Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 30th September 2022

AVGAS 100LL:

The Centre on Monday launched indigenously-developed AVGAS 100 LL, a special aviation fuel meant for piston engine aircraft and unmanned ariel vehicles.

• The fuel has been developed by Indian Oil Corporation.
• Avgas or aviation gasoline is an aviation fuel that powers spark-ignited combustion engines in aircraft.
• It is different from conventional gasoline (petrol) used in motor vehicles as it contains tetraethyl lead, which is a highly toxic substance used to prevent engine knocking (premature detonation).
• It is a higher-octane Aviation fuel meeting the product specifications with superior performance quality standards, as compared to imported grades.
• The indigenous availability of AV GAS 100 LL will help reduce dependence on imports and address the associated logistical challenges.
• Country will be able to save precious foreign exchange with the in-house availability of this product.

Integrated Cryogenic Engine Manufacturing Facility (ICMF):

President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) Integrated Cryogenic Engine Manufacturing Facility (ICMF) in Bengaluru.

• The ICMF is dedicated to Rocket Manufacturing and its assembly for ISRO.
• The facility will boost self-reliance in the manufacturing of high-thrust rocket engines.
• On January 5, 2014, India successfully flew GSLV-D5 with a cryogenic engine (made by ISRO through private industries) and became the sixth country in developing cryogenic engines.
• Cryogenics is the study of the production and behavior of materials at extremely low temperatures (below -150 degree centigrade) to lift and place heavier objects in space.
• A cryogenic engine provides more force with each kilogram of cryogenic propellant it uses compared to other propellants, such as solid and liquid propellant rocket engines, and is more efficient.
• Cryogenic engine makes use of Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) as propellants which liquefy at -183 deg C and -253 deg C respectively.

Cryogenic Fuels:

• Fuels that are required to be stored at extremely low temperatures in order to maintain them in a liquid state are Cryogenic Fuels.
• These fuels are used in machinery that operates in space (e.g. rocket ships and satellites) because ordinary fuel cannot be used because of the very low temperatures often encountered in space, and due to the absence of an environment that supports combustion (on Earth, oxygen is abundant in the atmosphere, whereas human-explorable space is a vacuum where oxygen is virtually non-existent). Cryogenic fuels most often constitute liquefied gases such as liquid hydrogen.
• Importance of Cryogenic Technology for India:
  • Advancement of the Space Programme
  • Lighter weightand cost-effective.
  • Clean technology– Cryogenic technology uses Hydrogen and oxygen as fuel and releases water as a by-product.
  • Edge over other countriesin modern technology.

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY-Phase VII):

The Union Cabinet has approved the extension for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY-Phase VII) for a further period of 3 months i.e. October to December 2022.

• Under this welfare scheme, 5 kg of food grain per person per month is provided free of cost for all the beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) [Antodaya Anna Yojana & Priority Households] including those covered under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
• Financial implication for the Government of India has been about 3.45 Lakh Crore upto Phase-VI of PMGKAY.
• With the additional expenditure of about Rs. 44,762 Crore for Phase-VII of this scheme, the overall expenditure of PMGKAY will be about Rs. 3.91 lakh crore for all the phases.
• So far, PMGKAY has been in operation for 25 months as under:
  • Phase I and II ( 8 months) : April’20 to Nov.’20
  • Phase-III to V (11 months) : May’21 to March’22
  • Phase-VI ( 6 months) : April’22 to Sept.’22

World Heart Day:

World Heart Day is celebrated on 29th September, every year. Maharashtra’s STEMI project helps detect over 2,000 heart attacks in a year.

• World Heart Day was first observed in the year 2000 after the World Heart Federation collaborated with the World Health Organization (WHO).
• It is a global campaign through which the federation unites people in the fight against the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) burden as well as inspires and drives international action to encourage heart-healthy living.
• Theme: The theme for World Heart Day 2022 is, “Use Heart For Every Heart”.

International Solar Alliance:

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Solar Alliance (ISA) during the 42nd session of ICAO Assembly in Montreal, Canada.

• Cochin International Airport in India became the world’s first fully Solar powered airport in the world in 2015.
• The MoU carries forward the legacy of ISA.
• The event marks a new beginning for solar energy use in the global civil aviation sector.
• It will enable the solarization of the aviation sector across all Member States of ISA
• It aims to check the growth of CO2 emissions in the Aviation sector, leading to India’s Net Zero Targets.
• It will work towards providing information, providing advocacy, capacity building and demonstration projects.
• India has pledged for Net Zero Carbon goal by 2070 in COP 26.
• India has pledged a target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy of which 100 GW will be solar energy by 2022 and reduction in emission intensity by 33-35% by 2030, to let solar energy reach the most unconnected villages and communities.

International Solar Alliance (ISA):

• Co-founded by India and France during 2015, the ISA is an action-oriented, member-driven, collaborative platform for increased deployment of solar energy technologies.
• Its basic motive is to facilitate energy access, ensure energy security, and drive energy transition in its member countries.
• ISA is the nodal agency for implementing One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG), which seeks to transfer solar power generated in one region to feed the electricity demands of others.
• The Headquarters is in India with its Interim Secretariat being set up in Gurugram.
• A total of 109 countries have signed the ISA Framework Agreement and 90 have ratified it.
• All member states of the United Nations are eligible to join the ISA.

Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan : Chief Of Defence Staff

Government of India appointed Lieutenant General Anil Chauhan (Retired) as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

• Lt Gen Chauhan will also function as Secretary, Department of Military Affairs with effect from the date of his assumption of charge. In a career spanning over nearly 40 years, Lt Gen Anil Chauhan had held several command, staff and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and North-East India.
• The post of Chief of Defence Staff has been lying vacant since General Bipin Rawat’s death in a helicopter crash on 8th December last year.
• The Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces (CDS) is the military head and permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) of the Indian Armed Forces.
• The Chief of Defence Staff is the highest-ranking uniformed officer on active duty in the Indian military and chief military adviser to the Minister of Defence. The Chief also heads the Department of Military Affairs.