News Context

• India was officially designated “Country of the Year” at BIOFACH 2026, the world’s largest international trade fair for organic products, held in Germany.
• India’s participation is organised by APEDA under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Key Facts for Prelims

• BIOFACH is the world’s largest international trade fair for organic products, held annually in Nuremberg, Germany.
• India’s recognition as “Country of the Year” reflects its leadership in organic agriculture and growing export footprint.
• Exhibitors from over 20 States and UTs are participating, showcasing India’s agricultural diversity.

India’s Organic Products Showcase

• Products displayed include rice, oilseeds, pulses, spices, herbs, cashew, ginger, turmeric, large cardamom, cinnamon, mango puree, essential oils and value-added organic items.
• India is one of the world’s largest producers of organic products, with approximately 44 lakh hectares under organic certification.
• Sikkim is the world’s first fully organic state.

Ballistic Missile Working — Key Facts for Prelims

• Ballistic missiles follow an unpowered arched trajectory after initial rocket propulsion.
• Fuel burns in an engine, creating hot exhaust gases funnelled through a rear nozzle to generate thrust.
• Burnout velocity: speed attained when propellant runs out; trajectory is then fixed.

Flight Phases — Concepts for Prelims

Agni Missile Development — Key Facts

• Agni missile was developed under IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme), launched in 1983.
• IGMDP also produced Prithvi, Nag, Akash and Trishul missiles.
• Developed by DRDO using a solid-fuelled first stage from SLV-3 and a modified Prithvi-I upper stage.

Agni Demonstrator Evolution — Key Facts

• First flight test: 1989 (Agni demonstrator).
• 1992 upgrade: added manoeuvring re-entry vehicle and open interstage (removing need for ullage motors).
• Third flight: 1994, in upgraded configuration.
• Post re-entry studies, the demonstrator was repurposed as single-stage Agni-I.

Agni-IV Missile — Key Facts for Prelims

• Agni-IV is formerly known as “Agni II Prime.”
• First tested in 2011 from Wheeler Island, off the Odisha coast.
• It is an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM).
• Range: up to 4,000 km; Payload: 1,000 kg.
• It is a surface-to-surface, mobile, two-stage solid-fuel missile.

Agni-IV Technical Features — Concepts for Prelims

• CEP (Circular Error Probable) of less than 100 metres — a measure of weapon accuracy.
• Uses Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial Navigation System (RINS), supported by Micro Navigation System (MINGS).
• Equipped with a 5th generation onboard computer and distributed avionics architecture.

News Context

• The High Court upheld the right of Van Gujjars to migrate to their summer homesteads in bugyals within Govind Pashu Vihar National Park, Uttarakhand.
• The court relied on Article 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty) of the Constitution.

Van Gujjars — Key Facts for Prelims

• Van Gujjars are forest-dwelling nomadic pastoralists inhabiting the foothills of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
• They traditionally practice buffalo husbandry; a family owns up to 25 buffaloes.
• They rely on milk sales in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh markets for livelihood.
• They live in makeshift huts called “deras” in the foothills during winter.

Transhumance Pattern — Key Facts

• Transhumance is the seasonal migration of pastoral communities with their livestock between different altitudinal zones.
• Van Gujjars migrate from the Terai-Bhabar and Siwalik region to higher bugyals (alpine meadows) in summer and return in winter.
• Bugyals are Himalayan alpine grasslands used as summer pastures.
• This pattern is a climate-adaptive and resilience strategy ensuring sustainable pastoral livelihoods.

Forest Rights Act, 2006 — Concepts for Prelims

• FRA 2006 recognises pastoral community rights to access grazing pastures under Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights.
• Section 2(a): prescribes rights of pastoral communities on customary common forest land within traditional or customary village boundaries.
• FRA also prescribes seasonal use of landscapes by pastoral communities in unclassed forests, reserve forests, protected forests, sanctuaries and national parks.