Current affairs 06 February 2023

NASA-ISRO joint satellite "NISAR" to be launched in 2024.

• NISAR, a joint satellite of NASA and ISRO, is planned to be launched in 2024.
• NISAR refers to NASA-ISRO SAR, is a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) observatory.
• It will also provide spatially and temporally consistent data for understanding changes in Earth’s ecosystems, ice mass, vegetation biomass, sea level rise, landslides, etc.
• Radar systems in NISAR: L – Band SAR and S-Band SAR
• L-Band SAR: Designed and Created by JPL of NASA
• S-Band SAR: Designed and created by ISRO

Union Home Minister Amit Shah laid the foundation stone of Nano Urea Plant in Jharkhand.

• Union HM, Amit Shah laid the foundation stone of a ₹ 450-crore nano urea plant and township of the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) in Deoghar, Jharkhand.
• It will be the fifth nano urea plant in India.
• In 2022, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi inaugurated the world's first nano urea plant in Gujarat.
• Nano urea improves crop productivity, soil health, and the nutritional quality of produce.
• Aim: To address the imbalanced and excessive use of conventional urea.

Mahanadi Coalfields Limited Introduces "VIHANGAM" Drone Technology And Latest Safety Equipment.

• Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), the premier CPSE under the Ministry of Coal has introduced drone technology in coal mines by launching a web- based portal VIHANGAM along with a drone and ground control system.
• The portal allows an authorised person to access real time drone video from the mine through a dedicated 40 Mbps internet lease line near the mines.
• There is a control station that flies the drone and the system can be operated through the portal from anywhere.
• This pilot project is at present operational at Bhubaneswari and Lingraj opencast mines of Talcher Coalfields.
• MCL is making use of drone technology for environmental monitoring, volume measurement and photogrammetric mapping of mine for digitalization of mining process.

DA&FW, DIL sign MoU to improve food security & double farmer’s income.

• Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) under the Ministry of Agriculture signed an MoU with the Development Innovation Lab (DIL) at the University of Chicago.
• Reason: To explore the opportunities to harness innovation to improve food security, address climate change, and allow farmers to increase their incomes.
• It will look into innovation opportunities related to agriculture and food security in the context of climate change.

Punjab cabinet approves new Industrial and Electric Vehicle policies.

• The Punjab Cabinet under the chairmanship of CM Bhagwant Mann approved new industrial and electric vehicle policies.
• Electric Vehicles:
• Incentives for those switching over to electric vehicles under the vehicle scrapping policy.
• Charging stations will also be installed.
• The new industrial policy pitches Punjab as a favorite investment destination.
• Introduction of public mining sites to ensure that sand and gravel are available at reasonable rates to common people.