Daily Current Affairs 24 December 2019

Current Affairs of Today Are

1) Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile successfully flight-tested off Odisha coast

• Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) system developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was successfully flight-tested from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the Odisha coast.
• The missile was flight-tested with the full configuration in deployment mode intercepting the target mid-air, meeting the mission objectives. The entire event was monitored by Ground Telemetry Systems, Range Radar Systems, Electro-Optical Tracking System, etc.

About QRSAM

• The QRSAM weapon system, which operates on the move, comprises of fully automated Command and Control System, Active Array Battery Surveillance Radar, Active Array Battery Multifunction Radar, and Launcher. Both radars are four-walled having 360-degree coverage with a search on move and track on move capability. The system is compact with a minimum number of vehicles for a firing unit. The single-stage solid propelled missile has a midcourse inertial navigation system with a two-way data link and terminal active seeker developed indigenously by DRDO. The missile successfully engaged the aerial target establishing its capability.
• With this mission, the developmental trials of the weapon system are successfully completed and the weapon system is expected to be ready for induction by 2021.

2) Delhi Government Approved Electric Vehicle Policy

• The Delhi Cabinet passed an Electric Vehicle Policy to help reduce air pollution
• Under the policy, the government aims to make electric vehicles 25% of all new vehicles registered in the city by 2024. Also, the government will develop public charging infrastructure, install charging stations every three km and give subsidies to people buying electric vehicles

Reason

• To tackle the issue of air pollution, the Cabinet has decided to pass the Electric Vehicle Policy, which is an ambitious policy in its scope. Vehicles  amount to 40% of PM2.5 air pollution levels and 80% of carbon monoxide in the air
• All two­wheelers engaged in last­-mile deliveries, such as food delivery vehicles, courier services, and e­commerce logistics, will be expected to transition 50% of their fleet to electric by March 2023, and 100%  by March 2025. Likewise, the purchase subsidy on electric autos, e­rickshaws, and e­carriers is up to ₹30,000 and loans on a subsidy of 5% will be provided to them
• The percentage strength of electric two-­wheelers is less than 0.2% and that of three-wheelers is almost zero

About EV Policy

• Under the EV Policy, the government will provide a subsidy of ₹5,000 per kWh of battery capacity on the purchase of two­wheelers. Scrapping incentive up to ₹5000 will be offered for the scrapping of a non­electric two­wheeler vehicle and switching to an electric vehicle.
• The government will provide a 100% subsidy for the purchase of charging equipment up to ₹6,000 per charging point for the first 30,000 charging points at homes/workplaces. The subsidy is to be routed through DISCOMS who will be in­charge of charger installations
• A special provision has been made for cab aggregators, under which they will be allowed to operate electric two­-wheeler taxis
• 20% of the parking areas of the workplace and residential parking will have vehicle holding capacity as EV enabled with charging options. 
• Cabinet has approved that all Delhi Transport Corporation regular employees will get a transport allowance of around ₹4,000 a month

3) India State-­Level Disease Burden

• According to the first comprehensive estimates of the disease burden attributable to mental health from 1990 prepared by the India State-­Level Disease Burden Initiative and published in The  Lancet Psychiatry. The study finds that roughly one in seven Indians, or 197 million persons, suffered from mental disorders of varying severity in 2017. 
• These include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, idiopathic developmental intellectual disability, conduct disorders, and autism. Importantly, the contribution of mental disorders to the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) — the sum of total years of life lost and years lived with a disability has doubled between 1990 and 2017 increasing from 2.5% to 4.7%. Mental disorders were the second leading cause of disease burden in terms of years lived with disability (YLDs) and the sixth leading cause of disability-­adjusted life ­years (DALYs) in the world in 2017
• Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh account for a higher prevalence of mental disorders that manifest primarily during adulthood in depression and anxiety
• In total, 45.7 million people had depressive disorders, as one in three years lost due to a mental disorder was due to depression. This was followed by anxiety a total of 44.9 million people suffered from it and it accounted for the loss of 1 in 5 years

Categories wise ranking

• In its State­wise analysis, the study divides different States into three categories based on their socio-­demographic index (SDI), i.e low, medium and high SDI States. The SDI is a composite measure of per­capita income, mean education, and fertility rate in women younger than 25 years and is calculated on a scale of one. 
• Prevalence of depressive disorders was highest in Tamil Nadu (loss of 836 years per 1 lakh population ), Kerala (loss of 641 years), Goa (loss of 626 years) and Telangana (loss of 756 years) in the high SDI State group and Andhra Pradesh (loss of 793 years) in the middle SDI State group.
• Similarly, anxiety disorders were found to be more common in Kerala (loss of 383 years per 1 lakh population), Himachal Pradesh (loss of 329 years), Tamil Nadu (loss of 325 years), Karnataka (loss of 324 years), Telangana (loss of 324 years), and Maharashtra (loss of 324 years) in the high SDI State group and Andhra Pradesh (loss of 328 years), Manipur (loss of 360 years), and West Bengal (loss of 331 years) in the middle SDI State group. 

Road Accident

• Road injury was the leading cause of death in India among 15 to 39­year­old men in 2017 and was the second leading cause for both sexes combined, according to the findings of the India State­-Level Disease Burden Initiative published in The Lancet Public Health.
• Of the 2,19,000 road injury deaths in India in 2017, 77% were of men, with the death rate three times higher as compared to women. The death rate standardized for age was 17.2 deaths per 1 lakh population, but it was 25.7 deaths per 1 lakh male population and 8.5 deaths per 1 lakh women.
• In 2017, pedestrians in India accounted for 35.1% (76,729) of all deaths due to road injuries and older adults were the largest casualties. Motorcyclists accounted for 30.9% (67,524) of all road fatalities, motor vehicle occupants accounted for 26.4% (57,802) and cyclists 7% (15,324) of road fatalities. Motorcyclist and cyclist road injury death rates were 69% and 33% higher in India as compared to the global average.
• The study noted that if the estimated trends of road injury deaths up to 2017 were to continue, none of the States are likely to meet the SDG 2020 target of reducing such deaths by half from 2015 to 2020 or even by 2030.

4) Bar-­headed goose spotted in Kerala

Pathanamthitta Birders has spotted the Bar­headed goose (Anser Indicus) in the wetlands of Karingali Puncha, near Pandalam, reportedly the first sighting in the district.

Why so Special to watch it?

• They are one of the birds which can fly even at very high altitude. They come to India and return to their homes by crossing the Himalayan ranges.
• Their migration has been a fascination for birders as they cross the Himalayas on one of the most high­altitude migrations in the world. Their ability to sustain the high oxygen demands of flight in the air that is exceedingly oxygen­thin is exceptional. The capacity of bar­headed geese to transport and consume oxygen at high rates in hypoxia distinguishes this species from similar lowland waterfowl

Origin

The bar-headed goose was the 336th bird species found in the district. Bar­headed geese are found in central China and Mongolia and they breed there. They start the migration to the Indian sub­continent during the winter and stay here till the end of the season.

5) Technologies for Non-Contact Warfare

Indian Army in its quest for modernization through the use of emerging technologies, conducted Army Technology Seminar on the theme 'Technologies for Non-Contact Warfare' at Manekshaw Centre, Delhi Cantonment on 23 December 2019.

Sarvatra bulletproof jacket

• Army chief Gen. Bipin Rawat with the Army Design Bureau (ADB) excellence award for indigenously developing  Sarvatra bulletproof jacket that can provide protection against various ammunition including that of sniper rifles.
• The project was sanctioned in June 2017 and initially, the design and development of a Level III-A soft body armor suit was sanctioned and was subsequently revised to include a Level IV hard armor panel inserts, an officer explained. “The suit was named Sarvatra Kawach, it provides protection from neck to ankle and upper arms

Laser Ordnance Disposal System (LORDS)

The Defence Research and Development Organisation also put up a few technologies under development one of which was a Laser Ordnance Disposal System (LORDS) which uses high energy laser beams to destroy far away ordnance

AI for Maintenance of Helicopter

The Military College Of Electronics and Mechanical Engineering (MCME), Secunderabad on the use of AI for carrying out predictive maintenance of helicopter engines, which is under development.

6) Harsh Vardhan Shringla is next Foreign Secretary 

The government has appointed India’s Ambassador to the United States Harsh Vardhan Shringla, an expert in India’s neighborhood, as the next Foreign Secretary.

According to a notification from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, Mr. Shringla will take over from Vijay Gokhale on January 29 for a two­year tenure. 

Benefits

In particular, Mr. Shringla’s handling of India’s neighborhood will be valued in his new assignment, given the recent tensions with Bangladesh over the CAA­-NRC controversy, China’s new inroads into Nepal and other South Asian countries, and the continuing tensions with Pakistan, which have practically derailed the SAARC process

7) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA)

• Aviation consultancy CAPA estimates a full­year loss of $500­-600 million for Indian carriers primarily due to a sharp fall in airfares on some of the most profitable routes as the airlines mounted additional capacity in a bid to capture coveted airport slots owned by the now-defunct Jet Airways.
• Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) said that the latest estimate for India's domestic market was its sharpest downward revision from one quarter to the next in 16 years. It had earlier predicted a profit of $500­-700 million for Indian airlines.
• During the first nine months of the financial year 2020, the sector also witnessed a moderation in growth with both domestic and international traffic volumes being flat as capacity expansion by different carriers went towards replacing the seats lost in the sector

Reason for Fall down

• The primary challenge before the airline has been the complexity of operations due to the induction of Jet Airways’ aircraft configured differently from its own to include business class. 
• Moreover, there was also a significant cost increase as these were older planes which required more maintenance.
• Further, a lack of financial support for Air India from the government has resulted in as many as 26 of its planes being grounded due to a shortage of funds to replace engines as well as buy spare parts. 
• CAPA estimates Air India to post a loss of $500 million in FY 2020 after posting a net loss of $1.2 billion in the last fiscal.

8) Eco-club program

In a first, Annual Meet of the State Nodal Agencies implementing the National Green Corps ‘Ecoclub’ program of the Ministry of the Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), organized by the Ministry’s Environment Education Division, in collaboration with the GEER Foundation, Gujarat was held from 20th to 21st December 2019 in Kevadia, Gujarat.

About Eco-Club

Under the scheme, National Green Corps (NGC) ‘Ecoclub’ program was initiated in 2001-2002 with the objective to impart knowledge to school children through hands-on experience, about their immediate environment, interactions within it and the problems therein. The program aims to inculcate proper attitude towards the environment and sensitize children on issues related to environment and development.

Eco-Club Awards

The meeting acknowledged the contributions made by the State/UT Governments in implementing the NGC ‘Ecoclub’ program and certificates of appreciation were given to agencies. Further, Best Ecoclub Award at the National level was awarded to the students of the Eco club from Chhattisgarh, Kerala, and Telangana who secured First, Second and Third position respectively and Consolation prizes were awarded to Eco clubs from Gujarat, Sikkim, and Karnataka. The publication developed by the Environment Education Division for the Eco-club students were released namely ‘Glimpses of Eco clubs’, Handbook on International Environment Conventions and Programmes and Handbook on Important Days of Environmental significance.