1) Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP): The President conferred PMRBP to 19 children.
- The PMRBP awarded annually by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
- It honors children aged 5–18 for excellence in Bravery, Art & Culture, Environment, Innovation, Science & Technology, Social Service, and Sports that deserve national recognition.
- Awards include a medal, certificate, and citation booklet, presented the week before Republic Day.
- Awardees must receive the accolades personally, with posthumous exceptions for bravery in Bal Shakti Puraskar.
- Eligibility: Limited to Indian citizens residing in India
2) Mosquirix: Cameroon becomes the first country to routinely administer Mosquirix, the world’s first malaria vaccine program for children.
- Also known as RTS,S/AS01.
- It is a vaccine that is given to children from 5 months of age.
- It is a World Health Organization (WHO) approved vaccine.
- It is made up of proteins of the Plasmodium falciparum parasites and the hepatitis B virus.
- Plasmodium falciparum is the parasite which is responsible for causing malaria.
3) Kanger Valley National Park: In Kanger valley National park, first-of-its-kind landscape model will be implemented for restoration.
- It is located in the bastar region of Chhattisgarh.
- River: Kanger river (Tirathgarh Waterfall is located on it)
- Forest Type: Tropical moist deciduous forests.
- Lies in transition zone of southern limit of sal forests and northern limit of teak forests.
- Fauna: Panther, Barking Deer, Wild Pig, Jacal, Langur, Rhesus Macaque, Sloth Bear, Flying Squirrel, Bastar Maina (state bird), etc.
4) Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM): Japanese spacecraft SLIM landed on the moon, making Japan the fifth country to reach the lunar surface.
- The other four countries are India, United States, Russia, and China.
- It successfully demonstrated pinpoint technology for landing.
- This technology enables landing within 100 m of a target.
- Because of achieving this feat, it is also referred as Moon Sniper.
- Objective: Acceleration of the study of the Moon and planets using lighter exploration systems.
- Agency: Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Places in News:
1) Nigeria (Capital: Abuja):
- External Affairs Minister co-chaired the 6th Joint Commission Meeting between India and Nigeria.
- Political features
- Located on the west coast of Africa
- Territorial boundaries: Niger in the North, Chad and Cameroon in the East and Benin in the West
- Maritime boundaries: The Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean in the South.
- Geographical Features
- Major Mountain range: Cameroonian Highlands
- Highest point: Chabbal Waddi
- Major rivers: Niger, Benue, Kaduna
