Gallantry Awards
President approved 103 Gallantry awards to Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces personnel on Independence Day 2024.
- Order of Precedence: Param Vir Chakra, Ashoka Chakra, Mahavir Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Vir Chakra, and Shaurya Chakra.
- Announcement: Twice a year – Republic Day and Independence Day.
- Instituted: Wartime Gallantry Awards in 1950; Peacetime Gallantry Awards in 1952 (renamed in 1967).
DRDO’s Long Range Glide Bomb ‘GAURAV’
Maiden flight test of Long Range Glide Bomb ‘GAURAV’ from Su-30 MK-I platform by DRDO.
- Type: Air-launched 1,000 kg class glide bomb.
- Capability: Hits targets at long distances.
- Navigation: Steers towards target using a highly accurate hybrid navigation scheme combining Indian Navigation System (INS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) data.
- Designed and developed indigenously by – Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad.
FloodWatch India Application 2.0
Ministry of Jal Shakti launched version 2.0 of the ‘FloodWatch India’ mobile application.
- Developer: Developed by the Central Water Commission (CWC).
- CWC: Premier Technical Organisation in the field of water resources.
- Aim: Disseminate information related to flood situations and flood forecasts up to 7 days on a real-time basis to the public using mobile phones.
- Technologies: Utilizes advanced technologies such as satellite data analysis, mathematical modelling, and real-time monitoring.
Premature Human Deaths Linked to Declining Vulture Population
Half a million humans may have died prematurely due to the functional extinction of vultures in India.
- Keystone Species:
- Vultures clean up disease-ridden carcasses.
- Reduce populations of other scavengers (e.g., feral dogs) and pathogens.
- Human Health Crisis:
- Declined vulture population increased human mortality by over 4%.
- Caused by a negative shock to sanitation (increased pathogens).
- Economic Costs: Nearly $70 billion in annual monetary damage from this public health crisis.
Serosurvey
Conducted by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to determine exposure to Mpox among India’s high-risk population.
- Definition: Collection and testing of blood (or proxy specimen like oral fluid) from a defined population over a specified period.
- Objective: Estimate prevalence of IgG antibodies against an infectious pathogen as an indicator of exposure.
- Significance:
- Estimate prevalence of infection.
- Identify immunity gap.
- Provide key parameters for infectious disease modeling.