18 May 2024

• Defence: India received the first batch of 27,000 AK-203 rifles from the Indo-Russian joint venture at Korwa, Uttar Pradesh. The rifles will replace the INSAS.
• Culture: Author Ruskin Bond received the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, the highest literary honour from the Sahitya Akademi.
• Science: Further analysis of the Sundarbans air pollution study highlighted the black carbon pathway from the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
• Space: China's HEPS synchrotron, nearing completion in Beijing, prompted discussion of India's own synchrotron facilities at RRCAT, Indore.

GS area: Science and Technology (Defence), Economy (Indigenisation)

The Indian Army received its first batch of 27,000 AK-203 Kalashnikov assault rifles from the Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL) manufacturing facility in Korwa, Uttar Pradesh.

• Contract: Signed in July 2021 for 6.01 lakh (601,000) AK-203 rifles.
• IRRPL: Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited. Indian partners: Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL) and Munitions India Limited (MIL). Russian partners: Rosoboronexport and Kalashnikov Concern.
• Location: Korwa Ordinance Factory in Amethi district, Uttar Pradesh.
• Indigenisation trajectory: Domestic content at 27,000-unit delivery is currently about 25 per cent. Target is 70 per cent within two years and 100 per cent within three years.
• Replacement purpose: AK-203 replaces the INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) rifle, which entered service in 1996 and has had persistent reliability concerns.
• AK-203 specifications: Gas-operated, rotating bolt; fires 7.62x39 mm rounds; effective range 500 metres; weight 3.4 kg. Adaptation from the original AK-47/AKM family with Picatinny rail systems for accessories.

Static linkage: Defence indigenisation, India-Russia defence cooperation, AWEIL and MIL roles.

GS area: Art and Culture, Awards

Author Ruskin Bond was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, the highest honour given by the Sahitya Akademi. He is among the most celebrated Indian writers in the English language.

• Sahitya Akademi: An autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, established in 1954 as India's national academy of letters. It promotes Indian literature across all scheduled languages and English.
• Fellowship: The Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is the Academy's highest honour. It is limited to a maximum of 21 living fellows simultaneously. It is awarded for lifelong contribution to Indian literature.
• Ruskin Bond's key works: The Blue Umbrella, Room on the Roof, A Flight of Pigeons (the basis of the film Junoon), The Night Train at Deoli, Rusty series.
• Earlier honours: Sahitya Akademi Award (1992), Padma Shri (1999), Padma Bhushan (2019).
• Born: 19 May 1934, Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh.
• Distinction from other categories: The Sahitya Akademi also gives Honorary Fellowships to non-Indian literary figures and the Premchand Fellowship to SAARC scholars. The Fellowship (Indian) is a distinct, higher category limited to 21.

Static linkage: Sahitya Akademi, Indian literature in English, literary awards.

GS area: Governance (Economy, Regulation)

India's Ministry of Corporate Affairs circulated details of a proposed Digital Competition Bill, 2024 aimed at regulating dominant digital platforms.

• Target entities: "Systemically Significant Digital Enterprises" (SSDEs), large tech platforms whose market power creates structural barriers to competition.
• Regulatory approach: Ex-ante regulation (rules set in advance to prevent harm) rather than the conventional ex-post approach (intervening after harm has occurred). The EU's Digital Markets Act uses the same ex-ante philosophy.
• Key obligations proposed: SSDEs would face obligations on self-preferencing, data sharing, interoperability, and restricting anti-competitive bundling.
• CCI: The Competition Commission of India (established under the Competition Act, 2002) is the existing regulator. The new Bill would either expand CCI's powers or create a specialised unit.
• Covered platforms: The Bill is expected to cover search engines, social media platforms, app stores, cloud services, and online marketplaces.
• Context: The EU's Digital Markets Act took effect in 2024, targeting Alphabet (Google), Apple, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and ByteTok as "gatekeepers."

Static linkage: Competition law, digital economy regulation, CCI.

GS area: International Relations (Defence Cooperation)

Exercise Shakti 2024, the 7th edition of the joint India-France army exercise, was held in Umroi, Meghalaya.

• Shakti: The India-France Army exercise. First held in 2011. Held biannually, alternating between India and France.
• Location: Umroi, Meghalaya (near Shillong). Umroi is host to a military cantonment and air base.
• Focus areas: Multi-domain operations, counter-terrorism in mountainous terrain, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR).
• India-France defence exercises: Three service-level exercises cover all domains: Shakti (Army), Varuna (Navy, held annually since 1983), and Garuda (Air Force, held biannually since 2003).
• Strategic partnership: India-France signed a strategic partnership in 1998. France has been a key supplier of defence equipment, including Rafale jets and Scorpene submarines.

Static linkage: India-France relations, bilateral military exercises, Indo-Pacific cooperation.

GS area: Science and Technology

China's High Energy Photon Source (HEPS) synchrotron in Beijing neared completion, prompting comparison with India's synchrotron infrastructure.

• Synchrotron: A particle accelerator that keeps charged particles (typically electrons) in a circular path while accelerating them. The intense X-ray light emitted (synchrotron radiation) is used to study the structure of materials at the atomic and molecular level.
• Applications: Drug development (protein structure), materials science, nanotechnology, archaeology (studying ancient artifacts non-destructively).
• HEPS (China): Located at Huairou, Beijing. Circumference: 1.36 km. Electron energy: 6 GeV. Fourth-generation synchrotron. First in Asia. 14 initial beamlines, expandable to 90.
• India's synchrotrons: Indus-1 and Indus-2, both at RRCAT (Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology), Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Indus-1 (450 MeV, operational 1999) and Indus-2 (2.5 GeV, operational 2005). Both are second-generation synchrotrons.
• RRCAT: Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology is a national laboratory under the Department of Atomic Energy, headquartered in Indore.

Static linkage: Science and technology policy, atomic energy institutions, advanced research infrastructure.

• NTD Report (WHO 2024): The WHO's Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) report found 50 countries had eliminated at least one NTD. Bangladesh was the first to eliminate visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) as a public health problem (October 2023). Noma (cancrum oris) was added to the WHO NTD list in 2023. India targets elimination of lymphatic filariasis by 2027 under APELF (Accelerated Plan for Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis).
• Collegium system: The Supreme Court registry refused a fresh petition challenging the collegium system. The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC, 99th Constitutional Amendment, 2014) was struck down in 2015. The collegium for SC appointments comprises the CJI plus 4 senior-most SC judges.
• Nor'wester (Kalbaishakhi) research testbed: India's first research testbed for studying Nor'westers (violent pre-monsoon thunderstorms in eastern India) was set up by IMD, IITM Pune, and NCMRWF (National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting). Nor'westers are different from Western Disturbances and are local convective phenomena.