“Why in news?
Geoengineering has steadily shifted over the last few decades from the margins towards the mainstream of climate action discourse.

What is Geoengineering?
• Climate engineering aka geoengineering is the deliberate and large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climate system, usually with the aim of mitigating the adverse effects of global warming.
• It is a deliberate, large-scale intervention carried out in the Earth’s natural systems to reverse the impacts of climate change.
• Its techniques fall primarily under three categories: Solar radiation management (SRM), carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and weather modification.

What are the specificities of geoengineering?
• Specific technologies include-
– Solar geoengineering or ‘dimming the sun’ by spraying sulfates into the air to reflect sunlight back into space;
– Ocean fertilization or the dumping of iron or urea to stimulate phytoplankton growth to absorb more carbon;
– Cloud brightening or spraying saltwater to make clouds more reflective and more.
• CDR technologies being proposed as a means to achieve ‘net zero’ emissions by mid-century involve deliberate intervention in the natural carbon cycle:
– Carbon capture and storage (CCS), direct air capture (DAC) and
– Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)”

“Whyin news?
Indian women and children are overwhelmingly anaemic, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2019-20 released this month, and the condition is the most prevalent in the Himalayan cold desert.

What is Anaemia?
• The condition of having a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells or a quantity of haemoglobin. It can make one feel tired, cold, dizzy, and irritable and short of breath, among other symptoms.
• A diet which does not contain enough iron, folic acid or vitamin B12 is a common cause of anaemia.
• Some other conditions that may lead to anaemia include pregnancy, heavy periods, blood disorders or cancer, inherited disorders and infectious diseases.

How widespread is anaemia in our country?
• In Phase I of the NHFS, result factsheets have been released for 22 states and UTs.
• In a majority of these states and UTs, more than half the children and women were found to be anaemic.
• In 15 of these 22 states and UTs, more than half the children are anaemic. Similarly, more than 50 per cent of women are anaemic in 14 of these states and UTs.
• The proportion of anaemic children and women is comparatively lower in Lakshadweep, Kerala, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.
• However, it is higher in Ladakh, Gujarat, J&K, and West Bengal, among others.
• Anaemia among men was less than 30 per cent in a majority of these states and Union Territories.”

“Why in news?
Assam has asked the State’s Forest and Revenue departments to permanently rehabilitate the indigenous forest dwellers of the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.

Dibru-Saikhowa National Park
• DSNP is a national park in Assam located in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts.
• It was designated a Biosphere Reserve in July 1997 with an area of 765 sq. km.
Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The park is bounded by the Brahmaputra and Lohit Rivers in the north and Dibru river in the south.
Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
• It mainly consists of moist mixed semi-evergreen forests, moist mixed deciduous forests, canebrakes and grasslands.
• It is the largest Salix swamp forest in north-eastern India, with a tropical monsoon climate with a hot and wet summer and cool and usually dry winter.
Hence, statement 3 is correct.”

“Why in news?
A recent order passed by CIC in an appeal against the State Bank of India (SBI) has once again highlighted the issues with the Electoral Bond Scheme.

• The Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018 was notified in the official gazette on 2nd January 2018 and allows periodic issuances of electoral bonds.
• Electoral Bond is a financial instrument for making donations to political parties.
• The bonds are issued in multiples of Rs. 1,000, Rs. 10,000, Rs. 1 lakh, Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 1 crore without any maximum limit.
Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
• State Bank of India is authorised to issue and encash these bonds, which are valid for fifteen days from the date of issuance.
• These bonds are redeemable in the designated account of a registered political party.
– Every party that is registered under section 29A of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951 and has secured at least 1% of the votes polled in the most recent Lok Sabha or State election will be allotted a verified account by the Election Commission of India.
– Electoral bond transactions can be made only via this account.
• The bonds are available for purchase by any person (who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India) for a period of ten days each in the months of January, April, July and October as may be specified by the Central Government.
Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
– A person being an individual can buy bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals.
– Donor’s name is not mentioned on the bond.
• During general elections, the central government may specify an additional period of thirty days for sale of these bonds.
• There have been some occasions when the government has deviated from the specified periodicity for issuance of these bonds.
– For example, the sixth tranche of electoral bonds was issued from 1st-10th November 2018 and electoral bonds were sold in the months of March, April and May during 2019 general elections.”

“Why in news?
Union Health Minister has been nominated by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) as a member on the GAVI Board.

GAVI
• GAVI is a public-private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunisation in poor countries.
• GAVI has observer status at the World Health Assembly.
• GAVI has been praised for being innovative, effective, and less bureaucratic than multilateral government institutions like the WHO.
• Members: the WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry in both industrialized and developing countries and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation among others.
• GAVI programmes can often produce quantified, politically appealing, easy-to-explain results within an election cycle, which is appealing to parties locked in an election cycle.

Its function
• It currently supports the immunization of almost half the world’s children, giving it the power to negotiate better prices for the world’s poorest countries and remove the commercial risks of manufacturers.
• It also provides funding to strengthen health systems and train health workers across the developing world.”

“Why in news?
The Ministry of Earth Sciences has inaugurated the web-based application “Digital Ocean” developed by INCOIS.

Digital Ocean
• Digital Ocean is a first of its kind digital platform for Ocean Data Management.
Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
• The platform will be promoted as a platform for capacity building on Ocean Data Management for all Indian Ocean Rim countries.
• It would help share ocean knowledge about the ocean with a wide range of users including research institutions, operational agencies, strategic users, the academic community, and maritime industry and policymakers.
• It also provides free access to information to the general public and the common man.
Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• It will play a central role in the sustainable management of our oceans and expanding ‘Blue Economy’ initiatives.

Its features
• It includes a set of applications developed to organize and present heterogeneous oceanographic data by adopting rapid advancements in geospatial technology.
• It facilitates:
– Online interactive web-based environment for data integration,
– 3D and 4D (3D inspace with time animation) data visualization,
– Data analysis to assess the evolution of oceanographic features,
– Data fusion and multi-format download of disparate data from multiple sources viz., in-situ, remote sensing and model data, all of which is rendered on a georeferenced 3D Ocean.
Hence, statement 3 is correct.”

“Why in news?
The Sea of Galilee, well-known in Jewish, Christian and Islamic lore, has swelled up due to recent rains, according to reports in the Israeli media.

Sea of Galilee
• The lake lies in northern Israel, between the occupied Golan Heights and the Galilee region. It is fed by underground springs but its major source is the Jordan River.
Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
• The lake has risen to 209.905 metres below sea level due to heavy rainfall in the surrounding areas.
• The Jordan flows into the lake and then exits it before ending in the Dead Sea, the saltiest and the lowest point on the planet.
• It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lake in the world (after the Dead Sea, a saltwater lake).
Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Water is not extracted from the Sea of Galilee. But it is considered to be an important barometer of the water situation in Israel.
• The Sea is a significant source of commercial fishing and the surrounding area grows cotton, alfalfa, bananas and dates.
Hence, statement 3 is correct.”

“Why in news?
Union Minister of Education laid the foundation stone of ‘TiHAN-IIT Hyderabad’, India’s first Testbed for Autonomous Navigation Systems (Terrestrial and Aerial).

TiHAN
• TiHAN is an acronym for Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation and Data Acquisition Systems (UAVs, RoVs etc.).
• It is a multi-departmental initiative, including researchers from Electrical, Computer Science, Mechanical and Aerospace, Civil, Mathematics, and Design at IIT Hyderabad.
• It would focus on addressing various challenges hindering the real-time adoption of unmanned autonomous vehicles for both terrestrial and aerial applications.

Why need TiHAN?
• One major requirement to make unmanned and connected vehicles more acceptable to the consumer society is to demonstrate its performance in real-life scenarios.
• However, it may become dangerous. Especially in terms of safety, to directly use the operational roadway facilities as experimental test tracks for unmanned and connected vehicles.
• In general, both UAV and UGV testing may include crashes and collisions with obstacles, resulting in damage to costly sensors and other components.
• Hence, it is important to test new technologies developed in a safe, controlled environment before deployment.”

“Why in news?
Prime Minister has launched the ambitious National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) service for the Delhi Metro’s Airport Express Line.

National Common Mobility Card
• The idea of NCMC was floated by the Nandan Nilekani committee set up by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• The committee had suggested that NCMC should contain two instruments – a regular debit card which can be used at an ATM and a local wallet.
• Banks mandated by the department of financial services have been asked to make their debit cards NCMC compliant, to ensure availability of service.
• The committee has also proposed a host of measures, including all payments by the government to citizens through the digital mode, to reduce the number of cash transactions in the country.

Features of the NCMC
• NCMC will allow passengers with RuPay debit cards, issued in the last 18 months by 23 banks, including SBI, UCO Bank, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, etc, to be swiped for Metro travel.
• It can be used at all transit locations making all new metro and transit payments interoperable via one card.
• NCMC is an automatic fare collection system. It will turn smartphones into an inter-operable transport card that commuters can use eventually to pay for Metro, bus, and suburban railways services.
• NCMC service is slated to cover the entire 400km stretch of Delhi Metro.
• It will allow entry and exit from Metro stations with the help of a smartphone, known as the automatic fare collection (AFC) system.
• To make AFC compliant indigenous gates for metro stations, the government has engaged Bharat Electronics Limited. Eventually, all Metro stations will be fitted with AFC gates.
”

“Why in news?
Astronomers running the world’s largest initiative to look for alien life have recently picked up an “intriguing” radio wave emission from the direction of Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our Sun.

Proxima Centauri
• Proxima Centauri is 4.2 light-years away from the Sun – considered a close distance in cosmic terms.
• Its mass is about an eighth of the Sun’s, and it is too dim to be seen with the naked eye from Earth.
• Proxima b, one of the two planets that revolve around the star, is the subject of significant curiosity.
• Sized 1.2 times larger than Earth, and orbits its star every 11 days, Proxima b lies in Proxima Centauri’s “Goldilocks zone”.
Hence, statement 1 is incorrect and statements 2 and 3 are correct.”

“Why in news?
The government has used financial innovation to recapitalize a bank by issuing the lender Rs 5,500-crore worth of non-interest bearing bonds called Zero-Coupon Bonds.

Zero-Coupon Bonds
• These are non-interest bearing, non-transferable special GOI securities that have a maturity of 10-15 years and are issued specifically to Punjab & Sind Bank.
Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• These bonds are not tradable; the lender has kept them in the held-to-maturity (HTM) investments bucket, not requiring it to book any mark-to-market gains or losses from these bonds.
Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
• This will earn no interest for the subscriber; market participants term it both a ‘financial illusion’ and ‘great innovation’ by the government.”

“Why in news?
The Environment Minister has virtually hoisted the international blue flags in 8 beaches across the country.

About Blue Flag Certification
• This Certification is accorded by an international agency “Foundation for Environment Education, Denmark” based on 33 stringent criteria in four major heads i.e.
– Environmental Education and Information,
– Bathing Water Quality,
– Environment Management and Conservation and
– Safety and Services on the beaches.
• It started in France in 1985 and has been implemented in Europe since 1987, and in areas outside Europe since 2001 when South Africa joined.
• Japan and South Korea are the only countries in South and southeastern Asia to have Blue Flag beaches.
• Spain tops the list with 566 such beaches; Greece and France follow with 515 and 395, respectively.

Which are the 8 beaches?
The beaches where the International Blue Flags were hoisted are:
• Kappad (Kerala)
• Shivrajpur (Gujarat)
• Ghoghla (Diu)
• Kasarkod and Padubidri (Karnataka)
• Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh)
• Golden (Odisha) and
• Radhanagar (Andaman & Nicobar Islands)”

“Why in news?
In yet another tug-of-war between Kerala Governor and CM, the Governor has turned down a request to summon a special sitting of the Assembly to debate the new three central farm laws.

A governor must:
• Be a citizen of India.
• Be at least 35 years of age.
• Not be a member of the either house of the parliament or house of the state legislature.
• Not hold any office of profit.”

“Why in news?
Union Home Minister has said that Inner-Line Permit (ILP) had been the Centre’s biggest gift to Manipur since its statehood.

The Inner Line
• A concept drawn by colonial rulers, the Inner Line separated the tribal-populated hill areas in the Northeast from the plains.
• To enter and stay for any period in these areas, Indian citizens from other areas need an Inner Line Permit (ILP).
• Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram are protected by the Inner Line, and lately, Manipur was added (in December last year).
• The concept originates from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act (BEFR), 1873.”

“Why in news?
December 26 was the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Udham Singh, who is known for avenging the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919.
Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Who was Udham Singh?
• Singh, born in Sunam in Punjab’s Sangrur district in 1899, was a political activist who got associated with the Ghadar Party while in the US.
Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The multi-ethnic party was believed to have communist tendencies and was founded by Sohan Singh Bhakna in 1913.
• Headquartered in California, the party was committed to the ouster of the British from India.
• In 1934, Singh made his way to London with the purpose of assassinating O’Dwyer, who in 1919 had been the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab.”

“Why in news?
Botanists have discovered a new species of wild Sun Rose from the Eastern Ghats in India.

Portulaca Laljii
• The new species named Portulaca laljii was discovered from the Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh.
• It has unique features such as a tuberous root, no hair in its leaf axils, a reddish-pink flower, prolate-shaped fruits, and copper brown seeds without luster.
• Portulaca Laljii has been named to honor the contribution of Lal Ji Singh, an eminent botanist of the Botanical Survey of India.
• The species has been placed under the ‘Data Deficient’ category of the IUCN List of Threatened Species because very little information is available about the population of the species.

Morphological features
• These morphological features distinguish the species from other species of the genus Portulaca.
• The flowers, which are reddish-pink in color, are very minute, at about 0.5mm.
• The plant was found growing in rocky crevices at an altitude of about 1,800 meters above mean sea level, very close to the ground, at about less than 10 cm.
• The plants belonging genus Portulaca are classified in the category Sun Rose because they flower in bright sunshine.
• The genus was described by Linnaeus in 1753 as a type genus of the flowering plant family Portulacaceae.”

“Why in news?
The Prime Minister has launched Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY SEHAT to extend coverage to all residents of Jammu & Kashmir.

PM-JAY SEHAT
• The full form of SEHAT is social, endeavor for health, and telemedicine. Under this scheme, the SEHAT card will be distributed to all the eligible beneficiaries.
• All the eligible beneficiaries of Jammu and Kashmir can apply for the Scheme through common service center operators.
• Around 1 crore beneficiaries will cover under this scheme. All the eligible citizens of Jammu and Kashmir will get cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh under the Scheme.”

“Why in news?
Article 356 has led to the recent Andhra Pradesh High Court order.

Background of Article 356:
• No liberal democratic Constitution in the world has a provision such as an Article 356 that gives the central government the power to dismiss a democratically-elected State government except the Constitution of Pakistan.
• Both India and Pakistan borrowed this provision from the Government of India Act, 1935.
• The leaders of the Indian freedom struggle were so very opposed to this provision that they forced the British government to suspend it. Section 93 of the Government of India Act, 1935 was never brought into effect.
• However, the provision which we had opposed during our freedom struggle was incorporated in the Constitution for the preservation of democracy, federalism and stability in the post-independent era.”

“Why in news?
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) have identified a gene that facilitates in the greening of plants.

BBX11
• The synthesis of chlorophyll in plants is a lengthy, multi-step process.
• When a seedling emerges from under the soil it must quickly synthesize chlorophyll to start supporting its own growth.
• In order to facilitate the quick synthesis of chlorophyll, plants make a precursor of chlorophyll called ‘protochlorophyllide’ in the dark, which glows red when blue light is shone on the plant.
• As soon as the plant comes out into the light from under the soil, light-dependent enzymes convert protochlorophyllide to chlorophyll.
• The two proteins oppositely regulate the ‘BBX11’ gene to maintain optimum levels of ‘BBX11’.”