Swachh Vayu Survekshan Award
09-09-2024
08:10 AM
1 min read
Overview:
Recently, the union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change presented the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan award 2024 on the occasion of International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies.
About Swachh Vayu Survekshan Award:
- It is an initiative by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to rank cities on the basis of implementation of activities approved under the city action plan and air quality in 130 NCAP cities.
- In September 2022, the MoEF&CC released guidelines on ‘Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan- Ranking of Cities’ under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
- The aim of launching Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan is to give a ranking to 130 cities in the country for implementing City Action Plans prepared as part of NCAP for reducing air pollution up to 40% by 2025-26.
- Objectives
- To create awareness among all sections of the society
- Inform citizens about the health impacts related due to exposure
- Comparing air quality conditions at different locations/cities
- To achieve the goal of NCAP “Clean air for all”.
- All 130 cities covered under NCAP are assessed based on information submitted under ranking framework by cities/ULBs on PRANA portal (dashboard to capture progress under NCAP programme).
- Swachh Vayu Survekshan Awards 2024 were presented to the best performing NCAP cities under
- Category-1 (population over 10 Lakhs) to Surat, Jabalpur, and Agra;
- Category-2 (population between 3 and 10 Lakhs) to Firozabad, Amravati, and Jhansi; and
- Category-3 (population under 3 Lakhs) to Raebareli, Nalgonda, and Nalagarh.
Q1: What is the National Clean Air Programme?
It is a long-term, time-bound, national level strategy to tackle the air pollution problem across the country in a comprehensive manner. Objectives: Stringently implementing mitigation measures to prevent, control, and abate air pollution. Strengthening an air quality monitoring network across the country.
What is BepiColombo?
08-09-2024
06:30 PM
1 min read
Overview:
Recently, the BepiColombo spacecraft gave scientists their first clear view of Mercury’s south pole.
About BepiColombo spacecraft:
- It is a joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission to Mercury.
- The mission was named after Giuseppe "Bepi" Colombo, an Italian mathematician and engineer who made significant contributions to the understanding of Mercury's orbit.
- It was launched on October 20, 2018 and it is an ambitious and complex mission designed to study Mercury's surface, composition, magnetic field, and its interaction with the solar environment.
- The BepiColombo spacecraft consists of two main components:
- Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO): The MPO is primarily provided by ESA and is responsible for mapping and studying Mercury's surface, as well as its composition and topography.
- Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO): The MMO is provided by JAXA and focuses on studying Mercury's magnetic field and magnetosphere.
- Objectives:
- Investigating Mercury's surface and composition to better understand its geological history and formation processes.
- Studying Mercury's magnetic field and magnetosphere to gain insights into its internal structure and how it interacts with the solar wind.
- Measuring Mercury's exosphere (a thin atmosphere) and understanding its composition and dynamics.
- Conducting experiments to test certain principles of general relativity and improve our understanding of gravity.
Q1: What is the exosphere?
It is an atmosphere so thin that its few atoms or molecules are unlikely to collide with one another. In Earth's atmosphere, the exosphere is the highest part of the atmosphere where the density of gas molecules is very low.
Source: Explained: The significance of the first clear images of Mercury’s South Pole
Key Facts about Poltava
09-09-2024
08:10 AM
1 min read
About Poltava:
- It is a city in east-central Ukraine.
- It is located 300 kilometres (189 miles) east of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.
- It lies along the Vorskla River.
- History:
- Archaeological evidence dates the city from the 8th to the 9th century, although the first documentary reference is from 1174, when it was variously known as Oltava or Ltava.
- Destroyed by the Tatars in the early 13th century, it was the centre of a Cossack regiment by the 17th century.
- Battle of Poltava: In 1709, Peter I the Great inflicted a crushing defeat on Charles XII of Sweden outside Poltava after Charles had laid siege to the town for three months in the Great Northern War.
- The battle ended Sweden’s status as a major power and marked the beginning of Russian supremacy in eastern Europe.
- The modern city of Poltava is largely new, having been reconstructed after it suffered severe damage during World War II.
- It is the focus of a fertile agricultural region and has a range of industries processing farm produce.
Q1: Which all countries border Ukraine?
Ukraine is bordered by Belarus to the north, Russia to the east, the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea to the south, Moldova and Romania to the southwest, and Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland to the west.
Source: Ukraine says soldiers among 51 killed in Poltava missile attack
Teal Carbon
09-09-2024
08:10 AM
1 min read
Overview:
India’s first study on ‘teal carbon’, undertaken at Keoladeo National Park (KNP) in Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district, has highlighted the significance of wetland conservation to address the challenges of climate adaptation and resilience.
About Teal Carbon:
- It refers to carbon stored in non-tidal fresh water wetlands, encompassing carbon sequestered in vegetation, microbial biomass, and dissolved and particulate organic matter.
- These ecosystems are considered to be more effective at carbon capture and storage than terrestrial forest ecosystems, and can store and sequester more carbon than any other type of terrestrial ecosystem.
- The concept of teal carbon is a recent addition to the environmental science pertaining to organic carbon in inland fresh wetlands.
- It is a colour-based terminology that reflects the classification of the organic carbon based on its functions and location rather than its physical properties.
- At the global level, the storage of teal carbon across the ecosystems is estimated to be 500.21 petagrams of carbon (PgC), which is a unit to measure carbon.
- Major sources of Teal carbon: Peatlands, freshwater swamps, and natural freshwater marshes account for a significant amount of this storage.
- Threats: Though these wetlands play a crucial role in regulating greenhouse gases, they are vulnerable to degradation from pollution, land use changes, water extraction, and landscape modifications.
Q1: What are Peatlands?
Peatlands are terrestrial wetland ecosystems in which waterlogged conditions prevent plant material from fully decomposing. Consequently, the production of organic matter exceeds its decomposition, which results in a net accumulation of peat.
Curcuma ungmensis
09-09-2024
08:10 AM
1 min read
Overview:
Researchers have identified a new ‘cousin’ of the turmeric, thanks to a serendipitous discovery during a field trip in Nagaland.
About Curcuma ungmensis:
- It belongs to the genus Curcuma (the ginger family Zingiberaceae).
- It has been given the name Curcuma ungmensis after Ungma, the village in Mokokchung district where it was found.
- Botanically it is a rhizomatous herb. The rhizome (subterranean stem) part is branched and found deeply buried in the soil. The species could be ideal for gardens.
- It can be introduced in gardens as an ornamental plant for ground cover after proper domestication,
- Flowering occurs during the rainy season from August to October. The flowers open in the morning and last a single day.
- Threats: It faces “severe threat” from a variety of sources, including road development, building construction and natural calamities.
- The family Zingiberaceae has 21 genera and about 200 taxa in India.
- Curcuma is one of the most important and largest genera of this plant family, the best known being turmeric (Curcuma longa), black turmeric (Curcumacaesia) and mango ginger (Curcuma amada).
- Curcuma is widely distributed in south and southeast Asia and south China. A few species are also found in northern Australia and the south Pacific.
- In India, the genus is represented by about 40 species, found mainly in northeast and southern States and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Q1: What are Rhizome plants?
These are horizontal underground plant stems capable of producing the shoot and root systems of a new plant. Rhizomes are used to store starches and proteins and enable plants to perennate (survive an annual unfavourable season) underground.
Source: Researchers discover new species of genus Curcuma in Nagaland
What is Sugamya Bharat App?
09-09-2024
08:10 AM
1 min read
Overview:
More than 1,400 complaints related to accessibility have been lodged through the Sugamya Bharat mobile application since its launch in 2021, with approximately 75 percent of those resolved, according to official data.
About Sugamya Bharat App:
- It is an initiative of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD),Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
- Designed to aid people with disabilities and the elderly, the Sugamya Bharat app allows users to report accessibility problems in public infrastructure, transportation, and buildings.
- Objectives:
- Identification of issues/complaints from the public related to accessibility at public places (Need to capture location of the place through Google Maps).
- Uploading geotagged pictures: To understand and identify which type of public place is having issues related to accessibility for disabled people.
- Any person facing difficulty or issue related to accessibility in India can raise their concerns/grievances on the App.
- Only accessibility related issues pertaining to Buildings, Transportation System and ICT (websites and TV viewing) can be registered at App.
- Complaints are filed by uploading photos, which are then forwarded to relevant authorities.
- To enhance the app's features, the government plans to redesign it with AI capabilities.
- The upgraded version will include an AI-powered chatbot and multilingual interface, improving its overall functionality.
- A partnership has been established with the NGO Mission Accessibility and the research institute I-STEM to develop the AI-enabled app.
Q1: What is Geotagging?
Geotagging is a process of assigning a 'geo-tag' or adding some 'geographical information' in various 'media' forms such as a digital photograph, video or even in a SMS message.
Source: Over 1.4K accessibility complaints filed on govt app, 75% solved: Data
What is Fath-360 Missile?
09-09-2024
08:10 AM
1 min read
Overview:
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Iran has delivered short-range ballistic missiles, including the Fath-360, to Russia.
About Fath-360 Missile:
- The Fath-360, or Fateh-360, is an Iranian short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) known for its precision and mobility.
- It is designed to carry out tactical strikes against various targets, including military installations and infrastructure.
- Features:
- Launch weight: 787 kilograms
- It travels at speeds ranging from Mach 3 to 4.
- It equipped with a solid-fuel engine, which allows for rapid deployment and quick launch times, making it a highly effective weapon on the battlefield.
- It has a range of approximately 120 to 300 kilometers.
- It carries a 150-kilogram warhead.
- It also boasts a relatively small and maneuverable design, making it more difficult for air defense systems to intercept.
- The guidance system consists of a combination of inertial guidance system and satellite navigation to achieve an accuracy of 30 m.
- The Fath-360 missile system utilizes a truck-mounted Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) designed to carry and launch multiple missiles.
Q1: What are Ballistic Missiles?
A ballistic missile is a rocket-propelled, self-guided strategic-weapons system that follows a ballistic trajectory to deliver a payload from its launch site to a predetermined target. They are powered initially by a rocket or series of rockets in stages, but then follow an unpowered trajectory that arches upwards before descending to reach its intended target. They can carry conventional high explosives as well as chemical, biological, or nuclear munitions. They can be launched from aircraft, ships, and submarines, in addition to land-based silos and mobile platforms.
Download PDF
Share this article
