21 February 2019: UPSC Exam PIB Summary & Analysis

Read the daily PIB update and stay up-to-date on current affairs for the UPSC exam

President of India unveils statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha.

Context:

The President of India unveiled a statue of Mahatma Gandhi at the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha in Chennai.

About Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha:

• Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha was established in the year 1918 by Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi with the sole aim of propagating Hindi in southern states.
• The first Pracharak was Devadoss Gandhi son of Mahatma Gandhi.
• “Hindi Prachar” was a movement that emerged as part of Freedom Movement and the leaders who led the nation to “FREE INDIA” felt the necessity of making a single Indian Language the National Language, and through that language unify the people and thereby intensify National Integration.

The Sabha is divided into four divisions, one each for the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The organisation headquarters is at T. Nagar, Chennai. The four regional headquarters are at:

• Andhra Pradesh – Hyderabad.
• Karnataka – Dharwad.
• Kerala – Ernakulam.
• Tamil Nadu – Tiruchirappalli.

4th India- ASEAN Expo and Summit Inaugurated.

Context:

Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation inaugurated the 4^th India-ASEAN Expo and Summit 2019 in New Delhi.

Aims & Objectives:

• To bring Indian, ASEAN and Global MNCs together to work jointly for larger market and choosing India as a hub for ASEAN as a regional & global value chain
• Strengthen existing and Explore new areas of collaboration between India and ASEAN
• Promote Trade and Investments in ASEAN region and India
• Promote People-to-People contacts
• To provide a platform that will bring together multiple stakeholders, Policy makers – Industry – Academia – Media – Thought Leaders
• To promote traditional linkages and focusing on nascent areas of cooperation.

Helicopter SATCOM Solutions

Context:

At Aero India 2019  Navratna Defence PSU, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Hughes India have entered into a Teaming Agreement for design, development, supply, installation, integration and commissioning of Satellite Communication solutions for helicopters under the Ministry of Defence, Government of India .

Importance:

• The Teaming Agreement will enable MoD’s strategic users to get enabled with helicopter-based Satellite Communication links for real-time and assured communications using ISRO’s Ku band satellites.
• Through this agreement, BEL and Hughes India are collaborating using their respective state-of-the-art technologies and capabilities in developing these integrated and sophisticated helicopter solutions.

About BEL:

• BEL is a Navratna defence PSU with expertise in the design, development, engineering and manufacture of Radar & Weapon Systems, Network Centric Systems and Communications systems, Electronic Warfare & Avionics, Naval Systems, Electro-optics products, Tank Electronics & Gun Systems, Satcom Systems, Homeland Security & Smart City solutions, Strategic Components and select civilian products.

About Hughes:

• Hughes India is a majority-owned subsidiary of Hughes Network Systems, LLC, USA (Hughes). Hughes is the world’s largest provider of broadband satellite networks and services.
• Hughes India is the largest satellite service operator in India providing a comprehensive range of broadband networking technologies, solutions, and services for businesses and governments.

BEL Launches Atmospheric Water Generator safe Drinking Water, Straight From the Air.

Context:

Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has unveiled its new product, the Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG), an innovative solution to meet the ever-increasing need for drinking water worldwide, at Aero India 2019.

The Atmospheric Water Generator is being manufactured by BEL in collaboration with CSIR-IICT and MAITHRI, a start-up company based in Hyderabad.

About technology:

• BEL’s Atmospheric Water Generator employs a novel technology to extract water from the humidity present in the atmosphere and purify it.
• It uses heat exchange for condensing the atmospheric moisture to produce pure, safe and clean potable water.
• The AWG comes with a Mineralisation Unit, which is used to add minerals which are required to make the water potable.
• The AWG is configurable in static and mobile (vehicular) versions and is available in 30 litres/day, 100 litres/day, 500 litres/day and 1,000 litres/day capacities..

All India Citizens Survey of Police Services.

Context:

Ministry of Home Affairs has commissioned the Bureau of Police Research and Development to conduct a pan-India survey called “ALL INDIA CITIZENS SURVEY OF POLICE SERVICES”.

Aim:

• The survey is aimed to understand public perceptions about Police, gauge the level of non-reporting of crimes or incidents to Police, the position on ground relating to crime reporting & recording, timeliness and quality of police response and action, and to assess citizens’ perception and experience about women and children’s safety.

Importance:

• The outcome of the survey is expected to bring out useful suggestions for stakeholders in formulating and implementing appropriate policy responses and changes in the functioning of police at the cutting edge and for improving crime prevention and investigation, transformation in community policing, improvement in the access to the justice and increased/ appropriate resource allocation for police in a systematic manner.

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