Essential Facts (Prelims):23 Feb, 2019


Bio-ATF

Category: Energy

  • Dehradun-based Indian Institute of Petroleum has successfully finished a pilot test to convert used cooking oil into bio-aviation turbine fuel (Bio-ATF), which can be blended with conventional ATF and used as aircraft fuel.
  • The test assumes importance as the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched the Repurpose Cooking Oil (RUCO) initiative to collect and convert used cooking oil into bio-fuel. As many as 64 companies across the country have been identified for the purpose by FSSAI.

Linked PNRs

Category: Infrastructure

  • Just like airlines, railways will now issue linked PNRs for connecting journeys allowing passengers to cancel their onward journey without any cancellation fee.
  • The facility, which will begin from April 1, will be beneficial for those passengers who are booked on continuous trains for their onward journeys and get delayed due to fog, protests or any other reason during their trip.

AK-103

Category: Defence & Security

  • India and Russia are close to concluding an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to locally bulk manufacture AK-103 assault rifles.
  • The Army is looking to replace the indigenous INSAS (Indian National Small Arms System) rifles in use with a modern rifle.

Indus Water

Category: International

  • The Indus system comprises the rivers Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.
  • The basin is mainly shared between India and Pakistan with a small share for China and Afghanistan.
  • Under the Indus Water Treaty signed by India and Pakistan in 1960, the waters of three rivers — Ravi, Sutlej and Beas (eastern rivers) were allocated to India for exclusive use.
  • Among India’s various schemes is the Shahpurkandi project that will help in utilising the water from the Thein dam to irrigate 37,000 hectares of land in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, and generate 206 MW of power.
  • Another facility is the Ujh multipurpose project that will create a storage of about 781 million cubic metre of water on river Ujh , a tributary of Ravi.

MUDRA

Category: Economy

  • The Labour Bureau has completed its survey on employment generated by the MUDRA loan scheme, giving the Centre a potential data tool to combat other reports showing a dismal scenario on jobs.
  • The Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana was introduced in April 2015 as an effort to extend affordable credit to micro and small enterprises.
  • Loans up to ₹10 lakh are extended to these non-corporate, non-farm enterprises by the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) through last-mile financial institutions.

Seoul Peace Prize

Category: International

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi was given the Peace Prize for 2018 for his contribution to international cooperation and fostering global economic growth.
  • The Seoul Peace Prize was established in 1990 as a biennial recognition with monetary award to commemorate the success of the 24th Summer Olympic Games held in Seoul, Korea.
  • The Seoul Peace Prize was established to reflect the wishes of the Korean people and to crystallize their desire for peace in Korean peninsula and in the rest of the world.

DNS

Category: Science & Technology

  • The government will soon roll out a public Domain Name Server, or DNS, for India aimed at providing a faster and more secure browsing experience for Internet users in the country, while ensuring that citizens’ data is stored locally.
  • A DNS is a like a directory for the Internet.
  • It helps to convert domain names that are easy for people to remember into IP addresses, which are used by computers/machines to communicate.
  • If the DNS is either slow or fails to work, users will not be able to locate web addresses.
  • The main aim of bringing our own public DNS is to ensure availability, particularly for smaller Interest Service Providers (ISPs) who don’t have credible DNS. Bigger ones usually have their own DNS.
  • If you use any public DNS, they access and use all your data.
  • It is not that users will compulsorily need to shift to India public DNS. A user is free to choose any DNS.

 

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