GS PAPER II NEWS
Beijing Winter Olympics boycott
Why in News
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- China has been furious over the diplomatic boycott of four countries including the US on the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Key point
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- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that his country, like the US, UK and Australia, will boycott the Beijing Winter Olympic Games diplomatically due to human rights concerns.
- Prior to Canada’s announcement, the US, Australian and British governments had decided to boycott the Winter Olympic Games, to be held in February 2022, in view of human rights violations in China. China has said that it will take concrete retaliation on this.
- Please note that the decisions of Canada, USA, UK and Australia will not affect the participation of their players in the Games.
- Canada joins the United States and Australia and Britain in a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, citing China’s human rights record.
- America wants to give a strong message to China by taking such a step. Human rights are being violated continuously in China. The treatment of Uighur Muslims is not hidden from anyone.
- Winter Olympics in China
- Winter Olympics is going to be organized in China from 04 February 2022. The main event of the Winter Olympics to be held in Beijing, the capital of China, will be held at the Beijing National Stadium and will conclude on February 20, 2022.
- China has previously hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, and Beijing is the only city in the world to host both the summer and Winter Olympics.
- China has budgeted $3.9 billion for the Winter Olympics, compared to $43 billion in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
GS PAPER III
X-ray Observatory
Why in News
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- America’s space agency NASA has launched a new X-ray mission (IXPE) on December 09, 2021.
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Key point
- This mission will prove to be effective in uncovering many mysterious events happening in space. This will help reveal many important information about black holes, supernovae and the nature of the universe.
- This historic X-ray mission has been launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Florida with the help of SpaceX Company’s Falcon 9 rocket at one o’clock in the morning.
- This mission is a joint program of NASA and the Italian Space Agency. This mission studies celestial bodies.
- mission objective
- The main objective of this mission is to determine the radiation processes of specific cosmic X-ray sources and to detect general relativistic and quantum effects in extreme environments.
Importance
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- This mission will be helpful in finding out about the mysterious events happening in space like black holes and neutron stars etc.
- However, IXPE is not as large and strong as NASA’s X-ray telescope Chandra X-ray.
- On this occasion, IXPE Principal Investigator Martin Weskoff said that the launch of this mission is a big step in the field of X-ray astronomy.
- He said that the IXPE mission will give us information about the exact nature and origin of cosmic X-rays in space.
- It is the first satellite mission dedicated to measure the polarization of X-rays from various cosmic sources.
- The cost of this mission is 188 million US dollars. The main objective of this mission is to understand high-energy astrophysical processes and their sources.
- This mission maps the magnetic fields of neutron stars, black holes, pulsars, magnetars, supernova remnants, quasars and active nuclear galactic nuclei.
- This mission will help to reveal many important information about black holes, supernovae and the nature of the universe. The IXPE mission will provide information on the exact nature and origin of cosmic X-rays in space.
GS PAPER III
Monetary policy review
Why in News
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- The Reserve Bank of India has released the results of its monetary policy review on 08 December 2021 and has not made any change in policy rates.
Key point
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- In this way, now the repo rate has been kept at 4 percent and the reverse repo rate at 3.35 percent.
- RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that due to the Kovid-19 pandemic in the global markets, there have been many challenges and India has also been facing many challenges, which RBI has tried to play an important role in meeting.
- Now we are in a better position than before to deal with Corona.
- The Reserve Bank of India last changed the policy rates on May 22, 2020. Since then, there have been eight monetary policy reviews and the RBI has not made any change in interest rates.
Repo rate
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- The rate at which RBI gives loans to commercial banks and other banks is called repo rate.
- Lower repo rate means that all types of loans from the bank will become cheaper. This also increases the interest rate on your deposit.
Reverse repo rate
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- The rate at which banks get interest on the money deposited in RBI on their behalf is called reverse repo rate.
- The extra cash which is with the banks is deposited with the Reserve Bank. Banks also get interest on this.
GDP growth rate of 9.5 percent
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- The Reserve Bank of India on 08 December 2021 retained the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth rate estimate for the current financial year at 9.5 percent.
- Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das, in his address after the three-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), said the central bank’s mission is to maintain a credible, strong and inclusive revival.
- RBI said that retail inflation may remain around 5.3 per cent in the current financial year 2021-22.
GS PAPER III
Pinaka Extended Range System, Area Denial Munitions & New Indigenous Fuzes
Why in News
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- Successful trials of Pinaka Extended Range System (Pinak Wide Range of Fire System), Area Denial Munitions (ADM) and New Indigenous Fuse (New Indigenous Explosives) were conducted at various test sites.
Key point
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- Successfully test-fired Pinak ER Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher System at Pokhran Range.
- The system has been jointly designed by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) laboratories – the Pune-based Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) and the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL).
- DRDO transferred the technology of this system to the industry after the enhanced firepower of Pinaka was finalized.
- Industry partner manufactured the said Pinaka Mk-1 rocket. DRDO had given full cooperation for production and quality compliance.
- In view of the continuity of technology transfer, the rockets developed by the industry had to undergo a process of capability assessment and quality certification.
- DRDO’s design team assisted in coordination of production, quality adherence and bulk production. Apart from this, the agency appointed to check the quality of the system also cooperated.
- DRDO along with Army has evaluated and tested the firepower of these industry produced rockets at field firing ranges during the last three days.
- In these trials, the advanced firepower Pinaka rockets with different explosive capabilities were tested from different distances. All the test targets were met satisfactorily.
- 24 rockets were fired from various distances with explosive capabilities and all hit the target with absolute accuracy and stability.
- With this, the initial phase of technology development of Pinac-ER was successfully completed by the industry partner. The industry was also successful in its manufacture. Now the industry partner is ready to produce the full range of rocket systems.
Pinaka -ER Version
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Pinaka-ER is an improved version of the old Pinaka version. The earlier Pinaka rockets have been inducted into the Indian Army since the last decade.- The system has been designed keeping in mind the new requirements with advanced technology of increasing range.
- The Area Denial Munition (ADM) for Pinaka designed by ARDE, Pune has been built by industry partners. Its technology was also provided to them.
- These munitions were successfully tested at the Pokhran Field Firing Range. These trials were also aimed at examining how the technology has been adopted by industry partners.
- Indigenously developed fuses for Pinaka rockets were also tested.
About Pinaka
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- Pinaka is a multi-stage rocket launcher produced in India.
- It is developed by Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
- Development of Pinaka started in December 1986.
- Due to its modern technology, its precision targeting ability and destructive power are high.
- The Pinaka missile system is capable of attacking enemy territory with high accuracy up to a range of 75 km. Now it is being made capable of making precise targets at greater distances.
- The Pinaka Mark-I variant was used by the Indian Army during the Kargil War of 1999.
- The Indian Army had targeted the Pakistani posts posted on the mountain posts with precision.