1.Ladakh

Why in the news?

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that five new districts (Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra and Changthang) would be created in the Union Territory of Ladakh for bolstering governance. 
• Ladakh now has two districts (Leh and Kargil) with autonomous hill development councils. 

About Ladakh:

• It is also known as “the Land of Passes‟.
• It is administered by India as a union territory.
• It is bordered by:
  • Chinese Tibet Autonomous Region to the east
  • Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to the south
  • Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan to the west
  • Xinjiang across the Karakoram Pass in the far north
• It is drained by the Indus River and its major tributaries, the Shyok-Nubra, Chang Chenmo, Hanle, Zanskar, and Suru-dras rivers. 
• Glacio-fluvial processes aided by freeze- thaw weathering have formed the high altitude landscape of Ladakh.
• It has an extremely harsh environment and one of the highest and driest inhabited places on earth. It is referred to as a cold desert due to its combined features of arctic and desert climates.
• Its entire area is nearly devoid of vegetation with the exception of valley floors and irrigated areas, due to the following factors:
  • Wide diurnal and seasonal fluctuations in temperature, from -40°C in winter to +35°C in summer, and extremely low precipitation, with an annual 10 cm to 30 cm primarily from snow.
  • High altitude and low humidity, the radiation level is amongst the highest in the world.
• Its soil ranges from gravely and sandy loams on the alluvial fans to sandy and silt clay loams on the flood plains of Indus. 
• Its soil is described as skeletal, calcareous with an alkaline reaction.
• Its soil is coarse and sandy, having varying quantities of pebbles and characterized by low organic matter content and poor water retention capacity.

2.New India Literacy Programme (NILP)

Why in the news?

• In a letter to all States, the Education Ministry has defined ‘literacy’, and what it means to achieve ‘full literacy,’ in light of a renewed push for adult literacy under the New India Literacy Programme (NILP), a five year programme (2022-27) that aims to onboard one crore learners aged above 15 every year across all States and Union Territories.

About New India Literacy Programme (NILP):

• It aims to support the States and Union Territories in promoting literacy among non-literates in the age group of 15 and above.
• It aims to cover a target of 5.00 crore learners during the five years under the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy component. 
• It is a centrally sponsored Scheme.
  • The Central and State shares are in the ratio of 60:40 for all States.
  • North Eastern Region (NER) and Himalayan States where the sharing pattern between the Centre and the State is in the ratio of 90:10.
  • For UTs with legislature the ratio is 60:40, except in the UT of Jammu & Kashmir where the ratio is 90:10
  • For all other UTs without legislature the Central share is 100%.
• It is implemented for five years from the FYs 2022-23 to 2026-27.
• It has a financial outlay of Rs.1037.90 crore.
• It has five components:
  • Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
  • Critical Life Skills
  • Vocational Skills Development
  • Basic Education
  • Continuing Education
• Identification of Beneficiaries:
  • Door-to-door surveys on a mobile app are conducted by surveyors in the States/UTs to identify beneficiaries.
  • Non-literates can also register directly through a mobile app.
• The scheme is mainly based on volunteerism for teaching and learning, and volunteers can register through the mobile app.
• The scheme is implemented predominantly through the online mode and is based on technology.
  • The teaching and learning material and resources are available on the DIKSHA platform of NCERT and can be accessed through mobile apps.
• Modes like TV, Radio, Samajik Chetna Kendra, etc. are also used for dissemination of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy.
• All non-literates above 15 years of age are eligible to avail of the benefits of the scheme.

3.Sudan

Why in the news?

• Arbaat dam in Sudan's eastern Red Sea state, sending water flooding over nearby homes, the country's Health Ministry said. Local media said dozens of people are missing. Official figures indicate four died in the floodwater but local officials say at least 60 were dead. More than 100 people were reported missing.

About Sudan:

• It is a country in northeastern Africa. 
• It is bordered by:
  • Central African Republic to the southwest
  • Chad to the west
  • Libya to the northwest
  • Egypt to the north
  • Red Sea to the east
  • Eritrea and Ethiopia to the southeast
  • South Sudan to the south
• It is Africa's third-largest country by area after Algeria and Democratic Republic of the Congo and the fifteenth-largest in the world.. 
• Its capital and most populous city is Khartoum.
• Its terrain is generally flat plains, broken by several mountain ranges. 
• Deriba Caldera, located in the Marrah Mountains, is the highest point in Sudan. 
• Red Sea Hills are situated in the eastern portion of the country.
• The Blue Nile and White Nile rivers meet in Khartoum to form the Nile, which flows northwards through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. 
  • The Blue Nile's course through Sudan is nearly 800 km long and is joined by the Dinder and Rahad Rivers between Sennar and Khartoum. 
  • The White Nile within Sudan has no significant tributaries.
  • There are several dams on the Blue and White Niles. Among them are the Sennar and Roseires Dams on the Blue Nile, and the Jebel Aulia Dam on the White Nile. 
• Lake Nubia is situated on the Sudanese-Egyptian border.
• Rich mineral resources are available in Sudan including asbestos, chromite, cobalt, copper, gold, granite, gypsum, iron, kaolin, lead, manganese, mica, natural gas, nickel, petroleum, silver, tin, uranium and zinc.

4.Shahed drones

Why in the news?

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Russia’s overnight and early morning barrage on his country as vile and said it involved over 100 missiles of various types and about 100 Shahed drones.

About Shahed drones:

• Shahed 136 are Iranian kamikaze drones. 
• These drones work by patrolling in a specific area of interest until the target of interest is detected. After the target is identified, a drone flies directly into it and destroys the target using an explosion on the drone. 
• These are reported to have the capacity to strike from a considerable distance. Hence, these are a big asset in contemporary warfare.

Kamikaze drones:

• These are small unmanned aircraft packed with explosives that can be flown directly at a tank or a group of troops that are destroyed when it hits the target and explodes.
• These are also called Switchblade drones.
• The name comes from the World War 2 era’s feared Japanese kamikaze pilots, who conducted suicide attacks by intentionally crashing their explosive filled aircraft into enemy targets.
• Features:
  • Its modern versions have the capability of surpassing traditional defenses to strike their targets and are also cheaper than their larger counterparts.
  • These are small lethal drones which are difficult to detect on radar, and through the use of facial recognition, can be programmed to hit targets without human intervention.
  • Although the US Kamikaze might be the most advanced in this class of drones, Russia, China, Israel, Iran and Turkey all have some versions of it.

5.Sabina Shoal

Why in the news?

• China took control measures against two Philippine Coast Guard ships that had entered waters near the disputed Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea. 
• The Philippine Coast Guard sent two vessels to deliver provisions to one of its ships at Sabina Shoal. As the vessels neared the shoal, they were forced to abandon the mission due to China’s excessive deployment of ships and rough sea conditions.

About Sabina Shoal:

• It is a disputed atoll near the Dangerous Ground in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. 
• It is claimed by China, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
• It lies 123.6 nautical miles from Palawan Island.
• It is situated 56 nautical miles southwest of Carnatic Shoal, with two main parts and an area of 115 sq. km. 
• The eastern half of Sabina Shoal consists of reefs awash, while the western half consists of banks and reefs enclosing a lagoon.

Spratly Islands:

• These islands consist of more than 100 small islands or reefs in the South China Sea.
• They are located north of insular Malaysia and are roughly midway between Vietnam and the Philippines.
• They are claimed in their entirety by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, while portions are claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines.
• Although Brunei did not claim any territory in the Spratlys, it claims an exclusive economic zone over this area that contained a Spratly reef
• They are spread out over a vast area of ocean measuring some 409,000 sq. km.
• Turtles and seabirds are the only wildlife in these islands. There is no permanent human habitation.