- Jericho Missile System: Jericho is Israel’s original ballistic missile programme, initiated in the 1960s and named after the biblical city located in the West Bank. This programme was initially a collaboration with the French aerospace company Dassault, but when France withdrew in 1969, Israel continued its development.
Jericho-1: It had a weight of 6.5 tonnes, a length of 13.4 metres, and a diameter of 0.8 metres. It had a range of 500 kilometers and could carry a 1,000-kilogram payload, though it had a 50 percent chance of hitting within a 1,000-metre radius of its target. It was retired in the 1990s.
Jericho-2: It was developed in the late 1980s, with a length of 15 metres and a diameter of 1.35 metres, while maintaining the same payload capacity. It had a range between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres.
Jericho-3: It is the first Israeli Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM). It was first tested in 2008 and entered service in 2011. It featured improvements over the previous models, with a longer length than Jericho-2 and a larger diameter of 1.56 metres. It has an estimated launch weight of 29,000 kg and a payload of 1,000 to 1,300 kg.It has a range of 4,800 to 6,500 km and uses inertial guidance with a radar-guided warhead.
- Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): IPU is the international organization of Parliaments. It was established in 1889 in Paris to promote representative democracy and world peace. The IPU facilitates parliamentary diplomacy and empowers parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy, and sustainable development around the world. It was the first multilateral political organization in the world, encouraging cooperation and dialogue between all nations.
Slogan: “For democracy. For everyone”Today, the IPU comprises 179 member parliaments and 13 associate members.The IPU moved its headquarters to Geneva in 1921.The IPU is financed primarily by its members out of public funds.
- Saraswati Samman Award: Recently, Tamil writer Sivasankari was presented with the ‘Saraswati Samman’ 2022 for her book of memoirs Surya Vamsam. It is given annually for outstanding literary works in 22 Indian languages in the last 10 years. It is among the highest recognitions in the field of Indian literature. The selection follows a rigorous three-tier process leading up to a final decision by Chayan Parishad It was instituted by the K. Birla Foundation. (the Vyas Sammanand the Bihari Puraskar are other literary awards instituted by the foundation.).It carries a citation, a plaque and prize money of 15 lakh rupees.
- Diverse Epigenetic Epidemiology Partnership (DEEP): It is a ground-breaking integrated genomics and epigenomics study to understand the genetics behind Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in diverse populations, including South Asians. The project is to uncover the effects of genomic and environmental diversity in disease risk observed in people across the world, including those in Asia, Africa and North and South America. It is a five-year international project. Researchers will be studying individuals representing diverse genetic and environmental contexts and learn which DNA methylation patterns contribute to their disease risk in each context. The study will develop software and infrastructure and conduct advanced statistical analyses to build new resources. This research will enable identification of disease-causing
mechanisms that are common worldwide and those which are unique to particular groups or regions.
