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Posted 25 Apr 2024

8 min read

Voyager 1

NASA’s Voyager 1 Resumes Sending Engineering Updates to Earth
- Earlier it stopped sending data back to Earth from Nov, 2023.

About Voyager 1
- Launched in 1977 to fly by Jupiter and Saturn.
- The probe is now in interstellar space, the region outside the heliopause.
- It was also the first spacecraft to cross the heliosphere.
  - The boundary where the influences outside our solar system are stronger than those from our Sun.
- Discovered a thin ring around Jupiter and Jovian moons: Thebe and Metis.

PayU has received an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a PA.

About PAs
- It is a financial technology company that simplifies the process of accepting electronic payments for businesses.
- It acts as an intermediary between the business and the financial institutions.
- It is incorporated as a company under the Companies Act, 1956 / 2013.
- Non-bank PAs require authorisation from RBI under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

Recently a candidate was elected unopposed to the lok sabha as the nomination papers of the opposite candidate was rejected by the returning officer.

Nominations in election
- Section 33 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RoPA) contains the requirements for a valid nomination.
- For filing of nomination in a constituency
  - Candidate from recognised political party should have one proposer
  - Candidates from independent and unrecognised parties should be subscribed by ten proposers.
  - The proposers should be electors from that respective constituency.
- Section 36 of the RP Act, provides that the Returning Officer can reject a nomination based on signature of the candidate or proposer found not genuine.

The people of the Diphu Constituency (Assam) have been demanding the implementation of Article 244(A) of the Constitution.

About Article 244(A)
- Inserted by the 22nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1969.
- It enables the formation of an autonomous State comprising certain tribal areas in Assam.
- The formed autonomous state shall have its own local Legislature or Council of Ministers or both for local administration.
- Provides for more powers to tribal areas than the Sixth Schedule by providing control over the law and order in the region.

The Indian Air Force has successfully tested a new version of a medium-range ballistic missile.

About Crystal Maze 2 (aka ROCKS):
- Origin: medium-range ballistic missile developed by Israel.
- Range: strike range of over 250 km
- Type: Air-to-surface missile
- Aim: designed to strike high-value stationary and relocatable targets in GPS-denied environments
- Missile can target long-range radar and air defense systems.

The Supreme Court has stayed construction of four proposed dams inside KWS in Haryana’s Yamunanagar district.

About Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary
- It is at the junction of the states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
- It’s the largest wildlife sanctuary in Haryana situated at lower Shivalik in the Himalayan foothills.
- The Yamuna River runs to the east of KWS.
- It’s an important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs).
- It’s a Broadleaf Deciduous Forest, comprising sal, khair, shisam, tun, sain and amla.
- Fauna: Leopard, Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus), Hyena, etc.

The GNAFC launched the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC) which is produced annually by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN).

About GNAFC:
- It was launched in 2016.
- By the European Union, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP).
- It seeks to better link, integrate and guide existing initiatives, partnerships, programmes and policy processes to address the root causes of food crises.
- It brings together governments, international organisations, and NGOs to improve humanitarian responses and reduce the number of people facing acute food insecurity.

About Sympathetic Solar Flares:
- They are caused by multiple eruptions across the Sun’s magnetic field, linked by massive magnetic field loops that lie above the solar surface.
- When one spot detonates, others follow suit. This leads to coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and massive bursts of plasma.
- Such solar activity is likely an indication of the Sun reaching the peak of its 11-year solar cycle known as solar maximum.