News in Shorts: 13 August 2024

St Martin’s Island

About St Martin’s Island: 

• Location: St Martin’s Island, located in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal, is a small coral island approximately nine kilometers south of the tip of Bangladesh’s southernmost peninsula, Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf, near Myanmar. 
• It is Bangladesh’s sole coral island.
• Also Known as: The island is also known as ‘Narikel Jinjira‘ or Coconut Island in Bengali, due to the abundance of coconut trees there. It is also known as ‘Daruchini Dwip’ or Cinnamon Island.
• History:  The island was first settled back in the 18th century by Arabian merchants and was called “Jazira” during their occupation. 
  • British: When the British colonised the island, it was named after the then-Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong.
  • Pakistan: In 1937, the island remained a part of British India after Myanmar was separated from it. It remained so until the Partition of 1947, when it went into Pakistan’s control.
  • Bangladesh & Myanmar: Later on, the coral island became a part of Bangladesh after the Liberation War of 1971, Bangladesh’s Daily Star reported.
  • In 1974: Bangladesh and Myanmar reached an agreement that the coral island would be a part of Bangladeshi territory.
• St Martin’s Island Geopolitical Significance: 
  • US & China Interest:  Its proximity to the Bay of Bengal and the maritime boundary with Myanmar have led to international interest, particularly from the US and China, in using the island to strengthen their presence in the region.
  • Near the Strait of Malacca: If a country set up a military base in St Martin’s they would automatically have a presence near the Strait of Malacca, which China has been using majorly for their transportation.
  • Conduct surveillance: It provides a country to conduct surveillance over not just China’s and Myanmar’s activities, but also look into what India is up to.
  • Countering Beijing’s presence: With China asserting its dominance in several areas of the Indo-Pacific region, the island provides a strong base to counter Beijing’s presence

Russia’s Kursk region

About Russia’s Kursk region:

• Location: Kursk is a city and administrative centre of Kursk oblast (region) located on the south-western border of Russia. 
• The Kursk Region is located in the central part of the Eastern European Plain. The Region borders on the Bryansk, Orlov, Lipetsk, Voronezh, and Belgorod regions, as well as Ukraine.
• Rivers: The basins of the Dnieper (Seim, Psel) and Don rivers are located on its territory. The main type of soil is chernozem.
• Soil: It is located in the area known as the Black Earth territory due to its fertile soil.
  • The main type of soil is chernozem which contain high percentage of humus and high percentages of phosphorus and ammonia compounds
• Environmental Richness: The Kursk Region is home to eight specially protected natural areas, including the Alyokhin Central Chernozem State Biosphere Reserve and seven natural landmarks.
• Economy and natural resources: The region lies at the center of the world’s largest Precambrian iron-ore-rich megastructure known as the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly.
  • The region has prospective deposits of iron ore, phosphorites, peat, and building materials: chalk, fusible and refractory clays and loams, quartz sands. It is also rich in mineral waters.

Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) 

About Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC):

• A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) is an ad-hoc body.
• It is set up for a specific object and duration. 
• Members: It has members from both the Houses and from both the ruling parties and the opposition.
  • There is no fixed number of members in the committee. It is dissolved after its term ends or its task has been completed.
• Formation: Joint committees are set up by a motion passed in one house of Parliament and agreed to by the other. The details regarding membership and subjects are also decided by Parliament
• Recommendation: The committee’s recommendations are advisory and not binding on the government 
• Mandate: The mandate of a JPC depends on the motion constituting it. 

AUKUS Submarine

AUKUS Agreement:

• In 2021: Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States have formed a significant trilateral security partnership named AUKUS for the Indo-Pacific.
• Motive: To Bolster the Collective industrial base capacity and Stimulate economic growth within the defense and national security sectors of the involved nations. 
• Pivotal features : Transfer of US nuclear submarine technology to Australia. 
• Strategic orientation towards the Indo-Pacific: Position the alliance as a countermeasure to China’s increasingly assertive manoeuvres in the South China Sea.

AUKUS Submarine (SSN-A) Programme

• SSN-AUKUS will be a trilaterally developed vessel based on Britain’s next-generation design.
• Submarine Construction:
  • Nuclear reactors for the vessels will be built in Derby,UK.
  • Submarines will be constructed in Adelaide,Australia. 
  • The Virginia-class submarines are a British design but will have a US weapons system on board.
• Features: 
• • Possess Diverse functionalities: intelligence gathering, surveillance, undersea warfare, and strike missions. 
  • Enhanced Stealth and Silence Capability will ensure optimal interoperability among AUKUS partners: It will surpass Australia’s current diesel-powered fleet in stealth and silence, enabling prolonged deployments without surfacing.

DDoS Attack

About Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks: 

• Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are a subclass of denial of service (DoS) attacks. A DDoS attack involves multiple connected online devices, collectively known as a botnet, which are used to overwhelm a target website with fake traffic.
• Distributed denial of service attacks are malicious attempts to make the services of an online service unavailable by disrupting or suspending the services of its online servers.
• Concerns:
• • Unlike other kinds of cyberattacks, DDoS assaults don’t attempt to breach your security perimeter. Rather, a DDoS attack aims to make your website and servers unavailable to legitimate users. 
  • DDoS can also be used as a smokescreen for other malicious activities and to take down security appliances, breaching the target’s security perimeter.
• In a Denial of service (DoS) attack:  A perpetrator uses a single Internet connection to either exploit a software vulnerability or flood a target with fake requests—usually in an attempt to exhaust server resources (e.g., RAM and CPU).
• Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks: They are launched from multiple connected devices that are distributed across the Internet.  These multi-person, multi-device barrages are generally harder to deflect, mostly due to the sheer volume of devices involved. 
  • Unlike single-source DoS assaults, DDoS attacks tend to target the network infrastructure in an attempt to saturate it with huge volumes of traffic.

Collision Avoidance System (CAS) & Kavach

About Collision avoidance system (CAS): 

• Collision avoidance system (CAS) is a collection of technologies to help a vehicle steer clear of another vehicle or obstacle. 
• For example, a CAS device fit on a train will be designed to help that train avoid colliding with another train. 
• Most CAS devices require two pieces of information, preferably in real-time: the locations of all the other vehicles and the location of this vehicle relative to those vehicles. 

About Kavach: 

• It is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) in collaboration with the Indian industry.
• Features: 
  • It is a state–the­-art electronic system with Safety Integrity Level­4 (SIL­4) standards. 
  • It is one of the cheapest, SIL­4 certified technologies where the probability of error is 1 in 10,000 years.
• Purpose: It is meant 
  • To provide protection by preventing trains to pass the signal at Red (which marks danger)
  • To avoid collision between two locomotives
• Working: 
• • It activates the train’s braking system automatically if the driver fails to control the train as per speed restrictions.
  • The system also relays SoS messages during emergency situations. 
  • It enables the centralised live monitoring of train movements through the Network Monitor System. 

Asceua Tertia

About Asceua tertia:

• Location: It has been discovered in the verdant terrain of Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, which forms part of the Western Ghats.
• Genus: Asceua tertia is the third species of the genus Asceua to be documented in India
  • The others being Asceua cingulata (Simon, 1905) and Asceua thrippalurensis (Sankaran, 2023). 
  • This genus belongs to the ant-eating spider family Zodariidae and is distinguished by its small size, laterally compressed bulbs, well-developed cymbial folds, long and convoluted copulatory ducts, and dual femoral glands.
• Size: Asceua tertia ranges from 2.54 mm in males to 3.2 mm in females
• Features: The males of the species have a yellow-brown prosoma with creamy white to yellow-brown leg and palp segments featuring broad brown patches and narrow longitudinal stripes. 
  • The abdomen displays three pairs of narrow, creamy white stripes arranged obliquely, a white dot near the rear, and numerous tiny creamy white spots on the sides.
  • Females: They have a dark brown prosoma and a wide, oval abdomen with four pairs of creamy white stripes, along with small anterior and broad posterior creamy white patches on the sides.

About Shendurney wildlife sanctuary.

• It is a protected area located in the Western Ghats of India, in the Kollam district of Kerala.
• It comes under the control of Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve.
• Irrigation in Kollam and Pathanamthitta districts is taken care of by the Parappar Dam that was built across the Shendurney River.
• Rare tree species called Chenkurunji (Glutatravancorica) found here

Udara Shakti 2024 

About Udara Shakti 2024:

• Location: Exercise Udara Shakti 2024 was a joint air exercise conducted in Kuantan, Malaysia.
• It was between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).
• AIM: Aimed at bolstering operational efficiency, technical experts of both Air Forces engaged in exchange of their maintenance practices.
• Fighter Jets: IAF’s Su-30MKI fighter jets engaged in air combat missions alongside the RMAF’s Su-30MKM fighters, enabling the crew of both air forces to familiarize with each other’s operational protocols, thereby enhancing interoperability, commonality and overall effectiveness in Su-30 aircraft operation

Utkrisht- 3 Star Rating

• Onsite Assessment: The team from the Capacity Building Commission (CBC), National Accreditation Board of Education and Training (NABET) and Quality Control of India conducted the on-site assessment.
•  The Accrediation: It was received for the successful completion of the  National Standards for Civil Services Training Institutions (NSCSTI) recognizing excellent services in the field of promotion and development of MSMEs

About The National Institute for MSME (NI-MSME):

• Set up in 1962
• Nodal ministry: Ministry of MSME
• Function: It plays a  role in the field of Entrepreneurship & Skill Development by providing a pro-business environment to enhance the progress of MSMEs towards success and prosperity.    
• Association: The Institute is associated with prestigious world bodies such as UNIDO, UNDP, DCAC, UNESCO, ILO, CFTC, UNICEF, AARDO and GIZ.
• Centers of Excellence: NI-MSME has established theme-based Centers of Excellence with respect to National Resource Centre for Cluster Development (NRCD) to help MSMEs through Cluster Development Approach.
  • Schools of Excellence: School of Enterprise Development (SED), School of Enterprise Management (SEM), School of Entrepreneurship & Extension (SEE) and School of Enterprise Information & Communication (SEIC).
  • Centers of Excellence: FinRISE (Financial Research & Innovation for Sustainable Enterprises) and Biochar Unit.