Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs October 2020

Trial run of 's first hydrogen fuel cell car successfully conducted by CSIR, KPIT The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and KPIT successfully ran trials of India’s first Hydrogen Fuel Cell (HFC) prototype car running on an indigenously developed fuel cell stack at CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune. The fuel cell is a low temperature PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) type Fuel Cell that operates at 65-75 degree centigrade, which is suitable for vehicular applications.

CSIR and KPIT have successfully developed a 10 kWe automotive grade LT-PEMFC fuel cell stack based on CSIR’s know-how. The heart of the PEM fuel cell technology includes the membrane electrode assembly, which is wholly a CSIR knowhow. In 2016, CSIR-NCL and CSIR-CECRI as part of the Industry Originated Project (IOP) category of the New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) scheme partnered with KPIT for the development of an automotive grade PEM Fuel Cell technology. Hydrogen Fuel Cell (HFC) technology uses chemical reactions between hydrogen and oxygen (from air) to generate electrical energy, eliminating the use of fossil fuels.

Centre permits export of Bangalore Rose Onions & Krishnapuram Onions Union Government has permitted export of Bangalore Rose Onions and Krishnapuram Onions of up to ten thousand metric tonnes each.

Bangalore rose onion, locally called gulabi eerulli, is a variety of onion grown in and around Bangalore in Karnataka. Rose onions are not cultivated in any other place in India. The onions of this variety have bulbs with flat base and are spherical. The other characteristics which make them unique are their deep scarlet red colour, anthocyanin, phenols and high pungency. They are also known to contain higher levels of protein, phosphorus, iron and carotene. It got the Geographical Indication tag in 2015. This allowed the Bangalore Rose Onion Growers' Association headquartered in Chikkaballapur to get patent rights to cultivation of the variety.

Odisha Universities (Amendment) Bill 2020 Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has requested the Centre to repeal the Odisha Universities (Amendment) Bill 2020, which was passed in the state Assembly during the Monsoon Session recently.

Describing the bill as anomalous, Mr Pradhan said, in his letter to Union Education Minister, that the bill is in complete contradiction to the Prime Minister's visionary National Education Policy- 2020. According to him, the bill's provisions are cause for grave concern replacing University’s apex Senate body with the State-controlled Syndicate, manipulating the appointment of its University Vice-Chancellor by inserting a State Government appointed nominee in the Search Committee and limiting candidature of this committee to non-academic candidates An ill-founded delegation of powers to appoint faculties and staffs to Odisha State Public Service Commission (OPSC) and State Selection Board is meant to remote control the higher educational system.

The Bill also seeks to unethically bypass the Constitutional scrutiny and debates on utilization of public funds by withdrawing the tabling of University Audit Report in the State Assembly. Current Affairs 2020

The ‘outsourcing’ of University appointments promulgated under the Bill is in violation of guidelines pertaining to the appointment and coordination for appointments under Section 26 of the UGC Act, 1956.

Brahma Kamal flowers bloom in Chamoli, Uttarakhand Brahma Kamal flowers, which used to bloom from August to mid-September, are now blooming in Garhwal of Chamoli district, Uttarakhand in October due to climate change. It is said that Brahma Kamal - named after God Brahma who is believed to have created the universe - takes about two hours to bloom to about eight inches in diameter. The flower only blooms for a few hours, and is said to being good luck and prosperity. Scientifically known as Saussurea Obvallata, the flower finds mention in the scriptures and is offered in many holy shrines, including Kedarnath, Badrinath and Tunganath.

Brahma Kamal is called the King of Himalayan Flowers, and is also the state flower of Uttarakhand. The state government has now started nurseries in the Chamoli district to conserve the flower. The flower is highly valued in Tibetan medicine and Ayurveda for its healing properties. It is extensively used by the local population to treat cuts and bruises.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak Scientists have found a rare Rose-breasted Grosbeak, a bird with both female and male plumage colours, in the United States’ Pennsylvania. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak derives its name from the male of the species who have a ruby-red triangular marking on a white chest and dark black wings with pink wing pits. The females are much less showy, with no patches on its beige body, brown wings and yellow wing pits.

Rose-breasted grosbeaks are sexually dimorphic, meaning they have both males and females have different colour plumage. Breeding habitat consists of cool-temperate open deciduous woods throughout much of eastern North America, with migration to tropical America in winter. Its IUCN status is Least Concern.

Archaeologists found a 1200-Year-Old Pagan Structure at Site of First Norse Temple Archaeologists from the University Museum of Bergen have found proof of a1200-year-old pagan construction in Norway. Once a wood building, it dates again to the Viking Age.

Once a wooden construction, it dates back to the Viking Age. The large wooden temple is said to have been used by an ancient civilization to pray and make sacrifices to Norse gods such as Odin and Thor. This is the first old Norse temple discovered till date. According to research, the temple once had a curved longside with slightly rounded gables and four posts at the centre.

Norse mythology is the body of myths of the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Norse paganism and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Scandinavian folklore of the modern period.

Current Affairs 2020

Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) The Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority has directed Delhi and neighbouring States to implement air pollution control measures under very poor and severe category air quality of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) from 15th October 2020. Approved by the Supreme Court in 2016, GRAP was notified in 2017 by the Centre and draws its authority from this notification.

The GRAP works only as an emergency measure. As such, the plan does not include action by various state governments to be taken throughout the year to tackle industrial, vehicular and combustion emissions.

The plan is incremental in nature — therefore, when the air quality moves from ‘Poor’ to ‘Very Poor’, the measures listed under both sections have to be followed. If air quality reaches the ‘Severe+’ stage, the response under GRAP includes extreme measures such as shutting down schools and implementing the odd-even road-space rationing scheme. The plan requires action and coordination among 13 different agencies in Delhi, , Haryana and Rajasthan (NCR areas). At the head of the table is the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA), mandated by the Supreme Court.

Before the imposition of any measures, EPCA holds a meeting with representatives from all NCR states, and a call is taken on which actions have to be made applicable in which town.

India test fired 1st indigenously developed anti-radiation missile Rudram-1 India has successfully test fired a new generation anti-radiation missile which will be part of the tactical weaponry of the Indian Air Force. Anti-radiation missiles are designed to detect, track and neutralise the adversary’s radar, communication assets and other radio frequency sources, which are generally part of their air defence systems. Such a missile’s navigation mechanism comprises an inertial navigation system — a computerised mechanism that uses changes in the object’s own position — coupled with GPS, which is satellite-based.

For guidance, it has a “passive homing head” — a system that can detect, classify and engage targets (radio frequency sources in this case) over a wide band of frequencies as programmed. Rudram is an air-to-surface missile, designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Once the Rudram missile locks on the target, it is capable of striking accurately even if the radiation source switches off in between. The missile has an operational range of more than 100 km, based on the launch parameters from the fighter jet.

While the system has been tested from a Sukhoi-30 MKI, it can be adapted for launch from other fighter jets too. Rudram has been developed for the IAF’s requirement to enhance its Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) capability.

PM to release ₹100 commemorative coin in honour of Rajmata Vijaya Raje Prime Minister Modi will release a commemorative coin of ₹100 in honour of Vijaya Raje Scindia today through a virtual ceremony. Vijaya Raje Scindia is popularly known as the Rajmata of . The coin is being released in celebration of birth centenary of Vijaya Raje Scindia. Current Affairs 2020

Vijaya Raje Scindia (1919 – 2001), born Lekha Divyeshwari Devi and known popularly as the Rajmata of Gwalior, was a prominent Indian political personality. She was married to the last ruling of Gwalior, Jivajirao Scindia. In later life, she became a politician of considerable influence and was elected repeatedly to both houses of the Indian parliament. She was also an active member, for many decades, of the Jana Sangh and co-founder of .

Madhavrao Scindia (1945–2001), Indian politician belonging to the and former Union Minister, and the titular Maharaja of Gwalior. He was the father of . (b. 1953) BJP politician and a two-term Chief Minister of Rajasthan. She was formerly married to the titular Maharaja of Dholpur.