Prelims Nuggets 

Trishul Exercise (TSE -2025)

• It is a major tri-services exercise (TSE) involving the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, which is taking place in October/November 2025.
• Location :  along India’s western border, focusing on the desert and Sir Creek regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat. 
• The exercise aimed to validate joint operational readiness across land, air, and sea, enhance interoperability between the services, and test integrated capabilities like (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) ISR, electronic warfare, and cyber warfare. 
• It was a large-scale drill that involved a variety of assets, including Rafale and Su-30MKI jets, T-90 tanks, and Kolkata-class destroyers, and emphasized the use of indigenous systems to support the “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” initiative. 

Operation White Cauldron

• The operation was conducted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) under the Ministry of Finance, an intelligence and enforcement agency of the Government of India.
• The primary goal was to detect and dismantle a multi-state network involved in the illegal manufacturing of synthetic drugs, specifically Alprazolam, a controlled substance under the NDPS Act, 1985.
• It successfully dismantled a clandestine factory manufacturing the psychotropic substance Alprazolam in Valsad, Gujarat. 
• Alprazolam  is a prescription medication belonging to the benzodiazepine class of drugs. It acts as a central nervous system (CNS) depressant, working by enhancing the effect of a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain to produce a calming and muscle-relaxing effect. 

Rhesus Macaque

• The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL), chaired by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, recommended reinstating the Rhesus Macaque species under Schedule II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• The goal is to restore statutory protection, enable enforcement against illegal capture and cruelty, and regulate its scientific management.
• State governments have been directed to prepare detailed, site-specific mitigation plans to identify and categorize areas of conflict.
• Ministry officials noted that reinstatement under Schedule II is viable as Section 11 of the Act gives states the power to deal with wildlife species in conflict.
• The Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey in the Macaca genus.
• They can live in a wide range of environments, from forests and shrublands to coastal areas and even cities amidst human settlements, as long as there is a food source.
• They live in large, social groups (troops) of 20 to 200 individuals, with a complex, matrilineal social structure.
• Primarily herbivores, they eat fruits, seeds, leaves, and roots, but are omnivores also and also eat insects, spiders, and other small animals.
• They communicate using a variety of facial expressions, vocalizations, and body postures.
• They are diurnal animals that can be both arboreal and terrestrial, spending time in both trees and on the ground. They are also good swimmers. 
• Rhesus macaques have been instrumental in scientific breakthroughs due to their genetic similarity to humans, including the development of vaccines.
• A rhesus macaque named Albert II was the first primate astronaut in 1948.
• Experiments have shown that rhesus macaques recognize themselves in a mirror, which indicates self-awareness.
• They have specialized, pouch-like cheeks that allow them to store and carry food.
• Mating in large groups, females may split off to form new groups when the troop size reaches 80 to 100 members. 
• IUCN Status : Least Concern

Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS)

• China has officially commissioned its third and most advanced aircraft carrier, the Fujian.
• It is equipped with an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), featuring electromagnetic catapults. This technology has so far only been used by the US carrier USS Gerald R. Ford.
• Function: EMALS uses electric power to launch aircraft from the carrier’s deck.
• Advantage: Unlike traditional steam catapults, EMALS provides smoother acceleration, enabling the launch of heavier and more advanced aircraft and providing more power for advanced systems.

Brain Atlas

• Scientists have completed a first draft of atlases of the ‘developing’ human and mammalian brain.
  • The Allen Brain Atlas was the first to provide a comprehensive, anatomically and genomically complete 3D map of the human brain, released to the public in 2010.
• Developed by the BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network (BICAN), USA’s National Institute of Health. 
• Goal: To comprehensively map how various types of brain cells emerge and mature from early embryonic/fetal stages through to adulthood.
• Subjects: The research focused on human and mouse brain cells.
• Methodology: Scientists mapped the development of different brain cell types and tracked how genes are turned on or off within the cells.
• Discoveries:
  • Identified key genes controlling brain processes.
  • Uncovered commonalities between human and animal brains.