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Setting the stage for its planned mission, Gaganyaan, to take Indian astronauts into space by 2024, the Indian Space Research Organisation successfully carried out, after overcoming a technical glitch, a crucial test of the crew escape system.
The launch of the mission, Flight Test Vehicle Abort Mission (TV-D1), scheduled for 8 am, was delayed due to weather factors and a snag in the rocket’s ignition detected at 8.45 am put the mission on hold.
However, scientists quickly identified and corrected the “anomaly” and return to the launchpad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota for a launch at 10 am.
The Test Vehicle, a rocket developed by ISRO to test various systems for its first human space mission Gaganyaan in a two-year time frame, launched smoothly.
And culminated with a perfect execution of the abort mission with the crew escape system separating from the rocket at an altitude of approximately 17 km.
Express Network
China ramped up troop presence, infra along LAC in 2022 : Pentagon (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
China has maintained constant military presence while boosting infrastructure at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since the June 2020 clashes between Chinese and Indian troops in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley, according to a Pentagon report that offers crucial insights into Beijing’s growing military capabilities and activities in the region.
In its latest annual report to the U.S. Congress, the Department of Defense said there was an increased deployment of Chinese troops along the LAC in 2022. The deployments will likely continue through 2023.
The details come as India and China prepare for their fourth consecutive winter at the LAC in eastern Ladakh since the start of the Ladakh standoff.
The 20th round of military talks between the two sides earlier this month failed to yield any substantive forward movement.
As reported earlier, the Indian Army, as part of its winter posture in the region, is planning an overall redeployment of troops along the LAC while maintaining a strong domination using the latest surveillance devices and helicopters.
World
US sanctions 3 Chinese firms for giving ballistic missile parts to Pak (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The United States has imposed sanctions on three Chinese companies for their involvement in supplying missile-related components to Pakistan’s ballistic missile program.
The three companies in question are General Technology Limited, Beijing Luo Luo Technology Development Co Ltd., and Changzhou Utek Composite Company Ltd.
They have been found to engage in activities that pose a risk of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by Pakistan.
General Technology Limited, as per the statement, has supplied brazing materials, which are utilized in connecting components within ballistic missile rocket engines and in the production of combustion chambers.
Beijing Luo Luo Technology Development Co Ltd. has been involved in supplying mandrels and other machinery, which can be employed in the production of solid-propellant rocket motors and are subject to control by the Missile Technology Control Regime.
Changzhou Utek Composite Company Ltd. has been engaged in supplying D-glass glass fiber, quartz fabric, and high silica cloth since 2019, all of which find applications in missile systems.
Economy
India’s US food exports refusal rate 7 times higher than China’s (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
A total of 3,925 human food export shipments from India were refused entry at US customs in the last four years, as per data available with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Of these, 953 shipments (24 per cent) were refused entry for being “filthy” and 786 shipments (20 per cent) were refused for containing salmonella, a bacteria that causes severe stomach infections.
The most frequent product categories to face entry refusals were spices, vitamins, minerals and proteins, bakery products, and seafood products.
Food imports from India, Mexico, and China saw the highest number of refusals between October 2019 and September 2023, which corresponds to the latest four US federal fiscal years.
A total of 5,374 food export shipments from Mexico were refused, followed by 3,925 shipments from India, and 2,340 shipments from China.
India’s food exports refusal rate, which refers to the percentage of shipments refused out of all food export shipments sent, however, stood at 0.15 per cent during this period, seven times China’s rate of 0.022 per cent and six times Mexico’s rate of 0.025 per cent.