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Daily Current Capsules 26th November 2020

Prelims Factoids
India's first moss garden

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about India's first moss garden )
What's the NEWS

  • India recently got its first moss garden inaugurated at Kumaon's Nainital district.
  • Spread across an area of around 10 ha, it has been developed by the research wing of the state's forest department.
  • The idea to develop the garden came about so that people are made aware of its significance in the environment
  • Approved in July 2019 under the CAMPA (State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority) scheme by the Research Advisory Committee of Uttarakhand Forest Department, the moss garden was inaugurated by Ramon Magsaysay awardee and water conservation activist Rajendra Singh.

Know! all about the garden

  • It is a great initiative to mend relationships between man and nature.
  • The idea to develop the garden came about so that the various species of moss and other bryophytes are conserved and people are made aware of its significance in the environment, besides also creating a recreation centre for tourists
  • It is being said the garden is home to around 30 different species of moss and various other bryophytes.
  • Brachythecium buchananii and hyophila involuta (also known as cement moss) are two moss species that feature in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) red list.
  • A moss trail of 1.2 km has also been set up here, on which guests can read about the various moss species, any scientific information on them, etc.

Know! about Mosses

  • Mosses are a phylum of non-vascular plants. They produce spores for reproduction instead of seeds and don't grow flowers, wood or true roots.
  • Instead of roots, all species of moss have rhizoids. The mosses sit within a division of plants called the Bryophyta under the sub-division Musci
  • Mosses have spread all around the world and are found in wet environments such as rainforests, wetlands and alpine ecosystems.
  • They are also common in urban areas with a wet climate and often establish on driveways, sidewalks, brick walls and other man-made structures.
  • Mosses require water to reproduce which is why they struggle to survive in drier climates.

Bilateral Relations
India, US extend nuclear energy partnership by 10 more years

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the nuclear energy partnership + about GCNEP) + Mains ( GS II bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

  • India and the United States have extended the Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation on nuclear energy for 10 more years.
  • Marking the tenth year of cooperation between the United States and India at the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) and the signing of the extension, for an additional ten years
  • India signed GCENEP on November 7, 2010
  • The joint statement also recognizing India's important commitment in 2010 to establish the GCNEP with a vision to promote safe, secure, and sustainable nuclear energy for the service of mankind through global partnership.

Know! about the MoU highlights

  • India and the US, recognizing and appreciating the strength of the enduring partnership between the two countries on matters of security and reaffirming the important contributions of the U.S.-India nuclear and radiological security cooperation
  • Both the countries have committed to promote cooperation on initiatives aimed at giving an impetus to nuclear safety and security, research and development in nuclear science and technology under various schools of GCNEP
  • They will deepen the dialogue on nuclear and other radioactive material security by collaborating on advanced projects in the field (e.g. future technology), with the goal of sharing the outcomes in the international arena.
  • The countries will include agencies of both Governments and relevant entities, as appropriate, involved in nuclear and radioactive material security, in order to ensure that the full spectrum of perspectives are shared.
  • Both countries will build on the international recognition of the GCNEP and reinforce that the two countries are partners for nuclear and radioactive material security by jointly developing and /or delivering trainings and other capacity-building opportunities for regional and international partners, including online content

Know! more about GCENEP

  • Government of India has approved the establishment of Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) near Bahadurgarh, District Jhajjar, Haryana, in September 2010.
  • GCNEP is the sixth R&D unit under the aegis of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

Aim and objective of GCENEP

  • To conduct research, design and development of nuclear systems that are intrinsically safe, secure, proliferation resistant and sustainable.
  • To organize training, seminars, lectures and workshops on topical issues by Indian and International experts, in order to develop a pool of trained human resource.
  • To promote global nuclear energy partnership through collaborative research and training programs.
  • GCNEP will help in capacity building, in association with the interested countries and the IAEA, involving technology, human resource development, education & training and giving a momentum to R&D in enlisted areas.
  • The main objectives of the centre include mark Development of enhanced nuclear safeguards to effectively and efficiently monitor nuclear materials and facilities.
  • Promoting the development of advanced, more proliferation resistant nuclear power reactors.
  • Training manpower in the field of Nuclear Security and Radiological Safety.
  • Educating in the field of Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems, Isotopes and Radiation Technologies, nuclear forensic.
  • Establishing accreditation facilities for radiation monitoring.

The centre will house following 5 schools to carry out its objectives:
1. School of Advanced Nuclear Energy System Studies (SANESS)
2. School of Nuclear Security Studies (SNSS)
3. School on Radiological Safety Studies (SRSS)
4. School of Nuclear Material Characterization Studies (SNMCS)
5. School for Studies on Applications of Radioisotopes and Radiation Technologies (SARRT)

  • In addition, DAE Outreach Programme Cell will also be setup for publicity of technologies developed by DAE for rural areas.

Defence
Army successfully launches BrahMos supersonic cruise missile

Relevance IN - Prelims ( all about BrahMos missiles and its updates)
What's the NEWS

  • The Indian Army successfully launched BrahMos, a supersonic land attack cruise missile, at Car Nicobar Islands in a "top-attack" configuration, hitting a target in Bay Bengal.

Know! about the recent launch

  • The land attack version of BrahMos, with capability of cruising at 2.8 Mach speed, is the cutting edge of the Indian Army since 2007.
  • The present Block III version of the missile has successfully executed four operational launches in the past.
  • With the upgraded capability, the missile can hit targets at a range of up to 400 kilometer with precision.
  • The launch marks the achievement of a critical milestone in enhancing India's capability of engaging enemy's vitally important targets in depth areas.
  • The launch is said to be the first in a series of various versions of the missile in the coming days, in a display of India's tactical cruise missile triad.
  • The test by the Army comes over a month after the Naval version of BhahMos was successfully test fired from Indian Navy's indigenously-built stealth destroyer INS Chennai, hitting a target in the Arabian Sea.
  • More tests of the supersonic cruise missile are slated to be conducted by the Navy and the Indian Air Force in the coming days.
  • These tests are a display of India's tactical cruise missile triad - launch capability from land, sea and air platforms


Know! about top-attack and direct attack modes.

  • Most modern missiles, including BrahMos, can be fired in both top-attack and direct attack modes.
  • In top attack mode, the missile is required to climb sharply after launch, travel at a certain altitude and then plunge on top of the target.
  • In direct attack mode, the missile travels at a lower altitude, directly striking the target. The test was conducted from Andaman and Nicobar archipelagos.

BrahMos supersonic cruise missile

  • An amalgamation of the names of Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers, BrahMos missiles are designed, developed and produced by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture company set up by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Mashinostroyenia of Russia.
  • Various versions of BrahMos, including those that can be fired from land, warships, submarines and Sukhoi-30 fighter jets, have already been developed and successfully tested in the past.

Bilateral Relations
India To Build Shahtoot Dam, Announces 100 High-impact Projects in Afghanistan

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Afghanistan 2020 Conference -highlights + about the Shahtoot Dam) + Mains ( GS II bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

  • During the Afghanistan 2020 Conference, MEA Jaishankar announced an agreement with Afghanistan for building the Shahtoot Dam, which would provide safe drinking water to 2 million residents of Kabul city.

Afghanistan 2020 Conference

  • India will also launch a new phase of over 100 high-impact community projects in Afghanistan worth USD 80 million (Rs 592 crore) as the country's development portfolio in the war-ravaged nation has reached over USD 3 billion (Rs 22,200 crore) so far. Also Read - Indian Navy Inducts Two American Predator Drones On Lease, Can Be Deployed On China Border
  • India had concluded with Afghanistan an agreement for the construction of the Shatoot dam, which would provide safe drinking water to 2 million residents of Kabul city
  • India had earlier built the 202-km Phul-e-Khumri transmission line that provided electricity to Kabul city.
  • EAM also announced launch of phase four of the High-Impact Community Development Projects in Afghanistan, which envisages more than 100 projects worth USD 80 million that India would undertake in Afghanistan

India - Afghanistan relations

  • India's development portfolio in Afghanistan has to-date amounted to over USD 3 billion.
  • The minister highlighted that no part of Afghanistan today is untouched by the 400 plus projects that India has undertaken in all 34 of Afghanistan's provinces. More than 65,000 Afghan students have also studied in India
  • India has been keenly following the evolving political situation after the US signed a peace deal with the Taliban in February. The deal provided for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, effectively drawing curtains to Washington's 18-year war with Taliban in the country.

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