PIB and AIR News 25th April, 2019

Questions:
1. What is the COMCASA agreement?
2. Which Article of the Constitution has been dubbed as ‘soul of the Constitution’?
3.Who were the "Peruvazhis" in Chola empire?
4. In which city did silk-weaving flourished in Chola period?

Today's News:

1. UAE's Hope Probe project bound for Mars

• Hope Probe is an ambitious dream project of UAE to send a mission to Mars.
• Hope Probe is scheduled to be launched in July 2020. With a successful launch, UAE hopes to become the first Arabic and Islamic country to make the Mars Mission dream a reality.
• Hope Probe has been developed in accordance with Mars Exploration Programme Analysis Group (MEPAG), the global scientific community which is working on Mars exploration and coordinated with international entities to ensure the best results.
• The objectives of the Emirates Mars Mission will be to add to the global efforts to explore space and the surrounding planets. 
• For the first time, a Mars exploration project will be able to take a global picture of the Martian atmosphere. It will do so by taking an integrated picture of the atmosphere throughout the day and for a long period of time, helping to create a better understanding of the planet’s atmosphere in different seasons of the year.

2. India bags two silver, two bronze medals in Global Skill challenge
The 2019 Global Skills Challenge, staged in conjunction with the Victorian Skills Commissioner and World Skills Australia, is the biggest international skills excellence competitions in Australia.

3. BepiColombo

• BepiColombo is a joint mission between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), executed under ESA leadership.
• The mission comprises two spacecraft: the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO). 
• The MPO will study the surface and internal composition of the planet, and the MMO will study Mercury’s magnetosphere, that is, the region of space around the planet that is influenced by its magnetic field.
• Mercury is a poorly explored planet. So far, only two spacecraft have visited the planet: NASA’s Mariner 10, which flew past three times in 1974–5 and returned the first close-up images of the planet, and NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft, which performed three flybys (two in 2008 and one in 2009) before entering orbit around the planet in March 2011. 
• The information obtained when BepiColombo arrives will throw light not only on the composition and history of Mercury, but also on the history and formation of the inner planets in general, including Earth.

4. StartupBlink Ranking of Countries for Startup Environment

• StartupBlink has ranked 100 countries for startup environment of countries globally.
• The rankings were based on the impact startups have been able to make in the country, how many startups and support organisations are there such as accelerators, coworking spaces, startup events along with technology infrastructure, red tape, bureaucracy, etc.
• The US, the UK, Canada, Israel, and Australia have been ranked in top 5 in the rankings. India was ranked 17th in the rankings and has climbed 20 spots.
• In the ranking of cities, Bengaluru stood at 11, New Delhi at 18 and Mumbai at 29. San Francisco Bay, New York, London, Los Angeles, and Boston topped the ranking among the cities

5. SAECKs – Special Kits to Probe Sexual Assault Cases

• Aka ‘rape investigation kits’are specially designed kits to carry out the immediate medico-legal investigation. 
• SAECKs also aid in furnishing evidence in sexual assault and rape cases. The Kit comprises of essential items that will aid in furnishing evidence such as blood and semen samples in sexual assault and rape cases, thus helping the prosecution to gather evidence against the accused.
• The SAECKs are being procured with financial support under the Central government’s Nirbhaya Fund and the Ministry of Home Affairs has procured 3,120 SAECKs and distributed these to the states and UTs.

6. Melamine

• The government has extended the ban on import of milk and its products, including chocolates, from China till laboratories at ports for testing presence of toxic chemical melamine are upgraded.
• Melamine is an organic base chemical most commonly found in the form of white crystals rich in nitrogen.
• Melamine is widely used in plastics, adhesives, countertops, dishware, whiteboards.
• In China, where adulteration has occurred, water has been added to raw milk to increase its volume. 
• As a result of this dilution the milk has a lower protein concentration. 
• Companies using the milk for further production (e.g. of powdered infant formula) normally check the protein level through a test measuring nitrogen content. The addition of melamine increases the nitrogen content of the milk and therefore its apparent protein content. 

7. Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2019

• The Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2019 was awarded to author Rana Dasgupta for his 2010 novel “Solo” which is a tale of estrangement and the ultimate failure of material existence. 
• It is the second edition of the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize. 
• Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize aims to revive poetry and books that can change lives.