DAY 41Quick read

India plans to have its own space station launched by 2030.
● What is the space station?
It is basically a spacecraft which is habitable by humans who are crewmembers. Countries such as the United States, Russia, and China have already developed their presence in space and the ISS (International Space Station) is the only and largest fully functioning human-made space station.
Currently, there is only one fully functional space station in the Earth’s lower orbit, the International Space Station and astronauts conduct different experiments in it.

Only 5 percent of the Universe is visible. The rest of the universe appears to be made of a mysterious, invisible substance called dark matter (25 percent) and a force that repels gravity known as dark energy (70 percent).

Scientists have not yet observed dark matter directly. It doesn’t interact with baryonic matter and it’s completely invisible to light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation, making dark matter impossible to detect with current instruments. But scientists are confident it exists because of the gravitational effects it appears to have on galaxies and galaxy clusters.

RISAT-2BR1- Disaster Management System, Earth Observation Dec 11, 2019
Cartosat-3 -Earth Observation Nov 27, 2019
HysIS -Earth Observation Nov 29, 2018
GSAT-29 – Communication Nov 14, 2018
IRNSS- Navigation

A special programme for School Children called “YuvaVIgyaniKAryakram (YUVIKA)” was organized, in tune with the Government’s vision “Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan”. The Program is primarily aimed at imparting basic knowledge on Space Technology, Space Science and Space Applications.
The programme, named YUVIKA is held to impart knowledge about space-related theories and technologies to students. It is also aimed to create awareness among the youngsters about space activities, Isro said. The YUVIKA programme will be held for two weeks from May 11 to May 22, 2020. Isro’s Yuvika programme was launched in 2019.

The Union Government has already set up New Space India Limited (NSIL), a wholly owned Government of India undertaking/ Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE), under the administrative control of Department of Space (DOS) in 2019 to commercially exploit the research and development work of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Centres and constituent units of DOS.
Aditya-1 was meant to observe only the solar corona. The outer layers of the Sun, extending to thousands of km above the disc (photosphere) is termed as the corona. It has a temperature of more than a million degree Kelvin which is much higher than the solar disc temperature of around 6000K. The project is approved and the satellite will be launched during 2019 – 2020 timeframe by PSLV-XL from Sriharikota.
MoM completed 5 years in Sep 2019. It has been a space probe orbiting Mars since 24 September 2014.

National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) is an organisation of the Government of India created under Sec 70A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (amended 2008), through a gazette notification on 16th Jan 2014 based in New Delhi, India. It is designated as the National Nodal Agency in respect of Critical Information Infrastructure Protection.
There is no act like CyberSecurity Act 2013. There is Cyber Security Policy-2013.

A Swiss Challenge is a method of bidding, often used in public projects, in which an interested party initiates a proposal for a contract or the bid for a project. The government then puts the details of the project out in the public and invites proposals from others interested in executing it. On the receipt of these bids, the original contractor gets an opportunity to match the best bid.

The Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme aims at supporting infrastructure projects that are economically justified but fall marginally short of financial viability. Support under this scheme is available only for infrastructure projects where private sector sponsors are selected through a process of competitive bidding. The total VGF under the scheme does not exceed 20% of the total project cost, however, the Government may decide to provide additional grants up to a limit of a further 20%.

NPC is a national level organization to promote productivity culture in India. • Established by the Ministry of Industry, Government of India in 1958, it is an autonomous, multipartite, non-profit organization with equal representation from employers’ & workers’ organizations and Government, apart from technical & professional institutions and other interests.

PRADHAN MANTRI KISAN MAAN DHAN YOJANA:
It is the old-age protection and social security of Small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs) in the country. It is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme for the entry age group of 18 to 40 years. PMKMDY is effective from the 9th of August 2019. Key Features of the scheme
•It is voluntary and contributory for farmers in the entry age group of 18 to 40 years and a monthly pension of Rs. 3000/- will be provided to them on attaining the age of 60 years. • Matching Contribution by the Government of India • The Scheme shall secure the lives of 5 Crore Small and Marginal Farmers
• The farmers will have to make a monthly contribution of Rs.55 to Rs.200, depending on their age of entry, in the Pension Fund till they reach the retirement date i.e. the age of 60 years
• The spouse is also eligible to get a separate pension of Rs.3000/- upon making separate contributions to the Fund.