Daily Current Capsules 25^th March 2022

Indigenisation of Technology/GSIII
Indigenous Air Traffic Management Systems
 

What's the NEWS

• Airports Authority of India (AAI), under its R & D initiative, has entered into an agreement with Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for the joint, indigenous development of systems for air traffic management and surface movement of aircraft at airports in the country which were hitherto being imported.
• This will reduce AAI's foreign dependency for procurement of ANS infrastructure.
• The Agreement was signed at Wings India 2022 in Hyderabad

Know! about the system

• Under this Agreement, BEL and AAI will jointly develop Civil Air Traffic Management System (ATMS) with Advanced-Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (ASMGCS), a complex ground surveillance system that manages air traffic at airports and in Indian Civil Airspace for safe operation of flights from take-off to landing.
• The dual purpose of air traffic control is to ensure safety, maintaining separation between multiple aircraft, and efficient management of operations at the airport and Indian airspace.
• ASMGCS provides routing, guidance and surveillance services to aircraft and vehicles, on the ground, in order to maintain safe surface movement in all weather conditions at the airport.
• The aim of ATMS with ASMGCS is to provide the air traffic controller with the complete air traffic picture of the coverage area
• The system is used in congested airports and airspaces to serve large volume of air traffic, including military flights.
• It helps in increasing capacity with improved safety by reducing controller workload, improving air traffic flow and minimising flight delays.

Wings India-2022

• It is Asia's largest event for commercial, general and business aviation
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) and industry body FICCI have jointly organised Wings India 2022 from March 24.
• The event organised at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad will conclude on March 27.
• The aviation event will focus on new business acquisitions, investments, policy formation and regional connectivity.
• It will also provide a fillip to the aviation sector. The event will act as a platform to connect the buyers, sellers, investors, and other stakeholders.
• The theme of the event this year is ‘India@75: New Horizon for Aviation Industry'.

Government Schemes/GSII
Project UNNATI

What's the NEWS

• Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Shri Giriraj Singh felicitated 75 trained candidates of Project UNNATI under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA

Know! about Project 'UNNATI'

• Project 'UNNATI', as a skilling project intends to upgrade the skill base of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA beneficiaries, and thereby improving their livelihoods, so that they can move from the current partial employment to full-time employment and hence reduce their dependence on Mahatma Gandhi NREGS.
• This project is meant for providing training for one adult member (of age 18-45 years old) of a household who has completed 100 days of work under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA in the previous financial year from the year of commencement of the project.
• The household from which, candidates are selected for the training, are continuing to enjoy 100 days of work under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA.
• The candidate undergoing training are paid a stipend for a maximum period of 100 days and for one program per household as per the wage rate prevailing in the concerned State/UT as per the provisions of the project.
• Full expenditures towards a stipend, against wage loss compensation, are entirely borne by Central Government.

 

Science & Technology/GSIII/Health/GSII
Dare2eraD TB

What's the NEWS

• Data-Driven Research to Eradicate TB- "Dare2eraD TB" has been launched by the Department of Biotechnology, M/o Science & Technology, on the occasion of World TB Day.

Dare2eraD TB will be the umbrella TB program of DBT comprising of following key initiatives-
a. InTGS - Indian Tuberculosis Genomic Surveillance Consortium;
b. InTBK Hub- Indian TB Knowledge Hub- Webinar Series;
c. Host Directed therapies against TB and developing an evidence-based regimen for treating extra-pulmonary Tuberculosis.

• Indian Tuberculosis Genomic Surveillance Consortium (InTGS) is proposed on lines of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG).
• The InTBK Hub- Indian TB Knowledge Hub will be a Webinar series starting from World TB Day that will create Academia- Industry connect to discuss challenges and exchange ideas and carry forward open innovations between all TB stakeholders.

Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) - benefits

• In order to fully understand the biological characteristics of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and the effect of the mutations on transmission, treatment and disease severity, analysing the genomic data of the organism is essential as the Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) is increasingly gaining traction as an important molecular tool for Tuberculosis surveillance.
• Effective use of the WGS technology would allow rapid identification of the origin and drug resistance (DR) profile of the TB strains in the patients.
• This would in turn facilitate treatment strategies for better control of TB transmission to reduce disease burden.

Regional Prospective Observational Research in Tuberculosis (RePORT)

• The Department of Biotechnology, M/o Science & Technology has also cultivated international partnerships for Tuberculosis research.
• The Regional Prospective Observational Research in Tuberculosis (RePORT) India initiative, a bilateral collaborative effort is being supported under the aegis of the Indo-US Vaccine Action Programme (VAP), to advance tuberculosis (TB) research in India.

India TB Report 2022 - Highlights

• A 19% increase was witnessed in 2021 from the previous year in TB patients' notifications.
• The number of incident TB patients (new and relapse) notified during 2021 was 19,33,381 against the 16,28,161 in 2020
• The government's commitment to making India tuberculosis-free by 2025
• The government also released the National TB Prevalence Survey Report which was conducted from 2019 to 2021 to know the actual disease burden of TB.
• The reports said there has been an increase in the mortality rate due to all forms of TB between 2019 and 2020 by 11%.
• The survey report said prevalence of microbiologically confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) among 15 years and above in India was 316/lakh population with the highest PTB prevalence of 534/lakh in Delhi and the lowest PTB prevalence of 115/lakh in Kerala.

 

Space Awareness/GSIII
GSAT 7B SATELLITES
 

What's the NEWS

• The Indian Army is set to get a long-awaited dedicated military communication satellite as the Defence Acquisition Council approved Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for Capital Acquisition proposals of Armed Forces.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave his nod to the Acceptance of Necessity for GSAT-7B Satellite that will enhance operational preparedness of the Armed Forces and boost its communication capabilities.
• Defence Minister headed Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved procurement of Army satellite, other equipment worth over ₹8,000 crore, that will enhance operational preparedness of armed forces.
• This includes night sight (image intensifier), light vehicles gs 4x4, air defence fire control radar (light) and GSAT 7B satellite for the armed forces.
• In a bid to encourage innovation, the DAC also accorded consolidated Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procurements amounting to ₹380.43 crore from the iDEX startups and MSMEs.

Know! about GSAT 7B satellite and GSAT-7 series

• The GSAT-7B is a communication satellite part of the GSAT-7 series, which was first launched in 2013 by the Indian Space & Research Organisation (Isro).
• The launch of the satellite ended the dependency of the Indian Navy on foreign satellites like Inmarsat for communication services.
• GSAT-7 is an advanced communication satellite built by ISRO to provide a wide range of service spectrum from low bit rate voice to high bit rate data communication.
• The GSAT-7 Communication payload is designed to provide communication capabilities to users over a wide oceanic region including the Indian land-mass.
• Launched in the geosynchronous transfer orbit, the satellite, also dubbed Rukmini, has emerged as a potent communication tool for the armed forces for nearly a decade.
• The spacecraft was equipped with transponders in Ku band, S-band, C band and UHF (ultra-high frequency) band to improve the maritime communications among the Indian Navy's warships.
• Rukmini was the first military satellite developed by Isro and launched atop an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from Kourou in French Guiana.
• The satellite connects the Navy's warships, aircraft, submarines and land-based communication systems in real-time.
• India followed GSAT-7 with GSAT-7A, dubbed the "Indian Angry Bird", launched in 2018.
•  This satellite helped in the formation of a band of communications satellites for the Indian military.
• The 2,250-kg military communications satellite helped in connecting all assets of the Indian Air Force and serves as a force multiplier.
• GSAT-7A provides communication capability to users in Ku-band over the Indian region
• The mission life of GSAT-7A is eight years.
• At the moment, GSAT-7 and GSAT-7A are the only two dedicated satellites for the Indian armed forces and with GSAT-7B, their tribe is set to grow.
• GSAT-7B will be used by the Indian Army, which so far uses 30 per cent of GSAT-7A's transponder capacity.

Know! about iDEX

• iDEX aims at creation of an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging Industries including MSMEs, start-ups, individual innovators, R&D institutes & academia.
• And provide them grants/funding and other support to carry out R&D which has good potential for future adoption for Indian defence and aerospace needs.
• iDEX will be funded and managed by a ‘Defence Innovation Organization (DIO)' which has been formed as a ‘not for profit' company as per Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013 for this purpose, by the two founder members i.e. Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) - HAL & BEL.
• iDEX will function as the executive arm of DIO, carrying out all the required activities while DIO will provide high level policy guidance to iDEX.

Prelims Factoids
India's First-ever SAI National Centre of Excellence for Mountain Terrain Biking and Bicycle Motocross

What's the NEWS

• The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in collaboration with the Youth Services and Sports department of the Government of Himachal Pradesh is set to build India's first-ever SAI National Centre of Excellence to train athletes in Mountain Terrain Biking and Bicycle Motocross in Shimla
• The NCOE is being set up to provide world-class training facilities to Indian cyclists so that they can compete for the 18 Olympic medals in the disciplines of MTB and BMX.
• This centre, one of the best high-altitude training facilities in the world, at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level, will have world-class infrastructure, a state-of-art sports science high performance centre, Olympic-level track and coaches of international repute, where India's best cyclists and local sporting talent can train.

Social Issues/Government Schemes/GSII
4^th Poshan Pakhwada
 

 

What's the NEWS

• The Ministry of Women and Child Development is celebrating the 4th Poshan Pakhwada from 21st March to 4th April, 2022. For the celebration of Poshan Pakhwada, the emphasis is on two broad areas viz. identification & celebration of Healthy Child, and integration of modern and traditional practices for healthy India within the thematic areas around Poshan MITRA (Modern, IT based, Traditional& Regional Activities).

Under the theme for integration of modern and traditional practices, special focus will be on the following:

 

i. Measurement of Height and Weight of Children under 6 years who are beneficiaries in the Anganwadi Centres

ii. Activities focused around Gender Sensitive Water Management and generating awareness in women about the importance of water conservation and promoting rainwater harvesting structures including in Anganwadi Centres

iii. Test Treat and Talk Anaemia and

iv. Promote traditional food for healthy mother and child esp. in Tribal Areas

Know! about POSHAN Abhiyan

• POSHAN Abhiyan launched by the Prime Minister on 8thMarch 2018 has reached a long way in ensuring wider people's participation.
• Poshan Abhiyan endeavours to improve nutritional outcomes in a holistic manner in convergence with other Ministries.
• Behavioural change at individual and community level is an important component to achieve the desired goals of Poshan Abhiyan.
• Ministry of Women and Child Development will be the nodal Ministry for coordinating activities during the Poshan Pakhwada.
• In the States / UTs, Department of Women & Child Development / Social Welfare Department will be the nodal department for Poshan Pakhwada.

Science & Technology/GSIII
Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC) signs MoU with Tata Steel and LoI with BASF for Scientific cooperation & partnerships
 

 

What's the NEWS

• A new MoU and LoI has been signed to foster Science and Technology led innovations through Indo-German R&D networking, including industrial research partnership in PPP mode.
• The partnership has been established between bilateral Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC) through the MoU with Tata Steel Ltd will institute a joint collaborative Research & Innovation (R&I) framework to facilitate new technologies development, conduct thought leadership workshops, and support human capital development.
• IGSTC has been established by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt of India, and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
• Indo-German bilateral workshops are platforms for substantive interactions between scientists / researchers from academia and industry in India or Germany.

Economy/GSIII
Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH)
What's the NEWS

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor inaugurated the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH)
• It is intended to encourage and nurture financial innovation in a sustainable manner through an institutional set-up.
• The RBI has set up hub as a wholly owned subsidiary with an initial capital contribution of ₹100 crore. The new unit has an independent board with S. Gopalakrishnan as Chairman.
•  RBIH aims to create an ecosystem that focusses on promoting access to financial services and products for the low-income population in the country.

 

Prelims Factoids
ABEL PRIZE
What's the NEWS

• The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has awarded the Abel prize for the year 2022 to American Mathematician Dennis Parnell Sullivan.

Know! about the award

• The Abel Prize is a prize awarded annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. It is named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829).
• The award has been given, "For his ground-breaking contributions to topology in its broadest sense, and in particular its algebraic, geometric and dynamical aspects".
• Topology is a field of mathematics which was born in the 19th century and has to do with properties of surfaces that do not change when they are deformed.
• Topologically, a circle and a square are the same; similarly, surfaces of a doughnut and a coffee mug with one handle are topologically equivalent, however, the surface of a sphere and a coffee mug are not equivalent.

 

Information given by Ministers in the Parliament
SLNP and AJAY

• Street Light National program (SLNP) was launched by the Government in January 2015 to replace conventional street lights with smart and energy efficient LED street lights in the municipal sector across the country.
• Atal Jyoti Yojana (AJAY) Phase-II which provides for installation of solar street lights in remote, rural and semi-urban areas, was launched in December, 2018

Pacer Initiative

 

What's the NEWS

• Polar Science and Cryosphere Research (PACER) scheme comprising the Antarctic program, Indian Arctic program, Southern Ocean program and Cryosphere and Climate program is implemented successfully through National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Major achievements of the PACER scheme in the recent three years are as follows:

• Executed 39^th & 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica.
• 41^st Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica is ongoing.
•  Ten sediment cores were collected from lakes to reconstruct the past climate associated with the ice-sheet dynamics.
•  Field-based studies were conducted in the lakes of Larsemann hills, East Antarctica for understanding of biogeochemical process in supraglacial environments.
• Clear-air atmospheric observatories containing automatic weather stations, a suite of sensors to measure aerosol and greenhouse gas concentrations has been established at Maitri and Bharati stations.
• Analysis of ice cores were carried out to understand dissolved organic carbon pathways and long-term climate variability over Antarctica.
• IndARC mooring system along with Hydrophone system was successfully retrieved and deployed in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard.
• Coastal cruises were undertaken in the Arctic Svalbard archipelago to carry out biogeochemical and microbial research in the glacio-marine system.
• Glaciological field campaigns were carried out in six benchmark glaciers in Chandra basin of Lahaul-Spiti region of Western Himalaya.
• Two new Automatic Weather Station (AWS) systems were installed at Baralacha La, a high elevation site in the arid Spiti region to strengthen infrastructure across the Chandra basin.
• The 11th Indian Southern Ocean Expedition was executed successfully.
• Various atmospheric, geological, oceanographic and biological measurements were conducted in the Prydz Bay as well as across various fronts of the Southern Ocean.
• The Polar Science and Cryosphere (PACER) scheme has been approved for continuation during 2021-2026.

 

Benefits of co-firing Biomass pellets in Thermal Power Plants

Biomass co-firing in Thermal Power Station (TPS) has several benefits as under:
i. Reduction in amount of coal used for power generation resulting in corresponding savings in CO2 emissions. This would also reduce the sector's dependence on coal.
ii. Production of electricity from a resource (biomass) which was earlier being wasted.
iii. Income generation for farmers and job creation by pellet manufacturers.
iv. Preservation of soil culture which gets destroyed in farm fires.
v. Reduction in air pollution due to reduction in stubble burning.

•  Efforts are being made to meet the demand for 5% co-firing in TPS across the country.
• With the Government policy in force and multiple initiatives taken to strengthen supply chain infrastructure, pellet/briquette manufacturing capacity is expected to rise in near future.
• About 23 Thermal Power Plants have co-fired biomass pellets so far. Approximately 66000 Metric Tons (MT) of biomass has been co-fired till date.
• As per present initiative, Biomass Pellets are targeted to co-fire with coal. The blending of biomass with coal will reduce coal dependence in thermal power plants.

Salient features of National Smart Grid Mission

 

 

• National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM) was established by Government of India in 2015 to plan and monitor implementation of policies and programmes related to Smart Grid activities in India.
• The primary aim of the Smart Grids is to improve reliability of the Electricity networks and make the grid amenable to renewable energy inputs through distributed generation.
• Further, increased efficiencies with Smart Grid and Smart Meters empower the consumers to manage their electricity consumption in a better manner and help them in reducing their bills.
• In addition, the NSGM also envisages capacity building initiatives for Distribution Sector personnel in the field of Smart grids.
• The Impact Assessment of smart grid pilot projects including Smart City Pilot at IIT Kanpur and Smart Grid Knowledge Center (SGKC), Manesar was carried out by M/s Quality Control of India (QCI) and it was observed that there is considerable achievement in most of the DISCOMs/utilities with progress being made in bringing down AT&C losses.

 

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