Facts in News

                           Facts in News

INS Viraat

• The second Centaur-Class aircraft carrier initially served the Royal British Navy as HMS Hermes in 1959 and was later sold to India in the 1980s.
• It holds the world record for being the longest-serving warship of the world.
• Housed: Fighters Sea Harriers of INAS 300 (White Tigers), Anti Submarine aircraft Sea king Mk 42B (Harpoons), Sea King Mk 42 C and the SAR helicopter Chetak, indigenous Advance Light Helicopters ‘Dhruv’ and the Russian twin rotor Kamov-31, etc.
• Operations: Operation Mercy (1974), Operation Jupiter (1989), Operation Parakram (2001-02), etc.
• Exercises: Malabar (USA), Varuna (French), Naseem-Al-Bahar (Oman Navy), TROPEX (annual theatre-level exercises), etc.
• It was decommissioned in 2017.
  • India acceded to the Hong Kong International Convention for Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 in November 2019 and passed the Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019.
  • The multilateral convention emphasises on safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships.

                                            (Image Courtesy: Frontline)

Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)

• It is an indicator of business activity, both in the manufacturing and services sectors.
• It is a survey-based measure that asks the respondents about changes in their perception of some key business variables from the month before.
• It is calculated separately for the manufacturing and services sectors and then a composite index is constructed.
• It is derived from a series of qualitative questions.
• A figure above 50 denotes expansion in business activity. Anything below 50 denotes contraction.
  • Higher the difference from this mid-point, the greater the expansion or contraction.
  • The rate of expansion can also be judged by comparing the PMI with that of the previous month data.
  • If the figure is higher than the previous month’s then the economy is expanding at a faster rate.
  • If it is lower than the previous month then it is growing at a lower rate.

Spices Board India

• It was constituted in February 1987 under the Spices Board Act 1986 with the merger of the erstwhile Cardamom Board (1968) and Spices Export Promotion Council (1960).
• It is one of the five Commodity Boards functioning under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• The autonomous body is responsible for the export promotion of the 52 scheduled spices and the development of Cardamom (small and large).
• It is an international link between the Indian exporters and the importers abroad and has been spearheading activities for excellence of Indian spices, involving every segment of the industry.
• It has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India’s Accelerator Lab to build a blockchain-based traceability interface for Indian spices to enhance transparency in trading.

Exercice La Pérouse

• The three-day multilateral maritime exercise ‘La Pérouse’ started in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region.
• It involves the French Navy, Indian Navy, Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) and the United States Navy (USN)
  • The naval exercise is being led by the French Navy.
• Exercise La Pérouse will witness advanced naval operations including surface warfare, anti-air warfare and air defence exercises, weapon firing exercises, cross deck flying operations, tactical manoeuvres and seamanship evolutions such as replenishment at sea.
• The exercise will showcase high levels of synergy, coordination and interoperability between the friendly navies.

Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP)

• The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare virtually launched the Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP).
• India is the first country in the world to adopt such an advanced disease surveillance system.
• The new version of IHIP will house the data entry and management for India’s disease surveillance program.

• It will provide analyzed reports on mobile or other electronic devices.
•  It can easily be integrated with another ongoing surveillance program while having the feature of the addition of special surveillance modules.
• It is in sync with the National Digital Health Mission and fully compatible with the other digital information systems presently being used in India.

• It shall ensure near-real-time data in digital mode, having done away with the paper mode of working.

Chenab Bridge

• Chenab Bridge, the world’s highest railway bridge, is 1315 m long and will be 35 meters higher than Eiffel Tower in Paris.
• The Chenab bridge is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project (USBRL) and completion of the steel arch is an important construction milestone.

• The bridge is being built at a cost of ?1,486 crores and can withstand high wind speed up to 266 km per hour.
• The bridge will provide the much-needed all-weather connectivity between Kashmir and the rest of the county.
• The bridge will be able to withstand earthquakes with a magnitude of up to eight and high-intensity blasts.

                                                      Image Courtesy: PIB