PIB – 29 July 2021

MISSION CHANDRAYAAN

Focus: GS III- Space

Why in News?

Chandrayaan-3 is likely to be launched during third quarter of 2022.

About Mission Chandrayaan:

Key Findings of Chandrayaan-1

• Confirmed presence of lunar water
• Evidence of lunar caves formed by an ancient lunar lava flow
• Past tectonic activity were found on the lunar surface.
• The faults and fractures discovered could be features of past interior tectonic activity coupled with meteorite impacts.

About Chandrayaan-2

• Chandrayaan-2 is an integrated 3-in-1 spacecraft of around 3,877 kg comprising of an Orbiter of the Moon, Vikram (after Vikram Sarabhai) the lander and Pragyan (wisdom) the rover, all equipped with scientific instruments to study the moon.
• The Orbiter will orbit from 100 km away, while the Lander and Rover modules will separate and make a soft-landing on the surface.
• Lander (Vikram) will remain stationary after touching down, will mainly study the moon’s atmosphere.
  • It will also look out for seismic activity.
• Rover (Pragyan): Once on the Moon, the Rover, a six-wheeled solar-powered vehicle, will detach itself and slowly crawl on the surface, making observations and collecting data.
  • It will study the composition of the surface near the lunar landing site, and determine the abundance of various elements.
• Orbiter: While the Lander and Rover are designed to work for only 14 days (1 lunar day), the Orbiter, a 2,379-kg spacecraft with seven instruments on board, would remain in orbit for a year.
  • It is equipped with different kinds of cameras to create high-resolution three-dimensional maps of the surface.
  • It will study the mineral composition on the moon and the lunar atmosphere, and also to assess the abundance of water.
• The mission sequence involves meticulous planning of series of Earthbound manoeuvres, trans-lunar injections, series of lunar burns, lander separation, lander descent, and touchdown and subsequent rover rolling out of the lander on the Moon surface.

About Chandrayaan-3:

• As the name suggests, the Chandrayaan-3 is the successor to the Chandrayaan-2 mission and it will likely attempt another soft-landing on the lunar surface.
• It will be almost a repetition of the July 2019 Chandrayaan-2 mission in the configuration of spacecraft, the landing spot on the moon and the experiments to be conducted on the lunar surface.
• Although scores of landers sent by Russia, the U.S. and the Chinese have explored the moon’s surface, so far, no other agency has landed in the southern hemisphere of the moon. ISRO hopes to be the first to do so.

Mission Objectives

• Try and build on the evidence of water molecules shown by Chandrayaan-I and study the extent and distribution of water on the Moon
• Study topography, seismography, composition of lunar surface and the lunar atmosphere
• The study of ancient rocks and craters can offer indications of origin and evolution of the Moon.
• The South Pole region of the Moon also contains clues to the fossil records of early solar system. Thus, it will improve our understanding of the early solar system as well.

METHODOLOGY FOR COAL MINING

Focus: GS III- Indian Economy

Why in News?

Methodology for auction of coal and lignite mines/blocks for sale of coal/lignite on revenue sharing basis was approved by CCEA on 20.05.2020 and the order was issued on 28.05.2020.

Key Highlights

• As per the provisions of the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015 [CMSP Act] and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 [MMDR Act], coal mines are allocated to private sector companies by way of auction.
• Auction of coal mines is done on e-platform after conducting security audit of the e-platform.
• Further, any prior allottee who is convicted of an offence relating to coal block allocation and sentenced with imprisonment for more than three years is not eligible to participate in the auction.

Salient features of the Methodology are as under:

• Based on Revenue sharing mechanism. Floor percentage at 4%.
• Applicable to fully explored as well as partially explored coal blocks.
• Upfront amount is based on value of estimated geological reserves.
• Successful Bidder to pay monthly revenue share based on percentage of revenue share quoted, total quantity of coal and notional or actual price whichever is higher.
• Incentives for early production, gasification and liquefaction of coal.
• Exploitation of CBM is allowed.
• No restriction on the sale and/or utilisation of coal. More flexibility in coal production schedule.

RAJA MIRCHA

Focus: GS III- Geographical Indications

Why in News?

In a major boost to exports of Geographical Indications (GI) products from the north-eastern region, a consignment of ‘Raja Mircha’ also referred as king chilli from Nagaland was exported to London via Guwahati by air for the first time.

About Raja Mircha

• The consignment of King Chilli also considered as world’s hottest based on the Scoville Heat Units (SHUs).
• The consignment was sourced from Tening, part of Peren district, Nagaland and was packed at APEDA assisted packhouse at Guwahati. 
• The chilli from Nagaland is also referred as Bhoot Jolokia and Ghost pepper.
• It got GI certification in 2008.
• APEDA in collaboration with the Nagaland State Agricultural Marketing Board (NSAMB), coordinated the first export consignment of fresh King Chilli.
• Exporting fresh King Chilli posed a challenge because of its highly perishable nature.
• Nagaland King Chilli belongs to genus Capsicum of family Solanaceae.
• Naga king chilli has been considered as the world’s hottest chilli and is constantly on the top five in the list of the world’s hottest chilies based on the SHUs.

About GI Tag

• Geographical Indications of Goods are defined as that aspect of industrial property which refer to the geographical indication referring to a country or to a place situated therein as being the country or place of origin of that product.
• Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness which is essentially attributable to the fact of its origin in that defined geographical locality, region or country.

• Geographical Indications are covered as a component of intellectual property rights (IPRs) under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
• GI is also governed by the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
• In India, Geographical Indications registration is administered by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 which came into force with effect from September 2003, this tag is issued by the Geographical Indication Registry under the Department of Industry Promotion and Internal Trade (DIPIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• The first product in India to be accorded with GI tag was Darjeeling tea in the year 2004-05.
• The registration of a geographical indication is valid for a period of 10 years.
• It can be renewed from time to time for further period of 10 years each.
• The Geographical Indications Registry would be located at Chennai.
• Any association of persons, producers, organisation or authority established by or under the law can be a registered proprietor.
• Their name should be entered in the Register of Geographical Indication as registered proprietor for the Geographical Indication applied for.
• Karnataka has the highest number of GI tags i.e. 47 products followed by Tamil Nadu (39).

INNOVATIONS FOR DEFENCE EXCELLENCE

Focus: GS III- Defence

Why in News?

Government of India has set up a Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) framework to boost India’s indigenous defence sector.

About IDEX Framework:

• Innovations for Defence Excellence(iDEX) was launched by the Government of India in 2018.
• It is funded and managed by the Defence Innovation Organization(DIO).
• It primarily aims at creation of an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging Industries including MSMEs, start-ups among others.
• It also provides grants/funding to carry out R&D which has good potential for future adoption for Indian defence and aerospace needs.
• The objective of the scheme is to provide financial support to nearly 300 Startups/ MSMEs/ individual innovators and about 20 Partner incubators through Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO)

Aim

• Facilitate rapid development of new, indigenized, and innovative technologies for the Indian defence and aerospace sector, to meet needs for these sectors in shorter timelines.
• Create a culture of engagement with innovative startups, to encourage co-creation for defence
  and aerospace sectors.
• Empower a culture of technology co-creation and co-innovation within the defence and aerospace sectors.

Functions of iDEX

• Communicate with innovators/startups through the Defence Innovation Hubs regarding defence and aerospace needs.
• Organizing various challenges/hackathons to shortlist potential technologies for defence and aerospace use.
• Facilitate scale-up, indigenization and integration in manufacturing facilities for successfully piloted technologies.
• Evaluate technologies and products coming from innovators/startups in terms of their utility and impact on the Indian defence and aerospace setup
• Interface with the military (Army/Navy/Airforce) top brass about key innovative technologies and encourage their adoption into the defence establishment with suitable assistance (financial if required).