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CHROME IAS ACADEMY CURRENT AFFAIRS – PRELIMS NOTES PART -1

CHROME IAS ACADEMY

CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY

INDIA AT A GLANCE

India is a country present in northern and eastern hemisphere completely. 

N-S Extent: Indira Col in Kashmir to Kanniyakumari is 3,214 km.

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E-W Extent: Rann of Kachachh to Arunachal Pradesh is 2,933 km.

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Easternmost Point – The tiny town of Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh (The Lohit River enters India from Kibithu).

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Westernmost Point – Ghuar Moti, located in the Kutch District of Gujarat.

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Northernmost Point – Located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas, Siachen Glacier, near Indira Col.

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Southernmost Point – Indira Point in Great Nicobar Island in the Andaman Sea .

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The southernmost tip of the Indian territory, however, is Indira Point, located in the Nicobar Islands which lies at 6.746°N latitude.

ANDMAN AND NICOBAR ISLAND

 The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, one of the seven union territories(Largest UT in Size) of India, are a group of islands at the juncture of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.( 572 islands ) CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY  The territory is about 150 km north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated from Thailand and Myanmar by the Andaman Sea.  It comprises two island groups, the Andaman Islands (partly) and the Nicobar Islands, separated by the 150 km wide Ten Degree Channel (on the 10°N parallel)  The territory's capital is the city of Port Blair. The total land area of these islands is approximately 8,249 km2 (3,185 sq mi).  The capital of Nicobar Islands is Car Nicobar.  The only volcano in India, Barren Island, is located in Andaman and Nicobar. It is an active volcano and erupted in 2017.  The islands host the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the only tri-service geographical command of the Indian Armed Forces.  The Andaman Islands are home to the Sentinelese people, an uncontacted people. The Sentinelese are the only people currently known to not have reached further than a Paleolithic level of technology.  In December 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on a two-day visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, renamed three of the islands as a tribute to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. 1. The Ross Island was renamed as Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Dweep; 2. The Neil Island as Shaheed Dweep; 3. The Havelock Island as Swaraj Dweep.

4. LAKSHADWEEP

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 Lakshadweep, formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Aminidivi Islands is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea, 200 to 440 km (120 to 270 mi) off the southwestern coast of India.  The archipelago is a Union Territory and is governed by the Union Government of India. They were also known as Laccadive Islands, although geographically this is only the name of the central subgroup of the group.  The islands form the smallest Union Territory of India and their total surface area is just 32 km2 (12 sq mi).  Kavaratti serves as the capital of the Union Territory and the region comes under the jurisdiction of Kerala High Court.  The islands are the northernmost of the Lakshadweep-Maldives-Chagos group of islands, which are the tops of a vast undersea mountain range, the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge.Many of the islands are of coral origins.  As the islands have no aboriginal inhabitants, scholars have suggested different histories for the settlement of these islands. Archaeological evidence supports the existence of human settlement in the region around 1500 BC.  The islands have long been known to sailors, as indicated by an anonymous reference from the first century AD to the region in Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. The islands were also mentioned in the Buddhist Jataka stories of the sixth century BC. Islam was established in the region when Muslim missionaries arrived around the seventh century. During the medieval period, the region was ruled by the Chola dynasty and Kingdom of Cannanore. The Catholic Portuguese arrived around 1498 but were expelled by 1545. The region was then ruled by the Muslim house of Arakkal, CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY followed by Tipu Sultan. On his death in 1799, most of the region passed on to the British and with their departure, the Union Territory was formed in 1956.  The majority of the indigenous population is Muslim and most of them belong to the Shafi school of the Sunni sect. The islanders are ethnically similar to the Malayali people of the nearest Indian state of Kerala. Most of the population speaks Malayalam with Mahi (or Mahl) being the most spoken language in Minicoy island.  The islands are served by an airport on the Agatti island.  The main occupation of the people is fishing and coconut cultivation, with tuna being the main item of export.

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The Tropic of Cancer passes through the middle of the country dividing it into two latitudinal halves.

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The area to the north of Tropic of Cancer is nearly twice the area which lies to the south of it.

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India, Tropical or Temperate Country? Geographical reasons:  

The country is separated from the rest of Asia by Himalayas. Its climate is dominated by the tropical monsoons and the temperate air masses are blocked by Himalayas.

Cultural Reasons: 

Settlements, diseases, agricultural and primary economic activities are all tropical in nature.

Data from Ministry Of Home Affairs (Department Of Border Management) 

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India has 15106.7 Km of land border running through 92 districts in 17 States and a coastline of 7516.6 Km [6100 km of mainland coastline + coastline of 1197 Indian islands] touching 13 States and Union Territories (UTs). Barring Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Delhi, Haryana and Telangana, all other States in the country have one or more international borders or a coastline and can be regarded as frontline States from the point of view of border management. India’s longest border is with BANGLADESH while the shortest border is with Afghanistan. The length of India’s land borders with neighboring countries is as under:

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The India-Bangladesh Border   

India’s 4,096 km long border with Bangladesh is the longest. This boundary has been determined under the Radcliffe Award which divided the erstwhile province of Bengal into two parts. India's Border Security Force (BSF) and Bangladesh's Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) declared a 8.3 km strech of India-Bangladesh border a 'Crime Free Zone'. Such an initiative is being taken for the first by the

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both countries. Electronic surveillance will be carried out to stop smuggling, human trafficking. Bangladesh’s Cabinet on 18 sep 2018,approved the draft of a proposed agreement with India to allow it to use the Chittagong and Mongla sea ports for transporting goods to and from the northeastern States. Trains to Bangladesh 1. The Maitree Express between Dhaka and Kolkata, which has been running since 2008, is popular. 2. Bandhan Express will begin on November 16,2018.Between Kolkata and Khulna.

Border with China  

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This is the second longest border of India, next only to its border with Bangladesh. Five Indian states, namely Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh touch the Indian boundary with China. The Sino-Indian border is generally divided into three sectors namely : (i) the Western sector, (ii) the Middle sector, and (iii) the Eastern sector.

The Western Sector   

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Separates Jammu and Kashmir state of India from the Sinkiang (Xinjiang) province of China. The western sector boundary is largely the outcome of the British policy towards the state of Jammu and Kashmir. China claims the Aksai Chin district, the Changmo valley, Pangong Tso and the Sponggar Tso area of north-east Ladakh as well as a strip of about 5,000 sq km down the entire length of eastern Ladakh. China also claims a part of Huza-Gilgit area in North Kashmir (ceded to it in 1963 by Pakistan).

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The Middle Sector 

Two Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand touch this border.

The Eastern Sector 

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The 1,140 km long boundary between India and China runs from the eastern limit of Bhutan to a point near Diphu pass (Talu Pass) at the trijunction of India, Tibet and Myanmar. This line is usually referred to as the Mc Mahon Line after Sir Henry Mc Mahon, then foreign secretary of British India, who negotiated the boundary agreement between Great Britain and Tibet at Shimla accord in 1913-14.

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The Indo-Pakistan Boundary 

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The Indo-Pakistan boundary is the result of partition of the country in 1947 under the Radcliffe award of which Sir Cyril Radcliffe was the chairman. Jammu and Kashmir, Sir Creek are the major disputed regions.

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INDIA PAKISTAN WARS Indo-Pakistani War of 1947  First Kashmir War, started in October 1947 when Pakistan feared that the Maharaja of the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu would accede to India.  Jammu and Kashmir, the largest of the princely states, had a majority Muslim population and significant fraction of Hindu population, all ruled by the Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh.  Tribal Islamic forces with support from the army of Pakistan attacked and occupied parts of the princely state forcing the Maharaja to sign the Instrument of Accession of the princely state to the Dominion of India to receive Indian military aid.  The UN Security Council passed Resolution 47 on 22 April 1948. The fronts solidified gradually along what came to be known as the Line of Control.  India gained control of about two-thirds of the state (Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh) whereas Pakistan gained roughly a third of Kashmir (Azad Kashmir, and Gilgit–Baltistan). Indo-Pakistani War of 1965  This war started following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was designed to infiltrate forces into Jammu and Kashmir to precipitate an insurgency against rule by India.

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY  India retaliated by launching a full-scale military attack on West Pakistan. The seventeen-day war caused thousands of casualties on both sides and witnessed the largest engagement of armored vehicles and the largest tank battle since World War II.  The hostilities between the two countries ended after a ceasefire was declared following diplomatic intervention by the Soviet Union and USA and the subsequent issuance of the Tashkent Declaration. India had the upper hand over Pakistan when the ceasefire was declared. Indo-Pakistani War of 1971  This war was unique in the way that it did not involve the issue of Kashmir, but was rather precipitated by the crisis created by the political battle brewing in erstwhile East Pakistan between Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Leader of East Pakistan, and Yahya Khan and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, leaders of West Pakistan.  This would culminate in the declaration of Independence of Bangladesh from the state system of Pakistan. Following Operation Searchlight and the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities, about 10 million Bengalis in East Pakistan took refuge in neighbouring India.  India intervened in the ongoing Bangladesh liberation movement.After a large scale pre-emptive strike by Pakistan, full-scale hostilities between the two countries commenced.  Within two weeks of intense fighting, Pakistani forces in East Pakistan surrendered to the joint command of Indian and Bangladeshi forces following which the People's Republic of Bangladesh was created.  It ended with SHIMLA AGREEMENT.

Indo-Pakistani War of 1999  Commonly known as the Kargil War, this conflict between the two countries was mostly limited. During early 1999, Pakistani troops infiltrated across the Line of Control (LoC) and occupied Indian territory mostly in the Kargil district.  India responded by launching a major military and diplomatic offensive to drive out the Pakistani infiltrators.[33] Two months into the conflict, Indian troops had slowly retaken most of the ridges that were encroached by the infiltrators. CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY  Kargil vijay diwas is celebrated on 26th July every year.

The India-Nepal Boundary 

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Five states of India, namely Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim touch the Nepalese border with India. The border is a porous one with unrestricted movement of goods and people between Indian and Nepal. Major portion of Indo-Nepalese border runs in the east-west direction almost along the foothill of the Shiwalik Range.

India-Myanmar Boundary  

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This boundary runs roughly along the watershed between the Brahmaputra and Ayeyarwady [Irrawaddy]. It passes through thickly forested regions, with Mizo Hills, Manipur and Nagaland on the Indian side and Chin Hills, Naga Hills and Kachin state on the Myanmar side. India has opened Zokhawthar land immigration check-post in Mizoram along border with Myanmar. Zokhawthar will be second immigration check-post in Mizoram along Myanmar border after Zorinpui check-post in Lawngtlai district which was opened in sep 2017. Free movement regime (FMR) :Myanmar has indefinitely deferred signing agreement with India to streamline free movement of people within 16 km along open border between two countries. .

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India-Sri Lanka Boundary

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India and Sri Lanka are separated from each other by a narrow and shallow sea called Palk Strait. Dhanushkodi on the Tamil Nadu coast in India is only 32 km away from Talaimanar in Jaffna peninsula in Sri Lanka. These two points are joined by a group of islets forming Adam’s Bridge.

FACTS ABOUT INDIA AREA WISE 

With an area of 32,87,263 sq km, India is the seventh largest country of the world.India accounts for about 2.4 per cent of the total surface area of the world.

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   

List of Indian states :Rajasthan>MP>Mah>UP............>Sikkim>Goa. List of UT’s: A&N>Delhi.........>Lakshwadeep. Largest district in India: Kachchh (gujarat - 45652), Leh (Jammu & kashmir - 45110), Jaisalmer (Rajasthan - 39313). Smallest district in India:Mahe.

Population Census 2011

(The 15th Census of India and

the 7th Census of Independent India-2011.) Census of India 2011 was conducted in two stages:  House listing & Housing Census: (April to September 2010)  Population Enumeration (9th to 28 February 2011)  As per 2011 Census population report of India is pegged at 1.21 billion, a surge of more than 181 million in the last 10 years.(Which is less than the last decade 182 million)  The national census survey covered all the 28 states(Now its 29) of the country and 7 Union territories including 640 districts, 497 cities, 5767 tehsils & over 6 lakh villages.

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State Formation in Chronological Order 1953: Andhra Pradesh carved out of Madras 1960: Gujarat separated out of Bombay(15th State) 1963: Nagaland separated out of Assam(16th State) 1966: Haryana separated out of Punjab(17th State) HP separated as UT 1971: HP converted into state from UT(18th state) 1972: Manipur converted to state from UT(19th) 1972: Tripura converted to state from UT(20th) 1972: Meghalaya converted to state from sub state in Assam(21st) 1975: Sikkim from being a protectorate of India became a full state(22nd) 1987: Mizoram converted to state from UT(23rd) 1987: Arunanchal converted to state from UT(24th) 1987: Goa converted to state from UT(25th) 2000: Chhatisgarh (26th)-1st November 2000: Uttarakhand (27th)-9th November 2000: Jharkhand (28th)-15th November 2014:Telangana(29th)- 2nd June

 The slogan of census 2011 was ‘Our Census, Our future’. C. Chandramouli was the Census Commissioner of India 2011.  The population of the nation as per the provisional figures of Census 2011 is 1210.19 million of which 623.7 million (51.54%) are males and 586.46 million (48.46%) are females.(Difference is 3.08% ie 3.72 crore)  List of states population wise: UP > Mah > Bihar > WB....... > Mizoram > Sikkim.  List of UTs: Delhi > Puducherry..........> Lakshwadeep.  Most populous district: Thane(Maharastra).  Least populous district: Dibang valley(AP).

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   

 The world average rate of 84%.  The literacy rate at the end of British rule in 1947 was around 12%.  2001–2011 decadal literacy growth of 9.2%, which is slower than the growth seen during the previous decade.  (An old 1990 study estimated that it would take until 2060 for India to achieve universal literacy at then-current rate of progress.)  Gender disparity in the literacy rate in India: effective literacy rates (age 7 and above) in 2011 were 80.9% for men and 64.60% for women. List of states : Kerela > Mizoram > Goa...... > Bihar. List of UTs: Lakshwadeep > Daman &diu..........> Dadar and nagar haveli. Most literate district: Serchip(Mizoram). Least literate district: Alirajpur(MP). 

o o o o

o

o o

The density of population is 382 persons/sq.km

List of states: Bihar > WB > Kerela...... > AP. List of UTs: Delhi> Chandigarh.......> A&N. Most dense district: North east Delhi. Least dense district:Dibang valley. 

o

The total literacy rate in the country at present is 74.04%.

In regards to sex ratio, at present there are 940 females on average on per 1000 males

List of states: Kerela(1084)>TN(996)>AP(994)........>Haryana(879). List of UTs:Puducherry(1037)>Lakshwadeep(946)..........Daman and Diu(618). District with Higest sex ratio: Mahe (Pudduchery) 1184. District with Lowest Sex ratio:.Daman(534).

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Religion Census 2011 Percent

Estimated

State Majority

All Religion

100.00 %

121 Crores

35

Hindu

79.80 %

96.62 Crores

28

Muslim

14.23 %

17.22 Crores

2

Christian

2.30 %

2.78 Crores

4

Sikh

1.72 %

2.08 Crores

1

Buddhist

0.70 %

84.43 Lakhs

-

Jain

0.37 %

44.52 Lakhs

-

Other Religion

0.66 %

79.38 Lakhs

-

Not Stated

0.24 %

28.67 Lakhs

-

Religion

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: J&K and Lakshwadeep.

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: Arunanchal Pradesh,Meghalaya,Mizoram,Nagaland.

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Hindu Population Growth rate slowed down to 16.76 % from previous decade figure of 19.92% while Muslim witness sharp fall in growth rate to 24.60% (2001-2011) from the previous figure of 29.52 % (1991-2001).

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Christian Population growth was at 15.5% while Sikh population growth rate stood at 8.4%.

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The most educated and wealthly community of Jains registered least growth rate in 20012011 with figure of just 5.4%.

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY .

Urbanaization in India  Population residing in urban areas in India, according to 1901 census, was 11.4%. This count increased to 28.53% according to 2001 census, and crossing 30% as per 2011 census, standing at 31.16%.  According to a survey by UN State of the World Population report in 2007, by 2030, 40.76% of country's population is expected to reside in urban areas.

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INDIAN ECONOMY Is India Socialist or Capitalist? CAPITALISM Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Characteristics central to capitalism include      

private property capital accumulation wage labor voluntary exchange a price system competitive markets.

In a capitalist market economy, decision-making and investment are determined by  every owner of wealth,  property or production ability in financial  capital markets whereas prices and the distribution of goods and services are mainly determined by  competition in goods and services markets

SOCIALISM Socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership and workers' self-management of the means of production as well as the political theories and movements associated with them. CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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INDIA IS A MIXED ECONOMY In a mixed economy, private and public sectors go side by side. The government directs economic activity in some socially important areas of the economy, the rest being left to the price mechanism to operate. Before Independence, Indian economy was a ‘laissez faire’ economy. But postindependence, she adopted the mixed economy system. (i) Coexistence of Public and Private Sectors: The coexistence of large public sector with big private sector has transformed the economy into a mixed one. Industrial policies of 1948 and 1956 formulated by the Indian government have made the provision of such coexistence. Some basic and heavy industries are being run under the public sector. However, with the liberalisation of Indian economy, the scope of private sector has further enhanced. (ii) Planned Development: India had a poor industrial base at the time of Independence. A long period of economic stagnation under British rule had weakened the Indian Economy. CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY Hence 5-year plans have been adjusted along with the Directive Principles of State Policy to rebuild the rural economy and lay foundations of industrial and scientific progress. The basic objectives of these plans are summarized as:       

Economic growth; Modernisation; Self-reliance; Social justice; Elimination of Poverty; Creation of conditions of near full employment; and Satisfaction of basic needs like food, clothing, shelter, education health etc.

(iii) Role of Public Sector: It has played an important role in the development of Indian economy. It increased the pace of economic growth and reduced disparities of income and wealth. It seriously acts in the following areas, like:    

Development of infrastructure; Establishment of basic and heavy industries; Dispersing industries in several backward regions; and Imperative role in trading and marketing activities, including international trade.

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FACTS ABOUT INDIA ECONOMY  The economy of India is a developing mixed economy. Comparison Chart BASIS FOR COMPARISON

DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Meaning

A country having an effective rate of industrialization and individual income is known as Developed Country.

Developing Country is a country which has a slow rate of industrialization and low per capita income.

Unemployment and Poverty

Low

High

Rates

Infant mortality rate, death rate and birth rate is low while the life expectancy rate is high.

High infant mortality rate, death rate and birth rate, along with low life expectancy rate.

Living conditions

Good

Moderate

Generates more revenue from

Industrial sector

Agriculture sector/Service Sector

Growth

High industrial growth.

They rely on the developed countries for their growth.

Standard of living

High

Low

Distribution of Income

Equal

Unequal

Factors of Production

Effectively utilized

Ineffectively utilized

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY  It is the world's sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP.(Surpassing France)

 The third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) GDP comparisons using PPP are arguably more useful than those using nominal GDP when assessing a nation's domestic market because PPP takes into account 1. relative cost of local goods, 2. services 3. and inflation rates of the country PPP is often used to gauge global poverty thresholds and is used by the United Nations in constructing the human development index.

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 The country ranks 147th in per capita GDP (nominal) with $1,610.67. 122nd in per capita GDP (PPP) with $7,783 as of 2018. 1. India, with population of around 1.34 billion is poised to become world’s most populous nation, whereas France’s population stands at 67 million. 2. This means India’s per capita GDP will continue to amount to just fraction of that of France which is still roughly 20 times higher.

Statistics

GDP

 $2.600 trillion/165 Lakh crore (nominal; 2018 est)  $10.385 trillion (PPP; 2018 est)

GDP rank

 6th (nominal)  3rd (PPP)

GDP growth

 7.7% (MOSPI Q4, 2018–19)  6.6% (2017-18)

GDP per capita

 $1,610.67 (nominal; 2018 est)  $7,783 (PPP; 2018 est

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY GDP per capita rank

 139th (nominal)  122nd (PPP)

GDP by sector

 Agriculture: 17.32%  Industry: 29.02%  Services: 53.66% (2016 est.)

Labour force by occupation

 Agriculture: 47%  Industry: 22%  Services: 31% (FY 2014 est)

Human Development Index

0.640 (2017) medium(130th)

Ease-of-doingbusiness rank

77 (2019)

External Exports

$303.4 billion (2017–18)

Export goods

Engineering Goods-25.9% Gems and jewellery-14.4% Chemical and related products 14.5% Textile and allied products -11.8% Petroleum Crude and products 11.8%

Main export partners

European Union 17.4% United States 16.1% United Arab Emirates 9.6% Hong Kong 5% China 4.2%

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY Other 47.8% Imports

$465.6 billion (2017–18)

Import goods

Petroleum Oil and Lubricants-22% Capital Goods-19.2% Gems and Jwellery-16.8% Chemicals and related Products12.7% Electronic goods-11.4%

Main import partners

China 16.6% European Union 10.4% United States 5.7% United Arab Emirates 4.9% Saudi Arabia 4.6% Other 57.9%

FDI stock

Inward: $377.68 billion Outward: $155.34 billion (2017)[23]

Current account

1.9%of GDP(2018-19)

Public finances Public debt

68.91% of GDP (2018 est.)

Trade Surplus  USA>UAE>Bangladesh>Nepal>UK.

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Trade deficit 1.China(20.3%)-Electronics equipments,Mobile phones,Solar devices,diodes,fertilizer,Data processing Machines. The bilateral trade between India and China rose by 18.63 per cent year-on-year and reached a historic high of USD 84.44 billion last year. But the trade deficit too continue to remain high at USD 51.75 billion in 2017.

2.Switzerland-Gold. 3.Saudi Arabia-Crude oil. 4.Iraq- Crude oil. 5.South Korea-Electrical goods,Iron and steel equipments

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY DEFENCE STRUCTURE OF INDIA  

The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army(General Bipin Rawat), Indian Navy(Admiral Sunil Lanba), and Indian Air Force(Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa).

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Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by 1. The Indian Coast Guard (Under MoD) 2. Paramilitary organisations(Assam Rifles, and Special Frontier Force) 3. Various inter-service commands. 4. Institutions such as the Strategic Forces Command. 5. Andaman and Nicobar Command . The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. The Indian Armed Forces are under the management of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the Government of India. With strength of over 1.4 million(14 lakh) active personnel, it is the world's 2nd largest military force and has the world's largest volunteer army.

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It is important to note that the Central Armed Police Forces, which are commonly and incorrectly referred to as 'Paramilitary Forces', are headed by officers from the Indian Police Service and are under the control of the Ministry of Home Affairs, not the Ministry of Defence. CENTRAL ARMED POLICE FORCES The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) refers to uniform nomenclature of five security forces in India from 2011 under the authority of Ministry of Home Affairs.

Border Security Force (BSF) The primary role of the Border Security Force is to guard the border of the India with Pakistan and Bangladesh, it is deployed both on the IB and the LOC. The BSF also has active roles during times of war.

Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) The Indo-Tibetan Border Police is deployed for guarding duties on the border with China from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Diphu La in Arunachal Pradesh covering a total distance of 3488 km.

Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) The objective of the Sashastra Seema Bal is to guard the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan Borders. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) The Central Reserve Police Force is the largest of the Central Armed Police Forces units with 313,678 personnel in 239 battalions. The Central Reserve Police includes: The Rapid Action Force (RAF), a 10 battalion anti-riot force trained to respond to sectarian violence. The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA), a 10 battalion strong anti-Naxalite.

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) The Central Industrial Security Force provides security to various Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and other critical infrastructure installations, major airports across the country and provides security during elections and other internal security duties and VVIP protection.

India emerges as fifth largest military spender in 2017: SIPRI.  1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 

The world’s five biggest military spenders in 2017 are United States ($610 billion), China ($228 billion) ), Saudi Arabia (69.4 billion), Russia (66.3 billion) India ($63.9 billion). An increase of 5.5 % as compared to last year They together accounted for 60% of global military spending. . The total global military expenditure in 2017 rose to $1,739 billion, a marginal increase of 1.1% in real terms from 2016. It accounted for 2.2% of global gross domestic product in 2017.

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY Background   



In Union Budget 2018-19, Government had allocated Rs. 2.95 lakh crore for military spending during 2018-19, The military budget had slipped to just 1.57% of the GDP. The budget had breached Rs. 4 lakh-crore mark after factoring in defence pensions (Rs. 1.08 lakh crore).

A Committee of Experts (CoE) was constituted by Ministry of Defence under the chairmanship of Lt Gen (Retd) DB Shekatkar to recommend measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance defence expenditure of the armed forces.

India world's largest importer of major arms in the last four years(2012-2016).  India increased its arms imports by 43 per cent, between 2007–11 and 2012–16.  India’s imports were far greater than those of its regional rivals China and Pakistan.  India remains dependent on weapons technology from many willing suppliers, including Russia, the USA, European states, Israel and South Korea,  The five biggest exporters in 2010–2014 were the United States, Russia, China, Germany and France.  The five biggest importers were India, Saudi Arabia, China, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.

GUIDED MISSILES IN INDIA CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY 



 



The use of rockets in India, for warfare, dates back to the 18th century. These rockets (also known as Mysorean rockets) were the first iron-cased rockets that were successfully deployed for military use. The British reverse-engineered these and introduced the technology to Europe (see Congreve rocket). When India became a British colony, scientific R&D in India was restricted and military science in India naturally lagged. There was a regular rocket corps in the Mysore Army, beginning with about 1,200 men in Hyder Ali's time. Colonel William Baillie's ammunition stores are thought to have been detonated by a hit from one of Hyder Ali's rockets at the Battle of Pollilur (1780) during the Second Anglo-Mysore War, which contributed to a humiliating British defeat. Tipu Sultan wrote a military manual called Fathul Mujahidin in which 200 rocket men were assigned to each Mysorean cushoon (brigade).



In 1982, India's political and scientific leadership, which included prime minister Indira Gandhi, Defence Minister R. Venkataraman, V.S. Arunachalam (Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister), Dr. Abdul Kalam (Director, DRDL) accelerated and gave new dimensions to the missile programme, under the 'Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme' (IGMDP).



After the end of the IGMDP (on 8 January 2008), India now develops all its current and future missiles as independent projects, and wherever possible, with private industries and foreign partners. (BrahMos is an example of one such successful collaborative project, between India and Russia).

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY

Propulsion Systems • Solid Propulsion: 1. Solid fuel is used in solid propulsion. Generally, the fuel is aluminium powder. 2. Solid propulsion has the advantage of being easily stored and can be handled in fuelled condition. 3. It can reach very high speeds quickly. 4. Its simplicity also makes it a good choice whenever large amount of thrust is needed. • Liquid Propulsion: 1. The liquid propulsion technology uses liquid as fuel. The fuels are hydrocarbons. 2. The storage of missile with liquid fuel is difficult and complex. In addition, preparation of missile takes considerable time. 3. In liquid propulsion, propulsion can be controlled easily by restricting the fuel flow by using valves and it can also be controlled even under emergency conditions. CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY 4. Basically, liquid fuel gives high specific impulse as compared to solid fuel. • Hybrid Propulsion: 1. There are 2 stages in hybrid propulsion solid propulsion and liquid propulsion. 2. This kind of propulsion compensates the disadvantages of both propulsion systems and has the combined advantages of the 2 propulsion systems. • Ramjet:

1. A Ramjet engine does not have any turbines unlike turbojet engines. 2. It achieves compression of intake air just by the forward speed of the air vehicle. The fuel is injected and ignited. The expansion of hot gases after fuel injection and combustion accelerates the exhaust air to a velocity higher than that at the inlet and creates positive push. 3. However, the air entering the engine should be at supersonic speeds. So, the aerial vehicle must be moving in supersonic speeds. 4. Ramjet engines cannot propel an aerial vehicle from zero to supersonic speeds. CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY • Scramjet: 1. Scramjet is an acronym for Supersonic Combustion Ramjet. 2. The difference between Scramjet and Ramjet is that the combustion takes place at supersonic air velocities through the engine. 3. It is mechanically simple, but vastly more complex aerodynamically than a jet engine. Hydrogen is normally the fuel used. • Cryogenic: 1. Cryogenic propellants are liquefied gases stored at very low temperatures, most frequently liquid hydrogen as the fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidizer. 2. Cryogenic propellants require special insulated containers and vents which allow gas to escape from the evaporating liquids. 3. The liquid fuel and oxidizer are pumped from the storage tanks to an expansion chamber and injected into the combustion chamber where they are mixed and ignited by a flame or spark. 4. The fuel expands as it burns and the hot exhaust gases are directed out of the nozzle to provide thrust. INTEGRATED GUIDED MISSILE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME o Indian Ministry of Defence programme for the research and development of the comprehensive range of missiles. o The programme was managed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Ordnance Factories Board in partnership with other Indian government political organisations. o The project started in 1982–83 with popular political support from the successive governments and bestowed under the leadership of Abdul Kalam who oversaw its ending in 2008 after these strategic missiles were successfully developed.

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY PRITHVI MISSILE Payload (kg)

Range (km)

Fuel/Stages

Weight (kg)

In service

Nuclear, HE, PrithviTactical submunitions, I FAE, chemical

1,000

150

Single stage liquid

4,400

1988

Nuclear, HE, PrithviTactical submunitions, II FAE, chemical

350–750 350

Single stage liquid

4,600

1996

Nuclear, HE, PrithviTactical submunitions, III FAE, chemical

500– 1,000

Single stage solid

5,600

2004

Missile

 

Type

Warhead

350– 600

The Prithvi missile is a family of tactical surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) and is India's first indigenously developed ballistic missile. The land variant is called Prithvi while the naval operational variant of Prithvi I and Prithvi II class missiles are code named Dhanush(meaning Bow). Both variants are used for surface targets.

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY AGNI MISSILE  

Name

Agni missile is a family of medium to intercontinental range ballistic missiles developed by India, named. Agni missiles are long range, nuclear weapons capable surface to surface ballistic missile.

Type

Range

Agni-I

MRBM 700 – 900 km[2][8] (Operational)

Agni-II

MRBM 2,000 – 3,000 km[17] (Operational)

Agni-III IRBM

3,500 – 5,000 km[9] (Operational)

Agni-IV IRBM

3,000 – 4,000 km[18](Testing)

Agni-V

5,000 – 8,000 km[19][20][21] (Testing)

ICBM

Agni-VI ICBM

8,000 – 10,000 km[5][22][23] (Under development)

TRISHUL MISSILE   

Trishul is the name of a short range surface-to-air missile developed by India as a part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program. It has a range of 12 km and is fitted with a 5.5 kg warhead. Designed to be used against low-level (sea skimming) targets at short range, the system has been developed to defend naval vessels against missiles and also as a short-range surface-to-air missile on land.

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY AKASH MISSILE 

Akash is a medium-range surface-to-air missile developed as part of India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme to achieve self-sufficiency in the area of surface-to-air missiles.

NAG MISSILE    

Nag is India's third generation "Fire-and-forget" anti-tank missile. It is an all weather, top attack missile with a range of 3 to 7 km. Nag uses Imaging Infra-Red (IIR) guidance with day and night capability. Mode of launch for the IIR seeker is LOBL (Lock on Before Launch). Nag can be mounted on an infantry vehicle; a helicopter launched version will also be available with integration work being carried out with the HAL Dhruv.

OTHER MISSILES  i.

ii. iii.

iv.



K family of missiles The K family of missiles named after Indian scientist and former president A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, is a series of submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) developed by India to boost its second strike capabilities and thus augment its nuclear deterrence. It is reported that "K" missiles are faster, lighter and stealthier than their Agni missile counterparts. The Sagarika/K-15 missile is the SLBM version of the land-based Shaurya missile. With a shorter range than K-4 missiles it is to be integrated with Arihant class submarine concurrently developed for the use of Indian Navy. Medium range K-15 ballistic missile has a range between 700 km to 1,500 km with varying payload. K-4 is an intermediate-range submarine-launched ballistic missile under development by DRDO. It is a 10 m long missile weighing 20 tonnes, capable of carrying a 1 tonne payload up to a range of 3,500 km. INS Arihant, first of the Arihant Class Submarines, will be able to carry 4 K-4 missiles Shaurya

i.

The Shaurya missile is a short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile developed for use by the Indian Army.

ii.

Capable of hypersonic speeds

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY iii.

It has a range of 600 km and is capable of carrying a payload of one-tonne conventional or nuclear warhead.

BALLISTIC VS CRUISE MISSILE

BrahMos i. The BrahMos is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarine, ships, aircraft, or land. ii. It is the fastest cruise missile in the world. iii. It is a joint venture between the Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroyeniya and India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) who together have formed BrahMos Aerospace. iv. It is based on the Russian P-800 Oniks cruise missile and other similar sea-skimming Russian cruise missile technology. v. The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. vi. The missile travels at speeds of Mach 2.8 to 3.0, which is being upgraded to Mach 5.0. CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY vii.

  

A hypersonic version of the missile, BrahMos-II, is also presently under development with a speed of Mach 7-8 to boost aerial fast strike capability. It is expected to be ready for testing by 2020. Sub Sonic Cruise Missile: Speed less than speed of sound(0.8 MACH) (USATomahawk and Harpoon,Exocet of France) Super Sonic Cruise Missile: 2-3 MACH(BRAHMOS) Hyper Sonic Cruise Missile: Speed more than 5 MACH.

Nirbhay i.

Nirbhay (Sanskrit:Dauntless/Fearless) is a long range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile designed and developed in India by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

ii.

The missile can be launched from multiple platforms and is capable of carrying conventional and nuclear warheads.

iii.

It is currently under development and undergoing flight trials

Prahaar i.

Prahar is a solid-fuelled Surface-to-surface guided short-range tactical ballistic missile

ii.

It would be equipped with omni-directional warheads and could be used for hitting both tactical and strategic targets.

Astra i. ii. iii. iv. v.

vi.

Astra ("weapon"[5]) is an all weather beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile It is developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, India. It is the first air-to-air missile developed by India. It features mid-course inertial guidance with terminal active radar homing. Astra is designed to be capable of engaging targets at varying range and altitudes allowing for engagement of both short-range targets at a distance of 20 km (12 mi) and long-range targets up to a distance of 80 km (50 mi). Astra has been integrated with Indian Air Force's Sukhoi Su-30MKI and will be integrated with Dassault Mirage 2000and Mikoyan MiG-29 in the future.

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY

ENERGY SECTOR IN INDIA  Energy in India describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in India.  Since 2013, total primary energy consumption in India has been the third highest in the world after China and the United States.

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY  India is the second top coal consumer in the year 2017 after China. India was the second top coal producer in 2017.(CHINA>INDIA>USA>AUS)  India ranks third in oil consumption with 221 million tons in 2017 after the United States and China.  India is net energy importer to meet nearly 45% of its total primary energy.

India: Total primary energy use of 753.7 Mtoe (excluding traditional biomass use) in the calendar year 2017      

Coal (56.26%) Petroleum & other liquids (29.47%) Natural gas (6.18%) Nuclear (1.13%) Hydroelectricity (4.07%) Other renewables (2.89%)

ELECTRICITY SECTOR IN INDIA  The utility electricity sector in India has one National Grid with an installed capacity of 347.22 GW as on 31 December 2018.  Renewable power plants constituted 33.60% of total installed capacity.  India is the world's third largest producer and third largest consumer of electricity.  The per capita electricity consumption is low compared to many countries despite cheaper electricity tariff in India.  India has surplus power generation capacity but lacks adequate infrastructure for supplying electricity to all needy people.

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY  Access to reliable and affordable energy supply is an important factor affecting the quality of life and economic development in any country. Therefore, the Government is committed to ensure 24*7 power supply for all by 31st March, 2019. Towards this goal, many important milestones have been achieved and the year 2018 has been historic for electricity reached every village on 28th April, 2018 under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY).. Last Saturday, Leisang village was connected to India’s power grid, completing that promise.  While the announcement and achievement are significant, it is still largely symbolic and not substantive in nature as electrification of villages does not translate into electrification of households and is certainly no guarantee for power availability.

 Why? There are three major issues at stake that indicate the enormity of the task that still lies ahead that the Modi government should consider. 1) Firstly, as per the Union power ministry’s definition, a village is said to be electrified if at least 10% of the households in it have power connections and if electricity is provided in public places such as schools, panchayat offices, health centres and community centres. 2) This is why even though 100% electrification of villages has been achieved, government data shows that as of today, there are still 31 million households without electricity. 3) In states like Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Assam, fewer than 60% of households have electricity, four years after the BJP came to power on the promise of “electricity for all”. In 12 out of the 30 states, fewer than 80% of the households have been electrified.

 India's electricity sector is dominated by fossil fuels, and in particular coal, which in 2017-18 produced about two third of all electricity.  However, the government is pushing for an increased investment in renewable energy. The National Electricity Plan of 2018 prepared by the Government of India states that the country does not need additional non-renewable power plants in the utility sector until 2027, with the CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY commissioning of 50,025 MW coal-based power plants under construction and achieving 275,000 MW total installed renewable power capacity after retirement of nearly 48,000 MW old coal fired plants

Source

Installed Capacity (GW)

Percentage

Thermal

221.76 GW

(63.84%)

Nuclear

6.78 GW

(1.95%)

Hydro

45.48 GW

(13.09%)

Renewable

73.35 GW

(21.12%)

347.37 GW

(100%)

Total

        

Coal: 196,652.5 MW (56.7%) Large Hydro: 45,399.22 MW (13.1%) Wind Power: 34,615.1 MW (10.0%) Gas: 24,937.22 MW (7.2%) Solar Power: 24,021.66 MW (6.9%) Biomass: 8,869.1 MW (2.6%) Nuclear: 6,780 MW (2.0%) Small Hydro: 4,506.95 MW (1.3%) Diesel: 837.63 MW (0.2%)

FACTS ABOUT ELECTRICITY IN INDIA  The first demonstration of an electric light in Calcutta (now Kolkata) was conducted on 24 July 1879 by P.W. Fleury & Co.  Enthused by the success of electricity in Calcutta, power was thereafter introduced in Bombay (now Mumbai). Mumbai saw electric lighting demonstration for the first time in 1882 at Crawford Market and the Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways Company (BEST) set up a generating station in 1905 to provide electricity for the tramway.  The first hydroelectric installation in India was installed near a tea estate at Sidrapong for the Darjeeling Municipality in 1897. CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY  The first electric street light in Asia was lit on 5 August 1905 in Bangalore.  The first electric train in the country ran on the Harbour Line between Bombay's Victoria Terminus and Kurla on 3 February 1925.  On 18 August 2015, Cochin International Airport became the world's first fully solar powered airport with the inauguration of a dedicated solar plant.  Surat becomes first district to have 100% solar powered health centres.  Diu becomes India's first fully solar-powered Union Territory.  First fully solar powered railway station is Guwahati.  Largest solar power plant –Sakti Sthala ,Pawagadu village Karnataka.

RENEWABLE ENERGY IN INDIA Keeping in view our commitment to a healthy planet and our Nationally Determined Contributions as per the Paris Accord on Climate Change, India made a pledge that by 2030, 40% of installed power generation capacity shall be based on clean sources, it was determined that 175 GW of renewable energy capacity will be installed by 2022. This includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro power.

GLOBAL CONFERENCES RELATED TO ENVIRONMENT

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY

KYOTO PROTOCOL (COP 3) 1997  The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty which extends the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part one) global warming is occurring and (part two) it is extremely likely that human-made CO2 emissions have predominantly caused it.  The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005. There are currently 192 parties (Canada withdrew from the protocol, effective December 2012) to the Protocol. Annex Annex means some elaboration/detail given at the end of a book/treaty.

Annex

Annex I

Annex II

Non Annex

What?  

List of industrialized countries and economies in transition: US, France, Japan etc. These countries had pledged to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000.



A sub-group of Annex 1 Countries, these Annex II countries are required to give financial and technology to the developing countries (non-Annex countries).

 

Developing countries like India, Brazil, China. They donot have compulsory binding targets to reduce green house gas emission, although they are encouraged to do it.

It gives the list of 6 Green House gases that are responsible for the whole problem

Annex A

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Carbon dioxide (CO2); Methane (CH4); Nitrous oxide (N2O); Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); Perfluorocarbons (PFCs); and 6. Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY 

Annex B



This gives the Annex I countries (Developed countries) – compulsory binding targets to reduce green house gas emission. For example USA is required to cut down its emission by 7%

 The Protocol is based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities: it acknowledges that individual countries have different capabilities in combating climate change, owing to economic development, and therefore puts the obligation to reduce current emissions on developed countries on the basis that they are historically responsible for the current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  The Protocol's first commitment period started in 2008 and ended in 2012.  A second commitment period was agreed in 2012, known as the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, in which 37 countries have binding targets: Australia, the European Union (and its 28 member states), Belarus, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, and Ukraine. Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine have stated that they may withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol or not put into legal force the Amendment with second round targets.  Japan, New Zealand, and Russia have participated in Kyoto's first-round but have not taken on new targets in the second commitment period.  Other developed countries without second-round targets are Canada (which withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol in 2012) and the United States (which has not ratified). As of November 2018, 122[8] states have accepted the Doha Amendment, while entry into force requires the acceptances of 144 states. Of the 37 countries with binding commitments, 7 have ratified.  Negotiations were held in the framework of the yearly UNFCCC Climate Change Conferences on measures to be taken after the second commitment period ends in 2020. This resulted in the 2015 adoption of the Paris Agreement, which is a separate instrument under the UNFCCC rather than an amendment of the Kyoto Protocol. CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY

PARIS AGREEMENT (COP 21) 2015

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COP 22:MARAKECH(MORROCO) COP 23:BONN(GERMANY) CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY

COP 24:KATOWICE(POLAND)  The conference agreed on rules to implement the Paris Agreement, which will come into force in 2020, that is to say the rulebook on how governments will measure, and report on their emissions-cutting efforts.  Due to difficulty to reach agreement between parties, some difficult questions such as ways to scale up existing commitments on cutting emissions, ways to provide financial help for poor countries, wording that does not allow double counting and whether countries are doing enough to cut their emissions (in the light of the IPCC report) were postponed to the next conference.  Some achievements have been made: 1. 50 countries signed the “Silesia declaration”, which emphasised the need for emission-reducing policies to ensure “a just transition of the workforce” and create “decent work and quality jobs”. 2. The Polish presidency declared a “forests for climate” policy highlighting the important role of forests in solving climate problems. 3. Several dozen countries forming “High Ambition Coalition” – including the EU, UK, Germany, France, Argentina, Mexico, and Canada – pledged to raise their targets by 2020. 4. New members join the Powering Past Coal Alliance; now there are around 80. 5. The World Bank gave $200bn for climate programms in 2021-2025, two times more that in 2015 - 2020. It was also one of nine banks which pledged to “align… their activities” with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

FACTS ABOUT RENEWABLE ENERGY 



A total of around 73.35 GW of renewable energy capacity has been installed in the country as on October, 2018 from all renewable energy sources which includes around 34.98 GW from Wind, 24.33 GW from solar, 4.5 GW from Small Hydro Power and 9.54 GW from Bio-power. Further, projects worth 46.75 GW capacity have been bid out/under installation. Status of projects as on October, 2018 is given below:

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY

Sector

Installed Under Target capacity (GW) Tendered Implementation (GW) as on (GW) (GW) 31.10.2018

Total Installed/ Pipeline (GW)

Solar Power

100

24.33

13.8

22.8

60.93

Wind power

60

34.98

7.02

2.4

44.4

Bio Energy

10

9.54

0

0

9.54

5

4.5

0.73

0

5.23

175

73.35

21.55

25.2

120.1

Small Hydro Total



India has 5th Global position for overall installed renewable energy capacity CHINA>USA>BRAZIL>CANADA>INDIA



4th position for wind power. CHINA >USA>GERMANY>INDIA



5thposition for solar power. CHINA>USA>JAPAN>GERMANY>INDIA



Registered lowest ever solar tariffs in India of Rs.2.44 per unit in reverse auctions carried out by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) in May 2017, for 200 MW and again in July, 2018, for 600 MW.Registered lowest ever wind tariff of Rs.2.43 per unit in a tender of 500 MW project by Gujarat Government in the month of December 2017.

ESTIMATED POTENTIAL OF RENEWABLE ENERGY CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY  The increased use of indigenous renewable resources is expected to reduce India’s dependence on expensive imported fossil fuels.  India has an estimated renewable energy potential of about 1096 GW from commercially exploitable sources viz. 1. Wind – 302 GW (at 100-meter mast height); 2. Small Hydro – 21 GW; 3. Bio-energy – 25 GW; and 4. solar power-750 GW, assuming 3% wasteland

INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCE  ISA is an alliance dedicated to the promotion of solar energy among its member countries. 1. Most of them being sunshine countries, which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Countries that do not fall within the Tropics can join the alliance and enjoy all benefits as other members, with the exception of voting rights. 2. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval for opening up International Solar Alliance (ISA) membership to all countries that are members of the United Nations. In this regard, Cabinet has approved to move Resolution in first Assembly of ISA for amending the Framework Agreement of ISA.

 The ISA Framework Agreement had entered into force in December 2017 and formally became de-jure treaty based International Intergovernmental Organization. on 6th December 2017 one month after Guinea became 15th country to ratify it. 1. The initiative was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the India Africa Summit, and a meeting of member countries CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY ahead of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in November 2015. 2. The framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance opened for signatures in Marrakech, Morocco in November 2016. 3. ISA celebrated its founding day on 11th March, 2018.  It is headquartered at Gurugram, India. 1. ISA will be India’s first international and inter-governmental organization headquartered in India.  The International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), signed the Host Country Agreement. 1. The Agreement will give ISA a juridical personality and gives it power to contract, to acquire and dispose off movable and immovable properties, to institute and defend legal proceedings. 2. Under this agreement, ISA shall enjoy such privileges, applicable tax concessions and immunities as are necessary for ISA’s Headquarter to independently discharge its function and programmes. 3. ISA shall be deriving its status, privileges and immunities as per Article 10 of Framework Agreement.  The main objective of ISA is to include global deployment of over 1,000GW of solar generation capacity and mobilisation of investment of over US$ 1000 billion into solar energy by 2030.  ISA has presently four ongoing programmes: Scaling Solar Applications for Agricultural Use, Affordable Finance at Scale, Scaling Solar Mini Grids and Scaling Solar Rooftop catering to the needs of solar energy in specific areas.

INDIA’S NUCLEAR PROGRAMME  India Nuclear Program has roots in establishment of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in 1945 with initiative Dr. H. Bhabha. It undertook research in nuclear physics and cosmic rays. CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY  In 1948 Atomic Energy Commission was constituted to work for Indian Nuclear Program. Main area of commission was prospection of nuclear raw material resources of the country. India has insufficient Uranium reserves of 1-2% of global reserves, but is endowed with one of the largest reserves of Thorium which constitute about 30 % of global reserves.  Thorium however is not fissile and can’t be used directly to trigger Nuclear Reaction. But it is ‘fertile’ and what makes it Nuclear Fuel is the fact that its isotope Thorium – 232 can be converted to Uranium -233 which is ‘fissile’. This process of conversion is called ‘Transmutation’. To exploit Thorium reserves Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha conceived ‘3 Stage Nuclear Program’ which is explained below.

1st stage of Nuclear Program – Reactor Used – Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor Fuel Used – Uranium Moderator and Coolant – Heavy water and Light water Natural uranium- .7 % of isotope Uranium-235 which is fissile. Remaining 99.7 % consist of Uranium – 238 which is ‘Fertile’ not fissile.

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY  Uranium is generally enriched before put to use by which proportion of U-235 increases in comparison to U-238. .

 Some of these surplus neutrons get absorbed in other isotope U-238 (which forms 99.7 % of uranium) to give plutonium (Pu- 239), which is ‘fissile’ (by transmutation).  As a result spent fuel of at first stage consists of Pu-239 and significant amount of U-238 which didn’t get any Neutron to get converted in plutonium. This fuel then goes to 2nd Stage which consists of Fast Breeder reactor.

2nd Stage of Nuclear Program Reactor Used – Fast breeder Reactor Fuel – Mixture of Uranium-238 and Plutonium-239 No Moderator is needed Sodium is used as coolant

 Pu-239 is a fissile material and on reaction this too results in extra neutrons than current chain reaction needs. These extra neutrons again are absorbed by U-238 and converted to Pu-239. At this stage more fuel is generated than is consumed. That is why it is called ‘Breeder reactor’. This reactor doesn’t use Moderator as at high speed of neutrons only, does Pu-239 produces extra neutrons. Further, 2nd stage is crucial for 3rd stage as it will convert Thorium-232 (which occurs naturally) into Uranium – 233 by transmutation. This will be done in following way – Once sufficient Power Generation capacity is achieved at 2nd stage and there will be good reserves of Pu-239, then Th-232 will be introduced at the periphery of the core(blanket material) fuel which will be Pu-239 alone (instead of present mixture of Pu-239 & U-238). This while core fuel will be consumed and extra neutrons will be created. Again, Th-232 will get converted in U-233. CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY

3rd stage of nuclear program, Again Th-232 will be at periphery of Core fuel i.e. U-233, which further will result in U-233 fuel.

The AHWR is another innovative concept, which will act as a bridge between the first and third stage essentially to advance thorium utilization without undergoing second stage of the three stage program. It uses light water as coolant and heavy water as moderator. It is fuelled by a mixture of Pu239 and Th232 with a sizeable amount of power coming from Thorium 232 Thorium is said to be more efficient and gives less radioactive waste than Uranium and plutonium. Also, plutonium can be separated from waste and can be used to make bombs. This is not possible with Thorium.  India has 22 nuclear reactors in operation in 7 nuclear power plants, having a total installed capacity of 6,780 MW. Operational nuclear power plants in India

Power station

Operator

Kaiga

State

Type

NPCIL

Karnataka

PHWR

220 x 4

880

Kakrapar

NPCIL

Gujarat

PHWR

220 x 2

440

Kudankulam[111]

NPCIL

Tamil Nadu

VVER1000

1000 x 2

2,000

Madras (Kalpakkam)

NPCIL

Tamil Nadu

PHWR

220 x 2

440

CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

Units

Total capacity (MW)

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY Operational nuclear power plants in India

Power station

Operator

Narora

NPCIL

Units

Total capacity (MW)

State

Type

Uttar Pradesh

PHWR

220 x 2

440

1,180

1,400

Rajasthan

NPCIL

Rajasthan

PHWR

100 x 1 200 x 1 220 x 4

Tarapur

NPCIL

Maharashtra

BWR PHWR

160 x 2 540 x 2

Total

CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

6,780

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CHROME IAS ACADEMY Planned nuclear power plants in India[115][117][118]

Power station

Operator

State

Type

Units

Total capacity (MW)

Jaitapur[119]

NPCIL

Maharashtra

EPR

1650 x 6

9,900

Kovvada[120][121]

NPCIL

Andhra Pradesh

AP1000 1100 x 6

6,600

Kavali[122]

NPCIL

Andhra Pradesh

VVER

1000 x 6 6000

Gorakhpur

NPCIL

Haryana

PHWR

700 x 2

1,400[112]

Bhimpur

NPCIL

Madhya Pradesh PHWR

700 x 4

2,800[123][119]

Mahi Banswara[119] NPCIL

Rajasthan

PHWR

700 x 4

2,800

Kaiga

NPCIL

Karnataka

PHWR

700 x 2

1,400

Chutka

NPCIL

Madhya Pradesh PHWR

700 x 2

1,400

Madras[119]

BHAVINI

Tamil Nadu

FBR

600 x 2

1,200

AHWR

300 x 1

300

Tarapur

Total

CURRENT AFFAIRS –PRELIMS NOTES

39,800

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