25th September 2024

Explanation: Statement 1 is correct. The UNGA is the only principal organ of the UN where all 193 member states have equal representation. Statement 2 is incorrect. The UNGA can make recommendations on international issues, but binding decisions on peace and security are the purview of the Security Council. Statement 3 is correct. The 79th UNGA session is chaired by Cameroonian President Philemon Yong. Statement 4 is correct. The theme "Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations" emphasizes intergenerational equity and sustainable development.

Explanation - Pashmina is a fine type of cashmere wool. The textiles made from it were first woven in Kashmir. The wool comes from a number of different breeds of the cashmere goat; such as the changthangi or Kashmir pashmina goat from the Changthang Plateau in Tibet and part of the Ladakh region and few parts of Himachal Pradesh. Often shawls called shahmina are made from this material in Kashmir and Nepal; these shawls are hand spun and woven from the very fine cashmere fibre. Traditional producers of pashmina wool are people known as the Changpa.

Explanation - Bengaluru-based space startup Bellatrix Aerospace recently unveiled Project 200 on the inaugural day of the Bengaluru Space Expo 2024. It is an innovative satellite designed to operate at an Ultra-Low Earth Orbit (180 km-250 km). It was developed by Bellatrix Aerospace, a Bengaluru-based space startup. Traditionally, satellites have been deployed in orbits at altitudes well above 450 km. This altitude choice has been influenced by various considerations, such as the desire to minimise the impact of atmospheric interference on satellite operations. Though it is known that a satellite’s capabilities improve significantly at 200 km, limitations on propulsion technology have prevented satellites from operating at this orbit. Project 200 is a technology demonstration mission to qualify a new unconventional satellite powered by an innovative propulsion system (developed in-house) at around 200 km. Bellatrix Aerospace stated that their cutting-edge propulsion technology enables satellites to maintain 200 km orbits for years, rather than deorbiting in a few days. According to Bellatrix, at 200 km, a satellite’s capability would improve significantly since the communication latency is reduced by half and image resolution is improved by three times. The cost of the satellite is also less when compared to spacecraft placed in 450 km orbits.

Explanation - The Indian Navy is hosting the fifth edition of the Goa Maritime Symposium at Naval War College, Goa. It is a forum for fostering collaborative thinking, cooperation, and mutual understanding between India and key maritime nations of the Indian Ocean Region.

Theme — The theme for the event is Common Maritime Security Challenges in the Indian Ocean Region: Progressing Lines of Efforts to Mitigate Dynamic Threats such as illegal and unregulated fishing and other illegal maritime activities. It will be participated by the representatives from 12 Indian Ocean Littoral countries — Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Observers from Kenya and Tanzania.

It was conceptualised and instituted by the Indian Navy in 2016. It is a forum for fostering collaborative thinking, cooperation and mutual understanding between India and key maritime nations of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The symposium is conducted biennially by the Naval War College (NWC), Goa.

Explanation - In scientific parlance, the hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) is an anadromous fish. That is, it lives most of its life in the ocean, but during the rainy season, when it is time to spawn, the hilsa moves towards the estuary, where the rivers of India and Bangladesh meet the Bay of Bengal. Hilsa fish is considered a great delicacy. The demand for the fish during Durga Puja is extremely high in states like West Bengal as the quality of ‘Padmar Ilish’ or Hilsa fish from Padma river in Bangladesh is considered of superior quality. Bangladesh produces almost 75 percent of the world’s Hilsa output. A large part of the shoal travels upstream in the Padma and the Ganga — some are known to move towards the Godavari, and there are records of hilsa migration to the Cauvery. Culinary lore has it that the fish that travel the farthest upstream have the best combination of the flavours of the sea and the river. Historical records also show that until the 1970s, the hilsa would swim the Ganga upstream to Allahabad — and even to Agra. But the Farakka Barrage, which became operational on the Ganga in 1975, disrupted the westward movement of the hilsa. The barrage had a navigation lock that stopped the fish from swimming upstream beyond Farakka. In Buxar on the border of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the last recorded catch of the hilsa was made 32 years ago.