Defence and Security/GSIII
Rafale-M and F/A-18

What's the NEWS

• Rafale M, the marine version of the French fighter jet successfully carried out a demonstration ski-jump from the shore-based test facility (SBTF) at INS Hansa, in Goa, to project its capabilities to operate from Indian aircraft carriers.
• Ski-jump is a crucial take-off capability needed to operate from Indian aircraft carriers and Rafale's manufacturer, Dassault Aviation, has brought the marine version here to showcase its features to the Indian Navy
• Similarly, American Aviation giant Boeing will also be bringing its F/A 18 Super Hornet to the same facility in Goa to showcase its ski-jump capability in March.

• Carrier-based fighters primarily come in three categories - STOVL (short take-off and vertical landing), STOBAR (Short Take-off but Arrested Recovery) and CATOBAR (catapult take-off but arrested recovery).
• French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and American carriers use CATOBAR while Indian carriers - INS Vikramaditya and an indigenous one that is under trial - employ STOBAR.
• Both Dassault and Boeing are eyeing a mega deal from the Navy, which is seeking to buy at least two squadrons of new fighters that will operate from its aircraft carriers.
• These trials are part of demonstrations by aircraft manufacturers to showcase the compatibility of their aircraft to fly from Indian Navy's aircraft carriers which use a ski-jump to launch aircraft.
• Both the Rafale-M and F/A-18 are originally designed to operate from carriers with a catapult launch mechanism.
• In 2017, the Navy had floated Request For Information (RFI) to procure 57 twin-engine carrier fighters which is now set to downsized to around 26, including few twin-seater trainer variants.
• The revision is in the backdrop of a new indigenous Twin Engine Carrier Based Deck Fighter (TEBDF) being designed and developed by the DRDO and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).

Prelims Factoids
Centre forms 3-member committee to probe into PM Modi's security lapse
What's the NEWS

• The ministry of home affairs constituted a three-member committee to probe into the serious lapses in the security arrangement during Prime Minister's visit to Punjab's Ferozepur.
• The ministry announced that the committee will be led by Sudhir Kumar Saxena, secretary (security), Cabinet Secretariat.
• The two other members are Balbir Singh, Joint Director, intelligence bureau, and S. Suresh, IG, special protection group (SPG).
• The committee is advised to submit the report at the earliest

• Supreme Court agreed to set up an independent committee to probe Prime Minister's security breach in Ferozepur in Punjab last week.
• The Apex court said that the independent committee will be headed by a former Supreme Court judge.
• The Court also proposed to include DGP Chandigarh, IG National Investigation Agency, Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court, and ADGP (security) of Punjab, in the independent committee to probe PM Modi's security breach

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flagged-in India's first multi-dimensional adventure sports expedition conducted by National Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports in France.
• The expedition was conducted in November last year and the team comprising 12 people - eight Army personnel and four youths of Arunachal Pradesh.
• The expedition team carried out over 250 kilometres of winter trekking in the Alps Mountain Ranges, which included Tour De Mont Blanc trek covering the French, Swiss and Italian Alps. The expedition was organised as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

• It is the highest mountain in the Alps and the European Union, rising 4,807.81 m above sea level.
• It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus.
• The mountain stands between the regions of Aosta Valley, Italy, and Savoie and Haute-Savoie, France.

• China's status as a ‘developing country' at the World Trade Organization (WTO) has become a contentious issue with a number of countries raising concerns over the upper middle-income nation deriving benefits reserved for developing countries under WTO norms.
• Concerns have been raised at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the ‘least developed country' (LDC) status, with Bangladesh potentially losing this tag after surpassing India in terms of GDP per capita.

• Certain WTO agreements give developing countries special rights through ‘special and differential treatment' (S&DT) provisions, which can grant developing countries longer timeframes to implement the agreements and even commitments to raise trading opportunities for such countries.
• WTO pacts are often aimed at reduction in government support to certain industries over time and set more lenient target for developing nations and grant them more time to achieve these targets compared to developed ones.
• The classification also allows other countries to offer preferential treatment.

Know! the benefits of LDC classification

• The WTO recognises LDCs relying on a classification by the UN based on a criteria that is reviewed every three years. LDCs are often exempted from certain provisions of WTO pacts.
• Bangladesh, currently classified as an LDC, receives zero duty, zero quota access for almost all exports to the EU.
• It is, however, set to graduate from the LDC status in 2026 as its per capita GDP has risen sharply surpassing that of India in FY21.
• The WTO has not defined ‘developed' and ‘developing' countries and therefore member countries are free to announce whether they are ‘developed' or ‘developing'.

Prelims Factoids
Central Institute Of Classical Tamil (CICT)

What's the NEWS

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the new campus of Central Institute of Classical Tamil in Chennai, on 12th January, 2022.
• The establishment of a new campus of Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT) in Chennai is in line with the Prime Minister's vision to protect and preserve Indian heritage and promote classical languages.

• The new campus is fully funded by the Union Government and is built at a cost of Rs 24 Crore.
• CICT, which was operating from a rented building so far, will now operate from a new 3 storey campus.
• An autonomous organization under the Union Ministry of Education, CICT is contributing to the promotion of classical Tamil by doing research activities so as to establish the ancientness and uniqueness of Tamil language.
• To promote classical Tamil and support its students, the Institute indulges in academic activities like holding seminars and training programmes, granting fellowship etc.
• It also aims to translate and publish ‘Thirukkural' in various Indian as well as 100 foreign languages.

Prelims Factoids
NATIONAL WATER AWARDS

What's the NEWS

• Union Minister of Jal Shakti Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat announced 3rd National Water Awards-2020.
• In the Best State category, Uttar Pradesh has been awarded first prize, followed by Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

• The first National Water Award was launched by the Jal Shakti Ministry in 2018.
• National Water Awards have provided a good opportunity to start-ups as well as leading organizations to engage and deliberate with senior policymakers on how to adopt the best water resources management practices in India.
• The Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti is giving 57 awards to States, Organizations, Individuals etc. in 11 different categories.
• These are: Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat, Best Urban Local Body, Best Media (Print & Electronic), Best School, Best Institution/RWA/Religious organization for Campus usage, Best Industry, Best NGO, Best Water User Association, and Best Industry for CSR Activity.

• India's current water requirement is estimated to be around 1,100 billion cubic meters per year, projected to go up to 1,447 billion cubic meters by 2050.
• While India has more than 18% of the world's population, it has only 4% of world's renewable water resources.
• It is in this backdrop that the National Water Awards (NWA) were instituted to recognize and encourage exemplary work and efforts made by States, Districts, individuals, organizations, etc across the country in attaining the government's vision of a ‘Jal Samridh Bharat'.

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