GS PAPER II NEWS
15th India-Israel Joint Working Group
Why in News
- India-Israel Joint Working Group (JWG) on Bilateral Defence Cooperation has agreed to form a Task Force to formulate a comprehensive Ten-Year Roadmap to identify new areas of cooperation.
Key Points
- This was decided at the 15th JWG meeting held on October 27, 2021 in Tel Aviv, Israel.
- The meeting was co-chaired by Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar and the Director General of the Israel’s Ministry of Defence, Maj Gen (Retd) Amir Eshel.
- The JWG is the apex body between the Ministry of Defence of India and Israel’s Ministry of Defence to comprehensively review and guide all aspects of Bilateral Defence Cooperation.
- The two sides reviewed the progress made in Military to Military engagements including exercises and industry cooperation.
- The Co-chairs were also appraised on the progress made by the Sub Working Groups (SWG) on Defence Procurement & Production and Research & Development.
- It was also decided to form a SWG on Defence Industry Cooperation and in this regard a Terms of Reference was signed between the two sides.
- The formation of this SWG would enable efficient utilisation of bilateral resources, effective flow of technologies and sharing industrial capabilities.
- It was also decided to schedule the Service level Staff talks in a specific time frame.
- It was agreed to hold the next JWG in India on mutually convenient dates.
GS PAPER III
‘Health Insurance for India’s Missing Middle’
Why in News
- NITI Aayog today released a comprehensive report on ‘Health Insurance for India’s Missing Middle’, which highlights the gaps in health insurance coverage among India’s population and offers to address the situation.
Key point
- The report highlights the need to create low-cost comprehensive health insurance products for the missing middle.
- It primarily recognizes the policy issue of low financial security of health for the missing middle class and highlights health insurance as a possible way to address it.
- In doing so, the report provides a starting point for a comprehensive discussion on solutions and specific products, to improve insurance coverage for the missing middle.
- The report proposes extensive industry and government stakeholder consultations and in-depth discussions with consumer groups on the specifics of the problem and possible solutions.
About the report
- At least 30 percent of the country’s population, ie 400 million people, do not have any financial security in the form of health insurance. NITI Aayog in a report titled Health Insurance for India’s Missing Middle said that the expansion of health insurance coverage is an essential step in India’s effort to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
- These 400 million Indians do not have health insurance despite their ability to pay cheap premiums in the absence of affordable health insurance products.
- He has been called the ‘missing middle’ in the report. This is a broad category for those who do not have health insurance. These are people between the marginalized poor classes and the relatively affluent organized sector.
- State government schemes provide comprehensive coverage for hospital treatment to 50 per cent of the poor population i.e. around 70 crore persons.
- About 20 per cent of the population or 250 million persons are covered through social health insurance and private health insurance. The remaining 30 percent of the population is deprived of health insurance.
- The actual coverage gap in PMJAY and the duplication between the schemes has resulted in a higher actual population deprived of insurance.
Health care efforts
- A flagship scheme towards universal health coverage, Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and state government extension schemes – provide comprehensive cover for hospitalization to the bottom 50% of the population.
- About 20% of the population has coverage through social health insurance and private voluntary health insurance designed primarily for high-income groups.
- The remaining 30% of the population is deprived of health insurance, known as the “missing middle”. The missing middle consists of a quintile of five values dividing the data into five equal parts and spanning both urban and rural areas.
GS PAPER III
‘Samudrayaan’
Why in News
- Recently, India’s first manned ocean mission ‘Samudrayaan’ was launched from Chennai.
Key point
- India has also joined the elite group after the US, Russia, Japan, France and China that have the capability to conduct manned missions for underwater activities.
- about the seaplane
- This unique technology will facilitate the Ministry of Earth Sciences towards exploration of non-living resources like polymetallic manganese nodules, gas hydrates, hydro-thermal sulfides and cobalt crusts found at depths of 1000 to 5500 meters in the ocean.
- Preliminary design of the manned submarine ‘Matsya 6000’ has been completed and the process has started with various organizations including ISRO, IITM and DRDO.
- Sea trials of the initial version of this manned submarine capable of going to a depth of up to 500 meters are expected in the last quarter of 2022 and the deepwater version of the Matsya 6000, ready for trials by the second quarter of 2024.
- Advanced technologies in metallurgy, energy storage, underwater navigation and manufacturing facilities are critical in developing more efficient, reliable and safe manned submarines.
- Underwater exploration vehicles are required to be capable of carrying out activities such as high resolution bathymetry, biodiversity assessment, geological observation, search activities as well as rescue operations and engineering support.
Profit
- Sea exploration may have significantly increased the capability of unmanned vehicles and equipped them with excellent visibility systems, but manned submarines will pave the way for researchers to have a unique experience of being directly present.
- The manned submarine Fendoze, developed by China in 2020 with the upgrade of underwater technologies, recently dived to a depth of 11,000 metres.
Based on more than two decades of experience in the development of unmanned robotic vehicles and systems capable of going up to a depth of 6000 metres, Ministry-NIOT is developing indigenous manned submersibles with a depth capability of 6000 meters under the Deep Ocean Mission.- The manned submersible is designed to carry three persons in a 2.1 m diameter titanium alloy personnel area, with a normal operating capacity of 12h and an emergency operating capacity of up to 96h.
Significance
- Some of the important subsystems of manned submersibles include the development of Ti alloy personnel fields, manned support and protection systems in enclosed spaces, low-density modules, ballast and trim systems.
- It will also be equipped with pressure compensated batteries and propulsion systems, control and communication systems and launching and recovery systems.
- It is recognized by its International Association of Classification and Certification Society for human use of a manned submarine at a depth of 6000 m along with systems design, concept of operation, functionality and integrity of sub-components, emergency rescue, failure situation analysis, etc. Reviewed and certified as per rules.
GS PAPER III
TUSHIL – P1135.6 Frigate
Why in News
- The seventh Indian Naval frigate of the P1135.6 class was launched on 28 October 2021 at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia.
Key point
- During the ceremony, Mrs Datla Vidya Varma named the ship ‘Tushil’. ‘Tushil’ in Sanskrit means ‘defensive armor’.
- On the basis of the agreement between the Governments of India and the Russian Federation, two ships under Project 1135.6 will be built in Russia and two ships in India.
- These ships will be built in India at M/s Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL).
- The contract for the construction of the two ships was signed between Russia and India on 18 October.
Significance
- These ships are being built keeping in mind the specific requirements of the Indian Navy to meet all the requirements of maritime warfare in all three dimensions namely air, surface and sub-surface.
- These ships will be equipped with advanced weapons and sensing equipment of India and Russia, which will be able to participate actively both alone and with full navies within their maritime boundaries and in the open ocean.
- These will be equipped with “stealth technology”, due to which they will be saved from radar operating at low level and will not make any kind of noise under deep water.
- The ships are being equipped with major equipment procured from India such as surface-to-surface missiles, sonar systems, surface surveillance radars, communication systems and anti-submarine systems.
- Apart from these, Russian-made surface-to-surface missiles and artillery guns are also being installed.
Challenges
- The shipyard was faced with the daunting task of completing the complex shipbuilding project. Despite the challenges of the current pandemic situation, shipbuilding continued and new solutions were devised.
GS PAPER III
Long-Range Bomb (LRB)
Why in News
- The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) jointly test-fired an indigenously developed Long-Range Bomb (LRB) from an aerial platform.
Key point
After being fired from an IAF fighter aircraft, the LR bomb was directed to land-based targets at long ranges with accuracy within specified ranges.- All the objectives of this mission were met successfully. The flight and performance of the bomb was monitored by a number of range sensors, including Electro Optical Tracking System (EOTS), telemetry and radar, deployed by the Integrated Test Range in Orissa, Chandipur.
- The LR bomb has been designed and developed by the Hyderabad-based DRDO Laboratory, Research Center Imaran in coordination with other DRDO laboratories.
Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO)
- Defense Research and Development Organization is the country’s leading organization for research related to the defense of India.
- The organization works as a subsidiary unit of the Indian Ministry of Defence. The institute was established in 1958 as the technical department of the Indian Army and Defense Science Institute.
- Presently the institute has fifty-one laboratories which are engaged in research in the field of electronics, defense equipment etc. More than five thousand scientists and more than twenty five thousand technical personnel are the resources of this institution.
- There are many big projects going on here related to radars, missiles etc.