Myanmar military imported weapons worth USD 1 billion since 2021 coup

Myanmars military has imported at least USD 1 billion worth of weapons and related material from Russia, China and other countries since its February 2021 coup, some of which it has used to carry out atrocities against civilians, according to a UN report released on Wednesday. The weapons continue to flow to the military despite overwhelming evidence of its responsibility for the atrocities, including some that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, said Tom Andrews, the UN independent investigator on Human Rights in Myanmar.

Myanmar is mired in strife because of a political crisis unleashed when the military took power. Its takeover prompted widespread peaceful protests

that security forces suppressed with deadly force, triggering armed resistance throughout the country that the army has been unable to quell. Andrews said at least 22,000 political prisoners have been detained since the coup, at least 3.500 civilians have been killed and 1.5 million people have been forcibly displaced.

Sagar Defence has developed the countrys first Autonomous Weaponised unmanned boat with the capability for swarming. The contract was signed under anIndian Navy projectof the Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC 7) SPRINT initiative.

DRDOhas tested 3 remote unmanned weaponized boats in Pune ahead of DEFENCE Expo.

TheAutonomous Weaponised Boatswere developed in collaboration with Sagar Defence Engineering, a private start-up.

The vessel is capable of relying on the video feed to theground control stationand can be very useful for surveillance and patrolling.

iDEXis an

initiative by the Government of India to build an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging innovators and entrepreneurs to deliver technologically advanced solutions to Indias armed forces.

The objective of iDEX is to engage industries including MSMEs, Startups, individual innovators, R&D institutes, and academia to provide them with funding and support to carry out R&D development.

ISRO Shukrayaan I mission to planet Venus reportedly shifted to 2031

In the budget year 20222023, ISRO was given an allocation of 13,700 crores, a small increase from the previous year. Gaganyaan, the human spaceflight mission, received the majority of it. Various groups have created a wishlist ahead of the upcoming budget announcement and in response to recent reforms in the private spaceflight sector, which include increases in local manufacturing and procurement.

TheVERITAS and EnVision missionsof the American and European space agencies, respectively, both have Venus missions scheduled for 2031, but China might go anytime: 2026, 2027, whenever they want to go.

The pandemic was mentioned by ISRO as the reason for delaying Shukrayaan Is launch from mid-2023 to December 2024. Delays in manufacturing and obligations to commercial launch Services have also had an impact on other ISRO projects, such as Aditya L1 and Chandrayaan III.

Shukrayaan-I will be a mission for an

orbiter. A high-resolution synthetic aperture radar and a ground-penetrating radar are two of its current scientific payloads. From an elliptical orbit, the mission will likely research Venuss geological and volcanic activities, emissions on the surface, wind speed, cloud cover, and other planetary features.

Scientists said the recovery is gradual and will take many years. If current policies remain in place, the ozone layer is expected torecover to 1980 levels before the appearance of the ozone hole by 2040, the report said, and will return to normal in theArctic by 2045. Additionally,Antarcticacould experiencenormal levels by 2066.

Scientists and environmental groups have long lauded the global ban of ozone-depleting chemicals as one of the most critical environmental achievements to date, and it could

set a precedent for broader regulation of Climate-warming emissions.

Which organisation prepared the index report?

The report on Index on Foundational Literacy & Numeracy has been prepared by Institute for Competitiveness. It was released by chairman of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), Bibek Debroy.

The Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy establishes an understanding of overall state of Foundational Learning among children below ten years across states and Union territories in India. It has five pillars, comprising of 41 indicators. The five pillars include:

Educational

Access

to Education

Basic Health

Learning outcomes and

Governance.

Out of the five pillars, states have performed worse particularly in governance pillar.

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Index

On the Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, West

64 288 64 288 64S117.2 64 74.6 75.5c-23.5 6.3-42 24.9-48.3 48.6-11.4 42.9-11.4 132.3-11.4 132.3s0 89.4 11.4 132.3c6.3 23.7 24.8 41.5 48.3 47.8C117.2 448 288 448 288 448s170.8 0 213.4-11.5c23.5-6.3 42-24.2 48.3-47.8 11.4-42.9 11.4-132.3 11.4-132.3s0-89.4-11.4-132.3zm-317.5 213.5V175.2l142.7 81.2-142.7 81.2z"/> Subscribe on YouTube
Bengal has topped the chart in the large states category.

ISRO developing a SSLV with Private Participation

According to Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is in process of developing a SmallSatelliteLaunch Vehicle (SSLV) with private participation. The satellite will be launched in first quarter of 2022.

SSLV will provide a payload capability of 500 kg to a planar orbit of 500 km.

Development

of SSLV is in final stages.

First developmental flight of SSLV is targeted to launch during the first quarter of 2022.

Government has sanctioned

Rs 169 Crores to develop this project including the qualification and development of the vehicle systems as well as flight demonstration by three development flights namely, SSLV-D1, SSLV-D2 and SSLV-D3.

SSLV is being developed with the aim of launching small satellites commercially at a reduced price and higher launch rate as against the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

PM Modi conferred with highest civilian honour of Bhutan

Prime MinisterNarendra Modihas been conferred with Bhutans highest civilian award called Ngadag Pel gi Khorlo.

He was conferred with the award on the occasion of Bhutans National Day.

National Day of Bhutan is observed on December 17.

It marks the crowning of Ugyen Wangchuck as first Druk Gyalpo of modern Bhutan.

On the occasion, celebrations are held at Changlimithang Stadium.

Celebration includes a public address by the Druk Gyalpo as well as a procession including a statue of Ugyen Wangchuck, honouring the first Druk Gyalpo and independent Bhutanese nation.

Order of the Dragon King is the highest decoration of

Bhutan. It is awarded to recognise a lifetime of service to the people and Kingdom of Bhutan.

Cabinet Approves Scheme To Boost Semiconductor Manufacturing

The approved a Rs 76,000 crore scheme to increase semiconductor and display production in India on 15, December.

Highlights:

This plan was approved in order to promote India as a worldwide hub for high-tech manufacturing and to

attract multinational chip manufacturers.

It would also boost India’s goal to become self-sufficient in electronics production by attracting significant Investment.

This initiative will result in the creation of 35,000 specialized jobs and one lakh indirect jobs.

This is crucial because, in the current geopolitical Environment, reliable suppliers of semiconductors and displays are critical.