Rapid Fire Current Affairs

The Department of Space (DoS) is coordinating the integration of NavIC (Navigation in Indian Constellation), India's indigenous satellite navigation system, with Aadhaar enrolment devices.
- NavIC, comprising seven satellites, is India's equivalent of the American GPS, providing positioning and navigation services.
- NavIC offers Standard Position Service (SPS) for civilian use and Restricted Service (RS) for strategic applications.
- The NavIC coverage area includes India and a region up to 1,500 km beyond the Indian boundary.
- NavIC has found utility in disaster management, aiding agencies like the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) and the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information System (INCOIS) in alert dissemination for natural calamities.
The move involves adapting Aadhaar enrolment kits to work with NavIC, enhancing accuracy and functionality.

Read more: NavIC

India, Japan and Sri Lanka are working towards restarting trilateral cooperation after the cancellation of a joint India-Japan MoU for the East Container Terminal (ECT) project in Colombo.
- However, with India and Japan coming to Sri Lanka's rescue during last year's economic crisis, and offering assistance with Sri Lanka's debt restructuring process, the three countries are exploring new avenues of cooperation.
India and Japan share a vision of a Free Open and Inclusive Indo-Pacific (FOIIP).
- India and Japan can work together on renewable energy and grid connectivity projects, the development of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka as an oil pipeline hub, connectivity and people-centric projects like tourism and education.
The Joint Economic Vision Statement between President Wickremesinghe (Sri Lanka) and the Prime Minister of India outlines catalysing projects with private sector-led investment and execution.

Recently, two ships of the Indian Navy - INS Visakhapatnam, and INS Trikand - visited Port Rashid, Dubai, UAE to conduct bilateral exercise ‘Zayed Talwar’.
- The exercise envisages to boost the maritime partnership between the two navies and foster a common understanding of the security challenges in the region.
Other bilateral exercises between the two countries include: In-UAE BILAT (bilateral naval exercise), Desert Eagle-II (bilateral air force exercise) and Exercise Desert Flag-VI.
India and the UAE established diplomatic relations in 1972.
- In the year 2022-23, UAE was India’s 3^rd largest trading partner and 2nd largest export destination.

Read More: India-UAE Relations

Recently, the Central govt has told the Karnataka HC that it will look into the matter of the ‘Havana Syndrome’ in India. This was in response to a petition by a Bengaluru resident who had approached the HC requesting a writ of Mandamus for an enquiry on Havana Syndrome in India.
- A Writ of Mandamus is issued to direct a public authority to do its duty.
Havana Syndrome refers to a set of mental health symptoms including - hearing certain sounds without any outside noise, nausea, vertigo and headaches, memory loss and balance issues.
Its roots trace back to Havana (Cuba) in late 2016.
- The causes behind Havana Syndrome were not entirely certain but speculated to be “sonic attacks”.
- Some US based studies suggest the victims may have been subjected to high-powered microwaves that damaged/interfered with the nervous system.
  - Beams of high-powered microwaves may have been sent through a special gadget - a “microwave weapon”, however there is no conclusive evidence of their existence.

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