1) HTT-40 trainer aircraft: The Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) is a basic trainer aircraft (BTA).
- Designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), it is a turboprop aircraft designed to have good low-speed handling for better training effectiveness.
- It has a maximum take-off weight of 2.8 tonnes. It can achieve a top speed of 450 Km/hr and a maximum range of 1,000km.
- A turboprop aircraft uses a turbo-prop engine rather than a piston-powered engine or a jet engine. They have one or more gas-turbine engines and lower operating costs than jets because they burn less fuel, but they are also slower than jets.
2) Expected Credit Loss (ECL) regime: RBI recently proposed to move the banking system to an expected credit loss-based provisioning approach from an “incurred loss” approach.
- Under this practice, a bank is required to estimate expected credit losses based on forward-looking estimations rather than wait for credit losses to be actually incurred before making corresponding loss provisions.
- As per the proposed framework, banks will need to classify financial assets (primarily loans) as Stage 1, 2, or 3, depending on their credit risk profile, with Stage 2 and 3 loans having higher provisions based on the historical credit loss patterns observed by banks.
- This will be in contrast to the existing approach of incurred loss provisioning, whereby step-up provisions are made based on the time the account has remained in the Non-Performing Asser (NPA) category.
3) SMART-PDS System: Scheme for Modernization and Reforms through Technology in Public Distribution System. Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
- The Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) is envisaging a new and unified scheme to strengthen the PDS technology components by standardization of its operation and implementing data-driven decision-making through data analytics.
- It aims to transform the entire PDS IT ecosystem by using Cloud and new-age technology.
- Smart Ration Card: ration is given through fair price shops on the production of the smart ration card by any member of the beneficiary family.
- Fingerprint Template: The fingerprint template of the beneficiary is recorded in these smart ration cards, which record all transactions.
4) Cloud kitchens: A cloud kitchen is a concept of delivery-only restaurant with no physical space, no dine-in space, or takeaway counter. It is a restaurant kitchen that accepts delivery-only orders without a traditional restaurant or dining-in facility. Just an operational kitchen for the preparation of food that functions as a production unit. These kitchens are sometimes also known as ghost kitchens, dark kitchens, or virtual kitchens.
5) DNA vaccine against dengue: In a significant development in DNA vaccination research, India’s first and only DNA vaccine candidate for dengue has shown promising results.
- DNA vaccines use engineered DNA to induce an immunologic response in the host against bacteria, parasites, and viruses. The basic working principle behind DNA vaccine involves the use of a DNA plasmid that encodes for a protein that originated from the pathogen in which the vaccine will be targeted. DNA vaccine will avoid extracellular degradation and successfully enter the nucleus of target cells to induce a long-term immune response.
