Facts in News

July 17, 2021

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Facts in News
Hubble Telescope	Recently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has planned to fix a glitch in the Hubble space telescope, which is currently running in “safe mode”. It was launched and deployed in April 1990 and is named after the astronomer Edwin Hubble and is the first major optical telescope to be placed in space. It has made groundbreaking discoveries in the field of astronomy since its launch. It has a 7.9 feet mirror and captures images of deep space playing a major role in helping astronomers understand the universe by observing the most distant stars, galaxies and planets. It was put out of action after a problem appeared with its payload computer and the safe mode was activated leading to all non-essential systems being shut down, stopping all astronomy observations. Major Discoveries 07/12/1995: Snapped the ‘Southern Ring Nebula’, which showed a bright white star and a fainter dull star at the centre of the nebula where the dull star was creating the whole nebula. 15/02/1998: Snapped the collusion of two dwarf galaxies leading to formation of a new star. 10/04/1999: Captured colourful patterns of gases in a black hole powered galaxy known as the ‘Circinus Galaxy’. These gases depicted a cauldron of vapours, concentrated in two disks of the galaxy. 11/07/2000: Captured collision between galaxies UGC 06471 and UGC 06472, 145 million light-years away, leading to formation of a larger galaxy. 23/09/2010: Clicked ‘Galaxy ESO 243-49, which had a medium-sized black hole. The 20,000 suns sized black hole was positioned on a glacial plane of the galaxy. 25/06/2011: Snapped Neptune, the most distant planet, relieving formation of high-altitude clouds composed of methane ice crystals. 06/03/2012: ‘Beta Pictoris’ star’s disc was found to be constituted by two planets, light-scattering dust and debris. 23/05/2013: Captured ‘Galaxy Cluster Abell 2744’, 3.5 billion light-years away, which poses a strong gravitational field acting as a lens to reflect the light of almost 3,000 background galaxies. 19/10/2014: Captured an encounter of a comet named C/2013 A1 with Mars. The ‘Comet Siding Spring’ passed with a distance of just 87,000 miles to that of Mars. 25/11/2014: Captured ‘Gum 29’, a vibrant stellar being ground, consisting of a giant cluster of 3,000 stars. This behemoth cluster of stars is called ‘Westerlund 2’. 26/01/2016: Captured the disintegration of an ancient comet 332P/Ikeya-Murakami (one of the clearest views of a breaking icy comet). 25/08/2017: Snapped Triangulum Galaxy depicting the specific areas of star birth with a bright blue light spreading across the galaxy in nebulas of hot gas. (Image Courtesy: AN)
Kisan Sarathi	Recently, a digital platform with the name Kisan Sarathi has been launched on the occasion of 93^rd Foundation Day of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It has been jointly launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. It aims to facilitate farmers to get the right information at the right time in their desired language. It will empower farmers with the technological interventions to reach farmers in remote areas. With the digital platform, the farmers can interact and avail personalised advisories on agriculture and allied areas directly from the respective scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs). KVKs are an agricultural extension centre in India, usually associated with a local agricultural university. The KVK scheme is 100% financed by the Government of India. The first KVK was established in 1974 at Puducherry. The initiative will be highly valuable not only in addressing the location specific information needs of the farmers but also in Agricultural Extension, Education and Research activities of ICAR. Indian Council of Agricultural Research It is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. It was established on 16^th July 1929 as Imperial Council of Agricultural Research, a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 in pursuance of the report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture. Headquarters: New Delhi. It is the apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country. It has played a pioneering role in ushering in the Green Revolution, promoting excellence in higher education in agriculture, etc. making a visible impact on the national food and nutritional security.
UDAN Scheme	Recently, the Union Minister of Civil Aviation has virtually flagged off 8 new routes from Madhya Pradesh to Maharashtra and Gujarat to bolster regional air connectivity under Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) Scheme. It was launched as a regional connectivity scheme under the Ministry of Civil Aviation in 2016. The first flight under the UDAN scheme was flagged in 2017 from Bhubaneswar to the Varanasi route. It offers a unique opportunity to a common man to fly at an affordable price. It has played a major role in adding new airports and routes to the aviation landscape of the country. The 4^th round of UDAN was launched in December 2019 with a special focus on North-Eastern Regions, Hilly States, and Islands. The UDAN 4.1 is focused on connecting smaller airports, along with a special helicopter and seaplane routes. The scheme intends to boost inclusive national economic growth, employment opportunities, and air transport infrastructure development across the nation.
Gecko Species	Recently, Odisha’s forest officials have announced measures to preserve the newly discovered tiny gecko species of the genus Hemiphyllodactylus. About This species was first spotted in the Ganjam district of Odisha in 2014, it is also called Ganjam Slender Gecko. It is the species of Hemiphyllodactylus minimus which is the smallest member of the genus. It is the first non-island species of the genus which is distributed in lowland habitats, the second from the northeastern ghats and 41st globally. Geckos Geckos are reptiles and are found on all the continents except Antarctica. These colourful lizards have adapted to habitats from rain forests to deserts, to cold mountain slopes. Geckos are usually nocturnal reptiles with soft skin. They also possess a short stout body, a large head, and typically well-developed limbs. Geckos Species in India Indian golden gecko or Beddome’s golden gecko: It is native to India, known only from the Eastern Ghats of India. It is listed in Schedule 1 of WPA (Wildlife Protection Act). Bent-toed geckos: Recently, a new gecko species which belongs to the genus Cyrtodactylus was discovered from Arunachal Pradesh. Tokay Gecko: These are widespread in the Indo-Malayan region. It is listed in Schedule IV of WPA (Wildlife Protection Act).
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)	The Central government on Thursday extended the cut-off date for enrolment of farmers under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana from July 15 to July 23. About The Maharashtra government had requested to extend the deadline of the PM’s Crop Insurance scheme PMFBY till July 23. As per the Maharashtra government, 46 lakh farmers have applied for the scheme, but many of them are yet to complete enrolment formalities. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana About: It was launched on 13th January 2016, in line with the One Nation-One Scheme theme, covering over 5.5 crore farmer applications year on year. This scheme replaced two schemes called National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS). The Scheme shall be implemented on an ‘Area Approach basis’ i.e., Defined Areas for each notified crop for widespread calamities. Objectives: To provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crops as a result of natural calamities, pests & diseases. To stabilise the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming. To encourage farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices. To ensure the flow of credit to the agriculture sector. Implemented by: It shall be implemented through a multi-agency framework by selected insurance companies under the overall guidance & control of the Department of Agriculture and state government. Key Provisions: There is no upper limit on Government subsidies. The premium rates to be paid by farmers are very low and the balance premium is paid by the Government to provide the full insured amount to the farmers. The prescribed premium is 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all rabi crops. In the case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, the premium is 5%. Premium cost over and above the farmer share is equally subsidised by the States and the Center. However, the Centre’s share is 90% of the premium subsidy for the Northeastern States to promote the uptake in the region. Beneficiary: All farmers growing notified crops in a notified area during the season who have an insurable interest in the crop are eligible. The scheme is made voluntary for all farmers. Achievements Claims worth Rs. 90,000 crore have so far been disbursed to farmers since the launch of the scheme. The Aadhaar seeding has helped in speedy claim settlement directly into the farmer accounts. Even during the Covid-19 lockdown period, nearly 70 lakh farmers benefitted and claims worth Rs. 8,741.30 crore were transferred.
MH-60r Multi Role Helicopters (MRH)	Indian Navy accepted the first two of its MH-60R Multi-Role Helicopters (MRH) from the US Navy in a ceremony held at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego. About MH-60R helicopters are all-weather helicopters designed to support multiple missions with state of the art avionics/ sensors. The helicopters would also be modified with several unique equipment and weapons. Significance: The induction of the all-weather multi-role helicopters is an important milestone in India-US bilateral defence ties. It will provide India with the capability to perform anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions along with the ability to perform secondary missions including vertical replenishment, search and rescue, and communications relay. Other Defence Deals C-17 Globemaster III for military transport Boeing’s Chinook CH-47 as heavy-lift helicopters Boeing’s Apache as tank-killers P-8I Poseidon for overland reconnaissance Lockheed Martin’s C-130J for airlifting troops. India- US Defence Ties In 2016, the US had designated India a “Major Defence Partner” intending to elevate defence trade and technology sharing to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners. The agreements, General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), LEMOA, Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and BECA, are referred to as the foundational agreements which the US signs with countries with which it has close military ties. General Security of Military Information Agreement It was signed in 2002. It provides for specific measures to ensure security standards for safeguarding critical information shared by the US with India. Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement The two countries inked LEMOA in 2016. It allows their militaries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies as well as provide for deeper cooperation. This is not a basing agreement and is purely a logistical agreement. Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement Both countries signed it in 2018. It provides for interoperability between the two militaries and provides for the sale of high-end technology from the US to India. It is an India-specific version of the CISMOA. Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation It was signed in 2020. It gives India access to classified geospatial data as well as critical information having significant military applications from the US. The geospatial information will significantly improve the accuracy of India’s missiles for targeted precision strikes. Military Exercise: Malabar: Naval exercise among India, US and Japan. Yudh Abhyas: Army exercise between India and the US.