Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise

INS Shivalik has recently reached Pearl Harbour in Hawaii to take part in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise.

• RIMPAC Exercise aims at enhancing interoperability and building trust among the navies of friendly foreign countries.
• It is the world's largest naval exercise.
• The exercise will witness the participation of:
  • Aircraft Carrier Battle Group and submarines,
  • Maritime reconnaissance aircraft,
  • Unmanned aerial vehicles and remotely piloted surface ships and
  • Force landing operations including joint operations with Special Forces of multinational navies.
• It is led by US with 29 countries, including India are participating in the exercise.
• It provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants, critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security of world's oceans.
• INS Shivalik – It is a multi-role stealth frigate that will participate in the exercise representing India.
• It is an indigenously designed and built 6000 tonnes guided missile stealth frigate.

eSankhyiki Portal

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has recently launched eSankhyiki Portal to disseminate real-time inputs for planners, policy-makers and researchers.

• eSankhyiki Portal aims to provide real-time inputs for planners, policy-makers, researchers and the public at large.
• The objective of this portal is to establish a comprehensive data management and sharing system for ease of dissemination of official statistics in the country.
• eSankhyiki Portal is an initiative of Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
• The eSankhyiki Portal has two modules:
  1. Data Catalogue Module
  2. Macro Indicators Module
• Data Catalogue Module – This module catalogues the major data assets of the Ministry at one place for ease of access.
• This module allows users to search within datasets, including within tables and download data of interest to increase its value and re-usability.
• The Data Catalogue section already includes over 2291 datasets along with specific metadata and visualization for each dataset for user convenience.
• Macro Indicators Module – This module offers time series data of key macro indicators with features for filtering and visualizing data enabling ease of access for the users.
• The module also allows users to download custom datasets, visualizations and sharing them through APIs, thereby increasing the re-usability of data.

Asteroids

The International Asteroid Day is observed annually on June 30th to raise awareness about asteroid impact hazards.

• Asteroids are objects, either metallic or icy bodies, or rocks that spin the orbit within an inner solar system.
• Asteroids are also called as Minor planets which are rocky remnants left over from the formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago.
• They are neither planets nor comets and do not have an atmosphere of their own and vary in shape and sizes.
• Vesta is the largest asteroid in diameter recorded as of now.
• Asteroids range in size from less than 33 feet (10 meters) to the largest, Vesta, at about 329 miles (530 kilometers) in diameter.
• The total mass of all the asteroids combined is less than that of Earth's Moon.
• Most asteroids are irregularly shaped, often pitted or cratered, and rotate as they orbit the Sun.
• Composition Classes:
• C-type (carbonaceous) – Most common, dark in appearance, composed of clay and silicate rocks.
• S-type (silicaceous) – Made of silicate materials and nickel-iron.
• M-type (metallic) – Composed primarily of nickel-iron.
• Notable Asteroid Classifications
• Main Belt Asteroids – Located between Mars and Jupiter.
• Trojans – Share an orbit with a planet, primarily Jupiter.
• Near-Earth Asteroids – Pass close to Earth's orbit.
• Scientific Importance
• Asteroids provide insights into the early solar system's composition and formation.
• They may have played a role in delivering water and organic compounds to Earth.
• Studying asteroids helps in understanding potential impact threats to Earth.
• Asteroid Impact Events
• The Tunguska Event (1908) – A large explosion in Siberia desert, Russia which is likely caused by an asteroid or comet.
• The area is now referred to as Krasnoyarsk Krai.
• Chelyabinsk meteor (2013) – An asteroid exploded over Russia, causing widespread damage.
• International Initiatives
• International Asteroid Day – Observed annually on June 30th to raise awareness about asteroid impact hazards.
• NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) – Monitors potentially hazardous asteroids

Gardi Sugdub, Reasi & Dar es Salaam

• Dar es Salaam – It is the Tanzania’s financial hub.
• It was once a modest coastal town and is now a sprawling metropolis struggling with rapid urban sprawl and a surging population driven by rural-to-urban migration.
• This influx has strained infrastructure, leading to congested roads, overcrowded public transport, and an overburdened healthcare system.
• Reasi – Reasi is an administrative district in the Jammu and Kashmir, India.
• Two terrorist attacks incidents occurred in Reasi recently.
• Gardi Sugdub – It is an island in Panama.
• Due to climate change the people in Gardi Sugdub Island were forced to relocate.
• The global sea level in the region has ascended by approximately 21–24 centimetres, with the rate of increase accelerating in recent decades.

Structural Adjustment Participatory Review International Network (SAPRIN)

A 2002 World Bank-funded study by the SAPRIN have recently tracked the impact of the IMF’s SAPs in nine countries across four continents.

• SAPRIN is a global civil-society network to review structural adjustment programs (SAPs) and an exploration of new policy options in countries.
• It is designed as a tripartite exercise to bring together organizations of civil society, their governments and World Bank.
• It is aimed to legitimize civil society's role in economic decision-making.
• The countries participating in SAPRIN are:
  • Bangladesh, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Hungary, Mali, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
• India is not a participating country in SAPRIN.
• It is managed by a global Steering Committee with regional centres and a secretariat in Washington, D.C.
• SAPRIN is extended to include Citizens' Assessment of Structural Adjustment (CASA) in countries where governments didn't participate.
• Citizens' Assessment of Structural Adjustment (CASA) is a parallel initiative to SAPRI (Structural Adjustment Participatory Review Initiative).
• It was launched in countries where governments and the World Bank decided not to participate in SAPRI.
• In CASA initiatives, civil society organizations built alliances with their legislatures and other public institutions to conduct the assessment.
• Methodology used for SAPRIN – Used participatory, gender-sensitive research with a political-economy approach.
• Conducted extensive outreach to involve diverse sectors of society.
• Organized national forums for public discussion of adjustment policies.
• Key Activities – Public Launch in Washington in July 1997 with World Bank President Jim Wolfensohn.
• National outreach processes to mobilize civil society organizations.
• Opening National Forums in each country to discuss adjustment measures.
• Field research on the impacts of adjustment policies.
• Economic literacy programs to build capacity on economic policy issues.
• Development of alternative economic policy proposals.