C-17 Globemaster

• The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) largest transport aircraft – C-17 Globemaster – has made a historic landing at Arunachal Pradesh’s Tuting Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) near the Chinese border. The landing of the aircraft is seen as part of the IAF’s move to strengthen its overall operations in the strategically important border state.
• It is a US-manufactured aircraft named after two previous piston-engined military cargo aircraft, the Douglas C-74 Globemaster and the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II.
• It is commonly used to perform strategic airlift missions, transporting troops and cargo throughout the world; additional roles include medical evacuation and airdrop duties.
• They are operated in diverse terrain – from Himalayan air bases in North India at 13,000 ft to Indian Ocean bases in South India.

Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences

• The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) is an autonomous body of the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy), Government of India.
• It is an apex body in India for the formulation, coordination, development and promotion of research on scientific lines in Ayurveda and Sowa-Rigpa system of medicine.

E-Office

• E-Office is one of the Mission Mode Projects under Digital India Programme.
• The e-Office solution enables core operations of the Government at all levels to be performed in a virtual ‘paper-less’ environment. This application is, thus, a major step in realizing the objective of an open and responsive Government.
• The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DAR&PG) is the nodal Department for implementation of e-Office project. National Informatics Centre (NIC) is the technical partner in this project.

India-based Neutrino Observatory

• The India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) Project is a multi-institutional effort aimed at building a world-class underground laboratory with a rock cover of approx.1200 m for non-accelerator based high energy and nuclear physics research in India.
• The initial goal of INO is to study neutrinos.
• It is a mega-science project under the XII five-year plan of Government of India with an investment of about 1350 crores, jointly funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

The Kochon Prize

• The Kochon Prize is awarded annually by Stop TB Partnership to individuals and/or organizations that have made a significant contribution to combating TB.
• The Kochon Prize was established in 2006 in honour of the late Chairman Chong-Kun Lee (a South Korean) who was committed throughout his career to improving access to low-cost lifesaving antibiotics and anti-TB drugs. “Kochon” was a pen name that he used.
• The 2017 Kochon Prize was awarded to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recently for building a tradition of excellence in TB research and development. TB research by the ICMR has shaped the global DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short Course) strategy.

Whip

• The whip is “an official appointed to maintain discipline among, secure attendance of, and give necessary information to, members of his party.”
• Party whips are persons who are expected to be a channel of communication between the political party and the members of the party in the legislature.
• They also serve the function of gauging the opinion of the members, and communicating it to party leaders.
• The actual whips issued to members can be of three types: one-line, two-line or three-line, depending on the number of times the text is underlined, reflecting the urgency and importance of the whip.

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012

• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 deals with sexual offences against persons below 18 years of age, who are deemed as children.
• An offence under this act is considered graver if it is committed by a police officer, public servant, any member of the staff at a remand home, protection or observation home, jail, hospital or educational institution, or by a member of the armed or security forces.
• The Act is a comprehensive law to provide for the protection of children from the offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography.
• It safeguards the interests of the child at every stage of the judicial process by incorporating child-friendly mechanisms for reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and speedy trial of offences through appointment of Special Public Prosecutors and designated Special Courts.
• The Act provides for stringent punishments which have been graded as per the gravity of offence.

S-400

• Long-range surveillance radar tracks objects and relays information to command vehicle, which assesses potential targets.
• Target is identified and command vehicle orders missile launch.
• Launch data is sent to the best placed launch vehicle and it releases surface-to-air missiles.
• Engagement radar helps guide missiles towards target.
• Range: 400km
• Types of target: aircraft, cruise missiles, medium-range missiles, drones, other airborne surveillance systems