ETEN Enlightens -Daily Current Capsules (Prelims Prep. Prominence) 6th September 2018

DEFENCE

WHAT

In a major boost to the ‘Make in India’ initiative, American security and

aerospace giant Lockheed Martin announced that the wings of its F-16

fighter jets will be produced in India.

U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin announced that all future F-16

wings will be built in India by its local partner, Tata Advanced Systems

Limited.

The wings for Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Block 70 fighter jet are currently

being produced at a facility in Israel.

Enlighten about the decision

Production is slated to move the Indian city of Hyderabad in 2020. “All

F-16 wings globally are to be built in the Hyderabad facility

The announcement by the company occurred two days ahead of the first

ever so-called 2 PLUS 2 meeting between U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim

Mattis, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Indian Minister of External

Affairs Sushma Swaraj, and Indian Minister of Defense Nirmala

Sitharaman in New Delhi on September 6.

Maryland-based Lockheed Martin has entered into an agreement with

Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) for the project.

The planned F-16 wing production to India was not contingent on India

selecting the F-16 for the Indian Air Force.

Lockheed has offered to move its entire F-16 manufacturing base to

India.

India is yet to make a decision on it. Producing F-16 wings in India will

support the Centre’s ‘Make in India’ initiative

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Science and Technology Japan to test mini space elevator

It’s the world’s first experiment to test travel between two mini

satellites in space

WHAT

A Japanese team has developed a “space elevator” and will conduct a first

trial this month, blasting off a miniature version on satellites to test the

technology.

Enlighten about the test

The test equipment, produced by researchers at Shizuoka University, will

hitch a ride on an H-2B rocket being launched by Japan’s space agency

from southern island of Tanegashima next week.

The test involves a miniature elevator stand-in — a box just 6 cm long, 3

cm wide, and 3 cm high.

If all goes well, it will provide proof of concept by moving along a 10-

metre cable suspended in space between two mini satellites that will keep

it taut.

The mini-elevator will travel along the cable from a container in one of

the satellites.

It’s going to be the world’s first experiment to test elevator movement in

space

The movement of the motorised “elevator” box will be monitored with

cameras in the satellites.

The idea was first proposed in 1895 by Russian scientist Konstantin

Tsiolkovsky after he saw the Eiffel Tower in Paris but technical barriers

have always kept plans stuck at the conceptual stage

Bilateral Relations 2+2 to take full view of ties

U.S Statement prior to the dialogue

India’s defence ties with Russia and energy links with Iran will not be the

primary focus of the inaugural India-U.S. “2 plus 2” dialogue

The dialogue is the highest-level discussion of the year between the two

countries.

The discussion is expected to take a comprehensive look at strategic ties

between India and the U.S.

On top of the discussion is the likely US plans to have a landmark

agreement on communication and coordination on security issues –

COMCASA and sale of high tech military items.

The COMCASA agreement will allow exchange of secure

communication between the two militaries and facilitate the sale of high

tech encryption systems to India.

The “2 plus 2” dialogue was planned during Prime Minister Narendra

Modi’s visit to Washington DC last year and issues related to Iran and

Russia that are important to the administration of President Donald

Trump are expected to be discussed.

The U.S. has been demanding that India “zero out” energy supply from

Iran, even as Delhi has avoided spelling out how exactly it would comply

with the American demand.

The other major U.S. concern is the S400 missile defence shield worth $6

billion that India plans to acquire from Russia. U.S.

Defence

In a first, LCA undergoes mid-air refuelling

WHAT

The indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas has successfully

carried out mid-air refuelling for the first time with an IL-78 tanker

The mid-air refuelling carried out , is one of the critical requirements for

the Tejas to achieve Final Operational Clearance.

The Tejas fighter perfectly replicated computer simulations of mid-air

refuelling which have been carried out on the ground by engineers

associated with the Tejas programme.

Enlighten about Tejas

The Indian Air Force (IAF) currently operates nine Tejas fighters built to

an Initial Operating Clearance (IOC) standard.

The IAF has 40 Tejas Mk1 fighters on order and will acquire another 83

Tejas Mk-1A fighters which will be more capable than the handful of

fighters which have been developed.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), has been manufacturing the jets

A more sophisticated variant of the jet, the Tejas Mk-2 is also under

development but is unlikely to fly before 2022.

Simultaneously, 2 Navy prototypes of the Tejas are also being tested.

These will conduct trials off the deck of the Indian Navy's aircraft carrier,

INS Vikramaditya, by the end of the year.

Report 34% Indians not active enough: WHO

WHAT

Thirty-four per cent of Indians — 24.7% male and 43.9% females — are

not active enough to stay healthy, according to the latest study released

by the World Health Organisation (WHO)

The report shows that globally more than 1.4 billion adults are at risk of

diseases from not doing enough physical activity.

Enlighten about the report

Published in Lancet Global Health, the study notes that there is no

improvement in global levels of physical activity since 2001.

The data shows that if current trends continue, the 2025 global activity

target of a 10% relative reduction in insufficient physical activity will not

be met.

Insufficient activity puts people at greater risk of cardiovascular disease,

Type 2 diabetes, dementia, and some cancers, according to the first study

to estimate global physical activity trends over time.

Worldwide, around one in three women and one in four men do not do

enough physical activity to stay healthy.

Levels of insufficient physical activity are more than twice as high in

high income countries compared with low income countries, and

increased by 5% in high income countries between 2001 and 2016

The highest rates of insufficient activity in 2016 were found in adults in

Kuwait, American Samoa, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, where more than half

of all adults were insufficiently active.

Comparatively, around 40% of adults in the U.S., 36% in the U.K. and

14% in China were insufficiently active.

In 2016, around one in three women (32%) and one in four men (23%)

worldwide were not reaching the recommended levels of physical activity

to stay healthy — that is, at least 150 minutes of physical activity of

moderate intensity or 75 minutes of physical activity of vigorous intensity

per week.

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Environment Action on climate change could add $26 trillion to world economy

What

Ambitious action on climate change could contribute an extra $26 trillion

to the world economy by 2030, international experts expressed and urged

nations and businesses to step up their engagement.

Global Commission on the Economy and Climate report

The economic benefits offered by a shift to a low-carbon economy have

been “grossly” underestimated, according to the Global Commission on

the Economy and Climate

Bold action could yield a direct economic gain of $26 trillion through to

2030 compared with business-as-usual. And this is likely to be a

conservative estimate

Enlighten about the report

Dynamic action on climate could generate “over 65 million new low-

carbon jobs” by 2030 and avoid over 7,00,000 premature deaths due to air

pollution

But policymakers were “not taking sufficiently bold action to escape the

legacy economic systems

The shift would involve change in five key areas: the development of

clean energy systems, improved urban planning, a shift towards more

sustainable agriculture, smart water management and decarbonising

industry.

It called on governments to put a price on carbon of at least $40-80 by

2020, and to move towards mandatory climate risk disclosure for major

investors and companies.

NATIONAL Coffee Connect India & Coffee Krishi Tharanga APP launched by the

government

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Ministry concerned

Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry

What

The Ministry has launched Coffee Connect India coffee field force app

and Coffee Krishi Tharanga – digital mobile extension services project

for coffee stakeholders.

Developed by

It is developed by Coffee Board of India for the overall technological

advancement of the coffee sector and value chain.

Coffee Connect mobile app

The application has been developed to ease the work of field

functionaries and to improve the work efficiency.

It provides solution by harnessing power of mobility comprising latest

technology in easing whole process of field activities like digitization of

coffee growers and estates with geo tagging, collecting plantation details.

It will also help in enhancing transparency in activities of extension

officers and officials, transparency in subsidy disbursement and real time

report generation.

It has been developed by Coffee Board of India in association with

National Institute for Smart Government (NISG).

Coffee Krishi Tharanga Project

It is IVR based digital mobile extension service jointly developed by

Coffee Board and Precision Agriculture for Development India

Foundation (PADIF).

It is aimed at providing customised information and services to increase

productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability.

Coffee production in India and its management

India is 6th largest coffee producer in the world with 4% share after

Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia and Ethiopia.

In India, coffee is cultivated in India in about 4.54 lakh hectares by 3.66

lakh coffee farmers and 98% of them are small farmers.

Karnataka (54%), Kerala (19%) and Tamil Nadu (8%) are largest coffee

producing states. India accounts for only 4-5% of world’s coffee output,

but exports 70-80% of its produce.

Italy, Russia and Germany are the top three buyers of Indian coffee.

In India, two coffee varieties robusta (or Coffea canephora) and Coffea

arabica are grown on large scale.

Coffee Board of India Coffee Board of India is an autonomous body,

functioning under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government

of India. It was set up under an Act of Parliament in 1942.

It focuses on research, development, extension, quality upgradation,

market information, and the domestic and external promotion of Coffees

of India.

Sources - PIB , The Hindu , Indian Express