GS Analyst: Daily Current Affairs

From fuel to outer space power plants, the world is developing different usages of nuclear energy to explore space.

How is nuclear energy getting utilized in space missions?

• Nuclear batteries, dubbed Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators or RTGs, have been powering spacecrafts for more than six decades.
• They perform two key functions:
• Providing power to keep the on-board instruments running,
• supplying heat to protect the instruments from the cold environs of space
• In 1961, the first RTG-powered satellite, the Transit 4A spacecraft, took off from the US.
• Since then, several nuclear-powered missions have been launched, including 25 from the US.
• In 2013, China soft-landed its RTG-powered Chang'e 3 robot on the moon.
• The global discourse is now moving beyond RTGs.
• The US and China plan to set up a nuclear power reactor on the moon to provide electricity for astronauts camping on the lunar body.

 NASA’s efforts:

• NASA’s Perseverance rover touched down on Martian soil in 2021, is also nuclear-powered.
• NASA launched its nuclear-powered Voyager 1 and 2 space probes in 1977 to study the outer solar system and beyond. The space probes provide information to this day.
• Space agencies are currently using the eighth generation of nuclear batteries called the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator or MMRTG.
• It provides 110 watts of electrical power.
• A light bulb consumes the same energy.
• This is enough to power all the instruments on-board.
• In 2021, NASA invited proposals from industries to design nuclear power systems for lunar applications.
• By 2030, the space agency plans to set up a plant that will continuously provide 10 kilowatts (kW) of power—the average annual power intake of a home on Earth.

India and Nuclear energy for space exploration:

• India, which has till now relied only on solar power for its outer space missions, wants to join the bandwagon.
• In 2021, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) took its first step by inviting companies to develop a 100-watt RTG.
• Solar arrays power most satellites in the Earth’s orbit.
• ISRO used solar panels and lithium-ion batteries to power the Mangalyaan mission to Mars and the Chandrayaan 1 and 2 missions to the moon. But solar panels work best in sunlit regions.

India’s ‘Arctic Policy’ document was unveiled recently

About India's Arctic Policy:

• India's Arctic Policy aims to combat climate change and protect the environment.
• The document is titled 'India and the Arctic: building a partnership for sustainable development'.
• India’s Arctic Policy also aims to enhance the country’s cooperation with the resource-rich and rapidly transforming region.
• The policy is built on six central pillars-
• science and research
• climate and environmental protection
• economic and human development
• transportation and connectivity
• governance and international cooperation,
• National capacity building
• It was unveiled by Ministry of Earth Sciences.

India’s engagement to Arctic Region:

• India's engagement with the Arctic began when it signed the Svalbard Treaty in February 1920 in Paris between Norway, the US, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Ireland, and the British overseas Dominions and Sweden concerning Spitsbergen.
• Ever since then, India has been closely monitoring all the developments in the Arctic region.
• India initiated its Arctic research program in 2007 with a focus on climate change in the region.
• The objectives included studying teleconnections between Arctic climate and Indian monsoon, to characterize sea ice in the Arctic using satellite data, to estimate the effect on global warming.
• India already has a research station in the Arctic, Himadri, for the research work.
• India received the ‘Observer’ country status in the Arctic Council in 2013.
  

About Arctic Council:

• The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic.
• It was established through the Ottawa Declaration of 1996.
• Only states with territory in the Arctic can be members of the Council.
• It has eight member countries: Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States.
• India is one of the observer states along with China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
• India was first granted the Observer status in 2013.
  • As an Observer, India will not be allowed to take part in the active meetings but will participate in side events.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network has recently released the World Happiness Report 2022.

About the World Happiness Report:

• The World Happiness Report ranks countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be.
• Since 2011, the World Happiness Report (WHR) is released every year around the time of International Day of Happiness on March 20 which was adopted by the UN General Assembly based on a resolution tabled by Bhutan.
• It is published since 2012 and is based on two key ideas:
• Happiness or life evaluationmeasured through opinion surveys and
• Identifying key elements that determine well-being and life evaluation across countries.
• The ranking is done on a three-year average based on surveys of ‘Life Evaluation’ conducted by Gallup World Poll which surveys around 1000 people from each country to evaluate their current life on a scale of 0-10.
• On this scale, 10 marks the best possible and 0 as the worst possible life.
• Further, six key variables GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, and corruption contribute to explaining life evaluations.

Highlights of the 2022 Report:

• The 2022 report ranked 146 countries.
• Special attention was given to specific daily emotions (the components of positive and negative affect) to better track how COVID-19 has altered different aspects of life.
• India ranks 136th in the World Happiness Report 2022.
• Top 10 happiest countries:
• Finland becomes the happiest country for the fifth consecutive year. 
• Following Finland, Denmark bagged the second rank, while Iceland and Switzerland stood at third and fourth rank.
• The Netherlands was at the fifth rank in the list. Meanwhile, Luxembourg, Norway, Israel, and New Zealand were the remaining countries in the top 10.
• Worst Performers:
• Afghanistan was ranked as the unhappiest nation, followed by Lebanon, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Botswana, respectively.

The tribals in Gujarat will recently hold a public meeting in Kaprada in Valsad district to protest against the Centre’s Par Tapi Narmada river-linking project. 

About the Par Tapi Narmada river-linking project:

• The Par Tapi Narmada link project was envisioned under the 1980 National Perspective Plan under the former Union Ministry of Irrigation and the Central Water Commission (CWC).
• The project proposes to transfer river water from the surplus regions of the Western Ghats to the deficit regions of Saurashtra and Kutch.
• It proposes to link three rivers —
• Par, originating from Nashik in Maharashtra and flowing through Valsad,
• Tapi from Saputara that flows through Maharashtra and Surat in Gujarat, and
• Narmada originating in Madhya Pradesh and flowing through Maharashtra and Bharuch and Narmada districts in Gujarat.
• The link mainly includes the construction of
• seven dams (Jheri, Mohankavchali, Paikhed, Chasmandva, Chikkar, Dabdar and Kelwan),
• three diversion weirs (Paikhed, Chasmandva, and Chikkar dams),
• two tunnels (5.0 kilometers and 0.5 kilometers length),
• the 395-kilometre long canal (205 kilometre in Par-Tapi portion including the length of feeder canals and 190 km in Tapi-Narmada portion),
• six powerhouses
• Of these, the Jheri dam falls in Nashik, while the remaining dams are in Valsad and Dang districts of South Gujarat.

How will the project affect villages?

• According to a report by the NWDA, about 6065 ha of land area will be submerged due to the proposed reservoirs.
• A total of 61 villages will be affected, of which one will be fully submerged and the remaining 60 partly.
• The total number of affected families would be 2,509 of which 98 families would be affected due to the creation of the Jheri reservoir, the only one in Maharashtra, spread over six villages.
• In Gujarat, 17 villages will be affected by the Kelwan reservoir
• 11 villages by the Dabdar reservoir
• 7 villages by Chasmandva reservoir
• 9 villages by Chikkar reservoir
• 11 villages by Paikhed reservoir
• The affected villages are located in Surgana and Peint talukas in Nashik and Dharampur taluka of Valsad, Vansda taluka of Navsari and Ahwa taluka of Dang districts in Gujarat.
  

The Postal department will honour the primitive tribe by releasing a special cover in association with the Forest and Wildlife department.

About the Cholanaikkans:

• The Cholanaikkans are an ethnic group of India.
• They primarily inhabit the southern Kerala State, especially Silent Valley National Park, and are one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer tribes of the region.
• Cholanaikkans live in the deciduous forests of Nilambur are the only tribal community in Asia that lives in rock-cave shelters. 
• They live in rock shelters called Kallulai (Kallu means rock, aalai means ‘cave’) or in open campsites made of leaves.
• The Cholanaikkans speak the Cholanaikkan language, which belongs to the Dravidian family.
• These people from the tribal colonies of Mancheeri, Poochappara, Mannala, Karimpuzha and Kuppam Mala still live on fruits, berries and meat and do not engage in farming.
• Cholanaikkans are a diminishing tribe of India.
• With a population of less than 200 members, this tribe living in the reserved forests about 80 km from Kozhikode, it is one of the most isolated tribes. 
• The Cholanaikkan tribe is classified as Primitive Tribal Group by Government of India.

About Nilambur:

• Nilamber is located in the Malappuram district of the Indian state of Kerala.
• It is located close to the Nilgiris range of the Western Ghats on the banks of the Chaliyar River.
• This place is also known as 'Teak Town' because of the abundance of Nilambur teaks in this area.
• It is a variety of a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. 
• The bank of river Chaliyar at Nilambur region is also known for natural Gold fields.
• Explorations done at the valley of the river Chaliyar in Nilambur has shown reserves of the order of 2.5 million cubic meters of placers with 0.1 gram per cubic meter of gold.
• The hilly forested area of Nilambur Taluk forms a portion of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve of rich biodiversity.