rover.
• The mission will carry a six-wheeled Rover which will move around the landing site in semi-autonomous mode as decided by the ground commands. The instruments on the rover will observe the lunar surface and send back data, which will be useful for analysis of the lunar soil.
• The Chandrayaan-2 weighing around 3290 kg and would orbit around the moon and perform the objectives of remote sensing the moon. The payloads will collect scientific information on lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, lunar exosphere and signatures of hydroxyl and water-ice.

32. GAGANYAAN MISSION

• ISRO & ROSCOSMOS( Russia) to work together on the project
• India’s 1st manned space mission
• 3 humans will be sent into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) by 2022
• For 5-7 days
• 3 astronauts will conduct experiments on microgravity in space
• Only 3 nations have sent humans into space till date- USA, Russia and China
• 10,000-crore mission will be a turning point in India’s space journey.
• Isro has developed some critical technologies like re-entry mission capability, crew escape system, crew module configuration, thermal protection system, deceleration and flotation system, sub-systems of life support system required for Mission Gaganyaan.

33. Aditya-L1

Aditya-L1 is a spacecraft whose mission is to study the Sun. It was conceptualised by the Advisory Committee for Space Research in January 2008.It has been designed and will be built in collaboration between Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and various Indian research organizations and will be launched by ISRO around 2021 .

The scope of the mission has since been expanded and it is now planned to be a comprehensive solar and space environment observatory to be placed at the Lagrangian point L1.

Lagrangian Point

Lagrangian points are the points near two large bodies in orbit where a smaller object will maintain its position relative to the large orbiting bodies. At other locations, a small object would go into its own orbit around one of the large bodies, but at the Lagrangian points the gravitational forces of the two large bodies, the centripetal force of orbital motion, and (for certain points) the Coriolis acceleration all match up in a way that cause the small object to maintain a stable or nearly stable position relative to the large bodies.

There are five such points, labeled L1 to L5, all in the orbital plane of the two large bodies, for each given combination of two orbital bodies.

34. International Space Station

• The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit.
• Its first component was launched into orbit in 1998, with the first long-term residents arriving in November 2000.
• The station is expected to operate until 2030.
• The ISS is the largest human-made body in low Earth orbit and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth.
• It serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and other fields.

• The ISS programme is a joint project between five participating space agencies:

• NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada)

• It was also planned to provide transportation, maintenance, and act as a staging base for possible future missions to the Moon, Mars and asteroids.

35. UNISPACE NANOSATELLITE ASSEMBLY & TRAINING PROGRAMME (UNNATI)

• launched by ISRO
• initiative to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first United Nations conference on the exploration and peaceful uses of outer space (UNISPACE+50)
• It is a capacity building programme on Nanosatellite development .
• Nanosatellite is any satellite with mass from 1kg to 10kg.

36. INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE PERIODIC TABLE OF CHEMICAL ELEMENTS – 2019

• The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2019 as the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements to celebrate its 150 years.
• Russian scientist Dmitry Mendeleev published the first periodic table in 1869. He organized all chemical elements by the atomic mass (number of protons & neutrons) and other chemical properties.
• Modern periodic table, managed by the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is arranged on the basis of atomic number rather than atomic mass.
• UNESCO and the 1001 Inventions organization will launch a new educational initiative celebrating 2019 International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements (IYPT2019) – a yearlong initiative to raise awareness of chemistry and its applications for sustainable development.

37. Rare Diseases

• Minister of Health and Family Welfare has approved a proposal for adding a subcomponent under the umbrella scheme of Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) for provision of one-time financial assistance to those below threshold poverty line for specified rare diseases which require one-time treatment.
• WHO defines rare disease as often debilitating lifelong disease or disorder condition with a prevalence of 1 or less, per 1000 population.
• 80% of rare diseases are genetic in origin – disproportionately impact children.
• These are also called ‘orphan diseases’  because drug companies are not interesting in addressing them due to low profitability.
• Most common rare diseases include-  Haemophilia, Thalassemia, Sickle-cell Anaemia, auto-immune diseases.

–Karnataka is the first state to release a Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs Policy.

38.Leprosy

• Leprosy Case Detection Campaign of the National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) indicated an all-time high of nearly 50,000 new leprosy cases in Bihar.
• India was officially declared to have eliminated leprosy in 2005
• India still accounts for the largest number of leprosy affected people in the world (58 per cent).
• caused by Mycobacterium leprae and is highly contagious.
• The bacteria has a long incubation period
• The disease mainly affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, the mucosa of the upper respiratory tract and the eyes.
• It is curable and treatment provided in the early stages averts disability.
• WHO launched The Global Leprosy Strategy 2016–2020: accelerating towards a leprosy-free world
• National Health Mission aims to reduce prevalence of Leprosy to <1/10000 population and incidence to zero in all districts.

39. X- CALIBUR

• Washington University launched telescope named X-Calibur, from Antarctica.
• It intends to measure the polarization of X-rays arriving from distant neutron stars, black holes and other exotic celestial bodies.

40. TRIPLE DRUG THERAPY FOR LYMPHATIC FILARIASIS

• Triple Drug Therapy regime for eradication of Lymphatic Filariasis was launched in city of Nagpur.
• Triple Drug Therapy involves combination of three drugs Ivermectin, Diethylcarbamazine Citrate and Albendazol (Known as IDA).
• WHO has recommended three drug treatment to accelerate the global elimination of lymphatic filariasis. 
• Lymphatic filariasis, a neglected tropical disease is caused by infection with parasitic worms living in the lymphatic system.

41. ULTIMA THULE

 NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft carried out a historic flyby of a distant object called Ultima Thule and sent back its images. 

• Ultima Thule, is a contact binary. That means it is a single object, with two lobes, but the lobes are gently in contact.

42. Shifting Magentic North Pole

It has been reported that the earth’s magnetic north pole is moving from its current position in Canada to Siberia at a much faster rate than earlier expected.

This has forced researchers to make an unprecedented early update to the magnetic model that helps ships, planes and submarines in the Arctic navigate. 

The wandering pole is driven by unpredictable changes in liquid iron deep inside the Earth.

43.BACTERIA WOLBACHIA

Wolbachia is a tiny bacterium that is present in up to 60% of all species of insects, including several mosquito species (except Aedes aegypti mosquito: responsible for transmitting dengue, chikungunya and Zika). The World Mosquito Program introduces Wolbachia into Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Once Wolbachia carrying mosquitoes are released, they breed with wild mosquitoes and over time, the majority of mosquitoes carry Wolbachia.

44. WIPO Copyright Treaty

It is a special agreement under the Berne Convention (for protection of literary and artistic works) that deals with the protection of works and the rights of their authors in the digital environment.

The WCT mentions two subject matters to be protected by copyright: computer programs and compilations of data which constitute intellectual creations.

45. About WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty

 It deals with the rights of two kinds of beneficiaries, particularly in the digital environment:  performers (actors, singers, musicians, etc.); and  producers of phonograms (persons or legal entities that take the initiative and have the responsibility for the fixation of sounds) . It grants them these economic rights: the right of reproduction; the right of distribution; the right of rental and the right of making available. The term of protection must be at least 50 years.

Note- Anything related to WIPO,IPR,Copyrights,Patents ,Trademarks,GIs is generally important for prelims syllabus.

46. Coradia iLint

• world’s first hydrogen fuel cell powered trains rolled out by Germany

 Hydrogen fuel cell

 It is a fuel cell that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity with water and steam as the only biproducts. The excess energy can be stored on board in ion lithium batteries. It is a climate friendly fuel as it does not emit carbon dioxide or particulate matter as the case with conventional fuels like diesel, coal etc.

47. HCNG is a vehicle fuel which is a blend of compressed natural gas and hydrogen, typically 8-50% hydrogen by volume.

 Advantages of HCNG

• No retrofitment required- It does not need any modification of the engine or retrofitment.
• Lower pollutant emissions- It has potential to reduce nitrous oxide (NOx), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (appx 70%) and hydrocarbon emissions (appx 15%) vehicle  emissions compared to traditional CNG.
• Hydrogen addition to natural gas can decrease engine’s unburned hydrocarbons and speed up the combustion process.
• Improves fuel economy- It improves the engine efficiency, lowers fuel consumption  upto 5 per cent as compared to a CNG bus.

The thermal efficiency of both Natural gas and HCNG increases with increase in load which makes it an ideal fuel for high load applications and heavy-duty vehicles.

Delhi is set to be India’s first city to launch hydrogen-enriched CNG (HCNG) buses in 2019.

48. Lithium Ion Batteries

• These are rechargeable batteries having high energy density and commonly used in  consumer electronics.
• It uses intercalated lithium compound instead of metallic lithium as its electrode and is able to store 150 watt-hours electricity per kg of battery.
• Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries cycle 5000 times or more compared to just 400-500 cycles in lead acid.

49. Ocean Services, Technology, Observations, Resources Modelling and Science (O-SMART) Scheme

 It’s an Umbrella scheme under Ministry of Earth Sciences and encompasses a total of 16 sub-projects addressing ocean development activities such as Services, Technology, Resources, Observations and Science.It encompasses a total of 16 sub-projects addressing ocean development activities such as Services, Technology, Resources, Observations and Science.

50. National Science Day

It is celebrated every year on February 28 to mark the discovery of Raman Effect by physicist

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (honoured with Bharat Ratna, Nobel Price and Lenin Peace Prize).  Theme: This year theme was ‘Science for the People and the People for Science’.

51. Centre is proposing to make FASTag compulsory for all commercial vehicles — trucks, taxis and buses. FASTag is a device which uses RFID technology for making toll-payment directly from the prepaid account.

Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) is the use of radio waves to read and capture information stored on a tag attached to an object. A tag can  be read from up to several feet away and does not need to be within direct line-of-sight of the reader to be tracked. It is applied for tracking items or as a pass.

52. World Magentic Model was updated and the location of the Earth’s magnetic north pole was changed. It is estimated that this wandering point is moving away from the Canadian Arctic and towards Russia. Therefore, the magnetic declination, or the difference between the

magnetic north and the true north, is said to be changing with time. The location of the poles, especially the magnetic north, is important for individuals using GPS systems and compasses on their smartphones. In addition, several technological inventions in the field of communications also rely on Earth’s magnetic poles. World Magnetic Model was initially developed by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the British Geological Survey developed to keep track of the changes of the shifting poles.  The wandering pole is driven by unpredictable changes in liquid iron deep inside the Earth.

53. CUSAT STRATOSPHERETROPOSPHERE RADAR (CUSAT ST-205 RADAR)

• Indigenously built radar designed to scan the stratosphere over the Indian ocean for movement of air for precision of weather, especially the monsoon. It uses radio waves to detect the atmospheric perturbations. It is situated at the Cochin University.

54.Hyperspectral imaging vs multi spectral imaging

The main difference between multispectral and hyperspectral is the number of bands and how narrow the bands are. Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) uses continuous and contiguous ranges of wavelengths (e.g. 400 – 1100 nm in steps of 0.1 nm) whilst multispectral imaging (MSI) uses a subset of targeted wavelengths at chosen locations (e.g. 400 – 1100 nm in steps of 20 nm). Hyperspectral imagery consists of much narrower bands (10-20 nm). A hyperspectral image could have hundreds or thousands of bands. In general, it comes from an imaging spectrometer.

55. Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR)

It is an all-pervasive, but weak, electromagnetic radiation from the early universe, about 3,80,000 years after the Big Bang when matter was still to be formed. Most cosmologists consider this radiation to be the best evidence for the hot big bang model of the universe.  This radiation does not come from any of the objects that we see in the universe, like stars or galaxies but from a time when matter and radiation were in thermodynamic equilibrium.  The spectrum produced by CMBR is very smooth. It does, however, contain small wiggles, or deformities, in its shape. Each of these wiggles has valuable encoded information about specific events that took place as the first stars were born.

Scientists from the Raman Research Institute in Bengaluru have conducted an experiment for

detection of Cosmic Microwave back ground radiation in Timbaktu in Andhra Pradesh.

56. BIMSTEC is a regional organization comprising seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.

This sub-regional organization came into being on 6 June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration.

 Its Secretariat has been established at Dhaka.

57. OPCW

• It was established in the year 1997 with headquarter at The Hague, Netherlands.
• The OPCW Member States share the collective goal of preventing chemistry from ever again being used for warfare, thereby strengthening international security. It is the implementing body for the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons.
• It has membership of 193 countries.
• India is a member.
• Israel has signed but not ratified the Convention.
• Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan have neither signed nor acceded.

58. Five Caspian Sea States – Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan– Important for Map- They signed Caspian Sea breakthrough Treaty recently.

59. Brexit is the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU), following a referendum held on 23 June 2016 in which 51.9 per cent of those voting supported leaving the EU. The invocation of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty set a two-year process which was due to conclude with the UK’s exit on 29 March 2019.

Read about EU.

Conflict Zones and Ethic Tribes of the world

60. Iraq (The Yazidis)

The Yazidis are an ancient ethnic and religious minority who live primarily in the Nineveh Province of Northern Iraq. In August 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) launched a coordinated assault on the Yazidi homeland of Sinjar.

61. Burma/Myanmar (The Rohingya)

The Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim ethnic group living in Burma’s western Rakhine State. They are effectively stateless, being denied citizenship in both Burma and Bangladesh.

62. Syria Civil War

In early 2011, Syrians began a peaceful uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Assad regime cracked down with extreme violence, which escalated into civil war. Initially, the main parties in the conflict were the Assad regime versus the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the democratic opposition.

Islamist extremist groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State soon entered the war, and the FSA struggled to preserve its influence.

• Hezbollah, a militant Islamist party based in Lebanon, began fighting on behalf of the Assad regime, and Kurdish militias took a more active role in the conflict in an attempt to establish and protect their own territory.

63. South Kordofan & Blue Nile , Nuba Mountains ,Sudan

64. Darfur Genocide, Sudan

The first genocide of the 21st century, the Darfur genocide has caused the deaths of approximately 400,000 Darfuris, and displaced more than three million people.

65. Lebanon and Operation Northern Shield by Israel

Israel launched Operation Northern Shield in December 2018 and the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon confirmed that at least two of the tunnels violate a 2006 cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.

66. Ukraine and Crimea 

67. Boko Haram in Nigeria

Since 2011, Boko Haram—one of the largest Islamist militant groups in Africa—has conducted terrorist attacks on religious and political groups, local police, and the military, as well as indiscriminately attacking civilians in busy markets and villages.

68. Yemen Civil War –Houthi Rebels

Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when Houthi insurgents—Shiite rebels with links to Iran and a history of rising up against the Sunni government—took control of Yemen’s capital and largest city, Sana’a, demanding lower fuel prices and a new government.

69. Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Nagorno-Karabakh—the border region claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan—is at risk of renewed hostilities due to the failure of mediation efforts, increased militarization, and frequent cease-fire violations.

70. Moro Conflict – Philippines

The Moro conflict was an insurgency in the Mindanao region of the Philippines, which lasted between 1969 and 2019.    

71 .Sistan and Balochistan insurgency

The Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency, part of the Balochistan conflict, began approximately in 2004 and is an ongoing low-intensity asymmetric conflict in Sistan and Baluchestan Province between Iran and several Baloch Sunni militant organizations which are designated as terrorist organizations by Iran.

72. Catalonia- Spain

Catalonia is a semi-autonomous region in north-east Spain with a distinct history dating back almost 1,000 years.

The drive for Catalan independence captured the world’s attention in October 2017, when a banned referendum on the issue was met with a heavy police crackdown.

73. Disputed Islands of South China sea

• Pratas Islands
• Macclesfield Bank
• Spratly islands
• Scarborough shoal

74. Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF)

It is an informal, apolitical, multilateral counterterrorism (CT) platform, launched in 2011. It develops good practices and tools for policy-makers and practitioners to strengthen CT civilian capabilities, national strategies, action plans and training modules.

India is a founding member of GCTF.

75. Uyghurs are ethnically Turkic Muslims living primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China and are recognized as ethnic minorities in China.

76. The Kerch Strait is a strait connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia’s Krasnodar Krai in the east.

77. US has decided to withdraw Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits on 94 products for all countries. Generalized System of Preferences is a non-reciprocal preferential tariff system which provides for exemption from the Most Favored Nation principle of World Trade Organization. It involves reduced MFN tariffs or duty free entry of eligible products exported by beneficiary countries (developed countries) to markets of donor countries (developing countries). It was adopted at UNCTAD Conference in 1968 and later enacted by General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (now WTO) in 1971. The objective of GSP was to give development support to poor countries by promoting capacity development and trade.

78. Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA)

– security agreement signed between India and USA during 2+2 dialogue

-It is one of the four foundational agreements that the U.S. signs with allies and close partners to facilitate interoperability between militaries and sale of high end technology.

79. E-vidyabharti and e-AarogyaBharati (e-VBAB) Network Project in Africa

• Tele education and tele medicine projects as extension of the Pan-African eNetwork Project fully funded by India in Africa.
• Under the Pan African e-Network Project, India had set up a fibre-optic network to provide satellite connectivity, telemedicine and tele-education to countries of Africa. TCIL, a Government of India undertaking, is implementing the project on behalf of Government of India.

80. Duqm Port

 India got access to strategic Oman port Duqm for military use. Duqm Port is situated on the southeastern seaboard of Oman, overlooking the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. It is strategically located, in close proximity to the Chabahar port in Iran. This is part of India’s maritime strategy to counter Chinese influence and activities in the region.

81. Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA)

It is a USA Act which aims to counter the aggression by Iran, Russia and North Korea through punitive measures.  Under the Act, the Department of State has notified almost all major 39 Russian entities from defence and intelligence sector, dealings with which could make third parties liable to sanctions.

82. S-400

The Russian-built S-400 Triumf   is the world’s most dangerous operationally deployed modern longrange surface-to-air missile system. The S-400 is a mobile system that integrates multifunction radar, autonomous detection and targeting systems, anti-aircraft missile systems, launchers, and a command and control centre.

India Russia signed deal for purchase of S-400 missile system.

83. India-Central Asia Dialogue

First India-Central Asia Dialogue was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan and was co-chaired by the Minister of External Affairs of India.

Participating CA republics-

• Afghanistan,
• Kyrgyz Republic,
• Tajikistan,
• Turkmenistan,
• Uzbekistan ,
• Kazakhstan

Ashgabat Agreement: India has acceded to the Ashgabat Agreement, an international transport and transit corridor facilitating transportation of goods between Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.

Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI): It is the proposed natural gas pipeline that runs from Galkynysh field (Turkmenistan) – Herat – Kandahar – Multan – Fazilika (PakIndia Border).

84. East Asia Summit (EAS)

• It is an annual meeting of regional countries which was started in 2005. It is an ASEANcentred forum which can only be chaired by an ASEAN member.
• The members include 10 Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations plus 8 other nations such as Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the US.

The EAS membership represents around 54% of the world’s population and accounts for  58% of global GDP.

13^th East Asia Summit- Singapore

85. Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) Summit was held in Singapore.

• It is an informal mechanism between India, the US, Australia and Japan, and interpreted as a joint effort to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

86. International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC)

• Multi modal transport corridor signed in 2000 in St. Petersburg with Iran, Russia and India as founding members.
• It was expanded to include 11 new members: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus, Oman, Syria and Bulgaria.
• It aims to link India and Iran via the sea route and then through Iran to the Caspian sea onwards to Central Asia.
• Afghanistan-not a part.

87. Pancheswar Dam Project

It is a bi-national project aimed at energy production and augmenting irrigation in India and Nepal. It is proposed on river Mahakali (known as river Sharda in India), where the river forms the international boundary between Nepal and State of Uttarakhand in India. A Treaty known as “Mahakali Treaty” concerning the integrated development of the Mahakali River, which included Sharda barrage, Tanakpur barrage and Pancheshwar Dam Project, was signed between the Nepal and India in 1996.

88. Geneva Covention

The Geneva Conventions form the basis of modern international humanitarian law, setting out how soldiers and civilians should be treated during the war.

• Adopted in 1949
• The provisions of the conventions apply in peacetime situations, in declared wars, and in conflicts that are not recognised as war by one or more of the parties.
• stringent rules to deal with  “grave breaches”

• Convention I:

This convention protects wounded and infirm soldiers from torture, assaults upon personal dignity, and execution without judgment. It also grants the right to proper medical treatment and care.

• Convention II:

This extends the protections described above to shipwrecked soldiers and other naval forces, including special protections to hospital ships.

• Convention III:

 It defined ‘Prisoner of War,’ and accorded them proper and humane treatment as specified by the first convention. It states that PoW have to be protected against insults and public curiosity as well as acts of violence or intimidation. ICRC describes “PoWs as usually members of the armed forces of one of the parties to a conflict who fall into the hands of the adverse party.”

• Convention IV:

Under this convention, civilians are afforded the same protections.

89. Kishanganga Project

It is a 330 megawatt Run of the River Hydroelectric power project located in Gurez valley in Kashmir. It envisages diversion of water from the Kishenganga River to a power plant in the Jhelum River basin through an underground tunnel and the discharge of the water into the  Wular lake.

90. Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project is a project that will connect the eastern Indian seaport of Kolkata with Sittwe seaport in Rakhine State, Myanmar by sea. In Myanmar, it will then link Sittwe seaport to Paletwa, Chin State via the Kaladan river boat route, and then from Paletwa by road to Mizoram state in Northeast India.

91. Indian Government has approved the Agreement between India and Myanmar on Land Border Crossing. The agreement facilitates regulation and harmonization of already existing free movement rights for people ordinarily residing in the border areas of both countries. It also facilitates movement of people on the basis of valid passports and visas which will enhance economic and social interaction between the two countries.  Recently, two crossing points at Moreh in Manipur and Zokhawthar in Mizoram were opened.  It marked the abolishing of special land entry permission which was previously required for visitors entering the country via land routes.

92. Operation Insaniyat – India’s assistance to Bangladesh In response to the humanitarian crisis being faced on account of the large influx of Rohingya  refugees from Arakan province of Myanmar.

93. International Court of Justice (ICJ) in an advisory opinion has said that Britain has to handover Chagos Archipelago to complete the process of decolonization of Mauritius- for Map based questions.

94. BRICS

95. IBSA

96. SCO

97. INS Kohasa– Indian Navy has commissioned a new airbase INS Kohasa, 100 miles north of Port Blair in the strategically located Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Government has decided to set a joint logistic node at the India’s only tri-services command in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.  It will provide logistical support to all three defence services and will improve utilisation of resources, manpower and remove duplication.

98. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

 It is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia and beyond.   It was established in December 2015 but commenced operation in January 2016 and is headquartered in Beijing. Currently it has 93 approved members with India as a founding member.

India is the second largest shareholder in AIIB with 7.5% voting shares while China holds 26.06% voting shares being the largest.

99.7 Garhwal Rifles Infantry Battalion Group was awarded the United Nations Medal for “selfless service” in the peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.

• UN peacekeepers provide security and the political and peacebuilding support to help countries make the difficult, early transition from conflict to peace. UN deployed its first peacekeeping mission in 1948 to Palestine. Ethiopia, followed by Bangladesh and India were the largest contributors.

100.COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR-TEST-BAN TREATY (CTBT)

• It is a multilateral treaty banning all nuclear explosions for both military and civilian purposes.
• It was negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. It was opened for signature on 24 September 1996.
• The CTBT with its 183 signatories and 163 ratifications is one of the most widely supported arms-control treaties.

• It can only enter into force after it is ratified by eight countries with nuclear technology capacity, namely China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and the United States.

• Of the 44 States included in Annex 2 required for entry into force of the CTBT, all have signed with the exceptions of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), India, and Pakistan.

• Five of the 44 Annex 2 States have signed but not ratified the CTBT; they are China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, and the United States.

• The United States and China are the only remaining NPT Nuclear Weapon States that have not ratified the CTBT.