26 May 2023 – Current Affairs

Daily Current Capsules

26 May 2023

Defence

NIGHT TRAPS OF MIG-29K ONBOARD VIKRANT

 

What’s the NEWS

• The Indian Navy achieved a historic milestone after the MiG-29K fighter jet conducted a successful night landing on the indigenously-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
• Night trap’ means landing on an aircraft carrier during night-time and is considered even more challenging for naval aviators.

Know! about INS Vikrant

 

• INS Vikrant, the first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier and the most complex warship ever built in our country by M/s Cochin Shipyard Ltd, has undergone extensive Sea trials since her maiden sailing on 04 Aug 21.
• Commissioned into the Indian Navy on 02 Sep 22, the Carrier is a big boost to the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ vision of the Government of India.
• The Carrier is presently undergoing Air Certification and Flight Integration Trials with Rotary Wing and Fixed Wing aircraft for achieving ‘Combat ready’ state at the earliest.
• As part of the trials, maiden day landing of MiG-29K and the indigenous LCA (Navy) was achieved on 06 Feb 23.
• In continuance with the impetus on the Aviation Trials, the Navy has achieved another historic milestone by undertaking maiden night landing of MiG-29K on 24 May 23.

Environment

14th Clean Energy Ministerial and 8th Mission Innovation meeting (CEM14/MI-8)

 

What’s the NEWS

• The 14th Clean Energy Ministerial and 8th Mission Innovation meeting (CEM14/MI-8) will be held in Goa during 19^th to 22^nd of July, 2023.
• Scheduled on the margins of the G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting, the theme for CEM-14 / MI-8 is “Advancing Clean Energy Together”.
• This year’s Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and Mission Innovation (MI) meetings will bring together governments, international organizations, and private sector, academia, innovators, civil society, early career researchers and policymakers
• The Clean Energy Ministerial forum provides an opportunity to the country to convene the global clean energy community and engage on a diverse set of events and bring across the wide spectrum of clean energy innovation to deployment.

Know! about Clean Energy Ministerial

• The Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) was established in 2009 as a high-level global forum to promote policies and programmes that advance clean energy technology, to share lessons learned and best practices, and to encourage the transition to a global clean energy economy.
• The CEM is an international clean energy leadership platform, a convening platform, an action platform, and an acceleration platform.
• India hosted the 4^th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM-4) in 2013.
• Through its leadership of the CEM’s Global Lighting Challenge campaign, which was inspired by India’s Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) program, India helped many other governments and industry partners to achieve a global collective target of 10 billion LEDs globally.
• This effort was coordinated by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency on behalf of the Government of India.
• The CEM has 29 members: the European Commission and 28 governments (largely aligned with the G20 membership) namely Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Mission Innovation

• Mission Innovation (MI) is a Ministerial-level global forum of 23 Countries and the European Commission (on behalf of the European Union) to accelerate Clean Energy revolution and progress towards the Paris Agreement goals and pathways to Net Zero.
• The main objective of MI is to catalyse a decade of action and investment in research, development and demonstration to make clean energy affordable, attractive and accessible for all.
• It does this by taking steps to accelerate clean energy innovation to mobilise low-cost finance by international partners, enhance private sector investments and demand for clean technologies that advances R&D of clean energy technology.
• The first phase of Mission Innovation (MI) (2015-2020) was announced at COP21 on November 30, 2015
• The second phase of Mission Innovation (MI2.0) was launched on June 2, 2021. The focus of MI2.0 is on decade of action (2021-2030) and the emphasis is to scale-up the deployment of innovative clean energy technology and make clean energy affordable, attractive and accessible for all.
• This will accelerate progress towards the Paris Agreement goals and pathways to net zero.
• Both CEM and MI aim to share lessons learned and best practices to facilitate the transition to a global clean energy economy.

Prelims Factoids

Project Shivalik of BRO

 

What’s the NEWS

• Raksha Rajya Mantri visited the Headquarters, Project Shivalik of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand on May 25, 2023.
• BRO is the only agency that successfully completed ordered down-gradation and scrapping of vintage vehicles, becoming the first and only government organisation to achieve the target.

Know! about BRO

• The BRO was formed on 7 May 1960 to secure India’s borders and develop infrastructure in remote areas of the north and north-east states of the country.
• The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Defence, Government of India.
• BRO develops and maintains road networks in India’s border areas and friendly neighboring countries.
• This includes infrastructure operations in 19 states and three union territories (including Andaman and Nicobar Islands) and neighboring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Tajikistan and Sri Lanka.
• BRO is also tasked with maintaining this infrastructure including operations such as snow clearance.
• BRO set a Guinness World Record in November 2021 for the “highest altitude road” at Umling La.
• BRO has been instrumental in constructing some of the great Engineering Marvels
• like Atal Tunnel, Atal setu, Col Chewang Rinchen Setu to name a few.
• BRO has been entirely brought under the Ministry of Defence in 2015.
• Earlier it received funds from the Ministry of Surface Transport under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
• In order to ensure coordination and expeditious execution of projects, the Government of India set up the Border Roads Development Board (BRDB) with the prime minister as chairman of the board and with the defence minister as deputy chairman.

Governance

SAMARTH campaign to promote digital transactions at Gram Panchayat Level

 

What’s the NEWS

• Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Giriraj Singh launched the ‘Campaign on Promoting Digital Transactions in 50000 Gram Panchayats’ under the AmritMahotsav in Lucknow

Know! about the campaign

• The Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India is running a “Campaign on Promoting Digital Transactions in 50000 Gram Panchayats” which started from 1^st February 2023 and will continue till 15 August 2023 under the AzadiKaAmritMahotsav.
• The key thrust of the campaign is to promote Digital Transactions in rural areas, particularly among women. 

Government Schemes

Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development (REWARD) program.

 

What’s the NEWS

• The Secretary, Department of Land Resources (DoLR), reviewed the Implementation Support Mission of World Bank Assisted Rejuvenating Watersheds for Agricultural Resilience through Innovative Development (REWARD) program.

Know! about REWARD

• REWARD is a World Bank assisted Watershed development program which is being implemented from 2021 to 2026.
• The Development Objectives of REWARD program is to “Strengthen capacities of National and State institutions to adopt improved watershed management for increasing farmers resilience and support value chains in selected watersheds of participating States”.
• The program is being implemented to introduce modern watershed practices in the Department of Land Resources in the Ministry of Rural Development and in the States of Karnataka and Odisha.

REWARD Project Benefits

• The project will directly address key strategic actions around agricultural and rural development, including doubling farmers’ incomes, more crop per drop, water to every plot, soil health, and promotion of entrepreneurship through technical and financial support for better delivery and impacts through improved planning approaches, capacity building, coordination and convergence, and supportive research and development.
• The outcomes are prevention of soil run-off, regeneration of natural vegetation, rain water harvesting and recharging of the ground water table.
• This enables multi-cropping and the introduction of diverse agro-based activities, which help to provide sustainable livelihoods to the people residing in the watershed area.

Objective

• To improve land and water conservation and climate resilience in selected watersheds, and strengthen capacities of national and state institutions to deliver more effective science-based watershed development programs.

Infrastructure Development

India’s longest sea bridge Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL)

 

What’s the NEWS

• The Prime Minister, expressed his happiness over India’s longest sea bridge Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL)

Mumbai Trans Harbour Link

• India’s longest sea bridge, the under-construction Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), will be the first sea bridge in India to have an Open Road Tolling (ORT) system, allowing commuters to drive past the toll booth at speeds of up to 100kmph without slowing down to pay the toll charge.
• This bridge will connect Mumbai to the mainland with a commute time of 12 to 15 minutes
• MTHL aims to connect Mumbai with Navi Mumbai, the financial capital’s satellite city, in order to mitigate traffic congestion and promote economic development.
• The bridge will begin in Sewri, South Mumbai, will cross Thane Creek north of Elephanta Island, and will terminate at Chirle near Nhava Sheva.
• The Mumbai Trans Harbour Link will be the longest sea bridge in the country with a total stretch of 16.5 km above the sea.

KEEP Learning KEEP Evolving

TEAM CL/GKP