Tidal Disruption Event
The event “AT2024tvd” detected 600 million light-years away marks the first offset TDE ever captured.
- Occurs when a star passes close to a supermassive black hole and gets torn apart by its tidal forces.
- The disrupted material forms an accretion disk, emitting X-rays and ultraviolet radiation.
- TDEs are detected as bright flares from the centers of galaxies.
Tsarap Chu
State Government of Himachal Pradesh notified Tsarap Chu Conservation Reserve (India’s largest) in Spiti Valley.
- Location: A river in Ladakh, originating from glaciers near Pankpo La Pass.
- Tributary: It merges with the Stod River, forming the Zanskar River, which is a tributary of the Indus River.
- Ecological Importance: Supports irrigation and biodiversity, including Himalayan Blue Sheep and Snow Leopard.
- Conservation Status: Recently designated as a Conservation Reserve to protect its fragile ecosystem
BB84 Protocol
Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), under Depart ment of Telecommunications (DoT), has signed an MoU to devel op drone-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) systems using the decoy-based BB84 protocol
- 1st Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) protocol, developed by Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard in 1984.
- Working Principle: Uses polarization states of photons to generate a secure cryptographic key.
- Security Feature: Based on quantum mechanics, ensuring unconditional security against eavesdropping.
- Application: Used in quantum cryptography for secure communication
Global Report on Internal Displacement 2025
GRID 2025 was released by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).
- Published By: Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).
- Key Findings: 45.8 million people displaced globally in 2024, highest since 2008.
- Climate Impact: 99.5% of displacements were due to climate-related disasters.
- Regional Insights: South Asia saw 9.2 million displacements, largely due to El Niño droughts
GATT 1994 and Agreement on Safeguards
India maintains that recent measures taken by United States re lated to tariffs are not consistent with GATT 1994 and Agreement on Safeguards (AoS)
- A multilateral trade agreement aimed at reducing tariffs and trade barriers.
- Agreement on Safeguards: Allows temporary trade restrictions to protect domestic industries from surge in imports.
- Safeguard Measures: Can include import quotas or tariff increases, but must be temporary and non-discriminatory.
- India’s Stand: India has raised concerns over U.S. tariff measures, citing non-compliance with GATT 1994 and Safeguards Agreement