Current affairs 01 May 2024

ISRO to test Gaganyaan parachutes by dropping module from chopper.

• The Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT) will see a Chinook helicopter dropping the crew module from a height of around 4-5 km.
• Gaganyaan is a crewed orbital spacecraft intended to send astronauts into space.
• It will circle Earth at a low-earth-orbit at an altitude of 300-400 km from the earth for 5-7 days.
• There will be two unmanned flights and one human spaceflight.

IMF approved final USD 1.1 bn tranche for Pakistan's bailout package.

• The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) executive board has given the green light for a USD 1.1 billion loan tranche for cash-strapped Pakistan.
• The IMF was founded in July, 1944.
• Founders: John Maynard Keynes, Harry Dexter White
• Parent organization: United Nations
• Managing Director: Kristalina Georgieva
• Headquarters: Washington DC.
• First Deputy Managing Director: Gita Gopinath

ISHAN Initiative: Unifying India's Skies for Safer Flights.

• Airports Authority of India (AAI) has launched the ISHAN (Indian Single Sky Harmonized Air Traffic Management).
• To unify India's Flight Information Regions (FIRs) into 1 system managed from Nagpur.
• Presently airspace is divided into 4 FIRs and a sub-FIR.
• This consolidation is expected to enhance air traffic efficiency, safety, and seamlessness.

Argentine scientists found 90-million-year-old herbivore dinosaur.

• Palaeontologists from Argentina announced the discovery of a new medium-sized herbivorous dinosaur, which was a fast runner and lived about 90 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period in present day Patagonia.
• The animal, named Chakisaurus nekul, was found in the Pueblo Blanco Natural Reserve, in the southern province of Río Negro along with other species of dinosaur.

China launched first of 8 Hangor-class submarine built for Pakistan.

• The Hangor-class submarines are a variant of the People’s Liberation Army Navy Type 039B Yuan-class submarines.
• They have a displacement of 2,800 tonnes and are 76 metres in length and 8.4 metres in width.
• The estimated cost is between $4 billion and $5 billion.
• Pakistan Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf attended the launch event at Shuangliu Base in Wuhan.