TeamIndus to launch India’s first private moon mission in 2017

TeamIndus, a private aerospace starup company is planning to send a spacecraft to the moon aboard an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket on December 28, 2017. It will be India’s first private moon mission to be launched. It will be launched onboard of ISRO’s workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

Key Facts 

TeamIndus moon mission’s aim is to land this spacecraft on the moon. It will also travel at least 500 metres and beam high- definition images, video and data back to the earth. Except for the launch vehicle, all of the technology that will power the lander and rover will be developed in-house by TeamIndus. For launching purpose TeamIndus has signed an agreement Antrix, the commercial arm of ISRO. ISRO’s workhorse PSLV will launch the TeamIndus’s spacecraft in a three-day window centred on December 28, 2017. After completing a rotation around the earth, the spacecraft will land in 21 days at Mare Imbrium, a region in the North-Western hemisphere of the Moon. If the mission goes successful, it would likely pip ISRO’s proposed moon-lander mission — Chandrayaan 2. It launch date is not yet formally announced. 

Background 

TeamIndus is one of the four international teams and the only one from India that are running for the Google Lunar XPRIZE, a $30 million competition. The competition aims to encourage private companies to launch space missions. Other three international teams include two US based companies, Moon Express and Synergy Moon and one Israeli company SPACE 1 L. So far, all of them have announced agreements with space-launch-vehicle companies such as SpaceX. About TeamIndus TeamIndus is Bengaluru-based private aerospace company. It is led by Rahul Narayan. It has 100-member team of engineers, space enthusiasts, former Air Force pilots and former ISRO employees. It has high-profile investors, including Ratan Tata of the Tata Group; Binny and Sachin Bansal, co-founders of Flipkart and Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys Ltd.

UNESCO includes Yoga in Intangible Cultural Heritage list

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has formally inscribed Yoga in its representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Decision in this regard was taken by the Inter-governmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage meeting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The declaration describes Yoga, an ancient Indian practice as a Human Treasure. It was unanimously supported by all the 24 members of inter-governmental Committee. Other new inscriptions added in the list are Rumba dance (Cuba), Belgian beer (Belgium), Almezmar (Saudi Arabia), Kuresi (Kazakhstan) and Khidr Elias feast (Iraq), Yama, Hoko, Yatai, float festivals (Japan), Momoeria, New Year’s celebration (Greece), practice of organizing shared interests in cooperatives (Germany),Making and sharing flatbread (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan), Culture of Jeju Haenyeo (South Korea), Gada system (Ethiopia),Tahteeb, stick game (Egypt), Music and dance of the merengue (Dominican Republic), Valencia Fallas festivity (Spain), Solar Term(China), Mangal Shobhajatra on Pahela Baishakh(Bangladesh). 

Background 

The proposal for inclusion of Yoga in this list was forwarded by the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) immediately after the first International Yoga Day was on 21st June 2016. The dossier in this regard was forwarded by MEA through the Sangeet Natak Akademi. India’s proposal for nominating Yoga had stressed upon its pan-Indian and global expanse, health benefits and practised by people from all communities. 

About UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage 

The UNESCO’s coveted list is made up of those intangible heritage elements that help demonstrate diversity of cultural heritage and raise awareness about its importance. It was established in 2008 after Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, 2003 came into effect. It compiles two lists viz. Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Now, the list includes 814 cultural sites, 203 natural and 35 with both cultural and natural qualities.

 List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity from India 

Koodiyattam: Sanskrit Theatre of Kerala. Mudiyett: theatre ritual of Kerala. Tradition of Vedic Chanting. Kalbelia: folk songs and dances of Rajasthan. Ramlila: Traditional Performance of the Ramayana. Sankirtana: singing, drumming and dancing ritual of Manipur. Ramman: religious festival and ritual theatre of Garhwal Himalayas. Traditional brass and copper craft of utensil of Thatheras: Punjab. Chhau dance: classical Indian dance originated in the eastern Indian states. Buddhist chanting of Ladakh: recitation of sacred Buddhist texts in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.

Magnus Carlsen wins 2016 Chess Championship title

Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen of Norway has won the 2016 World Chess Championship for the third consecutive time. He retained the title after defeating Sergey Karjakin of Russia. Karjakin had tied against Carlsen in 12 regular rounds but was beaten in the final phase of four quickfire games. 

About Magnus Carlsen 

Magnus Carlsen is a Norwegian chess grandmaster. He is No. 1 ranked player in the world and reigning World Chess Champion in classical, rapid, and blitz. He became Grandmaster in 2004, at the age of 13 years, 148 days, making him at that time the second youngest grandmaster in history, although he has since become the third youngest. His peak rating is 2882, the highest in history of the FIDE rankings. On 1st January 2010, at the age of 19 years, 32 days, he was the youngest chess player in history to be ranked world No. 1. In November 2013, he became World Champion by defeating Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship. In 2013, he was named in the Time magazine list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013.

SC makes national anthem mandatory in cinema halls

The Supreme Court has ordered cinema halls to mandatorily play the national anthem before every screening and all those present in cinema halls have to “stand up to show respect.” According to SC such practice, will instil a feeling of committed patriotism and nationalism. It should be seen as an opportunity for the public to express their “love for the motherland.” The SC order was given by bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Amitava Roy on a writ petition by Shyam Narayan Chouksey in October 2016. 

Petition

The petition had focused on the commercial exploitation of the anthem. It had claimed that the national anthem is sung in various circumstances which are not permissible and can never be countenanced in law. It had referred to the Prevention of Insults to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 and Article 51 (A) of the Constitution to contend that it was the duty of every person to show respect when the anthem was played. It pointed out that the national anthem was being played under unacceptable circumstances. The petitioner had sought the apex court’s intervention to ensure that the protocol laid down in the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 was followed. 

Supreme Order 

SC took note of Article 51(A) and held that national anthem is a symbol of the constitutional patriotism and national quality. It held that cinemas should also display the national flag on screen when the anthem is played and never play any abridged version of anthem. In order to prevent any kind of disturbance when the anthem is played all doors in a cinema hall should remain closed. It event banned exploitation of national anthem for financial benefit. SC ordered that there should be no dramatisation of the anthem or its inclusion as part of any variety show. The anthem or part of it should not be printed or displayed in places as it is “disgraceful” to its status.

Union Cabinet approves Rehabilitation Package for displaced families from PoKJ, Chhamb

The Union Cabinet has approved Central Assistance of 2000 crore rupees for 36,384 displaced families from Pakistan occupied areas of Jammu & Kashmir (POJK) and Chhamb. It was approved following an announcement of Prime Minister’s Development Package for Jammu & Kashmir 2015 announced in November, 2015 As per the package 5 lakh rupees cash benefit per family will be disbursed to the displaced families. This financial aid will enable them to earn an income and subsist their livelihood. The amount will be disbursed through J&K state Government to eligible families through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). 

Background 

In the aftermath of partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947, thousands of families from Pakistan occupied areas of Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) migrated to the Indian state. Subsequently, during Indo-Pak Wars of 1965 and 1971, a large number of families were displaced from Chhamb Niabat area of J&K. Union Government and J&K state Government have extended series of relief and rehabilitation packages from time to time to mitigate the hardship of displaced persons from PoJK and Chhamb and to rehabilitate them.

Union Cabinet approves simplification of Visa regime

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for liberalization, simplification and rationalization of the existing visa regime in India. It has approved incremental changes in the visa policy as decided by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs with approval of Home Minister and in consultation with various stakeholders. 

Key Facts 

The approval will stimulate economic growth and ease travel for foreigners. It will facilitate entry of foreigners for tourism, business and medical purposes. This is expected to increase earnings from export of services like tourism, travel on account of business, medical value travel. It will also help to make ‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India’, ‘Digital India’ and other such flagship initiatives of the Government successful.

UK scientists allow three-parent babies mitochondrial gene therapy

An independent panel of British scientists and experts has formally given nod to introduce so-called three-parent baby fertility treatments or mitochondrial gene therapy (MGT) procedures. The panel tasked with reviewing the safety of MGT held that this practice should be cautiously adopted to prevent certain genetic diseases from being passed on to future generations. Thus, it paves the way for the country to officially introduce the procedures. Earlier in February 2016, British Parliament voted to legalise three-parent baby fertility treatments or MGT procedures. It was first country in the world to legalise creation of In-Vitro Fertilisation babies with DNA from three people. The world’s first three-parent baby boy was born in Mexico in April 2016 to a Jordanian couple with help of this new fertility technique which incorporates DNA from three people in embryo. 

What is mitochondrial gene therapy (MGT)?

 MGT or Mitochondrial donation is a medical technique in which defective mitochondria carried by a woman is replaced with the healthy mitochondria of a donor. Through invitro fertilization technique (IVF), the egg is then fertilised with the partner’s sperm. Thus, the embryo remains free from any such genetic defects. Thus, it prevents the transmission of mitochondrial (genetic) disease from one generation to the next. The two most common techniques in mitochondrial donation are pronuclear transfer and maternal spindle transfer. MGT proposes to give parents chance of having a child that is over 99% genetically matched to them and most importantly free of the mitochondrial disease.