ALH Dhruv fleet operations halted due to Navy accident

• Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv is a multi-role and multi-mission light utility helicopter in the 5**.5-ton weight class**, intended for both military and civil operators.
• It is developed indigenously by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• The ALH choppers are operated by all three Indian defense forces, including the Army, Navy, and Air Force, along with the Indian Coast Guard.
• The major variants of Dhruv are classified as Dhruv Mk-I, Mk-II, Mk-III & Mk-IV.
• Exported countries: Bolivia, Myanmar, Israel, Maldives, and Nepal.
• The Mk-IV version of the HAL ALG Dhruv helicopter is the Armed variant for Attack, Close Air Support, and High altitude operations.
• Features of Dhruv Mk-IV:
  • It is also called ALH Rudra and can carry a 20 mm Turret Gun, 70 mm Rocket, and Air to Air missiles.
  • It has a twin-engine configuration allowing continued flight virtually throughout the flight envelope.
  • It has a maximum take-off weight of 5800 kg and a range of 590 km.
  • ALH Mk-IV has a rigid rotor design making it aggressively maneuverable in air.
  • It has a dedicated Electronic Warfare suite for self-protection.
  • Its countermeasures suite can include: radar and missile detectors, infrared jammer, chaff and flare dispensers.

NBM conducts National Workshop of Bamboo Sector Development and Bamboo Exhibition in New Delhi

• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme started in the year 2006-07 and was subsumed under the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), for the years 2014-15 and 2015-16.
• MIDH is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented from 2014-15 for the holistic development of horticulture in the country, covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew and cocoa.
• The aim of the National Bamboo Mission will focus on the development of bamboo in limited States where it has social, commercial and economical advantages. in the
• Nodal Ministry: Department of Agriculture & Cooperation (DAC) under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
• Bamboo is majorly grown in North Eastern region and States including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
• Benefits of the Mission:
  • The initiative would assist farmers, local craftspeople, and other persons involved in the bamboo industry, including allied sectors, both directly and indirectly.
  • The initiative aims to reduce the import of bamboo goods while also increasing farmer income.
  • It establishes a full value chain for the expansion of the bamboo sector.

Mornings sans coffee? Global production under threat due to climate hazards, finds study

Coffee production:

• The vast majority of the world’s coffee comprises two species — Coffea Arabica (Arabica) and Coffea Canephora (Robusta). Coffee, especially Arabica, is considered a sensitive crop, vulnerable to climate variability and change.
• Climatic conditions required for coffee production
  • It requires a hot and humid climate for its growth.
  • Temperatures ranging between 15°C and 28 °C
  • Rainfall: 150 to 250 cm.
  • Soil: Well-drained, loamy soil containing a good deal of humus and minerals like iron and calcium are ideal for coffee cultivation.
  • It is generally grown under shady trees.
  • Dry weather is necessary at the time of ripening of the berries.
  • It is grown on hill slopes at elevations from 600 to 1,600 metres above sea level.
• In India coffee is largely cultivated in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, among which, Karnataka produces the most with over 70% of the total output.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to chair 6th meeting of ''National Startup Advisory Council'' today

National Startup Advisory Council:

• It was constituted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Objective: To advise the Government on measures needed to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country to drive sustainable economic growth and generate large-scale employment opportunities.
• Composition of the council
  • **Chairman:**Minister for Commerce & Industry.
  • **Ex-officio Members:**Nominees of the concerned Ministries/Departments/Organisations not below the rank of Joint Secretary.
  • Besides the ex-officio members, the council has non-official members, representing various stakeholders such as founders of successful startups, veterans who have grown and scaled companies in India
• NSAC is playing an important role in identifying areas of intervention for the expansion of the startup ecosystem and ideating and nurturing national programs under the Startup India initiative.

Startup India initiative

• Startup India is a flagship initiative of the Government of India, intended to catalyse startup culture and build a strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India.
• It was launched in 2016.

First Edition of Women Icons Leading Swacchata (WINS) Awards 2023 Launched By MoHUA

• The WINS Awards 2023 aims to recognize celebrate and disseminate inspiring and exemplary initiatives in urban sanitation and waste management by women-led organizations and individual women.
• Applications for the Awards are open to Self-Help Groups (SHGs), Micro-enterprises, Non-Government Organisations, Startups and Individual Women Leaders/Swachhata champions.
• Applications will be considered under the thematic areas of Management of Community/Public Toilets Septic Tanks, Cleaning Services Treatment Facilities (Used Water/Septage), Municipal Water collection and /or Transportation, Operation of Material Recovery Facilities and Others.
• Process: The Application Form will be made available to all States.
• States & Cities will publicize details of WINS Awards 2023 via their website, portals, and social media.
• Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) will evaluate entries & nominate up to 5 applicants to the State via the Swachhatam portal.
• ULBs can organize public felicitation of their nominees as city winners.
• ULB-wise nominations will be evaluated at the State level. Up to 3 entries in each category will be nominated by the State to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
• A state can organize public felicitation of nominees as State winners.
• State nominations will be evaluated at the national level on their innovativeness, impact, uniqueness, sustainability & replicability.
• At the national level, the MoHUA team will set up a Jury to evaluate the applications and select winners in each category.
• The Jury shall comprise stakeholders from cities and States, independent experts, brand ambassadors, influencers and industry representatives. Winning entries will be featured in a compendium.

Govt prohibits use of propylene glycol from supplier linked to Uzbekistan deaths

Propylene Glycol:

• Propylene glycol is a synthetic food additive that belongs to the same chemical group as alcohol.
• Characteristics of Propylene Glycol
  • Propylene glycol is a synthetic liquid substance that absorbs water.
  • It is a clear, colourless, slightly syrupy liquid at room temperature.
  • It may exist in air in the vapour form, although propylene glycol must be heated or briskly shaken to produce a vapour.
  • It is practically odorless and tasteless.

Uses of Propylene Glycol

• Propylene glycol is used to make polyester compounds and as a base for deicing solutions.
• Propylene glycol is used by the chemical, food, and pharmaceutical industries as an antifreeze when leakage might lead to contact with food.
• It is used to absorb extra water and maintain moisture in certain medicines, cosmetics, or food products.
• It is a solvent for food colors and flavours and in the paint and plastics industries.
• Propylene glycol is also used to create artificial smoke or fog used in fire-fighting training and theatrical productions.

Cyclone Freddy on track to become longest sustaining cyclone

• Origin: It originated off the northern coast of Australia and became a named storm on February 6, 2022.
• It crossed the entire South Indian Oceanand traveled more than 8,000 kilometers, affecting Mauritius and La Réunion, before making landfalls in Madagascar two weeks later and then Mozambique.
• Freddy was the first tropical cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere to undergo six separate rounds of rapid intensification.
• It also holds the record for all-time accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) (storm strength during its lifetime) for the Southern Hemisphere.
• Freddy is fuelled by the energy provided by the warm ocean surface, consistently sourcing heat and moisture throughout its lifetime.

Tropical Cyclone

• It is a rapidly rotating storm originating over warm tropical oceans from where it draws the energy to develop.
• It has a low-pressure center and clouds spiraling towards the eyewall surrounding the "eye", the central part of the system where the weather is normally calm and free of clouds.
• Its diameter is typically around 200 to 500 km but can reach 1000 km.
• The winds blow counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphereand clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
• A tropical cyclone brings very violent winds, torrential rain, high waves, and, in some cases, very destructive storm surges and coastal flooding.

PM Hasina & PM Modi to virtually inaugurate first Bangladesh-India cross-border oil pipeline on March 18

India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL):

• IBFPL will carry diesel from Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Ltd''s (NRL) marketing terminal at Siliguri in West Bengal to the Parbatipur depot of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC).
• IBFPL is 5 Kilometers long, out of which 126.5 kilometer pipeline is in Bangladesh and 5 kilometers in India.
• The pipeline has a capacity of one million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA).
• The total project cost for the construction of the IBFPL is Rs 377.08 crore.
• The project is built under grant assistance from the government of India.

Joint Statement of India-US Commercial Dialogue held on 10.03.2023 in New Delhi

• Recently, the National Security Advisors of India and the US led the inaugural meeting of the iCET in Washington, DC.

U.S.-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET):

• It was launched by the US President and Indian Prime Minister on the sidelines of the Quad summit on May 2022.
• Goal: To elevate and expand Indo-U.S. strategic technology partnership and defense industrial cooperation between the governments, businesses, and academic institutions of the two countries.
• The initiative will be spearheaded by the National Security Council Secretariat in India and the US National Security Council.
• The initiative would help forge links between the government, academia, and industry in areas such as AI, quantum computing, 5G/6G, biotech, space, and semiconductors.
• Under iCET, the two sides have identified six focus areas of co-development and co-production:
  • strengthening innovation ecosystems;
  • defense innovation and technology cooperation;
  • resilient semiconductor supply chains;
  • space;
  • STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) talent;
  • next-generation telecom;

Millions of Galaxies Emerge in New Simulated Images From NASA''s Roman

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope:

• The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope or Roman Space Telescope (RST) is a NASA deep space infrared observatory.
• Though originally referred to as the Wide Field Infrared Space Telescope (WFIRST), NASA renamed the mission in 2020 after Nancy Grace Roman, NASA''s first chief astronomer.
• Objective: RST will help answer essential astrophysics questions about dark energy, dark matter, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics.
• It is set to launch around 2026 or 2027.
• The mission is projected to last for five years.
• RST will be situated at Lagrange point 2, a stable gravitational point between Earth and the sun located around 1 million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from our planet.
• Features of the Mission:
  • The primary mirror of the RST has a diameter of 2.4 meters, the same size as the mirror of the Hubble Space Telescope.
  • It will have a field of view that is 100 times greater than the Hubble infrared instrument, capturing more of the sky with less observing time.
  • Roman’s gigantic field of view will enable the mission to create infrared images that are around 200 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope.
  • It has two other instruments: the Wide Field Instrument and the Coronagraph Instrument.
  • The Wide Field Instrument performs microlensing surveys to find exoplanets, and the Coronograph Instrument performs high-contrast imaging and spectroscopy of nearby exoplanets.

Hubble telescope:

• It is NASA’s large, space-based observatory which has revolutionized astronomy since its launch in 1990.
• Hubble’s domain extends from the ultraviolet through the visible (which our eyes see) and into the near-infrared.
• It is larger than a school bus in size, has a 7.9 feet mirror, and captures stunning images of deep space, playing a major role in helping astronomers understand the universe by observing the most distant stars, galaxies, and planets.