Facts in News

                     Facts in News

FASTag

• It is an electronic toll collection system in India,
• It is the flagship initiative of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
• Operated by: National Highway Authority of India.
• It employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making direct toll payments from the prepaid or savings account linked to it or directly from the toll owner.
• It is affixed on the windscreen of the vehicle and enables to drive through toll plazas without stopping for transactions.
• FASTag is mandatory from 1st Jan 2021 and any vehicle not fitted with FASTag will have to pay twice the fee.

‘Jidar-ul-Hadeed’ Army Exercise

• ‘Jidar-ul-Hadeed’, a month-long army exercise is being conducted in Thar Desert of Sindh Province by the Pakistan Army.
• It will prepare Pakistan Army for warfare in Extreme Desert Conditions.
• ‘Aman-2021’, a multinational naval exercise will also be hosted by Pakistan in the Arabian Sea.
  • 45 countries, including the US, Russia, China and Turkey, will be participating in the Aman 2021.

Sub-Mission on Seeds and Planting Materials

• Launched by: Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare
• It is part of the National Mission on Agricultural Extension and Technology (NMAET).
• Aim: To produce and supply quality seeds to farmers to enhance production and productivity in the country through various components namely,
  • Seed Village Programme.
  • Establishment of seed processing-cum-seed storage godowns at Gram Panchayat level.
  • National Seed Reserve.
  • Boosting seed production in the private sector and strengthening quality control infrastructure facilities.

Assistance Provided

• Creation of 4.29 lakh Seed Villages.
• Supply of subsidised seeds to farmers like Paddy (in Kerala after floods), Maize, etc.
• Development of 71 bio-fortified varieties (nutritionally enriched with Protein, Iron, Zinc, Amino Acids, Pro vitamin-A & vitamin-C, etc.) to alleviate malnutrition.
• Notification of 78 crop species for new registration by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPVFR) Authority.
• Analysis of different seed samples from India by the National Seed Research and Testing Centre under the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) Proficiency Test Programme, Switzerland.

SANKALP

• Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) is a programme of the Ministry of Skill Development with loan assistance from the World Bank.
• It was launched in January 2018 and has a tenure till March 2023.
• Aims
  • Improvement of short term skill training qualitatively and quantitatively through strengthening institutions.
  • Bringing in better market connectivity.
  • Inclusion of marginalised sections of the society.

SVEEP

• Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme is the flagship program of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
• Aims
  • To increase voter education, spread voter awareness and promote voter literacy in India.
  • To build a truly participative democracy in India by encouraging all eligible citizens to vote and make an informed decision during the elections.

Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav (RSM)

• It is the flagship festival of the Ministry of Culture and has been organized since 2015 with the active participation of Seven Zonal Culture Centres.
• Aims
  • To take the vibrant culture of India out to the masses instead of confining it to auditoria and galleries.
  • To provide an effective platform and the much-needed support and assistance to the artists.
• It has been instrumental in showcasing folk and tribal art, dance, music, cuisines and culture of one state in other states reinforcing the cherished goal of “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat”.
• RSM assumes more significance in 2021 as the nation emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic which severely impacted the cultural sector.
  • The 11th edition is being held in West Bengal at Cooch Behar, Darjeeling and Murshidabad.

Mushaira

• The Ministry of Minority Affairs will organise “Mushaira” on the theme of “Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat” in New Delhi on 20th February 2021.
  • Mushaira is a poetic symposium.
  • It’s a term in Urdu used to describe an event where poets gather to perform their works and is a beloved part of the culture of Pakistan and North India.
  • It is greatly admired by participants as a forum for free self-expression.
• Mushaira and Kavi Sammelan are the rich cultural legacies of India, strengthening the idea of “Unity in Diversity”.
  • Such programmes give and spread the message of peace, socio-cultural harmony and brotherhood.
  • Also, they make the younger generation aware of the country’s art, culture and legacy of decency and etiquette.
• The renowned poets of the country will present their poetry full of commitment to the theme and also on “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”.

Mission Shakti

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted ‘Mission Shakti’, an Anti-Satellite (A-SAT) Missile Test from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha in 2019.
  • With this, India becomes the fourth country with the capability to destroy a low-orbit satellite after the US, China and Russia.
• The interceptor missile was a three-stage missile with two solid rocket boosters.
• Anti-satellite weapons (ASATs) are created to destroy or incapacitate satellites.
• It can also be used to access critical information about troop movements or incoming missiles.
• There are two types of A-SAT missiles
  • Kinetic A-SATs: Like ballistic missiles, these physically strike an object in order to destroy it.
  • Non-Kinetic A-SATs: They use nonphysical means to disable or destroy space objects like cyber-attacks and frequency jamming.
• Capabilities Included
  • Cyber-attacks on space systems, Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) explosion devices, directed energy (laser-based) weapons and targeted missiles for the destruction of satellites to sabotage the enemy’s military operations.
• To mark the occasion, a customised stamp was released by the Department of Posts in September 2020.

Maharaja Suheldev Memorial

• The Prime Minister of India will lay the foundation stone of Maharaja Suheldev Memorial and development work of Chittaura Lake in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh.
  • It will include installation of an equestrian (horse riding) statue of the king among other works.
• Significance
  • The nation will get better acquainted with the heroic saga of Maharaja Suheldev.
  • It would also further enhance the tourist potential of this site.

Suhaldev

• He was a king from Shravasti, popularly known to have defeated and killed the Ghaznavid General Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud at Bahraich in the early 11th century.
• Generally identified as Bhar-Pasi king, he is mentioned in the 17th-century Persian-language historical romance “Mirat-i-Masudi”, written by Abdur Rahman Chishti.

NetWire

• NetWire first surfaced in 2012, is a well-known malware.
• It is a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) which gives control of the infected system to an attacker through a command and control server.

• Malware
  • It is the collective name for a number of malicious software variants, including viruses, ransomware and spyware.
  • Shorthand for malicious software, malware typically consists of code developed by cyberattackers, designed to cause extensive damage to data and systems or to gain unauthorized access to a network.