Prelims Focus 24rd April 2025
Sapsan Ballistic Missile
In News: Russia has officially acknowledged the threat posed by Ukraine’s domestically developed short-range ballistic missile system known as the Sapsan (also called Grom-2 or Hrim-2). This acknowledgment came in an April 19, 2025 report by the Russian Ministry of Defence (RuMoD), marking the first time Russia formally recognized the growing strategic risk from this missile system.
Key Details about the Sapsan Missile:
- Type: Short-range tactical ballistic missile system combining features of both tactical missiles and multiple rocket launchers.
- Range: Operational range estimated between 50 km and 400–500 km, with some reports suggesting a maximum range up to 700 km or possibly even 1000 km in future variants.
- Warhead: Approximately 480–500 kg, capable of precision strikes on military targets, airfields, and command centers.
- Guidance: Hybrid inertial navigation with radar-based and optoelectronic guidance systems, providing high accuracy with a circular error probable (CEP) of about 20 meters, superior to the Russian Iskander missile’s 30 meters CEP.
- Mobility: Mounted on a 10-wheeled Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL) that carries two containerized missiles.
Operation Atalanta
In News: Operation Atalanta, formally known as the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is an ongoing EU-led naval mission launched in December 2008 to combat piracy and armed robbery at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean. It is the EU’s first-ever naval operation and was established in response to the surge in Somali piracy, which threatened humanitarian aid deliveries, international shipping, and regional stability.
The primary objectives of Operation Atalanta are:
- Protecting vessels of the World Food Programme (WFP), the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and other vulnerable shipping.
- Deterring and disrupting piracy and armed robbery at sea.
- Monitoring fishing activities off the coast of Somalia.
- Supporting other EU and international missions to strengthen maritime security and capacity in the region.
Arsenic Pollution
In News: A new observation in The Lancet Planetary Health links climate change to rising arsenic levels in rice, warning of extended health risks in Asia by 2050.
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- Arsenic is a clearly occurring hint detail that occurs in lots of minerals, commonly in aggregate with sulfur and metals.
- It is distinctly toxic in its inorganic shape.
- Effects on health
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- Long-term publicity to arsenic can cause cancer, skin lesions, cardiovascular ailment, diabetes etc.
- In-utero and early childhood exposure were connected to bad effects on cognitive development and expanded deaths in young adults.
- In Taiwan, arsenic exposure has been connected to “Blackfoot disease”. It is a severe disease of blood vessels leading to gangrene.
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- Permissible Limits
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- The World Health Organization’s provisional tenet fee for arsenic in drinking water is 0.01 mg/l (10 μg/l).
- In India the permissible restriction of arsenic within the absence of an alternative supply is 0.05 mg/l (50 μg/l).
International Telecom Union (ITU)
In News: India has nominated Ms. M. Revathi as its candidate for Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
- It is the UN’s specialized organisation for digital technologies (ICTs), comprising 194 Member States and over 1,000 organizations, which includes groups and universities.
- It is Headquartered in Geneva with global offices and it’s the oldest UN organisation, founded in 1865.
- It operates through 3 sectors: ITU-T (Standardization),ITU-D (Development) and ITU-R (Radiocommunication).
- The Radiocommunication Bureau manages the global radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits, ensuring secure, interference-free use of essential technologies like 5G, aviation, GPS, broadcasting, and space missions.
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