National Current Affairs – UPSC/KAS Exams – 22nd May 2018
International Day for Biological Diversity – 22nd May
- The United Nations has proclaimed May 22 The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.
- When first created by the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly in late 1993, 29 December (the date of entry into force of the Convention of Biological Diversity), was designated The International Day for Biological Diversity.
- In December 2000, the UN General Assembly adopted 22 May as IDB, to commemorate the adoption of the text of the Convention on 22 May 1992 by the Nairobi Final Act of the Conference for the Adoption of the Agreed Text of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
- This was partly done because it was difficult for many countries to plan and carry out suitable celebrations for the date of 29 December, given the number of holidays that coincide around that time of year.
Historic day for Arunachal Pradesh! First commercial aircraft launched from Pasighat to Guwahati
- The long-cherished dream of the people of Arunachal Pradesh to have air connectivity was fulfilled on 21st May with flagging off of the first fixed-wing commercial aircraft from Pasighat to Guwahati,
- In the second round of bidding i.e. Regional Connectivity Scheme-UDAN 2, eight locations in Arunachal Pradesh were selected by bidders.
- Of the locations, Pasighat nad Tezu have been selected for fixed wing while Ziro, Daporijo, Itanagar, Tuting, Wallong and Yingkiong have been selected for helicopter services. Khandu said with air connectivity, the state’s economy would get a boost.
- The 42-seat Alliance Air ATR will fly between Guwahati and Pasighat thrice a week for the start. Besides Alliance Air, which is a subsidiary of Air India, Zoom Air and Turbo Jet are set to commence their services soon.
- There are about 120 helipads and 10 Advance Landing Ground (ALG) — Ziro, Pasighat, Aalo,Tuting, Mechuka, Vijaynagar, Walong, Tezu, Daporijo and Alinye, in the state. Khandu along with Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, Assembly Speaker T.N. Thongdok and other cabinet ministers and legislators became the first passengers of the maiden flight from Guwahati airport.
Supersonic cruise missile BrahMos tested successfully to validate new features
- Supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was successfully fired from a test range along the Odisha coast to validate some new features.
- The missile, an Indo-Russian joint venture, was tested from a mobile launcher at Launch Pad 3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore at 10.40 a.m., Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
- The trial was conducted to validate its “life extension” technologies developed for the first time by DRDO and team BrahMos, said an official of the ITR.
Two-stage missile
- The successful test will result in huge savings of replacement cost of missiles held in the inventory of the armed forces, it said.
- The two-stage missile first being solid and the second one, a ramjet liquid propellant has already been introduced in the Army and the Navy, while the Air Force version had witnessed asuccessful trial
- BrahMos variants can be launched from land, air, sea and under water. India successfully launched the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile from a Sukhoi-30 MKI combat jet for the first time against a target in the Bay of Bengal in November, 2017
- At least two Su-30 squadrons with 20 planes each are planned to be equipped with the missile, which will be 500 kg lighter than the land/naval variants.
- The range of the three-tonne missile has been extendeed from its earlier 290 km to 400 km and the variant was successfully tested in March 2017
Increased range
- According to the scientists, increasing the missile’s range from 400 km to further 800 km is now possible after India’s induction into the Missile Technology Control Regime in June 2016.
- Prior to that, India was bound by restrictions that limited the range of the missile, to less than 300 km.
- Currently, the Army is equipped with three regiments of Block 111 version of the missile.
- Induction of the first version in the Navy began with INS Rajput in 2005. It is now fully operational with two regiments of the Army, said the scientists.
- After two successful tests of the missile from INS Kolkata in June 2014 and February 2015, the test-firing from INS Kochi on September 30, 2015, validated the newly commissioned ship’s systems. The air launch version and the submarine launch version of the missile system are in progress.
- So far, the Army has placed orders for the missile which are to be deployed by three regiments.
