01 Mar 2023: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Hindustan Turbo Trainer - 40 (HTT-40)
2. Union Cabinet's Approval for 3 Cadet Training Ships
3. Exercise Shinyuu Maitri
4. Greater Panna Landscape Council (GPLC)
5. NTPC Commissions India’s first Air Cooled Condenser
6. BIMSTEC Energy Centre (BEC)
7. Spices Board - 36th Anniversary
8. SWAYATT (Start Ups, Women and Youth Advantage Through e Transactions)

1. Hindustan Turbo Trainer – 40 (HTT-40)

Syllabus – GS3, Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology.

Prelims – HTT – 40

Context – HAL to supply 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) to IAF.

Details –

• The Union Cabinet approved the procurement of 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) from HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) for the Indian Air Force at a cost of Rs 6828.36 cr.
• The HTT-40 has about 56% indigenous material and is expected to increase to over 60% through the indigenisation of major components and subsystems. The HAL would include Indian Private Industry, and MSMEs in its supply chain thereby providing direct as well as indirect employment to thousands of people.
•  The Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 is designed to have good low-speed handling qualities. This fully aerobatic tandem seat turbo trainer has an air-conditioned cock-pit, hot refuelling, modern avionics, running changeover and zero-zero ejection seats.
• The aircraft is configurable for upgrades to incorporate the futuristic requirement of the Indian Armed Forces.
• The aircraft will give a boost to the Indian Aerospace Defence Ecosystem and is in alignment with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

2. Union Cabinet’s Approval for 3 Cadet Training Ships

Syllabus – GS3, Indigenisation of Technology.

Prelims – Cadet Training Ships.

Context – The Union Cabinet approved a contract signing with Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) for the acquisition of 3 Cadet Training Ships.

Details –

• The approval for procurement of 3 Cadet Training Ships has been granted at an overall cost of Rs 3,108.09 cr under the Buy (Indian IDDM, Indigenously Designed Developed & Manufactured) Category.
• The delivery of ships is scheduled to commence in 2026.
• These ships will cater to the training of officer cadets, including women at sea after their basic training to meet the future requirements of the Indian Navy. The ships would also provide training to cadets from friendly countries with the aim to strengthen diplomatic relations. The ships can also be deployed for evacuation of people and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).
• These ships will have the majority of systems sourced from indigenous manufacturers, therefore are in tune with the Atmanirbhar Bharat.

3. Exercise Shinyuu Maitri

Syllabus – GS3, Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate. 

Prelims – Ex. Shinyuu Maitri (1-2 March, 2023)

Context – Ex. Shinyuu Maitri between IAF & JASDF.

Details –

• Shinyuu Maitri is a bilateral air exercise between the Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) and Indian Air Force (IAF). It is being organised on the sidelines of Dharma Guardian, Indo-Japan Joint Army Exercise conducted at Komatsu Japan (February 13- March 2, 2023).
• C-17 Globemaster Ⅲ aircraft of IAF is participating in the exercise. The first phase of the exercise consists of discussions on transport operations and tactical manoeuvring, followed by the second phase of flying drills by JASDF C-2 transport aircraft and IAFs C-17.
• The objective of the exercise is to undertake Joint Mobility and Tactical interoperability among the two forces.

4. Greater Panna Landscape Council (GPLC)

Syllabus – GS3, Conservation: Wildlife Conservation.

Prelims – Ken Betwa Link Project (KBLP), Integrated Landscape Management Plan (ILMP), GPLC

Context – The Greater Panna Landscape Council (GPLC) has been constituted under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, Madhya Pradesh.

• As a part of the Ken Betwa River Linking Project, a comprehensive Integrated Landscape Management Plan (ILMP) has been developed for the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity in the Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) and its adjoining areas. To ensure the effective implementation of the Greater Panna Landscape Management Plan, the GPLC, Greater Panna Landscape Council has been constituted with members from all the stakeholders.
• The Integrated Landscape Management Plan (ILMP) in GPL (Greater Panna Landscape) is one of the major and unique conservation measures being initiated in the conservation history of India. It was approved by GoI in December 2021 for implementation. 
• The Integrated Landscape Management Plan (ILMP) provides for better habitat protection, and management of flagship species such as Tigers, Vultures, and Gharial. It aims to holistically consolidate the landscape for biodiversity conservation and human well-being, especially in forest-dependent communities.
  • It is expected to enhance tiger carrying capacity in the landscape by strengthening connectivity with Nauradehi Wildlife sanctuary and Durgavati Wildlife sanctuary in MP and Ranipur Wildlife sanctuary in UP.
• The Ken-Betwa Link Project will be of immense benefit to the water-starved Bundelkhand region, spread across the states of UP & MP. This project will provide enormous benefits to the districts of Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Raisen of Madhya Pradesh and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi & Lalitpur of Uttar Pradesh.

5. NTPC Commissions India’s first Air Cooled Condenser

Syllabus – GS3, Infrastructure: Energy.

Prelims – NTPC’s Air Cooled Condenser.

Context – NTPC commissioned India’s first Air Cooled Condenser at North Karanpura Super Critical Plant in Jharkhand.

Details –

• State-owned power giant NTPC has commissioned India’s first air-cooled condenser at North Karanpura Super Critical Plant, Jharkhand which would help in water conservation.
• This project has been envisaged with Air Cooled Condenser (ACC) which has almost 1/3rd water footprint as compared to a conventional Water Cooled Condenser (WCC). This would result in water savings of around 30.5 mcm annually thus fulfilling the needs of around 1.5 million people in the region annually.
• NTPC started commercial operation of the first unit of 660 MW at North Karanpura (3✕660 MW) in Jharkhand on March 1, 2023.
• NTPC is currently meeting 24% of the country’s power demand.

6. BIMSTEC Energy Centre (BEC)

Syllabus – GS2, Important International institutions.

Prelims – BIMSTEC Energy Centre.

Context – India hosted the first meeting of the Governing Board of BIMSTEC Energy Centre.

Details –

• India hosted the first meeting of the Governing Board of BIMSTEC Energy Centre in Bengaluru.
• The meeting saw participation from all BIMSTEC countries – Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand along with BIMSTEC Sectt.
• During the meeting, India’s “Neighbourhood First” and “Act East” policies were highlighted.
• India made a representation of establishing the BIMSTEC Energy Centre (BEC) in India and conveyed that the BEC will be housed in the premises of the CPRI (Central Power Research Institute), Bengaluru.
• The Meeting considered and finalised the note on “Host Country Agreement between the Government of Republic of India and the BIMSTEC Secretariat”. The same was recommended to the Seventh Meeting of the BIMSTEC Permanent Working Committee for consideration.

7. Spices Board – 36th Anniversary

Syllabus – GS3, Agriculture: Marketing of Agricultural Produce.

Prelims – Spices Board

Context – 36th anniversary celebrations of the Spices Board at Kochi.

About Spices Board –

• Spices Board (Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GoI), the flagship organisation for the development and worldwide promotion of Indian spices, was constituted on 26th February 1987 with the merger of the erstwhile Cardamom Board and the Spices Export Promotion Council. 
•  The Board functions as an international link between Indian exporters and importers abroad and it has been involved in various activities which touch upon every segment of the spices sector.

Details –

• On its 36th Foundation Day, the Spices Board organised a nationwide campaign on ‘Clean and Safe Spices’ covering more than 20 states/UTs to spread the message and awareness on food safety and the quality of spices for producing surplus quality spices.

8. SWAYATT (Start Ups, Women and Youth Advantage Through e Transactions)

Syllabus – GS2, Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors.

Prelims – SWAYATT

Context – GeM commemorates the success of SWAYATT.

Details –

• SWAYATT is an initiative to promote Startups, Women and Youth Advantage through e Transactions on GeM. SWAYATT on GeM was launched in February 2019.
• The aim was to promote the inclusiveness of various categories of sellers and service providers on the portal, by taking proactive steps to facilitate their training and registrations of such specific categories of manufacturers and sellers, develop women entrepreneurship, and encourage the participation of MSMEs and Startups in public procurement.
• The government’s e-commerce portal Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has over 8.5 lakh registered micro and small enterprises (MSEs) getting business worth more than Rs 1.87 lakh crore so far across over 68 lakh orders.
• Moreover, more than 1.45 lakh women MSEs have fulfilled 7.32 lakh orders worth Rs 15,922 crore and approximately 43,000 SC/ST MSEs have delivered over 1.35 lakh orders amounting to Rs 2,592 crore on GeM so far.

Read the previous PIB articles here.

March 1st, 2023, PIB:- Download PDF Here