A satellite built for NASA and the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) to observe nearly all the water on our planet’s surface lifted off on its way to low-Earth orbit at 3:46 a.m. PST on Friday(16th Dec 2022).

* The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft also has contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the UK Space Agency.

 

The SWOT spacecraft launched atop a SpaceX rocket from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California with a prime mission of three years.

* The satellite will measure the height of water in freshwater bodies and the ocean on more than 90% of Earth’s surface. This information will provide insights into how the ocean influences climate change; how a warming world affects lakes, rivers, and reservoirs; and how communities can better prepare for disasters, such as floods.

 

* After SWOT separated from the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, ground controllers successfully acquired the satellite’s signal. Initial telemetry reports showed the spacecraft in good health. SWOT will now undergo a series of checks and calibrations before it starts collecting science data in about six months.

 

* “Warming seas, extreme weather, more severe wildfires – these are only some of the consequences humanity is facing due to climate change,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The climate crisis requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, and SWOT is the realization of a long-standing international partnership that will ultimately better equip communities so that they can face these challenges.”

 

* SWOT will cover the entire Earth’s surface between 78 degrees south and 78 degrees north latitude at least once every 21 days, sending back about one terabyte of unprocessed data per day.

* The scientific heart of the spacecraft is an innovative instrument called the Ka-band radar interferometer (KaRIn), which marks a major technological advance. KaRIn bounces radar pulses off the water’s surface and receives the return signal using two antennas on either side of the spacecraft.

* This arrangement – one signal, two antennas – will enable engineers to precisely determine the height of the water’s surface across two swaths at a time, each of them 30 miles (50 kilometers) wide.

 

* Among the many benefits the SWOT mission will provide is a significantly clearer picture of Earth’s freshwater bodies. It will provide data on more than 95% of the world’s lakes larger than 15 acres (62,500 square meters) and rivers wider than 330 feet (100 meters) across. Currently, freshwater researchers have reliable measurements for only a few thousand lakes around the world. SWOT will push that number into the millions..

Source : Nasa

India has defeated Bangladesh by 120 runs to win their third consecutive title of the T20 World Cup 2022 for the Blind at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

Sunil was declared Man of the Match in the final and also received the Man of the Series in the B3 category.

Ajay was adjudged Man of the Series in the B2 category while Bangladesh’s Mohammed Mahmud Rashid was the Man of the Series in the B1 category.

Earlier, the Indian team has won the title in 2012 and 2017..

Source : AIR

Rehan Ahmed, who is an 18-year-old leg-spinner, will make his Test debut against Pakistan in Karachi on Saturday(17th Dec 2022).

He will become England's youngest men's Test cricketer. Ahmed will be 18 years and 126 days old when the match begins. He will also break Brian Close's previous record set in July 1949.

 

England has made two line-up changes, with Ahmed being one of them, to ensure a historic 3-0 series clean sweep and earn their ninth victory in 10 tests. Ahmed and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes will start the match in place of seamer James Anderson and all-around offspinner Will Jacks. 

 

Ahmed will not be the youngest player to play a Test for England as that honour belongs to Holly Colvin, who made her debut for the women's team against Australia at Hove in 2005 at 15 years and 336 days.

 

Early this year, Ahmed took 12 wickets to assist England Under-19s in getting to the World Cup final in the West Indies. In September, the cricketer scored a century and took five wickets against Derbyshire in the County Championship game for Leicestershire.

Additionally, Ahmed played for the England Lions against South Africa in red-ball cricket over the summer, making five appearances for the Southern Brave during The Hundred. Ben Stokes has assumed the captainship of the England Cricket team and Brendon McCullum was appointed as the coach..

Source : Economic Times

India has received all 36 Rafale aircraft from France, with the last aircraft landing in the country 15th Dec 2022.

According to the Indian Air Force, the aircraft arrived after a quick en-route mid-air refuelling from a UAE Air Force tanker aircraft, after taking off from France.

 

India and France had signed the inter-government agreement in 2016, under which Paris agreed to provide 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around 60,000 crore rupees to India.

The first batch of five Rafale jets had arrived on 29th July, 2020..

Source : AIR

The 16th Edition of Indo-Nepal joint training Exercise “SURYA KIRAN-XVI” between India and Nepal starting (16th Dec 2022) at Nepal Army Battle School, Saljhandi. Exercise SURYA KIRAN is conducted annually between India and Nepal.

* Our correspondent reports, this exercise aims to enhance interoperability in jungle warfare and counter-terrorism operations in mountainous terrain and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief under UN mandate.

 

* Nepal and Indian army soldiers, through Surya Kiran joint military exercise in Saljhandi located in Lumbini Province in southern Nepal, shall develop interoperability.

* During the exercise, participants training together shall be sharing the experiences gained during the conduct of various counter-insurgency operations in their respective countries.

* The joint exercise would focus on the evolution of combined drills for planning and conduct of tactical operations at the unit level in counter-terrorism operations.

* it would also assist in realizing the role of armed forces in management of disasters. The joint military exercise will enhance the level of defence cooperation which will further foster the bilateral relations between the two nations. The joint exercise first started in 2011.

 

* Last year, the 15th India-Nepal combined battalion-level military training exercise ‘Surya Kiran’ took place in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand..

Source : AIR

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had earned approximately ₹1,100 crore in the last five years from the launch of foreign satellites, Minister for Space "Jitendra Singh", told Rajya Sabha on Thursday(15th Dec 2022).

 

In the last five years, January 2018 - November 2022 ISRO, via its commercial arms, successfully launched 177 foreign satellites from 19 countries — Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Finland, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, Republic ofKorea, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States.

 

In July, Mr. Singh had said that ISRO had earned — over its lifetime — $223 million (~ ₹1,830 crore) from launching foreign satellite aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLV)

 

The latest figures include revenue from PSLV and launches aboard the Geo Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-MkIII, now renamed as LVM-3) launchers under commercial agreements.

These flights earned the organisation $94 million and €46 million (that in current Rupee values add up to around ₹1,100 crore), the Minister said in a written reply.

 

Earliert this year, the LVM3, launched 36 OneWeb satellites in a single mission and for the first time an Indian company -- Skyroot Aerospace –  sent Vikram S, a 545-kg rocket privately-developed rocket into space on November 18, 2022 as part of a mission called ‘Prarambh.’.

Source : The Hindu

India has successfully carried out the night trials of nuclear-capable ballistic missile, Agni-V from Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha on 15th December, 2022.

* The test was conducted to check the new technologies and equipment on the missile which is now lighter than before.

* The missile has a capacity to hit targets beyond 5,000 kilometres.

* The Agni series I to IV missiles have ranges from 700 km to 3,500 km.

Source : Mint

Tata Steel Ltd. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hockey India to become an official partner of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) for the Hockey Men’s World Cup, to be held in 2023 in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela in Odisha.

 

This is among the largest hockey tournaments, with the 2023 championship being the 15th edition. It will be India’s fourth time hosting the tournament, with the first in 1982 in Bombay.

Subsequently, the tournament was held in 2010 in Delhi, and 2018 in Odisha. Sixteen countries are expected to participate in the championship to be held 2023.

 

Hockey India’s president "Dilip Tirkey" said, “We are delighted to welcome Tata Steel into our family as an official partner for the Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023. 

 

They have made a tremendous contribution in promoting Indian hockey, elevating the sport to new heights, and making this World Cup even greater. We look forward to a fruitful association."

 

Chanakya Chaudhary, vice president, corporate services at Tata Steel, said, “As a committed and long-term patron of sports in India, we take pride in being associated with the Hockey Men’s World Cup once again. 

 

The state of Odisha has come to be recognised as a hub of the national sport, and we are honoured to be part of the journey. We wish the tournament all the very best and hope it would encourage more youngsters to take up this sport in the future."

 

According to a report by GroupM ESP, the entertainment, esports and sports division of GroupM India, the size of the Indian sports industry was estimated to have surpassed ₹9,500 crore in 2021. The company in its ‘Sporting Nation in The Making’ report said that the year helped India achieve a billion-dollar scale with a 62% growth over 2020..

Source : Mint

The Asian Development Bank has kept the economic growth outlook for India unchanged at 7% percent for the fiscal 2022-23 and 7.2% for FY 2023-24.

Reason : Sustained by positive effects from structural reform and from public investment catalysing private investment.

Inflation in India is still expected to rise to 6.7 % in 2022-23 before falling back to 5.8%.

As per the bank, Asia will expand at 4.2% this year and accelerate to 4.6% in 2023..

Source : CNBC TV18

HDFC Bank 12th Dec 2022 announced the launch of its sixth annual grants program for social startups in partnership with the Government of India’s flagship initiative ‘Startup India’.

* Known as Parivartan SmartUp Grants, the program aims to identify startups working in the social impact space and support them through monetary grants to their incubators.

 

* The grants have been offered under the aegis of Parivartan, the umbrella name for the bank’s social initiatives. So far, the bank has disbursed over Rs 30 crore to more than 45 incubators which supported over 165 start-ups working in areas like environment, agri-business, ed-tech, waste management, healthcare, and skill development sectors.

* The bank has been enabling startups through its state-of-the-art SmartUp program, which provides specialised banking and value-added services to entrepreneurs. It aims to assist start-ups in achieving their goals through the bank’s well renowned and highly advanced smart financial tools, advisory services, and technology.

 

* “As of FY22, through our various CSR initiatives, we have impacted the lives of over 9.6 crore people across the country. We aim to achieve positive change in people's lives through direct and indirect interventions through Parivartan, empowering them to become self-sufficient and integrated into society.

* We are proud to announce our partnership with Startup India for our 6th Parivartan SmartUp Grants which would help socially conscious businesses to achieve their vision and mission,” said Nusrat Pathan, Head – ESG & CSR, HDFC Bank.

 

* “The Indian Government and Incubators have played a crucial role in creating an ecosystem that helps entrepreneurs through their journey. When the problem statement is a social objective or cause, the battle is more arduous, to say the least.

* The last 5 years through the SmartUp grants program we have made some contribution towards bridging the funding gap for these social-impact startups. With the 6th edition, along with our incubator partners and support from Startup India, we strive to create more efficient and effective outcomes for all,” said Neha Agrawal, Head – Venture Investments, Structured Finance & CSR for Startups HDFC Bank..

Source : HDFC Bank