Black Box (Flight Recorder)
What is a Black Box?
- Aircraft recording device capturing flight and cockpit data.
- Used for air accident investigation and event reconstruction.
- Discovered by David Warren, Australian scientist
Physical Features
- Bright orange or yellow rectangular casing
- Designed to withstand fire, explosions, water pressure, and impact
- Outer unit made of steel or titanium
- Insulated against extreme heat, cold, and moisture
Types of Black Boxes
- Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR)
- Records pilot conversations and radio transmissions
- Captures engine and cockpit ambient sounds
- Flight Data Recorder (FDR)
- Records 80+ flight parameters
- Includes altitude, airspeed, heading, pitch, roll, acceleration
- Captures autopilot and system status
Placement in Aircraft
- Installed near tail section of aircraft
- Area faces least impact during crashes
Critical Minerals
What are Critical Minerals?
- Essential minerals for modern technologies and national security
- Face supply chain risks due to limited availability or geographical concentration
- Criticality changes with technology demand and supply dynamics
- Major Applications
- Used in electronics: mobiles, computers, semiconductors, fibre-optic cables
- Used in low-emission technologies: EVs, wind turbines, solar panels, batteries
- Used in defence, aerospace, and medical equipment
- Used in stainless steel and common electronic products
- Top Global Producers
- Chile
- Indonesia
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- China
- Australia
- South Africa
- India – Official List (2023)
- Issued by Ministry of Mines
- Identified 30 critical minerals for India
- Includes Lithium, Cobalt, Nickel, Graphite, REEs, Gallium, Germanium, PGE
- Also includes Potash, Tungsten, Vanadium, Titanium, Zirconium, Selenium
- Legal and Policy Framework
- 24 minerals added to Part D, Schedule I, MMDR Act, 1957
- Grants Central Government exclusive auctioning powers
- Establishes Centre of Excellence for Critical Minerals (CECM)
- CECM to review list and advise policy
National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), 2025
- Launched for self-reliance in critical minerals sector
- Covers entire value chain: exploration to recycling
- Exploration Targets
- GSI to conduct 1,200 projects from 2024–25 to 2030–31
- Target domestic production of 15 minerals
- Focus on Lithium, Graphite, Potash, REEs
- Aim to acquire 50 overseas mining assets
- Recycling and Stockpiling
- ₹1,500 crore incentive scheme for mineral recycling
- Target 400 kilotonnes recovered material
- Create National Critical Minerals Stockpile
- Stockpile to include at least 5 critical minerals
- Research and Infrastructure
- Target self-sufficiency in processing 5 minerals
- Goal of 1,000 patents by 2031
- Establish 4 mineral processing parks
- Set up 3 Centres of Excellence
- Governance Mechanism
- Formation of Empowered Committee on Critical Minerals
- Coordinates implementation and monitoring of NCMM
Ethanol Blending
Context: Ethanol blending programme impacts food security as maize cultivation displaces pulses and oilseeds, warns Economic Survey.
More in news:
- Maize competes with pulses, oilseeds, soyabean, millets, cotton in Maharashtra, Karnataka.
- Risk of entrenching edible oil import dependence and food price volatility.
- Survey highlights tension between energy self-reliance and food self-reliance (Aatmanirbharta).
- Till August 2025, saved ₹1.44 lakh crore in foreign exchange.
- Programme substituted 245 lakh metric tonne crude oil, reduced emissions significantly.
Basics of Ethanol
- Formula: Câ‚‚Hâ‚…OH, renewable biofuel from sugar and starch-rich crops
- Produced through yeast fermentation or ethylene hydration processes
- Ethanol Generations
- 1G: Produced from food crops and sugar-based feedstock
- 2G: Derived from lignocellulosic biomass and agricultural crop residues
- 3G: Obtained from algae and other aquatic biomass sources
- 4G: Produced using engineered plants and modified microorganisms
Ethanol blending programme
- Launched in 2003 to promote nationwide ethanol–petrol blending
- Blending Categories
- E10: Contains 10 percent ethanol by total fuel volume
- E20: Contains 20 percent ethanol by total fuel volume
- E85: Contains 85 percent ethanol by total fuel volume
- National Target
- 20 percent blending achieved by 2025–26 under National Policy on Biofuels
- Permitted Feedstock
- Allows sugarcane juice, sugar beet, cassava for ethanol production
- Permits damaged food grains and rotten potatoes for ethanol manufacturing
- Allows surplus food grains for blending with petrol
- Key Achievements
- Ethanol production increased from 38 crore litres in 2014
- Production crossed 660 crore litres nationally in 2025
Major Initiatives
- PM JIVAN Scheme supports establishment of second generation ethanol plants
- EISS Scheme promotes dedicated ethanol plant financing nationwide
- GST reduced to five percent for ethanol under EBP Programme
- Industries Act amended enabling smooth interstate ethanol movement
Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2026
Context: The Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2026 has been notified by MoEFCC, effective from April 1, 2026 nationwide.
What is it?
- Regulatory framework under Environment Protection Act, 1986
- Integrates Circular Economy and Extended Producer Responsibility principles
- Aims for zero waste to landfill through compliance enforcement
Legal Evolution
- 1986: Parent law established national environmental and waste regulation framework
- 2016: Introduced segregation norms and scientific landfill management standards
- 2026: Emphasises digital tracking and economic penalties for compliance
Four-Stream Segregation at Source
- Wet waste: Kitchen waste directed for composting and bio-methanation facilities
- Dry waste: Plastic, paper, metal, glass sent to recovery facilities
- Sanitary waste: Diapers and tampons securely wrapped before disposal
- Special care waste: Paint cans, bulbs, medicines to designated collection points
Features
- Bulk Waste Generator (BWG) Definition
- Entities generating 100 kilograms waste daily or 20,000 square meters area
- BWGs contribute nearly thirty percent of total municipal solid waste
- Extended BWG Responsibility (EBWGR)
- BWGs must process wet waste onsite or purchase EBWGR certificates
- Promotes decentralised waste management and on-site processing compliance
- Polluter Pays Framework
- CPCB levies environmental compensation for non-registration and violations
- Penalises false reporting, forged documents, and improper disposal practices
- Digital Monitoring System
- Centralised online portal tracks waste from generation to final disposal
- Enables digital registration, audits, and compliance reporting nationwide
- Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) Mandate
- Industries must replace fifteen percent solid fuel with RDF
- Applies mainly to cement plants over six-year transition period
- Hilly Areas and Islands Provisions
- Local bodies regulate tourist inflow based on waste handling capacity
- Mandatory user fees collected from tourists for waste management funding
- Landfill and Legacy Waste Measures
- Higher landfill charges discourage dumping of unsegregated municipal waste
- Mandates time-bound biomining and bioremediation of existing dumpsites
- Requires quarterly progress tracking by local authorities and regulators
Sampoornata Abhiyan 2.0
Context: Launched by NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R Subrahmanyam for 100% indicator saturation.
What is it?
- Mission-mode, time-bound campaign for social sector saturation
- Covers 112 Aspirational Districts and 513 Aspirational Blocks
- Builds upon Phase One launched in 2024
Campaign Timeline
- Start: January 28, 2026
- End: April 14, 2026
- Duration: Three months
Core Objectives
- Achieve full coverage of health, nutrition, education services
- Promote monthly performance tracking and competitive federalism
- Ensure scheme reach to remote and underserved households
Key Schemes Linked
- ICDS for child nutrition and Anganwadi services
- TB Mukt Bharat for tuberculosis notification and coverage
KPIs – Aspirational Blocks (Six Indicators)
- Supplementary nutrition for children under ICDS
- Growth monitoring at Anganwadi Centres
- Functional toilets in Anganwadi Centres
- Drinking water availability in Anganwadi Centres
- Girls’ toilets in schools
- Bovine vaccination against Foot and Mouth Disease
KPIs – Aspirational Districts (Five Indicators)
- Newborns weighed at birth
- TB case notification rates
- VHSND and UHSND regular conduct
- Functional girls’ toilets in schools
- Universal livestock vaccination coverage
Implementation Strategy
- Three-month action plans by districts and blocks
- Field verification by district-level officers
- Community mobilisation through Gram Sabhas and Nukkad Nataks
- Inter-governmental coordination with States and Central Ministries
Significance
- Shifts focus from outputs to measurable outcomes
- Strengthens data-driven governance systems
- Targets India’s most backward and underserved regions
V-BAT Autonomous Drones
Context: Indian Army selectedShield AI for V-BAT drones with Hivemind A.
What is V-BAT?
- Group 3 VTOL Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)
- Performs vertical take-off and horizontal transition flight
- Uses ducted-fan, enclosed-rotor design
Developer and Partner
- OEM: Shield AI, United States
- Indian partner: JSW Defence
- Manufacturing hub in Hyderabad, investment $90 million
Primary Role
- Provides Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR)
- Operates in GPS-denied and communication-jammed environments
- Deployable from ships, rooftops, and forward military posts
Hivemind AI Software
- Enables autonomous navigation without GPS or human control
- Supports dynamic threat avoidance during electronic warfare
- Allows multi-drone collaborative mission operations
Operational Features
- Requires 12×12 feet launch area only
- Suitable for Himalayan ridges and naval ship decks
- Uses heavy-fuel engine compatible with military logistics
Performance Specifications
- Endurance: Over 12 hours continuous flight
- Payload: High-definition ISR and targeting sensors
Strategic Significance
- Suitable for LAC, LOC, and Indian Ocean Region operations
- Enables sovereign AI development through Hivemind SDK
- Supports Make in India defence manufacturing ecosystem
Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary
Context: The Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary declared Maoist-free in January 2026, enabling enhanced wildlife monitoring.
What is it?
- Wildlife Sanctuary and proposed Tiger Reserve in western Odisha
- Part of Deccan Peninsula biogeographic zone
- Established in 1983
Location
- Nuapada district, Odisha
- Borders Sitanadi and Udanti Sanctuaries, Chhattisgarh
Area
- Sanctuary area approximately 600 square kilometres
- Proposed Tiger Reserve extends up to 956 square kilometres
Terrain and Geography
- High-altitude plateau with deep gorges and valleys
- Characterised by grass-covered tablelands and canyons
River System
- Primary catchment of Jonk River
- Jonk is a tributary of Mahanadi
- Source of Sunder and Indra rivers
Vegetation
- Dominated by tropical dry deciduous forests
- Key species include Bija, Teak, Sissoo, Sandalwood
Significance
- Wild Water Buffalo corridor between Odisha and Chhattisgarh
- Habitat for Hard-ground Barasingha and Nilgai
Avifauna
- Records 200 plus bird species
- Includes Forest Owlet and Banded Bay Cuckoo
