The Al-Nagah III is a joint military exercise that involves India and Oman. The third in this series of exercises is scheduled to commence from the 12th of March and continue until the 25th of March, 2019. The unique location for these exercises is the Jabal Al Akhdar Mountains in Oman.
The Objectives and Background of Al-Nagah III
The main goal of Al-Nagah III is to enhance interoperability in counter-terrorist operations in semi-urban mountainous terrain. Both armies will exchange expertise and experience in tactics, weapon handling, and firing. This year’s exercise follows the first two joint exercises held in Oman in January 2015 and in India in March 2017.
The Importance of Nostro Accounts for Banks
Reserve Bank of India recently penalized Allahabad Bank due to non-compliance with directions related to Nostro accounts. Derived from the Latin word for “ours,” Nostro accounts are vital for facilitation of foreign exchange and trade transactions. A nostro account refers to an account held by a domestic bank in a foreign country, denominated in the respective currency of that country.
Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) and its Impact on Housing Financing Companies
The National Housing Bank proposed an increase in the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of Housing Financing Companies (HFCs) to 15%. This move serves as a precautionary measure against liquidity risk. The CAR is a tool to measure a bank’s available capital as a percentage of its risk-weighted credit exposures. Also known as the capital-to-risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR), it safeguards depositors and contributes to the stability and efficiency of financial systems worldwide.
| Indicator | Description |
|---|---|
| Nostro Account | An account held by a domestic bank in a foreign country, denominated in the local currency. |
| Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) | A measure of a bank’s available capital as a percentage of its risk-weighted credit exposures. |
| Al-Nagah III | An Indo-Oman joint exercise aimed at enhancing interoperability in counter-terrorist operations. |
Curing HIV: The London and Berlin Patients
Recently, a person suffering from HIV in London, known as the ‘London Patient,’ became the second individual to be cured of the HIV virus after undergoing a bone marrow transplant. The curing technique applied here was the CCR5-delta 32 technique that involves a stem cell transplant using CCR5-delta 32 homozygous donor cells.
Preceding the ‘London Patient’, Timothy Ray Brown, officially referred to as ‘The Berlin Patient’, was considered the first person cured of HIV. His treatment took place in Berlin, and to protect his identity, he was later labelled as ‘The Berlin Patient’.
China’s Artificial Sun: A Significant Scientific Development
An extraordinary advance in scientific technology is China’s plan to create an artificial sun made of electrons and ions within this year. The HL-2M Tokamak device will be utilized to replicate the nuclear fusion process that naturally occurs in the sun. This artificial sun’s plasma mainly comprises electrons and ions and has already attained an electron temperature of over 100 million degrees Celsius.
Three main challenges currently exist in harnessing nuclear fusion: achieving an ion temperature above 100 million degrees Celsius, containing the fusion within a limited space in the long term, and providing a sufficiently high-density profile.
