(FREE) UPSC Current Affairs 2024 PDF

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 13 February 2022

::NATIONAL::

The Centre banned import of drones with immediate effect, except for research and development, defence and security purposes.

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The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the Ministry of Commerce, issued a notification banning import of drones, subject to some exceptions.
Budget 2022 proposed Drone Shaktito promote Startups through varied applications and for ‘Drone-As-A-Service (DrAAS)’.
In case a manufacturer fails to meet the threshold for the eligible value addition for a particular financial year, the manufacturer will be allowed to claim the lost incentive in the subsequent year if they make up the shortfall in the subsequent year.
In 2021, government approved Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drones and their components with an allocation of Rs. 120 crores for three financial years.
The incentive under the PLI scheme is applicable only on domestic value addition and will encourage manufacturers to reduce imports and go for higher capacity building and value addition in the sector.
Ministry of Civil Aviation notified liberalised drone rules to encourage R&D and creating India as a drone hub.

The Indian Army has commenced Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tagging of its ammunition inventory.

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The RFID tagging is in conformity with global standards in consultation with GS-1 India, a global standards organisation set up by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
It is a specific type of radio technology that uses radio waves to identify tags attached to an object and thus identify the object.
The tag contains a transceiver chip that is triggered by the electromagnetic wave from the RFID reader and transmits an identification number back to the reader.
The identification number is then used for the inventory of the objects with tags.

The Navy is set to hold the 12th President’s Fleet Review (PFR) at Visakhapatnam and few days from that it will host the largest multilateral exercise in this region, Milan 2022.

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Milan 2022 will see participation of all major Navies including Quad countries, Russia and from West Asia amid tensions in Ukraine and developments in West Asia.
Exercise Milan is scheduled to be held from February 25 to March 4 for which 46 countries have been invited.
This year’s Milan will see the participation of all Quad countries, with the U.S. being invited for the first time.
A Fleet Review is usually conducted once during the tenure of the President. Since Independence 11 PFRs have been conducted by the Navy, of which two have been International Fleet Reviews in 2011 and 2016.
In terms of significance, the Navy’s Presidential review is second only to the Republic Day Parade, one official stated.

Iran has unveiled a new missile that is capable of hitting nearby US bases and targets within its arch-enemy Israel.Iran has the largest arsenal of missiles in the Middle East.

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The Khaibar-buster, a reference to a Jewish castle overrun by Muslim warriors led by Prophet Mohammed in the early days of Islam.
It has a range of 900 miles and runs on solid fuel.
The missile has high accuracy, is manufactured completely domestically, and can defeat missile shield systems.

Atal Tunnel has been officially recognised by World Book of Records, as ‘World’s Longest Tunnel Above 10,000 Feet.

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It is a 9.02 km long tunnel run under Rohtang Pass and provided all-weather connectivity fromManali to Lahaul-Spiti valley in Himachal Pradesh.
It was built by Border Roads Organisation.
It was constructed using drill and blast NATM (New Austria Tunnelling Method) techniques.

Safety features:

Elon Musk’s Starlink has lost 40 of the 49 satellites that were caught in a geomagnetic storm a day after they were launched.

Solar storms/flares

Solar storms are magnetic plasma ejected at great speed from the solar surface.
They occur during the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots (‘dark’ regions on the Sun that are cooler than the surrounding photosphere), and can last for a few minutes or hours.

Effect on Earth

Not all solar flares reach Earth, but solar flares/storms, solar energetic particles (SEPs), high-speed solar winds, and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that come close can impact space weather in near-Earth space and the upper atmosphere.
Solar storms can hit operations of space-dependent services like global positioning systems (GPS), radio, and satellite communications.
Geomagnetic storms interfere with high-frequency radio communications and GPS navigation systems. Aircraft flights, power grids, and space exploration programmes are vulnerable.
CMEs, with ejectiles loaded with matter travelling at millions of miles an hour, can potentially create disturbances in the magnetosphere, the protective shield surrounding the Earth.
Astronauts on spacewalks face health risks from possible exposure to solar radiation outside the Earth’s protective atmosphere.

For the treatment of adult patients suffering from Covid-19, pharma company Glenmark has launched Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (FabiSpray) in India. The nasal spray was launched by the pharma company in partnership with SaNOtize.

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Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (FabiSpray) will be useful in the treatment of adult patients with COVID-19 who have a high risk of progression of the disease.
FabiSpray, Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS), according to Glenmark, is designed to kill the COVID-19 virus in the upper airways.
It has proven anti-microbial properties with a direct virucidal effect on SARS-CoV-2. NONS when sprayed over the nasal mucosa.
It acts as a physical and chemical barrier against the virus, preventing it from incubating and spreading to the lungs, the company explained.
FabiSpray has been developed for the treatment of adult patients of Covid-19 who have a high risk of progression of the disease.