TNPSC Current Affairs July 16, 2020

www.tnpsc.academy – TNPSC Current Affairs July 16, 2020 (16/07/2020)

Topic: India and its Neighbouring Countries

Azad Pattan: PoK Hydel Project

Recently, Pakistan and China have signed an agreement for the 700 MW Azad Pattan hydel power project on the Jhelum river in Sudhnoti district of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

The 1.5-billion USD project is under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Key facts:

The Azad Pattan project is one of five hydropower schemes on the Jhelum, the other four are Mahl, Kohala, Chakothi Hattian and Karot projects.

Azad Pattan, Kohala and Karot are being developed under the CPEC framework.

It is a run-of-the-river scheme with a 90-metre-high dam, and a 3.8 sq km reservoir.

It will be developed on the ‘Build, Own, Operate, Transfer (BOOT)’ model.

It is expected to be commissioned by 2024.

The project will be transferred to the government of Pakistan after 30 years.

Concerns for India:

Territorial Integrity: India has protested the construction of dams and other infrastructure in PoK and Gilgit Baltistan, which are territories claimed by it as part of Jammu & Kashmir.

Earlier India had also objected to the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha dam (on Indus river) in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of the PoK.

Conflict With China: The signing of the Hydel project comes at a time when India and China have been involved in military conflicts following the Galwan Valley incident in the Ladakh region.

Through these projects, China and Pakistan have been consolidating their presence in the Indian region.

Topic: Latest Inventions on Science and Technology

Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine

The Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd, Pune, has been granted permission to manufacture the first indigenously developed Pneumonia Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) i.e. Pneumococcal Polysaccharide.

The permission has been granted by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), a drug regulatory authority.

India is planning for the nationwide rollout of PCV under Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).

Key facts:

PCV prevents pneumococcal disease. Pneumococcal disease refers to any illness caused by pneumococcal bacteria.

The vaccine is a mix of several bacteria of the pneumococci family, which are known to cause pneumonia — hence ‘conjugate’ is included in the name of the vaccine.

Conjugate vaccines are made using a combination of two different components.

It is used for active immunisation against invasive disease and pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in infants.

Topic: Places in News, Profile of States

Vallarpadam Terminal

Recently, the Ministry of Shipping reviewed the development of the country’s first trans-shipment hub – Kochi International Container Trans-shipment Terminal (ICTT).

ICTT is locally known as the Vallarpadam Terminal.

Key facts:

Trans-shipment Hub: It is a terminal at a port which handles containers, stores them temporarily and transfers them to other ships for the onward destination.

It basically acts as a switching point for cargo carried by deep-sea vessels operating on trans-continental trade routes.

Vallarpadam Terminal: It is a part of the Cochin Port in Kochi, Kerala. It is located on Vallarpadam Island. It was opened in February 2011 and can handle cargo up to one million TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalent units) per annum.

It is proposed to be a leading trans-shipment hub of South Asia. This is because of its:

Proximity to International sea routes.

Location with respect to all Indian feeder (secondary/smaller) ports.

Proximity to key hinterland markets of India.

Large infrastructure to manage large ships and capacity to scale it up as per requirement.

Topic: Terms in News

Milk tea Alliance

It is a term used to describe an online democratic solidarity movement made up of netizens from Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

It arose in response to the increased presence of Chinese trolls and nationalist commentators on social media.

The ‘Milk Tea Alliance’ is an informal term coined by social media users because in the region, tea is consumed in many nations with milk, with the exception of China.