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- Why in News?
- The Lunar Mission Launch Vehicle (LMLV) is an advanced upgrade of the NGLV, standing as tall as a 40-storey building. Designed for future lunar exploration, it will support India’s first human mission to the Moon by 2040. With a capacity to carry 80 tonnes to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or 27 tonnes to the Moon, it features three stages—two using liquid propellant and a third powered by cryogenic fuel.
- Key Provisions:-
- ISRO’s launch fleet includes:
- PSLV – A versatile, third-generation liquid-stage launcher for Sun-synchronous, LEO, and GTO missions (e.g., Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter).
- GSLV – A three-stage vehicle for deploying 2-tonne class communication satellites into GTO.
- LVM 3 – Heavy-lift launcher carrying 4 tonnes to GTO or 10 tonnes to LEO; proposed for the Bharatiya Antariksh Station.
- SSLV – Compact, all-solid three-stage launcher for 10–500 kg class satellites.
- ISRO’s launch fleet includes:
- Why in News?
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released a discussion paper to launch the second five-yearly review of the Flexible Inflation Targeting (FIT) framework. Introduced in May 2016 through an amendment to the RBI Act, 1934, the framework mandates maintaining price stability while supporting economic growth.
- Key Provisions:-
- India’s FIT journey (2016–2025) reflects two distinct phases. From its inception until late 2019, inflation stayed low and stable, averaging close to the 4% target. However, in the early 2020s, inflation breached the tolerance band of 4 ± 2%, driven by sharp food and fuel price spikes during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
- Targeted supply-side measures, a calibrated anti-inflationary monetary policy, and a decline in global commodity prices helped bring inflation back within the target range. The upcoming review aims to assess the framework’s effectiveness and adapt it to evolving macroeconomic and global challenges.
- Why in News?
- The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has confirmed a famine in Gaza, with over 500,000 people facing extreme hunger, destitution, and preventable deaths. The situation reflects the most severe level of food insecurity, where starvation is widespread, and urgent humanitarian intervention is critical.
- Key Provisions:-
- The IPC is a globally recognized framework for assessing and communicating the severity of food insecurity. Developed in 2004 by the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) under the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Somalia, it is now a 21-partner initiative involving UN agencies and international NGOs.
- Its governance structure includes the IPC High-Level Executive Committee, which provides overall leadership, and the IPC Global Steering Committee, the initiative’s main governing body. By providing a standardized, evidence-based classification, the IPC enables governments, humanitarian agencies, and global stakeholders to coordinate effective responses to food crises such as the one in Gaza.