What are Tiger Cats?

• Also known as the oncilla, tiger cats are small spotted cats that quietly stalk Central and South America, perfectly adapted for clambering in trees and hunting small prey.
• They are among the shyest and smallest wild cats in the Americas, weighing between 1.5 to 3 kilograms (3.3 to 6.6 pounds), much smaller than most domestic house cats.
• Until recently, they were split into two species: the northern tiger cat (Leopardus tigrinus), and the Atlantic Forest tiger cat (Leopardus guttulus), along with a handful of subspecies.
  • The northern tiger cat is native to the savanna and shrublands of the Guiana Shield and central Brazil, while the Atlantic tiger cat lives further south in forested areas of central to southern Brazil, down through Paraguay and northeastern Argentina.
• Researchers recently concluded that the family includes a third species: the clouded tiger cat (Leopardus pardinoides).

About Clouded Tiger Cat

• It is a new species of forest-dwelling tiger cat.
• Scientific Name:Leopardus pardinoides
• Geographic Distribution: It is found in the cloud forests of the southern Central American and Andean Mountain chains, which stretch from Costa Rica through Panama, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina.
• Features:
  • It is a long-tailed cat with short-round ears, weighing 2.27 kg.
  • The new species has a remarkably margay-looking head, which has a nice dense soft fur of a rich reddish/orangish/grayish-yellow background color adorned with irregularly shaped medium-large ‘cloudy’ rosettes that are strongly marked and often coalesce.
  • Distinctively, it has only one pair of mammae/teats.

Q1: What is Savanna vegetation?

It is a vegetation type that grows under hot, seasonally dry climatic conditions and is characterized by an open tree canopy (i.e., scattered trees) above a continuous tall grass understory (the vegetation layer between the forest canopy and the ground). The largest areas of savanna are found in Africa, South America, Australia and India etc.

Source: Explained: Why this new tiger cat species has the risk of an uncertain future 

About Mount Ruang

• It is a stratovolcano located in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province.
• It is a 725-meter (2,400-foot) volcano.
• The summit of Ruang stands 10,932 feet above sea level, with a caldera that is about two miles wide.

What is a Stratovolcano?

• It is a tall, steep, and cone-shaped type of volcano.
• Unlike flat shield volcanoes, they have higher peaks.
• They are typically found above subduction zones, and they are often part of large volcanically active regions, such as the Ring of Fire that frames much of the Pacific Ocean.
• Strato Volcanoes comprise the largest percentage (~60%) of the Earth's individual volcanoes, and most are characterized by eruptions of andesite and dacite, lavas that are cooler and more viscous than basalt.
• These more viscous lavas allow gas pressures to build up to high levels. Therefore, these volcanoes often suffer explosive eruptions. 
• They are usually about half-half lava and pyroclastic material, and the layering of these products gives them their other common name of composite volcanoes.

At the peak, stratovolcanoes usually have a small crater. The crater may be filled with water or ice, or it may contain a volcanic dome during a period of relative inactivity.

Q1: What are Pyroclasts?

Pyroclasts (or "tephra') are any volcanic fragments that were hurled through the air by volcanic activity. A pyroclastic eruption is one in which the great majority of activity involves fountaining or explosions. A pyroclastic deposit is the resulting layer or pile of material that has fallen to the ground by one or many pyroclastic eruptions. A pyroclastic rock is the hardened, solidified, or compressed version of an originally loose pyroclastic deposit.

Source: Indonesia's Ruang mountain spews fiery lava thousands of feet into the night sky; tsunami alert raised

About Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF)

• GFCF refers to the growth in the size of fixed capital in an economy.
• Fixed assets/capital are tangible or intangible assets produced as outputs from production processes that are used repeatedly, or continuously, for more than one year.
• GFCF consists of resident producers’ investments, deducting disposals, in fixed assets during a given period.
• It also includes certain additions to the value of non-produced assets realized by producers or institutional units.
• Private GFCF can serve as a rough indicator of how much the private sector in an economy is willing to invest.
• Overall GFCF also includes capital formation as a result of investment by the government.
• GFCF matters because fixed capital, by helping workers produce a greater amount of goods and services each year, helps to boost economic growth and improve living standards. 
• In other words, fixed capital is what largely determines the overall output of an economy and, hence, what consumers can actually purchase in the market. 
• Developed economies such as the U.S. possess more fixed capitalper capita than developing economies such as India.
• Statistics:
  • GFCF in the Indian economy increased significantly from INR 32.78 lakh crore in 2014-15 to INR 54.35 lakh crore in 2022-2023.
  • This surge in capital formation reflects substantial investments in infrastructure, industry, and public goods.

Q1: What is Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?

It is the total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period. As a broad measure of overall domestic production, it functions as a comprehensive scorecard of a given country’s economic health.

Source: Why have private investments dropped? | Explained

About Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA)

• GAIA is a worldwide alliance of more than 1,000 grassroots groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in over 90 countries.
• GAIA aims to power a transition away from our current linear and extractive economy and towards a circular system that supports people’s right to a safe and healthy environment.
• GAIA envisions a just, zero-waste world built on respect for ecological limits and community rights, where people are free from the burden of toxic pollution and resources are sustainably conserved, not burned or dumped.
• This entails fighting pollution and building regenerative solutions in cities through local campaigns, shifts in policy and finance, research and communication initiatives, and movement building.
• They work on four primary points of intervention: incineration, zero waste, plastic, and climate.

What is Incineration?

• Incineration is the process of burning hazardous material sat temperatures high enough to destroy contaminants.
• Incineration is conducted in an “incinerator,” which is a type of furnace designed for burning hazardous materials in a combustion chamber.
• Many different types of hazardous materials can be treated by incineration, including soil, sludge, liquids, and gases.
• Although it destroys many kinds of harmful chemicals, such as solvents, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), and pesticides, incineration does not destroy metals, such as lead and chromium.
• Modern incinerators include air pollution control equipment (e.g., fabric filters, scrubbers, and electrostatic precipitators) to remove fly ash and gaseous contaminants.

Q1: What is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)?

It is a regional intergovernmental organisation of ten Southeast Asian countries. It was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration). It promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration between its members and other countries in Asia. Member States: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Source: Run-up to Ottawa: Civil society groups call for support from ASEAN leadership in fight against plastic pollution

About GPS Spoofing

• It is also known as GPS simulation, refers to the practice of manipulating or tricking a GPS receiver by broadcasting false GPS signals.
• It misleads the GPS receiver into believing it is located somewhere it is not, resulting in the device providing inaccurate location data.
• This form of cyberattack undermines the reliability of GPS data, which is vital for a variety of applications.
• It has evolved significantly over the years. Initially a theoretical threat, it has now become a practical concern due to the availability of inexpensive software and hardware capable of transmitting fake GPS signals.
• Spoofing is not the same as jamming. While jamming, as the name suggests, is when the GPS signals are jammed, spoofing is very different and way more threatening.
• Planes and other aircraft regularly deal with jamming while spoofing of the kind happening in the above-mentioned incidents has reportedly never been seen before.
• Working
  • GPS spoofing exploits the inherent vulnerabilities in the GPS infrastructure – the weak signal strength of GPS satellites.
  • The Global Positioning System functions by sending signals from satellites to GPS receivers on Earth.
  • These receivers then calculate their position based on the time it takes for these signals to arrive. However, due to the weak signal strength of the GPS satellites, these signals can be easily overwhelmed by fake signals, resulting in inaccurate location data on the receiving device.
• Impacts
  • It can have potentially catastrophic effects, particularly where navigation is concerned.
  • It has the potential to affect various industries extensively, including logistics and supply chain, telecommunications, energy, and defense.

Q1: What is Navigation?

It is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.

Source: Israel used GPS spoofing against Iran: Did US do it to India in Kargil war?

About Lakshmana Tirtha River

• It is a tributary of the river Kaveri in Karnataka.
• Course:
  • It originates in the Brahmagiri hills, Kodagu or Coorg District, Karnataka, and flows eastward.
  • It joins the Kaveri Riverin the Krishna Raja Sagara Lake.
  • Total Length: 180 km
• Lakshmanatirtha Falls, or the Irupu Falls, is a much-visited fresh water cascade located on the river, bordering Kerala, on the way to Nagerhole National Park.

Key Facts about Kaveri River

• Kaveri River, also known as Cauvery River, is one of the major rivers of southern India, which is considered sacrosanct by the Hindus.
• Course:
  • It rises at an elevation of 1,341 m at Talakaveri on the Brahmagiri range near Cherangala village of Kodagu district of Karnataka.
  • The river drains into the Bay of Bengal at Poompuhar, in the Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu.
• Cauvery Basin:
  • It extends over the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
  • It is bounded by the Western Ghats on the west, by the Eastern Ghats on the east and south and by the ridges separating it from the Krishna basin and Pennar basin on the north.
• Major left bank tributaries: Harangi, the Hemavati, the Shimsha, and the Arkavati.
• Major right bank tributaries: Lakshmantirtha, the Kabbani, the Suvarnavati, the Bhavani, the Noyil, and the Amaravati.

Q1: Western Ghats traverse through which states?

A chain of mountains running parallel to India's western coast, approximately 30-50 km inland, the Ghats traverse the States of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Source: Lakshmana Teertha river dries up due to shortage of rainfall

About DURGA-2

• It damages or destroys its target using focused energy by means of lasers, microwaves or particle beams.
• Advantages: These weapons have several advantages over conventional munitions.
  • They transmit lethal force at the speed of light (about 300,000 kilometers per second).
  • Their beams are not affected by the constraining effects of gravity or atmospheric drag.
  • They are extremely precise. Fourth, their effects can be tailored by varying the type and intensity of energy delivered against targets.
• Significance
  • The aerospace industry can transform the way wars will be fought.
  • This will enable us to produce cutting edge platforms, weapons, sensors, and networks essential to fight and win a future war.

Other countries which have this system: Russia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Israel, and China.

Q1: What are Tactical Nuclear Weapons?

They are nuclear weapons used for specific tactical gains on the battlefield. They are intended to devastate enemy targets in a specific area without causing widespread destruction and radioactive fallout.

Source: Cost and benefit: Israel’s very expensive defence against aerial threats

About Dragonfly Mission

• It is a "dual quadcopter" designed to fly across the surface of Titan, Saturn's largest moon.
• It will explore a variety of locations on Saturn's moon Titan.
• It will spend most of its time on the moon’s surface making science measurements.
• It will use a radioisotope power system like the Curiosity rover on Mars.
• Its flights, data transmission and most science operations will happen during the day, and it will have a lot of time to recharge during night on Titan.
• It is a rotorcraft, targeted to arrive at Titan in 2034, will fly to dozens of promising locations on the moon, looking for prebiotic chemical processes common on both Titan and the early Earth before life developed.
• It marks the first time NASA will fly a vehicle for science on another planetary body. The rotorcraft has eight rotors and flies like a large drone.

Key facts about Titan

Titan is Saturn’s largest moon, Titan has an earthlike cycle of liquids flowing across its surface. It is the only moon with a thick atmosphere.

Q1: What is Prebiotic chemistry?

It is the study of how organic compounds formed and self-organized for the origin of life on Earth and elsewhere.

Source: NASA says its futuristic Dragonfly mission will launch in 2028