Relevance IN - Prelims ( about PM-KUSUM Scheme and its further expansions) + Mains (GS II government policies and intervention for the development of various sectors + GS III farmers welfare)
What's the NEWS

• MNRE has amended/clarified implementation Guidelines of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyaan (PM-KUSUM) Scheme based on the learnings from the implementation of the Scheme during the first year.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had approved PM-KUSUM scheme in its meeting held on 19.2.2019.

• The Component-A includes installation of Decentralized Ground Mounted Grid Connected Renewable Power Plants
• Component-B includes installation of standalone Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps
• Component-C includes Solarisation of Grid-connected Agriculture Pumps.

• Besides barren, fallow and agricultural land, solar power plants can also be installed on pastureland and marshy land of farmers.
• To support small farmers, the solar power projects smaller than 500 kW may be allowed by States based on techno-commercial feasibility.
• The selected Renewable Power Generator (RPG) shall commission the solar power plant within twelve months from date of issuance of Letter of Award (LoA).
• There shall be no penalty to RPG for shortfall in solar power generation from minimum prescribed Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF).

• MNRE will retain 33% of eligible service charges for nation-wide Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities.
• It is now decided to allow joint venture of manufacturer of solar pump/solar panel/solar pump controller with integrators. The order allows either one or both of the following two categories to participate in the centralised tendering:

a. Manufacturer of solar PV modules or manufacturer of solar pumps or manufacturer of solar pump controllers using indigenous technology.
b. Joint venture of any of manufacturers mentioned at (a) above with system integrators.
Universal Solar Pump Controller (USPC)

• As part of amended guidelines separate bid price for solar water pumping system with Universal Solar Pump Controller (USPC) will be invited and subsidy will be made available for these pumps according to benchmark price of solar pumps without USPC, even if the price discovered for solar pumps without USPC are less than benchmark price.
• Standalone solar pumps are used only for 100-150 days in a year and solar energy generated during balance period is not utilised.
• In order to make effective use of solar energy it was proposed to introduce USPC, which will not only run the water pump but can also run other electric equipment cold storage, battery charging, flour mill, etc. Installation of USPC will increase the income of farmer, which is the aim of the PM-KUSUM Scheme.

• Under Component-C, individual farmers having grid connected agriculture pumps are being supported to solarise their pumps.
• Farmers will be provided solar panels and they will be able to use the generated solar power to meet the irrigation needs and sell the surplus solar power.
• DISCOMs will buy surplus power from them at the per-determined rate to be decided by the respective State/SERC.
• Solar PV capacity up to two times of pump capacity in kW is allowed under the scheme.
• The Scheme Guidelines were silent on CFA applicable for solarisation of large capacity pumps used by Water User Associations and community/cluster based irrigation system.
• Now it has been clarified by the Ministry that for grid connected pumps used by Water User Associations (WUA)/Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO)/Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) or for cluster based irrigation system, the CFA will be allowed for solarisation of pump capacity higher than 7.5 HP considering upto 5 HP capacity for each individual in the group.

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi delivers an address at the 3rd Annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum on 17th November 2020

• The Bloomberg New Economy Forum was established in 2018 by Mr. Michael Bloomberg.
• It seeks to build a community of leaders to engage in real conversations leading to actionable solutions about the critical challenges facing a world economy in the throes of a historic transition.
• The inaugural Forum was held in Singapore, and the second annual Forum was hosted in Beijing.
• These covered a range of topics, including global economic management, trade and investment, technology, urbanization, capital markets, climate change, and inclusion.
• This year, as the world economy is grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, the forum will witness discussions centered on refuelling the economy and charting a course for the future.

• Moderna, a US Biotech firm announced that its COVID-19 vaccines are 94.5% effective.
• Earlier Pfizer also released results showing 90% effectiveness in its own vaccine.
• Moderna and Pfizer are using mRNA technology in their vaccines. This is the first time the mRNA technology is being used to create vaccines.

• This is a vaccine that was developed using mRNA technology - it makes use of the messenger RNA molecules that tell cells what proteins to build.
• The mRNA, in this case, is coded to tell the cells to recreate the spike protein of the novel coronavirus.
• Once the mRNA is injected into the body, the cells will use its instructions, creating copies of the spike protein, which is in return expected to prompt the immune cells to create antibodies to fight it.
• Unlike several other vaccine candidates, mRNA vaccines are synthetically developed - they don't need the virus to be cultivated and replicated, just the code for the most crucial part that the body's immune system is to target.
• Another advantage is that they can be manufactured at a large scale in large vats called bioreactors.
• These are platforms that can work "on demand. After getting the code for the virus, it is possible to develop the vaccine within weeks for pre-clinical testing, compared with months taken for more traditional platforms.

• Senapathy (Kris) Gopalakrishnan, co-founder and former co-Chairman, Infosys, has been appointed as the first Chairperson of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub.
• Gopalakrishnan is currently the Chief Mentor of Start-up Village, an incubation hub for start-ups.

• In August, the central bank had announced that it will set up the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) to promote innovation across the financial sector by leveraging on technology and creating an environment that would facilitate and foster innovation.
• RBIH would be guided and managed by a governing council led by a Chairperson, the central bank said.
• The RBIH shall create an eco-system that would focus on promoting access to financial services and products, this will also promote financial inclusion.
• The Hub will collaborate with financial sector institutions, technology industry and academic institutions and coordinate efforts for exchange of ideas and development of prototypes related to financial innovations.
• It would develop internal infrastructure to promote fintech research and facilitate engagement with innovators and start-ups.

Relevance IN - Prelims (about IISF) + Mains ( GS III awareness in the field of S&T)
What's the NEWS

• Union Minister of Science &Technology, inaugurated the curtain raiser of IISF-2020 for kick-starting different events of the 6th edition of IISF

Know! about IISF

• IISF is an annual event organized jointly among others by DST, DBT, MoEF, MoHWF and CSIR from the Government of India and VijnanaBharati (VIBHA) as well as with support of a large number of other organisations.
• The website of IISF-2020 was also launched during the event. All the activities and registration of the participants will be done through this website.
• The theme for this year's festival is ‘Science for Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Global Welfare'.
• This year, IISF begins on 22 December 2020, the birthday of Srinivas Ramanujan, the world-renowned Indian mathematician and culminates on 25 December 2020, the birthday of former PM AtalBihari Vajpayee
• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is coordinating the Mega Science Festival, and the Nodal Organization is CSIR-National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (NISTADS), New Delhi
• It is being organized on virtual platform that will help in connecting to the science loving people from the remotest corner of the country in a single click, thereby increasing the digital footprint
• It brings scientists, inventors and researchers, students and citizens from all walks of life on a common platform
• The number of events to be held at this year's festival has increased from 28 to 41, covering many more important facets

Know! more about IISF

• Launched in 2015, the event has become a much-awaited annual event that celebrates the achievements of Science, Technology and Innovation(STI) and demonstrates how science can be the fulcrum of the country's progress.
• IISF 2020 expects to cater to a gathering of approximately one-lakh participants from India and abroad.
• Some new themes have been added this year viz., History of Indian Science, Philosophy and Science, Agritech, Clean Air, Energy, Waste & Sanitation, Biodiversity, Science Diplomacy among others.

Defence
Second Successful Flight Test of QRSAM System

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

• In yet another flight test, the Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) System tracked the target accurately and successfully neutralised the airborne target.

Know! more about the flight test

• The flight test, second in the series was conducted from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha.
• The test was carried out once again, against the high performance Jet Unmanned Aerial Target called Banshee, which simulates an aircraft.
• The Radars acquired the target from a long range and tracked it till the mission computer automatically launched the missile.
• Continuous guidance was provided through Radar data link. Missile entered the terminal active homing guidance and reached the target close enough for proximity operation of warhead activation.
• The flight test was conducted in the deployment configuration of the weapon system comprising of Launcher, fully Automated Command and Control System, Surveillance System and Multi Function Radars.

QRSAM weapon system

• The QRSAM weapon system, which can operate on the move, consists of all indigenously developed subsystems. All objectives of the test were fully met. The launch was carried out in the presence of the users from Indian Army.
• A number of range instruments like Radar, Telemetry and Electro Optical Sensors were deployed which captured the complete flight data and verified the performance of the missile.
• The first in the series test of QRSAM took place on 13th Nov 2020 achieving the milestone of a direct hit. Second test proved the performance parameters of warhead.

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