A brief of newspaper articles for the day bearing
relevance to Civil Services preparation
National
[1]. PSLV bags two more U.S. launch orders
Context: US based commercial weather satellite company PlanetiQ has given contract to ISRO for launch of two of their satellites through Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (usually known by its abbreviation, PSLV) is an expendable launch system operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was developed to allow India to launch its Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites into sun synchronous orbits, a service that was, until the advent of the PSLV, commercially viable only from Russia. PSLV can also launch small size satellites into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).
Different Types of Satellite Orbits:
|
SATELLITE ORBIT DEFINITION |
|||
| ORBIT NAME | ORBIT INITIALS | ORBITAL ALTITUDE (KM above earth’s surface) | Details |
| Low Earth Orbit | LEO | 200 – 1200 | |
| Medium Earth Orbit | MEO | 1200 – 35790 | |
| Geosynchronous Orbit | GSO | 35790 | Orbits once a day, but not necessarily in the same direction as the rotation of the Earth – not necessarily stationary |
| Geostationary Orbit | GEO | 35790 | Orbits once a day and moves in the same direction as the Earth and therefore appears stationary above the same point on the Earth’s surface. Can only be above the Equator. |
| High Earth orbit | HEO | Above 35790 | |
Some Facts:
Antrix: Commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
Other Launch Vehicle in category of PSLV: Dnepr, Soyuz – Russia; Vega – European Union
PSLV first US Customer: Spire Global (Satellite Names: Lemur 1 and 2)
India’s first space start- up: Earth2Orbit
International
[1]. Proposal to achieve zero emission by 2060-80
Final Draft of Paris Climate Summit agreement has been released by United NationFramwork Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Hurdles/Contentious Issues:
- Instituting a review mechanism to monitor compliance on carbon emissions by countries
- Transfer of climate-friendly technologies to developing nations
- Long-term quantified emissions reduction for a 2050 target
- Updated targets for countries based on stocktaking of carbon dioxide
- Equitable distribution of the remaining carbon budget for the world
- Making explicit the responsibility of developing countries versus developed nations
India’s Stand:
India felt that a transparency and accountability regime should not treat rich and poor nations alike. For example, India does not have the capacity to measure automotive emissions based on vehicle use accurately, while the U.S. does that every year.
The Future:
Achieving zero GHG emissions growth by 2060-80 is proposed.
Note: The COP21 Paris Climate Summit will be carried out in detail once the summit is over.
[2]. China’s ‘world bank’ makes the U.S. balk
Context: A competition between China and US to counter each other influence in geopolitics through financial institutions.
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is in the limelight as it started picking first projects to finance.
Purpose: Crediting
Headquarters: Beijing, China
Region Served: Asia and Oceania
Formation: 24 October, 2014
Legal Status: Treaty
President: Jin Liqun
New multinational, multi billion-dollar bank to finance roads, rails and power grids across Asia under the stewardship of China. The bank would tackle the slow development in poor countries that was holding the region back from becoming the wealth centre of the world.
The Debate:
With bank in stage of picking its first projects, the world waits to see whether the AIIB will be a tool for China to achieve its selfish ambitions or will actually prioritise projects which will benefit Asia.
While America feels the danger of loosing its financial influence over the world; the domestic political quagmire adding to the woes.
China is taking direct aim at the current development regime, the Bretton Woods system established under U.S. leadership after World War II to help stabilise currencies and promote growth. With IMF granting Chinese Renminbi a stature of reserve currency, this seems to strengthen China’s position.
Another setback was many of its allies including UK, Germany, Australia and South Korea signing up for AIIB with a vision that any negative tactics of China can be countered by conditioning bank working from inside.
The Initiative:
As a complement to the new bank, China is rolling out the “One Belt, One Road” program for the construction of a network of roads, rails and pipelines along the old Silk Road route that runs through Central Asia to Europe. A maritime equivalent calls for building ports from Southeast Asia to East Africa to the Mediterranean.
Conclusion:
China seems to has taken up stewardship to develop economies in Asia for better future. There are doubts in mind of nations about the ambitions that China wants to serve through the bank. Also, China is hardly yielding control, raising concerns about where the bank will land on major issues like climate change and labour rights. A lot of countries has joined the bank to shape it from inside and counter any negative tactics by China.
Business
[1]. OPEC fails to agree on production cap after Iran pledges output boost
Context: Falling crude oil prices but there seems no cutting down of production to rationalise the prices.
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC):
Headquarters: Vienna, Austria
Legal Status: Cartel
Member Nations: 13 (Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela)
Established: 10 – 14 September 1960, at Baghdad, Iraq
OPEC’s objective is to co-ordinate and unify petroleum policies among Member Countries, in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers; an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations; and a fair return on capital to those investing in the industry. Saudi Arabia being the largest producer is the de-facto leader of the cartel.
Oil Market – Current Scenario – Oversupply of oil, prices halved in last 18 months.
A danger of incapacity to store excess of oil. The current trend of oversupply can bring down prices to $20/barrel.
Iran Stand:
Iran said it would not consider any production curbs until it restores output scaled back for years under Western sanctions
The Problem:
Poor countries in OPEC has very badly skewed balance-sheets due to continuous fall in prices.
Environment
[1]. Warm up to Climate Change
Context: Ongoing COP-21
By: ForumIAS Editorial Team
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