DRDO’s Hyderabad-based Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) successfully conducted a 120-second ground test of an active-cooled scramjet combustor.

• Endothermic scramjet fuel is central to this breakthrough which offers significant cooling improvement and ease of ignition. 
• Benefits: instrumental in development of next-generation hypersonic missile systems.

About Scramjet Engine

• Working: It is a form of air-breathing jet engine which uses the vehicle's forward motion to compress incoming air for combustion without a rotating compressor.
• Efficiency: operates efficiently at hypersonic speeds and allows supersonic combustion.

Kalaripayattu has been included in the list of events for demonstration and removed from competition section in 38^th national games to be held in Uttarakhand.

About Kalaripayattu

• Developed in Kerala, it is one of the most ancient martial traditions (traced to Sangam Period).
• ‘Kalari’ signifies the training centre or the place where practice occurs, and ‘Payattu’ means the fight or rigorous physical practice.
• Two main styles:
  • Vadakkan or Northern style practiced in the Malabar region of Kerala.
  • Thekken or Southern Style practiced mainly in the Travancore region.

New research provides evidence that Australopithecus, an important early human ancestor, consumed very little or no meat, relying on a plant-based diet.

• Nitrogen isotope analysis of tooth enamel reveals no evidence of meat consumption in Australopithecus.
• The findings challenge previous assumptions about early hominins and suggest that significant meat-eating may have emerged with later species

About Australopithecus

• Australopithecus afarensis is one of the longest-lived and best-known early human species
• It inhabited eastern and southern Africa from roughly 4.2 to 1.9 million years ago.
• The results indicate that these early hominins primarily relied on a plant-based diet, with minimal evidence of meat consumption.

The Prime Minister congratulated the Digantara team for the success of Mission SCOT.

About Mission SCOT

• It stands for Space Camera for Object Tracking 
• Aim: Creating maps for space by tracking object, 
• Benefits:
  • precise object tracking and imaging in Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
  • Better tracking accuracy of satellites
• Contribution: growing Indian space industry towards enhancing space situational awareness.

Recent findings indicate that 34% of Arctic-boreal zone (ABZ) has now become a carbon source rather than a sink.

• Regional hotspots, permafrost thawing and increasing wildfires in northern latitudes are the causes for this shift.

About Arctic-Boreal Zone (ABZ)

• ABZ encompasses treeless tundra, boreal forests, and wetlands situated along the Arctic Circle in the Northern Hemisphere.
  • Boreal forest, also known as Taiga, is the world’s largest terrestrial biome with predominance of evergreen, coniferous trees.
  • Arctic Tundra have little species diversity and low net primary productivity as soil remain in perennially frozen state known as permafrost.

According to a research, excessive use of nitrogen fertilisers in agriculture leads to fivefold reduction in flowers, while also halving the population of pollinating insects like bees.

About Pollinators

• A pollinator transfers pollen from the male part (stamen) to the female part (stigma) of flowers, enabling fertilization.
• Pollinators include insects and animals (bees, butterflies, moths, bats, birds, flies, etc.).
• Significance: 
  • Food Supply: About 35% of the world’s food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce.
  • Ecosystem Health: 75% of flowering plants rely on pollinators, stabilizing soil, cleaning air, and supporting wildlife.

At least 4.14 lakh crop insurance claims submitted under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) were found to be bogus by the Maharashtra Agriculture Department.

About PMFBY

• Objective: Providing financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/ damage, stabilizing their income, encouraging modern agriculture practices and ensuring flow of credit etc. 
• Ministry: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• Beneficiaries: All farmers including sharecroppers and tenant farmers.
• Crops covered: Food Crops (Cereals, millets etc.), Oilseeds, Annual Commercial/Horticultural crops.
• Coverage of Risks: Yield loss cover due to non-preventable risks like natural fire, lightning, storm, hailstorm, cyclone, flood, landslide, drought, pests/diseases etc. 
  • Also covers post-harvest losses and loss due to localised calamities.