Prelims-Pinpointer-for-26-11-2025

Prelims Oriented

PM MITRA Park

Overview

• Pradhan Mantri Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) is a large integrated textile hub combining all stages of textile manufacturing in one location.
• It brings spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing, processing, and garment-making into a single ecosystem.
• Parks span 1,000+ acres and can be Greenfield or Brownfield projects.
• Inspired by the vision: “Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign.”
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Textiles.

Key Features of PM MITRA

• Integrated Value Chain

• • Consolidates the entire textile value chain within one zone.
  • Reduces transport time, logistic costs, and overall production delays.
  • Helps improve speed-to-market and product competitiveness.
• World-Class Infrastructure
  • Includes modern internal roads, reliable electricity and water supply, effluent treatment, and quality logistics.
  • Provides plug-and-play units, worker hostels, research centres, skill training facilities, and commercial zones.
  • Land allocation: 50% manufacturing, 20% utilities, 10% commercial development.
• Investment and Employment
  • Each park aims to generate 1 lakh direct and 2 lakh indirect jobs.
  • Expected to attract ₹70,000 crore+ investment in the textile ecosystem.

• Public–Private Partnership Model
  • Implemented through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) jointly owned by the State Government and Government of India.
  • SPV oversees development, operations, and maintenance.

Financial Support

• ₹800 crore assistance for Greenfield parks.
• ₹500 crore assistance for Brownfield parks.
• State governments provide land and strengthened utility infrastructure.

Locations of PM MITRA Parks

• Seven parks approved across India:

• • Tamil Nadu – Virudhunagar
  • Telangana
  • Gujarat
  • Karnataka
  • Madhya Pradesh
  • Uttar Pradesh – Lucknow district
  • Maharashtra

Ayushman Arogya Mandir

Context: CM Rekha Gupta launched 70 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, aiming to make Delhi a medical hub with 1,139 planned centers, targeting 15 per Vidhan Sabha constituency.

Ayushman Arogya Mandir

• Overview

• • • Ayushman Arogya Mandir represents a shift from selective health care to comprehensive primary health services.
    • It delivers preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative, and palliative care at the community level.

• Key Components

• Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) Network

• • • • The scheme aims to establish 1,50,000 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs to provide universal and free primary care.
      • It focuses on wellness-based services and expands delivery closer to households.

• Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY)

• • • PM-JAY forms the second pillar, offering ₹5 lakh health insurance per family annually.
    • It covers secondary and tertiary hospitalisation for over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families.
    • PM-JAY is aligned with the National Health Policy 2017, aiming for Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
    • It is the largest health assurance scheme globally, targeting approximately 55 crore beneficiaries.

Services Offered at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs

• Provide a full spectrum of preventive and promotive care including screenings and wellness services.
• Deliver curative care, basic diagnostics, essential drugs, and chronic disease management.
• Support rehabilitative and palliative care, ensuring continuity of services for long-term conditions.

Significance

• Integrates primary care with financial protection under PM-JAY.
• Strengthens community-level health access, reducing out-of-pocket expenditure and improving health equity.
• Contributes to India’s broader goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage.

Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)

Overview

• CISF is a Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Headquarters: New Delhi.
• Motto: “Protection and Security.”

Establishment & Evolution

• Established in 1969 through the CISF Act, 1968 with three battalions.
• Original mandate: Provide integrated security to sensitive public sector undertakings (PSUs).
• 1983 amendment declared CISF as an Armed Force of the Union.
• Now a multi-skilled force with 188,000+ personnel.
• Currently provides security to 359 establishments across India.

Organisational Structure

• Headed by an IPS officer of the rank Director General (DG).
• Assisted by an Additional DG (IPS).
• Divided into seven sectors: Airport, North, North-East, East, West, South, and Training.
• Maintains a specialised Fire Service Wing.

Key Functions

• Critical Infrastructure Protection

• • • Protects nuclear plants, space installations, seaports, airports, power plants and other vital assets.
    • Airport security assigned in 2000 after the IC-814 hijacking.

• Government & Public Infrastructure Security

• • Guards Parliament House Complex, Delhi Metro, Central Jails (J&K), and heritage monuments.
  • Handles VIP protection through a specialised vertical.

• Disaster Management

• • Personnel trained in earthquake, flood, cyclone response.
  • One of India’s largest fire protection service providers; only CAPF with a dedicated fire wing.

• Corporate Security

• • Post 26/11 Mumbai attacks, mandate expanded to include private corporate establishments.
  • Operates as a compensatory cost force, billing clients for security services.

• Public Interface

• • Only CAPF with daily interaction with citizens at airports, Delhi Metro, and monuments.

Operation Pawan

Background and Objectives

• Operation Pawan was conducted by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to seize Jaffna from the LTTE in late 1987.
• LTTE’s disarmament formed a key component of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, signed after the intensification of the Sri Lankan civil war.
• IPKF was deployed on 30 July 1987, following the agreement’s provisions.
• The first military action under IPKF began on 9 October 1987.

Course and Outcome

• IPKF succeeded in capturing the Jaffna Peninsula after nearly two weeks of intense combat.
• The operation formally ended on 24 March 1990 with the withdrawal of Indian forces.
• Although it met its stated objectives, the mission remains highly criticised for strategic and political reasons.
• Operation Pawan does not receive formal commemoration at the National War Memorial, Delhi.
• In contrast, Sri Lanka constructed a memorial, acknowledging the operation’s significance.

Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, 1987

• Signed in Colombo on 29 July 1987 by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and President J.R. Jayawardene to resolve the ethnic conflict.
• The Sri Lankan government agreed to greater provincial autonomy, troop withdrawal, and recognition of Tamil concerns.
• Tamil groups, including LTTE, were expected to surrender arms under the agreement.
• However, LTTE rejected disarmament and announced their intention to continue armed struggle for Tamil Eelam.

13th Amendment Provisions

• The Accord led to the 13th Amendment, establishing Provincial Councils and enabling devolution of powers to all provinces.
• It granted official language status to Tamil and expanded provincial autonomy.
• Successive Sri Lankan governments, however, failed to fully implement the Amendment.

HAMMER Precision Weapon System

Context

• BEL and France’s Safran Electronics & Defence have signed a JV agreement to manufacture the HAMMER precision-guided weapon in India.

About HAMMER

• HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) is a precision, air-to-ground strike weapon.
• Designed to neutralise hardened, fortified, and high-value targets with high accuracy from stand-off ranges.
• Originally developed by Safran, France; now planned for joint manufacturing with BEL in India.

Key Features

• Modular Design: Combines guidance kits and range-extension kits attachable to multiple general-purpose bombs.
• Precision Strike Capabilities:
  • Equipped with GPS/INS, infrared, and laser-guided variants.
  • Enables accurate engagement of bunkers, airstrips, shelters, and enemy infrastructure.
• Extended Stand-Off Range:
  • Can strike targets up to 70 km, keeping aircraft outside contested airspace.
• High Agility:
  • Optimised for mountain warfare, allowing effective operations in complex topography and high altitudes (e.g., Ladakh).
• Platform Compatibility:
  • Already integrated with Rafale; planned integration with LCA Tejas for Air Force and Navy use.

Joint Manufacturing in India

• BEL–Safran JV expected to achieve 60% localisation.
• BEL will lead final assembly, testing, and quality assurance.
• Will significantly reduce import dependence for advanced precision weapons.

Significance

• Boost to ‘Make in India’: Enhances indigenous capability in high-end defence systems and opens export possibilities.
• Force Multiplier for IAF & Navy: Provides a flexible, combat-proven weapon for hardened targets in varied terrains.
• Faster Availability: Local production prevents emergency procurement delays and ensures steady supply.
• Strategic Advantage: Improves deterrence capability against adversaries and strengthens preparedness for high-intensity conflict.

Air Quality Monitoring

Context

• The Supreme Court sought details on the suitability of instruments used in Delhi’s air-quality monitoring stations under extreme meteorological conditions.

What is Air Quality Monitoring?

• It is the systematic measurement of atmospheric pollutants to assess compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), 2009.
• Helps track pollution levels, identify health risks, and support regulatory action.

Types of Monitoring Systems

• Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS)

• • Fully automated and temperature-controlled.
  • Provide real-time data.
  • Measure eight pollutants: PM2.5, PM10, NO₂, SO₂, CO, O₃, NH₃, Pb.
  • Delhi currently operates 40 CAAQMS stations.

• Manual Monitoring Stations

• • Use manual samplers for PM, metals, benzene, and PAHs.
  • Provide periodic data, not real-time data.

• Low-Cost Sensors (LCS)

• • Compact and inexpensive devices for trend mapping and public awareness.
  • Less accurate, requiring calibration.

How Pollutants Are Measured

• PM2.5 & PM10:
  • Measured through Beta Attenuation Monitors (BAM) where beta radiation decreases as particles accumulate on filter tape.
• SO₂: UV fluorescence method.
• Ozone: UV photometry to measure UV light absorption.
• CO: Non-Dispersive Infrared (NDIR) absorption.
• NOx: Chemiluminescence using light reaction between NO and ozone.
• NH₃: Optical spectroscopy based on absorbance properties.

Key Features of Continuous Systems

• Automated real-time measurement.
• Temperature-controlled, dust-proof cabins.
• Operate under CPCB’s 2012 protocols ensuring uniform calibration.
• Remote data transmission to CPCB/SPCB servers for AQI display.

Limitations

• High humidity (>60%) causes PM overestimation in BAM monitors.
• Instrument drift due to poor calibration.
• Inaccurate readings due to poor station siting near obstacles.
• Frequent data gaps due to power failures, maintenance lapses, or equipment malfunction.

Fujiwhara Effect

Context

• Two potential cyclonic storms in the Bay of Bengal may undergo a Fujiwhara interaction, as indicated by global forecasting models.

What is the Fujiwhara Effect?

• A rare phenomenon where two nearby cyclones rotate around a common centre due to interaction of their wind circulations.
• Identified by Sakuhei Fujiwhara (1921).
• Usually occurs when cyclones are within ~1,400 km.

Conditions Favouring the Effect

• Cyclones located within 1400 km proximity.
• Same rotational direction (anti-clockwise in Northern Hemisphere).
• Sea surface temperature above 26°C.
• Low vertical wind shear to maintain cyclone structure.

How the Interaction Occurs

• Close Formation: Cyclones form within threshold distance.
• Wind Overlap: Outer rainbands and upper-level winds intersect.
• Coupled Circulation: Shared pivot point develops.
• Orbiting: Weaker storm revolves around stronger one.
• Absorption: Stronger cyclone may absorb the weaker system.
• Weakening: Competition for moisture weakens one cyclone.
• Deflection: Cyclones may diverge, altering tracks significantly.

Key Features

• Anti-clockwise mutual rotation.
• Energy transfer between systems.
• High uncertainty in track prediction due to disrupted steering winds.
• Possible cyclone merger into a more intense system.
• Potential for stalling, prolonging rainfall duration.

Implications

• Forecasting challenges complicate landfall predictions and evacuation planning.
• Heavy rainfall over eastern coastal States and neighbouring countries.
• Risk of rapid intensification if one system absorbs energy from the other.
• Higher flood potential due to slow-moving or stalled systems.

Exercise Suryakiran

Context

• India and Nepal will conduct the 19th edition of Exercise Suryakiran from November 25 to December 8 in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand.

What is Exercise Suryakiran?

• A bilateral, annual, battalion-level military exercise held alternately by India and Nepal.
• Conducted between the Indian Army and the Nepal Army.
• Aims to enhance defence cooperation and operational coordination.

Objectives

• Improve synergy in jungle warfare, mountain warfare, and counter-terrorism operations.
• Integrate modern surveillance and communication technologies.
• Strengthen interoperability for joint missions in Himalayan terrain.

Key Features

• Training Modules

• • High-altitude warfare practices.
  • Jungle warfare survival and combat skills.
  • Counter-terror operations:
    • Cordon-and-search.
    • Room intervention.
    • Surveillance and small-team tactics.

• Technological Integration

• • Use of drones, communication systems, and medical evacuation tools.
  • Inclusion of aviation, engineering, and high-altitude warfare specialists.

• Knowledge Exchange

• • Sharing best practices, tactical experience, and real-mission exposure.
  • Standardising operating procedures between the two armies.

• Scale
  • Battalion-level participation (~300+ personnel per side).
  • Alternating annual format; previous edition held in Saljhandi, Nepal (2024–25).

Significance

• Reinforces traditional military ties based on historical kinship and trust.
• Enhances counter-terror preparedness and border security coordination.
• Supports joint responses to natural disasters and emerging regional threats.
• Strengthens India–Nepal defence cooperation amid evolving Himalayan security challenges.