Memorize Current Affairs for UPSC 21 november 2020
National Seismic Programme
NEWS :
- The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel has launched a Seismic Survey campaign of Oil India Limited in the Mahanadi basin of Odisha.
- Mahanadi basin was chosen as the first location to roll out the National Seismic Programme.
National Seismic Programme
- The National Seismic Programme was launched in 2016.
- To trace hydrocarbon resources such as oil and natural gas.
- The program aims to undertake a fresh appraisal of the sedimentary basins in the country.
- The National Seismic Programme will conduct a high-resolution seismic acquisition, processing, and interpretation survey.
Seismic Survey
- A seismic survey is a low impact method that gathers information about the location and characteristics of geological structures.
- During the survey, acoustic sound signals are transmitted to the earth’s surface.
- Different geographical layers reflect the sound differently.
- Based on the returning sound waves received and recorded by microphones, the availability of oil and gas is determined.
Mahanadi Basin
- Mahanadi is the eighth largest basin in the country.
- Mahanadi river flows through Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.
- Hirakud dam has been constructed across river Mahanadi.
Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)
NEWS :
- IRNSS has been accepted as a component of the World-Wide Radio Navigation System by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for its operation in the Indian Ocean Region.
- This will enable the vessels to use IRNSS to obtain position information similar to GLONASS and GPS.
What it means
- The navigation system up to 1,500 km in the Indian Ocean waters can now replace GPS.
- This means that the ships in the Indian Ocean can obtain information from IRNSS for their position at sea.
- The IMO is an organization of the United Nations.
- With the recognition, India has become the fourth country after the US, Russia, and China to have its own navigation systems.
Sustainable alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT initiative)
NEWS :
- India signed a Memorandum of Understanding with leading oil and gas marketing companies to establish Compressed Bio-Gas Plants all over India under the SATAT initiative.
- These plants are to generate biogas from crop wastes.
The biogas produced from the plants can be used to power automobiles.
These fuels can be used to reduce the import by Rs 1 lakh crores.
National Digital Health Mission
NEWS :
- The Government is preparing for the nationwide launch of the National Digital Health Mission.
- The mission of the new digital health program is to provide affordable medical health facilities to the citizens.
- Earlier the scheme was rolled out through a pilot launch in the Union Territories (Except for Delhi, J&k, and Ladakh).
Private sector banks reforms
NEWS :
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had constituted an Internal Working Group (IWG).
- To review the extent ownership guidelines and corporate structure for private sector banks in India.
- It was headed by Prasanna Kumar Mohanty.
Tag:Current Affairs, UPSC
