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Type: Prelims Only

  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Bangladesh

    India Bangladesh Relations

    Prelims Only | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Railway links mentioned

    Mains level: India-Bangladesh connectivity

    Two years after they were stopped due to the onset of the pandemic, passenger train services between India and Bangladesh resumed with the Bandhan Express setting off from Kolkata for Khulna and the Maitree Express starting its run from Dhaka for Kolkata.

    History of Rail Connectivity

    • The Bandhan Express was resumed by rebooting a long-forgotten rail link between Kolkata and the industrial hub of Khulna, the third-largest city of Bangladesh.
    • In 1965, this route was served by the Barisal Express, which was stopped due to the India-Pakistan war.
    • The Modi government along with the Sheikh Hasina regime restarted that with Bandhan in 2017.
    • The Bandhan Express was the second train to be flagged off after the introduction of Maitree Express between Kolkata and Dhaka Cantonment in April, 2008.
    • It covers the distance between Kolkata and Khulna via Petrapole and Benapole border route to cater to the demands of the people from both the countries.
    • The Bandhan Express was resumed in 2017 by rebooting a long-forgotten rail link between Kolkata and the industrial hub of Khulna.

    Beyond passenger travel

    • The governments of both the countries have been working towards strengthening the rail link between them, and not just through passenger trains.
    • In August 2021, the two sides started regular movement of freight trains between the newly-restored link between Haldibari in India and Chilahati in Bangladesh.
    • The Haldibari-Chilahati rail link between India and the then East Pakistan was also operational till 1965 and stopped due to the war.
    • This was part of the broad gauge main route from Kolkata to Siliguri at the time of Partition.
    • The two sides envisage at least 20 freight trains to cross the border per month on this link.

    Rail infrastructure

    • Once part of a single, seamless railway network under British rule, trains continued to pass between the two countries even after the Partition.
    • The infrastructure to connect the two sides through railways was, therefore, largely present.
    • Policymakers on both sides viewed this as an opportunity to deepen diplomatic ties using cross-border movements of goods and passengers.
    • Five rail links have so far been rebooted between India and Bangladesh:

    Petrapole (India)-Benapole (Bangladesh), Gede (India)- Darshana (Bangladesh), Singhabad (India)-Rohanpur (Bangladesh), Radhikapur (India)-Birol (Bangladesh) and the Haldibari-Chilahati link

     

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  • Monsoon Updates

    Monsoon sets in over Kerala

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Geographical Features & Their Location

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Various terms related to Monsoon

    Mains level: Indian Monsoon

    The monsoon has reached Kerala, the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

    What does the “Onset of Monsoon” mean?

    • The onset of the monsoon over Kerala marks the beginning of the four-month — June-September — southwest monsoon season over India.
    • It brings more than 70 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall. This marks a significant day in India’s economic calendar.
    • IMD announces it only after certain newly defined and measurable parameters, adopted in 2016, are met.
    • Broadly, the IMD checks for the consistency of rainfall over a defined geography, its intensity, and wind speed.

    (1) Rainfall

    • The IMD declares the onset of the monsoon if at least 60% of 14 designated meteorological stations in Kerala and Lakshadweep.
    • The 14 enlisted stations are: Minicoy, Amini, Thiruvananthapuram, Punalur, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Thalassery, Kannur, Kasaragod, and Mangaluru.
    • It records at least 2.5 mm of rain for two consecutive days at any time after May 10.
    • In such a situation, the onset over Kerala is declared on the second day, provided specific wind and temperature criteria are also fulfilled.

    (2) Wind field

    • The depth of westerlies should be up to 600 hectopascal (1 hPa is equal to 1 millibar of pressure) in the area bound by the equator to 10ºN latitude, and from longitude 55ºE to 80ºE.
    • The zonal wind speed over the area bound by 5-10ºN latitude and 70-80ºE longitude should be of the order of 15-20 knots (28-37 kph) at 925 hPa.

    (3) Heat

    • According to IMD, the INSAT-derived Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) value (a measure of the energy emitted to space by the Earth’s surface, oceans, and atmosphere) should be below 200 watt per sq m (wm2).
    • This is measured in the box confined by 5-10ºN latitude and 70-75ºE latitude.

    Is it unusual for the monsoon to hit the Kerala coast early?

    • Neither early nor late onset of the monsoon is unusual.
    • In 2018 and 2017, the onset over Kerala occurred on May 29 and May 30, respectively.
    • In 2010, onset was realised on May 31.
    • In 2020 and 2013, the monsoon was exactly on time, hitting the Kerala coast on June 1.

    Does an early onset foretell a good monsoon?

    • No, it does not — just as a delay does not foretell a poor monsoon.
    • The onset is just an event that happens during the progress of the monsoon over the Indian subcontinent.
    • A delay of a few days, or perhaps the monsoon arriving a few days early, has no bearing on the quality or amount of rainfall.

    How does the monsoon spread across the country after hitting Kerala coast?

    • The northward progression of the monsoon after it has hit the Kerala coast depends on a lot of local factors, including the creation of low pressure areas.
    • Though this year monsoon has arrived early, it is possible that despite a late onset over Kerala, other parts of the country start getting rain on time.
    • After its onset over Kerala, the monsoon spreads over the entire country by July 15.

    Back2Basics:

    Various terms related to Indian Monsoon

     

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  • Health Sector – UHC, National Health Policy, Family Planning, Health Insurance, etc.

    What is the West Nile Virus?

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: West Nile Virus

    Mains level: Vector borne diseases

    The Kerala health department is on alert after the death occurred due to the West Nile Virus.

    West Nile Virus

    • The West Nile Virus is a mosquito-borne, single-stranded RNA virus.
    • According to the WHO, it is a member of the flavivirus genus and belongs to the Japanese Encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae.

    How does it spread?

    • Culex species of mosquitoes act as the principal vectors for transmission.
    • It is transmitted by infected mosquitoes between and among humans and animals, including birds, which are the reservoir host of the virus.
    • Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds, which circulate the virus in their blood for a few days.
    • The virus eventually gets into the mosquito’s salivary glands.
    • During later blood meals (when mosquitoes bite), the virus may be injected into humans and animals, where it can multiply and possibly cause illness.
    • WNV can also spread through blood transfusion, from an infected mother to her child, or through exposure to the virus in laboratories.
    • It is not known to spread by contact with infected humans or animals.

    Symptoms of WNV infection

    • The disease is asymptomatic in 80% of the infected people.
    • The rest develop what is called the West Nile fever or severe West Nile disease.
    • In these 20% cases, the symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, body aches, nausea, rash, and swollen glands.
    • Severe infection can lead to encephalitis, meningitis, paralysis, and even death.
    • It is estimated that approximately 1 in 150 persons infected with the West Nile Virus will develop a more severe form of the disease.
    • Recovery from severe illness might take several weeks or months.
    • It usually turns fatal in persons with co-morbidities and immuno-compromised persons (such as transplant patients).

     

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  • Nobel and other Prizes

    Booker Prize awarded to first Indian language book

    Prelims Only | Trivia | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Man Booker Price

    Mains level: NA

    Author Geetanjali Shree’s translated Hindi novel, Tomb of Sand, became the first Indian language book to win the International Booker Prize.

    Note: Such topics hold very little relevance for CSE prelims. However, last year experience make such topics more uncertain. Still such topics hold relevance for other exams such as CAPF and state PSCs.

    What is the Booker Prize?

    • The Booker Prize is one of the best-known literary awards for fiction writing in English, including both novels and collections of short stories.
    • It was first awarded in 1969.
    • Every year a panel of judges decides the best work of the year, with the criteria being that it must be written in English and published in the UK and Ireland.
    • This panel of judges is picked from among eminent cultural historians, writers, professors, and novelists, and others from related fields.
    • For the Booker Prize, the winner receives £50,000.

    About the book

    • The 2018 novel titled ‘Ret Samadhi’ was translated by Daisy Rockwell and published as ‘Tomb of Sand’ in 2021.
    • The prize is one of two literary awards given out annually by the Booker Prize Foundation, a charity whose stated aim is to “promote the art and value of literature for the public benefit”.

    What about the International Booker Prize?

    • The International Booker Prize began in 2005.
    • A biennial prize initially, it was then awarded for a body of work available in English, including translations, with Alice Munro, Lydia Davis and Philip Roth becoming some of the early winners.
    • In 2015, the rules of the International prize changed to make it an annual affair.
    • The new rules stipulated that it will be awarded annually for a single book, written in another language and translated into English.
    • The £50,000 prize money is divided equally between the author and translator each year.

    Why is it called the ‘Booker’?

    • The Booker Prize, from 1969 to 2001, was named simply after the Booker Group Limited – a British food wholesale operator that was its initial sponsor.
    • The Man Group, an investment management firm based in the UK, began to sponsor the prize in 2002 and it thus came to be known as The Man Booker Prize.
    • The Man Group ended their sponsorship in 2019.
    • Crankstart, an American charitable foundation, has been the sponsor after that. The prize name has changed back to the ‘Booker’ since then.

    Who have been some prominent winners?

    • Prominent winners of the coveted prize include Margaret Atwood (‘The Testaments’), Yann Martel (‘Life of Pi’), and Julian Barnes (‘The Sense of an Ending’).
    • Many Indian-origin writers have won the Booker in the past, such as Arundhati Roy (‘The God of Small Things’), Salman Rushdie (‘Midnight’s Children’), Kiran Desai (‘The Inheritance of Loss’), and Aravind Adiga (‘The White Tiger’).
    • Shree is the first Indian to win an international prize.

     

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  • Rural Infrastructure Schemes

    AKRUTI Program to start in Kudankulam

    Prelims Only | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: AKRUTI Program

    Mains level: NA

    The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited is all set to launch AKRUTI programme in the villages surrounding Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP).

    AKRUTI Program

    • The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited is assisting unemployed youth living near the Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS) through AKRUTI.
    • AKRUTI stands for Advanced Knowledge and Rural Technology Implementation (AKRUTI) program.
    • Areas of water, food processing, agriculture and waste management in rural areas are covered under the AKRUTI program.
    • The scheme aims at empowering villages through implementing different technologies for usage.
    • This scheme will lead to sustainable growth of the rural sector across the country.

    What is the objective?

    • To provide information and mechanism for implementation of BARC technologies in rural areas thereby aiming at overall rural development.

     

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  • Health Sector – UHC, National Health Policy, Family Planning, Health Insurance, etc.

    Monkeypox Virus: Origins and Outbreaks

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Monkey Pox

    Mains level: Rise in zoonotic diseases

    With cases being reported from across the world, monkeypox has caught everyone’s attention.

    What is Monkeypox?

    • Monkeypox is not a new virus.
    • The virus, belonging to the poxvirus family of viruses, was first identified in monkeys way back in 1958, and therefore the name.
    • The first human case was described in 1970 from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
    • Many sporadic outbreaks of animal to human as well as human to human transmission has occurred in Central and West Africa in the past with significant mortality.
    • After the elimination of smallpox, monkeypox has become one of the dominant poxviruses in humans, with cases increasing over years along with a consequent reduction in the age-group affected.

    How is it transmitted?

    • Since the transmission occurs only with close contact, the outbreaks have been in many cases self-limiting.
    • Since in the majority of affected people, the incubation period ranges from five to 21 days and is often mild or self-limiting, asymptomatic cases could transmit the disease unknowingly.
    • The outbreaks in Central Africa are thought to have been contributed by close contact with animals in regions adjoining forests.
    • While monkeys are possibly only incidental hosts, the reservoir is not known.
    • It is believed that rodents and non-human primates could be potential reservoirs.

    Does the virus mutate?

    • Monkeypox virus is a DNA virus with a quite large genome of around 2,00,000 nucleotide bases.
    • While being a DNA virus, the rate of mutations in the monkeypox virus is significantly lower (~1-2 mutations per year) compared to RNA viruses like SARS-CoV-2.
    • The low rate of mutation therefore limits the wide application of genomic surveillance in providing detailed clues to the networks of transmission for monkeypox.
    • A number of genome sequences in recent years from Africa and across the world suggest that there are two distinct clades of the virus — the Congo Basin/Central African clade and the West African clade.
    • Each of the clades further have many lineages.

    What do the genomes say?

    • With over a dozen genome sequences of monkeypox, it is reassuring that the sequences are quite identical to each other suggesting that only a few introductions resulted in the present spread of cases.
    • Additionally, almost all genomes have come from the West African clade, which has much lesser fatality compared to the Central African one.
    • This also roughly corroborates with the epidemiological understanding that major congregations in the recent past contributed to the widespread transmission across different countries.

    Does it have an effective vaccine?

    • It is reassuring that we know quite a lot more about the virus and its transmission patterns.
    • We also have effective ways of preventing the spread, including a vaccine.
    • Smallpox/vaccinia vaccine provides protection.
    • While the vaccine has been discontinued in 1980 following the eradication of smallpox, emergency stockpiles of the vaccines are maintained by many countries.
    • Younger individuals are unlikely to have received the vaccine and are therefore potentially susceptible to monkeypox which could partly explain its emergence in younger individuals.

     

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  • Goods and Services Tax (GST)

    What is the Service Charge levied by Restaurants on Customers?

    Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Food Processing & Related Industries In India

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Service charges on food

    Mains level: Not Much

    The Centre has called a meeting of restaurant owners over service charge levied by them on customers.

    Why in news?

    • The restaurants are collecting service charges from consumers by default, even though collection of any such charge is voluntary and at the discretion of consumers and not mandatory as per law.

    What are the components of a food bill?

    • A restaurant bill in India comprises food charge (from the menu), with an addition of service charge (anywhere between 5 to 15 per cent) and a 5 per cent GST on this amount (IGST+SGST).
    • This is for all kinds of standalone restaurants.
    • In case a restaurant is located inside a hotel wherein room rate is upwards of Rs 7,500 (mostly in case of five-stars), the GST would be 18 per cent.

    Nature of Service charge

    • While the GST is a mandatory component as per law, the service charge is supposed to be optional.
    • It is the equivalent of what is known as gratuity around the world, or tip, in casual parlance.
    • Most restaurants decide the service charge on their own, and print it at the bottom of the menu with an asterisk.

    Policy measures

    • The Ministry of Consumer Affairs had come out with “Guidelines on Fair Trade Practices Related to Charging of Service Charge from Consumers by Hotels/ Restaurants”.
    • Here it was clearly mentioned that a component of service is inherent in the provision of food and beverages ordered by a customer.
    • Hence the pricing of the product is expected to cover both the goods and service components.
    • It said that the bill “may clearly display that service charge is voluntary, and the service charge column of the bill may be left blank for the customer to fill up before making payment.”

    What do the restaurants say?

    • The levy of service charge by a restaurant is a matter of individual policy to decide if it is to be charged or not.
    • There is no illegality in levying such a charge.
    • Once the customer is made aware of such a charge in advance and then decides to place the order, it becomes an agreement between the parties, and is not an unfair trade practice.
    • GST is also paid on the said charge to the Government.

    Where does the fund go?

    • Restaurants claim that a major chunk of the service charge thus collected goes to the staff, while the rest goes towards a welfare fund to help them out during good and bad times.
    • It’s a default billing option, even as customers can choose not to pay it if they don’t want to.
    • Of course, they are paid the salaries but the service charge works as an incentive for them.
    • Restaurateurs also say that patrons can decide not to pay the charge and tip the server directly, but in this case, the backroom staff doesn’t get anything.
    • A service charge ensures all staff members are rewarded evenly.

    What is the issue then?

    • The issue is that almost all restaurants have put service charge (fixed at their own accord) as a default billing option.
    • And if a consumer is aware that it is not compulsory and wants it removed or wants to tip the server directly, the onus is on them to convince the management why they don’t want to pay it.
    • The department says they received several complaints saying it leads to public embarrassment and spoils the dining experience since at the end of it, they either pay the charge quietly and exit the place feeling cheated, or have to try hard to get it removed.
    • Also, there is no transparency as to where this charge goes.
    • The officials also say that collecting service charge on their own and paying GST on it to the government doesn’t make it authorised.

    Problems faced by customers

    • It is this component which has come under dispute from time to time, with consumers arguing they are not bound to pay it.
    • It also said that hotels and restaurants charging tips from customers without their express consent in the name of service charges amounts to unfair trade practice.

     

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Qutub Minar not a Place of Worship: ASI

    Prelims Only | History | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Qutub Minar

    Mains level: Not Much

    The Qutub Minar complex is not a place of worship and its character cannot be changed now, the Archaeological Survey of India submitted in a Delhi Court while opposing a plea challenging the dismissal of a civil suit seeking “restoration” of temples on the premises.

    What is the case?

    • The original suit claimed that 27 temples were demolished to build the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque at the Qutub Minar complex.
    • This pleas was dismissed last year under the provisions of Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
    • The Additional District Judge (ADJ) has now reserved the order.
    • The petitioner said that the dismissal of the original suit based on the 1991 Act was wrong.
    • The Qutub Minar complex comes under the purview of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act of 1958.

    Why in news now?

    • The ASI now submitted that the Qutub Minar complex was not a place of worship when it was first notified as a protected monument in 1914.
    • The ASI, explained that the character of a monument is decided on the date when it comes under protection.

    About Qutub Minar

    • The Qutub Minar is a minaret and “victory tower” that forms part of the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi’s oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs.
    • It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of South Delhi.
    • It can be compared to the 62-metre all-brick Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan, of c. 1190, which was constructed a decade or so before the probable start of the Delhi tower.
    • The surfaces of both are elaborately decorated with inscriptions and geometric patterns.
    • The Qutb Minar has a shaft that is fluted with “superb stalactite bracketing under the balconies” at the top of each stage.

    Its construction

    • The Qutb Minar was built over the ruins of the Lal Kot, the citadel of Dhillika.
    • Qutub Minar was begun after the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, which was started around 1192 by Qutb-ud-din Aibak, first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate.
    • It is usually thought that the tower is named for Qutb-ud-din Aibak, who began it.
    • It is also possible that it is named after Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki a 13th-century sufi saint, because Shamsuddin Iltutmish was a devotee of his.
    • Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, to the north-east of the Minar was built by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak in A.D. 1198.
    • It consists of a rectangular courtyard enclosed by cloisters, erected with the carved columns and architectural members of 27 Jain and Hindu temples, which were demolished by Qutub-ud-Din.
    • This is recorded in his inscription on the main eastern entrance.

    Back2Basics:

    What is the Places of Worship Act?

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Who was Prithviraj Chauhan?

    Prelims Only | History | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Prithviraj Chauhan

    Mains level: NA

    There is controversy around a new film where some communities of Rajasthan are laying claim over the 12th century emperor Prithviraj Chauhan.

    Prithviraj Chauhan

    • Prithviraj Chauhan (1177–1192 CE) popularly known as a king from the Chauhan (Chahamana) dynasty who ruled the territory of Sapadalaksha, with his capital at Ajmer in present-day Rajasthan.
    • Ascending the throne as a minor in 1177 CE, Prithviraj inherited a kingdom which stretched from Thanesar in the north to Jahazpur (Mewar) in the south.

    His legend

    • He aimed to expand by military actions against neighbouring kingdoms, most notably defeating the Chandela’s.
    • Prithviraj unified several Rajput clans and defeated the Ghurid army led by Muhammad Ghori near Taraori in 1191 AD.
    • However, in 1192 CE, Ghori returned with an army of Turkish mounted archers and defeated the Rajput army on the same battlefield.
    • Prithviraj fled the battlefield, but was captured near Sirsa and executed.
    • His defeat at Tarain is seen as a landmark event in the Islamic conquest of India, and has been described in several semi-legendary accounts, most notably the Prithviraj Raso.

    Prithviraj in literary works

    • The image of Prithviraj as a fearless and skilled warrior that is now etched in the folk imagination can be traced back to his depiction in ‘Prithviraj Raso’.
    • This was a poem in Brajbhasha attributed to Chand Bardai, which is thought to have been composed in the 16th century.
    • James Mill’s ‘The History of British India’ (1817) categorized Indian history into the Hindu, Muhammadan and British periods.
    • In this formulation, Prithviraj Chauhan would be the last ruler of ‘Hindu’ India.

    Why is he being revived?

    • To a vocal section of the Hindu right, Prithviraj Chauhan appears as “the last Hindu emperor” of India who made a valiant attempt to stop the radical invaders.
    • In the popular imagination, he is the heroic figure who symbolises the exalted ideals of patriotism and national pride.
    • However the historical evidence demonstrates rather different ways in which Prithviraj has been seen over the ages.

     

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  • Start-up Ecosystem In India

    What is Pravaig Field Pack?

    Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Effects Of Liberalization On The Economy, Changes In Industrial Policy and their effects on Industrial Growth

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Pravaig Field Pack

    Mains level: Not Much

    A Bengaluru-based venture has produced a rugged tactical battery that it is now planning to sell to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces in Europe.

    Pravaig Field Pack

    • It is a heavy-duty power bank that is portable and weighs 14 kilograms.
    • It is of great utility to the digitally connected modern military and Special Forces personnel who have to operate in high-risk zones while using gadgets that require constant power back-up.
    • These batteries are designed, engineered and made in India.
    • The field pack can be used to charge a MacBook 60 times.

    Significance of Pravaig

    • This supply marks a major shift in the defense landscape of India — a tipping point in the reversal of India’s high technology defense industry, from users to developers, from importers to exporters.
    • The field pack can be used to energize a military person’s field duties and it can be used to deploy remote sensors.
    • A powerful tactical battery can be used even to operate larger military equipment such as drones and it can even help coordinate tactical operations which involve multiple weapons systems.

     

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