Daily Current Affairs Notes for 07 November 2022

Two female cadre officers appointed as IG: After their entrance into the CRPF in 1987, two female officers have recently been appointed as Inspectors General (IG).

Overview

Two female cadre officers appointed as IG: After their entrance into the CRPF in 1987, two female officers have recently been appointed as Inspectors General (IG). The Rapid Action Force (RAF), a specialised anti-riot force, has appointed Annie Abraham as its IG. As the new Bihar sector IG, Seema Dhundia has been appointed.

Two female cadre officers appointed as IG: Key Points

• Both female officers were among the first group of female officers to join the paramilitary organisation in 1987.
• Additionally, they have led an all-female Indian police contingent at the UN.
• During their service, they received the “Ati Utkrisht Sewa Padak,” the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service, and the Police Medal for Meritorious Service.
• According to officials, there have been female IPS officers in charge of CRPF formations, and in 1986, the CRPF became the first central armed police force to allow women to participate in combat.
• There are currently more than 6,000 female constables working in six of these battalions.
• Annie Abraham served as DIG (Intelligence) in the force headquarters, DIG (Operations) in the Kashmir Operations Sector, and DIG the all-female constituted police units (FPU) in the UN Mission in Liberia (CR & Vigilance).

About IG and Bihar CRPF: 

• The CRPF’s sectoral leader is an IG. The 15-battalion RAF is called upon to perform delicate law and order duties as well as anti-riot and counter-protest operations. In addition to VIP visits, it is called upon to support state police forces at occasions where large crowds are anticipated. Aside from a few minor RAF units and the CoBRA jungle warfare unit, the Bihar Sector of the CRPF is in charge of around four battalions of the force that are deployed for anti-Naxal operations and other law-and-order responsibilities.

Uttrakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated the 'Lakhpati Didi' fair at the survey of India Maidan, Hathbarkala in Dehradun. 

Overview

Uttrakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ fair at the survey of India Maidan, Hathbarkala in Dehradun. The fair is part of an initiative undertaken by the BJP government to empower women in the state. The Rural Development department of the Uttrakhand government has made preparations to make 1.25 lakh women from self-help groups ‘Lakhpati’ by 2025.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister launches Lakhpati Didi Yojana- Key Points

• The CM launched the ‘Lakhpati Didi Yojana’ to make 1.25 lakh women from self-help groups ‘Lakhpati’ by 2025.
• In the year 2025, the state will complete 25 years of the formation, and coincidentally the project will be also completed by 2025.
• 1.25 lakh of the 3.67 lakh women belonging to self-help groups will become ‘Lakhpati’ under the targeted livelihood initiative.
• Under the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ scheme women belonging to self-help groups (SHGs) will be encouraged to take up micro-enterprises with skill development.
• The government will tie up e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, and Government e-Marketplace so that the SHG products get national and international markets.

Switzerland is now home to the world’s longest passenger train. The train has 100 coaches, measures 1910 metres and consists of 4,550 seats.

Overview

Switzerland is now home to the world’s longest passenger train. The train has 100 coaches, measures 1910 metres and consists of 4,550 seats. The train was seen passing through the mountainous landscape in the Swiss Alps. Celebrating the 175th anniversary of Switzerland’s first railway, the country’s railway operators came together to create the new Guinness World Record-holding train which tows 100 carriages, weighs 2,990 tons, and measures 1.91 km (1.19 miles) long.

• The train carried 150 passengers on its journey. It wound through dazzling sunshine reflecting off its shiny-silver roof. The train also comes with a digital destination sign on the front that reads “Alpine Cruise” It took the spectacular Albula-Bernina route, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The route covered nearly 25 kilometres from Preda to Alvaneu in less than 45 minutes. It passed through 22 helical tunnels and crossed 48 bridges on its way.

2022 AP7: A group of scientists has found three enormous near-Earth asteroids that were concealing from the Sun's light. One of them, 2022 AP7, is "possibly harmful" to Earth.

Overview

2022 AP7: A group of scientists has found three enormous near-Earth asteroids that were concealing from the Sun’s light. One of them, 2022 AP7, is “possibly harmful” to Earth and is thought to be the greatest planet-killer-sized asteroid to have been discovered in a decade.

2022 AP7: Key Points

• The three asteroids are part of a group that is located within the orbits of Earth and Venus. They are difficult to see, though, because the Sun’s brightness prevents telescopic views of them.
• The scientists only observed during twilight hours, a brief but ideal 10-minute window each night, because they were obscured by the Sun’s brightness.
• At the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, they made use of a Dark Energy Camera.
• They were able to photograph vast areas of the sky with the use of a high-tech camera that was part of the NOIRLAB initiative of the US National Science Foundation (NSF).
• The camera was first created to perform a Dark Energy Survey, which was carried out between 2013 and 2019 by the US Department of Energy and the NSF.
• The asteroids are blurred and deformed by the Earth’s atmosphere because they are near the horizon, which presented the astronomers with a further challenge in addition to dealing with the Sun’s glare.
• It is simpler to find asteroids that are farther from the Sun.

What are the asteroids that we know about?

• Only about 25 asteroids with orbits that are close to Earth’s orbit have been found so far by scientists. Sheppard’s team has so far found three of these. Sheppard said of two of the three detected asteroids, “We have found two huge near-Earth asteroids that are roughly 1 kilometre across, a size that we term planet killers. The orbits of the two objects, 2021 LJ4 and 2021 PH27, are safely contained inside the parameters of Earth’s orbit. 2021 LJ4 is the smallest with a diameter of less than a kilometre. The asteroid 2021 PH27 is the nearest one to the Sun that is currently known. Because of this, lead can melt on its surface.

2022 AP7: About the asteroid

• One of the three asteroids, the 1.5-kilometer-wide 2022 AP7 asteroid, stands out among the others because of its possible future crash route with Earth.
• There is currently little known about the asteroid, including information on its composition and its route.

Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) has taken up a project to build Mongolia's first Greenfield oil refinery in Ulaanbaatar.

Overview

Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) has taken up a project to build Mongolia’s first Greenfield oil refinery on the outskirts of the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. The project is aimed at reducing the East Asian country’s dependency on Russian oil imports. The company would provide EPC (Engineering, procurement, and construction) services and EPC-3 (captive power plants) for $790 million using advanced technology.

Hyderabad’s Megha Ltd to Build Mongolia’s First Greenfield Oil Refinery- Key Points

• The project is a part of the development partnership administration initiative of India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
• The refinery would be built using a line of credit from the central government.
• Engineers India Limited is the project management consultant for this G2G partnership project.
• The refinery will open up a number of employment opportunities, supporting the growth of nearly small industries.
• This downstream project is of enormous importance and marks a critical turning point in the relationship between India and Mongolia.
• The project will bring economic prosperity and energy independence to Mongolia.