Why is it in the News?

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday unveiled a statue of late anti-caste activist Iyothee Thass Pandithar installed at the Gandhi Mandapam campus at Guindy in Chennai.

About Iyothee Thass Pandithar:

• Iyothee Thass Pandithar was an important anti-caste activist and practiced Siddha medicine.
• He was born on 20 May 1845 in Madras presidency.
• In the 1870s, Thass brought together the Todas and other tribes of the Nilgiri Hills for the freedom movement.
• In 1876, he started the Advaidananda Sabha and, with Rev. John Rathina, launched a magazine called Dravida Pandian.
• In 1891, he founded the "Dravida Mahajana Sabha'' with Rettamalai Srinivasan.
• Also, he established the Sakya Buddhist Society in Madras, which had branches all over South India.
• This society, also known as the Indian Buddhist Association, was formed in 1898.
• To organize and oversee the society's activities, he began a weekly magazine, Tamizhan, in 1907.

Why is it in the News?

The Navy has appointed the first woman commanding officer in a naval ship in line with the Navy’s philosophy of “all roles-all ranks” to deploying women in the service, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said on Friday.

About INS Trinkat:

• INS Trinkat is a patrol vessel crafted by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers in Kolkata, West Bengal, and serves the Indian Navy.
• The role of the INS Trinkat is for anti-poaching operations, counter-insurgency operations, and Search and Rescue Operations in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep Islands, and India's Exclusive Economic Zone.
• It is capable of detecting and destroying fast-moving surface craft.
• It can also carry out policing anti-smuggling and fisheries protection operations.
• These patrol vessels are aptly named after Trinkat Island, one of the 24 islands constituting the Nicobar Islands chain situated in the northeast Indian Ocean, between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.

About Group Captain Shaliza Dhami:

• Group Captain Shaliza Dhami, is an esteemed officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF).
• She holds the distinction of being the first woman officer in the IAF to secure a permanent commission and the pioneer woman to attain the role of a Flight Commander.
• Adding to her achievements, she became the first woman IAF officer selected for a front-line combat unit.
• Shaliza Dhami is an officer who is a qualified navigation instructor and has been involved in training observers inducted into the Navy.
• She is also learned to be the first woman officer who served as an observer in the Navy’s Tupolev Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft.
• It's noteworthy that she is poised to make history once again by assuming command of a ship, marking a significant milestone in her career.

Why is it in the News?

Recently astronomers have discovered an uncommon star system located just 100 light-years away from us, with six planets huddled immensely close to their host star.

What about sub-Neptunes?

• Sub-Neptunes are generally any planet that has a smaller radius than Neptune, although some could still be more massive.
• There are no sub-Neptunes in our solar system even though they are now known to be more common around other stars than Neptune-sized worlds.
• They might be rocky planets with thick atmospheres of hydrogen and helium gas, planets made of rock and ice bearing warm and water-rich atmospheres.
• These sub-Neptune planets were Initially detected in 2020 by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and are about two to three times as big as Earth.

What are the findings?

• The newly discovered sub-Neptunes range from 1.9 to 2.9 times Earth's diameter.
• All appear to possess a large atmosphere.
• They and their star are located around 100 light-years from Earth.
• A light year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).
• The system has six planets, all about the same size and they've barely changed since its formation up to 12 billion years ago.
• Their star, called HD110067, is visible in Earth's night sky in the northern constellation Coma Berenices.
• These undisturbed conditions make it ideal for learning how these worlds formed and whether they host life.

Why is it in the News?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Bank of England (BoE) on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning cooperation and exchange of information in relation to the Clearing Corporation of India Ltd (CCIL).

About Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL):

• The Clearing Corporation of India Ltd. (CCIL) was set up in April 2001 to provide guaranteed clearing and settlement functions for transactions in Money, G-Secs, Foreign Exchange, and Derivative markets.
• Objective: The prime objective has been to improve efficiency in the transaction settlement process, insulate the financial system from shocks emanating from operations-related issues, and undertake other related activities that would help to broaden and deepen the money, debt, and forex markets in the country.
• Promoters of CCIL: State Bank of India, IDBI Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Bank of Baroda, and HDFC Bank Ltd.
• The company was incorporated with an authorised equity share capital of Rs. 50 crores.
• CCIL’s adherence to the stringent principles governing its operations as a Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) has resulted in its recognition as a Qualified Central Counterparty (QCCP) by the Reserve Bank of India in 2014.
• CCIL is also the trade repository for all OTC transactions in the Forex, Interest Rate, and Credit derivative transactions.
• Through its fully owned subsidiary, Clearcorp Dealing Systems Limited (CDSL), CCIL has introduced various platforms for the electronic execution of deals in various market segments.
• Further, CDSL has developed, implemented, and manages the NDS-OM, the RBI-owned anonymous electronic trading system for dealing in G-Secs and also for reporting OTC deals, as well as the NDS-CALL platform, which facilitates electronic dealing in the Call, Notice & Term Money market.

Why is it in the News?

The Codex Alimentarious Commission (CAC) has recently praised India’s Standards on Millets and accepted its proposal for the development of global standards for millets during its 46th session held in Rome, Italy.

About Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC):

• The Codex Alimentarious Commission (CAC) is an international food safety and quality standard-setting body created by WHO and FAO of the United Nations with 188 member countries.
• It is the body responsible for all matters regarding the implementation of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme.
• Membership of the Commission is open to all Member Nations and Associate Members of FAO and WHO which are interested in international food standards.
• The Commission meets in regular session once a year alternating between Geneva and Rome.
• The programme of work of the Commission is funded through the regular budgets of WHO and FAO with all work subject to approval of the two governing bodies of the parent organizations.
• The Commission works in the six UN official languages.
• India has been a member of this commission since 1964.
• The 46th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) was held from 27 November to 2 December (2023) in Rome, Italy.
• In the current session, India has framed a comprehensive group standard for 15 types of millets specifying 8 quality parameters, which received resounding applause at the international meet.
• India put forward a proposal for the development of global standards for millet, particularly for Finger millet, Barnyard millet, Kodo millet, Proso millet, and Little millet as group standards as in the case of pulses.