Indigenous Idu Mishmis are protesting

GS Paper - 1 (Culture)

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) chief SP Yadav said that the Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh would soon be notified as a tiger reserve. The announcement has caused disquiet among the area’s Idu Mishmi people, who feel that a tiger reserve would “hinder their access” to the forest.

More about Idu Mishmi, the ‘tiger brothers’

1. The Idu Mishmi is a sub-tribe of the larger Mishmi group (the other two Mishmi groups are Digaru and Miju) in Arunachal Pradesh and neighbouring Tibet.
2. Known for their weaving and craftsmanship skills, the Idu Mishmis primarily live in Mishmi Hills, bordering Tibet.
3. Their ancestral homelands are spread over the districts of Dibang Valley and Lower Dibang Valley as well as parts of Upper Siang and Lohit.
4. The tribe is estimated to comprise around 12,000 people (as per census 2011), and their language (also called Idu Mishmi) is considered endangered by UNESCO.
5. Traditionally animists, the tribe has strong ties with the region’s rich flora and fauna.
6. Animals such as the hoolock gibbons and tigers have deep cultural relations with the Idu Mishmi.
7. Tigers are especially important to the Idu Mishmis — according to Idu mythology, they were born to the same mother, and thus, tigers are their “elder brothers”.
8. While hunting has traditionally been a way of life, the Idu Mishmis also follow a strict belief system of myths and taboos — ‘iyu-ena’ — that restrict them from hunting many animals, including a complete prohibition on killing tigers.
9. Anthropologists and other researchers who have studied the area say that this belief system has led to a unique model of wildlife conservation.

 Ingenuity breaks world records

GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has been flying on the red planet’s surface for over two years now, and it has covered a distance of over 11 kilometres in that time. While 11 kilometres in two years may not seem like much in Earth terms, Ingenuity is actually breaking world records on Mars.

What is Ingenuity?

1. Ingenuity is a small solar-powered helicopter that landed on the Martian surface on 18 February 2021, along with the Perseverance Rover.
2. On 19 April, the same year, it created history by completing the first powered extraterrestrial flight in human history.
3. During that flight, it hovered and landed at the same spot for a flight that lasted 39.1 seconds, creating history.
4. While these distances may seem small for us here living on Earth, do remember that Mars is more than 225 million kilometres away right now.
5. The distance between the two planets means that it takes between 5 to 20 minutes for a signal to travel from one to another.
6. Ingenuity’s 49th flight, which happened on 2 April 2023, broke two different records–that for the highest altitude and the highest speed–achieved by any self-propelled aircraft outside of Earth.
7. During its 49th flight, the little rotorcraft flew up to a height of 16 metres and reached a top speed of 23.4 kilometres per hour.

Finland joins NATO

GS Paper -2 (International Relations)

Finland joined the NATO military alliance, dealing a major blow to Russia with a historic realignment of the continent triggered by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. With the handing over of documents, the Nordic nation officially entered the world’s biggest security alliance, doubling its border with Russia.

More about the news:

• The US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), the small Nordic country, which shares a 1,340-km border with Russia, has ended more than 70 years of military non-alignment.
•  In the Cold War years, a policy of neutrality between the Soviet Union and the West was known as ‘Finlandisation’, had been one of the options discussed for Ukraine before Russia invaded it.
•  Finland’s membership represents a major change in Europe’s security landscape: The country adopted neutrality after its defeat by the Soviets in World War II.
• The move is a strategic and political blow to Russia, which has long complained about NATO’s expansion toward Russia and partly used that as a justification for the invasion.

Significance of Finland joining NATO

• For Finland, while the country is in a better position in terms of security, it is losing out on the significant trade and tourism revenue it was making from Russia.
• Russia has said that Finland has committed “a dangerous historical mistake that would fray relations with Moscow and undo its status as a confidence-building presence in the Baltic Sea and Europe at large”.
• For NATO, the addition of Finland brings in a military trained to repel an attack from Russia, and, by doubling its border with the country, brings it in a better position to station weapons, including missile launch pads, closer to Russia.
• For Russia, Finland’s move has brought NATO closer to its doors, the very thing it most strenuously opposes, and the prevention of which it had cited as one of the reasons to invade Ukraine.

Russia reaction:

• It warned that it would be forced to take “retaliatory measures” to address what it called security threats created by Finland’s membership.
• It has also warned,it will bolster forces near Finland if NATO sends any additional troops or equipment to what will be its 31st member country.

Flashback:

NATO:

• NATO was set up after World War II with the express purpose of containing the Soviet Union.
• The members of the alliance include:since 1949, the 12 founding countries of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• The Greece and Türkey joined in 1952; Germany in 1955; Spain in 1982; Czechia, Hungary and Poland in 1999; Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia joined in 2004; Albania and Croatia in 2009; Montenegro in 2017; North Macedonia in 2020; and finally, Finland.

ISRO completes crucial tests for Gaganyaan

GS Paper -3 (Space technology)

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has completed two key tests for Gaganyaan, the Human Space Flight Programme. The space agency said that the final long-duration, hot test of human-rated L110-G Vikas engine was successfully accomplished for the planned qualification duration of 240 seconds on April 6 at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri.

More about the news:

• According to the space agency, the successful completion of this test marks a major milestone in the human space flight programme, Gaganyaan, of ISRO.
• The air-lit liquid core stage of the human-rated launch vehicle (LVM3-G) uses two L110-G Vikas engines in clustered configuration. With this test, all the planned qualification tests of the engine have been completed successfully.
• The Vikas engine uses storable propellants in a pump-fed gas generator cycle. Human rated Vikas engine has higher structural margins for sub-systems, improved assembly process and additional measurements for health monitoring.
• ISRO added that it could complete the human-rated L110-G Vikas engine qualification within a relatively short span of three years.

Crew module propulsion system test:

• Gaganyaan has got a bipropellant-based propulsion system for providing 3-axis control (Pitch, Yaw & Roll) to crew module following service module separation during re-entry.
• It also provides altitude control in the ascent phase abort, if any, from 3 km to 70 km.
• Completing this test is a major step in qualifying the Crew Module Propulsion System for the Gaganyaan programme.

Flashback:

Gaganyaan Mission:

• Gaganyaan project envisages demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of 3 members to an orbit of 400 km for a 3 days mission and bring them back safely to earth, by landing in Indian sea waters.
• The project is accomplished through an optimal strategy by considering in-house expertise, experience of Indian industry, intellectual capabilities of Indian academia & research institutions along with cutting edge technologies available with international agencies.
• The pre-requisites for Gaganyaan mission include development of many critical technologies including human rated launch vehicle for carrying crew safely to space, Life Support System to provide an earth like environment to crew in space, crew emergency escape provision and evolving crew management aspects for training, recovery and rehabilitation of crew.