Amazon taps SpaceX''s Falcon 9 rocket to help launch Kuiper satellites

Project Kuiper:

• It is Amazon’s project to build a network of 3,236 satellites in low Earth orbit to provide high-speed internet access anywhere in the world.
• Its mission is to bring fast, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world.
• Project Kuiper has three main parts:
  • Ground infrastructure:
    • It includes gateway antennas that securely send and receivecustomer data to and from satellites, along with telemetry, tracking, and control (TT&C) antennas that keep the satellites properly operating.
    • Global networking connects those gateway antennas to the internet, public cloud, or private networks.
  • Satellites: They operate in low Earth orbit (LEO) and relay data traffic to and from gateway antennas and customers.
  • Customer terminals:
    • These are the technologies that Project Kuiper customers use to receive broadband service.
    • The terminals combine antennas and processors into a single, compact system to deliver connectivity.

Low Earth Orbit (LEO)

• LEO is an orbit around the Earth with an altitude that lies towards the lower end of the range of possible orbits.
• This is around 1,200 miles (2,000 km) or less.
• The majority of satellites are to be found in LEO.
• Unlike satellites in geostationary orbit (GEO) that must always orbit along Earth’s equator, LEO satellites do notalways have to follow a particular patharound Earth in the same way; their plane can be tilted.
• This means there are more available routes for satellites in LEO, which is one of the reasons why LEO is a very commonly used orbit.
• It is the orbit most commonly used for satellite imaging, as being near the surface allows it to take images of higher resolution.
• It is also the orbit used for the International Space Station (ISS), as it is easier for astronauts to travel to and from it at a shorter distance.
• However, individual LEO satellites are less useful for tasks such as telecommunication because they move so fast across the sky and therefore require a lot of effort to trackfrom ground stations.
• Instead, communications satellites in LEO often work as part of a large combination, or constellation, of multiple satellites to provide constant coverage.

Study finds complex link between lipids and cholelithiasis

Cholelithiasis

• The condition of having gallstones is called cholelithiasis.
• It is a common hepatobiliary condition affecting mostly Western populations.
• It is a major risk factor for cholangiocarcinoma, which is a kind of bile duct cancer.
• Gallstones are hardened deposits of digestive fluid that form in the gallbladder.
• The gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped organ that lies beneath the liver and stores bile made by the liver.
• Bile is a digestive fluid made of cholesterol, bile salts, and bilirubin and gets released into the small intestine through the cystic duct and common bile duct to aid in fat digestion.
• Causes: The exact cause of cholelithiasis is not entirely clear. Cholelithiasis most commonly results from a chemical imbalance within the contents of the gallbladder in which the bile contains too much cholesterol or bilirubin.
• Symptom: The most common symptom of cholelithiasis is abdominal pain localized to the upper right or central abdomen.
• Treatment: It may be treated with medications or procedures.

TN CM to unveil statue of Iyothee Thass Pandithar on December 1

Iyothee Thass Pandithar:

• He was born on 20 May 1845 in Madras presidency.
• He was a prominent anti-caste activist and a practitioner of Siddha medicine.
• Association with tribal people: In the 1870s, Iyothee Thass organised the Todas and other tribes of the Nilgiri Hills into a formidable force for the freedom movement.
• In 1876, Thass established the Advaidananda Sabha and launched a magazine called Dravida Pandian in collaboration with Rev. John Rathina.
• He established the “Dravida Mahajana Sabha '''' in 1891 along with Rettamalai Srinivasan.
• He established the Sakya Buddhist Society in Madras, with branches all over South India.
  • The Sakya Buddhist Society, also known as the Indian Buddhist Association, was established in 1898.
  • To manage and coordinate the functioning of society, he began a weekly magazine, Tamizhan, in 1907

Six Alien Planets in Coordinated Cosmic Ballet Discovered

• The star, known as HD110067, is located approximately 100 light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices and is about 20% less massive than our Sun.
• The six planets were detected by observing minute dimming of the star''s brightness as each planet transited, or passed in front of, the star from our perspective on Earth
• The orbital resonance of these planets, i.e., their orbits, is synchronised in such a way that they have remained stable for about 4 billion years.

Sub-Neptune planets

• These are the most commonly observed types of planets in our galaxy.
• They could be rocky worlds with thick atmospheres of hydrogen and heliumgas, or perhaps composed of rock and ice with warm, water-rich atmospheres.
• These planets have radii between those of the Earth and Neptune.

Neptune

• It''s the last of the planets in our solar system.
• It''s more than 30 times as far from the sun as Earth is.
• Neptune is very similar to Uranus. It''s made of a thick fog of water, ammonia, and methane over an earth-sized solid centre.
• Its atmosphere is made of hydrogen, helium, and methane.
• Structure and Surface
  • Neptune is encircled by six rings and is an ice giant.
  • It is made of a thick soup of water, ammonia, and methane flowing over a solid core about the size of Earth.
  • It has a thick, windy atmosphere.
• Time on Neptune
  • One day on Neptune goes by in 16 hours.
  • Neptune has such a long journey around the sun that it takes 165 Earth years to go around once.

Codex Alimentarius Commission Praises India’s Standards on Millets

• India has framed a comprehensive group standard for 15 types of millets specifying 8 quality parameters, which received resounding applause at the international meet.
• India put forward a proposal for the development of global standards for millets, particularly for Finger millet, Barnyard millet, Kodo millet, Proso millet and Little millet as group standards as in the case of pulses.

Codex Alimentarius Commission

• It is an international food safety and quality standard-setting body.
• It was created by the World Health Organisation and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations in May 1963.
• Objective: Protecting consumer’s health and ensuring fair practices in food trade.
• Members: It consists of 189 member countries.
• Membership of the Commission is open to all Member Nations and Associate Members of FAO and WHO which are interested in international food standards.
• The Commission meets in regular sessions once a year, alternating between Geneva and Rome.
• Funding: The programme of work of the Commission is funded through the regular budgets of WHO and FAO, with all work subject to the approval of the two governing bodies of the parent organisations.
• The Commission works in the six official languages of the UN.
• Currently, it has standards for sorghum and pearl millet.

Millets

• These are a collective group of small-seeded annual grasses that are grown as grain crops, primarily on marginal land in dry areas of temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical regions.
• In India, millets can be clubbed into major, minor, and pseudo categories.
  • Major Millets: Sorghum (Jowar), Pearl Millet (Bajra), Finger Millet (Ragi/Mandua)
  • Minor Millets: Foxtail Millet (Kangani/Kakun), Proso Millet (Cheena), Kodo Millet, Barnyard Millet (Sawa/Sanwa/ Jhangora), Little Millet (Kutki)
  • Pseudo Millets: Buck-wheat (Kuttu) and Amaranth (Chaulai)
• **The top five states producing Millets:**are Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana.

5-J SC Bench To Review Ruling On ‘Automatic Vacation Of Stay’

Stay Order

• A ''stay'' or ‘stay order’ is defined as the act of temporarily stopping or postponing any judicial proceedingthrough the court or legal authorities in India to secure the rights of a citizen.
• It could lead to the suspension of a case or even the suspension of any specific proceeding within an ongoing case.
• So, till a stay order is in effect, the operation of the Court’s proceedings is made standstill, and the party who seeks it can cause the operation of the other party (against whom the order is given) to cease.
• In the case of any key development that may require it, a judge may decide to issue a stay order without even formally prompting the other party or even a request being made to them in this regard.
• There are two types of stay orders: ‘stay of proceedings’ and ‘stay of execution’.
  • A stay of proceedings is issued by the court in case there are parallel proceedings that take place, which may affect either one.
  • A stay of execution refers to the complete halting of the enforcement of a verdict or judgement against someone, for example, when it is believed that a person is innocent and is given a pardon.
• This means that stay orders can persist conditionally or even absolutely.
• The Supreme Court on March 28, 2018, passed several directions with regard to stay orders, applicable to both civil and criminal matters, which are as follows:
  • In all pending cases where a stay is granted and is operating, the stay will come to an end on expiry of 6 months from March 28, 2018, unless, in exceptional cases, a speaking order extends the stay.
  • In cases where the stay is granted in the future, e., after March 28, 2018, the stay order will expire 6 months from the date of such order, unless an order of extension is granted by a speaking order.
  • The speaking order granting an extension must show that the case was of such an exceptional nature that continuing the stay was more important than having the trial finalised.
  • The trial court may fix a date not later than 6 months from the date of the stay order.
  • On the expiration of the period of 6 months, the trial court will resume the proceedings without waiting for any other intimation unless an express order extending the stay is produced.

CRPF deployed at Nagarjunasagar Dam amid Andhra Pradesh and Telangana fight

Nagarjuna Sagar Dam

• It is built between the Nalgonda district of Telangana and the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.
• It is built across the River Krishna.
• It is the largest and highest masonry dam in the world.
• The dam is 150m tall and 1.6 km long.
• It derives its name from a nearby hillock and island called Nagarjunakonda, where an ancient Buddhist monk once lived.
• It is also one of the earliest projects built in post-independence India for irrigation and hydroelectricity generation.
• The construction of the dam commenced in 1956 and was completed by 1967.
• This dam supports the national grid with its electric power and provides irrigation water to five districts, including Khamman District, Nalgonda District, Guntur District, Prakasam District, and Krishna District.
• As per the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Nagarjunasagar Dam is controlled and supervised by Telangana.

RBI, Bank of England sign MoU for cooperation in CCIL issue

Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL)

• It was set up in April 2001 to provide guaranteed clearing and settlement functions for transactions in money, G-Secs, foreign exchange, and derivativemarkets.
• CCIL also provides non-guaranteed settlement for Rupee interest rate derivatives and cross-currency transactions through the CLS Bank.
• Promoters: State Bank of India, IDBI Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Bank of Baroda and HDFC Bank Ltd.
• The company was incorporated with an authorised equity share capital of Rs. 50 crores.
• CCIL’s adherence to the stringent principles governing its operations as a Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) has resulted in its recognition as a Qualified Central Counterparty (QCCP) by the Reserve Bank of India in 2014.
• It has also set up a Trade Repository to enable financial institutions to reporttheir transactions in Over-the-Counter (OTC) derivatives.
• Through its fully owned subsidiary, Clearcorp Dealing Systems Limited (CDSL), CCIL has introduced various platforms for the electronic execution of deals in various market segments.
• Further, CDSL has developed, implemented, and manages the NDS-OM, the RBI-owned anonymous electronic trading system for dealing in G-Secs and also for reporting OTC deals, as well as the NDS-CALL platform, which facilitates electronic dealing in the Call, Notice & Term Money market.
• CCIL is also the trade repository for all OTC transactions in the Forex, Interest Rate and Credit derivative transactions.

CLS

• Continuous Linked Settlement (CLS) is an initiative by a consortium of the world’s largest foreign exchange clearing banks to eliminate the settlement risk in foreign exchange transactions.
• The CLS system is run by CLS Bank International, which is solely dedicated to settling foreign exchange trades.
• The CLS Bank was established in 2002 and is owned by the world’s largest banks. It is based in New York, with its main operations in London.
• Working:
  • Standard foreign exchange transactions involve a settlement risk. As the exchange of the two currencies involved is not simultaneous, the party that sells a currency before receiving the currency purchased from the counterparty is exposed to a certain risk.
  • CLS removes settlement risk by using a payment-versus-payment mechanism (“PVP”). This means that you get paid only if you pay.
  • On settlement day, each counterparty to the trade pays to CLS the currency it is selling.
  • CLS pays out the bought currency only if the sold currency is received.
  • In effect, CLS acts as a trusted third party in the settlement process.
  • It’s important to note that CLS is not a central counterparty; the trade remains between the two counterparties.

Defence Acquisition Council approves capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 2.23 lakh crore to enhance the operational capabilities of the Armed Forces

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC):

• DAC is the highest decision-making body of the Defence Ministry on procurement.
• Objective: To ensure expedited procurement of the approved requirements of the armed forces.
• Formation: It was formed after the Group of Ministers''recommendations on ''Reforming the National Security System'', in 2001, post-Kargil War (1999).
• Composition:
  • The Defence Minister is the chairman of DAC.
  • Its members include the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
• Functions:
  • Give in-principle approval of a 15-year Long Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP)for defence forces.
  • Accord of acceptance of necessity to acquisition proposals.
  • Categorization of the acquisition proposals relating to ‘Buy’, ‘Buy & Make’, and ‘Make’.
  • Look into issues relating to single vendor clearance.
  • Take decisions regarding ‘offset’ provisions in respect of acquisition proposals above Rs 300 crore.
  • Take decisions regarding the transfer of technology under the ‘Buy & Make’ category of acquisition proposals.

Piezoelectricity: Why quartz ticks

Piezoelectricity

• The term “piezoelectric” originates from the Greek words “piezein,” meaning ‘to squeeze’, and “elektron”, for amber, a material known for its association with static electricity.
• Piezoelectricity is a remarkable phenomenon whereby some materials, including quartz, ceramics such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT), and even certain biological substances like bone and tendons, can generate an electric charge in response to mechanical stress.
• This property is the result of their unusual crystal structures.
• Usually, the charges on atoms in the molecules that make them up are symmetric on two sides of an axis.
• When some stress is applied, the molecule becomes distorted, and the asymmetry of charges gives rise to a small electric current.
• Some materials also display an inverse piezoelectric effect, where the application of an electric current induces a mechanical deformation.
• Applications
  • Both direct and inverse piezoelectric materials are widely used in pressure sensors, accelerometers, and acoustic devices, where their ability to convert mechanical signals into electrical signals is crucial.
  • It is also used in quartz watches.
  • Piezoelectric transducers are common in ultrasonic applications, such as intrusion detectors and alarms.
  • Piezoelectric devices are employed at AF (audio frequencies) as pickups, microphones, earphones, beepers, and buzzers.
  • In wireless applications, piezoelectricity makes it possible to use crystals and ceramics as oscillators that generate predictable and stable signals at RF (radio frequencies).