Relevance IN - Prelims (about Bharat Parv)
What's the NEWS

• To celebrate the spirit of India, the annual event Bharat Parv has been organised in Delhi.

Know! about Bharat Parv

• Bharat Parv, 2020 is being celebrated from 26^th to 31^st January, 2020 in front of Red Fort at Gyan Path and Red Fort grounds.
• The objective of Bharat Parv is to encourage Indians to visit different tourism places of India and to inculcate the spirit of ‘Dekho Apna Desh'.
• More than 50 food stalls, 79 handicrafts / handloom stalls and 27 theme pavilions have been setup during Bharat Parv.
• The Central theme of this year's Bharat Parv is ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' and ‘Celebrating 150 Years of Mahatma Gandhi'.

Space Awareness
Gaganyaan Mission: ISRO Unveils Half-Humanoid Talking Robot ‘Vyom Mitra' That Will Travel To Space

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Vyom Mitra and about Gaganyaan mission) + Mins ( GS III awareness in the field of space)
What's the NEWS

• ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has unveiled a space faring ‘half-humanoid' called Vyom Mitra at the inaugural function of a three-day meet titled ‘Human Spaceflight & Exploration: Present challenges & future trends

Know! about Vyom Mitra

• It is called half-humanoid since it does not have legs, though it can bend forward and sideways
• ISRO plans to send her to space as part of test flights that will be undertaken ahead of the ambitious launch of India's maiden human spaceflight mission.
• In her own words she said, "I can monitor few module parameters and alert you, and perform life support operations. I can be your companion, recognise the astronauts and respond to their queries.
• Two test space missions would be carried out before sending three Indian astronauts into space sometime in 2022.
• The test missions expected by this year-end and mid-2021 will validate ISRO's crew module and its systems.
• 'Gaganyaan' not only aims at India's maiden human flight to the space but also setting up a new space station

Cyber Security
NITI Aayog to develop National Data Platform

Relevance IN - Prelims (about NDAP) + Mains (GS III Cyber security)
What's the NEWS

• Government think-tank Niti Aayog will develop a national data and analytics platform to make all government data accessible to stakeholders in a user-friendly manner.

Know! more about the National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP) (Draft highlights)

• The NDAP will strive to ensure that the data is assured, consistent, coherent and credible.
• Data across sectors should be coherent to support analysis and dissemination
• In addition, there should be easy access to the most recent data, published reliably
• The NDAP will host multiple datasets, present them coherently and provide visualisation and analytics tools.
• The NDAP will act as a platform for different stakeholders to access data in an easy way.
• It will host latest data from all the government websites. Also, the platform will standardize formats in which data has to be presented.
• The platform will be powered by a user friendly search engine, backed by seamless navigation, with a worldclass user interface.
• Data will be provided in a machine-readable format with customisable analytics
• NDAP will provide access to data from multiple sectors in one place, the document said data will be sourced from different Central and State Ministries and Departments.
• NDAP will be a reliable platform for up-to-date data. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will be developed to keep data updated
• The NDAP will act as a platform for different stakeholders to access data in an easy way
• The first version of National Data and Analytics Platform is proposed to be released in 2021.

Environment Conservation
India achieves complete phase out of one the most potent ozone depleting chemical

Relevance IN - Prelims (about HCFC 141 b) + Mains (GS III Environment conservation - steps taken by the government)
What's the NEWS

• India has successfully achieved the complete phase out of Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-141 b, which is a chemical used by foam manufacturing enterprises and one of the most potent ozone depleting chemical after Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Know! more about it

• On 31 December, 2019 the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) brought out a notification in the Gazette of India through which the issuance of import license for HCFC-141b is prohibited from 1st January, 2020 under Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Amendment Rules, 2019 issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• HCFC-141b is not produced in the country and all the domestic requirements are met through imports. With this notification, prohibiting the import of HCFC-141 b, the country has completely phased out the important ozone depleting chemical.
• Simultaneously, the use of HCFC-141 b by foam manufacturing industry has also been closed as on 1st January, 2020 under the Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Amendment Rules, 2014.
• The complete phase out of HCFC 141 b from the country in foam sector is among the first at this scale in Article 5 parties (developing countries) under the Montreal Protocol.
• The step will have great impact on ozone layer. This is because around 50% of ozone depleting chemicals being used in the country attribute to HCFC-14

Know! about Montreal Protocol

• The Montreal Protocol was signed by 190 countries in 1987 to phase out Ozone Depleting Substances. In order to achieve this, India in 2017 launched a phase out plan.
• Though the target of the plan was 2023, India achieved the goal far ahead of the deadline.
  
  

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