Veer Guardian

• Indian Air Force (IAF) and Japanese Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) are set to hold their maiden bilateral air exercise, Veer Guardian.
• The air exercise will take place at Hyakuri air base and Iruma air base in Japan.
• The exercise aims to promote mutual understanding and strengthen defense cooperation between the Air Forces and enhance JASDF’s tactical skills.
• The IAF is fielding four Su-30MKI fighters and the JASDF would be fielding four F-15s and four F-2 fighter jets for the exercise.
• Japan also participated for the first time in the multilateral exercise MILAN hosted by the Navy early this year.
• The two countries also operationalized the logistics support agreement, Reciprocal Provision of Supply and Services Agreement, in March this year.

Battle of Wandiwash

• Battle of Wandiwash, (Jan. 22, 1760), in the history of India, a confrontation between the French, under the comte de Lally, and the British, under Sir Eyre Coote.
• It was the decisive battle in the Anglo-French struggle in southern India during the Seven Years’ War (1756–63).
• Lally, cut off from sea support by the withdrawal of Admiral d’Aché’s fleet and hampered by a lack of funds and by dissensions among his troops, tried to recover the fort of Wandiwash near Pondicherry.
• There he was attacked and routed by Coote, with about 1,700 British troops against about 2,000 French.
• Lally’s best general, the marquis de Bussy, was captured.
• The French were thereafter confined to Pondicherry, which surrendered on Jan. 16, 1761, after much privation.
• Lally was later imprisoned and executed, after a trial in Paris, for alleged treason.
• The victory in Vandavasi was one of the successes of Coote who went on to defeat Hyder Ali of Mysore (1722-1782) in June 1781 at Parangipettai (Porto Novo).

National Investment and Infrastructure (NIIF) Fund

• It is the first sovereign wealth fund of India.
• It was founded to provide infrastructure investment for maximizing the economic impact of the commercially available projects.
• It is registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) under SEBI Regulations, 2012 as a Category II Alternate Investment Fund (AIF).
• It provides long-term capital for infra-related projects.
• The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) is currently managing three funds namely: Master Fund, Fund of Funds, and Strategic Fund.

Sand Battery

• A sand battery is a high temperature thermal energy storage that uses sand or sand-like materials as its storage medium.
• It stores energy in sand as heat.
• Its main purpose is to work as a high-power and high-capacity reservoir for excess wind and solar energy.
• Sand is a very effective medium for retaining heat over a long period, storing power for months at a time.
• The sand has a very long lifetime: it can heat up and cool off any number of times.
• Sand is a terrible conductor of electricity.

Cervical Cancer

• Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that occurs in the cells of the cervix, the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina.
• Various strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, play a role in causing most cervical cancer.
• HPV doesn't only affect women.
• Anyone with a cervix can get cervical cancer.
• This includes women, trans men, non-binary people, and intersex people with a cervix.
• The preventable and curable cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in Indian women.
• India is expected to roll out the indigenously developed CERVAVAC vaccine by mid-2023.
• The vaccine has received the Drugs Controller General of India’s approval and has been cleared by the government.