First phase of Rozgar Mela launched (GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- Recently, the Prime Minister launched the first phase of “Rozgar Mela”, a recruitment drive for 10 lakh central government jobs through video conferencing in 50 centers across the country.
- Appointment letters were handed over to more than 75,000 newly appointed persons during the function.
What is Rozgar Mela?
- “Rozgar Mela” is an important step towards fulfilling the Prime Minister’s continued commitment to provide employment opportunities to the youth and ensure the welfare of the citizens.
- As per instructions of the Prime Minister, all Ministries and Departments are working to fill existing vacancies against sanctioned posts in mission mode.
- In Punjab, this mega event was organized at Patiala Locomotive Works (PLW), Patiala and Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala.
Recruitment procedure:
- This recruitment is done by Central Ministries and Departments themselves and through recruitment agencies like UPSC, SSC, Railway Recruitment Board.
- The selection process is simplified and technically efficient for faster recruitment.
Uttar Pradesh to have new elephant reserve
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
The Union Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE) has given its nod to the Terai Elephant Reserve (TER), which will be set up over a 3,049.39-square kilometre area, including the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) and the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR).
Details:
- With the TER coming into existence, the DTR would be the lone national park in Uttar Pradesh that would protect and conserve four iconic wild species; tiger, one-horned rhinoceros, the Asian elephant and swamp deer.
- Besides the Dudhwa and Pilibhit tiger reserves, the elephant reserve would comprise forest areas of the Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS), the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (KGWS), the Dudhwa buffer zone and parts of the South Kheri forest division.
Elephant conservation:
- The establishment of the Terai Elephant Reserve will be a milestone in terms of wildlife conservation, particularly of the Asian elephants, as it is located on the India-Nepal border, where trans-border movement of elephants is a routine.
- The Centre would provide all financial and technical assistance under the Project Elephant, which would help handle human-elephant conflicts.
Significance:
- The establishment of the elephant reserve in Dudhwa would help adopt an elephant-centric approach towards their conservation.
- Also, the financial and technical aid received under the Project Elephant would be utilised in managing Dudhwa’s camp elephants.
- The DTR has attracted wild elephants for decades through various domestic and trans-border corridors, including Basanta-Dudhwa, Laljhadi (Nepal)-Sathiyana and the Shuklafanta (Nepal)-Dhaka-Pilibhit-Dudhwa buffer zone corridor.
- With the Terai Elephant Reserve, incidents of man-elephant conflicts, which are presently state-dependent, would be handled more effectively.
ISRO launches 36 OneWeb satellites in first commercial launch for LMV-3
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Why in news?
- Recently, the heaviest rocket of the Indian Space Research Organisation– LVM3-M2/OneWeb India-1 blasted off from the second launch pad (SLP) of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota has successfully orbited 36 satellites of U.K.-based OneWeb.
Many First’s:
- It was also New Space India Ltd’s (NSIL), the commercial arm of ISRO, first launch with the vehicle.
- It also became the first Indian rocket with a payload of 5,796 kg.
- The launch is also first for LVM3-M2 to place the satellites in the Low Earth Orbit (up to 1,200 kms above the earth) unlike Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III rocket:
- The 36 communication satellites were placed into low-Earth orbit as part of the OneWeb India-1 mission or LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark III) M2 mission.
- This marked the maiden commercial launch of LVM3, India’s heaviest launch vehicle, also known as GSLV Mark III.
- The 43.5 metre LVM3 weighing around 644 tonne carried 36 satellites weighing 5,796 kg or about 5.7 tonne.
Three stage:
- ISRO scientists have rechristened the launch vehicle its present name from GSLV-MKK III as the newest rocket is capable of launching 4,000 kilogram class of satellites into GTO and 8,000 kgs of payloads into LEO.
- LVM3-M2 is a three-stage launch vehicle consisting of two solid propellant S200 strap-ons on its sides and core stage comprising L110 liquid stage and C25 cryogenic stage.
OneWeb:
- NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a central public sector enterprise under the Department of Space, had earlier signed two launch service contracts with the London-headquartered Network Access Associated Limited (OneWeb) for launching OneWeb LEO satellites on board ISRO's LVM3.
- OneWeb, formally known as Network Access Associates Ltd, is a joint venture between India’s Bharti Enterprises and the UK government.
- OneWeb Ltd is a global communication network powered from space, enabling internet connectivity for governments and businesses.
- OneWeb Satellites are arranged in 12 orbital planes with 49 satellites in each plane at 1,200-kilometre circular orbit. The company is implementing a constellation of low earth orbit satellites and will have a total of 648 satellites.
Next missions of LVM:
- LVM’s next mission will be for OneWeb only, next Chandrayaan-3 and after that Gaganyaan unmanned mission.
- The Chandrayaan-3 mission is India’s third space venture targeting the moon. Though it was supposed to launch in late 2020 or early 2021, it was reportedly delayed due to the pandemic.
Anti-smog guns (ASG) for pollution control
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- As air quality deteriorates in the National Capital with the coming winter, the Delhi government has adopted several measures to keep a check on pollution.
- One such measure under the government’s 15-point ‘winter action plan’ is making anti-smog guns mandatory for construction sites above 5,000 square metres (sqm).
- Moreover, these anti-smog guns are also being used on roads by the Public Works Department (PWD), especially at busy traffic crossings.
What are anti-smog guns?
- Shaped like a canon, anti-smog guns (ASG) spray tiny droplets of water into the atmosphere to reduce air pollution. The machine is mounted on a vehicle and connected to a water tank which can then be used to suspend particles and settle dust.
- The water, which passes through high-pressure propellers, is converted into a fine spray with the size of droplets ranging from 50-100 microns.
- Also known as a spray or mist gun or water cannon, the device binds dust particles and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) in the atmosphere and brings them to ground level with the water to reduce air pollution.
- The gun makes a ‘canopy effect’ and is designed such that the water sprinkled from it can reach up to a height of 150 feet, creating artificial mist.
- According to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines, anti-smog guns “customised for urban areas” use 40 to 250 litres of water per minute depending on the type of the device.
- Treated sewage water should not be used in the anti-smog gun.
- This move is inspired by the Chinese water cannons that were used by the authorities there with some success. The idea is that it reduces air pollution by binding dust and other particulate matter, and bring them down to the ground level. This could be of use in an arid place like Delhi.
How effective are anti-smog guns in combating pollution?
- The experts say there are no studies to determine its impact yet, while most agree it has a limited impact.
- If the anti-smog gun is used along the roadside, the particulate matter may settle. It may reduce particulate pollution, but it is not a permanent solution. In emergency situations, where there is a fire or construction and demolition dust, this can be applied so that the situation is not aggravated in nearby areas. For the entire city, it is not possible. Water itself is an important resource.
- Further, the expert emphasised that the effectiveness of the gun needs to be monitored.
- Experts suggest acting at the “source of pollution” as anti-smog guns are used on a smaller scale.
Smog guns in Delhi:
- Earlier, only large construction sites of 20,000 sqm or above were required to install anti-smog guns, butin 2022, it has been made compulsory for smaller construction sites of 5,000 sqm and more.
- Sites bigger than 5,000 sqm have to deploy one anti-smog gun, while those over 10,000 sqm have to install two such guns.
- For sites bigger than 20,000 sqm, four anti-smog guns are compulsory.
- Besides being used on roads, anti-smog guns have also been placed on top of 10 buildings of around seven to ten storeys in the National Capital.
- Notably, these guns were recently used to settle the dust after the demolition of the Supertech twin towers in Noida’s Sector 93A in August.
