Daily Currentaffairs: 27 Sept 2020

Tables of contents

1.Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Train 

2.Pinaka Weapon System

3.Japan India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) 20

4.Wikipedia’s Project SWASTHA

5. World Risk Index (WRI) 2020

 

1. Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Train 

Recently, the government has unveiled the first look of India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) train.

About RRTS Train

• It is India's first RRTS Train which will run on the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor and reduce travel time between the two cities.

• The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) is executing India’s first RRTS.

• It can attain a top speed of 180 kilometers per hour and whose design is inspired by Delhi’s iconic Lotus Temple.

• The 17-km priority corridor of Delhi-Meerut RRTS, from Sahibabad to Duhai, will be operational in 2023 and the entire corridor will be operational in 2025.

Source: The Indian Express

2.Pinaka Weapon System

Recently, the Authority Holding Sealed Particulars (AHSP) responsibility of the Pinaka weapon system was handed over by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA).

About Pinaka Weapon System

• The development of the Pinaka was started by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in the late 1980s.

• It was developed as an alternative to the multi-barrel rocket launching systems of Russian make, called the ‘Grad’.

• After successful tests of Pinaka Mark-1 in late 1990, it was first used in the battlefield during the Kargil War of 1999.

• It is an indigenously developed rocket system which is named after Lord Shiva’s bow.

• It is primarily a multi-barrel rocket system (MBRL) system, can fire a salvo of 12 rockets over a period of 44 seconds.

• The one battery of Pinaka system consists of six launch vehicles, accompanied by the loader systems, radar, and links with network-based systems and a command post.

• The Mark-I version of Pinaka has a range of around 40 kilometers and the Mark-II version can fire up to 75 kilometers.

Authority Holding Sealed Particulars (AHSP)

 

The AHSP is the authority responsible for collecting, collating and analysing key defence items in accordance with the laid down procedure.

 

AHSP transfer marks successful establishment of production of Pinaka rockets, Launchers, Battery Command Posts, Loader Cum Replenishment and Replenishment Vehicles as well as successful establishment of Quality Assurance processes.

 

Source: PIB

3.Japan India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) 20

Recently, the 4th edition of Japan India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) has commenced in North Arabian Sea.

About Japan India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX)

• The India-Japan Maritime bilateral exercise is a biennial exercise between the Indian Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).

• It is a series of exercises commenced in January 2012 with special focus on maritime security cooperation.

• The last edition of JIMEX was conducted in October 2018 off Visakhapatnam, India.

• JIMEX 20 will showcase high degree of inter-operability and joint operational skills through conduct of a multitude of advanced exercises, across the spectrum of maritime operations.

• JIMEX 20 is being conducted in a ‘non-contact at-sea-only format’.

• The indigenously built stealth destroyer Chennai, Teg Class stealth frigate Tarkash and Fleet Tanker Deepak will represent the Indian Navy.

• The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force will be represented by JMSDF Ships Kaga, an Izumo Class Helicopter Destroyer and Ikazuchi, a Guided Missile Destroyer.

INS Chennai

 

It is an indigenously-designed and built Kolkata-class third guided missile destroyer.

 

It is the last of the ships in the Project 15A of the Indian Navy.

 

It is equipped with vertical launch and long-range surface-to-air and surface to surface missile systems like supersonic BrahMos, ‘Barak-8’ Long Range Surface to Air missiles.

 

INS Tarkash

 

It is the second of the three Teg-class stealth frigates acquired from Russia.

 

It carries a wide range of anti-ship, anti-air and anti-submarine weaponry, including the supersonic BrahMos missile, 100 mm naval gun, optically controlled 30 mm Close-In Weapon System, torpedoes and rockets.

 

It was built at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia.

 

INS Deepak

 

The Deepak Class fleet replenishment tankers are in service with the Indian Navy.

 

The Deepak Class will provide refuelling and replenishment for the expanding fleet of the Indian Navy and will also support the future blue-water capabilities of the navy.

 

It can also be deployed in the transportation and supply of ammunitions, materials and provisions, as well as Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.

 

The construction of Deepak Class tankers was carried out by Fincantieri at its Muggiano Shipyard and Sestri Ponente.

 

It is equipped with storage facilities for carrying more than 15,000t of liquid cargo, including diesel oil, aviation fuel and fresh water.

Source: PIB

4.Wikipedia’s Project SWASTHA

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the health care experts, researchers and volunteers from Wikipedia’s vast online community have come together under the Project SWASTHA.

About Wikipedia’s Project SWASTHA

• It is a Special Wikipedia Awareness Scheme for The Healthcare Affiliates.

• It is a gargantuan task of making factual information about the deadly virus (Coronavirus) accessible for all Indians and busting some popular myths too in the process.

• The campaign’s original mission was to promote healthcare awareness among local communities in India by presenting information on 10 different health-related topics in 10 Indian languages.

• It laid down a watertight four-step process to ensure the information they upload is 100 per cent authentic and factually sound.

• • The researchers from the University of Virginia, Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University draft an article in English.

  • They check to ensure that it is free from any “western bias” and is easy to read.

  • The draft is then sent to a healthcare expert in India, who goes through the article to see if there is anything missing.

  • The article is shared with a team of volunteers who check if it is simple, straightforward and easy to read.

  • If the draft clears their test, it is finally passed on to the volunteer community responsible for translating it into different Indian languages.

Source: The Indian Express

5. World Risk Index (WRI) 2020

Recently, the World Risk Index (WRI) 2020 has claimed that India was ‘poorly prepared’ to deal with ‘climate reality’, due to which it was more vulnerable to extreme natural disasters.

Key Highlights

Performance of India and its neighbors

• India ranked 89th among 181 countries on the WRI 2020.

• The country was fourth-most-at- risk in south Asia on the index, after Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

• Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives fared better than India in their abilities to cope with extreme disasters.

• India also lagged behind Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives in terms of lack of adaptive capacities or the preparedness to deal with extreme events.

• India and other south Asian nations did improve their ranking marginally in the World Risk Index during the course of a year.

• The ranking of SAARC Countries is Afghanistan (57th), Bangladesh (13th), Bhutan (152nd), India (89th), Maldives (171), Nepal (121st), Pakistan (87th) and Sri Lanka (74th).

• As compared to the World Risk Index 2019, all south Asian countries had slipped on their ability to adapt to the reality of climate emergency in the World Risk Index 2020.

Performance of Small island nations and Africa

• The index showed that Oceania was the continent most at risk, followed by Africa and the Americas.

• Vanuatu was the country with the highest disaster risk worldwide which was followed by Tonga and Dominica.

• Small island states, especially in the South Pacific and the Caribbean, were disproportionately represented among high-risk countries, due to their high exposure to extreme natural events.

• The small island states had limited financial resources and had made small contributions to climate change, but were affected the most by its consequences.

• The Central African Republic was the most vulnerable country, followed by Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger and Guinea-Bissau.

About World Risk Index (WRI) 2020

 

It is a part of the World Risk Report (WRR) 2020.

 

The WRR 2020 is released by the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and Bundnis Entwicklung Hilft, in cooperation with the University of Stuttgart in Germany.

 

The WRI is calculated on a country-by-country basis, through the multiplication of exposure and vulnerability.

 

It is an annual report released since 2011 and indicates which countries are in the greatest need to strengthen measures for coping with and adapting to extreme natural events.

 

Source: Down to Earth

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