Daily Prelims Newsletter for upsc 21 Jan 2022

Daily Prelims Newsletter For UPSC
| RaghukulCS

21 Jan 2022-Friday

Table Of Contents

Table of Contents

Vikas Rocket Engine of ISRO

Why in News:

ISRO completed a 25-second qualification test for its liquid propellant-powered Vikas engine, which will be utilised on the Gaganyaan mission.

About Vikas Engine:

  • The Vikas (Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai) rocket engine family was envisaged and developed in the 1970s by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.
  • The design was based on a licenced Viking engine equipped with a chemical pressurisation system.
  • The key difference is that the Vikas has a longer burn time.
  • The Vikas Engine is a heavy-duty liquid rocket engine that powers
  • India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle’s second stage (PSLV),
  • The Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle’s second stage four strap-on stages (GSLV) and
  • The GSLV Mk-dual III’s engine core liquid stage (L110).
  • With a maximum thrust of 725 kN, the engine consumes about 40 metric tonnes of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) as fuel and Nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) as the oxidizer.

Epstein-Barr Virus

Why in News:

  • The Epstein-Barr Virus is the most common cause of Multiple Sclerosis. Recent research reveals that preventing Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection might prevent the majority of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) cases and that targeting EBV could result in the discovery of a cure for MS.

About:

  • Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves that may be devastating (Central Nervous System).
  • In multiple sclerosis (MS), the immune system assaults the protective sheath (myelin) that surrounds nerve fibres, resulting in impaired communication between the brain and the rest of the body.
  • Eventually, the condition might result in irreversible nerve loss or degeneration.
  • Symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) vary considerably and are dependent on the extent of nerve damage and the specific nerves involved.
  • Numbness or weakness in one or more limbs, usually on one side of the body at a time, or in the legs and trunk
  • Electric shock feelings associated with specific neck motions, most notably forward bending of the neck (Lhermitte sign).
  • Tremors, an inability to coordinate, or an unstable stride.
  • Both men and females may experience a decline in sexual desire (sexual dysfunction)
  • While some individuals with severe MS may lose the ability to walk independently or at all, others may enjoy extended periods of remission without developing new symptoms.
  • Multiple sclerosis is incurable.
  • Treatments, on the other hand, may aid in the speedy recovery from attacks, alter the course of the illness, and control symptoms.

SaaRthi Mobile Application

Why in News?

  • The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced Saathi — an investor education smartphone application.

About the APP:

  • It attempts to educate investors about the fundamental ideas of the securities market.
  • The app will also include information on the KYC procedure, trading and settlement, Mutual Funds (MF), current market developments, and a method for resolving investor issues.

What was the Need?

  • There has been a recent spike in the number of individual investors joining the market, and more crucially, a significant amount of trading is conducted through mobile phones.
  • Individual investors’ portion climbed to 45 percent in 2021 from 39 percent in 2020, according to NSE (National Stock Exchange) statistics.
  • The NSE is India’s biggest stock exchange.

The market for Securities:

  • Securities are financial instruments issued to raise capital.
  • The basic purpose of the securities markets is to facilitate the transfer of money from those who possess it to those who need it.
  • Securities markets facilitate the transfer of savings to investments, decoupling these two activities.
  • As a consequence, savers and investors are not bound by their capabilities, but by the economy’s capacity to invest and save, which eventually boosts saves and investment. For example, equity, debt, and other securities.

India’s Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI)

  • SEBI is a statutory organisation created under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 on 12th April 1992.
  • Its primary purpose is to safeguard the interests of securities investors and to develop and regulate the securities market.
  • SEBI’s Board of Directors is comprised of a Chairman and many other full- and part-time members.
  • SEBI also establishes numerous committees as needed to address critical concerns at the moment.

Gujarat High Court's digital activities

Context:

  • Two digital services for the Gujarat High Court were recently launched – a ‘Justice Clock’ and electronic payment of court fees.

What is the purpose of the ‘Justice Clock’?

  • It is a 7-by-10-foot LED display placed 17 feet above the ground.
  • Located on the grounds of the high court.
  • The ‘Justice Clock’ will display crucial facts about Gujarat’s justice delivery system to “maximise outreach and visibility” of the state judiciary’s operations.

What is an electronic court fee and how will it benefit you?

  • The online e-Courts fee system enables attorneys and parties to get court stamps online and upon submission of a PDF receipt.

The significance of these projects is as follows:

  • The two digital efforts complement a raft of other digital activities done by the Gujarat High Court in response to Covid-19.
  • Digital transformation increases the transparency and openness of court procedures and also gives a view into how judges work to the general public.

Is Digitization Required?

  • The popular perception of Indian courts is that they give justice slowly and are tough for regular litigants. It is predicted that technology would revolutionise the administration of justice.

Efforts of the Judiciary During a Pandemic:

  • In the aftermath of the epidemic, courts started seriously using technology such as electronic filing.
  • In May 2020, the Supreme Court will also launch another innovation: a new system of electronic filing and reference powered by artificial intelligence.
  • The e-Courts Project’s current Vision Document for Phase III intends to alleviate the judiciary’s digital deficit. It envisions a court infrastructure that is ‘natively digital’ and reflects the pandemic’s impact on India’s judicial schedule and thinking.

Artemis Program of NASA

Context:

  • NASA’s Artemis program’s first moon-bound rocket and spacecraft are slated to conduct a “wet dress rehearsal” on the launch pad in February.

Who and What is Artemis?

  • Artemis– The Moon’s Interaction with the Sun: Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics.
  • It is NASA’s next lunar mission.
  • The purpose of this experiment is to determine what occurs when the Sun’s radiation strikes our stony moon, which lacks a magnetic field to protect it.
  • In Greek mythology, Artemis was Apollo’s twin sister and the goddess of the Moon.

The mission’s significance:

  • NASA’s Artemis mission aims to place the first woman and the subsequent man on the Moon by 2024.

Specifics of the mission:

  • NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) will transport passengers on board the Orion spacecraft about a quarter-million miles from Earth to lunar orbit.
  • Astronauts will dock Orion at the Gateway and be transferred to a human landing system for lunar surface excursions.
  • They will return to the orbiting outpost to re-board Orion before safely returning to Earth.

Artemis 1, 2:

  • The agency will conduct two lunar orbital missions to evaluate its deep space exploration technologies.
  • Artemis 1 intends to launch an unmanned spacecraft around the moon using a combination of the never-flown Space Launch System rocket and the previously flown Orion spacecraft.
  • NASA aims to prolong the programme with the crewed Artemis 2 trip to the moon in 2024, followed by a landing on Artemis 3 in 2025, followed by more crewed flights later in the 2020s.

India and Denmark agreed to collaborate on developing green fuels

Why in News?

  • India and Denmark have committed to collaborate on green fuel research and development, including green hydrogen.
  • This collaborative study is part of the Green Strategic Partnership’s already-adopted Action Plan 2020-2025.

What is the Green Strategic Partnership between India and Denmark?

  • India and Denmark inaugurated the Green Strategic Partnership in September 2020 during a virtual summit between the two Prime Ministers.
  • The alliance is a win-win agreement aimed at advancing political collaboration, expanding economic linkages, promoting green development, creating employment, and enhancing cooperation on global issues and opportunities.
  • The alliance has chosen four priority sectors: water, urban development, renewable energy, and intellectual property rights, for which both nations have established working groups.
  • A cooperative action plan has also been developed as part of the cooperation.
  • According to the strategy, Danish enterprises equipped with the necessary technology and knowledge would assist India in fulfilling its air pollution management objectives, particularly the critical issue of agricultural stubble burning.
  • Additionally, the plan calls for collaborative efforts in water efficiency, the establishment of India-Denmark energy parks, and the establishment of an India-Denmark skill centre to educate the Indian workforce.

What does this Green Strategic Partnership (GSP) mean?

  • This relationship demonstrates the two nations’ commitment to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and assisting in the global climate crisis’s mitigation.
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RaghukulCS

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