Defence
BrahMos Missile Featuring Indigenous Booster Successfully Flight Tested

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Brahmos and Brahmos LACM + about cruise and ballistic missile)
What's the NEWS

• India successfully test fired a new version of the surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile BrahMos having a range of around 400 km from an integrated test range at Balasore in Odisha

The BrahMos Land-Attack Cruise Missile (LACM)

• BrahMos surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile featuring indigenous Booster, Airframe Section, propulsion system, power supply and many other major components.
• The test jointly conducted by DRDO and BrahMos Aerospace for an extended range of 450 km has paved the way for the serial production of the indigenous booster and other indigenous components of the powerful weapon system
• The BrahMos Land-Attack Cruise Missile (LACM) was cruising at a top speed of Mach 2.8.
• The range of the new land attack version of the missile has been extended to 450 km from the original 290 km
• The speed has been maintained at Mach 2.8 which is nearly three times that of sound.
• India has already deployed a sizeable number of the original BrahMos missiles and other key assets in several strategic locations along the de-facto border with China in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.
• The land-attack version of the missile has been operationalised in the Indian Army since 2007, this test validated the indigenous components incorporated to achieve higher strike range.
• The extended-range version of BrahMos was developed after India's full membership to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which removed caps on the range of the cruise missile. The strike range of the missile has been enhanced from 290 km to 450 km.
• The nine-metre long two-stage missile is capable of carrying a conventional warhead weighing up to 300 kg.
• The BrahMos missile has three versions - land, ship and air. It can effectively engage targets from an altitude as low as 10 metres for surgical strikes at terror training camps across the border without causing collateral damage.

Know! about BrahMos

• BrahMos Aerospace, an India-Russian joint venture, produces the supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or from land platforms.
• In May last year, the Indian Air successfully test fired the aerial version of the BrahMos missile from a Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft.
• The BrahMos missile provides the IAF a much-desired capability to strike from large stand-off ranges on any target at sea or on land with pinpoint accuracy by day or night in all weather conditions.
• The IAF is also integrating the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile on over 40 Sukhoi fighter jets which is aimed at bolstering overall combat capability of the force.
  

Cruise Missiles

• A Cruise Missile is a guided missile that flies with constant speed to deliver a warhead at specified target over long distance with high accuracy
• It is classified by speed. (Sub-sonic, Supersonic, Hypersonic )
• It may use air breathing jet engine like pulse-jet engine , Ram jet engine ,Scram jet engine.
  
  

Ballistic Missiles

• A Ballistic Missile is launched directly into the high layers of the earth's atmosphere.
• It travels well outside the atmosphere and then the warhead detaches and falls back to earth.
• It follows the path of any object thrown upwards in parabolic path which falls down. Since it depends on gravity to reach its target, it's called a ballistic missile.

It is classified by its coverage.

• SRBM (Small Range Ballistic Missile)
• MRBM (Medium Range Ballistic Missile)
• IRBM (Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile)
• ICBM (Inter Continental Ballistic Missile)

NITI Aayog
Decarbonization and Energy Transition Agenda

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about decarbonization and energy transition agenda highlights) + Mains ( GS II Bilateral relations + GS III infrastructure development -energy )
What's the NEWS

• NITI Aayog and Embassy of the Netherlands,signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to support the decarbonization and energy transition agenda for accommodating cleaner and more energy.

Know! about the collaboration

• Through this collaboration, NITI Aayog and the Dutch Embassy seek a strategic partnership to create a platform that enables a comprehensive collaboration among stakeholders
• The focus of the partnership is on co-creating innovative technological solutions by leveraging the expertise of the two entities.
• This will be achieved through an exchange of knowledge and collaborative activities.

Key elements include
i) lowering the net carbon footprint in industrial and transport sectors
ii) realise the target potential of natural gas and promote bio-energy technologies
iii) adopt clean air technologies from monitoring to reducing actual particulates
iv) adopt next-generation technologies, such as hydrogen, carbon capture utilization, and storage for sectoral energy efficiency
v) financial frameworks to deliver and adopt climate change finance.

India and the Netherland Relations

• The Netherlands and India share a long history of trade and investment. It is India's sixth largest EU trading partner-as much as 20% of India's exports to the European continent goes through the Netherlands, making it India's ‘gateway to Europe'-and one of the top five investors in the country. It is also the third largest source of Foreign Direct Investment for India.
• The Netherlands is keen to intensify its business relations with India to emerge as the country's hub for doing business with Europe.

Science & Technology

CSIR-NISTADS 40^th Foundation Day
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about CSIR-NISTADS and its role + UBA and VIBHA)
What's the NEWS

• The Minister of Science & Technology, launched CSIR Technologies for rural development under a joint initiative of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) and Vijnana Bharti (VIBHA).

Know! about the joint initiative and the role of CSIR-NISTADS

• The event was organized through online platform on the occasion of CSIR-NISTADS 40th Foundation Day
• Over the years CSIR has developed several appropriate technologies which could be deployed in rural areas for development and livelihood generation and achieving sustainable development goals.
• These technologies will now be disseminated to society through the Higher Education Institutional network of UBA and local chapters of VIBHA.
• CSIR- National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (CSIR-NISTADS) is acting as a nodal CSIR Lab to establish linkages between CSIR laboratories, UBA, VIBHA, and stakeholders.
• CSIR, UBA, Vijnana Bharti have planned to work jointly on a framework for scientific intervention to create sustainable livelihood opportunities in the rural clusters under synergy of S&T Organizations (CSIR/DST/DBT/DRDO etc), VIBHA and UBA.

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan

• It is a flagship programme of Ministry of Education conceptualised and launched in IIT Delhi, with a vision of transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an Inclusive India.
• Unnat Bharat Abhiyan now constitutes 45 Regional Coordinating Institutions (RCIs) and 2,614 Participating Institutions (PIs).
• Till date, a total of 13,760 villages have been adopted under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan

CSIR-National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies(NISTADS)

• It one of the constituent laboratory of CSIR.
• It is devoted to a study of various aspects of interaction among science, society and state and exploring continuously the interface between Science, Technology and Society.

Vijnana Bharti(Vibha)

• VIBHA, a science movement with swadeshi spirit, has a greater role to play.
• Swadeshi Science Movement was started in Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru by some eminent scientists under the guidance of Prof. K. I. Vasu.
• One of the founding principles of VIBHA is - Swadeshi Movement with modern sciences adapted to national needs.

Social Justice
Ambedkar Social Innovation & Incubation Mission under Venture Capital fund for SCs(ASIIM)

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about ASIIM + VCFSC ) + Mains ( GS II Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes + GS III inclusive development)
What's the NEWS

• Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment-launched the "Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (ASIIM) under Venture Capital Fund for SCs with a view to promoting innovation and enterprise among SC students studying in higher educational institutions.
• The Ministry has decided to launch ASIIM through the Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes (VCFSC).

It's objectives include:

• To promote entrepreneurship among the SC Youth with special preference to Divyangs;
• To support (1,000) innovative ideas till 2024 through a synergetic work with the Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) set up by Department of Science and Technology;
• To support, promote, hand-hold the start-up ideas till they reach commercial stage by providing liberal equity support; and
• To incentivise students with innovative mind-set to take to entrepreneurship with confidence.

Venture Capital Fund for SCs (VCF-SC)

• The Ministry of Social Justice had launched the Venture Capital Fund for SCs (VCF-SC) in 2014-15 with a view to developing entrepreneurship amongst the SC/Divyang youth and to enable them to become 'job-givers'.
• The Objective of this fund is to provide concessional finance to the entities of the SC entrepreneurs. Under this fund, 117 companies promoted by SC entrepreneurs have been sanctioned financial assistance to set up business ventures.

Know! more about Ambedkar Social Innovation Incubation Mission (ASIIM)

• Under named "Ambedkar Social Innovation Incubation Mission (ASIIM)"initiative, 1,000 SC youth would be identified in the next 4 years with start-up ideas through the Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) in various higher educational institutions.
• They will be funded @ Rs. 30 lakhs in 3 years as equity funding so that they can translate their start-up ideas into commercial ventures.
• Successful ventures would further qualify for venture funding of up to Rs. 5 Crore from the Venture Capital Fund for SCs.
  Under this initiative VCF-SC shall target SC students / young entrepreneurs working in Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) supported by Department of Science and Technology (DST) in higher education and technology institution including Business / Management schools.
• The VCF-SC shall extend all support in the form of hand-holding, guidance, mentoring, besides providing equity support up to Rs 30 lakh over a period of three (3) years to each entity of young SC students / entrepreneurs.

Social Issues
Annual National Crime Record Bureau's "Crime in India" 2019
Relevance IN - Prelims ( highlights of the report) + Mains ( GS II Social issues - to substantiate the answer with given facts and figures)
Report Highlights

• CRIMES AGAINST women increased 7.3 per cent from 2018 to 2019, and crimes against Scheduled Castes also went up 7.3 per cent in the same period
• In terms of absolute numbers, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of cases in both these categories.
• Assam reported the highest rate of crimes against women (per lakh population), while Rajasthan had the highest rate of crimes against Scheduled Castes.
• Majority of cases under crime against women under IPC were registered under ‘cruelty by husband or his relatives' (30.9%), followed by ‘assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty' (21.8%), ‘kidnapping & abduction of women' (17.9%) and ‘rape' (7.9%).
• The crime rate registered per lakh women population is 62.4 in 2019 in comparison with 58.8 in 2018

Crime against women

• UP reported the highest number of crimes against women (59,853), accounting for 14.7 per cent of such cases across the country.
• It was followed by Rajasthan (41,550 cases; 10.2 per cent) and Maharashtra (37,144 cases; 9.2 per cent).
• Assam reported the highest rate of crime against women at 177.8 (per lakh population), followed by Rajasthan (110.4) and Haryana (108.5).

Rape Cases

• Rajasthan reported the highest number of rapes with 5,997 cases, followed by UP (3,065) and Madhya Pradesh (2,485).
• In terms of rate of rape cases, Rajasthan was the highest at 15.9 (per lakh population), followed by Kerala (11.1) and Haryana (10.9).

Crimes against girl children

• UP also had the highest number of under the POCSO Act with 7,444 cases, followed by Maharashtra (6,402) and MP (6,053).
• The highest rate of these crimes were in Sikkim (27.1 per lakh population), MP (15.1), and Haryana (14.6).

Dowry cases

• UP had the highest number of dowry cases (2,410), at a rate of 2.2 (per lakh population), followed by Bihar (1,120).

Cases against Scheduled Castes

• UP reported the most cases against Scheduled Castes - 11,829 cases, accounting for 25.8 per cent of the cases across the country.
• It was followed by Rajasthan (6,794 cases; 14.8 per cent) and Bihar (6,544; 14.2 per cent).
• The rate of such cases was highest in Rajasthan at 55.6 (per lakh population), followed by MP (46.7) and Bihar (39.5).

Rapes against Dalit women

• Rajasthan also had the highest number of rapes against Dalit women (554), followed by UP (537) and MP (510).
• The rate of rape against Dalit women was highest in Kerala at 4.6 (per lakh population), followed by MP (4.5) and Rajasthan (4.5).

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