15/11/2019 : Prelims Sure Shot
Govt. to set up northeast industrial corridor
What’s in News?
- Defence Minister, in his address at the 11th Maitree Diwas Celebrations at Tawang, said that the Centre plans to set up a northeast industrial corridor, with the Arunachal corridor acting as a bridge between India and Southeast Asia.
Significance:
- The corridor will be set up, in a bid to provide employment opportunities and promote trade and tourism in the region.
- Inadequate infrastructure and poor connectivity in India’s north-east are major constraints to development in the region. A host of infrastructure corridor projects are likely to improve the economic and strategic importance of the North-East.
- It is also expected to give a fillip to trade and tourism.
Tiger Triumph’ gets off to a grand start
What’s in News?
- The maiden edition of the Tri-Services India-U.S. Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Amphibious Exercise named ‘Tiger Triumph’ got off to a grand start in Visakhapatnam.
Chandrayaan 3: India’s 2nd attempt to land on Moon by November 2020
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced their intention to send a second mission to soft-land on the Moon planned for November 2020 dubbed as Chandrayaan 3 mission.
- The Indian Space Agency’s first and recent attempt went awry on 7 September 2019 and resulted in a partial failure of Chandrayaan 2 mission after communication was lost with mission’s lander (Vikram) and rover (Pragyan) which crash-landed on Moon while attempting a soft-landing.
- However, the Chandrayaan 2 mission is still survived by the Orbiter which has captured highest resolution visuals ever taken of Moon by its High-Resolution Camera (OHRC) from an altitude of ~100 km.
About Chandrayaan 3 Mission
- Chandrayaan 3 will not feature an orbiter of its own: For the new mission, engineers and scientists at Indian space agency will only design and build an entirely new lander and rover. Since Chandrayaan 2 mission already has a functional orbiter that is currently in orbit around Moon, Chandrayaan 3 will not feature an orbiter of its own. However, no final decision has been taken by ISRO on the number of payloads on the lander.
- Additional ‘Detachable Module’: The lander and rover will be accompanied by an additional ‘detachable module’ that packs engine and fuel needed for journey and this module will tentatively be called ‘Propulsion Module’.
- The Chandrayaan 3 mission will also feature fewer orbital manoeuvers than Chandrayaan 2, which had a total of 6 orbit raises around Earth and the Moon.
UNESCO’s World Heritage Week
- World Heritage Week is celebrated by UNESCO between November 19, 2019 and November 25, 2019. The Objective of celebrating World Heritage Week is to increase awareness among people about safety and preservation of cultural heritages and monuments.
UNESCO Heritage sites in India
- There are 37 UNSECO World Heritage sites in India. It includes 29 cultural site, 7 natural sites and 1 mixed site.
India’s plans
- Several schools and colleges are celebrating World Heritage Week in India by organizing quiz and painting competitions. The Archaeological Survey of India and several other museums are organizing heritage programs highlighting the significance of the ancient monuments and their preservation
- The heritage sites celebrating the week includes Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Delhi Red Fort, Delhi Darwaza, Bhadra Gate, etc.
Significance
- A great effort was made by the National Research Laboratory for Conservation, Lucknow to save the stone structure of Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi. It was built by the Maharani Ahilya Bai Holkar in 1777.
- It is important to respect and protect such heritages of the country. The week celebration instills sense of safety and preservation of the monuments across the country.
UNICEF Report: India Second largest in Pneumonia deaths
- On November 14, 2019, United Nations’ new report on Pneumonia stated that India has the second largest deaths of children under the age of five due to Pneumonia in 2018. Globally more than 800,000 children died due to Pneumonia under the age of 5.
- The report stated that though the disease is preventable through vaccines, more than 10 million die annually due to the disease
Highlights
- The five countries that were responsible for more than half of child deaths due to Pneumonia were Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia
- Pneumonia is responsible for 15% of deaths in children under 5.
- The report named the disease as “Forgotten Epidemic”
- Around half of pneumonia deaths are associated with air pollution
Highlights: Causes
The report mentions the following as the causes of Pneumonia in children under the age of 5
- Inadequate Health Care
- Lack of access to drinking water
- Indoor Air Pollution
- Burden of undernutrition
Highlights: Suggestions
- Increased investments to fight against the disease
- Strong Global Commitment and an integrated platform. Countries should come together to exchange ideas and pneumonia eradication measures
Indo-French collaboration: Largest FDI project of Indian Railways
- The Indian Railways and Alstom came together in the intention of transforming the freight transportation of India. In line with the collaboration, the MELPM-Madhepura Electric Locomotive Private Limited has been established. MELPM will now manufacture 800 electric locomotives for freight services with the foreign investment of 3.5 billion Euros.
Highlights
- The locomotives including the bogies have been redesigned
- Under the agreement, around 10 locomotives are to be delivered by the end of 2019-20 financial year and 100 locomotives by the end of March 2021
- A factory along with township has been set up as part of the project in Madhepura, Bihar. The factory can manufacture 120 locomotives per year.
- More than 300 engineers from India and France are working on the project currently
Significance
- More than 90% of the parts of the locomotives are to be manufactured in India. This is being done under Make in India initiative
- The project under the Corporate Social Responsibility initiative will set up skill centers that will impart training to local people
- More than 50% jobs are allocated to the locals of the region.
Benefits
- As the locomotives are 100% electrified it will not only bring down operational cost but will also reduce congestion faced by the railways
11th Maitree Diwas: North East Industrial Corridor to be set up
- Defense Minister on November 14, 2019 addressed at the 11th Maitree Diwas in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. During his address, he announced several new plans of the government to develop the region
Government new plans
- Government plans to set up a North East Industrial Corridor. It will help create job opportunities for the people in the North East
- The Arunachal Corridor, in specific will act as a bridge between India and South East Asia
- The corridor will help boost employment opportunities and promote trade and tourism
- Government is implementing the “Act East Policy” through development of North East India
- Hollongi Airport is to be set up near Itanagar. Also, three major strategic railway lines are to be established
- Government plans all weather connectivity to the local population. The connectivity will also facilitate the movement of armed forces.
- The plans are to be executed by 2024.
Maitree Diwas
- Maitree Diwas is a 2-day socio-military cultural program that is jointly organized by Tawang Civil Administration and Indian Army. The program is organized to celebrate special relationship between the people of Tawang and the Indian army. This year, the theme was
- Theme: Know your army.
- The objective of the event is to encourage the youths to join armed forces
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