Prelim Bits 17-06-2023 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the procurement of armed Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), United States.

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) - It is an aircraft that carries no human pilot or passengers.
• UAVs are sometimes called as drones that can be fully or partially autonomous but are more often controlled remotely by a human pilot.
• Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) - The Predator drone or the MQ-9 Reaper is a long-endurance, medium-altitude, turboprop-powered, multi-mission, unmanned aircraft system (UAS).
• Developed by - General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, U.S.
• Endurance - > 27 hours.
• Speed - 240 KTAS. (KTAS - True Airspeed of an Airplane charter measured in Knots).
• Height - up to 50,000 feet.
• Payload Capacity - 1,746 kilograms.
• Advantages - It provides a long-endurance, persistent surveillance/strike capability for the war fighter.
• It is equipped with a fault-tolerant flight control system and triple redundant avionics system architecture.
• It is engineered to meet and exceed manned aircraft reliability standards.

The maritime variant of the MQ-9 UAV, known as Sea Guardian, has an endurance of over 30 hours.

Reference

The Indian Express | India to buy Predator UAVs from the US

Fish Kill

Recently thousands of dead fish washed up on multiple beaches of southeast Texas, USA due to a phenomenon called, “fish kill”.

• Fish kill is the sudden and unexpected death of many fish or other aquatic animals over a short period and mostly within a particular area.

Causes of fish kill

• Low levels of dissolved oxygen - When sea surface temperatures rise, it becomes difficult for the fish to breathe as oxygen dissolves easily in colder water compared to warmer water.
• When many fishes get trapped in shallow water, they get warmer more quickly, leading to suffocation.
• This causes fish to act more erratically, which in turn, further depletes the oxygen from the water, ultimately leading to the death of the fish.
• Calm Seas - Oxygen enters the sea water by mixing with wind and waves.
• Very calm seas causes the depletion of dissolved oxygen and causes fish kill.
• Overcast weather – It refers to more than 95% of cloud coverage.
• Photosynthesis is driven by sunlight and it slows down on cloudy days, resulting in decreased dissolved oxygen concentration.
• Other reasons – Alteration in natural water chemistry, biological changes, rising temperatures of oceans, chemical pollution or miscellaneous human activity. ​

Reference

The Indian Express | Thousands of dead fish wash up on Texas coast

Alligator Gar Fish

A non-native alligator gar fish was found in one of Kashmir’s dal lake, raising fears about its impact on the native fish species.

• Alligator gar, the largest of the gar is a fish species with crocodilian head and razor-sharp teeth.
• It is a close relative of the bowfin species.
• Family - Belonidae.
• The common name gar, or garfish or garpike, is applied to the needlefish.
• Habitat – Central America and North America.
• They are found in freshwaters - Rivers, lakes, and estuaries.
• It is a ray-finned Euryhaline fish and is one of the biggest freshwater fish in North America.
• It is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN’s Red data list.
• Being a predator fish and a carnivore, it can eat all types of fishes.
• Gars have the ability to gulp air in response to low-oxygen conditions that often occur in sluggish waters.
• They can even sustain in the cold water temperatures of 11-23 degrees Celsius.
• Alligator gars are oviparous (lay eggs).
• It is considered an alien fish species (invasive species) in India as it occurs here outside of its native habitat.
• The alligator gar's fossil records date back to nearly 100 million years ago, hence they are referred as “living fossil fish”.

Reference

Down to Earth | The latest threat for Srinagar’s idyllic Dal Lake

Wilful Defaulters

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed wilful defaulters and loans accounts involved in frauds to go in for a compromise settlement with banks to settle their dues.

• Willful defaulter - A willful defaulter is an entity or a person that has not paid the loan back despite the ability to repay it.
• A fraudster is one who intentionally cheats the bank with false documents/information and misappropriates the money.
• As per the RBI regulations, willful default covers several broad areas:
  • Deliberate non-payment of the dues despite adequate cash flow and good networth,
  • Tapping off of funds to the detriment of the defaulting unit,
  • Assets and proceeds have been misutilised;
  • Misrepresentation / falsification of records;
  • Disposal / removal of securities without bank’s knowledge;
  • Fraudulent transactions by the borrower.
• The amount of wilful default must be of at least Rs. 25 lakhs as per the Central Vigilance Commission.
• Restrictions for wilfull defaulters 
  • Barred from participating in the capital market.
  • Barred from availing of banking facilities for 5 years to start a new venture.
  • Lenders are free to initiate the process of recovery with full ferocity and ay initiate criminal proceedings.
  • Lending institutions do not allow any wilful defaulter to become a board member of any company.
  • Barred from making an open offer.

Reference

The Indian Express | Compromise settlement for wilful defaulters

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Shakti Scheme

Karnataka government has recently launched the Shakti scheme

• Sakthi Scheme offers free travel to women and transgender people in government-run buses in the state of Karnataka.
• The scheme allows women and transgenders irrespective of their age.
• It aims to empower women financially by providing them free of cost bus service.
• The government has also reserved 50% of the seats for men in all RTCs, except BMTC services.
• The scheme follows the footsteps of Delhi, Punjab and Tamil Nadu, which have introduced similar initiatives.

Reference

The Hindustan Times | Shakti Scheme