News Context

• India has signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) with the US to procure Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) systems via the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route.
• The deal uses emergency procurement powers granted to the armed forces following Operation Sindoor, to strengthen India’s anti-armour capabilities.

Javelin ATGM — Key Facts for Prelims

• An advanced, man-portable, medium-range anti-tank guided missile designed to engage armoured vehicles and fortified positions.
• Fire-and-forget capability: the operator can fire and immediately relocate without guiding the missile — improving survivability.
• Produced by the Javelin Joint Venture — a partnership between RTX (formerly Raytheon) and Lockheed Martin (both US companies).

India–US Defence Cooperation — Key Facts

• India was designated a Major Defence Partner of the US in 2016, and holds STA-1 (Strategic Trade Authorisation Tier-1) status, easing access to high-technology exports.
• Key foundational agreements: LEMOA, COMCASA and BECA.

News Context

• The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by the Election Commission of India (ECI) has led to large-scale deletion of voter names in Telangana (~22%) and Karnataka (~19.5%).
• Cuts were steepest in capital cities — five Bengaluru constituencies lost more than half their electors; nine of Hyderabad’s 15 saw deletions over 40%.

About SIR — Key Facts for Prelims

• A door-to-door exercise by the ECI to update/verify rolls — removing ineligible entries (dead, duplicate, shifted voters) and adding eligible new voters; puts the onus on the elector to prove eligibility.
• Differs from the routine Summary Revision (a lighter annual update); the exercise first gained attention during the Bihar SIR, later extended after the Supreme Court allowed it to proceed.

Constitutional & Legal Background

• Article 326: every citizen aged 18+ can vote; Article 324: the ECI conducts/supervises elections.
• Voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 by the 61st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1988.
• The Representation of the People Act, 1950 governs preparation of electoral rolls; the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) maintains rolls at the constituency level.

News Context

• India’s EBP programme is increasingly relying on foodgrains (rice and maize) instead of sugarcane as feedstock, even after achieving the 20% ethanol blending (E20) target ahead of schedule.
• Rising use of FCI rice for ethanol has raised food-security and water-sustainability concerns.

About EBP & Ethanol — Key Facts for Prelims

• Launched by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; ethanol is procured by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
• Ethanol is a first-generation biofuel (99.9% pure alcohol) produced via fermentation, distillation and dehydration of sugar-rich or starch-rich materials.
• Sugarcane-based feedstock: C-heavy molasses (least recoverable sugar), B-heavy molasses (more sugar retained), direct sugarcane juice/syrup.
• Grain-based feedstock: maize and rice (including surplus/broken/damaged FCI rice).