Security: Veer Guardian 2023, the first bilateral air exercise between India and Japan, was in progress over 16 days.
Economy: Australia Open 2023 final: Novak Djokovic won his 22nd Grand Slam, equalling the record. Relevant as an international event with wide India coverage.
Disaster: Joshimath crisis: central agency reports were due within days. Demolition of structurally compromised buildings continued.
Environment: Noble's Helen Butterfly was recorded for the first time in India at Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh.
1. Veer Guardian 2023: India-Japan air exercise
GS area: International Relations, Security
The first bilateral air exercise between the Indian Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF), named Veer Guardian 2023, was conducted over 16 days from 16 January 2023.
Location: Air Force Station, Jodhpur, Rajasthan (IAF aircraft); additional elements at JASDF bases.
Significance: Japan's post-war constitution (Article 9) renounces war and limits the JASDF to a strictly defensive posture. A bilateral exercise with India signals Japan's expanding security partnerships as it revises its defence policy.
Japan's 2022 defence shift: Japan announced a doubling of its defence budget to 2 per cent of GDP and revised its National Security Strategy to allow "counter-strike capability" for the first time.
India-Japan relations: Special Strategic and Global Partnership established in 2014. Bilateral free trade (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) is in force. Japan is a key Quad partner.
Quad: India, United States, Australia and Japan. Focuses on a free, open Indo-Pacific.
Static linkage: International relations, security (GS Paper 2).
2. Namdapha National Park: Noble's Helen Butterfly first sighting
GS area: Environment (biodiversity)
The Noble's Helen Butterfly (a swallowtail species) was recorded for the first time in India in Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh.
Species: Noble's Helen (Papilio noblei) had previously been recorded only in Myanmar, China and Vietnam. This Indian sighting is the westernmost known occurrence.
Namdapha: India's fourth-largest national park by area. Located in Changlang district, Arunachal Pradesh. The only Indian protected area with all four feline species: tiger, leopard, snow leopard and clouded leopard.
UNESCO tentative list: Namdapha is on India's UNESCO World Heritage tentative list.
Significance: Butterfly distribution changes are sensitive indicators of ecological and climatic shifts. A westward extension of this species' range may reflect climate-driven habitat changes.
Static linkage: Biodiversity, wildlife (GS Paper 3).
Scramjet engine: A supersonic combustion ramjet. Compresses incoming air through the vehicle's geometry (no moving parts). Requires the vehicle to already be travelling at hypersonic speed before the engine can operate.
Speed: Hypersonic is defined as Mach 5 or above (five times the speed of sound).
India's test: DRDO successfully demonstrated HSTDV in 2020, making India the fourth country (after the US, Russia and China) to test a hypersonic vehicle.
Strategic significance: Hypersonic missiles are difficult to intercept because of their speed and manoeuvrability. They can penetrate existing air-defence systems.
Competitors: Russia deployed the Kinzhal and Avangard hypersonic missiles. China tested the DF-17. The US is in development.
Static linkage: Science and technology, defence (GS Paper 3).
4. Joshimath demolition drive
GS area: Disaster Management, Environment
Demolition of structurally unsafe buildings in Joshimath continued through January. The effort to stabilise the hill town was multi-agency and complex.
Buildings demolished: Several large hotels, including the Malari Inn and Mount View, were brought down with explosives after being declared structurally unsafe.
Resistance: Some residents resisted evacuation and demolition, citing inadequate compensation and uncertainty about resettlement.
Four unsafe wards: Sunil, Manohar Bagh, Gandhinagar and Singdhar remained declared completely unsafe.
Long-term plan: An expert committee was to recommend whether Joshimath can be rebuilt in place or whether the town needs phased relocation to a safer site.
Connectivity impact: The Badrinath National Highway, which passes through Joshimath, provides the only road access to the Badrinath shrine. Subsidence and road cracks added risk for the upcoming Char Dham Yatra season.
The Supreme Court raised concerns about India's bail system and the proportion of undertrial prisoners in jails.
Undertrial proportion: Over 77 per cent of India's prison population is under-trial (awaiting trial, not convicted). India's total prison population is significantly above official capacity.
SC recommendation: Streamlined bail legislation and bail guidelines to reduce the time undertrial prisoners spend in custody for non-serious offences.
Constitutional basis: Article 21 guarantees the right to life and personal liberty. Prolonged detention of undertrials without trial violates this right.
S-A Bobde Commission: Earlier recommended codifying bail law. The Supreme Court has repeatedly flagged overcrowded prisons and undertrial accumulation as systemic problems.
Bail vs imprisonment: The presumption of innocence until conviction is a foundational principle. India's bail culture (where bail is often denied even for bailable offences) inverts this.
Static linkage: Judiciary, criminal justice (GS Paper 2).
6. Briefly noted
Shumang Leela (Manipur): Traditional open-courtyard theatre of Manipur. Cross-gender performance is the defining feature. Men play women's roles. Promotes humanism, tolerance and social commentary. Relevant as a traditional performing art of the northeast.
XR Startup Programme: A collaboration between MeitY Startup Hub and Meta. 120 startups shortlisted for Extended Reality (AR/VR/MR) development. Aligns with India's digital economy ambitions.
Great Nicobar project review: Continued scrutiny of the 72,000 crore rupee infrastructure project on Great Nicobar Island. Environmental concerns include loss of leatherback turtle nesting beaches and threat to the Shompen tribe.
Practice MCQs
Check yourself
Veer Guardian 2023 was a bilateral air exercise between India and:
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Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh is notable for being the only Indian protected area with all four feline species. Which of the following is NOT one of those four species?
Check yourself
A scramjet engine differs from a conventional jet engine primarily in that:
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India's prison system faces a structural problem where over 77 per cent of inmates are undertrials. The constitutional provision directly at stake is:
Check yourself
The Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) comprises which four countries?