28-11-22 Daily-Punjab-PPSC Current Affairs

The annual season ofstubble burningis almost over with the daily combined count in Punjab and Haryana staying below 200. Both Punjab and Haryana have recorded lowest paddy residue burning events this year since 2020, shows data of Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), which follows the standard protocol notified by the Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) in 2021.

Between September 15 and November 23, Punjab and Haryana have witnessed a reduction of fire counts by 30% and 48%, respectively, this year as against last year.

Punjab has recorded 49,604 farm fires between September 15 and November 23 in 2022 as compared to 71,181 in 2021 and 82,693 in 2020. Data from the stubble burning season of 2021 shows that the daily fire counts crossed 4,000 on six days, including three days when per day counts were higher than 5,000. However, the highest single day count was 3,916 on November 11.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday successfully launched nine satellites aboard its workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C54 (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, located in the south-eastern state of Andhra Pradesh.This was the 56th PSLV flight of ISRO and the last one for the year.

The launch of the satellites aboard PSLV comes nearly a week after the entry of the private sector into the space .

Under ‘Mission Prarambh’, Vikram-S, a small-lift launch vehicle, named in honour of Vikram Sarabhai, the pioneer of India’s space programme, was launched into orbit by Skyroot Aerospace, a private space company.

The government is likely to announce another 300-400Vande Bharat(VB) trains in the nextBudget. The railways is also targetting to manufacture the first “standard gauge” (SG) version of this semi-high-speed train in the next one year, which will pave way for its export to markets in Europe, South America and east Asia by 2025-26.

The announcement of the new VB trains will be in addition to the already announced plan to making 475 such semi high-speed trains operational in the next 3-4 years. Sources said the ultimate aim is to sanction 300-400 such trains annually to meet the growing demand and to provide better riding experience to passengers.

On the plan to improve upon the design of these trains to increase their speed on existing tracks, a RAILWAY ministry official said India will get its first set of trains with tilting technology by 2025-26. Nearly 100 VB trains out of the already sanctioned 475 will use this technology, which enables trains to maneuver curves at higher speeds.

India – Malaysia joint military Exercise Harimau Shakti -2022 commenced at Pulai, Kluang, Malaysia on 28^thNovember and will culminate on 12th December 22. Exercise HARIMAU SHAKTI is an annual training event between the Indian and Malaysian Army which is being conducted since 2012.

Joint field training exercises, joint combat discussions and joint demonstrations will culminate with a two-day validation exercise, where special emphasis will be on enhancing tactical skills and enhancing inter-operability between the forces and to promote Army to Army relations.

Exercise HARIMAU SHAKTI will enhance the level of DEFENCE co-operation between Indian Army and the Malaysian Army, which in turn will further foster the bilateral relations between the two nations.

In a major hurdle to Africas rhino conservation efforts, COP19 has recently accepted the proposal to downgrade the status of southern white rhinos from Appendix I to Appendix II. The southern white rhino is one of the two subspecies of white rhinos, with the other being the northern white rhino. It is one of the largest and heaviest animals in the world.

A proposal by Namibia and Botswana to transfer the southern white rhinos from Appendix I to Appendix II allows the trade of live animals for conservation purposes and hunting trophies only.

Animals in Appendix II may not necessarily be on the brink of extinction but the trade of such species is regulated to protect their existence.

This amendment is restricted to the downgrading of live animals only for in situ conservation purposes.