About Railway Protection Force:

• The history of the RPF dates back to 1882 when various Railway companies appointed their own guards for protection of Railway property.
• It was declared as statutory force in the year 1957 by an enactment of Parliament and subsequently declared as an armed force of the Union of India in the year 1985.
• In 2003, the RPF partially took up the duties of escorting of passenger trains and access control at the railway stations”.
• It is led by a director-general.
• It is an armed force under the operational and administrative control of the Union Ministry of Railways.
• It is tasked with protecting and securing railway property, the passenger areas, and the passengers themselves.

What is the Government Railway Police (GRP)?

• The GRP is a part of the district police force, reporting to the state government.
• It works alongside the RPF, and should, under ideal circumstances, complement and strengthens its operations.
• They responsible generally for the prevention and detection of crime on railways.

About Bhojpatra Tree:

• It is also known as Himalayan Birch and it is widely found in the Himalayas.
• It is a deciduous tree native to the Western Himalayas that grows at elevations of up to 4,500 metres
• It has a high freezing tolerance potential, allowing it to form a treeline in the Himalayan region.
• It is a long-lived species which can survive up to 400 years and the only angiosperm in the Himalaya which dominates an extensive area at sub - alpine altitudes.
• Distribution: It is widely distributed in the altitudinal range from 3100 - 3800 m in North-western Himalaya.
• It contributes to the preservation of the Himalayan ecosystem by reducing soil erosion and creating a bio-shield for the remaining forests and sub-alpine meadows below the treeline.
• The bark of this tree was used for centuries in our Country for writing lengthy scriptures and texts in Sanskrit and other scripts, particularly in historical Uttarkhand and Kashmir.

About India Stack:

• It is a set of Application Programming Interface (APIs) that allows governments, businesses, startups and developers to utilise a unique digital Infrastructure.
• India Stack consists of three layers of open APIs: identity, payments, and data.
• Although the name of this project bears the word India, the vision of India Stack is not limited to one country.
• It can be applied to any nation, be it a developed one or an emerging one.
• The four distinct technology layers provided are
  • Presenceless layer: Where a universal biometric digital identity allows people to participate in any service from anywhere in the country.
  • Paperless layer: Where digital records move with an individual's digital identity, eliminating the need for massive amount of paper collection and storage.
  • Cashless layer: Where a single interface to all the country's bank accounts and wallets to democratize payments.
  • Consent layer: Which allows data to move freely and securely to democratize the market for data?
• Some of the APIs that are a central part of India Stack: Aadhaar Proof, Aadhaar e-KYC, e-Sign, Digital Locker, Unified Payment Interface
• The Open API team at iSPIRT has been a pro-bono partner in the development, evolution, and evangelisation of these APIs and systems.

What is API?

• In the context of APIs, the word Application refers to any software with a distinct function.
• Interface can be thought of as a contract of service between two applications.
• This contract defines how the two communicate with each other using requests and responses.
• Their API documentation contains information on how developers are to structure those requests and responses.

About Western Tragopan:

• It is also known as the western horned tragopan, is amongst the rarest of all living pheasants.
• Due to its beautiful plumage and large size, this bird is locally known as ‘jujurana’ or ‘king of birds’.
• It is the state bird of Himachal Pradesh.
• Distribution: It is endemic to the northwest Himalaya, within a narrow range from Hazara in north Pakistan through Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, to the western part of Garhwal.
• The upper part of Great Himalayan National Park’s (GHNP) forest zone holds the world’s largest known population of western tragopan.
• It prefers a habitat of ringal (dwarf) bamboo beneath dense forest.
• Diet: It feeds mostly on leaves, shoots and seeds, but also consumes insects and other invertebrates.
• Threats: Habitat loss, hunting pressure and anthropogenic disturbances which includes livestock grazing, minor forest produce collection like medicinal herbs etc.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN: Vulnerable

About Akira Ransomware:

• It is designed to encrypt data, create a ransomware note and delete Windows Shadow Volume copies on affected devices.
• The ransomware gets its name due to its ability to modify filenames of all encrypted files by appending them with the “.akira” extension.

How does Akira Ransomware work?

• The ransomware is designed to close processes or shut down Windows services that may keep it from encrypting files on the affected system.
• It uses VPN services, especially when users have not enabled two-factor authentication, to trick users into downloading malicious files.
• The ransomware also terminates active Windows services using the Windows Restart Manager API, preventing any interference with the encryption process.
• It is designed to not encrypt Program Data, Recycle Bin, Boot, System Volume information, and other folders instrumental in system stability.
• It also avoids modifying Windows system files with extensions like .syn. .msl and .exe.
• Once sensitive data is stolen and encrypted, the ransomware leaves behind a note named akira_readme.txt which includes information about the attack and the link to Akira’s leak and negotiation site.
• Each victim is given a unique negotiation password to be entered into the threat actor’s Tor site.
• Unlike other ransomware operations, this negotiation site just includes a chat system that the victim can use to communicate with the ransomware gang.

How does ransomware infect devices?

• Ransomware is typically spread through spear phishing emails that contain malicious attachments in the form of archived content (zip/rar) files.
• Other methods used to infect devices include drive-by-download, a cyber-attack that unintentionally downloads malicious code onto a device, and specially crafted web links in emails, clicking on which downloads malicious code.
• The ransomware reportedly also spreads through insecure Remote Desktop connections.

About Lokmanya Tilak National Award:

• The award was instituted in 1983 by the Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust.
• This award is given every year on 1st August, the death anniversary of Lokmanya Tilak, to persons who have made remarkable and extraordinary contributions, working for the progress and development of the nation.

Who was Lokmanya Tilak?

• Bal Gangadhar Tilak, commonly known as Lokmanya Tilak, was a prominent Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, social reformer, and political leader during the Indian independence movement.
• He was one of the prime architects of modern India and probably the strongest advocate of Swaraj or Self Rule for India. 
• He is known for his slogan, "Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it."
• He was born as Keshav Gangadhar Tilak and his followers bequeathed upon him the title of ‘Lokmanya’, meaning he who is revered by the people.
• Extremist:
  • He was considered a radical Nationalist.
  • The British Government termed him the "Father of Indian Unrest".
• Organisations:
  • He joined the Indian National Congress Party in the year 1890.
  • He also helped found the All India Home Rule League in 1916–18 with G. S. Khaparde and Annie Besant. 
  • Tilak started his Home Rule League in Maharashtra, Central Provinces, and Karnataka and Berar region. Besant's League was active in the rest part of India. It aimed to advocate for self-rule and raise public awareness about India's right to govern itself.
• Literary works:
  • Tilak was a prolific writer and journalist. He used his newspaper, "Kesari" (meaning Lion) in Marathi and later "Maratha" in English to disseminate nationalist ideas.
  • Some of his notable literary works include "The Arctic Home in the Vedas," where he presented his theory that the Vedas originated in the Arctic region, and "Shrimad Bhagavad Gita Rahasya," an interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita from a nationalist perspective.
• Educationist:
  • Tilak believed in the power of education and established the Deccan Education Society in Pune in 1884.
  • The society founded Fergusson College and the New English School, which played crucial roles in promoting modern education in Maharashtra.
  • Tilak taught mathematics at Fergusson College.
• Social Reform: Lokmanya Tilak was also an advocate of social reform. He actively supported the eradication of social evils like untouchability and child marriage and promoted education for women.
• Lal-Bal-Pal: He had popular leaders such as Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai as his political companions, and the three were popularly known as the ‘Lal-Bal-Pal triumvirate.’
• Imprisonments: He was arrested for sedition on multiple occasions. His most prolonged incarceration lasted from 1908 to 1914, during which he wrote the famous book "Gita Rahasya" (The Secret of the Bhagavad Gita).
• In 1916 he concluded the Lucknow Pact with Mohammed Ali Jinnah, which provided for Hindu-Muslim unity in the nationalist struggle.