Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 31st March 2022

NEWS

Karnataka Cabinet clears Karnataka Renewable Energy Policy

DETAILS

• It is operative for years 2022-27
• Provides for developing the State as a hub of renewable energy generation as well as manufacturing of equipment related to renewable energy
• Envisages upgrading the renewable energy generation capacity of the State to 10 GW in the next five years
• Includes 1 GW of rooftop solar energy
• Presently, the State has renewable energy generation capacity of 15,392 MW
• Aims at developing Karnataka as the major exporter of renewable energy to other States by utilising the opportunities in the State for maximining renewable energy generation
• Envisages economic development of Karnataka by attracting investments in the field of renewable energy generation in a massive way
• Wants to develop exclusive green power corridors for evacuation of power from generation site with private participation
• Is focusing on creation of market for development of suitable storage capacity for the proposed increase in generation of the renewable energy
• Promote floating solar and hybrid generation units in the hydel stations
• Setting up of renewable energy parks at various places in the State including the hybrid parks

NEWS

Chief Justice of India launched ‘Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records’ (FASTER), a software to transmit court orders swiftly, securely through electronic mode

DETAILS

• Christened as FASTER (Fast and Secure Transmission of Electronic Records
• Scheme is conceived for delivery of orders to concerned prisons, District Courts, High Courts, as the case may be, for instantaneous delivery of orders passed by apex court through a secure communication channel.
• Aim is to avoid situation where release of prisoners gets delayed even after SC grants them bail, solely on ground of delay in jail authorities getting certified hard copies of release order
• 73 nodal officers have been selected at the High Court level to execute the software

NEWS

Wildfire is troubling the forests of Sasrika tiger reserve

SARISKA TIGER RESERVE

• Location - Aravali , part of the Alwar District of Rajasthan
• Immensely rich in flora and fauna, and is famous for Royal Bengal Tiger
• Has populations of leopards, Nilgai, Sambar, chital etc
• Shelters a large population of Indian peafowl, crested serpent eagles, sand grouse, golden backed woodpeckers, great Indian horned owls, tree pies, vultures,etc
• Declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1955 and was declared the tiger reserve later in 1978, making it a part of India's Project Tiger
• Houses ruined temples, forts, pavilions and a palace
• Kankarwadi fort is located in the center of the Reserve and it is said that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had imprisoned his brother Dara Shikoh at this fort in struggle for succession to the throne. The Reserve also houses a famous temple of lord Hanuman at Pandupole related to Pandavas

NEWS

To step up tracking of space debris, ISRO is deploying New radars and optical telescopes under NETRA

DETAILS

• A space debris tracking radar with a range of 1,500 km and an optical telescope will be inducted
• Government has given permission for the deployment of the radar, which will be capable of detecting and tracking objects 10 cm and above in size, which will be indigenously designed and built
• Radars and optical telescopes are vital ground-based facilities for keeping an eye on space objects, including orbital junk
• For protecting its space assets, ISRO was forced to perform 19 collision avoidance manoeuvres (CAM) in 2021, of which 14 were in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and five in the geostationary orbit, according to ISRO’s Space Situational Assessment for the year
• The number of CAMs jumped from just three in 2015 to 12 in 2020 and 19 in 2021.
• Fragments from the Fengyun-1C satellite (part of the anti-satellite test (ASAT) by China in 2007) and the Cosmos 2251-Iridium satellite collision in 2009 accounted for the maximum number of these threats
• Space junk or debris consists of spent rocket stages, dead satellites, fragments of space objects and debris resulting from ASAT
• Hurtling at an average speed of 27,000 kmph in LEO, these objects pose a very real threat as collisions involving even centimetre-sized fragments can be lethal to satellites
• ISRO’s efforts towards space situational awareness (SSA) is coordinated by the SSA Control Centre in Bengaluru and managed by the Directorate of Space Situational Awareness and Management at the ISRO headquarters.

PROJECT NETRA

• Will give India its own capability in space situational awareness (SSA) like the other space powers — which is used to ‘predict’ threats from debris to Indian satellites.
• Eventual goal is to capture the GEO, or geostationary orbit, scene at 36,000 km where communication satellites operate.
• The initial SSA will first be for low-earth orbits or LEO which have remote-sensing spacecraft.
• Under NETRA the ISRO plans to put up many observational facilities: connected radars, telescopes; data processing units and a control centre.
• They can, among others, spot, track and catalogue objects as small as 10 cm, up to a range of 3,400 km and equal to a space orbit of around 2,000 km.
• The NETRA effort would make India a part of international efforts towards tracking, warning about and mitigating space debris.

NEWS

The Central government has decided to remove Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from certain districts in Nagaland, Assam and Manipur

ABOUT AFSPA

• Act in its original form was promulgated by the British in response to the Quit India movement in 1942
• Post-independence it was first brought as an ordnance and then notified as an Act in 1958

Gives armed forces

• Power to maintain public order in “disturbed areas”
• Authority to prohibit a gathering of five or more persons in an area
• Can use force or even open fire after giving due warning if they feel a person is in contravention of the law
• If reasonable suspicion exists
  • can also arrest a person without a warrant
  • enter or search premises without a warrant
  • ban the possession of firearms.

DISTURBED AREA

• One which is declared by notification under Section 3 of the AFSPA
• Area can be disturbed due to differences or disputes between members of different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities.
• The Central Government, or the Governor of the State or administrator of the Union Territory can declare the whole or part of the State or Union Territory as a disturbed area.

NEWS

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the procurement of 15 indigenously developed Light Combat Helicopters (LCH)

LIGHT COMBAT HELICOPTERS

• The genesis of the LCH lies in the Kargil conflict of 1999 when the absence of an attack helicopter which could operate in ultra-high altitude areas was felt acutely by the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF)
• In 2006 that the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) announced its intention to develop a LCH which could operate in the harsh desert conditions as well as the high altitude areas of Ladakh including the Siachen Glacier

MAJOR FEATURES

• Maximum possible commonality
• Powered by two Shakti engines
• Maximum take off weight of 5,800 kg
• Maximum speed of 268 km per hour
• Range of 550 km
• Operational ceiling of 6.5 kms
• Armed with air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles
• Also has a 20 mm gun and 70 mm rockets
• Has an Electronic Warfare suite and helmet mounted display for the flying crew

• A large number of pelicans can be seen at Chunchgatta lake that has become a haven for migratory birds after its rejuvenation, in Bengaluru. Residents have been calling it a Pelican Habba (festival) as numbers of other resident birds like herons, cormorants, egrets, swamphens, red-wattled lapwings, and Eurasian coots have dwindled.
• The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued orders to merge production of documentaries and short films, organization of film festivals and preservation of films to the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), a PSU working under the ministry.
• Lok Sabha passes Bill to merge Delhi corporations