1) Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) (Amendment) Bill, 2023: Parliament has passed GNCTD (Amendment) Bill 2023.
- Key features:
- Establishes National Capital Civil Services Authority (NCCSA), which consists of CM, Chief Secretary of Delhi, Principal Home Secretary of Delhi.
- Empower Central Government to make rules in connection with the affairs of GNCTD including the functions, terms and other conditions of service of officers and employees.
2) North East Venture Fund (NEVF): North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (NEDFi) under Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) has set up NEVF for North East Region (NER).
- It is the only dedicated Venture Fund for NER with an initial corpus of Rs. 100 crores. Venture fund is money invested in startups or small businesses with high-growth potential.
- It is registered under SEBI Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) Regulations, 2012.
- Investment size: Minimum Rs. 25.00 lakhs; Maximum Rs. 10.00 crore.
- Nature of financial instrument includes Equity, Convertible preference shares, and Debentures.
3) Swathi Weapon Locating Radar Mountains (WLR-M): Indian Army has inducted Swathi WLR-M to locate hostile artillery and enhance combat potential.
- It is advanced electronically scanned phased array radar, specifically designed for operations in mountainous and high-altitude areas.
- It was developed by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) in Bengaluru.
- Swathi radar also comes in WLR-Plains version.
- WLR uses advanced signal processing techniques to detect and track mortars, rocket launchers and fire trajectories for more accurate artillery strikes.
- Its hallmark is high mobility and swift deployment capabilities, allowing it to adapt to changing operational requirements efficiently.
4) New dinosaur species ‘Tharosaurus Indicus’: It is a long-necked, plant-eating dicraeosaurid dinosaur found in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan by Indian Scientists.
- It is 167 million years old and belongs to a new species, unknown to scientists thus far.
- Theories so far had suggested that the oldest dicraeosaurid was from China (about 166-164 million years old).
- Also, fossils of dicraeosaurid dinosaurs have been found previously in North and South Americas, Africa and China.
- It is named after the ‘Thar desert’ of Rajasthan where it was found.
