India’s first indigenously built missile corvettes, INS Khukri (P49), was decommissioned after 32 years of service at Visakhapatnam on December 24, 2021.
Highlights
- During the decommissioning ceremony, the national flag, the decommissioning pennant and naval ensign were lowered at sunset.
- INS Khukri was built by the Mazagon Dock shipbuilders on August 23, 1989.
- It had the distinction of being part of Western as well as Eastern Fleets.
- In her service to Indian Navy, the ship was commanded by 28 commanding officers.
- It traversed a distance of more than 6,44,897 nautical miles, equivalent to navigating across the world 30 times or three times the distance between the Moon and the Earth.
- The ship was affiliated with the Gorkha Brigade of the Indian Army.
About INS Khukri (F149)
INS Khukri was a Type 14 (Blackwood-class) frigate, serving into the Indian Navy. The ship was sunk off the coast of Diu in Gujarat in December 1971, by the Pakistan’s Daphne-class submarine Hangor during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. INS Khukri was the first warship sunk by a submarine since World War II. It is the only warship of Indian Navy, to be lost in war till date.
INS Khukri (P49)
INS Khukri (P49) was named after INS Khukri (F149), which was lost in combat. It was the lead vessel of her class of corvettes, giving service to the Indian Navy.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia, recently spotted a rare pink handfish near Tasmanian coast, after 22 years. The fish was last spotted in 1999.
Highlights
- The Australian marine researchers used an underwater camera inside the seabed in Tasman Fracture Marine Park, in February 2021. While going through the footage later, they spotted the pink handfish.
- The Taman Fracture Marine Park is known for its deep fracture inside the earth’s crust, allowing scientists to explore marine life up to the depths of 4,000 meters.
- Earlier, it was assumed that, pink handfish lives in shallow waters. However, this time it was found at the depth of 150 meters.
About Handfish
- Handfish are any anglerfish, belonging to the family Brachionichthyidae. This family is a group of five genera and 14 extant species.
- These benthic marine fish are known for the way they propel themselves by walking on sea floor rather than swimming.
- Presently, Handfish are found in the coastal waters of southern and eastern Australia and Tasmania.
- They are scientifically called as Latin brachium.
Why has the species named handfish?
The species has been named ‘handfish’ because of their little hand like structure, which they use to walk on the sea bed.
Population of Handfishes
Handfishes have small population sizes and their distributions are restricted. Thus, they are highly vulnerable to disturbance. Some species are classified as critically endangered.
Characteristics of Handfish
Handfishes grow up to 15 cm long. They have skin covered with denticles, which give then an alternate name ‘warty anglers’. They are slow-moving fish.
The Indian Army launched a contemporary messaging application named, ASIGMA, which is dubbed as “Army Secure IndiGeneous Messaging Application”.
Background
It will replace the AWAN (Army Wide Area Network) messaging application. AWAN has been in service for last 15 years.
Who has developed the ASIGMA App?
- The new generation web-based messaging application has been developed entirely in-house, exclusively by a team of officers of ‘Corps of Signals’ of the Indian Army.
- The messaging app is being developed on Army’s internal network.
- It has been developed in line with the Government’s Make in India initiative.
About ASIGMA App
- ASIGMA app has been sent out on Army-owned hardware. It will cater to the army from this time forward and lending itself to lifetime support with future upgrades.
- It is designed to meet all futuristic requirements for Indian army and boasts of an enhanced user experience.
- The app comprises of several contemporary features line multi-level security, message prioritisation & tracking, dynamic global address book, and options to meet the present requirements of the army.
- It will meet the real-time data transfer and messaging requirements of the Army, particularly in the backdrop of current geopolitical security environment.
Significance of the App
The Indian Army has braced for automation in a major way, post COVID-19 pandemic. It is taking several steps towards paperless functioning. ASIGMA App will further boost these efforts by the Army and will add to the host of other applications which have been employed by the Army over its network.