ISRO Missions and Discoveries

[pib] UVIT: India’s first multi-wavelength astronomical observatory

Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: UVIT
Mains level: Not Much
The satellite that detected the first extreme-UV rays in the Universe from the cosmic noon celebrated its 5th birthday today.

Try this PYQ:

Q.“Event Horizon” is related to:

(a) Telescope

(b) Black hole

(c) Solar glares

(d) None of the above

Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT)
- The UVIT is a remarkable 3-in-1 imaging telescope.
- Weighing all of 230 kg, the UVIT can simultaneously observe in the visible, the near-ultraviolet (NUV) and the far-ultraviolet (FUV).
- UVIT comprises of two separate telescopes. One of them works in the visible (320-550 nm) and the NUV (200-300 nm).
- The second works only in the FUV (130-180 nm).
Its achievement
- It has carried out 1166 observations of 800 unique celestial sources proposed by scientists both from India and abroad.
- It has explored stars, star clusters, mapping of the large and small satellite galaxies nearby to our own Milky Way galaxy called the Magellanic Clouds.
- It is an energetic phenomenon in the Universe such as the ultra-violet counterparts to gamma-ray bursts, supernovae, active galactic nuclei, and so on.
- Its superior spatial resolution capability has enabled astronomers to probe star formation in galaxies as well as resolve the cores of star clusters (3 times better than the last NASA mission, GALEX).
- Observations from UVIT has recently led to the discovery of a galaxy located at a distance of about 10 billion light-years from Earth and emitting extreme ultraviolet radiation that can ionize the intergalactic medium.
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Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

Eden Gardens: India’s oldest cricketing ground

Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Eden Gardens
Mains level: NA
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in TH.

UPSC may ask a question like this:

Q. In which Governor-General/Viceroy’s term was the famous cricketing ground ‘Eden Gardens’ was built?

Eden Gardens
- The first cricket club outside Britain was the Calcutta Cricket Club founded in 1792, and the first match was played 12 years later between the Etonians, senior civil servants and other company officials.
- In 1825 the club got a plot of land on the ground between Government House and Fort William to be used as a cricket ground.
- In 1841, the club was permitted to enclose the ground with a fence. But the Army at Fort William described the club as an “encroacher”.
- Cricket Club of Calcutta authorities then looked for an alternative ground and at ₹1,000, found a new one, fenced it and made it playable.
- In 1864, the land was laid out for a ground for Calcutta Cricket Club in the extended part of Eden Gardens.
Deriving its name
- Eden Gardens made its first appearance during the time of Governor-General Lord Auckland (1836-42).
- According to the achieves, a local landlord gifted this land to Lord Auckland and his sisters Emily Eden and Fanny Eden helped him save his third daughter from a deadly disease.
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Foreign Policy Watch: India-Japan

[pib] JIMEX 20

Prelims Only | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Border Area Security Challenges

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: JIMEX 20
Mains level: Not Much
The 4^th edition of India – Japan Maritime bilateral exercise JIMEX will be held in the North Arabian Sea from 26 to 28 September 2020.

JIMEX 20
- It is conducted biennially between the Indian Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF)
- This series of exercises was commenced in January 2012 with a special focus on maritime security cooperation.
- The last edition of JIMEX was conducted in October 2018 off Visakhapatnam, India.
- JIMEX 20 will showcase a high degree of inter-operability and joint operational skills through the conduct of a multitude of advanced exercises, across the spectrum of maritime operations.
- Multi-faceted tactical exercises involving weapon firings cross deck helicopter operations and complex surface, anti-submarine and air warfare drills will consolidate coordination developed by the two navies.
- JIMEX 20 will further enhance the cooperation and mutual confidence between the two navies and fortify the long-standing bond of friendship between the two countries.
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What is a Yo-Yo Test?

Prelims Only | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Yo-Yo Test
Mains level: NA
In his interaction with fitness experts and influencers the PM asked about the yo-yo test, that is a vital part of the Indian cricket team’s fitness routine.

Try this MCQ:

Q.The Yo-Yo test sometimes seen in news is related to:

Sports/ Healthcare/ Robotics/ Automation

What is the Yo-Yo test?
- The test was developed by Danish football physiologist Jens Bangsbo.
- Two cones are placed 20 metres apart, and the athlete has to run between them when the beep goes off.
- The beeps become more frequent after one minute, and if the athlete fails to reach the line within that time, he is expected to catch up within two more beeps.
- The test is stopped if the player fails to catch up before the beeps run out.
- The test has a beginner and an advanced level, and players are given scores. The minimum score set by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to pass the test is 16.1.
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Location in news: English Channel

Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Geographical Features & Their Location

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: English Channel
Mains level: NA
Hundreds of migrants have taken advantage of the warm weather and calm seas in the English Channel to reach the UK in a flurry of small boat crossings.

Try this PYQ:

Q.Which one of the following pairs of islands is separated from each other by the ‘Ten Degree Channel’?

(a) Andaman and Nicobar

(b) Nicobar and Sumatra

(c) Maldives and Lakshadweep

(d) Sumatra and Java

English Channel
- The English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France.
- It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end.
- It is the busiest shipping area in the world.
- It is about 560 km long and varies in width from 240 km at its widest to 34 km in the Strait of Dover.
- It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe.
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Indian Missile Program Updates

[pib] ABHYAS Air Vehicle

PIB Prelims Only | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Achievements Of Indians In S&T

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: ABHYAS-HEAT
Mains level: Not Much
Successful flight test of ABHYAS – High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) was today conducted by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Interim Test Range, Balasore in Odisha.

Try this PYQ:

What is “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)”, sometimes seen in the news?

(a) An Israeli radar system

(b) India’s indigenous anti-missile programme

(c) An American anti-missile system

(d) A defence collaboration between Japan and South Korea

ABHYAS Air Vehicle
- ABHYAS is designed & developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), DRDO.
- The air vehicle is launched using twin underslung booster.
- It is powered by a small gas turbine engine and has a MEMS-based Inertial Navigation System (INS) for navigation along with the Flight Control Computer (FCC) for guidance and control.
- The vehicle is programmed for fully autonomous flight. The check out of air vehicle is done using laptop-based Ground Control Station (GCS).
- During the test campaign, the user requirement of 5 km flying altitude, vehicle speed of 0.5 mach, the endurance of 30 minutes and 2g turn capability of the test vehicle were successfully achieved.
Its uses
- Abhyas’s radar cross-section (RCS), as well as its visual and infrared signatures, can be augmented to simulate a variety of aircraft for air-defence weapon practices.
- It can also function as a jammer platform and decoy.
- The HEAT system is utilized to do away with the post-launch recovery mode, which is time-consuming and difficult in a scenario as the sea.
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Global Geological And Climatic Events

What are Medicanes?

Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Geographical Features & Their Location

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Medicanes
Mains level: Frequent landfalls of tropical cyclones in India
Very recently, a medicane named Ianos made landfall along the coast of Greece and caused heavy rainfall and flooding on the islands of Zakynthos, Kefalonia and Ithaca.

Try this PYQ:

In the South Atlantic and South-Eastern Pacific regions in tropical latitudes, cyclone does not originate. What is the reason?

(a) Sea surface temperatures are low

(b) Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone seldom occurs

(c) Coriolis force is too weak

(d) Absence of land in those regions

What are Medicanes?
- Medicanes are extra-tropical hurricanes observed over the Mediterranean Sea.
- Medicanes occur more in colder waters than tropical cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons.
- Hence, the cores of these storms are also cold, as compared to the warm cores of tropical cyclones.
- Warmer cores tend to carry more moisture (hence rainfall), are bigger in size and have swifter winds.
- The main societal hazard posed by Medicanes is not usually from destructive winds but through life-threatening torrential rains and flash floods.
Why in news?
- This year is a mild La Niña, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
- La Niña is the cooling phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, as opposed to the warming El Niño phase.
- It is characterized by the unusual cooling of the central and east-central equatorial Pacific Ocean.
- A La Niña produces more rain in the central-eastern part, where most of the Mediterranean cyclones develop.
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Health Sector – UHC, National Health Policy, Family Planning, Health Insurance, etc.

Brucellosis: A bacterial disease

Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Brucellosis
Mains level: NA
As the novel coronavirus pandemic continues, the health commission has announced this week that a leak in a biopharmaceutical company last year caused an outbreak of brucellosis disease.
Try this PYQ:

Q.Consider the following kinds of organisms:
1. Bacteria
2. Fungi
3. Flowering plants
Some species of which of the above kinds of organisms are employed as bio-pesticides?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3
What is Brucellosis?
- Brucellosis is a bacterial disease that mainly infects cattle, swine, goats, sheep and dogs.
- Humans can get infected if they come in direct contact with infected animals or by eating or drinking contaminated animal products or by inhaling airborne agents.
- According to the WHO, most cases of the disease are caused by ingesting unpasteurized milk or cheese from infected goats or sheep.
- Symptoms of the disease include fever, sweats, malaise, anorexia, and headache and muscle pain.
- While some signs and symptoms can last for long periods of time, others may never go away. Human to human transmission of the virus is rare.
- These include recurrent fevers, arthritis, swelling of the testicles and scrotum area, swelling of the heart, neurologic symptoms, chronic fatigue, depression and swelling of the liver or spleen.
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Judicial Reforms

What is Queen’s Counsel?

Prelims Only | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Queens Council
Mains level: NA
India has suggested Pakistan appointing a Queen’s Counsel for the Kulbhushan Jadhav case to ensure a free and fair trial.

Queen’s Counsel
- In the UK and in some Commonwealth countries, a Queen’s Counsel during the reign of a queen is a lawyer who is appointed by the monarch of the country to be one of ’Her Majesty’s Counsel learned in the law’.
- The position originated in England.
- Some Commonwealth countries have either abolished the position, or re-named it so as to remove monarchical connotations, for example, ’Senior Counsel’ or ’Senior Advocate’.
- Queen’s Counsel is an office, conferred by the Crown that is recognised by courts.
- Senior Advocate Harish Salve earlier this year has been appointed as Queen’s Counsel (QC) for the courts of England and Wales.
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Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News

National Hispanic Heritage Month

Prelims Only | Trivia | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: National Hispanic Heritage Month
Mains level: NA
The National Hispanic Heritage Month has begun in the US.

Try this MCQ:

Q.The event National Hispanic Heritage Month recently seen in news is primarily celebrated in which of the following countries?

(a) US (b) Spain (c) Mexico (d) Cuba

National Hispanic Heritage Month
- The annual event honours the history, culture and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors hailed from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
- It is marked every year from September 15 to October 15.
- The observation was started by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week and was extended to an entire month by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, the year it was enacted into law.
Hispanics in the US
- With a population of over 5.7 crores, Hispanic Americans are currently the largest minority group in the US, making up a fifth of the total US population.
- More than half– 3.5 crore– are of Mexican origin, followed by Puerto Rican (53 lakh), and about 10 lakh each of Salvadorans, Cubans, Dominicans, Guatemalans and Colombians.
- The community is referred to as Hispanic, Latino or Latinx– terms that refer to a person’s origin or culture, without considering their race.
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Type: Prelims Only

Try this PYQ:

Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT)

Its achievement

Eden Gardens

Deriving its name

JIMEX 20

Try this MCQ:

What is the Yo-Yo test?

Try this PYQ:

English Channel

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ABHYAS Air Vehicle

Its uses

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What are Medicanes?

Why in news?

Try this PYQ:

What is Brucellosis?

Queen’s Counsel

Try this MCQ:

National Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanics in the US