Connect to Current -Daily Current Capsules - 28th March 2019

Space Awareness
'Mission Shakti', India's homegrown anti-satellite missile
India 4th nation to enter elite space power club with anti-satellite weapon
India had demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability by shooting down a live low earth orbit satellite.

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about mission shakti ) + Mains ( GS III awareness in the field of space)

What's the NEWS
• Mission Shakti, as the operation is known, was marked successful after it destroyed a test satellite 300 kilometers in space.

Know about Mission Shakti
• It successfully tested India's first A-SAT weapon system, destroying a test satellite 300 km in space.

• The A-SAT is entirely made in India, by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

• The mission destroyed the test satellite with "remarkable precision" in just three minutes.

• It makes India is the fourth country to successfully test an Anti-Satellite weapon system, after the US, Russia and China.

• Target destroyed by India's A-SAT missile was an out-of-service Indian satellite

• Since the weaponising of space is prevented by the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 now, the technology has been in development since as early as the 1950s. The Soviet Union had, in fact, tested its first A-SAT system in 1958.

Know! how ASAT weapons work

• A-SATs are space weapons that are designed to destroy satellites for strategic military purpose.

• A-SAT weapons are basically long-range missiles with a kinetic kill vehicle attached to them. They can be locked on to the target, intercept, engage and destroy in one swoop.

• The range of these A-SAT missiles depends on their launch location. The US and Russia have experimented with ship, land and space launches. India appears to have used land.

• India's ABM program, used in missile systems like the Agni, could have been tweaked into an A-SAT weapon

• ISRO now has the capability to launch two tonnes of payload, an important prerequisite for launching any weapon system.

• A-SAT projects were adapted for ABM use. The ABMs could also be used to develop A-SAT missiles, Saraswat said in 2012.

• India has used a three-stage Ballistic Missile Defence program (BMD) to test its A-SAT system.

Few more points on Mission Shakti

• India conducted Mission Shakti, an anti-satellite missile test, from the Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Island launch complex.

• This was a technological mission carried out by the DRDO. The satellite used in the mission was one of India's existing satellites operating in lower orbit.

• The test was fully successful and achieved all parameters as per plans. The test required an extremely high degree of precision and technical capability.

• The significance of the test is that India has tested and successfully demonstrated its capability to interdict and intercept a satellite in outer space based on complete indigenous technology.

• With this test, India joins an exclusive group of space-faring nations consisting of the USA, Russia and China.

• The DRDO's Ballistic Missile Defence interceptor was used, which is part of the ongoing ballistic missile defence programme.

• The test was done in the lower atmosphere to ensure that there is no space debris. Whatever debris is generated will decay and fall back on to the earth within weeks. The test was done to verify that India has the capability to safeguard our space assets.
• No country in the world has so far used anti-satellite weapons against satellites belonging to another country. The US, Russia and China - and now, India - all blew up their own satellites. The US and Russia have also shot down their own defunct satellites on multiple occasions.

 

Environment Conservation
India's carbon dioxide emissions up 5%
IEA report shows China, U.S. & India together accounted for nearly 70% of the rise in energy demand

Relevance IN - Prelims( about IEA and report findings) + Mains ( GS III environment conservation)

What's the NEWS

• India emitted 2,299 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2018, a 4.8% rise from the previous year, according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Know! about the report findings

• India's emissions growth was higher than that of the United States and China - the two biggest emitters in the world - and this was primarily due to a rise in coal consumption.

• China, the United States, and India together accounted for nearly 70% of the rise in energy demand.

• India's per capita emissions were about 40% of the global average and contributed 7% to the global carbon dioxide burden. The U.S., the largest emitter, was responsible for 14%.

• As per its commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, India has promised to reduce the emissions intensity of its economy by 2030, compared to the 2005 levels.

• It has also committed to having 40% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 and, as part of this, install 100 GW of solar power by 2022.

• The IEA report, showed that India's energy intensity improvement declined 3% from the previous year even as its renewable energy installations increased 10.6%.

Reasons for rise in energy demand
• Reason Global energy consumption in 2018 increased at nearly twice the average rate of growth since 2010, driven by a robust global economy and higher heating and cooling needs in some parts of the world.

• Demand for all fuels increased, led by natural gas, even as solar and wind posted double digit growth.

• Higher electricity demand was responsible for over half of the growth in energy needs.

• Energy efficiency saw lacklustre improvement. As a result of higher energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions rose 1.7% last year and hit a new record, the authors of the report said in a press statement.

• The United States had the largest increase in oil and gas demand worldwide. Gas consumption jumped 10% from the previous year, the fastest increase since the beginning of IEA records in 1971.

Know! about IEA
• The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis.

• The IEA was initially dedicated to responding to physical disruptions in the supply of oil, as well as serving as an information source on statistics about the international oil market and other energy sectors.

• The IEA acts as a policy adviser to its member states, but also works with non-member countries, especially China, India, and Russia.

• The Agency's mandate has broadened to focus on the "3Es" of effectual energy policy: energy security, economic development, and environmental protection. The latter has focused on mitigating climate change.

• The IEA has a broad role in promoting alternate energy sources (including renewable energy), rational energy policies, and multinational energy technology co-operation.

Health Reforms
Govt. notifies new rules for drugs, clinical trials
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the new drugs and clinical trail rules)

What's the NEWS
• The Union Health Ministry has notified the Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019, with the government stating that the move is aimed at promoting clinical research in the country.

• The rules will apply to all new drugs, investigational new drugs for human use, clinical trials, bio-equivalence studies and ethics committees.

Know! more about the notifications

• The highlights of the notification include reduction in time for approving applications, which has now come down to 30 days for drugs manufactured in India and 90 days for those developed outside the country.

• In case of no communication from Drugs Controller General of India, the application will be deemed to have been approved

• As per the new rule, the requirement of a local clinical trial may be waived for approval of a new drug if it is approved and marketed in any of the countries (EU, U.K., Australia, Japan and U.S.) specified by the Drugs Controller General with the approval of the government.

• The new rules will ensure patient safety and an ethics committee will monitor the trials and decide on the amount of compensation in cases of adverse events

 

 

Defence
Opening Ceremony Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Exercise Mitra Shakti-VI

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the exercise)

What's the NEWS
• Opening ceremony of Exercise MITRA SHAKTI VI, a 14 days joint training exercise of the Indian Army and the Sri Lankan Army has been held on 27 March at Diyatalawa Parade Ground in Diyatalawa, Badulla District, Sri Lanka.

• This is the sixth edition of the joint exercise between the two nations. The exercise is being conducted from 26 March to 08 April 19.

Know! more about the exercise
• The Indian Army contingent comprises of a company group from BIHAR Regiment and a similar strength from the First Gemunu Watch Battalion of Sri Lankan Army.

• The primary focus of the exercise is to train and equip the contingents to undertake joint counter insurgency and counter terrorist operations in urban/ rural environment under the United Nations flag.

• The exercise provides an ideal platform for both contingents to share their operational experience and expertise while being instrumental in broadening interoperability and cooperation between the armies of India and Sri Lanka.

Biotechnology
Cabinet approves five year's extension of Biomedical Research Career Programme
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the programme) + Mains ( GS III awareness in the field of biotechnology)

What's the NEWS
• The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of the Biomedical Research Career Programme (BRCP), and Wellcome Trust (WT) / DBT India Alliance beyond its initial 10-year term (2008-09 to 2018-29) to a new five year phase (2019-20 to 2023-24) with Department of Biotechnology (DBT) increasing its commitment to two times that of WT.

Know! about the programme
• Over its 10 years of funding in a 1:1partnership, the Programme has fulfilled its objectives of building and nurturing talent of highest global standards in cutting-edge biomedical research in India, which has led to important scientific breakthroughs and applications to meet societal needs.

• BRCP has made it attractive for high quality Indian scientists working abroad to return to India, and has increased the number of locations geographically within India where world-class biomedical research is undertaken.

• In the extending phase, the Programme would continue to build this capacity as also strengthen clinical research and work towards addressing important health challenges for India. Continuation of the Programme with increased stake from the Government of India is important to bring about these returns.

Know! about Wellcome trust 

• The Wellcome Trust is a biomedical research charity based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Sir Henry Wellcome to fund research to improve human and animal health.

• The aim of the Trust is to "achieve extraordinary improvements in health by supporting the brightest minds", and in addition to funding biomedical research it supports the public understanding of science.

• It has an endowment of £25.9 billion (2018) making it the third wealthiest charitable foundation in the world, after the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the INGKA Foundation.

• The Trust has been described by the Financial Times as the United Kingdom's largest provider of non-governmental funding for scientific research and one of the largest providers in the world.

 

Prelims Practise Questions

Consider the following statements about Mission Shakti

1. The successful execution of Mission Shakti makes India the fifth country to successfully test an Anti-Satellite weapon system, after the US, Russia China and Japan.

2. A-SATs are space weapons that are designed to destroy satellites for strategic military purpose.

3. A-SAT weapons are basically short-range missiles with a kinetic kill vehicle attached to them. They can be locked on to the target, intercept, engage and destroy in one swoop.

Find the correct statement from the option given below
a. 2 only
b. 1 and 3
c. 2 and 3
d. All

Consider the following statement

1. Exercise MITRA SHAKTI is a 14 days joint training exercise of the Indian Army and the Nepal Army

2. Exercise MITRA SHAKTI is the sixth edition of the joint exercise between the two nations and its been conducting from 26 March to 08 April 19.

Find the correct statement from the option given below

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. None
d. all

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