Relevance IN - Prelims (about DFCCIL) + Mains (GS III infrastructure development)
What's the NEWS

• The 14^th Foundation Day of Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) was celebrated recently
• The Ministry of Railways congratulated team DFCCIL for completing 500 km of Dedicated Freight Corridor and exhorted the team to achieve the goal of 991 km by March 2020.
• The Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC) are a mega rail transport project being undertaken to increase transportation capacity, reduce unit costs of transportation, and improve service quality.
• The Eastern DFC (1839 route kilometres (RKM) extends from Dankuni near Kolkata to Ludhiana in Punjab, while the Western DFC (1499 RKM) extends from the Jawahar Lal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Mumbai to Dadri /Rewari (Delhi)

• The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) corporation run by government of India's Ministry of Railways to undertake planning, development, and mobilisation of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the Dedicated Freight Corridors.
• The DFCCIL was registered as a company under the Companies Act 1956 in 2006.
• It is both enabler and beneficiary of other key Government of India schemes, such as and Industrial corridor, Make in India, Startup India, Standup India, Sagarmala, Bharatmala, UDAN-RCS, Digital India, BharatNet
• While Japan International Cooperation Agency is providing loan for the Western India project, the Eastern DFC (Mughalsarai-AllahabadKanpur-Khurja-Dadri- & Khurja-Ludhiana) is being funded by the World Bank

DFCCIL's mission is:

• To build a corridor with appropriate technology that enables Indian railways to regain its market share of freight transport by creating additional capacity and guaranteeing efficient, reliable, safe and cheaper options for mobility to its customers.
• To set up Multimodal logistic parks along the DFC to provide complete transport solution to customers.
• To support the government's initiatives toward ecological sustainability by encouraging users to adopt railways as the most environment friendly mode for their transport requirements.

• East-West Corridor (Kolkata-Mumbai)
• North-South Corridor (Delhi-Chennai)
• East Coast Corridor (Kharagpur-Vijayawada)
• Southern Corridor (Goa-Chennai).

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Z Morh tunnel) + Mains (GS III infrastructure development)
What's the NEWS

• All the union ministers are to pay a visit to Jammu and Kashmir. The aim of the visit is to spread information about the
• A Concession Agreement for completing the 6.5-kilometre long Z-Morh tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir was signed

• Under the agreement, the two-lane bi-directional tunnel with parallel escape tunnel will be completed in 3.5 years at a cost of 2379 Crore rupees.
• The project includes construction, operation and maintenance of the tunnel with approaches on NH-1 at Srinagar-Sonmarg-Gumri Road from 61 kilometres to 89.30 kilometres on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer Annuity basis.
• Z-Morh Tunnel will provide all-weather road connectivity to Sonmarg tourist spot in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The tunnel will open NH-1 Srinagar-Sonmarg-Gumri highway throughout the year. The highway is seldom closed in winter due to snow.
• It mostly remains closed during the winters due to heavy snowfall in Gagenger area.

Know! more about the tunnel

• The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) awarded the crucial Z-Morh Tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir to APCO Amarnathji Tunnelway Pvt Ltd to be built at a cost of Rs 2,379 crore
• The project was earlier allotted to Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), but the contractor abandoned it after IL&FS Group faced financial crisis.
• Z-Morh Tunnel would provide all-weather road connectivity to Sonamarg tourist spot in Jammu and Kashmir which mostly remains closed during the winters due to heavy snowfall in Gagenger area.
• The pact between NHIDCL and APCO Amarnathji Tunnelway was signed in presence of Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Science and Technology
Centre of Excellence in Blockchain Technology inaugurated recently
Relevance IN - Prelims (about blockchain + about NIC and NKN) + Mains (GS III Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology
What's the NEWS

• National Informatics Centre (NIC) has set up the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Blockchain Technology in Bengaluru, Karnataka, aiming to provide Blockchain as a service and allowing all stakeholders to benefit from shared learning, experiences and resources.

Know! about the objective/applications of CoE

• The Centre of Excellence will facilitate the Government Departments in building proof of concepts for use of Blockchain technology in different dimensions of governance leading to large scale deployment of some such applications.
• With National Informatics Centre (NIC) providing a robust and an agile infrastructure, the CoE shall also provide Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) for efficient hosting of Blockchain network.
• The CoE has developed Blockchain based Proof of Concepts (PoCs) for select government use cases to understand potential benefits provided by this emerging technology.
• New and previously unforeseen applications of Blockchain in the Government are expected to enhance transparency, traceability and trust in e-governance systems.

Know! about National Informatics Centre (NIC)

• National Informatics Centre (NIC) as a premier technology advisor and ICT solution provider to Government at all levels
• It has been set up by the Indian government in 1976 to drive its technology and e-governance initiatives in the country under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's Department.
• NIC has always taken the first step to introduce the latest technologies and services in government, be it the introduction of ICT in Government, establishment of NICNET or National Knowledge Network (NKN), development of critical e-Governance solutions and a host of other services required by the Government.

Know! about Block Chain

• A blockchain is a database that is shared across a network of computers. Once a record has been added to the chain it is very difficult to change.
• To ensure all the copies of the database are the same, the network makes constant checks.
• Blockchains have been used to underpin cyber-currencies like bitcoin, but many other possible uses are emerging.
• Blockchain technology is upcoming & niche technology and adoption of the same in sectors such as health, finance, agriculture and various other sectors would aid the government in implementing various programmes and provide trust and immutability to the assets.

Know! about NKN

• National Knowledge Network (NKN) project is aimed at establishing a strong and robust Indian network which will be capable of providing secure and reliable connectivity.
• In India, NKN with its multi-gigabit capability aims to connect all universities, research institutions, libraries, laboratories, healthcare and agricultural institutions across the country to address such paradigm shift.
• National Informatics Centre (NIC), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, is the implementing agency.

Know! the role of NKN

• Establishing a high-speed backbone connectivity which will enable knowledge and information sharing amongst NKN connected institutes
• Enabling collaborative research, development and innovation amongst NKN connected institutes
• Facilitating advanced distance education in specialized fields like engineering, science, medicine etc.
• Facilitating an ultra-high speed e-governance backbone
• Facilitating connection between different sectoral networks in the field of research

Defence
India's Nuclear Triad Gets New Teeth, 3500km Range Nuclear-capable K-4 Missile Tested

Relevance IN - Prelims (about K-4 missile and about Arihant) + Mains (GS III security challenges and their management in border areas)
What's the NEWS

• India successfully test-fired a 3,500 kilometre range nuclear capable missile that can be launched from a submarine
• The test-fire of the K-4 ballistic missile, however, took place off the coast of Andhra Pradesh

Know! more about the missile

• The missile is being developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and is to be fitted into
• The missile is developed by DRDO to deploy it on the fleet of the indigenously built Arihant-class nuclear-powered submarines of the Indian Navy.
• It is one of the two underwater missiles that are being developed by India for its submarine force. The other missile is a 700-kilometre range BO-5. INS Arihant is nuclear-powered submarine.
• The K-4's circular error of probability CEP(the radius of the missile's point of impact which is also a measure of the efficacy of its guidance systems) was 40 meters or less.
• CEP is an indicator of the delivery accuracy of a weapon system. It is used as a factor in determining probable damage to a target.
• Once these missiles are successfully inducted, they'll be a central component of the Arihant class of indigenous ballistic missile nuclear submarines (SSBN) and will give India the standoff capability to launch nuclear weapons submerged in Indian waters.
• India's nuclear triad -- the ability to use nuclear weapons from the air, land and from underwater.

Know! about INS Arihant

• INS Arihant is the lead ship of India's Arihant class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.
• The 6,000 tonne vessel was built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project at the Ship Building Centre in the port city of Visakhapatnam. It has the code name S2.
• In November 2018, India had announced that its first nuclear armed submarine Arihant had successfully completed its first deterrence patrol, heralding India's entry into an exclusive club of powers with land, air and sea-based nuclear weapons delivery platforms.
• The vessel is classified as a Strategic Strike Nuclear Submarine by India.

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