UPSC EXAM QUIZ 18.01.2025

Explanation:

• The United States has removed three Indian nuclear entities—Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Centre, and Indian Renewable Earths Limited—from the US Entity List.
• The decision is a significant step towards advancing the Indo-US nuclear deal and strengthening bilateral strategic ties.

Nuclear agreements and US sanctions

• Nuclear agreements serve as frameworks for cooperation in peaceful nuclear energy development between two or more countries, while addressing concerns related to nuclear proliferation.

Key elements of nuclear agreements

• Civil nuclear cooperation: These agreements allow the exchange of technology, fuel, and expertise for peaceful uses of nuclear energy, such as power generation and medical applications.
• Nonproliferation goal: This is an important aspect that ensures that nuclear technology and materials are not used for weapons development. This is in line with international treaties such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Explanation:

• Prime Minister inaugurates ‘Mission Mausam’ on the occasion of 150th anniversary of India Meteorological Department (IMD).
• To make India a ‘weather-ready and climate-smart’ nation, promote weather and climate science, research and services.
• Budget and implementation: Allocation of ₹2,000 crore, for two years. It will be implemented by India Meteorological Department (IMD), Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF).

Key features of Mission Mausam

Accurate forecasting

• Real-time local weather forecasting.
• Research on weather management techniques.

Use of advanced technology

• Modern weather monitoring systems.
• High-resolution atmospheric observations.
• New generation radars, satellites and high-performance computers.

Explanation:

• Three warships – INS Surat, INS Nilgiri, and INS Vagsheer inducted into Indian Navy at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai.

Three indigenous warships and submarine inducted into Indian Navy

• Date and place: 15 January 2025, ceremony at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai.

Ships inducted

• Warships: INS Surat and INS Nilgiri.
• Submarine: INS Vagsheer.

Construction and design

• Built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL).
• Designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau.

Advanced features

• Sensors and weapon systems manufactured in India or developed in collaboration with global partners.
• Ability to operate a variety of helicopters: Chetak, Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), Sea King and MH-60R.

Explanation:

• The Prime Minister of India has highlighted the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) for its transformational impact on e-commerce and its role in empowering small businesses.
• ONDC recently completed 3 years with over 15 million monthly transactions, making progress in combating platform monopolies and promoting a level playing field.

Open Network for Digital Commerce

• ONDC: Launched in April 2022 by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India. It aims to democratize digital commerce through an open, inclusive and interoperable platform.
• ONDC was incorporated as a non-profit company in December 2021, with founding members including the Quality Council of India and Proteus e-Gov Technologies Ltd.

Objectives

• Democratisation of Commerce: To promote interoperability to reduce the dominance of monopolistic e-commerce platforms.
• Cost Efficiency: To reduce the cost of customer acquisition and transaction processing.
• Market Expansion: To bridge regional and linguistic gaps for wider market participation.
• Consumer Empowerment: To provide diverse product and service options to buyers at lower prices through discounts and promotions, increasing choices and promoting competitive pricing.

Explanation:

• After the United States, Russia and China, India became the fourth country to develop and test the docking capability.
• India has achieved this milestone by successfully docking two satellites named Chaser and Target under the SpaDex mission.
• The space docking has been completed by the indigenously developed Bharatiya Docking System by ISRO.
• Docking technology is critical in assembling the space station and in crewed missions.
• This technology will help India to transfer materials from one satellite or spacecraft to another, such as payloads, lunar samples or, eventually, humans in space, etc.
• India is also targeting to build its own space station by 2035.