Prelim Bits 29-11-2018

HysIS Satellite

• HysIS Satellite is India’s first hyperspectral imaging satellite for advanced Earth observation, it was launched with the help of PSLV-C43 launcher.

• HysIS will study the Earth’s surface in visible, near-infrared and shortwave infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, with a mission life of about 5 years.
• HysIS will be ISRO’s first full-scale working satellite with this capability.
• A hyperspectral imaging camera in space can provide well-defined images that can help to identify objects on Earth far more clearly than regular optical or remote sensing cameras.
• The technology will be an added advantage of watching over India from space for a variety of purposes such as defense, agriculture, land use, minerals and so on.

PSLV-C43

• PSLV is a four-stage launch vehicle with alternating solid and liquid stages.
• PSLV allows India to launch its Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites into sun-synchronous orbits.
• PSLV can also launch small size satellites into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).
• PSLV-C43, which is the 45th flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), it is the lightest version of the launch vehicle.

National Skill Development Corporation

• National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is a non-profit public limited company set up by Ministry of Finance as Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
• The Government of India through Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) holds 49% of the share capital of NSDC, while the private sector has the balance 51% of the share capital.
• NSDC aims to promote skill development by catalyzing creation of large, quality and for-profit vocational institutions.
• Further, the organization provides funding to build scalable and profitable vocational training initiatives.
• NCDC has a differentiated focus on 21 sectors for understanding of their viability and make every sector attractive to private investment.

Inclusive Wealth Report (IWR)

• IWR is a biennial effort led by the UN Environment, which provides important insights into long-term economic growth and human well-being.
• The Index measures the wealth of nations through a comprehensive analysis of a country’s productive base and the country’s wealth in terms of progress, well-being and long-term sustainability.
• The biennial report finds The Republic of Korea, Singapore and Malta as the nations that have had the most economic growth.
• The report also revealed that carbon damage is relatively larger in high-income countries.

UN Environment

• The United Nations Environment Program (UN Environment) is global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda.
• It promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.
• The World Meteorological Organization and UN Environment established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988.
• UN Environment is also one of several Implementing Agencies for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol, and it is also a member of the United Nations Development Group.

Hog Deer

• Recently searchers reported the presence of a small population of hog deer in Keibul Lamjao National Park (KLNP), Manipur.
• The study indicates that the western limit of hog deer is Manipur and not central Thailand as believed earlier.
• Two sub-species of hog deer have been reported from its range.

1. The western race is distributed from Pakistan and the Terai grasslands (along the Himalayan foothills, from Punjab to Arunachal Pradesh).
2. The eastern race of hog deer is found in Thailand, Indo-China, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

• The species has lost ground in most of its distribution range, a small and isolated population of under 250 was reported from Cambodia.

• The hog deer is an endangered species in the IUCN Red List and is protected under Schedule I of the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

Siberian unicorns

• Genetic analyses have shown that the Siberian unicorn was the last surviving member of a unique family of rhinos.
• Siberian unicorn are giant, shaggy Ice Age rhinoceros, and they are extraordinary single horn.
• Weighing up to 3.5 tonnes with a single enormous horn, the Siberian unicornroamed the steppe of Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Northern China.
• The Siberian unicorn was a very close relative of the extinct woolly rhino and living Sumatran rhino.

EX-INDRA 2018

• EX-INDRA is Indo-Russian joint military exercise, which helps in a common understanding of transnational terrorism, interoperability between the participants.
• The exercise aims for a conduct of joint tactical operations controlled by a Joint Command Post working under the aegis of United Nations.
• The participating contingents also carried out specialized joint training on hostage rescue by slithering from MI-17 helicopters.

Source: PIB, the Hindu