ASAT
Category: Defence & security
- The satellite targeted with an Anti-Satellite (ASAT) missile under Mission Shakti has broken up into at least 270 pieces, most of which are expected to disintegrate within 45 days.
- Being in the Low Earth Orbit, the debris would fall towards earth and burn up as soon as they enter the atmosphere. Imaging satellite
- The targeted satellite was Microsat-R.
- Microsat-R was shot down with a modified exo-atmospheric missile of the ballistic missile defence at an altitude of 300 km.
Geographical Indication
Category: Geography
- Five varieties of Indian coffee have been awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, a move that will enhance their visibility globally and allow growers to get the right value.
- While Coorg Arabica coffee is grown specifically in Kodagu district of Karnataka, Wayanaad Robusta coffee is from Wayanad district in Kerala, Chikmagalur Arabica coffee from Chikmagalur district in the Deccan plateau of Karnataka, Araku Valley Arabica coffee from the hilly tracks of Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha region, and Baba Budangiri Arabica coffee from the central portion of Chikmagalur district.
- The Monsooned Malabar Robusta Coffee, a unique coffee from India, was given the GI certification earlier.
- India is the only country where the entire coffee cultivation is grown under shade, hand-picked and sun-dried.
Washing Machine for Space
Category: Science & technology
- The days of astronauts packing enough clean clothes to last a whole mission could soon be over as Russia is developing a washing machine for space.
- Currently, astronauts — who live on the International Space Station (ISS) for stints of some six months — cannot wash their clothes in any way and simply put on new outfits when their clothes get dirty.
- Astronauts usually wear the same outfit for three to four days and then throw them away with other rubbish.
- For three crew members, up to 660 kg of clothes have to be ferried to the ISS over a year. For a two-year flight to Mars with six crew members this could increase to three tonnes.
- Researchers proposed using not water, which would be wasteful and require extra storage, but carbon dioxide that is produced by humans’ breathing and can be turned into a liquid under pressure.
Terror Monitoring Group
Category: Defence & security
- The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is keeping a close watch on illegal flow of funds to fuel militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, and announced the setting up of a Terror Monitoring Group (TMG) aimed at taking “coordinated action against terror funding”.
- Advertising As per the order issued by MHA, the terms of reference of the TMG include, “taking action against hardcore sympathisers among government employees including teachers etc providing overt or covert support to such activities”.
- It charges the TMG with action against all registered cases related to terror, terror financing and terror-related activities and bring them to a logical conclusion.
- The seven-member TMG shall be headed by the Jammu and Kashmir additional director general of police (ADGP). It shall also have representatives from the Intelligence Bureau (IB), CBI, NIA, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). The Jammu and Kashmir police inspector-general shall be the seventh member of the TMG.
- However, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has attached several properties in terror funding cases, did not find mention in the order.
