About:

• Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) is a 5.5-tonne class combat helicopter designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) – a Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU).
  
  
• It is powered by two Shakti engines and inherits many technical features of the Advanced Light Helicopter.
  
  
• LCH has the distinction of being the first attach helicopter to land in Forward Bases at Siachen, 4,700 mts above sea level with 500kg load. 
  
  

About:

• The 'Yard 45006' is the sixth in the series of seven offshore patrol vessels project that is designed and indigenously built by Larsen and Toubro Shipbuilding in line with the Centre's 'Make in India' vision.
  
  
• It is equipped with two diesel driven engines and can reach a maximum speed of 26 knots.
  
  
• The ship would be fitted with CRN-91 and 12.7 mm guns and an integral twin engine helicopter enhancing its operational, surveillance, search and rescue capability.
  
  
• The vessel would be be utilised for day and night surveillance along with anti-terrorist, anti-smuggling operations in the exclusive economic zone.
  
  
• The vessel is expected to be inducted into the Coast Guard after completion of extensive trials and testing for the equipment and machinery. 
  
  

About:

• Both sides signed 10 agreements in various fields such as:
  • MoU on Cooperation for Prevention of Trafficking in Persons
    
    
  • MoU for Cooperation on Combating Timber Trafficking, and Conservation of Tigers and other Wildlife
    
    
  • Agreement regarding Indian Grant Assistance for Implementation of Quick Impact Projects (QIP)
    
    
  • MoU for cooperation in the field of petroleum products
    
    
  • Project Agreement for construction of pre-schools under Rakhine State Development Programme
    
    
  
  
  
• India reiterated its support for peace , stability and development in Rakhine state. Coordinated Bus Service between Imphal and Mandalay is expected to begin from April this year.
  
  
• The Indian side reiterated its commitment for construction of the Integrated Check Post in Tamu, Myanmar. 
  
  

About:

• National Science Day (NSD) is celebrated every year on 28 February by the Government of India to commemorate the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’. designated 28 February as in 1986.
  
  
• On this day, Sir C.V. Raman announced the discovery of the 'Raman Effect' for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930.
  
  
• National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science and Technology (DST) acts as a nodal agency to coordinate celebration of the National Science Day throughout the country
  
  
• On the occasion, President Ram Nath Kovind presented several awards for science communication and popularization as well as for women scientists such as:
  • National Science and Technology and Communication Awards,
    
    
  • Augmenting Writing Skills For Articulating Research (AWSAR) awards,
    
    
  • SERB Women Excellence Awards and
    
    
  • National Award For Young Woman Showing Excellence Through Application Of Technology For Societal Benefits. 
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• RAISE 2020 is India's first Artificial Intelligence summit to be organized by the Government in partnership with Industry & Academia.
  
  
• The summit will be a global meeting of minds to exchange ideas to use AI for social empowerment, inclusion and transformation in key areas like Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility amongst other sectors.
  
  
• The event will start with a Startup Challenge – Pitchfest followed by the two-day summit, organized by Government of India along with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. 
  
  

Key findings of the list:

• The Hurun Global Rich List 2020 has a list of 2,817 individuals across the globe having a networth of USD 1 billion or more.
  
  
• The world has added 480 billionaires in 2019, more than one a day, while China added more than three a week and India did more than three billionaires a month.
  
  
• China and the US occupied the first and second spot with 799 and 626 billionaires, respectively.
  
  
• India added 34 new billionaires to take the count to 138 on the list which has helped the country to feature at the third position globally.
  
  
• China (799) is home to more billionaires than the US (626) and India combined.
  
  
• Mumbai is the home to more than a third of the richest individuals in the country with 50 of them living in the megapolis, making it the ninth richest city globally, followed by New Delhi with 30, Bengaluru with 17 and Ahmedabad with 12.
  
  
• With USD 67 billion in networth, Mukesh Ambani (minting Rs 7 crore every hour) is also the ninth richest in the world which is topped by Jeff Bezos of Amazon with USD 140 billion.
  
  
• Oyo founder Ritesh Agarwal, just 24 years old, is the youngest Indian in the rich list with a networth of USD 1.1 billion. 
  
  

About:

• Name: InSight is an acronym for “Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport”.
  
  
• Agencies involved: This mission is part of “NASA's Discovery Program.”
  
  
• Significance: It is the first mission to study in-depth the "inner space" of Mars: its crust, mantle, and core.
  
  
• Mission Objectives: InSight won’t be looking for life on Mars. Instead It will study its insides i.e. it seeks to understand the formation and evolution of terrestrial planets through investigation of the interior structure and processes of Mars.
  
  
• Timeline: The mission successfully landed at Elysium Planitia on Mars in November 2018. 
  
  

Background:

• One of the common characteristics of all multicellular animals on Earth is mitochondrial respiration—the process by which oxygen is used to generate adenosine triphosphate—the fuel used to power cellular processes. The process takes place in mitochondria.
  
  
• But now, there is a known exception: Henneguya salminicola.
  
  

 H. Salminicola:

• salminicola, member of the group Myxozoa, is a microscopic parasite that infects salmon.
  
  
• In their work, the researchers sequenced the DNA of H. salminicola tissue and found no mitochondrial DNA at all. The researchers suggest they likely steal energy from their host using some type of proteins.