About Tupolev Tu-160M

• The Tu-160M, a modernized version of a Cold War-era bomber that the former Soviet Union would have deployed in the event of nuclear war to deliver weapons at long distances.
• It is a Russian supersonic variable-sweep wing strategic missile-carrying bomber.
• It is called "White Swan” in Russia, and is code-named “Blackjacks” by NATO.
• Russia claims it is the world’s fastest-flying supersonic and heaviest payload-carrying bomber.
• It is designed to hit targets in remote areas with nuclear and conventional weapons.
• Features:
  • o The Tu-160M, which has a crew of four, is capable of carrying 12 cruise missiles or 12 short-range nuclear missiles.
  • o It can fly 12,000 km (7,500 miles) non-stop without refueling.
  • o It is powered by four afterburning turbofan engines.
  • o It has a maximum speed of 2,220 kilometers per hour and ascends to heights of 16,000 meters. 
  • o It showcases features like an innovative navigation system, an upgraded radar, and even a refueling probe for in-flight refuelling, which further extends its range. 

Q1) What are cruise missiles?

Cruise missiles are unmanned vehicles that are propelled by jet engines, much like an airplane. They can be launched from ground, air, or sea platforms. Cruise missiles remain within the atmosphere for the duration of their flight and can fly as low as a few meters off the ground. Flying low to the surface of the earth expends more fuel but makes a cruise missile very difficult to detect. 

Source: Putin Boards Russian Nuclear Bomber; Inspects Cockpit As Moscow Upgrades TU-160M Bombers | Watch

About Chalukya dynasty

• The Chalukyas ruled over the central Indian plateau of the Deccan between the sixth and twelfth centuries.
• During that period, they ruled as three closely related but individual dynasties.
• The Chalukyas of Badami, who ruled between the sixth and the eighth centuries, and the two sibling dynasties of the Chalukyas of Kalyani, or the Western Chalukyas, and the Chalukyas of Vengi, or the Eastern Chalukyas.

Key Facts about Badami Chalukyas

• Origin:
  • Pulakesi I established the Chalukya dynasty in 550.
  • Pulakesi I took Vatapi (Badami in Bagalkot district, Karnataka) under his control and made it his capital.
  • Historians refer to Pulakesi I and his descendants as the Chalukyas of Badami.
• They ruled over an empire that comprised the entire state of Karnataka and most of Andhra Pradesh in the Deccan.
• Pulakesi II had been perhaps the greatest emperor of the Badami Chalukyas.
  • Pulakesi II extended the Chalukya Empire up to the northern extents of the Pallava kingdom and halted the southward march of Harsha by defeating him on the banks of the river Narmada. 
  • He then defeated the Vishnukundins in the southeastern Deccan.
  • Pallava Narasimhavarman reversed that victory by attacking and occupying the Chalukya capital, Vatapi (Badami).
  • Hiuen-Tsiang, a Chinese traveller, had visited the court of Pulakesi II.
  • Later, Persian emperor Khosrau II exchanged ambassadors with Pulakesi II.
• The Badami Chalukya dynasty went into a brief decline following the death of Pulakesi II due to internal feuds.
• It recovered during the reign of Vikramaditya I, who succeeded in pushing the Pallavas out of Badami and restoring order to the empire. 
• The empire reached its peak during the rule of the illustrious Vikramaditya II, who defeated Pallava Nandivarman II and captured Kanchipuram. 
• The Rashtrakuta Dantidurga overthrew the last Badami Chalukya king, Kirtivarman I, in 753.
• At their peak, they ruled a vast empire stretching from the Kaveri to the Narmada.
• Art and Architecture:
  • It saw the evolution and proliferation of a new style of architecture known as Vesara, a combination of the South Indian and the North Indian building styles. 
  • The rock-cut temples of Pattadakal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Badami, and Aihole constitute their most celebrated monuments.
• Government:
  • The army consisted of infantry, cavalry, elephant corps, and a powerful navy.
  • Hiuen-Tsiang mentions that the Chalukya army had hundreds of elephants intoxicated with liquor prior to the battle.
  • Rashtrakuta inscriptions use the term Karnatabala to refer to their powerful armies.
  • The government levied taxes called Herjunka, Kirukula, Bilkode, and Pannaya.
  • The empire was divided into Maharashtrakas (provinces), then into smaller Rashtrakas (Mandala), Vishaya (district), Bhoga (group of ten villages).
  • Many autonomous regions existed, ruled by feudatories like Alupas, Gangas, Banas, and Sendrakas.
  • Local assemblies looked after local issues.
  • Groups of mahajanas (learned brahmins) looked after agraharas (like Ghatika, a place of higher learning), like the ones at Badami (2000 mahajans) and Aihole (500 mahajanas).
• Coinage:
  • The Badami Chalukyas minted coins of a different standard compared to the northern kingdoms.
  • The coins had Nagari and Kannada legends. They minted coins with symbols of temples, lion or boar facing right, and the lotus.
• Religion:
  • They initially followed Vedic Hinduism.
  • Later, from the time of Vikramaditya I, the people took an inclination towards Shaivism, and sects like Pashupata, Kapalikas, and Kalamukhas existed.
  • They actively encouraged Jainism, as attested to by one of the Badami cave temples and other Jain temples in the Aihole complex.

Q1) What is Pallava Dynasty?

The Pallava Dynasty was a famous power in South India that existed between the 3rd and 9th Centuries. They ruled the northern parts of Tamil Nadu, parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, with Kanchipuram as their capital.The Pallavas supported Buddhism, Jainism, and the Brahmanical faith and were patrons of music, painting, and literature. 

Source: Badami Chalukya temples, writing found in Nalgonda

About Singhbhum Craton

• It is a vast swathe of rocky land that stretches mainly across parts of Jharkhand and Odisha, between the Chhota Nagpur plateau and the Eastern Ghats.
• This ancient part of the Earth’s crust has been found in previous research to date back to 3.5 billion years ago.
• The craton’s oldest rock assemblages are largely volcanic and sedimentary rocks also known as greenstone successions.
• Greenstones are rock assemblages made up mostly of sub-marine volcanic rocks with minor sedimentary rocks.
• The geology of this area shares stark similarity with the greenstone belts documented in South Africa’s Barberton and Nondweni areas and the Pilbara Craton in western Australia.
• All these areas experienced widespread submarine mafic — meaning high in magnesium oxide — volcanic eruptions between 3.5 and 3.3 billion years ago, preserved as pillowed lava and komatiites.
• Significance
  • They offer a clearer picture of Earth’s early tectonic activities during the Archaean times, contributing to our understanding of the planet’s formative years.
  • The Singhbhum Craton’s unique geological features, including its greenstone belts, provide invaluable information about Earth’s surface and atmospheric processes.
  • This is crucial for hypothesising early habitable conditions and the emergence of life on Earth.

What are Cratons?

• Cratons are the oldest and most stable parts of the Earth's crust, acting as the bedrock of continents.
• These are pieces of ancient continents that formed billions of years ago.
• Studying them offers a window into how processes within and on the surface of Earth operated in the past.
• They host a variety of different groups of rocks, including greenstones and granites.

Q1) What is Geology?

Geology is the study of the Earth, the materials of which it is made, the structure of those materials, and the processes acting upon them. It includes the study of organisms that have inhabited our planet. An important part of geology is the study of how Earth's materials, structures, processes and organisms have changed over time.

Source: Earth’s early evolution: Fresh insights from rocks formed 3.5 billion years ago

About Exercise Dosti

• It is a trilateral coast guard exercise between India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives.
• It is a biennial exercise.
• It was first conducted in 1991 between the Indian and Maldives Coast Guards.
• Sri Lanka joined the exercise for the first time in 2012. Dosti was last conducted in 2021.
• The exercises have focused on exercises and drills on providing assistance in sea accidents, eliminating sea pollution, and the coast guard’s procedures and conduct during situations such as oil spills.
• The aim of the exercise is to further fortify the friendship, enhance mutual operational capability, exercise interoperability and build cooperation between the Coast Guards of India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. 
• Dosti 16:
  • It is the 16th edition of the exercise.
  • The Coast Guards of the Maldives, India, and Sri Lanka, along with observers from Bangladesh, is participating in Dosti 16 to enhance collaboration between the forces.
  • India is sending ICGS Samarth (with integral helo), ICGS Abhinav, and ICG Dornier for the exercise.

Q1) What is the Indian Coast Guard?

It is an armed force that protects India's maritime interests and enforces maritime law, with jurisdiction over the territorial waters of India, including its contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone. It was formally established in 1978 by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 as an independent Armed force of India.It operates under the Ministry of Defence.

Source: Trilateral Coast Guard Exercise 'Dosti 16' Kicks Off In Maldives Amid Security Concerns

About Anti-hydrogen Experiment: Gravity, Interferometry, Spectroscopy (AEgIS)

• It is an experiment approved by CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) with the goal of studying antihydrogen physics.
• The primary goal of AEgIS is the direct measurement of the Earth's gravitational acceleration, g, on antihydrogen.
  • Once performed this could be the first direct test of the gravitational interaction between matter and antimatter. 
• AEgIS is a collaboration of physicists from a number of countries in Europe and from India.

What is Antimatter?

• Antimatter is the same as ordinary matter except that it has the opposite electric charge.
• It is also known as “mirror” matter.
• For instance, an electron, which has a negative charge, has an antimatter partner known as a positron. A positron is a particle with the same mass as an electron but a positive charge. 
• The antimatter particles corresponding to electrons, protons, and neutrons are called positrons, antiprotons, and antineutrons; collectively they are referred to as antiparticles.
• These anti-particles can combine to form anti-atoms and, in principle, could even form anti-matter regions of our universe.
• Matter and antimatter cannot coexist at close range for more than a small fraction of a second because they collide with and annihilate each other, releasing large quantities of energy in the form of gamma rays or elementary particles.
• Antimatter was created along with matter after the Big Bang.
• Humans have created antimatter particles using ultra-high-speed collisions at huge particle accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider, which is located outside Geneva and operated by CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research).
• There are also naturally produced antiparticles made sporadically throughout the universe.

Key Facts about Positronium

• The matter, which forms the world around us, consists of atoms, the simplest of which is hydrogen, which is the most plentiful element in the Universe. This is made up of a positively-charged proton and a negatively-charged electron.
• Positronium, on the other hand, is a short-lived hydrogen-like atom, which consists of an electron and its antimatter equivalent, a positron (rather than an electron and a proton).
• Due to its very short life, it annihilates with a half-life of 142 nano-seconds.
• This hydrogen-like system is a great contender for attempting laser cooling and thereby performing tests of fundamental theories in physics.
• Positronium can generate huge amounts of energy. It can shed light on 'antimatter' which existed at the beginning of the Universe.

Q1) What is Spectroscopy?

Spectroscopy is the study of the absorption and emission of light and other radiation by matter. It involves the splitting of light (or more precisely electromagnetic radiation) into its constituent wavelengths (a spectrum), which is done in much the same way as a prism splits light into a rainbow of colours. 

Source: In a first, CERN scientists carry out laser cooling of Positronium

About Badwater Basin

• It is endorheic in nature means water flows into it but not out, typically resulting in rapid evaporation and ephemeral lakes.
• It is the lowest point in North America at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level. 
• However, increased precipitation over the past six months has disrupted this pattern.
• It is nestled within the Death Valley in North America.
• Manly lake was formed in August 2023 after Hurricane Hilary.
• While the lake initially shrank as expected, it surprisingly persisted through the fall and winter months.
• Its resurgence came in February 2024, when a powerful atmospheric river replenished its waters.
• Death Valley’s average annual rainfall of only 51 millimetres, received a remarkable 125 mm in the last six months.

Key facts about Death Valley

• It is located in southeastern California in the United States.
• It lies near the undefined border between the Great Basin and the Mojave Desert.
• Most rainfall is blocked by the mountains to the west, so Death Valley is extremely arid.
• It is the lowest, hottest, and the driest portion of North America, noted for its extremes of temperature and aridity. 

Q1) What are Ephemeral lakes?

These are basins that remain flooded for short periods of time during a year but may not hold water for several years if the rainfall regime is not suitable to produce flooding. Filling of ephemeral lakes is episodic.

Source: The driest place in North America has been home to a lake for 6 months

About NaViGate Bharat Portal

• The ‘National Video Gateway of Bharat (NaViGate Bharat) is developed by the New Media Wing of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• It is a unified bilingual platform which hosts videos on the entire gamut of Government’s development-related and citizen welfare-oriented measures.
• It empowers citizens by providing a single platform with an interactive user interface to search, stream, share, and download videos related to various Government schemes, initiatives, and campaigns, with filter-based advanced search option.
• The portal eliminates the hassle of searching for official and reliable information from multiple sources, providing a one-stop platform for media and the general public.

Key facts about Press Sewa Portal

• It is developed under the Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023 (PRP Act, 2023) by the Press Registrar General of India (PRGI - erstwhile RNI).
• This portal aims to simplify the cumbersome registration procedures that were prevalent under the colonial PRB Act, 1867.
• Key features
  • Online Application: Publishers can file applications for title registration online, using Aadhar-based e-signatures.
  • Probability Meter: Indicates the likelihood of title availability.
  • Real-time Tracking of applications status: Accessible through an intuitively designed dashboard.
  • Dedicated DM Module: Enables District Magistrates to manage applications received from publishers in a centralized dashboard.

Other portals

• National Register for Local Cable Operators (LCOs):
  • It is the first step to bring registration of LCOs currently with Post Offices spread across the country under a Centralised Registration System.
  • A web form has been designed to collect information from local cable operators for the purpose of National Register.
• Central Bureau of Communication (CBC):
  • It is a vital unit within the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, established on December 8, 2017, through the amalgamation of the erstwhile Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP), Directorate of Field Publicity (DFP), and Song & Drama Division (S&DD).

Q1) What is Cable television?

It is generally any system that distributes television signals by means of coaxial or fibre-optic cables. The term also includes systems that distribute signals solely via satellite. 

Source: Ministry launches 4 new media-related portals to streamline services

About Cantor's Giant Softshell Turtle

• It is also known as the Asian giant softshell turtle and the frog-faced softshell turtle.
• It is a species known for its rarity and secretive nature.
• It spends most of its life buried and motionless, with only their eyes and mouth protruding from the sand.
• It surfaces only twice a day to take a breath and capture their prey by sit-and-wait strategy using an element of surprise.
• These turtles are primarily carnivores (piscivores) feeding on fish, crustaceans, and mollusks.
• Distribution: It is found in eastern and southern India, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, eastern and southern China.
• Habitat: They inhabit inland, slow-moving, freshwater rivers, lakes, streams, and estuaries.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN: Critically endangered
  • CITES: Appendix II
  • Wildlife Protection Act,1972 : Schedule I 
• Threats: Habitat destruction has made it disappear from much of its environment. They are also heavily harvested by locals for meat.

Q1) What is CITES?

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is an international agreement between governments. It aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species.

Source: First-ever nesting report of incredibly rare giant softshell turtle

About Rani Chennamma

• Chennamma was born in Kakati, a small village in today’s Belagavi district of Karnataka.
• She became queen of Kitturu (now in Karnataka) when she married Raja Mallasarja of the Desai family.
• After Mallasarja’s death in 1816, his eldest son, Shivalingarudra Sarja, ascended the throne.
• Before his death in 1824, Shivalingarudra adopted a child, Shivalingappa, as the successor.
• However, the British East India Company refused to recognise Shivalingappa as the successor of the kingdom under the ‘doctrine of lapse’.
• Key facts about the Kittur Rebellion
  • John Thackery, the British official at Dharwad, launched an attack on Kittur in October 1824.
  • In this first battle British forces lost heavily and the Collector and political agent, St. John Thackeray was killed by the Kitturu forces. 
  • Two British officers, Sir Walter Elliot and Mr. Stevenson, were also taken as hostages. 
  • However, the British army again attacked the Kittur Fort and captured it.
  • Rani Chennamma and her family were imprisoned and jailed at the fort in Bailhongal, where she died in 1829.

What was the doctrine of Lapse?

• Under the doctrine of Lapse, any princely state without a natural heir would collapse and would be annexed by the Company.
• The princely state of Kitturu was taken over by the British East India Company in 1824 by imposing the 'doctrine of lapse', even before it was officially articulated by Lord Dalhousie, Governor General for the British East India Company, between 1848 and 1856.

Q1) What is the East India Company ?

It was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies, and later with East Asia.

Source: How Rani Chennamma’s revolt against the British inspired a national campaign for women’s rights