Defence
NAVDEX 21 and IDEX 21

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about NAVDEX 21 and IDEX 21)
What's the NEWS

• Indian Naval Ship Pralaya arrived at Abu Dhabi, UAE to participate in the NAVDEX 21 (Naval Defence Exhibition) and IDEX 21 (International Defence Exhibition), scheduled from 20 to 25 February 2021.

NAVDEX 21 and IDEX 21

• It is one of the leading international naval and defence exhibitions of the region
• INS Pralaya is aimed at showcasing the strengths of India's indigenous ship building
• The participation of an Indian Navy Ship in NAVDEX 21 and IDEX 21 also highlights close relations between India and UAE.

Know! about INS Pralaya

• INS Pralaya, the second ship of the indigenously built Prabal Class Missile Vessels, was commissioned in the Indian Navy on 18 December 2002.
• The 56 m long ship, displacing about 560 T is capable of speeds in excess of 35 knots and is fitted with an impressive array of weapons and sensors.
• These include a 76.2 mm medium range gun, 30 mm close range guns, chaff launchers and long range surface to surface missiles.
• The ship, built indigenously at Goa Shipyard Limited, bears testimony to capabilities of the Indian ship building industry and is a versatile platform capable of performing a wide variety of surface warfare missions.

India and UAE Relations

• Defence relations between India and UAE have been steadily growing since the upgradation of bilateral relations to a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' during the visit of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi
• Towards enhancing interactions between the two navies, inaugural edition of Indian Navy - UAE Navy bilateral exercise GULF STAR - 1 was conducted in March 2018.
• The next edition of the exercise is likely to be conducted in 2021.
• In addition, Indian Navy ships have been making regular port calls at UAE for promoting maritime cooperation.
• INS Mysore, an indigenously built guided missile destroyer, mission deployed in the region, is also making a port call at Abu Dhabi, UAE from 19 to 22 Feb 21.
• Deployment of Indian Navy ships to Abu Dhabi, UAE underscores deep rooted friendly ties and multi-faceted cooperation between India and UAE, and will further strengthen defence cooperation between the two countries.

Defence
TROPEX 21 Debrief Naval Commanders at Kochi for OP Discussions

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about TROPEX 21)
What's the NEWS

• The Chief of the Naval Staff presided over the debrief of TROPEX-21 (Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise) at Kochi.
• The exercise had commenced in January 2021 involving all three Commands of the Indian Navy, the Tri-Services Command at Port Blair, and elements of Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Coast Guard.

Know! more about the exercise

• The Biennial exercise is the largest exercise conducted by Indian Navy aimed to validate its concepts of war-fighting across the entire spectrum of warfare.
• The exercise was spread over the vast geographical expanse of Indian Ocean and its adjunct waters, with exercise scenarios centred around the extant geopolitical situation in IOR.
• The exercise was aimed at validating Indian Navy's op philosophy across the entire spectrum of conflict-ranging from addressing low end sub- conventional challenges to high end conventional threats.
• Live combat firings of missiles and torpedoes were also undertaken from warships, aircraft and submarines in complex multi- threat scenarios.
• As a prelude to this Theatre Level exercise, a coastal defence exercise - Sea Vigil was conducted in mid Jan 21 which witnessed all stakeholder Ministries of Govt of India, State Governments of all coastal states and UTs, the Coast Guard, Port Authorities, shipping and fishing communities coming together and exercising in tandem, with the Indian Navy as the lead agency.
• This was followed by an amphibious exercise (AMPHEX- 21) in which Indian naval amphibious ships, units of the Indian Army and Indian Air Force undertook joint exercise in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea, with an aim to validate India's capabilities to safeguard the territorial integrity of its Island territories.
• AMPHEX- 21 saw several ‘firsts' and strengthened joint war fighting capabilities and Standard Operating Procedures towards enhancing operational synergy amongst the Services.

Defence
Successful user trials of DRDO-developed Anti-Tank Guided Missile Systems ‘Helina' and ‘Dhruvastra'

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Helina (Army Version) and Dhruvastra (Air Force Version) Missile Systems)
What's the NEWS

• Joint User Trials for Helina (Army Version) and Dhruvastra (Air Force Version) Missile Systems have been carried out from Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) platform in desert ranges.

Know! about the missile

• The missile systems have been designed and developed indigenously by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• Five missions were carried out for evaluating the missile capabilities in minimum and maximum range.
• The missiles were fired in hover and max forward flight against realistic static and moving targets.
• Some missions were carried out with warheads against derelict tanks. A mission was carried out against a moving target from a forward flying helicopter.

Helina and Dhruvastra

• The Helina and Dhruvastra are third generation, Lock on Before Launch (LOBL) fire and forget Anti-Tank Guided Missiles that can engage targets both in direct hit mode as well as top attack mode.
• The system has all-weather day and night capability and can defeat battle tanks with conventional armour as well as with explosive reactive armour.
• It is one of the most-advanced anti-tank weapons in the world. Now, the missile systems are ready for induction.
  
  

NITI Aayog
India-Australia Circular Economy (I-ACE) Hackathon, 2021

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the India-Australia Circular Economy (I-ACE) Hackathon, 2021)
What's the NEWS

• The India-Australia Circular Economy (I-ACE) Hackathon, 2021 organised by Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, India and The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia's national science agency came to a successful end
• Eight deserving innovations graduating as winners from India and Australia.
• The Hackathon was held between 8th February, 2021 and 11th February, 2021 which saw a participation of 72 teams comprising of students and startup/ MSME from both India and Australia under four broad areas.
• A virtual valedictory session was held today (19^th February 2021) involving Prime Ministers of both the nations who expressed their views and congratulating all the winners through a pre-recorded video message.
• This hackathon witnessed more than 1000 registrations from both India and Australia across four challenge themes (Food waste, metal waste, packaging waste and plastic waste).
• 72 teams from India and Australia comprising of student and startup/ MSME innovators participated in a three - day long hackathon activity that also involved mentoring support and jury evaluation.
• Indian winners from this hackathon shall receive cash awards and further incubation and technical support to improvise their innovations and commercialize them.

India Australia Circular Economy Hackathon (I-ACE)

• India Australia Circular Economy Hackathon (I-ACE) is jointly being organized by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Government of India and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia to enable the students and startups/MSMEs of both the nations in fostering innovative solutions for the development of a circular economy across the food system value chain with the aim of increasing the long-term health and resilience of our planet, through innovative technology solutions.
• I-ACE aims to accelerate the development of young and promising students and startups/MSMEs working towards the creation of a sustainable future.

Themes:

• Innovation in packaging reducing packaging waste
• Innovation in food supply chains avoiding waste
• Creating opportunities for plastics waste reduction
• Recycling critical energy metals and e-waste

Eligibility Criteria:

• Each team can consist of minimum 2 members to maximum 5 members compulsorily from the same entity/institute as mentioned in the application form.

The following entities are eligible to apply for India Australia Circular Economy Hackathon (I-ACE):

1. Students currently pursuing Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate course from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) of India
2. Entity recognized as Startup under Startup India scheme by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)
3. Entities recognized as Micro Small and Medium Enterprises having Udyam Registration number by Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises.

Software Defined Radio (SDR)
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about CNR,SDR + V/UHF)Manpack SDRs)
Software Defined Radio (SDR)

• The Combat Net Radio (CNR) is the mainstay of communications for the Indian Army in the battlefield.
• The contemporary CNR equipment in the Indian Army supports voice communication only and has limited or no data transmission capability.
• To arm the soldiers with advantages offered by technology and equip him to fight a war in the Net-Centric battle space, present radios are to be replaced soon by indigenously developed Software Defined Radio (SDR), which have enhanced data transmission capability, enhanced voice clarity and data transmission accuracy in spectrally noisy environments, support multiple waveforms, greater system security and better communication survivability in clear and secure mode to meet the operational requirements of the Indian Army.

Very/Ultra High Frequency (V/UHF)Manpack SDRs

• Indian Army is in the process to revamp its communication systems by procuring Very/Ultra High Frequency (V/UHF)Manpack SDRs under Make-II category.
• After successful evaluation of vendor responses, Project Sanction Order (PSO) has now been issued to 18 Indian vendors to start prototype development.
• The contract will be placed with one of the firms post successful development of prototype as per provisions of Buy (Indian-IDDM) category of DAP 2020.
• Development of V/UHF Manpack SDR under Make-II will be a game changer for Indian Army.
• ‘Make' category of capital acquisition in Defence Procurement Procedure
• The provision of ‘Make' category of capital acquisition in Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) is a vital pillar for realising the vision behind the ‘Make in India' initiative of the Government, by fostering indigenous capabilities through design & development of required defence equipment/product/systems or upgrades/ sub-systems/components /parts by both public and private sector industry/organization in a faster time frame.

‘Make' Procedure has following two sub-categories:

1. Make-I (Government Funded): Projects under ‘Make-I' sub-category will involve Government funding of 90%, released in a phased manner and based on the progress of the scheme, as per terms agreed between MoD and the vendor.
2. Make-II (Industry Funded): Projects under 'Make-II' category will involve prototype development of equipment/ system/ platform or their upgrades or their sub-systems/ sub-assembly/assemblies/ components, primarily for import substitution/innovative solutions, for which no Government funding will be provided for prototype development purposes.

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