CA-29/03/2026

• Location: Situated in Jewar, Gautam Buddha Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, approximately 72 km from IGI Airport.
• Airport Codes: Assigned IATA code DXN and ICAO code VIND.
• Developer: Developed by Yamuna International Airport Private Limited (YIAPL), a subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, under a 40-year concession.
• Construction: Built by Tata Projects Limited using sustainable, low-carbon materials.
• Capacity (Phase 1):
  • Passengers: 12 million per annum (MPPA).
  • Infrastructure: One 3,900-metre runway capable of handling wide-body aircraft (Boeing 777) and one passenger terminal (T1).
• Future Expansion: Planned to expand in four phases to reach a capacity of 70 million to 225 million passengers annually with up to 6 runways by 2050.
• Airlines: Initial domestic operations will be led by IndiGo (launch carrier), Air India Express, and Akasa Air.
• Connectivity:
  • Road: Directly connected to the Yamuna Expressway.
  • Rail/Metro: Future links include a 72 km RRTS-cum-Metro corridor from Ghaziabad and a connection to the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.
• Special Features:
  • Maintenance Hub: India's first airport with an in-house Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility.
  • Sustainability: Designed as a net-zero emissions facility.
  • Design: Architecture inspired by Indian heritage, including elements like ghats and havelis.

• Application Start: March 1, 2026.
• Facility Commencement: April 1, 2026.
• Validity: The scheme will remain in force until March 31, 2028.
• Core Benefit: Enables clearing of goods without immediate duty payment, significantly improving working capital and liquidity for manufacturers.

• Duties for goods cleared during a month (except March) must be paid by the 1st day of the following month.
• For the month of March, all duties must be paid by March 31.

• Must have a valid Import-Export Code (IEC).
• Minimum import history: At least 25 EXIM documents filed in the previous year (10 for MSMEs).
• Compliance: Must be GST compliant with no pending returns and have a clean track record with no major investigations (e.g., DRI or SIIB).
• Financial Health: Demonstrated financial solvency and creditworthiness.
• Digital Process: The application is fully digital via the AEO Portal, requiring an authorised nodal person with ICEGATE credentials for transaction authentication.
• Strategic Goal: Acts as a "nudge" for manufacturers to eventually upgrade to AEO T2/T3 status, which offers permanent, long-term deferral benefits.

• Parent Body: BRIC is an apex autonomous body under the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, formed by subsuming 14 autonomous institutes into one unified entity.
• Chairmanship: The BRIC-RAB is chaired by Prof. K. VijayRaghavan, the former Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
• Core Responsibilities:
  • Guiding & Reviewing: Monitoring research activities across all BRIC Institutes (iBRIC).
  • Mission Development: Fostering deliberations for new, targeted national programs and mission-focused objectives.
  • Policy Alignment: Ensuring research aligns with national priorities like the BioE3 Policy (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment, and Employment).
• Key Focus Areas: Includes human health, agriculture, environment, AI/Data sciences, and sustainable biomanufacturing.
• Infrastructure Strategy: Prioritizes shared infrastructure, biomanufacturing hubs, and biofoundries to optimize resources across the network.
• Scientific Talent: The board oversees the performance framework for scientists and initiatives like the i3c BRIC-RCB PhD Programme to nurture future biotech leaders.

• WFS is a byproduct of the metal casting industry (both ferrous and non-ferrous), consisting of high-quality silica sand that has been recycled multiple times until it loses its molding properties.

• Clay-bonded (Green Sand): Contains 85–95% silica sand and 4–10% bentonite clay.
• Chemically Bonded Sand: Uses resins or chemical additives (like sodium silicates or phenolic urethanes) for higher heat resistance.

• High Thermal Conductivity: Originally chosen for molds because of its ability to withstand molten metal heat.
• Texture: Ranges from sub-angular to rounded; often appears black (green sand) or off-white (chemically bonded).

• Roads: Used for road bases, subgrades, and hot mix asphalt.
• Concrete: Can replace up to 20–30% of natural river sand in concrete without compromising structural integrity.
• Bricks/Tiles: Recent CSIR-NIIST technology allows for the production of up to 5,000 bricks per day using 30 tonnes of waste sand.

• Cost Savings: Its use can reduce material costs by approximately 7.5–10% in construction projects.
• Eco-Friendly: Prevents illegal sand mining of riverbeds and lowers the carbon footprint of infrastructure projects. 

• Establishment: A statutory body formed on July 24, 2020, under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, replacing the older 1986 Act.
• Nodal Ministry: Functions under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
• Core Objective: To promote, protect, and enforce the rights of consumers as a class and investigate violations of consumer rights.

• Chief Commissioner: Heads the authority.
• Two Commissioners: One dedicated to goods and the other to services.
• Investigation Wing: Led by a Director General to conduct inquiries into unfair trade practices.

• Suo Motu Actions: Can initiate investigations on its own without a formal complaint.
• Recalls & Refunds: Empowered to order the recall of unsafe goods, withdrawal of hazardous services, and mandatory refunds.
• Penalties: Can impose fines up to ₹10 lakh and imprisonment up to 2 years for first-time misleading ads, escalating to ₹50 lakh and 5 years for repeat offences.
• Endorsement Bans: Can prohibit an endorser from making any endorsements for up to 1 year (3 years for repeat violations).
• Consumer Redressal: Consumers can report grievances via the National Consumer Helpline (Call 1915) or file formal complaints through the e-Jagriti portal. 

• Mission Overview: A joint project between NASA (USA) and CNES (France), with contributions from the UK and Canadian space agencies.
• Primary Objective: To conduct the first global survey of Earth's surface water, measuring the height of oceans, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs.
• Launch Details: Launched on December 16, 2022, via a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

• KaRIn (Ka-band Radar Interferometer): The main instrument that uses radar pulses to measure water surface height with centimetre-level accuracy.
• Wide-Swath Altimetry: Unlike previous satellites that measured water in narrow lines, SWOT scans a 120-km wide strip, covering 90% of the globe every 21 days.

• Rivers: Observes nearly all rivers wider than 100 metres (330 feet).
• Lakes: Monitors over a million lakes larger than 15 acres.

• It tracks small-scale ocean currents and eddies (less than 100 km across) that are responsible for absorbing over 90% of the excess heat trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases.

• Societal Impact: Provides vital data for flood and drought forecasting, coastal resource management, and improving the accuracy of climate change models. 

• Classification: A large, bulky raptor belonging to the "booted eagle" subfamily (Aquilinae), characterized by well-feathered legs.
• Conservation Status: Classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to a population decline exceeding 50% over three generations.

• Breeding Grounds: Russia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia.
• Wintering Grounds: Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Indian Subcontinent.
• Distance: Known to travel over 10,000 km during migration.
• Unique Nesting: It is the only eagle species in the world that nests primarily on the ground.
• Diet & Scavenging: While they are specialized predators of ground squirrels in their breeding range, they often act as scavengers in India, frequenting garbage dumps and carrion sites.

• Size: Large wingspan exceeding two metres.
• Gape: Features a massive, deep yellow gape-line that extends to the rear of the eye, distinguishing it from the similar Tawny Eagle.

• Electrocution: Collision with unsafe power lines (a primary driver of decline).
• Poisoning: Exposure to veterinary drugs like diclofenac and pesticides.
• Habitat Loss: Fragmentation of vast steppe landscapes due to agriculture and wildfires.

• Boost to Aatmanirbhar Bharat: This agreement falls under the 'Buy Indian' category with 100% indigenous content, allowing the aircraft to be serviced entirely within India at domestic Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facilities.
• Participation in Exercise Sea Dragon: The Indian Navy deployed a P-8I to Guam for the two-week Exercise Sea Dragon 2026 (starting March 16), joining Quad partners and New Zealand for advanced anti-submarine warfare (ASW) drills.
• Procurement of 6 Additional Units: In February 2026, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) granted formal clearance (AoN) for the acquisition of six additional P-8Is from the US, which will eventually bring India's total fleet to 18 aircraft.
• ADC-150 Trials: Successful in-flight release trials of the indigenous ADC-150 (Air Droppable Container) were completed from a P-8I off the coast of Goa between February 21 and March 1, 2026

• Role: A long-range, multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft used for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Anti-Surface Warfare, and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR).
• Platform: Based on the commercial Boeing 737-800 airframe but heavily modified with military sensors and weapon systems.
• Current Fleet: The Indian Navy currently operates 12 P-8I aircraft, primarily stationed at INS Rajali (Tamil Nadu) and INS Hansa (Goa).
• Specifications:
  • Maximum Speed: 907 km/h.
  • Service Ceiling: 12,496 metres (41,000 feet).
  • Range: Over 1,200 nautical miles, plus 4 hours of "loiter time" on station.
• Armament: Equipped with an internal weapons bay and under-wing hardpoints for Harpoon Block-II missiles, MK-54 lightweight torpedoes, and depth charges.
• Sensors: Features the Raytheon APY-10 surveillance radar and a Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD) specifically requested by India for hunting submerged submarines.
• Strategic Importance: Known as the Navy's "eyes in the sky," it is critical for monitoring Chinese naval presence and submarine movements in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

• Structure: A three-way partnership between the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), State Governments, and Sponsor Banks.
• District-Level Reach: There are currently 632 RSETIs operational across 619 districts in India, sponsored by 25 leading banks.
• Target Group: Unemployed rural youth (including those below the poverty line) between the ages of 18 and 50 years.
• Training Model:
  • Free and Residential: Provides free-of-cost, short-term intensive residential training.
  • Course Diversity: Offers 73 courses aligned with the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) across sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, and services.
• Financial Linkage: Certificates issued by RSETIs are recognized by all banks, facilitating easier access to credit and loans for starting micro-enterprises.
• Performance Metrics (2009 to Feb 2026):
  • Trained: Over 60.63 lakh candidates.
  • Settled: Approximately 43.89 lakh candidates (over 70% settlement rate).
  • Credit Facilitated: Bank finance extended to 22.52 lakh beneficiaries.
• Support System: Includes long-term handholding (up to two years) post-training to ensure the sustainability of the new businesses.

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