Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 26TH March 2022

 NEWS

The KSR Bengaluru Railway Station will market 'Channapatna toys' under the 'One Station, One Product' (OSOP) scheme

‘ONE STATION ONE PRODUCT’

• Announced in Union budget 2022-23
• Similar to the one when the ‘One District-One Product’ scheme was introduced

What is under the scheme :

• Stalls will be set up at railway stations across the country for the sale of specific products of that place
• Railway station at which the passengers will get down will be able to easily know about the particular product there
• For example, Lucknow’s Chicken Suit and Malihabadi Mango are very famous, so in such a situation, stalls of these products can be set up at big stations like Charbagh, Lucknow Junction, Aishbagh of Lucknow

What are the benefits :

• Bring opportunities in both the promotion and employment of the product
• Trains will also provide facility to send these products from one place to another
• Railways will develop efficient logistics for small farmers and enterprises
• Each railway station can be seen as a promotional center for a local product
• It will help develop more efficient logistics for farmers and agri-enterprises and offer unique regional products to a wider audience, i.e. railway passengers passing through the stations
• It aims to improve the supply chain of local produce by using railways

CHANNAPATNA TOYS

• Particular form of wooden toys and dolls
• Manufactured in the town of Channapatna in the Ramanagara
• Traditional craft
• Protected under geographical indication (GI)
• As a result of the popularity of these toys, Channapatna is known as the Gombegala Ooru (toy-town) of Karnataka
• Traditionally, the work involved lacquering the wood of the Wrightia tinctoria tree,colloquially called Aale mara (ivory-wood)

NEWS

India’s projected economic growth for 2022 has been downgraded by over two per cent to 4.6% as per UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report

WHAT DID THE REPORT SAY

• The decrease is attributed to the ongoing war in Ukraine
• India is expected to face restraints on energy access and prices, reflexes from trade sanctions, food inflation, tightening policies and financial instability
• Downgraded global economic growth projection for 2022 to 2.6% from 3.6%
• Changes in macroeconomic policies put developing countries particularly at risk
• Russia will experience a deep recession this year, significant slowdowns in growth are expected in parts of Western Europe and Central, South and South-East Asia
• Other economies in South and Western Asia may gain some benefits from fast growth of demand and prices of energy, they will be hampered by the adversities in primary commodity markets, especially food inflation, and will be further hit by inherent financial instabilities
• India in particular will face restraints on several fronts: energy access and prices, primary commodity bottlenecks, reflexes from trade sanctions, food inflation, tightening policies and financial instability
• The report has downgraded the GDP growth of the US from three per cent to 2.4 per cent. China will also see growth decrease to 4.8 per cent from 5.7 per cent. The report projects a deep recession for Russia, with growth decelerating from 2.3 per cent to -7.3 per cent
• UNCTAD is worried that a combination of weakening global demand, insufficient policy coordination at the international level and elevated debt levels from the pandemic, will generate financial shockwaves that can push some developing countries into a downward spiral of insolvency, recession and arrested development.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NEWS

ISRO said GSLV-F10/EOS-03 mission has failed

DETAILS

ABOUT GSLV-F10 EOS-03 MISSION

• Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-F10 (GSLV-F10) launched Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-03) in 2021 from second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota.
• State-of-the-art agile Earth observation satellite
• Capable of imaging the entire country four to five times every day
• Reach to the geostationary orbit using its onboard propulsion system, from where the satellite’s onboard propulsion system will guide it to a geostationary orbit, 36,000 km from earth’s surface
• EOS-03, part of the new generation of earth-observation satellites, was meant to provide almost real-time images of large parts of the country
• The images could be used for monitoring natural disasters like floods and cyclones, water bodies, crops, vegetation and forest cover
• EOS-03 was being sent ahead of EOS-02 which has been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic
• Satellite will also carry a 4-metre diameter Ogive-shaped payload for the first time in this GSLV flight.
• This will be the fourteenth flight of GSLV

WHY DID THE SATELLITE FAIL

• Although the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) had a normal lift-off after a 26-hour countdown, the mission had to be aborted much to the dismay of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
• The FAC has concluded that a leak in a Vent and Relief Valve (VRV), probably triggered by damage in the soft seal, resulted in lower pressure in the LH2 (Liquid Hydrogen, the propellant) tank when the CUS engine ignited.
• This caused the Fuel Booster Turbo Pump (FBTP) to malfunction, ultimately leading to the failure of the mission.
• Recommendations include the incorporation of an active LH2 tank pressurisation system for guaranteeing sufficient pressure in the tank before the engine burns. Other recommendations include strengthening the VRV and associated fluid circuits to avoid leakage. 

NEWS

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has given the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for capital acquisition proposals for GSAT 7B satellite, along with equipment like Night Sight (image intensifier), 4X4 light vehicles, and Air Defence Fire Control Radar (light).

GSAT 7 SERIES

• Advanced satellites
• Developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
• Meet the communication needs of the defence services
• Launched in August 2013 from an Ariane 5 ECA rocket from Kourou in French Guiana
• 2,650 kg satellite has a footprint of nearly 2,000 nautical miles in the Indian Ocean region
• Mainly used by the Indian Navy for its communication needs
• Satellite provides a gamut of services for military communication needs, which includes low bit voice rate to high bit rate data facilities, including multi-band communications
• Named Rukmini, the satellite carries payloads in UHF, C-band and Ku-band, and helps the Navy to have a secure, real time communication link between its land establishments, surface ships, submarines and aircraft.
• GSAT 7A was launched in 2018 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, and has gone a long way in boosting the connectivity between the ground radar stations, airbases and the airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C) of the IAF
• GSAT 7C satellite is on the cards for the IAF, and a proposal to this effect was cleared by the DAC in 2021

WHAT OTHER KINDS OF MILITARY SATELLITES DOES INDIA HAVE?

• An Electromagnetic Intelligence Gathering Satellite (EMISAT), developed by ISRO, was launched in April 2020 through a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C45). It has an Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) package called Kautilya, which allows the interception of ground-based radar and also carries out electronic surveillance across India.
• India also has a RISAT 2BR1 synthetic aperture radar imaging satellite, which was launched in December 2019 from Sriharikota. It has the capability to operate in different modes including very high resolution imaging modes of 1×0.5 metre resolution and 0.5×0.3 m resolution with a swath of 5-10 km.

 NEWS

President of India presented the President’s Colour to INS Valsura, the Navy’s premier technological training establishment

INS VALSURA

• Established in 1942
• Is a "stone frigate" (shore establishment) of the Indian Navy in Jamnagar, Gujarat
• Premier training establishment of the Indian Navy
• Entrusted with the responsibility of imparting training to officers and sailors of the Indian Navy, Coast Guard and friendly foreign countries in electrical, electronics, weapon systems and information technology
• Has distinguished itself with notable and gallant service to the nation for nearly 80 years

About Presidents colour

• The President’s Colour is the highest honour bestowed on a military unit in recognition of its exceptional service to the nation.
• The Indian Navy was the first amongst the Indian Armed Forces to be awarded the President’s Colour on 27 May 1951 by Dr Rajendra Prasad, the then President of India.

BY – NITI AAYOG

DETAILS

• In this index Gujarat has topped for the second time in a row. It is followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Haryana.
• This index is date-driven and looks to identify the key areas which are critical for subnational export promotion.
• The latest edition of the index has highlighted that most of the country’s coastal states are among the best performers.
• The index’s second edition will act as a catalyst for the promotion of competitive federalism.
• All the states and UTs of the nation are ranked by this index on four main pillars which are business ecosystem, policy, export performance, and export ecosystem.
• This index
  • Provides a comprehensive analysis of the country’s export achievements
  • Used by the UTs and the states to compare their respective performance with their peers
  • Can also be used to analyze the challenges faced while developing better policies to foster growth from exports
• It also looks to promote fair contest among the nation’s UTs and states in the landscape of global exports.

• Standing Committee of the National Board for Wild Life recommends to celebrate October 5 as National Dolphin Day