FAQ

French space company Arianespace successfully launched India’s G-SAT-24 satellite from Kourou, French Guiana on 22 June 2022. 

French Guiana is in the South American continent.

The satellite was launched by Ariane -5 rocket of the Arianespace Company. Alongside the GSAT-24 satellite the Ariane -5 rocket also launched Malaysia's MEASAT-3d satellite built by Airbus.

G-SAT-24 satellite 

• It is a communication satellite built by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for NewSpace India Limited (NSIL). It is the first demand driven communication satellite built by NSIL.
• NSIL has built this 24-Ku band communication satellite weighing 4180 kg with pan-India coverage for Tata Play Company.
• According to the NSIL, the GSAT-24, once operational, will enhance television viewing by providing more DTH (Direct to Home) channels within the same spectrum, and more HD channels.
• The satellite-based interactive education services for classroom connectivity will also be improved and the satellite will have applications in telecommunications and emerging sectors like digital cinema, bulk data transfer.

Future mission of NSIL 

• NSIL will launch three satellites from Singapore on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket of ISRO.
• The PSLV-C-53 mission of ISRO will be launched on 30 June from ISRO’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, and Andhra Pradesh. 
• It will be the second commercial mission of the NSIL after the space reform.

NewSpace India Limited (NSIL)

It is a public sector company set up by the government of India on 6 March 2019.

It is under the administrative control of the Department of Space, Government of India.

Function of NSIL 

• It is the marketing arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
•  It will provide space based services to clients through its Earth Observation and Communication satellites.
• It will build satellites and launch them as per the demand of the customer. 
• It will build launch vehicles in collaboration with the private sector as per customer requirement. 

Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka 

ISRO 

It is an Indian space agency owned by the Government of India 

It was set up on 15 August 1969

Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka

Chairman: S. Somnath

South Korea has successfully launched its first domestically developed space rocket on 21 June 2022. 

The Korea Satellite Launch Vehicle II, a 200-tonne liquid fuel rocket also called Nuri, lifted off from the Naro Space Center in the Southern coastal village of Goheung in South Korea.

• South Korea’s second test launch of its home grown space rocket comes eight months after the first test failed to put a dummy satellite into orbit.
• The three-stage Nuri rocket weighs 200 tonnes and is 47.2 meters long, fitted with a total of six liquid-fuelled engines.
• With this launch, South Korea joined the U.S, Russia, France, China, Japan and India which have their own self-developed propulsion capabilities.

Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)

It is the national space agency of South Korea 

It was set up in 1989.

Rocket launching center: Naro Space Center in Goheung

Its Rocket name: KSLV (Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle)

The United Nations announced on 21 June 2022 that it is moving the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, known as Conference of Parties (COP-15), from Kunming in China to Montreal, Canada, following multiple covid pandemic-related delays.

• Initially the COP 15 was scheduled to take place in the Chinese city in October 2020 but it was delayed due to covid pandemic. Though a first round of discussions was held virtually in Kunming in October 2021, the convention's secretariat announced this March that the summit had been delayed for a fourth time as China battled another wave of COVID-19 cases.
• Now the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, known as COP-15, will be held in Montreal from 5 -17 December 2022.
• It will aim to adopt a global framework for biodiversity to halt and reverse losses of the world's plants, animals, and ecosystems.
• One of the most notable draft targets is to conserve 30% of land and sea areas globally by 2030.
• Despite the change of venue to the seat of the secretariat in Montreal, China will retain the presidency of the conference.

United Nation Convention on Biological Diversity 

It is a multilateral treaty which was signed by the countries at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It came into force on 29 December 1993. At present 194 countries are its signatories.

It has 3 main objectives:

• The conservation of Biological diversity 
• The sustainable use of the components of biological diversity 
• The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

 Conferences of the Parties/COP 

• Countries which have signed the conventions are called Conferences of the Parties. The meeting of the Conferences of the Parties is  also called COP
• The first COP -1 was held in Nassau, Bahamas 1994.
• The 15th meeting was to be originally held in  Kunming, China which has now been shifted to Montreal ,Canada.

According to the “The Renewables 2022 Global Status Report” released on 15 June 2022, India has become the third highest country in the world to add new renewable power capacity in 2021.

The report released by REN21 says that India added around 15.4 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power capacity in 2021, the third highest after China (136 GW) and the United States (43 GW).

• The REN21’s renewables 2022 global status report says that with this growth, India was now the third-largest market in the world for new solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity.
• It ranked fourth in the world for total solar energy installations (60.4 GW), following China (305.9 GW), US (121.4 GW) and Japan (78 GW).  Germany is the fifth largest having solar installations of 59.2 GW.
• According to the report, India has allotted $24.3 billion (₹18,100 crore) for its solar energy schemes which provide incentives to domestic and international companies to set up battery manufacturing plants.
• India invested $11.3 billion in renewables in 2021, equivalent to the GDP of Brunei Darussalam in 2020.

REN21

• REN21 was created in 2004 as an outcome of the Bonn International Conference on Renewable Energy 2004.
• It is the only global renewable energy community of actors from science, governments, NGOs and industry.
• The main aim of the REN21 is to support and accelerate the development of renewable energy in the world.
• Headquarters: Paris, France 

Surat has become the first city in the country to get a processed steel slag (industrial waste) road built as part of a joint-venture project by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), Union Ministry of Steel, government think-tank NITI Aayog, and ArcelorMittal-Nippon Steel. 

This project falls under the initiative of the Waste to Wealth and Clean India Campaign.

The steel waste is converted into steel slag aggregate which is used in laying down the road.

The steel waste for this project came from the ArcelorMittal-Nippon Steel plant located in Hazira, Gujarat.

Benefit of the road built by steel waste 

• According to the experts, the construction cost of the processed steel slag road is 30 per cent cheaper than roads built from natural aggregates.
• The utilisation of processed steel slag in road construction will also help in the sustainable use of waste and will reduce the reliance on perishable natural aggregates. 
• This process is also expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint in road construction activity.

The once popular Internet Explorer web browser will no longer be supported by Microsoft from 15 June 2022 and it will be discontinued.

Last year Microsoft announced that it will no longer provide technical support to the Internet explorer from 15 June 2022. 

• Microsoft wants the user to shift to Microsoft Edge web browser launched in 2015.
• Microsoft released the first version of Internet Explorer in 1995 for web browsing. It was later bundled with the Microsoft Windows operating system.
• At one time the Internet Explorer commanded over 90 % of the internet browser usage market in the world in 2003.
• However Internet explorer had significant shortcomings. Users complained about it being slow, prone to crashing and vulnerable to hackers.
• Later it started losing ground to other new browsers with better user interface and faster internet speed. 
• Today, the Google Chrome browser dominates the market with roughly a 65% share of the worldwide browser market, followed by Apple’s Safari with 19%. 
• Microsoft Edge is way behind with a market share of about 4%.

Microsoft 

It is an American multinational technology company  which was set up in 1975 in the United States  by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.

It is best known for its computer operating system Windows and gaming console XBox. 

CEO: Satya Nadela 

Headquarters : Redmond, Washington, United States of America .

Amara Raja Power Systems will set up India’s first green hydrogen fuelling station in Leh, Ladakh for the National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC).It is a pilot project which will be set up at a height of 3600 meters above sea level.

• NTPC plans to operate 5 hydrogen fuel buses in the region.
• According to the company, green hydrogen will be produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, using an electrolysis process powered by electricity generated by renewable energy sources.
• The hydrogen produced in this manner will leave no carbon footprint. The pilot project will produce a minimum of 80kg/day of 99.97 percent pure hydrogen which will be compressed, stored and dispensed.
•  The government of India has set a target to achieve net-zero carbon emission by 2070. 

Kindly also see 18 February 2022 post for Green Hydrogen policy 

NTPC 

• It was earlier called National Thermal Power Corporation of India. It is owned by the Government of India.
•  It was set up in 1975.
• The company was mainly in the business of coal based power generation and transmission of electricity. Later it diversified into non-renewable power generation business.
• The total installed capacity of the company is 68,567.18 MW (including JVs) own stations include 24 coal based, 7 gas based, 1 Hydro 1 Wind 13 Solar and 1 Small hydro plant.
•  As on 31.03.2020 the company had 16.78% of the total national power capacity and it contributed 20.96% of total power generation.
• It operates India’s largest power plant in India, Vindhyachal Thermal Power Station, and Madhya Pradesh.
• The Vindhyachal Thermal Power Station in the Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh, with an installed capacity of 4,760MW, is currently the biggest thermal power plant in India.
•  It is a coal-based power plant owned and operated by NTPC.

Headquarters: New Delhi 

Source of Data: NTPC website.

According to a new research by the scientists of Rhode Island, United States, published in the peer-reviewed Geophysical Research Letters journal in March, the city of Mumbai is sinking by an average of 2 mm annually.  The observation has been made after measuring the subsidence rate in Mumbai between 2015 and 2020.

Land Subsidence 

According to the scientist the main reason for the sinking is due to a geological phenomenon known as land subsidence.

 Land subsidence means the downward, vertical movement of the earth’s surface . It happens due to  indiscriminate groundwater extraction, mining, reclamation of natural wetlands, infrastructure projects and ecological disturbances.

The sinking  coastal cities of  the world 

The study titled “Subsidence in Coastal Cities Throughout the World" analyzed land subsidence in 99 countries globally. 

According to the study, Tianjin in China to be the fastest sinking coastal city in the world at a rate of 5.2cm per year.

Other prominent  coastal sinking  cities are  Semarang (3.96cm per year) and Jakarta (3.44cm per year) in Indonesia, Shanghai (2.94cm per year) in China, and Ho Chi Minh (2.81mm per year) and Hanoi (2.44cm per year) in Vietnam.

Problem of Mumbai 

Mumbai which is India’s financial capital is facing the double threat of global warming and indiscriminate urban growth . 

Recent studies indicate that  due to global warming the Arabian Sea is rising by 0.5 to 3mm per year, suggesting that some parts of Mumbai may be sinking faster than sea levels are rising.

Researchers have found that poor urban planning has led to the combined effect of declining groundwater and high-rise buildings.

 It has  made Mumbai vulnerable to subsidence, leading to increased inundation during heavy rainfall.  

Also , the areas prone to subsidence have  witnessed  the worst impacts of flooding and property damage. This is likely to increase in the coming years.

In a significant boost to the operation of the NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), the Union cabinet chaired by Narendra Modi has approved the transfer of 10 in orbit communication satellites from the government of India to it.

It will now be responsible for the satellites functioning and maintenance.

To increase the financial autonomy of the NSIL, the cabinet also approved its authorized share capital to be increased from Rs 1000 crore to Rs 7500 crore.

The cabinet in its note also said that this approval is expected to trigger domestic economic activity in the space sector and increase India's share in the global space market.

The NSIL conducted its first mission in 20221 when it successfully launched Amazonia-1 and 18 Co-passenger satellites from Sriharikota. 

NewSpace India Limited (NSIL)

It is a public sector company set up by the government of India on 6 March 2019.

It is under the administrative control of the Department of Space , Government of India.

Function of NSIL 

It is the marketing arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

 It will provide space based services to clients through its Earth Observation and Communication satellites.

It will build satellites and launch them as per the demand of the customer. 

It will build launch vehicles in collaboration with the private sector as per customer requirement. 

Headquarters : Bengaluru, Karnataka 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, inaugurated the headquarters of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Center (IN-SPACe) at Bopal, Ahmedabad Gujarat on 10 June 2022.

TO encourage the greater participation of the Private sector in the Space programme the Union cabinet headed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the establishment of IN-SPACe in June 2020.  

The aim behind setting up this center was to enable private sectors to use the facilities of the Department of Space for greater participation of private players in space technology and related activities.

The premier Indian space agency, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) comes under the Department of Space.

Function of IN-SPACe

• It will be an autonomous nodal agency which will allow space activities and non-government private entities to use the Department of Space-related facilities.
• IN-SPACe will be a facilitator, and also a regulator.
•  It will act as an interface between ISRO and private companies, and assess how best to utilise India’s space resources and increase space-based activities.
• It will be a single-window nodal agency that will permit and oversee Space activities including building of launch vehicles and satellites by the private companies using ISRO resources.
• Through IN-SPACe, private companies will have access to technology, expertise, and facilities of ISRO either free, or at reasonable rates. 

Chairman of IN-SPACe: Pawan Kumar Goenka 

Why the need for INSPACe

•  It is not that private companies are not involved in space projects. They are at present involved in the fabrication of rockets and satellites for ISRO. 
• The main purpose of setting up INSPACe is to free ISRO to do its main job of research and development and also to capture a growing space market in the world.
• The major demand in the world space market is of satellite-based services, and ground-based systems. Indian companies do not have the financial or technological capability to offer services like Space X of the United States do to capture this market.
• Also the demand for space-based applications and services is growing within India, and ISRO with its current budget and resources is unable to cater to this. 
•  Within India the demand for satellite data, imageries and space technology is growing across sectors like weather to agriculture to transport to urban development, defence etc. ISRO is unable to meet the demand.
• With the help of ISRO in developing new technologies and use of its facilities the government hopes that in near future the Indian companies will capture a sizable market in the world and will also provide a boost to the domestic economy.  

Benefit to ISRO

• ISRO is a purely a scientific research and development organisation and its main function is to concentrate on science, research and development, interplanetary exploration and strategic launches. With the participation of the private sector, it can now concentrate on its main function.
• The Private sector will take over the commercial space based application business from ISRO and ISRO will be free to concentrate on its main function of research and development.
• It can also earn additional revenue  by licensing its technology and facilities to the private sector