7th May 2025

Explanation - The Army is all set to begin receiving another set of Russian Igla-S very short range air defence systems (VSHORAD) by the end of May or early next month. It is a man-portable air defence system (MANPADS) developed by Russia. Capabilities - It is a hand-held defence system that can be operated by an individual or crew. It is designed to bring down low-flying aircraft and can also identify and neutralise air targets such as cruise missiles and drones. It comprises the 9M342 missile, the 9P522 launching mechanism, the 9V866-2 mobile test station, and the 9F719-2 test set. These components work together to provide a comprehensive air defence solution. A VSHORAD is the soldier's last line of defence against enemy combat aircraft, helicopters and UAVs in the multilayered air defence network. Range - It has a range of 500 metres to 6 kilometres and attack targets up to an altitude of 3.5 kilometres. The speed of the missile is 400 metres per second and the deployment time is 13 seconds.

Explanation - Neanderthals were archaic humans that became extinct about 40,000 years ago. They seem to have appeared in Europe and later expanded into Southwest, Central and Northern Asia. Neanderthals, were long thought to have been the archetypal cavemen, brutish and intellectually un-evolved. In early 1900s, scientific findings described Neanderthals as gorilla-like beasts, an extinct branch of humanity that could not compete with slender, brilliant humans.

Explanation - SVAMITVA is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, which was launched by the Prime Minister on National Panchayati Raj Day, 24th April 2020.The scheme aims to provide the 'record of rights' to village household owners in rural areas and issue Property Cards. The Scheme is being implemented across the country in a phased manner over a period of four years (2020-2024) and would eventually cover around 6.62 lakh villages of the country. About 1 lakh villages in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Karnataka, and few border villages of Punjab & Rajasthan, along with establishment of Continuous Operating System (CORS) stations' network across Punjab & Rajasthan, are being covered in the Pilot phase (2020-21). All these six States have signed MoU with Survey of India for drone survey of rural areas and implementation of the scheme. These States have finalised the digital property card format and the villages to be covered for drone-based survey.

Explanation - CRISPR-Cas9 technology behaves like a cut-and-paste mechanism on DNA strands that contain genetic information. The specific location of the genetic codes that need to be changed, or NOTES edited", is identified on the DNA strand, and then, using the Cas9 protein, which acts like a pair of scissors, that location is cut off from the strand. A DNA strand, when broken, has a natural tendency to repair itself. Scientists intervene during this auto-repair process, supplying the desired sequence of genetic codes that binds itself with the broken DNA strand.

Explanation - Recently, the central government paved the way for easy introduction of genome edited crops. The government has clearly distinguished such crops from genetically modified crops and has prescribed relatively easier norms for their introduction. For agriculture scientists this process allowed them to bring about desired changes in the genome by using site directed nuclease (SDN) or sequence specific nuclease (SSN). Nuclease is an enzyme which cleaves through nucleic acid - the building block of genetic material. Advanced research has allowed scientists to develop the highly effective clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeat (CRISPR) -associated proteins based systems. This system allows for targeted intervention at the genome sequence. This tool has opened up various possibilities in plant breeding. Using this tool, agricultural scientists can now edit genome to insert specific traits in the gene sequence.