Facts in News

Facts in News

Sea Breeze 2021

• Ukraine and the United States have launched a military exercise involving more than 30 countries in the Black Sea and southern Ukraine, despite Russian calls to cancel the drills.
  • The drills follow a rise in tensions between NATO and Russia.
  • Sea Breeze exercise is the largest exercise since 1997.
• Aim: To train headquarters and subdivisions of Ukrainian Navy to perform assigned tasks as per NATO standards and procedures.

Black Sea

• The Black Sea, also known as the Euxine Sea, is one of the major water bodies and a famous inland sea of the world. 
• It is bordered by Ukraine to the north, Russia to the northeast, Georgia to the east, Turkey to the south, and Bulgaria and Romania to the west.
• The roughly oval-shaped Black Sea occupies a large basin strategically situated at the southeastern extremity of Europe but connected to the distant waters of the Atlantic Ocean by the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, the Dardanelles, the Aegean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea. 
• The Crimean Peninsula thrusts into the Black Sea from the north, and just to its east the narrow Kerch Strait links the sea to the smaller Sea of Azov.

Image Courtesy: Wiki

Importance of Black Sea for Russia

• Geopolitical advantages 
• Improtant trade route and coridoor
• For the perspective of culture and ethnicity Black Sea is important for Russia.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

• It is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 countries across the world.
• Established in: 1949
• Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium
• India is not a member country of NATO.

Agni Prime Missile

DRDO successfully tests new-generation nuclear-capable Agni-P missile.

Agni Prime Missile

• About: New generation advanced variant of the Agni class of missiles.
  • Fully made up of composite material.
  • Smallest and lightest among the entire Agni series of ballistic missiles.
• Nature: Canisterised surface-to-surface ballistic missile. 
  • Canisterisation lessens the time required for launch & improving storage and mobility.
  • The hermetically sealed canister protects the missile from the environment.
• Range:  Between 1,000 and 2,000 km.
• Significance: Strengthen India’s credible deterrence capabilities, improved manoeuvring and accuracy, unlike earlier Agni missiles.
  • High level of accuracy

AGNI Ballistic Missiles

• Built under Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
• Varients of AGNI: Agni-I (700km), Agni-II (2000 km), Agni-III (3,500km),  Agni-IV (4500 km), Agni-V (> 5,000Km, Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)). 
• It also includes Prithvi short-range ballistic missiles (Prithvi-1 150-600 km), submarine-launched ballistic missiles and fighter aircraft.
• K-4 Missile: Earlier, India launched the submarine-launch ballistic missile (3,500-km range).

Nuclear Triad

• A nuclear triad comprises land-based ICBM (inter-continental ballistic missile), SLBM (INS Arihant) and strategic bomber aircraft ( Sukhoi-30MKI, Mirage-2000 and Jaguar fighters).
• No-First-Use Policy: Right of massive retaliation if struck with nuclear weapons first.

IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program)

• Idea by: Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam; approved by GOI in 1983.
• Aim:  Attain self-sufficiency in the field of missile technology.
• Five missiles developed under this:
  • Agni Series
  • Prithvi (Ballistic Missiles) 
  • Nag (3rd gen Anti-tank missile)
  • Akash (Medium Range Surface to Air)
  • Trishul (Short range Surfacee to Air)

Kadaknath Chicken

• COVID-19 pandemic has led to a huge demand for the Kadaknath chicken. People are consuming it to boost their immune system.

Key Points

• About: Kadaknath is the black, protein-rich breed of chicken from Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh.
  • This poultry is reared mainly by the tribal community of Bhil & Bhilala in the districts of Jhabua and Dhar.
  • It famous for its delicious black meat (‘kali-masi’), which is supposed to be invigorating and full of medicinal properties.
  • The Black colour stems from the deposition of melanin pigment.
• Benefits: The black meat of their is claimed to contain low cholesterol level as compared to the routine table chicken.
  • It contains 25-27% of protein in comparison with other breeds of chickens.
  • It can be used for its medicinal properties, like can be taken as an aphrodisiac.

Baihetan Dam

• China operationalises Baihetan hydro project of 16GW capacity, biggest since Three Gorges.

Baihetan Dam

• Location: Border of southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan.
• Constructed on: Jinsha, the upstream section of the Yangtze river.
  • Yangtze is the longest in Asia and the third-longest river in the world.
  • It rises in the northern part of the Tibetan Plateau and flows in a generally easterly direction to the East China Sea.
• Three Gorges Dam: It is also a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River.
  • It has been the world’s largest power station in terms of installed capacity of 22,500 MW or 22.5 GW. 
  • The Three Gorges are three adjacent gorges along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.