Current Affair 1:

US announces historic nuclear fusion breakthrough

 

Dec. 5, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility drove atoms together with lasers in a test that produced more energy than was used to create it – a process known as "ignition."

What the process entails?

In a process called inertial confinement, Livermore researchers focused 192 lasers into a tiny metal capsule roughly the size of a pencil eraser. The lasers heat a peppercorn-sized fuel pellet containing deuterium and tritium, compressing it to a density and temperature that fuses atoms from the fuel and triggers fusion.­­

 

In the Dec. 5 test, the process yielded – in a fraction of a second – an output of 3.15 megajoules of fusion energy, while the lasers consumed only 2.05 megajoules.

About Fusion energy

Fusion energy releases a tremendous amount of energy when two light nuclei are forced together through intense heat and pressure to form a heavier nucleus. It's a characteristic of stars, like the sun, where pressure from gravity and heat triggers an ongoing fusion.­­­­­­­­­

Current Affair 2:

Iron Ore Production

 

The crude steel production grew at 4.4% annually (CAGR) from 88.97 MT in 2014-15 to 120.29 MT in 2021-22. Further, as per the information provided by Indian Bureau of Mines, the domestic production of iron ore is sufficient to meet the current demand/requirement by domestic iron & steel industry.

Odisha is the largest producer.

Current Affair 3:

Production of raw jute increased over previous years

 

The Union Minister of State for Textiles, in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today shared that the raw jute & Mesta production during the last five years is as under :-

The production of raw jute has increased over the previous years. However, in year 2020-21, the production of raw jute was low, due to impact of Super Cyclone 'Amphan'.

The Government has adopted following strategy for increasing the raw jute production:-

1. Continuation of Jute Packaging Material (Compulsory Use in Packing Commodities) Act,1987.
2. Implementation of National Jute Development Program (NJDP) for development and promotion of Jute Sector.
3. Declaration of Minimum Support Price for raw jute to support the farmers.
4. Procurement of raw jute by Jute Corporation of India at MSP to safeguard the farmers from distress sale.

The demand of packing material has risen due to larger procurement of food grains by the Government. The production capacity of jute mills is hovering around 26 to 28 lakh bales jute bag per year.

By the continuation of Jute Packaging Material (Compulsory Use in Packing Commodities) Act,1987, the Government specifies the commodities and the extent to which they are mandatorily required to be packed in Jute Packaging Materials.

During the last four years, the Government has kept reservations 100% for food grains and 20% for sugar, to be packed in jute packaging material. Further, the Government procures 88% of the total production of sacking for packaging of food grains. By this way the Government provides tremendous support to jute farmers, jute workers and industry.

Current Affair 4:

National Horticulture Board

 

The National Horticulture Board (NHB) was set up by the Government of India in 1984 as an Autonomous organization under the administrative control of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and registered as a society under Societies Registration Act with its headquarters at Gurugram.

The broad aims and objectives of the Board are to develop production clusters/hubs for integrated Hi-tech commercial horticulture, development of post-harvest and cold chain infrastructure, ensuring availability of quality planting material and to promote adoption of new technologies/tools/ techniques for Hi-tech commercial horticulture etc.

 

 

 

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