Daily Current Affairs 7 January 2022

 Current Affairs Of Today Are

1)  Rock museum

• Union Minister of State for Science & Technology Jitendra Singh inaugurated India’s first open rock museum displaying different types of rocks gathered from different States of ages ranging from 3.3 billion years to around 55 million years on the campus of the CSIR­-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI)
• The Open Rock Museum set up to educate and enlighten the masses about several lesser-known facts, displays around 35 different types of rocks from different parts of India with ages ranging from 3.3 Billion years to around 55 Million years of the Earth’s history. These rocks also represent the deepest part of the earth up to 175 km of distance from the surface of the earth.
• “Big Earth Data” occupies the strategic high ground in the era of knowledge economies and India is fully exploiting this new frontier contributing to the advancement of Earth science.
• About 46 rocks of different sizes have been displayed in a garden with descriptions giving the economic and scientific importance of some of them located as deep as 175 km from the surface of the earth. The rocks are from Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir, and others.
• Launched state-of-the-art Heli-borne survey technology for groundwater management, developed by CSIR-NGRI Hyderabad with Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat from Jodhpur in October, last year. To start with, the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana are being taken up for this latest heli-borne survey
• Earthquake Risk Maps of Lucknow and Dehradun Cities and handed over the maps to the Chairpersons or nominees of UPSDMA(Uttar Pradesh State Disaster Management) and UKSDMA(UttarakhandState Disaster Management) on the occasion. He informed that CSIR-NGRI has made earthquake risk maps for Lucknow and Dehradun cities which are vulnerable to future earthquakes in the Indo-Gangetic plains area. The risk maps were prepared by characterizing the hazard and its uncertainty, to serve as input for risk assessment and earthquake-resistant design for different applications – ranging from private homes to multi-storied buildings and critical infrastructures such as bridges or dams

Source: The Hindu and PIB

2) Digitisation of manuscripts

• The digitization process has picked up the pace at the Oriental Research Institute (ORI), considered a repository of ancient manuscripts in south India. Once digitized, the 20,000 manuscript titles (with approximately 70­-100 folios each) will be made available to the scholastic community in the form of four lakh digital pages
• Launched by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) in 1939, the institute was handed over in 1956 to Sri Venkateswara University after its formation
• The institute has been engaged in procuring and preserving manuscripts, editing, publishing, and reprinting rare books, conducting national and international conferences, and sending its ISSN­numbered journals to universities in India and 16 other countries. The ORI has even generated nearly 100 PhDs on rare topics. The Union government’s National Manuscripts Mission recognized the Tirupati ORI as a ‘Manuscript Resource Centre’ in 2007 and the Andhra Pradesh Higher Education department acknowledged it as a ‘Centre of Excellence in 2008.
• The diverse range of manuscripts preserved here includes Vedas, Vedangas, Upanishads, Vyakarana, Jyotisha, Smriti, Puranas, philosophy, archaeology, sculpture, painting, astronomy, Ayurveda, Arthasastra (administration and statecraft), and literary plays
• Up to 25% of its collection has been scanned and the remaining will be completed in a couple of years. Once available in the digital format, the university management will take a call on uploading the content on the web.

Source: The Hindu

3) Third eye to the sky

• In a nationwide programme to take the third eye to the sky, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has called for more effective utilisation of drone applications and urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance, situational analysis, crime control, VVIP security, disaster management, etc.
• Drones offered tremendous benefits to almost every sector of the economy, including but not limited to, national defense, agriculture, law enforcement, and mapping, among others.
• As part of the initiatives to make India a global hub for drones under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and in the backdrop of the Union government rolling out the liberalised Drone Rules 2021
• The suggestions include deployment of drones for combat, communication in remote areas, counter­drone solutions, etc., by the Ministry of Defence; and delivery of medicines, collection of samples from remote or epidemic/pandemic­ affected areas by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Acting on the recommendations that unmanned aerial vehicles could be used to undertake disaster management, incidence response, inspection/maintenance works and project monitoring, the Ministry of Railways wrote to General Managers across its network to implement the ideas
• The Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Power Ministries, have been asked to fly drones for real­time surveillance of assets and transmission lines, theft prevention, visual inspection/maintenance, construction planning and management, etc. Drone operations suggested for the Environment, Forests and Climate Change Ministry include anti­poaching actions, monitoring of forests and wildlife, pollution assessment, and evidence gathering.
• As a complete replacement to expensive helicopter-based videography, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting could use drones for high­quality videography of events and differ­ cult­to­reach­places at a fraction of the cost and approvals required. This move would also facilitate low altitude shooting without noise, and prevent dust pollution. 

Source: The Hindu

4) Intermediate Jet Trainer

• The Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT), designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) for Stage 2 training of Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots, has successfully demonstrated the capability to carry out six turn spins, displaying an important requirement for the platform. 
• The aircraft will require another two years of testing after which it will be ready for induction
• The IJT needs another two years of testing. There were some major modifications done in the aircraft. So all the earlier tests have to be repeated and demonstrated in the new configuration
• With this, the HAL would have the entire range of trainer aircraft — HTT­40 Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA), the IJT, Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) and the Leadin Fighter Trainer (LIFT) being conceptualised based on the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas twin seat trainer aircraft
• The IJT, meant to replace the ageing Kirans of the IAF fleet, had earlier completed demonstration of capabilities in terms of altitude and speed envelope, load factor, satisfactory stall characteristics and limited armament capability as required by the IAF.
• However, the programme came to a halt in 2016 and flight testing resumed in April 2019.
• Major modifications were undertaken such as shifting the vertical tail aft on the airframe and increasing the rudder area.
• Stating that spin flight testing is inherently a high risk manoeuvre and therefore progresses incrementally turn by turn due to the complex interplay of aerodynamic and inertia forces, the motion of the aircraft in spin was unpredictable and flight testing was the only way to assess the acceptability or otherwise of its characteristics

Source: The Hindu

5) North Korea tested a hypersonic missile

• North Korea has successfully tested a hypersonic missile in the first major weapons test by the nuclear-armed nation this year.
• This was the second reported test of what Pyongyang claimed were hypersonic gliding missiles, as it pursues the sophisticated technology despite international sanctions and condemnation.
• Hypersonic missiles move far faster and are more agile than standard ones, making them much harder for missile defence systems — on which the U.S. is spending billions — to intercept.
• The missile fired carried a “hypersonic gliding warhead” that “precisely hit a target 700 km away”
• The warhead also demonstrated a “new” capability, moving 120 km laterally after it detached from the launcher to strike the target
• Hypersonic missiles were listed among the “top priority” tasks for strategic weapons in North Korea’s fiveyear plan, and it announced its first test of the Hwasong­8 in September last year.

Source: The Hindu

6) India develops oil tank in Sri Lanka

• Marking a major milestone in a strategic project in Sri Lanka whose fate has remained uncertain for decades, Indian Oil Corporation subsidiary Lanka IOC, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and the Government of Sri Lanka signed three lease agreements on jointly developing the Trincomalee oil
• tank farm in eastern Sri Lanka. 
• The move, which finally firms up India’s role in the project discussed since the time of the Indo­Lanka Accord of 1987

Source: The Hindu

7) Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

• On  January 3, five global nuclear powers, China, Russia, U.S., U.K., and France, pledged to prevent atomic weapons from spreading and avoid nuclear conflict. The joint statement was issued after the latest review of the Nuclear Non­ Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which first came into force in 1970, was postponed from its scheduled date of January 4 to later in the year due to the COVID­19 pandemic.

Goal of NPT

• Cessation of the nuclear arms race and working towards not just more peaceful uses of nuclear energy but also towards complete nuclear disarmament have been the primary goals of NPT.
• Nuclear competition among major powers could encourage states without nuclear weapons to acquire their own. An ideal way to solve this would be for all nuclear states to

Motive of owning nuclear power

• Nuclear competition among major powers could encourage states without nuclear weapons to acquire their own. An ideal way to solve this would be for all nuclear states to abandon their nuclear stockpile. This certainly hasn’t been the case. A more practical solution, which for the longest time did work, but now seems to be waning, is to go for nuclear deterrence among large powers and provide a nuclear umbrella to non­-nuclear states. 
• The hegemonic rise of China and its debt trapping tactics in order to gain access to the other country’s key infrastructure projects has led other countries within China’s immediate sphere of geographical influence to wonder if they need to acquire or develop strategic capabilities to safeguard their security.

What are the other treaties and agreements on nuclear bans?

• The NPT is joined by the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT), the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I), which had the Interim Agreement and Protocol on Limitation of Strategic Offensive Weapons Offensive Arms, the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II), the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties (I and II), the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), and the Treaty on theProhibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) among others. 
• There’s clearly no dearth of treaties and agreements, and yet the situation hasn’t improved considerably. Outside of the P5 (China, France, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S.), India and Pakistan are known to possess nuclear weaponry, while Israel is strongly suspected of possessing it. North Korea has a nuclear weapons program but its actual possession of nuclear weapons is debated. It has, in recent times, conducted multiple missile tests, to showcase its supposed capabilities. It has a total of seven major types of long­range missiles (Nodong, Pukguksong­3, Pukguksong­2, Musudan, the Hwasong­12, Hwasong­14, Hwasong­15) ranging from a limit of 1,500 km to 13,000 km

Holdings of nuclear weapons 

• China’s current stockpile stands at around 350, France’s at around 290, Russia’s at around 6,257, the U.K.’s at around 225, the U.S.’s at around 5,600. While the difference between U.S.’s and Russia’s may look considerable, the operational stockpile of Russia is about 1,600 and for the U.S. it is about 1,650. Outside the P5, Pakistan possesses about 165, India possesses about 160, and Israel and North Korea either possess or have enough fissile material to build approximately 90 and approximately 45 weapons respectively.
• The world’s stockpile peaked during the 1980s and started to reduce considerably up until 2005. Since then, most of the reduction has come from the dismemberment of the retired stockpile. Development in technologies also means that the world keeps seeing new ways to deploy these nuclear weapons which is another worrying trend.

 Way ahead

• With Australia already on the road to acquire nuclear capabilities, it stands to reason that other nations would work towards developing or acquiring nuclear weapons. This could, in principle, also re­ignite another arms race. The P5’s joint statement, ‘Preventing Nuclear War and Avoiding Arms Races’, affirms to non-­offensive uses of nuclear weapons and committing to the NPT agreement but the wording of this statement and previous statements on arms reduction could be understood in a different light as well—to use nuclear weapons against conventional weapons if the nation feels its security to be threatened so as to merit the use of nuclear weaponry. The chequered history of nuclear weapons gives the impression that the NPT has not been entirely successful—but it hasn’t been an abject failure either. 
• The impetus is on the major powers to stay on the path which the NPT has paved (even if a winding one) and signal commitment through its actions towards putting an end to the arms race and hopefully completing the disarmament
  

Source: The Hindu

8) Cooperation in the field of Disaster Management

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Turkmenistan on Cooperation in the field of Disaster Management.
• The MoU seeks to put in place a system, whereby both India and Turkmenistan will be benefited from the Disaster Management mechanisms of each other and it will help in strengthening the areas of preparedness, response and capacity building in the field of Disaster Management.

The MoU envisages cooperation on a mutually beneficial basis in the following areas:

• Monitoring and forecasting emergencies and assessment of their consequences
• Interaction, through Competent Authorities, between appropriate organizations involved in disaster management
• Joint   planning, development, and   implementation   of   research   projects, exchange of scientific and technical publications and results of research work in the field of disaster management
• Exchange of information, periodicals or any other publications, video and photo materials, as well as technologies, as mutually agreed within the scope of this MoU
• Organization of joint conferences, seminars, workshops as well as exercises and training in the relevant fields
• Exchange of experts and experiences in disaster management
• Training and capacity building of first responders in search and rescue operations; exchange of trainees and experts to facilitate capacity building in the field of disaster management
• Rendering assistance, as mutually agreed, for providing technical facilities and equipment, enhancing early warning systems and capacity building of the Parties in disaster management
• Providing assistance, as mutually agreed, in emergency response
• Mutual assistance sharing of knowledge and expertise for creation of disaster resilient infrastructure
• Rendering quality management systems, as mutually agreed in accordance with the internationally recognized standards
• Any other activities related to disaster management, which may be mutually agreed by the Competent Authorities of the Parties

Source: PIB

9) India and Nepal for construction of a bridge over Mahakali River at Dharchula (India) – Dharchula (Nepal)

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Nepal for construction of bridge over Mahakali River at Dharchula (India)- Dharchula (Nepal).
• With the signing of the MoU, diplomatic relations between the two countries will further improve. 

Background:

• As close neighbors, India and Nepal share unique ties of friendship and cooperation characterized by an open border and deep-rooted people-to-people contacts of kinship and culture.  Both India and Nepal have been working together on different regional forums i.e. SAARC, BIMSTEC as well as global fora.

Source: PIB

10) Intra-State Transmission System – Green Energy Corridor Phase-II

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the scheme on Green Energy Corridor (GEC) Phase-II for Intra-State Transmission System (InSTS) for the addition of approximately 10,750 circuit kilometers (km) of transmission lines and approx. 27,500 Mega Volt-Amperes (MVA) transformation capacity of substations. The scheme will facilitate grid integration and power evacuation of approximately 20 GW of Renewable Energy (RE) power projects in seven States namely, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh.
• The scheme is targeted to be set up with a total estimated cost of Rs. 12,031.33 crore and Central Financial Assistance (CFA) @ 33 percent of the project cost i.e. Rs. 3970.34 crore.  The transmission systems will be created over five years from Financial Year 2021-22 to 2025-26. The Central Financial Assistance (CFA) will help in offsetting the Intra-State transmission charges and thus keep the power costs down. Thus, the Government support will ultimately benefit the end users — the citizens of India.
• The scheme will help in achieving the target of 450 GW installed RE capacity by 2030.
• The scheme will also contribute to the long-term energy security of the country and promote ecologically sustainable growth by reducing carbon footprint. It will generate large direct & indirect employment opportunities for both skilled and unskilled personnel in power and other related sectors.
• This scheme is in addition to GEC-Phase-I which is already under implementation in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu for grid integration and power evacuation of approx. 24 GW of RE power and is expected to be completed by 2022. The scheme is for addition of 9700 ckm of transmission lines and 22600 MVA capacity of substations having estimated cost of transmission projects of Rs. 10,141.68 crore with Central Financial Assistance (CFA) of Rs. 4056.67 crore.

Source: PIB