Current Affairs 12 January 2024
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) Inaugurated
- PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) on January 12, 2024, also known as Atal Setu, marking the opening of India’s longest sea bridge to date.
- The 21.8-km link built at a cost of over ₹ 17840 crore aims to reduce travel time between South Mumbai and Navi Mumbai from 120 minutes to just 20 minutes.
- The 6-lane Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), spanning across Thane Creek, has been under construction since 2018.
27th National Youth Festival Inaugurated
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi was inaugurated the prestigious 27th National Youth Festival in Nashik (Maharashtra) on January 12, 2024.
- The festival, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, celebrated youthful talent and skills across the nation.
- The 27th National Youth Festival aimed to provide a platform for young people to showcase their skills and talents.
- It celebrated the youth power of India and the commitment to make India a developed nation by 2047, the 100th year of Indian independence.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
New Generation AKASH Missile
- The DRDO conducted a successful flight-test of the New Generation AKASH (AKASH-NG) missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha on January 12, 2024.
- The flight-test was conducted against a high-speed unmanned aerial target at a very low altitude.
- During the flight test, the target was successfully intercepted by the weapon system and destroyed.
- The AKASH-NG system is a state-of-the-art missile system capable of intercepting high-speed, agile aerial threats.
India’s First X-ray Polarimetry Satellite Capture Supernova Remnant
- The XSPECT instrument aboard India’s pioneering XPoSat space observatory has successfully acquired its first images of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant on January 12, 2024.
- XPoSat is India’s maiden satellite dedicated to studying polarized and spectroscopic emissions in cosmic X-ray sources.
- Weighing less than 20 kg, this compact spacecraft hosts two aligned scientific payloads in low Earth orbit – POLIX and XSPECT.
- POLIX is the primary instrument aboard XPoSat designed to measure X-ray polarization from cosmic sources.
- The XSPECT instrument aboard XPoSat facilitates both spectral and timing studies of soft X-ray emissions from exotic celestial objects.
New Butterfly Species with Silver-Lined Wings Found
- A striking new butterfly species called the Conjoined Silverline, distinguished by its shiny wing patterns, has been identified in Karnataka’s Kodagu district on January 12, 2024.
- The first such find in India’s Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot since the 1970s.
- The insect was first spotted near Iruppu Falls in 2008 but eluded subsequent rediscovery for over a decade.
- Name refers to the fused spots and bands observed on the undersides of the wings, which are intersected by eye-catching silvery lines running through the middle of these bands.
Joint Exercise ‘Sahyog Kaijin’
- The Indian and Japanese Coast Guards have conducted a successful joint exercise named ‘Sahyog Kaijin’ off the coast of Chennai on January 12, 2024.
- This exercise is a part of the ongoing collaboration between the two countries under the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) signed in 2006.
- The joint exercise, which commenced on January 8, 2024, focused on enhancing interoperability and sharing best practices in maritime law enforcement, search and rescue operations.
- The exercise involved the Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Shaurya and the Japan Coast Guard Ship (JCGS) Yashima, along with other support vessels and aircraft.