Outout backoff(OPBO) vs Input Backoff(IPBO) in RF Amplifier

Both the Output backoff(OPBO) and Input Backoff(IPBO) are used to determine the operating power levels required in a satellite transponder TWTA or RF Power Amplifier to function in linear region.

Output Back-Off (OPBO) is the power level at the output of RF amplifier relative to maximum output level possible using the RF amplifier.

EXAMPLE:
Maximum output level = +40dBm
Measured output level of RF Amplifier = +34dBm
Output Backoff(OPBO)= 6dB
Input Back-Off (IPBO) is the power level at the input of RF amplifier relative to input power which produces maximum output power.

Example:
Input power level causes max. output power = -20dBm
Actual input power level = -25dBm
Input backoff(IPBO)= 5dB
OPBO is used even to calculate inter-modulation distortion power levels at the output of TWTA/SSPA. For SSPA output backoff is same as 1dB compression point and for TWTA output backoff is same as saturated output power.

In a satellite link calculation, input backoff is calculated by taking difference between actual flux density and the saturated flux density. Also calculated Output backoff help calculated actual EIRP of the satellite.

Jammu and kashmir special status explained

Jammu and Kashmir enjoyed special status under Article 370 of the Constitution of India. This Article describes it as a temporary provision and that it will cease to be operative if the President issues a public notification to that effect. However, prior to that, a recommendation is necessary from the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir.

As a result of Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir had its own Constitution, and all laws passed by Parliament will not be applicable to the State, unless the State government gives its concurrence. The President is empowered to decide what provisions of the Constitution of India would be applicable to the State and what are the exceptions, but with the State government’s concurrence.The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954, lists the Articles and provisions that apply to J&K. Further, the President also listed a set of exceptions under Article 35A of the Constitution (this Article does not figure in the text of the Constitution of India, but figures only in the J&K’s Constitution). While the 1954 presidential order constituted a founding legal document for Jammu and Kashmir, Article 35A protected the exclusive laws – such as the bar on outsiders buying property and women marrying non-Kashmiris losing their property rights - of the State.

These special measures can be altered only on the recommendation of the Sadar-i-Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir, acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers, or by the “Constituent Assembly” of that State. As of now, there is no “Constituent Assembly”.

This was how the Modi government has changed this special status of Kashmir overnight:

1. President Ram Nath Kovind issued a presidential order under Article 370 (1) of the Constitution. This clause enables the President to specify the matters which are applicable to Jammu and Kashmir. As it can be issued only with the Jammu and Kashmir government’s concurrence, the notification uses the words “with the concurrence of the Government of the State of Jammu and Kashmir”. This presumably means the Governor, who is now administering the State under President’s Rule, has given his concurrence on behalf of the State government.

2. The Order supersedes the 1954 Order. This effectively means that all the provisions that formed the basis of a separate “Constitution” for Jammu and Kashmir stand abrogated. The Order declares that all the provisions of the Constitution of India, shall apply to Jammu and Kashmir too.

3. However, some special measures were still needed for the scrapping of Article 370 altogether. Therefore, a few clauses were added to Article 367 of the Constitution.

Article 367 contains “Interpretations”. They contain guidance on how to read or interpret some provisions. The new clauses say, when applicable to Jammu and Kashmir, all references to the ‘Sadar-i-Riyasat’, acting on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, will be construed as references to the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. All references to the State government shall mean “the Governor”.

And most importantly, the reference to the “Constituent Assembly” in a proviso to Article 370 (3) has been amended to read “Legislative Assembly of the State”. This is the proviso that says the President can declare that Article 370 is no more operative only on the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly. As there is no Constituent Assembly in existence now, there is no body to “recommend” the demise of Article 370. Therefore, the State Assembly has to play that role.

The issuance of the Presidential Order has set the stage for the abrogation of Article 370. Here, the government has made use of the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is under President’s Rule. Under the Proclamation issued under Article 356 of the Constitution, by which the President takes over the administration of a State, Parliament usually performs the legislative functions of the State Assembly. For instance, when a State is under Central rule, the budget allocations for that State are voted in Parliament in the absence of the Assembly.

The Union Home Minister introduced two statutory resolutions, one, to recommend that the President issue a notification rendering Article 370 inoperative, and two, to accept the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill. The passage of the former resolution will enable the President to declare that Article 370 has ceased to operate.

The Bill envisages converting Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory with a legislature, and carve out Ladakh region as another Union Territory, but without a legislature.

Daily updates 6 August 2019

International

1. U.S. labels China a ‘currency manipulator’

i. The United States has officially labeled China a "currency manipulator". The US has accused China of using yuan to gain “unfair competitive advantage” in trade.
ii. The US took the action as Beijing has allowed its yuan to fall below the politically sensitive level of "seven" to the U.S. dollar for the first time in 11 years.

State News

2. AP Home Minister flags off riot control vehicle 'Vajra'

i. Arunachal Pradesh State Home Minister Bamang Felix flagged of 5 Anti-Riot police vehicle, also known as Vajra, from Police Headquarter in Itanagar.
ii. Vajra comes with special features for quick response, automatic multi-barrel launchers for tear gas, with a capacity of 12 persons and a battery backup for long hours stuck in the rioting crowd.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Main 2019:

• Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh: Pema Khandu.
• Governor Of Arunachal Pradesh: B. D. Mishra.

3. Aamir Khan launches Mission Shakti sports initiative in Maharashtra

i. Film actor Aamir Khan attended the launch function of Mission Shakti, an initiative by Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar to train athletes from Chandrapur and Gadchiroli for international events like the Olympics.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For RRB NTPC/IBPS RRB Main 2019:

• CM of Maharashtra: Devendra Fadnavis; Governor: CH Vidyasagar Rao.
• Capital of Maharashtra: Mumbai.

4. Rajasthan Assembly passes bills against honour killings and Mob Lynching

i. The Rajasthan Assembly passed Bills against mob lynching and honour killing, which make the cognisable, non–bailable and non-compoundable offences with life imprisonment and a fine up to Rs 5 lakh. The bill to curb honour killing also has a provision of the death penalty for the convict.
ii. Now Rajasthan has become the 2nd state after Manipur which passed a law to curb lynching cases.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For SBI Clerk Main 2019:

• CM of Rajasthan: Ashok Gehlot; Governor of Rajasthan: Kalyan Singh.
• Capital of Rajasthan: Jaipur.

5. Centre has approved the project to link Kosi & Mechi rivers

i. The Centre has approved a Kosi-Mechi river interlining project in Bihar. Estimated cost of the project is Rs 4,900 crore. 
ii. The project will provide irrigation for over 2.14 lakh hectares of command areas spread across the districts of Araria, Kishanganj, Purnia and Katihar in north Bihar. 
iii. This is India's 2nd major river linking project after Ken-Betwa of Madhya Pradesh.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For SBI Clerk Mains:

• Chief Minister of Bihar: Nitish Kumar; Governor: Phagu Chuhan.

Agreements

6. AustralianSuper, Ontario Teachers’ to invest $2 bn in NIIF

i. AustralianSuper and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan will invest $1 billion each in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) Master Fund. 
ii. The agreements include commitments of $250 million each in the Master Fund and co-investment rights of up to $750 million each in future opportunities alongside the Fund.
iii. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund is India’s first sovereign wealth fund that was set up by the Government of India in February 2015. It manages over $4 billion of capital commitments across three funds. 
iv. The Fund invests in equity capital in core infrastructure sectors in India with a focus on transportation, energy and urban infrastructure.
v. AustralianSuper is Australia’s largest superannuation fund and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan. AustralianSuper and Ontario Teachers’ will also become shareholders in National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited.

Summit and Conferences

7. Udaipur to host India's Largest Education Brainstorm

i. The 3rd edition of India's largest education brainstorming event, the ScooNews Global Educators Fest (SGEF) will held in the city of lakes, Udaipur. 
ii. It will bring together over 500 educators to discuss the way towards establishing India as the next global education powerhouse.
iii. The theme for fest is Education for Sustainability: Moving on from Conformity to Creativity'.

8. 2nd All India Annual Conference of IIS Officers

i. The 2nd All India Annual Conference of Indian Information Service Officers was held in New Delhi. The Conference was organized with a view to attain greater integration of all Media Units under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in order to further amplify government communication. 
ii. A Performance Review of Media Units under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting was also conducted during the Conference.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For EPFO/LIC ADO Mains:

• Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting Ministry: Prakash Javadekar.

Science and technology

9. Artificial Intelligence used to detect fast radio bursts

i. Scientists have developed an automated system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and capture fast radio bursts (FRBs) in real-time.
ii. FRBs are mysterious and powerful flashes of radio waves from space, thought to originate billions of light-years from the Earth.
iii. This research is done by Scientists of the Swinburne University of Technology in Australia.

10. NASA satellite uncovers 'first nearby super-Earth'

i. The Super-Earth planet named GJ 357 d  was discovered in early 2019 owing to NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a mission designed to comb the heavens for exoplanets.
ii. Scientists have characterised the first potentially habitable world outside our own solar system located about 31 light-years away.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For EPFO/LIC ADO Main 2019:

• Administrator of NASA: Jim Bridenstine; Headquarter of NASA: Washington DC, US.

Sports

11. Ravichandran Ashwin named "PCA Player of the Month"

i. Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been named as Professional Cricketers Association's Player of the month of July 2019.
ii.  He has been named for his consistent performances in the county championships as he hit 197 runs and picked up 23 wickets from just 3 matches for Nottinghamshire.

12. Dale Steyn retires from Test cricket

i. South African bowler Dale Steyn has announced his retirement from Test cricket. Dale Steyn has played 93 Tests for South Africa, finishing with 439 wickets, the most in the long format by a south african bowler.
ii. His strike-rate of 42.3 balls per wicket is the best of anyone with more than 200 Test wickets. Steyn will be available to play for South Africa in One-Day and T20 International series.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For SBI Clerk Mains:

• ICC Chairman: Shashank Manohar; Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
• The 13th edition of ICC Cricket World Cup will held in India from February 9 to March 26, 2023.

13. Vinesh wins gold in 53kg at Poland Open Wrestling Tournament

i. Vinesh Phogat won gold in women’s 53kg category at Poland Open wrestling tournament in Warsaw.
ii. Vinesh prevailed 3-2 over local wrestler Roksana in the final of the competition. This is her 3rd consecutive gold in women’s 53kg category after Grand Prix of Spain and Yasar Dogu International at Istanbul in Turkey.

Miscellaneous

14. Mohali gets first 3-D traffic signal

i. Mohali traffic police have launched 3-D Smart Traffic Signal devised by the students of a Chandigarh university.
ii. The wireless system, called 'Intelights', has been installed at the traffic crossing near the Airport Road, on a pilot project basis, and will regulate traffic signals with a smart bird's eye view wireless sensor system. 
iii. The new system will have sensors which would automatically switch on the green and red signals depending upon the number of vehicles coming from that particular side.