1 August 2022 Daily Current Affairs.

1 – Prevention of
Insults to National Honours Act:GS II

Topic à Government Policies and Interventions

·       Context:

·      
Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited people to
use the Tricolor as their social media profile image from August 2–15, this
year, to commemorate 75 years of Independence, calling the Azadi ka Amrit
Mahotsav a “popular movement.”

·       About
the Act:

·      
The degradation of or insult to Indian national
symbols, including the National Flag, the Constitution, the National Anthem,
and the Indian map, as well as disrespect of the Constitution of India, are
both prohibited by the law, which was passed on December 23, 1971.

·      
Insults to the Indian Constitution and National
Flag are included in Section 2 of the Act.

·       Other
clauses:

·      
The regulations, customs, and traditions
pertaining to the display of the national flag are covered in Section 3.22 of
The Flag Code of India, 2002.

·      
 

·      
In accordance with Section 3.58, the flag must
be draped over the coffin or bier on State, Military, and Central Paramilitary
Forces funeral occasions, with the saffron facing the coffin’s or bier’s head.

·      
The Flag may not be placed on a funeral pyre or lowered
into a grave.

Source à
The Indian Express

2 – Space Debris:GS
II

Topic à Space Related Issues

·       About:

·      
The term “space debris” refers to the
abandoned, defunct spacecraft that have been sitting in Earth orbit for years.

·       What
dangers do space debris present?

·      
The issue is made worse by the space junk’s
collision with other satellites or with other debris in space.

·      
Some low-Earth orbits might become unsuitable if
there was a belt of space debris.

·      
Kessler syndrome has been forewarned by experts.

·      
Space debris would be harmful to astronauts in
orbit.

·      
Batteries from retired spacecraft may explode,
and system leaks may occur.

·      
Debris in space poses a persistent threat to the
International Space Station (ISS).

·      
According to the Kessler syndrome, collisions
between objects in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) could set off a chain reaction that
raises the possibility of additional collisions.

·       What
steps have been taken to manage the space debris thus far?

·      
In 1995, NASA established the Orbital Debris
Program Office and published the first set of global guidelines for debris
reduction.

·      
It suggested that by 25 years of mission
completion, satellites should be built to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere.

·      
Plans for Europe Earth’s first space trash
clearance mission, ClearSpace-1, will launch in 2025.

·      
In an effort to clear space of junk, Purdue
University researchers are launching a prototype Spinnaker3 drag sail into
low-Earth orbit for testing.

·      
A satellite that collects old satellites and
other space debris was launched by the Japanese startup Astroscale.

·      
The NETRA Project, an early warning system to
safeguard satellites from space debris and other risks of Space, was launched
by ISRO in August 2020.

·      
According to international space law, if a
satellite starts to malfunction, it should deorbit and a plan should be made
for its re-entry into the atmosphere.

·       What
needs to be done?

·      
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty was updated to award
nations permanent property rights on their spacecraft, complicating efforts to
clear trash.

·      
NASA funding technology development for debris
removal and collaborations with businesses.

·      
US-led expansion of the Artemis Accords, a
framework for international space cooperation that currently includes 11 other
nations.

Source à
The Hindu

3 – Aviation Sector in India:GS II

Topic à Government Policies and Interventions

·       Background:

·      
In India, the third-largest civil aviation
market in the world by 2020, civil aviation dates back to 1911, when the first
commercial flight transporting mail across the Yamuna river to Naini took off
from a polo ground in Allahabad.

·      
After merging with Indian in 2011, Air India is
now the nation’s flag carrier and is crucial for tying India to the rest of the
world.

·      
By 2024, India will have the third-largest
global civil aviation market. In 2016, it registered 131 million passengers
flying across its airspace, of which 100 million were domestic passengers.

·       Airports
Authority of India (AAI):

·      
AAI began operations in 1995. It is a mini-ratna
firm that constructs, modernises, manages, and maintains airport
infrastructure.

·      
GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation, or GAGAN, is
a method that improves the precision and reliability of GPS signals. AAI and
ISRO collaborate to put it into action.

·      
In scheduled and non-scheduled air transport
services, the government increased the FDI cap from 49 percent to 100 percent.

·      
the establishment of the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya
Udan Akademi (IGRUA) at Fursatganj, Raebareli (UP).

·      
Fursatganj, Raebareli is home to the Rajiv
Gandhi National Aviation University (RGNAU) (UP).

·       The
2016 National Civil Aviation Policy:

·      
The first policy since independence is this one.

·      
It intends to establish an ecosystem that will
encourage the development of the civil aviation industry, which will stimulate
tourism, boost employment, and result in a balanced regional growth.

·       Civil
aviation sector reforms:

·      
The government has implemented a number of
reforms to the nation’s civil aviation industry by putting in place first-rate
facilities and infrastructure. It contains:

·      
To accommodate the anticipated growth in the
aviation industry, AAI has launched a development programme to spend roughly
Rs. 25,000 crores over the next 4-5 years on new terminal construction,
terminal expansion and modification, runway extension or strengthening, aprons,
Airport Navigation Services (ANS), control towers, technical blocks, etc.

·      
The establishment of 21 Greenfield Airports
around India has received “in-principle” approval from the Government
of India (GoI). Six Greenfield airports have so far been operationalized,
including those in Shirdi in Maharashtra, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in
Sikkim, Kannur in Kerala, Orvakal in Andhra Pradesh, and Kalaburagi in
Karnataka.

·      
Encouraging private investments in both new and
existing airports via PPP.

·      
As of July 27, 2021, 359 routes under the
Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) have started
linking 59 unserved/underserved airports, including 2 water aerodromes and 5
heliports.

·      
Optimization of flight paths within Indian
airspace in collaboration with the Indian Air Force for effective airspace
management, shorter flight paths, and reduced fuel consumption.

·      
To guarantee fair and equitable treatment for
our carriers in the global market, efforts have been made through Air Bubble
Arrangements.

·      
In order to increase their global
competitiveness, the government has aided airlines with a variety of policy
initiatives, such as tax reductions, the creation of favourable leasing and
financing conditions for aircraft, the efficient use of bilateral traffic
rights, and upgrades to air navigation facilities.

·      
The government has pushed airlines to purchase
cutting-edge wide-body aircraft. Vistara Airlines has so far purchased two new
wide-body planes.

·      
Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the aviation
industry—including airlines, airports, and related services—has under financial
strain.

·      
The following, among other things, are the
specifics of the significant actions the government took to revitalise the
civil aviation sector:

·      
Through the Airports Authority of India and the
commercial operators, provide airport infrastructure.

·      
encouraging private investment in both new and
existing airports via PPP

·      
Ensure the Air Navigation System is effective.

·      
To guarantee fair and equitable treatment for
our carriers in the global market, efforts have been made through Air Bubble
Arrangements.

·      
For domestic Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul
(MRO) services, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate was lowered from 18
percent to 5 percent.

·      
The atmosphere is favourable for financing and
leasing of aeroplanes.

·      
optimization of flight paths within Indian
airspace in collaboration with the Indian Air Force for effective airspace
management, shorter flight paths, and reduced fuel consumption.

·      
collaborating with stakeholders to find
solutions.

Source à
The Indian Express

4 – COWIN Portal:

Prelims Specific Topic

·       About
CoWIN:

·      
The website used by the Indian government to
register people for COVID-19 vaccination is called CoWIN (Covid Vaccine
Intelligence Work). It shows COVID-19 immunisation appointment times that are
available nearby and may be scheduled on the website.

·      
People can determine when, where, and by whom
they were immunised as a safe and reliable proof.

·      
Overall, CoWIN is a cloud-based IT solution for
the Covid-19 immunisation in India, including planning, implementing,
monitoring, and evaluating it.

·      
This enables the system to keep track of how
much Covid-19 vaccine is used, wasted, and covered at the national, state,
district, and sub-district levels.

·      
The CoWIN system keeps track of the immunisation
drive in India in real time.

·      
The website also offers digital immunisation
certificates.

·      
In essence, CoWIN is an expansion of eVIN
(Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network).

Source à
The Hindu