Exercises participated by India

• Exercise Red Flag 2024 – It is a multi-national air exercise conducted by the USA.
• This is a two-week long air combat training exercise hosted by the United States Air Force in Alaska. 
• The Indian Air Force has deployed Rafale fighter jets in this exercise.
• RIMPAC 2024 – This is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise, held biennially in Hawaii.
• It is a biennial international military exercise hosted by the Commander of the United States Pacific Fleet.
• The Indian Navy is sending the indigenous stealth frigate INS Shivalik to RIMPAC 2024.
• TRILAT 24 – The second edition of India-Mozambique-Tanzania Trilateral Exercise concluded at Nacala, Mozambique recently.
• MIALN 24 – Held under the aegis of the Eastern Naval Command.
• The central aim of MILAN 2024 is to enhance professional interaction between friendly navies and gain experience in multilateral large force operations at sea.
• It was participated by Indian and 16 foreign warships, one Maritime Patrol Aircraft, and delegations from friendly countries.
• It is participated by 58 friendly foreign countries across continents that include USA, Japan, and Russia.

River Sunkoshi

The collaborative effort to clean the Sunkoshi River in Nepal highlights the importance of community involvement and cross-border cooperation in tackling this environmental challenge.

• River Sunkoshi is a part of the Sapta Koshi river system in Nepal.
• River Sunkoshi originates from the Zhangzangbo Glacier in Tibet, merges with River Saptkoshi, joins River Ganga in Bihar, India, and finally drains into the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh.
• Plastic pollution in rivers not only affects local ecosystems but also contributes to marine pollution where rivers drain into oceans.
• River Sunkoshi Cleanup Campaign:
• Organizers – Project CAP (Collaborative Approach for Preventing Plastic Leakages in Rivers) under the PLEASE (Plastic Free Rivers and Seas of South Asia) program.
• Participants – 134 people including members from Civil Society Creasion Nepal, Golanjor Rural Municipality, Youth Cohorts, the Armed Police Force, Nepal Police, and Traffic Police.
• Achievements – Removed 24,575 kg of waste from the Sunkoshi river banks and waste hotspots.
• Opened a new landfill site for waste management.
• Emphasized the importance of individual responsibility and community involvement in environmental conservation.
• Challenges – Rapid urbanization leading to increased waste problems.
• Easy disposal of waste near river banks by locals and passers-by.
• High visibility of single-use plastics like plastic bottles.

Pampa Lake

A team from the Karnataka State Department of Archaeology Museums and Heritage has recently uncovered rock shelter paintings estimated to be around 2,500 years old near Pampa Lake, Karnataka.

• The painting recently discovered was orange-red paintings, located near Pampa Lake.
• The paining depicted a standing bull with a hump being grasped by a stout, striped tiger.
• Vague images of two smaller bulls and other indistinct figures in orange-red can also be seen nearby.
• Pampa Lake is located in Hampi of Karnataka.

Phenome India project

CSIR's 'Phenome India' initiative have successfully enrolled 10,000 volunteers, aiming to develop India-specific models for cardio-metabolic disease prediction.

• Phenome India project is also known as Phenome India-CSIR Health Cohort Knowledgebase (PI-CHeCK) project.
• PI-CHeCK project is the flagship project designed by CSIR to identify India-specific risk factors for cardio metabolic diseases.
• It is the first ever Pan-India longitudinal study to enable better prediction model for cardio-metabolic diseases in India.
• It is a long-term cohort study initiated by CSIR, aiming to encompass the diverse Indian population.
• Such a study is vital as these diseases have both genetic and lifestyle factors.
• Council of Scientific & Industrial Research – It is a contemporary R&D organization that has a dynamic network of national laboratories, outreach centres, Innovation Complexes, and three units with a pan-India presence.
• It works under the aegis of Ministry of Science and Technology.
• Prime Minister is the Society President of this organisation and minister of science and technology is the vice president of this organization.

Great Trigonometric Survey (GTS) Observatory

The Great Trigonometric Survey (GTS) Observatory was recently demolished by unidentified individuals.

• The Great Trigonometric Survey (GTS) Observatory is a 19th century structure crucial for mapping India that was established by British infantry officer William Lambton under the East India Company.
• It is located at Bengaluru, India.
• It played a crucial role in accurately mapping India and was one of the few such structures across the country.
• Despite its historical significance, the Archaeological Survey of India and the State Department allegedly left the observatory unprotected.
•  Great Observatories Program
• It is a family of 4 space-based observatories each observing the Universe in a different kind of light. They are:
  1. Visible light Hubble Space Telescope
  2. Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory
  3. Chandra X-Ray Observatory
  4. Infrared Spitzer Space Telescope
• NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is the successor to the famous Hubble telescope.
• Great Trigonometric Survey (GTS) Observatory is not part of this program.