Daily Current Capsules
28 and 29 November 2022

The Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP)

 

What's the NEWS

 

• Indian snow leopard experts received the Madrid-based BBVA Foundation's Worldwide Biodiversity Conservation Award on behalf of a 12-nation intergovernmental alliance that they helped create and manage.
• They received the award on behalf of The Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) at the headquarters of the BBVA Foundation in Madrid.

 

Know! about Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP)

 

• The GSLEP is a first-of-its-kind intergovernmental alliance for the conservation of the snow leopard and its unique ecosystem.
• It is led by the environment ministers of 12 countries in Asia that form the home range of the snow leopard.
• These are Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
• The GSLEP Program's secretariat is based in Bishkek, and is hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic.
• GSLEP was created in 2013 when officials, politicians and conservationists arrived at a common conservation strategy enshrined in the Bishkek Declaration (2013)to cooperate in the conservation of this species and its habitat.

 

BBVA Foundation Awards

 

• The Spain-based BBVA Foundation Awards for Biodiversity Conservation seek to recognise and support the work done by conservationist organisations, institutions and agencies in carrying forward environmental conservation policies and projects

 

Snow leopard

 

 

• Snow leopards prefer steep, rugged terrains with rocky outcrops and ravines and are usually found at an elevation of 3,000-5,000 metres or higher in the Himalayas.
• It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List
• It is threatened by poaching and habitat destruction following infrastructural developments.
• Snow leopards live in the mountainous regions of Central and Southern Asia.
• In India, their geographical range encompasses a large part of the western Himalayas, including the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern Himalayas.
• The last two states form part of the Eastern Himalayas - a priority global region of WWF.
• It is also listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), which makes the trading of animal body parts (i.e., fur, bones and meat) illegal in signatory countries.
• In India, the snow leopard is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, giving it the highest protection status under the country's laws.
• The Government of India has identified the snow leopard as a flagship species for the high-altitude Himalayas.
• It has developed a centrally-supported program called Project Snow Leopard to conserve the species and habitats.
• Currently, Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) is being undertaken by the MoEFCC, Govt of India.

 

EXERCISE HARIMAU SHAKTI - 2022

 

What's the NEWS

• India - Malaysia joint military Exercise "Harimau Shakti -2022" commenced at Pulai, Kluang, Malaysia on 28th November and will culminate on 12th December 22.
• Exercise HARIMAU SHAKTI is an annual training event between the Indian and Malaysian Army which is being conducted since 2012.
• The scope of this exercise involves a Command Planning Exercise (CPX) at the Battalion level and Company level Field Training Exercise (FTX) on sub-conventional operations in jungle terrain.
• Exercise HARIMAU SHAKTI will enhance the level of defence co-operation between Indian Army and the Malaysian Army, which in turn will further foster the bilateral relations between the two nations.

 

AUSTRA HIND - 22

What's the NEWS

• The bilateral training exercise "AUSTRA HIND 22" between contingents of the Indian Army and the Australian Army is scheduled to take place at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges (Rajasthan) from 28 November to 11 December 2022.

Know! about the exercise

• This is the first exercise in the series of AUSTRA HIND with participation of all arms and services contingent from both armies.
• The Australian Army contingent comprising soldiers from the 13th Brigade of the 2nd Division has arrived at the exercise location.
• The Indian Army is represented by troops from the DOGRA Regiment. Exercise "AUSTRA HIND" will be a yearly event that will be conducted alternatively in India and Australia.
• Aim of the exercise is to build positive military relations, imbibe each other's best practices and promote the ability to operate together while undertaking multi-domain operations in Semi deserts terrain under a UN peace enforcement mandate.
• This joint exercise will enable the two armies to share best practices in tactics, techniques and procedures for conducting tactical operations at Company and Platoon level for neutralising hostile threats.

 

 

ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal

 

What's the NEWS

• Iranian film Nargesi by Director Payam Eskandari has won the ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal at the 53rd edition of International Film Festival of India, given for a film that best reflects Mahatma Gandhi's ideals of peace, tolerance and non-violence.
• Every year at IFFI, ICFT Paris and UNESCO come together to present the Gandhi medal to one film.
• The films competing for the ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Award are screened at IFFI first and then, the ICFT jury evaluates the films based on the ideals of UNESCO.
• The UNESCO issued commemorative medal in 1994, marking the 125th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi. Since then the ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Award is being given to a film that best reflects Mahatma Gandhi's ideals of peace, tolerance and non-violence.

 

India's SARAS telescope gives clues to first stars, galaxies of universe

 

What's the NEWS

 

• In a first-of-its-kind work, using data from an Indian telescope, scientists have determined properties of radio luminous galaxies formed just 200 million years after the Big Bang, a period known as the Cosmic Dawn.

Know! about SARAS

• Shaped Antenna measurement of the background Radio Spectrum 3 (SARAS) telescope -- indigenously designed and built at Raman Research Institute -- was deployed over Dandiganahalli Lake and Sharavati backwaters, located in Northern Karnataka, in early 2020.
• In a first-of-its-kind work, using data from SARAS 3, researchers from the Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bengaluru, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia, along with collaborators at the University of Cambridge and the University of Tel-Aviv, estimated the energy output, luminosity, and masses of the first generation of galaxies that are bright in radio wavelengths.
• The results from the SARAS 3 telescope are the first time that radio observations of the averaged 21-centimeter line have been able to provide an insight to the properties of the earliest radio loud galaxies that are usually powered by supermassive black holes
• SARAS 3 has improved our understanding of astrophysics of Cosmic Dawn, telling us that less than 3 percent of the gaseous matter within early galaxies was converted into stars, and that the earliest galaxies that were bright in radio emission were also strong in X-rays, which heated the cosmic gas in and around the early galaxies

 

Fujiwhara Effect

 

 

What's the NEWS

 

• On September 1, 2022, super typhoon Hinnamnor, the strongest tropical cyclone of the year, was hurtling towards Taiwan from the western Pacific Ocean.
• Another tropical storm called Gardo was moving towards Hinnamnor from its southeast.
• As the two approached each other, they started a dance around the central line between them, showcasing a textbook example of what is known as the Fujiwhara Effect.
• After the dance, which lasted over a day, Hinnamnor devoured Gardo and eventually made landfall in South Korea
• A dance and merger between two large enough tropical cyclones over any of the global oceans could lead to the formation of a mega cyclone, causing devastation along coast-lines.

 

Fujiwhara Effect

 

• When two ocean storms form in the same region, their wind circulations start meeting each other at the mid and higher levels.
• This meeting of winds makes a bond between the two storms like a connecting limb through which they start influencing each other
• Hurricane, cyclone or typhoon
• These are names of huge swirling wind circulations that form over warm ocean waters and are named depending on where they form.
• They are fuelled by heat, wind and moisture and under the right conditions can gain significant strength and size.
• The Fujiwhara Effect is any interaction between tropical storms formed around the same time in the same ocean region with their centres or eyes at a distance of less than 1,400 km, with intensity that could vary between a depression (wind speed under 63 km per hour) and a super typhoon (wind speed over 209 km per hour).
• The interaction could lead to changes in the track and intensity of either or both storms systems.

 

Small Modular Reactors (SMR)

 

What's the NEWS

• Workshop on Small Modular Reactors (SMR) organized by NITI Aayog and Department of Atomic Energy
• India is taking steps for development of Small Modular Reactors (SMR), with up to 300 MW capacity to fulfill its commitment to Clean Energy transition.
• The participation of private sector and Start-ups needs to be explored in development of this critical technology within India.

 

Know! about SMR

• SMRs are advanced nuclear reactors that have a power capacity of up to 300 MW(e) per unit, which is about one-third of the generating capacity of traditional nuclear power reactors.
• Small Modular Reactors (SMR), with up to 300 MW capacity by nature are flexible in design and require smaller footprint.
• Being mobile and agile technology, SMR can be factory-built unlike the conventional nuclear reactors that are built on-site.
• Thus, SMRs offers significant savings in cost and construction time.
• SMR is a promising technology in industrial de-carbonization especially where there is a requirement of reliable and continuous supply of power.
• It is said that SMR is simpler and safer as compared to large nuclear plants.

 

IREDA celebrates ‘Constitution Day'

What's the NEWS

• Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) celebrated Constitution Day by organizing a webinar on "Indian Constitution, Idea of India".
• Constitution Day, also known as "National Law Day" or "Samvidhan Diwas", is celebrated in India on 26 November every year to spread the importance of the constitution and to spread thoughts and ideas of Shri B.R. Ambedkar - the Father of the Constitution of India.

 

Know! about IREDA

 

• IREDA is a Mini Ratna Government of India Enterprise under the administrative control of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
• It is engaged in promoting, developing and extending financial assistance for setting up projects relating to new and renewable sources of energy.
• IREDA has been notified as a "Public Financial Institution" under the Companies Act, 1956 and registered as Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) with Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

 

Objectives of IREDA

 

• To give financial support to specific projects and schemes for generating electricity and / or energy through new and renewable sources and conserving energy through energy efficiency.
• To maintain its position as a leading organisation to provide efficient and effective financing in renewable energy and energy efficiency / conservation projects.
• To increase IREDA`s share in the renewable energy sector by way of innovative financing.
• Improvement in the efficiency of services provided to customers through continual improvement of systems, processes and resources.
• To strive to be competitive institution through customer satisfaction.

 

 

PSLV-C54 Successfully Places Earth Observation Satellite, 8 Nano Satellites In Orbit

 

 

What's the NEWS

 

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully placed nine satellites, including an Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-06), in multiple orbits with the help of the space agency's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C54).
• EOS-06 is envisaged to observe ocean color data, sea surface temperature, and wind vector data for oceanography, climatic and meteorological applications.
• The satellite also supports value-added products such as potential fishing zones using chlorophyll, SST and wind speed, and land-based geophysical parameters.
• Satellites in PSLV-C54 includes EOS-06 (Oceansat-3) plus eight nano satellites (BhutanSat, 'Anand' from Pixxel, Thybolt, and Astrocast - four numbers from Spaceflight USA).

 

Know! about other satellites

Thybolt

 

• The Thybolt is a 0.5U spacecraft bus that includes a communication payload to enable rapid technology demonstration and constellation development for multiple users.
• It also demonstrates Store-and-Forward functionality for authorized users in the amateur frequency band. The satellites shall be deployed by using Dhruva Space Orbital Deployer to perform the specific mission operations for a minimum lifetime of 1 year.

 

BhutanSat

 

• ISRO Nano Satellite-2 for Bhutan (INS-2B) spacecraft is configured with INS-2 Bus. INS-2B will have two payloads namely NanoMx and APRS-Digipeater. NanoMx is a multispectral optical imaging payload developed by Space Applications Centre (SAC).

 

Anand

• The Anand Nano satellite is technology demonstrator to demonstrate the capabilities and commercial applications of miniaturized earth-observation camera for earth observation using a microsatellite in Low Earth Orbit.
• This is a three-axis stabilized satellite consisting of a satbus, accommodating all subsystems like telemetry, tele-command, Electrical Power system, Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS), on-board computers etc.

 

Astrocast

 

• Astrocast, a 3U spacecraft is a technology demonstrator satellite for the Internet of Things (IoT) as the payload. There are 4 nos. of Astrocast Satellites in this mission. These spacecraft are housed within an ISISpace QuadPack dispenser.
• The dispenser protects the satellite from contamination.

 

 

Earth Observation Satellite-6 (EOS-6) 

What's the NEWS

• The third generation Indian satellite for monitoring the oceans, formally named as Earth Observation Satellite-6 (EOS-6) was launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in partnership with Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) among others, from its First Launch Pad (FLP) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota.

Ocean observing mission

• The ocean observing mission is a follow up to OceanSat-1 or IRS-P4 and OceanSat-2 launched in 1999 and 2009, respectively.
• The satellite was launched aboard the proven launch vehicle PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) on its 56th flight (24th flight of the PSLV-XL version).
• Today's launch, designed as PSLV-C54, also accommodated other small satellites along with Oceansat-3.
• The Oceansat-3 was placed in the polar orbit at the height of about 740 kilometers above sea level.
• While at ~1100 kilograms, it is only slightly heavier than Oceansat-1, for the first time in this series it houses three ocean observing sensors viz Ocean Color Monitor (OCM-3), Sea Surface Temperature Monitor (SSTM), and Ku-Band scatterometer (SCAT-3).
• There is also an ARGOS payload.
• All these sensors have their own importance for India's blue economy aspirations.

 

Benefits of Ocean Color Monitor

• The advance 13 channel OCM with 360 m spatial resolution and 1400 km swath will observe the day side of the earth every day
• It will provide crucial data on distribution of ocean algae which is the base of the food chain within marine ecosystem.
• The OCM-3 with high signal-to-noise ratio is expected to provide improved accuracy in daily monitoring of phytoplankton having wide range of operational and research applications including fishery resource management, ocean carbon uptake, harmful algal bloom alerts, and climate studies.

Sea Surface Temperature Monitor (SSTM)

• The SSTM will provide ocean surface temperature which is a critical ocean parameter to provide various forecasts ranging from fish aggregation to cyclone genesis and movement.
• Temperature is a key parameter required to monitor health of the coral reefs, and if needed, to provide coral bleaching alerts.
• The data of temperature and wind is also very important for assimilation into ocean and weather models to improve their forecast accuracies.

ARGOS

• It is a communication payload jointly developed with France and it is used for low-power (energy-efficient) communications including marine robotic floats (Argo floats), fish-tags, drifters, and distress alert devices useful for conducting effective search and rescue operations.

 

UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (UNDOSSD, 2021-2030)

 

• The launch of Oceansat-3 is also significant since this is the first major ocean satellite launch coming from India since the initiation of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (UNDOSSD, 2021-2030).
• This satellite will have the capability to make concurrent measurements of Ocean Colour, SST and Sea Surface Winds, and is expected to provide a great boost to the ocean observing capabilities of the global scientific and operational communities in addressing the Ocean Decade objectives and challenges.

 

IKSHAK

 

What's the NEWS

• ‘Ikshak', the third of the four Survey Vessels (Large) (SVL) Project, being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and Larson and Toubro (L&T) for Indian Navy was launched on 26 Nov 22 at Kattupalli, Chennai.

Know! about the ship

• The ship has been named ‘Ikshak' which means ‘Guide'.
• The ship has been named to signify the contribution of the Survey ships towards facilitating safe passage for Mariners at Sea.
• The first of class ship 'Sandhayak' was launched on December 5, 2021 at GRSE, Kolkata. SVL ships will replace the existing Sandhayak Class survey ships with new generation hydrographic equipment to collect oceanographic data.
• The Survey Vessel (Large) ships are 110 m long, and 16 m wide with a deep displacement of 3400 tons and a complement of 231 personnel.
• The ship's propulsion system consists of two main engines with twin shafts, each capable of a maximum speed of 18 knots and a cruise speed of 14 knots.

 

Constitution Day

 

What's the NEWS

 

• India observes Constitution Day or Samvidhan Divas on November 26 every year in order to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India.
• On the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, the Union Cabinet decided to celebrate November 26 as Constitution Day.

 

Know! all about Constitution Day

 

• The Constituent Assembly adopted the present-day Constitution on November 26, 1949 but it was decided that it will come into effect after a gap of almost two months i.e. on January 26, 1950. During this two-month break, the members of the constituent assembly thoroughly read it in order to find any mistakes.
• The Constituent Assembly met for two years, eleven months and eighteen days, a total of 166 days, before adopting the Constitution.
• Initially, it had been written in both English and Hindi and had been signed by each member of the assembly.

 

National Milk Day

 

What's the NEWS

 

• Department of Animal Husbandry celebrated National Milk Day on November 26 to commemorate 101st birth anniversary of the "Father of the White Revolution in India -Dr. Verghese Kurien".

 

Know! about National Milk Day

 

• National Milk Day raises awareness about the need for milk in human lives.
• India is the world's largest milk producer, with 22 percent of global production followed by the United States of America, China, Pakistan and Brazil.
• National Milk Day is celebrated in India on November 26 to honour the memory of Dr Verghese Kurien, who is fondly known as the father of the White Revolution.
• Kurien was also called the Milkman of India as his ideas and efforts to build a system of farmer cooperatives helped transform the country from an importer of dairy products to the world's largest milk producer.
• For his relentless service to the dairy and farming communities, Kurien was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1963), Padma Shri (1965), Padma Bhushan (1966), World Food Prize (1989) and Padma Vibhushan (1999).

 

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