- The Kaiga nuclear power plant in western Karnataka has created a world record for the longest uninterrupted operation of 941 days, breaking the earlier record of 940 days by the Heysham plant in the United Kingdom. While Kaiga Generating Station-1 is a Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), Heysham-2 Unit-8 is an Advanced Gas Cooled Reactor (AGR). It is an indigenously-built PHWR run by domestic fuel (uranium). Nuclear power reactors undergo mandatory checks and have to get clearance from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board to continue operations.
- INDRA-NAVY-18 is the bilateral maritime exercise between Indian Navy and Russian Federation Navy. India operates a leased (by Russia) Akula-class submarine, INS Chakra, which is based at Eastern Naval Command.
- INS Ranvir is a guided missile destroyer; INS Satpura is an indigenous frigate; INS Kadmatt is an indigenous anti- submarine warfare (ASW) corvette; IN Ships Kuthar and Khanjar both indigenous missile corvettes and INS Jyoti is a fleet tanker.
- The Indian and Russian Air Forces conducted war game in Jodhpur with an aim to enhance their operational coordination. The exercise was called Aviaindra.
- Pakistan has issued a large number of visas for Indian pilgrims who are expected to visit the famed Shiva temple at Katas Raj Dham, near the city of Lahore. Katas Raj is a complex of ancient temples that is among the most important Hindu pilgrimage centres in Pakistan. The temple complex consisting of seven shrines, is located around the lake Katas, considered sacred by pilgrims of multiple faiths. Apart from the ancient Hindu temples, the area is also renowned for its Buddhist remains and architecture; Islamabad also issued 220 visas for the Shadani Darbar temple in Sukkur in Pakistan; Islamabad also granted 3,800 visas for Sikh pilgrims who went to Nankana Sahib Gurudwara in Pakistan’s Punjab for the celebration of the 549th birth anniversary of the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak; Bilateral understanding of 1974 between Pakistan and India allows pilgrims to travel freely.
- GSAT-11 is an Internet-boosting communication satellite launched by ISRO.
- Some 250 million years ago, about 90% of sea life and 70% of land life went extinct, in what is now called the Great Dying. Scientists have long speculated that massive volcanic outbursts triggered the cataclysmic event. After the volcanoes blew: it led to ocean temperatures rising by about 11 degrees Celsius, which then starved the seawater of oxygen. That hot oxygen-starved water caused the mass marine die-off, especially farther from the equator. After the volcanoes blew, the level of heat-trapping carbon dioxide soared to a level more than 12 times what it is today. Water loses oxygen when it warms, much like a warm can of cola goes flat.
- NASA’s InSight lander is an unmanned lander that touched down on Mars.
- Tapti offshore gas field would be the country’s first offshore field to be decommissioned. Panna, Mukta (both oil fields) and Tapti are located offshore to the south of Gulf of Khambhat, off the west coast of India in the Arabian Sea.
- National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for 2019 will be conducted on May 5, by the newly formed National Testing Agency, an autonomous body to allot MBBS seats through a single window counselling process. Only institutions established through an Act of Parliament – AIIMS and JIPMER in Puducherry – are exempt from the NEET.
Categories: POINT IAS
POINT IAS 