ISRO to launch an unprecedented 10 earth imaging satellites

News: according to the latest annual report of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for 2019-20, ISRO will launch  10 earth observation (EO) satellites during 2020-21. 

Facts:

1. GISAT-1: It is a Geo Imaging Satellite in Geostationary orbit with a high temporal resolution. is primarily meant for near real-time imaging of natural resources and disaster management.
2. RISAT-2BR2: It is a high agility X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar-based satellite. It will provide all-weather, day/night imaging services from space.
3. OCEANSAT-3: It will provide continuity of ocean colour data with improvements to continue and enhance operational services like potential fishery zone and primary productivity.
4. RISAT-1A and 2A: They will provide continuity of service for RISAT-1 and RISAT-2 respectively.
5. HRSAT: It will have a constellation of three satellites. Applications include large scale and cadastral level mapping, urban and rural planning, infrastructure development & monitoring, précising agriculture, disaster management, etc.
6. RESOURCESAT-3/3A: The mission is envisaged to provide continuity of data service on an operational basis in the area of Land and Water resources management.
7. RESOURCESAT-3S/3SA: These are planned to provide data services for earth resource monitoring with improved resolution and a wide swath.
8. INSAT-3DS: It is designed for enhanced meteorological observations, monitoring of land and ocean surfaces, generating a vertical profile of the atmosphere for weather forecasting and disaster warning.
9. Microsat-2A: It will meet demands for cartographic applications at cadastral level, urban and rural management, coastal land use and regulation, utility mapping, development and various other GIS applications.
10. NISAR: It is being jointly developed by NASA & ISRO. The primary mission goals are: Global coverage of the earth’s biomass, cryosphere, for surface dynamics and coastal studies over a period of 3-5 years, Systematic coverage of global environment with 12 days repeat the cycle.

Antarctic island hits record temperature of 20.75C

News: A record high temperature of 20.75C has been registered at Seymour Island in Antarctica, exceeding the 20C mark for the first time. The previous record for the Antarctic region was 19.8C, taken on Signy Island in January 1982.

Facts:

• Seymour Island: It is an island situated around the tip of the Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula. It is located in the Weddell Sea. Graham Land is the closest part of Antarctica to South America
• Signy Island: It is a small subantarctic island in the South Orkney Islands of Antarctica. Signy Research Station is an Antarctic research base on the island, run by the British Antarctic Survey.

Exercise MILAN 2020: 41 Navies to come for the biggest ever exercise in India Ocean Region

News: Milan 2020 will be conducted in Vishakhapatnam in March 2020.

Facts:

• Milan is a multilateral naval exercise hosted by the Indian Navy under the aegis of the Andaman and Nicobar Command.
• It was first held in 1995 and has been held biennially except for 2001, 2005, and 2016
• Milan 2020 theme: Synergy across the Seas
• 41 countries are expected to participate in Milan 2020

India marks the beginning of “Super Year of Biodiversity” 

News: India has marked the beginning of the super year of Biodiversity with the hosting of the 13th Conference of Parties (COP) of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)

Facts:

Super Year

• Global advocacy groups have nicknamed 2020 a “super year” for activism and actions. It highlights 21 SDG targets that are expiring in 1 year. The SDGs of Climate, Ocean, Gender, life below water and land, means of implementation will be given special focus upon.
  • Gender Equality (SDG 5)
  • Climate Action (SDG 13)
  • Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12)
  • Life Below Water and on Land (SDGs 14 and 15)
  • Means of Implementation (SDG 17)

Additional Information:

• On the sidelines of CMS COP-13, India and Norway declared the 2020-30 decade as the “Decade of rapid action on Climate Change and Environment”

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) or the Bonn Convention

• It is an intergovernmental treaty, concluded under the aegis of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). It acts as a framework convention and encourages its States Parties to conclude global or regional agreements.
• It was signed in 1979 in Bonn, Germany, and entered into force in 1983
• Aim: conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats
• It is the only global convention specializing in the conservation of migratory species, their habitats and migration routes.

Sammakka Saralamma Jatara

News:Sammakka Saralamma Jatara is being celebrated in the State of Telangana.

Facts:

About the festival:

• Sammakka Saralamma Jataraalso known as Medaram Jatara is a tribal festival held biennially in the state of Telangana.It is a State Festival of Telangana.
• The festival commemorates the fight of a mother and daughter, Sammakka and Saralamma, with the reigning rulers against an unjust law.
• It is believed that after Kumbh Mela,the Medaram jatara attracts the largest number of devotees in the country.

Additional information:

Note:Medaram is a remote place in the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary, a part of Dandakaranya, the largest surviving forest belt in the Mulugu.

BioAsia Summit 2020

News:The Government of Telangana is hosting the Bio-Asia Summit 2020 in Hyderabad.

Facts:

About the summit:

• Aim:To create business paradigms for the ever-evolving needs of the Life Sciences industry.
• Theme:Today for Tomorrow

Genome Excellence Award:

• Genome Valley Excellence Award was constituted in 2004 by the Government of Telangana.
• The award aims to recognize and honour eminent individuals and organizations for their exceptional contribution to the Life Sciences research and public health. 

India’s first ‘darknet’ narcotics operative held

News:The Narcotics Control Bureau(NCB) has arrested the country’s first ‘darknet’ narcotics operative under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances(NDPS) Act.

Facts:

About Darknet:

• Darknet refers to the deep hidden internet platform that is used for narcotics sale and other illegal activities by using the secret alleys of the onion router(ToR) to stay away from the surveillance of law enforcement agencies.
• Owing to its end-to-end encryption, darknet is considered very tough to crack when it comes to investigating criminal activities being rendered over it.

Deep web:

• The dark net is part of the greater deep web.The deep web encompasses all unindexed sites that don’t pop up when you do an Internet search.

About Narcotics Control Bureau(NCB):

• NCB was constituted by the Government of India in 1986 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act,1985.
• It is the apex coordinating agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Asur Tribe

News:The Asur tribe has been using mobile radio to transmit local news and songs which is helping them revive the dying tribal language.

Facts:

About the tribe:

• Asur Tribe are an Austroasiatic ethnic group living primarily in the Indian state of Jharkhand.
• They are included in the list of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups(PVTG’s).
• They speak the Asuri language which is on the verge of extinction with less than 8,000 people speaking it.
• The main festival of the tribe includes Sarhul, Phagua, Navakhans among others.

New species of urban lizard found in Guwahati

News:According to the research paper published in Zootaxa,researchers have discovered a new species of lizard – the urban bent-toed gecko in Guwahati, Assam.

Facts:

About the species:

• The zoological name of the news species of Lizard is Cyrtodactylus urbanus.It is the 12th recorded gecko from the Northeast.
• The species falls within the khasiensis group.However, it differs from other members of this group in mitochondrial sequence data as well as aspects of morphology.

Additional information:

About Gecko:

• Geckos are more than 1,000 species of lizards making up 6 families of the suborder Gekkota.They are mostly small, usually nocturnal reptiles with soft skin.