Daily Prelims Notes 5 May 2024

Daily Prelims Notes

5 May 2024

1. Significance of Boeing Starliner’s first crewed test flight on May 7

Subject: Science and tech

Sec: Space

Tags: Space X, Soyuz, Being Satrliner

Context:

• The Atlas V rocket launched with astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams aboard Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule, marking its first crewed test flight.
• The mission, heading to the International Space Station,aims to establish the U.S. with two operational spacecraft for astronaut launches if successful.

Atlas V Rocket:

• Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas launch vehicle family.
• Originally designed by Lockheed Martin, now being operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
• It is used for DoD (Department. Of Defense), NASA, and Commercial payloads.
• It is America’s longest-serving active rocket.

Dragon capsule of SpaceX:

• The Dragon spacecraft is capable of carrying up to 7 passengers to and from Earth orbit, and beyond.
• It is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth, and is the first private spacecraft to take humans to the space station.

Soyuz spacecraft of Russia:

• It is a series of spacecraft which has been in service since the 1960s. It was designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolev Design Bureau (now Energia).
• The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was originally built as part of the Soviet crewed lunar programs.
• It is launched on a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 
• Between the 2011 retirement of the Space Shuttle and the 2020 demo flight of SpaceX Crew Dragon, the Soyuz served as the only means to ferry crew to or from the International Space Station, for which it remains heavily used.
• Although China did launch crewed Shenzhou flights during this time, none of them docked with the ISS.

What is Boeing Starliner?

• The Boeing Starliner is a spacecraft designed to transport astronauts to space.
• It includes a crew capsule, where astronauts reside and which can withstand reentry to Earth, and a service module equipped with life support systems and engines.
• While the crew capsule is reusable, the service module is not.
• It is more than 4 m wide and can house up to seven astronauts. It can be fit atop an Atlas V rocket.
• Purpose:
  • To transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS), serving as an alternative to SpaceX’s Dragon capsule and Russia’s Soyuz, which were the only means of transport after NASA’s Space Shuttle program ended in 2011.
• Significance:
  • Since the introduction of the 737 Max 8 in 2017,Boeing has faced severe challenges due to two fatal crashes involving the aircraft, attributed to flaws in its Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) and insufficient pilot training. 
    • MCAS is a flight control law implemented on the 737 MAX to improve aircraft handling characteristics and decrease pitch-up tendency at elevated angles of attack.
  • Thus, a successful Starliner flight is vital for regaining stakeholder confidence and demonstrating Boeing’s capability in spacecraft technology amidst ongoing difficulties in its aviation sector.

International Space Station (ISS):

• ISS is the largest man-made object in space launched on November 20, 1998. It serves as a habitat for astronauts in space.Since 2011, the ISS has been continuously inhabited.
• Participating States: ISS is a collaborative project of the United States (NASA), Russia’s (Roscosmos), Europe’s (ESA), Japan’s (JAXA), and Canada’s (CSA) space agencies.
• Orbit: The International Space Station is in orbit about 400 kilometres above Earth.
• Speed: It travels around Earth at a speed of about 28,000 kilometres per hour. This means that it orbits Earth about every 90 minutes.
• Objectives: To expand our knowledge about space and microgravity and promote new scientific research. It also serves as an example of international cooperation.

Source: TH

2. Exports from key labour-intensive sectors decline 12% compared to pre-pandemic levels

Subject: Economy

Sec: external Sector

Context: During the last financial year, when overall goods exports shrank 3 per cent, the outbound shipments of textiles, leather, gems and jewellery and marine products saw a much steeper 9 per cent decline to $78 billion against $86.32 billion in FY23.

Details:

• While India’s exports have been largely flat, the country’s exports from labour intensive sectors such as textiles, leather, gems and jewellery and marine products are seeing a sharp dip. India’s shipments from these four high jobs generating sectors have declined nearly 12 per cent compared to the pre-pandemic levels five years ago (FY18) amid an overall weakness in demand from developed nations and stiff competition from Vietnam and Bangladesh.
• During the last financial year, when overall goods exports shrank 3 per cent, the outbound shipments of textiles, leather, gems and jewellery and marine products saw a much steeper 9 per cent decline to $78 billion against $86.32 billion in FY23. The comparable number in FY18 and FY19 stood at $90 billion and $88.14 billion respectively, as per commerce and industry ministry data.
• During the last seven years, India’s textile and garments exports have remained flat at around $35 billion, while Vietnam and Bangladesh have gained market share on the back of free trade agreements (FTAs) and Least developed countries (LDC) status that amount to 10-15 per cent concession on duty.
• As per Global Trade and Research Initiative (GTRI) report in 2023, China exported $114 billion worth of garments, followed by the European Union (EU) with $94.4 billion, Vietnam with $81.6 billion, Bangladesh with $43.8 billion, and India with just $14.5 billion.
• India significantly trails behind China and the EU and is also falling behind smaller countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam.
• From 2013 to 2023, Bangladesh’s garment exports grew by 69.6 per cent, Vietnam’s by 81.6 per cent, but India’s grew by only 4.6 per cent. As a result, India’s global market share in garment trade has declined from 2015 to 2022. The share of knitted apparel dropped from 3.85 per cent to 3.10 per cent, and the share of non-knitted apparel decreased from 4.6 per cent to 3.7 per cent
• Another sector witnessing considerable stress is the gems and jewellery sector that employs nearly 50 lakh people according to the union government’s estimates. The exports from the gems and jewellery sector declined over 20 per cent to $32.7 billion compared to $41.54 billion in FY18.

What reforms government has brought?

• To make the industry more globally competitive, however, the Union government had launched Mega Investment Textiles Parks (MITRA) programme in 2021 to increase investment and acquire a competitive edge over global competitors.
• The commerce and industry ministry, in its reply to a query, said that remission of duties and taxes under Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme were extended to 18 items to support the textiles sector.

Positive developments

• Rerouting of petroleum products and the PLI-led push for electronic manufacturing has shown increased value addition, but job creation particularly in the tech-intensive phone manufacturing sector has remained lower than government’s projected employment generation estimates from the PLI scheme.
• While exports of electronic goods jumped 288 per cent between FY18 and FY24, imports during the same period jumped 61 per cent, official data showed. In the case of petroleum products, the exports between FY18 and FY24 jumped 127 per cent but imports during the same period surged 65 per cent.

Decline exports of labour intensive sector: