Indian Navy inducted indigenously developed Torpedo Decoy
System.
Indian Navy (IN) has inducted indigenously developed
Torpedo Decoy System on 26 June 2020. The Advanced Torpedo Decoy System
Maareech was designed and developed DRDO labs, Naval Science &
Technological Laboratory (NSTL), and Naval Physical and Oceanographic
Laboratory (NPOL).
Torpedo Decoy
System:
· Anti-Submarine Warfare capability of the Indian Navy has received a major boost with the conclusion of a contract for Advanced Torpedo Decoy System Maareech capable of being fired from all frontline warships.
·
Bharat
Electronics Limited, a Defence PSU, will undertake the production of this decoy
system.
·
The prototype of the system was installed
onboard and a nominated naval platform had successfully completed all user
evaluation trials and demonstrated the features as per the Naval Staff
Qualification Requirements.
·
The induction is the joint resolution of the
Indian Navy and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) towards
the indigenous development of Defence technology.
·
This has given a major fillip to the
Government's 'Make in India' initiative and the country's resolve to become
'Atmanirbhar' in niche technology.
Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated Battery Swapping Facility Quick
Interchange Service in Chandigarh.
Battery Swapping Facility Quick Interchange Service
(QIS) was inaugurated at Chandigarh jointly by V P Singh Badnore, Governor of
Punjab-cum-Administrator, UT, Chandigarh, alongwith the Union Minister of
Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan.
Highlights:
·
Battery swapping
technology will offer the best alternative to slow charging.
·
The facility will help the drivers to make
optimum use of the operational hours.
·
The battery swapping model is initially
targeted at the commercial segment, that is, electric autos, rickshaws, and
electric 2W also and the electric vehicle (EV) which is either factory fitted
or retrofitted.
· Indian Oil has signed a non- binding Strategic cooperation document with M/s Sun Mobility to explore setting up of Energy infrastructure for EV through the Battery Swapping model across Indian Oil Retail outlets in select cities.
·
Indian Oil will run a Pilot and offering Smart
Mobility Proprietary Solutions (SMPLs) to support and service vehicles
comprising of e-rickshaws, e-karts, and e-bikes, and e-auto rickshaws up to 20
to 25 quick interchange stations in select cities across India.
·
The QIS will play a pivotal role in providing
an alternative energy solution to the 3-wheeler segment and boosting India’s
economic growth.
·
The initiative might bring a reform in the
energy sector moving towards carbon-neutral culture.
NCPOR warns about the decline in the Arctic sea ice.
The National Centre of Polar and Ocean Research
(NCPOR) has warned about the decline in the Arctic sea ice. The dramatic
decline in the Arctic sea ice is due to global warming. The loss of sea ice led
to a localized increase in evaporation, air humidity, cloud cover, and
rainfall.
Highlights:
·
It is well known
that Arctic sea ice is a sensitive indicator of climate change and has strong
retaliatory effects on other components of the climate system.
·
NCPOR observed that the largest decline in
Arctic sea ice in the past 41 years happened in July 2019.
·
It stated that, in the last 40 years
(1979-2018), the sea ice has been declining at a rate of -4.7% per decade,
while its rate was found to be -13% in July 2019.
·
It warned that, if this trend continues, there
would be no ice left in the Arctic sea by 2050, which would be dangerous for
humanity and the entire environment.
·
The study also stated that the decline of the
Arctic sea ice area and the increase in the duration of summer and autumn
seasons have affected the local climate & weather over the Arctic Ocean and
its marginal seas.
· The report also highlighted that the loss of sea-ice at this rate will have a catastrophic impact due to rising global air temperature and slowing down of global ocean water circulation.
KVIC launched Sandalwood and Bamboo plantation to stir up
monetization of its assets.
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)
launched Sandalwood and Bamboo plantation to spur monetization of its assets.
The first of its kind initiative began with a drive with plantation of 500
saplings each of sandalwood and bamboo at its Nashik training center spread
over 262 acres of land. The plantation ceremony was launched through
video-conference by KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena.
Highlights:
·
KVIC has
procured sandalwood saplings from Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre (FFDC)
Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, and Bamboo saplings from Assam.
·
The plantation of the Sandalwood was aimed to
create an asset for the KVIC.
·
It has been estimated to fetch between Rs.50
crore to Rs.60 crore in the next 10 to 15 years.
·
A sandalwood tree matures in 10-15 years and
as per the current rate, sells at Rs.10 lakh to Rs.12 lakh each.
·
Sandalwood trees have high potential in the
export market. Sandalwood and its oil have high demand in many countries like
China, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and the US. This will create a great
opportunity for India to increase sandalwood plantation and occupy the position
of a global leader in sandalwood production.
· Also, a special variety of bamboo, Bambusa Tulda, was brought from Assam and planted in Maharashtra. This kind of bamboo is used for making Agarbatti sticks. The aim is to support the local Agarbatti industry and to create regular income for the training center.
Cabinet approves extension of OBC panel.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a six-month
extension to the commission appointed to examine sub-categorisation of Other
Backward Classes.
Headed by retired Delhi High Court Chief Justice G.
Rohini, the commission will now have till January 31, 2021, to submit its
report, the government said in a statement.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash
Javadekar said the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had
decided to give the extension. He said the work of the commission was ongoing
but had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The statement said the commission was looking into
the issues of communities that were not getting the benefits of reservation.
Mr. Javadekar said, for instance, certain castes
were left out of the ambit because of a difference in the spelling in a State.
He said the commission would address such “anomalies”.
“The commission has come to the view that it would require some more time to submit its report since the repetitions, ambiguities, inconsistencies and errors of spelling or transcription, etc. appearing in the existing Central List of OBCs need to be cleared.
CAG report finds around 6500cr as unspent money in labour fund.
Enquiries have revealed that two dozen states had Rs
6,707 crore of unspent money as on March 31, 2019, from a cess collected from
employers of construction workers registered with them. The cess was collected
by states under two central laws that were enacted in 1996 for the welfare of
construction workers.
States have been spending only a meagre amount of this every year and much of it is still lying with them even as they are looking for funds, including from the Centre, to take care of migrant labours rendered jobless by the lockdown, government sources told on condition of anonymity.
Many of the labourers who had returned to their native states since March were engaged in construction projects.
India expresses concern over instability in Libya.
India has said the continuing conflict and
instability in Libya is a matter of international concern.
In response to media query on recent developments in
Libya, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said New Delhi
supports efforts towards immediate cessation of all hostilities in Libya.
He said, India acknowledges the recent international
efforts in this direction, including the Berlin International Conference held
on 19th January and the Cairo Declaration of 6th June.
He said, country hopes that these initiatives will
promote the peaceful resolution of the conflict through an intra-Libyan
dialogue taking into account the legitimate aspirations of the Libyan people,
while preserving Libya’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.
Gravel geometry of the Indus river unravel its paleoclimatic
history.
Researchers from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan
Geology (WIHG), Dehradun, have traced the paleoclimatic history of the Indus
River in Ladakh Himalaya. It was traced with the help of geometric data from
overlapping gravels of channel fills.
Highlights:
·
The researchers
studied the discharge during periods in which the river experienced an increase
in land elevation, due to the deposition of sediment and its incision.
· River Terraces are part of valley-wide aggradations, which has been studied extensively in Himalaya to understand the processes driving such a periodic increase in river valley land elevation and incision.
·
The researchers studied the discharge during
periods of established river aggradation and incision of the Indus River,
Ladakh Himalaya over late Quaternary.
·
The researchers used the geometric data from
overlapping gravels of channel fills to calculate paleo discharges during net
river aggradation at 47–23 ka (thousand years), and preserved slack water
deposits (SWDs) at 14–10 ka to constrain paleo discharges that occurred during
net river incision.
·
The researchers
also observed that the aggradation in the Himalayan rivers occurred in
glacial-interglacial transient warm climatic conditions (33–21 ka and 17–14 ka)
when the sediment budget in the rivers increased just after the glacial events.
·
The recent study showed that aggradation took
place in the Indus River when sediment to water ratio was higher during MIS-3 (Marine
isotope stages (MIS).
· Marine oxygen-isotope stages are alternating warm and cool periods in the Earth's paleoclimate, deduced from oxygen isotope data reflecting changes in temperature derived from data from deep-sea core samples) and incision initiated when sediment to water ratio reduced during post-glacial climatically wet phase (early Holocene).
Financing for Compressed Bio-Gas plants to be brought under PSL.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has stated
that the financing for Compressed .Bio-Gas plants to be brought under Priority
Sector Lending.
Highlights:
·
The Government
is in the process of including Compressed Bio-Gas under Priority Sector
Lending.
·
Initiative will help in providing environment
friendly gaseous fuel from natural sources and provide ease in the financing of
CBG Plants
· The Central Financial Assistance or Subsidy for setting up CBG plants has been extended to 2020-21 to promote new projects.
·
Bio-manure, an
important by-product of CBG Plants, is also in the process of being included in
Fertilizer Control Order 1985.
·
This will make it easier to market and provide
an opportunity for organic farming across the country as the 5000 CBG Plants
are expected to produce 50 MMT Bio-manure.
SATAT Scheme:
·
The ‘SATAT’ (Sustainable Alternative Towards
Affordable Transportation) scheme on CBG was launched in October 2018.
·
It is aimed at promoting Compressed Bio-Gas
(CBG) as an alternative, green transport fuel for efficient management of
biomass and organic waste.
·
The CBG produced under SATAT can be sold to
automobiles as clean fuel, and to domestic, industrial and commercial consumers
which are using LPG and other fuels.
·
It envisages targeting production of 15 MMT of
CBG from 5000 plants by 2023.
·
Oil Marketing Companies have been offered long
term pricing on CBG to make projects
bankable and have agreed to execute long term agreements on CBG.
Biogas:
·
Biogas is a renewable, as well as a clean,
source of energy.
·
The gas generated through bio-digestion is
non-polluting and it reduces greenhouse emissions.
·
After purification, it is compressed and
called CBG, which has pure methane content of over 95%.
·
Compressed Bio-Gas is exactly similar to the
commercially available natural gas in its composition and energy potential.
· With calorific value (~52,000 KJ/kg) and other properties similar to CNG, Compressed Bio-Gas can be used as an alternative, renewable Automotive Fuel.
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)
Recently, India has announced contributing 10
million US dollar to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) over the coming two years.
About:
·
It is
established in 1949, following the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. In the absence
of a solution to the Palestine refugee problem, the General Assembly has
repeatedly renewed
UNRWA's mandate.
·
It is to support
Palestinian refugees, and their patrilineal descendants, who fled or were
expelled from their homes during the 1948 Palestine war and 1967 Six Day war.
·
It provides education, health care, and social
services to the population it supports.
· Its aid is provided in five areas of operation
in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East
Jerusalem. The Aid for Palestinian refugees outside these five areas is
provided by UNHCR.
·
It is funded almost entirely by voluntary
contributions from UN Member States. It also
receives some funding from the Regular Budget of the United Nations.
Centre is going to bring cooperative banks under RBI’s
supervision.
To protect depositors, the Centre has decided to
bring all urban and multi-State cooperative banks under the supervision of the
RBI. The Union Cabinet approved an ordinance to this effect on Wednesday.
Currently, these banks come under dual regulation of the RBI and the Registrar
of Co-operative Societies.
The move to bring these urban and multi-State coop. banks under the supervision
of the RBI comes after several instances of fraud and serious financial
irregularities, including the major scam at the Punjab and Maharashtra
Co-operative (PMC) Bank last year. In September, the RBI was forced to
supercede the PMC Bank’s board and impose strict restrictions.
The Cabinet also approved a scheme to provide
interest subvention of 2% for a 12-month period to small borrowers with loans
up to ₹50,000 under the Shishu category of the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana.
This relief had been announced as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package last
month.
