1. INCOIS Brings out Coastal Vulnerability Index
Tags: National News
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad has brought out the Coastal Vulnerability Index(CVI).
The Coastal Vulnerability Index ranks the coastal areas of the States /Union Territories on the basis of physical and geological risk they face if there is rise in sea level in future.
To prepare the Index, INCOIS used various parameters. The parameters were selected on the basis of the change expected in the coastal area when the sea level rises. These parameters are based on :
Tidal range;
Wave height;
Coastal slope;
Coastal elevation;
Shoreline change rate;
Geomorphology; and
Historical rate of relative sea-level change,
Risk assessment of the coastal states
According to the CVI the States/Union Territories which are going to be affected are as follows
Gujarat’s 124 coastal km or 5.36 % of its coastal area is going to get affected , similarly
Maharashtra 11 km or 1.22%
Karnataka & Goa 48 km or 9.54% each ,
Kerala 15 km or 2.39%,
Tamil Nadu 65 km or 6.38%,
Andhra Pradesh 6 km or 0.55 %,
Odisha 37 km or 7.51%
West Bengal 49 km or 2.56%,
Lakshadweep Islands 1 km or 0.81%,
Andaman Islands 24 km or 0.96 km and Nicobar Islands 8 km or 0.97%.
INCOIS
Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services was established as an autonomous body in 1999 under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and is a unit of the Earth System Science Organisation (ESSO).
Functions :
It issues alerts on Tsunami, storm,high waves alerts etc.
It provides information to the fisherman on areas having abundant fish in the ocean.
Headquarter : Hyderabad
Facts
India has a coastline of 7516.6 Km.
It has 6100 km of mainland coastline plus a coastline of 1416.6Km of 1197 Indian islands .
Serial no | State/Union Territories | Length of coastline (in km) |
1 | Andaman and Nicobar | 1962.0 |
2 | Gujarat | 1214.7 |
3 | Andhra Pradesh | 973.7 |
4 | Tamil Nadu | 906.9 |
5 | Maharashtra | 652.6 |
6 | Kerala | 569.7 |
7 | Odisha | 476.4 |
8 | Karnataka | 280.0 |
9 | West Bengal | 157.5 |
10 | Lakshadweep Islands | 132.0 |
11 | Goa | 105 |
12 | Daman and Diu/Dadra Nagar Haveli | 54.50 |
13 | Puducherry | 30.6 |
Total Coastline | 7516.6 |
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs .
Important full form for EXAMS :
INCOIS: Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services
CVI : Coastal Vulnerability Index.
ESSO.: Earth System Science Organisation
2. Prime Minister address One Ocean Summit
Tags: National News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the One Ocean Summit organised by France at the French city of Brest on 11 February 2022.
The One Ocean Summit is being organised by France from 9 to 11 February 2022 in cooperation with the United Nations and the World Bank.
The objective of the Summit is to mobilise the international community to take tangible action towards preserving and supporting healthy and sustainable ocean ecosystems.
3. America is the biggest customer of ISRO
Tags: National News
Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) has launched 222 American satellites during 2016-17 to 2021-22.
The Government of India has informed the Parliament on 10 February 2022 that ISRO successfully launched 285 customer satellites from 29 foreign countries, on-board Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on commercial basis.
Country wise breakup of number of foreign satellites launched during 2016-17 to 2021-22:
Algeria (3), Australia (1), Austria (1), Belgium (3), Brazil (1), Canada (5), Chile (1), Colombia (1), Czech Republic (1), Finland (3), France (2), Germany (2), Indonesia (1), Israel (2), Italy (4), Japan (2), Kazakhstan (1), Latvia (1), Lithuania (7), Luxembourg (1), Malaysia (1), The Netherlands (2), Republic Of Korea (5), Slovakia (1), Spain (2), Switzerland (2), UAE (1), United Kingdom (6), USA (222).
ISRO
The Indian Space Research Organisation was founded on 15 August 1969.
It is the premier space agency in India
Its headquarters is at Bengaluru
It launches its rockets from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at SriHarikota , Andhra Pradesh.
Antrix Corporation
Antrix corporation was set up as a company owned by the Government of India in 1992.
It is a marketing company which promotes ISRO’s capabilities to launch satellites successfully at a low cost around the world . It brings foreign clients to India for launching their satellites through ISRO’s PSLV rockets .
NewSpace India Limited (NSIL)
To involve the Private sector in the space programme and to develop technologies and products for the world market, the government of India set up a new company NewSpace India Limited (NSIL).
It was set up in 2019 as a company owned by the Government of India under the administrative control of the Department of Space .
Unlike Antrix Corporation which is a pure marketing company NSIL will involve the Indian companies to develop technology and products for the foreign buyers.
4. Iran unveils a new missile that can hit US base and Israel
Tags: International News
Iran has claimed to develop a new missile, the Khaibar-buster. a reference to a Jewish castle overrun by Muslim warriors in the early days of Islam.
The missile has a range of 1,4500 km and uses solid fuel.
The missile can hit the United States military bases in the West Asian region and also deep inside its arch enemy Israel.
Islamic Republic of Iran
It is a muslim country in West Asia .
Capital : Tehran
Currency : Iranian Rial
President : Ebrahim Raisi
5. ICJ orders Uganda to pay $325m for Congo occupation
Tags: International News
- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has held Uganda guilty of occupying parts of Democratic Republic of Congo from 1998 to 2003.
Uganda was held responsible for the deaths of 10-15000 people in the eastern Ituri region of Congo and for looting its gold, diamonds and timber .
The ICJ has ordered Uganda to pay $ 325 million as compensation to Democratic Republic of Congo.
Congo filed a case against Uganda in 1999 for acts of armed aggression committed against it and its citizens. It accused Ugandan soldiers of looting and human rights violations.
The ICJ decision is final but it has no power to enforce its decision .
International Court of Justice (ICJ)
- The International Court of Justice is also called the World Court, and is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
- It was set up in 1945
- Its headquarters: The Hague, Netherlands .
- It hears cases relating to disputes between member countries but it has no power to enforce its decision.
Uganda
- It is a landlocked country in Eastern Africa. It is the second most populous landlocked country after Ethiopia in the world .
- Capital : Kampala
- Currency : Ugandan Shilling
Democratic Republic of Congo
- It is located in Central Africa . It is the second largest country in Africa after Algeria .
- Capital : Kinshasa. It is on the bank of River Congo
- Congo is the only river in the world to cross the equator twice .
- Currency : Congo franc
6. Atal Tunnel is the world's longest tunnel above 10,000 feet
Tags: National News
- The United Kingdom based “World Books of Records” has officially recognised Atal Tunnel as the “World's longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 feet above the mean seal level .”
The Atal tunnel is 9.02 kilometres long and it runs under the Rohtang pass on the Manali-Leh Highway.
It is at a height of 10,171 feet and it was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3 October 2020.
It has been constructed by the Border Road Organisation which comes under the Ministry of Defence .
It has reduced the distance between Manali(Himachal Pradesh) and Sarchu(Leh) by 46 km and travel time by four to five hours .
It is an all weather road of strategic significance for the Indian Army as it opens an alternative route to ladakh for the Army.
Manali- Leh Highway
It is part of the National Highway 3 which starts from Attari in Punjab to Leh in Ladakh through Manali .
The Manali-Leh highway is 427.7 Km long .It has 178 Km in Himachal Pradesh after the opening of the Atal Tunnel and 250 Km in Ladakh .
Sarchu in Ladakh is the major halt point at the boundary of the Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh.
7. India Bans the Import Of Drones
Tags: National News
Government of India has banned the import of drones in India to protect and encourage the domestic industry
The notification was issued by the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 9 february 2022.
However the government has allowed the import of drones and its components for Research and Development (R & D), Defence and Security purposes.
The import of drones will require the prior permission of the Government.
However the import of drones components will not require any permission from the Government of India.
Government Steps for Promotion of Drone Industry In India Drone Shakti
- In the Union Budget 2022-23 the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Drone Shakti project of the government of India to promote startups.
- Start ups will be encouraged by the government to develop and manufacture drones in India so that the demands of drones in various sectors can be met indigenously .
- It announced a PLI(Productivity Linked Insurance ) scheme for the drone sector in September 2021 to encourage its manufacturing in India.
Kisan Drone
In the 2022-23 budget, Sitharaman also announced "Kisan Drones" the use of drones in spraying of insecticides and nutrients, and crop assessment, to help the farm community.
What is a Drone
Drones are also called pilotless aircraft or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). It means it is not flown by humans but is remotely controlled by the humans. It is equipped with infrared cameras, GPS and laser. It is used in Space ,in the military, for transporting goods, for spraying insecticides for land mapping etc .
8. Number of LWE districts declines in India
Tags: National News
- The Government of India has informed the Rajya Sabha on 9 February 2022 that the number of the Left Wing Extremist(LWE) affected districts India has declined from from 96 in 2020 to 46 in 2021.
- The incidence of violence has been reduced by 70% to 509 in 2021 as compared to the 2018-19 period . The number of deaths has also come down to 147 in 2021 from 1005 in 2020.
Left Wing Extremist (LWE)
- Groups which are influenced by the ideology of Mao are called as Maoist /Naxal or left wing extremists in India. Mao was the leader of the Chinese communist party who set up the Modern People's Republic of China in 1949 after an armed revolution. It is based on communist ideology .
- Similarly people or groups like Communist Party of India (Maoist) want to overthrow the government set up in India after 1950 through an armed insurgency just like Mao did in China and set up a communist government in India .
Red Corridor
- The area where the left wing extremists are active is also called the Red Corridor .
- It is mainly active in the States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala.
Specialised Anti Left Wing Extremist (Naxal/Maoist) Forces
Special units have been raised in India to combat the threat of the left wing extremist in India.
Some of the important ones are :
COBRA of CRPF
Central Reserve Police Force has raised a specialised unit COBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) for jungle warfare .
GreyHound
It is a specialised unit of both the Andhra Pradesh Police and Telangana Police to fight against the Left Wing Extremist active in their respective states.
Black Panther
It is a special unit of the Chhattisgarh Police to fight against the left wing extremist.
Special Operation Group (SOG)
It is the special force set up by the Odisha police to deal with Left wing extremist problems .
9. Western Railways’ Mumbai Division operate 100th Textile Express
Tags: National News
The 100th Textile express was flagged off from the Chalthan (Surat area )in the Mumbai Central Division of the Western Railways to Sankrail (Kharagpur Division) of the South- Eastern Railway.
- The first Textile express train was launched on 1 September 2021 by the Union Minister of State for Railways and Textiles Smt. Darshana Jardosh from Udhna (Surat ) to Danapur near Patna and Ram Dayalu Nagar near Muzaffarpur in Bihar.
Textile express trains are special goods trains of Indian Railways which were launched to carry the textile material from Surat, Gujarat to various parts of India. It was launched to provide a cost efficient transportation of Textile materials to various parts of countries from the textile hubs of Surat.
Transportation of goods through railways is more economical than the road sector .
The Gujarati city of Surat is famous for its textile industries . It is also known as the Diamond city of the world as around 90%of the world's rough diamond cutting and polishing is done in Surat.
Other Special Train of Railways
Indian Railways has also launched a special Kisan train for transportation of perishable agricultural commodities like fruits,vegetables,meat,poultry, fishery and dairy products.
The first kisan train was launched on 7 August 2020 from Devlali (Maharashtra) to Danapur (Bihar).
The 100th Kisan Rail was run on 28 December 2020 from Sangola (Maharashtra) to Shalimar (WestBengal).
10. Sri Lanka Foreign Minister G.L Peiris visit India
Tags: International News
Sri Lankan foreign Minister G.L Peiris was on a three day state visit to India from 6 to 8 February 2022.
It was his first Indian visit after assuming office ,he met Indian Foreign Minister Mr. S. Jaishankar ,the Indian Foreign Secretary Mr. Harsh Vardhan Shringla and the National Security Advisor Mr Ajit Kumar Doval.
Both countries agreed to schedule a meeting of the “Joint Working Group on Fisheries” to discuss the Palk Bay fisheries conflict.
Sri Lanka, which is facing a severe economic crisis has been helped by India recently . They are :
India has extended a $400 million currency swap facility to Sri Lanka
, It has deferred a $500 million loan repayment by Sri Lanka,
It has provided a Line of Credit for $500 million for fuel imports and another $1 billion is currently under negotiation.
