Posts

Showing posts from November, 2022

The agriculture powered renewable energy revolution.

Image
 The beginnings of a renewable energy revolution rooted in agriculture are taking shape in India with the first bio-energy plant of a private company in Sangrur district of Punjab having commenced commercial operations recently. It will produce Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) from paddy straw, thus converting agricultural waste into wealth.   • About bioenergy: Bioenergy is renewable energy made available from organic materials derived from biological sources. It is the energy derived from biomass such as bagasse, cotton stalk, coconut shell and wood, plants, etc. Compressed Bio Gas (CBG): Bio-gas is produced naturally through process of anaerobic decomposition from waste and bio-mass sources like agriculture residue, cattle dung, municipal solid waste, sugarcane press mud, sewage treatment plant (STP) waste, etc. It is called CBG after biogas is purified and compressed, which has pure methane content of over 95%. CBG is exactly similar to commercially available natural gas in its co...

The Planet KILLER Asteroid.

Image
Astronomers have spotted three near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) hiding in the glare of the Sun. One of these asteroids is the largest ‘potentially hazardous’ object. Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are asteroids or comets of sizes ranging from metres to tens of kilometres that orbit the Sun and whose orbits come close to that of Earth’s. Most of the asteroids in the solar system are in the ‘Asteroid belt’ between Mars and Jupiter. The 3 spotted near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) are LJ4, 2021 PH27 and 2022 AP7. These NEAs are spotted between the orbits of Earth and Venus. Amongst the trio, one 1.5-kilometre-wide asteroid called 2022 AP7 is a Planet Killer.Any NEA over 1km in size is considered a Planet Killer. A Planet Killer could have a devastating impact on life and could also potentially lead to a mass extinction event. • Potentially Hazardous Asteroid: A potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) is one whose minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) with our planet is just 0.05 astronomical units. In o...

Current account deficit for the Indian Economy!

Image
State Bank of India has pencilled in a lower current account deficit for India at 3% for this fiscal as against the minimum consensus of 3.5%, citing rising software exports, remittances and a likely $5-billion jump in forex reserves via swap deals. • Dimensions of the Article: 1. What is the Current Account Deficit? 2. What is Balance of Payments? 3. What has been the recent trend? 4. What are the reasons for the current account deficit? • What is the Current Account Deficit? A current account deficit occurs when the total value of goods and services a country imports exceeds the total value of goods and services it exports. The balance of exports and imports of goods is referred to as the trade balance. Trade Balance is a part of ‘Current Account Balance’. According to an earlier report of 2021, High Oil Imports, High Gold Imports are the major driving force, widening the CAD. • What is Balance of Payments? BoP of a country can be defined as a systematic statement of all economic tra...

Project-75

Image
 Under project 75, six Scorpene-class submarines are to be constructed for the Indian navy by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited(MDL). Scorpene-class submarines are next-generation diesel submarines. The mighty India submarine Current status of six Scorpene-class Submarines under project-75: INS Kalvar: It was launched in October 2015 and was commissioned in December 2017 - five years behind schedule. INS Khanderi: it was launched in January 2017 for trials and commissioned in September 2019. INS Karanji: It was launched in January 2018 and commissioned on March 10, 2021. INS Vela: was launched in May 201 and inducted recently. INS Vagir: it was launched in November 2020 and has commenced harbour trails. it is expected to go for its maiden surface sortie in December 2021. INS Vagsheer: it is in the advanced stage of outfitting.  Promoting Atmanirbhar Bharat: These Submarines are to be constructed under technology transfer from and in collaboration with the Naval Group of Fr...

The Smiling Star

Image
That killer Smile..(uff...) Recently, NASA SDO(Solar Dynamics Observatory) shared an image of dark patches on the Sun's surface that resembles big eyes and a cute smile. NASA explained that the patches are called CORONAL HOLES, which can be seen using ultraviolet light but are naturally invisible to the human eyes. What's a CORONAL HOLE?? A blow can end our communication.. Coronal holes are the regions on the sun's surface(also called the photosphere) from where the fast solar wind jets out into space. Because they contain little solar material, they have lower temperatures and thus appear much darker than their surroundings. In coronal holes, the magnetic field is open to interplanetary space and transmits solar material out in a wildly high-speed stream of solar wind. These coronal holes can last between a week to a few months. What do these Coronal holes tell us? According to NASA, "These 'Coronal holes' are important to help us get a better knowledge and de...